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People of The Living God |
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INTRODUCTION
In the first book of the Law (Genesis 17:4) we read that Abraham was “the father of many nations”. Long ago the records of the greater part of the descendants of this great patriarch have been lost. However, it is commonly accepted as a fact that the twelve tribes of the children of Israel were the foremost of the blood line of the Hebrew, Abraham.
But the records of the twelve tribes have also been lost, and today the only people that can definitely be identified as descendants of “the friend of God” are those known as the Jews.
The message of this booklet is directed to the known and unknown kinfolks of Abraham who look for the coming Messiah.
All of the Scriptural references herein are taken from the writings of the Old Testament prophets. It is the opinion of the author, that the testimony of these Scriptures alone is sufficient to identify the Messiah, the REDEEMER of the children of Abraham.
THE REDEEMER
Harry R. Miller
Man, in his original state, enjoyed many privileges and things unknown to most people who live today. Eden, the Garden of God, was untouched by the blight of sin. It was an environment over which man was the master. The Sovereign of the universe had designed it as a sphere of being that could fully satisfy the hearts of His creatures. It was in this atmosphere that the man and his wife were privileged to converse with their Creator who was known to walk in the garden at certain times of the day. This intimate relationship between God and His creatures continued to exist as long as man’s heart remained in a state of holiness.
In faithfulness to His creatures, the Lord told man not to defy the Divine will by transgression, for if he did, death would be the result. Both life and death were set before the man: this was a test, an essential element, if free moral character was to be developed. It would be no credit to the character of the Infinite One, were He to father a race of creatures who would everlastingly need to be imprisoned in a spiritual baby pen to prevent them from falling into sin.
God, by the very creation of man, has manifested His desire to have a family. His family must be a chosen people, not just the run-of-the-mill. There is a distinctive quality about those whom He chooses. Not every man will submit to the character molding and moral correctives that the Master must apply to produce the finished product.
When God said, “Let us make man in our image,” He had something more in mind than a mere physical likeness. God’s family will bear the Divine “image”; they will have an incorruptible nature of heavenly character with the moral likeness of the Most High. The possibility of developing these supreme qualities is every man’s by birth, but comparatively few men will submit to the “hands of the potter” in the molding of the clay. God has said, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold” (Isaiah 13:12); “fine gold” must be subjected to great heat in order to remove all the impurities. Such purging and purifying is not pleasant; those who yield to this process must have great faith in the rewards of the future.
After the fall of man through sin, he was expelled from the STATE or SPHERE known as Paradise. From God-consciousness he became self-conscious, and in this base condition, cut off from his Creator, man slowly departed from all things divine. Lust, greed, and all manner of baser passions soon tore into the moral fiber of that which the Lord had made in His own image. Humanity fell captive to powers beyond their control; so fierce were these forces of evil, that at times, complete loss of control was the result. Then it was, that in desperation, man looked for a SAVIOUR, a deliverer, and redeemer.
It was impossible for the Holy One, the Most High, to fraternize with sinners; a great gulf existed between the Master and His creatures. The eternal, immutable law of justice declared that “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” To bridge this precept required the wisdom of the Infinite. To negate the law was impossible. To promiscuously forgive the sins of sinners would have done violence to the authority of the throne of God, and would have been a virtual conniving with sin. Not even God could dare jeopardize His throne by legislating anything that would minimize the austerity of the rules of justice. The LAW of sin and death cannot be made void; this must ever stand as a pillar upon which eternal justice rests.
Death, then, was pronounced upon the human race. “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way” (Isa. 53:6). But our heavenly Father had long ago planned to defeat death; a WAY was to be provided for man to be redeemed, reconciled and brought back into fellowship with his Maker. The demands of death would be met, for the Lord said, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I (God) will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction” (Hosea 13:14). Think of it - God, Himself, was to meet the demands of death and the grave!
In ancient days it was recognized among men and nations that in order to preserve the divinity of the law, it was acceptable for an innocent man to take the penalty due the transgressor. A perfect, sinless man could take the place in death for another, but since “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” man’s only hope was that God would provide a Son to make this supreme sacrifice. This very sacrifice has been prefigured in the garden of Eden by the death of innocent animals whose skins provided coats to cover the naked sinners. Abel’s animal sacrifice, and ten thousand thousand other such sacrifices, all pointed in mute testimony to the sacrifice that God was to provide for mankind.
