In Daniel chapter 9, the part of the chapter that I wanted to focus on, is toward the end there beginning in verse number 24 where the bible reads, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."
What I want to preach about tonight is the subject of the Messiah in the Old Testament. This is a scripture in the Old Testament that actually, by name, talks about the coming of the Messiah. If I were to say tonight I'm going to go through all of the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah, we couldn't do it in one night. It would go on and on because the bible says in Acts 10:43, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."
Jesus Christ said, "Search the scriptures for in them ye think he have eternal life and they are they which testify of me." All throughout the Old Testament, Genesis to Malachi, over and over again, everything's pointing us to Jesus Christ. Multitudes of prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God, the savior of the world, son of David. I can't even hope tonight to begin to scratch the surface of the prophecies of the Messiah in the Old Testament. I just want to show you some really stand out passages and some really interesting passages that clearly point us to Jesus Christ as the Messiah from the Old Testament and what that means.
First of all, flip over to John. We're going to come back to Daniel 9, so keep your finger there, but go over to John. The reason I'm starting in Daniel 9 is that Daniel 9 is the only Old Testament passage that uses the word "Messiah" in it. Of course there are, like I said, hundreds of passages that would point us to the Messiah and we're going to deal with a lot of them tonight. Daniel chapter 9 is the one that uses the word Messiah, so it's a great place to start.
Let's just look at what the word Messiah means. Look at John chapter 1 verse 41. The bible reads in John 1:41, "He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, we have found the Messiahs, which is, being interpreted, the Christ." So although we don't see the word Messiah in the bible a lot, we see the word Christ over and over again. In the New Testament he's called Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. The term Christ means Messiah. This is a major important theme of the bible.
Flip over to John chapter 4 verses 25 and 26. And the bible says, "The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiahs 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." Again, we see that those that believed in the Old Testament scriptures are looking forward to a Messiah and expecting a Messiah to come. She says Messiah being interpreted is Christ. It's the same thing.
Let's go back to Daniel 9 and I want to point out something interesting about this passage that prophecies of the Messiah. In Daniel 9:24, the bible reads, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times."
I want to point out here that the Messiah's coming is not just this vague promise that you know what, someday, sometime, we have no idea when it's going to happen, the Messiah's going to come and we don't know when that's going to be. It could be a few hundred years. It could be thousands of years. There is a time frame given for the coming of the Messiah. It's not something that's just open ended. He gives these weeks. These weeks are not weeks of days but weeks of years. They're periods of seven years. When he says seventy weeks, that's 490 years. When he says one week, that's seven years instead of seven days.
To go through this whole passage and expound all of the prophetic meaning of this passage alone is an entire sermon in and of itself. That's not the scope of the sermon tonight. This isn't a sermon all about bible prophecy and explaining all about this. I want to point out something really clear from this passage. We have a period of seven weeks. Then there's a period of 62 weeks. Then there's a period of one week. Let's get the biblical order of events from this passage. First of all, it says in verse 25, "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks." So right away, the thing that starts out the clock ticking is the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem.
You have to understand that Daniel's prophesying after the temple has been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, the children of Israel, namely of the children of Judah, have been taken captive into Babylon. Daniel is one of those Babylonian captives. He's over there in Babylon. The temple is in ruins and God is telling him that when the commandment comes to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem, that's when this time is going to start ticking of these weeks.
Cyrus is the one who makes that command. We see that commandment in the book of Ezra chapter 1. We see that commandment at the end of second Chronicles and so forth. Look what it says. It says, "seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times." Now, the wall is referring to the wall around the city of Jerusalem. We read about that being built in the book of Nehemiah. Then it says in verse 26, "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined."
So here's the biblical order according to this passage, no matter what you believe about this passage prophetically, we see a clear order that says first you have the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Then you have the street and the wall being rebuilt as a result of that commandment. Then you have, after 62 weeks, the Messiah being cut off, but not for himself. Then you have the city and the sanctuary bring destroyed. Right? That's the order. First, Messiah is cut off. Then the city and the temple are destroyed. Then we have this final week in verse 27 that says, "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Of course, we believe that that has not happened yet. That is the abomination of desolation that Christ tells us to look for that's still going to come in the future with the anti-Christ and so forth.
What I want to point out is that clearly, according to this scripture, the Messiah is cut off before the city and the sanctuary were destroyed. When Jesus Christ walked on this earth, the city of Jerusalem was still standing. Remember how Jesus went into the temple and preached and spoke? So the temple was still there, right? After Jesus Christ died and was buried and rose again, that temple was destroyed in the year AD 70. That temple was destroyed and it's never been rebuilt to this day. People have tried to rebuild it. People have thought about rebuilding it. But even to this day, that temple is left in ruin just as Jesus Christ said, "See not all these things." He said, "Not one stone shall be left on another that shall not be thrown down." That is where we're at today with the temple completely destroyed.
Let me ask you this: how is it that the Jews can say, "Oh, we're still waiting for the Messiah to come" when the bible is telling us right here in the Messiah passage that the Messiah is going to be cut off before the temple and the city of Jerusalem are destroyed? That already happened. The Messiah would have to have already come before that temple was destroyed, according to this passage. No matter what you believe about this passage, it's pretty clear when you look at that passage.
Let's go to Psalm chapter 2. Psalm chapter number 2. Besides just looking for passages that use the work Messiah, that's a pretty short list: Daniel chapter 9. There are all kinds of other scriptures that talk about the lords anointed. If we remember, the word Messiah means Christ and the word Christ means anointed. Let me show you that Christ means anointed. In Psalm chapter 2 verse 1, it says, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed."
Keep looking down at your bible there. I'm going to read to you from Acts chapter 4. You look down at Psalm 2:1-2 and I'm going to read to you from Acts 4. "Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, why did the heathen rage?" Did you see that in verse one? "And the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ." When it says the Lord and [it gets his 00:10:31] anointed, that comes forth in the New Testament as against his Christ. That's what Messiah or Christ means. The Anointed.
It says, "For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together." In this passage in Psalm 2, we have a very clear prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ as being the Son of God. This anointed, this Christ, this Messiah was to be the Son of God. Let's keep reading.
This is what they're saying, "Let us break their bands asunder," verse 3, "and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me," watch this, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."
Here we see that the Lord's anointed or the Lord's Christ is the Son of God. He says unto him, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." Hebrews 1 says, "That was never said unto any of the angels. Thou art my Son; this day I have begotten thee. And again, I will be to him a Father and he should be to me a Son." This is a passage of Christ being the Son of God. Go to Micah chapter 5. Micah chapter 5. Not only is Christ referred to as the Son of God, he's also known as the son of David. This is really important as we look at these passages in the Old Testament that prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. In fact, this anointing of Christ has to do with the fact that in the Old Testament the priest would come and anoint the king. Remember, Saul was anointed, David was anointed. When the bible talks about the Lord's Christ, or the Messiah coming, the anointed one coming, it's going to be the King of the Jews. It's going to be the one who would rule and reign on the throne of his father David. The son of David. That's who Jesus Christ was when he showed up. The king of kings, the lord of lords. King if the Jews.
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, remember how they put a sign above his head as he died? What did that sign say? "This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." It was written in three languages. Greek, Latin and Hebrew. It says here in Micah 5:2- And again, there are lots of scriptures in the Old Testament that talk about Jesus being the Son of God. This illusions to the Son of God. For example, even in Daniel 3:25 when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are in the fiery furnace and Nebuchadnezzar sees the fourth man in the fire and says, "The form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Or in Proverbs 30 verse 4 it says of God, "What is his name? What is his son's name?" We saw the Son of God mentioned in Psalm 2 et cetera. Again, that's a whole other sermon.
Look at Micah 5:2. It says, "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." So here is a prophecy of a ruler that will come out of Bethlehem. That's what Jesus Christ is, a ruler. Look at Isaiah chapter 9. That's what it means to be the anointed. Isaiah chapter 9. That's what it means to be the Christ. He's going to be the king that will sit on that throne of David his father. It says that he will be the ruler in Israel. Here's another great thing about Micah 5:2, speaking of Bethlehem, it says, "Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." That phrase "from everlasting" is a very profound phrase showing that Christ had no beginning.
