This message focuses on general prophecies that foretell of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. I plan to record a separate lesson on seeing Christ in Jonah where we talk about specifically the third day prophecy. My hope is that this will strengthen the faith of those who listen and really equip you to be able to share your faith more effectively by using the evidence of fulfilled prophecy.
Also, I hope that this will really open up the eyes of many to the depth and richness of the prophecies in the Old Testament. I want to start right after Jesus rose from the dead in Luke chapter 24.
When he appeared to the apostles and starting in verse 44, and I'll be reading from the New King James from the New Testament says, then he said to them," These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me." And he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
Then he said to them," Thus it is written and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. And that repentance and remission of sins be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you. But Tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you're endued with power from on high. That's Luke chapter 24, verses 44 to 49.
Now, when Jesus said, these are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you, I think of what Jesus said in Luke chapter 18 where he had said the same thing before his before his crucifixion to the apostles. Now, after rising from the dead, Jesus was now able to explain to the apostles how he fulfilled the prophecies.
It said he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures, the prophecies from the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms representing three major portions of the Old Testament. And then he tells the apostles to wait in Jerusalem, the message will go out to all nations beginning from there. I'm going to ask you the same questions I ask pretty much whenever I teach out of Luke 24. The first question is much easier than the second one.
The first question is, where in the Old Testament does it say the Son of Man will be mocked, insulted and killed? And Christians who are fairly knowledgeable about the Old Testament will usually think of at least two or three prophecies that talk about the suffering and death of Christ. Isaiah 53, Psalm 2, Psalm 22. Some people think of Psalm 69.
Also, others might think about the story of the Passover lamb in Exodus chapter 12, which is an allegorical style prophecy about the passion and death of Jesus, as most of us know. Now, the second question is a much tougher one. Where in the Old Testament does it say that the Son of Man would rise from the dead? Can you think of any prophecies where it says someone in the future is going to rise from the dead? Typical response that I get when I ask this question is a lot of blank stares and quizzical look.
Maybe people will think of one prophecy from from Psalm 16, but that but that's about it. And the purpose of this lesson is so that if anyone ever asks you that question, you'll be you'll be really equipped to answer that question. Jesus clearly said that His resurrection from the dead was in fulfillment of prophecy. But what are those prophecies? And how can we find them? Well, Jesus, we don't have in any of the gospel accounts an explanation from Jesus of the prophecies that he was referring to.
But the apostles who were in the room with him went out and spread the message all over the world. And particularly Peter, we have he was obviously in the room there in Luke 24 when Jesus opened their mind and explained the prophecies to them. And we have in the book of Acts, particularly in Acts chapter two and Acts chapter three, the example of Peter preaching Jesus raised from the dead in fulfillment of the prophecy. So I think that's a great place for us to start as we tackle this question.
The first prophecy about the resurrection that Peter brings up this in Acts chapter two. The context is Peter is addressing the crowd in Jerusalem. So on the day of Pentecost, just a few weeks after the resurrection of Jesus, there Peter recalled the promise given to David, the famous king and author of many of the Psalms who lived about a thousand years before Jesus in Psalm 16. And I'm going to read from Acts chapter two verses 23 to 32 where Peter quotes from that Psalm about the resurrection.
Peter says him referring to Jesus being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken up by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death whom God raised up having loose the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be held by it. For David says concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face. For he is at my right hand that I might not be shaken. Therefore, my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope.
For you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You've made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy in your presence. Notice that Peter was quoting here from Psalm 16 verses 8 to 11, which was written about a thousand years beforehand, before the death of Jesus by David. So Peter continues," Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body according to the flesh, he'd raise up the Christ to sit on the throne. He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up of which we are all witnesses. Acts two verses 23 to 32.
Now, the point that Peter is making here is that David said in Psalm 16, you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you let my flesh see corruption. However, Peter says David has long been dead. His body has long since decayed. So logically, this prophecy could not have applied to David personally in a personal sense. Therefore, the prophecy must have applied to the promised offspring of David, the Messiah, the Christ.
Now, Jesus uses the same term Hades that's in this passage here in Luke 16 and the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Hades, of course, is the place where the souls of the dead go awaiting the final judgment when all people will be judged at the same time, as it says in Matthew 12 verses 41 and 42. Hades is not the same place as Gehenna, the Lake of Fire, otherwise known as Hell. And so Jesus did not descend into the lake of fire into hell, the place of eternal torment.
He went to Hades, the resting place for the souls of the dead awaiting final judgment. If this concept is new to you, I would encourage you to check out two messages by David Bercot where the early Christians believed about life after death. And also another message on Christ's descent into Hades. So let's continue. So in Acts chapter two, Peter is saying the soul of Jesus went to Hades for the three days before his resurrection.
