Sunday, May 05, 2013

50% of Old Testament Prophesies Now Fulfilled - Bryan P. Mistele

The Crust Was Removed from My Eyes.   I See So Much Better Now


Almost no other religion has stepped out on a limb and offered to make predictions about the future.  Most who have done so have either had predictions that were difficult to interpret, so general as to be useless, or turned out to be dead wrong.

The Bible, on the other hand, has at least 1000 Old Testament prophetic statements, and the New Testament adds hundreds more.  Like many reading this post, I have read about these prophecies my entire life, argued about them with those who didn't trust the Bible, and attempted to share and explain them with my kids, friends, and in this and other blogs.  (see http://GodvsNoGod.blogspot.com)

But until this weekend and finding an article about Biblical prophesy by Bryan P. Mistele, The Bible's Most Amazing Prophecies, I had no idea how easy it is to prove that Biblical predictions alone create a proof for the Bible being supernatural that is beyond reason to dispute.  Until now, most of my debates centered on the prophecies surrounding Jesus.  And I have to agree with the doubters that taking each of those prophecies one-by-one, you could make a case for Jesus or His followers purposely meeting the prediction, or writing the Gospels to meet the prophetic statements.  This is not to say that I agree, but only that there was an argument to be made.

However, Mistele points out that there are dozens of specific prophecies that we know were written at least prior to Christ's birth, that are very specific and not open to interpretation, that have been fulfilled in ways that are not in question.   So here are a few things to think about before I get into the details:

If the Bible predicted something clearly, in plain language, not subject to interpretation, which would have necessarily needed to have already happened ... even ONE such thing ... and it didn't happen as predicted, what would become of the Bible?  The World would laugh until it cried.  Game over.

For example, if the Bible said specifically that the Temple would be torn down by the Egyptians and rebuilt by the Assyrians after the fall of Babylon, and it didn't happen, there would be a theological crises over this fact.  Proof?  Follow the trail of modern archeology as many spend their lives trying to find a Biblical error.  They can't wait!

But what if the Bible predicted a string of events, and all of them came true; one after another, throughout history.  The odds of being right on just on would be huge.  But the multiplying effect of being right time after time and never wrong is beyond human comprehension.  

But we don't need archeology or any other science  for the following: 

The Old Testament predicts:
  • That Abraham will be a father to a great nation and have descendants to numerous to count
  • The same prediction is made regarding Ishmael
  • Then again for Isaac
  • That the Jews will be dispersed throughout the world, but will be gathered back again.
  • That Nineveh will not merely be destroyed, but will be an unmarked grave
  • That Sodom and Gomorrah will be destroyed and never rebuilt
You see, there are these and many more instances where the statements are unambiguous and 100% factually known to be true today.  They are not in dispute.  One could suggest that Nineveh has been located, but only 2600 years after it was destroyed.  

There is no need for interpretation.  No way to say that Israel has not become a state and a member of the United Nations, to boot.  Can anyone say that Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael did not produce descendants to numerous to count.  There is no chance of doing an accurate census of even the Jews, much less the Arabs. 

What are the odds of a prediction made 2,500 - 4,000 years ago being true today?  Try it.  Make a prediction right now about anything specific that you believe will be true 250 years from now.  Will America be a world power?  Will cars be a mode of transportation?  Pick a human being alive today that you think you could predict will be the father of nations. 

These six examples should be enough to persuade every thinking human being that the Bible is God breathed. But according to Mistele, 500 of the 1000 prophecies from the OT are known to be clearly factual today.  I'd suggest that you read his article at http://yeshua.org/bible/the-bibles-most-amazing-prophecies/ .  Then I would suggest that you read his book:  I'm almost finished with it, and my faith has been buttressed immeasurably.  I had to repent this morning of my lack of faith.  The book is "The Truth About Prophesy In the Bible," and is about $10 on Kindle. 

Enhanced by Zemanta

2 comments:

christian said...

Is prophecy your first step in approaching someone who doesn't believe in Jesus? My struggle is with where to start. There are many people who believe in God, but not in Jesus. Or people who were church attenders but never had an intimate relationship with Christ - how would you approach them? Fear of not approaching people that will ultimately show that I care about them while presenting them the truth simultaneously is what keeps me from sharing my faith, not just in God, but in Jesus Christ.

Randy Kirk said...

Thanks for your question, Christian. Most folks recommend starting out either talking about the love of Jesus or about sin and redemption. I personally would not start out with any kind of apologetic, unless that was the issue for the person. To date, I am not aware that I have argued anyone into the Kingdom. : )