How can we tell the Bible is the inspired word of God?

This is a tough question that an atheist just asked me. I was a little taken back because the bible says we are to be ready always to give an answer. 1 Peter 3:15 To be honest I didn’t have one other than the fact that we can’t tell right from wrong with out the Bible. Being a new Christian I have never had any one ask me this before. I have been researching so that I will be able to give an answer.This atheist particularly wanted to know about the Jews also. In my research I found that we can prove the Bible is inspired by the countless prophecy’s that have been fulfilled, the evidence the Bible points out in the creation and the proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The existence of the Jews, after centuries of dispersal and persecution alone is a testimony of fulfilled Biblical prophecy. The fact that Israel is a nation among nations is yet the most resent fulfilled prophecy. When the Jewish nation was founded through Abraham, in the book of Genesis 12:2-3 God says ” I will make of thee a great nation…and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”. Israel became a great nation under David and Solomon. The nations that have befriended the Jews (the United states and to a lesser degree, England, France…)have become blessed. Those that have persecuted the Jews (Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Rome , Spain, Nazi Germany…) Have become cursed.

The prophecy about all families being blessed came true when Jesus came out of the Jewish nation and died on the cross and pay the debt for all of our sins.

God promised the children of Israel (Jews) that if they would be faithful to God he would give them great blessings in the land of promise. He also predicted great suffering, persecution, and world wide dispersion when they forsook him.

Deuteronomy 28:64,66 “And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known,even wood and stone.
And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:

Hosea 9:17 My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations

Many other specific prophecies concerning specific judgments and sufferings have been fulfilled, this would be a really long post if I put them in but you can read them yourself in the Bible. In Jeremiah 30:11 “For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.”

“It is not humanly possible that a nation could retain its identity without a homeland for 2,000 years; even more so that they should then return and establish their ancient nation once again. Yet this is what the Bible had predicted.” Henry Morris-Defenders Bible

Ezekiel 37:21 “And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:”

also…

Isaiah 11:11-12  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.
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Many Christians thought God was done with the Jews, but with the reestablishment of their nation it is clear that Bible is inspired by God and not just written by man by prophecy after prophecy being fulfilled. There are many more Prophecies fulfilled from the Bible about Jesus, the sequence of empires, Histories of nations, and creation science. Like today I found this verse:

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

This makes me think of cells they make up the things that are seen but do not appear to the naked eye. Here it is in the Bible when they weren’t even discovered until 1665 by Robert Hooke. The Bible is amazing and it has the answers to the questions all of us have we need to be willing to look for them.

So what Prophecies are to come then? In the book of Peter it describes the last days how we can expect men to say that God did not create everything in six days and there was never a flood , they will scoff at the Bible. This is happening today in America right at this moment, no we don’t have the persecution like most other countries have yet. Most people will look at you like your an insane bigot if you even mention that Jesus is the only way to heaven. 2 Peter 3 ” Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:”