Messiah

{{religion}}
{{cquote|The Messiah Is Not Coming — and He's Not Even Going to Call!|||[[Israel]]i hit tune in 2001<ref>[[Christopher Hitchens]], ''[[God Is Not Great|God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything]]'', p. 277.</ref>}}

Depending on whether one reads the [[Old Testament|Old]] or the [[New Testament]], the '''Messiah''' is either written as ''mashiach'' (מָשִׁ֫יחַ)<ref name=h4899>[http://biblehub.com/hebrew/4899.htm mashiach]</ref> or as ''christos'' (χριστός).<ref name=h5477>
[http://biblehub.com/greek/5547.htm christos]
</ref>
The first is a [[Hebrew]] word found in the Old Testament and the second is a [[Greek]] word found in the New Testament.  ''Mashiach'' calqued as ''christos'' is like saying the only way a king such as [[King David| David]] can gather all the [[Jews]] back to Israel is by [[Crucifiction |dying on the cross]] and ascending into [[Heaven]].  A Biblical literalist could argue that [[Jesus]] accomplished this as a belief in him enabled the [[Third Reich]] to promote [[Positive Christianity]] and one of the consequences of {{wpl| Nazi_concentration_camps}} was the 
creation
 founding of modern-day [[Israel]], but it involves a pretty disturbing way of looking at the world.  In essence, it is arguing Jesus died on the cross so that people who believe in him will [[Holocaust| exterminate Jews]] and then feel guilty about it and this guilt will motivate them to help the survivors forge a country in Israel thus fulfilling [[Biblical_prophecies |biblical prophecy]]. Biblical literalists don't make this argument but it is a logical extrapolation of their [[belief]] system, if you ignore all the other requirements for ''mashiach'' that Jesus doesn’t fulfill.  In any case, this page will concentrate on explaining how the concept of a Messiah originated.

==Judaism's view of the Messiah (מָשִׁ֫יחַ)==
The Jewish criteria expressed in the [[Hebrew Bible|Tanakh]] about the Messiah's legitimacy and duties are summarized in the following paragraph ({{bible|Ezekiel|37|21|28}}):

{{quotebox|Thus saith the [[Yahweh|Lord GOD]]; Behold, I will take the [[Jews|children of Israel]] from among the [[heathen]], whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own [[Holy Land|land]]:<br /> And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. […]<br /> And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.<br /> And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.<br /> Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.<br /> My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.<br /> And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.|||{{bible|Ezekiel|37|21|28}}}}

Specifically, the Hebrew Scriptures (any translation will do) state that the REAL Messiah of the Jews will be recognized as the true one by fulfilling the following prophecies:
*The Messiah will be totally [[human]];<ref name=jewfaq>[http://www.jewfaq.org/mashiach.htm Mashiach: The Messiah], Judaism 101.</ref><ref name=judaism.about>Ariela Pelaia, Chaviva Gordon-Bennett; [http://judaism.about.com/od/judaismbasics/a/Jewish-View-Of-Jesus.htm The Jewish View of Jesus - Who Was Jesus?] (2016), judaism.about.com</ref>
*The Messiah will be an observant Jew,<ref name=judaism.about /> from the Tribe of Judah ({{bible|Genesis|49|10}}; {{bible|Numbers|24|17}}; {{bible|Deuteronomy|17|15}});
*The Messiah will be a direct male descendant of Davidic bloodline ({{bible|2 Samuel|7|12|16}}; {{bible|Jeremiah|39|17}}; {{bible|Psalm|89|29|38}}; {{bible|1 Chronicles|17|11}}, {{bible|1 Chronicles|22|10}}, {{bible|2 Chronicles|7|18}});
*The Messiah will gather all the Jews back to the Land of Israel ({{bible|Isaiah|11|11|12}}, {{bible|Isaiah|27|12|13|filler}}, {{bible|Isaiah|43|5|6|filler}}; {{bible|Jeremiah|23|8}}, {{bible|Jeremiah|30|3}}; {{bible|Hosea|3|4|5}});
*The Messiah will restore the Jewish People to full observance of the [[Torah]] ({{bible|Isaiah|2|2|4}}, {{bible|Isaiah|11|10}}, {{bible|Isaiah|42|1}}; {{bible|Jeremiah|33|15}});<ref name=jewfaq />
*The Messiah will build the Third Temple in Jerusalem ({{bible|Micah|4|1}}; {{bible|Jeremiah|33|18}}; {{bible|Ezekiel|37|26|28}});
*THEN the Messianic Era shall begin,<ref name=judaism.about /> and the Messiah will be recognized and enthroned as the King of Israel by the Jewish People in the Holy Land;<ref name=jewfaq />
*The Messiah will bring peace to the world and the [[Yahweh|God of the Jews]] will be recognized as the only one, true God ({{bible|Isaiah|2|3|4}}, {{bible|Isaiah|11|6}}; {{bible|Micah|4|2|3}}; {{bible|Zechariah|14|9}}); he will end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease.<ref name=judaism.about /> As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore" ({{bible|Isaiah|2|4}});
*The Messiah will spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel ({{bible|Isaiah|11|9}}, {{bible|Isaiah|40|5}}; {{bible|Zephaniah|3|9|13}}), which will unite [[humanity]] as one. As it says: "God will be King over all the world – on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" ({{bible|Zechariah|14|9}}).

