THE ARMENIAN SEVENTH VISION OF DANIEL
CHAPTER ONE
1. Three years after all the revelations that had been made to Daniel the prophet, the angel Gabriel, who had aforetime been sent unto him, was sent again by the Lord and said unto him: Daniel, beloved man, I am sent by the Lord to speak to thee, and to shew thee what shall happen at the end of the days, after the coming of the Word, who shall be announced by me.
2. There shall be a virgin in Israel and she shall receive the Word from the Word, and He will take flesh for the sake of the world, and will cause many among Israel to be saved. And consider with care, and hear what shall happen at the end of the days in all the towns and provinces, on account of the iniquities of men.
3. And I, Daniel, said: Speak on, my Lord.
4. And he spake unto me, saying: After the fulfillment of all that was prophesied concerning all the towns and provinces of Asia, Pontus, Phrygia, Gralatia, Cappadocia, Carpatia, Smyrna, Antioch, Alexandria, Jilgypt, Nicfea, Nicomedia, Calcedon, Byzantium, Babylon and Rome, through the mourning of the children and the increase of the dearth, the fertile land shall be laid waste; thy princes shall become children of groanings, and thy possessions that are around thee shall be made desolate, and they shall be removed from thee to Babylon of the Seven-Hills. The prince of Pontus shall fall, and the sword shall devour his children; his hosts shall fall by the edge of the sword, and many shall be carried over to Byzantium and there they shall be buried.
5. The children of the Phrygians shall be consumed through the want of bread and water; heir land shall be cleft and they shall be meat unto all the fowls of the air, and many of them shall flee to Carthage.
6. In Galatia a fire from heaven shall appear, and she shall be consumed by thunders and lightnings. The thrones of her princes shall be overthrown, and her south country shall be bathed in blood and burnt with fire; and then many shall flee to Rome.
7. In Cappadocia Minor, her children shall destroy one another, and carry one another captive, and their princes shall be discomfited; and all they who dwell around her shall be in tribulation and shall sigh heavily. The children of Babylon Minor and Carpatia, shall be in tribulation, they shall see conflagrations and they shall not believe; the ground shall be cleft and they shall all be brought down to hell, and many shall flee to the Seven-Hills.
8. In Smyrna wrath shall be increased; she, like a cup, shall be filled up with blood, and she shall fall down from her glory. Thy princes shall be carried away, and thy great ones shall be overthrown; for the day of the Lord's wrath shall come upon thee.
9. The children of Antioch shall perish, and her buildings shall be thrown down, and her princes shall not enjoy them. Thy fall shall be wrought by an earthquake, and thy great wealth shall cause thee to perish.
10. In Alexandria many tumults of war shall take place, — and the neck of her impertinence until the trenches of her ramparts — her princes shall be driven away.
11.The children of the Egyptians, harassed by famine, shall flee away. Thy possessions shall be reduced to nothing, the Nile shall be drained and thy princes shall perish.
12. The daughters of the Nicaeans shall be in mourning and in sorrow on account of their kinsmen and their husbands who shall be made captive by warriors; and thy princes shall become servants to those whom they know not.
13. Woe unto thee Nicomedia, who hast lifted up thine horn and hast devoured the bodies of thy saints that were in thee; thou shall perish through the blood of righteous men, who shall give thee like for like, and thou shalt be cast down to hell. Mourn and lament, thou wretched one! for thou shall be utterly destroyed with thy children. Thy princes are princes of sighs, and thy priests fond of gold and silver, and the beauty of thy splendor, shall fade.
14. Carthage and thou people of the Persians! what shall happen to thee at the end of the days, thou knowest not; and at the end of all ages how long shall thine existence last after that of all the towns and provinces? Thou, city decked with gold and silver, and ye, people adorned and embellished, shall perish by famine. There shall be great rioting in thee, and thy children shall amuse themselves with gold and then they shall be consumed by dearth. The land of Byzantium and that of Babylon shall sink, warriors shall seize it, its foundations shall be destroyed and its strength shall be crushed.
15. Rome shall have no prince at that time, but her arms shall be sharpened, her arrows hardened, and her perfidy increased. Many times shall a prince rise up in her, and again shall he fall, and she shall be reduced to three streets. Many shall fear thee, O Rome, on account of the splendor of thy numerous princes, and on account of thine haughty arrogance and thy great wealth.
CHAPTER TWO
1. The children of Byzantium shall work wonders; for a man of Byzant shall, depart from her and shall go into the so-called Seven-Hills, and shall strengthen her foundations; her name shall be spread throughout all the inhabitants of the world, and throughout all the different tongues. And again a wonderful man, born of a remarkable woman, shall rebuild her. And in due time the wish of his heart shall be fulfilled, for he shall find the Wood of Life, and his scepter shall become great. He shall find nails that were on the same sign, and he shall put them on his bridles for the sake of salvation and of victory in battle. His horn shall be exalted and mighty, and his name shall be acclaimed in all tongues, and an everlasting remembrance shall be granted to that city.
