What are the statistical odds that an ancient prophecy could just ‘get lucky’ and have its prophecy fulfilled? The odds dramatically increase when an ancient prophecy involves more details. Note the qualifications of Professor Peter Stoner. Then note his statistical analysis of how likely it would be for an Old Testament biblical prophecy with 16 or more specific details to randomly be fulfilled:
I’m not really in hip hop music. And, based on my limited knowledge of hop hop music, it appears that most hip hoppers aren’t necessarily into theology. That makes us even. But hip hopper are the poets of today and therefore often give voice to the many issues that their generation are grappling with. One of the most popular hip hoppers today is the Canadian poet and singer, Dax (Daniel Nwosu Jr.), who has just released his latest song, Dear God. In theological terms, this song is an imprecatory-lament song…
Even the best of people misunderstand what God’s Word means. For example, John the Baptist, despite having heard directly from God about the identity of the Messiah – and shortly afterwards seeing this word come to pass when Jesus came to be baptised by him – had made certain assumptions about what this Messiah would do and be like. But when John was thrown in prison by Herod, he sent messengers to Jesus to ask Him a question which was perplexing Him.
¶ The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”
Luke 7:18-20
John had done what many people do when they read the Bible. Rather than …
One of the greatest things that I have learned from looking at the life and work of Dr. F.W. Boreham is that life’s greatest treasures are often obscured by the veil of familiarity. It often takes an outsider to see plainly what most locals do not. This sometimes sad fact was highlighted in some recent release movies such as “Spotlight” and “Concussion” where it was some outsiders who helped the locals see the gross injustices happening right under their noses. And I think the same phenomena often happens with how we read the Bible.
This was reinforced to me the other day when I spoke with a pastor about the Olivet Discourse (which occurs in Matthew 24 and 25). I simply asked some ‘familiarity-challenging’ questions about this passage. “Have you noticed that the word return does not occur in Matthew 24?” was one of the questions I asked. This challenge to consider this passage from a different perspective led to this pastor remarking, “How many other things have I just accepted without questioning to see if it was really what the Bible taught?” If you’ve ever wondered the same thing, here’s a few short articles which may give you a new perspective …
How should Christians regard the Fourth Commandment of the Ten Commandments — about the Sabbath?
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