The Son of Man, exploring the Biblical concept

Here we have a Messiah who takes up a reed, writing on the usual flax paper; and he writes so much he bruises the reed and causes the paper to smoke. He is like Moses, as He brings a New Law or Covenant. He is more shy than Moses, however, since it says he does not lift himself up nor go into the streets, making himself known. Neither does he cause his voice to be heard in the streets. We have witnessed in our review of the Gospels that Jesus is reported to have told his disciples not to mention that he had been in the streets or that his voice had been heard in the streets, that the prophesy could be fulfilled. As noted, this character of the Word really pertains to the time of the Gatherer, not, as it was in Jesus's case, the time of the Dispersion.

Habakkuk 2.4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
3.3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.

Dead Sea Scrolls, Community Rule: He shall measure out all knowledge discovered throughout the ages, together with the precept of the age.
He shall be a man zealous for the precept whose time is for the day of revenge. He shall perform the will of God in all his deeds, and in all his dominion as he has commanded. He shall freely delight in all that befalls him and nothing shall please him save GodÕs will. He shall delight in all the words of His Mouth and shall desire nothing except his command. He shall watch always for the judgment of God, and shall bless his maker and declare his mercies in all that befalls.

To fulfill the expectation of the Dead Sea Scrolls, measuring out all knowledge discovered throughout the ages, together with the precept of the age, is a pretty heavy duty task. Again, such a task would be evidenced in the production of books, reaffirming our expectation that the Deliverer Messiah, The Word, is a writer of books.

Enoch 52.15 For all these things will be laid bare in the weighing-scales and in the books, on the day of the great judgment.

Isaiah 53.11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Habakkuk 3.4 His brightness was as the Light; He had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.

There were two types of horns which could be applicable here. Scribes in those days used horns as inkwells, as we shall see in a later prophesy. The other use of a horn would be that of a trumpet. At the time of the appearance of the Deliverer, The Word, a trumpet is heard and in Revelation that trumpet is a loud voice.

Psalm 45.1 My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

Odes of Solomon 23 ...Walk ye in the knowledge of the most high without grudging: to his exaltation and to the perfection of his knowledge.
And his thought was like a letter; his will descended from on high,
And it was sent like an arrow which is violently shot from the bow:
And many hands rushed to the letter to seize it and take and read it.
And it escaped their fingers and they were affrighted at it and at the seal that was upon it...
But a wheel received it and came over it.
And there was with it a sign of the kingdom and of the government.
And everything which tried to move the wheel it mowed and cut down..
The letter was one of command, for there were included in it all districts.
And there was seen at its head, the head which was revealed even the Son of Truth from the Most High Father.
And He inherited and took possession of everything. And the thought of many was brought to nought.
And all the apostates hasted and fled away. And those who persecuted and were enraged became extinct.
And the letter was a great volume, which was wholly written by the Finger of God.
And the name of the Father was on it, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, to rule for ever and ever.

Although the Odes of Solomon quoted here are not canonized, it is apparent that the expectation of the prophesy of the Letter Writing Messiah is perfectly in agreement with the above noted tasks of the Deliverer Messiah, The Word.

Psalm 64.7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow, suddenly shall they be wounded. (For they encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?)

Psalm 58.7 Let them melt away as waters which run continually: When he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces..

Psalm 18.7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
18.8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
18.9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
18.10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
18.14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings and discomfited them.
18.15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
18.37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.

We have seen the Letters sent by the Messiah described as Arrows. Further on we shall see that there is something hidden or secret about Him. His Letters are letters of command and are the means by which he rebukes the nations. He continues writing relentlessly, as we saw in the character of the Word who does not go into the streets.

Psalm 18.43 Thou has delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.

Psalm 2 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2.2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his Anointed, saying,
2.3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

Jeremiah 10.20 My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is no one to stretch forth my Tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
10.21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord: Therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

Psalm 2.4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
2.5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
2.6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
2.7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee.
2.8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
2.9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potterÕs vessel.

Psalm 9.15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.

Although there are few instances in prophesy which describe the Deliverer Messiah, The Word, as the Son of God, it was a Legitimate Expectation of the scribes two thousand years ago both among the Essene community which wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls and Jewish Oral Torah tradition handed down to us. We say it was an expectation of the scribes but certainly not a common perception among the lay community. We shall see this in our review of the Gospels and we can evidence this by asking any lay Jew what the nature of the Coming Messiah is expected to be like. We suspect a Jew might describe the Messiah as a man, not God nor the Son of God. Others, more informed concerning the Oral Torah ought to admit that He is essentially God in the Flesh. Two groups of documents which date from the period of two thousand years ago include the Four Gospels and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Between the two accounts, the Dead Sea Scrolls are more reliable evidence of what was believed (by at least one sect of Jews) as a pure, untampered witness of expectations two thousand years ago. As mentioned earlier, The Dead Sea Scrolls recognize Two Messiahs, one a Son of David and the other a priestly Messiah who is of Aaron and comes by the name of Melkizedek, whose name means, King of Righteousness:

Dead Sea Scrolls: And it will be proclaimed at the end of days concerning the captives as He said, To proclaim liberty to the captives (Isa. 61.1). Its interpretations is that He will assign them to the Sons of Heaven and to the inheritance of Melkizedek; for He will cast their lot amid the portions of Melkizedek, who will return them there and will proclaim to them liberty, forgiving them the wrong-doings of all their iniquities. And this thing will occur in the first week of the Jubilee that follows the nine Jubilees. And the Day of Atonement is the end of the tenth Jubilee, when all the Sons of Light and the men of the lot of Melkizedek will be atoned for. And a statute concerns them to provide them with their rewards. For this is the moment of the year of Grace for Melkizedek. And he will, by his strength, judge the holy ones of God, executing judgment as it is written concerning him in the Songs of David, who said, Elohim has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment (Psalm 82.1). And it was concerning him that he said, (Let the assembly of the peoples) return to the height above them; El (God) will judge the people Psalm 77.8). As for that which he said, How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah (Psalm 62.2), its interpretation concerns Satan and the spirits of his lot who rebelled by turning away from the precepts of God to...And Melkizedek will avenge the vengeance of the judgments of God...and he will drag them from the hand of Satan and from the hand of all the spirits of his lot. And all the gods of justice will come to his aid to attend to the destruction of Satan. And the height is ...all the sons of God...This is the day of Peace and Salvation concerning which God spoke through Isaiah the prophet, who said, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who proclaims peace, who brings good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion: Your Elohim reigns (Isaiah 52.7). Its interpretation: the mountains are the prophets..and the messenger is the Anointed One [Messiah/Christ] of the spirit, concerning whom Daniel said, Until an Anointed One, a prince (Daniel 9.25)..And he who brings good news, who proclaims salvation: it is concerning him that it is written..To comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion (Isaiah 61.2,3). To comfort those who mourn: its interpretation, to make them understand all the ages of time..In truth..will turn away from Satan...by the judgments of God, as it is written concerning him, who says to Zion: your Elohim reigns. Zion is..., those who uphold the Covenant, who turn from walking in the way of the people. And your Elohim is Melkizedek, who will save them from the hand of Satan.

In the exegis of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Melkizedek is described as the Deliverer Messiah, whom we have seen is The Word. He comes during the Last Jubilee, in the Latter Days, and is the harbinger of Peace for all the world. For the Prophesy of that Age is overwhelmingly a Day of Peace. It is not a promise of coming Peace; it is the actual redemption and Salvation of Man and the realization of Peace. What can be gained from God bringing Salvation and Redemption without Peace? We shall see that the Redemption expectation in the prophesies was the actual restoration of Israel after it had been, under a curse, scattered and dispersed to all the nations. Clearly, we shall see later that the expectations of the rabbis even today require that the Messiah appear at the time they are gathered and restored to their land.

Isaiah 42.6 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.
49.6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will also give thee for a Light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
49.8 Thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of Salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages.
49.9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, go forth; to them that are in darkness, shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways and their pastures shall be in all high places.
60.1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

We had seen that the Deliverer Messiah, The Word, is promised the heathen as His Inheritance. Through his writings and the opening of the books he gains his dominion over all the world. He is, in the expectation of the Lawgiver, also now described as The New Covenant and in his inheritance He receives the Desolate Heritages. In this scenario the people have been scattered in the Dispersion and the description of the scattering is with Desolation. So upon the restoration of the Children of Israel to their land it would follow that the people would be brought into a land which had been desolated, laying fallow for the time of the dispersion, and waiting to be cultivated and turned back into a fruitful field. In the prophesies these expectations are clearly described; and beyond this we have the consideration that the desolation could be such, as described by Job, that the furrows of the land and the animals may, in fact, accuse mankind at that time. Here we are speaking about pollution of the environment.

Job 38.4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare if thou hast understanding.
38.19 Where is the way where light dwelleth? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof?
38.20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?
38.21 Knowest thou it, because thou was then born? or because the number of thy days is great?
38.36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the heart?
39.9 Will the Unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
39.10 Canst thou bind the Unicorn with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
39.11 Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? Or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
239.12 Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?

The Book of Job is considered one of the earliest written books in the Bible. The description of his people and times includes patriarches not many generations removed from their father, Abraham. It clearly describes the expectation of a polluting man on the earth in the Latter Days; we hear Job declaring that he knows His Redeemer liveth and he will stand beside him in the Latter Days, and also His Redeemer will come to judge the earth. Through the Parable of the Unicorn we are shown an expectation that the Redeemer may have to do all of his work alone. Again, this correlates with the writing Messiah who does not go into the streets, or the Messiah walking alone from Edom, wearing robes from Bozrah, with his sandals and robes stained from the winepress of the Lord; yet, as we shall see later in Revelation he leads a great army! A characterization of this type of leader, this Melkizedek, whom the Dead Sea Scrolls equated to Daniell's Michael, might best be perceived as another Moses spending a lot of time writing in his tent as he sits at the head of the Gathering of the Children of Israel from all the nations from whence they had been dispersed back to the Promised Land. And that day is described as a day of great darkness and trouble. We might add here, as concerning Michael, that Jesus himself confirmed the prophesy calling for Michael; as he prophesied concerning the Second Coming of the Son of Man. He said that a sign that the time is near is when the Abomination of Desolation comes, etc. which thing in Daniel immediately precedes the coming of the great prince Michael, the Messiah Deliverer whom we have seen equated to Melkizedek.

Isaiah 60.2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
58.19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the West, and his glory from the rising of the sun.

Zephaniah 1.14 The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hateth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
1.15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.
1.16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
3.8 Therefore, wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
3.9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent.
3.20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.

