IN SEARCH OF TRUSTWORTHY PREDICTIONS

SOON after the Macedonian king who came to be known as Alexander the Great ascended the throne in 336 B.C.E., he visited the oracle of Delphi, in central Greece.  His ambitious plans for the future were nothing less than to conquer much of the world of that time.  But he desired divine assurance that  his tremendous undertaking would succeed.  According to legend, on the day he happened  to visit Delphi, it was not permissible to consult the oracle.  Not wanting to leave without an answer, Alexander insisted, forcing the priestess to give a prediction:  "Oh, child,  you are invincible!" The young king took that as a favorable omen-one promising a victorious military campaign.

However, Alexander would have been much better informed about the outcome of his campaign if he had examined prophecies found in the Bible book of Daniel.  With remarkable accuracy, they foretold his speedy conquests.  Tradition has it that Alexander  eventually got an opportunity  to see what Daniel had recorded about him.  According to the Jewish historian Josephus, when the Macedonian king entered Jerusalem, he was show Daniel's prophecy-presumably chapter 8 of that book.  (Daniel 8:5-8, 20, 21)  Reportedly, because of this, the city was spared by Alexander's destructive armies.

Next time: An Inherent Human Need

Watchtower, 2000