"Mathematician Peter W Stoner tackled this question in his 1960 book Science Speaks, calculating the odds of a single first-century individual fulfilling just 48 of these prophecies by chance. The result was staggering: one in 10 followed by 157 zeros, a number so vast it far exceeds the total number of electrons in the observable universe. To make the math easier to grasp, Stoner began with eight key prophecies, including being born in Bethlehem, descending from David, and performing miracles."
"Using simple probability, multiplying the chance of each prophecy occurring randomly, he found that even fulfilling these eight by accident alone is about one in 100 million. Extending the calculation to all 48 prophecies, the odds shrank to levels almost impossible to imagine. Stoner illustrated this with a real-world analogy, as covering the state of Texas two feet deep with silver dollars, mark one coin, and try to pick that coin blindfolded,"
The Old Testament contained hundreds of prophecies about Jesus, and the New Testament presents them as fulfilled. Mathematician Peter W Stoner estimated the chance that a single first‑century individual would fulfill 48 such prophecies by chance at about one in 10^157. Stoner began with eight key prophecies and found the odds of fulfilling those eight by accident were roughly one in 100 million. He used an analogy of silver dollars covering Texas and picking a marked coin blindfolded to illustrate improbability. Researchers Will Best and Robin Lovgren revisited the calculations in 2025 and affirmed that, under conservative assumptions, the probability remains staggeringly low. Believers consider these probabilities evidence of prophetic fulfillment while critics note dependence on prophecy selection.
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