Sunday 30 September 2018
Tuesday 4 September 2018
Science Proofs of the Bible
33 Science Proofs of the Bible
The Bible is proven by
A. Its Unity. The Bible was given by God through 40 prophets, over 1600 years in 66 books. It contains history, prophecy, science, law, doctrine, morality, origins and human biographies, yet we never see the slightest disagreement between any of its writers on any subject.
If you ask 40 of your friends to discuss their opinions on the past, the future, morality, law, philosophy, etc., you will find many differences of opinion. The Bible, on the other hand, agrees 100% on every subject it discusses. This is strong proof that the Bible comes from the true God.
B. Fulfilled Prophecy as Proof of the Bible
“Show the things that are to come hereafter that we may know that ye are gods…” (Isaiah 41:23). Here God challenges all other religions claiming to be the truth to prove that they are from God by predicting future events. The Bible is the only book in the world that correctly predicts the future many hundreds of times without error. No other book does this. The Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim writings contain no cases of clearly fulfilled prophecies. This proves that they are not from God. Any man can write a book with moral teachings. Only God can write a book that always correctly foretells the future as the Bible does.
C. Scientific Accuracy. When the Bible makes a scientific statement, it is always proven correct after man has discovered all of the relevant facts. The Bible has no scientific errors. It contains scientific information that was unknown to man at the time of writing, but was only discovered recently.
Question: How did the Bible possess knowledge not then known to man?
God authored the Bible, revealing new information, so that we can be sure it is God’s word.
Question: Why do other religious books not reveal new scientific information, but contain many errors? Because those books are man made, are limited by man’s current state of knowledge and have not come from the true God. We reject them as counterfeits seeking to control us and bring us into error.
Question: What examples of scientific facts in the Bible were unknown to man at the time of writing?
1) The Universe consists of Space, Mass and Time as in Genesis 1:1. It is a space-mass-time continuum.
“In the beginning (time) God created the heaven (space) and the earth (mass).” Each of these has three components showing the Trinity as Creator of time (past, present, future), space (length, breadth, height), and mass (solid, liquid, gas). Only the Bible states that time had a beginning.
2) Our Star, the Sun, was formed on day four of the creation week because all stars form from clouds of gas. Our sun was a gas cloud that gave light on days one, two and three of the creation week. ‘God made two lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.’ (Genesis 1:16). “Astronomers in the US believe they have figured out how stars form from clouds of gas.” See www.physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/23622 (Nature 438, 322).
3) Pangea (one original land mass in Genesis 1:9) and Continental Drift after Noah’s Flood.
In 1912 Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of Continental Drift that today’s continents had once formed from a single landmass (known as Pangea) before breaking apart and drifting to their present locations. This is now accepted as true due to plant and animal fossils, such as Mesosaurus being found in Brazil and South Africa, as well as Lystrosaurus fossils being found in rocks in South America, Africa and Antarctica. (www.wikipedia/continentaldrift). The Bible teaches this in Genesis 1:9 “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear:” If the water is in one place, so is the land. After Noah’s flood, continental drift occurred in Eber’s time, “And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided.” Genesis 10:25
4) All Mankind came from One Woman
“Adam called his wife’s name Eve: because she was the mother of all living.” (Genesis 3:20). DNA is found in every cell, in both the nucleus and the mitochondrion (energy station). Mitochondrial DNA is always and only inherited from the mother. Analysis of this DNA in humans from all over the world shows unmistakably that all humans on earth have inherited it from one woman. This research was done by Wilson, Cann, and Stoneking from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987. www.gotquestions.org/Chromosomal-Adam-Mitochondrial-Eve. Creation Ex Nihilo, Vol.12, No.2, March 1990
5) Diseases Caused by Pigs. “The swine….is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat and their carcass shall ye not touch”. (Leviticus 11:7,8). God forbad the eating of pork from pigs because of the lack of refrigeration in 1500BC, and roasting pork over an open flame does not destroy the parasites. Parasites are obtained by handling fresh pork. Some diseases are caused by eating pork that is not properly cooked. For example, Trichinosis larvae attach to the intestine when eaten. They then bore through the 1290
intestine into the blood stream, and the larvae are carried to all parts of the body. They develop and grow in a person’s striated muscle.
Pork tapeworm may feed off the intestine and grow to 12 feet long.
It may be fatal in 10-20 years. God, by forbidding people to eat or touch pork, shows His care for us.
Question: How did the Bible know about the dangers of pork in 1500BC?
Answer: God wrote the Bible.
6) Leprosy must be Quarantined.
“he (the leper) shall dwell alone; outside the camp shall his habitation be. Thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is by fire.” (Leviticus 13:46,57). Moses laid down the rules to recognise and to quarantine the infected leper as contagious, lest other people catch leprosy.
7) Hands and Clothes Washing. “Whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water,.he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.” (Leviticus 15:11). Until 1900 AD, many hospital patients died due to infections caused by doctors not washing their hands or clothing after contact with infectious patients. The Bible required repeated washing of hands in running water with time allowed for drying and exposure to the sun to kill the bacteria.
8) The Bloodstream Carries Life. “The life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11).
From 400 BC to 1900 AD, a procedure called “blood letting” was popular. Sick people had blood drained from their bloodstream as a supposed therapeutic measure. This killed millions of people, such as George Washingtom. People thought that blood carried disease instead of life. By draining the blood, the patient died of blood loss.
Now we give blood to some sick patients. The Bible was right again.
9) Sanitation. “Thou shalt have a place outside the camp…when thou shalt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig (with a paddle) and shall turn back and cover that which cometh from thee.” (Deuteronomy 23:12,13).
Up until 1800, human excrement was dumped onto the unpaved, filthy streets. Powerful stenches gripped villages and cities. Flies bred in the filth, spreading intestinal diseases that killed millions of people. Deaths by diseases such as typhoid, cholera and dysentery could have been avoided if they had obeyed the Bible.
Question: How did the Bible know this, when man didn’t understand it until 1800? Answer: God wrote it.
Moses never learned this information from Egypt. Egypt’s standard medical textbook was the “Papyrus Ebers”, containing quack cures like “lizards’ blood, pigs’ teeth, stinking fat, meat, pig’s ear wax, excreta from humans, dogs, flies, cats”. Moses never referred to these false cures in his writings.
10) The Height of Stars. “Behold the height of the stars, how high they are.” (Job 22:12).
Man did not know how high and far away the stars are until Bessel in 1838 measured the distances of stars using the parallax method. Alpha Centauri, earth’s nearest star is 4 x 1013 kms (40,000 billion kms) away. Compare this with the Quran’s error: “We adorned the nearest (lowest) heaven with lamps (stars)” (41:12)
11) Very Great Number of Stars.
“As the host of heaven cannot be numbered” quoted in Jeremiah 33:22 in 590 BC. “He (God) telleth the number of stars; he calleth them all by their names.” (Psalm 147:4). Ptolemy in 150AD dogmatically said that 1056 stars existed. Scientists estimate that there are at least 10" x 10" = 10²² stars.
12) The Earth Hangs in Space. “He hangeth the earth upon nothing.” (Job 26:7) was stated in 1500 BC.
Until modern times “experts” believed that the earth sat on four elephants, standing on a giant turtle, who swam in the ocean. Man did not know how the earth could hang in space on nothing. Yet this is what happens due to gravitational attraction between earth and the sun. It looks like the earth hangs on nothing.
Compare this with the Quran’s error: “Who has made the earth for you like a bed (spread out).” (20:53)
13) Winds have Weight and hence Air Pressure. “To make the weight for the winds.” (Job 28:25).
Galileo in 1600 AD noted that a suction pump would not raise water more than 34 feet. Torricelli suggested that if air could support a column of water 34 feet high, then air should support a column of mercury about 2.5 feet high, because mercury is 13 times as heavy as water. Torricelli made a mercury barometer and proved that air has pressure and weight as the Bible says. God revealed it 3200 years earlier.
14) Winds blow in Circuits. “The wind goes toward the south, and turns about unto the north, it whirls about continually and the wind turns again according to his circuits.” (Ecclesiates 1:6).
At the equator, the sun heats the air causing it to rise. In the upper atmosphere this air flows away from the equator. When the air returns to the earth’s surface, it flows across the surface. This moving surface air produces the six belts of prevailing winds around the earth.
15) Cloud Balancing. “Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds?” (Job 37:16). Clouds are floating in the air, balanced by two forces: gravity pulling them downwards, and warm air pushing them upwards. How did Job know this in 1500 BC? God told him.
16) Fountains Under the Sea. “Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?” (Job 38:16).
“When he strengthened the fountains of the deep.” (Proverbs 8:28).
There are at least 10,000 underwater volcanoes, adding extra water to the oceans of 430 million tons each year. Question: How did the Bible know what takes place on the deep ocean floor? God revealed it.
17) Treasures of the Snow. “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” (Job 38:22).
Snow crystals are invisible to the naked eye, but under a microscope every snow crystal is different. No two snow crystals are the same. They are all beautiful six-sided patterns, just like exquisite treasures. How did the Bible know this 3300 years before the microscope was invented? God revealed it.
18) The Sun is the Source of the Earth’s Wind Systems.
“By what way is the light parted, which scatters the east wind upon the earth?” (Job 38:24).
Wind is caused by the uneven heating of the air around the earth by the sun. The sun also heats the surface of the earth unevenly. Air above hot areas (such as land) expands and rises. Air from cooler areas then flows in to take the place of the heated air. This is called circulation.
19) Light can be Parted or Dispersed into a Rainbow Spectrum.
“By what way is the light parted (2505)?” (Job 38:24). “Parted” in Hebrew is “chalaq” which means “separated”. White light can be separated into seven colours of the spectrum which are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. This was not understood until experiments with light were performed in the 1600’s. Light is like Jesus Christ: “I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5). As light has seven colours, so Christ has the seven spirits of God. See Isaiah 11:1,2.
20) Pleiades Constellation is a Bound cluster that is not breaking up.
“Can you bind the sweet influences (cluster) of Pleiades?” (Job 38:31). In 1520 BC, God said that the Pleiades star cluster is bound together in a highly stable group. Today using high powered telescopes, this has been shown to be true. It is a bound cluster of about 500 stars, 50 light years across and 410 light years away from earth. The individual stars cannot overcome the “chains” of gravity and allow them to break away from the cluster. The cluster is not expanding, not breaking up, but is bound together. This situation is very uncommon as the reverse is usually true of all open or galactic clusters. Photographs reveal that some of its stars are veiled in a faint transparent blue haze of gas and dust, which beautifully reflect the glory of the stars in the cluster with their various colours. The cluster is indeed “sweet” in colour as God said in Job 38:31.
“Research compilations now suggest that about 500 stars, mostly faint, are gravitationally bound together as the Pleiades.” http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/multiwavelength_astronomy/multiwavelength_museum/m45.html. How did the Bible know these two details not observable to the naked eye? God wrote it.
21) Orion’s Bands are loosed. “Can you loose the bands of Orion?” (Job 38:31).
The constellation of Orion is a star system that is steadily expanding outwards. The gravitational “bands” holding the constellation together have indeed been loosed, just as God told Job. Orion is 350 light years across and 1600 light years from earth.
This expansion is not observable to the naked eye.
Question: How could the Bible tell the difference between two star systems in 1600 BC, Pleiades being bound and Orion being loosed?
Answer: God authored the Bible.
22) Laws of Physics control matter, energy and motion.
God asked Job: “Knowest thou the ordinances (laws) of heaven?” (Job 38:33). Ordinances are physical laws that govern the movement of heavenly bodies, stars, planets, comets, meteors etc.
Examples include: · Keplar's laws of equal areas of orbits · First and second laws of thermodynamics
· Newton's law of universal gravitation · Newton's three laws of motion · Exponential radioactive decay
Question: How did the Bible know that science operates on laws in 1500 BC? Answer: God wrote it.
23) Telephone Communication. “Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, here we are?” (Job 38:35). When we dial a telephone number, an electric current (lightnings or electricity as we know it) moves through a wire to our friend’s telephone, which rings a bell. He answers it saying “Hi, it’s …here.” We then have a conversation over long distance. The telephone works exactly as Job 38:35 says, yet it was invented 3400 years later by AG bell in 1876. God revealed the phone to Job in 1520 BC.
24) Sea Paths or Ocean Currents. “…whatsoever passes through the paths of the sea.” (Psalm 8:8).
“Paths” in Hebrew means “customary roads.” Matthew Maury is the father of Oceanography. A statue of him is in Virginia with charts of the sea in one hand and a Bible in the other. Until Maury’s work there were no charts of sailing lanes. One day during a temporary illness, his son read from Psalm 8:8. Maury 1292
stopped him, asking him to read it again. Maury then said: “It is enough. If the Word of God says that there are paths in the sea, they must be there, and I am going to find them.” Within a few years he had charted the sea lanes & ocean currents. How did the Bible know of sea paths or ocean currents in 1000BC?
25) The Water Cycle. ‘All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from where the rivers come, there they return again.’ (Ecclesiates 1:7). Rain falls on the land, runs down the rivers into the oceans, evaporates into clouds, and is blown back to land. It rains again, thus repeating the water cycle.
26) Spherical Earth. “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth.” (Isaiah 40:22).
“when he set a compass upon the face of the depth.” (Proverbs 8:27);
Circle (2329) or compass (2329) in Hebrew is “Khoog” = to describe a circle, or sphere, used of the arch of the sky (Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon of the OT, p 263). In 712 BC, when Isaiah wrote, people thought the earth was flat and that you could sail over the edge of it and fall off. Columbus and Magellan proved that the earth was circular by sailing around it in a circle from East to West and then returning to their point of departure. Question: How did the Bible know that the earth was spherical? God revealed it.
27) Space/time is curved. “he walketh in the circuit (Heb: khoog = sphere,2329) of heaven.” (Job 22:14). “It is well known that the space/time continuum is curved. The curvature occurs due to the influence of mass against movement in time. Lately, this curvature has been detected.” www.west.net/~ke6jqp/spacetime/spacetime.html#curvature 28) The earth has foundations of core, mantle and crust. “And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth;” (Isaiah 51:13).
29) Space is stretched as seen by the red shift of light from receding galaxies. See Isaiah 51:13 in point 28.
30) Earth at any time is part day-time and part night. When Jesus Christ discusses the moment of His second coming to earth in Luke 17:31-36, His return interrupts people sleeping at night on one part of the earth, and interrupts others in the daytime grinding at the mill or working in the field. How did Jesus Christ know that the earth at any point of time is half daylight and half night? Because He is the all-knowing God. “In the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” (v.30). In that day…..he that is in the field (v.31). In that night there shall be two grinding together, one shall be taken, and the other left (v.35). Two men shall be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left.” (v.36).
31) Shadows are caused by the earth turning on its axis with respect to the sun. ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’ (James 1:17). This shows knowledge of a spherical earth turning on its axis when written in 45AD. This was unknown until Copernicus in 1543 wrote that every planet, including earth, revolves around the sun, and that the earth spins on its axis once a day.
