Heroines of Chanukah

Heroines of Chanukah
Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Most people know about the Maccabeean victory over the Greco-Syrians and the
miracle of the oil and the Menorah in the Temple. We all seem to know about the
Heroes of Chanukah; but many people do not know about the Heroines of Chanukah
found in the four books of the Maccabees and the Apocryphal book of Judith. The
story of two women named Hannah and one named Judith. Ironically Judith is the
feminine name for Judah, which is the name of the Hero of Chanukah "Judah
Maccabee" AKA: the Hammer!

Let us begin with the first Hannah whom we shall call Hannah the Mother.
Antiochus Epiphanies attempted to force this woman to renounce her Jewish faith
and her G-d by enduring being an eye witness of each of her seven sons being
tortured and killed. Each dying a brutally painful death with the utmost dignity
and bravery, refusing to renounce their faith in Judaism and the G-d of Israel.
The account of martyrdom rivals that of the modern day Foxes book of martyrs and
such fortitude in the face of certain death gave the Jewish people the strength
to fight and die as martyrs if necessary during the tyranny of the evil
Antiochus Epiphanies.

The second Hannah, whom we will call, Hannah the Bride, was a woman of shock and
awe. She was to marry Elazar, which was Judah Maccabees brother and wore nothing
but her birthday suit to the wedding; obviously offending and shocking everyone!
The shocked and blushing Jewish community said, "What are you doing!?" Hannah
replied, "I'm making a point! If your shocked and offended to see me naked, you
should be shocked even more by Antiochus' and his antics to decimate our people!
Do I embarrass you by my nudity? You should be more embarrassed by Antiochus'
attempt to strip our people bare of their faith and traditions!" Hannah's point
was made and taken and it inspired Israel to take up arms against Antiochus and
his army. As a result they won their first encounter and engagement against the
Greco-Syrians.

Judith on the other hand was a widow. A gorgeous widow! Like the Hadassah
(Esther) of her day. One day she and her handmaid went to Holophernes,
Antiochus' general who cut off the city of Bethulia's water supply and acted
like they defected to the Greco-Syrians side stating that they believed G-d was
going to give Israel over into their hands because of Israel's gross sin and
disobedience against the Torah. Her good looks and smooth talk won Holophernes
over and she and her handmaid was permitted to stay in the Greco-Syrian camp and
to come and go as please in order to pray and to obtain kosher food for
themselves.

Holophernes was smitten with Judith's beauty and impressed by her wisdom that he
invited her to his tent for dinner. This was Judith's chance to make her move.
She fed Holophernes salty cheese which made him thirsty and so Judith got
Holophernes drunk on wine until he passed out. Once she knew he was out like a
light she cut off his head with his own sword and carried it out in the bag that
she normally carried her kosher food in so as not to raise suspicions. By the
time the Greco-Syrian army discovered the body of their headless general Judith
and her handmaid was presenting the head of General Holophernes to the elders of
Bethulia. The Greco-Syrian army retreated and Bethulia was saved. Judith's
bravery and cunning renewed the fighting spirit of the Jewish People to continue
their conflict against the evil Antiochus Epiphanies.

The Biblical Basis for Celebrating Chanukah

The Biblical Basis for Celebrating Chanukah
By Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Chanukah, to the misconception of almost everyone, like the Feasts of the L-RD
in Leviticus 23, Chanukah is for every Believer in Yeshua the Messiah.

Chanukah has a long history, longer than many people may think. The majority of
the people believe Chanukah was established and instituted between the 500 year
gap of the writing of the Tanak (O.T.) and the Renewed Covenant (N.T.), during
the time of the Levitical family of the Maccabees, when they took back the
Temple from the Greco-Syrian invaders and rededicated it and got it back up and
running again. People think that since it has no connection to canonical
Scripture, it has no relevance or place in their lives. They think it's purely
a "Jewish thing", when in reality King Solomon instituted it, the Maccabees
re-instituted it and made it what it is today, and Yeshua the Messiah
celebrated it, and will re-institute it again when the 3rd Temple is built!

Chanukah is NOT the "Jewish Christmas"; it has NOTHING to do with Tammuz, Santa
Clause, or the birth of Jesus. The only commonalities between Christmas and
Chanukah is that we exchange and give gifts, which is more of a modern
institution in reactions to Christmas, and it steamed from the fact that Jews
gave (Tzedekah) charity on Biblical and Jewish holidays. Also sometimes
greenery is hung, not because of the reasons people do it for Christmas, but
because the Maccabees used Chanukah to also celebrate a late Sukkot (Feast of
Tabernacles) which is a type of harvest festival in which greenery was hung as
decoration.

In I Kings 8 and II Chronicles 7, it speaks of King Solomon fulfilling the life
long dream of his father David and himself, of having built the Holy Temple of
YHVH. It says the he "Chanukah-ed" it, dedicated it, and had a 7 day festival
and ended it on the 8th day, hence 8 days of Chanukah, just as we have today.

In Ezra 6:16-17 it tells of the Babylonian exiles who have returned to Jerusalem
and have built and Chanukah-ed the 2nd Temple. Verse 16 says that "The children
of the captivity kept the "Chanukah" of this house of G-D with joy."

In I Maccabees 4:52-59 and II Maccabees 10:1-8 it recounts the reason we
celebrate Chanukah today. After Yehudah Maccabee recaptures the 2nd Temple and
began to cleanse it and restore the service of it, they were about to light the
Holy Menorah when they discovered they only had enough oil for it to stay lit
for one day. It took 7 days to produce more, but they lit it anyway and a
miracle occurred, the Menorah stayed lit a whole 7 days until more was made!

Apparently the dates for celebrating Chanukah have changed through out the ages.
A new date for each time the Temple was built and dedicated, or cleansed and
rededicated. But to this day we keep the days set forth by the Maccabees in I
Maccabees 4:59 and II Maccabees 10:8 because that was the last rededication
until the Messiah returns to build the 3rd Holy Temple. Chanukah today
commemorates the rededication of the Temple, the defeat of the Greco-Syrian
invaders, affirms our Jewishness, and commemorates the miracle of the oil.

Because of II Maccabees 10:8 commanding the Jewish people to keep the 25th day
of the month of Kislev and the 7 days that follow, we see Yeshua in John
10:22-23 keeping Chanukah! If Messiah celebrated Chanukah, that's good enough
for me! I want to do it to, I want to be as much like my Messiah as I possibly
can, I want to do what He did, and experience what He experienced.

So what does Chanukah mean for Believers in Messiah Yeshua?

As mentioned before, the Temple is important to the Messiah, and He kept the
Festival of Chanukah there. But on a Spiritual level WE are the Temples of G-D
(I Cor. 3:16; 6:15-20; II Cor. 6:15-18; Eph. 2:18-22) and ever so often the
invaders of Self and Sin desecrate that sacred place and we need to wage all out
war, kick out the invaders, cleanse and rededicate ourselves back to G-D and His
Torah. This is exactly what we do at Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Lev.
23:26-32), so I like to think of Chanukah as Yom Kippur part shatayim (two)!

Jews! Stand up and be counted. Rededicate your self to G-D and His Torah.
Christians! Toss out that Christmas tree (Jer. 10:3-4), and grab a Menorah!
The only "birthday" the Messiah celebrated at this time of the year wasn't His
own, but the Temples! How could we not do likewise!?
Happy Chanukah!

Once I received some junk snail mail by the Messianic evangelical missions group
"Chosen People Ministries" and the first words to greet my eyes in bold blue
letters was "Merry Messiahmas!" I laughed at the idiocy and was angered by the
ignorance and or blatant syncretism. As if simply replacing the Greek word
"Christ" for the Hebrew word "Messiah" makes the pagan holiday now okay for Jews
to celebrate! Breaking it down it's, "The mass of the Christ" which the
Catholics instituted, that's the Roman pagan roots, but taking it further back
to its original roots in Babylon it's, "Christ-Tammuz", meaning, "The anointed
one Tammuz", which was Nimrod's son, whom he had with his mother, who was
eventually gored to death by a wild bore, in which people get that bore back for
killing their god-man by eating the good ol' Easter ham, and whom women mourn
during Lent (Ezk. 8:14 ).

December 25th was never, and will never be the birthday of Yeshua the Messiah.

