First let's get something clear about erroneous notions of Paul and his founding a new religion, which he didn't. True, the halakhah of his Judaism switched from the Pharisaic oral law to the Ruach Hakodesh, but his religion was still one of the Judaisms of the time, not a new non-Judaism Gentile religion.

CHAGGAI (HAGGAI)

Zeal for the house of G-d consumed the Moshiach. He never spared

himself in making disciples and preaching and teaching and

throwing out of the Beis Hamikdash the money-changing profiteers.

However, in 520 B.C.E. the people who had returned from the

Babylonian Exile were allowing the Beis Hamikdash in Jerusalem to

lie in ruins (II Kings 25:8-17) while they spent all their time

building lovely houses for themselves (Hg. 1:4). Seventeen long

years had dragged by since the altar of the Beis Hamikdash had

been built by the Kohen Gadol Yehoshua (Ezra 3:1). The building

of the Beis Hamikdash itself had been delayed because of

unbelieving Samaritans in the land. These men caused political

interference with the Persian authorities who had initially

approved the return of the Jews.

However, Haggai got a word from G-d and started to preach with

the result that three weeks later the people had started work on

the Beis Hamikdash. This shows the power of anointed preaching

when G-d's Spirit is ready to move. Haggai's sermon encouraged

the people by showing them the way to G-d's favor, that up till

now they had missed getting the blessing because the Kingdom of

G-d was not put first in their lives. Poverty and drought and

crop failure and dissatisfaction (2:17) are curses from Dt.

28:15f on the people because they are not building G-d's house

(the Beis Hamikdash) and are instead building their own houses.

Then the L-rd stirred up the spirit of the Jewish-Persian

governor Zerubbabel (grandson of one of the last kings of Judah,

Jehoiachin) and the spirit of the Persian-born Jewish Kohen Gadol

Yehoshua/Joshua (Ezra 3:8) and the spirit of the people. And they

began to work on the Beis Hamikdash!

Then, a month after his first sermon, Haggai got another message

from the L-rd. The people are not to fear, nor are they to

compare this Beis Hamikdash to Shlomo's Beis Hamikdash (some of

the elderly had seen Shlomo's Beis Hamikdash and were making the

negative comparison). They are not to see what they are doing by

comparison as "nothing" (2:3). They are to go to work and to know

that G-d is with them. Indeed, Haggai sees G-d's Spirit dwelling

in their midst as at the Exodus (2:5; Ex. 13:21-22; 14:19-20).

With great Messianic portent, Haggai prophesies that G-d is going

to shake the heavens and chemdat kol hagoyim "the Desired of all

nations" (i.e. the Moshiach; will come. Mal. 3:1 calls Him, "the

Messenger of the Covenant, whom you desire." When the Moshiach

comes, G-d will fill the Beis Hamikdash with greater splendor and

glory than Solomon did, because "one greater than Solomon" will

be coming to this Beis Hamikdash. Haggai's prophecy about the

silver and the gold (2:8) was also fulfilled because Herod did a

lavish refurbishing of the Beis Hamikdash a few hundred years

later.

The man in charge of rebuilding this "Second Beis Hamikdash" that

Haggai is prophecying over is a man named Joshua or Yehoshua

(Ezra 3:8). The anglicized form of this name is "Moshiach

Yehoshua" and, because he is building the Beis Hamikdash, he is a

prophetic type of the son of Dovid who would, in the last days,

gather a new remnant for a new Exodus and build the Beis

Hamikdash of the Ruach Hakodesh on Pentecost (Shavuos) C.E. 30 as

"one greater than Shlomo." (See also the prophecies of Zechariah

3:8 and 6:11-13). Notice 2:20-23, where, by building the Beis

Hamikdash, Zerubbabel of the Davidic line is himself a partial

fulfillment of the II Sm. 7:12-16 promise to Dovid about the

Moshiach, so Zerubbabel's very presence on the Beis Hamikdash

site is evidence of the Messianic stirring now in progress

(compare "I am about to shake the heavens and the earth" in

2:6,7,21). When the Moshiach comes there will be a new Exodus

(2:5,22) and the throne of the world's kingdoms will be

overthrown (2:22). The "signet ring" in the last verse of Haggai

Is a symbol of Messianic authority over Dovid's house.

