No 18

(The Bible’s Chronology)

The Bible is not primarily a book of prophecy but it does contain prophecy; several of which have been realized within its own chronology. We will look at some of some of the main ones. In Genesis 3:15, the Bible says “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This is a direct prophecy about the Saviour, Jesus Christ. A prophecy regarding the children of God, Israel is found in Genesis 12:2, 3 “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” This prophecy is repeated several times in Genesis. The last verses of Isaiah 52 and the whole of Isaiah 53 speak of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross. The book of Daniel contains many prophecies regarding the kingdoms of the world and how they work out in God’s plan for humanity. They are so precise that many thought that Daniel wrote them after the events had happened. There are some prophecies that were not only realized within the Bible’s chronology but were specifically referred to in the New Testament by various people; the strongest one of these is when Peter referred to Christ’s resurrection by quoting David in Psalm 16:10 in Acts 2: 25-27: “For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.“ There are many, many others and time does not permit but the Bible is a treasure of prophecies and promises that the Creator gave us; rest assured, He will fulfill them all.