Section Two: Prophecy Fulfilled - Part 2
All Bible verses are from the King James Bible, although I have changed some of the old English. Any similarity to any modern version is only by coincidence. Bible verses other than the King James have been foot-noted properly.
Copyright @ Dennis M. Edwards (photos used from Google images for educational purposes only) [To start at the first chapter click on link]
Chapter 14: The Genesis Messianic Prophecy
Chapter 15: Bible Prophecy - Mathematically Impossible!
Chapter 16: The Noah Prophecy
Chapter 17: The Wild Man Prophecy
Chapter 18: Isaac's Prophecy
Chapter 19. Prophecies of Consequences
Chapter 15: Bible Prophecy - Mathematically Impossible!
Chapter 16: The Noah Prophecy
Chapter 17: The Wild Man Prophecy
Chapter 18: Isaac's Prophecy
Chapter 19. Prophecies of Consequences
Chapter 14 The Genesis Messianic Prophecy
We have seen so far that the Bible is indeed a book of prophecy. One scholar has determined that 26.8% of the Bible is prophecy.[1]That’s over 8,000 verses. If God didn’t want us to know the future, why did He spend so much of His Word prophesying? In the Old Testament we have seventeen books which are almost nothing but prophecy and as such are called the Major and Minor Prophets. The other twenty-two books of the Old Testament, from Genesis to the Song of Solomon contain hundreds of specific prophecies within their histories and poetry.
The first Messianic prophecy, or prophecy about the Messiah, is found in Genesis, the book of beginnings. While in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve disobey God after listening to the Devil-serpent. God, when stating His judgment upon them says,
And I will put enmity between thee (the Devil-serpent) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.[2]
Christian Bible scholars have interpreted this prophecy in the following way. The Messiah, the seed of the woman, would one day defeat the serpent, the Devil, although the serpent would be able to bruise, or kill the Messiah. The fact that the serpent’s head is crushed shows total defeat, seen in Christ’s victory over death in His resurrection and His ultimate defeat of Satan at the end of time. The implication of the woman’s seed being bruised by the serpent shows the Devil’s power to persecute and even kill the Redeemer and His representatives. However, because the bruise is to the heel, the defeat is minor and not an ultimate victory. As Jesus said,
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.[3]
The non-violent protest movement to affect political change has been based on this idea of standing up for the truth even in the face of danger to one’s own safety or life, as exemplified by Christ. Many people have died in non-violent protests because of this principle. Mahatma Gandhi used it to change an Empire. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used it to change a nation.
In a more recent example, on March 16, 2003, a young American peace activist named Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer. Corrie was undertaking a non-violent protest to protect the home of a Palestinian family from being demolished. The Israeli military was destroying all buildings within one hundred meters of the security fence they had constructed. In 2005, the Corrie family took the Israeli military to court over the incident. However, in 2012, a lower Israeli court ruled in favor of the Israeli military. Rachel’s parents have appealed to Israel’s Supreme Court, who has yet to make a decision.[4]
Similar to Rachel, scientist Dr. George Ellis believes non-violence is the best path.[5] Ellis, who worked with Dr. Stephen Hawking on the Big Bang cosmology, is also a Quaker and against war. He believes that non-violence can even be applied in difficult situations. After winning the renowned Templeton Prize,[6] he received an e-mail from a former British soldier who had been on a peace-keeping duty in Aden, Yemen in 1967. The name of the man was Davie Christie.
Mr. Christie said he had been an officer in a Scottish battalion engaged in peace-keeping duties in Aden town in the year 1967, in what is now called Yemen. He compared the situation to that of Iraq where people were being killed daily, with those suffering the most being the innocent local population. Mr. Christie admits his battalion of the British Army had the military capacity to destroy the whole town of Aden if they wanted to. But something unusual happened that needs to be publicized.
They had a commanding officer who refused to let them return fire when they were attacked, unless they were absolutely positive the person they were firing at had been the person who had actually thrown a grenade or had fired a shot at them. He did not want to kill any innocent people. He didn’t want any “collateral damage.”
But that’s difficult to do, to hold your fire when you are under attack. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what this particular battalion did. They held their fire unless they were 100% sure they were firing at the perpetrator, that they were firing at the actual attacker. Even with over a hundred grenades thrown at them, they fired back a grand total of two shots, killing one grenade-thrower.
