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Psalm 22:11-13

second-coming2Be not far from me, 

for trouble is near and there is none to help. 

12 Many bulls encompass me, 

strong bulls of Bashan surround me; 

13 they open wide their mouths at me, 

like a ravening and roaring lion. 

Trouble was not far from Messiah, and there was none to help Him

Even those of you who are “city people” probably understand that being surrounded by bulls is a bad situation. Bulls are unpredictable at the best of times, but when there is a herd of just the bulls, things are fairly uncontrollable. This is why cattlemen routinely castrate them, then they are steers, which is a much easier animal to control.

140915112354-cnnx-golan-heights-map-story-topNowadays, Bashan is called the Golan Heights, a large plateau on top of a steep cliff overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The area  belonged to the Amorites before the territory was possessed by the tribes of Dan and Manasseh. [Deut. 33:22; Josh. 20:8; 1Kings 4:13 ] On this plateau, the town of Golan became a city of refuge. [Josh. 21:27]

The tribe of Manasseh had large herds and asked Moses for land that was good for their herds. So we can speculate that at the time the Psalm was written, this area was known for its large herds of cattle.[Num. 32:33]

David compares the enemies of Messiah to these bulls. The enemies were the religious leaders of the temple, They were powerful and dangerous men to confront. Yet, Messiah boldly confronted them, over and over. We know that they plotted against Him at every opportunity. They knew He was teaching the people that they would no longer need them or their temple.

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. John 4:23 

The religious leaders of that day were sure that the Messiah they envisioned and manufactured out of the Old Testament prophecies, would never have done away with the sacrificial system. Yet, here was this Man telling everyone that everything was going to change. He  taught that the kingdom had come and it wasn’t Jewish. So they roared at Him, with a roar not entirely of their own making.

Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. 1 Pet. 5:8

One wonders what His return will really look like. When He comes with no rapture, seven year tribulation, or political antichrist, will today’s religious leaders know Him?

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Psalm 22: 9-10

second-coming29 Yet thou art he who took me from the womb; 

thou didst keep me safe upon my mother’s breasts. 

10 Upon thee was I cast from my birth, 

and since my mother bore me thou hast been my God. 

Messiah acknowledges that God was with Him from His birth. It was God who was the midwife or doctor.

He was provided a safe childhood. As a breast is the safest place a small child can be, this represents all the love a mother has for her children. The Hebrew word for breast is shad which is the root to the title El Shaddai.

He was cast upon God, like all the children of Israel. From Abraham to Messiah there had been an uninterrupted series of continual, sustaining, wonders and phenomena that had kept the line that was cast upon God, safe. On His eighth day, this covenant relationship was sealed with circumcision. His parents agreed that this one was under the covenant their father accepted 2500 years before. [Gen 17] For it was this covenant whose mark scared the very organ that normally delivers seed. This ancient ritual pointed to the fact that the promised child would not come by the normal sexual way.

Messiah reminds God that His dependance on God had been so from the beginning. His devotion was real.

“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD, I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Jer. 2:2 

Yet for all this He was now abandoned.

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Psalm 22:5-8

second-coming2To thee they cried, and were saved; in thee they trusted, and were not disappointed. 

But I am a worm, and no man; scorned by men, and despised by the people. 

All who see me mock at me, they make mouths at me, 

they wag their heads; 

“He committed his cause to the LORD; 

let him deliver him, let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

 Psa. 22:5 -8

We continue with Messiah’s complaint on the cross that He was abandoned. He reminds the Father that the fathers were not abandon. There is a realization that He is abandoned. In His distress Messiah declares that he is a worm, and all hate Him. Which is true, only those who follow Him love Him, all others despise and reject Him?

Messiah undertook to satisfy the dishonor we had done to God by our sins and submitted to the lowest possible example of shame and disgrace, crucifixion, a death reserved for criminals. His naked body was hung for public ridicule. Those standing there did in fact ridicule Him.

42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” Matt. 27:42-43

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Is. 52:3

There He hung rejected by men and God. He was not to be rescued. He was the sacrifice Abraham did not make. [Gen 22] This time there was to be no ram in the thicket.

For He was

 

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Psalm 22:3-4

second-coming23 Yet thou art holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. 

4 In thee our fathers trusted; they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. 

At first glance and separated from the rest of the Psalm this looks like a praise, however it is actually a complaint. As Messiah hung on the cross, He complains that God the Father is not coming to rescue Him. In His agony and suffering He reminds God that He saved others.

He was delivered to His enemies, He felt forsaken, He felt that no one was coming to deliver Him, because that was the way it was.

