Will the Real Messiah Please Rise? — Michael L. Brown

And according to this book, the first great false Messiah in Judaism was Jesus. That was the view of this particular author. And then through the rest of the book, he lists others that came and claimed to be the Messiah.

In his mind, they were not the Messiah. They were not the deliverer that the people of Israel were waiting for. About 100 years after Jesus, there was a Jewish general whose name was Bar Koziba, and then his name was changed to Bar Kokhba, which means in Aramaic, son of the star.

There was a prophecy in the book of Numbers that a star would rise up out of Jacob. And this was taken to be a prophecy of the Messiah. And this man, this great Jewish general, claimed to be the Messiah.

Now, he didn't claim to be the Messiah because of his spiritual credentials. It wasn't because he stood out as a leader of the people and bringing them into the knowledge of God. Rather, he was a great general.

And the major battle that they had in those days was with Rome. Beginning in 132, from 132 to 135, Bar Kokhba led the second Jewish revolt, revolt against Rome. He proclaimed Israel's independence. They began counting years based on on on his time in leadership.

And he was ruthless. He was a warrior. He wanted those, according to tradition, he wanted those that joined him to chop off the end of their little finger as a sign of solidarity with him. Those that did not join him and fight on his side were ruthlessly butchered.

And the leading rabbi of the day, Rabbi Akiva, hailed him as King Messiah. Other rabbis rejected it, but he was hailed as King Messiah. And ultimately, he and hundreds of thousands of Jews were put to death in the revolt.

And of course, it was clear to all that Bar Kokhba, in fact, was not Messiah. Well, centuries later, the 17th century to be exact, in Smyrna, there was a Jewish man named Shabbatai Tzvi who was born. Shabbatai Tzvi was a little bit different than Bar Kokhba.

He was not a general. He was not a military leader. Rather, he was a mystic. Later scholars have claimed, in fact, that he was a manic depressive. If you want to read about Shabbatai Tzvi, the great study of him is by Gershom Scholem, almost a thousand pages on his life.

Well, Shabbatai Tzvi began to do some odd things. He began to break certain laws and traditions, was married, didn't consummate his marriage and then separated from that wife. Anyway, he began to get a following.

It seemed because he was different. He was a handsome man. He claimed to have certain mystical revelations. Most of the populace rejected him. And ultimately, he began to get a prophetic following. A man named Nathan of Gaza claimed that God had revealed to him that Shabbatai Tzvi was actually the Messiah.

He claimed to be born on the 9th of Av, which, according to some Jewish tradition, was the birthday of the Messiah. And ultimately, because of a great time of persecution, oppression, there was a terrible slaughter of Jewish people, terrible pogroms in the middle of the 1600s in Poland.

And there was a longing, there was a hope for redemption to come, much like we could see in a post-Holocaust era with the slaughtering of so many of our people. A desire, a longing for redemption. And there was great hope put on Shabbatai Tzvi.

Most of the leading sages didn't accept his messianic claims. But there was a fervor and many rich people sold all of their possessions. They were going to follow him to the Holy Land. And he marched in to the sultan of Turkey and he declared his messiahship and ordered the sultan to bow down before him and acknowledge him.

Instead, he was put in prison. They continued to allow him to hold his royal court in prison for a while. And ultimately, they decided enough is enough. And they gave him the choice of convert to Islam or die, at which point he converted to Islam.

Not only did he convert to Islam, though, the story doesn't end there. Some of his followers also converted to Islam. And they believed that, according to certain Talmudic traditions, the world would either be perfectly righteous when the messiah came or perfectly wicked.

And because the world was not worthy of receiving him, he then had to bring in and initiate the last great apostasy. And in doing so, bring the world to the point where the messiah could be revealed. What makes the story even more bizarre is not just that he died as a Muslim and that many of his most loyal followers died as Muslims, but that they continued on in Islamic society.

And right up to the middle of the 20th century, there was still an identifiable remnant within Islam called the Donmeh. And they secretly prayed Jewish prayers. And where it spoke of the messiah, they instead inserted the name of Shabbatai Tzvi.

