One of the strongest unbiased evidences of Biblical inspiration is the occurrence of fulfilled prophecy. The Bible is essentially unique among the religious books of mankind in this respect. Some of them contain a few vague forecasts, but nothing comparable to the vast number of specific prophecies found in the Bible. The same is true of modern "prophets", so-called. Such seers as Nostradamus, Jean Dixon, and others have made many predictions, but often they are obscure and capable of various meanings. A few of these "modern prophecies" seem to have been fulfilled in a general way, but most of them have completely failed.(1/181)
Prophets, to be legitimate, must stand the test of time. If the prophet was not 100% correct 100% of the time he is a false prophet. Prophecy, to be valid, must predate the event; must be precise enough so as to not be vague; must have enough events described to be beyond human ability to calculate or manipulate --- in other words not be something that man could do, without God's guidance!
JESUS CHRIST FULFILLED EVERY PROPHECY --- Here are just 85 more of them in the following charts!
37 More Specific Bible Prohecies of Christ
CLICK TO ENLARGE AND/OR PRINT
Only God knows the future. He is able to "call the things that are not, as though they were" (Romans 4:17). He declares "the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done." (Isaiah 46:10; Acts 15:18). If one can demonstrate the ability to always predict future things that find exact fulfillment, it would follow logically that such a person, in possession of this gift, would be speaking on the behalf of God. His message therefore, would be valid. (3/81-82) The Bible is God's final prophetic word to humanity. Do not listen to those who claim special predictive abilities, or those who would twist the Scriptures in an effort to fulfill a personal prophetic agenda. There are many religions today that claim to have "prophets", but remember for a prophet to be from God there can be no errors, ever! That lets all of the "prophets" since the first century on.
Scholars suggest that there are about 1,000 prophecies altogether in the Bible --- some 800 in the Old Testament and about 200 in the New Testament. (3/82) It must be noted carefully that the gift of prophecy was clearly in operation during those by-gone ages when the Biblical scriptures were being prepared and validated as God's Word. But the gift of prophecy was terminated near the end of the first century AD, when the New Testament was completed,
(1 Corinthians 13:8-10) and was no longer needed.
37 More Specific Prohecies of Christ
CLICK TO ENLARGE AND/OR PRINT
· One of the major Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ's coming as the Messiah is from the book of Daniel. First, when Daniel recounted and interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream, he revealed that God would establish the Messianic kingdom during the time of the Roman Empire (i.e., the forth kingdom represented in the kings dream ---.Daniel 2:24-45). Roman domination of Palestine began in 63 BC, and the Empire continued until AD 476.
· Second, the Christ was promised to come before "the septer" departed from Judah (Genesis 49:10). If this prophecy has reference to the Messiah ("Shiloh") coming before God's people lost their national sovereignty and judicial power ("septer"), then He had to come before the Jews lost their power to execute capital punishment (John 18:31). When Rome deposed Archelaus in AD 6, Coponius was installed as Judea's first procurator, "The ... procurator held the power of jurisdiction with regard to capital punishment" (Solomon 1972, 13:117). Hence, Christ was predicted to come before AD 6 (see also McDowell, 1972, PP 176-178).
· Third, Daniel predicted that the Messiah would come, die, and bring and end to "sacrifice and offering" before the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. Daniel 9:24-27: Matthew 24:15; Jackson). Jerusalem was obliterated be Rome in AD 70.
· Forth, the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea (Micah 5:2). It is a matter of historical record that Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem while Palestine was under Roman rule, before Judah lost her judicial power, and before the destruction of Jerusalem (see also Matthew 2:3-6 and Luke 2:1-6). (7,45)
27 More Specific Bible Prophecies of Chirst
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Many of the prophecies concerning the messiah were totally beyond human control, such as:
Birth: Place, time, manner of.
Death: Peoples reactions, piercing of side, burial
Resurrection: Where did His body go?
By using the modern science of probability in reference to just eight of these prophesies --- the chance that any man might have lived to fulfill all eight prophecies is one in one hundred trillion!
To illustrate this: If we take 100 trillion silver dollars --- and lay them on the face of Texas, they would be two feet deep. Now we mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly --- all over the state. Now blindfold a man and let him travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick only one silver dollar. What chance would he have of picking the right one? The same chance that the prophets would have of writing just eight of these prophecies and having them all come true for any one man --- if they had written them without God's inspiration!
40 More Specific Prohecies of Christ
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The chance of any one man fulfilling all of 38 prophecies is one in 10 to the 157 power. The electron is about as small an object as we can imagine. if we had a cubic inch of these electrons and tried to count them, it would take us (at 250 per minute) 19,000 time 19,000 time 19,000 years to count them. Now mark one of them, and thoroughly stir it into the whole mass. What chance does our blindfolded man have of finding the right electron? --- The same chance as one man of fulfilling 38 of the prophecies about Christ, without being the Son of God!
Here is a short listing of some of the hundreds of prophecies concerning Christ:Linage Genesis 3:15; 9:26: 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; 49:10; 2 Samuel 7:12-16
Son of GodPsalm 2:6-7
Virgin birthIsaiah 7:14
BirthplaceMicah 5:2
Piercing of sideZechariah 12:10
DarknessPsalm 22:2
VinegarPsalm 69:21
MockingPsalm 22:6-8
NakednessPsalm 22:17
Gambling for clothesPsalm 22:18
Unbroken bonesPsalm 34:20
BurialIsaiah 53:9
ResurrectionPsalm 16:10; Hosea 6:2; Psalm 30:3,9; Isaiah 53:10
Assention to right hand of GodPsalm 110:1; 68:18; Proverbs 30:4; 24:3-10
Seems impossible? Even so, it was predicted to happen many centuries before it happened. Jesus Himself predicted the fall of Jerusalem in Luke 19:43-44, "The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you." Dueteronomy 28:64 prophesies "Then the Lord will scatter you among the nations from one end of the earth to the other." Jesus again predicts in Luke 21:24, "They will fall by the sword and will be taken prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled."(see also Romans 11:25; Isaiah 11:11).
The Jews began to return to Palestine in small numbers in the early part of the twentieth century, and then in much larger numbers after World War I. After World War II the Israeli nation was re-established in part in 1948, and in 1967 in the "six-day war" Israel recaptured the "old city" of Jerusalem. Amazingly, Jerusalem is now completely under Jewish control, except for one spot. This is on Mount Moriah where the Arabs have built their famous Dome-of-the-Rock, the second most holy place in the Muslim world. The Jews for political or other reasons have not yet dared to expel the Arabs from this site, raze it, and proceed to rebuild their temple, as they must want to do. (1/192-193) "Last Days Prophecy" is being fulfilled right before our eyes!
1) Nebuchadnezzar will destroy the mainland of Tyre (Ezekiel 26:8).
2) Many nations against Tyre (Ezekiel 26:3).
3) Make her a bare rock; flat like the top of a rock (Ezekiel 26:4).
4) Fishermen will spread their nets over the site (Ezekiel 26:5).
5) Throw the debris into the water (Ezekiel 26:12).
6) Never be rebuilt (Ezekiel 26:14).
