The Bible: Its Unity & Accuracy (2)
by Harry Osborne
February 22, 2009

<continued from last week>

PROPHECY
The prophet Isaiah based the credibility of his message on the validity of predictive prophecy.  To the promoters of idolatry in his day, he issued a challenge: “Let them bring them forth, and declare unto us what shall happen: declare ye the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us the things to come” (Isaiah 41:22).  He is asking this: “You, who claim to speak revelations in the name of your gods, does subsequent history corroborate your predictions?”  Well, what of the Bible?  Does it pass the prophecy test?

Exactly what is predictive prophecy?  Thomas H. Horne declared that it is “a miracle of knowledge, a declaration or representation of something future, beyond the power of human sagacity to discern or to calculate” (An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, New York, 1872, I, p 119).  In order for prophecy to be valid, the following criteria must obtain.  It must involve: (a) Proper timing, i.e., significantly preceding the fulfillment; (b) Specific details—not vague generalities or remote possibilities; (c) Exact fulfillment—not merely a high degree of probability.  Consistent with these standards, the prophecies of the Bible come through with flying colors!

(1) NATIONS.  As God’s plan of redemption was unfolding, numerous prophecies were given regarding the rise, decline, and fall of various nations.  For example: (a) Israel’s history is vividly portrayed in Deuteronomy 28:47-68.  Study this narrative carefully and compare it with history.  (b)  When Israel became deeply involved in idolatry, Isaiah foretold that the Lord would raise up the Assyrians, as the “rod of [His] anger” to punish them (Isaiah 10:5,6), but, after that was accomplished, Jehovah announced, the Assyrians themselves would be destroyed (10;12,24,25).  History reveals that this is exactly what happened (2 Kings 17:24; 18:13).  (c) When the kingdom of Judah lapsed into a state of spiritual decay, the prophets announced that Babylon would arise to punish her (Jeremiah 25:9-11; Habakkuk 1:5) and to captivate her for seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11-12).  The history of those events is available for all who care to read it (2 Kings 24,25; 2 Chronicles 36:21).  (d) But even mighty Babylon, “the glory of kingdoms,” was to be destroyed by the Medes and Persians (Isaiah 13), and, as every school boy knows, that is just what happened (Daniel 5:28).  Numerous other Old Testament examples complement the foregoing.

(2) PEOPLE.  In II Kings 18:13, we are informed that Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, came up against the fortified cities of Judah and took them [Assyrian records indicate that forty-six cities were captured].  It was prophesied, however, that he would not be able to take the city of Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:32-34).  Sennacherib’s forces came to Jerusalem—his annals boast that he shut up Judah’s king, Hezekiah, “like a bird in a cage” (J.B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, Princeton University Press, 1955, p 288)—but for some unexplained reason the city was never taken! [In a visit to the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, where a prism recording Sennacherib’s exploits is housed, this writer was amused at the guide’s puzzlement as to why the king never took Jerusalem.  The Bible tells us.  God destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (2 Kings 19:35ff)!  It was further foretold that the Assyrian king would return to his own land and there fall by the sword (2 Kings 19:7) Some twenty years later, he was assassinated by his own sons, who smote him with the sword, while he was worshiping in his pagan temple (Isaiah 37:37,38).

Or what of the good king Josiah?  His work was foretold (and he was called by name) more than three hundred years before it was fulfilled (1 Kings 13:2; 2 Kings 23:15,16).  The ministry of king Cyrus of Persia (also called by name) was prophesied more than a century-and-a-half before the monarch was born (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1).  It is on account of such remarkable prophecies that liberal critics want to re-date the books of the Bible at a very late period!

MESSIANIC PROPHECY
Sidney Collett declares that of the approximately eight hundred prophecies in the Old Testament, no less than three hundred and thirty-three center in the person of Jesus Christ (All About the Bible, London, p. 192).  The panorama of prophecy about the son of God is nothing short of miraculous, and is a demanding evidence for Bible inspiration.  For example, there are prophecies about:

(A) His Lineage — He would be born of woman (Genesis 3:15; Galatians 4:4); of the seed of Abraham (Genesis 22:18; Luke 3:34); of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; Hebrews 7:14); of the royal lineage of David (2 Samuel 7:12; Luke 1:32), and; to the virgin Mary (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22).

(B) The Time of His Coming — Christ was to appear during the days of the Roman reign (Daniel 2:44; Luke 2:1); while Judah still possessed her own king (Genesis 49:10; Matthew 2:22).

(C) His Nature — Jesus was to be both human and divine.  Though born, He was eternal (Micah 5:2; John 1:1,14); though a man, He was Jehovah’s “fellow” (Zechariah 13:7; John 10;30; Philippians 2:6).  He was to be gentle and compassionate in His dealing with people (Isaiah 42:1-4; Matthew 12:15-21).  He was to be perfectly submissive to His heavenly Father (Psalm 40:8; Isaiah 53:11; John 8:29; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22).

(D) His Betrayal, Death, Resurrection — It was foretold that the Lord would be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9) for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12).  He was (John 13:18; Matthew 26:15).  He would be spit upon and beaten (Isaiah 50;6), and in death His hands and feet would be pierced (Psalm 22:16).  This is precisely what happened (Matthew 27:30; Luke 24:39).  Though He would be killed, yet, amazingly, His flesh would not experience corruption, but He would be raised from the grave (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:22ff).

These are but a sampling of the more than three hundred prophecies relating to the Lord Jesus Christ.  In his interesting book, Science Speaks, mathematician Peter W. Stoner selected just eight of the Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ and estimated that the odds of these being accidentally fulfilled are approximately 1 in 1017 (that’s one followed by seventeen zeros).  He then illustrated it in the following fashion.

Suppose we take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas.  They will cover all of the state 2 feet deep.  Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state.  Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one.  What chance would he have of getting the right one?  (Science Speaks, Chicago, 1963, pp 106,107).

CONCLUSION
T.H. Horne was correct when he wrote: “The book which contains these predictions is stamped with the seal of heaven: a rich vein of evidence runs through the volume of the Old Testament; the bible is true; infidelity is confounded forever; and we may address its patrons in the language of Saint Paul, ‘Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish!’” (I, p 126).

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