Continued: Chapter XI- Messiah's Coming According To The Prophets Of The Assyrian Period

Isaiah 53:1-9, therefore, is the confession of Israel which she will make in the year 1938+. The plus sign indicates a certain definite year, for no one can determine the exact date. The divine explanation of the purpose of Messiah's suffering appears in 53:10-12, namely, for the sins of His people. Chapter 54 is a continuation of the prophecy and shows that, after Israel has confessed the national sin of the execution of King Messiah, God will reestablish her in the Holy Land and take her into fellowship with Himself. In view of these facts, and others which could be mentioned, it is evident that God abandoned Israel when she rejected King Messiah and permitted the Romans to destroy the nation, and to scatter her throughout the world. These facts, gathered from Isaiah, a contemporary of Micah, give the connecting link between Micah 5:1 and 3. We may conclude, therefore, that Micah 5:1 is a forecast of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., and that verse 2 is a prediction of the birth of King Messiah in Bethlehem of Judah. Because the nation rejected Him, God abandoned her to her own fate and permitted the Romans to blot out her national existence. Then he gave her up until the time of the end--the time of Jacob's trouble, at which season Israel will acknowledge this national sin of age-long standing. Then she will be forgiven and reinstated into the favor of God.

The travailing mentioned in verse 3, when viewed in the light of parallel passages, is seen to be the final distress through which Israel shall pass. This time of Jacob's trouble, as has been suggested above, terminates the period during which she has been abandoned by her God. The word Therefore, which introduces verse 3, shows absolutely that this statement is the conclusion drawn from the data given in verses 1 and 2. We know without a doubt from this fact that the birth of Messiah precedes the Lord's rejection of Israel, and that the siege of verse 1, fulfilled in the Roman occupation of Palestine in 70, was the Almighty's judgment upon her because of her execution of King Messiah.²

Therefore, without a doubt, King Messiah made His appearance before that epochal event in Jewish history.

In the investigation of Isaiah's prediction we learned that the house of David would cease to rule the nation, but that, on the contrary, it would sink into private life. This same condition is set forth by Micah. According to the covenant which God made with David (II Sam. 7), the Messiah comes of his house. Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish monarchy. In the days of Micah the Davidic dynasty flourished there. At that time, therefore, the people had a right to believe that Messiah would be born in the royal palace at the capital. To the contrary, Micah said that He would be born in the little city of Bethlehem, which was so very insignificant that it could not be reckoned among the thousands of the families of Judah. This prediction shows conclusively that our prophet foresaw the fallen condition of the Davidic dynasty--when it could no longer perform the governmental functions, but would have retired to private life, dwelling in obscurity. Since the Davidic dynasty lost its power at the Babylonian siege (606-586 B.C.E.), and since the Jewish national life became extinct in the year 70 C.E., we know positively from this and other Scriptures that Messiah was to make His first appearance during this period, which, as has been suggested, is known as the era of the Second Temple.

From authentic history we learn that the Jewish nation fell in 70 C.E. and that the people were then scattered to the four corners of the earth. Quite a number of Jewish people gathered back into Palestine and instituted a revolt against the Roman authorities in the year 132 C.E. This rebellion was suppressed by Hadrian in 135 C.E. From that time forward the Jews were not permitted to live in Palestine, nor to own any property there. According to information which has come to me, and which I think is quite accurate, no Jew was permitted to own any real estate in Palestine until around the year 1860 C.E. Since that time there has been a slow and gradual change in the policy of the civil powers having control. Finally, after the issuing of the Balfour Declaration, the Jews have been purchasing extensive tracts and have been making most wonderful progress in the reclamation of the soil and of introducing modern civilization. In the Spring of 1937 I visited many of the colonies and settlements and was amazed at the progress. Since they were driven out of the country in the years 70 and 135 C.E. and have not lived there during these 1900 years, and since Messiah, according to Micah's prediction, was to be born in Bethlehem, it is absolutely certain His birth occurred prior to the calamity of 70 C.E.

