King Of The Jews - Part 7
"...the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." Perhaps most poignantly, Joseph's brothers, did not recognize him until they saw him THE SECOND TIME. This is reflected in the prophetic scripture, "...and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn..." Zechariah 12:10 The book of Zechariah is replete with Messianic prophesies that ping-pong back and forth between the "Suffering Servant" and the "King of the Jews". The "Suffering Servant": "And one shall say unto him, 'What are these wounds in thine hands?' Then he shall answer, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends'. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow...smite the Shepherd..." Zechariah 13:6-7 The "King of the Jews": "For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle..." Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of the battle". "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth..." Zechariah 14:2,3 & 9 The reconciling of this prophetic paradox was most clearly understood by the Jewish sect of the Essenes of Qumran, the writers of the "Dead Sea Scrolls". They alone seemed to believe in the two figures/types being one and the same being. In the Biblical Archaeological Review, December 1992, in an article by Hebrew Scholars Michael Wise and James Tabor, we find a fascinating analysis of some of the Qumran "Dead Sea Scrolls" text. They state, "Our Qumran text, 4Q521, is astonishingly close to this Christian concept of the Messiah". The "Dead Sea Scrolls" had been virtually sequestered for almost half a century after their discovery but several years ago, computer scans of the texts were surreptitiously disseminated and much more research has been done on them by scholars, both secular and religious. Wise and Tabor go on to state "...there was a belief among the Qumran community that the Messiah would suffer initial defeat but that he would ultimately triumph in the end of days". They add, "We know that the Qumran group was intensely interested in the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel. They tried to place themselves within this chronological scheme as they calculated the eschaton. They must have made something out of this Messiah figure who was cut off".
The "Seventy Weeks" prophecy given to Daniel by the Angel Gabriel is perhaps the most compelling, persuasive and precise prophecy ever uttered in relation to the first coming of the Messiah. It literally pinpoints to the DAY, the entrance of the Messiah upon the world stage. According to Daniel 9:24-26: 24. "Seventy weeks are determining upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy". 25. "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 troubled times". 26. "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off..." In prophetic language, "weeks of years" are seven year periods. So, 70 "weeks of years" equals 490 years. That is the exact period of time, no more, no less that God Almighty had "determined" or apportioned to Israel to do the work which He called them to do. Amazingly, the first span of 69 weeks (seven weeks plus threescore and two weeks) passed and precisely to the day, Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem, "...lowly and riding upon an ass". Jesus as he entered the city to the multitudes of disciples rejoicing and praising God heard the words, "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord". (Luke 19:38). Yet in his omniscience he foresaw that within hours some of these same people would be goaded and driven by the Pharisees to call for his death. "And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying "If thou hadst known...the things which belong unto thy peace! But NOW THEY ARE HID FROM THINE EYES". Luke 19:41 (emphasis added) He then prophesies the soon coming complete destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. "For the days shall come that thine enemies...shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; BECAUSE THOU KNEWEST NOT THE TIME OF THY VISITATION". Luke 19:43-44 (emphasis added). His triumphant entrance had so enraged the Religious leaders that they plotted his immediate arrest. The subsequent illegal trial and crucifixion of Jesus by the Romans fulfilled the prophecy "And...shall Messiah be cut off". So, exactly 483 of the allotted 490 years prophesied in the book of Daniel, Jesus entered Jerusalem was recognized by the multitudes as King and was crucified, or "cut off". The stop-watch of God's program for Israel was halted with one week of years left. The prophesied 7 years of Tribulation will be the fulfillment of that "week" of years. Jesus, who had fulfilled scores of Messianic prophecies, proving His claims to be the Son of God incarnate went from the mountain-top of being proclaimed King to the valley of death and suffered the curse of crucifixion: the punishment for a common criminal. In the broadest sense this portrays His embodiment in one person of Messiah ben David and Messiah ben Joseph. Jesus' prophecy of Jerusalem's impending destruction was fulfilled within a generation. In 70 A.D., the Romans utterly wasted the city and literally tore the Temple apart, stone by stone, seeking the gold which had melted into the crevices and joints after setting it afire. "The Wailing Wall" or Western Wall is actually not a part of the Temple, but a retaining wall for the mount. Additionally, Jesus prophesied that, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled". Luke 21:24 As I write these words Israel is quietly celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the re-taking of Jerusalem. On June 6, 1967, the Jews recaptured their ancient capital. The miracle of the re-birth of Israel despite seemingly insurmountable odds was crowned by this achievement. "For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince...Afterward the children of Israel shall turn and seek the Lord their God, and David their king...in the latter days". Hosea 3:4-5 Yes, there will be a King in the manner of David, his "Greater Son" as He is referred to, but there is still much to overcome and much to endure before His return in power and glory. The last "week" of years, the time of "Jacob's Trouble", the Great Tribulation must first come. "'As I live,' declares the Lord GOD, 'surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I SHALL BE KING OVER YOU. And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered... And I shall make you pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant; and I shall purge out the rebels and those that transgress against Me'". Ezekiel 20:33-38 |
