CHAPTER 4:
INTRODUCTION to the PROOFS

Thus far in this book, I have made certain assertions regarding the interpretation and purpose of prophecies, but I have not yet supported these assertions with scriptural evidence. This chapter and the following three will provide that evidence. Following these, we will direct our attention in stages to a subject of greater importance: the implications for the Second Coming (15:2)

The principles, which I have introduced, can be summed up as follows: (1) Prophecies must first be fulfilled for their meaning to be understood. (2) One must already believe in Christ to understand the prophecies referring to Him, and therefore (3) Prophecies are not given to lead one to the Christ. (4) The purpose of prophecies is to confirm the faith of those who already believe. (15:3)

I have numbered these principles here for clarity only, and don't really think of them as having any particular order, or really as being distinct things. The above four statements can just as easily be thought of in this way: Prophecies are given to us by a loving God to strengthen our belief in Him. We cannot understand their full meaning until He, Himself, reveals it to us (15:4)

These principles, the truth of which I proceed to demonstrate in these four chapters, have not come to me through years of research or deep thinking, or actually from any effort whatsoever on my part; they were given to me. I was told these principles by my sister, Jeanne (15:5)

About twenty years ago, I had a conversation with her, in which, as I recall, she said something like this: "You know, prophecies can only be understood after they have been fulfilled, and only by those who already believe. They are given to confirm the faith of the believer." All that I have written so far has merely been an elaboration of what she stated on that day (15:6)

From the instant she expressed her intuition on this subject I have never had any doubt as to its truth; it seemed to fit with everything I knew. And since that time, everything I have read or seen or heard regarding prophecies has confirmed her intuition (15:7)

Since I know that many people will accept these principles in the same manner that I did, simply by having it stated explicitly, and because it is much more interesting to get straight to the point, I did not begin this book with proof. However, because these principles are new to many people and, as mentioned earlier, may seem "backwards", I here offer the proof that they do indeed hold true under the scrutiny of scripture (15:8)

The proof will be presented here in four parts: The remainder of this chapter introduces our investigation of the proofs and briefly introduces some implications for the Second Coming. Chapter five presents a compilation of prophetic references to Christ from the Old Testament. Chapter six looks at the fulfillment of some of these prophetic references, and discusses their significance. Chapter seven concludes the presentation on proof with a look at three situations of special relevance to prophecy that are related in the New Testament (16:1)

Chapters five and six are "working" chapters, of sorts, as they ask you to consider intently a number of prophecies. Since for some of you who would rather move past the proofs on to the implications for the Second Coming, spending too much time regarding the proofs might seem to be a digression, you are given the option in the introduction of these two chapters, to read only the beginning of the chapter to get a feel for its content, and then move on, returning later to the material, if you wish. Hopefully, in this way, proceeding at your own pace, you'll find answers to the extent you have questions (16:2)

WHICH Verses Constitute Prophecies?-
Several years ago, I purchased a reference Bible and found the following note in the first few pages: (16:3)

A star immediately following a verse in the Old Testament indicates that in the concurrent opinion of many scholars and theologians, the verse embodies a prophetic reference to Christ (16:4)

In this particular Bible, almost two hundred verses were thus identified by these stars. Other Bibles, and other references cite more than this. There are arguably many hundreds, some say thousands, of verses in the Old Testament which refer in some way or another to Christ. After all, the Old Testament contains more than twenty three thousand verses, and it would seem rather strange, given the station of Christ, that only a few hundred verses would refer to Him. When we consider the role that God's Son has played and will play in the redemption of mankind, we could assert that the Old Testament in its entirety was written as a prelude to and prediction of the Coming of Christ (16:5)

We could, therefore, make a study of the Old Testament as a whole to demonstrate the purpose of prophecy. However, of these thousands of verses, certain ones stand out as having been especially inspired to announce, describe, and praise the Christ. Since these prophecies include what must be considered the most outstanding references to the Coming Christ, we will choose these as our basis of investigation. Although our compilation of prophetic references will not be exhaustive, it will demonstrate certain principles stated above (16:6)

Certainly, people may disagree on some of the verses chosen to receive stars - on the one hand considering some verses as not referring to Christ, and on the other, questioning why certain other verses were not included. My purpose, however, is not to justify why these verses are considered prophetic references to Christ. The fact that many scholars and theologians, and, I believe, Christians in general, through their research of both the Old and New Testaments feel that they are prophetic references, is sufficient for me. My purpose is rather to demonstrate that within the generally accepted body of prophecy and the record of its fulfillment, there are implied principles that until now have been overlooked (16:7)

A Word About Prophecy-
Reading through the Old Testament, and coming upon the verses recognized as references to the future Christ, can be at times quite puzzling. These verses contain some of the most beautiful, poetic, and meaningful descriptions of Christ and His life found in the Bible. But a single reading through these verses should convince anyone of the virtual impossibility of understanding from them the manner of Christ's First Coming. Although, in retrospect, the accuracy and depth of understanding of the Old Testament references to Christ are truly astonishing, nevertheless, at that time, these verses simply did not present in any way a clear image of how Christ would come. This, I feel, is not a small thing (17:1)

Consider: even after 2000 years of research by Christian scholars and theologians - those who have recognized Christ and are therefore in a position to understand properly the meaning of the prophecies referring to Him - these verses, which we recognize as referring to Christ, still do not present a picture which someone could have followed in order to find Him. Not only do these references present rather universal descriptions of Christ with very little detail, but the references appear both confusing and contradictory in their meaning (17:2)

