Chapter 8

Science: Has It Proved the Bible Wrong?

In 1613 the Italian scientist Galileo published a work known as “Letters on Sunspots.” In it, he presented evidence that the earth rotates around the sun, rather than the sun around the earth. By so doing, he set in motion a series of events that finally brought him before the Roman Catholic Inquisition under “vehement suspicion of heresy.” Eventually, he was forced to “recant.” Why was the idea that the earth moves around the sun viewed as heresy? Because Galileo’s accusers claimed that it was contrary to what the Bible says.

 1. (Include introduction.) (a) What happened when Galileo suggested that the earth moved around the sun? (b) Although the Bible is not a science textbook, what do we find when we compare it with modern science?

IT IS widely held today that the Bible is unscientific, and some point to Galileo’s experiences to prove it. But is this the case? When answering that question, we have to remember that the Bible is a book of prophecy, history, prayer, law, counsel, and knowledge about God. It does not claim to be a scientific textbook. Nevertheless, when the Bible does touch on scientific matters, what it says is completely accurate.

Our Planet Earth

 2. How does the Bible describe the earth’s position in space?

² Consider, for example, what the Bible says about our planet, the earth. In the book of Job, we read: “[God] is stretching out the north over the empty place, hanging the earth upon nothing.” (Job 26:7) Compare this with Isaiah’s statement, when he says: “There is One who is dwelling above the circle of the earth.” (Isaiah 40:22) The picture conveyed of a round earth ‘hanging upon nothing’ in “the empty place” reminds us strongly of the photographs taken by astronauts of the sphere of the earth floating in empty space.

 3, 4. What is the earth’s water cycle, and what does the Bible say about this?

³ Consider, too, the earth’s amazing water cycle. Here is how Compton’s Encyclopedia describes what happens: “Water . . . evaporates from the surface of the oceans into the atmosphere . . . Steadily moving air currents in the earth’s atmosphere carry the moist air inland. When the air cools, the vapor condenses to form water droplets. These are seen most commonly as clouds. Often the droplets come together to form raindrops. If the atmosphere is cold enough, snowflakes form instead of raindrops. In either case, water that has traveled from an ocean hundreds or even thousands of miles away falls to the earth’s surface. There it gathers into streams or soaks into the ground and begins its journey back to the sea.”​¹

⁴ This remarkable process, which makes life on dry land possible, was well described about 3,000 years ago in simple, straightforward terms in the Bible: “All streams run into the sea, yet the sea never overflows; back to the place from which the streams ran they return to run again.”​—Ecclesiastes 1:7, The New English Bible.

 5. How is the psalmist’s comment about the history of earth’s mountains remarkably up-to-date?

⁵ Perhaps even more remarkable is the Bible’s insight into the history of mountains. Here is what a textbook on geology says: “From Pre-Cambrian times down to the present, the perpetual process of building and destroying mountains has continued. . . . Not only have mountains originated from the bottom of vanished seas, but they have often been submerged long after their formation, and then re-elevated.”​² Compare this with the poetic language of the psalmist: “With a watery deep just like a garment you covered [the earth]. The waters were standing above the very mountains. Mountains proceeded to ascend, valley plains proceeded to descend​—to the place that you have founded for them.”​—Psalm 104:6, 8.

“In the Beginning”

 6. What Bible statement is in harmony with current scientific theories about the origin of the universe?

⁶ The very first verse of the Bible states: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Observations have led scientists to theorize that the material universe did indeed have a beginning. It has not existed for all time. Astronomer Robert Jastrow, an agnostic in religious matters, wrote: “The details differ, but the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same: the chain of events leading to man commenced suddenly and sharply at a definite moment in time, in a flash of light and energy.”​³

 7, 8. Although not admitting the role of God in the matter, what are many scientists forced to admit with regard to the origin of the universe?

⁷ True, many scientists, while believing that the universe had a beginning, do not accept the statement that “God created.” Nevertheless, some now admit that it is difficult to ignore the evidence of some kind of intelligence behind everything. Physics professor Freeman Dyson comments: “The more I examine the universe and study the details of its architecture, the more evidence I find that the universe in some sense must have known that we were coming.”

⁸ Dyson goes on to admit: “Being a scientist, trained in the habits of thought and language of the twentieth century rather than the eighteenth, I do not claim that the architecture of the universe proves the existence of God. I claim only that the architecture of the universe is consistent with the hypothesis that mind plays an essential role in its functioning.”​⁴ His comment certainly betrays the skeptical attitude of our time. But putting that skepticism aside, one notes there is a remarkable harmony between modern science and the Bible’s statement that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”​—Genesis 1:1.

