Wednesday, 27 August 2008

The Prophecy of the Righteous King and Perfect Servant

Christ is the righteous King

Isaiah 11:1-5 “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” This passage tells us that the coming King will be a human because Isaiah 11:1 describes that “a rod out of the stem of Jesse,” which was the father of David, which of course was human. The coming King will have the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might and knowledge. The word counsel here means that only He can guide, teach and encourage us. There was no king that ever existed having such distinctions given in this passage. The coming King will be the righteous King because He will not judge according to the sight of the eyes and the hearing of the ears for He knows everything about the wickedness of the minds and hearts of people. He knows everything in the mind of every man and there is none such ruler in this world but this will be fulfilled in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 11:4 tells us further everything that the King does He will do it righteously. “But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” The Lord Jesus Christ will slay the wicked in the Armageddon as mentioned in Revelation 19:15 “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

How can such a person come from David and Jesse? The answer is because He has inherited His human nature from them by the miracle of the Holy Spirit that took place on conception that does not inherit our sinful nature. By the virtue, the fact is that He pre-existed his incarnation with the father for eternity, and He also inherits His divine nature. Thus He is God-man and He is qualified to rule over the world.
The perfect Servant with infinite, divine qualification

Isaiah 40:3-5

“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”

At the end of verse 9 says, “say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God.” What kind of person he will be when he comes? The answer to this question is found in Isaiah 40:10-11 “Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” The perfect shepherd with infinite, divine qualification will come to this earth. The prophecy in this passage is the absolute truth in which John the Baptist has proclaimed it during his short ministry in this earth namely to prepare the way of the Lord that will come, the Lord Jesus Christ. It was because of the preaching of this truth, John the Baptist was put into a dungeon and finally he was headed. However while he was still in a dungeon, he sent the messengers to the Lord Jesus Christ asking whether Jesus Christ is the One who would come (Luke 7:19-24). The truth was, there was no doubt for the two disciples of John who had seen all the works of the Lord Jesus Christ before their eyes. Even Jesus Christ told them to let John the Baptist know for what they have seen.

Isaiah 42:1-4

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgement to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.”

Who is this servant? In the book of Isaiah there are three servants mentioned. First, in Isaiah 44:28; 45:1 we see Cyrus was called the messiah, the anointed of God because God raised Cyrus to deliver Israel from the Babylonian captivity. Cyrus smashed Babylon and helped Israel to rebuild the temple, but Cyrus did not even know the Lord. Second, in Isaiah 44:21; 49:3 another servant of God which was described as mostly did not know the Lord, but sometimes he knew the Lord and occasionally obeyed Him, and that servant is Israel. The Lord in the book of Isaiah was agonising over the reluctant servant Israel. Third, within the chosen nation of Israel there is the perfect servant of the Lord. He is the One who is mentioned in Isaiah 42:1-4. The Lord said, “Behold my servant.” Who is this servant of the Lord? He is the Messiah, the King of kings who will rule over the whole world and He will be the marvellous King in the history of this planet earth. He will be faithful to the Lord forever.

Isaiah 49:1-7

“Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God. And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.”

This is another passage that the Lord will fulfil in the Lord Jesus Christ. As we read in the beginning of this passage, it was as if the Lord Jesus Christ who was speaking this passage concerning Himself and what He is going to do in the future. This is the amazing Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 50:4-9

“The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.”

This is another passage where we can see Jesus Christ speaking again as in Isaiah 49:1-7. Isaiah 50:4 tells us how the Lord Jesus knew all things when He gave up His independent exercise of attribute of His greatness. Verse 4 says “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” In other words, Jesus was saying that ‘what He says it is not from Him but His Father. His Father tells me what to say and do. His Father also empowers Him because when He becomes incarnated, He deliberately set aside the independent exercise of attribute of His greatness so that what He did, that was supernaturally by the father enabling and showing Him. Thus the Lord Jesus Christ had done all things perfectly when He came to this earth to do the will of His Father.

Monday, 18 August 2008

The Inner Court of Prophetic Revelation

The prophesy of the BRANCH of Jehovah

Two hundred years after God spoke to David and Solomon, God gave His Word to the prophet Isaiah by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit about the prophecy of the coming Messiah. It is recorded in Isaiah 4:2 “In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.” In Hebrew the word for BRANCH is “tsamach.” It is a special name given by the Holy Spirit to the Son of God. He is the Branch of Jehovah because He entered into the human scene on this planet earth. What He actually is, of the extension of the triune Godhead above that we can not see, and no man has ever seen the invisible eternal Godhead. That is why, 1 Timothy 1:17 said that Jesus Christ is the invisible as well as immortal. So Jesus Christ is the only One who becomes visible. He is like a branch from the invisible tree coming into you on this earth and He is the branch of the Lord.

