PATH OF THE PROPHETS—OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY Y-JESUS APOLOGETICS MAGAZINE- ARTICLE EXCERPT There are many great apologetic books that you could leave with students if only they would read them. But they probably won’t. They might, however, skim through a magazine. So we compiled the most convincing apologetics for the existence of God and the best evidence for Jesus into two highly graphic magazines and had the designers of Relevant magazine make it look really cool. Y-Origins deals with proofs for the existence of God ranging from arguments from Intelligent Design to the nature of man (mind, aesthetics, morality, etc.). Y-Jesus presents the classic evidence for Christ including “Lord, Liar, Lunatic,” Evidence for the Resurrection, Claims to Deity, New Testament Reliability and Fulfillment of Prophecy. Y-JESUS ORDER ONLINE AT CRUPRESS.COM © 2010, CruPress, All Rights Reserved. CruPress.com w as th e MESS IAH’S NTITY E ID ENCRYP TED WITHIN ANC I E N T Heb r e w PROP H E C Y. 58 • ARTICLE FIVE • THE PATH LAID BY PROPHETS © 2010, CruPress, All Rights Reserved. CruPress.comTHE PATH LAID BY PROPHETS • ARTICLE FIVE • 59 Today, Frank Abagnale is sought after by So, could Jesus have been a fake Messiah, So consider a prophet’s dilemma: death if above this man until it covered the whole This is said to be about the death of Prin- governments and corporations as an expert fooling even the most noteworthy religion GO D’S MOUTH he was proved wrong and the possibility earth. According to Dixon, this child would cess Diana. (You were probably thinking on detecting forgery, embezzlement, and scholars? Is it possible he was groomed PIE CES of death if he was right. No true prophet be a descendant of the ancient Egyptian Margaret Thatcher.) Prophecies like this are document falsification. But between the by his parents or undisclosed mentors to wanted to offend God, and just as few Queen Nefertiti. 1 as nebulous as seeing images in clouds. Yet ages of 16 and 21, he was one of the world’s become the long-promised king that Israel The God of the Hebrews spoke to his people wanted to be sawn in half. Thus most some insist this is evidence of a Nostrada- most successful con artists. He cashed $2.5 had been looking for? through prophets, men and women who prophets waited until they were absolutely Where is this guy? Have you seen him? And mus prophecy fulfilled. Highly suspect, but million in fraudulent checks in all 50 states were especially attuned to God and who convinced that God had spoken, or else how about that lasting world peace—it’s difficult to disprove. and 26 foreign countries. He also success- In fact, if Jesus was an imposter, he would may or may not have been a part of the reli- they kept their mouths shut. Kings began nice, huh? fully passed himself off as an airline pilot, not be the first person in the history of gious establishment. Some of the prophets’ to shudder at their words. A true prophet’s And this is generally the track record of an attorney, a college professor, and a Israel to have lied about being the Mes- messages were for the present; others, for messages were never wrong. In fact, an exhaustive search of her predic- psychics. When “The People’s Almanac” re- pediatrician before being apprehended by siah. Through the centuries prior to Christ’s the future. Either way, their role was to pro- tion yields two indisputable facts. Her rate searched the predictions of 25 top psychics, the French police. birth, and afterward as well, many self-pro- claim God’s declarations and disclosures to Now here’s a question: how would the ac- of accuracy is equivalent to those guessing 92 percent of the predictions had proved claimed messiahs arose, only to be shown the people. curacy of these biblical prophets match up the future (about 11 percent, and her most wrong. The other 8 percent were question- If this story sounds familiar to you, it’s prob- to be cons or lunatics. with today’s psychics? publicized fulfillments were prophecies so able and could be explained by chance or ably because you watched the 2002 movie In general, being a prophet ranked up intentionally vague as any number of events general knowledge of circumstances. 