WHY YOU CAN TRUST THE BIBLE

What a God! He alone could ridicule heathen gods, idols and false claims of divinity. “Tell the  future!”, God mocked them. They couldn’t. But He did—perfectly—thousands of years in advance! Like the coming Messiah. Who? How? Where? When? No wonder the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ strengthen our faith. And when shared, they build faith in others.

I do not believe in Jesus as Messiah because His life and claims offer a possibility that He might be the Son of God whose offer of forgiveness of sins and eternal life is real. I believe because I am forced by conscience to believe in overwhelming facts—prophecies spoken hundreds of years before Jesus appeared on earth—and fulfilled to the letter in His birth, life, death and resurrection. Compare with me the Old Testament prophecies and their New Testament certainties. They will strengthen your own faith and help open the eyes of those to whom you speak.

PAST PROPHECY FULFILLED

1. THE SEED OF A WOMAN—GOD'S PROMISE TO SEND A SAVIOR WHO WOULD CRUSH SATAN'S HEAD

The Prophecy—Genesis 3:15

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

 It happened! Here comes Jesus! —Galatians 4:4

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”

2. BORN OF A VIRGIN—A SINLESS SAVIOR WHO WOULD DIE FOR A SINFUL WORLD

The Prophecy—Isaiah 7:14

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

It happened! Here comes Jesus! —Matthew 1:18

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.”

3. THE SON OF GOD—WHO WAS WITH THE FATHER FROM ETERNITY AND CAME TO DEMONSTRATE GOD'S LOVE FOR US

 The Prophecy—Psalm 2:7

“I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”

 And He Came—Matthew 3:17

“And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

4. THE LINEAGE OF ABRAHAM—LOOK AT HOW DETAILED EACH OF THE PROPHECIES ARE. JESUS WOULD COME THROUGH ABRAHAM AND BLESS THE WHOLE EARTH

The Prophecy—Genesis 12:3

"I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the famililies of the earth shall be blessed."        

           

It Happened —Matthew 1:1

           

"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

5. THE LINEAGE OF ISAAC—ABRAHAM HAD TWO SONS, BUT ONLY ISAAC WOULD CONTINUE THE BLOODLINE THAT LED TO CHRIST.

The Prophecy—Genesis 17:19

"Then God said, 'No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and what his descendents after him.'"        

           

Another fulfillment—Luke 3:34

           

"The son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor."

6. THE SEED OF JACOB—ABRAHAM'S GRANDSON IS GIVEN A VISION OF THE COMING MESSIAH.

The Prophecy—Numbers 24:17

"I see Him, but now; I behold Him, but not near; a Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tummult."        

           

It happened—Matthew 1:2

           

"Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers."

7. FROM THE TRIBE OF JUDAH—THIS PROMISE HAS ALWAYS REFERRED TO THE COMING SAVIOR.

The Prophecy—Genesis 49:10

"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, mor a lawgiver from between His feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people."        

           

It happened Through Jesus—Luke 3:33

           

"The son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah."

8. HEIR TO THE THRONE OF DAVID—DAVID'S REIGN WAS TEMPORAL, BUT CHRIST'S REIGN IS ETERNAL.

The Prophecy—Isaiah 9:7

"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."        

           

Another Exact fulfillment—Luke 1:32

           

"He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David."

TO BE CONTINUED

"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Corinthians 11:1)
The ST. PAUL SCHOOL, with Frank Eiklor, Eileen Young and Cecilia Contreras