What Is Prophecy?
from the August 22, 2006 eNews issue by Chuck Missler

This book that we call the Bible actually consists of 66 different books that were assembled over the better part of 2,000 years. They were penned by more than 40 writers, most of whom did not even know each other. Yet as we examine these 66 books, we discover that we have in our possession an integrated message system in which every detail is anticipated by deliberate, skillful design. This does not simply mean that there's a theme of the Old Testament that is fulfilled in the New Testament. Far greater than that, we discover that every detail, every number, every place name, even the structure hidden beneath the text evidences a master plan and master design that goes vastly beyond the knowledge of any of its contributors. It anticipates events, places, and historic episodes that the authors had no way of knowing thousands of years in advance.

This master plan is the fingerprint of the real Author, God Himself, and it demonstrates that the origin of these 66 books came from outside our time domain. This is what we are dealing with when we talk about prophecy. Prophecy is not just a curiosity. It is a demonstration that God is real, that He cares, and that He has chosen to reveal to us in advance what He is all about, what His plan is for the world, and what His plan is for you and me personally - and it's all in the Bible in one integrated package.

This integrated package consists of two parts: the Old and New Testaments. The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed; the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed. The Old Testament closes with unfulfilled yearnings, unfulfilled prophecies and incomplete promises. The New Testament completes the Old Testament and ties it all together.

Further, Jesus gave us a guiding principle with regard to scripture that is often overlooked. Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matthew 5: 17-18). That phrase refers to a "jot," the smallest Hebrew letter about the size of an apostrophe, and a "tittle," the little decorative hook or serif on some Hebrew letters. So Jesus was saying that not the smallest letter or even the smallest part of a letter shall pass away until all is fulfilled. The Messiah Himself underscores that we are to take the Word of God very seriously.

By the reckoning of some, the Scriptures include 8,362 verses containing 1,817 predictions concerning more than 700 different matters. Of these, there are more than 300 prophecies dealing with the coming Messiah. The odds of one person fulfilling just eight of those prophecies is equivalent to covering the state of Texas with silver dollars two feet deep, marking just one of the silver dollars, mixing them up in such a way that the marked coin could be anywhere, and then reaching back in at random and drawing out that one marked silver dollar. Obviously, that would be pretty unlikely! Even more astonishing is the fact that Jesus fulfilled, not just eight, but all of the hundreds of prophecies about the Messiah.

Throughout the Bible we find the fingerprints of a supernatural message system. Numerous design features in the Biblical text defy coincidence and demonstrate that the Bible is an integrated message system. Because God exists outside our space-time domain, He is able to see, in effect, the beginning and the end of our time domain simultaneously. Consequently, the Bible authenticates that its message is of extra-dimensional origin through predictive prophecy.