“The Bible’s just a fairy tale!” shouted the man from the crowd. It was a hot Sunday afternoon at the public space known as the Speaker’s Corner.
If you visit there on a Sunday afternoon, you’ll see a great crowd of people. There are boxes, and people standing on them, speaking about their favorite passions. Some will talk about nationalism, others will share ideas about inventions, like a machine designed to take nails out of things.
And some will preach the gospel. As one man was preaching the gospel, someone shouted from the crowd, “The Bible’s just a fairy tale!”
The speaker paused and said, “Say that again.” The heckler, now emboldened, repeated, “The Bible’s just a fairy tale. You can’t prove so much as one sentence of it.”
The preacher then turned to the crowd and asked, “Would you like me to prove to this gentleman one sentence of the Bible?” Several people in the crowd nodded, agreeing. The speaker invited the man to come forward and stand with him on the box.
Calmly and confidently, the speaker opened his Bible to Proverbs 30 and read, “Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the ringing of the nose bringeth forth blood.”
He read it again: “The ringing of the nose bringeth forth blood.” Then he asked the heckler, “Would you like me to prove that?” The heckler quickly retreated, knowing full well that at least some of the Bible was true.
You see, the heckler knew it. Some of the Bible is true, but Christians believe that all of it is true. They believe it is true from the front cover to the back cover, from Genesis to Revelation.
The world, the unbeliever, says, “The Bible is just a fairy tale.” Maybe you say that too. But the Christian says, “The Bible is the Word of God. God has spoken here.” And then the Christian stands before you and gives you three reasons why they believe it.
The first reason is this: because of the book that it is.
For example – Ezekiel chapter 26. You might not immediately see the relevance, but ask yourself, “What exactly was Ezekiel predicting here?” You will be very surprised. Ezekiel stood up to speak in 590 BC. Here’s what he said in the 26th chapter of his book:
“Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth its waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will also scrape her dust from her and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea. For I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.”
Further on in the chapter, it says: “They shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. I will make thee like the top of a rock. All the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones and lay away their robes. They shall clothe themselves with trembling. They shall sit upon the ground and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.”
Now, if we look carefully at that chapter, seven things are predicted.
I’ll list them for you:
- Nebuchadnezzar will take the city of Tyre.
- Other nations will participate in the fulfillment of the prophecy.
- The city will be made flat like the top of a rock.
- It will become a place for the spreading of nets.
- Its stones and timber will be laid in the sea.
- Other cities will greatly fear the fall of Tyre.
- The old city of Tyre will never be rebuilt.
In 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar certainly came from Babylon and attacked Tyre. His armies laid siege to the city for 13 long years. In 573 BC, his troops finally entered the city, only to find that almost everything of value had been moved to an island off the coast. Many years passed, and the old city of Tyre remained as it had been when Nebuchadnezzar conquered it. But 241 years later, in the time of Alexander the Great, things took a dramatic turn.
Alexander, concerned about the Venetians at Tyre—who had a great navy—feared they might attack Greece and threaten his empire. So, he set out to attack the city of Tyre. When his initial attempt failed, he enlisted other nations he had conquered to contribute their navies for one large attack on Tyre. After a failed attempt, Alexander took down the old city of Tyre, stone by stone, timber by timber, and threw it into the sea. He built a causeway from the mainland to the island using these materials, but it wasn’t sufficient. So, he scraped the topsoil from the old city of Tyre and threw that into the sea as well.
Once the causeway was completed, the combined navies and troops of Alexander’s empire crossed it and finally brought the city of Tyre to its knees. The old city of Tyre became a bare rock, still used today for drying nets.
Tyre is a remarkable place, with natural springs that produce 10 million gallons of water a day, enough to support any major city in the world. But it has never been rebuilt to this day.
When we compare what Ezekiel predicted in 590 BC with the fulfillment of those prophecies over the centuries, we see that each prediction came to pass step by step:
- Nebuchadnezzar did take the city of Tyre.
- Other nations did participate in the prophecy’s fulfillment.
- The city was made flat like a rock.
- It became a place for spreading nets.
- Its stones and timber were laid in the sea.
- Other cities did greatly fear Tyre’s fall.