1. December 25th is a solar date and We Jews go by the lunar calendar, the two
do not coincide.
2. No one knows for sure the exact date the Messiah was born. However, we do
know He was born around Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. We were never
commanded to celebrate His birth, but if you want to, please do it at the right
time of the year!
3. December 25th is the birth date of the pagan gods Tammuz, Mithra, and
Saturnalias.

Christmas was instituted by the Emperor Constantine and the Catholic Church to
try to make pagans feel comfortable and be more receptive to "Christianity".
All they did was take a pagan holiday and slap a new name on it inside and out.
"Merry Messiahmas" is no different than what the Fox networks primetime twenty
something soap, "The O.C." did by having the family on the show (who was at
least part Jewish) combine Christmas and Channukah together and call it
"Chrismukah". Or that cell phone commercial that blends all the holidays
together and says, "Happy Christmaramahkwanzikkah (Christmas, Ramadan, Kwanza,
and Chanukah)!" It is the Bable mentality that says, "We are all one, it's all
the same anyway, so let's all love each other and get along!" Celebrating
Christmas would be like being married, but celebrating your wife's birthday on
your X-girlfriends birthday! Why? After all we are the "bride" of Messiah and
He is our "Husband", and that would be celebrating his birth on the day of a
pagan god, our former lover! Or it's also like if I, a Jew, would take the
Swastika and assign a new meaning to it, let's say it is the cross of Messiah
humbly bent, reaching out to all four corners of the earth! Doesn't fly does
it! Pretty sick, perverted and insensitive of me huh? Well, how do you feel
the Messiah himself thinks about Christmas?

Christians! You claim you're of the Messiah, if you are, then come out of
Babylon and toss that tree (Jer. 10:3-4)!
Jews! Stop the hellenization and assimilation, come out of Rome and Greece and
be Jews!

I'm not saying grab a torch and pitchfork and hunt participants of Christmas
down. The majority of people simply don't know of understand the pagan roots of
Christmas. To them it's just the time of the year to be nice to everyone. So
if some one not knowing smiles and says to you, "Merry Christmas!" or even,
"Merry Messiahmas!" A kind, neutral, non committal response would be, "Happy
Holidays!" That way you're being kind, returning the sentiment without
celebrating or endorsing a pagan day of a pagan god. After all, it is the
"Holiday Season", and not only Christmas but. Kwanza, Chanukah, and sometimes
Ramadan fall around this time of year. If and when the opportunity presents
itself, in a loving, matter-of-fact way, expose the truth concerning the pagan
roots of Christmas, the real time of the year Yeshua was born, and the truth
about Chanukah and how it relates to the Believer.

In Yochannon (Jn.) 10:22 we read that Yeshua was at the Temple at the
"feast of the dedication", this is the feast known as Chanukah.
Chanukah is the Jewish holiday which celebrates the rededication of
the Temple after it had been polluted by Antiochus Epiphanies.
This festival celebrates the victory of the Jewish rebels known as the
"Maccabees" over the Greco-Syrians who had outlawed Torah observance
and were attempting to force all Jews to embrace Greek Paganism and
Greek customs.

"The exploits of the Maccabees are to be found in the four Books of
the Maccabees. The Books of the Maccabees did not make it into the
Jewish canon. They were not preserved in the Masoretic text, but were
included in an appendix to both the Aramaic Peshitta Tanak and the Greek
Septuagint Tanak. First and Second Maccabees were also included in the Latin
Vulgate and were canonized by Rome, but have not been accepted as canon by most
protestant groups, though some of these still include the books of the Maccabees
in an appendix called "apocrypha". In fact the original 1611 edition of the KJV
included 1st and 2nd Maccabees in a separate section labeled "Apocrypha".

What is truly fascinating is that the four books of the Maccabees
are each written on each of the four levels of understanding. In
Judaism there are four levels of understanding recognized in the Scriptures:
The Pashat (the simple literal meaning)

The Remez (the hinted, implied meaning)

The Drash (the allagorical, homiletical meaning)

The Sod (the hidden, secret, mystical meaning)

The first letter from each of these Hebrew words spells the Hebrew
word PRDS (PaRDeS) meaning "paradise". I have noted in the past that the four
Gospels are written on each
of these four levels:

Mark gives the Pashat, the plain simple meaning.

Luke gives the Remez, digging into the details Mark did not get into.

Matthew gives the Drash, telling the story of Yeshua as a commentary
to a number of passages from the Tanak.

John gives the Sod, telling the mystical account of Yeshua as the
incarnate light and the incarnate "word".

Now the same is true of the Books of the Maccabees:

1st Maccabees gives the plain simple account.

2nd Maccabees digs into the details.

3rd Maccabees tells a related story of another persecution under

Ptolomey to illustrate the same point.

4th Maccabees is a treaty making the case that the Torah is divine

reason, and as such is supreme." – James Scott Trimm

OPERATION JEREMIAH 6:16

OPERATION JEREMIAH 6:16

NOVEMBER MISSIONS TRIP TO NIGERIA

RABBI YEHUDAH BEN SHOMEYR

THE CALL TO RETURN TO NIGERIA AND THE THEME OF THE MISSION

2011 I ate, slept and breathed Nigeria. The majority of my energies were focused on preparing for my November trip to Nigeria. I first went to Nigeria in August of 2010. I was invited by a Nigerian Igbo Rabbi, Rabbi Ukahson, where I met the Igbo tribe and spoke among their many Torah obedient Messianic congregations, teaching Torah. I also meet their king and one of their paramount rulers as well investigating the tribal claim of being a portion of the lost tribe of Gad through his sons Eri, Areli and Arodi. Since then I have done much research and wrote a book about my findings, called, “Finding Gad: The Quest for the Lost Tribe of Gad,” which can be found at: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/raybash.

In February of 2011 I was invited by Rabbi Gavriel Ogugua, an Igbo man living and ministering in Florida, who had me and the Igbo King, Eze Chukwuemeka-Eri (who I met in Aug. 2010) to speak at the “All Israel Conference” in Palm Beach. It was there the King invited me to return to Nigeria at the end of November for the Ovalla Festival, a celebration commemorating Gad’s son Eri and his companions crossing the Niger River into Aguleri as well as celebrating the Yam Harvest.  I agreed and then alerted Rabbi Ukahson of this development who suggested I come at the start of November and minister among the Igbos and the various congregations and end my trip at the Kings Palace. The theme of this trip would be dealing with the Torah Life as it applies to the Igbo believer. HaShem gave me the core verse and message on which this mission would hang.

Jer. 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.

I exposed the Christian Missionary conspiracy to withhold vital information that they discovered regarding their Hebraic roots as well as their misinterpretations of the Igbo culture, paganising it and stripping it from them through conversion to modern westernized Christianity. I encouraged them to express their Torah obedience through their Igbo culture which is actually more authentically Hebraic than even the Orthodox Jews of the west.

I was disturbed by the fact that many Igbo Torah obedient believers were trying to look like western Jews. I emphasised that they were Hebrews from Gad and not Jews from Judah and although it is touching to see the younger brother Gad emulate and imitate their big brother Judah, there comes a time when the little brother Gad must become their own man. They must be the Igbo-Hebrew Gadites, the Father has made them and called them to be and not a poor carbon copy of Judah.

I am in the process of writing a second book revealing the Hebraism within the ancient Igbo culture and customs which I hope to publish by the end of 2012.

ARRIVAL IN LAGOS

Upon arrival I was  met by Rabbi Ukahson’s talmid, Roger (Abraham). But due to the late arrival of my flight into Lagos I missed my flight on to Port Harcourt and had to spend the night in Lagos where I met with a Torah obedient Congolese believer, Agustin Kipupu, who I called Godion, who petitioned for Messianic resources to be translated into French.

PORT HARCOURT

Arriving in Port Harcourt the next day I was delighted and heartbroken upon seeing my host, Dr. Rabbi Mikael Melek-King Ukahson, who looked to me as an angel with broken wings. In February of 2011 R. Ukahson had a traffic accident in Ghana that left his back injured. The Rabbi moved slowly, shuffling with pain haggering every one of his steps as he moved with the aid of a crutch. Yet despite all of this he had a smile on his face and beamed with eternal optimism and faith.

I began my mission at R. Ukahson’s synagogue, “Beit Ha Torah Natsarim Synagogue and Center for Spiritual Formation Yeshivah,” at the Torah Life Leadership Conference.

I spoke on Abraham our leader and how we are to be like Abraham in our leadership roles among our community and congregation.

