Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
As we prepare for the Christmas season, Brian Chilton and Curtis Evelo begin a new series which discusses messianic prophecies. Messianic prophecies speak to the future coming of the Messiah and the characteristics surrounding his Advent. In the first episode, Brian and Curtis describe early messianic prophecies as found in the first five books of the Bible–called either the Torah or the Pentateuch.
- When we speak of messianic prophecies, what do we mean?
- Tell us about the protoevangelium, or the Edenic Prediction, of Genesis 3:15.
- Is it important to hold some notion of a Satanic or demonic entity in Genesis 3 to hold to this prophecy?
- Can you tell us about the Noahic messianic prophecy in Genesis 9:25-27?
- Tell us about the Abrahamic messianic prophecies of Genesis 12 and the eight promises that God gave to Abraham.
- What can you tell us about the Judaic prophecy in Genesis 49:8-12, and how does “Shiloh” figure into this prophecy?
- What about the Balaamic prophecy in Numbers 24:15-19?
- To conclude this part of our podcast, what can be said of the Mosaic prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18?
Brian Chilton: Founder of Bellator Christi Ministries
Brian G. Chilton is the founder of BellatorChristi.com, the co-host of The Bellator Christi Podcast, and the author of the Layman’s Manual on Christian Apologetics. Brian is a PhD Candidate in the Theology and Apologetics program at Liberty University. He holds an MDiv in Theology from Liberty University and a Bachelor of Science from Gardner-Webb University. He has served in pastoral ministry for 20 years and currently serves as a clinical hospice chaplain.
https://www.amazon.com/Laymans-Manual-Christian-Apologetics-Essentials/dp/1532697104
Curtis Evelo: Co-Host and Producer of the Bellator Christi Podcast
Curtis Evelo is a cattle rancher at the E6 Hereford Ranch in St. Ignatius, Montana. Curtis is the Co-Host and Producer of the Bellator Christi Podcast. He often teaches and speaks at his church Cornerstone Faith Center in St. Ignatius. Curtis provides a common-sense approach to Christianity as he contemplates the wonders of God’s creation in Big Sky Country.
Thanks for the questions Barry..
So let me begin by saying thanks for engaging with Bellator Christi I hope to provide some answers and the team will also help if necessary.
1st question and to give a short answer…. No .. it doesn’t provide skeptics with a “reasonable justification “ .. so now for a little more depth to the answer . Most of the OT “messianic prophecies “ that Christians hold and understand as solid prophecies are ones that are backed by Jewish and Christian scholars alike .
2nd question any prophecy that is “messianic” is a prophecy about the messiah that is what that word means
so those that look at Jesus as the savior would also say Jesus “The Messiah” is salvation . In John 8 Jesus made many” I Am “ statements to those in the crowd questioning him and those “I Am “ statements got the religious Jewish crowd so upset that they tried to kill him at that point.. they knew what he was claiming and that is He is “The Messiah “ He is The “I Am “ .
3rd question there are many reasons a “skeptic “ should care .. if the skeptic was being honest in their search and actually doing a careful study of the OT and NT they would see that there is no contradiction between the two.. in fact there is one person in the New Testament that can verify what was stated in the Old Testament and that person is Jesus.. so what did Jesus teach and speak on during his time in ministry?
Does 2,000 years of Jews rejecting the Christian interpretation of those OT texts provide today’s skeptic with a reasonable justification to ignore them?
Not all Christians interpret OT messianic prophecies as referring to Jesus, so if even presumably spiritually alive people cannot agree on what such texts mean, isn’t it clear that it is foolish to ‘expect’ spiritually dead skeptics to have a more accurate understanding?
Is there a reason skeptics should care, given that the NT doctrine of eternal conscious torment contradicts the OT sense of God’s justice, and therefore, there is no “danger” in rejecting the gospel, except the fate that atheists already accept…annihilation of consciousness?