Spotting the Messiah (Jesus Christ) in the Old Testament is crucial to understand the New One

‘The Old Testament is such a different book than the New Testament’

‘The Old Testament is a book for Jewish people’

‘We don't need to follow the Old Testament because we are already saved by Jesus Christ’

These are some of the things we read in Christian discussion circles and we should pay attention to these ‘certainties’ because a lot of what we consider truth when it comes to the Bible might be Catholic influence. While it is not the objective here to criticize any specific church, we should open the discussion about the Old vs the New covenants in order to make ourselves open for Yahuah’s Word.

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, I am the First and the Last’

The cryptic message from the Messiah in reality tells us really what it is: He was the first thing created and he is eternal, so even when all can come to end, it will be before him. For this reason, it’s incorrect to think that the Messiah is only present in the New Testament and the Old Testament only has prophecies about the Messiah. Yahusha is the Word, the Word is the complete set of Scriptures. Everything in the Bible is about inheritance, election, redemption and judgment, all through Him and because of Him. When we read the Scriptures looking for the Messiah, we understand that our test in this realm is not about us, but rather about Him.

Where is Yahusha in the Old Testament?

The short answer is: everywhere. It can be rather confusing at times in the Old Testament, for we see in some passages ‘The angel of Yahuah’ speaking and all of a sudden the angel starts talking in the first person as if he were Yahuah. This is possible because the Messiah is the Angel of Yahuah and He represents Yahuah, therefore, he speaks on His behalf.

From the Old Testament, Yahuah presents Himself as 'I am', or 'I am who I am'. The 'I am' statements are the Messiah's way in the New Testament of proclaiming that He was indeed, Yahuah.

Here are Yahusha's seven 'I am' statements:

Not all angels were Yahusha, of course, many were angels tasked with delivering messages and to protect. But if we revise all the episodes where we have an angel of Yahuah, we have several interesting stories, such as one of the three ‘men’ who ‘negotiated’ with Abraham how many righteous people would be saved from Sodom, or the angel who talked to Sarah that she would conceive, the angels who showed prophecies to the prophets and the angel who talked to the parents of John the Baptist and the Messiah.

Other ‘Yahusha’s’ in the Bible and why the name is not a coincidence

Yahusha Ha’Mashiach was the Hebrew name of Jesus. While one of the Christian ‘certainties’ states that the original New Testament was written in Greek, I would challenge that, but that’s for another post. Being an Israelite, the Messiah had an Israelite name, which has been then translated to Iesous Christos in Greek and that became what we know most commonly as Jesus Christ. But did you know that other important Bible characters are also called ‘Jesus’? Their names were translated differently (maybe not to confuse the reader), but the name translated in Western Bibles as ‘Joshua’ was originally Yahusha. In the book of the prophets Haggai and Zachariah we see another Yahusha, a high priest in Yahudah (Judea) whose name was translated to Jeshua.

Jeshua and Joshua are the same name and it comes from ‘Yahuah Saves’ or Yah – Shua = Yahshua. With the influence of Aramaic this word later changed to Yeshua. What is interesting about these two ‘Yahushas’ is their role in the Bible. Yahusha of the Book of ‘Joshua’ was the one who replaced Moses after his death and was tasked with the honor to lead Israel into the Promised Land. Yahusha became a prominent elder after the incident of the first incursion into Canaan. Yahusha, along with Caleb, were the only ones not petrified with fear of the giant population, trusting that Yahuah would deliver them according to His word.

Yahusha and Caleb were not only kept alive during the 40-year penitence in the desert, but were also kept fit and strong. Yahusha lived for many decades and led the first battles to destroy the corrupt seed of the Nephilim and take possession of the inheritance promised many centuries ago to Abraham. Yahusha (Joshua) led his people to rest in the Promised Land, however it was only for a short while, because the Israelite peregrination was only an earthly representation of the true Rest that only Yahusha Ha'Mashiach can provide.

The high priest called Yahusha in the books of Haggai and Zechariah is personally called to rebuild the Temple of Yahuah. The parallels to the Messiah are impossible to miss. We also know that Yahusha Ha’Mashiach (our High Priest) stated that he would rebuild the temple three days after its destruction, so this passage in the Bible showing another high priest called Yahusha is not a coincidence.

Yahusha meets Yahusha

Right before Yahusha (Joshua) leads his people to the conquer Yericho (Jericho), he meets a Man, the army commander of Yahuah, or the Messiah in human appearance.

And it came to pass, when Yahusha was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Yahusha went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of Yahuah I have now come.”

And Yahusha fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” Then the Commander of Yahuah’s army said to Yahusha, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Yahusha did so. (Joshua 5:13-15)

How do I know it was the Messiah speaking to Yahusha? Because only Yahuah should be worshiped, therefore, whenever an angel accepts to have a human bow down and adore, we are talking about a Messianic appearance in the Old Testament. Angels, being creatures just like us, can’t accept being worshiped.

