The Gift of the Prohecies
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The Gift of the Prophecies
The Gift of the Prophecies
Micah 5:2-5
2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
3 Therefore will he give them up, Until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: Then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; And they shall abide: For now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
5 And this man shall be the peace, When the Assyrian shall come into our land: And when he shall tread in our palaces, Then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, And eight principal men.
The Jesus Film Project outlined 8 of the prophecies regarding the birth of Jesus Christ.
https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog-and-stories/old-testament-prophecies.html
Prophecies of Jesus's birth
Prophecies of Jesus's birth
1. The nations will be blessed through Abraham's lineage
1. The nations will be blessed through Abraham's lineage
Prophecy:
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
"I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you" ().
Fulfillment:
25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’
26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
"And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways” ().
2. God's covenant with Isaac's ancestors
2. God's covenant with Isaac's ancestors
Prophecy:
19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
"Then God said, 'Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him'" ().
Fulfillment:
7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”
Romans
3. The nations will be blessed through Jacob's offspring
3. The nations will be blessed through Jacob's offspring
Prophecy:
14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Genesis 28:14
Fulfillment:
Jacob is part of Jesus’ genealogy.
34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
"the son of Jacob,
the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,
the son of Terah, the son of Nahor" ()
4. The scepter will come through Judah
4. The scepter will come through Judah
Prophecy:
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
"The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his" ().
Fulfillment:
Judah is part of Jesus's genealogy.
33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,
"the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram,
the son of Hezron, the son of Perez,
the son of Judah" ()
5. David's offspring will have an eternal kingdom
5. David's offspring will have an eternal kingdom
Prophecy:
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
"When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever" ().
Fulfillment:
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
"This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham" ()
6. A virgin will give birth, and he will be called Immanuel (God with us)
6. A virgin will give birth, and he will be called Immanuel (God with us)
Prophecy:
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" ().
Fulfillment:
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
"The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God" ().
7. The Messiah will end up in Egypt
7. The Messiah will end up in Egypt
Prophecy:
1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
"When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son" ().
Fulfillment:
14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt
15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
"So he [Joseph] got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'Out of Egypt I called my son'" ().
8. The Christ will be born in Bethlehem
8. The Christ will be born in Bethlehem
Prophecy:
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times." ().
Fulfillment:
4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
"When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 'In Bethlehem in Judea,' they replied, 'for this is what the prophet has written:
Let’s take a look at the probability of someone full-filling just one of these prophecies. It’s just one. It should not be that hard, right? These prophecies were written anywhere from 450 - 1000 years before the birth of Christ.
"'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.'" ().
Peter Stoner, Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena College, had 600 mathematical students research the mathematical probabilities of just eight prophecies being full-filled. The conclusion to his research was staggering.
To fulfill one of the eight prophecies, it would be like one person, blindfolded pulling out one of 10 tickets out of a hat.
The prospect that anyone would satisfy those eight prophecies was just 1 in 10 to the 17 power.
A bag of rice has approximately 29,000 kernels. If you opened 3 & 1/2 bags and marked on kernel, blind folded a person and asked them to pick one kernel. The chance of them picking the correct kernel is the exact probability that one person could fulfill all eight prophecies. And for someone to fulfill all prophecies, 324 to be exact, is astronomical. It is impossible.
Conclusion
5 And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men;
5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot In the congregation of the Lord.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
Praise God for the gift of all these prophecies. He told us what He would do, well before He did it. Not just the 8 but all 324 written over a span of 450 to 1000 years before Jesus was born. Praise God. They are a great gift. A promise of the greatest of the greatest gift to come. The birth of Jesus as God’s invasion into the darkness to redeem us. Praise God Praise God.
Micah 5:5
"Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote using their own wisdom."
1,000,000,000,000,000,000