01.01. I. The Credentials of Messiah

I.    THE CREDENTIALS OF MESSIAH

Credentials are testimonials, written proofs, such as letters of commendation, or legal documents, proving the bearer to right of office or position, such as an ambassador brings from his government to a foreign court. Our gracious Redeemer, when He came to our earth, condescended to present His "credentials" from the Heavenly Court. The following facts are the credentials that Jesus is the Christ. Matthew in Matthew 1:1-25 presents a succinct summary of His credentials:

"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1).

Reaching One Person Out of a World of People Via Mail

All are familiar with this commonplace fact: any person living in any part of the world having mail service can be picked out from the rest of the three and one-half billion people on earth by simply addressing a letter to him, using six or seven definite specifications. For example, if we write a letter to

LESTER B. SMITH 4143 Madison Ave., Chicago, IL, USA. we are picking out one man from all the world. We can positively identify him and reach him by selecting one country where he lives from all the nations of the world-the USA; and so we eliminate all other countries. By selecting one state out of the country where he lives-Illinois-we eliminate all other states in the world. By designating one city-Chicago-in that state we eliminate all the other cities of the world. By pointing out by the correct address, the one house in Chicago where he lives-4143 Madison Ave.-we automatically exclude all other houses of the world, and by giving him his one correct name-Lester B. Smith-we not only distinguish him from other individuals who may live in the same house, we also eliminate all other persons in the world! In like manner, in giving a sufficient number of definite "specifications" in the Old Testament, concerning the coming Messiah, God enabled us to pick out one Man from all history, from all nations, from all peoples, and be absolutely sure that one Man is the Messiah! Let us carefully examine His "credentials," His "address" as it were. These details, these specifications, these elements of His "address," were Given that all might know who the true Messiah is. As we proceed with the listing and explanation of these predictions-and their cumulative effect is overwhelming-it will soon become obvious that no other person in all the history of the world could fulfill all the Messianic predictions-or even a very small percentage of them-except JESUS OF NAZARETH.

(1) In the first place. God eliminated half of the human race as the immediate parent of Messiah-and at the same time He made it clear Messiah would come as a Man and not as an angel, when He gave the promise that the coming Deliverer would be "the Seed of the woman."

"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15).

This, the first of the direct Messianic promises in the Bible, is "the Bible in embryo, the sum of all history and prophecy in a germ."* For here we have intimated not only the virgin birth of Christ, but also His vicarious sufferings-"thou shall bruise His heel"-and His complete, eventual victory over Satan and his works-"it (Messiah) shall bruise thy head." (*H. Grattan Guinness, in The Approaching End of the Age.)

We have remarkable evidence in Genesis 4:1 that this promise in Genesis 3:15 was well understood by Adam and Eve: for at the birth of her first son, Eve ecstatically exclaimed, "I have obtained the Man, even the Lord!" (Heb. of Genesis 4:1). When her firstborn arrived, Eve thought the promised Deliverer had come. But she was mistaken as to the time, place and many other yet-to-be-given specifications. Many centuries must pass before Messiah could come. But when the fullness of time was come, "God sent forth His Son, made of a woman ... to redeem . . ." (Galatians 4:4).

(2) Next, God eliminated two-thirds of the nations, by indicating that Messiah must come through Shem-not Ham or Japheth-of the sons of Noah. In the very beginning of the history of the nations God through His prophet Noah identified Himself with Shem in an especial way:

"Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem" (Genesis 9:26 RV). In the Hebrew of verse Genesis 9:27 there is no word answering to "he" that is found in the AV. So the verse correctly reads:

"God will enlarge Japheth, and will dwell in the tents of Shem" (Genesis 9:27). The Chaldee of Onkelos thus paraphrases the verse ". . . . and will make His glory to dwell in the tabernacles of Shem." The final fulfillment of the prediction in Genesis 9:27 came when the Eternal Word, who was with God and was God (John 1:1), was made flesh and tabernacled among us: "and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). He came to His people Israel, who are descendants of Shem, through Abraham (see Genesis 11:10-27).

(3) Later, another choice was made. All of the hundreds of the nations of the world were eliminated except one: the new nation started by God Himself when He called Abraham. So the God of history divides the nations into two groups: Jew and Gentile, and segregates one small nation, the Jews, that through them Messiah might come.

