Today, I looked at the newsfeed on my laptop and noticed the weather report. It said, “Heavy rain in about 1 hour.” When looking at the weather we’ve been having this week, I probably could have guessed it was going to rain again. It still amazes me that we are now accurate up to the hour of when the rain will stop or start.
We put a lot of trust into the weatherman. We make plans for our weekends and holidays based on their predictions. But every now and then, they disappoint us, and the farther out they try to look, the more often it happens.
Man cannot know the future for certain. As King Solomon put it, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring” (Prov. 27:1). However, there is one source with a perfect record of prediction: the Bible. Throughout Scripture we find prophecy after prophecy being fulfilled just as described. So, if the future is hidden from man, then we know that the Bible came from God.
In Ezekiel chapter 26, there is a great example of the reliability of Biblical prophecy. In this passage, Ezekiel predicted the fate of the city of Tyre. First, he said it would be destroyed (v. 4). Then, he named the person who would bring about the destruction: Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (v. 7). Finally, he predicted that it would never be rebuilt (v. 14). This is an incredible claim! To get all of these details right would truly be a miracle.
According to Charles H. Dyer in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, “After defeating Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar moved his army north to Tyre in 585 B.C.” In verse 1, Ezekiel tells us the prophecy came “In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me…” The eleventh year refers to the exile of Jehoiakim, King of Judah. This sets the year to 587-586 B.C.
This means that Ezekiel accurately predicted that Babylon would attack Tyre one or two years before it happened! Moreover, he prophesied correctly that they would win. History shows us that Nebuchadnezzar’s victory wouldn’t come for another thirteen years! The only way Ezekiel could have known this is if he learned it from God.
One hour passed since I read that weather report and the rain had not started. No one doubts that a weatherman will get things wrong from time to time. The farther out they try to look, the less accurate they are. To this day, Tyre has not been rebuilt. Ezekiel’s prophecy remains fulfilled 2,609 years later. There is no earthly explanation for his accuracy. The only explanation is that the Bible came from God.