Doubt Busters

To believe the television documentaries and books, you would think that the predictions of Nostradamus in the 16th Century mentioned Adolf Hitler, America, French president Charles De Gaulle, the moon landing, submarines, airplanes, space station, nuclear war, and the invention of the light bulb and radio.

But when you dig deeper, you find a cryptic hodge-podge of vague riddles that could be interpreted any number of ways. People have applied the same lines of his verse to several different historical events.

Nostradamus wrote thousands of prophecies in four-line verses called quatraines. They are assembled into centuries and numbered. Here are several examples:

In the year that is to come soon, and not 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. (C4 Q68).

The great one of Mayence to quench a great thirst, Shall be deprived of his high dignity, Those of Cologne shall mourn him so much That the Great Groppe shall be thrown into the Rhine. (C6 Q40)

If you were going to “believe” in Nostradamus, what are you supposed to believe about the above quatraines? (Some interpreters see Hitler in the verses.)

The problem with his prophecies is that they have no context. They are so vague that if you read enough of them, you should be able to find a passage that mirrored some event that occurred. Of what use are they if you can only link them to events in the past?

Now let’s compare his random passages with the Bible prophecies. Biblical prophecies have a context: God used prophecies to prove that he is God, help the Jews recognize the Messiah when he came, and warn us to be ready for the Second Coming.

First, God used prophecies to prove himself as God. He challenged the Israelites to get their idols to foretell the future. If God could foretell the future and they could not, then they would know who God was. God has left his fingerprint on the Bible through the many literally fulfilled prophecies.

Second, when Jesus came, the prophecies had already been in print for the previous four hundred years. When he started performing miracles, the people began comparing his life with the prophecies. Many believed in Jesus because his life clearly matched up with the words. “And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?” (John 7:31).

Third, the prophecies of the end times are clear enough that we can see them shaping up in our lifetime. The previous generation saw Bible prophecy fulfilled when Israel became a nation again (Isaiah 11:11). We are seeing Bible prophecy fulfilled in our day as the nations surrounding Israel unite against it (Zechariah 12:2). That will continue until Jesus comes again. Thanks to their clarity, we may stand firm in the faith, knowing that Jesus will come indeed and reward us for our labors.

We have no reason to look to Nostradamus and his perplexing writings when we already have the Scriptures with God’s clear lessons to guide and encourage us.

What Do You Think?

a. Why would someone turn from the Bible for instruction to Nostradamus?

b. Have you seen any of the television specials on Nostradamus? Where they convincing regarding his prophetic powers? Why or why not?

Comfort, Ray, The Secrets of Nostradamus Exposed. (Living Waters Publications, California 1996.)

Several different religions have various teachings on reincarnation, including Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Taoism, among others. Their teachings differ slightly, but all of them are in opposition to the tenets of the Christian resurrection. Here are some of the similarities and differences.

In reincarnation, an individual dies and comes back to life again in a different body to live on earth again. This reincarnated (which means “returning to flesh again”) person has no knowledge of the past life. In resurrection, the person rises from death with a new body, but with full consciousness of the past. In Revelation 6:10 we learn of martyrs asking God when their deaths will be avenged, showing that they remember the past.

In reincarnation, people’s good deeds usually influence a favorable next life while bad deeds an unfavorable next life. In resurrection, both good and evil are raised to life to stand before God for judgment. Judgment will depend on two deciding factors. If one has rejected God in life, then eternal damnation. If one has accepted Jesus, then rewards will be given or not depending on the faithfulness of one’s works.

Revelation 20:11-15 portrays the Great White Throne judgment, where people are dealt with according to their names in the Book of Life, or according to their works. Several passages in the gospels teach us about how God will judge us and give us rewards.

The cycle of reincarnation continues multiple times. But resurrection happens once (with few exceptions, such as Jesus raising someone from the dead earlier). Hebrews 9:27 tells us that after we die once, then comes the judgment. Reincarnation is wholly impersonal; no God looks over the process. You can have no guarantee how many good deeds you’ve done will break the cycle and bring you further along, or even if there is a more favorable “further along.” You have little help in making a bad life better. But when we receive Christ and repent of our sins, God gives us the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us live righteous lives and prepare us for a favorable judgment. Hebrews 13:5 tells us that he who created us will never leave nor forsake us.

Reincarnation is full of unknowns. You don’t know how many bad deeds were committed in the past life, nor do you know what the standard is for good and bad deeds. But in Christianity, God has placed all our blame upon his Son Jesus Christ and punished him in our place on the cross. We may simply confess and get right with God, and know that all our past sins will be washed away. We may knowingly arrive at the throne of Jesus with our sins forgiven. We know the standards of right and wrong because God’s Bible guides us.

What Do You Think?

a. Some Christians believe that some of their recollections of past lives persuades them to believe in reincarnation instead of the biblical resurrection. A personal experience merely tells us that we experienced something. We are to interpret our experiences by the Bible; in this way we’ll understand our experiences from God’s viewpoint. Should our personal experiences trump the Bible? Why or why not?

b. What are some of the reasons why someone would prefer reincarnation over resurrection if they heard both sides?

c. What makes the case for resurrection more believable than reincarnation?

When it comes to being saved, good deeds do not matter – simply because no one is good enough. This verse tells us clearly that we are saved apart from any good deeds: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). The salvation referred to here is that of faith making us righteous. Our good deeds could never give us a righteous standing before God.

Furthermore, good deeds are useless when it comes to escaping any punishment for crimes. For instance, if you were convicted of first-degree murder, it wouldn’t matter how many good deeds you’ve done. You must be punished for murder. Similarly, we’ve broken God’s laws, so we must be punished. That’s why we believe on Jesus – because he bore the punishment in our place.

Nevertheless, good deeds enter in when it comes to growing in faith. These good deeds are of an entirely different character than the deeds before salvation. Before we confessed faith in Christ, we acted out of personal decency and when it was advantageous to us. The gospel tells us, however, that despite all our good behavior, we were bound for @#!*% . When we acknowledged that truth and turned to Christ to save us, we saw our deeds in a new light – as directed by us and not God.

Because we acknowledge that our former way of life apart from God was sinful, we turn to the Word to learn how to live in a way that pleases God. That is a new motivation that we never had before. It gives rise to its own character of good deeds.

The Bible has much to say about good deeds. First, they are deeds reflecting a believer’s response to God as a servant of God. The Lord commands, and it’s our duty to obey (Luke 17:10). In the end, when our Master returns, we must give him an account of our service. At that point our deeds will be judged as to whether they’re worthy of a reward or not. If we are judged faithful, we will be handsomely rewarded.

Second, the good deeds Christians do will prove that they are taking their salvation seriously. Christians who persist in disobedience cut themselves off from many blessings in this life, and will forfeit some everlasting rewards for the time to come.

Third, good deeds, those which we do in faith and obedience, and those directed against sin, preserves our relationship with God. They show that we are holy, that is, set apart for God’s use in this world. Other reasons for good deeds exist as well, including the fact that God works through men and women who have yielded to him. Good deeds from such are God working through them in love. Through their faithful representation, the world can see what God is like.

What Do You Think?

a. If a man is on trial for first-degree murder, why should his good deeds matter? In the same way, if God has condemned the unbeliever for his bad deeds, why should his good deeds prevail?

b. If someone hurt you badly and destroyed his relationship with you, would you feel better if that person started doing good deeds in another area of the world? Why should that restore your relationship? In the same way, why should our good deeds restore a relationship with God if we continue to have nothing to do with God?

c. What religion practices the idea of good deeds outweighing bad deeds? Why would you have confidence in the truth of that system?