Is there anything other than manuscript evidence that supports the inerrancy and authority of the Bible?

On top of the manuscript evidence there are several other reasons to believe the validity and authenticity of Holy Scripture. Jesus’ view of scripture, predictive prophecy, internal unity and archeological evidence all support the claims made within the Bible. I will briefly go over each of these to explain how they support the divine authenticity and integrity of the Bible.

Jesus’ View of Scripture

Throughout the New Testament gospels Jesus affirms the authority and integrity of God’s Word. The following table shows the areas in which Jesus validated Scripture.

 

Divine Inspiration	Matthew 22:43
Indestructibility	Matthew 5:17-18
Infallibility	John 10:35
Final Authority	Matthew 4:4,7,10
Historicity	Matthew 12:40; 24:37
Scientific Accuracy	Matthew 19:2-5
Factual Inerrancy	John 17:17
Christ-Centered Unity	Luke 24:27; John 5:39
Spiritual Clarity	Luke 24:25
Faith and Life Sufficiency	Luke 16:23
Table courtesy of Reasoning From the Scriptures With the Mormons p154

What Jesus affirmed of the Old Testament He promised for the New Testament as well.

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you… Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come." (John 14:26; 16:13)

It is the authority of Christ and God that the apostles claimed. The apostle John claimed this when he wrote that “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us” (1 John 4:6). Paul made it clear that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). The word inspiration here literally means God-breathed. He also claimed divine authority as well when he wrote to the Galatians that he was “an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead” and “that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:6, 11-12). Peter echoed this teaching as well when he wrote that “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet 1:21). Peter also referred to Paul’s writings as scripture in 2 Peter 3:15-16. Since Jesus promised to lead his disciples into “all truth” and to be with them until the very end of the age (Matt 28:20), any who attempt to discredit or counter the claims of the Bible are arguing against the very Son of God Himself.

Predictive Prophecy

The Bible contains hundreds of prophecies. Some have already occurred (i.e. the coming of Christ) and others are yet to come. Many of the prophecies within the Bible are very specific in details and in what order they will occur, while others are difficult to understand. These difficulties arise not from poor translation or transmission, but from our inability to know what the future holds. Because only God knows the future and the meaning behind what it holds, only He can rightly describe and foretell the events to come. The life, death, and resurrection of Christ best demonstrated this.

Below is a small list of the prophecies fulfilled in Christ (there are over 300 total!). The list shows the Old Testament prophecy and the New Testament documentation of its fulfillment.

 

Prophecy	Old Testament	New Testament
Birth of the Messiah	Genesis 3:15	Galatians 4:4
Virgin Birth of Christ	Isaiah 7:14	Matthew 1:22-23
Born in Bethlehem	Micah 5:2	Matthew 2:1-6
Messenger to Proclaim His Coming (John the Baptist)	Isaiah 40:3	Matthew 3:1-3
Miracles of Jesus	Isaiah 35:5-6	Matthew 9:35
Rejection of Jesus	Psalm 188:22	1 Peter 2:7

One of the most extensive prophecies ever made in the Old Testament regarding the Messiah is in Isaiah chapter 53. Christ’s rejection, suffering, piercing, sinlessness, death with thieves and prayer for those who condemned Him are all in this amazing Messianic prophecy.

There are also many prophecies throughout the Bible that do not pertain to the coming of Christ. Many of these have come to pass as well. I will briefly demonstrate two examples of such prophecies.

After WWII Israel was reestablished as a nation after nearly 2,000 years of being in exile. Throughout this 2,000 year period, the Jewish language, culture and traditions were all kept in tact. The Prophet Isaiah wrote of this return of the Israelites to their homeland. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea." (Isaiah 11:11, KJV)

No nation or empire in history has ever remained in tact after such a long period of exile and genocide.

The Golden Gate is the eastern gate of Jerusalem. Christ entered through this gate in Matthew 21 when he made His triumphal entry. Ezekiel predicted the closing of this gate someday until the 2nd coming of Jesus.

Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. (Ezekiel 44:2, KJV)

It was 1543 when Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent had the gate closed and walled up. Today it stands closed, patiently waiting for the return of Christ so that He may pass through it once again.

No Biblical prophecy has been conclusively proven false. While some have not yet happened, this does not make for a valid argument that they won’t. The fact is that there are dozens of prophecies critics must tackle. While some try to explain them away as coincidence or chance, not all can be done away with this easily. The very fact that we can study and know of these prophecies is evidence of the preservation of Holy Scripture.

Internal Unity and Archeology

The internal unity of the Bible is remarkable. With 66 books written by some 40 authors, over a time period of at least 1500 years by people with varying degrees of education and backgrounds, yet the entire Bile speaks to one central theme, Jesus Christ (Luke 24:27). Such unity can only be explained by a divine authorship.

Along with the internal unity, archaeology has done much to support the historicity of the Bible. Therefore, if the Bible is reliable historically, then it can also be reliable spiritually. In fact no archeological find has ever countered the claims made in the Bible and archaeologists have consistently found the records written in the Bible to be true and reliable. In contrast, there has not been one city or location in the Book of Mormon that has been verified by New World archaeology.

The archeology supporting the Gospel of Luke, the book of Acts and the death of Christ are amazing. Even early secular historians like Josephus and Tacitus support the life and death of Christ as well as the validity of the Old Testament canon.

The Bible contains scores of customs, locations, names and events which archaeologists, both Christian and secular, have found evidence to support and prove.