INTRODUCTION
Purpose of Messianic Prophecy
GOD IS THE ONLY TRUE GOD WHOSE KNOWLEDGE IS INFINITE AND WHOSE WORD IS NEVER BROKEN
ALL THINGS ARE SUBJECT TO GOD'S DIVINE WILL
MESSIAH WILL ABSOLUTELY BE KNOWN, BASED UPON HIS CREDENTIALS
"Which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared with power to be the Son of GOD by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our LORD.' "
Romans 1:2-4
Appeal to Messianic Prophecy
JESUS
"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill."
Matthew 5:17
"And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in the Scriptures."
Luke 24:27
"Now He said to them, 'These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' "
Luke 24:44
"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
John 5:39,40,46,47
"And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive.' "
Matthew 13:14 (on parables)
"This is the one about whom it was written 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You .' "
Matthew 11:10 (on John the Baptist)
"Jesus said to them, 'Did you never read in the Scriptures, "The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief cornerstone..."?' "
Matthew 21:42
"But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled."
Matthew 26:56
"And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory."
Mark 13:26 (refer to Daniel 7:13,14)
"And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the synagogue were fixed upon Him. And He began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' "
Luke 4:20,21
"For I tell you, that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, 'And He was numbered with transgressors'; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment."
Luke 22:37
"But they have done this in order that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their Law, 'They hated Me without a cause.' "
John 15:25
NEW TESTAMENT WRITERS APPEAL TO PROPHECIES FULFILLED IN JESUS
"But the things which GOD announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled."
Acts 3:18
"Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name every one who believes in Him has received forgiveness of sins."
Acts 10:43
"And when they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb."
Acts 13:29
"And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying 'This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.' "
Acts 17:2,3
"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ also died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."
I Corinthians 15:3,4
"Which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures."
Romans 1:2
"You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to GOD through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: 'Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed.' "
I Peter 2:5,6
"And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he began to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born. And they said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet,
IN THE WORK AND PERSON OF CHRIST THERE IS A FULFILLMENT OF THE LEVITICAL FEASTS
| The Feast (Lev. 23) | The Fulfillment in Christ |
|---|---|
| Passover (April) | Death of Christ (I Cor. 5:7) |
| Unleavened bread (April) | Holy Walk (I Cor. 5:8) |
| First Fruits (April) | Resurrection (I Cor. 15:23) |
| Pentecost (June) | Outpouring of Spirit (Acts 1:5; 2:4) |
| Trumpets (Sept.) | Israel's Regathering (Matt. 24:31) |
| Atonement (Sept.) | Cleansing by Christ (Rom. 11:26) |
| Tabernacles (Sept.) |
Rest and Reunion with Christ (Zech. 14:16-18) |
Significance of Predictive Prophecy
CONCLUDES THAT THERE IS A DIVINE INTELLECT BEHIND THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS
ESTABLISHES THE FACT OF GOD
AUTHENTICATES THE DEITY OF JESUS
DEMONSTRATES THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE
THE OLD TESTAMENT CONTAINS OVER 300 REFERENCES TO THE MESSIAH THAT WERE FULFILLED IN JESUS
Objection
The prophecies were written at or after the time of Jesus, and therefore fulfill themselves.
Answer
If you are not satisfied with 450 BC as the historical date for the completion of the Old Testament, then take into consideration the following: The Septuagint, the Greek translation f the Hebrew Scriptures, was initiated in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-246 BC). It is rather obvious that if you have a greek translation initiated in 250 BC, then you had to have the Hebrew text from which it was written. This will suffice to indicate that there was at least a 250-year gap between the prophecies being written down and their fulfillment in the person of Christ.
CREDENTIALS OF JESUS AS THE MESSIAH THROUGH FULFILLED PROPHECY
Prophecies Concerning His Birth:
| 1. BORN OF THE SEED OF WOMAN | |
|---|---|
| PROPHECY | FULFILLMENT |
|
"And 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." Genesis 3:15 |
"But when the fulness of the time came, GOD sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law." Galatians 4:4 (Also see Matthew 1:20) |
Jewish source: Targum Pseudo Jonathan on Genesis 3:15 states, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between the seed of your offspring and the seed of her offspring; and it shall be that when the offspring of the woman keep the commandments of the Law, they will aim right (at you) and they will smite you on the head; but when they abandon the commandments of the Law, you will aim right (at them), and you will wound them in the heel. However, for them there will be a remedy, but for you there will be none, and in the future they will make peace with the heel in the days of the king, Messiah."
