{"id":1305,"date":"2012-08-16T07:29:33","date_gmt":"2012-08-16T14:29:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hoshanarabbah.org\/blog\/?p=1305"},"modified":"2012-08-15T07:42:25","modified_gmt":"2012-08-15T14:42:25","slug":"two-messiahs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoshanarabbah.org\/blog\/2012\/08\/16\/two-messiahs\/","title":{"rendered":"The “Two” Messiahs of the Old Testament"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Scriptures Reveal\u00a0Two Messiahs Are to Come:
\nOne Who Will Be Like Joseph and One Who Will Be Like David<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>L<\/strong>et\u2019s note a startling statement from Orthodox Jewish sources:<\/strong> Mesorah Publications <\/em><\/strong>The<\/em> <\/strong>ArtScroll Bereishis<\/em>, vol. 1(b) states in its commentary on Genesis 48:19 regarding Ephraim:<\/p>\n

\u201cR. Munk explains: \u2018while it is true that the dispersion [of the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh] was caused by the unfaithfulness and sinfulness of Ephraim\u2019s descendants (Hos 7:8ff), Jacob\u2019s blessing was not in vain for \u201cthey will return to God\u201d and will have their share in the world to come (Sanhedrin<\/em> 110b).\u2019 And R. Eliezer adds: \u2018Even the darkness in which the Ten Tribes were lost will one day become as radiant as the day\u2019 (according to the version of Avos d\u2019Rabbi Nosson <\/em>36). And in the perspective of history, did not these exiled children of the Patriarchs enlighten the nations among whom they were scattered? They did so by teaching their conquerors the fundamental ideas of the knowledge and love of God, ideals they had never forsaken. Hence they too have a messianic vocation and their Messiah, the Mashiach ben Yosef, Messiah son of Joseph (Succah<\/em> 52a), also called Messiah son of Ephraim (Targum Yonasan<\/em> on Exodus 40:11), will play an essential role in humanity\u2019s redemption, for he will be the precursor of the Mashiach ben David<\/strong>, Messiah Son of David. It is therefore not surprising to find that the prophet Jeremiah (3:12) speaks affectionately of Ephraim. In this light, Jacob\u2019s words, \u2018his offspring\u2019s fame will fill the nations nation,\u2019 <\/em>assume the significance of a blessing\u201d (pp. 2121\u20132122). (emphasis added)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What the Jewish sages are saying here is that Messiah the Son of Yosef\/Joseph\u2014the Messiah whose coming precedes that of Messiah the Son of David\u2014is the Messiah that causes the house of Ephraim (that is the ten northern tribes of Israel, many of whose descendants are currently found within the Christian church) to return to YHVH. Yeshua (Jesus), the son of Joseph, of whom the life and ministry of Joseph, the son of Jacob, was an antetype or prophetic shadow picture, is the very Messiah, unbeknownst to them, of whom they speak.<\/p>\n

In Jewish literature, the Messiah whose life would resemble Joseph was referred to as the suffering servant or \u201cMessiah Son of Joseph\u201d (Mashiach Ben Joseph<\/em>), while the Messiah whose life and ministry would resemble David was referred to as warrior king or \u201cMessiah Son of David\u201d (Mashiach Ben David<\/em>). The Jewish sages came to this conclusion because when reading the messianic prophecies in the Tanakh (OT) they saw two different, even conflicting Messiahs whose roles were very different from each other. What was not known by the ancient Jewish sages, and was a subject of much debate, was which Messiah would come first, when he would come, would he be the same person or two different individuals, and how much time would separate the two comings.<\/p>\n

For believers in Yeshua, this does not seem like a dilemma, for we look back in time and can see clearly that Yeshua fulfilled the Suffering Servant role at his first coming, and will fulfill the Conquering King role at this second coming. But two thousand years ago, without the benefit of historical perspective, this was not so easy a matter to figure out. Even the disciples were at times in a quandary as to which mission Yeshua was to fulfill as evidenced by their last question to him before his final ascension, \u201cWill you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?\u201d (Acts 2:6).<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s review some of the passages in the Tanakh that point to the two different Messiahs:<\/p>\n

Messiah Son of Joseph<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n