These words of hope have kept our people alive, have given us strength and vision. The coming of the Prince of Peace is the burden of our prayers. This vision of Messiah has been kept alive through centuries of waiting and anxious longing. It is a fire that has burned in the breast of all Israel. There remains a question as to whether this hope has ever been realized.
Impartial history can make only one determination.
But as for you, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth from Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. And they will remain because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth, and this one will be our peace. In His name has been given the teachings of the Tenach to all the earth. If He be not the Messiah, He has at least thus far done the Messiah s work.