1 This is the last lesson in the series, so I spend LOTS of time reviewing…. The first 26 slides…. I think it is VERY important!!! I won’t add any notes to the review slides, only the new slides. If you need see explanations for the review slides, you can find the notes for them in previous lessons. This is also a LONG LESSON!!! Please schedule enough time to go through it all.
2 One of the MOST important questions YOU will ever answer…IS THE BIBLE TRUE??
3 If the Bible is NOT true, nothing matters…But if the Bible IS true, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.
4 Lot’s of people think the Bible is fiction and will try and get you to believe them, just like I have tried to get you to believe me. Who is right?? How do you know?? There is not really enough time to go through it in this lesson, and I don’t spend any time on it, but this picture of the Bible with the warning sticker on it contains many mistakes and could be refuted very easily. This could be a lesson in itself!!
5 to prove something is true??What is the ONLY way, that makes any sense, to prove something is true?? Logical proof based on evidence.
6 1 Thessalonians 5: 21 But test everything. Keep what is good, and stay away from everything that is evil. 1 Peter 3: 15b Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have.
7 We looked at evidence of …We asked the question, was Jesus a real man who actually lived on earth during the first century. We looked at evidence of … Eyewitness testimony Written documents Historical evidence
8 Why would a simple carpenter boy warrant such attention??Jesus has been written about by people who liked Him, people who didn’t, atheists, and historians, and has been talked about, and influenced more people than any other person in history… Why would a simple carpenter boy warrant such attention??
9 The fact that anyone would even write about Him means He must have done or said something very special.
10 The Bible is a miracle collection of books…
11 1. The Bible is not just one book. It is a collection of 66 books.2. The Bible was written by about 40 different authors, from different walks of life… from peasants to kings
12 3. The Bible was written on 3 continents: Asia, Africa, Europe.in 3 languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek
13 5. The Bible was written over a period of 1600 years.
14 NO factual differences in ANY part of the Bible!!
15 The Bible is NOT flawed due to copy errors or mistakes!!
16 When the Old Testament was copied, they checked EVERY letter to make sure it was copied exactly right. If they found even one error, the whole manuscript was thrown out.
17 It was multiple copies of multiple copies.
18 There are over 24,000 copies of ancient manuscripts of the Bible…WAY more than ANY other great historical book.
19 What is the greatest proof that there have not been copy errors??The Dead Sea Scrolls
20 The Bible has more archaeological evidence than any other book.
21 We also looked at the question… Did the writers lie on purpose??
22 1. If the writers lied, then the Bible is even a BIGGER miracle!!2. Why would anyone die or suffer EXTREME torture for a lie?? 3. How or why would a bunch of liars write a book that contained the worlds greatest standard of morality??
23 Did the writers make honest mistakes??
24 If the writers made mistakes, then again, the Bible is even a BIGGER miracle!! 2. The writers were alive during the time Jesus was on the earth. They saw Jesus and talked to Him. 3. Even the enemies of Jesus testified to His miracles
25 something if there were errors.4. There were MANY eyewitnesses to verify that what the apostles wrote was accurate. They would have said something if there were errors.
26 Truth Table Start
27 And now week 4, one of the greatest ways we can KNOW the BibleIS true…Prophecy
28 What is prophecy??
29 All major religions have prophecy in their writings…What makes the Bible different??
30 The Bible has THOUSANDS of prophecies…Most have already happened, and EVERY one WITHOUT exception, have been TRUE!!
31 NO other religion comes even close to this record!!!
32 The Bible can be proven TRUE because of prophecy and ALL other religions can be proven FALSE because of prophecy!!!
33 So the Bible has prophecy… and it has come true…Lucky guesses?? Let’s see!!!! Let’s look at just a few predictions about Jesus
34 The First Prediction: His birth in Bethlehem from the tribe of Judah –The Old Testament Prediction: Micah 5:2 + Genesis 49:10 The New Testament Fulfillment: Matthew 2: Luke 2:4-20 Probability: 1 chance in 2400 The probability of this is 1 in This is simple math… there were an average of about 200 towns in each tribe….and there were 12 tribes. 12x200 = So if you were trying to guess which town Jesus would be born in you would have a 1 in 2400 chance. NOTE: I usually don’t spend much time on the predictions…there just isn’t enough time. So I will explain to them what the slides show…. What the prediction is, the place in the Old Testament where the prediction can be found, the place in the New Testament where the fulfillment of the prediction can be found, and the probability of someone predicting it. I don’t read the verses, but I tell them I can give the verses to them later if they want to look them up. I DO spend some time explaining how I got the probability, I think that is important.
