Jesus
Christ the Son of God, one of the three members of the Trinity, the triune
Godhead.
The
significance of His birth to become the sacrificial lamb for the sins of man
may be remembered by those that he died for. Are those same people aware that the Son of
God has been a part of history since the beginning and will be the catalyst of
the End?
He
can be followed from the Beginning to the end.
From Genesis in the Old Testament to His Birth in the New Testament
From
His Crucifixion to His return and Second Coming at the End Times.
Glimpses
of the Son of God radiate throughout the Bible.
The book cannot be opened without following Him through scripture.
He
would be given the name of Jesus at His birth in Bethlehem. Until that time,
the Son of God was not only in existence as a member of the Trinity but was
involved in the affairs of His Father’s kingdom.
GENESIS
God
created the world in Genesis 1 and then said “let’s make man in OUR
image”. Who is the “our”? The trinity, God the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. God the Son was there in Chapter
2.
After
Satan used the serpent to tempt Eve, God stated that it would be crushed by the
“seed of the woman”.
Jesus
was that seed…the virgin birth.
After
the garden and the fall of man. Satan thought he had it all in his control
until God brought the flood to destroy it all with the exception of the
righteous man Noah to begin replenishing the earth. In time, God choose Abraham to be the avenue
for which God would bring redemption for mankind.
Through
Abraham the promise was given and Abraham not only accepted it but believed in
it. Jesus himself in the book of John (8:56)
Stated
that “…Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and
was glad. …”
Abraham
“saw” the day of Jesus and it made Abraham glad. Did he actually physically see that day? Did
he just understand it was coming in the way that no man ever did? What we do know is what is recorded in
Genesis 18-19 when Abraham entertained and hosted the divine being at his home.
Other than the recorded conversation regarding the eventual birth to come for
Sarah and then the events surrounding Sodom and Gomorrah, what conversation
went on amongst them? We often do not
consider anything else other than what we have seen documented and recorded for
our eyes.
Abraham
had a meal with his guests and spent time together. There was no need for social conversation
regarding stock prices in town or where the best watering holes were, when you
are eating dinner with the power that created you and the universe!
Melchizedek
Genesis
14:13-16 Abraham rescues his nephew Lot and is met by Melchizedek who is listed
(18-24) as “the priest of the most high God”.
Tithes are given and the priest brought forth bread and wine. Much has often been made of this man
Melchizedek. He is not Christ or
anything more than a mere human. He
however is a genuine “model” of Christ in many ways beyond the scope of this
current topic. Simply to mention the use
of the elements that would be instituted by Christ for the Lords Supper shows
the understanding by Abraham and Melchizedek of the need for “atonement”. (Luke
22:14-20)
EXODUS
God
makes a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15 that his descendants would number
as the stars of the sky (vs 5) and the land that will be theirs (vs 18). He even foretells the captivity and exodus
(vs 13-14) from Egypt and the timeframe for its ending. Which is confirmed in Exodus 12:41!
It
would be hoped that most believers would know the Exodus story and its impact
on the theme of scripture. As part of
the last plague that initiates the exodus out of Egypt, blood is spread on the
doorposts (chapter 12) and will become remembered and celebrated as
Passover. The sacrificial lamb representative
of the perfect lamb sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
In
Exodus 3:14, Moses is told that he is to tell the Israelites that “I AM THAT I
AM” is who sent Moses to deliver them.
In
John 8:58, Jesus who had come to deliver us, told the Jews that He was THE “I
AM”
God
speaks to the Israelites through Moses.
A nation of millions that must learn to follow a belief in the Creator.
Throughout their tenure in the desert, Moses pens the rules (Leviticus –
Deuteronomy) that God has provided for them to live by. The sacrifice of the lamb continues to be
their offering to God. Until they reach the land that God promised Abraham and
under the leadership of Joshua head in and are to claim the land.
