That is only one example. The Bible puts itself to the test time and time again. The Bible doesn’t give vague prophecies that could be easily fulfilled by any number of events, but it gives specifics that put history to the test so that no one can deny that God has written it. Each time Israel was judged by God, a promise of return was always made. A time line was established so that those who watch would know. Daniel prayed when he saw the promised time of exile coming to a close and saw Israel’s return. Look at the specifics of the attacks of Israel coming in the last days. China is called by land region and is predicted to march on Israel with 200 million men(Revelation 9:16). That is quite a claim considering the entire world population at the time of this prophecy was only 200 million. Yet for the last 40 years, China has boasted of its unstoppable active army of 200 million soldiers capable of overrunning any defense with a human wave.

Even Russia is called by name as God pulls them out of their land to be judged for their declared war on God and their attacks against Israel. Ezekiel 38 gives a vivid account of their military destruction. Ezekiel 38:2, "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him." Some translations write ‘chief of princes’ instead of Rosh. Rosh is proper here. The name Rosh means chief of princes. Last century, Russia changed it’s name from Rosh to Russia and if you look at Russian history, the name Meshech was changed to Moschovi and then to Moscow. Tubal was the eastern capitol and was later changed to Tobolsk. These were the names of the leaders who settled there. They were the sons of Japheth along with several other brothers including Magog, who settled in what is now southern Russia and Gomer who is also called by name in Genesis 10:2.

In verse 4, God said, "I will put hooks in your jaws and draw you out…". They are described as a well ranked force coming over the mountains like a storm. But prophecy does not fair well for Russia nor the accompanying nations as they are destroyed. One thing to note is the coming Y2K crisis. Russia gets most of its energy from nuclear power plants and has stated that it is not Y2K compliant nor will it be, nor does it plan to be. Their Y2K plan is a fix on break program. This crisis will be in the bitter winter and Russia is known for its harsh winters. Could this be a big enough crisis to draw them out of their land to seek food and fuel? This isn’t a prediction, just a thought.

These are only a few of the very specific prophecies that prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the God of the Bible has credibility and proven His word to be true. The next piece of evidence I want to look at is Messiah. Almost all religions have a savior. To be a savior, you must not only be willing to save, you must be able to save. Mohammed said in the Quaran that he was in need for forgiveness. Buddha said on his deathbed that he did not know if God even existed and that he still searched for truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the light, no one comes to the Father but through me". Anyone can claim to be God, but only Jesus Christ proved it. When challenged by the religious leaders and asked for a sign to prove his authority, Jesus said he would give only one sign. I will be buried for 3 days and I’ll rise again. That is what I call putting it all on the line. The Bible clearly states the life of Jesus; how he was born of a virgin, healed and preformed many miracles, was crucified to become sin for us, was raised from the dead and after 40 days he ascended to heaven to await his return as judge and ruler. That is quite a resume, but is it provable? How do we know that Jesus was really the one? I have only listed a very small number of prophecies that verify the Bible is credible. The Bible has claimed and fulfilled thousands of prophecies and continues to fulfill. What prophecies prove Jesus was the Christ? For time sake, I won’t go through all the scriptures but will highlight. There are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament pertaining to Jesus.

Prophecy foretold that Christ would come out of Egypt, be called a Nazarene and be born in Bethlehem. Which is right? After fulfillment of these we find they all were right. He was born in Bethlehem, fled to Egypt to avoid Herod’s massacre, and moved to Nazareth. Who but God could have known that all these would be fulfilled?

The Bible tells us that Jesus would be labeled king of the Jews, would have a triumphant entry into Jerusalem, be beaten, tortured, spit on and killed. Triumphant entry as king and tortured and killed by his people seems like a contradiction. But we know that on the way to his death, the people did not know that Jesus came to die. They thought he was coming to take the throne and liberate Israel from Roman rule. They lined the streets with palm leaves and their coats and cheered with such a great commotion that the leaders we afraid the entire world would crown him king. Yet a few days later the same people were shouting "crucify him".

The Bible also foretells that he will be sold for 30 pieces of silver and the money would be used to by a potter’s field. Judas bargained with the priest for that exact amount. Judas regretted his greed after he saw Jesus on trial. He asked them to take the money back and was refused. He threw the money on the ground and hung himself. Prophecy was fulfilled when the law prevented them from using blood money for anything but purchasing a field to bury strangers. They bought a field belonging to a potter.

Prophecies written hundreds of years before Jesus was born foretells that he would be killed with criminals, his clothes would be gambled for and that he would have his hands, feet and side pierced. Crucifixion was unknown when these predictions were made and became a punishment as a Roman death sentence.

I would like to look at one last thing concerning Jesus. First let me quote an atheist named Donald Morgan, "Jesus’ last words on the Cross were, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ hardly seems like a man who planned it that way. Doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out something is wrong here." (For the record, that wasn’t his very last words.) He goes on to use this to disprove that Jesus was sent by God. This proves, according to Donald Morgan, that the cross was unplanned and unexpected. How that just make my faith crumble. Especially when I look at Psalm 22 written by king David over 1000 years before Christ uttered those words. Psalm 22 says:

1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
² O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
…
⁶ But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
⁷ All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
⁸ "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"
^…
14 I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within Me.
¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
¹⁶ For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
¹⁷ I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
¹⁸ They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
¹⁹ But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!