Yet it was the will of the LORD to bruise him; he has put him to grief; when he makes himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand; Is. 53:10 

Only in being forsaken, only in being rejected, could victory be given to all. without obedience He could not become a source for all who OBEY Him.

8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9 and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 9 and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, Heb. 5:8-9

There is always that little catch about obedience that the dispensational church has lost, with their false teaching that, “the law has passed away”.

As the Son of God was obedient unto death so we must be obedient to His teachings.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. John 15:10

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Psalm 22:1-2

second-coming2Sounds like a simple enough prophecy till one reads all of Psalm 22 which is a Psalm of David recounting a time when he was fleeing from his enemies. There is nothing in it that would make one reading think it was prophecy. It is only after reading John that we even consider looking at the Psalm as a type of the Messiah.

To the choirmaster: 

according to The Hind of the Dawn.

 A Psalm of David.  

“The Hind of the Dawn” would have been the name of a tune, that’s meter would fit well with the words. Like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, The ABC Song, and Jesus Loves Me, are all the same tune. David meant for this psalm to be sung to The Hind of the Dawn tune.

 1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?  2 O my God, I cry by day, but thou dost not answer; and by night, but find no rest.  

In this type David feels that God has forsaken him. He feels that God does not hear him. We all cry this way from to time to time. We don’t understand why we are sick, or poor? We feel forsaken, even though He never forsakes us.

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. Job 13:15

Like Job, Messiah had maintained God’s ways. Yet the very words Messiah cried when He was slain where this forsaken verse from the Psalm.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabach-thani?” that is, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matt. 27:46 

Help did not come for three days and three nights, then all was victory.

7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear.  8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered;  9 and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,  10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Heb. 5:7-9

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The Time of Jacob’s Trouble future or fulfilled?

 Jeremiah 30

dstructThose Mischievous Futurist teach that there is a future tribulation, that they call the “time of Jacob’s trouble”.  They take this from the verse.

Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.   Jer 30:7

However they have lifted this verse entirely out of its context. The context of the verse is the Babylonian Empire is coming in Jeremiah’s day to destroy the temple and take Judah into exile. Therefore the “time” of Jacob’s trouble clearly begins with that destruction of the temple by the Empire of Babylon under the kingship of Nebuchadnezzar, not some time in the far distant future.

1  The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:  2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.  3 For behold, days are coming, says the LORD, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the LORD, and I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

Jeremiah 30 is a marked change in the writing style of Jeremiah. Up to this point he has been admonishing the people to change there ways and repent of their wickedness. From here on his predictions of imminent disaster come with promises of restoration and prophecies that they will someday in the far future repent. The passage starts with a reassurance that in the end God will restore Israel and Judah, not just Judah. But both nations shall return.

FYI: Israel and Judah were separate nations long before the time of Jeremiah. They had broke into two nations after the death of Solomon. Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin became the southern nation of Judah, while the rest of the tribes formed the northern nation of Israel. [1Kings 12]

4   These are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:  5 “Thus says the LORD: We have heard a cry of panic, of terror, and no peace.  6 Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?  7 Alas! that day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it. 

Both nations are in panic not just Judah as those Futurist’s would have it. The men are as woman giving birth. As all women who have given birth will attest there nothing that is going on around them matters, you will lay down in the middle of the street to have that baby. The false prophets had been telling them that all was well. Don’t look behind the curtain, nothing evil is coming. However Jeremiah was telling the truth. Babylon was coming for Judah just as Assyria had come for Israel. When Babylon came the men were in agony. They were unable to do anything about what was going on around them. Avery few tried to flee, but it was too late. The city fell to the Babylonians. However when a woman gives birth all the pain and discomfort is forgotten in the joy of a child. No child was coming, at least not in their lifetimes. There was only destruction and death.

8   “And it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD of hosts, that I will break the yoke from off their neck, and I will burst their bonds, and strangers shall no more make servants of them.  9 But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. 

Sudden change in the prophecy as better times are coming. Like the joy of the new life, freedom will come. Many see a Messianic promise here, the phrase “in David their king whom I will raise up” that this is talking of spiritual freedom that is given to all who believe in Messiah. Others see a future where the both Judah and Israel return to God and His Messiah. (We believe that both are meant.)

10   “Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, says the LORD, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for lo, I will save you from afar, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid.  11 For I am with you to save you, says the LORD; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will chasten you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished. 

Those who believe this happen in 1948 are just plain wrong. Such an interpretation does not meet the fact. The passage says that they will have quiet and ease. We must also consider that Zech. 14:1-5 makes it quite clear that Jerusalem will be sacked one more time, and the people set into exile yet again. [c.f. Jer. 10:25, 25:15]

God explains that this punishment is deserved, and further explains to the nations  who are the ones dishing out God’s discipline must not be too excessive at being God’s hand or they will face the wrath of God themselves.

