“THE MESSIAH” (FORTY PROPHECIES FULFILLED—TEN YET TO BE FULFILLED)
By Frank Eiklor and Cecilia Contreras
LESSON 16 (Part 1)
What a God! He alone could ridicule heathen gods, idols and false claims of divinity. “Tell the future!”, God mocked them. They couldn’t. But He did—perfectly—thousands of years in advance! Like the coming Messiah. Who? How? Where? When? No wonder the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ strengthen our faith. And when shared, they build faith in others.
I do not believe in Jesus as Messiah because His life and claims offer a possibility that He might be the Son of God whose offer of forgiveness of sins and eternal life is real. I believe because I am forced by conscience to believe in overwhelming facts—prophecies spoken hundreds of years before Jesus appeared on earth—and fulfilled to the letter in His birth, life, death and resurrection. Compare with me the Old Testament prophecies and their New Testament certainties. They will strengthen your own faith and help open the eyes of those to whom you speak.
But let me offer a word of caution. It’s easy for Christians to look back over 2000 years and see fulfilled prophecy concerning Jesus Christ. Then we tell Jewish people, “It’s all so clear. Why can’t you believe?” But when Jews look back over 2000 years, they mostly see horrible persecution from so-called believers in Jesus. Crusades, inquisitions, pogroms and even the Holocaust took place in a “Christian” context. Most Jews don’t know the difference between true followers of Jesus and those who only pretend to love Him.
The following scriptures must never be used as a club to beat Jews or other people who don’t know Christ. Instead, these verses must first be a foundation in our own lives to cause us to submit fully to God’s love. Then we will have a reason for sharing with Gentile and Jew—graciously, sensitively, and with humility, our relationship with Jesus and His offer of forgiveness and salvation.
1.THE SEED OF A WOMAN
Prophecy—Genesis 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.”
Fulfilled—Galatians 4:4
“But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.”
2. BORN OF A VIRGIN
Prophecy—Isaiah 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.”
Fulfilled—Matthew 1:18
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.”
3. THE SON OF GOD
Prophecy—Psalm 2:7
“I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
Fulfilled—Matthew 3:17
“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
4. SEED OF ABRAHAM
Prophecy—Genesis 12:3
“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
Fulfilled—Matthew 1:1
“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
5. SEED OF ISAAC
Prophecy—Genesis 17:19
“And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.”
Fulfilled—Luke 3:34
“Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Terah, which was the son of Nahor.”
6. SEED OF JACOB
Prophecy—Numbers 24:17
“I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.”
Fulfilled—Matthew 1:2
“Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren.”
7. FROM THE TRIBE OF JUDAH
Prophecy—Genesis 49:10
“The scepter 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.”
Fulfilled—Luke 3:33
“Which was the son of Amminadad, which was the son of Ram, which was the son of Hezron, which was the son of Pharez, which was the son of Judah.”
8. HEIR TO THE THRONE OF DAVID
Prophecy—Isaiah 9:7
“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
Fulfilled—Luke 1:32
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.”
9. BORN IN BETHLEHEM
Prophecy—Micah 5:2
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
Fulfilled—Luke 2:4
“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth unto Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (because he was of the house and lineage of David).”
10. THE MURDER OF THE CHILDREN
Prophecy—Jeremiah 31:15
“Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.”
Fulfilled—Matthew 2:16-18
“Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.”
11. INTRODUCED BY A MESSENGER
Prophecy—Malachi 3:1
“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.”
Fulfilled—Luke 7:24, 27
“And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?…This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face which all prepare thy way before thee.”
12. HE WOULD BE A PROPHET
Prophecy—Deuteronomy 18:15
“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.”
Fulfilled—Acts 3:20,22
“And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you…For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you.”
13. HE WOULD BE A PRIEST
Prophecy—Psalm 110:4
“The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Fulfilled—Hebrews 5:5,6
“So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my son, today have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
14. THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM
Prophecy—Zechariah 9:9
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
Fulfilled—Mark 11:7,9,11
“And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him…and they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord…And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was, He went out unto Bethany with the twelve.”
15. REJECTED BY HIS OWN PEOPLE
Prophecy—Isaiah 53:3
“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.”
Fulfilled—John 1:11
“He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
16. BETRAYED BY A FRIEND
Prophecy—Psalm 41:9
“Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.”
Fulfilled—Luke 22:47,48
“And while he yet spoke, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?”
17. SOLD OUT FOR THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER
Prophecy—Zechariah 11:12
“And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.”
Fulfilled—Matthew 26:15
“And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.”
18. ACCUSED BY FALSE WITNESSES
Prophecy—Psalm 35:11
“False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.”
Fulfilled—Mark 14:57,58
“And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.”
19. A STUMBLING STONE TO ISRAEL’S LEADERS
Prophecy—Psalm 118:22
“The stone which the builder refused is become the head stone of the corner.”
Fulfilled—I Peter 2:7
“Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.”
20. HIS LIGHT WOULD REACH THE HEATHEN
Prophecy—Isaiah 60:3
“And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”
Fulfilled—Acts 13:47
“For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.”
21. SILENT TO HIS ACCUSERS
Prophecy—Isaiah 53:7
“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
Fulfilled—Mark 15:4,5
“And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? Behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marveled.”
22. SPAT UPON AND BEATEN
Prophecy—Isaiah 50:6
I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.”
Fulfilled—Matthew 26:67
“Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands.”
23. HATED WITHOUT A CAUSE
Prophecy—Psalms 35:19
“Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.”
Fulfilled—John 15:24,25
“If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.”
24. THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE
Prophecy—Isaiah 53:5
“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.”
Fulfilled—Romans 5:6,8
“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly…But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
25. CRUCIFIED WITH SINFUL MEN
Prophecy—Isaiah 53:12
“Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Fulfilled—Mark 15:27,28
“And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.”
(PART 2—NEXT LESSON)
