Messianic Judaism's Response:

Messiah Yeshua has already fulfilled most of the elements of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer:

Ingathering of the exiles: This has been happening, basically, since 1948, when the world briefly felt sorry for the Jews after the Holocaust, and gave them Israel - just as God had promised.

In Genesis 15:18, the Bible said the descendants of Abraham (Abram) would have their own country, between Egypt and the Euphrates. This prophecy has been fulfilled more than once. About 3400 years ago, the Jews first established Israel. Then, about 2900 years ago, Israel divided into two kingdoms, called Judah and Israel. Both kingdoms were later conquered by the Assyrians and Babylonians. But, in 1948, the Jews regained independence for Israel. It was the first time in 2,900 years that Israel was both united and independent.

Ezekiel 36:8-10 prophesied that Israel would be restored as a nation and repopulated with its people; that the Jews would return, rebuild and repopulate their fallen cities. In 1948, there were about 600,000 Jews living in Israel. Today there are about seven million, with many more returning each year!

Zechariah 8:7-8 and Isaiah 43:5-6 tell us God would bring the Jews back from the east and the west to their homeland (Israel) and that they would be able to live in the city of Jerusalem again. This prophecy has been fulfilled more than once. About 2,600 years ago, Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and took many Jews as captives to Babylon. But many Jews later returned from Babylon. The Jews rebuilt Jerusalem but the city was destroyed about 1900 years ago by the Romans. The Romans killed more than 1 million Jews and forced many more into exile. The Jews did not have control of Jerusalem again until 1967 when they recaptured the city during the Six Day War. (For more, please see Ten Bible Prophecies Fulfilled Recently.)

Isaiah's prophecy was also correct in saying that the north (Russia) and the south (Ethiopia) would have to be persuaded to give up their Jews. Many countries pressured Russia for years before it began to allow its Jews to leave. And Ethiopia had to be paid a ransom to allow its Jews to leave.

Isaiah's prophecy was also correct in saying that the Jews would return "from the ends of the earth," and Isaiah said that many centuries before the Jews had been scattered to the ends of the earth. During the past 100 years, Jews living as far east as China, as far west as the West Coast of the United States, as far north as Scandinavia, and as far south as South Africa, have moved to Israel.

Restoration of the religious courts of justice:....Where in the Bible does it say that Messiah must do this?

An end of wickedness, sin and heresy: This is a prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled. When Yeshua returns, He will conquer the antichrist and usher in one thousand years of tranquility, then toss Satan and his followers into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:20; 20:10; 20:14-15; and 21:18). After that, the Bible promises that we will see a "new heaven and earth" (Isaiah 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 3:12; Rev. 21:1, 2, 10).

Hashem promised that, when Israel blooms again, the Kingdom of God will be near. In Luke 21:29-31, Yeshua said that when the fig tree blooms again, people will know that the End Times and Kingdom of God is near. Some Christian scholars believe that the fig tree represents the nation of Israel. This passage is sometimes interpreted to mean that the End Times would not begin until sometime after the nation of Israel regains sovereignty. When Yeshua delivered this prophecy about 2,000 years ago, Israel was ruled by the Roman Empire. The people of Israel did not have sovereignty over their own land during that era. But, after centuries of exile, the Jews were able to return to Israel and reclaim sovereignty, in 1948.

Furthermore, the Bible tells us that Messiah will appear after the Jews return to Israel. In Jeremiah 23:3-6, there is a prophecy that indicates when the Messiah is to appear in the land of Israel. Jeremiah said that it would be after the exiled people of Israel return to their homeland. From a Messianic point of view, this is of special interest because Yeshua is supposed to appear twice. And this coincides with the fact that the people of Israel have been expelled from their homeland twice, and that they are currently in the process of returning after the second expulsion!

