________________________________________________________________________

To the Jewish people, Deuteronomy 18:18-19 was perhaps the foremost prophecy in the Bible. To them, no other scripture gave more hope, more promise, and more direction than this scripture. The first five books that were written by Moses do not contain much prophecy so these two verses are unique in that they prophesied a future event. In them, Jehovah God told Moses that one day there would be a Hebrew prophet "like unto" Moses. This prophet would be the very mouthpiece of God. This prophet would also speak in the very name of God. God would require for this particular prophet's words to be obeyed and would hold those who did not obey his words, accountable.

The other scripture that was foremost in Jewish minds was Deuteronomy 6:4. First, the Jewish people held to the fact that there was only ONE God. Yet, there were times that they strayed and worshipped other gods and then God would send captivity to the Jewish people. When in captivity, they would cling to the hope of Deuteronomy 18:18-19, that God was going to send a prophet "like unto" Moses who would lead them back to the promised placed. Who would lead them out of slavery once more. A man who would be a deliverer. Searching the scriptures, they found other prophecies of one to come. A man who would be Shiloh or be "the Messiah." No matter how dark the situation, they could hold to the hope that a prophet was coming "like unto" Moses to lead them to a better place!

This prophet "like unto" Moses was so engrained into the minds of the Jewish people, that they simply referred to him as "the prophet." There were many prophets that came and went but only one was to be "the prophet." "The prophet like unto Moses." It was this particular prophet that held their dreams of the Glory of God. And so the Jewish people became obsessive in studying Moses' law. They carefully scrutinized the events of Moses' life. They wanted to be ready and able to recognize this prophet like unto Moses when he came. "The prophet" was coming and the way to recognize him was to realize that he would be "like unto Moses." To obey his words would be a matter of life or death. He would be the voice of God in a way that was different from the other prophets before him, he would be "The Prophet!"

The sad thing was that when "the prophet" finally came, most of the Jewish people did not realize it! In fact they crucified "the prophet," the prophet like unto Moses. Jesus claimed to be the prophet like unto Moses. Jesus claimed that his words had to be obeyed and that they were the very words of God:

John 12:48-50 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. 49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

The majority of Jewish people did not accept this teaching of Jesus Christ. Despite thousands of years of study and preparation to ensure that they could recognize "the prophet like unto Moses," They missed all the signs. I do not want you today to make the mistake so let me point out the obvious comparisons of "the prophet like unto Moses," and -- just to show you that there are more than we will ever know -- some not so obvious.

When Moses was born, he was born with the destiny of being a deliverer. Jesus was born with the destiny of being a deliverer. Both were born at time when Israel was under foreign rule.

When Moses was born, the king of the land ordered all male, Jewish babies slaughtered. When Jesus was born, King Herod made the same commandment. Moses was saved by his mother letting him go in a basket and the Pharaoh's daughter then found him and adopted him. As the daughter of Egyptian royalty, Moses was safe from death. Moses was saved then by Egypt. An angel appeared unto Joseph and directed him to take the baby Jesus and Mary and flee into Egypt until the threat was over. Jesus was then saved from death by Egypt. Coincidence? No, Jesus was the prophet like unto Moses.

In preparation for his ministry, Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness and went on a 40 day fast. In order to prepare for his ministry, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness. There in the wilderness, Moses was a shepherd. Jesus is the Chief shepherd and the Great Shepherd. In Midian, away from the Jewish people, Moses sat down upon a well that was dug by the descendants of Abraham and conversed with a woman. In Samaria, away from the Jewish people, Jesus sat down upon a well that was dug by the descendants of Abraham and also conversed with a woman.