There are two things that we need to watch about from the study of Isaiah 4:2. Firstly, the Branch will be beautiful and glorious. Secondly, the fruit of the earth will be the survival of Israel. This is another name for Jesus that he is the fruit of the earth. In Isaiah 4, 7, 9, and 11, Christ is depicted that He has two natures namely divine and human. He is God and man in one person. He is the fruit of the earth because Christ came to this earth through the conception of Mary as the human mother, which we know clearly that Mary came from Adam. In that sense Adam came from the earth. During the ministry of Jesus Christ, He has a 100 % human body and not glorified body. Thus, though the early Christians were very hard to understand this truth but now we notice clearly that Christ is the fruit of the earth which will be the survival of Israel.

The prophecy of the virgin birth of Christ

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The prophet Isaiah tells us that there will be a sign given by God as a overwhelming, spectacular sign. The question is asked, what is this sign that causes people to behold? The answer is because a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. The word ‘virgin’ ‘almah, in Hebrew always means in the Old Testament Scripture, the virtue of the unmarried woman. Therefore such woman shall conceive, it must be a miracle. In the New Testament it says the same thing as quoted by Matthew as a proof that Jesus is a virgin born. “Behold a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Thus the prophecy of a virgin birth in Isaiah 7:14 is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ and nothing else. Christ is the human because He has the human mother and He has a natural born just like all of us but He was not conceived like us. His name is called Immanuel. Immanuel is derived from two words namely ‘Imma’ means ‘with us,’ and ‘el’ means “God.” This is to say that Jesus was not only human by virtue of having the human mother but He is also God with us, God-incarnated.

The Prophecy of the names of Christ

Isaiah 9:6-7 says, “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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” In this prophecy we can see the more amazing truth and the twofold nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word ‘a child’ here is the same word mentioned in Isaiah 7:14 namely referring to the Lord Jesus Christ which describes His humanity. The phrase “unto us a son is given” is referring to His divine nature. The focus of the meaning of the word ‘a son’ here is not so much to depict that He is the son of Mary but the Son of God. We need to understand clearly that from eternity, God has the son. In fact in Proverbs 30:4, two hundred years before this prophecy was given to Isaiah it was already asked this very question, “Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?” So God who created the universe has the Son and always has. That is why, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16).

The phrase “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given” tells us the human and divine nature of the Son is in one person. Knowing this fact, the question is raised, what this person will be like? The answer is “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.” We need to understand that the Counsellor here is different with so called ‘counsellors’ today. Therefore we need to be careful with those psychologists who claim to be counsellors. But what Isaiah 9:6 describes is referring to the names of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father and The prince of Peace.” He is the only Prince that can bring peace to this world that He will accomplish when he comes again. Right now no human is able to rule the world which is full of deprived and sinful people but only the One who is God and man, who is perfect and sinless namely Jesus Christ who is able to rule the world. Thus we may say, “Lord, thy kingdom comes.”

Sunday, 10 August 2008

The Messianic Prophecy Concerning Christ's First Coming

According to the book of Jeremiah

In Jeremiah 22:30 the curse was given by the Lord to the line of Solomon when the Lord said, “Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.” This curse was pronounced by God to the king of Judah, Jehoiachin the son of Jehoiakim, the son of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. Although this line is the Royal line in which the coming King can come from this line but the Lord has cursed it. When the Lord says that the Messiah will sit on the throne of David, He did not contradict God’s curse on Jehoiakim because Jesus was not born to Joseph, but to Mary.

The study of this passage in the light of the New Testament Scripture (Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38) proves that Mary was not from the line of Solomon. In Luke 3:23 the father in law of Joseph was Heli, the actual father of Mary. Thus Mary’s genealogy goes back to Nathan the son of David. Nathan was not under the curse. Therefore Jesus was born of the house of David but from the different line which was not from the curse line. He got the kingship by being adopted by the man who inherits in that line but he did not give him the curse. A virgin born King missed the curse, but had the correct lineage back to David.

According to the book of Psalms

Psalms 2:6-9

“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

The prophecies in the book of Psalms are most of them written by David. In Psalm 2:7-9 David gave the Messianic prophesy by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In verse 6 we are told that the coming King will be set upon the holy hill of Zion. When Jesus Christ returns to this earth, the millennial kingdom will begin and Jesus will reign over the world.

In verse 7 we read “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” What does it mean when God the Father said “this day I have begotten thee”? This is definitely not relating to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ because he was not begotten. However it is related to his resurrection from the death as Paul said in Romans 1:4 “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

Psalms 72:8-11

“He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.”

In this passage, we can see the clearest proclamation of the coming King of kings that will reign the world. In the Millennial age, all nations shall serve the Lord Jesus and worship. Psalm 72:17 is another precious passage that tells us about the Lord Jesus Christ as says “His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.” The same expression also is given by the prophet Zechariah in Zechariah 9:10 “And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.” All these verses tell us that unto Him (Jesus Christ) all the nations in this earth will bow and offer their submission and total obedience when he speaks peace to the nations. When Jesus returns to this earth there will be peace and harmony in the nations of the earth. Only Jesus Christ can bring peace to us who are in trouble in sinful demonic world.