One of the central themes of [[Biblical prophecies|biblical prophecy]] is the promise of a future age of perfection characterized by universal peace and recognition of the God of Israel by the entire world ({{bible|Isaiah|2|1|4}}, {{bible|Isaiah|32|15|18|filler}}, {{bible|Isaiah|60|15|18|filler}}; {{bible|Zephaniah|3|9}}; {{bible|Hosea|2|20|22}}; {{bible|Amos|9|13|15}}; {{bible|Micah|4|1|4}}; {{bible|Zechariah|8|23}}, {{bible|Zechariah|14|9}}; {{bible|Jeremiah|31|33|34}}).

Throughout the ages, since the fall of the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel, Jews have always felt the urge to re-establish their dominion on the Holy Land, but they failed a lot of times… [[Israel|at least, until 1948]]. During this constant wait, generations of rabbis, sages, theologians and thinkers tried to figure out what kind of person the Jewish Messiah is going to be, and most of all, when will he come.<ref name=jewfaq /> The Messiah's coming has been one of the most enduring hopes for the Jewish people, and the majority of [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jews]] still believe in it.<br/>
However, according to the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'':

{{cquote|It is widely supposed that [[Judaism]] is a messianic religion and that hope for the Messiah's appearance is the major focus of, and driving force behind, Jewish religious belief and behavior. […] These assumptions, however, need qualification. Judaism's Scripture, the [[Torah|Hebrew Bible]], contains no doctrine of an [[Eschatology|eschatological redeemer]] and does not use the term ''messiah'' to refer to one. […] Additionally, the idea of the Messiah is barely present in the Mishnah, the foundation document of [[Orthodox Judaism|Rabbinic Judaism]].|||Wendy Doniger (editor)|''Britannica Encyclopedia of World Religions'', 2006, p. 722}}

====Jewish views on Jesus' alleged messianship====
{{wpl|Judaism's view of Jesus|Jews do not accept Jesus of Nazareth}} as the {{wpl|Messiah in Judaism|Jewish Messiah}} for the following reasons:

