Читать книгу Secret References to Christ In the Old testament Scriptures - Kenneth B. Alexander - Страница 3

Jesus said, to the religious leaders of His time, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). In these verses, Jesus spoke a profound truth that has not been completely understood. He said that the religious leaders of His time were searching the Scriptures for some mystical formula that would give them life, when they should have realized that the answer they were seeking was Christ Himself, who was standing before them. He said, in effect, “You will not receive Me. You persist in looking for magic formulas when your salvation is here, in Me as your Lord”.

When scripture is read it should be with the intent of finding that revelation of Christ. Christ IS the entire Word of God, so the Word, nor any part of it, cannot be divorced from Him. John said: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was  with God, and the Word was God. He [Jesus Christ] was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:1-3). When the scriptures in Genesis Chapter 1 say: “Let it be” or “God said” it was Jesus Christ who was speaking. He was speaking the words of the Father. As John said, all of creation came into existence through Him, the Word, and apart from Him (the Word) nothing came into being. The Word is eternal as it (Christ) has existed with the Father from the beginning.

The Father is the Creator of all things. And His Word was the agent of Creation (cf. 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2). All Creation was made by the Word which reflected the wishes of the Father. John stressed that Jesus came to speak the Words of the Father with whom he was one. Christ came to reveal the Father (John 1:14, 18); and the work of revelation began in Creation for Creation reveals God (Ps. 19:1-6; Rom. 1:19-20).

The Greek meaning of “Word” as John used it in relation to Christ is Logos logos. is a common word in Greek meaning many things. However John, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, deliberately used logos to describe Jesus (John 1:1). Foundational for Biblical use of logos is the OT concept of the “word of God” is dabar. When Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt, translated the Hebrew OT into Greek (the Septuagint, 275 b.c.), they utilized logos to translate dabar. The Hebrews saw dabar, the word of God, not as merely words but as a powerful and effectual means of accomplishing God’s purposes (Isa. 40:8; 55:11; Jer. 23:29). By His word God spoke the world into existence (Gen. 1:3–31; Ps. 33:6; 2 Pet. 3:5). God communicated His word directly to persons, especially in the Law (Exod. 20:1–17; 34:28; Deut. 5:4–5) and the Prophets (1 Sam. 15:10; 2 Sam. 7:4; 23:2; 2 Kings 7:1; Isa. 38:4; Jer. 1:4, 11; Ezek. 7:1; 11:14; Hos. 1:1; Joel 1:1; Jon. 1:1; Mic. 1:1; Hag. 1:1; Mal. 1:1).2 The other Greek expression for Word is “rhema” which is used interchangeably for logos by other New Testament writers but, without going into a detailed theological discussion of the two, the Biblical meaning is essentially the s

Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with references to Christ which we will examine in some detail here. For instance concerning prophecies of the coming of Christ there are 1,845 references to it in the Old Testament, and a total of seventeen Old Testament books give it prominence. This of course pertains to the First coming. Of the 260 chapters in the entire New Testament, there are 318 references to the Second Coming, or one out of 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event. For every prophecy on the First Coming of Christ, there are 8 on Christ’s Second Coming

Technically the entire Bible is a revelation of Christ. To the true believer there is no dispute over who may have written the words although the majority of theological thought is that the books were written by the authors to whom they are attributed. The Words of scripture are not mere words to the believer but are as Jesus said: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). Books written by man convey ideas, inspiration, pleasure and information. “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24) and therefore His words contain spirit and spiritual life.

However there are specific spiritual references that point to Christ of which all should be aware. That is not to say you cannot take any verse of scripture and receive revelation of Christ from it—the entire Book speaks of Him as He said to the Pharisees (above). But there are references that stand out as confirmation of His great ministry. Nevertheless the Old Testament, and later the New Testament, are the foundations for our faith upon which we stand. We can receive revelation from Christ from the scriptures without even understanding the verse because the words by-pass our mind and feed our spirits without intellectual understanding. But when Christ quickens understanding to our mind it is even better because then we have the mind of Christ and are able to comprehend what He is saying and His plan from beginning to end is revealed in the scriptures.

This Book will search out some of these references in order that you may gain an understanding of them and thus increase your knowledge of the Trinity of God and His purposes in the earth for all mankind.