QUESTION: How do we know that Yeshua is the

promised Messiah?

The most famous passages concerning the coming of the Messiah are found in the books of Deuteronomy and Daniel.

Moses prophesied;

Deuteronomy 18:15-22

15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

16 According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.

17 And the LORD said unto me, They have well [spoken that] which they have spoken.

18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

19 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him.

20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?

22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that [is] the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, [but] the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Note several things here.

First, God promised to raise up a Prophet who would be like Moses. Just as God gave Moses the Torah to give to the people of Israel, even so would God raise another who would give His Law to the people of Israel.

The fact that God says He will put His words in the mouth of this prophet shows that what the prophet speaks will be different from the Laws given in the Torah. If the prophet were to merely reiterate the Law of Moses, why would there need to be such a prophet, when God Himself commanded that the Law be repeated among the people continually?

God sent prophets to Israel and Judah during the times of apostasy among both houses, and they preached the Law to the people. Yet God makes a clear distinction concerning this prophet, namely that anyone who does not listen to this prophet, God would have an accounting (judgment) of them personally.

Also, God states that if what a prophet prophesies fails to come to pass, he is to be ignored. Jesus prophesied of His death, the manner of His death, His resurrection, the destruction of Jerusalem to name a few, and history bears out that His prophecies did indeed come to pass.

And for those who might say that the Gospels were written after all of this happened, to make it seem as if Jesus was right, NONE of the books of the New Covenant (New Testament) mention the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., which if the writers had heard of or witnessed they surely would have written about the event.

Why is there no record of the event? Because all of the writers of the New Covenant were dead before Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews scattered to the corners of the Earth. Therefore all of the books of the New Covenant (including the book of Revelation) were finished before 70 C.E.!

Therefore Yeshua was correct in everything He had prophesied, including His death and resurrection which will be dealt with later in this study.

The prophet Daniel was also told concerning the advent of the Messiah;

DANIEL 9:1-27

1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness [belongeth] unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, [that are] near, and [that are] far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

8 O Lord, to us [belongeth] confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

9 To the Lord our God [belong] mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that [is] written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

13 As [it is] written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God [is] righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people [are become] a reproach to all [that are] about us.

17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

20 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;

21 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.

22 And he informed [me], and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

23 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.

24 Seventy weeks are determined 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.

25 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.

26 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; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: 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.

Note that in verse 13, Daniel understood that the curse of Moses had taken hold of Israel as promised, and that Jerusalem and Judah were laid waste because of the sins of the people. God had used the Babylonians as the rod of His anger, and He had shattered the whole land and the people within it.

Hold that thought for a while.

Now, let's take a look at the 70 years that Daniel spoke of concerning the prophecy of Jeremiah to understand the background of Daniel's prayer, and then we'll take a close look at the "70 weeks" that were spoke of to Daniel by the angel Gabriel.

Jerusalem had been destroyed completely by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., and it's inhabitants had been deported as conquered slaves to Babylon in fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy of;

JEREMIAH 25:1-13

1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that [was] the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;

2 The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,

3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that [is] the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.

4 And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending [them]; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.

5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:

6 And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.

7 Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

8 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,

9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.

10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.

11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, [and] an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, [that] I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

13 And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, [even] all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.

God had finally had enough of Judah ignoring His pleas for them to repent. In His fury He declared that Jerusalem and all of Judah would be destroyed by the Babylonians, and would remain desolate for 70 years, in fulfillment of His dire warning that he gave to Israel through Moses in Leviticus;

LEVITICUS 26:14-35

14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;

15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, [but] that ye break my covenant:

16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:

20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.

21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your [high] ways shall be desolate.

23 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;

24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of [my] covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

26 [And] when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver [you] your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.

27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;

28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.

30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.

32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.

33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye [be] in your enemies' land; [even] then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.

35 As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.

Note that Jeremiah had prophesied and had called for the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah to repent for 10 years, and they had not listened. God then fulfilled His promise in verse 24 to punish them seven times for their sins, and in verse 34 that the land would enjoy it's Sabbaths while Israel languished in the land of their enemies.

