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COLLECTIONS
Commentaries, Word
Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
Old and New Testament. |
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2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17
ALL SCRIPTURE
IS GOD BREATHED |
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ITS NATURE |
ITS PROOF |
ITS PURPOSE |
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What is Paul's encouragement to Timothy regarding the Scripture?
2Ti 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God
What is the meaning of "all"
(pas)?
All of its parts
(In (Mt
5:18 Jesus said even every "jot [iota;
Isbe]
or tittle [keraia;
Isbe)
Click
"plenary" in the last column
How does the Psalmist support this interpretation in
Ps119:160?
Every single word is truth from
the beginning. The totality of God's written revelation is not just true
- it is Truth! There is not a speck of untruth in Scripture. It is
everlasting.
The whole body of revelation is
truth. “Thy Word is nothing but truth” [Luther].
Daniel
Webster (1782-1852) emphasized the importance of THE TRUTH: "If truth be
not diffused, error will be. If God and His Word are not known and
received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy. If the
evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt
and licentious literature will. If the power of the gospel is not felt
throughout the length and breadth of the land...corruption and darkness
will reign."
What does Peter teach us about the nature of the Scriptures in 1Peter
1:10-11?
The Spirit gave prophecies to the
writers who wrote them down, read them, and tried to figure out what
they meant. They recorded what they were told, but they didn’t fully
understand what they were writing. God didn’t give them thoughts
that they then expressed in their own words. God gave them the words.
What does Peter record about the reliability of the Scripture
2Peter 1:19
(what does he compare the reliability to?)
A more sure prophetic Word than even the experience of the
Transfiguration of Christ and the audible voice he heard out of heaven (see
note on 2P2:19)
What do some teach based on a misinterpretation of 2Peter 1:20?
Some teach that only the “spiritual leaders” may interpret Scripture
What is Peter really referring to when he states "no prophecy of
Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation"?
(clue: check the
context)
The New Living Translation
although clearly a paraphrase is correct in stating that "you must
understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets
themselves". The point is that Peter was not referring to interpretation
of Scripture but the origin of Scripture. It was not a man's own idea.
How does the context support the preceding interpretation (and the NLT
rendering)?
Peter begins verse 21 with "for"
indicating he is explaining the previous verse, and in so doing he
states that no prophecy originated in the will of man.
How does Scripture originate according to 2Peter 1:21?
The Holy Spirit moved men to speak
words from God.
The same verb for "borne
along" is used by Luke in Acts 27:15 "and when the ship was caught in it
and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be
driven along. Here literally the wind but in 2 Peter the
picture of the Spirit like "wind" filling the "sails" of His prophets
and moving them along.
What does Moses record
that helps us understand
the "inspiration" of Scripture?
Ex 4:10-12
God told Moses that He had made
His mouth and that He would be His mouth and teach him what to say. Note
in this passage that God didn’t inspire thoughts. He inspired
words. That is why forty years later Moses was so insistent on
giving verbatim instructions to the people of Israel: “You shall not add
to the word which I command you, nor take from it that you may keep the
commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Dt 4:2).
Note how Moses
completely missed the deeper meaning of God's Name "I Am"
(remember His Names always speak of His character, His attributes, etc).
Moses failed to see Him as "I Am all that you will every need for
any and every trial or circumstance in life. What was Moses' problem? He
looked to himself to be eloquent rather than fixing his eyes on the
great "I Am". Are we not all a bit like Moses when confronted with a
test or challenge we think we are inadequate to fulfill? God will not
ask us to do something that He does not enable us to complete or
fulfill.
What does
Jehovah's response to Jeremiah's feeling of being an inadequate speaker
teach us about inspiration of Scripture (v6-9) and what does He promise
in v12?
Jehovah touched Jeremiah's mouth
and put His words in the prophet's mouth (most of this book is Jeremiah
speaking). In v12 God promises that His Word will be fulfilled.
How did God communicate His Word in
Ex 31:18?
Two tablets of the testimony of
stone were written by the finger of God
What fact does
Ex 32:16 emphasize?
The tablets were God's work, and
the writing was God's writing engraved on the tablets.
Note that
Moses had nothing whatsoever to do with originating the stone tablets.
The Lord not only delivered the thoughts, but He did so by writing the
words Himself upon the stones
How did God communicate to Belshazzar King of Babylon in Da 5:5? What
was the message and what transpired that same night? Da 5:24-30
Hand of a man wrote on the wall
and Daniel interpreted the message that Babylon was numbered by
God, the king was weighed and found deficient and Babylon would
be divided. (Babylon was divided between the Medes and Persians)
Belshazzar was slain that very night speedily fulfilling prophecy
proving the Word was a true and sure supernatural message.
