Messianic Time
“The present, which, as a model of Messianic time, comprises the entire history of mankind in an enormous abridgement.” — Walter Benjamin, Theses on the Philosophy of History
Definition
Messianic Time is Walter Benjamin’s alternative to what he calls “homogeneous, empty time” — the abstract, quantitative time of clocks and calendars that treats each moment as equivalent and interchangeable. In contrast, messianic time recognizes each present moment as potentially charged with revolutionary significance.
Against Homogeneous, Empty Time
Benjamin critiques the conception of time that underlies both bourgeois historicism and vulgar Marxism:
- Homogeneous: All moments are qualitatively identical
- Empty: Time is a container to be filled with events
- Progressive: History moves inevitably toward improvement
This conception supports the ideology of progress that Benjamin sees as catastrophic, masking the continuous accumulation of disaster.
Characteristics of Messianic Time
- Qualitative Intensity: Each moment has unique potential, not reducible to quantity
- Revolutionary Rupture: The present can “blast open” the continuum of history
- Redemptive Possibility: The past can be rescued, redeemed, made meaningful
- Constellation Formation: Past and present align in flashes of recognition
The Weak Messianic Power
“There is a secret agreement between past generations and the present one. Our coming was expected on earth. Like every generation that preceded us, we have been endowed with a weak Messianic power.”
Benjamin argues that we inherit a responsibility to redeem the past — not through divine intervention but through revolutionary action in the present. This “weak” messianic power is ours to exercise or squander.
Jetztzeit (Now-Time)
The concept of Jetztzeit (now-time) is closely related: it names the present moment when it becomes charged with messianic possibility. In Jetztzeit, the present is not merely a transition point between past and future but a moment of potential transformation.
Practical Applications
Messianic time has implications for:
- Historical Materialism: Reading history “against the grain” to recover suppressed possibilities
- Revolutionary Praxis: Recognizing the present as the moment for action
- Temporal Practice: Calendrical systems (like Mondeszetteln) that honor qualitative time
- Solidarity: Connecting present struggles to past and future liberation movements
Connection to Liberation
In the context of liberation struggles, messianic time offers:
- An alternative to narratives of inevitable progress
- Recognition that the oppressed have always lived in a “state of emergency”
- The possibility of redemption through solidarity with past martyrs
- A framework for understanding how resistance creates its own temporality
Related Concepts
- Jetztzeit — Now-time as revolutionary potential
- Monad — Crystallized fragments of messianic time
- The Moment — Temporal consciousness and action
- Being and Becoming — Dialectical temporality
Further Reading
- On the Concept of History — Benjamin’s theses
- Temporal Weaving Thread — Living dossier on time consciousness
- Palestinian Solidarity — Messianic time in liberation struggle
“The tradition of the oppressed teaches us that the ‘state of emergency’ in which we live is not the exception but the rule. We must attain to a conception of history that is in keeping with this insight.” — Walter Benjamin