Did they suffer losses? Yes, they did. They had over 100 men wounded and even one killed. When they were the recipients of rock-throwing, they stood fast. When it was grenades, they hit the ground and after the dust settled, they got up, stood their ground and held fast. They did not react indiscriminately in anger.
Of course, their reaction was not anticipated. Their enemy wanted them to fire back. They wanted them to kill innocent people. If they did, the local people’s animosity would be raised against them, the British peacekeeping force. But that is not what happened.
Slowly the local people began to trust the peacekeeping force. The local people saw they were taking injuries and not firing back into the crowded streets filled with innocent men, woman and children. As a result, the local people themselves made it clear to the terrorists that they were not welcomed in that area of Aden town.
While Mr. Christie’s battalion was playing soccer with the local people, other British battalions who had not followed what I will call the “turn-the-other-cheek philosophy,” were having a very difficult time. However, that one Scottish battalion brought peace to their area. They brought peace by being peacemakers because they were willing to lay down their lives rather than kill innocent people. Though they held the superior physical power, they withheld using that power in the face of terrorist attacks in order to protect innocent lives. The peace they achieved came because of the faith and outlook of the commanding officer. He in turn passed on that faith and outlook to those in his command.
Mr. Christie testifies that the commanding officer was a man they admired. They knew he was ready to die for each and every soldier under his command. As a result, each soldier was prepared to die for their commanding officer. Some may say, as Christie notes, that they were merely obeying orders. But he goes on to say, he does not believe it was the case. He confesses that they actually came to love their commanding officer. His heart for peacemaking and his determination to succeed in cruel and unjust circumstances regardless of the cost began to gradually grow in the hearts of the men in his command. Only years later did the soldiers themselves realize what they had accomplished.[7]
Dr. Ellis believes that Christian principles can be applied even in areas of conflict, such as the one above. If we did, some of the most amazing things could occur.
Throughout history the prophets of God used non-violent protests and suffered ridicule, abuse and even death because of their faith and world outlook. But all the way back in the first book of the Bible, we see the first prophecy of the Messiah’s triumphant victory over evil and Satan. We see also the initiating of the spiritual warfare of good against evil which continues until today.
To go to the Index of chapters click on link
[1] Salus, Bill; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKOKqCk5vuo (03/16)
[2] Genesis 3:15
[3] Matthew 10:28
[4] http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/ (accessed 03/2016)
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_F._R._Ellis (03/2016)
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templeton_Prize (03/2016)
[7] http://www.onbeing.org/program/science-and-hope/transcript/1158#main_content (accessed 03/2016)
Chapter 15
At the end of the New Testament in the first verse in the book of Revelation, we find the following words,
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show to his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified by his angel unto his servant John.[1]
At the end of the revelation, John tries to worship the angel who brought him the end-time message. The angel says,
See you do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.[2]
A testimony is a document that confirms the will of the testifier: like a person’s will is a document giving evidence or proof or testament to his desires. The spirit of prophecy found in the Bible is the testament or proof or evidence that Jesus is God. The accuracy of God’s prophecies confirms or testifies that Jesus is the Christ. The accuracy of God’s prophecies confirms or testifies to the fact that the Bible is true.
In my condensed Bible concordance, I can find some forty-eight Old Testament Messianic prophecies, or prophecies concerning the coming of the Jewish Messiah, all of which were fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Nowhere in all of ancient Greek and Latin literature can there be found any real specific prophecy of a great historical event to come in the distant future. To the contrary, the Bible is full of countless, detailed, specific prophecies, all of which have been miraculously fulfilled and come true—except the final end-time prophecies which are either to be fulfilled in the near future or are coming to pass right now.
In 1957, Peter W. Stoner, a university professor at Pasadena City College in California, asked his twelve college classes what would be the chance of one person fulfilling forty-eight of the approximately 325 Messianic prophecies randomly? His book titled SCIENCE SPEAKS: An Evaluation of Certain Christian Evidences goes over the results.[3]
First Professor Stoner, with the help of the students from the twelve different classes, estimated the odds for just eight of the Messianic prophecies being fulfilled by one man. They made reasonable and conservative estimates which the students agreed upon unanimously.[4]
For example, they tried to figure out the odds of a child born in Bethlehem at the beginning of the first century becoming the Messiah. What were the odds of three wise men would come from the east and bestow gifts on the child and his family? What were the odds that they same child would escape the slaying of the male children of Bethlehem by Herod the Great? What were the odds of that child traveling specifically to Egypt and then returning later to live in Nazareth so that later he would be called a Nazarene?
