Brandon: If choices are chance or truth, I choose truth

What is the difference in chance and something that was designed beforehand predicted and then came true?

The facts are that many prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus were made hundreds of years before he was even born. The miraculous thing is that those prophesies about Jesus were fulfilled and are recorded in the New Testament.

Columnist

Prophecy: The Messiah will come.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Prophecy fulfilled: John 1:14 reads: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Prophecy: Born of a virgin. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

Prophecy fulfilled: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ — which means, “God with us.’” (Matthew 1:20-23)

Prophecy: The Messiah will come from Jesse’s lineage. Isaiah 11:1-5 reads: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord — and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.”

Prophecy fulfilled: Matthew 1:1-2, 5-6, 16: “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, ... (5-6) ... Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”

Prophecy: The child will be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2).

Prophecy verified: Matthew 2:1 “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod….”

After some research on this I found that Bible scholars note that over the years, there have been many references to several “Bethlehems” in Israel. For Jesus’ birth, Bethlehem Ephrathah referred to in Matthew as “Bethlehem in Judea.”

Prophecy: The method of Jesus’ execution. Zechariah described the Messiah’s death in words that make clear that manner of execution. Further, they said that the body would be pierced and that none of the bones would be broken. (Zechariah 12:10).

Prophecy fulfilled: “But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. … Instead one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear…” (John 19:33-3).

J. Barton Payne author of “Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy,” made note of 127 Messianic predictions that included more than 3,000 Bible verses. Further, 574 of those verses referred clearly to a personal Messiah.

Are these few prophecies listed trumped up or true verification that Jesus was the Son of God? Chance or truth? I say truth.

Judy Brandon is a Clovis resident. Contact her at:

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