Statistical Proof that Jesus Christ is the Messiah” - Author and Writer Ronald Nelson

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

ENCOURAGING WORD:

Some Bible scholars believe that there are more than 300 prophetic Scriptures in the life of Jesus Christ. Circumstances such as his birthplace, lineage, and method of execution were beyond his control and could not have been accidentally or deliberately fulfilled. At least 109 of them have been fulfilled concerning His first coming. Here is the statistical improbability of one man, whether accidentally or deliberately, fulfilling just eight of the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. The chance of this happening is 1 in 10, to the 17th power. For those of you that don’t know what that means, it is 10 with 17 zeros behind it.  Let’s suppose that we take 10 to the 17th power in silver dollars and spread them out all across Texas. They would cover the whole state of Texas two feet deep. Now, mark one of those silver dollars with an “X” and 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 that this is the right one. What are the chances that he would pick up the right one? Just the same chances that the prophets would have had in writing just eight of these prophecies and having them all come true in any one man. The mathematical improbability of 300, or 44, or even just eight fulfilled prophesies of Jesus Christ stands as evidence to his Messiahship. The proof is indisputable, yet millions of people try to do just that!

Let’s take some Bible verses from the Old and New Testaments that reference the events leading up to the Birth of Jesus Christ! We read in;

Matthew 1:19-21; “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Back in those days, adultery was punishable by stoning, and since Joseph wasn’t aware of Mary’s conversation with The Angel Gabriel, he felt he had to protect her by keeping her out of the public eye. We read that in the 19th verse above.

Then we read in Matthew 1: 22-25; “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,  and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. 

For those that do not know what it means when it says,  “and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.” It means that Joseph did not have any physical intimacy with Mary until after Jesus was born. After which, she did have at least four sons and two daughters, maybe more, but the Bible only mentions the names of the four men.

We read this in Mark 6:3; “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? 

Yet the Roman Catholicism says Mary was a perpetual virgin, which means she remained a virgin throughout her whole life. It makes me wonder, what Bible do they teach from?

What we read in Matthew 1:22-25 was all foretold in the book of Isaiah, chapter 7, verse 14. 

In Isaiah 10:13-14; we read where the Lord himself gave a sign to King Ahaz, “Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” 

After King Ahaz appeared to show respect for God by saying that he would not test Him as we read in Isaiah 7:12, “Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.”

But amazingly, God went even further to save Judah (Israel) from imminent danger. He told them about the coming Messiah named Immanuel, which means “God with us.” God was prophesying to His people that the Messiah would come to earth as a young child, born of a Virgin, so that all of humankind could be saved through Him. Some 700 years later as prophesied, Mary and Joseph, who were from the city of Nazareth, were engaged to be married. Mary, still a virgin, was “found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that his wife-to-be (Mary) would deliver the Christ child. Can you imagine what Joseph had to go through trying to hide this from the authorities? Joseph is an example of true obedience to the Word of God.

We read in Matthew 2:13-14; “Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,” 

Joseph had to leave his business and pull up stakes and depart for Egypt until it was safe to return.

This was foretold by Hosea in chapter 11:1; “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” In this verse, the nation of Israel is in reference to the son of God.

When you read this verse in Hosea, you wonder why Jesus would be in Egypt. This verse may appear to be a verse about the Exodus from Egypt, until you read the rest of Matthew 2:15; And was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” 

Notice, the word son in Hosea 11:1 is in small caps, but the Word Son in Matthew 2:15; is in large caps. That is a hint that the (son) in Hosea 11:1 and the (Son) in Matthew 2:15 are not speaking of the same sonship. The son in Hosea is the nation of Israel and the Son in Matthew is in reference to Jesus Christ. I hope that makes it easier to understand.

This is why you need to read and understand the Old Testament so that you can also read and understand the New Testament. There is a saying in the Christian Body that goes like this; “The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.” There are so many times when reading the scriptures, that you come across a passage in the New Testament that has an Old Testament picture or story that explains it more clearly or vice versa. It may be a New Testament teaching that lines up with an Old Testament story.

Let me give you an example. The book of Ruth is a story about a kinsman redeemer (Boaz) that takes a Gentile Bride (Ruth) for wife. When you read and understand the book of Ruth, you will see very clearly that it lines up with Jesus Christ, (Our Kinsman Redeemer) taking on a gentile bride, (The Church.) I would love to expand on this in more detail, but for now I’ll continue on with the main topic. 

Now let’s take a step back to a passage in the book of Jeremiah 31:15; where Jeremiah tells of a future event of the  slaughter of all the first born children of Bethlehem, ages two and younger.

Jeremiah 31:15; “Thus says the Lord: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.” 

This prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 2:16-18; where we read, “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:  “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.” 

I believe that this is irrefutable evidence that the Christ Child was about two years old when the Wiseman showed up to worship the Child King! This is proof that the wisemen did not visit Jesus in the stable. When they saw Jesus it was in a home, not a stable. The Wise Men actually visited the Child Jesus with His mother, Mary. “When they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and … presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh”

Matthew 2:11; “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

Most Christian sects teach the nativity scene as if the shepherds and the wisemen where all there at once. Not a really big deal, but one worth pointing out.