Stoner then took the average result for each of the possible eight prophecies calculated by the twelve different classes. By multiplying the probability that was found for one of the prophecies by the other seven prophecies, he came up with the probability of one man fulfilling all eight prophecies. Making the reasonable and conservative assumption that the other forty prophetic possibilities would have nearly the same rate of probability, he did the math. He found that the odds of one person fulfilling all forty-eight prophecies would be one in 10 to the 157th power or one over 10 followed by 157 zeros, or one chance out of
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
Mathematicians state that a number with a probability of 10 to the negative 50th power, or one in 10 to the fiftieth power is impossible.[5] Therefore, one times 10 to the negative 157th power would be even less possible. Scientists have calculated the number of electrons in the universe to be around one times 10 to the 80th power. So fulfilling forty-eight Messianic prophecies would be like the possibility of finding, on the very first attempt, one specific electron out of all of the electrons in all the known mass of the entire universe![6] It’s just beyond possibility for one person to accidentally fulfill all forty-eight prophecies of the some 325 total Messianic prophecies found in the Bible. Nevertheless, Jesus did it.
Attorney Lee Stroebel was the former agnostic journalist with the Chicago Tribune, who had received Illinois’ highest honor for public service in investigating reporting from United Press International. He said in 2007, that statistical information presented in Professor Stoner’s Science Speaks about the Messianic prophecies was one of the major factors which gave him confidence to believe in Christ. Lee went on to become a New York Times besting-selling author with his books: The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith and The Case for Easter.[7]
To go to the Index of chapters click on link.
[1] Revelation 1:1
[2] Revelation 19:10
[3] Peter W. Stoner; Science Speaks; Moody Press; Chicago, Illinois; 1957
[4] http://www.bereanpublishers.com/the-odds-of-eight-messianic-prophecies-coming-true/ (accessed 03/2016)
[5] http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/abioprob/borelfaq.html (accessed 03/2016)
[6] http://jvmi.co.uk/who-is-yeshua/reasons-to-believe/prophecies.html (03/2016)
[7] http://www.leestrobel.com/Bio.php (accessed 03/2016)
Chapter 16
The Lord said through Isaiah,
Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.[1]
Later the Lord says,
I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.[2] Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.[3]
I would like to give some examples of a few of the hundreds of amazing fulfilled prophecies found in the Bible. It will strengthen your faith and help you to believe He will fulfill the remaining prophecies.
The book of Genesis has some of the most interesting prophecies made about the descendants of the great fore-fathers of faith. We will look at one which Noah prophesized over his three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. Looking through the genealogies of these men, we find that Shem was the father of both the Jewish and Arab nations and all their mixtures. Ham was the father of Black African nations, the word “Ham” meaning black, while Japheth was the father of all the northern European nations or Caucasian “Gentile” nations.
Let’s look at the prophecy which took place after the flood:
And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.[4]
Canaan, the son of Ham, is cursed for what some believe may have been a sexual act by Ham upon his father Noah. Shem is blessed, while Canaan is made his servant. Japheth’s dwelling place or dominion would be enlarged, yet he would still live in housing owned by Shem. Still, Canaan would be Japheth’s servant, also.
Has this prophecy been fulfilled? Yes, with 100% accuracy. Shem’s descendants are the Jewish and Arab peoples. The Black Africans are found in many of the Arab nations working at menial jobs. The Black Africans also work in menial jobs in many Western nations, where Jewish money and expertise has given the Jewish people unprecedented power. In fact, the Jewish people have dominated every area of human enterprise that they have put their hand to, especially finances and banking. No one would dispute that the Black African nations are the servants of international banks who are largely owned by Jewish money.
So, Canaan, the Black African people, is definitely servant to Shem in the Arab and Jewish peoples and to Japheth in the Gentile people who are largely the Caucasian people. In the third part of the prophecy, we see that Japheth, the father of the northern European nations, has become very large in land area, including North America and Australia. Nevertheless, his brother Shem or Jewish money still controls his housing and financing situation, just like the prophecies predicted: “he shall dwell in the tents of Shem.” Canaan’s descendants, the peoples of Black Africa, have also traditionally been the servants of the Caucasian peoples, the descendants of Japheth, just like they have been servants to the descendants of Shem, the Jewish and Arab peoples.
