~ Messiah’s
Forerunner: “A Voice In The Wilderness” ~
“Search
the Scriptures—they testify of Me.”
— Jesus Christ (John 5:39)
The Scripture
“The voice of one crying
in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and
hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places
smooth the glory of the Lord shall
be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken’” (Isaiah 40:3-5).
The Messiah
“In
those days John the Baptist came
preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand!’ For this is he
who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: ‘The voice of one crying in
the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord;
make His paths straight”’” (Matthew 3:1-3).
“…the Word of God came to
John the son of Zacharias [John the Baptist] in the
wilderness. And he went into all the
region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission
of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
saying: ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and
hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways
smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God”’” (Luke 3:2b-6).
“Then
they said to him [John the Baptist], ‘Who are you, that we may give an answer
to those who sent us? What do you say
about yourself?’ He said: ‘I am “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
make straight the way of the Lord,”’
as the prophet Isaiah said” (John 1:22-23).
~~~ EXPLANATORY
“MESSIAH” NOTES ~~~
(1)
Each Saturday ALN posts an example of a Hebrew
Scriptures prophecy (or foreshadowing) related to the coming Messiah which was
fulfilled in the birth, life, death, or resurrection of Jesus Christ.
(2)
While extensive it will not be a
complete list—there are hundreds of prophecies of the coming Messiah which have
been fulfilled by one man—Jesus Christ at His First Coming.
(3) It is important that there are many more
prophecies of the Messiah, yet unfulfilled, which Christians believe will be
fulfilled at the time of His Second Coming.
A particularly relevant Scripture verse in this regard is: “Do not
despise prophesies” (1 Thessalonians 5:20).
(4)
These posts will typically consist only
of Scripture—which speaks for itself. Sometimes
italicized or bold font will be used by ALN for emphasis.
(5)
The numbering of these fulfilled
prophecies of the Messiah is used to differentiate individual posts. It is not
chronological (either by time of the prophecy or by sequence in the life of the
Messiah). The posting sequence will, for
the most part, be in the order that the prophecies appear in Scripture.
(6)
Because of the chosen methodology (#5 above)
we will find many specific prophecies repeated multiple times throughout the
Scriptures.
(7) These serial posts are in addition to our
regular Tuesday ALN postings on random topics.
(8)
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~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE
NOW
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