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This chapter is from a copyright book, 100 Prophecies, by Ray Konig. It is reprinted here with permission from the author. The new and expanded version of this book, now called 100 Fulfilled Bible Prophecies, is available at Amazon.com.
Many of the Bible prophecies selected for review in this chapter involve the death, resurrection and impact of Jesus. Of all the people who have ever lived, Jesus is uniquely associated with the act of dying for the sins of others, and with the predicting of his own death and resurrection, and with having the power to resurrect others.
Bible passage: Isaiah 53:8,9
Written: About 2,700 years ago
In Isaiah 53:8,9, the prophet said that the Messiah would be "cut off out of the land of the living," for the sins of others.
Isaiah, who lived about seven centuries before the time of Jesus, prophesied many details about the Messiah. Here, in these verses, Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would die, even though "he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth."
The people who wrote the books of the New Testament testify that Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life (Hebrews 4:14-16, etc). Even so, Jesus was falsely accused, put on trial and executed, about 2,000 years ago. His crucifixion and death are described in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19.
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Here is Isaiah 53:8,9 (KJV):
8He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9And 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.
Bible passage: Isaiah 53:4-6
Written: About 2,700 years ago
In Isaiah 53:4-6, the prophet, who lived about 700 years before the time of Jesus, spoke of the Messiah as suffering for the sins of others:
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6, KJV)
Christians believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy, that he suffered and died for our sins, that he paid the price for all of our sins. Sin and atonement are themes that run throughout the span of the Bible, from the book of Genesis, which is the first book in the Bible, to the book of Revelation, which is the last book in the Bible. Sin separates people from God. This is expressed throughout the Bible, including in the following verses:
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2, KJV)
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23, KJV)
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23, KJV)
But, Jesus paid the price of sin. He did this by suffering and dying, in our place, as the substitute for all sinners, when he was crucified about 2,000 years ago. He died for us, and through him we have life - the gift of eternal life with God. These things are expressed in various places, including in the following verses:
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:27-28, KJV)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16, KJV)
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2, KJV)
Incidentally, it is interesting to note that for centuries the people of Israel used the Temple in Jerusalem for a yearly ceremony, involving sacrifice, in which an offering was made for sin atonement. The ceremony was part of a day called Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement. But, during the century in which Jesus became the permanent and once-and-for-all atonement for sin, the Temple was destroyed by the Romans, in 70 AD. And the Temple has never been rebuilt.
There is additional information in the Talmud about Yom Kippur that might prove of interest. The Talmud was compiled in written form from about 200 AD to about 500 AD. It includes Rabbinical discussions and commentary, often focusing on Judaic law, customs and ceremonies. In the Talmud, there is a passage that says that miracles associated with the Day of Atonement ceremony stopped happening about 40 years before the Temple was destroyed. Among these miracles, according to the Talmud, was a red piece of cloth that was supposed to turn white:
The rabbis taught: Forty years before the Temple was destroyed, the lot never came into the right hand, the red wool did not become white, the western light did not burn, and the gates of the Temple opened of themselves, till the time that R. Johanan b. Zakkai rebuked them, saying: 'Temple, Temple, why alarmest thou us? We know that thou art destined to be destroyed.'
- Babylonian Talmud, Tract Yomah, Chapter IV, as translated by Michael L. Rodkinson.
In other words, according to the Talmud, miracles associated with Judaism's yearly atonement ceremony stopped happening in or around the year 30 AD. That would correspond to either the same year, or about the same year, that Jesus was executed by the Romans and became the permanent atonement for sin.
Bible passage: Zechariah 12:10
Written: About 2,500 years ago
In Zechariah 12:10, Zechariah was given a prophecy in which God spoke of people mourning for one who was pierced, as one would mourn over the death of an only son:
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10, KJV)
This verse, which was written about 500 years before the time of Jesus, is referred to in the Gospel of John in connection with the death of Jesus:
31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. 35 And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. 36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. 37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced. (John 19:31-37, KJV)
Jesus, who is the only begotten son of God (John 3:16), was pierced while he was being crucified, when his hands and feet were nailed to the cross. And, before Jesus had been taken down from the cross, he was pierced again, with a spear by a Roman soldier.
Bible passage: Matthew 20:17-19
Written: During the first century AD, about 2,000 years ago
One of the unique qualities about Jesus Christ as a religious figure is that he prophesied his own death and resurrection.
