OT Tuesday: The Promise of Jesus

Ignore Rick Warren, he teaches his minions that they should not read bible prophecy, it's kind of like telling someone to read 'Lord of the Rings' but ignore the bits with hobbits and elves and dwarves. If you read the bible from the start, you're barely three chapters in before God gives us his first prophecy that pretty much gives away the ending of the book. In a passage directed toward Satan He says;

¹⁵ And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise (or crush) you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

What He told Satan is that Satan will be able to injure a certain descendant of Eve but that descendant will destroy Satan. And, of course, God was right. Satan was able to convince his followers to kill Jesus, who ruined Satan's plans by returning from the dead, the rest of the smackdown is yet to come prophesied throughout the bible. That's just the start of prophesy after prophesy fulfilled perfectly with many more yet to be fulfilled perfectly, terribly, and gloriously. 

God's prophet Isaiah wrote about a person in the desert who prepares the way for the Lord. 

³ A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴ “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; ⁵ Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5)

That voice in the wilderness was John the Baptist who in Matthew 3:1-2 came to preach in the Desert of Judea. When the Pharisees came to question him just who he thought he was and just what he thought he was doing, John answered them

...“I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” (John 1:23)

Of course the prophesy wasn't lost on the Pharisees who thought John was crazy, then Jesus showed up. And when John baptized Jesus in Matthew 3:16-17 the Holy Trinity was revealed all at one place and one time (for those of you that watched The Bobble Bible on the History Channel, they chose to ignore this part of God's word and much, much more.)

About 700 years before Jesus was born the prophet Isaiah predicts the birth of a son, a descendent of King David who would return to David's throne and reign forever. Isaiah even got His nicknames right

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) 

There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and  righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:7)

Not only is Jesus the Prince of Peace, He's also a direct descendant of David. Even if He wasn't the son of God He'd still have more claim to the throne of Judah than Harod did. Isaiah even told us that Jesus would perform healing miracles

⁴ Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” ⁵ Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. ⁶ Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah. (Isaiah 35 4-6)

Page after page of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us of the miracles that Jesus performed, curing conditions that we're just beginning to learn about today. Even a quick glance through the New Testament shows that indeed the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame leap, and the mute shout. The prophet Daniel gave prophesy when the Messiah would return;

²⁵ So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. (Daniel 9:25)

Weeks here mean 7 of something, like scores mean 20 of something and dozens mean 12 of something. Here weeks mean groups of 7 years. So seven weeks (49 years) and 62 weeks (434 years) = 483 years.The order to rebuild Jerusalem was signed in 453 BC, and exactly 483 years later Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem on what we call the First Palm Sunday. The prophet Zachariah even gave prophesy of how Jesus would enter into the City;

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)

There's so much more to biblical prophesy, especially in the old testament, that it takes the breath away. From prophesy that doesn't even appear to be prophesy to some real, serious "Gee wizz" moments, it's all there for you. It's the word of God, the story of Jesus, and don't let anyone take that from you.