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Amen. So it's Christmas, so I thought I'd get one of the longest chapter of the Bible to be read. You know, anyone complaining there, shame on you. But I'm going to do a little bit more reading from that chapter again just in case you didn't hear the Bible read enough. So we're just going to look at a passage. There's a lot going on there, isn't there? That's a long chapter of the Bible. And we're going to look from verse 67 there. So Luke chapter 1 and verse 67, where John the Baptist's father, Zacharias, is filled with the Holy Ghost and he prophesies this. He says in Luke 1 and 6 and 7, it says... So Luke 1 and 6 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 7 and 8... OK, verse 69 there, so obviously there's... ..he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been since the world began. So Jesus Christ's birth life or death fulfils hundreds and there's a few different views of how many, I think there's a guy that claims it's kind of 430 odd others are a bit more conservative with that but it's a lot a lot of prophecies yeah and there are some of those prophecies many of those prophecies are specific to his just his birth and the events surrounding it so basically the first Christmas and those days surrounding it and being Christmas we're going to look at those today so the title of my sermon today is 12 prophecies of Christmas 12 prophecies of Christmas I'd like to pray before we continue father thank you for your word thank you for the great gift that we remember at this time of year your your son Jesus Christ being born this you know we celebrate it this day 2,000 plus years ago we thank you thank you for the gift of well Jesus Christ gift of eternal life please help me to preach this sermon just accurately Lord now and help everyone to have attentive ears little film with your spirit please just name we pray all this amen so last year I don't know if anyone remembered I preached a sermon called 12 pitfalls of Christmas probably a bit more of a negative one at Christmas time and I kind of like the number 12 at Christmas time and and I appreciate that the 12 days of Christmas is a lot of likely Catholic nonsense but I quite like the song anyway it's quite catchy and I'm gonna preach about about the 12 prophecies of Christmas today and and in in a kind of style that hopefully you'll be able to remember it thanks to that catchy tune but with that as well do you know there's nothing wrong with 12 is there we like 12 yeah the Lord twelves in the Bible you know the the 12 tribes of Israel the 12 apostles you know and then 12s are good and we're gonna look at the 12 prophecies of Christmas today or at least 12 that I wanted to focus on today now 12 prophecies of Christmas no other so-called prophet because many like to call him a prophet don't they of another religion had his birth prophesied okay no other did Buddha didn't have his birth prophesied we were talking about Buddha earlier and and their so-called spiritual Nirvana and everything else this guy was a wicked false prophet and his birth was a prophesied Muhammad didn't have his birth prophesied okay again a wicked false prophet and he didn't have his birth prophesied Charles Taze Russell you know amazing Charles Taze Russell didn't have his birth prophesied none of these guys none of these wicked false prophecies Joseph Smith the rest of them you know Ellen G White whoever you want to name they didn't get their births prophesied Jesus Christ didn't know you could argue with these that admittedly second Timothy 3 13 did say evil men and seduces should wax worse and worse to see if you're being see so they kind of did get prophesied to some degree you know Matthew 24 11 says and many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many so there's a there's a prophecy of sorts however there was a difference for Jesus Christ wasn't there Jesus Christ is legitimate he's a real deal and he fulfilled tons of prophecies just his birth alone fulfilled many he was he was recording prophecies which were recorded up to 1,500 years before he was born and they're non debatable because of course the people that want to attack the Bible or people that have no idea at all fairy tales this sort of stuff there's no debate that all these prophecies that we're going to look at were written hundreds and up to 1,500 years before he was born and no one can really argue that unless they just are just coming from a complete just laughable standpoint and we're going to look at how these were fulfilled in the in the life of Christ and especially the birth here verse 70 says as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been since the world began so from Abel's offering to Zacharias that we just read about here that there have been hundreds of prophecies now some are clearer than others but the ones that we're from the world began well were recorded by Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit obviously in what's known as a Torah you know Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy yeah okay but and we are going to go there we're going to go to the first book there so these are written sort of many years before Christ 1,500 years earlier the Genesis chapter 22 to see the first prophecy so if you turn to Genesis 22 relate to Jesus Christ birth and and although earlier too so this isn't the first prophecy but this for me is just a very clear one and and he obviously makes this prophecy earlier on but this is the clearest for me so Abraham takes his son Isaac to be sacrificed he prophesied of the coming Christ in verse 8 Genesis 22 Genesis 22 in verse 8 says and Abraham said my son God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering so they went both of them together so there's that first prophecy