More than 2,500 years ago, the Assyrians and Babylonians forced the people of Israel out of their homeland. Many returned during the centuries that followed and then Yeshua appeared about 2,000 years ago and announced that He was the Messiah. Later, the people of Israel were again forced out of their land (by the Romans in 135 AD) and scattered to countries throughout the world.

But, during the past few centuries, millions of exiled Jews around the world have returned to their ancient homeland. And this is one of the reasons why Messianic believers say that the world is being prepared for the return of Yeshua HaMaschiach. Because, as Jeremiah had prophesied long ago, the Messiah is to appear after the people of Israel return to their land.

The phrase, in Jeremiah 23:5, "I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King," refers to the Messiah, and that he will be a king and a descendant of King David, who reigned over Israel about 3,000 years ago. We believe that when Yeshua returns, He will establish a kingdom of peace and righteousness.

Reward to the righteous: What better reward to the righteous could there possibly be than eternal life? This was granted the minute Yeshua died on the cross as the Final Sin Sacrifice, on our behalf!

Rebuilding of Jerusalem: For all intents and purposes, when the Israel was returned to Jews Jerusalem WAS rebuilt, as was all of Israel. Before that, history books say that Israel was a barren wasteland:

In his book, "Innocents Abroad," (published in 1869) Mark Twain described Israel as sitting in sackcloth and ashes. "Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies. Where Sodom and Gomorrah reared their domes and towers, that solemn sea now floods the plain, in whose bitter waters no living thing exists--over whose waveless surface the blistering air hangs motionless and dead-- about whose borders nothing grows but weeds, and scattering tufts of cane, and that treacherous fruit that promises refreshment to parching lips, but turns to ashes at the touch. Nazareth is forlorn; about that ford of Jordan where the hosts of Israel entered the Promised Land with songs of rejoicing, one finds only a squalid camp of fantastic Bedouins of the desert; Jericho the accursed, lies a moldering ruin, to-day, even as Joshua's miracle left it more than three thousand years ago; Bethlehem and Bethany, in their poverty and their humiliation, have nothing about them now to remind one that they once knew the high honor of the Saviour's presence; the hallowed spot where the shepherds watched their flocks by night, and where the angels sang Peace on earth, good will to men, is untenanted by any living creature, and unblessed by any feature that is pleasant to the eye. Renowned Jerusalem itself, the stateliest name in history, has lost all its ancient grandeur, and is become a pauper village; the riches of Solomon are no longer there to compel the admiration of visiting Oriental queens; the wonderful temple which was the pride and the glory of Israel, is gone, and the Ottoman crescent is lifted above the spot where, on that most memorable day in the annals of the world, they reared the Holy Cross. The noted Sea of Galilee, where Roman fleets once rode at anchor and the disciples of the Saviour sailed in their ships, was long ago deserted by the devotees of war and commerce, and its borders are a silent wilderness; Capernaum is a shapeless ruin; Magdala is the home of beggared Arabs; Bethsaida and Chorazin have vanished from the earth, and the "desert places" round about them where thousands of men once listened to the Saviour's voice and ate the miraculous bread, sleep in the hush of a solitude that is inhabited only by birds of prey and skulking foxes."

Once Israel was returned to the Jews in 1948, the country was revived. In Isaiah 51:3, the prophet said that God would restore Israel and make it a paradise, like the Garden of Eden. This foreshadows what is currently happening in Israel. The Jews have been irrigating, cultivating and reconditioning the land during much of the 1900s. Many of the country's swamps, which had been infested with malaria, have been converted into farmland. And water from the Sea of Galilee has been channeled through portions of the deserts, allowing some of the deserts to bloom. Much work remains, but parts of Israel are blooming again. Although it was described as a wasteland as recently as the late 1800s, Israel is now a food source for many countries. And at least 200 million of trees have been planted there during the past century, fulfilling Isaiah 41:18-20.

