Scriptures and make them void? Is the Bible a book of myths, or can it be shown
scientifically that the Bible presents a true account of God and His works?
Has modern science made the Bible archaic writings of ignorant people in the stone
age of the earth? Or is the Bible the testimony of the great creator God who made all
things and knows all things? How can anyone know if the book is inspired by God or if
it is a fraud foisted on humanity by people who wanted to be the master race of the
world? Was the Bible written before science was discovered? Is there any scientific
way to establish its validity or invalidity? This page will answer these questions for
anyone who has an open mind.
First, let’s look at science and examine the methodology of it. The scientific model has
four essential parts: there are the terms used on which the particular theory is based;
there are premises that have always been observed to be true; there is a logical
system to used to work with the terms and the premises of the system; there are
conclusions (in mathematics), predictions in science arrived at based on the
premises and concluded by a logical process. In a true science all the predictions
must come to pass, and must be verifiable.
The terms that a scientific theory is based on must be common terms familiar to all.
Everyone must understand what is being addressed. No two people understand
everything exactly the same because of the background of those involved, but
people have many experiences and concepts in common. Unless there is a common
ground to begin with, the theory will mean different things to different people.
The premises are statements about the terms (or words) of the theory that are
believed to be true. In mathematics these are called laws. In science premises are
arrived at through observation. The premises must be always observed to be true. If
the premises are flawed, then logic states that anything can be proved. If the
premises are true for every circumstance and every case, then the scientific theory
has a sound base on which to build.
Logic can be a complicated concept. There are complete graduate courses in logic.
The author of this page has taught mathematical logic at the Arkansas Polytechnic
University. Included in the class was a section on the method of science.
Mathematical logic is an extended study and a rigorous discipline. Basically logic is a
way of getting from a known concept to one that is unfamiliar or unknown. What some
people call logic is just the way they see things.
The end results of any scientific system, or theory, are its predictions. The
predictions, based on the terms, premises, and using logic, are arrived at by the
scientists. The predictions must always prove true; that is, they must come to pass,
they must work, or what is predicted must be there. If one prediction fails, the theory,
or model, is flawed and cannot be depended on. If one prediction does not hold, then
another prediction cannot be trusted.
We live in an ordered universe
All mathematics and science is based on the assumption that we live in an ordered
universe. If our universe were in a state of flux, with principles and laws changing,
nothing would be stable or predictable. There would be no point in studying anything,
for tomorrow the entire system could be different.. So every scientist must start his
theory, or model, with the basic idea of a universe ordered by laws.
The scientific method was pronounced
thousands of years ago
The rudiments of the scientific method were specified in the Bible many centuries
ago. Isaiah 41: 21“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Bring forth your strong
reasons,” says the King of Jacob. Let them bring forth and show us what will happen;
Let them show the former things, what they were, that we may consider them,
and know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come.23Show the things
that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do good or do
evil,
That we may be dismayed and see it together.
Here is one, through the prophet Isaiah, claiming that he is God and that he can
predict the future. When he predicts the future, he can bring to pass what he has said
will happen. This is the essentials of the scientific method: to make predictions that
will happen. This one who informed Isaiah said that a god should be able to tell things
that have gone on before, and tell how things got the way they are. A god should also
be able to tell the future. He should be able to make predictions and bring them to
pass.
Essentially, the scientific model is to set up a system that will make predictions not
only of the future but of things that have happened or things that exist. These serve
as checks to show that the system works right. In the Bible is one putting forth the
scientific test to establish whether claims are based on the right premises and bring
about the right results. If they do, this is scientific proof that the system is correct and
a reliable system. Can we apply the system of science that we have described to test
the reliability of the Bible as the word of God?
In 2 Peter 1: the same idea is asserted. Prophesies did not come from people but
were inspired by God: 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you
do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the
morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture
is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but
holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
The essence of the scientific system is to be able to make predictions and the
predictions always happen. So a scientific proof of the validity of the Bible would be
to test the predictions made by the prophets that are inspired by God to see if the
predictions always proved to be true. Only a few will be examined. However, all the
prophesies of the Scriptures are like the ones we will examine, except for those
which have not yet come to pass. Many prophecies are about the time of the end of
this present age. This age has not ended yet so those prophecies are not yet fulfilled.
Some prophecies are being fulfilled now. Many prophecies have come to pass. We
will look at some of the more prominent ones.
The visions of Daniel
Daniel had a vision of the future kingdoms of the world. His vision was in symbols of
four great beasts (or animals), but these symbols were interpreted for him in the same
vision. This vision is recorded in Daniel 7: In the first year of Belshazzar king of
Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote
down the dream, telling the main facts.
