"The Earth Belongs to HaShem and the Fullness Thereof"
Identifying the Moshiach
It's important to understand
By John of AllFaith © September 1, 2007
Has the Messiah Come? Let's Consider Isaiah Chapter Eleven
By John of AllFaith © Sept 1, 2007
Yisheyah (Isaiah) Chapter Eleven 1 And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a twig shall grow forth out of his roots.
2 And the spirit of HaShem shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of HaShem.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of HaShem; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears;
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the land; and he shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6 And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
7 And the cow and the bear feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of HaShem, as the waters cover the sea.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the L-rd will set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, that shall remain from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12 And He will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the dispersed of Israel, and gather together the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that harass Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
14 And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they spoil the children of the east; they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
15 And HaShem will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with His scorching wind will He shake His hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dry-shod.
16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of His people, that shall remain from Assyria, like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.Now, has anyone in history ever fulfilled these very detailed and specific prophecies?
No, they clearly have not.
Verse two: "...spirit of HaShem shall rest upon him...and of the fear of HaShem."
Will Moshiach be HaShem incarnate? Not according to the Tanakh. HaShem will bless this very devout and fully mortal leader and he will be in Yir'ah (or in utter respect and honor) of HaShem. I discuss the common Christian belief in Jesus' divinity elsewhere. For now I will simply point out that Isaiah here presents a Moshiach who is a very humble, devout and fully human Jew, a tzaddik or righteous man. Nowhere in the Tanakh is the idea of a God-man even suggested.
Verse four: "...with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the land..."
Did Prophet Y'shua ever sit in judgment of anyone? The closet he ever came to our knowledge was when the prostitute was taken in the act of adultery. He moved to save her life and then said, I do not condemn you either. No, he was often judged but he never judged. Moshiach will be a judge according to Prophet Isaiah.
"...he shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked."Did Prophet Y'shua ever smite the land and fight the wicked? No, he was not a fighter. He turned the other cheek and died. He said, "Those who live by the sword will perish by it. Moshiach will be a holy warrior according to Prophet Isaiah.
Verse six: "... the wolf shall dwell with the lamb ..."
Did this happen? No. In neither a literal nor a metaphorical way did this happen.
Verse seven: "...the cow and the bear feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox...."
Did animals begin living in peace during Prophet Y'shua's life or thereafter? No, and they continue to be slaughtered by the billions. When Father Noah left the ark and made sacrifice unto HaShem God placed a fear upon the animals (Gen 9:2) and this fear remains until this day. According to the Prophets however this fear will be removed once Moshiach comes. As long as this in-harmony continues, Meshiach has not yet come according to the biblical prophets.
Verse eight: "... the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's den ..."
Again not the case. A child playing like this will be bitten and die 99.9% of the time.
Verse nine: "... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all of My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of HaShem..."
Has Israel known peace for any extended period of time since 70 CE? Indeed, since the Southern Kingdom fell to Babylon hundreds of years before that? Is the world filled with right knowledge of HaShem? Hardly! No, a mere thirty years or so after Prophet Y'shua's death, as he himself foretold (Matt 24) the Holy Mountain (Zion) fell before the Roman conquerer Titus and the Jews were dispersed throughout the world.
Verse ten: "...it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious....
Note that Prophet Isaiah says, "in that day" Moshiach will be accepted as the ensign around which the nations will gather. Did the nations rally behind Israel during Prophet Y'shua's life or after it? This is stated even more clearly by Prophet Zechariah (8:23), "Thus saith HaShem of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, shall even take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying: We will go with you, for we have heard that G-d is with you." Did this happen with Prophet Y'shua? No. Instead the Roman Empire crushed Israel and the Jews have been persecuted ever since.
Note the text also says, "...his resting-place shall be glorious" and yet according to the Church Prophet Y'shua rose from the dead and ascended bodily into Heaven, and so no resting place exists as a glorious place of pilgrimage in his honor.Verse eleven: "...in that day..." not two thousand years later, "...the L-rd will set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people..."
