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MESSIAHS

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The many “Christs” and “Messiahs” that preceded Jesus

The many "Christs" and "Messiahs" that preceded Jesus

And, what many may not know, there were many “Christs” who came prior to Jesus, and who were not Jesus, nor do I think they were prefiguring or foreshadowing Jesus. They were the “Christs” in their own right, who came in their own time, who developed what it meant to be a “Christ” or “Messiah” in ancient Israel long before the word was ever applied to Jesus. I think it may be helpful to become acquainted with these “Christs/Messiahs” to better understand who Jesus was.

BRYCE HAYMOND

Many Christians have come to believe that “Christ” was Jesus’ last name or surname. They so closely associate the words Jesus and Christ that we tend to think they are one and the same, both referring to one historical man who lived two thousand years ago in Palestine. While there is much reason to correlate them, they are not exactly the same.

And, what many may not know, there were many “Christs” who came prior to Jesus, and who were not Jesus, nor do I think they were prefiguring or foreshadowing Jesus. They were the “Christs” in their own right, who came in their own time, who developed what it meant to be a “Christ” or “Messiah” in ancient Israel long before the word was ever applied to Jesus. I think it may be helpful to become acquainted with these “Christs/Messiahs” to better understand who Jesus was.

The word Christ comes from the Greek Christós/Khristós (Χριστός), which was not originally a name, but a title meaning “the anointed one.” Christós is how the Greek Septuagint, the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures from the Hebrew language, translated all 39 instances of the Hebrew word Mašíaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ) or mashiaẖ, mashiach, messias, or messiah. The Hebrew noun mašíaḥ, of course, also meant “anointed one,” from the verb mashah or mashach (משח) “to anoint.” So both the words Christ and Messiah come from the very same roots, one who is “anointed,” or “the anointed.”

What is anointing? Briefly, it was an ancient ritual practice of applying oil to an object or a person as a sign of health and comfort, hospitality, an honorary gesture, in order to consecrate them, to mark them as holy, sacred, or set apart in a special way. And many people were so ritually anointed anciently, and thus became known as the “Anointed,” or Messiah/Christ, at the time. Specifically, they were the people in whom God’s “Spirit” was seen as being present. Below are a few of them.

The “Christs” or “Messiahs” among the Hebrews were primarily in three categories, which is where the “threefold office” comes from:

  • High Priests
  • Prophets
  • Kings

High Priests

Moses anoints Aaron.

The first anointing mentioned in the Bible was of Aaron, the brother of Moses, who was also a spokesman for Moses (“prophet”), and the first High Priest of the Israelites. He led the religious sacrifices, and all priestly activities. It is said that Moses received instruction from God to anoint Aaron and his sons to serve in this position:

You shall put them on your brother Aaron, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint (mashach) them and ordain them and consecrate them, so that they may serve me as priests.

Exodus 28:41, NRSV

And again:

You shall take the anointing (mishchah) oil, and pour it on his head and anoint (mashach) him.

Exodus 29:7, NRSV

Interestingly, many other things were also anointed at the same time, including the altar, the tabernacle, the ark, and the laver. All these sacred objects were marked or set apart as sacred by the ritual anointing with oil. So this is where we first learn about anointing. The priests who were anointed became known as “the anointed.” The first use of the term comes in Leviticus:

If it is the anointed (mashiyach, or messiah/christ) priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull of the herd without blemish as a sin offering to the Lord.

Leviticus 4:3, NRSV

Prophets

Similar to these priests, prophets in Israel were routinely anointed, as Elisha was said to be “anointed” as prophet by Elijah, to be his successor (although it is doubted whether there was an actual anointing with oil here, or whether the term had come to denote the one who was to be the prophetic leader of the people, the spiritual leader):

Also you shall anoint (mashach) Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint (mashach) Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.

1 Kings 19:16, NRSV

David later calls prophets “anointed ones.”

saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones (mashiyach, or messiah/christ); do my prophets no harm.”

1 Chronicles 16:22, NRSV. Repeated in Psalm 105:15.

Kings

Samuel anoints Saul.

As seen in the last example, kings also came to be anointed to serve in their political office. The first king of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah, Saul, was anointed by the prophet Samuel.

Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint (mashach) him to be ruler over my people Israel.”

1 Samuel 9:15-16, NRSV

Saul is later called by David “the Lord’s anointed.”

And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’S anointed (mashiyach, or messiah/christ), to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed (mashiyach, or messiah/christ) of the LORD.

1 Samuel 24:6, NRSV
Samuel anoints David.

The second king of Israel and Judah, David, was also anointed by the prophet Samuel:

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”…

Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint (mashach) for me the one whom I name to you.”…

He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint (mashach) him; for this is the one.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed (mashach) him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.

1 Samuel 16:1, 3, 12-13

This account particularly emphasizes how the anointing was seen as somewhat synonymous with the Spirit of God being present in a person. It seems it is from this anointing of the great Israelite King David that there later emerged a tradition of a future Messiah king that would be a “son of David.”

Zadok anointing Solomon.

David’s successor, Solomon, was likewise anointed as king:

So the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and led him to Gihon. There the priest Zadok took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed (mashach, or messiah/christ) Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!”

1 Kings 1:38-39, NRSV

Cyrus the Great

Cyrus the Great

One interesting case of a “Messiah” was Cyrus the Great. He was king of the Achaemenid Empire, and not Jewish. But he was honored by the Jews as a righteous king because the Babylonian captivity of the Jews ended under his reign, and he said that the Jews could return to their homeland, and that the Jewish temple in Jerusalem should be rebuilt. For all of this the Jews praised him. Later “Isaiah” wrote that he was the Lord’s “Anointed One” or “Messiah”:

Thus says the Lord to his anointed (mashiyach, or messiah/christ), to Cyrus,
    whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
    and strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
    and the gates shall not be closed:
I will go before you
   and level the mountains,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
    and cut through the bars of iron,
I will give you the treasures of darkness
    and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

Isaiah 45:1-3, NRSV

As a side note, these words are replete with other mystical symbols, including the grasping by the right hand, the open doors, the gates not closing, the treasures in darkness, the hidden riches, the secret places, and the direct knowing of God, and a special name.

Cyrus the Great is the only non-Jewish person in the Bible to be called by this title of “Anointed One.” By this time it seems that the title had become somewhat detached from the literal anointing of oil ritual, and was more of an honorary title for the one in whom God’s Spirit was found, who had been inspired by God to do a great work among the people. It is doubtful that Cyrus was ever actually anointed with real oil. He was not anointed, but rather “anointed” as a great spiritual leader, a Messiah/Christ.

