There are over 300 Bible prophecies which predict the events of Christ's life during His thirty plus years as "God manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16)! Utilizing a mere eight of these prophecies concerning the Messiah, Peter Stoner applied the science of probability to demonstrate the chance that a mere eight of those predictions would be fulfilled in one person. It was found to be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. When Stoner's findings were submitted to the American Scientific Affiliation for confirmation, the Executive Council found them "dependable and accurate in regards to the scientific material presented."
It is more than implausible that 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 could be fulfilled as a consequence of mere happenstance. In the book Evidence That Demands A Verdict, Josh McDowell writes that one could take 100,000,000,000,000,000 silver dollars and cover the state of Texas with them and mark one of the silver dollars in order to bury it and conceal it. You then let another person with a blindfold roam around Texas as long he desired with the goal to stop and pick up the one marked coin. He is to stop at a place of his own choosing and then pick up one silver dollar. He would have the same chance of selecting the correct coin as one person would have of fulfilling just eight of the 333 prophecies about the Messiah—Jesus fulfilled them all!
Perhaps the most amazing prophecy, however, does not describe Jesus as "the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sin of the world" (Jn. 1:29). Instead, it foretells of the eternal identity of the Man sent by His Father because He loved us; it is found in Isaiah 9:6:
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
The great Bible scholar, Matthew Henry, wrote the following about this passage:
"Emmanuel …the Child is born … justly is He called Wonderful, for He is both God and man. His love is the wonder of angels and glorified saints. He is the Counselor, for He knew the counsels of God from eternity; and He gives counsel to men, in which He consults our welfare. He is the Wonderful Counselor; none teaches like Him. He is God, the Mighty One. Such is the work of the Mediator, that no less power than that of the Mighty God could bring it to pass. He is God, one with the Father. As the Prince of Peace, He reconciles us to God; He is the Giver of peace in the heart and conscience; and when His kingdom is fully established, men shall learn war no more. The government shall be upon Him; He shall bear the burden of it. Glorious things are spoken of Christ's government. There is no end to the increase of its peace, for the happiness of its subjects shall last forever!"
Much thanks to Mike Robinson for sharing much of this material. He wrote, "See my book that defends the historical truth of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Killing Christ: Contesting Trendy Critics."
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