2. And after him shall arise the second scepter, that shall shed the blood of righteous men. He shall proclaim the commandments, but he shall not acknowledge God, and with a blind heart he shall touch the Holy Scriptures. And after him one that is a philosopher, shall come to thee, Babylon of the Seven-Hills, and he shall erect in thee an idol, but for that thou shalt not suffer violence.
3. And after all this there shall arise exalted horns and very great scepters, and they shall prevail against thee, and they shall be held in great remembrance. And another greater scepter shall prevail exceedingly, and shall be exalted for the sake of the Lord’s name; for God's gift is in him. Through him life shall be glorious, and through his cheerfulness all men shall rejoice and and from the towns and provinces people shall gather in thee, and shall come unto thee, the Seven Hills; and each one shall work at his own work, and the scepter of the kingdom shall prevail until the end of its days.
4. And from one scepter shall come forth two scepters; and one of thy scepters shall become a wild beast, and the second of thy scepters an animal, in the two streets of the Seven-Hills. From Rome there shall come unto thee great glory like a cup filled up, until thy time shall arrive. First, the city shall be full of singing, and secondly, thy wealth as a gushing fountain, shall be for all. Thou shalt be decked like a bride, and yet thou shalt appear like a widow. Thy bunches of grapes, abundantly fruitful as they were, shall diminish, and thy great glory shall be divided and the kingdom that is in thee shall fall.
5. And another scepter shall arise called Theodosius, and he shall walk in holiness, and his name shall be consecrated in thee, the Seven-Hills! And thy children shall rejoice in his birth, and each one shall do as he listeth. All the towns and provinces shall serve thee, and thine abundance shall be a source of great prosperity to all the world. And the Nile of the Egyptians shall give thee to drink, and thou shalt become a bulwark of the Church, and there shall be great fear and trembling before thy scepter; and this is the beginning of sighs of thy kingdom. And the time of his scepter shall be long and very wonderful; and his scepter shall conquer unto the extremities of the earth, from the east and the west and from the north and the south. And his neck shall be firm, and his right hand strong, and his years many more than the years of any other king. And after all this he shall turn his face towards his father, and the number of his years shall be great; and his name shall be terrible, and his kingdom full of splendor.
6. And another, a third king, shall be in Rome, thou Seven-Hills! Thou hast been called Seven-Hills, because all the peoples of the Persians shall come unto thee, and thou, Rome, shalt never again reign to the end of all the ages. Thy second king shall reign in old age, and his name is Marcianus, and the duration of his reign shall be shorter than the reign of the first; and his kingdom shall be far more formidable. And that time shall be to some for good and to others for evil. And his kingdom shall be for times, and for hours, and for half an hour. Thy builder, thou Seven-Hills I shall make a present of thee unto him, and he shall raise thee up unto him through the Book of the Faith, and a great rupture shall take place in his kingdom. The priests shall fall from their places, many towns shall be overthrown, and many conversions shall take place amongst men, and thy beauty, thou Seven-Hills! and thine extent shall not diminish. And after all this, even he shall die with his fathers, and the other scepter shall reign in thee and he shall be a wild beast, and he shall receive the first scepter which shall at length be beaten by the dog. And this wild beast shall be, like the first scepter, great and strong in words and in wisdom; and he shall not be despised by his nobles; and his neck shall be like the neck of a bullock, and his eyes like the eyes of a lion; he shall roar fearfully, and all towns and provinces shall tremble before his horns. And during his time the rainbow shall appear in heaven, and there shall be all kinds of signs in heaven, and upon the earth shall be heard the noise of thunders and the falling of many towns. The earth shall be cloven asunder, buildings shall be overthrown from their foundations, and her paths shall be of fire. And there shall be fightings in it and in thee, the Seven-Hills; and thy gorgeous buildings shall be burnt with fire, and thy glory shall be razed to the ground, and thy children shall moan in thee, and thy great joy shall turn into mourning, and thy children shall drag along the ground the bodies of thy great ones. Suddenly a storm shall come down from heaven and shall cover the earth, and dragon-like peoples shall appear on earth, and many shall grow poor, and many indigent people shall grow rich, and a great riot shall take place in thee. Ye warriors in Thrace and in Cilicia! shout with arms and swords!
CHAPTER THREE
1. And at that time the wild beast shall send his sword to the east, and shall not be able to prevail; and a man who is shaped like a dragon from the loins upward, shall despise him; and with this man be shall send his second sword to the west, and he shall not be able to conquer him, and the dragon shall be despised by the dog. The wild beast shall be oppressed by the dog through many presents and much gold and riches. And the dog shall rise up against the wild beast, and shall make his whelps rise against the throne of the wild beast and against the scepters; and the dog shall cause the wild beast to perish and his dens to be captured. And the dogs shall drive out the wild beast, and all men shall perceive that the dog persecutes the lion. And the lion shall return and shall slay the dog and his whelps. And the lion shall roar with a very great roaring, and his roaring shall be heard throughout all the towns and provinces, and his dens shall inspire terror. And men shall be disconcerted amongst themselves on account of the roaring of the lion, and of the death of the dog.