Summary

These are just some of the many “Christs” or “Messiahs” that came long before Jesus, and who built up the Jewish tradition of what an “Anointed One” means, becoming known as one in whom the Spirit of God was found in abundance, who was deeply inspired by God, perhaps one whose consciousness had been united to God in some way so they did the will of God among humanity. Actually, this identification with Spirit seems to have been closely equated with the “Anointed” title:

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
   because the Lord has anointed (mashach) me;

Isaiah 61:1, NRSV

This is the scripture from Isaiah that Jesus quoted many centuries later at the beginning of his ministry (Luke 4:17-21), essentially claiming that he was also an “Anointed One” (v21), one who had come in the power of the Spirit (v14). But the only time Jesus was literally anointed with oil, it seems, was when he was in the city of Bethany.

A certain Mary, perhaps Magdalene, anointed Jesus’ head or feet with an ointment of expensive perfume and her tears, and perhaps used her long hair to wipe the ointment. There is debate about the details. James Tissot depicted the event as told in the gospels of Luke and John in the painting shown at the top of this article, The Ointment of the Magdalene (Le parfum de Madeleine), c. 1900. Jesus refers to this anointing as “preparation for his burial,” perhaps alluding to the practice of such perfumed ointments being used on dead bodies for sanitary purposes.

It is insightful the very humble circumstances in which this “anointing” is recorded. There was no high priest or prophet doing this anointing. There was no elaborate religious ritual. There was no royal palace or throne. There were no trumpets, ceremony, regalia, parade or pageantry. It was done in a home, by a woman, perhaps a “sinful” woman (which has been interpreted as a prostitute), in an act of great hospitality and especially love, and in giving of herself without concern for money. Jesus says this act made this woman forgiven of all her sins, and that she was saved.

May we go and likewise “anoint” others with our gifts and love, making them “Christs” and “Messiahs.” In this way we too will have the Spirit on us.

My wife and I recently watched the new television series The Crown which dramatizes the life of Queen Elizabeth II. They show what a modern anointing of a monarch is like in the remaking of her coronation scene (see below). During the actual anointing of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 this was not televised, being considered too sacred an act to put on camera, and so that it would be a “deeply personal experience between The Queen and God.”

Messiah

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah

This article is about the concept of a savior. For the oratorio by George Frideric Handel, see Messiah (Handel). For other uses, see Messiah (disambiguation).

“Messias” redirects here. For the football player, see Junior Messias.

Messiah-Wikipedia

Samuel anoints David, Dura Europos, Syria, Date: 3rd century CE.

In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ, romanized: māšīyaḥ; Greek: μεσσίας, messías; Arabic: مسيح, masîḥ; lit. ’the anointed one’) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of mashiach, messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism,[1][2] and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a mashiach is a king or High Priest traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil. Χριστός, Greek for the Hebrew Messiah occurs 41 times in the LXX and the Hebrew Bible.[3]

Ha-mashiach (המשיח, ‘the Messiah’),[4][a] often referred to as melekh mashiach (מלך המשיח, ‘King Messiah’),[6] is to be a Jewish leader, physically descended from the paternal Davidic line through King David and King Solomon. He is thought to accomplish predetermined things in a future arrival, including the unification of the tribes of Israel,[7] the gathering of all Jews to Eretz Israel, the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, the ushering in of a Messianic Age of global universal peace,[8] and the annunciation of the world to come.[1][2]

The Greek translation of Messiah is Khristós (Χριστός),[9] anglicized as Christ. Christians commonly refer to Jesus of Nazareth as either the “Christ” or the “Messiah”, believing that the messianic prophecies were fulfilled in the mission, death, and resurrection of Jesus and that he will return to fulfill the rest of messianic prophecies. Moreover, unlike the Judaic concept of the Messiah, Jesus Christ is additionally considered by Christians to be the Son of God.

In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى, romanized: Isa) is held to have been a prophet and the Messiah sent to the Israelites, who will return to Earth at the end of times along with the Mahdi, and defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal, the false Messiah.[10] In Ahmadiyya theology, these prophecies concerning the Mahdi and the second coming of Jesus are believed to have been fulfilled in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908),[11] the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, wherein the terms Messiah and Mahdi are synonyms for one and the same person.[12]

In Chabad messianism,[13] Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (r. 1920–1950), sixth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of Chabad Lubavitch, and Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994), seventh Rebbe of Chabad, are Messiah claimants.[14][15][16][17]

Contents

Etymology[edit]

Messiah (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ, mašíaḥ, or המשיח, mashiach; Aramaic: משיחא; Classical Syriac: ܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ, Məšîḥā; Latin: Messias) literally means ‘anointed one‘.[18]

In Hebrew, the Messiah is often referred to as melekh mashiach (מלך המשיח; Tiberian: Meleḵ ha-Mašīaḥ, pronounced [ˈmeleχ hamaˈʃiaħ]), literally meaning ‘the Anointed King’. The Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament renders all 39 instances of the Hebrew mašíaḥ as Khristós (Χριστός).[9] The New Testament records the Greek transliteration Messias (Μεσσίας) twice in John.[Jn. 1:41][4:25]

al-Masīḥ (Arabic: المسيح, pronounced [maˈsiːħ], lit. ‘the anointed’, ‘the traveller’, or ‘one who cures by caressing’) is the Arabic word for messiah used by both Arab Christians and Muslims. In modern Arabic, it is used as one of the many titles of Jesus, referred to as Yasūʿ al-Masih (يسوع المسيح) by Arab Christians and Īsā al-Masīḥ (عيسى المسيح) by Muslims.[19]

Judaism[edit]

Main article: Messiah in Judaism

See also: Jewish eschatology, Judaism’s view of Jesus, and Jewish Messiah claimants

The literal translation of the Hebrew word mashiach (המשיח, messiah), is ‘anointed’, which refers to a ritual of consecrating someone or something by putting holy oil upon it. It is used throughout the Hebrew Bible in reference to a wide variety of individuals and objects; for example, kings, priests and prophets, the altar in the Temple, vessels, unleavened bread, and even a non-Jewish king (Cyrus the Great).[20]

In Jewish eschatology, the term came to refer to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line, who will be “anointed” with holy anointing oil, to be king of God’s kingdom, and rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age. In Judaism, the Messiah is not considered to be God or a pre-existent divine Son of God. He is considered to be a great political leader that has descended from King David, hence why he is referred to as Messiah ben David, ‘Messiah, son of David’. In Judaism, the messiah is considered to be a great, charismatic leader that is well oriented with the laws that are followed in Judaism.[21] He will be the one who will not “judge by what his eyes see” or “decide by what his ears hear.”[22]

