Old Testament Scriptures Fulfilled By Christ

Psalm 40:6

The Prophet David assured us that when the Christ, the Messiah, has come the sacrifices and ceremonies of the law would cease, he would appear as Jehovah’s voluntary Servant, and that the Volume of Old Testament Scripture prophecy would be fulfilled. —"Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me." "The volume of the book" may refer to the book of God's secret, eternal decrees (Rev. 5:1; 10:2). But it certainly refers to the written revelation of God contained in the Old Testament Scriptures.

Names and Titles

The writings of the Old Testament prophets abound in predictions of the Messiah, the Christ. God promised Abraham, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." When Jacob blessed the tribe of Judah, he spoke of Shiloh to whom the gathering of the people would be. Moses spoke of that Prophet whom the Lord God would raise up, whom the people of God would hear.

In the Psalms and the prophets Messiah is given a great variety of titles: ― The Anointed of the Lord ― The King ― David's Lord ― The Child Born ― The Son Given ― The Mighty God ― The Everlasting Father ― The Prince of Peace ― God's Servant Whom he Upholds ― Messiah The Prince ― God's Elect in Whom He Delights ― The Branch ― The Lord Our Righteousness ―

The Messenger of the Covenant.

All these names and titles belong to the Messiah. But are they all fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth? If they are, then he is the Christ. If they are not, we must look for another.

The Time

The time of Messiah's coming was clearly marked out in prophecy. God told no one the day and hour when Christ would come. But he did identify the time in history. Those looking forward to the coming of Christ could not predict it. But those looking back cannot mistake it. Christ has come! The coming of Messiah must fit into this time frame: ― He must come before the destruction of civil government in Judah (Gen. 49:10). ― He must come while the temple was still standing in Jerusalem (Hag. 2:6-9). ― The Messiah had to appear about the middle of Daniel's 70th week, which would be 453-457 years after the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem began (33 A.D.), the year that Christ died (Dan. 9:24-27). Thirty-seven years later, 70 A.D., Jerusalem was destroyed. The Messiah had to come into the world during the time that Jesus of Nazareth lived upon the earth. He could not have come at any other time.