Divinity of Jesus

Long before Jesus arrived, the scriptures prophesied the coming of the Messiah. Prophets who lived prior to that time foretold many details that would help others to identify him clearly.Two outstanding example can be observed when 700 years earlier, a prophet(Micah) foretold that the promised one would originate in the small town of Bethlehem in the land of Judah(Micah 5:2). Secondly, many centuries earlier, a prophecy recorded in (Daniel 9:25) pointed to the exact year when the Messiah was to arrive(29 CE). The fulfillment of these prophecies proved that Jesus was indeed the messiah.Further proof that Jesus was the Messiah came near the end of 29 CE. It was the year that Jesus went to John the Baptizer to get baptized. It was promised to John that he would identify the messiah and John saw that sign at Jesus’ baptism. The scriptures also say that after Jesus was baptized that the heavens were opened up, and John saw descending like a dove God’s spirit coming upon him and a voice from the heavens told him that Jesus was hi son(Matthew 3:16, 17). After seeing and hearing this, John had no doubt that Jesus was the messiah(John 1:32-34).The fulfillment of Bible prophecies showed that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Furthermore, while it remains true that others performed miracles in that day, Jesus was the only one who effectively died for mankind.

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pbee wrote
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting.

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sidelined wrote
Here we can see that the reference to Bethlehem states that the person coming out of Bethlehem shall, by the terms outlined in the prophecy, be ruler in Israel which,of course, Jesus never became.

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Due to the scope of your questions, I will address them one at a time.As one of God's prophets Micah(meaning who is like God) was specifically chosen for foretelling the birth of Christ(Mic. 5:2). After foretelling Jesus’ birth Micah added in (Mic. 5:4, 5) that Jesus would stand and do shepherding in the strength of God, in the superiority of the name of YHWH his God and that they would keep dwelling, and that he(Jesus) would be great as far as the ends of the earth. And this one must become peace. - In prophesying the experiences of the remnant of the little flock of Jesus’ spiritual sheep, Micah, wrote " Jacob shall be completely gathered with all his people, I will surely receive the remnant of Israel, I will cause them to return together, as sheep in trouble, as a flock in the midst of their fold, they shall rush forth from among men through the breach made before them(Mic. 2:12).the prophecy refers to Jesus as the one whose origin is from early times, from the days of time indefinite. So that birth in Bethlehem was not the start of him since Jesus' was described as the firstborn of all creation and the beginning of the creation by God(Col. 1:15; Rev. 3:14). There was no earlier time for creation’s beginning than the creation of this only-begotten Son of God. Though no dates are given in the scriptures, it would remain in the indefinite, so the son of God who was to become *ruler in Israel from the days of time indefinite.To understand the prophecy in Micah, we must keep in mind that Jacob and Israel are the names of one and the same organization, since God surnamed the patriarch Jacob Israel(meaning contender or Perseverer with God)(Gen. 32:28) It is quite obvious that the remaining ones(Jacob or Israel) whom God promised to gather like sheep were to be collected in favor of the Ruler who was to be born in Bethlehem and become ruler in Israel, whose origin is from early times, and days of time indefinite. Consequently, the prophecy of (Micah 2:12) applies to the Christian congregation of the Israel of God(spiritual Israel) (Gal. 6:16)Another identifying factor depicting who this Israel of God really is can be found in (Isaiah 43:1, 10), where God addresses Jacob or Israel saying that God created Jacob, and formed Israel. In verse 12, God repeats the identification of who Jacob or Israel saying the Israel of God.

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In my view Jesus put himself forward as the Messiah. Clearly he failed. He did not reestablish the Davidic kingdom - the Romans caught him and killed him as a rebel. A hard core of his movement refused to accept the destruction of their hopes. They clung to the idea that Jesus was still alive in some way. Maybe they thought they "saw" him as more recently people have "see" Elvis after his death. Maybe they had dreams or even visions of the dead Jesus. But the idea grew that Jesus would return and fulfil the prophecies he had failed to fulfil in life. It is likely at this point that they began to identify Jesus with Daniel's "Son of Man" (who appears to be an angelic or even divine figure).

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God restored his kingdom in an untypical way. He set up the kingdom in the hands of Jesus, who, when he was a man on earth, was a descendant of King David. Additionally, since Christ is no longer a man and now resurrected to a spirit life, God set up the kingdom of this Descendant of King David in what is called the heavenly Jerusalem(Matthew 1:1) (1 Peter 3:18) (Hebrews 12:22). That is why the birth of the Messianic kingdom in 1914 CE. was not visible to the political rulers. Yet the birth was on time, and the effects were felt in both in heaven and on earth.

