Tag Archives: Messiah

Moshe—A Prophetic Type of the Mashiach

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Deuteronomy 18:15, A prophet from your midst, like me, shall YHVH your Elohim raise up for you. Obviously, this was fulfilled in the person of Yeshua the Messiah. The non-believing Jews, however, attempt to prove that this verse does not apply to Yeshua. For example, The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash in its commentary states, “Moses told the nation that just as he was one of them, so God would designate future prophets [plural] from among the people to bring them his word” (p. 1033, emphasis added). What is wrong with this statement? Is the verse quoted accurately? Moses said “prophet” singular, not “prophets” plural, as the commentary says. So in this manner, the Jewish commentators switch the focus off of one single prophet who would arise, and make it appear as if all the prophets recorded in the Scriptures helped to fulfill this prophecy. This is dishonest biblical interpretation.

On another note, does the “Jesus” of the mainstream church who, it is taught by many church leaders, broke the Sabbath and came to do away with the Torah-law of Moses fulfill this prophecy? Didn’t Moses say that the prophet would speak only the words that Elohim would give him (and the implication is that those words would not contradict what was given at Mount Sinai)? So did Yeshua come to do away with the Torah-law or not? (Read Matt 5:17–19.) In commissioning his disciples in Matthew 28:20, didn’t Yeshua tell them to do and to pass on to others all that he had commanded them? Didn’t Paul tell us to, “Follow me as I follow the Messiah” (1 Cor 11:1)? So how is it that so many people in the mainstream church believe otherwise about Messiah Yeshua and Paul relative to their teachings on the Torah-law? The point we are trying to make here is that the “Jesus” of the Sunday church who, it is taught, came to annul the Torah, does not fit the criteria of this prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:15–19. Either the Torah is correct and the mainstream church is wrong or it is the other way around. We choose the former to be the truth, not the latter!

A prophet…like unto me. Let’s study the parallels between Moses (Heb. Moshe) and Yeshua the Messiah (Heb. Machiach)to see how Yeshua perfectly fulfilled this prophecy.

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Yeshua the Messiah Prophesied in the Life of Joseph

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Genesis 37–41 The Life of Joseph—A Foreshadow of Messiah Ben (Son of) Yosef

The spirit of Antimessiah (Antichrist) is on a dramatic rise in our day. It is even rampant among those who are returning to the Hebraic, Torah-centric roots of the Christian faith where some people are losing their faith in Yeshua the Messiah. A few are even converting to Rabbinic Judaism, which denies the messiahship and deity of Yeshua and the divine inspiration of the Testimony of Yeshua. Some of the blame for this can be laid at the feet of a few of the modern-day descendants of the non-believing Pharisees (i.e. the Rabbinic Jews), who use clever arguments to beguile unstable and unlearned souls into humanistic reasoning devoid of a living faith in Yeshua their Savior and the Redeemer of man. Because of a spiritual blindness that Scripture prophesied would come upon the Jews producing a hardness of heart toward Yeshua the Messiah, unbelieving Jews ignore the numerous prophetic shadow-pictures pointing to Yeshua the Messiah contained in their own Tanakh.

May the following study strengthen your faith in Yeshua the Messiah, in his divine origination in the very heart, mind and essence of Elohim, and in the fact that he was foreordained to come to this earth to reconcile sinful man to his Heavenly Father through his self-sacrifice on the cross. All this was prophesied long ago in the Tanakh. The ancient Jewish sages speak of a messianic figure coming called Messiah son of Joseph (Mashiach ben Yosef), the Suffering Servant, whose life and ministry would parallel that of Joseph, yet Continue reading →

 

The Science of the Crucifixion

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Matthew 27:35, Crucified him. 

By Cahleen Shrier, Ph.D. (originally posted at http://www.apu.edu/articles/15657/)

Each year, Cahleen Shrier, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry [at Azuza Pacific University in California], presents a special lecture on the science of Christ’s crucifixion. She details the physiological processes a typical crucified victim underwent and teaches her students to see Christ’s death on the cross with new understanding. The exact events in this scenario may not have happened in Jesus’ specific case, but the account is based on historical documentation of crucifixion procedures used during that time period. Please be aware that the following is of a realistic and graphic nature.

