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One of the best known prophecies in all of scripture is Micah 5:2.; But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting. This prophecy is so well known because it is part of the so-called Christmas story. When the wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him. Then Herod the king gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people and inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. In answer they quoted Micah 5:2. (Matthew 2:1-6)
But it seems amazing that so few prophetic scholars are aware of the rest of this prophecy. In the context of this verse we read:
Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek. But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting. Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. (Micah 5:1-3) Before we read of where Christ was to be born, we read that they will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek (verse 1) Then, in verse 3, we read that Therefore He shall give them up. So this Old Testament prophecy clearly foretold the rejection of Christ by Judah, and of its consequence; the rejection of Judah by their God. But it also defined how long this rejection of Judah will last. It will last, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth. (verse 3)
This is an obvious reference to the last chapter of Isaiah, where we read,
Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children. (Isaiah 66:7-8)
After she who is in labor has given birth, Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. (Micah 5:3) From this we see that the subject matter of this prophecy extends all the way from the birth and rejection of Christ to the future time of restoration for Israel. Indeed, the next verse of Micah 5 speaks of the majesty and greatness of the time when Judahs rejection has ended, saying, And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And this One shall be peace. (Micah 5:4-5) But this is followed by a passage that almost no one seems to have noticed. I can personally testify that I knew of this passage long before I even began to realize its significance.
When the Assyrian comes into our land, And when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men. They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, And the land of Nimrod at its entrances; Thus He shall deliver us from the Assyrian, When he comes into our land And when he treads within our borders. (Micah 5:5-6)
This passage should cause every serious student of Bible prophecy to sit up and take notice. Here we have a very simple statement of coming events. There is nothing in it that is hard to understand. Nothing in it requires deep interpretation. But there is no way to even imagine that it has been fulfilled. This prophecy clearly refers to the future, but is totally missed in every system of prophetic interpretation that is widely accepted today. Something is clearly wrong.
Who is this person called the Assyrian? There are a number of prophecies about him. But like this one, they are almost universally missed. I believe this is because almost everyone assumes they only refer to Sennacherib, the Assyrian king who attacked Judea in the time of Hezekiah. But Micah 5:5-6 cannot refer to Sennacherib.
In 2 Kings 18:14-16, Hezekiah surrendered to Sennacherib. In the following chapter, (2 Kings 19) Sennacherib sent his army to Jerusalem anyway, under a commander called the Rabshakeh. Hezekiah sent a message to Isaiah, saying, This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. (2 Kings 19:3) We thus see that Hezekiah had no strength to resist the mighty Assyrian army, much less seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And neither Judah nor Israel has ever invaded Assyria.
Sennacherib attacked Judah during the righteous reign of king Hezekiah, who trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses. (2 Kings 18:5-6) Nor was it only Hezekiah that was faithful, for Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, at the word of the LORD. (2 Chronicles 30:12) But after these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself. (2 Chronicles 32:1) Hezekiah cried out to the Lord, who answered him, I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake. (Isaiah 37:35)
But in Isaiah 10:6, the Lord says of the king of Assyria that I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Both Hezekiah and his people had been righteous and the Lord promised to save them from Sennacherib. But in the day described in Isaiah 10 the nation will have been ungodly and He will send Assyria to punish them. The first Assyrian was an enemy of God, while the second will actually be His agent.
But this latter day Assyrian does not intend to serve God, nor does his heart think so. (Isaiah 10:7) He will therefore be punished when the LORD has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem. (verse 12) This clearly refers to the future, for the Lord's work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem will not be finished until all prophecy concerning them has been fulfilled. Again, we read in the twentieth verse of this chapter, And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. This is a clear reference to the last days, for even up to our own time Israel has still not learned to depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
But it seems amazing that so few prophetic scholars are aware of the rest of this prophecy. In the context of this verse we read:
Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek. But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting. Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. (Micah 5:1-3) Before we read of where Christ was to be born, we read that they will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek (verse 1) Then, in verse 3, we read that Therefore He shall give them up. So this Old Testament prophecy clearly foretold the rejection of Christ by Judah, and of its consequence; the rejection of Judah by their God. But it also defined how long this rejection of Judah will last. It will last, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth. (verse 3)
This is an obvious reference to the last chapter of Isaiah, where we read,
Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children. (Isaiah 66:7-8)
After she who is in labor has given birth, Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. (Micah 5:3) From this we see that the subject matter of this prophecy extends all the way from the birth and rejection of Christ to the future time of restoration for Israel. Indeed, the next verse of Micah 5 speaks of the majesty and greatness of the time when Judahs rejection has ended, saying, And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And this One shall be peace. (Micah 5:4-5) But this is followed by a passage that almost no one seems to have noticed. I can personally testify that I knew of this passage long before I even began to realize its significance.
When the Assyrian comes into our land, And when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men. They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, And the land of Nimrod at its entrances; Thus He shall deliver us from the Assyrian, When he comes into our land And when he treads within our borders. (Micah 5:5-6)
This passage should cause every serious student of Bible prophecy to sit up and take notice. Here we have a very simple statement of coming events. There is nothing in it that is hard to understand. Nothing in it requires deep interpretation. But there is no way to even imagine that it has been fulfilled. This prophecy clearly refers to the future, but is totally missed in every system of prophetic interpretation that is widely accepted today. Something is clearly wrong.
Who is this person called the Assyrian? There are a number of prophecies about him. But like this one, they are almost universally missed. I believe this is because almost everyone assumes they only refer to Sennacherib, the Assyrian king who attacked Judea in the time of Hezekiah. But Micah 5:5-6 cannot refer to Sennacherib.
In 2 Kings 18:14-16, Hezekiah surrendered to Sennacherib. In the following chapter, (2 Kings 19) Sennacherib sent his army to Jerusalem anyway, under a commander called the Rabshakeh. Hezekiah sent a message to Isaiah, saying, This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. (2 Kings 19:3) We thus see that Hezekiah had no strength to resist the mighty Assyrian army, much less seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And neither Judah nor Israel has ever invaded Assyria.
Sennacherib attacked Judah during the righteous reign of king Hezekiah, who trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses. (2 Kings 18:5-6) Nor was it only Hezekiah that was faithful, for Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, at the word of the LORD. (2 Chronicles 30:12) But after these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself. (2 Chronicles 32:1) Hezekiah cried out to the Lord, who answered him, I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake. (Isaiah 37:35)
But in Isaiah 10:6, the Lord says of the king of Assyria that I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Both Hezekiah and his people had been righteous and the Lord promised to save them from Sennacherib. But in the day described in Isaiah 10 the nation will have been ungodly and He will send Assyria to punish them. The first Assyrian was an enemy of God, while the second will actually be His agent.
But this latter day Assyrian does not intend to serve God, nor does his heart think so. (Isaiah 10:7) He will therefore be punished when the LORD has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem. (verse 12) This clearly refers to the future, for the Lord's work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem will not be finished until all prophecy concerning them has been fulfilled. Again, we read in the twentieth verse of this chapter, And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. This is a clear reference to the last days, for even up to our own time Israel has still not learned to depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.