Messiah (Hebrew: משיח; mashiah, moshiah, mashiach, or moshiach, ("anointed [one]") is a term used in the Hebrew Bible to describe priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed. For example, Cyrus the Great, the King of Persia, is referred to as "God's anointed" (Messiah) in the Bible.
In Jewish messianic tradition and eschatology, the term came to refer to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line, who will be "anointed" with holy anointing oil and rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age. In Standard Hebrew, the messiah is often referred to as Melekh ha-Mashiaḥ (מלך המשיח), literally "the Anointed King".
Rabbinic Judaism and current Orthodox Judaism hold that the messiah will be an anointed one, descended from his father through the Davidic line of King David, who will gather the Jews back into the Land of Israel and usher in an era of peace.
Following the Expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 many Spanish rabbis, such as Abraham ben Eliezer Halevi, believed that the year 1524 would be the beginning of the Messianic Age and that the Messiah himself would appear in 1530–31.[9]
Orthodox Jewish messianic movements have occasionally emerged throughout the centuries among Jewish communities worldwide. These surround various messiah claimants. However, from the Jewish view, the claimants failed to deliver the promises of redemption, and generally remained with only a handful of followers. Excepting Jesus, the most popular messiah claimants were Simon bar Kokhba in 2nd century Judea, Nehemiah ben Hushiel in the 7th century Sasanian Empire, Sabbatai Zevi in the 17th century Ottoman Empire (precursor to Sabbateans), Jacob Frank in 18th century Europe, Shukr Kuhayl I and Judah ben Shalom in 19th century Ottoman Yemen. There are those who currently identify the 20th century Menachem Mendel Schneerson (the Lubavitcher Rebbe) as the Mashiach.
Other denominations, such as Reform Judaism, believe in a Messianic Age when the world will be at peace, but do not agree that there will be a messiah as the leader of this era.
Christians believe that the messianic prophecies were fulfilled in his mission, death, resurrection, and ascension to his Session on the heavenly throne, where "he sat down at the right hand of God, where he is now waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet" (Heb 10:12–13 NET, quoting the Davidic royal Psalm 110:1). Christians believe that the rest of the messianic prophecies will be fulfilled in the Second Coming of Christ. One prophecy, distinctive in both the Jewish and Christian concept of the messiah, is that a Jewish king from the Davidic line, who will be "anointed" with holy anointing oil, will be king of God's kingdom on earth, and rule the Jewish people and mankind during the Messianic Age and World to come.
In Islam (Shia and Sunni), the Mahdi is considered as the promised one [6] but there is a difference in who the Mahdi is, the Shiites of the Twelve Imams believe that the Mahdi is Muhammad, the son of Hassan Askari, the twelfth Imam and the Imam of their time, who was born before and now He is hidden from most people by Allah/god's will for more than a thousand years and appears at the appointed time. But according to some people of the Sunnah, Mahdi is someone from the Prophet's generation (probably Sadat's dynasty) who has not yet been born. He will be born in the future and become the savior of mankind. Also, most of the followers of Sunnah consider Mahdi as an ordinary and very pure person, which is in contradiction with other prophecies of Abrahamic religions. Most of the Abrahamic religions have emphasized that the savior of the end of time is a divine messenger for humanity. According to Shiites, Mahdi is a divine chosen one, the proof of God and infallible. Also, they have mentioned many signs about the appearance of Mahdi. Shiites consider Mahdi an imam, and unlike Sunnis, according to their claim, relying on hadiths, traditions and verses of the Qur'an, especially the affliction of Abraham in Surah Baqarah, they consider Imamate to be a divine position and it is the highest position in the system of previous creation. They know Muhammad's status as the highest of creations. Shiites emphasize the imams' formative authority and consider them to be the manifestation of God, and they have repeatedly mentioned in their works the superhuman powers given to imams by God. In fact, Shiites are not the first ones who have proposed the savior of the apocalypse as a manifestation of God. In Hindu religion, the savior of the end of time is called Avatar, which means manifestation, Avatar comes from the word Avatarai, which means the manifestation of a superior power. Some groups of Muslims, especially the Wahhabis, consider this claim of Shiites to be completely polytheistic and superstitious. While in the Torah, the book of Genesis, 12 kings from Ismael's generation are mentioned, and Shiites consider these 12 kings to be their 12 imams. In the Sunni hadith books, 12 caliphs are mentioned after the Prophet of Islam, the last of whom is the promised Mahdi. All Muslims agree on the return of Jesus Christ, and some Sunnis and all Shiites of twelve Imams believe in the return of Christ at the time of the appearance of the Mahdi and consider him one of the special helpers of the promised Mahdi.[10]
