God Predicts the Future

"Soothsayers were spectacularly wrong in 2018 – again", reads a newspaper headline. Germany was supposed to become world champions, and the world was supposed to end once again. And imprecise statements such as "Earthquakes in Asia, hurricanes in the tropicals, forest fires in California" are really no prophecyProphecy includes any message that God saw fit to pass on to his people or anyone from the nations. Romans 16:26 speaks of the New Testament Scriptures as "prophetic writings."... More skill. And anyone who reads horoscopes is unlikely to be convinced by the vague and inaccurate prophecies.

Here are a few grandiosely wrong predictions made by people:

• Thomas Watson, former head of the IT company IBM, said in 1943, "There's a world market for maybe five computers."
• Bill Gates said in 1993: "The Internet is just hype."
• Kaiser Wilhelm I called out to his soldiers in 1914: "You will be home before the leaves fall from the trees."
• William Leahy, advisor to US President Truman, said in 1943: "The atomic bomb? Will never go off."
• And even in 1989, GDR leader Erich Honecker said: "The Wall will still be there in 50 years and 100 years."

In contrast to that, we see God's precise statements:

• In 1600 BC, God prophesied that the then still wonderfully prosperous and fertile land of Israel would be destroyed and become desolate (cf. Deut. 26:32, 33), and the Jews would be scattered throughout the worldThe word is used with different meanings. It can mean the whole of humanity (Gen 41:57) or the created world (Rom 1:20), but also a moral system that is opposed... More. This happened starting with the invasion of the Romans around 70 AD and, at the latest, with the conquest by the Muslims in 636 AD. 2200 years later!
• Around 1000 BC it was prophesied that Jesus would be crucified (cf. Ps 22:17). At that time, however, this method of execution was unknown in the whole country – it was only brought by the Romans much later.
• In 586 BC, God prophesied that the then-strong city of Tyre would be destroyed and thrown into the sea. This happened around 330 BC when the GreekUnlike Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews; Acts 6:1; 9:29), Greeks, in the narrow sense of the word, come from Greece and have at least one Greek parent (Acts 16:3 in connection with... More general Alexander the Great threw the ruins of the then-destroyed city into the sea to build a causeway. He wanted to use this to reach an island off the coast.
• In 539 BC, God prophesied that the destroyed city of Jerusalem would be rebuilt (cf. Dan 9:25). This happened in 445 BC at the hands of the Persian king Artaxerxes I Longimanus (who did not believe in the God of the Bible).
• It was also predicted in 539 BC (Dan 9:26) that the templeThe house and dwelling place of God in Jerusalem in the OT. The forerunner was the tabernacle.  It consisted of two main rooms, the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies,... More, which had not yet been rebuilt, would be destroyed again. In 70 AD, the Roman general Titus unwittingly fulfilled this prophecyProphecy includes any message that God saw fit to pass on to his people or anyone from the nations. Romans 16:26 speaks of the New Testament Scriptures as "prophetic writings."... More.
• Around 500 BC, God prophesied that Jesus would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zech 11:12) - and it came true. And the unbelieving high priests who paid this price certainly had no interest in proving the credibility of God's prophecies.

The list could go on and on. With each new example, the credibility of the Bible increases. God can indeed predict the future. These historical examples, which can be verified by anyone, amazingly show something that no human being in this worldThe word is used with different meanings. It can mean the whole of humanity (Gen 41:57) or the created world (Rom 1:20), but also a moral system that is opposed... More could do. Or do we know anyone who could tell us what will happen in the year 2500?

The fulfillment of the prophetic statements in the Bible is actually one of the strongest proofs that the Bible really is God's Word.