An excellent example of biblical prophecy failure--from the Errancy Discussion list, 29 June 1997:
Yet, another Christian with his prophecy fulfillment claims.
ROB
There are many religious books in the world that have many good things
to say. But only the Bible has fulfilled prophecies-with more fulfillments
still to come. The Bible has _never been wrong_ in the past, and it won't
be wrong in the future. It does not even abrogate itself.
TILL
The Bible has _never been wrong_ in the past? What planet has this guy
been living on? I'll cite just one example of many prophecy failures in the
Bible. Ezekiel prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would destroy Egypt and
that it would lay waste for 40 years, but this never happened.
>Ezekiel 29:1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of
the month, the word of Yahweh came to me:
>2 Mortal, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy
against him and against all Egypt;
>3 speak, and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I am against you, Pharaoh
king of Egypt, the great dragon sprawling in the midst of its channels,
saying, "My Nile is my own; I made it for myself."
>4 I will put hooks in your jaws, and make the fish of your channels stick
to your scales. I will draw you up from your channels, with all the fish of
your channels sticking to your scales.
>5 I will fling you into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your
channels; you shall fall in the open field, and not be gathered and buried.
To the animals of the earth and to the birds of the air I have given you as
food.
>6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Yahweh because
you were a staff of reed to the house of Israel;
>7 when they grasped you with the hand, you broke, and tore all their
shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke, and made all their legs
unsteady.
>8 Therefore, thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will bring a sword upon you, and
will cut off from you human being and animal;
>9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they shall
know that I am Yahweh. Because you said, "The Nile is mine, and I made it,"
>10 therefore, I am against you, and against your channels, and I will make
the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as
far as the border of Ethiopia.
>11 No human foot shall pass through it, and no animal foot shall pass
through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years.
Notice that the prophecy is very specific in stating that Egypt would be "an
utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of
Ethiopia." Ethiopia was on the southern border of Egypt, and Migdol was in
the northern delta of the Nile. Hence, the prediction was that the country
would be laid waste from its northern border to its southern border. The
next verse says that no human foot or animal foot would pass through it for
40 years. Perhaps "Rob" would be so kind as to cite the evidence that any
such thing as this ever happened to Egypt. Some inerrantists try to claim
that this is a prophecy that will be fulfilled at a future date, but the
prophecy was specifically addressed to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and the rule
of the pharaohs ended long ago. Furthermore, as the verses below show, the
prophecy made Nebuchadnezzar Yahweh's instrument of vengeance against
Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar has been dead for 25 centuries.
>Ezekiel 29: 12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolated
countries; and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities
that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and
disperse them among the countries.
>13 Further, thus says the Lord Yahweh: At the end of forty years I will
gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered;
>14 and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and bring them back to the
land of Pathros, the land of their origin; and there they shall be a lowly
kingdom.
>15 It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never again exalt
itself above the nations; and I will make them so small that they will never
again rule over the nations.
>16 The Egyptians shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel;
they will recall their iniquity, when they turned to them for aid. Then they
shall know that I am the Lord Yahweh.
>17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the
month, the word of Yahweh came to me:
>18 Mortal, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against
Tyre; every head was made bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare; yet
neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he
had expended against it.
>19 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will give the land of Egypt to
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth and
despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army.
>20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored,
because they worked for me, says the Lord Yahweh.
>21 On that day I will cause a horn to sprout up for the house of Israel,
and I will open your lips among them. Then they shall know that I am Yahweh.
The tirade against Egypt continued on into the next chapter. An analysis of
the chapter would show other specific details in the prophecy that were
never fulfilled, but these are enough to establish that this is a clear
example of a prophecy failure.
As time allows, I will address "Rob's" other prophecy claims in later
postings. Meanwhile, perhaps he would like to explain to us when Ezekiel's
prophecy against Egypt was fulfilled.
Farrell Till
Yet, another Christian with his prophecy fulfillment claims.
ROB
There are many religious books in the world that have many good things
to say. But only the Bible has fulfilled prophecies-with more fulfillments
still to come. The Bible has _never been wrong_ in the past, and it won't
be wrong in the future. It does not even abrogate itself.
TILL
The Bible has _never been wrong_ in the past? What planet has this guy
been living on? I'll cite just one example of many prophecy failures in the
Bible. Ezekiel prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would destroy Egypt and
that it would lay waste for 40 years, but this never happened.
>Ezekiel 29:1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of
the month, the word of Yahweh came to me:
>2 Mortal, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy
against him and against all Egypt;
>3 speak, and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I am against you, Pharaoh
king of Egypt, the great dragon sprawling in the midst of its channels,
saying, "My Nile is my own; I made it for myself."
>4 I will put hooks in your jaws, and make the fish of your channels stick
to your scales. I will draw you up from your channels, with all the fish of
your channels sticking to your scales.
>5 I will fling you into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your
channels; you shall fall in the open field, and not be gathered and buried.
To the animals of the earth and to the birds of the air I have given you as
food.
>6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Yahweh because
you were a staff of reed to the house of Israel;
>7 when they grasped you with the hand, you broke, and tore all their
shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke, and made all their legs
unsteady.
>8 Therefore, thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will bring a sword upon you, and
will cut off from you human being and animal;
>9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they shall
know that I am Yahweh. Because you said, "The Nile is mine, and I made it,"
>10 therefore, I am against you, and against your channels, and I will make
the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as
far as the border of Ethiopia.
>11 No human foot shall pass through it, and no animal foot shall pass
through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years.
Notice that the prophecy is very specific in stating that Egypt would be "an
utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of
Ethiopia." Ethiopia was on the southern border of Egypt, and Migdol was in
the northern delta of the Nile. Hence, the prediction was that the country
would be laid waste from its northern border to its southern border. The
next verse says that no human foot or animal foot would pass through it for
40 years. Perhaps "Rob" would be so kind as to cite the evidence that any
such thing as this ever happened to Egypt. Some inerrantists try to claim
that this is a prophecy that will be fulfilled at a future date, but the
prophecy was specifically addressed to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and the rule
of the pharaohs ended long ago. Furthermore, as the verses below show, the
prophecy made Nebuchadnezzar Yahweh's instrument of vengeance against
Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar has been dead for 25 centuries.
>Ezekiel 29: 12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolated
countries; and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities
that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and
disperse them among the countries.
>13 Further, thus says the Lord Yahweh: At the end of forty years I will
gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered;
>14 and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and bring them back to the
land of Pathros, the land of their origin; and there they shall be a lowly
kingdom.
>15 It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never again exalt
itself above the nations; and I will make them so small that they will never
again rule over the nations.
>16 The Egyptians shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel;
they will recall their iniquity, when they turned to them for aid. Then they
shall know that I am the Lord Yahweh.
>17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the
month, the word of Yahweh came to me:
>18 Mortal, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against
Tyre; every head was made bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare; yet
neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he
had expended against it.
>19 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will give the land of Egypt to
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth and
despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army.
>20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored,
because they worked for me, says the Lord Yahweh.
>21 On that day I will cause a horn to sprout up for the house of Israel,
and I will open your lips among them. Then they shall know that I am Yahweh.
The tirade against Egypt continued on into the next chapter. An analysis of
the chapter would show other specific details in the prophecy that were
never fulfilled, but these are enough to establish that this is a clear
example of a prophecy failure.
As time allows, I will address "Rob's" other prophecy claims in later
postings. Meanwhile, perhaps he would like to explain to us when Ezekiel's
prophecy against Egypt was fulfilled.
Farrell Till
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