Messiah is the English transliteration of
Mashiach, the Hebrew word meaning "Anointed One." The Greek form
of this meaning is Xristos, from where we get the English word
Christ.
In the original Hebrew "Jesus Christ" is
Yeshua haMashiach and is interpreted as "Yah who is Salvation,
the Anointed One." Yah is short for the Holy Name of YHVH, which itself
means "He who was, who is, who is to come", thus "the Eternally Existent
One." So, the full title of the Mashiach is "The Eternally Existent
Saving and Anointed One."
To be "anointed" in ancient Hebrew
culture meant to be chosen as the rightful heir to authority, either as
a priest or king or both. It was a rite of special consecration to have
oil poured upon one's head from a ram's horn by a previously chosen
servant of G-d. Several kings and priests of Israel received this rite,
most notably King David, who was himself called "mashiach," an anointed
one. It was prophesied that a son of his would one day come to rule
perpetually. This son came to be known as the promised Mashiach, who
would rule the world from the throne of David.
The prophets said David's son would be
more than a mere man (Micah 5:1,2) since He would rule forever. The
record also shows that G-d Himself promised to come and rule the world
from Israel (Zechariah 14), and that He alone was to be Israel's King.
Thus, the prophets foretold that Mashiach must be a kind of being
that was unknown on the earth, both a son of David and G-d Himself. Many
foreign cultures and pagan religions adopted their own version of this,
and through fables and folklore they speculated on His being, albeit in
error.
The prophets also declare that Mashiach
had two great missions. First, He had to provide deliverance from sin on
the earth. Second, He had to take up His royal throne on the earth.
In the first mission Mashiach would have
to be most notably a perfect man, since He would have to die as the
sinless (spotless) sacrifice in substitution for the sins of the world
(Isaiah 53). In the second mission Mashiach would have to be most
notably G-d Himself, since he would have to put all enemies of
rigtheousness under His authority. Because of this duality of purpose
many have stumbled over the concept of Mashiach, and some have surmised
that there must be two mashiachs. They did not consider the event of the
resurrection. The prophets tell us that Mashiach would not remain dead,
but would somehow rise again. It is after this resurrection that
Mashiach would rule.
The record shows that Yeshua of Natzeret
Israel (cir. 6 BCE - 27 CE) fulfilled the first mission perfectly by
dying as the spotless Lamb of G-d and then rising from the dead, as the
feasts and prophets of Israel foretold He would. He did not come to
start a new religion, but to bring all who would trust Him into personal
covenant with G-d. There is a real experiencial new creation of the
human spirit when one trusts with the whole heart that He is the
Mashiach and has taken our sins on Himself and has risen from the dead!
This new creation of the human spirit works toward the eradication of
sin in our lives, thus the fulfillment of the first mission.
After His resurrection Yeshua ascended
back to Heaven, but before He did He promised to return in power and
great glory to defend Israel against all the aggressing nations of the
world. In that day He will again raise up the throne of His father,
David. He will fulfill His second mission as Mashiach. Then, He will be
revealed as the Eternally Existent One, G-d, YHVH Himself. All who trust
Him and try to follow His Teaching (Torah) now will be saved; all who
deny Him will be in danger of destruction at that time, since they have
no blood covering their sins. However, He is the only judge and arbiter
of who will be preserved. The judge of the earth will do rightly.
Messianics are followers of Yeshua the
Messiah and they expect His return from heaven. Messianic Jews lead the
Messianic movement of trust in the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua. Messianic
non-Jews are welcome as they walk in faithfulness to Torah. But no
longer will Jewish followers of Yeshua accept the leadership of Gentiles
who resist the eternal truth of Torah, who profane the seventh day
Sabbath and eat swine's flesh.
Let all who are called, chosen and
faithful keep the testimony of Yeshua and the commandments of YHVH.
Even so, come quickly Adonai Yeshua.
Copyright 1996. David M. Hargis. All
rights reserved.
