Illuminati Hunters and those who Follow Them

Recently, I saw a headline on my feed: “Are Theresa May and Angela Merkel in the ILLUMINATI?” The report says the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has been “caught up in a bizarre Internet conspiracy theory involving claims of a secret EU Illuminati society” because of a certain “hand sign” she used.

It further disclosed that the same “hand sign” (shaped like a diamond or pyramid) was also used by German Chancellor, Angela Merkel and European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

In a bid to make the readers chew on this with a sensational teeth, the report quotes an anonymous Illuminati researcher who calls this hand gesture “the Roc sign” or “Merkel-Raute,” which has also been linked with personalities like Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise and Pope John Paul II (Daily Mail, July 23, 2016).

Sensationalism sells. And in an online space where such banality thrives, it attracts people who feed on such. I pointed out that Illuminati conspiracy nutters always see “the illuminati” behind every cat and shadow. They see it in their coffee, newspapers, TV screens and even in their toilets. It’s a pathetic way to live.

I received nasty responses in return. I was told to “go back to sleep” and “see an optometrist” to know who my real enemies (the illuminatis) are. I was called “poor Victor” and a “stupid man” who doesn’t know that the Illuminati wants “to dumb us down and to cause cancer.”

Of course, I wasn’t expecting an intellectually riveting discussion there, but I did see what I had anticipated – a batch of depressed, paranoid people who envisage a very big Satan and very small God.

When I wrote about this in 2014, I noted that every generation often sees the need to blame an individual, a sector or cult for all their problems. This is what the Illuminati hysteria is built on. The cult is portrayed as lurking in the shadows, pulling the strings and levers of power and controlling all world events.

It doesn’t even occur to most Illuminati-obsessed Christians that since the Bavarian Illuminati was founded on May 1, 1776, various organizations have claimed or purported to have links to the Bavarian Illuminati, without any substantiation.

Now, I believe the Illuminati cult is real and deadly – like other branches of the occult – but when a Christian spends all his days hunting for cultic conspiracies, he has lost his spiritual bearing. Such Christians are no different from media “ghostbuster” psychics or New Age kooks who rake in money by visiting haunted mansions to interview talkative spirits or seeking out some “signs” up in an attic.

Many Illuminati conspiracy fans live in a paranoid bubble universe which renders them incapable of taking responsibility for their lives.

If they can’t find employment, it’s the Illuminati. If the prevalence of cancer increases, they blame the “elites.” Almost every political downturn or distinguished success achieved by a public figure is hanged on the Illuminati tree.

Like ideologues (in the worst sense of the term), they grasp for straws to bolster their mindset. There is a Facebook page called the “Vigilant Citizen” which specialises in this craft. It links virtually every major world event with the Illuminati. The silliness and scare tactics being churned out on that page is reminiscent of the moonlight tales some African villagers utilize to make their children see demons under their dirty fingernails.

Most of these self-styled “experts” gain recognition by instilling fear into people. And as anyone who is schooled in spiritual warfare knows, a morbid fear of Satan and his minions is the first weapon that defeats Christians.

Once your fear of Satan’s slaves is greater than your faith in God and His Word, you open a door to demonic attacks. God has a reason for saying: “Do not call everything a conspiracy like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them … the LORD Almighty is the one … you are to fear” (Isa. 8:12-13).

True, the whole world lies in darkness, but we must also acknowledge that our God is Sovereign. Jesus has given us authority over all powers of the enemy and the Holy Spirit living in us is greater than the evil one living in all the slaves of Satan.

The Illuminati-spotting business is a counterfeit form of Christian discernment. If you are in a right relationship with God, He will reveal to you if a person is an agent of Satan if He wills. While it’s vital to walk in discernment, we mustn’t be occupied with trying to figure out which entertainer or politician is a witch at the expense of our own walk with God.

Many Illuminati theorists lack this relationship (most are not even born again), so they solely rely on using carnal and often misleading methods to detect Satan’s servants with some sifting through the murky waters of occult myths to make up links where there are none.

A “Teaching Office” or Broken Cisterns?

“An unexamined faith is not worth believing.” This maxim rings true considering how many Catholics give a blind allegiance to the “infallible” and “indefectible” Church of Rome.

