APOCRYPHAL TEXT OF THE MONTH:
De Anticristo
Oxford, Bodleian Manuscript Junius 121 is an 11th century manuscript measuring 11 1/10 X 6 1/2 inches, written in Old English and Latin. It contains canons, penitentials, a confessional, two of Ælfric's Pastoral Letters and several of his homilies, and Wulfstan's Institutes of Polity, as well as his homilies De Anticristo (Bethurum Ib), De Regula Canonicorum (Bethurum Xa), and Be Godcundre Warnung (Bethurum XIX). It is connected with Worcester both by the scribe Wulfgeat's signature (folio 101) and by a copy of the Nicene Creed in the tremulous Worcester hand (folio vi). The Latin text of De Anticristo exists in six manuscripts: Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 201, pp. 66-7; Cambridge, St. John's College 42, f. 94r; Bodleian, Hatton 113, ff. 31b-33; British Library, Cotton Vespasian D.ii, ff. 28b-29; Copenhagen Gl. Kgl. S. 1595, ff. 51-52; and Madrid, Real Biblioteca del Escorial T.I.12, f. 176r-v. In form, the "homily" is an outline or set of notes rather than a true sermon, and the five Old English eschatological homilies are all in one way or another indebted to the Latin outline. Major sources include Adso, Augustine, Gregory, and the Bible. De Anticristo is in large part a translation of Wulfstan's Latin outline De Anticristo. It appears in four manuscripts: Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 201, pp. 67-68; Bodleian Hatton 113, ff. 33-34; Bodleian Junius 121, ff. 136b-137b; and Bodleian 343, f. 142b.
OLD ENGLISH VERSION 1 Beloved people, understand very well so that you may correctly and carefully hold that which is most needful for you to hold, that is, correct Christianity. For each of those who do too much that is contrary to it or who do not teach it to others, each of those is named Antichrist. Antichrist is in Latin "contrary to Christ", that is in English, God's adversary. He is God's adversary who abandons God's laws and teaching and through the devil's teaching makes ill use of that which belongs to his Christianity, and then, being himself in sin, too severely befouls or leads other people into sin. And although it may be that many people will never see Antichrist himself with their eyes, still too many of his limbs may now be seen far and wide and may be known by their evil, just as is read in the gospel: "False Christs will arise, [who will show great signs, so that, if it were possible, they would lead even the elect into deception]." Widely it will happen that false liars will arise and be plausibly deceitful, and they will mar many people and bring them into heresy. 2 And such great affliction will occur in many ways throughout the world, as the book says, through the devil's son, who will do such evil as never happened before in the world; for the greatest evil will come to people when Antichrist himself comes, who never before was in the world. And it seems to us that that time is very near at hand, for this world is from day to day always the longer the worse. 3 Now there is great need for all of God's preachers to warn God's people constantly about the terror that is coming to mankind, lest they be caught unawares and be too quickly deceived by the devil. 4 But let each priest act in his own diocese so that the people hear it often and constantly, lest through want of instruction God's people are lost. And although it may happen that none of us who are now alive will live then, still we have need now earnestly to warn our sacred flocks how they may then most warily withstand the devil Antichrist himself, when he spreads his deceitful madness most widely. And let us also now warn very earnestly against his false teachings and pray to almighty God that he protect us against that arch-criminal. May God protect us against the terror, and make room for us in the eternal joy that is prepared for those who work his will. There is eternal bliss and always will be, world without end, amen. |
LATIN VERSION 1 All those who profess true Christianity, but do not live by it or teach it to others as is proper, are Antichrists, because according to this meaning they are called by that name. Antichrist means "against Christ". Many people of this time will not see Antichrist, yet many of his limbs may be found, as is read in the gospel: "False Christs and false prophets will arise, who will show great signs, so that, if it were possible, they would lead even the elect into error." Understand that when he said "if it were possible," it was not that the Lord, who knows both past and future, was uncertain about anything, but rather that if they are the elect it is not possible. But if it were possible, they would not be the elect. Therefore he said "if it were possible," for although they will be anxious because of the multitude of signs, because they will not fall they may be called the elect. Indeed, there will then be tribulations and hardships such as there never were from the day the human species began up until that time. And if his days are not shortened, no one will be able to be saved; but for the sake of the elect his days will be shortened, lest they be led into error. 2 Therefore the time of the Antichrist will be three and a half times, as is signified and made manifest in scripture: "and the holy city," that is, holy church, "will be tread underfoot for forty-two months," at which time Enoch and Elias will come, as it is written: "And I will give to my two witnesses [and they shall prophesy 1260 days clothed in sackcloth]." And the beast that will rise from the abyss will conquer them and kill them and throw their bodies into the streets of the city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, and which is also where our Lord was crucified, that is, that Jerusalem that was the first holy city, but that afterwards was renamed because of sin and error. 3 Therefore each one who preaches in church must each day warn the people about that time, because, as it is written, the last days will be a dangerous time, so that when those dangerous days come the faithful will not be found unprepared, but will have been taught and educated against the enemy, the ancient serpent who is the adversary, and will be prepared to resist him. For then there will be such persecution of the church that, as the Lord predicted, brother will betray brother to death, and the father his son, and sons will rise up against their parents, and they will have personal hatred for each other. And then many will be made to stumble and will fall into faithlessness before the magnitude of the signs and because of the greatness of the punishments and torments with which Christians will be afflicted by the Antichrist and his ministers, who will be endured by the entire world; but, as it is written, "he who strives until the end, he will be saved." And the wise will shine like the stars, and those who teach many will shine like the splendor of the firmament in unending eternity. 4 Therefore it is necessary that each priest, or whoever may read sacred scripture, teach those who do not know their danger, so that a double reward may be earned from the Lord, both for the priests and for those they teach, and no one die through ignorance. And although many will not live to see this persecution, still they should warn everyone in their earlier preaching, so that when the Antichrist comes, who is the son of perdition, he will find the Christian people, without exception, prepared to resist him and his followers and strengthened by their faith in Christ, amen. |
CONCERNING THE SIGNS OF THE ANTICHRIST AND THE SIGNS THAT HERALD HIM
From the Latin fragment in Codex Treverensis
1 And these are the signs of the Antichrist. His head is a flame of fire; his eyes are as cat's eyes but his right eye will be mixed with blood, but the left is hazy green [MS reads: but the left is orgasmic] with two pupils. His eyebrows are white. His lower lip is large but his right thigh is lean. His feet are broad and his great finger is broken and thin. He is the sickle of desolation [MS reads: the deceptive love(r)].
2 There shall be signs in the heavens. A rainbow, a horn and a torch shall be seen and ultimately noises and voices and eruptions of the sea and loud sounds of the earth.
3 Also upon the earth shall be signs. There will be dragons born of men, and likewise of beasts and creeping things. Newly wedded damsels shall bring forth babies speaking coherent words and announcing the end times and begging to be killed. Their appearance will be that of those advanced in years for their hair will be gray. Women shall also give birth to four-footed babies and some shall give birth to spirits only. Some shall be diviners in the womb and will also be able to throw their voices. There shall be many other monstrous things.
4 In the peoples and the religious congregations shall be much disturbance.
5 But all these things will occur before the appearance of the Antichrist. The name of the Antichrist is Dexius [the Greek word 'dexios' means 'right hand'].
1 And these are the signs of the Antichrist. His head is a flame of fire; his eyes are as cat's eyes but his right eye will be mixed with blood, but the left is hazy green [MS reads: but the left is orgasmic] with two pupils. His eyebrows are white. His lower lip is large but his right thigh is lean. His feet are broad and his great finger is broken and thin. He is the sickle of desolation [MS reads: the deceptive love(r)].
2 There shall be signs in the heavens. A rainbow, a horn and a torch shall be seen and ultimately noises and voices and eruptions of the sea and loud sounds of the earth.
3 Also upon the earth shall be signs. There will be dragons born of men, and likewise of beasts and creeping things. Newly wedded damsels shall bring forth babies speaking coherent words and announcing the end times and begging to be killed. Their appearance will be that of those advanced in years for their hair will be gray. Women shall also give birth to four-footed babies and some shall give birth to spirits only. Some shall be diviners in the womb and will also be able to throw their voices. There shall be many other monstrous things.
4 In the peoples and the religious congregations shall be much disturbance.
5 But all these things will occur before the appearance of the Antichrist. The name of the Antichrist is Dexius [the Greek word 'dexios' means 'right hand'].
THE PROPHECY OF ERRA PATER;
Or, Frost Fair in 1683
Old Erra Pater, or his rambling ghost, prognosticating of this long strong frost, some ages past, said, yet ye ice-bound Thames should prove a theater for sports and games her watery green be turned into a bare, for men a city seem, for booths a fair; and now this straggling spirit is once more come to visit mortals and foretell their doom: When maids grow modest ye dissenting crew become all loyal, the false-hearted true, then you may probably, and not till then expect in England such a frost again.
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene
Translation and reconstruction by Robert M. Price.
Sadly, much of the beginning and middle are missing from the Gospel of Mary. Yet deconstruction and filling those dark niches of any censorship is a Classic Gnostic aspect, and Robert Price does exactly this in his book, The Pre-Nicene New Testament. In less poetic terms, Bob adeptly reconstructs the Gospel of Mary, drawing from the theologies and literary devices of Middle Platonic Gnostic Christians such as the Valentinians and Sethians. He rebuilds the text by taking the natural trajectory of two prevalent Gnostic myths: The ascension of the disembodied soul through the heavenly realms guarded by angelic or demonic gatekeepers. The mysteries imparted to the awakened by a hierophant or Gnostic Revealer.
Chapter 1
[1 On the third day after his suffering the Savior appeared to his disciples, who were all gathered at the Mount of Olives.