Well, what about today? You might think 20th century enlightened society. Maybe people don't believe in these things anymore. I mentioned Jesus. And if you read about my background, then you know that I'm a Jewish believer in Jesus.

You might say, how could people still believe in this kind of thing? Aren't people in a place where they have outgrown these primitive messianic beliefs? Well, on my recent trip to Israel, last trip over there in October, I was struck by the banners on all of the Chabad buildings, the Lubavitch buildings.

Hikono leviat ha-mashiach, prepare for the coming of the messiah. Just a few years ago, I was with a group of Orthodox Jews on a Saturday evening in Cleveland. And they stood there out on the street with the police watching and trying to figure out what in the world was going on.

I stood in the midst of them and they stood with hands raised to heaven, reciting the words of Rambam, I believe complete faith in the coming of the messiah, even though he tarries yet I'll wait from every day expecting that he'll come.

Well, what is it that that some people are believing about the messiah? What's the great messianic fervor and expectation that's going on these days? Well, as I was leaving a Ben Gurion airport, I saw that there was a little Lubavitch stand and they were giving out some free literature.

So I picked this up across the top. It says in Hebrew, prepare for the coming of the messiah. And it's a track basically saying, what are we waiting for? What is the nature of the hope of the messiah?

What are some of the wrong messianic hopes people have had? What's happening in this day and age and who exactly is the messiah? And then on the back, a picture of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the spiritual leader, looked to maybe by a half million people that identify themselves on one level or another with Lubavitch.

The man's now 90 years old. And according to what his followers have written, said, people I've spoken to personally, they either believe that he is the messiah or that he is about to reveal the messiah.

So let me tell you a little bit about Menachem Schneerson. And then we're going to do a comparison. We're going to look at what the scriptures say. And by the way, if your perspective is that you don't believe the scriptures of God's word are inspired or speak of our day, we can deal with that afterwards.

I'm going to speak as one who believes ultimately that the scriptures speak to us today, whatever their meaning and context in ancient Israel was, that ultimately there's a meaning and relevance to us today.

But we're going to do a comparison of the claims of Lubavitcher Rebbe or what's said about him or the messiah in those circles and what the scriptures say about Yeshua. And you're going to find out why I believe what I believe.

And I want to challenge you to think through why you believe what you believe. But in any case, Menachem Schneerson was not born in Bethlehem. He was not born in Israel. He was born in the former Soviet Union.

Excuse me. Excuse me. You'll have plenty of time afterwards. Excuse me. The format is when I'm through, we'll take all questions very gladly. By the way, did I say to the Messiah was supposed to be born in Bethlehem?

Sir, this is the second time you've appeared here. You appeared here last year. You appeared here under a different name. You appeared in something else, something totally different. You appeared in a sentence.

The root of anti-Semitism is the devil. Obviously, your term for coming here... Excuse me. Excuse me. I appear here under the same name, okay? Speaking on different subjects, representing very clearly why I'm here.

Now, if you'd like to stay, you're welcome to. And if you'd like to have time afterwards to ask questions, I'd be very happy to stand today. Okay? Otherwise, if you'd like to book a separate hall, and those that would like to listen to you can do that.

Let's have a little respect, okay? Respect for what, sir? Respect for the format. That's all. This has been booked by Yale, Stan. What intrinsic need exists in respect to the right to speak, respect for the format?

Those who want to hear Mr. Browning like to say, please stay. Those who don't want to hear him like to say, if he wants to say some heckles, please leave.

I would like to clarify what he said. I would like the answer. I'd be very happy to speak to you publicly, privately, at length, under any circumstance. Simply, we booked the hall for this reason. If it was your lecture, I wouldn't speak, and when we die, I'd ask for it.

That's actually incorrect, based on my experience with your book. I will. Thank you. Who is we? Excuse me? Who is we? Who is Yale Stan? Why is Yale Stan not going to be a religious faith council, which governs all government religious councils under Yale?

