Advent of Moshiach

R. Simeon b. Joḥai said: As for the seven-year cycle in which the son of David will come, in the first year will be fulfilled And I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city;¹Amos 4, 7. There will be famine in one place and plenty in another. in the second, the arrows of hunger will be sent forth;²i.e. not actual famine, but the first signs of it, nobody being completely satisfied. in the third there will be a severe famine in the course of which men, women and children will die, pious men and miracle workers become scarce, and the Torah will be forgotten by its students;³Through lack of food. in the fourth, there will be partial plenty;⁴lit. ‘plenty and no plenty’. in the fifth, great plenty when men will eat, drink and rejoice and the Torah will be restored to its disciples;⁵‘And the Torah’, etc., is added by GRA. in the sixth [there will be heard heavenly] sounds;⁶Either heavenly voices announcing the advent of the Messiah or the blasts of the great shofar; cf. Isa. 27, 13. in the seventh, wars [will be waged]; and at the expiration of the septennate the son of David will come.⁷Cf. Sanh. 97a (Sonc. ed., pp. 654f.) for this and the following passages; also Midrash to Song of Songs 2, 13 (Sonc. ed., p. 126).
Rabban Gamaliel said: In the generation when the son of David comes, the house of assembly⁸Where scholars gather. will be a brothel, Galilee will be in ruins, and the inhabitants of Gablan⁹The Jews living along the borders of the Land of Israel. Gablan is to be read for Galil, ‘Galilee’, as in Sanh., loc. cit. (Sonc. ed., p. 655, n. 4). will wander about [begging] from city to city without experiencing pity; the wisdom of scribes will be in disfavour and God-fearing men despised, the leaders of the people¹⁰lit. ‘the face of the generation’. will be dog-faced;¹¹Shameless. truth will be lacking, and he that departs from evil will be regarded as demented.
R. Nehorai said: In the generation when the son of David comes, young men will insult the old, the aged will stand up before youth,¹²To do them honour. a daughter will rise up against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,¹³Cf. Micah 7, 6. and a son will not be abashed in his father’s¹⁴So GRA and H. V has ‘mother’s’. presence.
R. Nehemiah said: In the generation when the son of David comes, impudence will increase, esteem will be perverted,¹⁵No one will esteem another. Or, even the nobility and most honoured will degenerate. the vine will yield its fruit yet wine will be dear,¹⁶Drunkenness will increase so that in spite of the abundant yield there will be a scarcity. and the government will be converted to heresy¹⁷Heb. minuth. By ‘the kingdom’ the Roman Empire is meant, and the statement is a remarkable forecast by R. Nehemiah (100 C.E.) of the conversion of Rome to Christianity under Constantine the Great in 313 C.E. Cf. however, Herford, Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, pp. 207ff., Sanh., loc. cit. (Sonc. ed., p. 656, n. 4). with none to reprove.

That is the course that history was to take, but due to our sins that time frame increased. The Messiah did not come after four thousand years passed, and furthermore, the years that elapsed since then, which were to have been the messianic era, have elapsed.

the Tabernacle of David that is fallen [hanofelet]” (Amos 9:11). That is why the Messiah is called bar nifli. Rabbi Yitzḥak said to him that this is what Rabbi Yoḥanan says: During the generation in which the Messiah, son of David, comes, Torah scholars decrease; and as for the rest of the people, their eyes fail with sorrow and grief, and troubles increase. And the harsh decrees will be introduced; before the first passes the second quickly comes.

And the truth will be lacking, as it is stated: “And the truth is lacking [ne’ederet], and he who departs from evil is negated” (Isaiah 59:15). What is the meaning of the phrase: And the truth is lacking [ne’ederet]? The Sages of the study hall of Rav said: This teaches that truth will become like so many flocks [adarim] and walk away. What is the meaning of the phrase: “And he that departs from evil is negated”? The Sages of the study hall of Rabbi Sheila said: Anyone who deviates from evil is deemed insane by the people.

And new moon after new moon, And sabbath after sabbath, All flesh shall come to worship Me —said the LORD.

And out of all the nations, said the LORD, they shall bring all your brothers on horses, in chariots and drays, on mules and dromedaries, to Jerusalem My holy mountain as an offering to the LORD—just as the Israelites bring an offering in a pure vessel to the House of the LORD.