The Fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy

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UPDATE 11-1-07 This article series is currently under construction and
will be completed by the end of November. My goal is to add a new
chapter weekly. I will list the update notices on the home page.

The outline we will be following for this discussion is as follows:
1) The Rebirth of Israel as a Nation
2) Daniel's 70 Weeks Prophecy
3) The Succession of World Governments
4) The Rise of Antiochus Epiphanes IV
5) Miscellaneous

ISRAEL TO BECOME A NATION IN ONE DAY
PROPHECY: "Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation
be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children." Isaiah 66:8
FULFILLMENT: We've all heard the expression, Rome wasn't built in a day yet this verse, while confessing the
absurdity of a nation being formed in one day, promises that Israel would again become a nation. The passage in
Isaiah leaves no room for doubt as to what this prophecy indicates. It specifically compares Israel (Zion) to a
woman in labor and clearly states the nation's rebirth will occur within a day. As promised, Israel did indeed
become a united, sovereign nation for the first time since the days of King Solomon in just one day: May 15,
1948. Throughout history, it has never been known for a people to have been dispersed for millenniums and to
later become united with their culture, religion, and language intact. Even more exciting, Christian apologist
Grant Jeffrey discovered passages that revealed when this would happen...

Skeptic Interjection: Doesn't the context of this passage refer to Israel during the Messianic kingdom?
Answer: The last several chapters in Isaiah refer to the Messianic era and the events leading up to that period.
The rebirth of Israel is often used by eschatologists to show that we are either in or rapidly approaching the end-
times. Though the 66th chapter of Isaiah clearly describes the earthly reign of the Messiah, it also speaks of the
preceding world events.

THE PRECISE YEAR FORETOLD
PROPHECY 1: "And this whole land shall be a desolation and astonishment. And these nations shall serve the
king of Babylon seventy years." Jeremiah 25:11
PROPHECY 2: "Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the
number of days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity,
according to the number of the days, 390 days so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when
you have completed them, lie again on your right site. Then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah for
40 days. I have laid on you a day for each year." Ezekiel 4:4-6

Jeremiah prophesied the Babylonian captivity would last exactly 70 years. Both biblical and secular history show
Babylon captured Israel in the spring of 606 B.C. and the captivity ended exactly 70 years later in the spring of
536 B.C. However God gave the prophet Ezekiel (a contemporary of Jeremiah) a vision that would extend much
farther into the future:

The verse preceding the commandment to Ezekiel (E zekiel 4:3) clearly states this prophecy will be a sign to
Israel. Verse 6 explains that each of the 430 days (390 days for Israel plus 40 days for Judah) represent one
year. However, at the end of the 70 year captivity we know only a portion of the exiled Jews decided to give up
their homes in Babylon to commit to the exhausting task of returning to and rebuilding Israel. The captives who
did remember their former home were now over 70 years old. Those born into captivity, had no attachments to
the old ways of their people and opted to stay in pagan Babylon.

We see in the above verses that God told Ezekiel the Jews would suffer for their iniquity for a total of 430 years.
Since they already served 70 years under Babylonian captivity, this still left a total of 360 years to suffer the
judgment that God had decreed. Yet history shows that after both 360 and 430 years, the Israelites still had no
homeland. The Bible makes it clear
this is because the Israelites did not repent after the 70 year captivity and continued in their disobedience against
God.

In the 26th chapter of Leviticus, God lists blessings and judgments for Israel based on their obedience and
disobedience. In this one passage alone, God tells the Israelites four times that if after receiving judgment the
people still do not repent for their sins, God will multiply or extend the original punishment by seven times:

“And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.” Leviticus 26:18

Because the Jews did not repent and turn to God after their captivity, the 360 remaining years would be
multiplied by seven, equaling a total of 2,520 biblical years the Jews would be left without an independent nation.
But in order to examine this prophecy, we need to understand the difference between biblical and solar years. In
the past, men have measured the years by seasons and lunar cycles consisting of 30 days each month. Today,
we know the earth completes its revolution around the sun every 365.25 days. But a Biblical, or prophetic, year
lasts 360 days. Although there are several verses that demonstrate this, let’s use Genesis 7:11 as compared to
Genesis 8:4 and Genesis 7:24 as compared to Genesis 8:3. These verses list the number of months and days
Noah endured the flood. The 150 days the flood waters existed lasted exactly five months from the 17th day of
the 2nd month, to the 17th day of the 7th month, resulting in 30 days per month, or 360 days a year.

