I am a cradle Episcopalean of almost 26 years--what church do you go too? I have found the Episcopal churches I've been too in recent memory to be completely out of touch and boring. C.S. Lewis is a gift to all Christians....Episcopal as well!
our theology would be really similar then. i too am frustrated with churches that selectively choose which parts of the bible they want to believe/follow. fortunately, we have a great pastor at our church...to reduce the "frozen chosen" effect of the presbyterian church!
I go to St. Thomas Presbyterian Church... C.S. Lewis is an absolute gift! I want to visit my old Episcopal church again sometime soon...grew up going to Trinity, downtown. I was the third generation of my family baptized there...my nieces and nephews were 4th generation. That's where I got to know God while growing up.
A Lot of Questions. Must the messiah be Jewish? Must the second coming be Jewish as well? Or can this person be anyone that delivers them to salvation. Does the Messiah have to be human. Could it be the bible? It would seem that once Jesus rose from the dead that's pretty much all anyone would need to believe he was the first messiah. He fulfilled a prophecy that nobody could have fulfilled. So for those who don't believe, what do they call Jesus? Do they dislike him? Do they acknowlege him in any way? When Jesus dies, how widespread was his scripture? How many countries are we talking about at this point. what percentage of people do you think knew of him? Either liking or disliking what he had to say. What was the world population at this time? what percentage of the people in the world do you think know of Jesus today? If there was a second messiah amongst us, would it be true that he could be pinpointed partially by the fact that the Jewish people would deny him. That would no doubt be an indicator of the need for Triumph and would no doubt be an indicator for a second coming. So most us wouldn't even see him or her coming until long after the fact.
1. It would seem from the Old Testament that the Messiah would need to be Jewish. He was to come from the ancestry of King David. 2. It's not known if there was any "scripture" at the time of his death. Certainly his ministry carried him far...but those around the world did not know of him yet. It would take Paul and others to spread the word. No idea what world population was at the time...or what percentage would have been followers. But "the Way" (as it came to be called) spread like wildfire in the first and second centuries. 3. I'd say around 85-90% of the world today know about Jesus in some way...at least know his name. But that's just a guess.
I'm not sure the question of whether the second coming of the Messiah would be Jewish will be very applicable. It is not supposed to be a second person who will also fulfill the role of the messiah but rather the return of Jesus. If Jesus was Jewish the first time around, I suppose He'll still be Jewish the second time he comes. As to whether or not he'd be recognized, the following passage seems to indicate he'll be rather noticeable: 29"Immediately after the distress of those days " 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'[3] 30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Mohamad was the messiah jews just dont belive that because he wasnt born in bethlaham they knew he was the messiah
Mohammed never claimed to be the messiah...or the fulfillment of that prophecy...he was a prophet who had the Koran revealed to him...but not he never made claims of being a savior.
He did say,(Mohammed), that he was the TRUE prophet of God--even admitting that Jesus was a phrophet as well; that Jews and Christians were "people of the book" who haven't been enlightened yet.
