"Jesus the Messiah Returns"
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The Prophecy of Jesus the Messiah

  "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."...Genesis 3:15

  In the first clear Bible prophecy regarding a Redeemer, the Lord is speaking to Satan, who has enticed "the woman," Eve, into disobeying the Lord's command against eating fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He is saying that Satan will someday be crushed and thereby utterly defeated by the seed of the woman..... We have the advantage of looking back over time and seeing the One person who fulfilled this growing hope in the heart of sinful man. Jesus the Messiah went to the cross to destroy Satan's authority and to deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage. (Hebrews 2:14,15).

The striking and unnatural character of the expression "her seed" suggests that unlike other men, The Redeemer would be the seed of a woman only. He would not be a man's seed. A virgin would conceive Him without losing her virginity. The Messiah would be the "seed of of a woman" come to destroy the work of the Devil....I John 3:8. Thus Eve's descendant would undo the damage that Satan had caused. He would not inherit the sin nature which would disqualify every son of Adam from becoming a Savior from sin. This prophecy clearly anticipates the future virgin birth of Jesus the Messiah.

  Satan would inflict a painful wound on the woman's Seed, but Jesus in turn would inflict a mortal wound on the Serpent, crushing his head. This prophecy was fulfilled in the first instance at the cross, but will culminate when the triumphant Jesus casts Satan into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10) ... The promise of salvation was given before anyone died physically. At the time of the giving of this promise no child had been born to Adam and Eve. With the birth of every male child there was the hope that he would be the one who would overthrow the evil that had been unleashed on the Earth. ... Satan would have this eternal dread hanging over him that with the birth of every male child, this could be the very one who would be his end. 

THE PROMISE OF A SEED

The first prophecy of a coming Messiah was not made to the man or the woman, but to the serpent.

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel." (Genesis 3:15).

 Genesis is a book about two seeds. God initially created all life to reproduce after its kind. Throughout the first chapter of Genesis, we read a continuing refrain where plants and birds and fish and animals and even mankind is created to bear fruit "after its kind." But man rebelled and sinned against God. And so, a promise was given. It was a promise of TWO SEEDS.

The promise is found in Genesis 3:15. The first seed was to be the seed of the serpent. It was the seed of rebellion. It was the seed of sin. It was made up of all who walked in turning against God.

But there is also a second seed promised. It is the seed of the woman. This second seed is set over against the first seed. The two seeds are at war with one another. And God has decreed that the second seed shall ultimately win.

From our vantage point, we know that this second seed is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ - the One who was bruised for our iniquities as He crushed underfoot the Serpent's Head.

And I will put Enmity between…

Serpent

The Woman

Your Seed

Her Seed

He shall bruise you on the head

You shall bruise Him on the heel

The rest of Genesis is the story of these two seeds.


 First we read of Cain and Abel. Although they are brothers descended from the same father and mother, Cain shows himself to be of the spiritual seed of the serpent by murdering his brother. But God replaces murdered Abel with Seth.

The Woman - Abel - Seth- Cain

 Lamech

We see the genealogy of each. Cain's seed leads us to Lamech - a man who is willing not only to murder a man, but to compose a song in which he boasts of his deed. Seth's seed leds us to Enoch who walks with God, and from there to Noah who is spared the destruction of the Flood

Noah - Shem -Ham - Canaan

But the story does not stop there. Noah has three sons. And one of them performs an evil deed which demonstrates that he is of the spiritual seed of the serpent. He and his descendants through Canaan are cursed Noah's other son, Shem, is given the promise of blessing. 

 Later one is called out to be a blessing to the nations. His name is Abraham. He has two sons. One is seen to be the seed of the serpent - he is cast out. The other is of the spiritual seed of God. He is Isaac.

Isaac also has two sons. They are twins. But one is of the spiritual seed of the serpent. Esau does not hold the blessings of God in high esteem. Jacob, on the other hand, shows himself to be of the seed of the woman.



from: the John Stevenson Bible Study Page