And why won't Yale Stan debate this in an open format? Sir, I didn't come here to hear you speak. I came here to hear Mr. Browning. Please shut your mouth. The one thing I'd recommend... Excuse me. Who is we?

Excuse me. Who is Yale Stan? Let's debate this now. Who is the Yale Stan? Who is the Yale Stan? Why are they not going to be a religious faith council under Yale? Why do they approve your guidelines?

You know, it's extremely interesting. Why would you not argue this?

Okay, let's just have a little argument. I've dealt with religious Jews, rabbis that are friends of mine. I've dealt with people in Kabbalah. I've dealt with people of various backgrounds. But if you're going to say things which are...

Excuse me. Excuse me. You mentioned that there are not... Now is my witness of every word I say. Will you bring them here, please? It's an interesting thing. But with all these challenges that we want to bring the facts out openly in public dialogue.

It's a common charge that's been brought. Here we have an opportunity.

I'm giving you an opportunity. Here we have an opportunity. It's not a dialogue you're giving. You're giving a speech.

That's exactly right. And I'm glad we have a debate of 15 minutes on each side. That's exactly what we want. That's exactly what we want. Your objective in doing this is to convert Jews. It's not to present a Christian idea.

If you are a Jewish speaker, you should be registered to Rallel. All Jewish speakers are registered to Rallel. I'd like to challenge you. Why are you not registered to Rallel if you consider yourself a Jew and are speaking on a Jewish subject?

Why did you not register to Rallel, Dr. Brown? No, nobody registered to Rallel. All Jewish speakers on Yale campus for the interfaith religious council must be registered through Rallel. Why did you not register through Rallel, Dr. Brown?

So, in any case, back to what we were saying. As I said, Menachem Schneerson was not born in Bethlehem or in the Holy Land. He was born in what would now be called the former Soviet Union. He just turned 90 years old.

And he's the son-in-law of the former Lubavitcher Rebbe. Basically, there are several generations of Hasidic rabbis. Schneerson now stands as the last in a line of several generations of what is known as Chabad Hasidism that goes back to a rabbi named Schneer Zalman Liadi.

Menachem Schneerson's wife recently died, and he had no children. Now, one Lubavitch representative told me years ago on Queens College that the rebbe was sinless. Now, I'm not representing this as the official Lubavitch position.

Nonetheless, this individual told me that. And so that you can get an idea of the esteem with which this man is held by his followers, this individual told me that the only sin that the rebbe had ever committed was causing his mother pain and childbirth.

Now, that may be some preposterous statement for you to hear, but nonetheless, I just want you to hear that. When I spoke with Sholem Hecht and Rabbi Flint and some others many years ago at Lubavitch, the Hecht brothers, some others, they began to tell me some of the wonders of their rebbe.

Of course, he studied the Sorbonne in France, which was an unusual thing for a Hasidic leader to study at a secular institute. But he did that. Not only that, they claimed that anyone that's ever come to speak to him from anywhere in the world, he spoke in their language fluently, and many of them claimed to know various miracles, etc., that were done by his hand.

But when I first interacted with Lubavitch in 1974, there was nothing overt that was being said at that point in terms of his messiahship. What's happened, though, is that there has been a spreading fervor...

Excuse me, that is incorrect. There's nothing out of being said that was not said before. Please, be accurate. We will debate later, but please don't say blatant falsehoods from the podium. Excuse me, they're not blatant falsehoods.

They are. Right. You have your opinion. No, no, no. This is the fact. You are making a statement. I can assure you that this is not the fact. We need to look back to him. He told that finding before Moshe Lubavitch spoke.

Amazing that you spent all the time to study the Hebrew language. It's absolutely amazing that you're saying things which are not true. Please confine yourself to facts rather than debating the facts.

If there's another interruption, I will ask you to leave. Thank you. I stand by every word that I said, and I will at any time be glad to get other rabbis, even though they disagree with me theologically, hold back up what I'm saying factually.

In any case. In any case, the situation now where there's literature being put out by Lubavitch that was not being put out in the past with very bold messianic claims. And let me just read this to you.

