Fulfilled prophecies

In the land of Israel many Biblical prophecies have been fulfilled.

Fulfilled prophecies

In the article "Is there a God?" arguments were already mentioned for the existence of a God. From what else can we know that there is a God? Among other things by the fact that prophecies, who are in the Bible, have come true! This also confirms the reliability of the Bible and the Christian faith.

1A. The prediction in the Bible book of Daniel of the appearance of the Lord Jesus to the people of Israel

(This first chapter about fulfilled prophecies is very extensive, because it is also intended for scientists. But no less for ordinary people. The following chapters of this article are shorter.)

Impression of Daniel in the lions' den

As an introduction for those who do not know the Bible very well:

The Bible consists of two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament contains 39 different books. And the New Testament contains 27 different books. In those 27 books Jesus Christ has a central position. He was born around the beginning of our era. So altogether the Bible has 66 books. These have been written over a period of thousands of years. So the former writers did not yet know what would happen later (except by divine prophecy) and even less what would be added to the Bible later. But as Christians we do believe, that God had His hand in that all. He controlled everything, so that eventually a Bible would arise, that is full of His truth. Through this Bible God has made Himself known to mankind!

The prophet Daniel is a writer of the Old Testament. He lived in the time of Nebuchadnezzar. This mighty ruler of Babylonia reigned from 605 to 562 before the beginning of our era. At that time Daniel already prophesied about Christ, who would only be born hundreds of years later. And the book of Daniel can impossibly be corrupted or added by later Christians. For the Jews have as Bible, already since many hundreds of years before the beginning of our era, only the Old Testament, and thus also the book of Daniel. They (the majority of them) do not believe in the Christ of the New Testament! Yet their Bible (yes, also other books of their Old Testament, like Isaiah) contains many prophecies concerning Christ, who would come only later! And the Jews have always guarded with great diligence and accuracy, that their Bible would be handed over in its pure form. Falsification is therefore impossible.

We consider the prophecy in Daniel 9: 24 to 26. It says:

24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
25. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
26. And after the sixty-two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

The language of some pieces of text can sometimes be difficult for people, who are not familiar with this translation. However the content of this prophecy is so enormous precious, that it may cost us some trouble. Many things from this prophecy can be understood rather quickly. For example the reconciliation for iniquity clearly refers to the sacrifice of Christ for the sins.

What is meant by "the going forth of the commandment" in verse 25? This concerns very likely Nehemiah 2. There we read how Nehemiah gets the permission of King Artaxerxes to go (from Persia) to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls there, which had been destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar. In Nehemiah 2: 1 we read that it was the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes.

The Persian King Artaxerxes facing a suppliant

When did this Artaxerxes reign? According to most history books and websites from 465 B.C. to 424 B.C. (So that would be 41 years). But there are historical indications that he began to reign already 10 years earlier. (So not in 465 B.C., but in 475 B.C.). This is evident from Greek, Persian and Babylonian sources. For, among other things, there has been found a clay tablet, which talks about the 51st year of his reign! Also other documents from antiquity seem to point in that direction. How most historians can have been mistaken then? They let begin the period of reign of his father, King Ahasuerus, at the end of the reign of his father, king Darius. But Ahasuerus, who we know from the book of Esther, has reigned together with his father Darius during 10 years. So Ahasuerus reigned already when Darius still reigned. By this the years move 10 years backward.

Therefore with that twentieth year in the prophecy is probably meant the year 455 BC. Further in the above prophecy of Daniel 7 + 62 weeks = 69 weeks are mentioned. In prophetic language a week is often seven years. So 69 weeks is 483 years. If we start then from the year 455 BC. we arrive at the year 29 A.D. (We must remember this year well). Why not the year 28 AD? (For 483 minus 455 is 28). This is because the year 0 did not exist. The count was immediately made to jump from the year 1 BC to the year 1 AD.

