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FHow do we know that Jesus is the promised Messiah?

The most famous passages concerning the coming of the Messiah are found in the books of Deuteronomy and Daniel.

Moses prophesied;

DEUTERONOMY 18:15-22

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,

16 according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’

17 “And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good.

18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.

19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.

20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’

21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’—

22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

Note several things here.

First, God promised to raise up a Prophet who would be like Moses. Just as God gave Moses the Torah (Law) to give to the people of Israel, even so would God raise another who would give His Law (the New Testament) to the people of Israel.

The fact that God says He will put His words in the mouth of this prophet shows that what the prophet speaks will be different from the Laws given in the Torah. If the prophet were to merely reiterate the Law of Moses, why would there need to be such a prophet, when God Himself had commanded that the Law be repeated among the people continually?

God sent prophets to Israel and Judah during the times of apostasy among both houses, and they preached the Law to the people. Yet God makes a clear distinction concerning this prophet, namely that anyone who does not listen to this prophet, God would have an accounting (judgment) of them personally.

Also, God states that if what a prophet prophesies fails to come to pass, he is to be ignored. Jesus prophesied of His death, the manner of His death, His resurrection, the destruction of Jerusalem to name a few, and history bears out that His prophecies did indeed come to pass.

And for those who might say that the Gospels were written after all of this happened, to make it seem as if Jesus was right, NONE of the books of the New Covenant (New Testament) mention the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. which if the writers had heard of or witnessed they surely would have written about the event.

Why is there no New Testament record of the event? Because all of the writers of the New Testament were dead before Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews scattered to the corners of the Earth. Therefore all of the books of the New Testament (including the book of Revelation) were finished before 70 A.D.

Therefore Jesus was correct in everything He had prophesied, including His death and resurrection which will be dealt with later in this study.

The prophet Daniel was also told concerning the advent of the Messiah;

DANIEL 9:1-27

1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—

2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

4 And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,

5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.

6 Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

8 “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.

9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.

10 We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.

11 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.

12 And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.

13 “As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.

14 Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice.

15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

16 “O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us.

17 Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.

18 O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.

19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God,

21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.

22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.

23 At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:

24 “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.

25 “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.

26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”

Note that in verse 13, Daniel understood that the terrible curses of Moses spoken in Deuteronomy (chapter 28, verses 15 - 68) had taken hold of Israel as promised and that Jerusalem and Judah were laid waste because of the sins of the people. God had used the Babylonians as the rod of His anger, and He had shattered the whole land and the people within it.

Hold that thought for a while.

Now, let's take a look at the 70 years that Daniel spoke of concerning the prophecy of Jeremiah to understand the background of Daniel's prayer, and then we'll take a close look at the "70 weeks" that were spoke of to Daniel by the angel Gabriel.

Jerusalem had been destroyed completely by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., and it's inhabitants had been deported as conquered slaves to Babylon in fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy of;

JEREMIAH 25:1-13

1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),

2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:

3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened.

4 And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear.

5 They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever.

6 Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’

7 Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the Lord, “that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

8 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words,

9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.

10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.

11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

12 ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation.

13 So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations.

God had finally had enough of Judah ignoring His pleas for them to repent. In His fury He declared that Jerusalem and all of Judah would be destroyed by the Babylonians, and would remain desolate for 70 years, in fulfillment of His dire warning that he gave to Israel through Moses in Leviticus;

LEVITICUS 26:14-35

14 ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments,

15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant,

16 I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

17 I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.

18 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

19 I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.

20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.

21 ‘Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.

22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate.

23 ‘And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me,

24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

25 And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

26 When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.

27 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me,

28 then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

29 You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters.

30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you.

31 I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas.

32 I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it.

33 I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.

34 Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths.

35 As long as it lies desolate it shall rest— for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it.

Note that Jeremiah had prophesied and had called for the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah to repent for over 40 years, and they had not listened. God then fulfilled His promise in verse 24 above to punish them seven times for their sins, and in verse 34 that the land would enjoy it's Sabbaths while Israel languished in the land of their enemies.

So as Judah ignored God's words and the land enjoyed 10 Sabbaths while the inhabitants of the land served the king of Babylon for 70 years.

