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Messianism is the belief in the advent of amessiah who acts as thesavior of a group of people.[1][2] The religions also have messianism-related concepts. Religions with amessiah concept includeHinduism (Kalki),Judaism (Mashiach),Christianity (Christ),Islam (Mahdi andIsa Masih),Druze faith (Hamza ibn Ali),[3][4]Zoroastrianism (Saoshyant),Buddhism (Maitreya),Taoism (Li Hong), andBábism (He whom God shall make manifest).
InJudaism, the messiah will be a futureJewish king from theline of David and redeemer of the Jewish people and humanity.[1][5] InChristianity,Jesus is the messiah,[note 1] thesavior, theredeemer, andGod.[1][8] InIslam, Jesus was aprophet and themessiah of the Jewish people who will return in the end times.[8]
Messiah (Hebrew:משיח;mashiah,moshiah,mashiach, ormoshiach, ("anointed [one]") is a term used in theHebrew Bible to describe priests and kings, who were traditionallyanointed. For example,Cyrus the Great, theKing of Persia, is referred to as "God's anointed" (Messiah) in the Bible.
In Jewish messianic tradition andeschatology, the term came to refer to a future Jewishking from theDavidic line, who will be "anointed" withholy anointing oil and rule the Jewish people during theMessianic Age. In Standard Hebrew, the messiah is often referred to asMelekh ha-Mashiaḥ (מלך המשיח), literally "the Anointed King".
Rabbinic Judaism and currentOrthodox Judaism hold that the messiah will be an anointed one, descended from his father through the Davidic line ofKing David, who will gather the Jews back into theLand of Israel and usher in an era of peace.
Following theExpulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 many Spanish rabbis, such asAbraham ben Eliezer Halevi, believed that the year 1524 would be the beginning of the Messianic Age and that the Messiah himself would appear in 1530–31.[9]
Orthodox Jewish messianic movements have occasionally emerged throughout the centuries among Jewish communities worldwide. These surround various messiah claimants. However, from the Jewish view, the claimants failed to deliver the promises of redemption, and generally remained with only a handful of followers. ExceptingJesus, the most popular messiah claimants wereSimon bar Kokhba in 2nd centuryJudea,Nehemiah ben Hushiel in the 7th centurySasanian Empire,Sabbatai Zevi in the 17th century Ottoman Empire (precursor toSabbateans),Jacob Frank in 18th century Europe,Shukr Kuhayl I andJudah ben Shalom in 19th century Ottoman Yemen. There are those who currently identify the 20th centuryMenachem Mendel Schneerson (the Lubavitcher Rebbe) as theMashiach.
Other denominations, such asReform Judaism, believe in a Messianic Age when the world will be at peace, but do not agree that there will be a messiah as the leader of this era.
InChristianity, the Messiah is called theChrist (/kraɪst/;Greek:Χριστός,romanized: Khristós,lit. 'Anointed One';Hebrew:מָשִׁיחַ,romanized: Māšîah,lit. 'Mashiach'), the saviour andredeemer who would bringsalvation to theJewish people and mankind. "Christ" is the Greek translation of "Messiah", meaning "Anointed one". The role of the Christ, the Messiah in Christianity,originated from the concept of themessiah in Judaism. Though the conceptions of the messiah in each religion are similar, for the most part they are distinct from one another due to thesplit of early Christianity and Judaism in the1st century.Christians believeJesus to be theJewish messiah (Christ) of theHebrew Bible and theChristian Old Testament.
Christians believe that themessianic prophecies were fulfilled in hismission,death,resurrection, andascension to hisSession on the heavenly throne, where "he sat down at the right hand of God, where he is now waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet" (Heb 10:12–13 NET, quoting the Davidic royal Psalm 110:1). Christians believe that the rest of the messianic prophecies will be fulfilled in theSecond Coming of Christ. One prophecy, distinctive in both the Jewish and Christian concept of the messiah, is that a Jewish king from theDavidic line, who will be "anointed" withholy anointing oil, will be king ofGod's kingdom on earth, and rule theJewish people and mankind during theMessianic Age andWorld to come.
