Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="DreamstuffEntity" data-source="post: 2651391" data-attributes="member: 235403">Posted earlier, as evidence for Christianity:&quot;Isaiah call Cyrus by name 200 years before he was born.&quot;Some Christians claim that before 681 BCE the prophet Isaiah predicted Persia would defeat Babylon and furthermore that this prophecy was fulfilled in 539 BCE. They cite Isaiah 45:1 as predicting that &quot;Babylon&#039;s gates would open for Cyrus&quot;:This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: (NIV)Thus bible inerrantists would have us believe that Isaiah prophesied specifically that Cyrus would be Babylon&#039;s conqueror and would enter through gates, and that he made this prediction over 140 years before the event. In reality, this section of Isaiah was written shortly before 537 BCE, so even if the prediction was not made after the event its occurrence at least was imminent and the name of Cyrus would have been known.Isaiah&#039;s reference to gates, although the actual means Cyrus used to gain entry to the city of Babylon, was nonetheless meant figuratively. This is evidenced by noting the continued use of obviously figurative language in the next verse:I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. (NIV)It should be noted that Babylon is not actually mentioned anywhere in the chapter.It should also be noted that &quot;anointed&quot; as used in Isaiah 45:1 is translated into Hebrew as &quot;messiah&quot; and into Greek as &quot;Christ.&quot; Although never admitted by Christians, this passage seems to assert that Cyrus is the messiah.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="DreamstuffEntity, post: 2651391, member: 235403"] Posted earlier, as evidence for Christianity: "Isaiah call Cyrus by name 200 years before he was born." Some Christians claim that before 681 BCE the prophet Isaiah predicted Persia would defeat Babylon and furthermore that this prophecy was fulfilled in 539 BCE. They cite Isaiah 45:1 as predicting that "Babylon's gates would open for Cyrus": This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: (NIV) Thus bible inerrantists would have us believe that Isaiah prophesied specifically that Cyrus would be Babylon's conqueror and would enter through gates, and that he made this prediction over 140 years before the event. In reality, this section of Isaiah was written shortly before 537 BCE, so even if the prediction was not made after the event its occurrence at least was imminent and the name of Cyrus would have been known. Isaiah's reference to gates, although the actual means Cyrus used to gain entry to the city of Babylon, was nonetheless meant figuratively. This is evidenced by noting the continued use of obviously figurative language in the next verse: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. (NIV) It should be noted that Babylon is not actually mentioned anywhere in the chapter. It should also be noted that "anointed" as used in Isaiah 45:1 is translated into Hebrew as "messiah" and into Greek as "Christ." Although never admitted by Christians, this passage seems to assert that Cyrus is the messiah. [/QUOTE]

Name

Verification

Loading…