When will your Messiah come?

By tracing the Messiah's lineage and the key roles assigned to him by God throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, it becomes clear that Yeshua met two key Messianic criteria, "First, He came from the right "kingly roots," and second, "He fulfilled the role of the "atoning servant."

Moreover, all of the Old Testament prophesies, and the accompanying commentary in Jewish literature and rabbinic teaching, before and after Christ, recognized that a Messiah-King was coming, "God With us," who was to be a ruler of all nations, a sacrifice for the sins of Israel, a "stumbling stone rejected by both houses of Israel," a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, a Savior of those who believed, a suffering servant rejected by men, a Davidic King who would be killed and resurrected, and a teacher to the gentiles.

But instead of recognizing the Messiah when He came, both Houses of Israel officially rejected Christianity, and refused to accept the One Who would, if accepted, change the their perceived preferential religious status, give equal status to the gentiles, and destroy the entrenched rights of the existing religious power structure. In other words, they were just like most of us living today, who prefer to ask unending questions, and to play endless head-games of "How can this be, how can he be a servant if He is supposed to be a King?", rather than give up our entrenched love affair with our "institutionalized ego" and identification with some power group. For to do so, by surrendering to the obvious truth before us, we would simultaneously enjoy the hatred of being ostracised by the same group which has given us our ego cultural identity. And so, the majority of Jews living today, Who are Reformed or Conservative, or often nothing, generally admit that they no longer believe in the Old Testament or its prophesies, nor are they knowledgeable about the "Promised Messiah" taught by the historical enemy of Judaism, "Christianity." And so, from this, we can better understand what Saul of Tarsus had to go through on his way to becoming "Paul the Apostle."

Along with the prophesies concerning God's Messiah Coming to Earth, as "God With Us," Jesus' Mission to mankind was confirmed by the many miracles He performed in connection with His Ministery. Miracles are always the effect of Divine Omnipotence, and Divine Intervention. They cannot be performed by men or angels except as a transient "gift of miracles" by God, by which God wishes to manifest his concurrance with some revelation, doctrine, act, or behavior. On the other hand, "To Christ even as man, or to His humanity, was granted a perpetual and constant power of miracles. He was able of His free will to work them as often as He judged it expedient. For this He had the ever-ready concurrence of His Divinity, although there was in His Humanity no permanent quality which could be the physical cause of miracles."(A. Devine, Catholic Encyclopedia)

Among other things, Christ: l)raised the dead; 2)gave sight to the blind; 3)healed leprosy and physical disabilities; 4)ordered demons to obey on His own authority; 5)multiplied loaves and fishes; 6)ordered the storm at sea to cease; 7) walked on water and through walls; and 8)healed all manner of illness and disease wherever he traveled. And He gives the power of miracles, from time to time, on a transient basis, even today, to Christian saints and those who are spiritually united with Him. We who believe have seen, along with the saints, the many miracles he has performed in our lives, in answer to prayer, and in confirmation of His Divine Omnipotence working His Loving Will in our lives. The word "Awesome" comes to mind when we remember the miracles and the Omnipotent Goodness of this Jesus Christ, Who never ceases to "move mountains" at those critical turning points on our spiritual journey, which make the difference between spiritual death and Eternal Life.

THE OLD TESTAMENT TRINITY

God made man in His image And (Elohim) said. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, & over all the earth. (Genesis 1:26)

He also manifested Himself as the Ruakh Hakodesh, the Holy Spirit, who inspired the prophets of God and who did mighty miracles through the great judges of Israel, Gideon, Samson, and David. We want to point out one Scripture which compels us to admit the triunity of God. Isaiah the prophet speaks in the name of God and says:

Come near unto me. hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning: from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. (Isaiah 48:16)