Daniel in reading the Scriptures understood that the curse of God through Moses as recorded in Leviticus had come to pass as promised, and that the 70 years prophesied by Jeremiah were coming to an end, so he petitioned God to remember His promise to the people that they would return to Jerusalem and Judah when the 70 years were finished.

Now, a closer look at Daniel's "70 weeks".

Daniel was told by the angel Gabriel that 70 "weeks" (periods of seven years) were determined after which point the Messiah would come as promised. 70 "weeks" would equal 490 years. And from the time that the commandment came to rebuild Jerusalem until the appearing of the Messiah would be 483 years (69 "weeks").

The 70^th "week"? That will be fulfilled when the one known as the Antichrist, the one that Jesus called "the prince that shall come" makes a 7 year peace treaty with modern Israel, an event yet to take place. For more on this event, please see the End Times studies in this web site.

In 539 B.C. Persian emperor Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon, capturing the city virtually intact. The city of Babylon had straddled the great Euphrates river, and while regent Babylonian king Belshazzar was partying and seeing the famous writing on the wall (Daniel chapter 5), in a fantastic feat of engineering the Persians had diverted the waters of the river, and were marching under the walls and attacking the city from the riverbed. Belshazzar was killed that very night by the Persians.

And in 538 B.C. Cyrus decreed that all Jews within his empire (including those living in conquered Babylon) be allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple.

It is interesting to note that Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple in 586 B.C. and the new Temple that Cyrus decreed be built happened in 516 B.C.......exactly 70 years after the people of Judah were carried captive to Babylon, in fulfillment of God's prophecy through the prophet Jeremiah.

Now, the decree to rebuild Jerusalem the city came in the 7^th year of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus (son of Xerxes (Ahasuerus) the husband of Queen Esther of the Old Testament), which decree came in 457 B.C. when he ordered the scribe Ezra to return to Jerusalem, and rebuild it.

EZRA 7:1-13

1 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,

3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,

4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,

5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest—

6 this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.

7 Some of the children of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

8 And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

9 On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.

10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His statutes to Israel:

12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: perfect peace, and so forth.

13 I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you.

When Ezra returned to Jerusalem, he found out that the people who had returned earlier to rebuild the Temple had intermarried with the nations around them in disobedience to God's commandments to not marry among the nations in which they dwelt.

Ezra was appalled and tore his clothes in mourning for what the children of Judah had done. They had just spent 70 years as captives in Babylon because of their disobedience and within 50 years of their return they had disobeyed His commandments yet again!

Scripture then records;

EZRA 9:5-9

5 At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God.

6 And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.

7 Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day.

8 And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.

9 For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

Verse 9 shows that Ezra had been given authority to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. This is very important here, as the prophecy for the coming of the Messiah had read;

DANIEL 9:25

Remember, the 70 weeks of Daniel's prophecy had said;

DANIEL 9:25-26

Now;

Persian King Artaxerxes reigned from 464-423 B.C. The 7^th year of his reign would have been 457 B.C. (464 - 7 = 457). Hold onto that number for a few minutes.

Jesus was born in September of 7 B.C. as Idumean king Herod the Great who was ruling Judea at the time died in 4 B.C. after he had slaughtered the children 2 years old and under in Bethlehem, trying to destroy Jesus whom he saw as a future threat to his throne.

As Scripture records;

MATTHEW 2:1-21

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,

2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,

15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

20 saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”

21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

Who were these "wise men from the East"? King David in Psalms makes a fascinating reference to this when he said concerning the future reign of the Messiah;

PSALMS 72:10-11

10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts.

11 Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him.

Seba was the son of Cush, and Sheba was Cush's grandson. Sheba settled in modern day south-western Saudi Arabia bordering the Red Sea (about where modern-day Yemen exists), and Seba is associated with the Sabeans, a warlike nomadic tribe just to the north of Yemen. And both nations were east of Judea, so it seems that David may have been referring to these kings when he wrote the passage from Psalms quoted above. Thus the "wise men" truly came from the East.

The location of Tarshish has been much disputed among scholars, and no one knows it's exact location to this day. The name "Tarshish" is translated as being "smelters", a place where metals were refined, and has been placed as far north as Spain, and as far south as Ezion-Geber in southern Judea at the northern tip of the present-day Gulf of Aqaba.

King Herod the Great of Judea died in 4 B.C. and Jesus was at least 2 years old when Herod ordered the slaughter of the children. Babylonian astrological charts show a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in March and September of 7 B.C. of which the second conjunction was the most significant.

