26-0415wc Neighborly Apologetics

Del Tackett thanks Marc Fey and attempts to share his screen while acknowledging that there is an extensive amount of material to cover in this session on the claims of Jesus and the resurrection, part 2. He apologizes upfront and notes that the session may need to be divided into two parts depending on how much ground they cover. He expresses deep gratitude to all participants for setting aside time from their busy schedules to join the webinar. The entire series operates under the banner of Neighborly Apologetics, which seeks to build authentic relationships with neighbors rooted in the royal law of loving one’s neighbor as oneself. This involves consistently praying that God will open their hearts and minds, creating opportunities to share deeper truths about God. The approach flows directly from the Posthumous for the Engagement Project, which recognizes that God has entrusted the primary work of engaging a post-Christian culture to ordinary Christian families rather than institutions alone.

Families are called to help their children grasp why they exist, why they live where they do, and why neighbors like Mrs. Smith live across the street—because God has sovereignly placed them there for a purpose. As families, they begin intentionally building relationships by seeking ways to demonstrate kindness, grace, mercy, and joy. Over time, these relationships create natural openings to address the profound questions that arise when a neighbor’s worldview fails to answer life’s deepest issues. This is precisely why Neighborly Apologetics exists: to equip believers to respond effectively. The webinar series opened with foundational questions—Does God exist? Is the Bible reliable?—and has now reached the critical question of who Jesus is. This topic falls within one of twelve key areas, specifically the claims of Christ and his resurrection. Del references the setup from the previous session, where several key questions were introduced, and hints that while the resurrection was planned for discussion, they are instead beginning with the promises and prophecies pointing to the Messiah to align with the recent Easter celebration of Christ’s resurrection. He also mentions a companion series of articles for those who signed up, exploring forty things to ponder across the fifty days from resurrection to ascension and Pentecost.

Del expresses appreciation to those who signed up for the forty-day devotional series covering the period between Christ’s resurrection and Pentecost. Given that many participants are already immersed in that daily reflection, the group will begin instead at the top of the broader list by examining the promises and prophecies that created widespread expectation of the Messiah. They will proceed in stages and see how far they get in the available time. The discussion opens with the final recorded words of Jesus in the book of Revelation, where he declares, “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” This statement is deliberately linked to the very first words of the New Testament in Matthew, which begins, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Del emphasizes that Jesus himself, along with Matthew, Luke, and the apostle Paul, repeatedly makes a major point of Jesus being a descendant of David. He cites Romans chapter 1 and 2 Timothy, where Paul instructs believers to remember “Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David.”

Throughout the Gospels, people repeatedly cried out to Jesus using the title “Son of David” when seeking healing. Examples include the two blind men who pleaded, “Have mercy on us, Son of David,” the Canaanite woman who cried, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David,” and Bartimaeus the blind beggar who shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Even the crowds witnessing Jesus heal a blind and mute man responded with recognition of this title. The repeated emphasis on Jesus as the Son of David was never about any supposed genetic superiority or inherent goodness in David’s bloodline. Instead, it rested entirely on the specific covenant promises God made to both Abraham and David. To Abraham, God declared that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him, as recorded in Genesis 12. To David, the Lord swore an unbreakable oath that the fruit of his body would be set upon his throne.

Del continues by quoting the full covenant language God spoke to David: “The Lord has sworn to David a truth from which He will not turn back: ‘Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.’” He also recites Psalm 89: “I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations.” These promises were so well understood in first-century Israel that when Jesus asked the Pharisees, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” they immediately answered that the Messiah is the Son of David. The common people likewise knew this truth. They recognized that the Christ would come from Bethlehem, the village of David, and they cried out “Hosanna to the Son of David” during the triumphal entry. Even the elder in the book of Revelation declares, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” This long-promised and long-awaited Messiah could not simply appear from any random family tree.

The Messiah’s lineage was required to follow a very specific genealogical thread that began long before David and even before Abraham, extending all the way back to the opening chapters of Genesis. Del recounts the familiar yet astonishing story: God created a perfect world and called it good, fashioning humanity male and female in His image. Yet the creature rebelled against its Creator by embracing the serpent’s lie, transforming the world from the river of life into a river of death filled with evil, tragedy, suffering, and loneliness. Borrowing imagery from C.S. Lewis, Del describes the fallen world as one where “it is always winter.” In the midst of this crime scene, God did not annihilate creation in righteous anger; instead, He drew in a deep breath and uttered a promise of hope to Adam and Eve and all humanity. That promise was that “the seed” of the woman would come and make everything right again.

