Tag Archives: Moses

Does God Really Have a Son? … Part II

07 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by in Prophecy in General

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God in Human Form

Such a troubled world we live in. And it’s not getting any better. Poverty, disease, oppression, ethnic conflict, and wars have been the scourge of mankind from the beginning of time; but since the First World War they have increased exponentially on a global scale.

Before the First World War which was labeled the War to End All Wars—because no one could imagine that it would ever be repeated—combat casualties were seldom counted in more than tens of thousands. But the predictable progression of technology coupled with the relentless regression of morality resulted in the horrifying military and civilian deaths in World War I and World War II that were measured in the tens of millions. With millions more wounded and displaced from their homes, right up to the estimated 10 million refugees from today’s slaughter in Syria.

As if the incredible increase in the sophistication and destructive power of conventional armaments and munitions in just twenty years’ time from World War I to World War II (tanks, ships, planes, submarines, small arms) wasn’t enough; by the end of the second world war, we found a way to harness and unleash the fearsome fission and fusion power of the atom itself.

Indeed, the atomic bomb brought a swift end to the Pacific War against Japan; and as accurately calculated by both military and civilian experts, actually saved hundreds of thousands of Allied and Japanese lives that would have been lost through additional weeks or months of conventional warfare.

Subsequently, nuclear arsenals of some of the world’s major powers have ironically served as a deterrent to flash point incidents that could trigger a third world war, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis between the United States and Russia in 1962.

But now this nuclear cloud hangs ominously over every man, woman, and child on the planet. How long can the apocalyptic potential of a nuclear war be restrained? Especially, if a rogue nation like North Korea decides a first strike is worth the risk. Or an equally rogue nation like Iran develops and uses nuclear warheads to accomplish its sworn agenda of eliminating Israel from the face of the earth?

Like never before in the history of the human race, the world we live in is on the precipice of an unparalleled cataclysmic catastrophe that could shatter mankind beyond recovery. With regard to such magnitude of destruction, according to the Bible there is both bad news and good news.

The warning of this world-wide disaster comes from Jesus Christ, himself, speaking of the Great Tribulation: “For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive…” (Matthew 24:21-22).

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But there is good news. Continuing with the last part of Matthew 24:22, Jesus says: “But it (the Tribulation) will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.”

Messiah Jesus, Son of God

Jesus assures us that the human race will survive. He can make that kind of guaranteed promise because he, himself, will intervene. He can and will do that because he is, in fact, God’s Messiah and God’s Son, as affirmed in last week’s article based on three (of several) astounding passages in the Old Testament … Psalm 2 and Psalm 110. And, Genesis 1, which announces the plurality of God (Trinity) when it says: “Let us make human beings in our image to be like ourselves” (Genesis 1:26).

First, a couple of excerpts (in italics) from last week’s article regarding the Lord God declaring that the Messiah (King) is, indeed, God’s Son.

Then the passage states, “For the Lord declares: ‘I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain’” (Psalm 2:6). The chosen king is the Messiah and the context pertains to the end-times reign of God’s Messiah.

Listen to the astonishing response of the King (Messiah) as he refers to The Lord—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (God of the Bible). The King speaks:

“I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. He (the Lord) said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession’” (Psalms 2:7-8, NASB).

The first Me is the King; the second Me is the Lord (God) … the King’s Father.

Then from Psalm 110, the amazing statement by King David that there is another Lord to whom the Lord God (God the Father) speaks. As follows:

“The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet” (Psalm 110:1, NASB).

Who is my Lord? To whom is David referring … who is David’s Lord?

Frequently King David speaks of the Lord, his God. Meaning the one true and living God of Israel. But here David proclaims that the Lord God is talking to another Lord, who is (also) David’s Lord. We know this second Lord is the Messiah because of what the rest of the chapter tells us concerning Messiah’s rule and role as the Scepter of Zion and the judge among the nations. But the crucial component of this magnificent passage is that the Messiah is (also) David’s Lord (my Lord) who is inherently equal to The Lord (God); but with a different role or position or expression of that deity.

Then later a summary of these two passages plus Genesis Chapter One:

The Triune Personage of Almighty God is not three separate gods. He is One God in Three Persons. This plurality is plainly present in God’s first introduction of himself in Genesis.

Nearly all Jews who know anything at all about their heritage and chosen place in God’s created universe agree that Messiah comes from King David’s lineage of the tribe of Judah. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it was none other than King David, himself, who spoke of Messiah—God’s Royal Son—as David’s Lord!

In the very first book of the New Testament, the Jewish Apostle Matthew provides a meticulous, but amazing genealogy of Jesus of Nazareth … descending from King David. From there, the remainder of the New Testament (Covenant) gives us convincing historical records that Jesus, himself, claimed to be this Messiah—Son of God, Son of David, Son of Man. Fully God and fully man. Furthermore, he validated these claims with many marvelous miracles, teachings that astounded even the most educated and religious Jewish leaders, and most of all his spectacular resurrection from the dead.

The Jewish Apostle Paul, who had a personal salvation encounter with Messiah Jesus while Paul was on his way to Damascus to arrest, imprison, and possibly execute Christians, later wrote to Titus: “…while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed” (Titus 2:13).

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It was plainly evident to Paul that Jesus Christ was not only the Son of God, but also God the Son. And that Messiah Jesus would return as King to fulfill the hopes of believers, Jew and Gentile alike, for peace and justice in an otherwise hopeless and unjust world.

Moreover, Jesus frequently referred to God as his Father. The purpose of these statements was to further affirm and clarify that God is One God in Three Persons, and that Jesus was God the Father’s Son, thus, the appointed Messiah. But also to emphasize the fact that God the Father was exclusively Spirit. Said Jesus to the woman at the well: “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). It was Jesus who became God Incarnate … God in human form. Because it was necessary that Jesus’ blood be shed as a man; a propitiation for every person who would believe … satisfying God’s requirements through the Law that innocent blood must be spilled as a redemptive atonement for mankind.

With the exception of thousands of Jews who believed and received Yeshua as their Lord and Savior in the first three hundred years or so after the birth of Christ and hundreds of thousands of Messianic Jews in today’s world, most Jews tend to think only of Jesus as a post-Old Testament person who started a new religion, as recorded in the New Testament.

Consequently, they are under the impression that when a Jew leaves Judaism and becomes a Christian, that he or she undergoes a conversion (converts) to Christianity. That simply isn’t what happens. Nor is it true of a person converting from say, Islam to Christianity. Biblical salvation through believing and receiving Jesus as Messiah Lord and Savior is not a conversion from one religion to another. As said several times in prior Eye of Prophecy articles: Biblical Christianity is not a religion—unless Roman Catholicism and the cults are considered.