We now know:

The Babylonian captivity ended in spring of the year 536 B.C.
The Israelites were to suffer 360 more years without a homeland.
Due to their disobedience, their judgment was extended to 2,520 years.

To calculate the prophecy, we need to perform the following steps:

To convert our 2,520 prophetic years into calendar years, we multiply 2,520 by the 360 days of the
prophetic year. Our answer is 907,200 days. We then divide 907,200 days by 365.25 (the length of a solar
year). Our answer is 2,483 calendar years.
We now want to subtract the year 536 B.C. (the year in which the Babylonian captivity ended) from our
2,483 years (keeping in mind there is no year 0 A.D.) Our answer is 1948- indeed, the year Israel was
reinstated as a nation.

THE REGATHERING OF THE ISRAELITES
PROPHECY: "The hand of the Lord was upon me and He set me in the middle of a valley full of bones. I saw a
great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. Then He said to me, 'Prophesy to these
bones and say to them, 'I will make breath enter you and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and
make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you
will know that I am the Lord.' And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came
together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was
no breath in them. Then He said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord
says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' So I prophesied as
he commanded me, and breath entered them. They came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army."

"Then He said to me: 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up
and our hope is gone. We are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'I am going to open your graves and
bring you up from them. I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I the Lord have
spoken, and I have done it. Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it: Belonging to Judah and the
Israelites associated with him. Then take another stick of wood, and write on it: Ephraim's stick, belonging to
Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him. Join them together into one stick so that they will become
one in your hand. I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all
around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of
Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two
kingdoms."

Note: Due to the length of this prophecy I paraphrased the content but the full context may be found in Ezekiel
37.

The above prophecy contains two parts: the physical reinstatement of Israel as a nation (which occurred in 1948)
and a spiritual revival that will occur in the future (during the Messianic kingdom). Again, no room is left for
interpretation as we are specifically told the bones represent Israel. God reveals to Ezekiel the precise
circumstances as to how this will occur:

The dispersed Israelites (the dry bones) will physically be brought back to their nation. This is represented
by the restructuring of the bones with tendons, flesh, and skin.
Israel will be a united kingdom. Israel had previously been divided into a northern and southern kingdom
(Israel and Judah). God is promising that once Israel is restored, it will be one nation (one stick). In 1948,
Israel indeed became a united nation for the first time in approximately 3000 years.
Still to come: Now that Israel has been physically restored, God promises a spiritual revival during the
Messianic era.

Once again, we have never seen a regathering of a nation where the religion, language, and culture withstood
the test of time. The Jewish dispersion began with the Roman invasion in 70 A.D. Almost 2,000 years later, they
were restored as a united nation.

NOTE: This prophecy is discussed in depth (complete with skeptic interjections) in this article concerning the
Messianic prophecies (See: The Messianic Timing). This is simply the "Cliff notes" version.

THE TIMING OF THE MESSIAH FORETOLD
PROPHECY: “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city... Know therefore and
understand this: from the
issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks
and sixty-two weeks... After sixty-two weeks the Messiah shall be cut off... And the people of the ruler who is to
come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary... Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week...”
Daniel 9:24-27
FULFILLMENT: This prophecy is known as Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy. Biblical scholars agree the interpretation
of the word week represents seven years. This comes from the Hebrew word for week (shabua) which literally
means seven. So seven sets of seven (49 years) added to sixty-two sets of seven (434 years) added to one
seven (7 years) gives us a total of 490 years. God reveals to Daniel 483 years would pass between the decree to
rebuild Jerusalem and the Messiah's death.

We see in the second chapter of Nehemiah it was in the month of Nisan in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes when
Nehemiah petitioned the king to rebuild Jerusalem. Artaxerxes agreed to issue him a letter of approval to rebuild
the city. From history, we know Artaxerxes ascended the throne in 465 B.C., making 444 B.C. the 20th year of
his reign.

Our prophecy in Daniel tells us there will be 483 prophetic years between the decree to restore Jerusalem and
the death of the Messiah. We now know:

A prophetic year is equivalent to 360 days.
There will be 483 prophetic years between the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and the execution of the
Messiah.
The decree to rebuild Jerusalem was issued in 444 B.C.
Jesus was crucified in approximately 33 A.D.
The solar-year difference between 444 B.C. and 33 A.D. is 476 years (Remember, there was no year 0 A.
D. so our answer is not 477 years).

Using this information, we can show how Daniel was able to precisely predict the year of the coming Messiah:

Since our difference between 444 B.C. and 33 A.D. is in modern solar years, we will need to convert the
amount into prophetic years by multiplying our 476 solar-year difference by 365.25 days (the amount of
time it takes our earth to fully revolve around the sun). We get 173,859 days as our answer.
Now take our 173,859 days and divide it by 360 to reach the amount of prophetic years. Our answer is
483 years.

