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HOW DOES PROPHECY SHOW US GOD IS REAL?

 

If God is real and powerful He is able to show us through messages sent through time. If He can give someone a message about the future (called a prophecy) and that prophecy happens exactly as He said it would, then would you sit up and take notice? Well, he has done this not just once but hundreds of times.

This should fill you with love and respectful fear of God who loves you so much He has placed prophecies in 1/3 of the Bible to show you His power and He wants you to take notice and search for Him. There are over 300 prophecies about Jesus which all happened in His birth, life, death and resurrection.

We have already covered some of these in Birth of Jesus - Different to ours?, Life of Jesus - Different to ours?, Death of Jesus - He is GOD! and Death of Jesus - Back from the Dead!. Please read these first. What we are looking at now is prophecy about 12 nations and how everything happened hundreds of years later just as God told the prophets it would.

 

1. Tyre

 

Tyre was an evil city on the Mediterranean coast which Ezekiel (592BC) in chapter 26 prophesied would be destroyed.

 

A801 He prophesied someone would break down her towers, which Nebuchadnezzer did 3 years later.

 

Someone would make her into a bare rock, which Alexander the Great did in 332 BC. Debris would be thrown into the water. Alexander did this when he built a causeway using everything of the city of Tyre.

The city will never be rebuilt but fishermen will spread their nets there: this is exactly what is happening today.		 A802

 

How can we explain such detailed prophecy that happened over a 2000 year time span exactly as God told Ezekiel? Can you praise God for it?

 

2. Sidon

 

Tyre's sister city had a different prophecy against it in Ezekiel 28:23, "I shall send pestilence to her and blood to her streets and the wounded will fall in her midst by the sword upon her on every side; then they will know that I am the Lord."

Historians are amazed at how these words describe the history of Sidon accurately. In 351BC (over 240 years after the prophecy), the Sidonians killed themselves by fire and blood rather than give in to Persia. This happened time after time to Sidon but it was never destroyed like Tyre was.

The Crusaders, the Turks, the French and English were all involved in war in Sidon. How could Ezekiel have known that one city would be a bare rock for 2000 years while its sister city would not be destroyed but have constant warfare in it over this period? This must be God at work.

 

3. Samaria

 

Micah (738-690BC) Chapter 1:6, "For I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the open country, planting places for a vineyard. I will pour her stones down into the valley and will lay bare her foundations."

 

A803 Samaria fell by the sword in 722 BC and again in 331 BC by Alexander.

Since that time the whole site has been converted into gardens and today the foundations mark the places where the palaces and mansions stood.

The stones have been thrown down into the valleys.

 

The punishment on this evil Jewish city turned out exactly as Micah prophesied and took over 2000 years to be completely fulfilled. This must be God at work.

 

4. Gaza-Ashkelon

 

These are two cities on the Mediterranean Sea west of the Dead Sea.

Amos (775-750 BC) prophesied in chapter 1:8: "The remnant of the Philistines will perish" says the Lord God.

There is no Philistine living in the world today.

Jeremiah (626-586 BC) prophesied in chapter 47:5: "Baldness has come upon Gaza, Ashkelon has been ruined, O remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourself."

In 1270 AD Sultan Bibars destroyed the powerful Philistine city of Ashkelon which has been a ruin ever since. Gaza seems to still exist so 'scholars' thought the Bible was wrong until the archaeologist Dr Keith discovered the original city buried by sand dunes. The Biblical description of a bald Gaza is accurate today.

 

Zephaniah (646-621 BC) prophesied in chapter 2:6: "So the sea coast will be pastures, with caves for shepherds and folds for flocks, And the coast will be for the remnant of the house of Jacob, They will pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening. For the Lord God will take care of them, and restore their fortune." A804

 

This has happened since the Jews returned to Israel. They are right now rebuilding Ashkelon and establishing a prosperous agricultural area just as Zephaniah prophesied over 2000 years ago!

 

5. Petra and Edom

 

Petra was the capital city of the nation of Edom, north of the Dead Sea. It was an impenetrable city carved out from cliff faces deep into a mountain. It was a very prosperous trading centre for desert-travelling merchants from Asia. The Edomites were among the most evil and debauched nations in history.

God sent 6 prophets to condemn them:

Isaiah 34:7,10 (783-704 BC) "Their land shall become soaked with blood... from generation to generation it shall be desolate."

During the 6th century BC the Nabethians succeeded in expelling Edom from Petra and the rock fortresses.

