Bible Prophecy: Failure or Fulfillment?

by Tim Callahan

Bible Failure or Fulfillment?

Genres: Skepticism, Religion, History

274 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[G.M. Lupo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book presents an overview of numerous prophecies and apocalyptic literature from the Old Testament and the book of Revelation, asking the question of whether they represent legitimate predictions of future events, or whether they were self-fulfilled, written after the fact, educated guesses, or have other, non-mystical explanations. It was written in the 90s, in response to a number of "end times" books by Hal Lindsey and others, and as such, it references works I haven't read. I'm familiar with Lindsey's The Late, Great Planet Earth, and a later work of his, but otherwise haven't continued to follow end time literature since high school and early college, when, I admit, some of it scared the hell out of me.

Callahan makes a pretty convincing case that prophecies by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Elijah, among others, as well as apocalyptic literature such as the book of Daniel and the Revelation of John were more tied into their times than focused on future events. He points out that the works were written for specific audiences, who were experiencing first-hand much of the persecution described in the works, such as Jerusalem under the Seleucids, using coded language to avoid backlash by those in authority, much in the way modern science fiction comments on our times. One of his contentions is that prophecies of futuristic redemption thousands of years after the fact would have been of little comfort to people who believed they were facing the imminent destruction of their culture and way of life. No imagined "Antichrist" could have been as brutal or ruthless as the very real Nero in Rome, or Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid empire, who actually looted the Temple and demanded that all subjects worship him as god incarnate.

While the justification for the work may be dated, end times prophecy never really goes out of style, it just finds new candidates for the Antichrist, so its a handy reference for anyone worried the Rapture might be right around the corner. It places each work within its proper historical context, and points out why schools in America should focus more on world history (something many Americans, including me, are lacking in).

An overall interesting read, which, while referencing works I don't recognize, still provided enough background and supporting material to hold my interest. I recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about the topic.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone (like me) who grew up in the christian version of American culture (or any culture for that matter)has heard copious claims about the veracity of the bible and bible prophecy. Every incarnation of christianity has its own take on how much of the bible is "true." Callahan deftly takes on those fundamentalists who state adamantly that every word sprang from the lips of god himself and quite convincingly argues otherwise. Using a close examination of the bible text compared with the claims of fundamentalists, Callahan argues that very little of bible prophecy can be shown to have been fulfilled and that little of it has relevance beyond the eras in which they were first recorded. Moreover, he argues that the bible is a purely "historic" text, written by people for and from that time with no more or less relevance to today than any other ancient text. It is a position that no fundamentalist and few moderate christians are willing to acknowledge or accept. Having personally run that gauntlet and come out the far side this book is a refreshing and even liberating thesis on how easy it is for the cleverest among us to believe things that have little actual evidence to support them. Anyone who had never questioned the claims of the bible as a "true" text should read this book

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A SKEPTICAL CRITIQUE OF PURPORTED "PROPHECIES" OF THE BIBLE

Tim Callahan has published articles in 'The Skeptic' as well as other periodicals; he has also written 'The Secret Origins of the Bible.' He wrote in the Preface to this 1997 book, "As someone holding only a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, how do I presume to write a book on the interpretation of biblical prophecy? First of all I would point out that it is easy enough for a layman like myself to check a prophecy that fundamentalists claim is true against actual historical fact... Finally my layman's status may actually be a benefit in that I have the ability to relate the findings of biblical scholars with a clarity they themselves often lack, due to the use of professional jargon inexplicable to many outside their field." (Pg. xi-xii)

He observes, "[Gleason] Archer [author of Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties] claims that the Chronicler rectified an error in 2 Samuel by substituting Lahmi for Goliath and invents a whole series of events to show how this happened. Arguing that the earlier manuscript the copyist for 2 Samuel was working from had been blurred or damaged, he reconstructs a three-step error... To accept Archer's tale of the erring copyist, we have to believe that God protected the authors and editors of the Bible from error, but overlooked the copyists." (Pg. 24)

He cites Isaiah 17:1-2 and says, "here it is some 27 centuries since Isaiah made that prophecy and Damascus... is still thriving. It has been sacked numerous times, to be sure. But the prophecy explicitly states that it would cease to be a city forever, and the prophecy is explicitly wrong. Curiously, neither Gleason Archer nor Josh McDowell mention this failed prophecy." (Pg. 60-61) Of Isaiah 23:17-18 he argues, "Isaish predicts that the Chaldeans will destroy Tyre and that after 70 years it will be rebuilt and its profits turned over to the Jews... [But] The Chaldeans did not destroy Tyre and the city's profits did not benefit the returning Jews... However it is taken Is[aiah] 23 brings McDowell's historical edifice down like a house of cards." (Pg. 99)

Of the famous prophecy in Isaiah 7:14, he notes, "There is absolutely nothing in Isaiah 7 that would lead anyone to conclude that Isaiah was speaking of anything but his own time... The doctrine of types is simply a way in which fundamentalists get to have their cake and eat it too." (Pg. 116) Later, he adds, "McDowell used [Gen 3:15] as a prophecy that Jesus as Messiah will be born of a woman. It is pretty obvious that the Messiah is a man, thus born of woman. But though Christians often read into Gen 3:15 that the serpent is Satan and Eve's seed is Jesus there is no proof of it..." (Pg 124)

He asserts that "[Daniel 9:26's] failure to be fulfilled on the heels of the Crucifixion should tell anyone reading the book that it was not meant to apply to Jesus. But the fundamentalists 'know' that it was Jesus because the prophecy of an anointed one (messiah) being cut off must refer to Jesus. The reasoning gets a bit circular..." (Pg. 175) He argues, "While... [Hal] Lindsey assumes [in Ezekiel 38 & 39] that Meshech = Moscow and Tubal = Tobolsk... these speculations are based on nothing more than surface phonetic similarities stretched to the limit. Like his assertion that Rosh = Russia, they are without scholarly merit." (Pg. 216) Of Lindsey's claim that the European Common Market are the "10-nation confederacy" of Daniel 7:7-8, he comments, "the EEC continues to grow. Sweden, Finland and Austria were accepted into it in 1995, bringing the number of members up to 15. So now five must drop out!" (Pg. 225)

"Detailed" skeptical books on biblical prophecy are exceptionally rare; this book will be "essential reading" for all skeptics, freethinkers, atheists, and agnostics looking for arguments against purported biblical "prophecies."

[Ben Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Callahan makes some socially and academically important points that are unfortunately hidden within a jumble of poor writing, organization, and editing. I'm very interested in this subject matter and this book could still hardly hold my attention.