Did Prophets Speak as Moved By Their God?

from Bill Henness


The second most important scripture to fundamentalists and their faith is:
"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not at any time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." (II Pet. 1:20,21)

First, a word of explanation. Because of the context of these verses, it is only referring to prophecy, and not every word in the entire Bible, as most fundies say. And also, the context shows it is only speaking of prophecy in the O.T.; the N.T. not having been written yet.

This work will show, to anyone who will reason, that many of the "prophecies" that were spoken (or written) by "holy men of God", could not have spoken "as they were moved by the Holy Spirit", because their prophecies did not come to pass, thus making them false prophets.

The examples I will give are only a fraction of the false prophecies. Also, I will not give the more lengthy ones. My knowledge of history is limited so I will show only the false prophecies that I remember from history.

1. The prophecy
"Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Go and speak to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and tell him,... and thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shall surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon... thou shalt not die by the sword, but thou shalt die in peace; and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings who were before thee, so shall they burn odors for thee, and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord!: (Jer. 34:2-5)
What actually happened?
"So they took the king (Zedikiah) and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him, and they slew the sons of Zedikiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedikiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon." (II Kings 25:6,7)
"... and put him in prison till the day of his death." (Jer. 52:11)
They could not have honored him with burnings because all the princes were killed, most of the people carried away to Babylon, and only a few poor left in the land. Beside this, Zedikiah was the one that caused all this by not obeying the king of Babylon. How could he have died in peace?

2. The prophecy
"... He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever... And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever." (II Sam. 7"11-16)
"... David shall never lack a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.: and, "Neither shall the priests, the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually." (Jer. 33:17,18)
What actually happened?
There were 600 years from the time of the last king of Israel (Zedikiah) until the time of Jesus, (if you say Jesus was David's successor), when David did in fat, "lack a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel", beside this, since the time of Zedikiah there have been no "priests to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings and to do sacrifices continually."

3. The prophecy
"Therefore, thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David;..." (Jer. 36:30)
What actually happened?
"So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son, reigned in his stead." (II Kings 24:6)

4. The prophecy
"Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities; thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of it's stakes shall ever be removed, neither shall any of it's cords be broken." (Isa. 33:20)
What actually happened?
In 70 A.D., Titus completely destroyed Jerusalem.

5. The prophecy
"..., O Jerusalem, the holy city; for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean." (Isa. 52:1)
What actually happened?
Continually, for thousands of years, uncircumcised and unclean people have come into Jerusalem, even to this day.

6. The prophecy
"And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called anymore Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel." (Gen. 35:10)
What actually happened?
Throughout the rest of the Bible, Jacob is called by his name "Jacob", 240 times. Even at his death, his old name, "Jacob", is used.

7. The prophecy
"For this is like the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth (angry) with thee (Israel), nor rebuke thee." (Isa. 54:9)
What actually happened?
Isaiah said this in the 8th. Century B.C., however, in the 7th. Century B.C., Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Nahum and Zephaniah: in the 6th. Century B.C., Ezekiel, Obadiah, Haggai, Lamentations, Daniel and Zechariah; in the 5th. Century B.C., Malachi; and in the 1st. Century A.D., Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; all have God angry and rebuking Israel.

8. The prophecy
"And I (God) will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth; and no oppressor shall pass through them any more; for now have I seen with mine eyes." (Zech. 9:8)
What actually happened?
This prophecy was made in the 5th. Century B.C. There have been many oppressors pass through Israel since then.

9. The prophecy
There is a lengthy prophecy about the total destruction of the city Tyre, by Ezekiel. To save time and space I will give only the important parts.
"...; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock." (Ez. 26:3,4)
"..., like the cities that are not inhabited;..." "That thou be not inhabited;..." "...; and thou shalt be no more; though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the LORD God." (Ez. 26:19-21)
What actually happened?
"..., and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him." (Mark 3:8)
"..., and sailed unto Syria, and landed at Tyre;..." (Acts 21:3)

10. The prophecy
"And Joshua burned Ai, and made it an heap forever, even a desolation unto this day." (Josh. 8:28)
What actually happened?
700 years later.
"Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird yourselves with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together." (Jer. 49:3)
200 years later still.
"The men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred twenty and three." (Ezra 2:28)

11. The prophecy
"And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land; and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principle men. And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances of it; thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders." (Micah 5:5,6)
What actually happened?
No one delivered Israel from the Assyrians. In fact, the Assyrians took back to Assyria most of the people and left only a few poor there. The 10 tribes of Israel were completely dissolved and lost their identity completely.

12. The prophecy
"... Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap." (Isa. 17:1)
What actually happened?
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Damascus, which is one of the oldest cities in the world, has been continuously inhabited and is the only city in Palestine that has never been completely destroyed. Never has it been a ruinous heap.

14. The prophecy
"And now art thou cursed from the earth,...; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee it's strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." (Gen. 4:11,12)
What actually happened?
"And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod,... And Cain knew his wife;... and he builded a city,..." (Gen. 4:16,17)

15. The prophecy
"And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full with the blessing of the LORD, possess thou the west and the south." (Deut. 33:23)
What actually happened?
Naphtali's land portion was given to her in the north eastern location of Israel.

16. The prophecy
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Gen. 3:15)
What actually happened?
This is supposed to be a prophecy of Jesus and Satan. Satan, if he exists, is just as strong today as ever.

17. The prophecy
"The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall harken." (Deut. 18:15)
What actually happened?
Christians believe Jesus was that prophet. When did the Jews harken to Jesus? They still do not.

18. The prophecy
"But when they persecute you in this city, flee into another; for verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the son of man be come." (Matt. 10:23)
What actually happened?
Nothing!

19. The prophecy
"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (John 12:32)
What actually happened?
Not all are drawn to Jesus; millions haven't even heard about him.

20. The prophecy
"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matt. 12:40)
What actually happened?
Start with Sunday morning before day brake, and count back three nights and three days. Jesus was allegedly crucified on Friday and buried before sundown.

21. The prophecy
"Verily I say unto you, there are some standing here, who shall not taste of death, till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom." (Matt. 16:28)
What actually happened?
Nothing in 2,000 years now.

22. The prophecy
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my father." (John 14:12)
What actually happened?
No one has done all, or in part, the works that the Bible reports Jesus having done, much less greater works than those.

23. The prophecy
"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." (Rom. 16:20)
What actually happened?
The Christians in Rome suffered intense persecutions until 312 A.D. That's 255 years of persecution. Several generations lived and died without seeing peace. Shortly? Ha!

24. The prophecy
"Behold, I come quickly;..." (Rev. 3:11) "Behold I come quickly..." (Rev. 22:7) "And, behold, I come quickly,..." (Rev. 22:12) "He who testifieth these things saith, Surely, I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus." (Rev. 22:20)
What actually happened?
Nothing! The word "quickly" means shortly, I.e. without delay, soon. (# 5035) in 2,000 years now he has not come.

25. The prophecy
"And whatever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the father may be glorified in the son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." (John 14:13,14)
"And all things, whatever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." (Matt. 21:22)
What actually happened?
You do not get whatever you ask for. It is not done. You do not receive whatever nor all that you ask for. It is a lie.

These are only 25 false prophecies, although there are many more, these should show that the ones who gave the prophecies were false prophets, and that they were not so "holy", and that there was no holy spirit moving them to speak.

Bill Henness