Is he the second coming of Christ or just a con man with an impressive social media following? It's the question at the forefront of the new Netflix series Messiah , streaming now, about a mysterious holy man in present-day Syria who appears to be able to perform miracles. The Jesus-like figure, played by Mehdi Dehbi, says he was sent to Earth by his father on a special mission. But, it's unclear whether what this man known as al-Masih says is scripture or just a bunch of lies. The same question should be asked of Messiah: is it based in any real religious texts?