Click the image to download a high-quality PDF. Image Credit: Rodrigo Quezada Reed in collaboration with Robert Rouse. Statue by PixArtAnimation.
-Daniel 2 (604 B.C.)
Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post by a student in Spain. His contribution is a true blessing. If you have an interest in graphic design or data visualization and would like to contribute to this blog, please contact me.
The Book of Daniel, which many call the Old Testament’s Revelation, develops the story of certain captive Jews in Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon’s court. The six first chapters narrate Daniel’s historical experience there.[i] The others are visions and prophecies. Nevertheless, the vision we illustrate here is situated on the second chapter, because it was originally revealed to Nebuchadnezzar one night, in one of his dreams.
How can we know the Bible is of supernatural origin, and what makes it different from any other holy book that people claim to be from God? To answer this question, many focus on evidence we find outside of the Bible: archaeological studies, historical documentation, and advanced scientific knowledge – all of which can be very helpful to answer skepticism. These lines of argument are built on knowledge found outside the Bible, but there is one line of evidence that relies mainly on scripture itself: the fulfillment of prophecy.
First, let me briefly address the common argument that using the Bible to prove the Bible is circular reasoning. The Bible is not just one book. It is a collection of 66 books by 40 different authors. If it were one work by one author (like many other “holy” books), it would be circular reasoning. This article shows the predictions of prophets whose fulfillment is witnessed by someone else in another time period. In many cases, this witness is recorded in scripture; in a few cases it is mentioned elsewhere in history. This represents multiple, independent lines of corroborating evidence – not circular reasoning.
Divine Origin
Only a being which exists outside the constraints of time can give a detailed description of what will happen in the future with one-hundred percent accuracy. (In general, I have found those who claim a biblical prophecy has failed to be fulfilled are referring to end-times predictions they have mis-categorized.) This is a characteristic which sets it apart from the Qur’an and many other “holy” books which have no prophecies whatsoever or the Book of Mormon which is filled with false predictions.
Here I’ll describe just a few prophecies which I believe prove the Bible’s supernatural origin. See 100prophecies.org, CARM, or our Google Custom Search to find many, many more mind-blowing examples of God’s prophetic words given to his people who compiled them in what we know as the Bible.
Daniel’s 69 Weeks
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
– Daniel 9:25
This prophecy is part of larger discourse in Daniel 9:24-27 detailing the “seventy weeks” revealed to the prophet Daniel by the angel Gabriel. In verse 25, he indicates that the Messiah will come 7 weeks plus 62 weeks (69 weeks total) from the time a decree to restore Jerusalem was issued to the time the Messiah would arrive. Each “week” would have generally been understood by Jewish readers as representing a period of 7 years, each year being 360 days according to the Jewish calendar. This would make the time period 483 years (173,880 days) from the decree to the Messiah’s coming.
The decree came when Nehemiah met with Artaxerxes in 445 B.C. (Neh 2:4-8). That would place Messiah’s coming in 32 A.D. for the prophecy to be exact. The day of his coming was the Triumphal Entry recorded in Luke 19:28-48 (and parallel accounts in other gospels). Prior to that, he kept telling his disciples “mine hour has not yet come.” Chuck Missler argues that Luke 19:44 is in fact a rebuke for not knowing the “hour of they visitation” because the prophecy was so precise they should have been waiting for him that day. For a fuller explanation of this prophecy, other remarkable aspects of the “seventy weeks”, and discussion of the authenticity of this text, see Dr. Missler’s article.
Daniel’s Vision of the Four Great Beasts
Statue from Daniel Chapter 2.
The vision given by the Angel Gabriel in Daniel 7-8 is parallel to the vision of the statue in Daniel 2 (the photo on the right). I have chosen the former because of its specificity. Daniel records not only the symbolism but the interpretation of it which lines up perfectly with the history of the nations listed.
Daniel 8:20 names the kings of “Media and Persia” symbolized by a ram with great power. This matches the Medo-Persian empire as recorded by many historians. Daniel 8:21 names the king of “Grecia” symbolized by a goat which overtakes the ram from the west. Here again, the names and geography match the record of the Greek Empire and the conquest of Alexander the Great. Finally, he says four kingdoms will arise when the Greek Empire falls. Though he did not name these kings, they were: Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Cassander, and Seleucus.
