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The Messiah: Amazing Prophecies Fulfilled in Jesus
In our present world, says Hal Lindsey, the surest way to have hope is to understand the prophetic promises given in the past. Many of these prophetic promises have already been fulfilled, giving great assurance that the promises for the future will all be kept.
189 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1996
18 people want to read
About the author
Hal Lindsey
105 books60 followersHarold Lee Lindsey was an American evangelical writer and television host. He wrote a series of popular apocalyptic books – beginning with The Late Great Planet Earth (1970) – asserting that the Apocalypse or end time (including the rapture) was imminent because current events were fulfilling Bible prophecy. He was a Christian Zionist and dispensationalist.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 9, 2024
LINDSEY'S FOCUSED ATTEMPT AT "JEWISH EVANGELISM"
Harold Lee "Hal" Lindsey (born 1929) is a best-selling author, who is currently host of "The Hal Lindsey Report" TV program. (He formerly hosted International Intelligence Briefing on TBN, but the show was removed as being too "pro-Israel"/"anti-Arab"; he provides the financing for the Hal Lindsey Report himself.)
This book was originally published in 1982 as 'The Promise,' then republished under this title in 1996. He wrote in the first chapter, "The basic premise of this book is that it's not only POSSIBLE that Jesus was Messiah, but that the only fair-minded conclusion that can possibly come from an honest and open investigation of the historical and biblical evidence is that He is INDEED Messiah." (Pg. 6) Lindsey is gearing this book toward the evangelism of Jewish persons, making every effort to not offend them (he even uses "C.E" and "B.C.E." when writing dates, rather than "B.C." and "A.D.").
He wrote, "Another point of seeming contradiction [among pre-Christian era Jewish scholars] was whether Messiah would be a human being of extraordinary power and abilities, or whether He would in fact be God Himself... There was no common agreement on this particular issue among the Jewish expositors. For example, Rabbi Akiva (second century C.E.) was convinced that the Jewish rebel leader Bar Kokhba was the Messiah, and yet he also taught that Messiah would occupy a throne alongside God. There are references in both the Talmud and Midrash to the immortality of Messiah, and yet Rabbi Hillel (fourth century C.E.) denied that Messiah was coming at all." (Pg. 18)
He argues that Judas' betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver "was no chance happening. Five hundred years before, Zechariah had predicted that there would come a time when the nation of Israel would estimate the value of their God at thirty pieces of silver! It would be at a time in the nation's history when, because of sin and unbelief, God would remove His protective hand from them and allow the nations to slaughter and take into captivity His covenant people. Since this prediction was made AFTER their Babylonian captivity had ended, and since nothing like it had happened till the time of Jesus, it could only have been referring prophetically to the holocaust of 70 C.E. when Titus destroyed Jerusalem and slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Jews and took many more captive." (Pg. 96)
He notes that Jesus' "followers have naturally claimed [Psalm 22] as a Messianic Psalm. On the other hand, because it does seem so specifically to allude to Jesus, later rabbis and liberal Christian theologians have either avoided comment on it or sought to ascribe the central personage as someone other than Messiah. However, in the ancient Rabbinic collection of traditions called the Yakut, in commenting on Isaiah 60:1... the rabbis said that God makes an agreement with the Messiah to the effect that the Messiah would suffer for the sins of all Jews who have lived before or after Him, and to illustrate these sufferings, they quote from Psalm 22... Three times the Yakut quotes Psalm 22 as speaking of the sufferings of the Messiah, the Son of David." (Pg. 120)
He concludes, "Although the nation of Israel rejected Messiah when He came 2000 years ago and the grief she's experienced since then is mainly due to that fact, that doesn't lessen the great heartache that true believers in Messiah-Jesus feel for the plight of Israel... We have one thing to give substance to our hope for Israel. We know that God will never break a promise and he still owes Israel seven years of her allotted 490 years [Daniel 9:24-27] in which to bring about righteousness in her land and purge her people of sin. Then God's Messiah will come again to Israel and give to those of His chosen people and the world who receive Him, the Kingdom of God which He promised so long ago." (Pg. 171)
Despite his best of intentions, Lindsey's book will likely offend any number of Jewish readers (e.g., statements like "the grief she's experienced since then is mainly due to [Israel's rejection of Jesus]"). But it is a sincere attempt, and much more effective
Harold Lee "Hal" Lindsey (born 1929) is a best-selling author, who is currently host of "The Hal Lindsey Report" TV program. (He formerly hosted International Intelligence Briefing on TBN, but the show was removed as being too "pro-Israel"/"anti-Arab"; he provides the financing for the Hal Lindsey Report himself.)
