Dear John and Doves:

I've mentioned the book of Esdras previously.  It's commonly relegated to "apocryphal" writings - deemed to be NOT canonical but nevertheless worthwhile for study.  But this fake classification does not work.  Esdras CLAIMS to be the Word of God. In many instances it says, "thus says the Lord Almighty" or similar phrases, and there are at least two direct quotes and several other uses of the text within the gospel of Matthew and the book of Revelation.  This means it's either scripture OR it's a hoax - something that claims to be the Word of God Himself and is not.  If the former, we should believe it just as we believe the book of Revelation.  If it's a hoax, it should be discarded just like the phony "gospel of Thomas" and similar literary hoaxes.  Not only would it not be trustworthy, but it would be understood to be an effort to deceive - not "worthwhile for study."

It appears from the library at Qumran that it was treated as scripture back then.  It was included in the 1611 KJV.  Why it was not included in the modern canon is a topic for someone else to deal with.  For myself, I'm inclined to think it's scripture and is both authoritative and trustworthy, though I have no way of knowing if the translations we have today are accurate.  So allowing for the possibility of some mis-translations (deliberate or otherwise) but still trusting God to preserve His Word to us, I invite your prayerful attention to the following passages in 2 Esdras regarding the end times:

“Now concerning the signs: behold, the days are coming when those who dwell on earth shall be seized with great terror, and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith. And unrighteousness shall be increased beyond what you yourself see, and beyond what you heard of formerly. And the land which you now see ruling shall be waste and untrodden, and men shall see it desolate.
“But if the Most High grants that you live, you shall see it thrown into confusion after the third period; and the sun shall suddenly shine forth at night, and the moon during the day. Blood shall drip from wood, and the stone shall utter its voice; the peoples shall be troubled, and the stars shall fall.

And one shall reign whom those who dwell on earth do not expect, and the birds shall fly away together; and the sea of Sodom shall cast up fish; and one whom the many do not know shall make his voice heard by night, and all shall hear his voice. There shall be chaos also in many places, and fire shall often break out, and the wild beasts shall roam beyond their haunts, and menstruous women shall bring forth monsters. And salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends shall conquer one another; then shall reason hide itself, and wisdom shall withdraw into its chamber, and it shall be sought by many but shall not be found, and unrighteousness and unrestraint shall increase on earth. And one country shall ask its neighbor, ‘Has righteousness, or any one who does right, passed through you?’ And it will answer, ‘No.’ And at that time men shall hope but not obtain; they shall labor but their ways shall not prosper.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

When I heard this, I rose to my feet and listened, and behold, a voice was speaking, and its sound was like the sound of many waters. And it said, “Behold, the days are coming, and it shall be that when I draw near to visit the inhabitants of the earth, and when I require from the doers of iniquity the penalty of their iniquity, and when the humiliation of Zion is complete, and when the seal is placed upon the age which is about to pass away, then I will show these signs:

the books shall be opened before the firmament, and all shall see it together.
Infants a year old shall speak with their voices, and women with child shall give birth to premature children at three and four months, and these shall live and dance.
Sown places shall suddenly appear unsown, and
full storehouses shall suddenly be found to be empty; and
the trumpet shall sound aloud, and when all hear it, they shall suddenly be terrified.

At that time friends shall make war on friends like enemies, and the earth and those who inhabit it shall be terrified, and the springs of the fountains shall stand still, so that for three hours they shall not flow.

“And it shall be that whoever remains after all that I have foretold to you shall himself be saved and shall see my salvation and the end of my world. And they shall see the men who were taken up, who from their birth have not tasted death; and the heart of the earth’s inhabitants shall be changed and converted to a different spirit. For evil shall be blotted out, and deceit shall be quenched; faithfulness shall flourish, and corruption shall be overcome, and the truth, which has been so long without fruit, shall be revealed.”

Some of these we've seen or can imagine.  Some appear so bizarre we'd think they were metaphors of some sort.  I can believe that when the groceries run out, that "friends shall make war on friends like enemies" and it's not hard to believe that full storehouses will be quickly emptied.  VERY premature babies can survive, so that may point to advanced technology, but one-year-old kids speaking is a bit of a stretch.

Then there's the final paragraph, speaking of "the men who were taken up, who from their birth have not tasted death" and I'd consider that a rapture reference.  Evil blotted out, deceit quenched, the flourishing of faithfulness and the overcoming of corruption - those alone make for a Millennial longing.  The revelation of truth:  either this is a revelation of Jesus, "the way, the truth and the life" or simply the revealing of all the deceit that makes up this fallen world - either is good, both are possible.

Several of these map to the miseries of the trumpet and bowl judgments, as you know.  Since the judgments described in Revelation are not an exhaustive list (see Rev. 11:6), it could be that blood dripping from wood, stone "uttering its voice," and fire breaking out suddenly are a few random unpleasantries of some sort.

Anyway, thought you'd find this interesting and perhaps encouraging.  Any of your insights would be appreciated.

Best,

Steve