The Jews in Jesus’ time were anticipating a savior to arise in their midst who would free them from the subjugation of the Roman Empire. He would be their Messiah (meaning anointed or anointed one) King, and lead them to victory over their oppressors, in much the same way as the great King David had done approximately a thousand years earlier. As a matter of fact, this Messiah (Christ in Greek) would be a descendant of King David, as prophesied by Nathan the prophet in 2 Samuel 7:12-17.
In 2 Samuel 7, David had wanted to build a ‘house,’ or a permanent structure, for the LORD (Yahweh). After receiving word from the LORD, Nathan told David that his son (who hadn’t been born yet) would build the temple, not David. Moreover, God would build David a ‘house,’ or a royal dynasty from his descendants.
“When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13).
King Solomon, one of David’s sons, would be the one who built the ‘house of the Lord’ (the First Temple in Jerusalem).
However, God wasn’t just referring to Solomon in establishing his kingdom, but to another future descendant of David who would rule forever. This was so prophetically important that God repeated the message to Nathan in verse 16.
“And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever.“
In hindsight, gained by reading the second part of the Bible (the New Testament), we know that Jesus is that descendant.
THE SON OF DAVID
Fourteen times in the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as ‘the son of David.’ The first time is in Matthew 1:1, which records a partial genealogy of Jesus’ ancestors, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” You might say this is the ‘big three’ in this genealogy, as Matthew simply tells the historical story of how Jesus is descended from Abraham, the father of the Jews, and David, the king of the Jews.
“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the carrying away into Babylon until Christ are fourteen generations” (Matthew 1:1-17).
Matthew compresses his genealogy into 3 sets of 14 generations. The number 3 represents divine perfection in the Bible, and the number 14 represents spiritual perfection doubled (7 x 2), i.e., Jesus through David through Abraham. Coincidentally, 14 is the gematria of David’s name in Hebrew. See Jesus’ Family Tree :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready for more information.
The first time Jesus is called ‘son of David’ is in Matthew 9. Jesus had just healed a woman from an ailment she had suffered from for twelve years. He also restored a girl to life at this time. “And the report of this went through all that district” (Matthew 9:26).
Two blind men must have heard of these miracles by Jesus, for verse 27 says, “And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David.’” Of course, Jesus healed their blindness. Another incident in which Jesus restored the sight of two blind men occurred in Matthew 20:30-31, when the blind men cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
One of the attributes of the Messiah, according to the Tanakh (Old Testament), was his ability to perform miraculous healings. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; The crippled will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy” (Isaiah 35:5-6). Jesus fulfilled this prophecy by healing the blind, deaf and dumb, and the lame. He also cured lepers and raised the dead.
The most famous incident of the Jews calling Jesus the son of David is when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday before Passover as king of the Jews (fulfilling Zechariah 9:9), but was ultimately rejected as such. “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” (Matthew 21:9).
In the Tanakh, David said this about his LORD (Yahweh or God) and his Lord (Adon or master/owner). The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psalm 110:1). This is one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament because of its explicit references to the Messiah. In Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36, and Luke 20:42, Jesus quoted this psalm of David’s and applied it to himself. It is also quoted in Acts 2:34 and Hebrews 1:13.
In the New Testament writings, Jesus asked the Pharisees, “‘What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?’ They said unto him, ‘The son of David.’ He saith unto them, ‘How then does David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then calls him Lord, how is he his son?’” (Matthew 22:41-45). How could ‘the Christ’ be the Son of David and yet his Lord (for a father would never call a son or descendant ‘Lord’)?
If ‘the Christ’ was to be a mere man, who would not exist till many ages after David’s death, how could his forefather call him Lord? The Pharisees could not answer Jesus’ question. Nor can any solve this conundrum except by allowing the Messiah (Christ) to be the Son of God and thus David’s Lord, equally with the Father. The Word (the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ) took upon him human nature (per John 1:1-18), and so became God manifested in the flesh; in this sense, he is the Son of man and the Son of David.
It is evident that the Jews knew their Messiah was to be from the lineage of King David, as indicated by Old Testament scripture. Therefore, they believed he would be a great warrior king, as his ancient forefather was. Also, some prophetic scriptures indicate that the Messiah would be more than merely human. He wouldn’t just be a human descendant of King David with a human life span, but would be a man like no other…a man from eternity.
JESUS, THE MAN FROM ETERNITY
Michah 5 describes this man from eternity. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore, will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:2-4).
Within these three verses, Jesus’ three advents are described. Verse 2 mentions Jesus’ pre-incarnate life (‘from everlasting’) and appearances (‘goings forth from of old’), as well as his human birth in Bethlehem, which is regarded as his “first advent.” The third and fourth verses refer to the future time of Jesus’ “second advent” to the earth to save the remnant of Israel and initiate His glorious millennial Kingdom.
The prophet Isaiah described this future God/Man, who would be king of Israel, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
As with many prophecies in the Old Testament (including Micah 5:2-4), these verses are a dual-reference prophecy: the first part of Isaiah 9:6 refers to Jesus’ first advent, and the rest of verse 6 and verse 7 refer to Jesus’ future second advent.
Isaiah also describes this coming king from the lineage of David as “a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots” (Isaiah 11:1) and further states that he will “strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked” (11:4). Psalm 2:2-12 also identifies the Messiah as being more than a mortal man. Psalm 2:2 calls him His (Yahweh’s) Anointed (Messiah). The LORD Father is speaking in verses 6 & 7, in which He calls him ‘My King,’ and ‘My Son’ (today I have begotten you).
Jeremiah affirms the Messiah as a reigning King, a righteous Branch from the Davidic line, executing justice (Jeremiah 23:5–6; cf. 33:15–16). When combined, these passages portray a powerful, all-conquering king who will defeat every enemy and restore Israel to its rightful place as God’s people dwelling in security and prosperity.
JESUS, THE CHRIST
Andrew, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus and brother of Simon Peter, was the first to call Jesus ‘the Messiah.’ This occurred (per John 1:41) while Andrew was still a disciple of John the Baptist, and after he heard John say, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” Andrew then found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ).”
Phillip, another disciple of Jesus, found Nathaniel (soon to be another disciple of Jesus) and told him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45).
The scripture Phillip is referring to concerning Moses and a future prophet is found in Deuteronomy 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. 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” (Deuteronomy 18:18). Many Old Testament prophets referenced a savior or redeemer to come, as well.
After Jesus answered a question from Nathaniel that only he could know, Nathaniel said to Jesus, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel” (John 1:49). Later, Peter would call Jesus “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).
So, here we have four Jews who would become disciples of Jesus, calling him the Messiah (Christ), a prophet, the Son of God, and the King of Israel. And yes, they were correct on all accounts. John the Baptist also called Jesus ‘the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29), and ‘the Son of God’ (John 1:34). John must have been filled with the Holy Spirit to have known that Jesus’ true mission (from the Father) to accomplish for mankind at this time was “to take away the sin of the world.”
Even the Samaritan woman of John 4 knew about the prophecies of a Jewish Messiah who was to come. “The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he” (John 4:25-26). Martha, Lazarus’ sister, told Jesus, “Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world” (John 11:27).
There are many other examples that prove the Jews in Jesus’ time were expecting the promised Messiah/Christ and son of David during their lifetimes.
Even though Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead (after four days in the tomb), healed multitudes of people from sickness, disease, and infirmities, cast out demons, and performed many other miracles (for 3-3.5 years), the Jewish rulers still did not believe Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah. In Luke 19:40-44, Jesus said they did not know the day (or the time) of their Messiah’s visitation. See They Knew Not the Time of Their Visitation :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready.
Were they even looking for Him at this time? You would think that these learned men of the Tanakh were aware of Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27) regarding the terminus a quo (the starting point) and the terminus ad quem (the endpoint) of the coming of their Messiah, explicitly mentioned in Daniel 9:25. Instead of accepting Jesus as their Messiah, the religious rulers of Jerusalem sought to kill him.
However, the Jews were looking for a Messiah to save them from their enemies. They were anticipating a warrior king who would come and save them from Roman occupation. Jesus, the man, was not to be this great warrior king (a ‘son of David’) that would “make Israel great again” (MIGA). He had a much more important mission to achieve, namely, redeeming mankind from sin and death. Jesus could only do this by submitting to his heavenly Father’s will and laying down his life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Jesus’ death was proof to the Jewish elites that he was not their Messiah. However, His resurrection was much more problematic, but of course, they still found a way not to believe. They still awaited their warrior Messiah.
In 132 AD, the Jews in Judea thought Simon Bar Kokhba could be “the man of war” they were looking for, as he led a popular revolt against Rome. He was killed in 135 AD, and his troops were completely decimated. The entire Jewish population of Judea was deported and replaced with Gentiles. The province’s name was changed from Judea to Syria-Palestine.
Jesus exemplified all the ‘fruit of the spirit’ characteristics: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Jesus lived his life on Earth as a man of peace. He was not a man of war, and was not the warrior, ‘son of David,’ they were looking for. Ironically, what the world didn’t know was that Jesus had a life before his first-century advent (birth, life, death). In a previous pre-first-advent life, He was indeed the ultimate “man of war.” The irony of all ironies!
To get a better idea of what I am talking about, we need to go back to the very beginning.
THE WORD
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 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.” (John 1:1-5, 14). John 1:17 then tells us who this God-man was: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
Before Jesus was born into the world during His first advent, He was the second Person of the Trinity, known as the Word or the Son. He acted as the voice of God, speaking every animate and inanimate object into existence. “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:15-17).
The greatest mystery in the world might be this: The Word made man and then became a man to save man. “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 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: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:10-13). His earthly name is Jesus (or Yeshua).
JESUS
Both the Hebrew word Yeshua and the Greek word Iesous (Jesus) mean “salvation.” Before Jesus was born, an angel of the Lord told Joseph in a dream, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).
After Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph went to the Temple to present Him to the Lord, as required by the Law of the Lord. They met Simeon (a man who was just and devout), who was waiting to see the Messiah, as the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Upon meeting baby Jesus, Simeon, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaimed: “For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:30-32).
