The word Messiah means 'anointed one'
or 'sent one'
, It is obvious in studying history that, there have been quite a few 'sent ones'
, or at least, according to either themselves or to their followers.
Even the New Testament makes references to certain 'Messiahs'
, (even though they are false messiahs). For example, in the Book of Acts 5:36-37
we read, "...For before these days rose up Theudas
, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined
themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought
to nought. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee
in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished;
and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed."
The Nation of Israel, before and after the days of our LORD Jesus Christ, was constantly
being confronted with these so-called false messiahs. The greatest of these was Bar-Kochba
in 135 A.D., who drew thousands of followers, who met their death, rather than being liberated from oppression as he had promised them. The Apostle Saul-Paul,
before his encounter with Christ Jesus, persecuted those of 'The Way', that is, the
followers of Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah, and he did so because of his zeal
for his own people! The Apostle Paul had witnessed time and time again, his Jewish people
following an individual who had declared, himself as a 'sent one', only to see them
killed or at least defrauded. When the sect of believers in The Nazarene appeared
it was comprised totally of Jewish people, the Apostle Paul surely must have been enraged
that here once again was another leading of, "...the lost sheep of the house of Israel"
down the path of destruction and heartache. Therefore, he took matters into his own hands, and secured permission from the High Priest in Jerusalem to hunt the Jewish
believers and apprehend them, so that somehow this 'new' falsehood would be brought
to an end.
However, one thing that the Apostle Paul had forgotten and that is, that, the leader, the sent one, the anointed one, The Messiah
had long ascended into heaven and his followers were not following simply a man,
but rather The GOD-MAN, The LORD Jesus Christ. On one of Saul-Paul's trips to Damascus,
so that he could incarcerate some of his people, in order that they would not be
duped, the encounter that changed his life took place; he met The One, that unknowingly,
he was persecuting, Jesus The Nazarene!
The rest is history, Saul-Paul not only realized his wrong, but after confessing Jesus
as LORD, became one of the greatest of all the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. There
is not a man, woman, boy or girl; Jewish or Gentile, that once, an encounter with
Jesus our LORD has taken place, could ever be the same, because, His loving arms surrounds
them, and leads them unto Eternal Life, for "...GOD so loved the world, that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). Amen and Amen!
The GOD of heaven and earth meticulously planned and carried out, the redemptive work
of man, through His Beloved Son as recorded in The Holy Bible.
Jesus of Nazareth is MESSIAH THE PRINCE
and His association with the JERUSALEM OF GOD
is inseparable. He Himself said in John 4:22, "SALVATION IS OF THE JEWS", by this,
He was referring to the necessary fact that, The Old Testament Scriptures, as well
as The New Testament Scriptures were written by Jewish people; about them and through
them, as they lived the very incidences recorded in Holy Writ. Now, let us briefly look
into some of The Scriptures pertaining to MESSIAH THE PRINCE that prove His truthfulness
and rightfulness, not only, to be The Messiah of Israel, but also, The Saviour of
The World.
HIS BIRTH FORETOLD
In Isaiah 7:14 we read, "...Therefore The LORD Himself shall give you a sign; Behold,
a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His Name Immanuel." This
Scripture was written approximately seven centuries before the birth of Christ.
It's fulfillments are found in: Luke 1:26-32, "...the angel Gabriel was sent from
GOD unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin ... and the virgin's name
was Mary ... And the angel came in unto her, and said, HAIL, thou that art highly
favoured, The LORD is with thee: blessed art thou among women ... and the angel said unto her,
FEAR NOT, Mary: for thou hast found favor with GOD. And Behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His Name Jesus. He shall be great,
and shall be called The Son of The Highest: and The LORD GOD shall give unto Him the
throne of His father David: And He shall reign over The House of Jacob (ISRAEL) for
ever...", Luke 2:6-7, "...the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn
Son...", Luke 2:21, "...And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising
of The Child, His Name was called Jesus...". THE PLACE OF HIS BIRTH FORETOLD
Again, about seven centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ our LORD, we read in
Micah 5:2, "...But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah (of Judea), 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 of
old, from everlasting."
The Scriptural fulfillment is found in The New Testament Book of Matthew 2:1-2, "...Now
when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold,
there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born
'KING OF THE JEWS'?" HIS ONENESS WITH GOD FORETOLD
King David of Israel wrote in the second Psalm about The Unity of GOD and His Beloved
Son. Parts of Psalm 2:1-12, reflect this truth, "...Why do the heathen (Gentiles)
rage, and the people (Israel) imagine a vain thing? The Kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together
against The LORD andagainst His Anointed (MESSIAH)
saying ...Let us break their bands (UNITY) asunder, and cast away their cords (STRENGTH)
from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh ...I will declare the decree:
The LORD hath said unto ME (Jesus), Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten thee
...Kiss (or adore) The Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from 'THE WAY' ... Blessed
are all they that put their trust (FAITH) in Him (THE MESSIAH OF ISRAEL)."
