A Prophet Like Unto Moses / January 2007

When John the Baptist was in the wilderness, there was great expectation for several prophecies to be fulfilled. First and foremost, the Messiah was expected to come and throw out the occupying Romans. There was great hope that the Messiah would rise up from among the poor, the countrymen of the land. The primary prophetic text for this expectation was from Deuteronomy.

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. This is according to all that you asked of the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, “Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, lest I die.” And the Lord said to me, “They have spoken well. I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.”

Deuteronomy 18:15-19

The second great expectation concerned the prophet Elijah. The prophet Elijah was expected to somehow return and restore the families of Israel. The prophecy of Elijah is mentioned at every Passover; they even set a cup for Elijah anticipating his return. The primary prophetic text for this expectation was from Malachi.

Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.

Malachi 4:5-6

There was also the expectation of another person who would come and be a part of the events leading to the Messianic age. No, I am not referring to John the Baptist himself, the “one crying in the wilderness.” The New Testament speaks of this expectation in the first interchange with John the Baptist.

The Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem had heard about John the Baptist in the wilderness. They also knew that many people were responding to him. So they dispatched men to investigate John's testimony. The Gospel of John records this interogation.

And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed, and did not deny, and he confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not. Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” They said then to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.

John 1:19-24

John knew that the first expectation of these men would be to find someone claiming to be the Messiah. That is why he denied being the Messiah before they even asked. It was logical then that they ask if he was Elijah.

John answered that he was not Elijah fulfilling this prophecy. As it turns out, John was the spirit of Elijah, a forerunner for the Messiah for work of redemption. The prophecy of Elijah as given by Malachi to be a forerunner (Elijah), for the Messiah when He does the work of restoration and judgment.

Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.

Malachi 4:5-6

With John's two negative responses, they then ask if he is the Prophet.

Who is the Prophet they are looking for? This is the third expectation following the Messiah and Elijah. This is not the only reference to this expectation in the New Testament. It arises again when Yeshua is in the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles.

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Yeshua stood and cried out, saying, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Yeshua was not yet glorified. Some of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, “This certainly is the Prophet.” Others were saying, “This is the Messiah.” Still others were saying, “Surely the Messiah is not going to come from Galilee, is He? Has not the Scripture said that the Messiah comes from the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” So there arose a division in the multitude because of Him.

John 7:37-43

It is clear that there was an expectation of three persons to come: the Messiah, Elijah, and the Prophet. The prophetic text speaking of the Messiah and the Prophet come from Deuteronomy.

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. This is according to all that you asked of the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, “Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, lest I die.” And the Lord said to me, “They have spoken well. I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.”

Deuteronomy 18:15-19

When most people read this passage they think that only one prophet (like Moses) is prophesied. In fact, two prophets are prophesied: one that is like the Lord and one that is like Moses. The first expression of the prophet is Moses expressing what the Lord said and why He will do this. The people asked for God to come to them and speak like a man. The second prophecy of the prophet is the one like Moses. It is only Christianity that does not seem the dual prophecy here.

There are many rules for interpreting Scripture properly, even more so for prophetic Scripture. According to Jewish interpretation priniciples there are no idle or redundant words in the Scripture. Scripture does not repeat itself for emphasis or drama. An apparent repetitious expression is another teaching of itself.

Here are a few examples supporting this rule of interpretation:

Abraham and Isaac journey up the mountain together in Genesis 22. Abraham is about offer Isaac. The Scripture says, “So the two of them walked on together” in verse 6 and 8. What separates them is Isaac's realization that he will be offered up on the altar. The first expression is about Abraham's obedience to God. The second expression is about Isaac's obedience to God. This is crucial to the proper understanding of this passage. Isaac agreed to participate. It foreshadows the prophecy of Yeshua in the garden agreeing to offer Himself up in obedience to His Father. It is a very profound moment and teaching. Isaac was the promised son just like Yeshua was the promised Son of God.

Another example is Isaac conversing with his father about the missing lamb.

