The Messianic King pt.1 : The greatest proof of Christianity

 

Something incredibly strange occurred in the first century. A man was born who would end up being labeled by historians as the most influential man in human history and every religious system known to man mentions him to different degrees. From atheist to believers his name is known by every human being under the stars today? Who was he, why was he important? What if i told you that this man was not only the most influential but also the most anticipated man to ever live such that people before his birth expected him and those after his birth seek his return. I believe that the anticipation of this man is the greatest proof for the Christian claims such that in light of this evidence unbelievers are left without excuse.

Unexplainable prophesy  

I want us to know and understand that the existence of the Jewish community is independent of scriptural data, they are people who no one historically doubts their existence in the ancient world as they are attested by the records of their surrounding middle eastern communities and not just that but their continued existence to this day. Keeping their culture and beliefs and among their beliefs is a belief that their God would rule the nations and convert the hearts of all mankind through this man called the Messiah. In their writings they write when, where and why this person would come and what they would do and who they are. Lastly all of these writings of theirs are dated by all scientists and historians weather atheist or religious to be before the 1st century AD in fact the last book among the writings of the ancient Jews is dated to 430 B.C. so we all looking at 400 long years before the 1st century. 

Where 

The Jewish writings predicted where this Messianic figure would be born in Micah 5:2 (written in 735 B.C.)2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” 

we are told 2 things by this verse that there is a ruler who will be born in Bethlehem and that he is from eternity. Lets keep that in mind

Who

We are told multiple things about who this man will be, it is puzzling that this man comes from eternity but there's more to clarify in, Isaiah 9:6-7 (written 800 B.C) 6  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.7  Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. So this "man" is called Mighty God which in the Hebrew is "El- gibbor" and is a title only used for God throughout the Jewish scriptures. So is this Messiah who is coming going to be God? well Isaiah also predicts something else Isaiah 7:14 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. We are told we will know the Messiah has arrived because a virgin will conceive and his name shall be "Immanuel" which means in the Hebrew " God with us". There is a clear theme here that this Figure will be a divine figure. The Messiah was also known as a ruler who will be descendant from David, we see this in the inauguration of the Davidic covenant, the Lord speaking to David in 2 Samuel (written about 800 B.C) 7:12-13  When your days are finished and you [c]lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your [d]descendant after you, who will come from [e]you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. We see that this King's reign will be forever, but how can a mortal human being live forever? Well we get some more insight as to the nature of this man in Daniel chapter 7:13-14 Daniel 7:13–14

[13] “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. [14] And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. The Messianic King is going to be given by the Ancient of days (God) a kingdom and dominion that shall never end.

Why

What will the Messiah do? Well, once again Isaiah will reveal that to us in Isaiah chapter 53, for the sake of brevity I won't quote it here but press the hyperlink now and read it for yourself its a short 12 verse chapter and it goes into complete detail as to what will happen to this Messianic king. It says he will die for the sins of the world and he himself will have no sin, as well as that he shall rise from the dead "he shall prolong his days". 

When

This one is absolutely GLORIOUS. It stems from Daniel chapter 9 (written around 600 B.C.) to have some context to what is happening when Daniel is writing is that the first Jewish temple built by King Solomon in 957 B.C. was destroyed during the Babylonian exile (586 B.C.) it is with a destroyed temple and in the middle of the Babylonian captivity (when the Babylonians invaded and enslaved the Jewish people) that Daniel is writing the book of Daniel. Daniel 9:25-26 25 So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with streets and moat, even in times of distress. 26 Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. This Prophecy that Daniel gives can be confusing and I will go into detail in how amazing the "weeks" time frame that Daniel gives in Part 2 of this article. However what is clear to see is that he gives a timeline of Events, 1st he says starting from the time a decree is given to rebuild Jerusalem 2nd Messiah will come 3rd Messiah will be "cut off" and finally 4th the rebuilt Jerusalem and her Temple will be destroyed again! It is common Knowledge that the 2nd Jewish Temple was destroyed in the year 70 AD as documented by Josephus and Tacitus who both were not Christians. I encourage you to do a quick Google search: " What happened in 70 AD". So we know that Daniel's time frame is at least from when Daniel was writing in the 500s B.C. until the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. The Messiah by 70 AD should have already been "cut off" which in Isaiah 53 is to be cut off from the land of the living (meaning death). So to the Jews still waiting for a future Messiah: my sincerest apologies... If the Messiah hadn't come by 70 AD there is no Messiah, or your God was wrong about the when and if he was, what else is he wrong about?

Final Thoughts 

These are not even half of the Messianic prophesies I just picked the ones I believe to be too specific and are easy to falsify if they simply didn't happen. You may have noticed I have not said who I think this Messianic figure is. did he even come? Did he come on time and as promised? I have not once quoted from the new testament. Once again the dating provided for these books are objectively dated by Atheist scholars and historians. In summary this Messiah needs to do this: he needs to be born in Bethlehem, he needs to be the son of man, born of a virgin, he needs to be God, he needs to be pierced and die for the sins of others, he needs to rise from the dead, his kingdom and reign will never end and lastly he needs to arrive and dead before 70 AD. If there is a Messiah that arrives on time and as promised, it is the duty of the unbeliever to explain exactly how it is possible that men hundreds sometimes even thousands of years before to get the where, when and why this man appears right. In part 2 I will answer the question did the Messiah come as expected?