2 And when he had quieted their doubts he began to teach them as follows: “My brothers and sisters, long have I wished to make known to you the deeper truths which you must know if your souls are to find salvation, but till now your ears were prevented from hearing them.
3 For your hearts were one with that world unto which I have just now died and from which I have been forever raised.
4 And your minds have been raised with me, so that they are now able to comprehend what you could not abide hearing before.
5 I have wrested you from the grasp of the Archon of this world, that you may hear the words a disciple ought to hear from his teacher and a mortal ought to hear from his God.”
Chapter 2
1 And Peter grew bold and asked, “Lord, tell us concerning the Father. Who is he? And why did he send you?”
2 And Jesus answered, “Simon, you are blessed, for you do not suppose you know that which must be a mystery to all flesh.
3 For my Father is not the maker of the world of matter which you see around you, a world that is filled with death and despair,
4 but which, seeing with the fever of the flesh and its desire, mortals deem full of every delight and comfort and so waste their lives in pursuit of illusions.
5 No, all these things only enslave mankind to the material creator.
6 My Father is exalted high above this one, whence he is called the Most High God.
7 For no one speaks of anything as ‘the highest,’ unless there be others below it.
Chapter 3
1 “And you mortals are partly his creations, in that he has fashioned the body from unclean foulness.
2 But your souls he has stolen from the Light-World of my Father.
3 With them he has imparted to your flesh bodies an appearance of life, which is but a shadow of the life you knew in the Pleroma of the Most High.
4 Here you abide in ignorance, never knowing either your origin or your destiny.
5 And for lack of that knowledge you perish and are reborn into new bodies time and again, so long as the way out be hidden from you.
6 And that is why the Father sent me into the world, in the likeness of your flesh, that I might make known these truths to you.”
Chapter 4
1 Andreas asked, “O Savior, what shall we then make of the things you said to the multitude, which differ not so very greatly from what they have heard from their scribes?”
2 And the Savior answered, “Let them be, O Andreas. Some of them may yet discover that they harbor the spark of Light within them, and then they will seek what I tell you now.
3 Others cannot, but my Father loves them, and he has bidden me to impart to them such wisdom as they can grasp to mitigate the harshness of him who created this world and gave the commandments to the Legislator.
4 You will find nothing false in them, and yet they are mute as to the salvation of your spirits.”
Chapter 5
1 Levi asked the Savior, “My Lord, what then of the sufferings you endured, and the death you died?”
2 And the Savior answered, “I suffered and I did not suffer. I died and I died not.
3 For all the designs of the evil Archons wrought was to free me of the shameful clothing of matter I had assumed for the sake of my sojourn in this world.
4 For long and long I bade you keep my identity secret, but the demon Powers knew, and finally they had me crucified.
5 But they did not suspect they would be the very cause of my deliverance.
6 And the reason I suffered these indignities was for the sake of those without true spirits,
7 that, being lifted up, I might draw them away from the Creator and bring them within the hearing of the News of me that you will proclaim.
8 Many of them shall be called, though few chosen.”
Chapter 6
1 Salome asked him, “What shall be the end of all things, and will only a few be saved?”
2 The Savior told her, “O mother of Jacob and John, your curiosity is as great as that of Sophia who desired to peer behind the veil of the Pleroma!
3 Amen, I tell you: the News of the Kingdom of Light will be preached throughout this sublunar world,
4 and in the world below, and those who hear will escape the wheel of death and birth when they die.
5 Their souls shall ascend and, if they are wise, they shall pass by the Rulers of the heavenly spheres.
6 And once the full number of the elect shall be thus redeemed, all who shelter within their makeup the divine Light of my Father, the matter that imprisoned them will fall back into the state of virgin clay with no likeness impressed upon it.
7 Finally all the creation of the Creator will return to lifelessness.”
Chapter 7
1 Simon Peter asked,] “Then matter will be destroyed, or not?”
2 The Savior replied, “All natures, all forms, all creatures exist both within and alongside each other, and they will finally be reduced down to their individual roots.
3 For the nature of matter is reduced to those of its particular nature. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
4 Peter said to him, “Having explained all things to us, tell us this, too: What is the original sin of the world?”
5 The Savior answered, “There is no sin per se;
6 rather, it is you yourselves who make a thing sinful when you perform the acts that partake of adulteration, which alone is properly termed ‘sin.’
7 That is why the Good came among you, to purify every nature, in order to restore it to its original state.”
8 Then he went on, saying, “This is the reason you grow ill and die, for the spirit ever seeks escape from admixture with the body of death of the one who is not yet enlightened. He who understands, let him understand.
9 Matter gave birth to a passion without equal, which emerged from an abomination against nature. From this arose a trembling throughout the whole body.
10 That is why I once said to you: ‘Be of good cheer!’
11 and if you should grow disheartened take heart, surrounded by the various forms of being. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Chapter 8
1 When the Blessed One had thus spoken, he saluted them all, saying, “Peace to you! Receive my peace in your hearts.
2 Watch out that no one lead you astray, saying, ‘Lo, here!’ or ‘Lo, there!’ For the Son of Man is within you! Follow in his path! Whoever seeks him will find him.
3 So go from here and proclaim the News of the Kingdom.
4 See that you stipulate no rules beyond those I ordained for you, and do not promulgate a law code like the Legislator did so that you will avoid being tied in knots with it.”
5 After saying these words, he left them. But they mourned the loss of him.
6 They collapsed in tears, asking, “How are we supposed to go to the nations and proclaim the News of the kingship of the Son of Man?
7 If they had no mercy on him, they will hardly spare us!”
Chapter 9
1 Then Mary rose to her feet, saluted them all, and spoke to her brothers: “Stop your weeping!
2 Do not mourn or waver, for his favor will accompany you to protect you.
3 No, instead, let us extol his greatness, seeing that he has trained us and transformed us into men.”
4 When Mary said this, she moved their hearts to repentance, and they commenced to discuss what the Savior had said.
Chapter 10
1 Peter said to Mary, “Sister, we are aware of how the Savior loved you more than any other woman.
2 Tell us the things the Savior said that you remember, the things you know but that we do not, that we have never heard.”
3 Mary answered them, saying, “What is hidden from you, I will surely disclose to you.”
4 And she commenced to speak to them these words: “I,” she said, “even I, beheld the Lord in a vision, and I said to him, ‘Lord, I behold you today in a vision!’
5 He answered and said to me, ‘Blessed are you for not quailing at the sight of me! For where the mind is, there, too, will be the treasure.’
6 I answered him, ‘Lord, how does the visionary see the vision: with the soul, or with the spirit?’
7 The Savior answered, saying, ‘It is not with the soul that one sees, nor yet through the spirit, but by the mind which lies between the two. This is what sees the vision, and it is that by which I am speaking with you now, O Mary.’
Chapter 11
[1 “And I asked him, ‘O Lord, we know that you will leave us to ascend to the realm of Light whence you first came.
2 And it is there we wish to join you, that we may no longer be orphans in this world. But we know not the way where you are about to go.
3 Do not hasten to depart, O Savior, without revealing the unseen path to the Father that every soul must tread if it would leave behind the unwholesome mixing with matter in the day the flesh loosens its grip.’
4 And the Savior said to me, ‘O Mary, I shall show you the way that you must go, so that in the day when your brothers ask you of these things, you will know that which you and they alike must needs know for the attainment of true salvation,
5 and that we may be rejoined in the House of Light on high, whence all the souls of the elect first came.
6 ‘First, know this: the way is simple, but not unbarred. It winds through the seven heavenly spheres, and each of these is jealously watched by its guardian and toll-collector, ever vigilant to receive his due.
7 When I myself descended from the Pleromatic Light, I disguised myself, donning the likeness and nature of each Archon and of his realm, so that I passed freely among the denizens thereof.
8 And I changed vesture again and again with each world I passed through, like the actor who changes vesture with every new scene.
9 Presently, as you know, I shall return whence I came, and I must strip off each outer layer, even seven bodies each of a different substance, leaving each robe hanging limp in the hands of the Archon ruling each sphere.
10 You and your brothers will not be able so easily to evade the craft of the Archons.
11 But though they are vigilant, it is no great thing to outwit them, provided one knows which words will overcome them.’
Chapter 12
1 “And withal, he showed me in my vision the soul of the Redeemed, the one knowing of his origin and destiny.
2 That soul arose as a spark from a campfire into the cold night.
3 Having sloughed off the smothering body of gross flesh, it continued to rise until at length the soul came to the first of the Powers, even him who is named Darkness, who spoke thus to him: ‘Proceed no farther, transgressor!’
4 And the soul answered, ‘Why? In what have I sinned against you?’
5 And Darkness replied, ‘In that my kingdom is a kingdom of darkness, and no one who lights the torch of knowledge is permitted here!
6 Now let us extinguish your painful light, that all may return to the peaceful sleep of ignorance.’
7 And that soul answered, ‘No, O Darkness, but those who sleep your sleep do so only because they are first ignorant of your guile!
8 But of this the Savior has warned me!’ And thus did it elude the Power of Darkness, rejoicing to be free from another nature, that of worldly ignorance.
Chapter 13
1 “After a time that soul passed into the sphere of the Archon of Desire, that which causes the natures to mix and which seeks to awaken in the fleeing soul a fondness for those false delights it left behind on earth, so that it might return there.
2 And Desire himself was there in an instant, speaking to it, saying, ‘Who are you? And whence come you’
3 And the soul said, ‘I am of the seed of the Living Father and do not belong to this world.
4 Hinder me not, as I seek but to return to the place whence I first came!’ Thus he spoke to] it.
5 And Desire said to that soul, ‘I never saw you descending, but now I behold you ascending! What makes you lie? You are mine!’
