Which prophecies do Jews believe Jesus and Mohammed failed to fulfill?

zev_steinhardt · April 23, 2002, 5:44pm

Um, is there a post here?

Zev Steinhardt

Seraphim · April 23, 2002, 5:49pm

Wow, divinely smited off a message board. I’m impressed.

zev_steinhardt · April 23, 2002, 5:50pm

Mohammed

I’m hoping a Muslim doper will come along and correct me if I’m wrong, but Mohammed never claimed to be the Jewish messiah, correct?

Jesus
There are several things that the messiah is supposed to accomplish. Among them are the rebuilding of the Temple, an ingathering of the exiles, world peace, etc. Jesus accomplished none of these things. That’s why Jews don’t believe Jesus is the messiah.

Zev Steinhardt

zev_steinhardt · April 23, 2002, 5:53pm

BTW, FTR, I was not the thread starter. The thread was started by Beastal.

Zev Steinhardt

rjung · April 23, 2002, 6:02pm

I don’t think Islam has the concept of the messiah as Judiasm/Christianity do. Rather, the teaching is that Mohammed, Moses, Jesus, Buddha, and other religious luminaries are all merely prophets of God, out to convey His word (why God couldn’t just write out his word on unbreakable stone tablets on a mountain 10,000 feet tall is beyond me). Mohammed gets special attention merely because he is the last prophet, but IIRC fundamentally he’s on an equal level with the others.

zev_steinhardt · April 23, 2002, 6:10pm

OK, I realize that I didn’t really answer the thread opener’s question at all.

The first thing to realize is that there are biblical verses that Christians consider to be messianic, but Jews do not. The most famous such verse is probably Isaiah 7:14. Christians see this verse as messianic and referring to the virgin birth of Jesus. Jews, OTOH, do not see this verse as messianic at all. It is a prophecy that relates to the specific period in which it was uttered.

That being said, you must first identify which prophecies Jews consider to be messianic, and then ask “Did Jesus fulfill them?”

Probably the most famous Jewish messianic prophecy is Isaiah 2:1-4.

1
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2
And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of HaShem’S house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3
And many peoples shall go and say: ‘Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of HaShem, to the house of the G-d of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of HaShem from Jerusalem.
4
And He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

This has obviously not come to pass.

Another famous one is that the messiah will be descended from David (I’m sorry I don’t have the chapter/verse cite handy – I’ll look it up later). If Jesus did not have an earthly father, then he could not be descended from David. (Jewish law does not allow for a parent’s personal status to be passed on to adopted children. Therefore, Joseph’s adoption of Jesus does not confer upon Jesus Joseph’s geneaology. Furthermore, only the father’s geneaology is considered for tribal affiliation, kingship rights, etc. Therefore, Mary’s being from David is of no consequence.)

Zev Steinhardt