Messianic Age
The future era in Jewish belief associated with the Messiah, traditionally envisioned as a time of peace, justice, and Israel’s restoration.
Jewish Messiah: A future anointed leader in Jewish tradition, associated with redemption and the fulfillment of divine promises. The era takes its name from the figure expected to usher in redemption.
Maimonides' Thirteen Principles of Faith: A medieval Jewish formulation of core beliefs, including belief in the coming of the Messiah. Its twelfth principle makes messianic expectation a concise statement of Jewish belief.
Christian eschatology: Christian teachings about the culmination of history, including Christ’s return, resurrection, judgment, and the new creation. Christian accounts commonly place messianic fulfillment in Jesus and his future return.
Tikkun olam: A Hebrew phrase meaning “repair of the world,” used in Jewish tradition for different forms of social and spiritual responsibility. Some interpretations connect human repair of the world with preparing for redemption.
Hebrew Bible: The collection of Jewish sacred writings, also known as the Tanakh, comprising the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. Prophetic visions of justice, peace, and restoration ground many accounts of the era.
Mishneh Torah: Maimonides’ comprehensive code of Jewish law, completed in the twelfth century. Its laws of kings describe the expected Messiah and the conditions of his reign.
Second Coming: The Christian belief that Jesus Christ will return to earth at the culmination of history. This expected event occupies a role in Christianity that Jewish tradition does not assign to Jesus.
Jewish prayer: The individual and communal worship practices of Judaism, including fixed liturgy and personal supplication. Daily prayers repeatedly ask for redemption, Jerusalem’s restoration, and the coming of the Messiah.
Book of Isaiah: A prophetic book of the Hebrew Bible containing visions of judgment, restoration, and transformed life. Its visions of peace among nations and renewed creation are central to messianic expectation.
Sanhedrin 98a: A page of the Babylonian Talmud discussing the Messiah, redemption, and the end of days. Its debates preserve competing expectations about when and how the era will arrive.