Two Prophets’ Shana Tova Greetings

Zecharyah 12 Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

10 And I will pour upon the Bais Dovid, and upon the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, the Ruach (Spirit) of Chen (grace) and of Tachanunim (supplications for favor); and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced [dakar, “pierce through” cf. Yeshayah 53:5; Targum HaShivim Tehillim 22:17], and they shall mourn for Him (Moshiach) as one mourneth for his yachid (only son), and shall grieve in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his bechor (firstborn).

¹¹ In Yom Hahu shall there be a great mourning in Yerushalayim, as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

¹² And ha’aretz shall mourn, all mishpochot apart; the mishpachat Bais Dovid apart, and their wives apart; the mishpachat Bais Natan apart, and their wives apart; [Shmuel Bais 5:14]

¹³ The mishpachat Bais Levi apart, and their wives apart; the mishpachat Shimei apart, and their wives apart; [Bamidbar 3:17-18,21]

¹⁴ All the mishpochot that remain, all mishpochot apart, and their wives apart.

Yeshayah 53 Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

53 Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the Zero’a Hashem [Yeshayah 52:10] revealed?

² For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a Shoresh (Root, Shoresh Yishai, Moshiach, Yeshayah 11:10, Sanhedrin93b) out of a dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire [Chaggai 2:7] him.

³ He is despised and chadal ishim (rejected by men); a man of sorrows, and acquainted with suffering; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he hath borne our sufferings, and nasah (carried [Vayikra 16:22; Yeshayah 53:12)] our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, [i.e., like a leper is stricken] smitten of G-d, and afflicted [see verse 8 below].

⁵ But he was pierced [Yeshayah 51:9; Zecharyah 12:10 Sukkah 52a, Tehillim 22:17 Targum Hashivim] for our transgressions, he was bruised mei’avonoteinu (for our iniquities); the musar (chastisement) (that brought us shalom [Yeshayah 54:10] was upon him [Moshiach]; and at the cost of his (Moshiach’s) chaburah (stripes, lacerations) we are healed.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own derech (way; see Prov 16:25); and Hashem hath laid on him [Moshiach] the avon (iniquity, the guilt that separates from G-d) of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a seh (lamb; see Shemot 12:3) to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who of his generation declared? For he was cut off [Daniel 9:26; Vayikra 17:10] out of Eretz Chayyim [this refers to the mot of Moshiach Ben Dovid, see v.12] mipesha ami (for the transgression of my people [Yisroel]) nega (plague cf Ps 91:10) lamo ([fell] on him [i.e., Moshiach; in light of Ps 11:7 and Job 22:2 we are warranted in saying the suffix is a singular, “him,” not “them”. Cf Gen 9:26-27; Deut 33:2; Isa 44:15; also compare Divrey Hayamim Alef 21:17]).

⁹ And he made his kever (grave) with the resha’im, and with the oisher (rich man; see Mt 27:57-60) bemotayv (in his deaths, intensive plural should be translated singular, death); because he had done no chamas (violence), neither was any mirmah (deceit) in his mouth. T.N. We stray as sheep; we return in Moshiach as children (zera); the Techiyas HaMoshiach (Resurrection of Moshiach) predicted in v. 10 [Dead Sea Scrolls Isaiah Scroll says Moshiach “will see the light [of life];” see also the Targum HaShivim]

¹⁰ Yet it pleased Hashem to bruise him; He hath put him to suffering; when Thou shalt make his nefesh an asham offering for sin, he (Moshiach) shall see zera [see Psalm 16 and Yn 1:12 OJBC], He shall prolong his yamim (days) and the chefetz Hashem (pleasure, will of Hashem) shall prosper in his [Moshiach’s] hand.

¹¹ He [Hashem] shall see of the travail of his [Moshiach’s] nefesh, and shall be satisfied; by knowledge of him [Moshiach] shall Tzadik Avdi [“My Righteous Servant,” Moshiach, Zecharyah 3:8, Yirmeyah 23:5; Zecharyah 6:11-12, Ezra 3:8 Yehoshua, Yeshua shmo] justify many (Ro 5:1); for he [Moshiach] shall bear their avon (iniquities).

¹² Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his nefesh unto mavet (death); and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he nasah (Lv 16:22, carried) (like the Yom Kippur scapegoat) the sin of many, and made intercession [did the work of a mafgi’a, intercessor] for the transgressors [see Lk 23:34 OJBC].