I have even seen an interesting study from the book Abraham’s Children: Race, Identity and the DNA of the Chosen People by Dr. Jon Entine.[5] He claims that DNA tests of important Black African leaders seem to indicate that many if not most have Jewish DNA. The Black Africans who become important leaders in Africa are almost always those with significant amounts of Jewish DNA. Entine also puts forth the possibility of Jewish descendants being the architects of the famous Great Zimbabwe; an archaeological ruin in Zimbabwe built around 1100 AD. The origins and architectures of the Great Zimbabwe have been a controversy over the years, which some politically-correct archaeologists have credited to the Black Africans. Entine thinks otherwise and gives the credit to Jewish ingenuity.[6]
To go to the Index of chapters click on link
[1] Isaiah 34:16
[2] Isaiah 42:8-9
[3] Isaiah 46:10
[3] Genesis 9:25-27
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioYAjdDALqk (accessed 03/2016)
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lgk9LHqCjA (accessed 03/2016)
Chapter 17
Most everyone knows that Abraham is the father of both the Jewish and Arab nations. However, most people do not realize that both Jews and Arabs are descendants of Shem. In fact, according to Biblical chronology, Shem and Abraham’s lives overlap by about 100 years. So Abraham could have known Shem. Some Bible scholars believe that Melchizedek to whom Abraham gave tithes after the battle of Chedorlaomer was in fact Shem.[1] The point I am trying to make here is that both Jews and Arabs are “Shemites” or Semites, that is, descendants of Shem. The word anti-Semitism comes from Shem’s name. Since both Arabs and Jews are “Shemites” or Semites, the word anti-Semitism should mean those who are prejudice to both Arabs and Jews. Instead it is used exclusively to designate hatred or prejudice toward the Jewish people.
According to Wikipedia, the word anti-Semitism was first used
in the late 19th century in Germany as a more scientific-sounding term for Judenhass or Jew-hatred.[2]
Hagar and her son are put out of the camp and wander in the desert. In her desperation Hagar calls out to the Lord for help and He helps her. The angel responsible for her rescue prophesizes over Ishmael saying,
And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.[3]
The Lord also says,
And later:
These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles (or encampments); twelve princes according to their nations.[5]
Have the Arab nations been traditionally “a wild man?” Surely their manner of spreading their Islam faith during the time of Mohammed was by violence. Also, since they are a tribal people, each tribe tends to keep to themselves and have strong tribal preferences. Therefore, even though they are brothers, they find it hard to agree and have throughout history been in constant squabbles among themselves, which we even see today in the Sunni-Shiite division. We see it in the “liberated” nations of Iraq and Libya. Without a strong man dictator to force the different tribal areas to work together, the country soon falls into chaos, with every man’s hand against each other.
The Israelis, realizing that the Arabs are often against each other, have used the fact to their advantage in the Middle East conflict. Because of their knowledge of the Arab weakness, they have been able to prevent some attempted unions by Arab leaders which could have proved dangerous to Israel’s national security. Secret documents have shown that the Mossad, the Israeli equivalent to the CIA, have used the philosophy of divide-and-conquer as their foreign policy using their expert intelligence to foment division among the Arab nations. As long as the Arab nations are fighting among themselves, Israel’s security is safe and Israel becomes the most dominant military power in the area.
On June 25, 2014, blogger Brandon Martinez wrote the following on his website commenting on the fighting in Iraq between the different Muslim groups, confirming Israel’s policy:
On the June 22 edition of NBC’s Meet the Press, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu let slip his government’s intention to divide and conquer the Middle East. Remarking on the latest ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) incursions into Iraq, Netanyahu expressed the desire of his regime to promote internal strife in Israel’s neighboring states.
Netanyahu said, implying that it is in Israel’s interests to have Muslims fighting and squabbling among themselves.
“When your enemies are fighting each other, don’t strengthen either one of them, weaken both,” said the Israeli leader.
Martinez continues,
That is what ISIS was created to do. The terrorist militia’s American, Israeli and Saudi backers are content to see these roving bands of malcontents and marauders behead their way to Damascus and Baghdad. What better way to solidify Israel’s position as the sole hegemony in the region? Fragmenting, weakening and Balkanizing the Middle East has been part-and-parcel of the Israeli impulse from the very beginnings of the Jewish state.[6]
Martinez brings to our attention that oddly enough, back in 1982, Israeli military strategist Oded Yinon had written a paper called, A Strategy for Israel in the 1980s.[7] At the time Iraq was Israel’s most powerful and potential adversary and Israel’s greatest threat. Yinon, therefore, advocated the territorial dissection of Iraq into three states. Each state would be based on ethnic and confessional roots, namely Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis. Yinon promoted the same scenario for the other Arab/Muslim states surrounding Israel, including Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Iran.
