the idea of a messiah came from judaism.
the idea of a messiah came from judaism.
where did the idea of a messiah come from?
judaism
a primary comparison to make between rastafarianism and judaism is that both religions believe that there will be a coming of the messiah, although they don't agree on who that messiah is or will be. in the jewish religion "the messiah will indeed be a king from the house of david who will gather the scattered of israel together, but the order of the world will not be radically changed by his coming." this is in contrast to rastafarian belief, in which they believe jesus, in the form of halie selassie, the emperor of ethiopia from 1930-1947, is their messiah. many rastafarians believe haile selassie's lineage can be traced back to king solomon and the queen of sheba. the perspective on the coming of the messiah in judaism are akin to that of rastafarianism in that, "the messiah will indeed be a king from the house of david who will gather the scattered of israel together, but the order of the world will not be radically changed by his coming." in addition to the belief that all jewish people across the globe will become docile to the teachings of the torah, is the prophecy of world peace and order. the main difference between the perspective of the messiah in judaism and rastafarianism is that the rastafarians believe that their messiah has already come in the form of halie selassie, whereas the jewish people believe that their messiah has not yet come. the root of the rastafarians messianic belief came from marcus garvey's prophecy in which he states "look to africa where a black king shall be crowned, he shall be the redeemer." the rise of halie selassie's reign came promptly after marcus garvey's remarks, validating his prophecy and granting selassie with the divine title of "god of the black race" among rastafarians.
judaism and rastafarianism
rabbi joshua ben levi (who lived in the first half of the third century), while meditating near the tomb of rabbi shimon bar yohai, was visited by the prophet elijah. "when will the messiah come?" asked joshua. "ask him," replied the prophet. "the messiah is at the gates of rome, sitting among the poor, the sick and wretched. like them, he changes the bindings of his wounds, but does so one wound at the time, in order to be ready at a moment's notice."
the messiah at the gates of rome