Is the Bible Fiction? Or is the Bible the Word of God?

Throughout history, individuals, religions, and entire cultures have based their knowledge of life on the words in the Bible. But what does the Bible consist of?

As stated, the Bible is made up of 66 books written by 40 authors, and many scholars believe that the books of the Bible were written during a roughly 1,500 year span across several different locations – even different continents.

The authors had very little if any known connections between one another and almost all lived in different areas – some of which lived on different continents. Yet all of the writers described the character of God the same way. Each of them described God through their own lens and perspective, but God‘s character is shown to be consistent through all of their writings.

The Bible talks about details regarding the universe, the stars, our planet, the water cycle, and much, much more – things no one could have possibly known thousands of years ago when the Bible was written.

But for the first time in history, human beings have gathered enough information from the natural world around them to be able to actually challenge the Bible’s wisdom. Now we find ourselves asking, “Is the Bible fiction or is the Bible the word of God?”

However, before we start challenging the wisest book in human history, we have to truly understand that for thousands of years, the Bible was THE source of knowledge for many people, and they did great with that knowledge.

What’s exceptional is, even today with all the technology and research tools at our disposal, the Bible has still proven itself to be completely accurate.

But with the wealth of knowledge available in the modern world, the question remains. How can we be confident that the Bible is trustworthy?

Reason #1: The Bible is strangely consistent

There are over 5,000 copies of the Bible dating from the time it was written to just 70 years afterwards. That dispels the urban legend that the Bible was changed as it passed through generations and languages.

The Bible is made up of 66 books written over 1,500 years by 40 different authors in different locations and from every walk of life, yet they all tell different parts of the same story with amazing consistency.

Here’s an estimated timeline of who wrote the books of the Old Testament in the Bible, and when they wrote each book:

According to the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry:

Book	Author	Date Written
Genesis	Moses	? – 1445 B.C.
Exodus	Moses	1445 – 1405 B.C.
Leviticus	Moses	1405 B.C.
Numbers	Moses	1444 – 1405 B.C.
Deuteronomy	Moses	1405 B.C.
Joshua	Joshua	1404-1390 B.C.
Judges	Samuel	1374-1129 B.C.
Ruth	Samuel	1150? B.C.
First Samuel	Samuel	1043-1011 B.C.
Second Samuel	Ezra?	1011-1004 B.C.
First Kings	Jeremiah?	971-852 B.C.
Second Kings	Jeremiah?	852-587 B.C.
First Chronicles	Ezra?	450 – 425 B.C.
Second Chronicles	Ezra?	450 – 425 B.C.
Ezra	Ezra	538-520 B.C.
Nehemiah	Nehemiah	445 – 425 B.C.
Esther	Mordecai?	465 B.C.
Job	Job?	??
Psalms	David	1000? B.C.
Also written by: Sons of Korah, Asaph, Heman, Ethan, Hezekiah, Solomon
Proverbs	Solomon wrote 1-29Agur wrote 30Lemuel wrote 31	950 – 700 B.C.
Ecclesiastes	Solomon	935 B.C.
Song of Solomon	Solomon	965 B.C.
Isaiah	Isaiah	740 – 680 B.C.
Jeremiah	Jeremiah	627 – 585 B.C.
Lamentations	Jeremiah	586 B.C.
Ezekiel	Ezekiel	593-560 B.C.
Daniel	Daniel	605-536 B.C.
Hosea	Hosea	710 B.C.
Joel	Joel	835 B.C.
Amos	Amos	755 B.C.
Obadiah	Obadiah	840 or 586 B.C.
Jonah	Jonah	760 B.C.
Micah	Micah	700 B.C.
Nahum	Nahum	663 – 612 B.C.
Habakkuk	Habakkuk	607 B.C.
Zephaniah	Zephaniah	625 B.C.
Haggai	Haggai	520 B.C.
Zechariah	Zechariah	520 – 518 B.C.

