Who is the God of Israel?

By David Cook

Is the God explained by the Jewish Rabbis from the Talmud; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?  What about Chabad-Lubavitch; the Orthodox Hasidic Jews in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York.  Do they  have the true wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of the God of Israel?  Is the seventh Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson really the promised Moshiach?  Since the Rebbe passed away on June 12, 1994, does this mean the Moshiach will come twice?  How about Kabbalah Judaism; is this Jewish mysticism revealing the hidden mysteries about the God of Israel through their esoteric method, discipline and school of thought?  What about the Messianic Yeshuanikim; do they have revelation of the divine nature of Yĕhovah Elohim from Yeshua the Moshiach?  Other Jews are non-religious, and consider themselves Secular Jews; and range from humanism, agnosticism to atheism, intertwined with various aspects of rationalism.  Many believe that man and all of creation is the result of random change, plus time; over billions of years of evolution.  For the humanist, agnostic or atheist; their only hope for the redemption of Israel will come from the collective intelligence, work and military strength of the Jewish people.  Such diverse theological positions and non-theological positions.

Who is the God of Israel?

The prophet Moses wrote in the Torah about Abraham’s grandson Jacob, the son of Isaac.  We read in the book of Genesis chapter 28;

28 So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4 May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.” 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.  Genesis 28:1-5 NASB

May El Shaddai bless you and make you fruitful

El Shaddai is the God of Abraham and Isaac.  El Shaddai is the Mighty God who nurtures His people.  El Shaddai is the all-sufficient Mighty God. [1]  El Shaddai was the God of Abraham and Isaac but would Jacob serve the God of His fathers?

Jacob’s dream at Bethel, by José de Ribera.

On his journey back to Paddan-aram Jacob had a dream.

“the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac”

10 Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. 12 He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. 14 Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”  Genesis 28:10-17 NASB

“the Elohim of your father Abraham and the Elohim of Isaac”

Yĕhovah said He is the Elohim of Abraham and the Elohim of Isaac.  The Hebrew word “Elohim” is a plural masculine noun for God.  Elohim is the plural of El (or possibly of Eloah) it is the first name for God given by Moses in the Tanakh: “In the beginning, God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth” Genesis 1:1 [2]

Yĕhovah the Elohim who created the heavens and the earth is the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac.  Yĕhovah the Elohim of Abraham and Isaac appeared to Jacob in a dream and spoke to him and made promises to him about the future of the land he was sleeping on, multiplying his descendants and that through one of his offspring; all the families of the earth would be blessed.  God made promises to Abraham, and these promise were passed on to his grandson Jacob.  [3]

Bethel

18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. 22 This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”  Genesis 28:18-22 NASB

Bethel means “House of El” or “House of God”.  [4]

“El Shaddai” & “Thy Word” performed by Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith

Moshe wrote in the Torah in Genesis chapter 32 that Jacob wrestled all night with a “man” who later Jacob stated is God (El).  The Person from heaven who looked like a man but turned out to be God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and blessed him.

Who is this “man” who turned out to be “God”?

Jacob Wrestles with God

24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” 31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. 32 Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.

Genesis 32:24-32 NASB

The prophet Moses wrote that Jacob was left alone, “and a man wrestled with him until daybreak”.  Who was this man that wrestled with Jacob?  Why did Jacob think this man had the authority to bless him?

Who is the God of Israel?

Some believe that Jacob wrestled with an angel.  Yet Moses wrote that Jacob said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”  Was Jacob right?  Did Jacob wrestle with God, and see God face to face?  Jacob was so convinced he had a real encounter with God that he named the place Peniel, which means “face of God”.

Jacob’s new name Israel means to “struggle with God” and man and prevail.  Jacob wrestled all night with God, and persevered in faith; to be blessed by God.  Israel is the new name given to Jacob by God.  Some believe the “man” who later is revealed to be “God“, who blessed Jacob and gave him the new name Israel; is the pre-incarnate Moshiach, the Son of the living God.  The prophet Micah wrote that the Moshiach existed from the ancient days long before His incarnation, long before His birth in Bethlehem;

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Too little to be among the clans of Judah,

From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.

His goings forth are from long ago,

From the days of eternity.”

Micah 5:2 NASB

Jacob asked the “man” he wrestled with, “Please tell me your name.” But the “man” who turns out to be God said, “Why is it that you ask my name?”  The God-man eluded Jacob’s question with another question and left His identity obscure.  Jacob has had a real encounter with the God of Abraham and Isaac, yet he does not know His name.

The God of Israel, is the Lord of hosts

The prophet Isaiah wrote that the Lord of hosts, is the God of Israel;

“O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,

who is enthroned above the cherubim,

You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth.

You have made heaven and earth.

Isaiah 37:16 NASB

Isaiah had a vision of the Lord of hosts on His throne;

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said,

“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,

The whole earth is full of His glory.”

Isaiah 6:1-3 NASB

 

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying,

“Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”

Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”  

Isaiah 6:8 NASB

Isaiah receives his call as a prophet from the Lord of hosts.  Isaiah responded, “Here am I.  Send me!”  Why does the Yĕhovah refer to Himself both in the singular and in the plural?  “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”  (See Genesis 1:26)  The triune Almighty God — Elohim (plural noun for mighty God) who is revealed in the Torah is a unique unified one, therefore the verbs and adjectives used with Elohim are singular.

Yehovah Elohim exists, He causes all things to come into existence.  Yehovah Elohim is the self-existent One.  Yehovah Elohim is the great “I AM”; who is, who was, who is to come.   He is the first cause; Creator of the universe, all that is seen and unseen, all that is visible and invisible.  Yehovah Elohim, the Lord our God is a unique unified one.

El is a Semitic name for God.  The Hebrew word “Elohim” is a plural masculine noun that means the strong supreme One, Almighty God.  Moses also writes in the Torah of our Almighty God (Elohim) in the plural in Genesis 3:22 and Genesis 11:7.

Then the LORD God said,

“Behold, the man has become like one of Us…”

Genesis 3:22 NASB

The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Lord of hosts created the heavens and the earth.

12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called;

I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.

13 “Surely My hand founded the earth,

And My right hand spread out the heavens;

When I call to them, they stand together.

Isaiah 48:12-13 NASB

Isaiah explains more of who was involved in the creation of the heavens and the earth in Isaiah chapter 48, verses 12-16.  The “Me” mentioned in verse 12 is identified as “I am the first, I am also the last” who is the maker of the heavens.  Who is the “I AM the First, I AM the Last” who made the heavens and the earth?  If we look back in Isaiah 48, verse 2 we see the “Me” is identified as “the God of Israel; the Lord of hosts”.  The Lord of hosts, Yĕhovah Tzeva’ot is the Commander of heavens armies.

The Lord of hosts, Yĕhovah Tzeva’ot is the First and the Last; who created the heavens and the earth.  In chapter 48, verse 16 we see that the “Lord of hosts”, who is “the First and the Last” maker of the heavens and the earth was sent by the “Lord GOD” (Adonai Yĕhovah in Hebrew).  What is the significance of the fact that the Lord GOD sent the Lord of hosts?  We see that the theology of the Tanach is consistent with the teaching of Yeshua the Moshiach and the New Testament writers.   The belief that Elohim is a unified one Lord is supported by numerous scriptures throughout the Tanach, one being Isaiah 48:16 which includes a reference to three distinct divine Persons.

“And now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit.”

Isaiah 48:16 NASB

1. Lord GOD

2. “Me”

3. His Spirit

So who is this “Me’ in verse 16?  The “Me” in verse 16 is the Lord of hosts, the First and the Last who created the heavens and the earth.  If we turn to the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation to find a clue who this mystery Person is.  The apostle John writes, “Fear not, ‘I am the first and the last, and the living one.  I died and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Revelation 1:17-18 John reveals that the one speaking is Yeshua the risen Savior, the promised Moshiach.  Yeshua is the Lord of host; who said, “I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.”

1. Lord GOD = Adonai Yĕhovah

2. “Me” = the Yĕhovah of hosts, who is Adonai Yeshua

3. His Spirit = His Ruach (Spirit of Adonai Yĕhovah) [5]

 

 “And now the Adonai Yĕhovah has sent Me, and His Spirit.”

Isaiah 48:16

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace

In chapter 9, Isaiah wrote a prophecy concerning the Moshiach;

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

7 There will be no end to the increase of

His government or of peace,

On the throne of David and over his kingdom,

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness

From then on and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:6-7 NASB

 

Michael Card and Sara Groves sing El Shaddai

What is this blessing promised to both Abraham and Jacob that would bless all the families of the earth?

Through Jacob’s family line, the Moshiach was born and He will bring redemption for all the families of the earth; those chosen before the foundation of the world, from every tribe and language and people and nation. [6]

Saul of Tarsus, from the region of Cilicia was the son of a Pharisee from the tribe of Benjamin who was schooled under Rabbi Gamaliel in Jerusalem.   Saul in his religious zeal was a persecutor of the early church.  Later, Saul became a believer in Yeshua the Moshiach.  Saul like Jacob was given a new name after his encounter with the Moshiach.  Jacob was given the name Israel, and Saul was given the name Paul when Yeshua appeared to him in a vision on the road to Damascus. [7]

Paul the apostle wrote to Jewish and Gentile believers in Moshiach this commentary on Genesis;

6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. 7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.  Galatians 3:6-9 NASB

Yeshua the Moshiach is the blessing promised to Abraham.  So that now, both Jews and Gentiles may receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. [8]  Moshiach is the One who would come and bless all the families of the earth.  The promises were made to Abraham and to his decedent, namely the Moshiach. [9]

Can a Jewish person find eternal redemption by attempting to obey the 613 Laws of Torah?  Can a Gentile person find eternal redemption by attempting to obey the 7 Noahide Laws?  Will both Jew and non-Jew be assured of a place in the World to Come (Olam Haba), the final reward of the righteous; by keeping the Law of God?

