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 the heavenly sovereign, king of prophets, or High Priest traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil.
In Judaism, Ha-mashiach (), often referred to as (), is a Jewish leader, physically descended via a human genetic father of an unbroken paternal Davidic line through King David and King Solomon. He will accomplish predetermined things in a future arrival, including the unification of the tribes of Israel,Megillah 17b–18a, Taanit 8b 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,Sotah 9a and the annunciation of the world to come.
The Greek translation of Messiah is Khristós (), anglicized as Christ. It occurs 41 times in the Septuagint and 529 times in the New Testament. Christians commonly refer to Jesus of Nazareth as either the "Christ" or the "Messiah", believing that the Old Testament messianic prophecies were fulfilled in the mission, death, and resurrection of Jesus and that he will return in a second coming to fulfill the rest of messianic prophecies. Moreover, unlike the Judaic concept of the Messiah, Jesus Christ is considered the Son of God, although in the Jewish faith the King of Israel was also metaphorically called the Son of God.
In Islam, Jesus () 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.
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), the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, wherein the terms Messiah and Mahdi are synonyms for one and the same person.
In controversial Chabad messianism, 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.
Etymology 'Messiah' is the transliteration of Hebrew , "anointed", from the verb , "to rub with oil, to anoint"; in the Septuagint the Hebrew word is calqued into , "anointed", from the verb , "to rub with oil, to anoint", which is the source of the English title "Christ".
In Hebrew, the Messiah is often referred to as (: , ), literally meaning 'the Anointed King'. The Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament renders all 39 instances of the Hebrew as . The New Testament records the Greek transliteration twice in John.,
(, 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 by Arab Christians and by Muslims.
Judaism
The literal translation of the Hebrew word 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).Tanakh verses:
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.
Though originally a fringe idea, somewhat controversially, belief in the eventual coming of a future messiah is a fundamental part of Judaism, and is one of Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith. Maimonides describes the identity of the Messiah in the following terms:
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).
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 (), 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.
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, leading 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.
Sabbatai Zevi
Active throughout the Ottoman Empire, Sabbatai Zevi claimed to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. Due to his conversion under duress to Islam, he became known among Jews as perhaps history's second most famous false messiah.
Chabad
Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (r. 1920–1950), sixth Rebbe (hereditary chassidic leader) of Chabad Lubavitch, and Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994), seventh Rebbe of Chabad, are messiah claimants."Public Responsa from Rabbi Aharon Feldman on the matter of Chabad messiansim" , 23 Sivan, 5763. . See also Rabbi Feldman's letter to David Beger.
As per Chabad-Lubavitch messianism, Menachem Mendel Schneerson openly declared his deceased father-in-law, the former 6th Rebbe of Chabad Lubavitch, to be the Messiah. He published about Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to be (Yiddish and English for: "Essence and Existence [of God] which has placed itself in a body").Likutei Sichos, Vol 2, pp. 510–511. 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, some claim 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". Outside of Chabad messianism, in Judaism, there is no basis to these claims. Still today, the deceased rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson is believed to be the Messiah among adherents of the Chabad movement, and his second coming is believed to be imminent. 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.
There are some who maintain that rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson is alive today and will come out of hiding and bring the messiah. Many of those who maintain this believe that he is hiding under the Bima (בימה) and that he will come out from under it when he brings the messiah.
Christianity
Originating from the concept in Judaism, the messiah in Christianity is called the Christ—from Greek khristós (), translating the Hebrew word of the same meaning. '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.
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."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)."
Islam
The Islamic faith uses the Arabic term (, ) to refer to Jesus. However the meaning is different from that found in Christianity and Judaism:
Unlike the Christian view of the Death of Jesus, Muslims believe Jesus was raised to Heaven without being put on the cross and God created a resemblance to appear exactly like Jesus who was crucified instead of Jesus, and he ascended bodily to Heaven, there to remain until his Second Coming in the End days.
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. 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 () or hidden ().
Jesus is one of the most important prophets in the Islamic tradition, along with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad. 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. Thus, like all other Islamic prophets, Jesus is one of the grand prophets who receives revelations from God. 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." In Sura 19, the Quran describes the birth of Isa, and Sura 4 explicitly identifies Isa as the Son of Maryam. Sunni Muslims believe Isa is alive in Heaven and did not die in the crucifixion. Sura 4, verses 157–158, also states that: