Warnings as the End Approaches

Chapter 85

1 Know you, moreover, that in earlier times and in the generations of old our fathers had helpers, Righteous men and holy prophets: 2 No indeed, we were in our own land And they helped us when we sinned, And they interceded for us with Him who made us, Because they trusted in their works, And the Mighty One heard their prayer and forgave us. 3 But now the righteous have been gathered And the prophets have fallen asleep, And we also have gone forth from the land, And Zion has been taken from us, And we have nothing now save the Mighty One and His law. 4 If therefore we direct and dispose our hearts, We shall receive everything that we lost, And much better things than we lost by many times. 5 For what we have lost was subject to corruption, And what we shall receive shall not be corruptible. 6 Moreover, also, I have written thus to our brethren to Babylon, that to them also I may testify these very things. 7 And let all those things mentioned be always before your eyes, Because we are still in the spirit and the power of our liberty. 8 Again, moreover, the Most High also is patient with us here, And He has shown to us that which is to be, And has not concealed from us what will happen in the end. 9 Before therefore judgement claims its own, And truth that which is its due, Let us prepare our soul That we may possess, and not be possessed, And that we may hope and not be put to shame, And that we may rest with our fathers, and not be tormented with our enemies. 10 For the youth of the world is past, And the strength of the creation already exhausted, And the advent of the times is very short,⁠ Yes, they have passed by; And the pitcher is near to the cistern, And the ship to the port, And the course of the journey to the city, And life to its consummation. 11 And again prepare your souls, so that when you sail and leave the ship you may have rest and not be condemned when you depart. 12 For look, when the Most High will bring to pass all these things, There shall not then be again a place of repentance, nor a limit to the times, Nor a duration for the hours, Nor a change of ways, Nor place for prayer, Nor sending of petitions, Nor receiving of knowledge, Nor giving of love, Nor place of repentance for the soul, Nor supplication for offenses, Nor intercession of the fathers, Nor prayer of the prophets, Nor help of the righteous. 13 There there is the sentence of corruption, The way of fire, And the path which brings to Gehenna.⁠ 14 On this account there is one law by one, One age and an end for all who are in it. 15 Then He will preserve those whom He can forgive, And at the same time destroy those who are polluted with sins.

Texts in conversation

Compare 2 Baruch 85:10 and 4 Ezra 5:55

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

Summary

2 Baruch and 4 Ezra describe the world having passed its youth and used up its strength, with imagery of decline signaling that history is almost over. 4 Ezra uses the metaphor of an aging womb, where later generations are like children born in old age.

Passages

2 Baruch 85:10

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch

8 Again, moreover, the Most High also is patient with us here, And He has shown to us that which is to be, And has not concealed from us what will happen in the end. 9 Before therefore judgement claims its own, And truth that which is its due, Let us prepare our soul That we may possess, and not be possessed, And that we may hope and not be put to shame, And that we may rest with our fathers, and not be tormented with our enemies. 10 For the youth of the world is past, And the strength of the creation already exhausted, And the advent of the times is very short, Yes, they have passed by; And the pitcher is near to the cistern, And the ship to the port, And the course of the journey to the city, And life to its consummation. 11 And again prepare your souls, so that when you sail and leave the ship you may have rest and not be condemned when you depart.

70–135 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Baruch

4 Ezra 5:55

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · 2 Esdras

51 He answered me, “Ask a woman who bears children, and she will tell you. 52 Say to her, ‘Why aren’t they whom you have now brought forth like those who were before, but smaller in stature?’ 53 She also will answer you, ‘Those who are born in the strength of youth are different from those who are born in the time of old age, when the womb fails.’ 54 Consider therefore you also, how you are shorter than those who were before you. 55 So are those who come after you smaller than you, as born of the creature which now begins to be old, and is past the strength of youth.” 56 Then I said, “Lord, I implore you, if I have found favor in your sight, show your servant by whom you visit your creation.”

70–132 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4 Ezra

References

"... The maternal metaphor is extended from the earth to the creation as a whole in a later series of analogies in 4 Ezra. After establishing that a woman’s womb cannot produce ten children at one time, Uriel concludes: “Even so I have made the earth a womb for those who from time to time come forth on it. For as an infant does not bring forth, and a woman who has become old does not bring forth any longer, so I have organized the world that I created” (5:48–49). Ezra then inquires if “our mother” is approaching old age (5:50). Uriel answers that just as “those born in the strength of youth are different from those born in the time of old age, when the womb is failing” (5:53), Ezra should consider that he and his contemporaries are smaller than people in the past, “and those who come after you will be smaller than you, as if born of a creation that already is aging and passing the strength of youth” (5:55). A similar formulation is found in 2 Baruch 85:10, “For the youth of the world has passed, and the strength of creation is already consumed.” In 4 Ezra, however, the decay or corruptibility of creation is likened not simply to the human life cycle, but specifically to declining female reproductive potential. Thus, when Paul imagines the creation as a woman in labor, it is not surprising that he should also describe it as “subjected to futility” (Rom 8:20) and hoping to be set free from its “slavery to corruption” (8:21, my translation) ..."

Karina M. Hogan, “The Apocalyptic Eschatology of Romans,” in The Jewish Apocalyptic Tradition and the Shaping of New Testament Thought, ed. Loren T. Stuckenbruck (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017), 155–174.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Warnings as the End Approaches

2 Baruch87 chapters

Compare 2 Baruch 85:10 and 4 Ezra 5:55

Summary

Passages

2 Baruch 85:10

4 Ezra 5:55

References

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