It is important to understand from the beginning that Jesus would have been in excellent physical condition. As a carpenter by trade, He participated in physical labor. In addition, He spent much of His ministry traveling on foot across the countryside. His stamina and strength were, most likely, very well developed. With that in mind, it is clear just how much He suffered: If this torture could break a man in such good shape, it must have been a horrific experience.

Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:37-42, Luke 22:39-44

After the Passover celebration, Jesus takes His disciples to Gethsemene to pray. During His anxious prayer about the events to come, Jesus sweats drops of blood. There is a rare medical condition called hemohedrosis, during which the capillary blood vessels that feed Continue reading →

 

The Spirit of Judas is alive and well today!

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Matthew 26:14–15, Then Judas. When Yeshua plainly stated that he’d be crucified soon, Judas evidently became disillusioned, since he was expecting a Conquering King Messiah, not a Suffering Servant Messiah. With Yeshua as a conquering king, Judas could have expected a prominent position in Yeshua’s government.

The lust for money and power were likely the motives behind Judas’ following Yeshua (after all, Judas carried the money bag for Yeshua’s ministry). When Yeshua predicted his crucifixion, Judas’ incentives for following him suddenly vanished. Judas figured he’d salvage what he could of his unfulfilled expectations and enrich himself, even if it meant betraying Yeshua for money. Judas had come to the conclusion that Yeshua was a false Messiah faker and that he had wasted several years of his life following him, so, in his mind, giving Yeshua over to the Jewish authorities wasn’t an act of betrayal at all, but was an act of civil service to expose Yeshua as a trouble-making fraud.

To Judas, the Jewish leaders had been right after all to reject Yeshua as the Messiah. To them, he was merely a pretender, a deceiver, an agitator and a troubler, and Judas had come to the same conclusion. When Judas came to this realization, he now found it advantageous to his personal well-being to cast his lot in with the Jewish religious establishment and to make some money from it as well.

In our day, there many Judas-type people who turn away from following Yeshua. Many reasons can be given for this, but it boils down to three things: the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Selah!

 

Jacob’s Ladder YHVH’s Plan of Salvation From Genesis to Revelation—The BIG Picture!

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Introduction to the Study of Genesis 28:10–22

Jacob’s vision of a ladder to heaven is one of those enigmatic Scriptural passages which has befuddled the
keen intellects of many Bible scholars down through the ages. Perhaps the deeper elucidations of Jacob’s
vision has escaped the reader as well. If so, you are not alone, for well-known Christian commentators such as Matthew Henry and Adam Clarke have stabbed at its meaning realizing it has something to do with the Person of Yeshua the Messiah and his heaven-ordained ministry to reconcile earth’s inhabitants to their Heavenly Father and Creator. Keil and Delitzsch don’t even connect this dream to the Person of Yeshua. Other than vague explanations as to the dream’s interpretations, these esteemed scholars have nothing more to proffer the reader. Little if anything is said of the allegorical meaning of the ladder, the dust, the stones (plural) becoming a stone (singular) or of the significance of “the place.” Even the unusually insightful biblical scholar Arthur W. Pink in his book, Gleanings In Genesis, though he draws 101 parallels between Joseph and Yeshua the Messiah, can gives us no more insights into the spiritual and prophetic implications of Jacob’s ladder than do Henry and Clarke. This is some of the best that Christianity has to offer on this subject.