When we think of everlasting, it means that it never ends. From everlasting means coming from the infinite past. The bible says, "In the beginning was the word." It was already there in the beginning. It says, "In the beginning was the word. The word was with God and the word was God. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth." If you remember when the wise men went unto Herod and they said to him in Matthew chapter 2, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." They're looking for the King of the Jews. They saw the star arise. They probably read the scripture in Daniel about the coming of the Messiah, the Prince, and the amount of weeks, the amount of years that would happen until then.
He says to them in Matthew 2, you don't have to turn there, verse 3, it says, "When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, and thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel." That's who Jesus is, the King of the Jews, the anointed, son of David that would come and rule, be born in Bethlehem and inherit the throne of David his father.
Look at Isaiah 9:6. It says, "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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David," pay close attention to that, "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."
Why is it so important that Jesus Christ is of the seed of David and that he is going to sit upon the throne of his father David and he's going to rule and reign as the King of the Jews? The reason that that's so important is that God promised David over and over again that his kingdom would rule forever. Now remember how Saul sinned against the Lord, God took the kingdom from Saul and he gave it to David. But he told David, "I will not take the kingdom from you as I took it from Saul." He made many promises unto David that David's seed would sit on that throne forever.
Let me just show you a few quick passages on that. Got to 1 Chronicles chapter 17. 1 Chronicles chapter 17. While you're turning to 1 Chronicles 17, let me point out that in Second Kings 8 verse 19, Solomon's kingdom after it's been passed to Rehoboam, it says, "Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children." Even when God judges the children of Judah throughout the Old Testament, he always leaves a remnant and there's always somebody sitting on that throne that the kingly lineage of David has always preserved.
For example, Solomon, the son of David's ruling over the whole nation. After Solomon's death, the kingdom is divided. 10 tribes go with Jeroboam, the son of Nebat and they break off and they have a split and they become their own kingdom in the north. But yet, God allowed Solomon's son Rehoboam to reign over one tribe of Judah. He told him, he said, "You're going to over this southern kingdom of Judah because of the promise that I made unto David." Even though he allowed 10 of the tribes to be taken away, he tells them, "You're going to have the complete tribe of Judah and then also part of the tribe of Benjamin and the Levites and so forth."
You're saying, "The math doesn't add up." That’s' what the bible says. Because of the fact that in one sense there were 12 tribes, in another sense it was broken 13 ways because Joseph got a double portion, so you have Ephraim and Manasseh being separate tribes. But then the tribe of Levi didn't really count because they don't get an inheritance. They're scattered throughout the whole nation and so on and so forth. I don't want to get too complicated with that. What I'm pointing out is that Judah stayed with David in order for God not to break his promise. Because if God's sitting there promising, "Look David, your seed will sit on this throne and your throne will be established forever," God can't break that promise.
Even when David's sons sinned, he couldn't just take it away from them and put somebody else on that throne. He had to leave them at least in charge of Jerusalem and Judah and so forth. Does everybody see what I'm saying there? Look what the bible says in 1 Chronicles 17:11. It says, "And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee," this is speaking to David, " which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house," that's Solomon, "and I will stablish his throne forever." Okay, but it’s also prophetic of Jesus, I'll get to that in a moment. "I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom forever: and his throne shall be established for evermore. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David."
Flip over to 2 Chronicles, actually, go to Jeremiah 33. I'll just read to you from 2 Chronicles. Go to Jeremiah 33. It says in 2 Chronicles 21:7, "Howbeit the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons forever." Isn't this is a promise that's repeated often? You saw it there when we first turned to 1 Chronicles 17, the promise being made to David that emphasized how it would be forever, forevermore, it's going to last forever. I showed you 2 Kings 8. I showed you 2 Chronicles 21. Here's much later, centuries later. In the book of Jeremiah when the children of Israel are captive, they're in Babylon or actually, they're heading for Babylon, they're about to go to Babylon. Either way, it’s around the time that they're being carried off to Babylon.
