A Commentary on Immanuel
&
The Gospel of Truth
by Mel West
Chapter 3
(continued)
The event of the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome called for the fulfillment of the Messiah called Immanuel. To fulfill the prophesy He must come before the land is sacked.
The prophesy of the Virgin is the most unusual prophesy in the Bible. It is not unusual for an unwed girl to give birth to a son (which is essentially that which is called for in the prophesy, as a minimum), but it is unusual to expect that her son (who would be a Bastard) would be the Messiah.
There is no other prophesy in the Old Testament which correlates with the Sign of the Virgin, explaining what the True nature of the birth of her son is. We are not told, in fact, who the father of the child is; and he is the greatest mystery in the Bible. This, in turn, leads us to the proposition that there just may not be a temporal father involved!
Before the temple of Ishtar, the Mother goddess, one could always find a Vestal Virgin who had dedicated herself to that goddess. The dedication involved offering herself to any man coming to the temple. After she had spent her time, usually a week, serving the goddess she would then be allowed to return to society and marry, etc. We are not told what happened to the Bastard children born of the Virgins serving the temple , but we do know that another practice in serving another god, Baal, was to sacrifice first born children on a fiery altar in front of the arms of his statue. Probably many children conceived through the prostitutes of the temples were thrown into Baal's fire.
The rites of which we were speaking, though unfamiliar to us, were not unfamiliar to the Hebrews during Isaiah's and the other prophets' days. Baal continued to be a thorn in the side of the God of Abraham throughout the history of early Palestine. Hence, knowing this background one would read the prophesy of the Virgin in light of the prevailing pagan practices. A Virgin conceiving in the service of the gods would not be extraordinary; a Virgin conceiving in the service of the God of Abraham, however, would be pure blasphemy. For God forbade prostitution! Correlating with this theme of the Virgin is the experience of Sarah, Abraham's wife, who was barren until she attained the age of ninety. Then she gave birth to a son, Isaac, whom God later required as a sacrifice upon His altar to test Abraham's faith. In the comparison we see that the son, Isaac, was born under a most impossible condition. The birth of the Messiah, as with a Virgin, would then be a continuation of the theme of a son favored by God coming via extraordinary circumstances.
We were told by the prophesies of Moses that the Messiah would carry the name of God in his name. Thus, we have Immanuel, which means, God is with us. The "El" in the name, once again, is the name of God, "EL;" and the precept, God is with us, hearkens back to the saying God told Moses to give to the Hebrews which was, God is present with you. The Messiah of the Virgin is, by name alone, consistent with the identity of Moses. But whereas Moses was raised up as the Gatherer or Deliverer, Immanuel actually appears long before the Gathering or Deliverance! Immanuel is an Anachronism!
God is with us, whom we shall call Immanuel, appears when the Children of Israel are scattered and the land desolated. Since He appears before the Scattering of the Children of Israel, and since His mother is the Sign of the Scattering, it follows that He cannot be the Deliverer, or, as Israel called Him, Shiloh, to whom the gathering of the people shall be. Shiloh, in fact, represents Peace on earth, goodwill towards all men. His is a time when the lamb lays down with the lion in peace. All the earth, its animals and man, are at rest. His is the Seventh day. This certainly does not describe the day Jesus walked this earth.
But Immanuel represents something altogether different. First of all He is God in the flesh; at least He is as close to being God in the flesh as anyone can measure. Otherwise He could not be called, God is with us. At the least, He is a man acting in God's stead, like Moses. Again, He is not the sign of the Gathering of Israel, like Moses, but to the contrary the sign of the scattering of Israel. And the Scattering Prophesy requires that the Children be scattered to all the nations of the world:
Isaiah 10.3 What will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far?
Ezekiel 21.7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? That thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God.
Jeremiah 9.16 And I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a Sword after them till I have consumed them.
10.21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord: Therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
18.16 To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.
18.17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
23.12 Wherefore their ways shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: They shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their Visitation, saith the Lord.
Zechariah 9.9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
9.10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and He shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
Isaiah 7.14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
7.16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
7.17 The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy fatherÕs house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
7.23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.
7.24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
Jeremiah 13.13 Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.
13.14 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them...and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
15.2 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, whither shall we go forth? Then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord, such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity...and I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth.
24.9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
Zechariah 7.14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
9.8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom. And I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.
9.9 For, Lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
Ezekiel 15.7 And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.
22.22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury on you.
Once Scattered and burned they shall now be Restored:
Amos 9.10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, the evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.
9.11 In that day will I raise up the Tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
Ezekiel 34.8 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock:
34.9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
34.10 Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves anymore; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
Jeremiah 33.14 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
33.15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of Righteousness to grow up unto David: and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
33.16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: And this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness.
Jeremiah 23.20 The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: In the Latter Days ye shall consider it perfectly.
23.3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
Ezekiel 11.17 Therefore, say, thus saith the Lord God: I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
34.12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that He is among his sheep That are Scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the Cloudy and Dark day.
Micah 5.8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest...
Zephaniah 3.20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.
Ezekiel 36.24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
36.36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.
34.23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even my servant David; He shall feed them, and He shall be their shepherd.
34.25 And I will make with them a covenant of Peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
37.24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them...and my servant David shall be their prince forever.
Micah 5.2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Zechariah 6.12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and shall grow up out of his place, and He shall build the Temple of the Lord.
6.13 Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall be the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and He shall be a priest upon his throne; and the Counsel of Peace shall be between them both.
12.9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12.8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and He that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the Angel of the Lord before them.
Joel 3.1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
3.2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
3.14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
Haggai 3.22 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them: and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
3.23 In that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shelaltiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of Hosts.
Zechariah 4.7 Who are thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
4.9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto you.
1.16 Therefore thus saith the Lord: I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of Hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
2.4 And said unto him, run, speak to this young man, saying Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein.
2.5 For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
Daniel 12.1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
12.2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Amos 5.18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! To what end is it for you? The day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.
9.13 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper...
Zephaniah 1.15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
1.17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
3.8 Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
3.9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.
Jeremiah 25.32 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
25.33 And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried: they shall be dung upon the ground.
Habakkuk 2.14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
Zechariah 11.16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
Isaiah 28.2 Behold, the Lord hath a Mighty and Strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
28.5 In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people.
11.12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
11.4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the Rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips will he slay the wicked.
11.5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
16.5 And in mercy shall the throne be established: and He shall sit upon it in truth in the Tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
11.6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid..
11.9 they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
Jeremiah 30.3 For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord:
30.5 We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.
30.6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
30.7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
30.8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
30.9 But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
30.11 For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: But I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
31.10 Hear the word of the Lord, O yea nations, and declare it in the isles far off, and say, he that scattered Israel will gather Him, and keep Him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
Ezra 4 ...Out of the heart of the seas the wind caused the form of a man to come up. I looked and this man flew with the clouds of heaven. Wherever he turned his countenance, everything he saw trembled. Wherever the voice went out of his mouth, all that heard his voice melted away as wax melts when it feels fire. ...When he saw the assault of the multitude coming near him, he neither lifted his hand nor held a spear or any weapon. But out of his mouth he sent a fiery stream and from his lips a flaming breath, and from his tongue he shot forth a storm of sparks. And these were all mingled together - the fiery stream, the flaming breath, and the storm. It all fell on the assault of the multitude which was preparing to fight and it burned them all up, so that suddenly the innumerable multitude was nothing but dust and ashes and smell of smoke.
