Mashiach (The Messiah): "Until Moshiach comes, Judaism is simply a 'religion,' seemingly relegated to its houses of worship"
"We await the coming of Moshiach because we look forward to finally having peace and reaping the rewards of our millennia-long exile toil. But the Messianic Era isn't all about us and our benefit—it's primarily about a world set right, a world that will be a reflection of its Creator, a world where the rights and wrongs of the Torah are self-evident truths. Until Moshiach comes, Judaism is simply a 'religion,' seemingly relegated to its houses of worship, the tomes which preach its laws and ideologies, and the lives of its faithful adherents. During the Messianic Era, however, the truths of the Torah will be as self-evident as the laws of gravity and mathematics.”- N. Silberberg
Moshiach: Belief and Anticipation
By Naftali Silberberg
"Any individual who does not believe in [the coming of Moshiach], or does not await his arrival, is rejecting not only the prophets, but the Torah and Moses, too—for the Torah promises us regarding his arrival (Deuteronomy 30:3-5): 'G-d, your G-d, will bring back your exiles, and He will have mercy upon you. He will once again gather you... Even if your exiles are at the end of the heavens... G-d, your G-d, will bring you [to the land which your forefathers possessed].'"
—Maimonides Laws of Kings 11:1
We await the coming of Moshiach because we look forward to finally having peace and reaping the rewards of our millennia-long exile toil. But the Messianic Era isn't all about us and our benefit—it's primarily about a world set right, a world that will be a reflection of its Creator, a world where the rights and wrongs of the Torah are self-evident truths. Until Moshiach comes, Judaism is simply a"religion," seemingly relegated to its houses of worship, the tomes which preach its laws and ideologies, and the lives of its faithful adherents. During the Messianic Era, however, the truths of the Torah will be as self-evident as the laws of gravity and mathematics.
Hence, in a deeper sense, belief in the Redemption is belief in the supreme truth of the Torah. The belief that the world was created by G-d who used the Torah as His blueprint, and that the day will come when this truth will be patently obvious.
Furthermore, as Maimonides mentions, it is not sufficient to merely believe in the coming of Moshiach, it is also of primary importance to"Await his arrival.”For it is clear that one who does not yearn for Moshiach's arrival is demonstrating a lack of belief too. Is it conceivable for one to believe that such a magnificent era will indeed be arriving and not eagerly await that day?
Yearning for the Redemption is of such importance that according to the Talmud (Shabbat 31a), one of the very first questions a soul is asked when facing the Heavenly Court is: "Did you yearn for the Salvation?”The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Psalms 736) says that"If the Jewish people have no merit other than their yearning for Redemption—they are worthy of being redeemed for that alone!"
Heightened Anticipation
Our nation has yearned for and awaited the Redemption for nearly 2,000 years now. The anticipation, however, reached a fevered pitch in recent years, following the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory's, announcement, in the early 1990s, that the Era of Redemption is upon us, and we must only increase in acts of goodness and kindness in order to be worthy to greet our redeemer.
The Rebbe pointed to various global phenomena that are clear indicators that the process of redemption has indeed started, and asked that we prepare ourselves for Redemption by beginning to"live with Moshiach," —living a life that is dominated by the values that will characterize the Messianic Era. One primary way this is accomplished is through studying about the Messianic Era. Studying about it makes it a reality in our lives, and allows us to live a life of redemption even in these last moments before we witness the complete and true redemption.
www.chabad.org/library/moshiach/article_cdo/aid/1121885/jewish/The-Basics.htm
By Naftali Silberberg
Rabbi Naftali Silberberg, a native of Detroit, is on the editorial team of Chabad.org. He resides in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife Chaya Mushka and their three children.
The Messianic Era
A. Restoration of the Bet Hamikdash
Mashiach shall restore the Bet Hamikdash in Jerusalem.1 This refers
to the third Bet Hamikdash that will stand forever, in fulfillment of
the Divine prophecy of Ezekiel 37:26-28: "I shall give My Sanctuary
in their midst forever. My dwelling-place shall be over them... The
nations shall know that I am G-d who sanctifies Israel, when My
Sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forever.”2
B. Ingathering of the Exiles of Israel
Through Mashiach shall be effected the ingathering of all the exiles
of Israel:3
Deuteronomy 30:3-4: “G-d, your G-d, shall bring back your captivity...
and He will return and gather you from all the nations whither G-d,
your G-d, has scattered you. If your banished shall be at the utmost
end of the heavens, G-d, your G-d, shall gather you from there, and
He shall take you from there.”
Isaiah 11:11-12,16: "It shall be on that day that G-d shall again set
His hand for a second time to acquire the remnant of His people that
shall remain from Assyria and from Egypt, from Pathros and from Cush
and from Elam, from Shinar and from Chamat and from the islands of
the sea... There shall be a highway for the remnant of His people that
shall remain from Assyria, as there was for Israel on the day they
went up from the land of Egypt.”
Isaiah 43:5-6: "Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your seed
from the east and gather you from the west. I shall say to the north,
'Give up,' and to the south, 'Do not hold back, bring My sons from
far and My daughters from the end of the earth.'"
Amos 9:14-15: "I shall return the captivity of My people Israel and
they shall build the waste cities and settle... I shall plant them upon
their land, and they shall no more be plucked out of their land that
I have given them, says G-d, your G-d.”
Jeremiah 23:7-8: "Therefore behold, days shall come, says G-d, that
they shall no longer say, 'As G-d lives who has taken up the children
of Israel from the land of Egypt;' but 'As G-d lives who has taken up
and brought the seed of the House of Israel from the north country
and from all the countries where He had banished them,' and they
shall dwell in their land.”