Luke the physician who was also an extremely meticulous historian records;

LUKE 2:1-20

1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.

3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,

5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

The fact that the shepherds were watching their flocks of sheep in the fields at night indicates that it was still before winter, thereby supporting the September birth date.

Remember, there were two planetary conjunctions in 7 B.C., one in March, the other in September. The “wise men” were astrologer / astronomers and could have seen the September conjunction as the “Star of Bethlehem”. And remember, John the Baptist, Jesus’ physical cousin was born 6 months before He was.

Herod the Great died in 4 B.C. and before he died he had the children of Bethlehem who were 2 years old and under killed. And Matthew says that when the “wise men” arrived they came to the house where Joseph, Mary and Jesus were, after speaking with king Herod;

MATTHEW 2:9-11

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

So by this, we know that the Christmas manger scenes with the wise men kneeling before the manger containing Jesus are false.

For more about Jesus’ birth, the Star of Bethlehem and the “wise men” please see the study on Christmas in this site.

There has also been some controversy over the "Cyrenius" (some versions read Quirinius) being the governor of Syria during the time of Jesus’ birth as recorded in Luke, as Roman records show him ruling Syria in 6 A.D., about 13 years after Jesus’ birth. However coins have been found with the name "Quirinius" dating from 11 B.C. to after 4 B.C. Scholars think he may have been the governor of Syria twice.

There has also been controversy over the fact that during a census, citizens were required to return to their birthplaces to be counted, and taxed.

A Roman document from Gaius Vibius Maximus, Roman governor of Egypt, which has been dated at approximately 104 A.D. was found decreeing that all citizens residing outside of the country return to their ancestral cities to be counted and taxed. So, this bears out Luke's words as written in the Gospel which bears his name, again showing his meticulous attention to accuracy.

Jesus began His public ministry when He was 30 years old (23 A.D.)and would have been 33 years old in September of 26 AD, (there is no "0" year; it went from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D.). He was crucified the following spring on the afternoon of Passover in 27 A.D.

About 600 years earlier Daniel the prophet had prophesied that Jesus (“Messiah the Prince”) would appear to Israel. As God the Father is King, His Son Jesus would be a prince to Him even though Jesus is King over Mankind.

As the New Testament records;

MATTHEW 21:1-11

1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.

3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.

7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.

8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

(Note: the term ‘Son of David’ refers to the promised Messiah who would be a descendant of king David)

Now, remember Daniel's prophecy concerning the appearance and "cutting off (death of Messiah).....

DANIEL 9:24-26

Daniel is told that 483 years after the command to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, Messiah would be "cut off, but not for Himself" (die for our sins).

And remember, the command to rebuild Jerusalem came from Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. Therefore, 457 B.C. minus 483 years, equals 27 A.D. (remember, there is no "0" year).

And Jesus, born in September of 7 B.C. was crucified (cut off) when He was 33 years old, on the eve of Passover in March of 27 A.D., 483 years after Artaxerxes' decree to rebuild Jerusalem.

Prophecy fulfilled.

The Old Testament prophet Malachi was also told concerning the Messiah;

MALACHI 3:1

1 “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His Temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi prophesied approximately 400 B.C. therefore the Lord had to come to His Temple between 400 B.C. and 70 A.D. when the Temple was destroyed. Remember, Jesus was crucified in 27 A.D.

And no man is recorded to have made the claim of being the Messiah with supporting miracles as Jesus did during the time between Malachi and the destruction of the Temple.

The New Testament records that in accordance with Malachi's words, a messenger came before Jesus's appearance to predict His coming. As Luke, the ever-careful historian records;

LUKE 3:1-6

1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,

4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.

5 Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth;

6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

John the Baptist, as he was called warned the people that he himself was not the promised Messiah, but was the herald of the One who was indeed the promised Messiah.

(For those of you who may be offended by the word "Christ" used in the text below, remember the New Testament was written for the most part in Greek, and the word "Christ" (Christos) is a Greek translation of "Messiah".)

LUKE 3:15-18

15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,

16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

17 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”

18 And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.

JOHN 1:19-34

19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

23 He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.

25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.

27 It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’

31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”

32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.