Belief in the eventual coming of a future messiah is a fundamental part of Judaism, and is one of Maimonides‘ 13 Principles of Faith.[23] Maimonides describes the identity of the Messiah in the following terms:

And if a king shall arise from among the House of David, studying Torah and occupied with commandments like his father David, according to the written and oral Torah, and he will impel all of Israel to follow it and to strengthen breaches in its observance, and will fight God’s wars, this one is to be treated as if he were the anointed one. If he succeeded and built the Holy Temple in its proper place and gathered the dispersed ones of Israel together, this is indeed the anointed one for certain, and he will mend the entire world to worship the Lord together, as it is stated: “For then I shall turn for the nations a clear tongue, so that they will all proclaim the Name of the Lord, and to worship Him with a united resolve (Zephaniah 3:9).”[24]

Even though the eventual coming of the messiah is a strongly upheld belief in Judaism, trying to predict the actual time when the messiah will come is an act that is frowned upon. These kinds of actions are thought to weaken the faith the people have in the religion. So in Judaism, there is no specific time when the messiah comes. Rather, it is the acts of the people that determines when the messiah comes. It is said that the messiah would come either when the world needs his coming the most (when the world is so sinful and in desperate need of saving by the messiah) or deserves it the most (when genuine goodness prevails in the world).[23]

A common modern rabbinic interpretation is that there is a potential messiah in every generation. The Talmud, which often uses stories to make a moral point (aggadah), tells of a highly respected rabbi who found the Messiah at the gates of Rome and asked him, “When will you finally come?” He was quite surprised when he was told, “Today.” Overjoyed and full of anticipation, the man waited all day. The next day he returned, disappointed and puzzled, and asked, “You said messiah would come ‘today’ but he didn’t come! What happened?” The Messiah replied, “Scripture says, ‘Today, if you will but hearken to his voice.'”[25]

A Kabbalistic tradition within Judaism is that the commonly discussed messiah who will usher in a period of freedom and peace, Messiah ben David, will be preceded by Messiah ben Joseph, who will gather the children of Israel around him, lead them to Jerusalem. After overcoming the hostile powers in Jerusalem, Messiah ben Joseph, will reestablish the Temple-worship and set up his own dominion. Then Armilus, according to one group of sources, or Gog and Magog, according to the other, will appear with their hosts before Jerusalem, wage war against Messiah ben Joseph, and slay him. His corpse, according to one group, will lie unburied in the streets of Jerusalem; according to the other, it will be hidden by the angels with the bodies of the Patriarchs, until Messiah ben David comes and brings him back to life.[26]

Chabad[edit]

Further information: Chabad messianism, Chabad-Lubavitch related controversies, and List of Jewish messiah claimants

Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (r. 1920–1950), sixth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of Chabad Lubavitch,[27][28] and Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994), seventh Rebbe of Chabad,[14][15][16][17][29] are messiah claimants.[30][31][32][33][27][28][34]

As per Chabad-Lubavitch messianism,[13] Menachem Mendel Schneerson openly declared his deceased father-in-law, the former 6th Rebbe of Chabad Lubavitch, to be the Messiah.[27][28] He published about Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to be “Atzmus u’mehus alein vi er hat zich areingeshtalt in a guf“ (Yiddish and English for: “Essence and Existence [of God] which has placed itself in a body“).[35][36][37] The gravesite of his deceased father-in-law Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, known as “the Ohel“, became a central point of focus for Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s prayers and supplications.

Regarding the deceased Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a later Chabad Halachic ruling claims that it was “incumbent on every single Jew to heed the Rebbe’s words and believe that he is indeed King Moshiach, who will be revealed imminently“.[38][39] Outside of Chabad messianism, in Judaism, there is no basis to these claims.[27][28] If anything, this resembles the faith in the resurrection of Jesus and his second coming in early Christianity.[40]

Still today, the deceased rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson is believed to be the Messiah among adherents of the Chabad movement,[15][16][17][31][33] and his second coming is believed to be imminent.[38] He is venerated and invocated to by thousands of visitors and letters each year at the (Ohel), especially in a pilgrimage each year on the anniversary of his death.[41][42]

Christianity[edit]

The Last Judgment, by Jean Cousin the Younger (c. late 16th century)

Main article: Christ (title)

See also: Jesus in Christianity, Redeemer (Christianity), and Christian messianic prophecies

Originating from the concept in Judaism, the Messiah in Christianity is called the Christ—from Greek khristós (χριστός), translating the Hebrew word of the same meaning.[9] ‘Christ’ became the accepted Christian designation and title of Jesus of Nazareth, as Christians believe that the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament—that he is descended from the Davidic line, and was declared King of the Jews—were fulfilled in his mission, death, and resurrection, while the rest of the prophecies—that he will usher in a Messianic Age and the world to come—will be fulfilled at his Second Coming. Some Christian denominations, such as Catholicism, instead believe in amillenialist theology, but the Catholic Church has not adopted this term.[43]

The majority of historical and mainline Christian theologies consider Jesus to be the Son of God and God the Son, a concept of the messiah fundamentally different from the Jewish and Islamic concepts. In each of the four New Testament Gospels, the only literal anointing of Jesus is conducted by a woman. In the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and John, this anointing occurs in Bethany, outside Jerusalem. In the Gospel of Luke, the anointing scene takes place at an indeterminate location, but the context suggests it to be in Galilee, or even a separate anointing altogether.

Aside from Jesus, the Book of Isaiah refers to Cyrus the Great, king of the Achaemenid Empire, as a messiah for his decree to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple.[44]

Islam[edit]

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Main articles: Mahdi, Hujjat-Allah al-Mahdi, Jesus in Islam, and Masih (title)

Timeline of Jesus in Islamic Eschatology

The Islamic faith uses the Arabic term al-Masīḥ (المسيح, pronounced [maˈsiːħ]) to refer to Jesus. However the meaning is different from that found in Christianity and Judaism:

Though Islam shares many of the beliefs and characteristics of the two Semitic/Abrahamic/monotheistic religions which preceded it, the idea of messianism, which is of central importance in Judaism and Christianity, is alien to Islam as represented by the Qur’an.[45]

The Quran states that Jesus (Isa), the son of Maryam (Isa ibn Maryam), is the messiah (al-masih) and prophet sent to the Children of Israel.[46] According to Qadi al-Nu’man, a famous Muslim jurist of the Fatimid period, the Quran identifies Jesus as the messiah because he was sent to the people who responded to him in order to remove (masaha) their impurities, the ailments of their faith, whether apparent (zāhir) or hidden (bātin).[47]

