Question: The enclosed copy of Mart De Haan's...column in Our Daily Bread, June 07 issue, raises ...

Question: The enclosed copy of Mart De Haan's "Been Thinking About It" column in Our Daily Bread, June 07 issue, raises serious questions in my mind. He seems to be saying that Matthew was mistaken in his writings concerning fulfillment of certain prophecies. As if the Holy Spirit would cause Matthew to write in error! I would be interested in your opinion.

Response: The article is good, once we get past the title ("Missing Prophecies") and introductory first page. Though he does not deny all biblical prophecy, Mart alleges that most "prophecies" that Christians for centuries have cited as proof of the Bible and of Christ as the Messiah aren't really prophecies at all, thus sowing doubt in readers' minds. He is saying that millions of Christians, who for centuries have believed these prophecies, have been mistaken. That claim puts him in a class by himself!

His opening lines troubled you: "I grew up hearing that one of the strongest reasons for believing in Jesus is that He fulfilled hundreds of predictions in the Jewish Scriptures. Years later I found myself wondering where most of those prophecies were. More often than not, when I checked the sources for myself I found obscure or mysterious statements, written in the past tense, and referring historically to someone other than a future Messiah" [italics added].

Of course, much prophecy doesn't directly claim to be prophecy. For example, the Passover is a historical event that happened to Israel, but it is also prophetic, portraying Christ as the Lamb of God who would die for the sins of the world. Abraham preparing to sacrifice Isaac is history (Gen:22:1-14 [1] And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. [2] And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. [3] And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. [4] Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. [5] And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. [6] And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. [7] And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? [8] And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. [9] And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. [10] And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. [11] And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. [12] And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. [13] And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. [14] And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
See All...) and is not presented as prophecy--yet it clearly foretells the Father offering His Son on the same Mt. Moriah some 2,000 years later. Abraham's servant finding a bride for Isaac (Gen 24) is a beautiful portrayal of the Holy Spirit seeking a bride for Christ; the story of the brazen serpent raised up on a pole in the wilderness (Num:21:5-9 [5] And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. [6] And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. [7] Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. [8] And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. [9] And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
See All...) to heal those who would look upon it in faith who had been bitten by the poisonous snakes clearly foretold Christ lifted up on the Cross for the sins of the world. Christ himself said: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (Jn:3:14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
See All...,15).

De Haan would not disagree with these prophetic portrayals. He does a good job of pointing out that much of Israel's history is also prophetic of the birth, life and ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ. That would have been fine had he left out the introduction that casts doubts and reads like it was written by a rank unbeliever. (By the way, this column has been published in a new Been Thinking About book.)

He offers just one example of the many prophecies he says don't hold up under scrutiny: "Matthew says this [Christ's being taken as a child to Egypt then back to Israel by Joseph and Mary] happened ‘that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son.' But where is the prediction? Matthew happens to be quoting the ancient prophet Hosea [11:1] who, in context, was looking back to the birth of the nation Israel rather than forward to the birth of a personal Messiah."

Wrong. Both were in view--one past, the other future. Israel is called God's "firstborn" but never His Son. Any mention of the Son of God refers (and can only refer) to the Messiah. For example, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee" (Ps:2:7I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
See All...) refers, Paul tells us, to Christ's resurrection (Acts:13:33God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
See All...). "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry" (Ps:2:12Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
See All...) can't possibly refer to Israel. Nor could "Israel" be the answer to the question, "What is his son's name?" (Prov:30:4Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
See All...)! The same is true of "unto us a son is given" (Isa:9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
See All...). This can only be the eternal Son of God come as a man. Nebuchadnezzar marveled that, of the four men walking around in the flames, "the form of the fourth [was] like the Son of God" (Dn 3:25)! That definitive term refers only to the Messiah, so this is a valid prophecy, and De Haan is simply wrong when he says that "called my son out of Egypt" refers to Israel.

Even more serious is what he says about Matthew (and by implication all Scripture). De Haan says Matthew is wrong in declaring that "called my son out of Egypt" foretold the events recorded in Matthew:2:12-15 [12] And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. [13] And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. [14] When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: [15] And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
See All.... Then he implies other "errors" that he doesn't cite: "the gospel writer Matthew repeatedly claimed fulfillments [of prophecy] where most of us would probably agree there are no clear predictions [italics added]." So we decide that Matthew was wrong whenever we disagree?!

No, De Haan is wrong. Worst of all, he is either accusing Matthew and other Bible prophets of not being inspired in some of what they wrote; or he is accusing the Holy Spirit of making mistakes so that the Bible He inspired is wrong in certain places. We can only assume that Mart didn't realize what he was saying.