The Sabbatean Prophets

Opponents and Observers Respond 157
rarius suggests the route by which some of these same Jews could have arrived
in America, thus bridging the gap and bringing these lost Jews into the
picture as well. Another group of the Tribes had been living in northern
Asia, but he suggests that many of these may also have made their way,
or been miraculously delivered, to America. Their route, he says, follows
the itinerary of Menasseh ben Israel (who had been a personal friend of
Serrarius). He appears at this point to be confusing Menasseh with Menasseh’s
informant, Antonio de Montezinos, though this too would present certain
difficulties in the geography. In any case, Serrarius had imagined a complete,
concrete scenario into which the new discoveries in Asia and Africa
and the tribal legends of Menasseh ben Israel came together to explain the
latest reports.
The next question Serrarius addresses is much stickier. The author has
asked him what the role of these armies of Jews can be in the process of the
Second Coming, if they are conquering their enemies, performing miracles,
and heading for Jerusalem in apparent fulfillment of Jewish rather than
Christian messianic expectations. In response Serrarius presents a two-stage
scheme for the religious evolution of the Lost Tribes: from idolatry to proper
Judaism (which they have recently accomplished), and soon thereafter,
from proper Judaism to Christianity. The only way to make sense of this
seemingly idiosyncratic viewpoint is by looking at the previous two decades
of Serrarius’ millenarian activities involving the Jews.
Serrarius worked with a group of highly influential fellow millenarians,
including Jan Amos Comenius, Samuel Hartlib, Adam Boreel, and John
Dury, on a program intended to bring Jews and Christians together in a
peaceful, highly active attempt to initiate the messianic age. Menasseh ben
Israel, Judah Leon Templo, and the Abendana brothers were recruited from
the Jewish side, and two main projects were planned. One was a translation
of the Mishnah (the essence of the Oral Law) into European languages, and
the other was the institution of a college of Jewish studies in which Jews
and Christians could study Judaism together for mutual gain. Serrarius and
his friends were clear about their objectives in all this. They wanted to make
Christianity less offensive to Jews, to lead Christians to understand Judaism,
and (most important for our purposes) to bring Jews to understand their
own Judaism properly, upon which they would be able to see that Christianity
fulfills Judaism rather than conflicts with it. 94
Why did Serrarius and his group think Jews needed education in their
own religion And if they did, why did the millenarians not focus on the Bi-