It’s not them it’s us. It is easy to point our fingers at national leaders and rulers and declare that they are the source of our problems. In some regards, their decisions affect the way that we live, but they are only in the position they are in because of us. We are the problem. It is not that we vote poorly, although that is one problem. But if the Body of Christ was overwhelmingly larger in numbers and not fragmented, then we would work or be active in every aspect of society. There are 7.7 billion people in the world, with 2.3 billion Christians world wide. Sixty-five percent of the population in the United States claims to be Christian. That percentage is down from 75% in 2015. Let me say that again; in the seven years since 2015 the number of people claiming to be Christians in the United States has decreased to 65%. Our numbers are going down in the United States. While worldwide missions are important, so are hometown missions. Yet we seem to find it easier to point our fingers at our leaders for the problems in society and the persecutions that we endure. The reality is that we get the leaders we deserve because we are not a large majority, just a slight majority.
From a historical perspective, all three of the first kings of Israel fell short because they were just human. None of them had evil intent, but all of them did some things wrong. When we look at our national leaders today we have to remember that they are just men, it is not like we are electing Jesus to lead us. There will not be an election for world leader during the millennial kingdom as Jesus will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. Our rulers and kings are human like us, but we tend to elevate them as somehow better humans than we are. When we do that, we disassociate our own responsibilities for the situation that we are in. David gave us some interesting insight regarding nations in general, and prophesied of the Messiah. But David goes further into the future, after the Messiah has already come to earth, to point out something about the way the nations behave. Let’s explore.
Psalms 2:0 G5568 A psalm G3588 to G* David.
“Song the David”
As we look at this song we will compare the AP with the LXX-WH to see if there are other things that we can learn. David wrote this song about the ethnic groups. He starts with the majority’s attitude and then moves backward in time.
Psalms 2:1 G2444 Why did G5433 [2neigh G1484 1nations], G2532 and G2992 peoples G3191 meditate upon G2756 vain things ?
“For what reason ethnos/nations snort (like a horse) and the laity they studied vanities.”
David is asking why the nations, the ethnic races, “snort like a horse”. It seems that a horses’ snort can be a happy way of communicating, excited about something. The people of the other ethnic groups study and educate themselves in vanities or in empty worthless things. They seem to be happy and excited about those vain studies.
What is a vain study or empty education? It is the idea that the things studied are not worthwhile, such as climate change as an example. With only one hundred years of data, we decided that the first fifty years pointed to the world going into an ice age and the second fifty years pointed to the earth now going into a period of abnormal heating. How about special secret occultic mysteries that only a few rabbis know of? How about the promotion of the idea that hell is non-existent and that everyone goes to heaven? We could come up with many empty worthless studies because those studies are not founded on the Bible, the living word of the Elohim given to men by the Holy Spirit.
Psalms 2:2 G3936 [5stood by G3588 1The G935 2kings G3588 3of the G1093 4earth], G2532 and G3588 the G758 rulers G4863 gathered G2009.1 together G2596 against G3588 the G2962 lord G2532 and G2596 against G3588 G5547 his anointed one, G1473
5547 Dodson:Χριστός anointed, the Messiah, the Christ anointed; the Messiah, the Christ.
TBESG:Χριστός Christ
N:N--T
χριστός (Χρ-), -ή, -όν
(< χρίω), [in LXX for מָשִׁיחַ and cogn. forms ;]
Thayer:
1) Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God
2) anointed
Literal: Christ = "anointed"
Χριστός
Christos khris-tos' From G5548; anointed, that is, the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus
KJV Usage: Christ.
“The kings the earth indeed present and the rulers convene against the his downward Yahweh and downward the his Christos chanting.”
In comparing the LXX-WH we see a few small changes in the text. The last word of this sentence seems to be missing; διαψαλμα meaning “chanting”. The kings and rulers chant downward against Yahweh and the Messiah. Why would the ethnic kings and rulers convene against Yahweh and the Messiah? Why would they chant about it? They are excited about vain studies and oppose Yahweh and the Messiah because they feel Yahweh brings them bondage.
