Is Prophecy Really Even True?

 

  

Thomas Jefferson’s Bible is widely known for being a cut-and-paste document. It was mainly a redaction of the New Testament gospels. He considered only the life of Jesus and his ethical teachings to be important, and discarded anything miraculous or seemingly mythological. In the face of criticism for his religious beliefs, Jefferson wanted to prove that he was a “real Christian, a disciple of the teachings of Jesus.”

I know too many people who view the incredible stories of the Bible as mere myths, including creation, the flood, even the virgin birth. Granted, they do have their place in helping mankind sort out their origin, their purpose, and the conflict of good and evil. Great stories, but they are myth.

The same is true of Bible prophecy, especially the end times prophecies found in Daniel and Revelation. Not only are they indecipherable, but even if you could understand them they are suspect as being believable and truly predictive. They are more or less on par with Nostradamus and ancient Aztec predictions. Wild hallucinations that the writers back then, as well as readers today, are foolish enough to take seriously.

We need a fact checker, some way to verify the veracity of the prophecies in the Bible. To quote Pascal, “People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof, but on the basis of what they find attractive.” I will attempt to offer proof, but I know that most who do not believe in prophecy will continue to scoff and mock, or at best, simply ignore. They find it more attractive to dismiss prophecy, so as not to be answerable to a God they also want to dismiss. They don’t want to become religious and have to trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And they don’t want to change their consumptive lifestyle to prepare for coming judgment.

The best proof that I can offer is the track record of prophecies in the Bible throughout its history. God bats a thousand when He speaks prophetically. Let’s start with the great flood. God was angry with the wickedness of mankind and would not contend with them any longer. So, God said that in 120 years the world would be destroyed by a flood. If you believe in Jesus, consider that He confirmed the veracity of the flood story when he spoke to his disciples about the end of the world. While making predictions about the end of the age Jesus said, “As in the days of Noah, some will be taken and some will be left.” Even though it had never rained on the earth before, the prophecy of the flood came true, right on schedule.

Consider all the prophecies to Israel and Judah of coming judgment. The false prophets wanted to predict peace and safety, but God’s prophets warned of the sword, famine, and plague. God’s prophets were always right.

Then there are the Messianic prophecies, foretelling the coming of the Messiah. Some apologists suggest there are over 100 such prophecies in the Old Testament. Although the priests and Levites in Jerusalem did not understand those prophecies, and therefore rejected their messiah, that does not take away from the fact that every one of the prophecies came true. History proved the providence of God inherent in prophecy.

So, then we come to the prophecies of the end of the age, events soon to be fulfilled. The trumpet warnings have already occurred, the first five. Soon Amerca will be destroyed. Then the Arab-Islam alliance will have an open door to invade Israel. That will be the start of the battle of Armageddon. Then Jesus Christ will return to earth. He will defeat the enemies of God’s chosen people, administer the awful seventh trumpet/bowl judgment upon the world, and then establish His kingdom. You can count on it -- fact-checked and verified.