In Islam (Shia and Sunni), the Mahdi is considered as the promised one [6] but there is a difference in who the Mahdi is, the Shiites of the Twelve Imams believe that the Mahdi is Muhammad, the son of Hassan Askari, the twelfth Imam and the Imam of their time, who was born before and now He is hidden from most people by Allah/god's will for more than a thousand years and appears at the appointed time. But according to some people of the Sunnah, Mahdi is someone from the Prophet's generation (probably Sadat's dynasty) who has not yet been born. He will be born in the future and become the savior of mankind. Also, most of the followers of Sunnah consider Mahdi as an ordinary and very pure person, which is in contradiction with other prophecies of Abrahamic religions. Most of the Abrahamic religions have emphasized that the savior of the end of time is a divine messenger for humanity. According to Shiites, Mahdi is a divine chosen one, the proof of God and infallible. Also, they have mentioned many signs about the appearance of Mahdi. Shiites consider Mahdi an imam, and unlike Sunnis, according to their claim, relying on hadiths, traditions and verses of the Qur'an, especially the affliction of Abraham in Surah Baqarah, they consider Imamate to be a divine position and it is the highest position in the system of previous creation. They know Muhammad's status as the highest of creations. Shiites emphasize the imams' formative authority and consider them to be the manifestation of God, and they have repeatedly mentioned in their works the superhuman powers given to imams by God. In fact, Shiites are not the first ones who have proposed the savior of the apocalypse as a manifestation of God. In Hindu religion, the savior of the end of time is called Avatar, which means manifestation, Avatar comes from the word Avatarai, which means the manifestation of a superior power. Some groups of Muslims, especially the Wahhabis, consider this claim of Shiites to be completely polytheistic and superstitious. While in the Torah, the book of Genesis, 12 kings from Ismael's generation are mentioned, and Shiites consider these 12 kings to be their 12 imams. In the Sunni hadith books, 12 caliphs are mentioned after the Prophet of Islam, the last of whom is the promised Mahdi. All Muslims agree on the return of Jesus Christ, and some Sunnis and all Shiites of twelve Imams believe in the return of Christ at the time of the appearance of the Mahdi and consider him one of the special helpers of the promised Mahdi.[10]
InIslam, Isa ibn Maryam is theal-Masih ("Jesus son of Mary, the Messiah") who is believed to have been anointed from birth byAllah with the specific task of being a prophet and a king. In Islam, theMahdi is believed to hold the task of establishing the truth and fighting against divisions of Islam, uniting all sects before the return of Jesus who will kill the false messiahAl-Masih ad-Dajjal (similar to theAntichrist in Christianity), who will emerge shortly before him in human form in the end of the times, claiming that he is the messiah.[11][12] Then Jesus will pray for the death ofGog and Magog (Yajuj Majuj) who are an ancient tribe sealed away from humanity who will rise to cause destruction. After he has destroyed al-Dajjal, Mahdi's final task will be to become a just king and to re-establish justice. After the death of Mahdi, Jesus' reign of the messianic King will begin bringing long-lasting peace in the world until the Day of Judgement.
Sahih al-Bukhari,3:43:656: NarratedAbu Hurairah:
Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until the son of Mary (Mariam) (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you as a just ruler, he will break the cross, kill the pigs, and abolish the Jizya tax. Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it (as charitable gifts)."
TheAhmadiyya Muslim community believes that the prophecies regarding the advent of the Messiah and Mahdi have been fulfilled in the person ofMirza Ghulam Ahmad ofQadian. He claimed to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, the metaphorical second coming of Jesus of Nazareth and the divine guide, whose advent was foretold by the Prophet of Islam,Muhammad.[13]
In theDruze faith, Jesus is considered theMessiah and one of God's important prophets,[14][15] being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.[14][15] According to the Druze manuscripts Jesus is the Greatest Imam and the incarnation of UltimateReason (Akl) on earth and the first cosmic principle (Hadd),[3] and regardsJesus andHamza ibn Ali as the incarnations of one of the five great celestial powers, who form part of their system.[16] Druze doctrines include the beliefs that Jesus wasborn of a virgin namedMary, performedmiracles, and died bycrucifixion.[3]
In theDruze tradition, Jesus is known under three titles: the True Messiah (al-Masih al-Haq), the Messiah of all Nations (Masih al-Umam), and the Messiah of Sinners. This is due, respectively, to the belief that Jesus delivered the true Gospel message, the belief that he was the Saviour of all nations, and the belief that he offers forgiveness.[17]
Druze believe that Hamza ibn Ali was areincarnation of Jesus,[18] and thatHamza ibn Ali is the true Messiah, who directed the deeds of the messiah Jesus "the son ofJoseph andMary", but when messiah Jesus "the son ofJoseph andMary" strayed from the path of the true Messiah, Hamza filled the hearts of the Jews with hatred for him – and for that reason, theycrucified him, according to the Druze manuscripts.[3][4] Despite this,Hamza ibn Ali took him down from the cross and allowed him to return to his family, in order to prepare men for the preaching of his religion.[3]
