Rick Adelmann's Blog

“In 1986, the American Medical Association published an article titled "The Physical Death of Jesus Christ". It details the entire...

This is a question that I’ve pondered for some time. It may appear simple to most because, ever since we’ve been children, we’ve been...

                           Children of God

So often, I’ve heard well-meaning Christians say, ‘We are all children of God.’ No matter what “god” you follow, we are all brothers and sisters. This is far from the truth! The scriptures clearly state that only those who have accepted Yeshua Jesus as the savior of their lives and the Messiah and welcomed the Holy Spirit into their hearts have been adopted by Yahweh God into His family.

Follow along with the scriptures below to see this undeniable truth.

 

Exodus 2: 25        Old Testament

25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them. Throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and the rest of the Old Testament, the Israelites were considered the children of God.

 

Luke 1: 16

16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

When Jesus, Yashua arrived, it was time for the Israelites to turn to God. They needed to turn from being the children of Israel into the children of God.

 

John 1: 11- 13

11 He came to His own and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Unfortunately, many of the Jews refused God’s offer to become children of God.

John 11: 51 - 52

51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

Jesus, Yeshua, would die for the Israeli people. His sacrifice will cover ALL the children of God around the world who accept His offer.   

 

Romans 8: 14 – 17

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Paul sums it up quite well here. We are adopted when we cry out “Abba Father!” We not only become His children, but His joint heirs with Yashua as well.

Romans 9: 7 – 8ot, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac, your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 

The seed of Abraham, the Israeli people, were first called by Yashua to follow Him. Israel rejected God’s purpose; Christians, the children of promise,  are now the children of God.

Romans 8: 14 – 17

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

We become children of Yahweh (God) by being led by the Spirit and accepting His offer. We receive the Holy Spirit and become His children.

 

Romans 8: 21

21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

 

Romans 8: 28

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

 

Romans 11: 19 – 20

19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief, they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.

Here is a good analogy of our ascension to God’s family. The unbelieving Israelis of the time were broken off from Yahweh’s Family. The believing Israelis and Gentiles were grafted onto the tree of life through belief in Yahshua.

 

Galatians 3: 29

29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

If we accept Yeshua as our savior, we are the chosen people. God made promises to the Jews long ago. Because of their unbelief, the promises were transferred to the Children of God!

Galatians 4: 6

6  And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

When we become children of God, the Holy Spirit is sent to us to enter our hearts.

 

 

 

Ephesians 2: 19 – 20

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Yeshua Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.

Paul explains it another way: We were once strangers to God, Yahweh, but now we are fellow citizens of heaven and children of God. Notice that believers are called saints. God chose us, not a council of robed men in Rome.

Ephesians 5: 1

1 Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children.

We need to live a life imitating Yashua, the second person of God.

 

Philippians 2: 15

15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. 

We are set aside as Children of God. No longer subject to the evils of this world. But not by our own deeds but by the leading of the Holy Spirit, as long as we are obedient to His will.

The author of Hebrews 12: 7 – 8  below (some believe is Paul, others believe it was written by another disciple) tells us that even being a child of the most high, we are subject to corrective measures from our Holy Father. Watch for His corrections! Yahweh sends us messages to remind us of our mistakes, just like a human father does.

7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

 

1 Peter 2: 9 - 10

9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Peter says it well here. The Father chooses us as His family, a royal priesthood, the people of God. What an honor! I’m in awe to think such a thing. God picked ME!

 

1 Peter 3: 18

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.

 

 

 

1 John 3: 1 – 2

3 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!  Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

In this passage, John, Jesus’ best friend on Earth, tells us twice that we are now Yahweh’s children. As I mentioned above, it‘s such an honor that God loves us that much!

 

1 John 3: 10 

10 In this, the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

John gave us a simple test. Where do we stand? If we practice righteousness and love our brothers, then we are of God. The opposite response: you are of the devil!

 

1 John 4: 4

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

I always liked this verse. John sounds like a loving grandfather, speaking to us about our conduct. The bottom line is that we are in the winning family. The Holy Spirit, who is in God’s children, is more powerful than the evil presence of Satan. We are unique in God’s eyes. We accepted His offer of salvation and became children of God. We will spend eternity with our Father, realizing all the promises He made for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genesis 22:17 (NKJV)

17 blessing I will bless you, and multiply I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore, and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Jeremiah 33:22 (NKJV)

22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’”

This verse in Jeremiah refers to the infinite number of stars in the heavens. How would a man five-thousand years ago know that the number of stars is unlimited? We can see, with the naked eye, maybe three-thousand stars on a clear night. Science now estimates 10 to the 25th power and, with the help of modern telescopes, we are finding new stars each day. Man, of Biblical days, may have guessed a large number, but only God would have known for sure the actual numbers and passed that on to us in scripture.

1 Corinthians 15:41 (NKJV)

41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for one star differs from another star in glory.

The verse in 1 Corinthians tells us that each star is different in shape and size. But, again, how would a man two-thousand years ago know this? With the naked eye, all the stars look the same.

Jeremiah 31:35 (NKJV)

35 Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar Jeremiah is telling us that the position of the Moon and the Sun controls the ocean tides. Only God would have known this 5000 years ago. Ecclesiastes 1:6 (NKJV)

6 The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually and comes again on its circuit.

Ecclesiastes is one of the oldest of books, and it describes the circulation of the atmosphere.

Job 36:27-29 (NKJV)

27 For He ( A )draws up drops of water, Which distill as rain from the mist, 28 ( B )Which the clouds drop down And pour abundantly on man. 29 Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, The thunder from His canopy

Psalm 135:7 (NKJV)

He causes the [ a ]vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries.

Jeremiah 10:13

When He utters His voice, There is a [ a ]multitude of waters in the heavens: “And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”

Job 36:27-29, Psalms 135:7, and Jer. 10:13 all tell us what we now understand as facts through science that it rains, water evaporates, ascends into the atmosphere, and comes down again as rain in a thunderstorm.

Isaiah 40:22 (NKJV)

22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who ( A )stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a ( B )tent to dwell in.