2. And the second dog, by transforming his tongue, shall drive back the lion to his den, and shall depart from him when he shall no longer be able to resist him. And the dog's whelp shall conceal himself for times, and for a time, and for an hour, and in his time he shall reign, and his name shall be “Whelp of dog”,which being translated means: “ King of peoples”. And the wild beast shall root out the remembrance of the dog. As they shall have known it previously, they shall spread calumny about him, and they will destroy his image in his town, and many shall meditate slaying him in the wild beast's den, and they shall not resist him. And his colleagues in authority shall die by the sword in another town, and well shall they know the prayers of the priest for the sake of the unknown ones. And one of the great ones, a young man from amongst the warriors of the wild beast, will send to the beast many people bound hand and foot. And then when the wild beast shall make many his servants from amongst the different peoples, and as a lord shall call them to him, another man shall present himself unto him and shall take him in his bosom. And he shall drive away the warrior men, and he himself shall be driven away by them, and shall flee from them on foot, and nobody shall overtake him, for he is swift of foot, and he shall flee to the wild beast and shall enter into his bosom. And the little wild beast shall go out unto him and shall be inspired with courage; and the big wild beast shall make him to sit on his throne, and cause him to be his colleague in authority and on the throne a substitute for himself. And the two wild beasts shall dwell in one cavern; the whelp shall be emboldened to make war, and the wild beast shall return to his own land from whence he came. And the little wild beast shall occupy his place until a certain time, being crowned king by no one, but through his own violence; and he shall come into the snares of the kingdom, and the young wild beast shall return to the big wild beast. And leaving the snares to him who made them, he shall rule over thee, the Seven-Hills, and shall oppress thee. His rejoicing shall be great, he will give himself up to pleasure and be beloved by the great ones, but many shall hate him. He shall grant life and abundance, and the dragon shall play with him, and with the hunting rod of the wild beast shall drag him along. Woe to thee in that time, thou Seven-Hills, Babylon! when the widow shall reign, and the dragon shall drive away the stranger, and the stranger that is called Salamander shall flee, turning his face toward the islands; — gold and silver and precious stones, and the crowns of the scepters; and he who is in the bosom of the wild beast, tripled by the Persian people of Carthage, — none of the men shall drive him away because of the love of the dragon and of thy great splendor that was in thee. And he shall be driven about from land to land, and shall be oppressed by the strangers. And being oppressed by the strangers in sustenance and by journeys, he shall send up his sighs unto his Creator along with his innocent ones. And the hunting-rod which came forth from the wild beast shall be allied with the dog, and the dragon shall occupy the place of oppression and of trial, — following with his worthless thrones, — and shall make war on the holy place. And the dragon with his tongue shall utter threats against holy men and against the holy relics; and shall suppress the government of the patriarchs, and take by force the holy churches; and they who shall dwell in the holes and the caves and in the clefts of the earth, shall come unto thee, the Seven-Hills, to escape from the tyranny of the dragon.
3. And after all this they shall shake off the dust from their feet in thee, suffering martyrdom at his hands. Then the beauty of thy magnificence shall be burnt with fire; and a young man shall flee away under pretense of carrying with his hunting-rod the first wild beast, who is called Salamander. Then in that time the dragon shall suffer oppression, and he shall be taken by his successors, and shall be bound by those that are at his left, and nobody shall receive him, because he shed the blood of holy men in the towns and in the provinces. And he shall flee into the holy temple which he previously had usurped, and nobody shall receive him, for plagues from heaven shall be upon him. And the young- man shall come to Salamander, and he shall cause the stranger to advance before the dragon; and the dragon seeing him shall flee away from him, and the stranger shall not slay the dragon; he will keep him away from his presence. And the young man shall fall, and great shall his fall be; and the widow shall not escape; and they shall cause her to see the stranger and his colleague on the throne, and she shall become tributary in the tabernacles of him who created her, and at her throne shall be required the blood of her father. And in a short time the stranger shall become great, and there shall be abundance in thee, Seven-Hills! and many shall die amongst the men who are assembled in thee from the towns and provinces.
CHAPTER FOUR
1. And at that time there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and they shall hear the voice of many people and they will not believe. And thy wealth and thy glory made thee as sad as thou wast proud before; and thine ambition humbled thee; but great abundance and beauty shall be in thee. The end of the time shall come to thee, and from thee shall come forth the hunting-rod that proceeds from the wild beast, and he will go to the dwellings of the strangers. Then thy daughters shall adorn themselves to be a snare to the young men to kill many of them, and thy great ones shall fall, and many tribulations and troubles shall take place.
2. Then the angel of death shall strike thee with all the towns and provinces, and violent deaths shall be sent down from heaven. Suddenly he shall be excited against the earth; the earth shall shake and the temples shall fall, and the houses shall become graves. And the sea shall make its waves foam up, and shall cover men, and there shall be some who shall flee away and be saved. Then a gathering of angels shall take place, and they shall present themselves in prayer before the throne.