The next day I spoke on what Christians call the “Five Fold Ministry” and how it is really a job description of a Rabbi and how each of us as leaders operate within various degrees and capacities of the Five Fold Ministry.  For example, I personally operate in a greater capacity as an Apostolic Rabbi more so than a Pastoral Rabbi.

Upon the morrow the topic I covered was the Torah Family Dynamic as it applies to leaders and afterwards we had a very profitable question and answer session.

The day after that I addressed the leaders regarding the unity of believers, teamwork and how to choose talmidim (disciples/students). After that day’s session I went with Brother David Otubo, a congregational leader in Port Harcourt, to see his sister who was suffering from pain in her neck and left arm. I anointed her with oil and prayed for her and it was reported the next day that she was already feeling better. During that particular excursion I had the privilege of meeting  and praying for a former Chief Judge of Port Harcourt who had a wealth of information regarding Igbo history and culture.

On the final day of the leadership conference I spoke on resolving conflict within the ministry and congregation. We closed out the leadership conference in port Harcourt by handing out the HalleluYah Scriptures (www.halleluyahscriptures.com), the Aramaic-English New Testament (www.aent.org), Hebrew English New Testaments (www.hopeofisrael.net) and various works from Nazarene Israel (www.nazareneisrael.org) to the leaders as well as certificates of attendance and completion. Thanks to these ministries for donating these priceless materials.

ABA STATE

It was Sabbath and we went to K’hilat Yehoshua HaMoshiach – HalleluYah Ministries congregation led by a man named Okeyah, whom I called, “Uncle Sunshine” because of the smile he always had upon his face and the joy he seemed to always carry with him. Their choir had prepared songs for us as well as worship with indigenous Igbo Instruments. The people were pleasantly surprised when that I was able to dance in the traditional Igbo way. I was asked to pray for the men and women of the congregation who seemed to suffer from infertility and I also called forth the little boys and girls and blessed then with the traditional Hebraic blessing said over them on the Sabbath day.  I spoke on Parahsah (Torah Portion) Vayira and emphasised how Abraham Avinu served Hashem despite the pain of his three day old circumcision and how Lot was righteous and tried to be an agent of change in a wicked city.

After I delivered the message the leades of the congregation honored Rabbi Ukahson and myself by dressing us in garments worn by Igbo elders and then there was a traditional meal of foofoo, pepper soup and palm wine. Again the people were amazed that I ate the spicy food as they did, with my hands and without tearing up due to the spice of the soup.

I continued to be amazed at R. Ukahson’s resolve to travel and minister alongside me despite the horrendously rocky roadway system which was painful for him due to the injury to his back. He did so without one word of complaint.

BACK IN PORT HARCOURT

At the start of the new week Brother Otubo picked me up from my hotel and presented me with and Igbo Bible so I can better learn the Igbo language. We made our way to the synagogue we held the Torah Life Leadership Conference and held a like conference for the laity. I spoke about the basics of living a Torah Life; Sabbath Observance, the 613 Mitzvot and other aspects of the life of a Torah Obedient Messianic/Natsari believer.

R.I.C.O.N & NNEWI

We took the Torah Life Conference to Nnewi where R.I.C.O.N. (Redeemed Israel Community of Nigeria), a conglomerate of Torah obedient Messianic and Matsari congregations and synagogues meet and worked together. RICON rented out a community hall that actually looked much like a traditional synagogue with a balcony. I spoke on Jer. 6:16 and the restoration of the Igbo culture, therefore restoring them as a portion of the lost tribe of Gad. I highlighted the aspects of their Hebraic culture and customs that parallel that of Judaism, which has always been a part of the Igbo culture since ancient times. I encouraged RICON to work toward the restoration of the Igbo culture and be the unique tribe of Gad that HaShem has created and destined them to be.

On the Sabbath I spoke on how the blessing of Laban upon Rebecca became a curse of barrenness to her because it was an insincere blessing. That night I spoke on the Havadallah service and its roots which can be found even in the Brit Chadasha (New Testament).

Last year in Nnewi I spoke at Moreh Orizu’s, small one room synagogue and seen that they had begun construction on a much needed larger synagogue next door. This past November, over a year later I was able to see the great progress they have made on the construction of the structure.

Before the conclusion of the Nnewi Torah Life Conference RICON presented me with a gourd laced with cowrie shells, their version of a maraca, as well as a lion carved out of wood; this in acknowledgement of my chieftain title name, “Odum Biara Ana Igbo-Nwanne Di Uto (The LION who came to Igboland is a Sweet Brother).”

It was in Nnewi that Rabbi Ukahson began to move about even more slowly than before and had to rest for longer periods of time due to his back injury. We had made plans to go to Ghana and this situation threw all of that into question. Would R. Ukahson be able to make the journey?

We rented a van to take us from Nnewi back to Port Harcourt. It was at that bus station waiting for our van that I witnessed more of the resilient nature and honorable character of R. Ukahson. A driver slapped the woman behind the ticket counter and upon witnessing this shocking event, with not forethought and without regard to his self the Rabbi stood up and confronted the man. Many of us were compelling R. Ukahson to sit down, concerned that the man may turn upon and beat R. Ukahson. He would have none of it. In boldness, despite his pain and injury he confronted the man and made him apologies to the woman he hit. I discovered that R. Ukahson was more of a lion than I and even an injured lion will not back down from a fight.

OWERRI

Due to the Rabbis weakened body and declining health we had to cancel our trip to Ghana. At the time we were very disappointed and wondered why. But in retrospect we discovered were forbidden to go, just as with Rav Sha’ul was not permitted to go to Asia (Acts 16:6). We discovered one group in Ghana were speaking falsely in the name of another ministry, trying to solicit funds under false pretense. We also discovered that another group we planned on ministering to, two of the leaders were trying to subvert the other and were secretly at each other’s throats. So if we went, we would have landed in the middle of and dragged into drama and conflict and no ministry would have taken place anyhow.  Instead of going to Ghana, R. Ukahosn took me to a school he supported and sometimes taught at; Cornerstone Theological Seminary in Owerri.  It was there that I spoke to the students about the applicableness of the 613 Commandments to believers in Yeshua today. Afterwards the Dean wishes for me to return in March to lecture and speak at their commencement ceremonies.

ONITSHA

Our next stop was Onitsha to speak at Dr. Daniel Orah’s Beit Shalom Natsari Synagogue. On the way we had to stop multiple times to allow R. Ukahson to rest due to the pain he was under. Upon reaching the synagogue in Onitsha where I spoke on the Torah Portion about Jacob and Esau. The next night I spoke on how Isaac was told by HaShem not to go to Egypt, but stay in Gerar, the land of the Philistines and to sow and reap despite a famine. As a result, Isaac reaped and prospered. I related it to how many Nigerians see America or the West as an Egypt to escape the “famine” in Nigeria (Philistia) and how HaShem wants them to sow and reap here despite what they perceive as a famine.

We made our way to the Kings Palace. I presented the King with a copy of the HalleluYah Scriptures, my book, “Finding Gad” and a DVD of me speaking at the World Igbo Congress in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the connection between the lost tribe of Gad and the Igbo people. I did this because in August of 2010 when I first meet the Eze (King) and he confirmed my title as an honorary chief within their tribe, he also appointed me as his ambassador to proclaim the Hebraic origins of the Igbo people. I presented the Eze with the DVD to show him that I am fulfilling the office of ambassador which he bestowed upon me. I also met Prince Chinedu and Prince Chukwuemeka whom I had been communicating with this past year on facebook. The Eze had his people prepare supper for us and then we went to our hotel to rest for the next day.  Prince Chinedu is working to come to Canada to study.

AGULERI: THE PALACE OF OBU-GAD

The first day of the Ovalla Festival at the Palace, which commemorates Gad’s sons Eri, Areli and Arodi crossing the Niger River and settling in Aguleri as well as celebrating the Yam Harvest. I was one of the key speakers at the Festival and I spoke on Jer. 6:16 and about the restoration of the Hebraic Igbo culture. Also to speak was Prof. Alaezi who wrote “Ibo Exodus,” a work I referenced in research and in writing my own book about the Igbos.

After the lectures I, Prof. Alaezi and many others were confirmed as chief within the Igbo tribe. Thus my honorary chieftain title was made official.

