Prophecy of Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
Centuries before Jesus, the Hebrew Scriptures predicted the coming of a divine Messiah for all mankind. The entire Hebrew Scriptures (or Old Testament) were completed by 400 B.C. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the entire Hebrew Scriptures, was completed by 247 B.C. In addition, the Messiah is spoken of in such specific detail in the Hebrew Scriptures 456 times. Jesus’ fulfilment of these numerous prophecies is clear and convincing evidence that God revealed these predictions to man through the Bible. The sampling of the following 12 Bible prophecies will show that God promised to speak through his prophets about things concerning the future, including but not limited to, Jesus as the coming Messiah. See John Ankerberg, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., John Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah: Incredible Prophecies that Prove God Exists (Chattaanooga, TN: ATRI Publishing, 2014); David Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament (Washington, D.C.: Regnery, 2015).
The resurrected Jesus appears to two of his followers on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-27). Free Bible Images
“I am the First and the Last; there is no other God. Who else can tell you what is going to happen in the days ahead? Let them tell you if they can and thus prove their power. Let them do as I have done since ancient times. Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Have I not proclaimed from ages past what my purposes are for you? You are my witnesses-is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock-not one!” (Isaiah 44:6-8; see also Isaiah 42:23, 45:21, 48:3-5 NLT). Here in the Old Testament, God promised to speak through his prophets and would tell what would happen in the future. This would be proof that God is the one true God for all the earth.
Jesus appeared to two of his followers who did not initially recognize him in his resurrected body. Jesus responded to them after they told him about everything that Jesus did and happened to him, “’You are such a people! You find it so hard believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted by the prophets that the Messiah (Christ) would have to suffer all these things before entering the time of his glory?’ Then Jesus quoted passages from the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining what all the Scriptures said about himself” (Luke 24:25-27 NLT).
The apostle Peter told the people of Israel, “But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled” (Acts 3:18 ESV; see also 2 Peter 1:20-22).
When the apostle Paul was falsely prosecuted for blasphemy of the Jewish religion, he explained, “But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond the prophets and Moses said would happen-that Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles” (Acts 26:22-23 NIV).
The first prophecy in the Bible occurred after the serpent (Satan) successfully deceived and tempted Adam and Eve to question and disobey God and God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity (irreconcilable hatred) between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he (the woman’s offspring) shall bruise your (the serpent’s) head, and you (the serpent) shall bruise his heel.” The Biblical prophecies start out general and then get more specific. Here, God predicts that conflict will result from the enmity between Satan and the woman. This conflict will extend to Satan’s seed (demons or fallen angels who follow Satan in his rebellion) and the woman’s seed. He, the woman’s seed, will victoriously defeat Satan by mortally bruising or crushing his head, but Satan will non-mortally bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15 ESV). The subsequent prophecies will confirm that Eve’s male descendent is Jesus Christ. Jesus fits this prophecy because he said he came to destroy the works of the devil (John 12:31, 16:11; Hebrews 2:14), his death and resurrection would inflict a fatal blow to Satan’s domination over man (Acts 10:38, 26:15; Ephesians 4:8; Colossians 2:15; James 4:7), and Jesus will permanently defeat the devil by removing him from the earth and casting him into hell forever (Romans 16:20; Revelation 20:10). Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 29-37; Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, Kindle location 963-967.
God promises to make Abram the father of a great nation that will bless the earth. Free Bible Images.
The next set of Biblical prophesies all relate to God’s repeated promises to Abram/Abraham that all peoples of the earth will be blessed because of Abraham’s seed. God extended his promise to Adam and Eve (that Eve’s male descendent seed would come and crush Satan’s head) through Abram/Abraham’s seed. First, God commanded Abram/Abraham to leave his own country and travel to the land that God would show him, “And I (God) will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2 ESV). When Abram/Abraham is 99 years old, God appears to him again, changes his name from Abram to Abraham, and promises him that he will make him fruitful and that nations and kings will come forth from his seed, and God would be their everlasting God, “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you” (Genesis 17:6-7 ESV).
After God tested Abram/Abraham and he showed God he would do anything that God asked him, God promised him that from his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed, “I will surely bless you, and I will surely bless your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:17-18 ESV). Therefore, God has disclosed that the seed that will bless all the nations of earth will come from the seed of Abram/Abraham. God actually blessed Abram/Abraham just as he promised: the Jewish nation flourished. Jesus is a candidate to fulfill this prophecy because he is a descendant of Abram/Abraham as Mathew recorded in his gospel (Matthew 1:1-17, see also Galatians 3:8-9). Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 37-43; Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, chapter 9.
