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8. Evidence for Christ’s Deity: Prophecy and Miracles

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What are further evidences that Jesus is God? Previously, we considered the illogical conclusions that many have about Christ—that he was simply a good man, moral teacher, or prophet from God. It is impossible to come to those conclusions when one considers what Jesus taught—he declared people’s sins forgiven, claimed to be the only way to heaven, claimed to one day judge all of humanity, and to be the Son of God. As C.S. Lewis said, Jesus is either a liar, lunatic, the devil himself, or God as Jesus proclaimed.

We also looked at Jesus’ resurrection as evidence for his deity. From a historical standpoint, there is no historical event better supported than the resurrection, including the fact that Julius Caesar even lived.1

What are some other evidences that help prove that Jesus is God? In this study, we will consider biblical prophecies and his miracles.

Prophecies about Jesus as Evidence of His Deity

As an illustration, let’s say that we are going to the airport to pick up a person that we have never met or seen before, as a favor for a friend, named Susan. Susan said this person will be flying from Manila, Philippines to Seoul, Korea on Korean Air, Flight 257. That flight will land at 3:00 pm at Incheon Airport. Susan proceeds to give more information: “This person will meet you at baggage claim two. He has tan skin, brown eyes, and black hair. He is pretty short and average looking. He will be wearing grey sweats to be comfortable on his trip. The front of his hoody will say, ‘Everything is more fun in the Philippines!’ He was originally born in Manila but is moving to Korea to attend college. His social security number is xxxxxxx. His phone number is xxxxxxxx. His email is xxxxxx.” We would think, “That’s pretty thorough! We should be able to easily find this person!” Then, Susan adds that this person will stand on the baggage claim and yell, “I am Susan’s friend! I am the one you are looking for! I’m from the Philippines. I’m here in Korea to go to college!” We would probably think, “Ok… this is a little much.” Then Susan proceeds to give more information…

I share that exaggeration to say, the Bible is very much like that when giving details about the coming messiah. There are over 300 prophecies about Christ given in the Old Testament. All were given at least 400 years before he was born—some thousands of years before his birth. Thirty-three of these prophecies were fulfilled on the day of his crucifixion.2

When Christ made himself known to the Jews in the Gospels, consider what he said:

You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me

John 5:39

If you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what Moses wrote, how will you believe my words?

John 5:46-47

In fact, even after Christ resurrected, he pointed his disciples back to the Old Testament to encourage their faith in him. Luke 24:25-27 says,

So he said to them, “You foolish people—how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Wasn’t it necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things written about himself in all the scriptures.

While Jesus was on the earth, he kept telling people to look at the Scriptures because they testified about him. In fact, after Jesus ascended, these OT prophecies were commonly used by the apostles to prove to the unbelieving Jews that Jesus was the messiah. Acts 17:2-3 says this about Paul’s ministry in the synagogues:

Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed them from the scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”

What are these prophecies? Obviously, there are many, so we’ll only consider a few:

The First Messianic Prophecy

And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; her offspring will attack your head, and you will attack her offspring’s heel.”

Genesis 3:15

In Genesis 3:15, the first gospel message is presented in Scripture. After Adam and Eve sinned against God, God pronounced the resulting curses and then promised that a male offspring would come from the woman to defeat the serpent, the devil. This serpent would strike the male offspring’s heel—referring to a flesh wound—but the male would crush the serpent’s head—referring to a fatal blow. On the cross, this cosmic battle happened. Christ’s death on the cross pictured the male seed being bit. The pain was short-lived as Christ rose from the dead three days later. However, in Christ’s death and resurrection, he dealt a death blow to Satan—he defeated him. Colossians 2:15 says, “Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Likewise, 1 John 3:8 says, “…For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil.” The full outworking of this defeat won’t take place until the end times when Christ throws Satan into the lake of fire to be tormented forever (Rev 20:10). In addition, Christ will remove the curse from the creation and renew the heavens and the earth—making them a new heaven and earth (Rev 21). There will be no evil, sorrow, or death there. The first prophecy was given right after the first sin. A male seed would come to undo the evil and chaos Satan had brought by tempting Adam and Eve to sin.

Prophecy of the Virgin Birth

In Isaiah 7:14 (NIV), further revelation is given about the messiah. He would be born of a virgin. It says, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

Though this prophecy has some type of dual fulfillment with Isaiah’s wife having a child as a sign to Israel (Is 8:11-4, 18), it is ultimately fulfilled in the Gospels with Christ’s birth. Luke 1:34-35 tells the story, as Mary responds to a prophecy about this from an angel:

Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God.

