Who is the Messiah the Jews are expecting to come?  Why did the Jews reject Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah?  These two questions often seem a mystery to many Christians as they read the Bible and study the prophets.  Before Yeshua, the Jews were waiting for the Messiah, but when Yeshua came and died, he did not fulfill this expectation.
 

            Today, Judaism still waits for the coming of the Messiah, but who are they expecting?  What qualifications need to met by the Messiah.  Moses Ben Maimon (Maimonides), also called Rambam[1] (1135-1204), wrote in his Thirteen Articles of Faith[2], that belief in the Messiah was required for a Jew to be resurrected.  The 12^th and 13^th articles both deal with Redemption, which will come in the days of Messiah.

 

12.  I believe with a complete faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he tarry, nevertheless I await him everyday that he should come.

13. I believe with a complete faith that there will be resurrection of the dead at a time when the will will arise from the Creator, blessed be His name, and may His remembrance be exalted for all eternity[3]

 

(False Messiah of Judaism Click here to Expand)

Maimonides further explains in his work on the Halakhic code, the Yad haHazaqa (“The Strong Hand”), also known as the Mishne Torah[4] (Second Torah) the view of redemption and the role Messiah will play. Maimonides summarizes the Jewish expectation of the Messiah.  But the expectation of Messiah, is not limited to Maimonides comments, quotes from the Talmud, Targum, Midrash, Zohar and other writings give us a vivid picture of the expectation in the Jewish world of the times of Messiah. Messianic expectation in Rabbinic times (A.D.135-1750) and in the time of Yeshua may have changed over the years. For example in the time of Yeshua, The Temple existed and Israel was not scattered abroad as is the case today. In the days of Maimonides, there was no Israel and no Temple, and Jews were persecuted in Europe.  Here we quote from Raphael Patai’s work, The Messiah Texts on pages 322-327[5], his translation of the Mishne Torah, Maimonides writes the following.

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  "King Messiah will arise in the future and will restore the kingship of David to its ancient condition, to its rule as it was at first. And he will rebuild the Temple and gather the exiled of Israel.  And in his days all the laws will return as they were in the past. They will offer up sacrifices, and will observe the Sabbatical years and the jubilee years with regard to all the commandments stated in the Torah.  And he who does not believe in him, or he who does not await his coming, denies not only the [other] prophets, but also the Torah and Moses our Master.  For, behold, the Torah testifies about him [the Messiah], as it is written,

 The Lord will return your captivity and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples whiter the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.  If any of thine that are dispersed be in the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it (Deut. 30:3-5)

 And these are things which are explicitly stated in the Torah, and they comprise all the things which are said by the prophets.  Even in the section “Balaam” it is said and there he prophesied about the two Messiahs: about the first Messiah who was David who saved Israel from the from the hands of its enemies, and about the last Messiah, who will arise from among David’s children and who will save Israel at the End.  And there he says:

I see him but not now ((Num. 24:17), this refers to David;  I behold him but not nigh (ibid.) this refers to King Messiah; A star shall step forth out of Jacob (ibid.) this refers to King David; A star shall step forth out of Jacob (ibid.), this refers to David; and a scepter shall rise out of Israel (ibid.) this refers to King Messiah…

 And think not that the Messiah must perform signs and portents and bring about new things in the world, or that he will resuscitate the dead, or the like.  Not so. For, behold, R. Akiba was one of the greatest of the sages of the Mishna, and he was a follower of King Ben Koziba [Bar Kokhba], and he said about him that he was King Messiah. And he and the sages of his generation thought that he was King Messiah, until he was slain because of the sins.  As soon as he was slain it became evident to them that he was not the Messiah.  And the sages had asked of him neither sign nor a portent.  And the essence of the matter is that the laws and ordinances of this Torah are forever and ever, and one must neither add to them or subtract from them.

 And if there should arise from the House of David a king, who studies the Torah and occupies himself with the commandments as his father David had, according to the written and oral Torah; and if he forces all Israel to follow the Torah and observe its rules; and if he fights the wars of the Lord—then he must be presumed be the Messiah.  And if he succeeds in his acts, and rebuilds the Temple in its place, and gathers the exiled of Israel—then he certainly is the Messiah. And he will repair the whole world to serve the Lord together, as it is written,   For then will I turn to the peoples a pure  language that they may call upon the name of the Lord to serve Him with one consent (Zeph. 3:9)

It should not come to one’s mind that in the days of the Messiah anything in the customary order of the world will be annulled, or that there will be something new in the order of Creation.  For the world will continue in its path. And that which Isaiah said, the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid (Isa. 11:6), is but an allegory and a riddle.  The true meaning of it is that Israel will dwell in safety with the wicked of the idolaters who are likened to a wolf and a leopard….And all of them will return to faith of truth, and they will neither rob nor despoil, but will eat the things which are permitted, in pleasure, together with Israel, as it is written, The lion shall eat straw like the ox (Isa. 11:7).  And likewise, all the similar things said about the Messiah are but allegories. And in the days of the Messiah it will become known to everybody what thing the allegory signified and to what thing it alluded.