35 The Second Prediction:He would be preceded by a messenger The Old Testament Prophecy: Isaiah 40:3 The New Testament Fulfillment: Matthew 3:1-2 Probability: 1 chance in 20 Total 1 chance in 48,000 Starting with this prediction, the odds are much harder to calculate. It is hard to know exactly what the odds would be so I tried to be VERY conservative on the estimate. Would someone predict that someone would foretell the coming of Jesus…accurately… BEFORE He was born?? Chances are, this would NOT happen, but let’s give it a 1 in 20 chance. Now the chance of ONE person fulfilling BOTH of the first 2 prophecies is 1 in 48,000. NOTE: Even if you were to take these 17 prophecies that we are going to look at tonight, and assign any odds you would like (within reason)…. the total probability of ONE person fulfilling ALL 17 would be a number SOOOOO HUGE it would IMPOSSIBLE for it to be an accident (as you will see by the end of the lesson)
36 The Third Prediction: He would enter Jerusalem on a coltThe Old Testament Prediction: Zechariah 9:9 The New Testament Fulfillment: Luke 19: Matthew 21: Mark 11: John 12:12-16 Probability: 1 chance in 50 Total 1 chance in 2,400,000 Again, it is hard to know exactly what the odds would be, so again I tried to be VERY conservative on the estimate. Would someone predict that Jesus would enter Jerusalem on a colt…accurately… BEFORE He was born?? Chances are this would NOT happen, because it was not a normal thing for someone like Jesus to ride on a colt…. ESPECIALLY if they were also predicting that He was King… a king would not enter a city on a colt. But let’s give it a 1 in 50 chance. Now the chance of ONE person fulfilling ALL of the first 3 prophecies is 1 in 2,400,000.
37 The Forth Prediction: He would be betrayed by a friendThe Old Testament Prediction: Psalms 41:9 The New Testament Fulfillment: Matthew 26:47-48 Probability: 1 chance in 10 Total 1 chance in 24,000,000 This is not a huge prophecy…. To predict that someone would be betrayed by a friend would be a safe prediction. So I will only give this a 1 chance in 10. Total now 1 chance in 24,000,000
38 The Fifth Prediction: His hands and feet would be piercedThe Old Testament Prediction: Psalm 22:16 The New Testament Fulfillment: Luke 23: Acts 2:36 Probability: 1 chance in 100 Total 1 chance in 2.4 billion Could someone predict that Jesus’ hands AND feet would be pierced…accurately… BEFORE He was born?? How many people do you know that have had BOTH their hands and feet pierced??? I don’t know of any!! I REALLY doubt that the average number of people who have had BOTH their hands and feet pierced is 1 in 100…. SO the odds SHOULD be MUCH more than this, but again I’m trying to be VERY conservative. Now the chance of ONE person fulfilling ALL of the first 5 prophecies is 1 in 2.4 billion. (if the chances of this prediction was more than 1 in 100, the total would be CONSIDERABLIY higher!!)
