Bible Insights | CafeLogos.org
The Jews claim that the Messiah has not yet come, refuting the Christians assertion that Jesus is the Messiah.
The Puzzle
The prophet Daniel shows that an Anointed One (Messiah) is killed before the destruction of Jerusalem which happened in 70AD (Daniel 9:26). After that his prophecy gives an accurate history of everything that happens up to the judgment. There is no other messiah appearing, or a time of world peace. The judgment that Daniel shows correlates with the Judgment in Ezekiel 34.
In Zechariah 14, we see the Messiah coming supernaturally, landing with His feet on the Mount of Olives. From that point on He rules and the time of peace is fulfilled.
However, in order for this person to be the Messiah, he still would have to fulfill all the prophecies that Jesus has fulfilled, including being born in Bethlehem,(Micah 5:2) ride into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9), and be killed before the destruction of Jerusalem (Daniel 9:26). He would also have to be a supernatural being because the Messiah is to reign forever.
The Jewish scholars recognized that according to the prophecies Messiah must come, suffer and be killed. They also saw that He rules and reigns. To solve this puzzle they concocted this explanation; there has to be two messiahs, one that is killed and one that reigns; however this explanation ignores all the scriptures that show there is only one Messiah. For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: (Job 19:25). (The redeemer is also referred to as God- Psalm 19:14).
Jesus fulfilled over two hundred messianic prophecies. M.B. Bleecker was an engineer who invented the ram jet engine and the helicopter prototype. He was also a Christian who calculated the odds of one man fulfilling just eight of those prophecies in a life time. The odds of Jesus fulfilling just eight of them in His lifetime are one in -100, 000, 000,000,000,000.
Jesus also said that He would come again supernaturally (Matthew 24). Going back to Daniel’s prophecy, the Messiah is killed before Jerusalem is destroyed. There is no time of peace until His return in Zechariah 14, as Daniel’s prophecy does not record a time of peace before that event. Therefore, if Jesus had brought in a time of peace when He came the first time, then it would have proven He was not the Messiah, because that does not happen until after the judgment as the scriptures show.
Jesus’ first coming is prophesied in Isaiah 53, where He is the suffering servant who dies for the sins of Isaiah’s’ people (Isaiah 53:8). His second coming is prophesied in Zechariah 14 where He returns supernaturally, landing with His feet on the Mount of Olives; the exact location from where Jesus prophesied of His return in Matthew 24.
Therefore, Jesus has to be the Messiah, who will bring in the time of peace after the judgment when He returns just as He prophesied.
Copyright 2024 by H. D. Shively