Addressing the serpent directly, God declared, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” This is the protoevangelium—the first gospel announcement—spoken in the garden itself. The cryptic promise launched a long series of subsequent promises and prophecies that continually pointed toward this coming hero, the Messiah. It foretold a mysterious seed of the woman engaged in cosmic warfare against the seed of Satan, with ultimate victory belonging to the woman’s seed. Although Adam and Eve could not have grasped every detail, they clearly understood that hope had been given. It is possible they initially expected the promise to come through Cain, but after Cain murdered Abel, the war between the two seed lines became evident. Del explains that the entire Old Testament can be viewed as the unfolding drama of this conflict between the seed line of Satan and the seed line of the Messiah. There were moments when it appeared the satanic seed line had triumphed—such as when Israel was conquered, deported, and the temple destroyed—yet the promised line was never extinguished. All of these covenant promises were bound up in the Messiah who would be the Son of David, which is why people were actively looking for him.

Del notes that after the final Old Testament promises, everything went dark for approximately four hundred years. From the standpoint of scriptural revelation, heaven was silent; no new prophetic word was given, although historical events continued to unfold. He indicates they will discuss this period of silence in greater detail later when examining the prophecies themselves.

After centuries of silence, heaven suddenly broke forth upon the earth in an explosion of angelic announcements, lights, visions, and dreams. A child was born to a virgin named Mary, whom the angel instructed to name Jesus because “he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew opens his Gospel with the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Both Matthew and Luke provide detailed genealogies: Matthew traces the line forward from Abraham through David’s son Solomon to Jesus, while Luke traces it backward from Jesus through David’s son Nathan all the way to Adam. Although the lines diverge after David, they converge again to confirm that Jesus was truly the descendant of David. Many understand Matthew’s line as the royal/legal line and Luke’s as the biological/seed-of-the-woman line. This same seed line, carefully preserved through the Old Testament, now bursts into view in the New Testament with the birth of Jesus, the Son of David.

Del observes that this was not an impressive family tree by worldly standards. It contained prostitutes, adulterers, liars, deceivers, gripers, complainers, murderers, idolaters, and polygamists—flawed people whom one might even call “the good guys” in comparison to the rest of humanity. Yet in the arrival of Jesus, the mysteries hidden in the garden promise are fully revealed. Believers now understand exactly what the “seed of the woman” means, who the “seed of Satan” is, and the nature of the war between them. They see the bruising of the heel and the ultimate crushing of the serpent’s head. Remarkably, the gospel was preached from the very beginning: the protoevangelium announced in Eden. Paul writes in Galatians that God “preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations shall be blessed in you.’” He further explains that the promise was spoken “to Abraham and to his seed,” deliberately using the singular “seed” rather than “seeds,” a grammatical detail Paul uses to make a profound theological point that the promise pointed to one specific descendant—Christ. Del marvels that even the singular-versus-plural distinction in Scripture carries immense weight, underscoring Jesus’ own statement that not one stroke or letter of the law will pass away.

Del summarizes that the preceding material offers only a painfully brief overview of the ancient promises that led humanity to expect the man Jesus of Nazareth. The session will now turn to examine the specific promises that Jesus fulfilled, thereby confirming to all that he was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. As an immediate illustration, Del points to Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. When she said, “I know that Messiah is coming; when that One comes, He will declare all things to us,” her statement reflected the widespread Jewish expectation of the Messiah rooted in both the promises and the prophecies. Before Jesus’ birth, the belief that a Messiah would come was not marginal or occasional; the Jewish people were actively and earnestly looking for him precisely because God had given both the covenant promises and the detailed prophecies associated with the coming of the Messiah. Del recalls how Andrew, upon finding his brother Simon Peter, declared, “We have found the Messiah.” This expectation and recognition permeated the culture into which Jesus was born.

