Earlier, I mentioned that you would have a choice to make before you continued with this book. Now I am going to tell you why.
If you are an unbeliever, an atheist, an agnostic or a heretic and you continue reading this book, you are going to come face to face with the God of Heaven.
Let me make this plain; I am not going to be the one to change your mind. Your thinking will be challenged but it is not going to be me who will do it. Everyone alive today has been challenged by one infinitely greater in wisdom than I am…and he did it all thousands of years ago.
I am going to be presenting certain facts and you will then have the opportunity to accept them or to prove them wrong. I will be moving from step to step down that long dark highway I call doubt and I will be pointing out the signs that were left along the way by people long since dead; signs they were told to write for future generations to come, so that when WE traveled down this long dark highway, we would have a way of navigating through that darkness until we reached the crossroad that takes us directly into the presence of God. I am going to be showing you the map that God has given to this world to get from where we are, back to Eden.
I don't want to come across sounding arrogant and/or presumptuous; however, I do want to invite you to find flaws in my lines of reasoning. Trust me, I am just as willing to find them as you might be. If you are unable to find anything wrong with my reasoning then I hope you will also be willing to accept the inevitable conclusions to this search as I have.
I would like to present a book to you. This book has thin, onionskin pages; the edges of those pages are gold covered. When the book is closed it looks like a brick of gold, sandwiched between a black leather cover.
Great claims have been made for this book. Those who support it actually go so far as to say that it is the word of God. There are millions of people who have suffered the pain of torture and death rather than deny, or fail to follow, what is taught within its pages and I am certain, that at this moment, there are also millions more who would follow their example.
It is one thing to doubt the existence of God, but it is another thing to pass by a book that so many people have suffered and died for without giving it much more than a second glance, if you even give it that much of your attention. I would think it deserves a little more than that.
What is there within its pages that make it so believable to unknown millions of people? If we could ask it any question we wanted, what do you think it would say? Is it a magic book? Do we just ask a question, open it at random and expect to find our questions answered? I know people who look at it that way.
How many have actually read it from cover to cover? How many have even wanted to?
It is amazing to me that people who claim to be increasing in knowledge do not believe they need to spend their time reading a book that has given so many people hope and courage in their lives. It is also amazing that so many people will turn to advice columnists and psychics for answers to the problems in their lives and completely ignore a book that has a reputation for actually changing, for the better, the lives of the people who read it.
Go ahead and ask it a question. What kind of an answer do you think you will get in return? Should we question this book? Does it invite you to question it?
In 1 Thessalonians 5:21 it says, “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” I do not see anything to disagree with there, do you?
In Isaiah 1:18 we read, “’Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord.” He invites us to reason together. You have to admit to the fairness of that invitation.
How do you begin to test a book like the Bible? If there were statements inside of it that claimed to never be wrong then we might have found a place to start. What do the writers of the Bible have to say? Is there any way we can actually verify that what they have said is actually true? If we cannot verify what was said then how are we to believe it? Anyone could write something and then say it was from the Bible; right?
When I was much younger and just starting to question the existence of God I had believers tell me to just read the Bible and it would show me that God existed. My question to them was, "How can I read what is supposed to be the word of God when I do not even believe in God in the first place?" It was kind of like one of those what came first, chicken or egg type riddles when it came to God, and what was claimed to be the word of God.
In the New Testament, we can read where Peter, after spending time with Jesus, said he actually heard the voice of God speaking to Jesus, calling him his son. When Peter told of this experience, he said that there was something just as convincing as hearing the voice of God. He said, “And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place,” – 1 Peter 1:18, 19. What Peter is saying is: Yes, we actually heard God’s voice speaking to us from Heaven! All this happened right there on the mountain before our very eyes! But you have something just as sure as our report, the prophecies of the Old Testament, to which you would do well to pay attention. He goes on to say, “…no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” – 1 Peter 1:20, 21.
1 Thessalonians 5:20, 21 says: “Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good." We are being told to not just accept what is said, we are told to test ALL things.
Evidently there is something about prophecy that can convince people of God’s existence, just as completely as actually hearing his voice can.
Stop me if you have heard this one. A guy was climbing the face of a cliff. During the ascent, he lost his footing and fell. As he was falling he grabbed onto a small branch growing out of the side of the cliff and stopped his downward plunge. Now he was safe but stuck, he could not haul himself back up and he could not let go and try to climb down because the part of the cliff that he had fallen to was sheer and without handholds. In desperation he called out, "HELP! IS THERE ANYBODY UP THERE WHO CAN HELP ME?" Suddenly he heard a voice from above say, "It's OK my son, let go of the branch and you will be all right." The man said, "Who are you?" The voice from above said, "I am God, trust me and let go of the branch, you will be all right." The man paused for a few seconds before he said, "IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE UP THERE?"
You can hear a voice from heaven speak to you and say that they are God but does that mean they really are God? There has to be a way to prove that God exists and that is where prophecy enters the picture. Prophecy is nothing more than a foretelling of events before they actually happen. How is that possible?