6 The soul replied, saying, ‘I saw you, but you did not see me, or notice me. You saw nothing but my vesture, and you did not know me.’
7 When it had said these words, it fled away in great joy.
8 “Next it encountered the third Power, which is named Ignorance. It interrogated the soul, and it said, ‘And where do you think you are going?
9 Do you deserve to enter heaven? In the chains of wickedness you are captive! You, a prisoner, dare not judge me!’
10 And the soul replied, ‘And who are you to judge me so? I have not condemned you! In truth, I was chained to the flesh, though now I am free.
11 I was not recognized. But I have come to recognize that the All is being deconstructed, both the earthly elements and the heavenly ones.’
12 “When the soul had triumphed over the third Power, it ascended and beheld the fourth Power, which assumed seven likenesses.
13 The first of the likenesses is Darkness, the second Desire, the third Ignorance; the fourth is the Terror of Death; the fifth is the Reign of the Flesh; the sixth is the deluded ‘wisdom’ of the flesh; the seventh is the vengeance of Wisdom.
14 These are the Seven Wrathful Powers. They question the soul: ‘Whence come you, murderer? Where are you headed, space-traveler?’
15 For its part, the soul answered, saying, ‘What held me captive has indeed been killed, and what enveloped me has been defeated, and my desire has been extinguished, and ignorance has expired.
16 In the midst of a world I was set free from a world and, freed from a pattern of death, I received deliverance from a heavenly prototype, deliverance from the chain of oblivion which passes away.
17 Henceforward I shall win my way to that repose where no one speaks of time, of season, of age.'”
Chapter 14
1 After these words, Mary was quiet. She had reached the end of what the Savior had said to her.
2 But Andreas spoke up, saying to the brothers, “Make what you will of what she has said.
3 I, for one, do not believe the Savior said this. For indeed these doctrines are full of bizarre notions!”
4 Peter answered and said the same thing. He challenged them about the Savior: “Did he really speak with a woman without us knowing it? And in secret?
5 Are we now supposed to change direction and all be taught by her? Did he prefer her to us?”
6 At this Mary cried and said to Peter, “My brother Peter, what is it you suppose? Do you think I made this up in my imagination? Are you accusing me of lying about the Savior?”
7 Levi answered, saying to Peter, “Peter, you have always been a hot-head. Now I am watching you fight against the women as if they were our enemies.
8 But if the Savior himself made her worthy, who are you, really, to dismiss her?
9 Surely the Savior knows her quite well. After all, he loved her more than us!
10 Instead, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves and don the perfect manhood and secure him for ourselves,
11 as he ordered us, and proclaim the News, promulgating no other rule or law in addition to what the Savior himself said.”
12 When Levi said this, they all mustered their courage and they commenced to go out to proclaim and to announce the News.
The Lost Gospel Concerning the Wife of Christ
(King’s translation, with lacuna in brackets):
Recto:
1 ] “not [to] me. My mother gave to me li[fe…”
2 ] The disciples said to Jesus, “[
3 ] deny. Mary is worthy of it[
4 ]……” Jesus said to them, “My wife . .[
5 ]… she will be able to be my disciple . . [
6 ] Let wicked people swell up … [
7] As for me, I dwell with her in order to . [
8] an image [”
Verso:
1 ] “my moth[er
2 ] three [
3 ] … [
4 ] forth which … [”
5 ] (illegible)
Source: https://danielbwallace.com/2012/09/21/reality-check-the-jesus-wife-coptic-fragment/
Recto:
1 ] “not [to] me. My mother gave to me li[fe…”
2 ] The disciples said to Jesus, “[
3 ] deny. Mary is worthy of it[
4 ]……” Jesus said to them, “My wife . .[
5 ]… she will be able to be my disciple . . [
6 ] Let wicked people swell up … [
7] As for me, I dwell with her in order to . [
8] an image [”
Verso:
1 ] “my moth[er
2 ] three [
3 ] … [
4 ] forth which … [”
5 ] (illegible)
Source: https://danielbwallace.com/2012/09/21/reality-check-the-jesus-wife-coptic-fragment/
THE TEN SIGNS
This text was originally published by Michael Higger, Halakhot va-aggadot (New York: The Jewish Theological Seminary, 1933), 125-30 and then reprinted by Yehudah Even-Shmuel, Midreshey ge’ullah (2d ed.; Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1954), 315-17; see also his textual notes on p. 425. A variant version of this work is attested in T-S A45.8 fol. 1, a photograph of which is published by Simon Hopkins, A Miscellany of Literary Pieces from the Cambridge Genizah Collections: A Catalogue and Selection of Texts in the Taylor-Schechter Collection, Old Series, Box A45 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Library, 1978), 16. This fragment is also translated below. Note also the text entitled ‘Ten Signs’ found in the anthology Ma‘asiyot (Constantinople: Astruq de Toulon, 1519), 34a-35a.
Ten signs will transpire in the world prior to the End
The first sign: the Holy One, blessed be He, will send three angels out in three directions in the world, and they will promulgate atheism. They will make themselves appear to human beings as if they serve Him, but in fact they do not and they will subjugate all creatures. But at the End of Days all the gentile nations will renounce their native religions, as it is written: ‘and the idols will be completely destroyed,’ and scripture states: ‘and the idols will totally vanish’. This will happen because the Holy One, blessed be He, will manifest troubles in the world, each one different from the other.
The second sign: the Holy One, blessed be He, will make the sun emerge from its sheath. Every day He will scorch with it one million people from among the nations until all the nations begin weeping and saying: ‘Woe is us! Where will we go? To where might we flee?’ They will dig down in all the caverns in the earth in order to find a cool breeze for themselves, as scripture states: ‘they will enter rocky caves’, and one will say to the other: ‘Go inside the rock! Hide yourself in the dirt!’ Malachi prophesied about that sun: ‘Behold, the day comes burning like an oven’, but that sun will be medicinal for Israel, as it is said: ‘O those who revere My name, a sun of righteousness will rise for you, and it will heal you with its wings’. Balaam the wicked also prophesied about those troubles and said: ‘Woe to whoever is alive when God brings it about!’
The third sign: the Holy One, blessed be He, will rain a dew of blood for three days, but it will appear to the nations of the world to be a dew of water. They will drink of it and die. Moreover, some wicked ones among Israel will also drink of it and die, whereas others who are wavering in their faith will fall ill. The world will experience great distress during those three days, as scripture says: ‘I will place portents in the heavens and on earth: blood, fire, and columns of smoke’.
The fourth sign: the Holy One, blessed be He, will rain a dew of healing for three days and three nights—in order to counteract the effects of the blood—and all those who were wavering will drink of it, and those who had become ill will be cured, as scripture states: ‘I will be like dew for Israel; he will bloom like the lily’.
The fifth sign: a ruler shall arise in Rome, and he will devastate large areas. He will capture Egypt, as scripture affirms: ‘he will stretch his hand out against the north’. He will turn his anger upon Israel, laying a heavy tax upon them, and he will seek to make them perish from the world, as scripture states: ‘he will turn his faces toward the strong-holds of his land’: the term ‘strong-holds’ signifies those among Israel who are strong among the nations, and ‘his faces’ signifies his anger and his wrath which he will direct against them.
Ten signs will transpire in the world prior to the End
The first sign: the Holy One, blessed be He, will send three angels out in three directions in the world, and they will promulgate atheism. They will make themselves appear to human beings as if they serve Him, but in fact they do not and they will subjugate all creatures. But at the End of Days all the gentile nations will renounce their native religions, as it is written: ‘and the idols will be completely destroyed,’ and scripture states: ‘and the idols will totally vanish’. This will happen because the Holy One, blessed be He, will manifest troubles in the world, each one different from the other.
The second sign: the Holy One, blessed be He, will make the sun emerge from its sheath. Every day He will scorch with it one million people from among the nations until all the nations begin weeping and saying: ‘Woe is us! Where will we go? To where might we flee?’ They will dig down in all the caverns in the earth in order to find a cool breeze for themselves, as scripture states: ‘they will enter rocky caves’, and one will say to the other: ‘Go inside the rock! Hide yourself in the dirt!’ Malachi prophesied about that sun: ‘Behold, the day comes burning like an oven’, but that sun will be medicinal for Israel, as it is said: ‘O those who revere My name, a sun of righteousness will rise for you, and it will heal you with its wings’. Balaam the wicked also prophesied about those troubles and said: ‘Woe to whoever is alive when God brings it about!’
The third sign: the Holy One, blessed be He, will rain a dew of blood for three days, but it will appear to the nations of the world to be a dew of water. They will drink of it and die. Moreover, some wicked ones among Israel will also drink of it and die, whereas others who are wavering in their faith will fall ill. The world will experience great distress during those three days, as scripture says: ‘I will place portents in the heavens and on earth: blood, fire, and columns of smoke’.
The fourth sign: the Holy One, blessed be He, will rain a dew of healing for three days and three nights—in order to counteract the effects of the blood—and all those who were wavering will drink of it, and those who had become ill will be cured, as scripture states: ‘I will be like dew for Israel; he will bloom like the lily’.
The fifth sign: a ruler shall arise in Rome, and he will devastate large areas. He will capture Egypt, as scripture affirms: ‘he will stretch his hand out against the north’. He will turn his anger upon Israel, laying a heavy tax upon them, and he will seek to make them perish from the world, as scripture states: ‘he will turn his faces toward the strong-holds of his land’: the term ‘strong-holds’ signifies those among Israel who are strong among the nations, and ‘his faces’ signifies his anger and his wrath which he will direct against them.