 The sages said that the only difference between this world and the days of the Messiah will be with regard to the enslavement to the kingdoms. It appears from the plain meaning of the words of the prophets that at the beginning of the days of the Messiah, there will be the war of Gog and Magog.  And that prior to the war of Gog and Magog, a prophet will arise to straighten Israel and prepare their hearts, as it is written, Behold, I will send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5)  And he will come not to declare the pure impure, or the impure pure; not to declare unfit those who are presumed to be fit, nor to declare fit those who are held to be unfit; but for the sake of peace in the world….And there are those among the sages who say that prior to the coming of the Messiah will come Elijah.  But all these things and their likes, no man can know how they will be until they will be. For they are indistinct in the writings of the prophets.  Neither do the sages have a tradition about these things.   It is rather, a matter of interpretation of the Biblical verses.  Therefore there is a disagreement among them regarding these matters.  And in any case, these are mere details which are not of the essence of the faith.  And one should definitely not occupy oneself with the matter of legends, and should not expatiate about the midrashim that deal with these and similar things.  And one should not make essentials out of them.   For they lead neither to fear nor to love [of God]. Neither should one calculate the End. The sages said, “May the spirit of those who calculate the End.  The sages said,  “May the spirit of those who calculate the End be blown away” But let him wait and believe in the matter generally, as we have explained. 

 In the days of King Messiah, when his kingdom is established and all Israel are gathered into it, the descent of all of them will be confirmed by him through the Holy Spirit which will rest upon him, as it is written,  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver,  and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver ( Mal. 3:3),  And he will first purify the Children of Levi and will say: “This is of priestly descent, and this is of Levitic descent.”  And he will reject those who are not descended of Israel, as it written, And the Tirshatha [governor] said to them that they should not eat the most holy things till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummin (Ezra 2:63)  From this you learn that the presumption of descent will be confirmed, and those with established descent will be announced by the Holy Spirit.  And he will establish the descent not from Israel [in general] but from each tribe and tribe.  For he will announce that this one is from such and such a tribe, and this one from such and such a tribe….

 The sages and the prophets yearned for the days of the Messiah not in order they should rule over the whole world, and not in order they should lord it over the idolaters, not in order that the nations should elevate them, and not in order that they should eat and drink and rejoice; but in order they should devote themselves to the Torah and its wisdom, and that there be nobody to oppress them and to negate, so they should merit life in the World to Come…

 And in that time there will be neither hunger nor war, neither jealousy nor competition, but goodness will spread over everything.  And all the delights will be as common as dust. And the whole world will have no other occupation but only to know the Lord. And therefore Israel will be great sages, and knowers of secret things, and they will attain a knowledge of their Creator as far as the power of man allows, as it is written, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters covers the sea (Isa. 11:9)"
(Maimonids, Yad haHazaqa, Shoftim, Hilkhot M’lakhim 11-12)
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Reading from Maimonides we can define the basic points of Messianic expectation from the Jewish perspective.  Maimonides crystallizes the points, according to Judaism, what the Messiah needs to do, if he is Messiah.  To summarize, Maimonides writes, the Messiah will do the following.

Ø  Restore the throne of David

Ø  Rebuild the Temple

Ø  Gather the exiles

Ø  Restore the Torah

Ø  He will be a descendent of David

Ø  He does not have to perform signs or wonders

Ø  He will be a student of Torah

Ø  He will force Israel to study Torah

Ø  He will fight the wars of the Lord

Ø  Elijah will come before Messiah

Ø  The battle of Gog and Magog[6] will precede the day of Messiah

Ø  Messiah will purify the priesthood and Levites

Ø  Messiah will identify and accept those who are truly of Israel

Ø  Messiah will identify the tribes of Israel

Ø  In Messiah’s reign there will be no hunger or wars

Ø  In Messiah’s reign the chief occupation on the earth will be the study of the Lord.

Ø   

Maimonides writes, if these events happen then the person is Messiah.  Maimonides built on what the sages who preceded him expected, such as Rabbi Akiba who proclaimed Bar Kokhba was the Messiah.

