There may be a better name for this but another aspect of the Bible that is beyond coincidence and human abilities is vast numbers of literary parallels that proves the Gospels are either true accounts about a supernatural person or they are themselves a supernatural writing. The argument flows from two simple facts.
1. The Gospels encourage believers to look for patterns, allegories, and foreshadows of Jesus in the Old Testament – beyond those overtly stated.
2. Finding these literary parallels in the Old Testament is incredibly easy for Jesus but not for anyone else.
Note that the “fulfillments” I am referring to are not the ones overtly described in the New Testament. If that was the argument someone could argue that those interpretations were incorrect or the history about Jesus was fabricated to coincide with the Old Testament statements. I am referring to examples that were discovered long after the accounts were written based on the general statement that such things could be found throughout the Old Testament.
I am also not arguing that because a Christian can see these features in the Old Testament that they are automatically correct. Initially I am open to the idea that anyone can try and impose their chosen person into the same or similar passages with similar results. They simply have to be literarily obvious and consistent with what has already been described about the person in mind.
What I am arguing is – only Jesus as described in the Gospels can be read into vast amounts of the Old Testament with the resulting literary parallels.
To find a few literary parallels from otherwise independent events or writings is possible, but we don’t need analogies or probabilities to substantiate my claim that the occurrences for Jesus in the Old Testament are far beyond coincidence. If I am wrong, someone can show where another historical figure imposed on the Old Testament can have the same or greater number of literary parallels. If they can’t and my claim is valid, we have proof that the Gospels describe a supernatural person or they themselves are supernatural creations.
Before I provide some examples of the Gospels-Old Testament literary parallels I am describing, let’s take a look at a well known “natural” example, the apparent parallels between the lives of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.
Common Example of Parallel events:
- Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846
- Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946
- Lincoln was elected president in 1860
- Kennedy was elected president in 1960
- Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln
- Lincoln was shot on a Friday
- Kennedy was shot on a Friday
- Lincoln was succeeded, after assassination, by vice-president Johnson
- Kennedy was succeeded, after assassination, by vice-president Johnson
- Andrew Johnson was born in 1808
- Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908
There are other claims but most are trivial or simply false.
You will note that one doesn’t need much commentary or interpretation to notice the coincidences or parallel events. This is the type of literary features I am referring to – ones that are obvious with a specific number of parallel or agreement points that can be quantified. At the same time, the events being compared need to be obscure enough to exclude someone from having fabricated the history and/or fulfillment.
As mentioned, the Kennedy-Lincoln example is a naturally occurring set of coincidences and we can find this type of thing in many places. What makes the Gospel-Old Testament “coincidences” supernatural is the quantity and exclusivity. No one but Jesus fits so many Old Testament events and descriptions and without an overt attempt to exploit these parallels the only explanation for the “coincidences” is a supernatural one. The examples I list below are just
samples, not the full extent of what can be found.
Two Gospel-Old Testament Parallels:
1. The Gospels call Jesus the only begotten son of God who loved His son and loved the world so much that He gave His son to be a sacrifice in our place. So when we read Genesis 22 and see Abraham offering his “only begotten son” son Isaac “whom he loved” we naturally start looking for other parallels. When we see that at the end of the drama Abraham refers to the events as something that will be seen in the future, it really perks our interest. Here are some of the things we find:
In this passage, the word “love” is used for the first time in the Old Testament.
The major element of Jesus’ life and message is love.
The son (Isaac) was born supernaturally.
The son (Jesus) was born supernaturally.
Isaac is referred to as Abraham’s “only son” – even though he had another son.
Jesus is called God’s only begotten (literally monogenes) son.
For three days Isaac is deemed dead by Abraham as they travel to the place of sacrifice.
Jesus was dead for three days.
The Father (Abraham) was willing to offer the son he loved as a sacrifice for the sins of others.
The Father (God) was willing to offer the son He loved as a sacrifice for the sins of others.
The son carried wood up the mountain to the place of sacrifice.
Jesus carried a cross of wood up the mountain to His place of sacrifice.
Abraham declares that “God will provide Himself a lamb” and a male lamb is ultimately sacrificed.
Jesus is called the Lamb of God and was ultimately sacrificed.
The place of sacrifice was on a mountain – specifically Mount Moriah.
The place of Jesus’ sacrifice was on a mountain – the same Moriah later renamed Golgotha or Calvary.