Jesus is one of the most important prophets in the Islamic tradition, along with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad.[48][49] Unlike Christians, Muslims see Jesus as a prophet, but not as God himself or the son of God. This is because prophecy in human form does not represent the true powers of God, contrary to the popular depiction of Jesus in Christianity.[50] Thus, like all other Islamic prophets, Jesus is one of the grand prophets who receives revelations from God.[51] According to religious scholar Mona Siddiqui, in Islam, “[p]rophecy allows God to remain veiled and there is no suggestion in the Qur’an that God wishes to reveal of himself just yet. Prophets guarantee interpretation of revelation and that God’s message will be understood.”[50]In Sura 19, the Quran describes the birth of Isa,[52] and sura 4 explicitly states Isa as the Son of Maryam.[53] Sunni Muslims believe Isa is alive in Heaven and did not die in the crucifixion. Sura 4, verses 157–158, also states that:

But they neither killed nor crucified him—it was only made to appear so.[54]

According to religious scholar Mahmoud Ayoub, “Jesus’ close proximity or nearness (qurb) to God is affirmed in the Qur’anic insistence that Jesus did not die, but was taken up to God and remains with God.”[55][56]

While the Quran does not state that he will come back,[49] Islamic tradition nevertheless believes that Jesus will return at the end of times, shortly preceding Mahdi, and exercise his power of healing.[10][57] He will forever destroy the falsehood embodied in al-Masih ad-Dajjal (the false Messiah), the great falsifier, a figure similar to the Antichrist in Christianity, who will emerge shortly before Yawm al-Qiyāmah (‘the Day of Resurrection’).[10][56] After he has destroyed ad-Dajjal, his final task will be to become leader of the Muslims. Isa will unify the Muslim Ummah (the followers of Islam) under the common purpose of worshipping Allah alone in pure Islam, thereby ending divisions and deviations by adherents. Mainstream Muslims believe that at that time, Isa will dispel Christian and Jewish claims about him.

A hadith in Abu Dawud says:

The Prophet said: There is no prophet me and him, that is, Isa. He will descend (to the earth). When you see him, recognise him: a man of medium height, reddish fair, wearing two light yellow garments, looking as if drops were falling down from his head though it will not be wet. He will fight the people for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill swine, and abolish jizyah. Allah will perish all religions except Islam. He will destroy the Antichrist and will live on the earth for forty years and then he will die. The Muslims will pray over him.

— Hadith[58]

Both Sunni[49] and Shia Muslims agree[59] that al-Mahdi will arrive first, and after him, Isa. Isa will proclaim al-Mahdi as the Islamic community leader. A war will be fought—the Dajjal against al-Mahdi and Isa. This war will mark the approach of the coming of the Last Day. After Isa slays al-Dajjāl at the Gate of Lud, he will bear witness and reveal that Islam is indeed the true and last word from God to humanity as Yusuf Ali‘s translation reads:

And there is none of the People of the Book but must believe in him before his death; and on the Day of Judgment he will be a witness against them.[60]

A hadith in Sahih Bukhari[61] says:

Allah’s Apostle said, “How will you be when the son of Mariam descends among you and your Imam is from among you?”

The Quran denies the crucifixion of Jesus,[49] claiming that he was neither killed nor crucified.[62] The Quran also emphasizes the difference between Allah and the Messiah:[63]

Those who say that Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary, are unbelievers. The Messiah said: “O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord… unbelievers too are those who have said that Allah is the third of three… the Messiah, son of Mary, was only a Messenger before whom other Messengers had gone.

Shia Islam[edit]

The Twelver branch of Shia (or Shi’i) Islam, which significantly values and revolves around the Twelve Imams (spiritual leaders), differs significantly from the beliefs of Sunni Islam. Unlike Sunni Islam, “Messianism is an essential part of religious belief and practice for almost all Shi’a Muslims.”[45] Shi’i Islam believes that the last Imam will return again, with the return of Jesus. According to religious scholar Mona Siddiqui, “Shi’is are acutely aware of the existence everywhere of the twelfth Imam, who disappeared in 874.”[50] Shi’i piety teaches that the hidden Imam will return with Jesus Christ to set up the messianic kingdom before the final Judgement Day, when all humanity will stand before God. There is some controversy as to the identity of this imam. There are sources that underscore how the Shia sect agrees with the Jews and Christians that Imam Mehdi (al-Mahdi) is another name for Elijah, whose return prior to the arrival of the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament.[64]

The Imams and Fatima will have a direct impact on the judgements rendered that day, representing the ultimate intercession.[65] There is debate on whether Shi’i Muslims should accept the death of Jesus. Religious scholar Mahmoud Ayoub argues “Modern Shi’i thinkers have allowed the possibility that Jesus died and only his spirit was taken up to heaven.”[56] Conversely, Siddiqui argues that Shi’i thinkers believe Jesus was “neither crucified nor slain.”[50] She also argues that Shi’i Muslims believe that the twelfth imam did not die, but “was taken to God to return in God’s time,” and “will return at the end of history to establish the kingdom of God on earth as the expected Mahdi.”[50]

Ahmadiyya[edit]

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, considered by Ahmadis to be the Promised Messiah of the latter days

In the theology of Ahmadiyya, the terms Messiah and Mahdi are synonymous terms for one and the same person.[12] The term Mahdi means ‘guided [by God]’, thus implying a direct ordainment by God of a divinely chosen individual.[66] According to Ahmadi thought, Messiahship is a phenomenon through which a special emphasis is given on the transformation of a people by way of offering to suffer for the sake of God instead of giving suffering (i.e. refraining from revenge).[citation needed] Ahmadis believe that this special emphasis was given through the person of Jesus and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908)[11] among others.