The gory death of animals could never satisfy the demands of justice. Every one of these acts of cruelty and violence would have been an abomination to God and all heaven had it not been for the MUTE TESTIMONY WHICH THEY CONVEYED. For four thousand years animal sacrifices told a story of a future event. They were a shocking, grisly TESTIMONY of that which was to come.
Isaiah prophesied that after the REDEEMER came and by death took the sinners’ place, it would be an abomination to God for any man to revert to the testimony of dying animals: “He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol” (Isa. 66:3).
Scripture is rich in its description of the work and nature of the coming REDEEMER. There are so many minute details, and these are often of such intricate pattern, that it is absolutely impossible for an impostor to duplicate the picture woven in the warp and woof of the Biblical record created and compiled by a number of authors living in remote places, and separated by hundreds of years of time.
In addition to the plain prophetic statements concerning the coming REDEEMER, there are also many types, shadows, and parallels whose teachings are full of important detail. Abraham, the friend of God, in FIGURE sacrificed his only begotten son upon the altar of Jehovah. This man, who became the “FATHER” of many nations, figuratively portrayed the sacrifice of our heavenly Father who, in the giving of the REDEEMER, would “. . .make His soul an offering for sin” (Isa. 53:10).
Four thousand years ago the Almighty Living God spoke to a middle-aged man who lived in the land of the Chaldees. This was not an idle conversation, for the Most High never indulges in things superficial. The Lord was making a special call to Abram, a son of an idolater. He who searches the hearts of men had found one man who remained true to the convictions of his inner conscience, one who had not bowed his knees to the pagan gods served by his kinsmen. Circumstances and environment can never be blamed for one’s ungodliness. The man that has an “honest and good heart” will not be moved to surrender his principles for the sake of convenience, neither will he lower his standards that his life might be more compatible with those who practice evil.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge” (Psalm 19:1,2). Many things both in heaven and earth testify to the fact that the Creator is a Living God, and man’s own conscience confirms these testimonies. The Atheist and the Agnostic vainly try to still their inner worried convictions and none ever come to the place of serene peace known only by those who find refuge in the true God.
Father Abram heard the words of the Lord with his ears, but his heart was prepared to respond to the Divine commission. The Supreme Commander of the universe knew the quality of the heart of this man who was to become the father of many nations; so God gave him explicit orders to sever relationship with his kindred and move to a foreign country far to the west of the land of his nativity.
In our day of degeneration, rank selfishness rules in many hearts; so home and family ties are not very strong. Loyalty to family means nothing today when it stands between men and their lustful pleasures; such a condition did not exist in Abram’s day. The oldest father of related families was highly esteemed and was accounted chief. Sons and daughters respected their elders even to the point of reverence. Children obeyed their parents in the strictest sense of the word. So you see, it was no small matter for Abram to defy tradition, and filial practice.
The Scriptures do not mention the pressure which Abram, the servant of God, endured while the family ties were being severed. We can well imagine the strain the man lived under from the time of his first call to the day he made the final move from Haran (a city many weary miles north of Ur, but still in the land of the Chaldees). Terah, the father of Abram, had other sons and also daughters (Gen. 11:25), but he insisted upon going along with the one that, possibly was his favorite boy. This move of the old gentleman only complicated matters for his son. How could he refuse to take his father with him? This was no easy problem. And, as custom was, the old man took the lead: “And Terah took Abram his son” (Gen. 11:31).
Leadership was not long vested in Terah. Though he started out to go to the land of Canaan, yet he led them but a few days journey up the river Euphrates and it is said that he “dwelt there.” However, heaven came to Abram’s rescue and settled the “deadlock”: “Terah died in Haran.” This released the man who was to be known as “The friend of God.”
The servant of the Lord lost no time in responding to his divine commission, and the Scripture records: “So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him” (Gen. 12:4) Destined to be the father of many nations, this man of God at this point in his life, must have been amazed at the magnitude of the promises made by the Lord for devotion to duty. It is also quite unlikely that he then had any idea concerning the peculiar BLESSING that was to come through him to “ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH” (Gen. 12:3). Here was the first promise to the Gentiles; centuries would roll by before a full and accurate picture of the BLESSING would be fully developed, and it would be fully two thousand years later before it was completed.