"Now the Lord had said unto Abram get thee out of thy country . . . unto a land that I will show thee . . . and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee . . . and thou shalt be a blessing . . . and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Unto thy seed will I give this land" (Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 12:7; see also Genesis 17:1-8, Genesis 17:15-19).

"By Myself have I sworn saith the Lord that in blessing I will bless thee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 22:16-18).

(4) Here we have a phenomenon of the first magnitude: a record that goes back 1500 years before Christ in which the writer hazards multiple predictions: that God would bless Abraham, make him a blessing, give him the land of Canaan, and bless the world through him and his "seed." A great nation was created and given a land of their own for one purpose: that Messiah might come to and through them, to bless the world! The prediction is a literary fact; it has been in the book of Genesis, unchanged, for thousands of years. Its fulfillment is an age-long miracle, and is as definite and complete as the original prophecy. For not only did God make of Abraham a great nation, giving Canaan to the Jews under the conquest of Joshua, but in due time Messiah came to them, and the world has been immeasurably blessed through Abraham’s Seed, which is Christ (see Galatians 3:8, Galatians 3:16).

"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed."

"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ" (Galatians 3:8, Galatians 3:16).

"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, THE SON OF ABRAHAM" (Matthew 1:1). So the Messianic story slowly unfolds in the Old Testament: Messiah must be the "Seed of the woman," come through the line of Shem, and be "the Seed of Abraham." That narrows our search for Messiah: we now know we must look for Him in the Jewish race, as a descendant of Abraham.

(4) But Abraham had several sons, including Ishmael his firstborn, and Isaac. So, another choice had to be made. We are now informed that Messiah was to come through Isaac (Genesis 17:19; Genesis 21:12; cf. Hebrews 11:18; Romans 9:7 -"in Isaac shall thy seed by called"), and not through Ishmael, the progenitor of the modern Arabs. That narrows the line still more.

"And the Lord appeared unto him (Isaac), and said unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries (the promised land), and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 26:2-4). That Messiah and the promised blessing must come through Isaac and the Jewish race, not the Arabs, is further emphasized in Deuteronomy 18:18, where it is distinctly stated that Messiah, the Great Prophet yet to come, will be raised up "from the midst of thee" (i.e., Israel), "of thy brethren." This fact is also clearly given in the New Testament:

"Who are Israelites . . . whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerneth the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God, blessed for ever" (Romans 9:5).

(5) Since Isaac had two sons, the Messianic line must be further narrowed. The prediction is clearly made that Christ must come through Jacob, not Esau; that is, Messiah could not be an Edomite (the descendants of Esau).

"And behold the Lord . . . said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed . . . and in thy seed shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 28:13-14).

"I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel . . . Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion" (Numbers 24:17-19).

(6) But Jacob had twelve sons: so another choice had to be made by the Almighty. One of the twelve, JUDAH is selected. So, Messiah can not come from eleven of the twelve tribes of Israel, He must come through Judah. (See Genesis 49:8-12).

"Moreover, he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim but chose the tribe of Judah" (Psalms 78:67-68).

"For Judah prevailed above his brethren and of him is (to come) the chief ruler" (Heb. of 1 Chronicles 5:2). Note-the word ruler in the original is Nagid (<H5057>), the same word as in Daniel 9:25, where it is applied to Messiah.

"The sceptre shall not depart from JUDAH, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until SH1LOH come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be" (Genesis 49:10).

Coming to the New Testament, we read that Jesus our Lord "sprang out of Judah" (see Hebrews 7:14; Revelation 5:5).

(7) Next, of the thousands of families in the tribe of Judah, another choice must be made: Messiah must come from ONE family line, from the family of Jesse, the father of David.

"There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon HIM. . .(Isaiah 11:1-2). The word "rod" appears in but one other passage in the Old Testament (Proverbs 14:3), and carries the meaning of "a twig, a shoot such as starts up from the roots of a cut down tree stump." The passage in Isaiah 11:1-2 is a clear statement that God will take a man with no standing-a mere "stump" of a tree cut down-and ingraft new life into it. Jesse was not the head of a royal family, until God made him the father of a king (David), and put him into the Messianic line!