In Islam, Isa ibn Maryam is the al-Masih ("Jesus son of Mary, the Messiah") who is believed to have been anointed from birth by Allah with the specific task of being a prophet and a king. In Islam, the Mahdi is believed to hold the task of establishing the truth and fighting against divisions of Islam, uniting all sects before the return of Jesus who will kill the false messiah Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (similar to the Antichrist in Christianity), who will emerge shortly before him in human form in the end of the times, claiming that he is the messiah.[11][12] Then Jesus will pray for the death of Gog and Magog (Yajuj Majuj) who are an ancient tribe sealed away from humanity who will rise to cause destruction. After he has destroyed al-Dajjal, Mahdi's final task will be to become a just king and to re-establish justice. After the death of Mahdi, Jesus' reign of the messianic King will begin bringing long-lasting peace in the world until the Day of Judgement.
Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until the son of Mary (Mariam) (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you as a just ruler, he will break the cross, kill the pigs, and abolish the Jizya tax. Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it (as charitable gifts)."
The Ahmadiyya Muslim community believes that the prophecies regarding the advent of the Messiah and Mahdi have been fulfilled in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian. He claimed to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, the metaphorical second coming of Jesus of Nazareth and the divine guide, whose advent was foretold by the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad.[13]
Druze faith
In the Druze faith, Jesus is considered the Messiah and one of God's important prophets,[14][15] being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.[14][15] 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),[4] and regards Jesus and Hamza ibn Ali as the incarnations of one of the five great celestial powers, who form part of their system.[16] Druze doctrines include the beliefs that Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary, performed miracles, and died by crucifixion.[4]
In the Druze tradition, Jesus is known under three titles: the True Messiah (al-Masih al-Haq), the Messiah of all Nations (Masih al-Umam), and the Messiah of Sinners. This is due, respectively, to the belief that Jesus delivered the true Gospel message, the belief that he was the Saviour of all nations, and the belief that he offers forgiveness.[17]
Druze believe that Hamza ibn Ali was a reincarnation of Jesus,[18] 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.[4][5] 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.[4]
He whom God shall make manifest (Arabic: من يظهر الله, Persian: مظهر کلّیه الهی) is a messianic figure in the religion of Bábism. The messianic figure was repeatedly mentioned by the Báb, the founder of Bábism, in His book, the Bayán. The Báb described the messianic figure as the origin of all divine attributes, and stated that his command was equivalent to God’s command. The Báb stated that once the messianic figure had arrived, the perusal of one of his verses was to be greater than a thousand perusals of the Bayán.[19] The prediction is widely recognized as being fulfilled by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith.[20]
Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma. According to scriptures, Maitreya will be a successor of the historic Śākyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. The prophecy of the arrival of Maitreya is found in the canonical literature of all Buddhist sects[citation needed] (Theravāda, Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna) and is accepted by most Buddhists as a statement about an actual event that will take place in the distant future.
Although Maitreya Buddha appears in the canonical literature shared by many sects of Buddhism, Buddhists in different historical contexts have conceived of Maitreya Buddha in different ways. In early medieval Chinese Buddhism, for example, Taoist and Buddhist ideas combined to produce a particular emphasis on the messianic role of a Bodhisattva called "Prince Moonlight."[21] Furthermore, the Chinese Maitreyan traditions were themselves marked by considerable diversity. Erik Zürcher has argued that a certain "canonical" Maitreyan cult from the fourth to sixth centuries believed Maitreya to inhabit the Tushita heaven where Buddhists might be reborn in the very distant future. Another rival tradition, however, believed that Maitreya would appear in the imminent future in this world to provide salvation during a time of misery and decline.[22] This latter form of Maitreyan belief was generally censored and condemned as heretical to the point that few manuscripts survive written by Buddhists sympathetic to this tradition.[23]
Maitreya Buddha continued to be an important figure in millenarian rebellions throughout Chinese history such as in the rebellions associated with the so-called White Lotus Society.