4 In Catch Me If You Can, in which Abagnale Ancient Hebrew prophecies had clearly there with working at a meatpacking plant could have been hailed as fulfillments. other experiments with the world’s fore- PROPA HETS S was played by Leonardo DiCaprio (who predicted the reign of a future king who among the world’s most hazardous oc- PSY CHICS? most psychics, their rate of accuracy has passed himself off as an actor in Titanic). would bring peace to Israel and be their cupations. Even when they were telling the Even the widely publicized prophecies of been shown to hover around 11 percent, Savior. A sense of expectancy filled the truth, prophets might be killed or thrown To consider whether modern psychics’ ac- Nostradamus have frequently been proved which might not be a bad average except What would it take to top Abagnale’s land and captivated Jewish hopes and aspi- into prison by people who didn’t like what curacy approaches that of biblical prophets, wrong in spite of his vague oracles, which for the fact that people making random performance as a con man? Well, if Jesus rations. In such an atmosphere as Israel’s, they were saying. (Some kings hated let’s take Jean Dixon as a case study. This are difficult to disprove.2 For example, here guesses about the future score at the same Christ wasn’t the Messiah he claimed to could not someone less qualified have been hearing bad news.) According to historical American psychic seemed to have a special is one of the predictions of Nostradamus: percentile. This doesn’t disprove all future be, there would be no contest. We’re not pressed into, or conformed himself to fit, the accounts, the prophet Isaiah was sawn in ability to foretell events. But upon analysis telling, but it certainly explains why psy- talking about conning thousands, as in mold of Messiah? The answer to that ques- half. her reputation seems unwarranted. Takes the Goddess of the Moon, for chics aren’t winning the lottery. the case of Abagnale. If Jesus Christ was tion hangs on the Old Testament prophe- his Day & Movement: an imposter, his con job has changed the cies pointing to the Messiah. For instance, Dixon had a vision that on A frantic wanderer and witness of course of 2,000 years of history and influ- February 5, 1962, a child was born in the Gods Law, enced billions. Middle East who would transform the world In awakening the worlds great by the year 2000. This special man would regions to Gods will (Ones Will).3 create a one-world religion and bring last- ing world peace. She saw a cross growing 60 • ARTICLE FIVE • THE PATH LAID BY PROPHETS© 2010, CruPress, All Rights Reserved. CruPress.com THE PATH LAID BY PROPHETS • ARTICLE FIVE • 61 Today, Frank Abagnale is sought after by So, could Jesus have been a fake Messiah, So consider a prophet’s dilemma: death if above this man until it covered the whole This is said to be about the death of Prin- governments and corporations as an expert fooling even the most noteworthy religion GO D’S MOUTH he was proved wrong and the possibility earth. According to Dixon, this child would cess Diana. (You were probably thinking on detecting forgery, embezzlement, and scholars? Is it possible he was groomed PIE CES of death if he was right. No true prophet be a descendant of the ancient Egyptian Margaret Thatcher.) Prophecies like this are document falsification. But between the by his parents or undisclosed mentors to wanted to offend God, and just as few Queen Nefertiti. 1 as nebulous as seeing images in clouds. Yet ages of 16 and 21, he was one of the world’s become the long-promised king that Israel The God of the Hebrews spoke to his people wanted to be sawn in half. Thus most some insist this is evidence of a Nostrada- most successful con artists. He cashed $2.5 had been looking for? through prophets, men and women who prophets waited until they were absolutely Where is this guy? Have you seen him? And mus prophecy fulfilled. Highly suspect, but million in fraudulent checks in all 50 states were especially attuned to God and who convinced that God had spoken, or else how about that lasting world peace—it’s difficult to disprove. and 26 foreign countries. He also success- In fact, if Jesus was an imposter, he would may or may not have been a part of the reli- they kept their mouths shut. Kings began nice, huh? fully passed himself off as an airline pilot, not be the first person in the history of gious establishment. Some of the prophets’ to shudder at their words. A true prophet’s And this is generally the track record of an attorney, a college professor, and a Israel to have lied about being the Mes- messages were for the present; others, for messages were never wrong. In fact, an exhaustive search of her predic- psychics. When “The People’s Almanac” re- pediatrician before being apprehended by siah. Through the centuries prior to Christ’s the future.