What happened after those 483 years, so in the year 29 AD? First it says: "From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince..." So first it is about the public appearance of the Messiah, so Christ. Messiah and Christ mean the same. Messiah is a Hebrew word and Christ comes from the Greek. Both words mean Anointed One. When did Jesus become an Anointed One? This was when He was baptized in the Jordan. The Holy Spirit then descended in the form of a dove on His head. Thus He was anointed with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit descended on the Lord Jesus in the form of a dove.

So according to Daniel's prophecy that was in the year 29. But does that also match to other data that we have? The answer is: Yes! In Luke 3: 1 it is said, that it was the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius. It is very remarkable, that Luke gives us in this verse and the next much more information about that time. It was also the time of the reigns of the governor Pontius Pilate and the tetrarchs Herod, Philip and Lysanias. It was also the time of the high priests Annas and Caiaphas. Apparently it was important for Luke to indicate exactly when this happened.

When did the reign of Tiberius begin? This was in the autumn (September or October) of the year 14 of our era. His first year of reign was taken to begin from the beginning of the year 15. So his fifteenth year was the year 29. And that is precisely the year that follows from the prophecy of Daniel !

SO THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 9 CAME TRUE JUST ON TIME!

All this does not mean, however, that the Lord Jesus began His public ministry when he was 29. For he was born already about 4 or 5 years before the beginning of our era. When He started His public ministry He was already about 33 years old. Our era did not begin exactly with the birth of Christ. The Scythian monk Dionysius Exiguus, who established our era in the sixth century AD, made a mistake of some years when calculating back. At least he made a mistake of 4 years, because King Herod died in 4 BC. And when he was still alive, the Lord Jesus was already born. This calculation error of the mentioned monk is recognized now by most scientists. However this is not important for our chronology concerning Daniel 9. But it does show how beautifully this fits with the appearance of the star of Bethlehem!

We read about this star in Matthew 2. From general history we know, that in the year five before our era a special "star" was visible in the constellation Capricorn. Since this has been described by the historians as a "sweeping star" it will probably have been a comet, popularly called a "tailed star". This comet was not only seen in Israel, but also in the Roman world and even in China. The learned Roman Pliny, who lived in the time of Nero, wrote: "There was also a white comet star, with a silver corona so glittering, that one could hardly look at it, and showing in it an image of God, under a human shape." No wonder that this deeply impressed the wise men from the East!

Now, if the Lord Jesus was born in the year 4 or 5 before the beginning of our era, then that would correspond well with the appearance of this very special comet!

A comet. The star of Bethlehem was probably also a comet.

We can now reflect further about the wonderful prophecy of Daniel 9:

Because it was for the sins of others, verse 26 also says: "But (the cutting off was) not for Himself." And what wonderful indications are given in verse 24 of His atoning suffering and death! The Lord Jesus indeed died on the cross to "finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness." All this refers to the forgiveness of sins for those who put their trust in the Lord Jesus for time and eternity. The guilt of their sins is then taken away and in its place they receive an everlasting righteousness, whereby they obtain eternal life in endless glory!

Furthermore we can ask ourselves why the 69 weeks of years in verse 25 of chapter 9 are divided into 7 + 62 weeks of years. It is obvious that the first 7 weeks of years (so 49 years) were weeks of construction. During that time Jerusalem was further built up. (The restoration of the temple had already begun). And that did not happen so quickly, firstly because the Jewish people had only returned in small numbers, and therefore did not have so much manpower, and secondly because the builders experienced a lot of hindrance from their enemies, who wanted to make it impossible for them to build.

That the restoration could take many years also agrees with John 2:20, where the Jews say to the Lord Jesus:

Forty and six years was this temple in building, and will you raise it up in three days?

Those 3 days refer to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus after 3 days. The temple of wood, stone and other materials was indeed built during 46 years. And of course many years were aso needed for the further reconstruction of Jerusalem.

Furthermore, the prophecy in verse 26 also says: "and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary." That also came true. In the year 70 AD, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Roman general Titus. Christ himself also predicted the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. In Luke 21: 20 it says: "But when you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh."

