by Hank Hanegraaff
The acronym M-A-P-S will place in your mind the four-part line of reasoning by which you can be certain the Bible is a reliable authority for faith and practice. Since most Bibles contain maps revealing that its words are rooted in history and physical evidence, this acronym should prove a meaningful association.
MANUSCRIPTS. The Bible has stronger manuscript support than any other work of classical history—including Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Caesar, and Tacitus. Equally amazing is the fact that the Bible has been virtually unaltered since the original writing, as is attested by scholars who have compared the earliest extant manuscripts with manuscripts dated centuries later. Moreover, the wisdom of God is evident through the way He protected the biblical text from tampering or ecclesiastical chicanery. By the time ecclesiastical power was centralized, the biblical manuscripts were long since copied, distributed, and buried in the sands of time. Nearly six thousand New Testament Greek manuscripts have now been uncovered. Not only is there a relatively short time interval between the earliest papyrus and parchment copies of the New Testament and their autographs (original writings), but there is also less than a generation between those autographs and the events they chronicle. The quantity and quality of manuscripts assure us that the message and intent of the original autographs have been passed on to the present generation without compromise.
ARCHAEOLOGY. The archaeologist’s spade demonstrates time and time again that, in direct contrast to pagan mythology—from Mormonism to Mithras—the people, places, and particulars found in sacred Scripture have their roots in history and evidence. One of the best-known examples concerns the books of Luke and Acts. Sir William Ramsay, a biblical skeptic, trained as an archaeologist, set out to disprove the historical reliability of this portion of the New Testament. But through his painstaking archaeological trips to the Mediterranean, he became converted as, one after another, the historical allusions of Dr. Luke proved accurate. Recent archaeological finds have corroborated biblical details surrounding the trial that led to the fatal torment of Jesus Christ—including Pontius Pilate, who ordered Christ’s crucifixion, as well as Caiaphas, the high priest who presided over the Jewish leaders’ trials of Christ. It is telling when secular scholars must revise their biblical criticisms in light of solid archaeological and historical evidence.
PROPHECY. Biblical prophecy is not designed to help us pin the tail on an antichrist or pinpoint a future tribulation. Rather, prophetic stars in the constellation of biblical prophecy provide powerful proof that the Bible is divine rather than merely human in origin. In the words of the Almighty, “I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, ‘My idols did them; my wooden image and metal god ordained them’” (Isaiah 48:5). Or, in the words of Jesus, “I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe” (John 14:29 nasb). Counterfeit prophets have one thing in common: they are consistently wrong. In illumined contrast, genuine prophets are infallibly correct, and, unlike the pretenders, their prophetic prowess cannot be pawned off to good luck, good guessing, or deliberate deceit. Daniel provides a classic case in point. Writing six centuries before Christ, he accurately predicted a progression of kingdoms from Babylon through the Median and Persian empires, to the persecution and suffering of the Jews under the Old Testament antichrist Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his desecration of the temple, and finally to freedom for the Jews under Judas Maccabeus (165 BC).
SCRIPTURAL SYNERGY. Simply stated, scriptural synergy means that the whole of Scripture is greater than the sum of its individual passages. We cannot comprehend the Bible as a whole without comprehending its individual parts, and we cannot comprehend its individual parts without comprehending the Bible as a whole. As such, individual passages of Scripture are synergistic rather than deflective with respect to the whole of Scripture. Indeed, the Bible contains myriad books, written by many authors, in multiple languages, over more than a millennium, on a multitude of different subjects, yet it remains unified and consistent throughout. How is that possible? The individual writers had no idea that their message would eventually be assembled into one Book, yet each work fits perfectly into place with a unique purpose as a synergistic component of the whole. The synergistic harmony of the Bible is a powerful testimony and an enduring reminder that God has spoken, that these are His words. Clearly, scriptural synergy is a powerful indicator of the trustworthiness of Scripture.
The next time someone denies the reliability of the Bible, remember the acronym M-A-P-S, and you will be ready to give “the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). Manuscripts, Archaeology, Prophecy, and Scriptural synergy not only chart a secure course through the turnpikes of skepticism but also demonstrate conclusively that the Bible is divine rather than merely human in origin.
In part adapted from Has God Spoken?
Scripture cannot be broken.
John 10:35 NKJV
For further study, see Hank Hanegraaff, Has God Spoken? Memorable Proofs of the Bible’s Divine Inspiration (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011), Is the Virgin Birth Miracle or Myth?
and Does what was once concealed in soil correspond to what is revealed in Scripture? (S-P-A-D-E).
***Note the preceding text is adapted from The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition: Revised and Expanded (2024). To receive for your partnering gift please click here. ***