But one might ask: Since they are regathering, as is evident from the Zionistic movement, could He not yet be born in Bethlehem of Judah at this time? This is a fair question. My reply is No; for this age-long dispersion of Israel among the nations is one of the consequences of her actions and attitude toward Him after His birth in Bethlehem. In a preceding paragraph I have shown that the Roman siege of Palestine and the collapse of the nation (Micah 5:1) were in a most intimate manner connected with the birth of Messiah (Micah 5:2), and that verse 3, which foretells her age-long dispersion, is the outgrowth of those two events; therefore of necessity Messiah was born and executed prior to the Roman occupation and the consequent age-long dispersion.

"And he shall stand, and shall feed his flock in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God: and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth" (Micah 5:4).

According to verse 3 the people of Israel are to be given up until she who travaileth bringeth forth. Zion is this one (Micah 4:10 and Isa. 66:7-9). This statement refers to the time of Jacob's trouble. When it is over, the children of Israel with the residue of Messiah's brethren (the tribe of Judah) will return to God. A prediction similar to this one appears in Hosea 3:4,5. At that time the old animosity which dates back to early history will be wiped out and all the tribes will, in a new spirit, come together and return to the Mighty God (Isa. 10:21).

The Messiah will stand in the strength of the Lord and in the majesty of the name of His God and will tend His flock--the whole house of Israel. His fame will encircle the globe: "for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth." According to other predictions we know that the glory of the Lord will encircle the earth as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). That the babe of Bethlehem mentioned in 5:2 is King Messiah and the one who administers this world-wide reign of righteousness is evident from the similarity of the prophecy in 5:2 with the one in 4:8. In this latter verse the prophet addressed the reigning monarch at Jerusalem in the following words: "And thou, 0 tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion." In 5:2, looking toward the little village of Bethlehem, he spoke in the following language: "But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah." The similarity of address is not accidental but intentional. Another mark of identification is found in the word ממְשָׁלָה the dominion of 4:8 and מוֹשֵׁל ruler of 5:2. These two words are from the same root and, of course, have the same fundamental literal meaning. The first looks at the sovereignty that shall be exercised by Him who is the King; the second refers to the King Himself. This former dominion that is to return to the daughter of Zion is the reign of peace that shall extend throughout the world, "for of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David," etc. (Isa. 9:7). No one could administer such a government unless he is such a one as is described in 5:2; namely, He "whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." This one is none other than God in human form who enters the world by miraculous conception and virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14) and is born at Bethlehem of Judah (Micah 5:2).

In our investigation of the predictions coming from the Assyrian period we have learned that the Messiah, God in human form, would be born at the little village of Bethlehem and not in the royal city of Jerusalem. This fact shows that the Davidic house at the time of His birth had sunk into private life, residing as it were in a mere hut. The facts of the different contexts also have led us to the conclusion that His birth would be prior to the final overthrow of the nation in 70 C.E. Furthermore, we also have learned that the treatment which is accorded Him at His first coming is the cause of the overthrow, world-wide dispersion, and rejection of Israel during this period of her long suffering.

When she sees her mistake at the conclusion of the Great Tribulation, she will confess the national sin and welcome Messiah's return. Instantly He will rend the heavens, return, deliver her, and make her the head of the nations. For this grand and glorious event our hearts yearn.


Footnote:

² God created man with the power of choice. He never forces the human will. Always He uses moral suasion to induce man to do the right thing. If, however, he refuses to choose the noble and the good, He permits him to go ahead in the way of his preferences, but He always overrules conditions and circumstances and works out that which will bring the greatest good and blessing to the largest number concerned. Sennacherib, the Assyrian monarch, chose to persecute Israel and to plunder the land, but in following his natural inclinations he did not know that the Lord Almighty was overruling his actions and was working out His plans concerning Israel (Isa. 10:5-14). Peter declared that Jesus Christ was delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, and that the leaders of Israel of the time, though exercising their own wills in the matter, simply carried out the divine program (Acts 2:22-24). God uses men and means to carry out His plan of blessing the world. His heart is centered upon His creatures, and He is seeking to bless each of them. It is impossible now for us to conceive of His great solicitation for each one of us (Ps. 139:17,18).

End Of Chapter XI.