39 The Sixth Prediction: He would be wounded by His enemiesThe Old Testament Prediction: Isaiah 53:5 The New Testament Fulfillment: Matthew 27:26 Probability: 1 chance in 10 Total 1 chance in 24 billion This is not a huge prophecy either…. To predict that someone would be wounded by an enemy would be a relatively safe prediction. So I will only give this a 1 chance in 10. Total now 1 chance in 24 billion
40 The Seventh Prediction:He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver The Old Testament Prediction: Zechariah 11:12 The New Testament Fulfillment: Matthew 26:15 Probability: 1 chance in 50 Total 1 chance in 1.2 trillion This should be MUCH higher than 1 chance in 50!! How could anyone possibly predict that someone would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver?? To predict someone would be betrayed sure, no problem. To predict someone would be betrayed for money, sure. BUT to predict someone would be betrayed… for money…and it would be silver…. and EXACTLY 30 pieces.... YEARS BEFORE IT HAPPENED!!!.... NO WAY!!! I would guess this should be closer to 1 in a million chance!!! But lets just give it 1 in 50. Total now 1 chance in 1.2 trillion
41 The Eighth Prediction:He would be spit on and beaten The Old Testament Prediction: Isaiah 50:6 The New Testament Fulfillment: Matthew 26:67 Probability: 1 chance in 10 Total 1 chance in 12 trillion Not a huge prophecy…. To predict that someone would be spit on and beaten. However I don’t know of anyone personally that has been spit on and beaten!! And I am fairly sure fewer than 1 person in 10 has had this happen to them!!. So it SHOULD be more that 1 chance in 10, but to keep this conservative, I will only give this a 1 chance in 10. Total now that ONE person could fulfill ALL 8 of these prophecies… 1 chance in 12 trillion.
42 The Ninth Prediction: His betrayal money would be thrown in the Temple and then given to buy a potter’s field The Old Testament Prediction: Zechariah 11:13 The New Testament Fulfillment: Matthew 27:5-7 Probability: 1 chance in 200 Total 1 chance in 2.4 x 10^15 This should be MUCH higher than 1 chance in 200!! This goes along with the prediction of 30 pieces of silver, which is NOT likely!! Now how could anyone possibly predict that someone would take the 30 pieces of silver received for betrayal….and throw it away?? And not just throw it away, but SPECIFICALLY throw it away into the temple!!??! AND then the people in the temple would NOT keep the money, they would buy something with it?? AND SPECIFICALLY predict that they would buy a potter’s field!!!! IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT YEARS BEFORE IT HAPPENED!!! 1 in a million chance?? Probably, but lets just give it 1 in Total now 1 chance in 2.4 x 10^15 (2.4 x 10 to the 15th power) (or a 24 with 14 zeros after it)
43 The Tenth Prediction: He would be silent before His accusersThe Old Testament Prediction: Isaiah 53:7 The New Testament Fulfillment: Matthew 27:12-14 Probability: 1 chance in 100 Total 1 chance in 2.4 x 10^17 Again this I would think would be MUCH lower chance. How many people accused of a crime that they are INNOCENT of would not speak up and say they are innocent??? I’ll bet MUCH fewer than on person in 100!!! But again we are being conservative so let’s give it 1 in 100….total 1 in 2.4 x 10^17
44 The Eleventh Prediction:He would be crucified with thieves The Old Testament Prediction: Isaiah 53:12 The New Testament Fulfillment: Matthew 27:38 Probability: 1 chance in 100 Total 1 chance in 2.4 x 10^19 Just the fact that it is predicted that Jesus would be killed is probably 1 in a 100, but add to that, Jesus would be SPECIFICALLY killed by crucifixion, AND with not just criminals, but with SPECIFICALLY thieves!!! This should probably be more that 1 in 100, but this brings our total to 1 in 2.4 x 10^19
45 The Twelfth Prediction:They would gamble for His clothes The Old Testament Prediction: Psalms 22:18 The New Testament Fulfillment: John 19:23-24 Probability: 1 chance in 100 Total 1 chance in 2.4 x 10^21 This should DEFINITELY be more than 1 in 100!!! WHY would ANYONE gamble for the dirty, torn, bloody cloths of a convicted, crucified person!!??!! And WHY would ANYONE even think to predict this MANY YEARS prior to it happening!!??!! Total now 1 in 2.4 x 10^21
