Biblical Prophecy Of An Arab Confederation
De BISAWiki
Biblical prophecy is not normative. Jeremiah's prophecies did not make the destruction of Jerusalem a morally acceptable act, and if we had been a part of his audience, the correct response would not have been to go and enlist in the Babylonian army so as to join in the looting. No. Such prophecies have a specific spiritual purpose, functioning something like shock therapy. The prophet paints a shocking picture of the judgement that is about to fall with a view to rattling his hearers to the point that they wake up to the fact that something is seriously wrong!
Two hundred and forty-one years later Alexander the Great arrived on the scene. Fearing that the fleet of Tyre might be used against his homeland, he decided to take the island where the city had been moved to. He accomplished this goal by building a causeway from the mainland to the island, and he did that by using all the building materials from the ruins of the old city. Neighboring cities were so frightened by Alexander’s conquest that they immediately opened their gates to him. Ever since that time, Tyre has remained in ruins and is a place where fishermen spread their nets.
Understanding the future gives us great confidence of God's faithfulness to provide for our every need. For example, we see that while Jewish followers of Jesus will be on the run, with no possessions other than the clothes on their backs for the last three and a half years before the return of Christ, God will provide for their every need each and every day! Realizing that strengthens our faith to trust God with our situations. As a result, we have greater confidence to face the future, no matter how bleak it may look, because we know God will faithfully provide for our needs as we trust Him for them.
One of the strongest objective evidences of Biblical inspiration if the phenomenon of fulfilled prophecy. The bible is essentially unique among the religious books of mankind in this respect. Some of them contain a few vague forecasts, but nothing comparable to the vast number of specific prophecies found in the Bible. The same is true of modern "prophets", so-called. Such seers as Nostradamus, Jean Dixon, and others have made many predictions, but often they are nebulous and capable of various meanings. A few of their prophecies seem to have been fulfilled in a general way, but most of the have completely failed.(1/181)
Yet it did come to pass. His enemies did harm him. Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king Biblical Prophecy of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. edit Isaiah predicts the Nile drying up, Sea draining
The idea that our respective governments and officials will warn us and tell us how to prepare could be a dangerous one to believe in. If there were to be a global event that many would not survive, the warning alone would cause mass panic, and thousands of deaths as chaos reigned in the streets. Food and water would be hoarded when it could be found, people would stop listening to any authority, it would be every person for themselves. We like to think we would help our neighbor, but if it came down to them or you, what do you think would really happen?