These are the interpretations of the vision. Since you saw a Man coming up from the heart of the sea, it is he whom the Highest One is keeping for many ages (and through whom he will deliver his creation). He will determine the survivors. Since you saw that wind, fire, and storm came out of his mouth, that he held neither spear nor weapon, but destroyed the assaulting multitude who had come to fight against him, here is the interpretation:
Behold, the day comes when the Highest One is about to deliver those who are on the earth. And these earth dwellers will be astonished. They will plan to war against each other, city against city, place against place, people against people, and kingdom against kingdom. And when these things come to pass and the signs happen that I showed you, then will my Son be revealed as the Man you saw ascending. When all nations hear my voice every man will leave his own land and the warfare of one against the other, and an innumerable multitude will be gathered together, as you saw, desiring to come and fight against him. ...But he, my Son, will reprove the nations that have come for their ungodliness, and the rebukes are like a storm and will reproach them to their face with their evil thoughts and with tortures with which they are destined to be tortured — like flame. Then He will destroy them without labor by the Law, which is like fire...the survivors of your people, even those who are found within my Holy Borders, will be saved. Then he will destroy the multitude of nations gathered together, and will defend the people who remain. And he will show them many wonders.
Ezekiel 37.26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; And I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore.
37.27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God and they shall be my people.
the Lord do sanctify Israel, when My Sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore.
Jeremiah 31.31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.
31.33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts: and will be their God, and they shall be My People.
33.34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them, unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Isaiah 4.3 And it shall come to pass that He that is left in Zion, and He that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called Holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem.
4.4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the Spirit of Judgment, and by the spirit of Burning.
4.5 And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense.
4.6 And there shall be a Tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and rain.
33.20 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.
33.3 At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations scattered.
33.4 And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running to and fro of locusts shall He run upon them.
33.8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he that despised the cities, he regardeth no man.
Habakkuk 3.12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.
Isaiah 30.27 Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire.
30.28 And His breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.
Zechariah 12.2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
12.3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
Isaiah 2.19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His Majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
Ezekiel 38.14 Therefore, Son of Man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God: In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
38.15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
38.16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the Latter Days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
38.18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face.
38.19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
38.20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, every wall shall fall to the ground.
38.22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
38.23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
The scenario we have just reviewed, though certainly not complete, tells us quite clearly how God intends to Prove Himself. For those who did not catch the drift of the above message, He essentially begins with the Sign of the Virgin and her son, sending them before the moment He chooses to scatter Israel. After she and her son are seen, then He scatters Israel and lays the Promised Land waste. The scattering is far beyond what would be contemplated in the Captivity of Babylon. Surely, it does not contemplate a few nations; rather it is on a world-wide scale involving all the nations and all the Kingdoms of mankind. This is an important criteria because the Prophesy of the Redemption of the Scattered Children of Israel involves a prophesy against the nations, or Gentile, wheresoever the Children of Israel had been scattered. We recall that the prophesy goes as follows:
Jeremiah 30.11 Though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee...
and
Zechariah 12.9 I will seek to destroy all those nations who come against Jerusalem.
In the prophesies God uses the heathen, or the Gentile (those who do not believe in the God of Abraham) as final Proof of His existence. For he says in prophesy:
Ezekiel 37.28 And the Heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore.
and
Ezekiel 38.16 ...and I will bring thee [ Gog ] against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
38.22 And I will plead against him [ Gog ] with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
When Moses spoke of the redemption of Israel he spoke of redeeming them in glory. And he spoke about the restoration of His Sanctuary, the Tabernacle. Thus, the prophets focused upon this thing of the Redemption and always mentioned, as criteria of the redemption, the restoration of the Tabernacle. We have for instance:
Ezekiel 37.27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God and they shall be my people.
Amos 9.11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old.
Zechariah 6.12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, behold the man whose name is the Branch; and shall grow up out of His place, and He shall build the temple of the Lord.
Isaiah 4.4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the Spirit of Judgment, and the Spirit of Burning.
4.5 And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a Cloud and Smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense.
4.6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.
16.5 And in Mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the Tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
In the restoration of the Children of Israel God included in His Plan the punishment of those whom He had used to punish Israel. The theme essentially parallels the precept involving Babylon, how in the first captivity God used Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to carry off the Children of Israel into captivity. Then, after using Babylon as the vehicle for punishing the Children of Israel, the Curse turns against Babylon, saying the days will come when that place will be fit for no human habitation; only the beasts of the desert will frequent that place. So in the Latter Days the fury is turned against the heathen, wheresoever the Children of Israel were held captive:
Jeremiah 23.19 Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
23.20 The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart; in the Latter Days ye shall consider it perfectly.
25.31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord.
25.32 Thus, saith the Lord of hosts, behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
25.33 And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
The redemption of Israel, as we see in these prophesies, involves no small matter. Nor does it involve an event likely to be passed off as coincidental to prophesy. The voice making these pronouncements says In the latter days you shall consider it perfectly. There will be no room for doubt. God intends to prove Himself and in the process stand upon the bodies of the Heathen scattered from one end of the earth to the other. His monument, His Testimony that He did what He said He would do, is finally vested in the slain of the earth reaching from one end of the earth to the other. Other prophets expand upon this precept. David certainly understood this precept. He said in his first psalm:
Psalm 1.6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the Righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
and:
Psalm 2 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2.2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his Anointed, [Messiah] saying,
2.3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
2.4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
2.5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
2.6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
2.7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
2.8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
2.12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Here is the mystery of the Son in its sublime state. David called the Anointed, the Messiah to come, the Son of God! Isaiah, writing much later, called Him God is with us. The formative view of the Messiah, as described by Moses, is one who is an Angel or prophet of God who is as Moses. And Moses was in God's Stead. In effect, Moses was like God in the flesh. He wasn't God ( because he would be limited by his flesh and God is unlimited; furthermore, He prayed to and took his direction from God) but a man acting in God's Stead. And Moses was told to tell the Children of Israel that God was now with them. Therefore, taking this parameter into consideration, as mentioned, anyone who is akin to Moses is the same as God being with them. That Messiah, like Moses, can go tell the Children of Israel that the presence of God is with them.
In the days of the patriarches the Angel of God's Presence was a grand experience. Abraham conversed with Him whilst He sent down two angels to destroy Sodom; Jacob wrestled with a man and discovered that it was God (or the Angel of God's Presence) with whom he had wrestled. The Angel of God's Presence appeared to one whom we have already mentioned, whose prophesy is one of the most discussed in esoteric circles for the past two thousand years or so. That man to whom the Angel of the Lord's Presence appeared is Balaam. And he prophesied of the Star and the Sceptre, as we may recall.
The prophesies of God begin with an Anointed One born of a Virgin prior to the scattering of Israel. They end in the Latter Days with an Anointed One who is involved in the Gathering of the Scattered children wheresoever they are scattered. The Latter Day Messiah brings fear, such that people hide in the holes of the rocks. Another prophesy says that they toss their gold and silver idols to the moles and the bats. His mouth is a sharp sword and as a result of His Presence the Heathen, those nations wheresoever the Children of Israel were scattered, are all brought into the valley of decision to Judgment.
Daniel tells us the time when the Messiah raises up in the Latter Days is a time when the dead shall be resurrected to life, some to glory and others to shame.
Together with this Gog and all those people who came with him against Jerusalem, including Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya, are wiped out, with their bodies not just being strewn across the valley of Jehoshaphat (meaning judged of God) but heathen bodies are found strewn from one end of the earth to the other. Thus, says God, will He be Magnified. When the Heathen Rage, then, is when God will have proved Himself. It is not a happy prospect; certainly it is all too real to be ignored, since we now see ourselves set to rain fire upon all the earth. We realize the attitude of the God of the Bible towards the non-Jews: behind every Gentile door there is a threat to Peace and the Plan of God. They will test Him and challenge the glory of Israel and when Israel is finally seen at Peace the challenge will be met; one day we shall ask again, Why do the Heathen rage and imagine a vain thing?