32) The First Law of Thermodynamics states that no new matter or energy is being created in the known universe; it is only being inter-converted from one form to another. “On the seventh day God ended his work which He had made.” (Genesis 2:2).
33) The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the disorder of the universe is increasing. Systems are running from a high energy state to a low energy state. “They (the earth and heavens) all shall wax old as doth a garment. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same,and thy years shall not fail." (Hebrews 1:11,12). Scientists admit that because the sun burns up so much energy, it must become cold one day in the distant future. The same must happen to all the stars. This is called the “heat death of the universe.” Without solar heat, life on earth could not exist. Thankfully Jesus Christ is going to remake this universe into a perfect state at the end of the Millennium.
Conclusion: The Bible is the Word of God for the above reasons, as well as because:
1) Jesus Christ called it the Word of God. (Mark 7:13).
2) It has infinitely superior teachings over every other book.
- The Bible has nothing but truth. Other books have truth mixed with error, like jewels mixed with mud.
3) The character of those who accept and those who reject the Bible.
- People best acquainted with God, living the most unselfish, moral lives, say that the Bible is God’s book.
- The people least acquainted with God, and who live more for self, say that the Bible is not God’s word. Which will you believe? The stronghold of the Bible is the pure, unselfish happy home. The stronghold of unbelief is the pub, the brothel, and the casino.
4) The influence of the Bible to save, purify, gladden, beautify and lift men’s lives up to God. The Bible has transformed millions of the worst sinners into humble, loving, unselfish, and caring people.
Key: Believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son, died for your sins, rose from the dead, ask Jesus to save you
The Bible is proven by
A. Its Unity. The Bible was given by God through 40 prophets, over 1600 years in 66 books. It contains history, prophecy, science, law, doctrine, morality, origins and human biographies, yet we never see the slightest disagreement between any of its writers on any subject.
If you ask 40 of your friends to discuss their opinions on the past, the future, morality, law, philosophy, etc., you will find many differences of opinion. The Bible, on the other hand, agrees 100% on every subject it discusses. This is strong proof that the Bible comes from the true God.
B. Fulfilled Prophecy as Proof of the Bible
“Show the things that are to come hereafter that we may know that ye are gods…” (Isaiah 41:23). Here God challenges all other religions claiming to be the truth to prove that they are from God by predicting future events. The Bible is the only book in the world that correctly predicts the future many hundreds of times without error. No other book does this. The Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim writings contain no cases of clearly fulfilled prophecies. This proves that they are not from God. Any man can write a book with moral teachings. Only God can write a book that always correctly foretells the future as the Bible does.
C. Scientific Accuracy. When the Bible makes a scientific statement, it is always proven correct after man has discovered all of the relevant facts. The Bible has no scientific errors. It contains scientific information that was unknown to man at the time of writing, but was only discovered recently.
Question: How did the Bible possess knowledge not then known to man?
God authored the Bible, revealing new information, so that we can be sure it is God’s word.
Question: Why do other religious books not reveal new scientific information, but contain many errors? Because those books are man made, are limited by man’s current state of knowledge and have not come from the true God. We reject them as counterfeits seeking to control us and bring us into error.
Question: What examples of scientific facts in the Bible were unknown to man at the time of writing?
1) The Universe consists of Space, Mass and Time as in Genesis 1:1. It is a space-mass-time continuum.
“In the beginning (time) God created the heaven (space) and the earth (mass).” Each of these has three components showing the Trinity as Creator of time (past, present, future), space (length, breadth, height), and mass (solid, liquid, gas). Only the Bible states that time had a beginning.
2) Our Star, the Sun, was formed on day four of the creation week because all stars form from clouds of gas. Our sun was a gas cloud that gave light on days one, two and three of the creation week. ‘God made two lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.’ (Genesis 1:16). “Astronomers in the US believe they have figured out how stars form from clouds of gas.” See www.physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/23622 (Nature 438, 322).
3) Pangea (one original land mass in Genesis 1:9) and Continental Drift after Noah’s Flood.
In 1912 Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of Continental Drift that today’s continents had once formed from a single landmass (known as Pangea) before breaking apart and drifting to their present locations. This is now accepted as true due to plant and animal fossils, such as Mesosaurus being found in Brazil and South Africa, as well as Lystrosaurus fossils being found in rocks in South America, Africa and Antarctica. (www.wikipedia/continentaldrift). The Bible teaches this in Genesis 1:9 “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear:” If the water is in one place, so is the land. After Noah’s flood, continental drift occurred in Eber’s time, “And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided.” Genesis 10:25
4) All Mankind came from One Woman
“Adam called his wife’s name Eve: because she was the mother of all living.” (Genesis 3:20). DNA is found in every cell, in both the nucleus and the mitochondrion (energy station). Mitochondrial DNA is always and only inherited from the mother. Analysis of this DNA in humans from all over the world shows unmistakably that all humans on earth have inherited it from one woman. This research was done by Wilson, Cann, and Stoneking from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987. www.gotquestions.org/Chromosomal-Adam-Mitochondrial-Eve. Creation Ex Nihilo, Vol.12, No.2, March 1990
5) Diseases Caused by Pigs. “The swine….is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat and their carcass shall ye not touch”. (Leviticus 11:7,8). God forbad the eating of pork from pigs because of the lack of refrigeration in 1500BC, and roasting pork over an open flame does not destroy the parasites. Parasites are obtained by handling fresh pork. Some diseases are caused by eating pork that is not properly cooked. For example, Trichinosis larvae attach to the intestine when eaten. They then bore through the 1290
intestine into the blood stream, and the larvae are carried to all parts of the body. They develop and grow in a person’s striated muscle.
Pork tapeworm may feed off the intestine and grow to 12 feet long.
It may be fatal in 10-20 years. God, by forbidding people to eat or touch pork, shows His care for us.
Question: How did the Bible know about the dangers of pork in 1500BC?
Answer: God wrote the Bible.
6) Leprosy must be Quarantined.
“he (the leper) shall dwell alone; outside the camp shall his habitation be. Thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is by fire.” (Leviticus 13:46,57). Moses laid down the rules to recognise and to quarantine the infected leper as contagious, lest other people catch leprosy.
7) Hands and Clothes Washing. “Whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water,.he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.” (Leviticus 15:11). Until 1900 AD, many hospital patients died due to infections caused by doctors not washing their hands or clothing after contact with infectious patients. The Bible required repeated washing of hands in running water with time allowed for drying and exposure to the sun to kill the bacteria.
8) The Bloodstream Carries Life. “The life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11).
From 400 BC to 1900 AD, a procedure called “blood letting” was popular. Sick people had blood drained from their bloodstream as a supposed therapeutic measure. This killed millions of people, such as George Washingtom. People thought that blood carried disease instead of life. By draining the blood, the patient died of blood loss.
Now we give blood to some sick patients. The Bible was right again.
9) Sanitation. “Thou shalt have a place outside the camp…when thou shalt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig (with a paddle) and shall turn back and cover that which cometh from thee.” (Deuteronomy 23:12,13).
Up until 1800, human excrement was dumped onto the unpaved, filthy streets. Powerful stenches gripped villages and cities. Flies bred in the filth, spreading intestinal diseases that killed millions of people. Deaths by diseases such as typhoid, cholera and dysentery could have been avoided if they had obeyed the Bible.
Question: How did the Bible know this, when man didn’t understand it until 1800? Answer: God wrote it.
Moses never learned this information from Egypt. Egypt’s standard medical textbook was the “Papyrus Ebers”, containing quack cures like “lizards’ blood, pigs’ teeth, stinking fat, meat, pig’s ear wax, excreta from humans, dogs, flies, cats”. Moses never referred to these false cures in his writings.
10) The Height of Stars. “Behold the height of the stars, how high they are.” (Job 22:12).
Man did not know how high and far away the stars are until Bessel in 1838 measured the distances of stars using the parallax method. Alpha Centauri, earth’s nearest star is 4 x 1013 kms (40,000 billion kms) away. Compare this with the Quran’s error: “We adorned the nearest (lowest) heaven with lamps (stars)” (41:12)
11) Very Great Number of Stars.
“As the host of heaven cannot be numbered” quoted in Jeremiah 33:22 in 590 BC. “He (God) telleth the number of stars; he calleth them all by their names.” (Psalm 147:4). Ptolemy in 150AD dogmatically said that 1056 stars existed. Scientists estimate that there are at least 10" x 10" = 10²² stars.
12) The Earth Hangs in Space. “He hangeth the earth upon nothing.” (Job 26:7) was stated in 1500 BC.
Until modern times “experts” believed that the earth sat on four elephants, standing on a giant turtle, who swam in the ocean. Man did not know how the earth could hang in space on nothing. Yet this is what happens due to gravitational attraction between earth and the sun. It looks like the earth hangs on nothing.
Compare this with the Quran’s error: “Who has made the earth for you like a bed (spread out).” (20:53)
13) Winds have Weight and hence Air Pressure. “To make the weight for the winds.” (Job 28:25).
Galileo in 1600 AD noted that a suction pump would not raise water more than 34 feet. Torricelli suggested that if air could support a column of water 34 feet high, then air should support a column of mercury about 2.5 feet high, because mercury is 13 times as heavy as water. Torricelli made a mercury barometer and proved that air has pressure and weight as the Bible says. God revealed it 3200 years earlier.
14) Winds blow in Circuits. “The wind goes toward the south, and turns about unto the north, it whirls about continually and the wind turns again according to his circuits.” (Ecclesiates 1:6).
At the equator, the sun heats the air causing it to rise. In the upper atmosphere this air flows away from the equator. When the air returns to the earth’s surface, it flows across the surface. This moving surface air produces the six belts of prevailing winds around the earth.
15) Cloud Balancing. “Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds?” (Job 37:16). Clouds are floating in the air, balanced by two forces: gravity pulling them downwards, and warm air pushing them upwards. How did Job know this in 1500 BC? God told him.
16) Fountains Under the Sea. “Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?” (Job 38:16).
“When he strengthened the fountains of the deep.” (Proverbs 8:28).
There are at least 10,000 underwater volcanoes, adding extra water to the oceans of 430 million tons each year. Question: How did the Bible know what takes place on the deep ocean floor? God revealed it.
17) Treasures of the Snow. “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” (Job 38:22).
Snow crystals are invisible to the naked eye, but under a microscope every snow crystal is different. No two snow crystals are the same. They are all beautiful six-sided patterns, just like exquisite treasures. How did the Bible know this 3300 years before the microscope was invented? God revealed it.
18) The Sun is the Source of the Earth’s Wind Systems.
“By what way is the light parted, which scatters the east wind upon the earth?” (Job 38:24).
Wind is caused by the uneven heating of the air around the earth by the sun. The sun also heats the surface of the earth unevenly. Air above hot areas (such as land) expands and rises. Air from cooler areas then flows in to take the place of the heated air. This is called circulation.
19) Light can be Parted or Dispersed into a Rainbow Spectrum.
“By what way is the light parted (2505)?” (Job 38:24). “Parted” in Hebrew is “chalaq” which means “separated”. White light can be separated into seven colours of the spectrum which are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. This was not understood until experiments with light were performed in the 1600’s. Light is like Jesus Christ: “I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5). As light has seven colours, so Christ has the seven spirits of God. See Isaiah 11:1,2.
20) Pleiades Constellation is a Bound cluster that is not breaking up.
“Can you bind the sweet influences (cluster) of Pleiades?” (Job 38:31). In 1520 BC, God said that the Pleiades star cluster is bound together in a highly stable group. Today using high powered telescopes, this has been shown to be true. It is a bound cluster of about 500 stars, 50 light years across and 410 light years away from earth. The individual stars cannot overcome the “chains” of gravity and allow them to break away from the cluster. The cluster is not expanding, not breaking up, but is bound together. This situation is very uncommon as the reverse is usually true of all open or galactic clusters. Photographs reveal that some of its stars are veiled in a faint transparent blue haze of gas and dust, which beautifully reflect the glory of the stars in the cluster with their various colours. The cluster is indeed “sweet” in colour as God said in Job 38:31.
“Research compilations now suggest that about 500 stars, mostly faint, are gravitationally bound together as the Pleiades.” http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/multiwavelength_astronomy/multiwavelength_museum/m45.html. How did the Bible know these two details not observable to the naked eye? God wrote it.
21) Orion’s Bands are loosed. “Can you loose the bands of Orion?” (Job 38:31).
The constellation of Orion is a star system that is steadily expanding outwards. The gravitational “bands” holding the constellation together have indeed been loosed, just as God told Job. Orion is 350 light years across and 1600 light years from earth.
This expansion is not observable to the naked eye.
Question: How could the Bible tell the difference between two star systems in 1600 BC, Pleiades being bound and Orion being loosed?
Answer: God authored the Bible.
22) Laws of Physics control matter, energy and motion.
God asked Job: “Knowest thou the ordinances (laws) of heaven?” (Job 38:33). Ordinances are physical laws that govern the movement of heavenly bodies, stars, planets, comets, meteors etc.
Examples include: · Keplar's laws of equal areas of orbits · First and second laws of thermodynamics
· Newton's law of universal gravitation · Newton's three laws of motion · Exponential radioactive decay
Question: How did the Bible know that science operates on laws in 1500 BC? Answer: God wrote it.
23) Telephone Communication. “Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, here we are?” (Job 38:35). When we dial a telephone number, an electric current (lightnings or electricity as we know it) moves through a wire to our friend’s telephone, which rings a bell. He answers it saying “Hi, it’s …here.” We then have a conversation over long distance. The telephone works exactly as Job 38:35 says, yet it was invented 3400 years later by AG bell in 1876. God revealed the phone to Job in 1520 BC.
24) Sea Paths or Ocean Currents. “…whatsoever passes through the paths of the sea.” (Psalm 8:8).
“Paths” in Hebrew means “customary roads.” Matthew Maury is the father of Oceanography. A statue of him is in Virginia with charts of the sea in one hand and a Bible in the other. Until Maury’s work there were no charts of sailing lanes. One day during a temporary illness, his son read from Psalm 8:8. Maury 1292
stopped him, asking him to read it again. Maury then said: “It is enough. If the Word of God says that there are paths in the sea, they must be there, and I am going to find them.” Within a few years he had charted the sea lanes & ocean currents. How did the Bible know of sea paths or ocean currents in 1000BC?
25) The Water Cycle. ‘All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from where the rivers come, there they return again.’ (Ecclesiates 1:7). Rain falls on the land, runs down the rivers into the oceans, evaporates into clouds, and is blown back to land. It rains again, thus repeating the water cycle.
26) Spherical Earth. “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth.” (Isaiah 40:22).
“when he set a compass upon the face of the depth.” (Proverbs 8:27);
Circle (2329) or compass (2329) in Hebrew is “Khoog” = to describe a circle, or sphere, used of the arch of the sky (Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon of the OT, p 263). In 712 BC, when Isaiah wrote, people thought the earth was flat and that you could sail over the edge of it and fall off. Columbus and Magellan proved that the earth was circular by sailing around it in a circle from East to West and then returning to their point of departure. Question: How did the Bible know that the earth was spherical? God revealed it.
