Trustworthy Prophecy

 Only Jehovah God, the Author of the Bible, can unfailingly predict the future. Note, for example, what he inspired  Jeremiah to foretell concerning two Egyptian cities-Memphis and Thebes. Memphis, or Noph, was once a prominent commercial, political, and religious center. Yet, God said: "Noph itself will become a mere object of astonishment and will actually be set afire, so as to be without an inhabitant." (Jeremiah 46:19) And so it turned out. The book in the Steps of Moses the Lawgiver says that "the titanic ruins of Memphis" were pillaged by Arah conquerors, who used them as a quarry. It adds that today, "within the circuit of the ancient city not a stone protrudes above the black soil."

Thebes, earlier called no-amon or just No, suffered a similar fate, along with its impotent gods. Concerning this onetime capital of Egypt and principal center of the worship of the god Amon, Jehovah said: "Here I am turning my attention upon Amon . . . and upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt and upon her gods . . . And I will give them into . . .the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon." (Jeremiah 45:25, 26) As prophesied the Babylonian Monarch conquered Egypt and its prominent city of no-amon. Then, after Persian ruler Cambyses II dealt another blow to the city in 525 B.C.E., it steadily declined, finally being completely ruined by the Romans. Yes, accurate prophecy puts the Bible in a class of its own, giving us confidence in what it says about our future.

Next time: A Hope You Can Trust

From the jw.org publications