s [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

research, he ought to be able to outline the qualifications of Messiah.
I'll bet, Rayford thought. He stood in a corner and leaned against the wall to
keep out of the way. Carpathia slipped off his suit jacket, and a flight
attendant immediately hung it for him. He loosened his tie, rolled up his
sleeves, and sat down in front of the television holding a fresh seltzer with
a twist. Carpathia obviously considered this a good hour's diversion, Rayford
thought.
An off-camera announcer clarified that  the views and opinions expressed on
this broadcast do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Cable
News
Network or its subscribing stations.
Rayford found Dr. Ben-Judah a most engaging communicator. He looked directly
into the camera, and though his accent was thick, he spoke slowly and
distinctly enough to be easily understood. Most of all, Rayford sensed an
enthusiasm and a passion for his subject. This was not at all what Rayford had
expected. He would have imagined an ancient rabbi with a long white beard,
hunched over some musty manuscripts with a magnifying glass, comparing jots
and tittles.
Ben-Judah, however, after a brief introduction of himself and the process
through which he and his team did their research, began with a promise.  I
have come to the conclusion that we may know beyond all shadow of doubt the
identity of our
Messiah. Our Bible has given clear prophecies, prerequisites, and predictions
that only one person in the human race could ever fulfill. Follow along with
me and see if you come to the same conclusion I have, and we shall see whether
Messiah is a real person, whether he has already come, or whether he is yet to
come.
Rabbi Ben-Judah said he and his team spent almost the entire first year of
their project confirming the accuracy of the late Alfred Edersheim, a teacher
of languages and Grinfield Lecturer on the Septuagint. Edersheim had
postulated that there were
456 messianic passages in Scripture, supported by more than 558 references
from the most ancient rabbinical writings.
 Now, the rabbi said,  I promise to not bore you with statistics, but let me
just say that many of those prophetic passages are repetitive and some are
Page 156
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
obscure. But based on our careful study, we believe there are at least 109
separate and distinct prophecies Messiah must fulfill. They require a man so
unusual and a life so unique that they eliminate all pretenders.
 I do not have time in this brief hour to cover all 109, of course, but I will
deal with some of the most clearly obvious and specific ones. We consulted a
mathematician and asked him to calculate the probability of even 20 of the 109
prophecies being fulfilled in one man. He came up with odds of one in one
quadrillion, one hundred and twenty-five trillion!
Dr. Ben-Judah gave what Rayford considered a brilliant example of how to
easily identify someone with just a few marks.  Despite the billions of people
who still
populate this planet, you can put a postcard in the mail with just a few
distinctions on it, and I will be the only person to receive it. You eliminate
much of the world when you send it to Israel. You narrow it more when it comes
to Jerusalem. You cut the potential recipients to a tiny fraction when it goes
to a certain street, a certain number, a certain apartment. And then, with my
first and last name on it, you have singled me out of billions. That, I
believe, is what these prophecies of Messiah do.
They eliminate, eliminate, eliminate, until only one person could ever fulfill
them.
Dr. Ben-Judah was so engaging that everyone on the plane had stopped talking,
moving, even shifting in their seats. Even Nicolae Carpathia, despite the
occasional sip from his glass and the tinkling of the ice, barely moved. It
seemed to Rayford that Carpathia was almost embarrassed by the attention
Ben-Judah had commanded.
Trying not to cause a distraction, Rayford excused himself and quickly slipped
back into the cockpit. He put a hand on his first officer's shoulder and
leaned down to talk to him. The first officer lifted his left earphone.
 I want this plane to not touch the ground before five minutes after the
hour.
 We're scheduled for about two minutes to, Cap, and we're making good time.
 Make whatever adjustments you have to make.
 Roger. He reached for the radio.  Baghdad tower, this is
Global Community One, over.
 Baghdad tower, go ahead
One
.
 We're reducing speed a few knots and are setting a new ETA of five minutes
after the hour.
 Roger, Global. Problems?
 Negative. Just experimenting with the new plane.
The first officer glanced up at Rayford to see if that was all right. Rayford
gave him the thumbs-up and hurried back to the television.
Buck prayed as he watched. Other staffers had gathered around monitors. There
was none of the usual behind-the-scenes banter. People were glued to the
broadcast. To keep from jumping out of his skin, Buck dug out his notebook and
pen and tried to keep copious notes. It was nearly impossible to keep up with
the rabbi, who rolled on and on with prophecy after prophecy.
 Messiah is not limited to just a few identifying marks, Ben-Judah said.  We
Jews have been looking for him, praying for him, longing for him for
centuries, and yet we have stopped studying the many identification hallmarks
in our Scriptures. We have ignored many and made favorites of others, to the
point that we are now looking for a political leader who will right wrongs,
bring justice, and promise peace.
Chaim Rosenzweig stepped over to Carpathia and clapped him on the back,
Page 157
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
turning to beam at everyone. He was largely ignored, especially by Carpathia.
 Some believe Messiah will restore things as they were in the glorious days of
Solomon, Rabbi Ben-Judah continued.  Others believe Messiah will make all
things new, ushering in a kingdom unlike anything we have ever seen. And yet
the prophecies themselves tell us what Messiah will do. Let us examine just a
few of them in the remaining time.
Buck was getting a glimpse of what was to come. Jesus was either the Messiah,
the chosen one, the fulfillment of God's Word, or he could not stand up to the
scrutiny of the record. If only one man could possibly fulfill the prophecies,
it had to be
Jesus. It didn't appear the rabbi was going to use the New Testament to try to
convince his first and primary audience, the Jews. So the prophecies from
hundreds of years before the birth of Christ would have to be clear enough to
make the point if indeed that was where Tsion was going.
Dr. Ben-Judah was sitting on the edge of the table where he had displayed the
several-hundred-page conclusion to his research study. The camera zoomed in on [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]