Requirements For Messiah

Requirements For Messiah

The first thing that I want to mention is that Isaiah 53 wasn't brought up by either of these skeptics.

This is an important point to note.

What if It can be shown that the suffering servant mentioned in Isaiah 53 is speaking of Messiah?

Then the Jews would have the dillema of having to reconcile the suffering Messiah with the reigning Messiah.

Rabbi's have been divided on this subject. Some in the past have come up with the theory of Two Different Messiah's.

Other Rabbi's have even gone so far as saying Messiah has already come and was Hezekiah.

Quote from Talmud: "820. R. Johanan b. Zakkai on his deathbed said to his disciples, 'Prepare a seat for Hezekiah, King of Judah, who is coming." Berachoth, 28b"

Also

"821. Hillel II said, 'Israel can expect no Messiah, for we have already enjoyed him in the days of King Hezekiah." (The Talmud for Today, Feinsilver, pg. 235,236)

If the suffering servant is Messiah then it is the sins of all (including the Jews) that He is taking upon himself to death. This would not be the reigning Messiah but another aspect to his return.

Jews have accused Christians of not taking prophecy in context but then avoid the context of Isaiah 53.

For more on Isaiah 53

If some of the Rabbis have theorized about two different Messiah's let me put out another possibility; Two different comings.

This would then explain why the first time Yeshua fulfilled over three hundred prophecies, a divine feat in itself. Still, the rest will be fulfilled at His second coming.

In other words His first coming was the suffering Messiah that rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, not white horse (Zechariah 9:9) but the next time he will ride in on a white horse and this time Jerusalem will be mourning (Zechariah 9:10; Zechariah 12:10)

First criteria offered by skeptic: Ezekiel 37 and 40-47.

This is too broad to examine, must get him to be more specific.

Isaiah 11: Jesus fulfilled the first part of this prophecy in his first coming.

We need to ask ourselves what scripture can we look at to find out why the rest wasn't fulfilled as well.

Lets go to Isaiah 53:1, which says, "1 Who believes our report? To whom is the arm of ADONAI revealed? "

Could it be that Messiah was seen as a reigning Messiah but the other aspects of his coming was rejected by Israel.

Could unbelief have anything to do with the two separate comings?

The scripture says that the Gentiles would be blessed through Israel's acceptance of Messiah.

Still, what would happen if Israel actually rejected Messiah, then what would happen.

Firstly, Isaiah 53 would be fulfilled, Secondly there would be a second coming.

Paul stated in one of his sermons that, 'However, Sha'ul and Bar-Nabba answered boldly: "It was necessary that God's word be spoken first to you. But since you are rejecting it and are judging yourselves unworthy of eternal life - why, we're turning to the Goyim! 47 For that is what ADONAI has ordered us to do: 'I have set you as a light for the Goyim, to be for deliverance to the ends of the earth.' " 48 The Gentiles were very happy to hear this. They honored the message about the Lord, and as many as had been appointed to eternal life came to trust. ' (Acts 13:46, The Complete Jewish Bible)

In the OT/Tanakh it says, "I will sow her for me in the land. I will have pity on Lo-Ruchamah [Unpitied]; I will say to Lo-'Ammi [Not-My-People], 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.'" (Hosea 2:23)

Jeremiah 23:5,6; "The days are coming," says ADONAI when I will raise a righteous Branch for David. He will reign as king and succeed, he will do what is just and right in the land. 6 In his days Y'hudah will be saved, Isra'el will live in safety, and the name given to him will be ADONAI Tzidkenu [ADONAI our righteousness]. "

Answer: Jesus is the righteous branch. Presently he is ruling as King in the hearts of those that believe Messiah's words. These scriptures says, In his days Y'huda will be saved, Israel will live in safety. This is true and Messiah is God so therefore his days will bring that to pass.

Skeptics often argue that God has not shown them enough evidence. Even Messiah says that if the works ....

This means that God could reveal himself in such a way that makes it indisputable who He is. However, this would negate faith which is believing then seeing rather than seeing then believing. (John 20:27-31)

However, in the end God will come down and give Israel incontrovertible proof that He is Messiah.

"I will pour out on the house of David and on those living in Yerushalayim a spirit of grace and prayer; and they will look to me, whom they pierced." They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son; they will be in bitterness on his behalf like the bitterness for a firstborn son." (Zechariah 12:10)

Zechariah 9:9,10.

The next set of verses offered as one of the requirements of Messiah is in Zechariah which says,

" 9 Rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Tziyon! Shout out loud, daughter of Yerushalayim! Look! Your king is coming to you. He is righteous, and he is victorious. Yet he is humble - he's riding on a donkey, yes, on a lowly donkey's colt. 10 I will banish chariots from Efrayim and war-horses from Yerushalayim." The warrior's bow will be banished, and he will proclaim peace to the nations. He will rule from sea to sea, and from the [Euphrates] River to the ends of the earth. "

Christians know the verse nine happened and we celebrate this on Palm Sunday.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Even many of the Jews welcomed him with Hosanna, glory to God in the highest.

However, their rejection of his whole message delayed verse ten until later. Now instead of the Gentiles being blessed through Israel's acceptance of Messiah they are being blessed because of Israels rejection. (Romans 11:25)

Their rejection was anticipated in Isaiah 53 which speaks of the suffering servant.

