And this is for you the sign [of the coming of the Messiah]:
that you see a septenary which begins with rain; in the second year, arrows
of famine are sent out; in the third, there is great famine; and in the
fourth – neither hunger nor plenty; in the sixth – great plenty,
and a star will grow from the east with a staff on its head, and that
is the star of Israel… and if it lights up, it is for the benefit
of Israel, and then will sprout up Messiah ben David. And this is the
sign for you: When you see that the eastern Nero [i.e., emperor] in Damascus
has fallen, and the kingdom of the Children of the East has fallen, then
will salvation sprout up for Israel, and Messiah ben David will come,
and they will ascend to Jerusalem and enjoy it… May God in His mercy
send us the Redeemer rapidly in our days, Amen.
(Nistarot R. Shim’on ben Yohai, BhM 3:82)
- - -
And He lets Messiah ben Joseph sprout up for them, and he
will bring them up to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple and offer up sacrifices.
And fire will descend from heaven and consume their sacrifices…
If they have not acquired merits, Messiah ben Ephraim will come; and if
they have acquired merits, Messiah ben David will come. And a wicked king
will arise, and his name is Armilus. He is bald, and his eyes are small,
and his forehead is leprous, and his right ear plugged up, and his left
ear is open... And he is a creature of Satan and of stone, and he goes
up against Jerusalem and wages war there with Messiah ben Ephraim, in
the eastern gate. And Israel will be exiled to a desert of marshes, to
graze in the salty flats and the roots of broom bushes, for forty-five
days. And then they will be tested and purified.
... And Messiah ben Ephraim will die there, and Israel will mourn him.
And thereafter the Holy One, blessed be He, will reveal to them Messiah
ben David, and Israel will want to stone him and they will say to him:
"You spoke lies, for already the Messiah was killed and no other
Messiah will arise." And they will despise him... And he will retire
and hide himself from them... And when Israel suffers, they will again
cry out because of hunger and thirst, and instantly the Holy One, blessed
be He, will reveal Himself to them in His glory... And King Messiah will
sprout up there... And he will blow upon that wicked Armilus and slay
him...
And the Holy One, blessed be He, will whistle and gather all Israel and
bring them up to Jerusalem... And fire will descend from heaven and devour
Jerusalem down to three cubits. And He will evict the foreigner, the uncircumcised,
and the impure from her midst. And from heaven will descend built-up and
embellished Jerusalem, and in her will be seventy-two pearls which will
shine from one end of the world to the other. And all the nations will
walk in the light... And a built-up Temple will descend from heaven, and
it will be tied to the Z'vul [one of the heavens], as Moses, peace be
upon him, saw it through the Holy Spirit...
(Nistarot R. Shim’on ben Yohai, BhM 3:82)
Source: Raphael Patai, The Messiah Texts, Wayne
State University Press