Archaeology is an important science that confirms the historical accuracy of the Bible. Since the Bible makes reference to hundreds of cities, kings, and places, we would expect to find evidence from on-site excavations. If we did not find any such evidence, we would highly question the Bible's claim of inspiration and tend to view it as myth and folklore. We would regard the Bible as the product of human imagination rather than a divinely inspired record about real historical events, about real people living in real cities.

At the turn of the century, skeptics viewed the Bible as myth rather than real world history . For example, the Bible makes over 40 references to the great Hittite Empire. You see, 100 years ago, no archaeological evidence had ever been found to prove it really did exist. "Just another Bible myth!" skeptics charged in an attempt to destroy our faith in the Bible. This, however, cannot be said today, for in 1906, Hugo Winckler uncovered a library of 10,000 clay tablets. These ancient records fully documented the long lost Hittite Empire and confirmed the reliability of the Bible. Later excavations uncovered Boghazkoy, the capital city of this "mythical" empire.

These discoveries not only authenticate Scripture, but also illuminate many aspects of biblical culture. Abraham's purchase of Ephron's field records the following: "So Ephron's field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were within all the confines of its border, were deeded over to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth." (Genesis 23:17), This reflects the standard Hittite real estate procedure of counting the trees involved in any purchase or sale of land. Note also that the witnesses to Abraham's purchase were the "son's of Heth" -i.e. the Hittites.

The shovel and spade have confirmed that the historical information of the Bible is both accurate and reliable.

Skeptics once rejected the Bible's claim that the Hittite Empire existed until they saw the evidence with their own eyes. Today, skeptics reject the Bible's claim that God himself exists or that the Bible is a divinely written book. Perhaps the only way they will believe in God is after they have seen him with their own eyes when they stand before Him in the judgment day. Only, then it will be too late!

For many centuries, the Old Testament stood as the lone historical record of numerous events, places and people of the ancient world. Many of these records were once publicly ridiculed by skeptics of the Bible as being inauthentic and incorrect. It was reasoned that since no mention of them had been found in any other historical writing that this proved once and for all that the Bible was incorrect. Recent archeological discoveries, however, have proven the Bible to be correct in great detail and those who opposed it to be false.

In Genesis 11:31, for instance, Abraham (Abram) is said to have lived in the city of Ur. The existence of this great city was often scorned until, recent archeological diggings uncovered its ancient ruins. Temples, houses, and even the king's and queen's tombs have been discovered.

The ancient Egyptian city of Pithom has been uncovered and storehouses fitting the description of those built by the Israelites have been found, the lower portion containing brick with straw and the upper portion containing brick without straw. (See Exodus 1:11; 5:7). The mummy of Thutmose III, the pharoah of the exodus, was discovered in the Deir el-Bahri Cache above the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut in 1881.

If only more would realize that the Bible is not only a guide to the fallen ruins of ancient cities, but also a road map to the glorious city of Heaven! If only more would trust their Bible as being God's inspired message for mankind. Since archaeology has proven the historical trustworthiness of the Bible we had better take note about what the Bible says will happen in the future before it too, becomes a true footnote in history.

The evidence presented here is just a tiny portion of the proofs available to establish the divine origin of the Bible. Yet, they are more than sufficient to prove the inspiration of the Bible. There will always be men who scoff at the Bible. You, however, can be confident when you read your Bible that God is the author, for it is written:

"We constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God's message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God" (1 Thessalonians 2:13).