Eye of the Storm

The War of Gog and Magog

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 12:39:00 +0000

If you are paying attention to current events, does it seem to you the players are falling into place for the following war:

Ezekiel 38 through 39 tells of a future invasion of Israel by a vast coalition of nations that surround it. As we read the headlines in the newspapers of today, and witness the conflict in the Middle East, it's not hard to imagine that this invasion prophesied over 2600 years ago, could be fulfilled in our lifetime. Ezekiel 36-37 predicts a gathering of the Jews to the nation of Israel, which will be followed by this massive invasion. For 19 centuries the Jewish people were scattered throughout the world, and until May 14, 1948 there was no nation of Israel to invade. With the nation of Israel now a reality, the stage seems set for the war that will usher in the tribulation and the rise of the Antichrist; a war that will end with the destruction of Israel's enemies by God Himself, and lead to the signing of a peace treaty with the Antichrist.

As you read Ezekiel 38 and 39, it isn't just the creation of the nation of Israel that makes this prophecy seem likely to be fulfilled in the near future. The nations that God tells us will form this coalition against Israel seem more likely now than perhaps ever before to form just such an alliance. To understand the prophecies of Ezekiel about this future invasion, it's important to understand who the players will be.

There are many theories as to who will join in this future invasion of Israel. Before going through a list of the individual nations, I'll list some of the more common theories you'll hear when studying the prophecies from Ezekiel 38.

Ezekiel 38:1-6

1. Hashemite Kingdom Theory: The Islamic Nations will come against Israel either by an Iraqi-led, Jordanian led, or Turkish led coalition. The enemy from the north refers to the areas of Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. These Islamic nations make up the lands occupied by Magog, Gomer, Togarmah, Meshech and Tubal.

2. Caucus Theory: Gog and Magog are the Arab nations in an alliance with the Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union. This theory leaves out most of Russia, and includes only the southern part.

3. All Europe theory: Gog and Magog are the sons of Japeth thus the originators of the European races. Gog and Magog therefore indicates all of Europe. This is not a widely held theory and I could find little support for it.

4. Russian Theory: The Hebrew word 'rosh' in verse 3 is identified with Russia, 'Tubal' with Tiblisi or Tobolsk and 'Meshech' with Moscow, therefore Gog and Magog refers to Russia. This is one of the most commonly held views and is based on a different interpretation of the Hebrew word Rosh (used as a noun rather than adjective), similarities in the pronunciation of words, and the Greek translation of Rosh referring to a tribe of people found in what is now Russia.

5. Indo-European Theory: Gog and Magog include the nations descending from Japheth: Russia, the Caucasus(Turkey), Iraq, and the Islamic republics of Central Asia. The coalition is an alliance of Arab nations, Muslim republics, Georgia, southern Russia and the Black sea area.

These are some of the theories you will find if you do any research into the prophecies of Ezekiel 38. You may also find interpretations that are a combination of these, and in fact, I tend to find more evidence for a version of the Indo-European and Caucacus Theory.

Before looking at the participants of this invasion in more detail, it's important to understand that the war described in Ezekiel 38 is not the same as the war that will come at the end of the tribulation when Jesus returns to defeat the Antichrist and establish his millennial kingdom. How do we know this? The war at the end of the tribulation, known as Armageddon, is a world war. Revelation tells us that this battle will involve all nations. The war described in Ezekiel includes specific nations that invade Israel. Also, Armageddon is at the climax of the tribulation, while the war described in Ezekiel comes well before then.

Ezekiel 38:1-7 gives 10 names as participants in the invasion of Israel that will follow the regathering of the Jews to their homeland. First mentioned, is the land of Magog. The most common identity for Magog is in Central Asia. The Jewish historian Josephus said, "Magog founded the Magogians, called Scythians by the Greeks. Scythians were a nomadic tribe who inhabited the ancient territory from Central Asia across the southern part of ancient Russia." Today this area is inhabited by the former Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and possibly northern parts of Afghanistan. All of these nations that make up the land of Magog have one thing in common - Islam. Militant Islam has been on the rise in these countries since the fall of the Soviet Union, when Islam no longer had to be practiced secretly. Radical Islamic groups such as the Islamic Renaissance Party, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islam are working to reunite central Asian nations and ultimately the entire Muslim world. It is from this part of the world that a leader will arise to bring together a great coalition of nations to invade Israel.

Probably the most debated verse is Ezekiel 38:3. There are two main views on the identity of the Nations God is referring to in this verse. I'll list both here, and let the reader decide which sounds most reasonable.

Rosh as Russia

Some versions of the Bible translate the Hebrew word 'rosh' in verse 3 as a noun referring to a place in Russia. The least credible support for this view is that Rosh sounds like the modern-day name Russia and Meshech sounds like Moscow. In this translation they treat rosh as a proper name. The Greek translation translates Rosh as the proper name Ros. Because the ancient Sarmations were known as the Ras, Rashu, and Rus and inhabited Rasapu which is now Southern Russia, some feel this verse points to Russia as the prince of Rosh. Another support sited for this view is that verse 6and verse 15 say the invasion will come from remote parts of the north, and Russia is more remote.

Rosh as chief

Other versions of the Bible translate 'rosh' as an adjective. The argument here is that in the Massoretic text the words 'chief prince' carry the accents Tiphha and Zaqeph-gadol. The Tiphha appears under the resh of the Hebrew word 'rosh'; the Zaqeph-gadol appears on top of the sin of the Hebrew word 'nish'. The Tiphha to the right, underneath the initial consonant of the world 'rosh', or chief, is prepositive and does not mark the tone syllable. The world 'nish' or prince has the accent Zaqeph-gadol which is disjunctive and indicates a pause. So, verse three would read:

"Behold, I am against thee, o Gog, the prince, {pause} chief of Meshech and Tubal"

Rather than:

"Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal."

Here 'rosh' is translated head or chief as it is 423 other times in the Old Testament.

In short, if you believe 'rosh' should be translated as a proper noun you may find the interpretation that Russia will be a part of this coalition more reasonable. If you believe 'rosh' should be an adjective here, you need only concern yourself with who Meshech and Tubal are. I tend to have a problem with the "it sounds like Russia" theory, and find the translation of rosh as an adjective more believable, but to each his own.

Meshech and Tubal in verses 2 and 6, were the names of the 6th and 5th sons of Japheth, the son of Noah (Genesis 10:2). Ezekiel 27:13 also mentions Meshech and Tubal as trading partners with Tyre (Modern Lebanon). It's likely that Meshech and Tubal refer to the ancient Moshi/Mushki and Tubalu/Tibareni who dwelled in the area around, primarily south of, the Black and Caspian Sea in Ezekiel's day. Today these nations would be in the modern country of Turkey, parts of Southern Russia and Northern Iran. All areas with a Muslim majority.

Verse 6 adds Gomer and Beth-Togarmah to the coalition. "Gomer" was the first son of Japheth. The Gomerites were the ancient Cimmerians, expelled in 700 B.C. from the southern steppes of Russia into what is today Turkey. "Togarmah" is the 3rd son of Gomer and beth at the beginning of the name is the Hebrew word for 'house' or 'place of'. In Ezekiel's time there was a city in Cappodocia (Modern Turkey) known as Tegarma, Tagarma, Til-garimmu, and Takarama.

The possibility that four of the names mentioned in Ezekiel are now in Turkey makes a pretty strong argument for Turkey being a part of the invasion of Israel. Current circumstances in that country also lend this view some credibility. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Turkey has been gaining inroads into Central Asia (Magog). It is also linked to Central Asia both ethnically and linguistically, and has a growing number of political parties that support opposition to Israel, establishment of a Turkish Islamic Republic, and the worldwide rule of Islam.

Verse 5 brings three more names into the mix. God tells us that "Persia, Cush and Put will be with them".

Persia is a pretty easy one. In 539 B.C. the Persians conquered the city of Babylon. You only need look at a map of the ancient Persian Empire to see that it was centered in the nation known today as Iran. In fact Iran was called Persia until 1935 when it was changed to Iran and then to the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution. It's no secret that Iran is an archenemy of Israel and the West, and a supporter of the Palestinians. They are actively working to get other Arab countries to change camps in their cooperation with the U.S. and Israel.

The ancient kingdom of Cush in Ezekiels time was the land just south of Egypt on the Nile River. Today this land is occupied by Sudan. Sudan is home to the National Islamic Front, is ruled by an Islamic military dictatorship, a strong supporter of Iraq, home to Osama bin Landen from 1991-1996, and harbors countless Islamic terrorist groups. Sudan would easily fit into the coalition as it is already close allies with Iran, trading military supplies for docking rights on the Red Sea shipping routes.

Ancient Put was the land just west of Egypt, or what is today Libya. Libya is another sponsor of terrorism, and openly refuses to recognize Israel's right to even exist. When the coalition against Israel is formed, Libya won't have to be asked twice to join.

Verse 6 adds "and many people with you." The nations listed specifically are all somewhat distant from Israel. By adding "and many people with you", God may have been indicating that those nations and peoples in closer proximity to Israel will join the Jihad. Other nations that might join the alliance are Iraq, Syria, Jordon, and Egypt. All of them are Islamic nations, and all of them would not hesitate to support the destruction of Israel were the opportunity to join such a vast coalition presented to them.

Below is a list of the nations that are listed in Ezekiel as Israel's last-days enemies:

ANCIENT NAME	MODERN NATION	EXPLANATION
Rosh	Russia or Chief	Ancient Sarmatians known as Rashu, Rasapu, Ros, and Rus. OR Translated as the adjective Chief.
Magog	Central Asia	Ancient Scythians - Islamic southern republics of the former Soviet Union with a population of 60 million Muslims. This territory could include modern Afghanistan.
Meshech	Turkey	Ancient Muschki and Musku in Cilicia and Cappadocia.
Tubal	Turkey (also southern Russia and Iran)	Ancient Tubalu in Cappadocia.
Persia	Iran	Name changed from Persia to Iran in 1935.
Ethiopia (Cush)	Sudan	Ancient Cush, south of Egypt.
Put	Libya	Ancient Put, west of Egypt.
Gomer	Turkey	Ancient Cimmerians - from the seventh century to first century B.C. in central/western Anatolia.
Beth-togarmah	Turkey	Til-garimmu - between ancient Carchemish and Haran (southern Turkey).
Many peoples with you	Other Islamic nations	Possibly Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt

The reasons God gives us for the enemies' invasion of Israel are further proof that the attack will be an Islamic invasion.

The first reason God gives for the invasion in Ezekiel 38 is a desire by the coalition to cover the Jewish land and wipe them off the face of the earth. Urged on by a hatred of the Jewish people they will seek to destroy them and the nation of Israel. This is the stated goal today of almost every Islamic nation in the Middle East. The only nations not currently in a declared state of war with Israel are Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan, yet they would certainly be glad to see Israel eliminated if presented with a willing leader and an opportunity to rid the Middle East of Islam's archenemy.

God tells us that they also come to "seize plunder…and to capture great spoil". Many verses in the Quran advocated plundering for the benefit of Islam and there are several instances of this war tactic throughout the history of Muhammad's life. In fact, it is a common theme in his teachings.

This invasion of Israel and attack on the Jewish people will indeed be a Jihad, but it will also be the final Jihad.

Ezekiel 38:13"Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its villages will say to you, 'Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?'"

As this invasion develops, a few countries will make a lame protest. This isn't hard to believe when you look at the indifference most nations display as Israel is repeatedly attacked by terrorists.

The specific nations who question Gog's actions are "Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish". Sheba and Dedan are not hard to identify. These were ancient names for what is known today as Saudi Arabia.

Tarshish is most commonly agreed to be ancient Tartessus or the area of present day Spain in Western Europe. In Ezekiels day, Tarshish was in the farthest west regions of the known world. By referring to Tarshish and all her merchants, Ezekiel could have been indicating that Western Europe will join with Saudi Arabia in denouncing the invasion. Interestingly, Saudi Arabia is the only Arab nation to consistently side with the West against radical Islamic elements around the world. The royals of Saudi Arabia mostly side with the West out of an interest in self preservation, and at times oppose us behind the scenes, but they would most probably put on a show of opposition to radical Islam in order to maintain the support of western governments.

A similar alliance has been seen once before during the Gulf War of the early 1990's. The U.S., Western Europe, and Saudi Arabia were allied against Iraq, while Russia, Iran, Sudan, Libya, and most other Middle East nations either aligned with Iraq, or against the U.S. either by directly opposing it, or by remaining neutral.

The good news is that God wins. God will come against the invaders Himself and destroy them. Verses 19-20 say that there will be an earthquake so great that people all over the world will tremble. In the ensuing chaos, nations will begin to turn on each other. The confusion will lead to the largest case of death by friendly fire ever seen.

Verse 22 of Ezekiel tells us that there will be plagues, torrents of rain, hailstones, and burning sulfur. Just as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, he will destroy these invading forces. Once again, God will make it known to all the nations that He is the Lord. He will give the nations proof that He is the Holy One in Israel.

This war against Israel will pave the way for the Antichrist's military rule over the world and his demand that the world worship him as God. With Islam defeated and the Christian Church raptured, opposition to worshipping a man as God will be greatly reduced. Those who are left would have no army with which to mount much of a protest.

So, how should Christians respond to this prophecy? In Ezekiel 39:6-7 and 28 God says that this end-times battle will happen that "they will know that I am the Lord". This message that God's purpose is to cause Israel and the other nations to know He is Lord is repeated over 60 times in Ezekiel. By learning about prophecy and teaching it to others, people will be able to see the glory, majesty, and sovereignty of God in the fulfillment of His divine word. By knowing our Bible and teaching it to others, they will be able to see that there is a divine creator, and a plan for them. Through Jesus Christ and the salvation he offers us freely, there is victory and an eternity more glorious than they can imagine.

Scientists respond to Gore's warnings of climate catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 21:14:00 +0000

"The Inconvenient Truth" is indeed inconvenient to alarmists
By Tom Harris
Monday, June 12, 2006

"Scientists have an independent obligation to respect and present the truth as they see it," Al Gore sensibly asserts in his film "An Inconvenient Truth", showing at Cumberland 4 Cinemas in Toronto since Jun 2. With that outlook in mind, what do world climate experts actually think about the science of his movie?

Professor Bob Carter of the Marine Geophysical Laboratory at James Cook University, in Australia gives what, for many Canadians, is a surprising assessment: "Gore's circumstantial arguments are so weak that they are pathetic. It is simply incredible that they, and his film, are commanding public attention."

But surely Carter is merely part of what most people regard as a tiny cadre of "climate change skeptics" who disagree with the "vast majority of scientists" Gore cites?

No; Carter is one of hundreds of highly qualified non-governmental, non-industry, non-lobby group climate experts who contest the hypothesis that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are causing significant global climate change. "Climate experts" is the operative term here. Why? Because what Gore's "majority of scientists" think is immaterial when only a very small fraction of them actually work in the climate field.

Even among that fraction, many focus their studies on the impacts of climate change; biologists, for example, who study everything from insects to polar bears to poison ivy. "While many are highly skilled researchers, they generally do not have special knowledge about the causes of global climate change," explains former University of Winnipeg climatology professor Dr. Tim Ball. "They usually can tell us only about the effects of changes in the local environment where they conduct their studies."

This is highly valuable knowledge, but doesn't make them climate change cause experts, only climate impact experts.

So we have a smaller fraction.

But it becomes smaller still. Among experts who actually examine the causes of change on a global scale, many concentrate their research on designing and enhancing computer models of hypothetical futures. "These models have been consistently wrong in all their scenarios," asserts Ball. "Since modelers concede computer outputs are not "predictions" but are in fact merely scenarios, they are negligent in letting policy-makers and the public think they are actually making forecasts."

We should listen most to scientists who use real data to try to understand what nature is actually telling us about the causes and extent of global climate change. In this relatively small community, there is no consensus, despite what Gore and others would suggest.

Here is a small sample of the side of the debate we almost never hear:

Appearing before the Commons Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development last year, Carleton University paleoclimatologist Professor Tim Patterson testified, "There is no meaningful correlation between CO2 levels and Earth's temperature over this [geologic] time frame. In fact, when CO2 levels were over ten times higher than they are now, about 450 million years ago, the planet was in the depths of the absolute coldest period in the last half billion years." Patterson asked the committee, "On the basis of this evidence, how could anyone still believe that the recent relatively small increase in CO2 levels would be the major cause of the past century's modest warming?"

Patterson concluded his testimony by explaining what his research and "hundreds of other studies" reveal: on all time scales, there is very good correlation between Earth's temperature and natural celestial phenomena such changes in the brightness of the Sun.

Dr. Boris Winterhalter, former marine researcher at the Geological Survey of Finland and professor in marine geology, University of Helsinki, takes apart Gore's dramatic display of Antarctic glaciers collapsing into the sea. "The breaking glacier wall is a normally occurring phenomenon which is due to the normal advance of a glacier," says Winterhalter. "In Antarctica the temperature is low enough to prohibit melting of the ice front, so if the ice is grounded, it has to break off in beautiful ice cascades. If the water is deep enough icebergs will form."

Dr. Wibjörn Karlén, emeritus professor, Dept. of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Sweden, admits, "Some small areas in the Antarctic Peninsula have broken up recently, just like it has done back in time. The temperature in this part of Antarctica has increased recently, probably because of a small change in the position of the low pressure systems."

But Karlén clarifies that the 'mass balance' of Antarctica is positive - more snow is accumulating than melting off. As a result, Ball explains, there is an increase in the 'calving' of icebergs as the ice dome of Antarctica is growing and flowing to the oceans. When Greenland and Antarctica are assessed together, "their mass balance is considered to possibly increase the sea level by 0.03 mm/year - not much of an effect," Karlén concludes.

The Antarctica has survived warm and cold events over millions of years. A meltdown is simply not a realistic scenario in the foreseeable future.

Gore tells us in the film, "Starting in 1970, there was a precipitous drop-off in the amount and extent and thickness of the Arctic ice cap." This is misleading, according to Ball: "The survey that Gore cites was a single transect across one part of the Arctic basin in the month of October during the 1960s when we were in the middle of the cooling period. The 1990 runs were done in the warmer month of September, using a wholly different technology."

Karlén explains that a paper published in 2003 by University of Alaska professor Igor Polyakov shows that, the region of the Arctic where rising temperature is supposedly endangering polar bears showed fluctuations since 1940 but no overall temperature rise. "For several published records it is a decrease for the last 50 years," says Karlén

Dr. Dick Morgan, former advisor to the World Meteorological Organization and climatology researcher at University of Exeter, U.K. gives the details, "There has been some decrease in ice thickness in the Canadian Arctic over the past 30 years but no melt down. The Canadian Ice Service records show that from 1971-1981 there was average, to above average, ice thickness. From 1981-1982 there was a sharp decrease of 15% but there was a quick recovery to average, to slightly above average, values from 1983-1995. A sharp drop of 30% occurred again 1996-1998 and since then there has been a steady increase to reach near normal conditions since 2001."

Concerning Gore's beliefs about worldwide warming, Morgan points out that, in addition to the cooling in the NW Atlantic, massive areas of cooling are found in the North and South Pacific Ocean; the whole of the Amazon Valley; the north coast of South America and the Caribbean; the eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caucasus and Red Sea; New Zealand and even the Ganges Valley in India. Morgan explains, "Had the IPCC used the standard parameter for climate change (the 30 year average) and used an equal area projection, instead of the Mercator (which doubled the area of warming in Alaska, Siberia and the Antarctic Ocean) warming and cooling would have been almost in balance."

