Christians like to make a really big deal out of Bible prophecy because they think it proves the truth of the Bible. But if we look at Bible prophecy honestly, it's not very impressive and it doesn't speak about the distant future or our current day at all.
One major problem with biblical prophecy is that it is vague and nonspecific. That reality has had Christians trying to match their current events to the vague prophecies of the Bible for centuries, and of course they are wrong today just like they have been for centuries now.
Let's take a look at Isaiah 66:8, which is about the rebirth of the nation of Israel in a single day.
Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.
My question is what is so special about a nation being born in one day? ALL nations have been born that way. The United States, for example, didn't exist yet on July 3, 1776. But one day later, on July 4th, the nation was born. Was that a miracle? No, of course not. Lots of things happen over the course of a single day, not just the birth of nations.
What about the prophecy of Elam that Bible prophecy teacher Bill Salus is making such a big deal about right now? It's found in Jeremiah 49.
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘Behold, I will break the [a]bow of Elam,
The foremost of their might.
36 Against Elam I will bring the four winds
From the four quarters of heaven,
And scatter them toward all those winds;
There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.
37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies
And before those who seek their life.
I will bring disaster upon them,
My fierce anger,’ says the Lord;
‘And I will send the sword after them
Until I have consumed them.
38 I will set My throne in Elam,
And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the Lord.
39 ‘But it shall come to pass in the latter days:
I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the Lord.”
When read in context, which is critically important, this passage of Scripture says absolutely nothing about our current day, and it certainly doesn't say anything about a nuclear disaster occurring at any time in history, which is what Bill Salus is claiming, our current day included. Like all biblical prophecy, this passage speaks of the times in which it was written and it says absolutely nothing about the distant future.
Now let's consider Isaiah 17:1, which is about the destruction of the city of Damascus, and Christians today are trying to make it speak about our current day. Here it is in context:
The burden[a] against Damascus.
“Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city,
And it will be a ruinous heap.
2 [b]The cities of Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks
Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid.
3 The fortress also will cease from Ephraim,
The kingdom from Damascus,
And the remnant of Syria;
They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
4 “In that day it shall come to pass
That the glory of Jacob will [c]wane,
And the fatness of his flesh grow lean.
This biblical prophecy, when read in context, is clearly about the times in which it was written, not the distant future. Yet Damascus has been inhabited continuously now for thousands of years. Christians today rip verse 1 out of context and try to make it about our current day. But this is an egregious abuse of the text. The Bible says absolutely nothing about our current day, and that includes the Book of Isaiah.
What about Old Testament prophecies that are supposedly about Jesus? The authors of the four gospels, whoever they were since these books were written anonymously, mined the Old Testament for scriptures that they believed could refer to Jesus Christ. But mining the OT for possible references to Jesus while writing a gospel about him is not writing or fulfilling prophecy. It's trying to make the Bible say what you want it to instead of reading it plainly and honestly. There are supposedly over 300 prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament, but every single one of them has been mined and the attempt has been made to make them apply to Jesus Christ. These scriptures, when read in context, do not speak about Jesus or anyone else in the then distant future.
And the problems with the New Testament are numerous. I challenge you to go look up these prophecies that are supposedly about Jesus and read them in the Old Testament in context and then ask yourself if they really apply to a man who wouldn't be born for hundreds of years. Google the problems with the genealogical accounts written in the gospels. There are prophecies that are misapplied or that are nonexistent, such as the claim that Jesus would be called a Nazarene, yet that is found nowhere in Scripture.
The Book of Revelation is also not about our current day. Jesus is supposedly coming soon, and there is no way to make "soon" mean 2000 years in the future. And the book speaks of wars fought with ancient weapons and blood shed up to the horse's bridles. Yet modern wars are not fought with horses and ancient weapons.
Getting back to Jesus for a moment, Christians love to point to Isaiah 53 as a perfect depiction of Jesus that was written hundreds of years before he was born. But what do the Jewish people think about their own scriptures as opposed to what Christians claim? I offer this video for your consideration:
I could write much more on this subject because it is so important and Christians use it to try to prove the truth of the Bible. But I think I have made my point. If Bible prophecy was specific, such as predicting that on August 24, 2024, some major world event will happen and then indeed it does, that would be very impressive. But all we have with the Bible is vague, nonspecific prophecies that have been recycled over and over again by each generation of Christians who want the Bible to be speaking about their current day. Study what the Jews have to say about their own scriptures and read honest Bible scholars such as Bart Ehrman whose recent book on Revelation is excellent and highly recommended. Like I said, I could write much more on this subject, but I will leave it at that for now.
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