Moses wrote in the Torah; that Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness. [10]

The Law given through Moses does not nullify the promise God made to Abraham, of righteousness by faith.  The 613 Mosaic Laws were given 430 years after God made the covenant with Abraham, which included among other things; the promise of the Moshiach and righteousness by faith.  The apostle Paul explains; the law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. [11]

Why then, was the law given?

The Law was given because of transgressions until the Moshiach had come. [12]  The Moshiach is the descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who would bless “all the families of the earth”. [13]

13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.  Romans 4:13-15 NASB

The promised Moshiach came at the appointed time, He lived among us and then willingly laid down His life as a sacrificial offering for our many sins.  The sinless Moshiach took all our sins upon Himself, so that we might become God’s righteous people by faith.  The prophet Zechariah wrote about the invasion of Israel and the siege of Jerusalem by many nations just prior to the return of the Moshaich;

2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3 It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.  Zechariah 12:2-3 NASB

5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the Lord of hosts, their God.’   Zechariah 12:5 NASB

Then one day, the Lord of hosts will return to Jerusalem; and the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will look on the Lord of hosts, “whom they have pierced”; and they will mourn.  We read in Zechariah 12:10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”

The God of Israel is the Lord of hosts.  The Lord of hosts is the One who was pierced for our transgression; Yeshua the promised Moshiach. [14]  In Zechariah chapter 14, we read about the millennial reign of the Moshiach King on earth when He will rule from Jerusalem; 16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them.   Zechariah 14:16-17 NASB

Selah.

[1] El Shaddai is the all-sufficient Mighty God.  http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/El/el.html

[2] Elohim a Hebrew word for God is the plural of El (or possibly Eloah).  http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/Elohim/elohim.html

[3] A continuation of the promise to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3

[4] Bethel means “House of El” or “House of God”.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethel

[5] His Ruach Adonai Yehovah (see Isaiah 61:1)

[6] If you belong to Moshiach then you are Abram’s descendants, heirs according to promise; Galatians 3:26-29.  People redeemed from every tribe, language, people and nation; Revelation 5:9-10.  The saints (elect believers in the Moshiach) were chosen by God before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1:4-6 and 1:11-12.

[7] Saul of Tarsus, Acts 21:39.  Saul from the tribe of Benjamin, Romans 11:1.  Saul was schooled by Rabbi Gamaliel in Jerusalem, Acts 22:3. Saul a persecutor of the early church, Acts 8:3.  Yeshua appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, Acts 9:1-31.

[8] In Moshiach the Gentiles receive the promise of the Spirit through faith, Galatians 3:14.

[9] Moshiach would bless all the families of the earth, Galatians 3:16.

[10] Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.  Genesis 15:6 NIVUK.

[11] The 613 Laws given by Moses, do not nullify the promise God made to Abram of righteousness by faith; Galatians 3:17-19 NIVUK.

[12] Why was the Mosaic Law given? Galatians 3:19.

[13] All the families of the earth will be blessed through Abraham’s descendant the Moshiach, Genesis 12:3 and 28:14 and Galatians 3:16.

[14] “But He was pierced through for our transgressions”, Isaiah 53:5.  “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf”, 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Mäshiach Had To Come Before 70 AD

Roman soldiers brought back a Menorah and other holy relics from the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

By David Cook

The Mäshiach had to come before 70 AD.  Let me explain why.  In the Tanakh we read prophecies about the suffering, death and resurrection of Yeshua our Lord; the promised Mäshiach. [1]  In Daniel chapter 9 we read about important events that were predetermined in heaven for the benefit of the Jewish People;

Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish transgression, to make an end of sin, to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.  Daniel 9:24 HSV

The angel Gabriel brought an important communique from heaven to Daniel, foretelling that sin would be atoned for in the future and that everlasting righteousness is available for those who have faith like Abraham.  Gabriel prophesied that the Mäshiach would make an end of sin and finish transgression, and be put to death.  Yeshua our Savior redeemed us from the debt of our sin with His own blood.  The prophet Isaiah wrote extensively of the suffering and crucifixion of God’s Righteous Servant, Yeshua the promised Mäshiach in Isaiah chapter 53.  Gabriel gives Daniel these significant points in Daniel chapter 9 verse 24;

1. To finish transgression.
2. To make an end of sin.
3. To atone for iniquity.
4. To bring in everlasting righteousness.
5. To seal up the vision.
6. To seal up prophecy.
7. To anoint the most Holy.

Then Gabriel explained that a decree would be made to restore and rebuild Jerusalem;

Therefore know and understand that from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Yerushalayim until the Mäshiach Prince there will be seven ‘sevens’ and sixty-two ‘sevens’.  The streets will be rebuilt, and the wall, despite treacherous times.  Daniel 9:25 HSV

From the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Mashiach comes there will be a certain period of time.  The period of time is given in weeks of years, similar to a decade only in seven year periods.  There will be seven ‘sevens’ and sixty-two ‘sevens’, for a total of sixty-nine ‘sevens’.  Sixty-nine ‘sevens’ or sixty nine weeks of years is equal to 483 years.  So after the decree is issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem there will be 483 years and then the Mäshiach will come.

From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem on March 14, 445 BC by Artaxerxes Longimanus until Yeshua arrived and was presented in Jerusalem riding on a donkey as the Messianic King on April 6, 32 AD.  This is celebrated by believers of Yeshua the Messiah on Palm Sunday.  We discover that when we calculate 69 weeks of years (or 483 years and correct for leap years) it figures out to be 173,880 days to the day. [2]

How is this possible, to announce the coming of the Anointed One, the Lord’s Mäshiach, the King of Zion; almost five centuries before the historical event transpires in precise detail?  The Tanakh is an amazing collection of books, our awesome God orchestrated it.  YHVH our Elohim is omniscient, the future is as clear to Him as the present and the past; He knows the beginning from the end.

After sixty-two ‘sevens’ the Mäshiach will be put to death, and will have nothing.  The people of the prince that will come, will destroy the city and the temple.  The end will come with a flood.  War and desolation are determined until the end.  Daniel 9:26 HSV

So after the sixty-two ‘sevens’ and the before mentioned seven ‘seven’s (483 years) the Mäshiach will be put to death.  Then the people of a future prince will come and destroy the city of Jerusalem and the Temple.  YHVH Elohim sent Gabriel to tell His people that an Anointed Prince, who is the promised Mäshiach must come, atone for sin and be put to death before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple.  The destruction of Jerusalem and the second temple occurred in 70 AD, during the siege of Jerusalem; when the Roman legions fought under Titus Vespasian and the Roman army leveled the city.  The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the catastrophic and crucial event of the First Jewish-Roman War. [3] The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus and Tiberius Julius Alexander second-in-command, along with the enlisted soldier legionnaires in Judaea, conscripted provincial soldiers from Syria, other soldiers from Alexandria and in collaboration they besieged, destroyed and conquered the city of Jerusalem. [4]

Josephus wrote that “Vespasian sent his son Titus [who], came by land into Syria, where he gathered together Roman forces, with a considerable number of auxiliaries from the kings in that neighborhood.” [5]  Josephus goes on to give us these details; “Malchus also, the king of Arabia, sent a thousand horseman, besides five thousand footmen, the greatest part of which were archers; so that the whole army, including the auxiliaries sent by the kings, as well as horsemen and footmen, when all were united together, amounted to sixty thousand.” [6]

Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman senator and historian.  He wrote extensively on the history, of this period of the Roman empire.  Tacitus includes the Roman attack on Jerusalem and gives details of the specific legions and the peoples that comprised the attacking army: “Titus Caesar . . . found in Judaea three legions, the 5th, the 10th, and the 15th . . . To these he added the 12th from Syria, and some men belonging to the 18th and 3rd, who he had withdrawn from Alexandria.  This force was accompanied . . . by a strong contingent of Arabs, who hated the Jews with the usual hatred of neighbors.” [7]

The siege ended with the sacking of the city and the destruction of the Second Temple. The destruction of both the first and second temples is mourned each year at the Jewish fast Tisha B’Av. The Arch of Titus, celebrating the Roman sack of Jerusalem and the Temple, still stands in Rome.  The Arch of Titus, was built in 82 AD by his younger brother Emperor Domitian to commemorate Emperor Titus’ victories, including in the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Photo by J. E. Howard, “The Arch of Titus”; built in 82 AD to commemorate Emperor Titus’ victories; including in the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

The Jewish People Did Not Recognize the Visitation of the Mäshiach

Tragically, most of the Jewish people did not recognize the time of their visitation by Yeshua the Mäshiach, God’s promised Messianic King.  As the Mäshiach King approached Jerusalem, He wept over the city and He gave the reason why the city of Jerusalem and the Second Temple were destroyed as predicted by the angel Gabriel in Daniel 9:26;

41When He approached Jerusalem,

He saw the city and wept over it,

42saying, “If you had known in this day,

even you, the things which make for peace!

But now they have been hidden from your eyes.

43″For the days will come upon you

when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you,

and surround you and hem you in on every side,

44and they will level you to the ground

and your children within you,

and they will not leave in you one stone upon another,

because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Luke 19:41-44 NASB

Both God’s envoy the angel Gabriel and Yeshua the Son of God, the promised Mäshiach prophesied the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple.  In the Bible we see both the severity of God’s judgment and the mercy and love of our Father who is in heaven.  Yeshua the Mäshiach explained God’s plan for our redemption and salvation, and how to receive eternal life.

14“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;

15so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

16“For God so loved the world,

that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

17“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world,

but that the world might be saved through Him.

18“He who believes in Him is not judged;

he who does not believe has been judged already,

because he has not believed

in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:14-18 NASB

In the fullness of times, Mäshiach did come and was presented as King in Jerusalem.  In the Gospel of John we read how God blesses all those who believe in and receive His Son, Yeshua the promised Mäshiach.

11He came to His own,

and those who were His own did not receive Him.

12But as many as received Him,

to them He gave the right to become children of God,

even to those who believe in His name,

13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh

nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:11-13 NASB

In the book of Daniel 9:26 we read how God sent the angel Gabriel to Daniel in response to his fasting, repentance and contrite prayer to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Gabriel told Daniel that the Mäshiach will come and be put to death before the destruction of the Jewish Temple and the city of Jerusalem.  We know from history that the siege of Jerusalem by Emperor Titus happened in 70 AD; and this is when the temple and the city of Jerusalem were destroyed.  So the Mäshiach had to come before 70 AD.  Why then are so many Jewish people still looking for the coming of the Mäshiach?