There may be no relevance to why they showed up without any real time frame mentioned, but then again, maybe there was. The Bible has a lot of hidden messages that have not yet been revealed to man, but as the Word of God says, Knowledge will increase in the last days, and it is now increasing at an unprecedented pace.

There are so many prophecies about the first coming of Jesus Christ and they have all been fulfilled with 100% accuracy! It is extremely hard to understand how people can reject the truth of Jesus Christ when it is so obvious based on the facts of everything being foretold hundreds of years in advance.

But the Word of God does explain why this is the case and we read this in 2 Corinthians 4:4; “Whose minds the god of this age (Satan) has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” 

I guess this is something that unbelievers will never understand, which takes me back to the saying’ “Seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing when it comes to the Word of God.”  When we believe, the Bible will become very clear. We read in the following verse where Jesus makes it perfectly clear as to what I just said.

John 20:24-29; “Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he (Thomas) said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

There are far too many people that won’t believe anything unless they witness it firsthand. They need to see, touch, smell or hear, otherwise they will not believe. One of the saddest things that I have noticed is that many of those that God has blessed with lots of earthly wisdom, seem to have the hardest time believing in a God that they can’t see. It doesn’t line up with their so called intelligence. Some of the smartest people in the world are Atheists. In other words, they can’t see the forest for the trees, They see everything God created but yet don’t see the absolute need for a creator.

I heard a great scholar put evolution to shame by stating the obvious. Believing in evolution is like believing a tornado can rip through a junk yard and bring out on the other end a 747 jet. Of course, this is impossible, but the chances of this happening are more likely than believing that we evolved millions of years to what we are now. A creation has to have a creator. A house has to have a builder. Everything that we see in this world has to have a creator or builder, the most obvious example being the Universe. Evolutionist believe that once there was nothing and then it exploded, and these are supposed to be the smart ones. But when all is said and done, we read in the following Bible verse, the truth of why people do not believe.

Romans 1:18-32; “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

I’ll share this last thought with you. Let me ask you this question. What is the main focus of your Christmas traditions and celebrations? There are many probable answers to this question, but I’ll bet the giving of gifts is at the top. The giving of gifts should mirror the gift that God gave to the world. But unfortunately, the giving of gifts very seldom simulates the gift that God gave us. Most people take the greatest gift, which is Jesus Christ, and treat it as if it is something of no value. We are heading back to the pagan rituals that much of Christmas revolved around at that time, just as was prophesied hundreds of years ago. But those same people that have nothing to do with Jesus Christ will rip into a Christmas present like a monkey on a banana without having any idea what it is about. It has become a celebration of gift giving and parties, where in most cases, a lot of alcohol is consumed. Very few people invite Jesus Christ to their celebration that was originally meant for Him. Here is a thought, how would you feel if you weren’t invited to your own birthday party. This should make us, as Christians, bow our heads and weep! They have taken our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ out of society and replaced it with all the evil pagan rituals just as they did hundreds of years ago.

I like to give examples that people can relate to and here is a perfect example of what this message says. Suppose that you bought the most wonderful gift you could ever think of for a very special person. It comes time to open the gift and they tear off the final wrapping. When they see what is in the package they show no sign of appreciation or even worse, they appear as if they don’t even want the gift. How would you feel? I know how I would feel, like I have just had my heart ripped out. Well, let me assure you that every time we reject God’s gift of His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, we tear His heart out. God gave the world the most precious gift imaginable, but yet it is rejected by most of the world’s population. Many of us, I believe, would agree, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. God loves us so much, that He had to do something about the sin that fell upon the world. Can you imagine how God felt when His Son, Jesus Christ was born. He knew that by entering His creation, He could now make propitiation for sins by paying for our sins through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. The greatest love that anybody can show to someone is by laying down his life for a friend as we read in John 15:13; “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

This is exactly what Jesus Christ did for us, and all He expects form us is, acceptance, love, and obedience. Acceptance: Receive Jesus Christ today as your personal Lord and Savior. Love Him as He loves you…unconditionally. Read His Word and be obedient to His commands. If you truly accept Jesus Christ all these things will come automatically. 

Jesus Christ is not just some imaginary spirit floating around in the sky as most people imagine, Jesus Christ is alive and well sitting at the right hand of God the Father and do you know what He is doing.

Romans 8:34 tells us “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

Jesus is constantly witching over His children and intervenes on their behalf. A young boy once ask, “Can God see me all the time? His father said, “God loves you so much that He can’t take His eyes off of you!”

If you have already received Jesus Christ, you are in His protective custody. There is no better place to be, so why wouldn’t you want the creator of the universe who knows everything about you to watch over you? If you are not born-again into the family of God, then you automatically fall under the power of the adversary, (one that contends with, opposes, or resists: an enemy or opponent, which is Satan) There are only two choices. Take every moment that you have to and get to know our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In this world in which we live, we need every soldier that we can get. Please join us and share the love that Jesus Christ has bestowed upon us. The gift of eternal life! 

And now: “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.”

“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

May God bless you in all you do and take care!