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The Thinking Man's Bible: The New Age of Reason |
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Part III |
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Does Biblical prophecy support the likelihood of divine inspiration and the infallibility of the Bible? If the Bible was divinely inspired, its prophecies can’t fail. So, how reliable is scriptural prophesy? The main problem we have with assessing the prophecies is their ambiguity. Their lack of specificity, inconsistency, and lack of direction allow one to read into them almost anything, both sincerely and unscrupulously. When we find a prophecy specific enough in time or effect, we can check it against either historical facts or other biblical verses. That’s the type of prophesy that most of this section covers. Unfortunately, the passages we are able to test fail miserably. |
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The Thinking Man's Bible: The New Age of Reason |
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Chapter 10 |
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10.1 The Bible said that prophecy was dependable. "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed…" 2Pet 1:19 "…the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets…" 1Kgs 22:23 "…the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee." 2Cr 18:22 "…for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?" Ecc 6:12 "…the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink…they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment." Isa 28:7 "The prophets prophesy falsely…" Jer 5:31 "For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord." Jer 23:11 "The days of visitation are come…the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad…" Hos 9:7 "Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err…" Mic 3:5 "…the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money" Mic 3:11 God: "Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and…false burdens and causes of banishment." Lam 2:14 God: "…I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land." Zech 13:2 10.2 The Bible also said that God repented. How does this repenting square with the reliability of prophecies, even if they were inspired by God? "And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth…" Gen 6:6 "And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people." Ex 32:14 "For the Lord shall…repent himself for his servants…" Deut 32:36 "For the Lord will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning his servants." Ps 135:14 "…and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel." 1Sam 15:35 "If that nation, against whom I [God] have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them." Jer 18:8 God: "…I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you." Jer 42:10 "…God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not." Jon 3:10 10.3 Jesus said that prophecies which didn’t come true were not from God. Since the bible contained the numerous falsified prophecies below, it cannot have been the word of God. "When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you need not be afraid of him." Deut 18:22 10.4 Adam and Eve did not die from eating the forbidden fruit. Adam lived to the ripe old age of 930. "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Gen 2:17 "And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years…" Gen 5:5
Some hold that this referred to a spiritual death rather than a physical death. This cannot be, since David’s son died a physical death soon after a similarly worded curse. "Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die." 2Sam 12:14 "And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died." 2Sam 12:18 10.5 The prophescy that Cain would lead a fugitive and vagabond life was falsified when he married and settled down in Nod. "When thou [Cain] tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." Gen 4:12 "And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod. And Cain knew his wife…and he builded a city…" Gen 4:16-17 10.6 Although it was prophesied that "seedtime and harvest" would not cease, there was a world-wide famine. "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Gen 8:22 "And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands…And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt." Gen 41:54,56 10.7 This prophecy also remains unfulfilled. "…and in thee [Abraham] shall all families of the earth be blessed." Gen 12:3 "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" Gen 22:18; 26:4 "…and in thee [Jacob] and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Gen 28:14
Even if Christianity were the form of this blessing, as Paul said, Christianity doesn’t encompass all the families or nations of the earth; and it hasn’t always been a blessing to those conquered by Christianity. "Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed" Acts 3:25-26 "…the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through Faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." Gal 3:8-9 10.8 The prophecy of a 400-year captivity in Egypt was falsified by their 430-year captivity, or their 215-year captivity according to the orthodox chronology as well as the historian, Josephus (Antiquities, book 2, chapter 15). "And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;" Gen 15:13 "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years." Ex 12:40 10.9 This prophecy is falsified by the fact that six, not four, generations were involved. "But in the fourth generation they [Abraham’s descendants] shall come hither again [from Egypt]…" Gen 15:16 The succession was Abraham, Isaac, Levi, Kohath, Amram, and Moses. Ex 1:2; 6:16,18,20 10.10 Israeli territory extended to the Nile only during the six-day war, but it never extended to the Euphrates, and it’s unlikely to if the Arabs have anything to say