The Odds ..

The Old Testament was written between 1450 BC and 430 BC. It was during this time period that the many prophecies in salvation history were made. So, let us look at "probabilities" when it comes to a single person fulfilling these prophesies.

Scientists guesstimate that 110 - 160 billion human beings have existed throughout history. There are close to 8 billion people alive right now which means approximately 7% of all the people that ever existed are alive right now.

The following probabilities are taken from PETER STONER IN "SCIENCE SPEAKS" (MOODY PRESS). Stoner says that if we use the modern science of probability in reference to EIGHT PROPHECIES, the chance that any man who ever lived down to the present time that could have fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 10 to the power of 17, or the number "1" with 17 zeroes = 100,000,000,000,000,000.

In order to help us comprehend this staggering probability, Stoner illustrates it by supposing that we take 1 in 10 to the power of 17 silver dollars and lay them over the State of Texas which is 268,820 square miles. The Silver Dollars will cover the entire State of Texas two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly. Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he gets just one chance to pick up the marked silver dollar. What chance would he have of getting the right one? The same chance that the prophets had of writing eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man.

From the book "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell, the estimated number of electrons in the known universe is around 10 to the power of 79. Now, compare 10/79 to what Stoner says happens if you bump it up from 8 to 48 prophecies, We find the chance that any one man fulfilled all 48 prophecies to be 1 in 10/157, or 1 with 157 zeros:

100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

Now, bump that number up from 48 prophecies to 272 prophecies listed and fulfilled in this book and the numbers are absolutely staggering. It would be 1 chance in a TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION, TRILLION and Jesus would have to fulfill every single one of them. Jesus fulfilled them all.