If God is real, then surely He would make a way for us to be sure of it. And indeed He has.
One of the biggest proofs of Christianity is all the prophecies in the Bible that have come true, especially those relating to Jesus. You see, for hundreds of years, the Jewish prophets had prophesied about a coming Messiah – a special person anointed by God to deliver us from our biggest problem. So in great detail they describe the birth, the life and death of this Messiah, so the Jews would know whom they were looking for. When Jesus lived on earth hundreds of years later, he fulfilled these prophecies. What is especially helpful is that we have proof that these prophecies were written long before Jesus walked the earth. You may have heard about the Dead Sea Scrolls. These are a collection of ancient manuscripts that were found in 1946 and the years following, but which date back to before the life of Jesus. And amongst the writings are these prophecies about Jesus. This proves that they were not written at a later date to try to support the story. Part of one of the ‘Dead Sea Scrolls’ found in Qumran. 6
Answer 2: The evidence for the truth of Christianity is that the Bible makes prophecies that come true.
So what are these prophecies? Let’s look first at an incredible one about the Messiah’s death: 1) About His sacrificial death Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would die for our sins: He was pierced for our rebellion; he was crushed for our sins; upon him was the punishment that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 This is so clearly describing Jesus’s death on the cross but what is incredible is that Isaiah wrote this about 700 years before Jesus. (You can read more of the prophecy with an explanation here.) Lets look at some more: Kind David, writing about 1000 years before Jesus, also described the crucifixion. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. 8 It’s interesting that David decribes the crucifixion, because when he was writing, crucifixion had not been invented. So how could he know that Jesus would be killed in this specific way unless he was told by God? (You can read more about it here.) Another Jewish prophet, Zechariah, writing about 520 BC also decribes the one whose body will be pierced and how he will be mourned. ‘They will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.’ 9 (I’m only quoting a few words each time but read the full prophecies via the links or in the Bible to see how they are packed with more incredible details.) iStockphoto/adamkaz
2) Popular amongst gentiles
Isaiah also said that he would become popular amongst Gentiles (non-Jews). For non-Jews to follow a Jewish Messiah was a very strange thing! And yet it has come true. That’s indisputable. 'And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him.' 36 3) About His life’s work Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would go about helping the downtrodden, the sick and the grieving, which all came true. He said that He was going to: ‘...preach good news to the poor; ...heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord... to comfort all who mourn. 15 Could there be a better description of the life of Jesus? 4) The ever-increasing rule of the Messiah
Isaiah also said that the Messiah’s rule would keep on increasing forever – and that has come true: the number of Christians has carried on increasing globally since the time he walked the earth. ‘Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.’ (Isaiah 9:6-7) 5) About the date of His appearance Daniel, another Jewish prophet describes the exact date in history when the Messiah will appear before being killed for the sake of the people. “From the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself.” 18 In ancient prophecy, a week meant 7 years. So here Daniel prophesies that from the command to restore Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah it will be 483 years. That was the prophecy and this is how it worked out: King Artaxerxes gave the decree to restore Jerusalem in 458 BC. Jesus was revealed as the Messiah in about 25 AD. So 458 + 25 = 483! Isn’t this just coincidence? Some people might dismiss these prophesies coming true as coincidence. But the fact that there are so many and that they are so accurate would seem to show it’s not a coincidence. Some people compare the writings of Nostradamus and say that he also predicted the future. But in his case, the writings were so vague that you could never be sure exactly to what he was referring. Others have pointed out that the cartoon The Simpsons seems to predict things that happen in the future. But the big difference is this: The Simpsons doesn’t ever claim to predict the future: just some things that happen in the Simpsons later happen in real life. Nor does The Simpsons claim to have any special significance. The prophecies about Jesus, however, are very numerous, very precise, are stated by a number of different prophets, were prophesied long in advance and claim to be the Word of God. The whole credibility of the Bible rests on these prophecies coming true, and they did. There are numerous other prophecies about Jesus in the Bible which we can’t fit into this short article, but more information about them can be found here. Additionally, I have only quoted a small part of each prophecy but the larger prophecies from which they come give even more detail. Please follow the links to read them online, or look them up in a Bible for yourself. There are also some prophecies about Jesus that will be fulfilled in the future when He returns to earth. So back to our question. #2 What is the evidence for the truth of Christianity? Answer 2: The evidence for the truth of Christianity is that the Bible makes prophecies that come true. |