30 years ago, I sat in the library at my little Bible Institute.  My friend Dave sat on one side of me, and Moshe on the other side.  Across the table from us was our Dean, Dr. William Varner.  The subject of that semester’s tutorial was the Messianic passages of the TeNaCh, the Old Testament. The three of us worked through Dr. Varner’s new course with our rudimentary Hebrew language skills and a growing appreciation for the amount and magnitude of Messianic material we had previously overlooked.  Covenants, promises, deathbed blessings, psalms, conquests, and seemingly insignificant geography all sprang to life in our studies. 

And now, the basic content of this course is available for you in Dr. Varner’s newly published text Anticipating the Advent:  Looking for Messiah in All the Right Places (Fontes Press) available here.

Dr. Varner draws from his half century of deep study in historical, Judaic, and Biblical texts as well as his intimate knowledge of the land of Israel to explore the identity of the Messiah.  Each of the 12 chapters addresses either a single text or a group of texts related to one aspect of the Messiah’s appearance—tribal connections, birthplace, announcements of His arrival, and closes with a prayer of worship adapted from New Testament passages about the character and work of Jesus the Messiah. I especially appreciated the chapter tracing the Jewish understanding of the term “Son of God.”

At just 125 pages, you still have time to pick up this accessible text and read it before Christmas.  Both informative and devotional, Anticipating the Advent will also make a great gift for family and friends. 

Happy Advent to you! And Thanks, Dr. Varner!