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Columbia Encyclopedia entry: Messiah
Messiahməsī'ə or Messiasməsī'əs [Heb.,=anointed], in Judaism, a man who would be sent by God to restore Israel and reign righteously for all mankind. The idea developed among the Jews especially in their adversity, and such a conception is clearly indicated in Isaiah 9. Messianic expectations generally focused on a kingly figure of the house of David, who would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5.2). However, a second Messianic figure, the Messiah son of Joseph, was said to precede the Messiah son of David, preparing the way for him by combating the enemies of Israel and reuniting the twelve tribes for the return to Jerusalem where he would die in combat with the enemies of God before the final redemption under the Davidic Messiah. Jesus considered himself, and is considered by Christians, to be the promised Messiah to whom the whole Old Testament pointed; the name Christ is Greek for Messiah (Mat. 16.16). The Christian ideal of the Messiah is fundamentally different from the early Jewish conception in the aspect of suffering; the common idea of Jesus' time was that the Messiah should reign in glory as an earthly king, a political figure sent by God, not a savior in the Christian sense. The expectation of the second coming of Jesus is similar to the Jewish belief in the Messianic advent. The idea of a messiah, a redeemer sent by God, is common among many different peoples throughout history and may reflect a universal psychological pattern. Ancient Middle Eastern texts foretell the coming of savior-kings. Buddhists, Zoroastrians, and Confucians believe in the redemption of mankind, or the advent of a golden age, through the arrival of a Holy One. In Islam, the coming of the Mahdi is closely related to the messiah concept. Other peoples also believe in messiah figures; among the Native North Americans, Wovoka is the most famous.

See W. D. Wallis, Messiahs, Their Role in Civilization (1943); J. Klausner, The Messianic Idea in Israel (1955); A. H. Silver, A History of Messianic Speculation in Israel (1955); V. Lanternari, The Religions of the Oppressed: A Study of Modern Messianic Cults (1963); and G. Scholem, The Messianic Idea in Judaism (1971).

Wikipedia search results for: Messiah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Messiah literally means "anointed ". In Jewish messianic tradition and eschatology, messiah refers to a future King of Israel from the Davidic line, who will rule the people of united tribes of Israel and herald the Messianic Age of global peace. In Standard Hebrew, The Messiah is often referred to as מלך המשיח, , literally meaning "the Anointed King." Christians believe that prophecies in the Hebrew Bible refer to a spiritual savior, partly evidenced in passages from the Book of Isaiah: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel," and "He was pierced...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Messiah
Results 1 - 10  of 43
  • Hiawatha

    Hiawatha, fl. c.1550, legendary chief of the Onondaga of North America. He is credited with founding the Iroquois Confederacy. He is the hero of the well-known poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfell...

  • Agnus Dei

    Agnus Dei [Lat.], the Lamb of God, i.e., Jesus. The lamb of the Passover sacrifice is said to prefigure the crucifixion. Isaiah calls the expected Messiah the Lamb of God, and Jesus is met by ...

  • Sabbatai Zevi

    Sabbatai Zevi, 1626–76, Jewish mystic and pseudo-Messiah, founder of the Sabbatean sect, b. Smyrna. After a period of study of Lurianic kabbalah (see Luria, Isaac ben Solomon), he became deepl...

  • Moon, Sun Myung

    Moon, Sun Myung, 1920–, Korean religious leader. He was an engineering student and dock worker before founding (1954) the Unification Church with a doctrine loosely based on Christianity as in...

  • Rastafarianism

    Rastafarianism, a religious-cultural movement that began (1930s) in Jamaica. Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie, also named Ras Tafari, the last emperor of Ethiopia (d. 1975), is the Mes...

  • Bar Kokba, Simon

    Bar Kokba, Simon, or Simon Bar Cochba [Heb.,=son of the star], d. A.D. 135, Hebrew hero and leader of a major revolt against Rome under Hadrian (132–135). He may have claimed to be a Messiah; ...

  • Klopstock, Friedrich Gottlieb

    Klopstock, Friedrich Gottlieb, 1724–1803, German poet, important for his influence upon Goethe, the Göttingen poets, and the Sturm und Drang movement. His epic Messias (4 vol., 1748–73, tr. Th...

  • Frank, Jacob

    Frank, Jacob, c.1726–1791, Polish Jewish sectarian and adventurer, b. Podolia as Jacob Ben Judah Leib. He founded the Frankists, a heretical Jewish sect that was an anti-Talmudic outgrowth of ...

  • Handel, George Frideric

    Handel, George Frideric, 1685–1759, English composer, b. Halle, Germany. Handel was one of the greatest masters of baroque music, most widely celebrated for his majestic oratorio Messiah. Of G...

  • Jesus (Jesus Christ)

    Jesus or Jesus Christ, 1st-century Jewish teacher and prophet in whom Christians have traditionally seen the Messiah [Heb.,=annointed one, whence Christ from the Greek] and whom they have char...

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