And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Genesis 22:7

The translation of this passage into English seems to flow naturally for us. However, in the Hebrew, there are three distinct elements as underlined that almost seem redundant. The sages of Israel and Torah teachers know that this apparent redundancy of Isaac speaking is profound and significant. They have concluded that it reflects Isaac's heart and realization of what is going to happen to him.

There are other examples, some explained in the Scripture directly, including the two dreams of Joseph, the two dreams of Pharaoh as interpreted by Joseph. But of the most obvious repeated word example is in Deuteronomy.

Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, that you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Deuteronomy 16:20

In the Hebrew text, it simply says, “Justice justice you shall pursue.” The expression “and only” is added by translators. Although the words are identical, it is well understood that the second justice does not mean the same thing as the first justice. The second justice means that the method of justice must be done in a just way. In our modern legal system, it is called “due process.”

With these examples understood, let us examine Deuteronomy 18 again concerning the Prophet.

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. This is according to all that you asked of the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, “Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, lest I die.” And the Lord said to me, “They have spoken well. I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.”

Deuteronomy 18:15-19

There are two expressions of a prophet to be raised up. There is a slight difference in them though. The first reference to a prophet to be raised up is one like me. The second reference is to a prophet like you. Translators have made this sound like only one prophet is being discussed. In the Hebrew however two separate expressions are stated. The first prophet (like Me the Lord) will come from the mountain (God's presence). This is the Messiah. The second expression is God pronouncing that another prophet will be raised like “you” Moses. This second prophet will go up to the mountain and prophesy. The second prophet is not the same as the first; it is two prophecies.

Maybe you have heard the same expression that I have heard in my previous instruction. “The Messiah is to be a prophet like unto Moses.” This is a common expression among Christians. But, it is incorrect! The Messiah is to be more than a prophet like Moses; He is to be a Prophet like unto God coming down from the mountain. The Messiah is not like Moses; he is like God. He is to speak the very word of God that was just as compelling as when God spoke from Mt. Sinai.

Look at how Peter taught this very prophecy in the temple after the resurrection.

Moses said, “The Lord God shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed in everything He says to you. And it shall be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.”

Acts 3:22-23

He is not quoting all of the passage, just the first part. Peter is not saying that the Messiah is another Moses. He taught the Messiah to be the greatest of all. This is repeated by Stephen at his trial and resulting execution.

This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, “God shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren.”

Acts 7:37

These are not oversights or mistakes by Peter and Stephen. The Messiah is the first prophet mentioned in Deuteronomy, “the one like me.” Another prophet (not the Messiah) is prophesied to come later.

Actually, the word “me” should be properly capitalized to make this passage clear. It should read as follows:

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like Me from among you,…

Deuteronomy 18:15

This is the prophecy of the Messiah. The Messiah is God. He is not like Moses; He is like God (Me), but He comes in the form of His countrymen. Therefore He was to come in the form of man as demanded by the people. They had pledged to hear the man (like them) who came from the mountain with the word of God. This was in accordance with their request not to hear the word of God any further from God directly on the mountain. They chose to hear the instruction of God from a fellow man, one of their own brethren from among us. This is what God agreed to do – to send Himself in a form of one of our countrymen to speak the word of God to us. This the greatest prophecy of the Messiah (He who ascends and descends).

Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His son's name? Surely you know!

Proverbs 30:4

And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man.

John 3:13

Judaism has a real struggle with the Deuteronomy 18 prophecy and its comparison with Moses.

Since then no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,

Deuteronomy 34:10

While this verse offers a positive commentary of Moses, it offers no time frame into the future for when One greater than Moses would emerge from among the brethren. Furthermore, a prophet like God does not track with the tenets of Judaism – there is One and only One God. This is part of the reason why the Jews rejected the Messiahship of Yeshua. He clearly represented Himself as greater than Abraham, who was even before (greater than) Moses. He represented Himself as equal to God. The New Testament is clear on that observation.

Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”

John 8:58

For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, … , making Himself equal with God.

John 5:18

So let's say we now are agreed on the prophecy of the Messiah. The Messiah is clearly prophesied in this first expression of the Prophet like Me. Why would God want to have another Prophet like Moses come into the world?

