Prophecies

HOW DO WE KNOW THE BIBLE IS FROM GOD? Prophecies of Worldwide Empires and Nations Were Fulfilled One or More Centuries Later These Prophets could not have known on their own. *(Remember, years count backwards, so that 700 BC was 91 years before 609 BC)*
BIBLE PROPHECY AND YEAR MADE	ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA PROOFS
ASSYRIAN / NINEVAH EMPIRE 630 BC – “He will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert.” (Zephaniah 2:13-15)	FULFILLED: 609 BC – “Thus after the fall of Nineveh in 612, the fall of Harran in 610 and Ashur-urballit’s attempt at reconquering the latter in 609, Assyria ceased to exist. (Vol. II, pg. 967)

AMMONNITE NATION 760-750 – “For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders, I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah that will consume her fortresses amid war cries on the day of battle, amid violent winds on a stormy day. Her king will go into exile and his officials together.” (Amos 1:13-15) 626-586 – “The days are coming when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it will become a mound of ruins….Yes afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites. (Jeremiah 49:2,6)	FULFILLED: 165-163 BC – “Their chief city, Rabbath Ammon (later Philadelphia, the modern Amman, capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan)….their civilization flourished from the 13th to the 6th century BC….continued until the fall of the Assyrian empire in 612 BC….Little is known of the history of Jordan under the Neo-Babylonians and Persians….It was not until the Hellenistic rule…that the country prospered, trade increased and new towns were built.” (Vol. I, pg. 799, Vol. 13, pg. 82)

BABYLONIAN EMPIRE 700-681 BC – “Isaiah…saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah….An oracle concerning Babylon….She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations….Hyenas will howl in her strongholds, jackals in her luxurious palaces….Go down, sit in the dust, Virgin Daughter of Babylon….Both of these will overtake you in a moment, on a single day.” (Isaiah 1:1; 13:1,20,22; 47:1,9) 626-586 BC – “What a horror Babylon will be among the nations! The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her. Her towns will be desolate, a dry and desert land where no one lives, through which no man travels. This is the message Jeremiah gave…in the fourth year of his [Zedekiah’s] reign.” (Jeremiah 51:41-44, 59)	FULFILLED: 539 BC – “After a short war Babylon was taken without fighting in 539….This is the end of the history of Babylonia.” (Vol. II, pg. 967-968)

EDOMITE NATION 626-586 BC – “The terror you inspire…you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill….Edom will become an object of horror; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds….so no one will live there; no man will dwell in it.” (Jeremiah 49:16,17) 593-571 – “I will make you desolate forever, your towns will not be inhabited….I will treat you in accordance with the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them and I will make myself known among them when I judge you.” (Ezekiel 35:9,11)	FULFILLED: 525 BC – “The heyday of the Edomite kingdom extended from the 13th to the 8th centuries BC, although it continued to exist several centuries longer….Following its recovery (734 BC) of Elath, Edom, like Judah, experienced a progressive decline….during the first part of the rise of the Persians to power…resulted in the weakening and destruction of the Edomite state.” (Vol. 7, pg. 981)

EGYPTIAN KINGDOM 593-571 BC – “The land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan [400 miles S. of Cairo] as far as the border of Cush [Africa]. No foot of man or animal will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years….At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered. I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt, the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly kingdom….and will never again exalt itself above the other nations. (Ezekiel 29:10-11)	FULFILLED: 562 – “Nebuchadrezzar III….reigned from 605 to 562. In 605, as crown prince, he defeated the Egyptians under Necho II at Carchemish….Nebuchadrezzar died in Aug. or Sept. 562 [43 years later].” (Vol. 16, pg. 156)

GRECIAN EMPIRE c. 550 BC – “In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I Daniel, had a vision….a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground….I saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns….The goat became very great….The two horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.” (Daniel 8:1,5-7, 20-21)	FULFILLED: 320 BC – “By the rebellion of Cyrus II, king of Persia….the Medes were made subject to the Persians. In the new empire they retained a prominent position; in honour and war they stood next to the Persians….and many noble Medes were employed as officials….The Greek world was exhausted and leaderless in 354 BC when a new power was growing in the north….Alexander III, called the Great (356-323), king of Macedonia….at an assembly of the Greek League at Corinth was appointed generalissimo….From his accession Alexander had set his mind on the Persian expedition….on June 13, 323, he died in his 33rd year; he had reigned for twelve years and eight months….No heir had been appointed to the throne….The empire could hardly survivie Alexander’s death as a unit….The provinces became independent kingdoms and the generals…took the title of kings.” (Vol. I, pg. 571-575, Vol. 15, pg. 68)

JUDAH 626-586 BC – “I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon…and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them….this whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” (Jeremiah 25:9,11) 700-681 BC – “Of Cyrus, he is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundations be laid.’ 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….I summon you by name [before born] and bestow on you a title of honor though you do not acknowledge me.”	FULFILLED: 605-535 BC – “Nebuchadrezzar III….reigned from 605 to 562 BC. In 605 BC, as crown prince, he defeated the Egyptians….and won all Syria and Palestine… Nebuchadrezzar died in Aug. or Sept. 562….Cyrus…in 538 BC [67 years later] authorized the return to Palestine of the Jews deported by Nebuchadrezzar and made arrangements for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.” (Vol. 16, pg. 156, Vol. VI, pg. 960)

MEDIAN AND PERSIAN EMPIRE C. 535 BC – “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel….it concerned a great war….Three more kings will appear in Persia [Cyrus II, Cambyses, Smerdis/Guamata, Darius I ~ named before birth or rise to power] and then a fourth [Xerxes], who will be far richer than all the others. when he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. Then a mighty king [Alexander the Great] will appear who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven.” (Daniel 10:1; 11:2-12)	FULFILLED: 354 BC – “In 514-513 Darius I led the forces of the Persian empire across the Bosporus into Europe…conquered some Greek islands….A strong Persian expeditionary force sailed acrosss the Aegean in 490 BC….In the spring of 580 BC, Xerxes entered Europe with a vast army, supported by a large fleet….The coalition won a series of successes against the Persians in Europe and Asia which culminated in an attack on a Persian army and a navy…about 466…. defeated the Persian army….Alexander [the Great of Greece] regarded himself as the legitimate head of the Persian empire and therefore adopted the dress and ceremonial of the Persian kings….At this critical juncture Alexander died in Babylon in June 323 BC.” (Vol. 10, pg. 796-799, Vol. 17, pg. 656)

God reacts to us with the “boomerang effect.” Unless we are forgiven sinners, he does to us what we do to him
“The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden. The Lord is known by his justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.” (Psalm 9:15-16) “In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.” (Psalm 10:2) “The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own hearts.” (Psalm 37:14-15) “Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused.” (Psalm 140:9) “He mocks proud mockers.” (Proverbs 3:34) “Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?” (Proverbs 6:27) “If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.” (Proverbs 26:27) “Woe to you, O destroyer, you have not been destroyed! Woe to you, O traitor, you have not been betrayed. When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed.” (Isaiah 33:1) “According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes.” (Isaiah 59:18) “I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices.” (Ezekiel 7:8) “As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.” (Obadiah 1:15)