Del Tackett emphasizes that Andrew’s declaration to Simon Peter, “We have found the Messiah,” reflected a profound, widespread expectation among the Jewish people at the time of Jesus. This hope was not a vague longing that suddenly emerged from Roman occupation or a general desire for better days. It was not something individuals invented according to personal preferences about timing or nature. Instead, it stemmed from a very specific set of divine promises and detailed prophecies recorded in Scripture. The hope within the Jewish community was concrete and unified because God Himself had promised that the seed would come and that the Messiah would arrive. The prophets had clearly pointed to him. Tackett reminds participants that the purpose of studying these matters in Neighborly Apologetics is to equip families and individuals to respond thoughtfully when neighbors or others begin asking questions about Jesus. Understanding the prophecies is essential because many of them are remarkably specific and detailed, while others are more general. From a conservative perspective, there are approximately fifty prophecies pointing to the Messiah, though some scholars identify as many as four hundred.

Tackett lists several concrete examples of these prophecies. The Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. His hands and feet would be pierced. None of his bones would be broken. People would gamble over his clothes. He would be assigned a grave with the rich. His body would not decay. Many of these latter prophecies relate directly to the events surrounding Christ’s death and resurrection. He introduces listeners to an important figure who helps illustrate the power of these prophecies.

Del Tackett introduces Louis Lapides, a man born Jewish who was initially hostile toward Christ, Jesus, and Christianity. Lapides began studying the messianic prophecies and was ultimately convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah by the overwhelming weight of evidence—not only the existence of the prophecies themselves but the precise manner in which Jesus fulfilled every one of them. Lapides authored the book The Fingerprint of the Messiah, a title Tackett finds particularly compelling. The central idea is that the Old Testament laid down a precise “fingerprint” of the Messiah through its promises and prophecies, and Jesus matched that fingerprint exactly and perfectly. Tackett mentions that he will play a short video clip from Lapides.

Before playing the clip, Tackett warns participants that the video may appear jerky due to his internet connection, though the audio should be clear. He encourages listeners to close their eyes if necessary and focus on the content. He reminds them that Lapides came to faith in Christ while being openly hostile to Christianity, and his conversion resulted directly from recognizing that Jesus fulfilled all the promises and prophecies pointing to the Messiah. Tackett notes that some prophecies speak primarily to Christians, while others are highly convincing to everyone. He highlights Isaiah 53 as one such powerful passage that is difficult to dismiss. In Isaiah 53, the suffering servant is described as wounded for our transgressions; the iniquity of us all fell upon him, and through his death we receive spiritual healing. This passage does not refer to the nation of Israel. Traditional biblical commentaries have long interpreted Isaiah 53 as pointing to the Messiah. Tackett adds that there are many other compelling passages, such as the Messiah coming from the tribe of Judah and being born in Bethlehem. Zechariah 12:10 prophesies that the people of Israel will look upon the one they have pierced (using a term meaning thrust through with a spear or sword) and will mourn for him, coming to repentance. One passage after another consistently points to Jesus as the fulfillment.

Tackett reflects on how moving it is to hear Lapides’ story and to see what God accomplished in his life simply through the study of how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies. He then transitions to a contemporary challenge: the modern skepticism toward prophecy caused by numerous false prophets throughout history. Many false prophets, both inside and outside Christianity, have made bold predictions that failed to come true. Tackett suggests that these false prophecies are part of Satan’s strategy, likened in Revelation to pouring water out of his mouth—flooding the world with lies. One consequence is that people grow cynical and stop believing in genuine biblical prophecy and prophets. He provides a rapid overview of failed predictions to illustrate the point.

Tackett lists numerous historical false predictions. Around the year 500, Julius Africanus predicted the return of Christ. A prophetess named Yoda (or similar) foretold the return of the Jews and an Armageddon battle at the turn of the year 1000; the Pope and others expected Charlemagne’s body to rise and participate in the final battle on January 1, 1000, but nothing occurred. Pope Innocent III predicted the end of the world in 1284. Paul of Tarsus (or similar figures) predicted it for 1306. Russian leaders expected the end in 1669. Mother Shipton prophesied the world’s end in 1881 or 1884. William Miller predicted the world would burn and the Jews would return on March 21, 1844; when it failed, the date was rescheduled to April 18 and then October 22, 1844. About one thousand of Miller’s followers sold their belongings and went to the mountains to await the end, which never came. Charles Taze Russell and the Jehovah’s Witnesses predicted major events for 1914, including the return of the Jews, followed by failed dates in 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, and 1940-41. A University of Michigan meteorologist predicted planetary alignment would cause a massive sunspot and end the world. Sociologist Henry Adams claimed civilization had reached its final stage and the world would end in 1921. Jehovah’s Witnesses again predicted the end for 1975. Dorothy Martin claimed messages from aliens on planet Clarion warning that Earth would be destroyed on December 21, 1954; her followers removed all metal from their clothing and gathered for a flying saucer rescue at midnight, but the event was supposedly called off by the aliens at 4:45 a.m.

