The coming of Jesus Christ into the world was not absolutely an isolated event in the history of mankind. There was a long preparation, a gradual development from the time that Adam and Eve sinned and were driven from the Garden until the appearance of him who should be able to cleanse from all sin and prepare mankind for a home in the Paradise of God. In the great chain of this development types and shadows of the Coming One appear. They are all finger boards pointing to the perfect fulfillment in Christ. Had the Jews studied their Scriptures more carefully they would have been ready to receive the Messiah when he came. A thorough knowledge of the New Testament cannot be obtained without a thorough knowledge of the Old Testament. Read and study the Old Testament in this light, and you will see this new life in every book and chapter. The Bible is the Book from God, and must be carefully studied through the different stages of development. The following Messianic prophecies and types are clearly set forth in the Old Testament and find their perfect fulfillment in the Christ of the New Testament.

I. THE IDEAL SEED (Gen. 3:15). When Adam and Eve disobeyed God they were driven from the Garden and compelled to begin a lifelong struggle between death and victory. But even before they were banished from the Garden they received the tidings of redemption " The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." About four thousand years passed before the fulfillment of this Messianic prophecy when Mary became the mother of the Holy Child.

II. THE IDEAL MAN (Gen. 12:2, 3). During the first two thousand years, while God's government was universal and he made his will known to men as individuals, the Messianic hope remains practically undeveloped. In order to develop this hope God called Abraham, in 1921, to separate himself from his kindred and go to a land that he would show him, where he would make of him and his descendants a great nation through which all the nations of the earth would be blessed. " I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shall be a blessing." The covenant God made with Abraham was repeatedly renewed and confirmed by sacrifices, so that the glory should not depart until the coming of Shiloh and a people should be prepared for the coming of the Ideal Man, of whom faithful Abraham may be considered a type. While this is inferred it is not so stated directly in the text.

III. THE IDEAL MEDIATOR (Deut. 18:15-17). About four hundred and thirty years after the call of Abraham the Chosen Family had grown into a great nation and was held under severe bondage by the Egyptians. Moses was chosen, protected and trained to lead the Chosen Nation out of bondage into surroundings more favorable for the gradual development of her great mission in the world. Moses delivers the nation and leads them to Mt. Sinai, where God delivers their laws to them to educate them as his chosen ones. After some days of purification on the part of the people, God appeared on the mountain in the presence of the people and spake in an audible voice the words of the Ten Commandments. When the people heard God's voice they trembled and were afraid, and asked for a mediator through whom the future messages of God might come to them. Moses was appointed their mediator, and is typical of the Ideal Mediator for whose coming the nation was making ready.

IV. THE IDEAL LAW (Ex. 20:1-18; Jer. 31:31-34). The Jews, having been delivered and separated, were in need of culture so as to be prepared for the ideal spiritual Law. For the purpose of reaching this higher state as a nation God gave them the Mosaic Law, through which they might be educated to accept the higher law in which forgiveness and perfection could be obtained through obedience. The Mosaic Law was the schoolmaster and taught the nation the following lessons which are fully understood in the coming of the New, typified by the Old:(a) That there is but one God. (b) That the one God is holy, (c) That those who worship him must be holy, (d) That man is a sinner and cannot reach holiness without forgiveness. (e) That God is willing to forgive the sinner through the suffering of another. (f) That in order to secure forgiveness the sinner must believe in his substitute.

V. THE IDEAL PRIEST (Num. 25:12, 13). After the Mosaic Law had been given and the Tabernacle set up, God called Moses to anoint Aaron and his sons to be the priestly family, to perform the services at the Sacred House as stipulated by the Law. Aaron directed the work and entered once each year into the Most Holy Place, with animal blood, to make atonement for the sins of the people. Aaron was but a type of " The Ideal Priest," Christ, who entered once for all into the Most Holy Place, heaven itself, with his own blood to make an atonement for the sins of the people. That needs not to be repeated.