So as Judah ignored God's words through Jeremiah for 10 years, the land enjoyed 10 sabbaths while the inhabitants of the land served the king of Babylon for 70 years.

Daniel in reading the Scriptures understood that the curse of God through Moses as recorded in Leviticus had come to pass as promised, and that the 70 years prophesied by Jeremiah were coming to an end, so he petitioned God to remember His promise to the people that they would return to Jerusalem and Judah when the 70 years were finished.

Now, a closer look at Daniel's "70 weeks".

Daniel was told by the angel Gabriel that 70 "weeks" (periods of seven years) were determined after which point the Messiah would come as promised. 70 "weeks" would equal 490 years. And from the time that the commandment came to rebuild Jerusalem until the appearing of the Messiah would be 483 years (69 "weeks").

The 70^th "week"? That will be fulfilled when the one known as the Antichrist, the one that Yeshua called "the prince that shall come" makes a 7 year peace treaty with modern Israel, an event yet to take place. For more on this event, please see the End Times studies in this web site.

In 539 B.C. Persian emperor Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon, capturing the city virtually intact. The city of Babylon had straddled the great Euphrates river, and while regent Babylonian king Belshazzar was partying and seeing the famous writing on the wall, in a fantastic feat of engineering the Persians had diverted the waters of the river, and were marching under the walls and attacking the city from the riverbed. Belshazzar was killed that very night by the Persians.

And in 538 B.C.E. Cyrus decreed that all Jews within his empire (including those living in conquered Babylon) be allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple.

It is interesting to note that Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple in 586 B.C.E. and the new Temple that Cyrus decreed be built was finished in 516 B.C.E.......exactly 70 years after the people of Judah were carried captive to Babylon, in fulfillment of God's prophecy through the prophet Jeremiah.

Now, the decree to rebuild Jerusalem the city came in the 7^th year of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus (son of Xerxes (Ahasuerus) the husband of Queen Esther of the Old Testament), which decree came in 457 B.C.E., when he ordered the scribe Ezra to return to Jerusalem, and rebuild it.

EZRA 7:1-13

1 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

2 The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,

3 The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,

4 The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,

5 The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest:

6 This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he [was] a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.

7 And there went up [some] of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which [was] in the seventh year of the king.

9 For upon the first [day] of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first [day] of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.

10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do [it], and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

11 Now this [is] the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, [even] a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel.

12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect [peace], and at such a time.

13 I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and [of] his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.

When Ezra returned to Jerusalem, he found out that the people who had returned earlier to rebuild the temple had intermarried with the nations around them in ignorance of God's commandments to not marry among the nations in which they dwelt.

Ezra was appalled and tore his clothes in mourning for what the children of Judah had done. They had just spent 70 years as captives in Babylon because of their disobedience and within 50 years of their return they had disobeyed His commandments yet again.

Scripture then records;

EZRA 9:5-9

5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,

6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over [our] head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

7 Since the days of our fathers [have] we [been] in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, [and] our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as [it is] this day.

8 And now for a little space grace hath been [shewed] from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

9 For we [were] bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

Verse 9 shows that Ezra had been given authority to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. This is very important here, as the prophecy for the coming of the Messiah had read;

DANIEL 9:25-26

This is also confirmed by Nehemiah, the Jewish cupbearer to King Artaxerxes;

NEHEMIAH 1:1- 2:8

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,

2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and [certain] men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province [are] in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also [is] broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned [certain] days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, [If] ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

9 But [if] ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, [yet] will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

10 Now these [are] thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

Nehemiah 2:1-8

1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, [that] wine [was] before him: and I took up the wine, and gave [it] unto the king. Now I had not been [beforetime] sad in his presence.

2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why [is] thy countenance sad, seeing thou [art] not sick? this [is] nothing [else] but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,

3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, [lieth] waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.

