Jesus is not the Messiah

Thank you for your opening response. C1) Jesus fulfilled scripture My opponent states Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies. If true, it would certainly support his case. However, the verses he used are very weak. Born in Bethlehem For a moment, let’s concede that the Messiah must be born in Bethlehem. Does this mean Jesus is the Messiah? No. Just because Jesus was born in Bethlehem doesn’t mean that he is the Messiah. Indeed, many people throughout history have been born in Bethlehem. This is circular reasoning. However, does Micah say that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem? The answer is no. Here is what Micah ACTUALLY states: וְאַתָּה בֵּית לֶחֶם אֶפְרָתָה, צָעִיר לִהְיוֹת בְּאַלְפֵי יְהוּדָה; מִמְּךָ לִי יֵצֵא לִהְיוֹת מוֹשֵׁל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, וּמוֹצָאֹתָיו מִקֶּדֶם מִימֵי עוֹלָם. Properly translated, it states: "...as for you, Beit LehP3;em Efratah, although you are too small to be counted among the 'thousands' of Y'hudah—yet, even so, the one who is to be My ruler in Yisraél will come from you, because his roots were [from you] in the ancient times". Micah is saying that Beit Lehem, while small and insignificant, one day it would come to be considered King-Messiah’s “home-town”, because it was the birth place of his ancestor King Dovid. Called out of Egypt Simply put, Hosea says nothing about the Messiah. READ the verse IN CONTEXT: “"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” The chapter is referring to ISRAEL, not to someone born a few hundred years later. The Lineage My opponent states he must be a descendant of Isaac, Jacob, and David. Once again, this is circular reasoning. On a more serious note, the genealogies is passed from the father. Because Jesus was born of a virgin, he has no legal right to the throne, nor does he have any lineage going back to David.[1] Jesus entered the Temple Malachi 3 is talking about the 3rd temple, not the 2nd temple. Indeed, as Jews for Judaism notes in Contra Brown:[2] In this passage the prophet speaks of a visitation of the Divine into the Temple. But it does not specify in which Temple the manifestation will occur. The prophet simply states that the Master will enter His sanctuary suddenly. This could refer to the future ThirdTemple [sic] as easily as it could refer to the Second. This passage cannot be used as evidence that the Messiah must come before the destruction of the SecondTemple [sic], because the prophecy does not indicate which Temple it is referring to. What this passage does tell us is that when the manifestation does occur, it will not be a Christian manifestation. Christianity believes that the sacrificial system and the Levitical priesthood were terminated with the advent of Jesus. Malachi has a different message. Malachi teaches that the Levites will be purified so that the offerings of Israel will be pleasing to God exactly as they were in days gone by. There is no way that one can repudiate the Levitical priesthood together with the sacrificial system and claim to fulfill this prophecy at the same time. Jesus’ birth will be accompanied with great suffering and sorrow Read the context. Jeremiah is referring to the Babylonian captivity. C2) Jesus fulfilled the purpose of the Messiah Daniel 9 Because Daniel 9 is such a difficult prophecy to understand, I have included a video to help understand what I am going to say. My opponent does not need to respond to the video, it is simply there for clarification purposes.[3] In fact, Daniel 9 states that the messiah CANNOT come before the destruction of the 2nd temple. Who then were the “messiahs” in Daniel 9? Actually there are two, and nowhere does it say HA-Mashiyah or THE Messiah.[4] The first “anointed one” is King Cyrus and the second “anointed one” is King Agrippa. Finally, the phrase “…cut off, but not for himself…” does not appear in the Hebrew. It actually says “and he will be cut off and exist no more.” In the Bible, the phrase “cut off” is a punishment for the wicked. Prophet like unto Moshe If you read D’varim 18:14-22, you will find that this is not a prophecy; rather it is establishing the office of the prophets and God is promising the Israelites that he will send other prophets after Moshe 21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. Jesus Claimed to be the Messiah So what? So did a lot of other people. Indeed, as Jesus himself stated to beware of “false prophets” and “false messiahs.” Isaiah 9 Isaiah 9 is horribly mistranslated. כִּי־יֶֽלֶד יֻלַּד־לָֽנוּ, בֵּן נִתַּן־לָֽנוּ, וַתְּהִי הַמִּשְׂרָה עַל־שִׁכְמוֹ; וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ פֶּֽלֶא־יוֹעֵץ־אֵל־גִּבּוֹר־אֲבִי־עַד "שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם"׃ ...a boy has been born for us, a son has been given to us, and one day the responsibility of kingship will rest on his shoulder; the Wondrous One, Adviser, Mighty God, Father of Eternity has named him "Peace-Prince". This is past-tense so this child has already been born. This is in reference to King Hezekiah. Conclusion The proof-texts used by Christian missionaries to prove Jesus is the Messiah is based on very weak claims, mistranslations, and quoting out of context. WHO is the Messiah? We don’t know for sure. One thing is clear: when the Messiah DOES come, no belief will be required as we will KNOW that it has happened. Over to con. [1] In Jewish Law, the mother gives the Jewish soul and the father gives the genealogies. See Numbers 1 and the book of Ezra-Nehemyah [2] http://jewsforjudaism.org.au... [3] Video by Michael Skobak and Jews for Judaism CA http://www.youtube.com... [4] Actually the Hebrew Bible NEVER uses the term “THE Messiah” in reference to the Messiah that will come in the future!