According to amazingbibletimeline.com:

Book	Writer	Date Completed	Time Covered	Place Written
Genesis	Moses	1513	“In the Wilderness beginning” to 1657 B.C.	Wilderness
Exodus	Moses	1512	1657-1512	Wilderness
Leviticus	Moses	1512	1 month [1512]	Wilderness
Job	Unknown	c. 1473	Over 140 years between 1657 and 1473
Numbers	Moses	1473	1512-1473	Wilderness / Plains of Moab
Deuteronomy	Moses	1473	2 months [1473]	Plains of Moab
Joshua	Joshua	c. 1450	1473– c. 1450	Canaan
Judges	Samuel	c. 1100	c. 1450– c. 1120	Israel
Ruth	Samuel	c. 1090	11 years of Judges’ rule	Israel
1 Samuel	Samuel; Gad; Nathan	c. 1078	c. 1180-1078	Israel
2 Samuel	Gad; Nathan	c. 1040	1077–c. 1040	Israel
Song of Solomon	Solomon	c. 1020	*	Jerusalem
Ecclesiastes	Solomon	b. 1000	*	Jerusalem
Jonah	Jonah	c. 844	*	*
Joel	Joel	c. 820 (?)	*	Judah
Amos	Amos	c. 804	*	Judah
Hosea	Hosea	a. 745	b. 804– a. 745	Samaria (District)
Isaiah	Isaiah	a. 732	c. 778– a. 732	Jerusalem
Micah	Micah	b. 717	c. 777-717	Judah
Proverbs	Solomon; Agur; Lemuel	c. 717		Jerusalem
Zephaniah	Zephaniah	b. 648	*	Judah
Nahum	Nahum	b. 632	*	Judah
Habakkuk	Habakkuk	c. 628 (?)	*	Judah
Lamentations	Jeremiah	607	*	Nr. Jerusalem
Obadiah	Obadiah	c. 607	*	*
Ezekiel	Ezekiel	c. 591	613–c. 591	Babylon
1 and 2 Kings	Jeremiah	580	c. 1040-580	Judah/Egypt
Jeremiah	Jeremiah	580	647-580	Judah/Egypt
Daniel	Daniel	c. 536	618–c. 536	Babylon
Haggai	Haggai	520	112 days (520)	Jerusalem
Zechariah	Zechariah	518	520-518	Jerusalem
Esther	Mordecai	c. 475	493–c. 475	Shushan, Elam
1 and 2 Chronicles	Ezra	c. 460	After 1 Chronicles 9:44, 1077-537	Jerusalem (?)
Ezra	Ezra	c. 460	537–c. 467	Jerusalem
Psalms	David and others	c. 1000 to 460	*	*
Nehemiah	Nehemiah	a. 443	456–a. 443	Jerusalem
Malachi	Malachi	a. 443	*	Jerusalem

According to BibleGateway:

1. Job: Considered earliest, but date unknown
2. Genesis: 1445-1405 BC
3. Exodus: 1445-1405 BC
4. Leviticus: 1445-1405 BC
5. Numbers: 1445-1405 BC
6. Deuteronomy: 1445-1405 BC
7. Psalms: 1410-450 BC
8. Joshua: 1405-1385 BC
9. Judges: 1043 BC
10. Ruth: 1030-1010 BC
11. Song of Songs: 971-965 BC
12. Proverbs: 971-686 BC
13. Ecclesiastes: 940-931 BC
14. 1 Samuel: 931-722 BC
15. 2 Samuel: 931-722 BC
16. Obadiah: 850-840 BC
17. Joel: 835-796 BC
18. Jonah: 775 BC
19. Amos: 750 BC
20. Hosea: 750-710 BC
21. Micah: 735-710 BC
22. Isaiah: 700-681 BC
23. Nahum: 650 BC
24. Zephaniah: 635-625 BC
25. Habakkuk: 615-605 BC
26. Ezekiel: 590-570 BC
27. Lamentations: 586 BC
28. Jeremiah: 586-570 BC
29. 1 Kings: 561-538 BC
30. 2 Kings: 561-538 BC
31. Judith*: Uncertain (538 BC-AD 70)
32. Daniel: 536-530 BC
33. Haggai: 520 BC
34. Baruch*: 500-100 BC
35. Zechariah: 480-470 BC
36. Ezra: 457-444 BC
37. 1 Chronicles: 450-430 BC
38. 2 Chronicles: 450-430 BC
39. Esther: 450-331 BC
40. Malachi: 433-424 BC
41. Nehemiah: 424-400 BC

Those are 3 sources for the same information, because I always like to look at several different sources before jumping to one person’s or group’s conclusion.

If you look over the dates above, you’ll notice that a lot of these dates overlap, meaning many of these ancient books of the Old Testament were written around the same time in history as other books of the Old Testament, yet they were written by different authors.

For example: Hosea and Isaiah were writing their books around the same time, but in two different locations, in two different kingdoms.

