Messianic Prophecy

   We will begin by looking at the fact that Jesus fit exactly into the outline of biblical prophecy. Morgan, in "Beyond Reasonable Doubt"begins this chapter with an unusual comparison. He compares Jesus and Alfred Hitchcock in the way Hitchcock came on his TV show and the way Jesus came into the world. When Hitchcock came on, he would glide into a shadowy image and he fit the shadow exactly. Similarly, Jesus came into the world and fit exactly into the shadow of messianic prophecy. Morgan quotes A.T. Pierson, "As A.T. Pierson put it, the Old Testament writers added feature after feature and touch after touch and tint after tint, until what was at first a drawing without color, a mere outline or profile, comes at last to be a perfect portrait with the very hues of living flesh." Morgan, then, refers to Luke 24:25-27 where the resurrected Christ said the 2 disciples on the way to Emmaus were "foolish...and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?" Then Jesus explained the prophecies of Moses through all the prophets about Him. They didn't know it was Jesus. He stopped to eat with them that evening and when they recognized who He was, He vanished from their sight.
   Morgan asks, "Why did Jesus disguise Himself at first?....Jesus wanted His disciples to know beyond any shadow of doubt that He was Messiah, King of Kings and Prince of Peace, risen from the dead. He had 2 ways of proving this. The first was to appear physically before them and by His concrete, resurrected body, provide empirical proof of His resurrection.
   But the second way was more important, more convincing and more durable. He could prove His resurrection by showing them how He, alone, fulfilled - and with utmost perfection - the predictions and prophecies about His life, death, and resurrection made hundreds of years before by Old Testament prophets. So the roadside stranger led these two disciples on a tour of biblical prophecy, and by the time He had finished they were so convinced that Christ was the risen Messiah that their hearts burned like a fire within them....Christ pointed us to the overwhelming body of evidence for the veracity of Christianity found in the fulfilment of Old Testament Messianic prophecy."
   Morgan moves, then to the "family tree" of the Messiah. The Jews were all very careful about keeping track of their heritage. They kept records of it, but when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70 the records were destroyed. Only Jesus' line was preserved in the Gospels. Now, none alive today can prove that they're in the line of David. In Gen. 9:26-27 the Messiah was prophecied to come through Shem; Then through Abraham-Gen. 12;2-3, 22:18; through Isaaac-Gen 21:12; through Jacob-Gen. 35:10-12, Num. 24:17; through Judah-Gen. 49:10, Psa. 78:67-68; through Jesse-Isa. 11:1-2; through David-Jer. 23:5. The New Testament begins with, "A record of the geneology of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham." Matt. 1:1. Jesus' line followed and fulfilled each of these prophecies.

Sincerely,
Rick

Prophecies About Other Nations.

   When I think of prophecies about other nations, I think of Daniel first. He gave an overview down through the years of history from his time as an important leader with Nebuchadnezzar through at least 4 nations who would rule the world in the future. In chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a huge statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze and legs of iron with feet of iron and clay mixed. 
   Daniel was required to know the dream without the king telling him. God told Daniel the dream and its interpretation. The head of gold represented Babylon. More and more inferior nations would rule after it. Each one lesser than the one before. Until, after the nation represented by the iron and clay feet, a stone breaks up the nation and God will set up a kingdom of His own at the end of the ages. His kingdom will last forever.
   I believe we are now near the time of the nation ruling represented by the feet of iron and clay. That means that Christ could come at anytime because He will come for His Church before the last kingdom of iron and clay rules the world during the great tribulation. After 7 years of rule Christ will return to the earth and destroy the kingdom of the anti-christ and judge the nations (Matt. 25:31-46) and set up His righteous kingdom.
   Many scholars believe that the chest and arms represent Medo Persia, belly and thighs: Greece, legs of iron: Rome, and feet of iron and clay: the last kingdom not yet existing, but may well be forming in the European Union.
   In chapter 7 Daniel saw a vision of 4 animals. Commentators also look at the characteristics of those animals to match the nations to the parts of the king's statue.
   Isaiah also prophecies about other nations. After prophesying about the return of Israel and its prosperity, he predicted the destruction of Babylon in chapter 13. He predicted the destruction of Assyria in chapter 14, and Moab in chapter 15, and Ethiopia in chapter 18, and Egypt in chapter 19, and others. One of the most interesting prophecies is that of Tyre. In Ezekiel chapter 26 God prophesies the destruction of Tyre so completely that the rubble from the destruction would be scraped into the sea! This was fulfilled when Babylon took the city. The people escaped to an island off shore. Later an army scraped the rubble into the sea making a causeway to the island where they defeated those who had escaped. This prophecy states that no one will live in Tyre anymore. I've heard that a few have tried to live there, but were afraid to stay so they left. The speaker who mentioned it said, "If you want to prove God wrong, just go live there."
   Most of the book of Nahum is a prophecy of the destruction of Nineveh, a great and very wicked, and pitiless nation who had destroyed many other nations with ruthless speed.
   In the New testament Jesus prophecyed the destruction of Jerusalem and Revelation is well known as a book of prophecy of the end times.
   Morgan summarizes with, "All of this adds to the body of evidence, for 'above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit"."
   As one studies prophecy, the next event is Christ returning for His Church, then the time of great tribulation when a day's wages will buy 1 meal! Then Christ will return to the earth, destroy the kingdom of the anti-christ, judge the nations, and set up His eternal kingdom. One must trust Christ as their Redeemer Who died on Calvary for "my sins" and ask Him to come into their lives and save them from their sin. Then live as the Bible teaches. Check http://www.bbnradio.org/.