Gen 1:1,2 'In the beginning God.....and the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters'. (John 1: 1-3) The word for God is 'Elohim', plural of the Hebrew word 'El'. It is a uni-plural word denoting plurality of Divine Persons without stating the number, but which subsequent Scriptures show to be three Divine Persons being The Father, The Son and Holy Spirit, each active. Gen 1:26,27-God (Elohim) said : "Man is become as one of US, to know good and evil". (Gen. 11:6) Isaiah 6:8 - "The voice of the Lord saying, Who will go for US?" (John 12:41) All of these verses speak of the plurality of divine Persons in the one God, and generally this Hebrew uni-plural word "Elohim" is used in the O.T . to speak of the Eternal Godhead. It is the O.T. equivalent for the N.T. definition of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or, the Godhead. Isaiah 48:16 - The Lord God (the Father) and His Spirit (the Holy Spirit) has sent Me (the Son)". Isaiah 61:1 - "The Spirit (the Holy Spirit) of the Lord (the Father) is upon Me, because He has anointed Me" (Luke 4:18) Psalm 110:1- "The Lord (the Father) said unto my Lord (the Son), sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Thy footstool". Genesis 19:24 - "Then the Lord (the Son) rained fire and brimstone from the Lord (the Father) out of heaven" Pslam 45:6-7 - "Your throne O God (the Son cf. Hebrews 1:8-9) is forever....therefore God, Thy God (the Father) has anointed You." The Old Testament speaks of: THE FATHER (Isaiah 63:16; Malachi 2:10) THE SON (Psalm 45:6-7; 2:6-7,12; Proverbs 30:4; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6) THE HOLY SPIRIT (Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 11;1-3; 48:16; Genesis 6:3 61:1; 63:10)

The New Testament shows us One Who claimed to be the fulfilment of the prophecies and to be God; this claim He confirmed by His life, death, and resurrection by His teaching, miracles, and prophecies. He further claimed to have founded a Church which should enshrine His revelation and should be the infallible guide for all who wished to carry out His will and save their souls. Which of the numerous existing Churches is His? It must have certain definite characteristics or notes. It must be One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, it must claim infallible teaching power. None but the Holy, Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Church can claim these characteristics, and her history is an irrefragable proof of her Divine mission. If, then, she be the true Church, her teaching must be infallible and must be accepted."(Hugh Pope, "Catholic Encyclopedia," transcribed by Gerard Haffner)

God has spoken through the prophets and has clearly identified the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as the answer to the mystery of life for the "chosen people" and for the whole of mankind. And He has given us the freedom to reject this testimony for the same reason He gave Adam the freedom to choose to love, or not, in the Garden. For love to be love, it must be freely given. In Jeremiah 11:3(NAB) He proclaims, "Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. Then you will be my people and I will be your God." But the people then, like many of us in the Church today, look for reasons to disbelieve the message of Prophesy in our lives. We say He is our God, all the while refusing to do as He commands. And today, like then, we find among us the worship of strange gods usurping the altar of the True God. And today, the same Spirit of Prophesy, speaking the Church, calls us back to the true worship of the Living God.

Speaking through the prophets, God warns the Chosen People that they have gone astray. And He spells out for them the nature of the spiritual catastrophe caused by sin. And He begins to tell them of His plan of redemption for all of them and for all mankind through the mystery of the Messiah, when He will establish a New Covenant with the Jews and all of Mankind:

"Behold the days are coming when I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah...I will put my law within them and I will write it upon their hearts...for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.(Jermiah 3l:31-34) And in Ezekiel we hear,"...I will establish with you an Everlasting Covenant...that you may remember and be confounded...when I forgive you all that you have done."(Ezekiel 16:59-60) By means of this New Covenant, God will forgive the sins of the Chosen People. And the prophesies continue.

"Sing and rejoice O daughter Zion. See I am coming to dwell among you, says the Lord. Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day. And they shall be His people, and He will dwell among you." (Zechariah 2:14) And Isaiah proclaims, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name "Immanuel"(God With Us)(Isaiah 7:14) And again, "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us, and the government will be on his shoulder. And He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David's throne, and over His kingdom, which He confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever."(Isaiah 9:5,6)

The Lord says He will come and dwell among us. And He says that He will come as a child, who is born of a Virgin. In other words, a "human being." And this human being will be called: "God With Us," "Mighty God," and "Everlasting Father." And He will reign "forever" from David's throne. In these passages, God has clearly told us that He, Himself, will come among us as a "human being." And He has told us that this human being will reign from David's throne "forever." And today, Messianic Jews, faithful to the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, believe God and His prophesies, and recognize that they have been fulfilled in the Life of Jesus of Nazareth, and are finding their way into His Church.