Haggai 2.6 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; yet once it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the seas, and the dry land;
3.7 And I will shake all nations and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the lord.
2.23 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have Chosen Thee, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Zechariah 4.7 Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace, unto it.
4.8 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me saying,
4.9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto you.
11.16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
11.17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! The sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Haggi 2.6 For thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land.
2.7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts.
2.8 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of Hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of Hosts.
2.21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;
2.22 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
2.23 In that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shelaltiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts.

Zechariah1.16 Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of Hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
2.5 For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
2.11 And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto thee.
3.8 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.
6.12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and shall grow up out of his place, and He shall build the Temple of the Lord.
6.13 Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall be 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.
6.15 And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord, and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.
4.12 And I answered again, and said unto Him, What be these Two Olive Branches which through the Two Golden Pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
4.13 And He answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, no, my Lord.
4.14 Then said He, these are the Two Anointed Ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
4.7 Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
4.9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto you.
11.7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me Two Staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

We note here that a common perception of the verse in Isaiah of the rod out of the stem of Jesse:

Isaiah 11.1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

This verse has commonly been read by the rabbis as a staff shall grow out of his roots. The word, stave, is also taken as the word for Lawgiver, or King. Thus, the rabbis would agree that the Branch equals the Stave which equals the Lawgiver which equals the King. Extending this we can see that Zechariah is talking about Two Branches or Two Messiahs; thus, we saw earlier how they are men wondered at and the peace is shared between them both.

Zechariah 11.10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.
11.14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
11.15 And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
11.16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
11.17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! The word shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Malachi 3.1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.
3.2 But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For He is like a refinerÕs fire, and like fullerÕs soap.

Bavli CVI.k The ox runs and falls, so the horse is put in its stall...So the Israelites having fallen, were replaced in power by the gentiles, but on their recovery, it will be difficult to remove the gentiles from their position without inflicting much suffering.

Bavli CCXVIII.n He knew how to tell the exact time at which the Holy One, blessed be he, was angry.

These collections of scripture now identify Two Messiahs, or Christs, which names mean in English, Anointed Ones. Zechariah also identifies them as The Servant, The Branch, who are men wondered at. He goes on to describe them as Staves of the Lord by whom God breaks his Covenants with Judah and Israel and all the people. The breaking of a Covenant is the signification of a new Covenant being provided. The Deliverer, The Word, brings a New Covenant and is, in fact, The New Covenant in the Latter Days. In these passages we also see a new name being offered, that of Zerubbabel. The name means born in Babylon. Zerubbabel was born in the captivity in Babylon and was Anointed by King Cyrus the Great to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its city and its temple. In this profile Zerubbabel represents the end of the prophesied captivity (which was prophesied by Jeremiah and Daniel to be 70 years). The act of the restoration of the Children of Israel back to their land under Cyrus and his governor Zerubbabel represents, in Zechariah's prophesy, the model by which the Latter Day Deliverance and its Deliverer shall come. In the model, however, Zechariah tells us there are Two Anointed Ones, or Messiahs, to come. But in the sign of the Branch, though two men wondered at, are The One Servant of God. As staves, which term is also used to mean Lawgiver, we are shown that they carry two different characteristics. The first stave, or lawgiver, is Beauty, as per the King James Bible which we use in this text. The Jewish version of this Bible, the Masoretic, calls these Two Staves Favor and Unity. Connected with the event of Beauty/Favor is the payment of a price of thirty pieces of silver at the time He is broken. This event has been claimed in the Gospels as pertaining to the actual experience of Judas throwing the price of his betrayal of Jesus back into the temple. Later the priests, according to the gospel, used the money to buy the Potter's Field in which foreigner's are buried, even to this day, says the writer of the Gospel of Matthew.

As pertaining to the other stave called Bands/Unity, we have the description of a shepherd raised up in the land which shall eat the flesh of the fat. Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock, says Zecharias. The stave called Bands/Unity matches to the function of the Deliverer Messiah called The Word, whom we have seen described as another Zerubbabel, who is given the function of rebuilding the temple of the Lord during the Deliverance. This presupposes that the Temple of God is torn down prior to the Deliverance. This would, of course, be necessary to match up to the descriptions of desolating Israel when its people are scattered. Again, other names for the Deliverer Messiah, which we have seen are Melkizedek, King of Righteousness (since he Judges and makes laws) and Michael.

Ezekiel 28.25 Thus saith the Lord God: When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.
28.26 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God.
38.14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; in that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely shalt thou not know it?
38.15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
38.16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the Latter Days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the Heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
38.22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood: and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

Psalm 11.6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

Ezekiel 38.23 Thus, will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

At the time God gathers Israel from all the lands whence he had scattered them, we learn that it is not only a time of great darkness and tribulation, such as has never before been seen to that day nor will be seen again, but also it is a time when God comes with great Wrath. He comes in Vengeance, and, justifiably, the vengeance is against all those who were against His People Israel. At the time of the restoration, Peace and prosperity for the Children of Israel is Promised; however the Peace promised in the initial restoration or Redemption is momentary. For God then uses Gog, of Magog, from the north, including his allies of Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya, to sanctify him. It is through Gog that God draws all the people who had hurt his Chosen People into the valley of Meggido (a place called crowded) and destroys them and all the wicked with them. The Judgment here conceived promises that in that day many nations will become joined to God and His Messiah reigning in Jerusalem and that day (Paul would regret to admit) is the day the Children of Israel will be Holy people unto the Lord.

Ezekiel 11.17 Therefore, say, Thus saith the Lord God: I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
11.19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a New Spirit within you: and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh.

