Can I borrow a dollar?

As I continue to marvel in the life and work of Jesus during this Easter week, I am fascinated by his fulfillment of prophecy.  God bestowed the prophetic gift upon different men in history, forecasting future events in order to get people’s attention.  Many of those given are cryptic and didn’t make much sense at the time, while others were very deliberate and frank.

Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.” [Isaiah 7:14]

Jesus was born in Bethlehem. “But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, out of there shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old; from everlasting.” [Micah 5:2]

Judas would betray Jesus. “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.” [Psalm 41:9]

Judas receives 30 pieces of silver for his betrayal. “And I said unto them, if ye think good, give me my price thirty pieces of silver.” [Zechariah 11:12]

Other prophecies include events such as John the Baptist preparing the way for Christ’s ministry, Jesus teaching in Capernaum and Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Most amazingly, The death of Jesus on the cross was prophesied to the tiniest detail:

Isaiah 53 foretold Christ’s sacrificial death, paying the price for the sins of all mankind.

Psalm 109:25 tells that he would be mocked and by those who stood by.

Psalm 22:18 says that people would cast lots, or gamble for his clothing.

Psalm 34:20 reveals the miracle that Jesus would suffer no broken bones, something that was often done during crucifixion to hasten death by way of asphyxiation.

Psalm 31:5 contains the last words Jesus would speak when he committed his spirit into his Father’s hands.

Isaiah 53:12 says that he would plead for the forgiveness of those who persecuted him.

Amos 8:9 speaks of the darkness that would follow the death of the Messiah.

There were over 450 such prophecies given in the Old Testament.  Every one was fulfilled down to the last detail.  The odds of this happening are simply staggering. But really, just how amazing are they?

Through an extensive study, Peter Stoner, a Professor Emeritus of Science at Westmont College, calculated the probability of one man fulfilling just eight different prophecies. 600 students in twelve different classes considered all the factors, examining circumstances which could indicate the possibility of a conspiracy by men to fulfill these prophecies.  After coming to a unanimous conclusion between skeptics and proponents, Stoner submitted their findings to a review committee of the American Scientific Affiliation.  They verified the results as accurate and dependable, concluding for instance that the chance of a man being born in Bethlehem was one in 2.8 x 10 to the 5th power, or one in 300,000.

Rather large odds.

However, after examining the eight (out of 456) prophecies regarding Christ, they came to a conservative conclusion that the chance of one man fulfilling all of these was one in 10 to the 17th power. That’s 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000, or one trillion. To illustrate this, consider this visual:

Take one trillion silver dollars and stack them two feet deep.  Spread them across the entirety of the state of Texas.  Mark one of these silver dollars with a red circle.  Mix them all together.  Now put on a blindfold and travel as far as you wish.  You are allowed to pick only one silver dollar.  What chance would you have of choosing the marked one?  You’d have the same chance in finding the correct coin as would the prophets have in writing just eight of these prophecies and Christ fulfilling them.

What if you looked at an even larger number—say 48, for example.  Stoner did this too. His findings, again very conservative, show the chances to be one in 10 to the 157th power (one followed by 157 zeroes).  To illustrate this, picture the electron:

Electrons are smaller than atoms (which are already amazingly small). If you made a solid ball of these electrons, and extend them in all directions from the earth for 6 billion light years (one light year is equal to 6.4 trillion miles), you’d have a really large ball.  This only begins to scratch the surface of measurement, as to do so would require 6 of these mega-balls multiplied by 10 to the 28th power.  That’s trillions and trillions of these mega-balls.

Now, imagine finding one specific electron in that huge mass. This is astounding and beyond comprehension. Remember, these are the odds of only 48 of the 456  Messianic prophecies coming true. This makes my brain hurt. Fundamentally speaking, it’s impossible for one man to do such a thing. This illustrates the magnificent brilliance of God and validates the truth of his Word.

What an amazing creator.  What an amazing savior.  What an amazing gift—the chance to live in his presence forever.  Imagine the wonders that await us.  I thank Jesus for purchasing my one-way ticket to freedom.

As a side note, consider the fact that there are over 8,000 prophetical statements made in the Bible.  How do you illustrate the odds of those?