Health and Sanitation

 9. How does the Bible’s law on infectious skin diseases reflect practical wisdom? (Job 12:9, 16a)

⁹ Consider the Bible’s coverage of another field: health and sanitation. If an Israelite had a skin blemish suspected of being leprosy, he was put in isolation. “All the days that the plague is in him he will be unclean. He is unclean. He should dwell isolated. Outside the camp is his dwelling place.” (Leviticus 13:46) Even infected garments were burned. (Leviticus 13:52) In those days, this was an effective way of preventing the spread of the infection.

10. In what way would many in some lands benefit from following the Bible’s counsel on hygiene?

¹⁰ Another important law had to do with the disposal of human excrement, which had to be buried outside the camp. (Deuteronomy 23:12, 13) This law no doubt saved Israel from many sicknesses. Even today, severe health problems are caused in some lands by the improper disposal of human wastes. If people in those lands would only follow the law written down thousands of years ago in the Bible, they would be much healthier.

11. What Bible counsel on mental health has been found to be practical?

¹¹ The Bible’s high standard of hygiene even involved mental health. A Bible proverb said: “A calm heart is the life of the fleshly organism, but jealousy is rottenness to the bones.” (Proverbs 14:30) In recent years, medical research has demonstrated that our physical health is indeed affected by our mental attitude. For example, Doctor C. B. Thomas of Johns Hopkins University studied more than a thousand graduates over a period of 16 years, matching their psychological characteristics with their vulnerability to diseases. One thing she noted: The graduates most vulnerable to disease were those who were angrier and more anxious under stress.​⁵

What Does the Bible Say?

12. Why did the Catholic Church insist that Galileo’s theory about the earth was heresy?

¹² If the Bible is so accurate in scientific fields, why did the Catholic Church say that Galileo’s teaching that the earth moved around the sun was unscriptural? Because of the way the authorities interpreted certain Bible verses.​⁶ Were they correct? Let us read two of the passages they quoted and see.

13, 14. What Bible verses did the Catholic Church misapply? Explain.

¹³ One passage says: “The sun rises, the sun sets; then to its place it speeds and there it rises.” (Ecclesiastes 1:5, The Jerusalem Bible) According to the Church’s argument, expressions such as “the sun rises” and “the sun sets” mean that the sun, not the earth, is moving. But even today we say that the sun rises and sets, and most of us know that it is the earth that moves, not the sun. When we use expressions like these, we are merely describing the apparent motion of the sun as it appears to a human observer. The Bible writer was doing exactly the same.

¹⁴ The other passage says: “You fixed the earth on its foundations, unshakeable for ever and ever.” (Psalm 104:5, The Jerusalem Bible) This was interpreted to mean that after its creation the earth could never move. In fact, though, the verse stresses the permanence of the earth, not its immobility. The earth will never be ‘shaken’ out of existence, or destroyed, as other Bible verses confirm. (Psalm 37:29; Ecclesiastes 1:4) This scripture, too, has nothing to do with the relative motion of the earth and the sun. In Galileo’s time, it was the Church, not the Bible, that hindered free scientific discussion.

Evolution and Creation

15. What is the theory of evolution, and how does it contradict the Bible?

¹⁵ There is, however, an area where many would say that modern science and the Bible are hopelessly at odds. Most scientists believe the theory of evolution, which teaches that all living things evolved from a simple form of life that came into existence millions of years ago. The Bible, on the other hand, teaches that each major group of living things was specially created and reproduces only “according to its kind.” Man, it says, was created “out of dust from the ground.” (Genesis 1:21; 2:7) Is this a glaring scientific error in the Bible? Before deciding, let us look more closely at what science knows, as opposed to what it theorizes.

16-18. (a) What was one observation that Charles Darwin made that led him to believe in evolution? (b) How can we argue that what Darwin observed in the Galápagos Islands does not contradict what the Bible says?

¹⁶ The theory of evolution was popularized during the last century by Charles Darwin. When he was on the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, Darwin was strongly impressed by the different species of finches on the different islands, which, he deduced, must all have descended from just one ancestral species. Partly because of this observation, he promoted the theory that all living things come from one original, simple form. The driving force behind the evolution of higher creatures from lower, he asserted, was natural selection, the survival of the fittest. Thanks to evolution, he claimed, land animals developed from fish, birds from reptiles, and so forth.

¹⁷ As a matter of fact, what Darwin observed in those isolated islands was not out of harmony with the Bible, which allows for variation within a major living kind. All the races of mankind, for example, came from just one original human pair. (Genesis 2:7, 22-24) So it is nothing strange that those different species of finches would spring from a common ancestral species. But they did remain finches. They did not evolve into hawks or eagles.