12   “For thus says the LORD: Your hurt is incurable, and your wound is grievous.  13 There is none to uphold your cause, no medicine for your wound, no healing for you.  14 All your lovers have forgotten you; they care nothing for you; for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy, the punishment of a merciless foe, because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant.  15 Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain is incurable. Because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant, I have done these things to you.  16 Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who despoil you shall become a spoil, and all who prey on you I will make a prey.  17 For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, says the LORD, because they have called you an outcast: ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’ 

Through out the prophets the term “lovers” is used to condemn Jacobs descendants of idolatry. God views the pagan gods as rivals for His people’s love. He says there is no healing for this. The pagan gods were never real so they will not save the people. The nations who’s gods they were worshiping have come and devoured the people. However the devourers will themselves be devoured. Yet again He promises to restore Zion, a place no one cares for.

18   “Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob, and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound, and the palace shall stand where it used to be.  19 Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who make merry. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.  20 Their children shall be as they were of old, and their congregation shall be established before me; and I will punish all who oppress them.  21 Their prince shall be one of themselves, their ruler shall come forth from their midst; I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me? says the LORD.  22 And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” 

This is what Balaam said when he could not curse the people. Those who wish like Balaam to make God’s people poor and destitute will get no reward. For the dwelling places of God’s people is where He swells.

. . . how fair are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Num. 24:5

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Psa. 34:7

The question is this to be interpreted literal as in the literal historic capital city of Israel, where people literarily live, or is the spiritual new Jerusalem, a city of symbolic imagery, the city from above. [ Gal. 4; Heb. 12; Rev. 21] Time will tell.

23  Behold the storm of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked.  24 The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his mind. In the latter days you will understand this. 

The idea that this is some seven year period in the future is not supported by the text. It cannot be for later times. The people of the post modern church are confused, our minds are not clear on this at all. We are plagued by dispensationalist that say that this is about seven years in the future. However the plain reading of the text is clear that it is talking about the whole of Israel and Judah’s captivity, and the devouring of all the nations that have ever been harsh on God’s peoples.

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Daniel and the LXX

Many causal readers of the Bible are unaware of what their teachers are using for their teaching text. Most congregates never consider the language. If they even read their Bibles they only look at an English translation. However the Bible was not written in English. It was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and many passages lose a lot in translation. Most translators favor simple messages of salvation or grace, over the technical, historic, or the cultural significants of a passage.

The Old Testament

In the 2nd and 3rd century BC a group of Jews in Alexandria Egypt translated the Old Testament into Greek, this translation is called the Septuagint or the LXX and if favored by many scholars. (The term LXX comes from a tradition that 70 Jews worked on this translation.)

However the Septuagint version of Daniel that most of us have access to, is not really the original Septuagint version, but rather one made in the 2nd century AD by Theodosius. This is because the Septuagint version is so full of fanciful Rabbinic interpretive translations from the 3rd or 2nd century BC that it is useless to those who believed that Yeshua/Jesus is the Messiah. They wrote what they thought the passages meant or would mean, rather than a more useful wooden translation.

There are several verses in Daniel where it is extremely hard to figure out the meaning therefore they are almost impossible to translate. (Dan 8:12 comes to mind.) If one doesn’t know what was meant it is really hard to put it into another language. Then of course there are the verses where the translator was sure what it means and translates the verse accordingly, only to be shown later to have been seriously biased in their thinking.

The only real solution is to read the original Hebrew and Aramaic, because things are not so clear and settled as the English translations make them out to be.

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Time, Times, and Half a Time

time-warp~s600x600mo’ed mo’adim chatzi

The Lord gave Moses instructions on Mt. Sinai to worship Him through the observance of the mo’adim or “Feasts of the Lord.” These Feasts were appointed in time, as well as space. Seven times a year, every male in Israel was to congregate at the appointed place, i.e., the tabernacle and later the temple, on their appointed date on the calendar.

feasts

These seven holy assemblies found in Leviticus 23 are called in Hebrew, the Mo’adim.

  • mo’ed is the tent of meeting, i.e. the “appointed place” in the Torah
  • mo’adim is the plural and means the appointed times or the appointed feast days.

 

In Daniel 12:7 in the Hebrew it says, “mo’ed mo’adim chatzi.” The literal reading would be appointed, appointed(s) and half an appointed.

