Fulfilled Messianic Prophecies

By John F. Ankerberg, D.Min,
The Ankerberg Theological Research Institute, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Think how difficult it would be for someone to predict the exact city in which the birth of a future U.S. president would take place 700 years from now. The prophet Micah accurately predicted similar information. Not only the birthplace, but the date of the Messiah 700 years prior to the event: Micah 5.2.

How difficult do you think it would be to indicate the precise form of death a new, unknown religious leader would experience a thousand years from today? Could you predict a new method of execution not currently known, one which will not even be invented for hundreds of years? That’s what King David did in 1000 B.C. when he wrote Psalm 22.

On the other hand, if you were able to think up 50 specific prophecies about some man in the future you will never meet, how difficult do you think it would be for that man to fulfill all 50 of your predictions?

For example, how could Someone arrange to be born into a specific family: Genesis 12.2,3; 17.1,5-7; 22.18; Matthew 1; Galatians 3.15,16; in a specified city, which is not even the family’s hometown: Micah 5.2; Matthew 2.5,6 and Luke 2.1-7? How does One arrange to be virgin born: Isaiah 7.14; Matthew 1.18-24 and Luke 1.26-35? How does One arrange to have God inform and send a proper messenger to go before Him: Malachi 3.1 and Matthew 11.10? How does One arrange to be considered a Prophet “like Moses,” Deuteronomy 18.15; John 1.45; 5.46; 6.14; 7.40; Acts 3.17-27 and 7.37?

How does One arrange to be betrayed for a specific amount of money, 30 pieces of silver: Zechariah 11.13 and Matthew 27.3-10? How does someone orchestrate His own death, which included being put to death by the strange custom of crucifixion and then arrange to have His executioners gamble for His clothing during the execution: Psalm 22; Isaiah 53 and Matthew 27.32-38? How does One plan in advance His executioners will carry out their regular practice of breaking the legs of two of the victims on either side of Him, but not His own: Psalm 34.20 and John 19.33? And finally, how does a pretender to being the Messiah arrange to be God: Isaiah 9.6; Zechariah 12.10 and John 1.1; 10.30; 14.6, and how could He possibly escape from a grave and appear to people after He has been killed: Psalm 22, Isaiah 53.9,11; Luke 24 and 1 Corinthians 15.3-8?

It might be possible to fake one or two of these predictions, but it would be impossible for any man to arrange and fulfill all these predictions, plus many others, in advance. So, if it can be proven such prophecies were predicted about the Messiah hundreds of years in advance and one Man fulfilled all of them, then that Man would logically have to be this predicted Messiah of the Old Testament.

God gave hundreds of prophecies about the Messiah for at least two reasons: to make identifying the Messiah obvious and to make an imposter’s task impossible. With all the identifying characteristics in the Old Testament which point to one Man, the science of probability tells us, not only is this particular Man the Messiah, but also God Himself.