At Mount Horeb, Moses was commanded to take off his shoes for he was standing on holy ground. When the Pharisees asked John the Baptist if he were "that prophet." John replied:

Luke 3:16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

To unloose the sandals of that day, the first thing that you did was to loose the latchet or strap that held the sandal to the foot. Why did John use such a strange illustration to say that he was not "the prophet?" Because God commanded Moses to take of his own shoes! For John to be worthy to take off the shoes of the Messiah would mean that he was "the prophet like unto Moses." Jesus took off his shoes at least three times. Once when his feet was anointed by the woman in Galilee and again when His feet was anointed by Mary in Judea. When Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection, He "showed them His hands and feet." For them to see the scars clearly, He had to remove His shoes. Immediately after He took off His shoes Jesus uttered these words:

Luke 24:44-45 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

Jesus was teaching the disciples that He was "the prophet like unto Moses!" We only have one physical description of Jesus after that he ascended and that is the portrait in the book of Revelation describing what He will look like at His return:

Rev 1:13-15 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

It describes Jesus as clothed down to the foot, and then describes the color of His feet. But nowhere are shoes or sandals ever mentioned! Jesus has taken off His shoes! There can be no doubt that He is the prophet like unto Moses! I am spending special time on the taking off of the shoes of Moses because we will return to it in the end. Also note that Moses had a vision of a bush burning with fire and yet not destroyed! Jesus' vision was of baptizing people with the fire of the Holy Ghost and being aflame yet not being destroyed!

Let's go through some more obvious proofs that Jesus was the prophet like unto Moses. Moses was both a priest and a king according to His lineages. Jesus was a priest after the order of Melchisedek and the King of Kings! Despite being in an environment (Egypt) that was against his people, Moses remained faithful to the race of his father. Jesus came into a wicked world full of sin yet remained sinless being faithful to the race of His heavenly Father! Moses had a spokesperson, Aaron, who paved the way for his ministry, and Jesus had a spokesperson who pave the way for His ministry as well: John the Baptist. Moses met his spokesperson in the wilderness, and Jesus also met John the Baptist, His spokesperson, in the wilderness where he was baptizing.

Both Moses and Jesus healed leprosy. Both caused a river of blood to flow. Both caused lightening and thunder to come upon a mountaintop. Moses' face was transfigured (or made to glow) upon a mountaintop when he spoke with God. Jesus' face was transfigured upon a mountaintop when he spoke with Moses. Both times the transfiguration caused fear in those who saw it. Both were accompanied by the audible voice of God.

Moses was able to handle serpents in such a way that they did not harm him. Jesus in the same manner was able to handle serpents (which is what he called false doctrine) in the same way. Moses was able to take up the serpents and cause them to become a rod of authority. So Jesus took men who had been taught false doctrine and turned them into the leaders of His church!

Moses set up a physical tabernacle so that the presence of God would have place to dwell. When Jesus died and rose again, He did so that our bodies could become the temple of the Spirit of God! God's presence now has a physical place in which to dwell! Moses was also the one who set up the guidelines for a human being to get beyond the veil and into the presence of God. Jesus death provided a way that human beings could get beyond the veil and into the presence of God.

Moses provided deliverance for the people through the death of the Passover Lamb. Jesus was THE Passover Lamb of God and provided deliverance though his death. One time when God was about to bring judgment upon the people because of their great sins, Moses offered for God to kill him instead, and because he was willing to stand in the stead of the people, the people were saved from the wrath of God. When Jesus died upon the cross, He became the sin without becoming the sinner. He was saying "God kill me instead of them." Because He was willing to die in our stead, we can too be saved from the wrath of God!

Both Moses and Jesus' words were required to be obeyed for salvation. They both introduced a new dispensation. Both fed the people with bread from heaven. Both became angry with the sinfulness of the people and struck something in their wrath.

Moses led the people through water in order to baptize and remove their past that was chasing them! Jesus led the people to a water baptism that also removed their past! The watery baptism was to prepare the people to be able to follow the Spirit of God and receive the law of God in their hearts. Jesus' baptism is also to prepare our hearts to receive the Spirit of God and the laws of God.. Moses taught the people to follow the Spirit of God through the wilderness. When the Spirit of God moved, they moved. Jesus also taught His church to follow the moving of the Spirit of God.

