1 IN 100 QUADRILLION!!

As we study the Holy Scriptures, we see that God's work through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the integral part of His plan and purpose for ages past, present and future! Since we are in ADVENT, celebrating the birth of the Messiah Christ Jesus, let's realize that without that work of God, Jesus makes NO sense. Jesus the Christ is absolutely foundational to history, to theology, and to our understanding of God's work in the future! In this blog let's focus on seeing that the birth, life and ministry of the Messiah are the actual fulfillment of the series of Covenantal Promises God made to the Jewish people, AND to the whole world, that were to come through the Christ! To understand this truth, it is necessary to seriously consider the prophecies (divine foretellings about future events, nations, and especially the Messiah) of the Old Testament regarding the Christ, and then to recognize the fulfillment of each. Here are six:

First, there is the prophecy concerning THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE MESSIAH, written around 750 BC: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah (a Hebrew word meaning "fruitfulness" and is an ancient name for Bethlehem) 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 old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:1 & 2 in The Jewish Bible). We read that this prophecy was fulfilled as recorded in Matthew 2:1, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold wise men from the East came to Jerusalem."

Second, the writings of Moses, written between 1400-1300 BC, tell us that God Himself prophesied that THE MESSIAH WOULD BE A DESCENDANT OF ABRAHAM. "Now the LORD had said to Abram, 'Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation (Israel in the future), I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed' " (Genesis 12:1-3). Note the fulfillment of the word from God, in Matthew 1:1: "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham". (And, in our day when antisemitism is increasing across the globe, it should be noted that God's judgement will fall on all those who are practicing that evil)!

Third, we find in Scripture another prophecy from God, received and written down by the Prophet Samuel around 1100 BC, that THE MESSIAH WOULD BE FROM THE LINAGE OF DAVID. "When your (King David's) days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish His Kingdom! He shall build a house for My name; and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever" (II Samuel 7:12-13). Note the words of the fulfillment, "When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about 30 years of age, being. . .the son of Joseph, . . .the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David. . ." (Luke 3:23-38).

Fourth, the Scripture reveals this prophecy given to Isaiah, written around 700 BC, that THE MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN OF A VIRGIN! "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign; behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). The actual fulfillment is recorded by the Apostle Matthew in Scripture. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows; After His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, (conceived) of the Holy Spirit. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel', which is translated, God with us" (Matthew 1:18, 22-23).

Fifth, it was also prophesied by Isaiah that THE MESSIAH WOULD BE GOD IN THE FLESH! "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. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The LORD of hosts will perform this" (Isaiah 9:5-7 from The Jewish Bible). The Scripture declares the fulfillment of this prophetic word in these Scriptures: "And the Word (the eternal Word - CHRIST) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER, full of Grace and Truth" (John 1:14). Jesus Himself declared

"I and the Father are ONE" (John 10:30), and "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).

Let's NOTE that Isaiah prophecy has a "double" meaning. First we saw that the Messiah Jesus is identified as the "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father", therefore GOD IN THE FLESH! Secondly, He will have a kingdom and He will sit on the throne of King David, and the government will be on His shoulder. This aspect of the prophecy has not yet taken place, but it will in the future when King Jesus establishes His 1,000 year Millennial Reign from literal Jerusalem, followed by His Eternal Kingdom in heaven!

Sixth, Zechariah prophesied, around 750 BC, that the Messiah would be THE ULTIMATE EXAMPLE OF HUMILITY! "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" (Zechariah 9:8). This was truly fulfilled when Jesus entered into Jerusaalem at His Triumphal Entry just days before He was crucified. ". . .a great multitude when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: 'Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel!' " John 12:12-14). And thinking of His humility, let us remember, Jesus was born in a nasty stable and laid in a cattle's feeding trough!

This is the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, Whom we celebrate this Advent! Some 500 - 1,500 years BEFORE Christ was born, the prophets spoke clearly of His coming to earth from heaven! As we've seen from Scripture, each of those prophesies have been fulfilled! Professor Peter W. Stoner, past Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College, as well as Chairman of the sciene division of Westmont College lays out the mathematical probability of one person fulfulling 8 Messianic prophesies as 1 in one hundred quadrillion (100,000,000,000,000,000) his book "Science Speaks". I didn't excel in math, but that does sound like a LOT to me!!

Knowing that ALL the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the first coming of the Messiah have been fulfilled, we can for sure know that ALL prophecies in the Bible regarding the future will come true also! It is time we confess the truth of the Bible, worship the Messiah Jesus, and remember that He who came to earth in His first Advent will be coming back to earth, as prophesied, for His Second Advent!