In 2 Timothy 3:16, “all scripture is inspired by God,” the verb “is” does not appear in the text but is understood (as is common in the case of the verb “to be” in classical languages). Hence this scripture should properly be read as “all scripture inspired by God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction” (ASV, NEB, Lamsa, etc.), because, clearly, not all matter written by man is inspired of God. The Bible is deemed to have been inspired by God. The Apostle Paul here refers to the Old Testament, the New Testament not having yet been compiled at the time he wrote his letter to Timothy. Hence, the book of Revelation does not even come into the picture.   

The Bible is an accurate historical account of the origin of the world and of mankind, depicting without bias the qualities as well as the flaws of its characters. Their genealogical lines are meticulously traced. Science and archaeology are continually confirming the truthfulness of events, places and statements mentioned in the Bible. Long before the advent of the telescope, the Bible said the earth is a sphere in space (Isaiah 40:22; Job 26:7), thus disproving many mythologies. 

Many ancient cultures have holy scriptures, but those books do not record prophecies which were then fulfilled in the future. A few of these prophecies include: the destruction of Babylon, Nineveh, the succession of world powers in the book of Daniel, the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, the return of the Jews to their land against all odds, etc. What other book can claim the preservation and longevity of the Bible?  

The Bible came to be referred to as the Old and New Testament, because the division is both historical and prophetic. The Old Testament refers to the will, testament or promise made by God to Abraham that in his seed would all nations of the earth be blessed. Hence the Law Covenant made with Israel, Abraham’s descendant, and all the prophecies in the Old Testament pointed to the coming seed, Christ Jesus. The New Testament, which began to be compiled 400 years after the Old Testament was written, is the promise that Christ, the fulfillment of the prophetic seed, and his faithful little flock of followers will in the near future inaugurate the deliverance of mankind from sin and death and in turn bless all the families of the earth.

Additional Resources:

Christian Questions Podcast 
5-part series “Has the Bible Been Mistranslated and Misunderstood?”
Discovering and authenticating how the Bible came to be

Christian Questions Podcast 
Episode #875: “So, Where Does the Bible Come From?“
The “how” and “why” of the books of the Bible
CQ Rewind Show Notes

Blog Post: How do we know the Bible is true? 

The RVIC is available at Christian Resources for the following options: click here.

– E-sword Module for windows
– E-sword for Mac
– MySword (Android)
– Read Online
– The Word (Windows Computer)
– Download PDF

The RVIC is also available at these links:

https://herald-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/rvic18-b.pdf

https://herald-magazine.com/christian-literature/online-bible/