Defending Inspiration Prophecy in the Bible
Nature of Prophecy Prophecy is an authoritative, and accurate declaration of events that have not yet occurred at the time of the announcement, history written in advance. Therefore, by its very nature, prophecy is evidence of the supernatural. UNIQUE TO THE BIBLE.
Extent of Biblical Prophecy It has been calculated by Barton Payne that nearly 1/3 of the Bible is prophetic in nature, that is, 8,352 verses out of 31,124 total verses. Only 4 books in the Bible do not contain any predictive material. He notes that 1,817 total prophesies are contained in the scripture, detailing 737 separate events. Several hundred of these predictions have already been fulfilled. Fulfilled prophecy is perhaps the greatest evidence attesting to the supernatural nature of the Bible.
Purpose of Prophecy 1. To Demonstrate the God of the Bible as allknowing & all-powerful. 2. To Authenticate a God given message or a God sent messenger (Deuteronomy 18). 3. To Broadcast to the world that the God of the Bible is the only God to worship (Isaiah 45:20-23).
Examples from Last Week 1.Assyrian Captivity 2.Fall of Nineveh 3.Duration of the Babylonian Empire 4.Rise of Cyrus the 5.The Wealth of Persia 6.Sequence of World Powers from Babylon to Rome Great
Examples this Week 1.Conquests of Alexander the Great 2.The History of the Inter-testamental period. 3.Prophecies fulfilled in the 1st Coming of Christ.
Conquests of Alexander Daniel 8:5-8, 18-21 describes both the sequence of events, as well as the speed of Alexander s conquests. The text even details that the fall of Persia to Alexander will occur in three major conflicts. History attests to this. Alexander s three stunning victories occurred at Granicus River (May 334 B.C.), Issus (Nov. of 333 B.C.), & Gaugamela (Oct. 331 B.C.).
Conquests of Alexander Ironically, it was the invasion of Greece by Persia (Daniel 11:2), which was the beginning of the end for Persia. This Persian invasion Under Xerxes became the catalyst for a Greek hatred of Persia. Alexander, who was tutored by the famous Aristotle, grew up with a hatred of Persia and a desire to conquer them, which he did!
Conquests of Alexander Daniel 8:5 describes Alexander as the he goat that comes without touching the ground. The idea here is the speed with which Alexander conquered the known world. Alexander took the throne at 20 years old, and was the sole ruler of the known world by 33. The speed, extent, and grandeur of Alexander s conquests became the standard for great generals in the ancient world.
Conquests of Alexander This great horn, as Daniel calls him, was the envy of every great general afterward. History s most stellar generals such as Hannibal, Scipio Africanus, or Julius Caesar are all said to have revered Alexander, and coveted his conquests.
Conquests of Alexander Zechariah 9 records Alexander s conquest of the Mediterranean Sea Board conquering Tyre & Sidon (v. 2-4). After seeing the fall of Tyre (Ezekiel 26), most Philistine cities surrendered, but Gaza resisted, and was destroyed (v. 5). Yet verse 8 declares that the oppressor will not pass through Jerusalem. The Jewish historian Josephus recounts how Alexander sent to Jerusalem and requested tribute from them. Jerusalem refused because of their subservience to Persia.
As Alexander approached the city, the High Priest went out to meet him. Alexander saluted the High Priest & showed respect for the name YHWH, saying that he had seen all of this in a dream. The High Priest Juddua then presented Alexander with the prophecies of Daniel concerning Alexander s conquests.
Similarly to Cyrus reaction a couple centuries before, Alexander showed a tremendous amount of respect for the Jews, and gave them great leniency. He not only spared the city of Jerusalem from destruction, but also allowed them to continue to observe their own laws and exempted them from taxes during the Sabbatical year.
Extent of Alexander s Conquests Dan. 8:8 The he goat waxed very great
Inter-Testament Period Daniel 8:8 foretold of the split of Alexander s kingdom into 4 realms. Then Daniel 11 details what happens next. 135 separate prophetic statements are given in Daniel 11, which detail for us the so-called silent centuries between the Old and New Testaments. These details include both the major conflicts, and even the minute court intrigue of this fascinating period of Biblical history.
Career of Antiochus III One of my favorite episodes recorded here is the career of Antiochus III of Syria 223-187 BC (Daniel 11:15-20). Verses 15-16 describe his ascent and dominance over the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt. Verse 17 describes how in 197 BC Antiochus III made a political alliance with Egypt by giving them his daughter Cleopatra (not that Cleopatra, but same name). Yet his daughter defected from her father and became loyal to Egypt, and Egypt s new ally, Rome.
Antiochus III Wars with Rome Verse 18 describes how in 196 B.C. Antiochus III turned his sights west toward the isles, being encouraged to face the growing power of Rome, by a famous one-eyed general known as the scourge of Rome, i.e. Hannibal of Carthage. Antiochus goes to meet Rome, but is soundly defeated on three occasions. The 15,000 talents of gold that Rome require as payment stripped the Syrian kingdom of wealth. So a raiser of taxes (Daniel 11:20) came to the Jews for more money to pay Rome. This eventually led to the defiling of the temple by Antiochus IV, and the subsequent Maccabean revolt.
Christ s 1st Coming Depending on the sources you consult, the 1st Coming of Christ fulfilled somewhere around 300 separate prophesies. This staggering number of prophecies, according to the Apostle Peter, provides for us more assurance as to the reality of Christ, than any other thing.
Christ s 1st Coming Note that Jesus over and over again appealed to the Scriptures as an authority for His claims. John 5:39-47 Luke 24:44 Matt 26:56
Resource Recommendation He has an excellent chapter on O.T. prophecies Christ fulfilled in His 1st Coming, where he details 61 of the 333 prophecies.
Christ s 1st Coming 1.His Lineage (dozens of details) 2.Place of His Birth 3.The Miraculous Nature of His Ministry 4.Both the Place and Amount of Money for His Betrayal 5.His Presentation to the Nation on a Donkey 6.The Manner of Death 7.The Time & Place of Death 8.The Manner of His Burial 9.His Ascension
Passover Plot? H.J. Schonfield, in his book The Passover Plot, proposes that Jesus was a messianic pretender who connived to fulfill prophecy. Others believe these fulfillments were accidental. Yet the Christian Victory Publishing Company of Denver offered a $1,000 reward for anyone who could find a person living or dead, other than Jesus, who accidentally fulfilled half of the Messianic prophecies. Needless to say, they kept their money. Peter Stoner s book Science Speaks makes famous the following probability of accidentally fulfilling 8 prophecies.
What About Psychics? The claim has been made that Psychics can be as accurate in predicting the future as the Bible. So studies have been conducted A study of Psychic predictions was conducted between 1975-1981, and showed that of 72 predictions, only 6 were fulfilled in anyway. Two of these were vague, and two others were hardly surprising - the U.S. and Russia would remain world powers, and there would be no world wars. The People s Almanac (1976) did a study of the 25 top psychics. Out of 72 predictions 66 were totally wrong. That is a 92% fail rate.
Practical Take Away? STAND FIRMLY UPON THE WORD OF GOD!!! READ IT! BELIEVE IT! LIVE IT! GIVE IT!