(Not all of these prophesies are directly and easily verifiable from the gospels.)
In Jacob's blessing of Judah, he mentions that "the scepter will not depart from Judah ... until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his."
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. - Genesis 49:10
God made a promise to David that his offspring would establish a kingdom that would last forever.
"'He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'" - 2 Samuel 7:13,16
Job comments that his Redeemer lives will stand on the earth.
I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth. - Job 19:25
God tells Ezekiel that there will be no more Israelite kings until God gives the crown to the one to whom it rightfully belongs (Jesus).
'A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.' - Ezekiel 21:27
God promises destruction for Israel in part because of the large numbers of false prophets that Israel had. God emphasizes the need that humanity has for a perfect high priest to bridge the gap between sinful humanity and holy God.
I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. - Ezekiel 22:30
The priests of Israel were leading the Israelites astray in the time of Ezekiel. So God promises to care for His people Himself (through Jesus). God also promises to establish His sanctuary among His people and to make an everlasting covenant of peace them.
“‘My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.’” - Ezekiel 37:24-28
See Ezekiel 34.
Nebuchadnezzar has a dream which God, through Daniel, interprets. The dream includes a rock that smashes a great statue and continues forever. This is a representation of the kingdom of God, established through Jesus Christ.
“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.” - Daniel 2:44-45
Daniel has a vision where he sees Christ and the kingdom which Jesus will establish.
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. - Daniel 7:13-14
God promises through Malachi that the prophet Elijah will come before Christ. This prophesy is fulfilled in the gospel of Matthew.
See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. - Malachi 4:5
For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear. - Matthew 11:13-15
God tells Abram that his descendants will be a blessing to all people. This may have been used by Paul and other apostles to justify to the Jews that Jesus' gift of grace was not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.” - Genesis 12:3
And through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” - Genesis 22:18
I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, - Genesis 26:4
When the Israelites were wandering around in the desert, they rebelled against God. On one occasion God sent snakes to bite and kill the people. When Moses prayed for God to remove the snakes, He didn't. Instead He gave the Israelites a bronze snake to look at to save themselves. This nicely coincides with the New Testament version of how we are to look to Christ for our salvation - we must keep our eyes on Him. When troubles come, God doesn't always remove the cause of the problem, sometimes he instead instructs us to shift our attention to the Saviour.
Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” - Numbers 21:6-8
It's not totally clear whether or not Balaam is referencing Christ, however, he is refering to a king of Israel at a time when Israel didn't have a king.
“Their king will be greater than Agag;
their kingdom will be exalted. - Numbers 24:7Back to List of Bible Bins Back to Blog Home