In this verse, God is telling us several things. First that the Earth is round. Next,

there is a curtain that encircles the world that protects us. This, of course, was unknown in the Old Testament days. The Earth's atmosphere has four primary layers: the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. These layers protect our planet by absorbing harmful radiation.

Job 26:7 (NKJV)

He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.

Job is the oldest book in the Bible. So, how would Job know that the Earth hung in an empty space? People in those days had strange theories concerning the Earth. Many thought that it was flat. The Greeks believed that it sat on the back of a giant turtle. Others believed Zeus held the Earth on his shoulders. But, no one thought it hung in emptiness. Nowhere in the Bible does it say the Earth is flat or that the sun revolved around the Earth. The Bible told us years before science did that it was a sphere and hung in space unattached.

Did Yeshua Really Exist? Proving Yeshua Without the Bible

The evidence is overwhelming. Yeshua the Christ actually existed. However, where is the proof from non-Biblical sources that He is real?

These questions and others like it are often asked by Bible skeptics and atheists alike. This article will show the historical evidence (from secular sources and Christian) that Yeshua the Christ truly existed. It will also show that Yeshua is the most documented and historically verifiable figure in antiquity. Historical Evidence of Yeshua the Christ’s Existence from Sources Outside the Bible Non-Biblical sources.

Flavius Josephus

Josephus did not believe Yeshua was the Son of God. But he wrote about him.

Many secular historians lived in the century after the death of Yeshua. Their writings confirmed his existence. Here are some of them:

Titus Flavius Josephus (37 – c. 100), was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70.”

His most important works were The Jewish War (c. 75) and Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94). The Jewish War recounts the Jewish revolt against Roman occupation (66–70). Antiquities of the Jews recounts the history of the world from a Jewish perspective for an ostensibly Roman audience. These works provide valuable insight into 1st century Judaism and the background of Early Christianity.

Josephus was a Jew who was not a follower of Yeshua. In The Antiquities of the Jews, book 18, chapter 3, paragraph 3, the famous historian Flavius Josephus writes:

“Now, there was about this time, Yeshua, a wise man, if it is lawful to call him a man. He was a doer of wonderful works—a teacher of such men receiving the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”

Later Josephus writes:

“But the younger Ananus who, as we said, received the high priesthood, was of a bold disposition and exceptionally daring. He followed the party of the Sadducees, who are severe in judgment above all the Jews, as we have already shown. As therefore Ananus was of such a disposition, he thought he had now a good opportunity, as Festus was now dead, and Albinus was still on the road; so, he assembled a council of judges, and brought before it the brother of Yeshua the so-called Christ, whose name was James, together with some others, and having accused them as law-breakers, he delivered them over to be stoned.”

Josephus, considered one of the greatest historians of antiquity, independently provides proof and evidence that Yeshua was a real person who did exist. He also confirms the crucifixion of Yeshua on the cross under the orders of Pontius Pilate. Thus, confirming the Biblical account as well.

Cornelius Tacitus

Tacitus was a Roman Historian who lived from 55-120AD. In 115 AD, P. Cornelius Tacitus wrote the following passage that refers to Yeshua (called “Christus,” which means “The Messiah”) in book 15, chapter 44 of The Annals after a six-day fire burned much of Rome:

“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during Tiberius's reign at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus. A most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.”

Despite the fact that he clearly despised Christianity as a“mischievous superstition,” Tacitus no less confirms the existence of Yeshua and His crucifixion on the cross. It also states that Pontius Pilate, as the procurator, oversaw the crucifixion. Again, giving non-Biblical proof of Yeshua’s existence as recorded in the Bible.

Pliny The Younger

Pliny The Younger wrote of his persecution of Christians.

Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, (61 AD – ca. 112 AD): “better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome.

According to Wikipedia: “Pliny is known for his hundreds of surviving letters, which are an invaluable historical source for the time. Many are addressed to reigning emperors or to notables, such as the historian Tacitus. Pliny himself was a notable figure, serving as an imperial magistrate under Trajan (reigned AD 98–117). According to Roman law, Pliny was considered an honest and moderate man, consistent in his pursuit of suspected Christian members. He rose through a series of Imperial civil and military offices, the cursus honorum.”

In his correspondence with the emperor Trajan (Epistulae X.96), he reported on his actions against the followers of Christ. He asked the Emperor for instructions dealing with Christians. He explained that he forced Christians to curse Christ under painfully torturous inquisition:

“They were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing a hymn responsively to Christ as to a god. They bound themselves to a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft, or adultery, never to falsify their word, and not deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of a meal–but ordinary and innocent food.”

So not only was Pliny aware of Yeshua the Christ, but he also described the activities of the early church. In later writings, he details persecution against Christians:

“Even this practice they had abandoned after the publication of my edict, by which, according to your orders, I had forbidden political associations. Therefore, I judged it so much more the necessary to extract the real truth. With the assistance of torture of two female slaves, who were styled deaconesses, I could discover nothing more than depraved and excessive superstition.

Meanwhile, the method I have observed towards those who have denounced to me as Christians is this: I interrogated them whether they were Christians. If they confessed it, I repeated the question twice again, adding the threat of capital punishment. If they still persevered, I ordered them to be executed. For whatever the nature of their creed might be, I could at least feel no doubt that contumacy and inflexible obstinacy deserved chastisement. There were others possessed of the same folly, but because they were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be transferred to Rome.”

So here we see that not only did Pliny not follow the Christian faith, but he was also torturing Christians and threatening death against them. He even records that they were under threat of execution for believing in Yeshua as God. Yet, the early church members refused to deny their faith in Yeshua. This is remarkable evidence of Yeshua’s existence outside of the Bible.

Julius Africanus and Tallus

Sextus Julius Africanus (c.160 – c.240) was a Christian traveler and historian of the late 2nd and early 3rd century AD. He is important chiefly because he influenced Eusebius and all the later writers of Church history among the Fathers. On the whole Greek school of chroniclers, Julius Africanus quotes the writings of Tallus, who was a first-century non-Christian historian. In his Chronicles, Africanus, citing the historian Tallus, explains the reason for it being so dark during the daytime on the day of the crucifixion of Yeshua the Christ:

“An eclipse of the sun unreasonably, as it seems to me (unreasonably, of course, because a solar eclipse could not take place at the time of the full moon). It was at the season of the Paschal full moon that Christ died.” Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.