Prophecies About Israel

   Moses and Isaiah both gave prophecies concerning Israel and their  Messiah long before they happened. So many of these prophecies have been fulfilled that we can certainly expect those remaining to be fulfilled as well.
   We mentioned Bradford's make-believe predictions about America in the previous blog. It could not have been trusted because it would have come from Bradford, himself, only a man, but when Moses gave the predictions about Israel, they were from God. That's why they have been fulfilled. God is not in time. He is above it seeing the beginning and the end and all in between at the same time. That's why He can predict the future.
   Morgan writes, "In Deuteronomy (28), 29 & 30, just before the Israelites entered the promised land, Moses predicted a day when this very people, the Jewish nation, would be driven out of Palestine and dispersed among the nations of the world. But he also predicted a later day when the Jews would be regathered to Palestine and would again possess the land given to their forefathers." Morgan then wonders what if Bradford had predicted that America would become great, but because of "their evil" they'd be scattered, but the decendants of those scattered would return and again live here and rule the land. If the predictions simply came from man, he probably would've only thought of good happening in the future. Even if he would have predicted something bad, surely it would have been minor or short lived. When God tells about man, whether it's what he does, did, or will do, He tells it like it is, was, or will be.
   Jeremiah (25:1-12) predicted that Israel would be out of the land for 70 years and Isaiah (44:28-45:7) predicted that a ruler named Cyrus would permit them to return. Isaiah and Daniel predicted the death of the prophesied  Messiah (Isa. 53, Dan. 9:25) and the crucifixion is described in Psalm 22. Compare the above Scriptures with the Gospels and see how the events in the Gospels fulfill the prophnecies in Isa., Dan., and the Psalm. "The Open Bible" has a list of prophecies in the back with a list of the fulfillments in parallel on each page.
   Genesis 16:11-12 and Psalm 83 tell that Ishmael's decendants would be against all men and especially God's people, Israel. It is true today, especially with the terrorists.
   Hosea 3:4-5 states that Israel will not have a king or prince or sacrifice or sacred stones or ephod or idol. Verse 5 says that Israel will return to the Lord-"in the latter days".
   Morgan sumarizes, "These are only a few of the predictions made about the nation of Israel, but from these passages let us summarize. The predictions involving Israel include these:
   1.  The Jews would possess Palestine and consider it their Promised Land.
   2.  They would disobey the law.
   3.  As a result, they would be driven from the land.
   4.  They would return to the land 70 years later.
   5.  A Messiah would come to them, but He would be cut off, pierced for the transgressions of His people.
   6.  They would again be driven from the land.
   7.  They would be dispersed to the four corners of the world.
   8.  During their dispersion, the land of Israel would become barren and dry, a burning waste of salt and sulfur.
   9.  Also during this dispersion, the Jews would be the object of unbelievable cruelty and persecution and constant suspense.
   10. They would have no political leader, no king, no temple.
   11. They would encounter perpetual antagonism from the Arab world.
   12. Amazingly, after many years, they would return a second time to possess the Promised Land.
   13. Jews would come from the far corners of the globe to repopulate Israel for the second time."
   All these prophecies were fulfilled. Another prophecy to be fulfilled is that Jesus Christ is coming back any time. One must be ready. Believe that the Bible is true, that Jesus is Who He claims to be-the Son of God. Believe that He died on the cross in your place and ask Him to save you from your sin and come into your life and obey His Word.

Sincerely,
Rick