Moses was married to a woman who was not completely Jewish but who became Jewish after being an Egyptian. Jesus' bride will one day be the Apostolic church, a church that is not completely Jewish but is made up of people who became Jewish after leaving their sinful lifestyles behind! One time when God's wrath was kindled toward Moses because his sons were not circumcised, it was the wife of Moses, who circumcised them to deliver them from God's judgment. In other words, Moses left it up to his wife to circumcise the children. Likewise Jesus himself baptized no one (John 4:2) but left it up to His disciples to do so. Paul taught that water baptism is a spiritual circumcision (Colossians 2:11-12). If the world is going to escape the wrath of God for not being spiritually circumcised, it is the church's responsibility, Jesus' wife, to baptize them and teach them!

When Moses died, the devil disputed over His body and the body was guarded by angel. When Jesus died, the devil likewise tried to cause a dispute of His body and resurrection but the tomb was guarded by two angels. When Moses realized that he could not do the work of God by himself, he appointed 70 elders to which God placed His mighty Spirit upon to help. These 70 elders acted in the name and spirit of Moses. Jesus also appointed 70 disciples and gave them authority to minister and these 70 disciples acted in the name and spirit of Jesus Christ!

Moses died right before the people entered into the promised land. Jesus died right before the people received the promise, the Holy Ghost. It was exactly 40 days from the death of Jesus Christ until the disciples were commanded to go seek the promise. It was exactly 40 days from the death of Moses until the fall of the first city of the promised land, Jericho.

Both Jesus and Moses were criticized by their brothers and sisters. Both were rejected by Israel for a time. After Moses was rejected by Israel, he ran to the Gentiles before returning to the Jews. Jesus was rejected by Israel and will one day be accepted by them again but in the meantime, He has come to the Gentiles!

When certain people grumbled against Moses, the world opened up and swallowed them. When certain people rejected Jesus Christ, the world (spiritual) consumed them and even still does today! When the rock was struck in Moses' day, water flowed out of it. When Jesus Christ, the rock, was struck at Calvary water flowed out of Him, but also living water flowed! Moses threw a tree into the bitter waters to make them sweet to drink. Jesus used a tree (calvary) to make the waters of the Spirit sweet to drink!

When the people had sinned, and God sent serpents to bit them, they were delivered by Moses making the image of their sin, a brazen serpent and hanging it upon a pole. When the children of Israel looked toward the pole, they were healed of the poison. Jewish history teaches us that the pole was roughly in the shape of a cross. Jesus was made in the image of sinful man and hung upon a wooden cross and all who look toward Him for their salvation will find an antidote for the poison of sin!

There can be no doubt that Jesus was "the prophet like unto Moses." There are many other similarities between the two, but let me finish with one more analogy:

In Exodus 17 we find the story of the Israelites being attacked by the Amalekites. The scriptures say that Moses climbed to the top of a hill to view the battle. As long as Moses held his hands stretched out, the Israelites were winning the battle. As his arms grew tired and began to droop, the Amalekites would begin to win. Two men, Aaron and Hur, noticed this and climbed to the top of the hill and held Moses arms outstretched until sundown. Because of this Israel won the victory over the descendants of Esau.

With a mental image of that day in your mind, remember another hill that was climbed. This time by the prophet like unto Moses. And Jesus was crucified upon that hill with His arms stretched wide between two other men. Jesus stayed there, with His arms outstretched until sundown, and because of that, we no longer have to be scared of the enemy of our past! He won the victory for us that day! The prophet like unto Moses has come! He is Jesus Christ!

There was one major difference between Moses and Jesus. Moses revealed the name of God to His people. That name was "I am that I am." Jesus also revealed the name of God to His people, but Jesus said "I am he!" Jesus was much more than just a prophet, but was God in flesh! He fulfilled all of the prophecies of the Bible. In fact when you talk about future prophecy, you are talking about the future revelation of Jesus Christ! The Great God of Glory came to earth and died for our sins! Jesus Christ was The PROPHET LIKE UNTO MOSES!
______________________________________________________________________

The world has been turned upside down by this prophecy of a prophet to come like unto Moses! Peter and the Early Church made it their revival cry that Jesus was truly the prophet like unto Moses! The revelation literally shook their world.