Some examples of this can be found in the Gospel of Matthew, in Matthew 16:21; 17:22,23; and 20:17-19. Jesus prophesied to his Apostles that he would be condemned, handed over to the Gentiles, mocked, flogged, and crucified, and that he would rise from the dead:
17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. (Matthew 20:17-19, KJV)
Jesus told his followers that he would die and be resurrected. Had he failed to be resurrected, his followers, obviously, would have had reason to conclude that he was a false prophet. And it would have been difficult, perhaps impossible, for Christianity to have continued as a movement in which its adherents evangelized about Jesus, and his resurrection, even at the risk of losing their own lives.
Each of the four Gospels describe the resurrection of Jesus: Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20. And the resurrection is noted in other portions of the New Testament, including an example found in Acts 9. There, a man named Paul, who had been persecuting Christians, encountered Jesus years after the resurrection. Paul converted to Christianity, became an evangelist, and traveled thousands of miles by land and by sea to tell people about Jesus.
Bible passage: Job 19:25-27
Written: Before the time of Jesus
Christians believe in resurrection. Christians believe that people who have died will be resurrected when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead. Their bodies will be restored to life and their souls will be reunited with their bodies.
The Old Testament of the Bible contains prophecies about resurrection. Some examples can be found in Daniel 12:1-2; Psalm 16:10; and in the book of Job:
25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. (Job 19:25-27, KJV)
Bible passage: Psalm 16:8-11
Written: As early as about 1000 BC, about 3,000 years ago
In Psalm 16, King David prophesied about the resurrection of Jesus:
8 I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:8-11, KJV)
The word corruption in verse 10 refers to the decay of a body after death. Resurrection involves restoring a body to life and reuniting it with its soul.
Peter, who was one of the Apostles, said in the New Testament book of Acts, chapter 2, that David was speaking prophetically about the resurrection of Jesus:
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. (Acts 2:31-32, KJV)
When Jesus was about to die on the cross, about 2,000 years ago, he committed his spirit into the hands of God the Father (Luke 23:46). His body was later placed in a tomb. But, God did not abandon him to the grave. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.
Bible passage: John 11:23-27
Written: During the first century AD, about 2,000 years ago
In John 11, Jesus announced that he is "the resurrection, and the life."
In this chapter in the book of John, Jesus is recorded as comforting a woman named Martha. Her brother, Lazarus, had died days earlier. Jesus told her that her brother would rise again:
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. (John 11:23-27, KJV)
In verse 25, Jesus informs us that he is the resurrection and that believers who die will be resurrected to eternal life with God.
Bible passage: 2 Samuel 7:16
Written: Samuel lived about 3,000 years ago
In 2 Samuel 7:16, we are told that the throne of David would be established forever.
King David lived about 3,000 years ago. He was the second king of Israel, and it was his descendants, rather than those of the first king, Saul, who reigned on the throne in Jerusalem for nearly four centuries after David's death.
The succession of reigning Davidic kings came to a temporary end after the Babylonians had conquered Jerusalem and the surrounding area, about 2,600 years ago.
Then, about 2,000 years ago, Jesus became the final person recorded in the Bible as being a king of Davidic descent. Jesus is recorded in Matthew 1:1-17 as being a descendant of King David through Jesus' adoptive father, Joseph. And, in Luke 3:23-38, Jesus also is recorded as being a descendant of King David. Some scholars believe that the genealogy provided by Luke traces Jesus' ancestry through his mother, Mary.
Jesus Christ is true God and true man. He is fully divine and fully human at the same time. As such, he is a descendant of King David and he is uniquely able to preside over an everlasting kingdom.
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Here is 2 Samuel 7:16 (KJV):
And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
Bible passage: Psalm 89:34-37
Written: As early as about 3,000 years ago
In Psalm 89, there is another promise from God involving the permanence of David's throne. In reference to David, God said, "His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me" (Psalm 89:36, KJV).
This is fulfilled by Jesus. As a human, he is a descendant of David. And because Jesus is also fully God, he is uniquely able to reign forever as King.
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Here is Psalm 89:34-37 (KJV):
34My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
35Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
36His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
37It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
Bible passage: Isaiah 49:6
Written: About 2,700 years ago
In Isaiah 49:6, Isaiah prophesied of a servant of God (the Messiah) who would bring God's salvation to people throughout the world.
Jesus, as history shows, is the first and only person to be widely accepted as being the Messiah who was promised by Isaiah and other prophets of the Old Testament. And, the message of Jesus, including God's offer of salvation through Jesus (John 3:16; Romans 10:9,10; Acts 4:10-12; etc.), has been evangelized to people throughout the world.
In Acts 13:47, Paul quoted from Isaiah 49:6 in reference to evangelizing to Gentiles.
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Here is Isaiah 49:6 (KJV):
And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.