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— and three hundred and sixty, as it says: "The whole congregation together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty."
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The second: they will be gathered from the islands of the sea — as it says: "And from Elam and from Shinar and from Hamath and from the islands of the sea." But they never went to any islands in the first exile, let alone returning from them.
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The third: that the nations will build Jerusalem's walls — as it says: "And foreigners will build your walls, and their kings will serve you." It is well-known that they built nothing for us in the Second Temple era — on the contrary, they opposed us, and we were in constant conflict over the building.
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The fourth: that the city's gates will be open day and night for security and free coming and going — as it says: "And your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut." But we find that in the Second Temple era they were shut before sunset and not opened until full daylight — as it says: "And he said to them: Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot."
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The fifth: that no nation will remain that is not under Israel's authority — as it says: "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you will perish." Yet it is beyond dispute that they and their lands were enslaved to foreign rulers in the Second Temple era — as it says: "Behold, we are slaves today, and the land…"
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This completes the five from textual proofs. As for the five from historical records: The first is that the people will burn the wood of Gog's weapons for seven years — as it says: "And the inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out and set fire to and burn weapons — shields and bucklers, bows and arrows…"
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The second: that the Nile of Egypt will dry up in one place and the Euphrates will dry up in seven places to allow the people's passage — as it says: "And the Lord will dry up the tongue of the sea of Egypt; and will wave His hand over the River, and there will be a highway for the remnant of His people."
The third: that the Mount of Olives will cleave apart from its eastern and western midpoint until it splits
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— from east to west until it splits: one half toward the north and one half toward the south, with a great valley between them — as it says: "And the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west."
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The fourth: the building of the Temple according to the temple plan from its beginning to its end.
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The fifth: that a spring will emerge from the Temple and then widen until it becomes a great river that no one can cross — as it says: "Behold, water issuing from under the threshold of the House toward the east" — to the end of the passage — "and he measured a thousand: a stream that I could not cross."
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No report has come down to us of any of these five occurring — rather, the historical record establishes that none of them occurred whatsoever.
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As for the five that reason itself perceives: The first is the faith of all people and their affirming God's unity — as it says: "And the Lord will be King over all the earth." Yet we see them now in their error and unbelief.
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The second: the protection of the believer from paying tribute or carrying wealth and food to others — as it says: "The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm: Surely I will no longer give your grain as food for your enemies." Yet we see every nation paying tribute and obeying every nation that comes to hold power over it.
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The third: the cessation of wars among people, so that they will no longer bear weapons against one another — as it says: "And they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears…" Yet we see those same people more intense than ever in warfare and combat.
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If someone interprets this allegorically and says it only means they will not fight in religion — well, in religious disputation and debate over their faiths they are more intense than ever.
The fourth: animals living in peace with one another
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— so that the wolf will graze with the lamb, the lion will eat straw, and the gazelle will play with snakes and vipers — as it says: "And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb" and "A cow and a bear shall graze" and "They shall not hurt or destroy." Yet we see these animals in their natural states — their predatory natures unchanged.
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If someone also interprets this allegorically and says it only means that the wicked among people will live in peace with the meek — well, the situation is precisely the opposite: the strong oppress the weak with more cruelty and transgression than ever.
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The fifth: the rebuilding of Sodom and its restoration to what it once was — as it says: "And I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters" and: "And your sister Sodom and her daughters will return to their former state."
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The Torah states explicitly that Sodom's plain was well-watered and irrigated all of it — as it says: "And Lot lifted his eyes and saw the whole plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere" — and it says: "like the garden of the Lord" in the text where "a river goes out of Eden to water the garden" — and it says: "like the land of Egypt."
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Yet today it is a desolate salt land, its plain a salt marsh, crying out in its condition. These situations all furnish complete proof that these consolations have not yet come to pass.
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Chapter 9. Everything we have used to refute those people is also a refutation of the Christians — except what we mentioned about the Second Temple's construction, for they do not claim the promises began at that time; rather they place them one hundred and thirty-five years before the destruction of the Second Temple