English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

1) Matthew 1:23 says that Jesus (the messiah) would be called Immanuel, which means "God with us." Yet no one, not even his parents, call him Immanuel at any point in the bible.

2) The Messiah must be a physical descendant of David (Romans 1:3 & Acts 2:30). Yet, how could Jesus meet this requirement since his genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 show he descended from David through Joseph, who was not his natural father because of the Virgin Birth. Hence, this prophecy could not have been fulfilled.

3) Isaiah 7:16 seems to say that before Jesus had reached the age of maturity, both of the Jewish countries would be destroyed. Yet there is no mention of this prophecy being fulfilled in the New Testament with the coming of Jesus, hence this is another Messiah prophecy not fulfilled.

are Christians following a false Messiah??

2006-11-24 08:57:53 · 26 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality

26 answers

I think a better question would be are Christians following anybody who ever really existed at all? Because actually, there's not one shred of hard evidence or any proof whatsoever that Joseph, Mary and Jesus ever existed other than the Christian Bible, and most of that was formulated and put together long after Jesus died. Modern theologians conveniently sidestep the question of whether Jesus was a real person or in fact a fable. In view of the complete lack of hard evidence and the dubious nature of the written account it would seem that Christianity is based on the phenomena of passed down social credibility. That is an idea is able to gain an aura of essential truth over time through the affirmation process of telling and retelling and the further we get from the period in question the greater the strength of faith and conviction becomes. So I guess it's all simply a question of choosing and defending what you want to believe in and sticking with the story regardless of the logical probability or provable facts.

2006-11-24 09:39:38 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2 2

You are way out,
1.Ask any Christian or even no Christians today who Immanual is, and I'll bet you will get lots that say Jesus.
2. Christ has two genelogies in the Bible, one shows that Joseph is descended from JDavid, the other is the lineage of Mary, and if you go way back to the first book in the Bible you will find the prophecy that it would be the seed of the woman, that would strike the head of the serpent.
3. Prophecies always had a double fulfilment in the Bible, if it was a long range prophecy, because the only way you could determine if a prophet was a true prophet of God would be if his prophecy came true. But when a Prophet was prophesying something hundreds of years down the road they would make a short term prophecy along with it, and if it did not come true they woulld not believe the long range one either. In the case you are talking about the baby to be born was the short term prophecy (and of course it doesn't say 'Jesus' in the OT, that is a misquote) and the Baby did died before the nations went into captivity.

2006-11-24 09:14:28 · answer #2 · answered by oldguy63 7 · 4 1

In the Hebrew scriptures, the Messiah was given other names. Shiloh, for instance. a list of other names is given at Isaiah 9 v6. All of these names were in fact titles, describing what the Messiah would do and be like. Immanuel means With Us Is God. Through Jesus, we come to be with God in a spiritual sense and our journey back to God will eventually be completed. Jesus means Jehovah Is Salvation, effectively having the same spiritual purpose as the name Immanuel

Mary was a decendant of David. Joseph, who was a descendant of David through a different line, became Jesus' father through legal adoption. Therefore, the exact situation increases our appreciation of what it means to be a legal heir, through natural conception and legal adoption. Legally and naturally, therefore, Jesus was descendant of David through both mary AND Joseph.

Isaiah 7:16 is a little confusing, but seems to refer to the certainty of the Messiah's actions and purpose rather than the actual destruction of countries. It should perhaps be understood as a hyperbolic illustration.

Perhaps there is a clearer explanation. Try asking an experienced Witness of Jehovah who may be aware of further reasons why these points do not indicate Jesus was a false Messiah. This web site may be useful.

2006-11-24 09:28:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2 1

A little research and meditation,with Holy Spirit can help.

1) True, Jesus was not called “Immanuel.” But that fact does not mean that he did not fulfill this scripture. It was meant to state a fact regarding his mission rather than to give him a literal name. This can be illustrated by another prophecy of Isaiah, found at chapter nine, verses six and seven: “For there has been a child born to us, there has been a son given to us; and the princely rule will come to be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. To the abundance of the princely rule and to peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom in order to establish it firmly and to sustain it by means of justice and by means of righteousness.”
There can be no doubt that this prophecy applies to Jesus Christ, the Son of God as well as of David. Yet nowhere do we read that any of Jesus’ apostles or disciples identified him by these names.
**************
2) We can conclude, therefore, that the two lists of Matthew and Luke fuse together the two truths, namely, (1) that Jesus was actually the Son of God and the natural heir to the Kingdom by miraculous birth through the virgin girl Mary, of David’s line, and (2) that Jesus was also the legal heir in the male line of descent from David and Solomon through his adoptive father Joseph. (Lu 1:32, 35; Ro 1:1-4) If there was any accusation made by hostile Jews that Jesus’ birth was illegitimate, the fact that Joseph, aware of the circumstances, married Mary and gave her the protection of his good name and royal lineage refutes such slander.
*************
3) Here is good news for anyone fearing that the invaders will put an end to the Davidic line of kings. “Immanuel” means “With Us Is God.” God is with Judah and will not allow his covenant with David to be nullified. In addition, Ahaz and his people are told not only what Jehovah will do but also when he will do it. Before the boy Immanuel is old enough to distinguish between good and bad, the enemy nations will be destroyed. And this proves true! (Isaiah 7:17) Yes, disaster is coming, and at the hand of the king of Assyria.

The Bible does not reveal whose child Immanuel is. But since the young Immanuel is to serve as a sign and Isaiah later states that he and his children “are as signs,” Immanuel may be a son of the prophet. (Isaiah 8:18) Perhaps Jehovah leaves the identity of Immanuel in Ahaz’ day uncertain so as not to distract later generations from the Greater Immanuel.
This prophecy about the destruction of the two kings cannot be applied when Jesus was born, why? They were no kings over Israel at that time.

2006-11-24 09:55:55 · answer #4 · answered by papavero 6 · 2 1

1. Jesus was God, thus "God with us" John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The word = Jesus = God. God, Jesus, came to earth and dwelt with us, hence, God is with us. Not named
Immanuel, but called as such.
2. Joseph and Mary were married before Jesus was born and therefore, Jesus' family tree extended back to David. Prophecy was fulfilled as the patriarchy follows the husband of the mother. Also, Joseph was Jesus' earthly father. John 1:18, Luke 2:48-49 (use of earthly father and heavenly father)
3. Isaiah 7:16 is a bit confusing. What exactly is the "land that thou abhorrest"? and does "being forsaken of both her kings" imply destruction? Sounds like whatever land Ahaz abhorred would be forsaken by it's kings or deserted, not destroyed. Whatever land this is, I know not, but it is not a strong argument against the divinity of Christ like the previous two.