Is it because they put more faith in the oral traditions of the Talmud taught to them by the rabbinic community; rather than the Word of YHVH Elohim in the Tankh?

[1] Suffering of the Mäshiach, Isaiah chapter 53, Psalm 22:1-24; death of the Mäshiach in Daniel 9:26, Isaiah 53:8-9, resurrection of the Mäshiach Psalm 16:10, Isaiah 53:10-12.

[2] Missler, Chuck, “Daniel’s 70 Weeks”, Koinonia House, 2004.  (Also, the recording of “Expositional Commentary on Daniel”)

[3] Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(70)

[4] Richardson, Joel, “Mideast Beast”, chapter 7, The People of the Prince to Come; page 91-97, WND Books, 2012.

[5] Flavius Josephus, “The Complete Works of Josephus”, The Wars of the Jews  or The History of the Destruction of Jeruselum, bk 3, chap. 1, par. 3.

[6] Ibid, chap. 4, par. 2.

[7] Tacitus, “The History”, New Ed ed., bk. 5.1, ed. Moses Hadas; transs. Alfred Church and William Brodribb (New York: Modern Library, 2003).

Copyright © 2013 by David M. Cook, all rights reserved.

Resurrection of Messiah

Inside the empty garden tomb of Messiah Yeshua in Jerusalem.

by David Cook

Long ago, God promised the Good News of redemption via Messiah’s atoning death; as a ransom for all our sins.  In the holy Scriptures, we read of God’s righteous Servant Yeshua and His victory over death by His resurrection from the dead; which was foretold by the Jewish prophets in the Tanakh.  Sha’ul of Tarsus (known to many as the apostle Paul) also wrote about Messiah Yeshua, who is God’s beloved Son and a descendant of King David;

2 God promised this Good News long ago

through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.

3 The Good News is about his Son.

In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line,

4 and he was shown to be the Son of God

 when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 1:2-4 NLT

In the Tanakh we read prophecies about the suffering, death and resurrection of Yeshua our Lord; the promised Messiah.  In Daniel chapter 9 we read about important events that were predetermined in heaven that would transpire in the holy city of Jerusalem;

Seventy sevens are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.  25 Therefore know and understand that from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Yerushalayim until Messiah the Prince there will be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens.  The streets and the wall will be rebuilt, despite treacherous times.  26 After sixty-two sevens the Messiah will be put to death and have nothing.  Daniel 9:24-26 HSV

The angel Gabriel brought an important communique from heaven to Daniel, foretelling that sin would be atoned for in the future and that everlasting righteousness is available for those who have faith like Abraham.  Gabriel prophesied that the Messiah would make an end of sins and finish transgression, and be put to death.  Yeshua our Savior redeemed us from the debt of our sin with His own blood.  The prophet Isaiah wrote extensively of the suffering and crucifixion of God’s Righteous Servant; Yeshua the promised Messiah.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.

Isaiah 53:4-6 NASB

In the book of Zechariah we read that Yehovah of hosts foretells that in the last days Jerusalem will be attacked by many nations.  The Yehoavh of hosts is the Lord of heaven’s army, He will “set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem”;

9 And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.  10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.  Zechariah 12:9-10 NASB

The Yehovah of hosts is Yeshua, the resurrected Messiah; who will return and fight the wars of God for His people.  The Lord of hosts prophesied that the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “will look on Me whom they have pierced”.  They will mourn for the Lord of hosts and will weep bitterly over Him like someone who mourns for an only son.

Nicole C. Mullins – My Redeemer Lives

One night while Messiah Yeshua was fulfilling His ministry on earth, a Pharisee named Nicodemus who was a ruler of the Jewish people; sought answers on how to enter the kingdom of God.  Yeshua explained to him;

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  John 3:16-18 NASB

When Messiah Yeshua returns to rescue the remnant of Israel, the house of David and the people living in Jerusalem; will see that Yeshua is their Messiah and will mourn and weep bitterly.  Isaiah explains that God’s righteous Servant, Yeshua the Messiah; was suffering on our behalf, to atone for our sins.  Each and every one of us has turned away from God to go his own way.  Like straying sheep that are lost and are away from the flock and are in need to be rescued by the Good Shepherd.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53:7-13 NASB

The prophet Isaiah wrote that not only will God’s righteous Servant, suffer and die for our sins; but He will live again!  Messiah Yeshua will see His offspring, namely those who believe in Him will be born again to eternal life! [1]  These are the children of God, as many as believe in and received Yeshua the Messiah as Lord.  The apostle John wrote concerning Yeshua’s offspring;

10 He came into the very world he created,

but the world didn’t recognize him. 

11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him,

he gave the right to become children of God.

13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth

resulting from human passion or plan,

but a birth that comes from God.

John 1:10-13 NLT

In Isaiah 53:10 we read that Messiah’s Father will “prolong his days” throughout all eternity.  God’s righteous Servant, Yeshua our Savior makes many of the unrighteous; righteous by faith.  By God’s grace, the just Messiah who is God’s righteous Servant foretold of in Isaiah 53 is the One who justifies the unjust.

Yeshua the Messiah Himself prophesied that He would suffer, be crucified and rise again on the third day;

“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected

by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed,

and on the third day be raised.”

Luke 9:22 ESV

The empty garden tomb of Yeshua the Messiah located in Jerusalem, outside the city walls and close to the Damascus Gate.

“the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men

and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 

Luke 24:7 ESV

In Psalm 16, King David wrote that Yehovah God would not allow His “Holy One” to undergo decay;

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

Psalms 16:10 NASB

God’s “Righteous Servant” written of by Isaiah in chapter 53 verse 11 is the “Holy One” written of by King David in Psalms 16:10.  Yehovah’s “Holy One” is Messiah Yeshua, who is without sin.  Yeshua did not undergo decay since He rose from the dead on the third day.  Messiah Yeshua is my Adonai. [2]  As Job declared long ago, I know my Redeemer lives!

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
 And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
26 “Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
27 Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.

Job 19:25-27 NASB

Hillsong – Stronger

The apostle Peter gave this sermon in Jerusalem at the portico of Solomon, which was at the eastern edge of the outer court of the Jewish temple; [3]

But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you. 23 And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. 25 It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”            Acts 3:18-26 NASB

Yeshua gave this promise of the hope of resurrection from the dead and eternal life for those who would come to Him and believe;

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.  John 6:44-47 NASB

[1] Yeshua explained to Nicodemus, a Jewish Pharisee how to be “born again” in John 3:1-18.

[2] Psalms 110:1&5, Messiah is King David’s Adoni mentioned in verse 1 and his Adonai in verse 5.

[3] Second Temple, Court of the Gentiles, the Portico of Solomon.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Temple

Miraculous birth of Eliyahu and virgin birth of Messiah

by David M. Cook

For many years and to this day the Jewish people have been looking for the arrival of the prophet Eliyahu (Elijah) who it was foretold that he would come before the great and terrible day of the Lord.

We read in the prophet Malachi;

4 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” 2 “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. 3 You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the Lord of hosts.  4 “Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.  5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 6 He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”  Malachi 4:1-6 NASB

While Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah was living on earth He explained that Eliyahu (Elijah) did come but that the people did not recognize him.

17 Six days later Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.  9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” 10 And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.   Matthew 17:1-13 NASB

We read about the miraculous birth of Eliyahu (who is John the baptist) in the gospel of Luke chapter one.  We learn that his parents Zacharias and Elizabeth were not able to have children (as was also true of Abraham and Sarah);

5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.   Luke 1:5-7 NASB

Luke gives us the amazing account of John’s (Elihahu’s) miraculous birth.  While Zacharias was performing his priestly service in the Temple he was visited by the angel Gabriel.

8 Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 

18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”  Luke 1:8-20 NASB

After the birth of his son, Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied this concerning his son John:

68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of David His servant—
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—
71 Salvation from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72 To show mercy toward our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”                                     

Luke 1:68-79 NASB

John (Eliyahu) is the prophet of the Most High; who went before Messiah Yeshua our Lord to prepare His ways.  Below is a link to a radio program about the miraculous birth of John and the virgin birth of Messiah Yeshua.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eternityreadyradio/2013/12/11/eternity-talk-presents-christmas-rama-2013

Moshiach, Torah and the 12th Tribe of Israel: Benoni or Benjamin?

Guest post by Joseph of the Yeshuanikim

When thinking about Moshiach, Jewish people generally find the idea of the Messiah both suffering and also achieving glory, hard to cope with. If he suffers he can’t be Moshiach, he must have failed! But is this really the case?

As Hannukah ended, and with Christmas approaching, I was reading about Jacob and Esau in the Torah. I reached Genesis 35:16-20, about what Jacob did after escaping from Esau and then returning to Bethel, heading towards Eprath:

Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.”  And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni [Son of Sorrow]; but his father called him Benjamin [Son at my Right Hand].  So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.  Genesis 35:16-20 ESV

Interestingly, on the way to Bethlehem, a son is born, who is named Son of Sorrow, but is renamed by the father as “Son at my Right Hand.” Isaiah 53 speaks of a “man of sorrows” acquainted with grief, yet later on in the chapter we are told that God will give him a portion among the great. Elsewhere, Psalm 2 promises the future king of Israel and Son of God that he will sit at God’s right hand.

Here early on in Genesis, we see a fusion of these ideas already, before Isaiah and David are even alive!

At this place, on the way to Bethlehem, death gave way to life. The death of Rachel facilitated the life of Benjamin. In a way, we can think of Yeshua, who had to die to bring us life.

