Posted on 02/04/2016 8:37:34 PM PST by pastorbillrandles
And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.(Zechariah 6:12-13)
Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.( Isaiah 42:1-4)
“Behold, the days are coming,†declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.(Jeremiah 23:5)
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch.(Zechariah 3:8)
Before the LORD created the miracle nation, at the very beginning when men fell, He made a promise of salvation. He spoke to the serpent who had tempted the first couple, but in their hearing,
“I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, He shall crush your head but you will bruise his heelâ€.(Genesis 3:15)
The LORD would send a “Seed of the woman†to undo Satan’s work, He would accomplish, but it would cost him pain and suffering.This “seed of the womanâ€(virgin born), would come through Shem, Torah, Abraham,Isaac and Jacob. As scripture develops so also does the description and predictions concerning this person.
He would be born in Bethlehem(Micah 5), He would come through the line of Judah,(Genesis 49:8-10), through the family of Jesse(Isaiah 11:1-5) and of the house of David(2 Samuel 7:12-15).
The prophets designated him as the Son of David, the King, The Servant of JAhweh, and the Messiah.
The Word Messiah mean “Anointedâ€, because the office of Priest and King was inaugurated by a public anointing with oil, to signify that this person was God’s chosen vessel, and upon Him was the Spirit.The Messiah would come as the ultimate Priest and King, as well as a Prophet.
Israel, by law had separation of King and Priest,(Where we get separation of church and state). Kings came from the line of Judah, and Priests were selected from the tribe of Levi.No King could take upon himself the office of a Priest, nor could Priests rule as King. But the prophecy of Zechariah predicted that a man named “The branch†would have both offices combined in himself! The Messiah would be King and Priest.
The Branch (a Shoot of a tree) would build the true temple of the LORD, and reign as King and do wisely.In his days the Righteous would flourish. The word for “Branch†in Hebrew is usually TSamach, but the one used in Isaiah is Netzer, “Shootâ€. The word Nazareth means “Shoot†or Sprout.
Israel has cherished these and many, many other prophecies in scripture, waiting through all manner of trials and tribulations through dark and painful centuries, for the arrival of the Messiah who would inaugurate the age of Righteousness and Peace;
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.(Isaiah 11:1-6)
But there is a problem.
Scripture set prophetic time limits upon the arrival of the Messiah.
The Patriarch Jacob prophesied that Messiah, (Shiloh) would come before the “Scepter departs from Judahâ€. The Scepter, refers to the tribal identity, as well as to sovereign self rule, including the right to administer capitol punishment within the Tribe.
Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Genesis 49:8-10)
But the right of Punishment was taken away from the tribe of Judah in 7 AD by a Roman administrator, as we have mentioned earlier. This is why Jesus was crucified by Romans and not stoned to death by the elders of the people of Judea.
Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:(John 18:311)
Furthermore in the destruction of the temple in 70AD, all tribal records which had copiously been preserved were destroyed by the Romans when they burned and overthrew the Temple. The Scepter has departed from Judah. Jews know they are Jews, but almost in entirety, none of them know what tribe they are from.
The Messiah had to have come between 7 AD and 70 Ad.
Daniel 9 confirms this, for the LORD showed Daniel that the Messiah would come and be “cup off†but not for himself but for the people, then the Temple would be destroyed. This happened in 70 AD. The Messiah has come already, but evidently wasn’t recognized or accepted by the miracle nation.
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(Daniel 9:25-26)
18 "O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion."
Amazing stuff Pastor Bill.
Debate goes on about the etymology, but what does Nazareth actually mean?
Matthew 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
The antecedent is OBVIOUS:
Matthew 2:19-23
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
21 And he [JOSEPH] arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he [JOSEPH] heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he [JOSEPH] was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he [JOSEPH] turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
23 And he [JOSEPH] came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled [completed] which was spoken by the prophets, He [JOSEPH] shall be called a Nazarene [3480].
3480 Nazoraios {nad-zo-rah'-yos}
from 3478; TDNT - 4:874,625; n pr m
AV - of Nazareth 13, Nazarene 2; 15
Nazarite = "one separated"
Is there a missing prophecy of the Nazarene?
Matthew 2:23 states: And he [Joseph, along with Mary and Jesus] came and resided in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.” I don’t find any such prophecy in my Bible. Am I missing parts of the Bible?
Answer: At no point in the Jewish Scriptures is the Messiah referred to as a Nazarene. Despite Matthew’s statement, there is no prophecy, which mentions that the Messiah will be an inhabitant of Nazareth. In fact, the town of Nazareth is never mentioned in the Jewish Bible.
It has been speculated that what Matthew is referring to is the description of the Messiah as a netser (“shoot”), i.e., a new, flourishing growth from the Davidic line. This term first appears in Isaiah: “And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1). But despite Isaiah’s use of the term, it is nowhere indicated that the Messiah would actually be called netser. An alternate suggestion connects Matthew’s usage with the word natsar, “guard,” “keep.”
It cannot be that Matthew is referring to the Messiah as being a Nazarite, for nowhere in the Jewish Scriptures is it stated that the Messiah will ever take the Nazarite vow. Furthermore, the spelling of the words Nazarite, nazir (from the Hebrew root N-Z-R), and Nazarene, notsri (from the Hebrew root N-TZ- R), are not the same in Hebrew.
The speculation as to whether the evangelist is comparing Nazarene and netser (or natsar) or Nazarene and Nazarite is inconsequential, for there is no basis in fact for either claim. Matthew 2:23 gives the reason for Jesus being called a Nazarene (Greek, “Nazoraios”) is because he lived in Nazareth (Greek, “Nazaret”). It has nothing to do with netser, natsar, or nazir. At best, Matthew is indulging in a play on words. There is no reason for giving credence to this New Testament “fulfillment” of a non-existent prophecy.https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/answers/jewish-polemics/birth-of-jesus/s-there-a-missing-prophecy-of-the-nazarene/
Of course there is no prophecy about the Messiah living in a separated place up in the Galilee called Nazareth. The subject of the prophecy is Joseph. Joseph, Egypt, dreams, going down, coming up...
Joseph IS the separated one.
Joseph is an allegory, a parable over all of Egypt! LITERALLY.
Genesis 45:25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
Genesis 45:26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor [4910] over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
04910 mashal {maw-shal'}
a primitive root; TWOT - 1259; v
AV - rule 38, ruler 19, reign 8, dominion 7, governor 4, ruled over 2,
power 2, indeed 1; 81
Same word as:
04912 mashal {maw-shawl'}
apparently from 04910 in some original sense of superiority in mental
action; TWOT - 1258a; n m
AV - proverb 19, parable 18, byword 1, like 1; 39
1) proverb, parable
1a) proverb, proverbial saying, aphorism
1b) byword
1c) similitude, parable
1d) poem
1e) sentences of ethical wisdom, ethical maxims
Joseph is yet alive, and he is a parable over all the house of bondage. That is to say, the house of poor reading comprehension and poor hearing.
Where are those prophets and their prophecies? Right here:
JACOB said:
Genesis 49:22-26
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate [5139] from his brethren.
MOSES said:
Deuteronomy 33:13-17
13 And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,
14 And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,
15 And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,
16 And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated [5139] from his brethren.
17 His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.
05139 naziyr {naw-zeer'} or nazir {naw-zeer'}
from 05144; TWOT - 1340b; n m
AV - Nazarite 12, undressed 2, separate 2; 16
1) consecrated or devoted one, Nazarite
1a) consecrated one
1b) devotee, Nazarite
1c) untrimmed (vine)
And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Matthew 13:10-15
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
You are truly graced with a keen insight and an extra measure of wisdom in discerning scripture. :-)
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