7) Never be found again (Ezekiel 26:21) (2/285)
Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to mainland Tyre three years after the prophecy and after a 13 year siege (585-573 BC) Tyre made terms and acknowledged Babylonian authority over them.(4/xxii.,452) When Nebuchadnezzar broke the gates down, he found the city almost empty. The majority of the people had moved by ship to an island about a 1/2 mile off the coast and fortified a city there. The mainland city was destroyed in 573 BC, as predicted. The city of Tyre on the island remained a powerful city for several hundred years. (2/286)
Alexander the Great, in his war on Persia, marching southward called on each city to open their gates to him, as part of his plan to deny the use to the Persian fleet. Tyre refused to do so, and Alexander laid siege to the city. Possessing no fleet, he demolished old Tyre, on the mainland, and with the debris built a causeway 200 feet wide across the straits separating the old and new towns, erecting towers and war engines at the farther end. (4/xxii., 452) Tyre continually raided the causeway with fire-ships greatly retarding progress, until Alexander pressured conquered subjects to make ships for his operation. After attaining a superior naval force, Alexander finished the causeway, battered the walls of Tyre down killed eight thousand of the inhabitants and sold thirty thousand into slavery. (5/153)
A history book by a secular historian reads, "Alexander the Great ... reduced Tyre to ruins... the larger part of the site of the once great city is now bare as the top of a rock --- a place where fishermen now spread their nets to dry." (5/55) Another historian, John C. Beck, says, "The history of Tyre does not stop with after the conquest of Alexander. Men continue to rebuild her and armies continue to besiege her walls, until finally after sixteen hundred years, she falls never to be rebuilt again." (6/41)
All the prophecies of Ezekiel about Tyre have come true: Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the mainland city of Tyre; Many nations were against Tyre; Alexander made her a bare rock and threw debris into the water to make the causeway; fishermen now spread nets over the site; (there is a city of Tyre today, but it is located down the coast from the original Tyre) the old city of Tyre has never been rebuilt, even though a great freshwater spring are located at the site, providing 10,000,000 gallons daily. It is still an excellent site today but has never been rebuilt, although many have tried. All seven of the predictions came true in the minutest detail.Sidon................................................ (Ezekiel 28:22-23);
Samaria............................................ (Hosea 13:16 & Micah 1:6);
Gaza-Ashkelon................................. (Amos 1:8; Jeremiah 47:5; Zephaniah 2:4);
Moab-Ammon.................................. (Ezekiel 25:3-4; Jeremiah 48:47 & 49:6);
Petra-Edom...................................... (Isaiah 34:6-15; Jeremaih 49:17-18; Ezekiel 25:13-14 & 35:57);
Thebes-Memphis............................. (Ezekiel 30:13-15);
Nineveh........................................... (Nahum 1:8-10; 2:6; 3:10; 3:13; 3:19);
Babylon............................................. (Daniel 2,7; Isaiah 13:19-22; 14:23; Jeremiah 51:26 & 43);
Chorazin-Bethsaida-Capernaum....... (Matthew 11:20-24 );
Enlargement of Jerusalem................. (Jeremiah 31:38-40); and finally
Palestine.............................................. (Leviticus 26:31-33 & Ezekiel 36:33-35),
where the events are happening right before our eyes!
A friendly welcome awaits you. We do not wish to embarrass you in any way. You will not be asked for contributions. We assemble for Bible study and worship each Sunday morning and we welcome you to meet with us. We would be happy to talk to you about your questions and we want to be of encouragement.
Please e-mail me, Dennis Crawford, at BibleTruthsToU@gmail.com or call 253-396-0290 for comments or further Bible information, or for the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you.
References
Compiled and edited by P. Dennis Crawford
1) Morris, Henry M., "Many Infallible Proofs", San Diego: Creation Life Publishers, 1974
2) McDowell, Josh, "Evidence that Demands a Verdict", Campus Crusades for Christ, Arrowhead Springs, San Bernardino, Ca 92414, 1972
3) Jackson, Wayne, "Reason & Revelation Vol. Xv, No. 11, 1995", "Prophecies - True and False", Apologetics Press, 230 Landmark Dr., Montgomery, AL 36117
4) Encyclopedia Britanicia, 1970
5) Myers, Philip Van Ness, "General History for Colleges and High Schools", Boston: Ginn and Company, 1889.
6) Beck, John Clark, Jr., "The Fall of Tyre According to Ezekiel's Prophecy", Unpublished Master's Thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1971.
7) Brominling, Brad T., "Reason and Revelation Vol. XI, No 12, 1991", "The Prophet's Portrait of Christ", Apologetics Press, 230 Landmark Dr., Montgomery, AL 36117
8) Charts by Rose Publishing, Torrance, CA, 1998
And here is the rest of it.
Monday, February 1, 2021
Bible Prophecies
Sunday, June 14, 2020
The Case for Christ's Resurrection
Author
Chris Lang
last update 14 June 2020
The Evidence: A Brief Survey
Approaching the Bible
In order to examine the evidence for the resurrection we must place ourselves in the historical situation. The events surrounding the life and death of Christ didn't occur at a place where we can gain no knowledge of them. Rather, they occurred in history, on earth, and were recorded by men who witnessed the events.
When we approach an ancient document such as the Bible or another ancient document such as Tacitus' History of Rome (115 A.D.) we must come to the text with an understanding attitude. This does not mean that we assume the text to be 100 per cent true. But we need to be able to ask the right questions. In the first century much less writing took place than does in our time. Many were illiterate, few could read, much less write, and paper or parchment (leather) to write on was expensive. The incentive to fabricate was not as it is today. In other words, The National Enquirer, could never have been published at this time. A high regard was given to writing and the luxury to create fictional material was virtually non-existent, for instance there was no such thing as a novel or a newspaper, although there were artistic writings such as poetry. The Bible however, is a much different kind of literature. It was not written as a poem or story, although it also contains poetry. It was for the most part written as history and is intended to communicate truth throughout.
The gospel of Luke begins:
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word [Paul, Peter, etc] have handed them down to us, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you might know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.” (Luke 1:1-4)
Luke was not an apostle, he was however the companion of Paul and probably dictated some of his letters. Luke tells us that he is writing in consecutive order because the other gospels, Matthew, Mark and John, are written more by topic than chronologically.
How do we know anything historically? There is no "scientific" proof that Lincoln was the president. We cannot recreate him in a laboratory or bring him back to life. We cannot reproduce the experiment. We cannot calculate an equation that tells us that he was. But we can assert with a high degree of probability that Lincoln was indeed our president and was assassinated in 1865. We do this by appealing to historical evidence. Many people saw Lincoln. We have some of his writings and even his picture, not to mention his likeness on our pennies. But none of this "proves", in a scientific sense, that Lincoln ever lived or was the president.
The kind of evidence used in historical research is the same kind as that used in a court of law. In a courtroom case certain kinds of evidences are appealed to in order to determine what exactly happened, eyewitnesses are questioned, motives are examined, and physical evidence is scrutinized such as fingerprints or journal writings.
It is the same kind of evidence that we appeal to in order to establish Christ's life, death, and resurrection. Granted, the evidence is not as great as that for Lincoln, nor as recent. But it is better evidence than we have that Plato ever lived, or Homer, or many historical figures that we take for granted.
Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus [Christ], from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition [Christ's resurrection] thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. (Bettenson, p. 2)
In about 112 A.D. the Roman governor of what is now northern Turkey wrote to Emperor Trajan regarding the Christians in his district:
"I was never present at any trial of Christians; therefore I do not know what are the customary penalties or investigations, and what limits are observed. . . whether those who recant should be pardoned. . . whether the name itself, even if innocent of crime, should be punished, or only the crimes attaching to that name. . . . Meanwhile, this is the course that I have adopted in the case of those brought before me as Christians. I ask them if they are Christians. If they admit it I repeat the question a second and a third time, threatening capital punishment; if they persist I sentence them to death. For I do not doubt that, whatever kind of crime it may be to which they have confessed, their pertinacity and inflexible obstinacy should certainly be punished. . . the very fact of my dealing with the question led to a wider spread of the charge, and a great variety of cases were brought before me. An anonymous pamphlet was issued, containing many names. All who denied that they were or had been Christians I considered should be discharged, because they called upon the gods at my dictation and did reverence. . .and especially because they cursed Christ, a thing which it is said, genuine Christians cannot be induced to do.;" (Bettenson, p. 3)
These passages indicate that Christianity was wide spread in the Roman empire within 80 years of Christ's death. Again, these are eyewitness accounts, not historians looking back years later.
The popular historian Will Durant, himself not a Christian, wrote concerning Christ's historical validity, "The denial of that existence seems never to have occurred even to the bitterest gentile or Jewish opponents of nascent Christianity" (Durant, The Story of Civilization, vol. 3, p. 555). And again, "That a few simple men should in one generation have invented so powerful and appealing a personality, so lofty an ethic and so inspiring a vision of human brotherhood, would be a miracle far more incredible than any recorded in the Gospels" (Ibid., p. 557).
It is a substantial thing that an historian who spends his life considering historical facts should affirm the reality of Christ's existence as well as the rapid growth of the early movement.