The institutional certainty of  Roman Catholicism boils down to a single code: “We are infallible and indefectible because we say so!” But such nostrums fly in the face of reality.

For one, almost every speech from Pope Francis elicits a litany of articles by Rome’s apologists who struggle to “clean up” the mess he creates. It’s like trying to dress up a monkey as a dove while its ugly face and hairy tail keep popping out. Like Merida’s efforts in Brave, to prevent others from seeing that the Queen had changed to a beast.

The Israelites were in a similar condition in Jeremiah’s time. Their prophets were mediums of Baal and the people had replaced God with idols. They had forsaken God, the Living Water and had dug for themselves “broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jer. 2:13).

They only had fig leaves to cover their spiritual nakedness. It appealed to the physical senses and human wisdom, but it was an empty religious system lacking divine approval and spiritual refreshment.

This aptly fits Roman Catholicism. Its theological landscape is a strange one – full of unexpected detours, inconsistencies and surprisingly contradictory backwaters. Let’s look at some examples:

1. The ecumenical and “infallible” Council of Florence decreed:

“It firmly believes, professes and proclaims that those not living within the Catholic church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics cannot become participants in eternal life, but will depart ‘into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels’ [Matt. 25:41], unless before the end of life the same have been added to the flock … no one … even if he has shed blood for the name of Christ, can be saved, unless he has remained in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church” (Denzinger, 714).

Yet, another “infallible” Council says the opposite:

“Those who can attain to salvation [are those] who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God” (Vatican II, Sec. 16)

Then the Catholic Catechism says:

“Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth is necessary for salvation...” (# 846).

But in his message on the feast of St. Cajetan, Pope Francis was asked “Do you need to convince the other to become Catholic?” He answered “No, no, no” (Catholic News, August 7, 2013).

But this view flies against that of Pope Pius XII who said:

“For those who do not belong to the visible Church … none can be assured of eternal salvation” (Mistici Corporis, June, 29, 1943).

2. “Retired” Pope Benedict XVI said:

“Whoever seeks peace and the good of the community with a pure conscience, and keeps the desire for the transcendent, will be saved even if he lacks biblical faith” (November 30, 2005).

Pope Francis echoes this during this year’s Feast of Epiphany:

“Many think differently, feel differently, seeking God or meeting God in different ways. In this crowd, in this range of religions, there is only once certainty that we have for all: we are all children of God” (Catholic News Agency, Jan. 7, 2016).

But six months later, Francis tweeted:

If God is present in our life, the joy of bringing the Gospel will be our strength and our happiness.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 28, 2016

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Today the Lord repeats to all pastors: follow me despite the difficulties, follow me by proclaiming the Gospel to all.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 29, 2016

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Now, if everyone is God’s children, then no one really needs the Gospel.

Yet this same Francis appointed Shellen Huber, an atheist, to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and was chosen by him to present his encyclical on the environment in May 2015.

If we go by his tweets, we can infer that Francis is not following the Lord and doesn’t have His presence in his life.

3. Pope Eugene IV declared that “there is hope that very many from the abominable sect of Mahomet [Muhammad] will be converted to the Catholic faith” (Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, 1:479).

But the Catechism now says: “The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims...” (Sec. 841)

On May 14, 1999, Pope John Paul II bowed and kissed a Quran presented to him. He later said: “May Saint John the Baptist protect Islam” (Vatican News Mar. 21, 2000).

In contrast, Pope Benedict XVI in his Regensberg lecture quoted Byzantine Emperor Manuel Paleologus who said:

“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword of the faith he preached” (Faith, Reason and the University, Sept. 12, 2006).

This statement blew the turbans off the heads of several Muslim leaders in different countries. But that same month, Benedict XVI publicly received a Quran and said:

“My personal view of the Qur’an for which I have the respect due to the holy book of a great religion.”

Since his installation, Francis has called for Islamic prayers and Quranic readings at the Vatican and has visited the Blue Mosque in Turkey to pray to the god of Islam.

The views of Catholics opposed to Islam notwithstanding, it’s no more an “abominable sect” to Rome.

4. The Catechism says:

“The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death, the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire‘” (1035, 615).

