Dear Rabbi,
Being a non Christian gentile I'm wondering is there a concept of an anti messiah in Judaism?
Keith

Dear Keith,

Good question. Unlike the Antichrist concept in Christianity, Judaism doesn't have one. The entire messiah theme in Judaism differs in many ways to that of traditional Christian faith. For one, Judaism doesn't believe that the messiah expunges or removes sins from a person. Only God can do that. Secondly, once proclaimed, there will be no opposition to the messiahship of the person who will assume that role, as a divinely determined reality. In Jesus' time, there were more than one faction, Jewish and Roman, who opposed the followers of Jesus in their proclamation that he indeed was the chosen deliverer.

Accordingly, not even the Satan, which is often depicted as the Evil Inclination, in Judaism, and personified in the visage of the primordial Serpent in the Garden of Eden, has the power to oppose the Messiah or thwart his destiny in bringing true peace and salvation to the world.

Hope this has been useful.

Many blessings,

R' Aaron Parry

Rabbi Aaron Parry is a native of Los Angeles who has been involved with Jewish outreach for over 13 years. He is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Talmud
and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hebrew Scripture.