Bible 7 Treasures: Is Jesus The Savior Of The World?

Hello friends! The following Bible Treasure deals with our Lord Jesus Christ Being The Messiah :)
The following is a very extensive subject, due to The Fact that there's a lot of evidence for our Lord Jesus Christ Being The Son Of God.
If you are looking for Truth, the following information will help you Find Him ^_____^

I will be showing you evidence i have gathered
(Please read the whole page for mind blowing evidence :D)

***Warning***

While reading this subject, the devil will try to distract you one way or another to keep you from reading and digesting what is written here.
The following is The Most Important Content i have EVER shared with anyone in my entire life, So please make an effort to read the whole page, even bit by bit, day by day. Just get through it! :)

May The Lord Jesus Christ Bless you :D

I would also like to share with you another website i have made, which contains Biblical Evidence ^____^

http://bible7evidence.blogspot.com/

This Website Has Lots of Biblical Evidence Regarding our Lord Jesus Christ that i have not published here.
It also contains information on the current End Times.
This information could be helpful in case you do not currently believe in The Lord Jesus Christ.
I'll share the link here:

http://bible7evidence.blogspot.com/2014/09/revelations-apocalipse.html

Aspects of occultism are examined on the End Times information i have shared above; So Please pray for protection before looking. (If you don't count with much time, you can scroll down and just see the pictures.)

After seeing the evidence presented on the link above you will know about the satanic forces which control the world we live in, and therefore you will see one end of the spectrum (The dark end)
The Other End Is Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord (The Truth, The Light)

Matthew 16:13-28

13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

BIBLE 7 TREASURE

Our Lord Jesus Christ Took the form of a human in order to save humankind from the wages of sin (Death)
Jesus Was A Man Who Committed no sin, He never uttered a lie, He never made a wrong choice, He Loved more than any of us can, and He Was brutally murdered in cold blood (Sacrificed) so that you and i can be cleansed of our sins and receive Everlasting Life In Him.
This Gift Is of unimaginable epic proportions, and we will not fully understand this until we Live With Him, In His Kingdom

Jesus Tells us that He Is The Christ, The Son Of God (The Messiah) His Testimony is more than enough evidence that He Is The Son Of God, however i will show you more evidence that He Is Indeed The Son Of God :D

Let's first start with Balaam's Prophecy Of Jesus Christ Coming to earth

Numbers 24:17-19

17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.

The above prophecy was made a couple of centuries before Jesus Christ Was Born.
I will present to you 10 Reasons Why God's Word Is True and then i will present evidence of Balaam, the man who prophesied Jesus Christ's Coming to earth so long ago.

Manuscript Evidence. There are way more copies of the biblical manuscripts, with remarkable consistency between them, than there are for any of the classics like Plato, Aristotle and Socrates. "There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament." F.F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?
Archaeological Evidence. Again and again archaeological discoveries have verified the accuracy of the historical and cultural references in the Bible. The more they dig, the more it confirms the Bible. “It is important to note that Near Eastern archaeology has demonstrated the historical and geographical reliability of the Bible in many important areas.” E.M. Blaiklock, The New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology.
Eyewitness Accounts. The Bible was written by people who witnessed the events it describes; many were persecuted or martyred but never changed their story. Would you die for something you knew was untrue? “It is no moderate approbation of Scripture that it has been sealed by the blood of so many witnesses, especially when we reflect that they died to render testimony to the faith …with a firm and constant, yet sober, zeal toward God.” John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion.
Corroborating Accounts. There are plenty of references in non-biblical sources to the events described in the Bible. The Jewish historian Josephus, born in 37 AD, “provide(s) indispensable background material for the student of…New Testament history. In them, we meet many figures well known to us from the New Testament. Some of his writings provide direct commentary on New Testament references.” J.D. Douglas, ed., The New Bible Dictionary.
Literary Consistency. The Bible contains 66 books written over 1,500 years by 40 different writers but it tells one "big story" of God's plan of salvation that culminated in Jesus Christ. You can't even pass a secret around a circle of 12 people and get the same message at the end. “There is indeed a wide variety of human authors and themes (in the Bible). Yet behind these…there lies a single divine author with a single unifying theme.” John R.W. Stott, Understanding the Bible.
Prophetic Consistency. There are over 300 specific prophecies in the Old Testament that are fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. “The very dimension of the sheer fulfillment of prophecy of the Old Testament Scriptures should be enough to convince anyone that we are dealing with a supernatural piece of literature….God has himself planted within the scriptures an internal consistency that bears witness that this is his Word.” R.C. Sproul, Now That’s a Good Question.
Expert Scrutiny. The early church had extremely high standards for what books were judged to be authentic and therefore included in the Bible. A book had to have been written by an Apostle or someone in their immediate circle, had to conform to basic Christian faith and had to be in widespread use among many churches. This was a careful process of “the people of God in many different places, coming to recognize what other believers elsewhere found to be true”; these writings were truly God’s word. G.J. Wenham, J.A. Motyer, D.A. Carson and R.T. France, The New Bible Commentary.
Leader Acceptance. A majority of the greatest leaders and thinkers in history have affirmed the truth and impact of the Bible. "I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong.” Abraham Lincoln.
Global Influence. The Bible has had a greater influence on the laws, art, ethics, music and literature of world civilization than any other book in history. Can you think of one that even comes close? “Christianity”, as set forth in the Bible “is responsible for a disproportionately large number of the humanitarian advances in the history of civilization—in education, medicine, law, the fine arts, working for human rights and even in the natural sciences….” Craig L. Blomberg, in Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith.
Changed Lives. From St. Augustine to Martin Luther to Joni Eareckson Tada to countless everyday men, women and children, the words of the Bible have transformed lives unmistakably and forever. “As unnamed masses of Christians down through the ages have shown us, the Bible is the most reliable place to turn for finding the key to a life of love and good works.” T.M. Moore, The Case for the Bible.

Balaam son of Beor

It is probably one of the greatest finds of all time and, by the bizarre rules of biblical archeology, it’s also one of the least reported. Basically, in 1967, in Deir Alla, Jordan,

Dutch archeologists discovered some kind of pagan house of worship or seminary. On its walls, there was a 2,800-year-old inscription in black ink. Key phrases are highlighted in red ink and the whole writing is framed in red. First of all, this is the oldest Aramaic inscription ever found. But if that’s not enough to make it a world-headline, the inscription is 600-800 years older than the Dead-Sea Scrolls. And if that’s not enough to merit international attention, the inscription mentions a prophet, or “seer”, named “Balaam son of Beor”. This is the exact name mentioned in the Torah/Bible (Numbers 22:2–24:25). This is the only instance where a specific individual mentioned in the story of the biblical Exodus can be pointed to in archeology. So who is Balaam, and where is this inscription now?

Deir Alla Inscription: Perfect Match Between Archeology & the Bible

Balaam is the bad guy of the Torah. He is the Darth Vader of the biblical Exodus. According to the Talmud, Balaam had the potential to be Moses, but he turned to the dark side (Av. Zar. 4a–b; Sanh. 105b; Avot 5:19). In a famous incident, as the Israelites are about to enter the promised land, Balak King of Moab asks Balaam to curse the children of Israel. Balaam is unable to do so. The Talmud explains that he looked at the Israelite tents and saw an amazing thing. The tents were rotated so that people could not see into each other’s bedrooms, so to speak. At that point, Balaam realized that the only way to weaken Israel was to corrupt them through sex.

According to the biblical narrative, Balaam was in charge of sex priestesses made up of Moabite and Midianite women. These women successfully seduced the Israelites in an orgy of sex and idolatry (Numbers 31:8, 16). 24,000 Israelite men were punished by God with death. At one point, the Israelite prince, Zimri son of Salu, publically fornicated with a Midianite princess named Cozbi, daughter of Zur, in the name of some kind of fertility rite. Apparently, these rituals were drawing big crowds until Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the High Priest (brother of Moses), picked up a spear and killed Zimri and Cozbi with one thrust while they were, so to speak, thrusting. This act ended Balaam’s attempt to subvert Israel through pagan sex (Numbers 25; 6-15). According to the book of Joshua, Joshua took revenge by killing Balaam during the Israelite conquest of Canaan (Joshua, 13:22).

Digging at Deir Alla

So… back to the Deir Alla inscription. The amazing thing is that it is found on the border of ancient Israel, exactly where you would expect to find it given the biblical narrative. The people writing it are Balaam’s people. Meaning, for them he’s a hero, not a villain. So we’re getting the opposition point of view. They refer to him, just as in the Torah, as “Balaam Son of Beor”. Meaning, there is a letter-perfect synchronicity between the archeology and the Bible. But it gets better. According to the Torah, Balaam does have prophetic powers. According to the inscription, he is a prophet. According to the Torah, he gets his visions at night. According to the inscription, he gets his visions at night. According to the Torah, he worships false gods, but also dialogues with the God of Israel. According to the Deir Alla inscription, Balaam speaks to the “gods” and to “El” i.e., the God of Israel. But more than this, Balaam seems to be devoted to a goddess of fertility. Lest anyone think that the orgy episode in the Torah is exaggerated, the Deir Alla inscription refers to a “girl” or priestess who is “used” for the purpose of making one “saturated with love” (Combination 2, ii 4). It talks about God himself being “satisfied” with love making (Combination 2, ii 6).

So here you have a perfect synchronicity between the story in the Bible and the story that archeologists have discovered in a pagan temple in Jordan. But except for a few scholars, very few people have even heard of this discovery. More than this, the inscription has been removed from Deir Alla and put in drawers – I’m not kidding, drawers – in the Archeological Museum of Amman, capital of Jordan. Meaning, you could be standing right next to the greatest archeological match to the Bible and not know it.

The Deir Alla Inscription: Drawers Removed

The ultimate irony: in the Archeological Museum of Amman, they have a fragment of the Dead-Sea Scrolls. It is a quote from the Bible – the story of Balaam! So the amazing thing is that about 20 feet from each other are the Deir Alla inscription and the Dead-Sea Scroll, both quoting the exact same story – and both matching the Bible perfectly.

Isn’t it incredible? You don’t have to go into the realm of “DaVinci Code” style fiction to discover biblical cover-ups. They’re happening as I write – and it’s not fiction, it’s all too real.

Source: http://www.simchajtv.com/prophets-sex-archeology/

The above verifies that there was indeed a man named Balaam, who was a prophet, who talked To God :)
It is safe to say that everything written about this man on The Holy Bible Is Accurate, including The Prophecy (Which came true, as it was Given By God)
This prophecy links us Straight To The Messiah, The Star Which Came out of Jacob; Jesus Christ.

Matthew 1:1-16

1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;
10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Now let's look at Non-Biblical References Of our Lord Jesus Christ :D (The following references prove The Existence of our Lord Jesus Christ , this can be helpful to those who doubt that He Walked on earth :D)

*The following are 100% authentic ^____^*

Non-Christian References to the Trial of Jesus

If the only references to the trial of Jesus came from Christian sources, there might be reason to wonder if such a trial ever took place--or indeed, even if Jesus ever existed. Fortunately, there are a few important surviving references to the trial of Jesus in non-Christian writings. One comes from Publius Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman historian who was hostile to the Christian movement. Other references can be found in the writings of Josephus, a Jewish historian, the Talmud, and Mara bar Serapion, a Syrian prisoner. Each of these references confirms three central facts: that there was a leader of a movement called Jesus (or Christ), that Jesus was executed, and that the movement that Jesus was part of survived his death. Jesus, however, is variously portrayed in these writings as a troublemaker (Tacitus), a teacher (Josephus), a sorcerer or magician (Talmud), and a wise king (Serapion).

Tacitus (55-115 C.E.)
The Annals, XV: 44
Tacitus was a member of the Roman consular nobility committed to the senatorial ideals of the Roman republic. He detested both Christians and Jews.Tacitus wrote of the fire that consumed much of Rome in 64 C.E. during the reign of Nero and the chaos which followed the fire. Then Tacitus reported that Nero fixed blame for the disaster on Christians:
Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace.Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, and the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed by the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed.

Flavius Josephus (born 37 C.E.)
Antiquities 17.3.3. (81-96 C.E.)
Josephus was an aristocratic Jewish historian. The Sanhedrin placed Josephus in command of Galilee during the uprising against the Romans. He later settled in Rome following Nero's persecution of the Christians. The major purpose of his writings seems to have been to commend Judaism to Romans. A pharisee of priestly descent, Josephus wrote critically of the Zealots, who he blamed for the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Christian scribes edited the writings of Josephus, probably adding references that surfaced in some versions to the performance of miracles by Jesus and to the ascension of Jesus three days after his death. Historians reconstructing the account of Josephus generally omit those references as interpolated. Josephus makes two references to Jesus. In one reference, he refers to the stoning to death of James in 62 C.E., calling James "the brother of Jesus who is called Christ." The other, more significant reference to Jesus follows:
About the same time there lived Jesus, a wise man for he was a performer of marvelous feats and a teacher of such men who received the truth with pleasure. He attracted many Jews and many Greeks. He was the Christ. When Pilate sentenced him to die on the cross, having been urged to do so by the noblest of our citizens; but those who loved him at the first did not give up their affection for him. And the tribe of the Christians, who are named after him, have not disappeared to this day.

Letter from Mara bar Serapion to his son (73-180 C.E.)
Quoted by F.F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Relaible? (Eerdmans Fifth Ed.)
Mara bar Serapion was a Syrian prisoner to wrote a letter to his son in 73 C.E. or later that has survived. The letter exhorts his son to seek wisdom.
What advantage did the Athenians gain from putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as a judgment for their crime. What advantage did the men of Samos gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise king? It was just after that that their kingdom was abolished. God justly avenged these three wise men: the Athenians died of hunger; the Samians were overwhelmed by the sea; the Jews, ruined and driven from their land, live in complete dispersion. But Socrates did not die for good; he lived on in the teaching of Plato. Pythagoras did not die for good; he lived on in the statue of Hera. Nor did the wise king die for good; he lived on in the teaching which he had given.

Source: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/jesus/nonchristianaccounts.html

Pliny the Younger

Another important source of evidence about Jesus and early Christianity can be found in the letters of Pliny the Younger to Emperor Trajan. Pliny was the Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor. In one of his letters, dated around A.D. 112, he asks Trajan's advice about the appropriate way to conduct legal proceedings against those accused of being Christians.{8} Pliny says that he needed to consult the emperor about this issue because a great multitude of every age, class, and sex stood accused of Christianity.{9}

At one point in his letter, Pliny relates some of the information he has learned about these Christians:

They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food--but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.{10}

This passage provides us with a number of interesting insights into the beliefs and practices of early Christians. First, we see that Christians regularly met on a certain fixed day for worship. Second, their worship was directed to Christ, demonstrating that they firmly believed in His divinity. Furthermore, one scholar interprets Pliny's statement that hymns were sung to Christ, as to a god, as a reference to the rather distinctive fact that, "unlike other gods who were worshipped, Christ was a person who had lived on earth."{11} If this interpretation is correct, Pliny understood that Christians were worshipping an actual historical person as God! Of course, this agrees perfectly with the New Testament doctrine that Jesus was both God and man.

Not only does Pliny's letter help us understand what early Christians believed about Jesus' person, it also reveals the high esteem to which they held His teachings. For instance, Pliny notes that Christians bound themselves by a solemn oath not to violate various moral standards, which find their source in the ethical teachings of Jesus. In addition, Pliny's reference to the Christian custom of sharing a common meal likely alludes to their observance of communion and the "love feast."{12} This interpretation helps explain the Christian claim that the meal was merely food of an ordinary and innocent kind. They were attempting to counter the charge, sometimes made by non-Christians, of practicing "ritual cannibalism."{13} The Christians of that day humbly repudiated such slanderous attacks on Jesus' teachings. We must sometimes do the same today.

8. Pliny, Epistles x. 96, cited in Bruce, Christian Origins, 25; Habermas, The Historical Jesus, 198.

9. Ibid., 27.

10. Pliny, Letters, transl. by William Melmoth, rev. by W.M.L. Hutchinson (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1935), vol. II, X:96, cited in Habermas, The Historical Jesus, 199.

11. M. Harris, "References to Jesus in Early Classical Authors," in Gospel Perspectives V, 354-55, cited in E. Yamauchi, "Jesus Outside the New Testament: What is the Evidence?", in Jesus Under Fire, ed. by Michael J. Wilkins and J.P. Moreland (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), p. 227, note 66.

12. Habermas, The Historical Jesus, 199.

13. Bruce, Christian Origins, 28.

Lucian

Lucian of Samosata was a second century Greek satirist. In one of his works, he wrote of the early Christians as follows:

The Christians . . . worship a man to this day--the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account. . . . [It] was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws.{27}

Although Lucian is jesting here at the early Christians, he does make some significant comments about their founder. For instance, he says the Christians worshipped a man, "who introduced their novel rites." And though this man's followers clearly thought quite highly of Him, He so angered many of His contemporaries with His teaching that He "was crucified on that account."

Although Lucian does not mention his name, he is clearly referring to Jesus. But what did Jesus teach to arouse such wrath? According to Lucian, he taught that all men are brothers from the moment of their conversion. That's harmless enough. But what did this conversion involve? It involved denying the Greek gods, worshipping Jesus, and living according to His teachings. It's not too difficult to imagine someone being killed for teaching that. Though Lucian doesn't say so explicitly, the Christian denial of other gods combined with their worship of Jesus implies the belief that Jesus was more than human. Since they denied other gods in order to worship Him, they apparently thought Jesus a greater God than any that Greece had to offer!

Let's summarize what we've learned about Jesus from this examination of ancient non-Christian sources. First, both Josephus and Lucian indicate that Jesus was regarded as wise. Second, Pliny, the Talmud, and Lucian imply He was a powerful and revered teacher. Third, both Josephus and the Talmud indicate He performed miraculous feats. Fourth, Tacitus, Josephus, the Talmud, and Lucian all mention that He was crucified. Tacitus and Josephus say this occurred under Pontius Pilate. And the Talmud declares it happened on the eve of Passover. Fifth, there are possible references to the Christian belief in Jesus' resurrection in both Tacitus and Josephus. Sixth, Josephus records that Jesus' followers believed He was the Christ, or Messiah. And finally, both Pliny and Lucian indicate that Christians worshipped Jesus as God!

I hope you see how this small selection of ancient non-Christian sources helps corroborate our knowledge of Jesus from the gospels. Of course, there are many ancient Christian sources of information about Jesus as well. But since the historical reliability of the canonical gospels is so well established, I invite you to read those for an authoritative "life of Jesus!"

27. Lucian, The Death of Peregrine, 11-13, in The Works of Lucian of Samosata, transl. by H.W. Fowler and F.G. Fowler, 4 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1949), vol. 4., cited in Habermas, The Historical Jesus, 206.

Source: http://www.catholictruths.com/articles/jesusoutsideevidence.html#two

Now we know with certainty that our Lord Jesus Christ Has Been Known and Written About outside of The Holy Bible. We can conclude with certainty that Jesus Is Real and That He Walked on this earth :D

If The above is not enough to believe our Lord Jesus Christ Walked on earth, let's take a look at a very ancient astronomy record :D

God in Ancient China Part 2 (English and Chinese)

This is a very interesting video with a few extra astronomy records.
A Solar/Moon eclipse and a rainbow that surrounded the sun Right After our Lord Jesus Christ's Mission Was Finished :D
(All recorded in Ancient Chinese Records)
I must also share with you Part 1, because it is extremely fun, interesting and it also provides additional solid evidence of The Word Of God's Accuracy :D

God in Ancient China Part 1 (English and Chinese)

The Star of Bethlehem
From Science and Christian Belief , Vol 5, (October 1995): 83-101 Used by permission.
Colin Humphreys

Evidence from the Bible and astronomy suggests that the Star of Bethlehem was a comet which was visible in 5 BC, and described in ancient Chinese records. A comet uniquely fits the description in Matthew of a star which newly appeared, which travelled slowly through the sky against the star background and which 'stood over' Bethlehem. The evidence points to Jesus being bom in the period 9 March-4 May, 5 BC, probably around Passover time: 13-27 April, 5 BC. Birth in the spring is consistent with the account in Luke that there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby keeping watch over their flock by night. Birth in 5 BC also throws light upon the problem of the census of Caesar Augustus. A new chronology of the life of Christ is given which is consistent with the available evidence. This chronology suggests that Christ died close to his 37th birthday.

Keywords: astronomy, star of Bethlehem, birth of Christ, nativity, chronology of the New Testament, the Magi, comets, Christmas, Passover.

1. Introduction

What was the star of Bethlehem? Did it really exist? Most modern theologians (e.g. ref. ¹) regard the reference to the star in Matthew's gospel as 'midrash', that is a story made up to satisfy an Old Testament prophecy, in this case that of Numbers 24:17, 'a star shall come forth out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel'. On the other hand, some writers regard the star of Bethlehem as a specially created miraculous object, beyond the bounds of scientific explanation. The question of whether a celestial phenomenon reported in ancient literature in an historical context was a real astronomical object is one which occurs quite frequently. in all such cases it seems best to consider as a working hypothesis that the report is correct, and to investigate whether any astronomical phenomenon exists which fits the report.

The difficulties of treating the star of Bethlehem as a real astronomical object should not be underestimated. For example, the New Testament scholar Brown' states 'a star that rose in the East, appeared over Jerusalem, turned south to Bethlehem, and then came to rest over a house would have constituted a celestial phenomenon unparalleled in astronomical history: yet it received no notice in the records of the times.' Similar skeptical statements abound in modem commentaries. However it will be shown in this paper (see also ref. ²) that this statement of Brown is in fact incorrect: there is an astronomical object which fits very well the account in Matthew's gospel, and which also received notice in the Chinese records of the times.

If an astronomical object can be identified with the characteristics described in Matthew and other ancient manuscripts, this information may throw light on the long standing problem of the date of the Nativity. In AD 525 a Roman scholar and monk, Dionysius Exiguus, fixed the AD origin of our present calendar (Anno Domini = in the year of our Lord) so that Jesus was circumcised in the year AD 1 on January 1 (8 days, counting inclusively, after his birth on 25th December the previous year). More recently dates ranging from 20 BC to AD 10 have been given for the year of the Nativity.³,⁴ Concerning the day, although 25 December is firmly fixed in our calendar, this is unlikely if the arguments in the present paper are accepted. In this paper we consider a combination of astronomical and historical evidence which may be used to identify the star of Bethlehem and to determine the date of the Nativity.

The earliest known account of the star of Bethlehem is in Matthew 2:1- 12. Most scholars believe that the final text of this gospel was composed in about AD 80 (some scholars give an earlier date, e.g. ref. ⁵) from sources written in earlier times. Presumably one of these sources recorded the star of Bethlehem and the visit of the Magi. The account in Matthew describes how the Magi saw a star which they believed heralded the birth of the Messiah-king of the Jews. They traveled to Jerusalem and informed King Herod of the time when the star appeared, which indicates that the star was not a customary sight. The advisers of Herod told the Magi that, according to the prophesy of Micah, the Messiah should be born in Bethlehem, so the Magi journeyed there. The star moved before them and 'stood over' Bethlehem. The Magi found the place where the child was and presented him with gifts.

