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The Messianic Response:
The term "moshiach" literally means "the anointed one," and refers to the ancient practice of anointing kings with oil when they took the throne. The word "messiah" was used 39 times in the tanach. But GOD'S "Messiah", was:
- the Son He promised to send us (Isaiah Isaiah 9:6-7).
- to be God within a man (Zechariah 12:10-11);
- to die before the 2nd Temple was destroyed (Daniel 9:24-27);
- to bring salvation to the world (Isaiah 59:16-20);
- to perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6);
- and to be raised from the dead (Psalm 16:10, Isaiah 53:10) to name just a few.
Did Rabbi Schneerson fulfill ANY of the above?
YESHUA fulfilled ALL of these, and MORE! He also made it quite clear where he stood on the question of the Oral Law - see Matthew 12, 15 and 23 for example. The "tradition" of the Pharisees tends to "nullify the word of God...." The rabbis had their people so "bound up" with interpretations and ideas about what the Scriptures might have meant; and Yeshua, speaking with God's authority, reprimanded them for it because it had become virtually impossible to follow all the various rules and regulations. Does this mean that Yeshua hated the Torah? Of course not! He realized that Torah was God's original teaching and instruction and that without it, man would never know the definition of sin. Torah was a GOOD thing! But, Torah - which required works - ended upon man's death; it did not provide passage into heaven. Yeshua's blood, on the other hand, atoned for all our sins forever! As he told us in Matthew 5, He did not come to abolish Torah; on the contrary, He established/confirmed it and became the LIVING Torah:
Matthew 5: 17 Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah – not until everything that must happen has happened.
There are at least 48 "Dead-On Prophecies" about Yeshua in the Old Covenant that were fulfilled in the New Covenant! He has even fulfilled the first four Biblical Feasts!
Let's examine the things that God's Messiah should do and be, according to the Scriptures:
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By David Brown
To determine what the Messiah should be and do, we must look beyond Tradition to the Sacred Scriptures themselves. What matters is not what the Rabbis said, but what God said.
For example, what does the prophet Isaiah say?
- 42:6, 49:8 - He will be a Covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles
- 53:2, 52:14 - Messiah will have no physical appeal, many will be appalled at him (Isaiah 52:14)
- 53:3-5. - he will be despised and rejected, unappreciated, a man of sorrows
It is often claimed that there is no need of an intercessor in Judaism, but Isaiah says:
- 53:6 - Messiah would carry away our iniquities.
- 53:8. - he would die childless for the transgressions of Israel
- 53:12 - he would pour out his life unto death to intercede for transgressors
- 53:10 - His life would be a guilt offering
If the Messiah is yet to come, the Messiah is yet to be rejected and to die! And yet,
- 53:11 -- he would be raised from the dead.
This is exactly what we have in Yeshua: a rejected Messiah who died and rose again.
Does the Bible claim or suggest that Messiah must be divine? Isn't he just a man?
See Isaiah 59:17, 63:5, 43:11, 49:26. God himself provides salvation, as only he is able. No ordinary man is up to the task. Could it be that God himself would chose to be born as a man, in order to fulfill the Messianic prophecies and bring about the salvation of Israel and the world?
Now what of those things they say Yeshua has not accomplished? Isn't Messiah supposed to bring about a new order of world peace and bring all Israel to the Promised Land to dwell in safety? Yes, undeniably the Bible is full of such predictions. We believe Yeshua will fulfill them all when he comes again, but the other was necessary first. Clearly, if the Messiah is to be rejected and die and also to reign over New Jerusalem, the rejection must come first.
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Yeshua Himself said quite clearly why he was sent in the very familiar (but little understood) passage of John 3:16-18.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that (for this reason) whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He who believes in him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God".
Rabbi Schneerson, as a mere human being, did not and could not possibly have fulfilled all of these prophecies! Here are a few other Scriptures that can attest to that fact:
- Michah 5:2 tells us that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem: But you, Beit-Lechem near Efrat, so small among the clans of Y'judah, out of you will come forth to me the future ruler of Isra'el, whose origins are far in the past, back in ancient times. Was Schneerson born in Bethelem? No, he was born on April 18, 1902, in Nikolayev, a town in the southern Ukraine... Were his origins "far in the past, back in ancient times"? Hardly...
- Daniel 9:26, Malachi 3:1, and Psalm 118:25-26 say that the Messiah must appear while the Temple is still standing. That happened way before Schneerson's time. Furthermore, our bodies are now "the temple", and they ARE, in effect "standing" and will be standing when Yeshua returns to earth to defeat the antichrist....
- Proverbs 30:4 - Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has cupped the wind in the palms of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what his his son's name? Surely you know! Does this sound like Rabbi Schneerson?
- Psalms 2: 1 Why are the nations in an uproar, the peoples grumbling in vain? 2 The earth's kings are taking positions, leaders conspiring together, against ADONAI and his anointed. 3 They cry, "Let's break their fetters! Let's throw off their chains!" 4 He who sits in heaven laughs; ADONAI looks at them in derision. 5 Then in his anger he rebukes them, terrifies them in his fury. 6 "I myself have installed my king on Tziyon, my holy mountain." 7 I will proclaim the decree: ADONAI said to me, 'You are my son; today I became your father....
According to the traditional Jews, in every generation a person is born with the potential to be the moshiach. If the time is right for the messianic age within that person's lifetime, then that person will be the moshiach. But if that person dies before he completes the mission of the moshiach, then that person is not the moshiach. It seems Rabbi Schneerson died before he completed his mission....
While the "Lubavitcher Rebbe" might have been a great and learned man, he is NOT the Messiah. He is dead. He has never risen, and it's very likely that he won't because he was a mere human being....
Yeshua, however, fulfilled ALL of these prophecies and qualifications - and more!
Now, let's examine eshiva Ohr Tmimim's Messiah qualifications point for point:
First: He will be a human being. G-d put the whole world in the hands of man and Moshiach is no exception.
Yeshua was God Incarnate, who came to earth in the form of a man called YaHashua (Salvation) so that Man could identify and better understand the things of God. He came to teach us how to worship God and how to treat one another, and then He allowed Himself to become the Final Sin Sacrifice....
Second: He will be Jewish. Jews are the only ones that really have the ability to feel and be attached to the Creator. The Jews were chosen by G-d to purify the world and to transmit this feeling, as much as possible, to the nations as well (through the 7 Noahide commandments).
Yeshua was a tallit-wearing, Torah-keeping, feast and Sabbath-keeping, circumcised, bar mitzvah'd, kosher Jew, who taught in synagogues. Your statement about Jews being the ones who have the ability to feel and be attached to the Creator is false. There are many spirit-filled Messianic synagogues and churches that have been richly blessed by God, filled with people whose very lives have been changed because of their PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Yeshua/Jesus.
Regarding the Noachide Laws, there is nothing wrong with the laws themselves. They are laws which everyone should be keeping. These are laws that are found in the Bible (though not all together in the same place, nor are they listed as "Noachide"). The problem is with the purpose that was stated for these laws. The laws were given by the sages to non-Jews in order to allow non-Jews to have a place in the world to come. The problem with that is that no Jew or non-Jew will have a place in the world to come based on their keeping or not keeping these laws. Works has never gotten anyone into heaven.
Messianic Jews know that they are assured a place in heaven because of Yeshua's death on the cross as the final sin Sacrifice. "Walking in Torah" is a wonderful thing to do because God said so and we are blessed when we do it. But walking in Torah by itself does NOT give us eternal life once we die.
Third: He will be a king. Even before he is accepted and crowned, he will demonstrate incomparable qualities of leadership and decision-making like his forefather King David.
The Bible tells us: Yeshua is the King of the Jews - that's a racial King. (The inscription above His head on the cross read: This is the King of the Jews. [Luke 23:38]) He is the King of Israel - that is a national King. He is the King of righteousness, He is the King of ages, He is the King of the heavens, He is the King of glory, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Pharisees couldn't find any fault in Him, the witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree, Herod couldn't kill Him, death couldn't handle Him and the grave couldn't hold Him! He left the world, to oversee His Kingdom, and wants believers to rule and reign with Him at His second coming!
The Messianic Bureau International says the following of Yeshua:
Messiah is the English transliteration of Mashiach (or Moshiach), the Hebrew word meaning "Anointed One." The Greek form of this meaning is Xristos, from where we get the English word Christ.