Now we have to notice something here. In order to chant against Christos, the Messiah, the Messiah has to have already come. He has to have already been known as Messiah. No one would chant against a Messiah that has not come yet. The kings and rulers present and convene against Yahweh and His Christos with chanting. So chronologically David is writing the end before the beginning.
Psalms 2:3 G1284 We should tear up G3588 G1199 their bonds, G1473 G2532 and G641 we should throw away G575 from G1473 us G3588 G2218 their yoke. G1473
“Let’s break in the ties his and reject away from us the his heavy burden.”
This is what the kings and rulers chant. They chant to break the ties and heavy burdens or the coupling with Yahweh. David’s question is why are they in a rage over this? Why are they rejecting Yahweh? Why do they think that they are bound and tied by Yahweh? They are not. They think that they are so they reject Yahweh, claiming that following Him brings a heavy burden. What burden? Sin. The things they wish to partake in are pointed out as sin and when sin is called out or exposed then it becomes a burden. In order to relieve the burden they reject Yahweh and the Messiah. If one rejects Yahweh and the Christ, that one has no burden of their own sins.
This is also a picture of us in the Body of Christ. We don’t usually paint ourselves into this type of picture because we think of ourselves as holy saints. We are not. People in the church sell-out to many vanities, ideas, and sins. Encouraging others into the same things, as if more people behaving badly makes it right. We are the problem. People want notoriety and pretend that they have special secret information about Yahweh. It starts a deviation from Christ. And again, this is after the Messiah has come to earth, therefore the Body of Christ is included among those wanting to break the coupling to Yahweh and Christos.
Psalms 2:4 G3588 The G2730 one dwelling G1722 in G3772 heavens G1548.1 derides G1473 them, G2532 and G3588 the G2962 lord G1592 ridicules G1473 them.
“The resident in heaven laughs at them and the Yahweh mocks them.”
The ethnic nations cannot hide from Yahweh and neither can we. Do you think that Yahweh doesn’t know everyones secrets?
Psalms 2:5 G5119 Then G2980 he shall speak G4314 to G1473 them G1722 in G3709 his anger; G1473 G2532 and G1722 in G3588 G2372 his rage G1473 G5015 he will disturb G1473 them.
“At that time talk to them in his anger and in the his passion trouble them.”
Yahweh is angry with them and us. Are we any different?
Psalms 2:6 G1473 But I G1161 G2525 was placed G935 king G5259 by G1473 him G1909 over G* mount Zion, G3735 G3588 G39 his holy place; G1473
“But I established king under him, on Zion mountain the his holy.”
David was king in Zion. The next sentence belongs at the end of this statement.
Psalms 2:7 G1229 declaring G3588 the G4366.2 order G2962 of the lord . G2962 The lord G2036 said G4314 to G1473 me, G5207 [2my son G1473 G1510.2.2 1you are], G1473 G1473 I G4594 today G1080 engendered G1473 you.
“But I established king under him, on Zion mountain the his holy, announcing the command Yahweh.”
Next sentence:
“Yahweh said to me my son you exist (I am) I today bring forth you.”
David is the established king on Zion announcing the command of Yahweh. What is Yahweh’s command? Yahweh says to David that he, Yahweh, is “I Am” and he brings Christos forth. This is interesting because everyone knew who Moses talked to, it was I AM, or I exist that I exist.
1510 LSJ Gloss:εἰμί I have
Dodson:εἰμί I am, exist.
Strong's:
εἰμί
I exist (used only when emphatic)
Derivation: the first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb;
KJV Usage: am, have been, X it is I, was.
See also G1488, G1498, G1511, G1527, G2258, G2071, G2070, G2075, G2076, G2771, G2468, G5600. G1488 G1498 G1511 G1527 G2258 G2071 G2070 G2075 G2076 G2771 G2468 G5600
TBESG:εἰμί to be
G:V
εἰμί,
with various uses and significations, like the English verb to be.
__I. As substantive verb.
__1. Of persons and things, to be, exist:
Thayer:
1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present
εἰμί
eimi i-mee' First person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist (used only when emphatic) KJV Usage: am, have been, X it is I, was. See also G1488, G1498, G1511, G1526, G2258, G2071, G2070, G2075, G2076, G2277, G2468, G5600.
