History Masquerading As History?

If the Bible prophets -including Isaiah-merely rewrote history to look like prophecy, then these men were nothing more than clever frauds. But what would be their motive for such trickery? True prophets readily made it known that they could not be bribed. ( 1 Samuel 12:3; Daniel 5:17) And we have already considered compelling evidence that the Bible writers (many of whom were prophets) were trustworthy men who were willing to reveal even their own embarrassing errors. It seems unlikely that men of this sort would be inclined to commit elaborate frauds, disguising history as prophecy.

There is something else to consider. Many Bible prophecies contained scathing denunciations of the prophets' own people, which included the priests and rulers. Isaiah, for example, decried the deplorable moral condition of the Israelites-both leaders and people-in his day. (Isaiah 1:2-10) Other prophets forcefully exposed the sins of the priests. (Zephaniah 3:4; Malachi 2:1-9) It is difficult to conceive why they would fabricate prophecies that contained the sharpest censures imaginable against their own people and why the priests would have cooperated in such a ruse.

In addition, how could the prophets-if they were nothing more than imposters-have pulled off such a forgery? Literacy was encouraged in Israel. From an early age, children were taught how to read and write. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9) Private reading of the Scriptures was urged. (Psalm 1:2) There as a public reading of the Scriptures in the synagogues on the weekly Sabbath. (Acts 15:21) It seems improbable that an entire literate nation, well versed in the Scriptures, could have been deceived by such a hoax.

Besides, there is more to Isaiah's prophecy of Babylon's fall. Included in it is a detail that simply could not have been written after the fulfillment.

Next time: "She Will Never Be Inhabited"

A Book For All People, 1997