God knows it allLesson for Sunday, October 8, 2017

INTRODUCTION (Option #1): Write on the board, “How much does God know?” When I say the word prophecy, what comes to mind? We mainly think of it as a prophet making

predictions of the future, but it means much more. Any statement that is given through a prophet can be called a prophecy, or a proclamation of

God’s words. Today we will look at prophecies that predict the future, but that is not the only dimension of

prophecy.

INTRODUCTION (Option #2): What do different religions have in common? Allow for discussion. Various religions share certain qualities. One common characteristic is that most religions have

some kind of “holy book.” Ex: Koran, Book of Mormon, etc. We have the Bible. The question we must be able to answer for the world is: What makes the Bible unique?

o Allow for some brief discussion about what separates God’s Word…o Point out that one outstanding quality is all the fulfilled prophecies contained in the

Bible. Today we will look at some examples…

1. The Prophecy of 1 Kings 13:1-7a. Observe God’s Word

i. Background: Jeroboam was the first king of Israel. He built 2 golden calves as gods for Israel to worship instead of going to the Temple in Jerusalem, and set a feast day to dedicate the calves. Let’s see how God responded? (Read text.)

ii. Who is the “man of God” mentioned in vs. 1? Never identified – common term for prophet in the Old Testament.

iii. Why did he go to Bethel, in Israel, from Judah? God directed him to go there.iv. What was Jeroboam doing? Offering incense on the altar.v. What are 3 specific claims of the prophecy delivered by the man of God? A king

named Josiah from the line of David will be born; he will sacrifice the high priests on the altar; dead men’s bones will be burned on the altar. Pretty specific, huh?

vi. What is the sign of the assurance of the prophecy? The altar would be split, spilling its ashes.

vii. What other sign of the authority of the messenger was shown? Jeroboam’s hand was withered when he raised it against the prophet.

viii. Did the sign come to pass? Yes, indicating the prophecy must come to pass.ix. When was this prophecy made? Early part of Jeroboam’s reign – around 975 BC.x. Was this prophecy fulfilled? Read 2 Kings 23:15-20.

xi. How accurate was the prophecy? Happened exactly as prophesied.xii. How much time had passed between the prophecy and its fulfillment? Josiah

reigned from 641 to 610 BC. 2 Kings 22:3 tells us that these events happened in the 18th year of Josiah, so around 623 BC. About 300 years after the prophecy.

b. Interpret the Truthi. No way this could have been a lucky guess, is there? Amazingly clear prophecy!

ii. What attribute of God is displayed in delivering this prophecy? Omniscient.iii. What attribute of God is displayed in bringing the prophecy to pass? Sovereign –

he directed the events to bring this very specific prophecy to pass.

ACTIVITY: DO THIS! God vs. Nostradamus – use info from book along with study sheet

2. Another Example - Isaiah 44:28 – 45:7a. Observe God’s Word

i. Who is the king identified in this passage? Cyrus.ii. Was Cyrus a follower of God? No, v 4 says Cyrus had not known God.

iii. What was God going to give to Cyrus? Lands, people, riches.iv. What decree was Cyrus going to make? Vs. 28: he would make a proclamation

that Jerusalem would be rebuilt and that the foundation of the Temple would be laid.

v. When was this prophecy made? Probably close to 700 BC – can’t be certain.vi. So, this prophecy was announced even before Jerusalem needed to be rebuilt or

the Temple had been torn down. Jerusalem would be intact until 588 BC.vii. Read Ezra 1:1-4. We are turning backward in our Bibles, but moving forward in

history. (The Bible is not arranged in chronological order.)viii. How was the prophecy fulfilled? King Cyrus of Persia recognized that God had

given him his kingdoms and he sent the Jews back to rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem.

ix. Why did Cyrus make this decree? The Lord stirred his spirit to do so.x. What other prophet is mentioned? Jeremiah 25 & 29 – Isaiah much more

specific.xi. When was this decree made? The first year of King Cyrus, so 537 BC, over 150

years after it was prophesied.

Applying God’s Word Some will set aside the miraculous nature of these texts and tell you that an editor went back

and added in these details after the events happened. You can believe them, or you can trust that God is indeed the author of these texts and of all of history.

These same types of prophecy point us from the Old Testament to the New Testament, such as Isaiah pointing to a coming Savior, and Micah pointing to the Savior’s humble birth.

Does the fulfillment of the prophecies prove that the Bible is true? Better way to say it – they are great confirmations of the truthfulness of Scripture.

In what ways does the study encourage you? (Discuss) If someone were to claim that the Bible only makes specific predictions because later editors

filled in those details, how would you respond? If someone were to claim that the Bible and the predictions made in it were no different than

those of people like Nostradamus, how would you respond? (Ask – have they ever read a prophecy from Nostradamus? Most have not. Open the Bible – show them a specific prophecy and its fulfillment. Do they still want to put these differing “prophecies” in the same class?)

Do you trust these passages as prophesying the future?