Old Testament Prophecies of Jesus Christ Lesson 1.

I once asked the Lord a very sincere question. The question I asked was "Lord, How can I know the Bible is your inspired Word?". The Lord’s answer to me is found in John 5:39. Jesus said in John 5:39 "Search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me".

Jesus said in John 5:39 that the scriptures testify of him. We know he was referring to the Old Testament, because the New Testament was not written yet when he made that statement. He said the Old Testament testifies about him, or shall we say the Old Testament speaks or prophesies about him. Yes! The Old Testament speaks and prophesies about him hundreds and thousands of years before he was born.

Psalms 40:7 "Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book. It is written of me". The Hebrew translation of "volume of the book" would be "roll of the scroll", because the Bible was first written to us on scrolls. This scripture is quoted in Hebrews 10:7 as pertaining to Jesus Christ.

The Lord speaks in Isaiah 42:9, and says "Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them." The Lord declared things unto us before they came to pass, so we would know it was him who inspired the scriptures.

Psalm 102:18 says "This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord". The church which is futuristic of Psalm 102:18 is made up of all the Lord’s people, whom the Lord created to praise him.

Romans 15:4 says "For whatsoever things were written beforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of scriptures might have hope." It is my sincere hope and desire that the scriptures and truths revealed in these lessons will produce hope and faith in the heart of the reader.

The reader should understand that Jesus Christ was our Creator, and he pre-existed throughout Old Testament times. He made numerous appearances throughout the Old Testament. There were times he would appear as The Angel of the Lord, and there were times he would appear in the form of a man.

John 1:1-3 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made".

The Word of God is another name for Jesus Christ we read about in Revelation 19:13. Jesus Christ is the Word who was in the beginning with God, and was God, and he is also our Creator who made all things.

John 1:14 says "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us". The Word became Jesus Christ and dwelt among us. John 1:10 says "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." John 1:12 says "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."

Colossians 1:16 says "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible." Hebrews 1:1,2 say "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." The word "worlds" is plural in this verse, so this would include the whole universe.

Philippians 2:5 and 6 say "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God"

Jesus Christ was the Word who was with God in the beginning, and who was God, and our Creator who made all things. Jesus was praying to the Father in John 17:5, and this is what he prayed "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." Jesus Christ was with the Father before the world was according to his words in this prayer.

Jesus said in John 8:58 that "Before Abraham was, I am." Abraham lived about two thousand years before Jesus was born. Jesus was implying here that he pre-existed before Abraham was born.

Jesus Christ has been defined as being all God and all man in one person. The man we call Jesus was born when the Virgin Mary conceived and gave birth to him two thousand years ago, but that man we call Jesus was filled with the Spirit of our Creator. He was also the biological Son of God, because he had no earthly father. Our Father in Heaven planted his own seed in Mary, so our Heavenly Father is the biological Father of the man we call Jesus.

Jesus said in John 17:14 and 16 that he is not of this world. John 3:17, 10:36, and 17:18 say he was sent into the world by his Father in Heaven. This means he was not in this world in the beginning. He was the Word who was with God, and was God, who was our Creator. It was our Father and Creator who spoke through the mouth of Jesus. Jesus was the walking Word of God on earth. He was the Word made flesh.

Read John 6:37-40 when Jesus said "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."

Jesus said in John 11:25 and 26 "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life, and he has the power to give us eternal life if we believe in him. There is eternal life after the life we live now, if we believeth in Jesus Christ who is our Creator, and has the power to raise us up at the last day.

Jesus Christ pre-existed before his life and ministry on this earth. He was active all the way through the Old Testament hundreds and thousands of years before Jesus was born. Micah 5:2 prophesies beforehand about his birth in Bethlehem, and also reveals his pre-existence in days of old, by saying "whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2 "But thou, Bethlehem 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 from old, from everlasting." Notice that in the first part of this verse it speaks about Bethlehem, where the future ruler of Israel shall spring forth from. Jesus Christ will be the future King of Israel or ruler forever in the end. Matthew 2:6 quotes this verse as pertaining to Jesus at the time of his birth in Bethlehem.

Notice also that the last phrase speaks about his goings forth from old, from everlasting. This refers to his pre-existence when he appeared unto the earlier fathers such as Abraham, Moses, etc., so it prophesies about his birth in Bethlehem over seven hundred years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but also speaks about his goings forth thousands of years before this prophecy was given, and both statements referring to one person the Lord Jesus Christ, who always has existed since before the world was.

God also said in that prophecy that the future ruler of Israel would come unto him. That’s just what Jesus did. He ascended into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

Here's the reference from Mathew 2:5,6 that quotes Micah 5:2 above, as pertaining to Jesus at his birth in Bethlehem.

Matthew 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel

Jesus said in Revelation 22:13 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."

This first lesson revealed that Jesus Christ is our Creator, and that the Bible speaks and prophesies about him, and we will be learning about more prophecies of him in more lessons to come. Jesus also referred to himself in John 11:25, 26, as being the resurrection and the life. That means he has the power to resurrect us, and it will be Jesus Christ who will decide who he resurrects to eternal life, or who he sends to hell