1. Introduction:
A. Jesus warned that there would be false Christs -Matt.24:23
B. Saul proved Jesus was Christ Acts 9:20
C. Today there are false Christs
1. Vernon Howell (David Koresh)
2. Sun Myung Moon
D. Why do you believe that Jesus is the Christ?We MUST be able to give an answer -1 Peter 3:15
1. Do you even have and answer? How do you KNOW? Just because someone told you so?
2. Some people are told that Koresh or Moon are the Christ
E. Four of the basic proofs:
1. Miracles
2. Eye witnesses (Apostles)
3. His Resurrection
4. And Prophesy, the one we will focus on today.2. The value of Prophesy
A. What does prophesy do for us? It verifies that God is, and gives positive proof of the Messiah's identity
1. Isaiah 46:9; Isaiah 48:5
3. Romans 1:2
B. Contrasted to false Prophets
1. Edgar Cayce, Nostrodomos, Jean Dixon, etc.
a. Eternally cryptic and vague
b. Anyone can make vague, cryptic prophesies, for example:
1. I predict that someone here in this congregation will become ill within this next month
2. or "buy a new car, have automobile trouble", etc.)
2. Kenneth Copeland Prophesy:
3. How to recognize a false Prophet -Deut.18:20
a. If Jean Dixon was ever wrong even 1 time...
C. The Messianic Prophesies from God are different than these false prophets "prophesies".
1. 2 Peter 1:193. The appeal to Prophesy:
A. Jesus appeals to prophesy to establish his identity:
1. Matthew 5:17
2. Luke 4:20
3. John 5: 39
B. New Testament writers appeal to prophesy to prove their case:
1. Acts 3:18
2. Acts 10:434. The Evidence from Prophesy (Some examples of specific prophesies in the Old Testament
A. Born of a Virgin:
1. Isaiah 7:14
2. Matthew 1:18
B. Born in Bethlehem
1. Micah 5:2
2. Matthew 2:1
C. Offered Gall and Vinegar
1. Psalm 69:21
2. Matthew 27:345. The science of probability and how that relates to Prophesy:
A. 322 prophesies literally fulfilled in Jesus
1. 61 major prophesies
B. Many uncontrollable by mere human means
1. Place & time of birth
2. Betrayal, manner of death, who crucified with,
3. The reactions of others
C. Probability rules out coincidence
1. Running through just a few
a. Born in Jerusalem (Maybe 1,000,000?)
b. Rode un-ridden donkey into Jerusalem (Maybe 1000? -doubt it)
c. Crucified (Maybe 500?)
d. With thieves (Maybe 100?)
e. Buried in rich man s tomb (Maybe 2?)
f. Resurrected (ONLY 1)
2. Statistical chances that 8 prophesies would be fulfilled in any one person
a. Only One in 1017 That is one in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (100 Quadrillion)
b. Now considering that there are only 6 Billion people alive on earth today,
and only 10 billion have ever lived, this is IMPOSSIBLE.
c. Suppose that we take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas.
They will cover the state 2 feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars, drop it from and airplane somewhere in Texas, stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophesies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time. |
3. Chances that 48 prophesies would be fulfilled in any one person are 10157
4. There were OVER 300 prophesies fulfilled in Jesus6. Conclusion:
A. There can be no doubt because of prophesy!
B. Now, what does that mean to you?
C. If he IS Christ, you better serve him every day.
1. He said "No man comes to the father except by me"
D. If he is NOT Christ, you better quit pretending to follow him and find out who is the Christ.