Hundreds of years later, where people are probably thinking, "What's going on with that promise made to David?" If they're going to be taken captive, if Judah is going to be destroyed, if they're going to go into Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar's going to take over? What about that promise? People are probably thinking that when they hear Jeremiah preach, how they're all going captive, especially after they go captive, people are thinking that.
Look what the bible says in Jeremiah 33, just to emphasize to the people that this promise will be kept. It says in verse 7, "And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first." He's telling them the captivity is going to come to an end. We know it lasted 70 years. Look what it says in verse 15. "In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch," and notice that term branch, "the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.
"For thus saith the Lord;" watch this, "David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.
"As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, the two families which the Lord hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? Thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. Thus saith the Lord; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them."
That's a pretty clear passage that again reiterates what we saw in all the other scriptures saying, "David will always have someone sitting on upon his throne and reigning. It’s everlasting. Its forever. I'm never going to break that promise." It’s pretty clear, right? Now got to Genesis chapter 49. Genesis chapter 49. Genesis chapter number 49. Now, here's what we have to understand. This was fulfilled in Jesus Christ because of the fact that Jesus Christ is the seed of David. Jesus Christ is the King of the Jews. Jesus Christ is the king of kings and lord of lords. He shall reign forever and ever of his kingdom, there shall be no end. He has been anointed. He is the Christ. He is the Messiah.
Look, is there, today, a king of the sons of David sitting upon that throne in Jerusalem right now? No way. When was the last time someone of the sons of David was sitting on that throne? It hasn't been for thousands of years. Again, this kind of ties in with what I was saying about Daniel chapter 9. How could the Jews say, "Oh the Messiah has not come? Jesus is not the Messiah. Jesus is a fraud." Okay, then where is the son of David sitting on the throne? They have no one. Where are the Levites offering sacrifice before the Lord? He said that's going to keep going. We know that Jesus Christ came and fulfilled that sacrifice.
He was the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world and there is a transfer from the priesthood of Aaron. The priesthood of the Levites. On to the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek of the Lord Jesus Christ. The animal sacrifices did not cease until Christ came. In the days of Jesus, the animal sacrifices were still happening. When Jesus was born, his mother Mary brought an animal sacrifice to the temple to be purified. The animal sacrifices did not cease until Christ came. The ruling of the house of David did not cease until Christ came. There was always a man descended of David to sit upon that throne. That lamp was not put out in Jerusalem or Judah until Christ came.
Where is that today? Where is the son of David today? Where is the king of Israel today? Where is the king of Judah today? There isn't one! And yet these diluted false teachers and rabbis and prophets of the wicked religion of Judaism say, "Oh Jesus Christ is not the Messiah. He's a fraud." Then show me your Messiah! Where is the Messiah? "Oh he's still coming." Bologna! That's not what the Old Testament taught. That's not what the bible taught. The bible taught He would come before the destruction of Jerusalem. Already happened. The bible said those animal sacrifices would not cease and that David would always sit on that throne. Where are they? Where is it?
It proves that they do not believe the Old Testament scriptures as Christ said. Look what the bible says here in Genesis chapter 49. Genesis 49. The key to understanding this passage is verse one when you read Genesis 49. Jacob is prophesying in Genesis 49 and he says, "Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days." He's not saying, "Hey this is stuff that's gonna happen in the short term," is it? Oh no. He says these are things that will happen in the last days. You say, "Well, define last days." Last days are not as last as you might think because the bible says for example, let's let scripture define scripture. Hebrews 1:1 says, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."
Over and over again in scripture, you know, we could go to all kinds of New Testament passages that define the last days as the New Testament time. Right there in Hebrews 1, Jesus Christ is coming, it’s known as the last days. You say, "Well, how is that the last days?" Here's why. Because think about it, before Christ came, you have about 4300 years of human history, right? About 4300 years before Christ. How long have we had since Christ? About 2000 years. Which one of those periods is longer? Here's the thing, anything after the halfway point of human history could be called the latter half or the last half. Really, we are in the last one-third of history, from what we've experienced so far. The earth is approximately, if you study the scriptures, do all the math, all the genealogies, add up all the dates and everything, the earth is approximately 6300 years old.
When Jesus Christ came, you're already well beyond the halfway point of that. Unless Christ doesn't come back for another 3000 years, but we know that's not going to happen. Obviously he's coming much sooner than that. But anyway, what I'm saying is that if Christ came 4300 and some years into history, approximately, then it makes perfect sense that that which is after that, in God's perspective, is the last days. As opposed to the former times, the former days, which is a pretty long period of time. 4300 and some odd years.
When the bible says, "These are the things that will befall you in the last days," if we let the bible define itself, the time of Christ is referred to as the last days in Hebrews 1:1-2 and elsewhere it's referred to as such. Keep that in mind when it says, "Gather yourselves together and I may tell you what's to befall you in the last days." Jump down to verse 8. He's going to give different prophecies and blessings unto the different tribes of Israel. Here's what he says unto Judah. The bible says that our Lord Jesus Christ sprang out of Judah in the book of Hebrews. We know that he's of the son of David and of course, David is of Judah.
It says in verse 8, "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee." What's he predicting here? He's predicting that Judah is going to be the ruler. When did this happen? When did this take place? This took place when David became the king and all of this descendants ruled for centuries and he was promised that he would be the ruler forever. Remember, this is last days stuff. Right after this period, where Jacob's speaking to them, they're going to go down into Egypt for 400 years. Then when they come out of Egypt, who's going to rule over them when they come out of Egypt? First Moses then Joshua then who? The Judges. 400 years under the Judges. Of the Judges, they were of all different tribes. They were from various tribes.
If you study the 12 Judges in the book of Judges, they come from all different tribes. You know Samson was of the tribe of Dan. There's one of the tribe of Issachar. They come from various tribes. The only one that I believe came from Judah, possibly, is Othniel the son of Kenaz possibly is of Judah. He seems to be of Judah. The bottom line, he wasn't a major ruler though. He was one that did have some authority but really, when we see Judah ruling over his brethren, and when we see his father's children bowing down unto him is a prediction of him becoming the ruler in the form of David in the last days. David becoming king of Israel.
Look what it says in verse number 9. It says, "Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah." Now what is a scepter? This is a tool by which kings reign. It’s a staff that they hold in their hand as a symbol of their power. Remember Jesus Christ would rule with a rod of iron. The bible says, "Thy throne," talking to Jesus in Hebrews 1:8, "unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom." That's what they scepter is. It says, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk."
Here, we see that Judah is going to have the scepter. This isn't referring just to a judge. Because a judge does not rule with a scepter. A king rules with a scepter. Remember? "A scepter of righteousness is a scepter of thy kingdom it says of Jesus Christ." When we talk about the scepter being in the tribe of Judah, we're talking about David becoming the king. First Saul held that scepter of the tribe of Benjamin for 40 years. Then that scepter went to the house of David permanently. Forever. We saw it over and over again. It says, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be."
The pronoun him there when it says, "Unto him shall the gathering of the people be." The “him” there could refer to Judah. Judah is mentioned in verse 10. Or it could refer to Shiloh in verse 10. You say, "What is Shiloh?" Shiloh, there is a town in the bible called Shiloh. That town is a place where Ark of the Covenant was pitched in the days of Eli and before that. That's where the tabernacle was pitched with the Ark of the Covenant, it abode at a place called Shiloh. Now, here's the thing, I don't believe that this is referring to that town where the Ark of the Covenant was. Here's why I don't believe that Shiloh is referring to the town where the Ark of the Covenant was because the Ark of the Covenant was in that town of Shiloh before David ever sat on the throne. If we look at what the bible is saying here, it's saying, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh come."
