INTRODUCTION: One of the strongest pieces of evidence supporting the inspiration of the Bible is the fulfillment of prophecy by Jesus Christ. It is very amazing that the Bible recorded three hundred and five prophecies of Jesus Christ. In fact, the first prophecy of the coming Messiah is recorded in the very first book of the Bible (Genesis 3:15). God promised Abraham “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:2-3).
Paul affirmed this promise, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” (Gal. 3:16). More than 800 years later, God promised Abraham’s descendant David that of his seed would come the Messiah (II Sam. 7:12-13). Mr. Tennant said regarding these hundreds of prophecies about Christ, “We have the life story of Jesus written centuries before he was born.” (www.christiandelphia.org/pamphlet/christ.htm.) Interestingly, someone said, “We can see Jesus in every book of the Bible.” Our Lord Jesus himself claimed to fulfill those prophecies (John 5:39; Luke 24:44). The Apostles themselves preached that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of a coming Messiah (Acts 3:18, 21, 24; 10:43; 13:27; 17:2-3). Undoubtedly, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the central character of the Bible. Let us consider some examples of Jesus in prophecy as we look in the ram.
IN THE RAM (by which God provided a substitute sacrifice on Mt. Moriah Gen. 22:1-13).
The sacrifice of Isaac - God commanded the patriarch Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son Isaac as a burnt offering (Gen. 22:2). Abraham obeyed God. The next morning, Abraham and his son Isaac, together with two servants, went to the mountain where the Lord asked them to go (Gen. 22:3).
Isaac noticed the absence of the lamb sacrifice and asked his father where it was (Gen 22:7). He did not know that the lamb offering was himself. Abraham trusted God and He knew that God would provide a lamb sacrifice which in his mind was Isaac (Gen. 22:8). The time came when Abraham “stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son” but the angel of the Lord intervened by calling his name two times (Gen. 22:11).
The significance - How great was the sacrifice of Abraham? The Hebrews writer said: “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Heb. 9:22). In the Old Testament Jews are required to offer a lamb sacrifice and the blood must be sprinkled on the altar in order to make an atonement to the Lord. The idea was that if there was blood, it meant that someone died or someone was killed. The Lord said, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood...” (Lev. 17:11). There is life in the blood and Abraham demonstrated his faith in offering his son Isaac as a lamb sacrifice. Therefore, Abraham’s sacrifice was indeed significant because he was willing to shed the blood of his own son.
The substitution - The ram was replaced as a burnt offering instead of Isaac (Gen. 22:13). God already prepared a ram for a burnt offering. Jesus was the Lamb of God of which Isaiah had prophesied several hundred years before Christ was crucified (Isa. 53:4-7). He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes, we are healed; He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter. John the Baptist who was the one sent to prepare the way of the Lord, said when he saw Jesus, “Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29).
Paul stated that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3). Peter said, “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Pet.1:19). Jesus is the central character of the Bible. We see Him in the ram on Mt. Moriah. We also see Him (in type) in the remedy by which God provided salvation in the wilderness.
IN THE REMEDY (by which God provided salvation in the wilderness Num. 21:8-9; John 3:14-15).
The situation - After the Israelites were led from Egyptian bondage into the wilderness of Sinai, many of them began to murmur against the Lord. They complained to Moses because of the insufficient food supply (Num. 21:5). Subsequently, the Lord sent fiery serpents among them as a mode of punishment (Num. 21:6). Many Israelites died because they were bitten by the snake (Num. 21:6).
The solution - The people acknowledged that they had sinned against the Lord (Num. 21:7). They sought for deliverance and the Lord instructed Moses to make a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole (Num. 21:8). God instructed Moses, “. . . Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.” (Num. 21:8). The Israelites who sought healing were required to obey God in order to be saved. God provided the remedy for sin. They needed to provide the faith.
The salvation - The incident of the serpent was indeed a foreshadowing of the death of Christ. It was a picture of his death on the cross. Just as the serpent of brass was lifted up as a remedy for physical death, Jesus was “lifted up”. As a remedy for spiritual death, obedience was and is required in both situations. This was fulfilled by his death on the cross (John 8:28). Eternal life can be found only in Jesus Christ (John 3:15).
The apostle Paul said in Ga. 3:26-27, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” One must have faith in the Lord. One must demonstrate his faith by obeying the Gospel of Christ. Penitent believers must submit to water baptism in order to attain everlasting life, which can only be found in Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:4; 1 John 5:11).
Jesus is the central character in the Bible. We have seen Him foreshadowed in the ram on Mt. Moriah; we have seen Him foreshadowed in the remedy in the wilderness, and we can see Him foreshadowed in the rock by which God provided life-sustaining water in the wilderness.
IN THE ROCK (by which God provided life-sustaining water in the wilderness (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4).
The scarcity of water - The Israelites had left Sinai and were on the way towards Canaan which was the land flowing with honey and milk. There was no water for the people to drink (Ex. 17:1). They chided Moses and tempted God because they wanted water to drink (Ex. 17:2). The people murmured against Moses. “And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? (Ex. 17:3).
The source of water - God provided a rock of water. God commanded Moses to strike the rock with his rod so that water would flow out of it (Ex. 17:6). God provided water for the people through the rock which was the source of life (Ex. 17:6). When Jesus encountered a woman of Samaria, He told her that he is the living water (John 4:14). Jesus declared when he was in the temple crying out that those who thirst should come to Him for a drink, and from him would flow rivers of living water (John 3:37-38).
The spiritual Rock - Paul tells us that the Rock from which Israel drank was most definitely a type of Christ, that is, the Rock is meant to represent the Messiah. The apostle Paul said, “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” (1 Cor. 10:4). The New Testament speaks of Jesus as a Rock and as a source of living water. The Old Testament speaks of Israel being sustained by water provided by God through the striking of a rock.
Paul explicitly explained that Jesus was that Rock that was struck in order to provide living water leading to eternal life for those who believe in him. This is He who was “…wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isa. 53:5). Let us seek and draw near to that living water by obeying his commandments, all of which can be found in the written word.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
The Scriptures summarize Jesus as the central subject of the Old Testament prophecies. We can see clearly Jesus foreshadowed in the Old Testament record. We have seen Him in the Ram by which God provided a substitute sacrifice on Mt. Moriah. We have seen Him in the Remedy by which God provided salvation in the wilderness. We have seen Him in the Rock by which God provided life-sustaining water in the wilderness. All of these prophecies, all of these types have come to pass. Today, we can have eternal life because of what Jesus has accomplished. We looked for Him in prophecy and found Him. Having found Him we can live in Him by “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. . .” (Heb. 12:2a).