PAY ATTENTION TO GOD'S PROPHETIC WORD

"We have the prophetic made more sure; and you are doing well in paying attention to it." -2 Peter 1:19


FOR centuries, false messiahs have tried to predict the future.  In the fifth century C.E., a man who called himself Moses (not the ones who led the Jews out of Egypt, another one) convinced  Jews on the island of Crete that he was the messiah and would deliver them up from oppression.  On the day set for their liberation, they followed him to a high point overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  He said that they had only to cast themselves  into the sea, and it would  part before them.  A great many who plunged into the waters drowned, and that false messiah fled from the scene.

In the 12th century, a "messiah" emerged in Yemen. The caliph, or ruler, asked him for a sign of his messiahship.  This "messiah" proposed that the caliph have him beheaded.  He prophesied a swift resurrection that would serve as a sign. The caliph agreed to the plan -and that was the end of that messiah." 

False messiahs and their prophecies are total failures, but paying attention to God's prophetic word never leads to disappointment.  The true Messiah, Jesus Christ, was the living fulfillment of may Bible prophecies.  Quoting Isaiah's prophecy, for instance, the Gospel writer Matthew wrote:  " 'O land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the road of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the nations! the people sitting in darkness saw a great light,and as for those sitting in a region of deathly shadow, light rose upon them. '  From that time on Jesus commenced preaching and saying: 'Repent, you people, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.' " (Matthew 4:15-17; Isaiah 9:1, 2)  Jesus was that "great light," and his ministry proved that he was the Prophet foretold by Moses.  Those refusing to listen to Jesus would be destroyed. -Deuteronomy 18:18, 19; Acts 3:22, 23.

Jesus also fulfilled the prophetic words of Isaiah 53:12:  "He poured out his soul to the very death,and it was with the transgressors that he was counted in; and he himself carried the very sin of many people, and for the transgressors he proceeded to interpose."  Aware that he would soon give  his human life as a ransom, Jesus strengthened the faith of his disciples.  (Mark 10:45) He did this in an outstanding way through the transfiguration.

Next time: The Transfiguration Builds Faith

Watchtower, 2000