In the original Hebrew "Jesus Christ" is Yeshua haMashiach and is interpreted as "Yah who is Salvation, the Anointed One." Yah is short for the Holy Name of YHVH, which itself means "He who was, who is, who is to come", thus "the Eternally Existent One." So, the full title of the Mashiach is "The Eternally Existent Saving and Anointed One."
To be "anointed" in ancient Hebrew culture meant to be chosen as the rightful heir to authority, either as a priest or king or both. It was a rite of special consecration to have oil poured upon one's head from a ram's horn by a previously chosen servant of G-d. Several kings and priests of Israel received this rite, most notably King David, who was himself called "mashiach," an anointed one. It was prophesied that a son of his would one day come to rule perpetually. This son came to be known as the promised Mashiach, who would rule the world from the throne of David.
The prophets said David's son would be more than a mere man (Micah 5:1,2) since He would rule forever. The record also shows that G-d Himself promised to come and rule the world from Israel (Zechariah 14), and that He alone was to be Israel's King. Thus, the prophets foretold that Mashiach must be a kind of being that was unknown on the earth, both a son of David and G-d Himself.
The prophets also declare that Mashiach had two great missions. First, He had to provide deliverance from sin on the earth. Second, He had to take up His royal throne on the earth.
In the first mission Mashiach would have to be most notably a perfect man, since He would have to die as the sinless (spotless) sacrifice in substitution for the sins of the world (Isaiah 53). In the second mission Mashiach would have to be most notably G-d Himself, since he would have to put all enemies of rigtheousness under His authority. Because of this duality of purpose many have stumbled over the concept of Mashiach, and some have surmised that there must be two mashiachs. They did not consider the event of the resurrection. The prophets tell us that Mashiach would not remain dead, but would somehow rise again. It is after this resurrection that Mashiach would rule.
The record shows that Yeshua of Natzeret Israel (cir. 6 BCE - 27 CE) fulfilled the first mission perfectly by dying as the spotless Lamb of G-d and then rising from the dead, as the feasts and prophets of Israel foretold He would. He did not come to start a new religion, but to bring all who would trust Him into personal covenant with G-d. There is a real experiencial new creation of the human spirit when one trusts with the whole heart that He is the Mashiach and has taken our sins on Himself and has risen from the dead! This new creation of the human spirit works toward the eradication of sin in our lives, thus the fulfillment of the first mission.
After His resurrection Yeshua ascended back to Heaven, but before He did He promised to return in power and great glory to defend Israel against all the aggressing nations of the world. In that day He will again raise up the throne of His father, David. He will fulfill His second mission as Mashiach. Then, He will be revealed as the Eternally Existent One, G-d, YHVH Himself. All who trust Him and try to follow His Teaching (Torah) now will be saved; all who deny Him will be in danger of destruction at that time, since they have no blood covering their sins. However, He is the only judge and arbiter of who will be preserved. The judge of the earth will do rightly.
Fourth: He will be a direct relative of King David.
Yeshua was! Please see Challenging Jewish Assertions; and Miscellaneous Responses.
Fifth: He will be a great Torah scholar. He will know ALL the Torah in all its aspects from the most simple, to the most complicated, and even to the most esoteric levels (Pshat, remez, drush, and sod). He will learn and teach Torah at every opportunity. In fact the Torah will provide him with his powers of leadership.
Yeshua TAUGHT Torah! The Bible tells us that even the rabbis were impressed (that is, of course, until they figured out that He knew more than they did, and told them they were NOT teaching God's Word properly because they were being "rabbinical".
Sixth: He will constantly try to spread the observance of all the Holy Commandments, according to the interpretations of the Talmudic sages to all the Jews in the world.
The Talmud (a written commentary on the oral law) provides insights into life, beliefs, and religious practices at the time of Yeshua. There is even evidence of Messiah in the Talmud at 30 CE! The Gospel accounts find parallels in the Talmud. Many of Yeshua's parables are echoed there. Not unexpectedly, the Gospels reflect a Jewish world and culture, and therefore the Talmud provides an indispensable background.
In Yeshua's time, the Mishnah nor the Gemara were fixed entities. His life on earth occurred almost contemporaneously with Shammai, Hillel, and Gamaliel and, speaking with the authority of NO OTHER RABBI, He added his own teachings to their precepts. For instance, The commandment "to love one's enemies" is Yeshua's alone; no one else in either the Tanakh or the Brit Chadashah Scriptures expresses it. He did not oppose the oral law, though He differed with some on certain details. The key to the conflict between him and some of the rabbis of his day revolved around Yeshua's uniqueness and authority as HaMashiach, and as the Second Moshe.