2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of
heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3And four great beasts came up from the sea,
each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I
watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to
stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side,
and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise,
devour much flesh!’
6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four
wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and
terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in
pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that
were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I was considering the horns, and there was
another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first
horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes
of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
The visions were interpreted
Daniel did not understand the vision. In verses 15 an 16 he was wondering what
the vision could mean. 15 “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the
visions of my head troubled me. 16 I came near to one of those who stood by, and
asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation
of these things: 17 ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out
of the earth. 18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and
possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’
19 “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from
all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze,
which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; 20 and the
ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which
three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous
words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.
21 “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and
prevailing against them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made
in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess
the kingdom. 23 “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth,
which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth,
trample it and break it in pieces. 4The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from
this kingdom and another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first
ones, and shall subdue three kings. 5He shall speak pompous words against the Most
High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times
and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a
time. 26‘But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to
consume and destroy it forever.
The beasts, or animals, Daniel saw in his vision represented world ruling empires
from the time of Babylon, which ruled the world when Daniel was carried captive to
Babylon, until the time for the Messiah to establish the kingdom of God.
The first beast, which was like a lion, represented the Babylonian Empire. After
Nebuchadnezzar was humbled his heart was changed and he realized that he ruled by
the will of the great God. This was when the first beast was given the heart of a man.
The second beast that was like a bear represented the Medo-Persian Empire that
conquered Babylon. When Daniel had a vision in the third year of Belshazzar, the
grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, was ruling in Babylon. Belshazzar was deposed by
Darius the Mede when he conquered Babylon in 539 BC. Darius is a title rather than a
personal name. So is Anhasuerus. These titles in modern English would be equivalent
to “his majesty.” Cyrus the Great ruled the Medo-Persian Empire from 556 to 529 BC
when he was killed in a war in the east of Persia. He dates his world ruling empire
from 539 BC when Babylon fell to Gobryas (of secular history) the general of Cyrus’
army who was the Darius who conquered Babylon.
The third beast, the leopard with four heads, represented the Greaco-Macedonian
Empire, which began under Alexander the Great. At Alexander’s death in 323 BC his
empire was divided into four parts. Ptolemy (Soter) took Egypt; Seleucus (Nicanor)
took Syria, Babylon, and the east; Lysimachus took Asia Minor; Cassandra took Greece
and Macedonia.
The fourth beast represented the Roman Empire, which gained world supremacy
under Julius Caesar a century before Christ was born as a human. This beast had
seven heads representing seven successive revivals of the Roman Empire which has
lasted to our time. Six of these have come and gone in history, and one is yet to come.
Daniel had a total of three visions of the future predicting the world powers that
would rule the world until the return of Christ, when the kingdom of God will be
established over the nations of the earth. One of the visions is recorded in chapter 8.
In the vision Daniel saw a ram, which came from the east and smashed all before it.
Then a he-goat came from the west and overthrew the ram. The goat had a great horn
in its forehead, but the great horn was broken. When it was broken, there arose four
horns in its place.
The vision is interpreted in Daniel 8: 20 The ram which you saw, having the two
horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the male goat is the kingdom of
Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. 22 As for the broken
horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that
nation, but not with its power. 23“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the
transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features,
who understands sinister schemes.
24His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. He shall destroy fearfully, and
shall prosper and thrive; hall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. 25
“Through his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; And he shall
exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise
against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human means.
The vision of the ram and the goat that God gave to Daniel in the third year of
Belshazzar was fulfilled in the Medo-Persian Empire, and the empire of the Grecians
beginning with Alexander the Great. The predictions of God, made in the days of
Daniel, were true predictions that there is a higher power that is able to predict the
future and bring those predictions to fruition. The predictions have been so perfectly
fulfilled that some claim the predictions must have been written down after the
events took place. Archeologists have confirmed that the empires of the ancient
world were there when Daniel prophesied long before the time of Alexander the
Great and the Roman Em pire ever existed. The description of Daniel and his
countrymen being carried into captivity to Babylon at the destruction of Jerusalem are
confirmed by the secular history of the Greeks as well as in the history of Josephus.
The principles of a true prophet
The principle of predictions coming to pass verifying a prophet of God was set forth
centuries before Daniel by Moses in the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 18: 20
But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not
commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet
shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the
LORD has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the
thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not
spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
A prediction made that does not come to pass cannot be made by a prophet of God for
God speaks the truth. He is capable of bringing to pass what he inspires to be said.
There are no prophecies that are that are in the Bible that have not come to pass
unless they are prophecies for our future. Generally these are labeled as being in the
time of the end of the present age.
A scientific test of the Bible being the word of God is, “Do all the predictions come to
pass.” All have except those that are yet to be fulfilled.
