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Your Future—Can It Be Predicted?The Watchtower—1977 | July 1
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of trivialities in the lives of individuals, time and again Bible prophecies predict the future of entire nations. The rise and fall of empires, and their characteristics, along with specific details about their relations with God’s own people, are set forth—and much of this centuries in advance.
Also, unlike predictions of fortunetellers that bear no relationship to one another, all the Bible’s prophecies are interrelated. For example, the Scriptures state: “The bearing witness to Jesus is what inspires [literally, the spirit of] prophesying.” (Rev. 19:10) All Bible prophecies center around the role of Jesus Christ as Abraham’s “seed,” or offspring, for the blessing of “all nations of the earth.”—Gen. 3:15; 12:1-3; 22:18; Gal. 3:16.
Moreover, Bible prophets delivered moral messages of the highest value. They boldly reproved kings and high officials for breaches of God’s law, often putting their lives in danger by doing so.
Most impressively, however, Biblical predictions stand out as being truly different because of their fulfillment, even to the smallest of details. And they describe future events that will involve you, personally. We will consider some examples in the next two articles.
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How History Was Written Centuries in AdvanceThe Watchtower—1977 | July 1
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How History Was Written Centuries in Advance
WHAT do you think of the possibility of someone writing history in advance? Some insist that such a thing is impossible, and they dismiss the question without further investigation.
But think about it for a moment: Does mere denial by skeptical persons disprove the possibility of genuine predictions? Surely it would be unwise to draw such a conclusion hastily. Probably right in your own home you have evidence of history written centuries in advance. How so?
Likely you possess a copy of the Holy Bible, which hundreds of millions of persons throughout the world view as the inspired word of God. (2 Tim. 3:16) The Scriptures are filled with predictions of events that took place hundreds of years after they were foretold. Let us consider some examples.
‘TYRE WILL BECOME A DRYING YARD FOR DRAGNETS’
An example of the astonishing accuracy of Bible prophecy concerns the ancient Phoenician seaport city of Tyre. This city grew to be very great at the expense of other people. She was a manufacturer of metal objects, glassware and purple dyes, a trading center for overland caravans, a great import-export depot. Her merchants and tradesmen boasted of being princely and honorable. (Isa. 23:8) At one time friendly relations existed between
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