And, again, prior to Jesus coming among us, prophesy tells us, "Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem...In those days, ten men of every nationality, speaking different tongues, shall take hold, yes, take hold of every Jew by the edge of his garment and say, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."(Zechariah 8:23)

Is there not already evidence in the world that this has come to pass? Has not history shown us strong nations and men of different nationalities recognizing Jerusalem as the place where God entered "history" and where He came to live among us? Are there not today "people of different nations," as prophesied, that admit that God is "with the Jews" in the Sacred Humanity of Jesus Christ?

And the prophet Micah tells us: "But you Bethlem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of Old, from ancient times."(Micah 5:1)

Now have we ever heard of anyone who is to be ruler in Israel, who was born in Bethlehem,(a human being) and whose "origin is from of old, from ancient times?" And Zechariah 9:9 tells us, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion...your King comes to you, having salvation, riding on a donkey." Do we know of anyone who has fulfilled all of these very specific signs showing that He is not only the Messiah, but that He is God, Himself?

And continuing, prophesy tells us more about this. "...for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth, he shall be peace."(Micah 5:3)

Is there anyone we know in history that is characterized by the phrase, "He shall be peace?" And if there is, has his greatness reached to the ends of the earth?" And does this person claim to have come forth from Bethlehem? Does He or anyone else, at the time of his coming forth, claim "His origin is from old, from ancient times.? And did He come, claiming salvation and riding on a donkey?" Who is this man who fulfills all the prophesies, and that we can refer to by names that indicate He is on a par with God, and can be called, without sacrilege, "Mighty God, Wonderful Counsellor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace?"

It is then prophesied, "For the people of Israel will remain many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar...then the people of Israel shall turn back and seek the Lord, their God, and David, their king. They shall come trembling to the Lord and to his bounty in the last days. The number of the Israelites shall be like "the sands of the sea." They shall be called, "Children of the Living God."(Hosea 3:4) Has this prophesy not come true in the millions of Christians who are part of the Body of Christ, the Jewish Messiah?

And did not Jesus warn His disciples, "They will expel you from synagogues, in fact the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think they are offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me."(John 16:2) Do we know of early Christians expelled by those who wanted no part of them in the synagogues? Do we know of members of other religions, even today, that think they are offering worship to God by killing Christians? And do those who do such things "really" know the Father?" Listen to the messianic prophesy in Isaiah 49, "The Lord called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name." And in regard to this "name," do we not read in Matthew 1:20 how God gave Jesus His name: "the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name "Jesus" for he shall save his people from their sins." And Isaiah 49 continues, "He made me a sharp-edged sword." And when we fully follow Jesus, does He not, like a sharp-edged sword, cut away those addictions and excessive attachments in our spirit that keep us from God? And does He not also separate Humanity into two camps, those who reject Him, and those who accept Him and become part of the Body of Christ?"

"You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory." Aren't the followers of Christ the Chosen People in "the New Israel," the Mystical Body of Christ? And does not God show His glory through these people? And Isaiah goes on, "For now the Lord has spoken who formed me as a servant from the womb, that Jacob might be brought back to Him, and Israel gathered to Him." Who is this servant, who, while identified with Israel, is distinct from the nation in that He was formed in the womb to "gather Israel" and bring her back to the Lord? The Lord goes on and tells us more about this servant.

"It is too little he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth." God says this servant will do more than just save the survivors of Jacob and Israel, he will be a light to the nations, including the gentiles. Is there anyone we know of that has become a "light for the nations," and whose salvation now reaches to the ends of the earth?"

And God speaks of His Servant, "To the one dispised, whom the nations abhor, the slave of rulers, when kings see you they shall stand up, and princes shall prostrate themselves." And because of this servant, distinct from, and yet identified with Israel, "the one despised, whom the nations abhor, the slave of rulers," kings and princes will reverse their prior attitudes and "shall stand up...and shall prostrate themselves." Do we not know of a servant of Israel that kings and princes have prostrated themelves before for two thousand years?

Continuing the prophesy God tells us, "As I live says the Lord, though you were waste and desolate, a land of ruins, now you shall be too small for your inhabitants. You shall ask yourself, who has borne me these? I was left alone; where then do these come from?" And the answer here to the question, "Who has borne me these" is the same as the answer in all the other prophesies. "Messiah Jesus" has borne these. These children of Israel, are borne instantaneously by the Spirit, through Loving Faith in Jesus Christ. And the numbers of these "inhabitants of Israel" fills the whole world, today, and down through the generations, countless as "the sands of the sea."