Step by step we will now gather together the various prophecies and put them together as though we were constructing a giant jigsaw puzzle.
“In thee (Abram) shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).
Twenty-four years after the exodus from Ur of the Chaldees, “The Almighty God” again spoke to the Hebrew and changed his name from Abram to Abraham. He then made the covenant of circumcision: “My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant” (Gen. 17:13). It was at this time that he was again told that he would be a father of MANY NATIONS, for the very word “Abraham” means “father of a multitude”. Abraham’s wife Sarai also had her name changed to “Sarah” which means “Princess”. God also said concerning her that she would be “A mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her” (Gen. 17:16).
Among many people there has been a mistaken idea concerning the call of Abraham and Sarah; it has been thought that they were called only as the founding parents of the people commonly known as Israelites, and in this latter day, many have thought that the promises to Abraham applied only to the Jews - this is a great error. Abraham was a father of “MANY NATIONS.” “The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof,” and Jehovah is the God who rules all humanity. God’s concern for the salvation of the people of Nineveh disgusted the prophet Jonah, but it also proved that the Most High seeks to save men of all races. No particular clan or race of people can claim a monopoly upon the affections of the Almighty.
The BLESSING, that distinct and peculiar gift to “all the nations of the earth” was never confined to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but the Lord revealed to each of these patriarchs that it was through them that the blessing to the nations would come. (Gen. 26:4 to Isaac, Gen. 28:14 to Jacob). On his deathbed Jacob spoke prophetically concerning what would happen to his sons “in the LATTER DAYS.” In his prophetic message concerning Judah he declared: “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” (Gen. 49:10).
There has been great confusion among the Jews concerning the kingdom and the reign of the REDEEMER. The KIND of throne, and the PLACE of His throne have usually been thought to be political and earthly; this material concept has blinded the eyes of millions to the identity of “Shiloh”.
“All the kingdoms of this world” are base travesties of the kingdom of God. The heavenly Father never intended that His people be ruled over by a political form of government. God, the Father, was King of Israel. His throne was the perfect form and seat of righteous administration. It was in heaven, unseen by the eyes of men, but nevertheless it functioned for the good of His people. But stubborn rebels among His people craved an earthly king and kingdom and they rose up against God’s servant Samuel and demanded such a government: “We will have a king over us” (1 Sam. 8:19).
“They have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Sam. 8:7), God said unto Samuel. This was a tragic choice, a terrible affront to the “King of Kings.” Heaven as a place of the throne was not desired by these earthly minded people, and the invisible God as their king was rejected. They wanted someone they could see, and an earthly palace they could visit. This was the choice of carnal men “... make us a king to judge us LIKE ALL THE NATIONS” (1 Sam. 8:5). From that day to this, the hope of most men professing the fear of God is the restoration of the rule of Jehovah to an EARTHLY THRONE AND KINGDOM!
Earthly power and authority by force of human arms has not been the method by which the KING of heaven has ruled His human family. He has often chosen an obscure and most unlikely vessel to bear His message to the people. Most men like to be impressed with grandeur and pomp of great potentates; they love to glory in a great physical display of what appears to be a secure governmental institution. To trust such matters in the hands of an unseen God, and be subject to the voice of a lowly prophet is very humiliating to the proud heart; so it is easy to understand why men prefer the rule of political powers.
Samuel told Israel, “I will call unto the Lord, and He shall send thunder and rain, that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the Lord in asking you a king” (1 Sam. 12:17). This sign was done in the dry season: the wheat harvest. God said, “I gave thee a king in Mine anger, and took him away in My wrath” (Hosea 13:11); and of the base kingdom He said, “Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth” (Amos 9:8).
The history of the reign of the kings of Israel and Judah presents an infamous account to the discredit of a people whose God is Jehovah. Ezekiel prophesied of the end of this carnal political system, “And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same ... I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and IT SHALL BE NO MORE, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him” (Ezek. 21:25-27).