I AM is bringing him, Christos, forth? Jesus the Christos says this:
John 8:58 G2036 [G5627] V-2AAI-3S ειπεν G846 P-DPM αυτοις G2424 N-NSM ιησους G281 HEB αμην G281 HEB αμην G3004 [G5719] V-PAI-1S λεγω G5213 P-2DP υμιν G4250 ADV πριν G11 N-PRI αβρααμ G1096 [G5635] V-2ADN γενεσθαι G1473 P-1NS εγω G1510 [G5748] V-PXI-1S ειμι
John 8:58 G2036 [2said G1473 3to them G3588 G* 1Jesus], G281 Amen, G281 amen, G3004 I say G1473 to you, G4250 Before G* Abraham G1096 existed G1473 I G1510.2.1 am.
Jesus says “Before Abraham existed I AM.” This is a big statement. This is prophetic as to the Messiah. Some people misunderstand, believing that Yahweh is speaking of David, but David was not gennaō, procreated by Yahweh. Yahweh says to the Messiah, that today Christos is his son, he procreated him.
We have gone backwards in time. People do not want to be yoked to the Messiah and Yahweh. The context is the kings and rulers chanting against Yahweh and Christos. They do not want to be connected to them. They are rejecting them. Yahweh procreated Christos. David announced it. David has a kingdom in Israel, not the entire world. This is a huge announcement. David announced the Messiah to all of Israel and also tells us that the nations will reject him. Oddly, David’s song is about the kings and rulers rejecting the Messiah first, then about David telling everyone prophetically that Yahweh, I AM, procreated Christos. We now see Christos’ inheritance.
Psalms 2:8 G154 Ask G3844 from G1473 me! G2532 and G1325 I will give G1473 to you G1484 nations G3588 G2817 for your inheritance; G1473 G2532 and G3588 G2697 for your possession G1473 G3588 the G4009 ends G3588 of the G1093 earth.
“Ask in the presence of me and I give you ethnos/nations the your inheritance and the your possession the extremity the earth indeed.”
Who has a possession into the extremities of the earth? Who has the nations as an inheritance? Who is going to shepherd them? Christos.
Psalms 2:9 G4165 You shall tend G1473 them G1722 with G4464 a rod G4603 of iron; G5613 as G4632 vessels G2763 of a potter G4937 you shall break G1473 them.
“Shepherd them in rod made of iron that vessel potter crush them.”
Revelation 5:5 G2532 And G5088 she bore G5207 [2son G730 1a male] G3739 who G3195 is about G4165 to tend G3956 all G3588 the G1484 nations G1722 with G4464 a rod G4603 of iron; G2532 and G726 [2was snatched away G3588 G5043 1her child] G1473 G4314 to G3588 G2316 God, G2532 and G4314 to G3588 G2362 his throne. G1473
And again:
Revelation 19:15 G2532 And G1537 from out of G3588 G4750 his mouth G1473 G1607 goes forth G4501 [3broadsword G1366 2double-edged G3691 1a sharp], G2443 that G1722 with G1473 it G3960 he should strike G3588 the G1484 nations. G2532 And G1473 he G4165 shall tend G1473 them G1722 with G4464 a rod G4603 of iron. G2532 And G1473 he G3961 treads G3588 the G3025 wine vat G3588 of the G3631 wine G3588 of the G2372 rage G3588 of the G3709 wrath G3588 G2316 of God G3588 G3841 almighty
The Christos will rule the nations with a rod of iron. This is simple. The I Am procreates Christos, who will shepherd and rule the nations with a rod of iron. But today the nations do not want to be yoked to him. Sometimes the church does not want to be yoked with him either. So David admonishes the people.
Psalms 2:10 G2532 And G3568 now, G935 O kings, G4920 perceive! G3811 Let [6be instructed G3956 1all G3588 2the ones G2919 3judging G3588 4the G1093 5earth]!
“And even now kings understand educate all the judges the earth indeed.”
David thinks it wise to educate the judges on earth so that they can make right judgments regarding Yahweh and Christos. If 90% of the people of a nation were Christians it would be easy to educate judges on right judgments.
