~ Jesus Christ is the Messiah of the Hebrew
Scriptures ~
Comment
~ This Abundant
Life Now post was originally posted on June 25, 2011 just prior to the
beginning of this numbered Messiah series (which began the following Sabbath
Day of July 2, 2011). It seems appropriate to repost it as a start to a short
series of Appendix-like posts about the Messiah.
Scripture
~ The Scriptures are full of
prophecies regarding the coming Messiah. “Listen to
this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by
the name of Israel and come from the line of
Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and
invoke the God of Israel — but not in truth or righteousness — you who call
yourselves citizens of the holy city and rely
on the God of Israel — the Lord
Almighty is His name: I foretold
the former things long ago, My mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. For I knew
how stubborn you were; the sinews of your neck
were iron, your forehead was bronze. Therefore
I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, ‘My
idols did them; my wooden image and metal god
ordained them.’ You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them?” (Isaiah
48:1-6).
Date ~ One
of the incredible aspects of these prophecies about the coming Messiah is that
they were prophesied between about 400 b.c.
and over 1,400 b.c.
Messiah ~ Jesus
Christ while on earth proclaimed that He was the Son of God—the Messiah. In one
passage He spoke of four witnesses to this reality. “If
I [Jesus Christ] bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me
[John the Baptist is the first witness mentioned in this passage], and I know
that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You have sent to John, and
he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but
I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp,
and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater
witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish — the very works that I do — bear witness of
Me [second witness], that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me [third
witness]. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But
you do not have His Word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not
believe. You search the Scriptures,
for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me [fourth witness mentioned in this passage].
But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. I do not receive
honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I
have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in
his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from
one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? Do not
think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you —
Moses, in whom you trust. For if you
believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do
not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John
5:31-47).
Truth ~ The
prophetic Scriptures present truth. “For we did not follow cunningly devised
fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor
and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came
from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place,
until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this
first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as
they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:16-21).
Quantity ~
Scholars have found well over 400 prophecies about the Messiah in the
Scriptures. We have looked at some of
them from my observations in reading the Old Testament.
~~~ 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) Subscription to ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog is
simple—just use the link on the left sidebar.
Once subscribed you will not miss future posts.
NOTES:
A)
We
are now starting an Appendix series to the ALN Messiah posts
B)
The
numbering of our Messiah posts jumped five in this post (to catch up with posts
which contained multiple prophecies.
(1)
The
current
TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very
bottom of this home page.
(2)
There
is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the
left column.
(3)
You
may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website.
(4)
You
may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by
prominently displaying the following statement: Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free
blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid
Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/
.
