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Jewish Belief in
Messiah
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"I Believe
With Complete Faith In The Coming Of The Messiah...."
(from the Thirteen Principles of Faith)
WHAT JUDAISM TEACHES ABOUT THE MESSIANIC AGE
What does Judaism have to say about the messianic age?
- What sort of person will the Messiah be?
- What is the purpose of a "messianic age"?
- Why did God allow the belief in false messiahs to
spread?
Many people, both Jews and non-Jews, ask these and
other questions about the Jewish belief in the coming
of the messiah. While a pamphlet of this size cannot
possibly address such an important topic with the thoroughness
that it deserves, it can present the basic points in
the hope that it will lead to further study of the subject.
In his monumental work Mishneh Torah, Maimonides (1135-1204)
spelled out the fundamental Jewish concept of the messiah
as it was handed down to us, generation after generation,
from the time of the prophets. In his concise and lucid
manner, the great Jewish philosopher and jurist herewith
presents us with a clear picture of the promise which
God made to the Jewish people.
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Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim XI
- XII.
The King Messiah will in some future time come, restore
the kingdom of David to its former power, build the
Temple, bring together the scattered of Israel, and
all the ancient laws will again be in force. Sacrifices
will be offered, and years of release and Jubilees will
be kept as prescribed in the Torah. Whoever does not
believe in him, or does not hope for his coming, shows
a lack of faith not only in the prophets, but also in
the Torah. For the Torah testifies concerning him in
the words: 'And the L-rd your God will again bring back
your captivity, and show mercy unto you, and again gather
you from all the nations...If your outcasts be at the
ends of the heavens, from there will the L-rd gather
you...and the L-rd will bring you into the land which
your fathers possessed...'(Deut. 30:3-5)
You must not imagine that the messiah must prove his
messianity by signs and miracles, doing something unexpected,
bringing the dead to life, or similar things. The principle
thing is this: the statutes and precepts of our Torah
remain forever, and nothing can be added to them or
taken from them.
If, therefore, a descendant of David earnestly studies
the Torah, observes what the written and oral Torah
enjoins, causes all Israelites to act similarly, exhorts
those who are lax in the performance of the commandments,
and fights the wars of the L-rd, he may possibly be
the messiah. If he does not succeed, or is killed in
war, it is certain that he is not the messiah promised
in the Torah. He is like all the other noble and good
kings of the House of David who have died, and God only
caused him to rise in order to try us thereby, as it
is said, `And of the wise some will stumble, and through
them the people will be tested, purified, and made white,
till the time of the end comes; for there is yet a vision
for an appointed time.' (Dan. 11:35).
Also, Jesus the Nazarene, who imagined that he would
be messiah and was killed, is alluded to in the book
of Daniel, as it is said, `And the sons of the transgressors
among thy people will rise, in order to establish a
vision, and will stumble' (Dan. 11:14). Can there be
a greater stumbling then this? All the prophets said
that messiah will be a redeemer and a savior to the
Israelites, will bring together their outcasts, and
will strengthen their obedience to the Divine precepts,
but he (Jesus) caused destruction by the sword to Israel,
the dispersion of those left, and their humiliation.
He changed the law, and misled many people to worship
a being beside God.
But the thoughts of the Creator of the universe cannot
be understood by any human being, for the ways of men
are not His ways, nor their thoughts His thoughts. For
all the events connected with Jesus, and with Mohammed
that rose after him, served only to pave the way for
the King Messiah, who will reform all mankind and lead
them to the unanimous service of God, as it is said,
'For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language,
that all may call by the name of God, and serve him
unanimously' (Zeph. 3:9).
How can this be done? Almost all people have through
them (Jesus and Mohammed) become acquainted with the
idea of messiah, with the words of the Torah and the
Divine precepts. Through them the knowledge of the Bible
spread even unto the remotest islands and unto many
nations 'uncircumcised' in heart and uncircumcised in
flesh. These nations seek to justify their disobedience
to the precepts of the Torah. Some of them say that
these precepts are Divine, but are not in force at present,
and were never intended to be permanent laws. Others
maintain that they must not be taken literally, as they
are mere symbols, the meaning of which has already been
explained by their 'messiah'. But when the true King
Messiah will rise, he will prosper, be high and exalted.
All will then at once know that it was falsehood what
their fathers have inherited, and that their prophets
and their teachers have misled them.
It is not because they desired to have dominion over
all lands and nations and be honored by all people,
or because they desired to have plenty to eat and drink
and other pleasures, that the wise men and the prophets
longed for the days of the messiah, but because they
would then be at leisure to study the Torah and its
teachings without being interrupted by any oppressor,
and would thus make themselves worthy of life in the
World to Come.
There will not be in those days any famine, war, jealousy,
or quarrel, because the good things will be in plenty
and even luxuries will be found everywhere. All people
will busy themselves with trying to know the L-rd. Therefore,
the Israelites will be great sages, knowing things which
are at present hidden. They will obtain a knowledge
of their Creator as far as possible by human understanding;
`For the earth shall be full with the knowledge of the
L-rd as the waters cover the sea.'
(Isaiah 11:9).
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