Hello Jeff,

JS>Exactly who is "Moshiach ben David", or "Messiah, son
of David"?

The Cat in the Hat.

JS>According to Christian beliefs, this role was fulfilled by Jesus Christ
JS>almost two thousand years ago, when He died for the sins of the world, and
JS>opened the way to Salvation for all men everywhere. However, because the
JS>majority of Jews rejected Jesus Christ as the one true Messiah, to this day,
JS>they continue to wait for their messiah, and the Bible tells us that one day
JS>he will arrive, but he will be a false messiah. In fact, he will be Satan
JS>incarnate.

Dr. Seuss tells us He has already come.  Just look at the cat and His
haloed head.  And look who He is talking to: children who are lonely and
sad because it is a very dreary day and they want something fun to do.

JS>How will the Jews be able to recognize their messiah?

Why, He will come again and clean up the mess we made!
Kind of like the teacher who returned to class following
his chat with the principal.  :)

Okay.  Time to get a bit serious.

The first thing the cat did was He cleaned things up by turning
everything upside down.  Then he left.  But He came back, just in
the nick of time, and straightened everything out.  Just like Christ
promises to do for us.  What a cool cat, that Cat in the Hat!

If man is left to his own devices, man will destroy himself.
That is why things must be turned upside down in order to straighten
everything out!  Unnerstan'?  The Cat in the Hat most certainly
understood.  :)

JS>Following is an excerpt from my series "The King Of The North And The
JS>King Of The South" which describes the expectations of Orthodox Jews
JS>regarding their long-awaited messiah. I encourage you to read the
JS>series in its entirety, in order to gain a better understanding of
JS>these prophesied events:

JS>----- Begin Quote -----

JS>In summing up the qualifications which the Jewish
"Moshiach" must meet,
JS>Jewish orthodoxy states the following:

JS>1. He must be a direct descendant of the bloodline of King David.

The Cat in the Hat met that criteria.  After all, every King of Israel
had a pet.  Not always a cat, but a pet nonetheless.  In the case of
King David, it was most definitely a cat.  Who slept in his hat.  Which
is why he always wore a very big hat.

JS>2. He must be extremely knowledgeable of the Torah. This includes the
JS>Pentateuch, or the five books of the Law of Moses, as well as the oral
JS>tradition which has been handed down over the centuries.

The Cat in the Hat met that criteria.  His authoritative interpretation
of Torah speaks for itself, as shown in the stories by Dr. Seuss.

JS>His spiritual leadership should result in:

JS>a. Renewed interest in and practice of the Torah.

The stories told by Dr. Seuss is what sparked people's interest.
And that is what Jesus did during the course of His public ministry.
Think about it.  Jesus recruited a bunch of teenagers and went on
tour entertaining the crowds.  Groupies (mostly women) joined the
troupe, thus ensuring all had clean clothes to wear and enough food
to eat.  But hey.  I'm getting ahead of myself...

JS>b. Eventual spread of the knowledge and Law of God throughout the
JS>world so that war, hunger and other human ills will cease.

Is that not the same as the stories presented by Dr. Seuss?
The Cat in the Hat is very much attuned to the New Testament.
Read it.  You might also want to read other stories by Dr.
Seuss, especially "Green Eggs and Ham" when Sam-I-Am's friend
almost drowns trying to avoid green eggs and ham.  It's a
very unpleasant experience, our own dying with Christ.  But
you know the old saying, "No pain, no gain."

The Gospel message has been spread throughout the world.  And the
world has become a better place as a result.  Wouldn't you agree?
However, true and lasting peace will not be acheived until the end
of human history, when Jesus comes again in glory (along with all
His angels) to judge the living and the dead.

The phrase "the living and the dead" is often misunderstood.
The old phrasing "the quick and the dead" is much more informative.

JS>3. He must prove himself to be an astute political leader and King
JS>of the Jewish nation who will do the following:

The Kingdom of God is not of this world.  Jesus did not come to proclaim
Himself as being a political leader.  He even told Pontius Pilate, in no
uncertain terms, that His Kingdom was not of this world.

This is a key to understanding, and I will have to introduce a new
thread on that topic for discussion.

JS>a. Encourage Jews from around the world to return to their homeland of
JS>Israel, thus bringing an end to the 'Diaspora'. (dispersion)

Jesus told Jews to flee from their homeland when the city of Jerusalem
would be surrounded.  Those who listened to His words survived.  Those
who failed to heed His words did not survive.  Ninth of Av, 70 A.D.

Later, in 135 A.D., another Jewish revolt took place.  Hadrian used
a trick to scare the living bejeezus out the Jews.  He breathed fire.
Literally.  In Jewish tradition, only the Antichrist could breathe
fire.  Harry Houdini (the escape artist) gives details on how Hadrian
did it.  Houdini's book can be found at Project Gutenberg.

JS>b. Fight and win the wars of Israel subduing her enemies all around her,
JS>thus bringing in an era of peace.

The Jewish revolts against the Romans failed.  Many Jews died as a
result.  Those who heeded the words of Jesus lived.

JS>c. Rebuild the Temple of Solomon on the Temple Mount in East Jerusalem
JS>and re-implement the daily sacrifice.

There is nothing scriptural mandating a third temple be built or for
the re-implementation of the daily sacrifice.

--Lee


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