The Holy Temple.
The Great Pageant
Prophecy and Reality can be likened to a great play or pageant. There exists an overall plot interwoven with subplots. Variations on the theme are possible. For every role exist several potential players who are suited to that role. In every generation, or at least periodically, some version or other of the pageant is played out. Even so, there exists a Classic Primary Version of the Play and Master Players who are the most suited to their tasks and for whom the Pageant was mainly written. Eventually there will be a Grand Finale in which it will become apparent that everything that went beforehand was preparatory to what will be.
1 WHO IS THIS COMING FROM EDOM, WITH SOILED GARMENTS, FROM BOZRAH, THIS ONE [WHO WAS] STATELY IN HIS APPAREL, GIRDED WITH THE GREATNESS OF HIS STRENGTH? "I SPEAK WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS, GREAT TO SAVE."
EDOM: Who is Edom? Rome? Germany? Europe in general? Europe and Japan? And Elsewhere??
BOZRAH? There was a place in Jordan named Bozrah. There is a place in Iraq of that name. IN ancient times Bozrah (Batsra) was a city of Edom.
In Early Medieval Hebrew “Bozrah” was the name applied to Byzantium. Byzantium (Constantinople) is now known as Istanbul. It is in Turkey. Constantine the Emperor of Rome made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. He divided the Empire into two: a Western half based on Rome and an eastern half based on Constantinople (Byzantium which was later re-named "Istanbul"). The eastern half was Greek in language and culture. The Church in Byzantium refused to acknowledge the authority of the Pope in Rome. Though considered in error it was not condemned altogether by Rome to the same degree that Protestantism later was. It became known as the Greek Orthodox Church. This was the religion accepted by Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Ukraine, Greece, and some other places. Eventually Byzantium was conquered by the Turks. Meanwhile, the rulers of Russia had intermarried with the rulers of Byzantium and henceforth considered themselves the rightful successors of Byzantium. They used the title “Czar” i.e. Caesar, which title was that of the ruler of the Roman Empire. Russia could be considered “Bozra” in Biblical terms, OR IT COULD BE SOMEPLACE ELSE.
2 WHY IS YOUR CLOTHING RED, AND YOUR ATTIRE LIKE [THAT OF] ONE WHO TROD IN A WINE PRESS?
In Ancient Israel Grape gathers would gather together bundles of grapes and put them in a square hole cut in rock in the ground. They would then tread the grapes with their feet. Juice from the grapes would run off in conduits, placed in receptacles, and be stored away to ferment and become wine. Those who trod the grapes would have red juice splattered all over them.
3 "A WINE PRESS I TROD ALONE, AND FROM THE PEOPLES, NONE WAS WITH ME; AND I TROD THEM WITH MY WRATH, AND I TRAMPLED THEM WITH MY FURY, AND THEIR LIFE BLOOD SPRINKLED ON MY GARMENTS, AND ALL MY CLOTHING I SOILED.
4 FOR A DAY OF VENGEANCE WAS IN MY HEART, AND THE YEAR OF MY REDEMPTION HAS ARRIVED.
5 AND I LOOKED AND THERE WAS NO ONE HELPING, AND I WAS ASTOUNDED AND THERE WAS NO ONE SUPPORTING, AND MY ARM SAVED FOR ME, AND MY FURY-THAT SUPPORTED ME.
Who is speaking here?
God?
The Messiah?
Judah?
All Israel?
The spirit of God entering into them and speaking through them?
6 AND I TROD PEOPLES WITH MY WRATH, AND I INTOXICATED THEM WITH MY FURY, AND I BROUGHT THEIR POWER DOWN TO THE EARTH."
7 THE KIND ACTS OF THE LORD I WILL MENTION, THE PRAISES OF THE LORD, ACCORDING TO ALL THAT THE LORD BESTOWED UPON US, AND MUCH GOOD TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, WHICH HE BESTOWED UPON THEM ACCORDING TO HIS MERCIES AND ACCORDING TO HIS MANY KIND ACTS.
8 AND HE SAID, "THEY ARE BUT MY PEOPLE, CHILDREN WHO WILL NOT DEAL FALSELY." AND HE BECAME THEIR SAVIOR.
CHILDREN WHO WILL NOT DEAL FALSELY, i.e. they will act according to their parentage. They will fulfill the task they were destined to fulfill.
9 IN ALL THEIR TROUBLE, HE DID NOT TROUBLE [THEM], AND THE ANGEL OF HIS PRESENCE SAVED THEM; WITH HIS LOVE AND WITH HIS PITY HE REDEEMED THEM, AND HE BORE THEM, AND HE CARRIED THEM ALL THE DAYS OF OLD.
