Have You Ever Considered Bible Prophecy?

Introduction

I often find myself amazed at what impresses people today, what people find amazing or shocking. And at the same time, I find myself amazed at times at what does not impress people. Can I give you a little illustration of that? It amazes me that there are a lot of people in our culture who have been impressed by the French physician and astrologer Nostradamus. Ever heard of him? If not, don’t be too worried. He lived in 1555. That was common quite a while back. But actually, in recent, in recent years, he’s called somewhat of a stir in our culture. In fact, not only have books been written about him, but over the last couple of years, they produced some television specials about him. Why is he so noted?

It seems that in 1555 he published a book called Centuries, a book that contains some 900 predictions about the future. Some believe that he was actually pretty accurate in declaring the future, suggesting that he accurately predicted the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon and Adolf Hitler, and even accurately predicted World War II. Well, now be careful. That’s what they say about him. Scholars who have studied his writings have suggested that actually his language is very vague and cryptic in nature, and he didn’t include any dates or few dates in what he wrote, and so scholars have suggested really you could take what he wrote and apply it to just about anything, or apply it to nothing. And that, in fact, over the centuries, time and time again, people have taken his writings and they’ve been applied and then in another generation reapplied to different events depending on the time.

And yet there are people in our culture who are so impressed with Nostradamus and his book called Centuries that they suspect that there may be something supernatural behind this guy, some special wisdom and insight that he has that the rest of us don’t. And if it is not Nostradamus that impresses some in our culture, there are others who are impressed with modern day psychics and mediums that they believe give them special insight into the future and into the planning of their lives. You know who I’m talking about? The people on television that you see, the commercials that tell us about people who, if we’ll just call, they’ll give us insight into future relationships. Ladies, they’ll help you pick the right guy if you’re searching for a husband.

Or gentlemen, they’ll give you counsel about this career move you’ve been thinking about, and because of their ability to perceive the future, they can tell you which direction to go, and all for 495 a minute.

And yet it is clear that these folks are little more than televised carnival workers who employ sideshow tactics to deceive their customers and to take them for their money. That’s what it really is. And yet, in our educated, enlightened American society, a people who pride themselves at being ahead of the ignorant masses of the past. We have a good number of people, at least enough to keep these people in business to the point they can buy commercial time on television. People flock to them. Because they want to know about the future. And they’re just so impressed with the insights that they can find. It makes me wonder if something so silly can impress people in our culture. How is it that folks cannot be overwhelmed with what they find in the Bible?

You ever thought about that? In contrast to these vain efforts of men like Nostradamus and people like the psychics and mediums of our generation, what we do have in the scripture are Bible writers who spoke of the future with almost unbelievable accuracy. We read the Bible, and what we find is that there are prophecies that speak with minute detail about the future of men and cities and nations. Prophecies that aren’t vague and cryptic in their language, but that speak in a way that is clear and unmistakable, so you can know what they’re talking about, what they’re trying to declare about the future. And prophecies that enjoyed amazing fulfillment as history unfolded. Right down to the last detail, what the prophet declared happened and just exactly the way he said it would happen, no matter how improbable the prophecy may have seemed.

And let me tell you something. Some of those Old Testament prophecies were really improbable. Had we been living at that time, and the prophet had been saying, here’s what’s going to happen down the road, this great city will fall and it’ll never be built again, we would have said, Oh, yeah, right. How could that be? And yet in the future it could be found hundreds or thousands of years later that what they said came to pass with complete and perfect accuracy. And brethren, the Bible does it over and over and over again.

Who cares about Mostradus when you’ve got the Bible? If one might be impressed with him, how much more overwhelmed should we be with the scriptures? In fact, I would suggest to you tonight that fulfilled prophecy serves as one of the greatest evidences we possess to demonstrate that the Bible must have come from God. That it must have been inspired with him, that without by him, because without him, men never could have produced what is written in these pages. You know, we are being faced more and more frequently in our culture with questions about the Bible. We’ve gone from generations past of being people who held the Bible up and in great respect, whether or not everyone really followed it as they should or not. At least people held it up and acknowledged it as being a book whose ideas and values should be acknowledged and followed.

We’ve gone from that to a time when the Bible is viewed with great skepticism. I can’t tell you how much more frequently, even in the short time that I’ve been preaching, how much more frequently I’ve gone from Bible studies where we began talking about what the Bible said to studies where we now must talk about why should we even care what the Bible says? How do we know that’s really God’s word? How do we know that these men weren’t just writing on their own initiative, that what they say really expresses God’s will for us? And I tell you, brethren, that presents a challenge to the rest of us. As we go out and we try to reach the world with the gospel, which is our duty, we’re going to be faced increasingly with people who want to know.