Most of the scriptures which we reviewed above seem to be foreign to nonJews. NonJews (the Gentile or Heathen) have an entirely different view of the Bible, in fact. Among them, the Christian community seems to think that God has reneged upon His Promise to restore Israel. Furthermore, since He has reneged upon His Promise (and can no longer be sanctified through the Heathen's Blood), the Gentile church maintains that the Promise given to the Children of Israel is now upon their shoulders. In a manner of speaking the Gentile have tried to rob Israel of its Inheritance.
But thou art My People, so saith the Lord to the Children of Israel. And this claim is dependent upon the blood of the heathen to prove it.
Chapter 4
The Angel of Righteousness
The most important angel mentioned in the Bible is the Angel Moses prophesied. Again, in Exodus he said:
Exodus 23.20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
23.21 Beware of Him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in Him.
23.22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine adversaries.
23.23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittitites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
The Angel mentioned here has the characteristic functions of the Deliverer seen in the above prophesies. He brings the Children of Israel into a place God had prepared, and He carries judgment: i.e., provoke him not for he will not pardon your transgressions. Further, God's name is in Him.
We have seen that Immanuel, the Son of the Virgin, like Israel, carries the name of God in His Name. Unless there is a bridge, however, which links him to the Deliverance, He cannot be that Angel of whom Moses spoke. For we know that Immanuel appears at the time Israel is scattered.
But there is a bridge made in prophesy which links Immanuel to the Deliverance:
Zechariah 12.8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and He that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
12.9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
12.10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of Grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
13.4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:
13.5 But He shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
13.6 And one shall say unto Him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
Zechariah wrote these prophesies two hundred years after Isaiah had written his prophesy of the Virgin. In Zechariah's prophesy there is a vision of the Messiah standing in Jerusalem after the Children have been restored to Jerusalem and at the time God intends to destroy all those nations who are against Jerusalem. The Messiah in that vision had been wounded and pierced. Jerusalem looks upon Him whom they pierced and He complains that He was wounded in the house of his friends. The friends of the Messiah are, of course, the Children of Israel, or Jerusalem. If Jerusalem is not the friend of the Messiah, the whole concept of The Chosen People is gone askew. Isaiah and David both happen to talk about a Suffering Servant who is pierced.
Isaiah 52.13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
52.14 As many were astonied at thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men:
52.15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
53.1 Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord Revealed?
53.2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness: and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.
53.3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
53.4 Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
53.5 But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with his stripes we are healed.
53.6 All we like sheep have gone astray: we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
53.7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not his mouth.
53.8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His Generation? For He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
53.9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in death: because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.
53.10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him: he hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, he shall see His Seed. He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
53.11 He shall see the Travail of his Soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall my Righteous Servant justify many: for He shall bear their iniquities.
53.12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His Soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Psalm 22 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
22.6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
22.7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
22.8 he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
22.13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
22.14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
22.14 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death.
22.16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: They pierced my hands and my feet.
22.17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
22.18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
22.31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
Psalm 69.20 Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul...reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none: and for comforters, but I found none.
Psalm 139.16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Psalm 34.20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
Psalm 35.11 False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
35.12 They reward me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.
35.26 Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonor that magnify themselves against me.
37.10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
37.11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psalm 55. 3 Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
55.4 My heart is sore pained with me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
55.5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
55.6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
55.8 I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
55.12 For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
55.13 But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
55.14 We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
Psalm 69.7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.
69.8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.
69.9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
69.10 When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.
609.11 I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them.
69.12 they that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.
69.20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
69.21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
69.31 This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
69.32 The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.
71. 7 I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.
Apart from the Bible are the books of Adam and Eve. These books, of questionable date, reflect the Suffering Servant in His highest form. God is explaining to Adam how He will come and save AdamÕs children from Satan one day:
49.8 And this sign, O Adam, will happen to me at My coming upon the earth: Satan will raise the people of the Jews to put me to death; and they will lay me in a rock, and seal a large stone upon me, and I shall remain within that rock three days and three nights.
Obviously we have an anachronism here, and the writer is aware of Jews, as a people, as opposed to other descriptions, such as the Children of Israel, etc. This suggests that the document was either written at a time when the Children of Israel were commonly referred to as Jews or the name Jews was a later interpolation.
Isaiah 49.9 But on the third day I shall rise again, and it shall be salvation to thee, O Adam, and to thy seed, to believe in me. But, O Adam, I will not bring thee from under this rock until three days and three nights are passed.
3.2 Yea, the Word that will again save thee when the five days and a half are fulfilled.
3.3 But when Adam heard these words from God, and of the great five days and a half, he did not understand the meaning of them.
3.4 For Adam was thinking that there would be but five days and a half for him, to the end of the world.
3.6 Then God in His mercy for Adam who was made after his own image and similitude, explained to him, that these were 5,000 and 500 years; and how one would then come and save him and his seed.
14.4 When I shall come down from heaven, and shall become flesh of thy seed, and take upon me the infirmity from which thou sufferest, then the darkness that came upon thee in this cave shall come upon me in the grave, when I am in the flesh of thy seed.
15. Then Adam and Eve wept and sorrowed by reason of God's word to them, that they should not return to the garden until the fulfillment of the days decreed upon them; but mostly because God had told them that He should suffer for their salvation.
24.4 Then came the Word of God to Adam, and said unto him, O Adam, as thou hast shed thy blood, so will I shed my own blood when I become flesh of thy seed; and as thou didst die, O Adam, so also will I die. And as thou didst build an altar, so also will I make for thee an altar on the earth; and as thou disdst offer thy blood upon it, so also will I offer my blood upon an altar on the earth.
24.5 And as thou didst sue for forgiveness through that blood, so also will I make my blood forgiveness of sins, and blot out transgressions in it.
31. 2 For I will come and save thee; and kings shall bring me when in the flesh, gold, incense and myrrh; gold as a token of My Kingdom; incense as a token of my divinity; and myrrh as a token of my suffering and of my death.
31.11 These three things did God give Adam, on the third day after he had come out of the garden, in token of the three days the Lord should remain in the heart of the earth.
42.5 And if thou saidst, give me of the Water of Life that I may drink and live, it cannot be this day, but on the day that I shall descend into hell, and break the gates of brass, and bruise in pieces the kingdoms of iron.
42.7 And, again, as regards the Water of Life thou seekest, it will not be granted thee this day; but on the day that I shall shed My blood upon thy head in the land of Golgotha.
42.8 For My blood shall be the Water of Life unto thee, at that time, and not to thee alone, but unto all those of thy seed who shall believe in me; that it be unto them for rest forever.
69.6 God said further unto Adam, Thus will it also happen to me, on the earth, when I shall be pierced and blood shall flow blood and water from my side and run over my body, which is the true offering; and which shall be offered on the altar as a perfect offering.
9.19 He will rise from the dead, and be exalted above things in heaven and things in the earth; and myrrh, in token that he will drink bitter gall; and feel the pains of hell from Satan.
Enoch 32.2 Then I can again take thee at My Second Coming.
52.15 For all these things will be laid bare in the weighing - scales and in the books, on the day of the great judgment.
Moses talked about two things, as concerning the Messiah. One was a prophet, raised like unto him, and the other was an Angel who would lead the people into the place God had prepared for them, namely where the Hittites, Jebusites, etc. lived in Canaan. Anything like Moses would necessarily imply the function of the lawgiver and Deliverer. The Angel is described also in these terms. Because of their similarity in function, both requiring obedience, they appear to be the same thing.