Ezekiel 39:25, 27-29: .”..Now I shall bring back the captivity of Jacob
and I shall have compassion on the whole House of Israel, and I shall
be zealous for My holy Name... When I shall have returned them from the
nations and gathered them from the lands of their enemies... They shall
know that I am G-d, their G-d, in that I exiled them to the nations
and gathered them unto their land, and I will not leave any one of
them there. I will no more hide My face from them, as I will pour out
My spirit upon the House of Israel...”4
The Ten Tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, exiled by the
Assyrians before the destruction of the first Bet Hamikdash (II-
Kings, ch. 17), and dispersed beyond the river Sambation and the
'Mountains of Darkness,' will also return.5
This Divine promise of the return and restoration of Israel is
unconditional. It will occur even if the people should not want to
return:
"That which arises in your mind shall not come to pass, namely that
which you say, 'We shall be like the nations, like the families of
the countries, to serve wood and stone.' As I live, says the Lord G-
d, I shall surely rule over them with a mighty hand and with an
outstretched arm and with fury poured out. I shall take you out from
the nations and gather you from the lands in which you were
scattered, with a mighty hand, an outstretched arm and with fury
poured out... I shall pass you under the rod and bring you into the
covenant... For on My holy mountain, on the mountain of the height of
Israel, says the Lord G-d, there shall all of the whole House of
Israel serve Me... when I bring you out from the nations and gather you
from the lands where you were scattered, and I shall be sanctified in
you in the eyes of the nations. You shall know that I am G-d when I
bring you to the earth of Israel, to the land about which I raised My
hand to give it to your fathers.” (Ezekiel 20:32-37, 40-42)
"Therefore say to the House of Israel, Thus said the Lord G-d: I am
not doing (this) for your sake, House of Israel, but for My holy Name
which you profaned among the nations wither you came. I shall
sanctify My great Name that was profaned among the nations, that you
profaned in their midst, and the nations shall know that I am G-d,
says the Lord G-d, when I shall be sanctified in you before their
eyes. I shall take you from the nations, and I shall gather you from
all the lands, and I shall bring you to your land. I shall sprinkle
pure waters upon you and you shall be purified from all your sins,
and I will purify you from all your idols...” (Ezekiel 36:22-25)
C. End to Evil and Sin
The Messianic era will mark the end of evil and sin:
Ezekiel 37:23: "They shall not defile themselves anymore with their
idols and with their abominations and with all their transgressions...”
Zephaniah 3:13: "The remnant of Israel will not do any wrong, and
they will not speak lies nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in
their mouth.”
Zechariah 13:2: "It shall be in that day... that I shall cut off the
names of the idols from the earth and they shall no longer be
remembered; and I shall also remove from the earth the [false]
prophets and the spirit of impurity.”
Malachi 3:19: "For behold the day comes burning like a furnace, and
all the wanton sinners and everyone that does wickedness shall be
stubble... that to them shall not be left root and branch.”
Isaiah 60:21: "Your people shall all be righteous, they shall inherit
the land forever...”
Jeremiah 50:20: "In those days and in that time, says G-d, the
iniquity of Israel shall be searched for but it will not be, and the
sins of Judah but they shall not be found...”6
D. Awareness and Knowledge of G-d
The Messianic era will be a time of universal awareness, perception
and knowledge of G-d:
Isaiah 11:9: (cf. Habakuk 2:14): .”..the earth shall be full of
knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the sea.”
Isaiah 40:5: "The glory of G-d shall be revealed, and all flesh shall
see together that the mouth of G-d has spoken.”7
Isaiah 52:8: .”..for eye to eye they shall see as G-d returns to Zion.”
Jeremiah 31:32-33: .”..I shall put My teaching in their inward parts
and write it in their heart, and I shall be to them for G-d and they
shall be to Me for a people. They shall no longer teach one another,
and a man his brother, saying 'Know G-d,' for they shall all know Me
from the least of them to the greatest of them...”
The Divine spirit will be upon the people, endowing them with the
power of prophecy and vision:
Joel 3:1-2: .”..I shall pour out My spirit upon all flesh, and your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your elders shall dream
dreams, your young shall see visions. In those days I shall pour out
My spirit also upon the servants and handmaids.”8
E. Universal Worship of G-d
Mashiach shall mend the whole world so that all shall serve G-d in
unity:9
Zephaniah 3:9: "For then I shall turn to the peoples a pure tongue
that all shall call upon the Name of G-d to serve Him with one
consent.”
Isaiah 2:2-3 and Michah 4:1-2: .”..The mountain of G-d's House shall be
established at the top of the mountains and it shall be raised above
the hills, and all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall
go and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of G-d, to the House
of the G-d of Jacob, and let him [Mashiach] teach us of His ways and
we shall go in His paths;' for from Zion shall go forth Torah, and
the word of G-d from Jerusalem.”10
Zechariah 9:16: .”..every one that is left of all the nations that came
against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to bow before the
King, G-d...”
Zechariah 14:9: “G-d shall be King over the entire earth. In that day
G-d shall be One and His Name One.”
F. Universal Peace and Harmony
The awareness and knowledge of G-d will remove the narrow-minded
dispositions that lead to strife and war. It will be an era of peace
and harmony in the Holy Land11 and throughout the world:
Isaiah 2:4 and Michah 4:3: .”..they shall beat their swords into
plowshares and their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift
a sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more.”[Michah
4:4 continues: "Each man shall sit under his vine and under his fig-
tree, and none shall make them afraid...”]
Hosea 2:20: .”..I shall break from the earth the bow, the sword and
warfare, and I shall make them lie down securely.”
Zechariah 9:10: .”..the bow of war shall be cut off, and [Mashiach]
shall speak peace unto the nations...”
This new attitude of mankind will also be reflected in the animal world:
Isaiah 11:6-9: "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard
shall lie with the kid, and a calf with a lion's cub and a fatling
together, and a small child shall lead them. The cow and the bear
shall graze, their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion
shall eat straw like cattle. An infant shall play over the hole of an
asp, and the weaned child shall put out his hand over the eyeball of
an adder. They will not harm or destroy on all My holy mountain, for
the earth shall be full of the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover
the sea.”
