Jesus Christ's Life and Death

In Prophecy Many are vaguely aware that Jesus Christ's birth, life and death were prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament. But few are aware of the sheer number of predictions and the astonishingly precise details foretold up to thousands of years in advance. These predictions are a powerful confirmation of the accuracy of Bible prophecy. The Jewish New Testament lists 52 prophecies fulfilled in Christ's birth, life and death as stated in 81 passages in the Old Testament (pp. xxv-xxix). In many ways the Old Testament pointed forward to Christ's first and second comings. All the Messianic Prophecies of the Bible discusses not only hundreds of specific prophecies, but many events, people, rituals and sacrifices recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures that foreshadowed the life, death, ministry and return of Jesus Christ (Herbert Lockyer, 1973). What were some of the prophecies Jesus fulfilled? Let's notice a few: • He would be a descendant of King David (Isaiah 11:1-5; Matthew 1:1, 6). • He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1). • One would precede Him who would announce His coming (Isaiah 40:3, 5; Malachi 3:1; Matthew 3:1-3). • His own people would reject Him (Isaiah 53:3; John 1:11). • A friend would betray Him (Psalm 41:9; John 13:18-30). • The price for His betrayal would be 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12; Matthew 26:15). • The 30 pieces of silver would buy a potter's field (Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 27:3-10). • Wicked people would pierce His hands and feet (Psalm 22:16; Luke 23:33; 24:38-40). • He would suffer execution but without the breaking of any of His bones (Psalm 34:20; John 19:33-36). • Others would cast lots for His garments (Psalm 22:18; John 19:23-24). • He would be buried with the wealthy (Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57-60). • God would resurrect Him from the grave (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:30-32). Jesus Himself could not have controlled how these prophecies were fulfilled. No one can control the circumstances of His own birth, who his ancestors are and where he is born. Nor could He control the actions of others in betraying Him, putting Him to death and laying His body in the unused tomb of a wealthy man. Yet the prophets had written these remarkable details in advance up to 1,000 years earlier. King David predicted even details of Christ's death by crucifixion hundreds of years before the practice of crucifixion became common as a method of execution. The four Gospels abound with accounts of how many Messianic prophecies were fulfilled, but Christ's closest followers didn't recognize their fulfillment at the time. Only in hindsight were they able to recognize many specific prophecies recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures and how they had been fulfilled. Many prophecies regarding Jesus Christ are yet to be fulfilled. The Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy lists more than 200 prophecies of the Messiah, most of which are yet to come to pass (Barton Payne, 1996, pp. 665-670). Just as the many precise details of Christ's birth, life, death and resurrection came to pass exactly as foretold, so will the many prophecies that relate to His second coming be fulfilled exactly as spelled out in God's Word.

God

God in his essential being is, invisible (John 1:18, I Timothy 1:17) unknowable (Luke 10:22, Matthew 11:27) immaterial (John 4:24) omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-12) is one in number and unity (Deuteronomy 6:4) is Father of the universe as Creator / Progenitor ( Isaiah 63:16, 9:6, Psalm 89:26) and Paternally to humanity as Nurturer and Caregiver (Psalm 103:13, Matthew 9:6).
The Word is God self-revealing (John.1:1-3), God’s self-disclosure of himself (Hebrew1:1-3, Isaiah 9:6), God going out from himself (Revelation 5:6,7) God proceeding or emanating, the one whose “goings forth” have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2 Revelation 1:8).
Jesus Christ is the Word become flesh (John 1: 1, 14 Micah 5:2), God manifest in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16), the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), and in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). He is God visible (Hebrews 1:1-3) knowable, (John. 14:8), approachable (Matthew 11:28-30) touchable (I John. 1:1-3, John. 20:27), is the revealer of the Father (John. 14:9, 17:6) the only way to the Father (Matthew 11:27, John. 14:6-8) and the Father revealed (John.10:30, Isaiah.9:6, Revelation 1:8, 11). He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come (Revelation 1:8). He is also complete human (Heb. 2:10-18), the true son of Mary (Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:33, 34, Gal. 4:4), the second man Adam (I Corinthians 15:47), the last Adam (I Corinthians 15:45) and the Son of God by both birth (Luke 1:35, Rom. 1:3) and declaration (Rom. 1:4, Acts 13:33). His victory over death, hell, and the grave (I Corinthians 15:1-4) elevates the name of Jesus to the position of highest universal authority. The full power and authority of the Godhead is encapsulated in that name (John 5:43, Philippians 2:9, John 14:13, 14, 26, Acts 4:12).
The Holy Spirit is God indwelling the believer in personal agency, (Jeremiah 31:31-33, Romans 8:9), is one Spirit (I Corinthians 12:13), is the Spirit of Grace, (Hebrews 10:29) , is the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9) is the Spirit of Jesus (John 14:17, 18, Acts 16:7, II Corinthians 3:17), is the source of and medium for dispensing God’s grace in the Church Age. (Acts 2:38, I Corinthians 12:l) and is essential for salvation (Acts 2:36-38, 11:14, Romans 8:9).
Man and Salvation
Man - male and female - is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27; 9:6). This sets him apart from all other creation (Genesis 1:26a). He is both earthly (Genesis 2:7) and universal (I Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12), and is both finite (I Corinthians 2:11,12) and infinite (Genesis 2:7).
1. The well-being of man is God’s will (Romans 8:26,27)
2. Man is presently alienated from this well-being due to the transgression of Adam (Genesis 3:4-6, Rom.3:23). The penalty for sin is death (Genesis 2:17). Thus, the first couple of the human race died (i.e. were alienated from God) the day they sinned.
3. The human race is represented by two federal heads. Adam is the first federal head of the human race because humans are descended from him and bear the results of his falleness and are thus born in sin and shaped in iniquity, (I Corinthians 15:47; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12,19).
4. Jesus Christ came as the “second man,” or the “last Adam.” As such, He is the second “federal head” of the human race (I Corinthians 15:21,22,45; Romans 5:12-21). Christ’s triumph over sin, death, hell, and the grave (I Corinthians 15:1-4) created a new bridge between God and man (I Timothy 2:5; Colossians 2:13). This is what salvation is. “Salvation” (gr. soter) means to make complete, to make whole, to restore, as in total health, body, soul, and spirit (Hebrews 2:9-11; I Thessalonians 5:23). Thus, both salvation for the soul and divine healing of the body is a reality in the church. (Exodus 15:26; Matthew 4:23,24; Hebrews 13:8; Isaia