Who is the Shiloh & why is Judaism expecting 2 Moshiachs - Messiah son of David & of Ephraim?

Genesis 49: 10 (King James Version) The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Genesis 49:10 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) The scepter will not depart from Judah, or the staff from between his feet, until He whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to Him. 

The Shiloh is a figure mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 49:10 as part of the benediction given by Jacob to his son Judah. 

Judah was prophesied to possess the sceptre, and either the lawgiver or the shepherd’s staff depending on translations. The lawgiver  (Hebrew: khaw-kak') mentioned in the King James version is an object that represents the King’s seal, which is usually a ring that is used to cut out, engrave, or mark out a seal that ratifies a new law and makes it executory.

Thus, Jacob gave the tribe of Judah the right to rule as kings, pass laws as lawmakers, and to protect and provide for all the tribes of Israel like shepherds for their sheep. However, these rights were not meant to last forever since Judah was not Jacob’s first born son, and therefore has no right to dominate his siblings. Thus, Jacob’s word “until” which ends Judah’s dominance among Israel’s tribes when Shiloh, or the one who possesses the rights and blessings of a first born, finally comes.

Reuben was actually Jacob’s first born by his first wife Leah, but he was disinherited by Jacob for having had sexual activity with Bilhah, his step-mother's maid and father's concubine; see Genesis 49: 3-4.

Now Jacob had another first born by his second wife Rachel, namely Joseph who was actually Jacob’s favorite son. And according to the following scripture, Jacob gave Reuben's birthright as firstborn to Joseph:

1Chronicles 5: 1-2 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel—he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright; yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a ruler, although the birthright was Joseph’s ...

In this video I will show why Shiloh will come from Joseph’s tribe who will take the sceptre, and either the lawgiver or the shepherd’s staff away from the tribe of Judah. It is quite obvious that it was Joseph who received the right and blessings of a first born among Jacob’s twelve sons based on the following benediction:

Genesis 49: 26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

Joseph’s double portion blessings as first born was evident when the land of Israel was divided into twelve sections corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. The tribe of Joseph, through Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, received two sections of the promised land as their portion.

Now here is the scripture which made me believe Shiloh will come from the tribe of Joseph:

Genesis 49: 22-24 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

The imagery being portrayed in these verses is clearly that of Joseph stretching his bow with his arms, and God holding Joseph’s arm to help Joseph stretch the bow even further. The reference to “the stone of Israel” from Joseph’s bow in this verse implies that Joseph was using a sharpened stone for his arrowhead. It should be noted that the oldest arrow ever found is likewise stone-tipped. 

Now note that Genesis 49: 24 also calls “the stone of Israel” from Joseph’s bow as the “shepherd of Israel”. 

Quite obviously “the shepherd of Israel” referred to in this verse who is also “the stone of Israel”, can neither be Joseph who carries the bow and stone-tipped arrow with his arms, nor God whose hands hold Joseph’s arms to strengthen Joseph. As the archer nor the one helping the archer behind can be the stone-tipped arrow aimed at shooting Joseph’s enemies. Thus my conclusion is that  “the stone of Israel” at the tip of Joseph’s arrow could only be the Shiloh prophesied by Jacob which I said earlier will come from Joseph’s tribe. 

Now compare this imagery to the imagery being portrayed in the following verses:

Revelation 6:1-2 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Here we see an archer riding a white horse holding a bow without an arrow and being given a crown. I believe the reason why the rider of the white horse is not having an arrow is because the rider himself is the “arrow” or “the stone of Israel'' at the tip of Joseph’s arrow! In other words, the archer riding a white horse is the Shiloh himself who is now claiming the crown out of Judah’s hands through Judah’s representative, namely the “Lamb” who is also “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. See Revelation 5:5-6.

Many scholars associate “the stone (Hebrew: eh'-ben) of Israel'' with the God of Israel who is called “the Rock (Hebrew: tsoor) of Israel”, see 2 Samuel 23:3. However, while an eh’ben can mean stone (whether large or small), tsoor always refers to a block of stone, a boulder, or a cliff. So for me, the eh’-ben of Israel in Genesis 49:24 is not the same as the tsoor of Israel in 2 Samuel 23:3. 

But if the Shiloh who I believe is a descendant of Joseph holds the birthright for the crown, then why did Jacob give the scepter, the lawgiver, and the staff mentioned in Genesis 49:10 first to Judah and not to Joseph right away? 

