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Approximately 300 Messianic prophecies were written centuries
before the life of Jesus which foretold a coming Messiah. In this
section we will be discussing some of the most detailed Messianic
prophecies and how they were fulfilled in the New Testament life of
Jesus Christ.

The outline we will be following for this discussion is as follows:
1) Introduction: What are the Messianic Prophecies? (Current Page)
2) The Messianic Lineage
3) The Messianic Geography
4) The Messianic Ministry
5) The Messianic Betrayal
5) The Messianic Suffering
5) The Messianic Death
6) The Messianic Triumph
7) The Messianic Timing (My personal favorite!)
8) Answering Common Skeptic Questions
9) Conclusion

The Messianic prophecies were written over the span of a millennium by several Old Testament prophets. They
spoke of a Messiah who would one day come to earth and walk among mankind. These prophecies mentioned
specific names, locations, and even the timing surrounding His appearance. The known date of completion for the
Old Testament writings is 430 B.C., so these prophecies were in circulation at least 430 years before the time of
Christ.

Skeptic Interjection: Is it possible these prophecies were written after the life Jesus?
Answer: There is simply too much evidence showing the Old Testament writings to be in circulation for this to be
possible. One example is the Septuagint which predates the Masoretic texts by more than 1,000 years. The Dead
Sea Scrolls are another example, with many scrolls dating back to 250 BC. Other (less reliable) sources include
the Talmud and various authors which record the knowledge of certain messianic prophecies around the time of
Christ. Even if you reject the Old Testament date of completion as 430 B.C. there is enough evidence to show a
time gap of at least 250 years between the last messianic prophecy and the time of Jesus. If we accept the
Mosaic authorship of the Torah in approximately 1400 B.C., some messianic prophecies were written up to 1,400
years before the life of Jesus.

Skeptic Interjection: I've read in some skeptic literature that the translation of the Septuagint didn't begin
until 250 B.C. and was finally completed in 50 B.C.
Answer: Even if this is true, this still allows for a 50 year gap before the life of Christ. Regardless, the fact of the
matter is the Scriptures were in existence prior to 250 B.C. for the translators to begin their mission.

Skeptic Interjection: Is it possible the Christians interpolated the Messianic prophecies into the Hebrew Bible?
Answer: The odds of this occurring are practically impossible. The Jews were well acquainted with their
Scriptures. If Christians tried to alter the texts, the Jews would have immediately pointed this out. If someone
today altered the Christian Bible, the Declaration of Independence, or any other well known literary work, they
would immediately be discredited once confronted with the original documents. There are simply too many extant
manuscripts preceding Christianity that show the Messianic prophecies were well known and in circulation.

The Jews of antiquity were very familiar with the Messianic prophecies, though there was some confusion at the
seemingly conflicting prophecies: one interpretation told of a suffering servant while another told of a triumphant
and glorious king. Today we know the Bible speaks of two separate appearances. We know His first appearance
was one of peace, sacrifice, and humility whereas His second coming in the end times will be one of glory,
judgment, and reconciliation. The prophecies and fulfillments we will be discussing in this article are those that
were completed in the life of Jesus Christ.
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