When one thinks of Old Testament prophecies concerning the first coming of Christ, we usually think of the books of Psalms, Isaiah, or Jeremiah. In them there are a multitude of references alluding to the long-awaited Messiah. However, there are just as many prophecies contained within the book of Genesis that tell of a coming redeemer and savior. Some are subliminal while others are more obvious. The first reference to Christ and His deity is mentioned as early as the creation of man:

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'" (Genesis 1:26)

Notice the plurality of this verse, ..."Let us make, ...our image, ...our likeness,..." This simply indicates that there is more than one person present at the creation of life as we know it. Who else could that be besides the triune Godhead? See study entitled, The Doctrine of the Trinity.

Shortly thereafter, we have the first prophecy of the coming Messiah.

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15)

Here, God is confronting Satan regarding his temptation of Eve in the garden. He is promising Satan that there will be someone in the future who will defeat and destroy him.

In yet another reference we basically have a presentation of the entire gospel message contained in Genesis chapter 5! "What?", you say. Just a side note, we must remember that the original text of the Old Testament as we know it was written in Hebrew, just as the New Testament was written in Greek. If we take a look at chapter five of Genesis we see that we have a detailed account of the generations spanning from Noah to Adam. If we take the original Hebrew meaning of these names and keep them in the order in which they appear within the genealogy, something amazing transpires. Let's examine.

Let's take a look at Adam first. His name in Hebrew simply means "man". He obviously being the first man.

Then after Adam we have Seth, which means, "appointed". Eve stated:

"For God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." (Genesis 4:25)

Seth had a son and named him Enosh which when translated means, "mortal".

Next, we have Kenan, son of Enosh which means, "sorrow".

After Kenan, we have Mahalalel which means, "blessed" and the Hebrew word for El means "God", a very sacred name to the Jews. So together, Mahalalel means, "the blessed God".

Mahalalel's son was named Jared, a Hebrew verb meaning, "shall come down".

Next, we have Enoch, who we find out does not die, but is basically "raptured" if you will. He was taken away from the earth. His name in Hebrew means, "teaching". Supposedly there exists an apochryphal book appropriately entitled, "The Secrets of Enoch" or the "Book of Enoch". In the Book of Jude, there is reference to a prophecy that was given by Enoch concerning the "end-times" (Jude 14-15). There is no documentation of this in the canon of scripture except in the apochryphal book as mentioned. Please see study entitled, Mystery Books of the Bible.

Next, we have Methuselah, earlier Enoch had received another prophecy, that as long as his son, Methuselah is alive the great flood would be detained. But as soon as Methuselah had died, that same year, the flood began. His name can thus be translated, "his death shall bring". Meaning his death shall bring the great flood!

After Methuselah, we have Lamech, simply meaning, "lament" or more appropriately, "despair".

Lamech was the father of Noah, which when translated into English means, "relief" or "comfort". I have even heard it to mean "grace" as well.

Now, if we combine the Hebrew meanings of these words into one sentence, we come across a very interesting statement:

"Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching, His death shall bring (the) despairing comfort and grace."

Amazing, incredible! The whole gospel message hidden and contained within one chapter! Again, this shows the divine engineering behind this sacred book we so eloquently call the Bible. Every single letter, word, jot and tittle is accounted for and has meaning, even in the so-called "boring" genealogies!

NOTE: An article of this same subject can be found in a publication called, "Personal Update" published monthly by Koinonia House Ministries by Chuck Missler. Newsletter dated February 1996, page 19. Visit their website: Koinonia House. This is one of my favorite websites. His newsletter is available for a free one-year trial offer.

Back to Biblical Studies Directory