6 And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

7 Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;

8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which [appertained] to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

Remember, the 70 weeks of Daniel's prophecy had said;

DANIEL 9:25-26

Now;

Persian King Artaxerxes reigned from 464-423 B.C.E. The 7^th year of his reign would have been 457 B.C.E. (464 - 7 = 457). Hold onto that number for a few minutes.

Yeshua was born in September of 7 B.C.E., as Idumean king Herod the Great who was ruling Judea at the time died in 4 B.C.E., after he had slaughtered the children 2 years old and under in Bethlehem, trying to destroy the Yeshua.

As Scripture records;

MATTHEW 2:1-21

1 Now when Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3 When Herod the king had heard [these things], he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, [in] the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found [him], bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,

18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.

21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

Who were these "wise men from the East"? King David in Psalms makes a fascinating reference to this, when he said concerning the reign of the Messiah;

PSALMS 72:10-11

10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.

Seba was the son of Cush, and Sheba was Cush's grandson. Sheba settled in modern day south-western Saudi Arabia bordering the Red Sea (about where modern-day Yemen exists), and Seba is associated with the Sabeans, a warlike nomadic tribe just to the north of Yemen. And both nations were east of Judea, so it seems that David may have been referring to these kings when he wrote the passage from Psalms quoted above. Thus the "wise men" truly came from the East.

The location of Tarshish has been much disputed among scholars, and no one knows it's exact location to this day. The name "Tarshish" is translated as being "smelters", a place where metals were refined, and has been placed as far north as Spain, and as far south as Ezion-Geber in southern Judea at the northern tip of the present-day Gulf of Aqaba.

King Herod the Great of Judea died in 4 B.C.E., and Yeshua was at least 2 years old when Herod ordered the slaughter of the children. Babylonian astrological charts show a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in March and September of 7 B.C.E., of which the second conjunction was the most significant.

Luke the physician who was also an extremely meticulous historian records;

LUKE 2:1-20

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

2 ([And] this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen [it], they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard [it] wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered [them] in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

The fact that the shepherds were watching their flocks of sheep in the fields at night indicates that it was still before winter, thereby supporting the September birth date.

There has also been some controversy over the "Cyrenius" (some versions read Quirinius) being the governor of Syria during the time of Yeshua's birth as recorded in Luke, as Roman records show him ruling Syria in 6 C.E., about 13 years after Yeshua's birth. However coins have been found with the name "Quirinius" dating from 11 B.C.E. to after 4 B.C.E. Scholars think he may have been the governor of Syria twice.

There has also been controversy over the fact that during a census, citizens were required to return to their birthplaces to be counted, and taxed.

A Roman document from Gaius Vibius Maximus, governor of Egypt, which has been dated at approximately 104 C.E., has been found decreeing that all citizens residing outside of the country return to their own ancestral cities to be counted and taxed. So, this bears out Luke's words as written in the Gospel which bears his name, again showing his meticulous attention to accuracy.

Yeshua began His public ministry when He was 30 years old, and would have been 33 years old in September of 26 AD, (there is no "0" year; it went from 1 B.C.E. to 1 C.E.). He was crucified the following spring on the afternoon of Passover in 27 C.E.

"Messiah the Prince" in Daniel 9:25 below refers to Yeshua's triumphal entry into Jerusalem (known as Palm Sunday) 1 week before He was killed in 27 C.E.

As the New Testament records;

MATTHEW 21:1-11

1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose [them], and bring [them] unto me.

3 And if any [man] say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set [him] thereon.

8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed [them] in the way.

9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Now, remember Daniel's prophecy concerning the appearance and "cutting off (death of Messiah).....

DANIEL 9:24-26

Daniel is told that 483 years after the command to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, Messiah would be "cut off, but not for Himself" (die for our sins).

And remember, the command to rebuild Jerusalem came from Artaxerxes in 457 B.C.E.

Therefore, 457 B.C.E. minus 483 years, equals 27 C.E., (remember, there is no "0" year).

And Yeshua, born in September of 7 B.C.E. was crucified (cut off) when He was 33 years old, on the eve of Passover in March of 27 C.E.,483 years after Artaxerxes' decree to rebuild Jerusalem.

