Category Archives: The Jewish people

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 9 of 12

Posted on by
Reply

The Jews reject their own Messiah

“1 Now you shall gather yourself in troops,
Daughter of troops.
He has laid siege against us;
They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.”
Mic 5:1

It almost pictures it as part of the siege against the true Zion of God.

And maybe it is. You know it was clearly forecast that the Jews would stumble over the Christ, over the Lord, Yahweh Himself, as discussed in the previous post of this series.

Is this King Zedekiah of 2Kings who is being struck?
Why or why not?

Some commentators say so.Perhaps such happened, but it must be said that there is no record of such. Additionally King Zedekiah was NOT really a “judge” of “Israel.” At best he was a Babylonian puppet king over a greatly diminished Judah.

Also Jesus is the true judge of Israel

“For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
2Cor 5:10

And that is the way Jesus pictures Himself in Matthew 25 and in many of His parables.

Of course the Messiah was to be struck

“… he was cut off out of the land of the living for the disobedience of my people to whom the stroke was due?”
Isa 53:8

And again,

“Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him …”
Isa 53:10

And the Messiah was struck

“29 They braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head.”
Mtt 27:29-30

Some would argue that the ruler of Israel was to be struck on the check by a rod, not a reed, as in the World English Bible quoted above, and also in perhaps most English Bibles, in keeping with traditions in translations. The Hebrew word used in Mic 5:1 is shevet, and it is a word used for a rod or a club or a staff/scepter such as kings used.

The word “reed” used in the Gospels for striking Jesus is kalamos, and is word used in the New Testament of both “reeds” and pens made of reeds, but it is also of a measuring rod in Rev 11:1, and Rev 21:15-16. Here it could be also be translated as either a “rod” of a “staff.” The New American Standard Version, 95 ed., says in footnote “Or staff, i.e. to mimic a king’s scepter.” The NIV does translate it as “staff.” “The New English Translation also translates it as a staff, and their footnote refers to the standard New Testament Greek lexicon.

So Mic 5:1 clearly can be taken of Jesus.

I think Jesus is the ruler of Israel who is struck on the cheek with a rod in Mic 5:1, and He indeed is the true judge of Israel, and of you and me.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 8 of 12

Posted on by
Reply

Now the nationS gather aginst Israel in Micah 4, she defeated them, and took their profits, and dedicated them to the Lord God of Glory. Remember it said,

This distress in which most of the Jews perish, and those left both win the conflict and turn to Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah of Israel, is within history! This is discussed in detail in Jewish Chronicles., to be released in the fall of 2020.

“Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion;
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hoofs brass;
And you will beat in pieces many peoples:
And I will devote their gain to Yahweh,
And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.”
Mic 4:13

But there are evidently TWO giant assemblies of the nationS against BOTH the Jews and Christians, that are discussed in Scripture.

One of these is the great distress of the Jews in which they turn to the Lord as a group, Deut 4:30, Deut 30:6, Zech 10:11-12, and so on. This time evidently also includes a major assault on Christianity world-wide. This happens within history, and seems to be the assault described in Micah 4.

The second great assembly of the nationS against both the Jews and all Christians is, of course, at the end of this universe, as described in the Gospels, and Revelation 20, and all through the Old Testament. It is addressed in all three of my books on prophecy and especially in Revealing the Christian Age.

But first comes the rejection of their own Messiah by the Jews,
AS FORETOLD IN SCRIPTURE!

It is a broad subject in Scripture. Isaiah says, speaking of the Lord,

“14 He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 Many shall stumble thereon, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.”
Isa 8:14-15

Certainly that is exactly what has happened over the last two thousand years.

Now you can say that this is just about Yahweh, the Lord God Himself, but it is in the grand context of the Messiah, all the way from being born of virgin in Isaiah 7, to again speaking of the Messiah’s birth as a “child” in Isaiah 9, and saying of this “child,”

“… and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ”
Isa 9.6

The son, the child is called Mighty God, and Everlasting Father! The child … even in the Old Testament … is clearly God. As the apostle John put it,

“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.”
Jn 1:1-5

And again,

“10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him.”
Jn 1:10-11

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 7 of 12

Posted on by
Reply

Micah does say the former dominion given to Zion/Judah, will be restored.

“You, tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion,
To you it will come,
Yes, the former dominion will come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”
Mich 4:8.

This also is something else which clearly has not happened yet.

Then it urges the daughter of Zion to be in pain as child birth, Mic 4:9-10

It reminds me of Revelation 12.

