Prophecy—A Perfect Record
“Not one word out of all the good words that Jehovah your God has spoken to you has failed.”—JOSHUA 23:14.
HOW IS THE BIBLE DIFFERENT? Ancient oracles were notoriously ambiguous and unreliable, and modern horoscopes are no better. Futurology is based on current trends and rarely even attempts to predict specific events centuries in advance. In contrast, Bible prophecies are detailed and always come true, even if they tell “from long ago the things that have not been done.”—Isaiah 46:10.
AN EXAMPLE: In the sixth century B.C.E., the prophet Daniel saw a vision that foretold the rapid defeat of Medo-Persia by Greece. It also foretold that as soon as the victorious king of Greece “became mighty,” his kingship would be “broken.” Who would replace him? Daniel wrote: “There are four kingdoms from his nation that will stand up, but not with his power.”—Daniel 8:5-8, 20-22.
WHAT HISTORIANS SAY: Over 200 years after Daniel’s time, Alexander the Great became king of Greece. Within ten years, Alexander defeated the Medo-Persian Empire and extended Grecian rule as far as the Indus River (in modern-day Pakistan). But he died suddenly at the age of 32. Finally, a battle near Ipsus in Asia Minor effectively dissolved his empire. The four victors of that battle eventually divided the Grecian Empire among themselves. However, none of them attained Alexander’s degree of power.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Can any other book claim such a record of fulfilled prophecy? Or is the Bible unique?
“Bible prophecies are . . . so numerous as to make accidental fulfillment almost infinitely improbable.”—A LAWYER EXAMINES THE BIBLE, BY IRWIN H. LINTON