27) Space/time is curved. “he walketh in the circuit (Heb: khoog = sphere,2329) of heaven.” (Job 22:14). “It is well known that the space/time continuum is curved. The curvature occurs due to the influence of mass against movement in time. Lately, this curvature has been detected.” www.west.net/~ke6jqp/spacetime/spacetime.html#curvature 28) The earth has foundations of core, mantle and crust. “And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth;” (Isaiah 51:13).
29) Space is stretched as seen by the red shift of light from receding galaxies. See Isaiah 51:13 in point 28.
30) Earth at any time is part day-time and part night. When Jesus Christ discusses the moment of His second coming to earth in Luke 17:31-36, His return interrupts people sleeping at night on one part of the earth, and interrupts others in the daytime grinding at the mill or working in the field. How did Jesus Christ know that the earth at any point of time is half daylight and half night? Because He is the all-knowing God. “In the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” (v.30). In that day…..he that is in the field (v.31). In that night there shall be two grinding together, one shall be taken, and the other left (v.35). Two men shall be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left.” (v.36).
31) Shadows are caused by the earth turning on its axis with respect to the sun. ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’ (James 1:17). This shows knowledge of a spherical earth turning on its axis when written in 45AD. This was unknown until Copernicus in 1543 wrote that every planet, including earth, revolves around the sun, and that the earth spins on its axis once a day.
32) The First Law of Thermodynamics states that no new matter or energy is being created in the known universe; it is only being inter-converted from one form to another. “On the seventh day God ended his work which He had made.” (Genesis 2:2).
33) The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the disorder of the universe is increasing. Systems are running from a high energy state to a low energy state. “They (the earth and heavens) all shall wax old as doth a garment. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same,and thy years shall not fail." (Hebrews 1:11,12). Scientists admit that because the sun burns up so much energy, it must become cold one day in the distant future. The same must happen to all the stars. This is called the “heat death of the universe.” Without solar heat, life on earth could not exist. Thankfully Jesus Christ is going to remake this universe into a perfect state at the end of the Millennium.
Conclusion: The Bible is the Word of God for the above reasons, as well as because:
1) Jesus Christ called it the Word of God. (Mark 7:13).
2) It has infinitely superior teachings over every other book.
- The Bible has nothing but truth. Other books have truth mixed with error, like jewels mixed with mud.
3) The character of those who accept and those who reject the Bible.
- People best acquainted with God, living the most unselfish, moral lives, say that the Bible is God’s book.
- The people least acquainted with God, and who live more for self, say that the Bible is not God’s word. Which will you believe? The stronghold of the Bible is the pure, unselfish happy home. The stronghold of unbelief is the pub, the brothel, and the casino.
4) The influence of the Bible to save, purify, gladden, beautify and lift men’s lives up to God. The Bible has transformed millions of the worst sinners into humble, loving, unselfish, and caring people.
Key: Believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son, died for your sins, rose from the dead, ask Jesus to save you
SCIENCE AS PROOF OF THE BIBLE
SCIENCE AS PROOF OF THE BIBLE
Whenever the Bible makes a scientific statement, it is always proven correct after man has discovered all the relevant facts. In the Library of the Louvre in Paris there are 3.5 miles of obsolete science books on the shelves. In 1861 the French Academy of Science published a list of 51 "scientific facts" which supposedly contradicted the Bible. Today all 51 of these "facts" are unacceptable to modern scientists.
Do other religious books contain scientifically accurate information? Consider the Vedas, the Hindu Scriptures of India, in the following quote. This shows them to be very unscientific, hence disproving Eastern religions and modern New Age thinking, which are based on the Vedas. "The moon is 50,000 leagues higher than the sun (?), and shines by its own light (?); night is caused by the sun's setting behind a huge mountain (?) several thousand feet high, located in the centre of the earth (?), that this world, flat (?) and triangular (?) is composed of 7 states (?) - one of honey, another of sugar, a third of butter, and still another of wine, (?) and the whole mass is borne on the heads of countless elephants (?) which in shaking produce earthquakes."
As you can see, there are at least nine clear scientific errors in this short passage of the Vedas.
The Bible on the other hand contains no scientific errors in its 66 books.
Key: The Bible contains scientific information that was not known by man at the time of writing. In many cases it was only discovered recently.
Question: How did the Bible possess knowledge not yet discovered by man?
Answer: God authored the Bible, and revealed information not yet known to man, so that the world would know that the Bible is God's Word, coming from a mind much greater than man's.
Question: Why did no other religious book reveal new scientific information?
Answer: Because other religious books are man made, are limited by man's then current state of knowledge, and have not come from the all-knowing Creator, but are counterfeits seeking to claim authority over us. Hence we reject them.
What examples of scientific facts revealed in the Bible, were unknown to man at the time of writing?
1. The Earth Hangs in Space.
"He hangs the earth upon nothing." Job 26:7 stated 1500BC.
Until modern times "experts" believed ideas such as the earth sat on four elephants, who stood on a giant turtle, who swam in the ocean. Man could not imagine how the earth could hang in space on nothing. Yet this is what happens due to gravitational attraction between the earth and the sun, giving the appearance that the earth hangs on nothing.
2. Earth at any time is part day-time and part night.
When the moment of Christ's second coming to earth is discussed in Luke 17:31-36, Christ's return interrupts people sleeping at night on one part of the earth, and interrupts others in the daytime grinding at the mill or working in the field. How did Jesus Christ know that the earth at any point of time is half dark and half light? Because He is the all-knowing God. "..in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. (v.30). In that day.... he that is in the field. (v.31). In that night there shall be two in one bed, one shall be taken, the other left. (v.34). Two women shall be grinding together; one shall be taken, and the other left (v.35). Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left." (v.36).
3. Cloud Balancing. "Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds?" Job 37:16.
Clouds are floating in the air, balanced by two forces: gravity pulling them downwards, and warm air pushing them upwards. How did Job know about this in 1500 BC? God told him.
4. Telephone Communication.
"Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, here we are?" Job 38:35. When we dial a telephone number, an electric current (lightning or electricity as we know it) moves through a wire to our friend's telephone, which rings a bell. He answers it and says "Hello, it's ...... here." We then both have a conversation over long distance. The telephone works exactly as Job 38:35 says, yet man did not invent it until 1876. God revealed the telephone to Job in 1520BC, 3400 years before AG Bell invented it.
5. Very Great Number of Stars.
"As the host of heaven cannot be numbered." Jeremiah 33:22 in 590 BC.
"He (God) telleth the number of stars; he calleth them all by their names." Psalm 147:4. Ptolemy in 150AD dogmatically said that 1056 stars existed.
Scientists now estimate that there are around 1011 x 1011 = 1022 stars, and this is only a guess.
6. The Height of Stars.
"Behold the height of the stars, how high they are." Job 22:12.
Man did not realise how high and far the stars are until Bessel in 1838 measured the distances of stars using the parallax method. Alpha Centauri, earth's nearest star is 4 x
1013 kms (40,000 billion kms) away. It would take you 10 million years to get there if you could travel there in your motorcar at 100 km per hour.
7. Pleiades Constellation is a Bound cluster, not breaking up.
"Canst thou bind the sweet influences (cluster) of Pleiades?" Job 38:31.
In 1520 BC, God said that the Pleiades star cluster is bound together in a highly stable group.
Today using high-powered telescopes, this has been shown to be true. It is a bound cluster of about 500 stars, 50 light years across and 410 light years away from earth.
The individual stars cannot overcome the "chains" of gravity and allow them to break away from the cluster. The cluster is not expanding, nor breaking up, but is bound together. This situation is very uncommon as the reverse is usually true of all open or galactic clusters. Also, photographs reveal that some of it's stars are veiled in a faint transparent blue haze of gas and dust, which beautifully reflect the glory of the stars in the cluster with their various colours. The cluster is indeed "sweet" in colour as God said in Job 38:31.
Question: How did the Bible know these two details, which are not observable to the naked eye?
Answer: The all-knowing God Who created the stars, authored the Bible.
8. Orion's Bands are loosed.
"Canst thou loose the bands of Orion?" Job 38:31
The constellation of Orion is a star system that is steadily expanding outwards. The gravitational "bands" holding the constellation together have indeed been loosed, just as God told Job. Orion is 350 light years across and 1600 light years from earth. This expansion is not observable to the naked eye.
Question: How could the Bible tell the difference between two star systems in 1600 BC, Pleiades being bound and Orion being loosed?
Answer: God authored the Bible. "Canst thou bind the sweet influences (cluster) of Pleiades or loose the bands of Orion?" Job 38:31. God can and has done it.
9. Spherical Earth.
“It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth." Isaiah 40:22. "..when he set a compass upon the face of the depth." Proverbs 8:27.
Circle 2329 = Compass 2329 in Hebrew is "Khoog" = to describe a circle, or circuit, meaning the horizon which is circular.
In 712 BC, when Isaiah wrote this, people thought that the earth was flat, and that you could sail over the edge of it and fall off. Columbus and Magellan proved that the earth was circular by sailing around it in a circle from East to West and then returning to the point of departure.
Question: How did the Bible know that the earth was spherical? Answer: God wrote it.
10. Treasures of the Snow.
"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” Job 38:22.
Snow crystals are invisible to the naked eye, but under a microscope every snow crystal is different. No two snow crystals are the same. They are all beautiful 6-sided patterns, just like exquisite treasures. How did the Bible know this 3300 years before the microscope was invented? God wrote it.
11. All Mankind came from One Woman.
"Adam called his wife's name Eve: because she was the mother of all living." Genesis 3:20. DNA is found in every cell, in both the nucleus and the mitochondrion (energy station). Mitochondrial DNA is always and only inherited from the mother. Analysis of this DNA in humans from all over the world shows unmistakably that all humans have inherited it from one woman. This research was done by Wilson, Cann, and Stoneking from the University of California, Berkeley.
(Creation Ex Nihilo, Vol.12, No.2, March 1990).
12. The Bloodstream Carries Life.
"The life of the flesh is in the blood." Leviticus 17:11.
From 400 BC to 1900 AD, a procedure called "blood letting" was popular. Sick people had blood drained from their bloodstream as a supposed therapeutic measure. It was responsible for killing millions of people, such as George Washington. People thought that blood carried disease instead of life. By draining the blood, the patient died of blood loss. Now we give blood to some sick patients. The Bible was right again.
13. Diseases Caused by Pigs.
"And the swine...is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat and their carcass shall ye not touch". Leviticus 11:7,8.
Forbidding to eat pigs was because of:
• lack of refrigeration, and
• roasting pork over an open flame does not destroy the parasites. Parasites are obtained by handling fresh pork.
Some diseases are caused by eating pork that is not properly cooked. For example, Trichinosis larvae attach to the intestine when eaten. They then bore through the intestine into the blood stream, and the larvae are carried to all parts of the body. They develop and grow in a person's striated muscle.
Pork Tapeworm may feed off the intestine and grow to 12 foot long. It may be fatal in 10-20 years.
God, by forbidding people to eat or touch pork, shows His care for us. Question: How did the Bible know about the dangers of pork in 1500 BC? Answer: God wrote the Bible.
14. Leprosy to be Quarantined.
"he (the leper) shall dwell alone; outside the camp shall his habitation be.Thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is by fire." Leviticus 13:46,57. Moses laid down the rules to recognise and to quarantine the infected leper as contagious, lest other people catch leprosy.
15. Sanitation.
"Thou shalt have a place outside the camp.... when you will ease yourself, you shall dig (with a paddle) and shall turn back and cover that which cometh from thee.” Deuteronomy 23:12,13.
Up until 1800 AD, human excrement was dumped onto the unpaved, filthy streets. Powerful stenches gripped villages and cities. Flies bred in the filth, spreading intestinal diseases that killed millions of people. Such deaths by diseases like typhoid, cholera and dysentery could have been avoided if they had obeyed the Bible.
Question: How did the Bible know this, when man couldn't understand it until 1800? Answer: God wrote the Bible.
Moses never learned this information from Egypt, because Egypt's standard medical textbook was the "Papyrus Ebers." It contained quack cures like "lizards blood, pigs teeth, stinking fat and meat, pig's ear wax, excreta from humans, dogs, flies, cats, etc.!” Moses never referred to these false cures in his writings.
16. Hands and Clothes Washing.
Until 1900 AD, many hospital patients died due to infections caused by doctors not washing their hands or clothing after contact with infectious patients. The Bible required repeated washing in running water with time allowed for drying and exposure to the sun to kill the bacteria.
17. Fountains Under the Sea.
"Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?" Job 38:16. "When he strengthened the fountains of the deep." Proverbs 8:28.
There are at least 10,000 known underwater volcanoes, adding extra water to the oceans of 430 million tons each year.
Question: How did the Bible know what took place on the deep ocean floor? Answer: God wrote it.
18. The Water Cycle.
"All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from where the rivers come, there they return again." Ecclesiestes 1:7.
Rain falls on the coast, runs down the rivers into the oceans, evaporates into clouds, and is blown back to land. It then rains, thus repeating what is known as the water cycle.
19. The Sun is the Source of the Earth's Wind Systems.
"By what way is the light parted, which scatters the east wind upon the earth?” Job 38:24. Wind is caused by the uneven heating of the air around the earth by the sun. The sun also heats the surface of the earth unevenly. Air above hot areas (such as land) expands and rises. Air from cooler areas then flows in to take the place of heated air. This is called circulation.
20. Light can be Parted or Dispersed into a Rainbow Spectrum.
"By what way is the light parted (Heb.2505)?" Job 38:24. "Parted" in Hebrew is "chalaq” which means, "separated".
White light can be separated into 7 colours of the spectrum which are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. This was not understood until experiments with light were performed in the 1600's.
Note: Light is like Jesus Christ: "I am the light of the world." John 9:5. As light has seven colours, so Christ has the seven spirits of God. See Isaiah 11:1,2.
21. Winds blow in Circuits.
"The wind goes toward the south, and turns about unto the north, it whirls about continually and the wind turns again according to his circuits." Ecclesiastes 1:6.
At the equator, the sun heats the air causing it to rise. In the upper atmosphere this air flows away from the equator. When the air returns to the earth's surface, it flows across the surface. This moving surface air produces the six belts of prevailing winds around the earth.
22. Winds have Weight and hence Air Pressure.
"To make the weight for the winds." Job 28:25.
Galileo in 1600 AD noted that a suction pump would not raise water more than 34 feet. Torricelli suggested that if air could support a column of water 34 feet high, then air should support a column of mercury about 2.5 feet high, because mercury is 13 times as heavy as water. Torricelli made a mercury barometer and proved that air has pressure and hence weight as the Bible says. God revealed that air has weight 3200 years earlier.