Psalms 2:11 G1398 Serve G3588 to the G2962 lord G1722 in G5401 fear, G2532 and G21 exult G1473 to him G1722 with G5156 trembling!
“Obey the Yahweh in fear and rejoice him in trembling.”
David instructs everyone to obey and rejoice.
Psalms 2:12 G1405 Grab G3809 instruction! G3379 lest at any time G3710 you should provoke the lord to anger, G2962 G2532 and G622 you shall perish G1537 from G3598 [2way G1342 1 the just], G3752 whenever G1572 [2should be kindled G1722 G5034 3quickly G3588 G2372 1his rage]. G1473 G3107 Blessed are G3956 all G3588 the ones G3982 yielding G1909 upon G1473 him.
“Grasp training and education, on no account enrage Yahweh and omitted from out of path righteous when burn out in quick the his wrath. Happy all the rely on him.”
David says to grasp education, not vain empty hollow studies. Don’t irritate Yahweh because we do not want to be cast off the path of righteousness and burn up in the wrath. When is his wrath? Revelation 6.
Revelation 6: 16 G2532 And G3004 they say G3588 to the G3735 mountains G2532 and G3588 to the G4073 rocks, G4098 Fall G1909 upon G1473 us, G2532 and G2928 hide G1473 us G575 from G4383 the face G3588 of the one G2521 sitting G1909 upon G3588 the G2362 throne, G2532 and G575 from G3588 the G3709 anger G3588 of the G721 lamb!
17 G3754 For G2064 is come G3588 the G2250 [2day G3588 G3173 1great] G3588 G3709 of his anger; G1473 G2532 and G5100 who G1410 is able G2476 to stand?
Those who fall off the path of righteousness will burn up in His wrath, the wrath of the Lamb and the Father on the throne.
To recap, David is saying that the nations want to uncouple themselves from Yahweh and Christos because they feel burdened. Therefore they reject them. Yahweh derides and mocks them and will speak to them in His anger. David was placed as king to make an announcement of what Yahweh will do. The I AM will procreate Christos and give him the nations. Christos will shepherd them. Therefore kings, be smart, teach your judges, obey Yahweh, grasp education, and if you yield to Him you will be blessed.
That is all very simple. We understand it. But this is where one of our problems lies. Yahweh wanted us to individually have a relationship with Him. We saw that the Israelites wanted a king and later repented when Samuel gave them a king. We clearly point fingers at the kings of nations, but we rarely ever recognize that we are where we are because of ourselves. Our own lack of relationship with Yahweh.
Christians look to hire leaders as if we are volunteering a guy to read out the bingo numbers at the church picnic. ‘It’s not a hard job, just read the number on the little ball.' The odd thing is that we think we are “spiritual” when we are not. Jesus did not commend people for being ignorant, unwise, and incapable of smart business practices.
Luk 16:8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
We are not wise; we are easily fooled. We want someone like Mr. Rogers to be our leader so we can feel loved and warm inside. The god of this world laughs at us. The god of this world will never love us, speak kindly to us, and make us feel warm and loved. He will not protect us. He will not honor our relationship with Yahweh. He will not give us health or prosperity. Crying about it will not change the situation, only adding numbers to the Lord Jesus Christ will change the balance on the earth.
David was not loved by all the people, he was a giant slayer and a bloody warrior. The tribe of Benjamin tried to usurp Samuel’s anointed king, David. The mixed nations and people with mixed families didn’t love David, but David continued on. David felt that the tabernacle was not a permanent dwelling and wanted a temple built, but David could not build it himself. Solomon was charged with that task.
Solomon was a great teacher of the Spirit of Wisdom until the end of his own life when he realized that very few people were following along. He saw that people had too many distractions in life and that they just wanted to follow him instead of following Yahweh. At the end of his life his heart turned from Yahweh.
1Ki 11:0 And king Solomon was a lover of women.
1Ki 11:1 And he took strange women, as well as the daughter of Pharao, Moabitish, Ammanitish women, Syrians and Idumeans, Chettites, and Amorites;
1Ki 11:2 of the nations concerning whom the Lord forbade the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall not go in to them, and they shall not come in to you, lest they turn away your hearts after their idols: Solomon clave to these in love.
1Ki 11:3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines.
1Ki 11:4 And it came to pass in the time of the old age of Solomon, that his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
1Ki 11:5 and to Astarte the abomination of the Sidonians.
1Ki 11:6 And Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he went not after the Lord, as David his father. And the strange women turned away his heart after their gods.
1Ki 11:7 Then Solomon built a high place to Chamos the idol of Moab, and to their king the idol of the children of Ammon,
1Ki 11:8 And thus he acted towards all his strange wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their idols.
What do we do when we talk about Solomon? We point fingers and claim that this would never happen to us. We magically separate ourselves from him because he is a “leader”. He is in a higher class of the societal caste system and therefore he is ‘more sinful’ than we are. ‘Throw everything Solomon ever did away, because he fell away from Yahweh’. Oh boy. This attitude is so very evident in simply reading about Solomon’s life in encyclopedias and commentaries. While the end of his life was not spectacular, the early days were. The people never developed a continual relationship with the Holy Spirit as Solomon taught.
The kingdom was split into two kingdoms just as Samuel prophesied. Jeroboam takes the northern ten tribes and Rehoboam takes Judah and Benjamin. During this time another prophecy was put forth, that there would be a certain king who would clean up Judah.
1Ki 13:1 And behold, there came a man of God out of Juda by the word of the Lord to Baethel, and Jeroboam stood at the altar to sacrifice.
1Ki 13:2 And he cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord, Behold, a son is to be born to the house of David, Josias by name; and he shall offer upon thee the priests of the high places, even of them that sacrifice upon thee, and he shall burn men's bones upon thee.
The prophecy here is made in Israel, the northern kingdom, regarding the southern kingdom. Bethel is north of Benjamin in Ephraim. Jeroboam made a temple with a golden calf there. Bethel is the place that the ark of the covenant had been kept while the temple was being built. When the kingdom was divided, Bethel ended up as part of Israel under Jeroboam, and it later became known as a house of idols. The northern kingdom went into captivity around 722 BCE and Josiah became king around 643 BCE. Not only did Josiah clean up Judah, he destroyed the temple and the idols at Bethel.
The kingdom is split and the people flounder until the northern kingdom goes into captivity. Whose fault was that? Not the fault of the bad kings alone, there were not many observant worshippers of Yahweh. If there were 90% of the ten tribes in a true relationship with Yahweh, there would have been better leaders and no captivity.
Another prophecy is made, this time by Isaiah. Yahweh gives another name of a future king in Judah.
Isa 44:24 Thus saith the Lord that redeems thee, and who formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that performs all things: I stretched out the heaven alone, and established the earth.
Isa 44:25 Who else will frustrate the tokens of those that have divining spirits, and prophecies from the heart of man? turning the wise back, and making their counsel foolishness;
Isa 44:26 and confirming the word of his servant, and verifying the counsel of his messengers: who says to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Idumea, Ye shall be built, and her desert places shall spring forth.
Isa 44:27 Who says to the deep, Thou shalt be dried up, and I will dry up the rivers.
Isa 44:28 Who bids Cyrus be wise, and he shall perform all my will: who says to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and I will lay the foundation of my holy house.
Isa 45:1 Thus saith the Lord God to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, that nations might be obedient before him; and I will break through the strength of kings; I will open doors before him, and cities shall not be closed.
Isa 45:2 I will go before thee, and will level mountains: I will break to pieces brazen doors, and burst iron bars.
Isa 45:3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, I will open to thee hidden, unseen treasures, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord thy God, that call thee by name, am the God of Israel.
Isa 45:4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel mine elect, I will call thee by thy name, and accept thee: but thou hast not known me.
Isa 45:5 For I am the Lord God, and there is no other God beside me; I strengthened thee, and thou hast not known me.
Josiah becomes king in the southern kingdom just as it was prophesied, but somehow the people were not terribly excited about all the spiritual cleanup that Josiah was doing.
2Ch 35:18 And there was no passover like it in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet, or any king of Israel: they kept not such a passover as Josias, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Juda and Israel that were present, and the dwellers in Jerusalem, kept to the Lord.
