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Prophecies That Came TrueThe Bible—God’s Word or Man’s?
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Chapter 9
Prophecies That Came True
Humans cannot foretell the future with any certainty. Time and again their efforts at prediction fail miserably. So a book of prophecies that did come true has to attract our attention. The Bible is such a book.
1. (Include introduction.) What is proved by the fact that the Bible records prophecies that came true?
MANY Bible prophecies have come true in such detail that critics claim they were written after the fulfillment. But such claims are untrue. God, being almighty, is fully capable of prophesying. (Isaiah 41:21-26; 42:8, 9; 46:8-10) Biblical prophecies that came true are evidence of divine inspiration, not of late authorship. We will look now at some outstanding prophecies that came true—providing additional proof that the Bible is God’s word, not just man’s.
The Exile in Babylon
2, 3. What led up to King Hezekiah’s showing all the treasures of his house and dominion to envoys from Babylon?
2 Hezekiah was king in Jerusalem for about 30 years. In 740 B.C.E. he witnessed the destruction of his northern neighbor Israel at the hands of Assyria. In 732 B.C.E. he experienced God’s saving power, when the Assyrian attempt to conquer Jerusalem had failed, with catastrophic results to the invader.—Isaiah 37:33-38.
3 Now, Hezekiah is receiving a delegation from Merodach-baladan, king of Babylon. On the surface, the ambassadors are there to congratulate Hezekiah on his recovery from a severe illness. Likely, though, Merodach-baladan sees Hezekiah as a possible ally against the world power of Assyria. Hezekiah does nothing to dispel such an idea when he shows the visiting Babylonians all the wealth of his house and dominion. Perhaps he, too, wants allies against a possible return of the Assyrians.—Isaiah 39:1, 2.
4. What tragic consequence of Hezekiah’s mistake did Isaiah prophesy?
4 Isaiah is the outstanding prophet of that time, and he quickly discerns Hezekiah’s indiscretion. He knows that Hezekiah’s surest defense is Jehovah, not Babylon, and tells him that his act of showing the Babylonians his wealth will lead to tragedy. “Days are coming,” says Isaiah, “and all that is in your own house and that your forefathers have stored up down to this day will actually be carried to Babylon.” Jehovah decreed: “Nothing will be left.”—Isaiah 39:5, 6.
5, 6. (a) What did Jeremiah say in confirmation of Isaiah’s prophecy? (b) In what way were the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah fulfilled?
5 Back in the eighth century B.C.E., it may have seemed unlikely for that prophecy to be fulfilled. One hundred years later, however, the situation changed. Babylon replaced Assyria as the dominant world power, while Judah became so degraded, religiously speaking, that God withdrew his blessing. Now, another prophet, Jeremiah, was inspired to repeat Isaiah’s warning. Jeremiah proclaimed: “I will bring [the Babylonians] against this land and against its inhabitants . . . And all this land must become a devastated place, an object of astonishment, and these nations will have to serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”—Jeremiah 25:9, 11.
6 About four years after Jeremiah uttered that prophecy, the Babylonians made Judah part of their empire. Three years after that, they took some Jewish captives, along with some of the wealth of the temple at Jerusalem, to Babylon. Eight years later, Judah revolted and was again invaded by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. This time, the city and its temple were destroyed. All its wealth, and the Jews themselves, were carried off to distant Babylon, just as Isaiah and Jeremiah had foretold.—2 Chronicles 36:6, 7, 12, 13, 17-21.
7. How does archaeology testify to the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah concerning Jerusalem?
7 The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land notes that when the Babylonian onslaught was over, “the destruction of the city [Jerusalem] was a total one.”1 Archaeologist W. F. Albright states: “Excavation and surface exploration in Judah have proved that the towns of Judah were not only completely destroyed by the Chaldeans in their two invasions, but were not reoccupied for generations—often never again in history.”2 Thus, archaeology confirms the shocking fulfillment of this prophecy.
The Fate of Tyre
8, 9. What prophecy did Ezekiel utter against Tyre?
8 Ezekiel was another ancient writer who recorded divinely inspired prophecies. He prophesied from the end of the seventh century B.C.E. on into the sixth—that is, during the years leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and then during the first decades of the Jews’ exile in Babylon. Even some modern critics agree that the book was written at approximately this time.
9 Ezekiel recorded a striking prophecy about the destruction of Israel’s northern neighbor Tyre, which had gone from a position of friendship with God’s people to one of enmity. (1 Kings 5:1-9; Psalm 83:2-8) He wrote: “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said, ‘Here I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up against you many nations, just as the sea brings up its waves. And they will certainly bring the walls of Tyre to ruin and tear down her towers, and I will scrape her dust away from her and make her a shining, bare surface of a crag. . . . And your stones and your woodwork and your dust they will place in the very midst of the water.’”—Ezekiel 26:3, 4, 12.
