Isaiah 46:9-10
“Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. 10 I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.'”
I happened to be listening to a short video on the importance of prophecy yesterday, and in it, the speakers pointed out why many prominent atheists tend to date books like Daniel and the Gospel of Mark much later than Christian Bible teachers say. For instance, many atheists argue that the Gospel of Mark has a later date for writing, most likely after 70 AD. Most Christian Bible teachers place the writing around about 50 AD. First, the 50 AD means that Mark, the first Gospel, was written about 20 years after the events took place. Mark, as we know, was not an eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry. Rather, he was Peter’s traveling companion and wrote down what he had heard from him. In Mark 13:1-2, we see this prophecy:
“Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!’ And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.'”
This prophecy was so well fulfilled according to history in 70 AD that it is impossible for atheists to reconcile with their view that there is no God. But if the early dating is true, only God, One who is outside time and all-knowing, could have spoken these things; and thus, Jesus is God. I have heard many atheists, and they are online in droves stating that all of the Torah is simply a myth. No Creation, no Moses, no Exodus, no Abraham, etc., these are simply made-up stories. They propose that they are to be trusted more than the three religions of the world that are based on the reality of Abraham’s existence. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all depend on the truth of the Torah. We may each see it differently, but each religion is based on the truth of the Torah.
The same can be said for books like Daniel. Atheists often date this book much later than when Daniel was in captivity because the prophecies are so accurate that only two conclusions exist: there is an all-knowing God, or the books were written long after the accepted dates, and they are recounting the events as prophecy. Their presupposition is that there is no God, thus a later writing. We believe there to be an all-knowing God who can tell the future, so we can accept the earlier dating. We all live by faith, and only one group of us is right. Daniel 11 is so accurate about the future that it authenticates the entire Bible.
I invite you to read the article “Daniel 11: The Most Detailed Prophecy in the Bible.” [CLICK HERE to visit the article.] David Treybig, who wrote the attached article, had this to say near the end of it: When we consider the many prophetic details of Daniel 11 that were fulfilled as predicted, we can have confidence that the remaining prophecies of this chapter and others in the Bible that are yet to be fulfilled will likewise occur as God has ordained.
We can have confidence that the Bible is trustable and that our faith is sure and secure because of fulfilled prophecy. We can be sure that there is an omnipotent God who knows the end from the beginning as our verses at the top state. Nothing escapes Him, and there is never a surprise with Him. Nothing surprises our God; nothing.
There are many prophecies yet to be fulfilled, and we can be sure that they will come to fruition in the same deliberate manner that all of the others have been. There will be a rapture; there will be a judgment; there will be a worldwide government that tries to suppress and rule the masses; there will be a ruler that tries to control everything and gets a treaty with the Jews and the other Middle East cohorts. He will allow them to rebuild the temple and bring death like never before.
At the same time, God will pour out His wrath on an unrepentant and rebellious people like never before. Jesus will return; He will judge the wicked; He will rule for 1,000 years; He will defeat the devil and his minions, and He will bring in everlasting peace. We can be certain of the future because God has told us the past, and He has never been wrong.
These atheist fellows sound so sincere; they state that they promote ‘fact over faith’ or ‘data over dogma.’ But they live by faith that there is no god as much as we live by faith that there is a God. They love to make fun of our faith, treat us as simpletons, and maybe we are. It takes foolish people in the eyes of the world to believe that God is real and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Atheists would have you believe that Christians cannot be learned and be true scientists, but look at men like Dr. John Lennox of Oxford, C.S Lewis from Cambridge Dr. William Craig, Ken Ham from the Creation Museum, and there are many more like Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, Sir Robert Boyd, Edward Nelson, and there are hundreds more; just Google Christians who are scientists as well. You will see lists of names going back centuries. Christians expected there to be order in the universe because God is a God of order; and thus, they went looking and found the order.
There are stories of people who claimed to once be ‘Christian,’ but now they are atheists. I saw one prominent atheist say that reading the Bible made him an atheist and that it is the Bible that creates a lot of atheists. But there are many more stories of men and women who went looking to deny God and found Him, none more prominent than Lee Strobel. In Psalm 19:1-3, we see these words that will be used to judge the whole world:
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.”
Creation is God’s greatest revelation to us, and this is why atheists must decry the Torah and call it into question. They deny the flood and God’s wrath. They cannot reconcile a Holy and a Loving God who exists as one at the same time and who is perfect. God required a human sacrifice to pay for sin, so He sent His Son, Jesus, whose birth we shall soon celebrate, to be the Man who died for all mankind.
For 1,500 years, he allowed us to sacrifice animals as temporary stop-gaps until the time for Jesus to come and be born. At that time, our Holy God lovingly poured out His wrath on His Son so that you and I, our sons and daughters, our wives and husbands, and our friends, can be saved forever and never have to fear death and what is on the other side.
I honestly pray that these men and women who ‘study’ the Bible and yet miss the God of the Bible will have their eyes opened and come to humble repentance before it is too late and their faith is proven wrong for eternity. I am content to trust the God who can tell me the end from the beginning.
Merry Christmas!
God bless you,
Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
How To Connect With Us
In-person: every Sunday (10:30 am) at Bethany Baptist Church 70 Victoria Street, Elora, ON
Online: https://mmbchurch.ca/
Email: seangooding@mmbchurch.ca
Join us on Zoom every Sunday (10:30 am) for Sunday Service AND every Tuesday at 8:00 pm for Bible Study: Meeting ID: 700 794 460 Passcode: 032661; https://us02web.zoom.us/j/700794460?pwd=M3NFRG91ZW5Sa2Z3amVyWkFnYXd6QT09