BIBLE
Out of context: Reply #61
- Started
- Last post
- 302 Responses
- discipler0
Another thing that demonstrates the miraculous reliability of the Bible is the fulfilled prophecy.
The Bible con­tains almost 500 specific prophecies con­cerning the birth, life, death, and resurrec­tion of Jesus Christ — some of which were made well over two thousand years prior to His birth.
For example, it was not only prophesied that Christ would be a descendant of Abra­ham, (Gen.12:1-3), but that He would be from the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10) and the house of David (Ps. 110:1); that He would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2), born of a virgin (Isa. 7:1 4), betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12), and also that His hands and feet would be pierced (Ps. 22:16). It is noteworthy that this last prediction was made long before crucifixion was invented as a form of capi­tal punishment by the Persians and a thou­sand years before it was made common by the Romans.
It was also prophesied that Christ would be crucified with transgressors (Isa. 53:9, 12); that none of His bones would be broken (Ex. 12:46; Ps. 34:20); and that He would cry out from the cross, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1). Moreover, Christ’s resur­rection (Ps. 16:8-11), His ascension (Ps. 68:1 8), and hundreds of other details were predicted in minute detail. These prophecies do not deal with vague gener­alities (as is so often the case with mod­ern-day “prophets” and psychics); they are specific and verifiable. Each was liter­ally fulfilled down to the smallest detail in the person of Jesus Christ.
In addition to Messianic prophecies, the Bible contains nearly 2,000 prophecies concerning almost every nation within a thousand miles of Jerusalem. I strongly sug­gest researching and internalizing some of these prophecies for use in witnessing situ­ations. As an illustration let me detail the prophecy about the city of Tyre in Ezekiel 26 and its fulfillment.
Tyre was no small, obscure village. It was a great Phoenician city and a world capital for over 2,000 years. It was to the sea what mighty Babylon was to the land. Yet, in the heyday of its power, the prophet Ezekiel had the audacity to predict for it a violent future and ultimate destruction. This downfall would be due to Tyre’s fla­grant wickedness and arrogance, traits that were personified in its ruler, Ittobal II, who claimed to be God.
Ezekiel predicted that many nations would come up against Tyre (Ezek. 26:3); that Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar would be the first to attack it (v. 7); that Tyre’s walls and towers would be broken down (vv. 4,9); that the stones, timbers, and debris of that great city would be thrown into the sea (v. 12); that its location would become a bare rock and a place for the drying of fishermens’ nets (vv. 4-5,14); and finally, that the city of Tyre would never be rebuilt (v.14).
Some fascinating facts.