However, it didn't remain there very long as the Lord raised Jesus's body before it saw any decay. Acts chapter 13, Paul, in speaking to the Jewish synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, makes uses the same prophecy. He uses Psalm 16, speaking to them. And he makes the point that he takes a slightly different approach to make the same point. He says that the promises made to David fall to his descendant, the Christ, the promised seed of David by pointing back to another Old Testament prophecy.
So I noticed in Acts chapter 16, when Peter is quoting that I'm sorry, I noticed in Psalm 16, quoted here by by Peter in Acts two, follows the Greek Septuagint, which is maybe seeing the abbreviation LXX rather than Masoretic text. And I think this particularly significant when Peter is quoting the prophecies. He's generally quoting the Septuagint. Same thing with the other apostles. So I generally will be using the Septuagint text in looking at the prophecies here.
Second prophecy about the resurrection is actually alluded to in the passage that we just read. And this isn't since it's not a quote, it's easily passed over. But I want to take a look at what Peter said here in Acts chapter two verses 30 to 32. Let's let's examine that again more carefully. Peter referring to David said, therefore being a prophet and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body according to the flesh, he'd raise up the Christ to sit on the throne.
He foreseeing this concerning the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we're all witnesses. So he says, the Christ is mentioned in the Old Testament and the word Christ, it means the anointed one, or in the Septuagint, it's Christos, the same word as the New Testament. It's translated Christ, or the Hebrew word is Messiah. And of course, the Christ is mentioned several places in the Old Testament.
Some obvious ones are Psalm 2 and Daniel chapter nine. But here's a question for you. Where? What is Peter referring to here? He says that there's somewhere in the Old Testament that speaks of the Christ of one coming from the body of David, being raised up to sit on David's throne, in fulfillment of an oath that God swore to David. Is there any place in the Old Testament that says that? And the answer is, yes, there is. It's in Psalm 132 when the Septuagint is designated Psalm 131 in verses 10 and 11.
I'll read from the Lexham English Septuagint. It says," Because of David, your servant, do not turn back the faith of your anointed one." And the word is Christos or Christ. The Lord swore to David truthfulness, and he will never reject it. From the fruit of your belly, I will establish upon your throne. So there you have all four elements. It speaks about the Christ, the anointed one, coming from the body of David, being raised up to sit on David's throne in fulfillment of an oath that God swore to David.
So Psalm 132 and also Psalm 89, similarly, point back to an episode in the life of David that's recorded in 2 Samuel chapter 7 and also in the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 17. This is a wonderful prophecy that is very rich and very significant to understanding the background of Jesus and connection with David. So the background for this prophecy, David has succeeded Saul as king. He's consolidated control over the kingdom. He comes into Jerusalem to build a palace for himself.
And then he looks around and sees that the ark of God is still dwelling in a tent in the tabernacle. He wants to build a permanent structure, a temple for God. At first, Nathan, the prophet says, tells David, that's a good idea. But then the Lord comes to Nathan at night and he says to tell David that is not a good idea. That's not what's going to happen. Someone else is going to be the one to build the temple.
And Nathan, after that, issues a very significant prophecy to David and every phrase of this prophecy is packed with important details. Please pay very close attention to this. I'm going to read the account in 1 Chronicles 17 verses 11 to 15 from the New English Translation Septuagint version. So Nathan, the prophet then tells David and it shall be when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers. Also, I shall raise up your seed after you. He who shall be from your belly.
And I will establish his kingdom. It is he who shall build me a house. I will set up his throne forever. I'll be a father to him and he shall be a son to me. And I will not withdraw my mercy from him as I withdrew it from those before you. And I will confirm him in my house and in his reign forever and his throne shall be established forever in accordance with all these words and all these all that vision. Nathan spoke to David. First Chronicles 17 verses 11 to 15.
Now, I'm sure many of you are thinking, oh, this is probably a prophecy about Solomon. After all, he was the son of David. He did end up sitting on David's throne and he was the one who built the temple. So let's think about that. Let's think about the points in this prophecy in a little more detail. First of all, it says after David dies and is buried, the Lord will raise up one of his offspring. It also says that he is the one who will reign on David's throne forever.
It says he is the one who will build the house of God, the temple, which will be established forever. And then it also says that God will be a father to him and he will be God's Son. So question, was Solomon the one who fulfilled this prophecy or not? There's a great answer from Lactantius, an early Christian writer, highly educated Roman Christian writing about the year 304 to 313. And this is found in the Divine Institutes, book four, chapter 13 Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 113.
