The Book of Zerubbabel

[This is] the word which came to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, [future] governor of Judah. On the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month, the Lord showed me this spectacle there while I was prostrate in prayer before the Lord my God, experiencing a visionary spectacle which I saw by the river Kebar. And as I was reciting [the passage of the ‘Amidah which ends] “Blessed are You, O Lord, the One Who resuscitates the dead!,” my heart groaned within me, thinking “[How will] the form of the Temple come into existence?” He answered me from the doors of heaven and said to me, “Are you Zerubbabel ben Shealtiel, governor of Judah?” I responded, “I am your servant.” He answered me and conversed with me just as a person would speak to their friend [see Exodus 33:11]. I could hear His voice, but I could not see His appearance. I continued to lie prostrate as before, and I completed my prayer. Then I went to my house.

On the eleventh day of the month ’Adar, He was speaking with me [again] there, and he said to me, “Are you my servant Zerubbabel?” I responded, “I am your servant.” He said to me, “Come to me! Ask [anything] and I will tell you!” I answered and said, “What might I ask? That my appointed lifespan be short and my destiny fulfilled?” He said to me: “I will make you live [a long life].” He repeated, “May you live [a long time]!”¹

A wind lifted me up between heaven and earth [see Ezekiel 8:3] and carried me to the great city Nineveh, city of blood [see Nahum 3:1], and I thought “Woe is me, for my attitude has been contentious and [now] my life is at great risk!” So I arose in distress in order to pray and entreat the favor of the name of the Lord God of Israel. I confessed all my transgressions and my sins, for my attitude had been contentious, and I said: “Ah Lord! I have acted wrongly, I have transgressed, I have sinned, for my attitude has been contentious. You are the Lord God, the One Who made everything by a command from Your mouth, and [Who] with a word from Your lips will revivify the dead!” He said to me, “Go to the ‘house of filth’² near the market-district,” and I went just as He had commanded me. He said to me, “Turn this way,” and so I turned. He touched me, and then I saw a man [who was] despicable, broken down and in pain [see Isaiah 53:3].

That despicable man said to me: “Zerubbabel!? What business do you have here? Who has brought you here?” I responded and said: “A wind from the Lord lifted me up and carried me to this place.” He said to me: “Do not be afraid, for you have been brought here in order that He might show you [and then you in turn might inform the people of Israel about everything which you see] (Ezekiel 40:4).” When I heard his words, I was consoled and regained my self-composure. I asked him, “Sir, what is the name of this place?” He said to me, “This is mighty Rome, wherein I am imprisoned.” I said to him, “Who then are you? What is your name? What do you seek here? What are you doing in this place?” He said to me, “I am the Messiah of the Lord, the son of Hezekiah, confined in prison until the time of the End.” When I heard this, I was silent, and I hid my face from him. His anger burned within him, and when I looked at him [again], I became frightened.

He said to me, “Come nearer to me,” and as he spoke to me my limbs quaked, and he reached out his hand and steadied me. “Don’t be frightened,” he said, “and let your mind show no fear.” He encouraged me, and said: “Why did you become silent and hide your face from me?” I said to him: “Because you said, ‘I am the servant of the Lord, His Messiah, and the light of Israel (2 Samuel 21:17).’” Suddenly he appeared like a strong young man, handsome and adorned.

I asked him: “When will the light of Israel come?” And as I was speaking to him, behold, a man with two wings approached me and said to me, “Zerubbabel! What are you asking the Messiah of the Lord?” I answered him and said, “I asked when the appointed time for deliverance is supposed to come.” “Ask me,” he replied, “and I will tell you.” I said to him, “Sir, who are you?” He answered and said, “I am Michael, the one who delivered good news to Sarah. I am the leader of the host of the Lord God of Israel, the one who battled with Sennacherib and smote 180,000 men. I am the prince of Israel, the one who fought battles against the kings of Canaan. In the time to come, I will fight the battles of the Lord alongside the Messiah of the Lord—he who sits before you—with the king “strong of face” and with Armilos, the son of Satan, the spawn of the stone statue.³ The Lord has appointed me to be the commanding officer over his people and over those who love Him in order to do battle against the leaders of the nations.”

Michael, who is [also] Metatron, answered me saying: “I am the angel who guided Abraham throughout all the land of Canaan. I blessed him in the name of the Lord. I am the one who redeemed Isaac (Genesis 22:11–13) and [wept] for him. I am the one who wrestled with Jacob at the crossing of the Jabbok (Genesis 32:25–31). I am the one who guided Israel in the wilderness for forty years in the name of the Lord. I am the one who appeared to Joshua at Gilgal (Joshua 5:13–15), and I am the one who rained down brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. He placed His name within me [see Exodus 23:21]: Metatron in gematria is the equivalent of Shadday. As for you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, whose name is Jeconiah, ask me and I will tell you what will happen at the End of Days.”