Just like Daniel prophesied.

THE PROPHECY OF FOUR STATUES
PROPHECY: "You looked, Oh king, and there before you stood a large statue, an enormous dazzling statue,
awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and
thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay." Daniel 2:31-33

Daniel then goes on to interpret the dream:

"You are the head of gold. After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of
bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron- for iron breaks and
smashes everything- and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. Just as you
saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it
will have some strength of iron in it, even as you saw the iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron and
partly clay, to this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked
clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.” Daniel 2:38-
41

FULFILLMENT: The above verses describe the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, the ancient king of Babylon,
which was interpreted by the prophet Daniel. The Bible clearly states that this dream is a reference to a
procession of earthly kingdoms:

Babylon was the statue’s golden head, meaning that it would be greater than the other kingdoms.
The next kingdom was represented by a chest and arms of silver, signifying it would be a lesser kingdom
than Babylon.
The third kingdom would be represented by bronze and would be considered something of a one world
government.
The fourth kingdom is represented by iron and clay, signifying it will be an unstable government: strong,
yet weak due to its divided people.

As history shows, Daniel correctly predicted the order of the four kingdoms. However, not only was he able to list
the future kingdoms, he was also able to describe them in vivid detail. The following lists the sequence of the
kingdoms, references in Daniel which describes the kingdoms in detail, and what actually happened in history:

The present golden kingdom represented the Neo-Babylon Empire of 605-539 B.C. "...You are the head of
gold." Soon after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, the kingdom of Babylon quickly began its decline.
The next silver kingdom represented the inferior Medo-Persian Empire established by Cyrus in 539 B.C.
"Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." History shows that Cyrus overthrew the
Babylonian empire and immediately set up the Medo-Persian Empire.
The bronze kingdom represented the Greek Empire established by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C. "...
Then a mighty king will appear who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. After he has
appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to
his descendants..." History proves Daniel to be correct by showing that upon the death of Alexander the
Great, his kingdom did not go to his heirs but instead was divided among his four generals.
The fourth iron empire would become the Roman Empire which began around 67 B.C. "As iron breaks
things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. Just as you saw that the feet and toes were
partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom." Just like Daniel prophesied and
as history shows, the Roman Empire did indeed control the world such as no kingdom had ever done
before. However, just as iron and clay are unstable when mixed together, the Roman Empire was filled
with multiculturalism and division.

Biblical scholars believe that the kingdom of iron and clay is also symbolic of the end time’s one-world
government that the future anti-christ will establish. Daniel’s prophecy goes on to say that a giant rock which is
not man-made (representing God’s kingdom) will overthrow this kingdom of iron and clay to set up a heavenly
reign on the earth. This prophecy is retold in the Book of Revelation.

THE PROPHECY OF FOUR BEASTS
PROPHECY: "Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. The first was like a lion
and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it
stood on two feet like a man and the heart of a man was given to it. And there before me was a second beast
which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth.
It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’ After that, I looked and there before me was another beast, one
that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads and it
was given authority to rule. After that, in my vision at night, I looked and there before me was a fourth beast-
terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth. It crushed and devoured its victims and
trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts and it had ten horns." Daniel 7:
3-7
FULFILLMENT: Daniel, like Nebuchadnezzar, had his own vision about the four earthly kingdoms. He directly
interprets the creatures as governments in Daniel 7:17: The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise
from the earth. These kingdoms are described as coming out of the sea which is a prophetic metaphor for a large
group of people. Thus, these will be worldly governments as opposed to God’s holy reign at the end of the age.

Since we went over in detail the translation of these four kingdoms above, let's briefly analyze Daniel’s vision:

The lion with wings represented the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The tearing off of its wings represents the
mental illness that overtook Nebuchadnezzar later in his life.
The bear raised up on one side represents the Medo-Persian Empire, with Persia being the dominating
force over Media. The three ribs in its mouth could possibly represent its conquests of Babylon, Lydia, and
Egypt.
The leopard, an animal known for its speed, and the four wings represent the swiftness to which
Alexander ascended to power. The creature’s four heads represent the four kingdoms that his empire was
separated into upon his death.
The fourth beast, with iron teeth, represents the Roman Empire and is a possible reference to the future
kingdom of the coming Anti-Christ.

