Since the
moment when Adam and Eve were cast out of paradise, mankind awaited for the One to come in the world, Who would redeem not only the sins of
the forefathers, but also the sins of every person and Who would make all
people free from the slavery of passions and death. The faith and hope of
people were based on the promise the Lord made for them.
For the Jews
were the only people of the ancient world who preserved the true faith in God and according to His promise the expected Messiah (in Greek – Χριστός, literally
the Anointed One) should have come from them.
Throughout the Old Testament (i.e. before the coming of Christ), prophets and righteous
men emerged among the chosen people, through whom God reminded the Jews about
the necessity of preserving the purity of faith and being ready to accept their Savior.
The first
reference on the future birth of the Savior was made by God Himself when he
exiled Adam And Eve from paradise.
In His words
addressed to the serpent, who had seduced them, He said:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and
between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise
His heel” (Genesis 3:15).
According to
the teachings of the Christian Church , the serpent in this prophecy represents the
fallen angel of God, which is the devil. The woman is reference to the Virgin Who would give
birth to the future Savior.
The next
prophecy about the coming of Messiah into the world is considered to be the promise
God made to Abraham.
After the Lord
tested Abraham’s faith, He said:
“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be
blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:18).
The Church
teaches that these words point out that the Messiah should a decendant of Abraham.
In the end of
the book of Genesis there is another mysterious prophecy about Christ’s
birth. In one of the prophecies of Righteous Jacob, which he told to his sons
before he died, there were following words:
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a
lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the
obedience of the people” (Genesis 49:10).
Shiloh means
the future Savior, while the general meaning of the prophecy is as follows: the
chosen people will have freedom and national identity until Jesus Christ comes.
Then everything will be lost for rejecting Him. The words about the obedience
of people tells us that pagans will also turn to Christ.
Prophet Micah also
told about the future coming of Messiah, although he lived 700 years before
Christ's birth.
In his words
about Messiah, the prophet foretold the place where He would be born:
“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 of old, From everlasting”
(Micah 5:2).
Here we can see that Messiah's birthplace was to be Bethlehem.
Prophet Isaiah,
who around the same time as Prophet Micah, left a number of prophecies
about Christ’s birth.
“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And
a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 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 in that day there shall be
a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles
shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:1-10).
In this
prophecy the theme of the Savior’s origin is covered. He would have be born
from a Virgin of the tribe of Jesse and David (Jesse is the father of King and
Prophet David). The second part of the prophecy, mentions pagans who
will turn to Christ.
Isaiah’s other prophecy tells us about Christ’s future miracles, strength, spiritual power and
healings:
“Your God will come… and save you. Then the eyes of
the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then
the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing” (Isaiah 35:4-6).
However, Isaiah’s
brightest prophecy about the Savior’s birth says:
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name
Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
Based on this, it is clear that the prophet not only talks about the coming of the Messiah but he also explains the mystery
of God’s incarnation. The Savior must be born by a Virgin, Who will
miraculously “conceive a child”, and His name will be Immanuel, which means “God
is with us”.
Aside from the
numerous prophecies about the location and the fact of the Savior’s birth, there
are many other prophecies in the Old Testament including His earthly path,
miracles, sufferings, the death on the Cross and Resurrection.
Those who knew all those prophecies at that time and every person from the tribe of David
hoped that Messiah would be born exactly in his family. This makes the fact
that most people did not recognize the awaited Messiah in Lord
Jesus Christ even more tragic. As a result, by rejecting
Christ, the chosen nation “lost the scepter” and the Good News began to spread among others.
Source: https://foma.ru/prorochestva-ozhidanie-messii.html
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