Wednesday, 30 July 2008 14:07
Written by Ken Garrison
Page 1 of 7
Excerpt #2 from the book, Bible Prophecy, by Pastor Ken Garrison (Click Here for Excerpt #1)
(Note: in order for this article to be effective, the reader needs to read the listed Scripture references. The full text of the Scriptures have been removed for copyright and space concerns.)
THE FORESHADOWING OF MESSIAH
The Church in the second and subsequent centuries AD developed the tradition of replacement theology, proclaiming that the Church is now the “Israel of God”. As a result of this unscriptural doctrine, the Messiah is most often portrayed independent of the nation of Israel. In fact, Jesus is the Messiah, or anointed one, of Israel. Messiah is an office within Israel and cannot be separated from it. We will develop the Scriptural foundation for the Messiah of Israel.
When God revealed Himself to Israel at Mt. Sinai, they were terrified because their inward sinful nature was revealed to them and this in the presence of the mighty manifestation of the Holy One. Therefore, they sought Moses and made the following request:
(Exodus 20:18-19)
In this way Israel requested an intermediary between themselves and God. Moses served in this position. Later Moses instructed subsequent generations saying:
(Deuteronomy 18:15-19)
So, Moses foresaw the Messiah that God would eventually raise up. Indeed, Moses was a “type” of that Messiah.
During the time of Samuel, Israel demanded a king in order to be like the other nations. The first king was Saul of the tribe of Benjamin. Saul did not obey the Lord so God sought out another king. The youngest son of Jesse, David, was anointed by Samuel to be king in Saul’s place. David was a man who knew and trusted God. The Lord said of David that he had a heart like God's. In spite of the human failings of David, God chose him to be the very specific forerunner of Messiah. No other person in the Scriptures was used so boldly to personify the Messiah. In subsequent ages a primary messianic title became “son of David”.
God made a covenant with David. As a part of that covenant God promised to establish the Throne, Kingdom and House of David's son forever.
(2 Samuel 7:8-17)
The terms of this covenant were unconditional and eternal. Note, in particular, that God intended to accomplish these things through David's son. The immediate fulfillment of this covenant was in Solomon, David's son. Solomon sat on David’s throne, ruled over his kingdom and built the Temple in Jerusalem. Yet, the terms of the covenant were eternal.
Solomon, like all men, died and was buried in Jerusalem. Solomon's son, Rehoboam, succeeded him. It appeared that the covenant would be continuously fulfilled through the line of the descendants of David; however; eventually these were cut off from reigning in Jerusalem. (See 2 Kings 25:4-7 concerning Zedekiah and his sons.) The kingdom came to an end, the descendant of David was deposed and the Temple was destroyed. It appeared that the covenant had failed.
The Hebrew prophets foresaw these events and prophesied that a great King associated with David with great supernatural characteristics would arise. The covenant made with David would be fulfilled by God, Himself, in a unique way known only to Him. God revealed His plan for His Great King through the Hebrew prophets. In this section we will consider the prophetic utterances related to this Great King.
