Analyzing Scripture can seem straightforward, but the Bible often is more multidimensional than casual readers comprehend. A passage might seem to point to one answer in one instance, but then direct readers to an entirely different perspective upon further review.
Acclaimed author Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider has long been deciphering biblical text and identifying the Messianic prophecies found throughout Scripture. His latest book, “Messianic Prophecy Revealed,” takes readers through the Word of God, showing them how the New Testament writers took passages out of the Old Testament to prove that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.
Understanding the Old Testament from an eastern, Hebraic point of view is key to fully comprehending the true historical Messiah, according to Rabbi Schneider.
“When we read the Hebrew Scriptures through the eyes of the first-century Jewish writers, we see that every story was pregnant with the hope of Messiah,” Rabbi Schneider says. “The vivid stories of the patriarchs, the precision of the Levitical priests, the unrelenting passion of the prophets—all would culminate in the full revelation of Yeshua, the Word made flesh.
“As the writers of the New Testament experienced the transformative power of the ancient words of the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms, they began to realize He was the full embodiment of the Scriptures. The Messiah had been there all along, even in the very beginning.”
Rabbi Schneider gives an example of the pattern of prophecy found within the Old Testament stories.
“People broadly know of the famous story of sacrificial love of Abraham and Isaac,” Rabbi Schneider said. “People will often rightly speak of the devotion and piety of Abraham here, of his total obedience and surrender to God. But as we go deeper into the narrative with a prophetic lens, this is a story of much more than Abraham’s devotion to God. Rather, Abraham himself functions as a prophetic type of God the Father. All his hopes and dreams were bound up in this son, whose existence was itself a miracle. Yet out of his unbridled, selfless love and fear of the Lord, Abraham freely offered Isaac up to God.
“When we see paintings of Abraham offering up Isaac as a sacrifice, the art usually tells the same story—we see Isaac as a young boy, perhaps 11 years old or less. But according to Rabbinic Judaism, when Abraham offered up his son as a burned offering, Isaac was 37 years old! When you consider that he was a grown man, he too is a hero of the story. When we look at Isaac’s own willingness to yield his life freely to his father in complete trust, we see an image of Messiah Jesus Himself foreshadowed. Like Isaac, an adult who willingly offered up his life in obedience to his father Abraham, so too does Yeshua willingly offer up His own life in obedience to Father God.”
In the book, Rabbi Schneider identifies various aspects of Christ and reveals how they fulfill the many Old Testament prophecies, identifying Him as the long-awaited Messiah.
“Rather than simply looking at how Yeshua fulfilled certain predictive Messianic prophecies, I want you to see that Jesus filled the entire Old Testament up with meaning,” Rabbi Schneider says. “He carried the meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures to their fullest expression. This is why Messiah Jesus said, ‘Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.'”
For more information about “Messianic Prophecy Revealed,” click here.
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After a startling vision of Christ led to his salvation in 1978, Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider dedicated his life to a passionate pursuit of Messiah Jesus and being used by God for His purpose. His experience in both personal spiritual warfare and ministry has equipped him to bring to God’s Church deep insight into how to gain power over the realm of darkness and live-in victory. Today, Rabbi Schneider hosts the impactful television program, Discovering The Jewish Jesus, which is available in more than 100 million homes in the United States and nearly 200 nations worldwide. In 2020, he began broadcasting on radio and now airs across America.