Ahmadis hold that the prophesied eschatological figures of Christianity and Islam, the Messiah and Mahdi, were, in fact, to be fulfilled in one person who was to represent all previous prophets.[55]

Numerous hadith are presented by the Ahmadis in support of their view, such as one from Sunan Ibn Majah, which says, “There is No Mahdi other than Jesus son of Mary.”[67]

Ahmadis believe that the prophecies concerning the Mahdi and the second coming of Jesus have been fulfilled in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement. Unlike mainstream Muslims, the Ahmadis do not believe that Jesus is alive in heaven, but that he survived the crucifixion and migrated towards the east where he died a natural death and that Ghulam Ahmad was only the promised spiritual second coming and likeness of Jesus, the promised Messiah and Mahdi.[68] He also claimed to have appeared in the likeness of Krishna and that his advent fulfilled certain prophecies found in Hindu scriptures.[69] He stated that the founder of Sikhism was a Muslim saint, who was a reflection of the religious challenges he perceived to be occurring.[70] Ghulam Ahmad wrote Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, in 1880, which incorporated Indian, Sufi, Islamic and Western aspects in order to give life to Islam in the face of the British Raj, Protestant Christianity, and rising Hinduism. He later declared himself the Promised Messiah and the Mahdi following Divine revelations in 1891. Ghulam Ahmad argued that Jesus had appeared 1300 years after the formation of the Muslim community and stressed the need for a current Messiah, in turn claiming that he himself embodied both the Mahdi and the Messiah. Ghulam Ahmad was supported by Muslims who especially felt oppressed by Christian and Hindu missionaries.[70]

Druze faith[edit]

In the Druze faith, Jesus is considered the Messiah and one of God’s important prophets,[71][72] being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.[71][72] According to the Druze manuscripts Jesus is the Greatest Imam and the incarnation of Ultimate Reason (Akl) on earth and the first cosmic principle (Hadd),[73] and regards Jesus and Hamza ibn Ali as the incarnations of one of the five great celestial powers, who form part of their system.[74] Druze doctrines include the beliefs that Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary, performed miracles, and died by crucifixion.[73]

Druze believe that Hamza ibn Ali was a reincarnation of Jesus,[75] and that Hamza ibn Ali is the true Messiah, who directed the deeds of the messiah Jesus “the son of Joseph and Mary“, but when messiah Jesus “the son of Joseph and Mary” strayed from the path of the true Messiah, Hamza filled the hearts of the Jews with hatred for him – and for that reason, they crucified him, according to the Druze manuscripts.[73][76] Despite this, Hamza ibn Ali took him down from the cross and allowed him to return to his family, in order to prepare men for the preaching of his religion.[73]

Other religions[edit]

  • In Buddhism, Maitreya is considered to the next Buddha (awakened one) that is promised to come. He is expected to come to renew the laws of Buddhism once the teaching of Gautama Buddha has completely decayed.[77]
  • Baháʼu’lláh (born as Mírzá Ḥusayn-ʻAlí Núrí) founder of the Baháʼí Faith, claimed to be “He whom God will make manifest” of Bábism.[78] He also claimed to be the Messiah figure of each of the prophetic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Hinduism).[79] He is known to his followers as the Glory of God (Arabic: بَهاءُالله, romanized: baháʼu’lláh). According to the Baháʼí Faith, Bahá’u’lláh addressed not only those timeless theological and philosophical questions that have stayed with humanity since old times such as: Who is God? What is goodness? and Why are we here? but also the questions that have preoccupied philosophers of the 20th century: What motivates human nature? Is real peace indeed possible? Does God still care for humanity? and the like.[80] He taught that there is only one God, that all of the world’s religions are from God, and that now is the time for humanity to recognize its oneness and unite.[81] He also taught that additional Messiahs (or “Manifestations of God”) will appear in the distant future, but the next one would not appear until after the lapse of “a full thousand years”. [82]
  • Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia is believed to be the Messiah by followers of the Rastafari movement.[83] This idea further supports the belief that God himself is black, which they (followers of the Rastafarian movement) try to further strengthen by a verse from the Bible.[Jeremiah 8:21] Even if the Emperor denied being the messiah, the followers of the Rastafari movement believe that he is a messenger from God. To justify this, Rastafarians used reasons such as Emperor Haile Selassie’s bloodline, which is assumed to come from King Solomon of Israel, and the various titles given to him, which include Lord of Lords, King of Kings and Conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah.[84]
  • In Kebatinan (Javanese religious tradition), Satrio Piningit is a character in Jayabaya‘s prophecies who is destined to become a great leader of Nusantara and to rule the world from Java. In Serat Pararaton,[85] King Jayabaya of Kediri foretold that before the coming of Satrio Piningit, there would be flash floods and that volcanoes would erupt without warning. Satrio Piningit is a Krishna-like figure known as Ratu Adil (Indonesian: ‘Just King, King of Justice’) and his weapon is a trishula.[86]
  • In Zoroastrianism there are three messiah figures who each progressively bring about the final renovation of the world, the Frashokereti and all of these three figures are called Saoshyant.[citation needed]
  • In Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, the messiah is Aradia, daughter of the goddess Diana, who comes to Earth in order to establish the practice of witchcraft before returning to Heaven.[87]

Popular culture[edit]

  • Dune Messiah, a 1969 novel by Frank Herbert, second in his Dune trilogy, also part of a miniseries, one of the widest-selling works of fiction in the 1960s.
  • In the Infinity saga of Sailor Moon and the third season of the 1990s anime, the one who brings forth “the Silence” of total world annihilation is called “the Messiah of Silence”, namely Mistress 9 of the Death Busters. The three Sailor Guardians of the Outer Planets had initially believed that to be Sailor Saturn, the final Sailor Guardian.
  • Messiah is the final persona of the protagonist of Persona 3 (2006), obtained after he understands the meaning of his journey
  • The Messiah, a 2007 Persian film depicting the life of Jesus from an Islamic perspective
  • The Young Messiah, a 2016 American film depicting the childhood life of Jesus from a Christian perspective
  • Messiah, a 2020 American TV series.

