The Messiah is the central figure in the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. Prophecies about Him deal with every facet of his life—His birth, His ministry on earth, His death, and His ultimate victory.

Muslim Vandalism in Jewish cemetary on Mt. of Olives

Muslim Vandalism of Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives

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Today’s Feature

The Messiah is the central figure in the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. Prophecies about Him deal with every facet of his life—His birth, His ministry on earth, His death, and His ultimate victory. As you think about the probability estimates made by Grant Jeffrey that I talked about in yesterday’s SnyderTalk, remember that most of them require God’s direct intervention. For instance, no one decides where to be born. Neither can anyone choose the family into which he or she will be born. Obviously, those decisions are Yahweh’s alone. Therefore, we must conclude that the Messiah’s birth was a gift from God that no man could copy or manufacture under any set of circumstances.

To his credit, Jeffrey’s estimates are very conservative. For example, one of his prophecies deals with the Messiah’s crucifixion. Somewhere between 1010 B.C. and 970 B.C., King David prophesied that the Messiah would be crucified. In Psalm 22: 16 he said, “For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet.”

Crucifixion is a form of capital punishment that was invented by the Romans in the first century B.C. In David’s day, stoning was the prescribed method for capital punishment so his prophecy that the Messiah would be crucified at least 800 years before crucifixion was invented is remarkable. Jeffrey estimates the probability of this happening as 1 in 100, but I believe it is closer to zero. David simply could not have foretold the Messiah’s crucifixion unless Yahweh revealed it to him.

Many Jewish people believe Christians have misinterpreted the Hebrew word in Psalm 22: 16 that is translated as “pierced.” The Hebrew word appearing in this verse is “ariy” (ar-ee’). Its present-day meaning suggests violence, and it seems to involve a lion or a young lion. Based on this fact Samuel Levine, author of You Take Jesus, I’ll Take God, has said, “That verse of ‘they pierced my hands and feet,’ which seems to point to Jesus, is a mistranslation, according to all the classical Jewish scholars, who knew Hebrew perfectly. In fact, the Christians have invented a new word in the process, which is still not in the Hebrew dictionary.”

Even though the contemporary definition of “ariy” seems to indicate something other than “piercing,” I believe Mr. Levine is mistaken, and this is why. The Jewish authorized Greek Septuagint Tanach (a version of the Tanach that was translated by 70 rabbis in 285 B.C.—i.e., almost 285 years before Jesus’ birth) and Targums (Jewish commentaries) written at that time interpret “ariy” as “pierced” exactly the way Christians have translated the word. No one alive today has a better understanding of the Hebrew used in the Tanach than that group of rabbis, so I defer to them and rely on their translation of “ariy” to support my conclusion.

Furthermore, Zechariah 12: 10 refers to the “piercing” of the Messiah. The Hebrew word translated as “pierced” in this verse is “daqar” (daw-kar’), and it means “to stab” or “to thrust through.” This is what the Babylonian Talmud (Sukkah 52a) says about Zechariah 12: 10: “What is the cause of the mourning? It is well according to him who explains that the cause is the slaying of Messiah, the son of Joseph, since that well agrees with the Scriptural verse, ‘And they shall look upon me because they have thrust Him through, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourneth for his only son.’”

I will not go into detail about this issue, but many Jewish sages (wise people) and rabbis over the millennia have had difficulty with the notion that the Messiah Son of David had to suffer for His people. They understood that the Bible describes a suffering Messiah, but they could not accept the fact that He was the Messiah referred to as the Son of David. Therefore, they called Him by another name—the Messiah son of Joseph—even though the only Messiah referred to in the Bible by Name is the Messiah Son of David.

According to Raphael Patai, a Jewish Bible scholar, “When the death of the Messiah became an established tenet in Talmudic times (that’s from roughly 597 B.C. to 400 A.D.), this was felt to be irreconcilable with the belief in the Messiah as the Redeemer who would usher in the blissful millennium of the Messianic age. The dilemma was solved by splitting the person of the Messiah in two: one of them, called Messiah ben Joseph…would fall victim….The other, Messiah ben David, will come after him…and will lead Israel to ultimate victory, the triumph, and the Messianic era of bliss.” (Patai, Raphael. The Messiah Texts, Wayne State University Press: Detroit, 1979, pp. 166-167.)

