Biblical Prophecy

CHRISTMAS EXPLORED, PART 1: PROPHECY
One of the most fascinating and fulfilling areas of study of the Bible is Biblical prophecy. A lot of people associate prophecy with Armageddon, end of the world type stuff, and many parts of the Bible do have something to say about the conclusion of human history as we know it. But to fully appreciate the power of the Bible and its cohesiveness over thousands of years, you really need to delve into the prophecies that have already been fulfilled. Fulfilled prophecy is one of the four principles of Biblical reliability. In particular, Messianic prophecy, the foretelling of Christ's incarnation, was written over a century before the actual events occurred. Prophecies regarding Christ outnumber any others in the Bible, and with good reason - the redemptive work of Christ is the culminating theme of the Bible. A lot of the prophecies regarding Jesus would have been impossible for him to plan to fulfill - for instance, how could he have arranged his line of descent, the place where he was born, or the manner in which he died?

In order to set the stage for this series of posts regarding Christmas, I feel it's necessary to review some of the prophecies that were made about Jesus Christ many many years before his birth. For brevities sake, I will list only 10 of the scores of different Messianic prophecies.


1. Jesus will be born of a virgin.

All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel--`God is with us.' - Isaiah 7:14
Fulfillment:

Now this is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiance, being a just man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly. As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All of this happened to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet:
"Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and he will be called Immanuel
(meaning, God is with us)."
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded. He brought Mary home to be his wife, but she remained a virgin until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. - Matthew 1:18-25


2. Jesus will come out of the tribe of Judah.

The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will obey. - Genesis 49:10
Fulfillment:

Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. Jesus was known as the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Heli... ...Nahshon was the son of Amminadab. Amminadab was the son of Admin. Admin was the son of Arni.[10] Arni was the son of Hezron. Hezron was the son of Perez. Perez was the son of Judah. - Luke 3:23,33
3. Jesus will come from the line of David.

For when you die, I will raise up one of your descendants, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house--a temple--for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will use other nations to punish him. But my unfailing love will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed before you. Your dynasty and your kingdom will continue for all time before me, and your throne will be secure forever. - 2 Samuel 7:12-16
Fulfillment:

This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of King David and of Abraham: - Matthew 1:1
4. Jesus will be born in Bethlehem.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village in Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past. - Micah 5:2
Fulfillment:

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. - Matthew 2:1a
5. Jesus will be taken to Egypt after his birth.

"When Israel was a child, I loved him as a son, and I called my son out of Egypt." - Hosea 11:1
Fulfillment:

That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod's death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: "I called my Son out of Egypt." - Matthew 2:14-15
6. Herod's killing of the infants (an attempt to find and kill the promised Messiah)

This is what the LORD says: "A cry of anguish is heard in Ramah--mourning and weeping unrestrained. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted--for her children are dead." - Jeremiah 31:15
Fulfillment:

Herod was furious when he learned that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, because the wise men had told him the star first appeared to them about two years earlier. Herod's brutal action fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah:
"A cry of anguish is heard in Ramah--
weeping and mourning unrestrained.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted--for they are dead." - Matthew 2:16-18


7. Jesus would perform miracles.

And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will shout and sing! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the desert. - Isaiah 35:5-6
Fulfillment:

Jesus traveled through all the cities and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And wherever he went, he healed people of every sort of disease and illness. - Matthew 9:35
8. Jesus would first present Himself as King 173,880 days from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. and Jesus would enter Jerusalem as a king on a donkey.

Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times. - Daniel 9:25
Rejoice greatly, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey--even on a donkey's colt. - Zechariah 9:9
Fulfillment:

This was done to fulfill the prophecy,
"Tell the people of Israel,
`Look, your King is coming to you.
He is humble, riding on a donkey--
even on a donkey's colt.' "
The two disciples did as Jesus said. They brought the animals to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.
Most of the crowd spread their coats on the road ahead of Jesus, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. He was in the center of the procession, and the crowds all around him were shouting,

"Praise God for the Son of David!
Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Praise God in highest heaven!"
The entire city of Jerusalem was stirred as he entered. "Who is this?" they asked.
And the crowds replied, "It's Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee." Matthew 21:4-11


9. Jesus' hands and feet would be pierced, lots would be cast for his garments.

My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet... They divide my clothes among themselves and throw dice for my garments. - Psalm 22:16,18
Fulfillment:

When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified....After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. - Matthew 27: 31,35
10. Jesus would rise from the dead.

For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your godly one to rot in the grave. - Psalm 16:10
Fulfillment:

But the angel said, "Do not be so surprised. You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body." - Mark 16:6

I know there are a lot of skeptics/agnostics/atheists out there among my readers. In case you feel that this is just a story made up by a bunch of old Jewish people over the years, just remember some of these prophecies. Yes, they were written by a bunch of Jewish people over the span of thousands of years. Isn't it extraordinary that such specific prophecies could be made about a man who didn't exist until many generations, many conquering empires later? That a man born under such humble, impoverished circumstances would live to accomplish the single most important task in human history, and it was all foretold by prophets who probably had enough problems of their own in their here and now, but who were able to envision the saving Redeemer?