This quote's importance is two-fold as it shows:

1) non-Christian proof of Yeshua’s existence.

2) yet another confirmation of the Bible’s account of Yeshua’s crucifixion. The Bible states about the time Yeshua was put on the cross: “Now from the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.”

The “sixth hour” is noon, and the ninth hour is 3:00 PM. Thus, we see that the historian Thallus was trying to explain the odd occurrence of the sky being dark at noon during the crucifixion of Yeshua as an eclipse. Africanus also quotes the secular scholar Phlegon, a Greek Historian who lived in the 2nd century AD. He also wrote of an eclipse occurring on the day Yeshua was crucified. This provides another proof from a non-Christian source that confirms the account of Yeshua being a physical person who lived. He also established the account of His crucifixion straight from the Bible.

Lucian of Samosata

Lucian (Born 115 AD) was a well-known Greek satirist and traveling lecturer. More than eighty works bear his name. He mocked Christians in his writing, but at the same time provided evidence that Yeshua existed:

“He was second only to that one whom they still worship today, the man in Palestine who was crucified because he brought this new form of initiation into the world.”

“Having convinced themselves that they are immortal and will live forever, the poor wretches despise death and most willingly give themselves to it. Moreover, that first lawgiver of theirs persuaded them that they are all brothers the moment they transgress and deny the Greek gods and begin worshiping that crucified sophist and living by his laws.”

“They scorn all possessions without distinction and treat them as community property. They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So, if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time.”

Even though Lucian does not mention Yeshua by name, there is no doubt he is speaking of Yeshua.

He confirms:

1) that he was crucified in “Palestine” (the name of Israel at that time).

2) had followers who believed in eternal life.

3) that they were all equal in Yeshua. Lucian even mentions that Christians deny all other gods and believe on “faith alone.” This again is all in accordance with the Bible’s clear statements about the Christian faith and provides even more evidence from outside of the Bible that Yeshua, the “man in Palestine,” did really exist.

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus

Suetonius (ca. 69/75 – after 130) was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era. His most important surviving work is biographies of twelve successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar to Domitian, entitled De Vita Caesarum. The description of his writing’s states:

The emperor Claudius reigned from 41 to 54 AD. Suetonius reports his dealings with the eastern Roman Empire, Greece and Macedonia, and the Lycians, Rhodians, and Trojans. He then reports that the emperor expelled the Jews from Rome since they “constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Christ” (Judaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantis Roma expulit). The name appears in manuscripts of Suetonius as Chrestus, a form also used by the Roman historian Tacitus to refer to Chrestiani.

Skeptics will point to the different spelling to say, “that’s not Yeshua he’s talking about!” but again, with the totality of the evidence, it’s quite apparent that followers of Yeshua in the Roman Empire were persecuted by Roman authorities. So, it certainly falls in line with the other historical accounts. Many support the history of Christians in the Roman empire who followed Yeshua the Christ and were punished for it.

The Bible is Historical Proof That Yeshua Existed

The amount of New Testament manuscript evidence of Yeshua is more significant than any other figure in antiquity.

There is a logical fallacy among Bible skeptics, atheists, and those who like to challenge Christianity that states, when discussing the historical aspects of the Bible, “you can’t use the Bible as proof that Yeshua existed. You must use non-Bible sources!!” To which this author says, “why not?” The four Gospels of the Bible are bibliographical accounts of the life of Yeshua.

The standard objective measure of the reliability of historical documents is:

1) The number of available copies of ancient manuscripts

2) the time between the original version and the date of those copies still in existence today.

When examined under this standard, the Bible proves to provide a treasure trove of proof and evidence that Yeshua really existed.

Some of the earliest manuscript fragments of the New Testament are the John Rylands Fragment, Chester Beatty Papyrus, and the Bodmer Papyrus, written between 50-100AD. Copies of these papyri were reproduced in 125-200AD. The time between the originals and the copies still in existence today is 29 years to 130 years. So, all these manuscripts were written anywhere from 50-100 years after the death of Yeshua. Now some may object and say, “Hold on! These manuscripts were written years after Yeshua died. There’s no way they

could be reliable!” But any expert on ancient documents would disagree.

Let’s look at some of the more famous and universally accepted historical documents and see how they match up with the Bible:

Plato — Plato wrote his works from 427-347 BC. The earliest manuscript copy of Plato’s writing in existence today was written in 900 AD. That is 1,200 years after Plato’s death! There are only 2 copies of these manuscripts in existence.

Julius Caesar — One of the most celebrated and trusted historical figures. Caesar lived from 100-44 BC. The earliest manuscript copy of his writings dates back to 900 AD, putting our best evidence of Caesar ever-existing 1,000 years after his death. There are only ten copies of ancient manuscripts of Caesar’s Gallic Wars.

So, if you question the Bible based on when it was written, being “translated so many times” (it was not – we still have the same Greek manuscripts today). Still, question whether Yeshua existed? You must also be sure that Julius Caesar and Plato were completely fictional characters and never really lived.

Homer — Homer, who historians are not even sure existed, is credited with writing the Iliad in ca 900 BC. The earliest manuscript copies of the Iliad dates to 400 BC. Meaning the only proof of Homer or the Iliad being accurate is from 500 years after Homer's death.

Additionally, there are 643 copies of ancient manuscripts of the Iliad written over the centuries that, when compared against each other by experts, have a 95.3 consistency and accuracy, making it one of the most reliable and proven documents of antiquity.

That is, of course, until you compare it to the New Testament. The New Testament manuscripts date to less than 100 years after the death of Christ. There are over 5,600 ancient manuscript copies of the New Testament. This gives it more copies to the degree that dwarfs any other figure of ancient history. They have a 99% accuracy when compared to each other. The evidence is not even comparable. And it all points to Yeshua. The record of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Yeshua any other person from antiquity.