Some verbatim quotes. It says, speaking of the Messiah, that that great Jew that is about to be revealed very quickly as the Messiah is alive and is active and working even now, even though his identity has not yet been revealed and known to everyone.

Now, it does not blatantly say, in fact, that Menachem Schneerson is the Messiah. Nonetheless, it does give the whole description of who he is, of what he'll do, saying that the Messiah will be a king, that the Messiah will be one who will bring Israel into the knowledge of Torah, that the whole world will acknowledge his messiahship.

And it also says that he will ultimately be a prophet as well. And it lists some of his prophecies on the back, prophecies concerning the Gulf War, prophecies concerning the Yom Kippur War and the Six Day War, et cetera.

In any case, what I'd like to do is honestly ask on what basis can he be looked at as a messianic pretender or as a potential candidate or as one who's about to reveal the Messiah? And what are the basic claims for the messiahship of Jesus?

Now, remember, traditional Jews believe that Jesus was a false messiah. And as I mentioned, the book by an Israeli scholar, Benjamin Hamburger, on false messiahs, he specifically says that that man, he won't call him by name, that man, Jesus, was the first of the false messiahs.

What I'd like to do is look at scripture. And I'm pleased if you're here with a different perspective. If we can act in a civil manner towards one another, you'll have your opportunity to air your side.

I would only just remind you of this one point, that if I came to your forum, and I've been in forums where I militantly disagree, I still have to respect the forum, as frustrating as it may be for you.

I know when you feel strongly about something that you want to speak up, and when you disagree about something, you want to speak up. But, again, it's a simple forum, and afterwards, if you've got something persuasive to say, you can be heard.

And if you've got something that requires its own forum, then you're welcome to have it and get people to come and hear you. So I just respectfully say that again, so that we can have something accomplished.

If people are extremely opposed to what I have to say, I would hope that they have good reason for it, that goes beyond emotion, and that they have good reason for disagreeing so vehemently. And if not, I'd encourage people to think once again.

In any case, let me just make a few points. If you have scripture and you want to write some references down, you can. But the prophet Malachi, the third chapter of his book, remember writing in the days of the second temple, possibly about 400 BCE, declared that the Lord would suddenly come to his temple.

The messenger of the covenant that Israel was waiting for would come to that temple. Haggai, the prophet, in the second chapter of his book, declared that the glory of that second temple would be greater than the glory of the first temple, and that God would establish his shalom there.

And then an interesting passage in Daniel, the ninth chapter, some translate it differently in terms of how they divide the verses and how they divide the whole chronology that's listed there. But there's an interesting passage there that speaks of everlasting atonement being made and prophetic vision being sealed in terms of the days of the second temple.

I just want to underscore something. If I make reference to a rabbinic interpretation or to a Talmudic interpretation, it's not to say that I agree with everything that the rabbis or the Talmudic scholars say.

Rather, it's to indicate that there are traditions that say these things. Again, not every Talmudic or rabbinic tradition is binding. However, it's just interesting to note a few things, and I want to point them out to you.

There is a Talmudic tradition. There is a major section on the Messiah in Tractate Sanhedrin, beginning in folio 96b, messianic speculation by the rabbis of the Talmud. And one of the traditions states that there were two thousand years of desolation, two thousand years of Torah, and then two thousand years of the messianic era.

But because of all of our sins, those days have been lost. Now, that's variously interpreted. But what is interesting is that two thousand years ago, there was a great expectation in the coming of the Messiah.

The second temple was still standing. There were prophecies that said the Lord would visit that temple, prophecies that said that the glory of that temple would be greater than the glory of the first temple.

Remember the first temple, according to the scriptures, fire came down from heaven and God manifest himself there. There was no fire that came down from heaven, no manifestation of God in the second temple.

And yet the prophets believed that—by the way, I just want to note from my viewpoint, the reason that I'm not interested in interacting with the prophets—no, I do want this forum. This is what I was invited to.

But I can assure you factually that coming from this side of the earth is not active. I'm not up here because I have a thought, a dream, an idea, but I make facts up. When it comes time for facts and information and sources and verifications, you've got anything to ask for.