3. Then shalt thou, Seven-Hills, Babylon! mourn for thy children, lying in sackcloth and casting ashes on thy head, when thou shalt see men perish on account of their sins and transgressions; both men with children and women with sucking babes shall perish, because the Lord's wrath is upon them. Thy defenses shall be cloven asunder and thy tabernacles shall be razed to the ground; sucking children with parched mouths shall cry unto God, and thy priests shall fret themselves and weep. Thy great ones, thy scepters and thy citizens shall mourn sorely, and thy travelers shall be in pain; thy bunches of grapes shall fall, and thy vineyards shall fail. The earth shall be cleft with a great shock and shall cause men to perish, from the sucking child to the old man. But the Lord shall not cause thee to perish wholly, thou Seven-Hills! for the time of thy destruction is not yet come; the gulf shall open to swallow up men, but it shall not engulf them, for thy time is not yet come. Torments are prepared for thee, for thou hast committed all kinds of iniquity, having received the earth in thy bosom, and men shall be in great anguish until the Lord shall send from heaven to destroy them.
4. But the counsels of the Lord shall appear from the punishment that must take place, and those who have found refuge in thee shall suffer torments. The people that placed their hope in thee, and the hunting-rod, shall make thee perish. The whelp shall drive away the whelp, requiring the blood of his fathers, and of his own will shall he give himself up to strangers, to the dogs and to their companions. And he shall raise up tongues and peoples and shall rule over many nations; and the two dogs shall fight against one another, and shall destroy each other.
5. Woe, when the widow shall reign, and shall secretly conspire against the strangers! and the other stranger will seek her ruin and shall perfidiously destroy her. And those days shall be painful and calamitous. The children of the scepters shall be in tumult and shall fight against one another, and then men shall suffer much pain and misery, such as they have never before known. And the prince, the believer, shall not trust in the Salamander, because he is a stranger, and they shall receive from his people what they did not ask. And the Salamander would fain flee away, but he shall not be able, for Placitas shall reach him and shall kill him.
6. And the other scepter shall rule in thee, O Seven-Hills, and many afflictions shall take place. A poor man shall come up who shall not acknowledge favors; a haughty man, fond of gold, warlike, and his name is Orloghius ; and his throne shall last few days, and he shall be swift to anger. And his nobles shall hate him, and his townsmen shall be vexed. Wrath from heaven shall be during his days; many times he shall harass Babylon. During the time of his reign sad news shall arrive for thee, and the troops of barbarians shall alarm thee and they shall not fight.
7. Then another tyrant king shall come up, and shall fight against him and shall drive him away; and he will slay him with great affliction and groaning. And this king shall reign and shall take hold of the scepter that is in thee, the Seven-Hills! and he shall be the greatest among very great and glorious thrones, and that man shall be valiant on the right hand and on the left. And during his time there shall be a great famine and not a small one, and the earth shall become uninhabited by men; abundant water-courses shall flow out, and the sky shall become gloomy and agitated, thy vineyards shall diminish, thy beauties shall be deformed, the days shall be shortened and one day shall be dwarfed to six hours. Woe, to the men that shall be in that time!
8. And the king shall turn his face to the west. Then woe to thee, the Seven-Hills, when thy king is a young man. In that time a great peril shall overtake thee; there shall be a man who shall know his brother's wife, and the son his mother, and the daughter shall go up to her father's bed, the brother shall know his sister, and there shall be multiplied blasphemies, murders, oaths, slanders, falsehoods, obscenities, sufferings, abuses of authority, hatred, mutinies, and bloodshed in the temple of the holy ministers. And kings shall arise against kings, princes against princes, the powerful against the poor, and the rich and the poor shall perish. And Bithynia, which is on the sea-shore, shall be destroyed by an earthquake; and the waves of the sea shall mount up and overflow and cover the foundations of Bithynia, as far as the little town of Nicomedia. And again another king shall arise, and his time shall be for a few days only. He shall be wicked and very terrible. And henceforth there shall be no good season, but a bad one; his son shall make war against him and shall destroy him by the sword.
9. And another king shall arise of another religion, an Arian, and shall draw all to himself. Woe to thee, O Seven-Hills, at that time, for more than all thou shalt mourn for thyself and thy boundaries! After this, kings and princes, and chiefs and champions shall rise against towns and provinces and places, and there shall be riots and confusions amongst men. A barbarous people shall fall upon the towns and the provinces; and, because of the multitude of the people, the earth shall sink seventy-three cubits. And thou, Seven-Hills, shalt not be vexed by them; but a war of thine own shall afflict thee, and the beauty of the earth shall diminish in thee; wrath from heaven shall be upon thee and a great scourge; and a pillar of fire shall appear stretching from heaven to earth. Then thy kingdom shall be removed and thou shalt remain in eternal pollution, and thus thou shalt he consumed by dearth. And a prince of a little moment shall bring the other scepter into the other town, and arrows of fire shall be showered from heaven, and many .signs and wonders shall be shown. Then the Antichrist shall rule, and men shall turn aside from the worship of God and become unbelievers, through the coming of him whom they did not seek nor expect, who was an adversary unto all. This man shall be conceived and born of an unholy virgin; and the scepter of imposture shall seize upon the human race during three times and half a time. He will bring the souls of many to perdition, to be partakers of hell for ever. Then the angels shall be in anxiety, when they shall see these signs that he showed previously.