Jeremiah 24.6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
24.7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

Ezekiel 34.12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the Cloudy and Dark Day.

Testament of Joseph I.38 For I know that ye shall sin, and be delivered into the hands of your enemies; and your land shall be made desolate, and your holy places destroyed, and ye shall be scattered unto the four corners of the earth.
And ye shall be set at naught in the dispersion vanishing away as water.
Until the Most High shall visit the earth, coming himself as man, with men eating and drinking, and breaking the head of the dragon in the water.
He shall save Israel and all the Gentiles, God speaking in the person of man.

Psalm 18.16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.

In this collection of scriptures we are told that the dispersion of the Children of Israel will be to the four corners of the earth to all nations. In another prophesy he describes this act as sifting them like wheat so thoroughly not one grain will drop on the ground. He intends in the dispersion to destroy the bad seed from the Children of Israel, through a means described later as a spirit of burning. In the gathering He places Himself among his sheep that are scattered. This gives us a clue as to where to expect the Deliverer Messiah to raise up. He is raised from many waters. Again, we are reminded that He is like another Zerubbabel who was, in fact, born in the captivity in Babylon. The Deliverer Messiah could also be expected to be among the captivity of the Dispersion and raise up among the Gentile. In chapter 61 of Isaiah such a character, described as The Double, a fitting description of the Second Messiah, appears among the Gentile and in the appearance, or characterization of the Double, the Gentile are glorified. The glorification is such that the Children of Israel share in the joy and glory of the Gentile. Once again we are reminded that the Deliverer Messiah is Given as a Light unto the Gentiles and is given the Heathen for an inheritance. Also in these verses is the notation that God will give the Children of Israel (and presumably mankind) a new heart, placing his Covenant in our heart. In both illustrations of this event the prophets agree that this act is performed in the Latter Days after the Children of Israel are Restored or Redeemed to their land. The Four Gospels attempted to claim this event as pertaining to Jesus, even though Jesus appeared before the Dispersion!

Psalm 18.29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
Psalm 18.33 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon high places.

Ezekiel 36.24 And I will take you from among the Heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your land.
36.24 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
36.26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Zechariah 6.12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and shall grow up out of His Place, and He shall build the temple of the Lord.
6.13 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.

Psalm 110 .1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
110.4 The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
110.5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
110.6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.

Jeremiah 25.34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel,
25.35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.

Ezekiel 34.22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

Zechariah 13.5 But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a husbandman: for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

Again, at the time of the Gathering, God will take out his wrath against the Heathen and Gentile who had been against his people Israel. Dead bodies will be found, in the Judgment, to be scattered from one end of the earth to another. There will be so many bodies they will lay unburied.

In addition we see here that the Deliverer Messiah is another David, even familiar with cattle/sheep. He, in the characterization, is asked if He is a prophet and He explains that He is not a prophet because He was raised as a shepherd. A branch of the priesthood included a special school of prophets. The Latter Day Deliverer Messiah, though described as a priest, after the order of Melkizedek, is not trained as a prophet but rather comes from a humble background of shepherding, like David.

Zechariah 13.6 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.

Psalm 78.70 He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.
78.71 From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
78.72 So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
Psalm 26.11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
26.12 My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord.

Ezekiel 34.24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them: I the Lord have spoken it.

Not only born in Babylon, like Zerubabbel, we find the Deliverer Messiah is of simple parentage and another like David. He carries the Spirit of David and it is through his integrity that He is known. He is firm and confident where he stands in his faith, being consistent, and accordingly highly persuasive.

In these verses we have the indication that the Deliverer Messiah has been wounded by Jerusalem. He has been pierced and he carries wounds in his hands. The school of the rabbis teaches that this pertains to the Deliverer Messiah ben Joseph who is wounded by Gog when he comes to invade the Restored heritage of Israel. In the scenario of the Oral Torah Messiah ben Joseph is killed and then Messiah ben David appears and resurrects him. Raphael Patai, in his book The Messiah Texts, has collected these traditions concerning the Two Messiahs which you may wish to consult to get a feeling for the common expectation of the Jews in their Oral Tradition these past thousands of years. At the time Jesus was studying the Torah these traditions concerning Two Messiahs were being taught. The Dead Sea Scrolls, once again, reflect the clear understanding two thousand years ago and earlier of the Two Messiahs. One Messiah, the Lay Messiah, according to their scriptures, would come as a Son of David. The other Messiah would come at the same time (corresponding with the same eschatology of the Oral Torah, placing Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David in the same time and place); and he would be born of the seed of Aaron. He is the priest Messiah, their Melkizedek.

While the Oral Torah expects one of the Messiahs to be killed, answering to the Suffering Messiah prophesies, chapter 53 of Isaiah and Psalm 22, for example, it refuses to accept that Jerusalem is the place and people who caused harm to the Messiah, as prophesied in Isaiah. Again, in Zechariah's characterization of the Messiah standing in Jerusalem in the Latter Days we see a man telling Jerusalem that the wounds he got were from the house of his friends. Now the Friend of God is Abraham, and because Abraham was the first friend of God His children of the inheritance, those of Isaac and Jacob, became the Chosen People of Israel. These are the friends of God and these are those whom the prophets anticipated would wound the Messiah. To suggest that the Children of Israel are the Friends of God in one instance but not in another instance of prophesy is utterly shameful. Either they are the friends of God (and his Messiah) or they are not. If someone else is the Messiah's (and God's) friend, then let the Rabbis tell us so the matter can be cleared up Note that Reuel was also called God's friend; we doubt he is a betrayer, however).

