From the moment of His birth to the hour of His death, Christ’s life was predicted in detail by Old Testament prophets. He fulfilled about forty different prophecies during His lifetime. Statistically, the chances of that happening are about one in a billion! Why is it important to point this out? Because voices are being raised that question His virgin birth, His deity, His miracles, His resurrection, and His soon return. Evidently the same people were around when Peter lived. He writes: ‘I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone. For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendour with our own eyes when he received honour and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place – until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realise that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God’ (2 Peter 1:15-21 NLT).