How do you know the Bible comes from God? And I want to suggest to you this evening that one response that we need to be ready to give is this one. Have you considered Bible prophecy? I’d like you to think with me about that. Bible prophecy makes a powerful case for the inspiration of the scripture simply because, brethren, men can’t know the future. Now we can guess about the future, and sometimes people do. You can see when you’re checking out in the grocery store that rack of magazines. If you watch them, I know y’all don’t buy them, hopefully. But when you’re going out, they’ve got those tabloid magazines that around the end of every year you notice they have the predictions for the next year. And those fellows and ladies go through and they make all these declarations about what’s going to happen in the next year.

And you know, sometimes they get it right. Most of the time they don’t, but sometimes they do. We can make guesses about the future. You can guess what the weather’s going to be like tomorrow. You might be right. But it will just be because we were lucky, not because we knew. We can even gather existing data and make forecasts about the future. That’s what weathermen do. They get the satellite imagery. They study the conditions using the measurements taken from their instruments. They study previous weather patterns and what tends to happen at this time of year, and when these things converge and come together, and based on that, you go home tonight and you watch the news and you can listen about what the weather will be tomorrow, and sometimes they’ll be right.

I think the last statistic that I saw was about 60% of the time. Why do they miss it the rest of the time? Well, because they don’t know. They can guess about it. They can make an educated forecast, but they don’t know what the weather will be like. And we’ve suffered sometimes because of it, happening. Said it’s going to be clear and sunny and beautiful, and it came a thunderstorm in the afternoon. Well, they don’t know. Only God knows. In fact, that was the point that Isaiah was making in Isaiah 41, starting in verse 21. I said Isaiah. It’s actually God speaking through Isaiah. He’s frustrated with the children of Israel because they’re worshiping these false idols, these gods of wood and stone. And God’s argument in those three verses starting in verse 21 is this.

He said, Listen, you bring those false gods in. Let them declare the future. Let them tell us what’s going to take place down the road, what’s going to happen tomorrow, and prove that they’re really gods. You see, that’s only something that belongs to deity, the ability to know what tomorrow holds. Only God knows that. But when we look to the scripture, brethren, what we find is Bible prophets who clearly knew the future. I’m not talking about guys that guessed. I’m not talking about guys who gathered data about existing world circumstances and then made some educated forecasts. I’m talking about men who knew to the details what would transpire years and millennia after their time. And I think that demonstrates that what they wrote had to come from God.

Not wild guesses that occasionally come true, not vague encrypted language like Snostradamas. But specific, detailed accounts made well before the actual events of things that only God could know about what would happen in the future of nations and cities and men. I would suggest to you that living in a culture like ours, that we need to be armed with this information so that we will be ready to do what Peter called us to do in 1 Peter 3.15, when he said to be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us.

What I want us to do is go through and examine three examples of Bible prophecy. I’ve given you a few blanks on the right side of your bulletin so you can jot down some of the things we’re talking about tonight. I’d like you to keep notes on what we’re saying, because here’s what I want to challenge you to do. When we’re done this evening, don’t just leave the sermon hanging where we left it here at the building tonight. I’d like you to take that bulletin home or your notes home. And I’d like you to go and find a place in the back of your Bible, one of the blank white pages back there. And I’d like you to take a moment to sketch out this argument from fulfilled prophecy.

1. Ezekiel’s Prophecy Regarding the City of Tyre

To take a few examples of fulfilled prophecy in the Bible and explain them briefly in your own words in the back of your Bible, so that when someone comes to you and they say, How can we know that the Bible comes from God? You can start with that question. Have you considered Bible prophecy? And you can give them an answer. Because, folks, Peter calls us in 1 Peter 3.15 to be ready to answer. So let’s see if we can work on that a little bit this evening. Let’s begin in Ezekiel chapter 26. And I want us to examine together a prophecy that was made by Ezekiel regarding the ancient city of Tyre. I’m just picking this one out, folks, because it’s just one of my favorite that I think illustrates the amazing ability of the Old Testament prophets to speak to the future.

Let me give you a little background about the city of Tyre. Tyre was a great Phoenician city located along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Its inhabitants were a seafaring people. It was a powerful city during its golden age, the chief city of the region, dominating all the other Phoenician cities. It was a wealthy city because it was the center of trade and commerce. And geographically, here’s something I want you to appreciate. Geographically, it was actually two cities. Built along the coast, there was a mainland portion of the city right there on the coast with its harbor. But in addition to that, there was a small island that was just off of the coast. And here they had also built a fortress with its own harbor.

