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Jesus In the Old Testament: Part 1

 

“In the beginning God (Elohim) (Plural) created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen 1:1)

 

There have been many discussions about the Son of God.

He is called Jesus in the New Testament.

Some say he was a created Being that came to be only in the New Testament. Others say He is only mentioned in the New Testament, not the Old Testament.

Why do we have so much confusion when it comes to the second distinct person in the Godhead?

As a believer, I also wondered why so many religions other than Christianity see Jesus as a threat to their faith. Islam, for example, needs an absent Jesus in the Old Testament, as do the Jews, because it validates what each is taught, or, as I say, “not taught.”

Throughout history, many have set out to disprove the Lamb of God. Jesus’ eternal existence is the biggest threat to many religions.

One doesn’t have to wonder why so many false doctrines and dogmas permeate our world today.

This article aims to search the scriptures useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17).

We shall dive into God’s word to see His SON alive, working, and ministering to his people in the Old Testament.

We shall see how the prophets spoke and had visions of the Holy One. But most importantly, I shall prove that the one called Jesus is clearly not absent in the Old Testament.

Let us Pray:

Heavenly Father, I come to you in the Mighty name of Jesus, thanking you for this opportunity to write and testify of your goodness.

May these words be a blessing to many.

May they test all things and not rely on me but on you.

May we all be strengthened and grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of you and your word.

We have so much to be thankful for, Lord God.

You have demonstrated your love for us; while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

I ask if this article will touch those whose hearts you have opened to receive these words.

And may we all be called overcomers on that great day.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Close Examination of Text

Let’s first look at Daniel 7:9

“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.”

Here, Daniel is shown a vision.

Daniel said thrones (plural) were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his place.

Daniel goes on to describe what the Ancient of Days looked like… His garments were white as snow, and his hair was like pure wool.

Daniel saw a real person, not a spirit, but one who looked like a “Son of man.”

The Bible says God the Father is Spirit, and we must worship Him in Spirit (John 4:24).

“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (John 1:18).

The question must be asked: Who did Daniel see in his vision?

We know from John 1:18 that no man has ever seen God the Father. So, who is this Supreme being who sits on a throne Daniel is speaking about?

We shall find one clue as to who this person is in Daniel 7:10.

It says, “The court was seated, and the books were opened.”

When I saw this verse, I was immediately reminded by the Holy Spirit of the book of Revelation 20:11-15.

It speaks of a great white throne and Him who is seated on it. People stood before this great white throne, and “books were opened.”

Chapter 20 of Revelation is the judgment of the dead, not the saints but those who chose to separate themselves from God while on earth.

You see, God loves us so much that he will honor our request not to serve Him while we are alive, and he will also honor that request when we die.

Revelation 20 shows Books (plural) were opened, and this Great and Mighty Judge was handing down eternal sentences WITHOUT the possibility of parole or pardon to those whose names were not written in the Book of Life.

Who is this judge that judges the dead?

Acts 10:42 and 2 Tim 4:1 tell us this person is none other than JESUS.

Lordship of Christ

Jesus was given all authority to Judge every human that has been born.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 we see the saints being judged for rewards, called the Bema SEAT of Christ. Yes, Jesus is also the judge of the living (Saints). Now that we have established who the person is, who sits on the throne when the books are opened, we can directly address Daniel 7.

Daniel 7:9-10 we clearly see the Ancient of Days mentioned is Jesus. Remember, God the Father is Spirit, and no man has EVER seen GOD. Daniel saw a manifestation of Jesus. He described him in human terms and attributes. We also know Jesus is on the throne, at the Father’s right hand.

But why does the verse say “Thrones”?

That’s because other thrones will be set up in heaven as well!

Matthew 19:27-28 teaches us that 12 thrones shall seat the 12 Apostles, who will also take on the role of a judge, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.

Daniel 7:9 clearly shows that the one called Jesus in the New Testament was known in the Old Testament. Daniel knew these things because the Spirit of Christ was in the Prophets(1 Peter 1:11).

When we let scripture interpret scripture, we can see how things line up to leave little room for any other interpretation.

Now watch this!

Daniel 7:13 talks about “one like” the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven also look at (ref. Rev 14:14). Yet now the one who looks like the Son of man “approaches” the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.

WAIT… I thought we established that Jesus was the “Ancient of Days?”

He is, but so is the Father!

Notice Daniel gave no description when mentioning the Ancient of Days in verse 13.

Daniel saw Jesus, called the Ancient of Days, in (v.9) being led into the presence of the Father, also called the Ancient of Days in (v.13).

