Deep Dive into the Messianic Era

Part 2: How Do We Know if Mashiach Is Coming?

Jewish tradition holds that the arrival of the Messiah will bring about a time of great peace, spiritual awakening, and a restoration of the world to its ideal state. However, before this redemptive era, a period of distress and upheaval is expected.

When analyzing the sources surrounding the coming of Mashiach, it is important to mention that we cannot look at current events and use them to predict when Mashiach is going to come or how the ultimate redemption will take place. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 97a) tells us, “Rav Ketina says: Six thousand years is the duration of the world.” According to Torah thought, the Mashiach will not come any later than the year 6000, but he can come before then. As we are currently in the year 5784, we are considered to be living in the “final generation,” the Gemara (Pesachim 54b) explains that the coming of Mashiach is a matter that is concealed from people, and thus, we do not know how much longer it will be until he arrives.

In addition, though many sources detail the war of Gog u’Magog (a final war that will take place before the coming of Mashiach), the sources are written in such a way that we cannot necessarily understand them on a literal level. The way Rambam puts it (Melachim u’Milchamot 12:2) is לֹא יֵדַע אָדָם אֵיךְ יִהְיוּ עַד שֶׁיִּהְיוּ – “[All matters surrounding the coming of Mashiach] cannot be definitely known by man until they occur.” This is similar to the opening chapters of the book of Bereishit, where we do not read the story of creation to ascertain a literal (in the sense of scientific) account of what took place. 

These things being noted, let us look at what the sources say about the generation preceding the coming of Mashiach.

What will the generation before the coming of Mashiach look like?

The Gemara (Sota 49b) lists a number of characteristics of the state of affairs in the world before the coming of Mashiach. It writes:

• Impudence will increase
• High costs will pile up
• Although the vine shall bring forth its fruit, wine will nevertheless be expensive
• The monarchy shall turn to heresy, and there will be no one to give reproof about this 
• The meeting place of the Sages will become a place of promiscuity
• The Galilee shall be destroyed, and the Gavlan will be desolate
• The men of the border shall go round from city to city to seek charity, but they will find no mercy
• The wisdom of scribes will putrefy
• People who fear sin will be held in disgust
• The truth will be absent
• The youth will shame the face of elders, elders will stand before minors
• Normal family relations will be ruined: A son will disgrace a father; a daughter will rise up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be the members of his household 
• The face of the generation will be like the face of a dog; a son will no longer be ashamed before his father

To sum this up, things will be the opposite of how they ought to be. In an article in Mishpacha, Rabbi Emanuel Feldman, commenting on the times we live in now, writes, “Thinking has become muddled, and language has become meaningless… Up is down and down is up.”

Rabbi Elazar bar Avina said: If you see kingdoms clashing with one another, you should anticipate the coming of the Messiah. You may know that it is so, as in the days of Abraham, as a result of the kingdoms clashing with one another, redemption came to Abraham.

Another source in the Gemara (Sanhedrin 97a) lists other characteristics of the generation preceding Mashiach. It writes:

Torah scholars decrease; and as for the rest of the people, their eyes fail with sorrow and grief, and troubles increase. And the harsh decrees will be introduced; before the first passes the second quickly comes.

Elsewhere (Bereishit Rabbah 32:4), it states:

Rabbi Elazar bar Avina said: If you see kingdoms clashing with one another, you should anticipate the coming of the Messiah. You may know that it is so, as in the days of Abraham, as a result of the kingdoms clashing with one another, redemption came to Abraham.

Why is it called “the birth pangs of the Mashiach?”

Just as the birth of a child is preceded by labor pains, the arrival of the Mashiach and the Messianic age will be preceded by challenging and tumultuous events. With the modern invention of epidurals, even women who have given birth cannot always fully relate to the idea of birth pangs. Though they are something that are still experienced, the feeling is numbed. But if we were to analyze birth pangs for what they really are, they are pains that gradually get worse and worse and worse, to the point that they no longer feel bearable. At the point where the pain becomes completely insufferable, that is when the baby is born. The moment of ultimate destruction is the exact moment of ultimate salvation.

Why are there birth pangs?

Before the coming of Mashiach, Hashem intended that there must be a period of suffering and trials that the world must endure before the ultimate redemption. This is seen as both a purifying process and a test of faith. Let’s take a look at these two reasons in greater depth.

A Purifying Process

Rav Hirsch (Tehillim 94:12) writes, “The evil which at times seems to tolerate actually serves to discipline man by helping him to strengthen his moral fiber and to ennoble him. The wrong which a man must endure is part of that training course of suffering which will refine him through discipline… thus we see that suffering is not reserved for the most wicked on earth, and, for that matter, that the very wickedness of evil men, unknown to themselves, actually serves to advance the perfect salvation of those better than they, who are made to suffer at their hands.” Though tests and challenges in life are unpleasant, they are the things that make us grow. 

A Test of Faith

Close reflection on the matter of faith reveals that we are only really able to demonstrate our true Emunah in Hashem when the situation around us gives us reason to despair and feel otherwise. To use the analogy of a marital relationship, it is easy for husband and wife to profess their love for one another when everything is smooth sailing, but the true test of love and dedication comes in challenging situations of hardship. Thus, it is relatively easy for us to proclaim our Emunah in Hashem in times in our lives when everything is working out the way we would want it to, but true Emunah comes when things seem difficult, unclear, and though we might be at the mercy of the hands of others.

Roy Neuberger, in his book “Hold On: Surviving the Days before Mashiach,” explains that the Chofetz Chaim linked the term chevlei (often taken to mean birth pangs) to the word chevel, meaning ‘rope.’ Here is what he wrote:

Before Mashiach comes, Hashem will stretch a rope from one end of the world to the other and shake it violently. Those who hold on tightly will survive. Those who let go won’t survive. These turbulent times are testing our trust in Hashem. We must hold on tightly until the end.

Sparing Ourselves the Pain

The Gemara (Sanhedrim 98b) writes 

Rabbi Elazar’s students asked Rabbi Elazar: What shall a person do to be spared from the pains preceding the coming of the Mashiach? Rabbi Elazar said to them: They shall engage in Torah study and acts of kindness.

Be’ezrat Hashem, we can use the difficult time we are in to become deeper engaged with Torah learning and acts of kindness, and we can channel any feelings of fear or despair into trust in Hashem and His Master Plan.