(8) Since Jesse had eight sons, another Divine choice must be made: Messiah is to be a descendant of DAVID, Jesse’s youngest son.

"I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever”* (2 Samuel 7:12-13). See also 1 Chronicles 7:11-14; Psalms 89:35-37; Jeremiah 23:5-6. (*Mark Lev in his book "Lectures on Messianic Prophecy" (p. 125) comments on the next verse (2 Samuel 7:14), which reads in the AV, "I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasen him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men." ’Mr. Lev says, "This could be rendered ’For iniquity committed (not by Him, but my men) I will chasten Him with the rod due to men, and with the stripes due to the children of men.’ This speaks of vicarious sufferings of the Son of David, and agrees with Isaiah 53:6. If the AV rendering be correct, it is a reference of the backslidings and consequent chastening of Solomon. David’s immediate successor.)

"The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; He will not turn from it; of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne" (Psalms 132:11). From this last passage quoted (Psalms 132:11) we see that the Lord not only made a promise to David, He confirmed His promise by an oath. God had done the same for Abraham (see Hebrews 6:13-18).

Turning to the New Testament, we read:

"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, THE SON OF DAVID, . . . " (Matthew 1:1).

"Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which . . . was made of the seed of David according to the flesh" (Romans 1:3; cf. 2 Timothy 2:7-8; Revelation 5:5-6; Revelation 22:16; Acts 2:30-32; Luke 1:30-36).

"And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying and saying. Thou son of David, have mercy on us" (Matthew 9:27).

"A woman of Capernaum. . . cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, 0 Lord, thou son of David" (Matthew 15:22). The public knew Jesus as "the Son of David" and so called Him. (See Matthew 9:27; Matthew 12:22-23; Matthew 15:22; Matthew 20:30-31; Matthew 21:9, Matthew 20:15; Mark 9:10; Mark 10:47-48 : Luke 18:38-39). The Pharisees knew full well that Messiah must be the Son of David. When Jesus asked them, "What think ye of Christ (Messiah)? whose son is he?" they answered, "The son of David" (see Matthew 22:41-46).

It is obvious Messiah had to be a son of David, according to the flesh-and Jesus was. The Genealogical Records

During Bible times, every Jew could trace his genealogy. "So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies" (1 Chronicles 9:1). These records were kept in the cities (Nehemiah 7:5-6; Ezra 2:1) and were public property. Each Israelite’s genealogical record constituted his title to his farm or home-so he had a pecuniary interest in preserving the genealogical records of his family. These national genealogical records were carefully kept until the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and the Jewish state in 70 A.D. During the life of Jesus, no one offered to dispute the well known fact that He was of the house and lineage of David, because it was in the public records that all had access to.

Since 70 A.D., when Israel’s genealogical records, except those in the Bible, were destroyed or confused, no pretending Messiah can prove he is the son of David as prophecy demands. In other words, Messiah had to come before 70 A. D.

(9) Moreover, of all David’s "many sons," Messiah must get His right to the throne of David through Solomon’s regal line.

"And of all my sons (for the Lord hath given me many sons), He hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel" (1 Chronicles 28:5; cf. v. 1 Chronicles 29:6; also, 1 Chronicles 29:24). In the New Testament, Solomon is in the royal line from David to Joseph (see Matthew 1:6).

(10) Yet another most important "specification" about Messiah’s lineage is given: He must be born of a virgin. And since Messiah must be of the fruit of David’s body (Psalms 132:11) this virgin must be a direct descendant of King David.

"Hear ye now, O house of David ... the Lord Himself shall give you a sign (a ’sign’ in the Bible is a ’wonder’ a ’miracle’); Behold, a virgin* shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (God with us)" (Isaiah 7:13-14). [*The new Revised Standard Version of the Bible is grossly in error in translating the Hebrew word almah in Isaiah 7:14 as "young woman." Almah refers to a virgin in every instance of its use in the Old Testament (one of which is Exodus 2:8, where it is used of a maid, a young girl, the baby Moses’ sister), in the Septuagint almah is translated by parthenos, the Greek word for virgin.]

