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The Bible—Inspired by God?Will There Ever Be a World Without War?
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5, 6. What fulfillments of prophecy give evidence that the Bible writers were inspired by God?
5 Prophecy, in effect history written before it happens, is perhaps the main feature of the Bible that substantiates its claim of divine inspiration. For example, the prophet Isaiah foretold not only that Jerusalem would be destroyed by Babylon and that the entire Jewish nation would be taken captive but also that in time the Persian general Cyrus would conquer Babylon and liberate the Jews from captivity. (Isaiah 13:17-19; 44:27–45:1) Can you think of any means, other than divine inspiration, by which, 200 years in advance, Isaiah could have successfully predicted Cyrus’ birth, his name, and precisely what he would do? (See the box “God—‘The Revealer of Mysteries’ Through Prophecy.”)
6 Some of the most remarkable prophecies are recorded by Daniel, a prophet who lived in the sixth century B.C.E. Not only did he foretell the fall of Babylon to the Medes and the Persians but he also predicted events far beyond his time, into the distant future. For example, Daniel’s prophecy foretold the rise of Greece as a world empire under Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.E.), the division of Alexander’s empire among his four generals after his untimely death, and the rise of the Roman Empire, with its fearful military might (first century B.C.E.). (Daniel 7:6; 8:21, 22) All these events are now indisputable historical facts.
7, 8. (a) What accusation have some made about Bible prophecies? (b) What proves that the accusation of fraud is not well-founded?
7 Because Bible prophecies have been so exact, critics have branded them as deceptions, that is, history written after the fact and disguised as prophecy. But how can one rationally assert that Jewish priests would dare to invent a prophecy? And why would they invent prophecies that contained the hardest diatribes imaginable against themselves? (Isaiah 56:10, 11; Jeremiah 8:10; Zephaniah 3:4) In addition, how could an entire literate nation, trained and educated with the Bible as its sacred text, be taken in by such a hoax?—Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
8 How could there have been any fraud connected with the disappearance of entire civilizations, such as Edom and Babylon, when these events took place many centuries after the completion of the Hebrew Scriptures? (Isaiah 13:20-22; Jeremiah 49:17, 18) Even if one maintains that these prophecies were not written in the time period of the prophets themselves, they were still recorded prior to the third century B.C.E., for by then they were already being translated into Greek in the Septuagint. Also, the Dead Sea Scrolls (which include portions of all the prophetic Bible books) are dated to the second and first centuries B.C.E. As noted, many prophecies were fulfilled only after these dates.
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