2006-11-24 09:26:33 · answer #5 · answered by Presagio 4 · 2 1

Strike 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made-Jn1:1,2. He was indeed called God with us; The disciples acknowlegded His divinity and worshipped Him as God. His name-Jesus- means The Lord saves and the word translated as Lord is the same used by God in Exodus 3:14.
Strike 2: Better check your Bible again, specifically at Lk. 3:23-38. While it's true that Joseph wasn't Jesus' real father -God was- Mary was His real mother and was also of the lineage of David
Strike 3, you're out: The King of Assyria did indeed invade and conquer Israel before Christ was the age of reason. In fact, it happened shortly after this prophecy was made, thus the prophecy was indeed fulfilled. As for the "land that you dread", the specific land isn't mentioned. But if you look back at this time in history you'll find many lands that would aptly fit this description. Look a little harder and you'll find that the Babylonian empire was conquered by the Medes and Persians and the Medes and Persians were conquered by the Greeks.All of these conquering empires, including Rome, were prophesied in Daniel in about 450 or 500 BC. The Assyrians were a combination of the Medes and Persians. Thus the Medes and Persians were indeed forsaken by their kings and were combined into the Assyrians. Israel,to the north of Judea, also suffered the same type of fate-forsaken by their king- and Israel could also have been one of the lands dreaded. Also, Judea was invaded and conquered by the Romans, too, before Jesus reached the age of reason -before He was born. Since all of these events took place before Christ's birth, they literally took place before"the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good". The birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ fulfilled over 300 very specific and descriptive prophecies from the Old Testament. Many of these prophecies a mere man would have no possible means of contolling or manipulating. Psalm 22 gives a very excellent and descriptive prophecy of Christ's crucifixion, 100's of years before crucifixion had been invented by the Romans. Daniel gives a precise date when the Christ would be killed and exactly as prophesied, that's when Jesus was crucified. Numerous other prophecies were fulfilled by Christ, too. I'll list some resources for you. I don't know where you got your info, but obviously you are the one following a false teacher. PS; Jesus was the legally adopted son of Joseph and was thus related to King David through Mary and Joseph
Oh, and as for your line of trash, hamster p, you should check out the same resources I've given because you'll find that you are also blatantly wrong. It would also be beneficial to you if you actually read the entire Bible and didn't take verses completely out of context. If you knew what Jesus meant by "the law" and "the commandments" you'd also realize just how far off base you are. The laws and commandments of God fill the pages of the Old and New Testaments. The "10 Commandments" weren't the only laws and commandments given by God. Whenever God says to do or not to do something, that is a commandment and a law of God. Furthermore, the promise made to the thief was indeed kept. Christ's earlthy body may've been in the grave but He wasn't. If you comprehended the fact that Jesus was God in the flesh then you'd better understand what He said, why He said it and that it was 100 percent factual and true. Elijah and Enoch didn't ascend into Heaven, they were taken there. There is a big difference. Jesus alone had the authority and He alone was worthy to ascend into Heaven. Get your facts straight, do some actual investigating of all available evidence, don't take the Bible out of context and don't even hope to understand the Word of God without the help of the Holy Spirit.

2006-11-24 09:21:41 · answer #6 · answered by utuseclocal483 5 · 2 1

1) This will occur when He returns. I wouldn't expect you to believe in Him at this time anyway.
2) I understood that Mary ALSO is descended from David. It's not legal, I know. But spiritually, and by blood, He is indeed a Son of David.
3) SEEMS to say? Many scriptures are difficult to decode. btw, what IS the age of maturity?

2006-11-24 09:05:12 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2 1

1) Christ is God with us, in the flesh. Thus, we, today, call him Immanuel. We do not necessarily think that is His name, but He fits the description of God with us.

2) Mary is a descendant of David, too. Mary and Joseph are related, though very distant cousins and able to marry.

3) The Jews were under complete subjugation under the Romans. One could argue that their way of life had been destroyed.

Now please turn to the fifty or so bible verses in the old testament that identify Jesus as the Christ. Thank you.

2006-11-24 09:02:12 · answer #8 · answered by Jay 6 · 8 1

Do you know what confuses me? If Jesus descended from David through Jesus, how come there is no God Almighty (The Father) in that genealogies.

Please, i would really like if somebody would answer this to me. If i post this question i will get bashed, and i'm really asking with full respect to your beliefs

EDIT: To answer your question, Jesus is the Messiah

peace and blessings :)

2006-11-24 09:18:18 · answer #9 · answered by Regina 5 · 0 1

Yes, these contradiction are in the bible for a reason. To make smart people who want to know the truth look deeper for answers. There are many other contradictions that people who think they know the truth disregard, for unknown reasons. But I have found through long hours of searching with open mind and heart for the truth, and almost all contradictions in the Bible are gone now. The bible was written to stand the test of time (not be burned like most other books of truth were), the truth is hidden from most, hence the same reason "Jesus" spoke in parables. It is not meant to be known unless one truly disregards the doctrines of man and follows the spirit.

=======

oh yeah, and Jesus ate butter and honey to know the truth....how does this work?

2006-11-24 09:06:58 · answer #10 · answered by Sand 2 · 1 2

fedest.com, questions and answers