The Prophets

Throughout the history of the Israelites, God sent them prophets. Prophets were people who heard messages from God and then told the people these messages.

The prophets' messages often told the people to stop sinning and worshiping idols and to start showing justice and mercy. The prophets warned the people that if they did not repent and ask God to forgive them and start living obedient lives, then God's judgment would come and He would punish them.

Before Israel and Judah were destroyed and taken into Exile, God sent many prophets who warned them to repent or God would have to punish them and send them into Exile.

Most of the time, the people did not listen to the prophets. They often mistreated the prophets and sometimes even killed them. For instance, the prophet Jeremiah was once put into a dry cistern and left there to die.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God promised that He would make a New Covenant, but not like the Covenant God made with the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. In the New Covenant, people would know God, they would be His people, and God would forgive their sins. The Messiah would bring the New Covenant.

The first promise of the coming Messiah came to Adam and Eve when God promised that a descendant of Eve's would someday be born who would crush the snake's head, that is, Satan's head.

God also promised Abraham that through him, all nations of the world would be blessed - this blessing was the coming Messiah who would one day provide the way of salvation for all nations.

God even promised to Moses that He would raise up another prophet like himself - this was another reference to the coming Messiah.

God promised David that this same Messiah who was promised to Adam and Eve, Abraham, and Moses would be one of David's descendants. The coming Messiah would be a prophet, a priest, and a king.

A prophet was a person who heard the words of God and then proclaimed God's words to the people. The coming Messiah would be the perfect prophet.

A priest was someone who made sacrifices to God on behalf of the people to take away their sins. Priests also prayed to God for the people. The coming Messiah would be the perfect high priest who would offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice to God.

A king was someone who ruled over a kingdom and judged the people. The coming Messiah would be the perfect king who would sit on the throne of his ancestor David. He would reign over the whole world forever and he would be the perfect judge over all the world.

The prophets also predicted many more details about the coming Messiah. Malachi foretold that a great prophet would come before the Messiah came. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be born from a virgin. Micah added that he would be born in the town of Bethlehem.

The prophets also prophesied about the Messiah's life. Isaiah said he would live in Galilee, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to captives and release to people who are bound. Isaiah also predicted that the Messiah would heal sick people including the deaf, blind, mute, and lame.

But not everything they said about the Messiah was easy to listen to. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be hated without reason and rejected. The Psalms foretold the Messiah's betrayal by a friend, and Zechariah foretold that the friend would receive 30 pieces of silver for betraying Him. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be spit on, mocked, and beaten.

The prophets also told about how the Messiah would die. Isaiah was very specific and said the Messiah would be pierced and hung on a tree and that he would die with sinners next to him.

But the Messiah's death would not be because of his sin, but because of other people's sin. His punishment would bring peace for people. For this reason, it pleased God to crush the Messiah. Not only would the Messiah die, but the Psalms foretold that God would raise him from the dead. By the Messiah's death and resurrection, God would complete his plan of salvation. The Messiah would be the fulfillment of the promises given to Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets.

God showed the prophets many things about the coming Messiah, but the Messiah had not come yet. More than four hundred years after the last of these prophecies was given, when the time was perfect, God sent the Messiah into the world.