The many was counter-missionaries attempt to negate Yeshua

The counter-missionary crowd seems to spend all their waking hours bashing Yeshua and the NT. They love to challenge all prophecies concerning Yeshua, insisting there are no Tanakh scriptures suggesting, for instance, that he would rise within three days. They call Paul a false apostle and a liar. They knock themselves out to reveal that Luke 24:46 and 47 “prove” that “Jesus does not know the Bible”; when in fact, it is THEY who clearly don’t know Scripture or the Messiah!

For instance, they’ve failed to see that earlier Luke 24:25-27 explains that the proper evidence was revealed to those on the road to Emmaus – it simply was not revealed to “us”! Consequently no one knows which verses from the Tanakh Yeshua addressed revealing that he would rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance in His name would be preached!

Does that mean the verses don’t exist? Of course not. So, what we have to do is turn to the Tanakh with unbiased eyes and ears to see what it reveals. Unfortunately, any two people can read the Tanakh and come away with a divergent understanding. (This is why it took Yeshua to reveal the meaning to those on the road in Luke 24:27!)

Fact is, there are hundreds of messianic prophecies in the Tanakh (Micah 5:2, 6; Zechariah 9:9-10 to cite a couple), and YHWH Himself declared He would be Israel’s salvation (many verses, including Exodus 15:2, Isaiah 45:17, 46:13, etc.); and while some understand “Yeshua” in “salvation”, others don’t see it. So, sadly, there is little agreement on which verses in the Tanakh are Messianic and which are not.

Let's examine one of their questions: “Is there a verse in the Tanakh which suggests the Messiah would die and rise on the 3rd day?” Well, yes, there is - but again, it is up to the reader to see it. Take Hosea 6, for instance:

Hosea 6:1 “Come, and let us return unto the LORD; for He hath torn, and He will heal us, He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. 2 After two days will He revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence. 3 And let us know, eagerly strive to know the LORD, His going forth is sure as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth.”

Does this specifically mention Yeshua? No. Does it address that there will be a death with a resurrection on the 3rd day? Yes. Does it ask that YHWH will come to them? Yes. (Since YHWH can’t come to them in His form because no one can look upon Him and live (Exodus 33:20), we realize that YHWH must be “seen” in another form.) It is not that hard to see the Messiah in these verses!

See also Isaiah 53:3-5 and Psalm 16:8-10 which include the prophecy of death and resurrection of the Messiah. And for what it’s worth, the author of Acts (accepted as Luke) said in Acts 17:2-3 that Paul went into Synagogues teaching from the Tanakh how the Messiah had to suffer, die and rise again. But here again, we aren’t told which scriptures Paul would have used from the Tanakh prophecies.

And so, what about “repentance in His name being preached?” Again, WE aren’t TOLD which verses Yeshua explained, but there are many in the Tanakh linking YHWH and Yeshua (as savior and mashiyach) of YHWH. Here are a few which can be understood when one realizes how YHWH can be savior:

Hosea 13:4 “Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt; and thou knowest no God but Me, and beside Me there is no saviour (moshia).”

Isaiah 43:11 “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside Me there is no saviour (moshia).”

And here are two sources identifying the Messiah as the Savior: Micah 5:2 & 6; Zechariah 9:9-10.

And in Isaiah 53:1-12 (which, for brevity, I won’t reproduce here), Isaiah reveals details of the Mashiyach. (Yes, I know the counter-missionaries poo-poo these verses and explain them away but that does NOT negate what the verses say!) And Micah 6:6-8 reflects repentance (without using the word) to walk righteously with YHWH.

As Yeshua explained in Luke 24:25, people were foolish and did not comprehend the meaning in the words of the prophets. It should not be surprising that it takes the lifting of blinders for the message to become clear how the Tanakh reveals the Messiah.

