Fulfilled Prophecies About Jesus and Israel Prove the Bible is True

As presented in the previous blog post, Prophecy: Proof The Bible Is God’s Word, we will continue with two other major areas that clearly demonstrate the Bible’s credibility – fulfilled prophecies about Jesus and Israel. These points will further prove that there is an overabundance of evidence that substantiates the veracity of the Holy Bible as being the authoritative source from which the only creator God has spoken to humankind.

Approximately one-third of the Bible was prophetic at the time it was written. By some counts, more than 300 Old Testament prophecies point to Jesus and were fulfilled by Him in His life on earth.

One of the most amazing and startling examinations of the prophetic fulfillments of Jesus was done by Peter Stoner, who was Chairman of the departments of mathematics and astronomy at Pasadena City college until 1953; Chairman of the science division, Westmont College, 1953-57; Professor Emeritus of Science; Westmont College. In his book, Science Speaks (original Publication, Moody, 1958), he outlines the mathematical probability of one person in the first century fulfilling just eight of the most clear and straightforward Messianic prophecies.

He calculated it to be 1 in 10 to the 17th power, or (1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000)!

To visualize the probability of this, consider the following illustration:

Suppose a man was blindfolded and we had him walk through the state of Texas covered with silver dollars two feet deep. A red X was put on one of those silver dollars. The odds of that man in the first century fulfilling just eight prophecies, would be same as that blindfolded man reaching down and selecting the marked silver dollar, on the first try!

For those who question Professor Stoner’s math, the following is a quote from H. Harold Hartzler, PhD, of the American Scientific Affiliation, Goshen College, which he wrote in the forward to Science Speaks:

“The manuscript for Science Speaks has been carefully reviewed by a committee of the American Scientific Affiliation members and by the Executive Council of the same group and has been found, in general, to be dependable and accurate in regard to the scientific material presented.” He went on to say, “The mathematical analysis included is based upon principles of probability which are thoroughly sound and Professor Stoner has applied these principles in a proper and convincing way.”

Professor Stoner’s book has had some critics, which comes as no surprise to this writer. There will always be critics of someone’s work. Jesus had many critics in the first century and even today. But people would be wise to heed His warning as recorded in John 12:47-48, “If anyone hears My teachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects Me and does not accept My teachings has one who judges him: the Word which I spoke. That will judge him on the last day.” (emphasis mine)

There were many prophecies recorded in the Old Testament that plainly point to Jesus as the Messiah. The theme of the entire Bible is Christ. Jesus made that clear in several of His statements. Consider the following examples:

1. In John 5:39, in speaking to the Jewish religious leaders and others under their influence, He stated, “You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me;” (emphasis mine)

What scriptures were Jesus referring to? Obviously, it was the Old Testament because they were the only scriptures available at that time.

2. Jesus further stated in John 5:46, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me.” (emphasis mine). He pointed this out to those who challenged His identity.

3. Jesus made it even clearer in His conversation with two of the apostles as He walked with them after the resurrection on the road to Emmaus. Luke records what He said in chapter 24:25 & 27, “Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!’ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (emphasis mine)

As defined in my previous blog post, a simple way to describe prophecy is, “history written in advance.” If one were to examine all the prophecies and their fulfillment in scriptures, any reasonable non-bias person should conclude their divine origin. Some prophecies have been deemed “questionable” regarding their specificity and fulfillment. But even if we were to eliminate any prophecy considered debatable and just go with the distinct and unambiguous ones, we would still be left with plenty on which to make the case for divine inspiration of the Bible.

In this blog post, we will focus on two very important major areas of prophecy and their fulfillment, which based on the overwhelming evidence cannot be denied.

Fulfilled Prophecy About Jesus, The Messiah

Messiah comes from the Hebrew word mashiach and means “anointed one.” The Greek equivalent is the word Christos, or in English, Christ. The name “Jesus Christ” is the same as “Jesus the Messiah.” Different names and titles have been given to Jesus Christ who is the only begotten Son of God, the Second Person of the triune Godhead (Colossians 2:9).

It is extremely important to understand what is meant by the term “only begotten” Son of God as pertaining to Jesus. False teachers have latched onto this phrase trying to prove their false teaching that Jesus Christ isn’t God, i.e., He isn’t equal in essence to God as the Second Person of the Trinity.

They read the word “begotten” and assume it means Jesus was a created being because only a person who had a beginning in time can be “begotten.” Their position is incorrect because of failing to recognize “begotten” is an English translation of a Greek word.

