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
In the history of the world, many have declared that they had a message from God, a new revelation that all people should heed. Clearly, all religions can’t be true, for they contradict each other. Only Christianity affirms the divinity of Christ and thus is distinguished from all other religions. What further distinguishes Christianity is the vast body of predictive prophecy found in the Bible.
In his classic volume General Introduction to the Bible, Dr. Norman Geisler writes, “Other books claim divine inspiration, such as the Koran, the Book of Mormon, and parts of the Veda. But none of these books contains predictive prophecy. As a result, fulfilled prophecy is a strong indication of the unique, divine authority of the Bible.”[1]
There are many hundreds of prophecies in the Bible, about the Messiah, about nations and peoples, about world events, past, present, and future. A large portion of these have been fulfilled in the last several thousand years, and the rest are appointed for the future. What Dr. Geisler is saying here, is that the Bible is unparalleled in this way. Our God, the one true God, is in control; He knows the end from the beginning, and He makes His prophetic words come true so that we will know that the Bible is His message to us. God has given His rational creatures a way to see the truth. Jesus fulfilled prophecy so that we would know that He is the Messiah, the one true servant of God. Jesus is the way, and He proves that He is the way!
O Lord in Heaven, how awesome you are! We thank you that you have made a way for us to know that your Word is true, and that your Son is the one true Savior of the world. Amen.
[1]Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), 196.