The following works include the concept of a messiah as a leader of a cause or liberator of a people:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ The specific expression ha mashiach does not occur in the Tanakh.[5]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b Schochet, Jacob Immanuel. “Moshiach ben Yossef”. Tutorial. moshiach.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2002. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b Blidstein, Prof. Dr. Gerald J. “Messiah in Rabbinic Thought”. Messiah. Jewish Virtual Library and Encyclopaedia Judaica 2008 The Gale Group. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  3. ^ “G5547 – christos – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (Tr)”.
  4. ^ Telushkin, Joseph. “The Messiah”. The Jewish Virtual Library Jewish Literacy. NY: William Morrow and Co., 1991. Reprinted by permission of the author. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  5. ^ “The Jewish Concept of Messiah and the Jewish Response to Christian Claims – Jews For Judaism”. jewsforjudaism.org. Jews For Judaism. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  6. ^ Flusser, David. “Second Temple Period”. Messiah. Encyclopaedia Judaica 2008. The Gale Group. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  7. ^ Megillah 17b–18a, Taanit 8b
  8. ^ Sotah 9a
  9. ^ Jump up to:a b c “Etymology Online”.
  10. ^ Jump up to:a b c “Muttaqun OnLine – Dajjal (The Anti-Christ): According to the Qur’an and Sunnah”. Muttaqun.com. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  11. ^ Jump up to:a b “Ask Islam: What is the different between a messiah and a prophet? (audio)”.
  12. ^ Jump up to:a b “Messiah and Mahdi – Review of Religions”. January 2009.
  13. ^ Jump up to:a b also: Habad messianism, Lubavitcher messianism, mishichism, meshichism.
  14. ^ Jump up to:a b Susan Handelman, The Lubavitcher Rebbe Died 20 Years Ago Today. Who Was He?, Tablet Magazine
  15. ^ Jump up to:a b c Adin Steinsaltz, My Rebbe. Maggid Books, p. 24
  16. ^ Jump up to:a b c Dara Horn, 13 June 2014 “Rebbe of Rebbe’s”. The Wall Street Journal.
  17. ^ Jump up to:a b c Aharon Lichtenstein, Euligy for the Rebbe. 16 June 1994.
  18. ^ “Online Etymology Dictionary”.
  19. ^ Badawi, Elsaid; Haleem, Muhammad Abdel (2008). Arabic–English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage. Koninklijke Brill. p. 881. ISBN 9789047423775.
  20. ^ Tanakh verses:
  21. ^ “Judaism 101: Mashiach: The Messiah”. Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  22. ^ Isaiah 11:3–4
  23. ^ Jump up to:a b “Judaism 101: Mashiach: The Messiah”. Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  24. ^ Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings 11:4
  25. ^ Psalms 95:7
  26. ^ “Messiah”. Jewish Encyclopedia. 1906. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  27. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Bar-Hayim, HaRav David. “The False Mashiah of Lubavitch-Habad”. Machon Shilo (Shilo Institute). Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  28. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Bar-Hayim, HaRav David. “Habad and Jewish Messianism (audio)”. Machon Shilo (Shilo Institute). Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  29. ^ The New York Times, Statement From Agudas Chasidei Chabad, 9 Feb 1996.
  30. ^ “Famed Posek Rabbi Menashe Klein: Messianic Group Within Chabad Are Apikorsim”. 7 May 2009.
  31. ^ Jump up to:a b On Chabad Archived 19 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  32. ^ Public Responsa from Rabbi Aharon Feldman on the matter of Chabad messiansim (Hebrew), 23 Sivan, 5763 – http://moshiachtalk.tripod.com/feldman.pdf. See also Rabbi Feldman’s letter to David Beger: http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/feldman_berger_sm_2.jpg
  33. ^ Jump up to:a b Berger, David (2008). The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference. Littman Library of Jewish Civilization. ISBN 978-1904113751. for further information see the article: The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference
  34. ^ William Horbury, Markus Bockmuehl, James Carleton Paget: Redemption and resistance: the messianic hopes of Jews and Christians in antiquity p. 294 : (2007) ISBN 978-0567030443
  35. ^ Likutei Sichos, Vol 2, pp. 510–511.
  36. ^ Identifying Chabad : what they teach and how they influence the Torah world (Revised ed.). Illinois: Center for Torah Demographics. 2007. p. 13. ISBN 978-1411642416. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  37. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Singer, HaRav Tovia. “Why did some expect the Lubavitcher Rebbe to Resurrect as the Messiah? Rabbi Tovia Singer Responds (video-lecture)”. Tovia Singer Youtube.com. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  38. ^ Jump up to:a b Berger, Rabbi Prof. Dr. David. “On the Spectrum of Messianic Belief in Contemporary Lubavitch Chassidism”. Shema Yisrael Torah Network. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  39. ^ “Halachic Ruling”. Psak Din. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  40. ^ Freeman, Charles. The Closing of the Western Mind, p. 133. Vintage. 2002.
  41. ^ Gryvatz Copquin, Claudia (2007). The Neighborhoods of Queens. Yale University Press. pp. 20–23. ISBN 978-0-300-11299-3.
  42. ^ The New York Observer, “Rebbe to the city and Rebbe to the world”. Editorial, 07/08/14.
  43. ^ “The Rapture”. Catholic Answers. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  44. ^ “Cyrus“. Jewish Encyclopedia (1906). “This prophet, Cyrus, through whom were to be redeemed His chosen people, whom he would glorify before all the world, was the promised Messiah, ‘the shepherd of Yhwh’ (xliv. 28, xlv. 1).”
  45. ^ Jump up to:a b Hassan, Riffat (Spring 1985). “Messianism and Islam” (PDF). Journal of Ecumenical Studies. 22:2: 263.
  46. ^ Quran 3:45
  47. ^ Virani, Shafique (January 2019). “Hierohistory in Qāḍī l-Nuʿmān’s Foundation of Symbolic Interpretation (Asās al-Taʾwīl): The Birth of Jesus”. Studies in Islamic Historiography: 147.
  48. ^ Quran 33:7 Quran 42:13-14 Quran 57:26
  49. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Albert, Alexander. “Orientating, Developing, and Promoting an Islamic Christology”. FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  50. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Siddiqui, Mona (2013). Christians, Muslims, and Jesus. Yale University Press. pp. 12. ISBN 978-0-300-16970-6.
  51. ^ Wensick, A.J. (2012). “al- Masih”. Encyclopedia of Islam.
  52. ^ Quran 19:1-33
  53. ^ Quran 4:171
  54. ^ Kendal, Elizabeth (2016). After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East. Eugene, OR: Resource Publications. p. 29. ISBN 9781498239882.
  55. ^ Jump up to:a b “The Holy Quran”. Alislam.org. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  56. ^ Jump up to:a b c Ayoub, Mahmoud (2007). A Muslim View of Christianity: Essays on Dialogue. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-57075-690-0.
  57. ^ Khalidi, Tarif (2001). Muslim Jesus. President and Fellows of Harvard College. pp. 25. ISBN 0-674-00477-9.
  58. ^ Sunan Abu Dawood 4324
  59. ^ “Sunni and Shi’a”. BBC. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  60. ^ Quran 4:159
  61. ^ Sahih al-Bukhari 3449
  62. ^ Quran 4:157
  63. ^ Quran 5:72-77
  64. ^ Abbas, Muhammad (2007). Israel: The History and How Jews, Christians and Muslims Can Achieve Peace. New York: iUniverse. ISBN 9780595426195.
  65. ^ Bill, James; Williams, John Alden (2002). Roman Catholics and Shi’i Muslims. The University of North Carolina Press. pp. 57–58. ISBN 0-8078-2689-8.
  66. ^ “mahdi”-special-meaning-and-technical-usage “”Mahdi” in a Special Meaning and Technical Usage”. Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  67. ^ Ibn Majah, Bab, Shahadatu-Zaman
  68. ^ “Jesus: A humble prophet of God”. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  69. ^ Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (2007). Lecture Sialkot (PDF). Tilford, Surrey, United Kingdom: Islam International Publications Ltd. pp. 39–40. Lecture Sialkot
  70. ^ Jump up to:a b Robinson, Francis. “Prophets without honour? Ahmad and the Ahmadiyya”. History Today. 40 (June): 46.
  71. ^ Jump up to:a b Hitti, Philip K. (1928). The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings. Library of Alexandria. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-4655-4662-3.
  72. ^ Jump up to:a b Dana, Nissim (2008). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-903900-36-9.
  73. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Dana, Nissim (2008). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-903900-36-9.
  74. ^ Crone, Patricia (2013). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton University Press. p. 139. ISBN 9780691134840.
  75. ^ S. Sorenson, David (2008). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Routledge. p. 239. ISBN 9780429975042. They further believe that Hamza ibn Ali was a reincarnation of many prophets, including Christ, Plato, Aristotle.
  76. ^ Massignon, Louis (2019). The Passion of Al-Hallaj, Mystic and Martyr of Islam, Volume 1: The Life of Al-Hallaj. Princeton University Press. p. 594. ISBN 9780691610832.
  77. ^ “Maitreya (Buddhism)”. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  78. ^ Momen, Moojan (2004). “Baha’i Faith and Holy People”. In Jestice, Phyllis G. (ed.). Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia (PDF). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 93. ISBN 1-57607-355-6.
  79. ^ Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, 1944, The Baha’i Publishing Trust, pgs 94-97
  80. ^ “Bahá’u’lláh – History”. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  81. ^ “The life of Baha’u’llah”. Baha’i.org. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  82. ^ Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, 1939, Baha’i Publishing Trust, Selection #165, pg 346
  83. ^ “Rastafarian beliefs”. BBC. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  84. ^ “Haile Selassie I – God of the Black race”. BBC News. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  85. ^ R.M. Mangkudimedja. 1979. Serat Pararaton Jilid 2. Jakarta: Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Proyek Penerbitan Buku Sastra Indonesia dan Daerah. p. 168 (In Indonesian)
  86. ^ Mulder, Niel. 1980. “Kedjawen: Tussen de Geest en Persoonlijkheid van Javaans”. The Hague: Droggstopel. p. 72 (In Dutch)
  87. ^ Charles Godfrey Leland (1899). Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches. D. Nutt. p. VIII. Retrieved 29 December 2021.

