Prophecies of the first coming of Messiah
Messiah to be born in Bethlehem:
Prophecy:
‘But as for you Bethlehem Ephratah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.’ Micah 5.2 (5.1 in Jewish Bibles).
Fulfilment:
‘And when he (Herod) had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem, for thus it is written by the prophet.”’ For whole quote see Matthew 2.1-6 and Luke 2.1-20.
Messiah to be born of a virgin:
Prophecy:
‘Therefore behold the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call His name Immanuel.’ Isaiah 7.14
Fulfilment:
‘Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. … An angel of the Lord appeared to him (Joseph) in a dream saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son and you shall call His name Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew, meaning salvation) for He will save His people from their sins.”’ For whole quote see Matthew 1.18-25
Messiah to be a Son who is also the Mighty God:
Prophecy:
‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder and His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ Isaiah 9.6
Fulfilment:
‘The Lord will come upon you (Mary) and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, therefore also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’ Luke 1.35.
Messiah to preach the good news with a ministry of miracles:
‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of prison to those who are bound.’ Isaiah 61.1
Fulfilment:
‘Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.’ Matthew 9.35
Messiah to teach in parables:
‘I will open my mouth in a parable.’ Psalm 78.2
Fulfilment:
‘All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; without a parable He did not speak to them.’ Matthew 13.34
Messiah to be a light to the Gentiles:
‘I will also give you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be my salvation to the ends of the earth.’ Isaiah 49.6
Fulfilment:
‘My eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.’ Luke 2.31-2. See also Matthew 28.18-20 and Acts 13.47-8.
Messiah to enter Jerusalem on a donkey:
‘Rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion! Shout O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your king is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, a foal of a donkey.’ Zechariah 9.9
Fulfilment:
‘So they brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.’ Matthew 21.1-11
The Messianic greeting to be given Messiah on this occasion:
‘This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now I pray O Lord (Hebrew ‘Hoshienu’); O Lord I pray send now prosperity. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’ Psalm 118.24-26
Fulfilment:
‘Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna (Hebrew Hoshienu) to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Matthew 21.9
Despite this triumphal entry Messiah was entering Jerusalem to be rejected and sacrificed:
‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. … Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.’ Psalm 118.22, 27.
Fulfilment:
‘Jesus began to show the disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised the third day.’ Matthew 16.21
Messiah to be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver:
‘So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter” – that princely sum they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.’ Zechariah 11.12-13
Fulfilment:
‘Then one of the twelve called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?’ And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.’ Matthew 26.14-5. See also Matthew 27.3-10.
Messiah to be forsaken by His disciples:
‘Awake O sword against my shepherd, against the man who is my companion,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘Strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.’ Zechariah 13.7
Fulfilment:
‘Then they all forsook Him and fled.’ Mark 14.50
Messiah to be dumb before His accusers:
‘He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth.’ Isaiah 53.7
Fulfilment:
‘And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.’ Matthew 27.12
Messiah to be smitten and spat upon:
‘I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who plucked out my beard; I did not hide my face from shame and spitting.’ Isaiah 50.6
Fulfilment:
‘Then they spat in His face and beat Him and others struck Him with the palms of their hands.’ Matthew 26.67
Messiah to be mocked:
‘All those who see me ridicule me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him since He delights in Him.”’ Psalm 22.7-8
Fulfilment:
‘Likewise the chief priests also mocking with the scribes and elders said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel let Him now come down from the cross and we will believe in Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him.”’ Matthew 27.41-3
Messiah to have His hands and feet pierced:
‘They pierced my hands and feet.’ Psalm 22.18.
