Here are some answers to previous posts (btw, I used to be an Orthodox Jew)
The first prophecy I will address is Isaiah 11:12, which describes G-d bringing the Jews together from the four corners of the Earth. The conventional Jewish interpretation of this is that G-d will literally bring all the world’s Jews together in Israel. This interpretation is fundamentally flawed, however, for several reasons. The first is that even if G-d did bring together all the world’s Jews, they wouldn’t even physically fit into the state of Israel!
I think that Christianity holds a much more reasonable view, and it comes in understanding the world wide view of the Church. The Christian understanding is that when Jesus came, the Church, which transcends ethnicity or nationality, became the new Israel. Through evangelization, the entire world becomes united in Christ; The pagans are brought together from the four corners of the Earth. This is intrinsically connected to another important prophecy which says that through the messiah, all the nations of the Earth will know the Lord. (Isaiah 66:23). If through the messiah, all the nations will come to know the one true G-d, then they would all become Jews. But because Judaism is ethnically and nationally based this is impossible.
We are left with three more prophecies to discuss: He will rebuild the temple (Ezekiel 37:26 - 27), through him all people will come to observe G-d’s law (Ezekiel 37:24), and he will rule at a time of universal peace (Micah 4:3).
To understand how these prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus, one has to have a basic grounding of some fundamental Jewish concepts.
- Original Sin - Jews believe that Adam and Eve were created with an equal potential to choose good and evil. However, because Adam’s first ethical decision was to sin, his ethical nature became more inclined to sin. In addition to this, Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, preventing them from living eternally with G-d.
- The afterlife - The solution to the above scenario? Healing. G-d
wants us, both soul and body, to get better. How does he do this?
Judaism has an answer: if you are holy enough, you enter either Gehinom, or, if you’re really holy, you go straight to heaven. What is Gehinom? Gehinom is a state of being, during which G-d’s light and love permeate your soul so much that you are capable of being in communion with G-d (in heaven). But what happens to your body? It is rebuilt. At the resurrection of the dead, your soul and newly constructed body are united in a New Earth (Olam Ha Ba, the World to Come). Because your soul has been repaired and in fact elevated by G-d, life in the World to come is complete bliss - everyone chooses good.
What does this mean for messianic prophecy? Everything. In the World to Come, there is universal peace (Micah 4:3), everyone observes G-d’s law (Ezekiel 37:24), and all nations know G-d (Isaiah 66:23). It makes perfect sense, then, for the messiah to accomplish all these things by bringing them to heaven! The more people that get into purgatory and heaven, the more people will be able to live in the World to Come. This is the purpose of evangelization.
Taking into account the Jewish idea of the World to Come, Jewish
expecations for these messianic prophecies really make no sense, since modern Jewish theology says that the Messiah is supposed to come before the World to Come. But if the world is repaired before the World to Come, if there is universal peace, and if everybody on Earth is observing G-d’s law, then why would G-d destroy the Earth in favor of a new one? In fact, why bring us to Gehenom for spiritual repair at all?
Finally I will address the prophecy of the rebuilding of the Temple
(Ezekiel 37:26 - 27). Jesus says clearly that he will rebuild the temple . At the moment of his death, the veil which covered the entrance to the Holy of Holies (where only the High Priest could enter because of the extreme closeness to G-d) was torn - this signifying that G-d was breaking down the barrier between Him and mankind. Today, this is seen most clearly in the Eucharist. When the priest consecrates the bread and wine on the altar, they literally become the sacrificed Jesus, who is G-d. When Christians recieve Communion, they are literally taking G-d inside of them, in a physical union. This is the new temple. The entire Church, not just one high priest, enters the Holy of Holies every time a Mass is offered.
The Catholic Church also teaches that in the World to Come there will indeed be a physical temple. The book of Revelation gives its dimensions - the dimensions of the third temple are exactly that of the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s temple. The entire temple is a Holy of Holies. Because our souls will have been repaired in heaven, we will be able to be in the full presence of G-d. This extroardinary connection with G-d is something only Christianity offers.