The siege of Jerusalem by the Romans

Some commentators claim, that in this prophecy in the book of Daniel should be reckoned with years of 360 days instead of (on average) 365.25 days. As a result the 483 years of the 69 weeks of years would in reality be only 476 years (namely 483 x 360 divided by 365.25). But this time-calculation cannot be true. For the Jews added an additional month to the year every few years, so that the years on average lasted about 365.25 days again. Such an additional month among the Jews was called 've adar'. In this way summer and winter continued to fall in approximately the same time of the year.

In Babylonia (where Daniel was staying when he received the prophecy) they also knew leap months (additional months). There a leap month was called 'adaru 2'. And the old Zoroastrian calendar of the Persians was also set up to the real length of the years, namely on average of 365.25 days. And the Roman calendar too! The Jews, Babylonians, Persians and Romans of that time had also already discovered, that the summers and winters returned every year, and that they therefore had to adjust their calendars accordingly. So the proposition that one must reckon with years of 360 days in this prophecy is untenable on all sides!

However the old calendars were generally less regular than they are today. For example a thirteenth month was only added when they saw that it was necessary. For shorter periods they could sometimes calculate with years of 360 days. But for longer periods, for example periods of more than 7 or 10 years, corrections were made, which made the years longer on average.

As I said: Biblical critics try to undermine the prophetic character of the book of Daniel by claiming that these prophecies were written afterwards, or were falsified afterwards. But this accusation is ridiculous. Because the Jews have the book of Daniel already since the time of King Nebuchadnezzar. They certainly would not have accepted it, if people had tried to smuggle this book later into their culture or had tried to falsify it.

According to the famous Bible commentary of Patrik, Polus and Wels, the Jews did not accept any books as Bible books at all, if they were written after the time of King Artaxerxes of the Medes and Persians. So the Jews paid close attention to the fact when a Bible book came into being.

In short: These Bible verses from Daniel 9 have impressively predicted, how long it would be before the Lord Jesus would appear and later would die on the cross. And it turns out to be correct to the year! An angel of God cannot make a mistake either, and revealed the future to Daniel at his prayer. And we may check it and see that it is correct!

Daniel prays for Jerusalem

1B. The 27th verse of Daniel 9

Above Daniel 9: 24-26 has been discussed. The following verse is actually outside the scope of this article. For this article does not aim to be a complete explanation of the Bible. But because this 27th verse is a very important text for many Evangelical Christians, and the explanation of this is a cornerstone of their doctrine of the future, some attention will be paid to it. In this verse is written:

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured out upon the desolate.

This verse is interpreted very differently by the commentators. It is in every case acceptable that with that overspreading of abominations the Roman army is meant.

But concerning "confirm the covenant": Some commentators think that this verse refers to the alliances that the Roman commander Corbulo made with the Parthians, Medes and Armenians, in order to be able to gain the victory over the Jews more easily. The Roman historian Tacitus tells about this. Many non-Romans fought on the side of the Romans against the Jews.

Corbulo did not see the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 himself, because emperor Nero distrusted him and forced him to commit suicide in the year 67, but this general did show himself to be an enemy of the Jews, and therefore sought support from other peoples for his fight against them. The Roman legion, which was previously under his command (called 'X Fretensis') did play an important role in the conquest of Jerusalem. This legion had a war machine, with which stones of 25 kg could be thrown 400 meters away. This caused serious damage to the walls of Jerusalem.

But was this Roman important enough to God to be mentioned in the prophecy? Probably not! Moreover, then the dates would no longer be correct. Because this Bible verse concerns the seventieth and last week of the 70 weeks of years. The 69 previous weeks of years ended in the year 29, as we saw above. The seventieth week of years must therefore have ended in the year 29 + 7 = 36. And the action of the Roman was not until decades later, namely in the year 70.

Therefore, we can better see it as the covenant that God made with Israel, especially on Mount Sinai. But it actually began when God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees. In Genesis 15:18 this covenant is first mentioned in the Bible. There is written: "In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto your seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates."

