THE MESSIANIC HOPE

 

Behold the Man by Simon Dewey 

The messianic hope is the expectation of an Anointed Deliverer that has its roots in pre-mortal life and that was prophesied about extensively in the scriptures (Abraham 3:27; Moses 4:1,2).

The English word Messiah comes from the Hebrew Meshiach, meaning ‘anointed’. The Greek equivalent is Christos. The Hebrew word Yeshua (Jesus in Greek) means ‘Saviour’ or ‘deliverer’. The two words combined denote one anointed of God to save or deliver His people.

The Old Testament prophets prophesied of the Messiah in incredible detail. The prophecies tell of him being born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14); that He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); that He would be raised a  prophet like unto Moses (Deut 18:15); that  He would be of the lineage of David (Genesis 49:10; Jeremiah 23:5-6) and that He would have the government upon his shoulder (Isaiah 9:6,7).

The New Testament prophecies revealed the life and mission of the Messiah in detail. The writers of the four Gospels especially pointed out how Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies that referred to the coming Messiah, the references of which are too extensive to record here.

The most well known messianic prophecy belongs to Isaiah who spoke of Him dualistically. Isaiah 53 describes the role of Christ as a ‘suffering servant’, ‘a man of sorrows’, one who stands ‘as a sheep before her shearers’, one who takes our transgressions upon Himself. The other picture of the Messiah is that of the “King of Glory” contained in Isaiah 9, which paints a picture of deliverance, political power, and the destruction of the enemies of Israel. They speak of two time periods which the Jewish population of Christ’s time either did not understand or they chose to ignore. The ‘suffering servant’ was a reference to Messiah’s first advent when  He would deliver His people spiritually and the King of Glory who would be sitting on the throne of David and have the government upon His shoulder refers to the Millenial reign.

The Jews of Christ’s first advent recognized that Jesus was from the lineage of David  but when He refused to take up the sword against Rome and take upon himself the government of their nation, His crucifixion was seen by the majority as a proof that He could not have been the promised deliverer. Remember the mocking: “He saved others, himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.” ( Mark 15:31, 32).

This is where the Jewish nation went wrong in their expectation of the Messiah:

From the time of the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. until the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70….the Palestinian remnant of Israel was subjected to the rule of many great powers: the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, the Ptolemies, the Seleucids, and finally the Romans.

During this great period of bondage to different powers, the Jewish people came to see the Messiah not as one who would provide Atonement for their sins but one who would deliver them from their enemies by physical force. They wanted freedom from people who ruled them.

And so the Jews looked beyond the mark which was Christ (Jacob 4:14) and crucified their God. When He did not come in a manner that they anticipated, they looked beyond Him for another who should come…..and they wait still.

Oh that I were an angel and could have the wish of mine heart!!!! I would shout from the rooftops to unbelieving Israel: your King will come!!!!

“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle….then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations….and his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives…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.” (Zechariah 13:6; 14:1-4)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

SHEMA

 

In his farewell address to the children of Israel, just before they entered the promised land and before Moses was taken from them by the Lord (Deauteronomy 34:56), he outlined the commandments Israel was to live by in great detail. The very first and most important commandment was that there is only one God who should be loved and worshipped which was in contrast to the many gods worshipped by those in neighbouring lands. The existence of only one God became the Jewish credo and it began like this:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4-6). This commandment became the dogma of Judaism to be recited both morning and evening by Jewish males. It is called SHEMA, the very first word of the declaration, which is HEAR.

So sacred is SHEMA to Jews “that the pious in Israel have always sought to die with it upon their lips. This has been true down through the ages, even to the Holocaust death camps, where Jews who were being put to death recited the SHEMA in their last moments on earth.” (Marshall D. Isaacson, “Children of the Covenant” p 56).

Have you ever heard of anything more soul wrenching? Perhaps there is this: Because Jesus claimed to be co-equal with God when He said “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), the credo of SHEMA became the very reason why the Jews rejected Christ. Thus the Jewish staunch belief that there is only one God became the dogma of Judaism and their conversion to Christianity one of the great improbabilities of this life.

When I first read about SHEMA, I was immediately transported to the Sacred Grove and Joseph who was told: “This is my Beloved Son, HEAR Him!” (JSH 1:17). To me, this word “Hear” seemed incredibly significant. It was a confirmation to the world of the Saviour’s Sonship and Godhood, that He is indeed one with the Father and the awaited Messiah. And all with just one word, HEAR!

The Church has sent the proclamation only recently to the membership of the House of Israel to: Hear Him! It’s a call to alertness and attention, a call to obedience and repentance and to focus on the one and only way to salvation. When I remembered the First Vision whilst reading about SHEMA, I also remembered investigating the Church fifty years ago. I HEARD every word of the restored Gospel with my very soul. It resonated with me like whispers from home because I felt that’s where I was.

Ever since I heard, I have been following, and all glory be to the One who has led me. Because I have followed, I have endured much and prospered much spiritually and gratefully I have learnt that indeed there is only one God, the Father and the Son who are one……

I hear Your voice in empty silence

When loneliness envelops me;

I hear Your voice in violent storms

That plague me in mortality;

I hear Your voice in my struggles

That never let me be;

I hear Your voice when You pilot me

On dangerous journeys of earthly seas;

I hear Your voice beckoning me

To stay the course because
You will never abandon me.

I hear Your voice getting louder

And more distinct on the narrow path

That leads me home to Thee.

I see Your arms wide open

Waiting to welcome me.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Guardian by Kelsy and Jesse Lightweave)