Some experts claim the idea of a Middle East divided along Arab tribal lines goes back as far as the 1920s. According to Martinez, Yinon believed that fractured and divided Arab/Muslim countries could not pose any challenge to Israeli dominance. He insisted,
Every kind of inter-Arab confrontation will assist us in the short run and will shorten the way to the more important aim of breaking up Iraq into denominations as in Syria and in Lebanon.[8]
Martinez concludes,
Yinon’s geopolitical blueprint is still very relevant today. His vision of a crippled and prostrate Arab/Muslim world is playing out before our very eyes.[9]
Will Iraq be redrawn into three parts in the near future in fulfillment to Yinon’s suggested strategy? And what about the 5 Israelis arrested for filming and celebrating the destruction of the Twin Towers from New Jersey? Were they agents from the Israeli Secret Service, the Mossad? Did they have beforehand information about the event, as some believe? Were they involved in causing the buildings to implode using explosives on the foundations? Will we ever know the truth?
To go to the Index of chapters click on link
[1] Genesis 14:18-20 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he (Melchizedek) blessed him (Abraham), and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he (Abraham) gave him (Melchizedek) tithes of all.
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism (accessed 03/2016)[3] Genesis 16:12
[4] Genesis 21:18
[5] Genesis 25:16
[6] http://martinezperspective.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/isis-insurrection-serves-israels-interests/ (accessed 03/2016)
[7] http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/pdf/The%20Zionist%20Plan%20for%20the%20Middle%20East.pdf (accessed 03/2016)
[8] Ibid
[9] https://martinezperspective.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/isis-insurrection-serves-israels-interests/ (accessed 03/2016)
Chapter 18
Another interesting prophecy by one of the patriarchs is Isaac’s prophecy over his sons Jacob and Esau. Isaac was Abraham’s son. Jacob and Esau were Abraham’s grandchildren. Similar to Ishmael and Isaac, the blessing does not go to the older child, Esau, but rather to the younger, Jacob. It’s a fascinating story which I do not have time to retell here. But get your Bible out and read it in the book of Genesis. Isaac ends up giving the blessing to Jacob. Esau comes seeking for a blessing, also. Isaac responds,
Behold I have made him thy Lord, and all his brethren have I given him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?[1]
But Esau insists,
Hast thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven above; And by thy sword shall thou live, and shall serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shall have the dominion, that thou shall break his yoke from off thy neck.[2]
Afterwards, Esau realizes that his wives from the Canaanite women displease his father.
And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.[3]
Jacob becomes the father of the twelve tribes of Israel which today we know as the Jewish people. Isaac prophesied “corn and wine,” or in other words, wealth. Another part of Isaac’s prophecy said that Jacob’s brother and his brother’s descendants would be Jacob’s servants. Jacob, therefore, would have power. No one would deny that the descendants of Jacob, the Jewish people, have both wealth and through wealth they have power, as money often equals power.
Esau descendants intermarry with the children of Ishmael and with the children of Canaan and so become part of the Arab peoples. Similar to the prophecy over Ishmael, who
was a wild man and his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him,[4]
Esau would live by the sword and yet his brother Jacob would have power over him, because he would serve his brother.
It is interesting how throughout history the Arabs have lived by the sword and have been expert swordsmen. We even see ISIS in Iraq and Syria cutting the throats of foreigners with a knife or small sword! Some Bible scholars believe that
the fatness of the earth and of the dew of heaven above
refers to Arab petroleum, which is not something they obtained through hard work but rather as the dew of heaven, they have just been blessed with its richness. Another part of the prophecy says,
And it shall come to pass when thou shall have the dominion, that thou shall break his yoke from off thy neck.[5]
Some believe that sometime in the future the Arabs may break off the yoke of Jewish world control. Some scholars believe that the yoke was broken back in 1973 when the Arabs raised the price of oil and started to amassing huge sums of money through their sales. In any event, the fact that nearly three thousand years ago a rich shepherd in the land of Canaan prophesied the events above is not only very interesting, but surely miraculous.
