Prophecies
in the Holy Scriptures: Word of God or Folly of Man?
Part I – Prophecies in the Tanakh
“Prophecy is an intercept from the mind of an all-knowing and
all-seeing and all-powerful God.”
-
Joel
C. Rosenberg (a Christian Apologist)[1]
Prophecies are often used to prove the “truth” of a religion, since they serve
as evidence of supernatural knowledge which no person would know under normal
circumstances. Hence, a man who claims
to be a “prophet” and the recipient of “God’s Word” can be tested by the
accuracy of his “prophecies”. Moreover,
this same test can be applied to scripture.
Since scripture is supposed to originate “from
the mind of an all-knowing and all-seeing and all-powerful God”, the
prophetic accuracy, or lack thereof, of a religious book would serve as
powerful evidence of its truth or falsehood.[2] In the latter case, it would prove that the
book in question is not “from the mind of…God”. It is with this idea that we begin our newest
series: Prophecies in the Holy Scriptures: Word of God or Folly of Man? In this four-part series, we will examine the
prophecies contained in the holy scriptures of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
and test whether they have been accurately fulfilled.[3] To begin, in this article we will first
examine the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh, which is often touted as
containing prophecies written thousands of years ago which were fulfilled in
the later events of history. In Part II,
we will examine New Testament prophecies.
In Part III, we will examine the Holy Quran and in Part IV, the Ahadith
of Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Prophecies
in the Tanakh
The Tanakh
is a voluminous book and it would be outside the scope of this article to
examine every single prophecy found in it.
Therefore, for the purposes of this article, we will analyze only a
small sample of the numerous passages that make prophecies about future events. These prophecies have been selected based upon
the condition that only those prophecies from the Bible that apply to events
that can be historically verified (for example, prophecies regarding Babylon
and other enemies of the Israelites) will be examined, rather than prophecies
which cannot be verified at all (such as the prophecy that the Israelites would
stay in Egypt for 400 years).[4] All translations are taken from the New
International Version.
1. Psalm 89:3-4 –
“…I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I
have sworn to David my servant, ‘I will establish your line forever and
make your throne firm through all generations.”
Discussion: In this verse, the psalmist claimed that God
made a covenant with David (peace be upon him) promising to establish his
bloodline forever and to secure his kingdom for all time. This prophecy hardly came true. Neither David’s line nor his kingdom has
survived. Even if David’s bloodline has
survived into the present day, there is no way to prove that it exists. On the other hand, it is an undeniable fact
that his kingdom has not existed for more than 2,500 years, when it ended with
the removal of Zedekiah from the throne and his death in a Babylonian prison.[5] As C. Dennis McKinsey correctly observes:
“God promised that there would always be a Davidic king, but the
Davidic line ended with Zedekiah and no king returned to the Davidic throne for
450 years. Moreover, what descendant of
David is now ruling in the Middle East?”[6]
The only possible way for believers to salvage this prophecy is to interpret it
as referring to Messianic times, when the Messiah, who would be a descendant of
David (peace be upon him), would re-establish the Davidic kingdom. From that point on, the Davidic line and
throne would be established forever. But
this argument fails since the psalm is very clear that David’s line and throne
would be “firm through all generations”. In fact, verses 35-37 of the same psalm
repeat the promise, and refute the claim of the apologists that the prophecy
refers to the Messiah:
“Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—and I will not lie to
David—that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like
the sun; it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in
the sky.”
The apologists must be honest and admit that this simply did
not happen. The sun has continued to
“endure” and the moon has continued to be a “faithful witness in the sky” since
David’s time, but his line and his kingdom have not.
Status: Failed
2. Isaiah 13:19-20
–
“And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the
beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and
Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from
generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither
shall the shepherds make their fold there.”
Discussion: In this prophecy, Babylon’s destruction was
foretold. However, Babylon is warned not
only that its doom was imminent but that the destruction would be so severe as
to leave this “glory of kingdoms” uninhabited.
