One of the guys at work asked me about the reliability of the Bible. We had a conversation about several things in that area, but he seemed particularly interested when I told him about archaeological discoveries that provided evidence that supports the biblical record. One thing I mentioned to him was the discovery of the lost Hittite civilization. There are more than forty mentions in the Old Testament of the Hittites. It either mentions them as the "Chitti," which is what the Hebrews called them, or they were referred to as the sons and daughters of "Heth," but since there are no mentions of the Hittite empire by either Greek or Roman historians they were forgotten.

I told my co-worker that later on, more modern historians began to scoff at the Bible and point to the Hittites, (a civilization some insisted had never existed) as proof that the Bible was just an ancient work of fiction. Nobody was probably surprised when just about one-hundred years ago, a German professor of Oriental studies from the University of Berlin by the name of Hugo Winckler found something that would later be regarded as amazing.

While participating in an excavation in central Turkey, roughly one-hundred miles east of Ankara in a city named Bogazkoy, Professor Winckler unearthed some cuneiform tablets. The tablets turned out to be a unique and significant find. Professor Winckler died in 1913. It wasn't until 1924 that the tablets were deciphered by a Czechoslovakian scholar named Friedrich Hrozny. He determined that the tablets were written in none other than the Hittite language.

The tablets also turned out to be the official archival record for Hattusas (Bogazkoy), which was the capital city of the Hittite civilization. Not only that, but the tablets gave details about the historical interaction of the Hittite empire with the Egyptian, Babylonian, Cypriot and the Greek peoples. It's believed that the tablets were written about thirteen-hundred years before Jesus was born.

Historians could no longer be skeptical about the biblical account of the Hittite people. Once again, the Bible was vindicated, and those who didn't trust it as a historical source were briefly silenced. Archaeologists went on to not only unearth Hattusa, but also many pieces of Hittite artwork. Sometime later in the great Karnak Temple in Egypt, an enormous copy of a detailed treaty between the Hittite king Hattusili III, and Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II was found. I told my co-worker about other finds that vindicated the writings of Dr. Luke, and his Gospel record, and I told him that despite all of the evidence that people remain skeptical of the Bible.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us; "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

I don't need archaeological finds to know that the Bible is valid and historically accurate. The archaeological finds just happen to be icing on the cake.