Chapter 4 - The Prophetic Jesus
09/15/2008 ©Charles Germany

One of the more controversial topics pertaining to Jesus are the passages of biblical text that his followers believe are prophetic or predictive of his ministry. These passages are rejected by skeptics because they conclude that it is impossible to predict the future. They are often rejected by the religious because they do not support certain ideologies that relate to the observer's perspective. Let's look at the Prophetic Jesus from two perspectives: what Jesus said about prophets and prophecy and what prophets and prophecy have said about him.

In truth, we are surrounded in modern times by many mystics and gurus that claim to have the ability to predict the future. They are often exposed as charlatans and cons. Some speak in ambiguous generalizations that can be easily reinterpreted. Then when events don't go as expected, the "prophet" can reinterpret the vague words of their prediction to line up with reality. Presto! - they create the illusion that they have "prophesied". On the other side of the coin, there are those who have made predictions with precise details centuries before those predictions were later fulfilled. It is difficult to dismiss these events as mere coincidence.

What Jesus Said About Prophets and Predictions That Never Came True

While many charlatans use ambiguous and vague wording that may be reinterpreted as "fulfilled" prophecy later, there are some prophets who attempt to make precise predictions and are subsequently proven wrong. Jesus himself said that no one could predict the time of his return or the end of the age (Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32-33). Yet disregarding Jesus' warning, false prophets have "predicted" things throughout time. History is cluttered with those who have made predictions of events that never happened. According to sacred Jewish and Christian texts, under Moses there is but one test for a prophet: if what they say comes to pass they are a true prophet, but if it does not then they are false (Deuteronomy 18:22).

Edgar Whisenant wrote "88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 1988". In the book he predicted that the Christian "rapture" would take place during Rosh Hashanah between September 11 and September 13, 1988. The term "rapture" is not actually found in the Bible, but is a word used to describe what Christians believe about their departure from earth and the coming of the Messiah due to several passages in multiple texts. It is evident now in 2008, 20 years later, that this particular "prophet" was not accurate in his predictions. By setting a date and year he was contradicting the words of Jesus who said that no one could know the day or hour, as mentioned previously. However, this did not stop the gullible from purchasing more than 4.5 million copies of his book and making the publishers a considerable sum of money.

More than a century ago William Miller predicted that Christ would return between 1843 and 1844. People panicked, quit their jobs and sold their possessions to prepare for the end. It didn't come. In more modern times, pastor John Hinkle of Christ Church in L.A. appeared on TBN and prophesied that on June 9, 1994 a super-cataclysmic event would occur and God would "rip the evil out of this world". To my knowledge, nothing eventful happened.

In 2001 Sun Magazine reported that Noah's Ark had been found. In it scrolls were found dating the end of the earth at January 21, 2001. Arnie Stanton predicted the Messiah would return in 2004 due to astrological events related to the asteroid Toutatis. A woman from Bradenton, Florida named Shelby Corbett wrote a book predicting his coming in 2007. She put signs on park benches around town to promote her new book, which may have made her "profit" but did not make her a "prophet". A comprehensive list of false prophets and their predictions that failed can be found here: Library of Date Setters For the End.

Jesus explicitly warned his followers 2,000 years ago that many false prophets would come claiming to be the Messiah. Jesus had a lot to say on the subject, warning that false Christ's and charlatans would lead many gullible people astray. Ironically yet truthfully, Jesus himself is making a true prediction that in the future there will be many false predictors making false predictions:

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." (Matthew 7:15-20)

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’" (Matthew 7:21-23)

"At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." (Matthew 24:10-11)

"Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets." (Luke 6:26)

"For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:24-27)

The Apostle Peter, in agreement with the words Jesus had spoken earlier, wrote in his second epistle:

"But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up." (2 Peter 2:1-3)

The Apostle John remembered the words Christ had spoken and wrote:

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. " (1 John 4:1)

The Apostle Paul wrote to his friend Timothy, whom he called affectionately "my true son in the faith":

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. " (1 Timothy 4:1-3)

In clear, plain simple words Christ and his disciples warn the followers of Jesus not to be taken in by false prophets. They are not speaking vaguely, nor in an ambiguous or uncertain fashion - as if they were gurus or mediums. Jesus, Peter and John are making concise, logical and literal statements that actually make good 'ole common sense. Yet untold numbers of Christ's followers have not heeded these warnings. Instead they go running after whatever new false prophet comes their way - and there have been many false prophets with failed predictions that have arisen in the last century. For the purposes of comparison, it is important to note a few things that Jesus taught as his core ideology:

1. If his followers did not feed the hungry or care for the poor and sick, then they would have
    no part with him in eternity (Matthew 25:32-46).
2. His followers had a responsibility to love their neighbors and care for those who experience
    misfortune, as demonstrated in the parable of the Samaritan (Luke 10:33-37).
3. His followers must have true love and compassion for others (John 13:34-35).
4. Every complicated rule governing human behavior and relationships could be simplified    
    down to one single word - love (Matthew 7:12 and Matthew 22:37-40).
5. They must love their enemies, and be kind to those who persecuted them and pray for     those who took advantage of them (Luke 6:27-31).
6. They must be as harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16)
8. They must be servants, not power-mongers who abuse their authority (Matthew 23:11-12)
9. They must be kind to children and NEVER harm them (Matthew 18:4-6)
10. They must avoid seeking control over others and rather seek to serve (Mark 9:35)
11. They must diligently overcome their prejudices (John 4:4-30,Luke 9:52-56, Luke 10:30-37)
12. They must treat women with kindness and respect and show mercy (John 8:3-11)

Using the principals Jesus illustrated so many times in his teaching as listed above, let's see if we can recognize these "prophets" and how they contradict the real Jesus by their bad fruit of: murder, death, destruction, dishonesty, greed, selfishness, unkindness, unfaithfulness, perversion, lies, harm to children, harm to women, scheming manipulation, the lust for power and control over others, narcissism, forbidding marriage, nullifying marriages that exist, pursuing selfish pleasure and telling others that one is God or the "Messiah".

Jim Jones

In 1931, in the state of Indiana, James Warren Jones was born. He was raised in mainstream Christianity, but began his own sect in 1950 called "The People's Temple". Jones started out with good intentions and did many kind things. He crusaded against neo Nazism and racial inequality. He gave away many of his possessions and made himself a servant and cared for the poor and disabled. He adopted children of multi-ethnic backgrounds and cared for African Americans, emptying their bed pans in the segregated hospitals of a racially unequal society. Then somewhere, somehow something went horribly wrong.

Jones began using LSD and marijuana on a frequent basis. He began to espouse to Marxist ideals, believing the People's Temple could achieve a utopia under Socialism. He began preaching the end of the world by nuclear war and proclaiming himself to be God. On December 30, 1973, he was arrested for  soliciting sex from a man in a movie theater bathroom. He began having sex with multiple partners, both male and female. Jones became delusional, claiming that he despised homosexual behavior and only had sex with male members of the People's Temple "for their own good, to connect them symbolically to himself".

Jim Jones sought to create a utopia in Guyana with his congregation of 1,000 members which he would call "Jonestown". After moving the congregation there, he applied to the Soviet Union for the admission of his people as "political refugees". He had his followers sell everything they owned and give the proceeds to him. He then quit preaching from the Bible and began using the Pravda and other works to convince his followers that if they all committed suicide together they could "travel to another planet".