The following prophecies are taken from Daniel 11:5-32. Daniel was able to accurately foresee the events
centuries in advance which led to the rise of Antiochus with amazing precision.

PROPHECY: "The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger
than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power."
FULFILLMENT: The first king of the South is Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. The commander is Seleucus I Nicator.

PROPHECY: "After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king
of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those
days, she will be handed over, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her."
FULFILLMENT: Bernice, the daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, married Antiochus II Theos (the king of the
North) who divorced his previous wife, Laodice, to marry her. After the death Ptolemy II, Laodice killed Bernice,
Antiochus, and their son.

PROPHECY: "One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the
North and enter his fortress. He will fight against them and be victorious."
FULFILLMENT: The one from her family line is Bernice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes of Egypt who won a
victory over the king of the North, Seleucus II Callinicus.

PROPHECY: "He will also seize their gods, their metal images, and their valuable articles of silver and gold and
carry them off to Egypt. For some years, he will leave the king of the North alone"
FULFILLMENT: Ptolemy III did in fact take both the Syrian and Egyptian treasure previously taken by the
Persian King Cambyses when he conquered Egypt in 525 B.C. Ptolemy III then returned to Egypt and refrained
from any further attacks.

PROPHECY: "Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own
country."
FULFILLMENT: To recoup his losses, Seleucus tried to invade Egypt but failed miserably and was forced to
return home.

PROPHECY: "His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army which will sweep on like an irresistible
flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress. Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight
against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. When the army is carried off,
the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain
triumphant."
FULFILLMENT: The two sons of Seleucus II were Seleucus III Ceraunus and Antiochus III the Great. Antiochus
II was defeated by Ptolemy IV Philopater with the loss of almost 10,000 Syrian soldiers at the Raphian fortress in
southern Palestine.

PROPHECY: "The invader will do as he pleases. No one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself
in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus III attacked Egypt in 200 B.C. but was crushed by the king of the South, Ptolemy V
Epiphanes. Antiochus conquered Sidon and by 197 B.C., had taken control of Palestine.

PROPHECY: "He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the
king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans
will not succeed or help him. After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble
and fall to be seen no more."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus III made a peace treaty with Egypt in 194 B.C. and gave his daughter Cleopatra I as
a wife to Ptolemy V. Antiochus III moved north but was defeated in Asia Minor in 190 B.C. He was later killed
upon attempting to plunder the pagan temple of Elymais.

PROPHECY: "His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however,
he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle."
FULFILLMENT: Seleucus IV Philopater was killed by Heliodorus, his own finance minister who had arranged the
murder.

PROPHECY: "He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will
invade the kingdom when its people feel secure and will seize it through intrigue."
FULFILLMENT: The preceding verses have all been leading up to the arrival of this "contemptible person" who
would come to be Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the brother of Seleucus IV. He stole the throne that rightfully belonged
to the son of Seleucus IV.

PROPHECY: "Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him. Both it and a prince of the covenant
will be destroyed."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus murdered the prince of the covenant Onias, the high priest, in 170 B.C.

PROPHECY: "After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will
rise to power. When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his
fathers nor his forefathers did..."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus made treaties with other nations through intrigue and deceit. He supported Ptolemy
Philometor against Ptolemy Euergetes for selfish reasons and made unexpected attacks on rich cities in times of
peace.

PROPHECY: "With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of
the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army but he will not be able to stand because of the plots
devised against him. The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealthy..."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus' attacks on Egypt were successful due to his deceitful campaigns of turning certain
leaders against other leaders. Because of this tactic, he was able to plunder Egypt and return home with great
wealth.

PROPHECY: "...But his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return
to his own country."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus developed a hatred of the Jewish people and their law (the holy covenant). He
believed Greek culture was superior to all others and despised the Jews for their religion, language, and customs.

PROPHECY: "At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different
from what it was before. Ships of the western coast lands will oppose him and he will lose heart..."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus invaded Egypt again but this time was unsuccessful when the ships of the western
coast lands defeated him.

PROPHECY: "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice.
Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation."
FULFILLMENT: Antiochus marched into Jerusalem, desecrated the temple by offering a pig on the temple alter,
stopped the daily sacrifices, and set up an image of the Greek god Zeus.

PROPHECY: "Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to
those who forsake the holy covenant. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the
people who know their God will firmly resist him."FULFILLMENT: Antiochus persecuted the Jews until many
finally submitted themselves to Greek culture and religion. Though the persecution continued, the faithful Jews
under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus waged warfare against him. Due to the resistance, Antiochus finally
retreated and the temple was restored.