2. The Magi

The tradition that the Magi were kings dates from the sixth century AD, and is almost certainly legendary. According to Herodotus (1:101), Magi existed in Persia in the sixth century BC, they were a priestly group among the Medes who performed religious ceremonies and interpreted signs and portents. Persia (now Iran) conquered neighboring Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and from the fourth century BC onwards Magi were increasingly associated with astronomy and astrology, the observation and the 'interpretation' of the stars being closely related in ancient times. Babylon (in Mesopotamia) was the world center of astronomy and astrology at that time and Magi were important members of the Babylonian royal court. In about 586 BC the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and took the Jews into Exile.From the time of the Exile onwards Babylon contained a strong Jewish colony, and the knowledge of the Jewish prophecies of a Savior-King, the Messiah, may have been well-known to the Babylonians and to the Magi.

In the Hellenistic age some of the Magi left Babylon and traveled to neighboring countries to teach and practice astronomy/astrology, which was a core educational subject in the ancient world (e.g. Plato, The Republic, 529). Thus the first century AD Jewish scholar Philo of Alexandria stated that the student of astronomy perceives 'timely signs of coming events' since 'the stars were made for signs' (De Opificio Mundi, 22). There is a strong tradition that the Magi who visited Jesus came from Arabia (now Saudi Arabia), which lies between Mesopotamia and Palestine. Thus in about AD 160 Justin Martyr wrote 'Magi from Arabia came to him [Herod]' and in about AD 96 Clement of Rome⁶, associated frankincense and myrrh, two of the gifts of the Magi, with 'the East, that is the districts near Arabia'. We conclude that the Magi who saw the star of Bethlehem were astronomers/astrologers, who may have been familiar with the Jewish prophecies of a Savior-King, and who probably came from Arabia or Mesopotamia, countries to the east of Palestine. Matthew 2:1 simply states 'Magi from the East arrived in Jerusalem'. It is important to realize that there are many references in ancient literature to Magi visiting kings and emperors in other countries. For example, Tiridates, the King of Armenia, led a procession of Magi to pay homage to Nero in Rome in AD 66 (Suetonius, Nero 13 and 30; Tacitus, Annals, 16:23: Dio Cassius, Roman History, 63:1), and Josephus records that Magi also visited Herod in about 10 BC. Thus a visit by the Magi to pay homage to Jesus, the new King of the Jews, would not have appeared as particularly unusual to readers of Matthew's gospel. However, the Magi must have had an unmistakably clear astronomical/astrological message to start them on their journey.

3. Characteristics of the Star of Bethlehem

There are several specific characteristics of the star of Bethlehem recorded in Matthew's gospel which, if accepted, allow the type of astronomical object to be identified uniquely. The characteristics are as follows:

(i) It was a star which had newly appeared. Matthew 2:7 states 'Then Herod summoned the Magi secretly and ascertained from them the exact time when the star had appeared'.

(ii) It traveled slowly through the sky against the star background. The Magi 'saw his star in the east' (Matthew 2:2) then they came to Jerusalem where Herod sent them to Bethlehem, then 'they went on their way and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them' (Matthew 2:9). Since Bethlehem is to the south of Jerusalem the clear implication is that the star of Bethlehem moved slowly through the sky from the east to the south in the time taken for the Magi to travel from their country to Jerusalem, probably about one or two months (see later).

(iii) The star 'stood over' Bethlehem. Matthew 2:9 records that the star 'went ahead of them and stood over the place where the child was'. Popular tradition has the star pointing out the very stable in which Christ was born, but Matthew neither states nor implies this: according to Matthew, viewed from Jerusalem the star stood over the place where the child was born, i.e. Bethlehem.

If the above textual evidence is accepted then all but one of the astronomical objects suggested in the literature as the star of Bethlehem can be ruled out. For example, the most popular theory, demonstrated in many planetariums, is that the star of Bethlehem refers to a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 BC. This planetary conjunction theory dates back to the 8th century astronomer/astrologer Masha'allah⁷ and has been widely supported in more recent times⁴, ⁸but it does not satisfy the description that the star was a single star which appeared at a specific time, nor of a star which 'stood over' Bethlehem. The next most popular theory is that the star was a nova or a supernova. The first suggestion that the star of Bethlehem was a nova was made by Foucquet in 1729, and possibly earlier by Kepler in 1614 (see also Sachs and Walkerg⁹) and it has received considerable recent support.¹⁰ A supernova has also been suggested.¹¹ A nova or supernova satisfies the requirement that the star of Bethlehem was a single star which appeared at a specific time, but cannot account for the star moving through the sky. Similarly, all other suggestions for the star of Bethlehem (e.g. that it was Venus, etc) can be ruled out except one: a comet.

4. Was the Star of Bethlehem a Comet?

Comets probably have the greatest dramatic appearance of all astronomical phenomena. They can be extremely bright and easily visible to the naked eye for weeks or even months. Spectacular comets typically appear only a few times each century. They can move slowly or rapidly across the sky against the backdrop of stars, but visible comets usually move through the star background at about 1 or 2 degrees per day relative to the Earth. They can sometimes be seen twice, once on their way in towards perihelion (the point in their orbit which is closest to the sun) and again on their way out. However, from a given point on the Earth's surface, a comet is often only seen once, either on its way in or its way out, because of its orbit relative to 87The Star of Bethlehem the Earth. Since a comet usually peaks in brightness on its way out, about one week after perihelion, most visible comets are seen on their way out from perihelion.

If the star described in Matthew was a comet, was it seen twice, first in the east on its way in towards perihelion and again in the south on its way out, or was it seen continuously moving from east to south (and then to west) on its way out? Matthew 2:9 states 'the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them [to Bethlehem in the south]'. It was not generally recognized 2000 years ago that a comet seen twice, once on its way in towards perihelion (where it would disappear in the glare of the sun) and again on its way out was one and the same comet. It was normally regarded as two separate comets. Since Matthew 2:9 clearly implies that the star seen in the south was the same star as that originally seen in the east we deduce that the star was continuously visible and suggest that it was a comet on its way out from perihelion traveling east to south (to west). In particular it is suggested that the Magi originally saw the comet in the east in the morning sky (see later). They travelled to Jerusalem, a journey time of 1- 2 months (see section 7), and in this time the comet had moved through about 90', from the east to the south. In one month the star background would move through 30', and in two months through 60*. For the comet to have moved through 90' an additional 60' (in one month) or 30' (in two months) motion is required, which is broadly consistent with the 1 or 2 degrees per day typical motion of a comet. In Jerusalem, Herod's advisers suggested the Magi go to Bethlehem, six miles to the south and a journey time of one or two hours. The Magi set off next morning and saw the comet ahead of them in the south in the morning sky. Hence it appeared that the comet 'went ahead of' the Magi on this last lap of their journey.

The curious terminology in Matthew 2:9 that the star 'stood over' Bethlehem will now be considered. Phrases such as 'stood over' and 'hung over' appear to be uniquely applied in ancient literature to describe a comet, and I can find no record of such phrases being used to describe any other astronomical object. The historians Dio Cassius and Josephus were broadly contemporary with the author of Matthew's gospel. Dio Cassius (Roman History, 54, 29) describing the comet of 12 BC (Halley's comet) which appeared before the death of Marcus Agrippa writes 'the star called comet stood for several days over the city [Rome]'. Josephus (Jewish War 6,5,3) states 'a star, resembling a sword, stood over the city Jerusalem]', probably referring to the comet of AD 64 mentioned by Tacitus (Annals, 15,47), comets frequently being described as 'swords' in ancient literature because of their upward tails (in a direction away from the sun). Marcellinus describing a comet of AD 390 writes a sign appeared in the sky hanging like a column and blazing for 30 days'.

Celestial objects (including comets) appear to move across the night sky because of the rotation of the earth. In addition, comets move against the backdrop of stars. What did Dio Cassius and Josephus mean when they referred to comets 'standing over' Rome and Jerusalem, respectively? At the time of Christ the prevailing theory of comets was due to Aristotle who had proposed that comets were sub-lunar objects located in the upper atmosphere (see, for example, ref.¹²). This theory was consistent with the Aristotelian model of comets lying below the 'heavenly spheres' containing the Sun, Moon, planets and fixed stars, and presumably it also appeared to be consistent with visual observations of bright comets which often seem to be close to the Earth (many paintings and woodcuts of comets depict them as lying close to the Earth). Hence a comet is probably the only astronomical object to appear to be sufficiently low lying to be capable of satisfying the descriptions in Dio Cassius, Josephus and Matthew of a star standing over a particular town or city for part of the night. In addition, the upward tail of the comet would appear to point the head of the comet towards the city. Hence we interpret Matthew's description of a star ,standing over' the place where Jesus was born as meaning that when the Magi left Herod and headed towards Bethlehem, as he had suggested, they looked up and saw the comet in front of them, with a near vertical tail, the head of the comet appearing to stand over Bethlehem.

The use of the characteristic term 'stood over' by Dio Cassius and Josephus to describe a comet would seem to leave little doubt that when Matthew uses the term 'stood over' he is also describing a comet. Thus a comet uniquely fits the description in Matthew that the star was new, it traveled slowly through the star field from the east to the south, it went ahead of the Magi, and 'stood over' Bethlehem, the place where the child was.

The identification of a comet with the star of Bethlehem goes back to Origen in the third century, and this is the earliest known theory for the star. Origen (Contra Celsum 1, 58) stated 'The star that was seen in the East we consider to be a new star ... partaking of the nature of those celestial bodies which appear at times such as comets ... If then at the commencement of new dynasties or on the occasion of other important events there arises a comet. . . why should it be a matter of wonder that at the birth of Him who was to introduce a new doctrine ... a star should have arisen? In about AD 1303, Giotto painted a comet above the head of the infant Jesus in a fresco in the Arena Chapel in Padua, presumably using as a model the AD 1301 appearance of Halley's comet (the European Space Agency mission to Halley's comet in 1985/6 was called 'Giotto' in commemoration of the artist's nativity comet). The possibility that the star of Bethlehem was a comet has also more recently been suggested^{3,13,14,15,16}but without the detailed arguments given here and in my previous paper.²

If the evidence cited above for identifying the star of Bethlehem with a comet is so strong why has it not been previously considered in the detail given here? The main reason seems to be the widespread belief that a comet was regarded as a sign from heaven of impending calamity and divine displeasure. Hence, it is argued, if the star of Bethlehem was a comet, it could not possibly have been interpreted by the Magi as heralding the birth of the Messiah^.4 However, an examination of historical records shows that although for much of history and in many countries comets were associated with death and disaster, around the time of Christ comets were associated with the birth of great kings and with good news. Thus Origen, following his suggestion that the star of Bethlehem was a comet, refers (Contra Celsum 1, 59) to a book 'Treatise on Comets' by Chaeremon the Stoic (which we no longer possess) which lists occasions comets appeared when 'good was to happen'. The Chinese called comets 'broom stars' on account of their tails, and at least two ancient Chinese references make a pun of the word 'broom': a Chinese description of a comet of 5 24 BC saw it as a 'new broom' to sweep away traditions and the old order of things,¹⁷ and Tsochhiu (c. 300 BC) stated'a comet is like a broom, it signals the sweeping away of evil'.

