Thank you for the question on eschatology of does the Bible foretell the future.
There will be scholars or historians who would advocate that the Bible is written post event after it happened and others who would advocate that it is a game of chance. In other words, they would infer or state that the Biblical writers wrote the historical event as in the future event.
It’s like someone in the 21st century writing the prediction that John F. Kennedy will be killed in Dallas, dating it to the early 20th century. Readers in the 21st century already knows that it has already happened and wouldn’t be so naive to accept that as a futuristic prediction. It’s not credible in my viewpoint, but that is what some scholars are advocating regarding the prophecies in Daniel.
Here are three prophecies worth considering that can’t be post-dated:
A. Revelations 13 speaks of a time in which everyone will receive a mark on his hand or forehead in order to buy and sell.
The text says this, “15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name” (NIV).
In the past, there were individuals who said that the above passage is just an allegory or nonsense to think everyone of people receive a mark to buy and sell. That was considered impossible.
Today that is nearly a reality. There are thoughts of inserting chips into people that has all their personal information and medical record. There is only a short distance from scanning one’s credit card to scanning a chip on one’s hand. Facial recognition is already here so one can scan one’s hand or head. Pets already have a chip in them.
Perhaps when you enter a grocery store, it automatically scans your designated number and the items you pick up will be automatically scan. You just walk in and walk out of the store while the scanner will deduct the balance of one’s account. It’s coming and it may already be here.
The food supply will be control and hoarding will be impossible in times of crisis which the Bible predicts will happen when the Antichrist come.
B. The Rebuilding of the Third Temple in Jerusalem.
The First temple was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE and the Second Temple was destroyed by Roman General Titus in 70 CE. The Bible predicts that there will a Third Temple to be built.
For over 2000 years there was no formal nation of Israel and no Temple. Is it possible that the Temple will be rebuilt? Although there is debate whether the Desolation of Abomination already happened or will happen again, the rebuilding of the Temple may indicate a future desecration by the Antichrist. See Daniel 9:26–27.
There are two references of the Temple in Revelation. Revelation 11 speaks of John measuring the Temple and Revelation 21 of the Heavenly Temple coming upon earth. Depending on the dating of the Book of Revelation, is John referring to the Second Temple, Zerubbabel or the Tribulational Temple.
If in our life time, we see the agreement to allow the Jews to rebuild the Temple, that would be truly astonishing. The end is nearer than we think.
C. The Return of Jesus Christ will be seen by all the people of the world.
Matthew 24 says this, 30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[d] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” (NIV).
The prediction is that ALL the people of the earth will see the Son of Man coming. Before the invention of the radio, TV, or the internet, that notion that all the people will see it as laughable. Today, instant news is broadcast as most people have an electronic device that can be immediately uploaded so that everyone can see it if they are tuned in.
The return of Jesus Christ will remove all doubt of the existence of Jesus, the angels, and the Bible. Probably some will assert that it is a mass hysteria, and the recording is fake.
The Bible prophecies that 200 million will come from the East from Revelation 9. This once was thought ridiculous in the early 18th Century. Today, China boasts of having 2.3 army which doesn’t include N. Korea or even India. No one thought that the world would be populated with 8 billion people. Russia is said to have a military force of 1.5 million. The number of military men prepare to engage in another world war is present.
SUMMARY: Christians believe that the world is moving toward a climax with coming of Jesus Christ. The world stage is prepared. The world is waiting to see if there will be another World War III. There will be another World War to come according to the Bible: The Battle of Armageddon.
-Kingston