"All the Way with MBJ!"

Who is who among the Coming Messiahs?

Contents:
1. More than one future Savior.
2. The Terms MBD and MBJ.
3. Maimonides on MBD versa Others on MBJ, no Real Contradiction.
4. Maimonides. The Sources.
(a) Messiah and the Temple.
(b) Tribal Identification.
5. MBJ and the Temple. Dan will assist him.
6. MBJ and Informing Individual Hebrews of their Tribal Lineage.
7. MBJ as Future Leader of  the 10 Tribes.
8. Related Sources.
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1. More than one future Savior.

Different Biblical Prophecies indicate that in the End Times there will be more than one Savior,
e.g.
Obadiah (NKJV) 1:
21 Then Saviors shall come to Mount Zion
To judge the mountains of Esau,
And the kingdom shall be the LORD's.

It mentions "Saviors" in the Plural.
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2. The Terms MBD and MBJ.
The main Savior and the Ultimate Ruler first of Israel and Judah then of mankind will be the Messiah son of David (MBD).
Among they who will precede and help the MBD is Messiah son of Joseph (MBJ).

Where do these terms "MBD" and "MBJ" come from?
The Messiah son of David in Hebrew is known as Mashiah ben David (MBD).
The Messiah son of Joseph is known in Hebrew as Mashiah ben Yosef (MBJ).
"MBJ" is a conflation of both the English and Hebrew versions.
It suits the slogan:
"All the Way with MBJ!"
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3. Maimonides on MBD versa Others on MBJ, no Real Contradiction.
Maimonides (RAMBAM 1138-1204), expresses the conventionally accepted opinion that the MBD will rebuild the Temple and enable each of the Hebrews know what Tribe they belong to.
These two events are connected. Other sources attribute them to MBJ. This apparent contradiction is reconcilable. Maimonides when he refers to MBD intended a real person descended from King David.
Nevertheless, he would have ACCEPTED activities associated with MBD to have been initiated and even completed by forces preceding him, preparing the way for him, and acting on his behalf. 

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/101747/jewish/Mashiach-ben-Yossef.htm
# Mashiach ben Yossef (Mashiach the descendant of Joseph) of the tribe of Ephraim (son of Joseph), is also referred to as Mashiach ben Ephrayim, Mashiach the descendant of Ephraim.2 He will come first, before the final redeemer, and later will serve as his viceroy.3
The essential task of Mashiach ben Yossef is to act as precursor to Mashiach ben David: he will prepare the world for the coming of the final redeemer. Different sources attribute to him different functions, some even charging him with tasks traditionally associated with Mashiach ben David (such as the ingathering of the exiles, the rebuilding of the Bet Hamikdash, and so forth).4 #

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4. Maimonides. The Sources.

(a) Messiah and the Temple.
Laws of  Kings and their Wars (Melachim uMilchamot) - Chapter 11
By Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon ("Maimonides"  1138-1204),  translated by Eliyahu Touger

Chapter 11:
1 In the future, the Messianic king will arise and renew the Davidic dynasty, restoring it to its initial sovereignty. He will build the Temple and gather the dispersed of Israel.
Then, in his days, the observance of all the statutes will return to their previous state. We will offer sacrifices, observe the Sabbatical and Jubilee years according to all their particulars as described by the Torah.

Anyone who does not believe in him or does not await his coming, denies not only the statements of the other prophets, but those of the Torah and Moses, our teacher. The Torah testified to his coming, as Deuteronomy 30:3-5 states:
God will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you. He will again gather you from among the nations... Even if your Diaspora is at the ends of the heavens, God will gather you up from there... and bring you to the land....
These explicit words of the Torah include all the statements made by all the prophets.

