Old Testament prophecy on the first coming of Jesus

So this is where we start, with the Old Testament prophecy. Announcements of a Messiah, as Savior, to someone from God to save His people.

The earliest prophecy about the first coming

We’re going to start off with a passage that gets right to the core of why Advent is important. It’s not part of Nelson’s Quick Reference. However, because it’s the first announcement of a Savior to come, and because it’s the very first instance of why that Savior is needed, I want to include it.

It’s an event nearly all of us are familiar with. Even non-Christians. The entire passage is below to be sure we all have it straight. Not trying to remember, which is what got Eve and Adam in trouble. For a more detailed look at this passage, I invite you to check out Why were Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden of Eden?

The Fall of Man

Ge 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Ge 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”

Ge 3:4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Ge 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Ge 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Ge 3:10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Ge 3:11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? ”

Ge 3:12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

Ge 3:13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Ge 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.

Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

Ge 3:16 To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”

Ge 3:17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.

Ge 3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.

Ge 3:19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”

Ge 3:20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

Ge 3:21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

So, Eve, and Adam, messed up. Big time. This is what the church calls “original sin”. Because of it, the world is what it is today – fallen. Corrupt. Evil. And in need of salvation. We could try to argue that we wouldn’t have fallen for the serpent’s lie. However, that’s making light of the power of the serpent and vastly overstating our own power. The very kind of thing that got Adam and Eve in trouble in the first place. Every one of us would have succumbed. So ultimately, the punishment is, sadly, justified for us all.

For our case today though, the specific verses relevant to Advent are:

Ge 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.

Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

Verse 14 is included to show that God is addressing the serpent in verse 15. And in verse 15, the enmity that’s going to crush the serpent’s head is none other than Jesus.

Now, for those who don’t already know some of the details, the first coming of Jesus isn’t where the serpent’s head gets crushed. But it is where the Savior’s heel is bruised. It’s the second coming of Jesus where the serpent’s head gets crushed. This begins to tell us why Advent, with the first and second comings of Christ are so important. Both are needed in order to accomplish the events God said would happen – way back in Genesis chapter 3!

Here’s some background on part of what we just read above to show what I just described.

The fact that Moses traced this genealogy through the woman tells us that there will be something very different about the Messiah, something that necessitates tracing His ancestry through His mother, not His Father. Moses gives no explanation here, and none will be given for several centuries until the time of the Prophet Isaiah—when he will prophesy (in chapter 7) that Messiah is to be born of a virgin and have no human father.

We’ll look into Isaiah 7 in a moment.

Genesis 3:15 states that Messiah will crush the head of the serpent, that is, Satan (Revelation 12:9, 15; 20:2). In the process Satan will manage to wound the heel of Messiah, but will be unable to prevent his own destruction. The bruising of Messiah’s heel took place at Jesus’ crucifixion—painful but, in the eternal sense, not fatal. The crushing of the serpent’s head began with Jesus’ death and resurrection, a point made in Hebrews 2:14–18. Romans 16:20 sees the crushing of Satan’s head as still future and, so, his final destruction will not come until he is thrown into the Lake of Fire, as described in Revelation 20:10.

The bruising of the heel happens during the crucifixion.  The common view of Jesus on the cross these days is one that doesn’t line up with some physical realities. 

The Romans went for maximum pain which included keeping the person alive to feel that pain.  That included, generally, driving the nails through the ankles, where the foot was solid enough to give the person the ability, as long as they had the strength, to raise themselves up to breath.  This was done by a combination of pressure from the arms and pushing up from the feet. 

Therefore, both the arms and the feet had to be supported well enough for those motions to happen.  Ultimately then, the person usually died of asphyxiation.  They suffocated when they could no longer lift themselves up to breathe.  That’s where the bruising of the heel.

The crushing of the head comes in Revelation. 

The Beast out of the Sea

And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4 Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?”

So we see that one prophecy, the heel bruising, was fulfilled after the first coming of Jesus.  The second will be fulfilled at the second coming of Jesus.

As well as hinting at the virgin birth, this verse also emphasizes the humanity of the Messiah. Messiah, the Redeemer, will not be angelic nor simply divine, but will be a man. It also lays the groundwork for the Messiah to be the God-Man.

These ideas are further developed in subsequent prophecies.  ²Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1998). Messianic Christology: a study of Old Testament prophecy concerning the first coming of the Messiah (pp. 14–15). Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries.

Old Testament prophecy for the first Advent – Deuteronomy

We now move on to Deuteronomy. Moses again.

The timeframe here is after the Exodus when the Israelites’ were freed from slavery under the Egyptian Pharaoh. After God rescued His people, He also set up a number of commandments and laws for them to follow. This would enable others to see the difference between them and the rest of the world. At least, that was the goal for them to attain.

Also note, the words below, except for those in quotes, represent Moses speaking. We’ll see in a moment why this is important.