Isaiah 65:25: "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the
lion shall eat straw like cattle, dust shall be the serpent's food.
They shall not harm nor destroy in all My holy mountain, says G-d.”12
G. Resurrection of the Dead
"Your dead shall be revived, my corpses shall arise; awaken and sing
you who dwell in the dust, for a dew of lights is your dew...” (Isaiah
26:19)
"Behold I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, My
people; and I will bring you into the Land of Israel. You shall know
that I am G-d when I open your graves and when I revive you from your
graves, My people. I shall put My spirit into you and you will live,
and I will place you upon your land, and you will know that I, G-d,
have spoken and done, says G-d.” (Ezekiel 37:12-14)
"Many of them that sleep in the land of dust shall awake...” (Daniel
12:2)13
H. Blissful Utopia: End to Disease and Death
The Messianic era will witness ultimate physical and spiritual bliss.
All will be healed.14 The blind, the deaf and the dumb, the lame,
whosoever has any blemish or disability, shall be healed from all
their disabilities: "The eyes of the blind shall be clearsighted, and
the ears of the deaf shall be opened... the lame shall leap as a hart
and the tongue of the dumb shall sing...” (Isaiah 35:5-6).15 Death
itself shall cease, as it is said," Death shall be swallowed up
forever and G-d shall wipe the tears from every face...” (Isaiah 25:8)16
There will be a life of ease.17 Our physical needs will be taken care
of by others, as it is said," Strangers shall stand and feed your
flocks and aliens shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.”
(Isaiah 61:5)18
The earth will manifest extraordinary fertility, yielding an
overabundance of every kind of produce, and trees growing ripe fruits
every day.19 Zion's wilderness will be made"to be like Eden, and her
desert like the garden of G-d" (Isaiah 51:3).”I will call for the
grain and increase it... and I will increase the fruit of the tree and
the produce of the field...” (Ezekiel 36:29-30).”.. The plowman shall
overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; and
the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.”
(Amos 9:13)20
"At that time there will be neither famine nor war, neither envy nor
strife. All good things will be bestowed in abundance, and all
delicacies will be accessible like dust.”21
The wondrous events and conditions of the Messianic era will
completely overshadow all and any miracles that happened before then,
even those associated with the exodus from Egypt.22
Even so, these Divine blessings are not an end in themselves. They
are but a means towards a higher goal:
Our longing for the Messianic era is not for the sake of dominating
the world, to rule over the heathens, or to be exalted by the
nations. Nor is it that we might eat, drink and rejoice,23"have much
produce and wealth, ride horses and indulge in wine and song, as
thought by some confused people.”24
It is, rather, to have relief from the powers that presently do not
allow us to be preoccupied with Torah and mitzvot properly.25 Our
aspirations are to be free to devote ourselves to Torah and its
wisdom, with no one to oppress and disturb us. We long for that time
because there will be an assembly of the righteous, an era dominated
by goodness, wisdom, knowledge and truth. It will be a time when the
commandments of the Torah shall be observed without inertia, laziness
or compulsion (other version: "Worries, fear or compulsion").26
The sole preoccupation of the whole world will be to know G-d. The
Israelites will be great sages: they will know things that are
presently concealed, and will achieve knowledge of their Creator to
the utmost capacity of human beings, as it is said," The earth shall
be full of the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah
11:9)27
FOOTNOTES
1. From some sources it appears that Mashiach will build the third
Bet Hamikdash (Vayikra Rabba 9:6; Bamidbar Rabba 13:2; Shir Rabba end
of ch. 4 etc.; followed by Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 11:1 and 4). From
other sources it follows that the third Bet Hamikdash is built by the
Almighty Himself (Zohar I:28a, 114a, 183b and III:221a etc. [and cf.
Zohar II:240b!]; followed by Rashi and Tossafot on Sukah 41a, Rosh
Hashanah 30a, and Shevu'ot 15b). Cf. Torah Shelemah, Beshalach 15:17
(especially note 211); and Sha'rei Zohar on Sukah 41a (see there;
and R. Menachem M. Schneerson shalita, Likkutei Sichot Vol. XI, p. 98
note 61; Vol. XVII, p. 418; and Vol. XXVII, p. 204f.; for ways to
reconcile the two views).
2. See also Ezekiel ch. 40ff.; and cf. Isaiah 2:2f. cited below ch.
II-E.
3. See Bereishit Rabba 98:9; Midrash Hagadol on Genesis 49:11.
4. Additional sources for the ingathering of the exiles are: Isaiah
27:12, 49:8-9, and 60:4; Jeremiah 30:2 and 31:7; Ezekiel 34:11-13 and
37:21; Zechariah 8:7-8; etc.
5. Sanhedrin 110b; Bamidbar Rabba 16:25; Tanchuma, ed. Buber, Shlach-
Hossafot:6 (and see the editor's notes there); Pesikta Rabaty 32:10
(ed. Friedmann, ch. 31). Cf. Ramban, Sefer Hage'ulah , sha'r I.
6. For further details on the eradication of evil, the evil
inclination and Satan, see Sukah 52a; Eliyahu Rabba ch. 4; Bereishit
Rabba 48:11; Pesikta Rabaty 33:4; and Yalkut Shimoni, I:133, on
Genesis 33:13, p. 42a.
7.”In the present world, the Shechinah manifests Itself only to
certain individuals [prophets]; in the time to come, however, 'the
glory of G-d shall be revealed and all flesh shall see together...';"
Vayikra Rabba 1:14. The Messianic era will thus witness an empirical
manifestation of Divinity even as occurred with the revelation at
Sinai; see Tanchuma , Bamidbar: end of par. 17; and Tanya , ch. 36.