there he's saying that God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering however we're going to focus on the part that relates to his birth and that's from verse 15 so Genesis 22 15 it says in the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time and said by myself have I sworn saith the Lord for because thou has done this thing and has not withheld thy son thine only son that in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying or multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven and as a sandwich upon the seashore and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because thou has obeyed my voice that's the prophecy of Jesus Christ out of turn the Galatians 3 16 says now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made he saith not unto Caesars of many but as of one and to thy seed which is Christ so Jesus Christ possesses a gate of his enemies in Revelation 1 18 he said I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I'm alive forevermore our men and have the keys of hell and of death Jesus Christ possesses the gate of his enemies the gates of hell did not prevail against our rock I preached that recently in our in our Matthew Bible study and it's in Christ that all the nations of the earth are blessed yeah but the point is that Jesus Christ was of the seed of Abraham okay Jesus Christ was of the seed of Abraham go to Luke 3 Luke chapter 3 because although although to the eyes of the world you're supposed to be the son of Joseph and and you know therefore fulfilling this and other prophecies through Joseph's genealogy in Matthew 1 which obviously is emphasizing the kingly line from David the genealogy of Luke is that of Mary and and the one that counts now some trying to bait this I have no doubt it's of Mary we just read thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because thou has obeyed my voice and in Luke 3 he's just being baptized and we read this verse 23 Luke 3 23 and Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age being as was supposed the son of Joseph which was the son of Heli now who was Joseph the son of well Matthew 1 16 says in Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ now some guy it must be a contradictory who is he lie well for me that's Mary's father it was Jesus that was the son of Heli son also referred to grandson as great-grandson's etc you could read it like this and Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age you could even add brackets being as was supposed the son of Joseph which was the son of Heli so in Jesus began to be about 30 years of age which was the son of Heli it was Jesus Christ which was the son of Heli okay he lie being his grandfather because we're just looking at this male line here but which just stops obviously we go then through Mary to Jesus Christ then we see this alternative genealogy from the one in Matthew all the way up to King David where the Matthew genealogy goes from David's son Solomon here it's from his son Nathan okay so it's from from David's son Nathan in verse 31 it says which was the son of Malia which was the son of Menon which was the son of Matatha which was the son of Nathan which was the son of David it's an identical up to Abraham verse 32 says which was the son of Jesse which was the son of Obed which was the son of Boaz which was the son of salmon which was the son of Naasen which was the son of a Minadab which was the son of Aram which was the son of Ezra which was the son of Phares which was the son of Judah which was the son of Jacob which was the son of Isaac which was the son of Abraham which was the son of Thara which was the son of Nacor and continues all the way back to Adam and and then to God so we see in this genealogy the promise to Abraham about his seed was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ yeah who through Mary was a direct descendant of Abraham so twelve prophecies of Christmas and number one the seed of Abraham okay the seed of Abraham he was a son of Abraham now keep a finger there and in case you're thinking man we got eleven of these to go through like this don't worry you are going to get to eat we're going to speed up a little bit okay that's just to set the scene keep a finger there and go back to Genesis 26 because Abraham had another son called Ishmael of Hagar and then later in life six more sons by Keturah his his wife later in his later years which one was the Christ to come from well that was made clear by another prophecy in chapter 26 Genesis 26 and from verse 1 we're now following his son Isaac and it says in verse 1 there was a famine in the land beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham and Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gira and the Lord appeared unto him and said go not down into Egypt dwell in the land which I should tell thee of so journey this time no will be with thee and will bless thee for unto thee and unto thy seed I will give all these countries now perform the oath which I swear unto Abraham my father I'll make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven and will give unto thy seed all these countries that in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because Abraham obeyed my voice kept my charge my commandments my statutes and my laws Luke 3 34 said he was the son of Isaac Luke 3 34 says he was the son of Isaac 12 prophecies of Christmas number two a son of Isaac and the seed of Abraham okay the third prophecy of Christmas comes to Genesis 28 because Isaac had two sons the twins Jacob and Esau in Genesis 28 Jacob's been sent out to Padan Aram to find a wife Genesis chapter 28 and verse 10 Genesis 28 10 says and Jacob went out from Beersheba and went towards Haran and he lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night because the sun was