• …the One who was foretold.• …the Prophesied One.• …the long-awaited King.
Jesus was…
• If what I cook will taste good.• What time we’ll arrive.• Whether the outfits I pick will look good on the
kids.• Whether the outfits I pick will look good on me.• Whether my wife will like my beard.
Things I’m Not Good at Predicting
“The first great result of the study of prophecy is that the prophetic Scriptures prove to us the authority of the entire Word of God. The Bible is different from every
other religious book. There is no other book upon which a religion has been founded which includes prophecy within it … there is no greater test or proof of the
inspiration, validity, authority, and trustworthiness of the Bible than the proof of fulfilled prophecy.”
J. Dwight Pentecost
1. The preparation for Jesus’ coming2. The coming of Jesus3. The effects of Jesus’ coming on the world
The Bible, Simplified:
456
David Greenglass
1. Once in Mexico City, Greenglass was to write a note to the secretary, signing his name as, “I. Jackson.”
2. After 3 days, he was to go to the Plaza de Colon in Mexico City…
3. Stand before the statue of Columbus…4. With his middle finger in a guide book…5. When approached, he was to say it was a
magnificent statue and that he was from Oklahoma.6. The secretary was to then give him a passport.
Six Pre-Arranged Signs
“If a single man had written a book foretelling the time and manner of Jesus’ coming and Jesus had come in conformity with these prophecies, this would carry
infinite weight. But there is much more here.”
Blaise Pascal
“There is a succession of men over a period of 4,000 years, coming consistently and invariably one after the other, to foretell the same coming; there is an entire
people proclaiming it, existing for 4,000 years to testify in a body to the certainty they feel about it, from which they
cannot be deflected by whatever threats and persecutions they may suffer. This is of a quite different
order of importance.”
Blaise Pascal
4,000 BCAdam and Eve receive the prophecy
that the Messiah would be born of a woman.
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head,
and you will strike His heel.”
Genesis 3:15
Promise
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law…
Galatians 4:4
Fulfillment
4,000 BCAdam and Eve receive the prophecy
that the Messiah would be born of a woman.
2,000 BCAbraham receives the promise that the Messiah would
descend from Abraham, through his son Isaac (not Ishmael), Isaac’s son Jacob (not Esau), and Jacob’s son
Judah (not any of the other eleven brothers).
Genesis 12:3, 17:19, Numbers 24:17, Genesis 49:10
Promise
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of
Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Matthew 1:1-2
Fulfillment
2,000 BCAbraham receives the promise that the Messiah would
descend from Abraham, through his son Isaac (not Ishmael), Isaac’s son Jacob (not Esau), and Jacob’s son
Judah (not any of the other eleven brothers).
700 BCMicah prophesies that Jesus wouldbe born in the town of Bethlehem.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me One who is to be the Ruler of Israel, whose coming
forth is from of old, from ancient days.
Micah 5:2
Promise
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city
of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David…
Luke 2:4
Fulfillment
700 BCMicah prophesies that Jesus wouldbe born in the town of Bethlehem.
530 BCDaniel prophesies when the Anointed One
would be rejected.
Seventy sets of seven are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to
sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to
anoint a most holy place. Know, therefore, and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an Anointed One, a
Prince, there shall be seven sets of seven.Daniel 9:24-25a
Promise
Then for sixty-two sets of seven it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two sets of seven, an Anointed One shall be cut off
and shall have nothing. And the people of the Prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come like a flood, and to the end there shall be war.
Daniel 9:25b-26
Promise
• There would be a decree to rebuild Jerusalem• Jerusalem and the temple would be rebuilt• Then an Anointed One (Messiah) would be “cut off”
(“rejected” or “killed”)• Then Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed
again.
Daniel Prophesies…
• About 445 BC (85 years after Daniel), the Persian King Artaxerxes gave permission to the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem
• The Jews rebuilt the temple and the city of Jerusalem• Jesus was born and, ultimately, rejected and killed• About 40 years after Jesus was crucified, the Romans
destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.
Fulfillment
530 BCDaniel prophesies when the Anointed One
would be rejected.
700 BCJesus would perform many miracles.
Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped, then shall the lame man leap like
a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
Isaiah 35:4-6a
Promise
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Fulfillment
700 BCJesus would perform many miracles.
400 BCMalachi prophesies that Jesus would enter the temple.
“Behold, I send My messenger and He will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord whom you seek will
suddenly come to His temple and the Messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,”
says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 3:1
Promise
Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon … and it had been revealed to him by the Holy
Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ … and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law…
Luke 2:25-27
Fulfillment
400 BCMalachi prophesies that Jesus would enter the temple.
500 BCZechariah prophesies that Jesus’ betraying friend would be paid 30 pieces of silver for handing Him over to the
authorities, and that the payment would be thrown into the temple in disgust to a potter.
Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as
my wages thirty pieces of silver. Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter” – the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.
Zechariah 11:12-13
Promise
• Betrayal• By a friend• For 30 pieces• Of silver• Money thrown• In the House of the Lord• “To the potter”
Prophecies in Zechariah 11:12-13
Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me
if I deliver Him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an
opportunity to betray Him.
Matthew 26:14-16
Fulfillment
Then when Judas, His betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,
saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing
down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.
Matthew 27:3-5
Fulfillment
But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money. So they took counsel and bought with them the
potter’s field as a burial place for strangers.
Matthew 27:6-7
Fulfillment
500 BCZechariah prophesies that Jesus’ betraying friend would be paid 30 pieces of silver for handing Him over to the
authorities, and that the payment would be thrown into the temple in disgust to a potter.
1,000 BC, 700 BCDavid and Isaiah prophesy that
Jesus would be crucified with sinners.
For dogs encompass Me, a company of evildoers encircles Me; they have pierced my hands and feet…
Psalm 22:16
Promise
He poured out His soul to deathand was numbered with the transgressors…
Isaiah 53:12
Promise
And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on His
right and one on His left.
Luke 23:33
Fulfillment
Prophecy that Jesus would be crucifiedwas given 1000 BC.
Persians invented crucifixion 350 BC.
1,000 BC, 700 BCDavid and Isaiah prophesy that
Jesus would be crucified with sinners.
• Jesus’ birth would be preceded by a prophet from the wilderness
• Jesus would live His life without committing any sins• Jesus would be hated and rejected• Lots would be cast for Jesus’ clothing• Jesus would be beaten, have His beard plucked out,
and would be mocked and spit on
More Prophecies…
• None of Jesus’ bones would be broken• Jesus’ body would be buried in a tomb given to Him
by a rich man• Jesus would resurrect from death
More Prophecies…
• Peter Stoner, science professor at Westmont• Twelve different, separate classes• Representing about 600 students studying the
science of probability• All estimates were extremely conservative for
unanimous agreement• Estimates were made even more conservative and
submitted to American Scientific Affiliation for verification.
So what are the odds?
• Chance of one man being born in Bethlehem:1 in 300,000.
• Chance of one man fulfilling 8 prophecies:1 in 10^17
So what are the odds?
• Take 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 silver dollars• Lay them on the face of Texas• They’ll cover the entire state two feet deep• Mark one of them• Mix them up• Blindfold somebody• Give him one chance to find the marked one
10^17? How many is that?
10, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000,000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000,000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000,000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000,000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000,000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000,000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000,000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000
48 prophecies fulfilled = 10^157
“Any man who rejects Christ as the Son of God is rejecting a fact, proved perhaps more absolutely than any
other fact in the world.”
Peter Stoner