When did the Messiah have to come?e

Before the destruction of the Second Temple.e

What is written in the book of Daniel?l

A devoid Messiah will be cut off. And the people of the coming ruler will destroy the city and the temple.e

Where did the Messiah have to be born?n

In Bethlehem.m

How does the prophet Micah say?y

And you, Bethlehem Ephratha, though young among the thousands of Judah; from you will come One who will rule for Me over Israel.l

Why did the Messiah have to be born in Bethlehem?m

For He is the bread of life, the descendant of David, and Bethlehem, David’s village, means bread house.e

Did the Messiah first begin to exist at birth in Bethlehem?m

No. Micah adds: His origins are ancient, from the days of eternity.y

What does it mean?n

The Messiah is at once the true man and the true God. As a man, He was born in Bethlehem when the time was full, and as God, He exists since the beginning and already in eternity.y

Did the Messiah reveal Himself before His birth?h

Yes, He was the Angel of the Lord and the Angel of God who appeared to Abraham, Hagar, Jacob, Moses, Balaam, the Israelites, Joshua, Gideon, Manoah, David, Isaiah, and others.s

If He was born in Bethlehem, why is He called Jesus of Nazareth?h

Because He grew up in Nazareth.h

What kind of mother would give birth to the Messiah?h

An ordinary virgin.n

How does it stand in Isaiah?h

The virgin will get pregnant and give birth to a Son, whom she will call God with us.s

Did a virgin give birth to our Lord Jesus?s

Yes, Mary of David’s lineage, by the Holy Spirit.t

What about Joseph?h

He was His adoptive father.r

To what temple did the Messiah have to come?e

To the temple that Zerubbabel rebuilt after the Babylonian captivity.y

Who built the First Temple?e

King Solomon.n

Who destroyed it?t

Nebuchadnezzar, who took the Jews to Babylon.n

How long were the Jews captive in Babylon?n

Seventy years.s

Who set them free from the Babylonian captivity?y

Cyrus the Great, first king of the Achaemenid Empire.e

What did the Jews do upon their return?n

They built the Second Temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel.l

Which temple became more magnificent, the first or the second?d

No doubt the first, primarily because the glory of the Lord dwelt there, which was absent from the second.d

But didn’t the prophet Haggai say that the Second Temple would be more glorious than the First?t

That’s why the Messiah had to appear and teach in the Second Temple as the true glory of the Lord, as it was also expressly stated: And they will come to the longing of all peoples, and I will fill this house with glory.y

What did have to happen to the Second Temple?e

It would be destroyed after the death of the Messiah.h

How much time elapsed between the death of the Messiah and the destruction of the Temple?e

About forty years.s

Why not right away?y

God was lenient and first invited His long-suffering people to repent and believe in their own Messiah.h

Who destroyed the Second Temple?e

Titus, later Roman emperor.r

What about the Jewish government at the arrival of the Messiah?h

It was to be abolished.d

How did Jacob foresee this?s

Neither government nor legislator of his own will disappear from Judah until Shiloh comes, to whom the peoples will obey.y

Who is Shiloh?h

The Messiah.h

What does the word Shiloh mean?n

Peacemaker.r

What kind of peace has brought  us the Messiah?h

The one the Father longs for: true reconciliation with God, who loves each one dearly, complete forgiveness of sins and peace in conscience, with the guarantee of the Holy Spirit, to one day drown all our sorrows into the quiet of heaven eternal.l

What about the non-Jews at the arrival of the Messiah?h

They would turn back to Him.m

What did King David say in the name of the Messiah?h

Let all the ends of the earth remember to return to the Lord! Let all the tribes of the peoples kneel before You!u

How would the non-Jews follow the Messiah?h

Just like the Jews: by true faith in all that the Messiah did, does, and will do for them.m

What did the prophet Isaiah say about the homecoming of the peoples?s

At the end of time the mount of the house of the Lord will be set on the top of the mountains, it will be raised above the hills. All peoples will stream toward it. Many peoples will go and say: Come, let us go up to the mount of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and we may walk in His paths! For out of Zion will go forth the teaching and the Word of the Lord, out of Jerusalem.m

How was mount Zion set on top of the mountains?s

Spiritually, because in the days of the Messiah, Zion is in heaven and everywhere His faithful people gather, which has been and always will be the true temple of God.d

How do the peoples stream toward Zion?n

They believe in Jesus the Messiah and long to live more and more according to His teaching.g

When did the teaching go forth out of Zion?n

When the disciples of the Messiah received the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem and then passed on the same message to Jews and non-Jews.s

What else did Isaiah say about the homecoming of the peoples?s

It is a small thing that You serve Me to raise up the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel, therefore I am going to make You a light of peoples that You may be My salvation unto the ends of the earth.h

How did the Messiah become a light of peoples?s

He revealed the one God to the peoples while they were still in the darkness of idolatry, united them with Himself by the Holy Spirit and then began to shine through them as well, as promised to Abraham: I will multiply your offspring beyond measure, like the stars in the sky.y

What did Haggai say about this?s

I will shake all peoples and they will come to the longing of all peoples.s

Who is meant by the longing of all peoples?s

Jesus, our dear Lord, the Messiah, who in life and death is the only comfort for all His own, Jew and non-Jew.w

What does the homecoming of the peoples have to do with the suffering of the Jewish people?e

They are part of their consolation. Zion will ask herself: Who gave birth to these for me? For I was childless and barren, naked and forsaken. Who raised these up?p

How would the arrival of the Messiah be known?n

Through His message and works.s

What did the Messiah have to announce?e

Free forgiveness of sins and eternal life for everyone who trusts in Him: For You are my Lord, good and forgiving, very merciful to all who call upon You.u

How does Isaiah invite us to trust God?d

Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil person his thoughts, and turn back to the Lord, who will have mercy on him. Let him turn back to our God, for He will forgive much.h

Who is the wicked and evil person?n

Who is not? For there is no one in the world so righteous as to do good and at the same time not sin.n

What did the Messiah have to do?o

Make the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk and the mute to speak.k

Did the Lord Jesus do all this?s

Yes, in front of the whole world. That is why even the faction of the Jews who did not believe in Him did not deny His miracles, although they blasphemed against them.m