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Isaiah 63:1. Who is this coming from Edom, with
garments of glowing colors from Botsrah, who is robed in splendor, striding
forward in the greatness of His strength? "It is I (said Yahweh), who speak in
righteousness, mighty to save." [2] Why is there red on Your raiment, and Your
garments like one who treads the winepress? [3] "I have trodden the
winepress alone (says Yahweh), and from the peoples no
one was with Me....Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments and I have defiled
all My raiment. [4] For a day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My
Redeemer has come. [5] And I looked but there was none helping, and I was
astonished that their was no intercessor, So My own Arm saved for Me... [8b] and
He (Yahweh) became their
Savior. [9] In all their distress He was distressed, and the Messenger of His
Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them, and He
lifted them up and carried them all the days of
old."
Deuteronomy 4:37.
And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their Seed after them, and
brought you out of bondage with His Presence, with His great
Power.
Isaiah 44:6. Thus said Yahweh, Sovereign of Israel, AND
His Redeemer, Yahweh of
Hosts: "I am ALEPH TAW (first and last),
besides Me there is no Elohim. [7] And who is like Me? Let him call and declare
it, and lay it before Me, since I appointed the everlasting people and the
events that are coming... [8] ...Is there an Elohim besides me? There is no
other Rock; I know not one."
The KJV translates this word,
"rock", as "god", but in Hebrew the word is "TSUR", which means
"rock, pebble, flint, stone, mass, or rocky crag; also a
title of Yahweh with a
focus on stability, and possibly as a place of security and safety."(1) In the Apostolic Scriptures we
then find that this Rock or Redeemer aspect of Elohim was the part of Yahweh which later revealed itself in the Man, Yahshua the Messiah.
1 Corinthians 10:1.
For I do not wish you to be ignorant brothers, that all our fathers were under
the cloud, and all passed through the sea, [2] and all were immersed into Moses
(or the Torah) in the cloud and in the sea (even as water immersion in
Yahshua's name represents today), [3] and all ate
the same spiritual food, [4] and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they
drank of that spiritual Rock that followed, and the Rock was the
Messiah.
In order for Yahshua to be THE
ROCK, however, it is necessary that He also be the Redeemer whom Isaiah
identifies as "Yahweh of Hosts" (see Isaiah 44:6,8 ), and who
revealed Himself to Joshua as the "Prince of Hosts" who leads the heavenly
armies of Yahweh.
Joshua 5:13. And it came to be when Joshua
was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked and saw a Man standing
opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said,
"Are You for us or
for our adversaries?" [14] And He said, "No, for I have now come as
Prince of the Hosts (or 'Head of the Armies') of
Yahweh." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth
and worshiped, and said to Him, "What is my Master saying to His
servant?" [15] And the Prince of the Host of Yahweh said to Joshua, "Take your sandal
off your foot, for the ground whereon you stand is
set-apart."
Comparing this passage to
the account of Moses and the burning bush, we find additional indications that
the Prince of Hosts is, in fact, the "I Am" of the First Testament.
Exodus 3:2. And the
Messenger of Yahweh appeared to (Moses) in a flame of fire from
the midst of a bush. And (Moses) looked and saw the bush burning with fire, but
the bush was not consumed.... [4b] and Elohim called to him from the
midst of the bush and said, "Moses! Moses!" And he said, "Here I
am." [5] And (the Messenger of Yahweh) said, "Do not come near here. Take
your sandals off your feet, for the ground whereon you are standing is
set-apart." [6] And He said, "I am the Elohim of your father, the
Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.... [10] And now I am sending you to
Pharoah, to bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt...." [13] And
Mosheh said to Elohim, "See, when I come to the children of Israel and
say to them, 'The Elohim of your fathers has sent me to you', and they
say, 'What is His Name?' what shall I say to them?" [14] And
Yahweh said to Mosheh, "I Am that which I
Am (EYAH ASHER EYAH)... Thus shall you say to the children of Israel,
'I Am (EYAH)has sent me to you.' [15] And Elohim said to Moses,
"Thus you are to say to the children of Israel,
'Yahweh Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of
Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob has sent me to you. This
is My Name forever, and this is my remembrance to all
generations.'"