As you can see, it’s clear that all classical Jewish scholars do not agree with Mr. Levine, and neither do I. Obviously, the 70 rabbis who translated the Greek Septuagint Tanach in 285 B.C. do not agree with him, and I would be foolish to accept his interpretation over theirs. It is also clear from the weight of evidence and from the Word of God that there is (and can be) only One Messiah. He is the Messiah Son of David; He is the suffering Messiah described in Isaiah 53; and He is the victorious King Messiah described throughout the Old Testament and the Tanach.

Now, take a look at Grant Jeffrey’s 17^th prophecy in yesterday’s SnyderTalk. It deals with darkness covering the entire earth at the time of the Messiah’s death, and it is almost impossible to predict. Amos 8: 9 says, “‘It will come about in that day,’ declares Adonai Yahweh, ‘That I will make the sun go down at noon and make the earth dark in broad daylight.’”

Amos was a sheep breeder from Tekoa, a town about 10 miles south of Jerusalem, and he wrote this prophecy in about 755 B.C. He was not a scientist, and he did not possess sophisticated instruments to calculate the movements of heavenly bodies. Furthermore, this event could not have been a total eclipse of the sun because an eclipse would not affect the entire earth all at once. According to Grant Jeffrey, two ancient historians, Thallus and Phlegon, confirmed that an unusual darkness did blot out the sun for 3 hours during Passover in the year the Messiah was crucified.

Jeffrey estimates the probability of Amos predicting this event more than 700 years before it happened as 1 in 1000. In my opinion, it is almost zero for the same reason I stated before. There is only one rational explanation for this event. It was an act of Yahweh, and Amos was simply declaring it hundreds of years in advance. Clearly, the Messiah is a very special Person, and as Yahweh told Jeremiah, His Name is Yahweh. (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)

Commentary

Russia’s FM says swift Iran sanctions a serious mistake

“Swift Iran sanctions?” What is Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov talking about? Global leaders have been begging Iran to act responsibly for years, and what has been Iran’s response? They’ve thumbed their collective nose at the world community, threatened to wipe Israel off the map, and killed protesters in their own country who didn’t bow and scrape before the grand ayatollah and his band of Islamofascist loonies. Over the past couple of days, the Iranian Guard has been warning protesters not to make a scene during their “We Hate Israel” rallies. I can only guess what the outcome might be if protesters ignore that word of advice.

Mr. Lavrov must have something on his mind besides convincing the world to go easy on Iran. If Russia was an unbiased broker, that might matter, but she’s not. Russia’s leaders are capitalizing on their oil and gas riches and trying to regain the global status Russia had during the Soviet era. Playing power broker in the Middle East gives them the opportunity they’ve been waiting for. Keep an eye on Russia’s activities. Recently, Saudi Arabia turned to Russia for new weapons. I expect to see more Russian influence peddling in the days ahead.

Atomic explosion 6

The Clock is Ticking

Today’s Events Shaping Our World

Spinning Globe

U.S. and Western Hemisphere

The preemptive use of Hillary Clinton
Obama’s failure of credibility This is the article’s conclusion: “…by disdaining the men and women who elected him, Obama continues his road to ruin in 2012.”
House cuts off funds for ACORN
The fix: is ACORN dangerous for dems?
The $1300 mission to fell ACORN
Republicans denounce Pelosi for warning against incitement
House passes sweeping student loan market overhaul
Race and politics in the age of Obama
The most clever part of Baucus’ healthcare plan
ACORN employee says she thought couple was part of stunt

Violin

Fat Albert 2

“Fat Albert to the rescue: I fixed global warming. I can solve lunar cooling too.”

Rocket

Gone Baby Gone

Israel and Middle East

“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind Yahweh, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”

Isaiah 62: 6-7

Ben Yehuda 3

Ben Yehuda at Night

Outdoor Performance in Tel Aviv

Netanyahu asks world leaders to reject Goldstone findings
Goldstone findings will put Netanyahu on defensive at U.N.
Jordan’s King Abdullah urges Israel not to obstruct peace
Stuck in the Middle East
U.S. doubts U.N. report on Israeli war crimes
Iran guards warn against protests during anti-Israel rallies You can’t make up stuff like this. It sounds so…what can I say…laughable.
British trade unions approve Israel boycott also click here
Gaza War analyst: does his Nazi-era collection indicate bias?
Israel’s occupation is far greater threat to the region than Iran

Corner of King George and Ben Yehuda

China, Russia, India, and Asia-Pacific

Dmitry Medvedev 2

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Europe and Africa

Somali Militants Hit African Union Base

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HNIY bookcover in JPEG