He began having his congregation practice ritual suicide by drinking Kool-Aid and falling out of their chairs to "play dead". It seemed like fun and games to Jones's followers. It is believed this was to desensitize them and prepare them for the real event - mass suicide engineered as a protest against "inhumanity".  He taught that it was alright for him to have sex with member's wives and daughters, but forbade his followers from practicing marital relations. 

Hearing allegations of severe abuse, Congressman Leo Ryan visited the compound in 1978 and was shot dead along with his companions and many Jonestown members that wanted to leave with him. After this massacre, the Soviet Union rejected Jones's request for asylum. This event triggered the worst mass suicide in U.S. history. On November 18, 1978, 636 adults and 276 children died from ingesting cyanide-poisoned Kool-Aid.

It is interesting to note that Jones became a Marxist. Perhaps this is where he began to falter. In some ways Marxism is a plagiarism of the way the early church lived - selling all they had and distributing their possessions among each member as they had need. In this way, the early church, full of believers, was the very first "commune":

"There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need." (Acts 4:34-35)

Jesus had a lot to say on this matter. He preached against the rich and was an advocate for the poor:

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:23-24)

"“But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry." (Luke 6:24-25)

"And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”" (Luke 12:19-21)

"Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of man has no place to lay his head."(Matthew 8:20)?

"Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." (Luke 14:12-14)

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.  At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony." (Luke 16:19-25)

"As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4)

Perhaps Jim Jones sincerely wanted to imitate the love, compassion, unselfishness and lack of materialism that he saw among those early Christians as described in Acts. The mistake he made, in addition to consuming copious amounts of LSD and mixing the resulting hallucinations with his theology, was in thinking that Marx's goals and Jesus' goals were the same. In contrasting Marx and Jesus, both their means and their ends are very different:

Marx sought to make the state the ultimate authority. His ideology aspires to great virtue, but it is never realized due to the imperfections of human character that Marx made no accounting for. Marx's methods attempt to impose change on society from without - by the hammer of the state, yet this method shows itself to be ineffective. After a communist revolution, the people still have little power and are oppressed by the party officials who hoard the wealth and resources to themselves. The party officials become corrupt and merciless over time, so that while promising their followers they will deliver them from the oppression of the rich, they themselves become the rich and do the oppressing. Marxism promises "utopia" yet delivers tyranny.

Jesus' approach was different. He also began a revolution against the oppression of the wealthy and the powerful. But his revolution sought to transform human nature itself - to bring change from within people rather than exert force on them from without. There were those in Jesus' day who attempted to use him for political purposes, but to them he responded:

"The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21)

In saying this he indicated that he did not come to bring change by force. He would not command a violent revolution nor preside over a military campaign. His revolution would be within the human soul and heart. It would transcend geographical and political boundaries. It wasn't a political kingdom, but a spiritual one.

Jesus himself became one of the greatest advocates of the separation of church and state. He was saying that human government couldn't effectively legislate morality and compassion and character. The iron hammer of the state was not enough to pound virtue and generosity into people. He taught that these things could only flower from within - they could not be imposed from without. In this way, Christ taught in his conversation with Nicodemus that the mind had to be renewed and a man born again to a new life, dieing to his old existence (John 3:3-12).

Moses brought the laws necessary for a just society to humanity written on tablets of stone. Christ said those laws needed to be written not on stone - but on human hearts of flesh and blood. He simplified those laws as love (Matthew 22:37-40) and the golden rule: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12). Jesus promises his followers persecution, pain and suffering yet delivers paradise (Matthew 5:10-12).

David Koresh

Vernon Wayne Howell was born in 1959. In 1983, he joined the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, and began a sexual liaison with the group's spiritual leader - Lois Roden.  The founder of the Davidians, Victor Houteff, believed God was calling him to set  up a Davidic kingdom in Palestine, Israel. David also believed this was his calling. Koresh claimed that God had chosen him to father a child with Roden who would become the "Chosen One".  In 1985 he traveled to Israel and had a vision that he was this age's Cyrus - the king of Persia. Roden died in 1986, and Howell later changed his name to "David Koresh" in 1990 and assumed leadership of the Branch Davidians. This name change signified his claim and association with being the "Lamb of God" and the Messiah.

Lois's death created internal strife between her son - George Roden, and her lover - David Koresh. The Davidian sect split up and David moved to Palestine, Texas with 25 followers. Here he recruited adherents from Israel, Australia, the United Kingdom and California. He began to believe that he was destined to be martyred - first in Israel and later in the United States. He began preaching he was Jesus and that he and his followers were the Davidian kingdom established in the United States. At this point he began to isolate his followers from their families and friends, making them easier to manipulate and control.

David preached monogamy until he slept with a 14 year old girl named Karen Doyle in March of 1986. In August of that same year he began sleeping with 12-year old Michelle Jones - his wife's younger sister. It was then that he began teaching a new doctrine called "The House of David" that advocated polygamy for himself alone. In this doctrine he reasoned he was owed 140 wives - 60 queens and 80 concubines. This of course entitled him to as many girls as he could convince to believe in him. In one instance, Koresh had sexual contact with a 10-year-old girl named Kiri Jewell and then read the Bible to her afterwards. In addition, all married couples that joined Koresh's cult were told their marriages were annulled by the "Messiah". David could then have his pick of the women.

Koresh and George continued to fight over leadership of the Davidians and the Mount Carmel compound that had originally been under the leadership of Lois Roden. In 1987 George challenged Koresh to a contest to "raise the dead" which would reveal the true "Messiah". At this point a few thoughts might be racing through a rational person's mind such as "Will the real false Messiah please stand up?" and "How dare you mislead those I have rightfully led astray!"

It was reported that George dug up a corpse to "practice" on it before the contest was to occur. Koresh filed charges with authorities and he and his men raided the compound armed to the teeth to obtain "proof" of corpse abuse. A gunfight ensued in which George was injured and Koresh and his men arrested and charged with attempted murder.

In 1988 one of the Davidian "Messiahs", George Roden, was convicted of murder after he killed Dale Adair with an axe blow to the head for saying that Koresh was the Messiah. Meanwhile, the other Davidian "Messiah", Koresh, escaped prison on a mistrial along with his followers. He then bought the old compound previously owned by the axe murderer George Roden, then called "Mount Carmel".  Koresh cleaned out the methamphetamine laboratory that was there and renamed the compound "Ranch Apocalypse". Again, the rational mind is about to explode with incredulity at this point and is asking questions like "People really followed this guy? Up and off to the 'Ranch Apocalypse'? Good times!"  It staggers the imagination.

David began trading in illegal arms. He fathered 12 children among the girls he had sexual relations with. Throughout his ministry, he preached that he was an incarnation of Jesus, the he was "the Lamb of God", and was therefore able to open the Seven Seals as depicted in the eschatological and apocalyptic Revelation of John. He claimed absolute authority and his followers gave it to him. He taught his followers they were "soldiers" in the army of God and that they must prepare for battle. Never mind all those things Christ had said about non-violence, love and forgiveness - Koresh was the Messiah now. Never mind that Paul wrote that the weapons of a Christian's warfare were not physical but spiritual, that words and thoughts were the weapons of Christ's followers - not blades and bullets. Under Koresh the motto was: buy guns and grenades and hunker down!