set and he took of the stones of that place and put them for his pillows and lay down in that place to sleep pretty hardcore isn't it he put stones down for his pillows okay Jacob was a tough guy verse 12 says and he dreamed and behold a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it and behold the Lord stood above it and said I am the Lord God of Abraham my father and the son and the God of Isaac the land whereon now lies to thee will I give it and to thy seed and thy seed should be as the dust of the earth that shall spread aboard to the west to the east to the north and to the south and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed Luke 3 34 said he was the son of Jacob 12 prophecies of Christmas number three a son of Jacob to a son of Isaac and the seed of Abraham the fourth prophecy of Christmas comes from Genesis 49 now because Jacob had 12 sons didn't he in Genesis 49 Jacob prophesied to teach sorry to each of his 12 sons Genesis 49 and verse 8 he says this Judah thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies thy father's children shall bow down before thee Judah is a lion's whelp from the prey my son thou art gone up he stooped down he couched the lion as an old lion who shall rouse him up the scepter scepter is a staff of both a shepherd and a ruler shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come Shiloh is a name of a city but it means peaceful one was referred to Christ and unto him shall the gathering of the people be a revelation 5 5 out of 10 it says one the elder said unto me weep not behold the lion of the tribe of Judah the root of David has prevailed to open a book and to loose seven seals thereof clearly referring to Christ Luke 3 33 says he was the son of Judah 12 prophecies of Christmas number four son of Judah three a son of Jacob two a son of Isaac and the seed of Abraham for the fifth prophecy of Christmas okay jump forward to Isaiah 11 where we see the prophecy relate to the next person several generations on now there's a less obvious one of Obed in the book of Ruth but in Isaiah 11 we see this prophecy of the by now deceased Jesse Isaiah 11 chapter 11 sorry and verse 1 so Isaiah 11 and verse 1 book of Isaiah chapter 11 verse 1 says and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse this is Isaiah 11 1 and a branch shall grow out of his roots in the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes neither reprove after the hearing of his ears but with righteousness shall he judge the poor reprove with equity for the meek of the earth he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked a righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins of faithfulness the girdle of his reigns clearly referring to the Lord Jesus Christ yeah verse 10 then says verse 10 and in that day there shall be a root of Jesse which shall stand for an end the sign of the people to it shall the Gentile seek and his rest shall be glorious Luke 3 32 says he was the son of Jesse he was the son of Jesse so 12 prophecies of Christmas number five a son of Jesse for a son of Judah three a son of Jacob to a son of Isaac and the seed of Abraham so for the sixth prophecy of Christmas we go to a number of places but turn to Jeremiah 23 Jeremiah chapter 23 in Jeremiah 23 and verse 5 and I'm just working up an appetite here for Christmas you're thinking man it's a lot of Bible Tony well good okay it's good for you right Jeremiah 23 in verse 5 Jeremiah prophesies of Jesus coming it says in verse 5 Jeremiah 23 5 behold the days come saith the Lord that I will raise unto David a righteous branch and a king shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth in his days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this is his name whereby he shall be called the Lord our righteousness Romans 9 6 by the way says not as though the word of God has taken an effect for they're not all Israel which are of Israel the children of the promise of the ones that are saved by the way Jeremiah said that he was a right that the righteous branch sorry was raised unto David Luke 3 31 says he was the son of David 12 prophecies of Christmas number six a son of David five a son of Jesse for a son of Judah three a son of Jacob to a son of Isaac and the seed of Abraham now turn the mic of five but let's just pause for a minute okay we're halfway through now thank you okay that wasn't so bad brother and we're only 15 20 minutes in you're halfway through and let's just get an understanding of the impossibility of this okay from Abraham is one thing but to pinpoint each of these men in in in that line and fit to fit to all be fulfilled in one man you go well okay well there's a family line there yeah there's a family line with a guy that then not only lived a life with all these witnesses recording everything that happened in his life all these amazing things fulfilled all these other prophecies as well and then died on a cross and was seen of over 500 witnesses at once that he rose from the dead as well it's impossible okay it's completely impossible to pinpointed everyone in that line is impossible from Abraham is one thing well okay well he came from Abraham but to pinpoint each of these men in that line for all to be fulfilled can only be of God okay then now we're gonna see some more stuff in here okay because it gets even more unlikely because the prophecies of events surrounding his birth so Micah chapter 5 and verse 2 the prophet says this but thou Bethlehem afraid though thou be little among the thousand Judah yet out of these shall he come forth unto me there is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from old from everlasting one of the reasons we use the King James Bible in this church because it doesn't change Jesus Christ to have some sort of beginning okay he's from everlasting