CONCLUSION: This detailed prophecy served as a warning to future Jews that a tyrant would eventually appear
on the scene. This tyrant was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, as history shows.

Skeptic Interjection: Could the Daniel have been written after these events or could this account have been
added to the existing text?
Answer: The Book of Daniel is one of the most heatedly debated books of the Bible due to its prophetic
accuracy. I have heard a few critics say that to accept an early authorship of Daniel would be to accept the
existence of the Christian God. Because the detailed predictions were fulfilled to the letter, some believe these
events were recorded as history instead of prophecy. Because we will be discussing the Book of Daniel in the
future, we'll briefly touch on some of the points which provide evidence that a 6th century B.C. dating for these
passages is possible. Though the above prophecies were completed with the rise of Antiochus, Daniel uses the
tyrant to allude to a ruler that will arise in the distant future (believed to be the end-times Anti-Christ). When we
read further into the book of Daniel, we can see that the ruler mentioned in Daniel 11:36-45 and Daniel 8:9-12
does not fit Antiochus for a number of reasons:

Antiochus did not "magnify himself above every god" nor did he "forsake the gods of his fathers." On the
contrary, his main purpose in persecuting the Jews was to force them to accept the Greek gods.
Antiochus did not destroy the temple. Though he desecrated the temple, it is was not destroyed until 70 A.
D. It is also believed the Jewish temple will one day be rebuilt in the end times.
The future tyrant is described as showing no regard [desire] for women. Some interpret this passage as
referring to a homosexual while others feel the anti-Christ's lust for power will override his physical
desires. But from what we know about Antiochus, neither of these descriptions are applicable.
Antiochus' military conquests do not match the feats described of the future ruler.

In summary, if the author of Daniel had been recording history instead of prophecy, he certainly had his facts
skewed. The author clearly uses Antiochus as a foreshadowing of this end-times ruler but history makes it certain
that many prophecies were not fulfilled at the time.

THE RISE OF KING CYRUS

PROPHECY: "Who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please. He will say of
Jerusalem, 'Let it be rebuilt,' and of the temple, 'Let its foundations be laid.'" Isaiah 44:28
PROPHECY: "This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue
nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut."
Isaiah 45:1

Isaiah was able to foresee the reign of King Cyrus 150 years before he was born and was able to describe him
by name.

THE SURVIVAL OF GOD'S WORD

PROPHECY: "Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." Mark 13:31
FULFILLMENT: Jesus proclaimed this very bold statement approximately 2000 years ago. His words could have
easily passed into obscurity yet the Scriptures have survived immense persecution throughout history. From
ancient Roman emperors to modern communist countries, enemies have tried to ban, seize, burn, and destroy
the Holy Scriptures. What other author, philosopher, or orator in history has made such a confident claim and
come to be correct? No other book even begins to compare to the Bible in terms of circulation, distribution, and
number of translation.

THE ENEMIES OF ISRAEL

PROPHECY: "See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire
against your people. They plot against those you love. Come, they say, let us destroy them as a nation that the
name of Israel be remembered no more. With one mind they plot together. They form an alliance against you.
The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia, with the
people of Tyre. Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendants of Lot." Psalms 83:2-8
FULFILLMENT: Three thousand years ago, King David, the author of the Psalms, prophesied that once Israel
was reborn as a nation, it would immediately be surrounded by enemies. David even went on to name the
countries that would declare themselves enemies of Israel. Though these verses use ancient titles, these
countries today include the Arab nations of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.

THE FALL OF TYRE

PROPHECY: 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. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers. I will
scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for
I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, and her settlements on the
mainland will be ravaged by the sword. 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. 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 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. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I make you a
desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths over you and its vast waters
cover you. I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you will never again
be found, declares the Sovereign Lord."

Note: The full context of the above passage is the entire chapter of Ezekiel 26 (it has been paraphrased due to its
length).

The ancient city of Tyre was a prominent center of commerce. Because of its hostility towards the Jews, God
promised the city would come to ruin under in the following fashion:

Instead of suffering an immediate destruction, the demise of Tyre is compared to the waves of the sea. In
other words, the city would gradually be destroyed over time (as compared to a sudden destruction like
Sodom and Gomorrah).
The city would be ruined by a succession of invasions and wars with various kingdoms. The first blow
indeed came in the form of the Babylonian invasion lead by Nebuchadnezzar in 6th century B.C., followed
by the siege led by Alexander the Great in 4th century B.C., and ultimately the Muslim invasion of the
13th century A.D.
These series of invasions eventually lead to Tyre's destruction.

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