10-12. When was Ezekiel’s prophecy finally fulfilled, and how?
10 Did this really happen? Well, a few years after Ezekiel uttered the prophecy, the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, laid siege to Tyre. (Ezekiel 29:17, 18) It was not, however, an easy siege. Tyre was partially situated on the mainland (the part called Old Tyre). But part of the city was on an island about half a mile [800 m] offshore. Nebuchadnezzar besieged the island for 13 years before it finally submitted to him.
11 It was, however, in 332 B.C.E. that Ezekiel’s prophecy was finally fulfilled in all its details. At that time, Alexander the Great, the conqueror from Macedonia, was invading Asia. Tyre, secure on its island location, held out against him. Alexander did not want to leave a potential enemy at his rear, but he did not want to spend years in a siege of Tyre, as Nebuchadnezzar had done.
12 How did he solve this military problem? He built a land bridge, or mole, across to the island, so that his soldiers could march across and attack the island city. Notice, though, what he used to build the mole. The Encyclopedia Americana reports: “With the debris of the mainland portion of the city, which he had demolished, he built a huge mole in 332 to join the island to the mainland.” After a relatively short siege, the island city was destroyed. Moreover, Ezekiel’s prophecy was fulfilled in all its details. Even the ‘stones and woodwork and dust’ of Old Tyre were ‘placed in the very midst of the water.’
13. How did a 19th-century traveler describe the site of ancient Tyre?
13 A 19th-century traveler commented on what was left of ancient Tyre in his day, saying: “Of the original Tyre known to Solomon and the prophets of Israel, not a vestige remains except in its rock-cut sepulchres on the mountain sides, and in foundation walls . . . Even the island, which Alexander the Great, in his siege of the city, converted into a cape by filling up the water between it and the mainland, contains no distinguishable relics of an earlier period than that of the Crusades. The modern town, all of which is comparatively new, occupies the northern half of what was once the island, while nearly all the remainder of the surface is covered with undistinguishable ruins.”3
Babylon’s Turn
14, 15. What prophecies did Isaiah and Jeremiah record against Babylon?
14 Back in the eighth century B.C.E., Isaiah, the prophet who warned the Jews of their coming subjugation by Babylon, also foretold something astounding: the total annihilation of Babylon itself. He foretold this in graphic detail: “Here I am arousing against them the Medes . . . And Babylon, the decoration of kingdoms, the beauty of the pride of the Chaldeans, must become as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. She will never be inhabited, nor will she reside for generation after generation.”—Isaiah 13:17-20.
15 The prophet Jeremiah also foretold the fall of Babylon, which would take place many years later. And he included an interesting detail: “There is a devastation upon her waters, and they must be dried up. . . . The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight. They have kept sitting in the strong places. Their mightiness has run dry.”—Jeremiah 50:38; 51:30.
16. When was Babylon conquered, and by whom?
16 In 539 B.C.E., the time of Babylon’s rule as the preeminent world power came to an end when the vigorous Persian ruler Cyrus, accompanied by the army of Media, marched against the city. What Cyrus found, however, was formidable. Babylon was surrounded by huge walls and seemed impregnable. The great river Euphrates, too, ran through the city and made an important contribution to its defenses.
17, 18. (a) In what way was there “a devastation upon [Babylon’s] waters”? (b) Why did Babylon’s ‘mighty men cease to fight’?
17 The Greek historian Herodotus describes how Cyrus handled the problem: “He placed a portion of his army at the point where the river enters the city, and another body at the back of the place where it issues forth, with orders to march into the town by the bed of the stream, as soon as the water became shallow enough . . . He turned the Euphrates by a canal into the basin [an artificial lake dug by a previous ruler of Babylon], which was then a marsh, on which the river sank to such an extent that the natural bed of the stream became fordable. Hereupon the Persians who had been left for the purpose at Babylon by the river-side, entered the stream, which had now sunk so as to reach about midway up a man’s thigh, and thus got into the town.”4
18 In this way the city fell, as Jeremiah and Isaiah had warned. But notice the detailed fulfillment of prophecy. There was literally ‘a devastation upon her waters, and they were dried up.’ It was the lowering of the waters of the Euphrates that enabled Cyrus to gain access to the city. Did ‘the mighty men of Babylon cease to fight,’ as Jeremiah had warned? The Bible—as well as the Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon—records that the Babylonians were actually feasting when the Persian assault occurred.5 The Nabonidus Chronicle, an official cuneiform inscription, says that Cyrus’ troops entered Babylon “without battle,” likely meaning without a major pitched battle.6 Evidently, Babylon’s mighty men did not do much to protect her.