*Jesus did not fulfill any of the messianic prophecies (see above);<ref name=jewfaq /><ref name=judaism.about />
*Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah (see above);<ref name=jewfaq /><ref name=judaism.about />
*Jesus fiercely criticized the [[Pharisee]]s because of their meticulous observance of the Law ({{bible|Matthew|23|1|39}}), [[Hypocrite|but he, by contrast, is the one who breaks the Law]]! ({{bible|Mark|2|15|17}}, {{bible|Mark|2|18|22|filler}}, {{bible|Mark|2|23|28|filler}}, {{bible|Mark|3|1|6|filler}}, {{bible|Mark|7|1|23|filler}}, {{bible|Mark|10|2|12|filler}}) The [[Gospels]] themselves demonstrate that Jesus was not an observant Jew; moreover, he clearly despised the Mosaic Law and opposed to it, so he couldn't be the Jewish Messiah.{{efn|Observance and obedience to the Mosaic Law was the regulatory requirement for all the Jews since the Babylonian Exile, both living in Roman provinces of Palestine and in the Diaspora: {{cquote|[...] it seems beyond dispute that above all outside of [[Jerusalem]], the practice of the [[Torah|Law]] was the distinctive element of Jewish spirituality more than the cult of the temple was. It is precisely the very lively polemics that exploded among the Galilean followers of Jesus with the Hellenists and with [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] that demonstrate it beyond any doubt. And the insistence of Paul on the fact that he was a [[Pharisee]] and on his past in [[Judaism]] is a further confirmation. It is in the observance of the Law that Jewishness is shown fully.|||Giorgio Jossa|''Jews or Christians? The Followers of Jesus in Search of their own Identity'' (2006), p. 31, Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen, ISBN 3-16-149192-0.}}}}<ref>However, there have been Jewish scholars that viewed Jesus' Jewishness and the claims of his messianship in different ways; according to Hyam Maccoby (''Revolution In Judea: Jesus And The Jewish Resistance'', 1980), Jesus was a progressive Pharisee that simply opposed the Roman rule over Judea.</ref>
*Biblical verses that, according to Christians, allegedly refer to Jesus were [[Bible interpolation|misrepresented and manipulated on purpose]] by the [[New Testament|Evangelists]] in order to [[Propaganda|portray his life and ministry as the fulfillment of prophecies many years after his execution]].<ref name=jewsforjudaism>[http://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/answers/jewish-polemics/texts/christian-proof-texting/ Christian Proof-Texting: Misquoting Texts], Jews for Judaism.</ref> Above all, the Major Prophets ([[Isaiah]], [[Jeremiah]], [[Ezekiel]] etc.) that foresee the Messiah's arrival were incorrectly quoted in the [[New Testament]] for these reasons;<ref name=jewsforjudaism /><ref>See also [[Christian evangelism]], [[Lying for Jesus]] and [[Pious fraud]].</ref>
*Jewish belief is based on [[Ethnocentrism|ethno-religious, national and exclusive Revelation]]<ref>James D. G. Dunn, ''The Theology of Paul the Apostle'' (2006), pp. 43-46, Eerdmans, ISBN 978-0802844231.</ref> ({{bible|Deuteronomy|32|8|9}}). This distinctive feature of Judaism has been the main hindrance that early [[Christian]] [[missionaries]] had to collide with, so far as they were ethnic Jews themselves (Stephen and [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] are the best examples).<br/> To overcome this key element of Jewish religion and traditions, Paul developed a [[Theology|system of beliefs]] based on a hypothetical "New Covenant" which, according to him, abrogated the Law's validity through Jesus' death;{{efn|See also [[Sacrifice]] and [[Scapegoat]].}} for this reason, everyone that believes in Jesus as the Messiah, whether Jewish or [[Pagan]], shall be saved anyway at the [[End Times|end of time]]. Sadly, [[Delusion|it was all in his head]].
*The Messiah is of King David's bloodline, and since [[Mary (Mother of Jesus)|Mary]]'s baby-daddy was [[YHWH|God]], and according to the Law, Davidic kingship and tribal affiliation neither passes through adoption nor [[Sexism|can it be transferred through the daughters]], it's irrelevant if either Mary or Joseph is one of David's descendants or not; Jesus was not King of the Jews.

====Jesus was an impostor====
If [[Patriarchy|a man]] fails to fulfill even one of these conditions, then he cannot be the Jewish Messiah, but an impostor.

Given that no one has ever fulfilled the [[Hebrew Bible]]'s description of this future King, Jews still await the coming of the real Messiah.<ref name=jewfaq /><ref name=judaism.about />
All past messianic claimants, including Jesus of Nazareth, Shimon Bar Kokhba, Shabbetai Tzevi, and [[Chabad|Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] ({{wpl|Jewish Messiah claimants|not to mention the others…}}) have been rejected.<ref name=jewfaq /><ref name=judaism.about />

Christians counter that Jesus will fulfill these in the [[Second Coming]]. Rabbinic literature shows that the Jewish Messiah will fulfill the biblical prophecies outright; in the [[Old Testament]] no concept of a Second Coming exists. 

Christian faith is entirely based on the premise that Jesus is the [[Salvation|savior]] sent by God to free humanity from [[sin]] once and for all, but people are ''still sinning'' even after Jesus' death, so nothing changed. This means that [[Truth|his alleged sacrifice was in vain]]. 

Moreover, the Old Testament itself clearly explains that no other divine being exists before God, so Jesus couldn't be his son; in {{bible|Isaiah|43|10|13}} God himself says there is no savior and all men must contact him directly. Ergo, there's no need for a savior, and Jesus was, by default, a [[delusional]] [[cult]] leader, an impostor, and a false prophet.