Finally David's wild ride caught up with him. He was brought up on dozens of charges and asked to surrender. When he refused, the government raided the Davidian compound on February 28, 1993, and 6 Davidians and 4 agents died in the process. A stand-off ensued for 51 days and finally Koresh and 75 of his followers died in a fire that may or may not have been instigated by the FBI.

The "point" that most people make here involves various conspiracy theories concerning whether or not the FBI caused the fire and is therefore responsible for the tragedy.  The real point to be made, however, is this:  How could someone who was so unlike Jesus call himself the Messiah? How could people be so easily misled by a false prophet who contradicted everything Christ ever taught or stood for? How could they be so easily deceived when the words of Jesus - printed in bright red and bold black letters on the pages of their bibles, explicitly warned them each and every time they opened the gospels NOT to follow such charlatans?  It boggles the mind!

Marshall Applewhite and Heaven's Gate

Marshall Applewhite had a near-death experience where he had a heart attack in the early 1970's. At this time in his life Marshall came to believe that he and his nurse, Bonnie Nettles, were the two witnesses spoken of in the apocalyptic Revelation of John (Revelation 11:3). This seems to be a common delusion among false prophets - it has been observed on several occasions in the development of the leaders of several cults. Applewhite and Nettles began to travel the United States teaching their new-found faith which was a combination of Christianity, New Age philosophy, evolution and travel to and visitations from extra-terrestrial worlds and dimensions. They and their followers ignored many of the teachings of Christ and replaced those teachings with science-fiction.

The two founded HIM, an acronym for Human Individual Metamorphosis. This slowly evolved into the more infamous Heaven's Gate. Marshall Applewhite became the group's leader, and he claimed to be a reincarnation of Jesus Christ and that he was possessed of a Spirit named "Doh". He preached against sensual indulgence and had his members follow special diets, abstaining from many foods. He discouraged sexual relations and many within the group castrated themselves, becoming eunuchs.  Let's review what Paul the apostle wrote about such practices 2,000 years ago:

"Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth."
(1 Timothy 4:2-3)

Applewhite attracted many intelligent people into his cult. Many of his followers were programmers, engineers, graphic artists and web designers. Like Jones's group and Koresh's group, they became communal. One of the primary ways they supported themselves was by designing and hosting websites for numerous clients.

Applewhite began predicting that the earth would soon be "recycled", and if they did not leave earth soon, their souls would be destroyed along with earth's remaining inhabitants. That didn't leave his followers many alternatives. In 1997, members of the Heavens Gate religion committed ritual suicide to allow their souls to ride a spaceship they believed was hiding behind the comet Hale-Bopp to the "Next Level" . 

To accomplish their transition to this "Next Level", they each secured their own demise with a combination of drugs and asphyxiation. Each of their bodies was found wearing brand new Nike sneakers, identical black sweat pants and t-shirts, and arm band patches that read "Heaven's Gate Away Team". (Oh yes, they were Star Trek fans.) They each had $5.75 in their pockets, presumably for the after-life. Perhaps it was bus fare to the next planet?

I fantasize about sailing through the galaxy on the Star Ship Enterprise as much as the next nerd. And I must admit it would be fantastic to make a voyage to another planet. But at some point we have to draw the line between wishful thinking and objective reality. Here we are, and wonder of wonders, the earth was not recycled in 1997. The planet earth is still here! But Applewhite's followers are not. His false predictions cost himself and 38 innocent people their lives.

What Prophets Said About Jesus and Predictions That Did Come True

In contrast to Jesus' warnings about false prophets and the many false predictions that emanate from these charlatans, there have been prophets that have "hit the nail on the head" so to speak. These prophets pass the biblical test for a true prophet - what they say has come to pass (Deuteronomy 18:22). These prophets are not prophesying generalized gibberish that can be reinterpreted to mean anything. They named specific, precise details and conditions that were met by future events. Let's examine some of these prophets and their predictions.

The Songs of the Suffering Servant

One of the principal foundations upon which Christianity builds the case for Jesus as the promised Messiah lies within the prophecies of what are called the "Songs of the Suffering Servant". The most famous reference was made by the Jewish prophet Isaiah 700 years before the birth of Christ:

"Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD’S will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:1-12)

The arguments against this are primarily the belief that this passage is speaking about Israel as a nation rather than an individual. However, this is inconsistent with the Bible,  the Torah and Talmudic texts. Traditionally, Jewish prophets spoke of Israel as a woman using symbolism implying that she was in a marriage relationship with her God. Like a jealous husband, God becomes enraged with her unfaithfulness when she gives her affections to another. Let's read a few passages from Jewish prophets:

"If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers — would you now return to me?” declares the LORD. Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers, sat like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame. Have you not just called to me: ‘My Father, my friend from my youth, will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue forever?’ This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can. During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD. The LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah. Go, proclaim this message toward the north: Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt — you have rebelled against the LORD your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’” declares the LORD. “Return, faithless people,” declares the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will choose you — one from a town and two from a clan — and bring you to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding." (Jeremiah 3:1-15)

"But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 3:20)

"Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. For your Maker is your husband — the LORD Almighty is his name — the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The LORD will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit — a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God. “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD your Redeemer. “To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you."
(Isaiah 54:4-10)

Taking these prophetic excerpts into consideration, one can see that Isaiah's prophecy in chapter 53 is not speaking about Israel as a nation - if he were he would address Israel as is customary - as a woman who is God's "bride". If one looks at the words of this prophecy objectively and contrasts it against other prophecies regarding Israel as a nation, the evidence is compelling that it refers to the events and circumstances of an individual, not a nation.

Let's review Isaiah 53 as previously outlined. Beginning with the passage: "He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."  Jesus grew up as a modest carpenter, raised as the son of Joseph and Mary. He studied and taught with diligence in his synagogue and the temple courts, and was recognized as a person of great learning, even in his youth.

"After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers." (Luke 2:46-47)

Yet still, he was not considered royalty, nor did he possess great riches. Let's consider the next passage: "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not." This accurately describes Christ's condition after his interrogation with Pontius Pilate. The skin had been ripped from his body, almost beyond recognition. In the gospels we read that Jesus was spit upon by Roman soldiers and crucified between thieves. He was despised and hated.

Next, the Jewish prophet Isaiah writes: "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."  This passage predicts that Jesus will be offered as a sacrifice for the sins of Israel. As when Abraham offered Isaac, God provided a sacrificial lamb. Under the law of Moses and by strict Orthodox Talmudic tradition, there can be no remission of sins without the shedding of blood. Jesus spoke himself of atoning through blood, and that his would be offered for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28) The Apostle Paul, writing to his Jewish brothers, declares that "by the law of Moses all things are purged with blood, and that without the shedding of blood there is no remission." (Hebrews 9:22)

The next passage reads:  "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." Isaiah seems to speak to the lost sheep of Israel here, and by transference, to the lost sheep of humanity. Christ was cruelly tortured and horribly beaten, yet from his lips came no angry words of wrongful accusation. No cursing or requests for God's vengeance left his mouth. He stood before his accusers silent, as a sacrificial lamb is oblivious to its own slaughter. His only words after receiving the nails in his hands and feet were "Father forgive them, they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

Continuing through Isaiah's prophecy, we read: "By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth." Christ was taken away by oppression, specifically the occupation of Jerusalem by the Roman empire. Rome oppressed the entire nation of Israel at the time of Christ's crucifixion. Jesus' judgment was sealed by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who handed down his sentence. Again Isaiah makes mention of this person as a sacrificial lamb as he is stricken not for his own wrongdoing, but the transgression of God's people. He was assigned a grave with the wicked by being crucified between thieves (Luke 23:39-43), and with the rich when he was taken down and placed in a tomb for the wealthy by a follower named Joseph of the Sanhedrin that dared to ask Pilate for Jesus' body (Luke 23:50-54).

