Fallen Angels and the Origins of Evil (14 page)

1 I beheld another splendour, and the stars of heaven. I observed that he called them all by their respective names, and that they heard. In a righteous balance I saw that he weighed out with their light the amplitude of their places, and the day of their appearance, and their conversion. Splendour produced splendour; and their conversion
was
into the number of the angels, and of the faithful.

2 Then I inquired of the angel, who proceeded with me, and explained to me secret things, What
their names
were. He answered, A similitude of those has the Lord of spirits shown thee. They are names of the righteous who dwell upon earth, and who believe in the name of the Lord of spirits for ever and for ever.

Another thing also I saw respecting splendour; that it rises out of the stars, and becomes splendour; being incapable of forsaking them.

1 Parable the second, respecting these who deny the name of the habitation of the holy ones, and of the Lord of spirits.

2 Heaven they shall not ascend, nor shall they come on the earth. This shall be the portion of sinners, who deny the name of the Lord of spirits, and who are thus reserved for the day of punishment and of affliction.

3 In that day shall the Elect One sit upon a throne of glory; and shall choose their conditions and countless habitations (while their spirits within them shall be strengthened, when they behold my Elect One),
shall choose them
for those who have fled for protection to my holy and glorious name.

4 In that day I will cause my Elect One to dwell in the midst of them; will change
the face of
heaven; will bless it, and illuminate it for ever.

5 I will also change
the face of
the earth; will bless it; and cause those whom I have elected to dwell upon it. But those who have committed sin and iniquity shall not inhabit it, for I have marked their proceedings. My righteous ones will I satisfy with peace, placing them before me; but the condemnation of sinners shall draw near, that I may destroy them from the face of the earth.

1 There I beheld the Ancient of days, whose head was like white wool, and with him another, whose countenance resembled that of man. His countenance was full of grace, like
that of
one of the holy angels. Then I inquired of one of the angels, who went with me, and who showed me every secret thing, concerning this Son of man; who he was; whence he was; and why he accompanied the Ancient of days.

2 He answered and said to me, This is the Son of man, to whom righteousness belongs; with whom righteousness has dwelt; and who will reveal all the treasures of that which is concealed: for the Lord of spirits has chosen him; and his portion has surpassed all before the Lord of spirits in everlasting uprightness.

3 This Son of man, whom thou beholdest, shall raise up kings and the mighty from their couches, and the powerful from their thrones; shall loosen the bridles of the powerful, and break in pieces the teeth of sinners.

4 He shall hurl kings from their thrones and their dominions; because they will not exalt and praise him, nor humble themselves
before him,
by whom their kingdoms were granted to them. The countenance likewise of the mighty shall He cast down, filling them with confusion. Darkness shall be their habitation, and worms shall be their bed; nor from
that
their bed shall they hope to be again raised, because they exalted not the name of the Lord of spirits.

5 They shall condemn the stars of heaven, shall lift up their hands against the Most High, shall tread upon and inhabit the earth, exhibiting all their works of iniquity, even their works of iniquity. Their strength shall be in their riches, and their faith in the gods whom they have formed with their own hands. They shall deny the name of the Lord of spirits, and shall expel him from the temples, in which they assemble;

6 And
with him
the faithful [or, “will be driven from the houses of his congregation, and of the faithful” (Knibb, p. 132; cp. Charles, p. 131)], who suffer in the name of the Lord of spirits.

1 In that day the prayer of the holy and the righteous, and the blood of the righteous, shall ascend from the earth into the presence of the Lord of spirits.

2 In that day shall the holy ones assemble, who dwell above the heavens, and with united voice petition, supplicate, praise, laud, and bless the name of the Lord of spirits, on account of the blood of the righteous which has been shed; that the prayer of the righteous may not be intermitted before the Lord of spirits; that for them he would execute judgment; and that his patience may not endure for ever [or, “their patience may not have to last for ever” (Knibb, p. 133)].

3 At that time I beheld the Ancient of days, while he sat upon the throne of his glory,
while
the book of the living was opened in his presence, and
while
all the powers which were above the heavens stood around and before him.

4 Then were the hearts of the saints full of joy, because the consummation of righteousness was arrived, the supplication of the saints heard, and the blood of the righteous appreciated by the Lord of spirits.

1 In that place I beheld a fountain of righteousness, which never failed, encircled by many springs of wisdom. Of these all the thirsty drank, and were filled with wisdom, having their habitation with the righteous, the elect, and the holy.

2 In that hour was this Son of man invoked before the Lord of spirits, and his name in the presence of the Ancient of days.

3 Before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of heaven were formed, his name was invoked in the presence of the Lord of spirits. A support shall he be for the righteous and the holy to lean upon, without falling; and he shall be the light of nations.

4 He shall be the hope of those whose hearts are troubled. All, who dwell on earth, shall fall down and worship before him; shall bless and glorify him, and sing praises to the name of the Lord of spirits.

5 Therefore the Elect and the Concealed One existed in his presence, before the world was created, and for ever.

6 In his presence
he existed,
and has revealed to the saints and to the righteous the wisdom of the Lord of spirits; for he has preserved the lot of the righteous, because they have hated and rejected this world of iniquity, and have detested all its works and ways, in the name of the Lord of spirits.

7 For in his name shall they be preserved; and his will shall be their life. In those days shall the kings of the earth and the mighty men, who have gained the world by their achievements, become humble in countenance.

8 For in the day of their anxiety and trouble their souls shall not be saved; and
they shall be
in subjection to those whom I have chosen.

9 I will cast them like hay into the fire, and like lead into the water. Thus shall they burn in the presence of the righteous, and sink in the presence of the holy; nor shall a tenth part of them be found.

