Note again Acts 13:29 and 30:

“AND WHEN THEY HAD FULFILLED ALL THAT WAS WRITTEN OF HIM, THEY TOOK HIM DOWN FROM THE TREE, AND LAID HIM IN A SEPULCHRE. BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD.”

With these verses note, in I Corinthians 15:3 and 4, the words, “according to the Scriptures.”

“FOR I DELIVERED UNTO YOU FIRST OF ALL THAT WHICH I ALSO RECEIVED, HOW THAT CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES; AND THAT HE WAS BURIED, AND THAT HE ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES.”,

Here “according to the Scriptures” means in fulfillment of prophecies recorded in the thirty-nine Books, from Genesis to Malachi.

In this connection note also the words of the Lord Jesus, in Matthew 5:17—18.

“THINK NOT THAT I AM COME TO DESTROY THE LAW, OR THE PROPHETS: I AM NOT COME TO DESTROY, BUT TO FULFIL. FOR VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, TILL HEAVEN AND EARTH PASS, ONE JOT OR ONE TITTLE SHALL IN NO WISE PASS FROM THE LAW, TILL ALL BE FULFILLED.”

Note also John 5:46—“For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me.”

Moses wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. He wrote of Israel’s Great Prophet, Messiah and Deliverer. So also did all of the other Old Testament prophets. Christ was foretold as Prophet, Priest and King. Study with Acts 13:29 and 30 the statement in Luke 2:39.

“And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.”

When did the parents take Jesus back to Nazareth? When they had performed (ended) all things according to the law. When was the Lord Jesus taken down from the tree and buried?

“When they had fulfilled (ended) all things that were written of Him.”

CHRIST CAME TO ISRAEL TO FULFILL PROPHECIES

1—“Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14.

2—“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2.

3—“He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” Isaiah 53:2.

4—“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.” Isaiah 53:3.

5—“And one shall say unto Him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” Zechariah 13:6.

6—“And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you? and they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.” Zechariah 11:12 and 13 and Matthew 26:5.

7—“He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.” Isaiah 53:7.

8—“For dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet.” Psalm 22:16.

When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, note how he fulfilled the Scriptures.

“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabach. thani? which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?” Mark 15:34.

This was in fulfillment of Psalm 22:1. It was prophesied that He should be the Stone rejected by the builders.

“And He beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The Stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the Head of the corner.” Luke 20:17.

Then in fulfillment of Psalm 22:

“They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted My raiment among them, and for My vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.” John 19:24.

And another Psalm:

“Because Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.” Acts 2:27.

We give the references in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John showing the words and deeds in fulfillment of the prophets, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: Matthew 1:22-2:5-15-17 and 23, 3:3, 4:4 and 14, 5:18, 8:17, 12:17, 13:14 and 35, 21:4, 24:34, 26:54 and 56, 27:9. Mark 1:2, 14:49, 15:28. Luke 1:20, 2:39, 3:4, 4:17, 21:22 and 32, 24:19 and 44. John 1:23 and 45, 6:14 and 45, 7:40, 9:17, 12:38, 13:18, 15:25, 17:12, 18:9 and 32, 19:24-28 and 36.

Then note the words of the Lord Jesus, in Luke 24:44 to 46:

“THEN HE SAID UNTO THEM, THESE ARE THE WORDS WHICH I SPAKE UNTO YOU, WHILE I WAS YET WITH YOU, THAT ALL THINGS MUST BE FULFILLED, WHICH WERE WRITTEN IN THE LAW OF MOSES, AND IN THE PROPHETS, AND IN THE PSALMS, CONCERNING ME. THEN OPENED HE THEIR UNDERSTANDING, THAT THEY MIGHT UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES, AND SAID UNTO THEM, THUS IT IS WRITTEN, AND THUS IT BEHOOVED CHRIST TO SUFFER, AND TO RISE FROM THE DEAD THE THIRD DAY.”