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Zechariah 12:10-14 (New Living Translation -NLT)

10 “Then I will pour out a Spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on Me Whom they have pierced and mourn for Him as for an only Son. They will grieve bitterly for Him as for a firstborn Son who has died. 11 The sorrow and mourning inJerusalemon that day will be like the great mourning for Hadad-rimmon in thevalleyofMegiddo.

12 “All Israel will mourn, each clan by itself, and with the husbands separate from their wives. The clan of David will mourn alone, as will the clan of Nathan, 13 the clan of Levi, and the clan of Shimei. 14 Each of the surviving clans fromJudahwill mourn separately, and with the husbands separate from their wives.

Isaiah 53

1 Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed His powerful arm?

2 My Servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground.

There was nothing beautiful or majestic about His appearance, nothing to attract us to Him.

3 He was despised and rejected—

a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.

We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way.

He was despised, and we did not care.

4 Yet it was our weaknesses He carried;

it was our sorrows that weighed Him down.

And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God,

a punishment for His own sins!

5 But He was pierced for our rebellion,

      crushed for our sins.

   He was beaten so we could be whole.

      He was whipped so we could be healed.

 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.

We have left God’s paths to follow our own.

Yet the Lord laid on Him

      the sins of us all.

7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,

yet He never said a word.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,

He did not open His mouth.

8 Unjustly condemned,

He was led away.

No one cared that He died without descendants,

that His life was cut short in midstream.

But He was struck down

for the rebellion of my people.

9 He had done no wrong

and had never deceived anyone.

But He was buried like a criminal;

He was put in a rich man’s grave.

10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush Him

and cause Him grief.

Yet when His life is made an offering for sin,

He will have many descendants.

He will enjoy a long life,

and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in His hands.

11 When He sees all that is accomplished by His anguish,

He will be satisfied.

And because of His experience,

my righteous servant will make it possible

for many to be counted righteous,

for He will bear all their sins.

12 I will give Him the honors of a victorious soldier,

because He exposed Himself to death.

He was counted among the rebels.

He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

End Times Witnessing: What will you do in the appointed day?

The watchman prepared his class notes on Saturday but by Sunday morning morning he was led in the spirit not to teach that day. He was told instead that he should allow the disciple class to put all that they have learned into practice that afternoon.

So he told the class to enact the end times scenario, wherein all their leaders are gone and they are left in the sanctuary alone. They were required to do three things:

1. Worship God: be in the Lord’s Presence for protection and shelter, as in Psalm 91. Be led by the Holy Spirit.
2. Preach the Word: save the lost souls who would pour into the prayer house in the end times.
3. Healing and Deliverance: Many will need to be ministered in these two main areas resultant of the Holy Spirit out pouring

The leaders acted as the lost souls who rushed into the sanctuary during the worship. The were determined to make it tough on the novice disciples. It was  a time of chaos and distress for the class to fulfill their new roles.

They were required to worship and stay in the presence of God, be led by the Holy Spirit, whilst feeding the poor, heal the sick, cast out demons, preach the Gospel and save the lost. A number of important lessons emerged:

1. During such a crisis, when disorderly ‘strangers’ crashed in, the orderly Christians were caught without adequate preparation.
2. Although they were all eager to help and perform the full range of duties, they were at a loss when confronted with practical realities, despite knowing the ‘theories’ so well.
3. The practical exercise/simulation was eye-opening for many, seeing how inadequately prepared we are. There is no way we can cope with the end times harvest when the Lord pours out the Holy Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28-29).
4. Resolution: we need practice hands on training, complete with user friendly materials for sharing the Gospel, memory verses and proper steps of healing and deliverance. Practices of worship and sharing the word of God are needed too.
5. Positive outcome: Nearly all admitted the need for training and more personal preparation.
6. One revelation: The Lord uses ordinary people. The class who turned out that afternoon consisted of the most ordinary people of all ages who are indeed the end times workers for the Lord, who could easily disappear and blend into any crowd.
7. Negative discovery: Only one brethren remained praying in the Spirit as he had difficulty walking. The rest were too busy ministering and forgot to listen to the Holy Spirit and be led by the Spirit. 

