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The Gospel Observer
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to
observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20)
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June 2, 1991
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Contents:
1) Bible Prophecy (Tom Edwards)
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Bible Prophecy
by Tom Edwards
Last week we considered some of the wonders of creation and how that by
their very existence they show forth the need for an eternal Creator
with superior intelligence. The creation is one of the reasons why I
believe in God. Today, I would like to share with you another basis for
why I do: the fulfillments of Old Testament prophecy.
It has been said that there are 332 prophecies in the Old Testament
concerning Jesus Christ. Many of these were very specific in their
application and not merely generalizations that could cover a wide
scope of possibilities. For instance, the Bible shows that Jesus would
be betrayed for not 29, 31, 52 nor any other number of silver pieces
except for 30. How could this amount have been any more specific?
Furthermore, the Bible prophesied hundreds of years before Christ came
into the world that Jesus would be born in not just the land of Canaan,
nor not just in the southern part of Canaan, nor not just in the
territory of Judah; but, specifically, Jesus would be born in the
little town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
The Bible also foretells that Jesus would be a descendant of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob; that He would be conceived miraculously by a virgin
(Isaiah 7:14); that His hands and feet would be pierced (Psa. 22:16);
that His garments would be divided among some individuals, and for His
clothing they would cast lots (Psa. 22:18). The fulfillment of these
latter prophecies are seen during the crucifixion of Christ.
His death is also depicted as being one in which His "strength is dried
up like a potsherd" (which is a broken piece of pottery, especially an
ancient one), and His "tongue cleaves to His jaws" (Psa. 22:15).
This indicates the extreme thirst Christ would experience which has
been said to be one of the most excruciating aspects of the crucifixion
-- even more tormenting than the spikes themselves that had pierced
through the soft weary flesh and upon which the weight of the victim
would tormentingly pull.
The significance in the prophetic statement that Christ could "count
all His bones" (Psa. 22:17) is that the bones of the other two whom
Jesus was crucified with were broken in order to speed up their deaths
so that they would expire before the Sabbath. For Jesus, however, after
six hours of torment, death came to Him prior to the soldiers' breaking
of the bones; but even after His death, another Old Testament prophecy
was fulfilled when one of the Roman soldiers pierced the Lord's side
and out came water and blood (Zech. 12:10; John 19:31-37).
Psalm 22 is one of the Messianic passages that well describes the
crucifixion scene. Try reading this along with Isaiah 53, which is
another prophetic section that describes the Lord's suffering and death
at Calvary.
In Isaiah 53, the deceased body of Jesus is seen to have been "with a
rich man." The gospel narrative shows this "rich man" to have been
Joseph of Arimathea who provided the Lord with a new burial tomb that
had been hewn out of rock (Matt. 27:57-60). This then explains how that
the Lord was involved with a rich man in His death.
We must also bear in mind that these Old Testament prophecies were
written hundreds of years before man even had the New Testament and
prior to the Lord's incarnation. Factually, the Old Testament, with its
numerous God-given prophecies, was completed about 450 B.C.; and,
therefore, the Bible was not written all at one time. Actually, it was
written over a period of approximately 1,500 years by about 40
different men who represent a wide array of various backgrounds. Yet,
harmony persists throughout the written word. This refutes the
misconception that simply one person made up the Bible to accommodate
his fancy; for without the help of God's divine inspiration, the Bible
could not have been written; and this is obviously seen in the account
of Bible prophecies and their fulfillments which occurred hundreds of
years after they were first prophesied.
Years ago, I read a couple articles that made a lasting impression upon
me concerning the odds of Biblical prophecies if their fulfillments
were merely by chance. Though many today sometimes feel that anyone
could have met the requirements of the Messianic passages that
foreshadowed the Savior who was to come, this is not so. As we have
seen, some of these prophetic scriptures were very specific in their
fulfillments and not generalizations. So unique were these prophecies
to the Savior alone that the Christian Victory Publishing Company of
Denver, Colorado, was once offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who could
find someone other than Jesus -- dead or alive -- who fulfilled just
half the prophecies in Fred John Meldeau's book, The Messiah in Both
Testaments. This book dealt with just some of the prophecies in the Old
Testament concerning the Lord, and the contestant would have to find
someone who fulfilled just half of these, but no one was ever able to
because Jesus is the only fulfiller of them.