Two months later Haggai is preaching again and has another word

from the L-rd. He rebukes the kohanim (raising a question --

compare Hg. 2:12 to Lv. 6:27--that causes them to rule against

themselves and the people) by proving that the evil all are

responsible for is much more infectious and pervading than any

holy consecration to the L-rd that they could claim (2:11-14).

Then Haggai gives them an encouraging word from the L-rd. From

the day that they laid the first stone and finished laying the

foundation of the Beis Hamikdash, G-d has begun to reverse the

blight of poverty that was on their lives and from this day on I

will bless you (2:15-19).

Haggai was a prophet consumed with G-d's cause. What was G-d's

cause, His goal? His goal was that the worshipping community be

posthaste set in G-d's order and the holy House be rebuilt

without further negligence, despite the danger or the sacrifice

required.

His preaching was aimed at getting the people spiritually

dissatisfied with the status quo, so that they would put their

hands to the task and go to work. The farmers needed to see that

G-d would not bless their crops if they put their crops above His

House (1:6); the wage-earners needed to see that G-d would not

plug the holes in their purses if they put their purses above

G-d's House; the kohanim needed to see that their offerings were

not acceptable if they found G-d's ruined House acceptable

(2:10-14).

Then, having stirred up (by the power of the Ruach Hakodesh) a

restless desire in the hearts of the leaders and the people

(1:14), the prophet's next task was to comfort and

encourage the flock so that no set-back would stop their forward

progress. "To work! I am with you!" says the L-rd. I will

prosper you. "Mine is the silver, mine the gold!(2:4-8). What a

magnificent promise! What congregation wouldn't roll up their

sleeves to attempt anything from G-d with a congregational leader

to preach messages to them like that! Haggai told them not to

focus an the negative in front of them (2:3) but the positive of

G-d's promise for the future (2:9). And once they cast off their

lethargy and set their hands to the task, look at the wonderful

promises "From today onward I intend to bless you" (2:19).

Remember, Haggai says, when you weren't involved in ministry or

zealously working as the L-rd showed you, nothing you touched was

blessed. But once you went to work, the blessing started and the

blight stopped. This is because you are laying the foundation of

the house of the L-rd (2:18)! Don't let such an important task

seem as "nothing" to you (2:3). Get to work! The Moshiach is

coming!

As it turned out, the Beis Hamikdash housing the Spirit that

Haggai promised (2:9) and that he saw in the Davidic loins of

Zerubbabel (2:23) was even more wonderful in its fulfillment than

Haggal could have ever dreamed possible. The Beis Hamikdash G-d

raised up from the ruins of death on the morning that Yehoshua

rose from the dead as G-d's eternal kohen in his indestructible

resurrection body is the greatest gift mankind could ever

receive. A Beis Hamikdash like that is prepared for all who

believe in Him and die to the defiling shanty of this passing

world. When the Exodus at Jerusalem began on Pentecost (Shavuos)

and the Moshiach gave his remnant people the tevilah with the

Ruach Hakodesh, a Beis Hamikdash of kohanim was raised up for all

eternity and no greater privilege is possible than to be called

to minister as a kohen to G-d at this Beis Hamikdash, for it is

the Beis Hamikdash of G-d's (salvation, Yehoshua).

When Shliach Sha'ul was planning the collection journey we will

study about in the Brit Chadasha Scriptures, Hg. 2:7 along with

Is. 40:14; 60:6; 61:6 must have been on his mind.

HAGGAI 2:9

The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former,

says the L-rd of Hosts; and in this place I will give shalom,

says the L-rd of hosts.