The Jewish historian Josephus, writing for the Roman government in the 70's A.D. records some incidental things regarding Christ and the church. He confirms that John the Baptist died at the hand of Herod (this same incident is recorded in the gospels) as well as the death of, "The brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James. . . he delivered them to be stoned" (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, ch. V, p. 20; Book XX, ch. IX, p. 140 ). Again we have sources external to the Bible that demonstrate the historical reliability of the text. Josephus, who was probably alive during the time of Christ, is attesting to the reality of his existence. What this also tells us is that within 40 years of Christ's death, the knowledge of who he was was widespread enough that Josephus could reference him and expect his readers to know exactly who he was talking about.
Josephus tells how the Jews copied the Old Testament. "We have given practical proof of our reverence for our own Scriptures. For although such long ages have now passed, no one has ventured either to add, or to remove, or to alter a syllable; and it is an instinct with every Jew, from the day of his birth, to regard them as the decrees of God, to abide by them, and, if need be, cheerfully to die for them" (Against Apion, Book I, sec., 8, p. 158). Josephus statement is no exaggeration. The Jewish copyists knew exactly how many letters where in every line of every book and how many times each word occurred in each book. This enabled them to check for errors (Shelly, Prepare to Answer, p. 133). The Jews believed that adding any mistake to the Scriptures would be punishable by Hell. This is not like the modern secretary who has many letters to type and must work hard to keep their job, and consequently feels that mistakes are inevitable. Great care is exercised with scriptures when someone holds a conviction such as this.
But even with the great amount of care exercised in copying, errors have crept into the manuscripts. No one questions that spelling errors, misplaced letters, and word omissions have occurred. What is not true is that these errors have gradually built up over time so that our copies look nothing like the originals. This view was commonly held until recently.
In 1947 the accuracy of these documents was confirmed by the Dead Sea Scrolls. These scrolls were found in caves in the desert near the Dead Sea by a shepherd boy. Before the discovery of these scrolls, the earliest Old Testament manuscripts we had were from about 980 A.D. The manuscripts discovered in the caves dated from 250 B.C. to shortly after the time of Christ. In careful comparison of the manuscripts it was confirmed that the copies we had were almost precisely the same as those which date over 1000 years earlier. Old Testament scholar Gleason Archer said that even though there is such a difference in dates of the manuscripts, "they proved to be word for word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in more that 95 per cent of the text. The 5 per cent of variation consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling." No other historical literature has been so carefully preserved and historically confirmed.
When we come to the New Testament we see a similar phenomenon. There are over 5,000 Greek New Testament manuscripts in existence. This is by far more than any other historical documents, which usually have maybe a dozen copies from very late dates. The New Testament manuscripts are many and old and they are spread over a wide geographical area. What this enables the New Testament historian to do is collect manuscripts from Jerusalem and Egypt and Syria and other places and compare them for variations. And variations do exist, but as with the Old Testament they are relatively few and rarely important to the meaning of the text. What these manuscripts demonstrate is that different families of texts existed very early that were copied from the original or good copies of the original. This allows us to trace the manuscripts back to the source as one would follow the branches of a tree to get to the trunk. Aside from the manuscripts themselves, "virtually the entire New Testament could be reproduced from citations contained in the works of the early church fathers. There are some thirty-two thousand citations in the writings of the Fathers prior to the Council of Nicea (325)" (Moreland, Scaling the Secular City, p. 136).
Later it was discovered that Pilate had been appointed by a man named Sejanus who was plotting to overthrow Caesar. Sejanus was executed along with many of his appointees (Delashmutt, Sejanus, p. 55, 56). What this demonstrated was that Pilate was in no position to get in trouble with Rome. The Jews had him in a tight place. If word returned to Rome that Jerusalem was in rebellion, Pilate would be the first to go. The gospel account was confirmed as accurate.
Many facts recorded in the Bible have been challenged with the same result, later archeology confirms the reliability of the biblical records down to the smallest detail. A respected Jewish archaeologist has claimed that, "It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference" (Shelly, p. 103). This is a strong statement for any archaeologist to make because if it were not true, he would quickly be condemned in his own field.
The conclusion that one draws from this material is that the Bible is a reliable historical document. Its accuracy has been proved numerous times. Its historical inaccuracy has never been demonstrated. So that when we approach the Bible, we do so with a good amount of confidence that what it records actually happened. If this is true, then we need to come to terms about what the Bible claims. We cannot dismiss it out of hand because we were not there, regardless of the difficulty of what is said.
We must be careful, however, when we approach the Bible to be willing to entertain the idea that something outside of what we see, hear, and feel could exists. All of these sensory experiences are in the realm of science. But science, which deals with the laws of nature, can say nothing of the supernatural. Science has its limits -- especially in the area of the miraculous -- because miracles are by definition non-repeatable, non-natural, and non-ordinary events. If miracles exist and if they function as I've described, then we would not expect everyone to have experienced a miracle in their lifetime.
We cannot rule out miracles because we have never personally witnessed one. In other words it is wrong to reason that a miracle cannot occur on logical grounds (by reason alone) because one has never seen one (something that can only be validated by experience). It is certainly possible that supernatural events have indeed taken place throughout the history of mankind. And it is better to come with an attitude that maintains that it might be possible and with reliable witnesses we may be convinced that something supernatural has taken place. Let's leave this question open.
Those who lived a long time ago were not necessarily more gullible than we are. We commonly assume that ancient peoples believed miracles occurred regularly. This is not true in the sense that we use the term miracle. They certainly wouldn't have been able to explain as much about the natural world as we can. But this does not make them ignorant individuals willing to believe any abnormal event is a supernatural occurrence. They were awed by things that we can explain using the "laws of nature." But they were also aware of a difference between things that occurred naturally, such as lightning, and those which didn't, such as people rising from the dead. They were men who lived day to day without these amazing experiences just as we do.
Jesus died by crucifixion. Crucifixion was a most painful and certain means of death. Christ was whipped by Roman soldiers before his crucifixion (Mt 27:26-31). The Roman method for this was to give thirty-nine lashes before crucifixion. (Forty lashes was considered legally dead after which point an individual could no longer be punished.) The effect of this was to induce considerable blood loss. The Romans used what was called a "cat-of-nine-tails." This whip had many ends to it and usually had pieces of bone, glass, and metal shards attached to it which would rip open the flesh. After being whipped Jesus was forced to carry his own cross to the place of crucifixion. The gospel records indicate that in his weakened state, he was unable to carry the cross (which would have been carried on his wounded back Mt 27:32). Incidentally, Jesus was probably not a weak man. Before his preaching ministry he had been a carpenter and during his ministry he walked hundreds of miles throughout Israel.
Jesus was then nailed to a Roman cross at which point his death came within hours. The Jews were concerned that no bodies would be left on crosses at sundown that evening because it was the beginning of the Sabbath. "The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away" (John 19:31). Crucifixion victims, depending on their health and the method of crucifixion, could last days on a cross. Victims died primarily through blood loss, dehydration, and suffocation. In order to breath when on a cross, it is necessary for the victim to push up with their legs to release the pressure on the lungs. This is a painful process because of the nails in both the hands and feet or ankles. The purpose of breaking the victims legs was so that they would be unable to push themselves up to breath and thus dies more quickly.
However, when they came to Jesus the Roman guards realized he was dead already. "The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs; but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water" (John 19:32-34). John records this detail of piercing Jesus side to indicate that he was in fact dead. In an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association the doctors examining the historical evidence concluded that the spear probably pierced the sack of fluid that surrounds the heart (JAMA, Vol., 255, No. 11, 1986, p. 1455ff ). If he had not been dead before this time, he was surely dead now.
The gospel records indicate that upon his death two prominent Jewish admirers came to gather Christ's body. "And after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. And Nicodemus came also, who had first come to Him by night; bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight" (John 19:38). These men were both of the ruling class of the Jews (seventy-one men in all) and well known in the community as well as to Pilate. The mention of prominent men indicates that this account is not fictitious. If the disciples had created this story it would have been counter- productive to make up a person that was supposed to be in a prominent position. This could easily have been refuted were it not true. (Moreland, p. 167).
"And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave" (Matthew 27:59-61). Archaeological evidence confirms the description of this tomb being that of a rich man, which was rare in this day. The probable location described in the gospels correlates with the specific location of the Garden Gate at the north Wall of Jerusalem where tombs have been excavated like those described in which Jesus was laid (Ibid.)