In short, it would be left as a ruin, never again to be inhabited by
people, but rather wild beasts.[7]
Yet, it is established history that Babylon continued to be inhabited even as
late as the 2nd century CE, as evidenced by the so-called “Theater
Inscription”.[8] The fact is that even though control of
Babylon passed from conqueror to conqueror, it remained a vibrant city for
almost a thousand years after the alleged prophecy was made by Isaiah (peace be
upon him). When the Persian king Cyrus
the Great captured Babylon in 539 BCE, it remained an important center of
culture, and when Alexander the Great conquered the city from the Persians in
331 BCE, he simply annexed it and established it as an important center of his
empire.[9] What the prophecy stated would happen and
what actually happened to Babylon are polar opposites. To deny this would be futile.
Of course, some apologists may argue that this prophecy can be applied to
modern times, either in the sense that Babylon is now just crumbling ruins or
that it somehow refers to a future conflict between the Arabs and Israel. However, in either case, the apologists would
be wrong. Desperate in their attempts to
salvage the prophecy, they make absurd suggestions which actually contradict
the Bible itself. It is clear from the
Bible that the prophecy against Babylon was to be fulfilled during the time of
the Babylonian empire. According to
Jeremiah 50:41-43, Babylon’s destruction would occur soon and not
thousands of years later:
“Look! An army is coming from the north; a great nation and many
kings are being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bows and spears; they are
cruel and without mercy. They sound like
the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle
formation to attack you, Daughter Babylon.
The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and his hands hang
limp.”
In this passage, it was stated that an army was coming from
the north (see also verse 3), which the Jewish commentator Rashi identified
with the Persians and the Medes.[10] The prophecy in Jeremiah also stated that the
king of Babylon was fully aware that this mighty army was coming for his
kingdom and that he was fearful of it.
What this shows is that the prophecy was expected to be fulfilled in a
very short amount of time. Moreover, if
even the king of Babylon knew that the end was coming, then it means that this
“prophecy” was simply restating what was already known to many people at the
time. The author was obviously aware of
the geopolitics of the time and knew that a conflict between Babylon and other
nations was imminent. Hence, it was
hardly a “prophecy” of an event that no one was expecting.
Status: Failed
3.
Isaiah
17:1 –
“Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall
be a ruinous heap.”
Discussion: As the book of Isaiah (falsely)
prophesied regarding Babylon, it made the same prophecy regarding
Damascus. And as with the Babylon
prophecy, the Damascus prophecy has also clearly failed. Even into the modern age, Damascus has
remained an important and vibrant city, even despite the tragic Syrian civil
war which continues to rage and which has claimed over 200,000 lives since
2011.[11] It has never been a “ruinous heap” in the approximately
2,700 years that have gone by since the prophecy was allegedly made. McKinsey explains that Damascus:
“...is one of the oldest cities in the world, has been
continuously inhabited and is the only city in Palestine that has never been
completely destroyed. Never has it been
a ruinous heap.”[12]
And should the apologists (especially the Zionist Christians) again try to
argue that this prophecy is to be fulfilled in modern times, they need to be
reminded of the context of the prophecy, which shows clearly that it was
supposed to be fulfilled thousands of years ago. Verse 8 of the same chapter shows this
context and proves that it cannot be applied to modern times:
“They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, and
they will have no regard for the Asherah poles and the incense altars their
fingers have made.”
The reference to “Asherah poles” shows that the
prophecy was made during a time when the worship of the pagan goddess Asherah
was very common, even among the Israelites.
Yet the cult of Asherah, and indeed most of the other pagan cults (like
those of Molech, Chemosh, etc.) have long been extinct. Certainly, no one in modern-day Damascus
still worships Asherah, for it is a majority Muslim city! Asherah-worship has gone the way of the Dodo
and so have the desperate apologetic attempts to save this prophecy.
Status: Failed
4. Ezekiel
26:3, 7-14 –
“…therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against
you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up
its waves.”
“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I am
going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of
kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army. He will ravage
your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works
against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you.