In the second century AD the Roman historian Justinus quoted from an earlier Roman historian, who in turn quoted from the History of Kings of Timagenes of Alexandria (which we no longer possess), as follows: 'Heavenly phenomena had also predicted the greatness of this man [Mithridates, the famous King of Pontus]. For both in the year in which he was born and in the year in which he began to reign a comet shone through both periods for 70 days in such a way that the whole sky seemed to be ablaze' (Justinus, Pompei Trogi Hist. Phil. Epit. XXXVII, ii, 1-3). This account was dismissed by many historians as legendary (cf. the star of Bethlehem) but Fotheringham¹⁸ identified comets in Chinese records in 134 BC and 120 BC, precisely the already accepted years of the birth and accession to the kingship of Mithridates, and these comets are now accepted by historians as events confirming his chronology. Pliny (Natural History 11, 23) records that Augustus (63 BC to AD 14) dedicated a temple to a comet that appeared during athletic games he sponsored in 44 BC, just after the assassination of Julius Caesar. The common people assumed that the comet was taking the soul of Caesar to the heavens where the gods lived. The emblem of a comet was added to a bust of Caesar that was dedicated in the forum. Augustus then used an emblem of a comet on some of his own coins, presumably as a symbol of his own greatness and possibly as a symbol of his assumed deity. It seems clear therefore that at the time of Christ comets were associated with great kings and with important events.

The Chinese kept careful astronomical records of visible comets, novae etc, and used different terms to describe them.¹⁹ A tailed comet was called a sui-hsing, meaning a broom star, the 'broom' referring to the tail of the comet (traditionally the Chinese character read as sui has been read as hui, but sui is probably more correct, M. Loewe, private communication). A comet without a tail is called a po-hsing, and a nova is called a k'o-hsing, meaning guest-star. A clear distinction is not always made between novae and comets without a tail. Ho Peng-Yoke²⁰ lists and translates ancient Chinese records of comets and novae. Those appearing within the period 20 BC to AD 10 are all described as comets and are given in Table 1. These objects are the only recorded astronomical phenomena appearing near the birth of Christ which satisfy the description in Matthew's gospel of a star that moved through the sky and that 'stood over' a place.

The earliest possible date for the birth of Christ can be deduced from Luke 3:2 3, which states that he was 'about 3 0' when he started his ministry, which commenced with his baptism by John the Baptist. Luke 3:1-2 carefully states that the ministry of John the Baptist started in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar. Depending on whether Luke used the Julian calendar or the Roman regnal year calendar, the fifteenth year of Tiberius was Jan. 1-Dec. 31, AD 29 or autumn AD 28-29, respectively. The Lucan term 'about 30' is a broad term covering any actual age ranging from 26 to 34,²¹ thus the earliest possible year for the birth of Christ is obtained by subtracting 34 years from AD 28, giving 7 BC. Hence we can rule out as being too early for the star of Bethlehem the comet of 12 BC (Halley's comet) in Table 1, although the 12 BC comet has recently been revived as the star of Bethlehem. ^14,15,16

The latest possible year for the birth of Christ is given by the date of the death of king Herod the Great, since Matthew 2:1 states that Herod was king when the star was seen by the Magi. The generally accepted date for the death of Herod the Great is the spring of 4 BC²² although other dates have also been suggested (e.g. 5 BC,²³ 1 BC^24,25,26,27and 1 AD²⁸). The evidence that Herod died in 4 BC is strong, and the accounts in Josephus of the reigns of his three sons, Archelaus, Antipas and Philip, all correlate perfectly with a 4 BC date .^21,29 josephus (Antiquities 17:167) records that Herod died between an eclipse of the moon (usually taken to be that of 12/13 March 4 BQ and the following Passover (on 11 April 4 BQ. josephus also describes that following the death of Herod his funeral occurred, then a seven-day mourning period, then demonstrations against his son Archelaus and then the Passover. Thus the latest date for the death of Herod is the end of March 4 BC and hence the comet that appeared in April 4 BC is too late to be the star of Bethlehem. In addition, the Chinese records give no details of the 4 BC comet (e.g. its duration) hence it was probably short-lived and insignificant.

5. The Star of Bethlehem-a Comet in 5 BC

Having effectively eliminated the comets of 12 BC and 4 BC as possible candidates for the star of Bethlehem, we note from Table 1 that the only possibility is the comet of 5 BC. The description of this in the Chinese Han shu, the official history of the former Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9), on which Ho Peng-Yoke depends, is as follows:

'Second year of the Chien-p'ing reign period, second month (5 BC, March 9-April 6), a suibsing appeared at Ch'ien-niu

for over 70 days.'

The passage in the Han shu also includes what is termed a traditional comment relating to this 5 BC comet which indicates that this comet was regarded as being of particular significance (see ref. 2 for further details).

Table 1 Comets and novae appearing from 20 BC to AD 10

Note: (1) the catalogue of Ho Peng-Yoke20 also has a 10 BC po comet as catalogue number 62. However, C. Cullen (to be published) has shown that there is no record of an appearance of a comet in that year but simply references to the one which had been seen in 12 BC.

(2) the term sui (tailed comet) has traditionally been read as hui: see text.

Since the comet was observed for over 70 days it was almost certainly very bright for part of this time, as suggested in various ancient references to the star of Bethlehem. For example, the New Testament Apocryphal book30 the Protoevangelium of St James, possibly written in about AD 150, states that the wise men said 'we saw how an indescribably greater star shone among these stars and dimmed them'. The first reference identifying the 5 BC object with the star of Bethlehem appears to be that of Foucquet in 1729, however he referred to the object as a nova, as did Lundmark^3l and Clark et al.¹⁰ As we have argued earlier, the description in Matthew that the star moved from East to South is inconsistent with a nova. In addition, since the 5 BC object was clearly described in the ancient Chinese records as a sui-hsing, and since the use of the term sui implies that the star had a definite tail, we should accept the Chinese description of this object as a tailed comet (Ho Peng- Yoke, private communication, see also Cullen³²⁾.

Would this 5 BC comet observed by the Chinese have been visible to Magi living in Arabia, Mesopotamia or Persia? The Chinese records state that the comet appeared at Ch'ien-niu, and from ancient Chinese star maps Ch'ien-niu is the area of the sky including the constellation Capricornus. In March/April Capricornus rose above the Eastern horizon as seen from Arabia and neighbouring countries and was first visible in the morning twilight. Hence this comet would have been seen by the Magi rising in the East in the morning sky. This is consistent with Matthew 2:2 which states that the Magi first saw 'his star in the East'. (An alternative translation of 'in the East' in Matthew 2:2 is 'at its rising'.⁴ If this alternative translation is adopted the 5 BC comet again fits the description, since according to the Chinese records it would be first seen at its rising in the East in the morning sky).

The Chinese records also describe the 5 BC comet as being visible for over 70 days. The implication is that the comet was continuously visible, rather than being seen twice, once going in towards perihelion and again going out (see Section 4). The visibility for over 70 days is consistent with the probable journey time of the Magi (1-2 months, see later) and the probable time for the comet to move from east to south (also 1-2 months, see Section 4). Thus a consistent picture emerges: the Magi first saw the comet soon after perihelion in the east, in Capricornus, in the morning sky. They travelled to Jerusalem, a journey time of 1-2 months, and saw the comet in the south in the morning sky as they travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The comet continued to move to the west and became invisible after 70+ days.

6. The Three Signs in the Sky

Why should this particular comet have caused the Magi to make their journey? It is suggested that a combination of three astronomical events was involved: the triple conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in 7 BC, the massing of three planets in 6 BC and finally the appearance of the comet in Capricornus in 5 BC. The eighth century AD astrological world history'On Conjunctions, Religions and Peoples' by Masha'allah was based on an earlier Babylonian theory that important religious and political changes are predicted by conjunctions of the planets Saturn and jupiter.⁷Thus Masha'allah used Iranian astronomical computations to claim that the flood, the birth of Christ and the birth of Muhammad were all predicted by conjunctions of Saturn and Jupiter in the appropriate astrological circum- stances. Rosenberg,³³following the medieval Jewish writer Abarbanal,³⁴ has explained how in Magian astrology the planet Saturn represented the divine Father and Jupiter was his son. The constellation Pisces was astrologically associated with Israel. Thus it is suggested that the astrological message of the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in Pisces in 7 BC was this: a Messiah-king will be born in Israel. The fact that the conjunction happened three times in 7 BC (in May, October and December) probably served to reinforce this message. Thus it is suggested that the 7 BC triple conjunction alerted the Magi to the coming of the Messiah. We know that this 7 BC triple conjunction was important to Babylonian astronomers since a clay tablet, the star almanac of Sippar, has been found about 30 miles north of Babylon which refers in detail to this triple conjunction, and the tablet has been positively dated to 7 BC.⁴

Shortly after the triple conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in 7 BC, Mars joined Jupiter and Saturn in the sky so that in February 6 BC the three planets (still in Pisces) were separated by only about eight degrees. There is a tradition that the massing of these three planets preceded the birth of Christ. In 1465 Jakob von Speyer, the Court Astronomer for Prince Frederic d'Urbino asked Regiomontanus 'Given that the appearance of Christ is regarded as a consequence of the Grand Conjunction of the three superior planets, find the year of his birth', a question that Regiomontanus was unable to answer.³⁵ Both Jakob von Speyer and Regiomontanus were familiar with ancient Greek, Latin and Persian books on astronomy/ astrology,³⁵many of which have been lost, and the tradition that the massing of the three planets preceded the birth of Christ may be very early.

A similar massing was observed by Kepler in AD 1504 and, unlike Regiomontanus, he calculated that such massings of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars occurred only every 805 years, and suggested that they coincided with great events in history (his assumed dates were Moses 1617 BC, Isaiah 812 BC, Christ 6/7 BC, Charlemagne AD 799 and the Reformation AD 1604).

For Kepler, the massing of the three planets was astrologically important than the triple conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, tentatively suggested that the supernova of AD 1604, and BC might have resulted from these massings.³⁶To the represented the king of war, to the Persians the celestial is suggested that the massing of the three planets in 6 BC triple conjunction in 7 BC confirmed to the Magi that Messiah-king to be born in Israel would be a mighty king. The scene was set: expectations were aroused for a third sign which would indicate birth of the king was imminent.

7. The Significance of the 5 BC Comet

In the spring of 5 BC a comet blazed forth in Capricornus. This been rich in significance for the Magi. Not only - associated with great kings (see section 4), but Ptolemy stated that the appearance of a comet in the orient (east) signified rapidly approaching events and in the Occident (west) those that approach more slowly. The significance of the Magi seeing 'His star in the east' (Matthew 2:2) was therefore that it clearly provided the awaited sign that the king was imminent. Ptolemy further states that the significance of a comet is related to the part of the zodiac in which it appears. What was the likely significance to the Magi of a comet appearing in Capricornus? Firstly, as has been shown, Capricornus was the place of the rebirth of the sun. Secondly, in ancient astrology, each of the 5 planets had a zodiacal house that it ruled. Capricorn was the daytime house of Saturn (see, for example, Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos I.4), the divine father in Magian astrology. The comet in Capricorn would therefore have provided the third and final sign of the birth of the divine son. To the Magi the repeated occurrence of the 'perfect' number three may also have been significant: a triple conjuction, then three planets massing and finally the third astronomical sign.
It may also be relevant to note that the Emperor Augustus had a silver coin issued which bore the BC17 and Manilius extolled the greatness of Capricorn as Augustus' sign (Astronomica 2.507). " - - symbolized kings. The writings of the Old Testament prophet have been known to the Magi, since he wrote while in exile i (Daniel 1:1) and he refers frequently to the Babylonian astrologers 1:19; 2:2; 4:5; 5:7). Daniel had a vision of a horned goat ' - whole earth without touching the ground and which fought overcame a ram (Daniel 8:5-21).' this vision may allude to Capricorn and Aries (the ram), and the goat, which Daniel identified with a mighty king of Greece, to be the powerful king Alexander the Great. It is suggested that the remarkable sequence of the triple conjunction in 7 BC, the massing of the three planets in 6 BC and the comet in Capricornus in 5 BC provided a very clear message to the Magi that a very great king was to be born in Israel.