CANAAN
After
the Israelites came into the land of Canaan, they were a group of lose knit
tribes trying to coexist with one another. Unfortunately, they also tried to
coexist with their neighbors which they had been told to stay away from by God.
This mingling of culture and belief led to the loss of any spiritual qualities
that identified them as separate and unique.
They not only took on the evil practices of pagan gods they also became
enticed with being like them and eventually wanted a king. God had foreseen
this and provided rules for the king in Deuteronomy 17:14-20.
Samuel
was a transition for the Jews from their isolated individual tribes to the
point of their unification under a king. God had intended for them to serve Him
as the only king but this did not happen.
Samuel
“did let none of his words fall to the ground”. (1 Samuel 3:19-20) He only
spoke what God told him to say. Giving only advice that was God driven and
inspired. He became known as a man in tune with the will of God and not man.
Turning
to earthly kings
In
1 Samuel 8, the people rejected God for an earthly king and the history of the
nation is changed yet again. The nation
would spend most of the next 500 years going down the path of rule by wisdom of
man and not God.
King
DAVID
David
was the king that was called a man after God’s own heart. As with Abraham God made a covenant with
David (2 Samuel 7:1-17).
He
was promised that his House, Throne, and kingdom would last forever. It is out of his lineage that the Messiah
would come.
David
himself wrote many more than the 73 Psalms that have his name on them and many have
direct references to the coming Messiah.
Including:
Psalms 16:10; 22:13-18; 30:3; 34:20; 41:9-10;
55:12-14; 69:21; 118:17
There
were a few kings like David that chose to follow God. However, the number that chose to turn their
back on God greatly outnumbered the Godly.
Each time God would speak to them through men of God called Prophets who
were called to remind the king and the people of their need to return to the
God of their fathers.
The
Prophets
The
Prophets all saw the coming of the Messiah.
Many of them also saw visions and were given information concerning the
future. They did not always understand
what they were seeing, some seeing the first coming of the Messiah and others
seeing His Second Coming. They were
seeing “mountain peaks” in the coming history.
Clarence Larkins has a diagram that depicts this well. Each seeing different events.
Daniel
gave them the exact time of the coming Messiah and his death. Daniel 2:44;
9:25-26
Isaiah
and Malachi told of his coming being proceeded by a messenger. Isaiah 40:1-5; Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6
Prophets
declared His birth of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2),
the massacre of the children (Jeremiah 31:15).
Zechariah
the prophet was even told specifically that there was going to be an end of the
old covenant and start of a new covenant.
He not only saw the betrayal of Judas but He saw the return of the
Messiah at His Second Coming to build the Temple.
Isaiah
53 is very well known as descriptive of the Messiah.
The
fulfilled prophecies in scripture regarding Jesus are numerous. How can anyone
doubt the prophecies yet to be fulfilled.
THE
ARRIVAL OF MESSIAH
The
Gospels record the Birth, Death and Resurrection of the Messiah – Jesus. His fulfillment of prophecy is documented and
lineage confirmed by the writers that were there with Him.
Gospel
of Matthew does two things. It begins by
documenting the lineage of Christ but it also recounts the words of Jesus in
regards to the End Times and what Jesus states in regards to his Second Coming.
The
Second Coming of Christ and the Revelation of God
From
the words of Jesus himself to the teachings of Paul in Thessalonians; the
teaching of the prophets such as Ezekiel and Daniel are reaffirmed. The end of the book is only the beginning as
the Apostle John shares the vision he received from God in the book of Revelation.
John elaborates on the foundations established by Daniel. Daniel laid out the 70 weeks as given to him
by God. Daniel detailed the first 69 and John details week 70 as provided to
him by God.
The
story of the Messiah transcends the length of scripture and time. God is not limited by our time structure (2
Peter 3:8). His plan has been there from
the beginning to the end. Both Daniel
and John saw God himself and soon we will as well. Eternity is His domain (Isaiah 57:15) and it
is our choice whether or not to be there.
