God Inspired The Bible

Perhaps the most important evidence we have telling us the Bible is inspired by God is the Bible itself. However, that is admittedly circular reasoning.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

There is also a lot of other evidence which does not rely on circular reasoning. We will look at some of that evidence here.

We will start in Genesis 7:11

Gen 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

This verse was written by Moses around 1440 B.C. In this verse, Moses talks about fountains of the deep or under sea springs. Nearly 3000 years later, in the 16th century, man was just beginning to create rudimentary devices that would allow a person to stay under water for more than one breath. Another 460 years would pass until under sea springs were first recorded off the coast of California in the 1960's. Yet, Moses had written about undersea springs 3500 years earlier. How could it be?

These fountains of the deep were mentioned again in Proverbs.

Pro 8:28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:

Those verses were written between 950-750 B.C.

Is "fountains of the deep" too vague? Would it be more convincing if the Bible actually said springs of the sea?

Job 38:16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

There it is in Job which was written between 1000-900 B.C.

How could these men know of these fountains of the deep or springs of the sea if not for the inspiration of God?

Now we will stay in Job but change topics.

Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

Job 26:10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.

These verses seem to say that the earth is suspended in space and then implies that the earth is round, yet these verses were written between 1000-900 B.C. In the secular world, the mere concept of a spherical earth did not arrive until between 600-500 B.C.

Is this too vague? Would it be better if the Bible simply said the Earth is a circle?

Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

This was written by Isaiah between 740-680 B.C.

How could these men know the Earth was round if not for the inspiration of God?

Now we will go to Exodus.

Exo 23:10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: Exo 23:11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

These words from the book of exodus were written between 1445 - 1405 B.C. These words were written under inspiration from God and tell us that once every seven years the land should be allowed to lie fallow. Modern technology confirms that this practice leads to improved soil conditions and allows for the continued use of farm lands over long periods of time. When did secular man figure out what God had already inspired to be written? The earliest account of letting the land lie fallow that I could find comes from Roman literature which was written sometime after 1000 B.C. This is over 400 years after it was written in Exodus.

Let us now flip back to Leviticus.

Lev 3:15 And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. Lev 3:16 And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD'S. Lev 3:17 It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.

These verses in Leviticus were written between 1445 B.C. and 1405 B.C. Over 3400 years later, modern science has caught up, and we are now told that a major risk factor for developing heart disease and diabetes is the consumption of saturated fats. Was this information available in 1405 B.C.? The earliest evidence that I could find documenting the link between cholesterol and coronary artery disease was its discovery by Russian scientist Nikolai Anichkov in 1912. Caleb Parry did publish his findings that Angina Pectoris was caused by obstructed Coronary Arteries in 1779, but he failed to link it to cholesterol or saturated fats. Regardless, his findings still came more than 3100 years after Leviticus was written. The specific fat that is prohibited in Leviticus is referred to as Chelev or sometimes Cheilev by people of the Jewish faith. Several sources report a biochemical difference between Chelev and other fat, but none seem to identify exactly what the difference is. I would find that information interesting if anyone can find it. Is it a mere coincidence that the Bible tells us not to eat fat? Did God really want the fat, or could it be that God was trying to protect humanity (God's creation) from a danger that would not be known to secular man for another few thousand years? It sounds to me like something any parent would try do for his or her children. Of course the children do not always listen.

Amo 5:8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

Here Amos tells us that God calls the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the land. This is a clear description of the cycle of water as it is evaporated from the seas and falls back to earth as rain. Amos wrote this about 755 B.C. The book of Job also describes the process of evaporation distilling the water then pouring down as rain.

Job 36:27 For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: Job 36:28 Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.

The book of Job was written between 900-1000 B.C. Modern secular science did not catch up on this issue until relatively recently.
Here is a quote from the paper titled Concepts of the Hydrological Cycle. Ancient and Modern

This paper goes on to describe the theories of some of the secular great minds of the past such as Homer (c. 1000 B.C.) who thought the earth was floating on an ocean. Here is information shared in the paper about some other famous people.

This paper even provides a quote from Leonardo da Vinci from around 1500 A.D.

At about the same time that Homer was postulating the earth floating on an ocean, Solomon was writing the book of Job in which he describes the evaporation cycle. Amos was describing the water cycle hundreds of years before Plato or Aristotle were born. We again see the Bible well ahead of the secular scientific community. Is it chance or is it inspiration?

I have only scratched the surface here and will be adding to this page from time to time.