The Mystery of the Messiah
Frederick Guttmann
- This
- book
- is
- oriented
- to
- Jewish
- eschatology
- and
- messianism.
- The
- idea
- of
- a
- savior
- that
- the
- Hebrew
- people
- expected,
- and
- where
- there
- has
- been
- a
- large
- number
- of
- debates,
- especially
- since
- the
- appearance
- of
- the
- figure
- of
- Yeshua
- (Jesus),
- because
- Christians
- were
- the
- ones
- who
- mostly
- declared
- that
- he
- was
- the
- messiah.
- The
- Jews
- did
- not
- recognize
- Yeshua
- as
- a
- messiah
- because
- he
- does
- not
- fit
- the
- profile
- they
- expect,
- and
- because
- they
- claim
- that
- he
- did
- not
- fulfill
- the
- prophesied
- characteristics.
- Religious
- Jews
- feared
- that
- the
- proclamation
- of
- Yeshua
- as
- king
- of
- the
- Jews
- would
- cause
- conflict
- with
- the
- Romans,
- but
- that
- still
- happened
- later,
- when
- Shimon
- bar
- Koba
- was
- named
- the
- messiah
- by
- the
- Sanhedrin
- three
- decades
- after
- Yeshua's
- crucifixion.
- The
- union
- of
- the
- people
- for
- liberation
- motivated
- the
- Zealots
- in
- a
- fateful
- war
- against
- the
- Romans,
- which
- ended
- in
- the
- expulsion
- of
- the
- Jews
- from
- their
- land.
It
- must
- be
- defined
- what
- a
- messiah
- is
- and
- what
- role
- he
- plays.
- In
- Hebrew
- history,
- his
- deliverer
- was
- Moses,
- who
- before
- his
- death
- proclaimed
- that
- a
- deliverer
- would
- come
- in
- his
- place,
- one
- of
- his
- own
- Israelite
- brothers.
- Certainly,
- that
- "savior"
- was
- seen
- in
- the
- figure
- of
- Joshua
- (Moses'
- successor),
- but
- it
- was
- understood
- that
- Moses
- was
- speaking
- of
- someone
- who
- would
- come
- in
- the
- future
- and
- be
- the
- guide
- of
- all
- the
- people
- in
- a
- more
- universal
- scope.
King
- David
- said
- that
- a
- son
- of
- his
- would
- come
- who
- would
- be
- the
- savior
- (the
- messiah),
- the
- right
- hand
- of
- Jehovah.
- Initially
- the
- concept
- of
- "son"
- was
- interpreted
- literally,
- not
- as
- a
- future
- successor,
- so
- that
- his
- heir,
- Solomon
- thought
- that
- he
- was
- this
- messiah.
Jewish
- scholars
- have
- dedicated
- themselves
- to
- searching
- for
- clues
- about
- this
- Messiah,
- who
- must
- also
- reestablish
- Israel
- by
- reuniting
- the
- lost
- tribes.
- And
- this
- search
- is
- done
- in
- public
- figures,
- in
- the
- Scriptures,
- even
- in
- their
- codes.
- They
- review
- the
- previous
- opinions
- of
- the
- midrashim
- of
- the
- Talmud.
- They
- find
- two
- important
- figures:
- the
- greater
- Messiah
- and
- the
- lesser
- Messiah.
- The
- younger
- is
- called
- 'Messiah
- son
- of
- Joseph',
- and
- the
- older
- is
- called
- 'Messiah
- son
- of
- David'.
- Some
- have
- speculated
- that
- they
- are
- not
- two
- but
- the
- same,
- representing
- two
- characteristics
- of
- the
- same
- being.
Another
- aspect
- that
- does
- not
- even
- seem
- to
- have
- been
- present
- in
- the
- idea
- of
- the
- Messiah
- among
- the
- Jews
- even
- in
- the
- time
- of
- the
- apostles,
- was
- that
- of
- a
- successor
- to
- the
- priest
- Aaron,
- the
- older
- brother
- of
- Moses,
- from
- the
- tribe
- of
- Levi.
- He
- was
- the
- only
- one
- authorized
- to
- enter
- the
- Holy
- Sanctorum,
- and
- who
- was
- the
- representative
- authority
- of
- Jehovah,
- "the
- man
- closest
- to
- God."
- The
- wife
- of
- Ner
- (Noah's
- brother)
- had
- a
- son
- from
- whom
- the
- priestly
- order
- called
- 'Melki-Tzedek'
- (Kings
- of
- Justice)
- began.
- That
- high
- priest
- of
- the
- Melki-Tzedek
- order
- also
- had
- to
- demonstrate.
At
- the
- end
- of
- Genesis
- the
- patriarch
- Jacob
- announced
- that
- someone
- great
- would
- come
- as
- Envoy
- and
- Peacekeeper,
- with
- whom
- the
- power
- of
- the
- tribe
- of
- Judah
- would
- disappear
- and
- who
- would
- remove
- the
- power
- of
- the
- 613
- ordinances
- that
- Moses
- would
- impose.
- In
- the
- words
- of
- the
- major
- and
- minor
- prophets
- of
- Israel
- there
- was
- also
- mention
- of
- the
- arrival
- of
- a
- preacher
- who
- would
- unite
- people,
- who
- would
- teach
- love,
- who
- would
- care
- for
- the
- unwanted
- elements
- of
- society
- and
- would
- achieve
- great
- things
- without
- the
- need
- for
- force.
We
- analyze
- all
- the
- references
- related
- to
- the
- characteristics
- to
- identify
- said
- messiah,
- from
- the
- place,
- time
- and
- conditions
- that
- had
- to
- occur
- for
- his
- appearance,
- and
- how
- said
- appearance
- would
- develop,
- its
- patterns
- and
- end,
- in
- the
- light
- of
- Hebrew
- literature,
- and
- both
- from
- the
- canon
- of
- the
- Tanak
- as
- well
- as
- the
- Talmud
- and
- the Kabalah.