2. By way of parables Jesus calls Himself the Bridegroom in the Gospels. He refers to the Church as the Bride. The Disciples refer to Jesus as the Redeemer and Jesus told the Disciples to wait until Pentecost when the Church would start. So when we read in the book of Ruth about a Redeemer, a Bridegroom, a Bride, redemption, etc., we look to see how there might be parallels to Jesus. Here are some of the things we find.
- The book of Ruth is generally associated with the Feast of Pentecost by the Jews and read at that time of year.
- The Church or Bride of Christ began at Pentecost.
-The husbands of Naomi (a Jew) and Ruth (a Gentile) sold their land to others, left the land God had given them and then died without anything to show for their ventures. The woman could not redeem themselves or the land back on their own.
-According to the Gospels Adam and Eve “sold” the earth to Satan when they sinned. They experienced spiritual death and could not redeem themselves or the earth on their own. Their children are in the same situation.
-Naomi (a widow of Israel) and Ruth (a Gentile widow) need redemption. This is the main plot of Ruth.
-The Gospels say that that Jews and Gentiles need redemption and this is the main plot of the Gospels.
-Boaz is qualified to be the Redeemer they need - a Kinsman Redeemer. He is qualified because of his blood relationship to Naomi and because Naomi accepted Ruth as her daughter allowing Naomi to convey rights to Ruth a Gentile.
-Jesus is qualified to be the Redeemer we need because His blood relationship to Israel makes Him a Kinsman Redeemer and the Jewish Disciples accepted Gentiles as brethren allowing the Disciples to convey rights to Gentiles.
- The Gentile (Ruth) learns about the Redeemer (Boaz) through the Jew (Naomi).
- The Gentile believers learn about the Redeemer (Jesus) through the Jew (Disciples and the Torah).
- The Gentile (Ruth) learns about the laws of redemption through the Jew (Naomi).
- The Gentile believers learn about the laws of redemption through the Jew (Disciples and the Torah).
- The Gentile (Ruth) must go to the Redeemer (Boaz) to ask him to fulfill the redemption process on her behalf. The Redeemer does seek out the needy Gentile.
- The Gentile believer must go to the Redeemer (Jesus) to ask him to fulfill the redemption process on their behalf. The Redeemer did seek out needy Gentiles and only responded to them when they approached Him.
- As part of the redemption laws, the Kinsman Redeemer can redeem the land that a woman relative has rights to if he is willing to take the woman as his wife as part of the redemption. If he is already married or unwilling to marry her, he can not redeem the land. The Redeemer (Boaz) made Ruth his bride and claimed ownership of the land she had rights to.
- As part of the redemption plan the Redeemer (Jesus) made the Church his bride and claimed ownership of the land she rights to - the earth.
- The Kinsman Redeemer (Boaz) did not have to accept Ruth as his bride and did so only after a closer Kinsman had refused her.
- The Kinsman Redeemer (Jesus) did not have accept to Gentiles as his bride and did so only after a closer Kinsman (the Devil) had refused them.
- The Kinsman Redeemer (Boaz) chooses a Gentile (Ruth) to become his bride – even though she was a Moabite and this was forbidden by Jewish law.
- The Kinsman Redeemer (Jesus) chooses Gentiles to become his Church, His bride – even though Gentiles did not satisfy Jewish law.
- In Ruth it is obvious that Boaz is motivated by love not duty and obligation. In fact he goes beyond duty and actually ignores the law that says a Moabite was not to be married. This is love and grace in action.
- In the Gospels it is obvious that Jesus is motivated by love not duty and obligation. In fact he goes beyond duty and actually ignores the law that demands justice for sins committed. This is love and grace in action.
Similar parallels can be found in the accounts and lives of Moses, Joseph, Joshua, Daniel and others. The feasts of Israel are another set of parallels that not only relate to Jesus but date-wise coincide with key dates in his life – His birth, His death, and His resurrection all land on Feast Days.
Everything unique and unusual that is described in the Old Testament seems to have a parallel relationship with Jesus. From the Cities of Refuge – where the accused are free once the High Priest dies - to the elements of the Tabernacle to the details of sacrifices and offerings. Books can be filled with the details and it is impossible for a Christian to read the Old Testament without such things leaping off the page in front of them.
Try to find this aspect with any other person in the Bible or any other writing and you will quickly see how incredible it is to find Jesus fitting in to so many parallels in the Bible. This is not chance but a supernatural aspect that God intended from the beginning.
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