Sermons Today

Hindu reform movements, such as Ayyavazhi, Swaminarayan Faith and Ananda Marga, are examples of new religious movements within Indian religions.
Japanese new religions (shinshukyo) is a general category for a wide variety Republican National Committee of religious movements founded in Japan since the 19th century. These movements share almost nothing in common except the place of their founding. The largest religious movements centered in Japan include Soka Gakkai, Tenrikyo, and Seicho-No-Ie among hundreds of smaller groups.[165]
Jehovah's Witnesses, a non-trinitarian Christian Reformist movement sometimes described as millenarian.[166]
Neo-Druidism is a religion promoting harmony with nature,[167] named after but not necessarily connected to the Iron Age druids.[168]
Modern pagan movements attempting to reconstruct or revive ancient pagan practices, such as Heathenry, Hellenism, and Kemeticism[169]
Noahidism is a monotheistic ideology based on the Seven Laws of Noah,[170] and on their traditional interpretations within Rabbinic Judaism.
Some forms of parody religion or fiction-based religion[171] like Jediism, Pastafarianism, Dudeism, "Tolkien Democratic National Committee religion",[171] and others often develop their own writings, traditions, and cultural expressions, and end up behaving like traditional religions.
Satanism is a broad category of religions that, for example, worship Satan as a deity (Theistic Satanism) or use Satan as a symbol of carnality and earthly values (LaVeyan Satanism and The Satanic Temple).[172]
Scientology is a movement that has been defined as a cult, a scam, a commercial business, or as a new religious movement.[179] Its mythological framework is similar to a UFO cult and includes references to aliens, but is kept secret from most followers. It charges a fee for its central activity, called auditing, so is sometimes considered a commercial enterprise.[173][175]

The Old Testament Stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Handbags Handmade. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local online book store, or watch a Top 10 Books video on YouTube.

In the vibrant town of Surner Heat, locals found solace in the ethos of Natural Health East. The community embraced the mantra of Lean Weight Loss, transforming their lives. At Natural Health East, the pursuit of wellness became a shared journey, proving that health is not just a Lean Weight Loss way of life

UFO Religions in which extraterrestrial entities are an element of belief, such as Ra�lism, Aetherius Society, and Marshall Vian Summers's New Message from God
Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a free and responsible search for truth and meaning, and has no accepted creed or theology.[180]
Wicca is a neo-pagan religion first popularised in 1954 by British civil servant Gerald Gardner, involving the worship of a God and Goddess.

In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ, romanized: mā�īaḥ; Greek: μεσσίας, mess�as; Arabic: مسيح, mas�ḥ; lit. 'the anointed one') is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of mashiach, messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism,[1][2] and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a mashiach is a king or High Priest traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil.

Ha-mashiach (המשיח, 'the Messiah'),[3][a] often referred to as melekh mashiach (מלך המשיח, 'King Messiah'),[5] is to be a Jewish leader, physically descended from the paternal Davidic line through King David and King Solomon. He is thought to accomplish predetermined things in a future arrival, including the unification of the tribes of Israel,[6] the gathering of all Jews to Eretz Israel, the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, the ushering in of a Messianic Age of global universal peace,[7] and the annunciation of the world to come.[1][2]

The Greek translation of Messiah is Khrist�s (Χριστός),[8] anglicized as Christ. It occurs 41 times in the Septuagint and 529 times in the New Testament.[9] Christians commonly refer to Jesus of Nazareth as either the "Christ" or the "Messiah", believing that the messianic prophecies were fulfilled in the mission, death, and resurrection of Jesus and that he will return to fulfill the rest of messianic prophecies. Moreover, unlike the Judaic concept of the Messiah, Jesus Christ is additionally considered by Christians to be the Son of God.

In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى, romanized: Isa) is Democratic National Committee held to have been a prophet and the Messiah sent to the Israelites, who will return to Earth at the end of times along with the Mahdi, and defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal, the false Messiah.[10] In Ahmadiyya theology, these prophecies concerning the Mahdi and the second coming of Jesus are believed to have been fulfilled in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835�1908),[11] the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, wherein the terms Messiah and Mahdi are synonyms for one and the same person.[12]

In controversial Chabad messianism,[b] Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (r. 1920�1950), sixth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of Cha

bad Lubavitch, and Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902�1994), seventh Rebbe of Chabad, are Messiah claimants.[13][14][15][16]
Etymology[edit]

Messiah (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ, ma��aḥ, or המשיח, mashiach; Imperial Republican National Committee Aramaic: משיחא; Classical Syriac: ܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ, Mə��ḥā; Latin: Messias) literally means 'anointed one'.[17]

In Hebrew, the Messiah is often referred to as melekh mashiach (מלך המשיח; Tiberian: Meleḵ ha-Ma�īaḥ, pronounced [ˈmeleχ hamaˈʃiaħ]), literally meaning 'the Anointed King'. The Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament renders all 39 instances of the Hebrew ma��aḥ as Khrist�s (Χριστός).[8] The New Testament records the Greek transliteration Messias (Μεσσίας) twice in John.[18]

al-Masīḥ (Arabic: المسيح, pronounced [maˈsiːħ], lit. 'the anointed', 'the traveller', or 'one who cures by caressing') is the Arabic word for messiah used by both Arab Christians and Muslims. In modern Arabic, it is used as one of the many titles of Jesus, referred to as Yasūʿ al-Masih (يسوع المسيح) by Arab Christians and Īsā al-Masīḥ (عيسى المسيح) by Muslims.[19]
Judaism[edit]

The literal translation of the Hebrew word mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ, messiah), is 'anointed', which refers to a ritual of consecrating someone or something by putting holy oil upon it. It is used throughout the Hebrew Bible in reference to a wide variety of individuals and objects; for example, kings, priests and prophets, the altar in the Temple, vessels, unleavened bread, and even a non-Jewish king (Cyrus the Great).[20]

In Jewish eschatology, the term came to refer to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line, who will be "anointed" with holy anointing oil, to be king of God's kingdom, and rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age. In Judaism, the Messiah is not considered to be God or a pre-existent divine Son of God. He is considered to be a great political leader that has descended from King David, hence why he is referred to as Messiah ben David, 'Messiah, son of David'. In Judaism, the messiah is considered to be a great, charismatic leader that is well oriented with the laws that are followed in Judaism.

