Anointed or Messiah

Saturday, January 06, 2007

PLAINER WORDS ONLINE …ANOINTED or MESSIAH?

Part I

The LORD’s Anointed

It is essential, in determining the meaning of words, to pay close attention to the Biblical usage of “words” as distinct from the meanings put on them by dictionaries, or lexicons.

We believe that the greatest possible care should be taken when dealing with “words;” especially when they are the “words” which the Holy Spirit employs as He teaches us.

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words” (1 Cor. 2:13) NIV.

The utmost care should be taken to determine how “words” are used and with what, or whom, they are associated.

“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Psalm 12:6).

The Holy Spirit has used words of this world. He has not chosen words of angels, or a heavenly language, to instruct us—He has used the words of men, and He has used them in all perfection. We should reverence the words used in the Bible and be wary of men who handle Bible words carelessly.

We will consider the Hebrew word, “mashiyach.” The word is Number 4899 according to Strong’s Concordance of the Old Testament. It is used thirty-nine times. We will look at  thirty-one times the word, “mashiyach,” is used; leaving out eight which are redundant. But, before we do, the word means, “anointed,” and is translated as such thirty-seven times in the Old Testament. Twice, “mashiyach” is not translated, but it is transliterated. As we shall see.

According to “Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary,” we read the following concerning “anointed, anointing, and anoint.”

To authorize, or set apart, a person for a particular work or service (Isa 61:1). The anointed person belonged to God in a special sense. The phrases, "the Lord's anointed," "God's anointed," "My anointed," "Your anointed," or "His anointed" are used of Saul    (1 Sam 26:9,11), David (2 Sam 22:51), and Solomon (2 Chron 6:42). In the New Testament, all who are Christ's disciples are said to be anointed; they are God's very own, set apart and commissioned for service (2 Cor 1:21).

Priests, kings, and prophets were anointed. Oil was poured on the head of the person being anointed (Ex 29:7). Kings were set apart through the ritual of anointing, which was performed by a prophet who acted in God's power and authority (1 Sam 15:1). The Old Testament also records two instances of the anointing of a prophet (1 Kings 19:16; Isa 61:1).

As the thirty-one verses, listed below, are read, it is suggested that you pay attention to “who”is the one anointed. You’ll notice that David is associated with the word, “anointed,” more than any other person, and a number of times, he is alluded to but not named. Hold this last thought!

1. Leviticus 4:3
If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.

2. 1 Samuel 2:10
The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

3. 1 Samuel 2:35
And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

4. 1 Samuel 12:3
Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.

5. 1 Samuel 12:5
And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.

6. 1 Samuel 16:6
And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD's anointed is before him.

7. 1 Samuel 16:13
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

8. 1 Samuel 26:23
The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD's anointed.

9. 2 Samuel 1:14
And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?

10. 2 Samuel 1:16
And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD's anointed.

11. 2 Samuel 1:21
Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.

12. 2 Samuel 19:21
But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD's anointed?


13. 2 Samuel 22:51
 He is the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.

14. 2 Samuel 23:1
Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,

15. 1 Chronicles 16:22
Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

16. 2 Chronicles 6:42
O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.

17. Psalms 2:2
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

18. Psalms 18:50
Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

19. Psalms 20:6
Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.

20. Psalms 28:8
The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.

21. Psalms 84:9
Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.

22. Psalms 89:38
But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.

23. Psalms 89:51
Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.

24. Psalms 105:15
Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

25. Psalms 132:10
For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thine anointed.

26. Psalms 132:17
There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.

27. Isaiah 45:1
Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;

28. Lamentations 4:20
The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.

29. Daniel 9:25
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the [anointed]  Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

30. Daniel 9:26
And after threescore and two weeks shall [anointed] Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

31. Habakkuk 3:13
Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.

Seven times, in the thirty-one verses cited, David is directly referred to as the anointed one. There are an equal number of times he is probably the one who is mentioned being anointed.

