Marv Wiseman

The Messiah, David’s Greater Son 

      The Messiah - David´s Greater Son - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Prophesying of the death of Israel’s Messiah was tragic beyond words.  The realization that when the long-awaited Messiah was to come, He would meet with all the brutality and injustice that was prophesied.  And, as bad and evil as it was, there was only one thing that could have made His death even worse than it was.  What could that be?  That there would be no resurrection for Him after His death.  That would have compounded the tragedy into unthinkable proportions because it is only because He lives that we, too, shall live. Continue reading “The Messiah, David’s Greater Son “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Messiah Came to Die 

      The Messiah Came to Die - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Perhaps nothing was so unbelievable and unacceptable to the Jewish people who longed for the coming of their promised Messiah as was the necessity of His death.  After all, the Messiah, when He would finally come, was destined to rule and subjugate the enemies of Israel.  The possibility, or worse still, the necessity, of the death of this One simply did not compute in the mind of any Jew.  It still doesn’t, but it should.  It should because the very purpose of His coming was to die, to die for the sins of the entire humanity that had been plunged into the death cycle from Genesis 3 onward.  Continue reading “The Messiah Came to Die “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Messiah’s Tearful Entry 

      The Messiah´s Tearful Entry - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The prophecy of Zechariah is dated somewhere between 500 and 525 years before Christ was born in Bethlehem.  With pinpoint accuracy, Zechariah details an important experience that Christ will fulfill precisely as Zechariah predicted it hundreds of years earlier.  To date, no one has ever offered any reasonable explanation for the prophecy other than what it seems to be predicting and its subsequent fulfillment.  Continue reading “The Messiah’s Tearful Entry “ →

Marv Wiseman

Christ the Cornerstone 

      Christ the Cornerstone - Pr. Marv Wiseman

If King David did not write Psalm 118, a contemporary of David’s did.  What Psalm 118 speaks of was not to be fulfilled until a thousand years later.  If you leave it in the time and place of the psalms, it, admittedly, is very obscure, in fact, downright puzzling.  Here is what it says…Psalm 118, verse 22, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”  Well, what does that mean?  And whatever could this indigmatic expression have to do with the coming Messiah?  Continue reading “Christ the Cornerstone “ →

Marv Wiseman

Heaven Comes To Bethlehem 

      Heaven Comes to Bethlehem - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The Old Testament prophet, Micah, lived and prophesied about 500 years before Jesus was born.  Numerous other prophets reveal different things about the Messiah who was to come, but Micah even prophesies the name of the town, Bethlehem, in which He would be born.  The name in Hebrew means “House of Bread”.  How fitting for the One who will be described as the “Bread of God”, who came down from heaven to give life to the world.  Continue reading “Heaven Comes To Bethlehem “ →

Marv Wiseman

David’s Son is David’s Lord 

      David´s Son is David´s Lord - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Thousands of years ago, four thousand to be precise, it was prophesied in Genesis 3 that the coming Redeemer would be the seed, or descendent, of the woman Eve, and He was born of the virgin Mary.  Her virginity also being prophesied seven hundred years in advance.  His direct ancestry would include Noah and one of Noah’s sons, Shem.  From Shem, the messianic line would continue and run through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Of Jacob’s twelve sons, it was prophesied that the fourth born, Judah, would be the direct ancestor of the Messiah.  Judah was the line of royalty, the ruling tribe.  Continue reading “David’s Son is David’s Lord “ →

Marv Wiseman

Genealogy and Fulfilled Prophecy 

      Geneology and Fulfilled Prophecy - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Christology is a theological term used in reference to the study of the person and work of Jesus Christ.  Christology.   Anyone who is the least familiar with Christology and its importance will surely recognize how very key to Christology is Abraham,…Abraham the patriarch, Abraham the friend of God and the only person who is ever called that.  Abraham, the great grandfather of the men who headed the twelve tribes of Israel.   Abraham and Sarah produced Isaac.  Isaac and Rebekah produced Jacob.  Jacob and Leah, and Rachel, and Bilhah, and Zilpah produced the twelve sons, each a progenitor of the tribe of Israel.  Continue reading “Genealogy and Fulfilled Prophecy “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Prophecy About the Son of God 

      The Prophecy About the Son of God - Pr. Marv Wiseman

By far and away, the most dramatic and significant birth announcement ever made was delivered by an angel named Gabriel.  He spoke to the virgin Mary in Luke 1 and revealed to her that she was not only to bear a son but the Son, and this Son would not only be the Son of Man but the Son of God as well…not a Son of God, mind you, but the Son of God.  It all must have been truly overwhelming to this teenage peasant girl from Nazareth.  Son of God? Continue reading “The Prophecy About the Son of God “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Prophecy of the Virgin Birth 

      The Prophecy About the Virgin Birth - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Of all the biblical prophecies given, none are more important as those referring to the coming Promised Messiah.    And, of all the prophecies about the Messiah, probably none is so controversial as His being born of a virgin.  To those who object by saying, “Come on, that just isn’t possible,” we would agree.  That’s why it’s called the “miracle” of the virgin birth, or, to be more precise, the miracle of the virgin conception.  The prophecy was given by Isaiah seven hundred years before its fulfillment. Continue reading “The Prophecy of the Virgin Birth “ →