Instead, Biblical (God’s) salvation is a personal relationship with God available through personal trust in the once for all sacrificial atonement of Jesus’s death on the Cross. It is simply believing and accepting what God through Messiah Jesus has done for us; that which we could not do for ourselves through all the requirements of religion or man-made privileges of race, e.g. membership, maintaining religious rituals, good works, or innate worth by virtue of being born into a particular race or religion.

Jesus of Nazareth proved beyond any reasonable doubt that he was Divine (God the Son) through his supernatural signs and wonders, with his own resurrection from the dead the most amazing miracle of all. That is an authentic historical fact, affirmed by hundreds who saw him after he arose from the dead.

Moses wrote about the plurality of God, which later became known as the Trinity. King David attested to the truth that the Lord God called another (Person) Lord and that this Lord was God’s Son. Micah prophesied that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, but that his origin was from the distant past … from eternity.

The prophet Isaiah said that He (Messiah) “…was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins … All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6). Once again, the personal pronouns used by Isaiah are just that … personal. They cannot possibly refer to Israel, if for no other reason that Israel cannot and does not qualify to atone for its own sins.

Let’s look at another magnificent prophecy from Isaiah that Messiah is God, who would come to the earth in human form. In this sweeping timeless (to God) announcement, we find both the first advent of Jesus Christ (as the suffering servant of Isaiah 53) and his second advent (return to earth to establish the Kingdom of God).

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Well into the Great Tribulation we read what will happen: “Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens: ‘It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ…” (Revelation 12:10).

Old Testament Appearances of Messiah (Jesus)

In addition to Old Testament descriptions of the coming Messiah, some of which have been examined in last week’s and this week’s article, there are also several spectacular sightings of Messiah in the Old Testament—what a handful of scholars (including me) refer to as the Pre-Incarnate Epiphanies of Jesus Christ.

I firmly believe that the purpose of these amazing personal appearances of God in the flesh was to proactively and prophetically reinforce the written predictions about the Messiah … as David’s (other) Lord and God’s Royal Son. As well as to correlate with and be a prototype of the actual (final) birth of Messiah, i.e. born of a Virgin conceived by the Holy Spirit. Fully man and fully God. The Old Testament pre-Incarnate appearances gave God’s own people, the Jews, a wonderful preview of the greatest coming attraction of all time: God’s Son in human form.

To prepare Israel and the nations for the greatest event of human history: That God the Son was born in Bethlehem, lived among his people, was crucified, buried, and rose the third day; and is now seated at the right hand of God until the appointed day of his magnificent return to the earth in that same resurrected and glorified body in which he will rule and reign forever from Jerusalem.

Time and space will permit identification of only three of these Pre-Incarnate appearances.

However, before we examine each one, it is vitally important that we understand this basic premise (fact) that will be supported by these examples: God the Father is Spirit and ONLY Spirit. Thus, each of the Epiphanies depict God’s Son, Jesus Christ; as only he is the express image of God in human form. (Colossians 1).

Another important thing to remember is that God’s angels often take on human form throughout both the Old and New Testament. However, two significant factors enable us to determine whether these men are angels or the Messiah, himself. (1) The context and events of what is taking place including Scripture stating that The Lord is speaking (2) Whether or not the actual people involved in the encounter refer to the angel as Lord, or as just an angel (messenger).

Abraham and the Three Men

Many know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible entailing Abraham’s passionate intercessory plea that God withhold his judgment for the sake of just ten righteous people. This event begins with: “The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent… He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby…” (Genesis 18:1-2).

As the passage tells us, this was not the first time that the Lord appeared to Abraham. Nor was it the first time that God took on the form of a man. That occurred when Abraham met the mysterious King of Salem. Several scholars including me believe that this man, Melchizedek, was none other than the Pre-Incarnate Messiah (Jesus).

In the book of Hebrews we read the account of Melchizedek first recorded in Genesis.

“This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him … The name Melchizedek means ‘king of justice,’ and king of Salem means, ‘king of peace.’ There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God” (Hebrews 7:1-3).

In Hebrews Chapter 5 and later again in Chapter 7, the author quotes Psalm 110, which we examined in last week’s article as a pivotal passage in which King David makes this astounding statement: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies…” (Psalm 110:1).

But what I didn’t quote last week (saving it for this week’s article) is what else David wrote about the other Lord who the Lord God, himself, referred to as Lord. King David continues his dramatic disclosure of what God (the Father) declares about the second Lord (God the Son):

“The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow; ‘You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek’” (Psalm 110:4).

There’s absolutely no ambiguity or confusion as to what David is saying, especially when you combine Psalm 110 with Psalm 2, and other passages such as Micah 5.

The author of Hebrews summarizes by saying: “There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven” (Hebrews 7:23-26).

Returning to the story of the three men who visited Abraham, the context is crystal clear: Abraham knew that two of the men were angels, but the third was the Lord, himself. Why can we say that with utmost certainty? Because in the written account by Moses, he refers to this man as, The Lord. Moreover, Abraham addresses him as Lord. He also said: “…Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” (Genesis 18:25). Then later Abraham says, “…Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?” (Verse 31).

Therefore, in light of the Biblical evidence that God is Spirit, the intriguing question before us is whether God (the Father) appeared to Abraham as Melchizedek and later as one of the three men at Abraham’s tent as The Lord (who said to my Lord); or if he was David’s (my) Lord to whom The Lord was speaking (Psalm 110).

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Especially to Jews and Judaism, would the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, himself, actually appear in bodily form? Likewise: Is it possible for a human being to look at/on the Most High God (El Elyon, in Hebrew) and live? According to what God told Moses and the Israelites, to gaze on God’s glory (God, himself), meant certain death. Which is why the Lord shielded the brilliant, but lethal light of his Holiness from the Israelites in a dense cloud or pillar of fire.

Let’s look at another stunning person to person encounter with the Lord God, as experienced by Abraham’s grandson, Jacob.

Jacob Wrestles with God (Literally!)

Before we examine the extraordinary account of Jacob’s wrestling bout with Divinity, let’s review Jacob’s first personal episode with God as he was fleeing from his brother, Esau. You remember the story:

“Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night … As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants” (Genesis 28:10-13).