Gore's point that 200 cities and towns in the American West set all time high temperature records is also misleading according to Dr. Roy Spencer, Principal Research Scientist at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. "It is not unusual for some locations, out of the thousands of cities and towns in the U.S., to set all-time records," he says. "The actual data shows that overall, recent temperatures in the U.S. were not unusual."

Carter does not pull his punches about Gore's activism, "The man is an embarrassment to US science and its many fine practitioners, a lot of whom know (but feel unable to state publicly) that his propaganda crusade is mostly based on junk science."

In April sixty of the world's leading experts in the field asked Prime Minister Harper to order a thorough public review of the science of climate change, something that has never happened in Canada. Considering what's at stake - either the end of civilization, if you believe Gore, or a waste of billions of dollars, if you believe his opponents - it seems like a reasonable request.

The Second Amendment

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 03:37:00 +0000

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

The Second Amendment is clearly framed to preserve
a necessary, well regulated militia. It refers to a separate natural
"right to keep and bear arms".

The Constitutional Amendments seem to me, primarily a list of limits imposed on your Federal Government, to preserve freedoms and freedom.

The Second Amendment is notable in that it not only exalts the
people's ability to collectively take up arms in defense of freedom,
but by default calls on the people to maintain said ability.

It is thus a citizen's duty to keep and bear, because that preserves
what the Second Amendment seeks to preserve: readiness.

US vs. Miller resulted in the dubious analysis that a sawed-off shotgun was not a suitable weapon for use by a militia, and therefore was not protected by the Second Amendment. I feel the Court was incompetent to form any opinion on what constitutes a weapon that "has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia".

It was incompetent because the nature and needs of war change rapidly. Since one cannot predict what weapons the future will bring, nor what war will be like in days to come, it is foolish to set into stone what types of weapons are or aren't suitable for militia use.

A lot has changed since the 1700's, and troops no longer face off by forming ordered lines. If war were to visit the native soil of the United States, there is likely going to be some very ugly house-to-house fighting, in multistory structures and very tight spaces involving many innocents, encouraging the use of short firearms and even handguns.

Shortened shotguns. Handguns. Battle rifles. Crew-served weapons. Ownership of such weapons and maintaining proficiency in their use qualifies as necessary towards individual readiness to fight in a militia.

There will still be conventional battles, usually on foreign shores. That is what a professional Armed Forces are for. However, in the modern age, the enemy is increasingly a coward.
The enemy hides among civilians, and targets them, violating all accepted conventions of war.
The enemy will be insidious, avoiding direct conflict with your military and law enforcement, while attacking the foundations of America.

Terrorism is now recognizable as an act of war. At what point does foreign-state sponsored crime constitute an act of war? At what point does foreign-state sponsored illegal immigration constitute an invasion?

If/when unconventional aggressions reach a critical level, there may well be fighting on US soil. Serious fighting that may preclude rapidly bringing the full weight of your vaunted military to bear upon it.

Recent history has suggested how even the most powerful military on the planet can be stretched too thin; how the most powerful nation on the planet can be too slow to respond to massive calamity. The military, like disaster relief, is a branch of centralized bureaucracy. Law enforcement is a more local organ, but is often not sized to meet massive conflict.

In the towns and villages, in the boroughs, districts and slums, the common people -and only the common people- are near enough and numerous enough to make a difference immediately. They must be ready to organize and take up arms at a moment's notice, in defense of all that they hold dear --freedom most of all.

By propounding endlessly on a right to keep and bear arms, as essentially a selfish/personal liberty, Americans may be missing the point of the Second Amendment.

Again, there is an independent "right to keep and bear", otherwise the Second Amendment would not have referred to it.

The Second Amendment howevermentions a "right to keep and bear arms", (and warns the Federal government not to mess with that right) because the Second Amendment is also a call to Americans --all Americans-- to maintain their readiness.

A readiness to provide and take up arms in organized defense of flag; to take up arms in organized defense of freedom. If your country's Constitution exalts and calls for such readiness,
then look about: does the word 'abandonment' come to mind?

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 00:29:00 +0000

The Commandant of the Marine Corps'
2005 Birthday Message

On November 10th, 1775, the Second Continental Congress resolved to raise two battalions of Continental Marines marking the birth of our United States Marine Corps. As Major General Lejeune’s message reminds us, the ensuing generations of Marines would come to signify all that is highest in warfighting excellence and military virtue. Each November as Marines the world over celebrate the birth of our Corps, we pay tribute to that long line of “Soldiers of the Sea” and the illustrious legacy they have handed down to us.

This past year has been one of continuous combat operations overseas and distinguished service here at home—a year of challenges that have brought out the very best in our Corps. In Iraq and Afghanistan, Marine courage and mastery of complex and chaotic environments have truly made a difference in the lives of millions. Marine compassion and flexibility provided humanitarian assistance to thousands in the wake of the South East Asian tsunami, and here at home, Marines with AAVs, helicopters, and sometimes with their bare hands saved hundreds of our own fellow Americans in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Across the full spectrum of operations, you have showcased that Marines create stability in an unstable world, and have reinforced our Corps’ reputation for setting the standard of excellence.

The sense of honor, courage, and patriotism that epitomized those who answered that first call to arms two hundred and thirty years ago is still indelibly imprinted on our ranks today. In commemorating our anniversary, let us strengthen our ties to the past by paying homage to those who have gone before us. As we honor the sacrifices of our wounded and fallen comrades, our commitment to one another remains unshakable. We take special pride in the actions of the Marines now serving in harm’s way, and rededicate ourselves to the service of our Nation and our Corps.

Happy Birthday, Marines. Semper Fidelis, and Keep Attacking!

M. W. Hagee
General, U.S. Marine Corps

General John A. Lejeune's Birthday Message (1921)

On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of the Continental Congress. Since that date, many thousand men have borne the name Marine. In memory of them, it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the Birthday of our Corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history.

The record of our Corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous military organizations in the world's history. During 90 of the 146 years of its existence, the Marine Corps has been in action against the Nation's foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the Argonne, Marines have won foremost honors in war and in the long era of tranquility at home. Generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas [so] that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.

In every battle and skirmish since the birth of our Corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term "Marine" has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.

This high name of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received from those who preceded us in the Corps. With it we also received from them the eternal spirit which has animated our Corps from generation to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of the Marines in every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish, Marines will be found equal to every emergency in the future as they have been in the past, and the men of our Nation will regard us as worthy successors to the long line of illustrious men who have served as "Soldiers of the Sea" since the founding of the Corps.

10 end time prophecies

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 05:02:00 +0000

The preceeding 9 posts of 10 prophacies each have delt with Bible Prophecy that has been fulfilled or is being fulfilled currently. These 10 Bible prophecies from Jesus, Zechariah and the Bible's book of Revelation deal with the End Times, Apocalypse, or Last Days, when Jesus is to return and judge the living and the dead. Even though these 10 have not yet happened, I hope my challenger at the Martian Anthropologist will accept my statement that there are "hundreds" of prophecies from the Bible and it is never wrong. This finishes out an even 100.

1. Jerusalem would become an international problem
Bible passage: Zechariah 12:1-5
Written: between 520 and 518 BC
To be fulfilled: End Times
In Zechariah 12, the prophet said that there would come a time when the surrounding nations would besiege Jerusalem and Judah (the area around Jerusalem), and that all the nations of the world would gather against Jerusalem, but that God ultimately would save the city and its people. This is widely regarded as an End Time prophecy to be fulfilled in the future.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this prophecy is that it is predicated on Jerusalem being a city of critical interest to the rest of the world. And it just so happens that Jerusalem is the only city in the world that is of interest to the rest of the world.

For Jews, it is their ancient capital, founded by King David about 3000 years ago. Many Arab Moslems, however, believe that the city should be part of an independent state for Palestinian Arabs. The issue of who should control Jerusalem has been a cause of the Arab-Israeli wars during the past century.

And, the conflict between Arabs and Jews has been a primary reason as to why the international community has taken an interest in Jerusalem. In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly approved a plan to carve up the ancient land of Israel into a state for Jews and another for Arabs. This plan would have established Jerusalem as an international city to be governed by the United Nations.

This extremely unusual proposal, suggesting that a city be governed by the United Nations, simply shows the unique status that Jerusalem already has in the world: It is the only city in the world that is of interest to the rest of the world.

Given the history of the city, the volatile conflict between Israel and the surrounding Arab nations, and the unusual interest that the international community has shown in regards to Jerusalem, it seems clear that the groundwork for the future fulfillment of this prophecy is in place.

Zechariah 12:1-5
This is the word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares: "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness," declares the Lord. "I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, `The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.'

2. When Israel blooms again, the Kingdom of God will be near
Bible passage: Luke 21:29-31
Recorded: about 30 AD
To be fulfilled: End Times
In Luke 21:29-31, Jesus said that when the fig tree blooms again, people will know that the End Times and Kingdom of God is near. Some Christian scholars believe that the fig tree represents the nation of Israel. This passage is sometimes interpreted to mean that the End Times would not begin until sometime after the nation of Israel regains sovereignty. When Jesus delivered this prophecy about 2000 years ago, Israel was ruled over by the Roman Empire. The people of Israel did not have sovereignty over their own land during that era. But, after centuries of exile, the Jews were able to return to Israel and reclaim sovereignty, in 1948.

Luke 21:29-31
He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

3. The Messiah will appear after the Jews return to Israel
Bible passage: Jeremiah 23:3-6
Written: sometime from 626 to about 586 BC
Fulfilled: end times
In Jeremiah 23:3-6, there is a prophecy that indicates when the Messiah is to appear in the land of Israel. Jeremiah said that it would be after the exiled people of Israel return to their homeland. From a Christian point of view, this is of special interest because Jesus is supposed to appear twice. And this coincides with the fact that the people of Israel have been expelled from their homeland twice, and that they are currently in the process of returning after the second expulsion.

More than 2500 years ago, the Assyrians and Babylonians forced the people of Israel out of their homeland. Many returned during the centuries that followed and then Jesus appeared, about 2000 years ago, and announced that he is the Messiah. Later, the people of Israel were again forced out of their land (by the Romans in 135 AD) and scattered to countries throughout the world.

But, during the past few centuries, millions of exiled Jews around the world have returned to their ancient homeland. And this is one of the reasons why Christians say that the world is being prepared for the return of Jesus Christ. Because, as Jeremiah had prophesied long ago, the Messiah is to appear after the people of Israel return to their land.

The phrase, in Jeremiah 23:5, "I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King," refers to the Messiah, and that he will be a king and a descendant of King David, who reigned over Israel about 3000 years ago. Christians believe that when Jesus returns, he will establish a kingdom of peace and righteousness.

Jeremiah 23:3-6
"I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the Lord. "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.

4. The Gospel will be preached to the entire world
Bible passage: Matthew 24:14
Recorded: about 30 AD
To be fulfilled: End Times
In Matthew 24:14, the Bible says that the Gospel (the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) will be preached throughout the world. The Bible also says that after this happens, the end times will come. The Bible has been preached throughout the world for a long time. But now, with the increasing worldwide availability of television and the Internet, there is greater potential for the Gospel to be preached to everyone, everywhere.

Matthew 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

5. The world would be able to simultaneously witness events
Bible passage: Revelation 11:9-10
Written: sometime between 54 and 95 AD
To be fulfilled: End Times
In Revelation 11:9-10, the Bible gives a prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled, at least not in a literal sense. But, perhaps for the first time in history, it can be fulfilled. The prophecy says that people all over the world will be able to simultaneously witness a particular event (the death of two prophets). This of course would have been difficult before the popularization of television and the Internet. But it is now common for people worldwide to simultaneously witness events via television and the Internet.

Revelation 11:9-10
For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

6. Zechariah foreshadowed modern warfare
Bible passage: Zechariah 14:12
Written: between 520 and 518 BC
To be fulfilled: End Times
In Zechariah, chapter 14, the prophet says a time will come when nations gather to attack Jerusalem. In Zechariah 14:12, the prophet says the nations that attack Jerusalem will be struck with a "plague" that will cause their flesh to rot while they are still standing. This might be a fitting description for modern warfare if it were described by a person who lived 2500 years ago, as Zechariah did. Chemical weapons are capable of causing rapid deterioration of flesh. And a blast of heat from a nuclear weapon could have a similar affect. Some Bible scholars, however, believe that this plague could refer to a supernatural event from God to protect the Holy Land.

Zechariah 14:12
This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

7. Many people will go to Jerusalem to seek God's favor
Bible passage: Zechariah 8:22
Written: between 520 and 518 BC
To be fulfilled: End Times
In Zechariah 8:22, the prophet said 2500 years ago that a time will come when many people go to Jerusalem to seek and honor God. This prophecy has been at least partially fulfilled already. The Jews recaptured Jerusalem during the Six Day War in 1967. Since then, people from around the world have toured Jerusalem to visit various sites that are important to the history of Judaism and Christianity. Jerusalem is also an important city to Moslems.

Zechariah 8:22
And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him."

8. Book of Revelation envisioned an army of 200 million
Bible passage: Revelation 9:16
Written: sometime between 54 and 95 AD
To be fulfilled: End Times
In Revelation 9:16, the Bible says that an army of 200 million will one day march toward Israel. Of course, this prophecy hasn't been fulfilled yet, at least not literally. But, as the world's population rises above 6 billion, it is increasingly possible for a coalition of countries to amass an army of 200 million, and this would have been unthinkable even 100 years ago.

Revelation 9:16
The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.

9. The troops would cross the Euphrates
Bible passage: Revelation 16:12
Written: sometime between 54 and 95 AD
To be fulfilled: End Times
In Revelation 16:12, the Bible says there will come a time when the Euphrates River becomes dry so that an army can cross it and march into Israel. When the book of Revelation was written 1900 years ago, it would have taken a great natural disaster, or a great amount of labor to divert the flow of the Euphrates so that an army could cross it. (In 539 BC, Cyrus and his army diverted the flow so that his troops could march across the riverbed and conquer Babylon). But, today, there are a series of dams that would make it much easier to divert the flow of the powerful river.

Revelation 16:12
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.

10. People would be forced to receive the mark of the beast
Bible passage: Revelation 13:16-18
Written: sometime between 54 and 95 AD
To be fulfilled: End Times
In Revelation 13:16-18, the Bible says that there would come a time when a powerful leader would force people to receive a "mark" on or in their right hand or forehead, and that no one would be able to buy or sell unless they had that mark. When the book of Revelation was written about 1900 years ago, it would have been nearly impossible for a world leader to force everyone to receive such a mark. But, today, with modern technology, it would be much easier. Today, for example, it would be possible to implant under a person's skin a small microchip that could be used like a credit card.

Revelation 13:16-18
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. (KJV).

10 being fulfilled today

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 14:20:00 +0000

These 10 Bible prophecies said that Israel would become a country, that it would be destroyed, that its people would be scattered worldwide and persecuted, that they would have a worldwide impact, and that they would return to Israel. Each of these prophecies have been fulfilled or are being fulfilled.

1. Abraham's descendants would have their own country
Bible passage: Genesis 15:18
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 1400 BC and in 1948
The Bible’s book of Genesis explains that about 4000 years ago, the Lord found a man who had strong faith. That man’s name was Abraham. In Genesis 12:1-3, the Lord calls out to Abraham and chooses to reward him.

In Genesis 15:18, the Lord said that Abraham’s descendants would have their own country, and that this country would be between the river of Egypt and the Euphrates River. (People sometimes call this the Promised Land.)

Genesis also explains that this promise of land to the descendants of Abraham was inherited by Abraham’s son, Isaac, and then by Abraham’s grandson, Jacob. Jacob is the father of the 12 Tribes of Israel. (This web site uses the terms Jews, Israelites, people of Israel, and Hebrews, interchangeably.)

This prophecy of nationhood has been fulfilled more than once. About 3400 years ago, the Hebrew descendants of Abraham first established Israel. The Bible’s book of Joshua explains how Joshua led the Israelites into the land that had been promised to them, as descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and established the nation of Israel.

The nation of Israel was later divided into two kingdoms, called Judah and Israel, about 2900 years ago. The kingdom of Israel lost its independence when it was conquered by Assyria about 2700 years ago. Judah lost its independence about 2600 years ago when it was conquered by Babylon.

Then, about 2000 years ago, the Romans scattered the Jews (or Israelites, or Hebrews) throughout the Roman Empire.

But, in 1948, after many Jews from around the world had returned to the land of Israel, the Jews issued a declaration of independence.

That was the first time in 2900 years that Israel was both united and independent.

Genesis 15:18
On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates…"

2. Jacob saw a vision of Israel's future
Bible passage: Genesis 28:10-15
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: Throughout history
In Genesis 28:10-15, the Bible says that Jacob, who lived about 4000 years ago, received a vision from God about the future of his descendants (the Israelites, who today are commonly called "Jews"). The vision accurately foretold their future. Here is our summary:
1. Jacob's descendants would have Israel as their own country. (Gen. 28:13). This was fulfilled about 3400 years ago when the Israelites first established Israel.
2. The Israelites would be like dust, spreading out to the east, west, north and south. (Gen. 28:14). Throughout history, the Jews have been scattered worldwide. They are the first and only group of people to be scattered worldwide.
3. The Israelites would have a worldwide impact. (Gen. 28:14). Jews have had a tremendous worldwide impact in science, art, literature, economics, music and theology. The worldwide spread of Christianity began 2000 years ago by Jews who were followers of Jesus.
4. Jacob’s descendants would be brought back to Israel. (Gen. 28:15). This began to be fulfilled during the late 1800s when many Jews worldwide began returning to their ancient homeland. They re-established Israel's independence in 1948.

Genesis 28:10-15
Jacob ... had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

3. Counting Abraham's descendants would be like counting the stars
Bible passage: Genesis 15:5
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: Throughout history
In Genesis 15:5, the Bible said that Abraham would have many descendants and that counting them would be like counting the stars. Today, scientists say it is impossible to count the stars because the universe is too vast. Today, we also know that counting Abraham's descendants is also impossible. There are about 20 million Jews in the world today. But, it is impossible to know how many other people today are descendants of Abraham because many of the Israelites were scattered by Assyria during ancient times and history has lost track of them.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this prophecy is that Abraham, today, is still widely revered as being the father of many descendants. That in itself is unusual. Very few, if any, other people from ancient times are still revered today by their descendants.

Genesis 15:5
He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars - if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

4. The people of Israel would be scattered worldwide
Bible passage: Deuteronomy 28:64
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 721 BC, 586 BC, 70 AD, 135 AD, modern times
In Deuteronomy 28:64, the Bible said the Jews would be scattered worldwide. This prophecy has been fulfilled in detail. Take a look at the explanation of the Jewish "Diaspora," which means "scattering," from the Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition: "… by 70 A.D. Jewish communities existed in Babylonia, Syria, Egypt, Cyrene, Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. Jews followed the Romans into Europe and from Persia and Babylonia spread as far east as China. In modern times, Jews have migrated to the Americas, South Africa, and Australia. The Jewish population of Central and Eastern Europe, until World War II the largest in the world, was decimated in the Holocaust. Despite the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, the vast majority of the Jewish people remains in the Diaspora, notably in North America, Russia, and Ukraine."

Deuteronomy 28:64
Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. …

5. God will never forget the children of Israel
Bible passage: Isaiah 49:13-18
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: Throughout history
In Isaiah 49:13-18, the Lord makes it clear that even though the people of Israel are to be exiled from their land, the Lord will not forget them, and they will brought back to their land.

Isaiah lived about 2700 years ago. At about that time, the Assyrians invaded the northern part of the land of Israel and had scattered many of the people. More than a century later, the Babylonians would do the same to the people in the southern part of the land of Israel.