The prophet Micah (verse 5:2) tells us that a ruler will come out of Bethlehem Ephrath, though the place is “small among the tribes of Judah.” This ruler will be “from eternity”:

וְאַתָּה בֵּית-לֶחֶם אֶפְרָתָה, צָעִיר לִהְיוֹת בְּאַלְפֵי יְהוּדָה–מִמְּךָ לִי יֵצֵא, לִהְיוֹת מוֹשֵׁל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל; וּמוֹצָאֹתָיו מִקֶּדֶם, מִימֵי עוֹלָם

This ruler, Yeshua, would eventually be the Son at God’s Right Hand. Like Benjamin, He was also a Son of Sorrows, and also to be born in Bethlehem. He would be renamed, in effect, also by his father, “Son at the Right Hand.”

So there you go, if you were wondering how Moshiach could both suffer and be glorified, and also be born in Bethlehem, well – your answer is already in the Torah!

 

Signs of His Coming & the End of the Age

By David Cook

Many people around the world are looking for and longing for the coming of the Messiah and the era of peace He will bring upon the earth.  We read in the Gospel of Matthew;

Yeshua came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ² And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

This prophecy was fulfilled about 38 years later, in 70 AD when Roman legions under Titus attacked and subsequently destroyed much of the city of Jerusalem and the Second Jewish Temple.

While Yeshua was sitting on the Mount of Olives, His disciples came to Him privately, saying; “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”  Matthew 24:1-3 NASB

So as Yeshua (Jesus) was sitting on the Mount of Olives He gave His disciples these three categories of signs of His coming, and of the end of the age;

• The beginning of Birth Pangs  (Matthew 24:8)
• Tribulation                                      (Matthew 24:9)
• Great Tribulation                         (Matthew 24:21)

On January 23, 2007 the Fars News Agency reported that “Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mualem here on Tuesday assured that the United States and the Zionist regime of Israel will soon come to the end of their lives.” [1]

 The Beginning of Birth Pangs

1. Misleading False Messiahs.                          (Matthew 24:4-5)
2. Hearing of Wars and Rumors of Wars.  (Matthew 24:6-7)
3. Famines in various places.                            (Matthew 24:7)
4. Earthquakes in various places.                   (Matthew 24:7)

False Messiahs: False messiahs are a dime a dozen and certainly are on the rise whether it is Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the Rebbe among his followers. Rabbi Schneerson was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe (Hasidic leader) of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The Rebbe’s followers believe and claim him to be the Messiah. Or the Sun Myung Moon the founder and leader of the Unification Church established in Seoul, South Korea. False messiahs are on the increase. [2]

Wars and Rumors of War: The United Nations released an estimate in May 2013, that the Syrian War death toll had exceeded 80,000. By June 2013, this figure was updated to over 93,000. Various opposition activist groups estimate between 72,960 and 96,430 people have been killed, of which about half were civilians, but also including 58,500 armed combatants consisting of both the Syrian Army and rebel forces, up to 1,000 opposition protesters and 1,000 government officials. [3]

Famines in Various Places: The BBC News reported on July 20, 2011 that the UN declared a famine in Somalia in Bakool and Lower Shabelle region; “An estimated 10 million people have been affected in East Africa by the worst drought in more than half a century. More than 166,000 desperate Somalis are estimated to have fled their country to neighboring Kenya or Ethiopia.” [4]

Earthquake Frequency: The frequency of earthquakes are similar to the contractions of a pregnant woman as she approaches labor and the the delivery of her child. The closer the woman comes to giving birth to her child, then the more frequent (and intense) the contractions become. Similarly, the closer we come to Messiah’s “coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” (and the rapture of God’s people) then the more frequent earthquakes become. Take a look at the chart below with data from the U.S. Geological Survey, that shows the increase of frequency of earthquakes over time.

U.S. Geological Survey Earthquakes Data
Time Span	Earthquakes 7.0 or Higher	1 Earthquake Per Time
1 AD to 1000 AD	15 earthquakes 7.0 or higher	1 every 66 years
1000 to 1800 AD	114 earthquakes 7.0 or higher	1 every 7 years
1800 to 1900 AD	115 earthquakes 7.0 or higher	1 every 10 years
1900 to 1980 AD	774 earthquakes 7.0 or higher	1 every 37 days
1980 to 2000 AD	255 earthquakes 7.0 or higher	1 every 28 days
2000 to 2008 AD	127 earthquakes 7.0 or higher	1 every 26 days
2009 AD	17 earthquakes 7.0 or higher	1 every 21 days
2010 AD	24 earthquakes 7.0 or higher	1 every 15 days
2011 AD	20 earthquakes 7.0 or higher	1 every 18 days
2012 AD	16 earthquakes 7.0 or higher	1 every 23 days

U.S. Geological Survey Earthquakes Data. [5]

When my grandmother was living in the late 1800′s earthquakes 7.0 (or higher) happened one in every ten years. In 2012 earthquakes 7.0 on the Richter magnitude scale (or higher) happed one in every thirteen days! Earthquakes are dramatically increasing in both frequency and magnitude.

Beginning of Birth Pangs: Yeshua said that false messiahs, wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes are the “beginning of birth pangs”. He compared the turbulent times of wars, famines, earthquakes and false messiahs to the contractions and labor pains of a pregnant women, as she nears the day of delivery. [6] As the day draws near of the coming of our Deliverer we see false messiahs, wars (and rumors of wars), famines and earthquakes increasing in frequency. These four signs of the times, false messiahs, war, famine and earthquakes are like contractions that increase in both frequency and intensity as the day approaches of Yeshua’s coming for His people.

Yeshua the Messiah said;
“but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you
to think that he is offering service to God.
These things they will do because
they have not known the Father or Me.”
John 16:2-3 NASB

Christians will be Killed: On May 28, 2013 FOX NEWS broadcast a report on the beheading of a British soldier on the street in London and the rise of Islamic killings of Christians and other non-Muslims (so called “infidels”). Author Raymond Ibrahim said; “In Indonesia, three Christian girls on their way to school were beheaded; in Syria last Christmas, U.S. supported rebels beheaded a Christian man and fed his body to the dogs. In Africa—Somalia, Tanzania, Mali—Christians are regularly decapitated.” [7]

Mr. Ibrahim spoke of the all-out jihad in Nigeria, Lebanon and in Sudan. In Sudan there has been a genocide, it is estimated that over 1.5 million Christians have been killed by the Janjaweed, (the Arab Muslim militia), and even suspected Islamists in northern Sudan since 1984. [8]

 The Beginning of Tribulation

1. Christians will be killed i.e. Martyrs dying for their faith. (Matthew 24:9)
2. Christians Hated by All Nations because of Jesus (Yeshua) Name. (Matthew 24:9)
3. Many People will fall away from the Christian faith. (Matthew 24:10)
4. Many People will Betray and Hate each other. (Matthew 24:10)
5. Many False Prophets will Arise and Mislead Many People. (Matthew 24:11)
6. Lawlessness Increases and Most People’s love will Grow Cold. (Matthew 24:12)
7. The Person who Endures to the End will be Saved. (Matthew 24:13)
8. The Gospel of the Kingdom will be Preached in the Whole World as a Testimony to All the Nations.  Then the End will Come. (Matthew 24:14)

Great Tribulation

1. Abomination of Desolation, the anti-Christ standing in the Holy Place of the Temple.  (Matthew 24:15 also see Daniel 9:27 and 2nd Thessalonians 2:3-4)
2. Yeshua gives Instructions for those living in the Providence of Judea in Israel during the time when the Abomination of Desolation occurs.  (Matthew 24:16-22)
3. Then there will be a Great Tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.   (Matthew 24:21)
4. For the sake of the elect (Jewish and Gentile believers in Yeshua as Lord) those days will be cut short, otherwise no person would still be living.  (Matthew 24:22)
5. False Messiahs and False Prophets will Arise and show great Signs and Wonders to Mislead People, if possible even the Elect, that is Jewish and Gentile Believers in Yeshua who are alive at that time.  (The elect are chosen believers in Yeshua the promised Messiah.  See Matthew 24:24 and Romans 8:28-33 and 1 Peter 2:9)
6. The Coming of Christ Jesus will be like lighting that flashes from the east to the west.  (Matthew 24:27)
7. Immediately AFTER the Tribulation of those Days; the Sun will be Darkened, the Moon will Not give its Light, the Stars will Fall from the Sky, and the Powers of the Heavens will be Shaken. (Matthew 24:29)

   Messiah Coming On the Clouds of the Sky & Gathering the Elect

1. The Sign of the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) will appear in the Sky. (Matthew 24:30)
2. All the Tribes of the Earth will Mourn when they see Yeshua (Jesus) Coming on the Clouds with Power and Great Glory. (Matthew 24:30 and Zechariah 12:10-14)
3. Yeshua (Jesus) will send His Angels with a Great Trumpet and they will Gather Together His Elect (that is Jewish and Gentile believers in Yeshua the promised Messiah, see Romans 8:33 and 1 Peter 2:9) from One End of the Sky to the Other.  (Matthew 24:31 and 2^nd Thessalonians 2:1-2 and I Corinthians 15:50-52)

This event that Yeshua referred to as the Son of Man coming on the clouds and sending His angels to gather together His elect; is commonly referred to as the rapture of the saints.  It is important to notice that Jesus taught that His coming on the clouds and the rapture of the elect happens after the birth pangs and tribulation and after what Jesus referred to as great tribulation.

²⁹ “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.  Matthew 24:29-31 NASB

Then Yeshua gave more details about His coming on the clouds of the sky and the rapture of His elect in Matthew 24:39-41;

“…so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.” Matthew 24:39-41 NASB

The Son of Man (a name of Yeshua the Messiah) will come;
1. Two men will be in the filed one man will be taken up (raptured) and one will be left behind.
2. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken up (raptured) and one will be left behind.

The Apostle Paul also taught on this important subject when he wrote to the saints who were in the Thessalonian church;

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 NASB

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church that two things would take place before the rapture of the elect (i.e. rapture of believers in Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of the living God);
1. The Apostasy (the falling away of many Christians from their faith. Yeshua spoke of this in Matthew 24:10 and Paul in 2nd Thessalonians 2:3)
2. The anti-Christ, who is the man of lawlessness and son of destruction; will be revealed and take his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. (Referred to by Jesus in Matthew 24:15 as the abomination of desolation and by Paul in 2nd Thessalonians 2:3-4 and in the Book of Daniel 9:27 and 12:11.)