19. Was the prophecy that Babylon would “never be inhabited” fulfilled? Explain.
19 What about the forecast that Babylon would “never be inhabited” again? That was not fulfilled immediately in 539 B.C.E. But unerringly the prophecy came true. After her fall, Babylon was the center of a number of rebellions, until 478 B.C.E. when she was destroyed by Xerxes. At the end of the fourth century, Alexander the Great planned to restore her, but he died before the work had progressed very far. From then on, the city just declined. There were still people living there in the first century of our Common Era, but today all that is left of ancient Babylon is a heap of ruins in Iraq. Even if her ruins should be partially restored, Babylon would be just a tourist showpiece, not a living, vibrant city. Her desolate site bears witness to the final fulfillment of the inspired prophecies against her.
The March of World Powers
20, 21. What prophecy did Daniel see of the march of world powers, and how was this fulfilled?
20 In the sixth century B.C.E., during the Jewish exile in Babylon, another prophet, Daniel, was inspired to record some remarkable visions foretelling the future course of world events. In one, Daniel describes a number of symbolic animals that displace one another on the world scene. An angel explains that these animals foreshadow the march of world powers from that time onward. Speaking of the final two beasts, he says: “The ram that you saw possessing the two horns stands for the kings of Media and Persia. And the hairy he-goat stands for the king of Greece; and as for the great horn that was between its eyes, it stands for the first king. And that one having been broken, so that there were four that finally stood up instead of it, there are four kingdoms from his nation that will stand up, but not with his power.”—Daniel 8:20-22.
21 This prophetic foreview was fulfilled exactly. The Babylonian Empire was overthrown by Medo-Persia, which, 200 years later, gave way to the Greek world power. The Greek Empire was spearheaded by Alexander the Great, “the great horn.” However, after Alexander’s death, his generals fought among themselves for power, and eventually the far-flung empire broke into four smaller empires, “four kingdoms.”
22. In a related prophecy of the march of world powers, what additional world power was prophesied?
22 In Daniel chapter 7, a somewhat similar vision also looked far into the future. The Babylonian world power was pictured by a lion, the Persian by a bear, and the Greek by a leopard with four wings on its back and four heads. Then, Daniel sees another wild beast, “fearsome and terrible and unusually strong . . . , and it had ten horns.” (Daniel 7:2-7) This fourth wild beast prefigured the powerful Roman Empire, which began to develop about three centuries after Daniel recorded this prophecy.
23. In what way was the fourth wild beast of Daniel’s prophecy “different from all the other kingdoms”?
23 The angel prophesied regarding Rome: “As for the fourth beast, there is a fourth kingdom that will come to be on the earth, that will be different from all the other kingdoms; and it will devour all the earth and will trample it down and crush it.” (Daniel 7:23) H. G. Wells, in his book A Pocket History of the World, says: “This new Roman power which arose to dominate the western world in the second and first centuries B.C. was in several respects a different thing from any of the great empires that had hitherto prevailed in the civilised world.”7 It started as a republic and continued as a monarchy. Unlike previous empires, it was not the creation of any one conqueror but grew relentlessly over the centuries. It lasted much, much longer and controlled far more territory than any previous empire.
24, 25. (a) How did the ten horns of the wild beast make their appearance? (b) What struggle between the horns of the wild beast did Daniel foresee?
24 What, though, about the ten horns of this huge beast? The angel said: “And as for the ten horns, out of that kingdom there are ten kings that will rise up; and still another one will rise up after them, and he himself will be different from the first ones, and three kings he will humiliate.” (Daniel 7:24) How did this work out?
25 Well, when the Roman Empire started to deteriorate in the fifth century C.E., it was not immediately replaced by another world power. Rather, it disintegrated into a number of kingdoms, “ten kings.” Finally, the British Empire defeated the three rival empires of Spain, France, and the Netherlands to become the major world power. Thus did the newcomer ‘horn’ humiliate “three kings.”
Daniel’s Prophecies—After the Fact?
26. When do critics claim that Daniel was written, and why?
26 The Bible indicates that the book of Daniel was written during the sixth century B.C.E. However, the fulfillments of its prophecies are so exact that critics claim it must have been written about 165 B.C.E., when a number of the prophecies had already been fulfilled.8 Despite the fact that the only real reason for making this claim is that Daniel’s prophecies were fulfilled, this late date for the writing of Daniel is presented as an established fact in many reference works.
27, 28. What are some of the facts that prove that Daniel was not written in 165 B.C.E.?
