--INTRO REVIEW OF EARLY OLD TESTAMENT MILESTONES THAT POINT TO CHRIST Genesis Numbers Tuesday Night Bible Study, December 2, 2008 --Christ didn't just appear out of nowhere with no historical precedent, but rather He fit like a puzzle the prophetic framework recorded in the Old Testament that began at the moment of creation and reached stunning clarity over 1500 years before His birth! --overview chart of prophetic foreshadows of Christ from creation to the time of Moses: associated foreshadow person/group role of God's spoken Word in His plan of salvation foreshadowed by creation of the world Adam salvation apart from works through shed blood of Christ foreshadowed by tunics of animal skin God made to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness Adam virgin birth of Christ foreshadowed after the fall by God's declaration that Satan would eventually be defeated Noah reality of God's plan of salvation and role of His grace foreshadowed by life of Noah and God's promise to preserve the world after the flood Adam/Noah God's plan of salvation dependent on righteousness of ONE person Christ Abraham righteous standing before God based on faith in Christ alone foreshadowed by righteous standing of Abraham before God Abraham total dependence on God for fulfillment of plan of salvation foreshadowed by ratification of God's covenant with Abraham Isaac sacrifice of Christ as God's only Son foreshadowed in life of Isaac Christ dwelling in our hearts through the Holy Spirit foreshadowed by the tabernacle in Levites Moses the substitutionary death of Christ foreshadowed by the passover ceremony new life through Christ foreshadowed by feast of unleavened bread and feast of pentecost role of Christ as our High Priest foreshadowed by role of Levites salvation by faith alone apart from the law illustrated by life of Moses...foreshadows continue all the way through the last book of the Old Testament --a logical question that could be asked is: if Christ so clearly fulfilled the Old Testament then why did most of the Jews (the guardians of the Old Testament) reject Him and not see how He was the fulfillment? --in reality their rejection of Him is actually further confirmation that He is the fulfillment of all that was written in their Scriptures, the Old Testament. --the Jews rejection of Christ followed a long history of stunning lapses of faith, such as when they first arrived at the Promise Land of Canaan after God had clearly revealed that He was going to give them the land. --rather than believing that the Promise Land was the fulfillment of God's promises they wanted to run back to bondage in Egypt! --in like manner, rather than believing that Christ is the fulfillment of God's promise about the Messiah, rather then beliving in Him and entering the spiritual promise land of peace with God through Him, they wanted to run back to the bondage of living under the law! 1
--the voice and sentiment of apostle Paul preaching the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in Christ to unbelieving Jews (which he himself once was) echoed Joshua and Caleb preaching to unbelieving Jews the fulfillment of God's promise for to enter Promise Land. --when Paul stood on trial he explained that he taught, "no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles." (Acts 26:22-23) --Paul wrote to the Galatians: "The gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ." (Galatians 1:11-12) --the only new information that Paul's preaching was based on was the life of Christ... like the sun...rising over the landscape of the Old Testament... prophecies shining in the light of the rising sun. --the truth... Old Testament + life of Christ = the gospel --false teachers... Old Testament + life of Christ + manmade ideas = false gospel, OR... life of Christ + manmade ideas = false gospel, OR... manmade ideas = false gospel --gathering strength (new military victories and end of aimless wandering in the desert) was a sign that was getting close to their second encounter with the Promise Land. Parallel today... 's gathering strength in the 20 th century (spectacular rise to power and military victory in 1948 that led to them regaining national sovereignty for the first time since 586 BC!) is a sign that they are getting close to their second encounter with Christ...at His second coming! role of God's spoken Word in His plan of salvation foreshadowed by creation of the world --God "speaking" creation into existence rather than "thinking" or just "willing" it foreshadowed the role of His spoken word throughout history. --Genesis 1:1-3: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.... 3 Then God said,"let there be light"; and there was light.... 6 Then God said... 9 Then God said... 11 Then God said... 14 Then God said... 20 Then God said... 24 Then God said... 26 Then God said... 29 Then God said..." --contemplation of the creation of the universe puts God's spoken word in perspective... God's words to us in the Bible carry the same power as His words that spoke creation into existence! --Hebrews 11:3: "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." Adam salvation apart from works through shed blood of Christ foreshadowed by tunics of animal skin God made to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness --Adam and Eve's sin of eating the forbidden fruit created a state of separation between them and God. Rather than walking in fellowship with God they ran from God in fear... --Genesis 3:6-7: "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." 2
--saved by grace alone... --Adam and Eve's act of sewing fig leaves to cover their nakedness symbolizes the attempt to obtain salvation by our own efforts our own good works. --in Genesis 3:21 God replaced the fig leaf coverings that they made with clothes that He made out of animal skins... --which symbolizes the gift of salvation based on God's work rather than our own work the righteousness of Christ rather than our own. --Romans 3:21-22: "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ..." --God's provision to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness also foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice required to pay for mankind's sin! --in order for clothing to be made out of skin an animal had to be sacrificed and blood had to be shed! --the animal used to make clothing for Adam and Eve appears to be the first time blood was ever shed and was essentially the first sacrifice of many throughout the Old Testament that pointed to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross! --the shedding of blood to make clothing for Adam and Eve pointed to the spiritual law of the universe that "without shedding of blood there is no remission." (Hebrews 9:22) Adam virgin birth of Christ foreshadowed after the fall by God's declaration that Satan would eventually be defeated --a person's descendants were normally refered to the seed of a man. --for example, Christ was referred to as the promised Seed of Abraham: "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ." ( Gal 3:16) --only the first mention of a descendant of the first man and woman speaks of the seed of the woman which points to the virgin birth of Christ. --in Genesis 3:15 God declared "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." 3
Noah reality of God's plan of salvation and role of His grace foreshadowed by life of Noah and God's promise to preserve the world after the flood --if there was no plan of salvation then the world would have been destroyed at time of flood... "but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord..." (Genesis 6:8) and so grace is the foundation of God's plan of salvation. --critics point to the 2000 years that have passed since Christ lived and say that long period of time is evidence that He wasn't really God and there is not such thing as salvation, but in reality the time of waiting is actually evidence that He is alive and that He is coming back... --without God's preservation, the world wouldn't last very long! --God is preserving the world to complete His plan of salvation for the world. --2 Peter 3:1-7: "Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." --Acts 17:26-28: "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being..." Adam/Noah God's plan of salvation dependent on righteousness of ONE person Christ --in Romans 5:14b the apostle Paul identified Adam as a type of Christ: "... Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come." --a the very beginning of history we see in the fall of Adam and Eve a profound insight into the nature salvation... the profound effect of one man's obedience (the obedienceof Christ) making salvation possible for the entire race is foreshadowed by the effect of one man's disobedience plunging the entire human race into the fall. --Romans 5:18-19: "Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous." --"through one man's offense... through one Man's righteous act..." --"by one man's disobedience... by one Man's obedience..." --Adam is the head of fallen humanity and Christ is the head of redeemed humanity (Christ is the head of the church). --Colossians 1:18: "He is the head of the body, the church, which is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead." --in Noah's life we see this concept punctuated as God providentially arranged for the entire human race to be preserved through the faith of one man Noah... --if it wasn't for Noah's faith and obedience then the ark wouldn't have been built and the entire human race would have perished. --Noah was human like everyone else, but he was a man of faith, and the foundation of his faith was God's grace: "Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD..." (Genesis 6:8) 4
Abraham righteous standing before God based on faith in Christ alone foreshadowed by righteous standing of Abraham before God --Paul used Abraham's righteous standing through faith as a proof-text in his argument in Romans that we are saved by faith apart from works: "For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'" (Romans 4:3) 5