Far more could be said about the sequence of events, specific symbolism, and other details which Daniel would not be able to manipulate to show he was a true prophet. See this article by Kyle Butt for a more thorough analysis and defense of this prophecy.
The Reign of Cyrus
Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; (emphasis mine)
-Isaiah 45:1
Here Isaiah names a king who did indeed gain great power without much resistance. It was written at least 100 years before Cyrus was even born, let alone had risen to power. This is yet another prophecy which could not have been fulfilled by a group of people wishing to validate what they foretold. Chuck Missler has a good article on the authenticity of Isaiah and the reign of Cyrus.
Destruction of the Temple
Jesus explained that the temple in Jerusalem would be torn down all the way to its foundations in Matthew 24:1-2 (Also see the prophecy in Daniel 9:26 and parallel accounts in Mark 13:1-2 and Luke 21:5-6.):
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Josephus, a historian who was also a Jewish Priest (i.e. did not view Jesus as the promised Messiah), recorded the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. The lack of any mention of this in the Gospels is further evidence of their authenticity and early writing. If Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were tossing in mentions of fulfilled prophecies to support their stories, why would they all leave out such an important event? Surely this would have lent more weight to Jesus’ words and given them reason to make up this evidence as well. The more likely explanation is that in fact the Gospels were written beforehand and the truth of Jesus’ words were recorded by others at a later date. Read more about this event here.
Jesus Christ
In addition to Daniel’s vision listed above, over 300 prophecies about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus were made in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament (see a complete list here). Some are more open to interpretation than others, but the sheer volume of messianic predictions is undeniable. Like the things mentioned above, there are details about place names and sequences of events which shut out vague interpretations and would also be out of Jesus’ control if he were just a man. These include his ancestry, birthplace, the national reaction to him, the amount of silver exchanged for his life…it is simply overwhelming. Rather than deal with specific prophecies in this category and the possible objections one-by-one, I will address them more generally and again point to our search tool for further research.
Common Objections to Prophecy
Many who are skeptical of prophecy in general would argue that the wording or symbolism is loose enough that it can simply be re-interpreted to fit history. Consider this prophecy from Nostradamus which supposedly predicted the 9/11 attacks in New York City:
Earthshaking fire from the center of the Earth
Will cause tremors around the New City.
Two great rocks will war for a long time,
Then Arethusa will redden a new river.
I could see how this might fit the World Trade Center attacks, but it could match any number of other events as well. What sets apart prophecies like this from the biblical ones is that the latter includes very specific details which cannot be interpreted multiple ways. The sheer volume of messianic prophecies further narrow the range of possibilities so that not just any old “Messiah” would be able to claim he fulfilled biblical requirements.
Others would say the text was manipulated over time to support a religious agenda. This accusation fails for a number of reasons. First, we have copies of the Old Testament, prophecies and all, that date back hundreds of years before Jesus was born (see the Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls). This means if anyone altered the passages about him, it happened in the New Testament.
But, does that work? The people who were still around in the years following Jesus’ ministry would certainly have refuted not accepted utter fabrications of events they would have known something about. Paul, before he was an evangelist, was a Pharisee of Pharisees. He had deep knowledge of said prophecies and a hatred for all who followed Jesus. He would not only have reason but also the influence to expose such a fraud. Instead, he repented and accepted the “Gospel Truth.” The video below is a good discussion with Lee Strobel talking about how he viewed these issues when he was an atheist and after he became a Christian.
Further objections and theories about how the Gospel writers must have invented this intricate story quickly become self-contradictory and sound more like an ancient Jewish conspiracy theory than a reasonable, objective look at the evidence.
How Will You Respond?
This is more than an academic exercise. God didn’t just make (and keep) the promises he gave about people and nations that died long ago. He also makes promises about things yet to come which matter to you and I. There will be a day when Jesus returns to fulfill the “end-times” prophecies, and when that day comes we better know where we stand. Those who repent of their sins, seek forgiveness through Jesus’ blood shed on the cross, and receive the Holy Spirit will be with him in Heaven. Those who run from his truth will choose a worse fate – an eternity in Hell.