But in 1998, Pope John Paul II says hell is figuratively “the complete frustration and emptiness of life without God … Rather than a physical place, hell is the state of those who freely and definitely separate themselves from God, the source of life and joy … [It is] a condition resulting from attitudes and actions which people adopt in this life … The thought of hell and even less the improper use of biblical images must not create anxiety or despair” (Vatican News, July 28).

The Catechism says:

“Jesus often speaks of ‘Gehenna’ of ‘the unquenchable fire’ reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost” (1034, 612).

But the Vatican-approved La Civilta Cattolica quenched hell’s flames:

“Hell exists, not as a place but as a state, a way of being of the person who suffers the pain of the deprivation of God” (Los Angeles Times July, 31, 1999).

5. The Catechism defines sin as “an offense against reason, truth and right conscience … It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as ‘an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law” (1849, 121).

But Pope Francis wrote in his biography:

“I often say that the only glory we have, as Saint Paul says, is that of being sinners … That’s why, for me, sin is not a stain I need to clean” (Conversations, 2014, 120, 121).

When asked if he approves of homosexuality, Francis, like a good Jesuit, toe-dances the question:

“Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of the person with love or reject and condemn this person? We must always consider the person. Here we enter into the mystery of the human being” (The American Magazine, September 30, 2013).

6. The Catechism declares that Satan is real and “may cause grave injuries – of a spiritual nature and indirectly, even of a physical nature – to each man and to society” and is “permitted by divine providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history” (No. 395).

But in his book, In the Beginning, Benedict XVI dismisses the existence of demons from which human may protect themselves from because eternal Reason underlies all of creation (1995, p. 9).

In 2006, he exhorted Catholics “to say ‘yes’ to Christ, who destroys the power of evil with the omnipotence of Love. We know that only hearts converted to Love which is God, can build a better future for all” (Immaculate Conception Anniversary).

Then in 2012, it was reported in the news that this same Benedict XVI “exorcised two men in the Vatican” – with what, sweet love?

Conversely, Francis his successor talks about demons so much that some Catholics are now having goose pimples.

7. Pope John Paul II told a large Hindu audience in India:

“Indeed, India’s greatest contribution to the world can be to offer it a spiritual vision of man. And the world does well to attend willingly to this ancient wisdom and in it to find enrichment for living” (L’Osservatore, Feb. 10, 1986).

But in his encyclical Dominus Iesus he says:

“The Church’s constant missionary proclamation is endangered today by relativistic theories which seek to justify religious pluralism, not only de factor but also de iure (or in principle). As a consequence, it is held that certain truths have been super-ceded … For this reason, the distinction between theological faith and belief in other religions, must be firmly held” (par. 4-5).

Now, Papa Francis says:

“I am respectful of all new spiritual proposals … Surviving the passage of time is the major test of spiritual purity” (On Heaven and Earth, p. 236).

Using this logic, witchcraft would also be “spiritually pure” since it has survived the passage of time.

Recounting his visit to a Buddhist temple in Columbo, Sri Lanka, in January 2015, the Vatican News reports Francis saying:

“In this temple there were relics of two disciples of the Buddha that for them are very important. These relics were in England and they managed to get them there, and they took them out so we could look at them.”

Try to imagine apostle Paul praising the “ancient wisdom” of Greek paganism “to find enrichment for living” or apostle Peter on a surprise visit to the Temple of Diana in Ephesus to view their special relics.

8. When Francis became pope in April 2013, he was praised by the Grand Masters of the Grand Orient Freemasonic Lodges of Italy and Argentina who had publicly supported his election. An interesting twist, considering how Masonry is publicly denounced by Rome.

In the picture, Francis gives what looks like a sign of the master of the second veil in Masonry. Indeed, some of Francis’ statements are in tune with Masonic/pagan beliefs.

In an address, he declared: “Muslims, Jews, Orthodox, Catholics and others. We are all brothers and sisters! We all adore the One God! Never ever let there be separation among you” (L’Osservatore, May, 22, 2015).

Similarly, his tweet on June 20, 2016 says: “We are all on a journey to the common house of heaven…” These are closer to Masonic beliefs. Not everyone is serving God or on the path to a “common heaven.”