Do we need any clearer evidence that this was not unplanned? We see the pain, suffering, separation from God as Jesus became sin for us. We even see the tongue cleaving to his jaw as Jesus cried out "I thirst." No, this was not unplanned but the redemption plan that is only offered by God through Jesus Christ that God has been leading up to since Genesis.

I call one last witness to the deity of Jesus Christ - witnesses who saw him after his resurrection. To become an apostle, you must be called by God to be an apostle, and you must see Jesus bodily after the resurrection. I think the Bible is clear about apostles. There are only 12 and all existed at the time of Christ. Of the 12 disciples, only Judas did not become an apostle. Paul was called the apostle born out of due time. He was the replacement for Judas. These witnesses all share another thing in common. They all suffered tremendous persecution for their faith and all but John was martyred. I find it impossible to believe that all of these men were imprisoned, beaten repeatedly and killed for naming the name of Jesus and not one of them retracted their claim that they saw Jesus bodily after he rose from the dead. Each one of these men could have saved his life by saying two words, "he’s dead". Only John survived but he was banished to the Isle of Patmos. That was the Alchatraz of Rome.

To bring this into real perspective lets look at a modern conspiracy. Watergate was a simple plan. Nixon sent his men illegally to plant listening devices to spy on his political opponents. Only about 6 men knew about this plan. The plot was discovered so they formulated a plan and all agreed to tell the same story to cover up the plot. That plot crumbled in days as these men began to squeal like pigs when the charges started coming down. Not one of them was in danger of loosing their lives yet when faced with prison threats, they all became witnesses and exposed the conspiracy.

What the apostles went through was horrible and not one of them ever denied the faith because they were absolute in their faith. Why? Because He was alive! It was counted a blessing for them to suffer for their Lord. Look at their history:

Simon – Crucified head down at Rome
Andrew – Crucified on St. Andrew’s Cross
James the elder – Beheaded by Herod at Jerusalem
John – Banished to Patmos and died a natural death.
James the younger – Crucified in Egypt
Jude – Martyred in Persia
Philip – Martyred at Hierapolis in Phrygia
Bartholomew – Flayed to death
Matthew – Died a martyr in Ethiopia
Thomas – Shot by arrows
Simon - Crucified
Paul – replaced Judas and was soaked in oil and burned alive in Rome.

Can you imagine being flayed for a lie? This isn’t the evidence of a conspiracy or deception, this is evidence of a risen savior.

I enjoy reading arguments by atheist because it always strengthens my faith. It is so important not only to know what you believe, but why you believe it. Atheist always attack Christianity with speculative arguments at best and out of complete ignorance at worst. Often I find they attempt to disprove Christianity by pointing out failures of a person, church or doctrine. No one can detect a counterfeit by studying the counterfeit. You must study the real thing. To try to disprove the Bible by pointing out an out-of-control bishop during the Catholic inquisition is like trying to prove that money doesn’t exist based on a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill. If a person allows a hypocrite to shape their obedience to God, they will still stand without excuse one day because the truth calls out to them with undeniable evidence.

God does not expect or want us to live in blind faith. God does not want Christian zombies. God wants our trust. Faith is belief and trust in action. Faith without works is dead. If you have faith you must prove it by acting upon it or it dies into a superstitious belief. The Bible says without faith it is impossible to please God. Why is faith so important? Lets quickly look and see.

If you look, you see a pattern developing here. God produces indisputable evidence, then He calls for faith. God brings you to a point in life where you must choose. God will not show you what will happen when you step into faith. He will show you where to step and it often will not be comfortable. God won’t show you what will happen beforehand, instead He calls us to look at Him, His word, and His promises. Look at the indisputable evidence. If what He has said thus far is true and is proven, then you must believe what He is saying is also true. Believing is not enough, you must trust and act on that belief to prove your faith.

If you can’t trust God, you can’t obtain the promises of God. It is that simple. Behold the evidence and choose this day, life or death. Can you trust him with your desires and pleasures? Or do you choose sin to meet that want? Do you trust God with your finances, or do you sacrifice everything to work overtime and cling to every penny? Do you trust God to provide your relationships, or do you tell God who you want and go against His clearly stated word? Do you trust the overwhelming evidence of Jesus Christ as savior and the only way, or will you cling to your own ways or mere religion. Christianity is not mere religion. You can be the most religious person in the world and not go to heaven. Biblical Christianity is a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Exodus 19:4-5 says, "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for the earth is Mine."

So the question is also laid before us. You have seen the evidence. God has shown you more than enough evidence to prove that He is. He has shown more than enough evidence to prove that His word is true and accurate. The evidence is laid before you. Now the question is this: Can you put your faith in Jesus Christ and obtain the promise of God and become a treasure to Him, or will you reject the evidence and turn away from the promise of God?

There are only two choices. Believe and obtain the promises of God through obedience, or disbelief and be held accountable for turning from the truth. God holds us accountable for how we respond to His absolute truth.  Jesus told us to be watchful and when you see these things coming to pass, don't fear but look up because our redemption draws near.    He also warned to be watchful at all times because He will return at the hour when you do not think.  These prophecies do not indicate when He will return, they warn us that the end is near.  The Bible does not clearly indicate if we should expect Him before or after these things come to pass, but instead we are told to watch or we will be caught off guard.  If you are not absolutely sure that you belong to the God who has proven His word to be true, I would encourage you to invite Jesus Christ into your heart as your personal savior and Lord.  The bible, without a doubt tells us that Jesus is the only way.  The evidence is before you and clearly testifies that the Lord is God.   It is up to you to make the right decision.

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