Tackett continues with more examples. In 1982, Griffin and Plagemann predicted planetary alignment would cause widespread destruction. Branham claimed seven angels revealed the meaning of the seven seals of Revelation and that Jesus had returned in 1977. Edgar Whisenant, a former NASA engineer, wrote the book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988, which sold 4.5 million copies; it was later revised for 1989, 1993, and 1994—all of which failed. Tackett mentions this hits close to home because he followed Hal Lindsey for a time; Lindsey sold millions of books predicting the end within one generation after Israel’s founding in 1948. When that passed, he revised it to the end of the 1990s, then the 2000s, and then forty years after 1967—none of which occurred. Harold Camping made end-time predictions that attracted followers. Richard Noone predicted the end due to planetary alignment. In 1997, Marshall Applewhite and the Heaven’s Gate cult led thirty-nine followers to commit mass suicide based on their prophetic beliefs. A more recent prediction tied to the Mayan calendar claimed the world would end in a pre-cosmic disaster on December 21, 2012. Tackett notes that when he was working on the Who Is Jesus? film, this 2012 event had not yet occurred, but we are still here.

The point of cataloging these failures, Tackett explains, is to highlight God’s strict standard for true prophets as stated in Deuteronomy 18: if what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken presumptuously and should not be feared. Tackett acknowledges that opinions differ on the exact number of messianic prophecies in the Old Testament and how certain passages should be interpreted—some may have had a near-term fulfillment before Christ. Nevertheless, there remains a substantial body of prophecies. Conservatively, more than fifty are very precise and cannot reasonably be mistaken for anything else; some counts reach four hundred. Josh McDowell identifies sixty-one that are without doubt messianic. These prophecies formed a central theme pointing to the coming of the Messiah. Tackett then outlines common arguments or objections people might raise about Jesus’ fulfillment of these prophecies, which believers should be prepared to address. One objection is that it is merely a strange coincidence that Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies. Another claims the messianic prophecies were written or edited after the fact; the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls effectively refutes this. Some suggest Jesus self-fulfilled the prophecies because he had a messianic complex; while theoretically possible for a few, the vast majority were beyond his control, such as whether his bones would be broken or not on the cross, whether he would be pierced with a spear, or whether soldiers would gamble for his clothes. Another objection is that with enough prophecies, someone is statistically likely to fulfill a couple by chance. Tackett notes that the number fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth far exceeds “a couple”—he fulfilled them all. Critics may claim the prophecies are cherry-picked and taken out of context; Tackett suggests that those making this claim often have not examined the texts carefully and proposes looking at a few examples together. He then references a ten-year study conducted by Dr. Peter Stoner with his students that calculated the odds of one man fulfilling just eight of the listed messianic prophecies. The eight prophecies include: the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; he would be preceded by a messenger; he would come to Jerusalem riding on a colt; he would be betrayed by a friend; he would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver; the betrayer would throw the silver onto the floor of the temple; the Messiah would not speak in his own defense; and the Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced.

Tackett begins to elaborate on Dr. Peter Stoner’s rigorous statistical study, setting the stage for examining the extraordinarily low probability that any one person could fulfill even these eight specific prophecies by chance. He prepares to discuss the calculated odds in the next segment.

Del Tackett continues explaining Dr. Peter Stoner’s ten-year study with his students, which calculated the odds that any one person could fulfill the eight specific messianic prophecies they examined. He illustrates the concept of probability by noting that if a prophecy simply stated the Messiah would be male, the odds would be roughly one in two, or fifty percent. However, when combining multiple specific prophecies—such as being born in Bethlehem, riding into Jerusalem on a colt, and having hands and feet pierced in crucifixion—the probabilities multiply dramatically. Tackett emphasizes how these events compound when added together, making the fulfillment extraordinarily unlikely by chance alone.