In his speech at the United Nations, he said:

“[T]he Earth never forgives. Protect our sister Earth, our Mother Earth, so that she does not respond with destruction” (L’Osservatore, Nov. 28, 2014, 16). This is rooted in a Pagan/New Age concept of earth as a living goddess.

Catholics generally avoid questioning whatever Rome says. Even when compelling evidence are stacked against the Magisterium, they still put their trust in it. “The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus and He won’t allow it to fail,” they argue. This is self-deceit.

If the “living teaching office” that is supposed to safeguard you from heresies has become a purveyor of spiritual confusion and death, your reliance on it is misplaced. “God is not the author of confusion” (1Cor. 14:33). Discard the broken cisterns and place your faith solely in Jesus, the Living Fountain and follow His Word.

Jesus: The Promised Messiah

One of the evidences of the authenticity and inspiration of the Bible is its prophecy. It not only provides an irrefutable proof for the existence of the God who inspired the prophets but also distinguishes the Bible as God’s Word out of the “sacred books” of the world’s religions.

Biblical prophecies revolve around two major themes: the nation of Israel and Jesus the Messiah who came through Israel as the Saviour of all mankind. This piece will focus on the latter.

God inspired the Bible prophets to provide details about the lineage, birth, mission, death and resurrection of the Messiah and these were accurately fulfilled in Jesus. Thus, Jesus stands out as unique and without any rival out of the founders of religions (e.g Muhammad, Buddha, Confucius).

Some skeptics who intend to disprove Bible prophecy propounded what I call the “Passover Plot” theory. It claims that Jesus conspired with Judas and the apostles to fulfil the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament so as to convince them He was the Messiah.

But let’s take a look at these messianic prophecies and how they were fulfilled.

1. Virgin birth. The first promise of the Messiah was given in Genesis 3:15. God foretold that there will be enmity between Satan and the Messiah which was identified as “her seed.” The phrase “her seed” points to the virgin birth which was fulfilled in Jesus. He was born of Mary alone, without Joseph’s participation (Mt. 1:16).

In Isaiah 7:14 a promise was given to the unbelieving King Ahaz: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son…” The Hebrew word rendered as “virgin” is almah which is also used for Rebekah as a virgin (Gen. 24:43), maids of the young (Ex. 2:8) virgins/unwed young women (SOS 11:3) and damsels (Ps. 68:25-26). The word almah “never refers to a maiden who has lost her virginity” (Gleason Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, 1982, 266-68)

A writer claimed this prophecy failed because vs 16 says before Jesus reaches the age of maturity, two Jewish countries would be destroyed. This is a classic display of ignorance. After vs. 14-16, Isaiah wasn’t talking about Jesus but “the boy” whom he later names as “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.” He was the son of Abi, the bride of King Ahaz (Is. 8:3).

The prophecy said that “two kings” Ahaz dreaded “will be laid waste” and this was fulfilled about 3 years after this boy was born, when the two kings of Syria and Ephraim were killed (2 Kings 15:30; 16:9).

2. Patriarchal Line. God’s promised Abraham that “in you all the family of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:2). This is connected with the Messiah coming from his line. The same promise was repeated to Isaac and Jacob (Gen. 17:19; 25:23).

Numbers 24:17-19 says a “star will come out of Jacob; a scepter [ruler] will rise out of Israel” who will crush the enemy and have dominion. These promises were fulfilled in Jesus who came from this very lineage (Mt. 1:1).

3. The Line of Judah. Genesis 49:10 says “The sceptre will not depart from Judah … until he comes to whom it belongs.” The sceptre was still in Judah when Jesus was born, though by the time Jesus had completed His mission, it had departed as evidenced by the rabbis’ inability to exact the death penalty (Jn. 18:31).

4. The Line of David. In God’s promise to David, He included the coming of the Messiah who would have an everlasting dynasty (“house”); rule (“throne”) over people (“kingdom”), and His rule would be “eternal.” (2 Sam. 7:12-16) This promise was expanded in Psalm 89 and by prophet Isaiah that the Messiah will reign on the “throne of his father David” (Is. 9:7).

Jesus fulfilled this by coming through the lineage of David (Mt. 1:6). Matthew gives a lineage of Joseph while Luke gave that of Mary, but only placed Joseph’s name in place of Mary (Lk. 3).

