מדרש על תהילים 2:2

There are others who taught the saying of R. Isaac in the following connection: We are taught that R. Jose said: "In the future heathens will come to convert themselves." But do we then accept proselytes? Have we not taught that no proselytes will be accepted in the days of Messiah? So also was it in the days of David and Solomon that no proselytes were accepted. We must therefor say that the proselytes, however, attached themselves unto Israel, although they were not admitted, as R. Jose says that in the future idolaters will come and embrace Judaism and will lay Tephilin on their heads and arms, fringes on their dresses, m'zuzas on their doors. But as soon as they will see the war of Gog and Magog, and will question them: "With whom do you want to fight?" Whereto the answer will be: "With the Lord and his Messiah [as it reads (Ps. 2, 2) Against the Lord and his anointed], each of the nations will remove the above, and go away; and the Holy One will smile upon them. It is here that R. Isaac said "There is no smiling with the Lord, but on that day." But did not R. Juda say in the name of Rab: "There are twelve hours in a day, three hours of which the Holy One, praised be He! is occupied with the Torah. Three hours, He judges the whole world, and seeing that it is liable to be destroyed, He rises from the chair of judgment and sits down on the chair of mercy. The next three hours, He supports the whole world with food, from the very largest creature to the smallest one. And the last three hours, He plays with the leviathan, as it reads (Ps. 104, 26) Leviathan, whom Thou hast made to sport therein." Said R. Nachman b. Isaac: "With His creatures He smiles, but upon them He will smile only on that day."

These are the accounts of the Tabernacle (Exod. 38:21). R. Hiyya said: To what may the heathens be compared? They may be compared to a man who hates the king and decides to rebel against him, but is unable to do so. What does he do? He goes to the king’s statue and tries to topple it. However, he becomes fearful that the king might kill him. What does he do then? He takes an iron digging tool and wedges it beneath the statue. He says to himself: “If I weaken the base of the statue, it will topple.” Similarly, when the heathens sought to do battle with the Holy One, blessed be He, they were not able to do so, and so they attacked Israel. David said: The kings of the earth stand up (Ps. 2:2); that is to say, One who is unable to smite the ass smites the saddle. That was the case with the idolatrous nations. When they were unable to ascend to attack God, they turned against Israel. When did that occur? When they had nothing to serve as a pledge (Temple). However, now the Tabernacle is their pledge, as it is said: These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, even the Tabernacle of the testimony.

Rabbi Levi said: Accursed are the wicked who are engaged in evil counsel against Israel, and each one of them counsels in his way and says: ‘My counsel is better than your counsel.’
Esau said: ‘Cain was a fool because he killed his brother during his father’s lifetime, and he didn’t know that his father would procreate. I will not do so; rather: “Let the days of mourning my father approach, and I will kill my brother Jacob”’ (Genesis 27: 41).
Pharaoh said: ‘Esau was a fool. Did he not know that his brother would procreate during his father’s lifetime? I will not do so [delay before killing Israel]. Rather, while they are still small and just out of their mother’s womb, I will suffocate them’; that is what is written: “Every son who is born, you shall cast him into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22).
Haman said: ‘Pharaoh was a fool, as he said: “Every son who is born, you shall cast him into the Nile.” Didn’t he know that girls marry and procreate? I will not do so; rather, “to destroy, to kill and to eliminate…” (Esther 3:13).’
[Haman continued:] ‘Even Gog and Magog²²Gog is the prophesied king of Magog in the war that will take place at the end of days. See Ezekiel 38–39. in the future are destined to say: “Those who preceded me were fools, as they engaged in counsel with their kings against Israel, but they did not know that they have a patron in Heaven.” I will not do so. I will confront their patron first, and then I will confront them.’ That is what is written: “The kings of the earth have assembled, and rulers are gathered together against the Lord and against His anointed” (Psalms 2:2). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: Wicked one, do you come to confront Me? How many divisions are before Me? How many lightning bolts? How many thunder claps? It is like what is written: “The Lord thundered with a great sound” (I Samuel 7:10); and how many seraphs and how many angels? rather, My power will emerge and wage war with you; that is what is written: “The Lord will emerge and wage war against those nations, like the day that He waged war on the day of battle” (Zechariah 14:3); “The Lord will emerge like the valiant one, He will arouse zealotry like a man of war…” (Isaiah 42:13); “The Lord will be King over the entire earth” (Zechariah 14:9).