27 Against such a theory, though, we must weigh the following facts. First, the book was alluded to in Jewish works produced during the second century B.C.E., such as the first book of Maccabees. Also, it was included in the Greek Septuagint version, the translation of which began in the third century B.C.E.9 Third, fragments of copies of Daniel were among the more frequently found works in the Dead Sea Scrolls—and these fragments are believed to date to about 100 B.C.E.10 Clearly, soon after Daniel was supposedly written, it was already widely known and respected: strong evidence that it was produced long before critics say it was.
28 Further, Daniel contains historical details that would have been unknown to a second-century writer. Outstanding is the case of Belshazzar, the ruler of Babylon who was killed when Babylon fell in 539 B.C.E. The major non-Biblical sources of our knowledge of the fall of Babylon are Herodotus (fifth century), Xenophon (fifth and fourth centuries), and Berossus (third century). None of these knew about Belshazzar.11 How unlikely that a second-century writer would have had information that had been unavailable to these earlier authors! The record concerning Belshazzar in Daniel chapter 5 is a strong argument that Daniel wrote his book before these other writers wrote theirs.a
29. Why is it impossible that the book of Daniel was written after the fulfillment of the prophecies therein?
29 Finally, there are a number of prophecies in Daniel that were fulfilled long after 165 B.C.E. One of these was the prophecy about the Roman Empire, mentioned earlier. Another is a remarkable prophecy foretelling the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah.
The Coming of the Anointed One
30, 31. (a) What prophecy of Daniel predicted the time of Messiah’s appearance? (b) How can we calculate, based on Daniel’s prophecy, the year when Messiah was due to appear?
30 This prophecy is recorded in Daniel, chapter 9, and reads as follows: “Seventy weeks [of years, or four hundred and ninety years] are decreed upon your people and upon your holy city.”b (Daniel 9:24, The Amplified Bible) What was to happen during these 490 years? We read: “From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until [the coming of] the anointed one, a prince, shall be seven weeks [of years], and sixty-two weeks [of years].” (Daniel 9:25, AB) So this is a prophecy about the time of the coming of “the anointed one,” the Messiah. How was it fulfilled?
31 The command to restore and to build Jerusalem ‘went forth’ in “the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king” of Persia, that is, in 455 B.C.E. (Nehemiah 2:1-9) By the end of 49 years (7 weeks of years), much of Jerusalem’s glory had been restored. And then, counting the full 483 years (7 plus 62 weeks of years) from 455 B.C.E., we arrive at 29 C.E. This was, in fact, “the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,” the year when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptizer. (Luke 3:1) At that time, Jesus was publicly identified as God’s Son and began his ministry of preaching the good news to the Jewish nation. (Matthew 3:13-17; 4:23) He became the “anointed one,” or Messiah.
32. According to Daniel’s prophecy, how long would Jesus’ earthly ministry be, and what would happen at the end of it?
32 The prophecy adds: “And after the sixty-two weeks [of years] shall the anointed one be cut off.” It also says: “And he shall enter into a strong and firm covenant with the many for one week [seven years]; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease.” (Daniel 9:26, 27, AB) In harmony with this, Jesus went exclusively to “the many,” the fleshly Jews. On occasion, he also preached to the Samaritans, who believed some of the Scriptures but had formed a sect separate from mainstream Judaism. Then, “in the midst of the week,” after three and a half years of preaching, he gave up his life as a sacrifice and was thus “cut off.” This spelled the end of the Mosaic Law with its sacrifices and gift offerings. (Galatians 3:13, 24, 25) Hence, by his death, Jesus caused “the sacrifice and offering to cease.”
33. For how long would Jehovah deal exclusively with the Jews, and what event marked the end of this period?
33 Nevertheless, for another three and a half years the newborn Christian congregation witnessed solely to Jews and, later, to the related Samaritans. In 36 C.E., however, at the end of the 70 weeks of years, the apostle Peter was guided to preach to a Gentile, Cornelius. (Acts 10:1-48) Now, the “covenant with the many” was no longer limited to the Jews. Salvation was preached also to the uncircumcised Gentiles.
34. In harmony with Daniel’s prophecy, what happened to fleshly Israel because they rejected the Messiah?
34 Because the Jewish nation rejected Jesus and conspired to have him executed, Jehovah did not protect them when the Romans came and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Thus, Daniel’s further words were fulfilled: “And the people of the other prince who shall come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and even to the end there shall be war.” (Daniel 9:26b, AB) This second “prince” was Titus, the Roman general who destroyed Jerusalem in 70 C.E.