10. And when pious men learn this, they will know and mark the adversary of all mankind, whose signs are these: The joints of his knees are stiff, he is crippled in body, smooth-browed, crooked-fingered long-headed, charming, boastful, intelligent, laughing sweetly, a Seer, discreet, sprightly, meek, quiet, a wonder-worker, having near him the souls of the lost, drawing bread out of stones, making the blind to see the lame to walk, and removing mountains from place to place. All this he will perform in semblance, and many shall believe in him. Woe, to them who shall believe in him and shall take his mark ! their eyes shall he closed and turn no more unto Him in Whom they before had hoped.
11. After this a very great famine shall come. And the heavens shall not shower down rain, and the earth shall not put forth grass; all the fruits shall dry up, and all the inhabitants of the provinces and the towns shall bewail themselves; they shall flee, and they shall not be able to escape, from the east to the west, and from the west to the east; but they that dwell among the mountains, and in the caverns, and in the hollows, and in the clefts of the earth, they only shall be able to flee until the Second coming of Him Who was born of the holy virgin. Then His elect ones shall be known, and they shall see the final coming of the Lord. He shall approach and many shall be judged; there shall be sounds from heaven and much tribulation throughout the world. Woe, to them that are with child and to them that give suck, in the last days! Woe, to the intemperate and to them who shall believe in the Adversary! Woe, to them who worshiped him and declared themselves eager for his coming!
CHAPTER FIVE
1. And after all this has come to pass, and the Saints and righteous men have suffered torments through poverty and tyranny, then shall the end come. And some amongst men shall point out traces and shall recognize the Seven-Hills, and shall say: ' Has this ever been a city '! And a woman shall go over to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south, and shall find no fruit, but shall find only an olive-tree; and she shall embrace the olive-tree, she shall sigh and say: ' Blessed be he who planted this tree;' and in the same spot her soul shall depart from her. Then the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, and the stars shall fall down like leaves, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the sea shall bubble up from its depths, and shall overflow to cover all men, and everything shall be burnt and dried by the wind. And the angels of fire shall come down from heaven, and all the universe shall be set on fire. Mice shall appear, flame-shaped and of copper, and like to them, flesh eating savage beasts, shall come out of the mountains and they shall not fear; and he for whom the land of the ungodly sought, shall perish, and the Righteous shall be caught up unto the Father, for a decree has gone out from the Lord. Thrones shall be set up and Books shall be opened, thrones of judgment shall be established, the angels shall sound the trumpet, the Righteous shall rejoice and shall give glory to the Father, and they shall be judged according to their deeds.
2. But only the Lord is the Righteous Judge. And all his works, and all mankind shall open their mouths, and shall cry and say: ' Lord, Thou Who art the Lord ! lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thou, Lord, Who knowest and perceivest that we are not able to bear it, for we are made of flesh, as a beneficent and kindly Father, have pity upon us. For Thine is the glory, now and ever and unto all ages. Amen. '
THE ARMENIAN VISION OF ENOCH THE JUST
1. At the sixth hour of the day a man appeared unto me over against Mount Lebanon, and his appearance was like unto flaming fire, and he said unto me: Hear, man, what I now relate unto thee, which I heard from the Lord of Hosts.
2. And I stood all the night over against the mountain, on the east side, and my face was turned toward the sea, to the west, before the cherubim.
3. And behold, above the sea there was an eagle, haughty, and flying above it, and he had eight wings and three heads; and he stood above the waters of the sea, and looked towards the south. And the sea was stirred by the south wind, and lifted up its waves to drown the eagle; and the waves beat upon his wings, and their noise resembled that of horses running towards the northeast.
4. And lo, the head of a dragon appeared, with nine eyes, and his feet were like the claws of a lion, and his running like that of a leopard. And he overtook the eagle between the wind and the waves, and opened his mouth to swallow him; and the eagle cried unto the Most High, but his cries were not heard on account of his violence. Then the eagle turned his face and fled to the ends of the north, but there he found no rest. And the dragon devoured all the peoples and burnt them as with fire, but in his belly remained nothing; and he held the dominion of the earth sixteen times six, that is ninety-six years.
5. And at the end of that time, the eagle, driven on by the south wind, returned, with mighty power, to the same place, to resist the dragon. And the head of the dragon lay upon an ash-heap; and the eagle stood on a chariot with white horses, and he caught the dragon on the top of the ash-heap, and beat him violently; and the dragon had no more his former strength, and his head was scattered throughout all nations.
6. Then the white horses descended upon the ash-heap and scattered it, and its dust was thrown up and scattered towards heaven, and there was no more light upon the earth, but darkness and horrible mist.
7. And six men sat each on a throne; three of them were ill favored to look upon and black, and two were white and fine to look on, and the sixth was oppressed and afflicted, nd was mourning for his wives and children; and all of them distrusted the dragon that was lying; upon the ash-heap, and they said: A fire shall come out of that dragon and shall consume the earth.
