An Undeniable False Prophecy in the Gospels! 😲

People who have objectively studied the Bible know that it contains many false prophecies. I have written articles and made videos showing these examples before. Here, I want to provide a crystal-clear example of a false prophecy put into the mouth of the blessed Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) by his anonymous biographers. In Mark 14:62 (cf. Matthew 26:64), Jesus responds to the interrogation of the high priest Caiaphas (d. 36 CE). When Caiaphas asked Jesus if he was the “Christ, the Son of God”, Jesus responded in the affirmative (“I am…”), although Matthew has Jesus say something else (“You have said so…”) which scholars like the late Geza Vermes (see the reference below) have identified as a negative answer. But it is what Jesus says next that is a clear false prophecy. Both Mark and Matthew have Jesus say (emphasis mine):

“…and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.“

So, Jesus tells the high priest and everyone present at the time that they will see the “Son of Man” (presumably Jesus himself, although some scholars think Jesus was referring to another person) “coming with the clouds of heaven”. The Greek texts of both Mark and Matthew show that Jesus was not only addressing the high priest, but everyone who was present. The Greek word “ὄψεσθε” (“you will see”) is in the future tense and is grammatically in the 2nd person plural (see Figure 1).

Mark 14,62 Greek — Figure 1: Greek text for Mark 14:62 (Source: https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/mar/14/62/t_conc_971062).

Thus, Jesus was addressing everyone who was present at the trial. They would ALL see the “Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven”. If Jesus was referring to himself as the “Son of Man”, then he meant that all the people present at the trial would witness his second coming. But that was obviously not fulfilled. Caipahas and the rest of council have been dead for nearly 2000 years.

Some Christian apologists could counter that by the phrase “coming with the clouds of heaven”, Jesus was referring metaphorically to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 CE by the Roman forces. But even IF we grant this interpretation, it is STILL a false prophecy because some of the people who were present at the trial, such as Caiaphas himself, were already dead by 70 CE. Caiaphas died in the year 36 CE, more than 30 years before the destruction of the temple. Even if we assume that Jesus didn’t mean to necessarily include everyone present at the trial, we would have to admit that Caiaphas was definitely included, and since he died long before the events of 70 CE, he did not see the “Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven”. Therefore, in either case, Mark 14:62 and Matthew 26:64 contain false prophecies.

And Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) knows best!