Jesus, the Candidate for Angelhood:
Jesus of Nazareth is reported to have said that He is he of whom Moses spoke:
John 5.46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
5.47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
Jesus not only claimed to be the one of whom Moses prophesied, He also claimed those prophesies concerning the suffering Servant seen above would be fulfilled by Him. Before the Last Supper, having gathered his twelve Apostles unto Him, He said:
Mark 10.33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:
10.34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
10.45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Jesus seems to have recognized His mission in two steps. First He must be sacrificed (for the Atonement of Sin) and then He must later return from His Father in Heaven to judge the quick and the dead. As concerning His concept of the Kingdom of God which, according to the prophesies we have reviewed, comes when the scattered Children of Israel are restored their land, we are not clear. He seems to have thought and taught that it was beginning with His visitation then. To a certain extent the Kingdom was already present waiting for its King and lay fallow in the hearts of men.
When He returns on His Second Coming it will be for judgment. Hence:
Matthew 24.37 For as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
24.38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark.,
24.39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
25.31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of glory:
25.32 And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.
25.33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
25.34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
While Matthew does not seem to have contemplated, in these words, the fate of Israel in the scenario, Luke inserts these considerations:
Luke 21.20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
21.21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter there into.
21.22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
21.23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
21.24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
21.25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the seas and the waves roaring;
21.26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
21.27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
21.32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
21.36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.
Mark's Gospel tends to follow Matthew, seemingly being oblivious to the Promise to Israel:
Mark 13.19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
13.20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
13.24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
13.25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
13.26 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
These are some of the things Jesus said as concerning His perspective of His mission in relation to scripture. Most certainly He claimed to be the Messiah, and in the context of Luke's Gospel understood that His mission of being Sacrificed preceded the scattering of Israel. Other passages of the Gospels corroborate this view. He prophesied that the temple would be destroyed, among other things. This precept which coincides with the Scattering and Redemption oracles of the prophets seems to have become lost, however, when we review the teachings of Paul and his followers. We can presuppose, furthermore, that the Gospel of Luke in characterizing the Promise of the end times is somewhat of an anomaly in relation to the other Gospels, including John's. Luke was a physician and perhaps the most educated of the disciples. The prefatory remark of his gospel acknowledged that other gospels were circulating about before his. We must keep this in mind when we consider the next prospect. He knew the gathering and redemption of the Jews, being a Jew Himself, occupied the end of the Gospel as Jesus saw it. The others, being largely ignorant of the Bible's Promise to Israel, didn't remember Jesus reminding the disciples that Israel would be redeemed in the end times. Either the other gospels were tampered with, to remove the Promise of the Redemption of Israel from them, or Luke has interpolated his own understanding of that Promise into Jesus's prophesy. Again, according to Luke, for Jesus to be seen coming again in power and glory, in the clouds, Israel must first have been scattered to all the nations.
When Jesus was walking the earth, Israel was occupied by a foreign power and certainly not preferring the position of being a "scattered nation whose highways lay desolate." Only in 70 A.D. when Josephus, the Jewish Historian, stood before the walls of Jerusalem with the Roman emperor's son, Titus, did Israel know the reality of the meaning of being scattered. At that time Josephus says he warned Jerusalem that the city would become heaps and ruins, and the people would be taken captive, if the city does not surrender to Titus. This was less than forty years after Jesus was crucified. Anyone living through that event and writing about it afterwards would certainly have to think a bit about the prophesy of the Scattering of Israel. Luke's comment about the Scattering of Israel leads us to believe that he may have experienced the event, thereby suggesting that he wrote his gospel well after Jerusalem was sacked and burned and while he, himself, suffered as one of the children of the diaspora. But this thesis is a contradiction to the final comment in Luke's Gospel: that the apostles continued worshipping in the Temple in Jerusalem.
There may in fact be two writers of Luke. One writer, who may have experienced the scattering, could realize the importance of Jesus's words, that He would return to gather the scattered, when the "times of the Gentile are fulfilled"; the other writer, a Jew, is proud that the Apostles are maintaining the Law and worshipping in the Temple.
According to Acts and Paul's epistles, Luke spent some time with Paul, the self-proclaimed Apostle of Christ to the Gentiles. Because of their close relationship, one would expect Luke's writings to be sympathetic to Paul's Doctrine. His sympathies ought to have agreed with Paull's conclusion that Jesus would return in the clouds of glory to claim his chosen people at any moment. For Paul believed that Jesus would return in rapture in his own time, circa. 65 A.D. Paul not only believed this, He prophesied it. At least on this account, that Jesus did not appear in rapture during his time, Paul must be considered a false prophet. There is no account of Jesus returning in Rapture during the days of Paul the Apostle. His followers, it may be added, still await that rapture to be fulfilled, even though it has been nearly two thousand years since he prophesied it. This thesis of the Rapture, however, runs contrary to the perceptions of Luke; furthermore, it does not coincide with the author of Revelation's perception of the end of time. Paul believed he was standing at the Last Day, a moment before Jesus would return in Rapture. Revelation and the Gospel of Luke see that event as far off into the future. As in the Epistle of Barnabas, counting Jesus's Resurrection (and therefore PaulÕs day) on earth as the Eighth Day, Paul believed he lived in the Eighth Day, the Last Day before the Fire and Brimstone Holocaust.
When Paul was teaching and prophesying, Jerusalem and its temple were still standing; the people had not yet been scattered. He, in fact, was in Rome in prison, about to be crucified, in 66 A.D., about four years prior to the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, and the captivity of the Jewish people. Luke, on the other hand, came to experience the first days of the captivity.
Just as Paul was not apparently impressed by the significance of the Diaspora, we must apply the same observations to the other Gospel writers. Excepting Luke, they had written without knowledge of, or appreciation for, the captivity, real or prophesied.
The Rapture is not the only area of disagreement between Paul's concept of Christianity and that which was taught by Jesus. And to explore this we must first try to establish a foundation of Jesus's teachings against which we can compare Paul and the modern church's views.
We mention Jesus here because we have to reconcile Prophesy with historical fact. If prophesy and historical fact cannot meet, then the prophesy is false. Jesus is historical fact, and many things were involved with Him which pertain to prophesy. So we must consider his candidacy as one of the Two Messiahs mentioned: the Suffering Messiah or the Deliverer Messiah, who comes in the Latter Days, after the Scattering of Israel.
As concerning the time of the Latter Days, no one believed that its time could be precisely pinned down. Even Jesus said that only God knows the time and he, representing Himself as the Son of God, admitted even the son does not know the exact time (of the Judgment). This, we might add, is a precept which is also mentioned in the books of Adam and Eve and Enoch.
What Jesus ought to have known, however — based upon Essene expectations — is that Israel was on the verge of being scattered. Of course most of the children of Israel were expecting some kind of calamity anyway, since the Jews were rebelling against the Roman occupation and Rome was being poised for war. Paul should have appreciated this concern, since he admits having played a part in the early persecution of JesusÕs followers.
Our greatest concern in terms of history tying into prophesy, however, does relate to this very event: the dispersion of Israel. The one prophesy which ties specifically to this event — to precede it — is the Sign of the Virgin and her son Immanuel.
Other prophesies point to such a sign coming at the time Israel is scattered. We are asked, for instance, What will you do in the day of your visitation? The day of visitation is clearly described throughout the prophets as a day of the Visitation of God's wrath. Again, the Latter Days, the Day of our Lord, say the prophets, are Days of Darkness and not light.