Many returned after the fall of Babylon, but the Romans later exiled and scattered the people again. And many remain scattered throughout the world today. Given the exile, the scattering, and the persecutions of the past 19 centuries, it is easy to understand the sentiment of Verse 14 (NIV translation): "The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me."

But Verses 15 and 16 show that the Lord will never forget. In fact, it says that even if a mother could forget her child, the Lord will not forget his children, for they are "engraved" on the palms of His hands. Verses 17 and 18 show that the sons of Israel will return to Israel.

Although there has always been at least a small number of Jews living in the land of Israel, millions have returned from around the world during the past 2 centuries, allowing Israel to reclaim independence in 1948, a few thousand years since the previous time that the nation had independence.

Isaiah 49:13-18
Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me." "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Your sons hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you. Lift up your eyes and look around; all your sons gather and come to you. As surely as I live," declares the LORD, "you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride.

6. The people of Israel would have a worldwide impact
Bible passage: Genesis 12:2-3
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: Throughout history
In Genesis 12:2-3, and in Genesis 28:10-15, the Bible said that the descendants of Abraham and the descendants of Abraham's grandson, Jacob, would be a blessing for people worldwide. Jacob is the father of the 12 Tribes of Israel (the Jews). In 1898, Mark Twain wrote an essay for Harper's New Monthly Magazine that discussed how the Jews have had an impact on the world:

" … the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also way out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in all the ages; and had done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone. Other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all… All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?"

Genesis 12:2-3
"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

7. Israel would be partitioned by other nations
Bible passage: Joel 3:2
Written: about 400 BC
Fulfilled: 1900s
In Joel 3:2, the prophet said that the nations of the world will be judged for having scattered the people of Israel and for having "divided up" (or "parted" or "partitioned") the land of Israel. Christian scholars believe that this is a prophecy that will be fulfilled during the End Times. But portions of the prophecy already have been fulfilled. The Jews have been scattered to nations throughout the world, and the nations of the world have divided up the land of Israel. On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly approved a motion to partition the land into two separate states, one for Jewish people and another for Arab people.

Joel 3:2
I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.
(NOTE: "Jehoshaphat" means "the Lord judges.")

8. Israel would be restored and repopulated
Bible passage: Ezekiel 36:8-10
Written: between 593-571 BC
Fulfilled: late 1900s
In Ezekiel 36:8-10, the prophet Ezekiel said that the people of Israel would return, rebuild and repopulate their fallen cities. Ezekiel, according to the Bible, lived about 2600 years ago during the time of the Babylonian Captivity, when many Jews, including Ezekiel, were taken as captives to Babylon. After the Babylonian Captivity ended, many Jews returned to their homeland. But about 1900 years ago, the Jews again were forced into exile, this time by the Romans. However, since the late 1800s, millions of Jews have returned to their ancient homeland. And, once again, they have been rebuilding and repopulating their ancient cities. In 1948, there were about 600,000 Jews living in Israel. Today there are about 6,000,000.

Ezekiel 36:8-10
"`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.

9. Jesus' life was foreshadowed by the prophet Isaiah
Bible passage: Isaiah 42:1-9
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: About 2000 years ago
In Isaiah 42:1-9, the prophet Isaiah speaks of a servant of God who will be a light to the Gentiles (non-Jews) and bring justice to the world. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this promise. Jesus' teachings govern the lives of Christians throughout the world. Some estimates claim that there are as many as 2 billion Christians worldwide. More people follow the teachings of Jesus than those of any other person in history.

Isaiah 42:1-9
"Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. … In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. … "I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. "I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."

10. Jesus said His words would never be forgotten
Bible passage: Luke 21:33
Written: about 30 AD
Fulfilled: At this very moment
In Luke 21:33, Jesus said that regardless of what happens to the world, His words will never be forgotten. Here we are 2000 years later and the words of Jesus are all around us: Christianity has spread to people around the world and the Bible is the world's most circulated book. Of all the people who have ever lived, can you think of a single person who could have made this claim more effectively than Jesus - that his words would never be forgotten?

Luke 21:33
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

10 fulfilled in 1900s

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Thu, 15 Sep 2005 12:58:00 +0000

These 10 Bible prophecies were fulfilled in the early 1900s as millions of Jews worldwide returned to their ancient homeland.

1. The people of Israel again would be a united people
Bible passage: Ezekiel 37:15-19
Written: between 593-571 BC
Fulfilled: since late 1800s
In Ezekiel 37:15-19, the prophet said that God would make the people of Israel a united people again. During Ezekiel’s time, the people of Israel had already divided themselves into two separate kingdoms. And both kingdoms had been conquered by foreign invasions, which resulted in many people being exiled. The southern kingdom was called Judah and the northern kingdom kept the name of Israel, although it was often referred to as Ephraim. This prophecy began to be fulfilled in an important way during the late 1800s, when leaders of the Zionist Movement began uniting exiled Jews around the world for the common goal of creating a new and independent Israel. This must have been quite a challenge because the Jews had been scattered to countries on six continents, where they spoke different languages and lived in different cultures. The Zionist Movement marked the first time in many centuries that the Jews had been united in such a significant way.

Ezekiel 37:15-19
The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, `Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, `Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.'
Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand. When your countrymen ask you, `Won't you tell us what you mean by this?' say to them, `This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph--which is in Ephraim's hand--and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.'

2. Ezekiel said the Jews would return to Israel
Bible passage: Ezekiel 20:34
Written: between 593-571 BC
Fulfilled: late 1800s to today
In Ezekiel 20:34, the prophet said God would gather the people of Israel from around the world and bring them home to Israel. The people of Israel (today they are often called Jews) were forced out of their homeland in ancient times by the Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans. But, during the late 1800s, Jews returned by the thousands to the Holy Land, which at that time was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. During the early 1900s, Jews returned by the tens of thousands when the land was controlled by the British. And they returned by the hundreds of thousands after Israel had declared statehood in 1948.

Ezekiel 20:34
I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered--with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath.

3. Jeremiah said the Jews would buy back land
Bible passage: Jeremiah 32:44
Written: sometime from 626 to about 586 BC
Fulfilled: late 1800s, 1900s
In Jeremiah 32:44, the prophet delivered a promise of restoration, about 2600 years ago. At that time, Jews were being forced out of their homeland by the invading Babylonians. Many were taken as captives to Babylon. But, Jeremiah assured them that they would be able to return in the future and buy land in their homeland. After the collapse of Babylon, many Jews returned to Jerusalem and the surrounding area. They were forced into exile again by the Romans in 135 AD (about 1970 years ago). During the last years of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over the land of Israel four 400 years, ending in 1918, thousands of Jews returned to their ancient homeland and bought parcels of land from absentee landlords who lived in cities such as Beirut and Damascus. The Jews were forced out of their homeland twice, and each time they returned in large numbers in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy.

Jeremiah 32:44
Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord."

4. The people of Israel would be persecuted in many nations
Bible passage: Deuteronomy 28:65-67
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 1940s, 1930s, 135 AD, 721 BC, etc.
In Deuteronomy 28:65-67, the Bible said that the people of Israel would be scattered among nations and persecuted. They were exiled and scattered from their homeland in ancient times by the Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans. The exiles were intensely persecuted in Europe and Russia during the Crusades and Pogroms.

During the Holocaust of World War II, the Nazis killed about one-third of the world’s population of Jews. The Nazis called it "The Final Solution" and their goal was to kill all Jews. Winston Churchill, a former prime minister of England, said: "The Final Solution is probably the greatest, most horrible crime ever committed in the whole history of the world."

During the mid-1900s, many Jews sought to relocate from Europe to the most distant countries in the hopes of outrunning the expansion of Nazi Germany. This led to new influxes of Jews to North and South America, Australia and even China.

Many of the exiles chose to return to their ancient homeland to escape persecution. But persecution followed. At that time, the land of Israel was called Palestine. It was controlled by the British and a majority of people living there were Arab, including the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who urged Hitler to deal with the Palestine's Jews with "the same method that the question is now being settled in the Axis countries. (Genocide)".

In 1948, the Jews declared independence for Israel. But the persecutions didn’t cease. Shortly after the re-establishment of sovereignty for Israel, hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced out of the Arab nations in which they had lived in exile for many centuries.

Deuteronomy 28:65-67
Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, "If only it were evening!" and in the evening, "If only it were morning!"--because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.

5. Isaiah said God would preserve the Jews
Bible passage: Isaiah 66:22
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: 1940s, 1930s, 135 AD, 721 BC, etc.
In Isaiah 66:22, the prophet said that the people of Israel would endure and survive as a people, despite the persecutions they would face, as foretold by other prophecies. Isaiah delivered this prophecy 2,700 years ago. Since then, the people of Israel, who today are commonly called Jews, have been massacred at various times by the thousands, by the hundreds of thousands, and by the millions. In ancient times, the Assyrians virtually erased from history 10 of 12 tribes of Israel. The Babylonians and Romans exacted heavy damage on what was left of the people of Israel. The Nazis, during World War II, sought to annihilate the entire Jewish race. Even so, the Nazi empire was reduced to ashes shortly before the Jews reclaimed Israel as a sovereign country in 1948. The Jews are still here. And the empires that sought to destroy them are nothing more than pages in history books.

Isaiah 66:22
"As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me," declares the Lord, "so will your name and descendants endure.

6. Israel would be rebuilt and resettled
Bible passage: Ezekiel 36:33-35
Written: between 593-571 BC
Fulfilled: 1900s
In Ezekiel 36:33-35, the prophet gave another prophecy about the re-population and rebuilding of Israel's ruined cities. American author Mark Twain described the land of Israel as being thoroughly desolate in the late 1800s. Since then, millions of Jews have returned to Israel and have been rebuilding their ancient homeland. Some of the parched desert has been converted into productive farmland. And Israel has undertaken one of the world's largest reforestation programs. Israel's population was 10 times larger in 1998 than it was in 1948.

Ezekiel 36:33-35
"`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."

7. Isaiah foretold the restoration of Israel
Bible passage: Isaiah 35:1-2
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: 1900s
In Isaiah 35:1-2, the prophet said that although Israel would become a desolate land, its deserts would one day bloom again. This Bible verse foreshadows the restoration of Israel that has been taking place since the early 1900s. Millions of Jews have returned to their ancient homeland and have innovated sophisticated farming techniques and extensive reforestation programs to convert parched desert into productive farmland. More than 200 million trees have been planted in Israel since 1900, according to the Jewish National Fund.

Isaiah 35:1-2
The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.

8. Israel's land would again become fruitful
Bible passage: Zechariah 8:12
Written: between 520 and 518 BC
Fulfilled: 1900s
In Zechariah 8:12, the prophet said that God would allow Israel to become a prosperous land again. Israel had been described as being a wasteland between the time that the Jews had been forced out of their homeland by the Romans (about 1900 years ago) and the time when the Jews began returning to and restoring Israel during the 1900s. Although the restoration continues, Israel is able to export food to many countries.

Zechariah 8:12
"The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people."

9. The people of Israel would live many days without a king
Bible passage: Hosea 3:4-5
Written: about 750 BC
Fulfilled: Being fulfilled since 70 AD
Hosea's prophecy, found in Hosea 3:4-5, foretells three important events:

1. The people of Israel would lose their sovereignty ("live many days without a king or prince"). A Bible scholar, named John Gill, interprets Hosea 3:4 as meaning that the people of Israel would endure a period of time "Without any form of civil government ... being subject to the kings and princes of other nations."

2. The people of Israel would lose their ability to worship in the manner in which they were accustomed. (example: "without sacrifice ... without ephod").

3. The people of Israel would return to the land of Israel and seek "David their king." (The phrase, "David their king," is often understood to refer the promised Messiah, who the prophets had said would be a descendant of King David).

Each of these three things has happened twice. The first time was about 2600 years ago when the Babylonians invaded the Holy Land, deposed the king, destroyed the city of Jerusalem, and the holy Temple, which was the center of worship for the people of Israel.

The Babylonians also forced many Jews into exile. But, after the collapse of the Babylonian empire, many eventually returned to their homeland and rebuilt Jerusalem and the Temple. A few centuries later, the second Temple had undergone a massive reconstruction, which was completed at about the time of Jesus, which was about 2000 years ago.

From a Christian point of view, Jesus, who is described as being a descendant of King David in the New Testament book of Matthew, is the Messiah who was promised when Hosea spoke of "David their king."

This prophecy is now going through its second fulfillment. During the Roman Empire era, the people of Israel had lost sovereignty over their homeland for the second time, and they had lost their Temple for the second time, when the Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Since the Roman era, the majority of Jews have lived in exile, in countries around the world, where they are subject to the kings and governments of other nations. And, because the Temple has not yet been rebuilt, they continue to be unable to perform various sacred practices that are important to Judaism. (Judaism is the Jewish religion).

But some of this hardship began to change in an important way during the first half of the 1900s, when many Jews from around the world returned to the land of Israel and reclaimed independence over a portion of their ancient homeland. In the year 2004, about one-third of the world's Jewish population lives in Israel, a nation that has been governed by Jews since 1948.

From a Christian perspective, this too is significant because we Christians believe that Jesus is to return a second time, after a significant number of Jews have returned to Israel, to establish a kingdom of righteousness on earth. From a Christian point of view, this prophecy will be completed - again - during the "last days" when Jesus returns.

Hosea 3:4-5
For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.

10. Israel would rise again
Bible passage: Micah 7:8-11
Written: sometime between 750-686 BC
Fulfilled: beginning late 1800s
In Micah 7:8-11, the prophet said that Israel would one day rise again. During Micah's lifetime about 2700 years ago, the Assyrians were destroying the northern kingdom of Israel. Later, the Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom of Judah. And then, the Romans brought more devastation to Judah. That led to many centuries of exile for the Jews. However, during the past two centuries, many Jews from around the world have returned to their ancient homeland and have reclaimed sovereignty for a portion of the original land of Israel. The declaration of independence in 1948 led to three major wars with the surrounding countries. Each time, tiny Israel prevailed and was able to seize additional land.

Micah 7:8-11
Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord's wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness. Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with shame, she who said to me, "Where is the Lord your God?" My eyes will see her downfall; even now she will be trampled underfoot like mire in the streets. The day for building your walls will come, the day for extending your boundaries.

10 more fulfilled by Jesus

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 01:51:00 +0000

These 10 Old Testament passages were written hundreds of years before Jesus was born. They foreshadowed and foretold details about the persecution, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. ("Resurrection" means to be "brought back to life.")

1. The Messiah would suffer and be rejected
Bible passage: Isaiah 53:3
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
In Isaiah 52:13-53:12, the prophet foreshadowed the life and mission of Jesus, who was born about 700 years later. In Isaiah 53:3, the prophet said that a servant of God would be rejected and despised. Jesus was indeed rejected by many people living in the land of Israel, and He was later crucified by the Romans.

It has been claimed by some scholars that Isaiah 52:13-53:12 actually refers to Israel as a nation and not to an individual Messiah. But, at least some of the ancient Rabbis believed that this passage from Isaiah is indeed about an individual Messiah. Hal Lindsey, in his book, "The Promise of Bible Prophecy," wrote the following: Rabbi Moshe Alshekh, one of the great seventeenth-century expositors from Safed, Israel, said "Our Rabbis with one voice accept and affirm the opinion that the prophet is speaking of the King Messiah, and we shall ourselves also adhere to the same view.

Isaiah 53:3
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.

2. God's servant would be wounded and whipped
Bible passage: Isaiah 53:5
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
In Isaiah 53:5, prophet described a servant as being punished for the sins of others, and that others would be healed by the wounds of this person. As explained in the Gospel - the four New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - Jesus was crucified for our sins, even though He was sinless. Christians believe that this ultimate sacrifice redeemed us all from sin in the same way that lambs were once sacrificed as a symbolic way of cleansing people from sin. And so, all of us can be accepted into the Kingdom of God, as though we were sinless, if we accept Jesus as our Savior. Christians believe that we are healed through the wounds that Jesus suffered.

Isaiah 53:5
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.

3. God's servant would be silent before His accusers
Bible passage: Isaiah 53:7
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
In the book of Isaiah, chapter 53, Isaiah the prophet wrote about a servant of God. Many people believe this was a prophecy about the life of Jesus Christ, who lived about 700 years later. In Isaiah 53:7, the prophet said that the servant would be afflicted and accused, but like a lamb being led to slaughter, he would remain silent. As explained in Matthew 27:12-14, which was recorded about 700 years after the time of Isaiah, this is what happened to Jesus. He was falsely accused but remained silent and did not protest the accusations. Jesus was crucified by the Romans a short time later.

Isaiah 53:7
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.

4. God's servant would be buried in a rich man's tomb
Bible passage: Isaiah 53:9
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
In Isaiah 53:9, the prophet wrote about a sinless servant being put to death with the wicked and buried with the rich. About 700 years after this was believed to have been written, Jesus was put to death along with two criminals and was buried in a tomb owned by a wealthy man, as explained in the New Testament. The New Testament says that Jesus was resurrected three days later and ascended into Heaven.

Isaiah 53:9
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.

5. God's servant would be crucified with criminals
Bible passage: Isaiah 53:12
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
In Isaiah 53:12, the prophet wrote about a servant who would bear the sins of many people and be punished side-by-side with criminals. Christians believe that Isaiah's description of this servant was a prophecy that was fulfilled during the life of Jesus Christ. As explained in the book of Matthew, Jesus, though sinless, was "numbered with the transgressors" and crucified along with two criminals.

Isaiah 53:12
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.

6. Jesus was spat upon and beaten
Bible passage: Isaiah 50:6
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
In Isaiah 50:6, the prophet writes about a servant of God who endures abuse at the hands of sinful people. This servant offers his back to those who beat him, his face to those who rip out his beard, and himself to those who mock and taunt him. Christians historically have believed that this Old Testament passage foreshadowed the life of Jesus Christ, who lived about 700 years after Isaiah. Jesus, as explained in the New Testament, was beaten, mocked and taunted shortly before His crucifixion by the Romans. In Matthew 26:67 NIV, for example, it says: Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, "Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?"

Isaiah 50:6
I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.

7. Psalm 22 foreshadowed the crucifixion of Jesus
Bible passage: Psalm 22:1,7,8,16,17,18
Written: about 1000 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
People are sometimes curious, when they read Matthew 27:46 or Mark 15:34, why Jesus, while dying on the cross, said "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Those words are actually the first line of Psalm 22, which according to Jewish tradition was written by King David about 1,000 years before Jesus was crucified.

Psalm 22 speaks of a man who cries out to God for deliverance from intense persecution. There are parallels between the details in Psalm 22 and the details written in the New Testament about Jesus' crucifixion, such as:

In Psalm 22:7, it speaks of a man surrounded by others who scorn and despise him. This is what happened to Jesus in Matthew 27:39 and Mark 15:29.

In Psalm 22:7, it speaks of a man being mocked, which is similar in the descriptions of Jesus' crucifixion given in Matthew 27:31, Mark 15:20 and Luke 22:63; 23:36.

In Psalm 22:8, it says, "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." In Matthew 27:43, Jesus’ enemies taunted him by saying, "He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him."

In Psalm 22:16, it speaks of a man who was numbered with the transgressors, meaning an innocent man being regarded as being one of a group of criminals. Jesus too was numbered with the transgressors when he was crucified next to two criminals, as described in Matthew 27:38, Mark 15:27, Luke 23:32 and John 19:18.

In Psalm 22:16, it speaks of a man whose hands and feet are either pierced, or mauled, or disfigured, depending on which is truly the best English translation of the original verse. In John 19:23,34,37 - Jesus' hands and feet were pierced with nails during the crucifixion process.

In Psalm 22:17, it speaks of a man who would be surrounded by others who stared and gloated at him. This too was the situation for Jesus during the crucifixion, according to Matthew 27:36 and Luke 23:35.

