I started with Matthew, read through to Revelation, then went back to the Old Testament. About the time I reached Zechariah, my doubts slipped away. I knew Jesus was God.
Thanks for the encouragement, Mary. I'm delighted to hear that at least one other person's journey has some similarity with my own! Sometimes you think you're the only one struggling with questions like these and trying to figure out things other people find elementary.
I appreciate the reference to Pilgrim's P
rogress. I haven't read it, but it's going to the top of the reading list!
Charles, I am 76 & went away for 27 years, returning at 46 when I read the Bible front to back (NIV, Edited in part by Philip Yancey) in 9 months. I made mental notes as I plowed through the OT (Cursed is any man that hangeth upon a tree, Deut.) as the Messianic prophesies (MP)were laid out. There are varying amounts of estimates of MPs, over 60, at least.
As a Detective who learned in my Forensic Science Masters, I learned the science and math behind the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) that was regional until the mid’’90s & National by ‘95 or so. The basis is a very large computer that operates on spacial relationships. The database is made-up of 10-print cards that are scanned into a massive memory. To query a single print, let’s say your right index digit as a Q (questioned print), an operator places that print which is projected onto a large screen that permits the operator to roll a circular curser over at least 11 unique artifacts. Each artifact over which the curser is placed has the operator push a “memorize” or “retain” button. They begin by “memorizing the “delta”, then the “ core.” From there, they capture ridge endings and bifurcations. Once 11 or more unique artifacts are captured from a single digit, the operator instructs the system to churn the Q digit’s spacial relationships against all the K (known) prints already loaded into the system. It takes a while and “hits” are identified with numerical scores. They begin by examining the highest resulting score Q print against the 10 print card submitted months or years earlier. The comparison is not scientific; it is the art of fingerprint comparison conducted by an expert.
What’s so important about the “11” artifact minimum? My professor explained that running a field to eleven variables in spacial relationship to each other creates a mathematic exponential that exceeds the population of the world - hence, an expert can testify and all judges accept that each of your fingerprints is unique in all the world. There is no duplicate.
Now back to Jesus and the Messianic Prophesies…that surely exceed 11. Well, He certainly was cursed when he hung upon that tree. He did ride into Jerusalem on a colt. He was called out of Egypt.
All of a sudden, we realize that the exponential of these prophesies could all be performed by just one man. Add to that, the time frame. For example, today or some future age: born to a virgin in Bethlehem, escaping to Egypt, coming from Egypt and Living his life in Nazareth, being tortured by Romans in Jerusalem, hung upon a tree at Mt. Moriah.
The quantity of specific prophesies, overlaid with the correct strata of ages, stone, iron, bronze, modern, post-modern tends to suggest that he has fulfilled them already as the Jews for Jesus hyperlink illustrates.
Thank you for sharing how you arrived at certainty for yourself. For each of us, our personal arrival is probably like an individual fingerprint. Blessings.
Blessings to you, Phil. Fascinating comments about the 11 points of comparison. Because the gospels contain so many references to prophecy, the writers (and God who inspired them) must have seen that fulfillment of these ancient predictions would be a key factor in persuading readers that Jesus is God. Isn't it amazing that so many people are inclined to doubt this, without actually having read the Bible all the way through? Kind of like a jury that goes into a trial with their mind made up, and doesn't bother to consider the evidence presented.
Thanks for the encouragement and for the insightful comments!
As a Chaplain, for serious skeptics who project a scientific demand for proof, I have asked some if they can listen as I provide mathematical proof. Once the say “yes, they will listen”, I illustrate a fingerprint with a pen while describing AFIS. When their sharp minds realize how “to the eleventh power” drives an exponential beyond the world’s population no one has ever presented a rebuttal. Moishe Rosen, founder of Jews for Jesus believed in 1953 after recognizing how the prophesies had been fulfilled. I have a Thomas Nelson KJV, large letter Bible that has a cookie-cutter Star in the margins alongside each Messianic Prophesy (beginning with Genesis 2, “ the serpent will bruise the heel of the seed of the woman, but the seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent.” In the Gospels, when Jesus is seen/touched following the resurrection the star is found in the margin, but is filled with solid black ink, no longer a prophesy. Blessings.
I have read many of your columns. This latest series has me waiting each week for the next installment!
I love hearing how God has led you and spoken to you, comparing it to my own journey. Listening to your stories reminds me of the section in Pilgrim’s Progress where Faithful and Christian begin to share their experiences on the path, both encouraging and learning from each other.
