Eschatology of the Three Abrahamic Religions

By Richard Sadig

What does eschatology mean?

• Greek: Eschatos (End) Logos (Study of,word)

• The study of End Times.

• More accurately, the End of an Era. All Three Faiths don’t believe the World will end, but that an existing status quos will end.

Judaism

• - Currently the Jews are in exile• -Currently the Jews believe they don’t have

peaceful occupation of “their” land (Israel/Palestine)

• Currently the Jews are without King, High Priest or Leader

• Currently they are “persecuted” by Gentiles (non Jews)

HaTikvah (the “hope”), The Day of the Lord

• A Leader will be sent by God. He will be a king, a priest, a saviour, and will deliver Israel from their Enemies (persecutors and Gentiles)

• He will destroy their enemies• He will establish his Throne in Jerusalem (Zion)• He rule his People, he will establish Peace and

restore to them their land.• “From the Nile to the Euphrates”

Third Temple will be rebuilt

Current Spot of the 3rd Temple

A land flowing with Milk and Honey

• God will resurrect the Righteous Dead to dwell in the New Jerusalem

• God will resurrect the Wicked Dead for condemnation

• God will restore nature to its original design (“back to the Garden of Eden”)

Valley of the dry bones Vision

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iwJipNhftM

Who is this deliverer?

-Yahweh said he will anoint someone for this task (Moschiach = “anointed one” = Messiah)-This messiah is very mysterious, they don’t know whether he will be a postman, a holy man, a king or a pauper.-The Messiah will lead Israel against its enemies (a conqueror)- He is said to be Wiser than Solomon, A Greater Prophet than Moses and A King from the Line of King David and through the Lineage of Isaac/Jacob

Daniel 9 - Son of Man (bar Adam/Enosh)

• “I was watching in the night visions,And behold, One like the Son of Man,Coming with the clouds of heaven!He came to the Ancient of Days,And they brought Him near before Him.14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.His dominion is an everlasting dominion,Which shall not pass away,And His kingdom the oneWhich shall not be destroyed.

• He will come Riding on a Donkey: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an donkey, and upon a colt the foal of an donkey. (Zech 9)

• He will be a light to Gentiles (Isaiah)

• He will be born in Bethlehem(Micah)

He will be cut off and die

• For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. (Isaiah 53:8)

• He will suffer (Isaiah 53)• He will be a Shepherd, rejected by his own

Sheep (Zech 11)

Jews are in a state of confusion

• How can the Messiah come both from the clouds of Heaven and riding humbly on a colt?

• How can the Messiah be both rejected and crowned as a King?

• How can the Messiah both die, yet his reign is eternal?

• Answer: there Must be two Messiah’s, A Messiah Ben Yosef (Joseph) and a Messiah ben David, contingent on Israel’s behaviour (Sabbaths)

Previous people thought to be Messiahs

Simon Bar Kokha 135 CE

King Cyrus the Great 6th century BCE

Rabbi Lubavitcher (1994)

False Messiahs have littered our history

But why didn’t they fulfil that role?

• Messiah is to regather the Jews (permanently)• Messiah is to cause Universal Peace (Jews and

Non Jews). No more wars. • 3rd Temple wasn’t rebuilt • Yahweh (YHWH) never dwelt with his people

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZW-NKGXFGg 5.30 – 7.32

Jews still waiting for Messiah

THE CONGREGATION STANDS IN AWE

HE REVEALS THE SECRETS OF THE TORAH

AND FROM SLEEP I SUDDENLY AWOKE DON’T WORRY JEWS IT WILL SOON NO LONGER BE A DREAM

- BARELY A MINUTE LEFT AND WE WILL RECEIVE AND WELCOME THE MOSHIACH DRUNK WITH HAPPINESS WITH BEING WELL AND HEALTHY WE WILL ALL BE GOING HOME

BACK TO SCHOOL WILL WE GO WITH MOSES HIMSELF AMEN AND AMEN

A NICE DREAM DID I SEE

- IN THE THIRD TEMPLE THERE I WAS

PRIESTS WERE OFFERING SACRIFICES

LEVITES WERE SINGING A SONG OF ASCENTS

- MOSES OUR TEACHER IS LEARNING WITH THE PATRIARCHS

THE SANHEDRIN SITS AND HEARS [IN SESSION] A RABBINIC COURT CASE

AARON IS LIGHTING THE MENORAH [TEMPLE CANDLEABRA]

AND FURTHER I SEE A WONDERFUL FACE

- HIS FACE SHINES WITH A WONDEROUS LIGHT

AND ON HIS HEAD A GOLDEN CROWN

I KNOW OF HIM ALREADY

THIS IS THE KING MOSHIACH HIMSELF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB2T7Tf6Pps 4.22 -

Eschatology matters!

