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A prophecy is a prediction about what will happen in the future, inspired by God or some supernatural force. It is probably the best way that God could be proven. However, there are some qualifications that a prediction must meet before we can decide it is the work of the supernatural. These qualifications are:

1) The prophecy must be proven to have been spoken before it was fulfilled. This is a major problem with Old Testament Prophecy. To prove that the prophecy wasn't written after the fact, one must find the earliest copy we have of a prophecy and carbon date it. That date must be sometime before the prophesied event occured. The Book of Daniel runs into this problem, as all evidence suggests it was written long after its alleged "predictions".

2) The prophecy must be specific. No vague, Nostradamus Style prophecy. The Book of Revelation runs into exactly this problem. The prophecies are so vague that they can have easily have many different "fulfillments". For instance, who is the beast of Revelation 13 (whose number is 666)? Some Fundamentalist Christians insist that it is the pope; Catholics believe it was Caesar Nero; and yet a few conpiracy theorists argue that it is Ronald Reagan! These symbloic prophecies are meaningless because they can be interpreted to fulfill anything that happens.

3) The prophecy must be of something that was not forseeable. For instance, a lot of people predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union, because they saw that it was a very unstable government. Yet we do not think of them as prophets. A prophecy must be something that few/none would have predicted when it was made.

The sad truth for Christians is that I have yet to find a prophecy that fulfills these three requirements. Even worse for them, the bible contains prophecies that were not fulfilled. Ezekiel 26 predicts that Nebudchadnezzar would destroy Tyre and make it "as a bare rock". Best of all, biblical scholars are in agreemnt that this book was written hundreds of years before Tyre was destroyed. Yet we know from history that it was Alexander the Great, not Nebudchadnezzar, who destroyed Tyre. Isaiah 19:5 predicts that the Nile River would dry up. And yet it never has. Now, some people may say that that prophecy is yet to come, but remember: These prophecies were about the people at that time.


http://www.godriddance.com/Prophecy.php

sschlichter

Well, that is a very bad definition of prophecy, but what the hell, I will bite.

(Isa 53:1) Who would have believed what we just heard?
When was the LORD's power revealed through him? (Isa 53:2) He sprouted up like a twig before God,
like a root out of parched soil;
he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention,
no special appearance that we should want to follow him. (Isa 53:3) He was despised and rejected by people,
one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;
people hid their faces from him;
he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. (Isa 53:4) But he lifted up our illnesses,
he carried our pain;
even though we thought he was being punished,
attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. (Isa 53:5) He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds,
crushed because of our sins;
he endured punishment that made us well;
because of his wounds we have been healed. (Isa 53:6) All of us had wandered off like sheep;
each of us had strayed off on his own path,
but the LORD caused the sin of all of us to attack him. (Isa 53:7) He was treated harshly and afflicted,
but he did not even open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,
like a sheep silent before her shearers,
he did not even open his mouth. (Isa 53:8) He was led away after an unjust trial -
but who even cared?
Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living;
because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded. (Isa 53:9) They intended to bury him with criminals,
but he ended up in a rich man's tomb,
because he had committed no violent deeds,
nor had he spoken deceitfully. (Isa 53:10) Though the LORD desired to crush him and make him ill,
once restitution is made,
he will see descendants and enjoy long life,
and the LORD's purpose will be accomplished through him. (Isa 53:11) Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,
he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done.
"My servant will acquit many,
for he carried their sins. (Isa 53:12) So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes,
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful,
because he willingly submitted to death
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened on behalf of the rebels."

1) Written long before it's fulfillment.
2) Written clearly and specificly.
3) Clearly not foreseeable that a man would be buried and later exalted.

~Steve