<\/p>\n
THE MESSIANIC PROPHECIES<\/strong><\/p>\n consist of various Old Testament quotations,<\/p>\n as found in the New Testament,<\/p>\n along with contextual passages.<\/p>\n The idea is to be able to look at<\/p>\n and see what people would have seen<\/p>\n when reading the Old Testament passages<\/p>\n prior to the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.<\/p>\n What exactly would one have been looking for,<\/p>\n based upon these passages?<\/p>\n How plain are the passages?<\/p>\n Or, on the other hand,<\/p>\n how oblique, or opaque?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n UPON FIRST STUDYING<\/strong><\/p>\n THIS MATTER <\/strong>I had wondered<\/p>\n whether each individual prophecy<\/p>\n may be acting as a marker of<\/p>\n important information<\/p>\n which may be found to be surrounding it.<\/p>\n Upon investigating I found that, indeed,<\/p>\n such is the case.<\/p>\n It is as if each prophetic passage<\/p>\n provides\u00a0a “beacon” of light located<\/p>\n such as to direct the reader to things<\/p>\n the knowledge of which can prove<\/p>\n to be\u00a0of great benefit to him or her.<\/p>\n That is the purpose of showing<\/p>\n the larger context in which<\/p>\n each prophecy is to be found.<\/p>\n I diligently searched for the “natural”<\/p>\n beginning and end of\u00a0the contextual language<\/p>\n surrounding each prophetic verse<\/p>\n or set of verses, which, thereby<\/p>\n causes each contextual passage<\/p>\n to stand complete within itself.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE LINE SPACING\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n of the various contextual passages<\/p>\n is based upon a system<\/p>\n which I have developed<\/p>\n during the past 40 years.<\/p>\n I refer to each section between spaces as<\/p>\n “thought units”,<\/p>\n or as<\/p>\n “units of thought”.<\/p>\n As one writes<\/p>\n one will think first of one thing,<\/p>\n and then another,<\/p>\n and then another.<\/p>\n By the time these thoughts<\/p>\n are committed to writing,<\/p>\n they appear to flow into one another,<\/p>\n without breaks between the thoughts.<\/p>\n As a longtime writer<\/p>\n I try to figure out<\/p>\n what each individual thought is<\/p>\n and then separate them by spaces,<\/p>\n just as I do in my own writings,<\/p>\n while composing them or dictating them.<\/p>\n At first I found this very difficult to do<\/p>\n with scriptural passages,<\/p>\n and it took a very long time<\/p>\n to break any given passage up<\/p>\n into it’s individual thought units.<\/p>\n But over time,<\/p>\n and with much practice,<\/p>\n I got so good at it,<\/p>\n that it became second nature.<\/p>\n You can\u00a0currently benefit<\/p>\n from the fact that I now<\/p>\n can do it very quickly,<\/p>\n and almost effortlessly,<\/p>\n so that I am able to take large blocks of text,<\/p>\n and rapidly break them up<\/p>\n into their thought units.<\/p>\n This greatly assists when reading them out loud,<\/p>\n as I believe is the intent of the author\/s.<\/p>\n In addition,<\/p>\n as one analyzes and “dissects”<\/p>\n any given passage in the Old Testament<\/p>\n and in the New Testament,<\/p>\n one will quickly notice<\/p>\n that there is an underlying meter<\/p>\n or poetic rhythm<\/p>\n found beneath many of the passages.<\/p>\n The thought units also assist<\/p>\n in bringing this out into the open,<\/p>\n so that it is more readily discernible.<\/p>\n Such that when I read it aloud,<\/p>\n as you will hear in the various audio recordings,<\/p>\n you should become acutely aware<\/p>\n of this underlying rhythm.<\/p>\n As a longtime musician<\/p>\n and student of the great masterworks<\/p>\n of the great composers<\/p>\n I am much more aware of this<\/p>\n than others are likely to be.<\/p>\n Such that for me<\/p>\n it is second nature<\/p>\n to pull out the underlying “pulse”<\/p>\n of any given song<\/p>\n or instrumental composition,<\/p>\n just as naturally as breathing is for you.<\/p>\n As a matter of fact,<\/p>\n it is this “breathing”<\/p>\n that gives peculiar “life”<\/p>\n to any given musical performance or composition.<\/p>\n I believe that this can be seen<\/p>\n throughout the OT and NT,<\/p>\n such that I try to bring it out<\/p>\n into the forefront as I read aloud.<\/p>\n One could think of<\/p>\n the underlying pulse found<\/p>\n in ancient Gregorian and Byzantine chants<\/p>\n (think “neumes<\/a>“), or the “cantillations<\/a>“<\/a><\/p>\n of the ancient synagogues, as examples.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n WHAT HAS STOOD OUT TO ME<\/strong>,<\/p>\n over the years,<\/p>\n as I have studied all of these passages<\/p>\n numerous times,<\/p>\n while editing and typesetting them<\/p>\n into their current 650 page book form,<\/p>\n is how much Jesus of Nazareth<\/p>\n stands out as the prophetic fulfillment<\/p>\n of the messianic passages.<\/p>\n Most people do not realize<\/p>\n that “Christ” is the Greek language equivalent<\/p>\n of the Hebrew word for “Messiah”.<\/p>\n The word means “anointed”.<\/p>\n As in anointed with oil,<\/p>\n as was done by OT prophets<\/p>\n when they anointed the ancient kings of Israel<\/p>\n as they took office.