Bible Prophecies
Most of us are too skeptical of bad prophecies and can spot them easily. Tabloid predictions by psychics about the end-of-the-world generates interests within selves. There’re great information on Christianity’s end-of-the-world predictions. Like, lunar eclipses and predictions of the red blood moon. The sound of seven trumpets from heaven. Eventually, the reign and rule of anti-Christ.
“And Consequently, coming of Jesus to save Christians from Baphomet the devil. These all are Bible Prophecies. Let us know what makes it Good?”
It is interesting to know that all claimed biblical prophecies are fulfilled. The claims are so weak that I wonder: don’t we have a common idea of what fulfilled prophecy actually looks like? I propose that we take a step forward and agree on what makes a good prophecy.
The prophecy must be startling rather being mundane
“The ABCD Political Party will gain control of WXYZ next election” isn’t at all startling. I will lose hope on the Legislature if I believe in such prophecies. We regularly find news about earthquakes, wars, medical breakthroughs, and so on.
“These startling events are sure to make good prophecies.”
The prophecy must be precise
A major earthquake will devastate England on January 12, 2018.” This prophecy seems to be precise. Now, look at the prophecies of Nostradamus and Baba Vango. You can easily find them on Google. They do speak lots of things but do not give perfect and précised time. And to the process of wars and peace, same is applicable.
“Same goes with the story of Gospel and The last meal.”
The prophecies are always accurate
We should have high expectations for a divine divinatory. The one who can show all, when where how the prophecy will take place. At the same time, the divine power will give accurate possibilities before it all starts. But, the prophecies from the omniscient Creator are perfect. The prophecy and the fulfillment must be verifiable. The prophecy and sometimes the fulfillment comes from long ago, and we must be confident that they are accurate history.
“It means very little as they were only wrote.”
The prophecy must predict
The writings of Nostradamus predict the London Great Fire of 1666. As well the rise of Napoleon and Hitler. But of course, these “predictions” were so unclear in his writings that the connection inferred afterward. But the same logic could find these after-the-fact connections in any large book.
“This is known as the failing of the Bible Code. The idea which Hebrew Bible holds hidden acrostics of future events.”
The prophecy can’t be self-fulfilling
The prediction that a bank will break may provoke its customers to remove all their money. Thus, making the bank insolvent and bankrupt. The prediction that Harry Potter would kill Voldemort drove Voldemort to kill the infant Harry. But, in so he inadvertently gave Harry some of the abilities which later killed Voldemort.
Isaiah 45:1 names Cyrus the Great of Persia as the anointed one (Messiah) who will end the Babylonian exile (587–538BCE) of the Israelites. That would be pretty impressive if it predicted the events, but this part of Isaiah (Deutero-Isaiah) was probably written during the time of Cyrus.
Or take Daniel. Daniel the man might have been taken to Babylon during the exile, but Daniel the book was written centuries later in roughly 165 BCE. It’s “prophecies” before that date is pretty good, but it fails afterward. There’s even a term for this, vaticinia ex eventu—prophecy after the event.
Hence, I preferably believe that the fulfillment of prophecies must be honest. I think that any of us would find this fairly obvious that predictions can fail and we had observed it.
But this Skeptical net rejects Jesus prophecies as well. Consider Matthew: this gospel says that Jesus was born of a virgin (1:18–25), was born in Bethlehem (2:1), and that he rode humbly on two donkeys (21:1–7). It says that Jesus predicted that he would rise, Jonah-like, after three days (12:40) and that the temple would fall (24:1–2).
It says that he was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (26:15), that men gambling for his clothes (27:35), and it records his last words (27:46).
Are these the records of fulfilled prophecy? Maybe all these claims in Matthew actually did happen. But if so, we have no grounds for saying so. Because they fail these tests which I had enlisted.