23. Sea Paths or Ocean Currents.
"Whatsoever passes through the paths of the sea". Psalm 8:8. "Paths" in Hebrew means "customary roads." Matthew Maury is the father of Oceanography. A statue of him exists in Virginia with charts of the sea in one hand and a Bible in the other. Until Maury's work there were no charts of sailing lanes. One day during a temporary illness, his son read from Psalm 8:8. Maury stopped him, asking him to read it again. Maury then said: "It is enough. If the Word of God says that there are paths in the sea, they must be there, and I am going to find them." Within a few years he had charted the sea lanes and ocean currents.
Question: How did the Bible know about sea paths or ocean currents? Answer: God wrote it.
24. Laws of Physics control matter, energy and motion.
God asked Job: "Knowest thou the ordinances (laws) of heaven?" Job 38:33. Ordinances are physical laws that govern the movement of heavenly bodies, stars, planets, comets, meteors etc. Examples include:
• Keplar's laws of equal areas of orbits
• Solar Physics
• Newton's law of universal gravitation
• Quantum mechanics
• Newton's three laws of motion
• Radioactive decay
• The first and second laws of thermodynamics
• Sub atomic particle laws
• Laws governing blackholes, quasars, pulsars etc.
The more that man learns about science, the more he realises that there is to learn. Question: How did the Bible know that science operates on laws in 1500 BC? Answer: God wrote it
25. The First Law of Thermodynamics states that no new matter or energy is being created in the known universe; it is only being interconverted from one form to another. "On the seventh day God ended his work which He had made." Genesis 2:2.
26. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the disorder of the universe is increasing. Systems are running from a high to a low state of energy.
"They (the earth and heavens) all shall wax old as doth a garment. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same,and thy years shall not fail." Hebrews 1:11,12.
Scientists admit that with all the energy that the sun burns up, it must become cold one day in the distant future. The same must happen to all stars. This is called the "heat death of the universe." Without solar heat, life on earth could not exist. Thankfully Jesus Christ is going to remake this universe into a perfect state at the end of the Millennium.
27. Can a Whale swallow Jonah
"Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." Jonah 1:17. Many people use this as their reason for doubting the Bible's truthfulness. How can a fish swallow a man?
Several cases in modern times have been reported of a whale swallowing a man who survived. One is reported by Francis Fox in "Sixty-three years of Engineering" p.298-300 and confirmed by two scientists, one being M. DeParville, the scientific editor of "Journal Des Debats" in Paris.
In February 1891, the whaling ship, "Star of the East" was near the Falkland Islands, where they sighted a large sperm whale. Two boats were sent out after the whale. One boat harpooned the whale, but the whale upset the other boat, drowning one man and the other sailor James Bartley, disappearing without a trace. After the whale was killed and cut open two days later, James Bartley was found unconscious and doubled up inside the whale. He had lost his senses through fright and not through lack of air. His skin was bleached white from stomach acid. He fully recovered. If a man can survive two days in a whale in 1891, surely Jonah could have survived three days in a great fish in 862 BC.
CONCLUSION:
The Bible not only includes that which is scientifically correct, but also totally avoids that which is scientific nonsense as found in the books of many other religions. For example, the ancient Egyptians believed that the world was hatched from a great cosmic egg which had wings.
Because the Bible avoids scientific nonsense, and because the Bible contains scientific information that was not known until recently, we conclude that the all-knowing Creator God authored the Bible. This is a powerful argument to warrant our complete confidence in the Bible's truth and reliability on every other issue of life.
Whenever the Bible makes a scientific statement, it is always proven correct after man has discovered all the relevant facts. In the Library of the Louvre in Paris there are 3.5 miles of obsolete science books on the shelves. In 1861 the French Academy of Science published a list of 51 "scientific facts" which supposedly contradicted the Bible. Today all 51 of these "facts" are unacceptable to modern scientists.
Do other religious books contain scientifically accurate information? Consider the Vedas, the Hindu Scriptures of India, in the following quote. This shows them to be very unscientific, hence disproving Eastern religions and modern New Age thinking, which are based on the Vedas. "The moon is 50,000 leagues higher than the sun (?), and shines by its own light (?); night is caused by the sun's setting behind a huge mountain (?) several thousand feet high, located in the centre of the earth (?), that this world, flat (?) and triangular (?) is composed of 7 states (?) - one of honey, another of sugar, a third of butter, and still another of wine, (?) and the whole mass is borne on the heads of countless elephants (?) which in shaking produce earthquakes."
As you can see, there are at least nine clear scientific errors in this short passage of the Vedas.
The Bible on the other hand contains no scientific errors in its 66 books.
Key: The Bible contains scientific information that was not known by man at the time of writing. In many cases it was only discovered recently.
Question: How did the Bible possess knowledge not yet discovered by man?
Answer: God authored the Bible, and revealed information not yet known to man, so that the world would know that the Bible is God's Word, coming from a mind much greater than man's.
Question: Why did no other religious book reveal new scientific information?
Answer: Because other religious books are man made, are limited by man's then current state of knowledge, and have not come from the all-knowing Creator, but are counterfeits seeking to claim authority over us. Hence we reject them.
What examples of scientific facts revealed in the Bible, were unknown to man at the time of writing?
1. The Earth Hangs in Space.
"He hangs the earth upon nothing." Job 26:7 stated 1500BC.
Until modern times "experts" believed ideas such as the earth sat on four elephants, who stood on a giant turtle, who swam in the ocean. Man could not imagine how the earth could hang in space on nothing. Yet this is what happens due to gravitational attraction between the earth and the sun, giving the appearance that the earth hangs on nothing.
2. Earth at any time is part day-time and part night.
When the moment of Christ's second coming to earth is discussed in Luke 17:31-36, Christ's return interrupts people sleeping at night on one part of the earth, and interrupts others in the daytime grinding at the mill or working in the field. How did Jesus Christ know that the earth at any point of time is half dark and half light? Because He is the all-knowing God. "..in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. (v.30). In that day.... he that is in the field. (v.31). In that night there shall be two in one bed, one shall be taken, the other left. (v.34). Two women shall be grinding together; one shall be taken, and the other left (v.35). Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left." (v.36).
3. Cloud Balancing. "Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds?" Job 37:16.
Clouds are floating in the air, balanced by two forces: gravity pulling them downwards, and warm air pushing them upwards. How did Job know about this in 1500 BC? God told him.
4. Telephone Communication.
"Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, here we are?" Job 38:35. When we dial a telephone number, an electric current (lightning or electricity as we know it) moves through a wire to our friend's telephone, which rings a bell. He answers it and says "Hello, it's ...... here." We then both have a conversation over long distance. The telephone works exactly as Job 38:35 says, yet man did not invent it until 1876. God revealed the telephone to Job in 1520BC, 3400 years before AG Bell invented it.
5. Very Great Number of Stars.
"As the host of heaven cannot be numbered." Jeremiah 33:22 in 590 BC.
"He (God) telleth the number of stars; he calleth them all by their names." Psalm 147:4. Ptolemy in 150AD dogmatically said that 1056 stars existed.
Scientists now estimate that there are around 1011 x 1011 = 1022 stars, and this is only a guess.
6. The Height of Stars.
"Behold the height of the stars, how high they are." Job 22:12.
Man did not realise how high and far the stars are until Bessel in 1838 measured the distances of stars using the parallax method. Alpha Centauri, earth's nearest star is 4 x
1013 kms (40,000 billion kms) away. It would take you 10 million years to get there if you could travel there in your motorcar at 100 km per hour.
7. Pleiades Constellation is a Bound cluster, not breaking up.
"Canst thou bind the sweet influences (cluster) of Pleiades?" Job 38:31.
In 1520 BC, God said that the Pleiades star cluster is bound together in a highly stable group.
Today using high-powered telescopes, this has been shown to be true. It is a bound cluster of about 500 stars, 50 light years across and 410 light years away from earth.
The individual stars cannot overcome the "chains" of gravity and allow them to break away from the cluster. The cluster is not expanding, nor breaking up, but is bound together. This situation is very uncommon as the reverse is usually true of all open or galactic clusters. Also, photographs reveal that some of it's stars are veiled in a faint transparent blue haze of gas and dust, which beautifully reflect the glory of the stars in the cluster with their various colours. The cluster is indeed "sweet" in colour as God said in Job 38:31.
Question: How did the Bible know these two details, which are not observable to the naked eye?
Answer: The all-knowing God Who created the stars, authored the Bible.
8. Orion's Bands are loosed.
"Canst thou loose the bands of Orion?" Job 38:31
The constellation of Orion is a star system that is steadily expanding outwards. The gravitational "bands" holding the constellation together have indeed been loosed, just as God told Job. Orion is 350 light years across and 1600 light years from earth. This expansion is not observable to the naked eye.
Question: How could the Bible tell the difference between two star systems in 1600 BC, Pleiades being bound and Orion being loosed?
Answer: God authored the Bible. "Canst thou bind the sweet influences (cluster) of Pleiades or loose the bands of Orion?" Job 38:31. God can and has done it.
9. Spherical Earth.
“It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth." Isaiah 40:22. "..when he set a compass upon the face of the depth." Proverbs 8:27.
Circle 2329 = Compass 2329 in Hebrew is "Khoog" = to describe a circle, or circuit, meaning the horizon which is circular.
In 712 BC, when Isaiah wrote this, people thought that the earth was flat, and that you could sail over the edge of it and fall off. Columbus and Magellan proved that the earth was circular by sailing around it in a circle from East to West and then returning to the point of departure.
Question: How did the Bible know that the earth was spherical? Answer: God wrote it.
10. Treasures of the Snow.
"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” Job 38:22.
Snow crystals are invisible to the naked eye, but under a microscope every snow crystal is different. No two snow crystals are the same. They are all beautiful 6-sided patterns, just like exquisite treasures. How did the Bible know this 3300 years before the microscope was invented? God wrote it.
11. All Mankind came from One Woman.
"Adam called his wife's name Eve: because she was the mother of all living." Genesis 3:20. DNA is found in every cell, in both the nucleus and the mitochondrion (energy station). Mitochondrial DNA is always and only inherited from the mother. Analysis of this DNA in humans from all over the world shows unmistakably that all humans have inherited it from one woman. This research was done by Wilson, Cann, and Stoneking from the University of California, Berkeley.
(Creation Ex Nihilo, Vol.12, No.2, March 1990).
12. The Bloodstream Carries Life.
"The life of the flesh is in the blood." Leviticus 17:11.
From 400 BC to 1900 AD, a procedure called "blood letting" was popular. Sick people had blood drained from their bloodstream as a supposed therapeutic measure. It was responsible for killing millions of people, such as George Washington. People thought that blood carried disease instead of life. By draining the blood, the patient died of blood loss. Now we give blood to some sick patients. The Bible was right again.
13. Diseases Caused by Pigs.
"And the swine...is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat and their carcass shall ye not touch". Leviticus 11:7,8.
Forbidding to eat pigs was because of:
• lack of refrigeration, and
• roasting pork over an open flame does not destroy the parasites. Parasites are obtained by handling fresh pork.
Some diseases are caused by eating pork that is not properly cooked. For example, Trichinosis larvae attach to the intestine when eaten. They then bore through the intestine into the blood stream, and the larvae are carried to all parts of the body. They develop and grow in a person's striated muscle.
Pork Tapeworm may feed off the intestine and grow to 12 foot long. It may be fatal in 10-20 years.
God, by forbidding people to eat or touch pork, shows His care for us. Question: How did the Bible know about the dangers of pork in 1500 BC? Answer: God wrote the Bible.
14. Leprosy to be Quarantined.
"he (the leper) shall dwell alone; outside the camp shall his habitation be.Thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is by fire." Leviticus 13:46,57. Moses laid down the rules to recognise and to quarantine the infected leper as contagious, lest other people catch leprosy.
15. Sanitation.
"Thou shalt have a place outside the camp.... when you will ease yourself, you shall dig (with a paddle) and shall turn back and cover that which cometh from thee.” Deuteronomy 23:12,13.
Up until 1800 AD, human excrement was dumped onto the unpaved, filthy streets. Powerful stenches gripped villages and cities. Flies bred in the filth, spreading intestinal diseases that killed millions of people. Such deaths by diseases like typhoid, cholera and dysentery could have been avoided if they had obeyed the Bible.
Question: How did the Bible know this, when man couldn't understand it until 1800? Answer: God wrote the Bible.
Moses never learned this information from Egypt, because Egypt's standard medical textbook was the "Papyrus Ebers." It contained quack cures like "lizards blood, pigs teeth, stinking fat and meat, pig's ear wax, excreta from humans, dogs, flies, cats, etc.!” Moses never referred to these false cures in his writings.
16. Hands and Clothes Washing.
Until 1900 AD, many hospital patients died due to infections caused by doctors not washing their hands or clothing after contact with infectious patients. The Bible required repeated washing in running water with time allowed for drying and exposure to the sun to kill the bacteria.
17. Fountains Under the Sea.
"Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?" Job 38:16. "When he strengthened the fountains of the deep." Proverbs 8:28.
There are at least 10,000 known underwater volcanoes, adding extra water to the oceans of 430 million tons each year.
Question: How did the Bible know what took place on the deep ocean floor? Answer: God wrote it.
18. The Water Cycle.
"All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from where the rivers come, there they return again." Ecclesiestes 1:7.
Rain falls on the coast, runs down the rivers into the oceans, evaporates into clouds, and is blown back to land. It then rains, thus repeating what is known as the water cycle.
19. The Sun is the Source of the Earth's Wind Systems.
"By what way is the light parted, which scatters the east wind upon the earth?” Job 38:24. Wind is caused by the uneven heating of the air around the earth by the sun. The sun also heats the surface of the earth unevenly. Air above hot areas (such as land) expands and rises. Air from cooler areas then flows in to take the place of heated air. This is called circulation.
20. Light can be Parted or Dispersed into a Rainbow Spectrum.
"By what way is the light parted (Heb.2505)?" Job 38:24. "Parted" in Hebrew is "chalaq” which means, "separated".
White light can be separated into 7 colours of the spectrum which are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. This was not understood until experiments with light were performed in the 1600's.
Note: Light is like Jesus Christ: "I am the light of the world." John 9:5. As light has seven colours, so Christ has the seven spirits of God. See Isaiah 11:1,2.
21. Winds blow in Circuits.
"The wind goes toward the south, and turns about unto the north, it whirls about continually and the wind turns again according to his circuits." Ecclesiastes 1:6.
At the equator, the sun heats the air causing it to rise. In the upper atmosphere this air flows away from the equator. When the air returns to the earth's surface, it flows across the surface. This moving surface air produces the six belts of prevailing winds around the earth.
22. Winds have Weight and hence Air Pressure.
"To make the weight for the winds." Job 28:25.
Galileo in 1600 AD noted that a suction pump would not raise water more than 34 feet. Torricelli suggested that if air could support a column of water 34 feet high, then air should support a column of mercury about 2.5 feet high, because mercury is 13 times as heavy as water. Torricelli made a mercury barometer and proved that air has pressure and hence weight as the Bible says. God revealed that air has weight 3200 years earlier.
