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This chapter is from a copyright book, 100 Prophecies, by Ray Konig. It is reprinted here with permission from the author. The new and expanded version of this book, now called 100 Fulfilled Bible Prophecies, is available at Amazon.com.
The Bible contains many prophecies regarding the land and people of Israel, the nations surrounding Israel, the future of the world, and the Messiah who would suffer and die for our sins and reign forever as king. This chapter reviews 10 selected prophecies that have had far-reaching fulfillments, many of which are visible and evident to people throughout the world today.
Bible passages: Psalm 48:10; Psalm 22:27; Isaiah 45:22
Written: More than 2,000 years ago
Why is it that the Bible became the world's most widely distributed and most influential book of all time?
What are the odds that a religious text written by a small nation of people would end up shaping the world more than any other book, by any other people, from any other place in the world?
If all things were governed merely by chance, then shouldn't the odds have favored a more ancient society, like that of Egypt, to be the source of the world's most influential book?
Or shouldn't the odds have favored a book from Mesopotamia, a region in western Asia, which is said to be the very cradle of civilization?
Or why not a book from the other side of Asia, which is home to two of the world's oldest and most populous nations - China and India?
Instead, the world's most influential book comes from a tiny nation of people, the people of Israel, who from the time of Moses, until the century in which Jesus lived, were inspired by God to write down the words of the Bible. And these words include assurances and prophecies that information about God would reach the ends of the earth.
We see this in Psalm 48:10, where there is a reference to God being known and praised throughout the world:
According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness. (Psalm 48:10, KJV)
We see this also in Psalm 22:27:
All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. (Psalm 22:27, KJV)
And we see this in Isaiah 45:22, where the offer of salvation is shown to be for all people, throughout the world:
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:22, KJV)
And there are other examples, some of which are discussed elsewhere in this book, that say that God, and his offer of salvation, would become known throughout the world.
Through the spread of Christianity, the Bible became the first religious text to be distributed throughout the world. The Bible, according to commonly used almanac and encyclopedia sources, is the predominant religious text in Europe, Oceania, North America and South America. At least some of these sources of information claim that it also is the predominant religious text in Africa. And, it has an influential presence in Asia, especially in Armenia, East Timor, the nation of Georgia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea, and Israel, which is the birthplace of Jesus.
Bible passage: Isaiah 48:5,6
Written: About 2,700 years ago
Of all the religious texts that have ever been written, the Bible is unique to the extent to which it contains prophecies, and it is unique to the extent to which people associate it with prophecy.
During Biblical times, God chose prophets from among the people of Israel and gave them prophecies - promises - about the future. Through prophecy, God showed that he is in control.
In a passage within the Bible's book of Isaiah, where God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God asserts his ability to foretell the future:
I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. (Isaiah 48:5-6, KJV)
According to some estimates, there are about 2,000 prophecies within the Bible.
At least one scholar, J. Barton Payne, has proposed a specific number in the counting of Bible prophecies. In Payne's Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy, there is a given total of 1,817 Biblical prophecies. That book also proposes that about one-fourth of the Bible's verses contain prophetic content.
Bible passage: Genesis 15:18
Written: As early as 1400 BC, about 3,400 years ago
The Bible's book of Genesis contains prophecies about what has become the most famous promise of land that the ancient world has to offer.
Shortly after God promises Abraham that he would become patriarch to an uncountable number of descendants (Genesis 15:5), he also promises Abraham that his descendants would inherit the land on which Abraham was standing:
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: (Genesis 15:18, KJV)
The promise is later passed on through Abraham's son, Isaac, and then through Abraham's grandson, Jacob (Genesis 35:12). Jacob, who later became known as Israel, was the father of 12 sons who became the fathers of the 12 Tribes of Israel.
This prophecy found fulfillment during ancient times. As told in the Bible's book of Joshua, the Israelites conquered portions of the land of Canaan, which became known as Israel, about 3,400 years ago. Centuries later, King David extended the boundaries of Israel.
Bible passages: Several, including Deuteronomy 28
Written: Deuteronomy is attributed to Moses who lived about 3,400 years ago
Many prophecies in the Bible addressed the land and people of Israel. These prophecies are scattered throughout the Bible, in both the Old Testament and New Testament. As a group, these prophecies foretold a cycle of destruction and restoration, involving a variety of events such as:
1. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. (Micah 3:11,12; Daniel 9:26; Luke 21:5,6).