Note the
fulfillment of God's sure word: "One ancient account alleged that
Persia’s General Ugbaru had troops dig a trench to divert and thus lower
the waters of the Euphrates River. Since the river flowed through the
city of Babylon, the lowered water enabled besiegers to unexpectedly
invade via the waterway under the thick walls and reach the palace
before the city was aware. The end then came quickly, as guards,
Belshazzar, and others were slain on Oct. 16, 539BC" (MacArthur
MacArthur Study = MSB)
How did God communicate in Mt 3:17 at the baptism of Jesus and in Mt 17:5 at the transfiguration of
Jesus?
God spoke - His message in both
was "This is My beloved Son with Whom I am well pleased" In Mt17:5 He
added "Listen to Him!"
Note that God's
declaration was actually a combination of prophecies in Psalm 2:7 and
Isaiah 42:1, both of which would have been recognized by the Jewish
listeners as prophecies of the Messiah.
Why should men listen to Jesus according to
Jn 12:49-50?
Jesus spoke message given to Him
by God the Father
Note The words
Jesus spoke were themselves a fulfillment of the prophecy in Dt 18:18
where God said "I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen
like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to
them all that I command him."
What 2 ways did God speak according to Hebrews 1:1-2?
To the fathers in the prophets and
in the last days has spoken to us in His Son. Jesus is the final
revelation.
How serious is God about the integrity and inerrancy of His Word in Rev
22:18-19?
Add to them and he add the plagues
of the book
Take away from them and God would take away their part in the Tree of
Life.
Jesus also warns “Whoever
therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men
so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:19). God
doesn’t want anyone tampering with His words.
Note: Morris
in the Defender's Study Bible (DSB) has a very
intriguing interpretation of this passage: "Note the importance of
the words. The conveyance of precise thoughts requires the use of
precise words. Only the doctrine of verbal inerrancy adequately
expresses the true nature of Biblical inspiration. This warning at the
end of the book of Revelation (in fact, the end of the Bible) stresses
the necessity of literal interpretation. Actually, a literal
interpretation is not an interpretation at all, for it takes the words
at face value, assuming that the Holy Spirit (using the thoughts and
abilities of the human writer whose words He inspired) was able to say
exactly what He meant to say. Any kind of allegorical or figurative
interpretation of those words (unless directly indicated in the context)
assumes that the interpreter knows better than the Holy Spirit what He
should be saying, and such an attitude is presumptuous, if not
blasphemous."
The doctrine of inspiration, the truth that the Scripture is indeed
God's word to mankind, is critically important, and not surprisingly is
one of the first points of attack of Satan.
What were his first words to Eve?
Ge 3:1b "Indeed, has God said, 'You
shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"
A W Pink comments
that "The method of Satan’s approach was the same then as it is now.
“Yea hath God said!” He begins by throwing doubt on the Divine Word!
He questions its veracity. He suggests that God did not mean what He had
said. So it is today. Every effort that is being made to deny the Divine
inspiration of the Scriptures, every attempt put forward to set aside
their absolute authority, every attack on the Bible which we now witness
in the name of scholarship, is only a repetition of this ancient
question, “Yea, hath God said?” Next, he substitutes his own word for
God’s, “Ye shall not surely die.”
(Gleanings in Genesis) |
Click
for
discussion of several "tests" used to assess reliability of the
Scriptures...
1) Bibliographical test
2) Internal test
3) External test
4) Changed lives: Who would
die for a lie?
click
What does God testify about Himself in Isaiah 46:9-10?
(Note Isaiah 46 contrasts futility & powerlessness of Babylonian idols
with God)
God states that only He He ("no
other", "no one like Me") can tell what is going to happen before it
happens
Note: Morris
writes that "Only God can correctly predict the future, for He controls
it. The Bible is unique among all other books as a book of fulfilled
prophecies" (DSB) Vine adds that "It is good
for the believer to call to mind the former things, to remember the way
the Lord has led and helped and delivered. It stirs the soul to renewed
praise, and stimulates faith and hope as to the future." (Collected
writings of W. E. Vine) Spurgeon on Is 46:10 says "World events are not
tangled, confused, or perplexing to God... Courage, dear friend. The
Lord, the ever-merciful, has appointed every moment of sorrow and every
pang of suffering. If He ordains the number ten, it can never rise to
eleven, nor should you desire that it shrink to nine.