23. Sea Paths or Ocean Currents.
"Whatsoever passes through the paths of the sea". Psalm 8:8. "Paths" in Hebrew means "customary roads." Matthew Maury is the father of Oceanography. A statue of him exists in Virginia with charts of the sea in one hand and a Bible in the other. Until Maury's work there were no charts of sailing lanes. One day during a temporary illness, his son read from Psalm 8:8. Maury stopped him, asking him to read it again. Maury then said: "It is enough. If the Word of God says that there are paths in the sea, they must be there, and I am going to find them." Within a few years he had charted the sea lanes and ocean currents.
Question: How did the Bible know about sea paths or ocean currents? Answer: God wrote it.
24. Laws of Physics control matter, energy and motion.
God asked Job: "Knowest thou the ordinances (laws) of heaven?" Job 38:33. Ordinances are physical laws that govern the movement of heavenly bodies, stars, planets, comets, meteors etc. Examples include:
• Keplar's laws of equal areas of orbits
• Solar Physics
• Newton's law of universal gravitation
• Quantum mechanics
• Newton's three laws of motion
• Radioactive decay
• The first and second laws of thermodynamics
• Sub atomic particle laws
• Laws governing blackholes, quasars, pulsars etc.
The more that man learns about science, the more he realises that there is to learn. Question: How did the Bible know that science operates on laws in 1500 BC? Answer: God wrote it
25. The First Law of Thermodynamics states that no new matter or energy is being created in the known universe; it is only being interconverted from one form to another. "On the seventh day God ended his work which He had made." Genesis 2:2.
26. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the disorder of the universe is increasing. Systems are running from a high to a low state of energy.
"They (the earth and heavens) all shall wax old as doth a garment. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same,and thy years shall not fail." Hebrews 1:11,12.
Scientists admit that with all the energy that the sun burns up, it must become cold one day in the distant future. The same must happen to all stars. This is called the "heat death of the universe." Without solar heat, life on earth could not exist. Thankfully Jesus Christ is going to remake this universe into a perfect state at the end of the Millennium.
27. Can a Whale swallow Jonah
"Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." Jonah 1:17. Many people use this as their reason for doubting the Bible's truthfulness. How can a fish swallow a man?
Several cases in modern times have been reported of a whale swallowing a man who survived. One is reported by Francis Fox in "Sixty-three years of Engineering" p.298-300 and confirmed by two scientists, one being M. DeParville, the scientific editor of "Journal Des Debats" in Paris.
In February 1891, the whaling ship, "Star of the East" was near the Falkland Islands, where they sighted a large sperm whale. Two boats were sent out after the whale. One boat harpooned the whale, but the whale upset the other boat, drowning one man and the other sailor James Bartley, disappearing without a trace. After the whale was killed and cut open two days later, James Bartley was found unconscious and doubled up inside the whale. He had lost his senses through fright and not through lack of air. His skin was bleached white from stomach acid. He fully recovered. If a man can survive two days in a whale in 1891, surely Jonah could have survived three days in a great fish in 862 BC.
CONCLUSION:
The Bible not only includes that which is scientifically correct, but also totally avoids that which is scientific nonsense as found in the books of many other religions. For example, the ancient Egyptians believed that the world was hatched from a great cosmic egg which had wings.
Because the Bible avoids scientific nonsense, and because the Bible contains scientific information that was not known until recently, we conclude that the all-knowing Creator God authored the Bible. This is a powerful argument to warrant our complete confidence in the Bible's truth and reliability on every other issue of life.
FULFILLED PROPHECY as proof of the Bible.
FULFILLED PROPHECY as proof of the Bible.
PROPHECY FULFILLED OF NATIONS, CITIES and INDIVIDUALS.
Aim: To study Bible prophecies as proof of God authoring the Bible.
Introduction: "Show the things that are to come hereafter that we may know that ye are gods..." Isaiah 41:23.
Here God challenges all other religions claiming to be the truth to prove that they are from God by predicting the future. Nobody can correctly predict the future on every guess. The Bible is the only book in the world that correctly predicts the future hundreds of times, without making any mistakes. No other book does this. The Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim writings contain no cases of clearly fulfilled prophecies. This proves that they are not from God. Any man can write a book with moral teachings. Only God can write a book that always correctly foretells the future, as the Bible does.
Four tests to prove that a prophecy is from God:
i) His message had to be according to God and His Word.
"If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah 8:20.
ii) His prediction must come true. "If the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken...” Deuteronomy 18:22.
iii) Was the prophecy far enough before the predicted event to exclude chances of human guesswork?
iv) Is the prediction ambiguous, vague or capable of several explanations?
What is the significance of predictive prophecy?
i) It proves God's existence, as the mind behind the Bible.
ii) It proves that the Bible is God's inspired word, without error.
iii) It proves that Jesus Christ is God, whom the Old Testament predicts.
iv) It proves all other Bible doctrines to be true, giving us a strong foundation to base our life
on.
The true prophet presents a message of conviction and repentance, calling the people to obedience and righteousness.
Consider the following examples of fulfilled Bible prophecies under the headings of Nations, Cities and Individuals.
I. NATIONS.
Consider the following 44 correct predictions concerning Israel, Edom, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and Egypt as proof of God authoring the Bible.
1. ISRAEL.
Date Date
Prophecy Prophecy
Made Fulfilled Prophecy
2000 BC 1948 AD Israel would become a great nation.
"I will make of thee a great nation." Genesis 12:1-3.
992 BC 975 BC Israel would split into 10 tribes and 2 tribes.
"I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give
10 tribes to thee (Jeroboam)". I Kings 11:31.
607 BC 536 BC Israel would be captive in Babylon for 70 years. Jer. 25:11-14.
"These nations shall serve the King of Babylon seventy years."
1451 BC 70 AD Israel would be scattered among the nations of the world. "The
Lord shall scatter thee from ..... one end of the earth to the other."
Deuteronomy 28:64. This was fulfilled in 70 AD when Titus the
Roman General destroyed Jerusalem, killing one million Jews,
and taking 100,000 Israelites as slaves.
1451 BC 100 AD Israel would become a byword among all nations. "Thou shalt
become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all
nations where the Lord shall lead thee." Deuteronomy 28:37.
People refer to someone who holds his money tightly as a Jew.
1451 BC 70 AD Israel would be persecuted among the nations. Hitler killed six
1939 AD million Jews in World War II. "Thy life shall hang in doubt before
thee, and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none
assurance of thy life." Deuteronomy 28:66.
1491 BC 2004 AD Israel would not be completely destroyed, but retain her identity.
607 BC "I will not destroy them utterly...." Leviticus 26:44.
"I will not make a full end of thee". Jeremiah 46:28.
712 BC 33 AD Israel would reject her Messiah. "He was despised and rejected
of men; .... we esteemed him not." Isaiah 53:3.
538 BC 33 AD Israel would kill her Messiah. "…shall Messiah be cut off, but not
for himself." Daniel 9:26.
538 BC 70 AD Israel's city of Jerusalem and the Temple will be destroyed just
after Israel rejects her Messiah. "The people of the prince that
shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary." Daniel 9:26.
587 BC 1948 AD Israel would return to Palestine in the latter years just before
Christ's Second Coming. Ezekiel 37:11-14; 38:1-39:29. "I will
gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.
Then will I sprinkle clean water on you ..... " Ezekiel 36:24,25.
714 BC 1967 AD Israel will be militarily superior to Egypt. "The land of Judah
shall be a terror to the land of Egypt." Isaiah 19:17.
2. EDOM and its capital city, Petra.
Esau, Jacob's brother founded Edom in 1800 BC (Genesis 36:8). 350 years later in 1450 BC Edom refused to help Israel pass through her land (Numbers 20). Edom delighted in persecuting Israel. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos and Obadiah condemned Edom. Petra was Edom's strongly fortified capital built into a rock cliff, accessible only by a very narrow entrance. This made them feel invincible. Mohammed captured Petra in 636 AD. It then became desolate. These events are prophesied for Edom.
Date Prophecy
713 BC Edom to become a desolation."Thorns shall come up in her palaces"Isaiah
34:13
713 BC Wild animals will inhabit Edom."It shall be a habitation of dragons" Is.34:13-15
713 BC Commerce will cease in Edom‘None shall pass through it for ever.’ Isaiah 34:10
600 BC Spectators will be astonished in Petra. "Edom shall be a desolation: every one
that goes by it shall be astonished." Jeremiah 49:17.
600 BC Never to be populated again. "No man shall abide there." Jeremiah 49:18.
590 BC Israel would conquer Edom. "I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of
my people Israel." Ezekiel 25:14. This seemed a crazy prediction because
Israel was then captive in Babylon, yet 400 years later Judas Maccabeus
invaded and killed thousands of Edomites.
587 BC Edom to have a bloody history. "Blood shall pursue thee." Ezekiel 35:6.
590 BC Edom to become desolate as far as the city of Teman. "I will make it desolate
from Teman." Ezekiel 25:13.
3. BABYLON
Babylon was the capital of the ancient world. It was a centre of trade, learning and culture. Babylon had four walls each 14 miles long, covering 196 square miles, surrounded by a 30 foot wide moat. The walls were 311 feet high, 87 feet wide, with 100 gates of solid brass. 250 watchtowers extended 100 feet higher than the walls. While the Babylonians were holding a drunken feast, Cyrus the Persian had diverted the Euphrates river away from its course underneath the walls of Babylon, and marched his troops along the dry riverbed. He then took the city in 536 BC.
Xerxes later plundered Babylon, as did Alexander the Great's troops. Trajan the Roman Emperor visited Babylon in 116 AD describing it as "mounds and legends of mounds." Layard writes of Babylon: "No Arab tents, no sheepfolds, and overrun by desert animals." Consider the following fulfilled prophecies concerning Babylon:
i) These prophecies were given in 713 BC: Babylon will be like Sodom and
Gomorrah.
"Babylon shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah." Isaiah 13:19.
ii) The Medes and Persians would conquer Babylon (536 BC). Isaiah 13:17;45:1-4.
iii) Babylon shall never be inhabited. Isaiah 13:20.
iv) Arab tents will not be pitched there. Isaiah 13:20.
v) Sheepfolds will not be there. Isaiah 13:20.
vi) Desert creatures will infest the ruins. Isaiah 13:21.
vii) Babylon will be covered with swamps of water. Isaiah 14:23.
Part of Babylon today lies under silt and under the water table.
4. MEDO-PERSIA. Daniel 8:1-8, 20-22. These prophecies were given in 553BC.
God tells Daniel of a series of battles that would occur 220 years later between Medo-Persia and Greece. Alexander the Great of Greece, pictured by a He-goat with a great horn (Alexander himself) severely crushes Darius III army of Medo-Persia (pictured by a ram with two horns).
This occurred in three battles: Granicus (334BC), Issus (333BC) and Guagamela (331BC) which took place beside a river.
"The ram .... having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia." Daniel 8:20.
"The rough goat is the king of Grecia, and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.” (Alexander). Daniel 8:21.
Notice the following aspects of this prophecy:
i) The Ram (Medio-Persia) pushes west, north, south. Daniel 8:4.
This prediction defines the area of influence of Medo-Persia from 536-330BC.
ii) One horn (Persia) was higher or stronger than the other (Medes). Daniel 8:3. History proved Persia to be the stronger partner in the alliance.
iii) The He-goat (Greece) came from the West. Daniel 8:5. Greece is west of Medo-Persia.
iv) The He-goat (Greece) crushed the Ram (Medo-Persia). "He smote the ram, and brake his two horns." Daniel 8:6,7.
v) The battle took place at a river. "He came to the ram which had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river …" Daniel 8:6.
5. GREECE. Daniel 8:8,21,22.
These events were prophesied in 553BC and fulfilled in 331BC, 222 years later. Notice these further accurate predictions:
i) Alexander, after conquering Medo-Persia, went on to conquer all the ancient world across to India.
“The he-goat waxed very great.” Daniel 8:8,22.
ii) Alexander, at the age of 32 drank himself to death at the peak of his strength. “When he was strong, the great horn was broken.” Daniel 8:22.
iii) After Alexander's death, the Greek empire was divided into four smaller powers, each ruled by one of his Generals.
"Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:8,22.
The four empires into which Alexander's empire was divided were Greece, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt.
iv) Alexander's kingdom was not given to his children but to his generals. "A mighty king shall stand up......his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be
divided to the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity..." Daniel 11:3,4.
6. ROME . Daniel 2:40,41.
"The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron ..... it shall break in pieces and bruise ....
the kingdom shall be divided." Daniel 2:40,41. Notice the following prophecies about Rome:
i) Rome, the fourth kingdom was as strong as iron. Rome ruled from England to Babylon, bringing peace, roads and strong government like an iron rule.
ii) Rome was the Empire ruling when Jesus Christ the Messiah first came, “shall Messiah be cut off........and the people (Romans).....” Daniel 9:26.
iii) Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple in 70AD.
".....shall Messiah be cut off...... and the people (Romans) of the prince that
shall come (Antichrist) shall destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary
(Temple)." Daniel 9:26.
iv) Rome was divided in 395AD into the Western Empire ruled by Rome, and the Eastern Empire ruled by Byzantine (or Constantinople), pictured by the two legs of the image in Daniel 2. "The kingdom shall be divided." Daniel 2:41.
7. EGYPT. Ezekiel 29:1-15.
God promised that he would punish Pharaoh of Egypt because he claimed to be a god and to have created the Nile river. "Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt ..... which hath said: ‘My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.’" Ezekiel 29:2,9.
Notice these predictions that God made concerning Egypt
i) Egypt would not be inhabited for 40 years but would be desolate.
"I will make Egypt utterly waste and desolate from the tower of Syene to the border of Ethiopia ..... Neither shall it be inhabited forty years." Ezekiel 29:10-12. This prediction was made in 588 BC. In 579 BC, Nebuchadnezzar conquered Egypt then deported the Egyptians to other nations from 576 BC until they returned in 536 BC.
ii) Egyptians would return to Egypt after 40 years. "Egypt...shall be desolate forty years." 12
"Neither shall it be inhabited forty years." v.11.
"At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people where they were scattered & will cause them to return to the land of Pathros (South Egypt)" Ezekiel 29:13,14
iii) Egypt will be a base kingdom: "they shall be there a base kingdom." (Ezekiel 29:14) Egypt has been a base kingdom ever since 536 BC.
iv) Egypt will be afraid of Israel. This is true today ever since Israel defeated Egypt in the six-day war in 1967. "The land of Judah shall be a terror to Egypt." Isaiah 19:17.
II. CITIES. Four main cities have 30 detailed prophetic predictions given about them:
1. TYRE. Destruction of TYRE was foretold in Ezekiel 26:1-14 in 590 BC.
Ezekiel 26 contains six prophecies for Tyre that have been fulfilled. If Ezekiel had looked at Tyre in his day and made these predictions in human wisdom, there would have been only one chance in 75,000,000 of them all coming true.
i) Nebuchadnezzar will destroy the mainland city of Tyre. 26:7-11. "I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon." (27:7). This was prophesied
in 590 BC. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Tyre four years after the prophecy was made. After a 13 year siege (586-573 BC), Nebuchadnezzar broke the gates down. He found the city empty. The people had fled to a 140 acre island 800 metres off the coast & fortified a city there. The mainland city was destroyed in 573 BC as foretold, but the island city of Tyre still remained.
ii) "I will cause many nations to come against thee….......as waves." Ezekiel 26:3.