2Ch 35:19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias this passover was kept, after all these things that Josias did in the house. And king Josias burnt those who had in them a divining spirit, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and the sodomites which were in the land of Juda and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law that were written in the book which Chelcias the priest found in the house of the Lord. There was no king like him before him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, and all his soul, and all his strength, according to all the law of Moses, and after him there rose up none like him. Nevertheless the Lord turned not from the anger of his fierce wrath, wherewith the Lord was greatly angry against Juda, for all the provocations wherewith Manasses provoked him: and the Lord said, I will even remove Juda also from my presence, as I have removed Israel, and I have rejected the city which I chose, even Jerusalem, and thehouse of which I said, My name shall be there.
2Ch 35:20 And Pharao Nechao king of Egypt went up against the king of the Assyrians to the river Euphrates, and king Josias went to meet him.
2Ch 35:21 And he sent messengers to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, O king of Juda? I am not come to-day to war against thee; and God has told me to hasten: beware of the God that is with me, lest he destroy thee.
2Ch 35:22 However, Josias turned not his face from him, but strengthened himself to fight against him, and hearkened not to the words of Nechao by the mouth of God, and he came to fight in the plain of Mageddo.
2Ch 35:23 And the archers shot at king Josias; and the king said to his servants, Take me away, for I am severely wounded.
2Ch 35:24 And his servants lifted him out of the chariot, and put him in the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem; and he died, and was buried with his fathers: and all Juda and Jerusalem lamented over Josias.
2Ch 35:25 And Jeremias mourned over Josias, and all the chief men and chief women uttered a lamentation over Josias until this day: and they made it an ordinance for Israel, and, behold, it is written in the lamentations.
2Ch 35:26 And the rest of the acts of Josias, and his hope, are written in the law of the Lord.
2Ch 35:27 And his acts, the first and the last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
With all the good that Josiah did for Judah, one would think that he would live forever, establishing Judah as a nation in love with Yahweh. But that didn’t happen. The majority of the people were not interested in a relationship with Yahweh. They went through the motions with Josiah, but their hearts were not into the house cleaning. After Josiah’s death, several kings became vassals for other nations. Judah then went into captivity. 2 Chronicles gives us a summation.
2Ch 36:15 And the Lord God of their fathers sent by the hand of his prophets; rising early and sending his messengers, for he spared his people, and his sanctuary.
2Ch 36:16 Nevertheless they sneered at his messengers, and set at nought his words, and mocked his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose up against his people, till there was no remedy.
It was the people that sent themselves into captivity. The remedy was Nebuchadnezzar. Yes the king of Babylon. However Babylon was never a very strong kingdom. Babylon went in and out of her own captivity from the time of Nimrod.
2Ch 36:17 And he brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, and slew their young men with the sword in the house of his sanctuary, and did not spare Sedekias, and had no mercy upon their virgins, and they led away their old men: he delivered all things into their hands.
2Ch 36:18 And all the vessels of the house of God, the great and the small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and all the treasures of the king and the great men; he brought all to Babylon.
2Ch 36:19 And he burnt the house of the Lord, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt its palaces with fire, and utterly destroyed every beautiful vessel.
2Ch 36:20 And he carried away the remnant to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of the Medes.
2Ch 36:21 That the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias might be fulfilled, until the land should enjoy its sabbaths in resting and sabbath keeping all the days of its desolation, till the accomplishment of seventy years.
The prophecy is captivity for seventy years. Jeremiah spoke it, and Daniel believed and planned for it. Ezra and Nehemiah expectantly waited as well.
2Ch 36:22 In the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, after the fulfillment of the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of the Persians, and told him to make proclamation in writing throughout all his kingdom, saying,
2Ch 36:23 Thus says Cyrus king of the Persians to all the kingdoms of the earth, The Lord God of heaven has given me power, and he has commanded me to build a house to him in Jerusalem, in Judea. Who is there of you of all his people? His God shall be with him, and let him go up.
