The Case for the God of the Bible

The book of Isaiah contains a number of declarations against the folly of idolatry.  The passages I am thinking of contain a condemnation of the Jewish people – and their love affair with foreign gods.  And so – God confronts his chosen people.  Isaiah 41:21–23 says, ²¹ Set forth your case, says the Lord; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob. ²² Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come. ²³ Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods…

And then – from Isaiah 46:9–10 – ⁹…for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, ¹⁰ declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’…

I know there are people who say, “wait a minute haven’t others made accurate prophecies about the future?  Yes, others have.  But who has made prophecies about the future that have proved to be correct 100% of the time?  And by the way, have you ever read Nostradamus?  If there ever was a fraud, he’s it.  He said very little outside of vague generalities that could be interpreted in thousands of different ways.  Anyone can make anything out of them.  Indeed, truth be told, that is exactly what has occurred in his case.

Set forth your case, says the Lord.   Let the gods and goddesses, the diviners and magicians and prophets of this world declare their power by telling us what is going to happen.  We will find they are impotent.

In order for anyone to know with certainty what is going to happen, two things must be true.  The one who knows must be the alpha and the omega, or the beginning and the end.  It must be one who is, who was and who is to come at the same time.  The second thing that must be true, is that He must be sovereign over all things, controlling the outcome of all things.  In short, this can only be true of the one God who exists, the God of the Bible.

Daniel the prophet predicted the details of the rise of the Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire and the coming last empire of the Antichrist.  He predicted that the Greek King, (Alexander the Great) would conquer with incredible speed, and then die quite suddenly.  He predicted that his empire would be broken in two and that one branch would savagely persecute the Jewish people.  Indeed, while in exile, Daniel was reading Jeremiah 29:10-14, and learned the exact number of years the Jewish exile would last.  Later, Daniel would predict the actual year in which the Messiah would die.

Set forth your case, says the Lord.  Let the gods and goddesses, with their diviners and prophets duplicate what I have done.  See that they cannot.  And from that knowledge, know that no other God can save.