his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him...

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and Godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own

glory and goodness.

2 Peter 1:3

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly

established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as

long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made

clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always

be able to remember these things.2 Peter 12:15

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we

were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the

Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on

the sacred mountain.2 Peter 1:16-18

And we have the words of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a

dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of

Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke

from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:19-21

Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the

prophecy in this book!

Revelation 22:7

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you

learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able

to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:14-17

How then can we know and where then can we find the truth about Jesus?


were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

2 Peter 1:16

1. Scripture is not just cleverly-invented stories (v.16)

Peter’s Claims

“We did not follow cleverly invented stories...”

2 Peter 1:16

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2. Scripture is not just somebody’s interpretation of what they think God said (v.20)

Peter’s Claims

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the

prophet’s own interpretation.

2 Peter 1:20

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2. Scripture is not just somebody’s interpretation of what they think God said (v.20)

3. Scripture is God’s word, unchanged, speaking directly to people through people (v.21)

Peter’s Claims

• Given by God’s inspiration (2 Tim. 3, 2 Peter 1)• The very words of God (1 Thess. 2:13)• All we need to know God (Luke 16:29, 31)• A perfect guide for life (Proverbs 6:23)• Pure (Psalms 12:6, 119:140)• True (Psalms 119:160, John 17:17)• Trustworthy (Proverbs 30:5-6)

The Bible Claims to Be…

• Perfect (Psalms 19:7)• Effective (Isaiah 55:11)• Powerful (Hebrews 4:12)• To be obeyed (James 1:22)• For everyone (Romans 16:25-27)• The standard by which all teaching is to be tested (Acts 17:11)


• Sweet like honey (Psalms 19:10)• A lamp to guide our life (Psalms 119:105)• Food for our soul (Jeremiah 15:16)• A fire that purifies and a hammer that breaks us (Jeremiah 23:29)• A sword (Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12)• A seed for salvation planted within us (James 1:21)• Milk that nourishes us (1 Peter 2:2)


How do we know that Scripture is reliable?

• It would be widely distributed so man could attain it easily• It would be preserved through time without corruption• It would be completely accurate historically• It would not be prone to scientific error or false beliefs held by the people of that time• It would present true, unified answers to the difficult questions of life.

If God created man with a desire to know Him, we would expect His message to have some

unique properties:

Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict

1. God2. Other people3. Nature

We are Called to Relationship with…

• It would be widely distributed so man could attain it easily• It would be preserved through time without corruption• It would be completely accurate historically• It would not be prone to scientific error or false beliefs held by the people of that time• It would present true, unified answers to the difficult questions of life.

If God created man with a desire to know Him, we would expect His message to have some

unique properties:

Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict

The City of Jericho• Jericho had just taken in the harvest (Joshua 3:15)• People lived within the walls as well as within the city, including Rahab (2:15)• The spies promised Rahab that, because of her faithfulness, she and her family would be saved (3:19)• After marching around it 7 times, the walls fell down flat, “beneath itself,” (6:15-20)• This all happened about 1440 BC

A portion of that mudbrick was still standing … there were houses built against

the wall It is quite possible that this is where Rahab’s house was. Since the city wall formed the back wall of the houses,

the spies could have readily escaped. From this location on the north side of the city, it was only a short distance to the hills of the Judean wilderness where the spies hid for

three days.

Sellin & WatzingerJericho die Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen

The City of Jericho

• But wait … Jericho was believed to be uninhabited from about 1600 BC – 1200 BC.• In 1989, a thick layer of ash containing grain was re-examined

1440 BC

Transliteration of the Names of Foreign Kings• Biblical records compared with the

historical records, 36 instances of comparison• 183 syllables• Bible is accurate in every single detail• Manetho’s work on dynasties of the Egyptian kings can be compared in 140 instances• Right 49 times, partially right 28 times, in other 63 cases not a single syllable is correct

The Hittites

• Listed over 50 times in Old Testament• Until mid-1800s there was no archaeological evidence to support their existence• In 1876, AJ Sayce found their capital city in northern Turkey• In Northeastern Iraq, a peace treaty was found between Pharaoh Ramses II and the Hittite Empire