He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish
your towers with his weapons. His horses will be so many that they will cover
you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the warhorses, wagons
and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have
been broken through. The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets; he
will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the
ground. They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break
down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and
rubble into the sea. I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of
your harps will be heard no more. I will make you a bare rock, and you will
become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the Lord
have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Discussion: This prophecy, allegedly made by the
Prophet Ezekiel (peace be upon him), speaks of coming calamities to befall the
city of Tyre. The first part of the
prophecy foretold that Tyre would be the target of “many
nations,” while the second part stated that the Babylonian king
Nebuchadnezzar would destroy the city to such an extent that it would “never be rebuilt”.
However, while Nebuchadnezzar did lay siege to Tyre for 13 years, the city
actually never fell, though it did agree to capitulate to Babylonian rule.[13] Whereas the prophecy stated that Tyre would
never be rebuilt, it escaped relatively unscathed from the Babylonian
assault. Indeed, it has survived
thousands of years of history to become a modern city, being the fourth largest
city of modern-day Lebanon.[14]
The irony is that the book of Ezekiel confirms elsewhere that Nebuchadnezzar
did not destroy Tyre, as had been prophesied earlier! Ezekiel 29:18 states:
“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon drove his army in a
hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare and every shoulder made
raw. Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre.”
Here, it was admitted that Nebuchadnezzar
received “no reward” for the siege against Tyre, yet Ezekiel 26:12 specifically
prophesied that his army would:
“…plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise…”
Obviously, this did not happen. How could Nebuchadnezzar simultaneously
“plunder” Tyre’s wealth and yet receive “no reward”?
Some apologists have tried to get around this difficulty by claiming that the
prophecy was fulfilled not in Nebuchadnezzar’s time, but in the time of
Alexander the Great, who captured the city and destroyed it.[15] But even if this argument could be
successfully defended, the fact remains that Tyre was supposed to have been
destroyed completely and never
rebuilt. Yet, even after Alexander the
Great destroyed Tyre, he eventually rebuilt it![16] Apologists try to get around this difficulty
by foolishly comparing it to the “ancient use of
hyperbole”, as seen in the boasts of the Pharaohs claiming that they had
completely destroyed their enemies. But
surely, to compare what is supposed to be a divinely-inspired prophecy
to the ramblings of tyrannical and polytheistic kings is absurd. Why did a divinely-inspired prophet have to
resort to “hyperbole” like the foolish kings of antiquity? Should we not hold the supposed “word of God”
to higher standards?[17] We must conclude that this argument is a
desperate and dishonest attempt to deny the clear fact that the “prophecy” did
not succeed. Instead of admitting the
truth, the apologists are willing to live in denial and to blaspheme God by
comparing Him to petty kings who liked to exaggerate their victories.
Status: Failed
5. Ezekiel
29:10-12 –
“I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from
Migdol to Aswan, as far as the border of Cush. The foot of neither man nor beast will pass
through it; no one will live there for forty years. I will make the land of Egypt desolate among
devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate forty years among ruined
cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them
through the countries.”
Discussion: As with Babylon, Damascus and Tyre, the book of
Ezekiel claimed that Egypt would suffer a great catastrophe, which would cause
it to be uninhabited for a period of 40 years.
Once again, it is Nebuchadnezzar who would be the instrument of God’s
vengeance:
“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to
give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth.
He will loot and plunder the land as pay for his army. I have given him Egypt as a reward for his
efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord.”[18]
Yet this prophecy also failed to come true. Nebuchadnezzar did indeed attack the
Egyptians, although the exact details of what actually happened are not
known. As Professor Bill T. Arnold of
Asbury Theological Seminary states:
“The scope of Nebuchadnezzar’s imperial aspirations may be seen
in his thirteen-year siege and apparent victory at Tyre (Josephus, Ag. Ap. 1:21; Ezekiel 26:7-14) and his
invasion of Egypt in 570 B.C.E. However,
it should be noted that historical evidence from the latter part of
Nebuchadnezzar’s reign is sparse and that the evidence of his Egyptian invasion
is open to other interpretations.”[19]
What is known is that there has never been any period in
Egyptian history when the land was not occupied. No evidence exists for this extraordinary
event. If it indeed happened, then there
should be evidence for it, given Egypt’s prominence in the geopolitics of the
time. If it had been rendered unlivable
for 40 years, it would have been a momentous event which people would not have forgotten,
especially the Egyptians themselves.