About 15 years after the resurrected Christ spoke these words to His apostles, another apostle (Paul) spoke these words in a Jewish synagogue to the rabbi and the people:

“For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew Him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning Him.” Acts 13:27.

THE SUFFERINGS AND GLORY OF CHRIST

“OF WHICH SALVATION THE PROPHETS HAVE ENQUIRED AND SEARCHED DILIGENTLY, WHO PROPHESIED OF THE GRACE THAT SHOULD COME UNTO YOU: SEARCHING WHAT, OR WHAT MANNER OF TIME THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST WHICH WAS IN THEM DID SIGNIFY, WHEN IT TESTIFIED BEFOREHAND THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, AND THE GLORY THAT SHOULD FOLLOW.” I Peter 1:10 and 11.

Note the Spirit of Christ was in Israel’s prophets, testifying beforehand the sufferings and glory of Christ. Israel’s prophets foretold that Christ was to be rejected by Israel and be crucified, buried and raised from the dead.

Israel’s prophets foretold that Christ would be accepted by Israel, be honoured, and go to the throne of His glory.

Note Isaiah 9:6 and 7:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

Jeremiah 30:8 and 9:

“For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him. But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their King, Whom I will raise up unto them.”

Ezekiel 36:28 and 37:25:

“And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God.” “And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and My servant David shall be their prince for ever.”

Zechariah 14:9:

“And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one.”

According to Zechariah 12:10, the Nation Israel “shall look on Me Whom they have pierced.”

Read Isaiah 65:19 and Isaiah 62:3 and 4. Wonderful and glorious things concerning Christ, Jerusalem and Israel are yet to take place on this earth, in fulfillment of prophecy, “that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.”’ We have a more sure word of prophecy.” II Peter 1:19.

Note Acts 3:20 and 21 and 24:

“And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, WHICH GOD HATH SPOKEN BY THE MOUTH OF ALL HIS HOLY PROPHETS SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN.” “Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.”

Concerning the coming glory of Christ and Israel, remember the words of Christ “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 5:17 and 18.

HE THAT SHOULD COME—HE THAT SHALL COME

“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:28.

Now note the question of John the Baptist sent to Christ: “ART THOU HE THAT SHOULD COME?” Luke 7:19.

Note the statement in Hebrews 10:37:

“For yet a little while, and HE THAT SHALL COME will come, and will not tarry.

Christ was the One Who should come. Christ is the One Who shall come. All of God’s great events are centered in the two great advents of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came the first time. He will come the second time.

1—In Genesis to Malachi, Christ is coming.

2—In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the One promised to come has come.

3—From Acts to Revelation, the One Who came has gone back to heaven, and will come again.

4—In Genesis 3:14 and 15, the coming One (Christ) is to be the Seed of the woman.

5—In Malachi 3:1, the coming One (Christ) is to be the Lord.

6—In Isaiah 7:14, the coming one (Christ) is to be the Lord in the form of the woman’s Seed.

“Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14.

“And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. I John 5:19 and 20.

God’s plan to establish on earth the Messianic kingdom of Christ has not been abandoned; only postponed. The earthly kingdom of Christ will yet be established. In the meantime, while this particular kingdom is in abeyance, we are living in a parenthetical period. Concerning this postponement read Luke 21:24—Romans 11:25 and 26—and Ephesians 3:1 to 3.

“UNTIL THE APPEARING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST; WHICH IN HIS TIMES HE SHALL SHEW, WHO IS THE BLESSED AND ONLY POTENTATE, THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS: WHO ONLY HATH IMMORTALITY, DWELLING IN THE LIGHT WHICH NO MAN CAN APPROACH UNTO; WHOM NO MAN HATH SEEN, NOR CAN SEE; TO WHOM BE HONOUR AND POWER EVERLASTING. AMEN.” I Timothy 6:14 to 16.

For more articles by Pastor J. C. O'Hair, visit the J. C. O'Hair Online Library.