There are some important features to this account. First, this was not a poor man's grave. Only the rich had tombs carved in rock and situated in a garden area. Second, the tomb was identified by Joseph, Nicodemus, and the women who watched where he was buried. The grave is also carefully marked by the Jewish and Roman authorities as this same passage records,
“Now on the next day, which is the one after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, and said, "Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I am to rise again.' Therefore give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, lest the disciples come and steal Him away and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last deception will be worse than the first" Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how." And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.” (Matthew 27:62-66) It is also important to note here, that a Roman guard is a group of soldiers not an individual. The seal which was placed over the grave was a wax seal with rope, to break this Roman seal was punishable by death in the Roman empire.
We know also that the disciples were very disillusioned by Jesus' death. The man they had followed around Israel for three years, whom they believed would be the next ruler of the nation, had just been crucified. They had expected a Messiah who would be king, not a criminal to be convicted and killed in the most humiliating way. They probably felt that their lives had been wasted for the past few years and they had publicly been made fools. Of course, they realized that what they had experienced with Christ for the last three years was significant. But how and what was significant, they did not yet understand. The disciples scattered when Christ was arrested in the garden of Gethsemene (Mark 14:50ff). Peter denied ever knowing Jesus during his "trial" on the night before his crucifixion (Mark 14:66ffJohn 21:3).
Three days after his burial the tomb was found empty. Each of the gospels reports that Jesus' tomb was found empty (Matthew 28: 1-10, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24: 1-3; John 20:1-10). "But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus" (Luke 24:1-3). When it had been reported to the disciples by Mary that the tomb was empty, they came running:
“Simon Peter therefore came, following him, and entered the tomb and he beheld the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth, which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb entered then also, and he saw and believed [that the body was gone]. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes.” (John 20:6-10) This recording is significant, but what is more significant is that the events which followed Jesus' resurrection bear witness to the fact that his body was indeed missing.
An historical question confronts us at this point. What happened to the body. Scholars have generally agreed that the body was indeed gone and many explanations have been put forth to account for this fact. The most common response is that it was indeed stolen. But this view is hampered with many problems. Who would have stolen it? The Jews would not want to steal it. It was they that posted the Roman guard and they had the most to gain by ensuring that Jesus stayed in his tomb and his teachings died with him. The Romans really had no motivation. It was in Pilate's best interest as a governor whose job was in jeopardy to keep his realm quiet, not to mention that the Romans hated the Jewish religious fanaticism.
The only reasonable explanation for the missing body is that the disciples stole it. But is this plausible? These are the same men who scattered when Jesus was arrested. They were cowardly. They were disillusioned and depressed. And they would need to overpower the Roman guards. It is not likely that they would have had the courage or motivation to carry out such a plan. Why would they steal it? Possibly they wanted to start a new religion, to gain fame and fortune. This is possible but not likely as we will see. The disciples would have put themselves in great risk to steal the body. The Jews and Romans both wanted this disruption stopped, had they believed that the disciples stole the body they would have dragged them into prison and beaten them until they confessed and produced the body. No such thing happened.
A number of incidental details in this account bear the markings of history as opposed to fraud or fiction. The gospels do not portray the disciples in a very glamorous light. If the disciples had propagated this myth we would expect their own accounts of the events to paint them in a better light than we actually see them in. The disciples were not the first to see the risen Christ rather, a group of women were. The disciples were very reluctant to believe that Jesus was alive again when the women reported what they had seen. "Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. And these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them." (Luke 24:10,11) "Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). These men knew that when someone died, they were dead. Thomas was no fool.
It is of crucial importance to notice in all the accounts that the women were the first to see the risen Jesus (John 20:11-17; Luke 24:1-9; Mark 16:1-8; Matthew 28:1-7). In the first century women had no legal power as witnesses in a court of law. A woman's testimony was unacceptable. But it is to the women that Jesus first appears. If the story is fabricated, why choose women, whose testimony no one would accept, to be the first witnesses? Instead of being a story concocted by the disciples for their own gain, it appears to be an historical record of what actually took place.
When Peter stuck his head in the tomb he saw something unique that made him realize that something out of the ordinary had happened there. He saw the linen wrappings that Joseph and Nicodemus had used to coat the body. This was done by wrapping the body, head to foot, in cloth and caking on the spices and burial ointments which would be reapplied in succeeding days to help the smell of decomposition. Peter probably saw the wrappings in the shape of a body without a body inside. But he also saw the head cloth, "rolled up in a place by itself." No one stealing the body would have had time to roll up the face cloth and carefully set it aside. This is a curious detail that caught Peter's attention.
But this was only a foreshadowing of what was to come as Peter and the others personally experienced Jesus Christ in the succeeding days.
And while they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst. But they were startled and frightened and thought they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, "emWhy are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." (Luke 24:36-39) This is no less remarkable for us today than it was for them. And we can understand their reluctance to accept him. But they came to believe that they had witnessed something unique as Jesus appeared to them many times over a period of four days. These experiences had a profound impact on their lives.
How their lives changed after they had seen the risen Jesus is another mark of the story's truthfulness. The disciples became the forerunners of a new movement that swept the world. They spoke out for the message. They were persecuted for the message and they ultimately gave their lives for this message: Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Reliable historical sources tell us that all twelve of the disciples except John died as martyrs. Peter was crucified in Rome. Paul was beheaded. And James was stoned to death, to name a few. This is of crucial importance. If they had pulled off a hoax, why would they go to their graves proclaiming that it actually happened. Certainly, many have died for a lie. Nazis gave their lives for what was false. Plenty of other religious followers have died for their faith, but the crucial point here is that the disciples would have known it was a lie, if they had stolen the body or made up the story. They all would have died for what they knew was a lie. Is it plausible to believe that not one of them, under the threat of death would have admitted, "we made the whole thing up?" What they saw changed their lives. They believed they had seen Jesus Christ rise from the dead.
And because of what they believed they saw, these men who were meek suddenly became powerful spokesmen for Jesus Christ. Peter who denied Christ a few weeks earlier preached to over three thousand people in Acts 2, “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know--[he is appealing to their common knowledge of Jesus and what he did] this man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. And God raised Him up again, putting and end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.” (Acts 2:22-24)
Not only were they now bold spokesmen, but of a fundamentally different religion than Judaism. For a Jew of the first century to change his religion or preach some heretical doctrine would be to risk eternal damnation. (Moreland, p. 172). For us in the twentieth century, we are not surprised by new religions, but this kind of hoax is almost unthinkable in first century Judaism whose culture and beliefs changed slowly (Ibid., p. 180). They were convinced that what they saw and experienced was true.
What did the disciples see? Could they have seen a vision that they assumed was the risen Christ? Could it have been an hallucination. Because of the strength of the evidence that something did happen that changed the disciples' lives, some critics have suggested the idea that what they saw was an hallucination. There are two problems with this theory: it doesn't match what we know of the account and it doesn't match what we know of the psychology of hallucinations.
J.P. Moreland summarizes the nature of hallucinations well. “First, hallucinations happen to persons who are high-strung, highly imaginative, and nervous. Second, they are linked in an individual's subconscious to his past beliefs and experiences. Third, it is extremely unlikely that two or more people would have the same hallucination at the same time. Fourth, they usually occur at particular places (places of nostalgia which create a reminiscing mood) and they recur over a long period of time.” (p. 177)
I would add further that the idea of mass hallucinations has been disproven in modern psychology. If you hold that what the disciples saw was an hallucination, then you must acknowledge that they experienced this hallucination in groups of three, four, twelve, and even five hundred people.
The hallucination theory does not fit what we know of the disciples' expectations. As I have said earlier, the disciples were not expecting Christ to rise from the dead. They had no concept in Judaism of the Messiah rising physically from the dead with the same body, a body they could touch and interact with. Nor do the descriptions given in the gospels reflect the kind of vagueness that makes up an hallucination. What they experienced was concrete. They could recall and explain it clearly. And because many of them experienced the same thing, separately and together, they could confirm their experiences with each other.
The hallucination theory also fails to explain one other fact: the empty tomb. Had the disciples, and many others, hallucinated Jesus' appearances, the commotion they were causing in Jerusalem could have been easily stopped by producing the body. This is an argument from silence. In other words, there is nothing said in history about whether the Romans and Jews tried to produce Jesus' body. But it is crucial in this case that there is nothing said in recorded history about what happened to Jesus' body other than what we find in the gospels. Had Jesus' body been exhumed by the Jews or Romans and presented to the mass of people who were deluded about his resurrection, it is hard to believe that the early church could have gotten started. But the movement did start and the resurrection of Jesus was the grounds on which it began.