In any case, it's interesting. There is the prophetic expectation of special glory in the second temple. The rabbis listed five things that the second temple didn't have. It didn't have the fire. It didn't have the shekhinah, the divine presence.

It didn't even have the tablets of the law. And yet there was an expectation and a promise that the glory there would be greater than the first temple. And there were clear prophecies in the book of Daniel that redemption would be set in before the destruction of the second temple.

Now I just want to point something out to you. There's already enough attention in the air and already enough minds made up that have no interest to hear me out, rather than just hear the argument, which is fine.

If I were in your shoes, I might have the same mindset. I just want you to understand something. There is great expectation, you can find it in the writings of the Dead Sea Scrolls as well, that the Messiah was to come almost 2 ,000 years ago.

In the days of the second temple, there was expectation that Messiah would come. Now, probably the greatest scholar in Judaism in the last 200 years was a man named the Vilna Gaon, certainly one of the greatest scholars in Judaism.

And he has an interesting commentary on some of these sections in the Talmud. And he has an interesting thing to say about the Messianic era, namely that the Messianic era actually did begin in his mind about 1 ,800 years ago, but that what happened was not the bringing in of the reign of the Messiah and peace and blessing, but rather the bringing in of apostasy.

Now, it's a complex discussion, and I make it very simple. But even the Vilna Gaon, even if you read Rashi's commentary, the foremost biblical Jewish commentator on Daniel 9, you will see that there was expectation for the coming of Messiah or the Messianic age to begin almost 2 ,000 years ago.

Now, the Talmudic tradition says because of our sins, those days were lost. I wonder, is it that the Messiah did not come and the prophecies were not true, or that the Messiah did come and because of our sins, we did not recognize him?

Now, it's interesting that we have a major Jewish leader, a tremendously gifted genius, living in this century with the eyes of many hundreds of thousands of Jews upon him. The problem is, according to the prophetic scriptures, he's over 1 ,900 years late.

I would say that that raises strong questions about his claims or the claims of his followers and points us back, not looking in this generation or another generation, but looking back 1 ,900 plus years and raising the question of all those that came that could have been the Messiah before the Second Temple was destroyed, who was the most likely candidate?

Now, not only that, the question was raised about the place of the Messiah's birth. Now, I didn't say it was Bethlehem. I just mentioned that Menachem Schneerson was not born in Bethlehem. And yet, if you will check the Targum, the Aramaic paraphrase to Micah, the fifth chapter, you will see that the Targum tells us that that verse, speaking of the birth of the king in Bethlehem, refers to the Messiah.

So there is Jewish tradition. Targum Yonatan, Micah 5 .2 in the English Bible, 5 .1 in the Hebrew Bible. In any case, there is Jewish tradition, as well as being written in the Hebrew scriptures, that the king of Israel would be born in Bethlehem.

Now, just a point. This is not the big proof to me. I'm not state basing everything on this. But again, you raise the question, who was born and who came to the temple in the glory of God and fulfilled scripture 1 ,900 years ago?

What Jew did it that could have fit the Messianic scriptures? Another question was, where was that individual born? Now, you say, you're trying to argue your point 100%. That's why I'm here, and that's what we put on the poster.

I'm coming from the perspective of the Messianic Jew. But if I didn't have a point to argue, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be spending my hours and my life seeking to open the heart of Jew and Gentile to these things.

But let's just go on. Let's just go on. It says here that one of the traits of Messiah will be that he's a prophet. And it lists some of the prophecies of Menachem Schneerson. But in case you're unaware, I just want to tell you some of Yeshua's prophecies, some of the prophecies of Jesus that have been reported, that scholars accept, go back, in fact, to him and to the first generation of his followers.

He warned that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed. He warned his people that because he was not recognized and because he was not accepted by the masses of his people, that Jerusalem would be destroyed and it would be a horrible destruction and that Jerusalem would be tread underfoot by Gentiles for an incredibly long period of time until the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled.