I was called forth by the Eze, dressed in my Igbo garments. I sat on a low stool before the Eze who held a Torah scroll in his hand. I grasped the other end of the Torah as the Eze prayed for me, blessed me and made my honorary chieftain title, official. I was given and confirmed the title, “Odum Biara Ana Igbo-Nwanne Di Uto (The Lion that Came to Igboland is a Sweet Brother).”

After my confirmation I was asked to dance before the elders and everyone laughed with joy and amazement that I a white westerner could dance rhythmically as an Igbo man. According to tradition they threw money at me as I danced, much as Jews throw money and candy at a bar/bat mitzvah.

The next day I was picked up before sunrise at my hotel by a van full of Igbo chiefs. We drove as far as we could to the Niger River until the path became impossible to traverse by auto and had to continue on foot. By this time the sun was peeking over the horizon. By this time we had caught up to the Eze and the rest of the community that had walked to the River the whole way on foot.

When I finally reached the hill beyond which the Niger River flowed and crested that hill and saw the River with my own eyes I could not help buut weep. I felt the Presence of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) so strong that I knew this was a Holy Place, I knew this had to be the place which Gad’s sons crossed the Niger. I discovered after the fact that during the dry season when the water level drops in that particular area a 12 stone memorial can be seen at that spot said to be the place Eri, Aroli, and Areli crossed the Niger. This is consistent with other Israeli crossings found in Scripture, specifically that of the Red Sea and the Jordan as found in the Tanak.

After the Eze retold the story of Eri’s coming to Aguleri, prayed and blessed the people on the banks, the people came one by one to be mikvahed (baptised) by the Eze. I too came and the Eze blessed me as he poured water over my head.

Once we returned to the palace I was escorted to the Eze’s throne room and sat to the left of the King as a myriad of Igwe’s (paramount rulers/lesser kings) under Eze Chukwuemeka-Eri, came into the throne room to congratulate and pay homage to the Eze and the Ovalla Festival. I met probably 40 or more Igwe’s. I greeted each in the Igwe way among chiefs and rulers and exchanged business cards with them. They were very impressed and appreciative of my knowledge and practice of the Igbo language and culture. In many ways I was dressed and acting more Igbo than the Igbo, and they took note and admired this. By the end of the day they began to call me, “Onye Ocha Igbo,” meaning, “The White Igbo.”

While in the palace a news crew came in and interviewed me about my address to the people the day before, my chieftaincy title and my relationship with Eze Chukwuemeka-Eri.

After meeting the many Igwes under the Eze we all went downstairs and out to the palace grounds where all of sat in places of honor under canopies. I was humbly shocked to be seated beside the Eze under his canopy while groups from the community came to present gifts of money and yams to the Eze. The Eze had me bless and pray over certain groups who came, one being a student group and another being physically handicapped. The leader of this group that was physically challenged obviously instilled within them a sense of pride, self-worth and self-esteem as well as they were all dressed very fine with smiles on their face despite some of them were on crutches, in wheelchairs or even crawling on their hands, dragging their legs behind them.

I always left the palace with a full stomach as the King made sure his guests were fed.

The following morning we were to leave Aguleri and we stopped by the palace to bid farewell to the King and he had breakfast prepared for us.

Again R. Ukahson’s dedication and stamina never ceased to amaze me. He was unable to attend the second day of the Ovalla because on top of his back injury he had a bout with malaria and was bedridden in his hotel room with the chills.  

In the morning we left Aguleri. R. Ukahson seemed to have gained some of his strength back. After leaving the Eze palace we drove to Nike, Enugu.

ENUGU

It was in Nike Enugu where I met an Igwe that wasn’t there at the Eze’s Ovalla. His name is Igwe Emmanuel Ugwu. We arrived at his Palace and were escorted into his throne room and I was sat in a special throne only for honored guests. I was surrounded by his cabinet chiefs. The Igwe soon arrived and I was asked to address him and his cabinet regarding the Hebrew-Igbo connection. He served us lunch, after which he invited me to his Ovalla in December. I had to graciously decline but agreed to try and make it to his 2012 Ovalla.

We left Enugu and returned to Port Harcourt where upon the next day I was to go to Lagos to catch my flight home.

CONCLUSIONS

2010 my mission to Nigeria was like unto Joshua and the spies who were sent on a recon mission in Canaan. My return to Nigeria 2011 was like ploughing fields and planting seeds, laying foundations. Next year I hope to reap and build upon the foundations laid. Next year I plan to continue holding conferences and distributing Judaica items and spiritual educational materials but also to conduct DNA tests among the Igbo to place scientific evidence alongside the archeological, Biblical, linguistic, historical, and cultural evidence that has already been compiled connection the Igbo to Gad as well as possibly further archeological inquires.

THANKS:  Thanks to all who gave in whatever capacity which made this trip possible as well as a success, Baruch HaShem!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

The trips I make to Nigeria, much of the money (half or more), for these trips come out of my own pocket. The rest is provided by donors such as you, the reader. Each trip cost approximately $3000.00 (plane ticket, visas, in route food and travel expenses, shipping expenses of materials sent ahead of me to be distributed to the Nigerian believers as well as miscellaneous and unforeseen expenses). This cost relatively isn’t much because my host(s) when I arrive usually fit the bill for most of my food, lodging and travel expenses. So your donations of any denomination is very much needed and appreciated. No gift is too small, every little bit helps. One can donate through the paypal button on my website (www.adint-ministries.com) or make check or money order to:

Kris Shoemaker

PO Box 763

Ft. Fairfield, ME. 04742

HOW YOU CAN HELP THE IGBO

Sacred Name Bibles (ISR Scriptures, HRV, Complete Jewish Bible, Aramaic-English New Testament), All four volumes by Michael Brown’s, “Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus,”Tefillin, Tzitzit, Kippot, Tallit Gadolim, Tallit Katans, Mezuzot, Messianic and or Natsari books, Messianic prayer siddurim, Artscroll Siddurim, Messianic music and worship CD’s, Messianic and or Natsari Teaching DVD’s etc.

Though we are not specifically asking for funds, if you have no Judaica to give and wish to be a part of this important project please use the paypal donation button on the Home Page and we will gladly buy hem the Judaic items and resources they need.

Once we have sufficient amount of goods we will ship them to our contact who will distribute them among the various congregations.

Please let us know if you can think of other ways you or your congregation can help.

Please send all Donations to:

A.D. International

PO BOX 822

Fayetteville, NY. 13066

I sincerely hope and pray that you decide to be a part of this prophetic and monumental task of restoring the lost Tribe of Gad to Israel, Messiah and to the world.

Thank you, your generous and sacrificial donation will help make these Messianic Igbo believers remain strong in the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3) and combat the anti-messianic propaganda of the Orthodox Jewish anti-missionaries and reclaim their rightful place as sons and daughters of Gad.

Shalom,

Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr (Kris Shoemaker)

Rabbi's Rules

Rabbi's Rules.

5 personal rules I live by as a Rabbi. 

1. I only speak on what I know, that I know, that I know. 

2. If I don't know, I will say, "I don't know." 

3. If I am ever wrong I readily admit it and make appropriate corrections. 

4. I never make promises or commitments unless I know I can keep them. 

5. I expose falsehood by teaching Truth and not attacking the falsehood. 

Forgive Me Please...

Shalom Everyone!

We are in the 5^th day of 10 days of awe between Rosh HaShannah/Yom Teruah and Yom Kippurim where we ought to forgive and reconcile things between us and our fellow man. I have contacted everyone I could think of and whom Adonai has brought to my remembrance and whom I may have offended. But if I have offended anyone who is reading this, believe me it was never intentional and I ask that you’d please forgive me. I in turn have released and forgive everyone. Now, that we have forgiven one another we now have the right to come before HaShem for the remaining days of awe and make things right between He and us.

Shalom,

-- R. Yehudah (Kris)

RESTORED JOY!

RESTORED JOY

R. Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Psalm. 51:12-13 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

As I was praying Psalm 51 one morning verses 12 and 13 jumped put at me, I thought, “There is a formula here.”

RESTORED JOY = CONVERTED SINNERS

Joy in Hebrew is Simcha, made up of the three Hebrew letters Shin, Mem and Chet. These letters, if moved around spell other Hebrew words and give us another amazing formula.

