It would seem that the fourth would be, in your case, a "tendentious need for a specific outcome."
588 BC Ezekiel predicts the following against Tyre:
1. King Nebuchadnezzar would destroy the main land city.
2. The debris of the city would be thrown into the sea.
3. The city would be scrapped clean like a bare rock.
4. Then many nations would come against the people of Tyre.
5. And that the city would never be rebuilt.
6. Fishermen would use the barren place to spread their nets to dry.
History records that 3 years later Nebuchadnezzar and his army did lay siege to the city of Tyre. However at the end of the siege the king found the city to be deserted. All of its inhabitants had fled by boat to an island a half mile off the coast and fortified a city there. The main city was destroyed by the king just as Ezekiel had predicted. 240 years later Alexander the Great began his quest calling upon each of the Phoenician cities he came to, to surrender to him or be destroyed. Most of the cities in the area surrendered however Tyre refused. Thus they were promptly put under siege again. Alexander had his army scrape all the remaining debris from old Tyre and used it to construct a half mile causeway out to the island. Between that and his fleet of ships drafted from "many nations" who had surrendered to him, Alexander was able to crash the walls and over run the city of Tyre. Eight thousand were immediately struck dead by the sword and another 30,000 were sold into slavery. The rest of the city was completely destroyed never to be rebuilt. One secular historian (Philip Myer) even made an interesting observation about the ancient site of the city. He said now it is nothing but a flat baron rock where fisherman often spread their nets.
That's pretty specific. The odds of Ezekiel making such a prediction and getting everything right are 75 million to one.
But lets not stop there. He also predicted the destruction of Sidon. These predictions were fulfilled in 351 BC when the king of Persia laid siege to Sidon and over 40,000 people there committed suicide rather than suffer at the hands of the king.
The prophets Hosea and Micah both prophesied the destruction of Samaria in 282 BC. They said it would fall violently and be left as a heap in the field. They said that all of its stones would be pulled down into the valley leveling it to its foundations and vineyards planted in its place. These prophecies were fulfilled in 120 BC by John Hircanus.
The prophet Isaiah in 700 BC predicted that Jerusalem and its temple would be rebuilt by a king named Cyrus. Funny thing is, at the time, Jerusalem and its temple were all intact with no enemies. However in 586 BC Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by king Nebuchadnezzar. The people of Israel were taken into slavery by the Babylonians, until 539 BC when the Persians rose up and conquered Babylon. The king freed the slaves and gave the command to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. What was that kings name? "Cyrus."
The Biblical prophets foretold the destruction of Gaza which was fulfilled over 400 years later. There are hundreds of prophecies like these found throughout the text of the Bible which were all fulfilled.
Jesus Himself made predictions which can easily be shown to have came to pass. For example in His day there were four ancient cities of Tiberias, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, that all set in various locations around the sea of Galilee. Jesus spoke against all of the cities with the exception of Tiberias. Interestingly when the Romans destroyed Israel in 70AD they destroyed all but one of these four cities. That city still stands to this day. Which one is it? "Tiberias."
The old Testament prophets foretold the coming of a Holy One of God who would redeem mankind. He would be the Messiah or Christ in Greek. In Genesis 3 we read the very first prediction. God said from the seed of the woman a man would come who would crush the head of the serpent but bruise His heal in the process. For starters we know that women do not have "seeds." So God was going to do something very unusual to bring this Holy One into the world. The crushing of the head represents a death blow. A finality to the sin the serpent of old had instigated. The bruising represents an injury that would not be permanent. Hmm... wonder what Holy One came into the world and destroyed the works of the devil with one wounding blow but did not stay injured?
There are more than 333 predictions throughout the old testament which predicted the manner in which He would come. For example the prophets predicted this Holy One would be born in the town of Bethlehem. (specific) As a sign He would be born of a virgin Mother. (specific) He would begin His ministry on the shores of Galilee. (specific) The prophet Zechariah even gave the very specific prophecy that He would be sold for 30 pieces of silver. The Psalms said His hands would be pierced through. Isaiah said He would be treated like a common criminal as we saw when they hung Him on a cross between two common thieves. He predicted that His executioners would gamble for His cloths as He died. The prophets said His body would be laid in a rich man's tomb, just as the gospels record happened. But my favorite prophecy is found in Psalms 16:10. It says the Holy One would not stay in the grave long enough to see corruption. It was literally a prediction of the resurrection. His wounds were only temporary.
This is why I love to point out to people, who claim that Christianity is really a newer religion, that it is actually the first one. If the very first man and woman (Adam and Eve) were looking for a Holy One or Messiah to come, and the Greek word for Messiah is Christ, then Adam and Eve were the first people looking for Christ to come.
