Tuesday: The Bible as Prophecy
The Bible is unique among other known religious works because up to 30 percent of its content is comprised of prophecies and prophetic literature. The integration of prophecy and its fulfillment in time is central to the biblical worldview, for the God who acts in history also knows the future and has revealed it to His prophets (Amos 3:7).
Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com
The Bible is not only the living Word, or the historical Word — it is the prophetic Word.
How do the following texts reveal the details of the coming Messiah?
There are at least sixty-five direct, Messianic predictions of the Messiah in the Old Testament, many more if we add typology as well (typology is the study of how Old Testament rituals, such as the sacrifices, were mini-prophecies of Jesus). These prophecies relate to such specific details as “the sceptre shall not depart from Judah” (Gen. 49:10); that He would be born in Bethlehem in Judah (Mic. 5:2); that He would be “despised and rejected of men”; beaten, falsely accused, yet not open His mouth to defend Himself (Isa. 53:3-7); that His hands and feet would be pierced; and that they would divide His clothes among them (Ps. 22:12-18).
The fact that these prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled with such precision in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus testifies to their divine inspiration and revelation. It also indicates that Jesus was who He and others claimed Him to be. Jesus followed the prophets of old in predicting His death and resurrection (Luke 9:21-22; Matt. 17:22-23), the fall of Jerusalem (Matt. 24:1-2), and His Second Coming (John 14:1-3). Thus, the incarnation, death, and resurrection are predicted by the Bible, and their fulfillment ensures its reliability.
| What are all the reasons you can think of for your belief in Jesus and His death for us? Share them in class on Sabbath and, in class, ask the question: Why is the evidence so compelling? |
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This is one of my favorite passages with crystal clear explanation on bible prophecy
Isaiah 44: 6
The Lord, Not Idols
6 “This is what the Lord says—
Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.
7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come—
yes, let them foretell what will come.
8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
In this passage God challenges the so-called gods to declare what is to come.
In the book of Daniel, He said, He will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt by His death brought to an end to the earthly sanctuary service. He is God there is none like Him.
What would it take for you to believe in Him?
Some of the passages that we now can see as predictions of the Messiah might not have been so clear to the people in those days. Just so there might be concepts we don't yet understand but Jesus has promised we will. John 13:19, John 16:12-13
C.S. Lewis makes the same point the lesson author is making, that Jesus claimed to be God. In “ Mere Christianity “ pg 55-56, Lewis says that one just can not accept Jesus as a good moral teacher and move on. He says that because Jesus claimed to be God,
“You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”