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Christianity affirms that Jesus was "the Messiah", whose advent fulfilled the prophecies. The Messiahship of Jesus is asserted, and then side-stepped in order to disclose him in a light more congenial to Hellenic rather than Jewish concepts. Most Christians never realize this but the concept of "the Jewish Messiah" become mutated in the New Testament and one reads of a "Hellenized Messiah" which is a closer in parallel to the non-Jew's crucified pagan god-men since the beginning of time as seen originating from nature and sun worship.
Along similar line, quite commonly, for instance, quite apart from the claim that Jesus was God, the view is expressed that the Jews of the time of Jesus were expecting a Warrior Messiah, one who would win military victories over the enemies of Israel, and in this way accomplish the deliverance. Christians are taught that the Jews rejected Jesus because he was a man of peace, who represented the love of God and not the "military Messiah motif". Growing up in the Church since I was a child I continually heard this being taught by Christian preachers.
Answer for yourself: But what authority is there for such a view?
Had this been the contemporary opinion of those who studied the Scriptures, certainly Jesus could never have thought of himself as the Messiah. The Christian needs to listen to what is said next. But in fact in references to the Messiah up to the time of Jesus the conception of a Warrior Messiah does not appear. Among the peasantry of Palestine many did entertain such a notion, because conditions were so bad that violence seemed to offer the natural remedy. Living under alien domination, oppressed and ill-used, who is to blame them if they did? To the desperate the comforts of prophecy mattered little. Anyone would serve as Messiah, whether descended from David or not, if he was bold, courageous, a leader of men. There were plenty of people with little to lose, who were ready for any adventure which promised food and drink, and the destruction of the enemies, and who often quite sincerely would believe themselves to be fighting the battles of God. Such people over a thousand years later joined the Crusades.
But we must not judge the Messianic Hope by such as they. Those who took things into their own hands, the violent ones, who resorted to militancy, were strongly criticized and denounced by the Pharisees, who were the chief spiritual instructors of the masses.
Of the Branch of David for whom pious Jews waited it was written: "With righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked" (Isa. 11:4).
Answer for yourself: In the above passage what are to be the "tool" of the Messiah to effect change?
Answer for yourself: What is the common denominator in the above 4 actions from Israel's expected Messiah? That was easy, or was it? The Messiah will "speak" and in his speech will be "judging, reproving, smiting, and slaying". Without a doubt we find that the actions of the Messiah will effect change through the vessel of teaching and preaching. Such will be the hallmarks of the ministry of the Messiah. Through the Messiah's ministry of teaching and preaching mankind will be moved to repent.
As hard as I try I cannot find in the above passage any implications that Israel should be looking for a military Messiah.
The sharp two-edged sword of the Messiah would be no physical weapon, but justice and righteousness. This is critically important to understand if we are ever to come to terms with why the Kingdom did not appear during the days of Yeshua or following his ministry.
Dating from the first century B.C. we have an exposition of the kind of Messiah who was expected, based on the passage from Isaiah just quoted.
"And a righteous king and taught of God is he that reigneth over them: and there shall be no iniquity in his days in their midst (in the nation of Israel….remember Israel needed to merit the Kingdom through righteousness), for all shall be holy and their king is the Lord Messiah. For he shall not put his trust in horse and rider and bow (not in a military Messiah), nor shall he multiply unto himself gold and silver for war, nor by ships shall he gather confidence for the day of battle ... For he shall smite the earth with the word of his mouth even for evermore ... He himself also is pure from sin, so that he may rule a mighty people, and rebuke princes and overthrow sinners by the might of his word. And he shall not faint all his days, because he leaneth upon his God: for God shall cause him to be mighty through the spirit of holiness, and wise through the counsel of understanding, with might and righteousness' (Psalms of Solomon, 17: 35-42).
Answer for yourself: Did you notice any similarities with the Isaiah's picture of the Messiah which Israel was told to expect in Isaiah chapter 11?
Answer for yourself: Did you notice the similarities with "word of his mouth" and "might of his word" when comparing with Isaiah's picture of the Messiah?
