A Look at Human Predictions
“If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.” —Deut. 18:22 NIV
You say prophecy can’t be depended on, that all prophecy is just so many words? Maybe that is because you have been listening to human, self-appointed prophets.
Every January, newspaper headlines feature the predictions of leading psychics and world figures. The front page stories contain amazing forecasts of major disasters and key world events, as well as medical and scientific breakthroughs. They also contain a lot of speculative trivia about political, film, and TV celebrities. “Counterfeit prophets,” someone has commented, “annually fire prophetic buckshot into tomorrow’s clouds, hoping to bag an occasional stray duck as it passes overhead.”
But they don’t catch many ducks. Look at this chart.
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What is it worth? Do their predictions rival the prophecies of Scripture? Occasionally when an event occurs that someone has predicted, great publicity is given to the fact. But seldom is the other side of the story publicized—the thousands of predictions that are erroneous and fall by the way like withered leaves. A few years ago someone did a tally of 250 published predictions that were supposed to happen within the year. At the end of the year, less than 3% (i.e., 6) could be listed as reasonably fulfilled. The remaining 97% (244) missed the mark completely.
What a contrast to the prophecies of Scripture, where prophecy after prophecy has been fulfilled just as foretold!
