PHGentleman007
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WHEN speaking to an ancient king, the prophet Daniel said: “The mystery about which the king has inquired—wise men, exorcists, magicians, and diviners cannot tell to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.” (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post.
Log in or register now.) Is there evidence that God really is a Revealer of mysteries through prophecy? The following are some examples.
The fall of Babylon: “Thus said the LORD to Cyrus, His anointed one—whose right hand He has grasped, treading down nations before him, ungirding the loins of kings, opening doors before him and letting no gate stay shut.”—You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., prophesied c. 732 B.C.E. See also You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., prophesied b. 625 B.C.E.
Fulfillment—539 B.C.E.: Historians Herodotus and Xenophon relate that Cyrus the Persian diverted the waters of the Euphrates, which ran through the center of Babylon, and sent his forces up the riverbed, catching the Babylonian guards unawares and taking the city in one night. Even with this strategy, Cyrus could not have entered the city had the gates on the banks of the Euphrates leading into the city not been carelessly left open. The ‘gates did not stay shut,’ just as the prophecy foretold.
The fate of Tyre: “Thus said the Lord GOD: I am going to deal with you, O Tyre! I will hurl many nations against you, as the sea hurls its waves. . . . And I will scrape her soil off her and leave her a ***** rock. . . . And they shall cast into the water your stones and timber and soil.”—You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., prophesied c. 613 B.C.E.
Fulfillment—332 B.C.E.: Alexander the Great built a land bridge, or mole, from the mainland to the island portion of Tyre (half a mile (0.8 km) offshore) so that his soldiers could march across and attack the island city. The Encyclopedia Americana reports: “With the debris of the mainland portion of the city, which he had demolished, he built a huge mole in 332 to join the island to the mainland.” After a relatively short siege, the island city was destroyed, and Ezekiel’s prophecy was fulfilled in all its details. Even the ‘stones and woodwork and dust’ of old Tyre (the mainland part of the city) were ‘placed in the very midst of the water.’
The destruction of Jerusalem: “Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the LORD of Hosts: A time is coming when everything in your palace, which your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left behind.’”—You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., prophesied c. 732 B.C.E.; see also You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
Jeremiah the prophet proclaimed: “I am going to . . . bring them [the Babylonians] against this land and its inhabitants . . . This whole land shall be a desolate ruin. And those nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”—You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., prophesied b. 625 B.C.E.
Fulfillment—607 B.C.E. (586 B.C.E. according to most secular chronologies): Babylon destroyed Jerusalem after a year and a half siege. The city and temple were razed, and the Jews themselves were carried off to Babylon. (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.) The entire nation remained in captivity for 70 years, as Jeremiah had foretold. Their miraculous release in 537 B.C.E. by Cyrus the Great, who conquered Babylon, fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which had mentioned him by name. (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.) The prophet Daniel, in captivity in Babylon, calculated the exact time of the release of his people, basing his conclusion on Jeremiah’s prophecy.—You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
The fall of Babylon: “Thus said the LORD to Cyrus, His anointed one—whose right hand He has grasped, treading down nations before him, ungirding the loins of kings, opening doors before him and letting no gate stay shut.”—You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., prophesied c. 732 B.C.E. See also You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., prophesied b. 625 B.C.E.
Fulfillment—539 B.C.E.: Historians Herodotus and Xenophon relate that Cyrus the Persian diverted the waters of the Euphrates, which ran through the center of Babylon, and sent his forces up the riverbed, catching the Babylonian guards unawares and taking the city in one night. Even with this strategy, Cyrus could not have entered the city had the gates on the banks of the Euphrates leading into the city not been carelessly left open. The ‘gates did not stay shut,’ just as the prophecy foretold.
The fate of Tyre: “Thus said the Lord GOD: I am going to deal with you, O Tyre! I will hurl many nations against you, as the sea hurls its waves. . . . And I will scrape her soil off her and leave her a ***** rock. . . . And they shall cast into the water your stones and timber and soil.”—You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., prophesied c. 613 B.C.E.
Fulfillment—332 B.C.E.: Alexander the Great built a land bridge, or mole, from the mainland to the island portion of Tyre (half a mile (0.8 km) offshore) so that his soldiers could march across and attack the island city. The Encyclopedia Americana reports: “With the debris of the mainland portion of the city, which he had demolished, he built a huge mole in 332 to join the island to the mainland.” After a relatively short siege, the island city was destroyed, and Ezekiel’s prophecy was fulfilled in all its details. Even the ‘stones and woodwork and dust’ of old Tyre (the mainland part of the city) were ‘placed in the very midst of the water.’
The destruction of Jerusalem: “Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the LORD of Hosts: A time is coming when everything in your palace, which your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left behind.’”—You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., prophesied c. 732 B.C.E.; see also You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
Jeremiah the prophet proclaimed: “I am going to . . . bring them [the Babylonians] against this land and its inhabitants . . . This whole land shall be a desolate ruin. And those nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”—You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., prophesied b. 625 B.C.E.
Fulfillment—607 B.C.E. (586 B.C.E. according to most secular chronologies): Babylon destroyed Jerusalem after a year and a half siege. The city and temple were razed, and the Jews themselves were carried off to Babylon. (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.) The entire nation remained in captivity for 70 years, as Jeremiah had foretold. Their miraculous release in 537 B.C.E. by Cyrus the Great, who conquered Babylon, fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which had mentioned him by name. (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.) The prophet Daniel, in captivity in Babylon, calculated the exact time of the release of his people, basing his conclusion on Jeremiah’s prophecy.—You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..