"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God"
(2 Timothy 3:16). This is the Bible's claim. If this claim is true, then the
Bible is a Divine message. If it is not true, then the Bible is a fraud and a
lie. There is no middle ground.
Of the many proofs we could offer for the inspiration of the Bible, consider fulfilled prophecy. Mere men, by their own human wisdom, cannot consistently predict the distant future in detail (James 4:14). Yet Bible writers predicted the future hundreds of times, and their predictions never once failed!
One example is Ezekiel chapter 26, which predicted the destruction of the ancient seaport of Tyre. When Ezekiel wrote, Tyre was a thriving mainland metropolis, yet he predicted many enemies would attack the city. Finally the city would be completely destroyed and cast into the sea.
History shows that many armies did besiege Tyre, but they could not capture it because the inhabitants would flee to an offshore island where the armies could not reach them. Finally Alexander the Great arrived. When the people fled to the island, Alexander's army took the stones and dust of the city, threw them into the water, and built a causeway to the island. Then they marched across the causeway and captured the people of Tyre.
But note especially verse 14 where God said that Tyre "shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken." Any skeptic can personally witness the fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy because the location of ancient Tyre is well known. Go and see for yourself where Alexander built a causeway by throwing the stones of the city into the water, just as God predicted. See for yourself that the mainland city (as it was when Ezekiel prophesied) has never again been built as it was before God predicted its downfall.
If a person doubts the inspiration of the Bible, let him explain how Ezekiel knew so clearly the future of the ancient city of Tyre.
(c) Copyright David E. Pratte, 2005; gospelway.com
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Scripture quotations are generally from the New King James Version (NKJV), copyright 1982, 1988 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. used by permission. All rights reserved.