The Bible Is Trustworthy!

The Incorruptible Old Testament

Ancient manuscripts are evidence that the Old Testament has been accurately preserved.

Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls give us a detailed look at the Old Testament text as it existed before and during the life of Jesus. Therefore, if the Book of Mormon is true, the Dead Sea Scrolls contain God’s pure word.

The Dead Sea Scrolls play a crucial role in assessing the accurate preservation of the Old Testament. With its hundreds of manuscripts from every book except Esther, detailed comparisons can be made with more recent texts.

The Old Testament that we use today is translated from what is called the Masoretic Text. The Masoretes were Jewish scholars who between A.D. 500 and 950 gave the Old Testament the form that we use today. Until the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947, the oldest Hebrew text of the Old Testament was the Masoretic Aleppo Codex which dates to A.D. 935.

With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we now had manuscripts that predated the Masoretic Text by about one thousand years. Scholars were anxious to see how the Dead Sea documents would match up with the Masoretic Text. If a significant amount of differences were found, we could conclude that our Old Testament Text had not been well preserved. Critics, along with religious groups such as Muslims and Mormons, often make the claim that the present day Old Testament has been corrupted and is not well preserved. According to these religious groups, this would explain the contradictions between the Old Testament and their religious teachings.

After years of careful study, it has been concluded that the Dead Sea Scrolls give substantial confirmation that our Old Testament has been accurately preserved. The scrolls were found to be almost identical with the Masoretic text. Hebrew Scholar Millar Burrows writes, “It is a matter of wonder that through something like one thousand years the text underwent so little alteration. As I said in my first article on the scroll, ‘Herein lies its chief importance, supporting the fidelity of the Masoretic tradition.’ ”

A significant comparison study was conducted with the Isaiah Scroll written around 100 B.C. that was found among the Dead Sea documents and the book of Isaiah found in the Masoretic text. After much research, scholars found that the two texts were practically identical. Most variants were minor spelling differences, and none affected the meaning of the text.

One of the most respected Old Testament scholars, the late Gleason Archer, examined the two Isaiah scrolls found in Cave 1 and wrote, “Even though the two copies of Isaiah discovered in Qumran Cave 1 near the Dead Sea in 1947 were a thousand year earlier than the oldest dated manuscript previously known (A.D. 980), they proved to be word for word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95 percent of the text. The five percent of variation consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling.”

Despite the thousand year gap, scholars found the Masoretic Text and Dead Sea Scrolls to be nearly identical. The Dead Sea Scrolls provide valuable evidence that the Old Testament had been accurately and carefully preserved.

Dr. Patrick Zukeran, The Dead Sea Scrolls Shed Light on the Accuracy of our Bible

Ein Gedi Scroll

The lesser-known Ein Gedi scroll dates to the third or fourth century A.D., six or seven hundred years after the Dead Sea Scrolls. If the Book of Mormon assertion of corruption is true (Claim 1), the Ein Gedi scroll should present significant differences compared to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Instead, the two scrolls read exactly the same except for a few minor grammatical and spelling errors, none of which change the meaning of any Bible passage.

More than four decades ago, an archaeologist discovered a scroll in the ruins of an ancient settlement built near the Dead Sea. Found inside a holy ark, the fragile document was so badly burned that the scientist decided not to risk unrolling it, lest it crumble to pieces. Kept safe in storage ever since, the Ein Gedi scroll has held on to its secrets—until now.

This week a computer scientist announced that his team found a way to unroll the scroll virtually. Working off x-ray scans of the artifact, specialized software detected the layers of parchment and digitally unwound them…

As his software virtually unwound a single layer from the middle of the scroll, text revealed itself: “The LORD summoned Moses and spoke to him,” it began. Israeli translators identified the words as the first verse of Leviticus, the book of laws.

Excerpts from Smithsonian Magazine, July 24, 2015

PHYS.ORG told the story of the Ein Gedi scroll but with a more personal perspective, that of the biblical scholars who were there when the scroll was first read.

“We were amazed at the quality of the images,” said Michael Segal, head of the School of Philosophy and Religions at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

“We were immediately struck by the fact that in these passages, the En-Gedi Leviticus scroll is identical in all of its details both regarding its letter and section division to what we call the Masoretic text, the authoritative Jewish text until today,” said Segal.

“We have never found something as striking as this, this is quite amazing for us that in 2,000 years this text has not changed.”” said Emanuel Tov, professor emeritus in the department of Bible at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Excerpts from PHYS.ORG, July 24, September 21, 2016

Modern Translations

The Incorruptible New Testament

Millions of Jews living in the first century resided near Jerusalem and the Temple. Their lives changed dramatically in 70 A.D. when Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. Israel was left in ruins, forcing Jews and Christians alike to scatter. They escaped into many lands, including Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. As they went, they carried their sacred scripture.

Individual Christian groups soon became separated by great distances and many travel days. Many became essentially isolated from the rest of the Body of Christ.

Today, we have over 5,000 partial or whole Greek manuscripts. If other languages are included, the number jumps beyond 25,000!

Considering this isolation and the passing of hundreds of years, one might expect corruption of the manuscripts since they were written in isolated regions and in many languages. This has not been the case. There have been many incidents of misspelled words, grammatical errors, and other human copying errors. However, none of these noted variances change the message of the gospel.

The Bible is Faithfully Preserved

My bible and other literal Bible translations match the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Ein Gedi Scroll, and the Masoretic Text. There is no evidence of modification, corruption, or degradation. The Bible has been faithfully preserved from centuries BC until now.

Joseph Smith’s Corruption Theory

Joseph Smith suggested a scenario that denies the historical facts;

I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers. Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors.