Because Jesus appeared precisely at the time Immanuel was scheduled to visit Israel, being before the dispersion, we have to consider him as a possible candidate for being that Messiah. We would consider others as that Messiah, but there seem to be no records of one having made the claim that he made and having lived out prophesy as completely as He did. He, by default of the other claimants, if for no other reason, forces us to consider Him as that Messiah. The claim of Jesus also, of course, requires us to consider Him as the Deliverer Messiah as well, since He prophesied His Second Coming, and coincided that event with the Deliverance or Redemption of Israel. In this light, then, we must explore Jesus's claim. If He is not the Messiah born of the Virgin, as prophesied by Isaiah, then Isaiah's prophesy must be false. If it is determined that only He could lay claim to the name, Immanuel, even if by default (because no one else can now claim to be born before the time Israel is Scattered), then whatsoever He said must be obeyed. And while Christians may be pleased in this prospect, they would do well to consider the fact that what He taught and what Christians have believed (because of PaulÕs teachings) are two different things.
Jesus of Nazareth, born about two thousand years ago, has become one of the most powerful figures to ever influence human history. Like an Alexander the Great, He continues to exert a continuing influence upon humanity through the institutions He laid down; unlike Alexander the Great He continues to be the center of a religious cult through which nations have risen and fallen and fortunes have been won and lost. More so, being the proclaimed Savior of mankind, His name also has been the cause of the loss of millions of lives. While he contemplated that many would lose their lives for the sake of His Name, it is doubtful that He would have contemplated His Christian followers to initiate inquisitions or the ovens of Hitler.
During the past two thousand years Jesus has held sway over a good part of the nations of this earth. He has held this dominion because his followers have believed and preached that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, of God. Their arguments are not clear, why He is the Messiah, but seem to wrap around the following Oracles predicting a Messiah:
From the Books of Adam and Eve and Enoch:
l. A man who died on the cross but was resurrected after three days;
2. A man who became the Messiah after 5,500 years;
3. A man who, when born, was brought Gold,Incense, and Myrrh as gifts.
From the Bible:
1. A man preceded by Elijah;
2. A man born in Bethlehem, Judah;
3. A man born as the son of David;
4. A man who is despised and rejected of men, who is killed and his death is for the atonement of mankindÕs sin;
5. A man who is pierced, who is fed vinegar and gall;
6. A man whose garments are parted by lot;
7. A man who rides into Jerusalem on the foal of an ass.
8. A man who is born of a Virgin.
These seem to be the principal prophesies which justify the fact that Jesus is the Christ. All except the first prophesy come from the Bible. The first prophesy, being resurrected after three days, comes from the Apocryphal book of Adam and Eve, not currently part of the Bible, and, therefore, of little use in justification of His divinity. Of the prophesies, ironically, it appears to be the most important justifier, used by Christians, of Jesus as the Christ. For at the core of the Apostle's Creed, the pledge of allegiance to Jesus, is the statement, that the initiate believes Jesus laid dead in the ground for three days and then was raised to life to sit at the right hand of God, the Father. At the core of Christian belief is the Creed of the Resurrection:
l. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth:
2. And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord:
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried;
5. he descended into hell;
6. The third day he rose again from the dead;
7. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
8. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
9. I believe in the Holy Ghost;
10. The Holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints;
11. The forgiveness of sins;
12. The resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting, Amen.
If one does not believe in Jesus's Resurrection, then one is an Apostate. The criteria, in fact, was used to persecute heretics in the Middle Ages. Many people, among them Jews, were torched at the stake because they would not profess their belief that Jesus had been raised again from the tomb.
The evidence that Jesus was, in fact, raised from the tomb after three days is not conclusive, nor is it consistent. The Gospel accounts suggest that it was Mary Magdalene who discovered his body was missing from the tomb, though his tomb was blocked by a huge stone and there was a guard at the tomb overnight. The Romans, at the request of the Sanheidrim, had placed a small regiment or platoon in front of the tomb to guard it, thinking that the followers of Jesus might attempt to steal his body during the night. In any event, His Body came up missing in the morning, by the Gospel accounts. Who actually first witnessed that it was missing and what they saw is drawn in conflicting accounts from one Gospel to the next. In one account an angel is seen sitting in the tomb, asking why they were looking for Jesus, who had gone. In another account two angels are seen carrying Jesus away from the tomb, with him walking between them. Afterwards, Jesus is reported to have appeared to the Apostles at various times, giving them further instructions on their ministry. In the first instance He appeared before the Apostles; and Doubting Thomas, not believing it was He, was asked to put his finger in the wound on JesusÕs side, so he would know it was true, that Jesus stood in the flesh before them, though believed dead. In other accounts, the disciples and Apostles who saw Jesus thought Him to be someone else. At first they did not recognize Him. Mary Magdalene, for instance, thought Him to be the Gardener, as He was walking away from the tomb. The stories suggest that the form of the risen Jesus did not resemble his living form sufficiently for those viewing Him to at first recognize Him.
The account of His Resurrection, although having nothing to do with fulfilling Biblical prophesy, is augmented by the other Biblical prophesies which foretold a Messiah. The Messiah would be recognized by fulfilling Biblical oracles..
Almost every prophet who has gone into Jerusalem has matched up to the prophesy that the Messiah would be rejected and even killed. Jerusalem had a reputation for killing its prophets. This would be the first anticipation of any prophet: that the Messiah would be rejected and killed like all the others.
Being born of the seed of David, in Bethlehem, and riding into Jerusalem on an ass, was not something difficult to fulfill in the days of Jesus. It might be difficult today, since it is doubtful there are any Jews walking around who can prove they are sons of David and born in Bethlehem. Concerning the last mentioned prophesy, being born of a Virgin, we have the least amount of evidence. Contrasting with the lack of evidence is the fact that the Virgin birth is the most significant prophesy justifying Messiahship. A man claiming to be the Messiah cannot prove He is Immanuel, the son of the Virgin, without accounting to the prophesy of the Virgin.
The Masoretic Bible, the authorized Jewish Bible, does not refer to the Virgin as a Virgin. Rather, it says, "Behold a Maiden shall give birth to a son and His Name shall be called Immanuel" The King James Bible calls her a Virgin:
Isaiah 7.14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
7.23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall be even be for briers and thorns.
7.24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
A Maiden in English usage is commonly believed to be a young woman who is not married and, also by custom, expected to be a Virgin. So the intent of the prophesy, no matter how you read it, is that a young unmarried girl will give birth to a son. The prophesy does not elaborate, to clear up any doubt, but just leaves it on that basis, that one day mankind will witness that a young unmarried girl will give birth to a son. Her son, by the prophesy, would, by modern judgments, be a bastard, born out of wedlock. There may be precedent in Biblical History concerning God's Anointed Ones, where Solomon, David's Anointed Son, may have been conceived out of wedlock. He was born of a young girl, Bathsheba by name, who was formerly married to a man in David's army. David had seen her bathing and proceeded to have an affair with her; out of the affair was conceived a child which died. But earlier, to validate the birth, David had BathshebaÕs husband killed so that he, David, could wed her and legitimized the birth of their son. After the child died, Bathsheba conceived again, says the story, and that son was Solomon. However, if Solomon were that child conceived out of wedlock, we have a precedent for the Anointed One (of Isaiah 7.14) being born out of wedlock. Based upon precedent, then, it is easy to see how another Anointed Son of David, like Solomon, could be conceived out of wedlock. Of course, Bathsheba, being already married, was not a Virgin; in Isaiah's prophesy we definitely have an unmarried girl giving birth to a child.