2. The exile of the people of Israel. (Deuteronomy 4:25-27; Deuteronomy 28:36,37; Hosea 9:17).
3. The scattering of the exiles to places throughout the world. (Luke 21:24; Leviticus 26:33; Deuteronomy 28:64).
4. The desolation of the land of Israel. (Leviticus 26:27-33; Deuteronomy 29:23).
5. The persecution of the exiles of Israel. (Deuteronomy 28:37; Deuteronomy 28:65-67).
6. The preservation of the people of Israel. (Jeremiah 30:11).
7. The re-gathering of the people of Israel. (Jeremiah 32:37-41; Isaiah 43:5,6).
8. The restoration of Israel. (Deuteronomy 30:3-5; Ezekiel 36:8-12).
Israel experienced a cycle of destruction and restoration during ancient times, after the Israelites took control of the land about 3,400 years ago.
Internal strife led to the nation splitting up into two kingdoms about 2,900 years ago. The southern kingdom became known as Judah. The northern kingdom retained the name of Israel.
Both kingdoms later fell to invading armies. The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom about 2,700 years ago, and the Babylonians conquered Judah about 2,600 years ago.
In both instances, many people were forced out of their homeland and into exile. But after the fall of the Neo-Babylonian empire, some exiles began returning to the land of Israel, rebuilding its fallen cities and restoring its land.
By the time of Jesus about 2,000 years ago, Jerusalem was a vibrant city and the Temple had been restored in grand fashion.
Some of the prophecies mentioned above are discussed in greater detail elsewhere in this book.
Bible passage: Zephaniah 2:4-10
Written: About 2,600 years ago
There are many prophecies in the Bible that foretold the demise of various nations that were located near the land of Israel during ancient times.
One example can be found in Zephaniah 2:4-10. There, the prophet Zephaniah proclaimed that Moab, Ammon, and Philistia would be destroyed.
In verse 9, we are told that Moab and Ammon, which were east of the Jordan River, would be utterly destroyed, like the more ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
In verses 4-6, we are told that the people of Philistia would be wiped out. Philistia, which included the cities of Gaza and Ashkelon, bordered Israel and was on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Since the time of Zephaniah, who lived about 2,600 years ago, these nations have lost their sovereignty, culture, and language, as well as their identity as distinct groups of people.
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Here is Zephaniah 2:4-10 (KJV):
4For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
5Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.
6And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
7And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.
8I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.
9Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
10This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.
Bible passage: Genesis 17:5
Written: As early as 1400 BC, about 3,400 years ago
In the Bible's book of Genesis, we are given a prophecy involving a man who has become revered as a father of many nations.
His name was Abram, which was later changed to Abraham, and many details of his life are recorded in the Bible's book of Genesis. In chapter 12, we are told that God had spoken to Abram, telling him to leave his people and his country:
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (Genesis 12:1-2, KJV)
Abram did as he was told and traveled from the land of the Chaldeans to the land of Canaan, which would later become known as Israel. God gave him a promise that he would become the "father of many," indicating that he would be blessed with many descendants:
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. (Genesis 17:5, KJV)
The name Abraham means "father of many."
Today, Abraham is revered among millions of people as a common ancestor through blood. Many Jews revere him as a forefather through his son Isaac. Many Arabs revere him as a forefather through his son Ishmael.
And many Christians revere him as a spiritual ancestor by sharing his faith:
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (Romans 4:16, KJV)
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29, KJV)
One of the noteworthy features of the prophecy found in Genesis 17:5 is the extent of its fulfillment: Abraham, more so than any other person in history, is widely revered as a common ancestor by many different groups of people in many nations throughout the world.
History has provided other examples of people being widely regarded as common ancestors, although not to the same extent as Abraham. Two notable examples include Confucius, a Chinese philosopher who lived about 2,500 years ago, and Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, who lived about 800 years ago.
One estimate claims that nearly 3 million people are descendants of Confucius:
There are an estimated 2.5 million descendants on the Chinese mainland and 100,000 in the Republic of Korea, with the rest in the United States, Malaysia and Singapore.
- "DNA test to clarify Confucius confusion," China Daily, via http://english.peopledaily.com.cn, June 20, 2006.
As for Khan, he might have more than 16 million descendants:
An international group of geneticists studying Y-chromosome data have found that nearly 8 percent of the men living in the region of the former Mongol empire carry y-chromosomes that are nearly identical. That translates to 0.5 percent of the male population in the world, or roughly 16 million descendants living today.
- "Genghis Khan," National Geographic News, by Hillary Mayell, Feb. 14, 2003.
As impressive as these examples are, the descendants of Confucius and Khan are far more limited in number, geographic distribution, and in racial diversity, than are the descendants of Abraham, who number well into the hundreds of millions of people all over the world by faith and by blood.
Bible passage: Isaiah 42:1-9
Written: About 2,700 years ago
The Old Testament of the Bible contains many prophecies about a Messiah. One scholar, Alfred Edersheim, concluded that there are at least 456 passages in the Old Testament that Jewish Rabbis have interpreted as being about the Messiah:
Their number amounts to upwards of 456 (75 from the Pentateuch, 243 from the Prophets, and 138 from the Hagiographa), and their Messianic application is supported by more than 558 references to the most ancient Rabbinic writings.
- Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.
The word Pentateuch refers to the first five books of the Old Testament. The words Prophets and Hagiographa refer to other portions of the Old Testament. Edersheim was a Jewish convert to Christianity who lived during the 1800s.
One example of a Messianic prophecy can be found in Isaiah 42:1-9. There, the prophet Isaiah, who lived about 700 years before Jesus was born, spoke of a servant of God who would become a light for the Gentiles (non-Israelites) and bring justice to the nations.
This prophecy also described the servant as being gentle and meek (verse 2) and yet having a far-reaching impact, on people throughout the world (verses 1, 4 and 6).
From other chapters of Isaiah, and from other prophecies within the Bible, we learn that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), that he would suffer and die for the sins of others (Isaiah 52:13-53:12), and that he would be eternal (2 Samuel 7:16 and Isaiah 9:6,7).
Jesus is the only person in history who is widely accepted as being the fulfillment of these Bible prophecies.
Christians believe that Jesus, in accordance with other prophecies in the Bible, is to return in the future when he will judge the living and the dead.
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Here is Isaiah 42:1-9 (KJV):
1Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
2He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
3A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
5Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
6I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
7To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
8I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
9Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Bible passages: Micah 5:4; Isaiah 49:6; Acts 1:8
Written: The Old Testament books of Micah and Isaiah were written about 2,700 years ago. The New Testament book of Acts was written during the first century of this era.
There are various prophecies in the Bible that indicate that the Messiah would be known by people far beyond the boundaries of Israel, that he would affect people throughout the world.
In the Old Testament book of Micah, for example, there is a prophecy about the Messiah that says:
And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. (Micah 5:4, KJV)
Another example can be found in the book of Isaiah, where God reveals the impact that the Messiah would have:
And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6, KJV)
About 700 years after the time of the prophets Micah and Isaiah, Jesus was born in the land of Israel. He began his ministry when he was about 30 years old and he proclaimed that he was the Messiah who had been promised by the prophets of the Old Testament.
Jesus also revealed that his followers, who were evangelizing to others about Jesus, would be successful in reaching people throughout the world:
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8, KJV)
Jesus' followers risked their lives to tell others about Jesus and of the salvation that is found in him. Jesus' followers traveled throughout the Roman Empire, where Christianity was not a legally recognized religion, and beyond. They preached to people throughout parts of Africa, Asia and Europe. From there, Christianity eventually spread to the world's other continents and islands.
The extent to which Jesus is internationally known is unprecedented. Christianity has a widespread, historically influential presence on each of the world's inhabitable continents.
Bible passage: Matthew 5:17
Written: During the first century AD, about 2,000 years ago
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus proclaimed that he is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (Matthew 5:17, KJV)
He made similar announcements during other times of his ministry about 2,000 years ago, as recorded in the New Testament. One example can be found in John 4:25,26, where Jesus informed a Samaritan woman that he is the Messiah. Another example can be found in Luke 24:44, where Jesus again spoke of being the subject of Old Testament prophecy.
The Old Testament was written over a period of time that lasted as many as a thousand years, from the time of Moses, who lived about 3,400 years ago, until the time of Malachi, who lived about 2,400 years ago. During that time, Moses, Malachi, and many other Bible prophets gave prophecies involving a Messiah.
Although many people throughout history have claimed to be the Messiah, none, other than Jesus, were able to be taken seriously as being the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about a Messiah.
The Old Testament contains as many as a thousand years worth of prophecy about a Messiah, and Jesus is unique to the extent to which he is acknowledged as being the fulfillment of those promises.
Jesus is also unique to the extent to which his followers were willing to tell others about him, even at the risk of death. His followers wrote the 27 books of the New Testament, during the first century of this era, which is the century in which Jesus lived. The New Testament explains the life, mission, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah.
Bible passages: Several throughout the New Testament
Written: The New Testament was written during the first century of this era, about 2,000 years ago
Aside from being the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, Jesus also gave prophecies.
He gave prophecies about himself, including that he would be rejected, executed, and resurrected.
He gave prophecies about his followers, including that they would be persecuted and that they would be successful in preaching the Gospel throughout the world.
He also gave prophecies involving his homeland, including that Jerusalem would be destroyed, that the Temple would be demolished, and that the Jews would be forced into exile and scattered throughout the nations.
And he gave prophecies about the future, including that his words would persevere and that he would return again in the future.
These examples and others are explained in more detail elsewhere in this book.
This chapter is from a copyright book, 100 Prophecies, by Ray Konig. It is reprinted here with permission from the author. The new and expanded version of this book, now called 100 Fulfilled Bible Prophecies, is available at Amazon.com.