The Lord’s time is best. The span of your life is measured to a hair’s
width. Restless soul, God ordains all, so let the Lord have His way. (click
full devotional)
It is worth noting that
arguments from prophecy have become less popular in an age
characterized by critical biblical scholarship, which in many cases
claims that apparently fulfilled prophecies were written after the
events prophesied occurred.
What is God's challenge to the idols of the people in Isaiah 41:21-23?
To prove their power by means of a
test of prophecy accurately fulfilled which of course they cannot
do.
Note: God alone
knows the future, declaring both the beginning and end of His creation,
confirming that Scripture is His inspired revelation to mankind.
What does God say about Himself and His Word in Isaiah 42:8-9?
After declaring "I Am Jehovah" He
states that everything He has prophesied heretofore has come true. Then
He adds that He will tell them the future before it happens.
Note: Vine
comments "That His Name is the guarantee of the fulfillment of His word,
is the clear intimation here in Isaiah 42:8. How sure and steadfast is
His word! What an incentive it provides for faith to lay hold of His
promises, even in the darkest hour and amidst the most perplexing and
distressing circumstances! (Collected writings of W. E. Vine) Morris
adds that "Only God, who created time and is therefore independent of
time, can predict future events with certainty. The Bible is unique in
all literature, with hundreds of fulfilled prophecies given hundreds and
thousands of years before their fulfillment. This is a certain mark of
divine inspiration." (DSB)
PROOF THAT ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD BREATHED
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY FULFILLED
How many prophecies are found in Scripture?
It has been estimated that there are 2500 prophecies in the Bible &
about 2000 have been fulfilled to the letter (Ref)
Click
for illustration of a literal
fulfillment of the Lord God's prophecy in
Ezekiel 26
against the powerful city of Tyre.
How many OT prophecies speak about the Messiah?
333 OT prophecies are fulfilled in the Messiah (Click
for
odds that even 8 prophecies could have happened by
chance)
Click chart of Messianic
Prophecies
What did Jesus say about the Scriptures?
Mt 5:17-18 He came to
fulfill the Law and the Prophets (i.e., to fulfill the moral law by
keeping it perfectly and also fulfilled prophecies about Himself written
hundreds of years earlier) The "jot" and "tittle" refer to the
smallest letter and a mark which distinguished two letters in the Hebrew
words of the Old Testament. Not only the words, but even the letters of
Scripture are divinely inspired. The Lord's point is that every letter
of every word of the OT is vital and will be fulfilled.
In
English a jot would correspond to the dot above the letter “i”
(and look like an apostrophe), and a tittle would be seen in the
difference between a “P” and an “R”. The small angled line
that completes the “R” is like a tittle. These things are
important because letters make up words and even a slight change in a
letter might change the meaning of a word.
(Bible Knowledge Commentary)
Note that in Mt 5:18
Jesus introduces His declaration with a "truly" (NAS) which
corresponds to the Hebrew "Amen". Baker's NT Commentary has an
interesting comment: "Whether “truly” (RSV., NAS.) conveys that same
fulness of meaning or whether, through association with such phrases as
“yours truly,” it has lost some of the strength or solemnity usually
associated with “verily,” is a matter with respect to which opinions
differ. In every case—let the reader examine this for himself with the
use of a Concordance—in which this word occurs in the New Testament it
introduces a statement which not only expresses a truth or fact—as, for
example, 2x2=4 would be a fact—but an important, a solemn fact, one that
in many cases is at variance with popular opinion or expectation or at
least causes some surprise. It is for that reason that I personally
prefer the translation “I solemnly declare” to “Truly I say.”
(Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew. p 290)
It is easier for the entire
universe to fold up than for the smallest mark in the Bible to be
altered. God’s Word is eternal!
Note: MacArthur:
Here Christ was emphasizing both the inspiration and the enduring
authority of all Scripture. He was specifically affirming the utter
inerrancy and absolute authority of the OT as the Word of God—down to
the least jot and tittle... this suggests that the NT should not be seen
as supplanting and abrogating the OT, but as fulfilling and explicating
it. For example, all the ceremonial requirements of the Mosaic law were
fulfilled in Christ and are no longer to be observed by Christians (Col.
2:16, 17). Yet not one jot or tittle is thereby erased; the underlying
truths of those Scriptures remain—and in fact the mysteries behind them
are now revealed in the brighter light of the gospel. They have not
passed from the law is the sense Jesus means here. one jot or one
tittle. (MSB)
Mt 24:35 Jesus' Words will not
pass away - it is inerrant and absolutely trustworthy! (cf
Isa 40:8)
Every prophecy and every promise will be fulfilled perfectly and
completely.
