How can you prove the Bible is the genuine Word of God? You can compare its prophecies with exact historical fulfillment.
Do you wonder if the Bible really is the Word of God? Can you prove it?
Perhaps you are uncertain as a believer? You'd like evidence to verify that the Bible is truly God's Word. And you're right to expect more proof than, "Well, it is because it says so." You need something solid to back up your belief.
So how do you start? Where can you find evidence to confirm the Bible is genuine?
There is a source that can answer that uncertainty. Stay tuned to Beyond Today as we examine: The Proof of Prophecy.
Why should you believe that God inspired the Bible? Do you have to take Scripture by faith alone or is there evidence somewhere to help you prove it? If you could be clearly shown that the Bible is accurate, would you believe it?
Did you know that there is unmistakable proof found in Bible prophecy? Now, that may sound like circular reasoning, but it's not, so stay with us and let me explain.
First, let's define the issue. What is Bible prophecy? Well prophecy is something predicted to happen in the future. It's history given in advance. In fact, you could say, it's the news of tomorrow given today.
Now in order to prove the Bible's believability, a fair test would be to determine whether or not prophecies have actually taken place. A pretty simple step is to ask the question, "Have Bible prophecies been fulfilled?" In other words, did God predict something that actually came about?
Let's look at an example, then, study a prophecy and take a look at it. Now, just any prophecy might not be the most convincing proof. Prophecies, perhaps that were only fulfilled a few years after they were given, might not be persuasive enough. So let's take it a step further.
What prophecy would be a good gauge to test whether to believe the Bible or not? Well, it seems that it would have to be one that was fulfilled long after it was recorded.
Think of it. The Bible predicts people, places, and events, hundreds of years before their occurrence. Now that's pretty convincing! You'd have to admit that the Bible is too precise, too exact, too detailed to dismiss it as merely a "good guess." Or in other words, if you can verify that the Bible contains in-depth examples of fulfilled prophecy, then Scripture itself reveals the truth of your Bible and how great God really is.
Did you know that God Himself tells you how to reflect on past prophecy? He inspired the Apostle Peter to say, "All of this makes us even more certain that what the prophets said is true. So you should pay close attention to their message, as you would to a lamp shining in some dark place." (2 Peter 1:19 CEV)
So, are you willing to pay close attention to prophecy? God boldly tell us: "Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish." (Isaiah 46:9-10 NLT)
God challenges anyone to do what He does: Predict the future and then make it come to pass!
So let's put the Bible to the test and see if God's Word is really true. Now there's an amazing example in the book of Daniel. You're probably familiar with the story of Daniel in the lion's den. It's that very same Daniel.
In chapter 2, we find ancient Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream that none of his counselors could explain. Babylonians placed considerable emphasis on dreams, and Nebuchadnezzar was convinced that this one was very important. But no one could explain it.
The prophet Daniel didn't know what the dream was about either, yet with God's inspiration, he was able to explain every detail of the dream to the king.
"You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue--an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay." (Daniel 2:31-33 NIV)
Daniel told the king that the head of gold represented his own empire, his own Babylon. When you look into the history books, they'll tell you that this empire of gold ruled the known world around 600 B.C.
Now, it's one thing to say that the head of gold was Babylon. That would be like Daniel working for USA Today and just reporting the news of the day, but that's not what Daniel was doing. He was also predicting what was to come. What the future would hold.
The silver, the bronze, the iron--those sections of the statue--represented future powerful empires that were to come to power after mighty Babylon. Now we'll talk about that in more detail in just a moment.
But imagine, this dream inspired by God provided an astounding preview of history. History in advance; that's one of our definitions of prophecy. God said what Daniel could count on. It was a sure thing. Now, what about you?
Do you live in a world of uncertainty? Do you wonder about your future? Your job? The economy? Retirement? It makes you wonder if anything is predictable! But, there is a source of information to tell you where this world is headed. The answers are in Bible prophecy.
It can be difficult though, to know where to start. So we have something to help. It's our free booklet,
You Can Understand Bible Prophecy. It will help you realize the true extent of prophecy; how it links the past, present, to the future.
So request your copy today! Go online to BeyondToday.tv to download, read it, or order your free copy of, You Can Understand Bible Prophecy. Call us toll free: 1-888-886-8632. And as always, we provide all of our publications free of charge, as an educational service.
Knowledge of prophecy can be interesting. It can be exciting! But it also provides you with the details of God's wonderful plan for all. This booklet will help you to truly begin to grasp those prophecies.
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Now let's get back to that old king, Nebuchadnezzar, and his dream. As much as one third of the Bible is said to concern prophecy, so God obviously considers it important. In the book of Daniel prophesied many events that were fulfilled many centuries ago, but also major events that are yet to come. It reveals history written in advance.
Now we know that that statue in the dream represented a series of great empires that would dominate the civilized world for centuries. Now with that said, many would argue, "How do you know that this statue really represents specific kingdoms?"
Well look what Daniel said to the king. He said, "After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron--for iron breaks and smashes everything--and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others." (Daniel 2:39-43)
This dream concludes as a stone struck the image on its feet of iron mixed with clay, shattering them. The rest of the statue crumbled and blew away, leaving no trace, while the stone grew into a great mountain, filling the whole earth.
