Day 15

Well now. That took a turn I didn’t see coming. Second Esdras had me scrambling to look things up because I had to ask: “What the hell is going on here?!” It turns out, two chapters of Second Esdras are likely Christian add-ons (makes sense), there’s a Jewish vision of the apocalypse (didn’t need to look that up, it’s very clear), and the last two chapters are probably Christian add-ons as well. The heart of this book are the visions of the apocalypse sandwiched between four chapters of Christian editing. Now, I don’t have anything against Christians using Jewish scripture as a source of inspiration. But…editing it? That’s just lazy theology.

It turns out as I dug around for answers to the obviously-Christian verses, I stumbled into a heap of weirdness. Second Esdras has a very passionate following among alt-right Christian nationalist conspiracy theorists. There’s prophesies about Donald Trump and all sorts of nonsense. They even go so far as to use an eagle in one of the visions and count off feathers on the wings to prove their conspiracies. See the image below? Now pretend each feather on those wings was a US President. I can’t make this up.

This rabbit hole aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was weird. It inspired me to research more. It introduced me to some fascinating apocalyptic literature. It had archangels, a woman that turns into a city, a three-headed eagle, and a Messiah!

This book would make one of those great dark and gloomy religious films. I dunno, think The Rite (which was somewhat successful). Anyway, I can see why this is apocryphal. The alterations are obvious. I’ll need to remember Second Esdras when I read Daniel — which I know is apocalyptic as well. I’m curious how they differ and relate.

One Word for Second Esdras: Wild

Parts of the Text That Stayed With Me

1. 2 Esd 4, Uriel the Riddler. The archangel Uriel likes his riddles. He asks Ezra to “Go, weigh for me the weight of fire, or measure for me a blast of wind, or call back for me the day that is past.” Oh and he has more. Cheeky angel. “How many dwellings are int eh heart of the sea or how many streams are above the firmament, or which are the exits of Hades, or which are the entrances of paradise?” Note to self: Don’t get into a war of the wits with Uriel.
2. 2 Esd 13, Fire Breathing…Messiah? A giant crowd goes out to attack the Messiah in one of the visions and, well, he flies away…only to come back and incinerate the crowd. Well now.
3. 2 Esd 3-14, All of the Visions. I listed two highlights for me above, but, really, the entirety of chapters 3 to 14 are a wild ride and a delight if you’re into that kinda thing. I kept wishing this book had a symphonic metal soundtrack.

This post is part of a lager series where I read the entirety of Hebrew & Christian scriptures in 45 days. Take a look a the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.