Dr. Stoner calculated that the odds of one person fulfilling all eight prophecies were one in one hundred quadrillion—an incomprehensibly small probability. This overwhelming statistical evidence is what ultimately convinced Louis Lapides, who came to faith in Christ after seeing that Jesus had fulfilled every one of these prophecies, including those over which he had no human control. Tackett notes that if the study had examined forty-eight of the prophecies Jesus fulfilled, the resulting number would be so astronomically large that it defies imagination. To help convey the scale, Dr. Stoner used an analogy involving electrons: if all the electrons representing those odds were compressed into a solid ball, its diameter would span billions of light-years. Even then, one would need 10^6 (one million) such balls to represent the full probability. Tackett extends this logic to the larger counts of messianic prophecies—whether sixty-one identified by Josh McDowell, one hundred, or even four hundred—pointing to the single man, Jesus of Nazareth.

Tackett stresses that Jesus fulfilling these prophecies was not mere coincidence or a later fabrication. He recalls the post-resurrection encounter on the road to Emmaus, where two disciples failed to recognize the risen Jesus. They described him as a mighty prophet whom they had hoped would redeem Israel, yet he had been crucified, and rumors of his resurrection were circulating. Jesus responded by calling them “foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them all the Scriptures concerning himself. Tackett highlights this powerful phrase: Jesus explained to them “all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself.” A scarlet thread of promise and prophecy runs through the entire biblical narrative—from Adam and Eve, through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and the genealogies in Matthew and Luke—converging perfectly on Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah and the exact match to the divine fingerprint.

This perfect alignment explains why Jesus’ final recorded words in Revelation declare, “I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star,” identifying himself as the promised Messiah and the Christ. The genealogical thread matches him precisely. Tackett returns to a core question: What, then, is the real problem if the evidence for Jesus as the Messiah is so compelling? He answers that it is not an evidential problem—the evidence is overwhelmingly strong and has never been the true barrier. Instead, the problem is moral and spiritual: it is a heart problem.

Tackett reiterates that the difficulty people face in accepting Jesus as the Messiah is not lack of evidence but a moral issue rooted in the human heart. This realization drives the entire Neighborly Apologetics approach.

Because the core issue is a heart problem, believers must diligently pray for their neighbors, asking God to open their eyes, soften their hearts, and unstop their ears. Only then will neighbors begin to ask genuine questions. When those questions arise, Christians must be prepared with clear, loving, gracious, and winsome answers. The goal is to respond attractively and effectively, equipped with solid evidence from the promises and prophecies while relying on God’s work in the heart.

Tackett turns to one of his favorite passages, Galatians 4:4: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman.” This verse beautifully connects all the promises and prophecies reaching back to the garden of Eden. It conveys far more than God simply waiting for a convenient moment. It reveals a deliberate divine plan, purpose, and script that was building toward its crescendo. The phrase “in the fullness of time” refers to a sovereignly orchestrated Kairos moment, not a random or opportunistic occurrence. Jesus did not simply “happen” to appear when conditions looked favorable; history itself was prepared for this exact point.

Tackett reinforces this truth by quoting Isaiah 46, where God declares: “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.’” God summons a man from a far country to fulfill His purpose, and what He has planned, He will accomplish. This sovereign oversight is evident throughout the preservation and nurturing of the Messiah’s seed line across centuries. Everything converged in this Kairos moment for which all history had been waiting.

Tackett shares his belief that even the stars, created in the beginning for signs and seasons, were positioned from the very start to align perfectly at the arrival of the Messiah. All prophecies were set, all promises deposited, awaiting this precise moment. God had carefully protected the theological seed line of the Messiah, keeping it intact until it was ripe. The Old Testament concludes with Malachi’s catalyzing words: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord.” Everything was prepared for the Messiah’s coming—then came four hundred years of silence in written revelation. Although historical events continued, no new scriptural revelation was given during this period. Tackett compares this silence to the famous dramatic pause in Handel’s Messiah, where the music stops completely before the triumphant Hallelujah Chorus. The four-hundred-year silence was like that profound pause stretched across centuries, after which heaven erupted with light, angels, dreams, revelations, and miracles when God brought forth His Son, born of a woman—the seed of the woman.