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth that at the last trumpet the dead in Christ would rise from the dead and be given immortal bodies and then those who are alive and remain would be changed from mortals to immortals.

50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:5-52 NASB

Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica that our Lord Yeshua will descend from heaven “with a shout, with the voice of the archangel” and the sounding of the trumpet, the resurrection of the saints and rapture of both those who had died in Christ as well as those who are alive and remain on earth.

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 NASB

Yeshua gave His disciples the promise that He would be “coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:30 ESV

[1] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Demise of US, Israel Imminent, Fars News Agency, News number: 8511030486, 17:45 | 2007-01-23 http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8511030486

[2] False Messiahs, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_messiah_claimants

[3] Syrian civil war, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_civil_war

[4] UN declared famine in Somalia, BBC NEWS, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14211905

[5] U.S. Geological Survey Earthquakes Data, http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/2012/2012_stats.php

[6] Yeshua spoke on earthquakes being like birth contractions, Matthew 24:7-8.

[7] Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians: FOX NEWS, http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/05/28/islam-rule-numbers-and-beheading-in-london/ (For a comprehensive picture of Christian suffering under Islam read, “Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians” by Raymond Ibrahim).

[8] Persecution of Christians, Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians

God’s Prophetic 70 Weeks

By David M. Cook

God gave His people the Tanakh, made up of the Torah, known as “the Law”; the five foundation books written by Moses, and the Neviim and Treisar, known as “the Prophets”; the prophetic writings of the major and minor Hebrew prophets, Ketuvim, “the Writings”; the Psalms of David, the Wisdom of Solomon, the sufferings of Job and the Megilot which includes these five books; Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther.  The Tanakh, known as the “Old Testament” in the Christian Bible; is a most unique and amazing collection of literature.  The triune Almighty God — Elohim (a Hebrew plural noun for Almighty God) who is revealed in the Torah, is a unique unified one.  Elohim has been actively involved in the Biblical story line throughout history, from the beginning until now; as well as working in and through each writer.  The Creator of the heavens and earth, the King of the universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has given His people light, truth, revelation, and insight to understand His prophetic plan for humanity.  The central character of God’s plan of redemption is the promised Messiah foretold by the prophets.

First and foremost we learn from the scriptures written by Moses in the Torah, to love the LORD your God with all your, heart, soul and strength;

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart

and with all your soul and with all your strength.

6 These commandments that I give you today

are to be upon your hearts.

7 Impress them on your children.

Talk about them when you sit at home

and when you walk along the road,

when you lie down and when you get up.

8 Tie them as symbols on your hands

and bind them on your foreheads.

9 Write them on the doorframes

of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV

Our second priority is to love people, loving your neighbor as yourself.  If we love our neighbor we won’t covet what belongs to our neighbor, his house, his car, his fine threads or his wife.  These two priorities, loving God with our all and loving all of our neighbors sums up the writings of the Torah and the Hebrew prophets.

8Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another;

for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

9For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,

YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL,

YOU SHALL NOT COVET,”

and if there is any other commandment,

it is summed up in this saying,

“YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

10Love does no wrong to a neighbor;

therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Romans 13:8-10 NASB

If only we could do this each day, to love the Lord our God and to love every person in every instance.  But let’s be honest, not every day nor in every way; have we loved God with our all and loved all of our neighbors as ourselves at all times, at least I know I haven’t.  The prophet Isaiah tells us that I’m not alone.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.

Isaiah 53:6 NASB

Who is this righteous suffering Servant spoken of by Isaiah?  Who is this sacrificial Lamb who the Lord causes all of our iniquity to fall on?  All of us need a redemption.  We need a Redeemer, a Deliver, all of us need a Savior.  We need someone to redeem us, to deliver us, to save us from our all of our iniquities.  When there is no repentance, when there is no faith in God and His provision for our sin, then judgment comes.  Our sins have consequences, when God’s people refuse to listen, repent of sin and heed His Word, then the consequences are severe.

We read in 2 Chronicles chapter 36;

15 The LORD, the God of their fathers,

sent word to them through his messengers again and again,

because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place.

16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words

and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD

was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.

17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians,

who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary,

and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged.

God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.

18 He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God,

both large and small, and the treasures of the LORD’s temple

and the treasures of the king and his officials.

19 They set fire to God’s temple

and broke down the wall of Jerusalem;

they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.

20 He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant,

who escaped from the sword,

and they became servants to him and his sons

until the kingdom of Persia came to power.

2 Chronicles 36:15-20 NIV

God’s own people mocked His messengers, despised His word and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against His people and there was no remedy.  Why do we do this?  Why such contempt of the Almighty, who is both our Father who is in heaven and a righteous Judge executing justice?  Since Adam in the garden after the fall of man, the sin problem has spread from one generation to the next, without remedy until God’s plan of atonement by His righteous suffering Servant was revealed as foretold by Isaiah.  How would God solve the “sin” dilemma, the problem that all people of all time have sinned, (except one) and bring redemption for those He chose and those He loves?  God’s people despaired when they arrived in Babylon, it seemed no hope was to be found, and they were in captivity for many years.  The first temple and much of Jerusalem including the wall were burned and destroyed.  Many men and women, young and old were killed with the sword by the Babylonian army, but a remnant of Israel survived and were carried off to Babylon in exile for seventy years.

The Tanakh is a collection of scriptures inspired by God, when we read it or hear it read your faith may commence and increase.  God gave His people an amazing prophecy in the book of Daniyel chapter 9 about the arrival of an anointed Prince who would atone for our iniquities, His advent is paramount for Israel;

“You are to know and understand

that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem

until one anointed, the Prince,

there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;

it will be built again, with plaza and moat,

even in times of distress.”

Daniel 9:25 HSV

What important message was Gabriel sent to earth to communicate?  Gabriel was sent to Daniel to let God’s people know when the Messiah the Prince would appear in history.  Gabriel informed Daniel that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince is presented, would be a specific period of time, “seven weeks and sixty-two weeks”.

When was the decree issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem?

We read in the book of Nehemiah chapter 2,

1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,

when wine was brought for him,

I took the wine and gave it to the king.

I had not been sad in his presence before; 2 so the king asked me,

“Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill?

This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king,

“May the king live forever!

Why should my face not look sad

when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins,

and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king,

“If it pleases the king and if your servant

has found favor in his sight,

let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried

so that I can rebuild it.”

Nehemiah 2:1-4 NIV

We read in this scripture that Nehemiah asks permission of the ruler of the Persian Empire, King Artaxerxes; if he may go and rebuild Jerusalem in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of the reign King Artaxerxes.  As we read further into the chapter we find out that permission was granted, with protection for safe passage to return to his homeland and building materials were provided as requested by Nehemiah.  So the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was issued by Artaxerxes Longimanus on March 14, 445 B.C. [1]  Other mandates were issued by Cyrus King of the Persian Empire, we read of one in the book of Ezra chapter 1 verses 1 through 4. Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild the Jewish Temple, but since Gabriel stipulates in Daniel chapter 9 verse 25, “with plaza and moat” to restore and rebuild the city of Jerusalem (not the temple), therefore we can conclude that the decree issued by Artaxerxes Longimanus is the starting point to calculate the 69 weeks.

Israel’s hope and future is intimately intertwined with the advent of the anointed Prince, the promised Messiah.  From the beginning God knew He would redeem His people, so that our sin would not separate us from knowing the true and living YHVH, the self existent God; who is the first cause of all.  Out of God’s great love for His people it was His purpose to send His righteous Servant to atone for all our iniquity.  The Hebrew prophets foretold that God’s promised Messiah, the anointed Prince would die a sacrificial death as a scapegoat for all sin.

Moses gives us a foreshadowing of this concept through the father of faith, our father Abraham.  As you know, Abraham and Sarah were unable to have children but God gave him a promise that he would have a son, whose birth was a miracle.  Our father Abraham, a loving father was tested, he was asked to sacrifice his beloved son on the altar, although God stopped him. [2]  This is known in Hebrew as the Akedah.  Because Abraham obeyed Elohim’s voice, God gave Abraham the promise that one of his “Seed” or offspring would bless all the nations of the earth.

“In your seed

all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,

because you have obeyed My voice.”

Genesis 22:18 NIV

Who is the promised Seed who will bless all the nations of the earth?  This is a promise by God about the Messiah who would come to earth, in the fullness of times.  God gave us the Akedah, the account of Abraham offering Isaac as a sacrifice in the Torah, in order to see what He Himself would be required to do for His people in the future.  The Lord our God would provide a sacrifice for sin, His own beloved Son of promise, whose birth was a miracle, is the innocent Lamb who atoned for all our sin. God did provide for Himself the perfect Lamb, this was His plan for redemption for His people, to deliver us from our sin.

While Israel was in exile in Babylon, in response to Daniels contrite confession of his sin and the sins of his people God sent Gabriel with a special communiqué from the Almighty about the advent of an anointed Prince who would atone for the iniquity of us all – the promised Messiah.

²⁴“Seventy weeks have been decreed

for your people and your holy city,

to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin,

to make atonement for iniquity,

to bring in everlasting righteousness,

to seal up vision and prophecy

and to anoint the most holy place.

Daniel 9:24 NASB

Some say we should look for the anointed Prince after 7 weeks (or 49 years), although when we look 49 years after the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem there is not an anointed Prince in Jerusalem who came to atone for sin.  But when we look in history 69 weeks after the decree we discover who the anointed Prince is.  So let’s go figure.  When we think of a “week” we think of 7 days, but in Daniel 9:25 a “week” refers to seven years instead of seven days.  A “week” of years is similar to a decade. A decade is ten years; but a “week” of years is seven years.  So we have 7 ‘sevens’ and 62 ‘sevens’.  If you add 7 weeks plus 62 weeks there is 69 weeks of years.

69 weeks of years is 69 times 7 years which equals 483 years.