Morris: The only
physical entity in this physical universe which is not subject to the
law of disintegration is the written Word of God. This affirmation by
Christ is a tremendous assurance of its infallible and permanent
authority. (DSB)
Luke 24:25-27 Called the 2
on the road to Emmaus "foolish" for not believing all the prophets
had spoken because all the
Scriptures spoke about the Messiah (Moses [Pentateuch] and prophets).
Jesus clearly affirmed the validity of using Messianic prophecy.
Baker NT Commentary
on Luke observes that "The trouble with the Jewish religious leaders of
Jesus’ day was that, on the whole, in reading the OT they saw
only the glory & victory of the Messiah, not the fact that the path to
these blessings was one of suffering. At times they would even go so
far as to apply to the Messiah the references (in Isa. 52:13-53:12) to
the Servant’s glory, but to apply to Israel the references to the
Servant’s suffering."
Although there are 66 books,
written by 40 authors (most of whom had no interpersonal contact) over
1500 years, in 3 different languages, these diverse Scriptures are
internally consistent, lending strong support to "One" Author. And so we
see unity of message, despite diversity of human authors. This harmony is
more apparent the more one studies the Bible! This harmony cannot be
explained by coincidence or collusion and thus the unity of Scripture is
a strong argument for its Divine inspiration. And more than 3000 yrs of criticism have failed
to find even a single irreconcilable contradiction in the Word.
Jesus believed in the OT
Creation, the flood and Jonah are often points of objection for
skeptics?
What
did Jesus say about...
Creation...
He quoted from
Genesis chapter 1 in Mk 10:6 declaring that "from the beginning of
creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE.
The
worldwide flood...
He warned in
Lu 17:26-27
that His second coming would be like the days of
Noah... "they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were
being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and
the flood came and destroyed them all."
Jonah...
In Luke 11:29-30 Jesus declared
that..."This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and
yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as
Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of Man
be to this generation...32 The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this
generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the
preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here."
Jesus explains the sign in (Mt
12:40) stating that
Click
discussion of why we can accept
Jesus' Word on the authority of the Word
|
What is the context of 2 Timothy
3:16-17?
v1-4 Paul warned Timothy that in the
last days difficult times would come (Be aware that the lifestyle of
many will be opposed that taught in God's Word)
v5-9 Men holding to a form of
godliness and yet denying its power would captivate weak women - these
men opposed the truth (Be aware men will oppose God's Word)
v10-11 Timothy followed Paul's
teaching, conduct, etc (Dear beloved "Timothy" follow God's word just as Paul did so you are a
vessel of honor like Paul)
v12 Those who desire to live godly in
Christ Jesus would be persecuted (Stand fast on God's Word so you are
not shaken)
v13 Evil men and imposters will
proceed from bad to worse - deceiving (Know God's Word so you are not
deceived)
v14-15 Your best protection will be
to continue in the things learned and the sacred writings (they gave you
the wisdom that led to salvation and continue to save you -
sanctification)
Profitable for
Teaching
(what is right)
Profitable for Reproof
(what is wrong)
Profitable for Correction
(how to get it right)
Profitable for Training in
righteousness
(how to live right)
Scripture has the potential to make us adequate, equipped 2Tim 3:17
FOR EVERY (ALL) GOOD WORK.
Scripture is complete and is all that
we need to have a right relationship with God. We don’t need a vision.
We don’t need a new revelation or a voice from heaven.
CANON
OF
SCRIPTURE
What does the "canon
of Scripture" mean? Could you explain to
another person in simple terms how we got our Bible?
Click
discussion of "canon of
Scripture"
EVIDENCE FOR
A SURE FOUNDATION
OF GOD'S WORD
Click
for
discussion of 3 tests (bibliographic, internal and external) that
undergird the reliability of the Holy Scriptures.
PLENARY
VERBAL
INSPIRATION
What does
plenary
verbal
inspiration mean?
Plenary = complete in all parts,
nothing is missing
Verbal
= word.
E.g., in Gal 3:16 Paul based his entire argument on the
single word "Seed" as found in used in Ge 22:18 "And in your
seed (masculine, singular) all the nations of the earth shall be
blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." writing that "the promises
were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to
seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your
seed," that is, Christ."
Inspiration
= God-breathed
What
logically follows from this definition?
The Bible is
infallible.