Also, Isaiah 51:3 says: The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

Christians and Jews regard the city as the world's most important, and Christians and Jews comprise about one-third of the world's population. No other city in the world is a religious focal point to as many people. Presently, it is the Muslims who have taken over the Temple Mount and - for some reason - proclaimed Jerusalem to be of major importance to Islam.....

Restoration of the line of King David: Yeshua WAS a descendant of the House of David! The Old Covenant says that the Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham through Isaac through Jacob through Judah, of the house of David. He was born of an extremely rare bloodline that includes many of the fathers of Israel. (See geneology from Abraham to David in Matthew 1.) He was born in Bethlehem; a descendant of David, traced back to Abraham. (Matthew 1; Matthew 2:6; Micah 5:2.) (Also, please see Qualifications of Messiah in a Nutshell; and Letters and Opinions: Making Sense of Yeshua's Lineage.)

Restoration of Temple service: In Micah 4:1, the prophet said that the Temple mount in Jerusalem would become the focal point of the world. This prophecy has not yet been fulfilled because Yeshua has not yet returned. But, it is interesting to note that Jerusalem is, and has been for centuries, the world's most important religious site.

Messianic Judaism's Response:

Actually, "the notion of an innocent, divine or semi-divine being who will sacrifice himself to save us from the consequences of our own sins" is GOD'S concept. "Moshiach" might not mean "savior", but Yeshua's name means "Salvation", and He has fulfilled ALL but the yet-to-come end time prophecies, including the first four feasts! Yeshua WAS foreshadowed throughout the entire Tanach. (See Yeshua Is God.) One day, EVERYONE'S eyes will have been opened to that Truth.

Messianic Judaism's Response:

Please see Letters and Opinions: Making Sense of Yeshua's Lineage. Yeshua was a tallit-wearing, Sabbath-keeping, feast-keeping, synagogue-attending, kosher Jew who kept ALL the commandments! He came, not to "do away with the Law", but to "kum" - establish and/or confirm. He "did away with" the rabbinical stuff that had people confused and bound up with man-made thought and traditions. If He hadn't been a "charismatic leader, inspiring others to follow his example" then the Bible would not have been continously on the "best seller" list throughout the ages. As the first "Messianic Jew" He changed the world! He came to teach man about God in a way that man could understand; He came to teach us how to live with each other; and He came to offer Himself as the Final Sin Sacrifice. (Please see Original Commandments.) Finally, He won the biggest battle in the history of the world when He overcome Satan and sin! Upon His return, He will knock Satan into oblivion and set up the Millenial Kingdom. Furthermore, He WAS a human being - and yet He was Divine, at the same time. Where in the Bible does it say the Messiah would be ONLY human?

Messianic Judaism's Response:

There's only one teensy-weensy problem with that assertion: The one with the potential to be Moschiah must fulfill ALL of God's prophecies. Yeshua was the ONLY one who EVER did, or ever WILL fulfill these prophecies!

The Tanakh ("Old Covenant") was dedicated and ratified with blood; so the "New Covenant" was also instituted and ratified with blood through the atoning blood of Messiah Yeshua. Yeshua was the "God-Man", God's Divine Sacrifice, whose blood took away the sins of the world, thus offering mortal man the opportunity for eternal life. Yeshua was foreshadowed throughout the Tanakh as the following verses show. NOTE: The reason we've put quotation marks around the words Old and New Covenant is because Messianic Jews and Gentiles believe that the Bible is one continuous God-breathed Word, rather than two separate testaments.

The Refiner's Fire challenges the traditional Jews to show that ANY other person has ever fulfilled all the qualifications that Yeshua did!

Messiah came 2,000 years ago! As all Man, yet also all God, He was a DIVINE sacrifice. NO ONE ELSE could, or has ever, fit these particular qualifications besides yaHashua (Yeshua, Y'Shua), whose very Name means "God is Salvation" ("Ya" is short for Yahweh, or YHWH).