The sixth sign: the Holy One, blessed be He, will produce at that time the Messiah of the lineage of Joseph, whose name is Nehemiah ben Hushiel. He will be accompanied by warriors ‘from the descendants of Zerah the son of Judah’. He will come with all the forces of Israel who are in those places and fight a battle with the king of Edom and those rulers allied with him. He will kill the king of Edom and the remainder of the latter’s army will flee. He will approach Jerusalem and capture it, and all Israel will hear of this and gather themselves to him. The king of Egypt will conclude a peace treaty with him. He will kill all the nations who are in the environment of Jerusalem: all the remaining nations will hear of this, and a great fear will overcome them.
The seventh sign: Armilos will emerge from that stone statue of a woman which is in Rome. They say about him that the stone will give birth to him. He will be twelve cubits tall and two cubits wide, and there will be between his eyes a space equaling one span. He is the Messiah of the descendants of Esau. He will gather all the nations, and then say to the descendants of Esau: ‘Bring to me the Torah which I gave you [. . .].’ All Israel will suddenly be confused, but Nehemiah b. Hushiel will arise, he and thirty warriors with weapons concealed beneath their garments, and they will take a Torah scroll and bring it to him. They will read out before him: ‘You shall have no other gods before Me!’ He will say to them: ‘This is not my Torah at all!’ Nehemiah will say to him: ‘You are no deity, only Satan!’ He will quickly flee, but he will command his servants, saying, ‘Seize him and hang him!’ Nevertheless he will effect his escape and fight a battle with him and kill a large number of them. Then the wrath of Armilos will intensify, and he will assemble all the nations and come to do battle with Israel ‘between the seas and the beautiful holy mountain’. Israel will effect a great slaughter among them, but he will kill the Messiah, and when Israel perceives that the Messiah has been slain, their courage will melt away and they will flee. The world will experience great trouble. They will hide themselves for twenty-five days in caves and in pits, and the rest will lock themselves within Jerusalem. He will turn toward her to wage war and destroy it for the second time, but he will not succeed in doing so. The eighth sign: ‘at that time the great angelic leader Michael will arise’, and at that time Elijah will come along with the Messiah of the lineage of David in order to fulfill what scripture has said: ‘he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers’. The Messiah will not need to wage battle: he will only have to fix his eyes on Armilos in order to exterminate him from the world, as scripture states: ‘he will slay the wicked one with the breath of his mouth’. The ninth sign: the Messiah will request of the Holy One, blessed be He, that He resurrect the dead. The Messiah of the lineage of Joseph will be the first of all those who are brought back to life, and he will become the emissary of the Messiah of the lineage of David. He will send him into all the lands wherein Israel dwells, and they will be gathered together from every corner of the earth. Then he will send him beyond the rivers of Cush, and he will lead forth the lost ten tribes. He will also bring out the Temple vessels from Rome. In every place where the Messiah of the lineage of Joseph goes which contains Israelite dead, he will resurrect them and bring all of them with him, as scripture says: ‘behold, these will come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene’. |
The following somewhat variant lines render T-S A45.8 fol. 1 based on the present author’s transcription of the photograph published by Hopkins, Miscellany, 16. The fragment commences toward the end of the sixth sign, beginning with the word yivrehu.
[. . .] they will flee before him. He will enter Egypt and capture it, and he will kill all the gentile nations in the vicinity of Jerusalem. All the nations will hear about this, and fear and dread will fall upon them. The seventh sign: Armilos the Satan will emerge from the stone statue that is in Rome. They say with regard to him that the stone will give birth to him. He will be twelve cubits long, and between his two eyes is the distance of a span. He is the Messiah of the party of Esau. He will assemble all the nations and say to them: ‘I am God,’ and all the nations will believe him. He will say to the party of Esau: ‘Bring me the Torah which I gave to you!’ Then they will bring him their book of lies, and he will assent, saying: ‘Truly this is what I gave to you!’ Israel will suddenly be confused, but Nehemiah b. Hushiel will come, he and thirty warriors accompanying him with weapons concealed beneath their garments, and they will take a Torah scroll and come to him and read aloud before him: ‘You shall have no other gods before Me!’. He will say to them: ‘This is not my Torah at all!’ Nehemiah will say to him: ‘You are no deity, only Satan!’ Immediately he will cry out against him and say to his servants: ‘Seize him and hang him!’ He will do battle with them and kill many of them. Then the anger of Armilos will intensify, and he will gather all the nations and advance to make war on Israel ‘between the seas and the beautiful holy mountain’. He will strike a great blow against Israel and will kill the Messiah. At that time the Holy One, blessed be He, will issue a command to the sun and it will at that time remain underground, and the world will be dark. Israel will experience great distress. When Israel sees that the Messiah is dead, their courage will fail and they will run away, and the world will experience extremely great distress. Israel will conceal themselves in caves for forty-five days, sustaining themselves during that time on weeds. Why was Armilos given the power to kill the Messiah of the lineage of Ephraim? It was done so as to break the hearts of those dissidents among Israel who said: ‘The Messiah for whom we were waiting has come and been killed. There is no longer any redemption for us in the wilderness.’ Many of these will immediately commit apostasy and become joined with the gentile nations. But the gentile nations will slay them nevertheless, as scripture foresees: ‘they will kill with the sword all of those among My people who commit sin’. The eighth sign: ‘at that time the great angelic leader Michael will arise’, and at that time Elijah will come along with the Messiah of the lineage of David in order to fulfill what scripture has said: ‘he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers’. The Messiah will not need to wage battle: he will only have to fix his eyes on Armilos in order to exterminate him from the world, as scripture states: ‘he will slay the wicked one with the breath of his mouth’. The ninth sign: the Messiah will request of the Holy One, blessed be He, that He resurrect the dead, and the Messiah of the lineage of Joseph will be resurrected first. end of fragment |
The tenth sign: the coming of Gog and Magog, just as is described in the book of Ezekiel.
May the Holy One, blessed be He, grant us the privilege of seeing it! Amen, may it happen quickly during our lifetime! May His will be done! Amen!
May the Holy One, blessed be He, grant us the privilege of seeing it! Amen, may it happen quickly during our lifetime! May His will be done! Amen!
THE VISION OF ADAMNAN
The Vision of Adamnán, Irish Fís Adamnáín, in the Gaelic literature of Ireland, one of the earliest and most outstanding medieval Irish visions. This graceful prose work dates from the 10th century and is preserved in the later The Book of the Dun Cow (c. 1100). Patterned after pagan voyages to the other-world, The Vision of Adamnán vividly describes the journey of Adamnán’s soul—guided by an angel—first through a delightful, fragrance-filled heaven, through the seven stages through which a sinful soul passes to reach perfection, and then through the monster-ridden Land of Torment.
1. Noble and wonderful is the Lord of the Elements, and great and marvelous are His might and His power. For He calleth to Himself in Heaven the charitable and merciful, the meek and considerate; but He consigns and casts down to Hell the impious and unprofitable host of the children of the curse. For upon the blessed He bestows the hidden treasures and the manifold wages of Heaven, while He inflicts a diversity of torments, in many kinds, upon the sons of death.
2. Now there are multitudes of the saints and righteous ones of the Lord of Creation, and of the apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ, unto whom have been revealed the secrets and the mysteries of the Heavenly Kingdom, and the golden wages of the righteous; likewise the divers pains of Hell, with them that are set in the midst thereof. For unto the Apostle Peter was shown the four-cornered vessel, let down from Heaven, with four cords to it, and they with sound as sweet as any music. Also, the Apostle Paul was caught up to Heaven, and heard the ineffable words of the angels, and the speech of them that dwell in Heaven. Moreover, on the day of Mary’s death, all the apostles were brought to look upon the pains and miserable punishments of the unblest; for the Lord commanded the angels of the West to open up the earth before the face of the apostles, that they might see and consider Hell with all its torments, even as Himself had told them, long time before His Passion.
3. Finally, to Adamnan ua Thinne, the High Scholar of the Western World, were revealed the things which are here recorded; for his soul departed from out his body on the feast of John Baptist, and was conveyed to the celestial realm, where the heavenly angels are, and to Hell, with its rabble rout. For no sooner had the soul issued from out the body, than there appeared to it the angel that had been its guardian while in the flesh, and bore it away with him to view, firstly, the Kingdom of Heaven.
4. Now the first land to which they come is the Land of Saints. A bright land of fair weather is that country. In it are diverse and wondrous companies, clad in cassocks of white linen, with hoods of radiant white upon their heads. The saints of the Eastern world form a company apart in the East of the Land of Saints; the saints of the Western world are to the West of the same land; the saints of the Northern world and of the South, in their great concourse, are to the South and North. For every one that is in the Land of Saints may freely listen to the music, and may contemplate the vault, wherein are the nine classes of Heaven,after their rank and order.
5. For one spell, then, the saints keep singing marvelous music in praise of God; for another, they are listening to the music of the heavenly host; for the saints have no other need than to listen to the music that they hear, and to contemplate the radiance that they see, and to sate themselves with the fragrance that there is in that land. The wonderful Lord is face to face with them, in the Southeast, and a crystal veil between; to the South is a golden portico, and through it they discern the form and adumbration of the people of Heaven. No veil, however, nor cloud is between the Host of Heaven and the Host of the Saints, but those are ever manifest and present unto these, in a place that is over against them. A circle of fire surrounds this place, yet do they all pass in and out, and it does scathe to none.
6. Now, the Twelve Apostles and Mary the pure Virgin form a band apart, about the mighty Lord. Next to the Apostles are the Patriarchs and Prophets, and the disciples of Jesus. On the other side are holy Virgins, at Mary’s right hand, and with no great space between. Babes and striplings are about them on every side, and the bird-choirs of the heavenly folk, making their minstrelsy. And amid these companies, bands of angels, guardians of the souls, do perpetual suit and service in the Royal presence. No man is there in this present life who may describe those assemblies, or who may tell of the very manner of them. And the bands and companies which are in the land of saints abide continually in even such great glory as aforesaid, until the great Parliament of Doom,when the righteous judge, on the Day of Judgment, shall dispose them in their stations and abiding places, where they shall contemplate God’s countenance, with no veil nor shadow between, through ages everlasting.