“Shiloh,” prophetically spoken from the dying lips of Jacob, and “He whose right (to the throne) it is,” spoken of by Ezekiel, are one and the same person. The “IT” that God overturned was the political kingdom; the “IT” that “shall be no more” is the same carnal system. The “iniquity (that) shall have an end” is the government of God’s people by earthly powers. In order to accomplish this the throne must be RESTORED TO HEAVEN. The sovereignty must be invested in the king of God’s choice.
The questions that every Israelite faces today are: HAS THIS BEEN DONE? If so, BY WHOM? According to Jacob’s prophecy, “Shiloh” must have come, for it is a matter of record that Judah has been without a lawgiver for 1900 years. Jeremiah also foretold of a future time when, “...in those days saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done anymore” (Jer. 3:16). For 1900 years no man has visited the ark; neither has it been “remembered” among God’s people as a place to make their blood sacrifice for sin.
To Moses, God said, “The life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11). When Israel came to the place where the ark was set before Jehovah they brought their animal sacrifice for the offering of atonement of the soul. For 1900 years this has not been done, and according to Jeremiah “NEITHER SHALL IT BE DONE ANY MORE.”
Again we must face a most important question: Is there a method by which men can make atonement during these nineteen hundred years? Hear the Word of the Lord: “Incline your ear, and come unto Me (saith the Lord): hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold I have given Him for a witness to the people, a leader and a commander to the people” (Isa. 55:3,4).
This Scripture was written many years after the death of king David. These promises are not to him but to his “seed” that was promised through Nathan the prophet. Notice that Isaiah said that Jehovah’s man would be a WITNESS, a LEADER, and a COMMANDER. Moses also spoke of the coming leader, “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a PROPHET from the midst of thee, OF THY BRETHREN, like unto me: unto Him ye shall hearken” (Deut. 18:15). It is well to note that it is imperative for men to listen and obey the voice of the coming prophet: “it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him” (Deut. 18:19).
With these facts I mind, we can now turn to the prophecy of Nathan and have a better understanding of his message. Nathan was God’s voice to David the king; however, Nathan’s human understanding and conclusions were little better than any other man’s when he was not led by the Spirit of God. David had proposed to build a house for the Lord and he asked Nathan what he thought of the idea. Using his own reasoning the prophet said: “Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee” (2 Sam. 7:3). Now David feared God and it was not an idle request that he had made to Nathan; he sincerely wanted to know the divine will. Josephus, the historian, wrote, “David ... the king of the Jews who never permitted himself to do anything without prophecy and the command of God, and without depending on Him as a security for the time to come, bade the high priest to foretell to him the will of God” (Chap. 4, page 217). To such a man the faithfulness of God will never fail.
That night the Lord spoke to Nathan and told him to tell David, “Thou shalt not build Me an house to dwell in” (1 Chron. 17:4). This was in direct contradiction to what Nathan had told the king the day before; it is quite likely that in the future Nathan was not so quick to make a snap judgment about such affairs.
The Lord then told David, “I tell thee that the Lord will build thee an house ... I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish His kingdom. He shall build Me an house, and I will establish His throne forever. I WILL BE HIS FATHER , and HE SHALL BE MY SON ... I will settle Him in Mine house and in MY kingdom for ever: and His throne shall be established for evermore” (1 Chron. 17:10-14).
It is evident that the Almighty God was promising Israel a very SPECIAL LEADER. This promised LEADER was a combination of MAN and GOD; that is, if we are to accept Nathan’s prophecy: God said, “I will be His Father,” and again, “He shall be My Son.”. The question may arise: “How can this LEADER be of the “seed” of David and yet God be His Father?” The answer to that question can be derived from the second chapter of Genesis. Adam was the first son of God; God was Adam’s Father. Adam had no mother for he was made from the dust of the earth. In the birth of the coming LEADER, God was going to use the “seed” of David instead of the dust of the earth, for the creation of the body of His Son. Here, in the prophecy of Nathan, then, is the first oral prediction of the coming of the RULER IN ISRAEL who would have an earthly mother but would not have an earthly father.
Abraham and Sarah were both dead procreatively; physically it was impossible for them to conceive, but God did the impossible and gave them a son. Scripture sets forth the fact that God can create a man with or without making use of a woman’s womb; He also can produce a son with or without a human father.