Matthew directly applies this event to Isaiah 7:14:

This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.”

Matthew 1:22-23

Evidence for the Virgin Birth

Are there any evidences for the virgin birth? Obviously, we see evidences in how Christ’s followers (Matthew and Luke) perceived his birth, as they wrote about it in the Gospels. But, we also see something in the Gospels about how those who rejected Christ perceived his birth. In Mark 6:3, consider how the Jews from Christ’s hometown responded to him: “‘Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?’ And so they took offense at him.”

What should stand out is how they called him “the son of Mary.” This was probably an insult in that culture. Jews were called by the name of their father or grandfather, even when they were dead (cf. Lk 4:22, John 6:42).3 For example, they would be called the “son of Abraham” or the “son of David.” They were only called by the son of a woman when that child’s paternity was doubted—when they didn’t know who the father was. Though this does not confirm the virgin birth; it does confirm that it was well-known that Joseph was not the baby’s father and that nobody knew who Jesus’ father was. Christ’s birth was perceived to have happened by fornication—sex outside of marriage.

We may see further evidence for this in how the Pharisees responded to Jesus. In John 8:41, when Christ was speaking to the Pharisees, he told them they did the deeds of their father the devil and they responded back, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God." When they said, “We were not born of fornication,” this was probably a jab at the paternity of Christ (cf. John 8:19).4 They were essentially saying, “We are not unholy, but you probably are because nobody knows who your father is.”

When considering the virgin birth, we have the witness of Christ’s followers, through the Holy Spirit, but we also have the witness of how those who rejected him perceived his birth. Apparently, nobody knew who Christ’s father was.

Why did God choose for the messiah to be born of a virgin?

1. The virgin birth was necessary for the uniting of the Divine and human natures. Christ had to be human to die for humanity, and he had to be God to pay for the sins of the entire world. Christ’s humanity came through his mother, and his deity came through the work of the Holy Spirit in her womb. Hebrews 2:14 says,

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil),

2. The virgin birth is also a reminder that salvation must come through God. Salvation could never come through human effort. It had to be a Divine miracle, as God intervened to save people condemned to hell. Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the appropriate time had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights.”

Prophecy of Being Abraham’s Seed

What are some other prophecies about Christ? Not only was the messiah to be born of a virgin, he was going to be born in Abraham’s lineage. In Genesis 22:18 (NIV), God said this to Abraham, “and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me” (cf. Gal 3:16). Later, it was confirmed that the seed would not only come through Abraham, but his son, Isaac; Isaac’s son, Jacob; then Jacob’s son, Judah.

Prophecy of His Kingship

In a prophecy about the messiah coming through Judah, more details about this child are gained. Genesis 49:10 says, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey him.” All the nations will submit to this prophesied male seed.

This prophecy is further clarified in God’s words to David. David was Israel’s second king, and he came from the tribe of Judah. God said this to David in 1 Chronicles 17:11-14 (ESV):

When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.

Like many other prophecies, this one has a partial fulfillment and a secondary fulfillment. It is partially fulfilled in Solomon who builds God a temple. But Solomon could never fully fulfill this prophecy, as it promises a seed with an everlasting rule. Further prophecies clarify a future, eternal Davidic reign. Jeremiah 23:5 says:

I, the Lord, promise that a new time will certainly come when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, a descendant of David. He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding and will do what is just and right in the land.

Jeremiah prophesied many years after David and Solomon had died. There would be a future, eternal Davidic king.

God answered this prophecy in Jesus. Mary and Joseph were distant cousins who were both in David’s lineage. In Matthew 1, Joseph’s genealogy is presented. Since Jesus was adopted by Joseph, he was in the legal line of David, which was always established through the father.5 In Luke 3:23-37, Mary’s genealogy is presented, which established Jesus as in the bloodline of David. Since Jews did not normally include women in their genealogies, Luke actually places Joseph in the genealogy instead of Mary. Luke 3:23 says, “So Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years old. He was the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli.” Two evidences that the Luke 3 genealogy is not really Joseph’s line (1) is the fact that it differs from Matthew’s. (2) Also, in the phrase “Joseph, the son of Heli” (Lk 3:23), the “of” before Heli is the only one in the genealogy that is not genitive (possessive).6 Heli was not Joseph’s genetic father—he was Mary’s. Therefore, most scholars believe Luke gives Mary’s genealogy.

Why did both parents come through the line of David? God was making it clear. This child is the prophesied messiah! He is the promised seed of David. In fact, throughout the Gospels, people recognized Jesus as the prophesied Son of David and called him by that prophetic title (Lk 18:38, Mk 10:47). In Matthew 21:9, as Israel recognized him as the messiah when he entered Jerusalem, they shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Hosanna means, “Please, save us!”7 They were waiting for Christ, the messiah, to save them.

