
As we have seen some of the messianic prophecies in the book of Isaiah such as in Isaiah 7 and 11, now we shall see the closer look that the Saviour will be revealed. In Isaiah 52:31-53:12 we can see a magnificent structured prophecy in fantastic detail that practically put into the shadow everything that God ever seen and said before. One suggested that Isaiah 52:13-15 is considered as part of Isaiah 53 because in these three verses we can see the mystery of the servant of God. “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider” (Isaiah 52:13-15). In this book of Isaiah it was depicted the humility of the Lord Jesus Christ or His career on this earth. He was extremely humble. In fact He was despised because of His background concerning His city namely
The whole chapter of Isaiah 53 is absolutely the messianic prophecy concerning the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth. If the Jews read this chapter there is no way they can escape to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Messiah that has been mentioned in the Old Testament. However one said that when the Jews read the book of Isaiah up to Isaiah 52:12, they will skip Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and continue to read and memorise Isaiah 54, because they cannot stand to read those verses. Though they knew that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah they still harden their hearts and persist not to believe and follow.
Isaiah 53:1-12 can be outlined as follows; firstly, the rejection of God’s servant (Isaiah 53:1-3) where we can see its fulfilment written much more in the four gospels. Secondly, the atonement of God’s servant (Isaiah 53:4-6) in which we are told His special unique servant. In verse 6 we read, “All we like sheep have gone astray: we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Based on this verse we can see the important of the need of the Saviour to cleanse us from all our sins. This can be done only through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 53:7-9 the prophecy continues to tell us that the amazing details of some of the things that the Lord Jesus Christ would do in which some of them were not even mentioned in the four gospels because the Holy Spirit assumed that we have mastered the book of Isaiah. Thirdly, the exhortation of the Lord’s servant (Isaiah 53:10-12). This is the climax of all in this chapter. It tells us the offered price that the Lord Jesus Christ paid and the knowledge by which He accomplished our redemption and the glorification that He will share with His people who love and serve Him. It is clear that this passage is one of the most important passages in the book of Isaiah concerning the first coming of Messiah. There is no doubt but to believe that what Isaiah was saying here was truly fulfilled when Jesus Christ came to this earth.
However the Lord sent His prophet Jeremiah as the last prophet before the destruction of
However though
This passage tells us about the coming of righteous King that will reign, prosper and execute judgement. The background of this passage was given in the previous chapter that the horrible king was reigning at the end of monarchy in
In Jeremiah 23:3-4 we are told the prophecy concerning the prosperity of the remnant of
In Jeremiah 30:8-9 we can see the contrast of having the perfect King. At the end of verse 8 we read, “and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him.” What happened to the nation of
In Jeremiah 23:9 says, “But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king whom I will raise up unto them.” In the Old Testament, David was used not only for David himself but the word “David” is also used to describe any descendant of David who sat upon his throne who was the member of Davidic Dynasty. For example, when David’s grandson, Rehoboam, the son of Salomon inherited the kingdom from Salomon, the ten tribes who followed Jeroboam said that Rehoboam, the king of Judah was David because he was sitting on the throne which represented David’s Dynasty. Thus when the Lord Jesus Christ is sitting on the throne of David, the people will serve Him for He will represent more than Davidic Dynasty. Thus Jesus Christ will be also called David.
Jeremiah 33:14 is the background of the whole study of this passage as we read, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of
The question is asked how will it happen to
Jeremiah 33:17-22 says, “For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season (this is reference to the Sun); Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.” In these verses are clearly seen the coming restoration of
Ezekiel was the younger contemporary of Jeremiah who was brought to
Ezekiel 34:22-23 says, “Therefore will I save flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them and he shall be their shepherd.” The contrast in this passage is that there will be a good shepherd who shall feed the flock in
Ezekiel 37:24-25, “And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.” This is another prophecy concerning the coming King that will sit on the throne of David. On the other hand we can see the promise of the Lord to the people of
In this junction, the question is asked, how can a perfect Prince rule over the deprived people in this wicked world? Is it possible for one person to rule over the world? To those who did not fully believe in the Lord they may be doubt about it. However, the coming perfect Prince is not only human but also God. Thus there is nothing impossible to God for He Himself created the world out of nothing. So how will He rule over the world? Let us note Ezekiel 37:26-28, “Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify
The book of Daniel is one of the books in the Old Testament which tells us the remarkable prophecy of the coming of the Messiah and what He will do to this earth. The remarkable truth of this prophecy was given by the Lord to the king of
Another prophecy is given here in this passage concerning both the first and second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is found in Daniel 9:25-27. Apparently this passage is one of the most hated passages by the Jews. The Jews may read and memorise Daniel 2 and 7 but not Daniel 9, because the Jews could not take the meaning of this passage. Daniel 9:25-27 says, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troubles times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” When the Jews read this passage they could not see the distinction of the meaning of verses 25-26 and verse 27. At the end, the Jews did not like to read this passage because what they understand from this prophecy something that they did not like. The question that they commonly ask, how can be the great One cut off and have nothing? This question raised because they fail to understand that Daniel 9:25-26 is referring to the first coming of the Messiah whereas the Daniel 9:27 is referring to His Second Coming. Thus because of their hardening hearts the Lord confused them to understand this remarkable passage of the coming Messiah.
The prophet Micah was one of the prophets called as the Christmas prophet because Micah was writing the most important truth concerning the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is remarkable because hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ, Micah already prophesied that He would be born in the small town called
Micah 5:2 says, “But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been form of old, from everlasting.” How can
Having seen some of the passages from the different prophetic books, now what the prophet Zechariah said about the coming Messiah. First of all let us consider Zechariah 3:8, “Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth by servant the BRANCH.” Based on this verse we can see the identical message as given by the prophet Isaiah and Jeremiah. This was because all Scriptures in the Bible were written by one author namely God Himself. Furthermore Jeremiah 3:9-10 continues to say, “For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.” In other words, having known whom the Branch is as described in other prophetic passages now in these verses we are told that the Branch will bring the kingdom to this earth. He will also bring peach to this earth because He is the prince of peace. Apart from His coming to this earth as King there will be no any security in this earth. As promised here
Zechariah 6:11-13 said, “Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” In other passages we can see that the same BRANCH as mentioned here is referring to the Messiah as the King of kings. However the BRANCH described in this passage is talking about the Messiah as the High Priest. This is to say that when the Messiah comes in His Second Coming He will be a King at the same time He will be a High Priest. To the Jews this is something which is very hard to understand because in the Old Testament there would never be a king and priest at the same time in one person. However it is clear that there is no problem with this priesthood mentioned in this passage because He is not Aaronian priest but the Melchizedekian priest. As Psalms 110:4 said, “Thou are the priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” In order to know all the details that the Lord has mentioned in His Holy Scriptures, we, believers in the Lord should know the Scriptures. The Lord expects us to know His word so that we will not be in error in understanding the Word of truth.
Zechariah 9:9 said, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zechariah 11:12-13 said, “And I said that unto them, If ye think good, give me my price, and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: goodly price that I was prised at the them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.” This passage is the prophecy of the rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Jews and at the same time we can see here the prophecy concerning Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. Hundreds years before Jesus Christ came to this earth, the betrayal of Judas Iscariot toward the Lord Jesus Christ has been given even the most details in which we can know how much Judas received from the Pharisees and Saducees in order to betray Jesus. It is absolutely marvellous even in the Old Testament we know about Judas Iscariot.
Zechariah 12:10 said, “10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” This is another prophecy concerning the crucifixion and the death of Jesus Christ. However this passage focuses on the mercy of God that will be given to those who have rejected and pierced the Lord Jesus Christ. In other word though the people of Israel have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ in His first Coming but the Lord will show His mercy to them and the One whom they have crucified and whose name they hate till this day, at last they will recognise. They will come to the Lord Jesus Christ and get the forgiveness of sins from Him alone. Salvation will be given to
Zechariah 13:1 said, “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of
Malachi 3:1-2 said, “Behold I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap.” In this passage we can see the prophecy of Malachi concerning the coming Messiah in which John the Baptist also has proclaimed (Matthew 3:1). John the Baptist knew that the Messiah would come and he acknowledged his responsibility as the servant of God namely to proclaim the truth of Messiah and to direct the people of
In Malachi 4:2 we are told that when Jesus come, the whole world will be full with light, because He is the light of the world. “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” This was the last word of the Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament that will be fulfilled. Therefore as John said in the New Testament in the book of Revelation we may say, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). Amen.