II. Second Esdras (or Fourth Ezra) Attempts to Parallel Fourth Beast
Second Esdras is a little work that found entrance into the Latin Bible (Vulgate) as an appendix, and thence into many Protestant Bibles as part of the Apocrypha. The “Ezra Apocalypse” proper corresponds to chapters 3-14 of the Second Esdras of the common Apocrypha, or of the fourth book of Ezra of the Vulgate. Extant translations are found in Latin, Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic, and Armenian, all apparently from a lost Greek version. Charles’s collection of pseudepigrapha calls it Fourth Ezra.PFF1 286.1
Although there are different theories concerning the construction of the book, it is generally believed that its present form is a compilation, dated variously about A.D. 120 to 150. Some think that the editor utilized such already existing material as the Hebrew Salathiel Apocalypse (presumably published about A.D. 100), and added three independent pieces from other apocalypses—the Eagle Vision, the Son of Man Vision, and the Ezra Legend—and possibly extracts from other sources. The purpose was to commend the apocalyptic literature to certain hostile rabbinical circles, and to secure for it a permanent place within orthodox Judaism. It has close relationship to the Second Baruch, but differs in its theology. Here, for instance, Adam is named as the cause for all the misery in the world. (2 Esdras 7:119.)PFF1 286.2
1. ESCHATOLOGICAL SPECULATIONS ARE RIFE
Second Esdras is full of religious problems and speculations which relate to eschatology. The assumption is that the course and duration of the present world has been determined, and that Israel is still loved by God in spite of all appearances. On the other hand, there is no hope for a restoration of a Jewish state or the rebuilding of Jerusalem, or for a renewed earth, but the expectation of a better world to follow the catastrophic collapse of the present world. Let us note some points in greater detail.PFF1 286.3
In chapter 5, verse 1 and on, we read about the signs preceding the end: The inhabitants of this earth will be seized with great panic. Truth will be hidden, and iniquity increase beyond all former levels. The land, barren of faith, will become a pathless waste. The sun will suddenly shine out in the night, and the moon by day. Fire will burst forth over wide regions of the world, and women will bear monsters.PFF1 286.4
2. THE MESSIANIC KINGDOM
Following these woes comes the Messiah’s kingdom:PFF1 287.1
“And it shall be whosoever shall have survived all these things that I have foretold unto thee, he shall be saved, and shall see my salvation and the end of my world.” 2 Esdras 6:25 PFF1 287.2
“And whosoever is delivered from the predicted evils, the same shall see my wonders. For my Son the Messiah shall be revealed, together with those who are with him, and shall rejoice the survivors four hundred years. And it shall be after these years, that my Son the Messiah shall die, and all in whom there is human breath. Then shall the world be turned into the primaeval silence seven days, like as at the first beginnings; so that no man is left. And it shall be after seven days that the Age which is not yet awake shall be roused, and that which is corruptible shall perish. And the earth shall restore those that sleep in her, and the dust those that are at rest therein.... And the Most High shall be revealed upon the throne of judgement.” “And then shall the Most High say to the nations that have been raised [from the dead: Look now and consider whom ye have denied.” 2 Esdras 7:27-33, 37.PFF1 287.3
Here we have a four-hundred-year period, as a Messianic kingdom, with the strange phenomenon of the death of the Messiah for seven days, an idea which is incorporated into Muslim traditions about Jesus, although there His death after His second sojourn on the earth is not limited to seven days. Though the writer here speaks of the dead as sleeping in the dust, at the same time he has their souls live on in beautiful chambers guarded by angels, or if they be unrighteous, they wander around restlessly, filled with apprehension of the inevitable coming judgment. (Verses 77-101.) There will be no intercession of the righteous in behalf of the unrighteous on the day of judgment. (Verses 102-105.)PFF1 287.4
3. ATTEMPTS TO PARALLEL Daniel 7
The most interesting point, however, is that the writer of this book seeks to link his visions with those of Daniel 7. This occurs in the so-called Eagle-Vision:PFF1 288.1
“Hear thou Eagle, I will talk with thee; the Most High saith to thee: Art thou not it that remaineth of the four beasts which I made to reign in my world, that the end of my times might come through them? (The eagle is here identified with the fourth beast of Daniel 7.) Thou, however, the fourth, who art come, hast overcome all the beasts that are past; thou hast wielded power over the world with great terror, and over all the inhabited earth with grievous oppression; thou hast dwelt so long in the civilized world with fraud and hast judged the earth (but) not with faithfulness .... Therefore shalt thou disappear, O thou Eagle .... And so the whole earth freed from the violence, shall be refreshed again, and hope for the judgement and mercy of him that made her.” 2 Esdras 11:38, 45, 46.PFF1 288.2
The eagle is definitely connected with the fourth beast in Daniel 7.PFF1 288.3
“The eagle which thou sawest come up from the sea is the fourth kingdom which appeared in vision to thy brother Daniel .... Behold, the days come when there shall arise a kingdom upon the earth, and it shall be more terrible than all the kingdoms that were before it.” 2 Esdras 12:11-14.PFF1 288.4
It is generally accepted that the eagle in the vision represented the Roman Empire, in an attempted parallel to Daniel 7. This is the nearest approach to real prophetic exposition appearing in this little-understood era.PFF1 288.5