It is remarkable that whenever the birth of the Messiah is spoken of in the Old Testament, reference is made to His mother-or the womb-never to a human father. See:

Isaiah 49:1 : "The Lord hath called me from the womb".

Isaiah 49:5 : "And now saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be His servant".

Jeremiah 31:22 : "The Lord hath created a new thing in the earth: A woman shall encompass a man."

Psalms 22:9 : "Thou art he that took me out of the womb."

Micah 5:3 : "... until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth."

Turning: to the New Testament we find that Jesus indeed was born of a virgin, a virgin who was a direct descendant of King David. After listing the genealogical record from Abraham to Christ, using the oft-repeated phrase as "Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob," etc., showing descent by natural generation, we finally come to the striking statement:

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on THIS wise: when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she wax found with child of the Holy Spirit 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. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is. God with us" (Matthew 1:18-23).

We are dependent on a good woman, Mary, a good man, Joseph, a good doctor, Luke, a faithful recorder, Matthew, the word of an angel, and the word of God who gave both the prediction and its literal fulfillment, for an honest, accurate account of the birth of Jesus. See Matthew 1:16-23; Luke 1:28-35; Luke 2:1-20.

Here indeed is a sign-a WONDER-that only God can fulfill. Obviously, no Messianic pretender can cause himself to be born of a virgin. And since "every truth is consistent with every other truth in the universe" it would not only be difficult, it would be impossible for a pretender to collect five such good witnesses as Mary, Joseph, Luke, Matthew and the angel of the Lord to lie for him without the fraud being detected sooner or later.* We can depend on the testimony of these five witnesses. (*A literary fraud is well-nigh impossible, for each lie exposes itself sooner or later by NOT being "consistent with other known truths in the universe." Scholars, by knowing contemporary history, geography, philol­ogy and the manners and customs of the era can easily detect a literary fraud, for it will not fit in with the known facts in those realms.) This much is clear: who ever the Almighty sent to earth via the virgin birth is the Messiah: for here is a true "sign," a wonder of heavenly origin, that cannot be faked. The God who gave the specification in Isaiah 7:14 fulfilled it in the virgin of Jesus, We see the truth of Jeremiah 1:12 RV:

"Jehovah said . . . I watch over My word to perform it."

Remember, this Messianic chain giving Messiah’s lineage was formed through many centuries: from Eve, to David, to Isaiah, to the prophet Micah’s time. It was added to by many human agents, who spoke "in diverse manners, times and places." And every time Prophecy made a particular choice, there was a new risk, humanly speaking, of selecting the wrong branch, and nothing short of absolute accuracy will do when God claims to speak.** (** A. T. Pierson in God’s Living Oracles.)

"Absolute accuracy" it was: for when Messiah came He fulfilled to the letter ALL the specifications of His lineage and was indeed "the Seed of the woman," "the Son of Abra­ham, the Son of David" (Matthew 1:1). No other person in all the world than Jesus of Nazareth could meet all, or even a small part, of these specifications.

Let us illustrate. Remember, there are no two people exactly alike in all the world-not even identical twins. Suppose you are "George Bardon." You live at 113 Smith Drive, Detroit, Mich. You are five feet ten inches tall; you weigh 165 pounds. You are married and have five children: three boys and two girls. You sell life insurance for a living. You have $5,124.76 in the bank. Manifestly no one else in all the world has ALL of your "specifications." It is easy to see, if enough characteristic details are given, identification is positive; the same is true of prophecy: if a sufficient number of details are given, identification is positive. So many details of Messiah are given, and each one is exactly fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, so identification is positive.

(11) To further help all know Messiah when He came, the Place of His birth is given. Prophecy has given us His "address" in terms of the town where He was to be born.