Later, in the song of Moses, following the drowning of
Pharoah's army in the Red Sea, we find confirmation that the Right Arm of Yahweh or His Messiah is the Prince of Hosts or Man of
War.
Exodus 15:3.
Yahweh is a Man of war. Yahweh is His Name... [6] Your Right Hand, O
Yahweh, has become great in power. Your Right Hand,
O Yahweh, has crushed the
enemy.
In the writings of James, the half-brother of Yahshua we read:
James 5:4. See, the
wages of the workmen....and the cries of the reapers have reached the
ears of Yahweh of Hosts.
Comparing this with the words of John the Baptiser, we see that
James speaks of Yahshua, the overseer of the
harvest.
Matthew 3:11b. He who
is coming after me is greater than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to bear. He
shall immerse you in the Set-apart Spirit and fire. [12] His winnowing fork
is in His hand, and He shall thoroughly cleanse His threshing-floor, and gather
His wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff He shall burn with unquenchable
fire.
Paul likewise identifies Yahshua as "Yahweh of Hosts" in his letter to the Romans, where we
read:
Romans 9:29. As Isaiah
said before, If Yahweh of Hosts had not left us a SEED,(2) we would have become like Sodom, and we would
have been made like Gomorrah.(3)
In Daniel
8:11,25 a little horn or beast power is prophesied
to arise and "exalt itself as
high as the Prince of Hosts, and take that which is continual away from Him, and
throw down the foundation of His Temple.....and even stand against the Prince of
princes." The
Prince of Hosts or Princes is then identified as Yahshua in Daniel 9:25,26 where we read that "from the going forth of the command to
restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince is seven weeks and
sixty-two weeks.... and after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off and
have naught, and the people of a coming prince shall destroy the city and the
Temple."
One chapter later He is also addressed as 'Michael' or "One who
is like El', and identified as the one who fights against or opposes
hashatan.
Daniel 10:10. A hand
touched me, and set me trembling on my knees and on the palms of my hands...
[12] and he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day
that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your Elohim,
your words were heard, and I have come because of your words. [13] But the
prince of the power of Persia (satan(4))
withstood me twenty-one days, and see, Michael, one of the Head Princes came to
help me....
Turning to Jude where Michael contends
with satan over the body of Moses, we also find that he has authority to raise
from the dead, and in the resurrection of Moses on the mountain of Yahshua's transfiguration, we find
another important link between the Arch-messenger, Michael, and the
Messiah.
Jude 1:9. But Michael
the arch-messenger, in contending with the Devil over the body of Moses,
presumed not to bring against him a blasphemous accusation, but said,
"Yahweh rebuke you."
Mark 9:2.
Yahshua took Peter and James and John, and led them
up to a high mountain alone by themselves. And He was transformed before them.
[3] And His garments became glittering exceeding white, like snow, such as no
launder on earth is able to whiten. [4] And there appeared to them Eliyah
with Moses, and they were talking with Yahshua.... [7] And there came a cloud overshadowing
them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying, "This is My Son, the
Beloved, Hear Him!" [8] And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
with them, but only Yahshua.... [10] And they kept this matter to
themselves, debating what the rising from the dead
meant.In Revelation 12:7, we likewise find Michael's overthrowing of the
devil equivalated with "the authority of the Messiah".
Revelation 12:7. And there came to be
fighting in the heaven: Michael and His messengers fought against the dragon.
And the dragon and his messengers fought, [8] but they were not strong enough,
nor was there a place found for them in the heaven any longer. [9] And the great
dragon was thrown out, that serpent of old, called the devil and hashatan, who
leads all the world astray. He was thrown to the earth, and his messengers were
thrown out with him. [10] And I heard a loud voice saying in the heaven,
"Now have come the deliverance and the power and the reign of our
Elohim, and the authority of HIS MESSIAH."