Cf. Sha'r Ha'emunah , ch. 25; and see note following.
8.”The Holy One, blessed is He, said: 'In the present world [only]
certain individuals prophesied; in the world to come, however, all
Israel will be made prophets, as it is said, 'It shall come to pass
afterwards that I shall pour out My spirit upon all flesh, and your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy...';'"Tanchuma ,
Beha'lotecha: end of par. 16. Cf. Tikunei Zohar 18:36b; and above,
in the previous note.Note Igeret Teyman, end of ch. 3, that there
will be a restoration of prophecy even before the actual
manifestation of Mashiach. Cf. Likkutei Sichot, vol. II: Balak, p.
588f.
9. Hilchot Melachim 11:4
10. See also Isaiah 60:14; and Zechariah 8:23.
11. See Leviticus 25:18-19 and 26:5; Jeremiah 23:6 and 33:16;
Ezekiel 28:26 and 34:25-28; Joel 4:17.
12. See also Hosea 2:20
13. Resurrection of the Dead is another of the 13 fundamental
Principles of the Faith (Rambam, Article 13), distinct from that of
the Messianic redemption. It will occur after the redemption, the
very last event of the Messianic era (see Zohar I:139a), thus in a
way distinct from it. Even so, there are various stages in the
process of resurrection itself, with some individuals rising before
all others. Moses and Aaron, for example, will be present already in
the very early period, when the Bet Hamikdash will be re-established,
in order to guide the order and procedures of the Temple-service (see
Tossafot on Pesachim 114b; and cf. Devarim Rabba 3:17 and similar
passages). A number of other saints,too, will be revived at various
stages prior to the general resurrection of the dead (see R. Joseph
Albo, Ikkarim IV:35; R. David ibn Zimra, Teshuvot Radvaz III:no. 644;
R. Daniel Tirani, Ikrei Hadat (Ikrei Dinim), vol. II: Yoreh De'h
36:66; Sdei Chemed, Kuntres Hakelalim, s.v. mem:klal 218; and the
sources cited there).For the whole subject of the resurrection, see
especially Sanhedrin 90a-92b; Pirkei deR. Eliezer ch. 33-34; R.
Saadiah Gaon, Emunot Vede'ot, sect. VII; Rambam, Ma'mar Techiyat
Hametim; Ramban, Sha'r Hagemul; R. Chasdai Crescas, Or Hashem III:4,
ch. 1-4; and R. Menachem M. Schneerson shalita, Teshuvot Ubi'urim,
ch. 8 and 11 (offering a comprehensive and systematic analysis of
this subject).
14. Bereishit Rabba 20:56
15. Bereishit Rabba 95:1; Tanchuma, Vayigash:8 and Metzora:2 (and
see ed. Buber, Vayigash:9 and Metzora:7).
16. Pesachim 68a; Shemot Rabba 30:2. See also Midrash Tehilim 145:1.
17. Eliyahu Rabba ch. 4.
18. See also Isaiah 49:23 and 60:10-12.
19. Shabbat 30b; Ketuvot 111b.
20. Cf. Leviticus 26:5; and Joel 4:18, and see Vayikra Rabba 17:4,
and Pesikta deR. Kahana, ch. VII, p. 65bf., and the notes there. See
also Hosea 2:23f.Note that Amos 9:13 is one of the few Scriptural
verses that contain all the letters of the aleph-bet. On the
significance of this, see Hadar Zekeinim, R. Bachaya, and Ba'l
Haturim, on Exodus 16:16; and R. Bachaya and Ba'l Haturim on
Deuteronomy 4:34. Cf. below, note 99.
21. Hilchot Melachim 12:5. Cf. Midrash Tehilim 87:3 ("gold and
silver will be like dust").
22. Jeremiah 23:7-8; Berachot 12bf.Note that in Rambam's view the
Messianic era will not see a setting aside of the laws of nature,
but"The world will follow its normal course... 'The only difference
between the present world and the Messianic days is delivery from
servitude to foreign powers' (Berachot 34b).”The prophecies of super-
natural events and conditions are to be understood figuratively.
(Hilchot Melachim 12:1-2; and cf. Hilchot Teshuvah 9:2) Even so,
Rambam himself qualifies this view as a personal opinion and
interpretation, allowing for the possibility that everything may be
quite literal. (Ma'mar Techiyat Hametim, sect. 6. Cf. Hilchot
Melachim 12:2 that no one is in a position to know the details of the
events to occur until they have come to pass etc.)
As noted by the commentaries on Hilchot Melachim, Rambam's view is
fraught with many difficulties, as even he himself enumerates events
and conditions (not the least of which would be the resurrection of
the dead) which are clearly beyond the normal course of the laws of
nature (cf. notes 22, 41, 51 and 68). One resolution to this problem
is by distinguishing between two general periods in the Messianic
era: a first stage following an essentially natural order, and a
later stage marked by supra-natural events and conditions. See R.
Yitzchak Abarbanel, Yeshu'ot Meshicho, Iyun Hashlishi:ch. 7. For a
comprehensive analysis of this subject, see Likkutei Sichot, Vol.
XXVII, pp. 191-206. Cf. also Or Hachayim on Exodus 21:11 and Numbers
24:17!
23. Hilchot Melachim 12:44
24. Rambam, Perush HaMishnah, Introduction to Sanhedrin ch. 10.
25. Hilchot Teshuvah 9:26
26. Sources cited in notes 24-26.
27. Hilchot Melachim 12:5. Cf. Netzach Yisrael , ch. 42.
www.chabad.org/library/moshiach/article_cdo/aid/100899/jewish/The-Messianic-Era.\
htm
By J. Immanuel Schochet
Rabbi Immanuel Schochet has written and lectured extensively on the
history and philosophy of Chassidism and topical themes of Jewish
thought and ethics. He is a renowned authority on Jewish Philosophy
and Mysticism. He is rabbi of Cong. Beth Joseph, and professor-
emeritus of Philosophy at Humber College, in Toronto, Ontario,
Canada.
