Signs of the Messiah

The first sign. The Holy One, blessed be He, will cause three kings to arise who are apostates from their religion. They will behave deceptively, for they will make themselves appear to people [as if] they serve the Holy One, blessed be He, but they [in fact] do not serve [Him]. They will lead astray and confuse the entire created order, and all the nations of the world will become apostates by following their laws. [ . . . ] At that time there will be neither king nor prince in Israel, as scripture says: Israel will dwell for many days without a king or a leader (Hosea 3:4). Jacob will have no academy heads, no gaon, no faithful shepherds, no pious ones, and no wonder workers. The celestial doors will be locked, and the gates of support and sustenance will be closed. [ . . . ]

The second sign. The Holy One, blessed be He, will introduce heat into the world from the heat of the sun, along with consumption and fever, many terrible diseases, plague, and pestilence. Every day there will die among the gentile nations one million people, and all the wicked ones among Israel will perish. [This will continue] until the nations of the world weep and cry out: “Woe to us! Where can we go and to where shall we flee?” Everyone will dig their own grave while they still retain strength, and then they will wish for death. They will conceal themselves in arid places and among towers and crevices in order to cool themselves, and they will go into caves and earthen caverns. And if you should ask how the righteous will be delivered from the heat of the sun, [the answer is that] the Holy One, blessed be He, will render that heat medicinal [for them], as scripture says: O those who revere My name, a sun of righteousness will rise for you, and it will heal [you] with its wings (Malachi 3:20). [ . . . ]

The seventh sign. The Holy One, blessed be He, who is the Master of Marvels, will effect a miracle in the world. They say that in Rome there is a marble statue [in] the likeness of a beautiful maiden: she was not fashioned by a human hand; rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, created her so by His power. Certain wicked ones belonging to the gentile nations will come— utterly worthless fellows—and excite “her” and have sexual relations with her, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will preserve their seminal emissions within the statue. He will make a creature with it and form with it an offspring: she will [suddenly] split open and a human form will emerge from her. His name is Armilos the Satan; this is the one whom the gentile nations term “Antichristo[s]‌.” He is twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide, and the distance between his two eyes is a span’s length, and they are deep-set [and] bloodshot. The hair on his head is like the color of gold, the soles of his feet are green, and he has two heads. [ . . . ]

The anger of Armilos the wicked will increase in intensity, and he will assemble all the forces of the nations of the world in the Valley of Decision (Joel 4:14). They will do battle with Israel, and they [Israel] will slay great heaps of them, whereas they will fatally strike only a small number of Israelites, but the Lord’s Messiah will be killed. The ministering angels will come, take him, and conceal him among the ancestors of the world. The courage of Israel will immediately fail, and their strength will dissipate. [ . . . ]

All of Israel will immediately flee into the deserts, whereas everyone who is entertaining doubts about their religion will turn to the nations of the world and state: “This is the redemption for which we have been waiting, for the Messiah is dead!” All those who are no longer anticipating the redemption will be embarrassed by it [i.e., the Messiah’s demise] and they will turn to the gentile nations. At that time the Holy One, blessed be He, will test Israel and refine them like silver and gold [ . . . ].

The eighth sign. [ . . . ] Armilos will hear that a king has arisen for Israel, and he will say: “How long will this despicable and contemptible nation behave this way?” He will immediately muster all the forces of the nations of the world and come to do battle with the Lord’s Messiah. [ . . . ] The Holy One, blessed be He, will rain down fire and brimstone from heaven, as scripture states: I will contend with him using plague and blood; and I will rain down flooding rains, hailstones, fire, and brimstone upon him, his troops, and the many peoples allied with him (Ezekiel 38:22). Armilos the wicked will immediately die, both he and all his army, and so too [will perish] the wicked Edom who destroyed the Temple of our God and exiled us from our land. [ . . . ]

The ninth sign. Michael will blow a loud blast [on the shofar], and the graves of the dead will split open in Jerusalem, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will resurrect them. [ . . . ]

The tenth sign. Michael will blow a loud blast [on the shofar], and the Holy One, blessed be He, will lead forth all the tribes located beyond the river of Gozan and from Halah and from Habor and from the cities of Media [cf. 2 Kings 17:6].¹ They will come together with the “people of Moses” [bene moshe],² [a large group] impossible to number or to measure. The land before them will be like the garden of Eden, and behind them a flame will burn [cf. Joel 2:3; note Ezekiel 36:35], and nothing will remain alive among the nations of the world. [ . . . ]

May the Holy One, blessed be He, grant us the merit to witness the redemption soon!