IS THE BIBLE REAL AND RELIABLE?

1. Prophecies about the fall of the city of Petra (formerly Sela) in the region of the ancient name of Seir (Edom) - (Jer. 49:16) (Ezek. 35:1-15) (Isa. 34:9-15) (Jer. 49 :18.)

The above prophecy regarding Petra has been fulfilled. A new trade route was selected in favor of Palmyra. Petra's trade dies. Also in 363, a powerful earthquake destroyed many buildings as well as the city's water supply system.

2. On the Fall of Babylon (Isaiah 13:17-22)

God foretold its fall and also foretold that it would never be rebuilt. The prophecy spells out exactly who will wreak havoc. For many centuries, the prophecy seemed unfulfilled. Until night fell, the Medes and Persians entered the city and Babylon fell. Babylon, the mightiest city in the world, the capital of the nation that enslaved God's people, was forgotten. As the Prophet said, "It will never be rebuilt."

3. Fall of Tyre

(Ezekiel 28) (Ezekiel 26:3-19)

In 586 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar attacked and destroyed Tire as prophesied. But the people fled to a nearby island with their belongings and treasures. For 240 years, the city of Tire lay in ruins, and the inhabitants of the island still lived. Finally, Alexander the Great sent his army to Tyre, but found it in ruins, and he could not get to the island because the locals fortified it with an extensive water barrier. However, he did not give up. He devised a plan: he decided to build a wall leading from the mainland to the island. Building materials were taken from the ruins of the city of Tyre. The army threw the whole city into the sea. They even scraped off the sand until only bare rock remained. So the prophecy was fulfilled, and the city of Tire was flat and bare as a top of a rock, and "great waters" covered it.

4. Sometime before 500 BC, the prophet Daniel announced that Israel's long-awaited Messiah* would begin his public ministry 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (Dan. 9:25-26). Furthermore, he prophesied that the Messiah would be "destroyed", killed, and that this event would occur before the second destruction of Jerusalem. There is abundant evidence that these prophecies were fully fulfilled in the life (and crucifixion) of Jesus Christ. The decree to rebuild Jerusalem was issued by the Persian king Artaxerxes to the Hebrew priest Ezra in 458 BC. 483 years later, Jesus Christ began his public ministry in Galilee. (It should be noted here that due to the calendar changes, most historians date the beginning of Christ's ministry to 26 A.D. Also, there is a one-year gap between 1 B.C. and 1 A.D.) The Crucifixion of Jesus It happened only a few years later, four decades later, in AD 70. Jerusalem has been destroyed.

5. The prophet Isaiah prophesied that a conqueror named Cyrus would destroy the seemingly impregnable Babylon and conquer Egypt and most of the then known world. Isaiah said that the same man would allow the exiled Jews to return freely to their land without paying ransom (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1 and 45:13). Isaiah recorded this prophecy 150 years before Cyrus was born, 180 years before Cyrus did these things (Cyrus actually did all of them), and 80 years before the expulsion of the Jews.

6. Joshua prophesied that Jericho would be rebuilt by one man. He also said that this man's eldest son would die when construction began, and his younger son would die when it was completed (Joshua 6:26). Some five centuries later, his prophecy was fulfilled in the life and history of the Chiela Bethel family (1 Kings 16:33-34).

7. An unnamed prophet of God (probably Shimea) said that a future king of Judah named Josiah would collect the bones of all the mystical priests of King Jeroboam ("priests of the high places") of Israel and burn them on the altar on the day of Jeroboam (1 Kings 13:2 and 2 Books Kings 23:15-18). This event took place about 300 years after it was foretold.

8. Prophecies about the Babylonian captivity, about the expulsion of the Israelites, about the plagues that will befall them for turning away from God.

God through the prophets has been warning Israel of this for centuries - from Moses to the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and other prophets.

The Babylonian captivity or exile refers to the period in Israel's history when the Jewish people were held captive by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II. This is an important period in biblical history because the captivity/expulsion of the Jews and the return and rebirth were the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. God used Babylon as an instrument to judge Israel for idolatry and rebellion against God. This period (607-586 BC) actually consisted of several distinct periods when the Jews were taken captive by Babylon. With successive revolts against Babylonian rule, Nebuchadnezzar led his army against Judah until they besieged Jerusalem for over a year, killing many and destroying the Jewish temple, capturing thousands of Jews, and reducing Jerusalem to ruins.

The Jews will return to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile, as the Bible prophesied. This prophecy was fulfilled in 537 B.C. when the Israelites returned to Israel with permission from the Persian king Cyrus and began rebuilding the city and temple. The return led by Ezra led to the rebirth of the Jewish people and the rebuilding of the Temple.

9. The prophecy of the Lord Jesus about siege of the Jerusalem . Also about the great tribulation that will come before the generation living in His time passes away.

While Jesus was walking out of the temple, the disciples approached him to show him the buildings of the temple. But He said to them: Do you see all this? Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. (Mt 24:1, Mk 13:2, Lk 21:6).

The prophecies were soon fulfilled by the Romans.