Can We know the Future

Can We know the Future? : 

Can We know the Future? Christadelphian Presentation

People want to know : 

People want to know Fortune Tellers Horoscopes Science Fiction The Religion of Star Trek Political Pundits Economic Forecasts Lessons of History

Can we know? : 

Can we know? Simple predictions Get up in the morning Complex Predictions Rise and Fall of Nations Simple Assertions Complex Assertions

What would you like to know? : 

What would you like to know? Am I going to find love? Am I going to live a long time? Will I get that new Job? Will Israel give up the West Bank? Will Prince Charles become king? What will the planet be like in a 1000 years?

Bible Prophecy : 

Bible Prophecy “Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye [are] gods...” (Isaiah 41:23)

Isaiah 46 : 

Isaiah 46 I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done (Isa 46:9-10)

Prediction : 

Prediction Bible prophecies are predictions. Predictions are not unique to prophecy - they are an integral part of the scientific method.

The Test of a Prophet : 

The Test of a Prophet But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 18:20-22

Middle East Focus : 

Middle East Focus It would seem that the prophets concerned themselves principally with the nations that were around at their time. Furthermore, while it is also apparent that some of their utterances range over times, events, places and peoples beyond their era, these prophecies still concern the Middle East.

Middle East Focus : 

Middle East Focus Looking through the "Prophets" reveals God's socio-political perspectives upon the world, and these relate to the nations of the Middle East. It is not difficult to discern why this is so, for the nation of Israel, the chosen people, resided in this area. Yahweh's prophets look to the nation of Israel and the nations around her with whom she had dealings.

Writing Prophets : 

Writing Prophets The writing prophets, which are our primary interest, dominate a short period of Israel's history - the Eighth, Seventh and Sixth centuries B.C. This fact is significant. Whilst there is a great deal of evidence that Israel has always had prophets, the books left by these men of God cluster around those who lived in three centuries that mark the end of the Jewish Nation.

God’s Perspective : 

God’s Perspective So then, not only does God's socio-political perspective relate to the Middle East, His concerns effect a specific kind of historical epoch - one where there are not only judgments and endings brought about on his chosen people, but where their restoration is envisaged!

Prophecies about the Jews : 

Prophecies about the Jews A nation to oppress Israel (Deut 28:49-50) Lay siege to the cities of the Land (Deut 28:52) Famines in the cities (Deut 28:53 A few left in the land (Deut 28:62-63) The Jews to be taken to Egypt (Deut 28:68) Dispersion among the nations (Deut 28:64) Persecution of the Jews (Deut 28:65) Return to their Land (Jer 31:10, Ezek 34:11)

Two Problems : 

Two Problems Dissonance and Fit Some details fit an application Some details do not seem to fit, or seem to be irrelevant Some prophecies are fulfilled while others remain dormant Unfulfilled Prophecy Prophecies yet uncompleted Prophecies not yet started

Unfulfilled Prophecy : 

Unfulfilled Prophecy There are two logical responses: the first is to reject the evidence of prophecy because some remain unfulfilled; the second is to have faith that these unfulfilled prophecies will come true, and base that faith on the success of fulfilled prophecy (Hebs 11:1).

Tyre : 

Tyre The prophet Ezekiel describes the destruction of Tyre (Ezek 26:7-14). He delivers a prophecy in the eleventh year of Jehoiachin's captivity, which was the year of Jerusalem's fall and before Nebuchadnezzar’s attack on Tyre. He prophesies the destruction of Tyre against the background of their boast against Jerusalem.

Fulfilment : 

Fulfilment Tyre was a sea power, while Babylon was a land power. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre and according to Josephus the siege lasted 13 years. Mainland Tyre fell to Nebuchadnezzar, but the island of Tyre remained sovereign. During the siege, the power base of Tyre had moved to the island fled. The old city was deserted after the siege and laid in ruins by Nebuchadnezzar's conquest. Nebuchadnezzar, however, did not break down the walls and lay these in water and raise the old city to the ground so that fishing nets could be spread out. Neither did he subdue the island of Tyre, and a treaty of sorts was set up between the two parties.

Did he get it wrong? : 

Did he get it wrong? In Babylon Ezekiel delivered this prophecy. We could say he got it wrong, not all of what he said came true. He was a false prophet. We could however say that the prophecy does not predict that Nebuchadnezzar would transplant the city to water. The prophecy concerns many nations, not just the Babylonians. When the prediction is made concerning placing the city stones and timber in water, the pronouns are plural - referring generally to the many nations. The prophecy about Nebuchadnezzar is specifically in the first person.

What do we learn? : 

What do we learn? Prophecies are continuous oracles. It appears as everything in them should be fulfilled at once. But prophecies may have time gaps in them. We need to pay attention to pronouns and the details to determine their scope.

God’s Timeline : 

God’s Timeline

Fulfilment : 

Fulfilment In Babylon, we might therefore have faith that the rest of the prophecy would be fulfilled, and indeed it was some 240 years later when Alexander the Great laid siege the island of Tyre and conquered the island by building a causeway to the island out of the old city. Today, we do not need faith that the prophecy will be fulfilled because it is history to us.

Joel : 

Joel And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. Joel 2:28-32

Can we know the future? : 

Can we know the future? Yes. Israel are back in the land. The Prophets describe what will happen to Israel when they are in the land. Previous prophecies about Israel have been fulfilled. Unfulfilled (incomplete and not yet started prophecies) can be studied. Allow for cyclical repetition.

Conclusion : 

Conclusion "Ye [are] my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me." Is 43:10 "I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when [there was] no strange [god] among you: therefore ye [are] my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I [am] God." Is 43:12 "Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared [it]? ye [are] even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, [there is] no God; I know not [any]." Is 44:8