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SH89
24th September 2005, 12:27 AM
First, i would like to say that i wish somebody would have presented the following to me when i first became a Christian.

As a Christian, you are to study the word of God and let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Yet, what do you study?

(1) You should start studying the Messianic passages(prophecies concerning the Messiah). In the old testament, there are many(not 300, perhaps 100) prophecies that predict the coming of the Messiah.
Prophecies for the coming of the messiah include: his lineage[bloodline], his birth place, events in his life, his suffering, his death, his resurrection, his person, his character, his rejection, and HIS EXACT TIMING!*

In other words, God promised us that one man[who would be God himself] was to come, and gave many details of his coming.

Messianic(concerning the Messiah) chapters like isaiah 53, psalms 22, and psalms 16:10, show that the messiah would die[for mankind],suffer, and resurrect.

These prophecies were given 1000 to 400 years before Jesus was born!

Yet, they say things like:

"... they have pierced [a] my hands and my feet."-psalms 22:16

" But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed."-Isaiah 53:5

"because you will not abandon me to the grave, [a]
nor will you let your Holy One [b] see decay."-psalms 16:10

You see, many prophecies like this show that one must come to die, suffer, and resurrect. These prophecies were made 700-2000 of years before Jesus was born! This one man once said in 1953 that Americans will grow weary of televisions. Remember how the British prime minister(before Churchill) said that Hitler is not thinking of war? Where are our flying cars?



Other prophecies include:
Where the messiah will be born, Bethlehem Ephrathah
his rejection by the Jews
the casting of lots for his vesture
a friend who will betray/weighed for 30 silver coins!
there are many, if you want them all you can just ask or pm me

*Also, the daniel 9 prophecy gives the EXACT DATE(in terms of days/years) OF THE MESSIAH!

Daniel 9 says, that after the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem the messiah will come in 483 years(69 "sevens" 69x7) Artaxerxes’ decree[to rebuild Jerusalem] of 444 B.C. is the only decree that fits this description.

Thus 7 sevens is 49*360 = 17,640 days. 7+62=69 sevens is 173,880 days. 1 seven is 2,520 days. Skipping the details of converting 360-day years to 265.25 day years (and 1 B.C. to 1 A.D. is 1 year, not 2), this gives dates of:
. 396/395 B.C. (June/July) the city will be rebuilt.
. 32/33 A.D. (March/April + 5 days) The Messiah will be killed. The Believer’s Bible Commentary p.1092 says that Anderson computed this to April 6, 32 A.D. Dr. Harold Hoehner comes up with 33 A.D.

Also according to daniel 9, after the Messiah is killed, the temple and the city will be destroyed. Well, what happened in A.D. 70? Rome besieged Jerusalem, then destoryed both the temple and Jerusalem!

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As you can see, messianic prophecy is amazing.
I had to research the following through reading books and study of the old testament.

I highly recommend the book, "Messianic Christology", By Dr. Fruchtenbaum.

As you study the prophecies concerning the messiah, you will get a better understanding of the new testament. Also, you will strengthen your trust that the Bible is God's word. Jesus fulfilled the messianic prophesies, and was thus the messiah.

There are, however, even more amazing general prophecies.

I will post two of them.

The bible foresaw Alexander the Great. I kid you not.

The bible saw how Alexander's kingdom would be split into four part[history teaches that the four generals Ptolemy, Seleueus, Cassander, and Lysimachus each took a part of his kingdom].

3 Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. 4 After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.(daniel 11:3-4)

Also, the re-gathering of Israel as a nation on may 14th, 1948 was also foreseen:

and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.(ezekiel 37:21-22; written 593-573 B.C.E)

As definitely foretold 2545 years ago in Ezekiel 37:21, 22, Israel became a recognized nation, actually "born in one day." On May 14, 1948, Great Britain withdrew her mandate, and immediately Israel was declared a sovereign state, and her growth and importance among nations became astonishing.
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I suggest that you start off by studying the old testament prophecies(ill provide all of them if you want) and then read the gospels to see how Jesus fulfilled them.

I hope this helps.

God Bless all of you.

SH89
1st October 2005, 01:49 AM
No replies? :( Hopefully my post was beneficial to someone.

Applea
1st October 2005, 03:29 AM
It is darling, it is. Thank you so much! :clap:

BalaamsAss51
6th October 2005, 02:01 PM
Hello SH89.

While I agree that prophecy is interesting, and you are essentially correct in that the Old Testament looks forward to Christ, I would caution you not to get bogged down in some of the human interpretations of biblical events you are studying.

Books like Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelations need to be read after you get the basics down. There has been too much wrongful interpretation of these texts. If nothing else, please realize that over the last 2000 years people have found just about anything they wanted in these writings. Primarily because they use figurative, and allegorical language. Most Christian faith groups would not agree that there is anything special about the current political entity of Israel for instance.

If you are indeed a new Christian, it is easy to get caught up in these things. Stick with what Jesus has done for you and what He is still doing. The rest will fall into place.

Pax

twistedsketch
6th October 2005, 02:17 PM
There is a place for this, and it is very beneficial particularly if you are talking to Jews. However, if you don't have the New Testament down, with its standards for loving other people and its teaching on forgiveness, you will be a very empty Christian indeed. Not as many people will be convinced by the prophesies as they would be by seeing the Holy Spirit active in your life and the teachings of Jesus applied to your life. It helps to know this stuff, but I wouldn't make it your primary focus unless God has instructed you otherwise. Some of that stuff is senior class-level seminary teaching.

cat has felt the light!
15th October 2005, 08:15 AM
Thankyou very much for the insight that you have given to me on the old testament and its important prophecies. I am not a new christian, but like yourself wish this kind of information was readily available to myself when I had been!
It is indeed important to remember the significance of the old testament, it is just too easy to get caught up in the new testament and forget that the bible is a whole, thanx for the book reccommendation.
in loving faith,
kitten xxx

symphonyb
18th October 2005, 11:19 AM
I think posting what you did took time and I appreciate it as well.I'm a novice in the bible teachings.

cat has felt the light!
19th October 2005, 11:44 AM
good to hear it helped somebody else sister!
:amen:
kitten xx

Adstar
19th October 2005, 09:39 PM
A note of caution.



People have to be careful with interpretations of Biblical prophecy. The interpretation may or may not be accurate.



All Praise The Ancient Of Days

cat has felt the light!
21st October 2005, 12:09 PM
true
xxxxxxxx

NewCovenant
27th October 2005, 09:17 AM
I have been a Christian for 11 years. In my first year, I discovered the atonement ceremonies that the Hebrews did while in the wilderness. It opened my eyes up to the sacrifice Jesus made for all of us. I think that understanding the OT is critical to everyone, even new babies in Christ. Please, don't let anyone discourage you from studying and thoroughly understanding the OT. Make sure you have reliable resources, not hokey ones, when studying.

The prophecies about the coming of Jesus are very important. They prove who He is (of course, we know) and they give you a firm foundation in NT. Someone said they are excellent for witnessing to Jews, but they have intrinsic value. They tell us who Christ is from a Hebrew persective, and that's very important.

Future prophecy is harder, and new babies in Christ should not delve there without a firm foundation in all Scripture first, and guidance from an experienced Bible teacher or pastor. Avoid sensationalism and doomsayers and those out to sell you their stuff.