The answer lies in what happened at the time when the people of Israel led by Moses is about to enter the promised land. Moses sent 12 spies, one from every tribe of Israel to scout the promised land in preparation for their planned invasion and takeover of its inhabitants. Please read Numbers 13: 1-16. 

However after the 12 spies returned, 10 of the 12 spies, excluding  Caleb who represented Judah, and Hoshea later named Joshua who represented Ephraim, spread among the Israelites a bad report about the promised land they had explored, saying:

Numbers 13:31-33 “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are... The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

As a result of this bad report from the 10 spies, all the members of the Israelite community raised their voices and wept aloud and grumbled against Moses and Aaron. This provoked the Lord to pronounce the following punishment against the Israelites:

Numbers 14: 28-30 As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 

Although both Caleb who represented Judah and Joshua who represented Ephraim, son of Joseph, both showed their faith in God, Caleb from the tribe of Judah was singled out for his outstanding spirit which excelled even that of Joshua’s from the tribe of Ephraim:

Numbers 14: 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

And this is the reason why the scepter, the lawgiver, and the staff mentioned in Genesis 49:10 have to be given first to the tribe of Judah before it is passed on to Joseph, and more specifically to the tribe of Ephraim. 

Furthermore, the courage shown by Joshua who represented Ephraim and the cowardice shown by Gaddi who represented Manasseh, is the reason given by Torah scholars to justify why Jacob gave Ephraim (Joseph’s second son) precedence over Manasseh (Joseph’s first born). 

Thus the blessings Jacob gave to his 12 sons were based not only on the actions his sons did while Jacob was still alive, but more importantly on what the descendants of his 12 sons will be doing in the future in the promised land!

Now according to Strong’s concordance the word Shiloh can have 2 meanings in the Bible, the first being an epithet of the Messiah whom Jacob describes as the rightful leader of the Israeli people, and the second being a city in Ephraim and temporary home of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle. 

Interestingly, a city called Taanathshiloh (which means "approach to Shiloh") was allotted to the tribe of Ephraim, see Joshua 16: 5-6. Now was it just a coincidence that Shiloh, the rightful leader of the Israeli people was also the name of a city given to Ephraim? If not then this is one more reason why I believe Shiloh is a descendant of Ephraim, the second son of Joseph. 

Furthermore, in most traditional Jewish thoughts and writings, Shiloh is associated with the Messiah, and this gave rise to the Jewish belief on ‘Messiah ben (or son of) Joseph’ or more specifically ‘Messiah ben (or son of) Ephraim’:

Wikipedia, Messianic tradition: Jewish tradition alludes to four messianic figures, called the Four Craftsmen, from a vision found in the Book of Zechariah. These four craftsmen are Messiah ben David, Messiah ben Joseph, Elijah, and the Righteous Priest. Each will be involved in ushering in the Messianic age. 

Rashi in his commentary on the Talmud gives more details. Rashi explains that Messiah ben Joseph is called a craftsman because he will help rebuild the temple. Nahmanides also commented on Messiah ben Joseph's rebuilding of the temple. 

If necessary, Messiah ben Joseph will wage war against the evil forces and die in combat with the enemies of God and Israel... God will then resurrect the dead and usher in the Messianic Era of universal peace. Messiah ben David will reign as a Jewish king during the period when God will resurrect the dead.

The Hebrew word maw-shee'-akh means anointed; usually a consecrated person (as a king, priest, or saint). Israeli rabbis believe in 4 Messiahs, one is a saint or prophet, namely Elijah, one is a priest, the unnamed Righteous Priest, and 2 are rulers or kings, Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David.

Messiah ben Joseph is expected to rule during the last days, during the time of Jacob’s trouble, so he can wage war against the enemies of God and save Israel out of adversity.

Jeremiah 30: 7 & 21 (New International Version) How awful that day will be! No other will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it... Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to me— for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me? declares the Lord.

In contrast Messiah ben David is expected to reign as a Jewish king during the period when God will resurrect the dead after the time of Jacob’s trouble has already passed, in order to usher in the Messianic Era of universal peace.

