13 Aug 25 Prophecies That Prove the Bible is True (2 Peter 1:16-21) Sermon Notes
God speaking is great
2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
- The Myths of Teachers – human fiction, not real or reality
- Peter is still alive, and the critics are claiming Jesus is a myth
- The Mount of Transfiguration – Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9 w/Moses & Elijah
- Eyewitness testimony is the strongest
- Motive? Peter knows he is going to die for Jesus soon & is publicly continuing
God speaking through Scripture is greater
2 Peter 1:19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Divine Inspiration
- “thus says the Lord” 100’s of times
- Other statements 3,800 times in OT
2 Tim. 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God
- Scripture is a lamp in this dark world of dark minds (not a high beam)
- Scripture is for us but about Jesus Christ
Num. 24:17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, Rev. 22:16 “I, Jesus…am… the bright morning star.”
- Bible is the only perfect thing on earth
- Bible is only book that reads you as you read it
- Bible is only book where the Author meets with you every time you read it
When a big product or person is coming, a marketing plan prepares the way
- Roughly 25% Bible prophetic when written
- Estimates from 61-300+ Messianic Prophecies
#1. 4000 B.C. Jesus would have a mother but not father
Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
- No mention of an earthly father, unlike the rest of Genesis genealogies
#2. 1400 B.C. Jesus’ family line
Genesis 12:3 “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you [Abraham].”
Genesis 17:19 God said, “…your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him…[not Ishmael]
#3. 700 B.C. Jesus’ virgin mother
Isaiah 7:14 “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.”
#4. 700 B.C. Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem
Micah 5:2 “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 [eternity].”
#5. 700 B.C. Jesus’ sinless life
Isaiah 53:9 . . . he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
#6. 700 B.C. Jesus’ family fleeing to Egypt
Hosea 11:1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”
#7. 400 B.C. Jesus entering the Temple
Malachi 3:1 “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.
- The Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. so this has to be a past event
#8. 700 B.C. Jesus’ way prepared by John the Baptist
Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.”
#9. 700 B.C. Jesus’ performing miracles
Isaiah 35:5–6 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.
#10. 500 B.C. Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous & having salvation, gentle & riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
#11. 1000 B.C. Jesus’ betrayal by a friend
Psalm 41:9 Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
#12. 500 B.C. Jesus’ betrayal for 30 pieces of silver thrown in the Temple
Zechariah 11:12–13 …they paid me 30 pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter.
- The Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. so this has to be a past event
#13. 700 B.C. Jesus beaten and abused
Isaiah 50:6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.
#14. 1000 B.C. Jesus’ clothing gambled for
Psalm 22:18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
#15. 700 B.C. Jesus hated and rejected
Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, & familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, & we esteemed him not.
#16. 700 B.C. Jesus not defending Himself
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
#17. 1000 B.C. Jesus’ crucifixion
Psalm 22:16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.
- Hundreds of years before the Persians started impaling people around 800 B.C.
#18. 700 B.C. Jesus’ death with sinners
Isaiah 53:12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.
#19. 1400 B.C., 1000 B.C. Jesus’ bones not broken
Exodus 12:46 “Do not break any of the [Passover lamb’s] bones.”
Psalm 34:20 . . . he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
#20. 1000 B.C. Jesus forsaken by God
Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
#21. 700 B.C. Jesus’ death
Isaiah 53:8b For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
#22. 700 B.C. Jesus buried with the rich
Isaiah 53:9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
#23. 1000 B.C., 700 B.C. Jesus’ resurrection
Psalm 16:10 …you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
Isaiah 53:10–11 …though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering [death], he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied…
#24. 1000 B.C. Jesus’ ascent into heaven.
Psalm 68:18 When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train.
#25. 1000 B.C. Jesus seated at the Father’s right hand
Psalm 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
What are the odds of 8 prophecies being fulfilled?
Suppose that we take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars 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 chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote using their own wisdom.
Professor of Science at Westmont College Peter Stoner in his book Science