Messianic Judaism's Response:

....And the Bible says that WHERE? Certainly not in the Books of Daniel and Revelation, which gives us a detailed outline of the end time scenario! While the above things sound noble, they don't make much sense. God certainly does have a specific date in mind, Messiah won't come at a "time when he is most deserved because the world is so good"! WHEN has the world EVER been "good" enough for God? If we are so "good", then why did He destroy the entire earth by flood in Noah's time? Are we any better now? Not only are we not paying attention to God's Word, but we are rubbing His face in our carnality! Sexual promiscuity and Homosexuality are literally being shoved down our throats and touted as "normal"; we are murdering our fetuses at phenomenal rates; children ignore their parents; parents ignore their children; and violence and decadence of all kinds have become a way of life....So, when is man going to be "good" enough to warrant the Messiah's appearance? That's just plain ludicrous!

Isaiah 64:6 - All of us are like someone unclean, all our righteous deeds like menstrual rags; we wither, all of us, like leaves' and our misdeeds blow us away like the wind.

"The world" is teetering on the brink of "as the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of man be."

Luke 17:26-30: 26 "Also, at the time of the Son of Man, it will be just as it was at the time of Noach. 27 People ate and drank, and men and women married, right up until the day Noach entered the ark; then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, as it was in the time of Lot - people ate nad drank, bught and sold, planted and built; 29 but the day Lot left S'dom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 That is how it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

Messianic Judaism's Response:

When hasn't there been "war and suffering" on earth? The "war and suffering" of the "end times" is called the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21, 29; Mark 13:19, 24; also read the Books of Daniel and Revelation). This will happen when the antichrist (man of perdition) is revealed (1 John 2:18, 22: 1 John 4:3; 2 John 1:7) and causes peace among the nations. This man will eventually proclaim himself to be God (2 Thess. 2:3-4). Halfway through this tribulation, he will begin to reveal his true nature and force people to take "the Mark of the Beast" without which no one will be able to buy or sell (Rev. 13:17; 14:9, 11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4) His reign of terror will end only when Yeshua returns to defeat him and begins His thousand year reign on earth.

Also, please consider this: Anyone who is against Yeshua is an "anti-Christ". Islam is the biggest anti-Christ in the universe today. Islam has crept its way into every nation, and has been carrying out the Q'uran's "scriptures" to kill the "infidels" and anyone who refuses to convert. (Remember 9/11?) Therefore, Islam could very well be the "beast" of Revelation! It is easy to identify anyone who isn't Muslim, and with the rapid spread of Islam into every aspect of Western society, eventually, if anyone isn't Muslim, they could very well be denied jobs, or buying and selling....

As far as "rebuilding the Temple is concerned, please read Will There Be a Third Temple?

Messianic Judaism's Response:

Olam Ha-Ba is coming, as is the Messianic Age! As we have stated above, the Jewish people have been returning to their Land in droves! We have been suffering war and suffering throughout history! The world WILL live in peace after Yeshua returns! The traditional Jews forget one thing: Their religion IS the "true religion" - however, they're ignoring the fact that it includes the New Covenant that God promised! Yeshua IS that New Covenant! Under the New Covenant, our BODIES are the temple, and there will be no need for animal sacrifices to be reinstated....If the Temple is, in fact, rebuilt, then it will be the Jews themselves who rebuild it - not Messiah.

Messianic Judaism's Response:

Yeshua didn't "fulfill the mission of the moshiach as it is described in the biblical passages cited above"???? He certainly DID fulfill some of them; not to mention a whole lot of OTHERS that traditional Jews have chosen to ignore! Was Bar Kochba born of a virgin? Did God say, "This is my Son in Whom I'm well pleased"? Did he walk on water? Was he tortured and rejected by his people? Did he offer himself as the final sacrifice and then rise again three days later? Did Rabbi Schneerson fulfill these prophecies? The answer is NO! Why don't you concentrate on the things Messiah was supposed to - and DID - fulfill during His life on earth, rather than to reject Him because he didn't magically fulfill FUTURE prophecies? Yeshua fulfilled EVERY prophecy about Himself that was to occur during His lifetime. Is it fair to assume that He was a fraud because some of the FUTURE prophecies have not yet been fulfilled? How petty and arrogant can you get?

