It has been stated, “The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed. The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.” “One plan, spirit, aim, and purpose pervades the entire Bible. Its opening pages record the creation and fall of man; its closing pages tell of man’s recovery from the fall. The intervening pages show the successive steps of the plan of God for the accomplishment of this purpose.” 

Jesus is the prominent character throughout the Bible. There are more than 300 prophecies in the Old Testament about Messiah’s birth, life, and ministry. Jesus fulfilled all of these in the New Testament. (See Acts 3:18-21; Isaiah 9:6, 7; Isaiah 53.) 

In Genesis 22:16-18, God promised to bless Abraham so that his offspring would multiply as the “stars of heaven” and as the “sand on the seashore.” All the families of the earth would be blessed through them. The New Testament shows Jesus Christ is that “seed”. If we accept and follow him, we can be part of that seed (Galatians 3:29) as the “stars of heaven”. And that seed, Christ and his body members, will bless the “sands of the seashore” (earthly portion). (See Hebrews 6:9-20; Matthew 6:9, 10.) 

Here are some prophecies that foretell the dispersion and reestablishment of Israel: Isaiah 11:12; 43:57; Jeremiah 16:14, 15; 23:38; 32:37; Ezekiel 11:16, 17; 28:25, 26; 34:12, 14; Amos 9:14, 15. These prophecies, from four different sources, are consistent and harmonious. Additionally, Romans 11 teaches that God will make a “New Covenant” with Israel as prophesied in Jeremiah 31:27-34. 

The most wonderful promises are still ahead of us, and we rejoice that both the Old and New Testaments contain those prophecies. Isaiah 25:8-9 (NIV), “He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.’” Compare this with Revelation 21:3-4 (NASB), “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’”

God’s loving message to mankind is contained in the whole Bible!