You Can Believe in Jesus

Messianic Prophecies of the Bible

Bible prophecies represent more than just a forecast of the future. If the only thing involved would the linear progression of successive events, then nothing would really be accomplished. When God tells the world what he is going to do, he opens himself for failure, for challenge, for Satan to thwart the purposes of God, and for doubt to enter into the heart of man.

The more detailed the prophecy, the greater the odds are that it will not happen. In fact, the addition of just one condition onto a previous prophecy creates an exponential growth of odds against it. Thus, when a detailed prophecy comes true, it takes a great deal of purposeful denial to continue on as an unbeliever. This is exactly why the Bible is under such great attack in our time. From the secular standpoint, the Bible must be destroyed. Even if a shred of the Bible record remains, it condemns the unbelief of the world.

Hebrews 3:12-19 12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Unbelief is one of the scariest states of the human heart. Revelation 21:8 says “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Unbelief is so unnecessary. Ample evidence is provided in the Bible for even the most skeptical of people to accept and believe. Therefore, anyone who is an unbeliever, has as a reason a moral, not a cognitive problem. Thus, the scripture denotes such a person as having an “evil heart of unbelief.”

John 20:26-31 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

1. The Seed of the Woman

• Forecast: Genesis 3:15
• Fulfillment: Matthew 1:18; Galatians 3:16, 19.
• Forecast: Genesis 12:7
• Fulfillment: Galatians 3:16
• Forecast: 2 Samuel 7:8, 12
• Fulfillment: Romans 1:1,3

This prophecy was tested from the very beginning. Genesis 2:17; 3:3-4.

This is called the Highway of the Seed. It represents the embryonic history of the Bible. Everything about Christ is contained in seed form. Sufferings, Death, complete Dominion over Satan. Hebrews 2:9-15.

Why is this important? Not only because it verifies the prophecies of the Bible as they were fulfilled in Jesus, but because there were times when grave doubts appeared that the survival of the prophecies would be possible.

• The Flood.
• The intended massacre of the Jews by Haman.
• The massacre of innocent babies by Herod.

The fact that the seed exists gives regenerative life to every prophecy. The seed of the plant is in the fruit. The blood of the martyrs contains the seeds of the church.

2. The Virgin Birth.

• Forecast: Isaiah 7:14
• Fulfillment: Luke 1:31, 34, 35.

The phrase “seed of the woman” is found only in Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 12:17. In Revelation, it is speaking of a symbolic character. Her seed then, refers to the concept of the virgin birth. Otherwise, the scripture would have referred to Adam’s seed, or “his seed.” John 14:30, however, says that the prince of the world has nothing in Christ. Sinful seed never made an investment or a deposit into the Messiah. Sinful seed has nothing to reap, no return, no identity in Christ.

The reason for this is the virgin birth. Mary was with child by the Holy Spirit, not by Joseph or any other man of this world.

Matthew 1:18, 23.

Most births in the Scripture highlight the father. It is remarkable that the birth of Jesus is in reference to the mother. Isaiah 49:1, 5. Jeremiah 31:22. Psalm 22:9. Micah 5:3. Also, the use of the word virgin meant not only the womb yet unopened, but also the consummation of the marriage had not yet occurred. Cruden says that the word used for virgin, parthenos, represented a young unmarried woman who had preserved the purity of her body.

Psalm 51:5 teaches us how all of us were born after Adam’s transgression. Jesus, in order to be the sinless sacrifice, had to be born without sin. Romans 5:12-17 reverses the curse of Adam. Had he been born naturally, he could not have affirmed one of these claims. 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5.

3. The Time of his Birth

• Forecast: Daniel 9:25-26.
• Fulfillment: Luke 2:1, 7, 11; Galatians 4:4.

At the time of her conception and much of her pregnancy, Mary was actually in the wrong place for Jesus to be born. Something had to be done to move her from Nazareth to Bethlehem in a narrow window of time for Jesus to be born. The tax assessment done by Caesar Augustus was not on a regular cycle. There was a tax time four years before Christ was born and another several years afterwards. This, however, was a special taxation that involved the Jews of Judea and forced them out of the north into the province just south of Jerusalem into Bethlehem.

Also, according to Daniel’s prophecy, the Messiah had to come 483 years after a specific date given to Daniel, five hundred years before Jesus came to the temple for his week of passion. Everything had to be precise, in terms of the prophecy.

4. The Place of his Birth

• Forecast: Isaiah 9:1-2; Isaiah 11:1; Hosea 11:1; Micah 5:2.
• Fulfillment: Matthew 2:23 (Branch=Nazarene); Matthew 2:14-15; Matthew 2:1, 5, 6; John 7:42; Matthew 2:2.

5. The Forerunner of his Birth

• Forecast: Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 4:5.
• Fulfillment: Matthew 3:1, 3; Luke 3:3-6; John 1:23.