And then, "Kings shall be your foster fathers, their princesses your nurses; bowing to the ground, they shall worship you and lick the dust at your feet. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, and those who hope in me shall never be disappointed." Do we, today, know of any Kings, not of the blood-line of Israel, that have bowed to the ground before a "servant" from Israel, licking the dust at his feet, and all the while "worshipping" him? And the Jews and Gentiles who have seen these things happen, have they not had their hopes fulfilled by the promised One, the Messiah, and have they not rejoiced as they realized with thanksgiving and wonder the truth of the promise that "those who hope in me shall never be disappointed."

And the prophesy of Isaiah(Isaiah 53), describes this servant of the Lord:

"See my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised on high and greatly exhaulted. Even as many were amazed at Him...so marred was his look beyond that of man and his appearance beyond that of mortals...He shall startle many nations...because of Him, Kings shall stand speechless... Who would believe what we have heard?

He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him.

He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity...and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured...

But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.

We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way, but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all.

Though he was harshely treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter, or a sheep before its shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and condemned, who would have thought any more of his destiny, when he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sins of his people.

A grave was assigned him among the wicked and a buriel place with evildoers, though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the Lord shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction, he shall see the light in fulness of days.

Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.

Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils among the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many and win pardon for their offenses."

And so, the evidence that Jesus is the Promised Messiah, and that He is also God, is at a minimum, "overwhelming," as attested by the above Scriptures, and Jewish writings such as found in the Targum(paraphrases of the Old Testament), the Talmud(Jewish Law and Tradition}and the Midrashim(commentaries on the Old Testament). These oldest and most authoritive Jewish writings give full support for the Messianic interpretation of the quoted Old Testament texts. And as mentioned above, Messianic Jews today admit that these Scriptures, when honestly interpreted by Jews and others, could have no other meaning then that Jesus Christ, the Promised Messiah, has already come into the world, and was rejected by His own because He interfered with their human agenda and hardness of heart.

Again, Zechariah 12:10 tells us: "And I will pour out on the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me as one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve for him as one grieves for a first-born son." So God tells us that a "spirit of grace" will be poured out on the House of David because of the "one they have pierced," whom they mourn for like a "first-born son."

God was about to do something "new" that would be incomprehensible to the Jews and startling to the Gentiles, and cause Kings to stand "speechless" when they heard it. And the prophesies tell us that this new something was to be: Messiah, Jesus, True God and true Man, Who would come among us and personally pay the price for sin, so that mankind could be restored to loving relatiionship with the Living God. For "he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole."

Who has fulfilled the prophesies in Isaiah 11:?

"But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse(David's lineage)and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord...he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land's afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. Then the wolf shall be the guest of the Lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid. The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a young child to guide them...There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be covered with the knowledge of the Lord as water covers the sea. On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious."

And do not the Gentiles, today, seek out this Messiah, Jesus, Who has split the history of the world in two, between the periods before and after his coming. And has He not, in like manner, split our own lives in two, separating the good from the bad, the things that cause life from the things that cause death? And has He not, through the sacrifice of His Life, provided the means for each of us to return to a loving relationship with our Father, Who, is also the God of Israel?

And the prophet Malachi tells us more about this sacrifice of the New Covenant as God warns the people they have betrayed him by offering unworthy sacrifices under the Old Covenant and the priesthood of Levi. "But ye have departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble in the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi..."(Malachi 3:8) and "I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of Hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered, and a pure offering...(Malachi 1:10,ll)

And Jesus tells us, at the Last Supper, what this pure offering will be as He institutes the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrifice of the Mass, and the clean oblation of His Body and Blood, "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.' And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them , saying, 'Drink ye all of it: For this is my blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins(Matthew 26:26) And we recall that earlier Jesus had told his disciples, "Unless ye eat my body and drink my blood, ye shall not have life in you."(John 6:53)

"Again, does Scripture tell of anyone who was pierced in hands and feet or hung upon a tree at all, and by means of a cross perfected his sacrifice for the salvation of all? It was not Abraham, for he died in his bed, as did also Isaac and Jacob. Moses and Aaron died in the mountain, and David ended his days in his house, without anybody having plotted against him. Certainly he had been sought by Saul, but he was preserved unharmed. Again Isaiah was sawn asunder, but he was not hung on a tree. Jeremiah was shamefully used, but he did not die under condemnation. Ezekiel suffered, but he did so, not on behalf of the people, but only to signify to themwhat was going to happen.

