Debunking "Proof Texts" from the Psalms

Part 7 – The "Big Picture"

 

 

I.            Introduction

 

In a series of six essays[1]^{,[2],[3],[4],[5],[6]}, 55 claims of Christian "messianic prophecies" in the Psalms and their respective "fulfillments" in the New Testament were investigated, analyzed in detail, and refuted.  Literally hundreds of so-called "proof texts" have been identified by Christian apologists and missionaries as representing alleged prophecies in the Christian "Old Testament", which are claimed to have been "fulfilled" by Jesus, the Messiah of Christianity, as recorded in the New Testament.  These passages are often also called "messianic prophecies" in Christian sources, a characterization that, likewise, is used in Judaism to identify specific items on the "messianic agenda" that appears in the Hebrew Bible.

 

The set of "messianic prophecies" identified by Christians in the Christian "Old Testament" is not congruent with the set of "messianic agenda items" that was developed by the Jewish prophets in the Hebrew Bible.  At last count, the reference list[7] that was used in the investigation of the Christian "proof texts" in the Psalms, identified 312 pairs of "messianic prophecy"-"fulfillment" citations, each of which includes a statement of the "messianic prophecy" claimed to have been fulfilled by Jesus.  While the Internet abounds with references to these long lists of Christian "proof texts", the equivalent plethora of messianic prophetic texts for the Jewish messianic paradigm does not exist.

 

This essay presents an overview and an analytical comparison of the Jewish and Christian messianic paradigms.

 

II.            Judaism's Messianic Vision

 

The Jewish messianic vision is an original concept at the heart of traditional Judaism, and the dream of an eventual redemption is one of its foundations.  The Hebrew phrase often associated with a future blissful era, known in Judaism as the messianic era,  (aharit ha'yamim), the end of days, appears in the Hebrew Bible as early as Genesis 49:1, where Jacob summons his sons to bestow his blessings upon them.  This chapter, and the blessing of Judah in particular, can be considered as the cornerstone of the Jewish messianic paradigm.  The full picture of the Jewish messianic vision was developed primarily through the writings of the prophets.

 

The messianic paradigm of traditional Judaism consists of two main components:

 

Y      The central figure,  (mashi'ah), who will be in the leadership role, and whose actions will result in major changes to world conditions.

 

Y      The "messianic agenda", which consists of the "action items" (the "messianic prophecies" of Judaism) expected to be executed and completed for the messianic era to be a reality.

 

The following sections provide a closer view at each of these two items.

 

1.  (mashi'ah)

 

The  (mashi'ah), the anointed one, is the individual whom the Jewish people are awaiting.  Although he is the central figure in it, the Jewish messianic vision is not focused him; rather, it addresses his accomplishments.  The actions of the  (mashi'ah) will induce changes in the real world that will transform it into the picture envisioned by the prophets. 

 

Although he is the central figure in the Jewish messianic vision, few details are recorded in the Hebrew Bible about the  (mashi'ah) in terms of specific descriptions of his physical characteristics and attributes.  In fact, in its 39 applications in the Hebrew Bible, the term  (mashi'ah) is never used in connection with the promised future leader of Israel.  One possible reason for this is that, starting in the first century B.C.E., the Jewish messianic paradigm experienced a significant transformation.  It shifted away from the idea of a future blissful era,  (aharit ha'yamim), the end of days, and evolved into the notion of future mortal leader who will redeem Israel from the oppression the people had been suffering in exile and from enemies who occupied the Holy Land.  It was during this time frame that the modern title of  (mashi'ah) was adopted as the common reference to this individual, who was expected to be the next occupant of the throne of King David.  An interesting by-product of this phenomenon has been that, once this concept took hold, various individuals have appeared and proclaimed themselves, or were proclaimed by others, to be this awaited redeemer.

 

The information available in the Hebrew Bible spells out the requirements which a legitimate candidate for the "job" of  (mashi'ah) must satisfy:

 

Y      He must be a biological descendant, the   (zera), seed, of King David (Is 11:1; Ezek 37:24-25)

 

Y      His lineage to King David must go through King Solomon (2 Sam 7:12-16; 1 Kgs 8:18-20)

 

Y      He must be a Jew and Jewish (Deut 17:15,18-20).

 

It follows from the above requirements that the  (mashi'ah) must be born of two human parents – his biological father will transmit to him the lineage to King David, and his biological mother will provide him with his identity as a Jew.

 

There are bound to be scores of individuals who satisfy these requirements, but this does not guarantee that any one of them will be the  (mashi'ah) – they are merely qualified candidates for the "job".  In order to be identified and declared as the  (mashi'ah), a qualified candidate will have to execute and complete the "messianic agenda" as part of his sovereignty.

 

2. The "Messianic Agenda"

 

The messianic vision of Judaism, which was developed primarily through the writings of the prophets, has as its centerpiece a "messianic agenda".  This "messianic agenda" consists of prophetic statements which describe, at various level of detail, the conditions that will prevail in the messianic era.  The items on the "messianic agenda" comprise the collection of "messianic prophecies" in traditional Judaism.  Table II.B-1 shows a list of the most significant "messianic prophecies" of Judaism found in the Hebrew Bible.[8]

 

Table II.B-1 – "Messianic prophecies" of Judaism

 

 

As is evident from this collection of "messianic prophecies", they generally describe the conditions that will prevail during some future period known as the messianic era – they represent the output from a nation that was longing for a better life in a better world.  When all the "messianic prophecies" of Judaism are considered, are found to be exhaustive and exclusive, which means that when they are fulfilled, it will not require "faith" to experience the impact of  their presence – everyone will know it.

 

III.            Christianity's Messianic Vision

 

Although Christianity has adopted Judaism's idea that the Messiah will be a descendant of King David, the Christian messianic paradigm is inconsistent with its Jewish counterpart in all other aspects, as will be demonstrated in Section IV.

 

The common messianic paradigm of Christianity consists of two main components:

 

U       The central figure, Messiah, already came once in fulfillment of prophetic statements in the Christian "Old Testament", and who will return at a future time.

 

U        The "messianic prophecies" fulfilled by the Messiah in his "First Coming".

 

The following sections provide a closer view at each of these two items.

 

A.     Messiah

 

The central figure of the Christian messianic vision is the Messiah.  The most striking feature of the Christian messianic paradigm is that, by design and unlike Judaism, it is entirely focused on the central figure, Jesus, who is referred to in the Greek Testament by the title Ιησούς Χριστός (Iesous Christos), or Jesus Christ (Jesus the Messiah) – the Anglicized version of the Greek name and title..

 

According to Christian theology, the nature and mission of the Messiah is that he is both Lord and Savior:

 

U       Jesus is divine since he has always existed as part of the divine godhead[11] (Jo 1:1-2). 

 

U       Jesus was "sent to earth" in the form of a man (G-d manifest in the flesh) via the "Virgin Birth", thus making him the son of G-d (Mt 1:23; Mk 1:1).

 

U       Jesus came as the Messiah in order to redeem (or save) humanity by removing the stain of the "Original Sin" through his sacrificial death on the cross (2 Tim 1:9-10; 1 Jo 4:14).

 

U       In his "Second Coming", Jesus will reign over the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 5:19, 7:21; Heb 9:28).

 

In his role as Lord and Savrior, Jesus is said to have fulfilled all the prophecies about him in the Christian "Old Testament".

 

B.    The "Messianic Prophecies"

 

According to Christian theology, the Messiah fulfilled all the prophecies in the Christian "Old Testament" which were spoken about him.  These "messianic prophecies" consist of passages, single verses, or even portions of a verse in the Christian "Old Testament", and the same is true of their respective "fulfillment texts" in the New Testament.  The list of the 55 "messianic prophecy"-"fulfillment" pairs investigated in the previous six essays typifies the contents of the complete reference list (see footnote 7).  For reference, the results of the analysis are reproduced in Table III.B-1 (sequence numbers were added for clarification).

 

Table III.B-1 – The "messianic prophecies" of Christianity in Psalms 8, 16, 18, 27, 31, 34, 35, 38, 40, 41, 45, 55, 68, 69 78, 80, 89, 102, 109, 118, and 132, and their "fulfillments"

 

 

As is evident from the above list, the "messianic prophecies" of Christianity are Messiah-centric, i.e., they deal with the Messiah's origin, his attributes, his personal life's ordeals, and his death and resurrection.  This is likely to be a result of the belief by Christians that G-d, via His direct intervention in human history, made His will and purpose known to mankind when He sent His "son", Jesus, to fulfill these "messianic prophecies".  Thus, for Christians, the concept of "messianic prophecy" is the product of a "new revelation", and that the last word on the meaning of specific "messianic prophecies" in the Christian "Old Testament", accordingly, is found in the New Testament and in Jesus himself.  For Christians, the Messiah already came and fulfilled all these "messianic prophecies", and they are now awaiting his "Second Coming".

 

IV.            The Two Messianic Visions:  How Do They Compare?

 

Each of the two major components from the two messianic paradigms are compared respectively by contrasting several elements that characterize significant attributes and function.  The tabular forms of these comparisons will show how they compare against each other, and how they compare against the accounts found the Hebrew Bible.

 

1.  (mashi'ah) versus Jesus

 

Items that characterize the respective central figures of the Jewish and Christian messianic visions are compared in Table IV.A-1.

 

Table IV.A-1 – Comparing the central figures

 

* By default

 

This comparison demonstrates that the central figure of Judaism's messianic vision,  (mashi'ah), is incompatible with Jesus, the central figure of Christianity's messianic vision.  This comparison also shows that Jesus does not fit the few descriptions of attributes of  (mashi'ah) in the Hebrew Bible.

