Confusion and War
Chapter 70
2Behold, the days are coming and it will happen when the time of the world has ripened and the harvest of the seed of the evil ones and the good ones has come that the Mighty One will cause to come over the earth and its inhabitants and its rulers confusion of the spirit and…
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This passage from 2 Baruch contains a classic statement of the idea that the messianic kingdom will be ushered in by a period of unprecedented confusion, war, and suffering—the “birth pangs of the Messiah.” This idea is echoed in the Babylonian Talmud’s discussion of the time of the Messiah’s arrival.
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Related Guide
Death and the Next World in Ancient Judaism
4th Century BCE–6th Century CE
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