The next few passages begin: "Yet it was the LORD’S will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand." Again we see Isaiah advocating that this person is a sacrificial lamb, offered as a guilt offering for his people. Christ was offered as atonement, in the way a lamb was sacrificed in accordance with the laws of Moses.

Furthermore, Isaiah writes: "After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. " Christ preached of the forgiveness of sins, of bearing the burdens of iniquity. By his knowledge of atonement, he justified many.

Moving to the closing passage, we read: "because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." It is interesting to note that at the time of Christ's crucifixion, Caiaphas advised the chief priests that "it would be good if one man died for the people" (John 18:14), meaning that it would be better for Christ to die than for all of Israel to suffer the wrath of Rome. It is as if Isaiah had a window to events that would transpire 700 years in the future, long after his death. Yet he describes these events in remarkable detail, and we do not understand his premonitions until they have been fulfilled.

There are other passages from Talmudic texts as well. Consider this psalm written by David:

"They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing" (Psalm 22:18)

We don't know of any point where these events would have happened in David's life, so it is surmised that he was writing prophetically of what the Roman soldiers did to Christ at his crucifixion (Mark 15:24). We should remember that King David lived approximately between the years of 1010 and 970 B.C. This means this particular psalm was written approximately a thousand years before Christ was born.

Looking at these passages, to dismiss their relevance as coincidence requires a great deal more "luck" than standard probabilities and random chance would allow.

Fulfilled Prophecies Concerning Jesus

A. The Prophets Micah and Jeremiah

The Jewish prophet Micah predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem circa 715 B.C.:

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." (Micah 5:2)

Over seven hundred years later, Jewish scholars were aware of Micah's prophesy at the time of Jesus’ birth. In the gospel accounts, when King Herod the Great consulted them about the town in which the Messiah would be born, they knew precisely where to look. They scrutinized Micah 5:2 and told the king "Bethlehem".

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-8)

His remark to the magi was deceitful. King Herod was an exceptionally cruel, merciless and ruthless ruler. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, he executed two of his own sons (still in their youth) and his wife Mariamne because he believed they were Jewish children who might be destined to replace him and therefore a threat to his dominion. Josephus writes circa 60 A.D. that Herod "never stopped avenging and punishing every day those who had chosen to be of the party of his enemies" (Josephus, The Jewish War I.535–7 and Jewish Antiquities 16.121–7, 356).  In the 4^th century the Roman philosopher Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius made the following comment concerning Herod’s massacre: “When Augustus heard that Herod king of the Jews had ordered all the boys in Syria under the age of two years to be put to death and that the king's sons were among those killed, he said, "I'd rather be Herod's sow than Herod’s son."  (Macrobius. The Saturnalia. trans. Percival Davies. New York. 1969. 171.)

Upon receiving his answer from the Jewish scholars and scribes, Herod sought to have every male child under the age of two killed in Bethlehem, since any one of those children might be a threat to his throne. This instigated an infant massacre, reminiscent of the one in Egypt during Moses’ birth, known as the Massacre of the Innocents. This was well in keeping with Herod's ruthless character. We have witnessed similar cruelties in our own century - human experimentation and extermination in Nazi concentration camps. Our generation's "Herod" was known as "Hitler". This singular fulfillment of Micah's prophesy ignites the fulfillment of several other prophecies. The wise men did not return to Herod as they had promised:

"And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” " (Matthew 2:12-15)

In this particular passage, the Gospel of Matthew is referring to a prophesy made by the Jewish prophet Hosea in approximately 730 B.C. It is interesting to note the pronoun "him" is used in place of the traditional description of Israel as a bride or wife of God. This leads many interpreters to believe Hosea is speaking of the Messiah:

"“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." (Hosea 11:1)

Over 700 years before Christ was born, Hosea foretold that Jesus would be called out of Egypt. Remember that Jewish prophets usually addressed Israel as the feminine. This passage is odd because it addresses Israel in the masculine, as "his son" - the son of God. Returning to the Gospel of Matthew, when the Magi did not return, Herod became even more paranoid and enraged at the thought of sedition in his kingdom:

"When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”" (Matthew 2:16-18)

In the previous passage, Matthew references another prophecy that was fulfilled. Jeremiah wrote in approximately 625 B.C. during the reign of the Jewish king Josiah:

"This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more.”"(Jeremiah 31:15)

Over 600 years before this event, Jeremiah predicts a great tragedy will befall Rachel's children. Rachel was the wife of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham and Sarah. Therefore this signifies the children of the nation Israel. Jeremiah prophesies "her children are no more" - they have been murdered.    

B. The Prophet Isaiah

In addition to the Songs of the Suffering Servant, Isaiah made other prediction concerning the Messiah. He speaks of the Messiah being born as a child and given as a Son:

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…” (Isaiah 9:6)

Isaiah also predicted the ministry of John the Baptist. He writes:

"A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God." (Isaiah 40:3) 

Matthew also believed this passage predicted the birth and ministry of John the Baptist:

"In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’" (Matthew 3:1-3)

Jesus confirmed that Isaiah's prophecy was a reference to John the Baptist 600 years later:

“When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’” At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sick” After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:  “‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,  who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (Luke 7:20-28)

Jesus had a very high opinion of John the Baptist. He referred to John as "Elijah", indicating that 900 years later the Baptist came to restore the office and function of that particular prophet:

“I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:11-15).

“Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.” (Matthew 17:11-13)

C. The Prophet Zechariah

In approximately 520 B.C. the prophet Zechariah predicted that the Messiah would be "pierced". Over 500 years later Jesus was crucified having his hands and feet pierced with nails and his side was pierced with the spear of a Roman soldier.

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” (Zechariah 12:10)

The Gospel of John confirms Zechariah's prediction centuries later:

"The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”" (John 19:32-37)

This ignites another prophecy's fulfillment when John states that Christ's bones were not broken.  This is referenced three times within the Torah, Talmudic and Biblical texts:

"A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken" (Psalm 34:19-20)

God instructed the Jewish people not to break the bones of the Passover lamb. Christ was crucified at Passover and called himself the lamb of God, indicating that he was offered for atonement.

“The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover: “No foreigner is to eat of it. Any slave you have bought may eat of it after you have circumcised him, but a temporary resident and a hired worker may not eat of it. It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. " (Exodus 12:43-46)

"They are to celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations." (Numbers 9:11-12)

Detailed Prophecies Fulfilled in the Bible

A. Jerusalem and the Return of the Diaspora
Ironically, some of the greatest skeptics and critics of the Jews returning to Israel were not agnostics nor atheists, but Christians and Jews. Yet this event is probably one of the greatest proofs for a true prophet - that what they predicted cam to pass, however unlikely. For example, the Jews had lost all faith in the fulfillment of their prophets predictions by the mid 1800's:

1. In 1845, at the Frankfort-on-the-Main Conference of Rabbis, they decided to eliminate from orthodox ritual "the prayers for the return to the land of our forefathers and for the restoration of the Jewish state."