Reference to Mashiach is also made in the portion of Bilaam who prophesies about two anointed kings: the first anointed king, David, who saved Israel from her oppressors; and the final anointed king who will arise from his descendants and save Israel in the end of days.
 That passage Numbers 24:17-18 relates:

"I see it, but not now" - This refers to David;

"I perceive it, but not in the near future;" - This refers to the Messianic king;

"A star shall go forth from Jacob" - This refers to David;

"and a staff shall arise in Israel" - This refers to the Messianic king;

"crushing all of Moab's princes" - This refers to David as II Samuel 8:2 relates: "He smote Moab and measured them with a line;"

"decimating all of Seth's descendants" - This refers to the Messianic king about whom Zechariah 9:10 prophesies: "He will rule from sea to sea."

"Edom will be demolished" - This refers to David as II Samuel 8:6 states "Edom became the servants of David;"

"Seir will be destroyed" - this refers to the Messianic king as Ovadiah 1:21 prophesies: "Saviors will ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau...."

(b) Tribal Identification.
Chapter 12:
3. During the era of the Messianic king, once his kingdom has been established and all of Israel has gathered around him, the entire nation's line of descent will be established on the basis of his words and the prophetic spirit which will rest upon him, as Malachi 3:3 states: "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier."

He will purify the lineage of the Levites first, stating "He is a priest of defined lineage. He is a Levite of defined lineage." Those whose lineage he will not recognize will be lowered to the status of Israelites. This is implied by Ezra 2:63: "The governor said to them: 'They should not eat of the most holy things until a priest arises who will wear the urim vitumim.'" From this verse, you can infer that the prophetic spirit will be used to define and notify the pedigree of lineage.

When he defines the lineage of the Israelites, he will make known their tribal lineage alone, stating: "He is from this tribe and he is from another tribe." He will not, by contrast, state concerning a person who is presumed to be of unblemished lineage: "He is illegitimate or he is of slave lineage." For the law is once a family has become intermingled with the entire Jewish people, they may remain intermingled.

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5. MBJ and the Temple. Dan will assist him.
We saw in 4 (b) above that Maimonides says MBD will build the Temple. Others say it will be MBJ.

MBJ is described as building the temple in  the Midrash "Aggadat ha-Mashiah" which is part of the larger compilation, "Lekah Tov," 1000s CE.

Rabbi Tsadok HaCohen.
Rabbi Tsadok HaCohen MeLublin, also known as Rabbi Zadok ha-Kohen Rabinowitz  (1823 -  1900), was a significant Jewish thinker and Hasidic leader.
[Chanuccha 24; Quotes from the Zohar part 3, 194;b,]
MBJ will rule with the aid of the Tribe of Dan. MBJ will build the Temple and be assisted by the Tribe of Dan just as Dan was a partner in building the Tabernacle (Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, Exodus 35:30-34), and the Temple of Solomon (1-Kings 7:13-14, 2-Chronicles 2:13-14).

'Kol HaTor'  [150] also says that MESSIAH SON OF JOSEPH will be assisted by the Prince of Dan.

References from Chabad that MBJ will Rebuild the Temple
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/101747/jewish/Mashiach-ben-Yossef.htm

That MBJ will rebuild the Temple:
See Pirkei Heichalot Rabaty, ch. 39; Sefer Zerubavel; Midrash Agadat Mashiach (most of which is quoted in Lekach Tov, Balak, on Numbers 24:17ff.); and cf. Rashi on Sukah 52b, s.v. charashim. See also Ramban, Commentary on Song 8:13.

MBJ rebuilding the Temple also invovles him at least beginning the process of informing first Levi, then the rest of Israel, what specific Tribes they each belong to, as explained below.
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6. MBJ and Informing Individual Hebrews of their Tribal Lineage.
We saw in 4 (b) above that Maimonides says MBD will let every Israelite know what Tribe they belong to. Others say this will be MBJ. This may be reconciled by saying that MBJ will begin the process and MBD complete it. All say it will begin with the Tribe of Levi and then continue onto the other Tribes.
In fact if we accept (5. MBJ and the Temple) that MBJ builds the Temple before the coming of MBD we must also accept that he begins ascribing Tribal Lineage to the Tribe of Levi and then to other Tribes. For the Temple Service to be re-instituted we need certified Cohens  (Priests) from the Tribe of Levi and also ordinary Levites from the Tribe of Levi. Today we have families among the Jews with traditions that they are hereditary Cohens and Levite. This however may not be enough and some other affirmation regarding their Family Tribal Status be required.