It speaks only the truth. If God wrote it, it has to be true. God used
fallible people to receive and record his infallible Word so that it
would reach us correct and without error. Human beings, though they
often err, need not err in all particular instances.
In addition to being perfect, the
Bible is also inerrant
in the original manuscripts. The Bible has no mistakes.
"Do not add to
His words; lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar” (Pr 30:6)
The Word of God is also
authoritative. When it
speaks, we had better respond.
The Bible is
sufficient.
Nothing is missing. Because the Word of God is the breath of God, we don’t need anything
more. If a person says you need this or that spiritual or mystical
experience don’t believe them! The Spirit of God acting through the Word
of God is sufficient to make you fully mature in Christ, adequate
and equipped for every good work.
The Bible is also
effective (see Heb
4:12) (hold
pointer over Scripture)
International Council
on Biblical Inerrancy says that: Infallible signifies the
quality of neither misleading nor being misled and so safeguards in
categorical terms the truth that Holy Scripture is a sure, safe, and
reliable rule and guide in all matters. Similarly, inerrant
signifies the quality of being free from all falsehood or mistake and so
safeguards the truth that Holy Scripture is entirely true and
trustworthy in all its assertions.
Note:
Revelation and Inspiration are not the same. Revelation
is the message, and inspiration was the primary method of
delivering that message to mankind. (Illumination
of Scripture is enlightenment by the Holy Spirit Who gives understanding
of the Scripture)
Inspiration is the act of the Holy Spirit in revealing to human
writers the message that God intended to comprise the Old and New
Testaments... Some people say that the Bible is inspired in the same way
that those great works of literature were inspired... The problem with
that view is it is saying that God didn’t write the Bible—smart men did.
Would smart men write a book that condemns men to hell? Would smart men
write a book that provides no human means of salvation apart from the
perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ? No! Man writes books that exalt
himself. He doesn’t write books to damn himself... Second, inspiration
is not only in the thoughts of the writers. Some say that instead of
giving the writers specific words, God supplied the writers only general
ideas, while the choice of vocabulary was theirs. That view doesn’t
square with what the Bible teaches (1 Cor2:13)... Some 3,808 times in
the Old Testament, expressions such as “Thus says the Lord,” “The Word
of the Lord,” and “The Word of God” appear. These hardly express
wordless concepts. God does communicate in words... Inspiration is not
mechanical dictation. The Bible writers were not robots, writing in a
semi comatose state, cranking it out without using their
minds. (MacArthur, J., How to Get the Most from God's Word)
Our Lord tells us that “He who is
of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not
of God” (John 8:47). One
way to tell a saved person from an unsaved one is that one listens to
the Word of God and the other doesn’t. Are you listening?
Excellent Resources
Can I Really Trust the Bible?
Why Does It Make Sense to
Believe in Christ?
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MESSIANIC
PROPHECIES
FULFILLED IN JESUS CHRIST
"And beginning with Moses and with all
the prophets,
He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."
(Luke 24:27) |
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SPECIFIC
PREDICTION |
OLD TESTAMENT
PROPHECY |
NEW TESTAMENT
FULFILLMENT |
MESSIAH WOULD
BE BORN OF A WOMAN
circa 4000 B.C |
"Beginning with Moses..."
Genesis 3:15:And I will put enmity
between you and the
woman,
and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head and
you shall bruise Him on the heel. |
Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of
time came God sent forth His Son,
born of a woman,
born under the Law. (Note) |
MESSIAH WOULD BE THE
SEED OF ABRAHAM &
THE BEARER OF THE GOSPEL
circa
2000 B.C |
Genesis 22:18 "And in your
seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have
obeyed My voice." ."
Genesis 12:3 And I will bless
those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you
all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
("the gospel" - compare Gal 3:8 in next column) Morris (Defender's
Study Bible) notes that "In his theological argument concerning the
Abrahamic covenant, Paul almost unconsciously makes an exceedingly strong
affirmation of the verbal inspiration of the Old Testament Scriptures,
basing his argument not just on one word, but one letter,
"seed" instead of "seeds." Thus the promised "Seed" was not the
nation Israel, but the one Person Who alone could fulfill the great
promises made to Abraham, namely, Christ. |
Matthew 1:1 "The book of the
genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the
son of Abraham."
Galatians 3:16 "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his
seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but
rather to one, "And to your
seed," that is, Christ."
Galatians 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God
would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to
Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS SHALL BE BLESSED IN YOU.
