{"id":28274,"date":"2022-03-02T11:19:18","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T18:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/?p=28274"},"modified":"2023-08-29T11:33:11","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T17:33:11","slug":"the-greater-glory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/the-greater-glory\/","title":{"rendered":"The Greater Glory"},"content":{"rendered":"
The prophet Haggai wrote:<\/p>\n
\u201cFor thus says the Lord of hosts: \u2018Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations [Messiah],<\/em> and I will fill this temple with glory . . . The glory of this latter temple shall be greater that the former . . . And in this place I will give peace\u2019\u201d (2:6, 7, 9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
How would this be possible? The prophet had already asked, \u201cWho is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is it now in your eyes as nothing?\u201d (v. 3). How could the latter be greater?<\/p>\n
Promise of Messiah<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Ezekiel had predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the first temple, the captivity, and Judah\u2019s eventual demise as a nation: \u201cand it shall be no more, until he comes whose right it is\u201d (21:27, KJV). Following the captivity, the rebuilt temple lacked the splendor of the first, constructed by King Solomon.<\/p>\n
From Genesis to Malachi, the Scriptures are rich with promises of the Messiah to come. From the prophecy of a woman\u2019s Seed (Genesis 3:15) to Malachi\u2019s promise of His coming as a refiner\u2019s fire and launderers\u2019 soap (3:1-3), the Old Testament teems with prophetic utterances regarding Messiah\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n
Looking for Messiah<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Author Mark Eastman wrote The Search for the Messiah<\/em>. After the captivity, according to his research, the rabbis searched the Scriptures diligently for clues to the coming of the promised One. They discovered what they concluded to be a prophetic finger pointing to sometime within the first half of the first century C.E. Their study concentrated, in part, on the text of Genesis 49:8-12, with emphasis on verse 10: \u201cThe scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh [Messiah] comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eastman concluded that this verse could be restated as follows:<\/p>\n