While a wounded Messiah standing in Jerusalem does not explain when he is wounded nor suggest that he is resurrected from the dead we are caused to wonder about him, how he came to be wounded and when it happened.

Ezekiel 34.25 And I will make with them a Covenant of Peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
36.23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
37.25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever.
37.26 Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
37.27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Isaiah 33.20 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.

Zohar: The opening of the Tent is the opening of Righteousness, as the Palmist says: open for me the gates of Righteousness.
Zohar: Light is sown for the Righteous One. Joy for the upright in heart...But until the day when The Word that is coming arrives, it is stored and hidden away.

Isaiah 4.5 And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a Cloud and smoke by Day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense.
4.6 And there shall be a Tabernacle for a Shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain.

Psalm 77.13 Thy way, O God, is in the Sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?
Psalm 19.1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handy work.
19.2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
19.3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
19.4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
19.5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

Psalm 27.4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the Beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.
27.5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

Zohar: This one is not known by any name in the world, for something sublime is in Him; it is a secret. The flowing light of His Father shines upon him! This secret has not spread among the comrades.

Ezekiel 37.28 And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, When my Sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forever more.
39.21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
39.22 And the House of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.

In this group of scriptures we have the Deliverer Messiah, now named David, having the responsibility of not only building the Temple of the Lord but also being connected with the Restoration of the Tabernacle, the Tent of God built by Moses and carried for forty years wandering in the desert. Two things are apparent in the characterizations used. The first takes into the fact that the Tabernacle carries the Shekhina, or Cloud of God. The Shekhina was the Presence of God and the thing which spoke to Moses from the Burning Bush and atop Mt. Sinai. The Shekhina is also the thing which led the Children of Israel out of Egypt and resided with them for forty years between the Two Cherubim atop the Mercy Seat, which in turn was atop a small chest called the Ark of the Covenant in which the Ten Commandments and Testimony were stored. Here the precept involves the fact that the Deliverer Messiah, because he comes in the Power of God, is attended by the Shekhina of God and its house, The Tabernacle. Earlier we saw that when God takes his wrath out against those who come against Israel He says He shall be IsraelÕs defense, like a fire around its walls. And it is He who will destroy the heathen who come against Israel.

Again, we recall that the Deliverer Messiah brings a New Covenant and is the Lawgiver. The Law came from the Shekhina of The Tabernacle. It was stored in the Tabernacle. It follows that the expectation of the Lawgiver and His Law (even the isles shall await his law) would be accompanied by the Restored Tabernacle. In a wonderful poem from the book of the Wisdom of Solomon we have the Messiah telling us:

You have chosen me out to be king of your people,
And to be judge of your sons and daughters;
You told me to build a sanctuary on your holy mountain,
And an altar in the city where you dwell,
A copy of the Holy Tent which you prepared in the beginning..
And I will judge your people uprightly,
And be worthy of the throne of my Father.

Here we have the expectation that the Tabernacle Restored will, in fact, be a copy. The problem of making a Copy, however, involves the revelation of a long held Secret. That Secret involves the actual description of the Tabernacle. Although the Tabernacle is described in the Torah (on two different accounts) its description seems to be lacking some essential guides on how to put it together. In fact there are certain areas of its description where God says, Build it like I showed thee on the mount. Only Moses was there with God on the mount. For the Deliverer Messiah to build the Tabernacle, therefore, He must be directly informed by God on how to build it. Thus the Jews have always had the expectation that with their Restoration they would recognize the Messiah by virtue of the fact that He would bring the secret design of the Tabernacle with Him. So he is charged with revealing a Secret only God and Moses knew (along with, of course, the people who worshipped in the Tabernacle during the term of its existence, from about 1500 B.C. to the time of David, 1,000 B.C.).

Connected with the Secret, we see that the Messiah Deliverer is hidden in the Secret of the Tabernacle, signifying, once again, that He must reveal its design, a Secret. Correlated with this is the prophesy that He is hidden in the hand of God. This comes from another characterization of Moses, how, when he was receiving the design of the Tabernacle and the Ten Commandments, the Shekhina of God passed before Him. Moses was told that as it passes by Moses would see the back of God, the thing that was carried in the Shekhina. God informed Moses that as he passed by He would put out his hand and cover him with the shadow of his hand. He said this because had Moses looked directly at God he would have died. Seeing only a portion of his back and being covered in the shadow of God's hand still had its affect upon Moses, however; for he came down from the mountain with both the hair of his beard and the top of his head turned hoary white. This characterization of an old man with an hoary head, incidentally, then became the description of God as the Ancient of Days mentioned in the books of Enoch, Daniel, and Revelation.

Ezekiel 39.23 And the heathen shall know that the House of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies; so fell they all by the sword.

Jeremiah 24.9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whether I shall drive them.
29.18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach among all the nations whither I have driven them.
9.16 And I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a Sword after them till I have consumed them.

Zohar: Then Human beings will perceive wondrous, precious wisdom never known by them before; all these are destined to alight on king Messiah so that he may judge the world.

Bavli CCVIIIB: Even with such anger may the all merciful rage against us, so long as he redeems us.

Jeremiah 15.18 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable which refuseth to be healed? Wilt thou altogether unto me as a liar, and as the waters of Meribah that fail?
15.19 Therefore thus saith the Lord, if thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me..and I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

Ezekiel 39.27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemiesÕ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations:
39.28 Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God.