Psalms 110: 1

“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”

This verse tells us about the God the father and the Son, Jesus Christ. And this verse can be rephrased in this way: the Lord (God the Father) said unto my Lord (God the Son). This was given by David through the help of the Holy Spirit a thousand years before Jesus was born. In fact it is so wonderful how the Lord Jesus Christ quoted this verse to tempt and rebuke the Pharisees. We read in Matthew 22:44-45 “The Lord said unto My Lord, Sit thou on My right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” Having said this to them, in Matthew 22:46 tells us “And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.” However the real answer to the question that Jesus gave the Pharisees was because Jesus has two natures. He is the Son of David physically, genetically through Mary but He is the Son of God by the virtue of his divine nature. All these have already been given to the Jews in the Old Testament Scriptures a thousand years before Christ’s first coming.

It is important also to notice that not only Jesus Christ quoted this verse when He was in this earth but even the apostle has quoted the same verse to prove that Jesus Christ is the Son of David and yet the Son of God. Peter in his sermon in the day of Pentecost said in Acts 2:34-36 “For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” When the people heard this message the people were crying out “what shll we do?”(Acts 2:37). The people who were gathered there knew that they will be the ones, the enemies and crushed when Jesus Christ comes back. Thus everyone was present in that day expected Jesus’ coming. They expected that Jesus Christ will return and establish his kingdom on earth (ref. Acts 1:7). “Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). And three thousands of people believed in that day (Acts 2:41).

Psalms 110:4

“The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Who is Mechizedek? And how can be the king at the same time is also a priest? In the Old Testament, no king could ever be the priest because the priest can only come from the tribe of Levi and the king from the tribe of Judah. However in the history of the kingdom of Judah there was one king by the name of Uzziah who “went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him” (2 Chronicles 26:16-20). God will never tolerate to the Judean king to be the priest.

On the other hand the prophet Zechariah tells us something about the priesthood and kingship at the same time will be held by the BRANCH. As he said, “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” (Zechariah 6:12-13). Who is the BRANCH here? The BRANCH is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. In His second coming to this He will be the King of the universe and every nations will bow and serve Him at the same time he will be also the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek in the Millennial Temple.

Who is this Melchizedek? A thousands years earlier, God told the story of Melchizedek in the Old Testament Scripture whose genealogy did not mention at all. However in Genesis 14:18-22 it tells us that Melchizedek was the king of Salem and also the priest to whom Abraham gave tithes of all. What the Psalmist says here is that the coming King of kings will be after the order of Melchizedek the priest. This truth was further elaborate by the writer of Hebrews a thousand years after the Psalmist declared this truth. He says that Jesus Christ will be the High priest forever and ever after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:5-6). Therefore God put all His Word together in the marvellous, mysterious way. Yet, there is a need to be careful to compare Scripture with Scripture that we may see the unveiling truth concerning the future kingdom. Hence in the Millennial we shall have a Melchizedekian High Priest with Zodakian priests. The High Priest is also the King of the tribe of Judah, the seed of David ruling over all the nations of the world who will pay total respect and in complete submission to him forever. God never has made one falsehood, nor any mistake in thousands of years of the unfolding Old Testament prophecy, so that when Christ finally appears we know what is the program of the Lord.

The Prophecy of The Faithful Priest

Having seen the prophesy of the coming King and of the final Prophet, another character and function of the Lord Jesus Christ prophesied in the Old Testament that He is the faithful Priest. Jesus Christ was prophesied, as the faithful Priest was to contrast the failure of the sons of Eli as priests serving in the Tabernacle. The context of 1 Samuel 2:12-36 tells us how the Lord visited Eli the high priest concerning the wickedness of his sons. The Lord said to Eli “Behold the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house” (1 Samuel 2:31). However the climax of this passage that the Lord has said is that there will be a faithful priest that dwell in the house of the Lord without failure.

The prophecy that is found in 1 Samuel 2:35 tells us about the faithful priest that is going to come. The Lord says, “And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.” The question is asked, who is this faithful priest that will rise up in this world? Who is in the world the faithful priest that will rise up?

In order to understand who this faithful priest is, it is important to know the history from which the faithful priest will come. A hundred years after God spoke His Word to Eli, there was a king of Israel by the name of king David. David was faithful to the Lord and the Lord has prospered him and his kingdom. However almost the end of his life, some of his friends and his son denied and betrayed him. But there was a faithful priest to king David by the name of Zadok. In this junction we need to understand that Zadok was the son of Eleazar, the third son of Aaron. On the other hand Eli was not from the line of Eleazar but from the line of Ithamar, the fourth son of Aaron (Exodus 28:1). Because of the faithfulness of the high priest Zadok to David the king, the Lord has said that in the millennial kingdom, Israel will be re-established as mentioned in Romans 11. During the millennial kingdom there will be a king by the name of Jesus Christ the Messiah and He will be function in the millennial temple as the High Priest and the sons of Zadok will be priests who will minister in the millennial temple. Ezekiel 40:46 says “And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the LORD to minister unto him.” Ezekiel 43:19 “And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.” Ezekiel 44:15 “But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD.” Based on these verses the sons of Zadok will be function in the millennial temple worship system and the Lord Jesus Christ, the King will be at the same time as the High Priest.

