There are 456 OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW TESTAMENT PROPHECIES about the Messiah that were fulfilled by the life of Jesus Christ. The reason why prophecy is an indication of the divine authorship of the Scriptures, and hence a testimony to the trustworthiness of the message of the Scriptures, is because of the minute probability of fulfillment. Anyone can make predictions, for that is simple. Having prophecies fulfilled is vastly different. In fact, the more statements made about the future, and the more the detail, then the less likely the precise fulfillment will be.
For example, what is the likelihood of a person predicting today the exact city in which the birth of a future leader would take place, well into the 21st century? This is indeed what the prophet Micah did 700 years before the Messiah. Further, what is the likelihood of predicting the precise manner of death that a new, unknown religious leader would experience, a thousand years from now - a manner of death presently unknown, and to remain unknown for hundreds of years? Yet, this is indeed what David did in 1000 B.C. Again, what is the likelihood of predicting the specific date of the appearance of some great future leader, hundreds of years in advance? Yet, this is indeed what Daniel did, 530 years before Christ. If one were to conceive 50 specific prophecies about a person in the future, who one would never meet, just what is the likelihood that this person will fulfill all 50 of the predictions? How much less would this likelihood be if 25 of these predictions were about what other people would do to him, and were completely beyond his control? For example, how does someone "arrange" to be born in a specific family? How does one "arrange" to be born in a specified city, in which their parents do not actually live?
Indeed, it may be possible for someone to fake one or two of the Messianic prophecies, but it would be impossible for any one person to arrange and fulfill all of these prophecies. David Greenglass was a World War II traitor. He gave atomic secrets to the Russians and then fled to Mexico after the war. His conspirators arranged to help him by planning a meeting with the secretary of the Russian ambassador in Mexico City. Proper identification for both parties became vital. Greenglass was to identify himself with six prearranged signs. These instructions had been given to both the secretary and Greenglass so there would be no possibility of making a mistake. They were : (1) once in Mexico City Greenglass was to write a note to the secretary, signing his name as "I. Jackson"; (2) after three days he was to go to the Plaza de Colon in Mexico City and (3) stand before the statue of Columbus, (4) with his middle finger placed in a guide book. In addition, (5) when he was approached, he was to say it was a magnificent statue and that he was from Oklahoma. (6) The secretary was to then give him a passport. The six prearranged signs worked. Why? With six identifying characteristics it was impossible for the secretary not to identify Greenglass as the proper contact. How true, then, it must be that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah if He had 456 identifying characteristics well in advance, and fulfilled them all!
In fact, what does the science of probability make of this? The science of probability attempts to determine the chance that a given event will occur. The value and accuracy of the science of probability has been well established beyond doubt - for example, insurance rates are fixed according to statistical probabilities. Professor Emeritus of Science at Westmont College, Peter Stoner, has calculated the probability of one man fulfilling the major prophecies made concerning the Messiah. The estimates were worked out by twelve different classes, representing some 600 college students. The students carefully weighed all the factors, discussed each prophecy at length, and examined the various circumstances which might indicate that men had conspired together to fulfill a particular prophecy. They made their estimates conservative enough so that there was finally unanimous agreement even among the most skeptical students. However, then Professor Stoner took their estimates and made them even more conservative. He also encouraged other skeptics or scientists to make their own estimates to see if his conclusions were more than fair. Finally, he submitted his figures for review to a Committee of the American Scientific Affiliation. Upon examination, they verified that his calculations were dependable and accurate in regard to the scientific material presented (Peter Stoner, Science Speaks, Chicago: Moody Press, 1969, 4).
After examining only eight different prophecies (Idem, 106), they conservatively estimated that the chance of one man fulfilling all eight prophecies was one in 10^17.
Suppose that we take 10^17 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote them in their own wisdom (Idem, 106-107).
In financial terms, is there anyone who would not invest in a financial venture if the chance of failure were only one in 10^17? This is the kind of sure investment we are offered by God for belief in His Messiah. Professor Stoner, from these figures, draws the conclusion the fulfillment of these eight prophecies alone proves that God inspired the writing of the prophecies(Idem, 107) - the likelihood of mere chance is only one in 10^17! Another way of saying this is that any person who minimizes or ignores the significance of the Biblical identifying signs concerning the Messiah would be ignoring all mathematical and scientific logic and reasoning.. But, of course, there are many more than eight prophecies.
In another calculation, Stoner used 48 prophecies (Idem, 109) (even though he could have used Edersheim's 456) and arrived at the extremely conservative estimate that the probability of 48 prophecies being fulfilled in one person is the incredible number 10^157.
According to Emile Borel, once one goes past one chance in 10^50, the probabilities are so small that it is impossible to think that they will ever occur. As Stoner concludes, "Any man who rejects Christ as the Son of God is rejecting a fact proved perhaps more absolutely than any other fact in the world (Stoner, op. cit., 112)." reference
A GOOGOL IS : 10^100 or 1 Followed by 100 Zeros
EXAMPLE: Some estimate our known universe to span 16 billion light years. If you counted the gas molecules in 118 Million Light Years Cubed, you would have slightly over a googol molecules.
The number 10^157 is only based on 48 of the 456 prophecies fulfilled by one individual. If you have ever had any doubt about Jesus Christ being who the Bible states He is, absolutely all doubt should be removed at this point.
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