about it. "In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:" Gen 15:18 10.11 Sarah was to be the mother of nations, but her only descendants were the Jews. "And I will bless [Sarai/Sarah], and…I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations…" Gen 17:16 10.12 Jacob never got his promised land. "…I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed" Gen 28:13 10.13 God said Jacob wouldn’t be called Jacob anymore; but soon after, God called him Jacob again. God: "…Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel." Gen 35:10 "And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I." Gen 46:2 10.14 God prophesied that Jacob (Israel) would leave Egypt, but he died in Egypt. God: "I will go down with thee [Jacob] into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again…" Gen 46:4 "Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel…and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days." Gen 50:2-3 10.15 Despite this prophecy, Zebulun’s borders never reached the sea, and they never reached Sidon. "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Sidon." Gen 49:13 10.16 This prophecy was falsified by the fact that Palestine is no land of milk and honey, and it is not large. "And the Lord said…I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey…" Ex 3:7-8 10.17 Israel owes billions of dollars to foreigners, contrary to this prophecy. "…and thou [Israel] shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow…" Deut 15:6 10.18 Ruth, the Moabitess, an ancestor to both David and Jesus, entered the congregation within ten generations, contrary to this prophesy. "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:" Deut 23:3 "And [Naomi’s two sons] took them wives of the women of Moab [Orpah and Ruth]…" Ruth 1:4, "…Ruth the Moabitess…"Ruth 1:22; 2:3,21 "So Boaz took Ruth…and she bare a son…Obed; he is the father of Jesse, the father of David." Ruth 4:13,17 10.19 This prophecy was also falsified by history. "The stranger that is within thee [i.e. within the Jews] shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. He shall lend to thee [the Jews], and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail." Deut 28:43-44 10.20 This prophecy was falsified by the fact that the Naphtali district was in northeastern Palestine (Asimov, Guide, 223), not the west or south. "And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the Lord: possess thou the west and the south." Deut 33:23 10.21 Residents of the continuously occupied town of Ai may have some argument with this prophesy. "…Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever…" Josh 8:28 10.22 This prophecy was falsified by the fact that Ephriam and Manasseh never did get rid of the Canaanites. "And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power…thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong." Josh 17:17,18 "Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out. Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them." Judg 1:27-29 10.23 This prophecy was falsified by the facts that Samuel’s sons did not rule well, and "forever" didn’t last very long. "And I will raise me up a faithful priest [Samuel], that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever." 1Sam 2:35 "And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel…And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment." 1Sam 8:1,3 10.24 David’s prophecy was falsified by the fact that Saul died before David. "And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul…" 1Sam 27:1 "Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites…" 2Sam 1:1 10.25 The Jews have moved, still move, and continue to suffer from wickedness even in their promised land. "Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime," 2Sam 7:10 10.26 Another prophesy of a peaceful death, Josiah’s, was falsified by the fact of his violent death. "Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace…" 2Kgs 22:20 "…king Josiah went against [the King of Egypt]; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him." 2Kgs 23:29-30 10.27 This prophesy was wrong. Solomon’s wealth was surpassed by monarchs before, during, and after his reign. God: "Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee [Solomon]; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like." 2Ch 1:12 10.28 Isaiah’s prophecy to Ahaz was fatally flawed. Rather than destroying his enemies, he was killed by his enemies. "Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz…And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted…the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah…Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it…Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass." Isa 7:3-7 "Wherefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter." 2Ch 28:5-6 10.29 Is there any record of this prophecy coming true? "For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine." Isa 13:10 10.30 The Nile has always been productive for fishing. How could this prophecy possibly be falsified? "The [Nile fishermen] also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish." Isa 19:8 10.31 Damascus was never destroyed, probably the only city of Palestine which wasn’t. It’s been inhabited since antiquity. "The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap." Isa 17:1 10.32 There is no evidence that five Egyptian cities were ever Hebrew-speaking or spoke any other language of Canaan. None have had the nickname "city of destruction." "In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction." Isa 19:18 10.33 There is no evidence that Egyptians and Ethiopians were captured by Assyrians, much less led away bare-assed. "So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives…naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt." Isa 20:4 10.34 Here’s a prophecy which would be fatal to life as we know it, had it occurred. This