John Frum is a figure associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. He is often depicted as an American World War II serviceman who will bring wealth and prosperity to the people if they follow him. He is sometimes portrayed as black, sometimes as white. Quoting David Attenborough's report of an encounter: "'E look like you. 'E got white face. 'E tall man. 'E live 'long South America."[24]
There has been significant literature on the potential religious aspects of Nazism. Wilfried Daim suggests that Hitler and the Nazi leadership planned to replace Christianity in Germany with a new religion in which Hitler would be considered a messiah. In his book on the connection between Lanz von Liebenfels and Hitler, Daim published a reprint of an alleged document of a session on "the unconditional abolishment of all religious commitments (Religionsbekenntnisse) after the final victory (Endsieg) ... with a simultaneous proclamation of Adolf Hitler as the new messiah."[25]
Within the Wotansvolk Neo-Völkisch mystery religion, David Eden Lane is regarded as the "666 Man" and the "Man David" of prophecy, an anti-Christian "Messiah" incarnated to "warn and save the White Aryan race from near extinction".
It is the longest-lived and most influential millenarian legends in Western Europe, having had profound political and cultural resonances from the time of Sebastians death till at least the late 19th century in Brazil.[30]
Taoism
Around the 3rd century CE, religious Taoism developed eschatological ideas. A number of scriptures [which?] predict the end of the world cycle, the deluge, epidemics, and coming of the saviour Li Hong 李弘 (not to be confused with the Tang personalities).
Aradia is one of the principal figures in the American folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland's 1899 work Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, which he believed to be a genuine religious text used by a group of paganwitches in Tuscany, a claim that has subsequently been disputed by other folklorists and historians.[31] In Leland's Gospel, Aradia is portrayed as a Messiah who was sent to Earth in order to teach the oppressed peasants how to perform witchcraft to use against the Roman Catholic Church and the upper classes.
Since the publication of Leland's Gospel, Aradia has become "arguably one of the central figures of the modern pagan witchcraft revival" and as such has featured in various forms of Neopaganism, including Wicca and Stregheria, as an actual deity.[32]Raven Grimassi, founder of the Wiccan-inspired tradition of Stregheria, claims that Aradia was a historical figure named Aradia di Toscano, who led a group of "Diana-worshipping witches" in 14th-century Tuscany.[33]
at the end of thy tenth hundredth winter [...] the sun is more unseen and more spotted; the year, month, and day are shorter; and the earth is more barren; and the crop will not yield the seed; and men [...] become more deceitful and more given to vile practices. They have no gratitude. Honorable wealth will all proceed to those of perverted faith [...] and a dark cloud makes the whole sky night [...] and it will rain more noxious creatures than winter.
Saoshyant, the Man of Peace, battles the forces of evil.[citation needed] The events of the final renovation are described in the Bundahishn (30.1ff): "In the final battle with evil, the yazatasAiryaman and Atar will 'melt the metal in the hills and mountains, and it will be upon the earth like a river' (Bundahishn 34.18), but the righteous (ashavan) will not be harmed."
Eventually, Ahura Mazda will triumph, and his agent Saoshyant will resurrect the dead, whose bodies will be restored to eternal perfection, and whose souls will be cleansed and reunited with God. Time will then end, and truth/righteousness (asha) and immortality will thereafter be everlasting.
Christ, used by Christians as both a name and a title, unambiguously refers to Jesus. It is also used as a title, in the reciprocal usage "Christ Jesus", meaning "the Messiah Jesus" or "Jesus the Anointed", and independently as "the Christ". The Pauline epistles, the earliest texts of the New Testament, often call Jesus "Christ Jesus" or just "Christ".
Eschatology concerns expectations of the end of present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions, which teach that negative world events will reach a climax. Belief that the end of the world is imminent is known as apocalypticism, and over time has been held both by members of mainstream religions and by doomsday cults. In the context of mysticism, the term refers metaphorically to the end of ordinary reality and to reunion with the divine. Religions treat eschatology as a future event prophesied in sacred texts or in folklore. While other religions may have concepts of renewal or transformation after significant events, the explicit description of a new earth is primarily found in Christian teachings.
