Lee Strobel: Case for Christ Video, on Messianic Prophesies, for Secularists.

[Xavier]

[Xavier]

From: https://www.conservapedia.com/Prophesies_Fulfilled_by_Christ#Partial_Listing_of_the_Prophesies_by_Major_Events_in_the_Messiah.27s_Life

Partial Listing of the Prophesies by Major Events in the Messiah's Life

These prophesies were made several hundreds (and in some cases, thousands) of years before Christ's Incarnation. For e.g. the Book of Isaiah was written 700 years before Christ came, the Psalms of King David 1000 years before and the Exodus of the people of Israel 1500 years before He came, by the annointed and Mighty Prophet Moses.

Prophesies of the Virgin Birth of the Messiah

1. Gen 3:15: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." In this prophesy, which is called the Proto-Evangelium ("First Gospel"), there is clearly contained a fore-announcement of a future Messiah to come, Who will be the Seed of a Woman only, i.e. to say, He will be born without a human father. This First Gospel is therefore the First Announcement in the Scriptures of the coming Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ Our Lord.

2. Isa 7:14: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Here, the Prophet Isaiah hands down more explicitly the ancient prophesy already promised by God in Genesis and recorded by the Prophet Moses. It begins to become more and more obvious that Almighty God is preparing an altogether special entrance into the world for His Son, a Virgin Birth. In this prophesy, we also discern more clearly the reason for the Messiah's Virgin Birth, to manifest that He is God with us, True God born of True God, the Eternal Son and Word of the Eternal Father.

3. Isa 66:7: "Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child." Almighty God, having Himself said (Deut 19:15; Mat 18:16) that He likes to establish facts on the mouth of two or three witnesses, is likewise pleased to confirm it two or three times. Here in this passage we behold most plainly that Almighty God intends to bring about a miraculous conception by a Woman, of a Son Who will be born in the pre-fall state, without original sin. For careful readers of the holy Scriptures, this is another prophesy of a miraculous Virgin Birth to come.

Prophesies of the Supreme Divinity of the Messiah

4. Isa 7:14: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." This text is clear and explicit. He Who will be born of the Virgin will be God Himself dwelling with us, the Lord of hosts come to make His home among His people. The culmination of the wondrous divine plan spanning centuries is therefore the arrival no longer of a mere Prophet but of the Lord God Himself. The Prophets announced the Lord for many centuries. Now the Lord of the Prophets Himself comes to earth to speak as Man to man.

5. Psa 110:1: "A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." An astounding divine revelation of God the Father speaking to God the Son as His Co-Equal Lord. The Lord Jesus cited this prophesy to the Pharisees in the Gospel, saying in Mat 22: "43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?" And truly "46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.".

6. Isa 9:6: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Here, in the plainest terms, the Messiah is called (1) the Mighty God, the (2) Everlasting Father, (3) the Prince of Peace, and our (4) Wonderful Counsellor. We have here manifest proofs of Christ's Divinity.

[Xavier]

https://www.conservapedia.com/Prophesies_Fulfilled_by_Christ#Prophesies_of_the_Sacrificial_Death_of_the_Messiah

Prophesies of the Sacrificial Death of the Messiah

7. Isa 53:3-9: "3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." Isaiah 53 has always been the chapter about which "no one has been able to answer a word" when the universal Christian Church has pointed it out, either to the Synagogue, or to secularists.

It declares prophetically, 700 years before Christ's Incarnation, all the magnificent Truths in the Life of Our Lord: His Heroic Sacrifice, His Atoning Death, His Sacrificial Sufferings, His Lamb-Like Innocence. So astonishing is this Messianic proof that millions convert to Christianity, especially from Judaism, but also from Atheism, because of the testimony of the holy Prophet Isaiah, who has justly been called the Fifth Evangelist.

Because of the importance of this prophesy, and its usefulness in sharing the Gospel with Atheists, or with Jews, or with any non-Christians, further testimonies can be documented about it. There should be no doubt to any sincere inquirer to Christianity that these prophesies refer to Jesus Christ.[3][4]

https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-based-teaching-from-israel/inescapable-truth-isaiah-53/
https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/issues-v13-n06/whos-the-subject-of-isaiah-53-you-decide/

[Xavier]

(i) 1st Century Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai states: "The meaning of the words 'bruised for our iniquities' [Isaiah 53:5] is, that since the Messiah bears our iniquities, which produce the effect of his being bruised, it follows that whoso will not admit that the Messiah thus suffers for our iniquities, must endure and suffer them for them himself."[5]

(ii) Moshe Aschich declares, "[our] Rabbis with one voice, accept and affirm the opinion that the Prophet [Isaiah in 53] is speaking of king Messiah." [6]

(iii) Twelfth-century Jewish scholar Ramban (Nachmanides) says the Redeemer is the Messiah: "Yet he carried our sicknesses, being himself sick and distressed for the transgressions which should have caused sickness and distress in us, and bearing the pains which we ought to have experienced. But we, when we saw him weakened and prostrate, thought that he was stricken, smitten of God. The chastisement of our peace was upon him – for God will correct him; and by his stripes we were healed."

(iv) Tractate Sanhedrin in the Babylonian Talmud (98b), writes about the name of the Messiah: "His name is 'the leper scholar,' as it is written, "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and afflicted".

(v) The Book of the Zohar recognizes the principle of substitution that the suffering of the Messiah would come to take the suffering that others deserved for their sins. On the verse "Surely He has borne our griefs", the Book of the Zohar says, "There is in the Garden of Eden a palace named the Palace of the Sons of Sickness. This palace the Messiah enters, and He summons every pain and every chastisement of Israel: All of these come and rest upon Him. And were it not that he had thus lightened them off Israel and taken them upon himself, there had been no man able to bear Israel's chastisements for the transgression of the law."

(vi) "The 17th century Jewish historian, Raphael Levi, admitted that long ago the rabbis used to read Isaiah 53 in synagogues, but after the chapter caused "arguments and great confusion" the rabbis decided that the simplest thing would be to just take that prophecy out of the Haftarah readings in synagogues. That's why today when we read Isaiah 52, we stop in the middle of the chapter and the week after we jump straight to Isaiah 54 ..."

(vii) "The prayers for Yom Kippur, the ones we all know also relates Isaiah 53 to the Messiah. The prayer added for Yom Kippur by Rabbi Eliezer around the time of the seventh century: "Our righteous Messiah has turned away from us we have acted foolishly and there is no one to justify us. Our iniquities and the yoke of our transgressions he bears and he is pierced for our transgressions. He carries our sins on his shoulder, to find forgiveness for our iniquities. By his wounds we are healed."

[Xavier]

"Prophesies Demonstrating that Christ has Come

This further makes atheism and general unbelief look foolish and stupid, as the Psalmist remarks. For it shows that unless Christ came long ago and did these things, the prophesies would never have been fulfilled. Is it just a "coincidence" that just One Person in all of history fulfilled them?

A common objection that has been made is that all these things are indeed prophesied of the Messiah but that Christ's Coming has already taken place has not been proved. This section briefly examines and refutes that specious objection.

VIII. Gen 49:10-12

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: 12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. In this amazing prophesy, it is fore-announced that the tribe of Judah will not be completely deprived of power before the Messiah comes. This manifestly had happened by the time of Christ, when Pontius Pilate and Rome ruled over the Jews, and both Pilate and the Sanhedrin confirm this: "Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: (Jn 18:31)" which is a confession the sceptre had departed, and therefore, that the Messiah had come. Another clear demarcation line for this prophesy's fulfilment is the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., by which time, most certainly, Judah had lost all temporal power. Hence, prophesy shows that Christ has Come.

IX. Mal 3:1-5

"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: 3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. 4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. 5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts." Once more, God declares that He will come as a swift witness against all evildoers, and He will be so righteous and holy that no one will be able to abide the day of His Coming. And it is said clearly that He will be preceded by a precursor (John the Baptist) and will come suddenly while the Temple is still standing. By this means, we see clearly that the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi teaches us Christ would come before 70 A.D.

