So, the Jews (the originators and keepers of the old testament) don't agree with you that the prophesised One has come yet.
Firstly you have to understand that Jesus Himself predicted that the Jewish people as a whole would reject Him. His parable in Matthew 22 is meant to convey this fact. Paul the apostle even addresses this fact in 2 Corinthians 3:12-16, where he describes their minds as being veiled to the scriptures.
In John 5:46 Jesus told us that Moses wrote of Him.
There are actually three ways in which Moses wrote of Jesus. First he gave several examples of Jesus’ direct pre-incarnate visitations to earth. Second Moses stories in the Torah often were foreshadows of Jesus life and ministry. And Third, there were at least 6 Messianic prophecies written by Moses and fulfilled in Jesus.
1. Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. Genesis 12:7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. Genesis 18:1 Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. Genesis 26:2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Genesis 26:24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” Genesis 35:7 And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother. Genesis 35:9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. Genesis 48:3 Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, Exodus 3:2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Exodus 3:16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; Exodus 6:1-2 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” 2 And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord[a] I was not known to them. (a. Hebrew YHWH, traditionally Jehovah) Jesus is first seen in the Old Testament as the person who appeared as “the Angel of the Lord” in his sudden confrontation with Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar (Gen 16:7). Thereafter, he continued to appear intermittently throughout the earlier books of the Old Testament. These real occurrences, initiated by God, were characterized by the fact that they were convincing revelations of his person and work, as much as they were also transitory, fleeting, but audible and clearly visible appearances. He came temporally in the form of a human, much before his final incarnation as a babe in Bethlehem, yet this same “Angel of the LORD” is called and is addressed often as “the LORD/Yahweh” himself (Gen 12:7; 17:1; 19:1; etc.). This “Angel of the LORD” was a title that stood for his office, but it did not describe his nature. The Hebrew word for “angel” (mal’ak) had the basic idea of one who was “sent,” a “messenger.” Of the 214 usages of the He- brew term used for “angel,” about one-third of them refer to what is labeled by theologians as a “Christophany,” a temporary appearance of Christ in the Old Testament. It is certain, however, that this special angel of the Lord is divine, for Hagar “...gave this name to the LORD, who spoke with her [as the Angel of the LORD]: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ as she observed, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me’” (Gen 16:13). Other instances of Jesus’ appearances in the Old Testament can be seen representatively in Genesis 22:11, 15, where it was the Angel of Yahweh who spoke from heaven to Abraham when Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, and stopped him from proceeding. Again, it was the Angel of Yahweh who appeared to Moses in the flame of fire in Exodus 3:2. Throughout the dialogue at that burning bush, it was also declared that he was no one less than “Yah- weh,” who spoke at that time, causing Moses to hide his face from him (Ex 3:6). Later, it was the same Angel of the Lord who appeared to the wife of Manoah (Judg 13:2-25), mother of Samson, whom she reported to her husband was indeed a “man of God” that had appeared to her. When Manoah asked for the “Angel of the LORD” to also appear to him as he had appeared to his wife, the Angel repeated the appearances and his conversations to him, after which he ascended in the flame of the altar (Judg 13:20), implying the sacrifice was in worship of the Lord himself! Moreover, this “An- gel” is regarded as a “Redeemer,” who saves Israel from evil (Isa 63:9). How can readers of the Old Testament doubt that these sample instances, along with a host of other such descriptions in the earlier Scriptures, were anything less than pre-incarnate appearances of our Lord Jesus in real flesh, even if it was in those days only a temporary in-fleshment/ incarnation for the immediate needs of the people until he would come and take on flesh permanently? Oftentimes Jesus came to earth to help his people in their distress and their need for direction.
2. Jesus is, indeed, the Passover Lamb, as those who put their faith in His death and the blood He shed are rescued from the judgment that is to come. (John 3:16-18) The Lamb in the first Passover of Exodus 12 had to be kept for four days before the Passover for inspection. Jesus fulfilled the law in that way because in the few days leading up to his death, on the Passover, he was questioned the most severely by the Jews.(Luke 20:40 - And after that they dared not ask him any question at all) Pilate could not find any fault in Jesus and washed his hands so that his blood would not be on him. (Luke 23:22 And he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has this man done? ... I have not found any fault in him that deserves death). The lamb was required to be perfect without blemish.
