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.

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

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

“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.

Messiah’s royal lineage

The genealogy of Jesus Christ can be traced to King David’s royal line and on back to Abraham whom God made a covenant with and then clear on back to the first man the Heavenly Father created, Adam.  So Jesus the Messiah is the son of David, the son of Abraham, the son of man—the first man Adam; and the Son of God.[1][2]

Abraham was the father of Isaac; and to Isaac was born Jacob and so on.  So that all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations; and from King David until the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon were fourteen generations and from the exile of the Jewish remnant to Babylon to the birth of Messiah were fourteen generations.[3]  So from Abraham to the birth of the promised Messiah were forty-two generations in all.[4]

[1]  Matthew 1:1 – 16 HVS,  [2] Luke 3:23 – 38 HVS,  [3] Matthew 1:17 HSV,  [4] Matthew 1:1 – 17 HSV

Scripture quotations are from:  ╬ HSV – Holy Scripture Version™, © 2009 by David M. Cook, all rights reserved.  Used by permission.

The genealogy of MESSIAH

Here is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.  Abraham is the father of Isaac, and Isaac father of Jacob, and Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers.  To Judah, Perez and Zerah were born out of their mother Tamar.  Perez fathered Hezron, to Hezron was born Ram; and Ram fathered Amminadab, and Amminadab father of Nahshon, and Nahshon father of Salmon, and Salmon father of Boaz, his mother is Rahab.  To Boaz, Obed was born out of Ruth.  And Obed father of Jesse, and Jesse fathered David the king.  King David the father of Solomon, by Bathsheba, the former wife of Uriah.  Solomon father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam father of Abijah, and Abijah father of Asa, and Asa father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat father of Joram, and Joram father of Ahaz, and Ahaz father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah father of Manasseh, and Manasseh father of Amon, and Amon father of Josiah, and Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the exile to Babylon.  After they were taken away to Babylon; Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, and Abiud father of Eliakim, and Eliakim father of Azor, and Azor fathered Zadok, and Zadok fathered Achim, and Achim father of Eliud, and Eliud father of Eleazar, and Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob, and Jacob father of Joseph, and Joseph was the husband of Mary, and Mary gave birth to Jesus, the one who is called Messiah.  So all the generations from Abraham to David the king are fourteen generations; and from King David until the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the deportation of the Jewish remnant to Babylon to the advent of Messiah is fourteen generations. [1][2]

[1] Matthew 1:1 – 17 HSV  [2] Luke 3:23 — 38 HSV

Scripture quotations are from:  ╬ HSV – Holy Scripture Version™, © 2009 by David M. Cook, all rights reserved.  Used by permission.