The fulfillment of eschatological instruction promised by Jesus
An apocalypse (Greek: apokalypsis meaning “an uncovering”) is in religious contexts knowledge or revelation, a disclosure of something hidden, “a vision of heavenly secrets that can make sense of earthly realities.” (Ehrman 2014, 59)
“An apocalypse (Ancient Greek: apokalypsis ... literally meaning "an uncovering") is a disclosure or revelation of great knowledge. In religious and occult concepts, an apocalypse usually discloses something very important that was hidden or provides what Bart Ehrman has termed, "A vision of heavenly secrets that can make sense of earthly realities". Historically, the term has a heavy religious connotation as commonly seen in the prophetic revelations of eschatology obtained through dreams or spiritual visions.” Wikipedia 2021-01-09
Total number of recorded talks 3058: Public Programs 1178, Pujas 651, and other (private conversations) 1249
“The Paraclete will come (15:26; 16:7, 8, 13) as Jesus has come into the world (5:43; 16:28; 18:37)... The Paraclete will take the things of Christ (the things that are mine, ek tou emou) and declare them (16:14-15). Bishop Fison describes the humility of the Spirit, 'The true Holy Spirit of God does not advertise Herself: She effaces Herself and advertises Jesus.' ...
It is by the outgoing activity of the Spirit that the divine life communicates itself in and to the creation. The Spirit is God-in-relations. The Paraclete is the divine self-expression which will be and abide with you, and be in you (14:16-17). The Spirit's work is described in terms of utterance: teach you, didasko (14:26), remind you, hypomimnesko (14:26), testify, martyro (15:26), prove wrong, elencho (16:8), guide into truth, hodego (16:13), speak, laleo (16:13, twice), declare, anangello (16:13, 14, 15). The johannine terms describe verbal actions which intend a response in others who will receive (lambano), see (theoreo), or know (ginosko) the Spirit. Such speech-terms link the Spirit with the divine Word. The Spirit's initiatives imply God's personal engagement with humanity. The Spirit comes to be with others; the teaching Spirit implies a community of learners; forgetful persons need a prompter to remind them; one testifies expecting heed to be paid; one speaks and declares in order to be heard. The articulate Spirit is the correlative of the listening, Spirit-informed community.
The final Paraclete passage closes with a threefold repetition of the verb she will declare (anangello), 16:13-15. The Spirit will declare the things that are to come (v.13), and she will declare what is Christ's (vv. 14, 15). The things of Christ are a message that must be heralded...
The intention of the Spirit of truth is the restoration of an alienated, deceived humanity... The teaching role of the Paraclete tends to be remembered as a major emphasis of the Farewell Discourses, yet only 14:26 says She will teach you all things. (Teaching is, however, implied when 16:13-15 says that the Spirit will guide you into all truth, and will speak and declare.) Franz Mussner remarks that the word used in 14:26, didaskein, "means literally 'teach, instruct,' but in John it nearly always means to reveal.” (Stevick 2011, 292-7)
The Holy Spirit as feminine: Early Christian testimonies and their interpretation,
Johannes van Oort, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Department of Church History and Church Polity, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
“Jesus therefore predicts that God will later send a human being to Earth to take up the role defined by John .i.e. to be a prophet who hears God's words and repeats his message to man.”
M. Bucaille, The Bible, the Qur'n, and Science
“And when Jesus foreannounced another Comforter, He must have intended a Person as distinct and helpful as He had been.”
F. B. Meyer, Love to the Utmost
“The Paraclete has a twofold function: to communicate Christ to believers and, to put the world on trial.”
Robert Kysar, John The Meverick Gospel
“But She—the Spirit, the Paraclete...—will teach you everything.”
Danny Mahar, Aramaic Made EZ)
“Grammatical nonsense but evidence of the theological desire to defeminize the Divine.”
Lucy Reid, She Changes Everything
“The functions of the Paraclete spelled out in verses 13-15... are all acts of open and bold speaking in the highest degree.”
David Fleer, Preaching John's Gospel
“The reaction of the world to the Paraclete will be much the same as the world's reaction was to Jesus.”
Berard L. Marthaler, The Creed: The Apostolic Faith in Contemporary Theology
Bultmann calls the “coming of the Redeemer an 'eschatological event,' 'the turning-point of the ages.”
G. Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament
“The Paraclete equated with the Holy Spirit, is the only mediator of the word of the exalted Christ.”
Benny Thettayil, In Spirit and Truth
“The divine Paraclete, and no lessor agency, must show the world how wrong it was about him who was in the right.”
Daniel B. Stevick , Jesus and His Own: A Commentary on John 13-17
Stephen Smalley asserts that “The Spirit-Paraclete ... in John's Gospel is understood as personal, indeed, as a person.”
Marianne Thompson, The God of the Gospel of John
“The Messiah will come and the great age of salvation will dawn (for the pious).”
Eric Eve, The Jewish context of Jesus' Miracles
“The remembrance is to relive and re-enact the Christ event, to bring about new eschatological decision in time and space.”
Daniel Rathnakara Sadananda, The Johannine Exegesis of God
“The Spirit acts in such an international situation as the revealer of 'judgment' on the powers that rule the world.”
Michael Welker, God the Spirit
The Paraclete's “Appearance means that sin, righteousness, and judgment will be revealed.”
Georg Strecker, Theology of the New Testament
“While the Spirit-Paraclete is the true broker, the brokers they rely on are impostors.”
T. G. Brown, Spirit in the writings of John
“The pneumatological activity ... of the Paraclete ... may most helpfully be considered in terms of the salvific working of the hidden Spirit.”
