Whose prophecy do you believe?

I'm pleased to welcome author Vince Latorre to The Over 50 Writer. Vince shares his views about prophecy and who he believes. What about you?

As 2012 marches on, we draw slowly closer to the infamous date of 12/21/2012, which for some, because it is the end point of the Mayan calendar and supposedly predicted by the French astrologer Nostradamus, is believed to be the “end of the world”.  But who should we listen to, and what is the difference between prophets like Nostradamus and Biblical prophets?

Many think of Nostradamus when they think of prophecy.  But when we read his prophecies, called “quatrains”, one notices right away how vague they are, and how many different events could be made to fit them.

 For example, one quatrain supposedly predicts the rise of Hitler:  “In the year that is to come soon, and not too far from Venus, the two greatest ones of Asia and Africa, shall be said to come from the Rhine and Ister, crying and tears shall be at Malta and on the Italian Shore.”  The followers of Nostradamus claim that “Ister” means Hitler. But the word “Ister” can be shown to mean the Lower Danube River. 

Another version of this prophecy states “From the Rhine and Lower Danube they will be said to have come.”  So an iffy translation makes a river into Hitler.  And the whole verse is vague enough that it could fit many other situations.  There are similar examples, some which I cover in my book, The Bible Can Be Proven.

Contrast this with the Bible as it comments on the City of Tyre: “…they shall make a prey of thy merchandise, and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses; and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.” (Ezekiel 26:12)  This was written in about 570 B.C.

History shows that the City of Tyre was subsequently attacked by Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed the mainland City of Tyre, and then 240 years later Alexander the Great conquered the island City of Tyre by throwing the debris and stones of the mainland ruins into the sea to construct a causeway out to the island.  Alexander used a very unusual battle tactic, yet one that was correctly described in advance by the biblical prophet Ezekiel.

So the Bible prophecy is very specific and clear, in contrast to the style of Nostradamus, and furthermore, there are no translation issues.

This is just one of many Biblical examples discussed in The Bible Can Be Proven, that show how precise Biblical prophecy is.

So this short example shows who we should listen to. And the Bible says absolutely nothing about the world ending in 2012.  In fact, Jesus taught that only God knows the date the world will end.

As a young boy, author Vincent Latorre always had an inquisitive nature. He immediately wanted the answers to questions such as “Is there a God?” “How did I get here?” “How was the world and universe created?” His search for answers to these questions led him to a personal encounter with Christ at age nine or ten. As his faith grew, his desire to analytically research and validate the Word of God intensified.

Latorre spent many hours in libraries and bookstores sifting through more than 200 books and hundreds of articles on science, Bible textual criticism, and theology. As he researched these, the author began to see the powerful scientific evidence for creation as well as the evidence for the historical reliability of the Bible. . In his latest book, The Bible Can Be Proven,  Latorre shares the results of his research to strengthen believers and inform honest seekers.

Latorre is presently an accountant in a government agency, has taught Sunday School and Bible Studies for twenty four years, and currently works as a Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church, speaking to students at high school and adult levels in many churches, including his own.