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship Yahuah.” (Revelation 22:8-9) Now moving to the book of Zechariah, we see another interesting exchange between Yahusha Ha’Mashiach and another mortal Yahusha, this one the high priest of the books of Haggai and Zechariah. The following passage is pregnant with spiritual meaning, but I invite you to notice how Yahusha in his heavenly form (the Angel of Yahuah), speaks to a high priest called Yahusha to let us know that he (the Messiah – or the vine Branch) will be sent out to redeem and judge the world.

Then the Angel of Yahuah admonished Yahusha, saying, “Thus says Yahuah Tzeva’oth:

‘If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here.

‘Hear, O Yahusha, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH. For behold, the stone That I have laid before Yahusha: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ Says Yahuah Tzeva’oth, ‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day,’ says Yahuah Tzeva’oth, ‘Everyone will invite his neighbor Under his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”

(Zechariah 3:6-10)

Messianic Psalms

Most of the Psalms are messianic and the Messiah frequently quoted from the Psalms. Next time you read this amazing book, meditate on the Messiah and His message will jump right in front of your eyes. Here is only one of the many Psalms about the Messiah:

Why do the heathen rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Yahuah and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;

The Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”

''I will declare the decree: Yahuah has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”

Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve Yahuah with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

(Psalm 2)

Our wedding with the Bridegroom in Solomon’s words

We can’t honestly believe that the wisest man who has ever lived would have a book in the Bible just to talk about his love for one of his 1000 wives, right? The ‘Song of Solomon’ is a book about our marriage with the Messiah. It’s our wedding, when our redeemer comes for

us and is ready to make war. The difference between the regular weddings we see in the Western world and the Heavenly Wedding believers are waiting for is that in latter the Bridegroom is the one that comes for the bride, NOT the other way around.

Who is this coming out of the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all the merchant’s fragrant powders? Behold, it is Solomon’s couch, With sixty valiant men around it, Of the valiant of Israel. They all hold swords, Being expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh Because of fear in the night.

Of the wood of Lebanon Solomon the King Made himself a palanquin: He made its pillars of silver, Its support of gold, Its seat of purple, Its interior paved with love By the daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And see King Solomon with the crown With which his mother crowned him On the day of his wedding, The day of the gladness of his heart.

(Song of Solomon 3:6-11)

The bottom line

When we read the Bible, we are reading our Messiah’s story so through Him and His glory our Heavenly Father can be glorified. And what is the meaning of glory anyway? It’s the grandiose and majesty of Yahuah and His Son, manifested.

In many Christian circles, strong believers and teachers were made believe that the 'New Testament' is a message that the Law and the Commandments are void and that if you believe in Yahusha you are saved. Well, don't demons believe in Yahusha as well?

First of all, faith does not depend on us. It's not our decision to have faith, it is given by the Father through grace alone. Our humanistic education makes it seem like it's all about us, our power to decide, our attitudes. While our soul carries profound individual traits that were given by the Creator, the story in this realm is not about us, it's about the Messiah. Once we have faith, it can instigate us to deep dive in the Word and we are then inspired by the Holy Spirit to follow the Scriptures, not to be saved, but out of love. If you are reading the Bible and going to the church because you want to be saved (a benefit for you), you're doing it for the wrong reasons. We can only give an acceptable sacrifice to our Savior out of love for Him. This was His Gospel, or good news: those who believe in him (grace of faith underserved and coming from the Father), pick up your cross (sacrifice their 'self' or fleshy lifestyle) and follow Him (read the Bible and repent) will have all their sins forgiven (past, present and future, for our flesh is still weak) and will be clothed with the white garments of righteousness when our Bridegroom arrives. Following the Commandments and changing our ways is a natural progress in the walk with the Father.

The flow of the Bible from the Old to the New testament is a perfect description of how the Law of Moses - a long set of instructions about how to clean the temple, how to be purified, how to deliver a sacrifice, how to measure everything, etc. - was the way to salvation that depended on our efforts and works. Yahuah needed to show us that salvation through our will was impossible, the Law was needed to humble us. How many people do we still hear say 'I'm a good person, why would I go to hell?'.

Before Christ came in the flesh salvation was mostly through a lot of work, trust and fear of Yahuah. The Israelites confirmed by their continuous failure the Prophecy that they needed a Messiah to give them (and us) REST. Rest from the exhausting work of the body, replacing it with the Peace of Yahusha Ha'Mashiach. His peace, of course, is not for everyone.

As the Apostle Paul told us in his letters, the Messiah came to give us a 'Renewed Covenant' a covenant that required a focus on Him, not on us, or our works. Paul's letters are widely misused to conveniently include hidden agendas to Christians all over the world. Those trying to follow the Bible from Genesis to Revelation might be even accused of being a 'Jewish wannabe', however, let's keep in mind that Yahusha himself celebrated the seven feasts of Yahuah, observed the Shabbat and most definitely never tasted pork (not even bacon)!

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 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. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.' (Matthew 5:17-19)