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Category: Prophecy

When, and by Whom, Was the Book of Isaiah Written?

When, and by Whom, Was the Book of Isaiah Written?

“The vision which Isaiah, son of Amos, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah”—Isaiah 1:1 NAB

Until about the last 250 years, the book of Isaiah was generally accepted by Christians as being written entirely by the prophet Isaiah in the latter part of the 8th century BCE. Nowadays, however, many “scholars” think the book was written by various writers over the course of several centuries, citing factors such as differences in subject matter, style, theology, vocabulary, and the viewpoint that predictive prophesy is impossible. The real reason for this is, however, that they don’t think predictive prophecy is possible. While there are a variety of views about the writership of Isaiah, critics often claim that chapters 40-66 were not written by “Isaiah, son of Amos.” However, careful examination of the book reveals that chapters 36-39 are a historical interlude that concludes the first section of the book, chapters 1-35, and introduces the last section, chapters 40-66. This reveals the unity of the entire book.  read more

Articles About Israel On This Site

Articles About Israel On This Site

Due to the fierce fighting that has been going on in Israel and Gaza lately, there is much keen interest in Israel and the Bible. Below are some articles on this website about Israel and the Bible:

“Should We Pray for Israel?”

“Does Modern Israel fulfill Bible Prophecy?”

“Are Restoration Prophecies About Israel Literal — Or Symbolic?”

“The Spiritual Use of ‘Israel’ in the Bible”

“Restoration Prophecies — Israel of God” read more

Daniel & Ezekiel Predicted Alexander the Great 200 Years in Advance

Daniel & Ezekiel Predicted Alexander the Great 200 Years in Advance

“Alexander of Macedon son of Philip . . . defeated Darius king of the Persians and Medes, whom he succeeded as ruler, as first of Helias. He undertook many campaigns, gained possession of many fortresses . . . So he advanced to the ends of the earth, plundering nation after nation; the earth grew silent before him, and his ambitious heart swelled with pride. He assembled very powerful forces and subdued provinces, nations and princes, and they became his tributaries . . . Alexander had reigned twelve years when he died”—1 Maccabees 1:1-7 NJB read more

Increasingly Frequent Mass Murders – Is the End Near?

Increasingly Frequent Mass Murders – Is the End Near?

Every day there are shocking reports of mass violence and murders in the news. Just when it seems like things can’t get any worse, they do! This same worsening scenario seems to be repeating day after day. Such horrible events are part of the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy:

“Because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold”—Matthew 24:12 NRSV

Does this mean the end is near?

Jesus predicted that: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man,” in that people in general would be going about completely absorbed their daily lives, and totally unaware of “the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37-39 NIV), until it “will come on them suddenly” (1 Thessalonians 5:3 NIV). read more

Jesus’ Birth, Rejection, Mistreatment, Execution & Death Foretold in Dead Sea Scrolls

Jesus’ Birth, Rejection, Mistreatment, Execution & Death Foretold in Dead Sea Scrolls

“Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms”—Luke 24:44 NIV

 Critics claim that Jesus was just an ordinary man, and that predictive prophecy is impossible, and therefore deny that Jesus fulfilled any Old Testament prophecies. Since there are so many prophecies that Jesus actually fulfilled, critics resort to claiming that the prophecies in the Old Testament were written after the fact, so as to conform to what happened to Jesus, and also that the New Testament recordings of these fulfillments are frauds, that is, written to conform to Old Testament predictions.  read more

IS ASTROLOGY HARMLESS, or DANGEROUS?

IS ASTROLOGY HARMLESS, or DANGEROUS?

Astrology is an ancient pseudo-science which has been proven to be false in every way. The positions and movements of stars and planets have been proven to have no effect on the actions and choices of humans on earth. It was commonly practiced in the ancient world, and appears to have its roots in Babylon. There have been many cuneiform tablets discovered from the area of ancient Babylon, Assyria, and Persia, which contain astrological charts and other astrological references.

Astrology creates the impression that life is fatalistic, or pre-determined, and manipulates people to believe in false predictions. The Bible mentions astrology and astrologers in an unfavorable light. read more

WHY IS HOSEA’S USE OF GENESIS THROUGH JUDGES SIGNIFICANT?

