Prophecy, or the prediction of future events, gives the Bible an internal authenticity. This is one of the great marvels of the Bible, one that distinguishes it from all other writings.
God's prophets spoke and wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit about future events, about nations, especially concerning God's covenant people, Israel, and most importantly, about the coming of the Messiah. The events have occurred without fail, in detail, just as prophesied. Unlike modern-day psychics whose track record is at best no better than chance would provide, these prophets were 100 percent accurate. They could not make a mistake, the only such group in the history of the world. This confirmed the divine origin of their information.
For example, about 600 years before Christ, the prophet Ezekiel wrote about the destruction of the city of Tyre. Its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar came just a few years later. History has shown the prophecy's amazing details to have happened; Tyre became a "bare rock" where fishermen spread their nets, and the city was never rebuilt.
There are many other such prophecies and fulfillments concerning various locations and people, such as Sidon, Edom, and Nineveh.
Many prophecies foretold the historic plight of the Hebrew people, such as their first dispersion in 586 B.C. and return under Ezra, and the later second dispersion and worldwide persecution, which was also foretold by Christ (Luke 21:24). The Bible also prophesies that they would someday return to the land from all over the earth, which many thought was impossible. Now, almost 2,000 years later, the nation of Israelwas "born in a day," May 14 1948, by an unprecedented United Nations decree. This was a fulfillment of Isaiah, who some 2,500 years earlier had written:
Who has ever heard of such a thing?... Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? (Isaiah 66:8).
The greatest and most important prophecies concern the coming of Messiah. There are some 300 detailed prophecies of both His first coming and His second coming. These include the timing of His first coming (Daniel 9:25), His deity (Isaiah 9:6), His place of birth (Micah 5:2), His suffering and crucifixion for our sins (Isaiah 53), His resurrection (Psalm 16:10), His second coming (Zechariah 14:4), plus many other details. He first came on schedule some 2,000 years ago, and His return will be on schedule, and there are many reasons from the prophecies and signs given to believe that this event will be soon. One major sign is the miraculous reestablishment of Israelin just our generation, rendering futile all such speculation about the timing of Christ's return before May 14, 1948.