God made a covenant with Abraham

An important feature of this covenant was, that the people of Israel were not allowed to mix themselves with the surrounding nations. We read this in Exodus 23:32 and 33:

32. You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto you.

In the time of Joshua, the Israelites even had to kill all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. And when the temple was rebuilt, the Samaritans, who were half-Jews, were not allowed to help build it. God's special grace was only for the Jews, that is, for the people of Israel. When the Lord Jesus appeared in the public life of Israel, this covenant was strengthened. God's special grace for the Jews became even clearer, among other things by the healing of many sick people. In principle the other peoples were excluded from this. That is why the Lord Jesus also spoke to a non-Jewish woman, who asked for healing for her daughter: "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matt. 15: 24).

Through the healings that the Lord Jesus performed, the covenant that God had made with the people of Israel was greatly strengthened. This corresponds well with the words of the prophecy in Daniel 9:27: "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." But why is that only one week, thus 7 years in the prophetic count? Because the Jews trampled on the covenant and killed not only the Lord Jesus, the Mediator of the covenant, but also His followers, such as Stephen.

After the murder of Stephen, the special position of the Jews was over. The Roman centurion Cornelius was visited by an angel and had to call Peter (Acts 10). And then Peter received a vision with the message, that he should no longer regard the non-Jews as unclean. Thus came an end to the special status of the people of Israel, which belonged to the covenant. This was in the year 36, so at the end of the last year-week.

Now it becomes clear why verse 27 of Daniel 9 says, "and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." For then it was March or April of the year 33, so halfway in the last year-week. Then the Lord Jesus died on the cross of Golgotha for the atonement of the sins of those, who believed in Him and would believe. The sacrifices and offerings were then no longer necessary, because they were only a reference to the true sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Therefore the curtain in the temple, which covered the Holy of Holies, was suddenly torn in two.

When the Lord Jesus died, the temple curtain was torn in two.

Nowadays there are many interpreters, who disconnect the last week of years of the prophecies of Daniel from the previous 69 weeks of years, and place this last week of years in the end times, about 2000 years later, or even in the future, so in a time that is yet to come. But this explanation is very illogical and lacks every foundation. We would do well not to follow such an explanation! If God says that there are 70 weeks of years (so a total of 490 years), then we must take Him at His Word and accept, that they are indeed 490 consecutive years. In general we also do not say that someone is 10 years old, when he is actually 80 years old. Whoever mentions a period of time, always mentions a continuous period of time! If there is an interruption however, then this is clearly stated in normal use of language.

1C. A little more about the Bible book of Daniel

Many scholars state that the book of Daniel contains many mistakes. For they do not believe in the supernatural origin of the Bible prophecies. For example, they point out that in Daniel 5 Belshazzar is presented as the last king of Babylon. And according to their data, taken from general history, king Nabonidus was the last king of Babylon.

How does this fit together? It is very simple. King Nabonidus stayed for a long time in Teima in present-day Saudi Arabia. Therefore he had made his son Belshazzar governor in Babylon. Such a governor was also called king at that time. When King Cyrus attacked Babylonia, there came a battle on October 12 of the year 539 at Opis, a city at the river Tigris. Then the army of Nabonidus was decisively defeated by that of Cyrus, and Nabonidus was taken prisoner.

So his son Belshazzar was left alone, when Cyrus besieged Babylon two weeks later. But in his drunkenness he thought that Cyrus' army could never enter Babylon. In that he made a mistake and was killed.

King Belshazzar sees shocked the writing hand on the wall

Furthermore, many scholars claim that King Darius, who is mentioned in Daniel 6: 1 and Daniel 9: 1, had never existed, also because they think that they cannot clearly find that name in general history. But what turns out? This Darius was most likely the same as Cyaxares II, the brother of Mandane, who was the mother of Cyrus. So Darius was the uncle of Cyrus. In those days it was not unusual for someone to take another name after obtaining the dominion over an area.

The historians of the antiquity Xenophon, Flavius Josephus and Jerome (Hieronymus) tell us about Cyaxares II and this Darius, and it turns out that they mean the same person. Nevertheless, many scholars continue to oppose their explanations.

Darius helped Cyrus in his war against Babylonia. And when Cyrus had taken Babylonia, he made Darius ruler in Babylonia, because he still had to deal with businesses in Persia. Cyrus gave him also the palace that had belonged to the king of Babylon. Later Cyrus took over the government in Babylonia again.