X. Dan 9:24-27

24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. A most astonishing prophesy that has been called the greatest prophesy in the Bible, and that is a momentous accomplishment of the Holy Spirit speaking through the holy Prophet Daniel. The Prophesy says there will be roughly 69 weeks of years or 483(=69*7)years from the decree of Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem, which was around 450 B.C.[7] until Christ is killed, but not for Himself. This fits in perfectly with Christ delivering Himself up to death, as a Sacrifice laying down His Life for our sake, not for Himself, in 33 A.D. And again it is clearly said Christ the Prince comes before the Temple is destroyed, and again it is said the people of the Prince who will come (the reference is to the Roman armies) shall after Christ's Death come and lay waste to city and sanctuary. This prophesy provides yet another additional corroboration that Jesus Christ is the Promised Messiah and that all the deadlines of Messiah's Coming have passed.

[Xavier]

Prophesies of Christ's Resurrection from Hades

XI. Psa 16:9-11
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. A magnificent prophesy of the Resurrection of the Holy One of the Lord, Whose soul God would not leave in Hades, showing it would return to His Body, and Whose Body would not see corruption, showing it would undergo a Glorious Resurrection. When St. Peter the Apostle most powerfully spoke in the Holy Ghost citing this prophesy on the Day of Pentecost, 33 A.D. "29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses." (Acts 2:29-32) the crowd was so touched by the force of these prophetic proofs that 3000 were Baptized! These verses serve as a calling to the Church to make use of the prophetic witnesses in the Scriptures in order to see abundant fruits from the harvest.

XII. Hos 6:1-3

"1Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. 3Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." This passage shows us that not only is the fact of the Resurrection foretold in prophesy, but even the very day, the Third Day, is prophetically announced! Truly, "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). This prophesy was fulfilled when Christ Our Lord rose from the dead, and also caused many of the Old Testament Saints to rise from the dead, having liberated the OT Just from Hades, as we read in the Gospel, "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints that slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." (Mat 27:52-53). Christ the Lord raised up His Saints. On the Third Day, as He had foretold, God raised them up from the dead.

Prophesies of Christ's Institution of Melchizedek Priesthood

XIII. Psa 110:4:
The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. In this Messianic Psalm, where God the Father had already placed Christ the Lord at His right hand promising to put all His enemies under His Feet, the Holy Spirit announces that Christ will be a Great High Priest of the Order of Melchizedek, the ancient Mystical Priest Who appeared to Abraham and blessed him, thereby passing on the Priesthood to Abraham's genealogy. Here we see a clear proof that one crystal clear sign of the Messiah having come will be the institution of a New Melchizedek Priesthood where thanksgiving sacrifices under the forms of Bread and Wine, as offered by Melchizedek, will be perpetually and visibly offered to God, as a sign of God's New and Everlasting Covenant.

XIV. Gen 14:18-20
"18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all." Here, we behold the Priest offer Bread and Wine, and receive Tithes as a Superior Being. In the Book of Hebrews, we learn more about Melchizedek, "For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; 2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; 3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. 4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils." (Heb 7:1-4) That Melchizedek is King of Peace (a Messianic Title) and King of Righteousness leads many to conclude Melchizedek was a Theophany, a Pre-Incarnate Manifesation of the Divine Messiah Jesus Christ.

XV. Mal 1:10-11

Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts. In this prophesy, it is clearly announced that the Jewish Temple will be destroyed, and no more sacrifices offered therein. At this same time, by virtue of the Melchizedek Priesthood, a new sacrifice, a clean oblation or pure offering, would be offered always and everywhere "from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same". God's Name would be glorified in every place, and the sacrifice of His Body and Blood, which Christ commanded His Apostles to perpetually offer under the form of Bread and Wine, to the glory of God, would give very great glory to the Name of God, which would be great among the Gentiles. These things are manifestly fulfilled in the Universal Christian Church today, which stands as a sign to Israel and all the world that Messiah has come.