Matthew 24: 29-31 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

 

Jesus has clearly declared himself to be Messiah ben David when he said he will come after the tribulation when the era of peace is about to commence. Messiah ben David will not be the one to save the elect from the great tribulation, it will be the job of Messiah ben Joseph. Jesus will simply gather his elect together in one place coming from the four winds after they have already emerged victorious from persecution and enslavery.

But the question is who is Messiah ben Joseph who will come during the tribulation to liberate Israel from its enemies? The answer is clearly given to us by simply continuing Jeremiah 30: 7 which I quoted earlier:

Jeremiah 30: 7-9 How awful that day will be! No other will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it. “‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them. Instead, they will  serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

It will be David, not Jesus, who will fight for and save all of God’s worshippers during the tribulation, including a great crowd coming from different nations and not just Israel. See Revelation 7: 9-10. However, David will be doing this work of salvation in the name of God and of Jesus Christ.

But how can David be Messiah ben Joseph or the son of Joseph when clearly he was the son of Judah? David quite obviously is already dead which is why God will have to raise him up during the tribulation. But how will God raise David? Will it be by resurrection or by reincarnation? The only way David can become Messiah ben Joseph or the Shiloh is if God will reincarnate him as a descendant of Joseph, and more specifically of Ephraim.

And since David has already ruled Israel as a descendant of Judah and will be ruling it again as a descendant of Ephraim, he alone has the right to hold both the stick of Judah and the stick of Ephraim and join them one to another into one stick:

Ezekiel 37: 15-25 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand... 

And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and I will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.

And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd... and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.

The just quoted prophecy tells us that one of the signs of the second coming of David as Messianic king will be the gathering of the children of Israel into their own land. Another sign will be the full restoration of Temple worship:

Hosea 3: 4-5 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image [Hebrew: mats-tsay-baw'], and without an ephod, and without teraphim. Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.

The mats-tsay-baw' or image mentioned in verse 4 that will be seen when David becomes king of Israel will be the only graven image allowed but is hidden inside the Most Holy of the Temple, namely, the 2 cherubim engraved in the Ark of the Covenant. 

The teraphim which is a Hebrew word from the Bible found only in the plural, and are believed to be involved with the process of cleromancy or the casting of lots to reveal the will of God, will be the Urim and Thummim which are elements of the breastplate worn by the High Priest.

Now the prophecy of Hosea 3: 4-5 was written before the destruction of the first Temple. However according to Yoma 21b verse 7 of the Mishnah and the Talmud, the Ark of the Covenant and the Urim and Thummim were not present during the second Temple period. Therefore the fulfillment of Hosea 3: 4-5 will yet be in the near future when the third Temple will be built by Messiah ben Joseph, and the Ark of the Covenant and the Urim and Thummim are recovered.

There is a Psalm by David that when understood and interpreted correctly will show that there are indeed 2 Messiahs sitting side by side the God of Israel. This is Psalm 110. I will be discussing this whole chapter verse by verse, and by the time I finish discussing it, my claim that there are 2 Messiahs sitting with God in heaven should have been proven.

Psalm 110: 1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

This famous verse has been quoted several times in the New Testament where it was applied to Jesus’ ascension to heaven and sitting at the right hand of God after being resurrected. Peter talked about it at Acts 2: 30-35.

Furthermore, Psalm 110: 1 is telling us that Jesus has to remain sitting at the right hand of God in heaven and unable to return to earth and rule as king until God first makes Jesus’ enemies his footstool and the time for restoring everything to their original perfect state has arrived. 

Luke 19: 12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 

Acts 3: 20-21 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets

But why does God have to be the one to make war with Jesus’ enemies, making them his footstool, instead of Jesus having to fight his enemies himself? While sitting at the right hand of God in heaven, Jesus is in the process of building a spiritual house for God, namely the congregation of his faithful followers:

1 Peter 2: 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

And just like the builder of the physical temple or house of God on earth, the builder of the spiritual house of God in heaven must be a man of peace who has not shed human blood in warfare:

1 Chronicles 22: 6-10 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 

But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. 

But will God personally fight Jesus’ enemies himself or will God use someone else to fight the bloody wars for Him?

Psalm 110: 2 (New International Version) The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”

Who is Jesus’ mighty scepter from Zion whom God will tell to rule in the midst of his enemies? I believe this mighty scepter will be the Shiloh who I mentioned earlier in this video will take the scepter and the crown of Israel from Jesus Christ, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. And this Shiloh will be the reincarnation of David who will be a descendant of Ephraim and not of Judah.