¹⁸ Neither the various species of finches nor anything else Darwin saw proved that all living things, whether they be sharks or sea gulls, elephants or earthworms, have a common ancestor. Nevertheless, many scientists assert that evolution is no longer just a theory but that it is a fact. Others, while recognizing the theory’s problems, say that they believe it anyway. It is popular to do so. We, however, need to know whether evolution has been proved to such an extent that the Bible must be wrong.

Is It Proved?

19. Does the fossil record support evolution or creation?

¹⁹ How can the theory of evolution be tested? The most obvious way is to examine the fossil record to see if a gradual change from one kind to another really happened. Did it? No, as a number of scientists honestly admit. One, Francis Hitching, writes: “When you look for links between major groups of animals, they simply aren’t there.”​⁷ So obvious is this lack of evidence in the fossil record that evolutionists have come up with alternatives to Darwin’s theory of gradual change. The truth is, though, that the sudden appearance of animal kinds in the fossil record supports special creation much more than it does evolution.

20. Why does the way living cells reproduce not allow for evolution to take place?

²⁰ Moreover, Hitching shows that living creatures are programmed to reproduce themselves exactly rather than evolve into something else. He says: “Living cells duplicate themselves with near-total fidelity. The degree of error is so tiny that no man-made machine can approach it. There are also built-in constraints. Plants reach a certain size and refuse to grow any larger. Fruit flies refuse to become anything but fruit flies under any circumstances yet devised.”​⁸ Mutations induced by scientists in fruit flies over many decades failed to force these to evolve into something else.

The Origin of Life

21. What conclusion proved by Louis Pasteur poses a grave problem for evolutionists?

²¹ Another thorny question that evolutionists have failed to answer is: What was the origin of life? How did the first simple form of life​—from which we are all supposed to have descended—​come into existence? Centuries ago, this would not have appeared to be a problem. Most people then thought that flies could develop from decaying meat and that a pile of old rags could spontaneously produce mice. But, more than a hundred years ago, the French chemist Louis Pasteur clearly demonstrated that life can come only from preexisting life.

22, 23. According to evolutionists, how did life get started, but what do the facts show?

²² So how do evolutionists explain the source of life? According to the most popular theory, a chance combination of chemicals and energy sparked a spontaneous generation of life millions of years ago. What about the principle that Pasteur proved? The World Book Encyclopedia explains: “Pasteur showed that life cannot arise spontaneously under the chemical and physical conditions present on the earth today. Billions of years ago, however, the chemical and physical conditions on the earth were far different”!​⁹

²³ Even under far different conditions, though, there is a huge gap between nonliving matter and the simplest living thing. Michael Denton, in his book Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, says: “Between a living cell and the most highly ordered non-biological system, such as a crystal or a snowflake, there is a chasm as vast and absolute as it is possible to conceive.”​¹⁰ The idea that nonliving material could come to life by some haphazard chance is so remote as to be impossible. The Bible’s explanation, that ‘life came from life’ in that life was created by God, is convincingly in harmony with the facts.

Why Not Creation

24. In spite of the theory’s problems, why do most scientists still cling to the theory of evolution?

²⁴ Despite the problems inherent in the theory of evolution, belief in creation is viewed today as unscientific, even eccentric. Why is this? Why does even an authority such as Francis Hitching, who honestly points up the weaknesses of evolution, reject the idea of creation?​¹¹ Michael Denton explains that evolution, with all its failings, will continue to be taught because theories related to creation “invoke frankly supernatural causes.”​¹² In other words, the fact that creation involves a Creator makes it unacceptable. Surely, this is the same kind of circular reasoning that we met up with in the case of miracles: Miracles are impossible because they are miraculous!

25. What weakness of evolution, scientifically speaking, shows that it is not a valid alternative to creation in explaining the origin of life?

²⁵ Besides, the theory of evolution itself is deeply suspect from a scientific viewpoint. Michael Denton goes on to say: “Being basically a theory of historical reconstruction, [Darwin’s theory of evolution] is impossible to verify by experiment or direct observation as is normal in science. . . . Moreover, the theory of evolution deals with a series of unique events, the origin of life, the origin of intelligence and so on. Unique events are unrepeatable and cannot be subjected to any sort of experimental investigation.”​¹³ The truth is that the theory of evolution, despite its popularity, is full of gaps and problems. It gives no good reason to reject the Bible’s account of the origin of life. The first chapter of Genesis provides a completely reasonable account of how these “unrepeatable” “unique events” came about during creative ‘days’ that stretched through millenniums of time.a

What About the Flood?