Excuse me. Really. If you can't sit in your closet, you must leave and we'll get a police escort to have you out. What you said is incorrect. It is factually incorrect, sir. Do you want to discuss it later or not?

I would gladly discuss it later, but I really have to tell you one more thing. Carry on. Sir? Keep quiet in front of these people. I won't speak. I won't speak. Carry on. There's no reason for you to touch anything.

You are here to exploit the ignorance and vulnerability of your people. You are not here to present any bona fide religious viewpoint whatsoever. And I will challenge you on anything you have said that I've challenged you on.

I'll give you a right to challenge me, but if you keep interrupting me, you will have no right to do that. What are you afraid of that you won't let him speak? I'm not afraid of anything except for the fact that...

I'm not human. But I'm not afraid of anything. What is he afraid of that you won't let him speak? And George, what are you so afraid of that you won't let him speak? What is he afraid of?

He's coming here. We're here to hear him.

I guarantee you, if I went into a synagogue and the rabbi was speaking, if I didn't speak, I'd wait until he was done. I'm not going to get up and give ridiculous claims that I don't represent any bona fide religious position.

Or that... Anyhow. So Jesus told us several things. He told us, by the way, 450 years before the Talmud was written down, Jesus told us that Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Romans. And it was. Jesus told us that many would come in his name saying, I'm the Messiah.

I'm the Messiah. And in fact, there would be false claimants. He said, you'll know it's me because I come in the clouds of heaven. Not only did he say that, he warned. Now, let me point out something interesting.

We have a bearded Orthodox Jewish gentleman here and a non-bearded, non-Kippaz Jewish gentleman over here. Both militantly opposed to me because of Sanctity. You know, Jesus said that was going to happen.

You know that he said that we would be put out of the synagogue for our faith? He prophesied that it would happen. By our own people, tragically enough. And of course, the natural disasters, the increase in earthquakes worldwide.

These are all things that he said would take place, that he declared in advance. Now, the most important prophetic word that has come. It may be denied by people here. That's not a major concern. It was it was published.

It was it was spoken publicly that that redemption was coming in September of 92. There was tremendous anticipation in the Lubavitch community of the Messiah being revealed or redemption coming in 1992.

Instead, you know what we had in 1992? The race riot. Now, the great and most important prophetic utterance that has come forth from the leader of Lubavitch has been patently false. And everything and everything and everything.

Right. As I said, it will be denied, but it was published. OK. Sir.

Excuse me, sir. God is not a witness. How can you speak the word of God? You do not speak the word of God. God is a one and one and only entity. How can you mix the Holy Spirit and Jesus into God? I don't understand where you have the goal to say something which is over your life.

OK. We have one testimony. Hang on. And so if you just stay here one second.

Number one. The reason you don't understand. I have answers. And if you are open to God. OK. And I have friends in Lubavitch that I've spoken with that are open-minded people and you can sit and dialogue with one another.

OK. But we do have a testimony now that Menachem Snerson, this one here, is the greatest man living on the earth today. So whatever charges there are that I'm exaggerating. I mean, number one, I'm reading from a publication that these folks have put out.

OK. And number two, you have a testimony from one of his followers that he's the greatest man living on the earth today. In any case, as a published prophecy that we verified with Lubavitch leaders, he did declare redemption coming in September of 92.

In any case, there's something interesting. You wonder why, as Jewish people, have we had the hardships and calamities come upon us over the centuries? As Jewish people, why have we suffered? You know, there was a warning.

There was a warning in the Book of Deuteronomy, and there was a warning by a Jewish follower of Jesus in the Book of Acts, that if we did not listen to God's great and last and final prophet, we would be cut off as a people.

You say, what's happened to us? Forty years after Messiah comes into the world, Jerusalem is sacked by the Romans and the temple destroyed. A hundred years later, terrible suffering. Every century since then, terrible suffering.

Why? There was a word. God's prophet came into the earth. He declared. Our leaders called on us to repent as Jews. We did not, as a people, hear and repent just as tragically we failed to do through the prophecy and scriptures throughout history.

