©July 12, 2013 Revive Israel Ministries

Name of Yeshua Prophesied

By Asher Intrater

Sometimes we are asked if there is a prophecy in the Torah that the name of the Messiah is Yeshua.  There are dozens of references to the name as the word for salvation, Yeshuah.  For example:

Exodus 15:1-2
YHVH… has become for me Yeshuah (salvation).

The orthodox Jewish prayer for the coming of Messiah contains Yeshuah three times. There were even some accusations that this was secretly "planted" in the prayer book by first century Messianic Jews.

A specific prophecy regarding the name Yeshua is found in Zechariah and Ezra.  The prophecy contains the word "branch," an accepted symbolic name for the Messiah in both Judaism and Christianity.

Zechariah 3:8
Yehoshua son of Yehotsadak, the High Priest, you and your companions are… men of example, for I will bring My servant the Branch.

The High Priest is a symbol of the Messiah. In the time of the rebuilding of the Second Temple, the High Priest was named Yehoshua. He is pictured as a symbol, or example, of the coming Messiah.

Zechariah 6:12
Behold the man whose name is Branch.

His actual name was not "branch" but "Yehoshua." The meaning of the verse is that this man, Yehoshua, has the same name that the Messiah, the Branch, will have. The name of the Branch is Yehoshua.

Thus "Yehoshua" is prophesied to be the name of the Messiah. - But what about Yeshua?  Yeshua is a shortened form of Yehoshua.

Ezra 5:2
… and Yeshua son of Yotsadak began to build the house of God.

In the lifetime of Yehoshua the High Priest, the people of Israel began to shorten names with the root Yehovah.  Yehotsadak became Yotsadak; and Yehoshua became Yeshua. This is the name Yeshua to the exact vowel points.

To summarize:

1. Zechariah 3:8 – High Priest Yehoshua is a symbol of Messiah
2. Zechariah 6:12 – Yehoshua has same name as Messiah
3. Ezra 5:2 – Yehoshua's name is shortened to Yeshua.

The name of the Messiah is Yeshua.

By Abu Ali

This week in Tahrir Square in Cairo, a Muslim singer and a Christian singer sang before a crowd of approximately 250,000 people.  The moderate Muslims are reaching out for better relations with the Egyptian Christians.

The election of Morsey a year ago was false because the Moslem Brotherhood went out into the villages to force people to vote for Morsey by threat of violence. When Morsey was elected, he gave himself authority over the constitution, even to write a new constitution according to his own wishes. In addition, he ousted the leaders of the army, persecuted the Christians, and put only Moslem Brotherhood into positions of leadership in the country, even ousting the Salafists, who are themselves Islamists.

General Al-Sisi is doing a good job so far, and called in leaders from different streams in Egypt to choose the interim government, including some Christian leaders. There is likely to be a period of bloodshed in Egypt in the next year. God is allowing the true face of Islam to be exposed.  

Because Hamas in Gaza are allies of the Moslem Brotherhood, there is a reaction against Hamas in Egypt. This has caused a reduction in supplies of oil, water and electricity to Gaza from Egypt; which in turn is weakening the power of Hamas.

There is an opportunity today for great increase of the gospel in all the Arab nations.

Let us pray for peace for all Egyptians, of every religious and political background, for wisdom for the new government leaders, and for a great revival in Egypt that will also bring reconciliation with Israel according to Isaiah 19 prophecies.

Israeli Press reported of an attack last week by Boko Haram (Nigerian terrorist group targeting Western education), setting fire to student huts in local school, burning some to death, and shooting in the back others who tried to flee. 42 teenagers and 1 teacher are reported killed. Since 2009 this terrorist group has killed some 3,600 (!) in northeast Nigeria. (Maariv, 7-7-13, p. 18, Shay Ilan)

Tuesday, July 16, marks the 9th of Av, traditional fast day, commemorating as series of disasters in Jewish history, including the destruction of the First Temple, the Second Temple and the expulsion from Spain. The book of Lamentations is chanted publicly.

Elisheva Mazi, CEO of the Jerusalem "New Spirit" organization, wrote an opinion article (Maariv, 9-7-13, p. 22) that the holiday is generally interpreted in the opposite way of the historical lesson that should be learned.  She claims that the disasters constitute a warning against religious zealotry and fanaticism; and that the moral lesson to be learned is that moderacy, unity and compromise for the sake of the greater good, are basic values for a government that seeks the welfare of its people.