According to the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, the Greek word is monogenes and means “pertaining to being the only one of its kind or class, unique in kind.” This is the meaning that is indicated in John 3:16 (also in John 1:14,18; 3:18; 1 John 4:9). This word is used to emphasize Jesus’ uniqueness as God’s Son, sharing the same divine nature as God, as opposed to believers who are God’s sons by adoption (Ephesians 1:5).

Terms like “Father” and “Son,” describing God and Jesus, are spoken of in human terms to help to us understand in part, the relationship between the different Persons in the one Godhead or Trinity. The analogy falls apart if taken too far and teach that Jesus was literally “begotten” as in “created” by God the Father, which cults such as Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons and others teach. This truth is vitally important because Jesus made this statement in John 8:24, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.” (emphasis mine)

Yeshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus, and the English spelling is Joshua, or Jesus, which are essentially the same. The name means “Savior.” The change in language of a word does not affect the meaning of a word. For thousands of years, Israel has been expecting an anointed Savior promised by God spoken through His prophets in the Old Testament (Isaiah 7:10-14; 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6, et al). The promise of the coming Messiah is throughout the Old Testament which also indicates the way He will defeat Satan. Genesis 3:14-15 are the foundational verses for this.

But who will this Messiah be?

That was “The Question” then, as well as today, for many in Israel and the entire world.

Two striking verses in the entire Bible to understand are Isaiah 43:10-11 in which God declares:

“You are My witnesses, declares the Lord, And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know And believe me and understand that I am He. Before me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, only I, am the Lord, and there is no Savior besides me.” (emphasis mine)

So, if the name Jesus means Savior, He must be God. Only God Himself can save us, because only God is perfect! This is straight forward scriptural logic if one is not tainted by cultish or religious denominational bias.

I find that this truth, i.e., Jesus was and is God in the flesh, to be the biggest stumbling block of all time for all people everywhere. And I can understand why. Because as humans, we struggle with trying to understand how Jesus could have been and is both God and man (1 Timonthy 2:5; 2 Timonthy 3:16, et al). However, if we stop and think about the enormity of this universe God created and the huge difference between Him and us finite humans, we should realize there is no limit to what He can do.

God is making it crystal clear in those Isaiah verses, and others as well, that He Himself is the only Savior. Jesus is referred to as Savior numerous times in the New Testament. So obviously then, Jesus must have been and still is today, the Messiah of Israel and Savior for all of humanity who will receive Him.

That was the message John the Baptist preached when he arrived on the scene approximately 450 years after Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets. John’s mission was to preach repentance (turn to God) and to prepare not just Israel, but the world to receive our long-awaited Savior, the Coming One, the Messiah.

I am aware that many people today, and even back then, did not believe that. Not just the majority of Jewish people but Gentiles as well. However, note the following quote from the second half of Isaiah 49:26, “…. And humanity will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

One of the most voluminous areas of prophecy is the Old Testament sacrificial system, and their foreshadowing of Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross. All the Old Testament animal sacrifices are pictures of Him (especially and specifically the lambs). All the prophecies foretold Him. When taken in their totality, it cannot be denied (by any reasonable person) that these specific events tell of and clearly point to Jesus of Nazareth who came to earth approximately 2,000 years ago.

Some of the Isaiah’s prophecies are mentioned in my previous blog post on this topic, in which John the Baptist fulfilled in large part (Luke 3:2-6). A few others to consider are:

• Presentation of the Messiah prophesied 500 years beforehand in Zechariah 9:9, fulfilled as recorded in Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem Matthew 21:4-5.
• Betrayal of the Messiah for 30 pieces of silver as prophesied in Zechariah 11:12, fulfilled as recorded in Matthew 26:14-15.
• Silence of the Messiah prophesied as recorded in Isaiah 53:7, fulfilled as recorded in Matthew 27:12-14.

It is interesting to note that Matthew, who was Jewish and one of the twelve apostles, was writing primarily, but not exclusively to a Jewish audience. This is confirmed by the fact that there are about sixty references to the Jewish prophecies and about forty quotations from the Old Testament in the Gospel of Matthew (The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, fourth improved edition).

The apparent purpose of the gospel written by Matthew, which many believe was either the earliest written, or shortly after the gospel of Mark, was to show that Jesus of Nazareth was the Kingly Messiah of Jewish prophecy.

Fulfilled Prophecy About Israel

Much can be said and has been said about the nation of Israel. Entire books have been written about it. In that regard, I will only present here what I consider the highlighted portions and summary of key prophetic scriptures.

In Genesis 12:1, 3, the first thing we learn about Israel and the Jewish people, is that God has given them a land. It is all throughout the Old Testament.