The only Gospel accounts which seem to appreciate that Jesus is born of the Virgin are Matthew and Luke; furthermore, both attempt in the context to provide a Genealogical table supporting evidence that Jesus is a son of David. In the two accounts, then are attempts to evidence Jesus as the Messiah by virtue of His lineage and the fact He is born of a Virgin per the prophesy. Mark and John, on the other hand, begin Jesus's life story with the advent of John the Baptist. In those accounts it is John the Baptist who proclaims to the world that Jesus is the Messiah; and John is proposed as the (prophesied) Voice in the wilderness who proclaims the coming of the Messiah.
Malachi 3.1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
4.5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
Matthew 11.7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
11.8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
11.9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
11.10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
11.11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
11.12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
11.13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
11.14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
The evidence here suggests that John was accepted as a Prophet of God, even another Elias or Elias resurrected. Since he was already credible, then His Anointing of Jesus as the Messiah is more legitimatized. According to Matthew the anointing by John was this way (Mark and Luke repeat verse 3.16 and 3.17 similarly):
Matthew 3.13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
3.14 But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
3.15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
3.16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lightning upon him:
3.17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
The Gospel of John expands upon the details of the experience:
John 1.29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
1.30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is prefered before me: for he was before me.
1.32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
1.33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
1.34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
While the testimonies of Matthew, Mark and Luke agree upon the Anointing, they lack background information as to who exactly witnessed the Holy Ghost descending upon Jesus and claiming Him to be the Son of God. The Gospel of John provides this missing information, saying that the record came from certain priests and Levites sent from Jerusalem to ask John the Baptist , "Who art thou?" He responded, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias":
Isaiah 40.2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
40.3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
40.5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
The Gospel of John reflects the point of view of one faction of the Christians which legitimatizes Jesus initially through John the Baptist, not being aware of Jesus's Virgin Birth. He, in fact, mentions Jesus's divine calling to the Messiahship but calls Him the son of Joseph (the carpenter):
John 1.45 Philip findeth Nathanael and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
The added testimony of Nathanael reaffirms that Jesus is the Son of God; and thou art the King of Israel, He says.
Another Anointing incident is mentioned in the Transfiguration of Jesus upon the mount with John, Peter, and James in attendance:
Mark 9.7: And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear Him.
9.9 And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.
9.10 And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.
Matthew describes this Anointing from a different perspective:
Matthew 17.5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
17.9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.
Luke records the incident in the same manner as Matthew (not being concerned about the phrase, risen again from the dead).
Luke 9.34 While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.
9.35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
9.36 And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.
The Gospel of John is not aware of the Anointing in the Transfiguration of Jesus. If the Gospel of John were written by the same Apostle John who went up the mount to experience the Transfiguration along with James and Peter, it should have remembered the Transfiguration incident. In Mark the disciples question the meaning of risen again from the dead. In Matthew and Luke the phrase has no significance. Mark is believed to be the son of Peter, one of the men who experienced the transfiguration.
Let us summarize what these things show graphically:
Let us now overlay another Anointing incident, which actually occurs prior to the Transfiguration:
|
Peter says Jesus |
Peter says Jesus
is the Son of God |
Peter named the Rock; Jesus named Son of God |
Peter given the keys to the Kingdom |
|
Luke 9.20; |
Matthew 16.17 |
Matthew 16.18 |
Matthew 16.19 |
Much of the church doctrine can be drawn from and summarized by these charts. Matthew is the common denominator of the doctrine. He goes to great length to describe Jesus's genealogy to David, born of the Virgin Mary, repeats the Anointings through John the Baptist and the Transfiguration, mentioning that Jesus is the Son of God; confirms it again through Peter, and then carries on the Anointing to Peter, giving Peter the inheritance of the Kingdom. Matthew's Gospel is the most thought out doctrine on the inheritance of the Church and, therefore, probably written after some other Gospel had been offered up. Most importantly, the author of this Gospel had no doubts that Jesus was the Son of God; nor did he doubt that the disciples recognized Jesus as the Son of God.
The Gospel of Mark seems to have been written before the church had accepted the dogma of Jesus as the Son of God. He is the Son of Man, or the Christ, but Son of God does not seem to have been important in the theology. Nor is it important to address the inheritance of Jesus or his church, leaving it in the hands of Peter, who is presumably Mark's father. It is odd that Mark is oblivious to his father's anointing. Clement, incidentally, tells us that it is Mark who gathered together Peter's notes and used them to compose his Gospel. When Mark addresses the Transfiguration, we find the Apostles James, John, and Peter confused over the meaning of being risen again from the dead. Yet, in connection with Jesus's question to the disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?, he records:
Mark 8.28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.
8.29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
8.30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
8.31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
8.32 And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
8.33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of men.
Mark records that Jesus then, six days later, took James, John, and Peter up the mount and describes the Transfiguration. How is it that what was clearly understood six days earlier, upon which Peter was rebuked, becomes a confusing issue as the three men come down from the mount, wondering what being raised from the dead again means?
Luke records the same incident, where Jesus says he must suffer and be raised again on the third day (Luke 9.22). He does not mention Peter rebuking Jesus and Jesus rebuking Peter. Luke then describes the Transfiguration as taking place eight days after these sayings. He does not mention that the three men on the mount with Jesus were confused as to the meaning, being raised from the dead again. Clearly, where Matthew honors Peter with the keys of the Kingdom, Mark and Luke are unaware.
Paul the Self-Proclaimed Apostle of Jesus, does not seem to be aware of the Virgin Connection, and makes no mention of Jesus being born of the Virgin Mary. He recognizes Jesus as the Son of God and notices that James, the brother of Christ and Peter are the leaders of the Church out of Jerusalem. James, in fact, carried the scepter of Christianity, ruling from Jerusalem, with Peter ruling beside him. Paul recognized the defacto status of James's rule, though he opposed him, as evidenced in the epistles of Paul and Acts. How James came to carry the scepter is a matter not clearly defined. However, in the Apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, Jesus gives James the scepter of the Church:
Thomas 12: The disciples said to Jesus, "We know that you will depart from us. Who is to be our leader?"
Jesus said to them, "Wherever you are, you are to go to James the righteous, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."
13: Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to someone and tell me whom I am like."
Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a righteous angel."
Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher."
Thomas said to him, "Master, my mouth is wholly incapable of saying whom you are like."
Did Jesus think He was the Son of God?
Practically every lesson which came out of Jesus's mouth reflects that He believed Himself to be a special son of God. He had replied on one occasion that the prophets had said we would all be sons of God (Note that the sons of god comment was originally in reference to the punishment of Israel: Hosea 1.10). Though He did not advertise Himself as the Son of God, from the context of His sayings it is obvious that He believed He had the authority vested only in the Messiah; and He considered that Messiahship two fold: temporally, as the Son of God, equating to God in the flesh and a special servant of God. He was asked by what authority He preached. He answered it by asking by what authority John the Baptist preached, thinking the priests would be afraid to answer "by man and not God." For if they were to say that he did not preach by God, the pharisees would offend the people; because the people believed John the Baptist was a prophet and sent by God. Jesus left them on the spot, they being afraid to answer, saying, in effect, "If John the Baptist's authority cannot be explained, than neither can mine."
Let us now review some sayings from the Gospels to determine what Jesus actually thought of Himself. The Gospel of John, being written perhaps well after the Diaspora, has had plenty of time to reflect upon Jesus, what He meant to Judah and mankind, and concluded quite clearly that Jesus is the Son of God. Throughout its scripture the theme of the Son of God is interpolated:
John 13.3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
13.20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
12.44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
12.45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
12.46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
12.47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
12.48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
12.49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
In John's Gospel one thing is quite clear. Jesus sees Himself One with God, in Spirit, but, from the standpoint of being the Servant of God, bid to do the works of God. He does nothing nor says nothing except He had previously been bid by God. In this Vehicle, Jesus is not, in His own Mind, God!
