by Tom Wacaster
Rex Turner, in his book Systematic Theology, has correctly pointed out: "Predictive prophecy is the highest evidence of divine revelation. The one thing that a mortal man cannot do is to know and report future events in the absence of a train of circumstances that naturally suggest certain possibilities, but even then that person is very dependent upon the constancy of the cause and effect from which he has based his predictions and/or conclusions" (Rex Turner, page 12). Dozens, if not hundreds of so-called "prophets" have come and gone over the centuries. Some of these false prophets are mentioned in the Old Testament by name, and warnings abound in both Old and New Testaments as to the futility and danger of following false prophets in any generation. Yet in spite of the warnings and the ultimate end of both the deceiver and the deceived, multitudes continue to entrust their souls to men who claim to know the "signs of the times" and use their canny ability to sway the multitudes to gain a following.
In the early 90's when the door first opened into Russia we had what seemed unlimited opportunities to preach and teach the gospel to university students from one end of that country to the other. My own personal experience can attest to the interest, and the gullibility, of a generation whose knowledge of God was lacking. It seems that almost every where I went someone would ask a question having to do with Nostradamus, or some "modern-day" prophet who was evidently well known among those whom we had opportunity to teach. Occasionally we would come across a reference to some prophetic statement that did, indeed, come to pass. I would classify these as mere "guesses" that out of sheer circumstance came to pass as predicted. I would add, however, that such self claimed 'prophecies' did not come close to the nature of prophecies we read about in the Bible. The Bible contains prophecies about places, nations, lands, and even individuals. In every case of genuine prophecy the thing prophesied came to pass exactly as stated by the prophet. It is the amazing accuracy of Bible prophecy that makes it stand in stark contrast to the so-called "prophecies" of men. One author focused on this characteristic of Bible prophecy. He wrote that Bible prophecy is "a miracle of knowledge, a declaration or representation of some thing future, beyond the power of human sagacity to discern or to calculate" (An Introduction to the Critical Study of the Scriptures, page 272). The power of such predictive prophecy is an argument used by God Himself. Through Isaiah God challenged the false prophets with these words: "Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come" (Isa. 41:21-22). He even warned that if a prophet spoke and the "thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not spoken: the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him" (Deut. 18:20-22). The life a false prophet was short lived because his punishment was immediate stoning. Among other things this assured that a false prophet would not have an audience more than once. What, then, distinguishes false prophecies from genuine Biblical prophecies? Here are some characteristics of genuine Bible prophecies.
First, Biblical prophecy was always stated in clear, unmistakable and understandable terms. In his book, The Dawn of Belief, Roger Dickson noted: "Prophecies must be sufficiently clear in order for the observer to be able to link pronouncement with fulfillment. If a prophecy is not understandable enough so as to allow the observer to depict its fulfillment, then what good would the prophecy be" (page 346). Vague generalities in advance of what simple observation might predict is not Bible prophecy. The so-called prophecies of Nostradamus are a good example of the absence of this distinctive trait found in Bible prophecy. Nostradamus was a French astrologer who lived in the 16th century. In 1555 he published a book of "prophecies" under the title Centuries. One of the reasons for the success of Nostradamus' prophetic writings was the vagueness of his writing. Had Nostradamus attempted to be more specific in his prophetic utterances he would have been immediately recognized as a false prophet. Referring to Nostradamus Wayne Jackson pointed out: "The verses are deliberately obscure. Couched in a French that was already archaic in the sixteenth century, they are interlarded with words from other languages, as well as with anagrams, obscure images, and terms the seer apparently invented" (Christian Courier, July 7, 1993, page 3). I don't know who wrote these words, but they are certainly applicable here: "Arrows shot in all directions, even in the dark, are bound to hit something occasionally." Such was the case with the vague and more-often-than-not confusing language of Nostradamus.
Second, Biblical prophecy must have proper timing so as to classify it as genuine prophecy. As brother Jackson observed, "the oracle must significantly precede the person or event described" so as to "preclude the possibility of an educated guess" (Essays in Apologetics, Volume IV, page 155). Sometimes prophecy is used without regard to the time element; this is because prophetic statements are sometimes based on the condition of repentance and/or faithfulness on the part of those with whom the prophecy has to do. For example, it was prophesied that God would make a great nation of the seed of Abraham, but a specific time element is not provided. But on those occasions when a specific time frame is mentioned in the prophecy, the details are so precise that it precludes guess work. Take as an example the prophecy of Cyrus in Isaiah 44:28: "That said of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundations shall be laid." Those words were recorded more than 150 years before Cyrus was even born! That, my friend, is predictive prophecy!
Third, there must be an exact, identifiable fulfillment of the prophecy. It is not enough to simply claim that one event is the fulfillment of some statement made previously; it must be evident and observable. The case of Cyrus mentioned above is one such example. Another example is the prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the life of the Savior. Here are but a few examples of precise, predictive prophecies of the Christ, each one fulfilled as promised: He would be a man of sorrows (Isa 53:2), upon Him stripes would be laid (Isa. 53:5), He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12), He would be spit upon (Isa 50:6), He would be born in the town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), die with transgressors (Isa 53:12), and be buried in a rich man's tomb (Isa 53:9). He would be of the tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10), born of a virgin (Isa 7:14), of the seed of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3), and a prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:18-19). There are more than 330 prophecies of the Messiah, and every single one of them was fulfilled without any question whatsoever as to the connection of the prophecy and fulfillment.
These are but a few of the unique marks of Biblical prophecy. They are sufficient, however, to put the Bible into a class of its own, unequalled by so-called modern day prophetic utterances.