Did Prophet Y'shua restore the dispersed Jews to Israel? We know from other verses that once this restoration of Israel happens (it happened in 1948 or 1967) the Gentiles "shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith HaShem." (Isa 65:25). So no, it clearly did not happen. Again in 70 CE, a mere thirty five years or so after his death Israel fell to the nations and the Jews entered into the most complete diaspora of their history.
Master Y'shua spoke of this directly when he said:
Matt. 24:24 And they [the Jews] shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations [i.e. in 70 CE]: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Note the phrase, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Those days will be fulfilled. When? When Moshiach comes!
What happened during and after Prophet Y'shua's life was the exact opposite of what Prophet Isaiah foretells of the Day of the Moshiach.
Verse twelve: "...He will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the dispersed of Israel, and gather together the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth..."
For the first three hundred years following the death of Prophet Y'shua the followers of the Way of Y'shua were scattered through the known world with very little if any structure or organization. There was no ensign of any kind that one can point to. One could argue the Roman Catholic Church was a sort of ensign, but it wasn't created until Constantine and Nicea three hundred plus years after the death of Prophet Y'shua and his followers, and even then, the Jews were not gathered to that ensign, rather they were victimized and persecuted by it. Another thus far unfulfilled messianic requirement.
Verse thirteen: "... they that harass Judah shall be cut off ..."
Again, the exact opposite is the case following Prophet Y'shua's ministry. Not only were the enemies of the Jews not cut off, they increased their harassment of Prophet Y'shua's people.
Verse fourteen: "...they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they spoil the children of the east..."
The Israelites did not do this, they did the opposite. They fled from their enemies and were condemned by the world. The prophesied invasion of Israel by China ("the Kings of the East") has not yet taken place.
"...they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
Again, this didn't happen.
Verse fifteen: "...HaShem will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea..." [ie the multitude of Egyptian enemies]
Egypt grew in strength after Prophet Y'shua's day and remains even today as a major power in the region. Prophet Y'shua did not accomplish this prophetic requirement.
"...and cause men to march over dry-shod...."This didn't happen then, but it will according to the prophecies when the armies of China (paid for by Walmart and other US corporations and their customers) march into the final battle across the the Euphrates (Rev. 16:12).
Verse sixteen: "...there shall be a highway for the remnant of His people, that shall remain from Assyria, like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt...."
And again, the remnant of HaShem's people fled Zion and did not return in earnest until 1948. How did Prophet Y'shua fulfill this prophecy? He clearly didn't.
This has been a look at one of Prophet Isaiah's important predictions of what Moshiach will accomplish. Our Master, Prophet Y'shua accomplished none of these things and we therefore must conclude that despite what we may wish to the contrary, there is no way he was the Moshiach of Israel according to the Tanakh and no other source of evidence exists to support the claim.
Some believe that Prophet Y'shua will one day return to this earth and fulfill the many prophecies intended to identify this Root of Jesse. There are at least three major problems with this view based on this important chapter.
- These verses specifically state, "In that day..." Moshiach will do such and such. Prophet Y'shua did not do them "in that day" when he was alive.
- There is no mention of a second coming of the Moshiach anywhere in the Tanakh. The Tanakh lays out several very specific prophecies but it fails to mention one so important to the future of Israel and the Nations? Considering the importance of the Mosiach, why would HaShem not inform His prophets of a second coming of Moshiach, if it was to be? Clearly He would have.
- The reason such prophecies were given was to identify the Moshiach. If HaShem intentionally deceived His people (God forbid) He did the one thing the Tanakh says HaShem is incapable of doing:
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
HaShem says here and elsewhere that Moshiach will perform these and other very specific activities. Are we to believe that HaShem will not fulfill His Word to His people? That He will violate His promise? Such a thing is not possible! What HaShem has spoken will always come to pass.
Arguably the most important figure in defining post 70 CE Judaism, Maimonides presents us with (in the Laws of Kings 11:4) the criteria for identifying the messiah:
If a king will arise from the House of David, diligent in Torah study and the fulfillment of Mitzvot - of the written and Oral Law – like David his ancestor, and will compel all the Jews to go in its [the Torah's] path . . and builds the Holy Temple and gathers the Diaspora [to the land of Israel], this is certainly the Messiah."
