Although the prophetic books of the Old Testement were written much earlier than the Gospels, the authors were able to lay out direct discriptions of the coming of Christ. Each of these prophecies was fulfilled with the arrival of Jesus. Here are just a few to think about. But don't take my word for it; grab a Bible and follow along! One....two....three....PROPHECY!
1) Matthew tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea (Matthew 2:5). The prophet Micah said that Israel's ruler would come from the humble village of Bethlehem, so it's no mistake that Jesus Christ was born there. When he speaks of the coming Messiah, Micah writes, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me; the One to be Ruler in Israel" (Micah 5:2).
2) Matthew also tells us that Mary and Joseph were forced to flee to Egypt because Jesus's life was threatened by King Herod. Hosea spoke of this incident in chapter 11:1 "And out of Egypt I called my Son." Interestingly enough, it also discusses a flight to Egypt all the way back in the book of Numbers, but let's keep it basic for now.
3) Matthew then talks about the death of any male child aged two and under by the hand of King Herod. Let's face it, guys. Even this evil king knew that this little baby was a threat to his throne! Why else would he go to the trouble of murdering toddlers and infants? But I stray from the prophecy part; Jeremiah spoke of this tragedy in his prophetic book. Jeremiah 31:15 says, "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."
These are just three of the prophecies that are talked about in the Old Testement only to be fulfilled with the New Testement and the arrival of Christ. The only way these men would have been able to write about such things is if they had been inspired by the Spirit of God. Let me know what you think!
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that's true!!!
If Jesus was born in Bethlehem, why is he of Nazereth?
Oh, and how could he be of the line of David if he is the son of god?
"Every man makes a god of his own desire."
-Virgil
If you look at the Scriptures, Jesus was born in Bethlehem but spent most of his growing up years in Nazereth. Thus, many called him a Nazerene. My little brother was born in Hong Kong, but he spent the majority of his years in the United States. People don't refer to him as Chinese; They call him an American.
He is the Son of God, but God chose the line of David to deliver His Son. He is both 100% man, 100% God. God chose the line of David as a means to delivering Christ to earth, through the womb of a virgin.
Bekka Joy
Yes, but it was not Mary who was alledgedly of the line of David.
"Every man makes a god of his own desire."
-Virgil
1) The technique of writing reverence rather than history based accounts of the lives of religious figures is known as hagiography, and that appears to be what we have here. It is widely held (by scholars that aren't blinded by their faith) that Mattew most likely invented this story specifically in order to "fulfill" the prophecy stated in Micah, and there is a great deal of evidence that supports this assertion.
For example, there is no historical record of a Empire-wide Roman census at any time during the last decade BCE. And even if there had been, the methodology of Roman censuses did not require citizens to travel back to their birth-places in order to register. The closest thing to a census of this sort was the one called by the Roman Governor Quirinius in 6 CE, which is of course several years after the supposed birth of Jesus. That census effected the citizens of Judea, but not Galilee (which is where Joseph supposedly lived). Even if Joseph had travelled to Judea for the census, the trip was more than 90 miles, and it would be unlikely (if not impossible) that a nine-months pregnant woman could make such a trip without loosing her baby. And, why would she go, anyway? Women were not counted in Roman censuses, so there would be no need for her to go.
But most sigificant contradict of the account in Matthew is the fact that the town of Bethlehem in Judea was not inhabited during the time period associated with the birth of the biblical character, Jesus. The archeological evidence shows the town in active existence from about the 5th to 12 centuries BCE, but the town was essentially unihabited between 550BCE through the 1st century CE.
Even the other gospels contradict Matthew's account. Mark 6:1 use the term patris (meaning "father-land" or "native-town) to refer to Nazareth, not Bethlehem. John 7:41-43 also contradicts Matthew's account by noting that many contemporary believers rejected the divinity of Jesus specifically because he was known to have been born in Galilee rather than Bethlehem.
2) Actually, let's not "keep it basic." Oversimplifying the history and contents of these texts is probably why these "prophecies" seem so convincing to you. Hosea 11:1 is specifically referring to the story of Moses and the Exodus. Matthew makes the leap of re-interpreting the original prophecy to apply to the story of Jesus. This is another attempt at hagiography. Matthew worked very hard to find metophorical similarities between the life of Jesus (whom he believed to be the messiah) and the ancient Hebrew prophecies, and was willing to take a great many liberties while inventing the evidence he needed to convince his fellow Jews. The entire story is predicated on a similar invention, the Massacre of the Innocents allegedly perpetrated by Herod. (more on that, below...)