Even more interesting was the finding of Peter Stoner who in a
publication entitled Science Speaks had calculated the odds of Bible
prophecy if their fulfillments were merely due to chance or
coincidence. Mr. Stoner dealt with just 8 of the prophecies that
point to Jesus, and he even omitted the prophecy about the virgin birth
in order to lessen the odds. What were the odds of these 8 prophecies
finding fulfillment through mere chance? 1 in 10 to the 17th power. To
illustrate the magnitude of 10^17, Mr. Stoner asked the reader to
imagine the state of Texas two feet deep in silver dollars. (The
state of Texas is approximately 801 miles between its farthest points
from north to south and about 773 miles from its farthest points from
east to west. It is the second largest state in our country, being
surpassed by only Alaska which is twice its size.) This is an extremely
enormous mass of silver dollars. Just imagine how many would fill your
living room at two feet deep, or how many would cover the block on
which you live, or how many could be dispersed across your town until
it was covered two feet deep, or for an amount this tall to blanket the
county in which you reside. Unquestionably, these amounts would
be exceedingly massive, but even more so is the area that it really
would cover, which is the size of the state of Texas and that two feet
deep in silver dollars. The number of coins it would take to do this is
10 to the 17th power.
Mr. Stoner continued his illustration by adding to it an individual who
had been given the right to fly anywhere he so desired over this
colossal mass of silver dollars and also given the authority to
parachute to the area of his choosing. If this person could then
select in a blindfold manner that one specially marked coin on his
first try, out of this vast amount of silver dollars, that would be the
odds of 1 in 10 to the 17th power; and this is the odds for just
8 Bible prophecies to have randomly come to pass on just the basis of
chance.
Next, Mr. Stoner dealt with 48 prophecies and found their odds for
finding fulfillment through mere coincidence to be 1 in 10 to the
157th power. I cannot even begin to imagine how great the odds would be
when dealing with a figure this immense.
As mentioned prior, however, there are more than just 48 prophecies in
the Old Testament about Jesus: there are more than even 300. But just
in viewing the odds of some of these, if they were to have come to
pass on the basis of sheer luck, is so astronomical that the
possibility of chance is ruled out, and the inspiration of God's word
is confirmed. Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:20,21 the following: "But
know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of
one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of
human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."
Many people often marvel today at the so-called clairvoyants or
fortunetellers who have some of their predictions come true, but
according to Deuteronomy 18:20-22, God's test for a true prophet was
100% accuracy, for anything less resulted in death!
Down through the years the Bible has been attacked by many an
unbeliever. Ingersoll, who was a 19th century U.S. lawyer,
political leader, orator, and lecturer, once said, as he held up a copy
of the Bible, "In fifteen years I'll have this book in the morgue."
Fifteen years rolled by, and it was Ingersoll, and not the Bible, who
was laid in the morgue -- the Bible living on!
Voltaire claimed that in one hundred years the Bible would be an
outmoded and forgotten book to be found only in museums. When the one
hundred years were up, and Voltaire had "gone the way of all the
earth," his home was owned by the Geneva Bible Society. As Jesus
Himself states: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall
not pass away" (Matt. 24:35).
Neighbor, you can believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God for
Bible prophecy is just one of the sources that clearly confirms this to
be so. It is one of the reasons why I believe in God.
Real faith is not a mere "leap in the dark," but rather it is a faith
that has a concrete basis in various evidences; Bible prophecy, along
with its fulfillment, is one of them.
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First published for the Tri-state church of Christ in Ashland,
Kentucky, at 713 13th Street.
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel,
for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the
deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins
(Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ
(Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water
for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4;
Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith;
for,
if
not,
salvation
can
be
lost
(Heb.
10:36-39;
Rev.
2:10;
2
Pet.
2:20-22).
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CHURCH OF CHRIST
201 Rushing Road (at the Hampton Inn), Denham Springs, Louisiana
70726
Sunday services: 9:15 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 4 PM (worship)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
tedwards@onemain.com
tedwards1109@gmail.com
http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go (Gospel Observer website)
http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/audioser.html (audio sermons)
Directions:
Take the Denham Springs exit (exit 10) off of I-12. At the end of
the exit ramp, turn north. Go about a stone's throw to Rushing
Road. (You'll see a Starbucks, Circle K, and two other gas
stations; with each on each corner.) Turn left on Rushing Road,
and go a little less than 0.3 of a mile. Hampton Inn will be on
the
right. We assemble in its "Meeting Room," which is very close to
the reception counter. Just walk pass the check-in counter; turn
right at the hall. The first and second doors on the left lead to
where we meet.