Messiahs of history and faith

REMNANT OF GIANTS: Can we distinguish the Christ of Faith from the Man of History? (Deane Galbraith). Indeed. PaleoJudaica has many past posts on Rebbe Menaḥem Mendel Schneerson, some of which are relevant to Deane's post. Start here and follow the links. See this one in particular. And I have some similar reflections about Shabbetai Zvi, the seventeenth-century mystical messiah of sin, here.