Are the Jewish peoples still awaiting the Messiah?

Yup, they still are.

According to Religion Facts,
“The Tanakh gives several specifications as to who the messiah will be. He will be a descendent of King David (2 Samuel 7:12–13; Jeremiah 23:5), observant of Jewish law (Isaiah 11:2–5), a righteous judge (Jeremiah 33:15), and a great military leader.”

Since Jesus proclaimed himself as the Son of God, he wasn’t able to be the Messiah in their eyes.

“A fundamental difference between Judaism and Christianity is the Jewish conviction that God is so essentially different from and beyond humanity that he could never become a human.”

Also, Jesus wasn’t a great military leader.

And what @Hobbes said.

Daniel’s Prophecy of Seventy Septets in Daniel 9:22–27 specifies when the Messiah was to come. The same right-wing Christians who insist that the Earth is only 6,000 years old because the word Day in Genesis 1 means an ordinary 24 hour period, and cannot mean anything else; also insist that Week in Daniel doesn’t mean weeks and Day doesn’t mean days. If they did, Christ came about almost 500 years too late to be the Messiah.

Jews insist that the word Messiah doesn’t mean Messiah, because if it did, then the game is over and if he came, they missed him and it’s too late.

Now stand by for me to get savaged by tho spin masters who want the words interpreted in absolutely literal fashion except when they say something that doesn’t fit their belief system.

The way I remember it Jews (we) believe when the Messiah comes we will enter into the Messianic Age/Era and have a great time of peace. No war, no hunger, no enemies. Just knowing that it does not seem that Jesus could have been the Messiah. So yes, we are waiting. And, when he comes even non-Jews will be ok. We don’t discriminate.

How would one know one had entered into a time of peace? One week without an attack on Israel or Palestine [or anywhere else], one month? One Year, decade, generation?
Technically, each day can start a great time of peace.

@anartist I don’t think there has ever been a whole day of total peace on earth. Also, what I don’t know is what comes after the Messianic Era, or if it goes on into infinity? If it is supposed to continue forever, then a year, a decade, a day, would not be enough. But, I don’t know how long it is supposed to last.

This says the latest the messiah will come is during the year 6,000. That is coming soon in the scheme of things. Just thought you might want to know. I think we are in the year 5771 currently.

@JLeslie Just looking around at what’s going down, I don’t think we can wait that long. :-)

BTW, how do you read 70 weeks to get to 6,490 years?

@JLeslie the year 6000 refers to the Jewish calendar, though I think there’s still a few hundred years until we get there in Common Era.

@ETpro what 70 weeks? I never mentioned 70 weeks.

@phocks Of course. I am talking about the Jewish Interpretation of the Messianic Era, why would the Jews care about the CE in their old text? I gave you the year we are in, on the Jewish calendar. I was married in 5753. So it should be 5771 more or less by my math. I could google to double check. .

@anartist , I believe that there are certain events that are supposed to follow after the coming of the Messiah. I remember reading that some among the orthodox did not initially accept the creation of Israel, because this was not supposed to happen until the arrival of the Messiah. There may be something about the resurrection of the dead, but I am not sure of this.

So I was thinking about this some more and came up with this:

One fundamental difference between Judaism and Christianity is that one faith is based on the idea that the Messiah is still to come, and the other is based on the idea that the Messiah has already come.

So those beliefs shape people’s worldview and effect their thoughts and actions while here upon the earth.

@phocks It is more than the messiah having come or not. Christians think they are right. They think they are the only ones who will be let into Gods Kingdom of Heaven. They think abou tlife after death, talk about, it is an integral part of why the think they follow God’s word according to the bible. Jews believe all good people can go to heaven. Jews think more about their time on earth, how we affect each other on earth. Jews follow God’s laws because they choose to, but not because of some threat of eternal damnation. Growing up Jewish no one ever talked about afterlife, or what happens when we die. We don’t think one person is more deserving than another. All God’s children is taken more literally in my mind by the Jews.

Now, I am not religious, or a theist, so I don’t get caught up in the God stuff, but I do think being Jewish shapes how I am concerned with my time on earth and how I realte to people, and treating people fairly and equally.

The interesting thing to me is that a fundamental part of the tradition of Judaism is a belief in the eventual coming of the mashiach. This person is expected to match certain elements of faith. These elements nearly – not exactly – but nearly, mirror the Christ that many Jews and Gentiles recognized as the promised Redeemer.

Many Christians believe that prior to the second coming of Christ, there will be an antichrist who comes and deceives the masses saying he is Christ. People will think this is Christ, but it isn’t according to some Christian beliefs.

@JLeslie I’ve met very few people who called themselves Christian who thought they got to heaven through actions or following God’s word according to the Bible or that one person was more deserving than another. Also, do you mean to say that Olam Haba doesn’t depend on the merit system based on what you did on earth?

@bkcunningham The Jews believe Christ came close to meeting all of the requirements of the Messiah, but not quite everything. There is no surprise that Judaism and Christianity have things in common.

So, the Christians believe I am going to heaven? Even though I do not accept Christ as my savior?

I am not familiar with Olam Haba.

@JLeslie Christians don’t determine who is going to heaven. You are a creature with a mind and can think for yourself. Other people don’t determine your salvation. Salvation is by grace through faith, and it is the gift of God, and not of works.

Ephesians 2:4–12 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
11Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
13But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

@bkcunningham I am not saying other people determine my salvation. I am saying, from how I understand it, Christianity requires a person accept Christ as their savior to be saved. Is that false? Simple yes or no will suffice.

@JLeslie The 70 Weeks that Daniel mentioned in his prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.I had mentioned it here.

@ETpro Thanks. Can you put that in laymans terms for me? Are you saying it doesn’t jive with the Messiah coming during the year 6,000. I think maybe I am too tired tonight for fluther and biblical interpretations. Or, are you arguing the Jewish calendar does not actually represent the beginning of creation? I’m so confused right now LOL. So much easier not being religious. But, I am interested in knowing.

@JLeslie Well, I’m just pointing out what the Prophet Daniel said. I don’t happen to believe in messianic prophecy, so no, it isn’t me saying any of this. Daniel wrote his 70 weeks prophecy about 500 years before Christ was born. So if we have to wait till CE 6,000 then that seems to me 70 weeks means 6,500 years; or anytime in that span. Not a very meaningful timetable for a prophecy.

@ETpro Got it. It isn’t 6,000 CE though. Or, am I misunderstanding that also? The way I interpret it is 6,000 on the Jewish calendar, that is 2240 CE isn’t it? More or less.

@JLeslie Oh, I see. THanks. Hadn’t considered which calendar. That narrows the window somewhat, but still gives an awfully long time for the conditions of the prophecy to be met. However, given the number of wars constantly going on over the last 200 years, I am not all that optimistic we’ll acheive lasting peace in the next 230.