might have describe a point in the transitional phase of the sun as it burns out billions of years from now. "Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days…" Isa 30:26 10.35 If this event had happened, we’d know about it. Surely one would notice that Edom had become burning pitch and brimstone. The closest thing was probably Saddam Hussein’s destruction of the Kuwaiti oil fields (not in Edom proper), but these fires didn’t last forever. "For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof [Edom] shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever." Isa 34:8-10 10.36 These prophecies were falsified by history. "…thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken." Isa 33:20 "…put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean." Isa 52:1 10.37 This prophecy notwithstanding, many nations continue to flourish without being under the thumbs of either Jewish or Christian empires. "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." Isa 60:12 10.38 This one has never come to pass either. At no time has everyone lived to be over 100 years old, nor has infant mortality dropped to zero. "There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old…" Isa 65:20 10.39 Since the cockatrice is only a mythical creature, this prophecy is falsified. "For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord." Jer 8:17 10.40 Although the prophecy said no descendant of Coniah (Jeconias) would ever sit on the throne of David, Jesus is descended from Jeconias and, according to Luke, must sit on the throne. These prophesies are contradictory. "Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man [Coniah] childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah." Jer 22:30 Jechonias is listed as an ancestor of Jesus. Mt 1:11 "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David" Lk 1:32 10.41 Israel is not a safe place, and many people from the banished tribes are moving somewhere else for security. "The bow and the sword" have been replace by the tank, the automatic weapon, the truck bomb, the missile, and the bomber. "Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:" Jer 32:37 "…I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely." Hos 2:18 10.42 The prophesy of Zedekiah’s peaceful death was falsified by his death by torture and imprisonment. God: "But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord." Jer 34:5 "Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death." Jer 52:11 10.43 Contrary to this prophesy, Jews have lived in Egypt since the first century AD. "So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them." Jer 42:17 10.44 The prophesied destruction and evacuation of Babylon never occurred. The dancing of satyrs and the crying of dragons didn’t happen. Sons of men, Arabs, and shepherds still live there; and Babylon existed throughout the New Testament. "Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein." Jer 50:39-40 "And Babylon…shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged." Isa 13:19-22 Babylon still exists in the New Testament. Mt 1:11,12; Acts 7:43; 1Pet 5:13 10.45 This prophesied desolation of Hazor was falsified. "And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it." Jer 49:33 10.46 In prophecy, the Davidic throne would be never-ending. In reality, it ended with Zedekiah. "For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel." Jer 33:7 "I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations." Ps 89:3-4 10.47 None of this happened either. Dragons’ lair indeed! "And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant." Jer 9:11 10.48 Jehoiakim’s apparently peaceful repose doesn’t seem to jibe with the prophecy for his indignant disposal. "[Jehoiakim] shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem." Jer 22:18,19 "…[Jehoiakim’s] dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost." Jer 36:30 "So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers…" 2Kgs 24:6 10.49 The days were not at hand, and the Jews still wait. "Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord God; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision." Ezek 12:23 10.50 Contrary to prophecy, Tyre is doing quite well, thank you. "And I will make thee [Tyre] like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God." Ezek 26:14 "I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God." Ezek 26:21 "…thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more." Ezek 27:36 Tyre still exists in the New Testament. Mt 15:21; Mk 3:8; 7:24,31; Acts 12:20; 21:3,7 10.51 This prophecy was falsified by the facts that Egypt was never the basest of kingdoms and, in the 1820s, conquered and ruled the Sudan. "It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations." Ezek 29:15 10.52 According to this prophecy, Tyre would be decimated and plundered after its capture by Nebuchadr[n]ezzar. Three chapters and 13 years later, Tyre still stood. No Greek or Phoenician historian said the island fortress city of Tyre was ever taken by Nebuchadnezzar. God then promised to compensate Nebuchadnezzar by letting him plunder Egypt. This didn’t happen either. "For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water." Ezek 26:7-12 "Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it: Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army." Ezek 29:18,19 10.53 This prophecy was falsified by the facts: Egypt was never laid waste; men and beasts have always passed through; it was never uninhabited for a day, much less forty years; the surrounding countries were never desolate; her cities were never desolate for forty years; and the Egyptians were never scattered to foreign lands. "And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste…I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate,…No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries." Ezek 29:9-12 "And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries." Ezek 