7. But great and vast as are the splendor and the radiance in the Land of Saints, even as hath been said, more vast, a thousand times, the splendor which is in the region of the Heavenly Host, about the Lord’s own throne. This throne is fashioned like unto a canopied chair, and beneath it are four columns of precious stone. Though one should have no minstrelsy at all, save the harmonious music of those four columns, yet would he have his fill of melody and delight. Three stately birds are perched upon that chair, in front of the King, their minds intent upon the Creator throughout all ages, for that is their vocation. They celebrate the eight canonical hours, praising and adoring the Lord, and the Archangels accompany them. For the birds and the Archangels lead the music, and then the Heavenly Host, with the Saints and Virgins, make response.
8. Over the head of the Glorious One that sitteth upon the royal throne is a great arch, like unto a wrought helmet, or a regal diadem: and the eye which should behold it would forthwith melt away. Three circles are round about it, separating it from the host, and by no explanation may the nature of them be known. Six thousand thousands, in guise of horses and of birds, surround the fiery chair, which still burns on, without end or term.
9. Now to describe the mighty Lord that is upon that throne is not for any, unless Himself should do so, or should so direct the heavenly dignitaries. For none could tell of his vehemence and might, His glow and splendor, His brightness and loveliness, His liberality and steadfastness, nor of the multitude of His Angels and Archangels, which chant their songs to Him. His messengers keep going to and from Him, ever and anon, with brief messages to each assemblage, telling to the one host of His mildness and mercy, and to the other of His sternness and harshness.
10. Whoso should stand facing about him, East and West, South and North, would behold on each side of him a majestic countenance, seven times as radiant as the sun. No human form thereto, with head or foot,may be discerned, but a fiery mass, burning on for ever, while one and all are filled with awe and trembling before Him. Heaven and earth are filled full with the light of Him, and a radiance as of a royal star encircles Him. Three thousand different songs are chanted by each several choir about Him, and sweeter than all the varied music of the world is each individual song of them.
11. Furthermore, in this wise is the fashion of that city, wherein that throne is set. Seven crystal walls of various hue surround it, each wall higher than the wall that is before it. The floor, moreover, and the lowest base of that city, is of fair crystal, with the sun’s countenance upon it, shot with blue, and purple, and green, and every hue beside.
12. A gentle folk, most mild, most kindly, lacking in no goodly quality, are they that dwell within that city; for none come there, and none abide there ever, save holy youths, and pilgrims zealous for God. But as for their array and ordinance, hard is it to understand how it is contrived, for none turns back nor side to other, but the unspeakable power of God has set, and keeps, them face to face, in ranks and lofty coronels, all round the throne, circling it in brightness and bliss, their faces all towards God.
13. There is a chancel rail of silver between each two choirs, cunningly wrought upon with red gold and silver, and choice rows of precious stones, variegated with diverse gems, and against that lattice are seats and canopies of carbuncle. Between every two chief companies are three precious stones, softly vocal with sweet melody, and the upper halves of them are lighted lamps. Seven thousand angels, as it were great candles, shine and illumine that city round about; seven thousand others in the midst thereof are aflame for ever, throughout the royal city. The men of all the world, if gathered into one place, many as they are, would derive sustenance enough from the sweet savor of anyone of those candles.
14. Now, such of the world’s inhabitants as attain not to that city after their life is spent, and to whom a dwelling-place therein is allotted after the Words of Doom shall have been spoken, find a restless and unstable habitation, until the coming of Judgment, on heights and hilltops, and in marshy places. Even so fare those hordes and companies,with the guardian angel of every soul in their midst, serving and tending them. In the main doorway of the city they are confronted by a veil of fire and a veil of ice, smiting perpetually one against the other. The noise and din of these veils, as they clash together, are heard throughout the world, and the seed of Adam, should they hear that din, would beseized thereat with trembling and intolerable dismay. Faint and dazed are the wicked at that din; howbeit, on the side of the Heavenly Host, nought is heard of that rude discord, save a very little only, and that sweeter than any music.
15. Awful is that city, and wonderful to describe; for a little out of much is that which we have told concerning its various orders, and the wonders of it. Seldom indeed may a spirit, after its converse and co-habitation with the body, in slumber and repose, in freedom and luxury, win its way to the throne of the Creator, unguided of the angels; for hard of essay are the seven Heavens, nor is any one of them easier than the rest. Six guarded doors confront all those of mortal race who reach the Kingdom. There sits a porter and warder of the Heavenly Host, keeping guard over each door. At the door of that Heaven which is nearest on the hither side sits the Archangel Michael, and with him two youths, with iron rods in their laps to scourge and smite the sinners as they pass through this the first grief and torment of the path they have to tread.
16. At the door of the next Heaven, the Archangel Ariel is warder, and with him two youths, with fiery scourges in their hands, wherewith they scourge the wicked across the face and eyes. A river of fire, its surface an ever-burning flame, lies before that door. Abersetus is the angel’s name who keeps watch over that river, and purges the souls of the righteous, and washes them in the stream, according to the amount of guilt that cleaves to them, until they become pure and shining as is the radiance of the stars. Hard by is a pleasant spring, flowery and fragrant, to cleanse and solace the souls of the righteous, though it annoys and scalds the souls of the guilty, and does away nought from them, but it is increase of pain and torment that comes upon them there.Sinners arise from out of it in grief and immeasurable sadness, but the righteous proceed with joy and great delight to the door of the third Heaven.
17. Above this, a fiery furnace keeps ever burning, its flames reaching a height of twelve thousand cubits; through it the righteous pass in the twinkling of an eye, but the souls of sinners are baked and scorched therein for twelve years, and then their guardian angel conveys them to the fourth door. About the entrance door of the fourth Heaven is a fiery stream, like the foregoing. It is surrounded by a wall of fire, in breadth twelve thousand measured cubits, through which the souls of the righteous pass as though it were not there, while the souls of the sinful tarry therein, amid pain and tribulation, for another twelve years, until their guardian angel bears them to the door of the fifth Heaven.
18. In that place is a fiery river, which is unlike all other rivers, for in the midst of it, is a strange kind of whirlpool, wherein the souls of the wicked keep turning round and round, and there they abide for the space of sixteen years; the righteous, however, win through it straightway, without any hindrance. So soon as the due time cometh for the sinners to be released there out, the angel strikes the water with a rod, hard as though it were of stone, and uplifts the spirits with the end of that rod. Then Michael bears them up to the door of the sixth Heaven.but no pain nor torment is meted out to the spirits at that door, but there they are illumined with the luster and the brilliancy of precious stones. Then Michael cometh to the Angel of the Trinity, and one on either side they usher the soul into the presence of God.
19. Infinite and beyond all telling is the welcome wherewith the Lord and the Heavenly Host then receive the soul, if he, be a pure and righteous soul; if, however, he be an unrighteous and unprofitable soul, harsh and ungentle is the reception of him by the Mighty Lord. For He saith to the Heavenly Angels, Take, O Heavenly Angels, this unprofitable soul, and deliver him into the hand of Lucifer, that he may plunge him and utterly extinguish him in Hell’s profound, through ages everlasting.
20. Thereupon that wretched soul is parted, fearfully, sternly, awfully, from sight of the Heavenly Kingdom, and of God’s countenance. Then utters he a groan, heavier than any groan, as he comes into the Devil’s presence, after beholding the bliss of the Kingdom of Heaven. He is then deprived of the guidance of the Archangels, in whose company he had come unto Heaven. Twelve fiery dragons swallow up every spirit, one after the other, until the lowest dragon lands him in the Devil’s maw. There doth he experience the consummation of all evil, in the Devil’s own presence, throughout all ages.
21. After that his guardian angel had revealed to Adamnan’s spirit these visions of the Heavenly Kingdom, and of the first progress of every soul after parting from its body, he brought him to visit the nethermost Hell, with all its pains, and its crosses, and its torments. Now, the first region where unto he came was a land burnt black, waste and scorched, but with no punishment at all therein. A glen, filled with fire, was on the further side of it; huge the flame of it, extending beyond the margin on either hand. Black its base, red the middle, and the upper part thereof. Eight serpents were in it, with eyes like coals of fire.
22. An enormous bridge spans the glen, reaching from one bank to the other; high the middle of it, but lower its two extremities. Three companies seek to pass over it, but not all succeed. One company find the bridge to be of ample width, from beginning to end, until they win across the fiery glen, safe and sound, fearless and undismayed. The second company, when entering upon it, find it narrow at first, but broad afterwards, until they, in like manner, fare across that same glen,after great peril. But for the last company the bridge is broad at first, but strait and narrow thereafter, until they fall from the midst of it into that same perilous glen, into the throats of those eight red-hot serpents, that have their dwelling-place in the glen.
23. Now the folk to whom that path was easy were the chaste, the penitent, the diligent, they who had zealously borne a bloody testimony to God. The band who found the path narrow at first, but afterwards broad, were they who had hardly been constrained to do God’s will, but had afterwards converted their constraint into the willing service of God. They, however, to whom this way was broad at first, but strait thereafter, were sinners who had listened to the precepts in God’s word, and after having heard, fulfilled them not.
24. Furthermore, vast multitudes abide beyond, feeble and powerless, upon the shore of perpetual pain, in the land of utter darkness. Every other hour the pain ebbs away from them, and the next hour it returns upon them again. Now these are they in whom good and evil were equally balanced, and on the Day of Doom, judgment shall be passed between them, and their good shall quench their evil on that day; and then shall they be brought to the Haven of Life, in God’s own presence, through ages everlasting.