okay Jesus Christ is God and through his prophets 700 years before he came to earth he told us exactly where among the thousands of towns in Judah alone and turn to Luke 2 to see this prophecy fulfilled Luke chapter 2 you're going to turn to we just saw about Bethlehem afraid of thy there be little among the thousands of out of these shall he come forth unto me that is to be rule in Israel whose goings forth have been from of old from everlasting okay clearly referring to Jesus Christ Luke 2 and verse 4 says and Joseph also went up from Galilee this is Luke 2 for out of the city of Nazareth into Judea unto the city of David which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife being great with child and so it was that while they were there the days were accomplished that she should be delivered and she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn so 12 prophecies of Christmas number seven born in Bethlehem six the son of David five a son of Jersey for a son of Judah three a son of Jacob to a son of Isaac and the seed of Abraham okay turn to Isaiah 7 for another amazing prophecy 700 years earlier Isaiah chapter 7 Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 14 if you're just like getting a bit you know I don't even know where I'm turning next just look like you're turning somewhere that'll be good enough Isaiah 7 and verse 14 says therefore the Lord shall give you a sign behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel right go to Matthew this time in chapter 1 to see this one fulfilled we just read therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign behold a virgin shall conceive that is an amazing miracle isn't it and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel meaning God with us Matthew 1 and verse 18 says Matthew 1 18 says now the birth of Jesus Christ is on this wise when as his mother Mary was a spouse to Joseph before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Ghost then Joseph her husband being a just man and not willing to make her public example was minded to put her away privately but while he thought on these sings behold the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream saying Joseph thou son of David fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in hers of the Holy Ghost and she shall bring forth the Son and thou shall call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the sorry of the Lord by the Prophet saying behold a virgin shall be with child shall bring forth the Son and they shall call his name Immanuel which being interpreted is God with us then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife and knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn son he called his name Jesus clearly fulfilled there 12 prophecies of Christmas number eight born of a virgin seven born in Bethlehem six son of David five a son of Jesse four son of Judah three son of Jacob to a son of Isaac and the seed of Abraham now we're coming back to Matthew but go to Isaiah chapter 60 where there was a prophecy that required some wisdom to understand so Isaiah chapter 60 Isaiah chapter 60 we're gonna look from the beginning of that chapter from verse 1 Isaiah 60 in verse 1 Isaiah prophesies this he says arise shine Isaiah 60 verse 1 arise shine for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee for behold the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness of people but the Lord shall rise upon thee and his glory shall be seen upon thee and the Gentiles shall come to thy light and Kings to the brightness of thy rising now go back to Matthew and chapter 2 because there were some men that were wise enough to understand this it seemed you go back to Matthew and chapter 2 now and verse 1 says now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying where is he that is born king of the Jews for we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him Herod sends them off to find him then verse 9 says verse 9 when they had heard the king they departed lo the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy okay now they they somehow interpreted that for me that's where they got it from arise shine for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee they said his glory shall be seen upon thee and the Gentiles shall come to thy light and Kings to the brightness of thy rising which maybe is why many you know that's the hymn we three kings and people assume they were kings 12 prophecies of Christmas number line lit by a star eight born of a virgin seven born in Bethlehem six son of David five a son of Jesse for a son of Judah three a son of Jacob to a son of Isaac and the seed of Abraham right keep a finger in Matthew and go to Psalm 72 which has another prophecy of that first Christmas now Psalm 72 is a prophetic psalm written to Solomon yet also prophesying of Jesus Christ Solomon being a great picture of Jesus Christ in many ways his life okay so Psalm 72 book of Psalm Psalm chapter 72 and verse 1 says a psalm for Solomon give the king thy judgments I God and I righteousness unto the king's son he shall judge thy people with righteousness and thy poor with judgment the mountain shall bring peace to the people in the little hills by righteousness he shall judge the poor of the people he shall save the children of the needy and shall break in pieces the oppressor they shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure throughout all generations he shall come down like rain upon the mown grass and showers at water the earth in his days shall the righteous flourish and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth he shall have dominion also from sea to see him from the river and to the ends of the earth they that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him and his enemy shall lick the dust the