Then the Lord proceeds to review and renew his covenant with Abraham and Isaac to Jacob, which is the everlasting promise that the land (Israel) would be given to the Jews in perpetuity. In this amazing scene, Jacob saw God, himself; although it was through a dream, not a face to face meeting, as such. That would come some twenty years later during Jacob and his family’s return to the land of Canaan (later to be called Israel). Read with me:

“During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ ‘What is your name?’ the man asked. He replied, ‘Jacob.’ ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob,’ the man told him. ‘From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.’ ‘Please tell me your name,’ Jacob said. ‘Why do you want to know my name?’ the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel (which means ‘face of God’) for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared’” (Genesis 32:22-30).

So much could be said concerning this astonishing event, such as why God would even engage Jacob in a physical wrestling match, and let Jacob win. However, in summary, there is no doubt, whatsoever, that the man was the Lord, himself … not an angel. With Jacob breathing a sigh of immense relief that he had physically touched the Lord, and had seen God face to face and lived to tell about it.

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But how could this be? How could this be the God whom not even Moses could look on face to face and live? Scripture tells us that God spoke to Moses face to face, but that clearly is a figurative way of saying it was (what we would call) a person-to-person or one-to-one communication. We know this to be true because every time that Moses entered the Tabernacle or met The Lord on Mt. Sinai, God enshrouded himself in a dense cloud to protect Moses from God’s lethal glory.

The text is quite evident that this was not a dream Jacob was having; it was remarkably real. Consequently, it could not have been God (the Father) who literally wrestled with Jacob. Thus, if we accept the unmistakable evidence of Scripture that God appeared in human form (as God’s Son, the Second Person of the Trinity) throughout the Old Testament, then why is it so difficult to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is God’s final incarnate appearance (once and for all)?

Moses & the Seventy Elders

Did you know or remember that God actually appeared in human form on Mount Sinai? I think many students of the Bible often overlook that amazing account. This was over four hundred years after Joseph, then Jacob and his family, took up permanent residence in Egypt. By and large, the Israelites had forgotten about their Lord—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was time to be reintroduced to the God of Israel, who would continue with his plan to bring salvation to the world through the Jews, inevitably and specifically through the Jewish Messiah, Jesus.

Did you know that the Ten Commandments (along with other features of the Mosaic Law) had been given directly by God to Israel even before Moses ascended Mt. Sinai and received the stone tablets upon which the “finger of God” wrote the Ten Commandments? You can read about that in Exodus Chapter 20. In fact, when God delivered the Commandments to the people, his thunderous voice so frightened them that they pleaded with Moses: “…You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!” (Exodus 20:19).

Prior to that God had given explicit instructions to Moses that the people were not to ascend Mt Sinai or even touch the mountain—upon the pain of death. But then the Lord made a temporary exception that Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders could accompany Moses in a climb up the mountain; for the express purpose of meeting with God to worship him and to celebrate the Covenant that all the people had agreed to, “…do everything the Lord has commanded” (Exodus 24:3).

Listen to the short, but stunning description of what transpired:

“Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain again. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!” (Exodus 24:9-11).

Later, God again veiled his presence in a dense cloud of fire and smoke on the mountain. God called (and spoke) to Moses from within that cloud.

Although Moses doesn’t provide a detailed description of “The God of Israel” in this scene, it is fully obvious that who/what they saw was a man, in human form. Why can I say that? Because the passage says, “under his feet…” with the clear connotation that they were the feet of a man. In fact, with the exception of animal’s feet, what other kind of feet could they be?

Yet we also know that Moses, himself, was not allowed to look on (the face of) God directly. That fact is inescapably evident from the equally well-known story of what happened when Moses subsequently pleaded with God to, “…show me your glorious presence” (Exodus 33:18).

Do you remember the Lord’s reply? He said: “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you … But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live … Look, stand near me on this rock. As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen” (Exodus 33:19-23, italics for emphasis).

Moses wanted to look directly (face to face) upon the glory (the very essence) of the Lord. But under no circumstances would God permit this. Instead, the Lord God (Father) allowed Moses to gaze on the afterglow of God’s glory, but not directly facing God.

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Therefore, we need to again pose the question: Why would God make an exception and allow Moses and a group of more than seventy Israelites to stare directly at him and survive? When, in, fact, God would not even allow Moses to look privately at the uncovered “face of God,” and live. Or a better question: Was it an exception at all?

There is only one explanation.

Which is the same answer for all of the Old Testament appearances of God in human form: It is not God (Spirit) the Father, but rather God the Son who physically appeared to Abraham, to Jacob, to Moses and the elders. And later to Joshua, Gideon, Daniel, Zechariah, and others. Then to arrive for the final time in human form as Jesus of Nazareth. But this final appearance was different, as Christ lived among us for some thirty-three years. It was much more than just a brief (here now and then gone) but nevertheless significant epiphany for specific reasons as recorded in the Old Testament. With the providential purpose to demonstrate that God would appear in human flesh once and for all.

This would be accomplished exclusively by David’s Lord, the Royal Son of God … the Messiah who is both David’s Lord and his corporal descendant through the tribe of Judah!

Things to Ponder

The wonderful words of God’s angel have reverberated through the entire world for two millennia: “…I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2:10-11).

Said another angel to Joseph: “…do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus (Yeshua), for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

“All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: ‘Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God is with us’” (Matthew 1:22-23, quoting Isaiah 7:14).

To the Jewish and Gentile believers in the city of Colosse, the Apostle Paul writes:

“…May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Christ is the visible image of the invisible God…” (Colossians 1:11-15).

Said Jesus to the people: “…Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him)” (John 6:45-46).

One of Messiah’s disciples, Philip, said to him: “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied. Jesus replied, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!’” (John 14:8-9, italics for emphasis).

A few days later, after Jesus had arisen from the dead, the so-called doubting disciple, Thomas, would express what all the disciples beyond any doubt knew to be true. When Thomas saw the risen Messiah and the still visible wounds in his hands, feet, and side, he exclaimed:

“My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

The Two Witnesses (Part I)

07 Saturday Jun 2014

Posted by in The Rapture

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THE TWO WITNESSES (Part I)

Of the dozens of remarkable prophetic visions experienced by John, author of the book of Revelation, one of the most fascinating is found in the first fourteen verses of Chapter 11. Most Bible commentators simply refer to this passage under the heading of, The Two Witnesses. In the previous Eye of Prophecy articles entitled, The False Prophet (Parts I and II), we introduced these two witnesses who are also referred to as prophets; and we identified them as Moses and Elijah, who will take on the False Prophet and his boss, the Antichrist.

Moses and Elijah are the most popular and logical choices; but are they, indeed, the two witnesses? What is the nature and extent of Biblical evidence to support these selections over other Old Testament prophets or over two modern-day men whom God might choose? And, what is the practical significance of identifying these two prophets as Moses and Elijah? In other words, what difference will it make who they are? Let’s see if we can answer those questions, thereby, elevating your interest and excitement for the return of our Lord to an even higher level!