Cyrus was named more than a hundred years
before he was born
Isaiah was inspired by God in 712 BC, before Judah was carried into captivity by the
Babylonians, that there would be a decree issued for them to return to Jerusalem to
rebuild the city. Cyrus the Great, who fulfilled the prophecy by issuing the decree,
was named in the prophecy by Isaiah more than 100 years before Cyrus was born.
Isaiah 44: 24Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the
womb: “I am the LORD, who makes all things. Who stretches out the heavens all
alone. Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself. 5Who frustrates the signs of the
babblers, and drives diviners mad. Who turns wise men backward, and makes their
knowledge foolishness; 26Who confirms the word of His servant, and performs the
counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited, To the
cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’ and I will raise up her waste places; 27Who says to
the deep, ‘Be dry! and I will dry up your rivers’; 28Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My
shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be
built,” and to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’ 45 “Thus says the LORD
to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—to subdue nations before
him and loose the armor of kings, and to open before him the double doors, so that
the gates will not be shut: 2‘I will go before you and make the crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. 3I will give you the
treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I,
the LORD, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. 4For Jacob My servant’s
sake, and Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you,
though you have not known Me. 5I am the LORD(YHVH) and there is no other; There
is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,6 that they may
know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the
LORD, and there is no other; 7I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and
create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.’
(Note) -- The translators have substituted the tetragramiton YHVH as written in
Hebrew to “The Lord.” Most of the scholars have translated YHVH as Jehovah, or
Yahweh. Which means “The Eternal One“, or “The Self Existent One” )
This prophecy was fulfilled 150 years later when Cyrus the Great issued a
proclamation to rebuild Jerusalem. The Jews had been taken into captivity by the
Babylonians. The reason that the word of Jeremiah is mentioned in the Book of Ezra is
because Jeremiah prophesied when Judah went into captivity that they would be in
captivity for 70 years.
Ezra tells about the proclamation of Cyrus in Ezra 1: Now in the first year of Cyrus king
of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the
LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation
throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus King of
Persia All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He
has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. 3 Who is
among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem
which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel (He is God), which is
in Jerusalem. 4 And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his
place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill
offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.
5 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and
the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house
of the LORD which is in Jerusalem. 6 And all those who were around them encouraged
them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious
things, besides all that was willingly offered. 7 King Cyrus also brought out the
articles of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem
and put in the temple of his gods; 8 and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the
hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of
Judah.
God is the author of the scientific method
There is a God who can make predictions and inspire men to pronounce them. He was
the one to set forth the principles of the scientific method long before the era of
modern science. True science confirms that the Bible is the word of God. The psuedo-
science practiced by some presents many false ideas that are believed by a gullible
public that has no way to check up on the validity of what they are told. Much of what
is presented as scientific fact today is conjecture of men not willing to acknowledge
that there is a God to whom they are responsible. Einstein’s theory of relativity is an
example of good science
Albert Einstein, the greatest mathematician of the last century, worked out through
mathematics an equation that ties mass and energy together as different elements of
the same basic substance. E=mc2 says simply that energy and matter are different
forms of the same thing. “E” represents energy; “m” represents mass (an amount of
matter); “c” represents the speed of light, which is a form of energy. The speed of
light is a large number: 186,000 miles per second. The formula says that a little mass
creates much energy when converted.
This equation is the basis for building an atomic or hydrogen bomb. The atomic bomb
is one of the predictions of the theory of relativity.
Another prediction is that mass affects energy. Light is one form of energy. In the
early 1960’s there was a total eclipse of the sun in South America. Many scientist went
to South America with finely calibrated instruments to measure the curvature of light
from distant stars when it passed the sun; because with the total eclipse light can be
seen near the sun. That light will bend close to a large mass is one of the predictions
of Einstein’s theory. It was no surprise when they were able to measure the curvature
of light as it passed the sun.
Because all the predictions made by Einstein’s theory proved true, the theory is good
science. It was Einstein who said, “God may be subtle, but He is never capricious.”
God through Daniel predicted the future history of the world
Daniel gave the outline of the history of the world from the time of ancient Babylon to
the end of the present age. Several other prophets also predicted future events that
lead to the fulfillment of the plan of God to let man rule himself (man ruling over man)
until he is ready to destroy himself, and God intervenes and establishes a
government of peace on the earth.
Consider the prophecies in the Book of Daniel. Daniel was carried captive to Babylon
as a young prince from Jerusalem. He gained favor in the sight of Arioch, an
administrator of the captives and wise men of Babylon. The king had a dream, which
he forgot. To test his soothsayers and magicians, he demanded that they tell him the
dream and its interpretation. Of course none of them could tell him the dream that he
had. He threatened to put them to death for being a bunch of charlatans.