It was a rather hilarious time because all knew that they were acting. Only one lone worshipper was singing all by herself when all the commotions were going on. A leader was accused of having a stubborn spirit that refused to be cast out because the deliverers decided to do the casting despite the fact that she came in asking for a cigarette and later some money and not manifesting any demon at all! Another man was asked to follow and recite a sinners’ prayer which omitted ‘in Jesus Name’. The Gospel sharers had to ask each other what the next sentence would be. The helpers ignored the ‘poor stranger’s’ remark that he was dying of physical hunger as they were busy praying for him. When he told them his leg was badly injured and bleeding they told him to ignore the bleeding and not to look at the external symptoms! One man was ‘manifesting’ but no one gave him any plastic beg/container to cough into. He had to ask them to give him one!

The leaders who acted as lost souls had a field day with the novice disciples who were at first required to minister for one hour. After 20 minutes they were too ‘distressed’ to carry on and so the watchman agreed to halt and let everyone share his/her experience and finding.

Conclusion: No one can predict what ‘the appointed day’ will be like. The most important thing is to get ready now and not be caught by surprise. When the real thing comes it would not be hilarious. It would be real and painful for those caught unprepared.

Prior the class the watchman was led to turn his Bible to this verse, Hosea 9:5a “What will you do in the appointed day”? Indeed, it aptly describes how one may be caught not knowing what to do. The class had later demonstrated this scenario. On the other hand, he was encouraged as all hands were on deck that afternoon. Everyone who turned out participated. He could perceive the eagerness and commitment to obey and be disciples of Jesus Christ!
     

Relevant Bible Verses —————————————

Matthew 10:1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 7-8 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Luke 9:1 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

Watchman’s Adventure: An evening with two messages

An evening with two messages. Indeed it was a wonderful day for the watchman. He received two different messages in one evening. The first message was Psalm 47. He was in a ward praying (for an elderly frail man to get well), together with two others in the Spirit. Then he was told to read this psalm, especially verse 2 “For the Lord Most High is awesome. He is the great King of all the earth.”

After that he went to a worship and prayer meeting. Prior the meeting he received Psalm 84 and to his surprise, he was praying part of the psalm on his way there! During the meeting, he was pleasantly surprised that the worship was indeed centred on the kingship of Jesus.  

After the worship, prayer started and the time was spent almost entirely praying in the Spirit. He was led to understand why he read psalm 84:5-8. It describes the spiritual journey of an intercessor praying in the Spirit. (Words in brackets are what the watchman received in the Spirit).

Psalm 84
5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,       who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

(Praying is like a pilgrimage journey)
 ⁶ When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,

(it is not easy to start as an intercessor has to know what to pray for and needs to enter the spiritual realm to intercede accurately. Even weeping and tears are expected. In this instance a group of intercessors are praying together)
      it will become a place of refreshing springs.
      The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.

(But as they allow themselves to be led by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of intercession, they will soon find that out of their bellies flow rivers of living water!)
 ⁷ They will continue to grow stronger,

(the group of intercessors who pray together will pray from strength to strength as they press on together in one Spirit of Christ)
      and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.

(But each individual intercessor must appear before the Lord personally. No one can substitute him. If anyone does not pray he will not appear before God. God is Spirit.)

 ⁸ O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.
      Listen, O God of Jacob.

(Only after he enters into the spiritual realm, getting into the presence of the Lord, he can pray this verse!)

Psalm 47

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

 ¹ Come, everyone! Clap your hands!
      Shout to God with joyful praise!
 ² For the Lord Most High is awesome.
      He is the great King of all the earth.
 ³ He subdues the nations before us,
      putting our enemies beneath our feet.
 ⁴ He chose the Promised Land as our inheritance,
      the proud possession of Jacob’s descendants, whom he loves.
                         Interlude

 ⁵ God has ascended with a mighty shout.
      The Lord has ascended with trumpets blaring.
 ⁶ Sing praises to God, sing praises;
      sing praises to our King, sing praises!
 ⁷ For God is the King over all the earth.
      Praise him with a psalm!
 ⁸ God reigns above the nations,
      sitting on his holy throne.
 ⁹ The rulers of the world have gathered together
      with the people of the God of Abraham.
   For all the kings of the earth belong to God.
      He is highly honored everywhere.

End Times Witnessing: How not to miss being saved?

There are two characters in the Bible who shared some similar worldly characteristics and yet ended differently in their eternal destinations. Both were men of worldly success in terms of power and wealth.