Finally Michael's identification as Daniel's Head in
Daniel 10 confirms the truth of His identity.
Daniel 10:21 But let
me declare to you what is written in the Scripture of Truth, and there is no one
supporting me against these, except MICHAEL YOUR HEAD.(5)
1 Corinthians 11:3. I
wish you to know that the HEAD of every man is MESSIAH.....and the head
of Messiah is Elohim.
The Jewish sage, Philo,
wrote:
"If there be any as
yet unfit to be called the son of the Deity, let him press to take his place
under His Firstborn, the Logos (Word or Innermost expression), who
holds the eldership among the angels, their Archangel as it were. And many
names are His, for He is called, 'the beginning,' and THE NAME of the Deity
(YAHWEH), and His Logos (or Word), and the Man after His image, and 'He
that sees,' that is Israel."(6)
"For as long as
(mankind) falls short of perfection, he has the divine Logos as his
leader; since there is an oracle which says, 'Lo, I send my Angel before your face,
to guard you on your road, that he may bring you into the land which I have
prepared for you: give heed to him, and hearken to him, disobey him not; for he
will not withdraw from you; FOR MY NAME IS IN HIM. (Exod.
23:20)'"(7)
Now some may wonder whether this
reduces Yahshua to the level of an angel,
reflecting Jewish bias against His Messianic identity. Not as we today think of
the word, especially considering the similarity between MALAKH, the
Hebrew word for Angel, and MELEKH, the Hebrew word for King. Actually
when the truth is told it reveals a historical Jewish belief in His deity!
Remember, YAHSHUA or Michael is the one who is "like El" or "like the Father".
He is the ARCHangel (literally arch-Messenger), meaning He is arched over or
above the other ministering spirits (see Hebrews 1 ), and was
only made lower than them while performing the role of Mashiyach ben
Yoseph here on the earth (Psalm
8:4,5; Hebrews 2:9 ). But we'll see a different prophecy
unfold when He returns as the conquering Mashiyach ben David.
Daniel 12:1. Now at
the time (of the end) Michael shall stand up, the great Prince (or Head) who is
standing over the sons of your people... and at that time your people shall be
delivered, everyone who is found written in the book, [2] and many of those who
sleep in the dust of the earth wake up, some to everlasting life, and some to
reproaches, everlasting abhorrence. [3] And those who have insight shall shine
like the brightness of the expanse, and those who lead many to righteousness
like the stars forever and ever.
Matthew 24:30. And
then the sign of the Son of Adam shall appear in the heaven, and then all the
tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Adam coming on
the clouds of the heaven with power and much esteem. [31] And He shall send His
messengers with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His
chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the
other.
1 Thessalonians 4:16.
But the Master Himself shall come down from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the Chief of Messengers (or Archangel, meaning one who is above or
arched over the angels), and with the trumpet of Yahweh.
Revelation 17:14. (And
the kings of the earth) shall fight with the Lamb, and THE LAMB SHALL OVERCOME,
for He is Master of masters and Sovereign of sovereigns. And those with Him are
called, and chosen, and trustworthy.
Yahshua will indeed return as the
Mighty Overcomer, as the Son which reflects the essence of the Father, with the
voice of Michael (One who is like El) upon His lips. He will appear to us as
EmmanuEl (El with us) and as Yahshua, the One in
whom is found the very substance of Yahweh's
Salvation; our Messiah Himself.
Footnotes:
1. Strongs; Heb. #6697
2. Genesis 3:15 -- YHWH of Hosts became the
Seed of man.
3. A DIRECT CONTRAST -- the Messiah's virgin
birth versus the men of Sodom who "lusted after strange flesh".
4. hashatan is the prince of this world. (John
12:31, 14:30, 16:11, Ephesians 2:2
5. Strongs; Heb #8269; prince, ruler, leader,
chief, captain, official
6. Philo, Conf., 28 SS146
7. Philo, Mig., 12 SS67 on Exod. 23:20
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