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[Scape211]

So I got this list from someone of prophecies they claim jesus didn't fulfill and needed to before he came to earth as the messiah. They didn't give me any references so I'm curious if you know where these are and if they can be substantiated:

1. He will be anointed by a priest, and will sit on the throne of Israel.
2. He will usher in universal recognition of God.
3. He will gather all the Jews back to Israel, and will build the third temple.
4. Elijah will return to Earth to pave the way for the Messiah, not John the Baptist.
5. The Messiah will be born of the seed of King David through the father's side, and to a young woman, not a virgin (Christians deliberately mistranslated the passage to say 'virgin', instead of 'young woman', which is the Jewish 'alma'.
6. The Messiah will put an end to all war.

Any thoughts on where these are from biblically and if this person has any good reason for this? Ive seen various lists relating to prophecies about Jesus, but was unable to verify these. Is this simply discrepancies between what the Jewish faith holds to as fulfilled to versus Christians?

[jimwalton]

Prophecies about Jesus cannot just be taken simply. They are often in stages and in separate advents. Let's look at the ones you've mentioned.

> He will be anointed by a priest, and will sit on the throne of Israel.

I have no idea where they got the idea that the Messiah would be anointed by a priest, but the part about Him sitting on the throne in Israel is still future. Some believe it's a literal throne (Jesus reigning over the Earth from Jerusalem for the 1000-yr Millennial reign); others believe it's theological: at the end of time when every knee bows (Phil. 2.10-11) to Jesus, He will take His place at the right hand of God (and thus a place of sovereign authority and power) in "Israel," meaning the New Jerusalem.

> He will usher in universal recognition of God.

This probably comes from Zechariah 14 (my guess, anyway). Again, this is future, as above.

> He will gather all the Jews back to Israel, and will build the third temple.

The gathering of Jews back to Israel comes from Zech. 14 and other places. The building of a 3rd Temple is highly debated. This idea comes from Ezekiel 40-48, but it's difficult if not impossible to tell from the chapters whether the Temple is actually meant to be rebuilt.

> Elijah will return to Earth to pave the way for the Messiah, not John the Baptist.

This comes from Malachi 4.5. John claimed he was not Elijah (Jn. 1.21), but God said he was Elijah in spirit (Lk. 1.16 & 17). Even after the Transfiguration Jesus speaks of Elijah's coming "to restore all things" as still future, though He added that Elijah (in the person of John) has already come in a sense (Mt. 17.11-13; cf. Acts 3.21). Some scholars identify one of the witnesses of Revelation 11 as Elijah, so it may still be literally true that Elijah will return to Earth to pave the way for the 2nd coming.

> The Messiah will be born of the seed of King David through the father's side, and to a young woman, not a virgin (Christians deliberately mistranslated the passage to say 'virgin', instead of 'young woman', which is the Jewish 'alma'.

(1) The OT never claims it has to be from the father's side. (2) Mary was of David's seed also. (3) Jesus was born of a young woman. The Isaiah prophesy never specifies that it cannot be from a virgin.

> The Messiah will put an end to all war.

This is future.

> Is this simply discrepancies between what the Jewish faith holds to as fulfilled to versus Christians?

One of the problems here is that many Jews see the messianic prophesies as just certain fingerprints throughout the OT text. We Christians have reason to believe that the ENTIRE OT is pointing to Jesus. If they just pick and choose the ones that refer to the End Times, no wonder they are disappointed that they haven't been fulfilled and weren't fulfilled on Jesus's first round. They will claim that there's no indication in the OT that there is more than one "round." But there are many prophecies in the OT that have a near and a far fulfillment, so if it's a valid hermeneutic in some verses, we have to allow the same in other verses.