26, 27. (a) What does the Bible say about the Flood? (b) From where, in part, must the floodwaters have come?

²⁶ Many point to another supposed contradiction between the Bible and modern science. In the book of Genesis, we read that thousands of years ago the wickedness of men was so great that God determined to destroy them. However, he instructed the righteous man Noah to build a large wooden vessel, an ark. Then God brought a flood upon mankind. Only Noah and his family survived, together with representatives of all the animal species. The Flood was so great that “all the tall mountains that were under the whole heavens came to be covered.”​—Genesis 7:19.

²⁷ Where did all the water come from to cover the whole earth? The Bible itself answers. Early in the creation process, when the expanse of the atmosphere began to take shape, there came to be “waters . . . beneath the expanse” and “waters . . . above the expanse.” (Genesis 1:7; 2 Peter 3:5) When the Flood came, the Bible says: “The floodgates of the heavens were opened.” (Genesis 7:11) Evidently, the “waters . . . above the expanse” fell and provided much of the water for the inundation.

28. How did ancient servants of God, including Jesus, view the Flood?

²⁸ Modern textbooks are inclined to discount a universal flood. So we have to ask: Is the Flood just a myth, or did it really happen? Before answering that, we should note that later worshipers of Jehovah accepted the Flood as genuine history; they did not regard it as a myth. Isaiah, Jesus, Paul, and Peter were among those who referred to it as something that really happened. (Isaiah 54:9; Matthew 24:37-39; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20, 21; 2 Peter 2:5; 3:5-7) But there are questions that have to be answered about this universal Deluge.

The Floodwaters

29, 30. What facts about the earth’s water supply show that the Flood is feasible?

²⁹ First, is not the idea of the whole earth’s being flooded too farfetched? Not really. Indeed, to some extent the earth is still flooded. Seventy percent of it is covered by water and only 30 percent is dry land. Moreover, 75 percent of the earth’s fresh water is locked up in glaciers and polar ice caps. If all this ice were to melt, the sea level would rise much higher. Cities like New York and Tokyo would disappear.

³⁰ Further, The New Encyclopædia Britannica says: “The average depth of all the seas has been estimated at 3,790 metres (12,430 feet), a figure considerably larger than that of the average elevation of the land above the sea level, which is 840 metres (2,760 feet). If the average depth is multiplied by its respective surface area, the volume of the World Ocean is 11 times the volume of the land above sea level.”​¹⁴ So, if everything were leveled out​—if the mountains were flattened and the deep sea basins filled in—​the sea would cover the whole earth to a depth of thousands of meters.

31. (a) For the Flood to have happened, what must have been the situation with the pre-Flood earth? (b) What shows it is feasible that the mountains were lower and that the sea basins were shallower before the Flood?

³¹ For the Flood to have happened, the pre-Flood sea basins would have to have been shallower, and the mountains lower than they are now. Is this possible? Well, one textbook says: “Where the mountains of the world now tower to dizzy heights, oceans and plains once, millions of years ago, stretched out in flat monotony. . . . The movements of the continental plates cause the land both to rear up to heights where only the hardiest of animals and plants can survive and, at the other extreme, to plunge and lie in hidden splendor deep beneath the surface of the sea.”​¹⁵ Since the mountains and sea basins rise and fall, it is apparent that at one time the mountains were not as high as they are now and the great sea basins were not as deep.

32. What must have happened to the waters of the Flood? Explain.

³² What happened to the floodwaters after the Flood? They must have drained into the sea basins. How? Scientists believe that the continents rest on huge plates. Movement of these plates can cause changes in the level of the earth’s surface. In some places today, there are great underwater abysses more than six miles [more than 10 km] deep at the plate boundaries.​¹⁶ It is quite likely that​—perhaps triggered by the Flood itself—​the plates moved, the sea bottom sank, and the great trenches opened, allowing the water to drain off the land.b

Traces of the Flood?

33, 34. (a) What evidence do scientists already possess that may be evidence for the Flood? (b) Is it reasonable to say that scientists may be misreading the evidence?

³³ If we grant that a great flood could have happened, why have scientists found no trace of it? Perhaps they have, but they interpret the evidence some other way. For example, orthodox science teaches that the surface of the earth has been shaped in many places by powerful glaciers during a series of ice ages. But apparent evidence of glacial activity can sometimes be the result of water action. Very likely, then, some of the evidence for the Flood is being misread as evidence of an ice age.

