Thursday, November 29, 2012

Daniel's Prophecy on the Era of Redemption

There won't be any 'gray' areas ...
The Jewish people survived several exiles since the destruction of the Second Temple 1,945 years ago. The present exile, quickly coming to a close, will be their last one, to be followed by a utopia.

The closer we get to this "Era of Ultimate Redemption", after which Jews will never again suffer exile, the clearer becomes the distinction between good and evil. The reason for this separation is simple. Evil will be wiped off the face of the earth and people must make their choices which of these two sides to align with, so they can be held accountable.

Before the sin of Adam, good and evil were clearly distinguishable. The sin of eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil obfuscated this distinction, making what was "good" much less discernible. The sin burdened mankind with an intellectual challenge to determine right from wrong. With this obfuscation man could rationalize away his misdeeds.

But now, as we stand at the threshold of the 7th millennium, the nature of the world is coming full circle. In the utopia that preceded Adam’s sin, good and evil were blatantly incongruous. But the ultimate purpose of this descent served a purpose. It was a descent is for the purpose of a subsequent ascent.  The world will be taken to a level of experience even higher than that which prevailed in the Garden of Eden. A most wondrous and ultimate utopia is, therefore, about to dawn.

Evil cannot inherit the future. It will be swept away forever, as a pre-requisite for a more sacred, lofty experience. We will experience a so-called visualization of divinity; Even the flesh will "see", and we'll comprehend G-d's omnipresence.

To pave the way for this imminent era, arbitrary, politically-correct boundaries are falling asunder. Distinction between what is right and what is wrong is becoming all-too evident. Man, with his power of reasoning, will not be permitted to straddle the fence. With the choices people make from now on, they sign their fates.

For example, we see now how the United Nations constituents begin to line up for or against Israel. But in the final analysis, individuals, not countries, will be responsible for their own destiny. (Unless the country is almost bereft of righteous people to save it, as was Sodom.)

In the Book of Daniel (written about 2,400 years ago), reference is made to the interval preceding the Era of Redemption using the metaphor of a “refinery” - a time of demarcation and separation. For evil to be vanquished, it must be separated out and identified. Once Moshiach ushers in The Era of Redemption, the evil camp will be fought and eradicated.

The last chapter in Daniel (verse 10) describes this precursor stage of the “end of days”: “Much will become clarified, purified and refined; [But] the wicked will continue in their evil ways, and none of the wicked will understand, but the wise ones will understand.”

Daniel says the distinctiveness of "good" versus "bad" is strictly for the sake of the wise, for whom the process is unfolding. The world-to-come will accommodate Jews and Gentiles - but only righteous Gentiles.

Will good people who passed away prior to the utopia lose out; Will those who behaved righteously merit this glorious eternity? The final verse in the final chapter provides the answer, “And you continue on your [righteous] path [towards the] end-of-days, and were you to rest, you will get up to your fate in the end of days.”

G-d grants every human being an intellect and ability to decide for himself his own fate regarding his portion in the world to come.

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