What’s the best way for God to convince people that He is the real author of the Bible?

I suppose the best way would be for God to put things in the Bible that only He could have known—and that’s exactly what God says through Isaiah!

 

“This is what the LORD says--Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come--yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.” (Isaiah 44:6-8)

 

The fact is, nearly 1/4 of what God put in the Bible was foretelling the future when it was written. God let’s us know that He is the only Being who can accurately tell the future.

 

Prophecies About the Coming Messiah

There are roughly 2,000 predictive prophecies in the Bible but about 300 of them are predicting very specific information about one Person, the coming Messiah. So what would you think if someone today wrote down in public documents nearly 300 specific details about the life of someone who they said would be born in 500 years? If you’re familiar with the dismal record of modern-day psychics, you will be rightfully skeptical that any of it would come to pass!

 

How did Jesus and the N.T. writers view the importance of Messianic prophecies?

Jesus pointed to them: Luke 24:27 says, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Jesus, Matthew, Luke, Peter, and Paul pointed to Messianic prophecies to prove Jesus was the Messiah. Here are a few:

 

1. Micah foretold where he would arrive (Micah 5:2);
2. Daniel foretold when he would arrive and that it would be before the city and temple were destroyed which happened in 70 A.D.; (Daniel 9:25, 26)
3. Isaiah foretold how he would arrive—being born to a virgin; (Isaiah 7:14)
4. Isaiah also foretold what kind of a person he would be, a miracle worker, giving sight to people born blind, and healing every disease; (Isaiah 35:5, 6)
5. David, Isaiah, Daniel and Zechariah all foretold his purpose for coming—that he would come to earth to die for the sins of humanity; (Psalm 22:16, Isaiah 53:4-6, Daniel 9:26, Zechariah 12:10)
6. David foretold how he would die (Psalm 22:16)
7. David also foretold that he would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10);

 

Maybe the predictive prophecies were added later to make it only look like God had foretold the future?

This is a common objection, but something happened which makes this impossible! At least 250 years before Christ was born, the entire O.T. was translated into Greek which is called the Septuagint. Because of this, it would have been literally impossible to make any changes to the O.T. after this date.

 

Maybe Jesus set out to purposely fulfilled the prophecies?

Most were out of Jesus’ control if he was just a man. How could a man possibly control these situations?

1. His supernatural birth: Born of a virgin- Isa. 7:14
2. Who his relatives would be: Descendant of Abraham- Gen. 12:1-2; Tribe of Judah- Gen. 49:10; House of David- 2 Sam. 7:12
3. Where He would be born: Born in Bethlehem - Micah 5:2
4. How He was going to die: Hands and feet pierced - Ps. 22:16

 

Maybe Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies by accident?

What is the likelihood that all those specific prophecies could actually happen in one person’s life 500 years after they were predicted? In 1963, a mathematician named Peter Stoner (Stoner, Peter W. Science Speaks. Chicago: Moody Press, 1963) used the science of probabilities to get a handle on this question. His calculations were carefully reviewed by the Executive Council of the American Scientific Affiliation to make sure that his findings were based on sound principles of probability and were applied correctly. He began by calculating the probability that only 8 of the predictions could have come true in one person’s life down to the present time. The probability that they would is only 1 in 10 to the 17th power, which is an extremely low probability. To visualize this, it would be equivalent to covering the state of Texas with 10 to the 17th power silver dollars. This would actually cover the state 2 feet deep in silver dollars. Then, if you marked one of the dollars, mixed the whole state thoroughly, blindfolded someone and gave them just one chance to pick the right dollar—what would their chances be? They would have the same chance of picking out that single marked silver dollar as all 8 predictions coming true in Jesus’ life. Stoner went on to calculate the probability with 48 predictions, but the numbers are too large to be readily comprehended and meaningful. The point is, that Jesus’ life was the fulfillment of so many specific predictions (nearly 300) that we can be mathematically certain that He is the one and only Savior Who was sent from God to save humankind from our prideful I’ll-make-my-own-rules lives!