MESSIANIC PROPHECY (PROPHECY RELATING TO JESUS, THE MESSIAH) Was Jesus the Messiah Old Testament prophecy directs the reader to only one person who could be the Messiah. Jesus stated that he is the Messiah, and New Testament writers confirm that Jesus is the Messiah. Old Testament Prophecy There is enough prophecy in the Old Testament to point to Jesus as being the only one who fulfills such prophecy. Given the parameters set by such Scripture, it is almost inconceivable that anyone else could be the Messiah. The Old Testament tells that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, born into a very specific family line, would have miraculous power like God yet appear as a man, would die and live again, would come to earth while the Jewish Temple was still standing, would be born in Bethlehem and minister in Galilee, and would proclaim anew Covenant of Grace to redeem repentant sinners. The Old Testament was completed hundreds of years before Jesus was born. The Hebrew Scripture was translated into the Greek Septuagint in the third century before Christ. So the Scripture in the Hebrew Old Testament pointing to the coming Messiah was prophecy, not written after the time of Jesus.