To have JOY or SIMCHA:
Chet, Mem, Shin = CHUMASH (Means “FIVE” in Hebrew and is used to refer to “TORAH” which is made up of the “FIVE” books of Moses)
Mem, Shin, Chet = MOSHIACH (Messiah)
To have true SIMCHA:
CHUMASH + MOSHIACH = SIMCHA
No one will want to obey the very Words of Life, the Torah that we so cherish, which comes from the Living Word, the Living Torah Himself; YESHUA if we do not have JOY!
JOY is the KEY to ministering and witnessing to others. JOY is the KEY to winning others over to MESSIAH and THE WAY of TORAH.

Prov. 11:30b …he that winneth souls is wise.

Therefore there is WISDOM in JOY! What is the WISDOM?

Psalm. 51:12-13 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

The restoration of JOY in SALVATION which the Hebrew word for SALVATION is YESHUA! So to have JOY (SIMCHA) in the TORAH (CHUMASH) we must have JOY (SIMCHA) in following the TORAH (CHUMASH) in the footsteps of MESSIAH (MOSHIACH) as we personally relate to HIM in our walk! When we do this, we will turn into a “sinner magnet” if you will. This is what YESHUA meant when He said to His talmidim (disciples)…

Mark 1:17 And Yeshua said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

Mankind will be lured to us like fish to bait due to our JOY (SIMCHA) in walking in His (MOSHIACH’S) footsteps by walking TORAH.
When people see the CHUMASH is a blessing to keep and not a burden, because they witness the SIMCHA we have in it, they will come and want what we have in MOSHIACH!
Are you like the congregation at Ephesus? Has your walk in MESSIAH and TORAH lost its pizzazz and luster?

Rev 2:4-5   Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

What are the “first works”? It’s the zealousness one had when they first began personally relating to G-d through MESSIAH by pleasing Him by keeping the Commandments of TORAH (John 14:15)! TORAH is like doing the things that use to make us swoon over our lover, TORAH is like courting our lover all over again. It is like a married couple that got caught in a rut and they begin to date each other again and regain that spark of first love they had for one another when they first met.

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

YESHUA and the FATHER are ONE (John 17) and so Yeshua’s Commandments are no different from and are the exact same as His FATHER’S. After all the TORAH and MESSIAH are One and inseparable. You cannot have one without the other. One is the Written Manifestation the other is the Living Manifestation.

You want your friends, family and strangers to observe the Torah? Do it with SIMCHA in MOSHIACH’S footsteps, and do not bludgeon them over the head with it with an angry scowl on your face, and eventually they will come! Make others jealous of the JOY you have in relating to MESSIAH and G-D through the TORAH (Rom. 11:11).

RESTORE THE JOY!

Ponderings of the Pentateuch #51-52 Sep. 24, 2011

RaYBaSH’s Ponderings of the Pentateuch

Parashah # 51: Nitzavim “You are standing”

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 29:9-31:30

By: Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr

Deut. 29:9-12 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day:

Is air important? Yep, if you have a pulse, air is probably THE most important thing out there, even before food and water. You can get along for days without food and water but you cannot go minutes without air. Is air only important to aristocrats or the rich? Nope, even if you’re a janitor at Grand Central Station, a convict on death row or a bum living in a cardboard box on the corner of 5^th and Broadway; you need air, it’s for YOU! Everyone in the here and now needs and has a right to air. What about the unborn or better yet, what about the generation that is not even a twinkle in their father’s eye? Yep, they too need, must have and require air. Why all the drama about air you may ask? Well, because the Torah is like air; no matter who you are; a Hebrew baby that still breasts feeds, a gentile or a slave, the Torah is for YOU (Deut.29:11)! Even these who are yet to be born, the Torah is for everyone!

Deut. 29:14-15 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:

If you asked a baby to tell you what air is, what it is made up of, how it works and how our body processes it and benefits from it, could he do it? No, he slobbers, defecates all over himself and babbles. There’s no way a baby could even begin to tell you the most elementary thing about air. But does the baby benefit from air regardless if it knows anything about it? Of course!

Like air, you don’t have to understand it to benefit from it and so when the Covenant of Torah was read and renewed by the people. G-d asked babies to be there. G-d also said that those who could not benefit from it right now nonetheless will eventually.

Deut. 32:46-47 tells us (like air) The Torah is ones life! The Torah is G-d’s Word (John 1) and G-d is inseparable and indistinguishable from His Word and thus G-d is Life (Deut. 29:20) and His Word are One!

Yeshua the Living Word, the Living Torah (John 1) the salvation of Israel and the world (Lk. 2:30-31, Matt. 1:21, Jn. 3:16, Lk. 2:32) prays that He, the Living Word, the Living Torah be beneficial to them that believe on Him and those not yet born who would believe on Him.

John 17:6, 9a, 20-21 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word… I pray for them… Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

Yeshua said:

Matt. 5:17-20 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Isaiah said:

Isa. 61:11-62:2 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.

So G-d’s Torah, His Written Word and G-d’s Messiah, His Living Torah, His Living Word is, like air, for EVERYONE!

Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov!

-- Rabbi Yehudah

RaYBaSH’s Ponderings of the Pentateuch

Parashah # 52: Va’yelech: “And he went”

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 29:9-31:30

By: Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr

In the past I have dealt with the obvious passages dealt with in this Torah portion, such as having courage, Moses’ song, etc. This time around I want to deal with things that are usually left out.

Deut. 31:12-13 Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

Last Torah portion we discovered how Torah is like air and is beneficial to everyone, regardless of ones age, status, ethnicity or understanding and we see in this Torah portion this fact is reiterated again as well as the importance to pass the Torah on to each generation. Joel 2:15-27 reiterates that Torah and repentance and returning to Torah is for everyone when one strays from the narrow path.

Deut. 31:2 And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

Moses dies on his birthday at the age of 120! We have a saying, a well wish, a blessing in Judaism on peoples birthdays, “May you live to be 120!” We desire others to be blessed as Moses was who was still healthy and youthfully vigorous at 120 as at 20! Deut. 31:2 reminds me of…

Gen. 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

In Micah 7:18-20, Micah talks about G-d’s mercy and compassion and though Moses couldn’t enter the Promised Land He nonetheless Gloryland (Heaven) on his birthday.

Deut. 31:4 And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.

Because these kings were powerful and the descendants of the paranormal, human-demonic hybrid giants, this pep-talk reminder is brought up again and again to encourage Israel, belay fear and doubt and remind them of their past accomplishments through Him (Deut. 1:4, 2:26-3:11, 4:46-47, Num. 21:23-35, 32:33).

Deut. 31:16-18, 29 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods… For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

G-d told Abraham about the Egyptian slavery (Gen. 15:13-14_ and G-d told Moses about the Babylonian and Assyrian exiles. Hosea gives us the solution for the slavery and exiles.

Hosea 14:1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

Deut. 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Hebrews 13:5-8 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov!

-- Rabbi Yehudah

Drama Over Drama

Drama over Drama

R. Yehudah ben Shomeyr

I rarely address personal, political or national issues. Nor do I like to voice personal pet peeves. I like to focus on the Scripture and life as it pertains to it. But when I do go off the beaten path and speak on such things I usually remain silent on you know something has really got my goat and so I speak. But I do so with respect and caution, I do so with out malice or ill intent so as to spotlight the issue itself and not the person that brought the issue to my attention.

Youth is wasted on the young, as a well known saying goes. This implies the youth have such passion and zeal, and due to their abundance of ignorance they waste the energy of their youth on misguided causes that tear down moreso than build up. And if the elders had the energy of youth, oh what good we could do and what positive changes can be made for the good of all. We understand the intoxication of youth and such poor, yet well intended actions is easily forgiven and forgotten as maturity graces the restless youth. However, it is a gross evil to see such misguided zeal acted out in elders. Yet, it happens, and such misfortune is not so easily overlooked because elders are not expected to be ignorant, but wise and learned. Yet I have witnessed such ignorant zealousness in elders who smack of self righteous piety and purity and attempt to lord this over everyone else, as if their personal standards should be everyone’s standards.

I saw a religious mans internet profile on a well known social network and he said that he doesn’t own a T.V. Okay, fine, a good personal choice. Then he went on to say that he doesn’t own one because T.V. shows are drama and drama is a pagan Greek invention. He went on to say that it drama is an art founded on deception because the actors and actresses pretend to be someone that they are not while acting out a work of fiction before an audience. If we read between the lines he saying drama is a form of lying and deception. I may expect this from a young purest trying to find himself as he discovers life, but not from an aged man who has accumulated years of life experience as his teacher.

First of all T.V. is an inanimate object and can be a tool for good or evil. How we use it is what makes it good or bad. It is irrelevant what materials are on T.V. What is relevant however are the choices we make in what we decide to view on that T.V. which makes it good or evil. Just as a blade can cut out cancer and heal someone or be plunged into a person’s heart and kill them, the blade is neither good nor evil, but the person that wields the blade. Guns do not kill people; people kill people with guns!  Likewise it is the person who controls the T.V. that causes it to edify or corrupt.

Second, the Greeks are credited to a lot of things they didn’t invent. Like the Zodiac, it was created by G-d and has a Biblically rooted prophetic story in which many of the stars still bear Hebrew and Arabic names. The Greeks just took what was already there and known and made it their own, like a band covering the song of an older, well respected band. Likewise they didn’t invent the art of drama.

“The origin of the Hebrew drama may be traced back to a very early period. The ancient Hebrews, like other nations of antiquity, were wont to express their emotions in the form of dialogue interspersed with songs. Miriam, with a drum in her hand, singing the deliverance of Israel, while the other women answer her in chorus, suggests vividly the strophes and antistrophes of the later Greek. The song of Moses is of the same nature. The Song of Solomon, according to many scholars, is a regular drama, the heroine of which is the Shulamite, and in which the other dramatis personæ are: Solomon; a shepherd; chorus; watchmen, etc. (see Renan's translation of the Song of Solomon). To the foregoing may be added the Book of Job, which, if not so elaborate in dramatic form as the Canticles, yet represents several persons as acting, namely: Job; his wife; the messengers; Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar (Job's three friends); Elihu; and God. These few crude dramas of the Biblical epoch had no immediate successors...” http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=467&letter=D#ixzz1YEp5Liod

True, the above mentioned was real life events and works of non-fiction written in dramatic form that untouched could be used to stage a play. The ancient Hebrews were a nomadic people and like all nomadic peoples employed storytelling, song and dramatic dance round their nightly campfires. Also, let us not forget that our Messiah Yeshua Himself employed a type of dramatic theater of the mind by the implementation of parables, fictitious stories used to bring a moral or spiritual point. Does this mean Yeshua was lying and being deceitful? Of course not. Like with T.V. the audience are not dummies and unless one is a child or mentally challenged one knows what one is watching is an act; therefore no deceit is employed by the storyteller or dramatic actors.

But a Canaanite deceived Israel by pretending to be a far away people, fooling them into a peace treaty when G-d told Israel to wipe them out. Judah’s daughter-in-law pretended to be a harlot and he got her pregnant thus fornicating and committing incest! Delilah pretended the Philistines were upon Samson and her little drama ended up being Samson’s demise. All examples of drama being used deceitfully! Yeah, so what!? It takes two to tango. Israel should have consulted G-d in the first place and both Judah and Samson had no business being where they were in the said accounts. Just proving my point that drama can be used like a blade, for good or evil, just depends on who and how one wields it.

David pretended to be insane and escaped his enemies. Rahab pretended the spies went another way and saved their life. Yeshua acted as if He wasn’t going to help the gentile woman who came to Him, when all along He knew He was going to help her, He just needed to create a little drama in order to drive and important home to His disciples. Gentiles acted like business as usual and due to their drama of normalcy Nazi’s had no idea they hid Jews within their walls! All examples of drama being used for good.  

Movies have inspired me to develop a greater will power. I have even felt the Holy Spirit while watching a movie, just as strong as if I was listening to the Torah being read in synagogue or listening to testify of HaShem’s praise through song. I refuse to put Adonai in a box. I will not decide how HaShem chooses to move or reveal Himself.

You don’t want to own a T.V., fine. Don’t want to go to the movie theater, that’s okay too; just don’t act as if G-d doesn’t want anyone being entertained by drama just because you chose not to be. I read no where in the Torah, “Thou shalt not learn by nor entertain thyself with drama.” 

Daniel and the 70 Weeks

Daniel and the 70 Weeks

R. Yehudah ben Shomeyr

INTRODUCTION:

Messianic Prophecy has become a tangled bramble of, “He said, She said,” tit-for-tat banter between Christians, Messianic and or Natsari Judaism and Rabbinical Judaism. Both arguing and making statements and claims piled so high and thick, like a well woven conspiracy theory, one wonders if finding the truth is even possible at this point. Granted, both sides employing bias and even deceptive scholarship in order to prove ones stance. Like with any “Messianic Prophecy” one party claims it’s messianic another claims it’s historical or eschatological and another says it’s both. Who does one believe if any? It is enough to make one want to walk away and not even attempt to navigate the maelstrom of theological slurry.

Have you ever played the game Kerplunk? The game where you randomly jam sticks into an upright cylindrical tube and rest a handful of marbles of the bed of those randomly placed sticks? The objective is to strategically remove the sticks one at a time and not allow any of the marbles to drop through the spaces between the sticks. It is your hopes that your opponent will pull that one stick that will cause all the marbles to come crashing to the bottom. Could this be the lynch pin that will crumble the anti-missionary arguments? Could this be the stick that causes all the anti-missionary marbles to come falling through the gaps?

THE BOOK OF DANIEL:

To begin one must authenticate the book of Daniel itself, for even this is one of the first things to be thrown into question, not by Judaism, but by secular scholars.

The book of Daniel is said to have been written by the Prophet Daniel in 6^th Century B.C.E./B.C. Critics seem to reject this truth because of the detailed prophecies regarding the history of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome contained within the book. They feel, due to its pinpoint accuracy that it is too good to be true and thus had to be written after the fact. Critics deny the supernaturality of prophecy itself and thus throws into question virtually every prophet and prophetic book of the Tanak and thus critics claim it was actually written in 2^nd century B.C.E. But consider this; manuscript fragments from the Book of Daniel were found in Qumran, the hiding place near that of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but not enough time would have been available for the book to reach the Essene community at Qumran for it to be copied there. We must also consider the fact that the Judaism at large accepts the Book of Daniel as part of the Tanak bears witness to its authenticity. The Qumran documents and Yeshua's confirmation that the Tanak is authentic validates the authenticity of The Book of Daniel and confirms that Daniel did write his prophecies centuries before they were fulfilled.

TRANSLATIONS:

Second, we must look at the translation of Daniel and the so called discrepancies between the Christian and Jewish rendering of the text as well as the designation of chapters and verses.

The anti-missionaries will point to old and bias archaic English Christian translations in order to attempt to prove their point that Gentiles and Christians are ignorant and irresponsible with rendering the Hebrew correctly. They also argue that Christian/Messianic/Gentile ignorance of Jewish custom, literature and theology impedes them in coming to an accurate and correct conclusion on a “Messianic Passage.” Jewish culture and extra biblical literature has little and many times nothing to do with the crux of a messianic Prophecy itself. The bottom line is that regardless of the English translation we must ultimately go back to the Hebrew on which all translations are based.

And who cares about the designation of chapter and verse, in the original Hebrew, there were no chapter and verse designation and no punctuation and so this is just a moot distractionary argument to pull one away from the meat, point and truth of the matter. Such things as chapter and verse and punctuation of the Biblical texts only came about in modern times in order to aid us, the modern reader and it does not take away from the Hebrew itself.

HISTORICAL vs. MESSIANIC:

The first thing the anti-missionaries do is to deny Daniel 9 to be Messianic in anyway but rather, historical. They claim the prophecy of Daniel 9 is about Cyrus (Daniel 9:25) and Alexander Yannai (Daniel 9:26) followed by the destruction of Jerusalem. The text if taken in unbiased context has nothing to do with King Cyrus and who, exactly, is Alexander Yannai anyway and what does this person have to do with Bible Prophecy? This person isn't even mentioned anywhere in the Bible!

You see, the anti-missionary tactic is to claim that what Christian and Messianics call, “Messianic Prophecy” has nothing to do with Messiah. Anti-missionaries hedge their bets that the people they are speaking with have little to no knowledge on Hebraic Hermeneutics and thus play on this ignorance in order to make their arguments appear legitimate and true. You see there are four levels of Hebraic Interpretation displayed by the Hebraic acronym “PaRDeS” meaning “paradise” in Hebrew:

·        Pashat: The plain or literal level of interpretation.

·        Remez: The text is hinting or alluding to something else.

·        Drash: The practical applicable level of a passage.

