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Debunking
the Arguments of Christian Fundamentalists and Evangelists
Why Jesus could not be the messiah of the Old
Testament
Christians are fond of claiming that Jesus fulfilled
Old Testament messianic prophecies. But as we mentioned above in Argument
# 3, the writers of the New Testament books often twisted verses from the Old
Testament that had nothing to do with messianic prophecies, to try to make them
fit into Jesus’ story. (In my opinion, that was very disrespectful to the Old
Testament writers.) It was as though the Gospel advocates of the New
Testament were desperate to look for anything in the Old Testament to try to
fit their concept of Jesus as the messiah into it. In effect, it was a
sort of “forced sequel.” Anyone who merely looks at the alleged Old
Testament prophecies can see this. It’s quite obvious.
However, not only does Jesus not fit the messianic
prophecies of the Old Testament scriptures, but what most Christians don’t know
and are never told, is that Jesus also did not fulfill the actual intended
messianic prophecies of the Old Testament and Torah! You see, Old
Testament prophesized a messiah (or “moshiach” as
modern Jews like to call it) who would re-establish the national
http://www.jewfaq.org/moshiach.htm
“The word "moshiach"
does not mean "savior." The notion of an innocent, divine or
semi-divine being who will sacrifice himself to save us from the consequences
of our own sins is a purely Christian concept that has no basis in Jewish
thought. Unfortunately, this Christian concept has become so deeply ingrained
in the English word "messiah" that this English word can no longer be
used to refer to the Jewish concept. The word "moshiach"
will be used throughout this page.”
In that same site, the prophecies about what the “moshiach” will do are explained:
“The moshiach will be a
great political leader descended from King David (Jeremiah 23:5). The moshiach is often referred to as "moshiach
ben David" (moshiach,
son of David). He will be well-versed in Jewish law, and observant of its commandments.
(Isaiah 11:2-5) He will be a charismatic leader, inspiring others to follow his
example. He will be a great military leader, who will win battles for Israel. He will be a great
judge, who makes righteous decisions (Jeremiah 33:15). But above all, he will
be a human being, not a god, demi-god or other
supernatural being………….
The moshiach will bring
about the political and spiritual redemption of the Jewish people by bringing us
back to Israel and
restoring
And according to that site on Jewish tradition, here
is what this “moshiach” will bring to the world when
he arrives:
The world after the messiah comes is
often referred to in Jewish literature as Olam Ha-Ba (oh-LAHM hah-BAH), the World to Come. This term can
cause some confusion, because it is also used to refer to a spiritual afterlife. In English, we
commonly use the term "messianic age" to refer specifically to the
time of the messiah.
Olam Ha-Ba
will be characterized by the peaceful co-existence of all people. (Isaiah 2:4)
Hatred, intolerance and war will cease to exist. Some authorities suggest that
the laws of nature will change, so that predatory beasts will no longer seek
prey and agriculture will bring forth supernatural abundance (Isaiah
11:6-11:9). Others, however, say that these statements are merely an allegory
for peace and prosperity.
All of the Jewish people will return from
their exile among the nations
to their home in Israel
(Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 23:8; 30:3; Hosea 3:4-5). The law of the Jubilee
will be reinstated.
In the Olam
Ha-Ba, the whole world will recognize the Jewish G-d as the only true G-d, and the
Jewish religion as the only true religion (Isaiah 2:3; 11:10; Micah 4:2-3;
Zechariah 14:9). There will be no murder, robbery, competition or jealousy.
There will be no sin (Zephaniah 3:13). Sacrifices will continue to
be brought in the Temple,
but these will be limited to thanksgiving
offerings, because there will be no further need for expiatory offerings.”
Obviously the Jesus of Christianity did not fulfill
these requirements, contrary to what the church teaches. Instead, what
the Christians do is take the prophecies that Jesus didn’t fulfill and try to
claim that he will fulfill them in his future Second Coming. Nice try,
but no cigar. The Judaism site addresses Jesus:
Jews do not believe that Jesus was
the moshiach. Assuming that he existed, and assuming that
the Christian scriptures are accurate in describing him (both matters that are
debatable), he simply did not fulfill the mission of the moshiach
as it is described in the biblical passages cited above. Jesus did not do any
of the things that the scriptures said the messiah would do.
On the contrary, another Jew born
about a century later came far closer to fulfilling the messianic ideal than
Jesus did. His name was Shimeon ben
Kosiba, known as Bar Kochba
(son of a star), and he was a charismatic, brilliant, but brutal warlord. Rabbi Akiba,
one of the greatest scholars in Jewish history, believed that Bar Kochba was the moshiach. Bar Kochba fought a war against the Roman Empire, catching the
Tenth Legion by surprise and retaking Jerusalem. He resumed sacrifices at the site of
the Temple and made plans
to rebuild the
For more detailed answers, see the site Jews
for Judaism which explains what the real Jewish messiah was about
and why the Jesus story didn’t fit the criteria. Their article The
Jewish Concept of Messiah explains why the Christian messianic prophecies are
not even Biblically supported. They also have a handbook The
Jewish Response to Missionaries that you can download in different
languages. In it, the criteria for the Jewish messiah are given:
“THE CRITERIA TO BE FULFILLED BY THE
JEWISH MESSIAH
In an accurate translation of the
Jewish Scriptures, the word "Moshiach" is
never translated as "Messiah," but as "anointed."1Nevertheless,
Judaism has always maintained a fundamental belief in a Messianic figure. Since
the concept of a Messiah is one that was given by G-d to the Jews, Jewish
tradition is best qualified to describe and recognize the expected Messiah.
This tradition has its foundation in numerous biblical references, many of
which are cited below. Judaism understands the Messiah to be a human being
(with no connotation of deity or divinity) who will bring about certain changes
in the world and who must fulfill certain specific criteria before being
acknowledged as the Messiah.
These specific criteria are as
follows:
1) He must be Jewish. (Deuteronomy 17:15,
Numbers 24:17)
2) He must be a member of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10)
and a direct male descendent of both
King David (I Chronicles 17:11, Psalm 89:29-38, Jeremiah 33:17,
II Samuel 7:12-16) and King Solomon.
(I Chronicles 22:10, II Chronicles 7:18)
3) He must gather the Jewish people from
exile and return them to Israel. (Isaiah 27:12-13, Isaiah 11:12)
4) He must rebuild the Jewish Temple in
Jerusalem. (Micah 4:1)
5) He must bring world peace. (Isaiah 2:4, Isaiah
11:6, Micah 4:3)
6) He must influence the entire world to acknowledge and serve one G-d.
(Isaiah 11:9, Isaiah 40:5, Zephaniah 3:9)
All of these criteria for the
Messiah are best stated in the book of Ezekiel chapter 37:24-28:
"And My servant David will be a king over them, and they will all have
one shepherd, and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes, and observe them, and they shall live on the land that I gave to Jacob My
servant...and I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an
everlasting covenant and I will set my sanctuary in their midst forever and My
dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their G-d and they will be My
people. And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My
sanctuary is in their midst forever."
If an individual fails to fulfill
even one of these conditions, he cannot be the Messiah.”
In the next section of the handbook, a funny story is
given that illustrates how the New Testament writers “created” Jesus’ fulfilled
prophecies.
“While traveling through a forest, a
person noticed a circle marked on a tree with an arrow shot perfectly into the
center. A few yards away he noticed several more targets, each with arrows in
the center. Later, he met the talented archer and he asked him, "How did
you become such an expert that you always get your arrows into the center of
the bull's-eye?" "It's not difficult," responded the archer,
"First I shoot the arrow and then I draw the circle."”
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