We have looked at some amazing things in the Bible.
We have concentrated on the New Testament for that is in force now, and it is what we all shall be judged by. However, the Old Testament is not to be forgotten. God does all things well, and the Old Testament is still valuable to us - for our learning.
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
(Romans 15:4)
The opening of the Bible (Genesis chapters 1 and 2) shows a paradise, created by God for man. And man, without sin, walked with God and talked with him face to face.
But one day we violated God's command and lost our relationship with Him. We were cast out of His sight (Genesis 3).
To be rejected by God is something not to be contemplated.
For our God is a consuming fire.
(Hebrews 12:29)
But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
(Revelation 21:8)
Yet God has not given up on us.
... God is love
(1 John 4:8)
... God our Savior; who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth.
(1 Timothy 2:3-4)
At the beginning, when evil came into the world, when Satan tempted Eve to fall, there is the pronouncement of punishment (Genesis 3:14-19). But in the midst of the curse ... is the prophecy of deliverance.
... I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman [Eve], and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
(Genesis 3:15)
The descendant of Eve would have his heel bruised [temporary setback] by Satan; but Satan shall have his head crushed [ultimate destruction] by him.
The beginning of the Bible prophesies that evil, the source of it, and its destructive power: is going to be crushed by a man. This was written about 1400 BCE. Later in the book, we also read God's promise to Abraham:
and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice.
(Genesis 22:8)
Travelling forward to around 1000 BCE, King David, a descendant of Abraham, is given these prophecies:
And it came to pass the same night, that the word of Jehovah came unto Nathan, saying, ... Now therefore thus shall you say to my servant David, Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the sheep-pen, from following the sheep, that you should be ruler over my people, over Israel ... When your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, that shall proceed out of your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. ... And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before you: your throne shall be established for ever
(2 Samuel 7:4; 8; 12-13; 16)
The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
(Psalm 110:1)
The following Psalm by David gives a vivid picture of Christ's crucifiction (which is going to take place about 1000 years in the future):
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? ... He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him! ... For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet ... they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots ...
(Psalm 22:1; 8; 16)
And, a little later, Isaiah (700 BCE) writes
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
(Isaiah 9:6-7)
And
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
(Isaiah 53:3-6)
Coming to the New Testament (written in the First Century CE), we see
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
(Matthew 1:1)
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus [literally, ‘Saviour’], for he will save his people from their sins. ...”
(Matthew 1:20-21)
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
(Mark 1:1)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16)
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations
(Romans 1:1-5)
And, for those who faithfully follow: there is the hope a glorious, beautiful life, eternal, with Him!
... to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
(Philippians 1:23)
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us.
(Romans 8:16-18)
In fact there is much, much more: over 300 Old Testament prophecies of the coming of Jesus Christ including specifics such as when and where He was going to be born, what He would do and teach, His death and rising from the dead and His glory. And there are many other teachings: in the Old Testament preparing the way for Christ, and in the New Testament guiding His followers.
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