CHRIST IN PROPHECY

 

We are in the currents of celebrating the first fulfilment of the Messianic Prophecy. Isaiah’s prophecy of Christ foretold of ‘the suffering servant’ who would be a ‘man of sorrows’, one who stands ‘as a sheep before his shearers, and one who takes our transgressions upon Himself (Isaiah 53). This ‘suffering servant’ was the babe in the manger, of lowly birth, yet of godly descent, the Christ child whom the angels heralded into this fallen world.

The second part of the Prophecy speaks of the Messiah as the “King of Glory”. This prophecy foretells His Second Coming when He will subdue all enemies under His feet; put down all kingdoms, will sit on the throne of David, and ‘the government shall be upon his shoulder’ (Isaiah 9:6). This is yet to come.

When we think of the ‘Messianic prophecies’, we usually think of the prophets and the scriptures, but in truth, every believer in Christ has a part in these prophecies.

“Every proper and perfect prayer uttered by a righteous man, woman, or child, from the day Adam stepped through Eden’s portals into his lone and dreary habitation, to the day the angelic hosts acclaimed the birth of God’s own Son, was in fact a Messianic prophecy.

“The mere saying, with sincerity and understanding, of the words of the prayer itself constituted a Messianic affirmation…..thus witnessing that they knew that salvation came through Him and His atoning blood.

“Similarly, every true prayer today is a reaffirmation that Jesus is the Lord and that through His blood the believing saints are redeemed.

“And so with every baptism, every priesthood ordination, every patriarchal blessing, every act of administering to the sick, every divine ordinance or performance ordained of God, every sacrifice, symbolism, and similitude; all that God ever gave to His people – all was ordained and established in such a way as to testify of His Son and center the faith of believing people in Him and in the redemption He was foreordained to make.

“The words of those who have spoken of Christ since He lived upon this earth, and believed in His coming, are ‘Messianic testimonies’……in fulfilment of the prophecies of His birth and His Second Coming..”  (Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah, 26,27

Every testimony we bear of Christ, every prayer we utter, and every act done in His name, affirms that Christ lived and that He will return. Each time we do so, we confirm the fulfilment of the Messianic Prophecy of His birth and the Messianic Hope of His Second Coming. Every man, woman and child who believes and lives with expectation of salvation through His name, has the power of prophecy.

I worshipped You in heaven

As my Saviour and my King.

I knew Your holy suffering

Would pay for everything.

 

I rejoiced when I heard Your sweet cry

In the warmth of the stable,

The beginning of Your journey

To the sacrificial table.

 

I awaited anxiously to see all

That You would do,

And I wept bitterly

When the cross claimed You.

 

But when You returned in triumph

With trumps echoing Your fame

I was amazed at the price You paid

For the value of my name!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art by ZENART07)