h, the son
of David, appears in victory, another Messiah of the tribe of Ephraim is
to fall in battle, according to a belief dating from the second century
and possibly connected with the Bar Kochba war.(1210) In another
tradition, probably older, the true Messiah himself is to suffer and
die.(1211) At all events, he must destroy Rome, the fourth world-kingdom.
But he is also to slay the arch-fiend Ahriman, afterwards known as
Armillus. Moreover, he will redeem the dead from Sheol, as he possesses
the key to open all the graves of the holy land, and thus all the sons of
Israel will partake in the glory of his kingdom. Then at last the city of
Jerusalem will arise in splendor, built of gold and precious stones, the
marvel of the world, and in its midst the Temple, a structure of
surpassing magnificence. The holy vessels of the tabernacle, hidden for
ages in the wilderness, will appear, and the nations will offer the wealth
of the whole earth as their tribute to the Messiah. All will practice
righteousness and piety, and will be rewarded by bliss and numerous
posterity.(1212)

Opinions differ widely as to the duration of the Messianic age. They range
from forty to four hundred years, and again from three generations to a
full millennium.(1213) This difference is partly caused by the distinction
between the national hope, with the temporary welfare of the people of
Israel, and the religious hope concerning the divine kingdom, which is to
last forever. A very late rabbinic belief holds that the Messiah will be
able to give a new law and even to abrogate Mosaic prohibitions.(1214)

7. At any rate, no complete system of eschatology existed during the
Talmudic age, as the views of the various apocalyptic writers were
influenced by the changing events of the time and the new environments,
with their constant influence upon popular belief. A certain uniformity,
indeed, existed in the fundamental ideas. The Messianic hope in its
national character includes always the reunion of all Israel under a
victorious ruler of the house of David, who shall destroy all hostile
powers and bring an era of supreme prosperity and happiness as well as of
peace and good-will among men. The Haggadists indulged also in dreams of
the marvelous fertility of the soil of Palestine in the Messianic
time,(1215) and of the resurrection of the dead in the holy land. But in
Judaism such views could never become dogmas, as they did in the Church,
even though