In my previous video titled “Zion & Salem was Bethlehem & not Jerusalem & Christ was born in the tomb of the Patriarchs at Machpelah! “ I discussed how the first seven years of David’s reign was in Hebron which was another name for Bethlehem and Zion, and that his succeeding 33 years of reign was in the fortress of Zion, also known as the city of David. 

This fortress of Zion was a hill adjacent to Hebron and was previously inhabited by the descendants of Bethlehem of the tribe of Judah before it was seized by the Jebusites who were the inhabitants of Jerusalem even after the advent of the Israelites. And this is how the fortress of Zion became an extension of Jerusalem. In other words only the fortress of Zion and not all of Zion eventually became a part of Jerusalem and that not all of Jerusalem was Zion. David successfully captured this fortress back and made it his capital from where he ruled all of Israel.

Solomon and the rest of David’s descendants who became king after David ruled Israel in that part of Jerusalem that was originally inhabited by the Jebusites and which was outside of Zion. Thus David was the only king of Israel who actually ruled in Zion, and this is why he is Jesus’ mighty scepter from Zion referred to in Psalm 110: 2.

And just as David fought many bloody wars in order to pave the way for a peaceful reign for his son Solomon, so will the reincarnated David, or Messiah ben Ephraim, fight many bloody wars to pave the way for a peaceful reign for his descendant Jesus, or Messiah ben David.

Psalm 110: 3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth [Hebrew: yal-dooth'].

In verse 3 of Psalm 110 God is telling the Shiloh that he will have the dew of his yal-dooth' or childhood on the day of his power when he starts to rule in the midst of his enemies. In other words the Shiloh will begin ruling as king while he is still a child! Jacob hinted on this when he uttered the following benediction and prophecy about the Shiloh:

Genesis 49: 10-14 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

The age of the foal is less than one year old while the colt is under four years old, and these animals are ridden by children only and not by adults. Also, the reference on the Shiloh’s teeth being white with milk means that he will still be of weaning age when he collects the scepter from Judah. Washing his garments and bathing in wine till his eyes turn red may have to do with the property of wine being an effective disinfectant useful for reducing the risk of wound infection especially for vulnerable infants.

Psalm 110: 5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.

This verse is about the Shiloh. How do I know that? Because the God of Israel is at his right hand. Remember in verse 1, Jesus Christ whom David called his Lord is sitting at the right hand of God, and conversely God must have been sitting at Jesus’ left hand. And since God is at the right hand of the Shiloh, this means also that the Shiloh is sitting at the left hand of God! Now let us compare 2 separate scriptures in Revelation side by side, namely Revelation 3:21 and Revelation 6: 1-2.

Revelation 3: 21 To him that overcometh [Greek: nikōn] will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Revelation 6:1-2 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering [Greek: nikōn], and to conquer.

Revelation 3:21 tells us that Christ offered to anyone who overcomes (or conquers) a place to sit in his throne just as he overcame and sat on his Father’s throne. Now if you still remember, I already discussed Revelation 6: 1-2 earlier in this video when I mentioned that the rider on the white horse is the Shiloh who is finally claiming the crown from Judah through Jesus, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”.

And since the Shiloh is described as a conqueror, he too gets to sit on Christ’s throne.

So how do I imagine the throne of the Father with Jesus (or Messiah ben David) sitting at his right hand and the Shiloh (or Messiah ben Ephraim) sitting at his left? I imagine a circular throne with the God of Israel, Messiah ben David, and Messiah ben Ephraim forming an equilateral triangle. Thus while the Shiloh sits at the left hand of the Father, the Shiloh also gets to sit at the right hand of Jesus at the same time.

Psalm 110: 4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

In my previous video titled “Who is King Melchizedek? The answer will surprise you!”, I discussed how Melchizedek was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ who was divine in nature and only appeared human before Abraham. As a divine resident of heaven, Melchizedek was performing both kingly and priestly functions over there. However, when Melchizedek incarnated as Jesus, son of Mary, he emptied himself [Greek: ken-o'-o] of his divine nature and of his positions as heavenly king and priest. See Philippians 2: 5-7. 