"But thou, BETHLEHEM Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). Of all the continents, one is chosen: Asia; of all states, one is chosen: Canaan. All provinces of Palestine are eliminated save one: Judea; all cities of Judea are eliminated save one: Bethlehem Ephratah-a tiny village having at that time fewer than a thousand inhabitants. The prophet pin-points one obscure village on the map of the world, but he speaks infallibly, for the omniscient God was behind his utterance. The prophet spoke clearly, too, with unequivocal certainty; for when King Herod demanded of the chief priests and the scribes of the people where Christ should be born, they told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet" (Matthew 2:4-6; cf. John 7:42). The Drama of Fulfilled Prophecy

Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea (Matthew 2:1) in a manner altogether marvelous. Until shortly before the time of Jesus’ birth, Mary was living at the wrong place-that is, if her coming baby was the Messiah. Note now the intricacies of God’s Providences in fulfilling His Word. In 1923 at Ankara, Turkey, was found a Roman temple inscription (reported by Sir William Ramsay, noted British chemist and archeologist) which, when deciphered, related that in the reign of Caesar Augustus there were three great tax collections. The second was ordered four years before the birth of Christ. The third, several years after His birth. The second one is the one we are concerned with. The proud Jews resented the idea of a special tax, so they sent a commission to Rome to protest it. Quirinius, the local governor of Syria, had not the authority to settle the problem. Those were days of slow communications and slower travel. The commission finally failed and the Jews had to submit to the enrollment and taxing. But by the time the official tax collectors had worked their way eastward, town by town, and province by province, and after the time-consuming delays caused by the Jewish protests, exactly enough delay was caused, and all in the natural course of events, so that where the enrollment was put in force in Judea the exact time had come to Mary for the birth of the baby Jesus!

Neither Mary nor Caesar nor the Roman tax collectors did the timing, nor were they in charge of affairs: but the God who rules the world behind the scenes had His hand on the wheel, and He literally "moved the peoples of the world" and timed everything to the very day, so that Mary and Joseph got to Bethlehem in the nick of time, that Jesus, the chosen Messiah, might be born in the right place, the place designated by the infallible finger of prophecy!

Blind indeed is the man who can’t see or who won’t see the Mind of the Infinite planning these details and the Hand of the Almighty executing His perfect plan!

(12) Finally, to pin-point Messiah, the TIME of His coming, as well as the place, is given. Of all generations of earth’s history, Messiah had to come when Jesus was born! All before Jesus’ time are eliminated; all after His time are disqualified; and since Jesus of Nazareth had no consequential "competitor" in His generation, the Finger of Prophecy points infallibly to HIM.

There are three general predictions as to the time of Messiah’s coming, and one specific.

(A) Messiah must come before the tribe of Judah lost its tribal identity.

"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the obedience of the people be" (Genesis 49:10). The word "scepter" in this passage does not necessarily mean a king’s staff. The word* translated "scepter" means primarily a "tribal staff." The tribal identity of Judah shall not pass away-as did that of the other ten tribes of Israel-until Shiloh come. (*The word shebet, which is translated sceptre in the AV signifies a rod or staff, particularly the rod or staff which belonged to each tribe as an ensign of their authority. Each tribe was in possession of its own peculiar ’rod’ or ’staff’ with its name inscribed thereon." (Bishop Sherlock’s Diacourses on Prophecy.) Hence, the "sceptre" signifies their identity as a tribe.) For ages both Jewish and Christian commentators have taken "Shiloh" to be a name of Messiah. It means "Peace" or "One sent."

Even though Judah, during the seventy-year period of their captivity at Babylon, had been deprived of national sovereignty, they never lost their "tribal staff," their national identity; and they always had their own "lawgivers" (judges) of their own, even in captivity (Ezra 1:5; Ezra 1:8). At the time of Christ, though the Romans were overlords of the Jews, the Jews had a king in their own land; moreover, they were to large extent governed by their own laws, and the Sanhedrin of the nation still exercised its authority. But in the space of a few years, during the year when Jesus was twelve years of age, when He appeared publicly in the temple (Luke 2:41-52), Archelaus, the king of the Jews, was dethroned and banished. Coponius was appointed Roman Procurator, and the kingdom of Judah, the last remnant of the former greatness of the nation Israel, was formally debased into a part of the province of Syria.* For almost another half century the Jews retained the semblance of a provincial governmental structure; but in 70 A.D. both their city and their temple were destroyed by the armies of the Roman General Titus, and all semblance of Jewish national sovereignty disappeared. But the remarkable thing is this: Messiah (Shiloh) came before Judah lost its tribal identity, exactly as stated in Genesis 49:10! (*See Josephus’ Antiquities 17, Chapter 13:1-5.