Answer for yourself: As what was to be the result of such "words of Messiah" and "might of his words"? We are told in the verse 35 of the Psalms of Solomon that "there would be no iniquity in his midst"? And where was Messiah to come? To Israel of course. There were to be no iniquity in his midst!
That means the Messiah's ministry would succeed and that the people of Israel would respond by tearing their hearts and not their garments when hearing his words. This was the only way to prepare the fallow ground of the hearts of Israel to merit the Kingdom and her King. This was the only way for Israel to be heirs to "fulfilled Messianic promises".
The Son of David who was to come would be holy and just, 'the Messiah of righteousness', as he is called in the Dead Sea Scrolls, living in close communion with God and obedient to his will. It is by the word of truth that he will convict and defeat his adversaries and not through military might!
That the Messiah should have such a character fully accords with what I have brought out about the nature of the Messianic Hope. The goal was the universal rule of God acknowledged by all men, when war, strife and wickedness should cease. To reach that goal it was required that Israel should be 'a kingdom of priests and a holy nation'. I have said nothing new since the beginning of these articles but only reinforced concepts which lay silent in the Christian Church.
Answer for yourself: How much more must the Messiah, who would come in God's name, be the perfect Israelite?
To him would apply the words of the Psalmist: 'Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, even thy God, bath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows ... Then said I, Lo I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea thy law is within my heart' (Ps. xlv. 7, xl. 7-8). This was the likeness to which the Messiah was expected to conform, and this is what Christians should have been taught.
It was said of him: "And he shall gather together a holy people, whom he shall lead in righteousness: and shall judge the tribes of the people that bath been sanctified by the Lord his God. And he shall not suffer iniquity to lodge in their midst; and none that knoweth wickedness shall dwell with him. For he shall take knowledge of them that they be all sons of their God, and shall divide them upon the earth according to their tribes ... He shall judge the nations and the peoples with the wisdom of his righteousness. Selah" (Psalms of Solomon, xvii. 28-31).
Answer for yourself: What kind of people was the Messiah coming for? A holy people whom he will lead in righteousness. The Messiah was to gather about himself a holy people. Of course not all is expected to be holy, but definitely a remnant is expected.
Answer for yourself: Did you notice the Messiah was to judge the people who "had been sanctified" by the Lord their God? This means a people who had been called out from the midst of the masses; the faithful and holy remnant of Israel.
Answer for yourself: Did you take notice that the Messiah would not permit iniquity to lodge in their midst; and none that knoweth wickedness shall dwell with him?
This is a beautiful picture of a repentant people who have renewed Covenant with their God and quality as the holy remnant, the Royal Priesthood, and the Holy Nation of which we have so often spoken.
This might be news to you but I guarantee you it was news to Israel. These things were expounded to the people in the synagogues by preachers who mainly belonged to the fraternity of the Pharisees. The Essenes taught an "Angel-Messiah" patterned after sun-god redeemer men, but it was the Pharisees who not only taught the same message as Yeshua but like Yeshua understood the Messiah to be a human-Davidic Messiah that fulfills the prophecies of the Tanakh. What you need to know is that in the New Testament we have both "pictures" of each's Messiahs blended into one. Such a "Messiah" never existed; only the Davidic Messiah.
Answer for yourself: Which of the three "Messianic hopes" of Israel were told they set in Moses' seat and were the only ones of the three to survive the Roman war of 66-70 A.D.? The Pharisees of course and little wonder since it was their theology which was correct when that of the Sadducees and Essenes was wrong!
Israel had been told repeatedly the necessity of being "spiritually ready" to accept her Messiah. Israel's failure in this regard would mean that the Messiah would not be revealed and that the Kingdom would be postponed!
But not all the messianic mysteries were public property. The extreme pietists who delved into such matters largely kept their knowledge to themselves, setting down some of their ideas in books only disclosed to the initiated. To supplement our knowledge we have to ferret out information to the extent that we have access to the internal literature of these groups, some of it, like the Dead Sea Scrolls, only recently available. Much material that would assist us has long been lost or destroyed, and we still know all too little about the tenets and distinguishing features of the groups in question.
