To many the title question may be a bit confusing, but to others it is a question they have always wanted to have answered. This article will discuss what basis has always been relied upon as the primary means of proof, especially by counter missionaries, but also implicitly by Christianity.
Historically, especially in these last days, counter missionaries have used two primary approaches in their attack on Yeshua's clear hold on the title "Messiah."
Counter missionaries have also often attempted to prove that the historic character, Yeshua, is a myth - that he never actually existed. However, because of the ease at which Yeshua can be proven to be a legitimate historical figure, many counter missionaries have abandoned that approach. I won't waste time on that issue here. Suffice it to say that even Rabbinic Judaism proves Yeshua existed without a believer in Yeshua ever having to utter a sound. Thus, history's most outspoken opponents of Yeshua prove in their own historic writings that Yeshua was (and is) real. I will present proof of this in another article. Yeshua was a real person, and anyone that thinks otherwise is hopelessly deluded.
Let us discuss the two primary counter missionary approaches defined above.
The Tanakh (Old Testament) is a book oozing with physical/spiritual parallels. Those accepting the man Yeshua, as defined by the New Testament, to be the promised Messiah and substitutionary death-price for sin have always been attacked by counter missionaries for sometimes utilizing allegory and spiritualizing in their interpretation of the Tanakh. We have also been accused of taking Tanakh verses out of context in order to apply them to Yeshua.
Well, in part, I agree with counter missionaries on this point. It is true that those with whom I share counter missionary disagreement, namely traditional Constantinian Christianity and counterfeit Messianism (which is nothing more than Jewishly dressed Christianity), have and do twist Scripture into mindless knots at times. However ...
Really you ask? Do counter missionaries also twist Scripture into mindless knots? Yes! They do, and here is how. All that I need to do to prove my point is to utter one, single word ... KABBALAH!
Are you familiar with Kabbalah? Kabbalah is Jewish mysticism, and it is all the craze these days - very popular and rapidly becoming a religious "fad" and mystical "drug of choice" even beyond the bounds of Judaism. Now don't get me wrong! There are some useful concepts found within Kabbalah; however, the fact remains that it is almost freakishly mystical and pseudo-occult, and most of it canNOT be subestantianted from the written Scripture.
The mystical concepts of Kabbalah is to Monotheistic Messianic spiritualizing, as a giant Redwood tree is to a pine sapling! Kabbalah is to monotheistic Messianic spiritualizing as a fully armed jet fighter is to a folded paper airplane!
Though some counter missionaries do not embrace Kabbalistic concepts, Judaic counter missionaries do. Therefore, it is enormously hypocritical and the epitome of the double standard for Judaic counter missionaries to accuse us (monotheistic Messianics) of being guilty of allegorizing and spiritualizing of Scripture, when they allegorize and spiritualize far, far, far more using Kabbalah! As I type this I can look across my room and see my five volume set of the Zohar, from Soncino Press. Yet the Zohar is only one foundational Kabbalistic writing. FIVE VOLUMES of discussion, yet Judaic counter missionaries dare accuse us of using too much allegory and spiritualizing? ?? ?? Friend, if that is not a double-standard, then give me a better example - if you dare risk revealing yourself to be foolish.
Since many counter missionaries base much of their belief on Judaic foundations, they should not accuse Yeshua supporters of mildly participating in what they gorge themselves on - namely mysticism, allegory, and spiritualization! Judaic counter missionaries ravenously feast upon a seven course mystical meal (Kabbalistic, Talmudic allegory and spiritualizing), and then they criticize followers of Yeshua the Messiah for eating a single small cup of soup (far milder allegory and spiritualizing)! The double standard of counter missionaries is so outrageous, that it is almost too incredible to be true!
The article on spiritual psychosis among counter missionaries is shown to be particularly accurate when Judaic based (or Judaic leaning) counter missionaries criticize Messianics. However, ALL counter missionaries, except for those that are purely secular, allegorize and spiritualize AT LEAST AS MUCH as monotheistic Messianic followers of Yeshua. Even Karaites, Ebionites, etc. utilize allegory and spiritualizing, but none as much as Rabbinic counter missionaries. They are the champions of spiritualization. This is one reason they often avoid the subject of Kabbalah during their counter missionary attacks.