After the conquest of Babylon, Darius gave his daughter to Cyrus as a wife, and thus Darius became also the father-in-law of Cyrus.

The name of this wife of Cyrus is not known from history. First Cyrus was married to Cassandane, whom he loved very much. But unfortunately he had to lose her through death. Then he got a new wife from his uncle. And that was not without meaning. For Cyaxares II (Darius) had no son and therefore gave his kingdom of Media to his daughter as an inheritance. And so her husband Cyrus, who was already king of Persia, got also the dominion over Media after the death of Darius.

In short: We have absolutely no reason to doubt the historical correctness of the book of Daniel. New archaeological discoveries continue to confirm, that the book of Daniel and even the entire Bible are reliable.

2. The Roman emperor Julian the Apostate (or: Julianus Apostata)

Keizer Julianus de Afvallige

Although the emperor Julian, who lived from 331 to 363, had received a Christian education, he chose plainly for the pagan religion, like that was espoused almost everywhere in the Roman Empire before the days of Emperor Constantine the Great (circa 280-337). Since he was well informed about the contents of the Bible (he had been a reader in the church in his youth) he also knew Matt. 23: 38: "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." This means: "The temple will be destroyed and will not be rebuilt thereafter." So Julian thought: "I shall make as emperor, that this prophecy will not be true." In this way he wanted to obstruct the Christians in his realm and demonstrate, that their Bible was wrong. The temple was indeed destroyed in the year 70 by the army of the Roman Titus.

Julian called on the Jews of his great empire to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple with his support. But ... God intervened. When the work had progressed already a lot there came an earthquake. Everything collapsed again. Again they began to build. But then great flames of fire burst from the ground. And whirlwinds erupted. Everything was destroyed again. So God prevented that the temple was rebuilt and that the prophecy was not true! Already at the age of 32 Julian died in the battle against the Persians. Some writers say, that in his last hours he clenched his fists and shouted: "Galilean, thou hast conquered nevertheless!" With that he meant the Lord Jesus, Who grew up in Galilee.

3. The world empires after King Nebuchadnezzar

The dream of Nebuchadnezzar of the statue

Daniel explains the dream of the statue

In the book in the Bible of Daniel is also foretold what world empires would come after the Babylonian Empire of King Nebuchadnezzar. In Daniel 2 is told how King Nebuchadnezzar gets a dream. In his dream he sees a big statue with a gold head, silver chest and arms, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet partly of iron and partly of clay. Then comes a stone and crushes the whole statue. Then the king wakes up and calls together the wise people of his kingdom to find out the meaning of the dream. Daniel comes also and declares the statue as follows:

The head of gold is the kingdom of Babylon. The silver chest and the other body parts are the following kingdoms. The stone is the kingdom of God, that eventually will overcome all those kingdoms. In this chapter the names of the kingdoms, which are indicated by the statue, are not mentioned. But it is clear that these are respectively the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, the Greek Empire and the Roman Empire. The feet represent likely the continued Roman Empire, after the original strength and hardness of that empire had been impaired. That came because they recruited soldiers from the conquered nations. But they did not like very much to give their heart and soul for the realm of the victors. Thus the empire weakened, until it collapsed wholly, that is: conquered by other nations.

In Daniel 7 those kingdoms come back again, but then in a dream of Daniel himself. There they are 4 great beasts, which rise from the sea. The third animal is a leopard with 4 wings and 4 heads. That's exactly right! For the third empire began with Alexander the Great. But when he died the empire was divided among his 4 generals: Cassander, Ptolemaeus, Seleucus en Lysimachus. So 4 new empires came into being.

So time after time those empires come back again in the prophecy! In Daniel 8 the second and the third empire are viewed more exactly in a new vision of Daniel. The second empire is there a ram with two big horns. Those two horns are the nations of the Medes and Persians, which became one kingdom. The third empire (so the Greek empire) is in the vision a male goat with one horn. But later that horn breaks off and 4 others come in its place. Those are again the four sub-empires after the kingdom was divided among the successors of Alexander the Great.