He whom God shall make manifest (Arabic:من يظهر الله,Persian:مظهر کلّیه الهی) is amessianic figure in the religion ofBábism. The messianic figure was repeatedly mentioned by theBáb, the founder of Bábism, in His book, theBayán. The Báb described the messianic figure as the origin of all divine attributes, and stated that his command was equivalent toGod’s command. The Báb stated that once the messianic figure had arrived, the perusal of one of his verses was to be greater than a thousand perusals of theBayán.[19] The prediction is widely recognized as being fulfilled byBahá'u'lláh, the founder of theBaháʼí Faith.[20]
Maitreya is abodhisattva who in theBuddhist tradition is to appear on Earth, achieve completeenlightenment, and teach the puredharma. According to scriptures, Maitreya will be a successor of the historicŚākyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. The prophecy of the arrival of Maitreya is found in the canonical literature of all Buddhist sects[citation needed] (Theravāda,Mahāyāna,Vajrayāna) and is accepted by most Buddhists as a statement about an actual event that will take place in the distant future.
Although Maitreya Buddha appears in the canonical literature shared by many sects of Buddhism, Buddhists in different historical contexts have conceived of Maitreya Buddha in different ways. In early medievalChinese Buddhism, for example, Taoist and Buddhist ideas combined to produce a particular emphasis on the messianic role of a Bodhisattva called "Prince Moonlight."[21] Furthermore, the Chinese Maitreyan traditions were themselves marked by considerable diversity.Erik Zürcher has argued that a certain "canonical" Maitreyan cult from the fourth to sixth centuries believed Maitreya to inhabit theTushita heaven where Buddhists might be reborn in the very distant future. Another rival tradition, however, believed that Maitreya would appear in the imminent future in this world to provide salvation during a time of misery and decline.[22] This latter form of Maitreyan belief was generally censored and condemned as heretical to the point that few manuscripts survive written by Buddhists sympathetic to this tradition.[23]
Maitreya Buddha continued to be an important figure in millenarian rebellions throughout Chinese history such as in the rebellions associated with the so-calledWhite Lotus Society.
John Frum is a figure associated withcargo cults on the island ofTanna inVanuatu. He is often depicted as an AmericanWorld War II serviceman who will bring wealth and prosperity to the people if they follow him. He is sometimes portrayed as black, sometimes as white. QuotingDavid Attenborough's report of an encounter: "'E look like you. 'E got white face. 'E tall man. 'E live 'long South America."[24]
There has been significant literature on the potentialreligious aspects of Nazism.Wilfried Daim suggests that Hitler and the Nazi leadership planned to replace Christianity in Germany with a new religion in which Hitler would be considered amessiah. In his book on the connection betweenLanz von Liebenfels and Hitler, Daim published a reprint of an alleged document of a session on "the unconditional abolishment of all religious commitments (Religionsbekenntnisse) after the final victory (Endsieg) ... with a simultaneous proclamation of Adolf Hitler as the new messiah."[25]
Within theWotansvolk Neo-Völkisch mystery religion,David Eden Lane is regarded as the "666 Man" and the "Man David" of prophecy, an anti-Christian "Messiah" incarnated to "warn and save the White Aryan race from near extinction".
RomanticSlavic messianism held that the Slavs, especially theRussians, suffer in order that other European nations, and eventually all of humanity, may be redeemed.[26]This theme had a profound impact in the development ofPan-Slavism and Russian andSoviet imperialism; it also appears in works by the PolishRomantic poetsZygmunt Krasiński andAdam Mickiewicz, including the latter's familiar expression, "Polska Chrystusem narodów" ("Poland is the Christ of nations").[27] Messianic ideas appear in the "Books of the Genesis of the Ukrainian People" (Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius Manifesto),[28] in which universal equality and democracy in theZaporizhian Sich, recognized as a revival of human society initially planned by God and faith in its future revival, associated with faith in the death and resurrection of Christ. RebornUkraine will expand universal freedom and faith in all Slavic countries and, thus designed by God, an ideal society will be restored.[29]
Sebastianism (Portuguese:Sebastianismo) is a Portuguese messianic myth, based on the belief that KingSebastian of Portugal, disappeared in thebattle of Alcácer Quibir, will return toPortugal and create theFifth Empire. The belief gained momentum after an interpretation by priestAntónio Vieira ofDaniel 2 and theBook of Revelation. InBrazil the most important manifestation of Sebastianism took place in the context of theProclamation of the Republic, when movements emerged that defended a return to the monarchy. It is categorised as an example of theKing asleep in mountain folk motif, typified by people waiting for a hero. The Portuguese authorFernando Pessoa wrote about such a hero in his epicMensagem (The Message).
