HISTORICAL PROOF OF JESUS

SIX EYE-WITNESSES
1. Matthew, a tax collector who became a disciple of Jesus
2. John, a disciple of Jesus
3. Peter, a disciple of Jesus
4. James, called a brother of Jesus
5. Jude, also called a brother of Jesus
6. Paul. A Roman citizen who killed Christians. Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, blinded him and then restored his sight. Paul then became one of Jesus’ apostles.

TWO FRIENDS OF THE EYE-WITNESSES
1. Mark, a friend of Matthew
2. Luke was a doctor and an historian who knew both Paul and Mary, mother of Jesus.
3. Independent historian

TWO HISTORIANS
1. Tacitus, an historian who wrote about Jesus in 115 AD.
2. Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived from about 37 – 100 AD and was part of the Roman civil service. He wrote about King Herod the Great, John the Baptist, and Pontius Pilot and the death and resurrection of Jesus.

DEAD SEA SCROLLS
1. Discovered in caves near the Dead Sea about 1947. It is the oldest manuscripts of the Bible dating back to 200 BC. Most of the manuscripts are written on parchment made of animal skins. A few are written on papyrus, and very few on copper.
2. These manuscripts are stored in the Jerusalem Shrine of the Book.

THE BIBLE
1. 66 books written by 40 authors.
2. 8 of these authors all write about Jesus, and none contradict each other. None of the books contradict each other.
3. Jesus did many miracles and rose from the dead to prove he is the Son of God.
4. The Bible itself states it is accurate because God instructed these men what to write.
5. The historical facts about places and important people mentioned in the Bible have all been proven to be correct. Atheists used to claim the Hittites never existed, but then recent archeological discoveries showed that the Hittites did exist.