Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries |
Messianic Prophecy. Part 1.
Friday, October 12, 2007
epaggelia [epaggelia] noun. 53 occurrences; AV translates as “promise” 52 times, and “message” once. 1 announcement. 2 promise. 2a the act of promising, a promise given or to be given. 2b a promised good or blessing. (AV Authorized Version)
“The promises” - o epaggelia = the fact that the Jews, the Israelites, had received the various promises of Messianic salvation, while the Gentiles had been strangers to the covenant of promise, EPH 2:12.
Messianic Prophecy is basically a study of the Old Testament prophecies about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, with particular emphasis on Christ as the Lamb of God, and on Christ’s work on the Cross.
“What do you think of Christ, whose Son is He?”
Israel received no greater promises than the promise made to Abraham that in him all the nations of the world would be blessed.
GAL 3:8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”
No greater promise than the one made to David that his descendant would sit on the throne forever.
No greater promise than the promise that the Suffering Servant would come and bear the iniquities of the many.
The promises that are magnified here in Romans 9 = Messianic prophecies, the promises made to Israel concerning the Messiah, the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.
HEB 11:11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.
One of the profound manifestations of the faithfulness of God to Israel consists of the tremendous and incessant prophecies and pleading that the Lord made on Israel’s behalf.
They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in the known foreign tongues which were spoken by Jews from many nations who had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish feast of Pentecost.
Peter is presenting the Gospel first to the Jews in Jerusalem, exactly as the Lord had specified in Luke 24:47.
Peter is saying that David, the greatest Old Testament king that the Jews ever had, and the writer of most of the Psalms in the Hebrew Bible - that David had looked ahead and prophesied concerning the resurrection of the Christ!
Lesson learned: if you want to witness to a Jewish person, it really helps to show that folks like David, Moses, Abraham, and the prophets (like Isaiah - especially Isaiah) spoke of Jesus Christ as THEIR Savior.
The Jews in salvation history have received the various promises of Messianic salvation.
It is from the Jews that salvation is to go out to the nations. But the sons of Abraham include those who believe like him and not merely physical descendants.
Jesus Christ, in His person, work, and kingship, is the fulfillment of all of the promises that God gave the “fathers” or the nation of Israel.