Invaders who attacked Tyre were Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Moslems and Crusaders.
iii) "I will scrape her dust from her ..... like the top of a rock." 26:4.
When island Tyre refused to submit to Alexander, he demolished the old city on the mainland. With the debris of the old city, he scraped it off the ground like you scrape dust off a rock, pushing it into the water. He thus built a causeway 60 metres wide by 800 metres long out to the island of Tyre, where he laid siege to it, conquered it, and destroyed the island city in 332 BC. The causeway still remains and old Tyre is as flat as a rock. This prophecy was given 258 years before its fulfilment.
iv) "Fishermen will spread their nets over the site." Ezekiel 26:5,14. Fishermen today dry their nets on the rocks of old mainland Tyre.
v) "They shall throw the city debris into the water." When Alexander's engineers built the causeway, they laid the stone, timber and dust remains of old Tyre into the water. Ez. 26:12.
vi) The city will never be rebuilt. "Thou shalt be built no more." 26:14. Old Tyre has been bare as a rock for 2500 years as God said, even though 10 million gallons of fresh water supply the site daily with enough water for a city. The city has not been rebuilt even today.
2. JERUSALEM
Jesus Christ made the following predictions about Jerusalem:
i) Not one stone of Herod's temple would be left standing on another. "There
shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Matthew 24:1,2. The Roman army finally in September 70 AD stormed the walls of Jerusalem through the Antonia fortress. According to Josephus, they killed one million Jews and took 100,000 Jews captive as slaves. A soldier dropped a torch in the Temple setting it on fire. This melted the gold in the Temple, which flowed into the cracks in the Temple foundations. The Romans dug up the Temple’s foundations thus destroying the Temple. The Roman soldiers fulfilled Christ's prophecy of not one stone of the Temple being left standing on another.
ii) Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies in a siege. "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." Luke 21:20.
iii) The only way of safety was to flee Jerusalem when you see the armies.
"Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out, and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto." Luke 21:21.
The Roman army surrounded Jerusalem for five days and its troops battered at the walls. Had not Luke in 53AD recorded Jesus' warning to leave Jerusalem when armies surrounded it? How could they escape if armies were all around the walls? Josephus the historian writes that "The Roman army retired from the city, without any reason in the world." Josephus continues: "The Jews were greatly encouraged by this, but many of the most eminent Jews then left the city." Hegessippus, another historian tells us that those leaving were Christians who knew Christ's command to flee in Luke 21:20,21. This proves that Luke wrote well before 66AD when the Roman army first came.
iv) Many Jews in Jerusalem would be killed by the sword. Luke 21:24.
"And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations".
v) Many Jews would be led away captive into all nations. Luke 21:24.
vi) In the starvation of the siege women ate their children.
"He shall besiege thee ..... thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters .... in the siege." Deuteronomy 28:52,57.
vii) Jerusalem would be under Gentile control until Christ returns. "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke 21:24. This occurred 40 years after it was predicted, when Titus the Roman General conquered Jerusalem in 70AD. Jerusalem has been under Gentile (non Jewish) control since 70AD as prophesied by Jesus Christ.
viii) Jerusalem shall be plowed as a field. In 135AD the Jews rebelled against Rome again. Hadrian the Roman General, in a three-and-a-half year war killed 580,000 Jews and ran a plough over Jerusalem, thus fulfilling Micah’s prophecy written in 730BC. "Therefore shall Zion for your sakes be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps." Micah 3:12.
ix) Jews will return to Jerusalem in the end days. We all know that the Jews occupy part of Jerusalem and Israel today since 1948. “I will gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.” (Ezekiel 36:24). God predicts that Jerusalem in the end days, being occupied by Jews, will be invaded by all nation's armies. Jesus Christ will then return to rescue the Jews, defeat the invading armies, and rule on earth in peace for 1000 years.
"I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle ...." Zechariah 14:1-4.
x) Jerusalem’s East Gate will be Shut. Today if you visit Jerusalem’s East Gate, you will notice that it is completely bricked up. Jesus Christ, Who is the God of Israel, entered it on a donkey on His way to be crucified. Ezekiel wrote: “Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east and it was shut. Then the LORD (Jehovah the Father) said unto me: ‘this gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD (Jehovah the Son), the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.” Ezekiel 44:1,2.
xi) Jerusalem will be a burdensome stone for all people.
“In that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people.” (Zechariah 12:3). This prophecy has been fulfilled today because the Palestinian Muslim Arab conflict with Israel over Jerusalem is a very difficult problem to solve.
3. JERICHO.
Predicted in Joshua 6:26 (1451BC), and fulfilled in I Kings 16:34 (925BC). After the destruction of Jericho in Joshua's time, 1451BC, Joshua makes an amazing threefold prophecy about Jericho:
"Cursed be the man .... that builds this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." Joshua 6:26.
i) Jericho would be rebuilt by a man with at least two sons.
ii) The builder's oldest son would die when the city foundations were laid.
iii) The builder's youngest son would die when the city and it's gates were finished.
I Kings 16:34 records that this prophecy was fulfilled in Hiel the Bethelite. No one would intend to fulfil this prophecy.
"In his (Ahab's) days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates in his youngest son Segub according to the Word of the Lord which he spake by Joshua."
Unger writes: "The rebuilding of Jericho is confirmed by archaeological diggings .....
there are no occupational levels from Joshua's time to Ahab's era, when small ruins from the 10th century BC point to Hiel's rebuilding the site." [Ungers Bible Handbook, p.220]
4. NINEVEH.
Predicted in Nahum (713BC) and fulfilled in 614BC.
God spared wicked Nineveh in 862BC at Jonah's preaching. At this time, archaeology reveals a change occurred from worshipping many gods to worshipping one god, called Nebo, the son in the Babylonian trinity.
Nineveh's wall was 100 feet tall, 50 feet thick, with 15 gates and 1200 towers each 200 feet high. Nineveh was 60 miles in circumference, with a 150 foot wide moat around it. Nahum in 3:8 writes just after Thebes (No) in Egypt was destroyed by King Ashurbanipal of Assyria in 663BC. Nineveh was destroyed in 612BC with ease after a three month siege. It fell like "first ripe figs falling if shaken." (3:12).
Three times Nahum predicts that Nineveh will be destroyed with a flood: 1:8 "overrunning flood"
2:6 "gates of rivers"
2:8 "like a pool of water".
In 613BC the Assyrian army was away fighting Babylon, when heavy rains swelled the Euphrates River, flooding part of Nineveh and casting down four kilometres of wall length.
The King, believing an ancient prophecy of the river becoming their enemy, panicked and ordered he and his palace to be burned down. Babylonians, Medes and Scythians attacked through this four kilometre gap, thus conquering Nineveh in 612BC. Twelve predictions about the destruction of Nineveh are given in Nahum 1-3.
Nahum's Prophecies Historical Fulfilments
7. Many Ninevites would be massacred. So many were killed that the flowing
3:3. stream became blood red for miles.
8. Plundering would follow the They carried off much spoil,
overthrow of Nineveh. 2:9-10. beyond counting.
9. Its people would try to escape. 2:8. King Sardanapalus sent away his
three sons and two daughters.
10. Ninevite officers would weaken and The Assyrian army deserted the
flee. 3:17. King (Babylonian Chronicle).
11. Nineveh's idols would be destroyed. The Ishtar goddess lay headless
1:14. in Nineveh's ruins.
12. Nineveh would never be rebuilt. Many cities were rebuilt, eg.
1:9,14. Jerusalem, but not Nineveh.
III. INDIVIDUALS.
The Bible makes detailed predictions about five main individuals. Two are mentioned by name: Josiah was predicted 350 years before he lived, and Cyrus King of Persia was predicted 175 years before he lived. How can such detailed predictions be made? God wrote the Bible, is the only possible answer.
1. JOSIAH, King of Judah was prophesied by name in 975BC by an unnamed man of
God in I Kings 13:1-3 that he would burn idolatrous priests’ bones on the altar at
Bethel. "Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and
upon thee (the altar) shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense
upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.” Those idolatrous priests
burned incense on the same altar under evil King Jeroboam I of Israel.
350 years later in 624BC Josiah, a King of Judah, while cleansing Israel of pagan
practices, broke down the altar and high place of King Jeroboam at Bethel. "Josiah
turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were in the mount, and sent, and took the
1. The Assyrian fortresses around Nineveh would be easily captured. 3:12.
2. The besieged Ninevites would prepare bricks and mortar for emergency defence walls. 3:14.
3. The city gates would be destroyed. 3:13
4. In the final hours of the attack, the Ninevites would be drunk. 1:10; 3:11
5. Ninevites would be destroyed by a flood. 1:8; 2:6,8.
6. Nineveh would be destroyed by fire. 1:10; 2:13; 3:15,13
Babylonian records state that the fortified towns around Nineveh began to fall in 614BC.
To the south of the gate, the moat is still filled with stone and mud bricks from the walls, heaped up when they were breached.
The main attack came on the north-west gate
Siculus (20BC) wrote: "The Assyrian king gave much wine to his soldiers. Deserters told this to the enemy, who attacked that night."
Diodorus: “In the third year of the siege heavy rains caused the river to flood part
of the city and break part of the walls.”
The temple was burned as seen by a two inch layer of ash.
bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar and polluted it,
according to the Word of the Lord, which the man of God proclaimed." II Kings
23:15,16.
The two main predictions here are that:
i) Josiah's name is given 350 years before the event. I Kings 13:2.
ii) Josiah's action of burning the false prophets’ bones is given.
Question: What is the probability of guessing these 2 prophesies? How did the Bible know them?
2. CYRUS, King of Persia, was predicted by name and action in Isaiah 44:28-45:4 in 712BC, that he would conquer Babylon. "That saith of Cyrus. He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt be built, and to the Temple, thy foundation shall be laid." Isaiah 44:28. "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him .....
to open before him the two-leaved gates: and the gates shall not be shut." Isaiah 45:1. Notice the following prophecies that have been fulfilled about Cyrus:
i) Cyrus of Persia is named as the man who would conquer Babylon. Isaiah 45:1. This prophecy was made 176 years before the event occurred.
ii) The two leaved gates of Babylon shall not be shut. According to Heroditus (1:191), the double gates of Babylon were carelessly left open during the night of revelry when the city was taken.
iii) Cyrus gave permission for Jerusalem to be rebuilt and for the Temple
foundation to be laid. II Chronicles 36:22,23; Ezra 1:1-4.
iv) "I will give thee the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places." 45:3. God gave Cyrus possession of the treasures of darkness, which was the wealth of conquered nations. Valuables taken from nations were hidden in dark, secretly concealed, subterranean vaults. These prophecies given in
712BC were fulfilled in 536BC, 176 years later.
Question: What is the probability of guessing the exact name "Cyrus" of the man who would conquer Babylon?
Answer: It could not be guessed. This proves that the Bible is the Word of the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator/God.
3. ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Daniel 8:1-8, 20-22 and 11:1-4.
Although Daniel does not mention Alexander by name, he is clearly referred to in Daniel 8:21 as "the great horn that is between the He-goat's eyes is the first king." (Alexander). Alexander crushed the Persians at the Battle of Issus in 333BC. Josephus the historian who lived from 37 to 100AD, states that when Alexander approached Jerusalem to conquer it, he was met at the gates by Jaddua the High Priest who showed him in Daniel 8:1-8, 20-22 that he as the first king of the Greek empire, would conquer the Persians. This was prophesied in 553BC, and was fulfilled in 333BC, 220 years later. Alexander was so impressed at this prophecy of a Greek conquering the Persians, that he worshipped the God of the Bible, offered sacrifices to God and spared Jerusalem.
Note: Unbelieving critics who won't accept the Bible predicting the future, say that Daniel was written around 200BC which would make it after the events, as history not prophecy. This is clearly disproven by Josephus quoting Jaddua who quotes Daniel 8:1-8,20-22 to Alexander in 340BC. This proves that Daniel was written well before 340BC and is truly predictive prophecy of the supernatural God. (Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus, Book XI, Chap.8, p.244).
4. JOHN THE BAPTIST.
"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." Isaiah 40:3. John the Baptist is the one referred to here who prepared the way of Jesus Christ who is Jehovah God. This prophecy was made in 712BC and fulfilled around 30AD.
5. JESUS CHRIST FORETOLD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
So much is predicted about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament that we can only give here a brief summary. We know that the Bible is the Word of God because it predicts so many details of Jesus Christ's life. Consider the following prophecies:
1. Born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14; Genesis 3:15. “A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son”.
2. Tribe of Judah. Genesis 49:10. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah…”
3. House of David. Jeremiah 23:5. “I will raise unto Judah a righteous Branch,and a King”
4. Born at Bethlehem. Micah 5:2. “Thou, Bethlehem..Judah, yet out of thee shall come..”
5. Visited by wise men with gifts. Isaiah 60:3,6,9. “Gentiles shall come…and kings”.
6. Would be in Egypt for a time. Hosea 11:1. “called my son out of Egypt”.
7. Infants killed at His birthplace. Jeremiah 31:15. “Rachel weeping for her children”.
8. Preceded by a messenger (John the Baptist) Isaiah40:3. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord”.
9. Ministry to begin in Galilee. Isaiah 9:1. “Zebulun, & Naphtali.. have seen a great light”
10. Perform miracles. Isaiah 35:5,6. “blind,..deaf,..lame,..dumb sing”.
11. Teach parables. Psalm 78:2. “I will open my mouth in a parable,..”
12. Heal many. Isaiah 42:7,16; Matthew 8:16,17. “To open the blind eyes..”
13. His miracles not believed. Isaiah 53:1. “Who hath believed our report?”
14. Enter Jerusalem on a donkey. Zechariah 9:9. “thy King cometh…riding upon an ass.”
15. Betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver. Zechariah 11:12.‘they weighed for my price
30’
16. Money then used to buy a potter's field. Zechariah 11:13. “cast them to the potter..”
17. Money thrown on the Temple floor. Zechariah 11:13. “cast them...in the house of the Lord”
18. Forsaken by His disciples. Zechariah 13:7. “Smite the Shepherd, & sheep shall be scattered”
19. False witnesses accuse Him. Psalm 35:11. “False witnesses did rise up:”
20. Silent before His accusers. Isaiah 53:7. “He was oppressed,…, yet he opened not his mouth.”
21. Be scourged and spat on. Isaiah 50:6. “I hid not my face from shame and spitting.”
22. Crucified between two thieves. Isaiah 53:9. “He made his grave with the wicked..”
23. Buried in a rich man's tomb. Isaiah 53:9. “His grave … with the rich in his death.”
24. His side pierced. Zechariah 12:10. “they shall look upon me whom they have pierced”.
25. Given vinegar to drink. Psalm 69:21. “in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
26. Garments gambled for. Psalm 22:18. “They part my garments among them, cast lots on my..”
27. No bones broken. Psalm 34:20. “He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.”
28. His forsaken cry. Psalm 22:1. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
29. Darkness over the land from noon. Amos 8:9. “I will darken the earth in the clear day.”
30. Hands and feet pierced. Psalm 22:16. “they pierced my hands and my feet”.
31. Raised from the dead. Psalm 16:10. “thou wilt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption"
32. Ascend to heaven. Psalm 68:18. “Thou hast ascended on high..”
33. Rejected by His own nation, Israel. Isaiah 53:3‘He is rejected of men. We esteemed him
not’
34. Gentiles believe on him. Isaiah 60:3. “Gentiles shall come to thy light.”
35. Messiah comes, is killed, then Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed (fulfilled in 70AD). Daniel 9:26. “shall Messiah be cut off,.. people..destroy city and sanctuary”
36. Jews to lose power to pass the death sentence 23 years before the trial of Christ. Genesis 49:10. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come;” This was confirmed by Josephus describing the Romans taking this power away from the Jews in 11AD.