In this collection we have further explanations why God will scatter Israel and the emphasis that he intends to leave only a remnant out of the scattered nation, chasing it with a sword. Furthermore, the scattering is programmed on a rather lengthy time scale, since He says He will make them a scorn and a derision among the people wheresoever they are scattered. This, in turn, requires a means by which the people are made to be scorned by the Heathen etc. And it also presupposes that the scorn is so complete that they will be chased from one nation to another, never being allowed to alight in a permanent home. The prophesy also emphasizes the scattering will be to all the nations and kingdoms and that the Heathen shall be a witness to what God had done to his people Israel. The only way such a process could be assured would to foster reasons for the heathen and gentile to scorn them.

In chapter 61 of Isaiah, where the Double is mentioned, we have these verses:

Isaiah 61. 4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
61.5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
61.6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
61.7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them
61.8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
61.10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of Salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
61.11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Jeremiah 23.5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Isaiah 11.1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
11.4 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.
11.5 And righteousness shall be the Girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

This King of Righteousness, our Melkizedek, appears at a time when the Children of Israel are going to be shamed. And for their shame they will receive double. Interestingly, the prophet mentions that there is at that time confusion among the Gentile and for the confusion they shall rejoice in their portion (of the inheritance). Here we have a promise that everything is going to come out alright for all people in the end (after the wicked are destroyed). The Gentile shall possess the Double, confirming that the Shepherd of God will appear wheresoever the people are scattered to gather them again to their land. Again, even in the examples of Moses and Zerubbabel, we have the Deliverer appearing in a foreign land, among the Gentile, and speaking with stammering lips, as Moses, in a foreign tongue. So the prospect that the Messiah actually appears among the Gentile is not unscriptural and quite frankly expected. The scenario further tells us that the Gentile shall have everlasting joy as a result of their confusion.

Again, we have the prospectus of a nation scattered and scorned and shamed at the time of the Deliverance and the appearance of the Double. The only thing that explains the cause of the scorn and the shame, apart from their falling away in faith to God, is the fact that two prophets mention a Suffering Messiah who is Murdered, who had done no wrong. The description of that Messiah, in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, quite accurately describes an event claimed to have been fulfilled in the Gospels of Jesus. And the Messiah of those descriptions is scorned, derided, and spit upon, like the nation of the Dispersion. He is killed and his death is an atonement for sin. And He is killed by God, caused by the sins of the Children of Israel. Certainly Israel is the cause of his death; for God lays Israel's iniquity on Him and Kills Him to purge Israel's sins against God.

Isaiah 53.2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
53.3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
53.4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
53.5 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.
53.6 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.
53.8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
53.9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
53.10 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 see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
53.12 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.

In this assortment of verses a Messiah is killed. He does not reign in Jerusalem; he, in fact, is rejected and not esteemed by the Children of Israel. He is killed by God, for God says, It pleased me to bruise him. In the scenario we have an offering by God as ransom for iniquity abounding among the Children of Israel. Somehow God's destruction of him, as a Sin Atonement Offering, will pay for their sins. To appreciate how the sacrifice pays for their sins one must understand the meaning of the Feast of Atonement and Biblical policy on Atonement. To receive Atonement from God the Jews were required to bring to sacrifice two goats each year around the tenth of September. One goat would be sacrificed and the other, called the Scapegoat, was allowed to go free in the desert. It is the Scapegoat which carried the sins of the people; and he could not be touched.

Once the sacrifice had been made, one is freed of his sins and God will in Mercy not remember them any more. But to get this Mercy one must also be Merciful towards others. So in the rites of Atonement we are told that in order to receive GodÕs forgiveness we must also forgive all those who had trespassed against us. This, it might be added, was the keystone of JesusÕs teaching. On this teaching alone, said Jesus, hung all the law and the prophets. When one thinks about this saying, the characterization becomes more meaningful when one considers the scenario of the scattering and redemption of Israel as a vehicle of bringing Peace into the world. In this scenario Israel is like the Suffering Messiah and it is through Israel's Suffering that we come to appreciate the message of loving one another and, to complete that, forgiving those who trespass against you. In spite of Israel's trespasses against God, even to the effect that Israel is responsible for the rejection and death of its Messiah — who turns out to be God in the flesh — In spite of all this, God says he will take the children of Israel back and glorify them in great mercy. Not only this; He will take out his wrath then upon all those who had been against his people Israel. The formula for this behavior can be found in the previous captivity experience. Isaiah prophesied the captivity to Babylon and the Redemption of its people two hundred years before it happened. Most remarkable in this prophesy is the fact that it uses Babylon as a vehicle of sanctifying God in desolating God's people and temple and then, through a curse, dedicates itself to the complete destruction or punishment of Babylon. Following after this presentation Isaiah further writes the name of the King who will restore the preserved of Israel back to Jerusalem. That king's name was Cyrus the Great. His name appeared in prophesy as God's Shepherd two hundred years before he existed!