The U.S.A. currently uses the Gregorian calendar that is a 365-day year, based upon the Anno Domini system that counts years from the traditional incarnation of Yeshua the Messiah.  Ancient calendars by the Hebrews, Egyptians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, Phoenicians, Chinese, Mayans and other civilizations were based on a 360-day year.  These ancient calendars usually were based on twelve 30-day months. [3]  We see this reflected in Bible prophecies in both the Tanakh (Old Testament) and New Testament with a 30-day month and a 360-day year, referred to by some Biblical scholars and theologians as a “Prophetic Calendar” [4]

So 69 times 7 years equals 483 years,

and 483 years times 360-days equals 173,880 days.

Gabriel gave insight to Daniel that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed Prince there will be seven seven-year periods plus sixty-two seven-year periods of time; which equals 483 years.  Then when we multiply 483 years times 360-days this equals 173,880 days.  This anointed One, the Mäshiach, who is the anointed “Prince of Peace”, the “Prince of princes”, the King of kings; came to redeem God’s people and atone for our sins; “the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” [5]

The English word “prince” used here in Hebrew is “nagid” – a leader, ruler, prince, commander-in-chief, or king. [6]  Isaiah tells us that Mäshiach is “Mighty God”, “Prince of Peace”. [7]  He is also the “Commander of the host” of heaven, the “Prince of princes”, [8] He is the anointed “King of kings” and Lord of lords. [9]

When did the anointed One, the Mäshiach, the anointed King come to Jerusalem?  Yeshua the Mäshiach rode into Jerusalem on a colt, the foal of a donkey and was presented as King on April 6, 32 A.D. [10]

The Hebrew prophet Zachariah prophesied under the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord;

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!

Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,

righteous and having salvation,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zachariah 9:9 NIV

We read in chapter 19 of Luke’s account about an important event of the ministry of Yeshua the Mäshiach;

35They brought it to Jesus,

and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it.

36As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road.

37As soon as He was approaching,

near the descent of the Mount of Olives,

the whole crowd of the disciples

began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice

for all the miracles which they had seen,

38shouting:
”BLESSED IS THE KING

WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him,

“Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”

40But Jesus answered,

“I tell you, if these become silent,

the stones will cry out!”

Luke 19:35-40 NASB

From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem on March 14, 445 B.C. by Artaxerxes Longimanus until Yeshua arrived and was presented in Jerusalem as the Messianic King on April 6, 32 A.D.; we discover that when we calculate 69 weeks of years (or 483 years and correct for leap years) it figures out to be 173,880 days to the day. [11]

How is this possible, to announce the coming of the Anointed One, the Lord’s Mäshiach, the King of Zion; five centuries before the historical event transpires in precise detail?  The Tanakh is an amazing collection of books, our awesome God orchestrated it.  YHVH our Elohim is omniscient, the future is as clear to Him as the present and the past; He knows the beginning from the end.  YHVH our Elohim is the A & Z, the beginning and the end, the Creator and the Judge.  Our Father in heaven wanted His people to know exactly when His Son, the Prince of princes and King of kings; would arrive on earth and step forward as the Messiah.  God is faithful, He keeps His promises, He is not like men, nor is He like the sons of men who do not fulfill their word. [12]

In Daniel 9:24 God’s angelic messenger Gabriel communicated that it had been our heavenly Father’s plan to redeem us by paying the debt of sin, in order to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, and to bring in everlasting righteousness.  The penalty for sin was paid for.  Messiah’s sacrificial death on the cross was not for his own transgressions, but His suffering and excruciating execution on the cross were for our sin; His life was given as an atonement for our transgressions.  His human body was “cut off”, he was crucified.  Yeshua is the perfect sacrificial Lamb who is without sin, the day of His death on the cross was God’s provision for all sin for all time; it was the day of atonement.  He is the one who came to save His people from all of our sins.

The city of Jerusalem and the glorious second temple were destroyed as foretold by Gabriel to Daniel in chapter 9 verse 26;

After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off,

but not for Himself.

The people of the prince that will come;

will destroy the city and the temple,

the end will come with a flood

and desolations are determined until the end of the war.

Daniel 9:26 HSV

YHVH Elohim sent Gabriel to tell His people that an Anointed Prince, who is the promised Messiah must come, atone for sin and be killed before the destruction of Jerusalem and the second temple which occurred in 70 A.D., when the Roman legions fought under Titus Vespasian and the Roman army leveled the city.  Tragically, most of the Jewish people did not recognize the time of their visitation by Yeshua the Mäshiach, God’s promised Messianic King.

“because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

As the anointed King approached Jerusalem, He wept over the city and He gave the reason why the second temple and the city of Jerusalem were destroyed as predicted by Gabriel in Daniel 9:26;

41When He approached Jerusalem,

He saw the city and wept over it,

42saying, “If you had known in this day,

even you, the things which make for peace!

But now they have been hidden from your eyes.

43″For the days will come upon you

when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you,

and surround you and hem you in on every side,

44and they will level you to the ground

and your children within you,

and they will not leave in you one stone upon another,

because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Luke 19:41-44 NASB

Both God’s messenger the angel Gabriel and Yeshua the Son God, the promised Messiah prophesied the destruction of the second temple and Jerusalem.  In the Bible we see both the severity of God’s judgment and the mercy and love of our Father who is in heaven.  Messiah Yeshua explained God’s plan for our redemption and salvation, and how to receive eternal life.

14“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;

15so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

16“For God so loved the world,

that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

17“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world,

but that the world might be saved through Him.

18“He who believes in Him is not judged;

he who does not believe has been judged already,

because he has not believed

in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:14-18 NASB

In the fullness of times, Messiah did come and was presented as King in Jerusalem.  In the Gospel of John we read how God blesses all those who believe in and receive His Son, Yeshua the promised Messiah;

11He came to His own,

and those who were His own did not receive Him.

12But as many as received Him,

to them He gave the right to become children of God,

even to those who believe in His name,

13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh

nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:11-13 NASB

The seventieth week is a seven-year period of time that soon will be upon us, known as “the time of Jacob’s trouble”.  This seven-year period of time is revealed to us prophetically by the Lord our God in much detail by the prophets. [13]  At the end of God’s prophetic 70th week, there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. [14]  Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of the living God will come on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.  He will send His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect people from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. [15]  Then God’s righteous wrath will be poured out on the earth [16] and then Messiah will return as promised and fight the wars of God [17], set up His messianic millennial reign of peace; [18] where He will rule the nations in the strength of His might with a rod of iron from Jerusalem. [19]  Blessed are those who long for His appearing!

Source Notes:

[1] Anderson, Robert, The Coming Prince, Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1894. The classic work on the Seventy Weeks of Daniel.

[2] Genesis 22:1-19

[3] Missler, Chuck, “Hidden Treasures in the Biblical Text”, Koinonia House, 2001, Page 43.

[4] Genesis 7:24; 8:3,4; Revelation 11:2; 12:6; 13:3,4

[5] Isaiah 53:6 NASB

[6] New American Standard, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible; Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries: Holman, Nashville, TN.

[7] Isaiah 9:6

[8] Daniel 8:11 & 25.

[9] Revelation 19:16

[10] Luke 3:1, Tiberias appointed in A.D. 14; 15th year, A.D. 29; the 4th Passover occurred in A.D. 32.  Also, read the thought provoking book by author: McDowell, Josh, “The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict”, Thomas Nelson, 1999, page 199.

[11] Missler, Chuck, “Daniel’s 70 Weeks”, Koinonia House, 2004.  (Also, the recording of “Expositional Commentary on Daniel”)

[12] Numbers 23:19

[13] Jeremiah 30:1-24, Matthew 24:15-35, Revelation chapters 6 to chapter 19.

[14] Matthew 24:21

[15] Matthew 24:29-31

[16] Revelation 16:1-21

[17] Zechariah 12:8-10, Zechariah 14:2-4, Isaiah 2:12-19, Isaiah 63:1-6, Revelation 19:11-21

[18] Isaiah 2:1-4, Isaiah 11:1-10

[19] Revelation 2:27, Revelation 19:15, Ezekiel 40-48

Copywrite © 2010 David M. Cook, all rights reserved.

Published by VertiZontal Media™

Messiah a Prophet, Priest, King, Warrior and Judge

By David Cook

I have wondered about the mysterious Melchaideck, the priest and king whom Abraham paid tithes to that Moshe wrote of in the Jewish Tanakh in the book of Genesis.

¹⁷ After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).  ¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine.

He was priest of God Most High, ¹⁹ and he blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.

²⁰ And blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Genesis 14:17-20 NIV

Is Melchizedek a priest and king who foreshadows Yeshua ha’Moschiah or was he a pre-incarnate visitation of Yeshua ha’Mashiach?

Melchizedek (from Hebrew melech-i-tzédek, means “King of righteousness”) who certainly is an enigmatic person listed in the Torah.  Melchizedek is the King of righteousness and the King of Peace.  Moses does not tell us who is his father or mother, nor his genealogy.  We are not told of his birth or his death, he  has no beginning or ending.  Who is this righteous King who is greater than Abram?  He is a conundrum for those who study the scriptures, Melchizedek either foreshadows the Messiah or is a pre-incarnate appearance of Messiah at a strategic time in the embryonic phase of the birth of the Jewish people.

Moses writes of Melchizedek in the Torah in Genesis chapter 14.  Melchizedek is mentioned as the King of Salem, and priest of God Most High (Yĕhovah, El-Elyon), in the time of the biblical patriarch Abram. This King of righteousness who also is King of Salem and a priest of Yĕhovah, El-Elyon who brought out bread and wine, blessed Abram, then Abram gave Melchizedek tithes of all the spoils of battle he had acquired.

King David wrote poetically and prophetically of the Moshiach in Psalms 110.

The Moshiach is a Prophet like Moses, a triumphant Warrior like David and a righteous King who shall rule upon the throne of David during a millennial messianic reign on earth from the messianic temple in Jerusalem.   The King of  kings and Lord of lords is like no other, “in righteousness He judges and wages war.”  God’s Moshiach, “is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.”

The Moshiach is a Priest forever of the order of Melchizedek.