Prophecy That Was Inspired
35. What additional prophecies about Jesus came true?
35 In this way, Daniel’s prophecy of the 70 weeks was fulfilled in a remarkably exact manner. Indeed, many of the prophecies recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures were fulfilled during the first century, and a number of these had to do with Jesus. The place of Jesus’ birth, his zeal for God’s house, his preaching activity, his betrayal for 30 pieces of silver, the manner of his death, the fact that lots were cast for his garments—all these details were prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures. Their fulfillment proved without a doubt that Jesus was the Messiah, and it demonstrated again that the prophecies were inspired.—Micah 5:2; Luke 2:1-7; Zechariah 11:12; 12:10; Matthew 26:15; 27:35; Psalm 22:18; 34:20; John 19:33-37.
36, 37. What do we learn from the fact that Biblical prophecies have come true, and what confidence does this knowledge give us?
36 In fact, all the Bible’s prophecies that were due to be fulfilled have come true. Things have happened exactly in the way the Bible said they would. This is strong evidence that the Bible is God’s Word. There must have been more than human wisdom behind those prophetic utterances for them to have been so accurate.
37 But there are other predictions in the Bible that were not fulfilled in those times. Why? Because they were due to be fulfilled in our own day, and even in our future. The reliability of those ancient prophecies makes us confident that these other predictions will without fail come true. As we will see in the next chapter, this is indeed the case.
[Footnotes]
a See Chapter 4, “How Believable Is the ‘Old Testament’?” paragraphs 16 and 17.
b In this translation, the words in brackets have been added by the translator to clarify the meaning.
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A Bible Prophecy You Have Seen FulfilledThe Bible—God’s Word or Man’s?
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Chapter 10
A Bible Prophecy You Have Seen Fulfilled
Have you ever wondered why things are so different today compared with the way they were a hundred years ago? Some things are better. In many lands, diseases that killed in the past are now routinely cured, and the average person enjoys a standard of living undreamed of by his ancestors. On the other hand, our century has seen the worst wars and some of the worst atrocities in all history. Mankind’s prosperity—even his continued existence—is threatened by a population explosion, a pollution problem, and a vast, international stockpile of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. Why is the 20th century so different from previous centuries?
1. (Include introduction.) (a) How has the 20th century differed from previous centuries? (b) What will help us to understand why our times are so different?
THE answer to this question has to do with a remarkable Bible prophecy that you have seen fulfilled. It is a prophecy that Jesus himself uttered and that, besides giving proof of the inspiration of the Bible, indicates that we are living close to very dramatic changes in the world scene. What is this prophecy? And how do we know that it is being fulfilled?
Jesus’ Great Prophecy
2, 3. What question did Jesus’ disciples ask him, and where do we find his answer?
2 The Bible tells us that shortly before Jesus’ death, his disciples were discussing the great temple buildings in Jerusalem; they were impressed by their size and apparent durability. But Jesus said: “Do you not behold all these things? Truly I say to you, By no means will a stone be left here upon a stone and not be thrown down.”—Matthew 24:1, 2.
3 Jesus’ disciples must have been surprised at his words and later came to him for more information, saying: “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?” (Matthew 24:3) Jesus’ answer is found in the remainder of Matthew chapters 24 and 25. His words are recorded, too, in Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21. This was clearly the most important prophecy uttered by Jesus while he was on earth.
4. About what different things were Jesus’ disciples asking?
4 In fact, Jesus’ disciples were asking about more than one thing. First, they raised the question: “When will these things be?” that is, When will Jerusalem and its temple be destroyed? Further, they wanted to know the sign that would indicate that Jesus’ presence as King of God’s heavenly Kingdom had begun and that the end of this system of things was at hand.
5. (a) What initial fulfillment was there of Jesus’ prophecy, but when would his words have their complete fulfillment? (b) How did Jesus begin his answer to the disciples’ question?
5 In his answer, Jesus took both points into consideration. Many of his words were actually fulfilled back in the first century, during the years that led up to the terrible destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. (Matthew 24:4-22) But his prophecy was to have an even greater significance later, in our own days, in fact. What, then, did Jesus say? He began by uttering the words recorded in Mt 24 verses 7 and 8: “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress.”
6. Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:7, 8 remind us of what parallel prophecy?
6 Clearly, Jesus’ presence as heavenly King would be marked by great turmoil on earth. This is confirmed by a parallel prophecy found in the book of Revelation: the vision of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. (Revelation 6:1-8) The first of these horsemen pictures Jesus himself as conquering King. The other riders with their steeds picture happenings on earth that mark the beginning of Jesus’ reign: war, famine, and untimely death through various agents. Do we see these two prophecies fulfilled today?
War!
7. What is prophetically prefigured by the ride of the second horseman of the Apocalypse?
7 Let us look at them more closely. First, Jesus said: “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.” This was a prophecy of war. The second of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse similarly prefigured war. We read: “Another came forth, a fiery-colored horse; and to the one seated upon it there was granted to take peace away from the earth so that they should slaughter one another; and a great sword was given him.” (Revelation 6:4) Now, mankind has been fighting wars for thousands of years. Why, then, should these words have a special significance for our day?