This is where the Christian Church in its prophetic teachings has fallen flat on its face. Even many of my own Messianic Jewish brethren do not get this. Judaism has endorsed this much stronger than Christians understand. The answer is simple: There is going to be another Exodus! God has planned for an even greater exodus from Egypt – an exodus from all of the nations (Jeremiah 16 and 23). There is a need for another “Moses” to lead this worldwide exodus.

The Greater Exodus happens at the end of the age, when the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. It is when the Messiah gathers all of the exiles scattered in all of the nations to come to the Messianic Kingdom. It is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Restoration of the House of Judah and the House of Israel. It is at the time of Jacob's trouble, when his family was divided into two companies but joined together in the land (Genesis 32-33). There is a need for another Moses to arise in conjunction with this greater Exodus. According to the book of Revelation, two witnesses are to announce God's judgments during the Great Tribulation just as Moses and Aaron did before Pharaoh. The antimessiah is a type of Pharaoh. The most popular belief is that the two witnesses (Revelation 11) are Moses and Elijah.

Isn't that fascinating?!? We already knew that Elijah was prophesied to come before the day of the Lord. But now we know where someone like Moses is also prophesied to come.

This prophecy alone is probably the strongest reason why the Jews rejected Yeshua of Nazareth as the Messiah. He did not bring about the greater exodus with the Prophet like Moses. Elijah and the Prophet didn't show up. The day of the Lord and the Messianic kingdom did not emerge. This is why the Pharisees dispatched messengers to question John the Baptist. They were expecting all three to appear: Messiah, Elijah, and a Prophet like Moses who would help lead the scattered of Israel back to the land.

However, before we leave this subject completely we should recognize another misunderstanding concerning this prophecy.

Mohammed, the Prophet of Islam, lays claim to the title of Prophet from Deuteronomy 18. He claimed that he was the Prophet like unto Moses, but even better than Moses. Islam also teaches that Abraham took Ishmael (not Isaac) up to be sacrificed, not at Mt. Moriah but instead to Mecca. Devout Muslims travel at least once in their life time to Mecca to complete the Haj (a pilgrimage to Mecca). They view Yeshua as another prophet of Islam, not God's Son, nor the Messiah.

In recent days you may have heard of the Shiite Muslims (Hezbollah and Iran). The present conflict in Iraq is between Shiite and Sunni Muslim. According to the Shiite teaching a Mahdi (one of the descendants of Mohammed) will soon emerge to bring about a great conflagration of the world. The world will then be all Islam (everyone else is dead). This is an imitation teaching to match the return of Messiah Yeshua.

So, what should we expect from this Prophet who is to come? How will we know that he is the one like Moses?

This is by no means a complete list, but it will get us started.
1. He will be from the countrymen of Israel.
2. He will be a powerful teacher/speaker of Torah (the teaching of Moses).
3. He will confront the antimessiah (Pharaoh).
4. He will be able to do signs to confirm his words.
5. He will work closely with the Elijah of his day.
6. He will promote the coming of the Messiah.
7. He will call for his brethren to return to the land of Israel (from all the nations).

You should also remember that no true prophet, from Moses to the Messiah, has been initially endorsed or accepted by the people. They are always rejected initially. He will have to prove himself.

The prophecy of the Prophet like Moses is more than a fascinating study in Biblical interpretation. For those of us in the final generation, it is something that we should seriously be looking for and expecting. I personally believe that the antimessiah is alive and well in the world today. I believe the prophet like Moses is with us as well.

YAVOH, He is Coming is a monthly newsletter published as an outreach ministry of Lion and Lamb Ministries
The ministry is a non-profit organization with an end time prophetic message in a Messianic Jewish context.
Subscription to YAVOH, He is Coming is without cost and supported only by donation.

Permission is granted to reprint any article in YAVOH, He is Coming with attribution given to YAVOH, He is Coming.

Editor - Monte Judah
Electronic Editor - Ephraim Judah

Lion and Lamb Ministries
PO Box 720968
Norman, OK 73070
Phone: (405) 447 4429
Fax: (405) 447 3775
E-mail: info@lionlamb.net
Web: lionlamb.net