Claims and Teachings - Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi — Page 30
30 * impossible that a true 'Messiah could appear without the mani- festation of a single one of the numerous signs that had been fore'told. The words of the sacred books which had been reveal- ed to the prophets were before their eyes. How could they accept a Messiah by rejecting the very books which invited them to such a belief. They sighed amid all their misfortunes for the Messianic time of which such beautiful pictures had been drawn to them ; they looked for the Messiah who was to sit on the throne of David and deliver them from foreign. yoke ; they v/ longed for the day when Jerusalem was to be the centre arouud which all nations had to gather; and they prayed for the moment when Isreal instead of being trampled under the feet of others v ' was to rule all nations of the world. But in Jesus and his advent, they could not see the manifestation of a single sign. The question here naturally arises that the prophecies being so clear whose fulfilment was not witnessed, in Jesus, were the Jews in the right in rejecting the Messiah as an impostor ? From Christians and Muhamadans we cannot expect an answer in the affirmative. Yet what is to be done with the pro- phecies ? They are found in books accepted by Jews and Chri- stians as forming part of the Word of God. Their words are plain. If the Jews had not required their fulfilment, they would have been guilty of rejecting the Word of God. Moreover they would not have in that case been able to distinguish between J true and false claimants. The pseudo-Messiahs who before and at the time of Jesus had appeared in abundance among the Jews had rendered them distrustful of such claimants. From these considerations it would appear that it was the duty of the Jews to lay stress on the fulfilment of the prophecies before accepting the claimant. to Messiahship. Were the Jews then really excusable in rejecting Jesus? What are the arguments that, they