Following is more corroborating proof that the Bible is authentic. The way the following article was written up is historically not quite correct. Bible Scholars have proof of time frames in which most books in the Bible were written. My Bible has an introductory chapter stating when and by whom each particular book was written and it coincides with this message in relation to the Book of Matthew, between 58 - 68 A.D..

Jerusalem, Israel - "Was the Book of Matthew really written by the disciple Matthew in the first century A.D.? Or does it date to a much later time? This very question is now being debated by scholars who are stunned by the discovery of a fragment which may very well be the oldest text of the Gospel of Matthew ever found.

"For centuries," says Jerusalem archaeologist, A. Cohen, "scholars have believed that the New Testament, it's Gospels and Epistles, were not written by the Apostles in the first century. Rather, they were passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation for a hundred years to be finally penned by scribes some time in the second century A.D."

"But now," says Jerusalem historian, Prof. Ory Mazar, "new research on an ancient fragment of New Testament text may well shatter the conventional wisdom." This papyrus text seems to provide genuine proof that at least the Gospel of Matthew was indeed an eyewitness account, written by a disciple of Jesus who lived during the days Christ Himself was on earth.

"The "Oxford Papyri" includes three tine scraps of text with verses from Matthew, chapter 26, describing Jesus' anointment in the house of Simon, the leper at Bethany, and his betrayal to the chief priests by Judas Is'cariot.

"Prof. Casten Peter Thiede, a well-known papyrologist, found these scraps while studying the archives of the past findings at Magdalen College in Oxford, England. The texts were originally found in Egypt and were written on Papyrus, a plant found along the Nile which was commonly used as stationery in the first century A.D..

"Intrigued, he instituted an extensive study of the papyri and consulted with other scholars. "It soon became clear," says Prof. Mazar, "that there was a revolutionary discovery which may be considered equal to the finding of the original Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947." .. Additionally," says the archaeologist, "scholars were assisted with the dating of these fragments by the discovery of other small fragments written in the very same style. These are now kept at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, France."

"Both the Oxford and Paris fragments were acquired in Egypt. "This is significant," says Cohen, "because among the Paris fragments was one dated document dealing with a business transaction. A farmer named Harmiysis appeals to the Roman authorities in his town in Upper Egypt for a permit to add seven more lambs to his herd." The farmer proclaims: "I declare, in this the twelfth year of Nero Klaudius, Ceasar Sebastos Germoanikos, the Autokrator, at the above-mentioned [town of] Phthochis, that I have [now] twelve lambs in my herd of animals.. "Translated in modern chronology, this twelfth year of Nero's reign is 65/66 A.D.. The three officials, who attest to this declaration, are more bureaucratically precise. They confirm the addition of seven new lambs with their dated endorsement in, "the year 12 of Nero the Lord, Epeieph 30." In the Gregorian calendar, which is commonly used today, this corresponds to July 24, 65/66 A.D.. "This provides us not only a year but an exact day," says Cohen.. " (The Inner Circle - UMT Ministries, April 1999)