This book was originally published in 1982 as 'The Promise,' then republished under this title in 1996. He wrote in the first chapter, "The basic premise of this book is that it's not only POSSIBLE that Jesus was Messiah, but that the only fair-minded conclusion that can possibly come from an honest and open investigation of the historical and biblical evidence is that He is INDEED Messiah." (Pg. 6) Lindsey is gearing this book toward the evangelism of Jewish persons, making every effort to not offend them (he even uses "C.E" and "B.C.E." when writing dates, rather than "B.C." and "A.D.").
He wrote, "Another point of seeming contradiction [among pre-Christian era Jewish scholars] was whether Messiah would be a human being of extraordinary power and abilities, or whether He would in fact be God Himself... There was no common agreement on this particular issue among the Jewish expositors. For example, Rabbi Akiva (second century C.E.) was convinced that the Jewish rebel leader Bar Kokhba was the Messiah, and yet he also taught that Messiah would occupy a throne alongside God. There are references in both the Talmud and Midrash to the immortality of Messiah, and yet Rabbi Hillel (fourth century C.E.) denied that Messiah was coming at all." (Pg. 18)
He argues that Judas' betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver "was no chance happening. Five hundred years before, Zechariah had predicted that there would come a time when the nation of Israel would estimate the value of their God at thirty pieces of silver! It would be at a time in the nation's history when, because of sin and unbelief, God would remove His protective hand from them and allow the nations to slaughter and take into captivity His covenant people. Since this prediction was made AFTER their Babylonian captivity had ended, and since nothing like it had happened till the time of Jesus, it could only have been referring prophetically to the holocaust of 70 C.E. when Titus destroyed Jerusalem and slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Jews and took many more captive." (Pg. 96)
He notes that Jesus' "followers have naturally claimed [Psalm 22] as a Messianic Psalm. On the other hand, because it does seem so specifically to allude to Jesus, later rabbis and liberal Christian theologians have either avoided comment on it or sought to ascribe the central personage as someone other than Messiah. However, in the ancient Rabbinic collection of traditions called the Yakut, in commenting on Isaiah 60:1... the rabbis said that God makes an agreement with the Messiah to the effect that the Messiah would suffer for the sins of all Jews who have lived before or after Him, and to illustrate these sufferings, they quote from Psalm 22... Three times the Yakut quotes Psalm 22 as speaking of the sufferings of the Messiah, the Son of David." (Pg. 120)
He concludes, "Although the nation of Israel rejected Messiah when He came 2000 years ago and the grief she's experienced since then is mainly due to that fact, that doesn't lessen the great heartache that true believers in Messiah-Jesus feel for the plight of Israel... We have one thing to give substance to our hope for Israel. We know that God will never break a promise and he still owes Israel seven years of her allotted 490 years [Daniel 9:24-27] in which to bring about righteousness in her land and purge her people of sin. Then God's Messiah will come again to Israel and give to those of His chosen people and the world who receive Him, the Kingdom of God which He promised so long ago." (Pg. 171)
Despite his best of intentions, Lindsey's book will likely offend any number of Jewish readers (e.g., statements like "the grief she's experienced since then is mainly due to [Israel's rejection of Jesus]"). But it is a sincere attempt, and much more effective
August 17, 2023
Whether you agree with his interpretation or not it is good to see a book that carefully considers the prophecies of Scripture and fulfillment. It is a keeper.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews