365 Messianic Prophecies – Episode #13 – Rabbi Michael Skobac
Join us as we continue to investigate the alleged 365 messianic prophesies in the Tanakh that Jesus supposedly fulfilled in the New Testament!
146.Psalms 112:4…His character-Compassionate, Gracious, et al…Matthew 9:36
147.Psalms 118:17-18…Messiah’s Resurrection assured…Luke 24:5-7;1 Corinthians 15:20
148.Psalms 118:22-23…The rejected stone is Head of the corner…Matthew 21:42-43
149.Psalms 118:26a…The Blessed One presented to Israel…Matthew 21:9
150.Psalms 118:26b…To come while Temple standing…Matthew 21:12-15
151.Psalms 132:11…The Seed of David (the fruit of His Body)…Luke 1:32
152.Psalms 138:1-6…The supremacy of David’s Seed amazes kings…Matthew 2:2-6
153.Psalms 147:3-6…The earthly ministry of Christ described…Luke 4:18
Join us for this year’s Tanakh Tour of Israel!
Have you looked at our page about the 48 prophecies in this article http://therefinersfire.org/accurate_messiah_prophecies.htm ? They came straight from the mind of a young, Jewish lawyer who came to believe that Y’shua is THE Messiah, after trying to disprove Him, back in 2005. He graciously allowed us to post them on our site for all to see!
Aramaic scholar and author Andrew Gabriel Roth (Aramaic English New Testament and One Faith One People Ministries) has a similar story. He told us he used to have fun debating Christians (and pretty much making mincemeat out of their theology) while he was in college … until one day when it suddenly dawned on him that Y’shua was the “netzer/branch”. Afterwards, he began to study the NT like never before, and a whole new world opened for him! He once wrote:
“Netzarim is a SCRIPTURAL and not a cultural, title. Y’shua says in John ‘I am the vine and you are the branches,’, and from there is natural to link ‘He will be called a Nazarene’ (Matthew 2:23) with NETZER as righteous branch in Isaiah. It’s a name that Rav Shaul agrees is proper under interrogation in Acts 24:5. If anyone were to use ANY alternate term, it would Mishkhanee (Messianic). The only OTHER title for Gentiles, is KRISTIANAY, which does appear twice even in Aramaic because that’s what Gentile believers were called. But the Shlichim (Apostles) NEVER WERE “Christian!” … which certainly punches a hole in the endless insistence of traditional Jews who INSIST that once a Jew believes in Y’shua, he/she is automatically “Christian”….
Neither of these men is exactly “unlearned” or stupid. They came to their own conclusions about Y’shua.
Well, let’s start with the first one on the list of 48. Micah 5.2 — the Bethlehem prophecy. I think R’ Skobac already debunked this one. There is no prophecy that the messiah must be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5 merely states that the real messiah will be a descendant of King David who was from Bethlehem (Beit Lechem). If you believe in the virgin birth that excludes Jesus even from being “in the running” (he wasn’t a Davidic heir). Given the fact that there were two places called Beit Lechem (Bethlehem) in the bible (one was in Judah and one was in the Galilee) the claim that Jesus was born in Bethlehem makes no sense at any rate.
The Beit Lechem in Judah had been abandoned for hundreds of years the town at the time Jesus supposedly lived most probably did not exist — UriYosef makes the point that Beit Lechem of Judah is about 70 miles from Nazareth — and over rough terrain yet. It is hard to believe that a “very” pregnant Mary would have traveled such a great length in the winter no less — whereas the Beit Lechem of the Galilee was only 4 miles from Nazareth. . . It probably was “after the fact” — just like the “prophecy” of the destruction of Jerusalem which was written after Jerusalem had been destroyed.
It is easy to make predictions in the rear view mirror!
And this is just the first “prophecy” in this new list of 48. Surely it is clear by now (up to 153 in Jono’s list) that none of these “prophecies” really fit Jesus in any way, shape or form.
Oh — and let’s not forget netzer which was brought up as the reason someone turned to Christianity. . . This epitomizes the “taken out of context” issue surrounding so many of these so-called prophecies about Jesus. Isaiah 11:1 states “And a shoot shall spring forth from the stem of Jesse, and a twig shall sprout from his roots.” Well, Jessie (King David’s ancestor) has many descendants — even if Jesus were from Jesse does he fit the person spoken about in Isaiah 11? Nope. Read the chapter.
Read line 3. “he shall be animated by the fear of the L-rd.” If Jesus is part of a godhead is he afraid of himself? How about line 6? “And a wolf shall live with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie with a kid; and a calf and a lion cub and a fatling [shall lie] together, and a small child shall lead them.” This certainly didn’t happen in the time of Jesus. That is because this is a real messianic prophecy — one Jesus failed to fulfill.
How about line 9? “They shall neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mount, for the land shall be full of knowledge of the L-rd as water covers the sea bed.” Did anyone hear the news this weak that terrorists went into a Synagogue and slaughtered four Rabbis and a Druze policeman? No peace there (line 6-8) and no peace on G-d’s holy mount. . . yet again something Jesus failed to fulfill.
Isaiah goes on to say that on that day the root of Jesse will “gather the lost of Israel, and the scattered ones of Judah He shall gather from the four corners of the earth.” Jesus did not do this — and indeed within 30-70 years of his death the Jews who were in the land were exiled. Jesus was the anti-messiah, doing the opposite of the prophecy. . . yet again a failed prophecy for Jesus.
One must read the T’nach IN CONTEXT. If the person who was so persuaded by the term “netzer” to become a Christian had bothered to read the chapter he would never have fallen into such misplaced error.
In closing, the author of the Book of Matthew tried to apply Isaiah 11:1 to Jesus, stating in Matthew 2:23 “And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.” Unfortunately for that author the city of Nazareth didn’t exist at that time. Matthew 2:23 points to a nonexistent prophecy in the T’nach (Jewish bible).