The Magi therefore set off and went to Jerusalem to King Herod and asked 'where is the one who has been born king of the Jews' (Matthew 2:2) The legend that the star guided them to Jerusalem is not required (and Matthew neither states nor implies this): it is suggested that the Magi went to Jerusalem because their interpretation of the 7 BC conjunction and the 6 BC planetary massing was that a Messiah-king would be born in Israel and the appearance of the 5 BC comet told them this had happened. The advisers of Herod told them where: in Bethlehem, according to the prophet Micah. Again, they did not need guidance from the star, but were, 'overjoyed' when, on this last lap of their journey, the star 'went before them' in the morning sky and when it 'stood over' Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. Bethlehem was a small town, and a few inquiries may have quickly revealed the location of the child recently visited by the shepherds.

Montefiore,¹³ Finegan³ and Hughes37 have previously suggested that the 'star' may have involved both the 7 BC conjunction and the 5 BC or 4 BC comets, with the Magi setting out in 7 BC and arriving in Jerusalem in 5/4 BC. Hughes⁴ has rightly criticized this theory (and withdrawn his own earlier theory, Hughes³⁷) as having the 'almost insurmountable difficulty' that the star the Magi saw when they set out, and the star they saw in Jerusalem, should have been one and the same star not a conjunction and a star, since Matthew 2:9 states 'the star, which they saw in the East, went before them' on the final leg of their journey to Bethlehem. We agree: the proposal here is that two events, the conjunction of 7 BC and the planetary massing of 6 BC, alerted the Magi to the coming birth, but they did not set out until the 5 BC comet appeared in the east, indicating that the birth was imminent.

How long did their journey take? Hughes⁴ has noted that Lawrence of Arabia in The Seven Pillars of Wisdom states that in 24 hours a fully loaded camel can cover l00 miles if hard pressed and 50 miles comfortably. The furthest the Magi are likely to have traveled is from Babylon to Jerusalem, a distance of about 550 miles going directly across the Arabian desert and about 900 miles traveling via the Fertile Crescent. Wiseman³⁸ has shown that as crown-prince, Nebuchadnezzar took 23 days to travel from north of Jerusalem to Babylon in a rapid return to take up the throne in Babylon in 605 BC. Hence allowing one or two months for the journey, including preparation time, seems not unreasonable, so that if the Magi commenced their journey soon after the comet appeared in March/April 5 BC, they would have arrived in Jerusalem in April 4-June 5 BC. As noted in Section 5, this journey time for the Magi is consistent with the probable time for the comet to move from east to south and with the 70+ days visibility of the 5 BC comet noted in the Chinese records.

The theory proposed here fits well with Herod giving orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem who were two years old and under 'according with the time he had learned from the Magi' (Matthew 2:16). Earlier Herod had asked the Magi 'the exact time the star had appeared' (Matthew 2:7). It is suggested that the Magi spoke with Herod when they arrived in Jerusalem in April/June 5 BC and recounted not only the appearance of the comet about one month previously but also described the significance of the planetary massing in 6 BC and the triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in May, October and December 7 BC. Herod, leaving nothing to chance, decided to kill all boys born since the first stage of the triple conjunction in May 7 BC, two years previously.

The 5 BC date for the star of Bethlehem also fits well with the textual evidence for the length of stay of Jesus and his family in Egypt. According to Matthew 2:13-15, after the Magi had left Bethlehem, Joseph was warned that Herod planned to kill Jesus, so the family left for Egypt (a classic refuge for those trying to flee the tyranny of Palestine) and returned after Herod died. Both Origen and Eusebius state that Jesus and his family were in Egypt for two years, and they returned in the first year of the reign of Archelaus. Archelaus, one of Herod's sons, started his reign when Herod died. Thus if Herod died at the end of March, 4 BC, the first year of the reign of Archelaus was from April 4 BC to April 3 BC. Jesus and his family probably left for Egypt shortly after the Magi left Bethlehem, in about April- June 5 BC. If they stayed in Egypt a reasonable time after the death of Herod, to be absolutely sure of the news, they could have returned to Israel in, say, March 3 BC, when traveling conditions would be good, in the first year of Archelaus and having spent about two years in Egypt. Thus the 5 BC comet is consistent chronologically with both Herod's massacre of the infants and the two year stay in Egypt.

8. The Problem of the Census

According to Luke 2:1-5, a census was taken by Emperor Caesar Augustus around the time of the birth of Christ, and Joseph traveled with Mary from Nazareth to his home town of Bethlehem in order to register. This census is one of the thorny problems of the New Testament about which much has been written. There are three well-documented censuses conducted by Augustus: in 28 BC, 8 BC and AD 14, but these were apparently only for Roman citizens. In addition, there are various records of provincial censuses under Augustus for non-citizens for purposes of taxation, for example in AD 6, a decade after the death of Herod the Great,^Josephus refers to a census in Judea administered by Quirinius the governor of Syria, and Luke also refers to this census (Acts 5:37). However, there is no record of a census for taxation purposes in Judea around the time of the birth of Christ, hence the problem in interpreting Luke 2:1-5.

The problem can be resolved if the census was not for taxation purposes but was instead a census of allegiance to Caesar Augustus (some translations of Luke 2:1-5 refer to taxation, but this is not implied in the Greek text). The fifth century historian Orosius (Adv. Pag. VI.22.7, VII.2.16) states '[Augustus] ordered that a census be taken of each province everywhere and that all men be enrolled. So at that time, Christ was born and was entered on the Roman census list as soon as he was born. . . . In this one name of Caesar all the peoples of the great nations took oath, and through the participation in the census, were made part of one society'. Josephus (Ant. XVII, ii, 4) appears to refer to the same event: 'when all the people of the Jews gave assurance of their goodwill to Caesar, and to the king's government, these very men [the Pharisees] did not swear, being above six thousand.' From the context of these words in Josephus, this census of allegiance to Caesar Augustus occurred about one year before the death of Herod the Great.

There is one further problem with this census. Luke 2:2 is usually translated 'This census was first made when Quirinius was governor of Syria', but Quirinius did not become governor of Syria until AD 6. However, the Greek sentence construction of Luke 2:2 is unusual and an alternative translation is^l,39: 'This census took place before the one when Quirinius was governor of Syria'. As noted above, from Josephus this latter census can be dated to AD 6, and Luke (Acts 5:37) was well aware of it. Thus the earlier census reference by Luke in Luke 2:1-5 provides a chronological clue to the birth of Christ, and from the context in Josephus (Ant. XVII, ii, 4) this census of allegiance occurred about 1 year before the death of Herod the Great, which is consistent with our placing the birth of Christ in the spring of 5 BC.

9. A New Chronology for the Life of Christ

What is the earliest date for the birth of Jesus? It would seem that the Magi expected Jesus to be born shortly after the time the 5 BC comet appeared since a comet appearing in the east signified an imminent event, and when they arrived in Jerusalem they asked Herod 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?' (Matthew 2:2). Hence it would seem that the earliest possible date for the birth of Jesus is when the comet first appeared, and the earliest date for this according to the Chinese records is 9 March 5 BC. This is consistent with Luke 2:8 which states that at the time of the birth of Jesus 'there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flock by night'. Bethlehem is cold and very wet during December, January and February and flocks of sheep were not normally kept in the fields in these months (see, for example, Hughes⁴). Sheep were usually put out to grass between March and November, the shepherds being with the flocks at night particularly during the spring lambing season (March-April).

An approximate latest date for the birth of Jesus can be deduced as follows. According to Luke 2:22, after the birth of Jesus and following a time of purification, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem. Lev. 12:2-4 specifies that the time of purification for the mother of a male child is 40 days, after which she can come to the temple. Assuming one day for travel from Bethlehem to Jerusalem (a distance of 6 miles), Jesus would have been born not less than six weeks before the visit of the Magi (since Jesus and his family left for Egypt shortly after the visit of the Magi the most probable sequence of events in the Matthew-Luke birth narratives is birth, visitation of the shepherds, presentation at the temple in Jerusalem, return to Bethlehem, visit of the Magi). There was no point in Joseph and Mary staying in Bethlehem after the purification and visit to the temple since they had originally only gone to Bethlehem for the census. Hence it is reasonable to assume the Magi visited Jesus very shortly after his return from the temple to Bethlehem. This is consistent with the comet being visible for 70 days and the one to two month journey time of the Magi.

The Chinese records state that the comet first appeared sometime in the period 9 March to 6 April 5 BC and lasted over 70 days. Thus the latest date for the Magi to have seen the 'star' at Bethlehem was 6 April plus 70 days, i.e. 15 June, and the latest date for the birth of Jesus is this date minus six weeks, i.e. 4 May. If this evidence is accepted, Jesus was born sometime in the period 9 March-4 May, 5 BC, which is consistent with the Lucan shepherd reference. It is worth noting that many theologians (e.g. ref. 1) claim that the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke are inconsistent. This is incorrect. The birth narratives are complementary and easily reconcilable.

Table 2 Chronology of the Life of Jesus

Note: The dates given in brackets are narrower date ranges based on Jesus being born around Passover time (see text).

The most likely date for the Baptism of Jesus is autumn AD 29.^3,²¹ If Jesus was born in the Spring of 5 BC then he would have been 33 when he commenced his ministry. This is consistent with Luke 3:23 that he was 'about thirty' at this time. (As noted above, the Greek translated 'about thirty' means any age between 26 and 34). If the crucifixion was on 3 April AD33, ^27,29,40,41 then Jesus was around his 37th birthday when he died. We have deduced that Jesus was born in the spring of 5 BC. We note that in 5 BC the first day of the feast of Passover (Nisan 15 in the Jewish calendar) fell on 20 April and we tentatively give several reasons which suggest that Jesus may have been born around Passover time. At Passover time all adult males were required to come to Jerusalem, hence Jerusalem and its neighborhood were extremely crowded and nearby Bethlehem would be very crowded too. Censuses were not held on a particular day but were spread over a period of time and it is suggested that Joseph chose to visit Bethlehem for the census at the same time as Passover to save an extra journey. Thus the guest-room (kataluma, mistakenly translated 'inn' in some translations) of the house was full (Luke 2:7) because it was the time of a feast ⁴² in particular the feast of Passover (see also Pratt,²⁸" who dates the Nativity to Passover, 1 BC). Josephus (Jewish War, 1, 229 and 6, 270) states that pilgrims came up to Jerusalem about a week before the Passover to undergo the appropriate purification rites, and the feast itself lasted for one week. Thus it is tentatively suggested that the birth of Jesus may have occurred in the week before or after Passover in 5 BC, i.e. in the period 13-27 April, 5 BC.

Birth at Passover time is consistent with Jewish expectations for the birth of the Messiah. For example, the Jewish scholar Abarbanal,34writing in 1497 AD and still expecting the Messiah, states that the messianic redemption will come in the month Nisan since the 'cup of Elijah' at the Passover meal preserves the symbolism that the new redemption will come during the same season as the Exodus from Egypt. A further clue may be provided by the words of John the Baptist near the time of the baptism of Christ. John twice greets Jesus with the words 'The Lamb of God' (John 1: 29 and 36) and many commentators have discussed the background of this strange phraseology. If Jesus was born at Passover time, particularly if he were born on 10 Nisan (sunset Sunday 14 April to sunset Monday 15 April in 5 BC) when the Passover lambs were chosen, without spot or blemish, or on Nisan 14, when the lambs were sacrificed, John would have a clear reason to call him the Lamb of God. Some key dates and date ranges in the chronology of the Life of Jesus are listed in Table 2.

