Good Friday: Promises Fulfilled

"You follow Jesus? What makes him so unique or different from all the other prophets who claim to have a message from God?" "Jesus taught 2000 years ago. I like to believe in a more contemporary thought." "Jesus? Wasn't he some guy that lived a long time ago?" All are statements admonished by folks who haven't delved into the uniqueness of the Christ. But all are valid and worth having an answer for. Why should we base our life upon the teachings of someone who lived two millennia ago? What is it that actually sets him apart from all the rest?

There are numerous aspects of this Christ which make Him vastly different from the rest of us. His pure, sinless life; His predefined purpose; His foreknowledge of events; the ability to know people's thoughts and motives; His resurrection and defeat of death; His ascension to heaven and His fulfillment of a minion of prophecies... the list could go on and on! "Promises Fulfilled" takes an affectionate look at the Jesus promised in prophecy, the Christ who was supposed to come... and did! This is the Jesus who time itself claimed to be Lord!

If time itself proclaims Jesus to be Lord, we must understand what time is. Here, we find a reflection on the universal triune has been set in place. Science determines time to be one of the three parts which comprise the universe in which we live... time, matter and space. Then, when taking this same division of three, science breaks time itself down into three parts... past, present and future. This is time as we know it in the physical realm. Every person lives and functions under the restrictions of time's three parts. We can try to remember the past; live the present; and hope for the future. But if we are to know anything beyond time's boundaries, it must be revealed by someone existing outside our physical realm. Someone without our restrictions. Someone who can know the past, present and future naturally. Someone like the God Who revealed Himself in scripture!

This God not only knows the past and future, but has chosen to give us important revelations regarding them. These revelations shed light on undocumented and otherwise unknown events from the earliest prehistoric past. They also reveal areas of future events; places; and people; of which and whom He considers important for us to have knowledge of. Those revelations have been recorded by His chosen prophets and are intermixed throughout the historical accounts in the written texts we refer to as the Bible. Since it is of utmost importance to know if these prophets have actually been sent by God, we must determine, "Are his prophecies accurate? Do they come to pass? Do they reflect what God has revealed? Are they consistent with other proven prophecies?"

When looking at the hundreds of accurate prophecies given by God, it becomes apparent that the central focus of many is the person of Jesus Christ. If the sheer amount of prophecies pertaining to a specific individual amount to the person's timeless importance, then Jesus easily emerges as the most important figure in our world's history! There is a reason God considers Jesus to be so incredibly important. There is a reason Jesus has been set apart from all others who made the claim of having been sent from God. There is a reason why after thousands of years Jesus still lives within His followers. It's not an accident or a coincidence... Jesus is the only true and accurate reflection of God Himself! If we are to know God intimately, we must get to know Jesus!

While on earth, Jesus knew when and where he was fulfilling prophecies regarding Himself. His fulfillment of prophecy went far beyond any predictions in which his own efforts might have been able to successfully fulfill. There were literally dozens of prophetic fulfillments which were completely out of His capabilities to physically carry-out, such as: His birth; His death; His resurrection; the time; the place; and the actions, deeds and attitudes of other people. The chances of Jesus, or any other person, to fulfill all the Messianic prophecies is entirely implausible... and yet He did just that! When Jesus makes the bold statement of His deity, "I am the truth and the life," He has God-ordained proof that He's telling the truth. The heavens, time and space accurately declare Him truthful!

"Promises Fulfilled" is a tribute to the Messiah who came and did just what scripture had promised He would do. The constraints of a three minute song determined that most messianic prophecies had to be ignored. So the lyrics focus on a few prophecies selectively taken from the book of Isaiah which paint an accurate, clear and detailed portrait of Jesus' life!

"Promises Fulfilled" could only have been written about Jesus. No other religion or system has as it's central figure a person or deity who is so accurately portrayed in precise detail, over and over again, for centuries prior to his earthly birth. There never has been anyone like our Lord Jesus... and there never will be! We rejoice in the great things He has done... and for the multitudes of prophecies He promised and fulfilled!

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