"Moreover, all these even when they suffered were but men, like other men; but He Whom the Scriptures declare to suffer on behalf of all is called not merely man but Life of all, although in point of fact He did share our human nature. "You shall see your Life hanging before your eyes," they say, and "Who shall declare of what lineage He comes?" With all the saints we can trace their descent from the beginning, and see exactly how each came to be; but the Divine Word maintains that we cannot declare the lineage of Him Who is the Life. Who is it, then, of Whom Holy Writ thus speaks? Who is there so great that even the prophets foretell of Him such mighty things?

"There is indeed no one in the Scriptures at all, save the common Savior of all, the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. He it is that proceeded from a virgin, and appeared as man on earth, He it is Whose earthly lineage cannot be declared, because He alone derives His body from no human father, but from a virgin alone. We can trace the paternal descent of David and Moses and of all the patriarchs. But with the Savior we cannot do so, for it was He Himself Who caused the star to announce His bodily birth, and it was fitting that the Word, when He came down from heaven, should have His sign in heaven too, and fitting that the King of creation on His coming forth should be visibly recognized by all the world.

"He was actually born in Judea, yet men from Persia came to worship Him. He it is Who won victory from His demon foes and trophies from the idolaters even before His bodily appearing--namely, all the heathen who from every region have abjured the tradition of their fathers and the false worship of idols and are now placing their hope in Christ and transferring their allegiance to Him. He it is Who was crucified with the sun and moon as witnesses; and by His death salvation has come to all men, and all creation has been redeemed. He is the Life of all, and He it is Who like a sheep gave up His own body to death, His life for ours and our salvation.

"Yet the Jews disbelieve this. This argument does not satisfy them. Well, then, let them be persuaded by other things in their own oracles. Of whom, for instance, do the prophets say:

"I was made manifest to those who did not seek Me, I was found by those who had not asked for Me? I said, 'See, here am I,' to the nation that had not called upon My Name. I stretched out My hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people."

"Who is this person that was made manifest, one might ask the Jews? If the prophet is speaking of himself, then they must tell us how he was first hidden, in order to be manifested afterwards. And, again, what kind of man is this prophet, who was not only revealed after being hidden, but also stretched out his hands upon the cross? Those things happened to none of those righteous men: they happened only to the Word of God Who, being by nature without body, on our account appeared in a body and suffered for us all. And if even this is not enough for them, there is other overwhelming evidence by which they may be silenced. The Scripture says,

"Be strong, hands that hang down and feeble knees, take courage, you of little faith, be strong and do not fear. See, our God will recompense judgment, He Himself will come and save us. Then the eyes of blind men shall be opened and the ears of deaf men shall hear, and stammerers shall speak distinctly."

"What can they say to this, or how can they look it in the face at all? For the prophecy does not only declare that God will dwell here, it also makes known the signs and the time of His coming. When God comes, it says, the blind will see, the lame will walk, the deaf will hear and the stammerers will speak distinctly. Can the Jews tell us when such signs occurred in Israel, or when anything of the kind took place at all in Jewry? The leper Naaman was cleansed, it is true, but no deaf man heard nor did any lame man walk. Elijah raised a dead person and so did Elisha; but no one blind from birth received his sight.

"To raise a dead person is a great thing indeed, but it is not such as the Savior did. And surely, since the Scriptures have not kept silence about the leper and the dead son of the widow, if a lame man had walked and a blind man had received his sight, they would have mentioned these as well. Their silence on these points proves that the events never took place. When therefore did these things happen, unless when the Word of God Himself came in the body? Was it not when He came that lame men walked and stammerers spoke clearly and men blind from birth were given sight? And the Jews who saw it themselves testified to the fact that such things had never before occurred. "Since the world began," they said, "it has never been heard of that anyone should open the eyes of a man born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."