Acts 3:19-23 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

________________________________________________________________________

Over time there have been other people who believed that they were this promised prophet. The Prophet Jeremiah also believed that he was the prophet like unto Moses. He made sure to write his book in such a way that it reflected the story and calling of Moses. Here are a couple of the many examples found in the book of Jeremiah:

The italics identify the wording of the call of Jeremiah that exactly mirrors the call of Moses. Moses did not feel that he could speak. Jeremiah felt the same way. When Jeremiah wrote his book, he worded the story of his calling by copying exact passages and phrases from the Exodus story of Moses' calling. There are many other examples but I only have time for another brief one so that you get the idea:

Jeremiah wanted to make sure that the reader of his book knew that just as Moses had broken the first tablets given to him by God and then was commanded to take up a second set of tablets and write again the Word of God, so was Jeremiah commanded to take up a second scroll and again write the Word of God after the first scroll was destroyed.

Jeremiah put these analogies in his book because he was convinced that he was the prophet like unto Moses. His entire ministry was driven by this fact. And because of being driven by this fact, Jeremiah turned his world upside down!

_______________________________________________________________________

My wife found this computer program which was produced to help Americans understand Islam and the Muslim ways. It is not produced by a religious organization but a political one. In the program, it states that Muhammed was not very famous while he was alive. The programs says that Muhammed became famous after his death because of the book that he wrote saying that the world must have faith in ONE GOD only, and that he claimed to be the promised prophet of God!

Islam is a false religion with a saviour that is still dead and that believes in an unmerciful, harsh god, Allah, who is not real, but it had two elements that has caused it to become a major force in the spirit world. First, they believe that there is only one God. Second, they believe that Muhammed fulfilled the prophecy of the prophet like unto Moses.

They are willing to die for their religion and have shaken the world. It’s time for Oneness Pentecostals who have the name and blood of Jesus applied to our lives, to realize that we have everything we need to shake our world!

________________________________________________________________________

We are different than every other person that has ever claimed to be religious because we have Jesus Christ living within us!

We are the body of Christ. We are to be the prophet like unto Moses. If the world has ever needed a deliverer to teach them the importance of the blood of the Lamb and to lead them out of sin, it does now. The world needs someone to show them how to follow the leading of the spirit through this spiritually dry place. The world needs someone to show them the hill of salvation and the rock that was struck and the living water that is flowing. The world needs someone that is willing to die out to their flesh in order to push the people into the promised place that God has for them! The world needs someone that can take up people that have become as snakes with false doctrine and turn them into God-given, spirit-filled leaders! The world needs someone to teach them how to get beyond the veil and into the presence of God. They need someone who will show them how to prepare a temple for God’s Spirit to dwell.

The world needs a vision of someone consumed by the fire of the Holy Ghost and yet still alive! The world needs to see someone with the heart of a servant, willing to remove their shoes and serve the lost. The world needs to see someone who’s physical appearance is one of a holy glow and whose very image shows that they have had a supernatural experience with God on a mountaintop! The world needs someone who will boldly stand before the gods of this world and command that God has said: “let my people go.” The world needs someone willing to stand in the stead for them and plead with God for mercy. The world needs someone to provide them manna from heaven.

The world needs a prophet like unto Moses! Jesus was that prophet, and now we the church are to be the body of Christ! We are to be like the prophet like unto Moses. But many of us have the feelings that Jeremiah had! We are saying that we cannot speak and that we cannot go and that we are afraid! But if God could use Moses, then Jesus Christ can speak and move through us! We have been born and were created for one purpose in this life: we must be a prophet like unto Moses bringing deliverance to this world!