37. Messiah would offer Himself as Prince to Israel 173,880 days after 5th March 444BC. Daniel 9:26,27; Luke 19:41-44. “From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to Messiah the Prince shall be 69 weeks (heptads=7x360 days)”
Conclusion:
If we assign a probability of guessing each of these predictions correctly, we see that from a human viewpoint it is impossible to predict these events as the Bible has. Not one prediction failed. All are correctly fulfilled. This proves that the Bible is not humanly authored, but authored by God who ALONE knows the future.
PROPHECY FULFILLED OF NATIONS, CITIES and INDIVIDUALS.
Aim: To study Bible prophecies as proof of God authoring the Bible.
Introduction: "Show the things that are to come hereafter that we may know that ye are gods..." Isaiah 41:23.
Here God challenges all other religions claiming to be the truth to prove that they are from God by predicting the future. Nobody can correctly predict the future on every guess. The Bible is the only book in the world that correctly predicts the future hundreds of times, without making any mistakes. No other book does this. The Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim writings contain no cases of clearly fulfilled prophecies. This proves that they are not from God. Any man can write a book with moral teachings. Only God can write a book that always correctly foretells the future, as the Bible does.
Four tests to prove that a prophecy is from God:
i) His message had to be according to God and His Word.
"If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah 8:20.
ii) His prediction must come true. "If the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken...” Deuteronomy 18:22.
iii) Was the prophecy far enough before the predicted event to exclude chances of human guesswork?
iv) Is the prediction ambiguous, vague or capable of several explanations?
What is the significance of predictive prophecy?
i) It proves God's existence, as the mind behind the Bible.
ii) It proves that the Bible is God's inspired word, without error.
iii) It proves that Jesus Christ is God, whom the Old Testament predicts.
iv) It proves all other Bible doctrines to be true, giving us a strong foundation to base our life
on.
The true prophet presents a message of conviction and repentance, calling the people to obedience and righteousness.
Consider the following examples of fulfilled Bible prophecies under the headings of Nations, Cities and Individuals.
I. NATIONS.
Consider the following 44 correct predictions concerning Israel, Edom, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and Egypt as proof of God authoring the Bible.
1. ISRAEL.
Date Date
Prophecy Prophecy
Made Fulfilled Prophecy
2000 BC 1948 AD Israel would become a great nation.
"I will make of thee a great nation." Genesis 12:1-3.
992 BC 975 BC Israel would split into 10 tribes and 2 tribes.
"I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give
10 tribes to thee (Jeroboam)". I Kings 11:31.
607 BC 536 BC Israel would be captive in Babylon for 70 years. Jer. 25:11-14.
"These nations shall serve the King of Babylon seventy years."
1451 BC 70 AD Israel would be scattered among the nations of the world. "The
Lord shall scatter thee from ..... one end of the earth to the other."
Deuteronomy 28:64. This was fulfilled in 70 AD when Titus the
Roman General destroyed Jerusalem, killing one million Jews,
and taking 100,000 Israelites as slaves.
1451 BC 100 AD Israel would become a byword among all nations. "Thou shalt
become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all
nations where the Lord shall lead thee." Deuteronomy 28:37.
People refer to someone who holds his money tightly as a Jew.
1451 BC 70 AD Israel would be persecuted among the nations. Hitler killed six
1939 AD million Jews in World War II. "Thy life shall hang in doubt before
thee, and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none
assurance of thy life." Deuteronomy 28:66.
1491 BC 2004 AD Israel would not be completely destroyed, but retain her identity.
607 BC "I will not destroy them utterly...." Leviticus 26:44.
"I will not make a full end of thee". Jeremiah 46:28.
712 BC 33 AD Israel would reject her Messiah. "He was despised and rejected
of men; .... we esteemed him not." Isaiah 53:3.
538 BC 33 AD Israel would kill her Messiah. "…shall Messiah be cut off, but not
for himself." Daniel 9:26.
538 BC 70 AD Israel's city of Jerusalem and the Temple will be destroyed just
after Israel rejects her Messiah. "The people of the prince that
shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary." Daniel 9:26.
587 BC 1948 AD Israel would return to Palestine in the latter years just before
Christ's Second Coming. Ezekiel 37:11-14; 38:1-39:29. "I will
gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.
Then will I sprinkle clean water on you ..... " Ezekiel 36:24,25.
714 BC 1967 AD Israel will be militarily superior to Egypt. "The land of Judah
shall be a terror to the land of Egypt." Isaiah 19:17.
2. EDOM and its capital city, Petra.
Esau, Jacob's brother founded Edom in 1800 BC (Genesis 36:8). 350 years later in 1450 BC Edom refused to help Israel pass through her land (Numbers 20). Edom delighted in persecuting Israel. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos and Obadiah condemned Edom. Petra was Edom's strongly fortified capital built into a rock cliff, accessible only by a very narrow entrance. This made them feel invincible. Mohammed captured Petra in 636 AD. It then became desolate. These events are prophesied for Edom.
Date Prophecy
713 BC Edom to become a desolation."Thorns shall come up in her palaces"Isaiah
34:13
713 BC Wild animals will inhabit Edom."It shall be a habitation of dragons" Is.34:13-15
713 BC Commerce will cease in Edom‘None shall pass through it for ever.’ Isaiah 34:10
600 BC Spectators will be astonished in Petra. "Edom shall be a desolation: every one
that goes by it shall be astonished." Jeremiah 49:17.
600 BC Never to be populated again. "No man shall abide there." Jeremiah 49:18.
590 BC Israel would conquer Edom. "I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of
my people Israel." Ezekiel 25:14. This seemed a crazy prediction because
Israel was then captive in Babylon, yet 400 years later Judas Maccabeus
invaded and killed thousands of Edomites.
587 BC Edom to have a bloody history. "Blood shall pursue thee." Ezekiel 35:6.
590 BC Edom to become desolate as far as the city of Teman. "I will make it desolate
from Teman." Ezekiel 25:13.
3. BABYLON
Babylon was the capital of the ancient world. It was a centre of trade, learning and culture. Babylon had four walls each 14 miles long, covering 196 square miles, surrounded by a 30 foot wide moat. The walls were 311 feet high, 87 feet wide, with 100 gates of solid brass. 250 watchtowers extended 100 feet higher than the walls. While the Babylonians were holding a drunken feast, Cyrus the Persian had diverted the Euphrates river away from its course underneath the walls of Babylon, and marched his troops along the dry riverbed. He then took the city in 536 BC.
Xerxes later plundered Babylon, as did Alexander the Great's troops. Trajan the Roman Emperor visited Babylon in 116 AD describing it as "mounds and legends of mounds." Layard writes of Babylon: "No Arab tents, no sheepfolds, and overrun by desert animals." Consider the following fulfilled prophecies concerning Babylon:
i) These prophecies were given in 713 BC: Babylon will be like Sodom and
Gomorrah.
"Babylon shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah." Isaiah 13:19.
ii) The Medes and Persians would conquer Babylon (536 BC). Isaiah 13:17;45:1-4.
iii) Babylon shall never be inhabited. Isaiah 13:20.
iv) Arab tents will not be pitched there. Isaiah 13:20.
v) Sheepfolds will not be there. Isaiah 13:20.
vi) Desert creatures will infest the ruins. Isaiah 13:21.
vii) Babylon will be covered with swamps of water. Isaiah 14:23.
Part of Babylon today lies under silt and under the water table.
4. MEDO-PERSIA. Daniel 8:1-8, 20-22. These prophecies were given in 553BC.
God tells Daniel of a series of battles that would occur 220 years later between Medo-Persia and Greece. Alexander the Great of Greece, pictured by a He-goat with a great horn (Alexander himself) severely crushes Darius III army of Medo-Persia (pictured by a ram with two horns).
This occurred in three battles: Granicus (334BC), Issus (333BC) and Guagamela (331BC) which took place beside a river.
"The ram .... having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia." Daniel 8:20.
"The rough goat is the king of Grecia, and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.” (Alexander). Daniel 8:21.
Notice the following aspects of this prophecy:
i) The Ram (Medio-Persia) pushes west, north, south. Daniel 8:4.
This prediction defines the area of influence of Medo-Persia from 536-330BC.
ii) One horn (Persia) was higher or stronger than the other (Medes). Daniel 8:3. History proved Persia to be the stronger partner in the alliance.
iii) The He-goat (Greece) came from the West. Daniel 8:5. Greece is west of Medo-Persia.
iv) The He-goat (Greece) crushed the Ram (Medo-Persia). "He smote the ram, and brake his two horns." Daniel 8:6,7.
v) The battle took place at a river. "He came to the ram which had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river …" Daniel 8:6.
5. GREECE. Daniel 8:8,21,22.
These events were prophesied in 553BC and fulfilled in 331BC, 222 years later. Notice these further accurate predictions:
i) Alexander, after conquering Medo-Persia, went on to conquer all the ancient world across to India.
“The he-goat waxed very great.” Daniel 8:8,22.
ii) Alexander, at the age of 32 drank himself to death at the peak of his strength. “When he was strong, the great horn was broken.” Daniel 8:22.
iii) After Alexander's death, the Greek empire was divided into four smaller powers, each ruled by one of his Generals.
"Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:8,22.
The four empires into which Alexander's empire was divided were Greece, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt.
iv) Alexander's kingdom was not given to his children but to his generals. "A mighty king shall stand up......his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be
divided to the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity..." Daniel 11:3,4.
6. ROME . Daniel 2:40,41.
"The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron ..... it shall break in pieces and bruise ....
the kingdom shall be divided." Daniel 2:40,41. Notice the following prophecies about Rome:
i) Rome, the fourth kingdom was as strong as iron. Rome ruled from England to Babylon, bringing peace, roads and strong government like an iron rule.
ii) Rome was the Empire ruling when Jesus Christ the Messiah first came, “shall Messiah be cut off........and the people (Romans).....” Daniel 9:26.
iii) Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple in 70AD.
".....shall Messiah be cut off...... and the people (Romans) of the prince that
shall come (Antichrist) shall destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary
(Temple)." Daniel 9:26.
iv) Rome was divided in 395AD into the Western Empire ruled by Rome, and the Eastern Empire ruled by Byzantine (or Constantinople), pictured by the two legs of the image in Daniel 2. "The kingdom shall be divided." Daniel 2:41.
7. EGYPT. Ezekiel 29:1-15.
God promised that he would punish Pharaoh of Egypt because he claimed to be a god and to have created the Nile river. "Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt ..... which hath said: ‘My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.’" Ezekiel 29:2,9.
Notice these predictions that God made concerning Egypt
i) Egypt would not be inhabited for 40 years but would be desolate.
"I will make Egypt utterly waste and desolate from the tower of Syene to the border of Ethiopia ..... Neither shall it be inhabited forty years." Ezekiel 29:10-12. This prediction was made in 588 BC. In 579 BC, Nebuchadnezzar conquered Egypt then deported the Egyptians to other nations from 576 BC until they returned in 536 BC.
ii) Egyptians would return to Egypt after 40 years. "Egypt...shall be desolate forty years." 12
"Neither shall it be inhabited forty years." v.11.
"At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people where they were scattered & will cause them to return to the land of Pathros (South Egypt)" Ezekiel 29:13,14
iii) Egypt will be a base kingdom: "they shall be there a base kingdom." (Ezekiel 29:14) Egypt has been a base kingdom ever since 536 BC.
iv) Egypt will be afraid of Israel. This is true today ever since Israel defeated Egypt in the six-day war in 1967. "The land of Judah shall be a terror to Egypt." Isaiah 19:17.
II. CITIES. Four main cities have 30 detailed prophetic predictions given about them:
1. TYRE. Destruction of TYRE was foretold in Ezekiel 26:1-14 in 590 BC.
Ezekiel 26 contains six prophecies for Tyre that have been fulfilled. If Ezekiel had looked at Tyre in his day and made these predictions in human wisdom, there would have been only one chance in 75,000,000 of them all coming true.
i) Nebuchadnezzar will destroy the mainland city of Tyre. 26:7-11. "I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon." (27:7). This was prophesied
in 590 BC. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Tyre four years after the prophecy was made. After a 13 year siege (586-573 BC), Nebuchadnezzar broke the gates down. He found the city empty. The people had fled to a 140 acre island 800 metres off the coast & fortified a city there. The mainland city was destroyed in 573 BC as foretold, but the island city of Tyre still remained.
ii) "I will cause many nations to come against thee….......as waves." Ezekiel 26:3.
Invaders who attacked Tyre were Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Moslems and Crusaders.
iii) "I will scrape her dust from her ..... like the top of a rock." 26:4.
When island Tyre refused to submit to Alexander, he demolished the old city on the mainland. With the debris of the old city, he scraped it off the ground like you scrape dust off a rock, pushing it into the water. He thus built a causeway 60 metres wide by 800 metres long out to the island of Tyre, where he laid siege to it, conquered it, and destroyed the island city in 332 BC. The causeway still remains and old Tyre is as flat as a rock. This prophecy was given 258 years before its fulfilment.
iv) "Fishermen will spread their nets over the site." Ezekiel 26:5,14. Fishermen today dry their nets on the rocks of old mainland Tyre.
v) "They shall throw the city debris into the water." When Alexander's engineers built the causeway, they laid the stone, timber and dust remains of old Tyre into the water. Ez. 26:12.
vi) The city will never be rebuilt. "Thou shalt be built no more." 26:14. Old Tyre has been bare as a rock for 2500 years as God said, even though 10 million gallons of fresh water supply the site daily with enough water for a city. The city has not been rebuilt even today.