Michael Welker, The work of the Spirit
“The pneuma is the peculiar power by which the word becomes the words of eternal life.”
Robert Kysar, Voyages with John
“The gift of peace, therefore, is intimately associated with the gift of the Spirit-Paraclete.”
Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John
“This utopian hope, even when modestly expressed, links Jesus and the prophets to a much wider history of human longing.”
Harvey Cox, The Future of Faith
“Because of the presence of the Paraclete in the life of the believer, the blessings of the end-times—the eschaton—are already present.”
Robert Kysar, John
“They are going, by the Holy Spirit's power, to be part of the greatest miracle of all, bringing men to salvation.”
R. Picirilli, The Randall House Bible Commentary
“The Kingdom of God stands as a comprehensive term for all that the messianic salvation included... is something to be sought here and now (Mt. 6:33) and to be received as children receive a gift (Mk. 10:15 = Lk. 18:16-17).”
G. Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament
“But today is the day I declare that I am the one who has to save the humanity. I declare I am the one who is Adishakti, who is the Mother of all the Mothers, who is the Primordial Mother, the Shakti, the desire of God, who has incarnated on this Earth to give its meaning to itself; to this creation, to human beings and I am sure through My Love and patience and My powers I am going to achieve it.
I was the one who was born again and again. But now in my complete form and complete powers I have come on this Earth not only for salvation of human beings, not only for their emancipation, but for granting them the Kingdom of Heaven, the joy, the bliss that your Father wants to bestow upon you.”
THE MOTHER: Messiah-Paraclete-Ruh
London, UK—December 2, 1979
“I am the one about which Christ has talked... I am the Holy Spirit who has incarnated on this Earth for your realization.”
THE MOTHER: Messiah-Paraclete-Ruh
New York, USA—September 30, 1981
“But to communicate with the people, to communicate with the Spirit—to understand the Kundalini, the vibrations, and their different decodings and all that—the Holy Spirit had to come; with Her mouth, and with Her voice, and with Her intelligence that is intelligible to you; with the knowledge, and everything.
Otherwise it is not possible to communicate and that's why if somebody has to come you have to just recognize. Recognition is the best way of understanding the powers that are given to you...
So somebody has to be there to give you the complete picture. You get Realization, you get vibrations (Ruach, Pneuma, Prana), but then what? What about the complete? And for that the Holy Ghost has to take a form. All right?”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Sydney, Australia—April 7, 1981
Guest: “Hello Mother.”
Shri Mataji: “Yes.”
Guest: “I wanted to know, is the Cool Breeze (Pneuma) that you have spoken about, you feel on the hands the Cool Wind of the Holy Spirit, as spoken about in the Bible?”
Shri Mataji: “Yes. Yes, yes, same thing, same thing. You have done the good job now, I must say.”
Interviewer: “Is it the Holy Spirit?”
Shri Mataji: “Yes, of course, is the Holy Spirit.”
Guest: “Aha... I am feeling it now on my hand through the [not clear]”
Shri Mataji: “It’s good.”
Interviewer: “Did you want to say anything more than that?”
Guest: “No, I just... That’s all I wanted to know because I...”
Shri Mataji: “Because you are thoughtless now. Enjoy yourself.”
Guest: “Thank you.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Talkback Radio 2UE, Sydney, Australia—March 31, 1981
Second Guest: “I just want to ask Mother about a quotation from the Bible.”
Interviewer: “Yes, what’s that?”
Guest: “It says, ‘But the comfort of the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in My name would teach you all things.’ I would like to ask Her about that.”
Interviewer: “Could you just repeat the quotation again?”
Guest: “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things.”
Interviewer: “And that’s from where?”
Guest: “John chapter 14, verse 26.”
Shri Mataji: “I think you should take your realization and then you will know the answer to it. Because, logically if it points out to one person, then you have to reach the conclusion, isn’t it? That’s a logical way of looking at things. But I am not going to say anything or claim anything. It is better you people find out yourself.”
Interviewer: “Does that answer your question?”
Guest: “Is the, is the Comforter on the Earth at the present time? Has the Comforter incarnated? Mataji should be able to tell us this because She said that through these vibrations on Her hands, She ...”
Shri Mataji: “Yes, She is very much here and She’s talking to you now. Can you believe that?”
Guest: “Well, I feel something cool [Pneuma/Prana/Chi] on my hand. Is that some indication of the ...?”
Shri Mataji: “Yes, very much so. So that’s the proof of the thing. You’ve already started feeling it in your hands.”
Guest: “Can I?”
Shri Mataji: “Ask the question, ‘Mother, are you the Comforter?’”
Guest: “Mother, are you the Comforter?”
Shri Mataji: “Ask it thrice.”
Guest: “Mother, are you the Comforter?”
Shri Mataji: “Again.”
Guest: “Mother, are you the Comforter?”
Shri Mataji: “Now, what do you get?”
Guest: “Oh, I feel this kind of cool tingling [Pneuma/Prana/Chi] passing all through my body.”