Here in this Psalm, King David writes about Messiah; who is the “son of David” receiving His messianic kingdom on earth.  Even though Messiah is David’s son, David calls Him “my Lord” (my Adoni) in Psalms 110 verse 1 and Adonai (divine Lord) in Psalm 110v5.  Yeshua ha’Moshiac is the “Son of Man” and Lord (Adonai), He is Immanuel – God with us, the incarnate God-man.  The Moshiach is seated at the right hand of the Yĕhovah, Yeshua is an eternal priest according to the order of Melchizedek.  The Messiah is the King of Righteousness, and when the last trumpet blows the saints of God will rise to meet Him in the clouds, and be taken back to His Father home in heaven for a time.  This warrior KING of Kings will return with His army of saints in holy array and the Warrior King, Yĕhovah Tzeva’ot; the Lord of armies will shatter kings in the day of His wrath and He will judge among the nations.

The Anointed Son of  David is Lord, Priest, Warrior and Judge

A Psalm 110 written by King David

1The LORD says to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
2The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,
“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
3Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power;
In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,
Your youth are to You as the dew.
4The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
5The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.
6He will judge among the nations,
He will fill them with corpses,
He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.
7He will drink from the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He will lift up His head.

Psalm 110 NASB

The Messiah is the “Son of Man” and the “Son of David”. The Anointed One is the Son of God, who existed from eternity and at the preordained time was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, He is God incarnate — Emmanuel!  But He is also a Warrior KING!

Yĕhovah is a warrior;
Yĕhovah is his name.

Exodus 15:3 HSV

Yĕhovah is a “man of war”, the Lord is an Almighty Warrior.  The Lord Most High who Daniel refers to in chapter 7:13 as the “Ancient of Days” grants authority, glory and sovereign power to the “Son of Man” who existed with His Father from ancient days, from the beginning.  In his Jewish commentary on the Tanakh, Rashi wrote that the Son of  Man in Daniel 7:13 is “King Messiah”.  Son of Man is a title that Messiah used referring to Himself that we read of in the gospel accounts of Yeshua.  King Messiah, the Warrior KING of kings; will returns on the clouds of heaven[1], the last trumpet will sound[2] and the angels will gather His  saints from the four corners of  the earth.  Then Almighty God’s wrath will be poured out upon the earth in judgment[3] the Warrior KING will return to earth and fight the wars of God beginning with destroying all the nations that attacked Jerusalem[4] and then Armageddon; the war of that great day of God Almighty.[5]

Judge of the Nations

³¹“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory,

and all the angels with Him,

then He will sit on His glorious throne.

³²“All the nations will be gathered before Him;

and He will separate them from one another,

as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;

³³and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

³⁴“Then the King will say to those on His right,

‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father,

inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Matthew 25:31-34 NASB

After Armageddon comes Judgment day, the day of reckoning; where the eternal destination of each individual will be determined by the righteous Judge whose judgment is true and just.  His royal Majesty, the Moshiach, the  Son of our Father in Heaven, the anointed LORD of lords, the valiant and courageous Lion from the tribe of Judah, will rule the nations with an iron scepter[6] and usher in an era of world-wide peace during His millennial messianic reign.  We read in Daniel chapter 7, verses 13-14; that all peoples of all nations of every language will worship Messiah.  The Mashiach’s dominion is an everlasting dominion, His kingdom will never be destroyed.  The last and final war will be the battle with Gog and Magog.[7]  Afterwards “the new heaven and the new earth” and the new “Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” [8]

The Holy City, the new Jerusalem

³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.

They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,

for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:3-4 NIV

[1] Matthew 24:29 – 31  [2] I Corinthians 15:50-52  [3] Revelation 15:1 – 16:21  [4] Zechariah 12:9 [5] Revelation 14:14-20, Revelation 16:13-21 and 19:11 – 21  [6] Psalms 2:9, Revelation 2:27, Revelation 12:5  [7] Ezekiel 38 & 39, Revelation 20:7-10  [8] Revelation 21 & 22, NIV

“The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”

By David Cook

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”

Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV

What is Moses telling us in this scripture passage in the Torah?  Let’s go back to the book of Genesis to begin our investigation for an accurate Biblical interpretation.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Genesis 1:1 KJV

The Hebrew word that Moses uses for God in this verse and 32 times in chapter one of Genesis is “Elohim”, which is a transliteration from Hebrew to English.  Moses uses Elohim for God 207 times in the book of Genesis and numerous times throughout the Torah.  This name for God is an important word to understand.  Elohim is a plural and masculine noun used for God.  Elohim is used over 2300 times in the Hebrew Bible.

Moses gives us a foundational understanding about many things in Genesis – the book of beginnings.  In Genesis the first book of the Torah we find our initial understanding on the essence of God’s nature, the creation of the heavens and earth, the creation of man and woman, the beginning of marriage, and the beginning of the nation of Israel.

In  the Torah we read; “In the beginning Elohim created…”

The name for God that Moses uses in Genesis 1:1 is “Elohim” (plural Almighty God) has a plural intensive syntax.  The Hebrew verb “bara” (created) is singular since Elohim is “echad” (one or a unified one) as Moses reveals later in the Torah in Deuteronomy 6:4.  The triune Almighty God — Elohim (plural noun for mighty God) who is revealed in the Torah is a unique unified one, therefore the verbs and adjectives used with Elohim are singular.

In the Torah Moses writes that a man and his wife, the two become “echad” (one, a unified one) married couple, that the divided nation of Israel made up of the tribes of  Judah and the tribes of Ephraim become “echad” (one, a unified one) nation and the Lord our God, the Lord is “echad” (one, a unified one) God. (See Genesis 2:24, Ezekiel 37:17-22, and Deuteronomy 6:4)

Elohim (plural Almighty God) is the triune God who is the unique unified one true living God, revealed in the Bible who created the heavens and earth;  there is no other living God.

In chapter one, verse one of the book of Genesis Moses explains that God created the heavens and the earth.  In the second verse Moses writes that the Spirit of God moved over the surface of the waters, the Spirit of God; is a distinct person of the triune Godhead.  “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:2 KJV  The Hebrew word that Moshe used for Spirit is “Ruach” that means breath, wind or Spirit. The Spirit of God was involved in creation in unity and in collaboration with God our Father in heaven and His beloved Son.  Moses refers to the Spirit (Ruach) 23 times in the Torah and Ruach is referred to over 200 times in Tanakh.

In Genesis 1:26 Moses quotes Yĕhovah Elohim who speaks to other Persons of the triune Elohim in the plural.  Why did the Spirit of God illuminate Moses’ mind to choose the word Elohim a plural noun for God and quote the triune God speaking to the triune Elohim in the plural?  Moses specifically writes about the plural nature of Elohim in Genesis,

Then Elohim said,

“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…”

Genesis 1:26 NASB

1. “Let Us make man”  2. “in Our image”  3. “according to Our likeness”

Moses quotes Elohim who refers to Himself in the plural three times, Elohim is speaking to other persons of the triune Godhead.  One of the persons of the triune Godhead is speaking to the other two.  Our Father who is in heaven, His Son and the Spirit of God are having a conversation about the creation of man being made in their image and their likeness.

Judaism believes in Yehovah our Father in heaven and His Spirit but not the divinity of the Moshiach.  The Tanakh and the New Testament both have scriptures about Yehovah our Father in heaven and His Spirit and the divinity of the Moshiach (Micah 5:1-2, Daniel 7:13-14, Isaiah 9:6-7, Psalm 2, Psalm 110:1-5).  The Moshiach, the “Son of Man” existed from ancient days in the beginning with His Father Yehovah, who is the Ancient of Days who gives an eternal kingdom to the Moshiach (Micah 5:1-2, Daniel 7:13-14 and John 1:1-3).

The New Testament confirms what Moshe  wrote in Genesis that creation was a unified collaboration by Elohim the triune Almighty God who is the Creator of the universe.  We read about creation from Saint Paul where he writes about the role of God’s Son, Jesus our Messiah:

“He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation.

For by him all things were created:

things in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;

all things were created by him and for him.

He is before all things,

and in him all things hold together.”

Colossians 1:15-17 NIV

Elohim a Hebrew word for God that is a plural masculine noun with plural meaning for the Almighty God is used as a “plural intensive” referring to the unified one God of Israel.  The triune God; the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit of God, these three persons of the Godhead are a unified one.

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

John 1:1 ESV

What is the Spirit of God teaching us through the writing of the apostle John?  The same thing that He taught us through the writings of Moses in the Torah.  Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 6:4, “The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”  The apostle John wrote in John 1:1 that Yĕhovah our Father in heaven, and His beloved Son the “Word” are divine.   In the Torah and in the New Testament we see that our Father in heaven is God, and His divine Son Yeshua and the Spirit of God; these three are one (echad), a unified one God (Elohim).

So who is the “Word” that the apostle John wrote of?  The word John used for the “Word” is “Logos” a Greek masculine noun.

1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. 1 John 1:1-4 NASB

The “Word” that the apostle John wrote about in chapter 1 is the Son of God, Yeshua the promised Moshiach.

1 In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things came into being through Him,

and apart from Him nothing came into being

that has come into being.

4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

5 The Light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:1-5 NASB

The “Word”, is a title for the Son of God, Yeshua the promised Messiah, He was with God in the beginning, He is the living Word, Yeshua is the Messiah the Son of the living God. Here John tells us that the Word (the Son of God) is a Co-Creator with His Father and the Spirit of God; “All things came into being through Him”.

Saint John gives us this insight concerning creation and that fact that Elohim (plural God) was involved from the  beginning; Our Father in heaven and His Son our Messiah, who is called in this scripture the “Word” (Logos) of God.  The Son of God, Yeshua our Messiah is the the A & the Z, (the Aleph & the Tav) He is the WORD of God the Logos.  Yeshua our Messiah existed before Abraham the  father of  faith, Yeshua is the first and the last, He is the  beginning and  the  end; Creator, Prophet, Redeemer, Savior, High Priest, Prince of  Peace, KING of Kings, LORD of Lords and Judge.