The Old Testament prophet Malachi was also told concerning the Messiah;

MALACHI 3:1

1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Malachi prophesied about 400 B.C.E., therefore the Lord had to come to His Temple between 400 B.C.E., and 70 C.E., when the Temple was destroyed. Remember, Yeshua was crucified in 27 C.E.

And no man is recorded to have made the claim of being the Messiah with supporting evidence as Yeshua did during the time between Malachi and the destruction of the Temple.

The New Testament records that in accordance with Malachi's words, a messenger came before Yeshua's appearance to predict His coming. As Luke, the ever-careful historian records;

LUKE 3:1-6

1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,

2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways [shall be] made smooth;

6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

John the Baptist as he was called, warned the people that he himself was not the promised Messiah, but was the herald of He who was indeed the promised Messiah.

(For those of you who may be offended by the word "Christ" used in the text below, remember the New Testament was written for the most part in Greek, and the word "Christ" is a Greek translation of "Messiah".)

LUKE 3:15-18

15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

16 John answered, saying unto [them] all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

17 Whose fan [is] in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.

JOHN 1:19-34

19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

23 He said, I [am] the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

Note that Luke said that all men wondered if John were the promised Messiah. This indicates that the Messiah had not yet appeared between the years 400 B.C.E. and 23 C.E., when Yeshua began His public ministry! And between 23 C.E. and the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., no man other than Yeshua claimed to be the promised Messiah!

Therefore only Yeshua fulfilled Malachi's prophecy concerning the Messiah coming to His Temple!

Let's look at some other considerations of this issue.

God was silent during the 430 years that Israel was in Egypt, after which he instituted the Torah.

The Torah was God's Covenant with the Jews until the last words of the prophet Malachi, after which came what is called "the 430 years of silence", in which again nothing was heard from God at all.

It is interesting to note that Yeshua was born 400 years after the last words of the prophet Malachi, and seeing He started His ministry when He was 30 years old, just as there was 430 years of silence between Israel's bondage in Egypt and the rise of Moses, it was 430 years after the last words of Malachi that Yeshua began His ministry. Coincidence? There are no coincidences with God.

I find it odd that the Jewish people are willing to accept that God replaced the Abrahamic Covenant with the Torah, and yet they are intensely resistant to the idea that God could replace the Torah with a new Covenant.

Was the replacement of the Abrahamic Covenant by the Torah an insult to Abraham? No one seems to think so. Yet Jewish people become instantly outraged when someone speaks of a Covenant that replaces the Torah, as they feel it disrespects Moses.

Abraham is greatly respected as being the father of the Jews. Moses is considered greater than Abraham for he gave the Torah to the people. Is it so strange then, that Yeshua ha Meshiach, God in the flesh, should be considered greater than Moses? Remember, Moses was God's servant, performing his Master's will, just like Abraham.

Does not the Torah curse anyone who doesn't keep all of the words of the Law, which means all 613 laws must be followed without error all of the days of your life?

DEUTERONOMY 27:26

26 Cursed [be] he that confirmeth not [all] the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.

JEREMIAH 11:1-6

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed [be] the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,

4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day [that] I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:

5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as [it is] this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.

6 Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.

Why would God put such a burden on the Jews, seeing that there is no possible way for

them to observe all of the laws He had given?

Two reasons;

One, God made sure that no one could keep the Law unless they were perfect, thereby putting all men under sin. That way no one could attain salvation by their own works.

**Secondly, He would send One who could keep all of the 613 laws all the days of His life, namely Yeshua, thereby making Yeshua the author of salvation for all men.**

And every Jew who tries to follow the Torah today comes under the curse of the Torah because there is no Temple to perform sacrifices in, neither are there any more sacrifices offered as required by the Torah!

The Temple was destroyed by Roman general (later Emperor) Titus in 70 C.E. (actually Titus wanted the Temple preserved, but a Roman soldier threw a torch into the sanctuary, and the Temple was destroyed). The stones of the Temple were thrown down the mountainside and the ground was plowed up to recover the Temple gold that had melted from the fire.