And so there were sort of two parts, one on the mainland and one just off the coast on this small island. It was a very great city. But as we begin in Ezekiel 26 to examine the elements of this prophet uh prophecy, I want you to notice that around 592 BC, Ezekiel begins to spell out its doom. Let’s read it together, starting in verse 3. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, behold, I am against you, O Tyre. Those are always bad words in the Bible. When God says, I’m against you, that means that bad things are coming. I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you as the sea brings up its waves. I want you to notice, first of all, that Ezekiel declared that over the course of her history, many different nations were going to come against the sea.

In fact, he compares it to the waves beating up on the shore. Have you ever gone to the beach and watched the waves come in? How do they come in? They come in one after another after another. And that’s what the prophets are saying. That many nations would come against her. One and then another, and then another. Look at verse 4. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her tire, her towers, and will scrape her debris from her and make her like a bare rock. Notice he said that the city would be destroyed, but notice the detail. Interesting detail. That the site of the city would be scraped of her debris. And made like a bare rock. That’s interesting. Imagine how improbable that must have seemed to the people who heard this prophecy.

Why would anyone bother to come along after destroying a city and scrape off the debris? Usually you just left it there, right? But that’s not what the prophet says. Then again, look at verse 5. She will be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God, and she will become spoiled for the nations. Her devastation would be so complete that her future, well, her future would be sort of pathetic compared to the grandeur she once had. It’d just be a place where fishermen came out and kind of spread their nets out to dry on her ruins. He goes on to say, starting in verse 7, that one particular enemy would come against her. Look at verse 7.

For thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, king of kings with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a great army, and he will slay your daughters on the mainland with the sword, and he will make siege walls against you, and will cast a ramp up against you, and will raise up a large shield against you, and the blow of his battering ramps he will direct against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your tires. He said, Listen, the Babylonians are coming. And they’re going to devastate this city. Other nations too would make prey of her. Look down in verse 12. They will also make spoil of your riches and prey of your merchandise and break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses and throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water.

Why don’t you think about the last thing he says there? That they would take the debris from Tyre’s destruction and they would cast it into the water. Isn’t that odd? Why would he say that? Why would they do that? Prophet announces that the devastation would be complete. Verse 13, so I will silence the sound of the songs, and the sound of your harps will be heard no more, and I will make you a bare rock. You will be a place for the spreading of nets, you will be built no more, for I the Lord have spoken, declares the Lord God. Verse 21, I will bring terrors on you, and you will be no more, though you will be sought, you will never be found again, declares the Lord God.

Imagine a prophet coming along and saying, This once great city will be no more. It’s destined to be destroyed. Question we must answer is whether or not the prophet was right. Did the things he predict come to pass? Well, let’s note first of all that as he predicted, indeed, the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar, did come against Tyre not long after this prophecy was made. And they did lay lay siege to the city for thirteen years. But interestingly, Nebuchadnezzar was not completely successful in his conquest. In a sense he was, and in a sense he wasn’t. He was able to come and conquer the mainland portion of the city and wipe it out and destroy it. However, when the people of Tyre saw the invading Babylonian armies coming, they were smart and they knew they were doomed, so they got on their boats, and guess where they went?

They went out to the island, to the island fortress, knowing that the Babylonians didn’t have any ships. They had no way of getting to where they were. And so actually they went out there and Nebuchadnezzar was never able to conquer the island city. Although eventually they were devastated by the siege, and the people of Tyre fell under Babylonian control. Someone says, Well, does that mean that Ezekiel’s prophecy didn’t come to pass as he predicted? Didn’t Ezekiel say that the city would be destroyed and never to be heard from again? The truth of the matter is, even after the Babylonians, Tyre ultimately came back and remained a strong city for several hundred years after Nebuchadnezzar. Did the prophecy fail? Not at all. What did the prophet declare back in verse 3?

I will bring many nations against you as the sea brings up its waves. The prophet didn’t say that the Babylonians are going to come and that’ll be the end of it. He said they’ll be the first wave. But there will be more that will come behind it as well. That was the prophecy. And others did come. In 332 BC. Alexander the Great marched with the Greek armies, came along the western coast of Palestine, and came to the city of Tyre. And faced the same problem that Nebuchadnezzar had faced 200 years before. The people had retreated to the island. And so how would he conquer them? Actually, Alexander was a pretty smart fellow. Remember that we had two parts of the city here, the mainland city, and then this island portion just off the coast.

And remember that the Babylonians had come and they’d taken out this mainland city. They had leveled it. But Alexander the Great was a pretty smart fellow. What he did is he took all that debris from the destruction of the mainland city earlier by the Babylonians. Did you know what he did with it? He built a causeway from the mainland out to the island. Oh, the people of Tyre weren’t happy about that. And they assaulted the Greeks during this effort. Many Greek lives were lost as a result of it. But Alexander the Great got his causeway built. And he laid siege to that island city and he conquered it. The terrible bloodshed followed as a result. Know that causeway exists even until today. It’s much expanded because of the of the collection of debris built up around it over the years.

