Great Expectations

Let's examine just some of the many Messianic prophecies (hidden in plain sight) within various rabbinic texts. How closely do these ancient expectations align with what we see in those of the Tanakh and Brit Chadasha concerning the Messiah of Israel?

"The heavens and the earth will listen to His Messiah, and none therein will stray from the commandments of the holy ones. Seekers of the L-rd, strengthen yourselves in His service! All you hopeful in your heart, will you not find the L-rd in this? For the L-rd will consider the pious and call the righteous by name. Over the poor His spirit will hover and will renew the faithful with His power. And He will glorify the pious on the throne of the eternal Kingdom. He who liberates the captives, restores sight to the blind, and straightens the bent." 4Q521, Dead Sea Scrolls 

"In the generation when Messiah comes, young men will insult the old, and old men will stand before the young, giving them honor; daughters will rise up against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. The people shall be dog-faced, and a son will not be abashed in his father's presence. In the generation of Messiah's coming impudence will increase, esteem will be perverted, the vine yield its fruit, yet shall wine be dear, and the Kingdom will be converted to heresy with none to rebuke them. The son of David will not come until the whole world is converted to the belief of the heretics." from the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 97a

"The Messiah... will arise in the land of Galilee… the Messiah shall reveal himself in the land of Galilee because in this part of the Holy Land the desolation (Babylonian exile) first began, therefore he will manifest himself there first." Zohar III, Shemoth 7b, 8b, 220a; Otzar Midrashim, 466

"He will be with the last deliverer, (Messiah), as with the first (Moses); as the first deliverer revealed himself first to the Israelites and then withdrew, so also will the last deliverer reveal himself to the Israelites and then withdraw for a while." Midrash Ruth Rabbath 5:6

"The Holy One, blessed be He, will tell the Messiah in detail what will befall him... ‘their sins will cause you to bend down as under a yoke of iron and make you like a calf whose eyes grow dim with suffering and will choke your spirit as with a yoke, and because of their sins your tongue will cleave to the roof of your mouth. Are you willing to endure such things?’ The Messiah will say: ‘Master of the universe with joy in my soul and gladness in my heart I take this suffering upon myself provided that not one person in Israel shall perish, so that not only those who are alive be saved in my days, but also those who are dead, who died from the days of Adam up to the time of redemption.’" Pesikta Rabbati, Piska 36.1; Zohar II. 212a

These few have sufficiently blown my mind for tonight. Absolutely amazing. We'll look at more of these incredible, prophetic passages (to be most accurate, some actually came in to being centuries after Yeshua, but are still staggering for obvious reasons) over the next few days.