The Birth of Yeshua

Photo: ©2006 Jaimie Trueblood/New Line Productions

By David Cook

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:
Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son,
and she will call His name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14 NASB

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song

46 And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

49     for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

holy is his name.

50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones

but has lifted up the humble.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things

but has sent the rich away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful

55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,

just as he promised our ancestors.”

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Luke chapter 1 NIV

Photo Credit: ©2006 Jaimie Trueblood/New Line Productions

Keisha Castle-Hughes (left) stars as “Mary” and Oscar Isaac (right) stars as “Joseph” in New Line Cinema’s release of Catherine Hardwicke’s drama, The Nativity Story.

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Luke chapter 2 NIV

“Little Drummer Boy” by Lara Landon
From the “CHRISTMAS” EP
http://www.laralandon.com

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.

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

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.