When Jesus the promised Messiah returns He will fulfill the remaining prophesies in the Bible that are before us in the future; Messiah is the hope of Israel.  When Yeshua was born  in Bethlehem hometown of King David as  Micah foretold, the Son of David became the incarnation of the Logos!  God’s Son  lived and dwelt among us, He is Immanuel – God with us!

Yĕhovah the Elohim of Israel has not revealed everything about Himself to everyone, He is unique, there is no other god like Him, He is the infinite all-wise, all-powerful, everywhere present God; He is the King of the universe.  Man is finite in understanding and yet God gives illumination through the Holy Scriptures and by His Holy Spirit who gives us more understanding into the nature and essence of Yĕhovah our Elohim.  Both the Torah and the Tanakh and the New Covenant reveal the conundrum that surrounds the mystery of who God is; line upon line, precept upon precept.

Yĕhovah Tzeva’ot exists, He causes all things to come into existence.  Yĕhovah is the self-existent One.  Yĕhovah Tzeva’ot is the great “I AM”; who is, who was, who is to come.  He is the first cause; Creator of the universe, all that is seen and unseen, all that is visible and invisible.  Yĕhovah Elohim, the Lord our God is a unique unified one.

El is a Semitic name for God.  The Hebrew word “Elohim” is a plural masculine noun that means the strong supreme One, Almighty God.  Moses also writes in the Torah of our Almighty God (Elohim) in the plural in Genesis 3:22 and Genesis 11:7.

Then the LORD God said,

“Behold, the man has become like one of Us…”

Genesis 3:22 NASB

“Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language,

so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”  

Genesis 11:7 NASB

Yĕhovah our Elohim is a unified one.  As Moses tells us,

“Hear, O Israel: Yĕhovah our God, Yĕhovah is one.”

Deuteronomy 6:4 HSV

The Hebrew word Moshe used to describe God is “echad” translated as “one” in English.  In the Tanakh the word echad is used to mean a unified one and also may mean one alone.  The Rabbinic Jews interpreted echad to mean Elohim is one alone, that is; God is a singularity.  Although, this interpretation is not congruent with Genesis 1:26 where Moshe quotes God speaking to Himself in the plural.  Nor does this Rabbinic interpretation line up with Psalms 110:1 where King David quotes Yĕhovah speaking to Adoni.

The LORD says to my Lord: 

“Sit at My right hand 

Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”  

Psalms 110:1 NASB

Yĕhovah said to my Adoni:

“Sit at My right hand,

until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

Our Father in heaven said to His Son our Messiah, “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”  The reason King David calls Him “my Lord” is because Messiah is the KING of Kings and the LORD of Lords.  Yeshua ha’Mashiach (Jesus the Christ) is the Son of the living God and the promised Messiah.  David calls Messiah my “Lord” (Adoni in Psalms 110:1 and Adonai in 110:5), even though Messiah would be a descendant of David who would be born of a virgin in David’s hometown of Bethlehem many years later while the Roman Empire ruled over Israel.  Why would King David call his descendant the Messiah his Lord?  Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of the living God existed before Abraham, and before Genesis 1:1.  Since Messiah Himself came and lived among us He is “Emmanuel” (with us God), Yeshua is divine, He is God incarnate.   Yeshua explained the essence of God in the New Covenant.  Believers in Jesus as the Messiah who are called Christians now see and understand that Elohim (a plural noun for God) is a unified one.

Yĕhovah our God, Yĕhovah is echad, a unified one.

The Hebrew name for the Savior of the world is Yeshua translated as Jesus into English, is the Son of God, who is of one essence with the Heavenly Father and the Ruach of Elohim that is the Holy Spirit of God.  Yehovah our Elohim is a unified one: our Father in Heaven who has an only begotten Son named Yeshua and the Spirit of God makes the three persons of the Holy Trinity, the triune God; these three persons of the Godhead are the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  The LORD our God is echad — a unified one.

Some say God who is the Creator and King of the universe is speaking to members of His heavenly court, but God was speaking to members of the triune Godhead.  Yehovah Elohim is speaking to Adonai and the Ruach of God.  Our Father in Heaven is speaking to His Son our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of God. “Let Us make man in Our likeness and our image.”  Man is created solely in the likeness and image of God not in the likeness and image of both God and members of His heavenly court.

Yahweh the “Elohim” of Israel may enjoy not revealing all about Himself to all, He is the infinite God. Man is finite in understanding and yet God gives illumination through the Holy Scriptures and His Holy Spirit that gives us more understanding into the nature and essence of Yahweh our Elohim.  Both the Torah and the Tanakh and the New Covenant reveal the conundrum that surrounds the mystery of who God is.

In the Tanakh we read of our Father in heaven and His Spirit two distinct Persons of the Holy Triune God.  It seems as though Judaism embraces both Our Father in heaven and the Spirit of God although they view God only as a singular one.  Father God and the Sprit of God are of the same essence yet two distinct Persons of the Trinity who are one, a “unified one”.  Many within Judaism also believe in God’s Messiah but they do not think Messiah can be divine, so they reject Yeshua as the Messiah who was foretold  by the Hebrew prophets.  But the Jewish community needs to reread Isaiah chapter 9:6-7, Messiah is divine!

The prophet Isaiah foretold:

“For to us a baby is born, to us a Son is given:

the government shall be upon His shoulders;

His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,

Omnipotent God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.

His government and peace will increase and go on for eternity.

He will rule on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

He will establish, sustain and defend it,

with justice and righteousness;

from its origin throughout all eternity.

The zeal of  Yĕhovah of armies will accomplish this.”

Isaiah 9:6-7 HSV

Messiah will rule on David’s throne forever, He is the “Prince of Peace”, the “Almighty God”, the “Eternal Father”!  Elohim is the strong supreme One – the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, Creator and King of the universe, He is the unique unified one “Almighty God”!

How can this Son prophesied by Isaiah who will rule upon the throne of David forever, the promised Messiah; be the “Prince of Peace” and the “Mighty God” and the “Everlasting Father”?  Jesus the promised Messiah, the Son of the living God taught us in the New Covenant; “I and My Father are one.” John 10:30 NASB  The Jews who heard Messiah make this profound statement understood that He was claiming to be one with His Father in heaven, claiming to be a unified one.  Yehovah our Elohim, Yehovah is a unified one.

There is only one triune God, there is no other.  The triune God is a unique unified one God, our Father in heaven, His beloved Son and the Holy Spirit.  Christianity is not a pagan polytheistic religion.  One Hebrew name for God that Moses used in the Torah is “Elohim”, a plural name for God.  Yĕhovah our Elohim, Yĕhovah is echad.  The Hebrew word “echad” typically means a unified one and may be used as a numerical one.  The Hebrew word “yachid” that means an absolute numeric one is never used to describe God.  The Jewish Rabbinic community may wonder, “When writing the Torah why didn’t Moses use the word ychid in the “Shema Yisrael” in Deuteronomy 6:4?  The reason is because the Spirit of God directed Moses to use an accurate word to describe Yĕhovah our God, Yĕhovah is “echad” – a unified one.   “The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”  Yĕhovah our God, is a unique unified one LORD.  The numeric one commandment of the ten is; “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”  Yĕhovah our Elohim, is the triune God; the unique unified one true and living God, Creator of the heavens and earth.                                                               

“The Lord said to my Lord”

We read in the gospel of saint Matthew the 22^nd chapter; But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together.  One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”  And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’  “This is the great and foremost commandment.  “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’  “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”  Matthew 22:34-40 NASB

An expert in the Mosiac Law attempts to ask Moshiach a question that will stump Him or incriminate Him. The “lawyer” asks; “Rabbi, which is the great commandment in the Torah?”

Yeshua (Jesus) who is the promised Moshiach and Son of the living God is not befuddled nor was He incriminated but instead gives a very profound answer, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’  This is the most important commandment.  The second in importance is, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

Then Yeshua the promised Messiah decided to ask the experts a question that confounded them.

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:  “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”  He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,
”SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET”‘?  “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”  No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. Matthew 22:41-46 NASB

Yeshua asked; if King David calls the Messiah ‘Lord’ (Adoni — which means “my Lord”)  how can the Messiah be David’s descendant? 

Yeshua quotes Psalms 110:1-2 written by David the shepherd lad who became the second king of Israel.  The proper name of the G-d of Israel in Hebrew is יְהֹוָ  then transliterated into English is Yhvh pronounced (yeh-ho-vaw’) sometimes used as Yehovah or Jehovah.  Another name for Lord in Hebrew is  in English the transliteration of the word is “Adoni” that means “my Lord”, which can refer to either a human lord or divine Lord.

Yehovah said to my Adoni, “sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”

Yehovah said to my Lord, that is Father God said to David’s Lord; “sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”  The reason King David calls Him “my Lord” is because Messiah is the KING of Kings and the LORD of Lords.  Yeshua ha’Mashiach (Jesus the Christ) is the Son of the living God, the promised Messiah.

Another name for Lord in Hebrew is אֲדֹנָי in English the transliteration of the word Adonai always means divine “Lord”.  David uses this word Adonai in Psalms 110:5 also referring to Messiah as in verse 1.

The Lord is at Your right hand;

He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.

Psalm 110:5 NASB

Here verse five King David writes in the Spirit that Adonai is at the right hand of Yehovah, repeating what he said in verse one.  So Adoni / Adonai is seated at the right hand of Yehovah.  A divine Lord (Adonai) is seated next to Yehovah.  As we continue we see that Adonai is the Messiah, who “will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.”  That is when Messiah returns during a time known by the Hebrew prophets as, “the day of the Lord”; Adonai Messiah will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.

Yeshua the Messiah existed before His incarnation in Bethlehem, where He was born of a virgin named Mary.  “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him.”  Colossians 1:15-16 NASB

Mashiach existed in the beginning with His Father in heaven.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.  In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.  The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”  John 1:1-5 NASB

But not only is Messiah David’s Lord He is also his Son.  The genealogy of Yeshua (Jesus) the Moshiach can be traced back to King David’s royal line.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Advent of Messiah, Copyright © 2010 by David M. Cook, all rights reserved.