Jesus the Christ, the one the law and all the prophets said was to come.
When Jesus claimed to be God, His ministry came to and abrupt end, and
many
who flocked to hear Him were among those who were yelling "Crucify Him!"
There was a problem with Jesus' claim and scripture. In scripture God had
promised to reveal all He would do to the prophets, and, when they looked
in
scripture, they found only one coming of the Lord Himself, and that was
for
the day of the Lord (Zech 14), and that did not describe Jesus. They could
find no coming of the Lord, Himself, in scripture, so they didn't believe
Him. Would you have believed Him?
What they didn't realize was that the Lord had also told of the foolish
people "without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have
ears, and hear not" (Jer 5:21). The Lord had revealed that He would come
twice, once before the day of the Lord and again for the day of the Lord,
but seeing it, they didn't see it, and hearing it, they didn't hear it.
At the transfiguration the disciples discovered that contrary to what they
had been taught, the Prophet Elijah wouldn't be returning to resume his
ministry before the Lord returns. So, they ask Jesus "Why then say the
scribes that Elijah must first come?" (Matt 17:10). Note the Author's
choice
of words. They didn't ask why Malachi, a prophet, or prophets said Elijah
must first come. The Author attributed the teaching to the scribes. How a
difference could arise between what Malachi prophesied and what the
scribes
expected can be understood by looking at the Malachi verse the scribes
mis-read. The Old Testament, as well as, the New Testament was written in
the style of the times, the way we speak, one word after another without
spaces between the words, justlikethiswithoutspacesbetweenthewords. When
the
scribes saw the verse, Malachi 4:5 in the OT [Ta****h: Mal 3,23] this is
how
it looked: HNHENKYSLXLKMETELYHHNBYELPNYBVEYVMYHVHHGDVLVHNVRE.
To read what was prophesied the scribes needed to divide the text in
words.
When they came to the 16th through 19th letters (ELYH), they could be read
as one word or as two words (EL YH), they could read it as the one word
Elijah or as the two words LORD God. The scribes read it as one word and
it
is read that way in our Bibles today, but what the New Testament reveals
is
that Malachi prophesied is the coming of LORD God, the first coming of the
Lord, the coming before the day of the Lord. The Lord was prophesied to
come
for the day of the Lord (Zech 14), but there was no scripture of the Lord
Himself coming before the day of the Lord. So, it was the scribes who
blinded Israel, to the first coming of the Lord, for the Lord had promised
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he reveals his secret to his
servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). He had revealed it to Malachi, but when
the scribes came to the coming of the Lord EL YH they read and taught the
return of Elijah ELYH.
This blindness of Israel is something, which would continue until the
fullness of the time for the gentiles to enter the kingdom has passed:
"that
blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles
be come in" (Rom. 11:25); so, how will Jesus reply to his disciples
without
removing the blindness and closing the door of the kingdom to the
gentiles?
"Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come?" Jesus' answered
one
thing and his disciples heard another. Jesus said "Elijah (EL YH) truly
shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elijah
EL
YH is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him
whatsoever
they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them" (Matt.
17:11-12). Jesus is the redeemer who restores all things, and who was
suffering the rejection (Matt 12:14) and abuse of the violent taking the
kingdom by force and it will continue until His death.
What his disciples heard was Elijah ELYH truly shall first come, and
restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elijah ELYH is come already,
and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed.
Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. They knew Elijah wasn't
coming and they missed that Jesus was speaking of the one who would
restore
all things so the disciples "assumed [suniemi: put together] that he spoke
to them of John the Baptist" (Matt. 17:13)
John the Baptist knew that he wasn't the one of which Jesus spoke: "And
this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from
Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but
confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou
Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered,
No.
Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them
that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one
crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the
prophet Isaiah" (John 1:19-23).
John told the priests and Levites who he was.
John wasn't the Christ.
John wasn't Elijah.
John wasn't that prophet, the Elijah-like alternative.
Over the years of the blindness we've interpreted scriptures as though
John
were Elijah, but we can see that he isn't as we review our
interpretations.
For example, "the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer
is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt
call
his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall
rejoice
at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall
drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy
Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel
shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the
spirit and power of EL YH, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:13-17). In this case we've given the
verse the reading of John the spirit of Elijah, not the spirit of LORD God
with which he was filled from his mother's womb.
Here we've ignored the transtion from Jesus speaking of John who was to go
before Him to Jesus who was to come: 'Jesus began to say unto the
multitudes
concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed
shaken
with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft
raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But
what
went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a
prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my
messenger
before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say
unto
you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than
John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of
heaven
is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the
kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For
all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you will
receive
it, this is EL YH , which was for to come. The one that has ears to hear,
let him hear" (Matt. 11:7-15). What the law and all the prophets until
John
had prophesied would come was the Christ. What the law prophesied is one
of
the subjects of the book of Hebrews, and the law prophesied the coming of
the Christ, saying nothing of John. And this one is Jesus the Christ which
was for to come.
In the Jewish Passover celebration of today a place is set for the one
prophesied to come by Malachi, and the last course of the feast is the
broken bread, which has replaced the lamb of the Passover of Moses. It is
called the afikomen. It is a Greek word, the aorist form of ikneomai, and
it
means he came.
His,
--
http://tinyurl.com/2hf6ak
ho echon ota akoueto Preparing the way of the Lord
Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a
little child, he shall not enter therein. (Matt 10:15)
<)))))))><
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