Eschatology and Apocalypticism Part 1 - Biblical Texts

(1) And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: ‘Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days.

(5) afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall come trembling unto the LORD and to His goodness in the end of days.

(9) For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, Like as corn is sifted in a sieve, Yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. (10) All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, That say: ‘The evil shall not overtake nor confront us.’ . (11) In that day will I raise up The tabernacle of David that is fallen, And close up the breaches thereof, And I will raise up his ruins, And I will build it as in the days of old; (12) That they may possess the remnant of Edom, And all the nations, upon whom My name is called, Saith the LORD that doeth this. (13) Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, That the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; And the mountains shall drop sweet wine, And all the hills shall melt. (14) And I will turn the captivity of My people Israel, And they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; And they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; They shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. (15) And I will plant them upon their land, And they shall no more be plucked up Out of their land which I have given them, Saith the LORD thy God.

(10) And the LORD spoke again unto Ahaz, saying: (11) ’Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God: ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.’ (12) But Ahaz said: ‘I will not ask, neither will I try the LORD.’ (13) And he said: ‘Hear ye now, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary my God also? (14) Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (15) Curd and honey shall he eat, when he knoweth to refuse the evil, and choose the good. (16) Yea, before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou hast a horror of shall be forsaken. (17) The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.’

(5) For a child is born unto us, a son is given unto us; and the government is upon his shoulder; and his name is called Pele-joez-el-gibbor Abi-ad-sar-shalom; (6) That the government may be increased, and of peace there be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it through justice and through righteousness From henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts doth perform this.

(1) And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, And a twig shall grow forth out of his roots. (2) And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. (3) And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD; And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, Neither decide after the hearing of his ears; (4) But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the land; And he shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth, And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (5) And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, And faithfulness the girdle of his reins. (6) And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, And the leopard shall lie down with the kid; And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. (7) And the cow and the bear feed; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. (8) And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, And the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk’s den. (9) They shall not hurt nor destroy In all My holy mountain; For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.

(30) But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. (31) Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; (32) not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; forasmuch as they broke My covenant, although I was a lord over them, saith the LORD. (33) But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people;

(22) Therefore say unto the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord GOD: I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which ye have profaned among the nations, whither ye came. (23) And I will sanctify My great name, which hath been profaned among the nations, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. (24) For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. (25) And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. (26) A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. (27) And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep Mine ordinances, and do them. (28) And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God.

(1) Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. (2) Bid Jerusalem take heart, and proclaim unto her, that her time of service is accomplished, that her guilt is paid off; that she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins. (3) Hark! one calleth: ‘Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the LORD, make plain in the desert a highway for our God. (4) Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the rugged shall be made level, and the rough places a plain; (5) And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.’ (6) Hark! one saith: ‘Proclaim!’ And he saith: ‘What shall I proclaim?’ ’All flesh is grass, And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field; (7) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; Because the breath of the LORD bloweth upon it— Surely the people is grass. (8) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; But the word of our God shall stand for ever.’ (9) O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, Get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, Lift up thy voice with strength; Lift it up, be not afraid; Say unto the cities of Judah: ‘Behold your God! ’ (10) Behold, the Lord GOD will come as a Mighty One, And His arm will rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His recompense before Him. (11) Even as a shepherd that feedeth his flock, That gathereth the lambs in his arm, And carrieth them in his bosom, And gently leadeth those that give suck.

(1) The hand of the LORD was upon me, and the LORD carried me out in a spirit, and set me down in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones; (2) and He caused me to pass by them round about, and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. (3) And He said unto me: ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered: ‘O Lord GOD, Thou knowest.’ (4) Then He said unto me: ‘Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them: O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD: (5) Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. (6) And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.’

(9) Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; Awake, as in the days of old, The generations of ancient times. Art thou not it that hewed Rahab in pieces, That pierced the dragon? (10) Art thou not it that dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; That made the depths of the sea a way For the redeemed to pass over? (11) And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come with singing unto Zion, And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; They shall obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

(3) Incline your ear, and come unto Me; Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, Even the sure mercies of David. (4) Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples, A prince and commander to the peoples. (5) Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, And a nation that knew not thee shall run unto thee; Because of the LORD thy God, And for the Holy One of Israel, for He hath glorified thee.