The Prophet

Dt 18:14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.

This is but one of the ways in which God’s people were different from everyone else. As to why they don’t need and shouldn’t use sorcery or divination, we find the answer in the next verse.

15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.

Earlier I pointed out that these words were from Moses’ mouth. God told Moses what to say, but Moses was the speaker. So, when Moses said, God will raise up for you a prophet like me, the word “me” refers to Moses. In other words, God will raise up a prophet like Moses.

There are various ways to interpret who this future prophet is going to be.

One is that it includes all of the Old Testament Prophets. There’s certainly nothing wrong with this thinking. However, as often happens with OT prophecies, there’s more than one interpretation. Other evidence from various passages in the OT.

16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”

You may remember that part about “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” Let me set the context for it, because it tells us a lot more about why we need Advent. Why we need a Messiah.

First, here’s the passage it comes from. Notice the underlined text in verse 18. Notice that Moses is with the people. God is speaking to all of them. Not just Moses. Not in this passage.

The Ten Commandments – Exodus

20:1-17 pp — Dt 5:6-21

Ex 20:1 And God spoke all these words:

Ex 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Ex 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

Ex 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Ex 20:7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Ex 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Ex 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Ex 20:13 “You shall not murder.

Ex 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.

Ex 20:15 “You shall not steal.

Ex 20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Ex 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Ex 20:18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

Ex 20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

Ex 20:21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

That was God speaking to the people. Before the stone tablets. Before the Golden calf. Before Moses broke the first pair of stone tablets. Abd before the second set of stone tablets. The people had a fear of God. Not the kind of “fear” we mean today, but apparently actual fear. As in fear of death.

And yet, the golden calf incident took place after this. So even with the fear of death, they still made the idol even though God already forbade such a thing. And as punishment, thousands of them did die.

But here’s the thing. Do we really think we’re any better? Do we believe we would have been different? Of course, we’d like to think so. But the Bible shows us over and over and over that god’s chosen people did all sorts of things that were forbidden. And if we’re honest, and we look at our own past, we’ll see that we are, in fact, no different. Another reason why we need Advent. Why we need a Savior.

Now that we’ve seen why we need a Savior, let’s take a look at God’s prophecy of that Savior. A prophecy regarding the first Advent.

Dt 18:17 The LORD said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”

This time, it’s God speaking to Moses again. And God tells Moses that He’s going to raise up a prophet. A prophet with certain characteristics.

• like you from among their brothers
• I will put my words in his mouth
• he will tell them everything I command him
• If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.

This list is far from complete. We’ll see that as we go along. For example, while Jesus was born human (like the people) He was also God. And we’ll see where Jesus addressed each of the other three things when we get to that point in the series.

Dt 18:21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

In the closing of this passage, God lets us know how to tell if someone claiming to be a prophet really is from God. Also, that we shouldn’t be afraid of false prophets.

Old Testament prophecy first Advent – The first coming of Jesus – Isaiah

Now, let’s move on to the previously mentioned passage from Isaiah.

The Sign of Immanuel

Once again, while we’re only directed to one verse from Nelson’s Topical Index, let’s examine the entire passage to pick up the context and some additional information.

If you’re not aware of what Immanuel means and where it comes from, here’s some background:

Immanuel (i-man´ yoo-uhl; Heb., “God is with us”), the name of a child whose birth is symbolic of God’s guiding and protecting presence (Isa. 7:14; 8:8; Matt. 1:23). The name was first used by the prophet Isaiah as a sign given to King Ahaz of Judah during the Syro-Ephraimite war (ca. 734 BCE). ³ Lemke, W. E., & Powell, M. A. (2011). Immanuel. In M. A. Powell (Ed.), The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated) (Third Edition, p. 404). New York: HarperCollins.

However, like many Bible prophecies, this one has a double meaning. Yes, there was a prophecy for King Ahaz. But there was also the one about the first coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Let’s see more about that, after we read the first part of the passage from Isaiah, The Sign of Immanuel.

Isa 7:1 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

Isa 7:2 Now the house of David was told, “Aram has allied itself with Ephraim”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

Isa 7:3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field. 4 Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying, 6 “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” 7 Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“ ‘It will not take place,
it will not happen,

Isa 7:8 for the head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.
Within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

Isa 7:9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand firm in your faith,
you will not stand at all.’ ”

Isa 7:10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

Isa 7:12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.”

The short version of what we need to know for our topic today is that the whole scenario above was showing Ahaz’s lack of faith in God. Because of that lack of faith, Isaiah addressed the prophecy to Ahaz and to the people. It starts with:

Isa 7:13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

The underlined portion is from Nelson’s Topical Index. Both verses have that dual meaning I mentioned earlier. One for Ahaz. And one for the Jewish people, which follows on to all of us today, about the first coming of Jesus. Let’s finish off the passage, which was relevant to Ahaz, and see how that part proceeded.