And to summarize what Lactantius said, he says this could not have been Solomon for four reasons. Strike one is David was told that the promised son to build the temple would be raised up after his days were fulfilled and he rested with his fathers. However, those of us who are familiar with the Old Testament know that Solomon was raised to the throne while David was still alive. Strike number two, God promised to establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
However, Solomon was only on the throne for about 40 years. And even the kingdom of his descendants only lasted about 400 years before it was taken away by the Babylonians at the time of the captivity. Strike three. It said that the house that this descendant of David would build would last forever. He'll build me a house and I will establish him in my house and my kingdom forever. However, Solomon's temple was destroyed by the hands of men and then strike four.
The Lord had said, I will be his father and he shall be my son. However, Solomon was never known as the Son of God. He was only known as the Son of David. So Lactantius had four devastating strikes why this could not have applied to Solomon. And clearly he was right. It applied to someone else and that was fulfilled a thousand years later.
And let's let's consider now with the background of that prophecy the significance of what the angel Gabriel said and the announcement to Mary that she would as a virgin give birth to a son. In Luke chapter 1 verses 32 and 33, think about this in relation to the promise given to David. Gabriel says to Mary about her son," He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest.
And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of His kingdom there will be no end." So clearly this is pointing back. This is the one fulfilling the prophecy that was given to David, that Jesus is the one who would reign over the kingdom forever and who would be called the Son of God and who would build the temple last forever. I'd like to make a few remarks here.
Early Christian writer Eusebius in a work entitled Gospel Problems and Solutions, in his response to Stephanus #1, noted that the statement of Gabriel to Mary that her son would receive the throne of his father, David, from Luke 1:32, would make sense only if Mary herself was a direct descendant of David. So while we know from the gospel genealogies that Joseph was descended from David, we also know from this statement by Gabriel that Mary also was directly descended from David.
One more point that's related to that. You may have noticed something odd in the quotes I read from the prophecies of 1 Chronicles 17 and Psalm 132. In both of those passages, as well as the related passage in 2 Samuel 7, it says literally in the Septuagint Greek text that the promised king who would reign over the eternal kingdom would be from the belly of David.
When I first read this to my wife a few years ago, she remarked this struck her as rather odd expression, a child coming from the belly of David who was a man. However, according to early Christian writer Irenaeus, this word belly was used deliberately by the Holy Spirit and for a very important reason.
Writing around the year 180, Irenaeus explained, and I quote," For on this account also, he promised that the king should be of the fruit of his belly, which was the appropriate term to use with respect to a virgin conceiving and not of the fruit of his loins or of the fruit of his reigns, which expression is appropriate for a generating man and a woman conceiving by a man." That's the end of that quote.
Irenaeus went on to explain that the greeting that Elizabeth gave to Mary, literally," Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your belly," Luke 1:42, also pointed to this prophecy of David being fulfilled. While we may be more familiar with the expression," Blessed is the fruit of your womb," the Greek word used here is the very same word in the Septuagint, which is translated belly. Therefore, the prophecy given to David also pointed to the virgin birth of Jesus.
This discussion by Irenaeus is taken from Against Heresies, book three, chapter 21, which can be found in Ante-Nicene Fathers, volume one, pages 452 and 453. Now, this lesson is about the resurrection of Jesus. This is a great prophecy, but what does it have to do with the resurrection? Well, let's think about the point that Peter makes. When he goes in Acts chapter two, Peter is making the point that God said he would raise up the Christ, the one who came from the throne of David.
And if we go back to this prophecy in Second Samuel, chapter seven, 1 Chronicles 17, that is exactly what it says there. The Lord said he would raise up literally one of the descendants of David to sit on his throne. The Greek word that's used there is anistemi in the Septuagint in those passages.
And it's also used in the New Testament to refer to the resurrection of Jesus, like the passage in Luke 24:46, where it says, thus it was written, thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. That's the same word that we find in those passages there. The word anistemi means just like the English expression to to raise up. And it can be used in three different senses, just like in English. And we see that throughout the scriptures.
Literally to stand up, to go from a sitting or a lying down position to raise being raised up. For example, the Septuagint in Exodus 32:6, it talks about the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. That's also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10:7, but that's one way the expression being raised up that word anistemi. In Acts 14:10, Peter, Paul heals a crippled man in Lystra who's sitting and then says, rise up straight on your feet. So that that's the first sense is just going to an elevated position.
The second sense is figuratively, and we would use this in a church, say we're going to raise up new leaders in our church. In Acts chapter 20 and verse 30, Paul warns the Ephesian elders, even from among yourselves, men will rise up speaking perverse things. In Exodus 1:8 and the Septuagint, it says," A new king rose up over Egypt who did not know Joseph. This is so this is in the figurative sense, talking about being raised up. And then there's the third sense is being raised up from the dead.
