Continuing our discussion regarding
fulfilled prophecy…
Jeremiah, along with other
prophets, foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the people
of Israel.
Jeremiah 25:11–12 “And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these
nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to
pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith
the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it
perpetual desolations.”
Secular history affirms the
truth of this prophecy. The following is
from an article on Reuters, “Ancient Tablets Reveal Life
of Jews in Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon,” from February 3, 2015.
“A
new exhibition of ancient clay tablets discovered in modern-day Iraq is
shedding light for the first time on the daily life of Jews exiled to Babylon
some 2,500 years ago. The exhibition is
based on more than 100 cuneiform tablets, each no bigger than an adult's palm,
that detail transactions and contracts between Judeans driven from, or
convinced to move from, Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar around 600 BC….
Nebuchadnezzar, a powerful ruler famed for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, came
to Jerusalem several times as he sought to spread the reach of his
kingdom. Each time he came -- and one
visit coincided with the destruction of Jerusalem's first temple in 586 BC -- he
either forced or encouraged the exile of thousands of Judeans.”
The prophet
Isaiah identified Cyrus as the king that would allow the Jews to go back to
Jerusalem to rebuild the city and the temple.
This prophecy was made some 150 years before Cyrus was even born.
Isaiah 44:28 “That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even
saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation
shall be laid.”
Following
is a quote from Josephus, “Antiquities of the Jews – Book XI.”
“Thus
saith Cyrus the King: since God Almighty hath appointed me to be King of the
habitable earth, I believe that He is that God, which the nation of the
Israelites worship. For indeed he foretold my name by the Prophets, and that I
should build him an house at Jerusalem, in the countrey of Judea.” This was known to Cyrus by his reading the
book which Isaiah left behind him of his Prophecies. For this Prophet said,
that God had spoken thus to him in a secret vision: “My will is, that Cyrus,
whom I have appointed to be King over many and great nations, send back my
people to their own land, and build my temple.” This was foretold by Isaiah one
hundred and forty years before the temple was demolished. Accordingly when
Cyrus read this, and admired the divine power, an earnest desire and an
ambition seized upon him, to fulfil what was so written. So he called for the
most eminent Jews that were in Babylon, and said to them, that “He gave them
leave to go back to their own countrey, and to rebuild their city
Jerusalem, and the temple of God; for that he would be their assistant;
and that he would write to the rulers and governours that were in the
neighbourhood of their countrey of Judea, that they should contribute to them
gold and silver, for the building of the temple; and besides that, beasts for
their sacrifices.”
This correlates to information recorded on the
Cyrus Cylinder in the British Museum.
According to the Iranian Heritage Foundation (IHF) blog regarding the
USA tour of the cylinder: “…it talks
about Cyrus’s efforts in repatriating displaced people and restoring temples
across Mesopotamia, letting them worship the god of their choice, not the god
of the conqueror. It tells the story of letting people living their lives even
after their country was conquered, something that was not heard of at the
time….Cyrus claims to have achieved this with the aid of Marduk, the god of
Babylon. He then describes measures of relief he brought to the inhabitants of
the city, and tells how he returned a number of images of gods, which Nabonidus
had collected in Babylon, to their proper temples throughout Mesopotamia and
western Iran. At the same time he arranged for the restoration of these
temples, and organized the return to their homelands of a number of people who
had been held in Babylonia by the Babylonian kings. Although the Jews are not
mentioned in this document, their return to Palestine following their
deportation by Nebuchadnezzar II, was part of this policy.”
The prophet Daniel foretold when the Messiah would
be revealed, using the date of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem.
Daniel 9:25 “Know therefore and
understand, that from the going
forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks,
and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall,
even in troublous times.”
In his
book “The Creator Beyond Time and Space,” Chuck Missler provides documentation
establishing that date as March 14, 445 BC. (http://xwalk.ca/king2.html)
Begin Excerpt: “In the fifth century B.C. a Hebrew named Nehemiah, then cup bearer
to the Medo-Persian king Artaxerxes, wrote of the command to restore and
rebuild Jerusalem:
‘And it came to pass
in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, when
wine was before him, I took wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been
sad in his presence before. Therefore, the king said to me 'why is your face
sad, since you are not sick.’ Nehemiah 2:1-2 (NKJ)
Nehemiah went on to explain that he was sad
because he had heard reports that the city of his people, Jerusalem, was still
desolate. Nehemiah, requested that he be allowed to go back to Jerusalem and
rebuild the city. King Artaxerxes granted his wish on the spot and gave him
official "letters" or documents for easy passage. This occurred, we
are told in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes Longimanus'
reign.
Artaxerxes Longimanus ascended to the throne
of the Medo-Persian empire in July 465 B.C. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1990
ed.). The twentieth year of his reign would have begun in July 446 B.C. The
decree occurred approximately nine months later in the month of Nisan
(March/April on our calendar). By Hebrew tradition when the day of the month is
not specifically stated (as in Artaxerxes decree), it is given to be the first
day of that month. Consequently, the very day of Artaxerxes' decree was the
first day of the Hebrew month Nisan in 445 B.C. The first day of Nisan in 445
B.C. corresponds to the 14th day of March. These dates were confirmed through
astronomical calculations at the British Royal Observatory and reported by Sir
Robert Anderson (Robert Anderson, "The Coming Prince", Kregel.
Reprinted in 1984.).