The discovery of the Scrolls has turned scholarly attention again to the ancient references to the various Jewish and related sects and to those relics of them which have survived. Research in this field has now become of the most promising developments for the illumination of Christian origins. Here we can only touch on some aspects which have a bearing on the Messianic Hope and its interpretation by Jesus, and relate to the region in which he lived.
Simply said: "No," and I can prove it.
As I have tried to teach our readership repeatedly that there are major problems when contrasting the Palestinian Masoretic Text with the Christian translations of the Old Testament, possibly no greater error exists than the one which I will allude to at present. Most Christians are familiar with the Apostle Paul and his statement in the Book of Romans, chapter 11:26 where it says: "And so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written: ‘There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob".
Answer for yourself: Paul states in Romans 11:26 "even as it is written." Do you know where Paul is referring to as it being written?
He is referring to Isa. 59:20. If you look up this passage in the Septuagint you will find the same as quoted above. Normally you might think the Rabbis translated this Greek passage from their Hebrew manuscripts for this is the party line held by most. However, serious study if done in this area will disclose to you that the Rabbis only translated the first five books of the Torah and did not translate from Hebrew into Greek the Prophets or the Writings. That means other than Jewish Rabbis translated these passages. You will find if you look deeply that the Greek Jews of Alexandria, Egypt, who were Phythagorean-Buddhists would be the ones to do this and that they changed much of the Jewish Scriptures to conform to their prior religious beliefs. We have their example as given above. If you consult the Jewish Scriptures in the Palestinian Masoretic text as contained today in the Stone Edition Tanakh for example, Isa. 59:20 reads entirely different. Let me quote it for you as taken from the Stone Edition Tanakh on page 1057: "A redeemer will come to Zion, and to those of Jacob who repent from willful sin---the word of Hashem."
Answer for yourself: Did you notice a big difference? They differ considerable in doctrine and content! One has Messiah coming and "cleansing" the sinner and one has Messiah coming to those who have "repented and cleansed themselves!"
Answer for yourself: What have I been showing you all along in these articles?
Namely, that Israel would have to attain a spiritual position expected of a holy Priest in order for the Kingdom to come and the Messiah to be revealed.
Answer for yourself: In comparing the above two quotes of Isa. 59:20, one as quoted by Paul and the other as taken directed from the Jewish Masoretic text, which passage best exemplifies such what the other scriptures have been saying?
I hope you readily see that the Jewish Tanakh expresses the same idea and not that of Paul. In the New Testament you have Paul's misquotation of the Jewish Bible. If you remember I have shared with you on many occasions that there are hundreds of examples where the Jewish text has been altered in the Greek Septuagint. These"misquotations" and "mistranslations" have been carried over into our English Old Testaments. Worse yet we have the New Testament quoting the errors in translation rather than the passages as contained in the Jewish Old Testament Scriptures. Let us not forget we are supposed to have a "translation" and not a "scriptural creationism" which serves some theological purpose or agenda. But unfortunately that is what we have in place of the "truth." Paul’s writings in numerous places in the New Testament are less than trustworthy. The problem is that you most likely don't know where these "hot spots" are located. Some things he says are true; at other times they are not. In Isaiah 59:20, the prophet brings into view an inspiring and uplifting picture of the messianic age. In a repeating literary pattern unique to the Book of Isaiah, the prophet begins the chapter with harsh criticism of the obstinate sinner and dramatically ends with words of forgiveness to the penitent faithful and the reassuring promise of the messianic age. In 59:20, Isaiah describes this final redemption when the Messiah will come to his people who have turned away from transgression. These passionate words of encouragement set the stage for the extraordinary prophecies in the next chapter where Isaiah paints the eschatalogical picture of Israel, a righteous people, whose light will serve as a guide for all the surrounding Gentile nations (Isa. 60:1-2). For Christians, however, Isa. 59:20 presents a serious theological problem because in the third chapter of the Book of Romans, Paul insists that no one can merit his own salvation. One of the most fundamental underpinnings of Christian theology is the Pauline teaching that only the cross, not our own good deeds and heart-felt repentance, can save.