Shri Mataji: “That’s the answer now.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Talkback Radio 2UE, Sydney, Australia—March 31, 1981
“The Paraclete and the disciples (vv. 25-26): The theme of departure (cf. vv. 1-6; vv. 18-24) returns. There are two "times" in the experience of the disciples: the now as Jesus speaks to them (v. 25) and the future time when the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father in the name of Jesus, will be with them (v. 26). The Paraclete will replace Jesus' physical presence, teaching them all things and recalling for them everything he has said (v. 26). As Jesus is the Sent One of the Father (cf. 4:34; 5:23; 24, 30, 37; 6:38-40; 7:16; 8:16, 18, 26; 12:44-49), so is the Paraclete sent by the Father. The mission and purpose of the former Paraclete, Jesus (cf. 14:13-14), who speaks and teaches "his own" will continue into the mission and purpose of the "other Paraclete" (cf. v. 16) who teaches and brings back the memory of all that Jesus has said. The time of Jesus is intimately linked with the time after Jesus, and the accepted meaning of a departure has been undermined. The inability of the disciples to understand the words and deeds of Jesus will be overcome as they "remember" what he had said (cf. 2:22) and what had been written of him and done to him (cf. 12:16). The "remembering" will be the fruit of the presence of the Paraclete with the disciples in the in-between-time. In v. 16 Jesus focused on the inability of the world to know the Paraclete, but in v. 26 the gift of the Paraclete to "his own" is developed. As Jesus was with the disciples (v. 25), so will the Paraclete be with the disciples in the midst of hostility and rejection (v. 16). As the story has insisted that Jesus' teaching has revealed God to his disciples, so will the Paraclete recall and continue Jesus' revelation of God to the disciples (v. 26).” (Harrington 1998, 412)
“This is the transformation that has worked, of which Christ has talked, Mohammed Sahib has talked, everybody has talked about this particular time when people will get transformed.”
THE MOTHER: Messiah-Paraclete-Ruh
Chistmas Puja, Ganapatipule, India—25 December 1997
“The Resurrection of Christ has to now be collective Resurrection. This is what is Mahayoga. Has to be the collective Resurrection.”
THE MOTHER: Messiah-Paraclete-Ruh
Easter Puja, London, UK—11 April 1982
“Today, Sahaja Yaga has reached the state of Mahayoga, which is en-masse evolution manifested through it. It is this day’s Yuga Dharma. It is the way the Last Judgment is taking place. Announce it to all the seekers of truth, to all the nations of the world, so that nobody misses the blessings of the divine to achieve their meaning, their absolute, their Spirit.”
THE MOTHER: Messiah-Paraclete-Ruh
MAHA AVATAR, ISSUE 1, JUL-SEP 1980
“The main thing that one has to understand is that the time has come for you to get all that is promised in the scriptures, not only in the Bible but all all the scriptures of the world. The time has come today that you have to become a Christian, a Brahmin, a Pir, through your Kundalini awakening only. There is no other way. And that your Last Judgment is also now.”
THE MOTHER: Messiah-Paraclete-Ruh
“You see, the Holy Ghost is the Mother. When they say about the Holy Ghost, She is the Mother... Now, the principle of Mother is in every, every scripture — has to be there. Now, the Mother's character is that She is the one who is the Womb, She is the one who is the Mother Earth, and She is the one who nourishes you. She nourishes us. You know that. And this Feminine thing in every human being resides as this Kundalini.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Radio Interview, Santa Cruz, USA—1 October 1983
“But there is a Primordial Mother which was accepted by all the religions; even the Jews had it... In India, this is called as Adi Shakti. In every religion they had this Mother who was the Primordial Mother.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
TV Interview, Los Angeles, USA—11 October 1993
Total number of Recorded Talks 3058, Public Programs 1178, Pujas 651, and other (private conversations) 1249
“What are they awaiting but for the Hour to come upon them suddenly? Its Signs have already come. What good will their Reminder be to them when it does arrive?” (Qur'n, 47:18) “As the above verse indicates, God has revealed some of Doomsday's signs in the Qur'n. In Surat az-Zukhruf 43:61, God informs us that 'He [Jesus] is a Sign of the Hour. Have no doubt about it...' Thus we can say, based particularly on Islamic sources but also on the Old Testament and the New Testament, that we are living in the End Times.” Harun Yahya
Good News (An Naba) of Resurrection (Al-Qiyamah): Videos 3474, Audios 1945, Transcripts 3262 and Events 2413
“Concerning what are they disputing?
Concerning the Great News. [5889]
About which they cannot agree.
Verily, they shall soon (come to) know!
Verily, verily they shall soon (come to) know!”
surah 78:1-5 An Naba (The Great News)
5889. Great News: usually understood to mean the News or Message of the Resurrection.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'n
Amana Corporation, 1989
[Moderator]: “Any other questions?”
[Audience]: “Pardon me for asking this question, but, earlier you talked about the Resurrection and you mentioned about the scriptures, where like in the Hindus scriptures they talk about the Kalki Avatar who will come for the Resurrection, and for the Christians, I know they talk about the return of Christ and all the religions talk about this Resurrection and the belief in the coming of the Messiah. So I just want to know since you say you are going to give the resurrection to us, what is your station?”
Shri Mataji: “In Russia?”
[Audience]: “And are you the promised Messiah? Shri Mataji, are you?”
Shri Mataji: “I see now I am not going to tell you anything about myself, to be very frank. Because see Christ said He was the Son of God, and they crucified Him. I don't want to get crucified. You have to find out. When you become the Spirit you will know what I am. I don't want to say anything about myself.”
THE MOTHER: Messiah-Paraclete-Ruh
Toronto, Canada—October 5, 1993
“It is the Mother who can awaken the Kundalini, and that the Kundalini is your own Mother. She is the Holy Ghost within you, the Adi Shakti, and She Herself achieves your transformation. By any talk, by any rationality, by anything, it cannot be done.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
“She is your pure Mother. She is the Mother who is individually with you. Forget your concepts, and forget your identifications. Please try to understand She is your Mother, waiting for ages to give you your real birth. She is the Holy Ghost within you. She has to give you your realization, and She's just waiting and waiting to do it.”
THE MOTHER: Messiah-Paraclete-Ruh
Sydney, Australia—Mar 22 1981
“The Kundalini is your own mother; your individual mother. And She has tape-recorded all your past and your aspirations. Everything! And She rises because She wants to give you your second birth. But She is your individual mother. You don't share Her with anybody else. Yours is a different, somebody else's is different because the tape-recording is different. We say She is the reflection of the Adi Shakti who is called as Holy Ghost in the Bible.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Press Conference July 08 1999—London, UK
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi was
Christian by birth, Hindu by
marriage, and Paraclete by duty.