In The Book of John, chapter 10 and verses 24-30 we read the following excerpts in
relationship to the fulfillment of The Oneness of GOD and His Son, "...Then came
(SOME) of the Jews round about Him (JESUS), and said unto Him, How long dost thou
make us to doubt? If Thou be The Christ (ANOINTED ONE), tell us plainly. Jesus answered ...I
and my Father are One." In Colossians 2:9, we read, "...For in Him (JESUS) dwelleth
'ALL'
The
Fullness of The Godhead Bodily." Hebrews 13:8, "... Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, and today, and forever".
HIS LIFE AND MINISTRY FORETOLD
Isaiah The Prophet in 760 B.C., prophesied in Isaiah 61:1-2, "...The Spirit of The
LORD GOD is upon me; because The LORD hath anointed (MESSIAH) Me (JESUS) to preach
good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim
(PREACH) the acceptable year of The LORD (SALVATION)."
The above has its fulfillment in the three and a half years of public ministry that
Jesus our LORD had in The Land of Israel. Here are just a few of the New Testament
Scriptures that show forth the realization of what was written 700 plus years before
it actually came to pass: To begin with, we read what the Apostle Peter said of Jesus
our LORD in Acts 10:34-38, "...Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, of a truth
I perceive that GOD is no respecter of persons. But in every nation he that feareth
Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him. The Word which GOD sent unto the children
of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ (He is LORD of all): That WORD, I say,
ye know ... How GOD anointed (MESSIAH) Jesus of Nazareth ... Who went
about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil;
for GOD was with Him." We can also find in the four Gospel narratives, wonderful
descriptions of The Life and Ministry of our LORD Jesus Christ. HIS POWER AND MIGHT
FORETOLD
In the Book of Proverbs written primarily by King Solomon we read in Chapter 30:4,
"...Who
hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who
hath gathered the wind in HIS fists? Who
hath bound the waters in a garment? Who
hath established all the ends of the earth? What
is His Name, and What is His Son's Name, if thou canst tell?" Here we have a Scripture
referring to The Almighty GOD as, The Creator and Sustainer of all! Each one of these
questions must be answered by stating that He is The GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; He alone can perform these feats, and maintain the elements as we have them today.
Additionally, we are told that GOD has a Son
! What is His Name
, if thou canst tell? Wonderfully enough, in Proverbs 30:5, the very next verse gives
us a glimpse of Who
GOD's Son is! "...Every WORD OF GOD
is pure. He
is a shield unto them that put their trust (FAITH) in Him." Here we find GOD's SON
being referred to as THE WORD OF GOD
! In The New Testament, The Gospel according to John, written approximately 1,000
years after The Book of Proverbs was completed, we read in John 1:1, "...in the beginning
was THE WORD
, and THE WORD
was with GOD, and THE WORD
was GOD."
Three basic thoughts are presented here in regards to THE WORD OF GOD
. He was
in the beginning; He was with
GOD; and, He is
GOD! In John 1:14, we are told that, "...THE WORD
was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, The glory as of The Only
Begotten of The Father, full of Grace and Truth." Notice if you please, that, THE WORD
(JESUS OUR LORD), which has been from the beginning with GOD, AND WHO IS GOD, BECAME
a human being. Please understand, that it was not the reverse, that is, a human being
did not become a god, but rather, GOD Himself CHOSE
to become a little Jewish child, and as He grew into manhood, He (The LORD Jesus
Christ), through His substitutionary death, for you and me, fulfilled the redemptive
plan of The Almighty, for both Jewish and Gentile individuals!
In addition, we find our MESSIAH, The LORD Jesus Christ
, casting out devils: Matthew 8:28-34, "...And when He was come to the other side
into the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two possessed with devils, coming
out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 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? And there was a good way off
from them a herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought Him, saying, if Thou
cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And He said unto them,
GO. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: And, behold, the whole
herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the
waters. And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told
everything, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils, and, behold, the whole city
came out to meet Jesus..." FEEDING THE MULTITUDES
Matthew 14:14-21, "...And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved
with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick. And when it was evening, His
disciples came to Him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past;
send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say
unto Him, we have here but five loaves
, and two fishes
. He said, bring them hither to me. And He commanded the multitude to sit down on
the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven
, He blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to His disciples, and the disciples to
the multitude. And they did all
eat, and were filled: And they took up the fragments that remained twelve baskets full
. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men
, beside women and children." HEALING THE SICK
Mark 8:22 - 25, "...And He cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto Him
and besought Him to touch him. And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him
out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put His hands upon him, He
asked him if he saw ought ... And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After
that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: And he was restored,
and saw every man clearly." CONTROLLING THE ELEMENTS
Mark 4:35-41, "...And the same day, when the even was come, He saith unto them, Let
us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they
took Him even as He was in the ship. And there were also with Him other little ships.
