Greek Scholar Daniel Wallace said, “When the King James was done, it was especially based on about a half of a dozen manuscripts. The earliest of which was a thousand years after the New Testament was written. Today we have approximately 1000 times as many manuscripts that we know exist. And our earliest ones go all the way back to the 2nd century. …Within decades of when the New Testament was written.” Why is it significant that we have manuscripts that go back to within decades after the New Testament was written?

[Austin]

The significance of having manuscripts that go back to within decades after the New Testament was written gives more legitimacy to the writings. If we can see that the information is consistent even after a long time or a shorter time, we can know that our Bible is certifiable.