3) The story of the Massacre of the Innocents is (again) an example of hagiography. The account in Matthew of Herod's attempt to kill all of the young male children in the city of Bethlem is unique in the gospels. None of the others mention it, and it only appears in the other appocrypha after Matthew's invention of the tale. There is no solid archeological or historical evidence that this event ever took. Even Josephus, considered by many to be the most prolific Jewish then-contempory Jewish historian of the period fails to mention it at all, which would a rather significant ommission if the story was acutally true. Many scholars speculate that the intent of the fiction was to glorify the story of Jesus and to mirror the account of the Exodus as a way of elevating the relevance of the Jesus myth by painting him as "a new Moses." The acutal history that inspired this story was most likely Herod's execution of two of his sons and his wife (their mother), whom he felt represented a threat to his throne.
The practice of hagiography is common in many many religions (and even other, non-religious social movements) and christianity is no exception to the tendency of motivated worshippers to make up stories in which their leaders are retroactively reinterpreted to fulfill "prophecies" and exaggerated to meet the superhuman ideals.
It seems to me that the history of prophecy is filled with vague references that are easy to count as "fulfilled" so long as one doesn't look too closely at the particulars. if In order for us to honestly and rationally look at a "prophecy" and to consider it "fulfilled," there needs to be a certain level of objective verification.
percivale
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"Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici." ~ V.
I will admit that your knowledge is astounding, but I still find it rather amazing that you allow someone you don't believe in to affect your life so very much.
Bekka Joy
I was raised in a very strict, conservative christian home. I was educated in a private, christian high school, and spend much of the first twenty or so years of my life as a devout member of the church community in which I was raised. I know so much about the bible because I was educated extensively in its contents. Some might even say that my teachers did their job too well. They provided me with the skills and knowledge to study and really think about the bible and what it says. What I found there horrified me, and as I grew older I found myself unable to reconcile the virtues I had been taught to value with the reality of the christian religion.
I left the church, but all of that knowledge is still up in the old noggin', and I see no reason not to put it to good use.
percivale
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"Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici." ~ V.
Wow, I had no idea. I am sorry to hear that your strict upbringing took you away from the church and a personal relationship with Christ. This happens far too often, I am afraid. I have a friend who turned away from God for a long time because the upbringing he experienced was hypocritical and strewn with a "pharisee-type" view of Christ. Later, he did discover what the grace of Cbrist was all about and now he is living for the Lord in a powerful way. His testimony was made so much stronger by the things he went through as a child.
Please know that Christ's grace is what drew people to Him. He loved people right where they were at (the prostitute, the woman at the well, the demon-possessed...anyone who was willing to follow Him). His grace is what draws people to Him even today; that is why so many lives are transformed by His love. To examine every angle of the Bible is wonderful and the evidence of His Word is real, but to experience His love and grace is better than all the examination and evidence in the entire universe. Keep searching; it's all there.
Bekka Joy
...but frankly you are a perfect example of the kind of christian that led me to my dissolusionment with the church to begin with...arrogant, judgemental, irrational, intellectually primitive, and ignorant of the very scriptures that you cling to with such blind tenacity. But ultimately these were merely the characteristics that led me away from the church. Even after I left the church, I considered myself a christian for many years, and spiritual for years after that, and eventually I even tried a completely different sort of theism in religion of Wicca (two whole decades, in fact). My eventual evolution into an atheist was purely unrelated to the process by which I abandoned my original christian upbringing. Only after experiencing several religions first hand did it occur to me that the premise behind all of them was equally flawwed, and my decision to abandon theism was a purely intellectual exercise, whereas my previous conversions were motivated entirely out a series of emotional states.
percivale
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"Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici." ~ V.
I don't really think that there is a way to say such things without being offensive, but I am really sorry to hear that you are so hurt by Christians. I am in no way judging you, so please don't think this and if you run across Christians who are judging you, they need to examine themselves. I am in no way trying to portray myself as arrogant because I will be the first to admit that more often than not, I find myself uttering the words, "I stand corrected." As far as being irrational, I am trying my best to examine the Scriptures and discover the innate order of the Bible. It is no easy task, considering that there is so much there. Intellectually primitive...that is a little hurtful but I assure you that I try to learn more and more each day about the love God has for us (because I know without a doubt that His love is real). And ignorant...well, I may be ignorant but there is one thing that I do know for sure. God does love you; He desperatly wants to be a part of your life. I have seen lives transformed because of that love; because of that love, I also love you too despite the hurtful things that were a little hard to swallow.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." ~John 3:16
Bekka Joy
I apologize.
percivale
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"Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici." ~ V.
Totally forgiven. I am just sorry that you feel this way about some Christians. If I could make your hurt go away, I totally would.
"Today is a brand new day with no mistakes in it." =)
Bekka Joy
...if for you to acutally stand up and confront those members of your religion that promote intolerance and ignornace. As it says in 1 Kings, "look after your own house."
percivale
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"Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici." ~ V.
Point well taken. After all, as Edmund Burke says, "The only neccessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Bekka Joy
Initially I was going to respond to your blog here, but my response became detailed enough to warrent a blog of its own.
I left you the above link if you care to read it.
Cheers,
Darwin's Beagle
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If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. - Anatole France