For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea.” Every Jewish messianic hope is crowned with that vision. At the time of Jesus, it was often expressed in the literature of the people. Be the Messiah whoever he be—all man or half angel—be his origin earthly or celestial—be his kingdom natural or supernatural, one thing was inseparable from the very idea of the Messiah, namely, that his coming and his reign were to mark the beginning of a period of human perfection