WHY IS HOSEA’S USE OF GENESIS THROUGH JUDGES SIGNIFICANT?

“The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel”—Hosea 1:1 NIV

Jeroboam son of Jehoash of Israel reigned from 793 BCE to 753 BCE, and Hezekiah of Judah reigned from 715 BCE to 686 BCE, so Hosea’s prophetic years ran for at least for a minimum of 38 years, in the 8th century BCE, that is, from 753 BCE to 715 BCE. One thing that is significant about the Bible book bearing Hosea’s name is his use of Genesis through Judges, thus lending proof to the fact that these books had to have been written quite some time sometime prior to Hosea in the 8th century BCE. The reason that this is significant is that many “scholars” consider these books, Genesis through Judges, to be from the 6th century BCE, or even more recent. Another point of significance is that Hosea’s treatment of these Bible books shows how they were viewed through God’s interpretation of them during later Old Testament times, and also, in turn, gives us a better view of how the New Testament interprets the Old Testament. read more

To Understand Prophecy, We Must Always Consider the Context

To Understand Prophecy, We Must Always Consider the Context

Jehovah’s Witnesses recently published an article entitled “An Attack Coming From the North” (The Watchtower–Study Edition, April 2020), in which they admit that their prior explanation of the prophecy of Joel 2:7-9 was out of context, and therefore inaccurate. Their new explanation of this prophecy is very similar to what they call “Christendom” has explained for a long time, that is, the Babylonians would invade Judah and Jerusalem from the north and take over. Unfortunately for the JW’s, however, they still hold to their 607 BCE date for the destruction of Jerusalem, since it fits in with their ill-fated 1914 date.

In their explanation, the Witnesses make an astounding statement: “To understand a prophecy correctly, we generally have to consider its context”. “Generally”???—Why would we not always need to “consider its context”? Would there ever be a Bible prophecy that we could take out of context, and come up with an explanation that is correct?—-Absolutely not. It would be like trying to float a ship on dry land.

Then they go on to make another equally astounding statement. “If we focus on only one aspect of the prophecy and ignore the rest, we may draw the wrong conclusion”. “May draw the wrong conclusion”???  This is unbelievable. If we ignore every aspect of a Bible prophecy except one, how could we not draw the wrong conclusion?

At least the JW Organization admits they were wrong about Joel 2:7-9. However, they seem to downplay a vital point about wise decision making. Wise decision makers take into account all relevant facts–not just one–before making a final decision. This also applies to understanding Bible prophecy.

Why would they make statements such as these? It appears that it may be to cover up for a number of erroneous prophetic interpretations that they have made, including their most important ones; namely, Matthew 24:45 and 1914.

Jesus gave his great long range prophecy that is recorded in Matthew 24, 25. He concludes this with four parables that exhort each Christian to be faithful, always active, and working for Christ and his Kingdom’s interests, all the while without any figuring out when the Master will return, since Jesus admitted he didn’t know that date himself (Matthew 24:36-44).

It is the parable of the faithful and wise servant (Matthew 24:45-51) that the Witness organization has long used out of context to assert that their leaders fulfill this prophecy. The way the JW’s explain it, their leaders, guided by Almighty God, have been dispensing “spiritual food at the proper time since the year 1919”. If that is so, then why have the Witnesses had to change their explanations so many times? When they change their explanation, the former explanation becomes obsolete, or no longer correct.

“God, who cannot lie” (Titus 1:2 NASB) never makes a mistake, “his work is perfect” (Deuteronomy 32:4 NASB). Therefore he doesn’t give out tainted spiritual food. This one fact means that God is not the one ‘guiding the witness leaders’.The JW’s glossing over this one fact, among others, contributes to the wrong explanation of the parable of the faithful and wise servant, applying to only a few Christians instead of each and every Christian.

Jehovah’s Witnesses – “The Last of the Last Days”?

Jehovah’s Witnesses – “The Last of the Last Days”?