2. JERUSALEM
Jesus Christ made the following predictions about Jerusalem:
i) Not one stone of Herod's temple would be left standing on another. "There
shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Matthew 24:1,2. The Roman army finally in September 70 AD stormed the walls of Jerusalem through the Antonia fortress. According to Josephus, they killed one million Jews and took 100,000 Jews captive as slaves. A soldier dropped a torch in the Temple setting it on fire. This melted the gold in the Temple, which flowed into the cracks in the Temple foundations. The Romans dug up the Temple’s foundations thus destroying the Temple. The Roman soldiers fulfilled Christ's prophecy of not one stone of the Temple being left standing on another.
ii) Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies in a siege. "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." Luke 21:20.
iii) The only way of safety was to flee Jerusalem when you see the armies.
"Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out, and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto." Luke 21:21.
The Roman army surrounded Jerusalem for five days and its troops battered at the walls. Had not Luke in 53AD recorded Jesus' warning to leave Jerusalem when armies surrounded it? How could they escape if armies were all around the walls? Josephus the historian writes that "The Roman army retired from the city, without any reason in the world." Josephus continues: "The Jews were greatly encouraged by this, but many of the most eminent Jews then left the city." Hegessippus, another historian tells us that those leaving were Christians who knew Christ's command to flee in Luke 21:20,21. This proves that Luke wrote well before 66AD when the Roman army first came.
iv) Many Jews in Jerusalem would be killed by the sword. Luke 21:24.
"And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations".
v) Many Jews would be led away captive into all nations. Luke 21:24.
vi) In the starvation of the siege women ate their children.
"He shall besiege thee ..... thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters .... in the siege." Deuteronomy 28:52,57.
vii) Jerusalem would be under Gentile control until Christ returns. "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke 21:24. This occurred 40 years after it was predicted, when Titus the Roman General conquered Jerusalem in 70AD. Jerusalem has been under Gentile (non Jewish) control since 70AD as prophesied by Jesus Christ.
viii) Jerusalem shall be plowed as a field. In 135AD the Jews rebelled against Rome again. Hadrian the Roman General, in a three-and-a-half year war killed 580,000 Jews and ran a plough over Jerusalem, thus fulfilling Micah’s prophecy written in 730BC. "Therefore shall Zion for your sakes be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps." Micah 3:12.
ix) Jews will return to Jerusalem in the end days. We all know that the Jews occupy part of Jerusalem and Israel today since 1948. “I will gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.” (Ezekiel 36:24). God predicts that Jerusalem in the end days, being occupied by Jews, will be invaded by all nation's armies. Jesus Christ will then return to rescue the Jews, defeat the invading armies, and rule on earth in peace for 1000 years.
"I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle ...." Zechariah 14:1-4.
x) Jerusalem’s East Gate will be Shut. Today if you visit Jerusalem’s East Gate, you will notice that it is completely bricked up. Jesus Christ, Who is the God of Israel, entered it on a donkey on His way to be crucified. Ezekiel wrote: “Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east and it was shut. Then the LORD (Jehovah the Father) said unto me: ‘this gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD (Jehovah the Son), the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.” Ezekiel 44:1,2.
xi) Jerusalem will be a burdensome stone for all people.
“In that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people.” (Zechariah 12:3). This prophecy has been fulfilled today because the Palestinian Muslim Arab conflict with Israel over Jerusalem is a very difficult problem to solve.
3. JERICHO.
Predicted in Joshua 6:26 (1451BC), and fulfilled in I Kings 16:34 (925BC). After the destruction of Jericho in Joshua's time, 1451BC, Joshua makes an amazing threefold prophecy about Jericho:
"Cursed be the man .... that builds this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." Joshua 6:26.
i) Jericho would be rebuilt by a man with at least two sons.
ii) The builder's oldest son would die when the city foundations were laid.
iii) The builder's youngest son would die when the city and it's gates were finished.
I Kings 16:34 records that this prophecy was fulfilled in Hiel the Bethelite. No one would intend to fulfil this prophecy.
"In his (Ahab's) days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates in his youngest son Segub according to the Word of the Lord which he spake by Joshua."
Unger writes: "The rebuilding of Jericho is confirmed by archaeological diggings .....
there are no occupational levels from Joshua's time to Ahab's era, when small ruins from the 10th century BC point to Hiel's rebuilding the site." [Ungers Bible Handbook, p.220]
4. NINEVEH.
Predicted in Nahum (713BC) and fulfilled in 614BC.
God spared wicked Nineveh in 862BC at Jonah's preaching. At this time, archaeology reveals a change occurred from worshipping many gods to worshipping one god, called Nebo, the son in the Babylonian trinity.
Nineveh's wall was 100 feet tall, 50 feet thick, with 15 gates and 1200 towers each 200 feet high. Nineveh was 60 miles in circumference, with a 150 foot wide moat around it. Nahum in 3:8 writes just after Thebes (No) in Egypt was destroyed by King Ashurbanipal of Assyria in 663BC. Nineveh was destroyed in 612BC with ease after a three month siege. It fell like "first ripe figs falling if shaken." (3:12).
Three times Nahum predicts that Nineveh will be destroyed with a flood: 1:8 "overrunning flood"
2:6 "gates of rivers"
2:8 "like a pool of water".
In 613BC the Assyrian army was away fighting Babylon, when heavy rains swelled the Euphrates River, flooding part of Nineveh and casting down four kilometres of wall length.
The King, believing an ancient prophecy of the river becoming their enemy, panicked and ordered he and his palace to be burned down. Babylonians, Medes and Scythians attacked through this four kilometre gap, thus conquering Nineveh in 612BC. Twelve predictions about the destruction of Nineveh are given in Nahum 1-3.
Nahum's Prophecies Historical Fulfilments
7. Many Ninevites would be massacred. So many were killed that the flowing
3:3. stream became blood red for miles.
8. Plundering would follow the They carried off much spoil,
overthrow of Nineveh. 2:9-10. beyond counting.
9. Its people would try to escape. 2:8. King Sardanapalus sent away his
three sons and two daughters.
10. Ninevite officers would weaken and The Assyrian army deserted the
flee. 3:17. King (Babylonian Chronicle).
11. Nineveh's idols would be destroyed. The Ishtar goddess lay headless
1:14. in Nineveh's ruins.
12. Nineveh would never be rebuilt. Many cities were rebuilt, eg.
1:9,14. Jerusalem, but not Nineveh.
III. INDIVIDUALS.
The Bible makes detailed predictions about five main individuals. Two are mentioned by name: Josiah was predicted 350 years before he lived, and Cyrus King of Persia was predicted 175 years before he lived. How can such detailed predictions be made? God wrote the Bible, is the only possible answer.
1. JOSIAH, King of Judah was prophesied by name in 975BC by an unnamed man of
God in I Kings 13:1-3 that he would burn idolatrous priests’ bones on the altar at
Bethel. "Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and
upon thee (the altar) shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense
upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.” Those idolatrous priests
burned incense on the same altar under evil King Jeroboam I of Israel.
350 years later in 624BC Josiah, a King of Judah, while cleansing Israel of pagan
practices, broke down the altar and high place of King Jeroboam at Bethel. "Josiah
turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were in the mount, and sent, and took the
1. The Assyrian fortresses around Nineveh would be easily captured. 3:12.
2. The besieged Ninevites would prepare bricks and mortar for emergency defence walls. 3:14.
3. The city gates would be destroyed. 3:13
4. In the final hours of the attack, the Ninevites would be drunk. 1:10; 3:11
5. Ninevites would be destroyed by a flood. 1:8; 2:6,8.
6. Nineveh would be destroyed by fire. 1:10; 2:13; 3:15,13
Babylonian records state that the fortified towns around Nineveh began to fall in 614BC.
To the south of the gate, the moat is still filled with stone and mud bricks from the walls, heaped up when they were breached.
The main attack came on the north-west gate
Siculus (20BC) wrote: "The Assyrian king gave much wine to his soldiers. Deserters told this to the enemy, who attacked that night."
Diodorus: “In the third year of the siege heavy rains caused the river to flood part
of the city and break part of the walls.”
The temple was burned as seen by a two inch layer of ash.
bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar and polluted it,
according to the Word of the Lord, which the man of God proclaimed." II Kings
23:15,16.
The two main predictions here are that:
i) Josiah's name is given 350 years before the event. I Kings 13:2.
ii) Josiah's action of burning the false prophets’ bones is given.
Question: What is the probability of guessing these 2 prophesies? How did the Bible know them?
2. CYRUS, King of Persia, was predicted by name and action in Isaiah 44:28-45:4 in 712BC, that he would conquer Babylon. "That saith of Cyrus. He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt be built, and to the Temple, thy foundation shall be laid." Isaiah 44:28. "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him .....
to open before him the two-leaved gates: and the gates shall not be shut." Isaiah 45:1. Notice the following prophecies that have been fulfilled about Cyrus:
i) Cyrus of Persia is named as the man who would conquer Babylon. Isaiah 45:1. This prophecy was made 176 years before the event occurred.
ii) The two leaved gates of Babylon shall not be shut. According to Heroditus (1:191), the double gates of Babylon were carelessly left open during the night of revelry when the city was taken.
iii) Cyrus gave permission for Jerusalem to be rebuilt and for the Temple
foundation to be laid. II Chronicles 36:22,23; Ezra 1:1-4.
iv) "I will give thee the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places." 45:3. God gave Cyrus possession of the treasures of darkness, which was the wealth of conquered nations. Valuables taken from nations were hidden in dark, secretly concealed, subterranean vaults. These prophecies given in
712BC were fulfilled in 536BC, 176 years later.
Question: What is the probability of guessing the exact name "Cyrus" of the man who would conquer Babylon?
Answer: It could not be guessed. This proves that the Bible is the Word of the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator/God.
3. ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Daniel 8:1-8, 20-22 and 11:1-4.
Although Daniel does not mention Alexander by name, he is clearly referred to in Daniel 8:21 as "the great horn that is between the He-goat's eyes is the first king." (Alexander). Alexander crushed the Persians at the Battle of Issus in 333BC. Josephus the historian who lived from 37 to 100AD, states that when Alexander approached Jerusalem to conquer it, he was met at the gates by Jaddua the High Priest who showed him in Daniel 8:1-8, 20-22 that he as the first king of the Greek empire, would conquer the Persians. This was prophesied in 553BC, and was fulfilled in 333BC, 220 years later. Alexander was so impressed at this prophecy of a Greek conquering the Persians, that he worshipped the God of the Bible, offered sacrifices to God and spared Jerusalem.
Note: Unbelieving critics who won't accept the Bible predicting the future, say that Daniel was written around 200BC which would make it after the events, as history not prophecy. This is clearly disproven by Josephus quoting Jaddua who quotes Daniel 8:1-8,20-22 to Alexander in 340BC. This proves that Daniel was written well before 340BC and is truly predictive prophecy of the supernatural God. (Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus, Book XI, Chap.8, p.244).
4. JOHN THE BAPTIST.
"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." Isaiah 40:3. John the Baptist is the one referred to here who prepared the way of Jesus Christ who is Jehovah God. This prophecy was made in 712BC and fulfilled around 30AD.
5. JESUS CHRIST FORETOLD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
So much is predicted about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament that we can only give here a brief summary. We know that the Bible is the Word of God because it predicts so many details of Jesus Christ's life. Consider the following prophecies:
1. Born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14; Genesis 3:15. “A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son”.
2. Tribe of Judah. Genesis 49:10. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah…”
3. House of David. Jeremiah 23:5. “I will raise unto Judah a righteous Branch,and a King”
4. Born at Bethlehem. Micah 5:2. “Thou, Bethlehem..Judah, yet out of thee shall come..”
5. Visited by wise men with gifts. Isaiah 60:3,6,9. “Gentiles shall come…and kings”.
6. Would be in Egypt for a time. Hosea 11:1. “called my son out of Egypt”.
7. Infants killed at His birthplace. Jeremiah 31:15. “Rachel weeping for her children”.
8. Preceded by a messenger (John the Baptist) Isaiah40:3. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord”.
9. Ministry to begin in Galilee. Isaiah 9:1. “Zebulun, & Naphtali.. have seen a great light”
10. Perform miracles. Isaiah 35:5,6. “blind,..deaf,..lame,..dumb sing”.
11. Teach parables. Psalm 78:2. “I will open my mouth in a parable,..”
12. Heal many. Isaiah 42:7,16; Matthew 8:16,17. “To open the blind eyes..”
13. His miracles not believed. Isaiah 53:1. “Who hath believed our report?”
14. Enter Jerusalem on a donkey. Zechariah 9:9. “thy King cometh…riding upon an ass.”
15. Betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver. Zechariah 11:12.‘they weighed for my price
30’
16. Money then used to buy a potter's field. Zechariah 11:13. “cast them to the potter..”
17. Money thrown on the Temple floor. Zechariah 11:13. “cast them...in the house of the Lord”
18. Forsaken by His disciples. Zechariah 13:7. “Smite the Shepherd, & sheep shall be scattered”
19. False witnesses accuse Him. Psalm 35:11. “False witnesses did rise up:”
20. Silent before His accusers. Isaiah 53:7. “He was oppressed,…, yet he opened not his mouth.”
21. Be scourged and spat on. Isaiah 50:6. “I hid not my face from shame and spitting.”
22. Crucified between two thieves. Isaiah 53:9. “He made his grave with the wicked..”
23. Buried in a rich man's tomb. Isaiah 53:9. “His grave … with the rich in his death.”
24. His side pierced. Zechariah 12:10. “they shall look upon me whom they have pierced”.
25. Given vinegar to drink. Psalm 69:21. “in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
26. Garments gambled for. Psalm 22:18. “They part my garments among them, cast lots on my..”
27. No bones broken. Psalm 34:20. “He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.”
28. His forsaken cry. Psalm 22:1. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
29. Darkness over the land from noon. Amos 8:9. “I will darken the earth in the clear day.”
30. Hands and feet pierced. Psalm 22:16. “they pierced my hands and my feet”.
31. Raised from the dead. Psalm 16:10. “thou wilt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption"
32. Ascend to heaven. Psalm 68:18. “Thou hast ascended on high..”
33. Rejected by His own nation, Israel. Isaiah 53:3‘He is rejected of men. We esteemed him
not’
34. Gentiles believe on him. Isaiah 60:3. “Gentiles shall come to thy light.”
35. Messiah comes, is killed, then Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed (fulfilled in 70AD). Daniel 9:26. “shall Messiah be cut off,.. people..destroy city and sanctuary”
36. Jews to lose power to pass the death sentence 23 years before the trial of Christ. Genesis 49:10. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come;” This was confirmed by Josephus describing the Romans taking this power away from the Jews in 11AD.
37. Messiah would offer Himself as Prince to Israel 173,880 days after 5th March 444BC. Daniel 9:26,27; Luke 19:41-44. “From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to Messiah the Prince shall be 69 weeks (heptads=7x360 days)”
Conclusion:
If we assign a probability of guessing each of these predictions correctly, we see that from a human viewpoint it is impossible to predict these events as the Bible has. Not one prediction failed. All are correctly fulfilled. This proves that the Bible is not humanly authored, but authored by God who ALONE knows the future.
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