10. The Date of Christmas

The traditional Western date of Christmas, December 25, first occurs in the Roman calendar Chronographus Anni CCCLIXII (Chronographer of the Year 354). In the calendar the sequence of festivals in the church year begins with the festival of the birth of Christ on 25 December. The original version of this calendar may date back to AD 336, hence it is not particularly early.3 The pagan feast of the sol invictus (the invincible sun) was observed on 25 December since it was the date accepted at the time for the winter solstice. The Christian festival of Christmas essentially replaced this pagan festival. The traditional eastern date of the birth of Christ is January 6. Epiphanius (Panarion haer. 51, 22, 9-11) states that this was the date of the pagan festival of Kore which the Christian festival then replaced.

However the actual birth of Christ was unlikely to have been in winter if we accept Luke 2:8 'there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flock at night'. We very tentatively suggest how 25 December and 6 January might have been chosen for the birth of Christ. According to the present paper, Christ was born in the Spring. We suggest that this birth date may have been confused with the date of the conception (and Epiphanius comments on such a confusion in the early church). Adding nine months for the pregnancy leads to a date range close to the existing pagan festivals of Kore and the sol invictus which were then taken to be Christmas.

11. Summary and Conclusions There are four key questions arising from the account in Matthew's gospel, and other ancient literature, of the star of Bethlehem: (i) who were the Magi; (ii) is there a known astronomical phenomenon which fits the account; (iii) what induced the Magi to embark on their journey; (iv) can astronomy be used to solve the long-standing problem of the date of the birth of Christ. This paper attempts to answer these questions.

The Magi are well known in classical literature as a religious group who were skilled in the observation and 'interpretation' of the stars. At the time of Christ they lived mainly in Persia, Mesopotamia and Arabia (now Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, respectively) and they are known to have visited kings in other countries. It is therefore consistent with our knowledge of the Magi that an astronomical sign could have led them to visit a new king.

There are three main characteristics of the star of Bethlehem recorded in Matthew: it was a star which had newly appeared, it traveled slowly through the sky against the star background, and it stood over Bethlehem. It is suggested in this paper that one, and only one, astronomical object satisfies this description: a comet. It is proposed that the Magi originally saw this comet in the east in the morning sky. They traveled to Jerusalem, journey time of 1-2 months, and in this time the comet had moved to the south in the morning sky, hence it appeared ahead of them as they traveled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on the last lap of their journey. The comet appeared to stand over Bethlehem with a near vertical tail. It is shown that the description 'stand over' is uniquely applied in ancient literature to refer to a comet.

From ancient Chinese astronomical records three comets are possible candidates for the star of Bethlehem, those of 12 BC, 5 BC and 4 BC. It is shown from historical and biblical evidence that the comets of 12 BC and of 4 BC were too early and too late, respectively, to be the star of Bethlehem. Hence the comet of 5 BC may uniquely be identified as the star of Bethlehem. The Chinese description of this comet, particularly its appearance in the east and its visibility for over 70 days, is consistent with the description in Matthew.

It is suggested that a combination of three unusual and significant astronomical events caused the Magi to set off on their journey. First there was a triple conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the constellation Pisces in 7 BC. Such an event occurs only every goo years. The probable astrological significance of this event to the Magi was that a divine king would be born in Israel. Second, in 6 BC there was a massing of the three planets Mars, Saturn and Jupiter in Pisces. Such a massing only occurs every 800 years (and very much more infrequently in Pisces) and it would have confirmed to the Magi that the king to be born in Israel would be a mighty king. Third, a comet appeared in 5 BC in the east in the constellation Capricornus. In the astrology of the times a comet in the east signified a rapidly approaching event. The comet was therefore the third and final sign which caused the Magi to set off on their journey. It is shown that the probable significance of the comet in Capricornus to the Magi was also that a very great king was about to be born.

Further analysis suggests that the birth of Christ was in the Spring, in the period 9 March-4 May, 5 BC. Tentatively the period around Passover time is suggested (13-27 April, 5 BC). This date is consistent with the available evidence including a reference in Luke to there being shepherds out in the fields at night. Although today Christmas is celebrated on December 25 in the west and on January 8 in the east, we suggest that the evidence of astronomy, the bible and other ancient literature points to the Spring of 5 BC as being the time of the first Christmas.

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to W. G. Waddington for illuminating discussions and to D. Alexander, A. Bole, 0. Edwards, Ho Peng-Yoke, D. Hughes, M. Loewe, A. Millard, C. Russell, J. Shanklin, W. G. Waddington, B. Winter and the referee for very helpful comments.

Colin Humphreys is the Goldsmiths' Professor of Materials Science and Head of the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge.

References

¹ Brown, R. E., 1977, The Birth of the Messiah, Chapman, London.

² Humphreys, C. J., 1991, Q. Jl R astr. Soci., 32, 389-407, and Tyndale Bulletin, 1992, 43.1, 31-56.

³ Finegan, J., 1964, Handbook of Biblical Chronology, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

⁴ Hughes, D., 1979, The Star of Bethlehem Mystery, Dent, London.

⁵ Wenham, J., 1991, Redating Matthew, Mark and Luke, Hodder and Stoughton, 242-3.

⁶Clarke, W. K. L., 1937, The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. Macmillan, London & New York.

⁷Kennedy, E. S. and Pingree, D., 1971, The Astrological History of Musha'allah, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.

⁸ Ferrari-D'Occhiepo, K., 1989, in Chronos, Kairos, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to lack Finegan, eds Vardaman, J. and Yamauchi, E. M., Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, 41-53.

⁹ Sachs, A. J. and Walker, C. B. F., 1984, Iraq, 46, 43-45.

¹⁰ Clark, D. H., Parkinson, J. H. and Stephenson F. R., 1977, Q. J1 R ast. Soc., 18, 443-449.

¹¹ Moorhouse, A. J., 1978, 11 Roy Astron. Soc. Can., 72, 65-68.

¹² Bailey, M. E., Clube, S. V. M. and Napier, W. M., 1990, The Origin of Comets, Pergamon, Oxford.

¹³ Montefiore, H. W., 1960, Novum Testamentum, 4,139-160.

¹⁴Kokkinos, N., 1989, in Chronos, Kairos, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to Jack Finegan eds Vardaman, J. and Yamauchi, E. M., Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, 133-163.

¹⁵ Vardaman, J., 1989, in Chronos, Kairos, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to lack Finegan, eds Vardaman, J. and Yamauchi, E. M., Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, 55-82.

¹⁶ Reznikov, A. 1., 1986, Recherches d'astronomie historique, 18, 65-80.

¹⁷ Davidson, N., 1985, Astronomy and the Imagination, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London & New York.

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¹⁹ Loewe, M., 1980, Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, 52, 1-23.

²⁰ Ho Peng-Yoke, 1962, Vistas Astr., 5, 127-225.

²¹ Maier, P. L., 1989, in Chronos, Kairos, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to lack Finegan ads Vardaman, J. and Yamauchi, E. M., Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, 113-130.

²² Schfirer, E., Vermes, G. and Millar, 1973, The History of The Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ, Clark, Edinburgh.

²³Barnes, T. D., 1968, J. Theological Studies, 19, 204-209.

²⁴ Filmer, W. E., 1966, J. Theological Studies, 17, 283-298.

²⁵Martin, E. L., 1980, The Birth of Christ Recalculated, Foundation for Biblical Research, Pasadena.

²⁶ Edwards, 0., 1982, Palestine Exp. Quar., 114, 29-42.

²⁷ Edwards, 0., 1986, The Time of Christ, Floris, Edinburgh.

²⁸ Pratt, J. P., 1990, The Planetarium, 19, 8-13.

²⁹ Hoehner, H. W., 1989, in Chronos, Kairos, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to Jack Finegan, ads Vardaman, J. and Yamauchi, E. M., Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, 101-111.

³⁰ James, M., 1924, The Apocryphal New Testament, Clarendon, Oxford.

³¹ Lundmark, K., 1953, Actes du VlIe Congr6s International d'Histoire des Sciences, Jerusalem, 436-439.

³²Cullen, C., 1979, Q. Jl. R astr. Soc., 20,153-159.

³³ Rosenberg, R. A., 1972, Biblica, 53,105-109.

³⁴ Abarbanal, I., 1497, The Wells of Salvation.

³⁵ Zinner, E., 1990, Regiomontanus: His Life and Work tr. E. Brown, Elsevier, London.

³⁶ Kepler, J., 1614, De Vero Anno.

³⁷Hughes, D., 1976, Nature, 264, 513-517.

³⁸Wiseman, D. J., 1956, Chronical of Chaldean Kings, British Museum, 26-27.

³⁹ Bruce, F. F., 1969, New Testament History, Nelson, London.

⁴⁰ Humphreys, C. J. and Waddington, W. G., 1983, Nature, 306, 743-746.

⁴¹ Humphreys, C. J. and Waddington, W. G., 1989, in Chronos, Kairos, Christas: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to lack Finegan eds Vardaman, J. and Yamauchi, E. M., Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, 165-181.

⁴² MacKinlay, G. 1897, The Magi, How they Recognised Christ's Star, Hodder and Stoughton, London.

Source: http://www.asa3.org/ASA/topics/Astronomy-Cosmology/S&CB%2010-93Humphreys.html

Isaiah 9:6

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Now let's take a look at a few more Fulfilled Prophecies regarding The Messiah, our Good Lord Jesus Christ

(Please keep in mind these were all recorded during different times in human history, centuries apart and there is evidence for this:
The Dead Sea Scrolls; More on these in a moment :D)