Status: Failed/Partially Unverifiable
Conclusion
In this article, we have examined five famous prophecies from the Hebrew
Bible. Each prophecy foretold certain
events, which never happened. In the
first example, David (peace be upon him) was allegedly promised that his line
and throne would endure forever. The
Davidic kingdom, however, was eliminated a few centuries after the death of
King David (peace be upon him). In the
second example, the prophet Isaiah (peace be upon him) allegedly claimed that
Babylon would be destroyed, and would be uninhabited. Yet despite conquests by Cyrus and Alexander,
Babylon remained an important city, and remained so for almost 1,000 years
after the prophecy was made. In the
third example, a similar prophecy was made against Damascus, and as with the
prophecy against Babylon, this one also failed to come true. Damascus has been continuously inhabited,
including in the modern age. In the
fourth example, the ancient city of Tyre was warned of impending doom at the hands
of Nebuchadnezzar. Not only did
Nebuchadnezzar not conquer the city, but the book of Ezekiel even admitted that
he gained “no reward” for his efforts.
Finally, in the fifth example, it was prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar
would destroy Egypt, rendering it as an uninhabited land for a period of 40
years. While not much is known about the
campaign itself, what is certain is that there was no period in Egypt’s history
where it was uninhabited.
It is clear from our examination that these are false prophecies. Therefore, Bible believers must reconsider
their acceptance of the Tanakh as the “word of God”. As the quote at the beginning of the article
explained, a true prophecy is from God.
Hence, the false prophecies that we have studied are not from
Him. They are, therefore, the folly of
man. This, in turn, proves that the
Tanakh (or at least the parts we have studied) is not the word of God, but the
folly of man as well. And Allah knows
best!
[2] Even
if one false prophecy is found in a book, it would obviously invalidate the
claim that it originated from God. But
what if in addition to false prophecies, we also find seemingly true
prophecies? We will attempt to answer
this question as the series progresses.
[4] Genesis
15:13. There may be a contradiction
regarding whether it was 400 years or 430 years, but for the purposes of this
article, that is not what concerns us.
Rather, we are only concerned with verifying:
1.
That a prophecy was made
regarding a future event which no person would have known under normal
circumstances.
2.
That the prophecy was
fulfilled in a future event.
Since it is impossible to historically confirm exactly how
long the Israelites stayed in Egypt, it is a prophecy which we cannot verify
and thus one that we can ignore in this article. Indeed, many of the events of Genesis (and
most of the other books) obviously cannot be historically verified and are
largely a matter of faith. Also, since
most of the books of the Tanakh were written after the events in question
(especially the Pentateuch), many of the “prophetic” verses are actually not
prophetic at all, and thus can be ignored.
[6] C.
Dennis McKinsey, The Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy (New York: Prometheus
Books, 1995), p. 297.
[7] Isaiah
13:21-22. According to some
translations, among the “wild beasts” that would dwell in the ruins of Babylon
would be “dragons” and “satyrs”.
Obviously, these mythological creatures have never inhabited Babylon or
any other place.
See the commentary on verse 3.
[12] McKinsey,
op. cit., p. 304.
As a result of the battle:
“…6,000 Tyrians were killed during the fighting in the streets.
4,000 Macedonians were wounded, perhaps 500 were killed. Alexander's [sic]
indulged in his anger: he ordered 2,000 Tyrians to be crucified on the beach (text).
After this, he repopulated Tyre with Greek emigrants and loyal Phoenicians,
together with a permanent Macedonian garrison. This was the beginning of the
Hellenistic age.”
[17] In
fact, the prophecy was literally the “word of God”, having come upon “Ezekiel”:
“…the word of the Lord came to me…” (Ezekiel 26:1)
So, it was actually God speaking through the prophet! Are the apologists really expecting us to
believe that God was speaking like some petty human king, by exaggerating the
destruction of Israel’s enemies?
[19] Bill
T. Arnold, Who Were the Babylonians? (Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2004),
p. 96.
