02.4. God’s Criteria for the Messiah and Prophets

Part Four – God’s Criteria for the Messiah and Prophets

Deuteronomy 13:1-18 and Deuteronomy 18:1-22 are the criteria given by God to Moses concerning every prophet and the prophesied Messiah.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (Emphasis Mine) If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

Deuteronomy 18:17-22 (Emphasis Mine) And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

1.The teachings of Jesus from Part One align EXACTLY with these criteria! a.This is exactly what we would expect. i.Because God never changes and ii. God’s Word is true and iii. He doesn’t contradict himself 2.The testimonies of Stephen, James and the elders align EXACTLY with these criteria! a.Exactly what we would expect!

3.    The New Testament passages about Paul and the Nazarite vow align EXACTLY with Numbers 6!

Acts 7:37-38 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

1.Stephen also confirms the exact alignment of the teachings and life of Jesus with Deuteronomy 18:1-22. a.As a side note, this passage also talks of the Church in the wilderness at Mt. Sina/Sinai, 1,500 years before the Acts 2:1-47 account of Pentecost. i.Was Stephen lying or perhaps mistaken?

Deuteronomy 13:1-18 and Deuteronomy 18:1-22 was the driving force that sparked the Bereans search of the Scriptures.

Acts 17:10-12 (Emphasis Mine) And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

1.The Bereans confirm the exact alignment with Deuteronomy! a.They also confirm the alignment with ALL Scriptures concerning the Messiah! b.If they had discovered that Paul and Silas were teaching about a Messiah that did away with the law, or even slightly changed one point, the Bereans would have had scriptural justification to kill them!

2.The Bereans only used the Old Testament for their study of Scripture! a.The New Testament was not written yet! b.The New Testament was not written yet! i.They were LIVING out the New Testament, not studying it!

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How can these passages be reconciled to doctrines that “do away” with the law, especially in light of the Bereans searching only the Old Testament? Remember, the New Testament wasn’t even written yet! Is God’s Word true? Does God change? Can God’s Word contradict itself?