One may ask a question, how can an animal sacrifice in the alter and ministered by the Jews priests again, when the book of Hebrews says that all the elements of the temple are finished and they cannot take away sins, but only by the blood of Christ? The answer is that the book of Hebrew was written to the Christian Jews and not to Jews specifically, but to Christians who happen to be Jews. In the Old Testament the blood of goat and lamb was established by God not to take away sins but to cover sins from the time of Adam onward as a symbol of ultimately what God will do to Christ. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God will take away our sins. Thus in the coming kingdom, Israel will be function again under the Lord because Christian cannot christianise the Jews neither the Jews can judeazise the Christians. Let us not christianise true Israel, for Israel has special function in the millennial temple. What the Jews will do in the millennial kingdom it will be the same as what we are doing on the Holy Communion. We are not offering again the blood of Jesus Christ or crucifying Him but it was just a remembrance. We are symbolising what the Lord Jesus has done. Jesus has commanded us to do it again and again until He returns. In the same way the Jews will be offering sacrifices in the millennial temple to remember what the Lord Jesus has done for them. This is their distinction from Christians in the millennial and what they will be doing is to symbolise what the Lord has done on the cross.

Therefore when the Lord said to Samuel “I will arise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: . . . and he shall walk before mine anointed forever”(1 Samuel 2:35), it will be fulfil in the millennial kingdom. Jesus Christ will be the High Priest there, not from Aaron, nor Zadok but He will be form Melchizedek line as mentioned the details in Ezekiel 40-48. Thus the Zadokian priests will be under the Michizedekian High Priest in the coming kingdom.

In relation to what we have seen in the discussion above, now we shall see further the promise of God concerning the temple of God that the Lord will build. In 2 Samuel 7:12-13 we read, “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.” Based on these two verses, one may consider that it is talking about the Solomon’s kingdom but the last phrase in verse 13 says “I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever,” gives the clue that it can not be referring to Solomon’s kingdom. The question is to whom is this prophecy referring to? It is only referring to the Lord Jesus Christ because the Lord will build His temple in the millennial forever. This is not referring to Solomon’s temple because Salomon’s kingdom did not last forever.

The Prohecy of The Final Prophet

Moses was different from all other prophets the Bible says. God did not speak to him through dreams and vision like to other prophets but the Lord spoke to him face to face (Numbers 12:6-8). However this does not mean Moses actually saw the physical face of the Lord for the Lord does not have any body but he saw the theophany form of God in which the Lord actually talked to Moses (ref. Exodus 19:19-25). The Lord has given Moses many of His revelations.

One of the revelations of God which was given to Moses just before he died was concerning the final Prophet that will come. This amazing Word of God came to him by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Deuteronomy 18:15 “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.” In Deuteronomy 18:18-19 further said, “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” There is no doubt that a Prophet that mentioned here is referring to the final Prophet namely Jesus Christ and not the rests of prophets that came after Moses.

To contrast the final Prophet as Moses has said in verses 15, 18-19, he further describe the details of being the true and false prophet. This account was recorded in Deuteronomy 18:20-22 “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”

In the New Testament Peter made it clear that ‘a Prophet’ mentioned by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 was referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. As Peter quoted this verse in his preaching in Acts 3:22-23 “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” It was “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” Peter asked the cripple man to “rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). Though the Old Testament prophets also spoke with authority but Jesus Christ is the final Prophet, the Prophet of all prophets. Thus Deuteronomy 18:15 is the messianic prophesy that is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Prophecy of The Coming King

Just before Moses died, the amazing word came from the Holy Spirit with regard to the coming Messiah, Christ. This word was given through Balaam the false prophet. This was occurred when the king of Moabites, Balak hired Balaam to curse the Israelites. Balaam did everything he could but the Spirit of God overpowered him and out of his mouth came a prophecy about Israel. Balak who hired Balaam had felt so desperate because what Balaam said contradicted to what Balak wished.

Numbers 22-24 are the count of what the false prophet Balaam was doing and prophesying. At the same time these passages tells us something about the inspiration of the Bible namely that God did not choose the people to write His word on the basis of their brilliance, faithfulness, spirituality, dedication, dependability because every human writer was a sinful man. Here in this account, one of the unbelievers even prophesied concerning the coming of king of Israel. Balaam said by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Numbers 23:21 “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.”

