A Prophetic Christmas
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Introduction
Introduction
We have been going through the book of Daniel and looking at all of the amazing prophesies that Daniel made, and how history records how accurate he was. We see all of those times where he prophesied the rise and fall of kingdoms, but he also prophesied the rise of a different King didn’t he? This particular King would judge the nations.
“I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.
There are over 400 Old Testament prophesies about Messiah that Jesus fulfilled perfectly. Why is this important? Well, for starters, the Bible itself says that God declared that such evidence was a proof of His existence and superiority over men and all heathen gods.
“Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob.
“Let them bring forth and show us what will happen;
Let them show the former things, what they were,
That we may consider them,
And know the latter end of them;
Or declare to us things to come.
Show the things that are to come hereafter,
That we may know that you are gods;
Yes, do good or do evil,
That we may be dismayed and see it together.
Indeed you are nothing,
And your work is nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination.
Look at verse 22. Prophecy is not only looking forward, but also back, which is something the Bible does extremely well. Since Messiah was a future event, then we must look forward for proof.
Probability
Probability
First, let’s look at the probability of Jesus fulfilling every single Old Testament prophesy about Messiah.
Probability, also known as "odds", is a branch of mathematics that measures the likelihood that a given event will occur. To begin, let's look at some interesting "odds":
Being struck by lightning in a year = 7 x 105 or 1 in 700,000
Being killed by lightning in a year = 2 x 106 or 1 in 2,000,000
Becoming president = 1 x 107or 1 in 10,000,000
A meteorite landing on your house = 1.8 x 1014 or 1 in 180,000,000,000,000
You will eventually die = 1 in 1
As you can see, the odds that you will eventually die are pretty good, but the odds that it will be as the result of a meteorite falling through the roof of the White House while you sleep in the west wing as president of the United States of America… well that just isn’t going to happen is it?
So then let’s look at some probabilities. Now, remember there are over 400 Old Testament prophesies that Jesus fulfilled perfectly, but for our purposes this morning, let’s look at just 8.
“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.”
That’s pretty specific, the odds of Jesus fulfilling this prophesy are: 2.8 x 105 or 1 in 280,000. So how did He do?
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
Okay, that’s pretty good- you’re less likely to get struck by lightning, so let’s keep going.
“Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
The New Testament fulfillment?
As it is written in the Prophets:
“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.”
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ”
John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Not bad. What are the odds for this? 1 x 103 or 1 in 1,000. Hmm ok, not too bad, not too impressive either. Are we having fun yet?
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
And the New Testament fulfillment?
All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
“Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”
And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”
So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
That was pretty good, the old donkey rider prophesy. What are the odds of this? 1 x 102 or 1 in 100. Well, your chances of winning the lottery are significantly less than this, so let’s keep going.
Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has lifted up his heel against me.
But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
Surely this is more of a stretch right? The odds of this fulfillment are: 1 x 103 or 1 in 1,000.
Ok, half way there, let’s keep going.
And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.
The New Testament fulfillment is:
and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.
Anyone want to guess the odds here? 1 x 105 or 1 in 100,000.
Next prophesy:
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
The New Testament fulfillment?
And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But He kept silent and answered nothing.
Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
What are the odds here? 1 x 103 or 1 in 1,000. Okay, one last one.
For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
Remember, crucifixion was not something commonly in use when the Psalms were written, it only came into practice under the Romans, so what are the odds? 1 x 104 or 1 in 10,000. Nothing breathtaking yet right?
Well, we have one last step that we must take in order to finish our statistical analysis. We need to figure out what the probability that one man would fulfill all 8 of these prophesies. To do that, we need to multiply all 8 probabilities together, so:
1 times 2.8 x 105 x 103 x 102 x 103 x 103 x 105 x 103 x 104 which gives us 2.8 x 1028 and that comes out to:
1 in 28,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000!
And this is just 8 prophesies!
Additional Prophesies:
2 Samuel 7:16 about the line of Kings coming from David.
Isaiah 49:6 Salvation to the whole Earth
Isaiah 9:6-7 Jesus would be a son who would be called Mighty God.
Isaiah 53:1-3 Jesus would be accepted as Messiah as some, rejected by others.
And the list goes on.
There is, however one prophesy in particular that is important to us. This is the most important prophesy of all, and it did not occur back in the Old Testament, rather it was prophesied by Jesus Himself.
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We don’t celebrate a season of “giving” nor do we celebrate a season of “commerce” as much as the world wants to turn it in to this. We celebrate a season of prophesy fulfilled. And that is the Good news today!
Will you open up your heart to all that God has prophesied about Jesus? Everything, all things not just relating to salvation, but of healing and of redemption as well.