Messiah : The Criteria
Judge for
yourself:
Did Jesus fulfill ALL these criteria?
The Jewish tradition of "The Messiah" has
its foundation in numerous biblical references, and
understands "The Messiah" to be a human
being - without any overtone of deity or divinity
- who will bring about certain changes in the world
and fulfill certain criteria before he can be acknowledged
as "The Messiah".
 First
of all, he must be Jewish - "...you
may appoint a king over you, whom the L-rd your G-d
shall choose: one from among your brethren shall
you set as king over you." (Deuteronomy 17:15)
He must be a member of the tribe of Judah - "The
staff shall not depart from Judah, nor the sceptre
from between his feet..." (Genesis 49:10)
To be a member of the tribe
of Judah, the person must have a biological father
who is a member of the tribe of Judah.
He must be a direct male descendant of King
David and King Solomon, his son - "And
when your days (David) are fulfilled, and you shall
sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed
after you, who shall issue from your bowels, and
I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house
for my name, and I will make firm the throne of his
kingdom forever..." (2 Samuel 7:12 - 13)
The genealogy of the New Testament
is inconsistent. While it gives two accounts of the
genealogy of Joseph, it states clearly that he is
not the biological father of Jesus. One of the genealogies
is through Nathan and not Solomon altogether!
He must gather the Jewish people from exile
and return them to Israel -"And he
shall set up a banner for the nations, and shall
assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together
the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the
earth." (Isaiah 11:12)
Are all Jews living in Israel?
Have all Jews EVER lived in Israel since the time
of Jesus?
He must rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem - "...and
I will set my sanctuary in their midst forever and
my tabernacle shall be with them.." (Ezekiel 37:26
- 27)
At last check, there is NO Temple
in Jerusalem. And worse, it was shortly after Jesus
died that the Temple was DESTROYED! Just the opposite
of this prophecy!
He will rule at a time of world-wide peace - "...they
shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their
spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war
anymore." (Micah 4:3)
Have you seen a newspaper lately?
Are we living in a state of complete world peace?
Has there ever been peace since the time of Jesus?
He will rule at a time when the Jewish people
will observe G-d's commandments - "My
servant David shall be king over them; and they shall
all have one shepherd. They shall follow My ordinances
and be careful to observe My statutes." (Ezekiel
37:24)
The Torah is the Jewish guide
to life, and its commandments are the ones referred
to here. Do all Jews observe all the commandments?
Christianity, in fact, often discourages observance
of the commandments in Torah, in complete opposition
to this prophecy.
He will rule at a time when all people will
come to acknowledge and serve one G-d - "And
it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another
and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh
come to worship before Me, says the L-rd" (Isaiah
66:23)
There are still millions, if
not billions of people who practice Hinduism, Buddhism,
Satanism and many other forms of pagan and polythesitic
religions. It is clear that we have not yet seen
this period of human history unfold.
All of these criteria are best stated in the book
of Ezekiel Chapter 37 verses 24-28:
And David
my servant shall be king over them; and they shall
all have one shepherd. they shall also follow My
judgments and observe My statutes, and do them.
And they shall dwell in the land that I have given
to Yaakov my servant, in which your fathers have
dwelt and they shall dwell there, they and their
children, and their children's children forever;
and my servant David shall be their prince forever.
Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with
them, it shall be an everlasting covenant with
them, which I will give them; and I will multiply
them and I will set my sanctuary in the midst of
them forevermore. And my tabernacle shall be with
them: and I will be their G-d and they will be
my people. Then the nations shall know that I am
the L-rd who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary
will be in the midst of them forevermore.
If an individual fails to fulfill even one
of these conditions, then he cannot be "The
Messiah." A careful
analysis of these criteria shows us that to date,
no one has fulfilled every condition.
Certainly NOT Jesus.
(for
more on the topic of Jewish belief in the messiah, click
here) |