The captivity of Israel in the Latter Day scenario then follows the same type of process. God uses a great and powerful nation, coming out of the north, to desecrate Israel and scatter its people to all the nations. He then implants in the scattering reasons for all the nations to hate Israel, forcing the children of Israel to continue moving. He then implants a process by which the Children are pursued by the sword and in several instances in the prophesies describes how ten thousand will flee from a handful of men and even the nation fleeing over rumors. Then He says He will burn them and purify them; actually He says He will melt them as one melts silver and gold to refine them. Then, the remnant that is left, He will restore to the Holy Land and be their God and they will be His people. In the restoration He mentions how the ships of Tarshish will be waiting to carry the Children back to the land with their gold and with their silver. Tarshish was a city on the Iberian peninsula, perhaps on the west coast, which was then considered the furthermost point in the world. From Tarshish traders brought all kinds of exotic things; the land was also known for its gold, developed as an initial outpost of Punic Traders. Also in the restoration Gentile are pictured carrying the daughters of the Children of Israel upon their shoulders and their sons in their arms. After they arrive in the Promised land He says He will give them a New Name, which is Beulah, for they will then be married and called a Holy People unto the Lord.

In our day such a scene is easy to recognize in terms of the actual experience of the exodus. From Southern France and Spain the Jews were loaded onto ships in the Exodus and brought to the shores of Palestine. But because of hostility to the immigration among the Arab inhabitants, the British overlords placed a ban on all immigration of Jews. Because of the ban the Jews had to sneak ashore. The ships could not land, so they anchored at night off shore and the Jews, with their daughters and sons, were shipped ashore on small landing craft. When the craft reached the beaches the people waded ashore, carrying the small children in their arms and upon their shoulders. I had a Political Science professor who was among these people of the exodus, who waded ashore.

Carrying their daughters upon the shoulders was a necessary device to signify that they are now Holy unto the lord. For the Ark and its Mercy Seat were the Holiest things in the Tabernacle and they were carried above the shoulders by means of Two Staves. Therefore, anything carried above the shoulders was considered Holy unto the Lord. Thus the prophesy also states that when God restores the Children of Israel to their nation their daughters will then be called Holy (because they were carried above the shoulders of the Gentile).

When all these things take place, He says He will then take His Wrath out on all the nations whence He scattered Israel.

We have seen above that one of the characteristics of the Messiah is that he has the power of judgment. This means also that he has the power to forgive man's sins. Given this power, he is charged with determining who are the survivors from God's Wrath, when it comes upon the earth in the Latter Days. And He appears to the desolated remnant of the Children of Israel and restores them to their desolated inheritance. Thus, the Messiah inherits the Desolate heritages.

After telling us about the Suffering Messiah, we are told to sing:

Isaiah 54.1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into signing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.
54.2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
54.3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
54.4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
54.6 For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.
54.7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
54.8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.
54.9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
54.15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
54.16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
54.17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

This batch of verses tells us that Israel is God's wife and her Maker is her Husband. God calls her His Widow and, at the same time, declares how she failed to bear a son. Yet, He reminds her that more are the children of the desolate than the married wife. He tells her how he rejected her but will take her back with great mercy. In the story of Abraham we recall that Abraham's wife, the mother of the Children of Israel's inheritance, was old and barren. Yet, she produced a son, Isaac, which confirmed God's promise of an inheritance: namely, all men on earth would one day be blessed in Abraham's seed.

Recalling these things now in relation to the Promise of a Messiah whom God is pleased to bruise as an atonement for their iniquity, asks us to consider how such a Messiah could represent a Blessing to all mankind. Further consideration must be given to the fact that God reminds Israel that they shall not be shamed over the incident of the Suffering Messiah. Nor should they let themselves be confused. For it is He who destroys the Messiah (because of Israel's transgressions). It is their iniquity which causes Him to perform the terrible act (which turns out to be an act against His very person). We are assured that the Widow, Israel, though forsaken, will be taken back again. She was forsaken because she caused God to kill His own Flesh and blood. Otherwise He would not have called her His Widow. One cannot be a married wife and desolated in the death of a husband without being a Widow. Somehow in the passages concerning this we see a sublime irony when he introduces the fact that Israel failed to bare a son. It is as if He is reminding them that they were given the promise of a son and would have not been barren had they not rejected Him. The confirmation of the Sacrificed Messiah further serves to drive home the point of their rejection of their God .

As concerning the reason why they ought not to be shamed, we have no answer. Perhaps the Testament of Benjamin points out the reason:

Testament of Benjamin II.6 For all these things they gave us for an inheritance, saying: keep the commandments of God, until the Lord shall reveal His Salvation to all the Gentiles.
And then shall ye see Enoch, Noah, and Shem, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob rising on the right hand in gladness.
Then shall we also rise, each one over our tribe, worshipping the King of heaven, who appeared upon earth in the form of a man in humility.
And as many as believe on Him on the earth shall rejoice with Him.
Then also all men shall rise, some unto glory and some unto shame.
And the Lord shall judge Israel first, for their unrighteousness; for when He appeared as God in the flesh to deliver them they believed Him not.
And then shall He judge all the Gentiles, as many as believed Him not when He appeared upon the earth.
And He shall convict Israel through the chosen ones of the Gentiles.

Here we have a recognition of two appearances or Two Messiahs; one visitation to Israel, recognizing that he was refused by them, and another to the Gentile, also people who would refuse Him. All people, from this observation, are capable of denying their God. They praise Him with their lips but their hearts are far from him, so the precept goes. So we repeat:

Psalm 14.2 The Lord looked down from Heaven, upon the Children of Men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there in none that doeth good, no not one.

We witnessed the Suffering Messiah who appears before Israel is Scattered. When Israel was restored we witnessed another character coming from Edom, wearing robes Bozrah, with his sandals and robes stained from the winepress of the Lord; and he works alone. He coincides with the Light unto the Gentile, of Isaiah 42, whose voice is not heard in the streets. Because of this issue it is easy to conclude that the Messiah is denied by those of his own country. The Testament of Benjamin is, therefore, a natural extension of these precepts.

