The Messianic Prophecies
The Messianic Prophecies A complete history of the life of Christ was written more than eight hundred years before he was born. This detailed account of His life could not have been written in advance unless the Creator of the universe had guided those who wrote.
Coming of Messiah Foretold. The first promise of the coming of Christ was made after the first sin when God said to Satan, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." The "Seed of the woman" is Christ and the serpent is the devil. Satan was to inflict a wound but not a fatal one--Christ would be crucified but would rise from the dead. He was to bruise Satan’s head. The promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:3) "In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" refers to the coming of Christ. God promised David (Jeremiah 23:5-6) "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise up unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute justice and judgment on the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is the name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness."
Isaiah (9:6) prophesied, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." These titles could be applied only to Christ. Malachi closes the Old Testament with a promise of the Lord’s coming.
Hundreds of Old Testament prophecies relate to the coming of Christ. These are sufficient to show that in every age the promise of His coming was kept alive in the heart of man.
Time of Christ’s Coming Foretold.
Christ was to come in the "last days". (Isaiah 2:2, Joel 2:28.) Peter quotes this as being fulfilled in the second chapter of Acts. He was to come during the fourth universal empire -- the Roman Empire. (Daniel 2:44.) "And it came to pass in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed." (Luke 2:1.) "Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee...Annas and Caiaphas being high priests..." Thus the coming of Christ and of John, His harbinger, was during the days of the Roman Empire.
Christ was to come while the temple was yet standing. "...and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple." (Malachi 3:1.) "I will fill this house with glory saith the Lord." (Haggai 2:7.) Christ often went into the temple. Soon after he left the earth the temple was destroyed.
Christ was to come before Judah ceased to be a distinct and ruling tribe. "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." (Genesis 49:10.) The "sceptre" was the standard of the tribe of Judah and a symbol of the tribe itself. It signifies a ruler and a lawgiver. This prophecy simply means that before Judah lost its tribal distinctness and rulership the Christ would come. Only one Jewish tribe remained distinct in the days of Christ and this still maintained a high priest or ruler. In the destruction of Jerusalem, A. D. 70, both tribe and priest disappeared. Today no Jew knows from what tribe he comes. The very year of Christ’s coming is foretold by Daniel in Daniel 9:25, "Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, threescore and two weeks." According to the usage of Daniel, a day represents a year. The decree for rebuilding Jerusalem was in 457 B.C. Beginning at this time the 483 years bring us down to the personal ministry of Christ.
Just as the astronomer predicts the eclipse of the sun and it comes to pass, so the prophets told the very time Christ would come and, lo, He appeared!
Place of Christ’s Birth Foretold.
It was predicted that Christ would be born in "Bethlehem Ephratah" and that his "goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (Micah 5:2.) This statement is clear. Christ was born in Bethlehem Ephraith--not Bethlehem in Galilee. "Now Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea." (Matthew 2:1.) Joseph and Mary lived in Galilee, yet when Christ was born they were in the south of Palestine in Bethlehem of Judea just as the prophet predicted Christ’s Lineage Foretold.
He was to be a descendant of Abraham. (Genesis 12:1-3, Galatians 3:16.) And of Isaac (Genesis 21:12, Hebrews 11:18) and David (Jeremiah 23:5, Acts 13:23, Romans 1:3.)
Christ was to be of the tribe of Judah. Genesis 49:10 says that "Shiloh" would come from this tribe and Hebrews 7:14 says, "it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah."
Christ was to derive His human nature from the woman and his divine nature from God. (Genesis 3:15, Galatians 4:4, Luke 1:35.) Christ’s Character Foretold. The prophets said that Christ would be meek and lowly, a man of sorrows, unpopular, persecuted; that He would be a King and desired of all people. Only in Christ do we have contradictory features manifested. He was to love righteousness, gentleness and tenderness. He was to obey the Father in all things. It was predicted that He would save others but not Himself. All these things were true in every respect.
Events in Christ’s Life Foretold.
It was divinely prophesied that a harbinger would go before Christ to prepare the way for Him. He was to go in the power and spirit of Elijah. This, of course, refers to John the Baptist who prepared the way for Christ. (Malachi 3:1, Luke 1:17, Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 17:10-13.) The Messiah was to confirm His message with miracles of healing the blind, deaf and lame. (Isaiah 35:5-6.) This He did abundantly during the whole of His personal ministry.
He was to be rejected by His brethren and hated by the Jews. (Psalms 69:8, John 1:11, John 15:24.)
Christ was forsaken by His disciples (Zechariah 13:7, Matthew 26:31) and sold for thirty pieces of silver. (Zechariah 11:12, Matthew 26:15.)
Hundreds of other events in the life of Christ have been foretold but these are sufficient to show that the prophets wrote a complete history of His life before He was born.
Crucifixion and Burial Foretold.
Christ was to die under a judicial sentence and not at the hands of a mob. "He was taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare his generation for he was cut off out of the land of the living." (Isaiah 53:8.) Though Christ did not receive a just trial yet He died under a judicial sentence.
He was to die by crucifixion. "He shall be cut off out of the Land of the living" seems to indicate a violent death. "For dogs have encompassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and feet." (Psalms 22:16.) Only in crucifixion were the hands and feet pierced.
He was to be scourged before His crucifixion. (Isaiah 50:6.) Soldiers were to gamble for His Clothing. (Psalms 22:18.) "Then when the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took His garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said among themselves, let us not rend it but cast lots for it, whose it shall be." (John 19:23-24.)
Christ was to perish among His enemies and in the midst of cruel mockings. (Psalms 22:6-11.) His side was to be pierced. (Zechariah 12:10, John 19:34.)
Those who killed Christ expected to bury Him with the wicked criminals but the prophet had written, "And he made His grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death," hence we see Joseph of arimathea, a rich man begging the body of Jesus that he might bury it in his new made tomb. (Isaiah 53:9, Matthew 27:57-60.) Nicodemus, another rich man, helped to embalm the body. He brought about a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes and linen clothes. Surely it was intended to bury Jesus with the paupers and criminals but He was "with the rich in His death"!
Resurrection, Ascension,and Coronation Predicted.
Christ was to rise from the dead. The Old Testament scripture foretold this and the disciples of Christ heard Him predict it when He was with them. No other religious teacher ever risked His claims on His own resurrection from the dead. (Isaiah 53:10-11, Matthew 20:18-19, Acts 2:29-32.) The ascension of Christ was foretold. He was to conquer death and ascend on high. (Psalms 68:18.) This He did. Picture the solemn occasion as Jesus stands on the hilltop of Judea and bids goodbye to His disciples. He leaves upon them the burden of spreading His kingdom and goes with the clouds toward that home from whence He came. As He draws near heaven there is great rejoicing. A Son who has been gone from home for thirty-three years is returning. He has been to earth, suffered, died and finished the work His Father gave Him to do. Now He returns and angels meet Him singing, "Lift up ye gates and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors and the King of glory shall come in." Christ is ushered into the presence of God. He is crowned Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He is seated on David’s throne and there is given Him "dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." (Acts 1:9, Ephesians 4:8, Daniel 7:13-14, Psalms 24:7-10.)
Conclusion.
All these prophecies were written more than five hundred years before the death of Christ. They constitute a storehouse of information to strengthen our faith and to convict the gainsayer. They cannot be the result of fortunate guessing or blind chance. The hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the Christ and their minute fulfillment as recorded in the New Testament simply prove to the candid and thoughtful person that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.