| Understanding Prophecy and Typology
Western Protestants interpret prophecy in one of four different ways: Preterism, Historicism, Idealism, or Futurism... Four or five basic schools of thought have lent themselves to several offshoots. To a Western Gentile mind, one of these four methods, (or a derivative of) is the correct view of all Biblical prophecy. However a Jew in the first century, as Jesus was Himself, would have seen all four simultaneously. Western ideas of prophecy involve prediction and fulfillment. The Hebrew idea of prophecy is a pattern that is repeated, multiple fulfillments with one ultimate fulfillment. Each of the multiple fulfillments is both a type of, and a lesson on, the ultimate fulfillment.  The Seven Feasts of Israel
The most complete description of the Jewish feasts is found in Leviticus 23, each of which have both a historic and prophetic significance. They celebrate a historical event in Israel's past, but also are a prophecy of future events four of which have already come to pass. . it is important to note that the Feasts that symbolize a sequence of events, were given by God in a set chronological order. Therefore the events that they symbolize will take place in the same exact order. I have read way too many interpretations of the Feasts that jump backwards and forwards between them in an effort to make them fit into pre-conceived end time scenarios. What we need to do is make the order of the Feasts our guideline to coming events, instead of scrambling them to fit our ideas.
Daniel’s Amazing Prophecies
The book of Daniel presents an extraordinary display of prophetic foreknowledge not only of the succession of empires from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonian king about 600 B.C. to the Roman Empire which began to come into power around 241 B.C., but sweeps ahead in history to the reign of the antichrist and the end of the age. 
Messianic Prophecies
Messianic prophecy is not always easy to understand however, in the Holy Scriptures, an array of prophecies which extend over hundreds of years find complete fulfillment in the short thirty-year life span of one person, Jesus of Nazareth, many being fulfilled in one day. For example Psalm 22:16 declares that His hands and feet would be pierced... long before crucifixion was invented as a form of capital punishment by the Persians and a thousand years before it was made common by the Romans. But perhaps one of the most fascinating, and compelling, of the prophecies is when Moses declared that God would raise up another Jewish prophet in the future whose life would closely resemble his. The Virgin Shall Conceive
There has been great difficulty over the years in seeking to interpret the significance of this prophecy. "Few prophecies have been the subject of so much controversy, or called forth such a variety of exegesis, as this prophecy of Immanuel" [Pulpit Commentary, vol. 10, p. 129]. "This one verse has received more discussion than any other passage in the OT, yet without any consensus emerging among commentators. While Christians agree that it refers ultimately to the birth of Christ, they remain divided about its original and primary meaning" Jesus Didn't Fulfill The Validating Prophecies
If God said that his Messiah would be a great political leader, would bring peace to the world, would rebuild the temple and reunite the Jews, then why do Christians believe Jesus was that Messiah?
Also See Section on Jesus
Israel’s History written in Advance
According to an old story, the powerful Prussian King Frederick the Great had a chaplain who was a Bible-believer, though Frederick himself was a rationalist. One day, Frederick challenged his chaplain, "In a word, give me a good argument for the God of the Bible." His chaplain, a knowledgeable man, responded, "The Jew, your majesty!" 
Other Prophecies
A fact often overlooked by critics is that the only one real case of fulfilled prophecy would establish Scripture’s supernatural origin. Even if most Biblical predictions could be explained naturally even one clear case establishes the rest and confirms the prophetic event. Includes The Closing of The Golden Gate, The Destruction of Tyre, The Flourishing of The Desert In Palestine and more
The Odds
Approximately 2500 prophecies appear in the pages of the Bible, about 2000 of which already have been fulfilled to the letter—no errors. (The remaining 500 or so reach into the future and may be seen unfolding as days go by.) Since the probability for any one of these prophecies having been fulfilled by chance averages less than one in ten (figured very conservatively) and since the prophecies are for the most part independent of one another, the odds for all these prophecies having been fulfilled by chance without error is less than one in 102000 (that is 1 with 2000 zeros written after it)! |