The Hittites

• Archaeologists also found legal documents from 1400 BC• Verbal deathbed will is binding• The power to sell one’s birthright for relatively trivial property (Jacob & Esau)• Need for family idols to secure inheritance (such as Rachel stole from Laban)

Sodom & Gomorrah

Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah – from the Lord

out of the heavens … early the next morning, Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and

Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the

land, like smoke from a furnace.Genesis 19:24, 27-28

Sodom & Gomorrah• Archaeological site is consistent with Biblical account• Debris from the city was about 3 feet thick

Sodom & Gomorrah

The dead were interred in mud brick buildings called charnel houses. Five

examples were excavated, and in each case they were destroyed by fire at the

same time the city was destroyed. Careful stratigraphic excavation of cha[the]

largest] revealed the the fire started in the roof and spread to the interior when the

roof collapsed.

Thomas Schaub

Sodom & Gomorrah

Pressure from an earthquake could have spewed out sulfur-laden bitumen (similar to

be asphalt) known to be in the area through the fault line upon which the cities

rest. The dense smoke reported by Abraham is consistent with a fire from such

material.

Frederick Clapp

Sodom & GomorrahIt is not too much to say that it was the rise

of the science of archaeology that broke the deadlock between historians and the orthodox Christian. Little by little, one city

after another, one civilization after another, one culture after another, whose memories

were enshrined only in the Bible, were restored to their proper places in ancient history by the studies of archaeologists.

John Elder

Sodom & GomorrahContemporary records of Biblical events

have been unearthed and the uniqueness of Biblical revelation has been emphasized

by contrast and comparison to newly discovered religions of ancient peoples Nowhere has archaeological discovery

refuted the Bible as history.

John Elder

Sodom & Gomorrah

Over 25,000 sites mentionedin the Bible have been found.

Donald Wiseman

Pontius Pilate• Roman ruler who sentenced Jesus to death, approx. 33 AD• Until mid-1900s, no archaeological evidence• In 1961, archaeologists discovered, within a Roman theater in Caesarea, a limestone block with a dedication by Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate• Roman ruler who sentenced Jesus to death, approx. 33 AD• Until mid-1900s, no archaeological evidence• In 1961, archaeologists discovered, within a Roman theater in Caesarea, a limestone block with a dedication by Pontius Pilate• They dated it between 26-37 AD

Caiaphas• High Priest for 18 years• Involved with Lazarus, interviewed those involved with His resurrection and even plotted to kill Lazarus (John 12:10)• Suggested that Jesus be put to death, “It is better that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish!” (John 11)• Involved with Jesus’ death, questioned Him with intermittent beatings before sending Him to Pilate (John 18)• Interrogated Peter and John after they healed a crippled man (Acts 4)

Caiaphas

The Earth

• Hindus teach the earth rests atop backs of 4 elephants, who stand on a giant sea-turtle swimming in the ocean• Greek mythology says Atlas holds the world on his back• Job 26:7, “God hangs the earth on nothing.”• Galileo, Ptolmey, confirmed this

The Earth

• Is the earth flat?• Isaiah 40:22, “[God] sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.”• Luke 17, “Two men will be in bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding in the same place; one will be taken, the other will be left.”

The Ocean• Until about 1900, geologists thought the ocean floor was sandy and dome-shaped, deepest in the middle• Scripture writes about the mountains of the sea (Psalm 13, Job 38, Jonah 2)• Beginning around 1900, oceanographers began to learn ocean has valleys, canyons, even mountain ranges up to 10,000 miles long.• Such technology didn’t exist 3,000 years ago for the Psalmists!

The Ocean• In 1800s, Matthew Maury read Psalm 8• Science had no knowledge of “paths” in the sea• Maury discovered them, revolutionized Oceanography with, “Physical Geography of the Sea” (1855)

Self-testimony is valid and strong when that testimony is validated by sufficient

evidence.

Mark Driscoll


were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

2 Peter 1:16

Three Questions

1. Do I treat Scripture as if it really is the Word of God?

2. Am I comparing what I hear to Scripture, instead of falling prey to cleverly invented myths?

3. Am I allowing God ample opportunity to speak to me?

his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him...

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