What if God’s promises were conditional or unreliable, like marketing offers couched in fine print? The promise to send a Savior: “Well, maybe.” The promise to forgive sins: “That depends.” The promise to provide for daily needs: “If time allows.”
Thankfully, the promises of God are as absolute, infallible, and unchangeable as He is—the God Who speaks, and it is done (Psalm 33:9); Who sees the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10); and Who calls into being things that are not (Romans 4:17).
Prophecies are promises, too. And unlike human prophecies—from the vague predictions of the Oracle at Delphi to the one-size-fits-all divinations of the Daily Horoscope—the prophecies of God in Scripture are clear, not cloudy; vital, not vague; inevitable, not unreliable.
And God’s prophecies never fail. In fact, unfailing prophecies were the hallmark of a true prophet of God, as Moses explained in Deuteronomy 18:22, “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken.” (NKJ)
By some estimates, more than three hundred Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ. Centuries before Jesus was born, the Spirit of God painted a prophetic portrait of Him in the Old Testament Scriptures, a portrait stunning in its detail.
According to these prophecies, the Christ would be born of a virgin, Isaiah 7:14, in the small, don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it village of Bethlehem, Micah 5:2. He would be a descendant of Abraham, Genesis 12:3, and sit on the throne of David, Isaiah 9:7. He would minister in Galilee, Isaiah 9:2; teach in parables, Psalm 78:2; ride triumphantly into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey, Zechariah 9:9; and be betrayed for the paltry sum of thirty silver coins, Zechariah 11:12.
In offering Himself for the sins of humanity, the Christ would die the agonizing death of the cross; despised, rejected, forsaken by friends and mocked by enemies, His hands pierced, His body broken, His garments divided by the roll of dice, Psalm 22:6-8, 12-18. And this prophecy of Christ on the cross was given centuries before crucifixion was a public form of execution. Indeed, the very words spoken prophetically of the cross were spoken verbatim by Jesus while on the cross: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Psalm 22:1)
The Christ would die with malefactors and for malefactors, Isaiah 53:5,12; the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb, Isaiah 53:9; rise victoriously from the dead, Psalm 16:10; and ascend on high, leading captivity captive, Psalm 68:18.
And these are but a fraction of the Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in Christ—the fulfillment often heralded by such phrases as “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets,” (Matthew 2:23 NKJ), or “that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (John 17:12)
Yet the study of Biblical prophecies is not only fascinating, it is enormously comforting. Underlying each fulfillment—from the rise of kings to the fall of kingdoms, the Seed of the woman to the Seed of Abraham, the building of Jerusalem’s Temple to its destruction—these principles stand tall, true, and unbroken: God is faithful. God’s Word is true, accurate, and utterly reliable. God always fulfills His prophecies and keeps His promises. The proof lies in the manger of Bethlehem, in the bloody cross of Golgotha, and in the empty tomb of the garden.
As stated of Christ in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” (NKJV)
Promises made. Promises kept.
Centuries before Jesus was born, the Spirit of God painted a prophetic portrait of Him in the Old Testament Scriptures, a portrait stunning in its detail.
is a professor at Immanuel Lutheran College in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.