30:23 & 26 "By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed." Ezek 32:12 10.54 God promised to destroy and scatter the Egyptians at the hand of the Babylonians. It didn’t happen. Neither did any of his prophecies in detail: multitudes of Egyptians were never taken away or scattered to other countries; Egypt, Libya, Lydia, and Ethiopia were never conquered together; Egypt was never decimated by fire; Nebuchadnezzar didn’t destroy or conquer Egypt; the Nile never dried up; and Egyptian royalty continued long after Nebuchadnezzar’s death. The closest thing to any of this came 240 years later with the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, and he was not a Babylonian. "And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people…shall fall with them by the sword…They also that uphold Egypt shall fall…And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.…And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have set a fire in Egypt…Thus saith the Lord God; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon…He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.…And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers…and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt…and will set fire in Zoan…And I will set fire in Egypt…" Ezek 30:4-8,10-14,16 10.55 Everyone who has been on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land has proved this one false. "So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more." Joel 3:17 10.56 Amos prophesied that Jeroboam would die a violent death, but he didn’t. Amos: "Jeroboam shall die by the sword…" Amos 7:11 "And Jeroboam slept with his fathers…" 2Kgs 14:29 10.57 Another of Amos’ prophecies fell flat. King Amaziah’s son Uzziah succeeded him, and Lachish in Judah was no more polluted than other places. "[Amos to Amaziah]…thus saith the Lord…thy sons…shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land…" Amos 7:17 "…[Amaziah] fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there." 2Kgs 14:19 10.58 The prophecy of the darkness accompanying the crucifixion looks pretty good, unless we include the verse that follows. There is no evidence that everyone wore sackcloth on their loins that day nor that everyone went bald. "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:" Amos 8:9 "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour." Mt 27:45 "And…I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head…" Amos 8:10 10.59 This prophesy by Jonah was totally wrong. A good prophet should have foreseen the change in circumstances. Besides, if God could change his mind after a prophecy was made, what good would any prophecy be? "And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." Jon 3:4 "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not." Jon 3:10 10.60 When has this ever happened? When will it? "The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid." Zeph 3:13 10.61 When has the Nile dried up? Barring some cataclysmic event in the earth’s crust, it should continue to drain Africa for millions of years. "…all the deeps of the river [Nile] shall dry up…" Zech 10:11 10.62 The only waters flowing out of Jerusalem are its sewers. What hinder [eastern] sea is the Bible talking about? "And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be." Zech 14:8 10.63 All you have to do is read the newspaper to know that this prophecy was false. "And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited." Zech 14:11 10.64 Drought was to be the punishment for any nation on earth which did not worship. "And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain." Zech 14:17 10.65 Jesus never received David’s throne, nor did he rule over the house of Jacob (the Jews) who resoundingly rejected him. "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Lk 1:32,33 10.66 The following prophecy was time-tagged as "now." It never came to fruition. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." Jn 5:25 10.67 Prophecy notwithstanding, Galilee produced a number of big-time prophets: Elijah, Nahum, Hosea, and Jonah. "…out of Galilee ariseth no prophet." Jn 7:52 10.68 God promised Paul his protection, but Paul was beaten-up anyway. "Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city." Acts 18:9,10 "…when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul." Acts 21:32 "And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by [Paul] to smite him on the mouth." Acts 23:2 10.69 Paul prophesied that he and his followers ("we which are alive") would see the end of the world and would be snatched up alive and bodily into heaven. It didn’t happen. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1Thes 4:16-17 "But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;" 1Cor 7:29 "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." Heb 10:36,37 10.70 The Apostle John said Christ prophesied that the destruction of the hated empire, Rome (universally known as the city of seven hills), would come during the reign of Rome’s eighth emperor sometime in the first century CE. The sixth emperor reigned at the time Revelations was written. The seventh emperor wouldn’t last long. The eighth emperor (the beast) would appear, and the kingdom of God would come to destroy Rome. It didn’t happen. "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." Rev 17:1-18 |
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Second, most prophesies about the end of the world could be interpreted as applicable to almost any time in history, and they will continue to have some apparent applicability as long a human society exists. Many preachers claim that modern disasters and wars fulfill Biblical prophecy; but similar things have occurred throughout history, sometimes even more spectacularly. Any preacher, from day one to the end of time will be able to claim that current signs fulfill the doomsday prophecies.