Prophecy

A Journey To The Cross

Throughout our Lenten journey, I want to focus on the prophecy of the coming King. Did you know Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies? What is the importance of Him fulfilling them?

Over the next six weeks, we will dig deep into the prophecies and their fulfillment as it leads us to the cross. If you would like to understand prophecy better, then scroll down to the bottom for an in-depth look.

The Trinity

It is easy to think about the Bible in three parts God being the old testament, Jesus being the beginning of the new testament and the Holy Spirit is the rest of the new testament. It is easy to think that the three parts of the Trinity were for different parts of history. But this is not how it plays out.

By studying prophecy and the Bible in its entirety, we see the triune God overlap throughout the whole Bible and into modern times. It is powerful to think that from the beginning of time, Jesus was already present. We can see the plan of salvation unfolding from as early as the third chapter of Genesis.

Prophecy & Fulfillment

To start our study on Prophecy, we will look at scriptures that speak of the Christ who is to come. Redemption was to be fulfilled by one person alone, Jesus, the central figure of both testaments. We will look at a few scriptures of old testament prophecy and see how it is filled in the new testament.

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Prophecy

"And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”
~Genesis 3:15

Christ will come to win the battle over Satan. This is the first prophecy of the Bible. It is a prophecy to save us from this world. The world that Satan is ruler over. From the foundation of life on Earth, God has had a plan to rescue us.

Fulfillment

"But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, 
born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, 
that we might receive adoption to sonship. 
Because you are his sons, 
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, 
the Spirit who calls out, 
“Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; 
and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
~Galations 4:4-7

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Prophecy

"and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, 
because you have obeyed me.”
~Genesis 22:18

This verse is speaking of the seed of Abraham. God is speaking to Abraham and has told him that he will be the father of many nations. God then reveals to him that through him and his offspring, all nations will be blessed. Christ will be his descendent.

Fulfillment

"The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. 
Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, 
but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ."
~Galations 3:16

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Prophecy

"The Lord swore an oath to David,
    a sure oath he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants
    I will place on your throne."
~Psalm 132:11

The seed of David. God promises David that He will place one of his descendants on the throne. As we see below, God does what He promises.

Fulfillment

"After removing Saul, he made David their king. 
God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, 
a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ 
“From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the 
Savior Jesus, as he promised."
~Acts 13: 22-23

This is just a small glimpse into the prophecy of Christ to come. God has had a plan from the beginning to save us, to keep us as His own. As great and magnificent the plan He has for life as a whole, He has a plan for you. He created you for a purpose. He created you to be His precious child, to love Him and serve Him. Even when the plan seems to be at a standstill or even non-existent, it is there. We have to step back and trust.

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Challenge

Lent is a great time to explore and pray about what God has called you to do. I want to challenge you this week to ask God to show you where He would like you to serve or who He may want you to share Him with.

If you already know and are doing what He has called you to do, praise God. I challenge you to ask Him if you are on track. Is there anything He would have you change?

Pray and seek to serve Him to the best of your ability. Most of all, let’s thank Him for the plan He has on our lives and for the honor that it is to serve Him.

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What is Prophecy?

Definition of Prophecy – it is the receiving and declaring a word from the Lord through a direct prompting of the Holy Spirit.

"For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, 
but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were 
carried along by the Holy Spirit."
~2 Peter 1:21

The prophets in the Bible shared several key experiences and characteristics.

1. They had a call from God.
2. They received a word from God through many different means. Some received declarations, others had dreams and/or visions, while others conversed directly with God.
3. Prophets spoke the word of God.
4. Prophets relayed a message from God to the people.
5. Some prophets performed miracles.
6. Some conveyed the word of God by writing.
7. They ministered to the people of their day.

Testing Prophecy

All prophecy must be tested, meaning that it will always line up with the scriptures.

"If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and
 announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of
 takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” 
(gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 
you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. 
The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with 
all your heart and with all your soul."
Deuteronomy 13: 1-3 NIV

All prophecy must be fulfilled. Sometimes this is difficult because there is a long delay between the prophecy and the fulfillment.

"If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place 
or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet 
has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed."
~Deuteronomy 18:22


"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, 
but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, 
because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
1 John 4:1

Lastly, prophets are all-telling but not all-knowing. God is the only one that is all-knowing. Prophets relay the messages they receive from God. And when the prophecy is fulfilled, God is glorified.

Why is it important that Christ fulfill so much prophecy?

During the time of Jesus, there were many other false messiahs, and there were many kings that have done great things, but no one has ever had so much written about them and fulfilled throughout history. Many of these fulfillments were things He had no control over, for example, His birth. By fulfilling each of the prophecies, Jesus proved He was who He said He was.

A few prophecy fun facts:

1. The first biblical prophet is debated, either Abraham or Moses.
2. The last old testament prophet is Malachi.
3. The first prophet of the new testament is John The Baptist.
4. There were 400 years between the old and new testaments where there was no prophecy given.

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Want to dig a little deeper into the study of prophecy? Here is a great book to get you started.