If we look at this and just use common sense, Shiloh's coming after Judah has the scepter. Everybody noticing that? First Judah has the scepter and Judah's going to continue to have that scepter until Shiloh come. If it were the town, why would that town come? Towns don't really move around like that. To say Shiloh coming, it doesn't really sound like a town's coming. Especially since that town only had significance long before David ever sat on that throne, so the order isn't right. That's why I don't think Shiloh is referring to that town. If we look at this where it says, "Until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people here." The “him” could be referring to Shiloh. That's the closest antecedent that we have in this verse. It says, "Until Shiloh come and unto him," unto Shiloh, "shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk."
You could say, okay, all of these he's and him's, they're all referring to Judah, but let say all these he's and him's are referring to Shiloh, which actually makes more sense since we talk about Shiloh coming. That all of these he's and him's are referring to Shiloh and guess what? All of these he's and him's are about Jesus. Every single one of them. Jesus is the one that rode in on the foal of an ass. Remember, that's what Jesus rode into Jerusalem. The ass's colt, the vine. Jesus said, "I am the vine. I am the true vine. My father is the husbandment." That the vine refers to Jesus. The ass's colt is what he rode in on. It says, "He washed his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes." Jesus is the one that rides in on a white horse in Revelation 19 in a vesture dipped in blood. His clothes are dipped in blood. His name's called the word of God.
"His eyes shall be red with wine." He's the one who it says in the bible, "His eyes are as a flame of fire and His feet as fine [bread 00:36:49]." The redness of eyes there. The ass's colt. The garment washed in blood. The gathering of the people unto him. "Beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," by our gathering together unto him. These are all things that clearly refer unto Christ. You say, "Well, why would Christ be called Shiloh?" First of all, why not? Number one, Christ is called a lot of things. "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Prince of Peace, The mighty God, The everlasting Father." If you look at the word Shiloh, what does it remind you of? What does the word Shiloh kind of remind you of? A word that you know from even your King James Bible, you don't have to go study Hebrew to know it.
What's a word that it kind of reminds you of? A Hebrew word that's in the King James. Shalom. Which means what? Shalom means peace. The bible even uses that term. Even Jerusalem is also from that Shalom-Salem, is from that same root. This word Shiloh ... You know Christ is called, in Isaiah 9:6, which is a key passage about the Messiah. "Unto us 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, The mighty God, The everlasting Father," watch this, "The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." So "peace" is repeated twice there in reference to Jesus Christ. It says, "Upon the throne of David." So we have the Prince of Peace, there's not end of his government and peace, sitting on the throne of David. Then when we go back to Genesis 49, we have this term that is associated with peace, this term Shiloh, which means peaceful, tranquil, that's what it means. It's from the same word as peace.
He's saying, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." He's going to be on the ass's colt. He's going to have a vesture dipped in blood. When you understand it in that way, now this passage makes perfect sense that there's going to be a king sitting upon the throne of David. From David, that seed is going to be preserved. That throne is going to be preserved. That kingdom is going to stay there. That coal is going to still remain lit in Jerusalem until when? The coming of Jesus Christ who is the fulfillment, the King of the Jews, who is sitting right now at the throne of God. Sitting at the right hand of the majesty on high. He is the King of Kings. He is the Lord of Lords. He is the Son of David. He is the Lords Anointed. He is the Christ. You have no other option if you believe the Old Testament.
Who else fits the bill? He said that the scepter would not depart from Judah until the Shiloh come. Yet the scepter has departed from Judah. Can anyone deny the fact that in an earthly sense, the scepter has departed from Judah? Is Judah ruling and reigning right now? Is the tribe of Judah represented by a son of David sitting upon the throne of his father David ruling and reigning? No. We know that Jesus Christ is the one who came and fulfilled all things and is the son of David. He is the King of Israel. He is the fulfillment of all these prophecies of the Messiah.
Let's go to one more place, Psalm 89. There's so much, you can't even scratch the surface tonight of just looking at Old Testament passages. Looking at things in the prophets. Looking at things in Genesis. Looking at things in Psalms. It's all throughout the Old Testament. It would truly take years to preach all the Old Testament passages about Christ. I'm just showing you some key passages here just showing you the delusion of anyone that would say that Jesus is not the Christ. If you believe in the Old Testament, the bible is so clear when Christ is going to come. He's going to come before the scepter totally departs from Judah. He's going to come before the temple is destroyed. He's going to come and fulfill these things.
