In modern society, the word "messiah" is firmly associated with the Second Coming of Christ and the appearance of the Antichrist, and the following Apocalypse and the Last Judgment.
To create a complete picture of the definition of this concept, you need to look at the definition of the messiah from the perspectives of several world religions.
Messiah - Teacher in Judaism
According to the dictionary of the Russian language by D. N. Ushakov, the meaning of the word "messiah" is the Savior, according to the theory of Judaism and Christian churches, sent down to the Earth by God to cleanse it from sin, and the word itself comes from the Hebrew "madlyashiah" (literally - the anointed; Greek translation - Christ).
In ancient times, all the kings ascending the throne were anointed with oil. According to Judaism, the Messiah is a descendant of the clan of King David. It should be noted that the Tanakh calls the word "madlyashiah" all the kings of Judea and Israel, priests, biblical patriarchs, the people of Israel, some prophets and the Persian king Cyrus due to his special merits to the Jewish people.
The concept of the coming of the Messiah was introduced into Judaism by the prophets of ancient Israel. The main criterion for this parish is Isaiah's prophecy, indicating that the Messiah will appear to the world in an era of social and international change. In the era of Mashiach, wars will cease, universal well-being on Earth will come, and people will turn their attention to spirituality and service to God, and all Jewish people will live according to the laws of the Torah.
According to the teachings of the Midrash - the oral Torah - a parallel is drawn between the first advent of the "first Redeemer" of Moses and the "second Redeemer" of the Messiah, which allows us to talk about the birth of the Messianic idea in ancient times.
The messiah in islam
In Islam Mahdi, the Messiah is the last successor of the Prophet Muhammad, who will appear in the world on the eve of the end of the world. The coming of the Messiah is not mentioned in the Qur'an itself, but it is widely known in the hadiths of Muhammad, initially identified with the prophet Isa (Jesus), who will usher in the approach of kiyamat - Judgment Day.
In ancient centuries, Mahdi was perceived in the image of a future ruler who would restore the original purity of Islam. Therefore, messianic ideas have always inspired Muslim religious and social movements.
Separately, it is worth saying that due to certain dogmatic circumstances, faith in Mahdi was especially active in Shiite Islam, where it merged with faith in the return of the "hidden imam."
The foundation of the doctrine of the Messiah in Christianity
According to the new Russian language dictionary edited by T.F. Efremova, the Messiah is:
- the epithet of the name of Jesus Christ as the deliverer from sins and the savior of all mankind;
- the anticipated deliverer of the Jewish people from the prophecies.
In the Christian world, belief in the appearance of the Messiah as the return of Christ to Earth has been most widespread. At the same time, in the Orthodox church, there is a consensus that the Messiah is precisely Jesus of Nazareth, who will be sent to people again by God to complete the Last Judgment.
It is worth noting that in European folklore, which is based on the numerous streams of Christianity and local pagan traditions, there is a common, standardized image of Christ, who should enter Jerusalem at the beginning of his advent on a donkey. Jesus himself will be very cautious about the use of the word "Messiah", therefore the options for his self-proclamation are practically excluded.
Anti-messiah in the Russian national consciousness
In the Russian religious Orthodox tradition, it is also widely believed that, in contrast to the Messiah, his full antipode should be born on Earth. Moreover, if beliefs regarding Christ are reinforced by the biblical tradition of the unknown day of his appearance, then Dark Messiah - Trishka, Antichristos - was expected by believers almost every century. And to this day, some Orthodox believe that both of these phenomena, if not occurred in modern times, will certainly occur in the near future.
In the minds of the layman, the Messiah and Dark Messiah appear to be unusually charismatic personalities. They are also attributed the ability to instantly give a person a feeling of love for the world and people around him, to feel evil in them, and some other qualities.
In some cases, there is also a combination of the images of Dark Messiah and Dennitsa - the angel of Lucifer, the most beautiful of the divine creatures, deposed in hell for pride.
An analogue of this concept in Hinduism
What is the messiah in the Hindu religious tradition? This concept is directly related to the concept of the Teacher and Savior, and is represented by the embodiment on earth of ten avatars of the god Vishnu.