Further reading[edit]

  • Aryeh Kaplan, From Messiah to Christ, New York: Orthodox Union, 2004.
  • Joseph Klausner, The Messianic Idea in Israel from Its Beginning to the Completion of the Mishnah, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1956.
  • Jacob Neusner, William S. Green, Ernst Frerichs, Judaisms and their Messiahs at the Turn of the Christian Era, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.

External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Messiah.

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List of messiah claimants

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_messiah_claimants

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This is a list of notable people who have been said to be a messiah, either by themselves or by their followers. The list is divided into categories, which are sorted according to date of birth (where known).

List-of-messiah-claimants-Wikipedia

Contents

Jewish messiah claimants[edit]

Main article: Jewish messianic claimants

In Judaism, “messiah” originally meant a divinely appointed king, such as David, Cyrus the Great[1] or Alexander the Great.[2] Later, especially after the failure of the Hasmonean Kingdom (37 BC) and the Jewish–Roman wars (AD 66–135), the figure of the Jewish messiah was one who would deliver the Jews from oppression and usher in an Olam Haba (“world to come“) or Messianic Age. However the term “false messiah” was largely absent from rabbinic literature. The first mention is in the Sefer Zerubbabel, from the mid-seventh century, which uses the term, mashiah sheker, (“false messiah”).[3]

See also Combination messiah claimants below.

Christian messiah claimants[edit]

Sun Myung Moon

Simon Magus

See also: Antichrist, List of people claimed to be Jesus, and Second Coming

Verses in the Christian Bible state that Jesus will come again in some fashion; various people have claimed to, in fact, be the second coming of Jesus. Others have styled themselves new messiahs under the umbrella of Christianity. The Synoptic gospels (Matthew 24:4, 6, 24; Mark 13:5, 21-22; and Luke 21:3) all use the term pseudochristos for messianic pretenders.[23]

See also Combination messiah claimants below.

Muslim messiah claimants[edit]

Muhammad Ahmad

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

Main articles: List of Mahdi claimants and Masih ad-Dajjal

Islamic tradition has a prophecy of the Mahdi, who will come alongside the return of Isa (Jesus).

See also Combination messiah claimants below.

Zoroastrian Messiah claimants[edit]

  • Bahram Chobin, after he usurped the throne of the Sassanian Empire, declared himself to be the Messiah in the midst of the eschatological times of the late 6th century AD[49]

Combination messiah claimants[edit]

This list features people who are said, either by themselves or their followers, to be the messianic fulfillment of two or more religious traditions.

  • Baháʼu’lláh, Mirza Husayn ‘Ali Nuri, (1817–1892), born Shiite, adopting Bábism in 1844 (see “Bab” in Muslim messiah claimants section above). In 1863, he claimed to be the promised one of all religions, and founded the Baháʼí Faith.[50] He claimed to be the fulfillment of the prophecies of the coming of a promised figure found in all 6 of the major prophetic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism and Buddhism) as noted in the authoritative history of the Baha’i Faith.[51] He also claimed to be the prophet predicted by the Bab (see Muslim messiah claimants section above) as “He Whom God shall make manifest”[52] His followers have also made claims that his coming is the fulfillment of the prophecies of various smaller (often native) religions.
  • Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) in 1909 renounced the status of Messiah and Maitreya incarnation given him by the Theosophical Society.
  • Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi (born 25 November 1941) is a spiritual leader and the founder of the spiritual movements Messiah Foundation International (MFI) and Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam.[53][54] He is controversial for being declared the Mehdi, Messiah, and Kalki Avatar by the MFI.[55][56][57]
  • Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda (1946–2013), a Puerto Rican preacher who had claimed to be both “the Man Jesus Christ” and the Antichrist at the same time. He claimed he was indwelled with the same spirit that dwelled in Jesus, however, Miranda also contradicted his claims of being Christ incarnate by also claiming he was the Antichrist, even going as far as tattooing the number of the beast (666) on his forearm, a behavior his followers also adopted. Founder of the “Growing in Grace” ministries, Miranda died on August 14, 2013, due to liver cancer.
  • Ryuho Okawa (born 7 July 1956), is the founder of Happy Science in Japan. Okawa claims to channel the spirits of Muhammad, Christ, Buddha and Confucius and claims to be the incarnation of the supreme spiritual being called El Cantare.

