In Hilchot Melachim, Rambam lists Yeshua’s “death” as a disqualifying factor. However his “death”is not a terminal criteria, since he is still alive. This was only a deduction of Rambam’s, which can be proved by the following. 1) Rambam essentially did not believe in supernatural (non-natural) means, so resurrection is not a likely scenario. This viewpoint of his is an area of dispute, not part of the universal core of the 13 ikkarim but just a part of his individual position. 2) It is obvious that Rambam based himself on the example of R. Akiva, since Bar Kochva’s death there is also operative in R. Akiva’s reversal of opinion. There is also no direct Talmudic source that states this rule. Therefore, he must have drawn a generally good conclusion from the account, but this does not make for a universal law.