kings of Tarshish and of the Isles shall bring presents the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts now though it was first fulfilled in Solomon you could also you could also argue maybe it will be filled later with the millennial reign as well Solomon's reign obviously pictures there this is also fulfilled I think in a first coming of Jesus Christ Tarshish being far west the Isles could be Far East maybe what we now know of as the Persian Gulf I'm not sure but either way Jesus Christ was brought presents he was offered gifts and these wise men were likely kings if we look at the last prophecy as well Matthew 2 and verse 11 Matthew 2 and verse 11 says and when they were coming to the house they saw the young child with Mary his mother and fell down and worshipped him and when they had opened their treasures they presented unto him gifts gold and frankincense and so 12 prophecies of Christmas number 10 number 10 sorry presents from afar 9 lit by a star 8 born of a virgin 7 born in Bethlehem 6 son of David 5 a son of Jesse 4 a son of Judah 3 a son of Jacob 2 a son of Isaac and the seed of Abraham right keep a finger there go to Hosea for the next one where the Prophet Hosea prophesies of Christ using an event in Israel's history okay so Hosea the book of Hosea and we're going to look from chapter 11 Hosea and chapter 11 Hosea 11 and from verse 1 Hosea level 1 says when Israel was a child then I loved him and called my son out of Egypt when Israel was a child then I loved and called my son out of Egypt now of course the young nation of Israel was called out of Egypt under Moses but then remember that Christ was a son of Jacob who became Israel go back to Matthew 2 with that in mind Matthew chapter 2 and verse 13 says Matthew 2 13 and when they were departed behold the angel of the Lord appearance to Joseph in a dream saying arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt and be thou there until I bring thee word for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him when he arose he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt and was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet saying out of Egypt have I called my son obviously referencing Hosea 11 where we just were 12 prophecies of Christmas number 11 called from Egypt 10 presents from afar 9 lit by a star 8 born of a virgin 7 born in Bethlehem 6 a son of David 5 a son of Jesse 4 a son of Judah 3 a son of Jacob 2 a son of Isaac and the seed of Abraham right keep a finger then go to Jeremiah 31 for a final prophecy of that first Christmas Jeremiah 31 in Jeremiah 31 in verse 15 Jeremiah prophesies of the worst events ran in Christ's birth okay this is a bad part now he says this in Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 15 Jeremiah 31 15 says us saith the Lord a voice was heard in Ramah lamentation and bitter weeping Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children because they were not now another way of saying that they had died okay children plural go back to Matthew 2 to see this fulfillment go back to Matthew chapter 2 and from verse 16 we read this Matthew 2 16 then Herod when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men was exceeding Roth and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof from two years old and under according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the Prophet saying in Ramah there was a voice heard lamentation and weeping and great mourning Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they're not now Rachel the mother of the Benjaminites and Ramah one of the cities of them in the coast of or surrounding Bethlehem so amongst all of these great prophecies being fulfilled there's this reminder isn't there that due to it being a momentous time in the world's history the haters of God were raging foaming at the mouth and they haven't stopped since really okay and that's a good reminder that with all that joy with that all those prophecies being fulfilled the birth of Christ there's still wicked people out there that hate Jesus Christ and hate his followers as well 12 prophecies of Christmas so number 12 morning lost children 11 called from Egypt 10 presents from afar 9 lit by a star 8 born of a virgin 7 born in Bethlehem 6 son of David 5 a son of Jesse 4 a son of Judah 3 a son of Jacob 2 a son of Isaac and the seed of Abraham okay now that's just concerning the first Christmas that's just the events surrounding the birth of Christ and of course look you're never gonna prove the Bible to unbelievers okay that's not how it works because the faith is what's first required to them proven isn't it okay you need to put your faith in Jesus Christ then when you have faith you see all these things which are just this is absolutely amazing but without that they'll just argue that oh well did that really mean that oh just forget that you know and I always just think I remember you know I always think of this conversation I once had years ago with this guy coach and and I've just been reading about worker ants being female and just you know something in my head and I've gone in in the morning I've just been reading and talk about it with my family I've gone to coach this guy and this guy was a scientist yeah nice enough fella I think he worked he did sort of pharmaceutical testing or something like this and you know he's quite proud of his sort of education and quite bright and you know that sort of guy we were chatting and I said oh something I was reading about earlier I said did you know that all worker ants are female I say it's funny because in the book of Proverbs it talks about you know look at the ant thy slugger to consider her weight you know and you know she being wise I said it just refers to as a female all these other places referring to you know using like