#2 – Fulfilled Prophecy proves that the Bible is trustworthy

One of the most amazing things that clearly demonstrates the trust-worthy nature of the Bible is its startling track record of being able to predict the future.

Plenty of people have claimed an ability to predict what's going to happen in the future – but these people always prove to be frauds and liars… or else they make predications that are completely vague ("There's going to be trouble in the middle east!" or "things are going to get more expensive!") or have a success ratio approximately equal to random guessing…. in all these cases, it's clear that they don't have a real ability to tell with certainty what the future actually holds.

But the Bible is different.
VERY different.

Some of the prophecies in the Bible are so detailed and were fulfilled so perfectly, that for centuries critics claimed they MUST have been written after-the-fact, and then inserted into the ancient texts. Most of these conspiracy theories were demolished with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. This discovery clearly demonstrated that the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming of Jesus Christ pre-date his birth by at least 200 years (the age of the scolls) – and probably by much more than that!

Consider just some of the prophesies that the Bible made about Jesus Christ – many centuries before his birth:
A few of the Prophecies About Christ:
† The exact city where He would be born <Micah 5:2>
† His virgin birth <Isaiah 7:14>
† His performance of miracles <Isaiah 35:5>
† That the nation of Israel would reject him <Isaiah 53:3-4>
† The He would be crucified <Psalm 22:16-17> → described before the crucifixion was even invented by the Romans!
† That people would gamble for his clothes in his death <Psalm 22:18>
† That He would be killed with criminals, but buried in a rich man's tomb <Isaiah 53:9>
† That He would not stay dead in the tomb <Psalm 16:10>

These prophecies are too specific and were all fulfilled too perfectly to be the product of random chance! The odds of Jesus fulfilling even 48 of the 61 major prophecies concerning Him are 1 in 10¹⁵⁷; that is a one with 157 zeros behind it. By comparison, the estimated number of electrons in the entire known universe is about 10⁷⁹; that is "only" a one with 79 zeros behind it! [These numbers were calculated by statisticians, who took the odds of being born in Bethlehem, multiplied by the odds of being crucified, etc.]

Not only does the Bible predict details of Christ's life and ministry – it also predicted the exact date when he would begin His ministry! Some time before 500 B.C. the prophet Daniel proclaimed that Israel's long-awaited Messiah would begin his public ministry 483 years after the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25-26). He further predicted that the Messiah would be "cut off," killed, and that this event would take place prior to a second destruction of Jerusalem. Abundant documentation shows that these prophecies were perfectly fulfilled in the life (and crucifixion) of Jesus Christ. The decree regarding the restoration of Jerusalem was issued by Persia's King Artaxerxes to the Hebrew priest Ezra in 458 B.C., 483 years later the ministry of Jesus Christ began in Galilee. (Remember that due to calendar changes, the date for the start of Christ's ministry is set by most historians at about 26 A.D. Also note that from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D. is just one year.) Jesus' crucifixion occurred only a few years later, and about four decades later, in 70 A.D. came the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. For more information on this: please listen to our sermon audio on this topic and download the associated chart  Resurrection Sunday &  Resurrection Sunday Chart

But these prophecies about Christ certainly aren't the only predictions the Bible has made that came to pass exactly as they were foretold.
For example, the Bible is full of wonderful prophecies about the nation of Israel. In fact, we'd say that the continued existence of Israel is one of history’s most amazing stories… and it's all the more amazing because was prophesied in the Bible in great detail.

Israel’s history was prophesied by Moses and recorded in the book of Deuteronomy about 4,000 years ago. God warned that if Israel broke His law she would be “plucked from off the land” and scattered “among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other” <Deuteronomy 28:63-64>. There the Jews would “find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life” (Deuteronomy 28:65-66).
This is a highly accurate description of Israel’s history from the first century until now.
† Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman armies under Titus and then again in 135 A.D.
† Jerusalem was plowed under on the order of Emperor Hadrian in response to the Jewish rebellion led by Bar Kochbar. The Jewish people were scattered to the ends of the earth and found no rest.
† They were hated by the Muslims and hounded and persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church throughout Europe for a thousand years.
† Hitler’s regime tried to destroy them.
† Giving preference to the Arabs, England tried to keep them from returning to their land after World War II.
† They are the object of hatred until this very day. Most of the world is opposed to Israel and the reporting in secular publications about the Middle East crisis is generally slanted against her.