‘They shall look on me whom they have pierced.’ Zechariah 12.10
Fulfilment:
‘And when they had taken Him to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him.’ Luke 23.33
Messiah to be put to death with criminals:
‘He was numbered with the transgressors.’ Isaiah 53.12
Fulfilment:
‘Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.’ Matthew 27.38
Messiah to make intercession for His persecutors:
‘He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.’ Isaiah 53.12
Fulfilment:
‘Then Jesus said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”’ Luke 23.34
Messiah’s bones not to be broken:
‘He guards all His bones. Not one of them is broken.’ Psalm 34.20. See also Exodus 12.46, Numbers 9.22
Fulfilment:
‘But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead they did not break His legs. … For these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.”’ John 19.33, 36
Messiah to be buried in a rich man’s tomb:
‘And they made His grave with the wicked, but with the rich at His death.’ Isaiah 53.9
Fulfilment:
‘Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb and he departed.’ Matthew 27.57-60
Messiah to rise again from the dead:
‘For you will not leave my soul in Sheol (the place of the dead), nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption. You will show me the path of life.’ Psalm 69.10-11
‘For He was cut off from the land of the living. … When you make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days.’ Isaiah 53.8, 10
Fulfilment:
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but is risen!” Luke 24.5-6
The message of salvation through Messiah to go into all the world:
‘Look to me and be saved all you ends of the earth! For I am God and there is no other. I have sworn by myself; the word has gone out in righteousness and shall not return, that to me every knee shall bow.’ Isaiah 45.22-3
Fulfilment:
And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo I am with you always even unto the end of the age.’ Matthew 28.18-20
Prophecies of the second coming of Messiah
A time of unparalleled trouble to precede the Day of the Lord:
‘At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that time.’ Daniel 12.1
New Testament parallel:
‘For then there will be great tribulation such as has never been since the beginning of the world until this time, no nor ever shall be.’ Matthew 24.21
Focal point of this time of trouble to be Jerusalem:
‘And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.’ Zechariah 12.3
New Testament parallel:
‘But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies then know that its desolation is near. … Jerusalem will be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.’ Luke 21.20-24
All nations to be gathered for the final battle:
‘Assemble and come all you nations, and gather together all around. Cause your mighty ones to come down there, O Lord. Let the nations be wakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat’ (Hebrew word means ‘The Lord judges’). Joel 3.11-16
New Testament parallel:
‘For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to battle of that great day of God Almighty. … And they gathered them together in the place called in Hebrew Armageddon.’ Revelation 16.14-16
Messiah to come in the clouds of heaven:
‘I was watching in the night visions, and behold one like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven!’ Daniel 7.13
New Testament parallel:
‘Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.’ Matthew 24.30
Messiah to be visible as one who has been pierced:
‘And I will pour on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on me whom they pierced and mourn for Him as one mourns for His only son and grieve for Him as one grieves for a first born.’ Zechariah 12.10
New Testament parallel:
‘Behold He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.’ Revelation 1.7
Messiah to come to the Mount of Olives:
‘Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as He fights in the day of battle. And His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives which faces Jerusalem on the east.’ Zechariah 14.2-3
New Testament parallel:
‘“Men of Galilee why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet.’ Acts 1.11-12
Messiah to come with the saints:
‘Thus the Lord my God will come and all the saints with you.’ Zechariah 14.5
New Testament parallel:
‘Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints.’ Jude 14. (‘Saints’ in the Bible means all who truly believe in the Lord).
The wicked to flee from the coming of the Lord:
‘In that day a man will cast away his idols … to go into the clefts of the rocks and into the crags of the rugged rocks from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily.’ Isaiah 2.20-21
New Testament parallel:
‘And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.”’ Revelation 6.15-6
The Lord to establish righteousness and peace on the earth. Satan to be unable to deceive the nations:
‘Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people. They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore (Isaiah 2.2-4).’
New Testament parallel:
‘Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years … so that he should deceive the nations no more … Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Messiah and shall reign with Him a thousand years.’ Revelation 20.1-6 (extracts)
Israel to be saved and blessed of the Lord in the midst of the nations:
‘In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless saying, “Blessed is Egypt my people and Assyria the work of my hands and Israel my inheritance.’ Isaiah 19.24-25
New Testament parallel:
‘And so all Israel will be saved as it is written: ‘The deliverer will come out of Zion and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’ Romans 11.26-7.
Following the Millennial reign of Messiah on earth, God to create new heavens and a new earth:
‘For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me,’ says the Lord so shall your descendants and your name remain.’ Isaiah 66.22
New Testament parallel:
‘Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. … And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”’ Revelation 21.1-4 (extracts).