Superfluously the prophecy himself mentions in this chapter the names of those 2 kingdoms. Daniel 8: 20 reads: "The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia." And in the next two verses is written: "21. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." (King James Version, currently used).
So all these prophecies about the world powers after King Nebuchadnezzar came true very clearly!

4. Tyre, from island to peninsula

The peninsula Tyre

The peninsula Tyre

When we look now at Tyre in the country of Lebanon, we see a peninsula. But originally it was an island. It was a very strong and also rich fortress in the sea that was almost impossible to capture. King Nebuchadnezzar has tried it for 13 years, but he had no success. And that is saying much. His kingdom was in his days a super-power. No other kingdom in the Middle East, including Egypt, could stand before him. But Tyre he could not get down. A siege from the coast was completely useless. Tyre had a large fleet and could import foods and merchandise by means of the ships. The name Tyre means "rock". From this rock one could fight well the enemies who came with ships, also with bow and arrow. Finally Nebuchadnezzar slunk away.

Some historians say that Nebuchadnezzar finally after those 13 years came to a compromise with Tyre, by which the city had to pay tribute to him. In any case Nebuchadnezzar could conquer the part of Tyre that was on the mainland. So Tyre consisted at first of two parts.

However the Bible prophesied the destruction of the whole of Tyre, namely in Isaiah 23, Jeremiah 25: 22, Ezekiel 26, 27 and 28, Amos 1: 10 and Zechariah 9: 2, 3 and 4. (There is thus abundantly prophesied about Tyre!). At that time that can have sounded incredibly, especially after the failed attempt of Nebuchadnezzar. But if God predicts something, it happens also! In the year 333 B.C. the Greek king Alexander the Great tried again to conquer Tyre. And this time he succeeded! How did he do that? By making a dam between the island and the coast. He had his thousands of soldiers throw earth, sand, stones and rubbish into the sea, just as long until there was a solid connection to the island. And then he could take Tyre! Thus the prophecies concerning Tyre came to fulfilment!

Even all the details of the biblical prophecy came true. There is for example written in Ezekiel 26: 12, second part:

"and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water."

This is exactly what happened, when the army of Alexander the Great used the ruins of the part of Tyre, that was at first on the mainland, to make the dam unto the island..

Why did God bring this heavy judgment on Tyre? Initially Tyre was, just like Jerusalem, a center of world trade. The trade route by sea was over Tyre and the trade route by land was over Jerusalem. However when Jerusalem was about to be conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, the inhabitants of Tyre exulted. For now there would go even more trade through their island. But this malicious joy was evil in the sight of God. And for that he brought also destruction over Tyre.

5. Cyrus, who gave back to the Jews their freedom

Map of the Persian empire of King Cyrus

The empire of King Cyrus and his successors. The later empire of Alexander the Great had approximately the same size.

The above mentioned Alexander the Great was the founder of the Greek-Macedonian Empire, briefly called the Greek or Hellenistic Empire. That empire was preceded by the empire of the Medes and Persians (as explained in section 3), briefly called the Persian Empire. The founder of that Persian Empire was Cyrus. About him the Bible prophesied in Isaiah 45:

1. Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
2. I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
3. And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
4. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
5. I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
6. That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

God used this Persian king, who did not know Him, to bring the people of Israel, that had been carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, back to the home country, so that the Jews could rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. After the prophecy was fulfilled, they let read this to King Cyrus. And that could appreciate this king!

6. The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in the year 70 of our era

The triumphal arch of emperor Titus

The inscription on the triumphal arch of emperor Titus

Image on the triumphal arch of emperor Titus: The temple treasures are being carried to Rome

Picture 1 of these 3: The triumphal arch in honor of emperor Titus. Picture 2 of these 3: The inscription at the top, seen from near. Picture 3 of these 3: Another detail of the arch: The temple treasures are being carried to Rome.