These terms are eye-opening, for we clearly can see the equality in nature when it comes to the Father and Son. We can clearly see the same title attributed to the Father was also given to the Son.

We see both the Father and Son working in some future event shown to Daniel in a vision!

The Ancient of Days carries the meaning that God has lived through the entire course of human history.

He and He alone is the Ancient of Days!

He knows all the deeds of all human beings and all earthly kingdoms! Since Christ falls under this title, He, too, must be eternal and God.

We can’t separate the oneness of God, but we understand the distinct persons of that oneness. Jesus approaches the Ancient of Days because, as we know, Jesus does ONLY what the Father tells Him or what he sees the Father do.

I want to use one more scripture to drive my point home for you:

Daniel 7:22 says, “Until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom. “

Reading (v. 21), it talks about the ten horns and another horn that waged war against the saints and defeated them.

This story can also be seen in (Rev 13). Verse (22) tells us that this Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High.

In favor of the Most High is speaking of God the Father, and the one who came to pronounce judgment in favor of the saints is clearly Jesus since he will judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42). Again, Jesus is called the Ancient of Days.

He is eternal and created All things and is over All things.

The second person in the Godhead has always been eternal, not affected by time, space, or matter until He became flesh.

There are many places that we see Christophany in the Old Testament.

Jesus is real, and He is truly God.

He takes no back seat but works in conjunction with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

I urge all Saints to be like the Bereans in the Bible and test what is said.

Show thyself approved.

The goal of this article is to give you Holy weapons to defend the faith against those who make false claims against our Lord.

As you can see, this world is getting closer to the entrance of the Son of Perdition.

We have seen evil called good and good called evil.

People have become lovers of themselves. Many have forsaken their First Love for the testimony of men.

Trusting in whom Jesus claims to be is key!

Being around like-minded people will also help us and strengthen us.

We serve a Mighty God who has revealed his Holy nature to those who search to find it.

It makes me wonder how the people whom God wanted His message to come through in the Old Testament didn’t see that their Messiah was always with them. He should have easily been identified when born in the flesh.

But because men valued their traditions more than the word of God, they became blind spiritually. Now we honor traditions or political parties. Anything that awakens what’s in our hearts.

Saints, the time is now, not tomorrow, for tomorrow isn’t promised. Call on the name that is above all names and ask him to come into your heart.

Ask Him to dwell with you, for He is trustworthy.

I Thank God for this blessing and my brother in Christ for this opportunity to plant in hopes that God shall water if you abide in him.

Be blessed!

Loving Your Neighbor (When It’s Hard)

Some time ago, my next-door neighbor began a major renovation on his home.

Not a new driveway. Not a new bathroom. We are talking about a total demolition of his home from the first floor up!

There was a constant parade of contractors, deliveries, and construction equipment on our block for months.

One morning as I was taking my wife to work, one of the delivery trucks was blocking my driveway as they parked to make a delivery for the construction project.

Of course, these things ONLY happen when late for work.

We asked the guy to move…. and he did… reluctantly.

However, upon returning, the same truck was blocking my driveway again, which prevented me from entering.

I blew my horn… no response.

I blew it again… still no response.

I drove to the front of my neighbor’s driveway… (yes, you read that right… they only blocked MY DRIVEWAY, but the neighbor’s driveway… was unobstructed)!

I blew my horn again to get someone’s attention… all to no avail.

After several minutes of this, I admit that I was a bit aggravated.

At that point, I drove up my neighbor’s driveway to see if I could find my neighbor or the delivery person. As I arrived at the top of the driveway, the driver was speaking to my neighbor in the middle of all the construction.

Once they saw me, the driver immediately recognized who I was, apologized profusely, and ran to move his truck.

My neighbor, realizing that I was a little upset, just waived “hello”… I waved back, got in my car, and backed out of his driveway.

We have been neighbors in this community for over four years, and that was the closest we have ever come to a squabble.

 Importance of Love

Remembering this situation the other day got me thinking.

More than any other time in recent memory, we are experiencing tense situations.

People everywhere are dealing with festering racial tensions, systemic inequalities, differences in political ideologies, growing fears of a global pandemic, and loss of freedoms (for health reasons) many took for granted.

As Christians, it can be easy to forget that our primary role is to win others to Christ… through word and deed.

Considering all that is going on, our focus can quickly shift from showing love to others to our self-interests.

And that’s the real challenge.

  • Showing Love when faced with inconsideration.
  • Showing Love when faced with disrespect.
  • Showing Love when being mistreated.
  • Showing love when we feel others don’t deserve it.