The books of Proverbs and Micah were written at the same time but in different places. Proverbs was written in northern Judah (Jerusalem) and Micah was written in southern Judah.

Ezekiel and Jeremiah were writing their books around the same time, but in two completely different places (Babylon and Judah/Egypt, which are hundreds of miles apart).

Look through the dates of the books of the Old Testament and you’ll see that either these people were really good at spreading the same message over long distances without messing it up or adding anything different to it, or they were all being inspired by the same God. You have to decide which is more probable.

After all, how on earth did all those people end up telling different parts of the same story?

Human beings are good at messing things up, so if the Bible is only the work of human beings, it would have to be the most intricate and amazing piece of written work ever completed by humans.

In other words, if you can make yourself believe the Bible is simply the work of humans, you’re putting a TON of faith in the ability of human beings to not mess things up.

To reiterate:

66 books. 40 authors. Over 1,500 years. Different locations and continents. All following the exact same narrative.

Imagine if you wrote a book, then your great great grandkid’s cousin wrote a book, then their great great great grandkid’s friend wrote a book, then their great great great great grandkid’s distant neighbor wrote a book, and so on and so forth over the course of 1,500 years.

Then thousands of years later people look back at all the books they wrote, and see that they all tell different parts of the same exact story. They all have the same hero, and they all describe this hero in the exact same way in every situation. You would think that eventually someone’s imagination would start to wander and they’d end up with a slightly different story than the others before them, but not in these stories. They all tell different parts of one consistent story.

That’s wild.

The Koran was written by Mohammed. The Analects of Confucius were written by Confucius. The writings of Buddha were written by Buddha. It makes sense that these would follow a consistent theme. But the Bible stands alone as a group of books written by different authors at different times in history and in different places, all unified by one central theme and all describing God as the exact same but in different ways.

Reason #2: The Bible Predicted Jesus’s Life

More importantly, many of these ancient Old Testament books predicted almost every aspect of Jesus’s life hundreds of years before it happened.

Some will say that obviously the writers of the New Testament knew about the prophecies in the Old Testament about the Messiah, and they made up or exaggerated stories about Jesus in order to make it line up better with the prophecies about the Messiah. Sort of a confirmation bias, if you will.

The problem with that is, we have secular (non-Christian) historical evidence that tells us that:

• Jesus actually existed in the time He was said to have existed
• Jesus lived in Judea
• His followers believed He did miraculous things
• Jesus was rejected by His own people (the Jews)
• Jesus died due to crucifixion
• His disciples believed they had experienced the risen Jesus
• His disciples’ lives were transformed and they spent their lives telling people about Him

Those are the things we know about Jesus based on non-Christian sources.

Now what did the Old Testament say hundreds of years before about these things that we know happened to Jesus? Check this out:

Prediction	When it was predicted	When it happened
The Messiah will come at a specific time	Daniel 9:25-26	Galatians 4:4 and Ephesians 1:10
The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem (which is in Judea)	Micah 5:2	Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:4-7
Messiah would be rejected by his own people.	Psalm 69:8, Isaiah 53:3	John 1:11, John 7:5
Messiah would be crucified with criminals.	Isaiah 53:12	Matthew 27:38, Mark 15:27-28
Messiah would resurrect from the dead.	Psalm 16:10, Psalm 49:15	Matthew 28:2-7, Acts 2:22-32

So how could the authors of the Old Testament have predicted these facts?

According to ThoughtCo:

“In the book Science Speaks, Peter Stoner and Robert Newman discuss the statistical improbability of one man, whether accidentally or deliberately, fulfilling just eight of the prophecies Jesus fulfilled.

The chance of this happening, they say, is 1 in 1017 power. Stoner gives an illustration that helps visualize the magnitude of such odds:

Suppose that we take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote using their own wisdom.”

Reason #3: Science lines up with the Bible

One thing I find particularly fascinating is the fact that science and the Bible line up eerily well in regards to how the universe was made.

Dr. Hugh Ross is one of the best resources for this conversation about the Biblical narrative compared to the scientific one.

Dr. Ross is an astronomer and best-selling author of books such as Improbable Planet, Navigating Genesis, Hidden Treasures in the Book of Job, and Why the Universe Is the Way It Is. He has a degree in physics from the University of British Columbia, a National Research Council of Canada fellowship, and a PhD in astronomy from the University of Toronto. In 2012, Hugh, together with Dr. Gerald Schroeder, received the Ide P. Trotter Prize presented by Texas A&M University in recognition of his work in demonstrating connections between science and religion. He has also spoken at hundreds of universities and churches as well as numerous conferences around the world.