the male as the kind of go-to and I said funny that because this was written you know sort of for a couple of thousand years ago you know three thousand odd years ago and his answer is this you think okay so how's he going to argue this one or was it was it I said well clearly it was it or did it get written then I don't think anyone would argue the book of Proverbs was written many thousand years ago well you never know change subject because it doesn't matter it doesn't matter how rational you think this person might be how logical he might be how might he might go wow that's amazing how did people thousand years ago how did Solomon know that work answer because it doesn't matter it doesn't mean like you're not gonna come and give a load of evidence to the unbeliever and they're gonna go you've solved it now I'm gonna get saved because there's a lot of people that believe theoretically the Bible and still won't get saved because they don't want to put their faith for the Savior because of pride or whatever other reason okay so it's not obviously we're not gonna prove it to him however with that in mind I hope everyone here is saved so turn the second Peter one and while you turn now I'm gonna read something that I found really interesting because you know there's some interesting stuff out there about the odds of these prophecies being fulfilled and I looked at a study done on the probability of the fulfillment of just a handful of these okay so the science of probability it attempts to determine a chance that a given event will occur now this this is the the article I'm going to read you about a professor at Westmont College okay he calculated the possibility of one man fulfilling the major prophecies made concerning the Messiah the estimates were worked out by twelve different classes see the twelves yeah it's not not me for this twelve stuff Catholic clerics robe in the back okay the the so the twelve major prophecies sorry twelve different classes represent some six hundred university students the students carefully weighed all the factors discussed each prophecy at length and examined the various circumstances which might indicate that men had conspired together to fulfill a particular prophecy they made their estimates conservative enough so there was finally unanimous agreement even among the most skeptical students however the professor then took their estimates and made them even more conservative he also encouraged other skeptics or scientists to make their own estimates to see if his conclusions were more than fair finally he submitted his figures for review to a committee of the American scientific affiliation okay upon examination they verify that his calculations were dependable and accurate in regard to the scientific material presented for example concerning Micah 5-2 where it states a Messiah would be born in Bethlehem the professor and his students determine the average population of Bethlehem from the time of Micah to the present then they divided it by the average population of the earth during the same time period okay so they try to work out the population there they concluded that the the chance of one man being born in Bethlehem was one in three hundred thousand okay is everyone following with me here yeah isn't you know you're not just sitting there going what is he on about okay so after examining only eight different prophecies eight they only did eight yeah and they conservatively estimated that the chance of one man fulfilling all eight prophecies was one in ten to the power of seventeen if anyone's going what's all this power stuff basically that's seventeen with ten zeros I don't even know how you say that number is it zillion that's got to be zillions isn't it that's that's not zillions okay though other scientists I noticed I'm mathematician okay so so to illustrate how large the number is ten to the you know ten in well ten to the power of seventeen sorry the professor gave this illustration okay if you mark one of ten tickets and place all the tickets in a hat thoroughly stir them and then ask a blindfolded man to draw one his chance of getting the right ticket is one in ten yeah pretty obvious right suppose that we take ten to the power of seventeen silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas let's go with like England I think it's similar anyway yeah they'll cover all the state two feet deep okay two feet deep now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly all over the state blindfolded man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes but he must pick up the one silver dollar that has a special mark on it what chance would he have of getting the right one probably similar to winning the lottery yes people still play it anyway just the same chance that the prophets would have had he says here of writing these eight just eight prophecies eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man from their day to the present time okay that's how unlikely it is and in financial terms is there anyone who would not invest in a financial venture if the chance of failure well were only one in ten to the power of seventeen it's the kind of sure investment were offered by God he says for faith in his Messiah so from these figures a professor concludes a fulfillment of these eight prophecies alone proves that God inspired the writing of the prophecies the likelihood of mere chance is only one in ten to the power 17 another way of saying this is that any person who minimizer ignores the significance of the biblical identifying signs concern the Messiah would be foolish but the fool have said in the heart that there is no God right let alone that the Lord Jesus Christ is God but of course there are many more than eight prophecies in another calculation of the professor used 48 