Seventh: He will try to strengthen Judaism and the entire Jewish nation according to the definitions of the Torah.
He DID strengthen Judaism in that He was the New Covenant of which God spoke in Jeremiah 31:31-34! He brought about Messianic Judaism - which afforded everyone the ability to gain eternal life - not via animal sacrifices, but through the blood of Messiah Himself.
Finally: He will declare war on every idea and force that weakens or endangers the Jewish people, as Mimonades puts it "He will fight the battles of G-d".
Exactly. This is a future prophecy, yet to be fulfilled. Jeremiah 23:3-6 contains a prophecy that indicates when the Messiah is to appear in the land of Israel. Jeremiah said that it would be after the exiled people of Israel return to their homeland. From a Messianic point of view, this is of special interest because Yeshua is supposed to appear twice. And this coincides with the fact that the people of Israel have been expelled from their homeland twice, and that they are currently in the process of returning after the second expulsion.
More than 2500 years ago, the Assyrians and Babylonians forced the people of Israel out of their homeland. Many returned during the centuries that followed and then Yeshua appeared about 2000 years ago and announced that he is the Messiah. Later, the people of Israel were again forced out of their land (by the Romans in 135 AD) and scattered to countries throughout the world.
But, during the past few centuries, millions of exiled Jews around the world have returned to their ancient homeland. And this is one of the reasons why Messianic believers say that the world is being prepared for the return of Yeshua HaMaschiah. Because, as Jeremiah had prophesied long ago, the Messiah is to appear after the people of Israel return to their land.
The phrase, in Jeremiah 23:5, "I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King," refers to the Messiah, and that he will be a king and a descendant of King David, who reigned over Israel about 3000 years ago. When Yeshua returns, he will establish a kingdom of peace and righteousness.
Please examine the OTHER Qualifications of Yeshua - which Rabbi Schneerson DID NOT and COULD NOT possess as a mere human being! For instance:
- Was Rabbi Schneerson conceived by a virgin, not by seed of man? (Yeshua was
born to Miriam [Mary], virgin bride of Joseph, as foretold in
Genesis 49:10; Isaiah 7:13-15, and Matthew 1:17-19.)
- Did Rabbi Schneerson enter Jerusalem in triumph, gentle, and
riding on a donkey? (According to Daniel, there would be 483
years between the decree to rebuild the wall and the city of
Jerusalem in troublesome times before Messiah would be cut off
for the sins of the people. Exactly 483 years after the
rebuilding of Jerusalem and its walls, Yeshua of Nazareth offered
himself to the nation of Israel. He rode into the city on a
donkey to the rejoicing of the people, just as the prophet
Zechariah had predicted: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to
you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a
donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. See Zechariah 9:9.)
- Was Rabbi Schneerson rejected by His own people? (Most
Jews to this very day reject Yeshua as Messiah. They believe He
was just a good rabbi and prophet, and definitely NOT the
Messiah. See Daniel 9:24-26, Isaiah 53:1, 3, and Psalm
118:22.)
- Did Rabbi Schneerson minister mostly in Galilee. (Isaiah
9:1-2.)
- Was Rabbi Schneerson betrayed by a friend for 30 shekels of silver? (He was betrayed by Judas, one of his 12 disciples. See Zechariah 11:12-13, Psalm 41:9 and Matthew 26:47-50). Was he tried and condemned? (Isaiah 53:8.) Smitten and spat upon by His enemies? (Micah 5:1, Isaiah 50:6.) Mocked and taunted? (Psalm 22:7,8.) Given vinegar and gall to drink while hanging on a cross? (Psalm
69:21.) Die as an offering for sin? (Isaiah 53:5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12.)
- Was Was Rabbi Schneerson raised from the dead/resurrected? (Psalm 16:10, Mark 16:19-20; John 20:1-10; Matthew 28:11-1; John 20:19-23; Mark 16:14; and Mark 16:14-18. Yeshua actually prophesized His own persecution, death and
resurrection. He told His disciples that He would go into
Jerusalem where He was suffer at the hand of religious leaders
before being put to death. He also said that He would rise again
on the third day. See Matthew 16:21-26.)
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