Another
remarkable evidence for the inspiration of the Bible is
prophecy. The Bible contains many prophecies about Israel
and the surrounding nations. Some were fulfilled almost
immediately, some were fulfilled hundreds of years later,
some are still being fulfilled today, and some are yet to
be fulfilled. Fulfilled prophecy shows that the Bible must
come from a powerful God who knows the future.
People
have always wanted to predict the future to reduce their
fear and anxiety about the unknown and an uncertain tomorrow.
This desire has been satisfied by priests, astrologers,
prophets, fortune tellers, and the like since the dawn of
civilization. In Bible times, there was a range of methods
used.
•
Augury: using animal entrails
• Hepatoscopy: using animal livers
• Auspices: using the flight of birds
• Astrology: using stars and planets
• Oracles: often ambiguous answers by priests or priestesses
to specific questions
Today
we have
•
horoscopists
• tarot card readers
• palmists
• tea leaf readers
• clairvoyants
Nostradamus,
who was born in 1503, is one who claimed to be a prophet.
He wrote a large number of quatrains (four line paragraphs)
which together formed his book of prophecy. The quatrains
are very vague and mystical. Despite this many people have
endeavoured to interpret them as prophecies of significant
events such as World War 2 or the deaths of famous people.
However, such interpretations are highly subjective.
Bible
prophecy is different. It is clear and specific and usually
not open to interpretation. The Bible claims that the prophets
were inspired by God in what they wrote:
Prophecy
never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke
from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
(2 Peter 1:21)
A
Bible prophet did not just foretell the future, but was
God's messenger in commanding, encouraging and warning his
people. Sometimes this involved relaying God's plans and
intentions for the future, but sometimes a prophet's message
did not involve any prediction. However, in this session,
we will look only at prophecies which predicted events in
the future.
It
is important to see prophecy from God's perspective. The
Bible portrays him as the controller of future events.
He knows the future because he will make it happen. In this
way, Bible prophecy is history in advance.
There
are different types of prophecy. Some are "short-term" and
fulfilled in the lifetime of the prophet. Many are "longterm"
and extend beyond the prophet's lifetime. A prophet often
proclaimed a combination of both, the short-term fulfilment
providing evidence of the truth of the long-term prophecy.
Many prophecies have a dual fulfilment, a partial short-term
fulfilment and a more complete long-term fulfilment.
Two
tests were applied to see if a prophet was genuinely from
God. The first test concerned the teaching of the prophet:
If
a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among
you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder,
and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes
place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you
have not known) "and let us worship them", you must not
list to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD
your God is testing you to find out whether you love him
with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy
13:1-3)
Isaiah
also stated
When
men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists ... To
the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according
to this [God's] word, they have no light. (Isaiah 8:19-20)
The
second test was whether the prophet had shown the ability
to predict the future before.
You
may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message
has not been spoken by the LORD?" If what a prophet proclaims
in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true,
that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet
has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy
18:21-22)
The
prophet... will be recognized as one truly sent by the
LORD only if his prediction comes true. (Jeremiah 28:9)
So
a true prophet was one who taught things consistent with
the rest of God's revelation and who gave a short-term prophecy
which came true.
The
accurate fulfilment of Bible prophecies gives great credibility
to the Bible's claim of inspiration. It also gives us confidence
in prophecies not yet fulfilled.
