[Desdemona]

There is nothing in the Hebrew scriptures which prophecies a second coming of the messiah.

I think this is a New Testament idea. I'll have to look it up for sure.

The primary ones are: world peace, ingathering of Israel, the building of the third temple, and universal knowledge of God. None of these was fulfilled within the lifetime of Jesus, which is why they were either spiritualized or put off for some future 'second coming'.

Hmmm...well, does the Jewish teaching take into consideration (I know a lot of the traditions, but not necessarily teachings) that God gives us what we need, not necessarily what we want or what we're looking for? That His will and Kingdom may not be what we expect?

[malakhi]

Hmmm...well, does the Jewish teaching take into consideration (I know a lot of the traditions, but not necessarily teachings) that God gives us what we need, not necessarily what we want or what we're looking for?

I don't see the relevence of the question. If (for example) scripture prophecies that the temple will be rebuilt, and provided a very detailed, physical description of how it will appear, on what basis would we assume that this refers to something spiritual? Is a spiritual reading of Ezekiel 40-48 really the most straightforward one?