We just mentioned the example in Luke 24:46. It was necessary for the Christ to rise from the dead on the third day. And many places, this word, we find it in the New Testament and the Gospels talking about the resurrection of Jesus. The bottom line here is that when David was told that God would raise up one of his offspring, while I'm sure everyone assumed that this was meant in the figurative sense, it was actually meant in the literal sense. That's the point that Peter is making.
God said he would raise up one of the descendants of David to sit on the throne and he just did literally raise him from the dead. Now, for the third prophecy about the resurrection of Jesus from Peter, we turn to Acts chapter three. There, Peter is preaching in Solomon's portico after healing a crippled man. In Acts chapter three, verse 22, Peter says," For Moses truly said to the fathers, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brethren.
Him you shall hear in all things whatever he says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. And then Peter concludes his message in the portico in Acts chapter three, verse 26, by saying God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning every one of you away from your iniquities.
The force of Peter's argument hangs on one word in the Deuteronomy 18 prophecy is one we spoke about earlier that Moses said that God would raise up in the Septuagint. It's the same word anistemi. It's not send commission or appoint that God would raise up a prophet like Moses in the future and that all people must heed that prophet or face dire consequences.
And that is the very point that Peter is making is that Moses, God said he would raise up a prophet like Moses and he just did literally raise him from the dead in fulfillment of that prophecy. The prophecy that Peter is quoting was given by Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 18. This is a prophecy shortly before the death of Moses. The Jewish nation had been delivered from captivity in Egypt and spent 40 years in the wilderness before Moses died and Joshua took them into the Promised Land.
So therefore this would be a prophecy given about 1,400 years before the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. I'm going to read that prophecy, Deuteronomy 18 verses 15 to 19 from the New English translation of the Septuagint. Starting in verse 15, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. This is Moses speaking and you shall hear him.
According to all that you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying we shall not anymore hear the voice of the Lord our God and again see this great fire and we shall not die. And the Lord said to me, they are right in all they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet just like you from among their brothers. And I will give my word in his mouth and he shall speak to them whatever I command him.
And the person who does not hear his words, whatever the prophet may speak in my name, I will exact vengeance from him. Deuteronomy chapter 18 verses 15 to 19. Now in both places in the Deuteronomy 18 passage and where Peter is quoting this, the word that's translated raised up is anistemi, the same word we saw before in the passages in 2 Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17. The point that's being made here is that in the future, there will be one special prophet who would be like Moses, who would come in the future.
Eusebius writing in the early part of in the early 300s in his proof of the Gospel, Book 3, points out the many extraordinary similarities between Moses and Jesus. I'm planning to do a separate message which will really develop those in a message called Seeing Christ in Moses as a part of this series. So the point Moses make in Acts chapter 3 is that when Moses said that the Lord would raise up a prophet like him, it was meant literally.
He was going to be raising him up from the dead in fulfillment of this prophecy. And of course he warned his Jewish audience in Acts chapter three, anyone who doesn't heed what this prophet says will be punished severely by the Lord and cut off from his people. I want to turn to the fourth prophecy. There's a comment that a lot of people overlook and I did for many years in Acts chapter three in Peter's speech in Solomon's Portico.
So right after recounting the Deuteronomy 18 prophecy that we just discussed, Peter states all the prophets from Samuel and those who follow have foretold these days. So I wondered, why does Peter specifically mention starting with Samuel? Is there a prophecy from the mouth of Samuel or during the lifetime when Samuel is alive about the resurrection of Christ? Well, the birth and death of the prophet Samuel both occur in within 1 Samuel.
So if Peter is correct, there must be a prophecy about the resurrection of Jesus somewhere in 1 Samuel. So question, can you think of any prophets, prophecies about the anointed one, the Christ that reinforce Samuel that might point to resurrection of Jesus? And actually, I was looking through there and reading the Septuagint. There is one prophecy that mentions the anointed one, the Christ in 1 Samuel chapter two. So this would be about 1200 years before the birth of Jesus.
The young boy, Samuel, the son of Hannah and Elkanah is serving in the household of Eli, the priest. Eli is old. His two sons are very corrupt and a man of God comes to pronounce judgment on the line of Eli and his family. The man of God rebukes Eli and pronounces the word of the Lord to Eli. Concluding with this statement, this is in 1 Samuel chapter two verses 34 and 35.
I'm reading from a version based on the Septuagint says, now this shall be assigned to you that will come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phineas. In one day, both of them shall die. Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who shall do all that is in my heart and my soul. I will build him a faithful house and he shall walk before my Christ forever. So this is definitely mentions the anointed one, the Christ. And here it says, the Lord will raise up a faithful priest.
In the Septuagint, the word for raised up is the same Greek word anistemi in most texts of the Septuagint is found in other passages here where it says he raised up a king or a prophet.
So this this actually this prophecy here I think is very significant in Hebrews chapter two where it talks about how Moses was a faithful servant in the house of God, but Jesus is the faithful high priest who is over the faithful house of God and we are we need he's the faithful high priest and we need to be the faithful house and really that that's developed further in chapters 3 to 10 of Hebrews.
So this is a very significant prophecy I believe in understanding what's going on in Hebrews that God said He would raise up a faithful priest who would be over his faithful house. And of course, Jesus is the faithful high priest as explained throughout the book of Hebrews that he is the priest who is in the order of Melchizedek, that he is the one who offers the perfect sacrifice for all time, that he is as a priest. He is fully human. He's like us to offer sacrifices on our behalf.
So early Christian writers saw this prophecy as pointing to Jesus here in the passage from Lactantius. I mentioned earlier, he's one of the writers that mentions that. Another one is Hippolytus writing around the year 205 Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 180, as well as Cyprian and Eusebius and other quotes. I want to talk about a fifth prophecy now also from alluded to, I believe, by Peter.
In 1 Peter chapter two in verse 25, Peter is referring to us and he says you were like sheep going astray, but now you've returned the shepherd and overseer of your souls. And then in 1 Peter 5:4, he says, when the chief shepherd appears, you'll receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. Well, where does it talk about the chief shepherd in a prophecy? And that goes back to Ezekiel 34. There's an extended discussion. God is very upset about the bad, the bad shepherds in the nation of Israel.
And he says that he will raise up a shepherd to watch out for the sheep. In Ezekiel 34, he God describes his people as being like sheep. He says that they've been led by bad shepherds, bad spiritual leaders. As a result, they wandered away. And he will provide a shepherd who will be the one good shepherd who will bring back the sheep who wandered away. And a quote from Ezekiel 34 verses 23 to 25. So of course this would be Ezekiel B 580 to 590 BC around the time of the captivity.
It says, God, Lord says, I shall raise up one shepherd over them and he will tend them, even my servant David. He shall be their shepherd and I the Lord will be their God. David will be the ruler of their midst. I the Lord have spoken. I will make a covenant of peace with David. So there, the Lord says, I will raise up one shepherd. And of course, we're seeing the same word here, anistemi to referring to to raising up.
But but rather than just figuratively being raised up that Jesus was the good shepherd who literally was raised up. And since David by this time had been dead for 400 years, when he says that I'm going to raise up the shepherd, David, that can't be referring to King David. It had to be referring to the descendant, the seed of David, who was promised, who would be the ruler of their midst in their midst. And the ruler would be marked by a rule with a covenant of peace.
So this is obviously another prophecy directly applying to Jesus. And once again, pointing out that not only would God raise up a prophet and a priest and a king, but he would also raise up one shepherd. And I'm sure many of you are thinking about what Jesus said in John chapter 10 when Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. Well, what good shepherd? He's the good shepherd that was promised in Ezekiel 34 that God would raise up one shepherd over the flock.
And I think that's why it makes sense in John chapter 10 verses 11 and following, Jesus says," I lay down my life that I may take it again." He says," I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again." Why does he have the power? Because the prophecy said the Lord would raise up the one shepherd who would be over all of God's sheep. He is the good shepherd who would be over the one flock, just as foretold. So these last four prophecies that we've discussed all share something in common.
They all speak of the Lord raising up someone in the future. And all of them are alluded to by Lactantius as referring to Jesus. And in a discussion by Cyprian, he mentioned actually by Cyprian. He mentions all four of them writing around 250 AD in his Treatise number 12.
He mentions that Jesus would be a king from David, fulfilling 2 Samuel 7, 1 Chronicles 17, and two related Psalms, a prophet like Moses, Deuteronomy 18, a faithful priest, 1 Samuel chapter two and the one shepherd ruling over God's entire flock, Ezekiel 34. I like to turn to the sixth prophecy now. And for this, we're going to go to Acts chapter 15. The apostles are wrestling with the idea of the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith. And the question, do they need to become Jews first?
Do they have to get circumcised? Do they have to follow the law of Moses? Peter, Paul, and Barnabas speak first, relating how they had seen the Gentiles coming to the faith. However, James speaks last and he closes down the discussion by explaining that the Gentiles coming to the faith and seeking God was in fulfillment of a prophecy in Amos chapter nine. Let's read Acts chapter 15 starting in verse 12. And with this, the words of the prophets agree just as is written. And then he quotes from Amos chapter nine.
After this, I will return and I will build the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down. I will rebuild its ruins and I will set it up so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord who does all these things. Known to God from eternity are all His works.