Now what does the best of rabbinic Judaism have to offer us by way of explanation of Jacob’s dream? It goes without saying that their interpretations will be devoid of any references to Yeshua, but can we learn anything else from them. After all, they have been studying this passage for more than 3800 years! Rashi, viewed by some as the greatest Torah expositor of the last 1000 years has little to add to our understanding as does Samson Raphael Hirsch, the great nineteenth-century Torah teacher. The Baal HaTurim in his Torah commentary adds some interesting insights relating to the subsurface or hidden meaning of some of the Hebrew words used in the text that not only confirm the simple or plain meaning of the text, but add depth to it as well on an allegorical or prophetic level. We will cite a number of other Jewish scholars who between them contribute greatly to our understanding of the text. But for all their collective wisdom, they, not surprisingly, fail to connect the meaning of the ladder to YHVH’s plan of redemption and salvation for mankind. They fail to see the big picture and master plan involving the Messiah, the Living Word of Elohim sent from heaven to redeem lost mankind. 

Both the Christian scholars and the Jewish sages are blind in part since both have rejected half of the key to unlocking the full depth and panoramic understanding of this vision. The former has, to one degree or another, rejected its Jewish or Hebraic roots and the relevance of the written Torah to theological understanding and lifestyle, while the latter has rejected Yeshua, Living Word or Living Torah sent from Heaven to give us wisdom, understanding, redemption and salvation. Each side is spiritually blind in part to one-half of YHVH’s truth (Rom 11:25). Both have stumbled over the stone of stumbling and the rock of offence (Isa 8:14). The Christians have rejected much of the truth of the written Torah, while the Jews have rejected the spirit of prophecy as revealed through Yeshua, the Living Torah (Rev 19:20). To understand the heart of the Father as revealed in his written word, Yeshua said that it would take both spirit and truth (John 4:23–24). With these thoughts in mind, let us proceed to understand this vision of Jacob.

The Text 

Let’s now read the text in Genesis 28:10–22 pertaining to Jacob and his dream of the Continue reading →

 

The “Son of Elohim/God” Prophesied About in the Old Testament

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Matthew 16:16, The Son of the living Elohim. One day, Yeshua asked his disciples who they thought he was. Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. (Matt 16:15–16) How did Peter know this? Were there any hints in the Tanakh (Old Testament) that the Messiah would be the Son of Elohim, since these were the only Scriptures Peter had?

Their are numerous prophecies in the Tanakh about the Messiah. Here is a list of scriptures that prophesy specifically that he would be the Son of Elohim with some brief comments following.

Therefore Adonai himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [Heb. God with us]. (Isaiah 7:14)

Many Bible prophecies have double meanings or fulfillments. Such is the case with this prophecy. It was partially fulfilled in Isaiah’s life (Isa 8:3), but not completely. Isaiah’s son was neither deity nor was he known as “God with us.” Yeshua the Messiah was (Matt 1:23).

He shall cry unto me, “You are my father, my El [God], and the rock of my salvation.” Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. (Psalm 89:26, 27)

Again, this prophecy has a double fulfillment. It was partially fulfilled by David and his sons, but not completely. Only Yeshua, who also was from David’s line.g. fulfilled the superlative aspects of this prophecy. Not only that, Solomon, David’s son who ruled after him, wasn’t David’s firstborn. Yeshua was Elohim’s firstborn, however. 

Who has ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if you can tell? (Prov 30:4)

This is a clear and direct reference to the Son of Elohim, who, the Testimony of Yeshua (the New Testament) tells us in several places, was also the One through whom Elohim created all things (e.g. John 1:7).

I will declare the decree: YHVH has said unto me, “You are my Son; this day have I begotten you.… Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” (Psalm 2:7, 12)

Here is yet another Messianic prophecy from the Tanakh that speaks of the Messiah King being the Son of Elohim. Neither King David nor his sons ever fulfilled this prophecy even remotely to its fullest extent. 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty El [God], The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

In this Messianic prophecy, the Son and Elohim are equated. He is both Elohim and the Son of Elohim. He is also a son of David who will sit on David’s throne, and whose government will ultimately fill the earth (verse 7). In this prophecy, the Messiah is called “the Everlasting Father.” How can he be a Father and a Son at the same time? The same way any man can be both a father and a son. Spiritually the pre-incarnate Yeshua as YHVH the Son married Israel and begot spiritual children through that nation (Ezek 16:1–14). Similarly, Yeshua as the Messiah is in the process of marrying his bride, who is redeemed Israel (the saints), and who is begetting spiritual children, and will continue to do so on into the Messianic Era (the Millennium; e.g. Rev 12:1–2; 2 Cor 11:2; Rom 7:4).

