I am sure Christians of the first century who heard the teachings of the original apostles expected to see Jesus’ return in their lifetimes. I imagine they would be surprised if they knew at the time that we would be reading the teachings of Paul, Peter, and the other apostles 2000 years later, and still be waiting anxiously for Jesus’ return.
I sometimes wonder why we don’t have prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ellijah and John, today. But in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 Paul writes, “Do not smother the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at those who prophesy, but test everything that is said to be sure it is true, and if it is, then accept it.” Maybe we do have prophets today; we just call them teachers, pastors, and authors.
John describes a test for prophets in 1 John 4 1,2. He writes “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God, for there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God.”
Dear Lord, thank you for those who teach us your word and help us in our walk with you. Help us to be wise to know your truth when it is taught. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
I still seek out Christ’s actual words.
Tell me your thoughts on a prophecy I shared with you That happened 500 yrs ago. Much of the bible was written 5-600 ad. Long time pasted when writing about scripture and who said what?
I can only believe tha Christ played a large roll in guiding their hand to share with us, what really was..dn
No doubt the words of Jesus are special.
The way these books became the bible is very well documented, cross referenced with much higher levels of intellectual integrity than any other ancient writing. I am reading a good book that covers some of this stuff, Why Trust The Bible by Greg Gilbert, It is an easy read.
There are many, many prophecies, like:
Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Micah 5:2: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah,”
Psalm 22:16-18: “Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”
Archaeolgy has proven that these were written long before Jesus’ birth.