Jesus resurrection from the dead was central to their faith. Peter preached the message in Jerusalem as Acts chapter 2 goes on to say, "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day." Peter is saying that we know where David's body is. We can go and dig it up. But Jesus' body is missing. Had this not been true, anyone in the audience could have refuted his claim. The Jews or the Romans could have opened the tomb and paraded the body through the city to show everyone that the disciples' message was false. But they didn't because there was no body to find and all of Jerusalem had heard the news (Luke 24:18). Even the Jewish historian Josephus writing forty years later comments on Jesus' death.
It is important to note that the message was preached, not in a remote location where no one could verify the account, but it was preached in Jerusalem where all of these events took place and where the story could have easily been falsified or verified.
It is from this location that the church grew. The movement grew very quickly. Acts records three thousand people being baptized in one day (Acts 2:41). On another occasion five thousand people came to believe (Acts 4:4). This corresponds to what we know of the growth of the early church and it is one of the reasons historians do not suspect that Jesus was a legend. Legends take many years to accumulate and gain acceptance. Christianity spread immediately. The Jewish authorities were unable to contain its growth because it was so rapid.
The resurrection of Christ is central to the Christian faith. Without it, there is no Christianity. Paul says, "if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain" (I Corinthians 15:14). Paul who was a vigorous persecutor of the church before seeing the risen Christ maintains that Jesus did rise from the dead. In writing to the Corinthian church he says, “[F]or I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep [died]; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all . . . He appeared to me also.” (I Corinthians 15:3-8)
What he is telling his readers is that many people saw Jesus after the resurrection. He is saying, "if you are skeptical you can go and speak with them yourselves because most of them are still alive!" Paul is so confident of what he and the others saw that he is willing to stake everything on this claim. This was not an event that occurred to a few men in a remote location. It happened in a huge metropolitan city and there were many witnesses to verify it.
And after eight days again His disciples were inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, "Peace be with you." Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into my side; and be not unbelieving, but believing." Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:26-28)
Thomas was willing to accept the evidence he saw. The question is, how much evidence will it take for us. As Christ states in the very next verse, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."
There is much more evidence for the truth of Christ's message than is presented here. This is only a brief sketch of some of the historical evidence. There is also the evidence of fulfilled prophecy from the Old Testament, as well as other kinds. The point is that the evidence exists. If the evidence is weak and unconvincing, then we can throw Christianity out and look elsewhere. But if it is true, the message of Jesus Christ applies to us. And we must be willing to submit to it, regardless of what it says about us.
God demands humility from us. If he is indeed our Maker, we cannot approach Him with an attitude that is arrogant and demanding. We must approach Him on His terms. Christ spelled out those terms: mankind is in rebellion toward God and in need of forgiveness. This is exactly what Christ came to offer. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24). And also, "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" (John 10:10).
Please contact me, Dennis Crawford, at BibleTruthsToU@gmail.com, or 253-396-0290 (cell) for comments or further Bible information, or for the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
The Empty Tomb
behold, here is the place where they laid Him”
Mark 16:6
Central Theme
The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead is the key part of the Gospel message. See 1 Corinthians 15. If this message is not true it should be rejected, but if it is true it must be accepted. There is no middle ground.
If you have not accepted this message, how would you explain the empty tomb? Consider the facts:
(1) The body was missing. If enemies stole it, they certainly would have produced it on the first Pentecost after the crucifixion. On that occasion the apostles proclaimed a risen Lord. Enemies would surely have produced the body to discredit the message if they could have done so. They stopped short of nothing to prevent the spread of the Gospel, even murdering those who preached.
(2) If the disciples stole the body, they would have known that they were proclaiming a falsehood. Men do not willingly die for a cause they know to be false.
Faith of the Disciples
The faith of those who proclaimed the risen Lord is astounding! Disciples who ran away when Jesus was arrested, later proclaimed the resurrection with great boldness (Acts 2:24-32). They were convinced not only by the empty tomb, but by seeing Jesus alive after His burial; not only once nor twice, but many times over a period of forty days. They saw Him in groups of two, seven, ten, eleven and five hundred!
Hallucination?
Could the resurrection appearances have been hallucinations? Different groups do not continue to see the same hallucination, nor would five hundred people have the same hallucination at once. Hallucinations are usually experienced by individuals who are anticipating some unusual occurrence. The disciples were not expecting the resurrection and tended not to believe the first appearances of the risen Lord.
The Swoon Theory
Was Jesus really dead when they buried Him? Roman soldiers broke the legs of the thieves to insure their deaths before the beginning of the Passover. But they found Jesus already dead. One soldier, in order to be certain, delivered a mortal spear thrust (John 19: 31-37). We may be certain Jesus was dead when Joseph of Arimathea placed the body in the tomb.
Records Latter Expanded?
Were the records later expanded to include the resurrection in an effort to glorify Christ? It is a matter of historical record outside the Scriptures that the first century Christians believed it and preached a risen Lord. The first century historian, Flavius Josephus mentioned Christ and the resurrection (Antiquities, Book 28, Chapter 3). Josephus was not a Christian, yet his writings and the writings of others clearly indicate the first century proclamation of the risen Lord. The Scriptures were not later expanded to accommodate the resurrection.
The Results
If Jesus had remained in the tomb: Peter, James and John would have returned permanently to their fishing nets. There would have been no New Testament record and no church. The evidence for the resurrection is overwhelming. The empty tomb found by the women puzzled them. The only plausible explanation is that given by the angel, “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay” Matthew 28:6.
“But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead. But if He did not raise Him: if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for in this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men,”
1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Please contact me, Dennis Crawford, at BibleTruthsToU@gmail.com, or 253-396-0290 (cell) for comments or further Bible information, or for the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you. .
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Jesus the Christ Evidences MENU
B) Bible Prophecies as Evidences of Jesus Christ the Messiah Jesus in Prophecy
C) Historical Evidences of Jesus Christ The Historical Jesus
D) Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?Lord, Liar or Lunatic?
E) Salvation Given Through the Sacrifice Of Jesus Christ What Must I Do To Be Saved?
F) A Change of the Law Occurs Through the Death of Jesus Christ
Are we still under the Ten Commandments?
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Jesus Christ the Messiah (2 of 2)
Prophetic Proof – Part 2
by Brett Hickey
We noticed last week that Jesus rested His authority and the authenticity of His ministry largely on His ability to fulfill the prophecies that pepper the Old Testament Scriptures. After the establishment of the church, the apostles followed His lead. Consider this excerpt from the sermon that Peter preached in Acts 3:18-25,
“But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said to the fathers, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, "And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (italics mine)
Notice the layers of repetition of a common theme of fulfilled prophecy:
“God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets” (v 18)
“Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before” (v 20)
“which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets” (v 21)
“For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me’” (v 22)
“Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'” (vv 24-25)
Peter’s sermon, consisting of little more than a string of prophecies regarding Jesus as the Messiah, infuriated the Jewish leaders who locked the apostles up (Acts 4:1-3), but also brought the number of men who believed to five thousand (Acts 4:4). No doubt, this kind of preaching must be duplicated today.
This morning, we want to build on the strong foundation laid last week and notice Biblical, historical, logical, and even mathematical evidence that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah. You will see that your only hope of salvation rests in actively responding to His great work by obeying the gospel and living for Him until His glorious return.
Despite the considerable influence that Buddha, Confucius and Muhammad have had on the world, their impact falls short of the dominant influence of Jesus the Christ. Jesus so changed the world for the better that the calendar of human history has been reset in His honor. No other man can claim this global distinction. We date letters and documents so frequently and thoughtlessly that we often take this for granted, but we speak of history today in terms of AD and BC.
The abbreviation AD stands for “Anno Domini” which is a Latin phrase that means in “the year of the Lord.” The initials BC simply indicate the number of years “before Christ.” This means that Jesus’ birth now represents the fulcrum of history. The days and months linked to the Greek and Roman gods of yore (Thursday for Thor; January for Janus), must settle, even in a largely godless world, for a subservient role to the year of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2011. Every time the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Jew dates a letter, they tacitly acknowledge the monumental impact that Jesus has had on the world. In an attempt to soften this admission, some of members of other religions use CE for “Common Era” instead of AD and BCE for “Before Common Era” instead of BC, but that actually draws more attention to the same truth.