IN ALL THEIR TROUBLE, HE DID NOT TROUBLE [THEM] in the KJV this is translated as “IN ALL THEIR AFFLICTION HE WAS AFFLICTED”: God Himself suffered when HIS people were persecuted and suffered.
10 BUT THEY REBELLED AND GRIEVED HIS HOLY SPIRIT, AND HE WAS TURNED TO BE THEIR ENEMY; HE FOUGHT WITH THEM.
11 AND HIS PEOPLE REMEMBERED THE DAYS OF OLD, [THE DAYS OF] MOSES; WHERE IS HE WHO DREW THEM UP FROM THE SEA, [LIKE] A SHEPHERD HIS FLOCK; WHERE IS HE WHO PLACED WITHIN THEM HIS HOLY SPIRIT?
Even though they sin and turn away from HIM, HE will remember and return to HIS people at some stage- no matter what.
WHERE IS HE WHO PLACED WITHIN THEM HIS HOLY SPIRIT? If God puts HIS spirit in us or in His prophet we can be led onto the right track.
12 HE LED AT MOSES' RIGHT THE ARM OF HIS GLORY, SPLITTING THE WATER BEFORE THEM TO MAKE FOR HIMSELF AN EVERLASTING NAME.
13 HE LED THEM IN THE DEPTHS LIKE A HORSE IN THE DESERT; THEY DID NOT STUMBLE.
14 AS ANIMALS SPREAD OUT IN A VALLEY, THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD GUIDED THEM, SO YOU GUIDED YOUR PEOPLE TO MAKE YOU A GLORIOUS NAME.
15 LOOK FROM HEAVEN AND SEE, THE DWELLING OF YOUR HOLINESS AND YOUR GLORY; WHERE ARE YOUR ZEAL AND YOUR MIGHTY DEEDS? THE YEARNING OF YOUR HEART AND YOUR MERCY ARE RESTRAINED TO ME.
16 FOR YOU ARE OUR FATHER, FOR ABRAHAM DID NOT KNOW US, NEITHER DID ISRAEL RECOGNIZE US; YOU, O LORD, ARE OUR FATHER; OUR REDEEMER OF OLD IS YOUR NAME.
"FOR ABRAHAM DID NOT KNOW US, NEITHER DID ISRAEL RECOGNIZE US": We do not act as our forefathers would have wanted us to do and we do not merit to receive the blessings promised to them. Neither do we fulfill the tasks they accepted upon themselves on our behalf. They would be in their rights to disown us BUT even so God will not disown us.
Also we may not be recognized as the physical descendants of Abraham and Israel even though that is what we feel ourselves to be and probably are. Even so, God will help us.
God is our redeemer.
Another point:
Even though we are or well may be the physical descendants of Abraham and Israel that is not enough. We have to ask God for His mercy and forgiveness.
17 WHY DO YOU LEAD US ASTRAY O LORD, FROM YOUR WAYS, YOU HARDEN OUR HEART FROM YOUR FEAR? RETURN FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR SERVANTS, THE TRIBES OF YOUR HERITAGE.
We are the tribes of Israel. We need to feel the Divine Presence and return.
THE TRIBES OF YOUR HERITAGE: The twelve Tribes of Israel: both “Joseph” and “Judah”.
The Almighty will acknowledge us and our Tribal ancestry.
18 FOR [BUT] A SHORT TIME YOUR HOLY PEOPLE INHERITED; OUR ADVERSARIES TRAMPLED YOUR SANCTUARY.
The Holy Mountain and site of the Temple is in the effective possession of the Muslims. Recently the prohibitions agasinst Jews going there have been relaxed somewhat but Jews are still restricted regarding the right to go up there and/or pray there. The enemy still possesses the Temple Mount and defiles it. The Muslims dig up the Temple Mount. They have a childrens school up there and public lavoratories. They have recently dug up part of it and destroyed remnants of the First and Second Temples, e.g. the 1996–1999 construction of the underground el-Marwani Mosque, and other desecrations following it.
Much of the rest of the world the has backed them up in these contemptible acts.
OUR ADVERSARIES TRAMPLED YOUR SANCTUARY.
19 WE WERE [LIKE THOSE] OVER WHOM YOU NEVER RULED, OVER WHOM YOUR NAME WAS NOT CALLED; HAD YOU RENT THE HEAVENS, HAD YOU DESCENDED, MOUNTAINS WOULD HAVE DRIPPED FROM BEFORE YOU.
Israel is the people of God. The physical descendants of the Israelites are the Chosen People. There is none other. Israel is lamenting. The People feels as if the Almighty never ruled over them, never preformed miracles on their behalf. If the Almighty had have willed it mountains would have been uprooted for the sake of HIS PEOPLE!