·        Sod: The spiritual or mystical level of interpretation.

They claim their arguments to true by only focusing on the pashat and Drash level of a Messianic Prophecy and leaving out the Remez and Sod level of interpretation and using it only when it suits their arguments. It is one of the biggest double standards they play when dealing with Messianic Prophecy.

RABBINIC LITERATURE:

Again the anti-missionary will gladly site Rabbinic literature when it seems to fit their argument and in order to give it a little more clout, but again, banking on the ignorance of the people, leave out such arguments that will cast doubt on their argumentative conclusions.

The Talmud itself warns about this kind of bias and deceptive activity:

"May the curse of heaven fall upon those who calculate the date of the advent of the Messiah, and thus create political and social unrest among the people. - (Sanhedrin, 97b.)

And due to the fact after Messiah Yeshua’s coming, the events surrounding him lined up with Yeshua being Messiah so well, that for fear others would conclude that this Yeshua is indeed Messiah, if you read a commentary of the same Talmudic passage, they forbad calculating Daniel 9 and other time oriented Messianic Passages all together!

“Rabbis after the time of Christ have pronounced a curse on anyone who would attempt to calculate the dates of this chapter.” (Talmud Sanhedrin 97b, Soncino ed., p. 659.)

This would mean that what was said in Talmud Sanhedrin 97b implies that the rabbis did indeed recognize that Daniel chapter nine predicted the time of Yeshua’s death, and were so concerned that this might cause Jewish people to recognize that He was the Messiah that they pronounced a curse on those who calculated the dates revealed in Daniel 9. Why? Because there is no other Messianic prophecy that so perfectly foretells the coming of Messiah and the year of His baptism and crucifixion. Non-Messianic Jews would realize they had missed the first coming of the Messiah if they understood this prophecy, but they avoid it believing this passage is cursed. The one passage proving they missed the Messiah and they won’t read it!   So we can see the beginnings of the anti-missionary conspiracies! I have always said that one must look into the Rabbinic literature and Scriptural commentaries before the coming of Yeshua in order to see the truth of these Messianic Prophecies. Because it was after Yeshua’s death, resurrection and ascension that they began to re-interpret what we know today as the Messianic Prophecies to make it seem they are not messianic at all.

Rabbi Maimonides, also known as the Rambam, the preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah  scholars of the Middle Ages, said this about Daniel 9:24-27 – “Daniel has made known to us the knowledge of the end times. However, since they are secret, the wise rabbis have barred the calculation of the days of Messiah’s coming so that the untutored populace will not be led astray when they see that the End Times have already come but there is no sign of the Messiah" (Igeret Teiman, Chapter 3 p.24.)

So the Rambam, one of the most revered Jewish commentators believed that Daniel accurately predict in advance events related to the “end times,” including the date of the coming of the Messiah! He concludes that this is a Messianic Prophecy and said nothing about it having to do with Cyrus or some other figure.

Rabbi Moses Abraham Levi said, “I have examined and searched all the Holy Scriptures and have not found the time for the coming of Messiah clearly fixed, except in the words of Gabriel to the prophet Daniel, which are written in the 9th chapter of the prophecy of Daniel (The Messiah of the Targums, Talmuds and Rabbinical Writers, 1971) p.141-142.”

BACKGROUND:

The Book of Daniel was written during the Babylonian Exile of the House of Judah, or the Southern Kingdom, consisting of the Tribes of Judah and Levi, on account of their sins and disobedience to the Torah and its covenants between Israel and G-d Himself.

II Chron. 36:20-21 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.

GAVRIEL’S MESSAGE TO DANIEL:

DANIEL’S VISION-PROPHECY:

Daniel saw the Medo-Persian Empire defeating the Babylonian Empire as a sign (based on Jer. 25:11-12) that the 70 year slavery of his people has finally come to an end.

Dan. 9:1-2 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Jer. 25:11-12 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

Seeing this so clear and plain Daniel (9:3-19) prays and fasts, supplicating for the forgiveness and restoration of the nation of Judah and in order to determine what G-d would have His People do next. To be clear this has nothing to do with Gentiles or them replacing Israel in the form of the “New Testament Church.”

DAYS vs YEARS:

One must recall that prior to this Daniel had a vision in 8:14-16, 27, where the angel Gavriel came to him describing a “2300 day” which is in fact a 2300 year period of time.

Num. 14:34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.

Psa. 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Ezk. 4:6b I have appointed thee each day for a year.

II Pet 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

However, due to the intense nature of this visitation Daniel collapsed and was unable to hear the entire interpretation of the vision at the time. We find that the rest of the message relayed to him by the angel Gavriel was given in the vision we read about in Daniel 9.

Dan. 8:14-16, 27; 9:20-27 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision… And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it… And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. 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.

DANIEL’S MESSIANIC PHROPHECY:

And so we come to the meat of this Messianic Prophecy:

In Daniel 9:24 the word “determined” comes from the Hebrew word, “chathak,” which literally means, “to cut off or to mark out”. The angel Gavriel is telling Daniel that 70 weeks (literally 490 days) had been cut off or marked out for the people of Israel from the 2300 day (2300 years) prophecy in Daniel 8:14. The majority of Gentile English translations of the Bible have translated the phrase to read in Daniel 9:24 as, "seventy weeks." But this is not entirely accurate. In Judaism we know the Hebrew word for "weeks" on account of the observance of the “Feast of Weeks,” known in the Hebrew as “Shavuot.” However, the word that appears in the Hebrew text of Daniel as “shavuim,” meaning “sevens.” The word refers to a “seven” of anything, and the context determines the content of the seven. It appears that Daniel had been thinking in terms of years, specifically the 70 years of exile. He likely thought that the captivity would end after 70 years and that the kingdom would be established after 70 years. Notice though that Gavriel was making a play upon words here in the Hebrew, that it was not “70 years,” but “70 sevens of years,” a total of 490 years (70 times seven).
Daniel 9:24 gives us 6 specific purposes for these “70 weeks” or 490 years:

1.     To finish the Transgression: meaning, to finish the exile brought about by Israel’s transgression or rebellion against the Torah.

2.     To make an end to sin: meaning, to stop sinning, which by definition is the breaking of the Torah (I John 3:4) and to start keeping or obeying Torah once again.

3.     To make reconciliation for iniquity: Meaning, to make a covering or atonement for iniquity, which is “Torahlessness.”

4.     To bring everlasting righteousness: To bring an age of righteous living by obeying Torah.

5.     To seal up the vision and prophecy: To bring a fulfillment to the prophecy/vision he had by the coming of Messiah.

6.     To anoint the Most Holy: This has a double meaning. a.) That the Most Holy One would be anointed; Yeshua Messiah. For Yeshua is the embodiment, a physical manifestation of the spirituality of the Temple Itself. He was anointed when He was baptized by John (Luke 3:22-23; 4:18) and b.) To be more accurate according to the Hebrew, one can say to anoint the Most Holy Place; that being the Temple in Jerusalem which Messiah Yeshua anointed with His Presence by setting foot in the Temple. Yeshua was the physical embodiment of the Shekinah that anointed the Temple.

Dan. 9:24-27 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.
 ²⁵Know 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.
 ²⁶And 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.