Thanks for the encouragement, Mary. I'm delighted to hear that at least one other person's journey has some similarity with my own! Sometimes you think you're the only one struggling with questions like these and trying to figure out things other people find elementary.
I appreciate the reference to Pilgrim's P
rogress. I haven't read it, but it's going to the top of the reading list!
Charles, I am 76 & went away for 27 years, returning at 46 when I read the Bible front to back (NIV, Edited in part by Philip Yancey) in 9 months. I made mental notes as I plowed through the OT (Cursed is any man that hangeth upon a tree, Deut.) as the Messianic prophesies (MP)were laid out. There are varying amounts of estimates of MPs, over 60, at least.
As a Detective who learned in my Forensic Science Masters, I learned the science and math behind the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) that was regional until the mid’’90s & National by ‘95 or so. The basis is a very large computer that operates on spacial relationships. The database is made-up of 10-print cards that are scanned into a massive memory. To query a single print, let’s say your right index digit as a Q (questioned print), an operator places that print which is projected onto a large screen that permits the operator to roll a circular curser over at least 11 unique artifacts. Each artifact over which the curser is placed has the operator push a “memorize” or “retain” button. They begin by “memorizing the “delta”, then the “ core.” From there, they capture ridge endings and bifurcations. Once 11 or more unique artifacts are captured from a single digit, the operator instructs the system to churn the Q digit’s spacial relationships against all the K (known) prints already loaded into the system. It takes a while and “hits” are identified with numerical scores. They begin by examining the highest resulting score Q print against the 10 print card submitted months or years earlier. The comparison is not scientific; it is the art of fingerprint comparison conducted by an expert.
What’s so important about the “11” artifact minimum? My professor explained that running a field to eleven variables in spacial relationship to each other creates a mathematic exponential that exceeds the population of the world - hence, an expert can testify and all judges accept that each of your fingerprints is unique in all the world. There is no duplicate.
Now back to Jesus and the Messianic Prophesies…that surely exceed 11. Well, He certainly was cursed when he hung upon that tree. He did ride into Jerusalem on a colt. He was called out of Egypt.
Try this:
https://jewsforjesus.org/learn/top-40-most-helpful-messianic-prophecies
All of a sudden, we realize that the exponential of these prophesies could all be performed by just one man. Add to that, the time frame. For example, today or some future age: born to a virgin in Bethlehem, escaping to Egypt, coming from Egypt and Living his life in Nazareth, being tortured by Romans in Jerusalem, hung upon a tree at Mt. Moriah.
The quantity of specific prophesies, overlaid with the correct strata of ages, stone, iron, bronze, modern, post-modern tends to suggest that he has fulfilled them already as the Jews for Jesus hyperlink illustrates.
Thank you for sharing how you arrived at certainty for yourself. For each of us, our personal arrival is probably like an individual fingerprint. Blessings.
Blessings to you, Phil. Fascinating comments about the 11 points of comparison. Because the gospels contain so many references to prophecy, the writers (and God who inspired them) must have seen that fulfillment of these ancient predictions would be a key factor in persuading readers that Jesus is God. Isn't it amazing that so many people are inclined to doubt this, without actually having read the Bible all the way through? Kind of like a jury that goes into a trial with their mind made up, and doesn't bother to consider the evidence presented.
Thanks for the encouragement and for the insightful comments!
As a Chaplain, for serious skeptics who project a scientific demand for proof, I have asked some if they can listen as I provide mathematical proof. Once the say “yes, they will listen”, I illustrate a fingerprint with a pen while describing AFIS. When their sharp minds realize how “to the eleventh power” drives an exponential beyond the world’s population no one has ever presented a rebuttal. Moishe Rosen, founder of Jews for Jesus believed in 1953 after recognizing how the prophesies had been fulfilled. I have a Thomas Nelson KJV, large letter Bible that has a cookie-cutter Star in the margins alongside each Messianic Prophesy (beginning with Genesis 2, “ the serpent will bruise the heel of the seed of the woman, but the seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent.” In the Gospels, when Jesus is seen/touched following the resurrection the star is found in the margin, but is filled with solid black ink, no longer a prophesy. Blessings.
Charles,
I have read many of your columns. This latest series has me waiting each week for the next installment!
I love hearing how God has led you and spoken to you, comparing it to my own journey. Listening to your stories reminds me of the section in Pilgrim’s Progress where Faithful and Christian begin to share their experiences on the path, both encouraging and learning from each other.
Thank you for sharing.