By Jesse Florea
Growing up, stories of Nostradamus intrigued me. I was amazed that a man who lived in the 1500s could predict events that occurred 400 years later, such as rise of Adolf Hitler or the assignation of President John F. Kennedy.
No, I wasn’t a Christian. But I was curious.
I began investigating Nostradamus’ actual claims and discovered his puzzling poetic predictions could be interpreted numerous ways. In addition, he made more than 6,000 prophecies. With that many guesses, certainly a few would come true—especially when he used such ambiguous language.
My curious nature didn’t end when I became a Christian as a teenager. I dug into the Bible and discovered dozens of men who God gave the ability to foretell the future. These prophets didn’t use puzzling language like Nostradamus. Their predictions were purposeful and clear.
The fact that Jesus’ birth fulfills dozens of Old Testament prophecies has been chronicled by many scholars and writers. But as I put together Defend Your Faith: 100 Devotions for Kids With Questions, I discovered an amazing prophecy about the ancient city of Tyre.
God’s prophet Ezekiel predicted this city would be completely destroyed. At the time, Tyre was one of the most powerful cities in the world. Nobody would’ve thought it could be brought to ruins. But Ezekiel said its stones, timber, and soil would be thrown into the water (Ezekiel 26:12).
Soon after Ezekiel gave his prophecy, Tyre was attacked by Babylon. After thirteen years of fighting, Babylon defeated Tyre and left it in ruins. However, some of Tyre’s people escaped to an island offshore and built another strong city. Nearly 250 years later, Alexander the Great conquered that island city by building a half-mile long path through the water. History shows Alexander’s armies created the “path” by throwing all the rocks, lumber, and dirt from the original site of Tyre into the sea.
Ezekiel’s prophecy was fulfilled!
The accuracy with which this prophecy was fulfilled caused some people in recent history to claim the book of Ezekiel was written after Tyre was destroyed. But Ezekiel lived and prophesized nearly three hundred years before Alexander the Great attacked Tyre in 332 B.C.
The Bible is full of prophecies like this. And it’s this kind of detail that continues to strengthen my faith. All of God’s Word is true . . . even when something seems impossible.
Jesse Florea has worked at Focus on the Family for more nearly twenty-eight years as the editor of the children’s magazines—Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. He has written or edited more than forty books, including the Defend Your Faith apologetics Bible for kids and the Case for Christ Young Reader’s Edition with Lee Strobel.