<\/p>\n “Christ” is the one<\/p>\n who is anointed by<\/p>\n the Lord God Omnipotent Who Reigneth.<\/p>\n In addition,<\/p>\n the name “Jesus”<\/p>\n is actually the word for “savior”.<\/p>\n Christ Jesus means<\/p>\n “the anointed savior”.<\/p>\n Jesus Christ means<\/p>\n “the savior who is anointed”,<\/p>\n by God.<\/p>\n It really is a title,<\/p>\n not a name.<\/p>\n The scriptures tell us that HIS NAME<\/p>\n is Emmanuel,<\/p>\n meaning “God with us”.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ALSO, OF GREAT INTEREST<\/strong>,<\/p>\n is the fact that “the Christ” is deity.<\/p>\n He is “God manifest”.<\/p>\n As one studies these passages closely,<\/p>\n this will become more and more evident.<\/p>\n Those who deny the full deity of Christ<\/p>\n simply do not know or understand<\/p>\n what these passages are describing.<\/p>\n That is to say,<\/p>\n it is not a New Testament doctrine,<\/p>\n and it is not some afterthought<\/p>\n which was made up by the Apostles,<\/p>\n as so many moderns seem to love to proclaim,<\/p>\n in all of their very loud and arrogant<\/p>\n haughty ignorance.<\/p>\n The deity of the Messiah can be seen<\/p>\n throughout these passages.<\/p>\n As can the Sonship of Christ.<\/p>\n That is why John the Apostle<\/p>\n emphasizes this at the beginning of his Gospel,<\/p>\n and at the beginning of his First Epistle,<\/p>\n and then, finally,<\/p>\n in his\u00a0writing,<\/p>\n known as<\/p>\n “The Revelation\u00a0(unveiling) of Jesus Christ”.<\/p>\n It is in the Book of Revelation<\/p>\n that things come full circle,<\/p>\n as John<\/p>\n (the one who laid his head on Jesus’ breast<\/p>\n at the Last Supper)<\/p>\n uses the Old Testament theophanies,<\/p>\n mainly in the form of visions<\/p>\n of the Old Testament prophets,<\/p>\n as the basis for his “revelation\/unveiling”.<\/p>\n He is showing,<\/p>\n in no uncertain terms,<\/p>\n that Jesus of Nazareth<\/p>\n is\u00a0none other than<\/p>\n the person who appears<\/p>\n in the form of a human being,<\/p>\n to the Old Testament prophets,<\/p>\n repeatedly,<\/p>\n as a theophany.<\/p>\n This becomes especially apparent<\/p>\n when comparing the visions of<\/p>\n Ezekiel,<\/p>\n Isaiah<\/p>\n and<\/p>\n Daniel,<\/p>\n for example.<\/p>\n This Jesus of Nazareth<\/p>\n is the one<\/p>\n “who is like unto a Son of Man”.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n IT IS MY\u00a0HOPE THAT<\/strong><\/p>\n this work serves to strengthen your faith<\/p>\n and helps you to see the rationality<\/p>\n of your separation<\/p>\n (that is what “holy” means, after all)<\/p>\n from this wicked generation<\/p>\n as you go through your day to day life<\/p>\n in this time of great darkness.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n AND FINALLY<\/strong>,<\/p>\n I should note that these prophecies<\/p>\n were written during<\/p>\n an approximately 1200 year span of time.<\/p>\n Each was originally contained in a scroll,<\/p>\n which was separated<\/p>\n by time and geography<\/p>\n from all of the others for centuries, until,<\/p>\n about 250-300 years before Jesus of Nazareth,<\/p>\n they were combined together<\/p>\n into a book form,<\/p>\n as the Greek translation of the Old Testament,<\/p>\n known as the Septuagint<\/a>.<\/p>\n Following the earthly ministry<\/p>\n of Jesus of Nazareth,<\/p>\n his various followers began to search the scriptures,<\/p>\n which had been brought together<\/p>\n particularly, in the\u00a0Septuagint.<\/p>\n As they searched<\/p>\n they began to notice the continuity.<\/p>\n It is as if one writer<\/p>\n has been writing during all of these centuries,<\/p>\n such that it reflects the result of a process<\/p>\n which simply cannot be faked.<\/p>\n And which stands<\/p>\n as a direct “slap in the face”<\/p>\n to all of the moderns<\/p>\n who like to pretend<\/p>\n that it is we who are deluded,<\/p>\n and not themselves.<\/p>\n To which I must respond,<\/p>\n stand tall,<\/p>\n and stand strong,<\/p>\n and stand steadfast in your faith,<\/p>\n and in your knowledge,<\/p>\n Oh you (spiritual) sons and daughters<\/p>\n of Abraham and of Israel\/Jacob.<\/p>\n And may the Lord God Ominipotent Who Reigneth<\/p>\n abundantly bless you<\/p>\n as you take the time<\/p>\n to closely study these passages<\/p>\n and<\/p>\n “learn of Him”<\/p>\n who laid down his life<\/p>\n so that you and I may live,<\/p>\n rather than be cast into outer darkness,<\/p>\n with the rest,<\/p>\n as we so richly deserve.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To Him<\/p>\n be the power,<\/p>\n the honor,<\/p>\n and the glory.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n World without end.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amen.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n vw<\/p>\n Sunday<\/p>\n 6-8-14<\/p>\n Ventura, California, USA<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE MESSIANIC PROPHECIES consist of various Old Testament quotations, as found in the New Testament, along with contextual passages. The idea is to be able to look at and see what people would have seen when reading the Old … Continue reading