Some time ago I had the opportunity to speak to a man who had no belief whatsoever in the Scriptures as any sort of divine revelation from God. He was a writer who was articulate and well-educated. While he was well-read, he was completely ignorant of any evidences for the truthfulness of the Christian faith and the Scriptures which reveal it. He said the Bible was simply a book written by men, just like any other book. I said, “That’s very interesting. I would like to read some statements to you about someone and have you tell me, assuredly, without question, about whom I am reading.”
He agreed and I began to read:
“They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head” (Ps. 69:4).
“The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed” (Ps. 2:2).
“Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me” (Ps. 41:9).
“Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered” (Zech. 13:7).
“And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
“And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord” (Zech. 11:12-13).
“They shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek” (Mic. 5:1). “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting” (Isa. 50:6).
“I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting” (Isa. 50:6).
“They pierced my hands and my feet” (Ps. 22:16).
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1).
“All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him” (Ps. 22:7-8).
“They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Ps. 69:21).
“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels” (Ps. 22:14).
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (Isa. 53:4).
“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isa. 53:7).
“They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (Ps. 22:18).
“He hath poured out his soul unto death” (Isa. 53:12).
“He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa. 53:12).
“Neither shall ye break a bone thereof” (Exod. 12:46).
“He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken” (Ps. 34:20).
“They shall look upon me whom they have pierced” (Zech. 12:10).
“And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth” (Isa. 53:9).
“For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Ps. 16:10).
“Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them” (Ps. 68:18).
“The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Ps. 110:1).
I said to him, “About whom did I read?” He replied, “Well, you obviously read of the life ministry, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.” I said, “Is there any question in your mind about that?” He answered, “No, that could refer to no one else.”
I replied, “Well then, I would want you to understand that all of the Scriptures I just read to you are taken from the Old Testament, which was completed some four hundred years before Jesus was born. No critic, no atheist, no agnostic has ever once claimed that any one of those writings was written after his birth. In fact, they were translated from Hebrew into Greek in Alexandria some 150 years before he was born. If this is merely a book written by men, would you please explain these words were written?”
He said, “I haven’t the faintest idea.” He was completely nonplussed. He had never heard those things before in his life. Indeed they cannot be explained by any purely humanistic presuppositions.
It is noteworthy that in no other religious writings in the world do we find any specific predictive prophecies like we find in the Scripture. You will find no predictive prophecies whatsoever in the writings of Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, Lao-Tse, or Hinduism. Yet in the Scripture there are well over two thousand prophecies, most of which have already been fulfilled.
They are so specific in nature that they burn all the bridges behind them. If they are not fulfilled, it leaves no room for excuse. How can these be explained? Of all the attacks that have ever been made upon the Scripture, there has never been one book written by a skeptic to disprove the prophecies of the Scripture. Though the Bible has been attacked at every other place, the one place where God rests his inspiration is that the things he foretells come infallibly to pass.
The Bible prophecies are altogether unexpected! I know of no one ever prophesying that any other human being would rise from the dead and ascend into heaven. That is exceedingly improbable. The chance of it happening by coincidence is incalculable. No, the Bible is not merely a book written by men; it is a book written by God through men, and the heart of its prophetic message is Jesus Christ.
by D. James Kennedy
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