5. His Place of birth. Micah 5:2 predicted the birthplace of the Christ as Bethlehem, a town so small and insignificant in Judah that it was not often listed. This was the town where Jesus was born (Lk. 2:4).

The lineage, place and timing of the Jesus’ birth as foretold were obviously beyond the influence of any ordinary mortal or a “passover plot”. His birth had to occur before the sceptre departed from Judah (Gen. 49:10), while the temple was still standing (Mal. 3:1), while the genealogical records were available to prove His lineage (2 Sam. 7:12) and shortly before the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed (Dan. 9:26).

These weren’t mere coincidences or chances. There was a narrow time range within which the Messiah had to come – and He did. Jesus’ coming followed a divinely arranged time-table. “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman [i.e virgin born]…” (Gal. 4:4).

6. His forerunner. Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would have a forerunner who will call men to repentance and “prepare the way for the Lord” (Is. 40:3). Prophet Malachi calls this forerunner a “messenger who will prepare the way before” the Messiah (Mal. 3:1). This messenger was John the Baptist who prepared the way before Jesus (Jn. 1:23, Mk. 1:2-3).

7. His mission. Isaiah says that “The Spirit of the Lord God” will come upon the Christ to empower and anoint Him to preach the gospel and release those in spiritual bondage (Is. 61:1). The Spirit of God came on Jesus and anointed Him (Jn. 1:32). God promised to “honor the Galilee of the Gentiles” and show them His light. In fulfilment Christ settled in Nazareth – in the midst of the Gentiles – a Roman province (Is. 9:1-2; Mt. 4:15-16).

8. His life. In Isaiah 7:14, the coming Messiah was called Immanuel meaning “God with us.” This was fulfilled in Jesus’ life and ministry. The name sums up the words and works of God which Christ acutely demonstrated. Thus, God’s people could testify: “God has come to help his people.” (Lk. 7:16)

9. His ministry. Isaiah speaks of the Lord’s coming when “the eyes of the blind” will open “and the ears of the deaf unstopped” (Is. 35:5) along with the promises of “freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners” (61:1-2) from the Lord’s anointed.

This fits in perfectly with Jesus’ earthly ministry in opening the eyes of the blind, opening the ears of the deaf, expelling demons, raising the dead, healing the lame and preaching the gospel to the people (Mt. 11:5-6). Isaiah 42:2-4 predicted that the Messiah would not be warlike or contentious, but kind and compassionate. This is said of Jesus (Mt. 12:19-21).

10. His teaching. Prophet David predicted One who will “open [his] mouth in parables … [and] utter hidden things, things from of old” (Ps. 78:2). In the same way, Jesus “spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable” (Mt. 13:34-35).

11. His presentation. Prophet Zechariah predicted that the King of Israel who is “righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding a donkey” will enter into Jerusalem (Zech. 9:9). This was fulfilled at the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem (Lk 19:37). This flies in the face of the “passover theory” as a Bible teacher noted:

“Where did Jesus get the money to pay off the multitude that lined the road into Jerusalem and hailed Him as the Messiah when He rode in on a donkey – the last beast one would expect a triumphant king to choose – precisely as foretold in Zechariah 9:9? It was Nisan 10 (April 6), A.D. 32, the very day the prophets had declared that this amazing event would occur – 483 years to the day (69 weeks of years as Daniel 9:25 foretold it) after Nehemiah … had received received (on Nisan 1, 455 B.C.) authority to rebuild Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:1)!” (Dave Hunt, A Woman Rides the Beast, Oregon: Harvest House, 1994, 32).

12. His rejection. David likens the Messiah’s rejection by the Jewish people to “the stone the builders rejected” (Ps. 118:22). This was precisely what happened to Jesus (Matt. 21:42). It was also predicted that the Messiah would be forsaken by all His friends at a crucial moment (Zech. 13:7). This was fulfilled also. (Matt. 26:31).