Therefore, I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled and from blood. So here, James, who is James, the brother, Lord, the leader of the church in Jerusalem, is quoting from Amos. And actually, the passage that he's quoting from is following the Septuagint much more closely than the Masoretic text.
The Septuagint text is the one that speaks of the Gentiles seeking the Lord, which is the very main point of what James is saying here. The significance of what James is saying in this quote from Amos is that the tabernacle of David that had fallen down and was in ruins, which is referring to the body of Christ, has been rebuilt or resurrected. And he's saying that now that this tabernacle has been raised up, the Gentiles would seek the Lord. That's the very point that he's making.
And he's using the expression that the tabernacle or tent of the Lord. And this is, as many of you know, I'm sure that this is used as a metaphor, a tabernacle or a tent, a temporary structure is used a metaphor for the body. I think of Second Peter chapter one. Second Corinthians chapter five, Paul says, we know if our earthly house, this tent is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made from hands, eternal from the heavens.
So this is the idea that our body is figuratively referred to as a tent, a temporary structure that will be replaced by something permanent at the resurrection. So the tabernacle, which had fallen down, the tabernacle of David, which was fallen down as the body of Christ, which died and was buried and was raised up again. And where it says that the Lord would raise up this tent in Amos chapter nine in the Septuagint, once again, we see the word anistemi being raised up, being literally raised from the dead.
So that's the point that James is making is that since the tabernacle of David that has fallen down has now been raised up, that the Gentiles will seek the Lord. So let's not make life difficult for them.
Irenaeus in proof of the apostolic preaching in chapter 38 says," And he showed forth the resurrection, becoming himself the firstborn from among the dead and raised in himself prostrate man being lifted up to the heights of heaven at the right hand of the glory of Father, as God had promised through the prophets, saying, I will raise up the tabernacle that has fallen." That is, the body sprung from David and that was in truth accomplished by our Lord Jesus Christ in the triumph of our redemption that He raised us
in truth, setting us free to the Father.
Irenaeus also in proof of Apostolic preaching chapter 62. There's another similar quote there. There are a few other prophecies about the resurrection that were seen by early Christian writers. And here we have another example of wordplay where a word can be used in more than one sense. And the words here are to sleep and to awaken. And these words are used throughout Scripture in the Old Testament and New Testament to figuratively refer to someone dying or being raised from the dead.
I'm sure you can think of a few examples. We mentioned one already in the quote from Second Samuel chapter 7, 1 Chronicle 17. It says, it will happen if your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers. That's referring to David, David's death, obviously using sleep as a metaphor for death. In Daniel chapter 12, there's a well-known passage that says many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. That's obviously used as a metaphor for death.
Jesus and he confused the apostles in John chapter 11 when he said," Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." And of course, he was speaking about the apostles. As soon as he meant natural sleep, but he was talking about death and raising him from the dead. And then Acts chapter seven, where Steven was martyred, it says he fell asleep, which is a figurative or poetic way of saying that he died. He was killed. There are other examples as well throughout the Scriptures.
So with this in mind, that sleep can be used as a metaphor for death and waking up as a metaphor for resurrection from the dead. Let's consider an example that many early Christian writers pointed to. It's one I never would have thought of. This is actually in Psalm 3. They saw it as a prophecy about Jesus. The context of this is Psalm 3 and verse 5, David says," I lay down and slept.
I awoke for the Lord sustained me." Or in some translations, it will say," For the Lord will help me." Irenaeus, writing around the year 180 and discussing prophecies about the resurrection, mentioned this one from Psalm three. He said, David says, thus concerning the death and resurrection of Christ, I lay down and slept. I awoke for the Lord received me. David said this not of himself, for he was not raised after death.
But the Spirit of Christ who spoke also in other prophets concerning him says hereby David, I lay down and slept. I woke for the Lord receive me. By sleep, he means death, for he rose again. That's an Irenaeus proof of apostolic preaching chapter 73. That's not in the Ante-Nicene Fathers. It's a separate publication.
So if we look at Psalm three and take the whole psalm into consideration, consider the parallels between the passion and resurrection of Jesus, that the author of the Psalm is being attacked by powerful enemies, even though he'd done nothing wrong. His enemies are taunting him that God will not deliver him. That reminds me of what people said to Jesus in Matthew chapter 27 verses 41 to 43. And the other thing is this story, Psalm 3 is a story of David as he's fleeing from Absalom.
Why on earth would David fleeing from Absalom, who wants to kill him, be talking about going to natural sleep and then waking up again in the middle of him fleeing from Absalom? This is a prophecy. He's talking about dying and being resurrected, as Irenaeus mentioned here.
In addition to Irenaeus, there are many other early Christian writers, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus, Cyprian Lactantius that all saw this as a prophecy about this sleeping and resurrecting, sleeping and waking up as being dying and being resurrected from the dead of prophecy about the resurrection of Jesus. The eighth prophecy I want to mention is similar, Psalm 41.
And Jesus alluded to this as a prophecy in John 13, when Jesus washing the feet of the apostles on the night of the Last Supper, he gets in a discussion about being clean with Peter. And then he talks about who would betray him, referring to Judas. And this is John chapter 13 and verse 18. Jesus said," I do not speak concerning you all. I know whom I have chosen, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled.
He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me." And that's actually that's from Psalm 41 in verse nine. And the expression to lift up your heel against someone was a figure of speech being deceived or we might say, you know, going behind somebody's back or stabbing them in the back or something like that. That's the idea. There's someone's going to someone who's close to him is going to deceive him. So it's Psalm 41. So with that in mind, Jesus Himself pointing to that Psalm as a prophecy about him.
There's some interesting lines that are in that psalm. And I want to read a few of them from verses seven to verse 13. This is all my enemies whisper together against me. Against me. They devise evils for me. They testify a lawless word against me. Since he is asleep, will he rise up again? For even the man of my peace and whom I hoped you ate my bread dealt deceptively with me. But you are literally it says literally he raised his heel against me.
But you, O Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up and I will repay them. By this, I know you were pleased with me because my enemy did not rejoice over me. And because of my innocence, you supported me and established me before you forever. Blessed is the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. Amen. Amen. That's from the Orthodox Study Bible, which is based on the Septuagint.
So the points that are parallel to the passion and resurrection of Jesus, of course, as I mentioned before, Jesus, Jesus Himself said that this was a prophecy about Judas betraying him. But it's someone who is hated and is going to be going to sleep. And the question was asked his enemies are saying he's asleep. Will he rise again? This is pointing to Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection. Ninth prophecy, also another sleeper prophecy talking about someone's going to sleep and raising again.
Many early Christian writers saw the resurrection of Jesus foretold in a prophecy in Genesis 49. This is a very famous prophecy about Jesus. And the prophecy is related to when on Jacob's deathbed, he's blessing his four sons. And the very famous blessing that comes from Judah points to Christ in many respects. And I'll quote from there in Genesis 49 verses 8 to 12. Judah, you were he whom your brother shall praise. Your hand shall be on the neck or some translation will say on the back of your enemies.
Your father's son shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's cub. From being a shoot, my son, you have grown up. He bows down and sleeps as a lion and a cub who shall rouse him. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a law giver from his loins until Shiloh comes. And to him shall be the expectation of nations, binding his colt to a vine, his donkey's colt to a branch. He washes garments and wine. He's closed in the blood of grapes. His eyes are gladdened with wine. His teeth are whiter than milk.
Now, there's so many elements in this that point to Jesus. And, you know, the idea of the lion here. And of course, I think of Revelation chapter 5, where it says that Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah. So that's obviously this who is referring to. And then there's an aspect of this prophecy here that's repeated in Numbers chapter 24. This is in Balaam's third oracle in Numbers. It says," A man shall come forth from his seed," referring to the seed of Jacob, and he shall rule many nations.
He lies down and rests like a lion and like a lion's cub who shall rouse him. So it's the same, the same language here. Those who bless you are blessed and those who curse you are cursed. So they both both of these passages speak of a person who will lie down as a lion and a lion's cub and ask in the unanswered question, who will raise him up? Who will rouse him up?
The word that's used for raise up there egeiro is the same word that Jesus uses in John chapter two, verse 19, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. And also where the angel at the tomb in Matthew 28 talks about he is risen from the dead.
Hippolytus, an elder of the church in Rome, writing around the year 200 AD, said the prophet is using an expression a lion's whelp or a lion's cub, meaning him who sprang from Judah and David according to flesh, who was not made indeed of the seed of David, but was conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost. And the expression he stooped down and lay down as a lion and a lion's whelp refers to the three days of sleep, figuratively referring to death of Christ.
And David says that the same effect, I lay down and slept. I awaken. The Lord will sustain me. That's Psalm 3:5, which we discussed earlier, which also points to sleeping and rising again. And Jacob says," Who shall raise him?" Genesis 49:9. That is just what Paul and David both refer to as when Paul says and God the Father who raised him from the dead, Galatians 1:1. So this is Hippolytus' treatise on Christ and Antichrist. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5 page 206.
So the question, who will raise him up, the rhetorical question? And the answer is God Himself will raise him up. The ruler staff will not depart from his feet until the one comes to whom it belongs and the expectation of the nations will be his. That's referring to the Gentiles. This would be the Gentiles, not just the Jews. So we've mentioned nine or 10 prophecies here. Why did all about the resurrection? Why do so many Christians miss these today? Well, I think the reason is because they're somewhat hidden.
