How Do We Know That We Can Trust the Bible As the Word of God?

Question: How do we know that we can trust the Bible as the Word of God?

Answer: We can trust the Bible as the Word of God because the Bible is proven to be:

1) Historically accurate: Archeologists have unearthed evidences of certain people, places, and events described in the Bible, and historians have attested to the Bible's historical accuracy.
2) Scientifically sound: The Bible stated certain scientific facts thousands of years before scientists proved them. No contradiction between Bible accounts and scientific facts exists.
3)  Prophetic: Hundreds of prophecies in the Bible have been fulfilled exactly as they were foretold hundreds and thousands of years before the events actually took place. Only a handful of prophecies are yet to be fulfilled, and they concern all of humanity.

Biblical prophecies are downright amazing. And we shouldn't be surprised at this because we can't expect anything less than amazing from the Creator of the universe. Here are just a few examples of literally fulfilled prophecies (again, there are hundreds of prophecies in the Bible that have been fulfilled to the letter so far):

a) Isaiah 13:19-20 accurately prophesied the eternal destruction of Babylon about two hundred years before it happened. What was once the world power lies in ruins to this date, exactly as the Bible foretold. It was something unimaginable when the prophecy was given, because it is like saying that the crowded New York City or Shanghai will be totally uninhabited forever in a month from now. Not only was the destruction of Babylon prophesied, but also by whom and how the city would be destroyed and conquered were foretold. About 200 years later, after the ruining of Babylon was prophesied, Persian King Cyrus captured the entire city by complete surprise, finding its own gates wide open--exactly as foretold (Isaiah 45). In addition, the Bible prophesied Cyrus releasing Israelites from Babylonian captivity to rebuild Jerusalem, and it came true.

b) Daniel 8:20-23 foretold the reigns of Media-Persia and then Greece, prophesying that four kingdoms would come from the first mighty king after his death (referring to Alexander the Great), but those kingdoms wouldn't experience the power that the first king had. All came true exactly. Keep in mind that this prophecy was given during the reign of Babylon. (Also foretold in Daniel 11:3-4.)

c) The book of Nahum foretold the utter destruction of Nineveh.

d) Daniel 9:25 prophesied the exact year that Jesus would be anointed as the Messiah about five hundred years before it took place.

e) The book of Obadiah prophesied the eternal destruction of Edom.

f) Daniel 11:6-31 foretold several historical events that took place exactly as prophesied. Here's a very brief outline of the foretold events:

Ptolemy Philadelphus gave daughter Berenice to Antiochus Theos in marriage . Laodice, Antiochus Theos' ex-wife murdered Antiochus, Berenice, and her son, and put her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus, on the throne.
Ptolemy Euergetes, Berenice's brother, captured Syria, and took much booty back to Egypt.
Antiochus the Great defeated Egypt.
The short reign of Seleucus Philopator.
Antiochus Epiphanes, who became a ruler through flattery, received much glory from his advances against Egypt, but his second campaign against Egypt failed. Then he invaded Jerusalem, robbed the temple, set up an idol of Jupiter in the temple, and destroyed any copies of the Scriptures that he found.

The ability to accurately prophesy events hundreds and thousands of years in advance is the striking trademark of the Bible, a feature unique only to this book.

Since all prophecies of events that should have come to pass now have indeed come to pass, wouldn't it be wise to heed its messages about our future and how we should respond to them? Since all scientific statements in the Bible made thousands of years ago are now proven to be accurate, wouldn't it be smart to trust it? If a weather forecaster has been 100% correct from the beginning, wouldn't it be in our best interest to heed his tornado warning for tomorrow?

Therefore, when we receive the Word of God, we accept it "not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe." (1 Thessalonians 2:13)  

The Bible is "God-breathed," (2 Timothy 3:16) because God Himself authored the entire Bible through about forty men, who acted as secretaries, in a period of 1600 years. The Bible's historicity, scientific soundness, and fulfilled prophecies, among other unique characteristics, attest to its divine origin, setting it apart from all other books . No other book has the credentials the Bible has.