Old
Testament Scriptures Fulfilled By Christ
Psalm 40:6
The Prophet David assured us that when the Christ, the Messiah,
has come the sacrifices and ceremonies of the law would cease, he would appear
as Jehovah’s voluntary Servant, and that the Volume of Old Testament Scripture
prophecy would be fulfilled. —"Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume
of the book it is written of me." "The volume of the book"
may refer to the book of God's secret, eternal decrees (Rev. 5:1; 10:2). But it
certainly refers to the written revelation of God contained in the Old
Testament Scriptures.
Names
and Titles
The
writings of the Old Testament prophets abound in predictions of the Messiah,
the Christ. God promised Abraham, "In thy seed shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed." When Jacob blessed the tribe of Judah, he spoke
of Shiloh to whom the gathering of the people would be. Moses spoke of that
Prophet whom the Lord God would raise up, whom the people of God would hear.
In
the Psalms and the prophets Messiah is given a great variety of titles: ―
The Anointed of the Lord ― The King ― David's Lord ― The
Child Born ― The Son Given ― The Mighty God ― The Everlasting
Father ― The Prince of Peace ― God's Servant Whom he Upholds
― Messiah The Prince ― God's Elect in Whom He Delights ― The
Branch ― The Lord Our Righteousness ―
The Messenger of the Covenant.
All
these names and titles belong to the Messiah. But are they all fulfilled in
Jesus of Nazareth? If they are, then he is the Christ. If they are not, we must
look for another.
The
Time
The time of Messiah's coming was clearly marked out in prophecy.
God told no one the day and hour when Christ would come. But he did identify
the time in history. Those looking forward to the coming of Christ could not
predict it. But those looking back cannot mistake it. Christ has come! The
coming of Messiah must fit into this time frame: ― He must come before
the destruction of civil government in Judah (Gen. 49:10). ― He must come
while the temple was still standing in Jerusalem (Hag. 2:6-9). ― The
Messiah had to appear about the middle of Daniel's 70th week, which would be
453-457 years after the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem began (33 A.D.),
the year that Christ died (Dan. 9:24-27). Thirty-seven years later, 70 A.D., Jerusalem
was destroyed. The Messiah had to come into the world during the time that
Jesus of Nazareth lived upon the earth. He could not have come at any other
time.