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFr4C2BPLeM

Battle of Megiddo (Armageddon)

Israel believes the Messiah Ben David will obliterate their enemies

"And the L-rd will go out and will fight those nations as He wages war in the day of battle." Zech. 14:3

Olam Ha’ba (The World to Come, The Hereafter)

• Messiah to reign in Israel (Zion = Jerusalem)• Righteous live on Earth (resurrected – from

valley of dry bones)• Normal Living (abundance of wine, fruits)• This will last an unspecified period of time

• What follows this Era of Peace is a mystery, heaven?

Christianity

• Christians believe in one Messiah, not two• Messiah Ben Joseph (the suffering servant) and

Messiah Ben David (the glorious king) are both the same personage of Jesus

• Jesus came in his first coming as Messiah Ben Joseph for redemption, atonement, salvation (humble riding on a donkey)

• Jesus will return as Messiah Ben David for glory, judgement, and to reign (coming in the clouds of heaven)

1st coming – accomplishedMessiah Ben JosephSuffering Servant

2nd coming – incumbentMessiah ben DavidDivine King, Ruler, Judge

1st coming - donkey2nd coming – horse in the clouds

Biblical Prophecy is complex

Before the Messiah what happens?

• Mankind will be extremely wicked• 2/3rd will apostasise from Christianity (“the

falling away”)• Falsities widespread, lawlessness• Political and social upheavals (wars) • Physical signs (earthquakes, moon turning red,

pestilences, drought, famine, economic unstability, false messiahs appearing)

Appearance of the Antichrist and the False Prophet

Antichrist (al dajjal)

• Will appear very generous• Will be very persuasive, will claim to worship God, will be

claimed to be sent by God• Will claim to be the Messiah, to be Jesus, but also to be

other religious figures like the Imam Mahdi, the Maitreya (buddhism) and the final forms of Krishna –all in one.

• He will unite the entire world into a “pseudo peace” – many Jews will hail him the Messiah.

• He will perform miracles, he will be wealthy, control currency, and impose regulation.

Four Horsemen released, seals broken

- New Babylon (Rome) to be destroyed, schism in the Church

- Implantation of the “Mark of the Beast” into citizens

Three days of Darkness, illumination of conscience

• Everyone will be given a sign from the Almighty

• People will have time to mend their ways• Three physical days of darkness (cf Joel)

Then what?

• From here opinions diverge:• View 1: Some say “followers of Christ” will be

raptured (taken up to the sky and immortalised, changed into a Spiritual Body). They will then all be taken to heaven.

• View 2: Christ will rapture nobody, everyone one earth will be judged. The righteous are spared, the wicked obliterated and judged.

The Parousia (2nd coming)

1.00 – 5:41 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R9KXMrdXHU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-raIOUiFls 0.00 – 2.05

1.43 – 17.09 (skip intermittently) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO8t2L9TcAU

Islam

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Yc55VwS8w whole video

Al mesih Al dajjal (antichrist)-One eyed-will form a powerful army against the Imam mahdi and the faithful remnant of righteous Muslims-Will be defeated by Isa/Jesus (AS)

Imam MahdiWill be the leader of the remnant Muslim army

- Will lead prayer in the Damascus Mosque

- Will Reign for a period to come

Various claims to who the Imam will be

• Shias believe the 12th imam is the Mahdi• Other people have claimed to be the Mahdi• (see below)

Isa (pbuh)

• -will descend in Damascus -yellow clothing-hair wet from wudu

• Fire breath

• Isa (jesus) peace be upon him, will descend near the white minaret in Damascus with his hands resting of the wings of 2 angels. It will seem as drips of wet falling from his head. But it won´t be wet. When he enters the masjeed, he finds that the morning prayer is about to start. Imam Mahdi will be the Imam of the Muslims inside the msasjeed. The Mahdi will then say to the Muslims ``this is the man you have been waiting for, this is the son of Maryam, the Messiah´´ And so history repeats itself as when Yahia (john the baptist) made the identification of Isa to the israelites. The Mahdi will then say to Isa, peace upon him, ´´Lead the prayer´´. Jesus will decline and say ´´you are their Imam, so you lead the prayer´´. And he will stand behind the Imam in the morning prayer.

• Muslims defeat the Colonial powers• Jesus demolishes the crosses, abolishes Jizya

and slaughters the Swine• Everyone becomes a true Muslim and submits

to God (SWT)• Era of Peace

Battle Gog and Magog

After a vigorous war, enemies and evil defeatedFor good

- What happens after is a mystery.

Any Questions?