Some people say that there is no such thing as real prophecy. They say that the facts are always twisted around to make them fit the prediction. If there is real harmony then it is purely coincidental, kind of like a person’s horoscope; they are written so that they will apply to just about anyone.
Horoscopes may be written that way but when it comes to Bible prophecy all of the bridges are burned behind it so that there is no turning back if what is said does not happen.
God says he is the only one who is able to foretell the future. “Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure, calling a bird of prey from the east; the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.’” - Isaiah 46:9-11. God even goes one step further when he challenges everyone else to foretell the future. He says, “Who is like me? Let him speak up? Who could have told all that would happen from the beginning of time to the end? If there is such a one, let him make his claim and tell us what will happen.” - Isaiah 44:7.
So far, God has made some rather plain and open statements. He has stated what he can do and has asked a few questions in case there is anyone else out there who claims to have the same ability to foretell future events. Here is where he rolls up his sleeves though and starts playing hardball.
He now challenges everyone else who makes that claim, “’Present your case,’ says the Lord. ‘Bring forth your strong reasons,’ says the King of Jacob. ‘Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; let them show the former things, what they were, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare to us things to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may be dismayed and see it together.’” - Isaiah 41:21-23.
How many supermarket tabloids have you read where someone who claims to have an inside track to God, or the supernatural, has mentioned what is going to happen in the future? Yes, we have all taken the time to scan the covers as we are waiting in the checkout line. Sometimes we have even been curious enough to read an article while waiting, or even buying the paper to see what the “prophets” have to say.
Let me ask you this; how accurate are these “prophets”? Are they right 25% of the time, 10% of the time, or even 2% of the time? Do you know anyone who is 100% accurate 100% of the time?
I am going to make a statement that some might think a bit bold, but I am only repeating the standard that God holds up for himself…and for anyone else who wants to forecast future events. If someone foretelling an event is not 100% right, then they are 100% wrong. If they are only 99% right, then they are 100% wrong.
Here is where God has burned the bridge behind him and has given you the opportunity to disprove his existence with a clear conscience. Do you hear and understand me on this one? There are two ways you can destroy belief in the existence of God and the validity of the Bible as his word. First, all you have to do is disprove the prophecies recorded in the Bible. Second, produce some other book containing 100% accurate prophecies. This has never been done as far as I know. Sure, there are those who have tried to explain away certain events in the Bible but they have not really proven them wrong.
Some people have pointed out prophecies that were never fulfilled. Which brings me to point out one of Gods rules; it is a rule of fairness and concern for those children of his that he loves and who he would really like to see continue living and not die.
Some prophecies are conditional and are easily distinguishable from "hard and fast" prophecies. The prophecy of Nineveh being destroyed in 40 days was one of those conditional prophecies. After Jonah had traveled through the city of Nineveh, making known the prophecy to everyone who lived there, the people of the city believed that God would do what he said. As a result, everyone, including the King, fasted, prayed, changed their ways and humbled themselves before God. "Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it." - Jonah 3:10. Much later, the people of Nineveh returned to their old ways. God once again said he would destroy the city but this time the people did not believe him and refused to change their ways of life. Nineveh is now nothing but ruins.
Those who are looking for a reason to not believe in God will place their doubts on those conditional prophecies. It is for that reason that I will not be bringing up conditional prophecy as proof of God's existence. What prophecy I do bring up will be straightforward, to the point and cannot be interpreted any other way than how it was specifically stated. Back to God's challenge…
Would you like to prove God wrong? It is well within your rights to try because he is asking you to challenge him, to test him and prove if he is right.
Herodotus tells the story of Croesus inquiring of the Oracles at Delphi. Croesus asked the oracles if he should go to war against the Persians. Both of the oracles replied that if Croesus attacked the Persians he would destroy a mighty empire... and he did…the Persians defeated HIM, so in effect Croesus did destroy a mighty empire…his own.
There are some people who say that prophecy was written after the fact and then dated for a time before the event took place, to make it appear that the prediction was accurate. The book of Daniel is said to have been written that way.
Like the Oracles at Delphi, many people say that Bible prophecy is entertaining and ingenious but not worth any serious consideration. It has all been said about Bible prophecy but Bible prophecy is like no other. If what is said does not happen, then there is no excuse for it.
To understand prophecy better we have to rely on not only what the prophet wrote but archaeology and history as well. By my understanding, most of the Bible’s prophecies have already been fulfilled so for most of what we are looking for we have to begin by digging into the past and seeing what we come up with. A good place to start digging would be with the ancient city of Tyre.
Did I just hear some of you learned ones groan out there? I know there are those of you who will scoff at the first few prophecies I am going to bring up. As I said, I have been where you are, so in many cases what you are thinking or saying is the same as what I used to think and say.
We will be starting out with some basic, rather "ordinary" prophecies first; just to get warmed up and get the feel for how prophecy works. Keep reading though, because later we will be going into the book of Daniel and you will not be able to misconstrue the prophetic history of his words.