³⁴ Similar mistakes have been made. Concerning the time when scientists were developing their theory of ice ages, we read: “They were finding ice ages at every stage of the geologic history, in keeping with the philosophy of uniformity. Careful reexamination of the evidence in recent years, however, has rejected many of these ice ages; formations once identified as glacial moraines have been reinterpreted as beds laid down by mudflows, submarine landslides and turbidity currents: avalanches of turbid water that carry silt, sand and gravel out over the deep-ocean floor.”​¹⁸

35, 36. What evidence in the fossil record and in geology may be related to the Flood? Explain.

³⁵ Another evidence for the Flood appears to exist in the fossil record. At one time, according to this record, great saber-toothed tigers stalked their prey in Europe, horses larger than any now living roamed North America, and mammoths foraged in Siberia. Then, all around the world, species of mammals became extinct. At the same time, there was a sudden change of climate. Tens of thousands of mammoths were killed and quick-frozen in Siberia.c Alfred Wallace, the well-known contemporary of Charles Darwin, considered that such a widespread destruction must have been caused by some exceptional worldwide event.​¹⁹ Many have argued that this event was the Flood.

³⁶ An editorial in the magazine Biblical Archaeologist observed: “It is important to remember that the story of a great flood is one of the most widespread traditions in human culture . . . Nevertheless behind the oldest traditions found in Near Eastern sources, there may well be an actual flood of gigantic proportions dating from one of the pluvial periods . . . many thousands of years ago.”​²⁰ The pluvial periods were times when the surface of the earth was much wetter than now. Freshwater lakes around the world were much larger. It is theorized that the wetness was caused by heavy rains associated with the end of the ice ages. But some have suggested that on one occasion the extreme wetness of the earth’s surface was a result of the Flood.

Mankind Did Not Forget

37, 38. How does one scientist show that, according to the evidence, the Flood might have happened, and how do we know that it did?

³⁷ Geology professor John McCampbell once wrote: “The essential differences between Biblical catastrophism [the Flood] and evolutionary uniformitarianism are not over the factual data of geology but over the interpretations of those data. The interpretation preferred will depend largely upon the background and presuppositions of the individual student.”​²¹

³⁸ That the Flood did happen is seen in the fact that mankind never forgot it. All around the world, in locations as far apart as Alaska and the South Sea Islands, there are ancient stories about it. Native, pre-Columbian civilizations of America, as well as Aborigines of Australia, all have stories about the Flood. While some of the accounts differ in detail, the basic fact that the earth was flooded and only a few humans were saved in a man-made vessel comes through in nearly all versions. The only explanation for such a widespread acceptance is that the Flood was a historical event.d

39. What additional proof have we seen of the fact that the Bible is God’s word, not man’s?

³⁹ Thus, in essential features the Bible is in harmony with modern science. Where there is a conflict between the two, the scientists’ evidence is questionable. Where they agree, the Bible is often so accurate that we have to believe it got its information from a superhuman intelligence. Indeed, the Bible’s agreement with proved science provides further evidence that it is God’s word, not man’s.

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]

[Blurb on page 133]

All prophecies that were due to be fulfilled came true. Things happened exactly the way the Bible said they would

[Picture on page 118]

Archaeologists have discovered that the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar was a total one

[Picture on page 121]

Photograph of modern Tyre. Hardly a vestige remains of the Tyre the prophets of Israel knew

[Picture on page 123]

Tourists who visit the site of ancient Babylon are witnesses of the fulfillment of the prophecies against the city

[Pictures on page 126]

Daniel’s prophecies of the march of world powers were fulfilled so accurately that modern critics think they were written after the fulfillment

BABYLON

PERSIA

GREECE

ROME

BRITAIN

[Picture on page 130]

Daniel prophesied the exact time when the Messiah would appear in Israel

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]

Chapter 11

The Overall Harmony of the Bible

Imagine a library of 66 books written by about 40 different people over a period of 1,600 years. Three languages were used by writers who lived in a number of lands. All the writers had different personalities, abilities, and backgrounds. But when the books they wrote were eventually gathered together, it turned out that, really, they made up just one great book following one basic theme from beginning to end. That is hard to imagine, is it not? Yet, the Bible is just such a library.

 1. (Include introduction.) What remarkable harmony testifies to the fact that the Bible is inspired by God?

NO HONEST student can fail to be impressed by the fact that the Bible, although a collection of different books, is one unified production. It is unified in that, from beginning to end, it promotes worship of just one God whose characteristics never change, and all its books develop one overriding theme. This overall harmony is powerful evidence that the Bible is, indeed, the Word of God.

 2, 3. What prophecy uttered in Eden gave a basis for hope, and what circumstances led to the uttering of that prophecy?