It is one of the longest-lived and most influentialmillenarian legends in Western Europe, having had profound political and cultural resonances from the time of Sebastians death till at least the late 19th century in Brazil.[30]
Around the 3rd century CE, religiousTaoism developed eschatological ideas. A number of scriptures[which?] predict the end of the world cycle, the deluge, epidemics, and coming of the saviourLi Hong 李弘 (not to be confused with theTang personalities).
Aradia is one of the principal figures in the American folkloristCharles Godfrey Leland's 1899 workAradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, which he believed to be a genuine religious text used by a group ofpaganwitches inTuscany, a claim that has subsequently been disputed by other folklorists and historians.[31] In Leland'sGospel, Aradia is portrayed as aMessiah who was sent to Earth in order to teach the oppressed peasants how to perform witchcraft to use against theRoman Catholic Church and the upper classes.
Since the publication of Leland'sGospel, Aradia has become "arguably one of the central figures of the modern pagan witchcraft revival" and as such has featured in various forms ofNeopaganism, includingWicca andStregheria, as an actual deity.[32]Raven Grimassi, founder of the Wiccan-inspired tradition of Stregheria, claims that Aradia was a historical figure namedAradia di Toscano, who led a group of "Diana-worshipping witches" in 14th-century Tuscany.[33]
According toZoroastrian philosophy, redacted in theZand-i Vohuman Yasht,
at the end of thy tenth hundredth winter [...] the sun is more unseen and more spotted; the year, month, and day are shorter; and the earth is more barren; and the crop will not yield the seed; and men [...] become more deceitful and more given to vile practices. They have no gratitude.Honorable wealth will all proceed to those of perverted faith [...] and a dark cloud makes the whole sky night [...] and it will rain more noxious creatures than winter.
Saoshyant, the Man of Peace, battles the forces of evil.[citation needed] The events ofthe final renovation are described in theBundahishn (30.1ff): "In the final battle with evil, theyazatasAiryaman andAtar will 'melt the metal in the hills and mountains, and it will be upon the earth like a river' (Bundahishn 34.18), but the righteous (ashavan) will not be harmed."
Eventually,Ahura Mazda will triumph, and his agent Saoshyant will resurrect the dead, whose bodies will be restored to eternal perfection, and whose souls will be cleansed and reunited with God. Time will then end, and truth/righteousness (asha) and immortality will thereafter be everlasting.
Zoroastrian Dr. Ardeshir Khorshedian, physician, researcher, writer and head of the Mobidan Association of Tehran, described the idea of Saoshyant as having been developed by the Zoroastrians and that the idea that Saoshyant is the promised one came from the Jews, but with the Islamic conquest of Persia the idea became more widespread among the Zoroastrians.The idea that Zoroastrianism was influenced by other religions has been put forward by many scholars, like Asthe Catholic Encyclopedia,[34] the scholarJames Darmesteter,[35] and others have mentioned,Zoroastrianism was influenced byJudaism.
Also another Zoroastrian,Farhang Mehr said: These texts were written, in my view, centuries after the decline of theSassanids. The reason for this was the rivalry between the Abrahamic religions, which had begun to gain political supremacy in the region. Zoroastrians began to attribute miracles to Zoroaster that were equal to and comparable to those of the prophets of the Abrahamic religions.[36]
Jesus is known in the Druze tradition as the "True Messiah" (al-Masih al-Haq), for he delivered what Druzes view as the true message. He is also referred to as the "Messiah of the Nations" (Masih al-Umam) because he was sent to the world as "Masih of Sins" because he is the one who forgives.
They further believe that Hamza ibn Ali was a reincarnation of many prophets, including Christ, Plato, Aristotle.
