The Redeemer

A redeemer is a person who redeems, meaning someone who repays, recovers, saves, or exchanges something for something else. In Christianity, the term is used to refer to Jesus Christ, especially when capitalized as Redeemer.

Redeem is usually used in the context of financial transactions, such as redeeming (paying off) a mortgage or redeeming a coupon. Christians call Jesus the Redeemer because he is said to have brought redemption from sin, and freedom from captivity.

The New Testament speaks of Christ as the one Savior for all people. The First Epistle of John says that Jesus is "the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the world" (1 John 2:2).

The English word redemption means "repurchase" or "buy back", and in the Old Testament referred to the ransom of slaves (Exodus 21:8).

The concept of the redeemer is used in the Book of Ruth to refer to the kinsman-redeemer, and in the Book of Isaiah to refer to God, the "Redeemer of Israel". In (Job 19:25), Job makes the statement, "I know that my Redeemer liveth."

Unlike the Old Testament, where various human beings could be called "savior" (e.g., Judges 3: 9, 15, and 31), the New Testament gives the title "Savior" only to God (eight times) and to Christ (sixteen times).

Aside from a mutual belief in the Old Testament, Judaism and Rastafari closely align in essence, tradition, and heritage, as both are Abrahamic religions. Both follow more or less of the same principles, ideals, values and ethics as each other. However, Rastafari don't practice all the laws in the Old Testament but rather pick and choose which laws to obey.

A primary comparison to make between Rastafari and Judaism is that both religions believe that there will be a coming of the Messiah, although they don't agree on who that Messiah is or will be. In the Jewish religion "The Messiah will indeed be a king from the house of David who will gather the scattered of Israel together, but the order of the world will not be radically changed by his coming."

This is in contrast to Nyabinghi and Bobo Ashanti belief, in which they believe Jesus, in the form of Halie Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930-1947, was their Messiah; and the Twelve Tribes of Israel, who believe that Selassie was simply a messenger of Jah and Jesus Himself is the Messiah (or Messiyah). Many Rastafari believe Haile Selassie's lineage can be traced back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and is thus known as the Solomonic dynasty. The perspective on the coming of the Messiah in Judaism are akin to that of Rastafari in that, "The Messiah will indeed be a King from the house of David who will gather the scattered of Israel together, but the order of the world will not be radically changed by his coming." In addition to the belief that all Jewish People across the globe will become docile to the teachings of the Torah, is the prophecy of world peace and order.

The root of the Rastafari Messianic belief came from Marcus Garvey's prophecy in which he states "Look to Africa where a black King shall be crowned, he shall be the Redeemer." The rise of Halie Selassie's reign came promptly after Marcus Garvey's remarks, validating his prophecy and granting Selassie with the divine title of "God of the Black race".

The Mahdi (meaning "the guided one") is an eschatological redeemer of Islam who, according to some Islamic traditions, will appear and rule for five, seven, nine, or nineteen years (according to differing interpretations) before the ‘Day of Judgment’ (yawm al-qiyamah, "the Day of Resurrection") and rid the world of Evil.

There is no direct reference to the Mahdi in the Holy Quran, only in the Hadith (the reports and traditions of Prophet Muhammad's teachings collected after his death). Although the concept of a Mahdi is not an essential doctrine in Sunni Islam, it is popular among both Sunni and Shia Muslims. Both agree that he will rule over Muslims and establish justice; however, they differ extensively on his attributes and status.

Throughout history, various individuals have claimed to be or were proclaimed to be the Mahdi. It has also been suggested that the concept of the Mahdi may have been derived from messianic Judeo-Christian beliefs in the Redeemer…

Food for thought!