Those who say Zionism is incompatible with Judaism would do well to heed these words! Maimonides says the Chosen People will return to Eretz Israel, they will build the (third) Temple and they will reign under the authority of Moshiach. Even though many Zionists are not religious, the coming of Moshiach is at the heart of this very Jewish movement.
Prophet Y'shua on the other hand rejected the Oral Torah (i.e. the Talmud, the Mishna etc) as the commandments of men (Matt 15:9). He did not stress the importance of Torah study (although he frequently cited the Torah and was obviously not the itinerant preacher many Christians for some reason make him out to be; Paul and others encouraged Torah study) and even weakened its observance by stressing that Shabbat was made for man, not man for Shabbat etc. Not only did he not rebuild the Holy Temple (the Second Temple still stood in his day, it was destroyed 35 or so years later) he foretold its destruction (Matt 24:2).
So what can we conclude from this? It seems obvious that since no one has ever appeared and performed these defining Messianic tasks, Moshiach has not yet come.
So when will he come? Will everyone know him? Will he be Prophet Y'shua returned? That is a topic for another study! (which is coming soon if there is interest!)
If you have any questions or comments I invite you to contact me via the comments section below, by e-mail or one of my other blogs (see below)
Until then, may HaShem shine His face upon you and be gracious!
For More Visit My Noahide Nazarene Way Site
Please Note: My dear friend Matthew posed an important question. I posted the following reply in the comment section (where much of the best part of my blog entries often are by the way), but I thought I'd post it here as well:
I was raised a Christian (Missionary Baptist, a very Fundamentalist sect), accepted Jesus as my personal savior and lord when I was twelve (in 1969), was taught to read by Christians (Jehovah's Witnesses, a heterodoxy I deeply admire but would never again join -- I, like hundreds of others, left when their 1975 prophecy failed) when I was 17/18, studied and was ordained as a Baptist and later a Calvary Chapel minister. I carried a 12x6 foot wooden cross on my back from Atlanta to San Anontio (990 miles or 1593 kilometers for my friends in civilized countries :-) and through much of Central America and Argentina preaching the Gospel on the streets, in churches, on television and radio, I co-founded a Christian Church and have worked on staff at others........ the subject of who Jesus was is therefore near and dear to my heart and always has been.
With this entry I'm more asking questions than making statements (though a bit of both of course).
I have three main reasons for presenting this (and the related ones that may follow if there is interest) here:
1. I am hoping a few of my Christian readers will explain how such prophecies relate to Jesus in order to give scriptural evidence that despite such prophecies he was/is Messiah:I Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
2. It is partly a response to one of my 360 acquaintances who wrote: "Why wont the Jews accept Jesus as their Messiah even though the Old Testament [sic] is very clear that he is that they remain a stiff necked people who God has rejected for us" (I wont provide a link to his blog as it is rabidly Antisemitic and would not contribute to our conversation here. And third, as I often discuss here and elsewhere I am convinced that when Israel returned to Zion (either in 1948 or 1967) the prophetic clock was set into motion. As I discuss in this piece:Isaiah 11:10 And it shall come to pass in that day [this day], that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek [the new Noahide movements are beginning this process now]; and his resting-place shall be glorious.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day [this day], that the L-rd will set His hand again the second time [in 1948 or 1967] to recover the remnant of His people.
3. I am absolutely convinced that the generation of 1967 (and probably 1948) will still be alive when Moshiach defeats the Rex Mundi (Antichrist or Dijal) and fully restores the Kingdom to Israel. This being the case, it is vital that those "with ears to hear and eyes to see" determine the identity of the Messiah.
As you mention Matthew, we have discussed the Man of Perdition many times. One of his key attributes will be his ability to deceive. With knowledge of what the prophecies actually say we are more likely to see through his lies. There is no doubt that the Counsel of Nicea drastically altered Y'shua's teachings. We all need to know the Truth.
And insha'allah we can have a nice conversation around this topic.
By the way, do you like "blinky Jesus?" This was my first animated graphic. I made it back when AllFaith.com was still the Roam'n Church at Geocities (long before Yahoo bought them) ;-)
Got Questions, Thoughts or Comments About This?
Use the Comments Feature at my 360 Blog!
Or contact me privatelyClick Here For Part Two 
