The Messiah Our Redeemer: Part 12 of 12

XII. The Appointed Time Of The Messiah

Because the Messiah descends from the line of David, a genealogy must be demonstrated through David. Since genealogy records were stored in the Temple during the Second Temple period and that Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, an argument can be made that the Messiah, Yeshua or another, had to come before the destruction of the Second Temple. Even improvements in DNA mapping may not be sufficient to restore a complete lineage back to David for any future individual claiming to be the Messiah. Further, the prophecy of Malachi cannot be fulfilled absent a Temple, as it is written, “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the LORD you are seeking will come to his temple” (Mal 3:1).

Jewish tradition holds that man will exist on the earth for a maximum of 6000 years, beginning with Adam, before the arrival of the Messiah. The Jewish Talmud further subdivides the six thousand years into three separate 2000 years periods (Sanhedrin 97)

 First 2000 years – Desolation
 Second 2000 years – Torah flourished
 Third 2000 years – Messianic era

The Jewish Talmud records the following commentary in relation to this matter.

Kattina said: Six thousand years shall the world exist, and one [thousand, the seventh], it shall be desolate, as it is written, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. Abaye said: it will be desolate two [thousand], as it is said, After two days will he revive us: in the third day, he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. It has been taught in accordance with R. Kattina: Just as the seventh year is one year of release in seven, so is the world: one thousand years out of seven shall be fallow, as it is written, ‘And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day,’ and it is further said, ‘A Psalm and song for the Sabbath day’, meaning the day that is altogether Sabbath — and it is also said, ‘For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past’. The Tanna debe Eliyyahu teaches: The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation, two thousand years the Torah flourished; and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era, (Sanhedrin 97a)

According to Jewish thought, the Messiah can come anytime before the year 6000 if the righteousness of the nation merits it.

“Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked, ‘It is written (Isa 60:22) “in its time” and is written, “I will hasten it”. He answered, “If they merit it, I will hasten it (HASHEM will bring the promised redeemer before the appointed time). But if they do not merit it, he will nevertheless come at the appointed time."‘"

What would the nation have to do to “merit” the arrival of the Messiah. The Jewish Sages determined that if the nation of Israel would keep the Sabbath perfectly for two consecutive Sabbaths, then “I will hasten it” would follow. Therefore it follows in Jewish tradition that the hastening of the Messiah can be accomplished through righteous behavior.

The Talmud further teaches that the Messiah should have come at the beginning of the last two thousand years (around the beginning of the first century). According to the Jewish calendar, the world is in year 5769-70 (2009), but there is an inconsistency with the Gregorian calendar of 165-190 years making the possible dating of the calendar to as late as 5934-5959, making the days of the Messiah very near. Regardless of the time the Messiah returns, He will come for each one of us at the time of our death.

Orthodox Jews and Gentile believers in Yeshua are in agreement. The Messiah is coming for each and everyone of us, as it is written, “I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth” (Job 19:25). Among the fourteen ways Maimonides list for a Jew to lose their share in the world to come is for a Jew to deny the resurrection of the dead and the coming of the Messiah.

So the only question that really matters in our life remains, “Is Yeshua, who suffered as Messiah the son of Joseph, returning as Messiah the son of David, or in the words of John the Baptist, “Are you the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”
(Matt 11:3).

****************************************************************************

In the beginning, God created man to have fellowship with the creator. In the garden, Adam and Eve had access to the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. One tree brought life, the other tree brought death. Unfortunately, when given the choice, Adam and Eve chose death instead of life.

Over two thousand years later, the law was given, and it came with the same choices, as it is written,

“I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to him” (Deut 30:19-20).

Again, not everyone chose life. After saving the people out of the land of Egypt, the LORD subsequently destroyed all those who did not believe.

Four thousand years after Adam, Yeshua came to the nation proclaiming,

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

A third time in the history of the world, the choice was given, and continues to this day, life or death. The foundational principle of man’s free determination dictates that each person is responsible to make this decision on their own behalf, life or death? This choice is not made for us, but must be made by us, as Joshua has said…

“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Josh 24:5)

Choosing life begins with three steps. First a person must learn of the LORD, His unfailing love, and His promises through His word, as it is written,

"Open my eyes that I may perceive the wonders of Your teaching" (Psa 119:18, JPST)

The word of God is the way to life, as the Sages quoted Amos to summarize the entire Torah saying, “Seek the LORD and live” (Amos 5:6).

Second, a person is called to repent (teshuva), as it is written, “Repent and live!” (Ezek 18:32). Repentance, by definition, causes a person to turn (shuv) from a direction that leads to death and to a path leading toward the LORD, as it is written…

“When you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and with all your soul…then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you” (Deut 30:2-3)

Knowledge and Repentance, by the LORD’S design, lead to faith, prayer, and action, as Habakkuk came and established the entire Torah in one commandment,

“The righteous will live by faith“ (Hab 2:4).

This faith will be established by placing our trust in a single Jew, Yeshuah, and living a life in obedience to the commandments of God that flow from that trust. As Messiah son of Joseph, Yeshua both offered His life to redeem our life from sin and He stands as our representative before God. For there is one and only one God, and one mediator also between God and men, Yeshua the Messiah (1 Tim 2:5). Yeshua said of Himself,

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6-7)

This passage draws on the pattern of the Temple High Priest, who alone could approach God above the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. This one person was appointed by God as a representative for the entire nation to reconcile the nation to God. The Priest could only approach God after he first offered sacrifice for himself and then for the people. The High Priest then becomes a pattern of the Messiah, our Redeemer, as a single pathway to reconcile the Jew and the Gentile to God the Father.

Yeshuah is the prophet whom Moses foretold, as is written, “you shall listen to him” (Deut 18:15). He is the Servant of the LORD who “bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa 53:12). Yeshua is returning as the son of David, to reign as King on the throne of David forever and our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, who was both a King and priest of God Most High (Gen 14:18). As a High Priest…

“Salvation (Yeshua) is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12)

Therefore, believe the words of Moses and “choose life” (Deut 30:19) because,

“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17).