Now Isaiah’s prophecy of Cyrus comes to pass after seventy years of captivity. Cyrus wasn’t a Hebrew king, he was Assyrian. At this time the people of Judah were more repentant than they had been. They rebuilt the city walls and the the temple. Nehemiah and Ezra held a dedication with all the families of the twelve tribes. They cast out people of other nations from the Hebrew families. But Israel was never her own nation again, until our modern time. One might think with such a poor track record that Israel would be expecting the Messiah, and they were. But when the Messiah showed up, they didn’t like him.
The Assryians were defeated by the Greeks and the Greeks were defeated by the Romans. Jonathan Apphus drove out the Seleucids who were Greeks, and handed over the region to the Hasmoneans/Romans. In return Jonathan was made a high priest in the temple of Nehemiah. However because Jonathan Apphus did not come from the line of Aaron, it was a defilement in the temple. The people split, and the more holy orders moved to Damascus. Those were people who we later call Essenes, Nazarenes, the Zadok Priests, the Zedek Priests, the Prophets, and the Therapeutaes. Of the people who stayed, a new priesthood emerged. The Pharisees were not Levites. Their order started after the time of the Maccabees, and after the split away from Jerusalem. Instead of being holy priests, they became defiled overlords. As Jesus pointed out, they stole widows houses and placed heavy burdens on the people, all the while reestablishing the booths of the prostitutes in the temple. Jesus was of the Essene/Nazarene/Therapeutae, and Zadok/Zedek priest order and schooling. Jesus was an immediate enemy to the Pharisees when he finished schooling at 30 years of age. Later, Matthew records this:
Mat 27:15 (Murdock) And at each festival, the president was accustomed to release to the people one prisoner, such as they preferred.
Mat 27:16 And they had then in bonds a noted prisoner, called Bar Abas.
Mat 27:17 And when they were assembled, Pilate said to them: Whom will ye, that I release to you, Bar Abas, or Jesus who is called Messiah?
Mat 27:18 For Pilate knew that it was from enmity they had delivered him up.
Mat 27:19 And as the president was sitting on his tribunal, his wife sent to him, and said: Have thou nothing to do with that just man; for I have suffered much this I day in a dream because of him.
Remember that the chief priests and elders of the Pharisaical order were not really a holy order of holy people established by Yahweh. Instead they were tools of the god of this world. They all knew the prophecy that the Messiah would open blind eyes, but they refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They liked being “god” themselves. Matthew continues.
Mat 27:20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitude that they should demand Bar Abas, and destroy Jesus.
Who persuaded the multitude? The fake religious leaders. The people were being led by those not appointed by Yahweh. Ultimately the people will suffer the burden of civil war while the Pharisees will end up hiding out and attempting to erase the prophecies of Jesus from the scrolls.
Mat 27:21 And the president answered, and said to them: Which of the two, will ye, that I release to you? And they said: Bar Abas.
Mat 27:22 Pilate said to them: And what shall I do to Jesus who is called Messiah? They all replied: Let him be crucified.
Mat 27:23 The president said to them: But what hath he done, that is evil? And they cried out the more, and said: Let him be crucified.
What has he done that is evil? Nothing. David prophesied that the nations wouldn’t want to be yoked to Him. David said they would rather study vain things.
After this time the temple was destroyed once and for all and all Jews were driven out of Jerusalem. While Jerusalem underwent a civil war between her own political faction called “Zealots” and the regular people who refused to fight the Romans. After two years, Rome stepped into the civil war and squashed everything, leveling the temple, Jerusalem, and the city of David. The people got what they deserved whether they yelled “crucify him” or not. David made it clear that the people would reject the Messiah, but he admonished everyone anyway.
We all claim “it is them, their fault, those other people”, while we disassociate ourselves from our bad leaders. But really it is our fault for not making more disciples, for being led by phony religious leaders, by not caring whether the king is good like David and Josiah, even if they make mistakes. When we are presented with an opportunity for societal godliness we seem to miss it. Solomon gave us the tools for having a relationship with the Holy Spirit. What we do with that knowledge is up to us. The more that we can tip the balance scales towards more Christians the better we will be. Simply stated, no one goes to heaven without Jesus Christ. Eternity is a good place to start the conversation in making disciples. We can’t change anything in society unless we change ourselves.
