Jesus is Not the Messiah

Thank you Mr. Infidel (Pro) for this debate. I will try my best to compress this massive subject into 3 rounds. We won't be able to cover everything in this debate and I am open to more debates after this one regarding this topic. Pro lists numerous topics that each deserves its own debate. I seriously doubt that we can get in to much detail with any of them. So I apologize in advance if end up responding with brief and not as detailed responses.Pro has basically 2 arguments for his claim that Jesus is not the prophesied messiah.1. He did not do what the messiah was prophesied to do.Pro in arguing this, did not really argue but simply asserted that "It is a historical fact Jesus did NOT fulfill ANY of this." Can I counter that with simply saying that it is a historical fact that Jesus DID fulfill all of this? He pretty much shifted all the burden of proof on me on this topic. Not that I did not expect this, but this puts me in a tough position to explain each point within the character limits.2. Jesus did not meet the personal qualifications of the messiah.At least here, Pro gave us his interpretation of the provided scriptures, but again, the BoP is all on me.Pro's assertions pretty much requires me to talk about a big portion of Jesus' identity and ministry. I hope the readers will take this into consideration. I will try my best to argue against each topic as in depth as I can, with in the character and round limitations.WHAT THE MESSIAH WILL DOA lot more was prophesied about what the messiah will do, but for now I will only focus on what Pro listed. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to discuss all the other major prophecies that Jesus fulfilled.A. Build the third templeIt's interestingly ironic that Pro used Ezekiel 37:26-28 for this. Pro did not give us his interpretation and I ask that he does so in the next round.The Christian view regarding the temple based on the what the apostles wrote in the NT is that Jesus Himself is the true temple. Jesus epitomizes what the temple is and it's purpose. And his followers, God's people, being Jesus's extension (Jesus being the head while the church is the body) are also the new temple of God. [Paul] refers to the church, and indeed to individual Christians, as the ‘temple of the living God’ (1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19). (1)This fulfills Ezekiel 37:26-28. In God's new covenant, He will no longer dwell in a physical temple building, but rather, He will place his sanctuary in the midst of His people and his dwelling place shall be over them forever. B. Gather all the Jews back to the Land of IsraelPro cited Isaiah 43:5-6 where it talks about God gathering back his sons and daughters from the ends of the earth.The NT interpretation of this passage is that it is only the true Israel that will be gathered, for they are the true sons and daughters of God. Only a remnant of Israel will return just as it says in Israel 10:21-22. As for who is the true Israel, the NT view is this:"But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,7and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring." Romans 9:6-8Jesus did this. He gathered God's lost people from all over the nations back to God.C. Usher in an era of world peacePro cites Isaiah 2:42 things here:1. The condition is submission to the influence of the reign of the Messiah. (v. 3) Nothing remains to be done to make peace universal but to send the gospel abroad through every land. When that is done, the nations will be disposed to peace; and the prophet, therefore, has predicted the universal prevalence of peace "only" when all nations shall be brought under the influence of the gospel. (2) 2. This is metaphorical.The Prophet speaks metaphorically about the kingdom of Christ, which leads men, through mutual kindness, to become reconciled to each other. The Scriptures frequently employ a metaphor, in which the thing signified is denoted by a sign; as in that passage. (3)Universal peace is only within the kingdom of messiah, under the influence of his reign, the gospel of Christ. D. Spread the universal knowledge of G-d of Israel, which will unite humanity as one Jesus is the one man that made Israel's God known to the WHOLE world. But where in Zecharaiah 14:9 that all of humanity will be united as one? It only says that the whole world will have undeniable knowledge of the LORD. Jesus remarkably did this! Romans 14:9-12 "For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living... for it is written (Isaiah 45), "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess[b] to God." So then each of us will give an account of himself to God." Jesus' death and resurrection is Gods ultimate revelation, there is now no excuse for ignorance of the LORD. PERSONAL QUALIFATIONS OF THE MESSIAHThere are more personal criteria that the messiah had to meet than what Pro listed that were all fulfilled by Jesus, but for now I will only talk about what Pro listed. A. Descendant of David Con fallaciously argues that since Christianity teaches that Jesus is the Son of God, that he is not therefore a descendant of David. 1. His genealogy shows us that his biological mother, Mary and his legal father, Joseph, were both descendants of David. No one, not even his enemies, back when they still had genealogy records, accused Jesus of not being a son of David. 2. David calls the messiah his Lord, Psalm 110. The messiah is both the son of David and the Lord of David.In Matthew 22:43-45, Jesus asks the Pharises a rhetorical question,“How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet’?” The messiah will be both the seed of David, and the Lord of David. Jesus fulfilled this. B. Torah observance Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished”We can go on and on about this topic, but the NT does not at all claim that Jesus abolished the laws, but in fact fulfilled them. For example, Jesus fulfilled the sabbatical law by claiming to be the true sabbath himself. We must rest in Christ and his work, lest we die. Regarding dietary laws, 1. In the passages that Pro cited, the issue was actually about eating with uncleaned hands, and not eating unclean (non kosher) foods.2. The purpose of dietary laws (besides health reasons), like circumcision, was to make Israel distinct from other nations. That was the old covenant, God made a new covenant with His people in Christ. Though there is nothing wrong with eating kosher, or resting on the sabbath, Jesus fulfilled these OT laws not contradict them. Regarding the messiah being God, explain these passages:Isaiah 9:6Jeremiah 23:5-6 Psalm 110:1Proverbs 30:4Psalm 45:6-7Zechariah 2:10 C. The messiah was a prophet Pro argues that Jesus was a false prophet since Matthew 24:29:35 was not fulfilled. But the Christian interpretation of this passage is that all those things will happen before the second coming of the Messiah. "Generation" is not literal, it is referring to an age, or era which Christians believe started after Jesus' first coming and will end in his return.Jesus was indeed a prophet, Pro can go ahead and give us another prophecy by Jesus that is allegedly wrong, and I will defend it. (1) N. T. Wright, "Jerusalem in the New Testament" (1994) (2) Notes on the Bible by Albert Barnes [1834](3) John Calvin's Commentaries