33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

Note that Luke said that all men wondered if John were the promised Messiah. This indicates that the Messiah had not yet appeared between the years about 400 B.C. and 23 A.D., when Jesus began His public ministry! And between 23 A.D. and the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., no man other than Jesus claimed to be the promised Messiah!

Therefore only Jesus fulfilled Malachi's prophecy concerning the Messiah coming to His Temple as He had to come to His Temple before it was destroyed!

Let's look at some other considerations of this issue.

God was silent during the 430 years that Israel was in Egypt, after which he instituted the Torah (Law of Moses).

The Torah was God's Covenant with the Jews until the last words of the prophet Malachi, after which came what is called "the 430 years of silence" between the Old and New Testaments in which again nothing was heard from God at all.

It is interesting to note that Jesus was born about 400 years after the last words of the prophet Malachi and seeing He started His ministry when He was 30 years old, just as there was 430 years of silence between Israel's bondage in Egypt and the rise of Moses, it was 430 years after the last words of Malachi that Jesus began His ministry. Coincidence? There are no coincidences with God.

I find it odd that the Jewish people are willing to accept that God replaced the Covenant with Abraham with the Torah, and yet they are intensely resistant to the idea that God could replace the Torah with a new Covenant.

Was the replacement of the Abrahamic Covenant by the Torah an insult to Abraham? No one seems to think so. Yet Jewish people become instantly outraged when someone speaks of a Covenant that replaces the Torah, as they feel it disrespects Moses.

Abraham is greatly respected as being the father of the Jews. Moses is considered greater than Abraham for he gave the Torah to the people. Is it so strange then, that Jesus the Messiah, God in the flesh, should be considered greater than Moses? Remember, Moses was God's servant, performing his Master's will, just like Abraham.

JEREMIAH 11:1-6

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

3 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant

4 which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,’

5 that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as it is this day.” ’ ” And I answered and said, “So be it, Lord.”

6 Then the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: ‘Hear the words of this covenant and do them.

Why would God put such a burden on the Jews, seeing that there is no possible way for them to observe all 613 of the laws He had given?

Two reasons;

First, God made sure that no one could keep the Law unless they were perfect, thereby putting all Mankind under sin. That way no one could attain salvation by their own works. In this way, God could offer His gift of salvation to all men at once.

Secondly, He would send One who could keep all of the 613 laws all the days of His life, namely Jesus, thereby making Jesus the author of salvation for all men.

And every Jew who tries to follow the Torah today comes under the curses listed in the Torah because there is no Temple to perform sacrifices in, neither are there any more sacrifices offered as required by the Torah!

As James, Jesus’ physical brother warned concerning the Law;

JAMES 2:10

10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

The Temple was destroyed by Roman general (later Emperor) Titus in 70 A.D. (actually Titus wanted the Temple preserved, but a Roman soldier threw a torch into the sanctuary, and the Temple was destroyed). The stones of the Temple were thrown down the mountainside and the ground was plowed up to recover the Temple gold that had melted from the fire.

With the destruction of the Temple, several events were set into motion.

First, the genealogical records were destroyed so that no Jew from then to today knows what tribe they are from. Therefore no man today can claim to be the Messiah, because he cannot trace his direct lineage to king David, through whose line the Messiah would come.

As God had told king David through Nathan the prophet;

2 SAMUEL 7:12-17

12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.

15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

17 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

Many believe that this prophecy concerned king Solomon who was David’s physical son.

HOWEVER;

Solomon was never beaten by rods or other blows.

The united kingdom of Israel was split and 10 tribes were torn from the grasp of Solomon’s son Rehoboam because of Solomon’s sins (1 Kings, chapter 11).

His throne was not established forever either for because of his sins his lineage ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Judah’s last king (Zedekiah) died in Babylon and his sons were killed by the Babylonians. The lineage of the Messiah then continued through Solomon’s brother Nathan (Luke, chapter 3), ending in Jesus Christ whose throne WILL last forever.

It is interesting that today the Rabbis teach that the lineage of Jews is to be traced through the mother's ancestral line, whereas the Jews of both the Old Testament and New Testament invariably traced their ancestry through the father's line.

The reasoning of the modern Rabbis is that while the race of the mother of a child can be known, the paternity of the father could be in doubt.