Like the manna in the desert, Jesus is the Bread from Heaven (John 6:51) that satisfies our spiritual hunger and gives us life.
Like the water that sprung from the rock, Jesus is the living water (John 7:37) that satisfies our spiritual thirst.
Like the snake in the desert that was lifted up that those who were bitten by deadly snakes could look upon and be saved, Jesus was lifted up so that we who have been bitten by Satan in our sin can look upon Jesus and be saved from spiritual death. (John 3:14-15)
Like the rock that was struck the first time, but should never be struck again, Jesus suffered once for all. (1 Peter 3:18)
Jesus is the offspring of the woman spoken of in Genesis 3 that would crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15)
Jesus is the fulfillment of the life of Joseph, which foreshadows Him being the beloved Son, being envied by His own, begin rejected by His own, cast down into the pit, resurrected, sent to a distant country where He became lord of all, and who then provided salvation for His own.
Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah: cf. Genesis 49:8ff as interpreted by Revelation 5:5
3. Eve was promised in Genesis 3:15 that a male descendant from her line would crush the head of the serpent, i.e., the Devil himself, and win completely over evil, as the prince of evil, Satan, would be finally vanquished. However this Man from God would receive wounds (bruised heel) in the process. Adam and Eve even named their first child “Cain” meaning man from God. Then in Genesis 9:27, God would come and live/dwell in the tents of Shem, the Semitic peoples. But which one of the Semites did God intend: the Arabs or the Jewish people? Abraham settled that question, for God called him to go from Ur of Mesopotamia to Israel, and he was to be a blessing for all the nations on earth in Genesis 12:3. This promise could be narrowed down even further for the tribe of Judah. Son number four of Jacob would be the one God would invest with the scepter of ruling and the one from whom the line of Messiah would descend (Gen 49:8-12). In fact, this coming one from Judah would be “A star [that would] come out of Jacob, a scepter [that would] rise out of Israel” (Num 24:17). Moreover, the Messiah who would come would also be a “prophet” (Deut 18:15) Evidence that Deut 18:15 is a Messianic prophecy can be seen in these facts. That "likeness" (between Moses and the Prophet to come) points to a time, a place and an event. The context of Deuteronomy 18 demonstrates that Israel as a nation did not want to confront or be confronted by God. It was a fearful time of thunder, lightning, storms and earthquakes as the whole nation was gathered in the desert. The dark mountain of Sinai seemed to be the center of the storm and seismic activity. The people of Israel were frightened and rightly so, because they sensed that they were encountering something holy and awesome. That word, "awesome," can hardly contain the meaning and depth of their fear. They knew that they were being summoned to meet their Creator, possibly "panim l' panim" (face to face). They were terrified, for they knew from the Patriarchs that no one could look upon God's face and live. Yet here was the Almighty, the King of the ages, coming to confront them. They trembled in one accord, saying, "Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God. Don't let me see this great fire anymore lest I die." Never was the nation so unified in their desire. Never was a nation so fearful. The fear of the Lord abounded in every heart. Every person knew that he or she was unclean before the Almighty, so they spoke as one, asking that Moses be their intercessor—their go-between, their intermediary. Whatever God had for them could be told to Moses, who in turn would tell the people God's message as he had done before in the events leading up to their redemption. And God did speak to Moses, confiding in him that what the people had asked was good. Then the Almighty also confirmed the words Moses had spoken about the Prophet who would be the speaker of God's word and the intermediary between God and his people. But the king of heaven added something about this intermediary when he said, "And it shall be that whoever will not hear my words which he speaks in my name, I will require it of him." So it seems on that most serious day in Israel's history, it was decided that an intercessor should speak for God to the people, and everything the intercessor would speak or require would be God's word and God's requirement. God's word and will would be transmitted through that very special intercessor. Thus, the primary way that the Prophet (Messiah) was to be "like Moses" was in the role of go-between or intermediary. In Bible days, every priest was an intermediary or intercessor who made representation to God on behalf of the people. The priest would bring the petitions and offerings of repentance of Israel and stand in the Holy Place on behalf of the people. The prophets were also intercessors who spoke to the people on behalf of God. They mediated God's word and often called the nation back to a relationship with the Almighty asking and exhorting the people to turn from sin and return to the covenant relationship. Kings