 

2. The "Messianic Agenda" versus the "Messianic Prophecies"

 

Items that characterize the respective prophetic components of the Jewish and Christian messianic visions are compared in Table IV.B-1.

 

Table IV.B-1 – Comparing the prophetic components

 

* By default

 

This comparison demonstrates that Judaism's "messianic agenda" and Christianity's "messianic prophecies" are incompatible.  This comparison also shows that the prophetic component of the Christian messianic vision is incompatible with accounts contained in the Hebrew Bible.

 

3. General Observations

 

Beyond the results obtained from these detailed comparisons, several additional points of interest concerning the two messianic paradigms are worth noting:

 

€     The "certainty of the end" is, at least conceptually, a common idea in both Judaism and Christianity.  However, a major difference that sets apart the two messianic visions is that, in Judaism, history moves toward the coming of  (mashi'ah), whereas, in Christianity,  the belief is that the Messiah has already come and the doctrinal focus is on the fundamental belief rather on the Messiah's return.

 

€     The term "Messiah" has different definitions as used in Judaism and in Christianity.   (mashi'ah) and its application is original to Judaism, whereas Messiah as applied in Christianity has its origin in pagan beliefs.

 

€     The Davidic lineage of  (mashi'ah) is a biblical requirement in Judaism, whereas, in Christianity, the relationship of the Messiah to King David is viewed as messianic prophecy.

 

€     The significant disparity in the number of Judaism's "messianic agenda" items and Christianity's "(fulfilled) messianic prophecies" is due, in part, to the method of enumeration.  In Judaism's messianic vision, all occasions in the Hebrew Bible where the same "messianic agenda" item is referenced are counted as one item.  In Christianity's messianic vision, each reference in the Christian "Old Testament" to the same "messianic prophecy" is counted as a separate item.  For example, 15 cited references to Jesus being G-d's son (including "firstborn") are counted as 15 "messianic prophecies", 13 cited references to Jesus being a descendant of King David are counted as 13 "messianic prophecies", 12 cited references to Jesus bearing the sins of man are counted as 12 "messianic prophecies, etc.  This is artificial "inflation"!

 

€     The invention of a "Second Coming" and adding it to Christianity's messianic paradigm is a de facto concession by Christians that their Messiah failed to bring about the blissful era that is foretold in the Hebrew Bible.  It is unbiblical!

 

€     The Christian messianic vision relies heavily on the "art of circular reasoning".  In other words, Jesus can be positively identified as the subject of these "messianic prophecies" (i.e., "proof texts") only if one believes in him in the first place (i.e., in what is written about him in the New Testament).  This is not at all a "proof"!

 

These issues reinforce the fact that, although superficially the two messianic paradigms may bear some structural resemblance, a close examination of their respective components demonstrates their differences and incompatibility.

 

V.            Summary

 

The results obtained from investigating the validity of 55 claimed Christian "messianic prophecies" in a collection of Psalms and their respective "fulfillments" in the New Testament revealed a significant disparity in the Jewish and Christian perspectives on "messianic prophecy".  The purpose of the analysis presented in this essay was to get at the root of this disparity by examining the general framework of the respective messianic visions of Judaism and Christianity. 

 

A comparison of the basic elements within each of the two main components that comprise the Judaism's and Christianity's messianic paradigms – the central figure and the prophetic texts – helped illustrate how they are inconsistent and incompatible with each other.  Moreover, since Judaism's messianic paradigm is based on the Hebrew Bible, it follows that Christianity's messianic paradigm, being incompatible with that of Judaism, is incongruous with the Hebrew Bible as well.  It is, therefore, reasonable to posit that the incongruity of the two views on "messianic prophecy" is related to their respective genesis.

 

Judaism's messianic paradigm evolved within the Hebrew Bible and it focused, via prophetic statements, on a future era of happiness and joy for Israel in a better world, not on the central figure who will lead Israel at that time, and whose specific identity was never disclosed.  On the other hand, Christianity's messianic paradigm was designed and recorded in the New Testament ex post facto, i.e., after the fact – long after the canon of the Hebrew Bible was sealed and at least a decade after the advent of Jesus.  So that, with its central figure identified as Jesus, it was and easy task for the authors of the New Testament to complete the picture.  They hunted through the Christian "Old Testament" for passages that could be construed, often with the help some editorial liberties, as "prophecies" that related to Jesus – knowing the "outcome" makes it easy to look for and, if needed, invent statements that "predict" it.  The purpose of this large quantity of these "messianic prophecies" and their respective "fulfillments" was to help convince people that they were true.

 

Although these lists of over 300 "messianic prophecies"-"fulfillments" pairs are invoked with pride and reverence by Christian apologists and missionaries as "evidence" of the absolute truth of their beliefs, the first six essays in this series demonstrated that, under scrutiny, they fall apart and invalidate the Christian messianic vision, which claims that it is rooted in the Hebrew Bible.