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of mashiach, messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a mashiach is a king or High Priest traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil.
In Islam, Jesus is believed to be the penultimate prophet and messenger of God and the Messiah sent to guide the Children of Israel with a book called the Injīl.
The Messiah in Judaism is a savior and liberator figure in Jewish eschatology who is believed to be the future redeemer of the Jews. The concept of messianism originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible a messiah is a king or High Priest of Israel traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil.
Christianity and other religions documents Christianity's relationship with other world religions, and the differences and similarities.
The religious perspectives on Jesus vary among world religions. Jesus' teachings and the retelling of his life story have significantly influenced the course of human history, and have directly or indirectly affected the lives of billions of people, including non-Christians. He is considered by many to be one of the most influential persons to have ever lived, finding a significant place in numerous cultural contexts.
In religion, a false prophet or pseudoprophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneously considered a "false prophet" by others, even within the same religion as the "prophet" in question. In a wider sense, it is anyone who, without having it, claims a special connection to the deity and sets themself up as a source of spirituality, as an authority, preacher, or teacher. Analogously, the term is sometimes applied outside religion to describe someone who fervently promotes a theory that the speaker thinks is false.
Ad-Dajjal, otherwise referred to simply as the Dajjal, is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology who will pretend to be the promised Messiah and later claim to be God, appearing before the Day of Judgment according to the Islamic eschatological narrative. The word Dajjal is not mentioned in the Quran, but he is mentioned and described in the Hadith. Corresponding to the Antichrist in Christianity, the Dajjal is said to emerge out in the East, although the specific location varies among the various sources.
Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad was an 11th-century Persian Ismai'li missionary and founding leader of the Druze. He was born in Zuzan in Greater Khorasan in Samanid-ruled Persia, and preached his heterodox strand of Isma'ilism in Cairo during the reign of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. According to Hamza, al-Hakim was God made manifest. Despite opposition from the established Isma'ili clergy, Hamza persisted, apparently being tolerated or even patronized by al-Hakim himself, and set up a parallel hierarchy of missionaries in Egypt and Syria. Following al-Hakim's disappearance—or, most likely, assassination—in February 1021, Hamza and his followers were persecuted by the new regime. Hamza himself announced his retirement in his final epistle to his followers, in which he also promised that al-Hakim would soon return and usher the end times. Hamza disappeared thereafter, although one contemporary source claims that he fled to Mecca, where he was recognized and executed. His disciple Baha al-Din al-Muqtana resumed Hamza's missionary effort in 1027–1042, finalizing the doctrines of the Druze faith.
In Abrahamic religions, the Messianic Age is the future period of time on Earth in which the messiah will reign and bring universal peace and brotherhood, without any evil. Many believe that there will be such an age; some refer to it as the consummate "kingdom of God" or the "world to come". Jews believe that such a figure is yet to come, while Christians believe that this figure is Jesus Christ.
The world to come, age to come, heaven on Earth, and the Kingdom of God are eschatological phrases reflecting the belief that the current world or current age is flawed or cursed and will be replaced in the future by a better world, age, or paradise.
The Mahdi is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad, who will appear shortly before Jesus.
In Christian eschatology, Antichrist refers to a kind of person prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist is found four times in the New Testament, solely in the First and Second Epistle of John. Antichrist is announced as one "who denies the Father and the Son."
The Ahmadiyya branch in Islam has relationships with a number of other religions. Ahmadiyya consider themselves to be Muslim, but are not regarded as Muslim by mainstream Islam. Mainstream Muslim branches refer to the Ahmadiyya branch by the religious slur Qadiani, and to their beliefs as Qadianism a name based on Qadian, the small town in India's Punjab region where the founder of Ahmadiyya, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was born.
al-Masīḥ is the Arabic translation of the Hebrew title Māshīaḥ or the Greek title Khristós, meaning "the anointed one". It is the common word used by Arab Christians for 'Christ', a usage which was adopted by both Christians and Muslims in a number of languages influenced by Arabic.