Hear the word of the Lord to THE HOUSE OF DAVID: “Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign; Behold a VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:13,14). The meaning of this word “Immanuel” is “with us is God” (Strong’s concordance).
The questions that now confront us are: Is there more than one God? Can any of God’s sons be God? An examination of some of the inspired Psalms throws great light upon this subject: “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; He judgeth among the GODS; and all of you are sons of the Most High” (Psa. 82:1,6). “O give thanks unto the God of GODS” (Psa. 136:2). “I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the GODS will I sing praise unto thee” (Psa. 138:1). “Thy throne, O God is forever and ever: the sceptre of Thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness: therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Psa. 45:6,7).
By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David wrote a beautiful song concerning the Messiah in which he said, “The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thy enemies thy footstool” (Psa. 110:1). This Lord of which David spoke was to be a priest forever and was to sit at the right hand of the Most High.
It must have seemed odd to David that a son of his own “seed” should also be his Lord. It also must have rather astonished David that this son should be Lord at the right hand of the Almighty.
From the lips of Moses we have these words; “The Lord your God is God of GODS” (Deut. 10:17). These statements from Holy Writ make it evident that there is one supreme Almighty God who ruleth over all; however, there also are other beings who have the nature of the Almighty, which is the divine nature, and these are His sons. there is a distinct difference between the nature of the sons of God and that of their Father. The Father only is INCORRUPTIBLE - sons are subject to death. Adam, a son of God, sinned and died. Just before the flood “the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that they chose” (Gen. 6:2); the children born of this mixed breed became giants and their wickedness was so great that God had to destroy most all of mankind by the flood.
In the book of Job, we read that the sons of God “came to present themselves before the Lord” (Job 1:6 and 2:1). Even though God’s sons have the divine nature, yet they are subject unto Him and His will. Whether these sons ever had physical bodies is problematical. We do know that when the foundations of the earth were laid “All the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). This is a plain indication that God’s sons existed before the world was made.
“For a child is born unto us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon His shoulder: and His name is called the Messenger of great counsel: for I will bring peace upon the princes, and health to Him. His government shall be great, and of His peace there is no end, it shall be upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to support it with judgment and with righteousness, from henceforth and forever” (Isa. 9:6,7, Septuagint Version). The phrase “throne of David” does not refer to the earthly seat of government, for the throne spoken of here is to endure FOREVER.
Again, we refer to the prophecy of Nathan concerning the “seed” of David: “I will establish His throne forever” (1 Chron. 17:12). God declared, “I will settle Him IN MINE HOUSE and IN MY KINGDOM: and His throne shall be established for evermore” (verse 14). “His seed shall endure forever, and His throne as the sun before Me, it shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness IN HEAVEN” (Psa. 89:36, 37). “The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at My right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psa. 110:1).
In one of the visions which Daniel saw, he said, “...one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13, 14). This kingdom which is eternal is said to be of a certain kind, or type - one that shall not be destroyed. It is an incorruptible government, of such a nature that it shall continue forever. The glory of this kingdom is vested in ONE LIKE THE SON OF MAN. Here again we have evidence that the Creator, “the Ancient of days,” invests glory, authority and power in a SON.
“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a MAN shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land” (Isa. 32:1,2). Surely the prophet Isaiah did not mean that the king of whom he spoke would literally be all these things? However, if this MAN KING were all these things figuratively, then He must have a nature far loftier than that of other human beings.
“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...I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and GIVE THEE FOR A COVENANT of the people, for a light of the Gentiles” (Isa. 42:1,6). God’s MAN KING is also a servant of the Lord, and the Father GIVES him for a covenant and he is made a light of the Gentiles.
The question now comes to mind: In what way did the Father GIVE His elect for a covenant? This question Isaiah also answers: “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all...He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of My people was He stricken...yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin...He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa. 53:4-12).
The Psalmist David foretold of the agony of the REDEEMER as His soul was made an offering for sin: “They gaped upon Me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and My tongue cleaveth to My jaws; and thou hast brought Me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed Me: they PIERCED MY HANDS AND MY FEET. I may tell all My bones: they look and stare upon Me. They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture” (Psa. 22:13-18).
