
Jewish Apocalypse in the Seventh Century: Martha Himmelfarb on the Sefer Zerubbabel
From Podcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP) by Earl Fontainelle
September 27, 2025 · 48 min
About this episode
This episode features an interview with Martha Himmelfarb discussing the Sefer Zerubbabel, a significant apocalyptic text from seventh-century Judaism.
In this interview we explore a crucial document of seventh-century Judaism: the Sefer Zerubbabel , an apocalyptic ‘future history’ allegedly written in the past. The Temple will descend, the evil Armilus (son of Satan and a statue) will wreak havok, and two messiahs will arise to redeem Israel.
People in this episode
Host: Earl Fontainelle
Guest: Martha Himmelfarb
Topics covered
- apocalyptic literature
- Judaism
- messianism
- historical documents
- Sefer Zerubbabel
- seventh century
Keywords
- Sefer Zerubbabel
- Martha Himmelfarb
- apocalyptic
- Judaism
- Armilus
- messiahs
- seventh century
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Sefer Zerubbabel
More episodes of Podcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)
- Three Ancient Sages: On East Roman Magical Books · May 13, 2026 · 56 min
- Gerasimos Merianos on East Roman Alchemy in Late Antiquity and Beyond, Part II · April 1, 2026 · 39 min
- Gerasimos Merianos on East Roman Alchemy in Late Antiquity and Beyond, Part I · March 25, 2026 · 46 min
- The Horoscope of Islām and The Alchemical Stone: Maria Papathanassiou on Stephanos of Alexandria, Part II · March 4, 2026 · 33 min
- Philosophy and Occult Sciences at Constantinople: Maria Papathanassiou on Stephanos of Alexandria, Part I · February 25, 2026 · 42 min
- Esoteric Orthodoxy in East Rome: Jonathan Greig on Maximus the Confessor · December 7, 2025 · 1h 13m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Podcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP) podcast page.