At the birth of Jesus, a cascade of supernatural events occurred: angels appearing, John leaping in Elizabeth’s womb, Zechariah struck dumb, stars aligning to guide the Magi, and Simeon—promised he would not die before seeing the Messiah—holding the infant Jesus and prophesying. These events culminated the massive body of prophecies and promises, all converging on this single pivotal moment in human history, with every promise fulfilled in Christ.

Tackett reiterates that the Messiah could not have come from just anywhere on earth. He could not have been Chinese, Hispanic, Caucasian, African, or from Tibet, Beijing, Rome, or Chicago. He had to emerge from a very tiny, specific genealogical seed line, born in the little town of Bethlehem at the exact moment God had ordained. He had to be born of a virgin. God had sovereignly preserved this seed line up to that precise point in time.

Throughout history, the seed line faced repeated threats—idolatry, conquest, and attempts by Satan to destroy it—yet God faithfully preserved it. He kept a remnant that had not bowed the knee to Baal. When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the nation, God preserved a remnant. Even when the kingdom divided, when Israel was conquered and taken into Assyrian or Babylonian captivity and it seemed all hope was lost, the promise remained intact because its fulfillment depended on God, not on flawed humanity.

After four hundred years of silence, the prophecies stood ready for fulfillment in the Kairos moment. The silence was dramatically broken, and from the stump arose new life, as prophesied: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” Tackett highlights another favorite passage: “The holy seed is in its stump.” This reflects God’s consistent way of working—bringing forth life and fruit even from apparent destruction. Believers today should see themselves as a remnant in their own land, recognizing that God is not finished with His people. He brought forth the Messiah, and all that follows is part of His ongoing purposes. Hope is never lost for those in Christ. Even when circumstances look dim, when it feels like “always winter,” or when storms threaten, believers must not lose hope, allow their hearts to melt, or let their knees knock in fear. The same God who repeatedly preserved the rebellious, stiff-necked, grumbling, idolatrous seed line through every trial will fulfill His promises. Tackett evokes the image of the conductor waiting for the exact moment, after which the glorious music of Handel’s Messiah bursts forth: “For 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 Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” This is the promise realized and the prophecies fulfilled in Christ.

Tackett summarizes that the group has now covered the first of six areas in their study of the claims of Christ and the resurrection—specifically the promises and prophecies pointing to the Messiah. Next, they will examine the life and death of Christ, which contains a vast amount of material that also fulfills the messianic promises. He acknowledges they may not cover everything in the remaining time but will proceed as far as possible. He stops sharing his screen and turns the session back over to Marc Fey.

Del Tackett thanks all participants for attending and expresses his prayer that the teaching was helpful. Even if it only sparked a deeper thirst and hunger to understand these truths—not merely academically, but in a practical way that equips believers to explain them clearly to neighbors who begin asking whether Jesus is really the Messiah and the Christ. He prays that participants will be able to walk others through these truths in a relational, neighborly manner. He concludes by asking the Lord to bless everyone.

Marc Fey thanks Dr. Tackett for the powerful teaching. He reminds participants that a link to the recording will be sent out for those who could not attend, and encourages everyone to share it widely. He also announces that Dr. Tackett’s slides will be sent along with the livestream link.

Marc Fey explains that within a couple of days, all materials will be loaded onto the website under the “Webinars” section in the main navigation. There, participants can find the full series Dr. Tackett is presenting. He expresses gratitude for everyone’s attendance and looks forward to the monthly teachings.

Dr. Tackett leads the group in a closing prayer, thanking God for revealing Himself both in His Word and through the fabric of time and human history. He praises God for the mighty works and sovereign hand that fulfilled His purposes and plans, especially in the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He thanks God for all that Jesus accomplished in His life, death, and resurrection, confirming that He is the promised Messiah, God in the flesh, the Son of David, and the long-awaited Christ. Tackett prays that God would instill in believers a hunger to speak of Christ and be faithful witnesses to those around them. He asks for openings and opportunities, diligence in prayer for neighbors, and the building of deep relationships so that God might work in their lives. The prayer closes with the desire that believers might speak the truth of God into lives that are lost without Him, all for His glory in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The session ends with final blessings and good wishes for the evening.