Scripture endorsed by prophecy The Bible is shown to be inspired because the prophecies have been verified by history- See Isaiah 46v9,10, Amos 3v2, Revelation 1v1 There are hundreds of prophecies which have already been fulfilled since the time they were given. Let us look at a few examples. ISRAEL- This tiny nation is almost always in the news headlines. It occupies a very special place in the purpose of God (link to 'promises' or go via 'Index'). It is necessary to realise that until 1948 there had been no independent national identity for this people for over 2,500 years. These events fulfilled what God had caused to be written: DESOLATION– Deuteronomy 28v15-68;Ezekiel 21v25-27;Hosea 3v4. RESTORATION–Deuteronomy 30v1-10;Ezekiel 37(all ch);Hosea 3v5. In 1849 John Thomas wrote the following, based upon the Scriptures- "There is, then, a partial and primary restoration of Jews before the manifestation, which is to serve as the nucleus, or basis, of future oper- ations in the restoration of the rest of the tribes after he (Jesus) has a- ppeared in the kingdom. The pre-adventual colonization of Palestine will be on purely political principles; and the Jewish colonists will re- turn in unbelief of the Messiahship of Jesus, and of the truth as it is in him. They will emigrate thither as agriculturists and traders, in the hope of ultimately establishing their commonwealth..under the effic- ient protection of the British power..The finger of God has indicated a course to be pursued by Britain which cannot be evaded, and which her counsellors will not only be willing, but eager, to adopt when the crisis comes upon them". 'Elpis Israel'. These must surely be among the most perceptive and wonderful words ever written, and yet they were not inspired. But he was able to so acc- urately predict these events which we have seen take place by accepting without question the prophecies contained in the Bible. His words were based upon such quotations as Isaiah 18, Ezekiel 38, Zechariah 12 etc. Let us examine several other fascinating prophecies concerning Israel. Daniel 4. This chapter outlines the power and fall of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. In verse 25 we read- "seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdoms of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will". A 'time' was a Jewish year of 360 days, and time periods of Bible prophecy are based upon one day repre- senting one year (Numbers 14v33,34;Ezekiel 4v4-6)#. So here we have a prophecy of 7x360=2520 years, during which the nations, like the king, would be possessed by a spirit of madness (Daniel 4v16,32,33). ("Seven times" is also associated with Israel's dispersion-Lev.26v27-45). After that long period of time they would come to their senses, and acknow- ledge the supremacy of the God of Israel (Daniel 4v34-37). If we date the beginning of this prophecy from BC604 (see ch.2v1) and add 2520 years, it brings us to AD1917*, an epochal time. It is significant that in this momentous year the restoration of Israel took a giant leap forward, & Jerusalem was freed from the Turkish yoke, prophesied Dan.11v40a. Also, the 'Balfour Declaration' favoring a Jewish homeland was issued. Another momentous event took place- the great Communist revolution in Russia, which although reversed since, laid the foundation for a dicta- tor to arise as foretold in Ezekiel 38v1,2. Another wonderful prophecy is contained inDaniel 8v13,14>. The time period of subjugation is 2300 days (=years)#. Jesus Christ referred to this in Luke 21v24-33. The prophecy is from BC334 to AD1967* (first event = the first of three victories of Greece over Persia; last event = the return of Jerusalem to Israel). "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles ("trodden under foot" Daniel 8v13), until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" – Luke 21v24. Compare comments above concerning the"seven times"ending AD1917. > link to 'the time of the end' *Note–in prophecies which extend BC to AD, an apparent extra year is explained by the fact that in our calendar AD1 directly follows BC1. Link to 'the Lord's day' and 'the time of the end' for more re Israel. THE "SEVENTY WEEKS" PROPHECY CONCERNING MESSIAH- This is contained in Daniel9v24-27. It was given to Daniel the prophet in the year BC539(ch.9v1,2). "Seventy weeks" = 490 days, representative in prophetic terms of 490 years (see above#). The prophecy was to start at "the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusa- lem"(v25). This was the "decree" of "Artaxerxes" (known as 'Longima- nus') in BC457- cp Ezra 7 (see esp.v12,13). After "seven weeks" (=49 years) "the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times". This was accomplished during the time of Nehemiah, cp.esp.Ne- hemiah's record. Re the opposition experienced link to 'devil'- page 2. A further "threescore and two weeks" (=434 years) thus began BC408. This finished AD27 which was the actual year by our calendar when