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Powerball prophecy

18 Comments

Written by Andrée Seu

November 16, 8:00 AM

16-18-20-30-48.

If you could only have come up with this series of numbers — that’s all you would have to do — you would be $95 million richer today from Pennsylvania’s “Powerball.” Doesn’t it kill you? Isn’t it so touching close? Think we’ll ever be able to do something simple as that: predict ten lousy numbers?

God said back in the garden that a seed would be born (Gen.3:15) of a virgin (Isa.7:14); of Jewish descent (Gen.22:18); of Judah’s tribe (Gen.49:10); in Bethlehem (Mic.5:2); where many babies would die (Jer.31:15).

He would be anointed king (Isa.33:2); announced by a messenger (Isa.40:3); start off in Galilee (Isa.9:1,2); do miracles (Isa.35:5); enter Jerusalem on a donkey (Zech.9:9); be betrayed by a friend (Ps.41:9); be sold for silver (Zech.11:12) and forsaken by his disciples (Zech.13:7); spat on (Isa.50:6); crucified with criminals (Isa.53:12); rejected by his own (Isa.53:3; Ps.34:20); have lots cast for his clothes (Ps.22:18); suffer no bones broken (Ps.34:20); be pierced in his side (Zech.12:10); buried in a wealthy man’s grave (Isa.53:9); be a light to the Gentiles (Isa.60:3); would rise (Ps.16:10); would be seated with God in glory (Ps.110:1).

The odds of orchestrating the future for that to happen: 1 out of 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.

Do you think God was white-knuckling it?

Topic: Commentary, Faith & Inspiration

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back to top18 Comments to “Powerball prophecy”

BY Bianca 11.16.07 AT 8:12 AM

I don’t know what to say, so I’ll just say, “How ODD”.
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BY Wiglaf 11.16.07 AT 8:20 AM

Footnotes and references, please. I want to see the formula(s) you used to get that result. I think you may have gotten it wrong. Perhaps you should have asked James F. Coppedge to help you with this one.
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BY musing 11.16.07 AT 8:45 AM

One must always be careful in consideirng probability that something in the past happened.

By definition, if it happened, the probability of it having happened is 1.

We also need to be careful of a Texas sharpshooter problem.
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BY Zatos 11.16.07 AT 9:25 AM

Well, all of the technical detraction aside, the probability that it happened without purposeful direction is inconceivable. I say, Amen (Truly).
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BY Wiglaf 11.16.07 AT 9:25 AM

To add to Musing’s point, since God is outside of time (He created time and space after all), that means that at any time, the probability of His prophecy of the future occurring is 1 out of 1.
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BY janie 11.16.07 AT 9:32 AM

Praise his holy name! (I don’t imagine he ever had to white-knuckle anything.)
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BY John M. 11.16.07 AT 9:55 AM

I think the point is that saying Jesus just happened to fulfill all the prophecies by chance, WITHOUT being the Messiah, is very improbable.
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BY llama 11.16.07 AT 10:10 AM

Are you saying that when God rolled the dice on this prophecy that he was gripping the bones too tightly causing his knuckles to whiten?
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BY Pauline 11.16.07 AT 10:44 AM

Not to downplay the whole idea of the significance of fulfilled prophecy, but some of the specifics are problematic. For instance, two of the prophecies mentioned are of Jewish descent and of Judah’s tribe. While it would be possible to be of Jewish descent without being of Judah’s tribe, I cannot think of any way one could possibly be of Judah’s tribe and not be of Jewish descent except to have been adopted in oneself, which was not the case for Jesus. And as Bethlehem was the “city of David” it is quite natural that people born in Bethlehem would be of the tribe David belonged to, which was Judah. One can’t calculate the probability of those three prophecies being fulfulled “by chance” the same way as three totally unrelated prophecies.
Similarly, someone crucified with criminals had a very good chance of being spat on, and being deserted by by his followers.

“A seed would be born” specifies nothing – who could not be said to fulfull that? And what event exactly corresponds to his being anointed king? And some of these are matters of faith rather than straightforward historic facts. Saying he was a light to the Gentiles has little meaning unless you believe his message to be true. And only those who have had visions have seen him seated with God in glory.

I am not trying to say that Jesus did not fulfill prophecy, or that it is not marvelous the way God brought His plan to fruition. But arguments such as this would have more impact if the details did not have some of the problems I have indicated above.
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BY Make it Man 11.16.07 AT 11:14 AM

“…I don’t imagine he ever had to white-knuckle anything.)”

Ummmmm…. how about when he sweat great drops of blood in the garden of Gethsemane?
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BY Editor 11.16.07 AT 3:19 PM

Andrée says the number came from a Professor Emeritus of Science at Westmont College, who set his students to calculating the probability of one man fulfilling the major prophecies concerning the Messiah.
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BY llama 11.16.07 AT 3:48 PM

#11 Editor,

Don’t think God thinks of the odds much when his doing something to trivial and easy as pie for him.
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BY Random Name 11.16.07 AT 6:14 PM

For reasons I can’t fathom, everything so far today has gone fine for me today. I started off the day expecting various problems, and none of them materialized. A couple of small (but welcome) solutions I didn’t expect materialized.

I would buy a lottery ticket on the way home, but I’m not going to press my luck.

[I would probably be struck by a meteorite as i checked the number to see if I won.]

You can say, “Hallelujah! Random is going to see the light.”

Don’t press your luck, either.

[The myths about Heavenly Rewards and Eternal Punishment might actually be true, and only the Radical Agnostics will be rewarded. We're not gracious winners, either.]
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BY Random Name 11.16.07 AT 6:20 PM

Rant: I complained and whined to my wife today by a ridiculous demand my boss had made. Instead of being properly sympathetic, she explained to me how I might not be correct about the whole matter.

I sulked all the way out the front door and then promptly forgot the whole matter. [Segueing into Rave]

Rave: When I met with my boss, whole thing turned out to be a big misunderstanding, with end result my getting what I wanted.

When I get home, I will have to smile at my wife and say, “You were right, dear.”

I can deal.
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BY Random Name 11.16.07 AT 6:22 PM

14 was supposed to be in Rants and Raves. Oh, well, the day had been going fine, so I had to screw it up in some fashion or other. I can still deal.

Pick a card.
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BY mswagg 11.17.07 AT 9:05 AM

Proverbs 16:33
The lot is cast into the lap, but it’s every decision is from the Lord.
Proverbs 21:1
The King’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

No white knuckling here.
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BY Bianca 11.17.07 AT 9:08 AM

The concept of God ‘white knuckling’ anything is cut from the same cloth as the ‘openness of God’ movement that is popular in many evangelical churches today – that God is made in our image, rather than us being made in His.
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BY Dayle1204 11.18.07 AT 5:08 PM

Praise God that He is in control of everything…even the lottery
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