By Pastor Ryan Stockstrom

Harvest Church

Many people approach the Bible as though the Old Testament and New Testament are two unrelated sections bound together by tradition. Yet Scripture presents a different picture—one unified story in which Jesus Christ stands at the center from beginning to end. The writers of the New Testament repeatedly affirm that the story of Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem, but stretches back before creation itself. Understanding this opens the door to a richer reading of both Testaments.

The book of Hebrews opens with a sweeping statement: God spoke in many ways through the prophets, “but in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son.” The point is clear—Jesus is the fullest revelation of God. If someone ever wonders what God is like, the answer is simple: look at Jesus. The Gospel of John echoes the same truth, proclaiming that the “Word was with God and was God, and that through Him all things were made.” Jesus did not begin His existence in Mary’s womb; He entered the world already the eternal Son.

With this in mind, the Old Testament becomes more than ancient stories and distant spiritual laws. Its pages form a treasure map, guiding readers toward the Messiah God promised from the beginning. More than 300 prophecies and prophetic patterns point forward to Christ’s life, ministry, death, and ultimate reign. Some are explicit predictions; others are symbolic types and shadows fulfilled with surprising clarity.

One of the earliest appears in Genesis 3:15, sometimes called the “Proto-Gospel.” After humanity’s fall in the garden, God speaks to the serpent and promises that the offspring of the woman will one day crush the serpent’s head. Though the enemy would “strike His heel,” the ultimate victory would belong to the coming Redeemer.
Christians have long recognized this as a foreshadowing of Christ’s triumph over Satan and death at the cross. Even in humanity’s darkest moment, inviting sin into the world for the first time and reaping generational consequences as a result, God whispered the promise of rescue!

Other prophecies are strikingly specific. Micah 5:2, written roughly 700 years before Christ’s birth, declares that out of Bethlehem will come Israel’s ruler—one “whose origins are from ancient times.” Not only does this pinpoint Jesus’ birthplace, it affirms He is just as eternal as the Father and Holy Spirit.  The small Judean village would become the setting for the arrival of the everlasting King.

Some Old Testament passages reveal Jesus more subtly. Daniel 2 records King Nebuchadnezzar’s troubling dream of a massive statue made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay—each material representing successive world empires.  History shows us striking matches between the materials of the statue and the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman empires. But, in the vision, a stone “not cut by human hands” strikes the statue, shatters it, and grows into a mountain that fills the whole earth!   This stone is a picture of Christ and His kingdom—divinely originated, unstoppable, and eternal. Empires rise and fall, but the kingdom of Jesus continues to advance.  Of those huge and at one point strong kingdoms—the only one to remain is the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.  Roughly two thirds of the world claims Christianity in some form.  Early Roman coins claimed ‘Caesar is Lord’! But Christians claim ‘Jesus is Lord’!  When’s the last time you talked about Caesar in your every day life? 
Well—maybe when ordering a salad!   But the name of Jesus is being claimed more and more and more as time continues.  Why, because His kingdom is ever growing and never stopping. 

Revelation 11:15 says, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

When our ‘kingdoms’ and systems fail, don’t worry—Jesus Kingdom is still in control.  

Perhaps one of the most vivid Old Testament glimpses of Christ appears in Psalm 22. Though written centuries before crucifixion was widely practiced, the psalm describes details that mirror Jesus’ suffering with remarkable accuracy: mockery, pierced hands and feet, divided garments, and the haunting cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” While David likely wrote from personal anguish, the Holy Spirit carried his words beyond his own experience, revealing a prophetic picture fulfilled at the cross.

These passages—and hundreds like them—remind us that Scripture is not a human invention stitched together by religious tradition. As Peter writes, prophecy did not originate in human interpretation, but as men “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The coherence of the Bible across centuries, cultures, and authors reveals the hand of God guiding its formation.

Most importantly, these prophecies are not merely historical curiosities. They show that God has always been committed to redemption. From the garden to Bethlehem to the cross—and ultimately to the promise of Christ’s return—the Bible consistently points to a God who keeps His word. Jesus is not an afterthought but the centerpiece of God’s plan for the world.

For us today, this invites a fresh approach to the Old Testament. Rather than viewing it as foreign or disconnected, we can read it with expectation, seeing how each page quietly prepares the way for the One who would come to rescue, restore, and reign forever.  It’s about the One whose ‘origins are of old’, the baby born in a manager, and the returning King of Kings!

His name is Jesus, and He wants to have a relationship with you.