like David and Solomon were also like Moses in that they led and administered the Law to the whole nation. Because a king is a judge in peace and a commander in war, Israel's kings acted in God's stead to mediate God's will and hence were intercessors acting on God's behalf. The word Messiah, or Moshiach, means "anointed." Prophets, priests and kings were all anointed to show their consecration. Moses, in a sense, fulfilled all three functions at the same time. But there was one way in which the Prophet to come, the Messiah, would most resemble Moses. The Moshiach Y'shua resembles Moses the most in that Moses offered himself to die for the sins of the people. For all of the things that are praiseworthy about Moses' life, one episode is often overlooked. Perhaps the rabbis commented less on this section because of the embarrassment of Israel's idolatry which preceded the following passage: "Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, 'You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.' Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, 'Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.' And the LORD said to Moses, 'Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.” (Exodus 32:30-33)
In order that Israel might be saved from the wrath of God, Moses stood ready to offer his own life—to take the punishment of the people's sins on himself if God could find no other way to forgive them. He asked God that his life be an expiation for the sins of the people. As a priest he could have made grandiose offerings—thousands of lambs or bulls—but instead he simply offered his own life. We need to remember that forty years of Moses' life were spent as a shepherd in those same mountains and deserts of Midian. In leading the people, he showed the mindset and attitudes of a good shepherd. The job description of a "good shepherd" calls for the kind of serious commitment in which one must be willing to give his own life for the sheep. Y'shua explained this most succinctly as recorded in the New Testament book of John: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, [he who is] not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My [sheep], and am known by My own. "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." (John 10:10-15) The truly good shepherd puts the welfare of the flock above his own. When Philip told his brother Nathaniel, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph" he recognized that Moshe Rabeynu and Moshiach Y'shua were alike. But he probably did not realize until later the full implications of what he was saying. We see that Y'shua was a prophet like Moses, only better. Moses died, but the B'rit Chadasha (New Testament) tells us that Moshiach Y'shua is alive forever to make intercession for us. Y'shua is the one who can lead us out of the Egypt of everyday life. He can break the shackles of the bondage of sin. On life's journey to the promised land (heaven), he can be our guide and provider, and though his provision will not be manna and quail, there will be bread from heaven to feed our souls and restore our spirits. (notes taken from unknown source)
I am merely repeating what the scriptures say about all of us...myself included.
Surely an all-omnipotent being could come up with a better way than having to sacrifice living things in a blood-lust or burnt offering like fashion? For example, why not just institute the same system used in Heaven, I assume those in Heaven are still themselves (i.e. not robots) having free will and all?
If you are talking about those who were born on earth and have since gone on to dwell in heaven then yes they do have free will and there is no need for animal sacrifice. If you are talking about angelic beings created in heaven then no they do not. As for the system of animal sacrifice it was a representation of the real sacrifice that was to come. Yes it was bloody and revolting and God intended it to be this way. He wanted us to have a good grasp on what a cost, the death of His only begotten Son was to be. The penalty for sin is death and He would come and pay our sin debt. Does an all powerful God have the ability to come up with a better plan? I don't see how He could and still be called just. If you saw a judge letting criminals go without punishment you would call Him an unjust judge and be outraged. How much more shall the Judge of the universe judge sin? His plan is genius and I can think of no other way to create free will agents who can freely express love for Him and experience His love. Love requires free will in order to be at all meaningful. Free will demands three elements in order to be truly free. Ability, opportunity, and unambiguity. Of course we have to have the ability to choose or not to choose, but we also have to be given the opportunity to make that choice. If God looked down the corridors of time and decided to only create those who would choose to love Him then He would be unjust because this would not be true free will. Also those who do make the decision to love and serve Him would have no sure way of knowing rather they truly had free will without seeing that there were plenty who chose not to. In this way our free will is made unambiguous.
That's wrong....