To go to the Index of chapters click on link
Notes:
[1] Genesis 27:37
[2] Genesis 27:38-40
[3] Genesis 28:8-9
[4] Genesis 16:12
[5] Genesis 27:40
Chapter 19
In the book of Joshua we find Joshua’s last words to the children of Israel,
Not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord God spoke concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing has failed thereof.[1]
Joshua was confirming to the children of Israel how God had fulfilled His promises unto Abraham and Moses, had brought them into the Promised Land and had defeated their enemies. He goes on to say,
Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things are come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land which he has given unto you.[2]
Israel’s time in the Promised Land was short as an independent nation. They soon disobeyed the Lord, were brought into bondage by other nations and finally destroyed and sent into captivity by both the Assyrian and the Babylonian empires, as Joshua and Moses had foretold. The warning prophecy God gave them was fulfilled. Later, the Jews were allowed to return and rebuild the city and the Temple because of the edit decreed by Cyrus (at left), King of Persia around 535 BC, following his conquest of Babylon.
In Isaiah, we find a prophecy about Cyrus the King of Persia who would defeat the Babylonian Empire. The prophecy also stated he would give the captive children of Israel permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the city and the Temple. These had been destroyed seventy years earlier by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army. It is interesting to note that Daniel, who counseled Nebuchadnezzar, continued to be king’s counselor under the Medes and Persians who had conquered the Babylonian kingdom. Daniel may have been able to share with both Darius and Cyrus what the Scriptures had predicted.
So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius (the Mede), and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.[3]
That says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shall be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.[4]
The prophecy continues,
For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou has not known me.[5] I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, says the Lord of hosts.[6]
The above prophecy was fulfilled about 200 years later. In the book of Ezra we read that in the first year of Cyrus or in 535 BC, according to historical records, the following took place:
The Scripture from Ezra mentions a prophecy by Jeremiah. Jeremiah lived some eighty years after Isaiah. Isaiah was prophet from the time of King Uzziah, around 740 BC, through the reign of King Hezekiah. According to Jewish tradition, Isaiah was sawed in half during the reign of Manasseh, around 680 BC.[8]
Jeremiah began prophesying in Judah around 626 BC, or 54 years after Isaiah’s death and halfway through the reign of Josiah (640-609 BC), the son of Manasseh. Jeremiah continued prophesying throughout the reigns of Jehoahaz (609), Jehoiakim (609–598), Jehoiachin (598–597) and Zedekiah (597–586). He ended his prophesying sometime after 586 BC, at the time of the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, just as he had prophesied by the Word of the Lord.
According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah was put to death by stoning while living in Egypt.[9] He had been taken captive there by some of the Jewish people after the murder of the Governor appointed by Nebuchadnezzar. Earlier in his career, he had prophesied that the captives of Israel would suffer seventy years in Babylonian captivity before God’s mercy allowed them to return to their homeland.
For thus says the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform My good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place (Jerusalem). And I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all places whither I have driven you, says the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.[10]
Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for My mouth it hath commanded.[11]
Not one prophecy would lack its mate or lack in fulfillment, just as God said. [To go to the next chapters click here]
To go to the Index of chapters click on link.
Notes:
[1] Joshua 23:14
[2] Joshua 23:15-16
[3] Daniel 6:28
[4] Isaiah 44:28
[5] Isaiah 45:4
[6] Isaiah 45:13
[7] Ezra 1:1-3
[8] http://www.biblica.com/en-us/bible/online-bible/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/intro-to-isaiah/ (accessed 03/2016)
[9] http://www.biblica.com/en-us/bible/online-bible/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/intro-to-jeremiah/ (accessed 03/2016)
[10] Jeremiah 29:10-14
[11] Isaiah 34:16
Notes:
[1] Joshua 23:14
[2] Joshua 23:15-16
[3] Daniel 6:28
[4] Isaiah 44:28
[5] Isaiah 45:4
[6] Isaiah 45:13
[7] Ezra 1:1-3
[8] http://www.biblica.com/en-us/bible/online-bible/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/intro-to-isaiah/ (accessed 03/2016)
[9] http://www.biblica.com/en-us/bible/online-bible/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/intro-to-jeremiah/ (accessed 03/2016)
[10] Jeremiah 29:10-14
[11] Isaiah 34:16
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