Our Yeshua (Immanuel)

One of the most important happenings, when the Messiah has arrived, is that the Temple will be rebuild. Ezekiel 37:26-27 is a passage from the TaNaKH that tells us about this. When it turns out to be that a person named himself ‘the Messiah’, or is claimed to be the Messiah by his followers and this person did not rebuild the Temple, then according to most it can’t be other than this person is to be treated and proclaimed “false”.

Shimon, who according the Aramaic language is named Bar-Kokhbah [Son of the Star] by rabbi Akiva, was this kind of a man. Shimon was a leader of the Jewish resistance. He led the revolt that was named after him against the Roman Empire that was led by emperor Hadrianus in the years 132 till 136 CE. Shimon was seen as the messiah by some of the Jews, rabbi Akiva included. By naming Shimon Bar-Kokhbah rabbi Akiva revered to Numbers 24:17, in which says that a star will raise up from Jakob. He also revered to the son of man from the book of Daniel.

According the next Jewish generation, this turned out to be a painful misunderstanding of rabbi Akiva. Not only failed Shimon in his revolt against the Roman Empire in order the Temple to be rebuild again, that was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 CE, it was forbidden for the Jews to enter Jerusalem and to practice their religion. No Shabbat, no Brit Milah [circumcision], no longer allowed to proclaim and pronounce the name of our God, יהוה, … etc. A good thing that the faith and religion of the Jews isn’t to be removed. In the entire Roman Empire were several Synagogues where the books of Moses were read. Shimon, however, wasn’t remembered as Bar-Kokhbah, but as Bar-Kotsbah, “son of lies”.

According most Jews, there is another man that was recognized being the messiah but did not rebuild the Temple in his time also. And the most logic reason is that the Temple did not need to be rebuild back then, because it was still there and operational. Moreover, about 70 years after his death the Temple was destroyed. The name of this man: Yeshua [Jesus].

So, how about it? Did both men failed indeed? Were they meant to rebuild the Temple in their time, or was this meant for a later time period? What exactly did our God said to us through is prophets? Did both men not understood, or don’t we understand?
Let us pick up the TaNaKH¹ and see what we can find about the Temple to find some answers.

^{1. Often translated into Old Testament. It stands for Torah, Nevi’im, K(KH)etuvim: Instruction, Prophets, Scriptures.}

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ADONAI² יהוה, our God Himself says it through His prophet Ezekiel. The ones being dead in the eyes of our God, the scattered bones with no flesh on it and without ruach [wind; breath; spirit], are being freed from their miserable positions. The bones reconnect to each other, flesh and sinews and everything that belongs to and in it covers these bones, and the ruach is blown in them in order to actually make them alive. In this chapter is explained what our God means with this image. It turns out to be “all the house of Israel” Ezekiel 37:16^b) who are seen as dry bones in the eyes of our God.

Reading from verse 16 it becomes clear that our God did not meant only the Israelites that turned to Judaism will be the ones living in the kingdom to come. The Israelites being the companion of Juda are the people that moved from the former northern kingdom to the southern kingdom and lived in kingdom Judea. And with “For Joseph, the peace of wood of Ephraim and from all the house of Israel, his companion” is meant the former northern kingdom.

Our God explains that His servant David will be forever their nasi (Ezekiel 37:25). “Nasi” means “The one being lifted/risen” and it also means chef; prince; captain; leader. Nasi derives from the root word nasa, which means in active verb “to lift up; to carry; to support; to maintain; to endure; to take; to give; to carry away; to forgive”. In one verse earlier our God explains that His servant David will be their king [Melech]. (Ezekiel 37:24-25. Also: Psalms 110 and Zechariah 6).

Our God ends this chapter [Ezekiel 37] with saying that He will establish a covenant with the inhabitants of this kingdom, a covenant of peace [brit shalom] and that our God will put His Sanctuary [Mikdashi = My Sanctuary] in their midst till eternity. Our God says that His Residence [Mishkani = My Residence] will be with them.

