EVA:Are The Odds In Your Favor?  by Bob Chappell

   We all in some way or another are trying to beat the odds, only to
find that we have become one of the alarming statistics that shapes the
odds. For every winner there are thousands of losers. We never hear of
the losers, just the winners. This stirs us up to try to beat a never
ending cycle.

   Science has developed a method of studying odds. It is called the
science of compound probabilities; a mathematical study of situations
and the odds of possible outcomes.

   One of the most amazing studies conducted using this method was
recorded by professor Peter Stoner in "Science Speaks".

   The purpose of the study was to determine the odds of one man in
history fulfilling all the prophecies, recorded in the Bible, that
point to the Jewish Messiah. There are 300 different messianic Bible
prophecies; Stoner chose 61 that are clearly defined and specific for
his study. It is interesting that one man has already fulfilled all 300
Prophecies: His name is Jesus Christ.

   To begin, eight prophecies were chosen that were totally beyond the
human control of Jesus such as:

   1) His place of birth (Micah 5:2)

   2) Time of birth (Daniel 9:25, Genesis 49:10)

   3) Manner of birth (Isaiah 7:14)

   4) Betrayal (Zechariah 11:11 - 13) 5) Manner of death (Psalm 22:16),
(Crucifixion).

   Note the crucifixion in detail, down to the gambling of the Roman
soldiers for his robe. This was written 800 years before crucifixion
was invented by the Romans.

   6) Piercing of hands, feet and side (Psalm 22, Zechariah 12:10)

   7) People mocking (Isaiah 53, Psalm 22) 8) Burial (Isaiah 53:9)

   The compound probability of these eight prophecies being fulfilled
is 1 in 10 to the seventeenth power. That is 1 in 100,
000,000,000,000,000. To illustrate this take this many silver dollars
and lay them on the face of Texas. They cover the entire state two feet
deep. Next, mark a silver dollar, fly over Texas and drop it out
anywhere. Then blindfold someone and let him parachute in anywhere he
wants. He should take his time, he gets only one pick and the coin he
picks must be the one you marked. What chance would he have of getting
the right one?

   Just the same chance that the prophets had of writing these eight
prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, Jesus
fulfilled them all.

   Now let's raise the odds using 48 prophecies. We find the chance of
any one man fulfilling 48 prophecies to be 1 in 10 to the one hundred
and fifty seventh power. To Visualize this the silver dollar we have is
too large. So let's use an electron.

   Electrons are so small that it takes 2.5 times 10 to the sixteenth
power of them laid side by side to make a line one inch long. To count
the electrons in this one inch line, you would have to count them at a
rate of 250 each minute, day and night for 19 million years. If we had
a cubic inch of these electrons, it would take us counting steadily 250
each minute for 19 Million years X 19 Million years X 19 Million years
or 6.9 X 10 to the twenty first power, years.

   To create a 1 in 10 to the one hundred and fifty seventh power
situation, we need a mass of electron balls the size of our known
universe. The universe is 12 billion light years in diameter. This
number of electron balls will require 6 billion years of around the
clock production. Mark one electron, in one electron ball and send it
about 6 billion light years away from the earth, then send a man in a
space probe in search of the marked electron, blindfolded, of course!

   The odds of this man choosing the marked electron his first try, are
equal to the odds of one man fulfilling only 48 Bible prophecies. Jesus
fulfilled over 300 Bible Prophecies.

   Jesus did not fall victim to the odds, nor did he beat the odds.
Jesus Shapes the odds! There is much more involved here than just
prophecies being fulfilled. In fact these Bible prophecies reveal a
specific plan made by the God of the Bible for the redemption and
salvation of mankind, His creation, from the lost degenerate state he
has fallen to. These Bible prophecies were written to reveal God's
desire to re-establish a personal relationship between Himself and
every individual human being. This relationship is to be based upon
God's love, which each person experiences when they respond to the
prophecies written in God's word, the bible, by putting their trust in
Jesus who fulfilled them all.

   Now that the odds pertaining to Jesus and the Bible prophecies have
been literally fulfilled, they are no longer odds. These are facts that
have become established realities.

   These are Realities that cannot be ignored. Each person reading this
article is left with a choice to respond to the facts about Jesus: to
receive or reject Him.

   Now I will close with one final question.

   Are the odds in your favor?

   If you would like to " beat the odds ", receive Jesus Christ as your
Lord and Savior. Get a Bible and begin reading with Romans 10:8 - 13.

   This tract may be freely copied and distributed. For printed copies
please contact: Calvary Press P.O. Box 11554 Phila., Pa. 19116