And there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was
now full ... And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they
awake Him, and say unto Him, MASTER, carest Thou not that we perish? And He arose,
and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, PEACE BE STILL
. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm
. And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? And
they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that
even the wind and sea obey Him?" EXERCISING HIS POWER OVER DEATH
John 11: 1-45, "...Now a certain man was sick, Named LAZARUS, of Bethany, the town
of Mary and her sister Martha ...Therefore his sisters sent unto Him (Jesus) saying,
LORD, behold he whom thou lovest is sick ... Then after that saith He to His disciples, Let us go into Judea again ... Then said Jesus unto them plainly, LAZARUS is dead
... Then when Jesus came, He found that he had lain in the grave four
days already ... Jesus said ... I am The Resurrection and The Life:
he that believeth in ME, though he were dead, yet shall he live ... Then when Mary
was come where Jesus was, and, saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying unto Him,
LORD, if Thou
hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and
the Jews also weeping which came with her. He groaned in The Spirit, And was troubled,
and said, where have ye laid him? They said unto Him, LORD, come and see. JESUS WEPT
. Then said the Jews, Behold how He loved him ... Jesus said, take ye away the stone
...Then they took away the stone from the place where, the dead was laid. And Jesus
lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me ... And
when He had thus spoken, He cried with a loud voice, LAZARUS, COME FORTH
. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: And his
face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, loose him, and let him
go. Then many of the Jews ... believed on Him (JESUS OF NAZARETH
)." MANY OTHER THINGS
"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be
written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books
that should be written. Amen." (John 21:25).
"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are
not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might BELIEVE
that Jesus
is The Christ
(MESSIAH), The Son of GOD
; and that believing ye might have life through His Name." (John 20: 30-31).
PROPHECIES WERE FULFILLED
Over 313 prophecies were fulfilled in the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection,
and ascension of Jesus our LORD
! That, one man could ever consummate to its ultimate, 'ONE'
complete prophecy, is ludicrous, to say the least. Jesus of Nazareth, not only fulfilled
in its completeness one prophecy, but rather, three-hundred and thirteen of them.
Indeed, He is GOD in The Flesh, IMMANUEL - GOD with us
! MESSIAH THE PRINCE, in His death, burial, resurrection,
and ascension
! HIS DEATH
The Prophecy
: Psalm 22: 1-31, "...MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME... The assembly of
the wicked have inclosed me: They pierced my hands and my feet."
The Fulfillment
: Matthew 27: 35-37, "...And they crucified Him ... And set over His head His accusation
written, THIS IS JESUS KING OF THE JEWS." HIS BURIAL
The Prophecy
: Isaiah 53:9, "...And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His
death..."
The Fulfillment
: Matthew 27: 57-60, "...When the even was come, there came a rich man
of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: He went to Pilate,
and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And
when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. And laid it
in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to
the door of the Sepulchre, and departed. HIS RESURRECTION
The Prophecy
: Psalm 16:10, "...For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell: neither wilt Thou suffer
Thine Holy One to see corruption."
The Fulfillment
: Matthew 28: 5-69 "... And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye:
for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen
, as He said." HIS ASCENSION
The Prophecy
: Psalm 110:1, "... The LORD said unto my LORD, sit thou at My right hand, until I
make Thine enemies Thy footstool."
The Fulfillment
: Acts 1: 9-11, "...And when He (Jesus) had spoken these things, while they beheld,
He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked
steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus
, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have
seen Him go into heaven." Also, please read Hebrews 1: 1-3.
One of the greatest portions of Scriptures that deals with MESSIAH THE PRINCE
is found in Daniel 9: 25-26, "...Know therefore and understand, that from the going
forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto THE MESSIAH THE PRINCE
shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built, and
the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall MESSIAH
be cut off, but not for Himself...".
This Scripture was written about six centuries before Christ, and it definitely does
paint a prophetic picture of THE MESSIAH OF ISRAEL
. Not only does The Prophet Daniel speak of THE MESSIAH, but also about the fact that,
He is to be killed, but not for His offenses. One hundred years prior to Daniel,
The Prophet Isaiah wrote in the 53rd chapter of his book, "...He was wounded for
our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities... He was cut off out of the land of
the living: for the transgression of my people was He stricken." As you can appreciate,
there is much evidence in both The Old Testament and in The New Testament that speak loud and clear that there is but ONE TRUE MESSIAH, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Even Jesus our LORD, in Matthew 24:5 warned against false messiahs, "...And Jesus
answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many
shall come in my name
, saying I am Christ (MESSIAH); and shall deceive many."
Praise GOD, that our LORD Jesus Christ, is The True MESSIAH and SAVIOUR of The World.
All He desires of us is our heart and mind in consecration unto Him.
Yes, it was in the JERUSALEM OF GOD
, that our MESSIAH gave His life, in order that you and I might live eternally. And,
it will be in the JERUSALEM OF GOD
, that our LORD Jesus Christ will return to establish His Kingdom which shall be established
forever and ever!