Although Revelation Chapter 11 is, by far, the most well-known passage—to some the only source—that announces the incredible arrival and accomplishments of these two men, there is another mysterious Biblical scene that first introduces these mighty prophets of God. Hundreds of years earlier, the prophet Zechariah presents a startling portrait of these two men, by referring to them as “two olive trees,” and then explaining that the two trees, “…represent the two heavenly beings who stand in the court of the Lord of all the earth.” Let’s read Zechariah’s intriguing description:

“Then the angel who had been talking with me returned and woke me, as though I had been asleep. ‘What do you see now?’ he asked. I answered, ‘I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl of oil on top of it … And I see two olive trees, one on each side of the bowl.’ Then I asked the angel, ‘What are these, my lord? What do they mean?’” (Zechariah 4: 1-4).

Note: The angel, who is the Lord (pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ, because Zechariah addresses him as Lord), doesn’t actually answer Zechariah’s specific question; instead the Lord talks about Zerubbabel and the Temple. So once again Zechariah inquires:

“Then I asked the angel, ‘What are these two olive trees on each side of the lampstand, and what are the two olive branches that pour out golden oil through two gold tubes?’ ‘Don’t you know?’ he asked. ‘No, my lord,’ I replied. Then he said to me, ‘They represent the two heavenly beings who stand in the court of the Lord of all the earth’” (Zechariah 4: 11-14).

Why or how can we match these two olive trees with the two witnesses of Revelation 11? And why did the angel designate these two men as heavenly beings? And not just heavenly beings, but “the two heavenly beings.”

Comparing Zechariah 4 with Revelation 11

Now let’s read a portion of Revelation 11 to verify that the two witnesses or prophets are, in fact, one and the same as the two heavenly beings described in Zechariah. “And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1260 days. These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth” (Revelation 11: 3-4).

First, the terminology of olive trees and lampstands in Revelation precisely fits the descriptive language used by Zechariah. Secondly, the angel in Revelation is telling John that these two men, are “the two olive trees and the two lampstands…” with a reliable contextual and grammatical deduction that the men are the two olive trees, meaning the two men (heavenly beings) alluded to by Zechariah, in one of the many end-times prophecies recorded by Zechariah. The is a definite article that refers to something or someone already identified, presuming to exist, and separated from any and all other similar objects or people. To support what I’m saying, let’s refer to Webster’s Dictionary for one of several definitions and uses of “the.”

“Used as a function word to indicate that a following noun or noun equivalent is definite or has been previously specified by context or by circumstance … to indicate that a noun is a unique or a particular member of its class.” (Italics for emphasis).

Secondly, if the two prophets of Revelation had not already been referenced in Scripture, then John would have said: “These two prophets are two olive trees and two lampstands…” And, he probably would not have even used the modifier two; because if these prophets of Revelation were being introduced for the first time, it would be misleading to utilize the definite article or the adjective two. But John doesn’t say that; rather he states, “The two olive trees and the two lampstands.” Do you see the difference?

Thirdly, both passages declare that these two men (called heavenly beings, witnesses, prophets) “stand before the Lord of all the earth.” Prior to Revelation 11, where else in Scripture do we find a reference to anyone standing before the Lord of all the earth? Nowhere else in Scripture do we find two men or beings or anyone else standing before the Lord of all the earth, except in Zechariah Chapter 4. The significance of this: It further narrows down and links the two passages one with the other, to the point that it would be extremely difficult not to make a connection. In fact, it would be a huge oversight … tantamount to literary neglect if no correlation was made.

Revelation Chapter 11 uses the same symbolic analogy as does Zechariah by referring to the two witnesses/prophets as olive trees. However, Revelation also tells us that the prophets are “two lampstands.” Although Zechariah employs the symbolism of a lampstand, he doesn’t metaphorically call these two men lampstands. Does that create a problem with the otherwise clear premise that Zechariah and Revelation are referring to the same two people? No, I don’t believe it is an issue. Why? Because, as will be explained in just a short while, the use of the terms olive trees and lampstands are, in fact, symbolic … meaning they are allegorical representations of (in this case) real people. Those (two) real people are called: witnesses and prophets in Revelation and heavenly beings in Zechariah.

As most readers know: any time symbolism through metaphor or simile or hyperbole is used in literature or language, its fundamental purpose is to enhance or magnify the impact of the person, place, or thing … the subject of the sentence or passage. In other words, lampstand and olive trees help us to better grasp the character, function, and purpose of who they represent.

Some Bible commentators identify the two olive trees in Zechariah as Zerubbabel and Jeshua; however, there is a problem with this application. First, Jeshua isn’t even mentioned in the Zechariah Chapter 4 vision. Rather Jeshua is introduced in a completely different scene as found in Zechariah Chapter 3, with a different meaning and future application. One that involves none other than God’s, “servant, the Branch” who will, “remove the sins of this land (Israel) in a single day” (Zechariah 3: 8-9). The Branch is none other than Messiah (Jesus).

Next, Zechariah Chapter 4 references only Zerubbabel (not Jeshua), but it doesn’t say that Zerubbabel is an olive tree (one of the two olives trees). The Lord didn’t speak about Zerubbabel as a symbolic representation of the two heavenly beings; rather the Lord spoke to Zerubbabel. And the subject of this message specifically concerned the rebuilding of the second temple.

Lastly, neither Jeshua nor Zerubbabel were Old Testament prophets, as prophets are characterized and defined in the Bible.

Why is this mysterious term heavenly beings utilized? I say, mysterious, because nowhere else in the Bible do we find this term used, precisely as we find it in this passage from Zechariah.

What the two heavenly beings are not.

They are not angels. Again, nowhere in Scripture do we find angels actually described as or called heavenly beings. Certainly, they are special beings created by God and their primary residence is with God in heaven, but angels are angels; not some enigmatic “heavenly being” such as identified by the angel in this very unique circumstance recorded by Zechariah. And, angels are never referred to symbolically as lampstands or olive trees, which is the allegorical description found in both Zechariah 4 and Revelation 11. In Zechariah, we are then told that the olive trees/branches symbolically represent the two heavenly beings. In Revelation these two olive trees and lampstands (same descriptive analogy used in Zechariah) are, in fact, the two witnesses or prophets. Although they have various functions, such as ministering and protective spirits, angels are simply referred to as angels (God’s messengers) throughout Scripture.