THE CALENDAR PROBLEM
I know there are those who break down these calculations to the day and even the hour from the Hebraic calendar and convert it to the equivalent on the secular calendar and plug in a multitude of passages to map out Yeshua’s ministry almost day by day. I am not that foolhardy or presumptuous to do so, because I have seen several who have tried to do this and each one came out with a different calculations and interpretation. This is what gives ammunition and so-called validity to the anti-missionaries and their arguments. They point out how we can never agree on anything, especially important Messianic Prophecy. Such details as spoken of in the above does not matter here, what does matter is the big calculations given in our text.  
Daniel 9:25 speaks of “seven weeks and threescore and two weeks (62 weeks).” 62 + 7 = 69 or 69 x 7 = 483. It is believed by some scholars that in the time of Daniel most of the known ancient calendars calculated a year as 360 days (Hebrew, Mayan, Egyptian, Babylonian and many others). Some scholars believe that an astronomical event such as perhaps a close passing of Mars, a meteor or comet striking the earth, lengthened the time the earth takes to rotate time around the sun to the current 365.25 days per year. Some scholars also believe that there was a prophetic calendar the Jews used consisting of 360 days. Another reason some scholars say that we should apply a 360 day calendar to Daniel's prophecy is because of various Bible references that allude to a fixed 30-day month view of time. For example, in Genesis 7:24, it says that the flood lasted 150 days. And, in Genesis 7:11, it says the flood began in the 17th day of the second month. And in Genesis 8:4, it says that the flood subsided on the 17th day of the seventh month, when the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. So, these passages present us a 5-month period of time that is described as being 150 days in length. And that of course is five 30-day months. If we take the 360 days prophetic calendar and break up the 483 years into days we get 173,880 days. The angel Gavriel was telling Daniel that 173,880 days after the command is given to “restore and rebuild Jerusalem” the Messiah would come.
This decree to rebuild was given in Ezra 7 and Nehemiah 1 and 2, it was also given at different times and by different pagan kings (Cyrus in Ezra 1:1-4, Darius in Ezra 6:8-12 and Artaxerxes in Ezra 7:11-26) but I believe this is specifically dealing with Artaxerxes in Ezra 7:11-26 in the 7^th year of his reign. Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy pointed to a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem as the starting date for the 70 weeks. Information provided by Ezra indicates that this prophecy was fulfilled by the decree of Artaxerxes which authorized Ezra to restore and rebuild Jerusalem by allowing him to establish a judicial system based on the Law of the Lord in Jerusalem and throughout the Trans-Euphrates province. The decree also allowed for the rebuilding of the city. Nehemiah makes it clear that in computing the years of the reign of Artaxerxes he was using a fall-to-fall calendar making it possible for us to identify the seventh year of the king Artaxerxes the 1^st as 457 B.C.E./B.C.

Daniel 9:25 states that from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and thus the Temple until the Messiah, which can only be speaking of Yeshua, is 7 weeks and threescore and two weeks, Three score is 60 + 2 = 62 weeks. So this is 7 + 62 = 69 weeks from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the first coming of Messiah.

Daniel 9:26 speaks of what lay at the end of this “69 week” period, that the Messiah would come and be “cut off,” Hebraically meaning killed. Messiah was killed but not because of anything He had done criminally, but on behalf of the people as an atoning, substitutionary sacrifice to atone for (as Dan. 9:24 states) the “iniquity,” the Torah breaking of the people.
Next in the verse we have the phrase that indicates that the Temple that was rebuilt will once again be destroyed. This occurred by the Romans in 70 C.E./A.D. who “flooded” Jerusalem and destroyed it and the Temple.
The following is a chronological summary of Daniel 9:24-26
1. There would be a decree to rebuild Jerusalem.
2. Jerusalem and the Temple would be rebuilt.
3. Then an Anointed One (messiah) would be “cut off” or shall we say, “rejected” or “killed.”
4. Then Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed again.
The following is a summary of how Daniel 9:24-26 was fulfilled.
1. After the Medo-Persians had conquered the Babylonian Empire which included the land of Israel. Persian King Artaxerxes gave permission to the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem, which was still in ruins after having been destroyed earlier by the Babylonians.
2. The Jews rebuilt the city of Jerusalem and the Temple.
3. Then, in about 33 C.E./A.D., Yeshua entered Jerusalem as the Messiah who had been promised by Prophets. However, many people rejected Yeshua as the Messiah and He was crucified by the Romans.
4. About 40 years after Yeshua was crucified, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and the Temple has not been rebuilt since then.

Here is a quote that to me, “seals the deal” regardless of what your method of calculation of these weeks are:

“In Nehemiah 2:1 we see the decree to rebuild, issued in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, (about 445 B.C.) Messiah comes 483 years after the decree to rebuild is issued [Calculated by adding 7 weeks (49 years) + 62 weeks (434 years)] this arrives at about the time of Yeshua's triumphant entry in Jerusalem. Messiah comes 434 years after rebuilding, or 483 years after decree is first issued giving permission to rebuild -- hence 483 years (7 weeks + 62 weeks). Working form earlier permissions to rebuild (Cyrus' earlier decree) arrives at about the birth of Yeshua, instead of near the end of His earthly life. Either way it's calculated, only Yeshua could be Moshiach -- no one else fits into Daniel's timeframe.” -- http://www.lightofmashiach.org/daniel9_26.html

Finally, Dan. 9:27

 ²⁷And 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.

This last verse brings much trouble and confusion to folks due to the sometimes Anti-Semitic, but definite Anti-Torah, Pro-Pre-Tribulation Eschatological slant the majority of Christianity puts upon it.
This last “week,” making the “70 weeks” spoken of in Dan. 9:24 and 27 I believe to represent Yeshua’s life which He came and confirmed the covenant of Torah (Matt. 5:17-20) with many, Jew and Gentile, and did not do away with it. Next we have His death where He was cut off “midweek.” This caused the “sacrifice and oblation to cease” meaning in the Hebrew to “desist” or “repose,” not necessarily to completely stop all together as many Christians would claim. Also notice it says, “sacrifice” and “oblation” in the singular leading one to believe that it was referring to a specific sacrifice and not all of them. So Yeshua’s death did not put an end to the Levitical sacrificial system.

What is the purpose of the animal sacrifices anyway?  Two predominant reasons:

·        It was to be a physical object lesson that pointed to the coming Messiah and what He would do.  It acted as a credit card that covered, did not take away, and rolled back the sin debt until someone, Messiah, could come along and pay it.  In the time of the Third Temple the sacrifices will be a reminder of the Messiah who came and what He did (Is. 56, 66; Zech. 14:16-21).  The sacrifices before Yeshua came only pointed to the Messiah which was to come, and the sacrifices after Yeshua, and that will take place in the Millennial Reign, point back to Messiah’s atoning work.

·        It provided and will provide food, materials and income for the Priests and their families (Leviticus 5-10).

So animal sacrifices after Yeshua’s work on the cross is not a slap in the face to what His redemptive work and as we pointed out prophecy states sacrifices will resume again when the third Temple is rebuilt.

Let me be clear, salvation is a gift from G-D to all who will accept Yeshua the Messiah, the Living Torah, confesses, repents, and turns away from their sins.  This is Faith Righteousness.   This will result in becoming spiritually alive and indwelt with the Ruach Ha Kodesh of G-D.  This in turn will cause one to desire to love, obey, and please G-D.  One shows this by keeping the Written Torah.  This is Works Righteousness.  In other words, one will walk in the footsteps of Yeshua Moshieynu (our Messiah) by walking in the Torah.  Salvation comes by grace through faith alone.  Salvation is not earned by Torah observance.  If we love Him we WILL keep His Commandments (Torah).

You see at Yeshua’s death the earth shook the temple curtain was torn in two which would temporarily put a halt to the sacrifice (singular) and oblation (singular) (Matt. 27:50-54).

“John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, and Isaac Newton all connect the 70th week with the Messiah. When Christ cried “It is finished,” the priests were officiating in the temple. It was the hour of the evening sacrifice, and as the Passover lamb representing Christ was about to be slain, “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake and the rocks rent” (Matthew 27:51). “ -- http://amazingdiscoveries.org/S-deception_Jesus_70-week_prophecy_Daniel.html

Though Dan. 9:27 is speaking of a specific sacrifice and oblation, ultimately we can say the sacrifice and oblation have ceased due to the fact the Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E./A.D. and has yet to be rebuilt. But again, this ceasing is temporary, because we see that it will be rebuilt and the sacrifices will resume according to Zechariah. So this prophecy has nothing to do with the antichrist and what he is said to do to the 3^rd Temple. 
“And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate” I feel is speaking of the corruption the Temple during Yeshua’s day which was controlled by the Sadducees who in turn was controlled by the Romans; which during His life Yeshua exposed. This made the Temple desolate as well as after His death, The Presence of G-d left the Temple and after this according to the Talmud the Temple doors could not remain shut, the west most flame of the Menorah would not light and the scarlet cord ceased to turn white (Talmud Bavli, Yoma 39b). The Temple would remain this way “until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate,” which I believe refers to the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E./A.D. which was the judgment upon those who made it become a desolation in the first place.

So you see, this very time specific prophecy is indeed Messianic and can only be referring to and fit one specific person in history, Yeshua the Messiah. This Messianic Passage proves that The Messiah (Yeshua) came and went and the Non-Believing Orthodox Jews of today missed Him because they refused to calculate the timeline due to the Talmudic dictate; and when they do, they purposely and knowingly misinterpret the passage in order to subdue and deceive others.