II Esdras 7:26-44

An analysis of prophetic scriptures in the Apocrypha.

II Esdras 7

:26

For behold, the time will come, when the signs which I have foretold to you will

come to pass, that the city which now is not seen shall appear, and the land which

now is hidden shall be disclosed. And every one who has been delivered from the

evils that I have foretold shall see my wonders. For my son the Messiah shall be

revealed with those who are with him, and those who remain shall rejoice four

hundred years. And after these years my son the Messiah shall die, and all who

draw human breath. And the world shall be turned back to primeval silence for

seven days, as it was at the first beginnings; so that no one shall be left. And after

seven days the world, which is not yet awake, shall be roused, and that which is

corruptible shall perish. And the earth shall give up those who are asleep in it, and

the dust those who dwell silently in it; and the chambers shall give up the souls

which have been committed to them. And the Most High shall be revealed upon

the seat of judgment, and compassion shall pass away, and patience shall be

withdrawn; but only judgment shall remain, truth shall stand, and faithfulness shall

grow strong. And recompense shall follow, and the reward shall be manifested;

righteous deeds shall awake, and unrighteous deeds shall not sleep. Then the pit of

torment shall appear, and opposite it shall be the place of rest; and the furnace of

hell shall be disclosed, and opposite it the paradise of delight. Then the Most High

will say to the nations that have been raised from the dead, 'Look now, and

understand whom you have denied, whom you have not served, whose

commandments you have despised! Look on this side and on that; here are delight

and rest, and there are fire and torments!" Thus he will speak to them on the day

of judgment - a day that has no sun or moon or stars, or cloud or thunder or

lightning or wind or water or air, or darkness or evening or morning, or summer

or spring or heat or winter or frost or cold or hail or rain or dew, or noon or night,

or dawn or shining or brightness or light, but only the splendor of the glory of the

Most High, by which all shall see what has been determined for them. For it will

last for about a week of years. This is my judgment and its prescribed order; and to

you alone have I shown these things."

II Esdras 7:26

:26

For behold, the time will come, when the signs which I have foretold to you will

come to pass, that the city which now is not seen shall appear, and the land which

now is hidden shall be disclosed.

     The city which shall appear is the New Jerusalem. The land is the new nation of Israel.

II Esdras 7:27

:27

And every one who has been delivered from the evils that I have foretold shall see

my wonders.

     Those survivors of the war will see Jesus return in great military power and governmental

authority.

II Esdras 7:28

:28

For my son the Messiah shall be revealed with those who are with him, and those

who remain shall rejoice four hundred years.

     Here the reign of Jesus, the Messiah, is said to last 400 years. Well, a thousand is more likely for

the book of Revelation clearly says a thousand. Anyway, those who fight with him will remain

alive for a long, long time.

II Esdras 7:29

:29

And after these years my son the Messiah shall die, and all who draw human

breath.

     What? He will die? Again? This says he will. Revelation speaks of the enemy coming again to

fight against the New Jerusalem after the Satan is released from his thousand year prison term. A

great war is fought and fire from the sky destroys the enemy. That's about all it says. Well, this says

that everybody on earth dies as a result of that war. It sounds like there is some sort of doomsday

bomb which completely incinerates the entire surface of the planet.

II Esdras 7:30

:30

And the world shall be turned back to primeval silence for seven days, as it was at

the first beginnings; so that no one shall be left.

     The seven days of creation, whether seven literal days believed by many Christians or seven

stages of terraforming accomplished over eons of time and symbolized by seven days, occurs again.

II Esdras 7:31

:31

And after seven days the world, which is not yet awake, shall be roused, and that

which is corruptible shall perish.

     After the seven days of reforming the world afresh have elapsed, a new type of existence emerges.

Only the incorruptible, eternal flesh emerges. This is the form of life that Jesus experienced when he

emerged from his tomb 2,000 years ago. He could walk through walls, yet still eat pizza with the

guys.

II Esdras 7:32

:32

And the earth shall give up those who are asleep in it, and the dust those who dwell

silently in it; and the chambers shall give up the souls which have been committed

to them.

     Here we see the second resurrection. This is where all those saints who have died throughout the

history of our world are brought back to life. We will be revived in new bodies as special as the one

Jesus had at his resurrection centuries ago.

II Esdras 7:33 - 35

:33

And the Most High shall be revealed upon the seat of judgment, and compassion

shall pass away, and patience shall be withdrawn; but only judgment shall remain,

truth shall stand, and faithfulness shall grow strong. And recompense shall follow,

and the reward shall be manifested; righteous deeds shall awake, and unrighteous

deeds shall not sleep.

     At this second resurrection, both the righteous and unrighteous will be resurrected as the Bible

teaches. Some will be rewarded and others shamed.

II Esdras 7:36

:36

Then the pit of torment shall appear, and opposite it shall be the place of rest; and

the furnace of hell shall be disclosed, and opposite it the paradise of delight.

     This is the final judgment of the souls who have ever lived. This is not a time to simply sing

"don't worry, be happy." Happy doesn't cut it here.

II Esdras 7:37 - 44

:37

Then the Most High will say to the nations that have been raised from the dead,

'Look now, and understand whom you have denied, whom you have not served,

whose commandments you have despised! Look on this side and on that; here are

delight and rest, and there are fire and torments!" Thus he will speak to them on

the day of judgment - a day that has no sun or moon or stars, or cloud or thunder

or lightning or wind or water or air, or darkness or evening or morning, or

summer or spring or heat or winter or frost or cold or hail or rain or dew, or noon

or night, or dawn or shining or brightness or light, but only the splendor of the

glory of the Most High, by which all shall see what has been determined for them.

For it will last for about a week of years. This is my judgment and its prescribed

order; and to you alone have I shown these things."

     Judgment day has arrived.

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