Progressive -Mention Principle
This is where the revelation of any given
truth is increasingly clear as the Word of God proceeds to the end. The Word of God is a progression, and every
progressive mention adds more details to a particular truth. The progressive mentions of different truths
can be lengthy so I will just give one example.
The
Coming Messiah: Little by little
from the very beginning we see clues given by God of a coming Messiah.
Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise
thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
When Adam and Eve brought sin
into the world, God immediately gave a promise that the Seed of the woman would
bruise the head of the serpent. At first
a very small and vague clue.
Genesis
22: 18: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because thou hast obeyed my voice.”
When Isaac is born to an aging
Abraham, God gives another clue. The
promised Seed will be in Isaac's family linage.
At first it was a promise to Eve, the mother of all humanity. Not it is narrowed down to a descendant of
Isaac.
Psalm 22: “My God, my
God, why hast thy forsaken me...they pierced my hands and my feet…They part my
garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture…”
Another clue was given to the
king and prophet David in the psalm of the cross! This whole psalm is about the
cross! He will be forsaken, he will be
crucified and they shall gamble for his garments!
Psalm 34:20: “He
keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.”
Another clue again was given to
the king and prophet David that his bones would not be broken!
Isaiah 53:4-5: “Surely
he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Another clue was given to the
prophet Isaiah about the killing of the Messiah and why he died!
Daniel
9:25: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince…”
Another
clue was given to the prophet Daniel.
The Israelites would come out of Babylon and return to Jerusalem to
build it up for the coming Messiah.
Zechariah
9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto the: he is just, and having salvation;
lowly, and riding upon an ass and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
Another
clue was given to the prophet Zechariah about the Triumphant Entry of the
Messiah into Jerusalem.
Zechariah
11:12: “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me thy price; and
if not, forebear, So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.”
Another clue
was given again to the prophet Zechariah about the price on the Messiah’s
head! Thirty pieces of silver!
Malachi
3:1: “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare thy way
before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even
the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts.”
Another
clue was given to the prophet Malachi that a messenger would come just before
the appearance of the Messiah.
William J. Roop, M.A.B.S.