When Jesus was at Jerusalem at the feast of the dedication and walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch, the Jews asked Him if He were Christ:
John 10.24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ [Messiah], tell us plainly.
10.25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my FatherÕs name, they bear witness of me.
10.26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
10.27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
10.28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
10.29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's Hand.
10.30 I and my Father are one.
10.31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
10.32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
10.33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
10.34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
10.35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
10.36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the work, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
10.37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
10.38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
10.39 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand.
While the Gospel of John is pretty well dedicated to showing how Jesus is the Son of God, even God in the Flesh, Luke is more discriminating. We begin with the scene where Jesus is accused of being Satan, casting out devils. Jesus asks how it is that Satan could be against himself:
Luke 11.20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
11.30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
11.31...behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
11.32 The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
10.22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
9.24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
9.26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's and of the holy angels.
9.27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
In the incident where Jesus cast the devils, called Legion, out of a man, Jesus was addressed, Son of God:
Luke 8.28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
In an earlier incident Jesus is assumed to be the Christ, the Son of God:
Luke 4.41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.
We may compare this to Peter's answer, as to whom he thought Jesus was:
Luke 9.18 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?
9.19 They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.
9.20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.
9.21 And he straightly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing,
9.22 Saying, The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
Thus, in the Gospel of Luke there is more evidence of two separate minds writing the gospel. One recognizes Jesus as The Christ; the other recognizes him as the Son of God. Jesus, having the powers of God, even the finger of God, believed He could forgive sin. This was blasphemy to the Jews as well:
Luke 7.47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
7.48 And he said unto her, thy sins are forgiven.
7.49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
7.50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
Again, concerning Forgiveness of sins:
Luke 5.20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
5.21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
5.22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
5.23 Whether it is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
5.24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
5.25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
Jesus must be obeyed:
Luke 6.46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
6.47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
6.49 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
7.49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
5.31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.
5.32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
5.33 And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?
5.34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bride chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?
5.35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
The most significant identification of Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, which is, according to the author of Luke, the Son of God, comes when Jesus reads in the synagogue in His home town of Nazareth:
Luke 4.17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esiais. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written [Isaiah 61.1],
4.18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
4.19 to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
4.20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
4.21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
22.66 And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council saying,
22.67 Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:
22.68 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.
22.69 hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.
22.70 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.
23.3 And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it.
The Gospel of Mark repeats our closing speech, with Jesus saying, "Thou sayest it" concerning being King of the Jews:
Mark 14.61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, The Son of the Blessed?
14.62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
13.5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
13.6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Here Jesus is claiming that any one who comes claiming that he is Christ is a false Christ. This creates problems with regard to His Promise of a Second Coming, for the criteria of identifying Him on His Second Coming is sketchy at best. Warning people to beware of a false Christ coming in Jesus's name, without giving them definitive criteria as to what to watch for, seems to be like sending someone out into a field of mushrooms to sample the mushrooms without first demonstrating which are poisonous and which are not. This seems to be a much later interpolation of the church. Again, as mentioned earlier, the writer does not seem to understand the Promise made to Israel on the day their Redeemer comes to gather them.
Jesus again acknowledges His life will be given a ransom for many:
Mark 10.33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:
10.34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
10.44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
10.46 For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
9.41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
9.42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
9.1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
Mark is as impressed as the others with Christ's prophesy of rising again on the third day:
Mark 8.27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Casearea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?
8.28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.
8.29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, thou art the Christ.
8.30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
8.31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
As in Luke, the man possessed with Satan, which Jesus called Legion, cried out:
Mark 5.6 And when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
5.7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
Again, on the other incident of ridding unclean spirits we have the same testimony as in Luke:
Mark 3.11 And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
3.12 And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
Concerning the Sabbath, He said:
Mark 2.27 And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:
2.28 Therefore, the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.
Matthew pretty much confirms all of the observations we have discussed heretofore:
Matthew 20.18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
20.19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify [he knew he would be crucified?] him: and the third day he shall rise again.
After asking His disciples, Whom say ye that I am, in Matthew, Jesus appoints Peter as head of his church, because Peter acknowledged Him as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. As the other Gospels report, Jesus then told the disciples how he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then, in the passage where he says there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom, Matthew adds:
Matthew 16.27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
If it may not be clear Jesus will come again to Judge the earth, in Matthew there is left no room for doubt. Later, prophesying of the end times he adds:
Matthew 24.30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
24.31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
24.37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
24.38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the Ark,
24.39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Will Jesus (the Deliverer Messiah) appear as another Noah and His Ark, in a ship? The Rabbis believed the Deliverer would come to Israel in a ship. The Dead Sea Scrolls compare the Messiah even as one midst a stormy sea in a ship, coming under dark clouds (a take off on the days of Noah).
Matthew 24.48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
24.49 And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
24.40 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of.
24.51 And shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The writer of Matthew, like Mark, has not grasped the business about the Promise to Israel in the Latter Day Judgment. Matthew was a collector of taxes for Rome and an educated man. Being a collector of taxes for Rome probably explains why he has a limited perception of the prophets and their prophesies. Either he is a Gentile who is not familiar with the Jewish version of the Bible or he is a very ignorant Jew. Seemingly contradictory to this point of view is the fact that Matthew, more than the other Gospels, seeks to establish Jesus as the Son of God through citing prophesies He fulfilled. Some claims of prophesy fulfillment are marginal and, in some cases, without a sensible foundation.
Mark's lack of appreciation for the Latter Day Prophesies can be understood by virtue of his being younger than the Apostles and disciples — and probably a son of Peter. We suspect he would be raised a Christianized Jew, taught according to the Apostle's remembrance of the Bible and the events leading up to Jesus's crucifixion, but pretty much estranged from Old Testament teaching. Let's go on:
Matthew 23.8 And be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
23.9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in Heaven.
23.10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
21.42 Jesus saith unto the, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
21.43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
The precept, verse 21.43, of God turning His Face from the Jews to another, who will glorify Him, is an important keystone of the Apostle Paul, justifying the transfer of the Promise and Inheritance of the Jews from the Jews to the Gentile. No longer will the Jews deserve to be called "the Chosen People of Go"; now that title belonged to the Gentile church under Paul. Here, in verse 21.43, we see Jesus giving Paul full authority to arrive at that conclusion. See Jesus's scriptural source, for instance:
Jeremiah 18.17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
Isaiah 66.19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations...and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
65.15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto My Chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call His Servants by another name.
As in the other Gospels, Jesus declares in Matthew that he came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.
When the mother of Zebedee's children asked Jesus if he would allow her two sons to sit on either side of him in his kingdom, He answered the same as is recorded in Luke and Mark:
Matthew 20.22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
20.23 And he saith unto them, ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
Here we see the point of view so frequently pressed in Luke's Gospel, that Jesus has no authority to do things of his own; rather He is charged with doing the works of His Father who is in heaven. Again, as concerning the inheritance of the disciples, Matthew adds:
Matthew 19.27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
19.28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
19.29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
In Old Testament Prophesy, concerning Daniel's view of the Latter Days, we recall that it will involve a resurrection. Here, considering the taking of the Messianic throne to come, Jesus acknowledges it to be in the future. There is no confusion here that the Latter Days is "now," as seen in Paul's understanding of scripture. Again, concerning the inheritance:
Matthew 18.18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
18.19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Faith
18.20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Like the other Gospels Jesus prophesies his betrayal:
Matthew 17.22 And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:
17.23 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
The Betrayal of the Messiah is another precept from the Psalms: Mine own familiar friend lifted his hand against me. Of the synoptic Gospels, Matthew alone makes mention that the disciples were exceeding sorry to hear that Jesus would be betrayed and killed and raised again on the third day. We recall Mark telling us just before the transfiguration on the mount that the apostles didn't understand this business about being raised again on the third day.
