"The Earth belongs to HaShem and the Fullness Thereof."
Identifying the Moshiach Part Three: Until the Times of the Gentiles be Fulfilled
By John of AllFaith © September 3, 2007Luke 21:24 And they [the Jews] 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.
Its important to appreciate that these words were spoken over thirty years before the fall of the Holy City at a time when the Zealots and others still believed restoring the Kingdom to Israel was possible. It was an astounding statement for the Master to make. The Jews would be persecuted until the end of the Times of the Gentiles as Master Y'shua foretold. As we have seen the primary function of the Moshiach is to restore Israel and yet even during his ministry it is obvious that he would not accomplish this messianic requirement.
At the end of the Gentile Times, prior to the advent of the Moshiach, our Master warns us:
John 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
Another will come: The one Christians call Antichrist, Muslims call Dijal, the Tanakh's Neviim calls the Little Horn and the world will call Rex Mundi, King of the world.
Prophet Y'shua and the other New Testament prophets speak harmonious with the earlier Hebrew Neviim (prophets) in foretelling that the Rex Mundi will appear prior to the coming of Moshiach.
Among the New Testament Prophets Paul and John give us the most detailed information. Beginning shortly after the death of Prophet Y'shua the Nazarene Way began to fragment into various heresies. These heresies are referenced in the second and third chapters of John book of the Revelation when discussing the seven metaphorical churches that would finalize the Gentile Times. These and many other Christian heresies are known to history. What is less certain is what the original teachings of Master Y'shua were.
The Apostle Paul was frequently forced to confront the developing heresies and disinformation that eventually lead the establishment of the various post Y'shua sects, the largest of these being the Universal Roman Church. Roman Catholicism eventually gained ascendancy as the authorized successor to Master Y'shua when the might of the Roman Empire formally forbade all other expressions of the Nazarene Way and declared "Judaizing" a capitol offense.
On the heels of Prophet Y'shua's death it was being taught by some people that the Master hadn't actually died. Luke 24:39 references an example of this. As reports of his resurrection began to spread the conviction that he would soon return and take up the messianic mantle and establish the Kingdom began to spread. This was after all the principle role of the Moshiach.
Paul, as he boasts, had been expertly trained in the Torah (Act 22:3) and he knew that without restoring the Kingdom there was no way the Master could have been the Moshiach. He also understood that hysteria and unsubstantiated claims would eventually destroy their movement. In order to establish stability and avoid false hope and in an attempt to combat the various false doctrines that were circulating he wrote to those Nazarenes living in Thessalonica.
II Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.Literally, "...that the day of the anointed is at hand." These claims are discussed above.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Paul here discusses this "other who will come in his own name" in much greater detail. He explains that, "that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition..." That 'falling away' references the falling away of the Gentile Church (Rom 11) and its eventual 'spewing out' (Rev. 3:16) as it is removed from the Tree of Israel (Rom 11:21). This began with the removal of the bands from the Tree of Israel in 1948.
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
John gives a bit more information on this man in the Revelation:
Rev. 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:Of special note to our present study however is the comment, "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." "That Wicked" is literally "Anomos" in Greek and refers to one who departs from the Torah, a violator of the Torah. This wicked person will turn away from the Torah and away from HaShem (verse 3).
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:This lie is seen in that he will oppose and exalt himself above all that is holy and that "he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." This life therefore is that he will convince the world that he is God incarnate. At Revelation 13:4 (quoted above) we see that the entire would will worship the Rex Mundi.
This is important. The Rex Mundi will "sit in the Temple of God" however the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. Since that time there has been no Holy Temple of HaShem and so the Moshiach could not have come before 1948 when Israel was restored to Eretz Israel.
We know the Rex Mundi will be revealed before the coming of Moshiach because the Moshiach will destroy him. Therefore since the Rex Mundi will show himself to be God and sit in the rebuilt Temple, it will obviously be rebuild by his authority as part of his deception. This is described by Prophet Daniel:
Daniel 9:27 And he [the Rex Mundi] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [seven years]: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
The Rex Mundi will sign a seven year treaty or covenant between Israel and it's enemies. As part of this agreement the temple will be rebuilt. He will be declared the Moshiach and make a great speech from within the newly built Temple. I discuss this aspect of the prophecies in detail elsewhere on this site so for now, the appearance of the Rex Mundi on the world scene will the sign that the coming of the Messiah is near. While the identity of this global ruler is not yet apparently, it is likely that he is already on the scene.
The Book of Revelation reveals information about both men. John the Beloved was arrested and exiled to the island of Patmos. Like the Prophet Daniel, Prophet John sought insight into the things to come. Due to his faith HaShem sent Prophet Y'shua with the prophecy we know as the Revelation of Jesus Christ:
Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.
The prophecy therefore comes directly from Prophet Y'shua. In highly symbolic imagery we read:
Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.According to Prophet Y'shua therefore he will not be the Moshiach as no one will have previously known the Messiah's identity when he comes. Even Prophet Y'shua didn't recognize the rider of the horse.
In part one of this study I discuss that Prophet Y'shua didn't fulfill the requisite conditions for being the Messiah, and yet he was in many cases a good candidate for the role. There were other viable candidates as well. For instance in the 17th century Shabbatai Tzvi was accepted by many Jews as the Moshiach. However on September 15, 1666 he was brought before the Sultan and told to reject Judaism and embrace Islam or he would be put to death. Shabbatai Tzvi abandoned Judaism and "reverted" to Islam leaving his followers in shock. Tzvi was made "Keeper of the Palace and given a pension.
Many Jews lost faith.
So when will the Moshiach begin his ministry? Traditionally Jews have avoided this question. The rise of Christianity brought much suffering the Jewish people, as did the betrayal of Shabbatai Tzvi and other would-be redeemers. Jewish scholars therefore are hesitant to make false prophecies.
According to Jewish tradition the following guideline is offered:
- if Israel repents in a single day;
- if Israel observes a single Shabbat properly;
- if Israel observes two Shabbats in a row properly;
- in a generation that is totally innocent or totally guilty;
- in a generation that loses hope;
- in a generation where children are totally disrespectful towards their parents and elders;
One of these requirements has now been met: "In a generation that loses hope..." A huge percentage of Jewish Holocaust survivors and Jews not directly touched by the Shoah lost their faith in HaShem after that tragedy. It was that very generation that witnessed the bands on the Tree of Israel fall in 1948. Due in part to that tragedy religious Jews joined secular Jews in embracing Zionism and the world joined them in declaring "Never Again!"
But the world has a short memory and today people all around the world are calling for the destruction of Israel, some are even calling for genocide. Even some Jews are calling for Israel to surrender their land and bow before the forces of the Islamic Ummah! Why is Israel so hated? Simply because thy are Jews! The Chosen of HaShem. There is no other feasible reason. The Left and the Far Right of Western politics are joined in their commitment to surrender Israel to its enemies.
Of the now dawning events Master Y'shua tells us that:
Matthew 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.It is this Antisemitism that will usher in the Son of Perdition:
II Thessalonians 2:1 ... be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;Next on the prophetic agenda: The rise of the Beast.
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