Editor’s Note: This material was first published in book form in
1989 by the John Ankerberg Evangelistic Association (now known as
the Ankerberg Theological Research Institute).
Preface
In an interview with famous scientist Albert Einstein in the Saturday
Evening Post, October 26, 1929, we find the following dialogue:
To what extent are you
influenced by Christianity?
As a child I received
instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am
enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.
Have you read Emil Ludwig’s
book on Jesus?
Emil Ludwig’s Jesus is
shallow. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers, however
artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot [a
witty remark].
You accept the historical
existence of Jesus?
Unquestionably! No one can
read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His
personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.1
After the
Holocaust Einstein wrote a letter to the Episcopal Bishop Edward R. Wells
(reported in the Baltimore Evening Sun, April 13, 1979) in 1945
concerning the behavior of the Church during this time. He stated:
Being a lover of freedom… I
looked to the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always
boasted of their devotion to the cause of truth; but, no, the
universities immediately were silenced. Then I looked to the great
editors of the newspapers whose flaming editorials in days gone by had
proclaimed their love of freedom; but they, like the universities, were
silenced in a few short weeks. Only the church stood squarely across the
path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing the truth. I never had any
special interest in the church before, but now I feel a great affection
and admiration because the church alone has had the courage and
persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am
forced to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly.2
Jesus of
Nazareth. He shattered the world. Never has
there been a man like Him, and never will there be again. He is the
subject of more books, more plays, more poetry, more films, and more
worship than any man in human history.
Whatever good
Christianity has done for the world has come only because of Jesus of
Nazareth. But who was this man? The purpose of this book is to show how
the Hebrew Scriptures predicted centuries in advance the coming of a
divine Messiah for all mankind.
Some have
claimed that these statements were made after Jesus lived, not before.
Some claim the books of the Hebrew Scriptures were written close to the
time of Christ and the Messianic prophecies were merely Christian
inventions. But to make such a claim is impossible. The entire Hebrew
Scriptures were completed by 400 B.C. and no matter what your view of the
Hebrew Scriptures one fact is unassailable: the Septuagint, the Greek
translation of the entire Hebrew Scriptures, was completed by 247 B.C.
Therefore, even
critics must acknowledge that every prophecy we will discuss here, and
many more, were in existence well in advance of the time Jesus lived—in
fact, at least some 250 years before He was even born.
We will also
show that the Messiah is spoken of in such specific detail in the Hebrew
Scriptures that it is literally impossible to account for such predictions
apart from the Bible being a divine revelation of God to man.
There are those
today who reject this conclusion, but they refuse to consider the
prophecies fairly and on their own merit. Often, they mistakenly dismiss
them out of hand. But only a preexisting bias against supernatural
prophecy itself (such as those holding a rationalistic world view)
or a bias against these prophecies referring to the Person of Jesus can
deter someone from accepting the Scriptures as Messianic prophecy.
We have written
this book to set forth a small portion of the evidence found in the Hebrew
Scriptures that predicted the coming of the Messiah. We believe God gave
this evidence so that those who are willing to allow the facts to speak
for themselves will be able to discover the truth.
Introduction
Is there
evidence in history that God gave specific information hundreds of years
in advance about a person He knew would live? What specific accounts are
given and where can they be found? Did the people to whom the information
came recognize that they had been given special information? Do these
prophecies constitute solid evidence for us today? Is it possible for us
to account for this information apart from the fact it must have come from
God? Did the Jewish community before and after Christ believe these same
Hebrew Scriptures pointed to a coming Messiah?
These prophecies
are like clues in a mystery story. In this book we will try to gather
enough clues to identify the special person who is talked about in the
Hebrew Scriptures. As we shall see, the clues will lead us to ask:
•
Who is the seed (offspring) of the
woman who crushes the head of Satan?
•
Who is the seed of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob that will eventually bless all the nations?
•
Who is the "prophet like Moses" of
whom God says, "You must listen to him"?
•
Who is the One crucified?
•
Who is David’s "Lord"?
•
Who is the child that is God and will
have an everlasting kingdom?
•
Who was crushed and pierced for our
transgressions? Upon whom did the Lord lay the iniquity of all mankind?
•
Who is the righteous Branch, the wise
King, who will be called "the Lord our righteousness"?
•
Who is the "Anointed One" to be "cut
off" after 483 years?
•
Who is the One who is eternal, who
will be the ruler over Israel, who is born in Bethlehem Ephrathah?
•
Who is the King of Jerusalem,
"righteous and having salvation" who comes "gentle and riding on a
donkey"?
•
Who is Jehovah, "the One they have
pierced" for whom Jerusalem and all the nation of Israel will weep and
mourn?
•
When did God suddenly come to His
temple? Who was the messenger He sent before Him to prepare the way?
The Bible claims
to be the unique revelation of God:
All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be
perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).
If you do
not agree, the material discussed in this book should be of interest to
you. The Bible’s claim to uniqueness and the prophecies of a future
Messiah go together. If the prophecies are truly fulfilled, then the Bible
has given information about the future that could only have come from God.
Our goal will be to examine a handful of the many prophetic statements and
explain why anyone who looks at the clear meaning of the words will
realize these verses all point to a future Person.
We will also
explain the text and the context. After that, we will see if there is
evidence that a number of Jewish rabbis accepted these passages as
Messianic.
Finally, we will
ask if this specific information finds fulfillment in any other person but
Jesus Christ.
When examining
this evidence we are aware that some people have applied different
interpretations to these verses. We are aware of the disagreements but are
convinced they are the result of misinterpretation or biased assumptions
that will not allow the evidence to speak for itself.3 Finally,
we will answer some of the frequent objections that have been made by
scholars.
But before we
examine the specific prophecies and answer the critics, we want to
document the amazing fact that in the Bible God did promise to give
information through His prophets concerning the future.
[Jesus said,] "How foolish
are you, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets
have spoken! Did not the Christ [Messiah] have to suffer these things
and then enter His glory?" And beginning with Moses
and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in
all the Scriptures concerning Himself—Luke 24:25-27 (emphasis
added).
[The Apostle Peter wrote,]
"The things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all
the prophets, that His Christ [Messiah] should suffer,
He has thus fulfilled"—Acts 3:18 (emphasis added).
[If we examine] those passages
in the Old Testament to which the ancient synagogue referred as
Messianic... [we find] upwards of 456… and their Messianic application is
supported by more than 558 references to the most ancient rabbinic
writings.... A careful perusal of their Scripture quotations show, that
the main postulates of the New Testament concerning the Messiah are fully
supported by rabbinic statements—Alfred Edersheim.4 |