But Bible prophecy also foretold that Israel would be brought back into her land and that she would remain a nation even after all of this, and that is exactly what happened in 1948. Never before in the history of the world has a race of people been scattered throughout the world and persecuted for 2,000 years and then come back together as a nation with their ancient language intact. Stop and consider this remarkable fact for a moment… and then consider that ALL of this – the dispersion of Israel, and then their re-gathering as a nation – was all foretold thousands of years ago in the pages of the Bible. What other book has prophecies like that?

Finally, the Bible also contains specific prophecies about other nations and major world happenings.
For example, The Bible predicted:
† The destruction of the nation of <Jeremiah 49:16>
= Edom's capital city, Petra, was carved out of a mountain side and had great natural defenses. Nonetheless, it was destroyed and the kingdom of Edom no longer exists. Today, Petra is part of Jordan.
† That Egypt will never again rule over other nations <Ezekiel 29:15>
= Up until the time of Ezekiel, Egypt had been a world power for centuries, dominating many nations, including Israel. But for most of the past 2500 years, Egypt has been controlled by foreign powers, including the Romans, Ottomans and Europeans. Today, Egypt is an independent nation again. In 1948, 1967 and 1973, Egypt tried to dominate Israel but was unsuccessful each time, despite the fact that Egypt is 10 times larger than Israel. Egypt today, in many respects, is an impressive nation. But since the time of Ezekiel, it no longer rules over other nations.
† That the gates of Babylon would be open for Cyrus to conquer <Isaiah 45:1>
= Despite Babylon's remarkable defenses, which included moats, and walls that were more than 70-feet thick and 300-feet high, and 250 watchtowers, Cyrus was able to enter the city and conquer it. Cyrus and his troops diverted the flow of the Euphrates River into a large lake basin. Cyrus then was able to march his army across the riverbed and into the city.
† That the mighty city of Tyre would have its stones, timber and soil cast into the sea <Ezekiel 26:12>
= This was amazingly fulfilled when Alexander the Great built a land bridge from the mainland to the island of Tyre when he attacked in 333-332 BC. It is believed that he took the rubble from Tyre's mainland ruins and tossed it - stones, timber and soil - into the sea, to build the land bridge (which is still there).
† That the powerful city of Nineveh would be destroyed by fire <Nahum 3:15>
= Archaeologists unearthed the site during the 1800s and found a layer of ash covering the ruins. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica: "…Nineveh suffered a defeat from which it never recovered. Extensive traces of ash, representing the sack of the city by Babylonians, Scythians, and Medes in 612 BC, have been found in many parts of the Acropolis. After 612 BC the city ceased to be important…"

And of course, there are many, many, more!
The Bible's prophecies were made so far in advance, they can't be chalked up to simple insightfulness (the prophecies about Christ are equivalent to predicting details of the Bush presidency before America was even a country). The Bible's prophecies are so precise; they can't be dismissed as vague guessing. The Bible's every prophecy (so far) has been so perfectly fulfilled; they can't be ignored.

God has put his stamp of authentication on the Bible – by proving that He alone is able to see and predict the future. His words are sure and trustworthy… whether it's predicating the future of people and nations… or describing what happens after death.
The Bible's fulfilled prophecies demand that we take everything it has to say very seriously indeed.

But that's just the second of our reasons for why we should trust the Bible…
Keep reading for some other reasons:
#1 - The Resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that the Bible is trustworthy
#2 – Fulfilled Prophecy proves that the Bible is trustworthy
#3 – The Bible's factualness & candor prove that it is trustworthy
#4 – The Bible's survivability proves that it is trustworthy
#5 – Jesus Christ believed in the Bible, and told us it is trustworthy