Philippians 2: 5-7 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing [Greek: ken-o'-o] by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

This is the reason why Psalm 110:4 was quoted by Apostle Paul to apply to Jesus’ resuming his priestly functions after his ascension to heaven in his previous form as an immortal divine being.  

While Paul’s interpretation of Psalm 110:4 was valid, an honest interpretation of this verse based on context will show that this verse actually applies to the Shiloh or Messiah ben Ephraim and not to Messiah ben David. Ezekiel 37:25 tells us that the reincarnated David, or Messiah ben Ephraim, will be Israel’s prince forever, and therefore the following scripture that talks about a prince who performs priestly functions applies to David:

Ezekiel 45: 17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons and the Sabbaths—at all the appointed festivals of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the Israelites.

When Ezekiel 37:27 tells us that David will be Israel’s prince forever, it is also telling us that after his reincarnation in the flesh, David will be born again in spirit form as an immortal divine being just like Melchizedek. And this is why Psalm 110:4 is telling the reincarnated David that he will be a priest forever in the order (or manner) of Melchizedek. Remember, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, see 1 Corinthians 15: 49-50. And the only way for David, or the Shiloh, to sit at the left hand of God in heaven is for him to share the same divine nature as God and of Melchizedek.

But does the tribe of Joseph have a right to perform priestly functions? The answer is yes! Genesis 41: 45 tells us that Joseph married Asenath the daughter of Potiphera. And I believe Joseph inherited his silver cup for divination from Potiphera, who was the priest of On, see Genesis 44: 1-5. This silver cup was also the Holy Grail used by Jesus to drink wine during his last supper with the apostles. And I believe Potiphera was one of the seven human incarnations of the divine Melchizedek on earth, along with the prophet Enoch, Jethro priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, Zoroaster who was the historical Immanuel, and Jesus son of Mary.

Jesus once quoted Psalm 110: 1 when he debated the Pharisees regarding the true nature of the Messiah:

Matthew 22: 41-46 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying,What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

While Jesus was not denying that the Messiah is the son of David, the answer he wanted to get from the Pharisees was the same answer which he got from Peter, namely  that  he was the Messiah, the Son of the living God, see Matthew 16: 13-16. 

So how does one know based on Psalm 110: 1 that the Messiah is the son of the living (or eternal) God, and is therefore an immortal divine being, and not just a human descendant of David?

 

While Psalm 110:1 was interpreted in the New Testament as the ascension to heaven of Jesus, son of Mary and descendant of David, this verse is actually a vision of a past event and not a future event in the point of view of David. This past event however was a prophetic drama or enactment of what is to come in the future, just like Abraham’s intended sacrifice of his son Isaac was foreshadowing God’s giving up of His only-begotten son as a redemptive offering for the world.

 

The Messiah whom David saw and called “my lord” was not his future descendant Jesus, son of Mary, but the divine Melchizedek instead and son of the living God, who resided on earth at the time of Abraham! This is why David called him his lord, as David would not have called any human descendant of his as his lord. Just as Jesus said, “If David then calls him Lord, how is he his son?”.

 

When Melchizedek blessed Abraham and praised God for delivering Abraham’s enemies into his hand, Melchizedek was actually thanking Abraham for preventing the planned invasion by Abraham’s enemies of his kingdom Salem, which means “peace” in Hebrew. See Genesis 14: 18-20.

 

As king of peace, Melchizedek may have had a vow of non-violence which prevented him from defending himself and his kingdom from Abraham’s enemies; and for this reason God asked Melchizedek to temporarily reside in heaven and sit at His right hand until Abraham’s enemies who were also his enemies were made a footstool for his feet.

 

In my previous video titled “Zion & Salem was Bethlehem & not Jerusalem & Christ was born in the tomb of the Patriarchs at Machpelah! “ I discussed how Mamre, where Abraham resided at the time of Melchizedek, was a hill adjacent to Zion, and was therefore a part of Zion, which was another name for Salem.

 

Therefore, Melchizedek’s “mighty scepter from Zion (or Salem)” mentioned in Psalm 110: 2 and whom God asked to rule in the midst of his enemies in place of Melchizedek while Melchizedek was sitting in heaven at God’s right hand, was none other than Abraham!

 

So how was David able to see this past event in a vision? I believe David was having a recollection of his past memory in his previous life as Abraham. And that Psalm 110 is about David’s past and future incarnations as Abraham and Messiah ben Ephraim respectively.