Joseph Smith, History of the Church, volume 6, page 57

Let us examine the designing and corrupt priests and the work required to make the words of Joseph Smith true. Before we examine the priest’s actions, however, we must concede that the vast majority of manuscripts in our possession today had not yet been discovered in Joseph Smith’s day.

To make the words of Joseph Smith true, what actions would have been required of the designing and corrupt priests?

1. Each priest must know exactly where manuscripts would be discovered in the coming decades, centuries, or millennia.
2. Each must become an expert in every language used by manuscript transcribers.
3. Each must mount an ass and ride to the location of every future manuscript discovery in the known and unknown world.
4. Each must unearth every yet undiscovered manuscript.
5. Each would change the text to perfectly match modifications made by other designing and corrupt priests.
6. Make textural changes in the manuscript’s language in a way that will not be detected. This would require ink that perfectly matches the color and chemical composition of the ink initially used by the original scribe. Additionally, the writing style of the forgery must perfectly match that of the original.
7. Each must replace the manuscript and leave no evidence of his passing.
8. Wait decades, centuries, or millennia for the eventual rediscovery of the manuscripts that prove Joseph Smith to be correct.

Sound plausible?

The Bible According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Below, you will find four truth claims that Mormons generally affirm. I will pay $1,000.00 to the first person who can establish that all four of these can exist together without one disproving or contradicting another.

Claim 1: The Bible Contained the Fulness of the Gospel of the Lord during the Lifetimes of Jesus and the Apostles

New Testament authors liberally quote the Old Testament in the New. The exact number of quotes can be hard to pin down exactly, However, we know that Jesus and the Biblical writers quoted from the Septuagint and original Hebrew texts. Consequently, we know what volumes of scripture were in use at that time.

Conservatively, there are over 200 citations from the Old Testament in the New Testament.  The number increases to nearly 1,000 or more when including allusions or references to Old Testament verses.  Some estimates exceed that figure. 

Christian Questions, https://christianquestions.com/bible-questions/how-many-old-testament-references-are-in-the-new-testament/

The close connection between the Old and New Testament is shown by the number of times the Old Testament is quoted in the New Testament. Bagster’s Bible (Bagster’s Bible Handbook) gives 889 quotations and allusions. George F. Pentecost gives the number at 885, a few of the allusions given by Bagster’s Bible being disputed. Every book of the Old Testament is quoted except Obadiah, Nahum, Zephaniah, and Esther. There is only one quotation from the Song of Solomon.

Blue Letter Bible, https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/pnt/pnt08.cfm

²³And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets … ²⁴And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God. ²⁵Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.

Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 13:23-25, emphasis added

Claim 2: The Bible was Corrupted after the Deaths of Jesus and the Apostles

Nephi sees in vision the church of the devil set up among the Gentiles, the discovery and colonizing of America, the loss of many plain and precious parts of the Bible, the resultant state of gentile apostasy, the restoration of the gospel, the coming forth of latter-day scripture, and the building up of Zion. About 600–592 B.C.

Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 13, chapter heading

And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.

Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 13:26

. . . who, in his right mind, could, for one moment, suppose the Bible in its present form to be a perfect guide? Who knows that even one verse of the whole Bible has escaped pollution so as to convey the same sense now that it did in the original.

Orson Pratt, The Bible and Tradition, without Further Revelation, an insufficient
Guide

Claim 3: The Joseph Smith Translation Of the Bible Restored Plain and Precious
Things

The JST to some extent assists in restoring the plain and precious things that have been lost from the Bible (see 1 Ne. 13–14).

Mormon Bible Dictionary under the heading of “Joseph Smith Translation (JST)

Claim 4: The Bible was Corrupted Centuries BC

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls should have been a validating watershed for the Mormon church. According to their narrative, the Dead Sea Scrolls would surely include the many plain and precious parts of the Bible removed by designing and corrupt priests. Instead, not one of Joseph Smith’s restored Bible passages was evident. The Dead Sea Scrolls demanded a confession that the Book of Mormon was false or damage control and an immediate narrative change. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opted for the second option.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, some of which are believed to be as early as the 2nd century B.C., give evidence that the Old Testament text was corrupted at least by that time.

Mormon Bible dictionary under the heading of “Bible”

Questions for Mormon Bishops

We are offering $1,000.00 to the first person who can reconcile and answer the following questions so that all the above claims coexist in harmony.

• Claim 1 speaks of scripture in use during the time of Jesus and the Apostles. What evidence do you have to establish the Dead Sea Scrolls or an equivalent were not used by Jesus and New Testament writers.?
• Claim 2 says the Biblical text was corrupted after the deaths of Jesus and the Apostles. How do you explain the unity of the Dead Sea Scrolls and our modern Bibles?
• Claim 3 indicates that Joseph Smith restored plain and precious truths that were removed from the Old Testament after Jesus died. How do you explain the total absence of passages from the Joseph Smith Translation in the Dead Sea Scrolls?
• Claim 4 reverses the Book of Mormon’s claim of corruption after the deaths of Jesus and the Apostles by dating Biblical corruption several centuries earlier. Which is true, the Book of Mormon (Claim 1) or the Mormon Bible Dictionary (Claim 4)

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

Luke 4:16-20, KJV

God’s Word is Secure

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

Isaiah 40:8 KJV

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Matthew 24:35 KJV

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Luke 21:33 KJV

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Mark 13:31 KJV

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:18 KJV

How can any man possibly know who Jesus is while he rejects all or a portion of His word? Please take the time to test these claims and learn for yourself about our amazing God.