“She was with child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth.”
Rev 12:2

It is as if what he says is dealing with that new kingdom coming into being, and that is indeed the case. The Jews are pictured as coming to Babylon in the end of Mic 4:10

“For now you will go forth out of the city,
And will dwell in the field,
And will come even to Babylon.
There you will be rescued.
There Yahweh will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.”
Mic 4:10c-g

And that is what happened, and they returned the first time in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. This fits the Old Testament history which we know. Notice this is NOT a strict chronological treatment, for being rescued from Babylon obviously had to happen first.

But then it pictures “many nations” gathering against “Zion,” Mic 4:11

that too is a subject of many prophecies, but it is by no means clear that this has happened to either literal Zion or Spiritual Zion. This is major subject in Psalm 2, Ezekiel chapters 37 to 39, and Zechariah chapters 12 to 14. It appears that there will be two great periods in history when “all the nations” oppose both Christianity and the Jews. This is discussed in detail in my coming book “Jewish Chronicles.”It is also discussed in “Revealing the Christian Age,” and to a lesser extent in “Prophecy Principles.”

The enemies of God do not realize that God is the one who has gathered these nations against Zion.

“But they don’t know the thoughts of Yahweh,
Neither do they understand his counsel;
For he has gathered them like the sheaves to the threshing floor.”
Mic 4:12

And why do these things not fit the Assyrian,
or Babylonian or Roman invasions?

But gather them God will, and daughter of Zion will thresh them, Mic 4:13. God will make Zion’s horns to be of iron, and her hoofs of brass. Now tiny Judah did have some successes against the Greek Seleucid kings of Syria in the second century BC. But this pictures the Jews threshing “many peoples,” and then taking their property, which has never happened to date!

“Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion;
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hoofs brass;
And you will beat in pieces many peoples:
And I will devote their gain to Yahweh,
And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.”
Mich 4:13

No. This has NOT happened, YET.

We will come back to this later.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 6 of 12

Posted on by
Reply

We are pressing on in our review of Micah to see what he has to say about Bethlehem.

Now Israel is going through bad times, morally,
politically, and internationally.

Micah is protesting all this wickedness in his prophecies, and he has said early that these things will cause Judah and Israel to be destroyed. Then he points out in Mic 4:1-2 that what seems to be a new law (and it was) going forth from Jerusalem. It did in the first century of the Christian age. Then he says that this will lead to end of all wars (but that is really only in the world to come). Then he drops back to talk about what will yet happen to Israel and Judah.

So how will these things turn out for a
Judah and an Israel that is to be
destroyed because
of their sins?

Vivid pictures of a future peace and prosperity are in Micah 4:4. Then it goes on to say that God says,

“6 “In that day,” says Yahweh,
“I will assemble that which is lame,
And I will gather that which is driven away,
And that which I have afflicted;
7 And I will make that which was lame a remnant,
And that which was cast far off a strong nation:
And Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion from then on, even forever. ”
Mic 4:6-7

Micah foretold the destruction of both Israel and Judah in Mic 1:6-9. Here then Micah says God will take some of the survivors, the lame, those who have been driven away, those God has afflicted and cast off, and make them a strong nation! Then it says Yahweh Himself will reign over them “even forever.”

Now it is clearly said in more than one prophecy that Jesus will reign forever over Jacob/Israel/Judah.

“33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his kingdom.””
Lk1:33

Without discussing all of the issues of both Jerusalem below and Jerusalem above, it is easy to see thatl a few survivors did come back from the destructions around 586 BC, and we see the survivors in the Bible books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and Haggi and Zechariah and Malachi.

But there are problems here.

This second regathering is a subject dealt with in detail in Fain’s new book, Jewish Chronicles, due for release in the fall of 2020.

You see they never became a really mighty nation with Yahweh Himself ruling over them. Shall we record this as a failed prophecy? Many would and do. Even so, Jesus says, Scripture cannot be broken, Jn 10:35.

So Micah pictures some Jewish survivors of catastrophe that are lame and weak and dispersed, whom God rescues and makes into a nation and reigns over them forever! And it has’t happened yet, so it has to happen.

Zechariah, who was with the survivors in Ezra and Nehemiah, says there will be a second dispersal of the Jews (which clearly happened in 70 AD), and a second regathering Israel, Zech 10:9-10. Also Isaiah, speaking before the first regathering, speaks of a second regathering, Isa 11:1.