(Genesis 12:3b)" |
MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN IN
BETHLEHEM
circa 700 B.C |
Micah 5:2 But as for you,
Bethlehem
Ephrathah,
too little to be among the clans of
Judah,
from you One will go forth for Me to
be ruler in Israel. His
goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity (Note)
Note
that even if Jesus could have fulfilled some of the other
prophecies "naturally", He could hardly have fulfilled His place of birth
in an obscure village distinct from the other village by the same first
name (Bethlehem)! Jesus sternly warned every skeptic of every age that "unless
you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins."
(John
8:25) |
Matthew 2:1-6 Now after Jesus was
born in Bethlehem
of Judea
in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in
Jerusalem, saying, 2 Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews? For
we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him. 3 And when
Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4
And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he
began to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 And they said
to him 'In Bethlehem of
Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet,
6 And you, Bethlehem, land of
Judah, are by no means least
among the leaders of Judah;
for out of you shall come forth a Ruler,
Who will shepherd My people Israel.' |
|
MESSIAH WOULD
BE BORN
TO A VIRGIN
circa 700 B.C |
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the LORD
Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a
virgin
will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel
(God with us). (Note) |
Matthew 1:18-23 Now the birth of Jesus
Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph,
before they came together
she was found to be with
child
by the Holy
Spirit. 19 And Joseph her
husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired
to put her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an
angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of
David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife;
for that which has been conceived in
her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 And she will bear a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He
Who will save His people from their sins." 22 Now all this took place
that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled,
saying, 23 "Behold, the
virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His
name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us." |
|
MESSIAH WOULD BE
PRECEDED BY A
FORERUNNER
circa 700 B.C |
Isaiah 40:3 A
voice is calling: Clear the
way for the LORD in the wilderness, make smooth in the desert a highway
for our God. (Note) |
Matthew 3:1-3 Now in those days John
the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea saying, 2 "Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 3 For this is the one referred to
by Isaiah the prophet, saying, "The
voice
of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make His
paths straight.!" |
MESSIAH WOULD
MINISTER IN NAPHTALI
AND GALILEE
circa 700 B.C |
Isaiah 9:1-2 But there will be
no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the
land of
Zebulun
and the land of
Naphtali
with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the
sea, on the other side of Jordan,
Galilee
of the Gentiles.
2 The people who walk in
darkness
will see a
great light;
those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. (Note) |
Matthew 4:13-16 Leaving Nazareth, He
came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of
Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through
Isaiah the prophet, saying, 15 The land of
Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali,
by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee
of the gentiles
16 The people who were setting in
darkness
saw a great light;
and to those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a
light dawned |
FIRST ADVENT:
MESSIAH WOULD
ENTER INTO JERUSALEM ON A DONKEY
SECOND ADVENT:
MESSIAH'S
circa 500 B.C |
Zechariah 9:9 "Behold
your King
is coming to you,
He is just and endowed with salvation,
humble and mounted on a donkey even on
a colt the foal of
a
donkey."
Zechariah 9:10 And I will cut
off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow of
war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; and His
dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the
earth. (Note)
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FIRST ADVENT
Matthew 21:5 Say to the daughter of
Zion, 'Behold your King is
coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey,
even
on a colt, the foal of a
beast of burden. 6 And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had
directed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the clot, and laid n them
their garments, on which He sat. 8 And most of the multitude spread their
garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees, and
spreading them in the road. 9 And the multitudes going before Him and
those who followed after were crying out, saying, "Hosanna ("Save us we
pray") to the Son of David; blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord; Hosanna in the highest!" 10 And when He had entered Jerusalem, all
the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" 11 And the multitudes were
saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."
SECOND ADVENT:
(Not directly quoted so fulfillment is seen in several passages)
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh
angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom
of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He
will reign forever and ever."
Revelation 19:16 And on
His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD
OF LORDS." |
MESSIAH WOULD BE REJECTED BY
HIS OWN PEOPLE |
Ps 69:8 I have become estranged
from my brothers
and an alien to my mother's sons.
Is 53:3 He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was
despised, and we did not esteem Him. |
John 1:11 He came to His own, and those
who were His own did not receive Him.