Twenty-two years before the Lord Jesus was crucified, the Sanhedrin lost the power of passing the death sentence (see John 18:31) when Judea became a Roman province, as mentioned above. Rabbi Rachmon says, "When the members of the Sanhedrin found themselves deprived of their right over life and death, a general consternation took possession of them; they covered their heads with ashes and their bodies with sackcloth, exclaiming, "Woe unto us, for the sceptre has departed from Judah and the Messiah has not come." (Chosen People). The rabbis did not realize that Messiah had come. From this it is apparent that they considered Genesis 49:10 Messianic, and had a clear concept of its meaning.) (B) Messiah must come while the second temple was still standing.

"And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:7-9).

Malachi confirms the prediction in Haggai 2:7-9; "the Lord shall suddenly come to His temple." This prediction in Malachi, as well as the one in Haggai, could not be fulfilled after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. So, if Messiah came at all, He had to come before the temple was destroyed. Zechariah 11:13 also demands that Messiah come before the destruction of the Jewish temple, for that prediction speaks of "the thirty pieces of silver" being "cast to the potter in the House of the Lord" (the temple) (Zechariah 11:13). In Psalms 118:26 the prophetic pen informs us that the people who should welcome Messiah would say not only "Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord" but also "We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord" (Psalms 118:26). That is, from the House of the Lord (the temple) the people will bless Him when He comes. This was beautifully fulfilled in the life of Jesus. When He approached Jerusalem, for His triumphal entry, the people said, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest" (Matthew 21:9). Then we read that Jesus healed many that were blind and lame in the temple (Matthew 21:14), and there can be no doubt that those who were healed in the temple "blessed Him in the House of the Lord," even as Psalms 118:26 said they would! And there is another definite fulfillment to the prediction: Matthew 21:15 tells us that the children cried in the temple, saying, "Hosanna to the son of David." Surely, "out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise" (Psalms 8:2; Matthew 21:16)-and God used children to fulfill His prediction given in Psalms 118:26 that Messiah should be blessed in the House of the Lord!

There are at least five Scriptural predictions of the coming of Messiah that demand that He come while the temple at Jerusalem was still standing. This is a fact of great significance. Since the temple has NOT been rebuilt since its destruction in 70 A.D. These five Scriptures are: Haggai 2:7-9; Malachi 3:1; Zechariah 11:13; Daniel 9:26 and Psalms 118:26.

Therefore, the public entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and into the temple as recorded were all prearranged and predicted and are part of the perfect Plan that foretold Messiah and His activities when He should come, and then perfectly fulfilled the blueprint in the movements of Jesus of Nazareth when He came. See Matthew 21:1-16; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-40.

"And Jesus went into the temple of God . . . and the blind and the lame came unto Him in the temple; and He healed them . . . and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David;" (Matthew 21:12-15).

Two other intensely interesting Scriptures bear on this; when the child Jesus was taken to the temple by His parents, as recorded in Luke 2:25-32 (please read); also, when Jesus as a boy of twelve was "in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors . . . and all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding" (Luke 2:46-47)

After years, yea centuries, of waiting, Messiah suddenly came to His temple! (Malachi 3:1). Then a few years later, God with a dramatic gesture destroyed the temple and the city of Jerusalem, even as Jesus had told the people.* And on the old temple site now stands a heathen shrine, the Mosque of Omar. Providence, by these significant facts, is saying to all Jews, to all people everywhere, Messiah has already come! He can’t come now, there is no temple. Messiah had to come 1900 years ago, before He had the temple destroyed. (*Jesus told them that the temple, the heart of their worship, yea the heart and soul of their very national existence, would be torn down, and "not one stone left upon another" (Matthew 24:2). As Jesus the true Prophet had said, so it came to pass-no doubt sooner than the disciples expected.)

Either Jesus of Nazareth is the true Messiah, or there is no Messiah, no prophecy, no Word of God, no God, no objective truth; and then all history, as well as all the future, is as meaningless as the babbling of a dribbling idiot and as purposeless as the driftwood on the outskirts of a maddening whirlpool.

(C) Daniel says something remarkable about the coming of Christ relative to the temple. In giving the time-table from his time to the coming of Messiah (see the next paragraph) Daniel makes it very clear that Messiah will come and be "cut off (die) before the "people (the Romans) of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary" (the temple) (Daniel 9:26). Since we have already discussed this under point "B" (above) we pass on to our next fact relative to the time of Messiah’s coming.