- The old city of Tyre has never been rebuilt.
This is just one example of the hundreds of predictive prophecies found in the Bible. There is a field of study called mathematical probability, using it to calculate that the chance of Ezekiel being able to predict these events with the knowledge available to him at the time was one in 75 million. That is astounding!
The Bible is full of similar predictions about the downfall of cities, the birth of Christ, His crucifixion, the fall of Jerusalem, the Roman armies, and many more. There are large and small prophecies throughout the Bible, and books have been written about these predictions. No one reading these prophecies and the history that followed could ever again claim, “The Bible is just a fairy tale.”
It’s because of the book that it is that we believe it to be the Word of God. The Bible consists of 66 books, some written by statesmen, others by shepherds, some by a doctor, and some by great scholars, while others were written by country peasants. Many of the writers were separated by centuries, nations, and cultures, yet there is a great harmony throughout the Bible.
If I were to ask any of these writers about sin, even though they never met, were from different cultures, and lived in different centuries, they would all give me the same answer. The same is true if I asked them about right and wrong, the future of the world, or the Christ. They would all give me the same answer.
This remarkable harmony in the Bible is awe-inspiring. As I search through its pages, I find concepts in it that cannot be found in any other book in the world.
The idea of everything being made from nothing—something no human mind can fully comprehend—appears in the Bible. The concept of eternity, from everlasting to everlasting, is in the Bible. The idea of God being both one and three at the same time is in the Bible. And the concept of resurrection, where people come back to life in a new body with new powers and abilities, is unique to the Bible.
These ideas are not things we could ever invent, but they are in the Bible. And when we look at the prophecies, the harmony of its parts, and the majesty of its teachings and style, we are persuaded that this book has a heavenly origin. It is a marvelous book, and it changes lives.
Most of you will have seen the movie Mutiny on the Bounty, or at least heard of it. The story involves sailors who mutinied, went to a remote island, and started families there. When they were eventually discovered, the people who found them were amazed at the peaceful, law-abiding, and unselfish society they had built.
This, however, was not always the case. When the sailors first arrived, they lived in jealousy, rivalry, murder, and violence. Eventually, only two men remained, with many women and children. They realized they needed to call a truce to survive.
One of the men could read, and he began to think about the life they were living and how things could change. with all the women and children, he thought it would be a tragedy. So he went to the man and said, “Let us make peace for the sake of the women and children.”
They agreed and set up a peace treaty, and the men, who had once been enemies, now joined together in peace. And from that point on, something remarkable happened. The women and children, who had been left in fear, began to thrive in peace. The island transformed from a place of violence and destruction into a place of harmony, order, and even spiritual growth.
What changed? A book had been introduced to the people. A Bible. One of the men who could read began to share the teachings of the Bible with those around him, and this simple, life-changing book began to change the culture. The men who had once been violent and driven by selfish desires now became men of integrity. They learned to love one another, to be kind and generous, and they became a community that was known for its peace and goodness.
Now, this may seem like a dramatic story, but it illustrates the power of God’s Word. It shows that when the Bible is read and applied, it has the power to transform lives and change communities. That is why we believe in the Bible. Because it is not just a collection of stories; it is the living Word of God, able to make a difference in anyone’s life, no matter the circumstances.
So, when the world says that the Bible is just a fairy tale, we, as Christians, know better. We know that it is the Word of God. We believe it is true because it has the power to change lives, to shape the world, and to show us the truth about who God is and who we are.
And we can confidently stand on that truth because of the many reasons we have to believe in it, including its fulfilled prophecies, the harmony within its pages, and the life-changing power it holds.
That is why, when we stand before the world, we can say, with confidence and love, that the Bible is not just a fairy tale. It is the living, breathing Word of God. And it’s the foundation of everything we believe and live for.
Looking to strengthen your understanding of Christian apologetics? In our latest post, we dive into William Lane Craig’s Reasonable Faith, exploring how this influential book offers compelling arguments for the existence of God, the resurrection of Jesus, and the reliability of Scripture. Whether you’re a seasoned apologist or just starting to explore the field, this post provides valuable insights for defending the Christian faith with logic and evidence. Check it out to deepen your knowledge and enhance your ability to engage with skeptics.