Your attention is directed to numbers 29 and 30 (Daniel 9:25 and 26). You will notice that the word, “anointed,” is not in the text. Instead, the word “Messiah” is inserted in its place. There is no Scriptural, or linguistic, justification for doing so. The Hebrew word is “mashiyach,” as it is in all of the thirty-nine times it is used. Thirty-seven times, “mashiyach” is translated “anointed.” But, when “mashiyach” is used in Daniel 9:25 and 26, it appears in the King James Version as “Messiah.” Why is “mashiyach” transliterated into “Messiah” in Daniel 9:25 and 26? The other thirty-seven times when it is used in the OT, it translated “anointed”? Also, why does the transliteration of “mashiyach” have the “m” capitalized? Making it read Messiah. The “a” in “anointed” is NEVER capitalized in the OT. That is to say, the translation is never “Anointed.” However, when Daniel Chapter Nine is reached, “mashiyach” is no longer “anointed,” but mysteriously, it becomes “messiah” with a capital “M”—Messiah. And, if that doesn’t “take the cake,” you should also notice in Daniel 9:25 the word, “prince,” is spelled with a capital “P.” There is no justification for the capital “P,” just as there is no justification for a capital “M.”

I believe that the correct and honest translation of Daniel 9:25-26 is found in the Revised Standard Version:

“Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off, and shall have nothing; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war; desolations are decreed” (Dan. 9:25-26) RSV.

There is a great deal of difference in the translation of the RSV and that of the KJV. We have pointed out in many of our studies that the translators have often given their theological views instead of the translation from the original language from which they were working.

Notice how tactfully the ISBE states what we have pointed out—not so tactfully: “MESSIAH:
It is to be noted that “Messiah” as a special title is never applied in the Old Testament to the unique king of the future, unless perhaps in Dan 9:25 (Messiah –Prince), a difficult passage, the interpretation of which is very uncertain. It was the later Jews of the post-prophetic period who, guided by a true instinct, first used the term in a technical sense” (International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia).

The conclusion, any rational mind must reach, is that the translators must have wanted their English readers to believe that the Hebrew word, “mashiyach,”in Daniel 9:25 and 26 was a reference to Christ (i.e. the Messiah) and not to “an anointed one.”

Since the special title (Messiah) is NEVER applied in the Old Testament to the unique future King—Jesus Christ—why should we accept “Messiah the Prince” as being the accurate way to understand Daniel 9:25? We shouldn’t accept the translator’s conjecture of future events. We should be extremely careful with the words the Holy Spirit uses to teach us with.

In the case of Daniel 9:25-26, the utmost care should be taken to determine how the word, “mashiyach,” is used and with whom it is associated. This determination should be made based upon its usages in all of its occurrences in Scripture. David is more intimately associated with the word, “anointed,” as enumerated in the thirty-one verses, than any other person. David was the LORD’s anointed, and he will be the LORD’s anointed and ruler (prince) of Israel during the Kingdom of God. He will have a glorious reign over Israel when the restoration of Israel takes place. This will be a time when Christ Jesus will govern the universe from Heaven.


Wednesday, January 17, 2007

PLAINER WORDS ONLINE …ANOINTED or MESSIAH?

Part II

The Anointed Prince

Evidence from the Bible reveals that Daniel, a Babylonian captive, had access to the inspired writing of Jeremiah, the prophet. Daniel, even though a captive of Babylonia, had earned an exalted position in the Empire.  In Daniel 9:1-2, we see that Daniel had received the word of the LORD, written by the prophet, Jeremiah, that the desolation of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity of Judah would last seventy years. At the end of Jerusalem’s desolation, Daniel was an old man, being eighty-seven years old.

While he was grieved about Judah’s and Jerusalem’s desolations, he was also perplexed about visions he saw, as recorded in Chapter Seven and Chapter Eight. Daniel 9:4-19 recorded Daniel’s prayer. While he was praying, the angel, Gabriel, came to him for the express purpose of imparting to Daniel “skill and understanding” concerning what was to come to pass in “the latter days.” Gabriel made clear to Daniel what the contents were of the visions seen in Chapters Seven and Eight.

“And whiles I was speaking, and 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; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he (Gabriel) informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision” (Dan. 9:20-23).