Marv Wiseman

The First Prophecy of a Redeemer 

      The First Promise of a Redeemer - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Of all the fulfilled prophecies given in the Bible, and there are hundreds, none are of such great importance and none are more sublime or consequential than those that prophecy in great detail about our Lord Jesus Christ.   These are referred to as “Messianic prophecies”, and they are legion.  The very first prophecy ever given regarding the coming of a Messiah, a Deliverer, a Savior, Redeemer, is given just as soon as a Redeemer was needed.  And when was that?  In Genesis 3, immediately following the fall and failure of our first parents, Adam and Eve.  The communion they had enjoyed with their Creator had been broken. Continue reading “The First Prophecy of a Redeemer “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Fulfilled Prophesy of Sidon 

      The Fulfilled Prophecy of Sidon - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Prophecies given and later fulfilled, sometimes within a short period and others hundreds or even thousands of years later, remain one of the very most compelling and convincing reasons for seeing Scripture for what it claims to be…the very word of the living God.  Men have sought in vain for other explanations to account for the amazing detailed accuracy which accompanied a multitude of prophecies, and, believe me, they have tried.   The prophecies of Ezekiel that have already been fulfilled are the strongest rationale for believing those not yet fulfilled will be.  But we are focusing only on those already fulfilled. Continue reading “The Fulfilled Prophesy of Sidon “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Fulfilled Prophecy of Tyre

      The Fulfilled Prophecy of Tyre - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Detailed prophecies by inspired writers of Scripture, sometimes hundreds or even thousands of years prior to their fulfillment, remain one of the most compelling evidences for the Bible being the very Word of God.  One of the most remarkable concerns the ancient city of Tyre on the Mediterranean coast in what was Phoenicia, but today is Lebanon. Continue reading “The Fulfilled Prophecy of Tyre” →

Marv Wiseman

Intro to Fulfilled Prophecy (Part 3)

      Introduction to Fulfilled Prophecy - Part 3 - Pr. Marv Wiseman

We have noted the first of two objections those opposing the Bible have offered in response to the Christian’s claim about the fulfillment of prophecy requiring a supernatural source.  Objection number one declares the supernatural to be foreign to the closed system of the universe.  Since our claim for the divine supernatural Source being the only explanation for the fulfillment of prophecy, they merely say the closed system of the universe prohibits that, so it cannot have occurred.  Continue reading “Intro to Fulfilled Prophecy (Part 3)” →

Marv Wiseman

Intro to Fulfilled Prophecy (Part 2)

      Introduction to Fulfilled Prophecy - Part 2 - Pr. Marv Wiseman

No consideration or the Bible, or the question of its authority and divine inspiration, would be complete without reference to what many consider its most convincing evidence of all.  This is a phenomenon in the Bible that defies any and all naturalistic explanations for it.  Detractors of the Bible have denied it, dismissed it, or just pretended it isn’t there.  But it is there, or, they are there because they are multiple in their existence and they just won’t go away.  We speak, of course, of the compelling and multiple occasions of fulfilled prophecies.  Prophecy has accurately described as history written in advance.  It is precisely that. Keep Reading…

Marv Wiseman

Intro to Fulfilled Prophecy (Part 1)

      Introduction to Fulfilled Prophecy - Part 1 - Pr. Marv Wiseman

We continue our consideration of what is arguably the most compelling evidence that our Bible truly is inspired of God Himself, and it is to be trusted.  This evidence is offered from two specific areas of fulfilled prophecy.  The first has to do with those of general biblical names, places and events that transpired concerning them.  Keep Reading…

Marv Wiseman

The Interpretation of the Bible (Part 2)

      The Interpretation of the Bible - Part 2 - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Once the issue of the Bible’s authority is validated, there is likely no greater controversy among believers than how the Bible is to be interpreted. Whole denominations of churches, sects, splits and splinters, mainline and cults have come into being and are known by their particular interpretation of a certain passage in the Bible. And, they all, diverse as they may be, have but one thing in common. Keep Reading…

Marv Wiseman

The Interpretation of the Bible (Part 1)

      The Interpretation of the Bible - Part 1 - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Have you ever heard it said, “The Bible can be made to say just about anything one wants it to say?  It’s all in how you interpret it.”  Well, that’s true enough.  And the Bible has suffered some of the most bazaar interpretations over the years that one could possibly imagine, everything from snake handling to proxy-water baptism for dead people claims authority from the Bible.  But are these things actually found in the Bible?  Yes, they are.  Well, then, shouldn’t we be doing them, some would ask?  And, if not, why not?  Keep Reading…

Marv Wiseman

Biblical Illustration

      Biblical Illumination - Pr. Marv Wiseman

On previous sessions of Christianity Clarified, consideration has been given to the inspiration of Scripture.  We have discovered that it means “God-breathed”, as Paul wrote to Timothy.  We noted that this inspiration was verbal; that is, the very words of Scripture were inspired of God, and, added to that is the concept that inspiration was “plenary”, meaning “full, or complete” throughout the Word of God in both its Testaments.  Today we focus on the “illumination” of Scripture.  Keep Reading…

Marv Wiseman

The Structure of the New Testament

      The Structure of the New Testament - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Nearly 2000 years ago, the New Testament, or New Covenant, came into being.  Its principle language is Greek, the most common tongue of the first few centuries after Christ.  The New Testament begins with the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  The first three very similar, yet each has a different emphasis concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ, the obvious and principle character of all four of the gospels.  Keep Reading…

Marv Wiseman

The Structure of the Old Testament

      The Structure of the Old Testament - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Until approximately 2000 years ago, all that existed by way of written revelation from God was the Old Covenant, or Old Testament.  As explained in an earlier session of Christianity Clarified, the Old Covenant was never referred to as such until after the New Covenant came into being.  It was the completion of the New that gave the Old its name.  Keep Reading…