In Psalm 22:18, onlookers gamble for pieces of clothing that belonged to the person being persecuted. As explained in Matthew 27:35, Roman soldiers gambled (cast lots) for articles of Jesus' clothing while he was being crucified.

There are other descriptions in Psalm 22 that sound like an accurate description of what would happen to a person being crucified, such as the disjointing of bones, the drying up of a person's strength, an intense sense of thirst, a heart melting like wax (Jesus was stabbed in the heart with a sword during his crucifixion), and being "poured out" of one's body. When Jesus was stabbed in the heart with a sword, blood and water poured out from the wound.

Many Christian scholars have written about their views of the significance of Psalm 22 and the crucifixion of Jesus. The late Charles Briggs, who had been a professor at the Union Theological Seminary, said "These sufferings [of Psalm 22] transcend those of any historical sufferer, with the single exception of Jesus Christ. They find their exact counterpart in the sufferings of the cross.... This ideal is a Messianic ideal, and finds its only historical realization in Jesus Christ."

Psalm 22:1,7,8,16,17,18
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 8 "He trusts in the LORD ; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." 16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

8. Zechariah foreshadowed the crucifixion of Jesus
Bible passage: Zechariah 12:10
Written: between 520 and 518 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
In Zechariah, chapter 12, the Bible said that there will be a time when the world's nations attack Jerusalem. In Zechariah 12:10, the Bible says that after this attack fails, the people will lament over the one who was "pierced," as one mourns for the loss of a first-born son. Christians traditionally have interpreted this passage as a reference to the return of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was pierced when He was crucified by the Romans about 2000 years ago. Christians believe that Jesus will return in the future to establish an everlasting kingdom.

Zechariah 12:10
"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.

9. Isaiah foreshadows the ministry of Jesus
Bible passage: Isaiah 61:1-2
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: About 27 AD
In Isaiah 61, there are passages that speak of an anointed one who preaches the good news to the poor, frees the people who are imprisoned, heals the blind and releases the oppressed. About 700 years after the time of Isaiah, Jesus relates these Bible passages to Himself:

Luke 4:15-20 (NIV translation):
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.
17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him,
21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
At this point during the ministry of Jesus, he had already been preaching the good news to the poor and he had already healed many people of various afflictions, including blindness, both in a physical sense and in a spiritual sense.

But Jesus had not yet begun the other part of his mission, which includes a "day of vengeance," which Bible scholar John Gill explains as "the day of vengeance of our God; when vengeance was taken on sin, in the person of Christ; when he destroyed the works of the devil, … and who will take vengeance on antichrist at his spiritual coming, and upon all the wicked at the day of judgment."

With this in mind, it is interesting that Jesus stopped reading Isaiah 61 mid way through verse 2, immediately before the mention of a "day of vengeance."

Isaiah 61:1-2
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,[1] 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

NIV Footnote: [1] Instead of "prisoners," the Greek Septuagint renders the word as "blind."

10. Jesus' resurrection was foreshadowed in Old Testament
Bible passage: Psalm 16:10-11
Written: about 1000 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
In Psalm 16:10-11, the Bible talks of God's refusal to let His "Holy One" remain in a grave after death. This Psalm is believed to have been written about 1000 years before Jesus was born. New Testament writers believed that this Psalm foreshadowed the death and resurrection of Jesus. Resurrection means "brought back to life." There are several reports in the New Testament that say that Jesus was killed and placed in a tomb, but that God brought Jesus back to life a few days later. (See Matthew 28:5-8, Mark 16:5-6, Luke 24:1-7, or John 20:1-18)

Psalm 16:10-11
because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Notes: Bible verses are from the New International Version (NIV) translation.

10 fulfilled by Jesus

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Sat, 10 Sep 2005 01:43:00 +0000

These 10 Old Testament passages were written hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus. They foreshadowed and foretold many events of the life of Jesus, including that He would be born in Bethlehem and that he would bring salvation to people throughout the world.

1. God's salvation would reach the ends of the earth
Bible passage: Isaiah 49:6
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
In Isaiah 49:6, the prophet speaks of a servant of God who would be a light to Gentiles (non-Jews) so that God's salvation could reach the ends of the earth. Christians believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of this promise. The followers of Jesus helped spread Christianity about 2000 years ago. Christianity is unique in that it is among the first evangelical religions in history, and the first to be taken to people all over the world. Christians believe that salvation, forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven are available to anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their savior: "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." - Romans 10:9-10 (NIV translation).

Isaiah 49:6
"It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."

2. God promised another prophet like Moses
Bible passage: Deuteronomy 18:15-18
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: about 5 BC to 30 AD
In Deuteronomy 18:15-18, Moses told the Jews that God would raise up another prophet like Moses. After Moses, there was a succession of prophets, including Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and finally Jesus Christ. Jesus was very much like Moses: Both were delivered from death as infants. Both were prophets. Both performed miracles. Both were leaders. And both were intermediaries between God and man. No other prophet is as much like Moses than Jesus. Moses led the Jews out of the bonds of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land of Israel. Moses died shortly before the Jews entered Israel. Jesus leads people - anyone who accepts Jesus as their Savior - out of the bonds of sin and into the Promised Land of Heaven. Moses offered to die, if necessary, if God would forgive the sins of the people that Moses was leading (see Exodus 32:30-33). Jesus did die for our sins, so that people could enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Deuteronomy 18:15-18
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me (Moses) from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. … The Lord said to me … "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him."

3. Isaiah foreshadowed the virgin birth of Jesus
Bible passage: Isaiah 7:14
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: 5 BC
In Isaiah 7:14, the prophet delivers what many Christians consider to be a dual prophecy, one that was fulfilled symbolically 2700 years ago, and one that was fulfilled literally with the birth of Jesus about 2000 years ago. The symbolic part of the prophecy correctly stated that a political alliance that threatened Jewish sovereignty about 2700 years ago would fail in a short amount of time. That amount of time was defined as the amount of time that it takes for a child to learn right from wrong. But, Christians believe that this prophecy has a second meaning, that there would be someone born of a virgin, who would be referred to as "Immanuel," which means, "God with us." According to the New Testament, Jesus was born of the virgin Mary and is the Son of God. Because He is the Son of God, Jesus literally can be referred to as "God with us."
Non-Christian scholars have challenged this interpretation. They say that the Hebrew word "almah," which is the word that Christian Bibles often translate as "virgin," actually means "young woman." It is true that "almah" means "young woman," however, the Bible never uses the word to refer specifically to a married woman. And the Bible makes it clear that unmarried women are to be virgins.

Isaiah 7:14
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.
* either "he" or "they"

4. The Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah
Bible passage: Genesis 49:10
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 5 BC
In Genesis 49:10, Jacob is blessing his 12 sons. This blessing was also a prophecy. Jacob told his son Judah that his descendants will be rulers and that one of his descendants will be an ultimate ruler. According to the NIV translation: "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his." Christians believe that this is a reference to Jesus Christ who will establish an everlasting kingdom in the future. Jesus was born about 2000 years after Jacob died. Jesus' ancestry is traced back to Jacob's son, Judah, in Luke 3:23-34 and in Matthew 1:1-16. Today, some estimates claim that there are as many as 2 billion Christians worldwide follow the teachings of Jesus.

Genesis 49:10
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.

5. The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem
Bible passage: Micah 5:2
Written: sometime between 750-686 BC
Fulfilled: 5 BC
In Micah 5:2, there is a prophecy that many Christians point to as evidence that Jesus is the Messiah. In this Bible passage, Micah said that a great ruler would be born in Bethlehem, a small town in southern Israel. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, as recorded in Matthew 2:1, about 2000 years ago. Aside from being the spiritual leader of Christians around the world, Christians believe that Jesus will return in the future to rule over an everlasting kingdom.

There is disagreement regarding the translation of Micah 5:2. Some people say that the reference to "Bethlehem" is simply a reference to the bloodline of King David. Other people say that it is a reference to the town of Bethlehem. However, as explained in the book of Matthew, Jesus meets both criteria - He is a descendant of King David and He was born in Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2
"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."

6. The Messiah would be preceded by a messenger
Bible passage: Isaiah 40:3
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: About 27 AD
In Isaiah 40:3, the prophet writes about a person in the desert who prepares the way for the Lord. Christians historically have believed that this passage foreshadowed the life of John the Baptist, who played an important role in preparing the groundwork for the ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born shortly after John the Baptist about 2000 years ago. The book of Matthew records many events of the life of Jesus and of John the Baptist. In Matthew 3:1-2, it says: "In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea, and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

Isaiah 40:3
A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

7. Daniel predicted when an anointed one would be rejected
Bible passage: Daniel 9:24-26
Written: about 530 BC
Fulfilled: About 33 AD
The prophet Daniel was a Jew who lived during the time of the Babylonian Captivity, about 500 years before the birth of Jesus. During Daniel's lifetime, the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and had taken many Jews as captives to Babylon. Daniel, while in Babylon, delivered a prophecy of what would happen during the centuries that followed. Here is our summary of Daniel 9:24-26:

1. There would be a decree to rebuild Jerusalem.
2. Jerusalem and the Temple would be rebuilt.
3. Then an anointed one (messiah) would be "cut off" (an idiom for "rejected" or "killed").
4. Then Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed again.

All of these events later happened, in the same order in which they are described in Daniel 9:24-26:

1. After the Medo-Persians had conquered the neo-Babylonian empire about 2500 years ago, they ruled a vast empire that included the land of Israel. About 2400 years ago (about 445 BC), Persian king Artaxerxes gave permission to the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem, which was still in ruins after having been destroyed earlier by the Babylonians.
2. The Jews rebuilt the Temple and the city of Jerusalem.
3. Then, about 2000 years ago, Jesus entered Jerusalem as the Messiah who had been promised by Old Testament prophets. But, many people rejected Jesus as the Messiah and He was crucified by the Romans.
4. About 40 years after Jesus was crucified, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. (The Temple has not been rebuilt since then).

Daniel 9:24-26
"Seventy `sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
"Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven `sevens,' and sixty-two `sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
After the sixty-two `sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.

8. The Messiah would enter Jerusalem while riding on a donkey
Bible passage: Zechariah 9:9
Written: between 520 and 518 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
In Zechariah 9:9, the prophet speaks of a future king presenting himself to Jerusalem while riding on a humble donkey. This foreshadowed something that happened about 500 years later: As explained in Luke 19:35-37, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and presented Himself as the Messiah, the King.
Alfred Edersheim, a Christian Jew who lived during the 1800s, studied ancient Rabbinical writings, and said that Zechariah 9:9 was often interpreted as being about a Messiah. In the book, "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah," Edersheim wrote: "The Messianic application of this verse in all its parts has already been repeatedly indicated. We may here add that there are many traditions about this donkey on which the Messiah is to ride; and so firm was the belief in it, that, according to the Talmud, `if anyone saw a donkey in his dreams, he will see salvation' (Ber 56 b)."

The name "Jesus," means "salvation" in Hebrew.

Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

9. Jesus was betrayed by a friend
Bible passage: Psalm 41:9
Written: about 1000 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
In Psalm 41:9, King David wrote a prayer asking for mercy in his last days. In this prayer, which Jews and Christians believe was inspired by God, David wrote about a betrayal at the hand of a close friend with whom he had shared bread. This foreshadowed something that happened years later with Jesus. As explained in Matthew 26:47-50, Jesus was betrayed by Judas, one of the 12 apostles, shortly after Jesus and the apostles had shared bread during the Last Supper. Jesus was crucified by the Romans a short time later.

Psalm 41:9
Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

10. Zechariah foreshadowed the betrayal of Jesus for 30 pieces of silver
Bible passage: Zechariah 11:12-13
Written: between 520 and 518 BC
Fulfilled: About 32 AD
In Zechariah 11:12-13, the prophet spoke of a person being paid 30 pieces of silver to betray someone. This foreshadowed something that happened to Jesus about 500 years later. As explained in Matthew 26:15, Judas was paid 30 silver coins for his betrayal of Jesus. Judas told the Romans when and where they could arrest Jesus without being surrounded by a large crowd of Jesus' followers. But, as explained in Matthew 27:5-7, Judas later tossed the money into the Temple (the house of the Lord) and the money was used to buy a potter's field as a burial place for foreigners.

Zechariah 11:12-13
I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter.

Notes: Bible verses are from the New International Version (NIV) translation.

10 more fulfilled long ago

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 01:45:00 +0000

These 10 Bible prophecies were fulfilled between 2100 years ago and 2300 years ago by the destruction of Edom and of Phoenician Tyre. According to the Bible, these nations were destroyed because they had sought to destroy the Holy Land of Israel and the people of Israel (the Jews).

1. Daniel predicted the four great kingdoms
Bible passage: Daniel 2:32-33
Written: about 530 BC
Fulfilled: Throughout history; to be completed during End Times
In Daniel 2:32-33, there is a passage that symbolically identified the four great kingdoms that would rise up and control much of world, beginning in Daniel's lifetime. The passage uses symbolic imagery:

1. The head of gold, as Daniel explained, refers to the Babylonian empire that ruled much of the world about 2600 years ago.

2. Daniel said that the head-of-gold empire would be followed by an empire symbolized by arms of silver. Christian scholars have often interpreted this to refer to the Medo-Persian empire which later conquered the Babylonian empire. The scholars say that the two arms refer to the two groups - the Medes and the Persians - who comprised the Medo-Persian empire.

3. The third kingdom was symbolized by the statue's belly and thighs of brass. Some scholars believe that this is a reference to the Grecian empire, which conquered the Medo-Persian empire. The symbol of a belly and thighs of brass suggests that the kingdom was to start out as a united empire but end up as a divided empire. Under the leadership of Alexander the Great, the Grecian Empire was a united empire. But after Alexander's death, the empire was divided into four parts and was later reduced to two parts.

4. The fourth symbol - that of iron legs and feet that were part iron and part clay - has often been suggested to be a reference to the Roman Empire, which later conquered the Grecian Empire. The Roman Empire was very powerful, but it was also very diverse, claiming dominion over a wide variety of different nations. That diversity later contributed to the downfall of the empire.

These four kingdoms ruled over much of the world, and each of the four ruled over the land of Israel during times in which a significant number of Jews - and perhaps a majority of Jews - were living in their homeland. Before the collapse of the Roman Empire, Jerusalem was destroyed and hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced into exile. Even today, a majority of Jews still live outside of Israel. Many Christian scholars suggest that the Roman Empire will be revived and will once again seek to control Israel.

Daniel 2:32-33

2. Tyre would be attacked by many nations
Bible passage: Ezekiel 26:3
Written: between 587-586 BC
Fulfilled: 573 BC, 332 BC, 1291 AD
In Ezekiel 26:3, the prophet said that Tyre, the Phoenician Empire's most powerful city, would be attacked by many nations, because of its treatment of Israel. At about the time that Ezekiel delivered this prophecy, Babylon had begun a 13-year attack on Tyre's mainland. Later, in about 332 BC, Alexander the Great conquered the island of Tyre and brought an end to the Phoenician Empire. Tyre later fell under the rule of the Romans, the Crusaders and the Moslems, who destroyed the city, again, in 1291.

Ezekiel 26:3
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.

3. Tyre's fortresses would fail
Bible passage: Amos 1:9-10
Written: about 750 BC
Fulfilled: 333-332 BC
In Amos 1:9-10, the prophet said that God would cause Tyre's protective fortresses to fail, as punishment for the way that Tyre treated Israel. That prophecy was fulfilled in 586-573 BC when Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar attacked the mainland of Tyre, and in 333-332 BC when Alexander the Great conquered the island of Tyre. Alexander's army built a land bridge from the mainland to the island so that they could use a battering ram to break through the island's fortress.

Amos 1:9-10
This is what the Lord says: "For three sins of Tyre, even for four, I will not turn back [my wrath]. Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom, disregarding a treaty of brotherhood, I will send fire upon the walls of Tyre that will consume her fortresses."

4. Tyre's stones, timber and soil would be cast into the sea
Bible passage: Ezekiel 26:12
Written: between 587-586 BC
Fulfilled: 333-332 BC
In Ezekiel 26:12, the prophet said that Tyre's stones, timber and soil would be thrown into the sea. That probably would have been a fitting description of how Alexander the Great built a land bridge from the mainland to the island of Tyre when he attacked in 333-332 BC. It is believed that he took the rubble from Tyre's mainland ruins and tossed it - stones, timber and soil - into the sea, to build the land bridge (which is still there).

Ezekiel 26:12
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.

5. Tyre would lose its power over the sea
Bible passage: Zechariah 9:3-4
Written: between 520 and 518 BC
Fulfilled: 333-332 BC
In Zechariah 9:3-4, the prophet said that the Phoenician city of Tyre would lose its status as a powerful nation on the Mediterranean Sea. Today there is a city called Tyre that is either on, or near, the original Phoenician site. But this Tyre is a small city in modern-day Lebanon. It is certainly not the powerful nation that it was in the days of Zechariah.

Zechariah 9:3-4
Tyre has built herself a stronghold; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets.
But the Lord will take away her possessions and destroy her power on the sea, and she will be consumed by fire.

6. Tyre would never again be found
Bible passage: Ezekiel 26:21
Written: between 587-586 BC
Fulfilled: after 332 BC
In Ezekiel 26:21, the prophet said that the Phoenician city of Tyre would be brought to an end and would never again be found. When Alexander the Great destroyed the city in 332 BC, he brought an end to the Phoenician Empire. The Empire was never revived or "found" again. As for the city itself, it has been torn down and built upon by a succession of world powers. Today, finding artifacts from the original Phoenician Tyre is difficult. Many of the original buildings were destroyed by Greeks, Romans, Crusaders and Moslems. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition: "The principal ruins of the city today are those of buildings erected by the Crusaders. There are some Greco-Roman remains, but any left by the Phoenicians lie underneath the present town."

Ezekiel 26:21
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."

7. Tyre would never be rebuilt
Bible passage: Ezekiel 26:14
Written: between 587-586 BC
Fulfilled: 332 BC
In Ezekiel 26:14, the prophet says the Phoenician city of Tyre would be destroyed and never be rebuilt. This was fulfilled when Alexander the Great conquered Tyre in 332 BC. His conquest brought an end to the Phoenician Empire. The empire never recovered from the attack. And so, it could never rebuild Tyre. Other nations and empires have built cities on or near the original Phoenician site.

Ezekiel 26:14
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.

8. The Jews would avenge the Edomites
Bible passage: Ezekiel 25:14
Written: between 593-571 BC
Fulfilled: about 100 BC
In Ezekiel 25:14, the prophet said that the Jews would one day take vengeance on Edom, a nation that had often warred with the Jews. When Ezekiel delivered this prophecy, he and many other Jews were living as captives in Babylon. They didn't have control of their own country, let alone anyone else's. But, about 400 years later, Jews regained independence for Jerusalem and the surrounding area during the "Hasmonaean Period." During this time, the Jewish priest-king John Hyrcanus I defeated the Edomites. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition: "Edomite history was marked by continuous hostility and warfare with Jews… At the end of the second century B.C., they were subdued by Hasmonaean priest-king John Hyrcanus I…"

Ezekiel 25:14
I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger and my wrath; they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord.'"

9. Edom would be toppled and humbled
Bible passage: Jeremiah 49:16
Written: sometime from 626 to about 586 BC
Fulfilled: about 100 BC
In Jeremiah 49:16, the prophet said that Edom, a long-time enemy of Israel, would be destroyed. Edom's capital city, Petra, was carved out of a mountain side and had great natural defenses. Nonetheless, it was destroyed and the kingdom of Edom no longer exists. Today, Petra is part of Jordan. The city was conquered by the Romans in the year 106 AD but flourished again shortly after that. But a rival city, Palmyra, eventually took most of the trade away and Petra began to decline. Moslems conquered Petra in the 7th Century and Crusaders conquered it in the 12th Century. Petra gradually fell into ruin.

