How the Law of Moses Foreshadows the Coming of Christ

How the Law of Moses Foreshadows the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Jesus himself said that all things written in the law of Moses and the prophets concerning himself must be fulfilled.  Despite what one may have heard, the Torah clearly points it’s readers to the new gospel of Jesus Christ.  God spoke about the seed of the woman who would one day bruise the head of the serpent.  We are told this seed would pass through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah.  We are also told that through this seed all nations will be blessed.  The Torah foretold a King would rise from Israel.  

 Abraham was blessed by Melchizadek, the king of Righteousness, the King of Salem, the High priest of God.  His priesthood predated the levitical priesthood.  He understood that on the mount of the Lord, God would provide for himself a Lamb as a burnt offering.  That God himself would provide atonement for his land and people.  The Patriarchs were circumcised in their flesh as a sign of God’s everlasting covenant; the covenant that God would one day circumcise their heart and the heart of their descendant’s.  They were credited with righteousness by believing in God’s promise and blessing.    They were provided a Sabbeth rest from their work as God had rested; but the Israelites did not rest in this.   When they heard the voice of God on Mount Sinai, they were afraid.   They would not draw near to God.  They sent Moses to hear God’s words and promised to do all that God commanded.  God knew they did not have it in their heart to do what He would say.  Moses prophesied that the Israelites would break their covenant but when they returned and repented in their heart, they would be forgiven of their trespasses and restored.  They would be forgiven because God would never forget the everlasting covenant He swore to their fathers. 

The tabernacle that Moses erected was fashioned after the pattern He saw in Heaven.   The Ark of the testimony which housed the broken tablets, the jar of manna, and Aaron’s rod was covered with a golden lid fashioned with angelic Cherubim.  This atonement cover was referred to as the mercy seat.  It was atop this lid between the cherubim that God told Moses He would speak with them.   In the Old Testament, God came to be referred to as the one who sits enthroned between the cherubim.  What else is the seat for a king but a throne?  Moses patterned the Holy of Holies after the very throne of God in heaven.   Both Ezekiel and John were ushered into this throne room.  They both described in vivid detail the four living creatures they saw and recognized them as Cherubim amidst this throne.   Nobody was permitted to enter the Holy of holies where the Ark rested lest they be struck dead.   Only the High Priest was allowed once a year to enter the Holy of Holies and never without blood to provide atonement for himself and the people of Israel.  Moses taught the Israelites that without the shedding of blood there would be no remission of sin.   It was the sign of blood on the door posts that made the death angel pass over the Israelites in Egypt.  Their endless sacrifices would never remove this wall of separation.  Hebrews describes how this annual ritual reveals the real path to meet with the Living God had yet to be disclosed.  Christ our high priest according to the order of Melchizadek has offered a better sacrifice and has ascended into the very throne room of God.  

How the Feasts of Israel Foreshadow the appointed times of Jesus Christ

The Law foreshadows the prophetic times of Christ coming.   Just as the three Spring feasts in the first month of Nisan (Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First fruits) commemorate the sacrifice and resurrection of the Messiah, the last three feast in the fall commemorate the time of his second coming.  Rosh Hashanah or the feast of trumpets occurs on the first day of the seventh month of Tishri.  It is a day for blowing trumpets and the feast starts the beginning of the High holy days in Judaism.  In Revelation, there are seven trumpets that are sounded from Heaven and the last trumpet signals the time of our being gathered to him. These high holy days culminate on Yom Kippur (the day of atonement) which occurs on the 10^th day of Tishri; it is a day on which one is supposed to afflict their souls.  It commemorates the day on which the High priest will cleanse you from all your sins before the Lord.  For Jews this has come to mean a day of fasting and repentance.  Zechariah prophesies that the High Priest will remove the iniquity of the land in one day.  The New Testament clearly teaches how God will continue to work sanctification in the believer until the Day of Christ Jesus.  No one could enter the tabernacle until after the High Priest atoned for the people on that day.  Revelation also describes how the Ark of God’s covenant will be seen from Heaven after the seventh trumpet.  The temple of the Tabernacle of the testimony will be opened in Heaven as a prelude to pouring out his wrath on the earth.  The feast of Tabernacles (Succoth) starts on the 15^th day of Tishri and lasts for seven days.  Jews commemorate this holiday by camping out in booths for those seven days to remember the time in which the Israelites tabernacle with God in the wilderness.   The people of God will enter their heavenly chambers and hide themselves until the indignation of God has passed and the Lord punishes the world for it’s iniquity.  All of these fall feasts foreshadow the time of Christ’s second coming.