(D) Messiah must come 483 years after a specific date in Daniel’s time. This definite prediction as to the exact TIME of the coming of Messiah is one of the most wonderful prophecies in the entire Bible. It establishes the date of Messiah’s advent almost five hundred years before He came. Here is the prediction:

"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto MESSIAH THE PRINCE shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the streets shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary" (Daniel 9:25-26). The date of the "commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" was the decree by Artaxerxes in 444 B.C.* granting permission to the Jews to return to Palestine and rebuild the city of Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 2:1-8). [*"Some authorities differ as to the exact date, the dates given ranging from 454 to 444 B.C., within a ten-year period. In any event, the 483 years that begin with this event bring us to the time of Jesus of Nazareth. For a detailed discussion of this amazing prediction, see Sir Robert Anderson’s book "The Coming Prince"; also see John Urquhart’s "Wonders of Prophecy" and Mark Lev’s "Lectures on Messianic Prophecy."] The Hebrew word translated "weeks" in the Scripture quoted above (Daniel 9:25-26) means "sevens" or heptads, and is used for years. (See Leviticus 25:8; Genesis 29:27-28). In other words, the "seventy sevens" that are prophetically determined on Israel and on the holy city, with specified events (Daniel 9:24), is a period of 490 years. This period is divided into three sections: (1) Seven "weeks," or seven sevens of years-the 49 years the prophet allotted for the rebuilding of Jerusalem under the leadership of Nehemiah and Ezra and those associated with them (see the books of Nehemiah and Ezra). History tells us it took 49 years to do this rebuilding job. (2) A second period of 62 "weeks," or 434 years, which would bring the time to MESSIAH. (3) The 70th "week," a period of seven years some time after the coming of Messiah.

We now are especially interested in the period "from the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" to "Messiah the Prince," which totals to a period of 483 years. Sir Robert Anderson in his book "The Coming Prince," figured it out, and gave the world his findings. We quote from the facts he presents:

He starts with March 14, 444 B. C, the date of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem; and he ends the period with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (which he believes was the official presentation of Messiah as "Prince" to Israel. cf. Luke 19:38-40 with Zechariah 9:9). After careful investigation and consultation with noted astronomers, he gives these startling findings: From 444 B. C. to 32 A. D. is 476 years; 476 x 365 is 173,740 days; from March 14 to April 6 (the day of Christ’s triumphal entry) is 24 days; add 116 days for leap years, and you get a total of 173,880 days. Since the "prophetic year" of the Bible is always 360 days, the 69 "sevens" of this prophecy in Daniel (69 x 7 x 360) is 173,880 days! And so the time given by Daniel from the "commandment to restore and build Jerusalem" to "Messiah the Prince" comes out perfectly-to the very day! This is a genuine prophecy, as detailed as a road map, with no taint of ambiguity: and it is a prediction that can be proven true. It is a sign that points unerringly to JESUS OF NAZARETH who was "Messiah the Prince," who was "cut off (by a violent death) but not for Himself. When Jesus began His public ministry. He said significantly, "The TIME is ful­filled and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15). Messiah must be born at some time; it might have been in any century, in any year; but with absolute certainty the exact year, the very month of a notable event in His life, is foretold.

We now have given twelve points, showing Messiah’s Credentials. These were given in the Prophetic Word so that all might know Messiah when He came. The accuracy of prediction is minute; the fulfillment is exact. One mistake would be fatal-but all is in perfect agreement: Jesus of Nazareth fulfills ALL the specifications as to His lineage, His birthplace, and the time of His birth. And is it not most remarkable that within a generation of Christ’s sufferings on the cross the temple was destroyed, the Jewish priesthood ceased to exist, the sacrifices were no longer offered, the Jews genealogical records were destroyed, their city was destroyed, and the peo­ple of Israel were driven out of their land, sold into slavery, and dispersed to the four corners of the earth! Since those dreadful national judgments fell on Israel it has been utterly impossible for a "Messiah" to come with proper "credentials," such as the Old Testament demands, and such as Jesus of Nazareth presented.