Prophecies of the Messiah

(excerpted from the Left Behind series: Tribulation Force, LaHaye/Jenkins)

 

1. Isaiah 7:14 ‘Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.’ (Tribulation Force, p.262)

 

2. Yes, Messiah must be born of a virgin, to have a holy Father, unlike all those born from the seed of Adam. (262) Also see Psalms (New American Standard translation):

Ps. 49:

7 No man can by any means redeem his brother,

Or give to God a ransom for him—

8 For the redemption of his soul is costly,

And he should cease trying forever—

9 That he should live on eternally;

That he should not undergo decay.

Ps. 50:

5 “Gather My godly ones to Me,

Those who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

6 And the heavens declare His righteousness,

For God Himself is judge.

14 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,

And pay your vows to the Most High;

16 But to the wicked God says,

“What right have you to tell of My statutes,

And to take My covenant in your mouth?

19 “You let your mouth loose in evil,

And your tongue frames deceit.

20 “You sit and speak against your brother;

You slander your own mother’s son.

Ps. 51:

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity;

And cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,

And my sin is ever before me.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation;

Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Thy righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,

That my mouth may declare Thy praise.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou will not despise.

 

3. Lineage of Messiah:  God chose from Abraham; God chose from Isaac; God chose from Jacob; (God chose from Judah); God chose from David.  (262)

Isa ??  Messiah would be a “root out of Jesse”.  David’s father, Jesse, was a son of Judah.

Micah ??  Messiah must be born in Bethlehem:  ‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting.’

 

4. from Hosea, the Messiah will be called from Egypt (263):  out of Egypt did I call My Son (Hos. ??)

 

5. Isaiah 53 (263) ‘…He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.’

 

6. Isaiah and Malachi predict that Messiah will be preceded by a forerunner. (263)

 

7. The Psalmist said that Messiah would be betrayed by a friend. (263)

 

8. Zechariah said that he would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver;  the people will look on the one whom they have pierced. (263)

 

 (question:  Jesus spoke of Zechariah in rebuking the leaders, when He said that Zechariah was stoned between the court and the temple(?).  Did Jesus specifically mention the other prophets?  This does not take away from the validity and promises of any of the prophets of God.)

 

9. The Psalmist prophesied that people would ‘look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them,…

(wait – Jesus, in contrast, gave His body and blood at the last supper, to do in remembrance of Him, before He gave Himself on the cross.) …and for My clothing they cast lots.  Later, ‘He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.’ (263)

 

10. Isaiah: ‘they made His grave with the wicked, but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit found in His mouth. (263)

 

11. The  Psalmist said He was to be resurrected. (263)

 

12. Daniel: ‘there would be exactly 483 years between the decree to rebuild the wall and the city of Jerusalem ‘in troublesome times’ before the Messiah would be cut off for the sins of the people. Exactly 483 years after the rebuilding of Jerusalem and it’s walls, Jesus Christ of Nazareth offered himself to the nation of Israel.  He rode into the city on a donkey to the rejoicing of the people, just as the prophet Zechariah had predicted: ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you;  He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ (264)

 


 

DEFINITIONS (Merriam-Webster, p.1972)

Tribulation (n)

: distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution.

: a trying experience.


 

FOOTNOTES:

-Tribulation Force, LaHaye/Jenkins, 1996. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Ill. (?)

-Scripture in ‘Tribulation Force’, from The Holy Bible, New King James translation.

-Merriam-Webster 10th ed. Collegiate dictionary, 1998. The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. Pleasantville, NY 10570. (?)

-Scripture quoted otherwise, in typed form, from The Holy Bible, New American Standard translation.

-Scripture quoted otherwise, referenced from the Internet ( http://www.gospelcom.net ), from The Holy Bible, New International Version translation.