God warns Israel through Moses to remain separate from the evil practices of the surrounding nations, he will send prophets, his prophets will speak words that will come true (Deuteronomy 18:9-12), and that some day one prophet would be “like Moses” that God would raise up, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me (Moses) from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. … I (God) will raise up for them a prophet like you (Moses) from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account” (Deuteronomy 18:15, 17-19 NIV). Jesus was like Moses because he founded Christianity like Moses founded the religion of Israel (John 1:17; Matthew 5:17; 1 Timothy 2:5-6), Jesus revealed God like Moses revealed God (John 5:46-47), Jesus taught God’s law with authority like Moses initially gave Israel God’s law (Matthew 5:21-22, 7:28-29), Jesus performed greater miracles than Moses (Exodus 7-14; Deuteronomy 34:10-12; Matthew 8:23-27, 14:25; Luke 4:33-35, 7:11-15, 8:41-42; John 2:19-22, 9:1-7, 15:24, Acts 2:22), Jesus rescued the world from the bondage and slavery of sin (Ephesians 2:1-8; Romans 3:28-4:6) like Moses rescued Israel from the bondage of slavery of Egypt (Exodus 3-4; Acts 7:20-39), Jesus is currently the Mediator between God and all humanity (1 Timothy 2:5-6) like Moses was the mediator between God and Israel, and Jesus currently intercedes on behalf of all mankind before God (John 3:14-16; Hebrews 7:25) like Moses interceded on behalf of Israel to prevent God from destroying them when they worshiped the golden calf (Exodus 32:7-14; Numbers 14:11-2), Jesus was a great prophet, judge, and king (John 1:19-21, 29-34, 45; Matthew 2:2; John 5:26-29; Hebrews 7:17) like Moses was a great prophet, judge, and king (Exodus 18:13; Deuteronomy 33:5) and Jesus is the Messiah (John 4:25-26, 5:46) while Moses was like the Messiah. Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 45-51; Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, chapter 11.
The Psalms and Isaiah contain clear prophecies that Jesus would be crucified for the sins of humanity. Free Bible Images.
David cried out and prayed to God because he was being attacked by enemies he did not provoke and God had not yet delivered him. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me … All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: ‘He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him’ … I am poured out like water, and all of my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing (Psalm 22:7-8, 14-18 NIV). Common sense dictates that Psalm 22 should be interpreted as a prediction of Jesus Christ during his crucifixion one thousand years later..
In Psalm 22, Jesus said “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” while he was dying on the cross (Matthew 27:46 NIV). Jesus was mocked and insulted (Matthew 27:39-40; Luke 23:10-11, 35-40). The chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders specifically mocked him, “He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God’” (Matthew 27:43 NIV). Jesus’ blood on the cross “poured out” of his body like water and the manner of crucifixion pulled his bones and body out of joint. Jesus’ heart, in essence, turned to wax and melted within him. His heart burst as medically proven when “one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear (Bible verse of Isaiah 53:1-12), bringing a sudden flow of blood and water” (John 19:34). Finally, Jesus’ strength dried up, he thirsted, and then died (John 19:28-30). The soldiers also gambled for Jesus’ garments (Luke 23:34) and did not break either of his leg bones (John 19:31-37). Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 53-59; Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, chapter 13.
God predicts the coming Messiah, “The LORD says to my Lord: ’Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’ … The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedeck’” (Psalm 110:1, 4 NIV). Only the Messiah’s kingdom and throne will be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16) at God’s right hand (Hebrews 7:11-24). Only Jesus fulfills this prophecy. Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 61-67; Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, chapters 12-13.
The next prophecy is one that you usually hear at Christmas time. The context of the passage is that Israel has been invaded by Assyria. The captured Israelites are depressed and humiliated. God offers them hope for the future through the prophet Isaiah. “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall 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 zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV). Here God describes the Child that will be born and the Son that God will give who will be both human and God. He also will reign on David’s throne forever. Jesus is the only one in human history who fulfills this prophecy. Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 69-73; Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, chapter 14.
The most specific prophecy of the Messiah that would suffer and be crucified for the sins of humanity is in Bible verse of Isaiah 53:1-12.
“Who has believed our message? To whom will the LORD reveal his saving power? My servant grew up in the LORD’S presence like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry and sterile ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected-a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sin! But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed. All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s path to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the guilt and sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people realized that he was dying for their sins-that he was suffering their punishment? He had done no wrong, and he never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and fill him with grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s plan will prosper his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of what he has experienced, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of one who is mighty and great, because he exposes himself to death. He was counted among those who were sinners. He bore the sins of many and interceded for sinners.“ (Bible verse of Isaiah 53:1-12).
This prophecy so clearly refers to Jesus Christ as the Messiah that Isaiah is also known as the Gospel of the Old Testament. God came to earth in the human form of Jesus with saving power for those who believe in him (John 3:16; Romans 10:16). He was despised and rejected by the Jews (Luke 18:31-33; 1:10-11). He was whipped before going to the cross and was wounded and spiritually crushed on the cross for our sins (John 19:34; Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 5:8, 9:28; 1 Peter 2:24-25). Jesus had done no wrong and did not deceive anyone (Acts 8:32-33). He voluntarily sacrificed himself on the cross (Romans 5:6-8). He was buried in a rich man’s family tomb (Matthew 15:42-46, 27:57-60). Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 75-91; Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, chapter 14.