Jeremiah 49:16
The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle's, from there I will bring you down," declares the Lord.

10. Nations would seek the counsel of Jesse's descendant
Bible passage: Isaiah 11:1-10
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: 538 BC
In Isaiah 11:1-10, the prophet Isaiah speaks of a ruler who would be a descendant of Jesse. Jesse was the father of ancient Israel's great King David. This descendant would rule with true justice and true faith, and he would establish true peace. This peace would be so great that even wild animals would be able to lie down next to one another. This descendant would also become a standard for people throughout the world. And, this descendant would be sought by people throughout the world.

This is an important prophecy for Christians because we believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of this Old Testament promise. Jesus, as explained in the New Testament, is a descendant of Jesse. And Jesus has become a standard for peoples throughout the world. In fact, Christianity is the first religion to spread to every country in the world. The words of Jesus, which speak of true justice, true faith and true peace, have been taught to people in every country in the world. We Christians also believe that Jesus will return in the future to establish a kingdom on earth, a kingdom of justice and righteousness.

Isaiah 11:1-10
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. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.

Notes: Bible verses are from the New International Version (NIV) translation.

10 fulfilled long ago

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Sun, 04 Sep 2005 00:37:00 +0000

These 10 Bible prophecies were fulfilled about 2500 years ago by the destruction of the ancient kingdoms of Babylon and Nineveh, which was the Assyrian capital at that time. According to the Bible, these empires were destroyed because they had sought to destroy the Holy Land of Israel and the people of Israel (the Jews).

1. Babylon would rule Judah for 70 years
Bible passage: Jeremiah 25:11-12
Written: sometime from 626 to about 586 BC
Fulfilled: about 609 BC to 539 BC
In Jeremiah 25:11-12, the prophet said that the Jews would suffer 70 years of Babylonian domination. Jeremiah also said Babylon would be punished after the 70 years. Both parts of this prophecy were fulfilled. In 609 BC, which is about 2600 years ago, Babylon captured the last Assyrian king and took over the holdings of the Assyrian empire, to which the land of Israel previously had been subjugated. Babylon later asserted its domination by taking many Jews as captives to Babylon, and by destroying Jerusalem and the Temple. The domination ended in 539 BC, when Cyrus, a leader of Persians and Medes, conquered Babylon and brought an end to its empire. Cyrus later offered the captive Jews the freedom to return to their homeland. The prophecy also might have been fulfilled in another way too: The Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem's Temple in 586 BC, and the Jews rebuilt it and consecrated it 70 years later, in 516 BC. Having the Temple again showed, in a very important way, that the effects of Babylonian domination truly had come to an end.

Jeremiah 25:11-12
"…This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the Lord, "and will make it desolate forever."

2. Babylon's gates would open for Cyrus
Bible passage: Isaiah 45:1
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: 539 BC
In Isaiah 45:1, the prophet said God would open the gates of Babylon for Cyrus and his attacking army. Despite Babylon's remarkable defenses, which included moats, and walls that were more than 70-feet thick and 300-feet high, and 250 watchtowers, Cyrus was able to enter the city and conquer it. Cyrus and his troops diverted the flow of the Euphrates River into a large lake basin. Cyrus then was able to march his army across the riverbed and into the city.

Isaiah 45:1
"This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

3. Babylon's kingdom would be overthrown, permanently
Bible passage: Isaiah 13:19
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: 539 BC
In Isaiah 13:19, the prophet said Babylon would be overthrown, permanently. History confirms that when Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BC, it never again rose to power as an empire. Before the time of Cyrus, however, Babylon had been defeated by the Assyrian Empire but was able to recover and later conquer the Assyrian Empire. However, like Isaiah said 2700 years ago, the Babylonian Empire never recovered from Cyrus' conquest.

Isaiah 13:19
Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians' pride, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.

4. Babylon would be reduced to swampland
Bible passage: Isaiah 14:23
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: 539 BC
In Isaiah 14:23, the prophet said that Babylon, which had been a world power at two different times in history, would be brought to a humble and final end. It would be reduced to swampland. After Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BC, the kingdom never again rose to power. The buildings of Babylon fell into a gradual state of ruin during the next several centuries. Archaeologists excavated Babylon during the 1800s. Some parts of the city could not be dug up because they were under a water table that had risen over the years.

Isaiah 14:23
"I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction," declares the Lord Almighty.

5. The Jews would survive Babylonian rule and return home
Bible passage: Jeremiah 32:36-37
Written: sometime from 626 to about 586 BC
Fulfilled: 536 BC
In Jeremiah 32:36-37, the prophet said that the Jews would survive their captivity in Babylon and return home. Both parts of this prophecy were fulfilled. Many Jews had been taken as captives to Babylon beginning around 605 BC. But, in 538 BC, they were released from captivity and many eventually returned to their homeland.

Jeremiah 32:36-37
"You are saying about this city, `By the sword, famine and plague it will be handed over to the king of Babylon'; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.

6. Nineveh would be destroyed, permanently
Bible passage: Nahum 3:19
Written: perhaps 614 BC
Fulfilled: 612 BC
In Nahum 3:19 (and 1:9), the prophet said that Nineveh, which was the Assyrian Empire's capital and perhaps the most powerful city of the ancient world, would suffer a wound that would never heal. In 612 BC (about 2600 years ago), a coalition of Babylonians, Scythians and Medes conquered the heavily fortified city. According to the Bible, Nineveh was to be punished for the empire's inhumane treatment of Israel. It is unknown as to when Nahum delivered this prophecy - some scholars speculate that it was delivered a few years before the conquest. But, it is known that Nahum was correct - Nineveh and the Assyrian empire never did recover from their defeat. (Incidentally, the Assyrian empire had conquered Babylon many years beforehand, but Babylon was able to recover from that defeat).

Nahum 3:19
Nothing can heal your wound; your injury is fatal. Everyone who hears the news about you claps his hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty?

7. Nineveh's army officers would desert
Bible passage: Nahum 3:17
Written: perhaps 614 BC
Fulfilled: 612 BC
In Nahum 3:17, the prophet said Nineveh's army officers would flee rather than fight. Babylonian records claim that Assyrian army members did flee from the battle.

Nahum 3:17
Your guards are like locusts, your officials like swarms of locusts that settle in the walls on a cold day-- but when the sun appears they fly away, and no one knows where.

8. Ninevites would be drunk in their final hours
Bible passage: Nahum 1:10
Written: perhaps 614 BC
Fulfilled: 612 BC
In Nahum 1:10 and 3:11, the prophet said that during the final hours of the attack on Nineveh, the Ninevites would be drunk. There is evidence that this prophecy was fulfilled. According to the ancient historian Diodorus Siculus: "The Assyrian king gave much wine to his soldiers. Deserters told this to the enemy, who attacked that night." Siculus compiled his historical works about 600 years after the fall of Nineveh.

Nahum 1:10
They will be entangled among thorns and drunk from their wine; they will be consumed like dry stubble.

9. Nineveh would be destroyed by fire
Bible passage: Nahum 3:15
Written: perhaps 614 BC
Fulfilled: 612 BC
In Nahum 3:15, the prophet said that Nineveh would be damaged by fire. Archaeologists unearthed the site during the 1800s and found a layer of ash covering the ruins. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica: "…Nineveh suffered a defeat from which it never recovered. Extensive traces of ash, representing the sack of the city by Babylonians, Scythians, and Medes in 612 BC, have been found in many parts of the Acropolis. After 612 BC the city ceased to be important…"

Nahum 3:15
There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down and, like grasshoppers, consume you…

10. Ninevites would be wiped out
Bible passage: Nahum 1:14
Written: perhaps 614 BC
Fulfilled: 612 BC
In Nahum 1:14, the prophet said Nineveh would have no descendants to carry on the prestige of Nineveh. Nineveh's destruction in 612 BC marked a permanent end to the Assyrian Empire. The city itself never again rose to any significant importance. Today, Nineveh is an archaeological site in Iraq.

Nahum 1:14
The Lord has given a command concerning you, [Nineveh]: "You will have no descendants to bear your name. I will destroy the carved images and cast idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave, for you are vile."

Notes: Bible verses are from the New International Version (NIV) translation.

10 Bible Prophecies fulfilled before 1900: Prophecy challenge cont.

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:36:00 +0000

These 10 Bible prophecies found fulfillment from the year 70 through the 1800s. They foretold of the exile and persecution of the people of Israel, and of the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple and of the land of Israel.

1. Jesus prophesied that the Temple would be destroyed
Bible passage: Matthew 24:1-2
Recorded: about 30 AD
Fulfilled: 70 AD
In Matthew 24:1-2, Jesus said that the Temple would be destroyed. The Temple was destroyed about 40 years after Jesus was crucified by the Romans. In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and killed an estimated 1.1 million Jews. During the destruction, fire was set to the Temple. The fire caused the gold-leaf ornamentation on the Temple ceiling to melt. The melting gold flowed down the walls and settled into crevices within the stones. The Romans pried apart the stones to remove the gold. This fulfilled Jesus' prophecy that not one stone would be left standing on another.

Here are more details about the holy Temple, using dates that are commonly ascribed by various historians:

1. The first Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC and was rebuilt 70 years later. The rebuilt Temple stood for 586 years and was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

2. Both Temples were destroyed by the most powerful empires of their day. (Babylonian Empire in 586 BC and the Roman Empire in 70 AD).

3. After the destruction of both Temples, hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered, taken as slaves and forced out of Jerusalem.

4. According to the ancient historian Josephus, both Temples were destroyed on the same day of their respective years - the 9th day of the Jewish month of Av.

Matthew 24:1-2
Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

2. Jesus said Jerusalem would be destroyed
Bible passage: Luke 21:24
Recorded: about 30 AD
Fulfilled: 70 AD
In Luke 21:24, Jesus said that the Jews soon would be forced out of Jerusalem and that the city would be destroyed. He said Jerusalem would be trampled upon by the "Gentiles" (non-Jews), and that the Jews would be scattered to all nations. And, that's exactly what happened. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem in the year 70, and again in the year 135. During the two destructions, the Romans killed an estimated 1.5 million Jews. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were taken as slaves to other countries, mostly throughout Europe and parts of Asia. During the next several centuries, Jews had established communities on every inhabited continent: Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, North America and South America.

Luke 21:24
They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

3. Daniel foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
Bible passage: Daniel 9:26
Written: about 530 BC
Fulfilled: 70 AD
In Daniel 9:26, the prophet said that a future ruler over the land of Israel would destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. Daniel said this would happen after an anointed one (messiah) is "cut off," which means "rejected" or "killed." A few centuries later, the Romans had taken control of the land of Israel, Jesus announced himself as the Messiah, and the Romans crucified him. Forty years later, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.

Daniel 9:26
After the sixty-two `sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.

Click here for more details about Daniel 9:24-27.

4. Jerusalem would be destroyed and "plowed like a field"
Bible passage: Micah 3:11-12
Written: sometime between 750-686 BC
Fulfilled: 135 AD
In Micah 3:11-12, the prophet Micah said that Jerusalem would be destroyed and that "Zion" - a central part of Jerusalem - would be "plowed like a field." Micah's prophecy is believed to have been delivered in about 730 BC (about 2700 years ago). Since that time, Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC by the Babylonians and by the Romans in 70 AD. The Romans destroyed it again in 135 AD to crush a Jewish rebellion for independence. According to a text in the Gemara - a collection of ancient Jewish writings - the Romans ran a plow over Zion on the 9th day of the Jewish month of Ab. The Gemara said that Turnus Rufus, a Roman officer, plowed the area of the Temple. This prophecy was fulfilled in literal detail. Incidentally, there was a Roman coin minted during that era that shows an image of a man using a plow. The coin was intended to commemorate the founding of the pagan Roman city called Aelia Capitolina on the site of Jerusalem. The Romans sometimes minted coins showing the plowing motif as a symbol of the establishment of a new Roman city.

The Jews fast (go without food) on the 9th day of the Jewish month of Ab (sometimes spelled Av) in remembrance of five historic events that are recorded as occurring on that date. One of those events is the plowing of all or part of Jerusalem by the Romans.

Micah 3:11-12
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the Lord and say, "Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us." Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

5. The Bible foreshadowed Rome's destruction of Israel
Bible passage: Deuteronomy 28:49-52
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 70 AD
The Bible has several prophecies about various destructions of the land of Israel. Here is one from the Bible's book of Deuteronomy that foreshadowed the destruction caused by the Romans in the year 70 AD (about 1900 years ago):

"The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand … They will devour … until you are ruined. … They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down." (Deuteronomy 28:49-52 NIV).

And, here's what history says about what happened in the year 70 AD: The Roman Empire sent an army, which marched in a formation called the "flying eagle," and destroyed Jerusalem. Members of the Roman army came from many different countries, speaking languages that the Jews did not understand.

Deuteronomy 28:49-52
The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the Lord your God is giving you.

6. Israel would become a wasteland
Bible passage: Deuteronomy 29:23
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 135-1800s
In Deuteronomy 29:23, the Bible said Israel would become a wasteland. This prophecy certainly was fulfilled. The land has been described many times as having been a sparsely populated wasteland, as recently as the late 1800s. American writer Mark Twain wrote this, in 1867, about the land of Israel, which at the time was called Palestine: "Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes… the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies… Palestine is desolate and unlovely… It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land." - from Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad.

Deuteronomy 29:23
The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur--nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.

7. The people of Israel would be exiled, scorned and ridiculed
Bible passage: Deuteronomy 28:36-37
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 135-1900s
In Deuteronomy 28:36-37, the Bible said that the people of Israel would be exiled, ridiculed and scorned. This prophecy has certainly found fulfillment in many events throughout history. The people of Israel (who today are commonly called Jews) have been expelled from their homeland by the Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans. And the Jews - perhaps more than any other group of people - have been subject to hatred, scorn and persecution throughout the world. Until 1948, the Jews did not have sovereign control over any part of their homeland since the Hasmonaean Period more than 2000 years ago. And, until 1948, Israel had not been a united and sovereign country for nearly 2900 years.

Deuteronomy 28:36-37
The Lord will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the Lord will drive you.

8. The land of Israel would be inhabited by enemies
Bible passage: Leviticus 26:31-32
Written: perhaps around 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 135 to today
In Leviticus 26:31-32, the Bible said that Israel would become a wasteland and that it would be inhabited by enemies of the people of Israel. Both parts of this prophecy have been clearly documented throughout history. Many of the people of Israel were forced out of their homeland by the Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans. Each time, other people were able to move into the land. When the Jews began returning during the 1800s and 1900s, they had skirmishes with the peoples living there, namely Arabs, who continue to live in parts of the land of Israel.

Leviticus 26:31-32
I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings. I will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled.

9. The people of Israel will never cease to be a nation of people
Bible passage: Jeremiah 31:35-36
Written: sometime from 626 to about 586 BC
Fulfilled: Today
In Jeremiah 31:35-36, the Bible said that as surely as God has decreed the sun to shine, he too has decreed that the people of Israel will never cease to be a nation of people. This promise of preservation continues to be fulfilled today, as the Jewish people maintain their identity as a distinct group of people, with its own culture, religion and language. This is a remarkable feat considering the vast number of indigenous peoples throughout the world who have lost their language and culture even without the additional burden of being exiled from their homeland. The Jews, however, endured 18 centuries of dispersion since they were exiled from their homeland by the Romans in 135 AD. Today, there are Jewish people in Israel and throughout the world who can speak the same Hebrew language that is found in even the oldest of the Biblical scriptures. (By comparison, an Englishman today would have a difficult time reading an English text written a mere 500 years ago).

Jeremiah 31:35-36
This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar-- the LORD Almighty is his name: "Only if these decrees vanish from my sight," declares the LORD, "will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me."

10. The exiled people of Israel would return to Israel
Bible passage: Jeremiah 32:37-41
Written: sometime from 626 to about 586 BC
Fulfilled: late 1800s to today
In Jeremiah 32:37-41, the prophet said the people of Israel would return to their homeland. Jeremiah lived during a time when the Babylonians were forcing the Jews out of their homeland about 2600 years ago. Many Jews later returned but were forced out again, by the Romans, about 1900 years ago. During the past 200 years, millions of exiled Jews have returned to Israel from countries all over the world.

Jeremiah 32:37-41
I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

Notes: Bible verses are from the New International Version (NIV) translation.

Bible Prophecy Challege cont.: 10 fulfilled recently

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 00:34:00 +0000

These 10 Bible prophecies were fulfilled after 1948, when Israel became an independent country for the second time in history. These prophecies find fulfillment in Israel's stunning military victories and in its transition from a desert wasteland to a comparatively prosperous nation.

1. Israel will ultimately prevail over its enemies
Bible passage: Isaiah 41:12-14
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: late 1900s
In Isaiah 41:12-14, the prophet proclaimed that the tiny nation of Israel ultimately will prevail over its enemies, and that although its enemies will cease to exist one day, Israel will survive. This prophecy is interesting from an historical perspective. The country of Israel has been conquered and destroyed at different times by very powerful nations and empires, such as Assyria, Babylon and the Roman Empire. Those conquests led to the exile and worldwide dispersion of the people of Israel, and to the desolation of the land of Israel. Even so, Israel is again a sovereign nation today, and the empires of Assyria, Babylon and ancient Rome have vanished long ago. The Nazis tried to destroy the people of Israel during the 1940s. But that decade saw the rebirth of the county of Israel and the destruction of the Nazi empire. From the perspective of various Christian scholars, this prophecy has found partial fulfillment so far, and will be completely fulfilled in the future when all enemies of Israel are destroyed.

Isaiah 41:12-14
Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

2. The ruins of Israel would be rebuilt
Bible passage: Amos 9:11, 13
Written: about 750 BC
Fulfilled: late 1900s
In Amos 9:11, 13, the prophet said that God would restore the land of David. King David ruled Israel from about 1010 BC to about 970 BC. During that time, Israel was a united and sovereign nation. Afterwards, the land was divided into two kingdoms and later conquered by a succession of world powers. For much of the past 2000 years, the people of Israel have been living in exile in countries around the world, and the land of Israel has been in a state of ruin. During the past two centuries, however, many Jews have returned from exile and have rebuilt and reconditioned much of the land of Israel. The soil is again productive, producing food exports for many countries. And the nation is again sovereign and united.

Amos 9:11, 13
"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,'' … "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."

3. Ezekiel prophesied prosperity for a restored Israel
Bible passage: Ezekiel 36:11
Written: between 593-571 BC
Fulfilled: late 1900s
In Ezekiel 36:11, the prophet said that there would come a time when Israel would be more prosperous than it was in the past. The Bible describes Israel as being a prosperous nation during the time of King David and King Solomon about 3000 years ago. But, Ezekiel knew a very different Israel. In Ezekiel's day (he lived about 2600 years ago), the northern part of the land had been decimated by the Assyrians, and the southern part, called Judah, was being destroyed by the Babylonians. The land of Israel suffered greatly, falling into a state of poverty and desolation that would last for many centuries. But today, Israel again is a sovereign nation. And it is a prosperous nation. In 1999, Israel had the highest per capita Gross Domestic Product of any nearby country, even though the surrounding countries have many oil resources.

Ezekiel 36:11
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.