Look what it says in Psalm 89. More promises to David and to his house. It says in verse, let me find my place here. It says in verse 3, "I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah."
Jump down to verse 20. "I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him." Again, this isn't just about David. This is a prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ. "With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him. The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him. And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven."
When we see this passage, we know that this is a prophecy of Jesus Christ, not just of the man David. "And the seed that will endure forever of the firstborn, among many brethren," Jesus is called the firstborn among many brethren, he's called the first begotten of the dead. We are Christ's seed. The bible talks about it in Isaiah 53, another great passage of the Messiah, that when Jesus Christ would be bruised for our iniquities. When he would die for our sins, it says he shall see his seed. Talking about those that would be begotten of him, those that would be the children of Jesus Christ through faith in Christ. Here we see that the seed will endure forever. That's those who believe in Christ. The bible says that if you're Christ, you're Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Being in Christ makes you of the seed of Christ because Christ is your father.
It says in verse 30, "If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments," pay attention because you're his children, "If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah."
Again, very similar to the wording in Jeremiah chapter 33 about his throne enduring as the sun and the moon. It says here that the seed of Christ, when they break God's laws, he's not going to stop loving them. He'll discipline them but he's not going to take away his lovingkindness from them. He will not break his promise that they will endure forever. This is a great passage showing that we can't lose our salvation. "Oh, you're saying you can lose your salvation." Wrong. The bible says of those that are saved, that their sins and iniquities are not imputed unto them.
The bibles clear that if we sin and break God's laws, God will visit us with the rod and with stripes. "Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." But is he going to cast us out? Is he going to stop loving us? Is he going to send us out? Absolutely not. We see that these passages promising David an everlasting throne and a seed that endures forever. It's not talking about Solomon and his sons. It's talking about the spiritual seed that would come from the physical seed of David which is Jesus. Jesus is who fits the bill in Genesis 49. Jesus is who fits the bill in Psalm 89. Jesus fits the bill in Micah 5:2. Jesus fits the bill in Isaiah 9:6. Jesus fits the bill time-wise of Daniel 9. What would happen after 62 weeks? Messiah would be cut off but not for himself. Why? He didn't die for himself, he died for the sins of the whole world.
It all fits together. It all points unto Christ. It's all crystal clear. But to those that are not saved, they have the veil over their face when they read the scriptures. They can't see these things that to us are as plain as the noses on your face, but those that are unbelieving, those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ, they read the scriptures and the veil is there. They can't see it. The god of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not. We see over and over again scriptures that point us to Jesus all throughout the Old Testament. That Jesus truly is the Messiah. There's no question about it to anyone who looks at these verses and looks at the Old Testament. It must all be pointing unto Christ.
This is why we carry around a bible with the Old Testament in it. It's all pointing us to Christ. It's all profitable unto us for doctrine. It all supports and builds upon the doctrines that we have in the New Testament. It all fits together. It's for our admonition. It's for our learning. All scriptures give my inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine. Thank God that we have a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who fulfills all of this and who has given us salvation that is not just a temporary salvation until we break his commandments. That would not last very long. But that it is an eternal salvation and that Christ's kingdom will never end. Man's kingdom, of the physical seed of David has already ended. It's gone. "Well, it's coming back." Well it's been gone for a long time. It's been gone for thousands of years.
That temple still has not been rebuilt. It will be rebuilt of the anti-Christ is when it's going to be rebuilt. We know we already have the messiah. Anybody who's looking for another Messiah is looking for the anti-Christ and someday he will satisfy them and show up and be what they're looking for. We know that we already have the Messiah living in our hearts. He is our savior. He is our king. He is our law giver. He will rule over us forever and ever and we will rule and reign with him forever.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for the scriptures, Lord and that we can read your word. Even the Old Testament, Lord. Help us to read it with our eyes wide open, seeing the Lord Jesus Christ on every page. Even in the Old Testament, Lord. Help us to see that and to learn from it
