Deuteronomy 28 is a clear prophecy about the future. It predicts the long exile of the Jewish people, a history unparalleled (and thus unpredictable) by any other nation.
There's a famous atheist claim that this chapter is going in the Babylonian exile and if we can assume the Torah to have written after that exile, then no prophecy is at hand. Yet this is impossible for the following reasons
"Skeptics explain this chapter to be referring to the Babylonian exile which, according to their hypothesis the Torah was written after, so no prophecy is at hand.
The internal evidence shows otherwise as their explanation falls short on explaining a few phrases in the chapter that were exclusive only to the Roman exile:
(1) "The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, which will swoop down like the eagle—a nation whose language you do not understand," (verse 49) - Babylon is practically a neighboring country to Israel, thus no candidate for "a nation from afar, from the end of the earth". Some object because Jeremiah (5:15) uses the term "from afar" when describing Babylon's imminent invasion. But I beg to differ. While the term "from afar" might fly by -relatively- regarding Babylon, the term "from the end of the earth" is hardly an accurate description.
(2) Verse 68 describes that captives will be sold in Egypt as slaves. This only happened at the Roman exile. While Jews did descent to Egypt during the Babylonian captivity, they walked about as free men, who actually fled there just to escape the Babylonians [FOOTNOTE: Jeremiah 41:17-18 "And they set out, and stopped at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt, because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land." ] , as Jeremiah describes. It would be extraordinary wild to suggest that slaves were sold in Egypt yet weren't recorded in the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah. Moreover, even if they were sold in small numbers, that wouldn't be enough to plunge the slave market-rate to close to nothing as the Torah describes "and you shall sell yourself as slaves and maidens but will find no buyer". The Roman exile included a major event of slaves being sold to Egyptians at such low prices. Indeed the transit of the slaves to Egypt was done through ships as the Torah describes in verse 68. [ FOOTNOTE: See Josephus in "the Jewish wars" vi, 9:2; Munter, Primordia Eccl. Africanae, pp. 85f.,113. History of Am Yisrael in Ancient Days (Hebrew, Devir), 1971, p.321. ]
(3) Deuteronomy 30:6 describes the redemption from the exile described just a chapter before. "Then the Lord your G-d will open up your heart and the hearts of your offspring to love the Lord your G-d with all your heart and soul, in order that you may live." This event has not happened after the Babylonian exile. The author, who according to Bible critics sealed the Torah quite deep into the Second Temple era, would have realized that this has not come into effect and would therefore not write that (or delete it, if it was written previously). So, obviously this redemption was intended on a future exile, i.e. the Roman exile. Whereas it is true that the Jews abandoned idol-worship since the Babylonian exile, they hardly "loved G-d with all their heart and soul" as the verse requires.
(4) The Jews are described to have painful stays at their enemy's land and constant travel as the verse puts it "Yet even among those nations you shall find no peace, nor shall your foot find a place to rest. The Lord will give you there an anguished heart and eyes that pine and a despondent spirit." (Verse 65) - whereas it is true that the Jews had a major spiritual downfall throughout the Babylonian exile, in the physical sense they were quite well off with major financial benefits (see Nehemiah 1:3) as well as relatively safe environments (besides for the Purim story with the threat from Haman). As a matter of fact, they were so comfortable that Ezra only managed to get 42,000 Jews to rise with him to the Land! It took at least 200 years (or if secular chronology used - 350 years) for Israel/Judea to regain its immense Jewish population (in the times of the Hasmonaim). Additionally, the Babylonian exile had no traveling ("nor shall your foot find place to rest") involved as it only lasted 70 years.
(5) Verse 36: "The Lord will drive you, and the king who has been set over you, to a nation unknown to you or your fathers" - if Babylon was intended, "a nation unknown to you and your fathers" is hardly an accurate description. Babylon was the first civilization ever to exist. Its name didn't leave the front-pages of every newsletter since the beginning of times. So what about that is "unknown" to us and our grandfathers? Even more baffling is that our very own lineage is traced to Babylon where our Patriarch Abraham came from. For Rome, no greater description is even possible. Rome was a city only established around 800 B.C.E. and an Empire only established right before its entry and occupancy of Judea. The most random nation even possible at the time would be Rome. Hence the description "a nation unknown to you not your fathers".
(6) Deuteronomy 30:7 is part of the description of the Redemption from this exile. It says: "and the Lord will place these curses that were put upon you unto your enemies who have persecuted you". This would have been very unintelligent for the human authors of the Bible (as Bible critics claim that the Torah was sealed only some 200 years into the Second Temple) to write. The enemies of the Jews (the Babylonians who were then under Persian rule) had nothing done to them by the Jewish Redemption (it was around 50 years earlier - at the very beginning of the exile, that the Babylonian were defeated to the Persians -as if that is considered the revenge of G-d on them-, and therefore couldn't have been the nation intended in verse 7 whose retribution comes only at the Redemption and in result of the Israelites repentance).

That's the internal evidence. But a look into history and a dose of logic will provide even stronger evidence that Deuteronomy 28 isn't limited to the Babylonian exile.

The chapter tells us that sins of the Jewish people in the Land will provoke G-d's judgment and the Land would dispose its inhabitants who will be led into exile. Now, the chapter doesn't explain whether this is limited to a one time deal (i.e. that after one exile the Jews will return and have the redemption), or it can happen twice or more. If it was a one time exile and redemption prophecy, then perhaps the Babylonian exile model could have been it and it wouldn't necessarily be future-prophecy but hindsight recording as bible critics suggest. But if more exiles and redemptions were possible, then the chapter could include the Roman exile. Meaning, because the chapter isn't limited to a specific time; it is merely when the Jews sin, no matter before or after an exile and redemption, they will -again- be exiled and ultimately redeemed once more.

So how are we going to know which intent the chapter had? Was it limited to the Babylonian exile or could it have included the Roman exile? Also, even if it could have included the Roman exile, who said it does? Well, perhaps a glance into history should help us determine.

The Jewish history phenomena in the past 2,000 years is one that is mind-boggling and unparalleled by any other nation in history, not close and not even slightly similar to Jewish history. Any natural explanation for it fails. So what can be behind it all? It is obviously the Divine plan that was ALREADY laid out to us clearly in Deuteronomy 28 - that if we sin, these and these curses will be the consequence. It was of no coincidence that the past 2,000 years of history fulfills a prophecy that bible critics claim is going on the Babylonian exile.

It would be extremely illogical to suggest that the Bible author wrote about the Babylonian exile in hindsight and "by chance" the same exact thing as recorded, with all its details, happened again hundreds of years later. And remember, this is not something that is expected to happen often or even occasionally, but rather something that hasn't happened in history to any other nation! Looking in hindsight, the fulfillment of the Roman exile reveals that Deut 28 intended that unnatural chunk of history. Do you really think that the Roman exile replicated the precise, unnatural, unpredictable, portrait of Deut 28 and yet had no connection with it?"

Thank you in advance and I look forward for a friendly and educational debate!