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The Gemara in Masechet Sanhedrin has this same question. What's going to happen when Mashiach (Moshiach) is going to come?
When Mashiach comes, he’s going to save all of the people that used to be criminals against Hashem, but did Teshuva. So what’s going to happen to the rest? They will be destroyed. The Mechalel Shabbat, the one that goes and touches a woman that's not his wife, and the one that's eating pork…gone!
Scary Gemara. Scary Torah.
There's going to be two things that destroy people. The first is Gog and Magog. It’s like what the goyim call armageddon: the end of the world.
The War called Gog and Magog.
At the time this Gemara was written, almost two thousand years ago, it was unimaginable how the world can end in a few moments. The weapons we had back then were spears. So even if you had 10 million people throw their spear against the next army that's also 10 million people, and everybody hits, worst case scenario: 20 million people died. How’s the rest of the world going to die? Meaning, it was unimaginable for end of the world scenario to happen in such end moments.
Today, every average person that has used technology one day in their life understands how the world can end in a second. All somebody needs to do is press the button and atomic bombs go. Once one country sends atomic bombs, the enemy country sends atomic bombs in return. Within moments the world is destroyed. Hashem Yerachem.
This we know from the prophet Zechariah, who wrote in chapter 14 of Zechariah that at the end of the world certain things are going to happen, and he describes exactly what's going to happen The way he describes it is literally the definition of what happens during an atomic war. Melting skin, eyes becoming fluid, and all types of hideous, hideous descriptions of what happens as a result of atomic or biochemical warfare.
So the Chachamim were asking their Rabbi, “Kavod HaRav, so how do we get protected from this?”
He says: “Mashiach”.
Mashiach will save people that did Teshuva
However, this is the second second way people will be destroyed. Mashiach is going to be able to smell the sins on people. Whoever did Teshuva isn’t going to have to say anything. Mashiach is going to be able to smell whether he or she has yirat shamayim (fear of heaven) or not.
Meaning: Mashiach will know if you’re a Mechalel Shabbat or not. If you’re touching women that you’re not allowed to. If you’re protecting his eyes. Moshiach is going to know all this just by simply seeing you.
A person who did not do Teshuva, unfortunately, joins the rest of the people that go with Gog and Magog.
But David HaMelech tells us in Tehillim that the people who did Teshuva, will be saved by Mashiach. Despite the war and despite the pain.
How to be Saved at the Time of Mashiach – The 2 Ways
What do we have to do in order to be saved? In the Gemara, Eliezer ben Horkanos answers and he says: “Torah and Gemilut Hasadim”.
What does that mean, Torah and Gemilut Hasadim?
1) Torah will Save You – Learn it and do it.
Go learn the Torah, see what it says and do it. No excuses.
Torah says, keep shabbat…keep shabbat.
Torah says, keep kosher… keep kosher.
Torah says, you have to be modest as a man or a woman… be modest as a man or a woman.
Torah says you have to do certain things, do it. As soon as you learn it, start doing it.
It's hard for you? Try again. Try and try and try until you pass. Just like anything else that's worthwhile in life. You want something, you go after it. That's what a winner does.
So, Hakodesh Baruch Hu (the Holy One, blessed be He) told us: you have a Torah, you have Mitzvot. Some of them in the beginning are going to be hard for you. Why? You have a lot of peer pressure. Your friends are going to the movies. You…want to go to Shiur Torah but your friends say: “why are you going to go to shiur Torah? Come to the movies, nu? The new x-men is out. The new spider-man is out. The new Hashem Yerachem is out. The new something is out. The new Geheniom is out. Why do you go to a shiur Torah, why? Come with us to the club, come have a couple of drinks. You’re gonna find a new girlfriend today. And tomorrow new one. Everyday a new one. Come to the club.”
You say: “yeah i want to go to the club but i also want to go to Gan Eden. They don't go together. Gan Eden and the club, they don't go together. If I go to the club, no Gan Eden. The only place that’s going to help me go to Gan Eden, is a shiur Torah.”
It’s a hard choice. If you fail once, try again next time. If you fail another time, try again next time. And keep trying until you succeed in every mitzvah. But in order to know what to do you have to learn.
So that’s Torah. Torah is learning, and then doing.
2) Gemilut Hasadim will Save You – The Highest Level of Kindness is Kiruv.
Gemilut Hasadim means doing an abundance of kindness. What kind of kindness?
You can do a small kindness, like for example, give somebody a little bit of money. Somebody needs Challah, you go buy it for him, you go to the store for him. Your mom, you know, is under pressure, you help her out – that's kindness.
But the Gemara says an abundance of kindness. A lot of kindness.
The Highest level of kindness is introducing and influencing somebody to get closer to Hakodesh Baruch Hu. That's the ultimate kindness. Get somebody closer to Hashem.
There's countless ways.
One way, you bring someone to a shiur Torah. You don't say anything. She comes, or he comes to the shiur Torah and they listen to the shiur Torah. Then next thing you know, they start doing Mitzvot. You have achieved an enormous, enormous achievement that's worth a lifetime. Just for that, you get 310 worlds in heaven. Not one world. You get 310, just for bringing one jew back. Imagine you brought ten. Imagine you brought a thousand. There's no one richer than you.
Even if you save somebody's body, all you might be doing is buying another few minutes. Maybe he's still gonna get hit by a truck five minutes from now. So it's not considered the highest level of kindness. It's good. But it's not the highest level. The highest level is saving his or her neshama.
Survive Gog and Magog by Learning Torah and Saving other Souls
So, that's what a person needs to do. Learn as much as you can on a daily basis. If you're not learning at all every day, start with shuirim.
You could start watching our shiurim. Even ten minutes a day, but make it every day. Every day you learn a little bit.
After that, start doing the mitzvot.
After that, start influencing other people by sending them whatever you're watching. You watch the shiur, and you like it – send it to your friends. Send it to them on WhatsApp. Send them an email. The point is, do something to save other people.
If you do those two things, the Gemara says you have nothing to worry about during Gog and Magog.
You don't do them? You have everything to worry about
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