Notable Christian scholar and historian, Philip Schaff, speaks to Jesus’ weighty influence on the world (tract on The Person of Christ), “This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, He shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, He spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, He set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.”
I have always been impressed with the power of the hundreds of Messianic prophecies Jesus fulfilled, but recently I have read more widely on what others have said about them and I’ve been even further amazed. While Jesus himself was a Jew, thousands of Jews responded to the gospel in the early days of the church, and hundreds of thousands of Jews follow Jesus today, the Jewish people are ordinarily not responsive to the truth about Jesus. In ‘The Case for the Real Jesus,’ Lee Strobel quotes comedian and Jewish rabbi Jackie Mason who said, “There’s no such thing as a Jew for Jesus. It’s like saying a black man is for the KKK. You can’t be a table and a chair. You’re either a Jew or a Gentile.”
In light of that, I was fascinated by the fact that Jewish Rabbi, Pinchas Lapide, in his book, ‘The Resurrection of Jesus: A Jewish Perspective,’ actually acknowledges Jesus’ bodily resurrection, qualifying his admission by saying that Jesus is not the Messiah for the Jews, but for everybody else.
Many impressive, highly educated Jews have issued touching descriptions of their conversion to Christianity. Perhaps the most interesting Jew, though, was Alfred Edersheim, author of ‘The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah’ — one of the first books in my personal library. This book (my copy is two volumes in one) is essentially a commentary on the four gospels. For years I’ve benefited from Edersheim’s scholarly writing and unique perspective on the gospel. What was so meaningful to me more recently, though, was his handling of the Messianic prophecies. Edersheim documents 456 Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. That is not so unusual. What is striking is that Edersheim cites these prophecies as being suggested by over 500 rabbinical writings. The emphasis on these Scriptures pointing to the coming Messiah was first initiated by Jewish rabbis, not Christians.
Lee Strobel cites Rabbi Aryeh Kaplain who says, “Belief in the coming Messiah has always been a fundamental part of Judaism. Thus, for example, [Jewish philosopher] Maimonides counts the belief in the Messiah as one of the thirteen cardinal principles of Judaism. It is a concept that is repeated again throughout the length and breadth of Jewish literature.” This confirming Jewish perspective was news to me.
Consider some of the major Messianic prophecies that Christians use to substantiate Jesus’ as the Christ which are identified by Jewish sources as Messianic (most of these are identified by Edersheim):
Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
Genesis 22:18, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
Genesis 49:10, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.”
Deuteronomy 18:18, “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.”
Psalm 22:15, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.”
Psalm 45:6-7, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God,Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
Psalm 110:1, “The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."
Isaiah 2:4, “He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 28:16, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation…”
Isaiah 42:1, “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.”
Isaiah 52:3 "You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed without money."
Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
Isaiah 52:13 “Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.”
Isaiah 53:5, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:10 “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.”
Micah 5:2, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."
The admission of this testimony on the behalf of the Messiah and acknowledged by neutral, if not hostile witnesses, is a giant step toward convicting the skeptical people of the truth about Jesus.
So, we not only have hundreds of prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, but many of these same prophecies were confirmed beforehand in non-Christian Jewish sources as applying to the Messiah. How seriously should we interpret the fulfillment of scores of such prophecies?
Peter Stoner, science professor of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, steps forward to offer his input. Stoner investigated the mathematical probabilities associated with Old Testament Messianic prophecies being applied to Jesus of Nazareth (Peter Stoner, Science Speaks: Scientific Proof of the Accuracy of Prophecy and the Bible, 101-109).
Aided and scrutinized by six hundred college students in twelve classes, Stoner then relayed their findings to a Committee of the American Scientific Affiliation for evaluation. They corroborated his calculations as reliable. How meaningful were Professor Stoner's findings? His research determined that the odds of any man fulfilling only ‘eight’ Old Testament Messianic prophecies was one chance out of one with "seventeen’ zeros after it (100,000,000,000,000,000)!
To try to comprehend a number like that, Professor Stoner used the following illustration: “Cover the entire state of Texas two feet deep in silver dollars. Choose and ‘mark’ one silver dollar and drop it from an airplane flying somewhere over Texas. Thoroughly ‘stir’ the silver dollars all over the state. Blindfold a person and let them travel anywhere in the state, stopping only ‘once’ at a spot of his choice to dig into the two feet of silver dollars and pick out the marked’ one. The chance of a person being able to do that in ‘one’ try is the same chance as one man fulfilling only ‘eight’ Messianic prophecies. Professor Stoner concluded, ‘The fulfillment of these eight prophecies alone proves that God inspired the writing of those prophecies to a definiteness which lacks only one chance in ten to the seventeenth power of being absolute.’"
In view of these odds, which would require more faith?: 1) believing that one man (in this case Jesus)—by mere coincidence—just happened to fulfill these prophecies or 2) believing that God, as a part of His plan through the ages, providentially saw to it that each of these were fulfilled by (or in) Jesus the Christ?
That’s not all, though. We have just evaluated the likelihood of eight prophecies being fulfilled in one man. Jesus actually fulfilled over three hundred prophecies. The chances of one man fulfilling even forty-eight prophecies "increases" to 1 out of 1 x 10. Playing the lottery is a pitifully poor “investment.” The odds of winning the lottery are about one in ten million or 1 out 7 of 1 x 10.
A quick comparison shows this to be a “sure thing” compared with the chances of Jesus fulfilling only forty-eight of the predictions made about him. Emil Borel, author of ‘Probabilities and Life,’ and expert on probability theory, says that anytime there is less than one chance in ten to the "fiftieth" power (one with fifty zeros after it), the probabilities are so small that it becomes a logical impossibility. That, mind you, is one with fifty zeroes after it— essentially the equivalent of eight prophecies inadvertently fulfilled in one man. For only forty-eight prophecies being fulfilled, the probabilities go far beyond the realm of possibility. This is incredible evidence in favor of Jesus being everything He claimed to be and the Old and New Testament being what it claimed to be — the Word of God.
This evidence is not cited merely to impress you with the evidence for the identity of Jesus and that authority of God’s word. God expects you to act on it. God expects you to come to Him for salvation. Jesus says in John 8:24, “except that you believe in Me, you shall die in your sins.” Believing that Jesus is the Son of God is not difficult when you weigh all the evidence. We are told, in addition, that we must repent in Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” You must turn away from your past life and turn toward God.
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This was the last step prior to baptism for the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:37. He said confidently, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
We must also be baptized; it is not optional, as some suggest. Even the apostle Paul could not enjoy forgiveness until he was baptized. In retelling his own conversion, he says Ananias told him in Acts 22:16, “Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”
Jesus says that baptism saves in Mark 16:16 and John 3:5. Peter says baptism saves in I Peter 3:21. Paul says baptism saves in Romans 6:3-5 and Galatians 3:27. Why would anyone claiming to believe in Christ and the Scriptures diminish the role the Holy Spirit assigned for baptism? Why would anyone support a religious institution that said it (baptism) was not necessary for salvation?
Contact us and we will help you obey the gospel today. Don’t delay!
Please visit our website, letthebiblespeak.com, and watch videos of the program at your convenience. Finally, we echo the sentiment of the apostle Paul when he wrote in Romans 16:16, “the churches of Christ salute you.” Until next week, goodbye and God bless.
Sermon delivered by evangelist Brett Hickey over “Let the Bible Speak” April 27, 2011
Edersheim, Alfred. Jesus the Messiah : The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979.
Edersheim, Alfred. "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah." Christian Classics Ethereal Library ; NetLibrary,
Lapide, Pinchas. The Resurrection of Jesus a Jewish Perspective. Minneapolis: Augsburg Pub. House, 1983.
Schaff, Philip. The Person of Christ: The Perfection of His Humanity Viewed as a Proof of His Divinity. [with a Collection of Impartial Testimonies to the Character of Jesus]. New York: American Tract Society, 1880.