We are reminded of the brazen serpent that Moses fastened to a pole and set up in the camp as a means of deliverance from the deadly snake bite; every man who was bitten could find deliverance from ill effect by just looking at the BRASS EMBLEM of the coming REDEEMER. “If any man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God) that thy land be not defiled” (Deut. 21:22, 23).
Now we can understand the significance of the blood at the doors of the houses of the children of Israel, on the Passover night in Egypt. Moses had told them, “Ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason” (Ex. 12:22). Here we have the sign of the cross: the blood on the side posts would run part way down the post, but a certain amount of the blood on the lintel would drip off onto the ground; nature, through the law of gravity, would complete the SIGN OF THE CROSS. Deliverance from the death angel that night depended completely upon the sign of the blood at the door of each home.
There are many who doubt that the REDEEMER hanged “upon the tree” and that “they pierced His hands and His feet”. But the words of the prophets confirm the fact that He was to die in this manner. Listen to the Word of the Lord: “I (God) will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: they shall look upon ME WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED” (Zech. 12:10). And “in that day ... one shall say unto Him, what are these wounds in thy hands? Then He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends.” (Zech. 13:6).
It is difficult for many to accept the fact that the REDEEMER is God, as well as man. The Almighty Father of all and His sons are ONE FAMILY, and as a FAMILY they are God. “Elohim” the Hebrew word for “God” is PLURAL, not singular. This term is used in most all places of the Old Testament in reference to the Lord. “Elohim” was the Creator and He said: “Let US make man in OUR image” (Gen. 1:26). Isaiah saw the Lord on His throne and he heard Him say: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for US?” (Isa. 6:8). “The Lord spake unto Moses face to face” (Ex. 33:11), yet this great leader of Israel asked the Lord to see His glory. “And He said, Thou canst not see My face: for there shall no man see Me and live” (Ex. 33:20). However, Moses was permitted to see the “back parts” of the glory of God as He passed by.
This person of the FAMILY of God that Moses desired to see was not the same person that he and the seventy elders of Israel saw on Mount Sinai: “Seventy elders of Israel ... and they saw the God of Israel” (Ex. 24:10). The God that Moses and the seventy elders saw on Sinai was one with whom they could “eat and drink,” but the God whose face could not be seen by man was of such an austere presence that Moses was told, “I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand while I pass by” (Ex. 33:22).
Only a holy son of God, a member of the FAMILY of God, could be worthy of the honor given to the individual spoken of in the following Scriptures: “I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth” (Isa. 49:6). An individual becomes God’s salvation even to the ends of the earth! “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles” (Isa. 42:6). A man is given for a covenant!
Bear in mind that this Son of man, the seed of David, was also the Son of God. He was not like the men of this world, for He loved righteousness, and hated evil: “Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness; therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Psa. 45:7). Of this anointed One it is written: “Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart” (Psa. 40:7,8).
Daniel the prophet called this seed of David “Messiah the Prince” (Dan. 9:25). He said that he would “Cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” To this, agree the words of Hosea, “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice” (Hosea 3:4). Nineteen hundred years ago the sacrifices ended just as these prophets have predicted, and for many years Israel had neither a king nor a prince to rule them. Since these things are indisputable facts, can we not also conclude that the Messiah, the REDEEMER, has come AND THAT THE NATION HAS REFUSED TO ACCEPT HIM?
The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament (O.T. written in Greek) says of Him: “Behold My servant...as many shall be amazed at thee, so shall thy face be without glory from men, and thy glory shall not be honored by the sons of men...He is as a root in a thirsty land: He has no form nor comeliness; and we saw Him but he had no form nor beauty. But His form was ignoble, and inferior to that of the children of men; He was a man in suffering, and acquainted with bearing of sickness, for His face is turned from us, He was dishonored and not esteemed...He was wounded on account of our sins...The Lord gave Him up for our sins.. .His life is taken away from the earth: because of the iniquities of My people He was led to death...He shall bear their sins. Therefore He shall inherit many; because His soul was delivered to death...and He bore the sins of many, and was delivered because of their iniquities” (Isa. 52:13-15 and 53).
