Will the Real Messiah Please Stand Up?

By Nicole J. Johnson
February, 2009

Dr. Eugene Mayhew, Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at MTS, has completed the Encyclopedia of Messianic Candidates and Movements in Judaism, Samaritanism and Islam, which will be released in March (Cadieux & Maheux Press, ISBN: 9781607251576, $59.95).

Dr. Eugene Mayhew Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages

The publication of this work represents the culmination of more than two decades of messianism research by Mayhew. Messianism is “the formal study of an ultimate deliverer in Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity and Islam,” he says. Mayhew hopes readers will come away with a “much clearer picture of how Jesus of Nazareth stands totally apart from all the pseudo-messiahs when it comes to biblical criteria and following.” Professors and students at seminaries, Christian liberal arts universities and colleges, along with universities offering a religion major, are the primary audience for this resource.

World-renowned apologist and author, Dr. Norman Geisler, remarks: “This is a truly prodigious work on the history of messianism. It will be a landmark volume for decades to come. There is simply nothing like it in print. It is a must for every student of the Old Testament and Judaism, to say nothing of the Christian concept of the Messiah.”

For the past five years, more than 35 students have registered for Independent Study in Messianism at MTS and joined Mayhew by researching and writing rough draft articles on messianic candidates from the early Old Testament period until the present day. Of the more than 140 messianic candidates included in the volume, some of the more well-known include: Shimon Bar Kokhba, Sabbatai Zevi, Menachem Schneerson and Samaritan Taleb of 1910.

After completing the research and writing on their assigned candidates, students submitted their work to Mayhew and student editor, Sandy Calwell (M.A. in Christian Education, 2007), for review and editing. Tom Harkaway (Master of Divinity, 2006) worked as the computer typesetter for the project. The students who participated in this project are given credit in the book, and also had the opportunity to tour the facility where the volume was printed.

Glenn Harris (Master of Divinity, 2007) was so excited about this project that he signed up for two semesters of Independent Study in Messianism, and wrote six rough draft articles for the encyclopedia. “I can’t stress enough what a unique opportunity this was to be part of an outstanding team, contributing to a long overdue and vitally important volume for all those intending to learn and teach about Israel’s Messiah,” said Harris, who serves as Associate Rabbi and Worship Leader at Congregation Shema Yisrael in Bloomfield Hills. 

Mayhew’s passion for studying messianism began in 1968 when, as a student at Detroit Bible College, he discovered that by the time Jesus was born, there had been a significant number of individuals who had claimed to be the Messiah or who had messianic followings. Mayhew’s studies continued and by 1998 he began collaborating with Raju Kunjummen, MTS Academic Dean and Associate Professor of Biblical Languages and Old Testament, to teach History and Theology of Messianism as an elective.

Dr. Mayhew’s research has led him to publish several journal articles including “Current Trends Concerning the Messianic Idea in Judaism,” which he presented at the Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in 2004, and “A Common Jewish Argument on Messianism: Mirror or Mirage?” which he presented at the second annual meeting of the International Society of Christian Apologetics in 2007.

You can purchase a copy of the Encyclopedia of Messianic Candidates and Movements in Judaism, Samaritanism and Islam for the pre-publication price of $49.95, through March 31. For more information on purchasing the text, contact MTS at (734) 207-9581. Call the seminary today and you may be able to get your copy autographed by the author.