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus Christ

Prophetic Scripture	Subject	Fulfilled
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." (Genesis 3:15)	Seed of a woman	But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, (Galatians 4:4)
And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)	Descendant of Abraham	The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1)
But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. (Genesis 17:19)	Descendant of Isaac	the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, (Luke 3:34)
"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab, and tear down all the sons of Sheth. (Numbers 24:17)	Descendant of Jacob	To Abraham was born Isaac; and to Isaac, Jacob; and to Jacob, Judah and his brothers; (Matthew 1:2)
"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. (Genesis 49:10)	From the tribe of Judah	the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, (Luke 3:33)
Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious. (Isaiah 11:10)	Descendent of Jesse	And again Isaiah says, "THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE." (Romans 15:12)
"Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, `The LORD our righteousness.'" (Jeremiah 23:5-6)	Descendant of David	The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1)
"And My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes, and observe them." (Ezekiel 37:24)	Will shepherd His people	"`And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler, Who will shepherd My people Israel.'" (Matthew 2:6)
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:7)	Heir to the throne of David	"He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end." (Luke 1:32-33)
Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness; therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee with the oil of joy above Thy fellows. (Psalm 45:6-7) "Of old Thou didst found the earth; and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years will not come to an end." (Psalm 102:25-27)	Anointed and Eternal	But of the Son He says, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy companions." And, "Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Thy hands; They will perish, but Thou remainest; and they all will become old as a garment, and as a mantle Thou wilt roll them up; as a garment they will also be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years will not come to an end." (Hebrews 1:8-12)
"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity." (Micah 5:2)	Born in Bethlehem	And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.... And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:4-5, 7)
"So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. (Daniel 9:25)	Time for His birth	Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. (Luke 2:1-2)
"Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)	To be born of a virgin	Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.... And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus." (Luke 1:26-27, 30-31)
Let the nomads of the desert bow before him; And his enemies lick the dust. (Psalm 72:9)	Worshipped by shepherds	And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."... And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." (Luke 2:8-15)
Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts... So may he live; and may the gold of Sheba be given to him; And let them pray for him continually; Let them bless him all day long. (Psalm 72:10, 15) "And nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising." (Isaiah 60:3)	Honored by great kings	Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him."... And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1-11)
Thus says the LORD, "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more." (Jeremiah 31:15)	Slaughter of children	Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its environs, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the magi. Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more." (Matthew 2:16-18)
When Israel was a youth I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. (Hosea 11:1)	Flight to Egypt	And he arose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed for Egypt; and was there until the death of Herod, that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "Out of Egypt did I call My Son." (Matthew 2:14-15)
A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 40:3-5)	The way prepared	And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, `Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. `Every ravine shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough roads smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'" (Luke 3:3-6)
"Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the LORD, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)	Preceded by a forerunner	And when the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the multitudes about John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?... "This is the one about whom it is written, `Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.'" (Luke 7:24, 27)
"Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6)	Preceded by Elijah	"For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you care to accept it, he himself is Elijah, who was to come." (Matthew 11:13-14)
"I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, `Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee.'" (Psalm 2:7) Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His son's name? Surely you know! (Proverbs 30:4)	Declared the Son of God	"He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;" (Luke 1:32) and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (Matthew 3:17)
But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. (Isaiah 9:1-2)	Galilean ministry	and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- "The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a light dawned." (Matthew 4:13-16)
I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. (Psalm 78:2-4)	Speaks in parables	All these things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable, so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world." (Matthew 13:34-35)
...For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples. " (Isaiah 56:7) "Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 7:11)	Temple becomes a house of merchandise instead of prayer	And He said to them, "It is written, `My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but you are making it a robbers' den." (Matthew 21:13)
For zeal for Thy house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach Thee have fallen on me. (Psalm 69:9)	Zeal for God's House	His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Thy house will consume me." (John 2:17)
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him." (Deuteronomy 18:15)	A prophet	and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you... "Moses said, `The Lord God shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed in everything He says to you.'" (Acts 3:20, 22)
And on that day the deaf shall hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. (Isaiah 29:18) Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah. (Isaiah 35:5-6)	Blind, deaf, and lame are healed by the Messiah	And He answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them." (Luke 7:22) and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. (Matthew 11:3-5)
"He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. "A bruised reed He will not break, And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. (Isaiah 42:2-3) He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)	Messiah will be meek and mild	"Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel, nor cry out; Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He leads justice to victory." (Matthew 12:18-20) "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29)
"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1) Listen to Me, O islands, and pay attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me. (Isaiah 49:1)	Will minister to Gentiles	MAT 12:18 "Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles... "And in His name the Gentiles will hope." (Matthew 12:18-21) A light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Thy people Israel. " (Luke 2:32)
The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, (Isaiah 61:1-2)	To bind up the brokenhearted	"He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19)
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12) And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him; And His righteousness upheld Him. (Isaiah 59:16)	To intercede for the people	who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. (Romans 8:34) Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
As the cattle which go down into the valley, The Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So didst Thou lead Thy people, To make for Thyself a glorious name. (Isaiah 63:14) Thus says the LORD, "Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, `We will not walk in it.'" (Jeremiah 6:16)	Gives rest to our souls	"Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light." (Matthew 11:29-30)
He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isaiah 53:3) "Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem." (Isaiah 8:14) Therefore thus says the LORD God, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed." (Isaiah 28:16) The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. (Psalm 118:22)	Rejected by His own people, the Jews	He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. (John 1:11) But they cried out all together, saying, "Away with this man, and release for us Barabbas!" (Luke 23:18) He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very corner stone. (Acts 4:11) For this is contained in Scripture: "Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed." This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve, "The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone," and, "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. (1 Peter 2:6-8)
The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, "Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 110:4)	Priest after the order of Melchizedek	So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, "Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee"; just as He says also in another passage, "Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 5:5-6)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)	Triumphal entry	And they brought the colt to Jesus and put their garments on it; and He sat upon it.... And those who went before, and those who followed after, were crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;"... And He entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking all around, He departed for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. (Mark 11:7, 9, 11)
"Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the LORD, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)	Entered the temple with authority	And Jesus entered the temple and cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. (Matthew 21:12)
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast established strength, because of Thine adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease. (Psalm 8:2)	Adored by infants	But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant, and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, `Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast prepared praise for Thyself?'" (Matthew 21:15-16)
Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? (Isaiah 53:1)	Not believed	But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him; that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" (John 12:37-38)
"Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate," Declares the LORD of hosts. "Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; and I will turn My hand against the little ones." (Zechariah 13:7)	Sheep of the Shepherd scattered	Then Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, `I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.'" (Matthew 26:31)
Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. (Psalm 41:9) For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, Then I could bear it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend. (Psalm 55:12-13) "And one will say to him, 'What are these wounds between your arms?' Then he will say,' Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.' (Zechariah 13:6)	Betrayed by a close friend	"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor." While He was still speaking, behold, a multitude came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" (Luke 22:47-48) And immediately he went to Jesus and said, "Hail, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. And Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you have come for." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. (Matthew 26:49-50)
And I said to them, "If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!" So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. (Zechariah 11:12)	Betrayed for thirty pieces of silver	Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests, and said, "What are you willing to give me to deliver Him up to you?" And they weighed out to him thirty pieces of silver. (Matthew 26:14-15)
Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them." So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD. (Zechariah 11:13)	Betrayal money used to buy Potter's field	And the chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood." And they counseled together and with the money bought the Potter's Field as a burial place for strangers. (Matthew 27:6-7)
Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know. (Psalm 35:11)	Accused by false witnesses	And some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, `I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.'" (Mark 14:57-58)
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)	Silent to accusations	And Pilate was questioning Him again, saying, "Do You make no answer? See how many charges they bring against You!" But Jesus made no further answer; so that Pilate was amazed. (Mark 15:4-5)
I gave My back to those who strike Me, and My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6)	Spat on and struck	Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, (Matthew 26:67) And they spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. (Matthew 27:30)
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)	Scourged	Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him to be crucified. (Matthew 27:26)
Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me; neither let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously. (Psalm 35:19)	Hated without reason	"If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this in order that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their Law, `They hated Me without a cause.'" (John 15:24-25)
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)	Vicarious sacrifice	For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.... But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6, 8)
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12)	Crucified with malefactors	And they crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with transgressors."] (Mark 15:27-28)
"And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born. (Zechariah 12:10) For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. (Psalm 22:16)	Pierced through hands and feet	The other disciples therefore were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."... Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing." (John 20:25-27)
All who see me sneer at me; they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, "Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him, because He delights in him." (Psalm 22:7-8)	Sneered and mocked	And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One." (Luke 23:35)
For zeal for Thy house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach Thee have fallen on me. (Psalm 69:9)	Was reproached	For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached Thee fell upon Me." (Romans 15:3)
I also have become a reproach to them; When they see me, they wag their head. (Psalm 109:25)	People shook their heads	And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, (Matthew 27:39)
They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. (Psalm 69:21)	Given vinegar for His thirst	After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I am thirsty." A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop, and brought it up to His mouth. (John 19:28-29)
In return for my love they act as my accusers; but I am in prayer. (Psalm 109:4) yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12)	Prayer for His enemies	But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. (Luke 23:34)
I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. (Psalm 22:17-18)	Soldiers gambled for His clothing	And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots; and sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. (Matthew 27:35-36)
My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. (Psalm 22:1)	Quoted His Death's Prophecy (Psalm 22)	And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46)
Into Thy hand I commit my spirit; Thou hast ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth. (Psalm 31:5)	Committed His Spirit to God	And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit." And having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:46)
My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague; And my kinsmen stand afar off. (Psalm 38:11)	Friends stood afar off	And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee, were standing at a distance, seeing these things. (Luke 23:49)
He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. (Psalm 34:20)	No bones broken	The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs;... For these things came to pass, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "Not a bone of Him shall be broken." (John 19:32, 33, 36)
"And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born. (Zechariah 12:10)	His side pierced	but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. (John 19:34)
"And it will come about in that day," declares the Lord God, "That I shall make the sun go down at noon And make the earth dark in broad daylight. (Amos 8:9)	Darkness over the Land	Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. (Matthew 27:45)
His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. (Isaiah 53:9)	Buried with the rich	And when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given over to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. (Matthew 27:57-60)
For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay. (Psalm 16:10) O LORD, Thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. (Psalm 30:3) But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; for He will receive me. Selah. (Psalm 49:15) I shall not die, but live, And tell of the works of the LORD. (Psalm 118:17)	To be resurrected	And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, `He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said to you.'" (Mark 16:6-7)
`For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants;' (Isaiah 44:3) "And it will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. (Joel 2:28)	Sent the Holy Spirit	And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:22) "but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: `And it shall be in the last days,' God says, 'That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;'" (Acts 2:16-17)
"Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David. Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. (Isaiah 55:3-4) Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,...But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jeremiah 31:31)	Establishes a new covenant	for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:28) And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. (Luke 22:20) But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises... For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them upon their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people. (Hebrews 8:6-10)
Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captive Thy captives; Thou hast received gifts among men, even among the rebellious also, that the LORD God may dwell there. (Psalm 68:18) The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet." (Psalm 110:1)	His ascension to God's right hand	So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19) and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:4) Therefore it says, "When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men." (Ephesians 4:8)
The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. (Isaiah 9:2) Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious. (Isaiah 11:10) "I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, 'Here am I, here am I,' To a nation which did not call on My name." (Isaiah 65:1)	The Gentiles will seek the Messiah	For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; (Romans 11:25) "THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND TO THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED." (Matthew 4:16)

For more prophecies, please click on the following link :) It'll show you 300 Prophecies that came true with our Lord Jesus Christ

http://www.bibleprobe.com/300great.htm

The Holy Bible Is The Only Book with these many fulfilled prophecies. As a matter of fact, every prophecy Written In The Bible Has either already happened, or waiting to happen. There isn't a single Bible Prophecy that has missed its mark (This is due to the fact that these prophecies do not come from men, But From God)

You will not find any other book with these many fulfilled prophecies, also keep in mind that The Bible's Prophecies are straightforward and aren't subject to personal interpretation (Like Nostradamus' prophecies for instance)
The Bible's Prophecies are about as clear as crystal (This is because they are God Given Prophecies; Very Straightforward, Extremely Accurate)

Jesus Christ's Dying Words

Jesus Christ's Dying Words, before His Resurrection were, "My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?"

Some think our Lord Jesus Christ may have had a moment of doubt; But, in reality, our Lord Jesus Was Quoting Psalm 22, which was A Prophecy Regarding His Death Written around 1,000 years earlier.
Our Lord Jesus Christ Never Spoke Of His Own Account, He Always Spoke The Words Of God, The Father, To Glorify Him, So that we may believe In Him. For instance:

John 11

11 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

7 Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.

8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?

9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:

19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

28 And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.

31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.

34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.

47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.

48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,

50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;

52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.

55 And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves.

56 Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?

57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him.

In the above passage, we can see how our Lord Jesus Christ Speaks Out Loud so that others might Hear Him, and Believe In Him. In essence, Jesus Speaks for our benefit.

Our Lord Jesus Christ Quoted The Holy Scriptures (The Bible) Throughout His Ministry. He Did this so that we may Believe, and Understand how we can Walk exactly as He Does; We can win our Spiritual Battles With The Word Of God, Through our Lord Jesus Christ! :D

A Prophecy Fulfilled

Our Lord Jesus Christ Was Quoting The Holy Bible, For our benefit (So that we may Believe) When He Said, "My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?"

Psalm 22

22 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

2 O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.

10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.

11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

19 But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.

21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

23 Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

28 For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations.

29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.

30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

Psalm 22 was written a couple centuries (About 1,000 years or more) before our Lord Jesus Christ Walked on earth.
Back when Psalm 22 was written death by crucifixion didn't even exist, so there was no way to predict how anyone could pierce somebody's hands and feet! :D

Not Only Does Psalm 22 describe in which way Jesus Christ Would Die (Glorify God With His Ultimate Obedience) but also how the soldiers would cast lots for his clothes (This rules out all possibility for a lucky guess :D)

These are our Lord Jesus Christ's Final Words, He Gave us Proof (Hard, Solid, Concrete Evidence) All The Way To His Death That He Is Indeed The Son Of God.

