At some point in our lives we all want to know what the future holds. “Will I pass the test?” “Will I get the job?” “Who will win the election?” You know the types of things that concern us on a day-to-day basis, causing us to wonder about tomorrow or many days down the road. Our country’s leaders have different concerns, but even they look to the future with questions.
Wanting to know the future has led people to look for answers in many places. Every city has palm readers and psychics, astrologists and spiritualists. These folks will provide answers to personal and sometimes political or social questions. But are they accurate? Are they consistent? Are they real?
The test of a true prophet is this: Are all of his/her prophecies fulfilled? (Jer. 28:9) Taken in that perspective it makes that palm reader or crystal ball alot less believable.
We are blessed to live in a country that has never been invaded and hasn’t been seriously threatened in a very long time. Would our concerns and desire to know the future be different if we didn’t live here and now? If Canada and Mexico had fallen to a super power and we had invaders standing at our borders, what sort of things do you think we’d be concerned about? That test or promotion at work would probably pale in light of a very real danger. We’d probably want to know if we were going to survive, both as individuals and as a nation. Our leaders would certainly be looking for answers.
About 700 years before Jesus was born, Israel and Judah were facing an overwhelming invasion. The Assyrian army was about to swallow them whole, expanding their empire from modern Iran to Egypt. The kings of Israel and Judah were seeking advice from astrologists and spiritualists when Isaiah, a prophet of God, told the king and people about the coming of Jesus (Isa 9:2-7). Isaiah spoke these words about 700 years before Jesus was born. It was God’s way of assuring His people that though they faced calamity in their day, He would see that they survived and Light would be brought into the world through them.
Isaiah, and God’s other prophets spoke only the words God gave them to speak, even when it wasn’t popular. They did not speak on their own, even when it cost them personally. ALL of their prophecies have been fulfilled, meaning that biblical prophecy is a trustworthy source.
Jesus was foretold by multiple prophets as the Messiah. He was born to the right parents, at the right time and in the right place to fulfill the prophecies. If you’d like to learn how Jesus is tied to the prophecies of the Old Testament, I encourage you to join us Sunday morning at 10:55 a.m. in the sanctuary or on our Facebook live-stream.