Center for Creative Ministry A research organization and research center for Seventh-day Adventist pastors and their congregations
The Hour of His Judgment
Against expert predictions, the Boston Bruins – 2023 President Trophy winners who broke league wins and points records, and who only lost 12 times in regulation during their 82-game season – fell short in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
As if that wasn’t harsh enough on gamblers’ NHL playoff brackets, the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche, also saw their playoff run cut short by the Seattle Kraken, a unit of castoff underdogs in their debut playoff appearance. The probability of an expansion team winning its first series against the defending champs? Let’s just say this is the first time that’s happened.
Sometimes predictions fail. Sometimes, no matter how unlikely it would seem, things come to pass that we wouldn’t expect.
The prophecies of Daniel 8 and 9, for example, just seem downright unlikely, especially given how many dates, times, and factors are interwoven. It gives logical-minded skeptics just another thing in holy scripture to side-eye.
But Peter Stoner, mathematician and author of the book Science Speaks, takes a different approach. He finds that the fulfillment of just 8 Messianic prophecies has a probability of 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000, a statistic verified by a committee of and the Executive Council of the American Scientific Affiliation. That’s a number we cannot even begin to wrap our heads around. Now get this: Jesus fulfilled 324 prophecies that we know of.
With those kinds of odds, it’s a safe bet to agree with the writers of Daniel and Revelation, and with Jesus Christ Himself in their proclamation that we are in the end days.
For Reflection
Connecting: The Millerites were wrong about 1844. So why can, or should, the Adventist reinterpretation of the Investigative Judgment and the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary be believed?
Sharing: What do you think about Peter Stoner’s findings?
- For the fulfillment of so many prophecies to be that unlikely, the story of Jesus must have been fudged
- This just proves that we cannot argue with Scripture
- With the knowledge we have of Jesus, we are reading prophecy (that wasn’t there) into Scripture
- I want to know more about how Stoner and his colleagues drew this conclusion
- I’m more confused than ever
- Other
Applying: Fear and give glory to God, for the hour of judgment has come (Revelation 14:7). Are you totally anchored in Christ, standing at the ready for any day to be your last? Discuss with your small group or a close confidant how you can rest assured that your salvation is secure.
Valuing: Read Daniel 8 and 9. Imagine you are in Daniel’s sandals, witnessing the same horrifying scenes (without benefit of hindsight). What meaning do these predictions have for you and how you live your life?
~ Stefani Leeper