Future Messiah?

Is it possible that the Gospels messed up and that there could be a future messiah, like many orthodox Jews believe? As we consider genealogies, it is good to remember that these were kept at the Jewish temple, and in AD 70, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish temple, the genealogical records were destroyed.8 Therefore, to have an actual genealogical record of Davidic lineage (and not just word of mouth), the messiah had to have come before AD 70.

This leaves only one complete lineage left that can be used to prove that a future person is the messiah and that is Jesus’. He came through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David. He was the son of David, born of a virgin, as Scripture prophesied. This is true of Jesus and only Jesus. Jesus is the messiah!

Prophecy of the Time Frame of Christ

In Daniel 9:25, we see a startling prophecy giving the actual timeframe that the messiah would be on the earth. The background is Daniel praying about the future of Israel (Dan 9:1-3) when the angel, Gabriel, appears and shares with him about Israel’s future, including the coming of the messiah. Consider verse 25:

From the issuing of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince arrives, there will be a period of seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will again be built, with plaza and moat, but in distressful times.

When the angel referred to “weeks,” it could also be translated “sevens,” as in the NIV. This could mean seven days or years.9 Years makes the most sense, because the context deals with Israel’s long-term future including the coming of the messiah and also because Daniel had already been thinking in terms of years (Israel’s seventy years of exile, Daniel 9:2). The angel Gabriel said to Daniel, it would be seven sevens (49) plus sixty-two sevens (434) until the messiah comes. Altogether that equals 483 years (49 +434= 483). From the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the messiah came would be 483 years. Gabriel adds that Jerusalem would be rebuilt in “distressful times.” The book of Nehemiah tells us that while Nehemiah led Israel in rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls, there was much persecution. In one scene, the Israelites did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other (Neh 4:17).

Though Israel was sent back to their land by Cyrus, the issuing of the decree to rebuild Israel was given by King Artaxerxes to Nehemiah in 444 B.C (Neh 2).10 When one takes into account that the Jewish calendar was 360 days and not 365 as ours is today, 483 years later would be 33 AD—right around the time of Christ’s death.11

Those who have actually counted the days say that the prophecy was fulfilled on Palm Sunday12—the day when Jesus rode into the streets of Jerusalem on a donkey, and the people shouted, “Hosanna! Hosanna!” as they recognized Jesus as the messiah. Consider what Jesus said about the city on that very day:

Now when Jesus approached and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you had only known on this day, even you, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and surround you and close in on you from every side. They will demolish you—you and your children within your walls—and they will not leave within you one stone on top of another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”

Luke 19:41-44

Daniel 9:25 prophesies the exact day Christ would be on the earth, so Israel would be ready to accept their messiah. However, they failed to give attention to the prophecy and instead crucified the Son of God—bringing judgment upon themselves.

What are some of the other prophecies which give evidence that Jesus is the messiah, the son of God?

Prophecy of Christ’s Birthplace

Micah predicted over 700 years before Christ’s birth that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.13 There were two Bethlehem’s in Israel, and Micah even predicts the one in Judah. Micah 5:2 says, “As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, seemingly insignificant among the clans of Judah—from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, one whose origins are in the distant past.” Matthew 2:1-2, 5-6 gives the fulfillment:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time of King Herod, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” … “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are in no way least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Thirty-three Prophecies on the Day of Christ’s Death

As mentioned, thirty-three prophecies were fulfilled on the day of Christ’s death. Let’s consider a few:

  • He would be betrayed by a friend (Ps 41:9).
  • The price of the betrayal would be thirty pieces of silver (Zech 11:12).
  • The money would be used to buy a potter’s field (Zech 11:13).
  • He would be forsaken and deserted by his disciples (Zech 13:7).
  • He would be accused by false witnesses (Psalm 35:11).
  • He would be silent before his witnesses (Isaiah 53:7).
  • He would be wounded and bruised (Isaiah 53:5).
  • He would be hated without cause (Psalm 69:4).
  • He would be struck and spit on (Isaiah 50:6).
  • He would be mocked, ridiculed, and rejected (Isaiah 53:3).
  • He would collapse in weakness (Psalm 109:24-25).
  • He would be taunted with specific words (Psalm 22:6-8).
  • People would shake their heads at him (Psalm 109:25).
  • He would be executed among sinners (Isaiah 53:12).
  • His hands and feet would be pierced (Psalm 22:16).
  • He would pray for his persecutors (Isaiah 53:12).
  • His friends and family would stand afar off (Psalm 38:11).
  • His garments would be divided and won by casting lots (Psalm 22:18).
  • He would be given gall and vinegar (Psalm 69:21).
  • His bones would be left unbroken (Psalm 34:20).
  • He would die for our sins (Isaiah 53: 4–6).
  • His side would be pierced (Zech 12:10).
  • He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9).

