Trusting God’s Word

10/03/23 – 10/07/23

The Testimony of Fulfilled Prophecy

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  10/05/23

Read 2 Peter 1:19-21.

The Bible is a special book because it is filled with the very words of God, not merely the wisdom of human beings. Is it any surprise, then, that the Bible is filled with prophecies, many of which have already come true and affirm the trustworthiness of Scripture?

Way back in the book of Genesis, God told Abraham, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there” (Genesis 15:13). Guess how long the Israelites were in Egypt. Four hundred years, just as God declared.

And then there was Daniel, who interpreted a dream that, from his place in time, described the next five hundred years. Daniel even saw the rise of the Roman Empire. And then, in his vision, Daniel saw a great stone—one not cut by human hands—and this stone came and smashed all the empires that came before. This stone grew and grew and filled the whole earth. He saw the Kingdom of God hundreds of years before Jesus announced its arrival (see Daniel 9:25-27). Today, the Kingdom of God continues to spread across the world as missionaries bring the Good News of salvation to the ends of the earth—for His is the victorious, everlasting Kingdom.

Daniel got a wide-angle view of the future, but many others saw intimate details of the life and ministry of Jesus—the pinnacle of all prophecies. There are many passages about Jesus coming from heaven, dying on a cross, rising again, and ascending to glory, but there are four detailed passages (in addition to Daniel’s prophecy) that were fulfilled with such accuracy and clarity that they are indisputable evidence for the trustworthiness of Scripture: Micah 5:2 describes Jesus’ birthplace of Bethlehem; Jeremiah 23:5-6 tells us the Messiah will come from David’s royal line; Isaiah 53 depicts Jesus’ terrible suffering on Good Friday; Psalm 16:8-11 reveals His bodily resurrection. Moreover, there are twenty Old Testament prophecies about Jesus that were all fulfilled in a single twenty-four-hour period!

No matter how many times the Bible’s prophecies have proven true, there will still be those who refuse to believe the Scriptures can be trusted. They argue that someone must have gone back and changed the earlier prophetic writings to match the fulfillment after it happened—but do you have any idea how ridiculous that is? The Biblical writings are among the most revered, most carefully copied, and most studied texts of the ancient world. Even if such a scheme were possible, it would never have been allowed to transpire.

Friend, the Bible’s prophecies point us to one necessary conclusion: God is the Author of Scripture, and He is the Author of history. He knows the end from the beginning, and He can be trusted. He does what He says He is going to do. Always.

Prayer: Father, I am awed by Your loving revelation of Yourself to us in Your Word. Thank You for the gift of prophecies to bolster our faith in Scripture and give us sure hope for the fulfillment of Your promises about our future. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).