Nor are these heavenly beings two of the four living beings or two of the twenty-four elders that John saw in his first vision after being summoned to heaven by Christ, who spoke to John and said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this” (Revelation 4:1). Instantly John saw a throne in heaven, and the one sitting on the throne, “…was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them” (Revelation 4:3-4). John continues with this spectacular vision: “…In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back” (Verse 6). After John presents more details as to the appearance of these four living beings, he tells us, “…Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come” (Verse 8).

There are twenty-four elders and four living beings, whereas there are two heavenly beings in Zechariah. There would be no reason whatsoever for two of the twenty-four elders or two of the four living beings to also be the two heavenly beings … the term used in Zechariah. Nor is there any designation of the living beings and elders representing lampstands or olive trees.

Incidentally, most Bible scholars (I concur) accurately explain the imagery of the lampstand as representing light, which is the truth of God’s majestic plan of salvation for mankind that produces light and life for everyone who places their trust in the crucified and resurrected Son of God. Moreover, the branches of the olive trees that produce oil represent (power and presence of) the Holy Spirit. Thus, these two heavenly beings (witnesses, prophets) will proclaim the truth of God and do so by the power of the Holy Spirit. The heavenly role/purpose of the four living beings and the twenty-four elders are varied as depicted in Revelation, but they are not prophets or heavenly beings who stand before the Lord of the earth, as such. Though they are obviously endowed with power and position, neither the four-living beings nor the twenty-four elders perform miracles as do the two witnesses/prophets who are referred to as heavenly beings in Zechariah.

Not only is the enigmatic description of these two men (by process of elimination and by default they must be men) unique but so is the fact that they stand before “the Lord of the earth.” Once again we see a title that is not used of God or Jesus much at all in Scripture. Often we read about the Lord of Hosts or as the NLT translates it, “The Lord of Heavens Armies,” but Zechariah says the two heavenly beings stand in the presence of the Lord of all the Earth. Why the distinction between the normal language that our Lord is the Lord of Heaven (which he certainly is) and the Lord of the Earth—which he also certainly is although he has given Satan temporary limited authority to rule over the earth, i.e. the world system of godless governments down through the ages.

More Comparative Evidence

Once again, many students of Scripture and Bible prophecy are convinced that the two witnesses of Revelation 11 are and will be Moses and Elijah. And, I heartily agree. By far the most common—and often the only—reason given is because of the supernatural similarity between the power given to and miracles performed by Moses in his time and Elijah in his time, and the two prophets of Revelation. Moreover, Old Testament prophets would sometimes prophesy in burlap clothing, which Revelation 11 tells us is worn by the two witnesses. A modern-day man would not wear burlap. And if he did, while preaching the truth of God, most would consider him as an imposter, trying to mimic Old Testament prophets. But if Moses and Elijah actually appeared (in burlap), well … a lot more people will listen and take heed!

Let’s read again about the colossal feats ascribed to these two witnesses: “These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die. They have the power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish” (Revelation 11: 4-6).

Let’s look at the extraordinary correlations between this passage and the accomplishments of Moses and Elijah. And in so doing, to remember the purpose behind these marvelous demonstrations of authority: to get the attention of those being afflicted, ultimately for their own good. With the end result of listening to God, acknowledging his sovereignty, and doing what must be done. Such as turning—from destructive, ungodly behavior as described in Revelation during the Great Tribulation, i.e. sorcery, thefts, sexual immorality, and murders—to the true and living God and His Messiah, Christ Jesus. (See Revelation 9:20-21).But also, to demonstrate the awesome power of the true and living God and His Messiah toward and against those who arrogantly defy their Creator by vainly making themselves equal with God—by creating their own morality and serving their own gods, which most often are themselves.

Moses:

–  Nearly all who have read or heard about the ten miraculous plagues that God inflicted on the Egyptians through Moses, know about the first one: turning the Nile River into blood. During a 3 ½ year display of dynamic and dramatic power, not just one river will be polluted by blood, but several/many, “rivers and oceans” will be contaminated by the two Revelation prophets.

–  Nine more plagues followed in the Exodus story, each more devastating than the former, until all the firstborn male children, including Pharaoh’s child, died in a single night. Revelation 11 tells us that these two prophets (most likely Moses in this case) will, “…strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.” Thus, instead of a few weeks of successive plagues during the softening of Pharaoh’s ever-hardening heart, Moses (and Elijah) will dispense plagues for 3 ½ years!

Elijah:

– Please refer to I Kings Chapter 18 for the astounding confrontation between Elijah and 850 so-called prophets hired by Ahab and Jezebel to lead the Hebrews away from God and toward false, non-existent gods such as Baal. Many know the story. But to condense this amazing incident for purpose of this article, suffice to say that the prophets of Baal could no more persuade Baal to consume the prepared sacrifice with fire than could Ahab or Jezebel themselves. When it was Elijah’s turn, he simply prayed a short prayer to the Lord, and God completely consumed the sacrifice; thus validating Elijah’s bold claim that the God of Israel was the only true and living God.

– Let’s read the shocking results: “Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, ‘The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God’” (I Kings 18: 38-39).

Another supernatural comparison between Moses/Elijah and the two prophets can be made: Pharaoh had the power, opportunity, and means to have Moses and Aaron put to death at any time during the sequence of plagues, but he didn’t. More like, he couldn’t! Why? Because God divinely protected Moses as his chosen prophet/witness to Pharaoh.

Likewise, with Elijah. At any point in time, Ahab could have ordered Elijah killed. In fact, both he and his wicked wife, Jezebel, had been vainly searching for Elijah to do just that—kill him. Instead, Ahab allowed Elijah not only to go through with this great test/demonstration as to who exactly was God and who was not; but Ahab also stood by while at least 400 prophets of Baal were slain by Elijah and the people who turned back to God.

Compare the sovereign protection of Moses and Elijah to the two witnesses. As indicated earlier, the two prophets of Revelation who are the same two heavenly beings of Zechariah, are indestructible until their God-given mission is accomplished.

Do you see what’s happening here? For all intents and purposes, these two mighty men of God will be untouchable by the False Prophet and the Antichrist, until their 3 ½ years of proclaiming God’s truth is finished. Then, and only then, will God allow the beast of Revelation (Nero) to kill them. But even that won’t be anything close to permanent, as confirmed by a spectacular event 3 ½ days later.

(That gives a whole new meaning to a Witness protection program! Sorry, I couldn’t resist the analogy).

“But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them. Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, ‘Come up here!’ And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched. At the same time there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city (Jerusalem). Seven thousand people died in that earthquake and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven” (Revelation 11: 11-13).