Prophecy of Christ’s Resurrection

In Psalm 16:10 (NIV), David prophesied Christ’s resurrection when he said, “because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.” In considering David’s writing, Peter said it was fulfilled in Jesus: “David by foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his body experience decay. This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it” (Acts 2:31-32). Isaiah seemingly prophesied it as well:

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand

Isaiah 53:10 (NIV)

Now as we consider all these prophecies, certainly we must declare, “This is pretty convincing! If Jesus fulfilled all those prophecies, he must be the Son of God—he must be the seed that everybody was waiting for!”

What is the probability that a person would fulfill only eight of the Old Testament prophecies about Christ? Professor Peter W. Stoner states that the probability of just eight prophecies being fulfilled in one person is 1 x 10 17th. That is 100,000,000,000,000,000.

It has been illustrated like this: If you took 1 x 1017 silver dollars and placed them over Texas (the second largest US state), you would not only cover all of Texas but would have a coin pile two feet deep. If you blindfolded yourself, took one of the coins and threw it back into the pile, and walked from the beginning of Texas, stopping only once to find that coin, that is the chance that one person would fulfill only eight of these prophecies.14

The prophetic evidence concerning Christ is simply amazing! Again, the Old Testament gives over 300 prophecies that were fulfilled in Christ’s first coming and thirty-three which were fulfilled on the day of Christ’s death. Each of these prophecies was written at least 400 years before Christ’s birth—some of them thousands of years before his birth. God went to extraordinary lengths to make sure that the prophesied messiah was unmistakable to those who were genuinely looking. In addition, we must consider that all these fulfilled prophecies about Christ’s first coming should give us great confidence in the prophetic accuracy of the second coming.

Jesus’ Own Prophecies as Evidence of His Deity

What about Jesus’ own prophecies? We’ve covered OT prophecies about him to help prove his deity, but what about prophecies he gave? Were they accurate? We’ll consider a few:

The Resurrection

In John 2:19, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” As mentioned, there is no other ancient event or person more supported by historical evidence. We have more evidence for Christ’s resurrection than that Julius Caesar even lived.

Destruction of the Temple

In Matthew 24:2, Jesus said this about the temple, “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone will be left on another. All will be torn down!” In AD 70, the Romans destroyed the temple, almost forty years after Christ’s death.

Persecution of Believers

Jesus predicted that his disciples would receive great persecution after his death and especially towards the end times. In Matthew 24:9, Christ said, “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name.” That certainly happened to the apostles and the early church. The early church expanded from Jerusalem throughout the ancient world primarily because of persecution. Today, as Christ prophesied, persecution has grown. In fact, in the twentieth century, there were more martyrs for Christ than in the rest of the centuries combined. Some have estimated that around 90,000 Christians are martyred yearly—which would mean 246 per day.15

Antichrists

Finally, Christ also predicted that there would be many false Christs and false prophets in the last days. Consider the following verses:

Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one misleads you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many.

Matthew 24:4-5

Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe him. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Remember, I have told you ahead of time.

Matthew 24:23-25

In Korea alone, there have been around 120 self-proclaimed messiahs, with about seventy having large followings.16 In addition to the many false messiahs which Christ predicted, there are many false prophets in Christianity as well. Essentially, there are new Christian cults almost every day—teaching doctrines that conflict with the fundamentals of the Christian faith. All these things Christ predicted, which gives credence to his claim of deity.

Jesus’ Miracles as Evidence of His Deity

The final evidence we will consider which points to Jesus being God is his miracles. In fact, Jesus often challenged people to consider his miracles as evidence for his identity. Consider Christ’s response to John’s disciples in Matthew 11:2-5:

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds Christ had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go tell John what you hear and see: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.

Why did Jesus point John to his miracles? In the Old Testament, these works were prophesied of the messiah. Isaiah 35:4-6 says:

Tell those who panic, “Be strong! Do not fear! Look, your God comes to avenge! With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” Then blind eyes will open, deaf ears will hear. Then the lame will leap like a deer, the mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will flow in the desert, streams in the wilderness.

Of course, Christ did not only open the eyes of the blind, heal the lame and mute, he also calmed the storms, turned water into wine, multiplied fish and bread to feed multitudes, and raised the dead, among other things. Again, Christ constantly pointed to these as evidence. Consider the following verses:

Jesus replied, “I told you and you do not believe. The deeds I do in my Father’s name testify about me.