 

A805 Jeremiah 49:18 (626-586 BC) "Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbours," says the Lord, "no one will live there, nor will a son of man reside in it."

Petra has been a lost city from AD 1200 to AD 1800 and has not had one inhabitant.

Isaiah 34:13: "And thorns shall come up in its fortified towers, nestles and thistles in its fortified cities. It shall be a haunt of jackals"... etc.

Tourists today can see and hear these sights all around Petra.

 

Petra was one of the wonders of the ancient world with its buildings cut out of solid rock inside a mountain's cleft. It was almost impossible to conquer with just one long narrow canyon-like entrance. It is not humanly possible that 6 Old Testament prophets could predict the future desolation unless God was in control of their Petra words.

 

6. Ninevah

 

Ninevah was the evil capital of the Assyrian Empire. Nahum prophesied doom at a time when its power was at its peak, 661 BC.

Nahum 1:8 "But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of its site, and will pursue his enemies into darkness."

1:10 "Like tangled thorns, and like those who are drunken with their drink, they are consumed as stubble completely withered."

2:6 "The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved."

3:13 "Fire consumes your gate bars."

All of these prophecies and more in Nahum have been fulfilled completely. Ninevah fell with ease in 612BC when the Medes and Chaldeans besieged it. Part of the impenetrable walls were carried away by a great flood. The king of Assyria was getting drunk with his officers as this was happening. When he saw the walls crumbling he realized Nahum's prophecy was true and gave up hope. He destroyed the palace himself with fire. Archeologists have found records and ruins to show this account is accurate.

 

One of them, Merril Unger, has this to say: "In 612BC the ancient splendid city and capital of the Assyrian Empire was so completely obliterated, according to its prophesied decimation by Hebrew prophets, that it became like a myth until its discovery by Sir Austen Layard and others in the 19th century. The site has now ruins of Ninevah library as it was been extensively excavated." A806

 

7. Babylon

 

The prophets Isaiah (783-704 BC) and Jeremiah (626-586 BC) both predicted Babylon would be like Sodom and Gomorrah (Isa. 13:19), would never be inhabited again (Jer. 51:26), desert creatures will infect the ruins (Is. 13:21), it will not be frequently visited (Jer. 51:43) and it will be covered with swamps of water. (Is. 14:13).

 

A808 Babylon was the capital of the ancient world, head of the Babylonian empire, the centre of trade, culture and learning.

But in 539BC Babylon fell to Cyrus of Persia and declined since then till during the time of Alexander's successors it was fought over so much it was ruined. At the time of Christ it was a desert infested by desert creatures.

 

Babylon today

 

The Encyclopedia Britannica has an observation about the swamp prediction. 'A large part of the old city buried under a deep bed of silt remains to be found... [it] lies beneath the water table.' 15 ii 3950 A807

 

8. Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum

 

A809 Jesus prophesied the destruction of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, prosperous cities by the Sea of Galilee, because they would not repent after seeing many miracles He did. (Matthew 11:20-24) An earthquake destroyed them about AD 400.

 

A nearby Roman city, Tiberius, was not condemned by Jesus and is prosperous to this day.

 

9. Jerusalem's enlargement

 

Jeremiah (626-586 BC) prophesied the future growth of Jerusalem.

He listed places such as the Tower of Hananel, the Corner Gate, valley of the dead bodies and the brook Kidron in chapter 31:38-40 which were many kilometres north of Jerusalem at that time but are now part of the expanding plan of Jerusalem.		 A810

 

10. Palestine

 

In Leviticus 26 Moses predicts Palestinian cities will be destroyed, the people of Israel will disperse, the Jews will be persecuted and Palestine will be reinhabited by Jews, cities will revive and the land will be farmed.

 

A811 This has all happened after Christ returned to heaven.

The Roman legions destroyed anything Jewish in AD 70. All their land was sold by Hadrian in AD 135 and the Jews were dispersed around the world after much persecution.

Their history till 1948 is of horrific persecution, but since 1948 the Jews have reinhabited Palestine, revived it and the land is being farmed again.

 

Is this not God at work, fulfilling prophecies about His chosen people over a 3 500 year period, being fulfilled at the moment. There are many more prophecies which are described by Josh McDowell in his best-selling book 'Evidence that demands a Verdict'.

What you need to decide is whether you will trust God after seeing that He has done all this or whether you will go on ignoring Him and pay the price.

Remember: wise people fear God and seek Him.