July 8, 2011

Fulfilled Prophecies That Skeptics Cannot Easily Dismiss

There are countless fulfilled prophecies in the Bible, but skeptics dismiss most of them by saying that the prophecies (oddly) were written after the events. How convenient for them. Many prophecies were fulfilled so precisely that skeptics have no choice but to try to explain them away.
However, below is a list of fulfilled prophecies that cannot possibly be said to have been written after the events. I believe these are good and strong evidences for the Bible being the Word of God.

The Timing of Jesus' coming (Dan. 9:24-26)
The Manner of death of Jesus (Zech. 12:10; Ps. 22:16)
Prophecy #1:
...then they will look on Me whom they pierced... (Zech. 12:10)
Prophecy #2:
...for dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet. (Ps. 22:16)
Prophecy #3:
Seventy weeks are determined for [the Jews] and for your holy city, ... to make reconciliation for iniquity ... and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens [69 x 7] ... and after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off [killed], but not for Himself ... (Dan. 9:24-26)
We see that Jesus' crucifixion was predicted by both David and Zechariah (along with others) definitely before Jesus' was even born. This is an unlikely prophecy.
Second, we see the timing of the coming of the Messiah in Daniel 9. It says there'd be 69 times 7 (which is 483) before the Messiah came/died. Presumably these are years. The start point of the 483 years was the "command to restore and build Jerusalem". There are two prominent views about this prophecy and the start and end points. I'm not sure which view is correct, because they both are accurate. There were multiple commands to restore the temple and Jerusalem, you see. Ezra talks about a command to rebuild the temple (Ezra 7:13-28) that was in the 7th year of Artaxerxes I of Persia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaxerxes_I_of_Persia) around 457 BC, according to Wikipedia. Nehemiah also had a command to rebuild Jerusalem in the 20th year of Artaxerxes I (445 BC).
One view starts from Ezra's commission (457 BC) and ends 483 years later, c. 27 AD, which is believed by some to be the time when Jesus started His public ministry. The other view goes from Nehemiah's commission (445 BC) and uses 483 360-day years (so-called prophetic years), ending at 32 AD which some believe to be the year of the crucifixion of Jesus. Either way, the fact that the Daniel 9 prophecy would accidentally get so close is hard to believe.

Exile of the Jews
Nation Forming in a Day (Is. 66:8)
Return of the Jews (Is. 43:5-6; Jer. 32:44)
Jews becoming a heavy stone (Zech. 12:2-3)
Prophecy #1:
Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ (Is. 43:5-6)
Prophecy #2:
...Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children. (Is. 66:8)
Prophecy #3:
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces... (Zech. 12:2-3)
These prophecies show that the Jews would be scattered (cf. Luke 21:24) into all nations, which happened around 70 AD. It shows that they'd be re-gathered from all directions. This happened from around 1882 to 1999, starting from Russia in the east (1882 to 1923), then Poland and Hungary and Germany in the west (1923 to 1939), and many other countries including Ethiopia and other African countries in the south (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_immigration_to_Palestine). Other prophecies show that land would be purchased (Jer. 32:44), which happened before 1948. It also shows that the nation would form in a single day (Is. 66:8), which happened in 1948.
Zech. 12:2-3 seems to indicate that Israel would become a thorn in the side of the nations around it, and all these nations would become "drunk" with desire to rid themselves of the nation. It prophesies that the nations would all come up against Israel -- which is not yet fulfilled. However, we see that Israel is indeed becoming majorly despised in the Middle East.

Closing of the Eastern Gate in Jerusalem (Ezek. 44:1-2)
Prophecy:
Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the LORD said to me, "This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut." (Ezek. 44:1-2)
In 1541, Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I sealed up the Golden Gate (Eastern Gate) in Jerusalem to prevent the Messiah's entrance, according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_(Jerusalem)). This seems to fulfill the prophecy in Ezekiel 44:1. Now, Jesus apparently entered this gate several times, which also fulfilled verse 2 that says that "the LORD God of Israel has entered by it..." This is an astounding fulfillment of prophecy and was highly unlikely to randomly happen.

Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple (Dan. 9; Luke 21:24)
Jerusalem being trodden down by Gentiles until the end of the Gentile Age (Luke 21:24)
Prophecy #1:
And ... Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city [Jerusalem] and the sanctuary. (Dan. 9:26)
Prophecy #2:
And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)
The destruction of Jerusalem was prophesied in Daniel 9:26, and it happened in 70 AD. Luke 21:24 says that Jerusalem would be occupied by Gentiles until the "times of the Gentiles are fulfilled," which seems to be alluding to the end times. Even today, Jerusalem has a mosque where the temple used to be and is occupied by hundreds of thousands of Gentiles. So, Jesus' prophecy remains valid.

