Atheist's Attacks
Answering Humanist's Accusations Against the Bible
The Bible and Supposed False Prophecy
Was Damascus destroyed?
THE HUMANIST'S CLAIMS: Isaiah 17:1-2 prophesies that Damascus would cease to be a city, become a heap of ruins, and remain forever desolate. Yet some 27 centuries after the prediction was made, Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the world and is still going strong.
Damascus still stands. Does that mean Isaiah 17 is a false prophecy? Here is what Isaiah wrote:
1 - The oracle concerning Damascus.
“Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city
And will become a fallen ruin.
2 - “The cities of Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks to lie down in,
And there will be no one to frighten them.
But wait, does this prophecy say that Damascus will remain a ruin forever? No, it does not. It just says it will be completely destroyed
Damascus was destroyed by the Assyrians in 732 B.C. It was made into a heap of ruins. It ceased to be a city... for a while. That is what the prophecy said would happen. This prophecy does not say Damascus will be a ruin forever.
Conclusion
We need to be careful not to read more into scripture than what is there. This prophecy was perfectly and completely fulfilled. Then Damascus was rebuilt and continues to exist today.
Next Prophecy:
Jeremiah 25:11 predicts the Jews would be captives in Babylon for 70 years, and II Chronicles 36:20-21 views the prophecy as fulfilled. But the Jews were taken into captivity by the Chaldeans when Jerusalem fell in 586 B.C.E. And Cyrus of Persia issued an order in 538 B.C.E. allowing them to return from Babylon to Judah. Thus, the Babylonian captivity lasted about 48 years.
How long was the Babylonia captivity... was it really 70 years? Click here for the answer.
THE GOSPEL
OF JESUS CHRIST
The gospel is not social justice nor serving others. The gospel is love in action... Jesus Christ giving Himself so that you can be saved from the wrath of God.
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. - 1 Corinthians 15:1-8