8. And afterwards the cherubim cried out and said unto me: man! didst thou understand that vision?
9. And 1 said: No.
10. And he said unto me: Stand up and hear, and I will tell thee the meaning of it all.
11. The swift-flying eagle that thou sawest, which had eight wings and , three heads, is the king of the Romans and the Greeks; and whereas he stood above the sea, he shall be a king strong as iron. And forasmuch as the eagle pursues all birds, and strikes and throws them down, in like manner the king of the Romans shall consume all the kingdoms of the earth, and through the power of the Most High he shall entrap them as it were birds of heaven in a snare, and there shall be none able to resist him. And whereas he looked toward the south, he shall prevail against the people of the south. And whereas the sea on account of the violence of the wind was agitated, and the waves beat the wings of the eagle to drown him; in the last times, during the days of those kings after the hundred and eighth Jubilee, the last people of the south, the children of Ishmael, that dwell on the sea-shore of Arabia, shall stand up. They shall rise against the earth and they shall conquer it; and they shall fight on the sea-shore to destroy the power of the Romans, but they shall not be able, because this kingdom is the guardian of the seat of the great king; and although there should rise against it wars and storms of evils, they shall not be able to drown it, but it shall be superseded and followed by an eternal kingdom, but it is diminished for the reproving of its sins, and that the sins of the southern people may be full.
12. And the noise of the waves, which was like the noise of horses, galloping from the countries of the east to the north and to the west, signifies that the greatness of the nations shall be conquered by the children of Ishmael, and laid waste like the dust of the earth, and there shall be no rejoicing upon the earth, but clamor of weeping, and crying, and tumult.
13. And whereas the waves beat upon the wings of the eagle, the people of Ishmael shall smite and defeat the troops of the Romans and of the North, but they shall not be able to exterminate them.
14. And whereas the head of the dragon lay on the ash-heap, between the waves and the wind, and he had nine eyes, and his feet were like the claws of a lion, and his running like that of a leopard, he is the first prince of the people of Ishmael, and his strength is like the waves of the sea rising upon the land.
15. And whereas he had nine eyes, and his feet were like those of a lion, after him shall arise nine kings, and they shall conquer the earth, and they shall break it in pieces like a lion's prey. And whereas he overtook the eagle between the wind and the waves, and opened his mouth to swallow him, he shall rise against the king of the Romans, and shall harass him, and shall take away his power. And whereas the eagle cried out to the Most High and was not heard, signifies that God forsook him on account of his iniquity, he shall not be able to resist the dragon; but fear and terror shall dishearten and crush him; and his servant, whose name is The Beast, shall take his sovereignty, and shall destroy his strength; and he shall escape and flee to the ends of the North, and there shall he make on alliance with the prince of the north, and the name of that king is Bergia.
16. And whereas the dragon devoured all the peoples, and burned them as with fire, and in his belly there remained nothing, in that time the rage of the southern people shall be much more kindled against the earth; and like as the fire consumes and destroys everything, burning all to ashes, and is never satiated, so shall the dragon be tormented by the desire of riches and shall not be satisfied. He shall devastate the earth by the sword, and fire, and captivity; and until his sins are accomplished, and his iniquity full, there shall be ninety-six years. And whereas the eagle returned from the north with great strength against the dragon to take possession of the same place, through the command of the Most High; so those who rose against him shall perish before his presence.
17. And whereas the head of the dragon lay upon the ash-heap, signifies that his strength is vain and his dominion is despised, because he put his trust in the abundance of his treasures and not in God.
18. And whereas the eagle stood on the white horses and overtook the dragon; he shall march against the prince of the South with great strength, at the head of the northern nation and of all the remnant of the peoples. And he shall strike him with great slaughter, nd there shall remain no more strength in the dragon as before, but he shall be abandoned and discomfited by the king of the North, like a reed by the fire, and like the ash of a furnace by the wind of the North.
19. And whereas the head of the dragon was scattered throughout all nations; he shall destroy them with the sword, fire and captivity, and shall have no pity on their wives and their children until they are cut off and consumed, and the Lord's wrath is accomplished on them.
20. And because he destroyed without compassion the people of God, his iniquity shall return upon him two-fold; and he shall suffer hunger, thirst, and nakedness, and shall not find comfort. His body shall be burnt by the sun, and in his last poverty he shall not find clothing for his nakedness, but he shall cover him with a sheep-skin.
21. And whereas the white horses descended upon the ash-heap and scattered it, and the dust was thrown up and was scattered towards heaven; they, are the troops of the Romans, whose fury is like that of horses harnessed to chariots, which shall scatter the greatness of the people of the South throughout all the remnant of the nations, like the ashes of a furnace they shall be spread all over the earth.
22. And whereas the dust went up and was scattered towards heaven; this, is the smoke of the impious wrath of the people of the South; through the vengeance of whom the end of all the earth shall come.
23. And whereas there was no light upon the earth, but darkness; their ungodly bleeds keep back from created beings God's mercy which enlightens and comforts those whose hearts are crushed, like the light and the dew of morning that fall upon the earth and make the plants to rejoice.
