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by Bill Seng

Reason 4) Prophecy

The Bible reveals truths about the future that continue to be verified. One must be very careful in interpreting Scriptures that were not fulfilled in Biblical times, but simply going through the prophecies that were fulfilled and recorded in Scripture is quite amazing.

There are a lot of prophecies that were fulfilled throughout Scripture, so I will give you a good sampling of some that I found to be especially noteworthy. In Genesis 15, God makes a covenant with Abram. When Abram falls asleep, the Lord tells him that his descendants will become slaves in a foreign land, but that he would deliver them (15:13-14). This prophecy was fulfilled in the days of Moses when God sent plagues and the Israelites were led to safety through the Red Sea.

The prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah predicted the fall of Tyre and Sidon (Ezekiel 26, Zechariah 9). Some of the fascinating facts about these prophecies are that (1) King Nebuchadnezzar failed to conquer Tyre and Sidon. Nebuchadnezzar, himself, was a very powerful king and the fact that these cities endured through his attack is amazing. (2) After Nebuchadnezzar’s siege, the inhabitants of Tyre moved to an island and built 150 ft. walls! (3) But along came a certain military genius by the name of Alexander the Great, who laid siege to the city for seven months. Alexander fulfilled the prophecies that the city would be completely destroyed and laid to waste.

Jesus made several predictions throughout his ministry among his disciples, but his most noteworthy prophecy (other than his death and resurrection) was that of the destruction of the Temple of God in Jerusalem (Matthew 24:2). His prophecy of the destruction of the Temple was fulfilled in 70 A. D. as the Jews attempted an uprising against the Roman government. The Romans sieged Jerusalem, resulting in people starving to death, and they ultimately took the city and completely annihilated the Temple. Now, what about today?

One must be careful in interpreting the fulfillment of prophecies today. Isaiah 66:7-8 reads, “Before she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son. Who has heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation brought forth in a moment?” Many people take these verses as a prophecy concerning the rebirth of Israel, which happened in 1948. Strangely, it appeared as though Israel had been reborn in a day.

To me, it seems as though most of the specific prophecies of the New Testament were in relation to the Second Coming of Christ. Because of that, some of the prophecies have yet to be fulfilled. However, many warnings were given to the disciples that were fulfilled both in their lifetime and ours. For instance, John 16:2 states, “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.” In the book of Acts, Saul oversaw the murder of Christians because he believed his condemnation of Jesus’ followers was in obedience to God. Muslims have believed that Christians are deceived by Satan and to carry out judgment against them is a service to God. In India, the Hindu extremists persecute and murder members of the Church because they believe they are serving their gods. Jesus’ words were spot on.

Romans 1 states a recurring pattern for people and nations that reject God. It states that they suppress the truth that is clearly seen (18-20). It says that they claim to be wise but become fools (22) and that they exchanged the truth of God for a lie (25). As a result, it reveals that God gives unrepentant sinners over to all sorts of depravity with an emphasis on homosexuality and the worship of created things (24-31). Romans 1 closes with a horrifying revelation that the people doing such wicked things are well aware of God’s commandments and not only violate them but commend those who also violate God’s law (32). I think America is in big, big trouble.

To close, I want to remind the reader that the unfulfilled prophecies in Scripture are in relation to the Second Coming of Christ, which will be at the end of history. Some people might mock the notion that Jesus is returning to judge the world, and they claim that the Bible’s prophecies concerning the end have already failed. I would urge you, if you are one of these people, to heed the words of Peter: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God’s delay in bringing judgment is for our good so that the full number of those who would repent do actually repent and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Much more could be said about the fulfillment of prophecies in relation to Scripture, but this is just a brief overview to give you an idea about why I believe the words of the Bible. Books of the Bible like, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc., were accepted as being inspired by God because their words of prophecy were indeed fulfilled, and not just in part. Their prophecies were 100% accurate to the finest detail, meaning that they had to be inspired by God. If the prophets of the Bible were correct about events that were already fulfilled, should we not trust their words in relation to future events? Should we not trust that the Bible itself is divinely inspired?

(Some of the information for this blog was taken from Ray Comfort’s book Scientific Facts in the Bible, 2001, Bridge-Logos Publishers. Pgs 39-41)