Gabriel, after having told Daniel that he was “greatly beloved,” then explained to him that “seventy weeks are determined” (chathak) upon “his people” and the City of Jerusalem:

“Seventy weeks are determined [chathak] upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy” (Dan. 9:24).

Seventy weeks, that is to say, a week of seven years each was decreed [chathak] upon “thy people and the holy city.” 70 weeks times 7 = 490 years. The Companion Bible says “chathak” means “to be divided off from all other years. The verb is in the singular to indicate the unity of the whole period …” [490 years].  Four-hundred-ninety years, according to the hierophant, Gabriel, was divinely decreed to accomplish the following six things: 1.) to put an end to the “little horn’s” rebellion—finish the transgression, 2.) to put an end to the desolator’s sin—to make an end of sins, 3.) to make an atonement for the iniquity─to make the reconciliation  4.) to bring in everlasting righteousness, 5.) to seal up the vision and the prophecy, that is, to bring to an end all that was foretold in the vision, and 6.) to anoint the most Holy (i.e., the Holy of Holies).

These six things are to be accomplished during the four-hundred-ninety years decreed upon Israel. Not one of these things has yet to be accomplished. They await a future day. Not one year of these heptads of years have transpired. For any of the above to have historically taken place, the anti-christ would have had to been on the scene. He has never walked across the stage of history; therefore, he could not have led a rebellion against God’s anointed. He will whenever the Kingdom is established in the earth. The consummation of the Kingdom will bring about the demise of the anti-christ and his followers.

Based upon the above statements, to think, or believe, that any of these four-hundred-ninety years are history is sheer rubbish.  It doesn’t make sense. It is a grave error to read truth which pertains of a future dispensation into a past dispensation. This turns PROPHECY into HISTORY.

It was pointed out in Part I of this study that the KJV translation of Daniel 9:25 leads the English reader to a false conclusion:

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times” (Dan. 9:25) KJV.

There was no justification to transliterate mashiyach into “messiah,” much less, capitalize it as in “Messiah.” The word means “anointed,” and it was translated as such thirty-seven times out of the thirty-nine times it appeared in the Old Testament. The learned theologians, who translated the Bible into English for “the most high and mighty Prince James … King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith …” (Foreword to the Authorized King James Bible of 1611), twice rendered the Hebrew word, mashiyach, as “Messiah.” They showed their bias by so doing. They were not content to allow the reader ,or student, of Scripture to make his own interpretation. By rendering the text of Daniel 9:25 to read, “Messiah the Prince,” the reader of the KJV is forced to conclude that this is a reference to Jesus Christ (“Messiah”), the Prince.

As we pointed out in Part I, the honest and unbiased translation is found in the Revised Standard Version:

“Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time” (Dan. 9:25) RSV.

Notice in the RSV; “mashiyach” is properly translated “anointed.” Notice, too, that “anointed” is not capitalized. The NIV, while it properly translated the word, prejudicially capitalized it as—“Anointed One.” This would indicate the reference is, undoubtedly, to Jesus Christ. This, of course, is a presumption. The veracity to the original Old Testament text is also found in the American Standard Version since it makes an accurate translation which corresponds to the RSV.

This essay calls for us to briefly dissect Daniel 9:25:

“Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem…” It is imperative to keep the context in mind. The “going forth of the word,” here, is not the word of Cyrus to build the Lord a house as found in Ezra 1:2. Here, it is to rebuild Jerusalem. This word is given (i.e. spoken) from on High. God speaks directly in the future Day. The context is the Kingdom of God becomes a reality in the earth. This “word,” to rebuild Jerusalem, will be spoken when the Dispensation of the Grace of God ends. The issue of this commandment from on High begins the four-hundred-ninety years which will be marked-off for Israel.