PILATE

Pilate was a shrewd governor working for the  powerful Roman Empire. He was unpopular, cruel and feared by many. He had the power to put a person to death, regardless whether the person was found guilty or not. Jesus was tried in his court and found innocent but Pilate still sentenced him to death. He was politically ambitious and correct. He knew how to appease his subjects (mostly Jewish) on one historical occasion. He avoided civil upheaval by succumbing to the majority regardless of justice. His concern was to stay out of trouble and keep his governor’s position safe. Jesus gave him three chances to know Him and even receive from Jesus salvation for him and his household. Responding to the three mundane, routine, temporal political questions he asked, Jesus revealed to him spiritual truth leading to eternal life.

He asked Jesus: “Are you the king of the Jews?” (The Jews had accused Jesus of ‘revolting’ as they wanted Pilate to execute him). So Pilate was asking the accused what he was accused of. It was a pertinent interrogation question.

Jesus answered: “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about Me?” Jesus wanted Pilate to proclaim with his mouth he wanted to know Jesus personally. This is Salvation Truth Number One: Everyone must personally seek to know Jesus, the King of kings, the only Saviour of men!

Pilate missed the spiritual point. He went on and asked: “Am I a Jew? Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?” He just wanted to get the trial over as soon as possible. He had to ascertain the criminal act done by the Jewish accused and then pass the appropriate sentence. Then he would have completed another job. His own wife knew of Jesus’ ministry and even dreamed of Him on the night before the trial. But Pilate was just being ‘practical’ and could not be bothered with foreign spiritual issue.

Jesus gave him a further chance: “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, My followers would fight to keep Me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But My Kingdom is not of the world.” Jesus stated that Salvation Truth Number Two is: Know that Jesus is the King far above human kings, and with far more superior authority and power. Only Jesus has the authority and power to life and kingdom beyond this world.

Pilate again missed the spiritual truth. “So you are a king?” He was still obsessed with earthly politics. He only wanted Jesus’ admission that He was a king so he could sentence Him (as accused by the Jewish leaders for political treason against the Roman ruler, Caesar). He was interested in getting to the earthly ‘truth’, that is, was what the Jews accusing Jesus of the truth?

Jesus gave him the third Salvation Truth: “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is truth.” Salvation Truth Number Three: Genuine Truth-seeker will believe and acknowledge that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. The conviction will result in life transformation. The believer will submit to the kingship of Jesus with accompanying life changes toward God and others.

Pilate brushed aside this eternal TRUTH and remarked sarcastically, “What is truth?” In his human experience he knew there was no truth in human society. He knew he had to fit the so-called ‘truth’ to suit whoever in power at any moment.

The words that Jesus had spoken had gone into Pilate’s rational mind. They did not make sense to him. He had enough of worldly power struggle and wealth making worries to occupy his mind and emotion. The words never entered his spirit. So he missed the three chances.

ZACCHAEUS

Zacchaeus was a shrewd chief tax contractor-collector for the powerful Roman Empire. He too had wealth and power. Like Pilate he was not socially popular and was feared by those under his oppression. Like Pilate he miss-used his power and caused hardship and grievance.

But Zacchaeus differed from Pilate. He had heard of Jesus and His teachings through others. He determined to seek and know Jesus personally for himself. Undeterred by physical disadvantage he made an ingenuous effort, climbing a tree to position himself higher than anyone. Indeed Jesus noticed him and came to his house as his honored guest! Thus, Zacchaeus fulfilled Salvation Truth Number One!

Zacchaeus knew and believed that Jesus had far superior power and authority than what the worldly kings could offer. He heard and believed. When encountering Jesus personally his belief was confirmed. He submitted to this King immediately! Thus, he fulfilled Salvation Truth Number Two: Know that Jesus is the King far above human kings, and with far more superior authority and power. Believe that only Jesus has the authority and power to life and kingdom beyond this world.

Zacchaeus was convicted and submitted to the kingship of Jesus and responded by repentance and actions following repentance of his heart. He declared publicly his repentance and restitution actions. Thus, he fulfilled Salvation Truth Number Three: Genuine Truth-seeker will believe and acknowledge that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. The conviction will result in life transformation. The believer will submit to the kingship of Jesus with accompanying life changes toward God and others.

Why did Zacchaeus respond to Jesus differently? Zacchaeus believed and gave priority to spiritual reality. When he encountered God he knew and submitted. Pilate did not believe in or give importance to the spiritual. Even when God appeared to him he missed God completely.

Some will get to heaven and some will miss heaven. The chance is one hundred percent either way. You choose.