46 The Thirteenth Prediction:His side would be pierced The Old Testament Prediction: Zechariah 12:10 The New Testament Fulfillment: John 19:34 Probability: 1 chance in 100 Total 1 chance in 2.4 x 10^23 I don’t know of anyone who has had their side pierced, so I am guessing there are probably less than 1 in 100 people that this has happened to!!! But, let’s be conservative!! Total now 1 in 2.4 x 10^23
47 The Fourteenth Prediction:None of His bones would be broken The Old Testament Prediction: Psalms 34:20 The New Testament Fulfillment: John 19:33 Probability: 1 chance in 20 Total 1 chance in 4.8 x 10^24 Not sure what the average number of people who have had broken bones is, but 1 in 20 is probably close. But if I was making predictions about what would happen to a person in the future… I would NOT say they would not have any broken bones!! That would be too easy to get wrong!!! Total now 1 in 4.8 x 10^24
48 The Fifteenth Prediction:His body would not decay, but would rise again The Old Testament Prediction: Psalms 16:9-10 The New Testament Fulfillment: Acts 2:31 Probability: 1 chance in 10,000 Total 1 chance in 4.8 x 10^28 This should be 1 in a MILLION!!! This has only happened a few times in all of history!! If I was making predictions about what would happen to a person in the future… I would NOT say they would not decay after death!!!! But not only was it predicted that Jesus would not decay, BUT He would ALSO RISE AGAIN!!!! Who in their right mind would even think to predict that!!! Should be 1 in a MILLION, but let’s say 1 in 10,000…. Total now 1 in 4.8 x 10^28
49 The Sixteenth Prediction:His would be buried in a rich man’s tomb The Old Testament Prediction: Isaiah 53:9 The New Testament Fulfillment: Matthew 27:57-60 Probability: 1 chance in 100 Total 1 chance in 4.8 x 10^30 Why would rich man give his tomb to a dirty, bloody, convicted, crucified person!!??!! That makes NO sense!! And it REALLY makes no sense to predict this many years before!!! Should be more, but 1 in 100….. total now 4.8 x 10^30
50 The Seventeenth Prediction:Darkness covering the earth during the day The Old Testament Prediction: Amos 8:9 The New Testament Fulfillment: Matthew 27:45 Probability: 1 chance in 1000 Total 1 chance in 4.8 x 10^33 There have been MANY dark days in the history of the world. Storms make it dark. Eclipses make it dark. But we are talking not just dark but COMPLETELY dark!! The Bible says on that day God would make the sun go down… not just hide it behind clouds or a moon. And that is exactly what happened!! This has NEVER happened before or after this day! So WHY would ANYONE predict this!!???!!! Should be more, but 1 in 1000…. Total 4.8 x 10^33
51 So the chance that Jesus fulfilled these 17 prophecies is 1 in 4.8 x 10^33 So…. Big deal It’s not a big chance, but it is a chance… it still could be just lucky guesses… couldn’t it?? Remember this number SHOULD be MUCH, MUCH bigger!!! But we are being conservative. NOTE: You could assign any odds you would like (within reason) to these 17 prophecies that we looked at tonight, and the total probability of ONE person fulfilling ALL 17 would be a number SOOOOO HUGE it would IMPOSSIBLE for it to be an accident. (the number would probably be BIGGER than what we are looking at now)
52 but just a simple carpenter… Let’s see!!! If Jesus is not God, but just a simple carpenter… just a man… could He accidentally fulfill them all…. If the Bible is NOT true, could it accidentally predict all of them??
53 The chance that Jesus fulfilled… and the Bible predicted… these 17 prophecies is 1 in 4.8 x 10^33 Let’s see how big that is…
54 If you had 4.8 x 10^33 pennies, could you fit them in...This room? This church? The school? Battlefield Mall? Missouri? USA?
55 Let’s see!!!
56 98,304 pennies, two cubic feet
57 1,003,776 pennies, a wall 5ft. x 4ft. x 1ft. + a 9in. cube
58 10,017,024 pennies, a 6ft. cube
59 100,016,640 pennies, a 12ft. cube and a 7ft. cube.
60 1,000,018,176 pennies, 5 cubes the size of a school bus.If you stacked the pennies on top of each other, they would be almost 1000 miles high. Just for a reference, the Space Shuttle orbits 225 miles high!