prophecies even though you could have used so this guy Eda Shimes 456 I think this is kind of someone who seems to think for much study that there's 456 biblical prophecies it doesn't really matter when I mean 48 you're already getting beyond ridiculous yeah and arrived at the extremely conservative estimate that the probability of 48 prophecies being fulfilled in one person is the incredible number 10 to the power of 157 that's 157 zeros yeah how large is 10 to the power of 157 zeros well he then gives this illustration okay using electrons electrons very small logics are smaller than atoms it would take two and a half times 10 to the power 15 of them laid side by side to make one inch okay two and a half times that even if we counted 250 of these electrons each minute and counted day and night it would still take 19 million years just to count a line of electrons one inch long with this introduction let's go back to our chance of one in ten to the power of 157 let's suppose that we're taking this number of electrons marking one and thoroughly stirring it into the whole mass and blindfolded a man and let him try to find the right one what chances here of getting the find the right one what kind of a pile will this number of electrons make they making an inconceivably large volume and this is the result from considering a mere 48 prophecies and that's concerning his life yeah we just talked about 12 concerning his birth obviously the probability that 456 prophecies would be fulfilled in one man by chance is vastly smaller once one guy's passed he says one chance 10 to the power of 50 the probabilities are so small that is impossible to think that they could ever occur okay it's ridiculous off the scale it's completely off the scale as the professor concludes any man who rejects Christ as a son of God is rejecting a fact proved perhaps more absolutely than any other fact in the world I like this professor I want to be friends really that's cool he's got some long words as well but that's impressive isn't it yeah and that's the truth of it however you're not going to prove that to someone but it's nice for us isn't it just to remind ourselves of things like that you turn to 2nd Peter chapter 1 and verse 16 says this 2nd Peter 1 and verse 16 says for we have not and I know we've we've read this a couple of times recently in sermons second Peter 1 16 says for we have not followed cunningly devised fables you know that you haven't followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but what eyewitnesses of his majesty for he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased obviously referring to the Mount of Transfiguration however yeah he says this and this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in so he was up there Peter he heard this he saw this he says in verse 19 we have also a more sure word of prophecy it's the word of prophecy where unto you do well that you take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place till the day dawn and a day star arise in your hearts knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost and that's what it comes down to really isn't it because that none of these prophecies could have been fulfilled without it being holy men of God speak as they were moved by the Holy Ghost what we read and what we study and what we learn and what we preach is the inspired preserved Word of God and it was written by by holy men of God speaking as they were moved by the Holy Ghost so it's by faith that we say but it's nice to be reminded of how sure that hope is isn't it celebrate the birth of Christ with all its fulfilled prophecies a great time to do that we were talking earlier about different sort of you know so-called Christians and others that like think that Christmas is wicked and all this sort of stuff it's funny because there were a lot of prophecies about the birth of Christ yeah there were a lot of people that celebrated the birth of Christ in the Bible when there was the birth of Christ it what oh well we just wait you know 33 years you know nothing to see here wait till Easter you know look the birth of Christ important right the birth of Christ was a was a big event in the Bible a massive event in the Bible prophesied about from the Old Testament we've just looked at 12 of them okay and you know I'm sure we can find many more as well and that's why it's a good time to celebrate isn't it good time to celebrate and look if everyone else wants to celebrate Santa Claus they could do what they want but we're gonna celebrate Jesus Christ in the birth Jesus Christ 12 prophecies of Christmas 12 morning lost children 11 call from Egypt 10 presents from far nine lit by star eight born of a virgin seven born in Bethlehem six son of David five a son of Jesse four a son of Judah three a son of Jacob to a son of Isaac and the seed of Abraham on that let's pray heavenly father thank you for thank you for all that just just those you know for us just those faith strengtheners of all those amazing prophecies in the Bible all just that the you know all those amazing things that came true not just in the birth of Christ but in his life too all those events are prophesied many times before including his death and the events surrounding that Lord we thank you for that we thank you for this for this day that we're thinking about over 2,000 years ago now when you sent your son to Darnacross for us we thank you for all that that means to us we thank you for the gift of salvation we pray that you just help us to have a great time of fellowship now for those that are part in company to go and just you know have a great time thinking of you for those viewing online to be able to just have a great day thinking of you putting you in the center of it Lord and in Jesus name we pray all of this amen