But you know, as I read about that history, I think about this statement in Ezekiel 26 and verse 12. Also they will throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water. That’s what the prophet had declared. Hundreds of years Irving. Let me ask you a question about that. How could Ezekiel ever have known that? How could he have ever been able to predict that hundreds of years later a Greek general would come, scrape the debris, throw it into the water? It was an ingenious solution at best when Alexander came up with it. How could the prophet have known? And the answer is he could not have, except that it had been revealed by God. But you know that wasn’t the end of the city.

The island city was ultimately rebuilt and enjoyed a measure of prosperity, but its remaining history was never with the significance it had once enjoyed. And again, throughout the history, nations continue to come against her. During the period of the crusades, we learned that the Muslims came and conquered the city and then lost it and came back and conquered it again. And so the prophet’s declaration that wave after wave of enemy would come against her was fulfilled. A visitor to the modern site made this observation. I went to visit Tyre on a summer’s day. The town was sleepy, the harbor still, fishing boats were putting out to sea, pale turquoise fishing nets were drying on the shore. Someone says, well, that must mean that Ezekiel’s prophecy was not fulfilled.

Did not the prophets say, you will be built no more and you will never be found again? Those were the words of the prophet. And if today there are actually people inhabiting the side of Tyre, no matter how insignificant the city, does that mean the prophecy failed? I would suggest that actually it shows how accurate Ezekiel was. Remember that in Ezekiel 26 and verse 14, the prophet declared that the city would become a place for the spreading of nets. Now, what do nets imply? Fishermen? And folks, if you’re going to have fishermen living there and spreading their nets, that implies they’ve got to have some place to live. That was part of the prophet’s message. What did he mean then when he said, you will be rebuilt no more?

Well, he may have been referring to the mainland city. Because indeed, scholars tell us that all trace of the site of that original mainland city has been completely lost. That’s how utter the devastation was. Or maybe he’s suggesting that the city would never return to the grandeur that she once to enjoy. I suppose either is possible. The question is, how do you account for such knowledge? Ezekiel couldn’t have known that on his own. Folks, it had to come from God. Have you considered Bible prophecy? If someone thinks Nostradamus did some amazing things, what about Ezekiel? And if they’re willing to say maybe he had some supernatural knowledge, what about Ezekiel? Doesn’t it demonstrate that God had to be behind this message? It is an impressive example.

2. Isaiah’s Prophecy Regarding the Persian King Cyrus

There are others that we ought to consider. Think with me a little bit this evening. Turn over to Isaiah 45. And let’s think for a moment about the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the Persian king Cyrus. In Isaiah 45, Isaiah worked around 740 to 700 BC. He begins in verse 45 to allude to this Persian king Cyrus. Thus says the Lord to Cyrus, his anointed, whom I have taken by the right hand to subdue nations before him and to loose the loins of kings, to open doors before him so that the gates will not be shut. And then he proceeds from that introduction to talk about Cyrus. And to begin to describe how Cyrus would be his instrument to accomplish various tasks. First of all, I want you to notice that he calls him by name.

That’s going to be important in just a minute. And then I want you to hone in with me on verse 13 and notice some of the tasks that God has in mind for Cyrus. It says in verse 13, I have aroused him in righteousness. I will make all of his ways smooth. He will build my city and will let my exiles go free without any payment or reward, says the Lord of hosts. You see, at this time, God’s people were living as exiles in Babylon. They’ve been taken out of the land because of their wickedness. But the prophet announces that Cyrus is going to come, and that he would see to it that God’s city was rebuilt, and that these exiles who were being held captive, that they would be allowed to go free.

Interesting to note the specific nature, not just of what this king would do, but notice taking the time to identify him by name. This is what Cyrus will do. Question is, did his prophecy come to pass? You’ll turn over to the book of Ezra for a minute. Ezra gives us a historical record of the fulfillment of this prophecy. Ezra chapter 1, starting in verse 1, it says, Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing, saying, Now here’s Cyrus. He’s reigning. He’s got this proclamation he wants to make.

Here’s what he says, verse 2. Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord the God of heaven has given me all kingdoms of the earth, and he has appointed me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whomever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him. Let him go to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem. Every survivor at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a free will offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem. Notice that Ezra declares that a Persian king named Cyrus indeed did what the prophet predicted.

Cyrus and the Persians conquered the Babylonians. The Babylonians were the people that were holding captive God’s people. Cyrus conquered them, and then he makes this proclamation that God’s people could return to Jerusalem. And return for the purpose of rebuilding his house, just exactly as Isaiah had declared. But folks, that’s not the thing that impresses me most about the prophecy. Remember when we said Isaiah worked? Somewhere around 740, maybe 700 BC.