Psalm 22 can be found in The Dead Sea Scrolls, which dated a couple hundred years before The Birth Of Christ. This of course is solid evidence of our Lord Jesus Christ Being The Son Of God :D

Also, The prophets foretold the manner in which Jesus Christ was to die. (The following Scriptures can be found in The Dead Sea Scrolls, Which are dated centuries before our Lord Jesus Christ Was Born :D)
They knew that in some way His blood would be shed because “life is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). Because we are sinners and are subject to death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23), in God’s divine plan, Jesus was to give His life (or blood), in order that we might live (Matthew 20:28; Matthew 26:28; Romans 3:21–26). In light of this, Isaiah said, “He was pierced for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5). Zechariah prophesied, “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10; compare John 19:37).

Now i will present evidence of the above prophecies being Truthful. The Dead Sea Scrolls; different manuscripts written on papyrus, the oldest existing copies of The Hebrew Bible, written during different times in human history. They prove The Old Testament was Written before The Time Of Jesus Christ, also that our current translation of The Old Testament is Remarkably accurate. They also show us all of the above fulfilled prophecies that were made during different times in human history (This is also evidence that The Events Written On The Holy Bible Are Not made up)

The Dead Sea Scrolls clearly show that everything you've read in The Holy Bible Is Real, as no human being could have ever made up prophecies like the ones above, that would come true with A Single Man's Birth (Jesus Christ, The Messiah :D)

These prophecies were written centuries apart by different prophets, all Inspired By The One True Living God, YHWH

The Dead Sea Scrolls for Dummies

AngelicView: First off, I’m not calling anyone a dummy! In case you haven’t heard of them, there is a large library of books on various (almost anything you can think of) subjects in the “for Dummies” series and “Idiot’s Guide” series. If you want to learn more about a subject, then you can check out these books. It’s like a “Cliff Notes” version of – well, anything! I have several of them. Although, I’m sure my 18 year old “Astronomy for Dummies” is pretty outdated. I’m not sure if they’re making new ones.

Anyway, I have read the term “Dead Sea Scrolls” here and there and never really knew what they were. Today I decided to research more into them and I decided to share the information I found with you.

I never realized that the Dead Sea Scrolls were so Christianity-centric, and so I wanted to point out (for those of you who don’t already know) that I don’t subscribe to any particular religion. Never-the-less, I did find this subject fascinating! The most amazing thing about it (I thought) was that the Dead Sea Scrolls did prove that the Old Testament of the Bible was written before the life of Jesus/Yeshua, and that our current translation of the Old Testament of the Bible is quite accurate.

All of the information below, I got from two websites. One was from “dummies.com” website and the other was from an archaeology website called “allaboutarchaeology.org“. The first two paragraphs are about the New Testament and the reason why none of the original writings (that we know about) have survived from Jesus’ time. It also explains how scribes made many copies of the original, as was found to be the case with the Dead Sea Scrolls.

And, of course, I added pictures! ;)

Documenting history in The Bible

Obviously, the writers couldn’t just print the books out on their inkjet printers and then run to the nearest copy shop to buy 1,000 collated copies of their work in shiny plastic spiral binders. The New Testament writers had to write the accounts on papyrus, a paper-like material that’s even more prone to deteriorate than the inexpensive recycled stuff you can find at the local office supply store. And in order to preserve and distribute an original manuscript like this, the early Church had to make copies of these originals the old-fashioned way: one copy at a time.

The people who did this work were known as scribes, and based on accounts of them, they were a special breed of people. Think of them as accountants on steroids: mind-bogglingly exact in transcribing an original to a duplicate. They made sure that every letter, word, and syllable was kept intact from the original to the copy.

This is the cave the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in.

Dead Sea Scrolls: What are They?

The Dead Sea Scrolls have been called the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times. They were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. This is an arid region 13 miles east of Jerusalem and 1,300 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea Scrolls are comprised of the remains of approximately 825 to 870 separate scrolls, represented by tens of thousands of fragments. The texts are most commonly made of animal skins, but also papyrus and one of copper. They are written with a carbon-based ink, from right to left, using no punctuation except for an occasional paragraph indentation.

Dead Sea Scrolls: Why are they Important?

The Dead Sea Scrolls can be divided into two categories—biblical and non-biblical. Fragments of every book of the Old Testament (Hebrew canon) have been discovered, except for the book of Esther. Now identified among the scrolls are 19 fragments of Isaiah, 25 fragments of Deuteronomy and 30 fragments of the Psalms. The virtually intact Isaiah Scroll, which contains some of the most dramatic Messianic prophecy, is 1,000 years older than any previously known copy of Isaiah.

In addition to the biblical manuscripts, there are commentaries on the Hebrew canon, paraphrases that expand on the Torah, community standards and regulations, rules of war, non-canonical psalms, hymnals and sermons. Most of the texts are written in Hebrew and Aramaic, with a few in Greek.

The Dead Sea Scrolls appear to be the library of a Jewish sect, considered most likely the Essenes. Near the caves are the ancient ruins of Qumran, a village excavated in the early 1950’s that shows connections to both the Essenes and the scrolls. The Essenes were strictly observant Jewish scribes, who appear Messianic and apocalyptic in thinking. The library appears to have been hidden away in caves around the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt (66-70 A.D.) as the Roman army advanced against the Jews.

Based on various dating methods, including carbon 14, paleographic and scribal, the Dead Sea Scrolls were written during the period from about 200 B.C. to 68 A.D. Many crucial biblical manuscripts (such as Psalm 22, Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 61) date to at least 100 B.C. As such, the Dead Sea Scrolls have revolutionized textual criticism of the Old Testament. Phenomenally, we find the biblical texts in substantial agreement with the Masoretic text, as well as variant translations of the Old Testament used today.

Dead Sea Scrolls: Dramatic Evidence for the Reliability of Messianic Prophecy

The Dead Sea Scrolls comprise the oldest group of Old Testament manuscripts ever found, dating back to 100–200 B.C. This is dramatic, because we now have absolute evidence that Messianic prophecies contained in today’s Old Testament (both Jewish and Christian) are the same Messianic prophecies that existed prior to the time Jesus walked on this earth. It goes without saying, manuscript reliability and textual criticism have taken cosmic steps forward! Check it out – There is no question that Jesus Christ was the Messiah that the Jews were waiting for! (AV: Wait a sec… someone please explain to me… I thought the Jews did NOT accept Jesus as their Messiah. Confused! Moving on….)

Dead Sea Scrolls – The Book of Isaiah

Over 200 fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed at the Shrine of the Book Museum in Jerusalem. Remarkably, the only fully intact scroll displayed at the Shrine of the Book is the “Great Isaiah Scroll” (1Qls-a), which contains the entire book of Isaiah that we read today — all 66 chapters! A number of scholars, from a number of religions and professional disciplines, have analyzed this major find.

The Great Isaiah Scroll was discovered in Cave 1 in 1947. It was identified as the Biblical Book of Isaiah in 1948, and purchased by the Syrian Orthodox Church at that time. Israel reacquired the Great Isaiah Scroll in 1954 to study it and preserve it as a national treasure. It has been displayed as the centerpiece exhibit at the Shrine of the Book museum since 1965. A second partial Isaiah scroll (1Qls-b) was also discovered in Cave 1 in 1947. Since that time, approximately 17 other fragments of Isaiah scripture have been discovered in other caves at Qumran.

As far as dating, it appears that pieces of the Great Isaiah Scroll (1Qls-a) have been carbon-14 dated at least four times, including a study at the University of Arizona in 1995 and a study at ETH-zurich in 1990-91. The four studies produced calibrated date ranges between 335-324 BC and 202-107 BC. There have also been numerous paleographic and scribal dating studies conducted that place 1Qls-a at a date range of approximately 150-100 BC. (See Price, Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 1996; Eisenman & Wise, The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered, 1994; Golb,Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?, 1995; Wise, Abegg & Cook, The Dead Sea Scrolls, A New Translation, 1999.)

Dead Sea Scrolls – Isaiah 53

The Dead Sea Scrolls have provided phenomenal evidence for the credibility of biblical scripture. Specifically, the nearly intact Great Isaiah Scroll is almost identical to the most recent manuscript version of the Masoretic text from the 900’s AD. (Scholars have discovered a handful of spelling and tense-oriented scribal errors, but nothing of significance.) In light of Isaiah’s rich Messianic prophecy, we thought it would be rewarding to reproduce a portion of the English translation of the actual Hebrew text found in the Great Isaiah Scroll. Specifically, the following corresponds to Isaiah 53 in today’s Old Testament. Remember, this text was dated 100 to 335 years before the birth of Jesus Christ!

This is what they look like on display.

Translation of the actual Great Isaiah Scroll (Isaiah 53), beginning with line 5 of Column 44:

5. Who has believed our report and the arm of YHWH to whom has it been revealed And he shall come up like a suckling before him

6. and as a root from dry ground there is no form to him and no beauty [+to him+] and in his being seen and there is no appearance

7. that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and knowing grief

8. and as though hiding faces from him he was despised and we did not esteem him. Surely our griefs he

9. is bearing and our sorrows he carried them and we esteemed him beaten and struck by God

10. and afflicted. and he is wounded for our transgressions, and crushed for our iniquities, the correction

11. of our peace was upon him and by his wounds he has healed us. All of us like sheep have wandered each man to his own way

12. we have turned and YHWH has caused to light on him the iniquity of all of us He was oppressed and he was afflicted and he did not

13. open his mouth, as a lamb to the slaughter he is brought and as a ewe before her shearers is made dumb he did not open

14. his mouth. From prison and from judgment he was taken and his generation who shall discuss it because he was cut off from the land of

15. the living. Because from the transgressions of his people a wound was to him

16. And they gave wicked ones to be his grave and [a scribbled word probably accusative sign “eth”] rich ones in his death

17. although he worked no violence neither deceit in his mouth And YHWH was pleased to crush him and He has caused him grief.

18. If you will appoint his soul a sin offering he will see his seed and he will lengthen his days and the pleasure of YHWH

19. in his hand will advance. Of the toil of his soul he shall see {+light+} and he shall be satisfied and by his knowledge shall he make righteous

20. even my righteous servant for many and their iniquities he will bear. Therefore I will apportion to him among the great ones

21. and with the mighty ones he shall divide the spoil because he laid bare to death his soul and with the transgressors

22. he was numbered, and he, the sins of many, he bore, and for their transgressions he entreated.

Dead Sea Scrolls – The Comparison to Today’s Biblical Text

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a powerful tool for answering textual critics of biblical scripture. Even though the first scrolls were discovered in 1947, it was only recently that much of the research and many of the translations were released to the public. Here’s Isaiah 53 from the King James Version of the Bible, which was translated from the Masoretic text of the Hebrew scripture. Compare it to the portion of the Great Isaiah Scroll reproduced on the prior page – it’s dramatic!

Isaiah 53 in the King James Version of the Holy Bible:

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Dead Sea Scrolls – A Remarkable Time in History

The Dead Sea Scrolls sat untouched in a perfect, arid environment for approximately 2,000 years. In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd stumbles upon arguably the most important archaeological find in history, and then, one year later, the Jewish people return to their homeland as a formal nation for the first time since 70 AD. As prophetic events in the Middle East appear to be accelerating, it’s remarkable to read prior Messianic prophecy with absolute assurance like no other time in history. We now have utmost confidence that the Old Testament (Jewish Tanakh) that we read today is the same as existed in 100 to 200 BC. This means that the over 300 Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah preexisted the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s up to each of us to determine what to do with this reality!