The Rabbinic Two-Messiah Theory

The Messiah in Hebrew (The Christ in Greek):

The "Messiah" is an idea and hope that runs through every page of the Holy Scriptures announcing his character, his time of coming, the type and details of his church... and the Messiah is the core of the heart of every Jew... He was promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David... he shall save Israel and the whole world!...

It is puzzling to consider why some Jews do not recognize Jesus as the long promised and awaited Messiah, with so many prophecies of the Scriptures fulfilled to the letter in Jesus. Prophecies of the Old Testament Fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah

One reason is that the Jewish Scriptures, the Old Testament, make about 300 prophecies of the suffering servant Messiah of Is.53, but make about 500 prophecies of the triumphant King of Isaiah 2 and Zechariah 14... to the point that some rabbis talk about two Messiah, and for most Jews, the "triumphant one" is the Messiah they were expecting... even today, most synagogues skip the readings of Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22.

For some Jews, the Servant could not be the Messiah precisely because he is depicted as suffering. The Jewish Messiah for them is a triumphant military and political figure whose coming marks the end of the era of mortality: Neither he nor his followers will ever die. Christianity radically reworked this material to combine the two figures into one: A suffering Messiah who dies, and a victorious Messiah who resurrects... and brings eternal life in Heaven, and temporarily on earth, to those who believe in Him, in Jesus the Messiah, the Christ in Greek.

The Rabbinic Two-Messiah Theory:

When one studies rabbinic views of the Messiah one finds something very interesting: Many ancient rabbis spoke of two Messiahs:

1- One Messiah was the "Son of Joseph.", or the "Son of Abraham" (Isaac), the suffering Messiah of Is.53 and Psalm 22... who was to raise the armies of Israel against their enemies, and, after many victories and miracles, would fall victim of Gog and Magog of Ezekiel 38.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Is.53:4-5).

2- The other Messiah was the "Son of David", triumphant, who will lead Israel to the ultimate victory, the triumph, and the Messianic era of bliss, where Jerusalem would be the capital of the world, and all the nations will come to offer their respects and goods to the Lord and to Israel...

Jerusalem shall remain exalted in its place... Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected-great quantities of gold and silver and clothing... Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain. (Zech.14:10,14,16,17, Is.2:1-5).

Surely this is also one of the main themes of Isaiah:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Is.2:2-3).

The Only One Messiah:

After the coming of Jesus the Christ, it is obvious there is only one Messiah with two different aspects already outlined in the first verse of the New Testament, in Matthew 1:1:

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham (Mat.1:1).

Of course, the word "son" means "descendant", not flesh-son!... be careful in the Bible with the words "son", and "brother"... often they are not flesh sons or brothers.

1- The son (descendant) of Abraham is like Isaac, the child of Abraham, the suffering Messiah, the one offered at Calvary, on the Cross, for the redemption of the whole human raze (Is.53:4-5, Ps.22).

It took thousands of years for this prophecy to be fulfilled, but it was, and to the letter!, in Jesus the Messiah (the Christ in Greek)... and keeps on been completely fulfilled in the Church of Christ.

2- The son (descendant) of David, is the triumphal resurrected Jesus Christ, to bring new, glorious and eternal life to every human being who believes in Him. The Eternal Kingdom Promised to David...Jesus and His Church.

It took also thousands of years for this prophecy to be fulfilled, but it has already partially been fulfilled... and it will be completely fulfilled within due time.

Yes, it takes time to realize that the Christ came, not only to be a Wonderful Counselor or Mighty God or even an Everlasting Father. He is also came to be the Prince of Peace in a world that lacks peace because it still ignores His wonderful counsel and does not recognize Him as equal to the Mighty God and Everlasting Father. (Is.9:6). The Immanuel... His Five Titles

The Second Coming:

It was prophesied in the Jewish Scriptures, in the Old Testament, among others, by Daniel:

"At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people-everyone whose name is found written in the book-will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge." (Dan.12:1-4).

Take a look at the Last Judgment in Mat.25:31-46... The Second Coming: The End of the World Order of Events

Jesus the Messiah, the Christ in Greek, already came, very humble at Bethlehem, to Save the human raze with His Blood at Calvary, and to establish His Eternal Kingdom... in His Second Coming, Jesus will come to Judge, not to save anyone, not to establish any kingdom, which He already did.

Many Christians are also in error when they claim a Second Coming of Christ to establish His Kingdom on earth for a thousand years, for a millennium... they are in error as much as those rabbis with the two-messiah theory.

The Millennium expected by many Christians is nothing compared with the eternal Heaven. According to Rabbi Kaplan, Judaism is right when it claims that "The main task of the Messiah was to bring the world back to God and to abolish all war, suffering and injustice from the world. Clearly, Jesus did not accomplish this. In order to get around this failure on the part of Jesus, Christians invented the doctrine of the ?Second Coming?. All the prophecies that Jesus did not fulfill the first time are supposed to be taken care of the second time around. However the Jewish Bible offers absolutely no evidence to support the Christian doctrine of a ?Second Coming." (Rabbi Kaplan?s book, ?The Real Messiah?).

Yes, Judaism is right: Jesus does not have to came again to save anyone nor to establish any kingdom... that's already done!. The theory of the Second Coming to establish a small millennium has no basis in the Old nor in a the New Testament. In His Second Coming, Jesus will come to Judge, not to save anyone, not to establish any kingdom, which He already did. Jesus is not coming again to be king and rule and reign, He has been King of Kings and Lord of Lords since the day of His Resurrection... actually since eternity. Millennium

Now is the day of salvation!. (1Cor.6:2, Is.49:8)... " Repent and be baptized everyone of you for the remission of sins"(Acts 2:38).

The Kingdom of the Messiah is much greater than all the known Universe:

The Jews, and you and I, were expecting a Messiah to bring us the kingdom of this world, but Jesus offers us something infinitely bigger, the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. A thousand kingdoms on earth compared with the Kingdom of Heaven are like a drop of water compared with the ocean.

But for it, we shout "crucify Him"!... both, the Jews and you and I... We awaited a boss, and Christ is only a God. We expected a great king, and Jesus is only a servant (Mk.10:45). We wanted swords, and Jesus gives us palms. We were longing to be masters, but Jesus orders us to love. We look for a golden crown, and Jesus gives us a wooden cross. We were expecting to be victorious, with honors, and Jesus commands us to forgive and to be humble... and for it, as a criminal of high treason, we shout louder even now, "crucify Him", "crucify Him"!... with every sin we crucify Jesus again! (Mat.27:23, Heb.6:6).

Many Jews are still waiting for a Messiah to establish a kingdom on earth... many Christians are also waiting for Jesus to establish also a little temporary kingdom on earth, not eternal, but just for one thousand years... and after that, would there be a Third Coming?...

No, my friend, there are only Two Comings of Jesus Christ: The first one to save, the second one to judge:

- But you can be sure there is an eternal glorious Kingdom waiting for you and me, the Kingdom of Jesus:

"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world (Jn.18:37, Mk.15:2).

- But His Kingdom is not of this world!... all the universe we know compared with the Kingdom of Jesus is just almost nothing, like a grain of sand compared with a million stars:

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." (Jn.18:36).

As it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1Cor.2:9, Is.64:4).

The Kingdom is Growing on Earth... and in Heaven!: