The Old Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Mentor's Guide, MG09

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T H E O L D T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

emerged as a result of your meditation and discussion. What is sought here is your application of these truths to your life. The significance of these issues cannot be wasted just in discussions about abstract truth; God intends for us to be transformed by insights. Use the questions below to explore your own specific and personal concerns brought out in the lesson. * How often do you refer to Jesus as the Messiah , the one anointed of God to both save and judge the world? Does referring to him as Messiah make any difference at all in how you think of him (Messiah, remember, is the Hebraic reference to Jesus)? * Have you ever done a comprehensive study of OT Messianic prophecy? Where and with whom? When was the last time you spent serious time studying and thinking critically about the relationship of OT prophecy to the person of Jesus? * What is your attitude regarding the prophetic genre (type) of Scripture? Have you ever been involved in the kinds of study that put a premium on trying to identify the general dates and timetables associated with them? Have you ever been confused by these discussions, and how did they end up? * Do you study prophecy with the intent first of all to find the way they link the teaching of the OT with what we know about Messiah in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, as revealed in the NT? Could you reproduce and trace the Messianic family lineage by referring to the various prophecies in the OT, beginning with the seed of the woman in Genesis 3.15, and ending with the birth of Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth in the NT? * What is your opinion about the importance of the themes in OT Messianic prophecy as they relate to the OT’s witness to Christ? In other words, how important are they, and why? * What difference does it make to you that Jesus and the apostles applied the OT prophecies directly to his life, and how might this give you confidence that seeking to use this method may help your understanding of the OT’s witness to Christ? * How many prophecies can you reproduce about the OT Messianic prophecies covering his birth, life and ministry, death, resurrection, and coming glory? (Take out a piece of paper and list all the ones you know from

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