Je- sus began His ministry at "thirty years of age" Luke 3v23. This is ex- plained by two facts. (1) see * above - for periods BC to AD one year has been added - (2) when the date of Jesus' birth was calculated, it was calculated incorrectly,which made it 4 years too late.By our present cal- endar, Jesus was born in BC4. And so, adding these two facts together, the actual year when Jesus was baptized and began His ministry is corr- oborated and the prophecy shown to be fulfilled. The prophecy tells us "after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off" and also that "he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease" (v27). Jesus' personal ministry was from AD27 to AD31. See below. In prophetic terms "one week" represents 7 years. And "in the midst of the week"signifies 3 1/2 years. The ministry of Jesus lasted exactly 3 1/2 years, when He was crucified and rose again. Sin was condemned, the Mosaic ordinances were replaced,& the "new covenant" was confirmed. Link to 'promises' - 'sacrifice' - 'grace'. The balance of the prophetic "week" (3 1/2 years) was spent in Jesus' direction of the preaching by His Apostles (see Matthew 28v18, Acts 1v1,8). This period ended when the Jews rejected their preaching, and they "turn(ed) to the Gentiles" by the direction of God in Christ (Acts 4 on;note 13v44-52). The second half of the prophetic "week" thus ended in AD34. Other things are pro- phesied in v26,27. The destruction and desecration of Jerusalem and the temple was to be done by "the people of the prince", which was fulfilled by the Roman armies in AD70^. Jesus predicted this in a parable, note Matthew 22v7. Jesus also quoted from v27 (cp Septuagint)Matt. 24v15- when He predicted "the abomination of desolation..in the holy place". All has been fulfilled thus far. It remains "that (judgment) determined shall be poured upon the desolator", as it should be translated. This prophesies of the judgments of God upon all "desolators" of His land. This is a continuing prophecy, only to be finalised at Christ's return. ^accepted dating. Link to 'the Lord's day' and 'the time of the end' for more details - & note the association of Jewish jubilee periods with the deliverance and future glory of Jerusalem & the great Temple - 'jewish jubilee'. WORLD EMPIRES - There have been only 4 recognized world empir- es, and the Bible prophesied the order of their appearance and charac- teristics, including the divided state of these territories today: Daniel 2,7,8,11. This order was Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome. There is no argument from critics that these are the facts of history. An attempt is made to try and put the prophecies of Daniel after some or all of the subsequent events.However, this attempt is doomed to failure. Historical records place the prophecy of Daniel 2 as BC604 (cp Daniel 1v1;2v1). Only God could have predicted subsequent world events in such minute detail. He has given Jesus Christ control, cp Matt.28v18. The vision of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, is commonly known as 'Nebuchadnezzar's Image'. Those who wish to follow out the fulfilment (still proceeding) of this vision should read 'Elpis Israel' Part Third - 'THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD' by John Thomas. Every attempt to establish a 5th world empire has failed (e.g. Napoleon, Hitler). Russia will try, but will also fail- Ezekiel 38RV;Daniel 11v40-45. A WORLD-WIDE APOSTACY- What religion would foretell declension from within? Rather, they are always full of their own importance and progress! But the Bible accurately predicts the course of an apostacy, and also its characteristics, including the adoption of pagan doctrines which would be presented in a 'Christian' garb. Even the length of time during which it would wield physical temporal power over those whom it persecuted- i.e. anyone who disputed its teachings- is set out. This apostate "church" naturally considers that any opposition threatens its privileged position and its source of income, i.e. those who unthinkingly entrust their salvation to a pack of lies! It is no wonder that for many centuries this evil system tried to prevent people from having access to the Scriptures, which of course exposes its apostacy. But although it was able to practise great persecution for a predicted time, i.e. AD604/610 to AD1864/1870, that has now ended, as prophesied. In AD1870, the head of this system, the Roman bishop, realizing his power to persecute was at an end, proclaimed his own infallibility - and thus has now, in this latter epoch, become "the false prophet". However, prophecy also tells us that in the last days, this apostate "church" with its leader will, for a period of time, regain some temporal power. For details on these impor- tant prophecies, which vitally affect our salvation, please link to- 'satan' - 'apocalypse'- 'departure' -'foundation' 'the Lord's day' - 'the time of the end' Bible Prophecy Being Fulfilled |