Dstruction of Tyre and its becoming a fishing village (Ezek. 26:3-14)
Prophecy:
Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you ... and they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken... They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of the water. ... I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken. (Ezek. 26:3-14)
Now, the ancient city of Tyre was a major city near the coast with walls and a large population, apparently. Alexander the Great's army literally put the "stones ... in the midst of the water" (c. 333 BC) as it says in this prophecy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Tyre). The mainland, abandoned old city of Tyre was never rebuilt as a major, walled city. It remains relatively abandoned. In fact, much of the original location of Tyre is just ruins and an archeological site to this day. As the above prophecy says, Tyre would become a "place for spreading nets," or a fishing village. Today, there are indeed fishing villages in that place. Look it up on Google maps, and you'll see fishing boats. The new Tyre is on an island, which is absolutely a place for spreading nets.

Destruction of Edom, viz. Petra (Ezek. 25:12-13; 35:1-9; Jer. 49:15-18)
Prophecy #1:
Edom also shall be an astonishment; everyone who goes by it will be astonished... No one shall remain there, nor shall a son of man dwell in it. (Jer. 49:17-18)
Prophecy #2:
...I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman... (Ezek. 25:13)
Prophecy #3:
...Behold, O Mount Seir [part of Edom], I am against you; I will stretch out My hand against you, and make you most desolate... Thus I will make Mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it the one who leaves and the one who returns. ... I will make you perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; then you shall know that I am the LORD. (Ezek. 35:3-9)
The primary stronghold of Edom was Petra, and Mount Seir was part of Edom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edom). Everyone knows that today Petra is relatively unoccupied. It's a sort of "ghost town" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra). This clearly fulfills the prophecy that Edom would become desolate and part of it uninhabited. Apparently from at least around 360 AD Edom has been most desolate and mostly uninhabited.

Gospel would go out into all the world (Matt. 24:14)
Inability of world to destroy church (Matt. 16:18)
Prophecy #1:
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matt. 24:14)
Prophecy #2:
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (Matt. 16:18)
The gospel has been preached in countless countries. There are relatively few places that haven't heard about the gospel. Nevertheless, the end has not come, and the gospel will still be preached in many more places where it hasn't yet reached. The growth and success of Christianity is an unlikely fulfillment of prophecy.
Not only that, but the Bible prophesied that the Church (the institution) would never go out of existence. Even during intense times of persecution, the Church remained. There is no known point in time where a church hasn't existed somewhere. This also is fulfillment of prophecy.

Knowledge increasing and people running to-and-fro (Dan. 12:4)
Prophecy:
But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. (Dan. 12:4)
This prophecy says that at the "time of the end" numerous people would "rove about" (literal meaning of the Hebrew) and knowledge would multiply. Why does it mention going to and fro? It's clearly in connection with knowledge increasing. The answer is that modern technology has caused dramatic increases in both knowledge and travel. These two things are not entirely unconnected. Modern advanced forms of travel have improved the ability of archeologists to increase knowledge. So, I believe this is an interesting fulfillment of prophecy and indicates the rise of advanced technology. Not a solid case, granted.

Domination of the Roman Empire (Dan. 2:40; 7)
Prophecy #1:
The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. (Dan. 7:23)
Prophecy #2:
And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. (Dan. 2:40)
This Fourth Kingdom has been somewhat debated -- mostly by skeptics. However, it has been generally recognized as the Roman Empire. Daniel was written sometime from 590 to 165 BC, even according to skeptics. The problem is that even by 165 BC, the Roman Republic was relatively small and did not dominate as a world power. The Roman Empire effectively began about 44 BC, and it did "break in pieces and crush all" the other previous remnants of empires (Persian, Macedonian, etc). It was "different from all other kingdoms" in that it was more extensive (http://www.pastmatters.org/medicineancientrome.htm). Also, the Roman Empire produced iron in great abundance, and weapons were eventually made using iron, making it an empire of iron, which aptly fits the use of iron in Daniel 2:40. The Roman Empire came to possess, arguably, the largest and most powerful military up to that time (http://www.ancientdigger.com/2011/05/monday-ground-up-why-was-roman-empire.html). Whoever wrote Daniel before 160 BC would not have known by observation that the Roman Empire would become so powerful and extensive. This constitutes prediction of the future and a clear fulfillment.
That Rome was being referred to can be further deduced by other Bible passages. Daniel 7 speaks of four beasts (as noted above), which strongly parallels with Revelation 13. The Fourth Kingdom was said to have ten horns in Daniel 7, which Revelation 13 also says. Revelation 17 elaborates on this kingdom with ten horns and says that the ten horns were future (v.12) to the Apostle John (c. 100 AD). Therefore, it is impossible to argue that the Fourth Kingdom with the ten horns ceased to exist by 100 AD. (Skeptics try to argue that the Fourth Kingdom and the ten horns were combined empires under Antiochus IV Epiphanes around 170 BC.) Clearly, the Apostle John, at least, does not agree with the skeptics' interpretation of the Fourth Kingdom mentioned in Daniel 2 & 7.

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