The temple which the Jews had built after the Babylonian exile was not so impressive. He actually looked poor, compared to the previous temple of Solomon, which the Babylonians had destroyed. King Herod, who ruled over the land of Israel from 37 B.C. to 4 B.C., wanted to do something to that. He was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau, but the Romans had crowned him in Rome king of the Jews, though he remained under the rule of Rome. Among the Jews he was not loved. They noticed that he was not a Jew at all in his heart. This was totally evident when he, towards the end of his life, ordered to kill in Bethlehem all small children until two years. In this way he hoped to slay also the Child Jesus. But Mary and Joseph had already fled with Him to Egypt.

Herod had the temple thoroughly renovated and made a brilliant beautiful building of it. Thus he hoped to obtain the favor of the Jews. This was not so successful, but the Jews saw the new temple as beautiful. This is also evident from what the disciples of the Lord Jesus said to Him later. We read in Matthew 24: 1:

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

But the Savior reacted others than His followers had expected. Verse 2:

And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

That was considerable shocking! But not only the temple, also the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed. This we read in Luke 21: 20-24:

20. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
21. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
22. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
24. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

All these prophecies are fulfilled when the Roman emperor Titus conquered and destroyed Jerusalem in the year 70. The Jews had rebelled against the Romans. But these did not accept this and sent an army. The consequences were terrible. The beautiful temple was burned and many died. And the Jews who survived were scattered among all nations, as was predicted. The Romans took the temple treasures with them as booty. For Emperor Titus a triumphal arch was made in Rome. There was portrayed on it how the Romans carried the treasures of the temple to Rome.

When the temple was burned the gold with which the temple was decorated melted. The gold dripped between the stones and remained there. The Romans liked that gold very much and hacked the stones from each other to be able to win the gold as much as possible. Thus the words of the Lord Jesus were confirmed, Who had spoken in Matthew 24: 2: "There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

Some people say that this prophecy has not been fulfilled completely. For the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem remained still standing. This wall is considered by many as a wall of the former temple. But that is incorrect. The Wailing Wall is a remnant of the wall that surrounded the plateau, on which the temple stood. The prophecy that no stone would be left upon another was only meant for the temple. And that was indeed destroyed thoroughly. Titus had given intentionally order not to destroy The Wailing Wall. Then people could later see what immense walls the Romans could break down. This would be able to deter other nations from revolting also against the Romans.

As told before in Rome was made a triumphal arch. At the top of that arch was engraved: "SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS DIVO TITO DIVI VESPASIANI F(ilio) VESPASIANO AVGVSTO". That means: "The Senate and the people of Rome (dedicate this) to the divine Titus, son of the divine Vespasian, Vespasian the Exalted."

But the Romans were mistaken. Titus was not divine nor his father. They could only destroy Jerusalem and the temple because God used them for that, namely to punish the Jews for their sins, and especially because they caused the Romans to crucify their Messiah, the Lord Jesus. And yet God continued to love His people. In the year 1948 the State of Israel was established and the scattered Jews were allowed to return to their promised land!

7. The return of the Jews to their promised land Israel

The country of Israel

The country of Israel

In the book in the Bible of Deuteronomy, chapter 28 verse 15 and 64 we read: "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: ..... And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other."

This has been fulfilled also. In 586 BC. Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians led by King Nebuchadnezzar. And most Jews were deported to Babylon. It is true, about 70 years later the Jews were allowed by a decision of King Cyrus to return to their promised land and rebuild Jerusalem. But the Jews who actually returned were limited in number. In the year 70 Jerusalem was taken again and destroyed by the Romans led by Titus, as can be read in the previous point. And then the Jews were indeed scattered among all nations: Also in England, also in the United States, also in Africa, also in Portugal, etc., etc.

But fortunately the prophecy continues. In Deuteronomy 30: 3 we read: "Then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee."

Also that came true! So first after the so called Babylonian Exile, when King Cyrus gave the Jews permission to return to their country. But that was limited and only for the duration of about 650 years. However: In 1948 the prophecy has been fulfilled again! Then the present state of Israel was founded. Besides: At the end of the nineteenth century the Jews started already to return to the land of Israel.