The following is an interesting observation of David L. Cooper:
"In Gen. 3:15 we find the first prediction relative to the Saviour of the world, called 'the seed of the woman.' In the original oracle GOD foretold the age-long conflict which would be waged between 'the seed of the woman' and 'the seed of the serpent' and which will eventually be won by the former. This primitive promise indicates a struggle between the Messiah of Israel, the Saviour of the world, on one hand, and Satan, the adversary of the human soul, on the other. It foretells complete victory eventually for the Messiah. Some commentators believe that an echo of this promise and Eve's understanding of it is found in Genesis 4:1 - the statement of Eve when Cain, her first son, was born. 'I have gotten a man even Jehovah.' She correctly understood this primitive prediction but misapplied it in her interpreting it as being fulfilled in Cain, her son. It is clear that Eve believed that the child of promise would be Jehovah Himself. Some old Jewish commentators used to interpolate the word 'angel' in this passage and say that Eve claimed that her son was 'the angel of Jehovah.' There is no ground for this assertion."
The New American Standard Bible renders Genesis 4:1: "...she said, 'I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD' "
When the translators of the Septuagint translated Isaiah 7:14 into Greek they used the Greek word parthenos. To them Isaiah 7:14 denoted that the Messiah would be born of a virgin.
E. W. Hengstenberg says:
"It is an undoubted fact, and unanimously admitted even by the recent opposers of its reference to Him, that the Psalm (Psalm 2) was universally regarded by the ancient Jews as foretelling the Messiah."
"At the incarnation the First-begotten was brought into the world (Heb. 1:6). But it was only at and by His resurrection that His Divinity, as the Only-begotten of the Father, was manifested and openly attested by GOD. 'Made of the seed of David according to the flesh,' He was then 'declared to be the Son of GOD with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead' " (Romans 1:4).
Matthew Henry says about Genesis 22:18, "In thy Seed, one particular person that shall descend from thee (for he speaks not of many, but on one, as the apostle observes, Gal. 3:16), shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, or shall bless themselves, as the phrase is, Isa. 65:16."
The above passage determines that the Messiah would come from the Hebrew race.
Jewish source: Targum Onkelos on Numbers 24:17 states, "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh. When a king shall arise out of Jakob, and the Meshiha be anointed from Israel..."
In the above Targums we can see that the Jews have Messianic import to the passages. Likewise, the Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah gives a Messianic meaning to this text. Paul Heinisch relates that "at the time of Hadrian (132 AD) the Jews revolted against the Roman yoke, they called their leader Barkochba, 'The Son of the Star.' For they believed that Balaam's oracle on the star from Jacob was then being fulfilled and that through him GOD would utterly destroy the Romans."
Hengstenberg, in his Christology of the Old Testament, points out that "by this Ruler, the Jews from the earliest times have understood the Messiah, either exclusively, or else principally, with a secondary reference to David. Either its exclusive relation to the Messiah was maintained, or it was allowed to refer indeed, in the first instance, to David; but then both himself and his temporal victories were regarded as typical of Christ, and His spiritual triumphs, which (according to this exposition) the prophet had especially in view."
Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Now GOD eliminates one-half of the lineage of Isaac.
Jewish source: Targum Pseudo Jonathan on Genesis 49:11a states, "How noble is the King, Messiah, who is going to rise from the house of Judah."
Jacob had 12 sons out of which developed the 12 tribes of the Hebrew nation. Now GOD eliminates eleven-twelfths of the tribes of Israel. Joseph had no tribe named after him, but his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh did become heads of tribes.
Delitzsch comments, "Out of the stumps of Jesse, i.e., out of the remnant of the chosen royal family which has sunk down to the insignificance of the house from which it sprang, there comes forth a twig (choter), which promises to supply the place of the trunk and crown; and down below, in the roots covered with earth, and only rising a little above it, there shows itself a netzer, i.e., a fresh green shoot (from natzer, to shine or blossom). In the historical account of the fulfillment, even the ring of the words of the prophecy is noticed: the netzer, at first so humble and insignificant, was a poor despised Nazarene" (Matthew 2:23).
Driver says about II Samuel 17:11b, "Here Nathan comes to the main subject of his prophecy - the promise relating not to David himself, but to his posterity, and the declaration that it is not David who will build a house for Yahweh, but Yahweh who will build a house (i.e., a family) for David."
Jacob Minkin, in his book titled The World of Moses Mainmonides, gives the view of this learned Jewish scholar: "Dismissing the mystical speculations concerning the Messiah, his origin, activity, and the marvellous superhuman powers ascribed to him, Maimonides insisted that he must be regarded as a mortal human being, differing from his fellow-men only in the fact that he will be greater, wiser, and more resplendent than they. He must be a descendant of the House of David and like him, occupy himself with the Study of the Torah and observance of its commandments."