15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 16 But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 17 The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.”

Isa 7:18 In that day the LORD will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. 19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes. 20 In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the River—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to take off your beards also. 21 In that day, a man will keep alive a young cow and two goats. 22 And because of the abundance of the milk they give, he will have curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey. 23 In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be only briers and thorns. 24 Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns. 25 As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.

I kind of wonder about giving that entire passage to you to read. I really don’t like picking out one or two verses, and then telling you that somehow, almost magically, they mean something that’s not at all obvious. On the other hand, sometimes, like this one, I also wonder if it was too much. But then, without all of it, we can’t see the context from Old Testament times,

So, with the danger of over-providing the history and context, let’s examine what we just read.

A sign to the house of David (Isa. 7:10–16). If Ahaz had believed God’s promise, he would have broken his alliance and called the nation to prayer and praise; but the king continued in his unbelief. Realizing the weakness of the king’s faith, Isaiah offered to give a sign to encourage him; but Ahaz put on a “pious front” and refused his offer. Knowing that he was secretly allied with Assyria, how could Ahaz honestly ask the Lord for a special sign? So, instead of speaking only to the king, Isaiah addressed the whole “house of David” and gave the prophecy concerning “Immanuel.”

Of course, we aren’t kings. However, we are people with weak faith. Some times weaker than others, but still, it’s hard to call it strong when Jesus spoke to His own disciples at times like this one:

Do Not Worry – Matthew

6:25-33 pp — Lk 12:22-31

Mt 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Mt 6:28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Which one of us can say we never worried about things like that? I rest my case. And we have another example of why we need Advent. Why we need a Savior.

Of course, the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy is in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is “God with us” (Matt. 1:18–25; Luke 1:31–35). The virgin birth of Christ is a key doctrine; for if Jesus Christ is not God come in sinless human flesh, then we have no Savior. Jesus had to be born of a virgin, apart from human generation, because He existed before His mother. He was not just born in this world; He came down from heaven into the world (John 3:13; 6:33, 38, 41–42, 50–51, 58). Jesus was sent by the Father and therefore came into the world having a human mother but not a human father (4:34; 5:23–24, 30; 9:4).

And now we have the reference to that first Advent. To the first coming of Christ. The birth of our Savior.

We also add a piece of information to what we read in Deuteronomy. Remember, we read, Dt 18:17 The LORD said to me: “What they say is good. What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.

So now we pick up the reality that the “Prophet” who is coming will be both man and God. Immanuel – God with us.

This brings up a question for some who pay really close attention. At issue is the difference between Immanuel’s meaning to Ahaz as opposed to the later birth of Jesus.

The issue gets a bit sticky partly because of the Hebrew word used in Isaiah. At that time, the prophesied mother of the Immanuel in the time of Ahaz likely was a virgin. However, under the likely scenario that scholars believe to be the case, that mother was married, conceived with her husband, and gave birth after the prophecy was made. Therefore, she was a virgin at the time of the prophecy – but was no longer when the child was born.

The other thing we need to consider is that Immanuel in Ahaz’s time was a “sign” for him and for the people. There was no reason why he had to literally be God. However, the virgin birth of Jesus is another matter. Jesus wasn’t just a sign to us. Jesus really truly was God with us.

Jesus was the only one who could do the things He had to do, and will have to do, as we read throughout the Bible. For instance, He has a role to play in Revelation that no one but God could accomplish. And Jesus, as God, is the only one who could pay the unbelievably high price for all the sins that we’ve all committed throughout the years.

The excerpts from Warren Wiersbe already showed us some of why Jesus had to be God. Below, he continues the thoughts related to Ahaz.

However, this “sign” had an immediate significance to Ahaz and the people of Judah. A woman who was then a virgin would get married, conceive, and bear a son whose name would be “Immanuel.” This son would be a reminder that God was with His people and would care for them. It is likely that this virgin was Isaiah’s second wife, his first wife having died after Shear-jashub was born; and that Isaiah’s second son was named both “Immanuel” and “Maher-shalal-hash-baz” (8:1–4; note vv. 8 and 10).  ⁴Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (pp. 32–33). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Conclusion – Old Testament prophecy – The first coming of Jesus

So there we have it. There are, of course, so many other prophecies about the birth of Jesus and the things He does. But that’s way too much to put here. There are volumes of other things to read if you want to know more.

Rather than be a complete resource, my goal is to show some of the prophesies related to Advent and to the first Advent in particular. Along the way, we also learned some of why we need the Savior we’re celebrating. And some information about the second coming. Finally, we’ve picked up some things to look at in more detail as the series progresses.

In the next segment, we’ll look at Jesus coming as a man in more detail in Old Testament prophecy on Jesus coming as a man. Hope to see you there.

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