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The Path Laid by Prophets So, could Jesus have been a fake Messiah, fooling even the most noteworthy religious scholars? Is it possible he was groomed by his parents or undisclosed mentors to become the long-promised king that Israel had been looking for?In fact, if Jesus was an imposter, he would not be the first person in the history of Israel to have lied about being the Messiah. Through the centuries prior to Christ's birth, and afterward as well, many self-proclaimed messiahs arose, only to be shown to be cons or lunatics. Ancient Hebrew prophecies had clearly predicted the reign of a future king who would bring peace to Israel and be their Savior. A sense of expectancy filled the land and captivated Jewish hopes and aspirations. In such an atmosphere as Israel's, could not someone less qualified have been pressed into, or conformed himself to fit, the mold of Messiah? The answer to that question hangs on the Old Testament prophecies pointing to the Messiah. God's Mouth Pieces According to the Scriptures, the God of the Hebrews spoke to his people through prophets, men and women who were especially attuned to God and who may or may not have been a part of the religious establishment. Some of the prophets' messages were for the present; others, for the future. Either way, their role was to proclaim God's declarations and disclosures to the people. In general, being a prophet ranked up there with working at a meatpacking plant among the world's most hazardous occupations. Even when they were telling the truth, prophets might be killed or thrown into prison by people who didn't like what they were saying. (Some kings hated hearing bad news.) According to historical accounts, the prophet Isaiah was sawn in half. So consider a prophet's dilemma: death if he was proved wrong and the possibility of death if he was right. No true prophet wanted to offend God, and just as few wanted to be sawn in half. Thus most prophets waited until they were absolutely convinced that God had spoken, or else they kept their mouths shut. Kings began to shudder at their words. A true prophet's messages were never wrong. Now here's a question: how would the accuracy of these biblical prophets match up with today's psychics? Prophets vs Psychics? To consider whether modern psychics' accuracy approaches that of biblical prophets, let's take Jean Dixon as a case study. This American psychic seemed to have a special ability to foretell events. But upon analysis her reputation seems unwarranted. For instance, Dixon had a vision that on February 5, 1962, a child was born in the Middle East who would transform the world by the year 2000. This special man would create a one-world religion and bring lasting world peace. She saw a cross growing above this man until it covered the whole earth. According to Dixon, this child would be a descendant of the ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti. 1 Where is this guy? Have you seen him? And how about that lasting world peace-it's nice, huh? (Next) |