The Messianic Hope is a compelling book that makes a case for reading the Old Testament through a Messianic lens. Rydelnik argues that Messianic Prophecy is essential to a proper reading of the Hebrew Bible. Furthermore, he affirms that the hope for the Messiah is not a result of a pesher method of interpretation of Old Testament Prophecy. But, it goes back to Old Testament times and was intended by the original authors of the biblical texts.
What sets Rydelnik’s approach apart is his holistic hermeneutic, which goes beyond the grammatical-historical evidence and includes inner-biblical and canonical evidence from both Testaments. Rydelnik’s writing is engaging, and his arguments are persuasive. He challenges readers to consider the importance of Messianic Prophecy to their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. In other words, If Jesus and the apostles gave to Messianic prophecies and saw Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of these prophecies, shouldn’t we accept their testimony as true?
Moreover, he shows that The Old Testament is not only a historical book in a strict sense. But also a prophetic book that continuously pointed to a future Messiah. Thus, the Messianic hope is an ancient hope that is embedded in the pages of the Hebrew Bible. Moreover, he emphasized that this truth is crucial to our Christian faith.
One significant contribution of Rydelnik to the Messianic discussion is Chapter 8, as he investigates the hermeneutics of one of the most influential Jewish commentators, Rashi. Rashi- who had a great influence not only on Jewish interpretation of Scripture but also on Christian scholarship.
Although. I do not fully agree with the author’s interpretation of some prophecies [ one reason for my disagreement is his heavy reliance on the Septuagint, or the Greek translation of the Old Testament, to substantiate his interpretation]. Nevertheless, I have benefited a lot from his insights on some specific passages, such as (Num 24: 14-19) (p.52-54) and his analysis of the virgin birth in Isaiah 7:14. ( Chapter 10).
In conclusion, I recommend, The Messianic Hope to every Christian who is interested in finding Christ in the Old Testament and specifically to Christian Old Testament students who may be challenged by the drift in Old Testament scholarship away from the Messianic hope.
Out of Egypt 