8. Why would we expect war to be an outstanding feature of the sign?
8 Remember that war on its own is not the sign of Jesus’ presence. The sign is made up of all the details of Jesus’ prophecy happening in the same general time period. But war is the first feature mentioned, so we might expect that this feature would be fulfilled in an outstanding way that would catch our attention. And everyone must admit that the wars of this 20th century are unparalleled in all previous history.
9, 10. How did the prophecies regarding war begin to be fulfilled?
9 For example, no earlier wars—cruel and destructive as many were—came even close in destructiveness to the two world wars of the 20th century. Why, the first world war eventually caused about 14 million fatalities, more than the entire population of many countries. Truly, “there was granted to take peace away from the earth so that they should slaughter one another.”
10 According to the prophecy, “a great sword was given” to the warlike second horseman of the Apocalypse. How does that apply? In this: Weapons of war became far more deadly. Equipped with the tank, the airplane, deadly poison gas, submarines, and artillery that could fire explosive shells over several miles, man became more efficient in killing his neighbor. And since the first world war the “great sword” has become even more destructive—owing to the use of such things as radio communications, radar, sophisticated rifles, bacteriological and chemical weapons, flamethrowers, napalm, new types of bombs, intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear submarines, advanced airplanes, and huge battleships.
“A Beginning of Pangs of Distress”
11, 12. In what way was the first world war merely “a beginning of pangs of distress”?
11 The early verses of Jesus’ prophecy conclude with the words: “These things are a beginning of pangs of distress.” This was certainly true of the first world war. Its end in 1918 did not bring peace for long. It was soon followed by limited but vicious military actions in Ethiopia, Libya, Spain, Russia, India, and other lands. Then came the horrendous second world war, which claimed some 50 million military and civilian victims.
12 Moreover, despite periodic peace agreements and lulls in the fighting, mankind is still at war. In 1987 it was reported that 81 major wars had been fought since 1960, killing 12,555,000 men, women, and children. The year 1987 saw more wars being fought than any previous year in recorded history.1 Further, military preparation and expenditures, now reaching a total of about $1,000,000,000,000 annually, distort the economy of the world.2 Jesus’ prophecy of ‘nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom’ is surely undergoing fulfillment. The red horse of war continues its ferocious ride through the earth. But what about the second aspect of the sign?
Food Shortages!
13. What tragic events did Jesus foretell, and how did the vision of the third horseman of the Apocalypse support his prophecy?
13 Jesus foretold: “And there will be food shortages . . . in one place after another.” Notice how this harmonizes with the ride of the third of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Of him we read: “I saw, and, look! a black horse; and the one seated upon it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice as if in the midst of the four living creatures say: ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the olive oil and the wine.’” (Revelation 6:5, 6) Yes, severe food shortages!
14. What major famines since 1914 have fulfilled Jesus’ prophecy?
14 Is it possible that this prophecy is being fulfilled today, when some lands have achieved such high standards of living? A glance at the world as a whole leaves no doubt as to the answer. Historically, famines have been caused by wars and natural disasters. It is not surprising, then, that our century, which has had more than its share of disasters and wars, has been plagued repeatedly with famines. Many parts of the earth have suffered such disasters since 1914. One report lists more than 60 major famines since 1914, in such widely separated lands as Greece, the Netherlands, the U.S.S.R., Nigeria, Chad, Chile, Peru, Bangladesh, Bengal, Kampuchea, Ethiopia, and Japan.3 Some of these famines have lasted several years and caused millions of deaths.
15, 16. What other food shortages are truly devastating today?
15 Although severe famines usually get wide publicity, after a while they pass and survivors gradually return to a comparatively normal life. However, another more ominous type of food shortage has developed during the 20th century. This is less dramatic and therefore often ignored. But it persists year after year. This is a severe scourge of malnutrition that affects up to one fifth of the population of our planet and kills between 13 and 18 million people each year.4
16 In other words, this kind of food shortage regularly kills about as many people in two days as were killed at Hiroshima by the atom bomb. Indeed, every two years, there are more people who die from the effects of hunger than there were soldiers killed by World War I and World War II combined. Have there been “food shortages . . . in one place after another” since 1914? Yes, indeed!
