As I have on occasion noted, THERE SHOULD BE NO BREAK BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, IN THAT THE NEW PICKS UP WHERE THE OLD ENDS. The two divinely-inspired testaments (witnesses) comprise one message from on high as dictated by God Himself, Who spoke to the Word (Jn. 1:1-4,14) Who, through the Holy Spirit, spoke God’s Words to His prophets anciently and to His apostles in modern times. As this series will show, the two Testaments agree perfectly. So much so that when the Apostle Paul taught the Words of Christ in Berea, the men studied the Law and the writings of the prophets to see if what he was telling them was true. PAUL AND THE OTHER APOSTLES TAUGHT THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS TO THE PEOPLE OF THEIR DAY (Acts 17:10-12). The New Testament would not come into existence until after all but one of them had been martyred. Without the Law and the writings of the prophets, they would have had no Scriptures to teach. In Ephesians 2:20 Paul tells us that the New Covenant Church was founded on the teachings of both the prophets and the apostles who were in perfect agreement with each other and with the Lord Who taught both groups.

The Holy One asks, “Can two walk together unless they are in agreement?” The answer is, no. Neither can a minister teach God’s Truth unless the entire Bible presents one singular narrative, which the Holy Bible does to perfection. The Prophet Amos tells us that the Lord does nothing “unless He first tells His servants, the prophets … The Lord has spoken, who can but prophesy?”–repeat what one has heard from on high– (Amos 3:2,7,8). The divine formula for the proclamation of divine Truth is as follows: GOD SPOKE TO CHRIST; CHRIST TOLD HIS PROPHETS AND APOSTLES WHAT GOD HAD SAID; THEY IN TURN SPOKE WHAT THEY HEARD AND RECORDED IT. As the Apostle Paul noted, the Gospel spoken by the God of the Old Testament to ancient Israel has been spoken to God’s church here at the end of the age (1 Cor. 10:11). That same Gospel (good news about the earthy Kingdom of God–Mat. 4:23; 24:14; Rev. 5:10) was preached to Abraham by the Old Testament God (“the Scripture”–Gal. 3:8), also called “the Word” in John 1:1-4,14). This God later divested Himself of all of His Godness and came to earth as a man like all other men. That man was Jesus of Nazareth, WHOSE GOSPEL IS THE SAME GOSPEL HE HAD SPOKEN TO HIS PROPHETS OF OLD. GOD HAS NOT CHANGED HIS MESSAGE. As I stated earlier, The so-called Old Testament ends where the so-called New Testament begins, thereby creating one continuous narrative which should be called “THE TESTAMENT” OR “THE WITNESS.” Read Matthew 24:14 where Jesus calls the Gospel message His “WITNESS.” This is the same Gospel He preached to Abraham (Gal. 3:8).

A close examination of the writings of the prophets reveals that they spent much time and effort recording information about the coming One Who would fulfill for God’s end-time spiritual children (His latter day CHURCH) what He had promised in the writings to His older children (the early EKKLESIA). Both can be translated “CONGREGATION.” The Almighty went to great extremes to preserve the writings of the prophets over thousands of years so that we who are living at the end of the age have the benefit of their holy Words. As we are told in Romans 15:8, Jesus came to “confirm the promises made to the fathers ” (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). As the Apostle Peter tells us, “Holy men of old spoke (and wrote) as they were moved upon by the Holy Spirit.” And as the Apostle Paul told Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable of doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16). “All Scripture” includes that which was supposedly “nailed to the cross” and supposedly does not apply to the modern church. Read Revelation 3:14-20 to discern God’s opinion of those who believe such Satanic reasonings commonly called “church doctrine.” Those in denominations that do not teach that the Law was nailed to the cross nevertheless break the entire Law by rejecting God’s weekly Sabbath and observing Satan’s sabbath. Sin (the breaking of the Law–1 Jn. 3:4) is sin, and the wages of sin is death. The man known as Jesus wrote that Law in stone with His finger on Mt. Sinai. Read The God of the Old Testament. Key word–Old.