How about taking a really GOOD LOOK at passages such as Daniel 9:24-26, Isaiah 53:1, 3, and Psalm 118:22 which tell the Jews that they would REJECT Messiah? How about Psalm 41:9 and Matthew 26:47-50, which tell us that Messiah would be betrayed by a friend? How about Zechariah 11:12-13, which tells us that Messiah would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver and added that people will look on the one whom they have pierced? That He was to be smitten and spat upon by His enemies (Micah 5:1, Isaiah 50:6)? Mocked and taunted (Psalm 22:7, 8)? Psalm 22:18 prophesied that people would divide His garments among them and cast lots for His clothing. Isaiah 53:5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12 tells us Messiah was to die as an offering for sin. The Psalms say he was to be raised from the dead/resurrected (Psalm 16:10, Mark 16:19-20; John 20:1-10; Matthew 28:11-1; John 20:19-23; Mark 16:14; and Mark 16:14-18)....All these things came to pass. What are the odds of that happening?

How's THAT for "Messianic prophecy"? It really looks as though you are picking and choosing Scriptures to suit your purposes!

That Jews do not accept Yeshua as their promised Messiah is a real shame, because they are rejecting God Himself! Matthew 7:13 tells us that the gate the leads to life is very narrow and that most people won't be taking it....

Again, The Refiner's Fire challenges any traditional Jew to come up with anyone else that has even COME CLOSE to fulfilling the prophecies that Yeshua did!

Check out the 48 "dead-on" prophecies that Yeshua alone fulfilled. According to mathematician Professor Peter Stoner, the probability of 48 prophecies being fulfilled in one person is the incredible number 10^157 power!

Yeshua Ha'Maschiach did not found a new religion, but fulfilled the prophecy and established the New Covenant. All who believe that Yeshua is the Messiah who died for their sins and was resurrected, and sincerely turn from their sins and ask for forgiveness will be partakers of this covenant and will be rewarded by its blessings: atonement for sin, renewal of the relationship with God, His mercy and grace, and when the time comes being in His presence forever. The practical proof that a man really lives according to God's will and has received the atonement of the Messiah is expressed in his willingness to be honest, humble, kind and God fearing. A man who rejects Yeshua the Messiah rejects the only Biblical way for salvation from sins, and even rejects God Himself. The history of the People of Israel is packed with events where nations and people have claimed a faith in Yeshua, but have, in His name, murdered and committed crimes.

This is the main reason for the People of Israel's rejection of Yeshua the Messiah. In fact, heinous crimes prove how far they are from the Word of God and their lack of faith in God's Messiah. A sincere believer will test Yeshua's claim to be the Messiah according to the Tanakh and not according to men's failures!

Throughout the years, the Children of Israel witnessed abundant blessings, miracles and graces that God bestowed upon them in return for their faith and obedience. As a good and faithful Father, God has also shown His holiness and righteousness in punishing the people when they have turned from the straight path. In spite of God's grace, the People of Israel have forsaken their faith in the Most High God. The People of Israel honored God with their mouths, but in their hearts they have drawn away from Him. The People of Israel did not listen to the warnings of the prophets and preferred to ignore the word of the Living God (Isaiah 29:13-14).

Because the People of Israel broke the covenant they have made with God in Sinai, God gave them, through the prophet Jeremiah, a prophecy concerning the establishment of a New Covenant, a different covenant:

"The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more" (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

God did not choose another people but remained faithful to the promise He gave to Abraham. The breaking of the covenant by the People of Israel necessitated the establishment of a new covenant, a new framework within which the People of Israel could atone for their sins and keep their closeness to God. Not a new people, but new terms!!! (The book called "The New Testament" is a description of the covenant that the prophet Jeremiah speaks of. It is the covenant that is meant first and foremost for Israel, and then for the Gentiles, but it also has to do with the coming of the Messiah).