However if this is the case, king David would have his lineage traced back to Moab because Ruth, the Moabite wife of Boaz was his great-grandmother, and also to the Canaanites of Jericho, as Rahab the harlot, wife of Salmon was his great-great-grandmother. Therefore the entire line of kings would be invalidated, as Jacob had decreed that the scepter would come only through the line of Judah!

Therefore the Rabbis are wrong to trace family lineages through the mother.

Jacob had prophesied;

GENESIS 49:8-10

8 “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you.

9 Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him?

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

NOTE: “Shiloh” was another name for the Messiah.

Note that Jacob says that when Shiloh (God) comes then, and only then, would the line of kings cease. Where are the kings of Israel or Judah today? After 70 A.D. there were no more kings in the land of Israel. And remember, Jesus was born in 7 B.C. and died in 27 A.D. so the prophecy of Jacob was indeed fulfilled.

Another thing to consider. Without a Temple, there is no longer a need for a priesthood.

And here is where things become somewhat complex.

Before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, God told the prophet Jeremiah;

JEREMIAH 31:31-34

31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—

32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord.

33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Why is there no longer a priesthood? Because the need for priests was removed with Jesus's death and resurrection. Now, before you reject what I have to say, allow me to explain, and please consider what I say with an open mind. Then make your decision. That's all I ask.

The purpose of the priesthood in the Torah (Law of Moses) was to offer sacrifices for the people, for the forgiveness of their sins.

EXODUS 28:1-4, 43

1 “Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron’s sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.

3 So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest.

4 And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest.

43 They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and his descendants after him.

The priests would offer sacrifice to the Lord for the sins of the people under the office of the High Priest who had to be a direct descendant of Aaron. As each high priest died, one of his sons would take his place.

NUMBERS 20:22-29

22 Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.

23 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying:

24 “Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah.

25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor;

26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.”

27 So Moses did just as the Lord commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.

28 Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.

29 Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.

The fact that sacrifices needed to be offered continually showed that the sacrifices themselves weren't sufficient to take away sin, for if they had been sufficient, there would have been the need for only one sacrifice forever. Therefore the sacrifices of animals put the Jews in obedience through faith in God and like Abraham, that belief was counted as righteousness;

GENESIS 15:1-6

1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”

5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

The animal sacrifices could only defer (set aside) the sins of the people who performed them in obedience until the perfect sacrifice would be made before God, a sacrifice which would remove sin forever. For as Man could never rid himself of the sin nature that he inherited from Adam in the Garden of Eden, only God could bring about the perfect sacrifice.

Now comes an important point.

Sin can only attack the flesh, but the spirit suffers the consequences of sin.

Without a body, where is lust? Greed? Envy? As the New Testament states;

ROMANS 6:7

7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Therefore in order to destroy sin, ALL of the sins of all men would have to be contained within one perfect body, then that body would have to die so that the sins might be destroyed with it.

Even the Torah (Law of Moses) speaks of this concept;

LEVITICUS 16:21-22

21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.

22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

The "scapegoat" which bore the sins of Israel was offered yearly, to atone for the High Priest, his sons and the people of Israel. Therefore again, like the sacrifices this was not a perfect atonement as it needed to be repeated again and again.

But these were a reminder, a foreshadowing of the One to come who would become both scapegoat and sacrifice, and who would remove sin from mankind forever, Jesus, the Son of God.

For as the goat bore the sins of the people, and lambs were sacrificed to cover the sins of the people even so Jesus bore the sins of the world in His flesh and died for our sins. And with the death of His body the sins of Mankind that had been deferred which God had placed within His flesh were destroyed with it.

But the spiritual price of sin still needed to be paid.

All sin offerings for the people except the scapegoat were to be killed, their blood used as an atonement and they were to be burnt on the altar as an offering for the forgiveness of sins. The fire of the sacrifice represented cleansing of the sins, for fire has often been called "God's cleanser".

Therefore just as animals are considered sinless and their blood was shed for the sins of the people, even so Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God was sacrificed and His blood shed for our sins, the perfect sacrifice required by God for the removal of sin.

And just as the lamb was burnt on the altar even so Jesus went to Hell after His death and was cleansed through fire of our sins. When the cleansing was finished, God raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in Heaven.

King David prophesied of this event when he said concerning the Messiah;

PSALMS 16:8-10

8 I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.

10 For You will not leave my soul in Hell, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

As we know, king David died about 1,000 B.C., was buried and underwent decay as all men do. But Jesus was resurrected by God after His crucifixion and His body never suffered decay, as was reported in the New Testament by eyewitnesses. The apostle Paul reported;

1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-8

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.

