Vague and Indefinite Prophecies Are Worthless
There are two grand objections which lie against scripture prophecies, and which must destroy all their credit and authority. The first is, that they are so vague and indefinite, that they cannot be applied to any specific object, person, or event. The second is, that those which are the most clear and explicit, have absolutely failed in their accomplishment, and this of itself is sufficient to overturn the divinity of any book in which such prophecies are to be found. A third consideration of weight, is the deception and lying character of the Bible prophets, and even God himself is blasphemously charged of having a hand in this wicked business, by putting a lying spirit into the mouth of one of his prophets. --Elihu Palmer (1764-1806), Principles of Nature; or, A Development of the Moral Causes of Happiness and Misery Among the Human Species