Introduction: Multitudes today are losing faith in Jesus. How can we KNOW that He was the Savior of the world? We can know because of the Old Testament prophecies.
1. What did Jesus show was the theme of the Old Testament prophecies? Luke 24:25-27 [The Further-study verses are Luke 24:44; John 5:39]
2. In what city did the Old Testament say Jesus was to be born? Micah 5:2 [ Luke 2:1-7; Isa. 9:6]
3. Was there also a specific time when Jesus was to appear? Gal. 4:4
4. When was that time to be? Dan. 9:24, 25 [Ans: Sixty-nine weeks after the command to restore and build Jerusalem. Ezra 6:14; 7:7-11]
5. Sixty-nine weeks is 483 days. In symbolic prophecy, what does a day represent? Eze. 4:6 [ Num. 14:34]
According to Ezra 6:14, the threefold decree to restore and build Jerusalem was completed by the Persian king Artaxerxes. This decree went forth shortly after Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth Jewish month in the seventh year of Artaxerxes’ reign (Ezra 7:8, 9). Artaxerxes’ first year, counted as year “zero” by the Jews, was from the autumn of 465 B.C. to the autumn of 464 B.C. The fifth Jewish month of his seventh year was in 457 B.C. Therefore the Messiah should appear 483 years after 457 B.C., which was 27 A.D. (There is no year “0” between B.C. and A.D., so you must add a year when going from B.C. to A.D.) Twenty-seven A.D. was the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.
6. Thus the 69 weeks ended in Tiberius Caesar’s 15th year. What happened that year? Luke 3:1-3, 21, 22.
7. The Hebrew word “Messiah” (“Christ” in Greek) means “anointed.” If Jesus was the Messiah, (1) HOW was He anointed, thereby becoming the Messiah; and (2) WHEN did that happen? Acts 10:37, 38 [Ans: He was anointed by the Holy Spirit at His baptism in 27 A.D., exactly according to prophecy! Luke 3:21, 22; 4:18; John 1:41]
8. Did Jesus recognize the fulfillment of this prophetic time? Mark 1:15 [Note: The Greek word here is “pleroo,” meaning “fulfilled,” or “completed,” as translated in the KJV, NKJV, and NASB. The time that had just been fulfilled was the 69 weeks. Matt. 4:17]
9. Although the Jewish people wanted a conqueror, what would happen to the Messiah sometime after 27 A.D.? Dan. 9:26a [Ans: He would be “cut off.” Isa. 53:8, 9]
10. Jesus’ baptism marked the end of the 69 weeks and the beginning of the 70th week of probationary time allotted to the Jewish nation. What would happen in the middle of this prophetic week? Dan. 9:27a [Ans: Jesus, who made the covenant, would put an end to animal sacrifices by Himself being “cut off ‘ and becoming our sacrifice on the cross. Isa. 53:8; Heb. 10:6, 9-14, 18; Matt. 23:38; 27:51]
11. Did Jesus understand the prophetic time period pointing forward to His being “cut off” and doing away with sacrifices? Luke 9:51 [ Matt. 26:18; John 7:6-8]
12. Since after Jesus’ death there were still 3 1/2 years of the final (70th) week for special ministry to the Jewish people, where did Jesus tell His disciples to begin their witness? Acts 1:8 [Note: Jesus confirmed the covenant of 490 years with the Jewish people (Rom. 15:8), first through His own ministry (Matt. 24:47), and then through His disciples. Luke 24:47]
13. When did the gospel begin to go to the Gentiles? Acts 7:59; 8:1, 4 [Note: In the stoning of Stephen, the Jewish nation once more rejected the covenant of mercy. Acts 10:9-17, 28, 29]
14. Was the Jewish nation still God’s chosen people after 34 A.D.? Rom. 2:28, 29 [ Jer. 18:9, 10; Deut. 28:45, 46, 63; Matt. 21:43; 1 Peter 2:9, 10]
15. Under the New Covenant, who are the true Israel? Gal. 3:26-29 [ Gen. 17:4-7; 1 Cor. 7:19; Gal. 3:7; 6:15, 16; Eph. 2:11-22]
Commitment: Jesus alone fulfills the prophecies of the Messiah. Through Him we can each become a part of God’s true people-spiritual Israel. Is it your desire to be a part of God’s true Israel today?
STEP 1 (Lessons 1-10): Believing in Christ, Our Savior and Coming King