24. And whereas six men sat each on a throne, the three being ill favored to look upon and black, this shows the time of the people of the South; three chiefs of tribes, that is three times thirty, which makes ninety years; and six more years of their dominion, in which the tribulations shall be increased. The fields shall lose their fertility, the springs shall decrease, the earth shall become arid, the plants shall be unfruitful, the woods shall be dried up, the cedars shall fall, the flowers shall fade. There shall be flaming and consuming fire, the air shall be turned to smoke, the birds shall die, the fishes shall diminish, the animals and the beasts of the field shall be destroyed, the rain shall produce no fertility, and frost and hail shall cause ravages. Mankind shall not beget children, they shall be sterile and they shall be of short life; so there shall be want of everything. For the earth, on account of the evil doings of men, shall grow old, and shall cease to bear; and as they that dwell upon her shall give, no fruit of life, so the earth also shall not conceive through the virtue of her seeds, and her womb shall not put out the flower of the fruit; but there shall be found in her putrefaction and filthiness, and from heaven shall come down fire and destruction upon sea and land.
25. But after the suppression of the dominion of the South, when the anger and the wrath of the Lord shall be fulfilled against them; afterwards, whereas thou sawest two men sitting, white and well favored and ruddy and graceful; so when the Romans shall destroy the Southern people, they shall smite them first upon the sea, and the Lord shall cause a storm to rise and drown them, and the king shall trust in God, and shall ascribe the victory unto Him. And again he shall smite them six times upon the land, and the remnant of them shall he drive away to their own land; and shall carry away captive their wives and their children to Greece and to Sicily, and through the command of the Most High he shall make peace. And he shall live twelve years more, and then peacefully pass to another life.
26. And afterwards shall arise another peaceful king, and his name is ' Phouvive,' which being translated is ' Tiber, ' and he shall rule thirty-three years. These are the two chiefs of tribes white and fine to look on. And in their days shall be peace and abundance, and men shall forget all the former evils and tribulations; there shall be fertile fields, and abundance of products for the barn and for the wine-press. Then the earth shall give forth her produce as before, to the joy of men; the fields shall abound with corn and wine, and heaven shall pour down fruitful rains; and there shall be no more hail, neither shall fire come down from heaven, nor shall there be thunderstorms. One grain of corn shall give one hundred ears of corn, and one branch of the vine one thousand bunches of grapes. And upon the mountains shall be vine plants, fine-branched and laden with fruit, and the olive-trees shall produce sevenfold to the joy of men; and men shall rest and shall forget their former tribulations.
27. Then shall appear a certain star, having a tail toward the east, which means that there shall be more peace in those parts. And the people of the Jews shall gather together in Mesopotamia and toward the country of Palestine; the town of Damascus shall be abandoned by its inhabitants and shall become an abode of the beasts of the field and of the wild beasts.
28. And concerning the sixth man who was mourning for his wives and children; he represents the end of the time of the life of the world, for, after the death of the peaceful king, whose name is Tiber, a king of low birth shall arise, whose name is Hertzik, and his dominion shall be despised, and he shall rule three years. In that year the kingdom shall be in perturbation, and it shall be divided into ten kingdoms, for when the king of the North shall strike the people of the South and shall carry them away captive, he shall carry away captive with them the ungodly prince, young in age, born in the town of Bishana, whose name is Oumd, and his mother with him. He shall go to Byzantium, and there he shall dwell thirty years, and learn among the Greeks the science of philosophy. And he shall distinguish himself in it more than all the others, and he shall be honored by the kings. He shall become a general, and shall perform acts of valor in war, and shall receive honor from the king.
29. Afterwards the kingdom shall be divided into ten, and thenceforth the universe shall not cease from being agitated by wars. And during five years there shall be famine upon the earth, and the heavens shall keep back their rain, and the earth shall not give her produce. The rivers shall dwindle, and the sea shall stink, and the wild beasts and the animals shall perish. In the towns men shall fall down and die, and there shall be no one to bury them. Gold and silver shall be despised, and there shall be no one to gather them; even the beauty of women shall be disdained. This is the time of the sixth chief, who was mourning for his wives and sons.
30. And whereas thou sawest those who were afraid and said: A fire shall come out of the dragon and shall burn all the earth: this means that after the death of the king, whose name is Hertzik, the kingdom shall be in confusion, and in one month shall be divided into ten; and after the 1st Fiftieth the Rebel shall reign and shall prevail against the ten kings. He shall strike two of them, and shall undo and overthrow the dominion of the ten; and seizing upon the kingdom, he shall march against Palestina and against the dominion of the children of Ishmael. He shall return victorious, and with many auxiliaries of the people of the South, and shall go against Palestina and strike it. His anger shall be kindled, like that of the Serpent, throughout all the earth, and he shall call himself a God, and shall speak proudly before the Most High, and all the ungodly shall worship him. That is the fire that came out of the dragon and burnt the earth; for in that time there shall be found no righteousness in men, but they shall all be like thorns to be burnt with their own iniquities. With the same fire shall be kindled among men vengeance, as well us famines, plagues and conflagrations, false signs and wonders, and by these he shall frighten his worshipers, and shall persecute and kill the saints of the Most High, who do not consent to worship him as a God. And the mercy of the Most High shall be upon them that fear Him; and the more they are tortured, so much the more they shall be made glorious; like gardens that through living waters become bright, and blossom, some white, some red, some purple; so they shall be glorified through divers sufferings and torments. And the days of the dominion of the Rebel shall be one thousand, two hundred and sixty-five.