6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

Note that by claiming that over 500 people saw Him at once Paul was inviting people to verify the event by talking to those still living who had seen Him after His resurrection. And while some may claim this is “mass hallucination”, remember, the disciples were willing to face terrible tortures and death because of what they saw. Hardly a “hallucination”!

David could not have been speaking of himself in the Psalm above either for he never went to Hell, being a righteous man before God. Besides, Hell is reserved for sinners and God spoke of David over 500 years after David’s death, saying;

EZEKIEL 34:10-24

10 Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”

11 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.

12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.

13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God.

16 “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”

17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.

18 Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet?

19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.”

20 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: “Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep.

21 Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad,

22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

23 I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.

24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

God was referring to the religious authorities who set themselves up as “elites”, who corrupted the Law, who taught their own man-made doctrines as God-given commandments, who extorted the poor for their own gain, etc.

He promises to resurrect king David to rule over them in the regeneration and will allow no more corruption among His people.

The prophecy of Messiah not seeing corruption nor remaining in Hell was confirmed in the New Testament, when the apostle Peter told the men of Israel shortly after Jesus's resurrection;

ACTS 2:22-32

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—

23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;

24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

25 For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.

26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.

27 For You will not leave my soul in Hell, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’

29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,

31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hell, nor did His flesh see corruption.

32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

Several things here.

First, in verse 22 Peter indicated that he was speaking to men who knew of Jesus, and had either seen or heard of the miracles He performed while alive.

Secondly, some take offense at verse 23, saying that is it "anti-Semitic". Peter is not saying anything of the sort. He is saying that the Jewish nation was consenting to Jesus's death, a statement of fact. He then reiterates David's prophecy concerning Messiah.

Those who take offense at Peter's words above need to read the rest of his exhortation as shown below.

ACTS 2:36-39

36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Note that instead of bringing a railing accusation against them, Peter through the Holy Spirit shows them how to become saved and through God's grace and mercy have peace with God through Jesus His Son.

Now, let's look at some of the proofs of Jesus being the promised Messiah.

A statistician once stated that the odds of a man to have fulfilled just 8 Old Testament prophecies in his lifetime would be like covering the state of Texas two feet deep in silver dollars, stir the mass thoroughly then having a blind man pick out 1 marked coin the very first time.

Remember, that's only 8 prophecies! And scholars estimate that He fulfilled over 350 during His lifetime.

Prophecies and their fulfillment;

Prophecy: He will be called the Son of God

PSALM 2:7

7 “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.

Fulfillment:

Jesus had come to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist;

MATTHEW 3:13-17

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.

14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.

17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus had crossed the Sea of Galilee, and when He got out of the boat;

MATTHEW 8:28-29

28 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.

29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

Jesus had taken 3 of His disciples up into a mountain;

MARK 9:2-8

2 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.

3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

4 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

5 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—

6 because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

7 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

8 Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.

When He was placed on trial before the High Priest and the Sanhedrin;

MARK 14:55-62

55 Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.

56 For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.

57 Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying,

58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ”

59 But not even then did their testimony agree.

60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?”

61 But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

62 Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Prophecy: He shall be from the tribe of Judah, be a descendant of king David and be born in Bethlehem Ephrata of Judah as was king David

GENESIS 49:10

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

MICAH 5:2

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

Fulfillment:

MATTHEW 1:1

1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Note: the rest of Jesus’ genealogy going back to Abraham can be found in Matthew, chapter 1)

Prophecy: He shall be from the line of Jesse, the father of king David

ISAIAH 11:1

1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

ISAIAH 11:10

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be glorious.

Fulfillment:

MATTHEW 12:9-14; 22-23

9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.

10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.

11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?

12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.

14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

Prophecy: He shall be Heir to David's throne

2 SAMUEL 7:8-17

8 Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.

9 And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the Earth.

10 Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously,

11 since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house.

12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.

15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

17 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

ISAIAH 9:6-7

6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

JEREMIAH 23:5-6

5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,“that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the Earth.

6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Fulfillment:

MATTHEW 1:1

1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

MATTHEW 21:1-11

1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.

3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.

7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.

8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

LUKE 1:26-35

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.

32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

LUKE 2:1-18