In 1989, in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall, sociologist Francis Fukuyama wrote:
It didn’t quite work out that way. Imperialism, religious extremism and despotism still have plenty of staying power in this “post-history” age. But this sense of “End of History” resonates with our understanding of the parasha:
What is אחרית הימים? Rabbi Shulman has argued that it simply means “later”; this is a prophecy of the future but not necessarily of the eschaton. And there are מפרשים who agree:
But that really isn’t the sense that אחרית הימים is used throughout תנ״ך. A few examples:
The phrase really gives the impression not of “later” but of “the end of time”. And that’s how Rashi (based on the Gemara) reads it:
Ramban adds that while Jacob doesn’t explicit talk of the end times, he hints at it:
And the Zohar says that really, in Jacob’s words there’s an esoteric meaning that would truly be מגלה את הקץ:
It’s important to note that even this understanding of אחרית הימים isn’t an age of open miracles, and on the other hand, ימות המשיח is not just about a person with oily hair, but it really is the "End of History: in Fukuyama’s Hegelian sense. Life will go on, but the big conflicts of ideology will be gone:
[This is actually a מחלוקת in the Gemara (שבת קנא,ב) about how much human nature will change; will we still be “human” but develop to the point of making good decisions, or will the יצר הרע actually be eliminated. But I will take Rambam’s view.]
Even though the concept of אחרית הימים is present throughout תנ״ך, there’s no way to predict it or say anything detailed about it. Even Jacob couldn’t say anything: בקש לגלות את הקץ ונסתלקה שכינה ממנו. It’s not that he wasn’t allowed to say it; it’s that he didn’t have anything to say. Even as a נביא, his vision was clouded. That is an inherent part of how we understand אחרית הימים:
The reason is that the details are not fixed; there’s no way to prophecy about something that depends in part on our behavior:
So we have a paradox: believing in ימות המשיח is a fundamental principle of faith:
But we’re not allowed to (and cannot) think about it. So what’s the point in believing it? Why is something so utterly unknowable, even if true, so important?
Most of the answers are pragmatic; belief in ימות המשיח gives up hope to deal with the tribulations of life today, when things are so difficult:
But this doesn’t seem like an adequate reason for an עיקר אמונה. I think there’s inherent value in the belief in the End of History, because it’s not just that ה׳ 'will bring all humanity to the truth:
But that we as Jews are part of that History, an integral part of the plot of the story of the world. To believe in ימות המשיח is to believe that not only that history has a purpose but that we are part of that purpose. To deny that is to remove ourselves from בנסת ישראל. As Rav Soloveitchik says: