What Are the Odds?

I used to teach a freshman class at Portland Bible College called “Basic Doctrine.” While preparing to teach I came across an amazing statistic: The Old Testament contains 330 specific prophecies pertaining to the coming of the Messiah, all of them specifically fulfilled. What are the odds that any of them would actually be fulfilled? Well, the probability that any 8 of the 330 being fulfilled is 1 in 10¹⁷. This is equivalent to covering the state of Texas two feet deep in silver dollars, randomly placing a special mark on one of the silver dollars, then picking it out the very first time. The probability of all 330 prophecies being specifically fulfilled is 1 in 10¹⁴⁷. Imagine randomly marking one of the electrons in the universe then picking that electron the very first time and you can see that it’s really impossible for all of these prophecies to be fulfilled. And yet they were. How do you account for that? It seem probable that God had something to do with it.

It is an ancient Christian tradition to prepare our hearts for the Christmas celebration with a four-week “Advent” commemoration. “Advent” simply means “coming,” so the purpose of Advent is to prayerfully reflect on Scripture in order to prepare our hearts to fully receive Christ at his coming on Christmas morning. During the first week of Advent it is customary to reflect on the Old Testament prophecies that accurately predict the coming of the Christ child.

When the prophet Isaiah announced to King Ahaz that God was going to deliver Judah from its enemies, the King was skeptical. So Isaiah said, “Ask the Lord God for a sign” (Isaiah 7:11). When Ahaz refused the prophet answered, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14; see also Matthew 1:23). The sign of God’s supernatural deliverance was the gift of a son, and not just any kind of son. This child would come into the world as a result of a young maid, a virgin, conceiving and giving birth. How is that even possible? This must be a supernatural child. And not just supernatural – he will be “Immanuel,” meaning “God with us.” How can a human child be God with us? It’s seemed unlikely that such an amazing prophecy could ever be fulfilled – until that first Christmas morning.

During that same time period Isaiah began to announce Good News to “the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali” (Isaiah 9:1; see also Matthew 4:15). The prophet declared that God was going to cause a special light to dawn on the people, resulting in joy and rejoicing. What was going to be so special about that light? “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders” (Isaiah 9:6). Once again, a special child, a son, would be provided by God to bring a new governance to the land. But this would not just be a normal, human ruler. “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” This amazing son would be known as the Wonderful Counselor, the one bringing a full understanding of the wisdom of God. This child-ruler would be the Prince of Peace, bringing true harmony and wholeness to all who submitted to his rule. But not only that, he would also be the “Mighty God” and the “Everlasting Father.” It’s one thing to prophesy a new King provided by God, but to claim that this human child/king would also be God?! Isaiah then sang of the everlasting rule of this God-King. “Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” (Isaiah 9:7). The coming child would be the rightful King of Israel, ruling on David’s throne, but his rule would be an eternal reign of peace and justice. How is such a thing possible? Isn’t it only “pie-in-the-sky”? Maybe – until that first Christmas morning explained everything.

During this same period in Israel’s history the prophet Micah began his ministry. One day, while speaking of the enemies of Israel laying a siege against the land, the prophet made a very strange statement: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2; see also Matthew 2:6). The tiny village of Bethlehem was essentially a suburb of the might city of Jerusalem. With the city and the nation occupied by a foreign power, how could Bethlehem factor into God’s deliverance? How likely is it that a powerful ruler, a ruler who would bring ultimate deliverance to the people, one spoken of from ancient times, could be born in Bethlehem? It seemed highly improbably – until that first Christmas morning.

These are only three of the many Old Testament prophecies about the coming into the world of God’s Son, a child who would bring salvation to all mankind. As we enter into this Advent Season, may our hearts to open wide to his coming and ruling in our lives.

(I want to once again give full credit to my friend Ken Malmin, Dean of Portland Bible College and author of the "Basic Doctrine" curriculum.)