Stoner, Peter Winebrenner, and Robert C. Newman. Science Speaks ; Scientific Proof of the Accuracy of Prophecy and the Bible. Chicago: Moody Press, 1976.
Strobel, Lee. The Case for the Real Jesus : A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2007. 1-800-380-LTBS (5827)
http://christianbookshelf.org/schaff/the_person_of_christ/index.html See also:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/philip_schaff.html and citation at end of this manuscript.
http://www.netlibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=2009005.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserve
Are you searching for the truth of God's word and have a sincere desire to learn about the Bible? Do you want to know what the Bible says about salvation and about Christ and His church? If you are looking for Bible Founded discussion on these topics and many others, then please accept this invitation to explore "Let the Bible Speak" and then contact us for additional studies.
We are members of the church of Christ as found in the New Testament. We are not members of a denomination or earthly religious organization. We are a brotherhood of believers, joined by a common bond, Jesus Christ. We try to live and worship following the patterns found in the New Testament.
For manuscripts of other sermons visit: www.LetTheBibleSpeak.com or call 1-800-380-LTBS (5827) A bracket [ ] within quotes is used to note words added that are not in the original quote.
COPYRIGHT © Let The Bible Speak. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT NOTICE:
Express permission is granted to distribute any video, audio, or transcript of any broadcast message as long as the material is: unedited and attribution is given to Let The Bible Speak; a hyperlink to LetTheBibleSpeak.com is included for electronic distribution; a text reference is included to www.LetTheBibleSpeak.com for printed distribution; and the original author receives attribution. An irrevocable, world-wide, royalty free license for distribution is granted as long as such distribution has the intent of: supporting the truth as presented; giving glory and honor to God; and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
PDF, 6/13/2011
Jesus the messiah (1
One of the fifteen featured physicians in Ruth Rosen’s book, Jewish Doctors Meet the Great Physician, Conservative Jew, Dr. Bernie Cohen, was led to Christ by a college friend who had left Judaism and a family with several generations of rabbis. As they debated their differences, Cohen researched his Bar Mitzvah Bible to dispute her claims that the Hebrew prophets predicted Jesus’ coming. He wrote of his search,
I discovered that the prophet Micah had predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) and that Jeremiah stated the Messiah would be of the seed of David (Jeremiah 23:5). Isaiah prophesied the unusual circumstances of the Messiah’s birth (Isaiah 7:14) and described his reign (Isaiah 9:1–8). And in one of the most poetic and wondrous passages I had ever seen, that same prophet described the sufferings of the servant Messiah and the revelation of what was to come in the days ahead (Isaiah 52:13–53:12).
Sandy also pointed me to Jeremiah and his prophesy of the new covenant, a covenant based on a change in mind and heart and a new closeness to God (Jeremiah 31:31–34). Ezekiel further elaborated upon the cleansing from sin and the new spirit God would place in our hearts (Ezekiel 36:26ff). I was amazed by these prophesies, and became convinced that God planned to send a Messiah to accomplish these events….
Sandy explained that God did not do away with the sacrificial system even though the Temple was destroyed.…She also explained to me that God had provided his ultimate sacrifice through Jesus. She said that Jesus was the Lamb of God, the final sacrifice for forgiveness of sins, both then and in the future for all those who would accept that sacrifice…. Without him, we were accountable for our own sins, without the Temple, the sacrificial system, and all the things necessary to obtain atonement.
Sandy also explained that the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70 precluded any future person from claiming they were the Messiah. The genealogical records that could link a person’s ancestry to the tribe of Judah were destroyed.
We want to review compelling evidence that led tens of thousands of first century Jews to make a clean break with the Mosaic rituals practiced by their ancestors for fifteen centuries. The same internal Biblical support has led Dr. Cohen and hundreds of thousands of other Jews (Rabbi Kravitz) to turn their lives over to the Messiah today. If you have not done so, may this data send you to Jesus. If you are already walking with Jesus, may this study be faith building.
“I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Those are the greatest words that you will ever utter. When Peter makes this very confession in Matthew 16:16-18, Jesus says in response that “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” and that on this rock, on this foundation, He would “build His church.”
Then, when Jesus faced his accusers in the Sanhedrin who had exhausted their attempts to elicit compelling testimony against Him from false witnesses, the High Priest struck at the heart of the issue with them in Matthew 26:63, “Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!" And, of course, when Jesus confirmed His identity, He sealed His fate. The High Priest responded dramatically by tearing his clothes and saying in Matthew 26:65-66, "‘He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?’ They answered and said, ‘He is deserving of death.’" Finally, in the last verse of his gospel (John 20:31), the apostle John explains the purpose of the book, saying it was “written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
We zero in on the importance of the “Son of God” part of the great confession, and rightly so, but isn’t it true that we tend not to give the attention to Jesus as “the Christ” that is merited? At one level, I suppose, we simply superimpose our use of a surname, and, in turn, view Christ simply as Jesus’ last name when it is so much more. And perhaps this is related to another oversight. Do we really give the phrase “fulfilled” the kind of emphasis it deserves? The word is found sixty times in the gospels and Acts. Luke begins his gospel with these words: “Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us…” Jesus taught in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:31, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead."
The Jews of Jesus’ day believed in Him because of His miracles, His teaching and godly life, but the fulfillment of prophecies provided an objective form of evidence to substantiate their faith in Christ. In John 1:45, for example, we read, “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’" Jesus emphasized the fulfillment of prophecies as validation that His work was from God.
In Luke 18:31, “He took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.’” Surely, Paul was referring largely to the fulfillment of prophecies when he reminded Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15, “that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” During Timothy’s childhood, of course, there was no New Testament, but only the Old. Paul in Acts 13:26-41 and Peter in Acts 2 and 3 preach Christ powerfully through the prophecies.
Well, we have the powerful testimony of the prophets just as they did. No doubt this is one reason, by God’s Providence, that the Scriptures have been preserved in thousands of manuscripts with such amazing harmony for thousands of years.
Christians sometimes say glibly that “Jesus is the answer.” What they say superficially is true on a much deeper level. When we can trace the fulfillment of scores of prophecies to Jesus, we not only establish that He is the Messiah, but we establish the authority of His teachings and the teachings of the Old Testament prophets. This, in turn, legitimizes the teachings of the apostles (John 16:13; Matthew 28:1920) and validates the New Testament. We demonstrate that the Bible is not the product of human minds, but of the mind of God.
Obviously, one of the purposes of the abundance of Messianic prophecies was to enable those looking for him to be able to distinguish the genuine article from the impostor. Jesus warns in Matthew 24:24, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Critics claim that someone could have recognized the prophecies ahead of time and simply structured his life and activities in such a way where he could have fulfilled the prophecies.
In some instances this is true, but keep in mind this presupposes that the individual would have an insatiable hunger for the word of God. This individual would have to know the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament in and out to identify the prophecies. He would have to recognize the prophecies and then, if he was an honest man, look for opportunities to fulfill them. If he was a godly man and recognized that he could not fulfill any of the prophecies, the project would end.
If an individual recognized that he did not or could not fulfill any of the prophecies and yet continued to promote himself as the Messiah, that would make him among the most evil of men seeking only the attention, fame and glory that would accompany this greatest of all men. Notice how much attention the Messiah would receive among the Jews according to Deuteronomy 18:18-19, “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.”
It is likely that many Jews lived throughout the centuries who were self-centered enough to seek such a prominent position even though the “glass slipper,” so to speak, “didn’t fit them.” Surely, though the number would be greatly reduced, there were some of this sort who were even thoroughly acquainted with the Messianic prophecies. Those brash enough to desire this kind of attention, however, would not be the type of people who would also be willing to endure the great humiliation and suffering bound on the Messiah. This in itself, insulated the Messiahship from the undeserving and unqualified.
If he believed the prophets, the imposter would know he had a dishonorable death-wish. The prophecy just quoted from Deuteronomy 18 continues this way in verse 20: “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.”
Matthew Henry lists a series of frauds when he records Jesus’ warning about “false christ’s” in Matthew 24:24, “Josephus speaks of several such impostors between this and the destruction of Jerusalem; one Theudas, that was defeated by Cospius Fadus; another by Felix, another by Festus. Dosetheus said he was the Christ foretold by Moses…. Simon Magus pretended to be the great power of God, Acts 8:10. In after-ages there have been such pretenders; one about a hundred years after Christ, that called himself Bar-cochobas--The son of a star, but proved Barcosba--The son of a lie. About fifty years ago Sabbati-Levi set up for a Messiah in the Turkish empire, and was greatly caressed by the Jews; but in a short time his folly was made manifest.” These names, if familiar to you, are barely so, and like others we will notice shortly could hardly lay claim to the fulfillment of the prophecy that through him “all the nations of the earth would be blessed.” This prophecy is so grandiose that it could not be counterfeited.
Let us consider this prophesy for a moment and notice how limiting it is. God said to Abraham in Genesis 22:18, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed..." Two essential ingredients of this prophecy are that “all the nations of the earth be blessed” (italics mine) by this individual, not only his immediate family or even those of his own nation. Secondly, we see this individual must be the descendant of Abraham. We learn further in Genesis 21:12, “in Isaac your seed shall be called.” Genesis 35:10-12 further restrict this blessing to the descendant of Jacob.
Then, Genesis 49:10 reads, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah…” A scepter indicates a “…royal or imperial authority.” (Merriam-Webster.com) Judah, of course, was one of the twelve tribes of Israel who carried the name of one of Jacob’s sons. So, we have the prophecy narrowed further. The Messianic line is constricted again by Jeremiah 23:5, "‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.’” David was a tenth generation descendant of Judah eliminating many other Jews from consideration.
We have many more prophetic details to examine, and yet, this handful of Old Testament prophecies offers remarkable specificity already when you ponder the magnitude of the prophecy. The promised Messiah through whom all the nations were to be blessed was to be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and David.
Now we need only ask ourselves what single individual’s existence in under six thousand years of written history, has most blessed the people of all nations? Michael H. Hart wrote and then revised a book in 1992 entitled, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. Consider forty of the most familiar names: Muhammad, Isaac Newton, Buddha, Confucius, Paul, Gutenberg, Columbus, Pasteur, Galileo, Aristotle, Euclid, Darwin, Augustus Caesar, Copernicus, Constantine, Michael Faraday, Luther, George Washington, Orville/Wilbur Wright, Genghis Khan, Shakespeare, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Thomas Edison, Hitler, Plato, Cromwell, Alexander Graham Bell, Locke, Beethoven, Michelangelo, Stalin, Julius Caesar, Voltaire, Kennedy, Lenin, Cyrus the Great, Henry Ford, Queen Elizabeth I, Gorbachev and Charlemagne.
We have not filtered this list by any prophecies other than Genesis 22:18, “In your seed (Abraham) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed…” We have not limited consideration to descendants of Abraham or even to religious leaders. Still, who in this list could even be considered alongside Jesus as the most influential individual in world history? Interestingly, nearly half of these folks would confess, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Remember, though, the prophecy was limited to one who was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This man through whom all nations were to be blessed must be a Jew. Let’s look at the twenty most influential Jews of history (adherents.com). Besides Jesus, the most likely candidates would include Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Abraham, Paul, Karl Marx, Moses, Theodor Herzl, Mary, Baruch de Spinoza, David, Anne Frank, Judas Iscariot, Gustav Mahler, Maimonides, Neils Bohr, Mendelssohn, Paul Erhlich and Rashi.
Again, we are working with only four prophecies that restrict the Messiah as a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and David. After excluding Mary, Jesus’ mother, Moses, Abraham and the Apostle Paul from the ten most prominent Jews, we are left with only Einstein, Freud, Marx, Herzl and Spinoza. Most non-Jews know nothing about the last two, leaving Einstein, Freud and Marx as the best hope for an alternative Messiah. Marx said, “religion is the opiate of the people.” Freud said that "Religion is comparable to a childhood neurosis." Einstein, the closest competitor, removed himself from contention by denying that there was a personal God at all. No Messiah here!
That leaves only Jesus as the only prospective Messiah among the Jews that have ever lived.When you expand the list to the fifty most influential Jews of history that lived before AD 70, you add only Hillel and Philo to Paul, Moses, David and Judas. Outside the world of academia, the last two, Hillel and Philo, are relative unknowns.
Someone might ask, “Well, what if the prophecy is to be fulfilled in someone yet unborn?” That sounds reasonable, but one huge problem. Michael L. Brown, a Jewish convert to Christianity who worked as professor of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Fuller Theological seminary and Regents University, explains, “Keep in mind the second temple was destroyed in AD 70. Atonement for sin had to be made and the divine visitation had to take place before the second temple was destroyed. There are even rabbinic traditions that put the Messiah’s coming around two thousand years ago – right when Jesus came. In fact, Rashi, the foremost Jewish commentator on the Tanakh (OT – BH), put the date at more than 1,750 years ago, but that was based on the most famous chronological error in the rabbinic literature. When the error is corrected, we find ourselves in the middle of the first century, within one generation of the time of Jesus!”
“So, it’s not a matter of maybe there’s another one who’s the Messiah. If it’s not…Jesus, then throw out the Bible, because nobody except him accomplished what needed to be done prior to AD 70.” (Lee Strobel, The Case for the Real Jesus, 197-198)
We have only scratched the surface, but surely you can see how powerfully the prophets testify to the Messiahship of Christ. Join us next week for a closer look. Stay with us and we’ll tell you how you can get a copy of this message, after our song…
Thank you for watching Let the Bible Speak. We pray that you have heard God speak to you through His word. If you’d like a copy of this sermon, #807, “Prophetic Proof,” please write the address on your screen and we’ll be glad to get it out to you. You may also request a free Bible study course you can complete at home. Please visit our website, letthebiblespeak.com, and watch videos of the program at your convenience. Finally, we echo the sentiment of the apostle Paul when he wrote in Romans 16:16, “the churches of Christ salute you.” Until next week, goodbye and God bless.
Sermon delivered by evangelist Brett Hickey over “Let the Bible Speak” April 27, 2011
Source:
1) Hart, Michael H. The 100 : A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. Secausus, N.J.: Carol Pub. Group, 1992.
2) Rosen, Ruth. Jewish Doctors Meet the Great Physician. Rev. 1998 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA: Purple Pomegranate Productions, 1998.
3)Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ : A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998.
4) http://jewsforjesus.org/resources/ebooks/archive/jewish_doctors/jewishdoctors.pdf
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Are you searching for the truth of God's word and have a sincere desire to learn about the Bible? Do you want to know what the Bible says about salvation and about Christ and His church? If you are looking for Bible Founded discussion on these topics and many others, then please accept this invitation to explore "Let the Bible Speak" and then contact us for additional studies. We are of the church of Christ as found in the New Testament. We are not members of a denomination or earthly religious organization. We are a brotherhood of believers, joined by a common bond, Jesus Christ. We try to live and worship following the patterns found in the New Testament.
(For manuscripts of other sermons visit: www.LetTheBibleSpeak.com) COPYRIGHT © Let The Bible Speak. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Express permission is granted to distribute any video, audio, or transcript of any broadcast message as long as the material is: unedited and attribution is given to Let The Bible Speak; a hyperlink to LetTheBibleSpeak.com is included for electronic distribution; a text reference is included to www.LetTheBibleSpeak.com for printed distribution; and the original author receives attribution. An irrevocable, world-wide, royalty free license for distribution is granted as long as such distribution has the intent of: supporting the truth as presented; giving glory and honor to God; and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. >
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- Eagle Eye
- NorthWest, WA, United States
- At one time I was an Agnostic/atheist, not much caring if God existed or not. Then one day I was challenged to examine the evidences of God and the Bible. These are the basic truths I as "Just a Christian" am trying to share with others on these blog-sites: 1) To provide the “evidences” for God and the creation, the infallibility of the Scriptures, and for Jesus Christ as the Lord and savior of mankind. [Hebrews 11:1] 2) To reach the lost with the complete Gospel of Christ and salvation. [Romans 1:16; 2:16; 5:19-20; Galatians 1:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9] 3) To help Christians to grow in their knowledge and faith and the grace of God, and commitment to following Christ. [1 Peter 2:2] 4) To promote and defend the unity of church and the doctrine of Christ. [Mark 7:7-9; John 10:16; Ephesians 4:4-5; 1 Corinthians 1:10] Please e-mail me at BibleTruths@hotmail.com with any comments or suggestions. Thanks, DC