Matthew 16.20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
The other Gospels add the condition, "until I have been raised after the third day."
Matthew 16.21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Matthew has yet another addition to the other two Gospels:
Matthew 12.5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?
12.6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
12.7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
12.8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day..
Here we have the first declaration that Jesus is greater than the Temple, or even the substitute of the temple. In other Gospels He compared Himself to Jonah and Noah, saying that one greater than Jonah is here. Then in another instance He said He is greater than Solomon, the son of David. But here is the big claim: He is greater than the Temple!
Such a statement, of being greater than the temple, is like saying that He is God. For the temple was created as the House of God and He now is representing Himself as a greater House of God! The claim is a bit more ostentatious than the other claims, even the claim of being the Son of God. Furthermore verse 12.7 sheds a profound light on whom Jesus thought He was. Inside the Temple was the Sanctuary of God. It was composed of four pillars, over which a veil was placed. Inside the veil, in the center of the four pillars, was the Ark of the covenant with its Mercy Seat. Between the Two Cherubim, atop the Mercy Seat, shone the Cloud of God which Judged Israel from the second month in the desert in the Exodus to the day Israel was carried off into captivity to Babylon, circa. 600 B.C. The Children of Israel had 800 years of leadership from the Mercy Seat.
It is said in scripture that before the Children were carried off to Babylon Jeremiah hid the Ark of the Covenant on Mount Sinai. There is no indication that the Ark of the Covenant was in its place in the Temple Sanctuary during Jesus's day. Jesus's statement of being greater than the Temple should have overwhelmed those who daily went to the Temple; and these were everyone who was in the sound of his voice. Everyone within hearing range of Jesus went to the Temple. He spoke to the Jews.
Like the other Gospels Matthew says:
Matthew 10.32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
10.33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Now another addition:
Matthew 10.34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
10.35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
10.36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. [Micah 7.6]
As in the other gospels, he mentions that Jesus is not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance; and concerning the fasting of his disciples, he reminds them, as in the other gospels, that they ought not to fast while the bridegroom is with them. This also is a statement to those in His hearing of His divinity. When the Jews fasted it was in observance of the Temple rites: i.e., the Laws of Moses. The thing which appeared upon the Mercy Seat has always been considered as Israel's Husband. Here the logic gets a bit troubled, however, because the Rabbis have played with the terminology concerning the Cloud of God and used it in both female and male roles. The Cloud of God represented GodÕs Holy Spirit. In the Hebrew tongue the Holy Spirit carries the feminine gender. Hence, the Shekinah, or Cloud of God, though described in scripture as the Husband of Israel, can be considered in the feminine form.
In Isaiah the relationship of God to Israel is clearly expressed in terms of the marital relationship:
Isaiah 54.4 Fear not: for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded: for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth and shalt not remember the reproach of thy Widowhood any more.
54.5 For thine Maker is thine Husband; the Lord of Hosts is His Name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: the God of the Whole earth shall He be called.
Several things are going on at one time in this prophesy . First the Children of Israel are Promised that they will not be put to shame, saying for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth and shalt not remember the reproach of thy Widowhood any more. Israel cannot be termed a "Widow" without experiencing the death of her "Husband." Ask any Jew from the days of Jesus to the present era as to whom the Husband of Israel is and they ought to tell you it is God. While this ought to be common understanding, the precept concerning the Widow of God is apparently not so well understood. For Israel to become God's Widow, God must die! Isaiah neatly addresses this prospect when he describes the Suffering Servant, previously discussed. We therefore come to the unsettling realization that the ego of Jesus was not a mere prophet saying, "so saith the Lord" but rather characterized Himself in the person of God Himself. He could forgive sins, he was greater than the temple, and now in this latter verse claims that his person is the Bridegroom for whom Israel has been waiting. This, in turn, introduces another precept to be considered.
The Restoration, or Deliverance of Israel from Captivity, as from Egypt and Babylon, or from the nations (Gentile) of the Latter Days, has been described always as The Redemption of God. In the prophesies the Redemption is always characterized as God taking back His Wife. Because of this scenario, the Redemption has always been considered a Marriage and the Messiah the Bridegroom of Israel. The Messiah is pure and simply the vehicle by means of which, in prophesy, God takes back His Wife, Israel. Israel, in the relationship (see Hosea) is compared to a whore, as she has strayed from the Lord and followed other gods. This verse mentioned by Matthew, then, is perhaps one of the most revealing and significant verses in the Gospels on Jesus. Those who have not been trained in the logic of the Old Testament (we are speaking of the Christian Community as a whole from the days of Paul the Apostle to the present) might gloss over this declaration. But the Jews to whom Jesus spoke ought not to have taken the comment lightly. Saying He is the Bridegroom (which He has supported even in the parables of the Wedding Feast and the Bridesmaids) clearly meant that He claimed to be God in the Flesh. Again, when he met the two men possessed with devils, as in the other gospels they declared:
Matthew 8.29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
Matthew's concept of Christ's Kingdom is richer than in the other gospels, with the most parables being offered describing it. Concerning those trying to get into his kingdom Matthew adds:
7.21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
7.22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
7.23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
7.24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
For Jesus to profess He never knew you, one might speculate He thought of himself one day confronting his disciples face to face.
As in all the other gospels we have the prevailing view that Jesus is a vehicle of the Father. God is quite above Him, yet He declares in other gospels that He and the Father are One. While He suggests elsewhere that the Kingdom is come with Him, other places He suggests that it comes without perception, being in all men waiting to be let out; or like a woman walking down the road with a cracked jar of seed on her back: as the seed streams out behind her, unbeknownst to her the kingdom is seeded. When she gets home she finds the basket of seed empty. Verse 7.22 and 7.23 of Matthew once again subtly show Jesus's perception of Himself and reveal a veiled comment as to whom He will be seen as in His Second Coming. For He is talking here of His Second Coming.
In Hosea, concerning the story of marrying two whores, the first whore gives birth to two sons and a daughter. The first sonÕs name is Jezreel, and he is murdered. Then God says, in the prophesy, because of the murder of Jezreel I took my wrath out on Israel, for He says:
Hosea 1.4 And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
1.5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
1.6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
1.7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
1.8 Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.
1.9 Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
1.10 yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said, unto them, ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, ye are the sons of the living God.
1.11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
Now we reach the root of the character of Jesus. He has consistently proclaimed that he will be killed and then raised from the dead; then, in the Latter Days, return in His Second Coming to judge the quick and the dead. At that time, says Jesus, He will tell those who profess to be His Wife to get away from Him, that He never knew them. This is precisely the message of Loammi, and Loammi, in the prophesy of Hosea, is the Vehicle of the Redeemer, for it is Loammi who Redeems Israel whom God had cast away. Again, the prophesy of Hosea is consistent with the themes we have already seen in the other prophets, that Israel must be scattered to all the nations and then, through the Spirit of burning, Redeemed. Hosea tells us that the Redemption of Israel will not be by sword, etc. In consulting the prophets — which we have seen above — the Redeemer is characterized as a man whose mouth is a sharp sword and in Ezra 4 we recall how His Fiery mouth destroys all those who come up against Him. Again, Hosea has no doubts that the cause of the Scattering of Israel is occasioned by the killing of Jezreel. In Isaiah that character, the Suffering Servant, is described fully; and we have seen how David had anticipated Him in his psalms, more specifically in Psalm 22. Great shall be the day of Jezreel, so saith the Lord.
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