Do not make that choice before honestly examining your heart to know whether you reject the sure word of prophecy because it “doesn’t hold water” or if it is because you are looking for any reason at all to deny the God who sees all things from beginning to end. Do not be deceived by yourself or by false teachers, for you know not the day nor the hour when it will be too late to turn back.
Isaac Newton is renowned as one of the greatest scientists of all time, but many are not aware that he spent more time writing about theology than about physics. Now you can see digitized versions of his biblical commentaries thanks to the Israeli Library.
The city described in Revelation 21:9-27 is amazingly vivid and also somewhat strange. It has great walls, many gates, pure glassy gold, precious stones, and light that shines forever. In the next chapter, Rev. 22, we find out more about God’s throne, the river of life, and the tree of life. We are only in this world for a time; it is eternity which we must prepare for…do you know what it might be like? In this article we’ll examine just one aspect of the New Jerusalem: its sheer size.
For some time now, I have been at a loss to imagine a golden city with twelve foundations as described in verses 19-20. When revisiting this passage recently, it noticed that the city is described as a cube with each side being of equal length (Rev 21:16). Its measurements are 12,000 furlongs (or stadia) on each side (Rev 21:16), which converts to around 1,380 miles.
Just how big is that? The illustration below compares the size of this city to Planet Earth:
Notice the colors along each edge. In drawing this illustration, I remembered that there are 12 of them in a cube, matching the number of foundation stones. This is just a conjecture on my part, but it would make sense to me that the foundations are along each edge rather than simply below it.
At this point I should explain that we’re talking about a brand new place, restored to the conditions of perfection that humans once enjoyed before we rebelled in Eden. Such a radical change to our physical world could go so far as to alter our concept of space and perhaps modify physical laws in ways we cannot imagine. Therefore, certain aspects of this city, its construction, shape, dimensions, and more are simply unimaginable.
At the same time, God does give us some basic parameters that relate to the physical world we can understand. As I mentioned above, we know some basic dimensions (even if we don’t know the exact shape or layout). I soon wondered how many people might fit in such a cubical volume. After all, its footprint won’t even cover Russia! Is there enough room for everyone, or only the chosen “elect?”
It is a fun exercise to take a few guesses about how many people might fit in this box. Make a few guesses of your own below.
If we ignore the areas that might be taken up for public use, streets, etc. and cram every individual into a prison-cell sized room, you could fit one quintillion (one billion billion, or one with 18 zeros after it) people inside.
One estimate of the total number of humans that have ever lived on this planet puts the figure at around 106.5 billion. For the sake of argument, if we assume each and every one gets a place in the city, that leaves enough room for everyone to have a house that’s 1,500 feet on each side, or 2.25 million square feet on each level and around 150 stories tall! In other words, it seems there will be more than enough room for everyone.
Yet, not everyone gets to go (John 3:18-19). There will come a day when God will judge everyone according to their works (Rom 14:10-12). For those who have repented of their sins and believed on Jesus Christ for forgiveness, this judgment will determine our rewards in Heaven (Matt 25:21). Everyone else will go to the Lake of Fire (Rev 21:8) along with Satan and the angels that follow him, earning the title “demon.” Yes, even some angels will go to Hell. In fact, Hell was originally intended for fallen angels, not for us (Matt 25:41).
Will you dwell in this place called the New Jerusalem, destined to spend eternity with the creator of all beauty? God wants you to be there with him. He has made it clear that he has kept a place with plenty of room for everyone, but as a perfect judge he must not allow sin to go unpunished. If you are not 100% sure of your destiny after death, do not wait another day to put it all on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who paid this penalty on your behalf (John 3:16). Repent. Believe. I hope you enjoy your future dwelling place!
Some men have taken dark oaths that are leading the world into self-destruction. In this technological era we’re living in, what will happen to human spirituality? What will become of us? Will we be able to find the answers before it is too late? Find some answers here.