"The Paraclete represents direct,
intimate divine intervention,
supporting and teaching
believers and challenging the
world, as Jesus did. " (D. Stevick
Jesus and His Own, 2011, 290)
But there has to be a Mother and this is the time of Aquarius what we call in Sanskrit as Kumbha, meaning the Aquarius which is the Kundalini, where She nourishes, where She cures you, She redeems you, She guides you, counsels you, and this is the time of the Mother. We had the time of the Father, then of the Son, and now this is the time of the Mother where She has to nourish you, where She has to take you to your ultimate goal that is the Spirit.
The consciousness itself, the way we have been moving in other directions, have been like people think that if a woman starts fighting for her life and then she is asserting the femininity. She is not.
What I'm saying is not meant for women or men. It is meant for every one of us, that we have to become like a mother. Like a Divine Mother, like a person who can nourish people, who can give them love, affection, attention, perseverance, fore-bearing.
This is only possible for a Mother to do it and that motherhood should be awakened in every human being.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Public Program Day 1, Boston, United States—Oct. 11, 1983
“I was amazed myself when I was born to see such ignorant people quarreling over something which they do not know at all—nothing of that kind. They are so ignorant. They do not know there is Power of God working. They cannot feel it and what are they doing?
Whether they are church people, or temple people, or all these scientists, when they talk about God they are at a level from where they cannot talk. But they are not even conscious that they are that level.
This is why we have to know that despite all efforts to destroy our scriptures this Knowledge that you have to become something else— that you are to be reborn—this Knowledge they could not destroy.
They have tried to maneuver it for their own advantage. They have tried to use it for their own building up because they had to have big, big buildings, they must have big, big money projects, and sometimes they also must have some business.
How can you do all these things in the name of God? Just think of it. And they are doing all these mad things and they call it God? And the seeker gets absolutely shocked and surprised that he also gets into the whole whirlpool. He just cannot get out of it because he is a seeker. He says, "Let me go and see for myself what it is. Let me burn my finger here and there and find out for myself."
Now I say again, like all these people have said—"You have to be born again!" They have said it to prepare you all for this Time [of the promised Paraclete sent in the name of Jesus Christ to explain and commence the Resurrection].
It's My fortune that I have to do it. It has to happen. If they had said all these things either they were all false and wrong. So I am here to prove it—not that they were wrong in any way but they were the only people who were enlightened. They had an eyesight to see much deeper than what you can see.
So within us lies that Power and that Power is anxious to give you your second birth. That Power lies as shown, lies in the triangular bone of sacrum and you can see with your naked eyes the rising of this Power.
It has nothing to do with what nationality you have come from, what sort of clothes you are wearing, what sort of hair dress you have—it has nothing to do with this but it has to do something with your inner being.
And while in your inner being there are certain problems which you have created out of your ignorance, and this Power being your Mother—your sweet loving Mother who has been born again and again with you—knows your problems and She knows how to correct it.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
London, U.K. — May 12, 1980
“This is the Last Judgment of your quality. This is the Last Judgment. And one must know that the Last Judgment is not going to come with a big weighing machine. How are we going to know?
Through Kundalini awakening, the Judgment has to take place.
And you are judged and judged and judged. But this Judgment is so beautiful, that you are not damned with anything, you are not completely imprisoned.
But you are given a chance to improve, to reform, to be perfect, and to enjoy the Beauty that is promised, the Beauty that is described, the Beauty that we are, the Beauty that is Truth, that is Bliss, that’s Heaven.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Why are We Here and What is Our Purpose
Public Program, Hampstead, U.K. — June 6, 1980
Now I have come.
He has talked about Me. If you read Bible, you'll find He's talked about Me very clearly there.
And I have to do My job and I have come.
You are going to say that it was Christ, who has to do it. If Christ could do it, why did He say that, "I'm going to send you a Comforter?" He talked of [the] future, didn't He?
Why did He say such a thing? We should find out why did He say that, "I will send you the Holy Ghost and the Comforter and the Redeemer and a Counselor?" Why did He say that? Why not look forward to that?
Because we are today after Christ. People don't want to see this point; they want to depend on Christ because He's in their pocket, they can use Him the way they like.
When He has talked, He has said, "Why not see the point?" If this is what Christ is, then it is such a bad thing because people say, "Christ was no good." They say, "What has Christ given us?" Christian nations, what have they done, what have they achieved?
It's a bad name to Him if you do not see [the] completion of His work. I'm here to complete His work...
And the Day of Judgment is today: this is the Day of Judgment; that's why you are confused. This is the Day of Judgment, where you will be judged. And how are you going to be judged?
Through your Kundalini. Your Kundalini is going to be awakened and you'll be judged where you are. That's what it is.
"And those who will be calling Me, 'Christ, Christ' I will not look at them." That's what it is. By calling Him "Christ, Christ" you do not become Christians.
You have to get your Realization, your Baptism in the actual sense. It has to be an actualization.
I'm telling you that if you miss the point, you have missed it forever and ever. Be careful on that point! It's very important. Don't run after things which have no meaning to your consciousness. Try to raise yourself up to this point and understand that the Time has come for you to transform. This is the Time of your Judgment and you have to get to it in a very big way...
Widen yourself. And that's how—though you may think that you are very unassuming, simple people—you are the ones who are going to be. Not those who are successful: they are blinded by their success. Not those who are rich: they are not going to enter into the Kingdom of God. Not those who have a big name — No!
It's you! You are going to enter into the Kingdom of God.
May God bless you.”
THE MOTHER: Messiah-Paraclete-Ruh
Public Program Day 1, Boston, United States—Oct. 11, 1983
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