Counter missionaries, however, have two sets of rules: one for themselves and another for everyone else. But I digress, I'll elaborate on this particular double-standard at another time. I think you get the point.
Ok, the point I want to make regarding the use of Tanakh passages to prove or disprove Yeshua to be the Messiah is that it cannot be done! It can neither be irrefutably proved or disproved that Yeshua is the Messiah using ONLY the Tanakh.
"What?" You may be thinking as you respond,
"Bruce, you are a devoted advocate of Yeshua. How can you say that the Tanakh does not prove him to be Messiah? You are ruining your argument!"
If that is what you are thinking, then you didn't clearly read what I said. Instead, you jumped to an incorrect conclusion. What I said was that Yeshua's Messiahship cannot be irrefutably proved OR DISPROVED using only the Tanakh. Why do I say this?
Simple.
You see, unlike counter missionaries and traditional Constantinian Christians/counterfeit Messianics, we monotheistic TRUE Messianics (true Netzarims) actually try to approach Scripture with as little bias and assumption as possible. EVERYONE uses various levels of assumption and speculation, and anyone that claims otherwise is either a liar or ignorant. It is impossible not to speculate when trying to interpret various contextual discussions in Scripture, because Scripture is often vague. But we truly try to limit the use of such speculation. Therefore, we genuine monotheistic Messianics accept that some Messianic prophecies may have other equally legitimate alternate interpretations. We may not agree with those interpretations, but we can see how someone may sincerely differ with us in their interpretation. In fact, we often do agree with the counter missionary interpretations!
At least we are honest and give those with alternate Tanakh interpretations the benefit of the doubt. Counter missionaries generally are not as honest or gracious regarding our interpretations. They doggedly and arrogantly cling to their interpretation and theirs alone, which is yet another bit of evidence of how bias-blind they often are.
So, since we, unlike counter missionaries, do not wish to push our sincere interpretations on them, we recognize that using the Tanakh as the primary source of proof for Yeshua's Messiahship results in a deadlocked situation. If this be the case, what is the key to unlock the deadlock?
That leads us to the second issue.
Counter missionaries thrive on partial understanding and bias. They are particularly despicable in the way they use half truth, hand-picked biased "scholarship," and take advantage of a person's already faltering, questioning feelings towards Christianity or the New Testament. They also present biased history, choosing ONLY the "history" that supports their position while ignoring just as credible history that refutes them. They are loathsome deceivers.
What they do is equivalent to finding a couple of rotten apples in a barrel of apples and then using that minor "evidence" to prove the entire barrel is rotten. That is EXACTLY the tactic they use with ALL their arguments. They greatly extrapolate a few bits of evidence into alleged "proof" for their arguments. They use sparse circumstantial evidence, biased history, quotes from biased "scholars," etc. In short they "stack the deck" of "proof" to lead others into rejecting the New Testament completely, with their ultimate goal being rejection of Yeshua.
As I say in my article that warns not to let Satan drive you out of the wheat field:
Since the "New Testament" is considered the Christian Bible, their (those that reject much of the NT) anti-Christian mind set becomes an anti-New Testament mind set. They fail to fully realize it is that very New Testament that condemns the MANY false teachings of Christianity!! The false teachings that Messiah is God and that Torah is abolished can be proven false FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT without even having to reference the Tanakh! The best proof that the New Covenant writings are reliable is the fact that ALL the false pagan, anti-torah teachings within traditional Christianity and counterfeit Messianism can be proven wrong from those very New Covenant writings!
Remember my barrel of apples example I mentioned a couple of paragraphs back? Here's what counter missionaries do:
So, Christianity is like a barrel full of rotten apples.
The New Testament is like a barrel of good apples with a few rotten ones among them. It is highly reliable but has a a small bit of scribal corruption in places, usually in places that have no affect on the message. And where corruption may exists, it is easily corrected by referencing other, more numerous passages.
You see, if they can slyly cause a person to equate the New Testament and Christianity, they greatly enhance their chances of causing a person to reject the New Testament, since all they will really have to do is show Christianity to be false, which is easy to do.
