My last post in this series upset someone greatly. I’d like to remind everyone if you would like to see your comment posted, to go over my Comment Rules. Your comment needs to relate to the material written. Just responding to the title of a post helps no one, this does not allow decent discussion. There is no name calling or slander allowed, it just weakens the concerns and arguments you have. If you want me to take you seriously, then I ask for the same respect.
But I would like to address the main concern in the comment. This individual, and I’m sure many others share the same viewpoint that the Hebrew in the Old Testament does not relate to Christ at all. The scriptures say nothing about Jesus. If I just sat down with a Rabbi or a scholar of Hebrew, or so I was told, I will see there are no references to Jesus in the Hebrew scripture.
Now, I should clarify, in case it was not understood. I’m not saying the Old Testament has the name JESUS in it. What I am saying is by studying the characteristics of God, what Jesus did, what He proclaimed, and how others looked at Him, we can see how the Old Testament is speaking of Jesus the Christ, the Messiah. We can see the Trinity in the Old Testament. We can see the Son before He became the God-Man. By looking at verses, there are specifics only Christ fulfills. A probability that is impossible for any regular man to fulfill.
In fact, this is the main reason why I wanted to do a series on Christ in the Old Testament. I’ve already covered how Christ is connected to righteousness. See: Righteousness Points To Jesus | Christ In The Old Testament.
Now, my series is more directed at those who already believe Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior. However, someone I recommend who can dive much deeper into the material is Mike Winger. He has a 27 video series on Jesus in the Old Testament. If you have skepticism, and you are looking to hear another perspective, I would say check out Mike’s work. Many of his videos come from hours (if not hundreds of hours) of research. He dives into these topics much better than I can. He also covers a variety of other topics many skeptics have enjoyed watching.
This post I would like to share some quick notes that show Christ in the Old Testament, it will not be as detailed as some other posts in this series. But I hope this could be a great start to begin to consider what it means to see Christ in the Old Testament.
The Old Testament is all about the Gospel message. As soon as Adam and Eve fell, God began telling the story of the Messiah to come, pay the ransom of men, justify, and redeem them. The Old Testament shows us why we need the Savior.
So in the Old Testament, it’s really fascinating when we see things like:
Point 1 – In The Old Testament – God had appeared, as a Man.
(ESV) Genesis 18:01, “And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.” (He refers to Abraham)
God appeared physically to Abraham. He took on the form of man.
(ESV) Genesis 18:02, “He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth.”
(ESV) Genesis 18:10, “The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.”
One of these three men was the Lord, as seen in verse 10.
The point here is that it wasn’t improbable for God to appear as a Man, if He wanted. This is interesting because in the New Testament Jesus does take the form of man as the God-Man.
Point 2 – The Angel of the Lord was worshipped in the Old Testament
From very early on, God makes it clear to His people they shall have no other gods before God. (Exodus 20:03, Deuteronomy 5:07) Whenever men fell down at the feet of angels or other men (like John, Revelation 19:10, 22:08-09 or Cornelius and Peter, Acts 10:25-26), the men were immediately rebuked. They were not to worship any angel, man, or other god/idol.
However, in the Old Testament, the Angel of the Lord could be worshipped, and it was ok. If the Angel of the Lord was not God, then He should not have been worshipped. (Numbers 22:31, Joshua 5:13-14, 1 Chronicles 21:16) All of these men fell down at the feet of the Angel of the Lord and they were not rebuked.
“Angel” can mean messenger, it doesn’t have to be an actual angel.
In the New Testament, the Angel of the Lord is not mentioned anymore. Some point out that the Angel of the Lord was Christ. Again, the Old Testament does not say Jesus, but if we look at similarities we are seeing the Second Person of the Trinity. If you would like to learn more about this, check out these resources:
Mike Winger (BibleThinker) – Who is the Angel of the Lord? How To Find Jesus In The Old Testament
Acts17Apologetics With Anthony Rogers– 7 Video Playlist: The Trinity in Jewish and Christian Scripture by Anthony Rogers
Point 3- There is Amazing Symbolism Between Christ and the Jewish Temple in the Old Testament.
This is still a fairly new concept for me, but it’s truly fascinating. As I am going over a study with a sister in Christ, it was amazing to find out the description of Christ in Revelation 1:13-16 connected to the temple. His garment shows how Christ is the High Priest. His “feet like brass” connect to the altar of burnt sacrifices, as the altar was made of brass. We see a picture of judgment with the descriptions and connection to the temple, and chapter 1 is about judgment.
If you would like to learn more about Christ’s connection to the temple, check out these resources:
Allen Par (The Beat)– Hidden Pictures Of Jesus In The Tabernacle
Mike Winger (BibleThinker)– Amazing! How Jesus Is Like The Tabernacle of Moses: How To Find Jesus In the OT
I think there is sufficient evidence to see symbolism of Christ in the Old Testament. I think Jesus made appearances in the Old Testament before He became the God-Man.
This is why I am doing this series because it’s so important we see the Gospel message and how much the Lord loves us to give us a Savior. This is grace. This is mercy and kindness. Completely undeserved.
If we follow after Christ, we need to understand His message. Jesus taught from the Old Testament and constantly pointed to how He was the answer.
I hope this encourages you.
Scripture To Memorize/Meditate On – (ESV) Romans 5:08, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
*To learn more about what Jesus did on the cross and why His atonement sacrifice is so needed please see: Why Did A Loving God Kill His Son? (Does God Hate?)
*If you do not know the Gospel, do not turn away. If you think you know the Gospel, check out these questions and see how prepared you are for the day someone might ask you why you believe: The Gospel Challenge (30 Question Quiz) – Are You Ready To Defend Your Faith?
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