Cosmic Eschatology in Jewish Apocalypses in the Mid-periods (2)

2. Periods of the world

The history of categorizing the time into various time periods in the Old Testament dates back to the book of Daniel in which Jewish history can be symbolically divided into different periods. It was also very common in other revelations found in the mid-periods and it seems that this have been conducted to show the special place of the final period of the world, among other courses. Numbers that are used for these categories are considered sacred and are observed in other Jewish texts. Numbers 7, 10, 12 and their multiples are among these sacred numbers. Beginning and the end of each period is usually accompanied by a special event (such as temple, displacement of people and the coming of an unjust ruler).
In some revelation, the world has two great periods. The first period is today's world is infused with evil and has a temporary aspect. The second period is when the happiness and good prevail. This period begins with the coming of the Messiah and will be eternal. In the fourth Book of Ezra, age of the universe is divided into 12 periods of 95 sector s out of which only 2.5 sectors are remained. Revelation of Abraham considers12 periods at the end of which, injustice and oppression stops and then comes the period of justice and judgment.

3. Signs of the end of the world

Signs of the end of the world can be divided into two categories: human and cosmic. The first signs are those which appear in individual affairs, human society and social relationships and the other category includes the events that occur in the universe. However, the signs of the Messiah's emergence and resurrection marks in apocalyptic texts are often indistinct and are listed along with each other and with similar symptoms. Anyway, human signs of the end of the world include the following events: people are yearning for wisdom, but they cannot achieve it; they have a great fear, the truth is hidden and disbelief dominates the earth, people worship the stars; immorality reaches to the extent that boys are raped and there is a lot of harassment; much cruelty, urban destruction by fire, the destruction of nations by plague, famine and hunger will be the everyday story of people; the world is run by a widow, a state is formed to dominate the entire world, but in the end it disappears; Iranians will be caught to slavery and terror; the Euphrates overflows and destroys Babylon and Persia; Jews gather around the city of God are make a wall around themselves. Romans come over Egyptians; the children of Italy occupy many lands and yoke Carthage; the Latin men will experience wrath; the land of Rome is destroyed and people of Rome are burnout; barbarians rule over Greece and burn there; somebody unknown to many people shouts in a way that everyone can hear his voice; one-year-old babies can talk; a prophet comes to prepare the Children of Israel and softens their hearts.
Cosmic signs simultaneous with human signs and include: days become shorter; the grains will be rotten in the soil; rainfall will be low and even stops as if heaven has kept it; there will be a shortage of products of earth; crops are not grown in the proper time and trees stop giving fruits; a comet rises from the west; sun shines in the middle of the night; moon rises in the middle of the day; moon changes its pathway and is not seen at the proper time; sun shines more powerfully; most stars are deviated from their direction and are observed in the improper season; trees start bleeding and the stones start shouting; sea loses its fish; the earth cracks and salty water are mixed with fresh water; the extent of rainfall and snowfall changes, wild beasts sit with humans, thunderbolts are heard; a trumpet is blown so loudly that everybody hears it and will be frightened; springs turn dry for fear of this voice.

4. Enemies of Messiah

Such situations are created by different forces (both human and cosmic) facing Messiah, and one of the most important goals of Messiah is to inhibit or destroy these forces. Satan is the most important enemy of the Messiah which has been referred to different titles in the apocalyptic texts such as Boliar, Bolial, Masteemh and the anti-Christ.
It seems that the last title is a label to refer to those who have evil thoughts instead of a particular person, because it is also used in the plural. From the mid-periods onward many have tried to interpret the Apocalypse according to the terms of their time. Thus, the title "anti-Christ" had been used to refer to the particular historical persons (from some Roman and Greek king to Napoleon and Hitler). The remarkable thing is that in the Old Testament, Satan is not against the Yahweh, and independently of him, but he is just his opposite, but in apocalyptic literature the devil becomes an independent force. Some believe that this supposedly evil force which is independent of God is probably the result of reflections in the mid-periods and influenced by the Iranian ideas.
In any case, the enemy of Messiah at the end of world comes at the top of the mountains and on the sea, goes to the moon and the sun, gives life to the dead, and with these things deceives all people, even believers and the elect. In Revelation of Abraham, something is said about a descendant of Abraham whom is worshipped by people because Satan has deceived them to do. Two tribes of Gog and Magog are also enemies of the Messiah, and in the early days of the emergence of Messiah, there will be a tough battle breaking out between them.