With the destruction of the Temple, several events were set into motion.

First, the genealogical records were destroyed so that no Jew from then to today knows what tribe they are from. Therefore no man today can claim to be Messiah, because he cannot trace his direct lineage to king David, through whose line the Messiah would come.

As God had told king David;

2 SAMUEL 7:12-17

12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took [it] from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

It is interesting that today the Rabbis teach that the lineage of Jews is to be traced through the mother's ancestral line, whereas the Jews of both the Old Testament and New Testament invariably traced their ancestry through the father's line.

The reasoning of the Rabbis is that while the race of the mother of a child can be known, the paternity of the father could be in doubt.

That being the case, king David would have his lineage traced back to Moab because Ruth, wife of Boaz was his great-grandmother, and to the Canaanites of Jericho, as Rahab the harlot, wife of Joshua and Salmon was his great-great-grandmother. Therefore the entire line of kings would be invalidated, as Jacob had decreed that the scepter would come only through the line of Judah!

GENESIS 49:8-10

8 Judah, thou [art he] whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand [shall be] in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

9 Judah [is] a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the people [be].

Note that Jacob says that when Shiloh (God) comes, then, and only then, would the line of kings cease. Where are the kings today? After 70 C.E., there were no more kings in the land of Israel. And remember, Yeshua appeared in 7 B.C.E., and died in 27 C.E., so the prophecy of Jacob was indeed fulfilled.

Another thing to consider. Without a Temple, there is no longer a need for a priesthood.

Here is where things become somewhat complex.

Before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, God told the prophet Jeremiah;

JEREMIAH 31:31-34

31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

33 But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Why is there no longer a priesthood? Because the need for priests was removed with Yeshua's death and resurrection.

Now, before you reject what I have to say, allow me to explain, and please consider what I say with an open mind. Then make your decision. That's all I ask.

The purpose of the priesthood in the Torah was to offer sacrifices for the people, for the forgiveness of their sins.

EXODUS 28:1-4, 43

1 And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, [even] Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.

2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.

3 And thou shalt speak unto all [that are] wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.

4 And these [are] the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.

43 And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy [place]; that they bear not iniquity, and die: [it shall be] a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.

The priests would offer sacrifice to the Lord for the sins of the people under the office of the High Priest who had to be a direct descendant of Aaron.

As each high priest died, one of his sons would take his place.

NUMBERS 20:23-29

23 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying,

24 Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.

25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor:

26 And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered [unto his people], and shall die there.

27 And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.

28 And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.

29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, [even] all the house of Israel.

The fact that sacrifices needed to be offered continually showed that the sacrifices themselves weren't sufficient to take away sin, for if they had been sufficient, there would have been the need for only one sacrifice forever.

Therefore the sacrifices of animals put the Jews in obedience through faith in God, and like Abraham, that belief was counted as righteousness.

GENESIS 15:1-6

1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward.

2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house [is] this Eliezer of Damascus?

3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

4 And, behold, the word of the LORD [came] unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

The animal sacrifices could only defer the sins of the people who performed them in obedience, until the perfect sacrifice would be made before God, a sacrifice which would remove sin forever. For man could never rid himself of the sin nature that he inherited from Adam in the Garden of Eden, therefore only God could bring about the perfect sacrifice.

Now comes an important point.

Sin can only attack the flesh, but the spirit suffers the consequences of sin.

Without a body, where is lust? Greed? Envy? As the New Testament states;

ROMANS 6:7

7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

***Therefore in order to destroy sin,* *ALL of the sins of all men would have to be contained within one body, then that body would have to die, that the sins might die with it.***

Remember, even the Torah speaks of this concept;

LEVITICUS 16:21-22

21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send [him] away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

The "scapegoat" which bore the sins of Israel was offered yearly, to atone for the High Priest, his sons, and the people of Israel. Therefore again, like the sacrifices, this was not a perfect atonement as it needed to be repeated again and again.