So, too with Moses. He survived Pharaoh’s wrath and certain destruction (along with the Israelites who faithfully followed him and God) at the Red Sea … by God splitting the sea into dry land. He survived forty dangerous years in the harsh Judean wilderness, and forty days and nights without food on Mt. Sinai (twice, or was it three times?). He died directly at the hands of his loving God at the ripe old age of 120; yet the circumstances surrounding his death and burial are still a mystery to this day. (More on that in next week’s article).

So, too with Elijah. He not only was spared providentially from Jezebel’s decree of death for him, he was told by the Lord that 7,000 others in Israel also followed the Lord, who had, “…never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!” (I Kings 19:18); to assure Elijah that he was not alone … nor the last true prophet in Israel at the time. Strange or ironic that 7,000 will die in the earthquake immediately after the two prophets are raised from the dead, 3 ½ days after they are murdered by Antichrist. Undoubtedly many, if not all, of these 7,000 who die had already taken the mark of the beast and/or had bowed to the statue of the beast. And it takes the prophets 3 ½ years to, “complete their testimony” (Rev. 11:7), approximately the same amount of time Elijah stopped the rain in Israel.

We have forty days that Elijah also fasted; then later God spoke to him on the very spot where Moses fasted and received the Ten Commandments, Mt. Sinai. Who else fasted for forty days and nights in the Judean wilderness several hundreds of years later? Too easy of a question: Messiah Yeshua. Another easy question: Who was it that met and spoke with Jesus on another mountaintop in Israel? Answer: None other than Moses and Elijah!

Things to Ponder

There’s more! But you’ll need to wait until next week’s article to discover extra amazing things about Elijah and Moses. Scriptural facts that will (1) further validate them as the two witnesses of Revelation. (2) Provide near irrefutable evidence that they alone are qualified to be the heavenly beings who witness and prophesy for the Lord during the Great Tribulation. In doing so, we’ll examine in more depth why they are referred to as heavenly beings and why they stand before the Lord of the earth.

Just a sampling: Elijah and Moses appeared with Christ in bodily form! They were not spirits. Keep that in mind as we continue this captivating back to the future journey. (Next week).

The Second Exodus

10 Saturday May 2014

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A SECOND EXODUS

You ain’t seen nothing yet! Don’t you just love those colloquial sayings? As long as they’re not overused and become too familiar, we all use them to punctuate a point or illustrate and intensify an idea we’re trying to share with someone. Sometimes you can even use words that aren’t really words (like ain’t). Oh come on now, I know ain’t is officially in the dictionary, but who among us considers it to be a valid contraction of am not, or whatever. Haven’t most of us who are moms or dads corrected our children when they say, ain’t. And then turn right around and mutter under our breath or whisper to our spouse, “That just ain’t right.” Point is that a catchy phrase often gets our attention, such as: “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Even without ain’t that’s a popular adage! Right now, the problem with ain’t is that my spelling and grammar check has underlined it every time, and I don’t like red marks while I write. However there are seven red lines in this paragraph, which is my favorite number!

Since the underlying theme of this blog site is Biblical prophecy, I best get on with the topic at hand. Which is: You ain’t seen nothing yet. I’m talking about a modern-day marvel predicted nearly 2,600 years ago by God through a Jewish prophet that billions of people all over the world have probably heard of … Jeremiah. You remember: the prophet made famous by the rock group Three Dog Night singing, “Jeremiah was a bullfrog … was a good friend of mine.” I am not quoting that to be irreverent, only to emphasis how well-known Jeremiah is. By the way, Jeremiah in Hebrew is: Yirmeyahu. That’s another red line to eliminate in this document, but it’s worth it!

The way I see it, all Bible prophecies fall into the category of amazing; if for no other reason than they were fulfilled just as prophesied. But there are some like the subject of this article that zoom right past amazing to astounding, incredible, or mind-boggling. After you read it, pick your own superlative description. Here is the prophecy:

“In that day,” says the Lord, “when people are taking an oath, they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’ Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ Then they will live in their own land” (Jeremiah 23:7-8).

What is this prediction all about, and why is it so unparalleled? How is it that such a monumental event like the Exodus from Egypt could be relegated to, “You ain’t seen nothing yet?” In a nutshell, it announces far in advance that there will be a Second Exodus for the Jewish people. (Incidentally, this was the second time that Jeremiah made this prediction … the first being found in Chapter 16). It is one thing to utter such a bold prediction once (if it isn’t fulfilled, then once is too many), but to state it twice is prophetical suicide if it doesn’t come to pass. But it did happen … and it is still happening right before our eyes in the 21st century.

What makes it even more spectacular is the fact that; although the northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered by Assyria, the southern kingdom of Judah was still a vibrant, thriving, prosperous, and powerful nation. For the southern kingdom Jews to be told that their return to the Promised Land would surpass in magnitude the miraculous Exodus was unthinkable, because nothing would ever rival their deliverance from Egypt. But also because they couldn’t or wouldn’t wrap their minds around the possibility that Judah and the Holy City of Jerusalem would ever be conquered in the first place. By that time Jeremiah had warned—and continued to warn—his people that Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed and the people taken captive by the mighty Babylonian Empire, unless they turned back to God.

Thus, it’s one thing to foretell such an incomparable return to Israel (by saying it will be even more memorable than the first Exodus); but it’s quite another phenomenon to prophesy about this Second Exodus before Judah had even been destroyed and the people exiled to Babylon. Moreover, Jeremiah was proclaiming that ALL of Israel would return, including the ten northern tribes that had already been scattered to the four winds. We’ll see that shortly when we read verses five and six of Jeremiah Chapter 23.

The Exodus from Egypt

Who hasn’t heard of The Exodus? Of Moses, the burning bush, Israelites, Pharaoh, the awesome parting of the Sea, and the finger of God blazing His commandments on solid stone. That isn’t just imagery from Cecil B. Demille’s film classic, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston. Where do you think Demille got the idea? Several times throughout the Old Testament, Israel and the gentile nations are reminded of one of the greatest (some say the greatest) event of all time—the Exodus from Egypt. For hundreds of years afterward, Israel’s judges, prophets, kings, priests, scribes and many of the common people frequently reminded each other and themselves what mighty blessings and miracles the Lord God had performed before, during, and after the Exodus, including entrance into the Promised Land of Israel.

That’s what the majority of their annual festivals are about. There are many Old Testament references to the miracles of the plagues that rescued the Hebrews from abject slavery, and repeated reminders of such things as, “For he divided the sea and led them through, making the water stand up like walls! In the daytime he led them by a cloud, and all night by a pillar of fire. He split open the rocks in the wilderness to give them water, as from a gushing spring. He made streams pour from the rock, making the waters flow down like a river!” (Psalms 78:13-16).