5. The apocalyptic battles

Based on the texts of revelations, with the advent of the signs of the apocalypse Messiah emerges and tries to prepare conditions for the establishment of the kingdom of God. There is no mention of coming of Messiah in the apocalypses; in the Ezra revelations a man comes out of the sea and God says He has created that man by the help of whom to complete His creation and make him the king of creatures.
It is clear that the enemies of Christ and his way of trying to stop the war with him. Messiah addressed the people in a way that everyone can hear his voice. He takes his commitment to obey the Lord's command, but still people do not obey. He stands on Mount Zion and commands in consequence of which a storm of fire takes the world. This time is the time of God's fearful vengeance. A fiery power through rebellious waves reaches to the earth and burns Antichrist and his followers. Pagan idols will be destroyed, and their temples will be ruined by the huge fire. The land of Gog and Magog will be full of their blood. Messiah enlivens some wicked people, and after the penalty, kills them. Satan is chained and taken to darkness to be burned in the Day of Judgment. Following Satan’s enchainment, sin will be destroyed forever in the dark and wicked repent before Messiah. All people rush to the Mount Zion; divine law will be issued and all nations will be judged by it.

6. Future world

Messiah with those who are with him, will live 400 years. At this time God destroys Jerusalem and founds a New Jerusalem in its place. A larger and more massive temple that all nations will turn to it. It seems that this new temple will be a symbol of the establishment of the kingdom of God, because Yahweh (or his manifestation) will be present in this new world and will be its endless light. He rules there and accepts all the people. In addition to that the New Jerusalem is a reminding of the Jerusalem of David in whose temple God had put His heart and His eyes.
The chosen people and the righteous will inherit the earth and it will be up to them to wherever they want to go. The chosen people will get access to all reserves and best fruits of the earth and put them in the hands of the righteous. The earth will be full of plants and various trees where you go. Each seed will give a thousand seed. Environment will be void of impurity. All the people will tell true and all the torment and suffering is eliminated. No iron is found to be used in war. Peace spreads in the earth so much that sheep and wolves live together.
The righteous who were not Jewish or those who have repented and accepted the light of Messiah gather in Israel reach the lightness. However, due to a number of texts, the fate of the Gentiles destruction. The knowledge of the Lord as the surrounding sea water, earth, etc. All Jews are great philosophers and will know hidden things. They can achieve all the knowledge that their creator wants for them.
The sun and moon will be at the service of man. All the people of earth will be busy praising and worshipping God. All the earth will have a common law and righteousness will be their only wealth. People become rich and powerful again, the earth increases its fruits, sea will become full of blessings, and eventually (after 400 years) the judgment of God begins.

7. Resurrection

With the end of the period of Messiah, the Lord's Day arrives. This day is also known as the Day of Judgment. This concept in the Old Testament book means the day of vengeance of God of sinners and unbelievers in the world is realized. But after slavery, this sense became broader and became a major apocalyptic transformation and assumed an eschatological meaning. This means that after the death of the Messiah, creation stops and all the remaining people die. Then all the world returns to its beginning silent mode after a period of 7 days. Since then, a new era begins. God wraps the sky falling, collects them like a book and casts stars into the sea.
Sky disappears and a new heaven appears that the light is eternal and infinite. On that day, no stars, no moon and the sun, and not the morning and dinner there will be, but only God's radiant light that gives light. Water drop sky and destroy all creatures on earth. The fire is burning flows to the sea, so that all the waters of the world are turned to the fire to punish the wicked.
Mountains start moving and are scattered and crushed. Hills like a lamb that is eager to milk, bounces. Short peaks become flat, rocks become smooth and palaces will be coming down. Ground will become flat and everything on it will be destroyed. The entire world will hear a loud bang, God will burn the earth and everything on earth makes. Since then, God will shape the bones again and make people alive a second time.
By the commandment of God, the earth reveals what the it has in itself and gives back all that it had borrowed [from the human bodies]. In the same way, hell gives back what it has taken [from the souls of men]. It means that the residency of souls in hell (and heaven) will continue until the resurrection, and since then, are sent out of heaven and hell to account for their actions. In the meantime, even animals are also present with the Lord. Then God sits in the throne of judgment, hell and heaven appear and arbitration begins.