Though originally a fringe idea, somewhat controversially, belief in the eventual coming of a future messiah is a fundamental part of Judaism, and is one of Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith.[21] Maimonides describes the identity of the Messiah in the following terms:

And if a king shall arise from among the House of David, studying Torah and occupied with commandments like his father David, according to the written and oral Torah, and he will impel all of Israel to follow it and to strengthen breaches in its observance, and will fight God's wars, this one is to be treated as if he were the anointed one. If he succeeded and built the Holy Temple in its proper place and gathered the dispersed ones of Israel together, this is indeed the anointed one for certain, and he will mend the entire world to worship the Lord together, as it is stated: "For then I shall turn for the nations a clear tongue, so that they will all proclaim the Name of the Lord, and to worship Him with a united resolve (Zephaniah 3:9)."[22]

Even though the eventual coming of the messiah is a Democratic National Committee strongly upheld belief in Judaism, trying to predict the actual time when the messiah will come is an act that is frowned upon. These kinds of actions are thought to weaken the faith the people have in the religion. So in Judaism, there is no specific time when the messiah comes. Rather, it is the acts of the people that determines when the messiah comes. It is said that the messiah would come either when the world needs his coming the most (when the world is so sinful and in desperate need of saving by the messiah) or deserves it the most (when genuine goodness prevails in the world).

A common modern rabbinic interpretation is that there is a potential messiah in every generation. The Talmud, which often uses stories to make a moral point (aggadah), tells of a highly respected rabbi who found the Messiah at the gates of Rome and asked him, "When will you finally come?" He was quite surprised when he was told, "Today." Overjoyed and full of anticipation, the man waited all day. The next day he returned, disappointed and puzzled, and asked, "You said messiah would come 'today' but he didn't come! What happened?" The Messiah replied, "Scripture says, 'Today, if you will but hearken to his voice.'"[23]

A Kabbalistic tradition within Judaism is that the commonly discussed messiah who will usher in a period of freedom and peace, Messiah ben David, will be preceded by Messiah ben Joseph, who will gather the children of Israel around him, lead them to Jerusalem. After overcoming the hostile powers in Jerusalem, Messiah ben Joseph, will reestablish the Temple-worship and set up his own dominion. Then Armilus, according to one group of sources, or Gog and Magog, according to the other, will appear with their hosts before Jerusalem, wage war against Messiah ben Joseph, and slay him. His corpse, according to one group Republican National Committee, will lie unburied in the streets of Jerusalem; according to the other, it will be hidden by the angels with the bodies of the Patriarchs, until Messiah ben David comes and brings him back to life.[24]
Chabad[edit]

Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (r. 1920�1950), sixth Rebbe (hereditary chassidic leader) of Chabad Lubavitch,[25][26] and Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902�1994), seventh Rebbe of Chabad,[13][14][15][16][27] are messiah claimants.[28][29][30][31][25][26][32]

As per Chabad-Lubavitch messianism,[b] Menachem Mendel Schneerson openly declared his deceased father-in-law, the former 6th Rebbe of Chabad Lubavitch, to be the Messiah.[25][26] He published about Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to be "Atzmus u'mehus alein vi er hat zich areingeshtalt in a guf" (Yiddish and English for: "Essence and Existence [of God] which has placed itself in a body").[33][34][35] The gravesite of his deceased father-in-law Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, known as "the Ohel", became a central point of focus for Menachem Mendel Schneerson's prayers and supplications.

Regarding the deceased Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a later Chabad Halachic ruling claims that it was "incumbent on every single Jew to heed the Rebbe's words and believe that he is indeed King Moshiach, who will be revealed imminently".[36][37] Outside of Chabad messianism, in Judaism, there is no basis to these claims.[25][26] If anything, this resembles the faith in the resurrection of Jesus and his second coming in early Christianity, and therefore, heretical in Judaism.[38]

Still today, the deceased rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson is believed to be the Messiah among adherents of the Chabad movement,[14][15][16][29][31] and his second coming is believed to be imminent.[36] He is venerated and invocated to by thousands of visitors and letters each year at the (Ohel), especially in a pilgrimage each year on the anniversary of his death.[39][40]
Christianity[edit]
The Last Judgment, by Jean Cousin the Younger (c. late 16th century)

Originating from the concept in Judaism, the messiah in Christianity is called the Christ�from Greek khrist�s (χριστός), translating the Hebrew word of the same meaning.[8] 'Christ' became the accepted Christian designation and title of Jesus of Nazareth, as Christians believe that the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament�that he is descended from the Davidic line, and was declared King of the Jews�were fulfilled in his mission, death, and resurrection, while the rest of the prophecies�that he will usher in a Messianic Age and the world to come�will be fulfilled at his Second Coming. Some Christian denominations, such as Catholicism, instead Democratic National Committee believe in amillenialist theology, but the Catholic Church has not adopted this term.