61 10,000,023,552 pennies, 50 cubes the size of a school bus.
62 100,017,659,336 pennies, 127ft. cube. Notice the man in front.
63 1 Trillion 1,000,000,016,640 pennies, 273ft. cube.Sears Tower 1,450ft. 1 Trillion Empire State Building 1,250ft. 1,000,000,016,640 pennies, 273ft. cube. Washington Monument 555ft. Lincoln Memorial (pictured on the back of the penny!) Football field
64 1,000,067,088,384,000 pennies, 2,730ft. cube. (1 Quadrillion)
65 1,000,067,088,384,000,000 pennies, 27,300ft. cube. (1 Quintillion)The tallest building in the world! 1,000,067,088,384,000,000 pennies, 27,300ft. cube. (1 Quintillion)
66 1 sextillion would be approx 50 miles cubed1 septillion would be approx 500 miles cubed 1 octillion would be approx 5,000 miles cubed 1 nonillion would be approx 50,000 miles cubed 1 decillion or 10^33, would be approx 500, miles cubed We were looking at 4.8 x 10^33 or a cube of pennies 2,400,000 miles cubed!!!!! How big of a cube of pennies is that??
67 4.8 x 10^33 pennies. 2,400,000 miles in every direction!!Those two black dots are the earth and moon. The dots are really too big, but if I made them the right size, you couldn’t have seen them!!! 4.8 x 10^33 pennies. 2,400,000 miles in every direction!! SOOOO what is the chance of going through that block of pennies and picking out 17 of them with an “X” written on it… while blindfolded… without making ANY mistakes?? IMPOSSIBLE HUH!!???!! Well we are not through yet… read on!!!! If you were in the Space Shuttle traveling at 17,322 MPH (fast huh??) it would take a little over 124 hours, or a little over 5 days just to travel across the cube!!!
68 The chance of any one person fulfilling all 48 major prophecies isBut that is just 17 of 48 major prophecies, and over 300 minor prophecies!!! The chance of any one person fulfilling all 48 major prophecies is 1 in 10^157 Again this is only an estimate, but even if it is just close to right, it is an UNBELIEVABLEY HUGE NUMBER!!!!!!
69 So how big is 10^157??
70 How many electrons sitting side by side, like this… oooooooooooooooooooooo would it take to be 1 inch long?? 2.5 x 10^15
71 If you counted 4 electrons every second, day and night, 24/7/365… it would take 19 million years to count a single line of electrons 1 inch long!!!
72 How many electrons would fit inside of a penny??Approx x 10^30
73 Let’s see….. There are 4.8 x 10^33 pennies in this block and there are 8.7 x 10^30 electrons in ONE single penny… So would our BIG block of pennies hold 10^157 electrons??
74 1 inch straight line of electrons is… 2.5 x 10^15 1 penny would hold 8.7 x 10^30 electrons 1 inch cube of electrons is… x 10^45 1 ft. cube of electrons would be … 2.7 x 10^49 1 mile cube would be …3.97 x 10^60 Our 4.8 x 10^33 pile of pennies would contain x 10^79 electrons So, no our HUGE block of pennies would not hold 10^157 electrons!!!!!
75 So how big is 10^157?? Light will travel 5.87 TRILLION miles in a year. That distance is called a light year. If the earth was the center of a ball of electrons that extended 6 BILLION LIGHT YEARS in every direction, the number of electrons in a ball that big… Is STILL not nearly 10^157!!
76 The only problem with that…You would have to multiply that ball, with a diameter of 12,000,000,000 light years by… 6 x 10^28 And that will get you close to 10^157!! The only problem with that…
77 OUR KNOWN UNIVERSE IS NOT THAT BIG!!!
78 Let’s recap… A electron is so small it would take you 19 million years (if you counted 4 every second day and night) to count a single line, one inch long. What’s the chance you could accidentally pick ONE of them if it were marked??