“… to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks…” In plainer words—the “word” to rebuild is spoken from on High—after seven weeks, or forty-nine years later, “an anointed one, a prince,” arrives on the scene in Jerusalem. This will not be the Lord Jesus Christ. He remains in heaven during the restoration (Acts 3:19-21). This will be a person who was an anointed ruler (i.e. prince). It will not be the ex-king Saul, or Solomon. We believe the Scripture indicates that he will be an anointed prince (i.e., a king), who was a “man after God’s own heart”—David, who will be gloriously raised from the dead.
 
“… threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” Threescore and two weeks will be four-hundred and thirty-four years (434 years). The commandment from the LORD to rebuild Jerusalem goes out from on High. Forty-nine years later, David is raised from the dead, and he probably supervises the reconstruction of the Holy City—Jerusalem. This includes the Temple complex. The restoration is virtually complete after four-hundred-eighty-three years (483).

David reigns as Israel’s King under the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ Who is the Ascended King of kings and Lord of lords. A survey of Scripture will yield the prominent role David will play in resurrection. Our first look is at Jeremiah 30:

“But they [Israel] shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished” (Jer. 30:9-11).

When the chosen of God’s People, Israel, is back in the land of promise, David will be waiting for them. He will be their Shepherd-King. Notice what that will entail.

“And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing” (Ezek.34:23-26).

This is not millennial truth. It cannot be wedged, or forced, to fit into the millennium scenario. This is truth embodied in the pre-millennial Kingdom of God. Notice, it says David their PRINCE forever. He will be the “anointed prince” just as the correct reading of Daniel 9:25 says; “an anointed one, a prince.”

Ezekiel 37:24-25 further states; “And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.”

Hosea 3:4-5 even speaks about the resurrected King David; “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.”

According to Scripture, we’ll ask the following question, “Who better qualifies to be the anointed prince of Daniel 9:25 than David?” An honest answer, PLEASE! Hosea 3:5 even tells us when Israel will return to find their King David—“in the latter days.” The “latter days” refers to the pre-millennial Kingdom of God. David will reign over Israel as their Shepherd-King for 483 years. Then, something happens to him as King over the House of Jacob.

Be sure and “stay tuned” for the next episode of David’s adventures in resurrection.


Wednesday, January 31, 2007

PLAINER WORDS ONLINE …ANOINTED or MESSIAH?

Part III

An Anointed Prince—David The King

The prophets foretold many magnificent things about David’s future. Most of them have not yet taken place. There is a written record of David’s past found in the Hebrew writings of the Old Testament. It began with him as a shepherd tending his father’s herd of sheep and carries the reader through his life, including the forty years that he served as king of Israel, even up to the time he died—“in a good old age, full of years, riches and honor” (1 Chronicles 29:28).

Since the prophets wrote about David’s glory, which has yet to be realized, it only stands to reason that this glory will have to exist when he is once again the king of Israel. He will live, again, as Israel’s King during the Kingdom of God. He is not in heaven. He “is both dead and buried” (Acts 2:29). David’s glorious future will be lived in resurrection. The Lord Jesus Christ will speak David’s name from heaven, saying; “come forth.” This will awaken David from his sleep in the dust, and he will rise from the dead in newness of life. He will be the anointed one, the prince mentioned in Daniel 9:25.

“And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD (Yahweh) will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD (Yahweh) have spoken it.” (Ezek. 34:23-24).

A very critical truth to take into account is that “LORD,” that is, to say, “Yahweh” of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus of the New Testament. “GOD,” in all capital letters, is also “Yahweh” in the Old Testament. GOD (Yahweh) of the Old Testament is also the Lord Jesus in the New Testament.

We should pay more than a passing glimpse at Ezekiel’s record of what saith GOD:

“And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD (Yahweh); Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king (David) shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezek. 37:21-23).

In “the latter days,” when the Kingdom is established, Israel will be a divinely united nation with one king. It will be a nation with untold blessings: enormous wealth, prosperity, and an envy of the nations. David will be a king of world-wide renown. The greater part of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Israel will comprise individuals who will have been made alive from the dead. It will be during “the latter days” that all of the families of the earth will be blessed through Israel. David will be the Lord’s anointed prince over God’s people.

“And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever” (Ezek. 37:24-25).