6 And I said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” 7 The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven; and I heard him swear by him who lives for ever that it would be for a time, two times, and half a time; and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be accomplished. Dan. 12:7

 

One has to ask what does Daniel mean “it would be for”?  The “it” is the shattering of the holy people. This “shattering” occurs until what the Lord intends is accomplished, then the shattering will end. This is clearly in the context of the passage of time. Here, Daniel is telling us that a passage (of time) will entail the punishment of Israel until it is accomplished. We now need to determine, if possible, what the length of this appointed time will be.

FYI: chatzi is half

 

The Appointed Time

This amount of “appointed” is referenced seven times total in Daniel and The Revelation.

  • Once as “time, times and a dividing of time” [Dan 7:25]
  • Twice as “time, times and a half time.” [Dan 12:7; Rev 12:14]
  • Twice as “forty-two months” [Rev 11:2; 13:5] [42 months of 30 days per lunar month is the equivalent of 1260 days]
  • Twice as “twelve hundred and sixty days” [Rev.11:3, 12:6 ]

 

Although the words can mean “appointed place,” i.e. the tabernacle/temple, it is clear that in Dan 12:7 it is “time”. The English translators did not translate this as “feast, feasts and half” a feast.

The noun mo’ed appears twice, once in the singular and once in the plural. In Hebrew grammar, this is called a double forte with a plural on the second noun. Usually this means that the noun is great, grand, fabulous, or IMPORTANT. The same is accomplished in English by modifying the noun with much, very, or surely. However, all translators have felt that this is a specific time reference rather than just the “really important time”.

Historicists believe a day is symbolically “put” for a year. (See Also; Hermeneutics) A Time in prophecy is interpreted as a year and time, times and half a time works out to 1260 years.

Each time passages in Daniel and The Revelation are about how long the persecution of God’s people will last. The reference to time, times and half a time in the book of Daniel is for the Jews. The reference to time, times and half a time in the book of The Revelation is for the Christians, first to the believing Jew and then to the Gentile. God has made no distinction between Jews and Gentiles, all are His children. [Gal. 3:28]. All have been idolatrous. And as such, all share in His time, times and half a time judgement.

 

Consequences of Hermeneutics

The futurist will have us believe that this is about a future time of 3 1/2  or 7 years. This hardly makes sense since this period is said to wear to the saints.

He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, two times, and half a time. Dan. 7:25

How can God’s people be worn out in just seven years? History shows that the Jews suffered in the Babylonian exile for 70 years. They were not worn out. The Christians were severely tortured under Roman Emperor persecutions which lasted 10 years under Emperor Diocletian from 303 – 313AD. The Church was not “worn out”. These persecutions, though arduous, did not wear out the saints. However, the INQUISITION lasted some 400 years, and took a great toll on God’s people. They were warn out. In May of 1514 the Fifth Lateran Council issued a challenged to anyone who still refused to obey the pope, to come forward. No one came out. The pope and the council celebrated, banquets were held and further laws against heresy were made. However 3 1/2 years Luther posted his 95 Theses. [Rev 10:9]  The gates of hell did not prevail, but at a huge cost.

The Years

The post-modern church has lost some simple facts from our history. From the time the Popes claimed sovereign power, to the breaking of that power by Napoleon was 1260 years.

  • Emperor Justinian recognized the Pope as head of all the churches in Christendom in 538 AD, Napoleon took the Pope prisoner in 1798AD, forever removing from the Popes their temporal power.
  • Emperor Phocas 607-610AD also recognized the Popes authority and in 1870 The Church of Rome claimed that their Popes were Infallible.

These claims of power are now considered ridiculous by all rational thinkers. That power is broken and no longer can they persecute God’s people on such a large scale. Sometimes, here or there they are able to raise the people up and persecute a small minority in some third world country. But their time is up.

Epiloge

And I said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” Dan. 12:6

The time prophecies in Daniel and The Revelation do not say what happens after this power is broken. They only give a time that the power will come to an end.  What ends, is of concern in the text, not what is to begin. Many felt that when the Popes power was broken that the Millennium would start. That clearly didn’t happened. There are no indications of dates for the Lords Return, or the Millennium.

 

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Islam Passes Away Without a Hand, Daniel 8:25

cresent and starBy his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall magnify himself. Without warning he shall destroy many; and he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes; but, by no human hand, he shall be broken. Dan. 8:25

The “he” in this passage is the religion of Islam, and by 1299 that religion had become an empire, The Ottoman Empire. (See Also: Hermeneutics)

The Ottoman Empire or Porte, was the longest lasting dynastic empire in the history of the world, lasting from 1299 to 1923.

In 1844 with the signing of the Edict of Toleration the Ottoman Empire began a long decline, wasting away till World War One where most of its territory was divided between France and Great Britain. The last Caliph (Mehmed VI) was exiled in 1922. Continue reading →