Non-Messianic Prophecies

“But from whence shall I fetch my argument? With what shall I win them? Oh, that I could tell! I would write to them in tears, I would weep out every argument, I would empty my veins for ink, I would petition them on my knees. Oh, how thankful I would be if they would be prevailed with to repent and turn!”

Joseph Alleine

Kirk Cameron’s Comment

When God predicts something, He is always 100 percent accurate. If there were even one prophecy that was wrong, that would discredit the entire Bible and its claim to be the inerrant Word of God.

Questions & Objections

Lesson

Succession of Great World Kingdoms

An amazing prediction in the Bible is the succession of the world empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, which God told to Daniel. Interpreting the metallic man in the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Daniel told the king:

You, O king, are the king of kings ... You are that head of gold. After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others (Daniel 2:38–40).

So precise and accurate is this prophecy that even critics agree that Daniel spoke in order of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Critics try to avoid the supernatural nature of the prophecy by claiming that these words were written after the fact, in about 165B.C., but there is no real substantiation for this claim.

King Cyrus of Persia

One of the most specific Old Testament predictions identifies Cyrus of Persia before he was even born. Isaiah 44:28—45:1 says,

The LORD ... who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundations be laid.’” This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut.

This prediction was made some 150 years before Cyrus was even born. Since Isaiah prophesied between about 740 and 680B.C. and Cyrus did not make his proclamation for Israel to return from exile until about 536B.C. (Ezra 1), there would have been no human way for Isaiah to know what Cyrus would be named or do.

The attempt of critics to divide Isaiah and postdate the prophecy is without foundation and is a backhanded compliment to the detail and accuracy of the prediction.

The Return of Israel to Their Homeland

Given their long exile of some nineteen centuries and the animosity of the occupants of Palestine against them, any prediction of the return, restoration, and rebuilding of the nation of Israel was extremely unlikely. Yet predictions made centuries in advance about the restoration of the Jews to their homeland, and predictions made over two and a half millennia in advance about their restoration as a nation, have been literally fulfilled.

The first return was under Ezra and Nehemiah in the sixth century B.C. But Israel was sent again into exile in A.D.70 when the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem and leveled the temple. For nearly 2,000 years the Jewish people remained in exile and the nation did not exist. Then, just as the Bible foretold, millions of Jews returned to their country and were reestablished after World War II following a bitter struggle with the Arab Palestinians.

In 700B.C. the prophet Isaiah predicted, “In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea” (11:11). In Isaiah 66:7, 8, he gives a strange prophecy: “Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”

In 1922 the League of Nations gave Great Britain the mandate (political authority) over Palestine. On May 14, 1948, Britain withdrew her mandate, and the nation of Israel was “born in a day.” No other nation in history has managed so successfully to keep a culture, identity, and language intact over hundreds of years, let alone against the genocidal hatred repeatedly encountered by the Jews. This Bible prediction is incredible evidence of the supernatural origin of the Scriptures.

There are more than 25 Bible prophecies concerning Palestine that have been literally fulfilled. Probability estimations conclude that the chances of these being accidentally fulfilled are less than one in 33 million.

The Closing of the Golden Gate

The Golden Gate is the eastern gate of Jerusalem, through which Christ made His triumphal entry on Palm Sunday before His crucifixion (Matthew 21). Ezekiel 44:2 predicted that it would be closed one day, and not reopened until the Messiah returned:

The LORD said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it.”

In 1543 Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent closed the gate and walled it up as Ezekiel had predicted. He had no idea he was fulfilling prophecy. He simply sealed it because the road leading to it was no longer used for traffic. It remains sealed to this day exactly as the Bible predicted, waiting to be reopened when the King returns.

The Doom of Edom (Petra)

Unlike many Old Testament predictions of doom, Edom was not promised any restoration, only “perpetual desolation” (Jeremiah 25:12). Jeremiah wrote in 49:16, 17:

“The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle’s, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord. “Edom will become an object of horror; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds.”

Given the virtually impregnable nature of the ancient city carved out of rock and protected by a narrow passageway, this was an incredible prediction. Yet, in A.D.636 it was conquered by Muslims and today stands deserted but for tourists and passersby.

Flourishing of the Desert in Palestine

For centuries Palestine lay wasted and desolate. These conditions extended throughout the land. But Ezekiel 36:33–35 predicted,

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On the day I cleanse you from your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.”

Today roads have been built, the land is being cultivated, and Israel’s agriculture is flourishing. This renovation began before the turn of the twentieth century and continues a century later. Agricultural crops, including a large orange harvest, are part of the restoration—just as Ezekiel had predicted.

Conclusion

A fact often overlooked by critics is that only one real case of fulfilled prophecy is needed to establish Scripture’s supernatural origin. Even if most biblical predictions could be explained naturally, even one clear case establishes the rest and confirms the prophetic event. Thus, if the critic is to make the case against prophecy, then all instances must be naturally explainable.

Preacher’s Progress

A sample witnessing conversation, written in the style of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Questions

1. Which book of the Bible gives the amazing prediction of a succession of world empires?
2. Which book of the Bible identifies Cyrus of Persia before he was born?
3. Which prophet predicted that the Eastern gate in Jerusalem would be closed and not re-opened?
4. What is unique about the Jews’ return to their homeland?
5. Which prophet predicted “perpetual desolation” for Edom (Petra)?
6. Who predicted that Palestine, after lying desolate for centuries, would once again flourish?

Answers to these review questions are provided in the back of the printed book / source PDF.

Memory Verse

“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

2 Peter 1:20, 21

Last Words

Jonathan Edwards, Jr., son of the eminent American preacher who was greatly used in revivals, died at 55—the same age as his father. His last words were: “Trust in God and you shall have nothing to fear.”

Jonathan Edwards, Jr.