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Testament of Moses

Assumption of Moses

About this book
Chapter 10

And then His kingdom shall appear throughout all His creation, And then Satan shall be no more,⁠ And sorrow shall depart with him. Then the hands of the angel shall be filled Who has been appointed chief, And he shall at once avenge them on their enemies. For the Heavenly One will arise from His royal throne, And He will go forth from His holy habitation With indignation and wrath on account of His sons. And the earth shall tremble: to its confines shall it be shaken: And the high mountains shall be made low And the hills shall be shaken and fall. And the horns of the sun shall be broken and he shall be turned into darkness; And the moon shall not give her light, and be turned wholly into blood. And the circle of the stars shall be disturbed.⁠ And the sea shall retire into the abyss, And the fountains of waters shall fail, And the rivers shall dry up. For the Most High will arise, the Eternal God alone, And He will appear to punish the Gentiles, And He will destroy all their idols. Then you, O Israel, shall be happy, And you shall mount upon the necks and wings of the eagle,⁠ And they shall be ended. And God will exalt you, And He will cause you to approach the heaven of the stars, In the place of their habitation. And you will look from on high and see your enemies in Ge(henna) And you shall recognize them and rejoice, And you shall give thanks and confess your Creator. And you, Joshua (the son of) Nun, keep these words and this book; For from my death [assumption] until His advent there shall be 250 times [= year-weeks = 1750 years]. And this is the course of the times which they shall pursue till they are completed. And I shall go to sleep with my fathers. Therefore, Joshua you (son of) Nun, (be strong and) be of good courage; (for) God has chosen (you) to be minister in the same covenant.

Texts in conversation

Compare Testament of Moses 10:5 and Revelation 21:1

Pseudepigrapha, Testaments · New Testament

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Summary

The Testament of Moses describes the future where the earth shakes, the sun and moon darken, the stars fall, and the sea is gone. Revelation 21 uses similar imagery, based on ancient Near Eastern tradition, where the chaotic sea is gone.

Passages

Testament of Moses 10:5

Pseudepigrapha, Testaments · Assumption of Moses
For the Heavenly One will arise from His royal throne, And He will go forth from His holy habitation With indignation and wrath on account of His sons. And the earth shall tremble: to its confines shall it be shaken: And the high mountains shall be made low And the hills shall be shaken and fall. And the horns of the sun shall be broken and he shall be turned into darkness; And the moon shall not give her light, and be turned wholly into blood. And the circle of the stars shall be disturbed. And the sea shall retire into the abyss, And the fountains of waters shall fail, And the rivers shall dry up. For the Most High will arise, the Eternal God alone, And He will appear to punish the Gentiles, And He will destroy all their idols.
20–50 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Testament of Moses

Revelation 21:1

New Testament
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more. 2 And I saw the holy city—the new Jerusalem—descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.” 5 And the one seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new!” Then he said to me, “Write it down, because these words are reliable and true.”
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... Apocalyptic elements in the Testament of Moses ... There is a fearful theophany. God, the 'heavenly one'" rises from his place and wrathfully comes to earth. We get the usual apocalyptic signs: the earth shakes, mountains are laid low, hills shake and fall, the sun goes dark and the moon becomes red, the stars are disturbed, and the sea 'shall retire into the abyss.' This last detail is particularly significant in view of the combat myth. The sea represents chaos and everything opposed to God. The sea also disappears in the renewal of creation in Revelation 21:1. God comes to defeat the gentiles and annihilate their idols. Israel is happy and is brought up to the stars on the wings of the eagle (see Exodus 19). Israel looks down on their enemies suffering in Gehenna, a place of postmortem punishment ..."
Frederick James Murphy, Apocalypticism in the Bible and Its World: A Comprehensive Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012), 174.

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

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Testament of Moses 10:5 and Revelation 21:1

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