It is the matter of fact that the Israelites were full in iniquity, and perverseness. For example when Moses asked twelve people of Israel to spy the condition of the Canaan in those days while they were still in the wilderness, there were only two people who were bravely side for the truth namely Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 13-14). These only two people who have been in Egypt, in wilderness and to cross the river of Jordan to enter the Promised Land.

However God looked upon Israel as the chosen people and in God’s side they were perfect. There is no contradiction here just like in the New Testament said, “in Christ you are perfect.” We are already crucified with Him and raised up with Him and all these are judicial but not actual experience. Our actual are sinners and continue sinning, but in the mind of God we are already perfect and glorified because God can see the future as well as in the present. God can due with us in the light of the future. Therefore the Lord also can say to Israel, though they are rebellions and full of iniquity, but “I do not see any trouble in them and they are my chosen people.” This does not mean that every Israelite is born again, but He was talking about the nation, as his chosen people. Numbers 3:21 clearly gives us the key that despite of the disobedience, iniquity of Israel the Lord “is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.” The King will come from Judah as Balaam saw that He would come for the nation of Israel.

Furthermore in Numbers 24, as king Balak was being threatened by the false prophet, Balaam said this word in Numbers 24:17-19 “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.” This is to say that though it is still in the future, “there shall come a Star out of Jacob.” It is amazing that God gave such great prophecy to Balaam the wicked man. The prophecy that is found in this passage was the thing that the Lord has said to Jacob hundreds of Years before. This will be much fulfilled in the Lord Jesus as the King of universe, the King of Israel as mentioned in the Philippians 2:10-11 “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This will be fulfilled in the time of Millennial. Every Gentile nation will acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ is the king of Israel, and the Lord of eternity.

The Amazing Word Concerning The Coming Messiah

In John 1:3 we are told that “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” This verse teaches that Jesus Christ was with God the Father before the creation. And in the time of the creation Jesus Christ was with the Father to create all things. He is the second person of the Triune God. The promise of the Lord seen in the prophetic history is to be fulfilled that this second person of the Triune God, the Messiah will be revealed to mankind. He will take the form of man in order to save sinners from their sins.

All prophetic history down from Adam and Eve showed that the Messiah was on veil and it was not so clear yet, but through the progressive revelation it shows its clear meaning and significant. Thousands years later, God called Abraham, one man, through whom he will bring blessings to all nations of the earth. In the book of Genesis, we are told that it was not because how righteous Abraham was, for he was just like us, sinners saved by grace but the Lord chose him through whom the seed of the woman will come.

When Jacob was in Egypt, he said to his twelve sons just before his death that Judah was the one through whose line the Messiah will come which is also called “Shiloh” ‘the one who is right it is,’ ‘to whom the kingship belongs’ in the light of Ezekiel 21:25-27. The Messiah would not only be born of the woman but to be the descendant of the Abraham by the eliminating Ishmael, and Esau narrowed down to Jacob and narrowed down to Judah.

In the time of Moses, four hundreds years after Joseph died; Israelites were in desperation, persecuted in Egypt. They cried to the Lord and He sent Moses to be the deliverer for the children of Israel. But Moses was the most reluctant leader that ever known and yet in Numbers 12 tells us that Moses was the most meek man. He was the only man that ever said in the Bible in that way. On the other hand the Lord Jesus Christ also said the same thing that He “is meek, and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). However though Moses was chosen as the deliverer for the Israelites Moses was not given the Promised Land because of one act of disbelief and disobedience.

Sunday, 3 August 2008

The Promise of the Coming Saviour

The promise to Abraham

In Genesis 12, God told us through Abraham something that equally important concerning the promised coming Messiah. This was happen long after the flood, even after the Babel, c.a. 2100 BC. The Lord chose one man from the land of Chaldeans through the promise progressively revealed. As God said to Abraham “Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3). In these verses, we can see the clear divine promise given to Abraham and his descendants. If any nations cursed the seeds of Abraham the Lord God would curse them. There will be divine retribution, because God has chosen the seeds of Abraham as a nation in order to bring the Messiah to this earth, though they are still the enemy of the gospel (Romans 11). However the Lord said to Abraham, “In thee (Abraham) shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Abraham was not worthy for all these. He was chosen, not because he was sinless for the Bible tells us that Abraham once told a lie when he said his wife was his sister. However the curses were given by God to those nations which were against the descendants of Abraham. This is truly the fulfilment of the prophecy given by God. The Lord has done so in order to fulfil what he has promised in Genesis 3:15 through the seed of Abraham. Paul also said in Galatians 3:16 “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed which is Christ.” The ‘seed’ here is referring to the ‘seed of the woman’ in Genesis 3:15. Hence through the seed (Jesus Christ) all the people of this earth will be blessed.