4. Trees would flourish again in a desolate Israel
Bible passage: Isaiah 41:18-20
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: late 1900s
In Isaiah 41:18-20, the prophet's talk of a future restoration of Israel coincides with an occurrence in modern Israel - the construction of a vast irrigation system to improve farming. The lack of available water, including rain, is one reason why Israel had been a desolate, unproductive land during much of the past 2000 years. But, during the 1900s, when many Jews returned to their ancient homeland, they built a network of irrigation systems. And during the past century, more than 200 million trees have been planted in Israel.

Isaiah 41:18-20
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.

Note: The Jewish National Fund web site, at www.jnf.org, has information about how people can contribute to the effort to reforest Israel.

5. Isaiah said Israel's fruit would fill the world
Bible passage: Isaiah 27:6
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: late 1900s
In Isaiah 27:6, the prophet said Israel would one day blossom and fill the world with fruit. This prophecy has been at least partially fulfilled so far, literally and spiritually. Today, the land of Israel, which had been barren for centuries, is a leading producer of agricultural products, exporting food to many countries. This prophecy also has been fulfilled spiritually with the worldwide spread of Christianity, which began with Jesus in Israel.

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

6. Jerusalem would become the world's most important religious site
Bible passage: Micah 4:1
Written: sometime between 750-686 BC
Fulfilled: Partially in modern times
In Micah 4:1, the prophet said that the Temple mount in Jerusalem would become the focal point of the world. Various Christian scholars regard this as a prophecy that is to be fulfilled in the future. But it is interesting to note that Jerusalem is, and has been for centuries, the world's most important religious site. Christians and Jews have always regarded the city as important. Followers of Islam later adopted Jerusalem as an important city in their beliefs. No other city in the world is a religious focal point to as many people.

Micah 4:1
In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it.

7. Egypt would never again rule over nations
Bible passage: Ezekiel 29:15
Written: between 593-571 BC
Fulfilled: 1967, etc.
In Ezekiel 29:15, the prophet says that Egypt would recover from a desolation (perhaps Babylon's attack about 2600 years ago), but that it would never again rule over other nations. Up until the time of Ezekiel, Egypt had been a world power for centuries, dominating many nations, including Israel. But for most of the past 2500 years, Egypt has been controlled by foreign powers, including the Romans, Ottomans and Europeans. Today, Egypt is an independent nation again. In 1948, 1967 and 1973, Egypt tried to dominate Israel but was unsuccessful each time, despite the fact that Egypt is 10 times larger than Israel. Egypt today, in many respects, is an impressive nation. But since the time of Ezekiel, it no longer rules over other nations.

Ezekiel 29:15
… I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations.

8. Zechariah prophesied the Jews return to Jerusalem
Bible passage: Zechariah 8:7-8
Written: between 520 and 518 BC
Fulfilled: 1967, etc.
In Zechariah 8:7-8, the prophet said God would bring the Jews from exile back to their homeland (Israel) and that they would be able to live in the city of Jerusalem again. This prophecy has been fulfilled more than once. About 2600 years ago, Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and took many Jews as captives to Babylon. But many Jews later returned from Babylon. The Jews rebuilt Jerusalem but the city was destroyed about 1900 years ago by the Romans. The Romans killed more than 1 million Jews and forced many more into exile. And, the Romans banned Jews from living in Jerusalem. More than 1800 years passed before the Jews had control of Jerusalem again. They reclaimed control of their ancient capital during the Six Day War of 1967.

Zechariah 8:7-8
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."

9. Israel's deserts will become like the Garden of Eden
Bible passage: Isaiah 51:3
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: Being fulfilled now
In Isaiah 51:3, the prophet said that God will restore Israel and make it a paradise, like the garden of Eden. This foreshadows what is currently happening in Israel. The Jews have been irrigating, cultivating and reconditioning the land during much of the 1900s. Many of the country's swamps, which had been infested with malaria, have been converted into farmland. And water from the Sea of Galilee has been channeled through portions of the deserts, allowing some of the deserts to bloom. Much work remains, but parts of Israel are blooming again. Although it was described as a wasteland as recently as the late 1800s, Israel is now a food source for many countries. And at least 200 million of trees have been planted there during the past century.

Isaiah 51:3
The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

10. Isaiah foretold of the worldwide return of Jews to Israel
Bible passage: Isaiah 43:5-6
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: late 1900s
In Isaiah 43:5-6, the prophet said that the people of Israel would return to their homeland from the east, the west, the north and the south. Isaiah lived 2700 years ago. Beginning at that time, a succession of empires conquered the land of Israel and forced many into exile. This led to a worldwide scattering of Jews. But, during the past century, millions have returned to Israel.

From the east: Many Jews living in Middle East countries moved to Israel during the 1900s. After Israel reclaimed independence in 1948, more Jews moved to their ancient homeland after being forced out of various Arab countries in which they had been living for centuries.

From the west: During the mid-1900s, hundreds of thousands of Jews living in the West (Europe and the United States) began moving to Israel to escape various persecutions, most notably, the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.

From the north: Hundreds of thousands of Jews living in the former Soviet Union have moved to Israel since the 1980s.

From the south: During the 1980s and 1990s, Israel struck a deal with Ethiopia's communist government to allow Jews of Ethiopia to move to Israel. On the weekend of May 25, 1991, for example, 14,500 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel.

Isaiah's prophecy was also correct in saying that the north (Russia) and the south (Ethiopia) would have to be persuaded to allow their Jews to move to Israel. Many countries pressured Russia for years before it began to allow its Jews to leave. And Ethiopia had to be paid a ransom to allow its Jews to leave.

Isaiah's prophecy was also correct in saying that the Jews would return "from the ends of the earth," and Isaiah said that many centuries before the Jews had been scattered to the ends of the earth. During the past 100 years, Jews living as far east as China, as far west as the West Coast of the United States, as far north as Scandinavia, and as far south as South Africa, Australia and South America, have moved to Israel.

Isaiah 43:5-6
"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…"

Notes: Bible verses are from the New International Version (NIV) translation.

Bible Prophacy Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 00:07:00 +0000

I was recently challenged by the author of the blog The Martian Antropologist to name the "hundreds of prophecies" I claimed were in the Bible. I will try to list as many as possible it help show people that the Bible is a book you can trust to be accurate, true, and full of hope.

I will start with 10 prophacies that were fulfilled in the year 1948 when Isreal became an independent, united nation for the second time in history:

1. Jacob's descendants would regain control of Israel
Bible passage: Amos 9:14-15
Written: about 750 BC
Fulfilled: Since 1948
In Amos 9:14-15, the prophet said that there would come a time when the exiles of Israel would again have Israel as their own land and that they would never be uprooted again. Amos lived about 2700 years ago, during a time when the people of Israel were being forced out of their homeland by a succession of foreign invasions. Despite many centuries of exile, many Jews returned to Israel and reclaimed sovereignty over a portion of their ancient homeland. This declaration of independence, in 1948, triggered a war with the surrounding countries, which objected to the presence of a Jewish state. On May 15, 1948, the day that armies from the surrounding countries invaded, Azzam Pasha, the Secretary General of the Arab League, said "This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades." Similar quotes were uttered by others during the war of 1948-49 and during the two major wars that followed. Despite its tiny size, Israel prevailed in these wars, preventing its people from being uprooted again, as they had been in ancient times.

Amos 9:14-15
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.

2. Israel would be brought back to life
Bible passage: Ezekiel 37:10-14
Written: between 593-571 BC
Fulfilled: 1948
In Ezekiel 37:10-14, the prophet receives a vision in which Israel was seen as a scattering of dried-up bones. In this vision, God tells Ezekiel that the bones (Israel) would be brought back to life. Just as Ezekiel had prophesized about 2600 years ago, the Jews were brought back to the land, and the country of Israel was brought back to life. Israel re-established sovereignty in 1948, a mere three years after the end of the Holocaust, during which the Nazis killed about one-third of the world's Jewish population.

Ezekiel 37:10-14
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army. Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, `Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: `This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.'"

3. Isaiah spoke of a Israel being reborn in one day
Bible passage: Isaiah 66:7-8
Written: perhaps between 701-681 BC
Fulfilled: 1948
In Isaiah 66:7-8, the prophet foreshadowed the re-birth of Israel in 1948. Isaiah describes a woman giving birth before going into labor, and he speaks of a country being born in one day. This accurately describes what happened on May 14, 1948 - when the Jews declared independence for Israel as a united and sovereign nation for the first time in 2900 years.

During that same day, the United States issued a statement recognizing Israel's sovereignty. And, only hours beforehand, a United Nations mandate expired, ending British control of the land. During a 24-hour span of time, foreign control of the land of Israel had formally ceased, and Israel had declared its independence, and its independence was acknowledged by other nations. Modern Israel was literally was born in a single day.

Isaiah said the birth would take place before there would be labor pains. And that too is precisely what happened. A movement called Zionism began in the 1800s to encourage Jews worldwide to move to Israel, which at that time was called Palestine. Within hours of the declaration of independence in 1948, Israel was attacked by the surrounding countries of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

When reading Isaiah 66:7-8, keep in mind that Israel's status as a sovereign nation was established and reaffirmed during the course of a single day, and that it was born of a movement called Zionism, and that its declaration of independence was not the result of a war but rather the cause of one.

Isaiah 66:7-8
"Before she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son. Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children."

4. Israel would be re-established as a united nation
Bible passage: Ezekiel 37:21-22
Written: between 593-571 BC
Fulfilled: 1948
In Ezekiel 37:21-22, the prophet said that God would one day bring the people of Israel back to Israel, as a united nation. This might have been a shock for Ezekiel. He lived about 2600 years ago. At that time, the people of Israel had already divided themselves into two separate kingdoms. And, both kingdoms had been conquered by foreign invaders, who forced many of the people, including Ezekiel, into exile. But, when Jews reclaimed sovereignty in 1948, they did so as a united people, creating one nation - Israel.

Ezekiel 37:21-22
and say to them, `This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.

5. The second Israel would be more impressive than the first
Bible passage: Jeremiah 16:14-15
Written: sometime from 626 to about 586 BC
Fulfilled: 1948
In Jeremiah 16:14-15, the prophet said the second Israel would be more impressive than the first. In many regards, it is. The first time that Israel was established as a country was after Moses led the descendants of Jacob (typically referred to today as Jews) out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved for 400 years. They then conquered Canaan and established Israel about 3400 years ago. But the second time that Israel was established was after the Jews had been scattered far and wide for a few thousand years. This time the Jews had to return from as far away as the United States, China, Russia and South Africa.

Jeremiah 16:14-15
"However, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "when men will no longer say, `As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,' but they will say, `As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' For I will restore them to the land I gave their forefathers.

6. Ezekiel predicted when Israel would be re-established
Bible passage: Ezekiel 4:3-6
Written: between 593-571 BC
Fulfilled: 1948
In Ezekiel 4:3-6, the prophet said the Jews, who had lost control of their homeland, would be punished for 430 years. This prophecy, according to Bible scholar Grant Jeffrey, pinpointed the 1948 rebirth of Israel. Here's a summary of Jeffrey's theory:

1. Ezekiel said the Jews were to be punished for 430 years because they had turned away from God. As part of the punishment, the Jews lost control of their homeland to Babylon. Many Jews were taken as captives to Babylon.

2. Babylon was later conquered by Cyrus in 539 BC. Cyrus allowed the Jews to leave Babylon and to return to their homeland. But, only a small number returned. The return had taken place sometime around 536 BC, about 70 years after Judah lost independence to Babylon.

3. Because most of the exiles chose to stay in pagan Babylon rather than return to the Holy Land, the remaining 360 years of their punishment was multiplied by 7. The reason is explained in Bible's book of Leviticus. (Leviticus 26:18, 26:21, 26:24 and 26:28). In Leviticus, it says that if the people did not repent while being punished, the punishment would be multiplied by 7. And, by staying in pagan Babylon, most exiles were refusing to repent.

4. So, if you take the remaining 360 years of punishment and multiply by 7, you get 2,520 years. But, Jeffrey says those years are based on an ancient 360-day lunar calendar. If those years are adjusted to the modern solar calendar, the result is 2,484 years.

5. And, there were exactly 2,484 years from 536 BC to 1948, which is the year that Israel regained independence.

Ezekiel 4:3-6
(In this Bible passage, Ezekiel is asked by God to symbolically act out the 430 years of punishment)
… Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel. "Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the house of Israel. "After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.

7. The people of Israel would return to "their own land"
Bible passage: Ezekiel 34:13
Written: between 593-571 BC
Fulfilled: after May 14, 1948
In Ezekiel 34:13, the prophet said that God would gather the people of Israel scattered throughout the world and bring them back to "their own land." After many centuries of dispersion, hundreds of thousands of Jews returned to their ancient homeland beginning in the late 1800s. But, millions more returned after Israel declared independence in 1948. In other words, millions of exiles returned to their ancient homeland which was now truly "their own land" in the sense that it was now a sovereign Jewish state.

Ezekiel 34:13
I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.

8. God would watch over the people of Israel
Bible passage: Jeremiah 31:10
Written: sometime from 626 to about 586 BC
Fulfilled: 1948, etc.
In Jeremiah 31:10, the prophet said that God would one day gather the Jews back to Israel and that He would watch over them like a shepherd. Believe what you wish, but there is evidence that God indeed has watched over the re-established nation of Israel. Hours after Israel declared independence in 1948, the surrounding countries attacked, hoping to replace the Jewish state with an Arab state. These countries are much larger than Israel. But tiny Israel prevailed in that war and was able to capture additional land, increasing the land size of Israel by 50 percent. Israel also prevailed in the two other major wars that followed.

Jeremiah 31:10
"Hear the word of the Lord, O nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: `He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.'

9. Israel's army would be disproportionately powerful
Bible passage: Leviticus 26:3, 7-8
Written: perhaps around 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 1948-49, 1967, etc.
In Leviticus 26:3, 7-8, the Bible says that the army of Israel would have a supernatural power to prevail during times of conflict, if the people are obedient to the Lord. This Bible passage says that 5 people would be able to chase away 100 people, and that 100 would be able to chase away 10,000. Is there any proof to this incredible claim? Judge for yourself:

Example 1: Within hours of Israel's declaration of independence in 1948, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded Israel. The combined population of those countries was at least 20 million at that time. Israel had fewer than 1 million Jews. Even so, the Jews won the war and expanded the size of Israel by 50 percent.

Example 2: During the War of 1967, Israel attacked the air force bases of the surrounding countries and took control of Jerusalem for the first time in about 2000 years. They also seized additional territory. That war lasted a mere 6 days.

Example 3: On Oct. 6, 1973, Israel was attacked by Egypt and Syria. Other countries later joined the attack. But the Jews were able to push back the attacking armies and occupy land outside of Israel's borders.

Leviticus 26:3, 7-8
"If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, … You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you."

10. The fortunes of the people of Israel would be restored
Bible passage: Deuteronomy 30:3-5
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 1948, etc.
In Deuteronomy 30:3-5, the Bible said the Jews would be scattered worldwide and that they later would return to their homeland and have their fortunes restored. This prophecy began to be fulfilled in modern times during the late 1800s when many Jews returned to Israel, from as far away as China and the United States, Russia and South Africa. Israel declared independence in 1948. Today, Israel is among the world's most prosperous countries. In 1999, for example, Israel's per capita Gross Domestic Product was twice as prosperous than the neighboring countries.

Deuteronomy 30:3-5
then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers.

Notes: Bible verses are from the New International Version (NIV) translation.

Prophecy, the Bible and Jesus

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 13:54:00 +0000

How do you respond to someone's claim that the Bible is not inspired? Is there a way to prove inspiration or, at least, intelligently present evidence for its inspiration? The answer is "Yes!" One of the best ways to prove inspiration is by examining prophecy. There are many religious books in the world that have many good things to say. But only the Bible has fulfilled prophecies--with more fulfillments to come. The Bible has never been wrong in the past, and it won't be wrong in the future. It claims inspiration from God (2 Tim. 3:16). Since God is the creator of all things (Isaiah 44:24), then He is also the creator of time. It is under His control. Only God, then, would always be right about what is in the future, our future.
Fulfilled prophecy is strong evidence that God is the author of the Bible because when you look at the mathematical odds of prophecy being fulfilled, you quickly see a design, a purpose, and a guiding hand behind the Bible. If just one prophecy failed, then we would know that God is not the true God, because the creator of all things, which includes time, would not be wrong about predicting the future. Deut. 18:22 says, "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously" (NIV). Isaiah 46:9-10 says, "Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please."
One approach to use with an unbeliever is to turn to Psalm 22 and read verses 12-18. This is a detailed description of the crucifixion--1000 years before Jesus was born. After you read the section ask him what it was about. He'll say, "The crucifixion of Jesus." Then respond with something like, "You're right. This is about the crucifixion. But it was written 1000 years before Jesus was born. And on top of that, crucifixion hadn't even been invented yet. How do you think something like this could happen?" After a brief discussion, you could show him (or her) a few other prophecies like where Jesus' birthplace was prophesied (Micah 5:2), that He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), that His side would be pierced (Zech. 12:10), etc.

Born of the Seed of the Woman

	Gen. 3:15, "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." Matt. 1:20, "But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Born of a Virgin

	Isaiah 7:14, "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." Matt. 1:18,25, "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary...was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit... But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus." Son of God Psalm 2:7, "I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son today I have become your Father." Matt. 3:15, "And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'" Seed of Abraham Gen. 22:18, "and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." Matt. 1:1, "record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:" Son of Isaac

	Gen. 21:12, "But God said to him, 'Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.'" Luke 3:23-34, "Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli...the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,"




	House of David
	Jer. 23:1, "The days are coming, declares the LORD, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land."	Luke 3:23-31, "Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli...the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,"
	Born at Bethlehem
	Micah 5:2 "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."	Matt. 2:1, "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem."
	He shall be a Prophet
	Deut. 18:18, "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him."	Matt. 21:11,"The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."
	He shall be a Priest
	Psalm 110:4, "The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'"	Heb. 3:1, "Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess." Heb. 5:5-6, "So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.' And he says in another place, 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'"
	He shall be a King
	Psalm 2:6, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill."	Matt. 27:37, "Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS."
	He shall judge
	Isaiah 33:22, "For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us."	John 5:30, "By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me."
	He would be preceded by a Messenger
	Isaiah 40:3, "A voice of one calling: 'In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.'"	Matt. 3:1-2, "In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.'"
	Rejected by His own people
	Isaiah 53:3, "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."	John 7:5, "For even his own brothers did not believe in him." John 7:48, "Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?"
	His side pierced
	Zech. 12:10, "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 mourns for an only son."	John 19:34, "Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water."
	Crucifixion
	Psalm 22:1, Psalm 22:11-18, "For the director of music. To the tune of "The Doe of the Morning." A psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?...Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing."	Luke 23:33, "When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals -- one on his right, the other on his left." John 19:33, "But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs." John 19:23-24, "When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. Let's not tear it, they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did."

The Mathematical Odds of Jesus Fulfilling Prophecy

The following probabilities are taken from Peter Stoner in Science Speaks (Moody Press, 1963) to show that coincidence is ruled out by the science of probability. Stoner says that by using the modern science of probability in reference to eight prophecies, 'we find that the chance that any man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 10¹⁷." That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. In order to help us comprehend this staggering probability, Stoner illustrates it by supposing that "we take 10¹⁷ silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep.
"Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man."
Stoner considers 48 prophecies and says, "we find the chance that any one man fulfilled all 48 prophecies to be 1 in 10¹⁵⁷, or 1 in

100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

The estimated number of electrons in the universe is around 10⁷⁹. It should be quite evident that Jesus did not fulfill the prophecies by accident."