==The Saoshyant (the Zoroastrian Messiah) and the Son of Man==
One of the people touted by the Bible as the mashiach<ref name=h4899/> (מָשִׁ֫יחַ) was [[Cyrus the Great]].  
{{cquote|Thus saith the LORD to his anointed (mashiach), to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates…|||{{bible|Isaiah|45|1}}}} 
The reason Cyrus was considered to be a messiah was that he fulfilled one of the principal requirements for מָשִׁ֫יחַ, namely he returned the Jews to the land of Israel after his Persian empire conquered the [[Babylon]]ians. 

While under [[Persian]] governance, the Jewish people were exposed to [[Zoroastrianism]] on a daily basis. One of the religious ideas the Zoroastrians believe in is that there will be three future saviors of the world born of maidens who bathe in Lake Kansava where Zoroaster’s seed has been miraculously preserved (ew!).  The first two saviors are called Hushedar and Hushedarmah.  The third is called the Saoshyant and he is to lead humanity in {{wpl|Frashokereti||,}} a final renovation of the universe when evil will be destroyed. The conception of the Saoshyant is described in Denkard 7.10.15ff.<ref name=saoshyant>[http://www.crystalinks.com/saoshyant.html Saoshyant]</ref> 
{{cquote|That maiden, who is Gobak-abu, walks up to the water; she that is the mother of that testifying Saoshyant who is the guide to conveying away the opposition of the destroyer…Then she sits in that water, when she is fifteen years old, and it introduces into the girl him 'whose name is the Triumphant Benefiter, and his title is the Body-maker… Not before that has she associated with men; nor yet afterwards, when she becomes pregnant, has she done so before the time when she gives birth.|||Denkard 7.10.15ff<ref>[http://www.avesta.org/denkard/dk7.html#chap10 Denkard]</ref>}} 
The Frashokereti is described in the {{wpl|Bundahishn}} where Ahura Mazda triumphs and will resurrect the dead through his agent, the Saoshyant, who was born from the virgin impregnated by Zoroaster’s miraculously preserved seed.<ref name=saoshyant/><ref>[http://www.avesta.org/mp/grb27.htm#chap30 Bundahishn]</ref>

The Jewish scriptures underwent religious syncretism during the time period they were under the influence of the Persians. One example of this was the inclusion of Cyrus as a messiah.  Another was the concept of [[resurrection]]. Prior to the Zoroastrian influence, the Jews believed that their [[soul]]s rested in sheol<ref>[http://biblehub.com/hebrew/7585.htm Sheol]</ref> without knowledge or feeling<ref>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13563-sheol ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' Sheol]</ref>, but passages from works written during the later Persian and Greek periods such as {{bible|Daniel|12|2}} show that the Jews began to believe that the souls of the dead could be resurrected and be given everlasting life.  In the Zoroastrian belief system, the awakening of the souls was done through Ahura Mazda's agent, the Saoshyant, and during this time period, cryptic references to a Saoshyant-like figure begin to appear in the Jewish literature.  It was called the ‘Son of Man’. One such reference is found in Daniel.
{{cquote|I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.|||{{bible|Daniel|7|13}}}} 
The Jewish scripture that best describes the Son of Man is called the [[Books of Enoch]].  The devout believed this work was written by Enoch who walked with God ({{bible|Genesis|5|24}}) and was [[Noah]]'s ancestor.  The Book of Enoch was widely known among early Christians before the [[Catholic Church]] decided that it was not canonical in the 4<sup>th</sup> century CE.  The following is what the ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' says about this work in relation to the messiah.
{{quotebox|The oldest apocalypse in which the conception of a preexistent heavenly Messiah is met with is the Messiological section of the Book of Enoch (xxxvii.-lxxi.) of the first century B.C. The Messiah is called "the Son of Man," and is described as an angelic being, his countenance resembling a man's, and as occupying a seat in heaven beside the Ancient of Days (xlvi. 1), or, as it is expressed in ch. xxxix. 7, "under the wings of the Lord of spirits…He is represented as the embodiment of justice and wisdom and as the medium of all God's revelations to men (xlvi. 3; xlix. 1, 2a, 3). At the end of time the Lord will reveal him to the world and will place him on the throne of His glory in order that he may judge all creatures in accordance with the end to which God had chosen him from the beginning.<ref name=messiah>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10729-messiah ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' Messiah]</ref>}}  

The key thing to note about Daniel and the Book of Enoch and their Son of Man references is that they were written before Jesus was said to have been born.  Thus, prior to 1<sup>st</sup> century CE, the Jewish people already had an idea of a heavenly messiah who was to sit in judgment of them.