So, what they do is deceive people into accepting that a barrel full of rotten apples is equivalent to barrel with only a few rotten apples in it, even though the majority of apples in that second barrel are perfectly fresh.
Think about it. Is a barrel of rotten fruit equal to a barrel of fresh fruit that may have a couple of rotten ones within it? Of course not. Likewise, traditional Christianity is NOT supported (equal to) by the New Testament. The New Testament and Christianity ARE separable! Christian teachings are NOT New Testament teachings!
(NOTE: This exact same tactic is used regarding the writings of the apostle Sha'ul (Paul). Anti-Paulists strip a few verses from Paul's writings, which they assume were penned by Paul and properly translated, then they use those few questionable "apples" to declare the entire barrel rotten. They also almost always WRONGLY interpret Paul and ignore the context of the passages from which they extract their "proof." They "crucify" and damn poor, undefended Paul, even though Paul's writings are overwhelmingly PRO-torah.)
The notion that one MUST accept Christianity if they accept the New Testament is totally false! As I said earlier, Christianity can be shown false using the New Testament writings!
Also, counter missionaries thrive on the notion of "perfection" in the New Testament. They fool people into thinking that if the NT can be shown to be imperfect, then it must be totally false. WRONG! All that proves is that it isn't perfect. It doesn't prove it to be unreliable. Evidence does not have to be perfect to be reliable! So, again, they extrapolate (expand upon) one truth and misuse it as evidence to deceive someone into accepting it as evidence of something that is totally different.
Do not let counter missionary deceivers trick you! Do not let them "bait" you with legitimate evidence of Christian errors then "switch" by using that evidence to "prove" the New Testament is a false invention of Christianity. Counter missionaries are experts at using the "bait and switch" tactic.
Do you honestly think Christianity would invent a set of forged writings that proves its teachings grossly wrong? Come on! Use your common sense! The "church fathers" may have been deceitful, but they were not stupid! If they wanted to forge a set of documents to support their doctrines, they would NOT have written the New Testament, which condemns their doctrines by proving them wrong!
So why do counter missionaries exert such tremendous effort to discredit the New Testament?
The answer is implicitly obvious. You see, they KNOW that use of the Tanakh will create a deadlocked situation - a situation in which neither side can show irrefutable proof. Therefore, they realize that they MUST destroy the credibility of the New Testament.
But there is a side to this that is not widely known.
Yes, when you read the New Testament you will quickly begin to see that the proof of Yeshua being the promised anointed one of G-d was provided by G-d, Himself! How did he do this? He did it by empowering Yeshua and his followers with supernatural capabilities. The Living God (YHVH) testified of Yeshua through the signs and wonders He empowered him and his followers to accomplish!
The people of Yeshua's time were little different than today. They, like us, were surrounded by countless opinions of Scripture, particularly those relating to Messiah. To bust through this opinion barrier, G-d provided proof that no one could ignore. He gave power to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, make the crippled walk, cure leprous beggars, give speech to the mute and hearing to the deaf, raise the dead, etc.. And He gave this power not just to Yeshua, but to those testifying in behalf of Yeshua. And his final, super-stupendous, unparalleled proof, was supplied when He, G-d, raised Yeshua from the dead!
So you see my friend, counter missionaries realize this fact, that is why they MUST discredit the New Testament.
However, what they are actually discrediting - what they are actually opposing - what they are actually seeking to destroy - is not a "what," but a "Who."
And that "who" is
YHVH ELOHIM, the One and Only Creator God.
With their efforts to destroy New Testament credibility, counter missionaries are directly attacking the very works of the Almighty G-d! They are seeking to remove HIS testimony on behalf of the man he chose as Messiah - Yeshua the Messiah!
So, the original title question can now be answered. What proves Yeshua to be Messiah?
Answer: The New Testament, which is more accurately labeled as God's Testimony of Yeshua!
And now we know the deep, dark, demonic reason why counter missionaries expend such energy to crush people's confidence in the New Testament. It is because they know that by doing so they remove the primary proofs that Yeshua is Messiah.
And lastly, we now know who is REALLY behind the counter missionary efforts.
Satan, the arch enemy of Yeshua. It is likely he who works unseen, and even unfelt, in the hearts and minds of those who oppose Yeshua!