“For ever,” in Hebrew, is ad olam which is “for the age,” or eon. David will be Israel’s king for the age of the Kingdom. That is, the Shepherd-King. During this time, the Lord Jesus Christ will be the Sovereign Head of the Universe Who will rule from Heaven’s Throne (Psalm 103:19). Jeremiah refers to David’s pre-millennial glories as King of Israel.

“For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it …But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them” (Jer. 30:3, 9).

It is sad to say that most dispensational students of the Bible are guilty of robbery—they rob David of his future glory in the Kingdom of God. They do this by assigning his glories to the Lord Jesus. You may ask, “How do they do that?” It is a trick of semantics.

They follow the King James translators’ faulty translation of mashiyach in Daniel 9:25 and 26 as being “Messiah.” As it was previously pointed out, mashiyach was translated as “anointed” thirty-seven times of the thirty-nine it was used in Scripture. So, in believing the Daniel 9:25 and 26 usage of “Messiah” is correct, they then rob David of his inheritance as being the “David the king” in Ezekiel 37:24-25. Even though Ezekiel names David as Israel’s future king-prince in Chapters 34 and 37, their semantics conclude the references to David are really references to the Lord Jesus.

They declare, as fact, that the name, “David,” is really a designation of the Lord Jesus without proof by saying, “They will serve the true David, David’s Lord and David’s Son, our Lord.” This is their “proof” as justification for robbing David of his resurrection glory.

This is a pompous assertion. They make an impossible conclusion!

Just consider Jeremiah 30:9; “But they (Israel) shall serve the LORD (Yahweh) their God, and David their king …” If David refers to the Lord Jesus, then, there is a gross redundancy which makes no sense at all. The LORD and David would be the same Person! The words of verse 9 will not allow any such interpretation.

The prophet, Hosea, wrote concerning David’s glorious future. Be sure and distinguish between the LORD (Yahweh) and David—don’t think, for one moment, that the reference to David is really a reference to the Lord Jesus.

“For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days” (Hosea 3:4-5).

David will have the chance for a “do-over;” that is to say, he’ll be a King of Israel for a second time. There will be a burning desire in the hearts of the children of Israel to have a shepherd-king as their leader. David will be that man. He will follow that Great Shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20) the Lord Jesus Christ.

None of the glories of David’s future are associated with the so-called millennium. They relate to “the times of refreshing” and “the restitution of all things;” yes, even while “the heaven retain” the Lord Jesus (Acts 3:19-21).

King David will enjoy a reign in Jerusalem of four-hundred-thirty-four years during the pre-Parousia Kingdom of God.

In the next episode of David’s adventures in resurrection, we’ll consider him being “cut off” after “sixty-two weeks” (434 years). Does this mean that David will die a second time?



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February 9, 2007

PLAINER WORDS ONLINE …ANOINTED or MESSIAH?

Part IV

Before we write more about David being the “mashiyach,” that is, the “anointed” found in Daniel 9:25-26, we are compelled to acknowledge that Jesus is, indeed, the Anointed One of God in the New Testament. His official Name is “Christ” = Christos, the Greek word for “anointed.”  “The New Unger Dictionary” says that; “His official appellative was Christ, which means the Anointed One …Who was anointed as the Prophet, Priest, and King: (Christos = Christ = the Anointed; Hebrew = Mashiyach = Messiah = the Anointed).”

The Greek word, “christos,” is the New Testament equivalent of the Hebrew word, “mashiyach,” both of which mean “anointed.”

Peter said of the Lord Jesus; “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him (Acts 10:38).

Twice, in the New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth is referred to as “Messias.”

One of John’s disciples, Andrew, was drawn by the Lord Jesus.  He went to tell his brother, Simon, we read; “He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto Him, We have found the Messias which is, being interpreted, the Christ” (John 1:41).
 
“The woman [at the well] saith unto Him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things” (John 4:25).

It is significant that we are told that “Messias” means “Christ.”

