I want to draw attention to the greatest MYSTERY of all. PROVE THAT OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES SHOW JESUS IS THE MESSIAH, (or Christ, Ref. Acts 9:22 & 18:28) and you have proven that GOD EXISTS. 2nd Corinthians 3:14-16, speaks of a veil upon the heart in the reading of the Old Testament, that is taken away as we understand Jesus. If we look closely, we can begin to see past the veil, and find much information about Jesus hidden there. Moses was educated by the Egyptians, and would have understood Hieroglyphics, and Ideogram or Word Syllabic based writing. If we understand something about the ancient history of words and writing, a bigger picture of the vision and foresight of the Bible begins to unfold.
If someone wants to verify some of this, it’s easy to do. I’m using the English transliteration of the Hebrew letters which Strong’s Concordance provides, and the King James Version of the Bible, which works best with the Strong’s. Also, many Hebrew words have alternate spellings, even within the same passage, so I’m using the Strong’s spelling that best illustrates the logic of Ideograms, and Word Syllabics used in the Bible. These are more noticeable if we look at the words as originally written (without vowels).
Hebrew is read from right to left, instead of left to right like Greek or English. This could account for some words being reversed from one language to another. “Panorama,” comes from “Horama,” (#3705 Strong’s Greek) and bears the idea of an unfolding drama, or scene such as can be viewed from a mountain peak. Horama is translated as “vision,” in Matthew 17:9. Horama is like a mirror of “Mareh,” (#4758 Strong’s Hebrew) with the letters m, r, and h, in reversed order. Mareh is a Hebrew word with the same meanings. Mareh is translated as “visage,” in the prophecy of Jesus in Isaiah 52:14. Exodus 3:3, translates mareh as sight, and in Acts 7:31, horama is rendered as sight. Both passages are about the burning bush.
The land of Moriah (#4179 Hebrew) is called the “High Land,” in the Septuagint, the ancient (277 B.C.) Greek translation of the Old Testament. The name “Rome,” is similar to “Ramam,” (#7426) a Hebrew word meaning “to rise up.” I mention this because of the similar meaning of the names, and the fact that the Romans crucified Christ there.
The 22nd chapter of Genesis isn’t really about Abraham and Isaac. They are only actors portraying the Heavenly Father and the Yah Kid. The Drama takes place in the land of Moriah. Mt. Moriah is thought to be the site of the ancient Jewish temple. The Islamic Mosque of Omar now stands in this area. The mountain to which Abraham and Isaac went is where Jesus was later crucified. “Yachiyd,” (Strong’s #3173) is translated as, “only son,” twice in that chapter. Isaac was not the only son of Abraham, and the usual word for “son,” wasn’t used. Yachiyd is sometimes translated “beloved one.” I think it can also mean a miracle child, such as both Isaac and Jesus were.
Psalm 22 is a prophecy foreseeing the death of Jesus. “Yachiyd” in Psalm 22, is translated as “darling,” in the King James, but could have been translated as only son. The Septuagint uses the phrase, only begotten one. Zechariah 12:9 says, …they shall look upon me (God) whom they have pierced, and mourn for him (Jesus) as one mourns for an only son (yachiyd). Jesus carried the cross like Isaac carried the wood. Isaac was set free after being laid upon the wood; Jesus rose from the dead.
According to the Christmas song, “We Three Kings,” myrrh is symbolic of suffering and death. It’s one of the gifts that the astronomers from the “east” brought to the child, Jesus. Wine mingled with myrrh (Strong’s #4753, “Mor “) was offered to Jesus at his crucifixion (Mark 15:23), but he wouldn’t drink it. Resin, (called “tears”), seeps from wounds in the Myrrh tree, and was used in the anointing oil (also called Chrism) of the Old Testament. The name Christ means, “Anointed.”
The prophet Daniel uses an Aramaic word, “Mare,” for “Lord,” in the title, “Lord of heaven.” John (1:1 and 1:14) makes it clear that Jesus always existed within the Trinity of God; and verses 1:2 and 1:3 tell us that he created everything. Genesis 1:14 says he made the lights, “Morah,” (#3974) we call the sun and moon. In Gen. 22:4, on the third day Abraham sees “the place afar off,” that he calls “Jehovah-Jireh,” (“In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen” verse 22:14). In Exodus 15:22-25, on the third day Moses and the Israelites come to the waters of Marah (#4785), and a tree (symbolizing the cross) is thrown into the water. The water then becomes drinkable.
“Mary” is said to come from the word “Mara,” (#4754) which means “rebel,” but may be from “Mara,” (#4755) “bitter.” Not many of the people at the crucifixion are named in the Bible, yet three of the women, including the mother of Jesus, are named Maria, or Mary. “Am,” (#517) means “mother”. “Mar,” (#4751) means “bitterness.” “Yah,” is the short form of the name of the Lord. “Amar,” (#559) can mean promise or answer. In the Old Testament name Amaryah, (#568, “God has promised”) I see the name Mary, as well as mother, bitterness, promise, and the Lord. The name Moriah, (#4179) means “God seen.” The reason that “seen” appears in these meanings is that “Riy,” (#7209) has to do with vision. I think the reason these similar words relate to Christ, is that the cross has always been foremost in the mind of God.
(much more to come.)
It’s evident that the wording of the Old Testament was carefully chosen , even appearing to be condensed. The idea is to get as much information as possible into a certain amount of space. The Hebrew alphabet consisted of 22 consonants when most of the Old Testament was written. That’s why Strong’s Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary orders the words by their consonants. The vowel signs were added by the Masoretes long after the writing of the New Testament. The intent of course, was to minimize possible misinterpretations. The original Hebrew manuscripts may not even have had a division between the words and sentences.
Using symbols or two or three letters, to represent a word or meaning is not a strange thing. We use this shortened form of writing every day in text messaging etc.. It isn’t a new thing either. Some simple Biblical examples are when God modified the meaning of Abram’s name by adding an “h,” and when he changed Saul’s name to Paul.
Notes
1. The word “tear,” (a drop of pain), is related to the word “tear.” (pulling apart)
2. “Mare,” is likely the origin of the English “Mayor.”
3. Our word “harm,” may be “Marah,” with the letters reversed.
4. “Riy,” is the origin of words such as “ray, aura, aurora, etc..” It is part of the words “horizon, and origin, and many others.”
This post is a LOT of circular reasoning. You’re saying that the bible says something will happen and then the bible says it happened. This is not very good evidence to base something on.
Jim,
There is very little “circular reasoning” in this. It is true that the Bible is the main source of prophecies about the Messiah. It is also true that the Bible is the main source of information concerning their fulfillment. The Bible isn’t the only source however.
The Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, more than 200 yrs. B.C., proves the prophecies existed before Messiah came. There are enough logical, and extra-Biblical sources to prove Jesus fulfilled them.
I have a post on the Septuagint in the May archives.
I’ve studied most of the extra-biblical sources, their evidence isn’t very good at all. In almost all cases they can be shown to be edited by a christian at some point in time, or they simply come down to a historian stating that someone at that time believed something. Someone writing about someone else believing something certainly doesn’t equal proof.
I used to argue apologetics often, The conclusion I’ve come to though as that no one really needs to argue apologetics. Why argue something that’s at a minimum 2000 years old. To disprove christianity, all we need to do is look around at reality.
Most christian make a claim of having a personal relationship with an all powerful, all-knowing being who speaks to them. Thats pretty easy to disprove.. If such a thing were true, then I think every person on earth would know it to be true.
From what I can tell, christians are just as convinced as followers of other deities that their deity is the “one true deity”… I say they’re all made up for use as a personal crutch.
Jim,
“In almost all cases they (extra-Biblical sources) can be shown to be edited by a christian at some point in time, or they simply come down to a historian stating that someone at that time believed something. Someone writing about someone else believing something certainly doesn’t equal proof.”
Several of the sources are only brief historical notes, but they serve to establish what was believed at a particular time. History serves to show much of what the early Christians believed. Many of them believed in Jesus so strongly that they died horrible deaths rather than deny Jesus.
These early Christians believed Jesus fulfilled the Messianic prophecies. They had a habit of pointing out facets of the life of Jesus that matched the ancient writings. Even today, a careful reader can find many parallels between ancient prophecies, and the life of Jesus, that have never been pointed out. There are just too many things, for them all to have been falsified. These were people who believed it was wrong to lie, and worse to lie about the scriptures.
Most people think that some ancient copyist edited the historical statement that Josephus made about Jesus. That would be a rare thing to happen, and it isn’t likely that someone just stuck the whole comment in there. Many of the ancient things that were written about Jesus are from a perspective that is hostile toward Christianity. The same arguments are going on today, that were happening from the very start.
There are Biblical prophecies that are being fulfilled even today. The most spectacular one that I know of, is the prediction concerning the “mark of the Beast.” A time is coming when no one will be able to buy or sell without an implanted computer link of some sort. The stage is being set right now, for that to happen.
I think the time has come when very few people will be convinced by a testimony about a “personal relationship.” People have been too heavily influenced by the ideas of evolution, and atheism. The only hope for a return to reality would be a renewed understanding of those historical events from 2000 years ago and beyond.
Most Christians don’t want to admit it but the Bible predicts the failure of Christianity in this world. The only thing that can stop mankind’s rush to self-destruction will be the return of the Lord himself.