13. His betrayal. David in a double reference, foretold treachery of a close associate of the Messiah, “he who shared my bread has lifted up his heel against me” (Ps. 41:9). This happened as foretold (Jn. 13:18, 21-30). Prophet Zechariah predicted “thirty pieces of silver” which will be thrown “into the house of the LORD to the potter” (11:12-13)

This was fulfilled when Judas betrayed Jesus with 30 pieces of silver which he used to buy a potter’s field and finally threw down at the feet of the rabbis at the temple (Mat. 26:14-16). Did Jesus make a “Passover plot” with the rabbis to pay Judas that exact amount?

Isaiah foretold how Christ will be “oppressed and afflicted yet he [will] not open his mouth” (Is. 53:7). In the same vein, Jesus didn’t defend Himself before His accusers (Mt. 26:62-63; 27:12-14; Lk. 23:8-10). The only time He spoke was when He was with Pilate in private (Jn. 18:36). This has to be pointed out because some misinformed critics have attempted to find contradictions here whereas there are none.

14. His suffering and death. Isaiah predicted the Messiah’s suffering and disfigurement by scourgings. This was meted out on Jesus (Is. 52:14; Jn. 19:1). In Psalm 22:6, David describes in actual words how the Messiah would be insulted and it came to pass as foretold (Mt. 27:39, 43).

Verse 16, says that His hands and feet would be pierced. This was an apt description of the Roman crucifixion centuries before this means of execution became known. God in His foreknowledge knew Jesus wouldn’t die by stoning (the Jewish execution) because the rabbis had lost the power to exact the death penalty by 7 A.D. (Jn. 18:31).

This is why the “passover plot” theory is false. It would have been ludicrous for Jesus to get Himself killed in order to convince a small band of inept followers that He was the Messiah. The Jews (even His disciples) had expected the Messiah to be victorious and deliver them from the Roman oppression, so Jesus’ death could only have meant that He wasn’t the Messiah.

The prophecies about Christ’s death (e.g Ps. 22:16, Is. 53:5-8) were avoided by the Jews because the same Messiah is also predicted to “extend [His] mighty sceptre from Zion” and “reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom” (Ps. 110: 2; Is. 9:7). How can He suffer and die and then reign as king? The Jewish interpreters decided to reject what didn’t fit into their mindset.

But this is no contradiction because: the promised Messiah had to come twice. First, to die for man’s sins and second, to reign as King. Yet some Jews today are still awaiting the first coming of the Messiah!

David’s prophecy speaks of His bones which would be kept intact (Ps. 22:17; 34:20). Even though this wasn’t the normal custom, Jesus’ bones were kept intact (Jn. 19:33-36). Psalm 22:18 says that soldiers would gamble for Christ’s clothes and it came to pass (Jn. 19:24).

How could Jesus had known which soldiers would be on duty so as to bribe them to do this? Did He also arrange with them to offer Him vinegar and gall at the cross? (Ps. 69:21) The prayer Jesus prayed in Matthew 26:39 was prophesied in Psalm 22:24.

15. His burial. Jesus was buried in a rich tomb as it was predicted of the Messiah (Is. 59:3; Mt. 27:57-60). Did He also arrange where He should be buried?

16. His resurrection. Psalms 16:10 predicts the Messiah’s bodily resurrection before seeing decay and this happened as foretold (Acts 2:24-27, 31). Had the Romans soldiers allowed the disciples to secretly steal His body, they would have been on those crosses the next day for breaking a tomb with the Roman seal. The only logical explanation of the empty tomb is that Jesus rose from the dead.

17. His ascension. Psalm 68:18 predicts the end of Jesus’ earthly life. His exaltation to God’s right hand was also predicted in Ps. 110:1. This was fulfilled (Acts 7:56, Eph. 4:8).

18. His Reign. David describes Christ’s millennial reign as King in Jerusalem over the nations of the world (24:7-10). Isaiah describes Him as the Son whose governmental rule will be a reign of justice over the restored Israel and the world (9:6-7; 11:5-16) along with the great blessings of this reign (Is. 35:1-10). Zechariah also predicts the destruction of Israel’s enemies and Christ’s rule over all the nations at His second coming (Zec. 14:9-12).

The fulfilment of these prophecies proves beyond a doubt that Jesus is the Messiah and Saviour of the world. This gives us a strong confidence in the one True God and His infallible Word – the Bible.