The Proofs and Evidence are Clear – Yeshua the Christ did indeed exist!

The most exciting conclusion of this study is not that Yeshua really existed — it is that He still lives! He sits in Heaven at the right hand of God, offering forgiveness to those who will not just believe He was a man, but that He, as the Son of God, gave His life on the cross to take the punishment for sins that all of humanity has committed. It just takes faith and trust in that sacrifice to receive him.

Yeshua said: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. – Revelation 3:20-21.

Yeshua wants us to believe in Him so we can be freely forgiven of the sins we have committed in our lives, have eternal life, and reign with Him. You can have a personal relationship with Yeshua through His Holy Spirit, who dwells in your heart once you ask Him in.

Now that we established that He existed, why not take the time to know Yeshua as the Christ. From His historically verifiable perspective. You can know that He is who He said He is. Your eternal life may depend on it.

In case you’re wondering, I don’t belong to any cult of strange religion because I call Jesus Yeshua. I happen to like calling Him by the name He was known by when living in Israel. The name his mother, family, disciples, and brethren called Him. Yeshua, It’s where our name Joshua came from. Pronounced Yea-shu-a.

Archeological proof of the Bible

For the past two hundred years, give or take a year, archaeological teams have scoured the Middle East and excavated numerous sites. These teams came, and are still coming from, America, England, France, Germany, and the Vatican. They came to either find proof of the Bible or, in some cases, tried to disprove the word of God. Thankfully the historians and archaeologists have confirmed the truth. God’s truth of the Bible, every bit of it is the truth! There have been countless discoveries over the years. In fact, too many for me to elaborate on all of them. But I will go over enough to make the point clear, historically.

The first book of the Bible is Genesis. So, We’ll start there and work through the rest of the Old Testament. We’ll look at places, people, and incidences that have been covered in a fog for thousands of years.

Kenneth Kitchen, an Egyptologist formally of the University of Liverpool in England, said that archaeology and the Bible match well in depicting the patriarchal stories. Genesis 10:10-12 (NKJV)

10 (A)And the beginning of his kingdom was (,B)Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land, he went (,C)to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city).

These scriptures describe the travels of Cush and his family after the flood. These cities were unknown and considered fictional locations until a century ago when archaeologists uncovered them and positively identified them. The ancient walls were covered with inscriptions of the names of the cities and their founder.

1 Kings 19:16

Also, you shall anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah, you shall anoint as prophet in your place.

Calah was one of the mounds that were excavated by Austen Henry Layard of Britain, the young Assyriological pioneer, in 1845. He also uncovered three palaces during his excavations, revealing a great variety of inscriptions, statues, and sculptures. Among these was the famous Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (859-824 B.C.). The panels on the obelisk depict the tribute that was brought to king Shalmaneser from various kings (tributaries), including an Israelite king, "Jehu, son of Omri," who is shown bowing before the Assyrian monarch (841 B.C.).

Gen 11: 31-32 “And Tereh toke his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sara, his son Abrams wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to Haran and dwelt there.”

Up until 1917, the city of Ur was unheard of outside of the Bible. But, during World War I, a British officer F. Campbell Thompson, who was an assistant at the British Museum before the war, struck camp in present-day Iraq. He noticed a heap of bricks around the camp. He recognized writing on the bricks that corresponded to writings on cylinders brought to the museum years before. After returning to England, he found the cylinders in the basement, set about deciphering them, and discovered the ancient city of Ur. After the war, in 1923, Sir Charles Woolly went to the area with a large excavation team and explored the area. The archaeologist discovered a bevy of artifacts that prove the mythical city of Ur was real and a very prosperous, wealthy city. Thus, Ur emerged from the shadows of the past as the capital of the Sumerians.

It is one of the oldest civilizations of Mesopotamia.

Genesis 7,

Then the ( B )Lord said to Noah, ( C )“Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that ( D )you are righteous before Me in this generation. 2 You shall take with you seven each of every ( E )clean animal, a male, and his female; ( F )two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; 3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep [ a ]the species alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For after ( G )seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth ( H )forty days and forty nights, and I will [ b ]destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” 5 ( I )And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. 6 Noah was ( J )six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.

In the chapter about Noah and the Ark, Sunday school children are taught the story regularly, but skeptics continue to discount it as a fable. Sir Charles Woolley added one of many proves that the flood really did happen.

He had his workers dig a shaft along the Tigris River. The layers of the dig started with the graves of the kings of Samaria. As they dug deeper, they found shards and vessels from an earlier civilization. Still further down, they found a ten-foot layer of clay with no artifacts from people at all but found unmistakable traces of marine organisms. He believed he found remnants of the flood, but to test his theory, he dug identical shafts in the area and went miles away from the original shaft, and came up with the same conclusion.

Noah’s flood really did happen. Stories of a massive flood have come from many civilizations around the world and collaborated by similar evidence. From Babylon to China to the Navajo to the Greeks, all have stories of a great flood. The most famous of which is the story of Gilgamesh in ancient Babylon. The stories are very similar but with different names of the characters. Skeptics try to use the story of Gilgamesh as proof that Noah’s story is a copy. It actually adds authenticity to the Noah account. If there was a flood in Babylon simultaneously, it adds strength to the Biblical story.

Genesis 7: 23 10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who (H)entered at the gate of his city, saying, 11 (I)“No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!”

Abraham reports that he buried his wife in a cave of Machpelah, who bought it from a Hittite.

There are forty-seven references to the Hittites in the Bible. However, ancient historians considered the place as a figment of the imagination of Bible writers.

In 1917, archaeologists uncovered the ruins of the city Hattusas, the capital of the Hittites. In addition, they discovered an extensive collection of historical records proving the existence of the Hittites and their empire.

Gen 12:10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.

In 1890 British expert Percy Newberry was assigned the task of excavating the tombs in the Valley of the Kings in the desert of Egypt. He discovered records showing that there was a famine at the time of the writing. As a result, “Sand dweller Semites” came to Egypt to escape it. “Sand dweller Semites was a derogatory name for Israelites was used by the Egyptians.