In Jeremiah 23, God declared judgment on the false leaders and prophets of Judah who were leading the people of Israel to engage in evil practices. As God predicted, Babylon captured Judah and took the people in exile. Then God would raise a righteous king who would reign wisely and do justice. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his day, Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:5-6 ESV). This passage is about the Messiah who is also referred to as the righteous “Branch” (Isaiah 4:2; Zechariah 3:8, 6:12-13). Jesus claimed to be the one and only righteous God and that he had authority to execute justice and forgive sinners (John 8:54, 58, 10:33, 14:9). Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 93-99; Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, chapter 14.
God spoke through the prophet Micah and promised a ruler from Bethlehem, which was located in the district of Ephrathath. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathath, 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. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace” (Micah 5:2-5 NIV). This ruler is Jesus. Micah accurately predicted the Messiah’s birthplace hundreds of years before he was born. This promised eternal ruler would come from David’s family line (1 Samuel 17:12), would be born, but at the same time, his “origins of old” means he had been alive forever. He “will be their peace” with God as Jesus stated in John 14:27. Jesus fulfilled these prophecies because he was born in Bethlehem, would live forever, and be the spiritual peace of the people (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-7; John 14:27). Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 113-117; Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, chapter 15..
God’s next prophecy in the Bible occurred when the prophet Zachariah predicted a righteous king will enter Jerusalem. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zachariah 9:9). Jesus entered Jerusalem while riding on a donkey while the people of Israel rejoiced, shouted, and celebrated (Matthew 21:1-11, John 12:13-16). Also, Jesus claimed he was righteous and had salvation (John 3:16, 18, 5:24, 34, 39, 8:29, 46). This prediction was made more than 500 years before it happened. Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 119-121; Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, chapter 15.
Zechariah also predicts that the Messiah will be crucified and the people of Israel will eventually realize they were responsible for crucifying him. “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on all the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died” (Zechariah 12:10 NLT). Jesus is God’s “only son” who was pierced and killed on the cross. God poured out his spirit of grace on Israel so they could understand the meaning of the crucifixion and mourn for Jesus. This prophecy fits Jesus because he is the only one who ever claimed to be God and the Messiah, and was crucified at the demand of the people of Israel (see John 1:1,14; Acts 2:46; Philippians 2:6-8). Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 123-129; Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, chapter 16.
The context of the prophet Malachi’s ministry was that the people of Israel were immersed in their miseries and asked for the God of justice. Malachi predicted that God’s messenger and God would come. “’See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Malachi 3:1 NIV). Malachi’s prophecy of the first messenger is quoted in the New Testament in Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2, Luke 7:27, which state that the messenger preparing the way before Jesus is John the Baptist. The second messenger is Jesus who came to the temple. Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 131-134; Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament, chapter 16.
Malachi predicted that John the Baptist would prepare the way for Jesus and baptize him (Matthew 3:13-17). Free Bible Images.
Based upon the above prophecies, the predicted Messiah would be a male seed of a woman that will defeat Satan, but will be wounded in the process. He will come from the family line of Abram/Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He will bless all the world. He will be a unique prophet like Moses, but he will be mocked, insulted, and crucified without breaking his bones. They will gamble for his garments. Although he will descend from King David, he also will be David’s “Lord” and second in authority except for God the Father. He will be a child given to Israel who will also be God and have an everlasting kingdom. He will live in Galilee. He will die for the world’s sins even though he was perfectly innocent. He will resurrect and come back to life from the dead. His name will be, “the LORD of our righteousness.” He will be the ruler of Israel whose origins are from old ancient times. He will be born in Bethlehem and become the king of Israel who will bring salvation, but will come humbly riding on a donkey. God will pour out his spirit of grace and prayer on him, but his body would be pierced and bear the sins of men, and all Israel will mourn for him. A special messenger will come before him to prepare his way. Finally, he will come again suddenly to the temple of God. Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 134-138.
Professor Emeritus of Science of Westmont College, Peter Stoner, and his 600 students calculated the probabilities of one person filling various numbers of prophecies made concerning the Messiah. After examining just 8 different prophesies, they conservatively estimated that the chance of one man fulfilling all 8 prophecies was one in 10 to the 17th power (a figure with 17 zeros). Stoner illustrated this probability by stating it would be the equivalent of covering the entire state of Texas with silver dollars to a level of two feet deep. Then you would mark one silver dollar, blindfold a man, and tell him to travel anywhere he wanted in Texas to pick only one silver dollar. The chance of finding the one marked silver dollar would be the same as one man fulfilling just 8 of the Messianic prophesies. Professor Stoner concluded: “The fulfillment of these 8 prophecies alone proves God inspired the writing of those prophesies to a definiteness which lacks only one chance in 10 to the 17th power of being absolute. “ Peter W. Stoner, Science Speaks: Scientific Proof of the Accuracy of Prophecy and the Bible, (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1969), 107 (cited by Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 24-26).
The cumulative effect of the probabilities of fulfilling all these prophecies from a general description to specific details and considered together are clear and convincing evidence that these predictions are of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
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