==The Logos (the Greek philosophy Christians call the messiah) and Christos==
By the time Alexander the Great conquered the Persians, the Jews already had candidates for the first two saviors of the world in David and Cyrus, and thus it was only natural for some of them to believe that Alexander the Great was the third prophesized messiah.<ref name=messiah/>{{efn|And let’s face it. If there ever was a conqueror anointed by God, it was {{wpl|Alexander_the_Great||.}} That guy kicked some major butt.}} Alexander’s messianic status never became incorporated into the Bible, however.  Instead a different idea of what the messiah was came into existence – the Greek philosophical concept of [[Word of God|logos]].

Precisely how logos (λόγος)<ref name=g3056>[https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=g3056 Logos]</ref> became associated with mashiach<ref name=h4899/> is difficult to understand as the two beliefs are nothing like one another, but there is no doubt that it did happen.  The [[Trinity]] is dependent on logos and the messiah being one and the same.  Moreover, there are Biblical passages such as {{bible|John|1|1}} that stresses the central importance of logos in the Christian belief system. The key figures important in this transformation are the Alexandrian Jewish philosophers.  The first of these, Aristobulus, used passages such as {{bible|Genesis|1|3}} as proof that when God said something, it was the same as God doing something. ''For we must understand the voice of God not as words spoken, but as construction of works.''<ref name=Eusebius>[http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/index.htm#Praeparatio_Evangelica_(The_Preparation_of_the_Gospel) ''Praeparatio Evangilica'' Book 15 Chapter 14]</ref> The Hebrew word Amar (אָמַר)<ref name=h559>[https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H559&t=KJV Amar]</ref> used in passages such as Genesis 1:3 was translated into Greek as logos.<ref name=FromLogos>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DMQgAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA185&lpg=PA185&dq=justin+martyr+numenius+marian+hillar&source=bl&ots=_lpy0eLFIS&sig=Bjm0YdxHlqj_5H0GQtp9GUzbqUI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjojbTF7PzYAhVCIqwKHUhUBi8Q6AEIRDAF#v=onepage&q=justin%20martyr%20numenius%20marian%20hillar&f=false ''From Logos to Trinity'' Marian Hillar (page 36-39)]</ref>  Thus when the {{wpl|Septuagint}} was created and was read by Greek-speaking Jews, they could read for themselves why Aristobulus said Yahweh used ‘logos’ to create the world.  

The other key Jewish philosopher was Philo of Alexandria and he did two things critical for the transformation of logos into the messiah.  One was the elevation of logos to divine status and incorporating it into a [[Trinity|metaphysical triad]] that would eventually lead to the trinity.  The other was arguing that mankind was modeled after God’s logos.<ref>[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/yonge/book42.html ''Questions and Answers on Genesis II'' 62]</ref> If mankind was modeled after God’s logos, then it was only a small leap to believe that the prophesized messiah would ''be'' God’s logos.  The author(s) of John incorporated the idea that logos becomes flesh.  
{{cquote|And the Word (logos) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.|||John 1:14}}

Not only did the creation of the Septuagint translate the word amar<ref name=h559/> into logos<ref name=g3056/>, it also translated the Hebrew word masiach<ref name=h4899/> into christos<ref name=h5477/>.  And it also translated the Hebrew name Yehoshua (Joshua)<ref>[http://biblehub.com/hebrew/3091.htm Yehoshua]</ref> 
which means {{wpl|Yeshua|deliverer}} into Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs).<ref name=g2424>[http://biblehub.com/greek/2424.htm Iēsoûs]</ref> Thus the name Iesous<ref name=g2424/> Christos<ref name=h5477/> means anointed deliverer and it could very well be a title rather than the name of a person — anointed deliverer is a good description of what the Saoshyant is.

