You can easily see why many look at prophecies as one of the best evidences for the inspiration of the Bible! If you have previously listened to critics of the Scriptures and kept the book closed, please reconsider your condition and open the Bible afresh; see how it is indeed the living Word of our God! "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began." (Romans 16:25-27).

You will find that some prophecies in the Bible have their fulfillment recorded in the Scriptures. For example, the prophecy about Jericho: Joshua 6:26; I Kings 16:24. However, the fulfillment of other prophecies can only be read about in secular history. Prophecies about the world empires of Greece and Rome have no fulfillments recorded for us in the Bible. Of course, some of us may live long enough to see prophecy fulfilled in our lifetime! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see all the predictions of Christ’s coming come to pass? It will be, if we are prepared!

Note just a few of the many Old Testament prophecies made concerning Jesus along with their New Testament fulfillments.

First of all, we see the ‘SEED’ prophecy recorded in Genesis 3:15: "And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." We then turn to the New Testament and read Galatians 4:4: "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. As the seed of Abraham, as the seed of Isaac and the seed of David." So many Scriptures stem from this foundational prophecy from the beginning as we see the divine plan of our salvation unfold through the pages of the Bible.

Daniel interpreted the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2:44 and made this prophecy: "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." The "kings" that Daniel referred to were those of the fourth world power, the Roman Empire. We then read Luke 3:1,2: "Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness." Truly, John did come preaching to prepare the way for Jesus in the "days of these kings."

Being born of a virgin was a miracle, and was also prophesied in 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." The fulfillment is found in Matthew 1:18-25, noting especially verses 22 and 23: "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, ‘Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.’"

His birth in Bethlehem of Judea is predicted in Micah 5:2, hundreds of years before it came to pass: "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." We read the fulfillment in Matthew 2:1: "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem..."

Who would have known before the time that the coming Messiah would not only be of Abraham’s seed, He would also be "called out of Egypt"? We read in Hosea 11:1: "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt." The fulfillment is found in Matthew 2:14, 15: "When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son."

When Jesus was offered on our behalf, once again we find many detailed prophecies come to pass in His sufferings:

Being sold for thirty pieces of silver is predicted in 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." It is fulfilled in 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."

Who could arrange to have his crucifiers gamble for his clothing at his own crucifixion? We read in Psalms 22:18: "They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." The fulfillment is found in Matthew 27:35: "And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots."

How do you fix it so you die with lawbreakers but get to be buried with the rich? We read in 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." Also, in verse 9, "And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." The fulfillment is found in Mark 15:28: "And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors." Also in Matthew 27:57-60, we see what was meant by making His grave with the rich: "When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed." Thank God for a good man like Joseph of Arimathaea, and be even more grateful that the Word of the Lord was once again fulfilled through him!

The preceding prophecies only scratch the surface of the many Scriptures that Jesus came to fulfill. How many prophecies did Jesus need to fulfill in order to persuade you that He is truly the Son of God? If 300 does not convince, then just one more would be useless. God has graciously provided ample proof of the authenticity of the claims of Jesus to being both Lord and Christ!

In Romans 16:20, another reference to the "seed" prophecy is made: "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." May the Lord help us all to be found in Christ when He comes again to put down His last enemy. Jesus is Lord!