Basic HTML Version
The
Coming Messiah
•
ID
Prophecy
by
Eli Chiprout
Here is a subject that will surprise Jews, Christians and Moslems alike.
M
OST CHRISTIAN$
as–
sume that Jesus of
Nazareth is God 's
promi sed Messiah. Mos t
J ewish people assume that he
is
not.
Few people today give the
subject much thought. They
simply accept what they have
been taught from youth.
1
was brought up in Judaism.
Since childhood 1 was told that
J esus of the New Testament is
not
from God. 1 was taught that God
inspired the Hebrew Scriptures
{what Christians call the Old Tes–
tament but what the Jewish people
know as the Law, the Prophets and
the Writings) and that no other
scriptures are inspired. I accepted
withou t question my teachings.
Then the challenge carne. 1 read
the
Plain Truth
magazin e and
found in it valuable principies for
living my day-to-day life. Yet
The
Plain Truth
often made reference
to the teachings of J esus in the
New Testament. 1 glossed over
these statements at first.
The more 1 read, however, the
more 1 realized that 1 could no lon–
ger ignore the question of the New
Testament.
This was a difficult challenge.
May 1984
would be delving into questions fo r–
eign to my way of thinking.
1 faced up to the challenge- and
found the answers to my ques–
tions.
J
write here sorne of those find–
ings that may surprise even readers
of
The Plain Truth.
What 1Was Taught
The Hebrew Scriptures speak of a
time when God will directly inter–
vene in the affairs of man and
establish his world-ruling kingdom
on the ear th. It will be a time of
peace among nations, prosperity
and great joy.
1 found Christians disagreed
among themselves abou t this doc–
trine.
Yet the Hebrew Scriptures make
it plain that God revealed this to
Nebuchadnezzar, ki ng of the
ancient empire o f Babylon.
Through an awe-inspiring dream
and its subsequent interpretation
by the prophet Daniel, God showed
the king that the empire of Babylon
was to be followed by three others:
the Medo-Persians, the Grecian
and t he Roman empires. The
Roman empire was to last through
various transformations and resur–
rections until. ...
" And in the days of those kings
shall the God of heaven set up a
kingdom, which shall never be
destroyed; nor shall the kingdom
be left to another people; it shall
break in pieces and consume all
these kingdoms, but it shall stand
for ever" (Dan. 2:44, Jewish Pub–
lication Society translation
throughout, except where other–
wise noted).
God's kingdom would put an end
to man's government.
lt
would
bring God's government and last
forever.
Isaiah spoke of this time.
"And it shall cometo pass in the
end of days, that the mountain
[kingdom] of the Lord 's house
shall be established as the top of
the mountains [ki ngdoms]. and
shall be exalted above the hills; and
all nations shall ftow unto it" (Isa.
2:2).
It
will be a time of regathering of
scattered Israel (Isa. 27: 13). God's
rule will be established throughout
the earth!
But, 1 asked myself, what did the
New Testament , that was written
in Greek, not Hebrew, have to do
with these prophecies?
I continued with my study of
Daniel. He wrote: " I beheld ti ll
thrones [governments] were
placed, and one that was ancient of
days did sit: his raiment was as
white snow, and the hair of his
head like pure wool; his throne was
15