Pirkei Heichalos 39:1 writes:
# Forty years before the Davidic Messiah....Mashiach ben Yosef will come and stand in Jerusalem and all Israel will gather around him, each man with his family, and the Family of Israel will bring sacrifices  which will be pleasant to God, and all Israel will be identified by their correct families. #
Source: Rabbi Moshe Eisemann, "Yechezkel / Ezekiel," NY, 1988, p. 578.

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7. MBJ as Future Leader of  the 10 Tribes.
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Manasseh ben Israel, 'Hope of Israel' (ca. 1650),
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/mbjtoday/mbjprince.html
SECT. 26.
# That at that time the Ten Tribes shall come to Jerusalem under a leading of a Prince.
whom some Rabbins in the Talmud, and in some places of the Chaldy [Aramaic] Paraphrase, do call the Messiah son of Joseph; and elsewhere the Messiah son of Ephraim; 
Observe that sometimes they call the Messiah "son of  Ephraim," sometimes "Son of Joseph"; for he shall come out of the Tribe of Ephraim, and shall be the Captain of all the Ten Tribes, who gave their name to Ephraim, because their first King Jeroboam was of that Tribe. Not without cause do they call him the "Son of Joseph," for he was the true type of the House of Israel, in his imprisonment and future happiness. Add to this that he was so long hidden from his brethren, that they did not know him as in like manner the  Ten Tribes are at this day, who are led captive but hereafter shall attain the highest felicity, in the same manner as Joseph did. 

Manasseh ben Israel (1604 -  1657),
Manasseh believed the Ten Tribes were in 8 different places. America was one of them. ... He believed the Lost Ten Tribes to be in America. He quoted Biblical Passage that in his opinion proved it. Most of the quotations refer to the return of the Lost Ten Tribes in the End Times.
These to our mind are valid sources helping to prove the case. We too believe the Lost Ten Tribes to be in America.
The differences are that we understand the LTTs (Lost Ten Tribes) to be in North America. MBI (Manasseh ben Israel) believed they were in the south. We say the North. MBI said they were Amerindians, or part of them. We say they are mostly amongst the European-descended populace whose ancestors were on the whole not in America at the time of Manasseh! MBI however quoted Biblical verses to support his claim that the Ten Times were in the region of America and on that point he was close to being correct!

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The Malbim (Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Jehiel Michel Weiser, 1809-1879):

# Our Sacred Sages had a tradition that in the beginning [of the End Times] there would arise a Messiah [i.e. Anointed Saviour] from the House of Joseph who will reign over the Ten Tribes. He will wage wars and all of Israel will be gathered together under his banner. [This will continue] until later on, a descendant of David will appear and he will reign over them....
# A transformation will take place. The Ten Tribes and the stick of Joseph will draw themselves closer unto the stick of Judah, and this too, will be through the agency of a Prophet and by miracles. #
Source: "Malbim" on Ezekiel 37:15.

MALBIM on Micah 5:1: ".....It has already been clarified in Ezekiel 37, that in the End Time, the Ten Tribes will be the first to arouse themselves and over them will reign the Messiah [i.e. Anointed Saviour] Descendant of Joseph and they will accomplish great things.        
"The Tribe of Judah who are scattered amongst the nations [and are] weakly and few will attach themselves [unto the Ten Tribes]. They [i.e. the Tribe of Judah, the Jews] will be of secondary importance [at first] in the kingdom of the Anointed Descendant of Joseph. [This will continue] until later there will arise the Anointed Descendant of David in the Might of The LORD. At that time they will all [both Joseph and Judah] accept upon themselves the Kingship of the House of David. Then wars will cease for the Gentiles will request [guidance from] him [i.e. from the Messiah]...        