In this chapter we have two words that could refer to Temple:

1. Mikdash מקדש
2. Mishkan משכן

Mikdash means “devoted, sacred place; sanctuary; holy place”. We will quote passages with this word.
Mishkan means “place to live; place to stay; residence”. In our Bible translations mikdash is translated into Tabernacle.

The Hebrew letters mem מ – kuph ק – dalet ד – shin ש, forms together not only the word mikdash, but they also form the word mukdash, which means devoted/sacred; dedicated; sanctified; declared sacred; separated/secluded. We will find the word mikdash also in Exodus, Leviticus, Ezekiel and Amos.

^{2. Literally: “My Lords”. Related to God: “Great, Exalted Lord”.}

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Exodus 15:17
Mikdash refers to Gods Mountain, a place made to be Gods Residence and established by God’s Hands and where the people of Israel will be planted. This is a piece of a song, sang by the people after they were rescued by our God from the persecution of the pharaoh and his army.

Exodus 25:8
Mikdash refers here to the ohel mo’ed אוהל מועד [Tent of set times/times set apart], which was about to be made. Through Moses our God asks for a voluntarily contribution, which will make the ohel mo’ed.

Leviticus 16:33
Mikash is named “holy” and it refers to the Holy of Holies, being in the ohel mo’ed. Leviticus 16 is about Yom HaKipurim: The Day of Atonements.

Leviticus 21:12
Mikdash refers to the ohel mo’ed where the priest, who was anointed, wasn’t allowed to come out to desecrate the holy things. Not even when his father and/or mother passed away.

Ezekiel 48:8, 10
The prophet of our God sees in a vision the Mikdash in the midst of a separated offering. It will be next to Juda’s border.

Amos 7:13
Here Mikdash is referred to a house of the king of Israel (the former northern kingdom).

These quoted passages tell us that Mikdash is the place, the region, the tent, the house that has been set apart – is sanctified – to be a residence of ADONAI יהוה, our God. The king from Amos 7 dares to name his residence ‘sacred area’.

These passages also state that it is not specific 1 place. After all, the ohel mo’ed was in the midst of the people Israel when they were in the desert/wilderness and not in the Promised Land. Moving through this desert they went from one place to another. Although it is logic to translate Mikdash to Temple, that is not what is meant with it in first.

Ezekiel 37:26-28 states that God’s Holy place [Mikdash] will be in the midst of the people of Israel till eternity, and that this Sacred place [Mikdash] will be God’s residence [Mishkan]. Logically we think of Beit HaMikdash, which literally means Sanctified House.

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Haggai
The book Haggai contains 2 chapters. This book is about the rebuilding of God’s House. The second Temple is meant and the Hebrew word that is used, is bait בית. Or, better to say: Bait YHWH בית יהוה “House of YHWH”.

Ezekiel 43:1-7
This subject begins with chapter 40, in which we can read that the prophet Ezekiel was taken ‘in spirit’ (he has a vision).

In chapter 43 Ezekiel tells us that he was taken to a gate, looking out to the east. He says that from the east Kevod Elohei Yisra’el came, with a sound as many waters. He says that the earth was lightened by mikevodo.

“Kevod” means: “Glory; Honor; Glorious; Abundance”.
“Mikevodo” contains the preposition mi, which can be translated into “from; by; because of” and is placed before the word “kevod”. And it contains the possessive pronoun o, which means “his”. It is placed behind the word “kevod”.

Ezekiel says that through this gate Kevod יהוה entered the House, and that he was lifted up by a spirit and taken to the inner forecourt where he saw Kevod יהוה filling the House. He says that he heard a voice mihabait [from the House] speaking to him that this the place of His throne and of the soles of His feet is, where He will live forever in the midst of the children of Israel. Ezekiel is urged that they [the children of Israel] must no longer defile shem kadoshi [My Holy Name].

Zacharia 6:9-15
In this passage we’ll read about a man who is named “Tsemach” [Sprout, Growth, Branch] and how he will yitsmach [sprout], and that it will be him who will (re)build Heichal YHWH [Palace of YHWH]. (The Hebrew word “bana” means both “to build” as to “rebuild”.)
It says that it is this man, named Sprout/Growth/Branch, who will sit on his throne and will rule [HaMelech HaMashiach] and will be a priest from this throne [HaCohen HaMashiach]. David, who was a king of all the tribes of Israel, sang it in one of his Psalms: Psalms 110.
Zacharia 6:15 ends with the announcement that people will come from afar to build heichal יהוה.