VI. THE IDEAL KING (2 Sam. 7:11-16; Ps. 11). The nation after being organized and led into the Promised Land was for many years oppressed by surrounding heathen nations; but God had compassion on them and raised up Judges to deliver them from these several oppressions. In passing through these experiences the way was paved for a single ruler. David is chosen as the king and develops in the nation the spirit of heroism and conquering majesty, which could finally be found only in the coming of an Ideal King of whom David was but a type. The Psalms and literature of the time are full of the Messianic Hope and of the praise of the Coming King.

VII. THE IDEAL TEMPLE (Isaiah 2:1-4). The Tabernacle built at Mt. Sinai gave place to a richer, larger and more valuable building, Solomon's temple. When the temple of Solomon had answered its purpose it gave way to a still richer, more beautiful and more permanent Temple, of which the former sacred buildings were but types. The smoke that ascended from the burning of the daily offerings reminded the people that sin must in some way be atoned for. The priests that presented the people's offerings reminded them that there must come a Mediator who shall go between them and God, not simply to remind them of sin, but to make an atonement. The Most Holy Place, in which God dwelt, had no image to represent him, and the people were taught that God is a spirit and that mere sacrifices could not atone for the sins of the people. The Temple foreshadowed the true Temple, the ideal worship in Christ.

VIII. THE IDEAL SUFFERING SERVANT (Isa. 42:1-4). Slowly but surely the chain that brings to the Ideal unwinds. Through the Prophetic Age there is a gradual unfolding of the Messianic Hope in the portraiture of "the Suffering Servant." Israel and Judah were carried into captivity and the obedient remnant is willing to suffer for the sake of those who are to be delivered. Thus the remnant that is to save through obedience the disobedient is a Suffering Servant, typical of the Ideal Suffering Servant, Christ, who is by his own suffering through obedience to save the disobedient.

IX. THE IDEAL PROPHET (Deut. 18:15-19). The prophets were the most spiritual teachers in the Old Testament. They were God's mouthpieces by which his messages were delivered to the kings and priests. Their mission was to set out into clearer view the coming of the Ideal Prophet and arouse the nation with the spirit of expectation. Sixteen prophetic books were placed into the canon for the purpose of leading others into this same light and developing the nation still farther by the use of these visions as the nation approaches still nearer the time for the coming of the Ideal represented by the types and shadows. They saw in vision the Ideal Prophet and gave a very minute description of his advent. Isaiah names the family in which he is to make his appearance (Isaiah 11:1), " out of the stem of Jesse." Micah names the town in which he was to be born (Micah 5:2), "Thou Bethlehem." In following carefully the increasing expectation from the utterance of the first Messianic Hope in the Garden of Eden, through the rituals and ceremonies, we are brought through a period of four thousand years and find the very family, the very city, the very house and the very hour in which occurred the birth of the Son of God.

QUESTIONS.

• What book must we study to understand Christ's first coming?

• For what purpose should we study the Old Testament?

• What comfort was given Adam and Eve in the Garden?

• How long before this promise was fulfilled?

• Why did God call Abraham?

• Who was the Mediator of the Old Testament?

• Why did Israel ask for Mediator?

• What was the purpose of the Mosaic Law?

• What special lessons are found in the Mosaic Law?

• Where were Aaron and his family set apart for service?

• Why did Israel desire a king?

• What did the Temple typify?

• Who was the Suffering Servant in the Old Testament?

• Who in the New?

• What was the mission of the Prophets?

• Where was Jesus to be born? In what tribe and family?

REVIEW.

I. The Ideal Seed.

II. The Ideal Man.

III. The Ideal Mediator.

IV. The Ideal Law:

1. One God.

2. God is Holy.

3. Worshiper must be Holy.

4. Sinner reaches holiness through forgiveness.

5. God forgives through the suffering of another. 6. Sinner must believe in the One that suffers for him.

V. The Ideal Priest.

VI. The Ideal King.

VII. The Ideal Temple.

VIII. The Ideal Suffering Servant.

IX. The Ideal Prophet:

1. The Family.

2. City.

3. House.

4. Hour.