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Summary Point

How does prophecy prove the Bible is divinely inspired?

Subpoints

There are hundreds of prophecies in the Bible which were fulfilled years or centuries later that could not have been known by the authors, including numerous prophecies about the Messiah which were ALL fulfilled in the person of Jesus.

  1. There are hundreds of prophecies in the Bible, many fulfilled.

    • 8,352 of the 31,124 verses in the Bible are identified as prophecy (27%).1

    • According to scholar John Walvoord, “…about one-fourth of the Bible was prophecy when it was written….approximately half of the prophecies of the Bible have already been fulfilled in a literal way...”2

    • But amongst all these verses, how many specific predictions? According to scholar J.Barton Payne, there are 1,817 predictions (1,239 in the OT, 578 in the NT).3

  2. Prophecies in the Bible are distinct from other religious books.

    • According to Norman Geisler and William Nix other religious books don’t compare to the Bible when it comes to prophecy.4

  3. There are a number of Biblical prophecies that have been validated, including Messianic prophecies that Jesus fulfilled which are statistically impossible to have occurred by chance.

    • There are almost 200 prophecies (60 major) in the Old Testament regarding who would be the Messiah and what would He do, ALL of which are fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus.

      • There are 191 messianic prophecies (according to J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Prophecies).5

      • Per apologist Josh McDowell, there are 60 major messianic prophecies.6

    • The odds of Jesus fulfilling just a portion of these prophecies by chance is statistically impossible.

      • Apologist Ralph Muncaster selected 30 specific prophecies and assigned a probability of one person fulfilling each one by chance. The cumulative probability of Jesus fulfilling all of them was calculated at 1 chance in 10^110. This is a much lower probability than 1 chance in 10^50, which mathematicians consider to be impossible to occur by chance.7

    • See specific examples of prophecies fulfilled by Jesus.

Links to external resources on this topic:

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Context:

  • Author Ralph Muncaster asks a great question, “What test would the God of the universe require to determine if something would be from him? Certainly it would be a test that no person, or thing (including Satan), could accomplish except God. Certainly it would be something that human beings could understand.  One-hundred-percent perfect prophecy is such a test”8 (emphasis added)

  • What is prophecy? It can be defined as “Predictions based on information received from God (recommended by and contained within the Bible)”9

  • Why is it important? As Muncaster’s quote above alludes to, it provides a way to test and differentiate competing worldviews. If any religious person who claims to have the truth, can predict the future with 100% accuracy (not ambiguous claims or guesses), wouldn’t that provide strong evidence for their credibility? According to the Bible, God identifies prophecy as a test to demonstrate He is God and all idols are false and worthless.

    1. "Present your case," says the LORD. "Set forth your arguments," says Jacob's King. "Bring in [ your idols] to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear. But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; he who chooses you is detestable. (Isaiah 41:21-24 NIV emphasis added)

    2. 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. (Isaiah 46:9-10 NIV emphasis added)

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Sources (complete reference information provided on SOURCE PAGE):

  1. House, Charts of Bible Prophecy, p.17.

  2. Walvoord, Every Prophecy of the Bible, p.10.

  3. Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, p.609 references J.Barton Payne, Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecies, pp.674-675.

  4. McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, p.13 quotes Geisler/Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, p.196.

  5. Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, p.610 references J. Barton Payne, Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecies, pp.665-670.

  6. McDowell, More Than A Carpenter, p.107.

  7. Muncaster, Examine the Evidence, p.355.

  8. Muncaster, Examine the Evidence, p.286.

  9. Muncaster, Does the Bible Predict the Future?, p.4.

Copyright 2022, Jason M. Jolin

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