It says, "In fact, it was our diseases he bore, our pains from which he suffered; yet we regarded him as punished, stricken and afflicted by God. 5 But he was wounded because of our crimes, crushed because of our sins; the disciplining that makes us whole fell on him, and by his bruises we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, went astray; we turned, each one, to his own way; yet ADONAI laid on him the guilt of all of us."

He was wounded because of and for our crimes.

What could be clearer than this.

This makes a contrast between us (Israel included) and the one that suffered because of our sins.

The unbelieving Jews of today want to know why Christ fulfilled only three hundred prophecies but not the ones regarding the reign of messiah. His reigning would be preceded by His suffering. Israel wants a reigning Messiah without a sacrifice.

Ezek 34:23.

23 "'I will raise up one shepherd to be in charge of them, and he will let them feed - my servant David. He will pasture them and be their shepherd. 24 I, ADONAI, will be their God; and my servant DAVID WILL BE PRINCE among them. I, ADONAI, have spoken.

But before David will be Prince among them something else happened that was prophesied in scripture as well.

It is spoken of in Daniel which says, " Then, after the sixty-two weeks, MASCHIACH WILL BE CUT OFF AND HAVE NOTHING. The people of a prince yet to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, but his end will come with a flood, and desolations are decreed until the war is over. 27 He will make a strong covenant with leaders for one week [of years]. For half of the week he will put a stop to the sacrifice and the grain offering. On the wing of detestable things the desolator will come and continue until the already decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator." (Daniel 9, Ibid)

So why does Israel see the reigning Messiah but not the suffering one and the one that is cut off?

Cannot have one without the other.

Hoshea 3:5.

4 For the people of Isra'el are going to be in seclusion for a long time without a king, prince, sacrifice, standing-stone, ritual vest or household gods. 5 Afterwards, the people of Isra'el will repent and seek ADONAI their God and David their king; they will come trembling to ADONAI and his goodness in the acharit-hayamim.

Micah 5:1 (in christian translations, verse 2)

CRITERIA OF HA MOSHIACH (THE Messiah) ACCORDING TO HEBREW SCRIPUTURE - G-d told His Prophets His requirements:

1. Must be a member of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10

Jesus was

2. Must be a direct descendent of both King David and King Solomon (l Chronicles 17:11; Psalm 89:29-38; Jeremiah 33:17; ll

Samuel 7:12-16; l Chronicles 22:10 and ll Chronicles 7:18)

Jesus was

3. Must gather the Jewish people from exile and return them to
Israel (Isaiah 27:12-13 & 11:12)

Jesus will

4. Must rebuild the Jewish Temple (the 3rd Temple) (Micah 4:1)

Jesus will but after the Jews are fooled by the Anti Messiah (2 Thessalonians 2)

5. Must bring in "world peace" (Isaiah 2:4; 11:6 & Micah 4:3)

Israel must receive the Prince of Peace first.

6. Must influence the entire world to acknowledge and serve the
One G-d of Israel (Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 40:5; and Zephaniah 3:9)

He will

All of these criteria for the Messiah are best stated in the book of
Ezekiel, Chapter 37:24-28 - if an individual fails to fulfill even
ONE of these conditions, he cannot be the Jewish Messiah!

24 My servant David will be king over them, and all of them will have one shepherd; they will live by my rulings and keep and observe my regulations. 25 They will live in the land I gave to Ya'akov my servant, where your ancestors lived; they will live there - they, their children, and their grandchildren, forever; and David my servant will be their leader forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give to them, increase their numbers, and set my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My home will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 The nations will know that I am ADONAI, who sets Isra'el apart as holy, when my sanctuary is with them forever.'" (Ezekiel 37, The Complete Jewish Bible)

According to Christianity, Jesus had no human father. The discussion
of him being the Messiah stops here. Nowhere in Hebrew Scriptures
does the Royal Blood Line continues by adoption. The Jewish
Scriptures clearly state that a person's genealogy and tribal
membership is transmitted exclusively through one's PHYSICAL father (Numbers 1:18 Jeremiah 33:17), Not from someone adopted.

"and, on the first day of the second month, they gathered the whole assembly to state their genealogies by families and clans and recorded the names of all those twenty years old and over, as well as their total numbers." ( Numbers 1:18, The Complete Jewish Bible)

"For this is what ADONAI says: "There will never be cut off from David a man to occupy the throne of the house of Isra'el. (Jeremiah 33:17, Ibid)

Nowhere in Hebrew Scripture does it ever say that during the
Messianic era, HaMoshiach will come back a second time to fulfill
the events that had to occur during his time on Earth.

And nowhere in Hebrew Scriptures does it say that HaMoshiach would
be a deity. Judaism understands the Messiah to be a human being with
no connotation of deity or divinity.

Jewish Scripture just proved G-d's requirements - now it is up the
Christian missionary to prove that G-d was wrong.

Let the Christian missionary list all G-d's prophecies they said
applied to Jesus, or THE MESSIAH. Then compare them to what G-d told His prophets (as outlined above).

During the End of Days, the Messianic Era the prophets told that the
Gentiles: "O Lord, Who are my power and my strength and my refuge in the day of trouble, to You nations will come from the ends of the
earth and say, "Only lies have our fathers handed down to us,
emptiness in which there is nothing of any avail!" (Jeremiah 16.19)

"In those days it will happen that ten men, of all the different
languages of the nations, will take hold, they will take hold of the
corner of the garment of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you,
for we have heard that G-d is with you!' " (Zechariah 8:23)