2. In 1885 at the Pittsburgh Conference, they decided "We consider ourselves no longer a nation, but a religious community; and we therefore expect neither a return to Palestine, nor a sacrificial worship under the sons of Aaron, nor the restoration of any of the laws concerning a Jewish state."

To be fair to their lack of faith, we must remember that the Jews are the only people ever exiled twice from their own land, yet they are the only nation ever known to survive exile and maintain cohesion and successfully return to their place of origin twice. They weren't the only skeptics - many Christians doubted that that Israel could become a nation again as well.

Though a pinnacle of reformation, Martin Luther had his flaws as well. Forgetting that Jesus himself and all his disciples were Jewish, as well as the predictions of the Jewish prophets, Luther became skeptical that the Jews would ever return to Israel. He wrote:

‘…they have been cast out, dispersed, and utterly rejected for almost fifteen hundred years. By virtue of their own merits they still hope to return there again. But they have no such promise with which they could console themselves other than what their false imagination smuggles into Scripture...These persons must be informed that the kingdom of Israel was led into captivity and destroyed, that it never returned home and never will return home
(Martin Luther. ‘On The Jews And Their Lies’. 1543)

The skeptical futurist Philip Mauro wrote:

"Therefore, no other conclusion is possible from a careful examination of the Scriptures cited in the article we are discussing, than that the doctrine of a yet future restoration of the Jewish nation has not a scriptural leg to stand upon." (Philip Mauro. 'The Hope of Israel. Chapters XI, XIII, and XIX. 1922)

Other prevailing views of skeptics, before they were all proven wrong, could be summed up:

‘The facts and prophecies prove that natural Jews will never again be a chosen regathered people.’ (Let God Be True. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. page 208. 1946.)

They had good reason to doubt. Another skeptic, Mark Twain, after visiting the region that is currently known as Israel but was then Palestine and Jordan in the year of 1867 described it as:

"A desolate country whose soil is rich enough but is given over wholly to weeds. A silent, mournful expanse. We never saw a human being on the whole route. There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country." (Mark Twain. 1867.)

The Jewish prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah both prophesied that Jerusalem and its walls would be destroyed and its citizens led away into captivity. This historical event is known as the scattering of the Diaspora (a Greek word for seed). A portion of these events occurred in the 5th century B.C. when Babylon came and destroyed Jerusalem's walls and took the Jewish people away into captivity. Later the Jews were allowed to return to their homeland and rebuilt Jerusalem. It stood until approximately 1,900 years ago when Romans razed it to the ground, killing more than one million Jews and sending the survivors into exile. These Jewish survivors became scattered among all the nations of the earth, and their land was divided among the nations. These same prophets also prophesied that Jerusalem and its walls would be rebuilt and that the Jewish people would be brought back into their city. Jeremiah predicts:

"This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: “I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. 22Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘The LORD treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.’"  (Jeremiah 29:21-22)

"Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.’" (Jeremiah 35:17)

The prophet Ezekiel predicts Israel's restoration from captivity as well, but on a more global scale:

"This is what the Sovereign LORD says: The enemy said of you, “Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession.”’ Therefore prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because they ravaged and hounded you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander, therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign LORD: This is what the Sovereign LORD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you—this is what the Sovereign LORD says: In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland.’ Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations. Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn.

But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, and I will multiply the number of people upon you, even the whole house of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will increase the number of men and animals upon you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the LORD. I will cause people, my people Israel, to walk upon you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children.
This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because people say to you, “You devour men and deprive your nation of its children,” therefore you will no longer devour men or make your nation childless, declares the Sovereign LORD. No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign LORD.

Again the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s monthly uncleanness in my sight. So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the LORD’S people, and yet they had to leave his land.’ I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you.

I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel! This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it.

They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.” Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the LORD have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Once again I will yield to the plea of the house of Israel and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep, as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”"  (Ezekiel 36:2-37)

The prophet Isaiah predicts two interesting things in the following passage. One - that God will give men (people) in exchange for Israel's life. This fits in with the 333 prophetic statements uttered before the time of Christ that point to the Messiah who was given as a ransom for Israel and as a Lamb provided for Abraham. Two - that the children of Israel will be brought back to their land from being scattered all over the earth.

"Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." (Isaiah 43:4-7)

Isaiah's prophecy appears to be multi-dimensional. In some ways it addresses the Babylonian captivity, yet it also refers to the Jews (the Diaspora) returning to Israel in this century. The Jews have constructed immense and gargantuan irrigation systems to turn the arid desert into fertile land. In this way they have transformed their homeland by planting more than 200 million trees to create forests. Since returning to their homeland, they have turned lifeless sands into orchards and now are a major exporter of fruit and agricultural products. In 750 B.C., approximately 2,750 years before it ever happened, Isaiah also speaks about Israel's land being restored:

"I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it." (Isaiah 41:18-20)

"In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit." (Isaiah 27:6)

The Jewish prophet Amos, who lived within the same century as the prophets Isaiah, Micah and Hosea, predicted around 750 B.C.:

"In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,” declares the LORD, who will do these things. The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God" (Amos 9:11-15)  

The skeptics said this could never happen - surely this must prove that Ezekiel's prophecies were nothing but fairy tales. Critics insisted that this particular prophecy could not be fulfilled. In the late 1800's the land on which Israel sits was classified as a wasteland. The Jews had been scattered to the four winds for almost 2,000 years and their ancient land, Israel, was a province divided up into many different territories. There was simply no way Israel could ever become a nation again, nor could the Jewish people have maintained their distinctive identity, skeptics reasoned.

Yet, wonder of wonders something began happen. Nearly a century before the holocaust the community of Petah Tikvah was founded by Jewish immigrants in 1878. In 1929 a skirmish ensued and 67 Jewish immigrants were killed. In the 1930s Palestinian Arabs, being inspired and inflamed with Nazi propaganda, fought with the new immigrants. The Jews return to their homeland was resisted every step of the way.

Finally on May 14, 1948 it happened - after spending almost 1900 years in exile, without a homeland, Israel was declared a nation again after the holocaust by the United Nations. The newly created territory was created from land donated by Britain and other UN members. After the new state was ratified, millions upon millions of Jews immigrated from North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia - every continent where they had been scattered. In the Six Day War in 1967, outnumbered 100 to 1 and surrounded by the armies of six Arab nations, Israel reclaimed Jerusalem as their capital city. Israel's current population as of the last 2008 census was numbered at 7,280,000. The Jews have rebuilt many of their ancient cities, unearthed the sites of their historical heritage and planted vineyards and crops where the land was previously arid and non-irrigated. Through the use of modern agriculture, the Jewish people have turned barren ground into rich farmland. The prophet Zechariah states:

"This is what the Lord Almighty says: "I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God." (Zechariah 8:7-8)

The Jewish people may sing again a song written within Torah and Talmudic texts that originated from Assyrian oppression and Babylonian captivity:

"But he took note of their distress when he heard their cry; for their sake he remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented. He caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive. Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise." (Psalm 106:44-47)

B. Babylon
In the ancient world, the city of Babylon, whose name according to some scholars carries the connotation “gateway of the gods”, might be regarded as the pinnacle of man’s power, government and achievement. Some historians believe that king Nimrod, who began the Tower of Babel referred to in Genesis 10, is the original founder of Babylon. The Babylonian empire arose after the Sumerians, and in some fashion may have existed as far back as 2400 B.C according to a dated tablet unearthed from the reign of Sargon of Akkad.  The city was truly magnificent, even by today’s standards. It had walls 200 feet high and 187 feet thick enclosing an area inside close to 200 square miles. Observation towers rose above the walls to a height of 300 feet (30 stories). These massive walls and towers made the city of Babylon near impregnable - at least by ancient standards. According to the Greek historians, Strabo and Diodorus, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, the Hanging Gardens, were built there around 600 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife Amytis. The great city was located about 55 miles south of Baghdad in what would be present-day Iraq.