== Some Egyptian dude (one of many self-proclaimed messiahs) and Iesous Christos==
The {{wpl|Seleucid_Empire}} had been governing Israel but became weak when they got their butts kicked by the Romans and they had to pay them tons{{efn|{{wpl|Roman–Seleucid_War|450 tonnes of silver}} to be precise}} of money.  They also fought against Ptolemaic Egypt and the {{wpl|Seleucid–Parthian_wars|Parthians}} and therefore were distracted and in a process of decay when the Jews waged the {{wpl|Maccabean_Revolt}} and formed the {{wpl|Hasmonean_dynasty}} This Jewish independence ended when the Romans decided that they wanted Israel for themselves and conquered the Jews. 

Unlike with the Persians and the Greeks where relations were fairly cordial up until the Maccabean Revolt, many of the Jews didn’t like the Romans at all.  This led to a series of messianic revolts by self-proclaimed messiahs.  The following is one account given to us by [[Josephus]]. 
{{quotebox|And now these impostors and deceivers persuaded the multitude to follow them into the wilderness, and pretended that they would exhibit manifest wonders and signs, that should be performed by the providence of God. And many that were prevailed on by them suffered the punishments of their folly; for Felix brought them back, and then punished them. Moreover, there came out of Egypt about this time to Jerusalem one that said he was a prophet, and advised the multitude of the common people to go along with him to the Mount of Olives, as it was called, which lay over against the city, and at the distance of five furlongs. He said further, that he would show them from hence how, at his command, the walls of Jerusalem would fall down; and he promised them that he would procure them an entrance into the city through those walls, when they were fallen down. Now when Felix was informed of these things, he ordered his soldiers to take their weapons, and came against them with a great number of horsemen and footmen from Jerusalem, and attacked the Egyptian and the people that were with him. He also slew four hundred of them, and took two hundred alive. But the Egyptian himself escaped out of the fight, but did not appear any more. ''Antiquities of the Jews'' 20.8:6<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D20%3Awhiston+chapter%3D8%3Awhiston+section%3D6 ''Antiquities of the Jews'' 20.8:6]</ref>}}
According to the other wiki, Luke-Acts provides the only detailed account where {{wpl|Ascension_of_Jesus|Jesus’s ascension}} is described in the Bible and it takes place at the Mount of Olives, the same place where the aforementioned Egyptian prophet gathered people for a failed [[coup]].  The Mount of Olives is also where the {{wpl|Chapel_ of the Ascension, Jerusalem|Chapel of the Ascension}} is at.

Josephus mentions a couple of other people who claimed that they were a prophet/king/messiah. One was Simon of Peraea, a former [[slave]] to King Herod, whose revolt led to the burning of the royal palace at Jericho and Simon’s beheading.<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D17%3Awhiston+chapter%3D10%3Awhiston+section%3D6 ''Antiquities of the Jews'' 17.10:6]</ref> Another was Anthronges<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D17%3Awhiston+chapter%3D10%3Awhiston+section%3D7 ''Antiquities of the Jews'' 17.10:7]</ref> who was described as a tall man with strong hands. Another was Theudas<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D20%3Asection%3D97 ''Antiquities of the Jews'' 20.97-98]</ref> who was also beheaded. Menahem ben Judah was yet another.<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0148%3Abook%3D2%3Awhiston+chapter%3D17%3Awhiston+section%3D8 ''War of the Jews'' 2.17:8]</ref> 

These accounts are the closest thing that Josephus mentions about messiahs.  The quotes from ‘Josephus’ that mention Jesus are [[Bible interpolation|interpolations]] added by Christians.

==Jesus Christ and the Bible==
So how did the messiah become incorporated into the New Testament?  Well the answer to that question really depends on which part of the New Testament one reads.  Essentially the New Testament is composed of two different messianic movements that occurred concurrently.  Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts primarily have their origins in the messianic movements that occurred in Judea.  The Gospel of John is where the Jewish [[Word_of_God|logos]] and [[Holy_Spirit|pneuma]] philosophical movements become incorporated into the New Testament.  It is not quite as clean cut as this because there are some references to logos and pneuma in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke), and there are some references to Jesus as a messiah figure in John, but that is the basic idea.  

The oldest of the works is Mark<ref>{{wpa|Gospel of Mark|}}</ref> and most scholars date it to around 66–70 CE.  So who was the Iesous Christos mentioned in this work?  Was this a name of someone specific that Josephus didn't mention? (Josephus may have only mentioned some of the more prominent messianic claimants.)  Was Iesous Christos a title used in a way similar to the way the mysterious title Son of Man was used in ''Daniel'', the ''Book of Enoch'', and the ''Gospel of Mark''?  Was Iesous Christos a title used by one of the messianic claimants Josephus did mention such as Theudas, Anthonges, Simon of Perea, or the Egyptian dude?

