Fulfilled Prophecy

The evidence of fulfilled prophecy is by far one of the most popular topics which seeks to prove that Jesus was exactly who the Bible said he was. God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14). A prophecy in its simplest form is a prediction of something that will happen in the future. While many religions believe their books are divinely inspired, the Bible is the only one which contains prophecies that can’t simply be explained away as chance or motivational speaking. In fact, with many of those religions that do contain prophetic statements, it has actually worked against them since those prophecies never actually come to pass.

Let’s take a look now at some of the prophecies concerning the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

• Micah 5:2 states that the Messiah, who was foretold from ages past, would be born in the town of Bethlehem. This was fulfilled according to Luke 2:4-5, 7.
• Isaiah 7:14 states that the Jesus would be born of a virgin. This was fulfilled according to Luke 1:26-27, 30-31.
• Hosea 11:1 states that Egypt is where God called his Son from. This was fulfilled according to Matthew 2:14-15.
• Isaiah 53:5 states that the Messiah would be scourged. This was fulfilled according to Matthew 27:26.
• Isaiah 53:12 states that the Messiah would be murdered with criminals. This was fulfilled according to Mark 15:27
• Psalms 22:16 states that the Messiah would be pierced in his hands and feet. This was fulfilled according to John 20:25-57
• Psalms 22:17-18 states that the Messiah’s garments would be gambled away. This was fulfilled according to Matthew 27:35.
• Isaiah 53:9 states that the Messiah would be buried with the rich, even though he was put to death as a wicked man. This was fulfilled according to Matthew 27:57-61.
• Psalms 16:10 states that the Messiah would be resurrected. This was fulfilled according to Mark 16:6-7.

As you can see the Bible is rich with prophecies concerning the Messiah and you can see that no one in history has or could have done this except for Jesus. Isaiah 35 even reveals what kinds of miracles the Messiah would perform, all of which according to scripture, Jesus did.

Some people state that Jesus simply orchestrated his life to make it look like he was the Messiah. While it may be remotely possible to use that excuse on a few of the prophecies, you definitely cannot do it with all. Who decides where or when they are born? Who decides how they are treated when they die? Who decides who he is executed with? Who has the power to raise themselves from the dead?

In his book Science Speaks, writer Peter Stoner puts this and similar claims to rest by stating that for one man to fulfill just eight of the prophecies mentioned in the Bible, is a probably of 1 out 10¹⁷. If we had that many silver dollars we could cover the state of Texas two feet deep. Imagine doing so, but painting just one of the silver dollars red, then blindfolding a man and telling him he has one chance to pick the right one out of the whole collection.

In calculating the probability of one man fulfilling as many as 48 of the Bible’s prophecies, Stoner says it is the possibility of 1 in 10¹⁵⁷. This is especially astounding when we take into consideration that the estimated number of electrons in the known universe is roughly 10⁷⁹.