The prophecy states that 69 weeks of years (173,880 days using the 360
day prophetic year) after the command goes forth to restore and rebuild the
city of Jerusalem the Messiah will come. If we count forward 173,880 days from
March 14th 445 B.C. we arrive at April 6th 32 A.D…. The first Passover of Jesus' ministry would have been in the Spring of
A.D. 29. The fourth Passover of His ministry was the day of his crucifixion and
would have fallen in the year A.D. 32. The Passover in that year fell on April
10th (The Passover holiday always occurs on the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew
calendar. This corresponds to the first full moon after the Spring equinox.).
Remarkably, according to Robert Anderson and the British Royal Observatory, the
Sunday before that Passover was April 6th-The very day that Jesus presents
himself as King and exactly 173,880 days after the decree of Artaxerxes!! End excerpt.
The prophet Daniel also foretold the succession of kingdoms following
the fall of Babylon. His prophecies
concerning events after the death of Alexander the Great were so specific that
many have tried to discredit them saying that they were written after the fact. Garry K. Brantley provides a scholarly
explanation concerning the authorship of Daniel at http://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=13&article=357. His argument is based on evidence from the
Dead Sea Scrolls. In this article he states,
“The
relatively copious remains of Daniel indicate the importance of this book to
the Qumran community. Further, there are clear indications that this book was
considered ‘canonical’ for the community, which meant it was recognized as an
authoritative book on a par with other biblical books (e.g., Deuteronomy,
Kings, Isaiah, Psalms). The canonicity of Daniel at Qumran is indicated, not
only by the prolific fragments, but by the manner in which it is referenced in
other materials. One fragment employs the quotation, ‘which was written in the
book of Daniel the prophet.’ This phrase, similar to Jesus’ reference to
‘Daniel the prophet’ (Matthew 24:15), was a formula typically applied to
quotations from canonical Scripture at Qumran…. The canonical acceptance of Daniel at Qumran indicates the antiquity of
the book’s composition—certainly much earlier than the Maccabean period. Hence,
the most recent publications of Daniel manuscripts offer confirmation of
Daniel’s authenticity; it was written when the Bible says it was written.”
As to the succession of kingdoms that would arise
on the world stage, Daniel foretold that the Kingdom of Babylon would be
followed by the rise of the Medo-Persian Kingdom and then Greece.
Daniel 8:1–8 “In the third year of
the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the
first. And I saw in a vision…. and, behold, there stood before the river a ram
which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was
higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing
westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before
him, neither was there any that
could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became
great. And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the
face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
And he came to the ram that had two
horns….and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in
the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped
upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn
was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of
heaven.”
Daniel 8:16–22 “And I heard a man’s
voice between the banks of
Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision….The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great
horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being
broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the
nation, but not in his power.”
History
reveals that Alexander the Great was the “great horn,” the ruler of the Kingdom
of Greece. When Alexander died (was
broken), his kingdom was divided among his four top generals. History records that division as
follows:
· Seleucus = Syria, Israel, Babylonia, and Media
· Cassander = Macedonia and Greece
· Ptolemy = Egypt, Cyprus, and parts of Asia Minor
· Lysimachus = Thrace, Lydia, Cappadocia, and the
northern parts of Asia Minor
Though I won’t take the time to detail
it here, chapter 11 of Daniel provides a great bit of detailed history,
focusing primarily on the Ptolemies and Seleucids. (See my website for more
details.)
The prophet Ezekiel foretold the rebirth of the nation of Israel,
describing it as a resurrection of very dry bones, indicating that they had
been dead a very long time.
Ezekiel 37:1–14 “The hand of the
LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down
in the midst of the valley which was
full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open
valley; and, lo, they were very
dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O
Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and
say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord
GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye
shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you,
and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall
know that I am the LORD. So I
prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and
behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I
beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered
them above: but there was no
breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of
man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O
breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he
commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon
their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel:
behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for
our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of
your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your
graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my
spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then
shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken
it, and performed it,
saith the LORD.”
This is
the first of these fulfilled prophecies to have occurred in recent times. History records that the Romans evicted most
of the people of Israel from their homeland when they conquered Jerusalem in 70
AD. For almost 2000 years they were a
people without a nation.
Wikipedia provides a record of the fulfillment of
this prophecy as follows: “On 29
November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted
a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine. This specified borders for
new Arab and Jewish states and an area of Jerusalem which was to be
administered by the UN under an international regime. The end of the British
Mandate for Palestine was set for midnight on 14 May 1948. That
day, David Ben-Gurion, the executive head of
the Zionist Organization and president of
the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared ‘the
establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel,
to be known as the State of Israel’, which would start to function from the
termination of the mandate.”
The
prophet Isaiah even foretold the rebirth of the nation of Israel as occurring
on a single day.
Isaiah 66:5–8 “Hear the word of the
LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you
out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to
your joy, and they shall be ashamed. A voice of noise from the city, a voice
from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies.
Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered
of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in
one day? or shall a nation be
born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”
Ezekiel
also foretold of a coming alliance between Russia, Iran, Turkey and others that
is being fulfilled as declared by recent news headlines and discussed in my
previous blog series.
Other
prophecies in scripture speak of a time when the human race could be
annihilated (e.g., nuclear weapons)…
Matthew 24:21–22 “For then shall be
great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this
time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for
the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”
…the
inference of a cashless society requiring high tech capabilities…
Revelation 13:16–17 “And he causeth
all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And
that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the
beast, or the number of his name.”
…and
global communication.
Revelation 11:3–9 “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and
they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth….And when they shall
have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless
pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And
their dead bodies shall lie in the
street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where
also our Lord was crucified. And they of
the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three
days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.”
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