Year of Prophecy: © 650 BC (Nahum)
Year of Fulfillment: 612 BC
Time until fulfillment: ~38 years
The prophecy against Nineveh is an example of fulfilled Biblical Prophecy. To show how the amount of time passing between prophecy and fulfillment doesn’t matter, we will cover ten of such prophecies. This is the eighth of ten.
Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. It had a very long history. It was originally built by Nimrod (Gen 10:8-12) around 6000 BC. It was a beautiful city of wide boulevards, large squares, parks and gardens. The city was 700 hectares large with 15 gates—each named after an Assyrian god. The walls were 12 km in circumference. Aqueducts and canals lead water from sources in the hills 50 km away. The surrounding area was an agrarian society which used intricate irrigation systems which fed the agriculture. Most housing was of mud bricks with only one story and flat roofs. Most people of that time had modest housing, but palaces and temples could cover large areas inside the city. These would be quite ornate due to highly skilled craftsmen with expertise in sculpture.
The Assyrians were noted for their vast knowledge in warfare and organization. Their literature covered legal issues, medicine, and history. Large libraries were built. Because of the Assyrian obsession with war and invasion, knowledge in many areas increased due to assimilation of all these diverse people. In science and mathematics, they were the first to divide the circle into 360 degrees and the first to invent longitude and latitude in geographic navigation. For their time, they had sophisticated medical sciences. They obtained all this at a great price. Their actions to other peoples were ruthless. The following has been noted: they flung away the bodies of soldiers like so much clay; they made pyramids of human heads; they burned cities; they filled populous lands with death and devastation; they reddened broad deserts with carnage of warriors; they scattered whole countries with the corpses of their defenders as with chaff; they impaled 'heaps of men' on stakes, and strewed the mountains and choked rivers with dead bones; they cut off the hands of kings and nailed them on the walls leaving their bodies to rot with bears and dogs on the entrance gates of cities; they employed nations of captives in making brick in fetters; they cut down warriors like weeds, or smote them like wild beasts in the forests, and covered pillars with the flayed skins of rival monarchs.
About 150 years prior to Nahum’s prophecy, the prophet Jonah had prophesied against the city as well, but both the people and their king repented (Jh 3:3-10). This time, the judgment was assured and final (Na 3:19). The fulfillment came in 612 BC when Nabopolassar, the king of Babylon, took his army, attacking from the south, and united with the Medes and Scythians, attacking from the north, to lay siege against Nineveh. The walls were too thick to penetrate, so the decision was made to starve them out. This took over 3 years and several massive attacks which were unsuccessful. During this time, the Assyrians became so confident in the failure of their attackers that they began to hold parties becoming drunk in their revelry. An oracle had told the king he would be safe until the river became his enemy. During the siege, the Tigris River became so swelled due to heavy rains that it caused one part of the wall to collapse. Seeing this as a sign of doom, the king of Nineveh took his household and possessions and committed mass suicide so as not to fall into the hands of the Babylonians. The people opened the gates of the city to Nabopolassar; however, no mercy was bestowed onto the city. It was completely destroyed. When Alexander the Great came through this area during his conquests, he could not even tell that a city had ever been there. All the greatness that Nineveh and the whole known world knew of Nineveh had all been forgotten. All of this had been prophesied by the prophet Nahum: an "overflowing flood" would "make an utter end of its place" (Na 1:8); Nineveh would be destroyed while her inhabitants were "drunken like drunkards" (Na 1:10); Nineveh would be unprotected because "fire shall devour the bars of your gates" (Na 3:13); Nineveh would never recover, for their "injury has no healing" (Na 3:19); the downfall of Nineveh would come with remarkable ease, like figs falling when the tree is shaken (Na 3:12).
Nineveh’s destruction was swift and complete (Na 2:6-11; Is 10:5-19). Nineveh and her people had once repented from their actions (Jh 3:6-9), but now are destroyed because of their pride (Is 5:12). Nineveh was lost to history until 1845 AD. Great palaces and temples have been excavated and the evidence indicates that the destruction of the city was due not only to invasion but by flood and fire, just as was prophesied. This should serve as solemn council to all nations who hold that the greatness of their past ensures its continued future and greatness.
Again, we can trust in what God tells us. This should be both comforting as well as a warning. There are many things in scripture which are promised to us which we can claim. Yet, there is also coming destruction and judgment predicted. Are you ready for those as well? You can be. It’s just a simple conversation with the God of all promises.
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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens