You Want Proof?
When it comes to choosing what we believe, the demand for proof is very reasonable; no one should be faulted for wanting that.
Those who would say you just have to take it by faith shouldn't say that. It's not true. God offers proof.
The revelation God gave doesn’t require a big leap of faith to trust. There are hundreds of minutely detailed prophecies in the Bible, impressive in both number and fulfillment.
Propositional Proof
One might ask if the so-called scriptures of other religions have this feature? And the answer is: They do not. They may offer poetry, philosophy, and an array of moral teachings, but what these revered religious writings don’t offer are specific prophecies that can be confirmed or rejected by historical investigation.
One importance of biblical prophecies, then, besides the inspired content of each, is the statistical evidence they collectively provide to authenticate Scripture.
In his book, Science Speaks, Professor Peter Stoner employed established principles of mathematical probability to assess the viability of these prophecies. Assigning probability factors to each prophecy according to the age of the prophecy, the specificity of the prophecy, the number of components in the prophecy, etc., Dr. Stoner calculated that the fulfillment of eight of these ancient prophecies by a single person who lived many centuries later is 10 to the 17th power.
Professor Stoner further stated that the equivalency of this number can be conveyed by covering the entire state of Texas with silver dollars, two feet high, and then having a blind man pick, on his first attempt, the only silver dollar previously marked for selection.
This, of course, would be a highly improbable accomplishment.
Professor Stoner also helped us to understand the probability of one man fulfilling forty-eight prophecies given hundreds of years before. This, he said, would be numerically equivalent of a staggering, mind-blowing number: 10 to the 157th power!
So large is this number, Professor Stoner likened it to all the known electrons in all the known mass of the entire universe.
Now, if one of these electrons could be marked, and if a blind man had access to all these electrons, the likelihood of choosing the right one on the first try would be the same as the probability of Jesus fulfilling forty-eight Old Testament prophecies.
The astounding fact is that Jesus fulfilled more than six times that number of prophecies! The actual number of minutely detailed prophecies he fulfilled is three-hundred twenty-four.
In such a stunning and astonishing way, then, the predictive prophecies in Scripture confirm with unequaled certitude that Jesus is who he said he is and that the Bible is what it claims itself to be: the breathed-out Word of God, totally trustworthy in its teachings.
An objective study of predictive prophecies is more than sufficient to silence all doubters.
According to Pascal, “The prophecies are the strongest proof of Jesus Christ.” For they convincingly credential the one book that uniquely proclaims his deity.
Verification of these biblical prophecies gives strong assurance that Scripture, and Scripture alone, has authority for moral and spiritual decision making.
When it comes to eternity, we are not left to guess, take a blind leap of faith, or make a Russian roulette choice among several religions. Scripture has been forever esteemed and established by God as his reliable guide for daily life and eternal faith.
Personal Proof
There is also another kind of proof that is also available to us—one not based on study and logic but is intensely personal.
With regard to this second kind of proof, Pascal testified of his own experience. In a space of two hours, this scientist and philosopher had an overwhelming experience with God.
In recording what occurred to him, Pascal attributed the source of this experience as being his direct encounter with “God, the living God, not of the philosophers and the wise.”
So powerful was this experiential proof, Pascal dedicated his remaining years on earth to communicating the truth God so marvelously illumined during those two hours. Hence, he wrote his Pensees.
The intellect applied to a study of history, science, literature, and comparative religions will not yield, despite the efforts of native genius and dedicated discipline, what only God can reveal.
The knowledge Pascal gained that day, by his own words, must be distinguished from the yield of philosophy and science, two disciplines in which Pascal had gained renowned proficiency.
This kind of knowledge opens our heart! And surely, we want that!
As the hymn writer put it: “Beyond the sacred page I seek thee, Lord.” Notice, not instead of the sacred page. The revelation there is unimpeachable.
It has been forever esteemed and established by God as the critical determinant he is God.
The Bible never said don't use reason, it just said don't trust it. God knows you need factual proof, but you also need experiential truth, personal truth, relational truth. And he will give both.
In the beginning, even the searcher of scriptural proof may come up short. As Thomas Watson put it, “Knowledge in a natural man’s head is like a torch in a dead man’s hand.”
God must draw you! God must reveal himself! Light becomes sight, and proof becomes truth, when the Lord honors your search—which he promised he would do! God said, “… you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
Do you want proof?
Good news!
Both types of proof, propositional proof and personal truth, are available to you. One dovetails into the other as teaching becomes testimony, so that our mind and heart become profoundly one.