Dennis MacDonald makes an interesting argument that the ''Gospel of Mark'' was essentially the Jewish equivalent of the ''Aeneid''.  Or, in other words, someone of Jewish descent used the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'' to create the ''Gospel of Mark'' just as Virgil used those works to create the ''Aeneid'' and thus Iesous Christos is essentially the Jewish equivalent of Odysseus.<ref>''The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark'' by Dennis R. MacDonald (2000) Yale University Press. ISBN 0300172613.</ref> This argument is along the lines of the [[hero pattern]], that heroes in [[mythology]] follow certain patterns, sharing a common origin in the human imagination. The truth is we will probably never know for certain whom Iesous Christos was or wasn't as too much history has been lost to the ravages of time.

==Other messiahs and messianic movements==	
A lot of time has been spent explaining the Christian messianic tradition but it should be recognized that Iesous Christos is not the only messiah people believe(d) in and there are other messianic movements.  Some of them are as follows:
*
[[Life of Brian|Brian]]

*[[Chabad]] messianism, a modern age [[Messianic Judaism|Jewish messianic]] belief system.
*{{wpl|Christ of Europe||,}} a messianic movement widespread in [[Poland]] in the 16<sup>th</sup> to the 18<sup>th</sup> centuries
*{{wpl|John Frum||,}} an American [[World War II]] serviceman who will bring wealth and prosperity to the people of Tanna, Vanuatu [[Cargo cult|if they follow him]].
*{{wpl|He whom God shall make manifest||,}} the [[Bábism]] messiah.
*{{wpl|Kalki||,}} the [[Hindu]] messiah.
*{{wpl|Duncan MacLeod|Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod}}, a fictional, immortal antiques dealer who chops off the heads of other immortals and has relations with females most people find attractive. He once battled with Ahriman (the Zoroastrian [[devil]]) and won. Thus he is a potential candidate for the prophesized saoshyant/messiah.
*{{wpl|Mahdi||,}} a [[Muslim]] messiah.
*[[Maitreya]], a [[Buddhist]] messiah.
*{{wpl|Neo (The Matrix)|Neo|,}} ''[[The Matrix]]'' messiah prophesized by the Oracle to be the one to free humanity from its computer-simulated existence. He is in a complicated relationship with Trinity.  
*{{wpl|Saoshyant||,}} the Zoroastrian messiah mentioned earlier. 
*Haile Selassie, the [[Rastafarian]] messiah.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/rastafari/beliefs/haileselassie.shtml Haile Selassie]</ref>
*{{wpl|Wovoka||,}} a prophet who taught the {{wpl|Ghost Dance}} to resurrect the Paiute dead, and remove whites and their works from North America.

==See also==
*[[Biblical prophecies]]
*[[Delusion]]
*[[Jerusalem syndrome]]

==External links==
*Joseph Jacobs, Moses Buttenwieser; ''[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10729-messiah Messiah]'' (1906), JewishEncyclopedia.com
*Joseph Telushkin, [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/messiah.html ''The Messiah'' (extract)], Jewish Virtual Library
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/moshiach/article_cdo/aid/1121893/jewish/The-Basics.htm Who is Moshiach? — The Basics], Chabad.org
*[https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/answers/jewish-polemics/the-jewish-messiah/messiah-the-criteria/ Messiah: The Criteria], Jews for Judaism
*[http://www.jewfaq.org/mashiach.htm Mashiach: The Messiah], Judaism 101
*Ariela Pelaia, Chaviva Gordon-Bennett; [http://judaism.about.com/od/judaismbasics/a/Jewish-View-Of-Jesus.htm The Jewish View of Jesus - Who Was Jesus?] (2016), judaism.about.com
*[http://www.evilbible.com/do-not-ignore-the-old-testament/jesus-is-a-false-messiah/ Jesus is a False Messiah], EvilBible.com

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|3|80%}}

[[Category:Christianity]]
[[Category:Judaism]]
[[Category:Messianic claimants|*]]
[[Category:New Testament]]
[[Category:Old Testament]]
[[Category:Religious terms]]

Categories: Christianity, Judaism, Messianic claimants, New Testament, Old Testament, Religious terms