25. Another great company is there, near to the last-named group, and monstrous their torment. And this is their plight: they are fettered to fiery columns, a sea of fire about them up to their chins, and about their middle fiery chains, in the shape of vipers. Their faces are aflame with agony. They who are tormented thus are sinners, fratricides, ravagers of God’s Church, and merciless Erenachs, who, in presence of the relics of the Saints, had been set over the Church’s tithes and oblations, and had alienated these riches to their private store, away from the Lord’s guests and needy ones.
26. Great multitudes there are, standing in blackest mire up to their girdles. Short cowls of ice are on them. Without rest or intermission, through all time, their girdles are perpetually scorching them with alternate cold and heat. Demon hosts surround them, with fiery clubs in their hands, striking them over the head, though they struggle against them continually. These wretches all have their foreheads to the North, and a rough, sharp wind blowing full upon their foreheads, in addition to every other woe. Red showers of fire are raining on them, every night and every day, and they cannot ward them off, but must needs endure them throughout all ages, wailing and making moan.
27. Some of them have streams of fire in the hollows of their visages; some, fiery nails through their tongues; others, through their heads, from side to side. They who are so punished are thieves and liars, and they who have practiced treachery, reviling robbery and rapine; judges of false judgment and contentious persons; women who have dealt in poison and spells, reivers, and learned men who have practiced heresy. Another great throng is set upon islands, in the midst of the fiery sea. About them is a silver wall built of the raiment and the alms which they had bestowed. These are they who have practiced mercy without zeal, and have remained in loose living, and in the bonds of their sin,until the hour of their death; but their alms are a bulwark unto them, amid the fiery sea, until the Judgment, and after Judgment they shall be brought into the Haven of Life.
28. Another great multitude is there, clad in red and fiery mantles down to their middle. Their trembling and their outcries make themselves heard, even unto the firmament. An unspeakable throng of demons is throttling them, holding in leash the while raw-hided, stinking hounds, which they incite to devour and consume them. Red glowing chains are constantly ablaze about their necks. Every alternate hour they are borne up to the firmament, and the next hour they are dashed down into Hell’s profound. Now they that are punished in this wise are the regulars who have transgressed their rule, and become loathers of piety; also, impostors who have deceived and seduced the multitude, and have undertaken miracles and wonders which they are not able to perform. Moreover, the children that are tearing the men in orders, are they who were committed to them for amendment, but they amended them not, neither reproved them for their sins.
29. Thereafter, is another vast company; East and West they go, unresting, across the fiery flag stones, at war with demon hosts. Innumerable showers of red-hot arrows are rained upon them by the demons. Running, they go on without stop or stay, making for a black lake and a black river, that they may quench those arrows therein. A weeping and wailing, truly miserable and piteous, do the sinners make in those waters, for in them they only meet with augmentation of their pain. Now they that are punished thus are cheating artificers, weavers,and merchants; judges that judged falsely, both Jews, and others likewise; impious kings, Erenachs of lewd and crooked ways, adulterous women, and the panders that destroyed them by their evil practices. Beyond the land of torment is a fiery wall; seven times more horrible and cruel is it than the land of pain itself. Howbeit, no soul dwells therein till Judgment, but it is the province of the demons only, until the Day of Judgment.
30. At that time, woe unto him that shall dwell amid those pains, in company with the Devil’s own tribe! Woe unto him that is not ware of that tribe! Woe unto him over whom a vile and savage demon is set in dominion! Woe unto him that shall be hearkening unto the spirits, making moan and complaining unto the Lord, for the speedy coming of the Day of judgment, that they may know whether they shall find any remission of their doom; for they get no respite ever, save only for three hours on every Sunday. Woe unto him unto whom that land shall be for a lasting inheritance, even for ever and ever! For this is the nature of it: Mountains, caverns, and thorny brakes; plains, bare and parched, with stagnant, serpent-haunted lochs. The soil is rough and sandy, very rugged, icebound. Broad fiery flag stones bestrew the plain. Great seas are there, with horrible abysses, wherein is the Devil’s constant habitation and abiding-place. Four mighty rivers cross the middle of it: a river of fire, a river of snow, a river of poison, a river of black, murky water. In these wallow eager hosts of demons, after making their holiday and their delight in tormenting the souls.
31. What time the holy companies of the Heavenly Host are singing the eight hours with harmonious melody, praising the Lord with cheerfulness and great gladness, then do the souls of the wicked utter piteous and weary wailings, as they are buffeted unceasingly by the demon hordes.Such then are the pains and torments which his guardian angel revealed to the spirit of Adamnan, after his journey towards the Heavenly Kingdom. After which he was borne in the twinkling of an eye through the golden forecourt, and through the crystal veil, to the Land of Saints, where unto he had been brought at first, after his departure from the body. But when he bethought him to rest and tarry in that land,he heard, through the veil, the angel’s voice enjoining him to return again into that body whence he had departed, and to rehearse in courts and assemblies, and in the great congregations of laymen and of clerics, the rewards of Heaven and the pains of Hell, even as his guardian angel had revealed them unto him.
32. This, then, was the doctrine that Adamnan continually taught to the congregations, from that time forth, so long as he remained in life. This, too, is what he preached in the great assemblies of the men of Eire, wherein the Constitution of Adamnan was imposed upon the Gaels, and the women were emancipated by Adamnan and by Finnachta Fledach, King of Eire, and the princes of Eire, of one accord. Such, too, were the tidings which Patrick, son of Calpurnius, at the Gospel-dawn, was ever wont to proclaim -- to wit, the rewards of Heaven and the pains of Hell -- to all them that would believe in the Lord, through his teaching, and would accept his guidance of their souls. That, too, is the doctrine most constantly taught by Peter and Paul, and the other apostles likewise, to wit, the enumeration of the rewards and pains which had been revealed to them in like manner. And so did Silvester, Abbot of Rome, teach Constantine, son of Helen, High King of the World, in the General Synod when he offered Rome to Paul and to Peter. Even so did Fabian, successor to Peter, teach Philip, son of Gordian, the King of Rome, whereby he believed in the Lord, and many thousands beside believed in that hour. For he was the first King of Rome that believed in the Saviour, Jesus Christ.
33. And these are the tidings which Elias declares continually unto the souls of the righteous, under the Tree of Life, which is in Paradise. So soon as Elias opens his book in order to instruct the spirits, the souls of the righteous, in form of bright white birds, repair to him from every side. Then he tells them, first, of the wages of the righteous, the joys and delights of the Heavenly Realm, and right glad thereat are all the throng.After that he tells them of the pains and torments of Hell, and the woes of Doomsday; and easy it is to mark the look of sorrow that is upon his face, and upon the face of Enoch; and these are the two sorrows of the Heavenly Kingdom. Then Elias shuts his book, and thereupon the birds make exceeding great lamentation, straining their wings against their bodies till streams of blood issue from them, in dismay of the woes of Hell and of the Day of Doom.
34. Now, seeing that they who make this moan are the Saints to whom have been allotted everlasting mansions in the Heavenly Realm, how much more fitting were it for the men that are yet on earth to ponder, even with tears of blood, upon the Judgment Day, and upon the pains of Hell. For at that time will the Lord render due recompense to every one on earth; that is to say, rewards to the righteous, and punishments to the guilty. And at that very time shall the guilty be set in the abyss of everlasting pain, and the book of the Word of God shall then be closed, under the curse of the Judge of Doom, for ever. But the saints and the righteous, the charitable and the merciful, shall be borne to the right hand of God, to a lasting habitation in the Kingdom of Heaven,there to abide without age or death, end or term, for ever and ever.
35. This, then, is the manner of that City: A Kingdom without pride, or vanity, or falsehood, or outrage, or deceit, or pretense, or blushing, or shame, or reproach, or insult, or envy, or arrogance, or pestilence, or disease, or poverty, or nakedness, or death, or extinction, or hail, or snow, or wind, or rain, or din, or thunder, or darkness, or cold - a noble, admirable, ethereal realm, endowed with the wisdom, and radiance, and fragrance of a plenteous land, wherein is the enjoyment of every excellence.
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1. Noble and wonderful is the Lord of the Elements, and great and marvelous are His might and His power. For He calleth to Himself in Heaven the charitable and merciful, the meek and considerate; but He consigns and casts down to Hell the impious and unprofitable host of the children of the curse. For upon the blessed He bestows the hidden treasures and the manifold wages of Heaven, while He inflicts a diversity of torments, in many kinds, upon the sons of death.
2. Now there are multitudes of the saints and righteous ones of the Lord of Creation, and of the apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ, unto whom have been revealed the secrets and the mysteries of the Heavenly Kingdom, and the golden wages of the righteous; likewise the divers pains of Hell, with them that are set in the midst thereof. For unto the Apostle Peter was shown the four-cornered vessel, let down from Heaven, with four cords to it, and they with sound as sweet as any music. Also, the Apostle Paul was caught up to Heaven, and heard the ineffable words of the angels, and the speech of them that dwell in Heaven. Moreover, on the day of Mary’s death, all the apostles were brought to look upon the pains and miserable punishments of the unblest; for the Lord commanded the angels of the West to open up the earth before the face of the apostles, that they might see and consider Hell with all its torments, even as Himself had told them, long time before His Passion.
3. Finally, to Adamnan ua Thinne, the High Scholar of the Western World, were revealed the things which are here recorded; for his soul departed from out his body on the feast of John Baptist, and was conveyed to the celestial realm, where the heavenly angels are, and to Hell, with its rabble rout. For no sooner had the soul issued from out the body, than there appeared to it the angel that had been its guardian while in the flesh, and bore it away with him to view, firstly, the Kingdom of Heaven.
4. Now the first land to which they come is the Land of Saints. A bright land of fair weather is that country. In it are diverse and wondrous companies, clad in cassocks of white linen, with hoods of radiant white upon their heads. The saints of the Eastern world form a company apart in the East of the Land of Saints; the saints of the Western world are to the West of the same land; the saints of the Northern world and of the South, in their great concourse, are to the South and North. For every one that is in the Land of Saints may freely listen to the music, and may contemplate the vault, wherein are the nine classes of Heaven,after their rank and order.
5. For one spell, then, the saints keep singing marvelous music in praise of God; for another, they are listening to the music of the heavenly host; for the saints have no other need than to listen to the music that they hear, and to contemplate the radiance that they see, and to sate themselves with the fragrance that there is in that land. The wonderful Lord is face to face with them, in the Southeast, and a crystal veil between; to the South is a golden portico, and through it they discern the form and adumbration of the people of Heaven. No veil, however, nor cloud is between the Host of Heaven and the Host of the Saints, but those are ever manifest and present unto these, in a place that is over against them. A circle of fire surrounds this place, yet do they all pass in and out, and it does scathe to none.
6. Now, the Twelve Apostles and Mary the pure Virgin form a band apart, about the mighty Lord. Next to the Apostles are the Patriarchs and Prophets, and the disciples of Jesus. On the other side are holy Virgins, at Mary’s right hand, and with no great space between. Babes and striplings are about them on every side, and the bird-choirs of the heavenly folk, making their minstrelsy. And amid these companies, bands of angels, guardians of the souls, do perpetual suit and service in the Royal presence. No man is there in this present life who may describe those assemblies, or who may tell of the very manner of them. And the bands and companies which are in the land of saints abide continually in even such great glory as aforesaid, until the great Parliament of Doom,when the righteous judge, on the Day of Judgment, shall dispose them in their stations and abiding places, where they shall contemplate God’s countenance, with no veil nor shadow between, through ages everlasting.
7. But great and vast as are the splendor and the radiance in the Land of Saints, even as hath been said, more vast, a thousand times, the splendor which is in the region of the Heavenly Host, about the Lord’s own throne. This throne is fashioned like unto a canopied chair, and beneath it are four columns of precious stone. Though one should have no minstrelsy at all, save the harmonious music of those four columns, yet would he have his fill of melody and delight. Three stately birds are perched upon that chair, in front of the King, their minds intent upon the Creator throughout all ages, for that is their vocation. They celebrate the eight canonical hours, praising and adoring the Lord, and the Archangels accompany them. For the birds and the Archangels lead the music, and then the Heavenly Host, with the Saints and Virgins, make response.
8. Over the head of the Glorious One that sitteth upon the royal throne is a great arch, like unto a wrought helmet, or a regal diadem: and the eye which should behold it would forthwith melt away. Three circles are round about it, separating it from the host, and by no explanation may the nature of them be known. Six thousand thousands, in guise of horses and of birds, surround the fiery chair, which still burns on, without end or term.
9. Now to describe the mighty Lord that is upon that throne is not for any, unless Himself should do so, or should so direct the heavenly dignitaries. For none could tell of his vehemence and might, His glow and splendor, His brightness and loveliness, His liberality and steadfastness, nor of the multitude of His Angels and Archangels, which chant their songs to Him. His messengers keep going to and from Him, ever and anon, with brief messages to each assemblage, telling to the one host of His mildness and mercy, and to the other of His sternness and harshness.
10. Whoso should stand facing about him, East and West, South and North, would behold on each side of him a majestic countenance, seven times as radiant as the sun. No human form thereto, with head or foot,may be discerned, but a fiery mass, burning on for ever, while one and all are filled with awe and trembling before Him. Heaven and earth are filled full with the light of Him, and a radiance as of a royal star encircles Him. Three thousand different songs are chanted by each several choir about Him, and sweeter than all the varied music of the world is each individual song of them.
11. Furthermore, in this wise is the fashion of that city, wherein that throne is set. Seven crystal walls of various hue surround it, each wall higher than the wall that is before it. The floor, moreover, and the lowest base of that city, is of fair crystal, with the sun’s countenance upon it, shot with blue, and purple, and green, and every hue beside.
12. A gentle folk, most mild, most kindly, lacking in no goodly quality, are they that dwell within that city; for none come there, and none abide there ever, save holy youths, and pilgrims zealous for God. But as for their array and ordinance, hard is it to understand how it is contrived, for none turns back nor side to other, but the unspeakable power of God has set, and keeps, them face to face, in ranks and lofty coronels, all round the throne, circling it in brightness and bliss, their faces all towards God.
13. There is a chancel rail of silver between each two choirs, cunningly wrought upon with red gold and silver, and choice rows of precious stones, variegated with diverse gems, and against that lattice are seats and canopies of carbuncle. Between every two chief companies are three precious stones, softly vocal with sweet melody, and the upper halves of them are lighted lamps. Seven thousand angels, as it were great candles, shine and illumine that city round about; seven thousand others in the midst thereof are aflame for ever, throughout the royal city. The men of all the world, if gathered into one place, many as they are, would derive sustenance enough from the sweet savor of anyone of those candles.
14. Now, such of the world’s inhabitants as attain not to that city after their life is spent, and to whom a dwelling-place therein is allotted after the Words of Doom shall have been spoken, find a restless and unstable habitation, until the coming of Judgment, on heights and hilltops, and in marshy places. Even so fare those hordes and companies,with the guardian angel of every soul in their midst, serving and tending them. In the main doorway of the city they are confronted by a veil of fire and a veil of ice, smiting perpetually one against the other. The noise and din of these veils, as they clash together, are heard throughout the world, and the seed of Adam, should they hear that din, would beseized thereat with trembling and intolerable dismay. Faint and dazed are the wicked at that din; howbeit, on the side of the Heavenly Host, nought is heard of that rude discord, save a very little only, and that sweeter than any music.
15. Awful is that city, and wonderful to describe; for a little out of much is that which we have told concerning its various orders, and the wonders of it. Seldom indeed may a spirit, after its converse and co-habitation with the body, in slumber and repose, in freedom and luxury, win its way to the throne of the Creator, unguided of the angels; for hard of essay are the seven Heavens, nor is any one of them easier than the rest. Six guarded doors confront all those of mortal race who reach the Kingdom. There sits a porter and warder of the Heavenly Host, keeping guard over each door. At the door of that Heaven which is nearest on the hither side sits the Archangel Michael, and with him two youths, with iron rods in their laps to scourge and smite the sinners as they pass through this the first grief and torment of the path they have to tread.
16. At the door of the next Heaven, the Archangel Ariel is warder, and with him two youths, with fiery scourges in their hands, wherewith they scourge the wicked across the face and eyes. A river of fire, its surface an ever-burning flame, lies before that door. Abersetus is the angel’s name who keeps watch over that river, and purges the souls of the righteous, and washes them in the stream, according to the amount of guilt that cleaves to them, until they become pure and shining as is the radiance of the stars. Hard by is a pleasant spring, flowery and fragrant, to cleanse and solace the souls of the righteous, though it annoys and scalds the souls of the guilty, and does away nought from them, but it is increase of pain and torment that comes upon them there.Sinners arise from out of it in grief and immeasurable sadness, but the righteous proceed with joy and great delight to the door of the third Heaven.
17. Above this, a fiery furnace keeps ever burning, its flames reaching a height of twelve thousand cubits; through it the righteous pass in the twinkling of an eye, but the souls of sinners are baked and scorched therein for twelve years, and then their guardian angel conveys them to the fourth door. About the entrance door of the fourth Heaven is a fiery stream, like the foregoing. It is surrounded by a wall of fire, in breadth twelve thousand measured cubits, through which the souls of the righteous pass as though it were not there, while the souls of the sinful tarry therein, amid pain and tribulation, for another twelve years, until their guardian angel bears them to the door of the fifth Heaven.
18. In that place is a fiery river, which is unlike all other rivers, for in the midst of it, is a strange kind of whirlpool, wherein the souls of the wicked keep turning round and round, and there they abide for the space of sixteen years; the righteous, however, win through it straightway, without any hindrance. So soon as the due time cometh for the sinners to be released there out, the angel strikes the water with a rod, hard as though it were of stone, and uplifts the spirits with the end of that rod. Then Michael bears them up to the door of the sixth Heaven.but no pain nor torment is meted out to the spirits at that door, but there they are illumined with the luster and the brilliancy of precious stones. Then Michael cometh to the Angel of the Trinity, and one on either side they usher the soul into the presence of God.
19. Infinite and beyond all telling is the welcome wherewith the Lord and the Heavenly Host then receive the soul, if he, be a pure and righteous soul; if, however, he be an unrighteous and unprofitable soul, harsh and ungentle is the reception of him by the Mighty Lord. For He saith to the Heavenly Angels, Take, O Heavenly Angels, this unprofitable soul, and deliver him into the hand of Lucifer, that he may plunge him and utterly extinguish him in Hell’s profound, through ages everlasting.
20. Thereupon that wretched soul is parted, fearfully, sternly, awfully, from sight of the Heavenly Kingdom, and of God’s countenance. Then utters he a groan, heavier than any groan, as he comes into the Devil’s presence, after beholding the bliss of the Kingdom of Heaven. He is then deprived of the guidance of the Archangels, in whose company he had come unto Heaven. Twelve fiery dragons swallow up every spirit, one after the other, until the lowest dragon lands him in the Devil’s maw. There doth he experience the consummation of all evil, in the Devil’s own presence, throughout all ages.