And judgment has come on us because we did not listen to the words of God's prophet. But there's more. And I want you to just consider this. I heard an Israeli fellow speaking a moment ago. Let's take a look at something in the Hebrew scriptures.

Let's read it. Look at it in Hebrew. Let's look at the Book of Isaiah, the 42nd chapter, and then the 49th chapter. The city of Israel and the called-in area were just annihilated, wiped out. The destruction was absolutely awful.

What happened? This man gave hope to the people. We're going to throw off the yoke of Rome. He wasn't going to do anything for them spiritually. He wasn't going to bring them to God, but he was going to free them from the oppression of the Romans.

He was a great general. He almost won, but they were crushed. And really, the exile of the Jewish people from the land was greatly accelerated from that time on. Did he bring redemption? Did he bring life?

No, they followed him. They did what they knew how to do. They fought side by side. And what did it bring? Destruction. Well, many centuries later, in the 17th century in Poland, the Jewish people had a terrible uprising against them.

Some Cossacks rose up against them in the 1600s, middle of the 1600s. Terrible uprising. About 100 ,000 or more Jewish people were slaughtered. Hundreds of Jewish villages destroyed. I mean, these people were just butchered.

And again, great depression, great hopelessness. What are these sufferings for and what's it leading to? Well, there was a man named Shabbatai Tzvi who was born in 1625. And he was a manic depressive.

He was a kind of weird guy. Couldn't keep a marriage or a home together. And he would go from fits of depression to total ecstasy. And in these states of ecstasy, he would break Jewish laws. Now, sometimes you've got to be weird for people to follow you.

If you're just average, nobody follows you. You've got to be somewhat weird and out of the ordinary for people to think you're anybody. So he would have these total mood swings. And then when he would get in this exalted state, he would somehow be above the law and break it.

And he'd get expelled from different communities. He'd pronounce the name of God, which was forbidden to do, and engage in these strange acts. Well, anyhow, according to tradition, he was born on a day that the rabbi said the Messiah would be born.

And he went and consulted with this young prophet named Nathan. And Nathan had seen him in a vision that he would be the Messiah. So in 1665, in the midst of the depression and hopelessness of the Jewish people, looking for some type of redemption, he announced himself as the Messiah.

And people went wild. Now you say, what did he do for them spiritually? Did he set them free from sin? Did he bring them into a relationship with God? What was it that he did? Was he a great general like Bar Kokhba?

No. But somehow he gave them a ray of hope because they knew there had to be something more. So he proclaimed himself to be the Messiah. And leading Jews, rich Jews, educated Jews followed him in mass.

Many Jews sold all their possessions, getting ready to just go back to the Holy Land for the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom. And then the next year, he now marches into Constantinople. He's going to meet the Sultan and demand that Israel, Palestine, be turned over to him.

So the Sultan found all this pretty amusing. And finally placed him under house arrest. And there in his prison, he kind of had royal court. All the people would come and rabbis examined him. Some said he's not the Messiah.

Others would come to worship him. People changed prayer books and put his name. Where it said the Messiah instead of put his name there and thank God for his arrival. Well, finally the Sultan thought enough with these games.

He gave an ultimatum. You either convert to Islam or you die. So he converted to Islam. Now hang on. The story doesn't end there yet. Well, of course, most of his followers were dejected, hopeless. That was it.

But others of his followers found in Jewish mysticism an answer. That because this generation that he lived in was not worthy of receiving the Messiah. What happened was he had to go and bring in the last great apostasy.

You see, there is a Talmudic tradition that said the Messiah will come when the world is completely righteous or when the world is completely wicked. And if the world is worthy to receive him, he'll come in the clouds of heaven.

If it's not worthy, he'll come on the back of a donkey. What happened was that they began to teach that because the world was not worthy. That he had personally to descend into the depths and bring in kind of a last great apostasy.

So his closest followers also became Muslims. But the story doesn't end there. As recently as a generation ago and probably to this day. There are still followers of Shabbatai Tzvi called the Donmeh. They live outwardly as Muslims but secretly they still pray those prayers and believe that he was the Messiah.