79 and never make one single mistake!!??And even as small as electrons are, the entire known universe could not hold 10^157 of them!!! What’s the chance you could accidentally pick 48 of them if they were marked… and never make one single mistake!!??
80 That is the chance that Jesus could have accidentally fulfilled, and the Bible could have accidentally predicted, the 48 major prophecies!!
81 And this is still not counting any of the minor prophecies!!
82 In other words…. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE!!! Unless…
83 The Bible IS TRUE and JESUS IS GOD!!!
84 Jesus fulfilled ALL of these prophecies PERFECTLY…So what is the point of all of this??? Jesus fulfilled ALL of these prophecies PERFECTLY…
85 the Bible IS TRUE and Jesus was EXACTLY who He said He was!!!I know it takes a LOT of time to go through all of this. And I know that they will never remember all of it. BUT, they WILL remember (hopefully) that there IS a MOUNTAIN of evidence for the Bible to be true, and the odds show it is IMPOSSIBLE for it to accidently happen. PLUS most enjoy this part of the lesson… most think it is VERY interesting to see how HUGE numbers can get!!!!
86 Hosea 4:6 My people will be destroyed, because they have no knowledge. You have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be priests to me. You have forgotten the teachings of your god, so I will forget your children.
87 So what does the Bible say??We have ALL sinned Sin CAN’T be where God is We CAN’T fix our sin Jesus paid our fine, YOUR fine NOBODY gets to heaven except through Jesus He won’t force you, you have to accept.
88 This same Bible also has predictions about the future…The end IS near and there will be NO time to accept Jesus afterwards… the time to accept Him is NOW!
89 Knowing AND following what the Bible says is the difference in you spending eternity in peace and comfort, or torment and torture.
90 Your choice. THIS IS LONG… PLEASE SCROLL AND READ TO THE END!!!To end this class I spend time talking about what it means to be saved and how you let Jesus save you. I think it is important to explain to the kids that there is NOTHING you can do to save yourself. There is no amount of money you can spend, no amount of good you can do, there are no words you can say, going to the front of a church and talking to the preacher and/or repeating a few words WILL NOT SAVE YOU!! Even asking for forgiveness WILL NOT SAVE YOU!!! This will shock most kids!! (and adults!!) To prove this here is an example… if you drive to a convenience store, go in and rob it, jump in the car to get away, and as you are backing out you run over and kill a child. You NEVER intended on doing that, and you are SERIOUSLY sorry for it. You stand before the judge and he asks if you have anything to say before you are convicted. You HONESTLY tell him you are GENUINELY sorry for killing the child. Does the judge say, “oh, since you are genuinely sorry I will let you go”?? NO!! Being sorry, and asking forgiveness doesn’t FIX the crime!! You have to pay for the crime (or someone has to take your place) Being sorry for our sins is good…and if you accept Christ as your savior you will most likely WANT to tell Him you are sorry and ask forgiveness, but that is NOT what saves you!! We can ONLY be saved when we come to the realization that there is NOTHING we can do to make it to heaven… ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!…. What an INCREDIBLY SAD thing to realize!!! BUT, it is when we come to this SAD realization that we will greave over not being able to live with God in heaven, and we will then cry out to Jesus that we accept what HE DID and accept HIS OFFER to take OUR punishment for the sin we have committed. Asking forgiveness will not “fix” our sin, a punishment MUST be given for our sin, or God would not be Holy. When we accept Jesus’ substitution for our punishment, God can legally dismiss our case and pronounce us “not guilty” and STILL BE TRUE AND HOLY, because punishment for our sin HAS BEEN GIVEN!!!! It is when we understand what price Jesus had to pay to take our place, and ACCEPT that gift, that we will then tell Him we are GENUINELY sorry and ask for His forgiveness. It is ALL about what Jesus did and NOTHING about what we do!! But we WON’T accept Jesus UNTIL we realize we are sinners and can NOT make it to heaven without Jesus!! A GREAT resource for this is the “Way of the Master” by Ray Comfort. There is a web site and he has LOTS of videos on YouTube under “Way of the Master” I encourage you to look them up!!!
91
92