² The basic theme of the Bible is introduced in the earliest chapters of its very first book, Genesis. There, we read that our first parents, Adam and Eve, were created perfect and placed in a paradise garden, Eden. Eve, however, was approached by a serpent that challenged the rightness of God’s laws and lured her with subtle lies into a course of sin. Adam followed her and also disobeyed God. The result? Both were expelled from Eden and were condemned to death. We today suffer from the results of that first rebellion. We all inherit sin and death from our first parents.​—Genesis 3:1-7, 19, 24; Romans 5:12.

³ At that tragic time, however, God uttered a prophecy that gave a basis for hope. The prophecy was spoken to the serpent, but it was uttered in the hearing of Adam and Eve so that they could tell it to their children. Here is what God said: “And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.”​—Genesis 3:15; Romans 8:20, 21.

 4. What entities were mentioned in Jehovah’s prophecy in Eden, and how would they interact through the centuries?

⁴ Notice the four entities that are mentioned in this theme verse: the serpent and its seed as well as the woman and her seed. These entities would be key players in events for thousands of years to come. Constant enmity was to exist between the woman and her seed on the one hand and the serpent and his seed on the other. This enmity would include the ongoing conflict between true worship and false, right conduct and wickedness. At one stage, the serpent would gain a seeming advantage when it bruised the heel of the woman’s seed. Eventually, though, the woman’s seed was to crush the serpent’s head, and God himself would be vindicated when all traces of that original rebellion were removed.

 5. How do we know that Eve was not the woman of the prophecy?

⁵ Who are the woman and the serpent? And who are their seeds? When Eve had her first son, Cain, she exclaimed: “I have produced a man with the aid of Jehovah.” (Genesis 4:1) Perhaps she felt that she was the woman of the prophecy and that this son would prove to be the seed. Cain, however, had a bad spirit like that of the serpent. He turned out to be a murderer, killing his own younger brother Abel. (Genesis 4:8) Clearly, the prophecy had a deeper, symbolic meaning that only God could explain. And this he did, a little at a time. All 66 books of the Bible contribute in one way or another to the revelation of the meaning of this, the first prophecy in the Bible.

Who Is the Serpent?

 6-8. What words of Jesus help us to identify the power behind the serpent? Explain.

⁶ First, who is the serpent spoken about in Genesis 3:15? The account says that a literal serpent approached Eve in Eden, but literal serpents cannot speak. There must have been some power behind that snake, causing it to do what it did. What was that power? It was not until the first century of our Common Era, when Jesus was performing his ministry here on earth, that the identity of that power was clearly revealed.

⁷ On one occasion, Jesus was speaking with some self-righteous Jewish religious leaders who boasted that they were sons of Abraham. Yet, they had adamantly opposed the truth preached by Jesus. So Jesus said to them: “You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie.”​—John 8:44.

⁸ Jesus’ words were strong and to the point. He described the Devil as “a manslayer” and “the father of the lie.” Now, the very first recorded lies were those spoken by the serpent in Eden. Whoever spoke those lies was indeed “the father of the lie.” Moreover, those lies resulted in the death of Adam and Eve, making that ancient liar a murderer. Obviously, then, the power behind the serpent in Eden was Satan the Devil, and Jehovah was really talking to Satan in that ancient prophecy.

 9. How did Satan come into existence?

⁹ Some have asked: If God is good, why did he create such a creature as the Devil? Jesus’ words also help us to answer that question. Jesus said of Satan: “[He] was a manslayer when he began.” So when Satan lied to Eve, that was when he began to be Satan​—from a Hebrew word that means “resister.” God did not create Satan. A previously faithful angel allowed wrong desire to develop in his heart so that he became Satan.​—Deuteronomy 32:4; compare Job 1:6-12; 2:1-10; James 1:13-15.

The Seed of the Serpent

10, 11. How do Jesus and the apostle John help us to identify the Serpent’s seed?

¹⁰ What, though, of ‘the seed [or offspring] of the serpent’? Jesus’ words also help us to solve this part of the puzzle. He said to the Jewish religious leaders: “You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father.” These Jews were descendants of Abraham, just as they boasted. But their wicked conduct made them spiritual children of Satan, the originator of sin.

¹¹ The apostle John, writing toward the end of the first century, explains clearly who belong to the seed of the Serpent, Satan. He writes: “He who carries on sin originates with the Devil, because the Devil has been sinning from the beginning. . . . The children of God and the children of the Devil are evident by this fact: Everyone who does not carry on righteousness does not originate with God, neither does he who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:8, 10) Evidently, the seed of the Serpent have been very active throughout all human history!

Who Is the Seed of the Woman?

