“Now concerning the signs: behold, the days are coming when those who dwell on earth shall be seized with great terror, and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith.
[2] And unrighteousness shall be increased beyond what you yourself see, and beyond what you heard of formerly.
[3] And the land which you now see ruling shall be waste and untrodden, and men shall see it desolate.
[4] But if the Most High grants that you live, you shall see it thrown into confusion after the third period; and the sun shall suddenly shine forth at night, and the moon during the day.
[5] Blood shall drip from wood, and the stone shall utter its voice; the peoples shall be troubled, and the stars shall fall.
[6] And one shall reign whom those who dwell on earth do not expect, and the birds shall fly away together;
[7] and the sea of Sodom shall cast up fish; and one whom the many do not know shall make his voice heard by night, and all shall hear his voice.
[8] There shall be chaos also in many places, and fire shall often break out, and the wild beasts shall roam beyond their haunts, and menstruous women shall bring forth monsters.
[9] And salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends shall conquer one another; then shall reason hide itself, and wisdom shall withdraw into its chamber,
[10] and it shall be sought by many but shall not be found, and unrighteousness and unrestraint shall increase on earth.
[11] And one country shall ask its neighbor, `Has righteousness, or any one who does right, passed through you?’ And it will answer, `No.’
[12] And at that time men shall hope but not obtain; they shall labor but their ways shall not prosper.
[13] These are the signs which I am permitted to tell you, and if you pray again, and weep as you do now, and fast for seven days, you shall hear yet greater things than these.”
[14] Then I awoke, and my body shuddered violently, and my soul was so troubled that it fainted.
The book of 4 Ezra is also known to us as chapters 3 – 14 of 2 Esdras. 2 Esdras is an apocryphal book which appears in the Vulgate and in some other early European versions of the Bible. Chapters 1-2 and chapters 15-16 of 2 Esdras are later Christian additions, and are usually referred to as Fifth and Sixth Ezra respectively.
2 Esdras is a reinterpretation of a Jewish document concerning the Son of Man – also mentioned in Daniel 7 – also called the Messiah. The Apocalypse of Ezra is a gloomy and visionary work. The Messiah will be the instrument of salvation. The “Man from the Sea”, the preexistent Messiah, will use the weapon of fire to destroy enemies and bring the tribes of Israel back to a messianic kingdom of peace. But the new Jerusalem will not be on earth – it will be in heaven. So while this text has a lot of doom and gloom, it ultimately speaks of the restoration of G-d’s people in G-d’s kingdom.
While 2 Esdras and the Apocalypse of Ezra tell us that the new Jerusalem will be in heaven, the book of Revelation reminds us that the new Jerusalem will be here on earth. One book in canonical, one is not. But both give us something to consider when we look to the after-life – and what we should be doing now to help bring about G-d’s kingdom.
Lutheran Schreff 