Updated June 19, 2023

“Sin is not ended by multiplying words” (Proverbs 10:19 NIV)

“At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness—and fools multiply words” (Ecclesiastes 10:13,14 NIV)

Back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s Jehovah’s Witnesses were predicting that the year 1914 would be the end of the world, in direct contradiction to Jesus warning that no one knows the date of the end of the world (Matthew 24;36). Rather than repent of their false prophesy, read more

THE BIBLE & JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES PUBLICATIONS PROVE THEIR 1914 DATE FALSE

THE BIBLE & JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES PUBLICATIONS PROVE THEIR 1914 DATE FALSE

(Note: If you don’t see the entire article, click on “PDF Version.”

Revised June 13, 2020

Jehovah’s Witnesses have used dates to establish or legitimize their existence since they began in the 1870’s. All the dates they used back then have been gradually discarded as time has gone by, and evidence proves all those dates to be Biblically and historically untenable, including their well-known 1914 date. This, in itself, should be a red flag for any serious Bible-believing Christian. Why?

“Watch out for false prophets” (Matthew 7:15 NIV)

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“When a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh and the thing does not happen and the word is not fulfilled, then it has not been said by Yahweh” (Deuteronomy 18:22 NJB)

There are many sources available to get the details of the history of Jehovah’ Witnesses (JW’s) and their date setting, if one wishes. The date 1914 was put forward originally in the late 1800’s as the date of Armageddon, and the end of the world, etc., after their previous dates of 1874, 1878, and more failed. These facts, in themselves, that is, the setting of dates, are a critical violation of the scriptural principles of:

“About that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36 NIV).

“It is not for you to know the dates and times the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:8 NIV).

The Witnesses revised their assertions about 1914 after all their predictions about that date failed, and since 1943 they have loudly proclaimed 1914 to be the date of Christ’s coming into ‘full Kingdom power’, and the beginning of ‘the last days’. Even though they have revised exactly what all that meant many times, they have held to the 1914 date ever since. How do the JW’s arrive at the 1914 date?
Their own sources reveal a rather complex patchwork cobbling together of various scriptures combining with some historical events to calculate a starting point of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians about 600 years before Christ, which begins a time period of 2,520 years, based on Daniel 4:16,17,23; Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6), culminating in the year 1914. Again, you can easily check the JW sources themselves at jw.org. This entire framework of setting the 1914 date is unscriptural, but the starting point of this 2,520 year time period, is completely unscriptural, and also contradicts historical facts. The JW’s for many years have used a 3 1/2 year period they asserted from scripture, ‘prophesying in sackcloth’ (Revelation 11:2,3), to apply from the fall/1914 to the spring/1918, and claimed the first “anointed ones” were then resurrected to heaven. Since 8 prominent JW leaders were imprisoned in the summer of 1918 until spring/1919, the JW’s claimed the “three and a half days” of being killed and lying dead on the streets of “Sodom and Egypt”, i. e., the world, and then coming back to life spiritually with their release from prison (Revelation 11:7-11). The JW’s still assert a spiritual ‘cleansing’ during this period of time, marked by their being commissioned by God, as they now assert, as his “faithful and discreet slave” class of leaders (Matthew 24:45 NWT). But this entire framework/patchwork of scriptures/time periods has been hinged on the 607 BCE date being accurate.

There is much documented historical evidence, which is fairly easy to check, to support the date of 587/586 BCE as the date of Jerusalem’s destruction by the Babylonians, including the glorious temple built by Solomon. The JW’s, however, assert that this destruction occurred in 607 BCE, without any supporting evidence, using only their own conjecture. The JW’s accept the hisorically verifiable date date of 539 BCE as the date of Babylon’s fall, with the takeover by the Medo-Persian Empire. The problem for the Witnesses? The 587/586 date and the 539 date are both supported by much of the same prolific documentary evidence. But here’s the kicker for the JW’s—the 586/587 BCE date that the Witnesses reject, has even stronger evidence than the 539 BCE date, which the JW’s accept, and the 607 BCE date has none! There is not even the slightest shred of evidence to support the 607 BCE date

The following two quoted paragraphs give the Witnesses’ line of reasoning to arrive at their 607 BCE date for Jerusalem’s destruction. Notice that they insist on a literal 70 year period from the return from exile, which they assume was in 537 BCE,  back to 607 BCE.
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