We are reminded of Jacob’s prophecy concerning Shiloh, “...unto Him shall the gathering of the people be” (Gen. 49:10); the people shall be gathered unto a man! However, He is the REDEEMER, the Son of God, and the Father has decreed that He shall have this honor.
Again we read from Isaiah concerning the REDEEMER: “I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth. Thus saith the Lord, the REDEEMER of Israel, and His Holy One, to HIM WHOM MAN DESPISETH, to HIM WHOM THE NATION ABHORRETH... I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth” (Isa. 49:6-8).
Is there a man that national Israel has abhorred since God removed their king, their ark of the covenant, and their sacrifice? It might be better to ask - can more than one man lay claim to the titles of “Messiah,” “Shiloh,” and “REDEEMER”? Is it not reasonable to conclude that nineteen centuries of time ought to reveal the identity of this man of God? Let us look about us and inventory the evidence that glaringly testifies to truth.
In all history there is only one man to whom the following can be attributed: He must be “of the seed of David” (1 Chron. 17:11,12); born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14); Son of God (1 Chron. 17:13); born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); a prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:15); He must come to Jerusalem riding upon a colt (Zech. 9:9); despised and rejected (Isa. 53:3); sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zech. 11:10-12); wounds in His hands (Zech. 13:6); hung on a tree (Deut. 21:22,23); His hands and feet were pierced (Psa. 22:16); stripped of His garments, people stared at Him (Psa. 22:17); gave His clothes away and cast lots for His vesture (Psa. 22:18); not a bone of His body was broken (Num. 9:12; Ex. 12:46; Psa. 34:20); His soul was poured out unto death (Isa. 53:12); His body did not see corruption, neither was His soul left in hell (Psa. 16:10); “The Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him...And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13,14); “The Lord said unto My Lord, sit thou at My right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psa. 110:1); a light to the Gentiles (Isa. 49:6); the people shall gather unto Him (Gen. 49:10; Isa. 55: 4,5).
Many have laid claim to the name of Messiah; but the requirements of the REDEEMER are so numerous, and yet so exacting, that it is impossible for an impostor to duplicate the specified signs.
Consider these things: God, speaking through the prophet Nathan, said to David, the king, concerning the promised seed, “I (God) will be His Father, and He shall be My Son” (2 Sam. 7:14). Solomon, the natural son of David asked these questions: “Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is HIS SON’S NAME?” (Prov. 30:4).
The REDEEMER, the Son of God, should be known by HIS NAME. Two hundred and fifty years before Israel’s deliverance from Babylon, the prophet Isaiah was given the name of Cyrus the Persian king who would act as a Messiah and shepherd for Jehovah’s people (Isa. 45:1-3). Surely it is not unreasonable to think that God’s Son, the great shepherd, and deliverer, should also be named by the prophets!
From the Septuagint (the Old Testament written in Greek) we read: “Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy SAVIOUR has come to thee, having His reward and His work before His face” (Isa. 62:11).
Now consider this word “Saviour,” in the Hebrew: “Yes-huah,” which means salvation. Yes-huah is a person who does a work of salvation for the children of Zion.
Let us now combine the name of “Jehovah” (The God of Israel) with the name of “Yes-huah,” and we have; Jehovah-saved or Jehoshua, the name of the leader of Israel after the death of Moses; and also that of the high priest who was anointed to take charge of the restored temple after the end of Babylonian captivity.
Let us read of Jehoshua, the high priest, from Zechariah 3:1, “And the Lord shewed me JESUS the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord” (Septuagint version, the Old Testament translated into Greek and then translated into English). The Hebrew word JEHOSHUA, is given as YASOUS in Greek: and its equivalent, when translated into English, is JESUS.
“Messiah the Prince,” of Daniel 9:25, and the “Anointed,” of Isaiah 45:1, are the same Hebrew word, “Mashak.” This word, translated into the Greek, is “Kristos,” and its counterpart in the English language, is CHRIST. According to the Old Testament prophets, the name of THE REDEEMER, the Son of God is JEHOSHUA MASHAK to the Hebrew, YASOUS KRISTOS to the Greek, and to those who speak English, His name is Jesus Christ.