"Behold, the days are coming" is a common expression which is used in reference to the entrance of the Messianic era (see Jeremiah 31:27-34).
Jesse had at least eight sons (see I Samuel 16:10,11). Now GOD eliminates all of Jesse's sons except one, David.
Jewish source: Targum Onkelos on Genesis 3:15 says, "And I will put enmity between thee and between the woman, and between thy son and her son. He will remember thee, what thou didst to him (at) from the beginning, and thou shalt be observant unto him at the end."
2. BORN OF A VIRGIN
PROPHECY
FULFILLMENT
"Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign:
Behold, a virgin will be with
child and bear a son, and she
will call His name Immanuel."
Isaiah 7:14
"...She was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph...kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus."
Matthew 1:18,24,25 (Also see Luke 1:26-35.)
Virgin is denoted by two words in Hebrew:
Virgin is denoted in Greek by: parthenos - a virgin, marriageable maiden or young married woman, pure virgin. (Matthew 1:23; 25:1,7,11; Luke 1:27; Acts 21:9; I Corinthians 7:25,28,33; II Corinthians 11:2)
3. SON OF GOD
PROPHECY
FULFILLMENT
"I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, 'Thou are My son, Today I have begotten Thee.' "
Psalms 2:7 (Also see I Chron. 17:11-14; II Sam. 7:12-16.)
"...And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.' "
Matthew 3:17 (Also see Matthew 16:16; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35; 22:70; Acts 13:30-33; John 1:34,49
Mark 3:11 - The demons realized His Sonship.
Matthew 26:63 - Even the high priest realized His Sonship.
4. SEED OF ABRAHAM
PROPHECY
FULFILLMENT
"And in your descendants [lit., seed] all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
Genesis 22:18 (See also Gen. 12:2,3)
"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."
Matthew 1:1
"Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as referring to many, but rather to one, 'And to your seed.' that is, Christ."
Galatians 3:16
The importance of the event in Genesis 22:18 is established when we realize that it is the only time that GOD swears by Himself in His relationship with the patriarchs.
5. SON OF ISAAC
PROPHECY
FULFILLMENT
"But GOD said to Abraham...through Isaac your descendants shall be named [lit., your seed will be called]."
Genesis 21:12
"Jesus...the son of Isaac..."
Luke 3:23,34 (Also see Matthew 1:2.)
Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Now GOD eliminates one-half of the lineage of Abraham.
6. SON OF JACOB
PROPHECY
FULFILLMENT
"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, And a scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth."
Numbers 24:17 (Also see Genesis 35:10-12)
"Jesus...the son of Jacob..."
Luke 3:23,24 (Also see Matt. 1:2 and Luke 1:33.)
Jewish sources: Targum Jonathan on Genesis 35:11,12 says, "And the LORD said to him, I am El Shaddai: spread forth and multiply; a holy people, and a congregation of prophets and priests, shall be from thy sons whom thou hast begotten, and two kings shall yet from thee go forth. And the land which I gave to Abraham and to Izhak will I give unto thee, and to thy sons after thee will I give the land."
7. TRIBE OF JUDAH
PROPHECY
FULFILLMENT
"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples."
Genesis 49:10 (Also see Micah 5:2)
"Jesus...the son of Judah..."
Luke 3:23,33 (Also see Matthew 1:2 and Hebrews 7:14.)
"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's, from the house of Jehuda, nor sapherim teaching the law from his seed, till the time that the King, the Meshiba, shall come, the youngest of his sons; and on account of him shall the peoples flow together. How beauteous is the King, and Meshiha who will arise from the house of Jehuda!"
8. FAMILY LINE OF JESSE
PROPHECY
FULFILLMENT
"Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit."
Isaiah 11:1 (Also see Isa. 11:10.)
"Jesus...the son of Jesse..."
Luke 3:23,32 (Also see Matt. 1:5)
Jewish source: Targum Isaiah states, "And a King shall come forth from the sons of Jesse, and an Anointed One (or Messiah) from his son's sons shall grow up. And there shall rest upon him a spirit from before the LORD, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the LORD."
9. HOUSE OF DAVID
PROPHECY
FULFILLMENT
" 'Behold, the days are coming.' declares the LORD, 'When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.' "
Jeremiah 23:5 (Also see II Sam. 7:12-16; Ps. 132:11)
"Jesus...the son of David..."
Luke 2:32,31 (Also see Matt. 1:1; 9:27; 15:22; 20:30,31; 21:9,15; 22:41-46; Mark 9:10; 10:47,48; Luke 18:38,39; Acts 13:22,23; Rev. 22:16.)
Jewish source: The Messiah as being referred to as the "Son of David" is scattered throughout the Talmuds.
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