But these were a reminder, a foreshadowing of the One to come who would become both scapegoat and sacrifice, and who would remove sin from mankind forever, Yeshua the Son of God.

For as the goat bore the sins of the people, and lambs were sacrificed to cover the sins of the people even so Yeshua bore the sins of the world in His flesh, and died for our sins. And with the death of His body, the sins of Mankind that had been deferred which God had placed within His flesh were destroyed with it.

But the spiritual price of sin still needed to be paid.

All sin offerings for the people except the scapegoat were to be killed, their blood used as an atonement, and they were to be burnt on the altar as an offering for the forgiveness of sins. The fire of the sacrifice represented cleansing of the sins, for fire has often been called "God's cleanser".

Therefore just as animals are considered sinless, and their blood was shed for the sins of the people, even so Yeshua, the sinless Lamb of God was sacrificed and His blood shed for our sins, the perfect sacrifice required by God for the removal of sin.

And just as the lamb was burnt on the altar, even so Yeshua went to Hell after His death and was cleansed through fire of our sins. When the cleansing was finished, God raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in Heaven.

King David prophesied of this event when he said;

PSALMS 16:8-10

8 I have set the LORD always before me: because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

As we know, king David died about 1,000 B.C.E. , was buried and underwent decay as all men do. But Yeshua was resurrected by God after His crucifixion and never saw decay, as was reported in the New Testament.

David could not have been speaking of himself either for he never went to Hell, being a righteous man before God. Besides, Hell is reserved for sinners, and God speaks of David hundreds of years after his death, saying;

EZEKIEL 34:9-24

9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, [even] I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep [that are] scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and [in] a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up [that which was] broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

17 And [as for] you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.

18 [Seemeth it] a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

19 And [as for] my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.

20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, [even] I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.

21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;

22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

23 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.

24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken [it].

The prophecy of Messiah not seeing corruption, nor remaining in Hell was confirmed in the New Testament, when the apostle Peter told the men of Israel shortly after Yeshua's resurrection;

ACTS 2:22-32

22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:

26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:

27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

29 Men [and] brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

Several things here.

First, in verse 22 Peter indicated that he was speaking to men who knew of Yeshua, and had either seen or heard of the miracles He performed while alive.

Secondly, some take offense at verse 23, saying that is it "anti-Semitic". Peter is not saying anything of the sort. He is saying that the Jewish nation was consenting to Yeshua's death, a statement of fact. He then reiterates David's prophecy concerning Messiah.

Those who take offense at Peter's words above need to read the rest of his exhortation as shown below.

ACTS 2:36-39

36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

37 Now when they heard [this], they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men [and] brethren, what shall we do?

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Note that instead of bringing a railing accusation against them, Peter through the Holy Spirit shows them how to become saved, and through God's grace and mercy have peace with God through Yeshua His Son.

Now, let's look at some of the proofs of Yeshua being the promised Messiah.

A statistician once stated that the odds of a man to have fulfilled just 8 Old Testament prophecies in his lifetime would be like covering the state of Texas two feet deep in coins, then having a blind man pick out 1 marked coin twice in a row.

Remember, that's only 8 prophecies!

Here is a list of some of the prophecies fulfilled in Yeshua.

Prophecy: He shall be the Son of God

PSALMS 2:7

7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou [art] my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

I CHRONICLES 17:11-14

11 And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go [to be] with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

12 He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever.

13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took [it] from [him] that was before thee:

14 But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore.

II SAMUEL 7:12-16

12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took [it] from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

Fulfillment:

MATTHEW 3:13-17

13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer [it to be so] now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

MATTHEW 8:28-29

28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.

29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

MARK 3:11

11 And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

Mark 9:2-8

2 And after six days Jesus taketh [with him] Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

4 And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

6 For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.

7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.

MARK 14:55-62

55 And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.

56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.

57 And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying,

58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

59 But neither so did their witness agree together.

60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what [is it which] these witness against thee?

61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

JOHN 1:1-36

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name [was] John.

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all [men] through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but [was sent] to bear witness of that Light.

9 [That] was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

17 For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him].