This high-quality, visually engaging presentation by Mark Spence, the Dean of the School of Biblical Evangelism, gives clear reasons why the Bible can be trusted as inerrant, inspired, and infallible.
Every now and then people come across a classic scholarly work that for one reason or another seems to have been forgotten or at least taken out of the main stream of cultural influence although their truth is just as timeless as when it was originally produced. Clarence Larkin’s book, Dispensational Truth, is one such treasure. It is still sold in Christian bookstores and has been referenced by popular authors like Tim LaHaye, but that’s about the extent of it. His charts are available within Sword Searcher, which has a good bio. You can also get the full text and images for free at www.preservedwords.com.
To give you an idea of his influence over time, consider this: every illustration I’ve ever seen describing the statue in the vision of Daniel 2:31-45 is a variation of Larkin’s original graphic.
Clarence Larkin’s chart on Daniel’s Vision
I can identify with this particular author because, like me, he was a young mechanical engineer with some experience in drafting before being called into ministry. While a pastor, he employed his skills toward creating exacting illustrations of the Bible. The Larkin Estate indicates that he produced 205 charts and illustrations, complete with biblical references and full explanations of each. The ones I find most impressive are his works titled “Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth” and “The Book of Revelation.”
Clarence Larkin: The Book of Revelation
As you can see, the original illustration is a black-and-white print. While Mr. Larkin did produce color charts, those he published were not, perhaps due to technology or cost limitations on producing a full-color book back in the 1920’s. I have found some colorized versions, but in my opinion they lack the original quality of his work. It has been on my to-do list for some time to make an attempt at converting at least one of these charts to a high-quality, interactive web presentation. Given the astounding detail of each chart, I’m not expecting to complete that task any time soon (any graphic designers out there looking for a project?).
He built these graphics at a time when no one had heard of the Bible being converted to a digital format. No one could yet dream of the complex visualizations made possible by advanced technology of the information age. I personally believe he was ahead of his time in creating ways to visualize related points in a unified whole that gives a consistent biblical picture.
Clarence Larkin gives due credit to the one who made such a work possible:
“With profound gratitude and thankfulness for the blessing of his Heavenly Father…in the hands of the Holy Spirit…”
Indeed, without the direction of the Spirit, no one man alone could accomplish this remarkable work. He also could not have done it if he had chosen to focus efforts on presenting and debating multiple theological views. On this point, the author states:
“[I have] sought to avoid such criticisms and to simply expound the Word of God as the Holy Spirit opened it up to [me.]”
It took three years to produce a book on just one theological view which he earnestly believed and was framed by nothing more or less than the scriptures. Had he gone beyond that into every wind of doctrine, three years would scarcely be enough to complete a discussion on the Book of Daniel alone!
Therein lies an area in which I believe it’s time to shift our thinking about the way we produce and use Bible study software. Everything available today includes a host of commentaries, versions, systematic theologies…all of which tend to have conflicting viewpoints to one degree or another. Yet, when Christians gather together for Bible study, only one such view is presented. To do otherwise would lead to confusion and be time prohibitive to boot. The same holds true for the working man or woman today who has trouble finding time to even read the Bible daily, let alone sift through a full library of data.
The teacher of such a study would wisely consult multiple resources while praying for God’s guidance, so in that sense today’s study tools are great. But, I believe that in-depth study should be made possible for everyone, not just the scholars and teachers. One way to do this is to 1) make it free to everyone and 2) limit the information to only authoritative works which agree with those of the author of said software as guided by the Spirit. While I do agree that it’s a not a good idea to limit access to multiple viewpoints, I do not agree that presenting an endless list of options to sort through accomplishes that goal. That kind of information overload actually makes good information harder to find, which is the last thing I want.
By restricting the database to a more popular-level summary based on detailed and reliable scholarship of old (such as the charts mentioned above), I expect it to be possible for one or a few godly men to produce more advanced tools quite economically. They could be used by anyone and would contain the same level of accuracy, detail, and cohesiveness of the many works of Clarence Larkin and others like him. Anyone willing to help in this endeavor is more than encouraged to pray and if you feel led to do so, contact me by leaving a comment on this blog.