In other words, he’s very knowledgeable and credible to speak in this area.

Here’s what Dr. Ross says about how science lines up with the Bible:

The creation of the physical universe

Genesis chapter one says God created the heavens and the earth.

In the Old Testament Hebrew, there is no word for “universe”. Instead, they used the phrase “heavens and earth” which referred to all physical matter, energy, space, and time.

Space-time theorems say if the universe contains mass (and it does) and if the equations of general relativity reliably describe the movements of bodies in the universe (and they do), then scientists (including Stephen Hawking) have proven that the universe has a beginning which includes the beginning of space and time itself.

Stephen Hawking even boasted that they proved that time was created. He not only proved that time was created, but he also proved that the Bible, of all the holy books in the world, got it right.

Non-biblical religions tell us that God or gods or cosmic forces create within space and time, and space and time eternally exist. But the Bible stands alone in saying space and time did not exist until God created the universe. And now we have space-time theorems that actually prove this is correct.

Lawrence Krauss, one of America’s most famous atheists, wrote in his book called “Universe from Nothing” is that we no longer can avoid a deistic interpretation of reality. Because of these space-time theorems, we’re forced to conclude there must be a God beyond space and time that created the universe.

If you look at Genesis chapter one, what did God do in the time between the creation of the universe and the formation of the earth?

Genesis 1:1 says God created the heavens and the earth, but it doesn’t go into detail as to how it happened. In the next verse, verse two, the Earth already exists.

So what was God doing between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2?

Genesis may be silent on that, but the rest of the Bible isn’t. In fact, there are at least 11 places in the Bible where it tells us that God was stretching out the heavens during that time.

• Job 9:8 – He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
• Psalm 104:2 – The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent
• Isaiah 40:22 – “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.”
• Isaiah 42:5 – Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it,
• Isaiah 44:24 – Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone,
• Isaiah 45:12 – “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their host.
• Isaiah 48:13 – “Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together.
• Isaiah 51:13 – That you have forgotten the LORD your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth, That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, As he makes ready to destroy? But where is the fury of the oppressor?
• Jeremiah 10:12 – It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.
• Jeremiah 51:15 – It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens.
• Zechariah 12:1 – A prophecy: The word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares:

The English translations in these 11 texts has to do with stretching out the heavens, but the Hebrew word used is “natah” (except in Isaiah 48:13). This word in Hebrew means the expansion of what’s being described.

Synonyms for this word include “extend” or “spread out”. This word is used in reference with a tent being spread out. Think of pitching a tent. It starts as a folded cloth of some kind, then the cloth is spread out – you might even say “expanded.”

No scientist had even dreamt of the idea of an expanding universe until Albert Einstein produced his theory of relativity. Then Edwin Hubble and other scientists also showed that the universe is expanding.

For thousands of years, the Bible stood alone as the only book in science, philosophy, or theology that declared that we live in an expanding universe. Now we know it was right all along.

The formation of an abundant, stable water cycle

On day 2, the Bible says God separated the waters below from the waters above. This could reference the water cycle.

If you go to Job 37 and 38, it talks in detail about the water cycle that God established on creation day 2.

If you look at the book of Job, you’ll see that the water cycle is set up with 16 types of precipitation. We need every one of them for life to be possible. The 6 main ones are rain, mist, dew, snow, frost, hail. Without at least those 6 times, we wouldn’t be able to grow the quantity of crops necessary to sustain a high-technology civilization.

What’s interesting is, Earth needs to be massive enough that it doesn’t lose water vapor to outer space, but it also needs a thin atmosphere.

So whatever God did in this stage of creation, it gave us the mass we needed, the atmosphere we needed, the ocean we needed, and the water cycle we needed.

The probability of any event “accidentally” giving us a water cycle and a transparent atmosphere without God designing it is less than 1 chance in a trillion trillion trillion trillion, according to Ross.

Even when it doesn’t make sense at first, the Bible still gets it right

If you read about day 4 of creation in Genesis 1:14-19, you’ll see that it not only says “let there be lights in the expanse” but it also says that God “made” lights – the sun and the moon – at this time.

But science says the sun was around before the earth, so doesn’t that kind of debunk this whole idea that the Bible got it right? Wouldn’t that mean that science disproves the Bible? Absolutely not. Here’s why:

First of all, scientists have no way of knowing how old the sun actually is. They can assume things, but they have no way of truly knowing.

