There are thinkers going a step further to propose that God is in each of us. I quite like this idea. If God is spirit, it makes no sense to think of him as residing in a particular ‘place’ away from earth. It makes a lot of sense to think of God in each person’s soul, waiting to be called on.
That, in turn, transforms ideas about the afterlife. If God is in each of us, how could there be a separate space for the souls of the dead to meet Him?
I believe that the spirits of the dead, like the spirit of God, live in the souls of those who call on them, through memory or contemplation.

List of messiah claimants – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_messiah_claimants

Most Jews today talk of a Messianic Age rather than a human being who is “The Messiah.”

Here’s another book published by Jewish Lights (and it’s on sale):

http://jewishlights.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JL&Product_Code=WS-2558

There Is No Messiah…and You’re It: The Stunning Transformation of Judaism’s Most Provocative Idea, by Rabbi Robert N. Levine

A challenge to each of us to take personal responsibility for repairing the world.

“We are taught that every one of us is created in the divine image. All of us can be holy through imitating God…. So, you don’t have to look around or look away. You don’t have to wait for someone to come and do what you were put on this earth to do in the first place. Judaism empowers you, as one of God’s anointed ones, to do more than you ever dreamed possible.”
—from Chapter 1

The coming of the messiah is anticipated by millions of people of many faiths as the ultimate salve for our spiritual lives and as a way to finally make the world a better place.
There Is No Messiah…and You’re It examines the history of messianic hope and anticipation, its evolution in Judaism and Jewish history, and other interpretations of “messiah” that shed new light on what it means to usher in the “kingdom of God.” This fascinating book is our call to see ourselves as the fulfillment of, not the anticipators of, messianic change.
Drawing from the Bible, the Talmud, rabbinic sources, and modern-day scholars, Rabbi Robert Levine provides us with an accessible, fascinating understanding of messianic vision, as well as false messiahs throughout Jewish history. He challenges the powerful idea of messiah that has survived in the heart, soul, and ethos of the Jewish people, and reveals the immediacy of the messianic presence in our day—in our own lives.
Compelling and controversial, There Is No Messiah…and You’re It inspires us to embody the noblest values of Jewish tradition—prayer, study, mitzvot, and tzedakah—and embrace our own messianic potential to heal the world.

Here’s another book I haven’t read yet:

Does the Soul Survive?: A Jewish Journey to Belief in Afterlife, Past Lives & Living with Purpose, by Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz, Jewish Lights
http://www.jewishlights.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JL&Product_Code=1-58023-094-6

Thanks for the insight!