"But Yahuweh your Elohiym has not granted you permission to do (nathan) so." (Deuteronomy 18:14) After telling the Levites that poligious mumbo jumbo was an abomination, Yahuweh told these Miqra' officials the same thing He had shared with Abraham. "Show some integrity and abstain from fellowship with the wicked; be upright, sincere, and truthful with me." Then God reminded us that He dislikes false prophets, religious and political leaders, so much, He won't tolerate them in His presence, near His people, or in His land. They will have no place in Yahweh's eternal family. If you are going to go out and explore, wiper your feet before you come home.

With the audience designated, the purpose established, and Yahuweh's preferences clearly articulated, we arrive at the Messianic proclamation that led us to this Mosaic sermon. What follows is God's plan, His solution to human corruptions: "Yahuweh your Elohiym will raise up for you and will cause to abide with you (quwm - come unto the scene, stand upright, establish, confirm and arise as) a prophet (nabiy - one who through inspiration predicts the future; from naba', one who is under the influence of the divine spirit) similar to (kemow - like or according to for the purpose of comparison in a point in time; from ken, to be the upright one, a true and honest pillar, and kuwn, to be manifest, established, appointed, confirmed, and fashioned after) M/me, from your center or midst (qereb - womb; from qarab, one who becomes present, approaches and draws near), from your brethren (ach - blood relatives, brothers, kin, or countryman). Listen to, receive, and proclaim (shama' - pay attention to, agree with, understand, summon, heed and obey) Him." (Deuteronomy 18:15)

There are several ways to translate this sentence because in paleo-Hebrew, punctuation and capitalization did not exist and sentence order was not always indicative of who or what was being described. So Yahuweh could have been telling the Levites that the one who would speak by inspiration would be a prophet after Moses, a Jew like Moses, or both. Yahushua met these criteria. However "me" could just as easily have been "Me." Throughout this sermon, Moses was speaking the words Yahweh inspired him to say. If the speaker is Yahweh (as it clearly is in the next verse) then we're being told that the Messiah will be fashioned after Yahweh - that He will be a manifestation of God, Himself. Yahshua met this criterion as well.

The more profound interpretation can also be drawn from interlinears, which put the Hebrew words in the order they were spoken. "Yahuweh your Elohiym will raise up for you an inspired prophet, from among you [thus a man], from your brothers [thus a Yahuwdy], similar to (kemow) Me. I will come unto the scene, stand upright, establish, confirm and arise (quwm) for you Yahuweh." In this case, the Messiah is not only a manifestation of Yahuweh in the body of a Yahuwdy; He is Yahuweh abiding in the midst of mankind.

This is further confirmed by the Dictionary of Biblical Languages. It references kelal, rather than kemow in this passage. It then defines kelal as "one who completes, succeeding in the endeavor, rebuilding and restoring." That is Immanu'el's job description.

The verse ends with these words: "Him you shall listen to carefully, receive and proclaim." Returning to the interlinear, we are confronted with a more startling truth. It says: "The God of you, to Him you must listen." Yahushua is the human manifestation of God. Yahuweh is saying that He Himself is the one being predicted and the One who must be acknowledged.

If "me" is "Me," and thus invocative of God in the flesh, the verse which follows suddenly makes sense. According to the Torah, the Yahudim had complained that in His undiminished Spiritual state, the brilliance of Yahuweh's light and His piercing voice were too much for them - overwhelming them, frightening them to death. So Yahweh listened to their grievance and decided to tone Himself down, to expose Himself and to speak to men as a man.

"According to all you inquired about and requested (sha'al - earnestly desired and prayed for) of Yahuweh your God near Horeb (from harab, desolate, dried up, wasted, and lifeless) in the day of the assembly, saying, 'Let me not hear again the thunderous voice (qowl) of Yahuweh, our God, nor let me see this great (gadowl - enormous in magnitude and extent) fire (esh - flame, light, blaze, or supernatural theophany) again ('owd - any longer), lest I die.' Yahuweh said to me: 'They have successfully and rightfully (yatab) spoken. I will come onto the scene, exist substantively with, standing upright and rising up before (quwm - be established and confirmed, ratifying and fulfilling, standing before) them an inspired prophet (nabiy) from among their brothers as Myself in a point in time (kemow), and will put (nathan - give, set, commit, entrust, deliver) My Word (dabar - advice, account, statements, promises, declaration, communication, commandments, decrees, message and council) in His mouth (peh - speech and spirit), and He shall say to them all that I direct and instruct (tsavah - command, enjoin, authorize, and appoint)." (Deuteronomy 18:16-18)

God has said that He will qowl: "come onto the scene, existing in a substantive way, standing to confirm, ratifying and fulfilling" all that had been written, ultimately "standing upright" on Mount Moriah's pole for our salvation, only to "rise" again before our eyes in the resurrection. Qowl describes Immanu'el/God-With-Us, and it defines the Messiah's redemptive mission. It also embodies the meaning of 'Yshayah'el/God-Existing-As-Man, the name which led us to this passage in the first place. The Upright One would come as a prophet, sharing Yahuweh's words. Because men complained that Yahuweh's full radiance overwhelmed their senses, God would, and now has, manifest Himself in the form most agreeable to men: man.

Yahushua's message was Yahuweh's message because Yahushua is and was the human manifestation of Yahuweh. It is why Yahshua said that He did not come to nullify the Law but to confirm and fulfill it.

Considering this, it takes a pretty puny human mind to think this prophecy depicts an Arab speaking on behalf of a dark spirit named Allah - of a man who was ignorant and illiterate, a sexual pervert, bloodthirsty pirate and terrorist who spit on Yahuweh's Commandments and who went to war, raping, plundering, enslaving and murdering His chosen people. But, despite all evidence to the contrary, this is the verse upon which Islam draws it credibility, its connection with the Torah.

Speaking of "The Prophet," I found this short video on YouTube: islam for Kids: mohammed It shows how Mohammed dealt with a woman who confessed that she was an adultress. If memory serves, Yahushua dealt with this same situation a little differently...hmm.

You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n5NHt8YWpQ