As we have seen the relation between the promise in the Old Testament and its fulfilment progressively, we can conclude that what the Lord has said in the New Testament has its foundation in the Old Testament. However there is a great demand to study the Scripture carefully and diligently with humility. In this generation, there is a most disturbing fact for Seminary students. By studying three to four years, they expect to know everything. This is impossible because if we really study the Bible, it will never end because every chapter of the Bible is dependable to each verse in the whole Bible.

There were two problems of many people today in understanding the word of God. Firstly, we do not even know that the Lord has said. Secondly we did not even take time and ask the Lord to help us to understand what the Lord has said. Perhaps there are many people who can memorise all the verses but they never understand the meaning of those verses. The Jews and the Scribes in the time of Jesus could remember chapters by chapters and yet they did not understand what they did. It is not because of memorising the verses then we have eternal life and know the word of God, but because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us, we have the capacity to begin to understand what we read. Our eyes open to understand His Word. However one of the things that the Lord asks us to do is that we should learn from ‘the seed,’ namely the Lord Jesus Christ. We need the discipline in many ways in life as we live for the Lord. Therefore in learning the word of the Lord, let us make this as our prayer, “Lord, remove all the excuses whatsoever that avoid me from the mastering the only book namely the Bible. This is to show that I love you as my Lord.”

When the Lord called Abraham in Genesis 12, it was the beginning of his career, but as for Jacob, his grandson, the promise was given as the end of his career in Genesis 49. It was about 250 years have already passed since God called Abraham. Jacob was in Egypt as prophesied in the Scriptures that the Israelites would be in the strange country for hundreds of years (Genesis 12:41), when he prophesied concerning his son, Judah. In Genesis 49, Jacob gathered his twelve sons just before his death.

Although Joseph was the one was used by God to bring the Israelites came to Egypt, and yet Joseph was the one through whom the Messiah would come. Genesis 49:8-10 told us that it was from the line of Judah that Messiah would come and not of Joseph. Judah was the one who recommended Joseph to be sold to the Ishmaelites instead of killing him in the pits (Genesis 37:26-28). However it was Judah who came forth as one of the eleven brothers who showed the conviction of sin and courage to stand for the truth when Joseph confronted them in Egypt (Genesis 44:16-18). Thus the Lord said to Judah through Jacob in Genesis 49:8-10, “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”

In verse 10 of this chapter again we read “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Who will be in the world the “Shiloh”? The Bible never mentioned anything about this name. However the Lord has revealed his revelation progressively in which what we can not understand in the book of Genesis, other prophetic books of the Bible can help us to see the light and the meaning of those difficult passages.

In this junction, it is necessary to consult the writing of the prophet Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 21:25-27 God said concerning the wicked king of Judah, Zedekiah, “And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” In verse 27, God spoke three times the word “overturn.” This is to say that the Lord would truly destroy the monarchy of the king of Judah. Since this last king, the monarchy of Israel never restored even to this day. There will be no monarchy in Israel until “He comes whose right it is and I will give it him.”

Furthermore in Ezekiel 21:27 we notice the phrase “whose right it is.” Who is this “whose right it is”? In Hebrew this phrase is “esherloh” which is the same basic word as “shiloh.” Thus “shiloh” which was mentioned in Genesis 49:10 was referring to “esherloh” (whose right it is) mentioned in Ezekiel 21:27 namely the Lord Jesus Christ. When the “shiloh” comes and sets His kingdom on this earth, all the people in this earth will be obedience to Him. This prophecy was given by God through Jacob and Ezekiel although it was hard to understand, yet the Lord has revealed in His Holy Book that we may know and study it. Thus we may conclude that the Messiah, Christ Jesus has been promised by God to Jacob that the Messiah will come from the line of Judah.

The First Prophecy Concerning the Lord Jesus Christ

Soon after the fall of man, as recorded in Genesis 3:1-13 the Lord knew that there would be no mere man who can earn salvation by his own good works. God knew the heart and ability of man that there was no way in which man could please God. The fall of man has brought curses to all mankind and no one will spare (ref. Genesis 3:14-21). What it was recorded in Genesis 3:1-13 was the proof in the human history that Satan successfully won over Adam through Eve and the serpent. Although serpent was seen in this scenario but Satan was behind the serpent to achieve his purpose to deceive Adam and Eve.

However, though Adam and Eve have disobeyed God, the Lord was still merciful to them. In Genesis 3:21 we read “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats skins and clothed them.” In order to clothe them, the Lord has to kill the animal and make the skins to be their clothes. This is to say that there was the shed blood of the animal in that time which symbolised that Adam and Eve were covered from the sins by symbolic innocent blood which was pointing to the blood of Jesus Christ. Thus it was after the fall of man, when God pronounced the curse to Satan, God predicted for the first time of the coming Saviour of the world (Gen. 3:15). Without the shedding blood of Him to cover the sins of man there will be no remission of sins. For this reason Genesis 3:15 is well known as the Proto-evangelion (the first gospel preached by God to mankind). Thus there is a need to study on this passage in order to understand the deeper meaning of the curse that God pronounce to Satan.