Yet at that time, at the peak of Babylonian civilization, the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah foretold that the great city would be overthrown, its walls completely broken and that it would be desolate forever – no one would rebuild her. A bit of a "rock star", Jeremiah often used "performance art" and pulled crazy stunts to shock and capture people's attention in order to communicate his messages and was often referred to as the "weeping prophet". He predicted more than a decade before its occurrence that Jerusalem would be invaded by Babylon. His message was unpopular with the people and he was thrown into prison by authorities for being "unpatriotic" and disheartening. It seems the truth hurts. More than a decade after his prediction, in 586 B.C., Babylon invaded Jerusalem and Jeremiah was liberated. The Babylonians were kind to him for prophesying in their favor, and allowed him to live among them as a Babylonian citizen. True prophets are never popular for long however. God gave Jeremiah another message, this time for Babylon. The prophet predicted that Babylon would be overthrown 40 years before King Cyrus of Persia conquered the city in 539 B.C. For predicting an event 40 years in the future Jeremiah was extremely accurate. He prophesied:

“Babylon will be captured; Bel will be put to shame, Marduk filled with terror. Her images will be put to shame and her idols filled with terror.’ A nation from the north will attack her and lay waste her land. No one will live in it; both men and animals will flee away...

Because of the LORD’S anger she will not be inhabited but will be completely desolate. All who pass Babylon will be horrified and scoff because of all her wounds...

“Flee out of Babylon; leave the land of the Babylonians, and be like the goats that lead the flock. For I will stir up and bring against Babylon an alliance of great nations from the land of the north. They will take up their positions against her, and from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed. So Babylonia will be plundered; all who plunder her will have their fill,” declares the LORD...

How broken and shattered is the hammer of the whole earth! How desolate is Babylon among the nations! I set a trap for you, O Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it; you were found and captured because you opposed the LORD...“See, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty, “for your day has come, the time for you to be punished...“A sword against the Babylonians!” declares the LORD— “against those who live in Babylon and against her officials and wise men! A sword against her false prophets! They will become fools. A sword against her warriors! They will be filled with terror. A sword against her horses and chariots and all the foreigners in her ranks! They will become women. A sword against her treasures! They will be plundered. A drought on her waters! They will dry up. For it is a land of idols, idols that will go mad with terror. “So desert creatures and hyenas will live there, and there the owl will dwell. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation. As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with their neighboring towns,” declares the LORD, “so no one will live there; no man will dwell in it. “Look! An army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bows and spears; they are cruel and without mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, O Daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.”
(Jeremiah 50:2-3,8-10,13,23-24,31,35-43)

These are not vague nor ambiguous generalizations – this is a very specific prophesy against Babylon. Jeremiah continues:

"This is what the LORD says: “See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai. I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and to devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her disaster...

Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the LORD’S vengeance; he will pay her what she deserves. Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD’S hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad. Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed. ‘We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to his own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the clouds.’...

You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be cut off...

The land trembles and writhes, for the LORD’S purposes against Babylon stand— to lay waste the land of Babylon so that no one will live there. Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting; they remain in their strongholds. Their strength is exhausted; they have become like women. Her dwellings are set on fire; the bars of her gates are broken. One courier follows another and messenger follows messenger to announce to the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured, the river crossings seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers terrified...

Babylon will be a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and scorn, a place where no one lives...

But while they are aroused, I will set out a feast for them and make them drunk, so that they shout with laughter— then sleep forever and not awake,” declares the LORD. “I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats...

The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her. Her towns will be desolate, a dry and desert land, a land where no one lives, through which no man travels...

Even if Babylon reaches the sky and fortifies her lofty stronghold, I will send destroyers against her,” declares the LORD. “The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians. The LORD will destroy Babylon; he will silence her noisy din. Waves of enemies will rage like great waters; the roar of their voices will resound. A destroyer will come against Babylon; her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken. For the LORD is a God of retribution; he will repay in full. I will make her officials and wise men drunk, her governors, officers and warriors as well; they will sleep forever and not awake,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty. This is what the LORD Almighty says: Babylon’s thick wall will be leveled and her high gates set on fire; the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing, the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames."
(Jeremiah 51:1-2, 6-9,13,29-32,37,39,42-43, 53-58)

An interesting point that skeptics and critics point out are the two passages in Jeremiah 51:42-43. Verse 42 states: “The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof”. Verse 43 describes Babylon as a “desolation, a dry land and a wilderness”. How can Babylon be both a desert and covered by waves of water? Aha! The skeptic cries, "A contradiction! See - this prophecy business is nothing but a fairy tale!" But wait…

Claudius Rich wrote in “Narrative of a Journey to the Site of Babylon in 1811”:

“For the space of two months throughout the year the ruins of Babylon are inundated by the annual overflowing of the Euphrates so as to render many parts of them inaccessible by converting the valleys into morasses.”

After these two months pass, the water evaporates and the ruins of Babylon are once again a dusty wasteland.  So Babylon is truthfully both covered by waves of water and a desert wasteland at different times of the year. 2,500 years later Babylon is still desolate and uninhabited. Once again the skeptics are confounded.

The prophet Isaiah never knew Jeremiah. He had been born, lived and died centuries before the "weeping prophet" around 800 B.C. Even so, it is amazing how similar his predictions were to Jeremiah's. Almost in unison with Jeremiah, Isaiah predicted 250 years in advance:

"An oracle concerning Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw...

Because of this, all hands will go limp, every man’s heart will melt. Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. See, the day of the LORD is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless...

Whoever is captured will be thrust through; all who are caught will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives ravished. See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold. Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants nor will they look with compassion on children. Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians’ pride, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flocks there. But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about. Hyenas will howl in her strongholds, jackals in her luxurious palaces. Her time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged." (Isaiah 13:1,7-11,15-22)

In 539 B.C. Babylon was conquered by Cyrus, the king of Persia. In a magnificent military maneuver, he had his armies divert the course of the Euphrates that flowed under Babylon’s metal gates and his soldiers marched into the city under the walls. Cyrus then allowed the Jews, held captive in Babylon, to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple. The great city remained under Persian rule until 331 B.C. when Alexander the Great took it by force. After his death, his generals fought amongst themselves and Babylon fell into obscurity so that by 141 B.C. when it was occupied by the Parthian Empire, it was completely desolate and ruined. Its fields were laid waste with niter (salt peter) - a common practice among conquerors to weaken agriculture and induce famine, so that little grows among the rubble.