John 7:5 For not even His
brothers
were believing in Him.
|
MESSIAH'S BETRAYAL FOR 30 PIECES OF
SILVER FORETOLD
(THE PRICE OF A GORED SLAVE!)
circa 500 B.C |
Zech 11:12 (Zechariah carried
out the drama - see previous verses - by symbolically picturing Messiah
asking those He came to shepherd what they felt He was worth to them) And
I said to them, "If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if
not, never mind!" So they
weighed out
thirty shekels of silver
as my wages (In a mocking response, the
leaders offered 30 silver pieces which was the amount of compensation paid
for a slave gored by an ox - see Ex 21:32 below). 13 Then the LORD said to
me, "Throw it to the potter,
that magnificent price at which I
(THE MESSIAH)
was valued by them." So I
took the
thirty shekels of silver
and
threw them to the potter in the
house of the LORD. (Note)
Ex 21:32 "If the ox gores a male
or female slave, the owner shall give his or her master
thirty shekels of silver,
and the ox shall be stoned. |
Matthew 26:14 Then one of the
twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests,15 and said, "What
are you willing to give me to deliver Him up to you?" And they
weighed out
to him
thirty pieces of silver.
16 And from then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.
Matthew 27:3 Then when Judas,
who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and
returned
the thirty pieces of silver
to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying
innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that
yourself!" 5 And
he threw the pieces of silver into
the sanctuary and departed;
and he went away and hanged himself. 6 And the chief priests took the
pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the temple
treasury, since it is the price of blood." 7 And they counseled together
and with the money bought the
Potter's Field
as a burial place for strangers.
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MESSIAH'S CRUCIFIXION FORETOLD
LOTS WOULD BE CAST FOR
MESSIAH'S GARMENT |
Ps 22:14 I am poured out like
water, and all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is
melted within me. 17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at
Me; 18 They divide my
garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. |
John 19:24 They said therefore
to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose
it shall be"; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "THEY
DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS."
|
MESSIAH WOULD CRY
OUT FROM THE CROSS |
Ps 22:1
My God, my God, why hast
Thou forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. |
Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth
hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA
SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY
GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?" |
|
MESSIAH'S LEGS WOULD NOT BE BROKEN |
Ps 34:20 He keeps all His bones;
not
one of them is broken. (cf. to Ps 22:17 above) |
John 19:33 But coming to Jesus,
when they saw that He was already dead,
they did not break His legs. |
THE TIME OF MESSIAH'S CRUCIFIXION
ACCURATELY FORETOLD
circa 530BC |
Daniel 9:24 "Seventy weeks have
been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the
transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to
bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to
anoint the most holy place.
25 "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to
restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven
weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat,
even in times of distress.
26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have
nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city
and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end
there will be war; desolations are determined.
27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in
the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering;
and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even
until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the
one who makes desolate." |
See this time period charted out and
the incredible fulfillment...click
Daniel's Seventieth Week
Related Resources
Daniel 9:24-27: Introductory Comments
Brief "Prophecy Primer"
why interpret Daniel 9:24-27 and other prophecy literally?
Why Daniel 9:24-27 Is One of Most
Significant Passages in Scripture
Daniel Commentaries grouped by
interpretative approach to Daniel 9:24-27
Anecdotal Stories & Da 9:24-27
Evidence Supporting Unit of Time in
Daniel 9:24-27 as Years
Daniel Commentaries
from a literal, usually futuristic perspective
Da 9:24-27:Notes on Da 9:24-25
Da 9:24-27: Pt 2: Notes on Da 9:26-27
Daniel's Seventieth Week Charted in
parallel with Daniel's other prophecies
See lectures by Kay Arthur on Daniel 9:24-27:
Lec14,
Lec15,
Lec16
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PROBABILITY OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT
PROPHECIES BEING FULFILLED IN ONE MAN:
Yes, one could possibly find one or two
prophecies fulfilled in other men, but not all 61 major prophecies! In
fact the chance of one man fulfilling even eight prophecies is 1 in 10 to
the 17th power (1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000) This has been illustrated by
imagining placing 100,000,000,000,000,000 silver dollars on the State of
Texas which would result in two feet "sea" of silver wherever you tread!
Now it where the odds get interesting. Mark one of the silver dollars
distinctively and throw it into the state. Stir it all up and blindfold a
man who has one pick to select the marked coin. That's the odds against
anyone fulfilling only 8 prophecies, much less what most authorities feel
is something like 330 plus Old Testament prophecies in some way fulfilled
in the Messiah. To phrase it another way, these incredible odds just
illustrated are the same chance that the OT prophets would have had of
writing eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man
providing they wrote them in their own wisdom. One can conclude that the
fulfillment of even just eight prophecies proves that God inspired the
writing of these prophecies to a definiteness which lacks only one chance
in 10 to the 17th power! The odds against all 330 plus OT prophecies being
fulfilled in one man cannot even be reasonably illustrated, as they are so
high!