"But surely they cannot fight against plain facts. So it may be that, without denying what is written, they will maintain that they are still waiting for these things to happen, and that the Word of God is yet to come, for that is a theme on which they are always harping most brazenly, in spite of all the evidence against them. But they shall be refuted on this supreme point more clearly than on any, and that not by ourselves but by the most wise Daniel, for he signifies the actual date of the Savior's coming as well as His Divine sojourn in our midst.

"Seventy weeks," he says, "are cut short upon thy people and upon the holy city, to make a complete end of sin and for sins to be sealed up and iniquities blotted out, and to make reconciliation for iniquity and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint a Holy One of holies. And thou shalt know and understand from the going forth of the Word to answer, and to build Jerusalem, until Christ the Prince."

"In regard to the other prophecies, they may possibly be able to find excuses for deferring their reference to a future time, but what can they say to this one? How can they face it at all? Not only does it expressly mention the Anointed One, that is the Christ, it even declares that He Who is to be anointed is not man only, but the Holy One of holies! And it says that Jerusalem is to stand till His coming, and that after it prophet and vision shall cease in Israel!

"David was anointed of old, and Solomon, and Hezekiah; but then Jerusalem and the place stood, and prophets were prophesying, Gad and Asaph and Nathan, and later Isaiah and Hosea and Amos and others. Moreover, those men who were anointed were called holy certainly, but none of them was called the Holy of holies. Nor is it any use for the Jews to take refuge in the Captivity, and say that Jerusalem did not exist then, for what about the prophets? It is a fact that at the outset of the Exile Daniel and Jeremiah were there, and Ezekiel and Haggai and Zechariah also prophesied.

"So the Jews are indulging in fiction, and transferring present time to future. When did prophet and vision cease from Israel? Was it not when Christ came, the Holy One of holies? It is, in fact, a sign and notable proof of the coming of the Word that... neither is prophet raised up nor vision revealed among them. And it is natural that it should be so, for when He that was signified had come, what need was there any longer of any to signify Him? And when the Truth had come, what further need was there of the shadow? On His account only they prophesied continually, until such time as Essential Righteousness has come, Who was made the Ransom for the sins of all. For the same reason Jerusalem stood until the same time, in order that there men might premeditate the types before the Truth was known. So, of course, once the Holy One of holies had come, both vision and prophecy were sealed. And the kingdom of Jerusalem ceased at the same time, because kings were to be anointed among them only until the Holy of holies had been anointed. Moses also prophesies that the kingdom of the Jews shall stand until His time, saying,

"A ruler shall not fail from Judah nor a prince from his loins, until the things laid up for him shall come and the Expectation of the nations Himself."

"And that is why the Savior Himself was always proclaiming "The law and the prophets prophesied until John." So if there is still king or prophet or vision among the Jews, they do well to deny that Christ is come; but if there is neither king nor vision, and since that time all prophecy has been sealed and temple taken, how can they be so irreligious, how can they so flaunt the facts, as to deny Christ Who has brought it all about? Again, they see the heathen forsaking idols and setting their hopes through Christ on the God of Israel; why do they yet deny Christ Who after the flesh was born of the root of Jesse and reigns henceforward?

"Of course, if the heathen were worshipping some other god, and not confessing the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Moses, then they would do well to argue that God had not come. But if the heathen are honoring the same God Who gave the law to Moses and the promises to Abraham--the God Whose word too the Jews dishonored, why do they not recognize or rather why do they deliberately refuse to see that the Lord of Whom the Scriptures prophesied has shone forth to the world and appeared to it in a bodily form? Scripture declares it repeatedly. "The Lord God has appeared to us," and again, "He sent forth His Word and healed them." And again, "It was no ambassador, no angel who saved us, but the Lord Himself."

"The Jews are afflicted like some demented person who sees the earth lit up by the sun, but denies the sun that lights it up! What more is there for their Expected One to do when he comes? To call the heathen? But they are called already. To put an end to prophet and king and vision? But this too has already happened. To expose the Goddenyingness of idols? It is already exposed and condemned. Or to destroy death? It is already destroyed. What then has not come to pass that the Christ must do? What is there left out or unfulfilled that the Jews should disbelieve so light-heartedly? The plain fact is, as I say, that there is no longer any king or prophet nor Jerusalem nor sacrifice nor vision among them; yet the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of God, and the Gentiles, forsaking atheism, are now taking refuge with the God of Abraham through the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Surely, then, it must be plain even to the most shameless that the Christ has come, and that He has enlightened all men everywhere, and given them the true and divine teaching about His Father.