“Messias” is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word, “mashiah,” meaning “anointed.” Most often, the Hebrew word is spelled “mashiyach.” Whichever spelling is used, the meaning remains the same—“anointed.” Thirty-seven times, this Hebrew word is translated as “anointed.” Twice, the King James Scholars transliterated it as “Messiah.” We pointed out, previously, that the transliteration in Daniel 9:25 and 26 was their INTERPRETATION of the word. It was not a translation! This has led to a grievous error in dispensational truth. This “interpretation” falsely places Jesus the Christ in Jerusalem and on the earth during the time in which the Bible clearly declares that He is retained in the heavens (Acts 3:21)—that is, during the Kingdom of God.

Daniel 9:26 says, “And after threescore and two weeks [434 years] shall Messiah [mashiyach; anointed] be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince [anti-christ] that shall come shall destroy the city [Jerusalem] and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

The Daniel 9:25 & 26 use of “Messiah” in the KJV doesn’t refer to our Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. Nor, does “shall Messiah be cut off” refer to His crucifixion as most dispensationalists teach. Teaching this error as truth is grounds for teaching another error, which is, that the Seventy Weeks of Daniel have already been fulfilled with the exception of one week [7 years], or as some teach, all of the 490 years have been fulfilled except for three weeks [21 years]. Either way, this divides-up the 490 years. A note in the Companion Bible concerning the word, “determined,” in Daniel 9:24 as in “Seventy weeks are determined …” the C.B. says; “determined = cut off: i.e. divided off from all other years. This verb is in the singular to indicate the unity of the whole period … Hebrew chathak. Occurs only here.” This tells us that the 490 years are to be viewed as a whole. This would preclude and dispel the idea that the ancient empires of Babylon, Media, Persia, Greece, and Rome were reckoned as being part of the “determined” 490 years.

The word, “mashiyach,” i.e. anointed, is a word used in the Old Testament of kings and priests who were consecrated to office by the ceremony of anointing. It is applied to the priest only as an adjective—“the anointed priest” (Lev. 4:3, 5, 16; 6:22). Its substantive use is restricted to the king; only to King Saul who is called “the LORD’s anointed”(1 Sam. 24:6, 10) and David, “the anointed of the God of Jacob” (2 Sam.19:21; 23:1). The plural substantive is used of the patriarchs who are called “mine anointed ones” (Psalm 105:15; 1 Chron. 16:22; NIV) as being Yahweh’s chosen, consecrated servants.

It is significant that the “International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia” reports; “It is noted that ‘Messiah’ as a special title is never applied in the Old Testament to a unique king of the future, unless perhaps in Daniel 9:25-26 (mashiach naghid, “Messiah-Prince’), a difficult passage, the interpretation is very uncertain…” However, the King James “Interpreters” do not hesitate to advance their interpretation upon its readers by inserting into Daniel 9:25, “Messiah the Prince.”

Threescore and two weeks are 434 years. For 434 years, Israel will serve “the LORD their God and David their king.” In order to keep our focus on the time periods, we need to remember that the divine command to rebuild Jerusalem will be given after seven weeks (49 years) of the Dispensation of the Kingdom of God has elapsed.  This is when David, God’s anointed, will be resurrected to be Israel’s king (Daniel 9:25).

After four-hundred-thirty-four years of Israel’s colossal blessings during “the times of refreshing” (Acts 3:19), the anti-christ (the prince of verse 26) comes to Jerusalem with his people ─ and the anointed-David “shall be cut off.” This is a very difficult passage, that is, David being “cut off, but not for himself.”

When considering the meaning of the word, “cut off,” karath, in Daniel 9:26, it must be considered in its context. It doesn’t mean to kill, circumcise, to cut down, or destroy. But rather, “cut off” means: “TO MAKE (CUT) A COVENANT - karath is used in a technical sense of making an agreement in writing” Vines Expository Dictionary. In plainer words, “to cut a deal.” We’ll read in the next verse that “the prince,” the anti-christ, cuts a deal (i.e. makes a covenant) with many of the Jewish leaders who will have apostatized in that day. But David, as the anointed of the God of Jacob, will not make a deal with Satan’s agent. David will have nothing to do with it─ the covenant. We are not told what David does during this period, so, we will not speculate.