Now, by speaking these words in the sixth century B.C., Daniel has given us a way to test the Bible's validity.
Notice the descriptions of these kingdoms and how accurately this was fulfilled: The silver empire was to be Medo-Persia, which began with Cyrus the Great, who conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. This silver empire did come about and was the superpower of the Mideast for about two centuries.
Then bronze empire overtook them; the Greco-Macedonian Empire established by that mighty warrior Alexander the Great. It came like a flood, conquering the known world and ruling for some 300 years before the fourth kingdom of iron overcame it.
Of course, iron signifies toughness and ruthlessness and it describes the Roman Empire, ruling and conquering with an iron fist.
Now if you were to search the Internet, you'll find that history definitely records this specific sequence of kingdoms. God is challenging anyone to do what He does--predict the future and then make it come to pass!
Now would you say: That's plenty of evidence for me. That's enough information to make the point. Is it possible that Daniel just made a lucky guess? Some would say that; a stab in the dark that just happened to play out.
Well let's notice another prophetic dream that adds additional important detail. Very specific qualities of these world-ruling empires was revealed to Daniel in a later dream.
If we go over to chapter 7, instead of a statue, these same four empires are represented by four wild animals. Daniel prophesied that, "…four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth." (Verse17 NIV)
"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till [the] wings were plucked off." (Daniel 7:4) You see, Lions were a symbol of Babylon's might. That beast that Daniel sees is humbled and then defeated right before his eyes, like proud Babylon, the statue's head of gold.
"And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, [and] devour much flesh!'" (Daniel 7:5).
You see, conquering the Babylonians was the Medo-Persian Empire. It was an uneven coalition of two peoples, the Medes and the Persians. That silver torso of the statue, that we read about earlier, is shown in this vision to be a bear who stood unevenly. And it had these ribs in its mouth. In fact, interestingly, three ribs. And, amazingly enough, history verifies that the Persian Empire had three major military victories: against the Lydians, the Babylonians and the Egyptians.
Now Daniel goes on, "After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it." (Daniel 7:6).
Of course this compares to the kingdom led by Alexander the Great, the Greeks. They took the world by storm, conquering it in four years. And that was an amazing accomplishment. The speed, the ferocity, could only be described, "like a leopard." Of course, it didn't last very long. Upon Alexander's death, do you know what happened to his empire? It was divided into four sections, the four heads and wings of the leopard, and it was divided up among his four generals. History proves that out.
It was left easy prey then for "...a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns." (Daniel 7:8) You see, that represented the Roman Empire, yet to come. And the Romans rose to power; next known for its powerful war machine, decimating any that got in its way.
So when we put these prophecies together, prophecies of chapter 2 and chapter 7, it brings us to a crucial question. When? When did Daniel predict that these things would come about? Did God inspire this prophecy one year ahead of time? 10 years ahead of time? Well here's the amazing thing, it was about five decades. That's 50 years before the Persian Empire, 270 years before Alexander's Greco-Macedonian Empire and over four centuries, 400 years, before the Romans dominated the world.
These prophecies were unfailingly fulfilled long after they were given. They are verified by history. They are specific. They are so precise. It only leaves one viable explanation. Daniel received the information from a source that could see the future, from God.
In fact, because these prophecies are so accurate, some modern scholars reject them. They say that they must have been recorded after the fact. They say, "Well, whoever wrote the book of Daniel was looking back on events that already happened." But even though the book has been attacked in modern times, a thorough study of the external and the internal evidence shows Daniel wrote down these prophecies before they happened. They're genuine. If you'd like more details about the authenticity of the book of Daniel, be sure and go on our website and check it out.
These are certainly fantastic, remarkable prophecies that span hundreds of years, four kingdoms, many rulers and the amazing part is that they precisely came to pass. The probability of this prediction actually occurring is impossible, and yet God prophesied it, and it came to pass.
The solid evidence of fulfilled Bible prophecy is impressive, but you know, it shouldn't stop there. Will you believe the proof God gives? In fact, how will you respond to it?
God challenges anyone to do what He does--to predict the future and then bring it about.
Now, in addition to these predictions fulfilled so long ago, are the ones yet to happen. Now remember Nebuchadnezzar's dream? It also included feet of iron and clay, and a stone that shatters those feet, destroys the statue and then it grows into a mountain that fills the world. Now, that hasn't happened yet. What does that prophecy mean?
The Bible is describing God's plan. He set it in motion long ago. Piece by piece, His plan is coming about and an incredible future is on the horizon--The Kingdom of God, it's drawing near!
The pieces of the puzzle seem to be falling into place for many astonishing prophecies to be fulfilled in our lifetime. As our world propels itself to the brink of self-extermination, now is your chance to understand what lies ahead for you and the rest of humanity. Don't ignore the Word of God. He tells us, "What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do." (Isaiah 46:11 NIV).
Now there's much more to discuss on this topic. But first, I have a special offer for you. It's The Good News magazine. This magazine is designed to help you. It contains articles to help you understand Bible prophecy and also brings insight into what the Bible really teaches and how you can make sense of it.
That's why you should order your free subscription to The Good News. The call is free: 1-888-886-8632. And remember, all of our publications are provided free of charge, as an educational service.