__________________
This information was taken from the book Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell.

The Book You Can Trust

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 01:08:00 +0000

May I impress upon your heart that the book many of you have in your house/apartment is unlike any other in the Universe? And with that truth deeply upon our hearts, in the days ahead, shouldn't we treat it differently, read it diligently, wait before it expectantly and from it learn to live triumphantly? There are 7 reasons why I believe the Bible is true:

1. JESUS CHRIST: Because our Lord Jesus Christ said so! Over and over we find Him asking those who questioned Him, "Have you never read?", "It is written" and "Search the Scriptures". He believed in:
1.1 Jesus believed in the Verbal (every word) Inspiration of the Scriptures [Matthew 5:18]
1.1.1 In His Private Life [Mt 4 quotes Deut] He uses it in His struggle with Satan
1.1.2 In His Public Ministry [Mt 5-7 quotes Isaiah 61.2] He uses it to teach multitudes by the Sea.
1.1.3 In His Personal world [Mt 24 quotes Dan & prophets] He uses it to explain the future to His disciples.
1.2 Jesus believed in the Inerrancy of the Scriptures [John 10:35; 17:17]
So much so that one out of every ten recorded words of Jesus are Old Testament quotes! (1)
1.3 Historical Reliability of Scripture as in
1.3.1 Adam and Eve (Mt. 19:4-5);
1.3.2 Abel [Mat 23.35]
1.3.3 Noah and flood (Mt. 24:37-38)
1.3.4 Abraham (John 8:56)
1.3.5 Moses and the Bush {Mk 12.26]
1.3.6 David [Mt 12.3]
1.3.7 Elijah [Lk 4.25]
1.3.8 Daniel [Mt 4.17]
1.3.9 Jonah (Mt. 12:40-41)

2. APOSTLES & PROPHETS: Because all the writers said so thousands of times. They were totally convinced that they were sharing words that were not originating with them.

3. SURVIVAL: Because of its endurance through the ages despite being the target of Empires, armies and infidels the Bible stands like a rock undaunted through the raging storms of time. Its pages burn with the truth eternal and they glow with a light divine. The Bible stands though the hills may tumble it will firmly stand though the Earth may crumble. I will take my stand on its firm foundation for the Bible stands!

4. ABSOLUTE UNITY: Because of its incredible unity demonstrated in the fact that from 40 plus men on 3 continents over 1,600 years and 60 generations comes one unmistakable fabric woven from prison to palace, desert to dungeon, hillside to holy places. There is one common denominator, one shared theme and one united message. There is but one system of doctrine, one system of ethics, one plan of salvation and one rule of faith.

5. PROPHETIC ACCURACY: Because of its fulfilled prophecy (illustration - Logos Esch.)

6. SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY: Because of its scientific accuracy (Mac)

7. HISTORICAL ACCURACY: Because of its archaeological verification (Criswell)

1. Scroggie says that the Gospels total 3,779 verses. The words of Christ total 1,934 of them. Jesus quotes the Old Testament 180x so just under 10% of His recorded words are Old Testament quotes!

2. San Diego Union-Tribune, 11/5/93.

3. MacArthur, John F., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary , (Chicago: Moody Press) 1983.

4. Faith for the Family, 11/77, p.29.

5. Focus on Family Citizen, 1/20/92, pp. 13-15.

6. How old is the Universe, USN&WR, 5/20/96, pp.60-61.

7. 11/21/80, pp883-87.

8. 2/78, pp. 19-30.

9. MacArthur, John F., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary , (Chicago: Moody Press) 1983.

10. World that Perished, foreword.

11. MacArthur, John F., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary , (Chicago: Moody Press) 1983.

Nationality of al-Qaida recruits

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Sun, 07 Aug 2005 19:57:00 +0000

I read the following story and my first thought was, "If the Iraqi's don't want our help, then why aren't they joining al-Qaida?"

Angry Outsiders Boosting al-Qaida's Ranks

LONDON (AP) - They had roots in Pakistan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Jamaica: the suspected al-Qaida foot soldiers in Britain were immigrants or were children of immigrants - a new breed of recruits that underscores the changes in the organization since the Sept. 11 attacks, say experts studying the London bombings.

These experts, who include a pioneer in personality profiling, say al-Qaida, always loosely knit, is mutating into satellites that attract local operatives bound by disenchantment with the Western societies in which they grew up. It is no longer a hierarchy with Osama bin Laden calling the shots, they say.

"Al-Qaida version 1.0 is functionally dead," said Jerrold Post, a founding director of the CIA's Center for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behavior. "Al-Qaida version 2.0 is almost more an ideology. ... It's an adaptive organization responding to a crisis."

Darwin's Scorecard

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Sat, 06 Aug 2005 13:28:00 +0000

Origin of Species is a book that practically everyone has heard of. Most people think they know what it says. Few people have actually read it. You have heard of Origin of Species, haven’t you? You know what it says, don’t you? Have you read it? See what we mean?

One would think that Origin of Species would be required reading for every modern introductory biology class. It isn’t. As we examine it in detail, you will see why it isn’t. Darwin got it mostly wrong. If biology students read Origin of Species, the teacher would have to spend most of every lecture telling the students that what they read isn’t true.

We haven’t talked much about the errors in Darwin’s Origin of Species in previous newsletters because it is an old, out-dated book, full of errors well-known to modern science. Therefore, evolutionists might claim that we are taking cheap shots at early theories that evolutionists no longer believe. But, according to the Field Museum, “Darwin got it (mostly) right.” That makes Darwin’s Origin of Species fair game. Since they have made the claim that Darwin was mostly right, it is appropriate to ask, “Just how right was Darwin?”

We and the museum apparently agree that Darwin got some things right and some things wrong. The sticking point is the word “mostly”. That is a subjective term that is difficult to quantify. So, let us examine what Darwin wrote, and you can decide whether Darwin was mostly right or not.
More individuals are born than can possibly survive. 1

Darwin observed that not every creature that is born lives long enough to reproduce after its kind. Certainly, he got that right. Ask a mathematician how many rabbits there would be on the Earth after 1,000 years, starting with a single pair, if all survived to maturity. Worse yet, imagine how many mosquitoes would be in the world today if none of them were eaten by fish or birds. The world is not overrun with rabbits and mosquitoes because not all of them survive long enough to reproduce.

At best, the number of creatures that have offspring is equal to the number of creatures born. Who would argue that the number of creatures that have offspring is more than the number of creatures born? Creatures that were never born certainly can’t have children.

It has been said that having children is hereditary. If your parents didn’t have any children, then you won’t either. smiley face We all know people who, through choice or circumstance, have remained childless all their lives. If you haven’t squished a spider, you know someone who did. Certainly Darwin was right when he said that more creatures are born than survive long enough to reproduce.

Perhaps you were slightly bored or annoyed because we belabored the obvious. That was our intention. If you were bored or annoyed, it is because you realize that it doesn’t take any great intellect to appreciate the fact that creatures that aren’t born certainly can’t have children, and that not all creatures that are born do have children. So, the first thing that Darwin got right isn’t really worthy of a Nobel Prize. Darwin simply wrote down what anybody who ever thought about it already knew.
Under domestication we see much variability. 2

Darwin’s second correct observation was that there are differences in offspring. You, no doubt, already knew that, too. Let’s face it. If you are fortunate enough to get to be a contestant on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” there are some people you would put on your phone-a-friend list, and some that you would not. There are some people you would ask to sing at your wedding, and some that you would not. There are some people you would ask to help you load a furniture truck, and some that you would not. People have different talents that are more useful in some situations than others.

We could belabor this point to the point of annoyance, but Darwin has already done that. He spent the entire first two chapters of Origin of Species citing obvious examples of variation, as if nobody had ever noticed it before. Maybe he was trying to lull his readers into accepting everything he says by hypnotizing them with an enormous list of obvious observations. Then, when he makes his erroneous conclusions, his readers will have stopped thinking critically about what he says because everything up to that point is so obviously true. But let's give him the benefit of the doubt. It could be that he was just a really boring writer. For whatever reason, Origin of Species is filled with trivial examples of variation in species.
Nature's power of selection 3

Darwin was only partially right when he estimated the importance of “survival of the fittest” in determining which creatures left offspring. A gazelle that can only run half as fast as all the other gazelles probably won’t live long enough to reproduce. Although selection is powerful when it comes to eliminating the occasional individual that is dramatically below average in some important respect, it doesn’t have as much power when it comes to favoring those individuals that are above average.

The “safety in numbers” theory says that you don’t have to be the fastest gazelle in the herd to escape when a lion attacks. You don’t have to outrun the lion. You just have to outrun at least one other gazelle. If the herd is large enough, there is probably at least one other gazelle slower than you are, and that’s the one that will get caught. The fastest gazelle doesn’t have any real advantage over the tenth fastest gazelle in a herd of 500 gazelles, no matter how much faster it is. Selection doesn’t favor the fastest gazelles--it eliminates the slowest ones. There is a subtle but important difference that Darwin failed to realize.

There is some debate among scientists, even in evolutionary circles, that chance (rather than fitness) might be the most important factor in determining which creatures survive long enough to reproduce. Sometimes it is the fastest gazelle in the herd that wanders past the lion hidden in the grass. When a snake finds an egg, and eats it, it doesn’t matter if that egg contains embryo of the bird that could have flown the fastest, or would have had the sexiest plumage.

The people who died in the World Trade Center were not the least fit for survival. Some died because they were unlucky. Some died because they were brave. None died because they were unfit for survival in a big city environment.
Any variation which is not inherited is unimportant for us. 4

Darwin was right to conclude that only inherited variations matter in the evolution of a new species. If the variation isn’t inherited, then the critter’s offspring have to start all over from scratch. The only way the variations can accumulate is if the variations are passed down from generation to generation. The only way that can happen is inheritance. So, he was right about that, and we give him some small amount of credit for stating it because it isn’t patently obvious. Even so, it still isn’t reasoning worthy of a Nobel Prize.
Ignorance of inheritance

Darwin didn’t know much about inheritance. That isn’t our claim-it is Darwin’s claim. Darwin frequently made appeals to ignorance when he didn’t have any data to back up his ideas.

The laws governing inheritance are quite unknown; 5

In these chapters I have endeavoured to show, that if we make due allowance for our ignorance … 6

… if we remember how profoundly ignorant we are … 7

… if we make the same allowances as before for our ignorance… 8

But it deserves especial notice that the more important objections relate to questions on which we are confessedly ignorant; nor do we know how ignorant we are. 9

Darwin didn’t know how inheritance worked. Much of what he thought he knew about inheritance was wrong (as we shall see in a moment). But he argued that even though he didn’t understand how inheritance works, we could be sure that it must work the way he thought it worked. In other words, he argued from faith, not facts. To accept Darwin’s theory, people of his day had to believe in things that nobody understood. To accept Darwin’s theory today, people have to believe in things that are contrary to what modern science has discovered.

Darwin said,

But I am strongly inclined to suspect that the most frequent cause of variability may be attributed to the male and female reproductive elements having been affected prior to the act of conception. 10

Ironically, what he said was true, but what he meant was wrong. It is true that damage to the ovaries or testicles (from radiation or chemical agents) will cause birth defects, which makes the offspring different from other offspring. Scientists routinely subject fruit flies to x-rays and toxic chemicals to damage their reproductive organs in such a way as to increase the rate of mutations so the mutations can be studied.

But that isn’t what Darwin was talking about. He thought life experiences (not x-rays or toxic chemicals) affected sex organs. One of the examples he gave was,

The great and inherited development of the udders in cows and goats in countries where they are habitually milked, in comparison with the state of these organs in other countries, is another instance of the effect of use. 11

Darwin believed that acquired characteristics were inherited because exercise, nutrition, and climate, affected the reproductive organs. Daily milking of a cow would, he thought, produce increased milk-producing hormones in the cow, and these hormones would, through some method of which he was ignorant, affect the ovaries in such a way that its offspring would have more-developed udders.

Modern scientists know that acquired characteristics aren’t inherited. You can go to the gym and workout until you have buns of steel, but any children you conceive have will still have baby-soft butts. Milking a cow doesn’t make her offspring give more milk. Darwin was entirely wrong on this point.

From the facts alluded to in the first chapter, I think there can be little doubt that use in our domestic animals strengthens and enlarges certain parts, and disuse diminishes them; and that such modifications are inherited. 12 [emphasis supplied]

Exercise does, to some extent, strengthen and enlarge some parts. Disuse does diminish some parts. But those “modifications” are not inherited, and therefore unimportant to the evolution of a new species.

I think the common and extraordinary capacity in our domestic animals of not only withstanding the most different climates but of being perfectly fertile (a far severer test) under them, may be used as an argument that a large proportion of other animals, now in a state of nature, could easily be brought to bear widely different climates. 13

In other words, Darwin thought that when an animal is exposed to cold weather, it grows a thicker coat, thicker layer of fat, and has higher metabolism. If the exposure is gradual enough that the cold weather doesn’t kill the animal, these things might indeed happen. But Darwin also believed (without any evidence to support his belief) that the climate would affect male and female reproductive elements in such a way that the animal’s offspring will be born with a thicker coat, thicker layer of fat, and higher metabolism. Darwin got that wrong.

Climate might cause individuals that already have tolerance to cold to survive when individuals without that tolerance die without leaving offspring. After several generations this will result in a breed (or variety) that is tolerant to cold. But, according to our hypothetical situation, the individuals that survived already had the tolerance to the climate. So, it doesn’t answer the question, “How did tolerance to cold originate?” Darwin thought that the climate caused the tolerance of cold weather to evolve, but he was wrong. Natural selection merely eliminated the individuals that lacked the necessary characteristics. Neither natural selection, nor exposure to cold, produced a new characteristic. It merely eliminates the individuals that lack an already existing characteristic. The ratio of animals with the advantageous characteristic to animals without the advantageous characteristic will change (one could say the ratio “evolves”), but features don’t change.
Correlation of Growth

Darwin would “only allude to what may be called correlation of growth”. Although it was only a minor part of his theory, we need to address it. Here is what he said.

There are many laws regulating variation, some few of which can be dimly seen, and will be hereafter briefly mentioned. I will here only allude to what may be called correlation of growth. Any change in the embryo or larva will almost certainly entail changes in the mature animal. In monstrosities, the correlations between quite distinct parts are very curious; and many instances are given in Isidore Geoffroy St Hilaire's great work on this subject. Breeders believe that long limbs are almost always accompanied by an elongated head. Some instances of correlation are quite whimsical; thus cats with blue eyes are invariably deaf; colour and constitutional peculiarities go together, of which many remarkable cases could be given amongst animals and plants. From the facts collected by Heusinger, it appears that white sheep and pigs are differently affected from coloured individuals by certain vegetable poisons. Hairless dogs have imperfect teeth; long-haired and coarse-haired animals are apt to have, as is asserted, long or many horns; pigeons with feathered feet have skin between their outer toes; pigeons with short beaks have small feet, and those with long beaks large feet. Hence, if man goes on selecting, and thus augmenting, any peculiarity, he will almost certainly unconsciously modify other parts of the structure, owing to the mysterious laws of the correlation of growth. 14

His observations are generally correct, but not for the reason he thought. (A modern observation along these lines is that German shepherd dogs tend to have hip problems.) Although Darwin thought it had to do with a “change in the embryo or larva” that is somehow related to growth of other features, it actually has a genetic cause that is present from the moment of conception. Modern scientists recognize this phenomenon is a problem associated with inbreeding.

Darwin was not the first scientist to recognize the dangerous side effects of inbreeding. Darwin is known to have studied a 1611 translation of an ancient text that made the exact same observation. 15 If Darwin deserves credit for recognizing “correlation of growth,” then we must also credit Moses for being an expert in genetics, (or for quoting someone else who was).

What Darwin failed to realize is that inbreeding has undesirable side effects that tend ultimately to limit variation. “Correlation of growth” actually prevents natural selection from continuing without limit. Dog breeders, horse breeders, corn breeders, and pigeon breeders, are well aware that there are limits to how far the variation will extend. But Darwin incorrectly concluded,

Under domestication we see much variability. This seems to be mainly due to the reproductive system being eminently susceptible to changes in the conditions of life so that this system, when not rendered impotent, fails to reproduce offspring exactly like the parent-form. Variability is governed by many complex laws, -- by correlation of growth, by use and disuse, and by the direct action of the physical conditions of life. 16

Slow though the process of selection may be, if feeble man can do much by his powers of artificial selection, I can see no limit to the amount of change, to the beauty and infinite complexity of the coadaptations between all organic beings, one with another and with their physical conditions of life, which may be effected in the long course of time by nature's power of selection. 17 [emphasis supplied]

In other words, he thought that exercise (“use and disuse”), climate and nutrition (“the physical conditions of life”), and physical deformation of the embryo caused by “correlation of growth,” were all mechanisms that produced variations which could be inherited. He thought that there was no limit to this change. He was absolutely wrong on every count!
“Intercrossing” Prevents Evolution

Darwin was really confused when it came to what he called, “intercrossing.” For example, he said,

It would be quite necessary, in order to prevent the effects of intercrossing, that only a single variety should be turned loose in its new home. Nevertheless, as our varieties certainly do occasionally revert in some of their characters to ancestral forms, it seems to me not improbable, that if we could succeed in naturalising, or were to cultivate, during many generations, the several races, for instance, of the cabbage, in very poor soil (in which case, however, some effect would have to be attributed to the direct action of the poor soil), that they would to a large extent, or even wholly, revert to the wild aboriginal stock. 18

He thought that if you planted cabbage in poor soil, the cabbage would acquire the ability to grow in poor soil as a “direct action of the poor soil.” We have already shown that he was wrong about acquired characteristics being inherited. He should have said that a cabbage breeder developed several new varieties of cabbage by carefully controlling the pollination, but that isn’t the error we want to talk about now.

What Darwin correctly realized was that if one planted several varieties of cabbage in the same garden, the cabbages would cross-pollinate each other, and in a generation or two the cabbages would revert to the wild, aboriginal stock. Modern gardeners know not to plant squash and pumpkins close together because the resulting fruit is likely to taste awful. But this is not a recent discovery. Man has known not to plant two kinds of seed in the same field for thousands of years. 19

Darwin’s observation about intercrossing was correct, but he failed to recognize the impact to his theory. If reproductive isolation produced new varieties, the varieties would remain distinct only as long as reproductive isolation was maintained. But it is hard to maintain reproductive isolation in the natural world. As soon as you let your pedigreed dog loose, it will find some other dog of another breed, which will result in a litter of mutts. As long as Darwin’s finches remain isolated on their respective islands, they will remain distinct breeds. But when the barriers are removed, the finches will eventually revert to the wild, aboriginal stock.
The Limit of Change

Darwin failed to realize the difference between varieties and species.

Nevertheless, according to my view, varieties are species in the process of formation, or are, as I have called them, incipient species. How, then, does the lesser difference between varieties become augmented into the greater difference between species? That this does habitually happen, we must infer from most of the innumerable species throughout nature presenting well-marked differences; whereas varieties, the supposed prototypes and parents of future well-marked species, present slight and ill-defined differences. 20

He thought “varieties are species in the process of formation, or are, as I have called them, incipient species.” What was the evidence? “That this does habitually happen, we must infer from most of the innumerable species throughout nature…”. His reasoning was simply that species exist, and they must have come from somewhere, so they must have come from varieties. That isn’t sound reasoning--it is baseless speculation.

Therefore during the modification of the descendants of any one species, and during the incessant struggle of all species to increase in numbers, the more diversified these descendants become, the better will be their chance of succeeding in the battle of life. Thus the small differences distinguishing varieties of the same species, will steadily tend to increase till they come to equal the greater differences between species of the same genus, or even of distinct genera. 21

I see no reason to limit the process of modification, as now explained, to the formation of genera alone. 22

He didn’t see any reason to limit the process of modification because he didn’t understand genetics and information theory. He recognized the problem of inbreeding (which he called “correlation of growth”), but didn’t realize that it is associated with a genetic limit. He recognized, but ignored, the fact that “intercrossing” removes what limited variation actually occurs.