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

This verse can be considered as John 3:16 in the Old Testament because based on this verse alone clearly seen the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ preached to Adam and Eve by God Himself. Thus there are three things that need to be studied on this verse.

First, God said to Satan “I will put enmity between thee and the woman.” Based on this verse, the woman must have known that Satan is not her friend but enemy. The word ‘enmity’ in Hebrew can be meant as ‘personal enmity’ which break our relationship with God. Satan may appear very friendly and look like the angles of light but nevertheless we must understand that they are satanic truth. They deceive people with their own words and not following the truth of the Word of God (2 John 7-11).

Second, “and between thy seed (Satan’s) and her see.” The question is asked who is the seed of Satan? The answer is every unregenerate human being in the world. The moment we are conceived we are of Satan. Every baby born is unsaved, lost, and inherit human nature from the parents, grandfather and back to Adam. Just as David said, “in sin did my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). This is to say that the sinful nature of every man did not come from the parents or from the neighbourhood influences but it was because of the fall of our first parents. Thus every ever born baby is unsaved including the first baby that ever born namely Cain. The New Testament said he is of the evil one who murdered his brother.

On the other hand everyone who has been born again is the seed of the woman. Thus there are two human races or groups of the people in the world namely those who are saved and walk in the light, and those who are lost and walk in darkness.

Third, “he shall bruise your head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Who is this ‘he’ mentioned in this verse? ‘He’ here is referring to the seed of the woman. Satan will be bruised by the seed of the woman, the ultimate seed, and the representative of all the saved people that ever lived namely Jesus Christ. However in the process of bruising the heel of Jesus Christ as happened on the cross by Satan through Judas Iscariot who helped to kill Jesus on the cross, Satan’s head had been bruised. “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world (Satan) be cast out” (John 12:31).
The fulfilment of Proto-evangelion

Having seen the exposition of Genesis 3:15 as described above, the questions again are raised. How do we know this verse is talking about Satan, Jesus, believer and unbelievers, for it does not say anything about them here? To answer this question it is important to know the manner in which God revealed the revelation in the Old Testament. What the Lord has mentioned in this verse is just a little seed which through centuries keep growing through the progressive revelation. And when the Bible finally completed (all 66 books), then we can look back and we may say with conviction that now we understand what God meant in the book of Genesis.

One of the text proofs in the New Testament concerning what the Lord has said in Genesis 3:15 found in Romans 16:20 “The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” This verse is saying that our God will bruise Satan under the feet of believers. In the kingdom age, Satan will be on the bottomless pit, because Jesus has bruised his head on the Calvary cross. However though Satan was already bruised his head, and yet he is still roaming around like a lion, seeking whom he may endeavour (1 Peter 5:8), but soon he will be cast out by the Lord and for a thousand years he will be bound (Revelation 2:1-2).

The question further is asked, how do we know the ancient serpent in Genesis 3 was really Satan? The answer is found in the last book of the complete revelation of God, the Bible. Revelation 12:9 says, “And the great dragon was cast, and old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Truly the Lord has revealed to us in the book of Revelation what He meant in the book of Genesis.

How did we expect Adam and Eve to understand all these mentioned in Genesis 3:15? The answer is they believed God and what the Lord has told them. Just like Abraham, he was justified when “he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Abraham did not know everything what we know today, but the Old Testament saint knew that the coming Saviour, the Messiah would die on their behalf to cleanse all their sins. Their faiths were looking forward for the Lamb of God that was going to be offered on the Calvary cross and what the Messiah would do for them. As for us, the New Testament saints who live after the death of Jesus Christ, we look back what the Lord Jesus Christ has done on the cross.

In the light of what the Lord told Adam and Eve in verse 20 of Genesis, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living,” Adam understood the meaning of the prophesy of God in Genesis 3:15. He knew that through the seed of Eve, would come the seed that would bruise the head of Satan, our enemy. For this reason, Adam honoured Eve by calling her the mother of all living because through her seed will come the Saviour to save us from our enemy. Adam and Eve might not know that this promised Messiah would come after thousands of years past, but they believed in God and what He has said that the promise would be fulfilled. Therefore right from the beginning, the Bible tells us that there will be a Saviour who will bruise the head of the Satan, though He himself suffered in the process.

Our God Is the Sovereign God

Anyone who desires to know about the Son of God, the second person the Triune God, he must study what the Bible says about itself. This is the infinite quality. Apart from the Bible no one will be able to know about the Son of God, what He had done and what He will be going to do in the future. The Holy Scripture is the only book that God ever had written and given to His people. Because God was the One who wrote the Bible, it is absolutely that the Bible did not contain any mistake and error. Our God is the sovereign God who does all things perfectly. For this reason, the Bible is the most precious book to every believer. We need to know how to handle and study it.