So this gathering of the lame and the afflicted, and making them
a “strong nation,” is yet to come.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 3 of 12

Posted on by
Reply

But to get to Mic 5:2, and to see how we should have understood from that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, first we need to get our bearings in the book of Micah the prophet. First of course would be to see what the prophet says of himself.

“The word of Yahweh that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.”
Mic 1:1

So here we see the grand subject matter of the prophet. Jothham’s reign started around 750 BC and Hezekiah’s reign ended around 686 BC, so we can see the range of years in which included Micah prophesying. You can read of those kings in the books of Kings and Chronicles, and so get some historical background on conditions in those days. This would make Micah and Isaiah contemporaries of each other, and some of the verses in Isaiah chapter two and Micah four overlap each other, but we do not know how this happened.

These were turbulent times in Israel and Judah.

Crime and idolatry and unfaithfulness to the Lord were rampant in those days, and neither most of the rulers or the people were close to really repenting.

The first three chapters of Micah prophesy the destruction of both the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of Judah, because of their bloodshed and idolatry and other sins.

In Mich 1:2-4 talks about the coming day of the Lord, when Yahweh will come out of His place and bring an end to this world. Some brush this aside as poetry which is irrelevant to us, but they SHOULD NOT! Almost always, the immediate things of history are related to the ultimate end of all things. Mic says that this things will happen because of their sins, Mic 1:5; and talks as if these things are pertinent to them, and to us. Indeed they are, for “they” and “we” will all be there on that final day when

“28 … for the hour comes, in which all that are in the tombs will hear his voice, 29 and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.”
Jn 5:28-29

These are common patterns in prophecy we should recognize: the present things are related to the coming ultimate things. Sometimes the present things seem very distant from the future things, so such things mystify some, but they shouldn’t

So Micah says Samaria, the capital of Israel will be (future) made a ruin, Mich 1:6-8. That happened during Micah’s day in 722 BC with the Assyrian conquest. Then he says that the same will happen to Judah, Mic 1:9. That didn’t happen until 586 BC, another 136 years later, well after Micah’s time. That was not nearby in human terms, but very close by in historical terms, and almost nothing in the grand time scale of Scripture.

Indeed, all of their things and our things are related to that final end which is coming.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 2 of 12

Posted on by
Reply

We saw in the last post that the chief priests and scribes accurately knew where the Christ was to be born. Also we know from Matthew chapter one that the Christ, had just been born there! The rest of the story told here is a standard piece of Herod’s paranoia and duplicity

“Then Herod secretly called the wise men,

“and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.””
Matt. 2:7-8

The “wise men” are treated as just that. Wise gentiles who are able to seek and know as any Jew can. There are others in Scripture, including Job and Melchizedek, and even Balaam before he turned bad for money. Also the magos are treated as worthy to be warned about what was about to happen.

“Being warned in a dream that they shouldn’t return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.”
Mtt 2:12

Also Joseph and Mary were warned.

“13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.””
Mtt 2:13

When Herod realized he had been tricked, was in a rage, and his solution was to simply kill all of the male babies in and around Bethlehem, Mtt 2:14-17. All of that was of course completely in character with evil man Herod had become.

And others also knew about Bethlehem

It was discussed in one of the posts on “Common traps and pitfalls in interpretation,” that most thought Jesus was “from” Nazareth. But they thought the Christ was to be from Bethlehem!

“41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “What, does the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Hasn’t the Scripture said that the Christ comes of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?””
Jn 7:41-42

This makes our investigation even more interesting, for many understood that the Christ would be born in a specific place: Bethlehem. But that means we must be aware of another central idea in the interpretation of prophecy:

We need to be aware of recurring themes
and ideas in Scripture.

There are many of them. Among them are the idea of the Christ coming from a special seed, and the “day of the Lord,” and a special uproar or tumult of the nations, and the “root of David,” the binding power of sin, and a day when all will be released from their sins, and so on and so on.

One of these ideas is about a special ruler of the Jews who will come and deliver them from all of their troubles. It is assumed that you the reader are familiar with this recurring theme in prophecy.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 1 of 12

Posted on by
Reply

This is practice in reading and understanding prophecy, starting with fulfilled prophecy, and trying to see what we can see from there. In this case we are starting with Matthew chapter two.

An able and handsome young prince
turns sour.