2 Kings3:4 2Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he (D)regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand (E)lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams. 5 But it happened, when (F)Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

The Moabite Stone, a three-foot stone slab, tells us that Mesha, the king of Moab, rebelled against the Israelites as depicted in 2 Kings 3. Thus, confirming the history of the rebellion in 850 BC.

Numbers 6: 22-27.

A silver scroll dating to 600 BC quotes this passage showing that the scriptures predate this time. Critics of the Bible have tried to state that the book of Numbers was written much later than 600BC.

Numbers 22- 24

These verses and chapters cover the story of the pagan god Balaam. In 1967 tablets referring to Balaam, son of Beor, were inscribed with these scriptures.

Numbers 33:1 - 2 These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the (A)hand of Moses and Aaron. 2 Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the Lord. And these are their journeys according to their starting points:

Egyptian archeologists have discovered the maps that the Israelites used for their journey. The maps confirm the geography of the Exodus route of the Israelites.

1 Kings 6: 1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and [,a]eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of [,b]Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord. 2 Now the house which King Solomon built for the Lord

Archaeologists discovered an inscription referencing “The House of Yahweh” and Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem

1 Kings 12: 19-20 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

20 Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

In 1993, an inscription was found at Tel Dan that referred to The House of David. Thus proving the existence of King David.

The Tel Dan stone.

1 Kings 12:20 20 Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

A seal with the inscription, ‘Shems, servant of Jeroboam’ confirms the existence of that King.

1 Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles tells of Shishahs invasion of Judah. This victory was recorded in hieroglyphics on the temple of Amon in Thebes.

1 Kings 16: 23-24 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel and reigned twelve years. Six years he reigned in Tirzah. 24 And he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; then he built on the hill and called the name of the city which he built, Samaria,[,a] after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill.

The royal building of Omri and Ahab were excavated in 1933 in Samaria, proving the existence of these kings.

2 Kings 15: 29, 29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, [,a]Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.

In 1852 cuneiform text was discovered that authenticates these scriptures. Stretching from modern Iraq to the Mediterranean Sea, the Assyrian empire was the largest in the world during the eighth and seventh centuries B.C. The Assyrian monarchs Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser, and Sennacherib, are well known from the Biblical accounts. Now artifacts from this vast empire may be seen in the exhibit Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age at The Met in New York.

2 Chronicles 32: 3-4 3 he consulted with his leaders and [,a]commanders to stop the water from the springs which were outside the city, and they helped him. 4 Thus many people gathered together who stopped all the springs and the brook that ran through the land, saying, “Why should the [,b]kings of Assyria come and find much water?”

In 1880, a tablet was discovered describing the tunnel of Hezekiah.

2 Kings 24: 10-17 and 2 Chronicles 36: 9-10

A Babylonian tablet was found that gave the record of the invasion of King Nebuchadnezzar of Jerusalem.

2 Kings 24:17 17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s[,a] uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

In the second millennium BC, Joshua captured the strong Canaanite city of Lachish. It was later rebuilt and taken by the Assyrians. In 1930 archaeologists discovered 21 inscribed potsherds and ancient coins from that period that describe the siege and 2 that mention Jeremiah. Lachish Letters were also discovered that mentioned Zedekiah.

2 Chronicles 32:9 After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem (but he and all the forces with him laid siege against Lachish), to Hezekiah king of Judah, and to all Judah who were in Jerusalem,

In the 1850s, during an excavation of Nineveh, capital of Assyria, a relief was found in Sennacherib's palace depicting the siege of Lachish precisely how the Bible describes it.

Ezra 1: 1-4 (see the scripture, it’s quite long)

A clay cylinder called the ‘Cyrus Cylinder’ was discovered that describes Cyrus’s decision to allow the captive Israeli’s to return to Judah and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The Cyrus Cylinder

Isaiah 30: 8 In 1947 the famous, ‘Dead Sea Scrolls’ were discovered. They included fragments of all the Old Testament books but also the entire text of Isaiah intact. Miraculously, when compared to the copies we use, the scrolls are a word for word copies of each other with very little variance. Proving once again the accuracy of God’s word.

4 Jeremiah 36: 4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book, [,a]at the instruction of Jeremiah, all the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him.

In 1986 a seal was found dated to 587 BC and was inscribed; “Belonging to Baruch the son of Neriah” Baruch is defiantly the scribe of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 43: 9-11 9 “Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in the sight of the men of Judah, in the [,a]clay in the brick courtyard which is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes; 10 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread his royal pavilion over them. 11 When he comes, he shall strike the land of Egypt and deliver to death those appointed for death, and to captivity those appointed for captivity, and to the sword those appointed for the sword.

The discovery of this pavement was made by Flinders Petrie in 1881.

Daniel 5: 1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in the presence of the thousand.

Clay cylinders have been found bearing the name of Belshazzar.

Amos 1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheep breeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

The evidence of an earthquake on the day of Uzziah, king of Judah, has been found at Gezer and other locations.

Zephaniah 2: 13-15

13 And He will stretch out His hand against the north, Destroy Assyria, And make Nineveh a desolation, As dry as the wilderness. 14 The herds shall lie down in her midst, Every beast of the nation. Both the pelican and the bittern Shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars; Their voice shall sing in the windows; Desolation shall be at the threshold; For He will lay bare the cedar work. 15 This is the rejoicing city That dwelt securely, That said in her heart, “I am it, and there is none besides me.” How has she become a desolation, A place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her Shall hiss and shake his fist.

The fall of Nineveh is recorded on the tablets of Nabopolassar as the prophets predicted it would.

Daniel 5: 30-31 ,30 ,That very night, Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

These verses recorded the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians and were substantiated by the Cyrus Cylinders.

Top of FormI’ve barely touched the beginning of the Archeological findings that substantiate the veracity of the Bible. God’s word is accurate! There is nothing like it in all the world. It is proven true through history, science, prophecy, and much more. Keep reading!!