21. After that his guardian angel had revealed to Adamnan’s spirit these visions of the Heavenly Kingdom, and of the first progress of every soul after parting from its body, he brought him to visit the nethermost Hell, with all its pains, and its crosses, and its torments. Now, the first region where unto he came was a land burnt black, waste and scorched, but with no punishment at all therein. A glen, filled with fire, was on the further side of it; huge the flame of it, extending beyond the margin on either hand. Black its base, red the middle, and the upper part thereof. Eight serpents were in it, with eyes like coals of fire.
22. An enormous bridge spans the glen, reaching from one bank to the other; high the middle of it, but lower its two extremities. Three companies seek to pass over it, but not all succeed. One company find the bridge to be of ample width, from beginning to end, until they win across the fiery glen, safe and sound, fearless and undismayed. The second company, when entering upon it, find it narrow at first, but broad afterwards, until they, in like manner, fare across that same glen,after great peril. But for the last company the bridge is broad at first, but strait and narrow thereafter, until they fall from the midst of it into that same perilous glen, into the throats of those eight red-hot serpents, that have their dwelling-place in the glen.
23. Now the folk to whom that path was easy were the chaste, the penitent, the diligent, they who had zealously borne a bloody testimony to God. The band who found the path narrow at first, but afterwards broad, were they who had hardly been constrained to do God’s will, but had afterwards converted their constraint into the willing service of God. They, however, to whom this way was broad at first, but strait thereafter, were sinners who had listened to the precepts in God’s word, and after having heard, fulfilled them not.
24. Furthermore, vast multitudes abide beyond, feeble and powerless, upon the shore of perpetual pain, in the land of utter darkness. Every other hour the pain ebbs away from them, and the next hour it returns upon them again. Now these are they in whom good and evil were equally balanced, and on the Day of Doom, judgment shall be passed between them, and their good shall quench their evil on that day; and then shall they be brought to the Haven of Life, in God’s own presence, through ages everlasting.
25. Another great company is there, near to the last-named group, and monstrous their torment. And this is their plight: they are fettered to fiery columns, a sea of fire about them up to their chins, and about their middle fiery chains, in the shape of vipers. Their faces are aflame with agony. They who are tormented thus are sinners, fratricides, ravagers of God’s Church, and merciless Erenachs, who, in presence of the relics of the Saints, had been set over the Church’s tithes and oblations, and had alienated these riches to their private store, away from the Lord’s guests and needy ones.
26. Great multitudes there are, standing in blackest mire up to their girdles. Short cowls of ice are on them. Without rest or intermission, through all time, their girdles are perpetually scorching them with alternate cold and heat. Demon hosts surround them, with fiery clubs in their hands, striking them over the head, though they struggle against them continually. These wretches all have their foreheads to the North, and a rough, sharp wind blowing full upon their foreheads, in addition to every other woe. Red showers of fire are raining on them, every night and every day, and they cannot ward them off, but must needs endure them throughout all ages, wailing and making moan.
27. Some of them have streams of fire in the hollows of their visages; some, fiery nails through their tongues; others, through their heads, from side to side. They who are so punished are thieves and liars, and they who have practiced treachery, reviling robbery and rapine; judges of false judgment and contentious persons; women who have dealt in poison and spells, reivers, and learned men who have practiced heresy. Another great throng is set upon islands, in the midst of the fiery sea. About them is a silver wall built of the raiment and the alms which they had bestowed. These are they who have practiced mercy without zeal, and have remained in loose living, and in the bonds of their sin,until the hour of their death; but their alms are a bulwark unto them, amid the fiery sea, until the Judgment, and after Judgment they shall be brought into the Haven of Life.
28. Another great multitude is there, clad in red and fiery mantles down to their middle. Their trembling and their outcries make themselves heard, even unto the firmament. An unspeakable throng of demons is throttling them, holding in leash the while raw-hided, stinking hounds, which they incite to devour and consume them. Red glowing chains are constantly ablaze about their necks. Every alternate hour they are borne up to the firmament, and the next hour they are dashed down into Hell’s profound. Now they that are punished in this wise are the regulars who have transgressed their rule, and become loathers of piety; also, impostors who have deceived and seduced the multitude, and have undertaken miracles and wonders which they are not able to perform. Moreover, the children that are tearing the men in orders, are they who were committed to them for amendment, but they amended them not, neither reproved them for their sins.
29. Thereafter, is another vast company; East and West they go, unresting, across the fiery flag stones, at war with demon hosts. Innumerable showers of red-hot arrows are rained upon them by the demons. Running, they go on without stop or stay, making for a black lake and a black river, that they may quench those arrows therein. A weeping and wailing, truly miserable and piteous, do the sinners make in those waters, for in them they only meet with augmentation of their pain. Now they that are punished thus are cheating artificers, weavers,and merchants; judges that judged falsely, both Jews, and others likewise; impious kings, Erenachs of lewd and crooked ways, adulterous women, and the panders that destroyed them by their evil practices. Beyond the land of torment is a fiery wall; seven times more horrible and cruel is it than the land of pain itself. Howbeit, no soul dwells therein till Judgment, but it is the province of the demons only, until the Day of Judgment.
30. At that time, woe unto him that shall dwell amid those pains, in company with the Devil’s own tribe! Woe unto him that is not ware of that tribe! Woe unto him over whom a vile and savage demon is set in dominion! Woe unto him that shall be hearkening unto the spirits, making moan and complaining unto the Lord, for the speedy coming of the Day of judgment, that they may know whether they shall find any remission of their doom; for they get no respite ever, save only for three hours on every Sunday. Woe unto him unto whom that land shall be for a lasting inheritance, even for ever and ever! For this is the nature of it: Mountains, caverns, and thorny brakes; plains, bare and parched, with stagnant, serpent-haunted lochs. The soil is rough and sandy, very rugged, icebound. Broad fiery flag stones bestrew the plain. Great seas are there, with horrible abysses, wherein is the Devil’s constant habitation and abiding-place. Four mighty rivers cross the middle of it: a river of fire, a river of snow, a river of poison, a river of black, murky water. In these wallow eager hosts of demons, after making their holiday and their delight in tormenting the souls.
31. What time the holy companies of the Heavenly Host are singing the eight hours with harmonious melody, praising the Lord with cheerfulness and great gladness, then do the souls of the wicked utter piteous and weary wailings, as they are buffeted unceasingly by the demon hordes.Such then are the pains and torments which his guardian angel revealed to the spirit of Adamnan, after his journey towards the Heavenly Kingdom. After which he was borne in the twinkling of an eye through the golden forecourt, and through the crystal veil, to the Land of Saints, where unto he had been brought at first, after his departure from the body. But when he bethought him to rest and tarry in that land,he heard, through the veil, the angel’s voice enjoining him to return again into that body whence he had departed, and to rehearse in courts and assemblies, and in the great congregations of laymen and of clerics, the rewards of Heaven and the pains of Hell, even as his guardian angel had revealed them unto him.
32. This, then, was the doctrine that Adamnan continually taught to the congregations, from that time forth, so long as he remained in life. This, too, is what he preached in the great assemblies of the men of Eire, wherein the Constitution of Adamnan was imposed upon the Gaels, and the women were emancipated by Adamnan and by Finnachta Fledach, King of Eire, and the princes of Eire, of one accord. Such, too, were the tidings which Patrick, son of Calpurnius, at the Gospel-dawn, was ever wont to proclaim -- to wit, the rewards of Heaven and the pains of Hell -- to all them that would believe in the Lord, through his teaching, and would accept his guidance of their souls. That, too, is the doctrine most constantly taught by Peter and Paul, and the other apostles likewise, to wit, the enumeration of the rewards and pains which had been revealed to them in like manner. And so did Silvester, Abbot of Rome, teach Constantine, son of Helen, High King of the World, in the General Synod when he offered Rome to Paul and to Peter. Even so did Fabian, successor to Peter, teach Philip, son of Gordian, the King of Rome, whereby he believed in the Lord, and many thousands beside believed in that hour. For he was the first King of Rome that believed in the Saviour, Jesus Christ.
33. And these are the tidings which Elias declares continually unto the souls of the righteous, under the Tree of Life, which is in Paradise. So soon as Elias opens his book in order to instruct the spirits, the souls of the righteous, in form of bright white birds, repair to him from every side. Then he tells them, first, of the wages of the righteous, the joys and delights of the Heavenly Realm, and right glad thereat are all the throng.After that he tells them of the pains and torments of Hell, and the woes of Doomsday; and easy it is to mark the look of sorrow that is upon his face, and upon the face of Enoch; and these are the two sorrows of the Heavenly Kingdom. Then Elias shuts his book, and thereupon the birds make exceeding great lamentation, straining their wings against their bodies till streams of blood issue from them, in dismay of the woes of Hell and of the Day of Doom.
34. Now, seeing that they who make this moan are the Saints to whom have been allotted everlasting mansions in the Heavenly Realm, how much more fitting were it for the men that are yet on earth to ponder, even with tears of blood, upon the Judgment Day, and upon the pains of Hell. For at that time will the Lord render due recompense to every one on earth; that is to say, rewards to the righteous, and punishments to the guilty. And at that very time shall the guilty be set in the abyss of everlasting pain, and the book of the Word of God shall then be closed, under the curse of the Judge of Doom, for ever. But the saints and the righteous, the charitable and the merciful, shall be borne to the right hand of God, to a lasting habitation in the Kingdom of Heaven,there to abide without age or death, end or term, for ever and ever.
35. This, then, is the manner of that City: A Kingdom without pride, or vanity, or falsehood, or outrage, or deceit, or pretense, or blushing, or shame, or reproach, or insult, or envy, or arrogance, or pestilence, or disease, or poverty, or nakedness, or death, or extinction, or hail, or snow, or wind, or rain, or din, or thunder, or darkness, or cold - a noble, admirable, ethereal realm, endowed with the wisdom, and radiance, and fragrance of a plenteous land, wherein is the enjoyment of every excellence.
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