8. Arbitration

The place of God's judgment is at the Mount Sinai, and hence, all people are lead to the location to be judged. God in judgment of other people's work, including the choice (Messiah) also sits on the throne of God and the judgment of the demons and their followers in the name of God to do it. He applied the Bible to be put in the balance accounting. In the meantime, any balance will be judged. For example, even the stars which have violated the system and have not risen at the proper time are also punished. The demons and evil humans who taught prisoner and eternal torment caught. Every being is a sinner to hell and good throw again in paradise home to live in eternal life and divine grace.
Philosophy of eschatology in Jewish apocalypses
Finding the philosophy of history from the prophecies of the Old Testament revelation is far easier than finding philosophy in the context of Jewish history, because symbolic revelations and apocalypses are rooted in non-historical ideas and attempt to separate themselves and human beings from history, while prophecies are more prone to historical aspects. In the books of the prophets more talk of days or end of days in between, but the Book of Daniel to the next, the future of the world comes about. The next world, or a world on the history of the world does not imply, but above or beyond is ideal world. From the standpoint of prophecy, apocalypse within history and evolution of a historical period, but from the standpoint of Revelation, Apocalypse happens out of date and essentially immaterial and belong to another world. It seems that during the presence of Iranian thought, in strengthening meta-historical aspects of Jewish eschatology is effective and has shown this effect in the form of revelation. Researchers refer to these set of effects as Iran-orientation.
This meta-historical aspect of apocalypses is often overlooked. For example, the owners of these works have attempted to provide models for the global cycle in order to show that meta-historical reports are also a form of discipline. But others practice the same impact they have with a historical context in the review of the apocalypse. Among the many revelations that have the numbers in the date format texts and assessment based on the specific date for the Messiah are announced. It is obvious that always marked their predictions proved false, and that the view in the interpretation of symbols is very ineffective.
It is easy to infer from the content of revelation texts that eschatology is not necessarily based on knowledge of what is happening at the end of history but teleology has a meta-historical concept, too. In this sense, it includes the knowledge of things that already exist in another dimension (referred to hereafter). For example, God shows the kingdom (i.e. meta-historical aspect) to Abraham (or other revelation writers). Abraham in his apocalyptic story simultaneously sees both Adam and Eve and the end of the world. Thus, it is clear that the concept of time that is considered the foundation date, under the terms of Revelation, common sense and history itself loses. Hence, in most of mid-periods apocalypses the concept of the end (hereafter) refers to the world that is going on in parallel with the present world and is void of matter and time and (based on revelations) with fulfillment of certain conditions will obtain matter and time and will be held in this world.
Another thing that attracts attentions is the study of Revelations is their monotheistic, and God-centered nature, in a way that even the Messiah does not have a strong role in worldly affairs, and all his actions and reforms will be done under the domination of God. This supremacy is so much that a streak of fatalism can clearly be seen in the Apocalypses.
Although in every part of these texts it is acknowledged that man is possessed of freedom and choice and he creates wickedness and plagues and that they are not made by God, sometimes a reference is made to a book in which all the happenings of the world is registered and everything is enumerated in it.
Moreover, it seems that for the Jewish people, an eschatology must also be defined between the teleology of individual and cosmic eschatology. Since the end of Jewish life, is associated with the end of suffering and deliverance from sin.
The end of the world means putting an end to the sufferings and miseries of Jewish tribe and their deliverance from chastisement of God. This chastisement is for the recovery of Israel and it seems that God, who is the programmer of their history, has in mind to expel them from the first temple because of their crimes and mistakes and after an unknown time period, get them back to the starting point.
An ideal situation in which tribes of Israel were living side by side in peace and prosperity, the prophets had prophesied, government and religion was in the hands of people like David and Solomon, the temple was at the peak of power, Jerusalem was green and affluent and its enemies were humbled. Thus, one might say that the fate of the Jews in such a knowledge of the past and dreams of the Jewish people is buried. End date for them is partly based on past highs. Of course, Jerusalem has an important role here. It has long been characterized in Jewish texts and have described it as a daughter of God, her husband. There has always been a kind of identification between Jerusalem and the Jewish people and they have considered it as a universal symbol of suffering and the suffering of Jerusalem had been in fact the sufferings of Jews.
The last point is that some researchers have avoided historical attitudes, so as to strive for providing psychological and spiritual interpretations of the texts of revelations. For example, as to the city of Jerusalem they believe that this city was ruined because of corruption and oppression of the Jewish people, but the true Jerusalem is the city of God and will be established in the souls of people. Over time, the corruption that occurs in the human and individual realm creates corruption in the cosmic realm. At the peak of human and cosmic corruption, Messiah appears and realizes the spiritual Jerusalem on the earth and the outside world. However, until the advent of the Messiah, the true Jerusalem will not be available in the outside world, rather it possess a spiritual aspect.