In brief, the Dead Sea Scrolls are the very foundation of our faith — that Jesus Christ really walked on earth, that He is God — and that the bible is a library of history books, not fiction.
The scrolls were discovered inside a Qumran cave in the Judaean Dessert by a Bedouin shepherd boy in 1947. The discovery led to the finding of other scrolls in nearby desserts.
It was an amazing collection of Old Testament scrolls; 972 to be exact. The scrolls were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Many were written centuries apart and had different authors, but they contextually agreed with one another.
The scrolls were hidden by the Essenes, a now extinct sect of the Jewish nation, for the purpose of protecting them. They were preserved in sealed clay vessels and written on parchment, papyrus, and even copper scrolls.
There were over 40 authors who wrote 66 books in three languages, yet the margin of error was less than 1%. Thus, the scrolls support the veracity of the Bible. There were errors in spelling and punctuation but the differences in the writings of different authors did not affect the context of the books. Even more amazing is the fact that the prophesies contained in the Old Testament scrolls were fulfilled in the New Testament scrolls.
To date, almost 6,000 manuscripts, fragments, and pieces have been discovered and every few years more are found.
What it all means is that the Christian can believe that the Bible is the very Word of God, that it contains objective truths, that it is free from error and contradictions. The Bible can be completely trusted and it was written by men under the inspiration of God Himself. The story of the fall, restoration, and redemption of humans who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour can also be believed by the very discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is absolutely secure and it is more certain than the sunrise tomorrow. It is also why so many millions have placed their trust in the Bible and in Who this book is about. Even more importantly, the person that the scrolls are all about, from start to finish is Jesus Christ. (www.deadseascrolls.org)