V. 1 – “Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

V.3 – “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

“for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.” (Genesis 13:15) (emphasis mine)

Genesis 15:18 reads, “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates…'” (emphasis mine)

Leviticus 25:23 states, ‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, because the land is Mine; for you are only strangers and residents with Me. (emphasis mine)

God is saying the Land shall not be sold or portioned off because the Land is His!

When God brought them into the land, He warned them He would cast them out of the land (because of their disobedience).

“Just as the LORD has found great pleasure in causing you to prosper and multiply, the LORD will find pleasure in destroying you. You will be torn from the land you are about to enter and occupy. For the LORD will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other.” – Deuteronomy 28:63-64a (emphasis mine)

In verse 37 of Deuteronomy 28, God tells them, “And you will become an object of horror, a song of mockery, and an object of taunting among all the peoples where the LORD drives you.”

There are many other verses that describe how they will be looked upon. They will be hated, persecuted and killed like no other people on earth ever has. All this because of their disobedience in not following the Lord as He commanded them throughout their history.

History Confirms It

Just a brief look at history in our lifetime shows very clearly how the numerous prophetic declarations spoken about the troubles Israel would have came to fruition.

The Holocaust

The Holocaust, the systematic killing of six million Jewish men, women, children, and millions of others by Nazi Germany of its collaborators during World War II (1939-45).

The Arab-Israel War of 1948

The Arab-Israel war of 1948, referred to as the Israeli War of Independence, is one of the most, if not the most pivotal events in Middle East history because it began some of the more recently fulfilled prophecies pertaining to Israel as foretold in scripture.

The second phase commenced almost immediately on that date, when neighboring Arab states, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, intervened, launching a military invasion into the newly declared state of Israel. Israeli fighters were in desperate need of military weapons to resist the attack, but the world as a whole was largely silent. The United States and the United Nations imposed bans on selling any weapons or military-grade equipment to Israel.

More recently, when Israel was attacked and invaded on October 7, 2023, by Hamas and several other Palestinian Militant groups, killing approximately 1,200 Israeli civilians and taking about 250 hostages, Israel declared war for the first time since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

And what was utterly amazing to me, was the intense international criticism Israel came under for their retaliation in the Gaza Strip area, not criticism that should have be directed at those who attacked them. However, Israel is still now and will forever be the people group God chose to send the Messiah into the world through. They have been under His punishment and protection. Israel as a nation will never cease to exist.

How do we know that?

Look at Jeremiah 31:35-36. These are two of the most amazing, remarkable verses in the Bible!

“It is the LORD who provides the sun to light the day and the moon and stars to light the night, and who stirs the sea into roaring waves. His name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, and this is what He says: ‘I am as likely to reject my people Israel as I am to abolish the laws of nature!‘” (emphasis mine)

That is an absolutely astounding statement by God.

Think about those verses for a moment. God is saying that as long as we see the sun, moon and stars in the sky, the waves of the sea, Israel will exist. I don’t know how any statement of His commitment to them could be any stronger than that.

Here are just a few brief key events in the history of Israel becoming a nation again in 1948, and how remarkable it was that it came about:

• In 1003 BC King David established Jerusalem as the capital of the Kingdom of Israel
• In 922 BC the twelve tribes split into a southern kingdom, Judah, and a northern kingdom comprising ten tribes, Israel
• All the tribes eventually rebelled against God and were scattered by the Babylonians throughout the nations (the diaspora)
• The Babylonians destroyed Israel’s Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem
• Israel’s scattering was complete around 586 BC
• The rebuilt Second temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD
• The Romans renamed the land of Israel (principally Judea) as ‘Palaestina‘
• At the start of the 20th century the land was still a mix of many peoples
• The 1922 British Mandate for Palestine sought a homeland for the Jewish nation, Israel
• The Mandate encouraged Jewish immigration
• 1948: the Declaration of the State of Israel
• 1967: Six-Day War (June 5 – 10th), the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon (and later Iraq) attacked Israel with the goal ‘to wipe Israel off the map’.
• 1973: Yom Kippur War: Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during the Jewish holiday of ‘Yom Kippur’
• Jews are returning in unbelief, as prophesied and will suffer tribulation under a revived Roman Empire

Related: 6 Reasons Why the Bible is Reliable and Historically Accurate

It is very clear from scripture that Jesus of Nazareth, who walked the dusty streets in the land of Israel approximately 2,000 years ago was in fact the Messiah, the anointed one.

One would simply have to be a willful non-believer and reject the multitude of numerous fulfilled prophecies to think otherwise. We have just scratched the surface of the information in this blog. We may revisit this topic again to expand on this further.

Israel is the only nation on earth that inhabits the same land, has the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God that it did 3,000 years ago.