And the fact that God Himself was behind it was proved very clearly, when the Jews were attacked time after time by an enormous predominance of power of the surrounding Arab countries. With God's help the Jews could knock down every enemy attack! God did even miracles. Once an army of tanks moved up to Israel to defeat Israel definitively. But then God caused that the Arab soldiers saw a much larger army of tanks against them. For that reason they drew back and Israel was saved. But in reality that great army of tanks at the side of Israel did not exist at all! God had only made that the Arabs observed this with their eyes and kept it for real. Thus God takes care always, that His prophetic Word is confirmed!

God had also predicted, that there would be much battle about Jerusalem. In Zechariah 12: 3 and 6 is written:

3. "And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
6. In that day will I make the governors of Judah (= the province in which Jerusalem is) like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem."

It is even so, that God preserved the land of Israel for the Jews almost 2000 years, until the Jews returned in 1948. In the previous centuries the Arabs tried to bring the country to flourish. But the country did not recognize them as it were. There came earthquakes, plagues of locusts, diseases, enemy armies, battles, etc. By this the land stayed desolate. But when the first Jewish colonists arrived in the country, God gave blessing on their work. Then the country could come to a flourishing state! And that happened too. The Jews have made desert areas to oases with God's help!

Further can be said, that God also already foresaw, that the Jews would return by plane. In Isaiah 60 is also foretold, that there would come a time of blessing and restoration for the people of Israel. Then there is written in verse 8 of this chapter: "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?" This is divine humor, for God knew of course very well, that it would be the Jewish people, who would come home by plane!

Returning by airplane "as the doves to their windows"

The miracle of the return of the Jews to the land of Israel becomes even greater for us, when we realize well how wonderful it is, that the Jews, who are exiled more than once from their country by enemy forces, never merged into the nations where they arrived. Other races, who were expelled from their country in the course of world history, assimilated with the nations among whom they came to live. They eventually mingled themselves completely with their new neighbors. Nothing was left of their own identity, character and orientation, because they, as it were, melted together with those other nations.

But concerning the Jews it was completely different! They continued to keep after their banishment, amid the other nations, during 2000 years, their own orientation, identity, tradition, faith and religion. This was very special and can only be explained by the knowledge that God Himself worked it out! And when the Jews finally returned to the land of Israel, they even accepted the Hebrew (the language of their Bible, for the Christians the Old Testament) as their national language! This was even more remarkable!

Not only Christians and Jews noted, how special it was that the Jewish people were not mixed with the other nations, also people who did not believe in God noticed this and had no explanation for it. Even the great Jew-hater Adolf Hitler wrote in his book "Mein Kampf":

"In almost no nation in the world the survival instinct has been developed so strongly as in the so-called "elects". The survival of this race is the best proof of it. Which nation has been exposed in the last two thousand years to so few changes of inner nature, character, etc., as the Jewish people? What nation has been affected by greater disasters than this people and nevertheless has come out unchanged?"

It is true that Hitler wrote: "In almost no nation in the world ....". But in his heart he believed: "What happened to the Jews is unmatched!" Further he spoke of "survival instinct", because he did not want to take God's guidance and governance into consideration. Nevertheless he had a strong presentiment, that very special forces were working in the history of Israel, and still are. Those forces he called "a certain fate .... with an eternal and incontestable precision". And these thoughts filled him so much with fear, namely that the Jews would take the whole world into possession, that he finally decided to exterminate the Jewish people. Six million Jewish victims were the result of it.

But he did not succeed in exterminating the people. And just 3 years after his very miserable death (almost sure he committed suicide) the state of Israel was established! Many countries attacked Israel then at the same time. But Israel defeated them all! For God fought for His people. And who can withstand God?

The establishment of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. David ben Gurion reads here the Declaration of Independence. Above hangs the portrait of Theodor Herzl (1860-1904). He wrote already in 1896 (in response to the anti-Semitism, the hatred against Jews) a book about a Jewish State. Furthermore in 1897 he organized the first World Zionist Congress in Basle, and was elected as the first president of the World Zionist Organization. Therefore Herzl is seen as the actual founder of the State of Israel.