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Paul took it further. He hadn't met Jesus, all he had was a vision. And his idea of Christianity (then a Jewish sect) was at odds with that of the disciples. Paul says very little about Jesus' life or even his teachings in life. He is almost entirely focussed on the Jesus of his visions.

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Describing Paul's encounter as "all he had" is a pretty pathetic attempt at downplaying the events which took place on the road to Damascus. The fact that Jesus appeared to Saul/Paul in a blinding light, and announced himself as the Messiah is a major event. Some depictions by artists show Saul falling from a horse however, the scriptures say that he fell to the ground(Acts 22:6-11). Whatever the case Saul experienced was not nearly so great as the fall his pride took. He now had to face the fact that what Jesus’ followers were preaching was indeed true. His only course, was to join them. After regaining his sight and getting baptized, Saul who became Paul kept on acquiring knowledge and proved logically who Christ actually was(Acts 9:22).

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Not doing it is hardly "doing it in an untypical way". There is no restored kingdom of Israel. Israel was only reestablished as a state 60 years ago and Jesus had nothing to do with it and is not recognised as even a constitutional monarch.

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Don't get mad but the scriptures say otherwise. There is more on Jesus' position towards Israel in this post.

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esus probably WASN'T a descendant of David, and isn't King of Israel. He STILL hasn't fulfilled the real Messianic prophecies.

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*Probably doesn't cut it.

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So you're a Jehovah's Witness. Well thanks for demonstrating my point. People make up all sorts of excuses to deal with failed prophecies. So my hypothesis that some of Jesus' followers did the same thing rather than admit to the failure of they're Faith is shown to be reasonable and in line with human nature. Arguing that the prophecies were fulfilled in a way that NOBODY COULD NOTICE is exactly the sort of ploy that the disciples might have used.

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Please don't patronize me such sore attempts at religious discrimination. You 'll do fine keeping such things to yourself. The world is filled with religious enterprises and followers who each and all believe they are the ones(just as do). In short, try not to be petty and let your emotions get the best of you. Your beliefs are of your own, and I for one have no interest in convincing you otherwise.However, this does not mean you can post whatever you like without facing oppositions either. So deal with it.

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If he wanted to argue against the words of people who actually knew Jesus in life it isn't much. I'm not downplaying it. I'm pointing out the fact that it isn't as good as actually knowing Jesus in life. Not if he wants to claim authority for his teachings.

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Now if you want pathetic your attempt to claim that Jesus is King of Israel only nobody can actually see it. is as pathetic as it gets.

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Right, the Jesus in his heavenly form was a lesser vessel because.... These are nothing but excuses to justify ones beliefs(no more no less).

Despite your attempts to try and gain some sort of authority, I do not have a religion or motives. Nor have I ever served under any religious enterprise or label. So your own your own with your childish endeavors.Additionally, this is the first and last time I will address such issues(enjoy it).

No... What I don't like is being discriminated by religious fanatics who make it a practice to gain ground by categorizing others based on scriptural reasoning. Not everyone was raised in religious indoctrinated families, and not all people will responds to indifference by inherited emotion either. I happen to believe that religions are discriminatory enterprises that have ruined the pure worship of God. And I take offense to anyone trying to categorize me as such.Furthermore, I don't know of any JW who is ashamed of his or her beliefs(hiding etc) in fact who ever does such things? You're abilities to identify people is about as accurate as your interpretations of the scriptures.If you want to continue on such behavior, I will file a complaint with the forum moderators.

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Good luck getting Percy to believe your false and baseless accusations. You'll need it. If I wasn't involved in this conversation I'd suspend you myself for your atrocious behaviour.

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This is a-typical behavior for religious fanaticism. In a case where one cannot deal with indifference, he or she will scramble to elude the original topic. Though you may feel as though you are on top of things, the only thing you have proven here is your limited insight and capacity to reason.You thought you knew, and your emotions drove you to rush out and accuse me of a religious standing with a few good rehearsed lines only to prove that arrogance is alive and well within you. We have a front line example of the religious failures our nations suffer under. The results of followers deluded into blindly rearranging scriptural content to support an inherited belief over independent reasoning.

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Since that isn't what is happening here I don't know what you're complaining about. So far as I can see the only religious fanatic here is you.

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In a place such as this(based on your mentality) everyone would be accusing and categorizing others. Did I accuse you of being the Antichrist? Have I stuck religious labels on you or anyone else for that matter? You can try and cover your ass, the fact is... you categorizes me with a religious group for no other reason than to set the stage and apply your usual collection of antics afterwards.You have brought nothing to this argument but your own emotions. So why don't you step up the the plate and lay down some justifications your beliefs instead of diverting attention elsewhere. Edited by pbee, : edit

I missed your post while writing my response. (sorry)