10 But in the day of their trouble, the world shall obtain tranquillity.

11 In his presence shall they fall, and not be raised up again; nor shall there be any one to take them out of his hands, and to lift them up: for they have denied the Lord of spirits, and his Messiah. The name of the Lord of spirits shall be blessed.

(Two consecutive chapters are numbered “48.”)

1 Wisdom is poured forth like water, and glory fails not before him for ever and ever; for potent is he in all the secrets of righteousness.

2 But iniquity passes away like a shadow, and possesses not a fixed station: for the Elect One stands before the Lord of spirits; and his glory is for ever and ever; and his power from generation to generation.

3 With him dwells the spirit of intellectual wisdom, the spirit of instruction and of power, and the spirit of those who sleep in righteousness; he shall judge secret things.

4 Nor shall any be able to utter a single word before him; for the Elect One is in the presence of the Lord of spirits, according to his own pleasure.

1 In those days the saints and the chosen shall undergo a change. The light of day shall rest upon them; and the splendour and glory of the saints shall be changed.

2 In the day of trouble evil shall be heaped up upon sinners; but the righteous shall triumph in the name of the Lord of spirits.

3 Others shall be made to see, that they must repent, and forsake the works of their hands; and that glory awaits them not in the presence of the Lord of spirits; yet that by his name they may be saved. The Lord of spirits will have compassion on them: for great is his mercy; and righteousness is in his judgment, and in the presence of his glory; nor in his judgment shall iniquity stand. He who repents not before him shall perish.

4 Henceforward I will not have mercy on them, saith the Lord of spirits.

1 In those days shall the earth deliver up from her womb, and hell deliver up from hers, that which it has received; and destruction shall restore that which it owes.

2 He shall select the righteous and holy from among them; for the day of their salvation has approached.

3 And in those days shall the Elect One sit upon his throne, while every secret of intellectual wisdom shall proceed from his mouth; for the Lord of spirits has gifted and glorified him.

4 In those days the mountains shall skip like rams, and the hills shall leap like young sheep
[119]
satiated with milk; and all
the righteous
shall become angels in heaven.

5 Their countenance shall be bright with joy; for in those days shall the Elect One be exalted. The earth shall rejoice; the righteous shall inhabit it, and the elect possess it.

1 After that period, in the place where I had seen every secret sight, I was snatched up in a whirlwind, and carried off westwards.

2 There my eyes beheld the secrets of heaven, and all which existed on earth; a mountain of iron, a mountain of copper, a mountain of silver, a mountain of gold, a mountain of fluid metal, and a mountain of lead.

3 And I inquired of the angel who went with me, saying, What are these things, which in secret I behold?

4 He said, All these things which thou beholdest shall be for the dominion of the Messiah, that he may command, and be powerful upon earth.

5 And that angel of peace answered me, saying, Wait but a short time, and thou shalt understand, and every secret thing shall be revealed to thee, which the Lord of spirits has decreed. Those mountains which thou hast seen, the mountain of iron, the mountain of copper, the mountain of silver, the mountain of gold, the mountain of fluid metal, and the mountain of lead, all these in the presence of the Elect One shall be like a honeycomb before the fire, and like water descending from above upon these mountains; and shall become debilitated before his feet.

6 In those days men shall not be saved by gold and by silver.

7 Nor shall they have it in their power to secure themselves, and to fly.

8 There shall be neither iron for war, nor a coat of mail for the breast.

9 Copper shall be useless; useless also that which neither rusts nor consumes away; and lead shall not be coveted.

10 All these things shall be rejected, and perish from off the earth, when the Elect One shall appear in the presence of the Lord of spirits.

1 There my eyes beheld a deep valley; and wide was its entrance.

2 All who dwell on land, on the sea, and in islands, shall bring to it gifts, presents, and offerings; yet that deep valley shall not be full. Their hands shall commit iniquity. Whatsoever they produce by labour, the sinners shall devour with crime. But they shall perish from the face of the Lord of spirits, and from the face of his earth. They shall stand up, and shall not fail for ever and ever.

3 I beheld the angels of punishment, who were dwelling
there,
and preparing every instrument of Satan.

4 Then I inquired of the angel of peace, who proceeded with me, for whom those instruments were preparing.

5 He said, These they are preparing for the kings and powerful ones of the earth, that thus they may perish.

6 After which the righteous and chosen house of his congregation shall appear, thenceforward unchangeable, in the name of the Lord of spirits.

7 Nor shall those mountains exist in his presence, as the earth and the hills, as the fountains of water
exist.
And the righteous shall be relieved from the vexation of sinners.

1 Then I looked and turned myself to another part of the earth, where I beheld a deep valley burning with fire.

2 To this valley they brought monarchs and the mighty.

3 And there my eyes beheld the instruments which they were making, fetters of iron without weight [or, “of immeasurable weight” (Knibb, p. 138)].

4 Then I inquired of the angel of peace, who proceeded with me, saying, For whom are these fetters and instruments prepared?

5 He replied, These are prepared for the host of Azazeel, that they may be delivered over and adjudged to the lowest condemnation; and that their angels may be overwhelmed with hurled stones, as the Lord of spirits has commanded.

6 Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Phanuel shall be strengthened in that day, and shall then cast them into a furnace of blazing fire, that the Lord of spirits may be avenged of them for their crimes; because they became ministers of Satan, and seduced those who dwell upon earth.

7 In those days shall punishment go forth from the Lord of spirits; and the receptacles of water which are above the heavens shall be opened, and the fountains likewise, which are under the heavens and under the earth.

8 All the waters, which are in the heavens and above them, shall be mixed together.

9 The water which is above heaven shall be the agent [literally, “male” (Laurence, p. 61)];