It has happened before that a man is both king and priest of the Most High God. We can read this in Genesis 14:18. That this will happen again, is according the words of the writer of the book Ecclesiastes [in Hebrew: Kohelet].

Ecclesiastes 1:9
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
From: Chabad.org/library/bible

Ecclesiastes 3:15
Whatever is has already been, and what shall be has been before. But Elohim seeks out what has been pursued.
From: The Scriptures 2009

The Temple is a Palace, which will be the Sacred/Holy residence of ADONAI יהוה, our God. It will be (re)build by a man who will be named Tsemach and he will be helped by people coming from far away. This Tsemach will be both king and priest in the order of Malki-Tsedek [Melchizedek: Righteous King]. The (re)building will take place after all the tribes of Israel has returned to the land of their ancestors and after judgement is spoken all over the earth.

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In the book Haggai we’ve read that our God has desired from the Judeans [Yehudim/Jews] – demand – that they will work on His house first and then work on their own houses. I think this will be in the future the same. First His house and then our own.

Our God has told and explained us through His prophets many things. We were (and actually still are) working more on our own wishes and sense organs which we loved more than the words of our God. This is what blinded us.

As mentioned in the beginning of this article will the person, claiming to be or named to be the Messiah, be tested if he fulfills the demands mentioned in the Scriptures. Thus far we know two men who lived 2000 years ago who carried the title Messiah. One is named Shimon and the other is named Yeshua [Jesus].

Yeshua must have been born between the year 7 BCE [before common era] and the year 5 BCE. His place of birth was Beit-Lechem [Bread House]. This was the place where the animals, intended for sacrifice in the Temple, were kept. It is unknown when exactly Yeshua was born. It isn’t mentioned in the Bible. I hold two theories for possible: the first day of the Feast of Booths [Succoth] and in the first week of the Biblical First Month. The First Month is the month in which Pesach [Pascha] is held and the Feast of the unleavened bread is celebrated. The first day of the Biblical First Month is the true rosh hashana [new years day].

With Yochanan [John] the immerser as witness (and most likely more people who stood by and watched), did Yeshua his mikveh [a ritual cleaning by immersing] in the Jordan river and after this he was anointed by the Ruach Hakodesh [The Set-Apart Wind/Breath/Spirit]. Being the anointed prophet Moses talked about in Deuteronomy 18, he taught his followers the Scriptures and told the people the words our God told him to tell the people. Being the anointed priest in the order of Malki-Tsedek he carried the iniquities of his people (and of every stranger living among the people of Israel, and of those who are grafted by following his footsteps – adopted to the people of Israel). He knew that his time as the anointed king hasn’t arrived yet.

Although a man is anointed by God to be a king, prophet or priest, he will not be a king over his people until they accept him and anoint him to be their king. David is an example of this. He was anointed to be king by God through His prophet Shmuel [Samuel]. But not sooner than the people declared and crowned him king he ruled as a king.

Being a prophet and a priest Yeshua did his work (and as a priest he still does).
Being a king, he sits at the right hand of The Almighty and waits until our God has placed his enemies at his feet.
Yeshua being HaMashiach [The Anointed = The Messiah] can’t be sooner do his work as HaMelech HaMashiach [The Anointed King] according to the prophesies than when the people greets and bless him and crown him with the words from Psalms 118:26:

ברוך הבא בשם יהוה ברכנוכם מבית יהוה

Barukh habah b’shem YHWH berakhnukhem mibeit YHWH

May he who enters be blessed in the name [of] YHWH; we bless you from the House [of] YHWH.
From: Jewish Public Society

And this is what Yeshua has said to the people:

Matthew 23:37-39
Yerushalayim, Yerushalayim, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to her! How often I wished to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you would not! See! Your house is left to you laid waste, for I say to you, from now on you shall by no means see Me, until you say, “Blessed is He Who is coming in the Name of יהוה!
From: The Scriptures 2009

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