From the very first Passover, Jews throughout the ages—even during their Babylonian exile and then during the Diaspora—right up to the present time have celebrated their deliverance from Egyptian bondage.

Yet, several hundred years after Moses, Jeremiah audaciously announces that one day something would take place to actually eclipse the Exodus in importance and impact. Once again it would entail Exile {to a foreign nation(s)}; Deliverance (from oppression by those nations); and Entrance (to Israel, the land promised to them by the true and living God). But this time it would be permanent … indeed, it would be everlasting.

The Jews of the Old Testament would often preface an oath–whether very serious such as in a court of law or more causal like when talking to a good friend or a city council–by saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I will….” (do this or that). Or they might say, “May the Lord strike me, and even kill me, if I don’t….” (do this or that). According to Jeremiah, they apparently would add, “…who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt,” to the oath/promise that began with, “As surely as the Lord lives….”

But, Jeremiah goes on to say: “In that day,” the Jews will change the saying to reflect another monumental milestone in Israel’s glorious, but troubled history. They will say, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.” In other words: As great as the first Exodus was and as much as it meant to the Jews, there would be a Second Exodus that would far exceed the first one, both in quality (scale and duration) and quantity (of people).

Which Day (Time) is “That Day”?

What day or period of time is Jeremiah referring to in this passage? We need to accurately read the historical clock, to clarify and confirm the exact era when this Second Exodus takes place. Is it when the Jews returned from their Babylonian captivity or a (much) later period of time? How can we know for sure in that day is taking place in this generation? Several Old Testament prophecies encompass both the near future (of that time) and the distant future—meaning the last days or end times. Others pertain exclusively to the near future of that time, such as the Assyrians conquering the ten northern tribes of Israel. But most apply directly and exclusively to the very last days. Furthermore, these end times prophecies often begin with the phrase, “In that day,” or references, “The Day of the Lord,” or something similar.

Admittedly, some prophecies are more difficult to evaluate … whether or not they apply to events that take place a few years, decades, or even a few centuries later (such as Greece and Alexander the Great representing the third beast of Daniel Chapter 7 which conquered Persia some three hundred years after the prediction); as opposed to those that take place thousands of years later or have not yet occurred. But the majority of prophecies are not all that hard to understand, including those pertaining to the last days. The basic rule of thumb is this: If you can’t find anything in Biblical or secular history that a specific prophetic event has occurred (particularly before the 20th century because that’s when Israel once again became a nation), then the prophecy will apply to the end times, which we are living in right now.

In our Jeremiah Chapter 23 passage, it’s actually quite easy to place the fulfillment beyond the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon. Why is that? One word answer: Context. In the two verses that precede our just quoted passage of Jeremiah 23:7-8, we read, “For the time is coming says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a king who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. And this will be his name: The LORD Is Our Righteousness. In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety” (Jeremiah 23:5-6). Obviously, none of the specifics of this prophecy occurred during or within even hundreds of years after (some of) the Babylonian exiles returned to Israel.

The last sentence affirms that both Judah and Israel (both kingdoms comprising all twelve tribes of Israel) will be part of this final, magnificent restoration of land and people. One day soon, the so-called ten lost tribes of Israel will no longer be lost; they will be found by our Lord, the God of Israel! Moreover, the formerly divided northern and southern kingdoms will be reunited as one, as other Biblical passages tell us.

Amazing! For Jews and Gentiles who have embraced Messiah Jesus, we know him to be the righteous descendent of King David. This son of David is Yahweh Tzidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness) who was born of a virgin, lived, taught, healed, performed miracles, died, was buried, and rose again the third day … a historically recorded fact. He is from the Tribe of Judah, and his very birth separated time itself (BC to AD). We passionately await his triumphant and glorious return as the King of all kings who, “…rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land…”

There are several significant features of this “King who rules with wisdom,” but none more so that his designated name to match who he is, what he has done and what he will do. There is no getting around it … meaning the fact that this King is both a man (descendant of David) and God. Which is not what most Jews believe. Rather, they believe the Messiah will be merely a man … a great man, but not divine. But what does the passage say? It gives this man the name that God, himself, gave to Moses to identify who God really is. He is YHWH (Yahweh) or “I AM,” translated and designated throughout Scripture as THE LORD (capital letters). Moreover, to the Jews and all mankind, he is and will be “The LORD Our Righteousness.”

Scripture declares, “No one is righteous—not even one” (Romans 3:10). The apostle Paul, a former Jewish Orthodox Rabbi who was wonderfully transformed by Messiah, made this statement. But Paul is quoting King David from Psalm 14. Only the divine Son of God (God the Son) qualifies as being our righteousness. His righteousness is freely and unconditionally given to us when we believe and receive Him and what he did on the Cross. We must have his righteousness, because we have none of our own. And, Scripture tells us we need this righteousness (right standing with God) in order to be and live forever in His presence.

Many Jews, especially the observant, anxiously await what they believe is the first appearance of Messiah. Gentile and Messianic Christians (Jews) await Messiah’s second coming. Either way, when Messiah (re)appears, “In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety.” And this glorious appearance will be heralded by a magnificent, miraculous Exodus of Jews from the four corners of the earth. This began a few decades ago, continues to this very day, and will continue through and a short time after Christ returns to the earth at the end of the Great Tribulation also known as the Time of Jacob’s trouble.

Oh how the Jews have returned to Israel! With statistics that are staggering, in numbers that exceed the first Exodus, from countries all over the world (only from Egypt did the first Exodus take place), which affirm the remarkable accuracy of Jeremiah’s prediction and many other Old Testament passages. But mostly from the, “land of the north.”

Some Fascinating Figures

Based on Exodus 12:37, Bible scholars estimate there were between 1.5 million and 2 million Hebrews who victoriously marched out of Egypt on that fateful day in Jewish antiquity. Just recently, the population of Israel reached 8,132,000. Of those numbers, 6,110,600 are Jews with most of the remaining population consisting of Arabs, who are Israeli citizens. This does not include Arab settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip composed of another 2 million Arabs or so. By comparison, the population of the State of New Jersey is 8,899,399, and the land mass of New Jersey also approximates Israel in size.

Beginning with the first Aliyah in 1881 (return of the Diaspora Jewish exiles to Palestine) to and a few months following declaration of statehood for Israel in May, 1948, there were about 800,000 Jews in Israel. Most of the Post World War II Jewish immigrants to Israel were survivors of the holocaust, emigrating from Europe. But they also came from the United States, from South America, from Yemen, Iraq and Iran (because they were expelled from those three countries), from North Africa, but not too many from the Soviet Union. That is: not until 1990 and onward until 2006. After the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia’s President Mikhail Gorbachev allowed Jews to leave Russia, the Jews emigrated from Russia in numbers never seen before.