This prophecy was further fulfilled when Julian the Apostate, famous for his hatred of Christians, became entangled in a war with Persia near the remains of Babylon. To avoid the possibility that the Persian army might use the remains of Babylon as a base of operations, Julian razed the site to the ground, completely annihilating anything that was left of the once great city. Inadvertently, he had become a tool of the "Judeo-Christian God" he had hated so much, and fulfill the last remaining prophecies concerning Babylon.

It is said by many that if one wants to discredit the Jewish prophets, all one has to do is rebuild Tyre or Babylon. What happens to those who try? Historians record that after announcing his desire to rebuild Babylon, Alexander the Great immediately died.
 

In modern times circa 1985, Sadam Hussein called himself the reborn Nebuchadnezzar and tried to rebuild the city of Babylon before he was incarcerated and later hanged.  A bit of a megalomaniac, it was found he had inscribed "This was built by Saddam Hussein, son of Nebuchadnezzar, to glorify Iraq". Despite numerous attempts to disprove the prophesies of Jeremiah and Isaiah, none have yet succeeded. We will never know, but one might speculate that perhaps Saddam's fate might have turned out differently had he not attempted to rebuild ancient Babylon and contradict the Jewish prophets.

Recently, U.S. military vehicles have crushed the remaining sections of the 2,600 year-old brick pavements and helipads have been built atop the ruins after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In addition, military activities have caused substantial damage to the Ishtar Gate, one of the last remaining antiquities of Ancient Babylon. It seems as if the events foretold by Jeremiah and Isaiah concerning Tyre and Babylon have been fulfilled by many different nations throughout history – whoever happens to be the “super-power” of a particular era becomes the prophecy’s  “tool” for its fulfillment.  

C. The 3 Tyres - Modern Tyre, Mainland Tyre and Island Tyre
The Jewish prophet Ezekiel, born in approximately 627 B.C., declared that the Phoenician city of Tyre would be destroyed and never rebuilt (Ezekiel 26:19-21).  This prophesy was made when Tyre was at the pinnacle of its success – its walls nearly impenetrable. The ancient city was located about 50 miles south of modern-day Beirut, and its name meant "rock". Here things can be a bit confusing because the modern city of "Tyre" as it currently exists in Lebanon is not the the same as the ancient mainland ruins and island cities of Tyre - these are completely different entities. When Ezekiel prophesied that dark times were ahead for ancient mainland Tyre over six hundred years before the birth of Christ, it must have seemed unlikely to the walled city's inhabitants that his vision would be fulfilled. Specifically, here are the things Ezekiel predicted would happen :

1. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers.
2. God would scrape the dust off Tyre, and make her like a rock.
3. Fishermen would spread their nets on Tyre’s remains.
4. Tyre’s stones, timber and dust would be cast into the water.
5. Tyre would never again be rebuilt.

"In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O 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. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: 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; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you. He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons. His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the war horses, wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through. The hoofs of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. 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 put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more. 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 to Tyre: Will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you? Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you. Then they will take up a lament concerning you and say to you:
‘How you are destroyed, O city of renown, peopled by men of the sea! You were a power on the seas, you and your citizens; you put your terror on all who lived there. Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the islands in the sea are terrified at your collapse.’ “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, then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place in the land of the living. 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." (Ezekiel 26:7-21)

Again Ezekiel prophesies against Tyre a little later in chapter 27:

"The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, take up a lament concerning Tyre. Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “‘You say, O Tyre, “I am perfect in beauty.” Your domain was on the high seas; your builders brought your beauty to perfection...

Your oarsmen take you out to the high seas. But the east wind will break you to pieces in the heart of the sea. Your wealth, merchandise and wares, your mariners, seamen and shipwrights,
your merchants and all your soldiers, and everyone else on board will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your shipwreck. The shorelands will quake when your seamen cry out. All who handle the oars will abandon their ships; the mariners and all the seamen will stand on the shore. They will raise their voice and cry bitterly over you; they will sprinkle dust on their heads and roll in ashes. They will shave their heads because of you and will put on sackcloth.

They will weep over you with anguish of soul and with bitter mourning. As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament concerning you: “Who was ever silenced like Tyre, surrounded by the sea?” When your merchandise went out on the seas, you satisfied many nations; with your great wealth and your wares you enriched the kings of the earth. Now you are shattered by the sea in the depths of the waters; your wares and all your company have gone down with you. All who live in the coastlands are appalled at you; their kings shudder with horror and their faces are distorted with fear. The merchants among the nations hiss at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”" (Ezekiel 27:1-4, 26-36)

A few years after Ezekiel made this prophecy, king Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon arrived with his army to conquer Tyre. For 13 years Babylon’s army and Tyre were locked in a standoff, with the walled city under siege. At the end of the siege, Tyre’s walls were breached and the massive forces of Babylon’s army swarmed into Tyre and decimated its inhabitants. Once subjugated by Babylon, mainland Tyre slowly waned until by 330 B.C. it was uninhabited ruins. When the Babylonians broke through the city's defenses, thousands fled by boat into the Mediterranean and built a new city with walls 150 feet high, which they called "New Tyre" or "Tyre", on a nearby island off the coast of modern-day Lebanon. In this way, Ezekiel’s prophecy was only partially fulfilled – much of mainland Tyre’s wall structure remained among the abandoned ruins, comprised of millions of tons of stone and timber.

250 years after Tyre’s destruction, around 330 B.C., one of the most brilliant military strategists humanity had ever produced, Alexander the Great, wanted to attack Persia (modern-day Iran). He defeated Persian forces several times in battle and sought to subjugate any cities that might support the Persian empire with his forces from Macedon. Most cities surrendered, but New Tyre did not. The Tyrians felt secure in their island city-fortress surrounded by water on all sides and protected by walls 150 feet high. Trapped in the lure of their own safety and security, they became overconfident. They underestimated the Macedonians that Alexander commanded. Alexander and his generals were already beating down on Persia's armies at a time when Persia was the only super-power in that region.

Alexander was so enraged with new Tyre's obstinacy and resistance that he rallied his forces for the Siege of New Tyre. Alexander consulted his chief engineer, Diades, concerning how they might attack and conquer a walled city a half a mile out into the waters of the Mediterranean. Diades’ solution to Alexander's dilemma was epic - he proposed they build a causeway out to the island of new Tyre from the timber and stone left in the ruins of old Tyre. Incredibly they pulled it off.

Alexander’s army scraped the ruins of old Tyre clean, removing every rock, every piece of timber - even the dirt upon which the old  city was built. They threw this material into the Mediterranean ocean to build a giant land bridge. This was a monumental feat for the Macedonians - they had no modern construction equipment. Once the causeway was complete, Alexander’s army marched across their new causeway and conquered new Tyre, utterly destroying the city and its walls. Alexander's Macedonians lost approximately 400 men, whereas Tyre lost over 8,000. Alexander was so furious with Tyre for their resistance that by the time he had conquered the city he completely annihilated the city's walls and buildings. Today the island is nothing more than a rock where one may occasionally see fishermen spreading and mending their nets upon it.