What does such a love even look like?

In a word: Jesus

In the scriptures, we see Jesus was often accused, mocked, tested, and scoffed at. Yet, the scriptures record that He maintained control by speaking factually, resolutely, and calmly.

More than His example, we also have the warning that those who follow Him will be persecuted as He was (John 15:19,20; 2 Timothy 3:12).

While there are and probably always will be tense situations where people will do or say things we don’t like, it’s still advisable to maintain both physical and verbal control.

Some of us are better at the former than the latter, but control over ourselves and our tongue is essential to walking circumspectly in our society.

The bottom line is that self-control is essential to our witness as Christians.

We will not be successful at leading others to Christ, the Great Commission unless we lead with love. The Apostle Paul emphasized just the importance of love as it pertains to our attitude and outward demeanor.

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV)

Nothing we say or do as Christians will be influential, let alone effective unless it is done with love.

 

Difference Between Love and Acceptance

It is necessary to understand that Christians should always show love to others to win others to Christ and avoid accusations and negative attention by unbelievers (Titus 2:7,8). In this way, we can live peaceably and circumspectly in the world.

However, it is also essential to understand that showing love to others is not equivalent to accepting bad behavior.

One standard definition of acceptance is a “general agreement that something is satisfactory or right” 1

Christians can and should call out bad behavior and sin for what it is. To not do so is a dereliction of our duty to stand up for righteousness and justice (Deuteronomy 16:19,20 Psalm 94:16; Proverbs 25:26; James 4:17).

In pursuit of justice and righteousness, love must not be obscured or put aside.

No, love must be front and center in all that we do in our quest.

The Apostle Paul reminds us, Love is patient and kind; Love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV)

We again turn to scripture to understand how to speak to others who may not agree or understand how they have offended us.

“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)

So, we see here that Jesus commands that we always use how we would want someone to speak to us (or any action towards another) as the standard of speaking to others.

And to put this principle into practice requires us to think very carefully about what we are to say in a situation and how received if someone spoke to us that way.

A careful action is a thoughtful action… a thoughtful action is a controlled action.

Being thoughtful and considerate fosters greater self-control in all that we do so that we may live out our faith as we should (Ephesians 5:15).

A Personal Witness That is NOT About Us

What often gets in the way of showing Love has to do with our heart… It’s a heart problem.

Upon being questioned if He could heal when His disciples could not Jesus clarified that it was not His power but his lack of belief (Mark 9:14-29).

Similarly, what prevents us from being a powerful witness of the gospel is not a lack of power in love but our willingness to extend the love we received from God to others.

A common snare of the Christian is pride.

Oh, we talk a good game…

We know how to act the part of the dutiful Christian.

We pray powerful prayers…

We tithe a tenth of our goods, but like the young rich ruler, we lack something. There is something we refuse to let go of. But letting go is essential to be an effective Christian witness.

We must surrender all.

The Master can use only the surrendered soul.

Only those who surrender can be a tool of Love God uses to pry open an unwilling ear, leading to a change of heart and mind.

Suppose we are to be effective witnesses for the gospel of Jesus Christ. In that case, we cannot use as our weapons pride, egotism, sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, nationalism, exceptionalism, or the like.

Our tool must be the same as Jesus’ tool

and Jesus’ tool is and always has been LOVE.

No wonder that Jesus, upon His ascension, told His followers that the world would know you by love. Love is the distinguishing characteristic of a disciple of Jesus (John 13:35).

 

Not by Might; Not by Power, but by My Spirit…

The Holy Spirit empowers one who has been born again to display the same love to others that God has shown him. Acting in love is not optional but a central part of living out the Christian faith.

Only those who are born again have the courage, born of the Holy Spirit, to love as God loves.

Only the spirit-filled disciple of Christ desires to love as God loves.

Only a true believer has the power to love as God loves.

  • An unselfish love … you may not be loved in return.
  • An unwavering love … you may not see the benefit of your love.
  • An everlasting love … no bounds, no limits, a love without end.
  • An unmerited love … Jesus went to the cross while we were sinners
  • A sacrificial love … Jesus sacrificed Himself for us

In the parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Jesus tells us of a person who was forgiven an outstanding debt by a benevolent King only to turn around and harass and threaten a person that owed him much less (Matthew 18: 23-35).

When the King heard about what had happened, he called the servant wicked for not having the same compassion for others.

Jesus ends the parable by clearly stating, “In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” (Matthew 18:34,35 NKJV)

Remembering the importance of love in our everyday interactions will help us to keep the command to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves.

1 https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/acceptance