Five Signposts:

Signpost I: Seed Of A Woman

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. (Gen 3:15)

• Protoevangelium
• first allusion to salvation
• linked to the Virgin Birth

The Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel. (Isa 7:14)

For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Law till all is fulfilled. (Mt 5:18)

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (Col 2:13-14)

All… on the earth will worship Him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13:8)

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Signpost II: Messiah's Lineage

A. Abraham and His Descendants

Go forth from your country… relatives… father’s house, to the land which I will show you… I will make you a great nation… I will bless you and make your name great… so you shall be a blessing… I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse… in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Gen 12:1-3)

As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you… you shall be the father of a multitude of nations… your name shall be Abraham; for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations… I will make you exceedingly fruitful… I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you… I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an Everlasting Covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. (Gen 17:4-7)

B. Isaac and His Descendants

“Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is 90 years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you! God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. (Gen 17:17-19)

C. Jacob and His Descendants

... So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” (Gen 25:22-23)

I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. (Gen 28:13-14)

The 12 sons of Jacob

• Reuben
• Simeon
• Levi
• Judah
• Isaachar
• Zebulon
• Dan
• Naphtali
• Gad
• Asher
• Joseph
• Benjamin

D. The Tribe of Judah

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between His feet, until Shiloh comes, and to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples. (Gen 49:10)

• The Lion of Judah
• Shiloh, the Peacemaker

E. The House of Jesse

Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons. (1 Sam 16:1)

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. … Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious. (Isa 11:1, 10)

F. The Person of David

Now [David] was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit… came mightily upon David from that day forward.” (1 Sam 16:12-13)

For a child will be born… a son… given… the government will rest on His shoulders… His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over His Kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. (Isa 9:6-7)

Son of David

• Mt 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:31; 21:9, 15; 22:42
• Mk 10:47, 48; 12:35
• Lk 3:31; 18:38, 39; 20:41

• i. miraculous work performed by a personal God in history concerning the Messiah’s lineage
• ii. line of identification kept clear by God so that no impostor might be mistaken for the Messiah
• iii. prophecies exactly fulfilled despite of Satan’s attack and sinful men’s actions

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Signpost III: Messiah's Birthplace

And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. (Micah 5:2)

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod… behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His Star in the East and have come to worship Him.” (Mt 2:1-2)

... in Bethlehem, in the land of Judah (Mt 2:6)

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise from Israel. (Num 24:17)

It was an extraordinary and special movement in the stellar spaces, designed to lead these men to Christ. ~ Campbell Morgan, The Crises of Christ

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Signpost IV: Massacre of the Innocents

Thus says the Lord, “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” (Jer 31:5)

… put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. (Mt 2:16)

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Signpost V: Flight of the Holy Family

Out of Egypt I called My Son (Hos 11:1)

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” (Mt 2:23)

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Summary

• Stand in awe of OT prophecies that were amazingly accurate and fulfilled to minutest details.
• The Bible is inspired, infallible, inerrant and incontrovertible
• A Male Child, from the line of Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse and David, was born of a virgin in circumstances prophesied by OT prophets. Historically, the Male-Child first appeared in Bethlehem.
• OT gave exact circumstances of the Male-Child’s birth: a star leading Magi to seek Him in Jerusalem and in Bethlehem; His birth would cause the Massacre of the Innocents; His family would escape to Egypt and later return to Nazareth.
• This Male Child was Jesus of Nazareth. He came to fulfil OT prophecies of Him as Messiah to save the world from sin.

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Challenge

God has given us clear road signs to know that the First Advent was in God’s foreordination. When we know the truth of these amazing prophecies, we can sing JOY TO THE WORLD THE LORD HAS COME!