 Messiah Son of Joseph

Maimonides does a great job in condensing Jewish belief and expectation in the Messiah.  The Jewish beliefs and expectations of the Messiah is wide and varied.  Through the Talmud, and other writing we see the expectation of two Messiahs.  One called Messiah Son of  David, and the other Messiah Son of Joseph actually precedes the Messiah son of David and is killed in the battle of Gog and Magog.  Messiah Son of David then asks the Lord to resurrect the slain Messiah Son of Joseph.   The Babylonian Talmud refers to the relationship between these two Messiah’s.

9 "It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Zechariah 12:9-10

And the land shall mourn (Zech. 12:12). What is the reason of the mourning?  R. Dosa and the rabbis differ about it. R. Dosa says: “[They will mourn] over the Messiah who will be slain, “ and the say; “[The will mourn] over the Evil Inclination which will be killed [in the days of the Messiah]…” Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 52a[7]

The rabbis have taught; The Holy One, blessed be He, will say to Messiah ben David, may he be revealed soon in our day!; “Ask if Me anything, and I shall give it to you, for it is written, The Lord said unto me, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee, ask of Me and I will give the nations for thy inheritance (Psalms 2:7-8)” And when he will see that Messiah ben Joseph will be slain, he will say before Him: “Master of the World! I ask nothing of you except life! God will say to him: “Even before you said, ‘life,’ your father David prophesied about you as it is written, He asked life of the, Thou gavest it him (Ps. 21:5)  Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 52a[8],[9]

And the land shall mourn, every family apart (Zech. 12:12). Two have interpreted this verse. One said: “This is the mourning over the Messiah,” and the other said: “This is the mourning over the Evil Inclination” [which will be killed by God in the Messianic days]. Yerushalmi Talmud Sukka 55b[10],[11]

According to Jewish scripture and tradition, at the End of Days the nations of the world come against Jerusalem in the battle of Gog and Magog.  Messiah ben Joseph leads the armies of Israel in battle and dies in the process.  Both Elijah and Messiah ben Joseph are forerunners to Messiah ben David, who will come after a period of struggle and trying for the descendents of Israel.  Messiah ben Joseph is seen as the pierced Messiah of Zechariah 12:10.

The Messiah Suffers

The idea of a “Suffering Messiah” to many in Judaism is a Christian concept, this is not the case however.  In some rabbinical traditions, the Messiah, who was one of the first thoughts of God, is in heaven waiting for the day of redemption. In heaven, Elijah and the patriarchs attend to, him. In one scene, from the Talmud the Messiah sits at the gates of Rome unwinding and winding bandages of the suffering and poor, waiting for the call.

  R. Y’hoshu’a ben Levi once found Elijah standing at the entrance of the cave or R. Shim’on ben Yohai…He asked him: “When will the Messiah come?”  He said to him: “Go, ask him himself”  “And where does he sit? “At the entrance of the city [of Rome]”  “And what are his marks?” “His marks are that he sits among the poor who suffer of diseases, and while all of them unwind and rewind[the bandages of all their wounds] at once, he unwinds and rewinds them one by one, for he says, ‘Should I be summoned, there must be no delay.’”  R. Y’hoshu’a  went to him and said to him; “Peace be unto you, my Master and Teacher!” He said to him: “Peace unto you, Son of Levi!” He said to him: when will the Master come?”  He said to him: “Today.”  R. Y’hoshu’a went to Elijah, who asked him; “What did he tell you?” R. Y’hoshu’s said “[He said to me:] Peace be unto you, Son of Levi!” Elijah said to him: “[By saying this] he assured the World to Come for you and your father.”  R. Y’hoshu’a then said to Elijah: “The Messiah lied to me, for he said ‘today I shall come,’ and he did not come.”  Elijah said: “This is what he told you: “Today , If you but hearken to His voice’ (Ps. 95:7) (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 98a)[12]

The fifth house [in the heavenly Paradise] is built of onyx and jasper stones, and inlaid stones, and silver and gold, and good pure gold.  And around it are rivers of balsam, and before its door flows the River Gihon.  And [it has] a canopy of all trees of incense and good scent.  And[in it are] beds of gold and silver, and embroidered garments. And there sits Messiah ben David and Elijah and Messiah ben Ephriam.  And there is a canopy of incense trees as in the Sanctuary which Moses made in the desert.  And all its vessels and pillars are of silver, its covering is gold, its seat is purple.  And in it is Messiah ben David who loves Jerusalem.  Elijah of blessed memory takes hold of his head, places it in his lap and holds it, and says to him: “Endure the sufferings and the sentence of your Master who makes you suffer because of the sin of Israel.”  And thus it is written; He was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed because of our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5) until the time when the comes.   (“Midrash Konen” BhM 2:29-30)[13]

Elijah before the Messiah

The Jewish Bible and rabbinical writers clearly teach the role of Elijah as forerunner of the Messiah.  The final last prophet, Malachi foretells the coming of Elijah, who caught up into heaven, awaits the great terrible day of the Lord, when he will be revealed to Israel.

Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 2 Kings 2:11

 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."  Malachi 4:5-6 

Today, the Jews every year commemorate the wait for Elijah at the Passover Seder meal; he is welcomed in every Jewish home with a large goblet of wine placed in the middle of the festive table for him. According to some traditions there is a 45 day period following the death of Messiah Ben Joseph, before and the appearance of Messiah Ben David, its during this period, Elijah the forerunner of the Messiah makes his appearance. 

Elijah said to Rav Y’huda the brother of Rav Sala the Pious: “The world will exist for no less than eighty-five jubilees [that is, 4250 years], and in the last jubilee the Son of David will come.”  He asked him: “In its beginning or at its end?”  He answered: “I do not know.” [Rav Y’huda then asked:] “Will it [the last jubilee] be complete or not?”  He said to him: “I do not know.”  Rav Ashi said; “This is what Elijah told him; ‘Until the last jubilee expect him not; from then on expect him.’”  Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 97b[14]

At that time Michael the great [celestial] prince will rise and blow the shofar three times…and Messiah ben David and Elijah will be revealed. And the two of them will go to Israel who will be [at that time] in the desert of the peoples, and Elijah will say to them; “This is the Messiah.” And he will return their heart [which will be faint] and will strengthen their hand…                                                 (T’fillat R. Shim’on ben Yohai, BhM 2:125)[15],[16]

Gog and Magog

The battle preceding the death of Messiah ben Joseph is the battle of Gog and Magog, when the nations of the North, Gog and Magog, Persia (Iran), Libya and their allies descend on Israel to after they (The Jews) have been gathered out of the nations after a long period of desolation (Ezekiel 38-39). 

2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 "and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.11 to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. 23 "Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord." ' Ezekiel 38:2,3,11,23

5 "You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken," says the Lord God. 6 "And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 39:5-6

R. Y’huda haLevi bar Shalom, and R. Pinhas haKohen, and Rav Huna, all the three of them said that Gog and Magog would come against Israel in the future to come three times, and the third time they would come up against Jerusalem and go to Judah, and dictate to them, for they are might men…

Behold I will make Jerusalem a cup of staggering unto all the peoples round about (Zech. 12:2).  What is “cup of staggering”? [It means] that He will in the future make peoples drink the cup of staggering of blood….when they [Gog and Magog] go up there, what do they? They assign two warriors to every one of the Children of Israel. Why? So that they should not escape.  When the heroes of Judah ascend and reach Jerusalem,  they pray in their heart…In that hour the Holy One, blessed be He, gives heroism to Judah and they draw their weapons and smite those men on their right and on their left, and slay them  (Midrash Tehillim,  Psalm 119, ed. Buber pp. 488-89)[17]

 Two men remained in the camp.  The name of one of them was Eldad, and then name of the other Medad. And the Holy Spirit descended upon them…and both prophesied as one and said: “In the End of Days, Gog and Magog and their armies will fall into the hands of King Messiah, and for seven years the Children of Israel will light fire form the shares of their weapons; they will not go out to the forest and will not cut down a [single] tree..  (Targum. Yer. To Num. 11;26)[18] 

 Armilus leads the armies of Gog

 In the end of day, the armies opposed to Israel will be lead according to Rabbinical tradition by a man named Armilus who is the son of Satan, who the world worships as god and Messiah.  He leads the nations against Israel and kills Messiah ben Joseph (Ephraim) and is then killed by Messiah ben David in the end.  In one Jewish tradition Armilus is even called the Antichrist.  He will persecute Israel, and be victorious over them for a time of testing. 