Old Testament Prophecies concerning Jesus Christ

Part Two

Prophecy of His Resurrection -- Psalms 16: 8-10 Matt 28: 5-7Psalm 16:8-10 (NKJV)

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 rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption

Matthew 28:5-7 (NKJV)

5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

This prophecy in Psalms is fascinating on many accounts. However, in verse 8, God refers to the Lord, not my Lord. In all other scriptures, the writer refers to Jesus as my Lord. This indicates who is speaking, God Himself. In verse 10, He says that ‘my soul will not stay in Sheol (the grave),’ meaning that He is Jesus. They are one and the same.

Prophecy of His Humility and perfection -- Zech. 9-9 Matt 21:5

Zechariah 9:9 (NKJV)

The Coming King

9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

Matthew 21:5 (NKJV)

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’

Mark 11:2-4 (NKJV)

2 and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and as soon as you have entered it, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”

4 So they went their way and found the[a] colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.

The book of Mark was the first of the Gospels. It was probably written in the year 55 and is most likely the memories of Peter, who was in Rome awaiting his execution. Mark was Peter’s scribe and took down his first-hand accounts of Jesus as a servant and a sacrifice.

His Atonement -- Lev. 17:11 Matt 26:28, John 1:29

Leviticus 17:11 (NKJV)

11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

Matthew 26:28 (NKJV)

28 For this is My blood of the new[a] covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

John 1:29 (NKJV)

The Lamb of God

29 The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Leviticus was the third book of Moses and was the Lawbook of God. It also set the rules on the sacrificial practices to do away with sin. This verse tells of a blood sacrifice, such as Jesus became, years later.

Prophecy of His Return, Second Coming -- Psalms 50:3-6-- Matt 24:30

Psalm 50:3-6 (NKJV)

3 Our God shall come and shall not keep silent; A fire shall devour before Him, And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

4 He shall call to the heavens from above, And to the earth, that He may judge His people:5 “Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”6 Let the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is Judge. Selah

Matthew 24:30 (NKJV)

30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Both of these prophecies refer to His second coming. The first coming was as a sacrificial lamb to cleanse us of our sins. The second coming is when Jesus comes as a King. After we complete the ‘Great Commission,’ He returns for His church. There are many prophecies in Revelations and other New Testament books regarding His second coming.

Prophesies of His Mission -- Isaiah 42:1,6-7 ---Matt 4:23, Luke 2:32

Isaiah 42:1 (NKJV)

The Servant of the Lord

42 “Behold! My Servant, whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

Isaiah 42:6-7 (NKJV)

6 “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles,7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

Matthew 4:23 (NKJV)

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

Luke 2:32 (NKJV)

32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

In the book of Isaiah, God is telling us that He is sending His Son to serve His people. But, significantly, God is also informing us that Jesus will reach out to the Gentiles as well. All of mankind

Prophecy of His Miracles -- Isaiah 35: 5-6--- Matt 11: 4-5, John 21:25

Isaiah 35:5-6 (NKJV)

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.

Matthew 11:4-5 (NKJV)

4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.

John 20:30-31 (NKJV)

30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

John 21:25New King James Version (NKJV)

25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

Acts 8:7 (NKJV)

7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.

John was the closest to the Savior. Jesus allowed him to care for His mother, Mary. A sure sign of love and respect for the disciple, John. The Gospel of John was written between the years 50AD and 70AD. He was also the author of three epistles and the Book of Revelation.

The Book of Acts was written by Luke as a follow-up to Luke’s Gospel. It deals with the beginning of the church and the ministries of Paul and Peter. There has been speculation that Luke was going to write a third in a trilogy. Acts ends, leaving the story incomplete. There may have been another book to be written by Doctor Luke. But that theory was only speculation.

However, the point of the comparisons is that we were told by God, through Isaiah, that the savior, Jesus, would perform many miracles, and the New Testament bears this out.

Prophecy of His willingness to Die-- Psalms 40: 8 Matt 26:39, John 4:34

Psalm 40:6-8 (NKJV)

6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.7 Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book, it is written of me.8 I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”

Matthew 26:39 (NKJV)

39 He went a little farther and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

John 4:34 (NKJV)

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

It is interesting to see that the Psalmist writes of the Savior's willingness to do the Father’s will, even to death.

It is inconceivable for the Creator of all things to allow His beloved Son to sacrifice Himself for us. No other ‘religion’ in this world would ask their god to die for his followers. The fact that God’s will makes no sense to us is proof of its authenticity.

Prophecy of His unjust Suffering -- Isaiah 50:6,53:5--- Luke 23: 41,

Isaiah 50:6 (NKJV)

6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.

Isaiah 53:9 (NKJV)

9 And they[a] made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Luke 23:41 (NKJV)

41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”

1 Peter 2:22 (NKJV)

22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; [a]

Isaiah tells us that the Savior was sinless and was put into a grave with the wicked. A very detailed prophesy that indeed came to pass. There is surely no way that Jesus and His disciples could have planned his death and burial to suit the Old Testament prophecies. The disciples didn’t even know He was going to rise in three days.

Prophecies of His offer of Virgin birth — Isaiah 7:14--- Matt 1: 23

Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV)

14 Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.[a]

Matthew 1:23 (NKJV)

23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Prophecy of the Coming Messiah from Bethlehem Micah 5: 2--- Matt 4: 10

Micah 5:2 (NKJV)

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

Matthew 2:6 (NKJV)

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”[a]

At the time of the prophecy of Micah, Bethlehem was a little town out in the desert and very unsuitable for a King to come from.

