The Bible is the only religious book that claims to be the very Word of God and backs this claim up with hundreds of specific fulfilled prophecies. We read this bold statement from God in Isaiah 46:9-10: “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” In a similar manner, Jesus—after telling the disciples some of what was to come—said these words in John 16:4: “I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them.”

There are more than 31,000 verses in the Bible, and 9,000–10,000 of them contain specific predictions about future events. Experts cite that the Bible is made up of 27–33 percent prophecy. Roughly 7,000 of the verses that contain Bible prophecy (about 80 percent) have already been fulfilled. The remaining 20 percent of the prophecies are related to end-time events. [Infographic: 1/3rd of the Bible is prophecy]

Even more compelling is the fact that the 27–33 percent of the Bible that is made up of prophecy isn’t peripheral content—it includes many of the most important parts! Bible prophecy is like the central nervous system of the Bible. Biologists study systems in organisms—the digestive system, the cardiovascular system, the muscular system, etc. None of those systems can work without the central nervous system. They are all connected to it and rely on it. Just as living things like humans and animals can’t function properly without a healthy central nervous system, the Bible can’t be accurately understood without the all-important feature of prophecy.

All key teaching (doctrine/theology), stories, people, and themes in the Bible are somehow connected to Bible prophecy. This is because the Bible (though penned by at least 39 human writers, on 3 different continents over a period of 1500 years) was inspired by God, who knows everything that is to come. And only God can bring about the perfect fulfillment of every prophecy given in Scripture.

Second Timothy 3:16 tells us that the Bible was “God-breathed.” Second Peter 1:21 tells us that those who wrote prophecy “spoke from God” and were “carried along by the Holy Spirit.” In other words. God told them what to write. That is why the whole Bible tells one complete story—a story that is tied together by prophecy and in every way ultimately points to Jesus!

(This is an excerpt from Todd’s book, The Non-Prophet’s Guide™ to the Bible.)