Earthquakes
17. What devastating earthquake took place soon after 1914?
17 On January 13, 1915, when the first world war was just a few months old, an earthquake shook Abruzzi, Italy, and took the lives of 32,610 people. This major disaster reminds us that wars and food shortages during Jesus’ presence would be accompanied by something else: “There will be . . . earthquakes in one place after another.” As with war and famine, the Abruzzi earthquake was just “a beginning of pangs of distress.”a
18. How has Jesus’ prophecy regarding earthquakes been fulfilled?
18 The 20th century has been a century of earthquakes, and thanks to the development of the news media, all mankind is very much aware of the devastation they have caused. To mention just a few, 1920 saw 200,000 die in an earthquake in China; in 1923, some 99,300 died in a quake in Japan; in 1935, another quake killed 25,000 in what is now Pakistan, while 32,700 died in Turkey in 1939. There were 66,800 fatalities in an earthquake in Peru in 1970. And in 1976, some 240,000 (or, according to some sources, 800,000) died in Tangshan, China. More recently, in 1988, there were 25,000 who died in a powerful earthquake in Armenia.b Surely, “earthquakes in one place after another”!6
“Deadly Plague”
19. What further detail of the sign was foretold by Jesus and foreshadowed by the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse?
19 Another detail of Jesus’ prophecy has to do with disease. The evangelist Luke, in his account, records that Jesus foretold “in one place after another pestilences.” (Luke 21:11) This too harmonizes with the prophetic vision of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. The fourth horseman is named Death. He pictures premature death from a number of causes, including “deadly plague and . . . the wild beasts of the earth.”—Revelation 6:8.
20. What outstanding epidemic was a partial fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy about pestilences?
20 Back in 1918 and 1919, more than 1,000,000,000 people fell sick with Spanish influenza, and more than 20,000,000 died. The disease took more lives than did the great war itself.7 And “deadly plague,” or ‘pestilence,’ continues to afflict this generation, despite many remarkable medical advances. Why is this? For one thing, poorer lands do not always enjoy the benefits of scientific progress. Poor people suffer and die of sicknesses that could be cured if more money would be made available.
21, 22. How have people in both rich lands and poor lands suffered from “deadly plague”?
21 Thus, some 150 million people worldwide suffer from malaria. Some 200 million are infected with snail fever. Chagas’ disease afflicts about ten million people. About 40 million suffer from river blindness. Acute diarrheic diseases kill millions of children each year.8 Tuberculosis and leprosy are still a significant health problem. Outstandingly, the poor of this world suffer from ‘pestilences in one place after another.’
22 But so do the wealthy. Influenza, for example, afflicts rich and poor alike. In 1957 one strain of influenza caused 70,000 deaths in the United States alone. In Germany it is estimated that one person in six will eventually suffer from cancer.9 Sexually transmitted diseases also strike the wealthy and the poor. Gonorrhea, the most frequently reported communicable disease in the United States, afflicts as many as 18.9 percent of the population of some parts of Africa.10 Syphilis, chlamydia, and genital herpes are some of the other pandemic sexually transmitted “pestilences.”
23. What “deadly plague” has recently captured the headlines?
23 In recent years, the “deadly plague” of AIDS has also joined the list of “pestilences.” AIDS is a terrifying illness because, as of this writing, there is no cure in sight, and the number of its victims continues to increase. Dr. Jonathan Mann, director of the WHO (World Health Organization) Special Program on AIDS, said: “We also estimate that there are five to 10 million people in the world today infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).”11 According to one published estimate, the AIDS virus strikes a new victim each minute. “Deadly plague” indeed! But what about the prophecy of death by wild beasts?
“The Wild Beasts of the Earth”
24, 25. (a) To what kind of ‘wild beast’ did the prophet Ezekiel refer? (b) What did Jesus say about “wild beasts” being active on earth during his presence?
24 The fact is, when wild beasts are mentioned these days in the newspapers, it is because certain species are endangered or nearly extinct. “The wild beasts of the earth” are far more threatened by humans than humans are by them. Despite this, in some lands wild animals, such as tigers in India, still take a steady toll of human lives.
25 The Bible, however, draws our attention to another kind of wild beast that has caused real fear in recent years. The prophet Ezekiel compared violent men to wild animals when he said: “Her princes in the midst of her are like wolves tearing prey in shedding blood, in destroying souls for the purpose of making unjust gain.” (Ezekiel 22:27) When he prophesied an “increasing of lawlessness,” Jesus, in effect, was saying that such “wild beasts” would be active on earth during his presence. (Matthew 24:12) The Bible writer Paul adds that during “the last days” men would be “lovers of money . . . without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness.” (2 Timothy 3:1-3) Has such been the case since 1914?
26-28. What reports from around the world show that criminal “wild beasts” are prowling the earth?