Christianity and Druze are Abrahamic religions that share a historical traditional connection with some major theological differences. The two faiths share a common place of origin in the Middle East and are both monotheistic. Christian and Druze communities share a long history of interaction dating back roughly a millennium, particularly in Mount Lebanon. Over the centuries, they have interacted and lived together peacefully, sharing common social and cultural landscapes, despite occasional exceptions. Moreover, Druze beliefs, scriptures and teachings incorporate several elements from Christianity.
1 2 3 4 5 Dana, Nissim (2008). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p.47. ISBN978-1-903900-36-9.
1 2 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. ISBN978-0691610832.
↑ Ginsburgh, Rabbi Yitzchak (2001). Awakening the Spark Within – Five Dynamics of Leadership That Can Change the World. Gal Einai. pp.18–19.
1 2 Hitti, Philip K. (1928). The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings. Library of Alexandria. p.37. ISBN978-1-4655-4662-3.
1 2 Dana, Nissim (2008). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p.17. ISBN978-1-903900-36-9.
↑ Crone, Patricia (2013). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton University Press. p.139. ISBN978-0691134840.
↑ Swayd, Samy (2019). The A to Z of the Druzes. Rowman & Littlefield. p.88. ISBN9780810870024. Jesus is known in the Druze tradition as the "True Messiah" (al-Masih al-Haq), for he delivered what Druzes view as the true message. He is also referred to as the "Messiah of the Nations" (Masih al-Umam) because he was sent to the world as "Masih of Sins" because he is the one who forgives.
↑ S. Sorenson, David (2008). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Routledge. p.239. ISBN978-0429975042. They further believe that Hamza ibn Ali was a reincarnation of many prophets, including Christ, Plato, Aristotle.
↑ Hutter, Manfred (2005). "Bahā'īs". In Lindsay Jones (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol.2 (2nded.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference US. pp.737–740. ISBN0-02-865733-0.
↑ Zürcher, E. (1982). ""Prince Moonlight": Messianism and Eschatology in Early Medieval Chinese Buddhism". T'oung Pao. 68: 2. doi:10.1163/156853282X00073.
↑ Zürcher, E. (1982). ""Prince Moonlight": Messianism and Eschatology in Early Medieval Chinese Buddhism". T'oung Pao. 68: 13. doi:10.1163/156853282X00073.
↑ Zürcher, E. (1982). ""Prince Moonlight": Messianism and Eschatology in Early Medieval Chinese Buddhism". T'oung Pao. 68: 16. doi:10.1163/156853282X00073.
↑ Wilfried Daim: Der Mann, der Hitler die Ideen gab, Vienna 1994, p.222; quoted after: H. T. Hakl: Nationalsozialismus und Okkultismus. (in German) In: Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke: Die okkulten Wurzeln des Nationalsozialismus, 1997, Graz, Austria: Stocker (German edition of The Occult Roots of Nazism), p.196
↑ Russian Messianism: Third Rome, Revolution, Communism and After, Peter J. S. Duncan, London, 2000 [ISBNmissing][pageneeded]
Millenarianism and Messianism in Early Modern Culture, (4 voll.), Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Vol. 1: Goldish, Matt and Popkin, Richard H. (eds.). Jewish Messianism in the Early Modern World, 2001.
Vol. 2: Kottmnan, Karl (eds.). Catholic Millenarianism: From Savonarola to the Abbè Grégoire, 2001.
Vol. 3: Force, James E. and Popkin, Richard H. (eds.). The Millenarian Turn: Millenarian Contexts of Science, Politics and Everyday Anglo-American Life in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, 2001.
Vol. 4: Laursen, John Christian and Popkin, Richard H. (eds.). Continental Millenarians: Protestants, Catholics, Heretics, 2001.
Bockmuehl, Markus and Paget, James Carleton Paget (eds.), Redemption and Resistance. The Messianic Hopes of Jews and Christians in Antiquity London, New York: T & T Clark, 2009.
Desroche, Henri, Dieux d'hommes. Dictionnaire des messianismes et millénarismes de l'ère chrétienne, The Hague: Mouton, 1969.
Idel, Moshe, Messianic Mystics, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.
Kavka, Martin, Jewish Messianism and the History of Philosophy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Saperstein, Marc (ed.), Essential Papers on Messianic Movements and Personalities in Jewish History, NY: New York University Press, 1992.
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