The way any person can predict the future is simply to plan the future. Let me explain. If I want to predict what will happen tomorrow I simply plan what I will do tomorrow. Let's say that I plan to go to the health food store on my way home from work tomorrow. I can then issue the following prediction: "At 5:15 PM tomorrow I will be at Mrs. Green's Natural Market in Katonah, New York." I then go ahead and visit the natural food store the next day and fulfill my own prophecy.

Surprising as it may seem, Bible prophecy works in much the same way as the above example though on a much grander scale. God planned (predestined) the future and then by His creative power and angelic intervention sees to it that things happen exactly the way He predicted. God declares His method in Isaiah 46:9-10 "For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.'" (NASB)

This is why the Bible has thousands of prophecies and fulfillments. God plans, then He tells us of His future plans, then He carries out His plan to perfection. This dramatically reveals God's power and His glory! I have said many times before that no other holy book of any other faith has anything like the Bible's record of predictive prophecy and fulfillment of prophecy. Most holy books of other faiths have no predictive prophecies at all!

Only God has the power to plan thousands of years in advance and carry out His plan to the smallest detail. That is why predictive prophecy is the single best proof that the Bible is the inspired word of God. In Isaiah 52:13-53:12 there is a detailed prophecy written hundreds of years before Jesus was born that tells how He would one day come and die for our sins. It was fulfilled in every detail in the first coming of Christ!

One of the most mind boggling statements in the Bible are the following words spoken by Jesus "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Matthew 10:29-30). This shows that God is involved in the smallest details of not only of human lives (the hairs of our heads are all numbered) but He is also involved in the lives of animals (a sparrow doesn't fall to the ground without God's involvement!) This shows God's power and glory. He created the universe and also sustains it even to the point of being involved in the life and death of a sparrow! "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:17 NASB).

"Ye have heard that antichrist shall come" (I John 2:18).

The answer to why there is evil in the world is that God has allowed human beings to make choices. Human beings are not mere robots. We can choose to love God and do good or we can choose to reject God and do evil. Evil that comes as a result of bad human choices brings a curse and many innocent people and even innocent animals suffer because of it.

The book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, predictively prophesies that the church in the end-times will see multitudes of people coming to salvation through Christ. (See Revelation 7:9-17; 11:3-12; 12:1-17.) The 24th chapter of Matthew gives many details of events that will occur just before the second coming of Christ. The book of Revelation also predicts that the antichrist will obtain power over all the earth and will persecute the church. (See Rev. 13:1-18.) Revelation 19:11-21 predictively foretells the second coming of Christ. At His second coming, Christ  will overthrow the antichrist.

So we see that God allows evil to flourish for a time but in the end He puts a stop to it and brings in everlasting righteousness. God receives great glory in the fact that good eventually triumphs over evil. God has a plan for the for years just before the second coming of Christ. He revealed this plan in the Bible which was written millennia ago. We now see this plan being carried out in fulfillment of predictive prophecies contained in the Bible!   

The Bible is scientifically accurate! Find the evidence at www.icr.org.  

Steps to salvation: Jesus said "Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)

1. Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
2. Believe that Jesus the Messiah came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you to take upon Himself the penalty for your sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18)
3. Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness. (Romans 10:13)
4. Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth. (John 1:12, Acts 2:38)
5. Follow Him as Lord. (John 14:21)

"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13)

To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:

"Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen."

If you prayed that prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!

Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of West Harrison, New York, USA

(C) 2010 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given

DEFENDING THE FAITH APOLOGETIC ARTICLES Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world. The articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel. All Defending the Faith articles are © 2009 William P. Nugent, permission is granted to email or republish if credit given. To receive these articles which are sent out once per month fill in your email address below and click the SUBMIT button. *Security: Write the characters in the image above (Case sensitive)