12, 13. (a) How did Jehovah reveal to Abraham that the woman’s seed would appear among his descendants? (b) Who inherited the promise concerning the Seed?

¹² Who, then, is ‘the seed [or offspring] of the woman’? This is one of the most important questions ever asked, for it is the woman’s seed that will eventually crush the head of Satan and undo the evil effects of the original rebellion. Back in the 20th century B.C.E., God revealed a major clue about this one’s identity to the faithful man Abraham. Because of Abraham’s great faith, God made a series of promises to him about the offspring that would be born to him. One of these made it evident that ‘the woman’s seed’ that would ‘bruise the serpent’s head’ was going to appear among Abraham’s children. God told him: “Your seed will take possession of the gate of his enemies. And by means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves due to the fact that you have listened to my voice.”​—Genesis 22:17, 18.

¹³ As the years went by, Jehovah’s promise to Abraham was repeated to Abraham’s son Isaac and to his grandson Jacob. (Genesis 26:3-5; 28:10-15) Eventually, Jacob’s descendants became 12 tribes, and one of those tribes, Judah, received a special promise: “The scepter will not turn aside from Judah, neither the commander’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to him the obedience of the peoples will belong.” (Genesis 49:10) Evidently, the Seed was to appear in the tribe of Judah.

14. What nation was organized to be prepared for the coming of the Seed?

¹⁴ At the end of the 16th century B.C.E., the 12 tribes of Israel were organized into a nation as God’s special people. To this end, God made a solemn covenant with them and gave them a law code. The main reason for this was to prepare a people for the coming of the Seed. (Exodus 19:5, 6; Galatians 3:24) From then on, the enmity of Satan toward the woman’s Seed was seen in the hostility of the nations to God’s chosen people.

15. What final clue was given as to which family among Abraham’s descendants would produce the Seed?

¹⁵ The final clue as to which family would produce the Seed was given in the 11th century B.C.E. At that time, God spoke to the second king of Israel, David, and promised that the Seed would come from his line and that this One’s throne would be “firmly established to time indefinite.” (2 Samuel 7:11-16) From that point on, the Seed could properly be referred to as the son of David.​—Matthew 22:42-45.

16, 17. How did Isaiah describe the blessings the Seed would bring?

¹⁶ In the years that followed, God raised up prophets to give more inspired information about the coming Seed. For example, in the eighth century B.C.E., Isaiah wrote: “There has been a child born to us, there has been a son given to us; and the princely rule will come to be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. To the abundance of the princely rule and to peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom.”​—Isaiah 9:6, 7.

¹⁷ Isaiah further prophesied about this Seed: “With righteousness he must judge the lowly ones, and with uprightness he must give reproof in behalf of the meek ones of the earth. . . . And the wolf will actually reside for a while with the male lamb, and with the kid the leopard itself will lie down, and the calf and the maned young lion and the well-fed animal all together . . . They will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.” (Isaiah 11:4-9) What rich blessings this seed was going to bring!

18. What further information about the Seed did Daniel record?

¹⁸ In the sixth century before our Common Era, Daniel recorded a further prophecy about the Seed. He foretold the time when one like a son of man would appear in heaven and said that “to him there were given rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him.” (Daniel 7:13, 14) So the coming Seed would inherit a heavenly kingdom, and his royal authority would extend over all the earth.

The Puzzle Solved

19. What role, as revealed by the angel, was Mary to play in the coming of the Seed?

¹⁹ The identity of the Seed was finally unveiled at the dawn of our Common Era. In the year 2 B.C.E., an angel appeared to a young Jewish girl named Mary, who was a descendant of David. The angel told her that she was going to give birth to a very special baby and said: “This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule as king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of his kingdom.” (Luke 1:32, 33) So the long wait for the “seed” was finally coming to an end.

20. Who is the promised Seed, and what message did he preach in Israel?

²⁰ In the year 29 C.E. (a date pointed to long in advance by Daniel), Jesus was baptized. Holy spirit then descended upon him, and God acknowledged him as his Son. (Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 3:16, 17) For three and a half years thereafter, Jesus witnessed to the Jews, proclaiming: “The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” (Matthew 4:17) During that time, he fulfilled so many prophecies from the Hebrew Scriptures that there was no room for doubt that he was indeed the promised Seed.

21. What did the early Christians understand as to the identity of the Seed?

²¹ The early Christians understood this well. Paul explained to the Christians in Galatia: “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. It says, not: ‘And to seeds,’ as in the case of many such, but as in the case of one: ‘And to your seed,’ who is Christ.” (Galatians 3:16) Jesus was to be the “Prince of Peace” foretold by Isaiah. After he would finally come into his Kingdom, justice and righteousness would be established worldwide.