Paul bases this assertion primarily on the verse from Genesis 15:6, "And he (Abram) believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness." In both Romans 4:3 and Galatians 3:6, Paul sets out to prove from this verse that faith alone is what saves man-not his observance of the Law. Paul insists that this verse clearly demonstrates that Abraham was considered righteous through faith alone and not by his deeds. This quote, however, is taken completely out of context. But for Paul that is not new. A little further on in the Book of Genesis, the Torah describes the very fabric of Abraham’s "faith." In Genesis 26:5, the Bible declares that "Because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My Commandments, My statutes and My laws." Listen dear ones, it was Abraham’s unwavering obedience to the commandments of the Almighty in spite of the challenging tests placed before him that revealed his unyielding faith in God. Paul got it wrong. But again, that is nothing new for Paul.
Answer for yourself: Who then is the Redeemer coming to in Jacob if no one can turn from transgression?
Paul therefore rearranges the words of Isa. 59:20 so that Romans 11:26 appears to quote Isaiah to read that it will be the Redeemer (Jesus) who will turn away sin from Jacob. This, however, is not what Isaiah 59:20 says in the Palestinian Masoretic Text (the Bible Yeshua used). As mentioned above, the original verse proclaims that the Messiah will come only to those who have repented of transgression. It is not difficult, however, to understand why Paul found this revision of the prophets words necessary. In the next verse Paul continues to tamper and misquote the Jewish text to make it congruous with the alterations of the previous verse. Romans 11:27 was designed to appear as a continuation of Isaiah’s words when he writes, "And this is my covenant unto them, When I shall take away their sins." Although the first half of this verse, "And this is my Covenant unto them," is correctly quoted from the first part of Isaiah 59:21 as seen in the Palestinian Masoretic Text, the second half has totally disappeared! Replacing this latter half of the verse which Paul expunged, is the interpolated text of Paul’s inventive mind, " When I shall take away their sins." This segment was invented by Paul in order to support his modifications of the previous verse (11:26). Now before I share with you what the real Isaiah 59:21 says in the Palestinian Masoretic Text (the Bible Yeshua used) you ought by now be expecting it to say something about God Commandments and the necessity of obedience to them in order to attain righteousness. Let us now examine it so see if is says such things.
Isa. 59:21 as taken from the Stone Edition Tanakh on page 1057: "And as for Me, this is My covenant with them said HaShem, My spirit which is upon you and My words that I have placed in your mouth will not be withdrawn from your mouth nor from the mouth of your offspring nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring, said HaShem, from this moment and forever."
Notice how the two verses in the Stone Edition tie together. The Messiah will come only to those in Jacob who turn from sin. Such turning from sin will be accomplished in these last days (Daniel 9 timetable) through Messiah’s words as we have seen before (preaching "repentance"....the message of Jesus by the way). Such words, if kept in the mouth of God people and not withdraw from their hearts and minds, will cause them to walk in the Commandments of God. Such will produce a righteous remnant in Israel which would qualify as the necessary remnant thus representing the Holy Nation and the Royal Priesthood to whom the Messiah would come. Such spiritual condition by the people of Jacob would be necessary to fulfill their calling as a light to the nations. This concept is totally foreign to the ideas of Paul who prided himself that he was no longer under such "Law" but under grace.
Somebody got it wrong....was it Isaiah or Paul?
Somebody did just what the Tanakh warned not to do when it said: "My words that I have placed in your mouth will not be withdrawn from your mouth nor from the mouth of your offspring….from this moment and forever."
Answer for yourself: Do you believe Isaiah was a prophet of God anointed with a message "forever?" How long is "forever?"
Answer for yourself: Is Paul, a Pharisee of Pharisees, considered somebody’s "offspring?" Of course. Then it is very evident that Paul allowed to happen in his life what he was warned by Isaiah not to do…he let the Words of HaShem vanish from his mouth. The testimony of such a sacrilege can be found all through his writings in the New Testament. Paul apostasized from the faith of Yeshua and set the direction for the apostasy of the Gentile followers of Yeshua for the millennia to come. More to follow. Shalom.