gezezra 12

And then, after seven days, I dreamed a dream in the night.

And behold, I saw a great wind go up out of the sea, and it stirred up all its waves.

And I saw, and behold, that wind brought up out of the midst of the sea something like the figure of a man; and that man flew with the clouds of heaven, and wherever he turned his face and looked, all things before him trembled.

And wherever the voice went forth out of his mouth, all who heard his voice melted away, as wax melts when it draws near the fire.

And after this I saw an innumerable multitude of men gather together from the four winds of heaven, to make war against the man who had come up out of the sea.

And I saw that he hewed out for himself a great mountain, and flew up upon it.

And I sought to know from where that mountain had been hewn, but I could not.

And after this I saw that all those who had gathered against him to make war feared him greatly, yet they ventured to fight.

And when they rushed upon him and came against him, he lifted not his hand, nor raised a spear, nor any weapon of war;

but only this: out of his mouth he sent forth a flood of fire, and from his lips a flaming breath, and from his tongue he shot forth coals of fire like a storm; and they were all mingled together—the flood of fire, the flaming breath, and the coals of fire—and it became like a tempest.

And it fell upon the great multitude that had rushed to fight against him, and burned them all up, so that nothing at all was left of them but the dust of ashes and the smell of smoke. And then I awoke.

And after this I saw that same man come down from the mountain, and call to himself another multitude, a peaceable one.

And many people came to him; some of them were joyful, some of them were sorrowful, and some of them were bound. And when they grew many, I was afraid; and I awoke, and I prayed to the Most High and said,

From the beginning You have shown Your servant this Your glory, and have granted me that You should hear my prayer.

And now show me also the interpretation of this dream.

For as I consider it, woe to those who shall be left in those days! and far more, woe to those who are not left!

For those who are not left shall be in sorrow, not understanding what is reserved for the last days, which they did not reach.

But as for those who are left, because they have understood, on that account woe is also to them;

for they shall see great distress and much suffering, as I saw in this dream.

Yet it is better to come into these things, though in peril, than to pass away from the world like a cloud, and not to know what shall befall them in the last days.

And he answered me and said, I will tell you the interpretation of this your dream, and what you have asked me I will explain to you.

As for what you said concerning those who are left and survive, this is its meaning:

He Himself shall protect those who in those days experience that distress, those who have good works and faith toward the Most High and the Mighty One.

Know therefore that far more blessed are those who are living than those who are dead.

And this is the interpretation of your dream: the man whom you saw coming up out of the midst of the sea—

this is he whom the Most High has kept for many ages, by whom He will deliver His creation; and he shall order those who are left.

And as for what you saw, fire and flame and coals coming forth from his mouth like a tempest,

and that he lifted neither spear nor weapon of war, yet slew that great multitude which rushed to make war against him—this is its meaning:

The days are coming when the Most High shall deliver those who dwell upon the earth.

And in that time they shall be amazed;

they shall fight one against another, city against city, country against country, people against people, and kingdom against kingdom.

And when this comes to pass, and the signs occur which I showed you before, then the man whom you saw coming up out of the sea shall appear.

And when all the peoples hear his voice, they shall leave off, each in his own land, the wars by which they fight one another.

And they shall gather together into an innumerable multitude, as you saw, desiring to come and to fight against him.

But he shall stand upon the top of Mount Zion.

And Zion shall come and be made manifest, prepared and built for all, as you saw the mountain hewn out without hands; for he himself shall come forth and be brought into being, not made by the hand of any son of man.

And he, the Son, is the one who shall rebuke the nations for their sins—those who were like a tempest—and shall set before them the evil of their deeds, and the judgments with which they shall be judged in the great judgment,

those who were like a flame of fire; and he shall destroy them with their sins, without toil, those who were like coals of fire.

And as for what you saw, that a peaceable multitude was gathered to him—

these are the nine tribes which were carried away captive out of their own land in the days of Shalmaneser the king, whom he carried away in his reign and settled beyond the River; and they removed and went into another land.

They themselves took this counsel, to leave the multitude of the nations and to go into a farther country, where no one of mankind had ever dwelt,

that there they might keep their statutes, which they had not kept in their own land.

And they entered in by the narrow passages of the river Euphrates.

For the Most High then did wonders for them, and stayed the channels of the river until they had passed over.

For the journey through that country was a year and a half; and the name of that country is Arzaph.

And they dwelt there until the last times. And now again, when they are about to return,

the Most High will again stay the channels of the river, that they may be able to pass over.

Therefore you saw a multitude gathered together in peace; and those also are found within my blessed border.

And when he destroys that great multitude of peoples which gathered against him, then in that time he shall strengthen those of the people who remain.

And in that time he shall show them his wonders.

And I said, O Lord my Lord, explain this also to me: why did I see the man come up out of the midst of the sea?

And he said to me, Just as no one can search out or know what is in the depths of the sea, even so no one upon the earth can see my Son, nor those who are with him, except in the time of his day.

This is the interpretation of the dream which you saw; and for this cause you alone have been shown these things.

For you have forsaken your own concerns, and devoted yourself to mine, and have searched out my law.

You have ordered your life for understanding, and have called wisdom your mother.

And for this cause I have shown you these things; for there is a reward laid up with the Most High. Come then, after a few more days, for there is yet another thing that I will tell you, and I will explain to you a marvel.

And I went and passed through the field, praising and giving thanks to the Lord for His glory, which He works in their seasons,

and for how He orders the seasons, and whatever comes to pass in their times. And I remained there three days.