17. Psalm 118
Psalm 118 is the last of the Egyptian Hallel Psalms (113 to 118) that are sung at Passover. Hallel means to praise. This is likely the last psalm that Christ and His disciples sang after the Passover Seder before heading for the Mount of Olives per Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26. Both report: And when they had sung a hymn (psalm), they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Psalm 118 is the middle chapter of the Bible, and it also contains the middle verse – 118:8: It is better to trust in the LORD, than to put confidence in man. Chapters were first put in the Bible circa 1300 or so, and verses in English with the Geneva Bible circa 1560. It is between the shortest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 117, and the longest chapter, Psalm 119.
JR Church wrote a book, Hidden Prophecies in the Psalms in 1986, revised in 1990. He believed the 150 psalms were a code in years, beginning with 1901 for the Psalm 1, 1902 for Psalm 2, 2000 for Psalm 100, 2018 for Psalm 118, and so on. The first 2 digits came from the psalms being the 19th book of the Bible. Does 118 refer to the year 2018? If so, midnight on May 14-15 was the 70th anniversary of the birth of reborn Israel, a rather auspicious date.
1. Oh, give thanks to the LORD for He is good?
For His mercy endures forever.
2. Let Israel now say, “His mercy endures forever.”
3. Let the house of Aaron now say, “His mercy endures forever.”
4. Let those who fear the LORD now say. “His mercy endures forever.”
5. I called on the LORD in distress; the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
6. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 7. The LORD is for me among those who help me. Therefore, I shall see my desire on those who hate me.
8. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. (Middle verse of Bible)
9. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
10. All nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
11. They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me; but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them
12. They surrounded me like bees; they were quenched like a fire of thorns; for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
13. You pushed me violently that I might fall, but the LORD helped me.
14. The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the LORD does valiantly. 16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted; the right hand of the LORD does valiantly
17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. 18 The LORD has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death.
19.Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD.
20. This is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter. (NOTE: Do these verses refer to the rapture? Perhaps on the Jewish Feast of Trumpets? Or perhaps Hanukkah?)
21. I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation. (Rapture?)
22. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
23. This was the LORD’s doing: it is marvelous in our eyes.
24. This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity .
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. 27 God is the LORD, And He has given us light: Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You.
29 Oh, give thanks to the LORD for He is good: For His mercy endures forever.
Psalm 118 is clearly Messianic. Verse 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. When Christ rode the donkey’s colt into Jerusalem less than a week before His crucifixion (Matthew 21, Zechariah 9:9), this is what the crowd chanted along with Hosanna meaning “save now!” which is also noted at the beginning of verse 25.
In Matthew 23:37-39, it ends with verse 39 (Christ speaking) “for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’”
Verse 24 This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. This refers to the day Messiah came and also the day He will return. This was the day the Christ entered Jerusalem on the donkey’s colt fulfilling the 69 weeks prophecy in Daniel 9 to the day using creation years of 360 days. I suspect the Pharisees were expecting him about 39 AD using calendar years, i.e. to them, Christ was too early. As noted above, He will return when Israel says, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” This is why there is anti-Semitism. If all the Israelis and Jews are dead, they cannot say “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD,” and He cannot return. They must say the above and expect Jesus Christ to return, whom they crucified. He entered Jerusalem on the tenth of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar in either 32 or 33 AD with Daniel’s prophecy given in 539 BC. Nisan 10 was when the Passover lambs were presented to the priests to be sure it was perfect.
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Christ, of course, is the stone. There is a model for this in the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. In Exodus 17:1-6, the children of Israel camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. They complained bitterly to Moses who asked the LORD what to do. He is told to go before the rock at Horeb and strike the rock in Horeb with his rod, and water would flow from the rock. Moses did as instructed and the people drank. Curiously, there has been found a huge rock in Horeb (Sinai in Arabia per Galatians 4:25) with a gaping crack in it from which enormous quantities of water flowed out at one time.
In Numbers 20:2—12, the children of Israel thirsted again in the wilderness, Moses is instructed to go to a rock with his rod, but speak to the rock, and it will yield water. Moses, however, is angry with his contentious bitter brethren, so he strikes the rock again, and the water flows. But Moses has sinned before the LORD in that he did not follow God’s instruction, so God would not allow him to go into the promised land. He had changed the model the LORD had given him.
The first time the rock of Christ appeared, He was crucified, or struck with the rod. To return the second time, the people of Israel must request Him, or speak to Him, saying, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD,” an excellent model for what would happen in the future when Christ returns.
According to one account, when Solomon’s Temple was being constructed, there was one stone that the builders did not know what to do with, so they put it aside at the Temple site. All the rocks were precut, so there would be as little noise as possible at the Temple site. When all the rocks were brought in to the site of the temple, this one rock which had been cast aside initially, turned out to be the cornerstone of the Temple.
But there is another story too. Circa 1296 AD, Edward the Longshanks, King of England, who was noted in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart movie, came to Scotland. He was told that a stone called Liafail and also the Stone of Destiny, and the Stone of Scone, where it had been located for a time, was Jacob’s pillar from Genesis 28:18, 22, an extraordinary claim. The kings of Scotland had been crowned on this stone for over 800 years. Edward was so enthralled with this stone that he took it to England, built a chair around it, and this became the coronation chair for the kings and queens of England thereafter. In a later peace treaty, decades later, between Scotland and England, several items the English took from Scotland were returned, but not Jacob’s pillar.