 

Torah Is Our Light to the Nations!

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When I say “Torah” I’m referring to both the Written Torah and Yeshua the Messiah, the divine Son of Elohim who is the Living Torah-Word of Elohim!

Deuteronomy 4:6, Keep. Keeping Torah (YHVH’s instructions in righteousness) was the means for YHVH’s chosen people to be salt and light to the surrounding nations. Torah is literally a “witnessing tool.” What kind of righteous witness are you (via your Torah lifestyle) to those around you who are lost in spiritual darkness?

Wisdom [Heb. chokmah] and understanding [Heb. biynah]. Chokmah means “intelligence, skill (in war); wisdom (in administration); shrewdness, wisdom; prudence (in religious affairs); wisdom (ethical and religious). It derives from the verb chakam meaning “to be wise, to be or become wise, act wisely; to make wise, teach wisdom, instruct; to show oneself wise, deceive, show one’s wisdom.” According to the TWOT, chokmah and it’s root verb represents a manner of thinking and attitude concerning life’s experiences including matters of general interest and basic morality. These concerns relate to prudence in secular affairs, skills in the arts, moral sensitivity, and experience in the ways of YHVH. In the Tanakh, chokmah is used in relationship to the whole gamut of human experiences whether it be technical artisan skills, military tactics or political and administrative leadership. It is expressed in shrewdness as opposed to foolishness or silliness. Prudence is another aspect of chokmah as it relates to how one speaks, uses his time carefully and in the practical affairs of life. The Bible reveals that Elohim is the source of all wisdom, and wisdom is not to be found in human speculation. Elohim alone provides wisdom for man’s guidance, so that he can live the best possible moral and ethical life (Ibid.).

Biynah means “discernment or insight” or “the ability to understand something, comprehension, the power of abstract thought, an individual’s perception or judgment of a situation.” According to the TWOT, biynah refers to knowledge that is superior to the mere gathering of data. It is necessary to know how to use the knowledge one possesses. This is where perception or judgment comes into play. One must properly interpret the data and make wise and discerning decisions as to how to act.

Torah is your wisdom in the sight of the nations. Consider the following:

  • Your life may be the only Bible some people read.
  • Torah is light. Light quietly does, it is silent. It doesn’t talk about doing, it does! YHVH is looking for doers, not talkers.
  • What kind of reputation do you have in the community?
  • People may not be turning to the light of Torah as a result of your example YET, when times get tough in this country (“when you are in tribulation … in the latter days, Deut 4:30), they may well turn to you for the answers because they remembered that there was something different about you—something pure, pristine and holy. That’s when they’ll be looking for answers.
  • Torah makes us a great people. YHVH measures greatness differently than the world does. Are you great by the world’s standards or YHVH’s standards?
  • How does YHVH measure greatness? Love, faith, truth, obedience, servanthood, giving, selflessness, self-sacrifice.
  • Comparatively speaking, how does the world measure greatness? Money, power, fame, possessions, intellect, physical appearance, good sounding words.
  • Which type of greatness will last into eternity?

Never forget this: The Bible reveals that Yeshua the Messiah is the spiritual light of the world that came from heaven to guide men through the spiritual darkness of this world and lead them to his Father in heaven. He is not only the Light, but the Word of Elohim made flesh. In other words, he is the Living Torah Word of Elohim. He was the exemplification and personification of the Written Torah. Only through him living in us through is Set-Apart Spirit can we properly obey YHVH’s Torah commandments. This we will do by his power in us and out of a loving relationship with him. The Testimony of Yeshua (or New Testament) makes these truths very clear for those who have eyes to see and hearts to comprehend!