The method by which scientists date the sun is indirect, meaning they look at other things besides the sun, like fossils of meteorites and rocks on earth, and then imply that the sun must have been here before those things were around. In other words, they begin their research of the sun’s age from the viewpoint that the sun must have been around first.

It might be hard to imagine, but scientists and researchers don’t know everything, and they don’t know how old the sun is.

After all, don’t we always know what we know until we don’t know it anymore? If history has shown us anything, it’s the fallibility of human pride. But even if we assume science is right about the sun being around before the Earth, it still doesn’t disprove the Bible.

Let’s go with the idea that the sun was around before the Earth, because that idea also lines up with the Bible, and perhaps lines up with the Bible even better than the idea that the sun was created after the Earth.

Here’s why…

If we look at Genesis, the Bible does not say that God “created” the sun and moon on day 4 of creation. It says He “made” them.

This is an important distinction in the Hebrew text because the Bible says God “created” the heavens and the earth, human beings, and sea animals. It says God “made” the sun, moon, and land animals.

What’s the difference?

The Hebrew word used for “made” in verses 7, 16, and 25 is “way-ya-‘aś”. This word comes from the root word “asah” which means “accomplish.” This same word is used in other places in the New Testament to refer to making garments, making a feast, making or establishing a household, making an altar of earth, making an altar of stone, etc. It’s not talking about literally creating something out of thin air. It’s talking about taking what’s already there and using it to accomplish something.

This is different from the Hebrew word used for “create” that’s used in verses 1, 21, and 27 of Genesis 1. The Hebrew word used in these verses comes from the root word “bā·rā”. Then verse 27 kind of reiterates the point that God created human beings, and it actually uses both of these words, “bā·rā” and “way-yiḇ-rā”. This root word “bā·rā” is used 55 times in the Bible, and over 80% of the time it’s translated as “created”. It’s also translated as “choose”, which is interesting because choices are really the only thing we create.

The point is, this word obviously means “create” and the other word used for “made” does not mean “create”. Even the Bible seems to separate these two terms in Genesis 2:3 when it says God rested from the work He had done. This passage uses Hebrew words for both “created” and “made”.

So we have to be careful about jumping to conclusions on what the Bible is saying without investigating it. Remember, the Bible was written thousands of years ago in different languages, so reading it through a modern lens and a modern language doesn’t always communicate what we think it’s communicating.

Reason #4: The Bible stands up to the established record of nature

There are over 200 places in the Bible where the Bible accurately predicted future scientific discoveries. The probability that the Bible authors could record this without divine inspiration is less than 1 chance in 10 to the 300th power. That’s 300 zeros.

The probability that the second law of thermodynamics will suddenly reverse and freeze you to death is about 1 in 10 to the 80th power.

That means the Bible is 10 to the 220 times more reliable than a law of physics that we trust every second of our lives.

It would simply be irrational to not put your trust in the One who inspired the Bible.

Statements Consistent With Astronomy

Besides the creation narrative of the Bible, there are a number of other places where the Bible has proven its accuracy. The following information about Biblical and scientific alignment is based on and adapted from clarifyingchristianity.com.

First, the Bible frequently refers to the great number of stars in the heavens.

Here are two examples of the Bible comparing the number of stars to the number of grains of sand:

• Genesis 22:17 says, “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore”
• Jeremiah 33:22 says, “As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.”

Even today, scientists admit that they do not know how many stars there are. Only about 3,000 can be seen with the naked eye, but there have been estimates of 10²¹ stars. The number of grains of sand on the earth’s seashores is estimated to be 10²⁵. Those two numbers are pretty close, and wouldn’t it be surprising if they end up being the same as we learn more about them?

The Bible also says that each star is unique.

1 Corinthians 15:41 says, “There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.”

Stars mostly look alike to the untrained and unmagnified eye. Even when seen through a telescope, they look to simply be points of light. However, analysis of their light spectra reveals that each is unique and different from all others.

The Bible describes the suspension of the Earth in space.

Job 26:7 says, “He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.”

How incredible is it that a person thousands of years ago can make such a bold statement with no technology or space exploration to back it up, yet still be correct? That only makes sense if that person is truly pulling from the Source and Cause of all life.

Statements Consistent With Meteorology

The Bible describes the circulation of the atmosphere.

Ecclesiastes 1:6 says, “The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit.”