In addition to these scriptures, the entire chapter 53 of Isaiah is devoted to prophesy and is a fascinating read. In the Jewish faith, there has always been a test of a prophet that we see running throughout the Old Testament. The Old Testament prophets would be tested by writing a prophecy that would be fulfilled shortly. This way, it would be determined if he were a true prophet. Then he would be trusted to prophesy for the far future. If any mistakes were made in the early prophesies, he would not be believed for future events. In some cases, it could mean the death of the false prophet. All the Old Testament prophets passed this test with 100% accuracy. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and all the others were trusted men of God. What they wrote could be relied on as the truth of God through the Holy Spirit who guided these men of old. God spoke through them to inform the Jews that their Messiah was coming. Unfortunately, many didn’t listen or understand what was told to them. If the prophecies were right about the first coming of Jesus (and they were), we can believe the Bible about His second coming. There is as much in the Old and New Testaments regarding His second coming as about His first. This is coming soon; by all accounts, we are in the endtimes Jesus Himself told us about. There are well over three hundred Old Testament prophecies regarding the first coming of Jesus. Some try to say that the disciples fabricated the stories to fit the prophecies. This can’t be correct. There were too many eye-witnesses who could have disputed their accounts. For example, the Piercing of Jesus' side while on the cross is prominent. None of Jesus' bones were broken as predicted in Zechariah and Psalms. If the disciples had fabricated these stories, plenty of Pharisees, scribes, and Roman soldiers were there to participate in the crucifixion and would contradict them. None of that happened. Certainly, the Pharisees would have said something to disprove Jesus' claim of being the Son of God. But they never did. There is no place in the writings of those who were first-hand witnesses, either for or against Jesus, who contradicted the Gospel.

Zechariah 12:10 (NKJV)

10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

Psalm 34:19-22 (NKJV)

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.20 He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.21 Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

John 19:33 (NKJV)

33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

John 19:36 (NKJV)

36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.”[a]

Part One

The prophetic proof surpasses the historical and scientific evidence because it definitely leads to divine intervention. There is no way to explain fulfilled prophesy by Man’s standards. Only God can foresee the future and tell us about it through the scriptures and get it right 100% of the time. Many skeptics have tried to explain fulfilled prophesy by saying that the Old Testament prophecies were written after the fact and inserted into Scripture. This theory has been proven false in many ways.

Archaeological finds over the years show that parchments, pottery, and other artifacts have been scientifically dated and prove the prophecies had been written when the authors stated they were written.

The most famous of which is the ‘Dead Sea Scrolls.' There are partial remnants of every book of the Old Testament in the findings, and, most importantly, the entire text of Isaiah was found intake. Isaiah is a prophetic book of high interest. The majority of it pertains to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and details about His ministry. The Scrolls were found in a cave in 1948 and have been proven to be left there centuries before the coming of Jesus. Jesus fulfilled over three hundred prophecies, all written by many different authors, in different countries, and in different time periods. Many of the writers didn’t know of the existence of the others. However, all wrote about the coming of the Lord. The three hundred plus prophecies were 100% accurate. Mathematically, it would be near impossible to fulfill that many prophesy with 100% accuracy. In fact, to fill eight of the prophecies would be a 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 chances of accuracy! This number is staggering, and any skeptic would be hard-pressed to explain it. Below is a small sampling of the Old Testament prophecies and where they were fulfilled in the New Testament. Bear in mind that it is just a sampling. If you want to read a more extensive list of all the prophesies, I recommend reading “New Testament prophecies of Old Testament Scriptures” Barbour Books. Headings are underlined as well as my notes between sections, so they are not confused with Scripture.

(The New King James Bible was used for all scriptures. Many Biblical scholars considered the NKJV as the most accurate translation. As you read through these comparisons, the first Scripture is from the Old Testament and was written hundreds or maybe thousands of years before the events occurring in the New Testament when the prophecy was fulfilled. We start with the birth of Jesus.)

His Birth -- Isaiah: 14, 9:6 Luke 2:11

Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)

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.

Luke 2:9-11 NKJV)

9 And behold,[a] an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

It should be emphasized that in Luke’s time, the Dead Sea Scrolls had not been discovered. They read exactly as the Jewish script said in his day. To the Jewish scribes of that day, the idea of the Messiah (God) being born as a child was preposterous. They expected the Lord to come with an army to free them from the Romans, not as a baby to free us from our sins.

Isaiah was similar to the Bible as a whole. It may have been providential that it was the only book from the Old Testament to be kept completely intact when the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. It begins with the sins of Judah and the punishment for the sin. However, in the last twenty-seven chapters. Like the twenty-seven books of the New Testament offers redemption from the sins and prophecies of the coming of Christ.

The prophecy of His Death -- Isaiah 53: 12 53:4-5 Mark 15: 27-28

Isaiah 53:12 (NKJV)

12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

Mark 15:27-28 (NKJV)

27 With Him, they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. 28 So the Scripture was fulfilled[a] which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”[b]

The crucifixion was Another impossibility that drove the Pharisees and Scribes to disbelief. Would God allow His Son to be crucified? They thought not. Yet Isaiah wrote about it seven hundred years before Jesus was born. It was no ordinary murder. He was killed along with thieves (transgressors). But, most importantly, he died for our sins, as Isaiah pointed out. Again, a very impracticable occurrence, according to the priests of the day.

The prophecy of His Betrayal -- Psalms 41:9 Luke 22: 47-48

Psalm 41:9 (NKJV)

9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.

Mark 14:19-20 (NKJV)

19 And they began to be sorrowful and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” And another said, “Is it I?”[a]

20 He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve who dips with Me in the dish.

Luke 22:47-48 (NKJV)

47 And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. 48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

Several scriptures correspond to Psalms 14. The disciple who turned his back on Jesus and delivered Him to the Pharisees cannot be mistaken. The Psalmist wrote the poem at least 300 years before Jesus.

For the conspiracy theorists, I don’t believe Judas and Jesus cooked up the scheme to make the prophecy come true. Judas committed suicide over the results, and, of course, Jesus died a horrible death. There would be little point in setting up a sham like that.

The prophecy about the Field of Blood -- Zech. 11:12-13 Acts 1:19, Matt 27:1-9

Zechariah 11:12-13 (NKJV)

12 Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So, they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So, I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.

Acts 1:19 (NKJV)

19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem, so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.)

Matt 27: 3-9 (NKJV)

3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!”

5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself.

6 But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury because they are the price of blood.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore, that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced.

This is a very compelling comparison of Scripture. How could it be possible that Zechariah knew the sum for Judas’s betrayal? How could he possibly know that the priests would use that sum to buy a Potter’s field? And, there would be no way for Jesus to control what the priest would pay or Judas would ask for.

