PROPHECY Prophecy declares the glory of God. “Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you” (Isaiah 41:23–24). “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:9–10; see END TIMES).
The Old Testament books with their prophecies have been verified with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which predate the time of Christ. The following are some of the Old Testament prophecies about Christ relating to the last 24 hours of His life.
1) Christ would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord” (Zechariah 11:12–13). Zechariah’s prophecy was not vague, and he lived about 500 years before Christ. He said Christ would be betrayed for “thirty,” not 29 or 31, pieces of “silver,” not gold or other metals that were also used for coins of their day, that they would be “cast,” not handed back, into the “house of the Lord,” not the king’s house or some other building, and that they would be used in connection with a “potter.” It was fulfilled in Matthew 27:3–7: “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.”
2) That Christ would be tried and condemned (Isaiah 53:8, fulfilled in Matthew 27:1–2).
3) Christ would be silent before His accusers (Isaiah 53:7, fulfilled in Matthew 27:12–14).
4) Christ would be hit and spat upon (Isaiah 50:6, fulfilled in Matthew 27:30; see also John 19:1–3).
5) Christ would be mocked (Psalm 22:7–8, fulfilled in Matthew 27:39–40).
6) Christ’s death would be by crucifixion (Psalm 22:16, fulfilled in John 19:15–16).
7) Christ would die with sinners (Isaiah 53:12, fulfilled in Mark 15:27).
8) Christ’s garments would be divided by casting lots (Psalm 22:18, fulfilled in John 19:23–24).
9) Christ’s bones would not be broken (Psalm 34:20, fulfilled in John 19:31–37; see also Numbers 9:12).
10) Christ would be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9, fulfilled in Matthew 27:57–60).
11) Even the words that He would say while on the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1, fulfilled in Mathew 27:46). (On how to interpret prophecy, see INTERPRETATION.)
All the above Old Testament prophecies, written 1,000 to 500 years before Christ, were literally fulfilled in the last 24 hours of His life. There are some 300 prophecies in all about Christ’s first coming to earth, and they were also literally fulfilled. And there are many more prophecies about His second coming to earth in the future. The following prophecy about Christ is by the prophet Isaiah and was given 700 years before the birth of Christ. (The complete scroll of Isaiah was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and was tested four times using carbon-14 with dates ranging from 335 BC to 107 BC.)
“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:1–12)
The Old Testament books with their prophecies have been verified with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which predate the time of Christ. The following are some of the Old Testament prophecies about Christ relating to the last 24 hours of His life.
1) Christ would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord” (Zechariah 11:12–13). Zechariah’s prophecy was not vague, and he lived about 500 years before Christ. He said Christ would be betrayed for “thirty,” not 29 or 31, pieces of “silver,” not gold or other metals that were also used for coins of their day, that they would be “cast,” not handed back, into the “house of the Lord,” not the king’s house or some other building, and that they would be used in connection with a “potter.” It was fulfilled in Matthew 27:3–7: “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.”
2) That Christ would be tried and condemned (Isaiah 53:8, fulfilled in Matthew 27:1–2).
3) Christ would be silent before His accusers (Isaiah 53:7, fulfilled in Matthew 27:12–14).
4) Christ would be hit and spat upon (Isaiah 50:6, fulfilled in Matthew 27:30; see also John 19:1–3).
5) Christ would be mocked (Psalm 22:7–8, fulfilled in Matthew 27:39–40).
6) Christ’s death would be by crucifixion (Psalm 22:16, fulfilled in John 19:15–16).
7) Christ would die with sinners (Isaiah 53:12, fulfilled in Mark 15:27).
8) Christ’s garments would be divided by casting lots (Psalm 22:18, fulfilled in John 19:23–24).
9) Christ’s bones would not be broken (Psalm 34:20, fulfilled in John 19:31–37; see also Numbers 9:12).
10) Christ would be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9, fulfilled in Matthew 27:57–60).
11) Even the words that He would say while on the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1, fulfilled in Mathew 27:46). (On how to interpret prophecy, see INTERPRETATION.)
All the above Old Testament prophecies, written 1,000 to 500 years before Christ, were literally fulfilled in the last 24 hours of His life. There are some 300 prophecies in all about Christ’s first coming to earth, and they were also literally fulfilled. And there are many more prophecies about His second coming to earth in the future. The following prophecy about Christ is by the prophet Isaiah and was given 700 years before the birth of Christ. (The complete scroll of Isaiah was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and was tested four times using carbon-14 with dates ranging from 335 BC to 107 BC.)
“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:1–12)