You’ve heard the stories of a handsome prince charming of this or that times. One whom all sought the favor off, both men and women, and who was capable and brave and mighty in combat. In many respects that describes the subject of this post. We know him as Herod the Great. He was of Idumaean descent, an Edomite, a descendant of Esau. His father was ruler under the Romans, and he made Herod military prefect for Galilee. Herod proved himself time after time as an aggressive, resourceful, and victorious military commander. The Caesars trusted him to look after their interest. He was crafty, unscrupulous, and able in politics also, and so at the young age of 33 the Roman Senate made him King of Judea. It would seem he had everything going for him, but also in the wild political scene of those times, he also had many enemies. Then parts of his own family started plotting against each other and, yes, even against Herod. Herod started viciously putting down any plots against himself. He put out spies all over. On rumor he would put plotters to death, and even put to death three of his own sons. For those executions he need the permission of Caesar. The Greek speaking Caesar of the Roman Empire gave him permission, but commented he would rather be Herod’s hus (his hog) than his huios (his son). The last of these episodes was just before Herod’s horrible death from cancer on April 1, 4 BC.

The continual plots in the end almost made Heron insane with suspicion.

Then some religious wise men came to Jerusalem

They are called magos, which could indicate an astrologer or an occult magician (compare Elymas in Acts 13:8). Clearly they they had been studying the stars, and evidently they did know from the stars that the king of the Jews had been born, and that He was God! So they appeared at Herod’s court, saying,

“Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”
Mtt 2:2

Uh Oh! Many must have thought, including Herod. Someone must have a child they want to put up as the Christ and the rightful king of the Jews, and this is the beginning of their plot.

“When Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.”
Mtt 2:3

They gathered together all of the experts on Scripture to see what it said about where the Christ would be born, and they quoted to Herod from the Prophet Micah (Mic 5:2).

“”You Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are in no way least among the princes of Judah:
For out of you shall come forth a governor,
Who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”
Mtt 2:6

How did they know that. Should we have spotted that also?

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: David, Jesus and the Righteous in Psalm 69, Part 9 of 9

Posted on by
Reply

Psalm 69 is explicit about those who reject the Messiah of the Jews.

“27 Charge them with crime upon crime.
Don’t let them come into your righteousness.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of life,
And not be written with the righteous.”
Psa 69:27-28

That means eternal death of course, if you are not in the Lamb’s book of life. That is of course is echoed in Scripture after Scripture, of both the Old and the New Testaments. Of the Christ it says,

“Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
For his wrath will soon be kindled.
Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.”
Psa 2:12

And we also, Christians, are counted as sheep for the slaughter,
Rom 8:36

Jesus promises us,

“… If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also.”
Jn 15:2-

So this psalm is very relevant to the Christian and his struggles, Christian Age long!

Though in pain, the psalmist praises God, Psa 69:29-30.
The humble will see this and be glad!

This sacrifice He makes will be exceedingly pleasing to the Lord. It does indicate that God will in the end save Him from all of this unfaithfulness and treachery.

“31 It will please Yahweh better than an ox,
Or a bull that has horns and hoofs.
32 The humble have seen it, and are glad.
You who seek after God, let your heart live.
33 For Yahweh hears the needy,
And doesn’t despise his captive people.”
Psa 69:31-33

Ah! At last it specifically make an application that is wider than David and Jesus. “His captive people.” Are you among the humble who hear?

Lastly this psalm indicates that even the Jews
will finally recover from this rejection

Neal Fain’s new book Jewish Chronicles is to be relesed in the fall of 2020. It describes how the Jews will turn to their own Messiah in a time of severe persecution of both Christians and Jews, well before the second coming.

“For God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah.
They shall settle there, and own it. “
Psa 69:35

One could argue that “Zion” applies to Zion above in Psa 48:2, and Gal 4:24-26, and Heb 12:22. But God building “the cities of Judah,” seems clearly to speak of Judah of this earth! Likewise Zechariah, after the first return from captivity pictures says,

“… “‘Jerusalem will be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of men and cattle in it.”
Zech 2:4

But that has never happened … YET! And that is NOT Jerusalem above, because it has walls, Rev 21:1-2, 12-15. And Jesus says not one jot or a tittle of prophecy will fail until ALL of it has been fulfilled, Mt 5:18. So there remains a rebuilding by God of Jerusalem in Judah.

And who among the Jews will share this blessing?

“The children also of his servants shall inherit it.
Those who love his name shall dwell therein.” Psa 69:36

Of course these last verses are yet to happen. It is not that Jesus will at last relent and have a worldly kingdom. Rather that in a later time of distress, the Jews will repent, and will become a strong Chistian nation, Deut 4:30, Deut 30:6, Rom 11:11-12.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901