The prophecy of His Trial -- Psalms 35:11- 12 Mark 14: 57-59

Psalm 35:11-12 (NKJV)

11 Fierce witnesses rise up; They ask me things that I do not know.12 They reward me evil for good,To the sorrow of my soul.

Mark 14:57-59 (NKJV)

57 Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, 58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’” 59 But not even then did their testimony agree.

Jesus endured an illegal trial throughout the night. By Hebrew standards, the whole process was a sham. The writer of Psalms knew this would happen. At the time of the writing of Psalms, the scribe had no idea what he was writing about. He wrote down what the Holy Spirit gave him.

Another example of the prophecy of Jesus illegal trial

Isaiah 53:7 Mark 14: 57-61Isaiah 53:7 (NKJV)

7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep, before its shearers are silent, So He opened not His mouth.

Mark 14:57-61 (NKJV)

57 Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, 58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’” 59 But not even then did their testimony agree.

60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” 61 But He kept silent and answered nothing.

Again, the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

Matthew 27:12-14 (NKJV)

12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.

13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 But He answered him not one word so that the governor marveled greatly.

Both Matthew and Mark agree Jesus made no defense at his trial. Isaiah predicted this would happen many years prior. And, again, it would make no sense to Isaiah why he wrote what he did. He was following the will of God.

The prophecy of His Death-- Psalms 22:1 Matt 27:46 Psalms 22: 1 (NKJV)My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?Why are You so far from helping Me,And from the words of My groaning?Matthew 27:46 (NKJV)

46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”[a]

To me, this is one of the saddest Scripture. Throughout Jesus' life on Earth, He was always in the presence of His Father, God. On the cross, He bore our sins, so God had to turn away from him. God the Father could not be in the presence of sin. This is why we need Jesus. Without his presence in our lives, God cannot hear any of our pleas. He only hears our desires to have Jesus come into our lives and wash away our sins. With true repentance and acceptance of the Holy Spirit, we can now commune with God our Father.

A recorded fact from the scientific world. Jesus died as a total eclipse of the sun occurred. Amos 8:9 Matt 27:45

Amos 8:9 (NKJV)

9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;

Matthew 27:45 (NKJV)

45 Now, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land.

Now, this is an extraordinary prophecy. Amos lived 250 years before the birth of Jesus. Did he predict an eclipse and an earthquake on the day of Jesus' crucifixion? It would be pretty tough to set that up if not for the divine hand in it.

John 3:15-17 'That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but the world through Him might be saved.'

God made the supreme sacrifice by allowing His Son to die in our place to atone for our sins. He wiped the plate clean for those of us who accept Jesus as our savior.

John 3:3 says, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'

After accepting his salvation and asking the Holy Spirit into our hearts, we are 'born again.' If we repent of our sins, He will forgive us. All our sins, past, present, and future are forgiven, and we start afresh with new lives dedicated to Jesus. We ask for His forgiveness and can be assured that He will forgive, we ask for His aid in living a new life, and He is there for us. His gift of eternal life after His return is a free gift; we don't have to do anything to achieve it but continue to ask forgiveness of our sins and repent of these sins.

As the bumper sticker says, "Christians are not perfect, just forgiven." We are still human and can accidentally sin or allow the natural world to push us in the wrong direction, but we can repent, ask forgiveness, and know that our heavenly Father will forgive and take us back. Jesus is alive and living in the believer's heart as the Holy Spirit and will guide us through life as long as we listen to His voice.

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Once you become a Christian, the exhilaration is profound. The Holy Spirit fills you with love, peace, and the desire to step out and do something. But what is it he wants you to do? An immature Christian may jump into following a path not meant for him or her. There are so many roads to choose from in following Jesus. You don’t want to make the right choice.

However, the Bible has it all mapped out for you. The path God has chosen for you is just for you.

Ephesians 2:10 New King James Version

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

God tells us through Paul that He knew us before we were born and trained a way for our lives. That statement is awesome! We were known before we were born! Let that sink in a minute. Another scripture that tells us this is from the Old Testament:

Jeremiah 1:4-5 NKJV

4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

5 “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; Before you were born, I sanctified[ a ] you; I [ b ]ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

Colossians 1:9-11NKJV

9 For this reason, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.

Once again, we go to the Old Testament. The keywords here are, ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

The first step to following God’s will is to find out what it is. Sounds simple enough, but is it? Pray, pray, and pray some more. The first step in your life as a Christian is prayer. Ask God for his wisdom and to give you spiritual understanding.

Philippians 2:13 NKJV

13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Again, from Paul’s writings, God tells us that He works through you. What He has planned for you pleases Him.

Romans 12: 1-2NKJV

12 I beseech[,a] you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your [,b]reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Following the will of God is no simple matter. You are turning yourself over to God. You’re turning away from what this evil world has for you and transforming your mind toward the ‘perfect will of God.’ In one way or other, you will be serving God.

James 3:16NkJV

6 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

James, the half-brother of our Lord Jesus, warns us about what happens if we do not conform our minds to God when seeking His wisdom.

1 Corinthians 14: 33NKJV

33 For God is not the author of [,a]confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

Don’t let me scare you away from seeking God’s calling for you. In the end, following His will brings you peace, understanding, and fulfillment in your life.

John 8: 32NKJV

32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

My favorite writer of the scriptures, John, gives us the best reason to follow the will of God. Now we go on to how you can know His will for your life.

Ephesians 5: 17-18NKJV

7 Therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

The critical part of Paul’s verse is, ‘be filled with the Spirit. Part of learning what’s planned for you is from the Holy Spirit. So, in prayer and meditation, listen to God’s voice. You’ll recognize it when He speaks.

God may tell you outright what he wants of you. Or, He may instruct you to go to someone else. That would be someone already strong in the Lord, like your pastor, an elder of the church, or a close friend.

Continual reading of the Bible is another way to find His will. You would be surprised how God speaks to you through His word.

Finally, use your common sense. You know what talents God has given you. You may have skills in music, public speaking, hospitality with strangers, and learning languages quickly. The list goes on. Compare what you know about yourself and ask God, through prayer, Bible reading, and Christian influences, what is your will for my life?