 23 "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces. 24 The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings. 25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.  26 'But the court shall be seated, And they shall take away his dominion, To consume and destroy it forever.   Daniel 7: 23-26

      And when the days of the Messiah arrive, Gog and Magog will come up against the Lord of Israel, because they will hear that Israel is without a king and sits in safety.  Instantly they will take with them seventy-one nations and go up to Jerusalem, and they will say; “Pharaoh was a fool to command that the males [of the Israelites] be killed and to let the females live. Balaam was an idiot that he wanted to curse them and did not know that their God had blessed them.   Haman was insane in that he wanted to kill them, and he did not know their God can save them.  I shall not do as they did, but shall fight against their God first, and thereafter I shall slay them…” And the Holy One, blessed be He, will say to him; “You wicked one! You want to wage war against Me?  By your life, I shall wage war against you! Instantly the Holy One, blessed be He will cause hailstones, which are hidden in the firmament, to descend upon him, and will bring upon him a great plague…       And after him will arise another king, wicked and insolent, and he will wage war against Israel for three months,  and his name is Armilus. And these are his marks; he will be bald, one his eyes will be small, the other big.  His right arm will be only as long as a hand…..And he will go up to Jerusalem and will slay Messiah ben Joseph….       And thereafter will come Messiah ben David….And he will kill the wick Armilus…And thereafter the Holy One, blessed be He, will gather all Israel who are dispersed here and there.  (Midrash waYosha[19])

 Messiah comes on the clouds

 The Hebrew Bible and rabbinical writing both teach the Messiah will come upon the clouds in the end of days to rescue his people from the nations. 

 13 "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:14-14

     R. Alexandri said: “R. Y’hoshua’a ben Levi explained:  ‘If they will be righteous, [the Messiah will come] on the clouds of heaven (Daniel 7:13); if they will not be righteous, [he will come] as a poor man riding upon an ass (Zech. 9:9)….King Shabur [Sapur] said to Sh’muel: “You say that the Messiah will come upon an ass; I shall send him a well-groomed horse.” He answered “do you, perchance, have a horse of a hundred colors?”  Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 98a[20]

 And now let us speak in praise of King Messiah who will come in the future with the clouds of heaven and two Seraphim [fiery angels] to his right and to his left, as it is written, behold with the clouds of heaven came one like unto a son of man (Daniel 7:13)                                             (Pirqe Mashiah, BhM 3:70)[21]

 The Resurrection

Maimonides in his Thirteen Articles of Faith, states belief in resurrection is an essential part of Judaism.  The 12^th article is faith in a personal Messiah, and the 13^th is the resurrection.  According to rabbinical teaching, the resurrection is linked to the coming of the Messiah.  When the Son of David comes, the first person resurrected, will be the Son of Joseph, then the rest of Israel.

 1 “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. Daniel 12:1-2

 R. Hiyya bar Yosef said: “In the future the pious will sprout up and emerge in Jerusalem, as it is said, They will blossom out of the city like grass of the earth (Ps. 72:16)… And they will rise up in their garments, as can be concluded from the wheat; If the wheat, which is buried naked, rises in several clothes, how much more so the pious who are buried in their clothes.” Babylonian Talmud Ta’an 2 a[22]

 Our master said two things in the name of R. Helbo: Why did the Fathers love to be buried in the Land of Israel? Because the dead of the land of Israel will be the first to come to life in the days of the Messiah, and they will eat [enjoy] the years of the Messiah.  And R. Hama bar R. Hanina said: “He who dies abroad and is buried there, two deaths are in his hand….” R. Simon said: “If so, the righteous who are buried abroad will be the losers? [Not so,] for what does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He hollows out the earth before them, and makes them into something like a skin bottle, ant they will roll and come until they reach the Land of Israel. And when they reach the Land of Israel He put the spirit of life into them they stand up.” (Midrash Tan. Buber, 1:214)[23]

 Jerusalem in the time of Messiah

 The Messiah is the Son of David who will rule on David’s throne for eternity.  The city from which Messiah will rule will be Jerusalem according to the Bible and rabbinical tradition.  In the time of Messiah, Jerusalem will be transformed into the city of King Messiah.

 2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Isaiah 2:2-3

 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this Isaiah 9:7

 Rabba said in the name of R. Yohanan: “Jerusalem of this World is not like Jerusalem of the World to Come. Jerusalem of This world—anybody who wants to go up to visit her, can do so; but to Jerusalem of the World to Come only those can go up who are invited to come…”   And Rabba said in the name of R. Yohanan: “In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will elevate Jerusalem by three parasangs…Resh Laqish said: “In the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will add to Jerusalem a thousand gardens, a thousand towers, a thousand fortresses, and a thousand passages, and each of them will be like sepphoris in its tranquil days, and there were in it 180,000 marketplaces of merchants of pot dishes.”  (Babylonian Talmud Bab. Bath. 75b)[24]