An avatar does not have to be represented in the human body. In previous incarnations, Vishnu was a fish, a turtle, a boar, a half-human half-half-dwarf, a dwarf-brahman, a brahmana Parasurama, Rama - the legendary king of Ayodhya, the shepherd Krishna and Buddha. The last, tenth appearance of the avatar of Vishnu on Earth, believers expect at the end of Kali Yuga, the era of human passions and the worst human manifestations.
According to the teachings, Kalki - the last avatar of Vishnu - will descend to Earth on a horse, endowed with a sparkling sword and eight human abilities. He will destroy the unjust and greedy kings, restore justice, and also restore the minds of people living in the world, "making them clean like crystal." It is assumed that all survivors of the end of Kali Yuga will move into the era of Crete, the age of Purity, and will live according to its laws.
Buddhism teacher
In Buddhism, there is also a concept similar to the Christian and Judaic Messiah and having the features of a cyclical stay in the mortal world.
Strictly speaking, according to Buddhist religious principles, there are innumerable buddhas as beings who have comprehended the truth, and each appearance of them on the planet is nothing more than a link in the endless chain of the universe. Thus, each buddha is a mediator in achieving world knowledge between people and God. The concept of Buddha is close in character, but the bodhisattva is alien in its functions - “a creature striving to awaken” and decided to take on the role of a Teacher in the process of reaching people with universal truth. The motivation for this action is the desire of the bodhisattva to save all living beings from suffering and free from samsara - an endless circle of rebirths.
Therefore, the Buddhist Messiah is the Bohisattva Maitreya, whose prophetic appearance at the end of Satya Yuga is recognized by all schools of Buddhism. His name literally means "Lord, called Compassion." He is the future Teacher of mankind, will give the New Doctrine and will be the bearer of the Buddha’s Teaching himself. People will break the network of passions, learn to enter into a trance, and lead a chaste and righteous life.
One of the signs foreshadowing the arrival of Maitreya will be a decrease in the area of the oceans so that the Bodhisattva can easily cross them.
The phenomena of false messiah during the 20th century
In history, there are many phenomena of False Messiah, produced by people with the aim of enriching or gaining fame and influence. It is worth noting that often high hopes were associated with these people. Christ himself repeatedly warned his followers about the appearance of false messiahs.
In modern psychiatry, there is also a definition of “Jerusalem Syndrome,” or “Messianic Syndrome,” applicable to mentally ill people who identify themselves with the prophets of the gods and teachers of humanity.
Among the most famous False Messiahs of the 20th century, Grigory Grabovoi is especially distinguished , a scandal with the participation of which thundered in the "resurrection of the children of Beslan"; Jim Jones, founder of the Temple of the Peoples Church and provoked the massacre of its followers in 1978; Moon Song Myung, creator of the South Korean sect "Unification Church"; Marina Zvigun, who called herself the Virgin Mary Christ, created in 1980 a sect named after herself and declared herself the "Messiah of the era of Aquarius and the Mother of the World."
Messiah's Theme in Art
Georg Friedrich Handel made a great contribution to the culture, whose “Messiah” is now the most recognizable oratorio in the world. A beautiful work consists of three parts, several scenes in each. Despite the hardships that Handel suffered in 1741, the Messiah was written in just 24 days.
Another famous work dedicated to the Messiah is the opera "Jesus Christ - Superstar" by Andrew Webber, written in 1970.
The earthly life of the Messiah of Christ is also devoted to many paintings by artists of different historical eras.
Messiah in the modern culture of European countries and America
The image of the Messiah is reflected in various areas of world culture. For example, one example of using the image of the Messiah as a kind of life guide is the inclusion of him in his surrealistic works by an American writer Richard Bach. The “Messiah’s pocket guide” is an oracle in the book, which at any moment can prompt the sufferer the necessary solution or explain the current situation in life.
The theme of "Anti-Messiah" was also reflected in the cultural perception of the masses, giving rise to a choice of users a large number of computer games. One of these games is Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements (“The Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements”), which has an exciting plot in the form of an artifact search and the struggle of the protagonist and his teacher with the demons of the apocalypse. The main character here appears as a knight of Light, who needs to pierce the heart of the black magician Dark Messi with an arrow, finally defeating the army of the Dark Forces.