Selective breeding can only remove undesirable genes. It doesn’t create new genes. A species would have to acquire new genes to acquire new characteristics. Neo-Darwinists believe that mutations can create new genes that contain new genetic information. Neo-Darwinists are wrong, too, but that’s beside the point. We are trying to determine if Darwin, not neo-Darwinists, got it mostly right or not.

Darwin thought there was no limit to the amount of variation in a species that could be caused by exercise, diet, and environment. Darwin got this wrong.
Embryology

Darwin was certainly aware of the notion that the embryo passes through stages that repeat evolutionary development. According to this notion, more highly evolved animals pass through more stages of embryonic development than less highly evolved animals. Darwin said,

Thus the embryo comes to be left as a sort of picture, preserved by nature, of the ancient and less modified condition of each animal. This view may be true, and yet it may never be capable of full proof. 23

It will never be capable of full proof because it isn’t true. The notion was largely supported by Ernst Haeckel’s embryonic drawings that are now known not only to be inaccurate, but fraudulent.

Darwin didn’t actually claim this was proof of his theory. He merely said, “This view may be true.” But if he didn’t think it was relevant, why did he include it in his book? We have to think that he believed it, otherwise he would not have mentioned it. That’s why we have decided to include it in the list of things that Darwin got wrong.
Vestigial organs

Muscles, and perhaps even organs, do atrophy through disuse. But this is an acquired characteristic, which is not inherited. Darwin thought acquired characteristics were inherited, so he came to this erroneous understanding of “rudimentary organs.”

Disuse, aided sometimes by natural selection, will often tend to reduce an organ, when it has become useless by changed habits or under changed conditions of life; and we can clearly understand on this view the meaning of rudimentary organs. 24

The modern term for “rudimentary organs” is “vestigial organs.” Modern evolutionists don’t very often try to argue that vestigial organs are evidence of evolution for two reasons. One is that they know that acquired characteristics aren’t inherited. So, organs will not shrink or become less efficient over many generations through disuse. The second reason is that we now know that most, perhaps all, “useless” vestigial organs have uses. It is true that you can survive without your appendix, tonsils, or one of your kidneys. That doesn’t mean they are useless. It merely means that it is possible to survive with slightly reduced capability without them. Darwin got this wrong, and most evolutionists know it.
The Fossil Record

Darwin was well aware that the fossil record doesn’t support the theory of evolution.

But, as by this theory innumerable transitional forms must have existed, why do we not find them embedded in countless numbers in the crust of the earth? It will be much more convenient to discuss this question in the chapter on the Imperfection of the geological record; and I will here only state that I believe the answer mainly lies in the record being incomparably less perfect than is generally supposed; 25

He was right that the fossil record doesn’t support evolution. He was wrong that the fossil record is incomplete. It is very complete for shellfish. Have you ever heard an evolutionist claim that missing links between the various kinds of shells have been found? Probably not. That’s because it is the absence of transitional forms for shellfish (invertebrates) that led invertebrate paleontologists to propose the Punctuated Equilibrium theory to explain the lack of transitional forms.

Richard Dawkins is the best-known modern champion of Darwinian evolution. In his chapter, “The Museum of All Shells” in his book Climbing Mount Improbable, he describes his Blind Shellmaker program. In it he recognizes that a snail is just a coiled-up worm. Furthermore, a conch is just a snail that isn’t coiled in a single plane. And, if you take a snail, and unroll it into a cone, and make the cone fatter and shorter, it looks a lot like a clam shell. So, by varying some parameters in his Blind Shellmaker program he can make one program draw a clam, worm, snail, or conch.

Dawkins uses his Blind Shellmaker program to show how shellfish could have evolved. No, more that that. His program shows how shellfish must have evolved. In fact, what his program shows is the sequence of intermediate forms that must have existed if shellfish evolved. What you won’t find in Climbing Mount Improbable is a table showing the correlation between a Blind Shellmaker output sequence and actual fossils. That’s because the sequence of intermediate forms predicted by the Blind Shellmaker isn’t found in the fossil record.

On the other hand, we have far fewer hominid fossils than fossil sea shells. Some of these hominids are represented by a few teeth, a smashed skull, or a partial skeleton. This is where the evolutionists claim the fossil record supports evolution. This is in the tradition of Darwin’s appeal to ignorance. We don’t know what intermediate forms are missing. And, if we allow for our ignorance, we can see that all the intermediate forms must be there.

A Crowd of Difficulties

Darwin correctly realized that there were four serious problems with his theory.
LONG before having arrived at this part of my work, a crowd of difficulties will have occurred to the reader. Some of them are so grave that to this day I can never reflect on them without being staggered; but, to the best of my judgment, the greater number are only apparent, and those that are real are not, I think, fatal to my theory.

These difficulties and objections may be classed under the following heads:-Firstly, why, if species have descended from other species by insensibly fine gradations, do we not everywhere see innumerable transitional forms? Why is not all nature in confusion instead of the species being, as we see them, well defined?

Secondly, is it possible that an animal having, for instance, the structure and habits of a bat, could have been formed by the modification of some animal with wholly different habits? Can we believe that natural selection could produce, on the one hand, organs of trifling importance, such as the tail of a giraffe, which serves as a fly-flapper, and, on the other hand, organs of such wonderful structure, as the eye, of which we hardly as yet fully understand the inimitable perfection?

Thirdly, can instincts be acquired and modified through natural selection? What shall we say to so marvellous an instinct as that which leads the bee to make cells, which have practically anticipated the discoveries of profound mathematicians?

Forthly, how can we account for species, when crossed, being sterile offspring, whereas, when varieties are crossed, their fertility is unimpared? 26

If evolution were true, there should be innumerable transitional forms alive today. There aren’t any. Darwin could claim that the fossil record was imperfect, but he could not claim that there are many species alive today that we don’t know about. He was correct that the clear distinction between species today argues strongly against his theory.

He was right that many things, like echolocation in bats, and vision in a wide variety of creatures, could not be produced by inheritance and natural selection. He was right that instinct, which certainly exists in many creatures, cannot be explained by evolution.

He was right that breeding across species lines rarely results in viable offspring. And those rare cases that are viable are sterile. If one could cross an alligator with a chicken, then remarkable new species might evolve. But you can’t cross radically different creatures, producing new creatures that might win the battle for survival.

Darwin recognized that crossing varieties of the same species does produce fertile offspring. Although he apparently didn’t fully understand the problems with inbreeding, modern scientists do. Modern scientists understand that crossing varieties mixes up the gene pool, and makes species less susceptible to genetic diseases.

Darwin’s Score Card

Darwin got some things right. Ironically, most of the things he got right were observations that argue against evolution. Let's look at all of Darwin's conclusions in tabular form.

Dawin Got It Right

Darwin Got It Wrong

For evolution
More individuals are born than can survive. There is a lot of variation in species. Evolution depends upon inherited variations.
Against evolution
“The laws governing inheritance were quite unknown” to Darwin. “Correlation of growth” (inbreeding) has side effects that limit variation. “Intercrossing” causes variations to revert to the norm. The fossil record doesn’t support evolution. There are no living intermediate forms. Complex structures, such as the eye, and echolocation, could not have evolved. Instincts can’t be explained by natural selection. One can’t breed diverse species to produce new fertile species.

Fitness is more important than luck when it comes to survival.
Features developed by exercise are inherited.
Features diminished by disuse are inherited.
Climate causes variations that are inherited.
Diet causes variations that are inherited.
There is no limit to inherited change.
Embryos trace evolutionary development.
“Rudimentary organs” are proof that features diminished by disuse are inherited.
The fossil record would support evolution if it were more complete.

We think you will agree that, if you ignore the things that Darwin got right that argue against his theory, Darwin got very little right.

Not only that, you can see why Origin of Species isn’t actually studied in most biology classes. Most high school and college biology teachers, and the management of the Field Museum, probably really believe that Darwin got it mostly right because they haven’t read Origin of Species themselves. They are just repeating what their teachers told them, who were repeating what their teachers told them.

In the nineteenth century, scientists did actually read Origin of Species, and “if we remember how profoundly ignorant” they were, we can understand how they might have believed it. The story has been passed down from generation to generation of science teachers without much critical examination. Now it is time to re-examine the theory of evolution in light of twenty-first century science. Now is the time to realize that Darwin got it (mostly) wrong. Modern science is against evolution.

Footnotes:

¹ Darwin, 1859, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, Chapter 14 (Ev)
² ibid. Chapter 14
³ ibid. Chapter 4
⁴ ibid. Chapter 1
⁵ ibid.
⁶ ibid. Chapter 12
⁷ ibid.
⁸ ibid.
⁹ ibid. Chapter 14
¹⁰ ibid. Chapter 1
¹¹ ibid.
¹² ibid. Chapter 5
¹³ ibid.
¹⁴ ibid. Chapter 1
¹⁵ Leviticus 18:6-12 (Cr+)
¹⁶ Origin of Species, Chapter 14
¹⁷ ibid. Chapter 4
¹⁸ ibid. Chapter 1
¹⁹ Leviticus 19:19.
²⁰ Origin of Species, Chapter 4
²¹ ibid.
²² ibid.
²³ ibid. Chapter 10
²⁴ ibid. Chapter 14
²⁵ ibid. Chapter 6
²⁶ ibid.

Copied with appologies from http://www.ridgecrest.ca.us/~do_while/sage/v6i4f.htm

What we missed

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 15:26:00 +0000

I know the pope's death and his incredible life has filled the news. Here's what most people have missed:

Iraq has a government! Wow, could it mean that an end to our presence in Iraq is near? Quite possibly! I don't think so, but maybe. The situation, which looked so dire a year ago even to some six months ago has nothing but promise today. The insurgency has been annihilated each time they try and stand their ground with Iraqi and coalition forces. And even Sunni clerics are calling for their followers to join the new Iraq and leave the rebels behind. Not only can you see Iraq tuning around, you can look hard in the papers and see King Abdullah of Jordan and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak giving in to government reforms and freedoms. It's hard to suppress a nation when their neighbors have rights and hope like Iraq is getting now! Syria has actually moved a great number of troops out of Lebanon, Israel is leaving Gaza and their homes intact as they head out and President Arial Sharon heads to Texas to meet with President Bush. These are trends we just were not seeing six months ago. Yet for some reason every poll done shows the president's approval rating dipping.

Life is what happens...

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 03:21:00 +0000

Life is what happens between political debates.

This last weekend I have not been at the computer. I have been somewhere much more important. I took my daughter to an an show in Fort Worth, Texas. I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Ft. Worth is as close as the Blue Angels come to Tulsa this year.

You see... I have a four year old who specifically asked to see the Blues! As an aviation buff, and Marine (Dept. of the Navy) I am obligated to expose her to our heritage anytime she is willing. So.. My Dad and I loaded up the family car and off we went.

This was not my little girls first air show. As a matter of fact she has been to more air shows than the average adult. When I told her we were going to see the Blues, she laid out her ear plugs.... a month ahead of time. She loves to see airplanes flying upside down. She loves hearing the roar of jets and historical rotary engines with equal thrill. But she always asks for the Blue Angels. She knows quality!!

About half way through their performance, after the third head-on manuever of the opposing solo pilots, she looked at me and said, "Their good, they don't smack in to each other!" At four years old she gets it. It may be on a different level than the rest of us, but she gets it better than I did at her age. That's better than most of us at our age.

By the end of the day, she was worn out. We had six striaght hours of avation fun and she handled it like a champ. I don't know what else to say except "I Love My Daughter." She is truely my best friend. I can only hope others have a son or daughter that shows an interest in their hobbies or careers. I pray others are as fortunate.

God Bless

Court Orders Feeding Tube Be Removed from Democratic Party

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Fri, 01 Apr 2005 05:12:00 +0000

WASHINGTON DC — In a long-anticipated move, a federal appeals court today ordered that the tube providing life-giving nutrients to the Democratic Party be removed.

“It was inevitable,” said George Stephanopoulos, a long-time friend and advocate of the Party. “Everybody knew the Party died a few years ago. This was just a public recognition of that fact.”

The Party had been on life-support for four years, following the onset of a wasting disease that led to the deterioration of the spinal cord and, subsequently, of the cerebral cortex. Physicians say deterioration of the nervous system to such an extent renders normal mental life, such as thinking and feeling, impossible.

“That would explain a lot,” former liberal activist and Democratic Party confidant Jane Fonda said, calling the recent behavior of the Party “inexplicable.”

Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who is under investigation for possible House ethics violations, made similar observations. “It was clear that [the Party] was dying. Sometimes it was so quiet,” he said, “you barely noticed it was there.”

In recent months, family and friends of the Party had rallied to its aid. “We tried,” said former presidential candidate John Kerry, citing the recent election of controversial figure Howard Dean as the Party’s chair. “But the Party we knew is gone. In its place is just a hollow shell of what once was a vigorous, vibrant political group.”

Still, some close to the Party insisted that recovery was possible, citing occasional movement and utterances. “I heard it distinctly,” Niko Strada, relative of the Party, said. “It looked at the buttons on my shirt and shouted, “I waaant.” When asked if he knew what the Party wanted, Strada insisted that it wanted “to live.”

But doctors are skeptical of such claims. Ari Johansen, Chief of Neurology at Mount Sinai Hospital, confirmed last week’s diagnosis. “It’s typical for a national party, after suffering such extensive damage to its nervous system, to still move randomly and even seem to respond to stimuli. But it’s just an illusion.”

Written by Rob at realitique

Liberals Hate Terri Schiavo...and want her dead.

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 03:37:00 +0000

I wish I could have said it the way Kevin McCullough did:-)

LIBERALS HATE TERRI SCHIAVO: Yesterday a chap named Jake took exception to the my most recent column in the Illinois Leader. Sometimes not all of my syndicates allow all hyperlinks to be printed in the column. (Same column with links.) Which is too bad because the sources of information I use strengthen the conclusions I draw. But I thought the e-mail exchange with Jake is telling...

Jake started it all with this...

My god...how can you tell such bald-faced lies with a straight face? Your nobel prize winning Doctor lied to you...go re-read the court transcripts, you moron...Just curious....which uncle or close family friend touched you in a bad way when you were young? Something must have happened to make you so angry, bitter, and inconsolable. Hey, why don't I behave like the the conservative press and make sh*t up about you, as you and others did about Michael Schiavo....hmmm..."which conservative radio host and blogger has had several closeted gay rendezvous over the past ten years?".....Yeah, I can stoop to your level, you f*cking moron...

Jake Daab, Senior Vice President, J Land Company LLC
220 N. Smith Street, Suite 300, Palatine IL, 60067
847.215..5517

Trying to give him the benefit of the doubt I requested...

Be so kind Jake, point to one factual inaccuracy in the column.

He gave it his best shot...

With pleasure, Kev! Shall we start with reviewing the actual testimony, under path of ALL of the expert doctors? Not just your doc? For that matte let's look at his actual testimony....AND by the way, how he came to his observational conclusions. I'm left to conclude by your distorted take that every judge who reviewed the facts of this case ignored the medical facts, when, in fact every expert on record in the court transcripts agreed with the PVS diagnosis. Well, there are some foca who concluded otherwisq after looking at a video. You've never cared about the truth though. You pick and choose sources. Typical conservative blather, but hardly the real world. By the way, when does the family have the right to refuse care? In Tom Delays case? When does a husband lose that right? When you decide he's not a good husband? Does the law not apply if conservatives disagree? Come on, Kev, crystalize this issue for me. Aside from making political hay, what are the two main issues you have a problem with? Tell me your first hand knowledge. Tell me how many times you've spoken with MIchaell Schiavo. Tell me exactly which statute, or part thereof, that you think the court erred on. Otherwise I'm left to surmise that you're merelyn regurgitating erroneous right wing blather.
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Given the nature of his response - again in answer to an inquiry to supply one factual inaccuracy - I was forced to reply...

So not one factual inaccuracy can be pointed to.

Jake, medical doctors came to different conclusions in the case. Even Dr. Cranford indicates that Terri responds to stimulus and can see - then he goes into court to tout the PVS line that Michael SOUGHT.

Terri is NOT terminal, she is not comatose, the only thing that is killing Terri is starvation. These are the facts.

You may dislike them - but the truth is often inconvenient.

And the whole meme about "19 judges" reviewing the case is hogwash - they ruled on legal standing. Judge Greer is the only judge that has ruled on the merits.

The two main issues I have a problem with?
1. Michael's conflict of interest in the case - and why he changed his mind after winning the large settlement.
2. If Michael is right and the family is wrong - it bothers no one. The family is willing to give him the money and take care of Terri until she dies naturally. If the family is right and Michael is wrong (or ill-motivated) we are establishing a precedent that allows another human being to legally starve someone who would otherwise live. State sanctioned murder of an innocent person is a violation of Article One of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and our Declaration of Independence.

Jake, I know you hate my viewpoints - and that's fine. But if even you were being railroaded the way Terri is - and you had no desire to be starved to death - I would be fighting for you just as hard.

Sorry - but I think the right to live - is the first and foremost fundamental right guaranteed to us under the American justice system.
~KMC

As of the writing of this post - there has been no final response from Mr. Daab. The point of my showing you the back and forth of this however serves a valuable purpose. Jake is prototypical of most Liberals. They ask demands of proof, they question the motives, and they call conservatives names. They are unable to point out any specific grounds for criticism of those who stand for truth and justice...yet they call them liars, f*cking morons, right wing blather, and more.

Read it from his blog at http://www.crosswalk.com/news/weblogs/kmc/?cal=go&adate=3%2F29%2F2005

Reply to a comment.

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Tue, 29 Mar 2005 21:18:00 +0000

Yesterday I had this as a comment to my post.

"Ann Coulter? lol.... For Christ's Sake.
Who will you quote next? Adolph Hitler? Lucifer?
Your talking points definitely make more sense now, knowing who inspires you.
Open your mind a little bit, and read a little from the enlightened. I still recommend Thom Hartmann's book, "What Would Jefferson Do?"
Since you have such a desire to better understand your "enemy", try reading their actual words instead of what your nut job influences tell you about them. "

Notice the attack on the person, not the substance of what was said.

I will now quote another source as a reply to this persons question:

“If the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution inhibit the government's ability to govern the people, we should look to limit those guarantees.” William Jefferson Clinton

In all fairness, quotes like these really do nothung more than increase the fighting between the "left and right." I did have another comment by another reader. That person made me proud by getting to the subject matter instead of the personal attack. Soon I will prepare a response to that comment regarding states rights.

RE: THE LEFT

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Mon, 28 Mar 2005 21:38:00 +0000

"Liberals' newfound respect for 'federalism' is completely disingenuous. People who support a national policy on abortion are prohibited from ever using the word 'federalism.' I note that whenever liberals talk about 'federalism' or 'states' rights,' they are never talking about a state referendum or a law passed by the duly elected members of a state legislature -- or anything voted on by the actual citizens of a state. What liberals mean by 'federalism' is: a state court ruling. Just as 'choice' refers to only one choice, 'the rule of law'
refers only to 'the law as determined by a court'. As a practical matter, courts will generally have the last word in interpreting the law because courts decide cases. But that's a pragmatic point. There is nothing in the law, the Constitution or the concept of 'federalism' that mandates giving courts the last word. Other public officials, including governors and presidents, are sworn to uphold the law, too." --Ann Coulter

What if you're wrong?

noreply@blogger.com (Hurricane Bob) — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 05:23:00 +0000

Just a question about Terri Schiavo for everyone.