Epicenter 2.0 by Joel C. Rosenberg

Author:Joel C. Rosenberg
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: RELIGION / Christian Life / Social Issues, RELIGION / Christianity / Christian Life
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2013-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

EZEKIEL AND THE MESSIAH

One of the things that has struck me while writing my novels is the growing number of Jews, regardless of their specific religious traditions, who see the landing lights as well, who are convinced that the Messiah is coming soon.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, belief that Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi Menachem Schneerson (known as “the Rebbe”) was the Messiah reached a fever pitch among hundreds of thousands of Jews around the world. “Schneerson purportedly has healed the sick, restored fertility to barren women and averted family tragedies,” said a 1988 Washington Post profile. “He has never claimed publicly to be the messiah, but critics say he has been slow to deny the claim when made by his followers. They contend that this is why Schneerson has never set foot in Israel; under Jewish tradition, the messiah will arrive only when the era of redemption begins.”295

Even when Schneerson suffered a massive stroke in 1992, there were still those who refused to give up their beliefs. “The Rebbe will surprise all,” one follower told U.S. News & World Report, claiming that the Messiah would announce himself after doctors gave up. “The Rebbe will lead all of us to Jerusalem,” he said, “and you and I may find ourselves standing shoulder to shoulder.”296

After Schneerson’s death in 1994 at the age of ninety-two, his supporters praised him for at least having prepared the way for someone else. “In virtually every talk the Rebbe gave, every letter he wrote and every action he initiated, the theme, the sign-off and the objective was: the coming of Moshiach [the Messiah], the attainment of the Redemption,” notes the Chabad.org Web site, adding that “perhaps no leader in history emphasized the urgency and immediacy of Moshiach as did the Rebbe.”297

Today Rabbi Ariel and his colleagues at the Temple Institute are not only convinced that the Messiah is coming soon; they are convinced the Third Temple is coming sooner. In one article posted on his Web site, Ariel wrote, “Which comes first, the Messiah or the Temple? There seems to be ample indication that the building of the Holy Temple will precede the Messiah’s arrival. Various biblical verses and statements made by the great sages prove this. This is actually the opinion of Maimonides, a Jewish rabbi and philosopher, who quotes an astounding verse from the prophecy of Malachi (3:1) in his classic Letter to Yemen: ‘For suddenly the master whom you are seeking will come to the sanctuary.’ It appears that this prophecy, referring to the arrival of the Messiah, specifies that he will indeed arrive at the already built Temple.”298

While I was writing this book, I came across this headline from the Times of London: “Old Shack Will Give Madonna Front-Row Seat for Arrival of her Messiah.” According to the article, the pop singer was “trying to buy a house overlooking the Sea of Galilee at the place where followers of her Kabbalist faith expect the Messiah to reappear to herald world peace. . . .

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