In effect, Simeon said, “For my eyes have seen Yeshua,” while he was actually holding baby Yeshua in his arms! No wonder the next verse says, “His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him” (Luke 2:33). God fulfilled his promise to Simeon as he saw and touched Jesus (Savior), the Christ (the Anointed one), before his death. See A Name Which is Above Every Name :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready.
However, before Jesus’ miraculous birth….
According to the Old Testament, God sometimes had to manifest Himself to human beings in a visible form, either individually or collectively. This is called a theophany. The word theophany comes from the Greek words “theos” (God) and “phaneia” (to appear). God usually made his presence known to man in the form of a man Himself.
“Old Testament theophanies involving Christ are called Christophanies. So a Christophany is a particular kind of theophany that includes a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ in human form. It does not include visions (or dreams) of God or metaphors involving God, but actual temporary appearances of God in the form of a human being. In the Old Testament, Christ appeared in His pre-incarnate state. But in the New Testament, God appears not as a temporary human being but as one who is entirely permanent in the God-man, Jesus Christ.” {1} Finding Jesus in the Old Testament by David Limbaugh, Regenery Publishing
THE ANGEL OF THE LORD
Most of the Christophanies in the Old Testament are performed by the entity known as “The Angel of the Lord.” The word Angel is translated as messenger, and LORD is translated as Jehovah or Yahweh in the Hebrew language. So the Angel of the Lord is not actually a created angel but is the Messenger of God. As Christ is the second Person of the Triune God in the New Testament, the Angel of the LORD is the second Person of the Trinity in the Old Testament. The Angel of the LORD is the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). They are One and the same. They both had the same mission from God the Father. The Father sent them to the earth at different times to deal with mankind and to accomplish His eternal will and plan of salvation for all humankind.
“The combined testimony of these theophany passages (regarding the 2nd Person of the Trinity) portrays the Son of God as exceedingly active in the Old Testament, dealing with sin, providing for those in need, guiding in the path of the will of God, protecting His people, Israel, from their enemies, and, in general, executing the providence of God. The revelation of the person of the Son of God thus afforded is in complete harmony with the New Testament revelation. The testimony of Scripture has been so complete on this point that, in general, scholars who accept the inspiration and infallibility of Scripture agree that the Angel of Jehovah (or Yahweh) is the Christ of the Old Testament. Not only Christian theologians but Jewish scholars as well have come to the conclusion that the Angel of Jehovah is more than an angel.” {2} Jesus Christ Our Lord by John F. Walvoord, Moody Publishers, pg. 53
Micah prophesied that the promised Messiah would come from Bethlehem Ephratah, which, of course, is where Jesus was born. He also said his goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. “But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).
Jesus is this ruler/king who came forth in the fullness of time and is the Messiah/Christ. His work and travels have been ongoing beyond His earthly ministry and the time of His human birth (in the first century) into the ancient past, when He interceded in the affairs of man on behalf of the Father God.
When Jesus made a physical appearance, it was as the Angel (or Messenger) of the LORD. For more information, see A Man of War: The Lord is His Name :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready
The following exploits by the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ are some scriptural examples of the one Micah referred to, “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” In these appearances, the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ was definitely the ultimate “man of war.”
A MAN OF WAR
The pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, as the Angel of the LORD, overthrew the Egyptians during the Red Sea crossing and drowned them. Afterward, the children of Israel sang the song of Moses. In this song, the Lord is described as “a man of war.” Here is part of this song to the Lord:
“The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name … In the greatness of Your excellence, You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble. And with the blast of Your nostrils, the waters were gathered together; the floods stood upright like a heap; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea … You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters” (Exodus 15:3, 7-8, 10).
After Moses died, Joshua led the children of Israel into the Promised Land. The LORD performed another miracle with water when the Hebrews crossed the Jordan River. “And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap” (Joshua 3:13).
The priests that carried the ark of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan River until all the people passed over the Jordan, near Jericho. This occurred on the 10th day of Nisan, the same Jewish date that Jesus rode into Jerusalem before his death four days later on Passover.
A few days after Passover, Joshua met the Commander of the LORD’s army (the Man of War). “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are You for us or for our adversaries? So He said, No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, What does my Lord say to His servant? Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so” (Joshua 5:13-15).
Joshua thought he was approaching a ‘man’ of war and questioned his intentions. He soon found out that this was no mere human warrior but was the ultimate heavenly “Man of War.” He was not Michael, the archangel, but Yahweh Himself, appearing in theophany (or Christophany) as the Angel of the LORD. This is made evident by the Person telling Joshua to take his sandals off because the place where he was standing was holy. In other words, Joshua was standing on the same ground that the LORD was standing on, so that made it holy ground.
In the Old Testament, the most famous supernatural event for the newly formed nation of Israel after entering the “promised land” of Canaan was the fall of the city and walls of Jericho. This fall was the result of God intervening on behalf of Israel in their war against the inhabitants of Canaan, who were descendants of Noah’s son, Ham. The fall of Jericho is recorded in Joshua 6, and I wrote about it in A Man of War: The Lord is His Name, Part II :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready.
More to come regarding the Man from Eternity in part II.
Randy Nettles
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