WRW Mattfeld

A common staple of Christianity is the explanation of "Failed Prophecies" as
not really failed, God has not fulfiled them because they are intended for
another time or period, usually interpreted by Christian exegeis as "this
current age".

The problem with this line of reasoning though is that the Bible suggests
that prophecies were intended to be fulfilled within the lifetime of the
listening audience, not thousands of years into the future as frequently
maintained by various Christian groups (Catholic and Protestant).

The biblical text acknowledges that false prophets did exist. The people
asked "How are we to know whether or not a prophet has truly spoken the
words of God ?" The biblical text gives a simple answer, if the prophecy
doesn't come about, that prophet has spoken presumptuously, and is not to be
feared, and will die for this presumptuousness.


Deut 18:20-22, RSV,


"But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name which I have not
commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same
prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart, 'How may we know the word
which the Lord has not spoken ?'- when a prophet speaks in the name of the
Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word which
the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you need
not be afraid of him."

Now, if God DID NOT INTEND to fulfil this prophecy within the lifetime of
the listening audience, how are they to know that this is really God
speaking through a true or a false prophet ?

For example, Jeremiah prophecized that Babylon would be utterly destroyed,
her walls would be razed, and she was to be submerged beneath the waters of
the Euphrates (Just as Sennacherib did to the city ca. 689 BCE). Yet this
event never happened. Babylon was also to be abandoned and no man would live
there. Now this prophecy was allegedly given by Jeremiah ca. 587 BCE, and it
was to be fulfiled within a space of 70 years.

Babylon was never destroyed, her walls were never razed, and she was not
submerged beneath the waters of the Euphrates never to rise again as a city.
Priests lived in Babylon as late as the 1st century CE (clay tablets found
in the city attesting to priests still serving the Babylonian gods).
Parthians and Sassanians also dwelt in the city ca. 300 BCE to 600 CE. Arabs
then lived in the city, creating several small villages from Babylon's baked
bricks, Koldeway noting four Arab villages within the city walls when he
came to excavate it for the German Archaeological Institute at the turn of
the 20th century.

Now some Christians would have us believe God did not fulfil his prophecy
because it was intended for our age. Just think of all the "chumps" back in
587 BCE who were patiently waiting for a sign from God that Jeremiah was a
true prophet and not a false prophet, looking forward to the day they would
witness the destruction and abandonment of the city.

Obviously Jeremiah's contemporaries must have come to realize he was a
"false prophet" because his predictions did not come to pass in their life
times. If one wants to argue this is because God intends the prophecy is
for"our age", then God has played a "cruel joke" on his people, when he told
them to wait for a sign (fulfilment of the prophecy) to know for sure if the
prophet was false or not.

The bottom line in all this is that Christianity has employed a flawed
methodology, in my opinion, regarding Old Testament prophecies. They
"excuse" the failed prophecies by claiming they were intended two thousand
years into the future for our age. What nonsense ! The prophecies were
intended to be fulfiled within the lifetimes of the listening audience, to
assure them these were God's words.

All the best, Walter

offa

Offa;
Which Babylon? Which Euphrates River? The authors of Scripture used psuedo-names. What did Sennacherib do in 689 b.c.? A prophecy is only accurate after-the-fact so a prophet uses ambiguity in his prophecies after-the-fact.

WRW Mattfeld

Cf. the following articles about "failed prophecies". Evidently many prophecies WERE NOT after the fact, because so many are failed pronostications.

<a href="http://www.bibleorigins.net/FailedPropheciesDateTexts.html" target="_blank">http://www.bibleorigins.net/FailedPropheciesDateTexts.html</a>
Dating Biblical Texts via Failed Prophecies


<a href="http://www.bibleorigins.net/BabylonvsProphets.html" target="_blank">http://www.bibleorigins.net/BabylonvsProphets.html</a>
The Failed Prophecies Concerning Babylon
made by Isaiah and Jeremiah

All the best, Walter

Butters

Originaly posted by Offa,

Offa;
Which Babylon? Which Euphrates River?

What evidence do you have for more than one?

The authors of Scripture used psuedo-names. What did Sennacherib do in 689 b.c.?

A prophecy is only accurate after-the-fact so a prophet uses ambiguity in his prophecies after-the-fact.

What the hell is this supposed to mean?