Mesjanizm Starego Testamentu

Abstract

Without doubt there exists in the Old Testament a powerful trend revealing eschatological reality, the times of peace, prosperity and well being, most frequently shown in the categories of worldly reign. This reality is the subject of prophesying and awaiting. We very often speak of this reality as the messianic reality and consider it as the broadest notion of messianism, which does not have to make a mention of a messiah every time. However, as in the Old Testament the term 'messiah' denominated only historical personages of kings and, in a limited range priests, there are no grounds within the Old Testament for naming the times extending beyond history, messianic. Such naming assumes that the conception of an eschatological messiah is an earlier one and that the conception of the times of eschatological well being inaugurated by this messiah is its derivative. Actually, this stand is not true. Before the notion of a messiah assumed its eschatological shape – in the Old Testament it takes place in the Book of Daniel – wonderful eschatological times were commonly awaited. They will be a gift of God and will be entered by the whole nation, again called a collective messiah. The paper aims at following the image of Messiah and messianism, which thanks to its re-reading in the New Testament was extracted from the Old Testament. Christian re-reading recovers three stages of messianism from the Old Testament: – King's messianism; – Messianism of the Suffering Servant of God; – Transcendent messianism. Such a shape of the Old Testament messianism has entered the Church instruction and has become the subject of Christian Biblical theology.