We now know that atmospheric circulation involves wind moving around in a “circuit” much like is described in the ancient text (which the author would have had no way to research). This circulation of wind helps transport energy and heat from the equator to the poles.

The Bible also talks about there being “four winds” on the earth. Not counting the polar winds at the far north and south of our planet, we have two in the northern hemisphere and two in the southern hemisphere.

How would an ancient writer know these things long before the earth had been explored and before mass communication existed? There are many educated adults today who don’t know this, yet we don’t find it incredible that an ancient writer did?

The Bible includes some principles of fluid dynamics.

Job 28:25 says, “To establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure.”

The fact that air has weight was proven scientifically only about 300 years ago. The weights of air and water are needed for the efficient functioning of the world’s hydrologic cycle, which in turn sustains life on the earth.

Statements Consistent With Biology

The Bible describes the value of blood.

Leviticus 17:11 says, ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

The blood carries water and nourishment to every cell, maintains the body’s temperature, and removes the waste material of the body’s cells. Blood also carries oxygen from the lungs throughout the body. In 1616, William Harvey discovered that blood circulation is the key factor in physical life—confirming what the Bible revealed thousands of years earlier.

The Bible connects mental and physical health.

In America today, we are beginning to learn more and more that person’s mental and spiritual health is strongly connected to and correlated with their physical health. The Bible told us this thousands of years ago.

• Proverbs 14:30 – A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones.
• Proverbs 15:30 – The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, And a good report makes the bones healthy.
• Proverbs 16:24 – Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.
• Proverbs 17:22 – A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.

Statements Consistent With Hydrology

The Bible describes the hydrologic cycle.

Psalm 135:7 says, “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”

Jeremiah 10:13 says, “When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.”

In these verses you can see the hydrologic cycle—evaporation, atmospheric circulation, condensation, and precipitation.

Also, Job 36:27-29 says, “For He draws up drops of water, Which distill as rain from the mist, Which the clouds drop down And pour abundantly on man. Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, The thunder from His canopy?”

This simple verse has remarkable scientific insight.

The drops of water which eventually pour down as rain first become vapor and then condense into tiny liquid water droplets in the clouds. These finally coalesce into drops large enough to overcome the updrafts that suspend them in the air.

The Bible describes the recirculation of water.

Ecclesiastes 1:7 says, “All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again.”

Isaiah 55:10 says, “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater […]”

The Bible refers to the surprising amount of water that can be held as condensation in clouds.

Job 26:8 says, “He binds up the water in His thick clouds, Yet the clouds are not broken under it.”

Hydrothermal vents are described in the Bible thousands of years before their discovery.

Hydrothermal vents are hot springs on the ocean floor, and the Bible talked about them a LONG time before they were discovered in the 1970s.

Genesis 7:11 says, “all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”

Job 38:16 says, “Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?”

Statements Consistent With Geology

The Bible describes the Earth’s crust.

Jeremiah 31:37 says that heaven above can’t be measured and the foundations of the earth below can’t be “searched out.”

As we’ve discussed already, we don’t know exactly how large the universe actually is, and we haven’t drilled through the earth’s crust to the plastic mantle beneath us.

The Bible described the shape of the earth centuries before people thought that the earth was round.

Isaiah 40:22 says, “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.”

The word translated “circle” here is the Hebrew word which is also translated “circuit,” or “compass” (depending on the context). That is, it indicates something spherical, rounded, or arched—not something that is flat or square.

The book of Isaiah was most likely written sometime between the 700s and 600s BC. This is at least 300 years before Aristotle suggested that the earth might be a sphere in this book On the Heavens.

Statements Consistent with Scientific Discovery Regarding Water on Earth

The book of Genesis says that water used to cover the earth.

Genesis chapter 1:2-3 say:

“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”

Science has now discovered that at one point in history, the earth was probably covered in water. Of course, no scientist or researcher can be 100 percent certain, but the evidence for a cool, water covered Earth lines up with scientific findings [1][2].

So is the Bible Fiction? Or is the Bible the Word of God?

As much as we can prove the authenticity of a historic document, the Bible is proven to be legitimate. Of course there will always be reasons to doubt its claims, but that’s the role of faith – to fill in the gaps. As far as “proving” that the Bible is really the word of God, that’s up to the reader. But I think if you’ll give it a try, you’ll find that the experiences the Bible leads you through will prove the existence of God more than all the facts in the world. And that’s a journey worth taking.