An Amazing Fact: When America's economy rebounded after the 2008 recession, the demand for palmistry—foretelling the future by “reading” a person’s palm—surged. And in 2018, Americans spent $2 billion on spiritualism, including psychics and fortune tellers.
Did you know that the Bible unequivocally warns against contacting psychics to discover details about your future? “Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them” (Leviticus 19:31). Save your money the next time you pass by a fortune teller’s storefront.
But there is a safe way you can know the future! The Bible is filled with precise predictions about what has happened in the past and what is soon to happen in our world—and what it means for you and your family. In fact, no other book has fulfilled prophecies like the Bible! And that’s why you can trust God’s Word more than anything else in the world.
Here are six fulfilled prophecies that prove the Bible is true!
Nations Would Rise and Fall
Over 2,500 years ago, God gave King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon a dream of a colossal statue with a head of gold, chest of silver, thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet mixed of iron and clay. At the end of the dream, a large rock smashed the idol to pieces. The king was bewildered by the vision, and his wise men could not explain it.
But Daniel, a Hebrew captive, was given knowledge by God to interpret the dream. The statue represented the rise and fall of powerful empires—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the nations of Europe that followed after Rome. Even secular historians confirm that history has played out exactly as God said it would! And that’s how we know that the rock destroying the statue, which depicts the coming of God’s kingdom, will also surely happen. Are you ready?
Israel’s Future Predicted
Through millennia, predictions about Israel’s rise, captivity, return, and its scattering to other lands have been fulfilled to the letter, all on the timetable God outlined. The prophet Jeremiah, for instance, predicted Israel’s 70-year captivity in Babylon. “This whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years” (Jeremiah 25:11). Jerusalem fell in 605 bc to the Babylonians, and captives began to return 70 years later after the decree of Cyrus, king of Persia. (See Ezra 1:1.)
Jesus’ Birthplace Named Centuries Earlier
The Old Testament book of Micah, written hundreds of years before Christ’s birth, foretold the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). And exactly as predicted, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, 70 miles from Mary’s and Joseph’s home in Nazareth. Matthew 2:1 confirms, “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, … wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.”
The King on a Donkey
You might imagine that the Savior of humanity would have a regal procession when He entered Jerusalem. But Zechariah predicted something different: “Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). More than five centuries later, Mark’s Gospel account notes: “They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna! “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”’ And Jesus went into Jerusalem" (Mark 11:7,9,11)
Crucifixion Detailed— 1,000 Years in Advance!
A thousand years before crucifixion was even practiced, King David foretold how the Messiah would be executed: “For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet” (Psalm 22:16). Matthew’s Gospel records the fulfillment: “Then they crucified Him, … that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet” (Matthew 27:35).
No Peace Until Jesus Returns!
The time before Christ's second coming was prophesied to be one of violent conflict. Jesus warned, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" (Luke 21:10). At Least 108 million people perished in war during the twentieth century alone. And one historian calculated that during the past 3,400 years, humans have been at peace for only 268 years.
With global tensions simmering in many corners of the planet, with more and more nations seeking and obtaining weapons of mass destruction, and with conflicts stoked by ideology and greed, peace will not be ours until Jesus returns. “Unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24:22).
But you don’t have to be afraid! Because we know that these prophecies were fulfilled exactly, we can know that Christ will return as He promised and save those who trust in Him. “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him” (Revelation 1:7).
How can we be ready? The Bible says that we must “keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). So read your Bible daily and ask God for help to obey His commandments!
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
What other prophecies in the Bible have come true? And how can we know that the Bible predicted all of them ahead of time? Our study guide Right on Time! Prophetic Appointments revealed has answers that will amaze and inspire you! Download your free copy today at Time18.AFTV.in.