D. Sidon
Ezekiel warned Sidon that its people would be ransacked but that their city would continue. Sidon was attacked and 40,000 of its citizens were killed, but Ezekiel did not prophesy that it would "never be rebuilt" as he did with ancient Tyre. As a city, Sidon still exists to this day. Ezekiel predicted:

"Son of man, set your face against Sidon; prophesy against her and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “‘I am against you, O Sidon, and I will gain glory within you. They will know that I am the LORD, when I inflict punishment on her and show myself holy within her. I will send a plague upon her and make blood flow in her streets. The slain will fall within her, with the sword against her on every side. Then they will know that I am the LORD."
(Ezekiel 28:21-23)

E. Samaria
The Jewish prophet Micah prophesied that Samaria’s walls would be cast down and that it would be made into a vineyard.  Like Tyre, modern Samaria is not the same as ancient Samaria. Ancient Samaria became the capital of Northern Israel in approximately 880 B.C. Assyria invaded the territory circa 721 B.C. and and it later degenerated into ruins under Babylonian rule. When Persia conquered the area in approximately 500 B.C. it was somewhat rebuilt, and the Greeks settled in the area for a while in 332 B.C. Finally it fell under he dominion of the Roman empire and was annexed by Syria before falling into ruins once again.

Inhabitants of present-day Samaria claim to be descendants of the Northern Kingdom of Israel who escaped Assyrian exile and DNA analysis has verified their claims of descent from the Jewish priest caste. Jesus had an encounter with a Samaritan woman which showed that even though the Samaritans and Jews shared the same heritage, there was a good deal of bigotry and segregation between the two societies. Jesus' disciples asked him if they could call down fire and brimstone on the "Samaritan heathen", at which point Jesus rebuked them sharply. They didn't get it - but Jesus kept teaching mercy, forgiveness and love. (Luke 9:52-56).

Today in the area that was "ancient Samaria", one finds olive trees and vineyards planted where the city once stood. As recently as 2007, Jewish vineyard owners in Israel were having problems with vandals, who were later discovered to be British "peace" activists. In the many vineyards that Israeli farmers keep there, these "peace activists" were destroying their plants and equipment. The Jewish prophet Micah predicted in approximately 720 B.C.:

"All this is because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the house of Israel. What is Jacob’s transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah’s high place? Is it not Jerusalem? “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble, a place for planting vineyards. I will pour her stones into the valley and lay bare her foundations." (Micah 1:5-6)

Micah's predictions have come to pass.
 

F. Edom
The Bible relates that Near the Dead Sea the nation of Edom (also known as "Seir" or "Mount Seir") resisted the Israelite armies. Many skeptical archeologists believed at one time that Edom never existed. In modern times its existence has been verified by dozens of archeological digs in southern Jordan. In the Torah/Old Testament, Ezekiel prophesied against Edom that it would become a perpetual desolation, and never be rebuilt . These events eventually came to pass. Edom ceased to exist as a settled territory after the Jewish-Roman Wars around 66 A.D. The skeptic Constantine Volney once remarked concerning Edom, “At present all this country is a desert.” It is here that the ruins of Petra lie, a site of historic interest. The surrounding territory is a desolate wasteland.  The Jewish prophet Ezekiel predicted circa 590 B.C.:

"The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir (Edom); prophesy against it and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Mount Seir (Edom), and I will stretch out my hand against you and make you a desolate waste. I will turn your towns into ruins and you will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD. Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity, the time their punishment reached its climax, therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. I will make Mount Seir (Edom) a desolate waste and cut off from it all who come and go. I will fill your mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines. I will make you desolate forever; your towns will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD." (Ezekiel 35:1-9)

333 Predictions Regarding a Messiah?

There are 333 prophecies in the Old Testament that deal with the coming of the Messiah, called Yeshuah. Here are only a few, prophesied many centuries before they were fulfilled:

1. A Virgin Birth

There are two references in the old testament. The first is direct and to the point;  700 years before Christ, the prophet Isaiah predicts:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

The second is in Genesis 3:15 and the beginning of what scholars call the “Protoevangelium”. It is so named because in almost every culture and religion there is a tale of some form of a virgin-born messiah figure, however distorted or modified. It is believed by many scholars that these tales draw their roots from this account which outlines the battle of good vs. evil in every culture. It promises redemption through the "offspring of the woman" who will "crush the head" of the serpent. It reads as follows:

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15)

2. A Messiah Would Born in Bethlehem

The prophet Micah predicts approximately 750-686 years before the birth of Christ that a Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, writing:

"Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod:  “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." (Micah 5:1-2)

King Herod, secretly seeking to kill Jesus, inquired of the chief priests and teachers of the law concerning where the “Christ” or Messiah would be born. They knew, even then, the city of his birth by referring to Micah’s prediction made 750 years earlier. The Gospel of Matthew give the account of Herod's reaction and how the chief teachers referred to Micah to learn the location of the Messiah's birth:

"When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."
(Matthew 2:3-6)

3. Wise Men Would Come Bearing Gifts

"Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD."
(Isaiah 60:3-6)  

"The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.” (Psalm 72:10-14)  

Doesn’t that sound just like Jesus - the same Jesus who pardoned the adulteress caught in her offense?

"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” " (John 8:3-11)

This same Jesus instructed his followers to be merciful (Matthew 5:7). He commanded his followers not to judge others (Matthew 7:1-2). He asked them to love their enemies, bless those who curse them, pray for those who take advantage of them and turn the other cheek rather than engage in violence (Luke 6:27-38). Here is the fulfillment in the New Testament account of the Magi:

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”… Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route." (Matthew 2:1-2, 7-12)

4. The Messiah Would Come from the House of David

The prophet Samuel told King David circa 1000 B.C.:

“The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Samuel 7:12-13)

Jesus' mother Mary was from the lineage of King David.

5. The Messiah Would Be a Nazarene

Isaiah prophesies:

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD - and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” (Isaiah 11:1-5)

Once again, doesn’t that sound just like Jesus? He came to bring justice to the poor and needy. The "rod of his mouth" and the "breath of his lips" are his words - immensely powerful, once spoken they become a weapon of mass destruction against the oppression of the rich and those who exploit the less fortunate.

6. The Messiah Would Be from the Line of Abraham

God promises the Jewish people and delivers, true to his word, through the Messiah:

“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3)

“Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.” (Genesis 18:18)

“The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.” (Genesis 22:15-17)

Through the Messiah, anyone who believes can become a child of Abraham. In this way, the Gentiles are mercifully “grafted into the vine” of Israel, becoming one with the Jews as descendants of Abraham, as the Apostle Paul wrote (Romans 11:17-24). Before this, the Gentiles had no hope and no heritage with Abraham's descendants. Jesus, testing the sincerity of a Gentile woman, once remarked:

“He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” (Matthew 15:26-28)

In this way, Abraham’s descendents have truly become as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand of the seashore, encompassing every tribe, tongue, clan and nation on earth. Through Jesus billions have joined the Jews as children of Abraham.

7. That “Elijah” Would Come Again

There are several prophesies concerning the reappearance of the prophet Elijah with the Messiah:

“A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3)

“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.” (Malachi 3:1)

John the Baptist declared himself the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3 (listed above):

“Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ” (John 1:22-23)

Jesus said of John the Baptist:

“I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear.”
(Matthew 11:11-15)

Jesus is speaking figuratively in this passage. He does not advocate that John the Baptist is a reincarnation of Elijah, nor that he is Elijah in some sort of supernatural disguise. He says "And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear." Jesus is signifying that John holds the office of Elijah - to call Israel back to God.

Chapter 3 - The Scientific Jesus | Chapter 5 - The Offending Jesus | Bibliography

09/15/2008 ©Charles Germany