In this series we will point out what was written by the prophets and the apostles concerning the man known as Jesus of Nazareth. By showing that the apostles spoke and wrote how Jesus of Nazareth perfectly fulfilled the prophecies of the prophets concerning the coming Messiah, one can see that the two testaments are in fact one narrative–one history written to God’s people. To prove the divine connection I will identify prophetic statements about the Lord’s Messiah as recorded by the prophets, then show how their statements were manifested in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, thereby weaving the two historical accounts and personages into one entity–a Book about JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD. This should bring to an end any thought that the so-called Old Testament (the Law) was “nailed to the cross” of Jesus Christ. The fact of the matter is this: JESUS DID NOT NAIL THE LAW TO THE CROSS; THE LAW NAILED JESUS TO THE CROSS. Man’s transgression of that Law is the one and only reason for Christ’s crucifixion 2000 years ago as well as His continuous crucifixions ever since. As the Apostle Paul tells us in Hebrews 6:6, each time man sins (breaks God’s Law–1 Jn. 3:4) he spiritually recrucifies God’s Son. Read the series using Recrucifixion as the key word.

We will now examine the prophets’ writings about the Lord’s future Messiah. Then we will note where and how their prophecies came to fruition in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In this way we will view the Word of God as the continuous narrative He intended it to be. Those who want to know God’s Truth will embrace the divine continuum. Let us begin.

I will introduce this segment of the series by reminding the reader of a statement made by Jesus as He was talking with some Jews who were trying to determine exactly who He was. His direct, to-the-point response is found in John 5:46. In the previous verse He had reminded the Jews that they believed what Moses had written. Then he said that, because they believed the writings of Moses, they should believe Him (Jesus) “BECAUSE HE WROTE ABOUT ME.” Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible as God (the Word Who became Jesus Christ) dictated every Word to him. In Deuteronomy 18:18 Moses wrote the following Words: “I will raise up for them (future Israelites) a prophet from among their (Israelite) brethren who will be like you (Moses). I will put My Words in His mouth and He will speak those Words to them as I command Him.” Read John 12:44-50; focus on verses 48-50. Jesus did exactly what He said He would do–He repeated what He heard from His Father. Those who reject the Law (Old Testament) need to read Luke 10:16.

Not only did Moses write about Jesus, so did all of the prophets. It was that same Jesus (called “the Word” prior to His coming to earth–Jn. 1:1-4,14) Who created the universe and everything in it, including man (Heb.–Adam). It was that same Jesus who spoke face-to-face with Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, the apostles, great multitudes of Jews and a number of Gentiles as He walked the earth as Jesus of Nazareth. Let us now examine the writings of the prophets and the apostles in order to see the divine connection between their respective ministries and messages.

Jesus would be born of a human female: In Genesis 3:15 God tells the Serpent that the One (the Old Testament God Himself in human form) Who was to come would be “the seed” of “the woman.” In Matthew 1:20,21 an angel tells Joseph that Mary would bring forth the One Who would be called Jesus Who would save His people from their sins.

Jesus would be born in Bethlehem: In Micah 5:2 God tells the people of Bethlehem that out of that city would come One Who would rule His people Israel (which would include spiritual Israelites–converted Gentiles–who would embrace Israel’s God and obey His Law). Today these are the true Christians who make up God’s true church. Matthew 2:1 and Luke 2:4-6 confirm that Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem.

Jesus would be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Judah: We find proof of these truths in Genesis 12:3; 22:18/ Matthew 1:1 and Romans 9:5 (Abraham)/ Genesis 17:19 21:12 and Luke 3:34 (Isaac)/ Numbers 24:17 and Matthew 1:3 (Jacob)/ Genesis 49:10 and Luke 3:33 (Judah).

Jesus would be the heir to King David’s throne: In Second Samuel 7:12,13 the Prophet Nathan, following God’s command, tells David that He (God) would establish his (David’s) throne forever, and that the One (the Messiah) would rule His kingdom forever from that throne which is eternal. In Isaiah 9:6,7 the prophet prophesies about a Child being born Who would be the Son of God Who would occupy David’s throne forever. Luke 1:32,33 says the same thing about the coming Messiah Who, being in the line of King David, was prophesied to arrive on the scene by the prophets in Romans 1:2,3 and, as the heir to the throne, would occupy the throne. L.J.