Without preparation the hearer cannot hear to profit. The sermon may fail because the preacher has failed in prayerful and thoughtful preparation; [but] the sermon may [also] fail because of the [lack] of thorough preparation in the pew.
E.M. Bounds

Are The Odds In Your Favor

Are The Odds In Your Favor

Are The Odds In Your Favor?

by Bob Chappell

We all in some way or another are trying to beat the odds, only to find that we have become one of the alarming statistics that shapes the odds. For every winner there are thousands of losers. We never hear of the losers, just the winners. This stirs us up to try to beat a never ending cycle.

Science has developed a method of studying odds. It is called the science of compound probabilities; a mathematical study of situations and the odds of possible outcomes.

One of the most amazing studies conducted using this method was recorded by professor Peter Stoner in “Science Speaks”.

The purpose of the study was to determine the odds of one man in history fulfilling all the prophecies, recorded in the Bible, that point to the Jewish Messiah. There are 300 different messianic Bible prophecies; Stoner chose 61 that are clearly defined and specific for his study. It is interesting that one man has already fulfilled all 300 Prophecies: His name is Jesus Christ.

To begin, eight prophecies were chosen that were totally beyond the human control of Jesus such as:

  1. His place of birth (Micah 5:2)
  2. Time of birth (Daniel 9:25, Genesis 49:10)
  3. Manner of birth (Isaiah 7:14)
  4. Betrayal (Zechariah 11:11 – 13) 5) Manner of death (Psalm 22:16), (Crucifixion).

Note the crucifixion in detail, down to the gambling of the Roman soldiers for his robe. This was written 800 years before crucifixion was invented by the Romans.

6) Piercing of hands, feet and side (Psalm 22, Zechariah 12:10)

7) People mocking (Isaiah 53, Psalm 22) 8) Burial (Isaiah 53:9)

The compound probability of these eight prophecies being fulfilled is 1 in 10 to the seventeenth power. That is 1 in 100, 000,000,000,000,000. To illustrate this take this many silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They cover the entire state two feet deep. Next, mark a silver dollar, fly over Texas and drop it out anywhere. Then blindfold someone and let him parachute in anywhere he wants. He should take his time, he gets only one pick and the coin he picks must be the one you marked. What chance would he have of getting the right one?

Just the same chance that the prophets had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, Jesus fulfilled them all.

Now let’s raise the odds using 48 prophecies. We find the chance of any one man fulfilling 48 prophecies to be 1 in 10 to the one hundred and fifty seventh power. To Visualize this the silver dollar we have is too large. So let’s use an electron.

Electrons are so small that it takes 2.5 times 10 to the sixteenth power of them laid side by side to make a line one inch long. To count the electrons in this one inch line, you would have to count them at a rate of 250 each minute, day and night for 19 million years. If we had a cubic inch of these electrons, it would take us counting steadily 250 each minute for 19 Million years X 19 Million years X 19 Million years or 6.9 X 10 to the twenty first power, years.

To create a 1 in 10 to the one hundred and fifty seventh power situation, we need a mass of electron balls the size of our known universe. The universe is 12 billion light years in diameter. This number of electron balls will require 6 billion years of around the clock production. Mark one electron, in one electron ball and send it about 6 billion light years away from the earth, then send a man in a space probe in search of the marked electron, blindfolded, of course!

The odds of this man choosing the marked electron his first try, are equal to the odds of one man fulfilling only 48 Bible prophecies. Jesus fulfilled over 300 Bible Prophecies.

Jesus did not fall victim to the odds, nor did he beat the odds. Jesus Shapes the odds! There is much more involved here than just prophecies being fulfilled. In fact these Bible prophecies reveal a specific plan made by the God of the Bible for the redemption and salvation of mankind, His creation, from the lost degenerate state he has fallen to. These Bible prophecies were written to reveal God’s desire to re-establish a personal relationship between Himself and every individual human being. This relationship is to be based upon God’s love, which each person experiences when they respond to the prophecies written in God’s word, the bible, by putting their trust in Jesus who fulfilled them all.

Now that the odds pertaining to Jesus and the Bible prophecies have been literally fulfilled, they are no longer odds. These are facts that have become established realities.

These are Realities that cannot be ignored. Each person reading this article is left with a choice to respond to the facts about Jesus: to receive or reject Him.

Now I will close with one final question.

Are the odds in your favor?

If you would like to ” beat the odds “, receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Get a Bible and begin reading with Romans 10:8 – 13.

This tract may be freely copied and distributed. For printed copies please contact: Calvary Press P.O. Box 11554 Phila., Pa. 19116