They're hidden within the form by allegories. They're also hidden in the form of riddles, where a word can have more than one meaning. And Jesus did use riddles. He said, destroy this temple. And in three days, I'll raise it up. He told Nicodemus, you must be born again. And the passage we looked out at earlier, Jesus said, our friend Lazarus sleeps. I go that I may wake him up.
So we should expect to see this with the Holy Spirit of putting significant prophecies in the form of riddles where a word can have more than one sense. We've seen this here where the word raise up. Everyone assumes he meant figuratively, but he meant literally raising up from the dead in the four prophecies that talk about that God would raise up a prophet, a priest, a king, and a shepherd.
We also see this where David is referring, where David is being referred to, either he's referring to himself or someone is referring to him in Psalm 16 and Ezekiel 34. But it's referring to the one who came from the body of David, the seed of David, the Christ. The expression to lie down and sleep and to rise up is used metaphorically, referring to death and resurrection in the several passes we looked at.
And also in the Amos 9 prophecy that James quotes the term tent and tabernacle is used referring to a person's physical body. So the temple, the tabernacle that has fallen down and is rebuilt is a figurative way of talking about the resurrection. So the Holy Spirit has hidden wonderful things in the Scriptures. We just need an extra measure of wisdom to dig them out and to ask God for more wisdom to see these riddles. And they see these wonderful prophecies that are hidden.
Now, why would God go to the trouble of hiding? Why can't you just be more upfront and direct? Well, keep in mind, Satan knows the Scriptures too.
So I think God put the prophecies about the resurrection because he planned to that Satan would be involved in and seeing the death and the destruction of Jesus, unaware of the fact that he'd be resurrected from the dead, which would only be revealed after the, after the fact, after that, which I think is why all the prophecies about the resurrection are hidden in this form. So Jesus said in Luke chapter 24 that His resurrection would be in fulfillment of the prophecies. Why does that matter to us today?
Well, it's useful as evidence to convince unbelievers. That's how the apostles used the prophecies in the first century. And that's how the early Christians used the prophecies to persuade not only the Jews, but also the Gentiles that Jesus was the Son of God. Paul says to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 15," Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel I preach to you, which you also received in which you stand by which you were saved.
If you hold fast that word I preach to you." This is written the Gentile church unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all, that which I also received. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried and he rose on the third day according to the Scriptures. So Paul, this is the gospel that Paul received and the one he handed down to the Gentiles is that Christ rose from the dead according to Scriptures, meaning in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.
And I have seen the power of using the prophecies to convince unbelievers to bring atheists and agnostics to the faith by prophecies that have been fulfilled that were written hundreds of years before the time of Christ. So we talked in the beginning about how these prophecies would be fulfilling what Jesus said that He would be not only suffer and die, but be raised on the third day in fulfillment of the Scriptures as revealed in the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms.
So where do we find in the Old Testament the prophecies about the resurrection of Jesus? And the answer is everywhere. In the law of Moses, we saw it in Genesis 49, Numbers 24, Deuteronomy 18. In the poetic books in the Psalms, we saw that in Psalm 3, Psalm 16, Psalm 41, 89 and 132 in the major prophets in Ezekiel 34, in the minor prophets in Amos chapter nine and in the historical books in 1 Samuel 2, 2 Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17. So prophecies about the resurrection are all over the Old Testament.
And in discovering the prophecies about the resurrection, we also learn so many more wonderful things about Jesus. Think about all the things that we have learned just in looking at prophecies about the resurrection. He'd be from the tribe of Judah. And according to Jacob in Genesis 49, he'd be descended from David. It says in many of the prophecies that we looked at, 2 Samuel 7 and others, Amos chapter 9, he'd be descended from a woman.
It says that he was from the belly of David, which was many of the early Christians saw as a foreshadowing that he be from the woman because anatomically you described that otherwise if it was it was going to be from a man. So be a woman descended from David about his passion and death. We see the enemies conspiring against him, that one in the inner circle who shared his bread would deceive him. His soul was descended to Hades, but would not remain there for very long.
And even in the mission, in his mission, we see that he would be a king, a faithful priest, a prophet like Moses, and the good shepherd who would be over the entire flock of God. And that not only the Jews would be looking for him and that if they didn't follow him, that they would be cut off, but also that the Gentiles would put their hope in Him and they'd seek Him as well.
That He would be fully human and divine, that His brothers would bow down to worship Him, as it said in Genesis 49, that he was deserving of worship, and that he would be raised up and known as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Christ, the anointed one, the Son of David, and the Son of God.