By the verses cited here alone, one can conclude that 1) YHWH is the savior, 2) Yeshua is the mechanism, and therefore YHWH and Yeshua are “one”. And wouldn’t you know it, Yeshua actually said that (John 10:30)! When one repents in the name of Yeshua, then they are repenting in the name of YHWH.

Can one repent in the name of YHWH and not Yeshua? Certainly. But since everyone must be redeemed for their individual salvation, and Yeshua is the redeemer, why give up your redemption and only seek forgiveness through repentance?

Repentance (i.e., returning to a state of righteousness through remorse and being forgiven for innocent acts against Torah); and Salvation (i.e., the continual possession of an everlasting life with YHWH through redemption), are two different things. Nowhere in the Tanakh do we find eternal salvation obtained only upon turning from one's sinful behavior through repentance. Eternal salvation in the Tanakh was obtained solely upon turning to YHWH in faith and being redeemed by a blood sacrifice.)

Counter-missionaries insist that Scripture doesn’t predict that “Jesus” (as they ALWAYS insist on calling him, because it helps to remove him from the meaning of his given, Hebrew name!) would rise on the third day. Well, since the NT is YHWH’s “rest of the story, we DO see it there - in places like 1 Cor. 14:1-8, Matthew 12:40, Matthew 17:23 and Matthew 20:19. (See also Matthew 27:64; Mark 9:31; Mark 10:34; Luke 9:22; Luke 13:32; Luke 18:33; Luke 24:7; Luke 24:46; Acts 10:40; and 1 Corinthians 15:4.) Let’s take a look:

1 Corinthians 15: 1. And I make known to you, my Brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, and which you received, and in which you stand. 2. And by which you have life. In what word I preached to you, you remember; unless you have believed in vain. 3. For I delivered to you from the first, as I had received it; that the Mashiyach died on account of our sins, as it is written: 4. And that he was buried and arose on the third day, as it is written:

5. And that he was seen by Keefa; and after him, by the twelve: 6. And after that, he was seen by more than five hundred Brothers at once; many of whom survive at the present time, and some of them sleep. 7. And subsequently to this, he was seen by Ya’akov; and after him, by all the Shlichim. 8. And last of them all, he was seen by me, as if I were an unborn fetus. (AENT)

Matthew 20: 19. And they will deliver him to the Gentiles, and they will mock him, and they will beat him, and they will execute him on a stake. (AENT)

FOOTNOTE: The upright stake was foreshadowed by to the “pole” which Moshe held up in Numbers 21:8, 9. The brass serpent was put upon the pole and when the people looked upon it they were preserved from the deadly venom of the snake. So it is, that when people are bitten by the “spiritual serpent” of Genesis 3:15, they must look to Mashiyach for healing and deliverance.

The pole was replaced by the cross which was formerly the symbol of the Babylonian sun god. Julius Caesar and his heir struck coins with symbols of the cross (solar wheel) to commemorate the sun god. The Roman Emperor Constantine was a sun worshipper who became a famous Christian, advancing Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. His version of “Christianity” included many pagan rituals, including Sun-day, Tammuz (Christmas) and Ishtar (Easter) worship.

The Greek “stauros” also denotes an upright stake; the verb stauroo means to drive stakes. The Greek “xulon” denotes a timber or a log or any piece of dead wood. Bullinger’s Companion Bible notes: “Our English word ‘cross’ is the translation of the Latin crux; but the Greek stauros no more means a crux than the word ‘stick’ means a ‘crutch.’”

The bottom line is, the “counter-missionaries” can argue until the cows come home that Yeshua and the NT are bogus, but that doesn’t make their opinion Truth! Reiterating what was mentioned above:

“What we have to do is turn to the Tanakh with unbiased eyes and ears to see what it reveals. Unfortunately, any two people can read the Tanakh and come away with a divergent understanding.”

We pray that YOU are able to read the entire Bible with "unbiased eyes" and can ultimately come to the conclusion that rejecting Yeshua - the one who died for you - would be the biggest mistake of your life!

May the Ruach haKodesh help us ALL to see YHWH’s Truth!