Another objection to
the Messianic Prophecies pointing to Jesus is that Jesus deliberately
attempted to fulfill the Jewish prophecies. This objection seems plausible
until we realize that many of the details of the Messiah's coming were
totally beyond human control.
Note also that some of the
prophecies concerning the Messiah are of such a nature that only God could fulfill them, such as
Christ's virgin birth, His sinless and holy character, His resurrection,
and His ascension. Only God could cause Jesus to be born of a virgin and
to be raised from the dead. |
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PREDICTED PROPHECY
FULFILLED TO EVERY JOT AND TITTLE
EXAMPLE OF THE ANCIENT CITY OF TYRE |
|
An illustration of a fulfilled
prophecy about the city of Tyre in
Ezekiel 26:
Tyre was a great Phoenician city and
world capital for some 2,000 years, deriving its rule from domination of
the seas.
Ezekiel 26
predicted Tyre's violent future and destruction at a time when it was
still a dominant power.
Ezekiel predicted that many nations would come up against Tyre (Ezekiel 26:3), that Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar would be the first to attack it
(Ezekiel 26:7), that Tyre’s walls and towers would be broken down (Ezekiel 26:4,9);
that the stones, timbers, and debris of that great city would be thrown
into the sea (Ezekiel 26:12); that its location would become a bare rock and a
place for the drying of fishermen's nets (Ezekiel 26:4-5,14) and finally, that
the city of Tyre would never be rebuilt (Ezekiel 26:14,
21). Note that seven times
in
Ezekiel 26
it is clearly stated that the words spoken are from the Lord God.
History testifies that all this is precisely
what happened. Many nations did come up against Tyre including the Babylonians,
Greeks, Romans, Muslims, and Crusaders. In 586BC, three years after
Ezekiel's prophecy, Nebuchadnezzar was the first of these invaders, who, after a
13 year siege, broke down the walls and towers of mainland Tyre,
thus fulfilling the first of Ezekiel’s prophecies against Tyre. Nebuchadnezzar
massacred all of Tyre’s inhabitants except for those who escaped to an
island fortress a half mile out in the Mediterranean Sea. It is notable
that it was Tyre's abundance of fresh water (see note below) that
allowed the city to hold out against Nebuchadnezzar for so many years.
In the years after Nebuchadnezzar's crushing defeat, the people of the
city transferred the wealth of the former mainland city of Tyre to an
adjacent island and there the new city of Tyre prospered protected by
the sea and walls extending out into the sea to protect the port.
Some 241 years after Nebuchadnezzar
had destroyed the old city of Tyre, Alexander the Great began his
conquest of the ancient world, as he sought to capture Persia. But
before he went to Persia, he headed south to conquer Tyre, fearing that
while his troops were in the East engaged in war, and that the
Phoenician navy might therefore seek to invade Greece. Alexander
approached Tyre and demanded that the city surrender but they refused.
After Alexander's first attempt failed, he took the ruble of the old
city of Tyre left by Nebuchadnezzar and built a causeway out to the
island. The city was completely destroyed by Alexander as a
warning to other cities that might seek to defy his demands of
surrender. After hearing of Tyre's fall, many cities opened their gates
in fear to avoid being destroyed.
Centuries later Alexander
the Great fulfilled a portion of the prophecy. In order to conquer
the island fortress of Tyre (because he lacked a navy), he and his
celebrated architect Diades devised one of the most brilliant
engineering feats of ancient warfare. They built a causeway from Tyre’s
mainland to the island fortress, using the millions of cubic feet of
rubble left over on mainland Tyre. Thus Tyre was scraped bare as a rock,
just as Ezekiel predicted.
The most astonishing of Ezekiel’s predictions was that Tyre would never
be rebuilt. This is singularly incredible because Tyre is strategically
located on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea and contains the
Springs of Reselain, which pump ten million gallons of fresh water daily, enough to take care of the needs of a modern city. Yet, history
records that after a succession of invasions, Tyre finally and
irrevocably fell in A.D. 1291, never to be rebuilt again. Some 200 years
ago archeologists were watching some fishermen spreading their nets on
the bare rocks of a place that proved to be Tyre. Today Tyre
has been humbled to the point of becoming a place for the drying of fishermen's nets,
literally what Ezekiel prophesied some 2500 years ago! What are the
chances that Ezekiel could have guessed correctly? It has been
conservatively in the book, Science Speaks, Professor Peter Stoner
estimated that the chances are about one in 75,000,000. |
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THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS CHRIST
When it comes to
determining whether or | |