When the Lord gave His Word to His people both in the Old and New Testament, one of the things that God wants us to know is about the Lord Jesus Christ. Because God is the author of the Bible, right from the first book till the last book in the Bible, there is only one theme that is given namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. Although the writing of each book of this Holy Scripture was separated in different place and time, yet the Lord had made all things perfect by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

For example, Isaiah 53 was already written hundreds of years before Jesus Christ came to this world, but the fact there is more information given in this chapter regarding the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53 provided the information what the Lord Jesus did on the cross and what He wanted to accomplish during His life on this earth. The information that we find in this chapter is more than we find in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. If the people in the Old Testament have studied and mastered Isaiah 53, all prophesies and all things that lead up to it and follow it there would be no doubt that they must have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ when He came to this earth. In fact when John the Baptist pointed the people to the Lord Jesus Christ and saying “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), he did not really have to explain its meaning because the Jews were supposed to know it for they have been indoctrinated, taught this prophetic truth hundreds of years who the Messiah and the Lamb really is.

Thus based on Isaiah 53, the writers of the New Testament by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit often quoted in their writing to prove that this prophetic truth was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. This quotation can be seen for example in Matthew 8: 17 “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sickness” (ref. Isaiah 53:4). Luke 22:37 “And he was reckoned among the transgressors” (ref. Isaiah 53:12). John 12:38 “Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (ref. Isaiah 53:1). Acts 8:32 “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer,” (ref. Isaiah 53:7,8). Romans 10:16 “Lord who hath believed our report?” (ref. Isaiah 53:1). 1 Peter 2:25 “Ye were as sheep going astray but are now returned” (ref. Isaiah 53:6). All these verses prove that our God is sovereign God who does not mistake in the writing of His word.

The sovereignty of God seen in His sign miracles

Based on the fulfilment of the prophecy given in Isaiah 53, there is no doubt to conclude that our God is the true and living God. God has shown His sovereignty through the Scriptures. We can see clearly the great distinction of our God with the gods of the heathen, the gods of the world. The gods of world will never make such statement as in the book of Isaiah. For this reason we can conclude that there are two distinctions seen as the sovereignty of our God. Firstly, our God is the Only God who can perform genuine sign miracles e.g. creating the world (ref. Isaiah 48:13), paying the penalty of our sins and the rising of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Secondly, our God is the true and living God who can tell His people long in advance about the sign miracles which He is going to do in the future. He has totally mastered about the future just as mentioned in Isaiah 53. Only our God who is able to do the genuine sign miracles and there is no other gods because God has said, “I will not give my glory unto another” (Isaiah 48:11). Thus we should recognise that He is sovereign, and ultimate. He is omnipotent and omnipresent. God knows everything that happens in this world because He is in control.

On the other hand though God is in control of everything in this universe, as we know by faith, man and angels are responsible to the sovereign God. Men are responsible, accountable, answerable to every thought, they think, every word they speak and everything they do. And God therefore tells us in His word, that He will come to judge everything that we do.
The sovereignty of God seen in the fulfilment of His promise

As we have seen the distinctions of our God with the gods of this universe, we are really convinced that our God is the God who is able to do genuine sign miracles. The event on the Mount Carmel when the prophet Elijah had a contest was the tremendous proof of the sovereignty of our God over the universe (1 Kings 18:20-40). He is the only true God that ever exists and nothing else.

As the only true and living God, our God can predict the future and fulfil them. The Lord said through the prophet Isaiah saying “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:9-10). This is awful saying that the Lord ever said in the history of the world. What the Lord Jesus has done and accomplished was not known just in the New Testament. The crucifixion of the Son of God on the cross has been pre-programmed and planed by God. Everything has been spelt out in the Old Testament hundreds years in advance. There is a great need to know that what the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished for us on the cross was based on the previous revelation mentioned centuries in advance in the Old Testament Scriptures.

However it is sad to say that many people who deliberately ignore the teaching in the Old Testament about the Lord Jesus Christ even though they have it in their Bible. On the other hand there are many people in this world who do not have even the Old Testament Scriptures in their own languages. Many missionaries struggle to own the New Testament in the languages where they are serving.

Can we imagine if certain groups of people hold only the gospel of Matthew? Can you think what is in their mind when they read Matthew 1:1 for the first time? They will read in this way “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of the David, the son of Abraham.” And the questions are raised, who is David? Was he Jesus’s father? Who is Abraham? Was he His grandfather? The answer is no, for there are a thousand of years between each of those names packed with significant and prophesy that makes Jesus known automatically before we read Matthew 1:2. Thus the most important truth for us, evangelical Christians today is to open the book in the Old Testament and let the Holy Spirit tells us about Christ the Lord in the precious book. There are hundreds of quotations in the New Testament pointing back to the Old Testament. We can glance the basis who Christ is in the Old Testament, and not only known in the New Testament. Indeed there is a weakness among the Christians that without realising in our heart and mind that the New Testament has the foundation from the Old Testament.

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