Knowing What's Coming and Why the Best is Yet to Be

I teach a middle school Christian Apologetics class. It's been nothing but fun so far. I began the class by pointing out that there is very little in life that we can know with absolute certainty. However, I stressed the importance  in noticing that we can decipher what is true based on reasons and evidence. That what we want to look for, given all the factors, is what best explains reality. I then told them a story to exemplify two of the most compelling reasons to embrace the Historic Christian Faith as true. 

My house is right beside a small airport. My uncle, a retired, aeronautical engineer owns a plane and will often land and take off from that very same airport. 

When my girls were young and a plane would fly overhead we would always stop to look up. We began saying: "Maybe it's Uncle Ken!" My dad, his brother, told us that in fact there was something distinct about my uncle's plane. Unlike most small airplanes that have what's called a T-tail, Uncle Ken's was a V-tail bonanza.  Now that's just fun to say. Going forward when we would hear any aircraft someone would always quizzically shout: "V-tail bonanza?!"

Well one day when I was backing out of our driveway, wouldn't you know it, I saw it. A V-tail soaring upward into the sky. I might have been a little too excited but just had to verify if it was indeed my uncle. I then texted my aunt to see if he had taken off, and she responded: "good eyes and ears. Yes that was him!" So I told my students... I could not prove or say with certainty that my uncle was flying that plane, but I would say with high confidence that yes, it is true that what I saw that day was Uncle Ken piloting his airplane. 

In the same way, God inspires the prediction of events to come. In the Old Testament, God gives us very distinct things to look for in the coming Messiah. There are over 2 thousand prophecies that have already been fulfilled.  Already. Done deal.

Okay, there is way more math that we could do here but this blog is meant to be somewhat fun, so we'll skip a lot of that and stick to the basics. Namely, the prophecies that have been fulfilled thus far, are 100% accurate.

(For more information on this a good starting point is the Dead Sea Scrolls, specifically the Great Isaiah Scroll.)**

So once we knew what distinguished Uncle Ken's aircraft from the others, it wasn't all too hard to see the truth. Secondly, my aunt corroborated the story. She backed up the claim. She was an eyewitness very close to the scene, she knew the details and had no reason to speak anything other than the truth.  The very best explanation for reality. 

In the same way, Jesus of Nazareth's death and Resurrection was not only a fulfilled prophecy, it is strongly supported by eye-witness testimony. Actual living and breathing men and women recount the event with congruent stories. (For more on this read Cold Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace) 

Now I will absolutely say that it was true that was indeed my uncle's plane, but I will not put my life on the line for this truth. Because who cares? That is not a hill to die on. A remarkable detail about these eyewitnesses is that some of these men were tortured and died unwilling to recant this truth. This is historically evidenced. This includes the apostle Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus), but the man I want to briefly focus on is the apostle Peter. 

The account of Peter's life and death gives me hope. I find his weaknesses to be highly relatable. We see a man that walked and talked with the Messiah.  He speaks without thinking, he is impulsive, he has the audacity to step out onto the water with Jesus but forgets to keep his eyes on Jesus. Peter loved Jesus. But he fails Him miserably. He betrays his friend and Savior on the night of Jesus' crucifixion. 

Before all this, Jesus tells him, you Peter will be called rock for I will build my church upon this rock. We go on to read that Jesus later forgives him. Now( thanks to Dr. Sean McDowell's dissertation) it seems empirically undeniable that Peter held strong and firm until the end. He was a changed man and it went against what we previously know about him as flighty and kind of puny. But when it came down to his own life and the truth of the Resurrection, he held to the fact that our Messiah was Risen indeed. 

Now I know I am way too geeked out about this story. In fact, my spitfire of a nine year old daughter recently said: "Mom are you telling the V-tail Bonanza -fulfilled - prophecy- eyewitness -story again? You are such a nerd." WelI, good thing I don't care too much any more about being cool. Because what will be really cool is when she gets older and my daughter inevitably faces hardship and she just may remember this story and can recognize that He is Risen indeed.

 She can look to predicted prophecy and eyewitness testimony and remember that there is true light in this dark world and she can have rock solid hope in her Rescuer.  She can be redeemed like Peter. She can know that if God can Resurrect Jesus, He can also do the same for her. And she can have no fear because the best is yet to be. That is my hope and prayer for all of my children, all of my students and for you dear reader. 

*https://youtu.be/sE4LKndvVYg

https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/did-the-apostles-of-jesus-die-as-martyrs