The stone was 22 by 13 by 11 inches. It had a steel color with veins of red. It had been prepared for building with chisel marks on it, but also a large crack, meaning it could not be used for building purposes. It also had ancient iron rings with a prominent groove between them where it appeared to be carried via a pole for a lengthy period of time. Its history was ancient.
Supposedly, it had been brought over by the Irish circa 500 AD, when the Irish conquered Scotland. It had been the stone on which the kings of Ireland were crowned for a thousand years. Supposedly, it had been brought over to Ireland by the prophet Jeremiah, with his scribe Baruch and David’s harp. They arrived in Ireland around 580 BC with the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The harp has been a symbol of Ireland for over 2500 years, found on stamps, coins, and the royal coat of arms. Now, in those days, I would not choose a harp as my coat of arms. Instead, I would choose a battle-axe, a sword, a spear, something of the art of war. But the Irish chose a harp.
Jeremiah also brought a young Jewish princess with him, named Tea Tephi. She married a descendant of Judah named Eochaidh, one of the kings of Ireland at Tara, meaning one banished or flight. Remember Gone with the Wind and Scarlett O’Hara’s plantation Tara. She was called the daughter of Pharaoh, which seems strange until you remember the fate of Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 42-44, he was taken into Egypt along with the king’s daughters (Jer 43:5-7). God then curses those who went into Egypt except those who escaped in Jeremiah 44:14. Did Jeremiah and Tea Tephi escape?
Hosea 3:4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king of prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days. Is the sacred pillar Jacob’s pillar?
2 Kings 11:1 When Athalia (daughter of Ahab and Jezebel), the mother of Ahaziah (king of Judah) saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs.
She missed a single male child who was hidden from her till his seventh year, when the priest showed the king to the bodyguards and escorts to protect him from his grandmother.
2 Kings 11:12-14 And he (the priest) brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him and gave him the Testimony; they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!” Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people , she came to the people in the temple of the LORD. When she looked, there was the king standing by a pillar according to custom? I suspect the pillar was Liafail!
2 Kings 23:3 Then the king (Josiah) stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the word of this covenant that were written in this book… Liafail again?
If this stone has gone from Jerusalem to Egypt to Ireland to Scotland and now England, one day it will return to Jerusalem.
It is my belief explained in the first writings that Christ’s millennium is the Sabbath of about 6,000 years of earth’s history, which has now or about to have run its course. I believe we are now a few years, perhaps a decade plus a few years past the 6,000 by my calculations. Christ also said per Matthew 24:13 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch becomes tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near- at the doors! 34 “Assuredly, I say to you this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place." According to earlier verses 29-31, this includes most of the final week of Daniel. These seven years have not begun or just started this year, perhaps.
The fig tree is political Israel which celebrated its 70th birthday at midnight on May 14- 15, this year of 2018. Psalm 90:10 “The days of our lives are 70 years; and if by reason of strength they are 80 years,” I do not think a generation could go beyond 80 years. If the number 80 is the maximum number for a generation, then the final week would have to begin in the next 3 or 4 years, perhaps earlier this year. It begins with Daniel 9:27 Then he (the anti-Christ) will confirm a covenant with many for one week. Generally, many is thought to refer to Israel. I know of no such treaty, but that does not mean one has not been signed a few months ago.
According to the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur (also known as the Day of Atonement, the holiest day in Judaism) in 2024 is on Friday at sunset on October 11 to sunset Saturday, October 12 in Jerusalem. (According to the Jewish calendar, days go from sunset to sunset.) Going backward 1260 days falls on sunset, April 30 to sunset May 1, 2021. This is the fourth day of the one-week Feast of Unleavened Bread. Daniel 9: 27 But in the middle of the week (of Unleavened Bread and the fourth year of Daniel’s 70th week of Biblical years of 360 days, a double prophecy), he (the anti-Christ) shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. I believe the anti-Christ will be killed (Revelation 13:3) on Passover (just like Christ), resurrected on the third day of Unleavened Bread (just like Christ), and set up the abomination of desolation on the fourth day of Unleavened Bread’s one-week feast to begin the Great Tribulation. I believe Christ will return on Yom Kippur to reign, not rapture, at the end of the Great Tribulation’s 1260 days. Is 2024 the year of Christ’s return on Yom Kippur? Will the Great Tribulation begin on the 4th day of Unleavened Bead on May 1, 2021? I don’t know, but it is a possibility. Time will tell! The holiday dates were obtained from the Google on the internet. I advise you to do your own calculations.
Also according to Google, Passover falls on sunset April 15 to sunset April 16 in 2022 in Jerusalem. Is this when the two witnesses of Revelation 11:3- 12, Elijah (Malachi 4:5) and Moses?, witness 1260 days and are killed on this Passover and resurrected three and one-half days later (Revelation 11:9), on the fourth day of Unleavened Bread, in the midst of its week-long feast? Is this God’s way of saying, “Satan, you want one of My feasts to celebrate the beginning of the Great Tribulation? That’ll be the day!” Why are the two witnesses resurrected after three and one-half days? Of course, for this to occur, the anti-Christ would have to change to a Jewish calendar or at least something similar. Per Daniel 7:25, the anti-Christ shall think to change time and law. If the two witnesses were killed on Passover, 2022, 1260 days earlier would begin on sunset 2 November to sunset 3 November, 2018 in Jerusalem. Perhaps they will return in 2019, but 1260 days before a Passover if my speculations are correct. Again do your own calculations.
Gentry