Who, Then, Is the Woman?

22. Who is the woman referred to in Jehovah’s prophecy in Eden?

²² If Jesus is the Seed, who is the woman who was referred to back there in Eden? Since the power behind the serpent was a spirit creature, we should not be surprised that the woman too is spirit and not human. The apostle Paul spoke about a heavenly “woman” when he said: “But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.” (Galatians 4:26) Other scriptures indicate that this “Jerusalem above” had already existed for millenniums. She is Jehovah’s heavenly organization of spirit creatures, from which Jesus descended to fulfill the role of ‘the seed of the woman.’ Only this kind of spiritual “woman” could endure the enmity of “the original serpent” for millenniums.​—Revelation 12:9; Isaiah 54:1, 13; 62:2-6.

23. Why is the progressive revealing of the meaning of Jehovah’s Edenic prophecy so remarkable?

²³ This brief overview of the development of that ancient prophecy in Genesis 3:15 is a powerful testimony to the grand harmony of the Bible. It is truly remarkable that the prophecy can be understood only when we put the events and sayings from the 20th, the 11th, the 8th, and the 6th centuries B.C.E. together with the sayings and events from the first century of our Common Era. This cannot have happened by chance. There must have been a guiding hand behind it all.​—Isaiah 46:9, 10.

The Meaning for Us

24. What does the identification of the Seed mean for us?

²⁴ What does all of this mean for us? Well, Jesus is the primary ‘seed of the woman.’ That ancient prophecy in Genesis 3:15 foretold that his heel would be ‘bruised’ by the Serpent, and this happened when Jesus died on the torture stake. A bruise is not lasting. Thus, the Serpent’s seeming success was quickly turned into defeat when Jesus was resurrected. (As we saw in Chapter 6, there is overwhelming evidence that this really occurred.) Jesus’ death became the basis for the salvation of righthearted mankind, so the Seed began to be a blessing, just as God had promised Abraham. But what about the prophecies that Jesus was to rule from a heavenly kingdom over all his earthly realm?

25, 26. What issue was involved in the enmity between ‘the seed of the woman’ and the Serpent, as described in Revelation?

²⁵ In a graphic prophetic vision recorded in Revelation chapter 12, the beginning of this Kingdom is pictured as the birth of a male child in heaven. In this Kingdom, the promised Seed takes power under the title Michael, meaning “Who Is Like God?” He shows that no one can rightfully challenge Jehovah’s sovereignty, when he casts “the original serpent” out of heaven for all time. We read: “So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth.”​—Revelation 12:7-9.

²⁶ The result is relief for the heavens but distress on earth. “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ,” came the triumphant shout. Furthermore, we read: “On this account be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”​—Revelation 12:10, 12.

27. When was the prophecy about Satan’s being cast from the heavens fulfilled? How do we know?

²⁷ Can we say when this prophecy was to be fulfilled? Really, that was the question raised by the disciples when they asked Jesus about ‘the sign of his presence and of the conclusion of the system of things’​—as we discussed in Chapter 10. (Matthew 24:3) As we saw, the evidence is overwhelming that Jesus’ presence in heavenly Kingdom power began in 1914. Since that time, we have experienced “woe for the earth” indeed!

28, 29. What great changes on the earthly scene still lie ahead, and how do we know they will take place soon?

²⁸ But notice: That heavenly cry announced that Satan has only “a short period of time.” So that original prophecy in Genesis 3:15 is moving to its unerring climax. The serpent, his seed, the woman, and her seed have all been identified. The Seed was ‘bruised in the heel,’ but he recovered. Soon, the crushing of Satan (and his seed) will begin under God’s now-reigning King, Christ Jesus.

²⁹ This will involve tremendous changes on the earthly scene. Along with Satan, those who prove themselves to be his seed will be removed. As the psalmist prophesied: “Just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; and you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be.” (Psalm 37:10) What a radical change that will be! Then, the psalmist’s further words will be fulfilled: “But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”​—Psalm 37:11.

30. Why are skeptics who cast doubt on the inspiration of the Bible and even on God’s existence the unrealistic ones?

³⁰ In this way, the “Prince of Peace” will finally bring peace to mankind. This is the promise of the Bible, as we noted at Isaiah 9:6, 7. In this skeptical age, many find such a promise unrealistic. But what alternative does man offer? None! On the other hand, this promise is clearly stated in the Bible, and the Bible is the unfailing Word of God. It is really the skeptics who are unrealistic. (Isaiah 55:8, 11) They ignore God, who inspired the Bible and who is the greatest reality of all.