“And after threescore and two weeks [434 years] shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince [anti-christ’s people] that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he [the little horn of Daniel 7 & 8] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week  [7 years]: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Daniel 9:26-27).

“In the midst of the week,” three-and-a-half years into the seventieth week of Daniel, the “little horn” (anti-christ) will cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. This is when the “little horn” exerts all of his satanic power, such as signs and lying wonders. The manifestation of evil escalates precipitously when the Restrainer (i.e. Holy Spirit) steps aside just prior to the “consummation” as mentioned in verse 27. This “consummation” is the “sunteleia” of Matthew 24:3:

“And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end (sunteleia) of the world?” (Matt. 24:3).

“Sunteleia” means “consummation.” What the disciples really asked was, “and what shall be the sign of Thy coming (Parousia), and the consummation of the age (i.e. Kingdom Age)?”

The Apostle Paul, later, gave his inspired description of the consummation of the Kingdom of God:

“Let no one deceive or beguile you in any way, for that day will not come except the apostasy comes first—that is, unless the [predicted] great falling away of those who have professed to be Christians has—and the man of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, who is the son of doom (of perdition), Who opposes and exalts himself so proudly and insolently against and over all that is called God or that is worshipped, [even to his actually] taking his seat in the temple of God,  proclaiming that he himself is God.” (2 Thess. 2:3-4) The Amplified New Testament.

The proclamation that he is God will be the abomination of desolation mentioned in Matthew 24:15. At this evil boast, then, that which had been divinely determined shall be poured upon him;  “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming [Parousia]:” (2 Thess. 2:8).

The Parousia is the consummation of the Kingdom. This is when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to be present on the earth for one-thousand years. The heavens no longer receive Him. Christ Jesus comes and, Personally, puts down the rebellion against His Government. Christ’s Parousia  brings to an end the four-hundred-ninety years which had been “determined” on Israel.

In summary of these four studies, we found that David will be raised from the dead to be Israel’s king during the Kingdom of God. Among other passages, we pointed to the following:

“And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever” (Ezek. 37:24-25).

Ezekiel wrote this prophecy about 431 years after the death of David. For this prophecy to have any meaning at all, it will require that David, the sweet Psalmist, be awakened from his sleep-of-death in order for him to be the king of the Kingdom which will be restored to Israel. He will come forth from his grave and will be their Shepherd-King for at least 434 years.

Thirty-nine times in the Old Testament, the word, “mashiyach,” is used. Thirty-seven times, it is translated into English as “anointed.” Twice, “mashiyach” is changed into English to mean “Messiah.” The KJV Scholars, as we pointed out, had no grounds, or authority, to make this change. It should have been TRANSLATED as “anointed,” not INTERPRETED as “Messiah.” The Revised Standard Version, among others, correctly handled Daniel 9:25-26:

“Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off, and shall have nothing; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war; desolations are decreed” (Daniel 9:25-26) RSV.

We concluded, based upon the thirty-nine usages of the word,, “mashiyach,” in the Old Testament, that David is the one who qualifies as the “anointed one” of Daniel 9:25-26. It was shown that Jesus of Nazareth could not be the one who was intended to be the “anointed one.”

“Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, …”  (2 Samuel 23:1).

Yes, David will be raised even higher than he was during his days as “the sweet psalmist of Israel.”

With the lifting of the restraints of evil during the last years of the Kingdom of God, many Jewish leaders in Jerusalem become deluded by the “wiles of the devil.” That is, by the deceptions of the “little horn” [the anti-christ], they will believe the Lie and will have no part of David. It appears from Scripture that David withdraws from the scene in that future day in Israel. He will safely await the Parousia of the Lord Jesus Christ, thus bringing to an end the Satanicly inspired revolt against the Heavens rule.

With these facts before us, it is concluded that the sun has not yet risen upon one day of the 490 years in question. The Kingdom begins when this takes place, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:1).

Ours’ may be a lonely vigil, but nevertheless, we do live soberly, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God—our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.