Why Do the Nations Rage?

Though oral tradition and commentary has its place it certainly cannot supercede God's written word. Because the focus of our attention should be solely on God, rabbinical Judaism, Christianity and Islam would have a better concept of God if they would stop reacting negatively to one another's doctrines and instead react to God. When man turns the focus from God on to himself a state of spiritual indifference can develop, religions can be formed, and un-holy wars implemented. Nevertheless, oral tradition and commentary may help us better understand the mind set of certain people during and prior to the advent of who I believe to be the Messiah of God, who by His blood made atonement for the worlds sins, that through faith mankind can receive redemption.

Last week I touched upon the coming of the anti messiah in the last days. It may surprise some of you to learn that orthodox Jewish eschatology expects the appearance of an anti messiah to run adjacent to the appearance of their messiah. Though much emphasis is placed on the advent of their messiah, the appearance of anti messiah is played down. In some Jewish quarters it is denied all together. In Jewish eschatology the anti-messiah is called Armilus. Christian prophecy identifies the antichrist as the beast with the number of 666, while Islam anticipates the appearance of an anti-messiah, who they call "D'jal."

The Talmudic sages (Jewish interpreters of oral tradition) believed in the suffering messiah as well as the reigning messiah. They linked the suffering messiah to Isaiah 53, and even knew this suffering messiah by the name of Moshiach (Messiah) ben (son of) Yosef (Joseph). They also made a reference to this suffering messiah with Moses being a type of the messiah in that Moses was revealed in Egypt, was hidden, and then revealed again to the Israelites in Egypt upon which he took them out of bondage and toward the promised land. It should also be noted here that Moses died on a mountain, and Joshua, whose name is Yeshua in Hebrew, guided the believing Israelites across the Jordan river three days later into the promised land. This fulfilled the typology of the Messiah, who like Moses died on a mountain in Jerusalem, and Joshua, (Yeshua ben Yosef) who after three days in the grave would rise and eventually will reign in Israel on the throne of David after a period of being hidden from the Jewish people.

The Essenes who lived in a cloistered community in Qumran, from about 220 B.C. to 70 A.D. understood that the suffering messiah would be God manifest in the flesh and would make atonement for sins by his suffering. They understood this important aspect of God's redemption by sacrificial blood in the Temple sacrifices and because of the corruption involved during their day refused to participate. It is from the messianic teaching from the Essenes that the Jewish people anticipated the appearance of the suffering Messiah in first century A.D., which also fulfilled part of the 70 week prophecy from Daniel 9:24 of 483 years from the the decree to restore the walls to the year that Messiah would be cut off or die, which corresponds to the very year of Yeshua's death in Jerusalem. We know this suffering messiah to be Yeshua (God is salvation) ben (son of) Yosef (Joseph), who was married to Miriam (Mary). In the Christian world He is known as Jesus Christ, which is a translation from the Hebrew, Yeshua the Messiah.

I should note here that in the first century A.D. after the death and resurrection of Yeshua there were approximately one million believing Jews in Israel. After about seven centuries of persecution by both Orthodox Jews and Gentile Christians they were forced to return to Orthodox Judaism, assimilate into Gentile Christianity, or go underground. The consequences of not choosing one of these resulted in persecution and even death. Part two next week. Shalom.