John 10:25

But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, so that you may come to know and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”

John 10:38

Historical Evidence for Miracles

Well then, one must ask, “Is there any historical evidence for these miracles?” Yes, there is. For example, in the Jewish Babylonian Talmud, which is a collection of Jewish Rabbinical writings, it says:

On the eve of Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, "He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy.17

Since the Jews rejected Jesus as the messiah, they called his works “sorcery.” In addition, Josephus, an ancient Jewish Historian who was not a follower of Christ, called Jesus, “a worker of amazing deeds.”18

Christ declared that miracles proved his Divine nature, and these miracles are well attested by historical evidence—evidence written by his followers (such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and by those who rejected his claim to be the prophesied messiah.

Conclusion

How do we know Jesus is God?

  1. Evidence for Jesus’ deity is his teachings. It is impossible to accept him as a good man, moral teacher, or prophet, which are the most common views of Jesus, while knowing the things he claimed, including being the Son of God. With the things he said and taught, if he is not God, then he would either be a liar, lunatic, or demon.
  2. Evidence for Jesus’ deity is the resurrection. As mentioned, there is no ancient historical event more variously supported than the resurrection. If we reject the historical evidence for the resurrection, we must reject much of what we know about ancient history.
  3. Evidence for Jesus’ deity is fulfilled prophecy. Christ fulfilled over 300 OT prophecies, including thirty-three on the day of his crucifixion. If fulfilling prophecies were not enough, we have the accuracy of his own prophecies, including his own death and resurrection, the destruction of the temple, the appearance of false messiah’s claiming to be him, among other things, which testify to his deity.
  4. Evidence for Jesus’ deity is the miracles he performed. Christ continually pointed people to his working of miracles to confirm his identity. He healed the lame and the blind, resurrected people from the dead, and calmed the storms and the sea, among other things. There is strong historical evidence of these from both his followers (the authors of the Gospels) and those who rejected him (Jewish teachers and historians).

Do all these evidences prove that Jesus is God? If not, it certainly gives strong evidence for the belief. Jesus Christ is God, and one day all will call him, Lord, and bow to him (Phil 2:9-11). However, for some, their declaration of faith in Christ being Lord will be too late to save them (cf. John 3:16). Will you believe in Christ and follow him?

Reflection

  1. What stood out most in the reading and why?
  2. How does fulfilled Bible prophecies (those about Christ and those he gave) provide evidence for Christ’s deity and also the validity of Scripture?
  3. Why is the virgin birth important?
  4. Roughly, how many Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Christ’s first coming?
  5. How many Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Christ on the day of his crucifixion?
  6. What are some prophecies that Christ gave which have already been fulfilled?
  7. What other questions or applications did you take from the reading?

Copyright © 2020 Gregory Brown

Unless otherwise noted, the primary Scriptures used are taken from the NET Bible ® copyright © 1996-2016 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New International Version ®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, and 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are from the King James Version of the Bible.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added.

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1 Bright, Bill. A Journey Home. Thomas Nelson Publishers. 2003.

2 Hitchcock, Mark. The Amazing Claims of Bible Prophecy, (p. 86). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

3 Accessed 7/27/20 from https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/mark-6/

4 Accessed 7/27/20 from https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/john-8/

5 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1985). Matthew (Vol. 1, p. 3). Chicago: Moody Press.

6 MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 1379). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

7 Accessed 7/27/2020 from https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-is-the-meaning-of-hosanna-in-the-bible.html

8 Accessed 7/27/2020 from https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1556-importance-of-messianic-genealogy-the

9 Rydelnik, M. A. (2014). Daniel. In The moody bible commentary (p. 1305). Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

10 Hitchcock, Mark. The Amazing Claims of Bible Prophecy, (p. 46). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

11 Rydelnik, M. A. (2014). Daniel. In The moody bible commentary (p. 1306). Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

12 Rydelnik, M. A. (2014). Daniel. In The moody bible commentary (p. 1306). Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

13 “Micah” accessed 8/6/19 from https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/intro-to-micah/

14 McDowell, Josh. Evidence That Demands a Verdict (p. 231). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

15 Accessed 7/27/20 from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/christian-persecution-how-many-are-being-killed-where-they-are-being-killed

16 Accessed 4/9/20 from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/world/asia/south-korea-coronavirus-shincheonji.html

17 Accessed 7/21/20 from http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/talmud.html

18 McDowell, Josh. Evidence That Demands a Verdict (p. 346). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

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