Other messiah claimants[edit]

This list features people who are said, either by themselves or their followers, to be some form of a messiah that do not easily fit into only Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

  • Cyrus Teed (1839–1908), proponent of the Hollow Earth theory who created a distinct model in which the world is an inverted sphere that the rest of universe can be seen from by looking inward and claimed to be the incarnation of Jesus Christ after being electrocuted when attempting to practice alchemy with doses of magnetism during 1869.[58]

Haile Selassie

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia: Messiah: “In Isa. xlv. 1 Cyrus is called “God’s anointed one,” …:
  2. ^ “Messiah: Alexander as Messiah”. Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  3. ^ William Horbury, Markus Bockmuehl, James Carleton Paget: Redemption and resistance: the messianic hopes of Jews and Christians in antiquity Page 294 : (2007) ISBN 978-0567030443
  4. ^ Segal, Alan F. (1997). Davis, Stephen T.; Kendall, Daniel; O’Collins, Gerald (eds.). The Resurrection: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on the Resurrection of Jesus. OUP Oxford. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-19-815091-6. marginal Jewish apocalyptic cult
  5. ^ Gray, John (2011). Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia. Penguin Books Limited. p. PT19. ISBN 978-0-241-95917-6.
  6. ^ BDEhrman (31 January 2013), “How Jesus Became God: The *Original* Idea”, ehrmanblog.org
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  16. ^ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05136c.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Dositheans]: “Origen states that “Dositheus the Samaritan, after the time of Jesus, wished to persuade the Samaritans that he himself was the Messias prophesied by Moses” (Contra Celsum, VI, ii); He also wrote that Dositheus applied Deuteronomy 18:15 to himself, and compares him with Theudas and Judas the Galilean.
  17. ^ See “Contra Celsum,” i. 57, vi. 11; in Matth. Comm. ser. xxxiii.; “Homil.” xxv. in Lucam; De Principiis, iv. 17.
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  20. ^ Scholem, Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah: 1626–1676, pp. 103–106 has a whole discussion of the historical probabilities that he was really born on the 9th of Av, which according to Jewish tradition is the date of the destruction of both Temples and is also the date ‘prescribed’ in some traditions for the birth of the Messiah.
  21. ^ Rifa N. Bali (2008), pp. 91-92
  22. ^ Gershom Scholem, Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah: 1626-1676, Routledge Kegan Paul, London, 1973 ISBN 0-7100-7703-3, American Edition, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1973 ISBN 0-691-09916-2 (hardcover edn.); Gershom Scholem, “Shabbetai Zevi,” in Encyclopaedia Judaica, Second Edition, Farmington Hills, Michigan, 2007, vol. 18, pp. 340–359. ISBN 978-0-02-865946-6.
  23. ^ Harris Lenowitz The Jewish Messiahs: From the Galilee to Crown Heights age 31 (2001) ISBN 978-0195148374
  24. ^ Campion, Nardi Reeder (1976), Ann the Word: The Life of Mother Ann Lee, Founder of the Shakers, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, ISBN 978-0-316-12767-7
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  27. ^ Jump up to:a b Wilson, Bryan R. (1975). The Noble Savages: The Primitive Origins of Charisma and Its Contemporary Survival. University of California Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-520-02815-9. … but their prominence and relative success when compared with such figures as Louwrens van Voorthuizen (Lou) in Holland, Georges Roux in France, and Oskar Ernst Bernhardt in Germany and Austria, all of whom claimed to be the messiah—is striking.
  28. ^ “Samael Aun Weor”. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
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  30. ^ Jump up to:a b Moon At Twilight: Amid scandal, the Unification Church has a strange new mission, Peter Maass New Yorker Magazine, September 14, 1998. “Moon sees the essence of his own mission as completing the one given to Jesus–establishing a “true family” untouched by Satan while teaching all people to lead a God-centered life under his spiritual leadership.”…”Although Moon often predicts in his sermons that a breakthrough is near, Moffitt realizes that Moon may not come to be seen as the messiah in his lifetime.”
  31. ^ “Sect Leader Who Allegedly Sought Virgins Found Guilty on Sex Charge – Local News – News Articles – National News – US News”. FOXNews.com. TAOS, N.M. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
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  38. ^ Raël, Intelligent Design.
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  44. ^ Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Baha’i Publishing Trust, 1944, pgs 57-58
  45. ^ Jump up to:a b Andrea Lathan (2008) ‘The Relativity of Categorizing in the Context of the Aḥmadiyya’ Die Welt des Islams, 48 (3/4): 376
  46. ^ Gualtieri, Antonio R. (1989). Conscience and Coercion: Ahmadi Muslims and Orthodoxy in Pakistan. Guernica Editions. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-920717-41-7.
  47. ^ “Who are the Ahmadi?”. BBC News. 28 May 2010. Archived from the original on 30 May 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  48. ^ Burhani, Ahmad Najib (2013). When Muslims are not Muslims: the Ahmadiyya community and the discourse on heresy in Indonesia. Santa Barbara, California: University of California. ISBN 9781303424861.
  49. ^ Stephen Shoemaker, Imperial Eschatology in Late Antiquity and Early Islam, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018, pp. 108-110
  50. ^ Balyuzi, H.M. (1963). Baháʼu’lláh (1973 ed.). Oxford: George Ronald. pp. 11–12, 33–34. ISBN 0-85398-014-4.
  51. ^ Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Baha’i Publishing Trust, 1944, pgs 94-97
  52. ^ Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Baha’i Publishing Trust, 1944, pg 97
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  58. ^ Simon, Matt (Jul 2, 2014). “Fantastically Wrong: The Legendary Scientist Who Swore Our Planet Is Hollow”. WIRED. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  59. ^ Judith Coney, Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement (1999) p27 “She began her mission of salvation in earnest, establishing a reputation as a faith healer … Then, on December 2nd, 1979, in London, she unequivocally declared her divinity to her followers: ‘[Today] is the day I declare that I am the One who has to save the humanity. I declare, I am the one who is Adi Shakti, who is the Mother of all the mothers, who is the Primordial Mother, the Shakti, the purest desire of God, who has incarnated on this Earth to give meaning to itself…’ Since then, she is most often understood by her followers to be the Devi, the Goddess of Indian mythology, returned to save the world.”
  60. ^ “Share International on the Reappearance of Maitreya the World Teacher”. share-international.org. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014.
  61. ^ “Share International magazine July / August 2009 issue”. www.share-international.org. Archived from the original on April 9, 2014.
  62. ^ Niebuhr, Gustav. “New Millennium, Great Expectations.” The New York Times, July 20, 1996
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  64. ^ “The Day David Icke Told Terry Wogan ‘I’m the Son of God'”. The Telegraph. Apr 29, 2016. Retrieved 2021-09-19.

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