The prophetic verses appear confusing for a variety of reasons. First of all, many of the verses simply do not "look" like prophecies, but simply seem to be stating something, and how would one distinguish one of these statements from thousands and thousands of other statements in scripture? Many references speak in the past tense as if referring to events that have already happened with no clue that they were referring to the future. Many of the verses which are clearly references to the future, use such mysterious symbolism that there would be no way to figure out what in the world they mean. And some seem to refer to the writer rather than to someone else (17:3)

The prophetic references, moreover, appear to be as contradictory as they are confusing. Thus, Christ is portrayed as both the "desire of all nations" , whom the people shall praise "for ever and ever" , and before whom "all kings shall fall down" , while at the same time He is "a reproach of men", and "despised of the people" . He is both "leader and commander" , "ruler in Israel" , and "The mighty God" , while being "smitten", "afflicted" , and spat upon . He is "fairer than the children of men" , yet possesses neither "beauty" nor "comeliness" ; He is the "Holy One of Israel" , and a "worm" (17:4)

It is certain that many of the above references, especially the ones referring to Christ's lowliness and suffering, would not have been considered references to the Messiah at all until after Christ's Coming. Of course, now the references to Christ can be reconciled and understood in the light of the New Testament. The fact that He is the "desire of all nations" does not, in our minds, preclude the fact that he was also "despised of the people". But, before the coming of Christ, this could simply not be imagined. For those living before Christ, there would be no way of understanding how the different references to the Messiah that we now recognize - references to both His transcendent glory and dominion, and also to His humiliation and suffering - could be reconciled. Therefore only references to the Christ that seemed to harmonize with others would be kept in the body of prophecy. And with clear references to the greatness of their coming Messiah and Saviour, and no clear references otherwise, any verse which seemed to run counter to that image, would no doubt have been understood as referring to someone else. This seems to be confirmed by the fact that all accounts in the New Testament seem to indicate that in the thinking of the time, the Messiah was to triumph, both spiritually and physically. A suffering Messiah, despite the fact that there were many references that He would suffer, was not imagined. God had warned of His suffering, but no one understood (18:1)

The prophecies about the sufferings, lowliness, and humility of Christ were thus not even recognized to be prophecies by the people, so they could hardly have served as guides to the recognition of Christ (18:2)

Having the Benefit of Living After Christ-
Having the benefit of living after Christ and believing in Him, we can now go back and see what verses refer to Him. Now we can see that Christ's suffering and crucifixion were destined to be, and that His great sacrifice was the symbol of His glory. But before Christ, the scripture contained no stars, and the people were "on their own" (18:3)

Prophetic references from the Old Testament clearly demonstrate that God has revealed many prophecies which not only cannot be understood until after fulfillment, but which cannot even be recognized as being prophecies until after they have been fulfilled (18:4)

This is no small thing, for it then follows, that there may be verses in the Bible which refer to Christ's Second Coming, which have not yet been recognized as prophecies. And, as in the case of His First Coming, is it not possible, that these prophecies describe aspects of His Coming that are as yet unsuspected? And again, as in the case of His First Coming, could not the verses which have been recognized as prophecies give a picture to people that they might cling to so stubbornly that it would prove a barrier to their recognizing Christ at His Second Coming? (18:5)

In other words, the same mistakes that were made in failing to recognize Christ at His First Coming may easily be made at His Second Coming. Indeed, unless we learn from the errors in judgment, the presumption, and claims to omniscience that prevented people from recognizing Jesus as the Christ, won't we surely fail to recognize Him at His Second Coming, and for similar reasons? (19:1)

In order to prevent the consequences of such a terrible misjudgment, we should reflect, deeply reflect, on that which separated those who believed, from those who did not believe, that Jesus was the Christ (19:2)

Remember, people in the first century had no stars in their scriptures to designate the prophetic references, nor any sure guide by which to interpret them. Why did some believe and others reject the Christ? This we will need to understand and ponder (19:3)

What Was the Determining Factor?-
From the evidence in the New Testament, what do we find was the determining factor that separated those who believed, from those who didn't? Was it knowledge of the prophecies? Did those who had knowledge of the prophecies accept Him, and those who didn't have knowledge reject Him? No. Was it knowledge of the sacred scripture as a whole? Did the religious doctors of His age accept him, while the unlearned rejected Him? No. Was it adhering to the laws of the Old Testament? Did those who observed strictly their sacred laws follow Him, while others rejected Him? No. Was it seeing Him? Was it hearing His words? Was it witnessing Him perform miracles? No (19:4)

The determining factor was this: Those who manifested humility and purity of heart, accepted Him; those who didn't, rejected Him. At the time of Christ, knowledge of the prophecies was beside the point, so to speak. Salvation was gained through humble acceptance of the will of God as manifested through the words and actions of Christ, and not through knowledge of the prophecies (19:5)

Through Christ's coming, the people were tested. The humble and pure in heart were separated from the proud and hypocritical even as the "wheat" is separated from the "tares" . People were not separated according to their knowledge, their religious practices, their rank in life, or the particular circumstances in which they happened to be. They were separated according to the condition of their hearts (19:6)

If God had wanted us to know how the Christ would come in order that we could have easily recognize Him, He could have given us, in simple language, the year, the place, His name, a description of His life with all the details that would distinguish Him from others, and then stated that this prophecy was to be taken literally (19:7)

Obviously, it was not ours to know these things (19:8)

End of Quote

1st Coming - Understanding Prophecy
D. Yamartino