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Hope of Israel Mail Bag 47

dained” in I Peter 1:20! Therefore we were also known be- are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you
forehand -- just like Yeshua the Messiah was! shall come forth to Me the One to be ruler in Israel, whose
goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
So if this “means” that Yeshua “pre-existed,” this This scripture is speaking of Yeshua the Messiah in
ALSO “means” that WE “pre-existed” -- because this says EXACTLY the same way that Jeremiah was spoken of in
that we were “known beforehand”! Now the word trans- Jeremiah 1:5. YEHOVAH KNEW Yeshua BEFORE he
lated “predestined” in these verses is word #4309 in was born; he was in YEHOVAH’s plan -- just as Jeremiah
Strong’s and means “determine beforehand.” Thayer’s was in YEHOVAH’s plan from the beginning. And the
however, tells us this means “appoint beforehand”! The prophet Micah was inspired to write about Yeshua, saying:
fact is we are also APPOINTED BEFOREHAND to our “Whose GOINGS FORTH have been from of old.”
calling; we are KNOWN BEFOREHAND -- just as the Bi-
ble says. But this DOES NOT mean that we “pre-existed” Unless you clearly understand the meaning of the
any more than Yeshua the Messiah “pre-existed”! one Hebrew word translated “goings forth” you could eas-
ily be deceived into thinking that Yeshua “pre-existed”
What this really means is that YEHOVAH God from of old. However, the word translated “goings forth”
has a PLAN, and everything in His plan and purpose will is the Hebrew word motzah, which The Hebrew and Eng-
be carried out strictly according to it. Notice again Romans lish Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and
8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good Briggs (p. 426) shows to mean “(of future ruler out of
to those who are THE CALLED according to His pur- Bethlehem), his origin.” This is speaking of the ruler to
pose.” come out of Bethlehem! Yeshua’s “origin” was from OLD
in that YEHOVAH had spoken of him from the beginning
The prophet Jeremiah was also in YEHOVAH’s as the FUTURE ruler to come out of Bethlehem -- just as
plan before he was even born -- notice Jeremiah 1:4-5: the prophet Micah was inspired to write. But this DOES
“Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: NOT mean that Yeshua was “existent in the beginning” as
‘BEFORE I FORMED YOU in the womb I KNEW YOU; many erroneously believe.
BEFORE you were born I sanctified you; and I
ORDAINED you a prophet to the nations.’” Now does this Yeshua’s ORIGIN was from of old; YEHOVAH
mean Jeremiah “pre-existed”? Of course not! And neither APPOINTED HIM BEFOREHAND before the founda-
did Yeshua the Messiah, and neither did we! Jeremiah was tion of the world -- but Yeshua did not “pre-exist” before
appointed beforehand to be a prophet to the nations. the foundation of the world. YEHOVAH knew when He
Yeshua was appointed beforehand -- LONG BEFORE he would bring Yeshua forth into existence. And YEHOVAH
was ever born -- to be the only begotten Son of knew this long before Yeshua was even begotten in the
YEHOVAH, who would die for the sins of the whole womb of his mother, Mary. But Micah was NOT saying
world. We have been appointed beforehand to become that Yeshua “pre-existed” any more than the Bible infers
conformed to the image of Yeshua -- in righteousness and that Jeremiah “pre-existed.”
perfection. All of this was in YEHOVAH’s plan from the
very beginning. We did not always exist, Jeremiah did not In Hebrews 7:9-10 we find that Levi, the son of
always exist and Yeshua did not always exist -- BUT we Jacob, was IN THE LOINS of his father Abraham; not yet
were ALL in YEHOVAH’s plan from the beginning. born, and yet PAID TITHES through Abraham BEFORE
being born. Notice: “Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid
Micah 5:2 tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the
loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.” In effect,
With the understanding that Yeshua the Messiah Levi was known by YEHOVAH before he was born, just
was “appointed beforehand” -- although he did NOT as Jeremiah was -- although NEITHER Levi nor Jeremiah
“pre-exist” -- it becomes easy to understand Micah 5:2, “pre-existed” before their physical births. Knowing this
which states: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you

The Berean Voice July-August 2002