(1) Behold My servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My spirit upon him, He shall make the right to go forth to the nations. (2) He shall not cry, nor lift up, Nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. (3) A bruised reed shall he not break, And the dimly burning wick shall he not quench; He shall make the right to go forth according to the truth. (4) He shall not fail nor be crushed, Till he have set the right in the earth; And the isles shall wait for his teaching. (5) Thus saith God the LORD, He that created the heavens, and stretched them forth, He that spread forth the earth and that which cometh out of it, He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, And spirit to them that walk therein: (6) I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, And have taken hold of thy hand, And kept thee, and set thee for a covenant of the people, For a light of the nations; (7) To open the blind eyes, To bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, And them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. .

(9) I beheld Till thrones were placed, And one that was ancient of days did sit: His raiment was as white snow, And the hair of his head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire. (10) A fiery stream issued And came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, And ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; The judgment was set, And the books were opened. (11) I beheld at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke, I beheld even till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given to be burned with fire. (12) And as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. (13) I saw in the night visions, And, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven One like unto a son of man, And he came even to the Ancient of days, And he was brought near before Him. (14) And there was given him dominion, And glory, and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and languages Should serve him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, And his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

1) And you, O mortal, prophesy against Gog and say: Thus said the Lord God: I am going to deal with you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal! 2) I will turn you around and drive you on, and I will take you from the far north and lead you toward the mountains of Israel. 3) I will strike your bow from your left hand and I will loosen the arrows from your right hand. 4) You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your battalions and the peoples who are with you; and I will give you as food to carrion birds of every sort and to the beasts of the field, 5) as you lie in the open field. For I have spoken—declares the Lord God. 6) And I will send a fire against Magog and against those who dwell secure in the coastlands. And they shall know that I am the Lord. 7) I will make My holy name known among My people Israel, and never again will I let My holy name be profaned. And the nations shall know that I the Lord am holy in Israel. 8) Ah! it has come, it has happened—declares the Lord God: this is that day that I decreed. 9) Then the inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out and make fires and feed them with the weapons—shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, clubs and spears; they shall use them as fuel for seven years. 10) They will not gather firewood in the fields or cut any in the forests, but will use the weapons as fuel for their fires. They will despoil those who despoiled them and plunder those who plundered them—declares the Lord God. 11) On that day I will assign to Gog a burial site there in Israel—the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Sea. It shall block the path of travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It shall be called the Valley of Gog’s Multitude. 12) The House of Israel shall spend seven months burying them, in order to cleanse the land; 13) all the people of the land shall bury them. The day I manifest My glory shall bring renown to them—declares the Lord God. 14) And they shall appoint men to serve permanently, to traverse the land and bury any invaders who remain above ground, in order to cleanse it. The search shall go on for a period of seven months. 15) As those who traverse the country make their rounds, any one of them who sees a human bone shall erect a marker beside it, until the buriers have interred them in the Valley of Gog’s Multitude. 16) There shall also be a city named Multitude.-And thus the land shall be cleansed. 17) And you, O mortal, say to every winged bird and to all the wild beasts: Thus said the Lord God: Assemble, come and gather from all around for the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you—a great sacrificial feast—upon the mountains of Israel, and eat flesh and drink blood. 18) You shall eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth: rams, lambs, he-goats, and bulls—fatlings of Bashan all of them. 19) You shall eat fat to satiety and drink your fill of blood from the sacrificial feast that I have prepared for you. 20) And you shall sate yourselves at My table with horses, charioteers, warriors, and all fighting men— declares the Lord God. 21) Thus will I manifest My glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see the judgment that I executed and the power that I wielded against them. 22) From that time on, the House of Israel shall know that I the Lord am their God. 23) And the nations shall know that the House of Israel were exiled only for their iniquity, because they trespassed against Me, so that I hid My face from them and delivered them into the hands of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. 24) When I hid My face from them, I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions. 25) Assuredly, thus said the Lord God: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and take the whole House of Israel back in love; and I will be zealous for My holy name. 26) They will bear their shame and all their trespasses that they committed against Me, when they dwell in their land secure and untroubled, 27) when I have brought them back from among the peoples and gathered them out of the lands of their enemies and have manifested My holiness through them in the sight of many nations. 28) They shall know that I the Lord am their God when, having exiled them among the nations, I gather them back into their land and leave none of them behind. 29) I will never again hide My face from them, for I will pour out My spirit upon the House of Israel—declares the Lord God.