In 1990, around 228,400 Jews left Russia, of which 183,400 made Aliyah to Israel, an astounding 80%. By 2006, nearly one million Russian Jews had immigrated to the land of their forefathers. Although these numbers have slowed in the past 7-8 years, there were still 7,520 Jews who left Russia and made Israel their home in 2013.

At one time over 5 million Jews lived in Russia. Some two million of this number were murdered during the Holocaust. Today there are only 440,000 Jews left in Russia and another 300,000 in the Ukraine, a former Soviet Union country. And Ukraine very well could be once again under the Federation of Russia in the not so distant future, but that’s another recent development!

Since 1948, some three million Jews have made Aliyah to Israel from 130 countries, with 20% of Israel’s Jewish population today Russian immigrants or children of those immigrants, an astonishing 1.2 million Jews. How’s that for putting a giant exclamation point on Jeremiah’s prophecy! Not only does it predict a massive return of exiled Jews from all over the world, it specifically identifies, “the land of the north,” which is none other than today’s Russia which was the former Soviet Union and its satellite countries. This same land to the north is also identified in the Gag/Magog prophecy of Ezekiel 38 & 39. Moscow is due north of Jerusalem. Just look at them on a global map. There is no other nation of any size or historical consequence which fits this description other than Russia.

That’s way more than reason enough for a modern-day Jew to knowingly or unwittingly think or quote Jeremiah and exclaim, I am here in the land God promised to my ancestors, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north…” Whether any given Jew actually quotes or paraphrases this verse or not, the fact remains that this wonderful prediction has unfolded before our very eyes. We are part of the Omega (last) generation.

First Hand Experience

I have seen this for myself during a 2006 trip to Israel that I made with one of my sisters. We traveled through part of Israel in a rental car—I was there primarily to do research on my first book, a novel called, O Israel … the end is the beginning for those left behind. On Shabbat (Sabbath) we attended a fairly small church in Rishon Letzion, Israel, south of Tel Aviv. The name of this congregation of Jewish believers in Messiah Jesus is Grace & Truth Congregation. I would estimate the number in attendance on that Saturday was 125 or so. It was a small building and we were packed to the point of keeping elbows close to one’s side so as not to invade the space of the person sitting next to you!

The Pastor’s message in Hebrew was simultaneously translated into English for those of us on one side of the sanctuary and in Russian for those on another side! I’m sure that eventually most of the Russian speaking believers would learn Hebrew, but what a sight to behold at the time. We also alternated singing in English, Hebrew, and Russian. One old Christian song, “I Need Thee Every Hour,” brought tears to my eyes. Of course, you had to be there to fully appreciate what I’m saying; but to see such a small congregation of believers accommodating three languages at one time (something you might not even see in a large church) was simply splendid.

It made Jeremiah’s prophecy all the more relevant; in fact, it jumped off the pages of Scripture. Up to that point, I had never heard the Russian language anywhere except on television or perhaps a movie. And I didn’t need to go to Russia to hear the language. The Bible was effectively saying: Jeremiah 23 is being fulfilled right now. Go to Israel and see for yourself!

I’m telling you folks: The God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob IS GOD. There is none like him … never has been, never will be. He is the one and only true and living God. No other so-called god of any other man-made religion can even come close to making a handful of predictions come true, let alone hundreds of prophesies (like Jeremiah 23) found in the Bible.

After 2000 years of exiled separation from the land of Israel and from each other, with nearly half of their number ruthlessly murdered by Hitler’s Third Reich; the fact that millions of Jews have returned to Israel and millions more born there is unprecedented. Until the transportation and communication technological advances of the 20th century, this dream of Aliyah (on anything approaching its current scale) would have been impossible. The logistics, not the least of which were dozens of different languages spoken by Jews, would have been insurmountable. Not only did millions of Jews return to a reborn nation, they came back to their ancient, all but dead, reborn Hebrew language.

And guess what? No spectacular plagues, no seas or oceans being parted, no rivers gushing from solid rock, no burning bushes or mountains covered by fire and dense clouds and smoke (Mt Sinai), no clothing and sandals that lasted for 40 years in a harsh desert wilderness, no crumbling of walls by merely walking around them and then shouting … no state of the art miracles as such.

But Israel is a miracle, nevertheless. Something never before seen and never to be seen again in the annals of human history. A country and people and language reborn from the floods of dispersion and the fires of Nazi death camps. In fact, the former Israeli Chief Rabbi Abraham Kook (1865-1935) somewhat prophetically surmised that it would be more of a miracle for God to use natural methods and events to restore Israel and return the Jews to Israel than to supernaturally alter the laws of nature which he did in the first Exodus, i.e. the ten plagues and splitting of the sea.

And, yes, movies have been made about the Second Exodus, such as Cast a Giant Shadow, with Kirk Douglas. And, Exodus, with Paul Newman. Exodus is based on a gripping novel of the same name, written by Jewish author Leon Uris.

Summary

This past week, Israel celebrated its 66th anniversary as a nation. For all practical purposes they once again celebrated their Second Exodus, greater in number and surpassing even the miracle of splitting the sea. For you see, it was accomplished through and a result of the greatest tragedy of all time, the Holocaust. Only God could possibly make something so good come out of something so horrible. Just like when he saved Jacob and his family (and also Egypt at the time) from certain death by famine through a series of supernaturally orchestrated natural events beginning when Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery.

Things to Ponder

Why don’t we take a moment to remember these things and rejoice with the Jews because they finally have a nation of their own, which was their land from the beginning? The only way that their solemn dream and promise, “Never again,” (meaning something like the Holocaust must never, ever happen again) could be accomplished was through a land of their own … that is Israel, the land given to them by God. We know the time is very, very short, because we are witnesses to the Second Exodus.

“Look and see, for everyone is coming home! Your sons are coming from distant lands; your little daughters will be carried home” (Isaiah 60:4).

“…You will know at last that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel” (Isaiah 60:16).

*Acknowledgment: In part, some of the subject of this article, Second Exodus and the phrase, You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, was inspired from a March 24, 2013 article by Rabbi Tuly Weisz, entitled: Passover Miracles? You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet! Posted online through unitedwithisrael.org.

English words to Hatikvah:

As long as in the heart, within; A Jewish soul still years. And onward towards the ends of the east, An eye still gazes toward Zion.

Our hope is not yet lost, The hope of two thousand years; To be a free people in our land, The Land of Zion and Yerushalayim.