Prophecies About Jesus
Napsal(a) New Christian Bible Study Staff
![By Meister des Ludwig-Psalters [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Currently at Bibliothèque Nationale de France.](/bundles/ncbsw/media/Meister_des_Ludwig-Psalters_001.webp "Balaam's Journey is Blocked by an Angel")
For Christians, Christmas time is one of the most sacred, most joyous celebrations of the year. What about for people who are thinking about it, but who aren't sure about the whole "reason for the season"? What do we really know about what happened in Judea, 2000 years ago?
We're going to try to approach this topic from a neutral standpoint, and see where that leads us.
It's well-established that Jesus existed. He was physically, historically real. There is voluminous evidence from Christian sources, of course. Jesus Christ was also mentioned in non-Christian historical documents that have survived from that period. He's referred to twice by Josephus, the Jewish historian, in his work "Antiquities of the Jews" published in 93-94 AD. Tacitus, the Roman historian, writing in around 116 AD, also refers to "Christus" being put to death by the Romans under Pontius Pilate.
Was Jesus special? Even skeptics would need to wonder why and how this man from a small village in Galilee could launch a religion which would become the biggest, most influential one for at least the next two millennia of human history.
One of the intriguing things about Jesus is that his birth and life seem to have fulfilled prophecies from the Old Testament, which date back to the time of Moses - at least 1500 years BC, and to far older stories in an oral tradition. Those prophecies existed in texts written long before the Christian Era started.
What were some of those prophecies? There are many of them! Swedenborg lists some in Doctrine of the Lord 6. In this article, we're just going to focus on a few of them.
In this very early prophecy, it's indicated that the Messiah would be born as the son of a woman:
"And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life, and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 3:14-15. This is confirmed in the story in Matthew 1:20.
In Micah, much later in the Bible, we read that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, in Judea:
"But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2.
This is confirmed in the story in Matthew 2:1, and Luke 2:4-6.
In Isaiah, we read that the Messiah would be born to a virgin:
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14. This is confirmed in the story in Matthew 1:22-23, and in Luke 1:26-31.
Lineage was an important factor, too. At least 5 forefathers of the promised Savior are named. First, he was prophesied to come from the line of Abraham, the progenitor of many of the peoples of the modern Middle East, including the Jews, the Arabs, the Lebanese, the Druze, and others. See Genesis 12:3, and Genesis 22:18. This prophecy is confirmed in Matthew 1:1, and Romans 9:5.
In the next generation, prophecy stated that the Savior would be descended from the line of Isaac, one of Abraham's two sons. See Genesis 17:19, and Genesis 21:12. This is confirmed in Luke 3:34.
For the third generation, the Word states that the Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob. It's prophesied in Numbers 24:17, and confirmed in Matthew 1:2.
For the fourth generation, attention focuses on the tribe of Judah, who was one of the twelve sons of Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel). See Genesis 49:10, and then Luke 3:33, and Hebrews 7:14.
Many generations later, in the second book of Samuel, and again in Isaiah, there are prophecies that the Messiah would be heir to King David's throne. Read 2 Samuel 7:12-13, and Isaiah 9:7. Then see Luke 1:32-33, and Romans 1:3.
There are many more prophecies, and we will look at more of them in a future article. But, to summarize these ones that we've just listed, what would Old Testament readers in the time of Caesar Augustus be expecting?
In Bethlehem, a virgin would bear a son. He would be descended from Abraham, through the line of Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David. That's the way the story runs, in the Gospels.
It's clear that the Old Testament wasn't altered to suit the "facts on the ground". The prophecies are already there in pre-Christian scrolls. That leaves two possibilities:
1) Scenario A: The New Testament could have been written to twist the facts to match the old prophecies. Faithful Jews were awaiting the Messiah; they would have wanted to find matching stories. In this scenario, Jesus could have been just a regular man, but a standout leader and teacher and healer. He was so inspiring that his apostles endured hardship and death to spread what became a global religion. The stories about him were exaggerated or modified to help match the prophecies.
2) Scenario B: The Old Testament text contains deep inner meaning, and its prophecies were actually prophetic and true. The facts of Jesus' birth and life and ministry actually did match and fulfull the prophecies. In this scenario, Jesus was truly a miracle baby.
Which scenario is right? In both, there's a recognition that the teachings of Jesus contained wisdom, and that there is great value in them. In New Christian thought, the choice is for Scenario B -- that Jesus really was the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, or Savior.
This of course requires some level of belief in miracles - prophecy, fulfillment, the virgin birth, angels bearing tidings, healings, feeding the multitudes. Can miracles really happen? Is it scientifically possible? Maybe they can... maybe as science advances, we will begin to understand those boundaries better.
At some level, don't most of us believe in miracles -- in the miracle of the very existence of the universe, and of living organisms that can reproduce, and of human life, and of love?
How to end this article? The whole subject of miracles needs more thought. And, here it is, December 22, and... instead of getting more analytical, I find that right now I just want to "be" in the holy days of Christmas.
If you're feeling skeptical, have a look at Arcana Coelestia 2568, and Arcana Coelestia 2588. They offer an interesting perspective!
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One source for this article was "100 Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus: Messianic Prophecies Made Before the Birth of Christ", by Rose Publishing.
(Odkazy: Teachings about the Lord 6)
Romans 9
1
I tell the truth in Christ. I am not lying, my conscience testifying with me in the Holy Spirit,
2
that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart.
3
For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers' sake, my relatives according to the flesh,
4
who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises;
5
of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen.
6
But it is not as though the word of God has come to nothing. For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel.
7
Neither, because they are Abraham's seed, are they all children. But, "In Isaac will your seed be called."
8
That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as a seed.
9
For this is a word of promise, "At the appointed time I will come, and Sarah will have a son."
10
Not only so, but Rebecca also conceived by one, by our father Isaac.
11
For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls,
12
it was said to her, "The elder will serve the younger."
13
Even as it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
14
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? May it never be!
15
For he said to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
16
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy.
17
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I caused you to be raised up, that I might show in you my power, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
18
So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.
19
You will say then to me, "Why does he still find fault? For who withstands his will?"
20
But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?"
21
Or hasn't the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel for honor, and another for dishonor?
22
What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath made for destruction,
23
and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory,
24
us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles?
25
As he says also in Hosea, "I will call them 'my people,' which were not my people; and her 'beloved,' who was not beloved."
26
"It will be that in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' There they will be called 'children of the living God.'"
27
Isaiah cries concerning Israel, "If the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant who will be saved;
28
for He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth."
29
As Isaiah has said before, "Unless the Lord of Armies had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and would have been made like Gomorrah."
30
What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who didn't follow after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith;
31
but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, didn't arrive at the law of righteousness.
32
Why? Because they didn't seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone;
33
even as it is written, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense; and no one who believes in him will be disappointed."