26 It certainly has. If you live in almost any big city on earth, you already know this. But if you doubt it, just consider the following recent newspaper quotations. From Colombia: “Last year the police recorded . . . about 10,000 murders and 25,000 armed robberies.” From Victoria, Australia: “Big Jump in Major Crime.” From the United States: “Slayings in New York Heading for a Record High.” “Detroit overtook Gary, Ind., last year as the major city with the highest murder rate in the nation—58 per 100,000 inhabitants.”
27 From Zimbabwe: “Infant murders have assumed crisis proportions.” From Brazil: “There is so much crime here, and so much toting of weapons, that news of violence just doesn’t generate much excitement anymore.” From New Zealand: “Sexual attacks and violent crime continue to be a major concern for police.” “New Zealanders’ level of violence towards each other could only be described as barbaric.” From Spain: “Spain grapples with growing crime problem.” From Italy: “Sicilian Mafia, after setback, revives in wave of killings.”
28 These are just a small sample of newspaper reports appearing shortly before the publication of this book. Surely, “wild beasts” are prowling the earth, causing people to tremble for their safety.
Preaching the Good News
29, 30. What is the religious situation in Christendom, in fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy?
29 How would religion fare during the troubled time of Jesus’ presence? On the one hand, Jesus prophesied that there would be an increase in religious activity: “Many false prophets will arise and mislead many.” (Matthew 24:11) On the other hand, he foretold that in Christendom as a whole, interest in God would be at a low ebb. “The love of the greater number will cool off.”—Matthew 24:12.
30 This truly describes what is happening today in Christendom. On the one hand, mainstream churches everywhere are failing through lack of support. In the once strongly Protestant lands of northern Europe and England, religion is all but dead. At the same time, the Catholic Church is suffering from a lack of priests and from shrinking support. On the other hand, there have been surges in fringe religious elements. Cults based on Eastern religions proliferate, while greedy television evangelists extort millions of dollars.
31. What did Jesus foretell that helps identify true Christians today?
31 What, though, about true Christianity, the religion introduced by Jesus and preached by his apostles? It would still exist during Jesus’ presence, but how would it be recognized? There are a number of things that identify true Christianity, and one is mentioned in Jesus’ great prophecy. True Christians would be occupied in a worldwide preaching work. Jesus prophesied: “And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”—Matthew 24:14.
32. What group alone has fulfilled Jesus’ prophecy recorded in Matthew 24:14?
32 This preaching is now taking place on a colossal scale! Today, the religious group called Jehovah’s Witnesses is engaged in the most intensive preaching activity in the history of Christianity. (Isaiah 43:10, 12) Back in 1919, while Christendom’s politically minded major religions were advocating the ill-fated League of Nations, Jehovah’s Witnesses were being prepared for this global preaching campaign.
33, 34. To what extent has the good news of the Kingdom been preached throughout the world?
33 There were only about 10,000 Witnesses back then, but they knew the work that had to be done. Courageously, they set about the task of preaching. They realized that a clergy-laity division was contrary to both the Bible’s commands and the apostolic pattern. So all of them, to the last individual, learned how to speak to their neighbors about God’s Kingdom. They became an organization of preachers.
34 As time went on, these preachers endured intense opposition. In Europe, they were opposed by different kinds of totalitarian regimes. In the United States and Canada, they faced up to legal challenges and mob action. In other lands, they had to overcome fanatical religious prejudice and ruthless persecution by tyrannical dictators. In recent years, they have also had to counter the spirit of skepticism and self-indulgence that has developed. But they have persevered to the point where, today, there are more than three and a half million of them in 212 lands. Never before has the good news of the Kingdom been preached so widely—a striking fulfillment of this aspect of the sign!
What Does It All Mean?
35. (a) How does the fulfillment of prophecy today help to demonstrate the divine inspiration of the Bible? (b) What does the fulfillment of the sign that Jesus gave mean for our day?
35 Without any doubt we are witnessing the fulfillment of the great sign that Jesus gave. This fact adds to the evidence that the Bible is indeed inspired by God. No human could have foretold so long in advance the events that would take place during this 20th century. Moreover, the fulfillment of the sign means that we are living in the time of Jesus’ presence and of the conclusion of the system of things. (Matthew 24:3) What is the significance of this? What is involved in Jesus’ presence? And what is the system of things that is concluding? To answer these questions, we need to consider another strong evidence of the inspiration of the Bible: its remarkable internal harmony. We will discuss this next and see how the Bible’s major theme is even now approaching an awe-inspiring climax.
[Footnotes]
a There were at least five earthquakes between 1914 and 1918 that registered 8 or more on the Richter scale—more powerful than the earthquake at Abruzzi. However, these temblors were in remote areas of the globe, and thus they did not attract as much attention as the Italian quake.5
b Varying figures have been reported for the number of victims of some of these disasters. All, however, were extremely destructive.
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