And they shall see those who were taken up, who from their birth have
not tasted death; and the heart of the earth’s inhabitants shall be changed and
converted to a different spirit. (2 Esdras 6:26 | NRSV)
As part of the signs, this verse predicts that those who were assumed
to heaven without dying will appear and that the hearts of the inhabitants of
the earth will be changed to a different spirit. Elsewhere in 4 Ezra the
appearance of the assumed together with the Messiah is mentioned (7:28; 13:52),
while Ezra is told that he is counted in this company according to 14:9, cf.
8:17. No passage exactly like 6:26 is to be observed, although
there are ample references to specific assumed individuals who will appear
before the eschaton. The most famous of these is Elijah (Mal 3:23–24). On the other hand, it is clear that the traditions that Enoch and Elijah were
“taken up” are deeply rooted and widespread. Moreover, in the apocalypses other
individuals are said to be taken up: notably Ezra himself (4 Ezra 14:9; 14:49)
and Baruch (2 Apoc Bar 13:3; 43:2;
46:7; 48:30; 76:2; et al). The turn of phrase “did not taste death,” used in
this connection, is also to be found in the New Testament, so Matt 16:28 and
John 8:52, and in rabbinic sources, for example, Gen. R. 3:22 (Theodor-Albeck, p. 201); compare also Bib Ant 48:1–3 for the reverse
expression.
The expectation of change of heart is discussed in the Excursus on
Inspiration. It also involves a change of intellectual qualities and is related
to 4 Ezra’s view that illumination will be part of eschatological redemption.
The expectation of a change of heart is also associated in Malachi with the
verse expressing the hope for the coming of Elijah. (Michael E.
Stone, Fourth Ezra: A Commentary on the Book of Fourth Ezra [Hermeneia—a
Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible; Minneapolis: Fortress Press,
1990], 172)
[The state of those who survive: the saved, 6:25–28] Having been given
the signs that will mark the inauguration of the end, the author now directs
his attention to the persons involved. Apparently circumstances connected with
the appearance of the signs will take their toll so that only those who have survived
“all these things” will experience the Lord’s salvation and see the end of the
world. Among the saved will be those “who have been admitted” or taken up (to
heaven) without having passed through the normal gate of death. The
concatenation of events will work a mighty change upon the minds of earth’s
inhabitants so that they will “be converted to a different spirit.” As a
result, heavenly conditions of life will prevail. Three points developed here
are of special interest. First, there is the conversion to a different spirit,
a subject that occupied the rabbis. They regarded it as the main proof that in
the messianic age God will abolish all evil, that is, the desire for doing evil
(the yṣr hrʿ); that is the second
point to be observed. The third point is of great importance; it is the
flourishing of faith. There is a question as to whether fides should here be rendered “faith” or “faithfulness.” Volz has
distinguished four main types of faith: (1) the common monotheistic faith as
over against paganism, (2) eschatological faith, (3) ethical faith, and (4)
religious faith (the latter two types are often inseparable). The Hebrew term
here may have been ʾmwnh, the Greek pistis which includes both faith and
faithfulness. It is this double meaning which the translation attempts to
convey. Certainly the context indicates that fides takes in more than what is involved in the Christian dogmatic
understanding of the term (cf. also 2 Esd 13:23; 9:7). The writer certainly has
in mind not only confidence, trust and belief in God but also devotion,
loyalty, and faithfulness as the positive side of life in the new age. (Jacob
M. Myers, I and II Esdras: Introduction,
Translation and Commentary [AYB 42; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008],
202-3)