And what happened? They sent Messiah to the cross!

Almost 2000 years have passed since the destruction of the Temple. The only way in which the People of Israel can bring their sacrifices before God and atone for their sins has been removed. Without a Temple there is no possibility to fulfill the commandments of the covenant made in front of Mount Sinai! According to the prophet Daniel, the Messiah came to atone for sins in the period before the destruction of the Second Temple. Instead of welcoming Him as Messiah and Savior, the nation sent its Messiah to the cross! "...the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary..." (Daniel 9:22-27).

According to the prophet, the Messiah was cut off about the time of the Passover Feast in the year 32 A.D., about 40 years before the destruction of the Second Temple! While the prophet Jeremiah declared the establishment of a new covenant and Daniel the date of its beginning, other prophets have described its author, the Messiah Himself! The prophet Micah prophesied that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem Ephrata. He notes that the Messiah who will be born existed from before the beginning of the world - a statement which can only be said about God! (Micah 5:2)(Habakkuk 1:12)....

Messianic Judaism's Response:

It's amazing that these "messianic" Scriptures don't include Isaiah 53 - an entire chapter that Messianic believers consider to be Messianic - whose prophecies are even mentioned in separate books of the Bible! What's the old adage? - No one is more blind than those who refuse to see? Let's check out Tracey's "messianic" Scriptures:

• Isaiah 2, 11, 42; 59:20 were fulfilled in Luke 2:32, Acts 13:47-48, and Matthew 1:1
  
  
• Jeremiah 23 was fulfilled in John 13:13. Jeremiah 30 speaks of future prophecies, to be fulfilled when Messiah returns. Jeremiah 33:15-16 says: 15 When those days come, at that time, I will cause to spring up for David a Branch of Righteousness. He will do what is just and right in the land. 16 When those days come, Y'hudah will be saved, Yerushalayim will live in safety, and the name given to her will be Adonai Tzidkenu [Adonai our Righteousness]." Yeshua fulfilled that prophecy! Jeremiah 48:47 and 49:39 are future prophecies yet to be fulfilled. Does that mean Yeshua isn't Messiah because He hasn't fulfilled this prophecy in YOUR timeframe? NO!
  
  
• Ezekiel 38:16 is a future prophecy yet to be fulfilled. Does that mean Yeshua isn't Messiah? NO!
  
  
• Hosea 3:4-3:5 is both a future and a fulfilled prophecy, as Yeshua has already given the Jews their Messiah in the flesh. It is also a future prophecy because Israel WILL "Come trembling to the Lord" in the last days, once they discover what a terrible thing they've done by rejecting Him....
  
  
• Micah 4 is a future prophecy to be fulfilled upon Yeshua's return. Does that mean Yeshua isn't Messiah? NO!
  
  
• Zephaniah 3:9. For then I will change the peoples, so that they will have pure lips, to call on the name of Adonai, all of them, and service him with one accord.....Not sure why this would be considered a Messianic prophecy, but if it is, it is an obvious FUTURE prophecy. It certainly isn't as powerful as some of the above-mentioned Scriptures which prophesy that He would be rejected by His own, etc!
  
  
• Zechariah 14:9 is a future prophecy to be fulfilled upon Yeshua's return.
  
  
• Daniel 10:14. So I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the acharit-hayamim; for there is still another vision which will relate to those days." Not sure why this would be considered a Messianic prophecy and, again, isn't as powerful as some of the above-mentioned Scriptures which prophesy that He would be rejected by His own, etc!

To view the Messianic prophecies from a MESSIANIC viewpoint - the viewpoint the doesn't ignore HALF of the Bible - please see 48 Dead-On Prophecies About Yeshua.