Because the Messiah carries Judgment, it behooves us to wonder what he might see in mankind, whether the opinion voiced by David two thousand years ago still stands. We suspect it still stands. For the Messiah speaks out of the future, saying:

Psalm 69.20 Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul...reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none: and for comforters, but I found none.

While this would presumably apply to the Rejected, Suffering Messiah, the Testament of Benjamin causes us to wonder whether the Messiah Deliverer who appears among the Gentile might be rejected also!

Isaiah 53.11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
30.27 Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire.

Psalm 71.7 I am a wonder unto many; and thou art my strong refuge.

Odes of Solomon 41.8 All those will be astonished that see me. For from another race am I: for the Father of Truth remembereth me: He who possessed me from the beginning.

Isaiah 30.28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.
63.1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?...
63.3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury: and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

At the appearance of the Double we saw that there would be a realization of shame (yet the Children of Israel are told they will not be shamed) and confusion among the Gentile. Here we are now told that God will sift the nations (Gentile) with the sieve of Vanity and there shall be a bridle in their jaws causing them to err. Because they are in error the Messiah will show them the Truth. After all, we recall the anticipation that His Name will contain the appellation Faithful and True. In the scriptures he says, for the Father of Truth will remember me, etc. Since there is described a bridle in the mouths of the nations, causing them to err, the Oral Torah asks:

Bavli LXXXVII.f Would he then, if all the world is heretic, be also, to the world, a heretic?

Daniel and Revelation take into consideration the dilemma of the Messiah in the Latter Days. He faces a world which is confused and, moreover, misled. He must sort through the confusion. From the days before Jesus until now the scriptures and tradition, including that of the Dead Sea Scrolls, have concluded that to do this He must respond, precept by precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little until they finally fall and are taken. And he shall teach from the books, specifically including as a minimum the Torah.

Though the Deliverer Messiah is not a prophet, by his own admission, (re: Zechariah 13.5) and there is no evidence that He is a healer or magician, performing miracles, He is opposed by Satan whose chief representatives have characteristics modelled on the Messiah or Jesus Christ. Namely, Satan is represented first by a beast who follows a prophet who makes false prophesies and is known for performing miracles. As to where these characters, including the Antichrist, who is first named by Daniel, originate, it is suggested in prophesy that the Antichrist or AntiMessiah comes out of Judah, for God said he would sow Judah with both man and beast[Jeremiah 31.27].

Jeremiah 23.15 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: behold I will feed them with Wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into the land.

Here, in relation to the cause of the death of the Suffering Messiah, we have an argument that the Jews had no recourse but to perform the vile deed, because they had been misled by prophets who had been fed, by God, with Wormwood. Wormwood is a bitter tasting bush in the desert. In the books which are opened to the Son of Man, Ezekiel; and the Son of Man, John, who prophesies in Revelation, both prophets are required to eat the pages of the book offered to them by the angel of the Lord. When both ate of the book they found it at first sweet to the taste and then bitter. This, in turn, signifies that they had to read what they did not want to hear. This describes the nature of Truth: Often man does not want to hear the Truth because Truth exposes his vanity and shows how unwise he is. Certainly the Jews were unwise to allow the rejection and death of their Messiah prophesied in Isaiah 53. They should have recognized who he is. But in the scenario He is created as one who is humble, like David, whose beauty and comeliness is not desirable to the the people. He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Like the parable of the Unicorn in Job, He is probably fully alone in His Work, being rejected of men.

Leviticus Rabbah XIII:V.6g: I have trodden the winepress alone.

This conflicts with the testimony of the Bavli, however:

Bavli, CLXXVII.c Where one earns the disapproval of men, it is proof that he has earned the disapproval of God.

Earning the Disapproval of Men

The entire scenario involving the Rejected or Suffering Messiah is dependent upon the fact that he has earned the disapproval of men; yet He is Holy to God. Can we say that God disapproved of His humble Messiah? God forbid! Yet, it says, It pleased the Lord to bruise Him! For Israel's sake God was pleased to bruise Him.

Had He been created as a powerful and popular man at the outset, then that, appealing to Vanity, would have assured His success and certainly mitigated his death. But then, a powerful man would not have served to illustrate God's message of humbling oneself. For His Power is in His humility, suggesting everlasting shame upon those who reject him, because he had done nothing wrong; nor was there any deceit in his mouth.

Since He is a representative of Humility, it follows that His Adversary would necessarily be characterized as the opposite, appealing to the Vain:

Revelation 7.10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters:
7.11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

This, again, explains precisely what happened when God acknowledged Israel as His Widow. The people had been misled by the Wormwood sent unto them through their prophets by God. God says, behold, I create both good and evil. He chastises the people who say God will not do good nor do evil. The modern Christian Ministry tend to overlook this point of view and give little consideration to the prophesies explaining the dispersion of Israel, which thing, as we have seen, represented the pronouncement of no small amount of evil against Israel.

Isaiah 11.11 And it shall come to pass in That Day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His People.
11.12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
4.2 And in that day shall the Branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Jeremiah 23.6 In his days, Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called: The Lord our Righteousness.

Joel 2.1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand:
2.2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

Chapter 18 (continued)

Earning the Disapproval of Men

Chapter 18
(continued)