          "He [the Prophet Micah] wants to describe the situation that will exist as long as the general ingathering will not be completed and all of the Exiled of Judah will still not be gathered together in the Land of Israel: Then, all that time, the House of Israel [meaning the Ten Tribes and the Anointed Descendant of Joseph who belongs to them] will be the principal party. They will be the warriors and the rulers. The House of Judah will be secondary [in importance] unto them. This was explained in Ezekiel [37;19]
"BEHOLD , I WILL TAKE THE STICK OF JOSEPH AND I WILL PUT  UPON  HIM THE STICK OF JUDAH", i.e. the Malbim understands the verse to say that the stick of Judah will be put on the stick of Joseph. The Malbim understands this to mean that Judah will be secondary to Joseph.         

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Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_ben_Joseph
Throughout the Hebrew bible Ephraim is often used to refer collectively to the northern kingdom. Ephraim was the leading tribe in the north. It has been claimed that Messiah ben Joseph does not represent the leader of the Ten Lost Tribes and that he is never presented as such.[43] Rather he is presented as the leader of all of Israel. However some later Jewish sources do explicitly call the Messiah ben Joseph the leader of the Ten Lost Tribes.

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8. Related Sources.

S.R. Hirsch (1808-1888) on Genesis 48:19 says:
# The descendants of Ephraim will complement the Tribes of Israel. They shall be their weapons of war towards outsiders... His descendants will supplement what is lacking in the external affairs of the other Tribes. The dreaded awe of Ephraim shall be on the other nations. The Ephraimites shall intensify the power of the Tribes and be their Force of Arms against foreigners... #
# The Kingdom of Ephraim was similar in its characteristics to a non-Jewish polity. .. #

Genesis 49:26
# The House of Joseph and the House of Judah, according to the Prophets, encompass all the Israelite People...
# We have a tradition that in the Last days there shall arise an heir to the House of Joseph to prepare the ground for a chosen scion from the House of Judah :
# The Messiah son of Joseph and the Messiah son of David... The relationship between the two is not clear...
# Nevertheless, there is certainly reason for the emphasis of Jacob that Future hope and Blessings would converge on Joseph, no less than on Judah.

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Rabbi Moshe David Valley (also spelt "Vali") d. 1777:
# It is a known matter that Israel [i.e. Ephraim, the northern Ten Tribes] did not descend into the Realms of Pollution other than for the Need to Clarify his Destiny. He needed to fulfill the will of God and reform the world through redirecting its forces. When this is done they shall return to their Source. There will be no need to remain in that situation any more. This is the meaning of, "Ephraim shall say, 'What have I to do anymore with idols?'" (Hosea 14:8).

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Messiah ben Joseph
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_ben_Joseph
Jewish tradition alludes to four messianic figures, called the Four Craftsmen, from a vision found in Book of Zechariah (Zechariah Hebrew text 2:1-4; traditional English texts 1:18-21). The four craftsmen are discussed in Babylonian Talmud Suk. 52b. Rav Hana bar Bizna, attributed to Rav Simeon Hasida, identifies these four craftsmen as Messiah ben David, Messiah ben Joseph, Elijah, and the Righteous Priest. Each will be involved in ushering in the Messianic age. They are mentioned in the Talmud and the Book of Zechariah.

The MBJ is often referred to as Prince of War or a something similar.
Midrash Tanhuma: The War Messiah is  a descendant of Joseph.

Midrash Breishit Rabbah In 75:6 the blessing on Joseph from Deuteronomy 33:17 is applied to the War Messiah later in 99:2 we are told that the War Messiah will be a descendant of Joseph.[10]: 85

Rabbi Kook:
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/conduct.html
"It is due to this relative advantage (of Joseph having been assimilated to the ways of the Nations) that Esau can only be defeated by the Children of Rachel (Joseph and Benjamin) (Midrash Breishit Rabah 73;7). This is as the saying goes, 'The axe that chops down the tree itself has a wooden handle' (Talmud, Sanhedrin 39;b). " Rabbi Avraham HaCohen Kook (1865-1935).

For a list of Brit-Am Articles on MBJ see:
Messiah son of Joseph 
Two Messiahs will Appear!
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/mbjtoday.html