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA

"Christ during His ministry affirmed not only that the prophecies relating to the Messias were fulfilled in His own person, but also that the expected Messianic kingdom was none other than His Church. A consideration of the features of the kingdom as depicted by the Prophets, must therefore greatly assist us in understanding Christ's intentions in the institution of the Church. Indeed many of the expressions employed by Him in relation to the society He was establishing are only intelligible in the Light of these prophecies and of the consequent expectations of the Jewish people. It will moreover appear that we have a weighty argument for the supernatural character of the Christian revelation in the precise fulfillment of the sacred oracles.

"A characteristic feature of the Messianic kingdom, as predicted, is its universal extent. Not merely the twelve tribes, but the Gentiles are to yield allegiance to the Son of David. All kings are to serve and obey him; his dominion is to extend to the ends of the earth (Pss. xxi, 28 sq.; ii, 7-12; cxvi, 1; Zach., ix, 10). Another series of remarkable passages declares that the subject nations will possess the unity conferred by a common faith and a common worship -- a feature represented under the striking image of the concourse of all peoples and nations to worship at Jerusalem. "It shall come to pass in the last days (i.e. in the Messianic Era] . . . that many nations shall say: Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths; for the law shall go forth out of Sion, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem" (Mich., iv, 1-2; cf. Is., ii, 2; Zach., viii, 3). This unity of worship is to be the fruit of a Divine revelation common to all the inhabitants of the earth (Zack., xiv, 8).

"Corresponding to the triple office of the Messias as priest, prophet, and king, it will be noted that in relation to the kingdom the Sacred Writings lay stress on three points: (a) it is to be endowed with a new and peculiar sacrificial system; (b) it is to be the kingdom of truth possessed of a Divine revelation; (c) it is to be governed by an authority emanating from the Messias.

"In regard to the first of these points, the priesthood of the Messias Himself is explicitly stated (Ps. cix, 4); while it is further taught that the worship which He is to inaugurate shall supersede the sacrifices of the Old Dispensation. This is implied, as the Apostle tells us, in the very title, "a priest after the order of Melchisedech"; and the same truth is contained in the prediction that a new priesthood is to be formed, drawn from other peoples besides the Israelites (Is., lxvi, 18), and in the words of the Prophet Malachias which foretell the institution of a new sacrifice to be offered "from the rising of the sun even to the going down" (Mal., i, 11). The sacrifices offered by the priesthood of the Messianic kingdom are to endure as long as day and night shall last (Jer., xxxiii, 20).

"The revelation of the Divine truth under the New Dispensation attested by Jeremias: "Behold the days shall come saith the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Juda . . . and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, saying: Know the Lord: for all shall know me from the least of them even to the greatest" (Jer., xxxi, 31, 34), while Zacharias assures us that in those days Jerusalem shall be known as the city of truth. (Zach., viii, 3).

"The passages which foretell that the Kingdom will possess a peculiar principle of authority in the personal rule of the Messias are numerous (e. g. Pss. ii; lxxi; Is., ix, 6 sq.); but in relation to Christ's own words, it is of interest to observe that in some of these passages the prediction is expressed under the metaphor of a shepherd guiding and governing his flock (Ezech., xxxiv, 23; xxxvii, 24-28). It is noteworthy, moreover, that just as the prophecies in regard to the priestly office foretell the appointment of a priesthood subordinate to the Messias, so those which relate to the office of government indicate that the Messias will associate with Himself other "shepherds", and will exercise His authority over the nations through rulers delegated to govern in His name (Jer., xviii, 6; Ps. xliv, 17; cf. St. Augustine Enarr. in Psalm. xliv, no. 32). Another feature of the kingdom is to be the sanctity of its members. The way to it is to be called "the holy way: the unclean shall not pass over it". The uncircumcised and unclean are not to enter into the renewed Jerusalem (Is., xxxv, 8; lii, 1).(Catholic Encyclopedia, "Church," G.H. Joyce, translated by Douglas J. Potter)