31. After this a pious king shall arise in Rome, and all the remnant of the faithful shall gather together unto him; and he shall rise and take the field against the Rebel and his soldiers, and the Lord Himself shall take vengeance on him. For a fire shall come down from the Lord, and shall destroy the Rebel and his troops, and shall devour all the sinners. The fire shall not approach nor destroy the servants of the Most High; but they shall walk in the midst of the fire as if in a storm of rain; and in seven days it shall consume all the earth, which is corrupted by the evil doings of men. It shall burn the mountains and the hills, and shall melt the stones, and shall dry up the springs and the rivers, and shall entirely consume everything. And after the seven days, the sign of the cross shall appear in the east, luminous like the light, on Friday, at the third hour, and there it shall remain two days. And on the third day, in the morning at day-break, the Lord shall come with His holy angels, to reward His saints, and to reprove the ungodly of the earth. The archangel shall blow the trumpet three times, and all the nations shall arise to present themselves before the Lord.
32. Then they shall bind the Rebel and his troops, and those who worshiped him and the idols, and they shall carry them as fuel to the unquenchable fire, and to the sleepless worm, unto the hell of Ephestus, to the south-west of the Ocean; and with burning sulphur and pitch, which never may be quenched, they shall burn all the sinners. Then all the saints, together with the angels, shall abide alway before God the Most High, reigning and rejoicing, and glorifying God, for ever and ever.
2. And I stood all the night over against the mountain, on the east side, and my face was turned toward the sea, to the west, before the cherubim.
3. And behold, above the sea there was an eagle, haughty, and flying above it, and he had eight wings and three heads; and he stood above the waters of the sea, and looked towards the south. And the sea was stirred by the south wind, and lifted up its waves to drown the eagle; and the waves beat upon his wings, and their noise resembled that of horses running towards the northeast.
4. And lo, the head of a dragon appeared, with nine eyes, and his feet were like the claws of a lion, and his running like that of a leopard. And he overtook the eagle between the wind and the waves, and opened his mouth to swallow him; and the eagle cried unto the Most High, but his cries were not heard on account of his violence. Then the eagle turned his face and fled to the ends of the north, but there he found no rest. And the dragon devoured all the peoples and burnt them as with fire, but in his belly remained nothing; and he held the dominion of the earth sixteen times six, that is ninety-six years.
5. And at the end of that time, the eagle, driven on by the south wind, returned, with mighty power, to the same place, to resist the dragon. And the head of the dragon lay upon an ash-heap; and the eagle stood on a chariot with white horses, and he caught the dragon on the top of the ash-heap, and beat him violently; and the dragon had no more his former strength, and his head was scattered throughout all nations.
6. Then the white horses descended upon the ash-heap and scattered it, and its dust was thrown up and scattered towards heaven, and there was no more light upon the earth, but darkness and horrible mist.
7. And six men sat each on a throne; three of them were ill favored to look upon and black, and two were white and fine to look on, and the sixth was oppressed and afflicted, nd was mourning for his wives and children; and all of them distrusted the dragon that was lying; upon the ash-heap, and they said: A fire shall come out of that dragon and shall consume the earth.
8. And afterwards the cherubim cried out and said unto me: man! didst thou understand that vision?
9. And 1 said: No.
10. And he said unto me: Stand up and hear, and I will tell thee the meaning of it all.
11. The swift-flying eagle that thou sawest, which had eight wings and , three heads, is the king of the Romans and the Greeks; and whereas he stood above the sea, he shall be a king strong as iron. And forasmuch as the eagle pursues all birds, and strikes and throws them down, in like manner the king of the Romans shall consume all the kingdoms of the earth, and through the power of the Most High he shall entrap them as it were birds of heaven in a snare, and there shall be none able to resist him. And whereas he looked toward the south, he shall prevail against the people of the south. And whereas the sea on account of the violence of the wind was agitated, and the waves beat the wings of the eagle to drown him; in the last times, during the days of those kings after the hundred and eighth Jubilee, the last people of the south, the children of Ishmael, that dwell on the sea-shore of Arabia, shall stand up. They shall rise against the earth and they shall conquer it; and they shall fight on the sea-shore to destroy the power of the Romans, but they shall not be able, because this kingdom is the guardian of the seat of the great king; and although there should rise against it wars and storms of evils, they shall not be able to drown it, but it shall be superseded and followed by an eternal kingdom, but it is diminished for the reproving of its sins, and that the sins of the southern people may be full.
12. And the noise of the waves, which was like the noise of horses, galloping from the countries of the east to the north and to the west, signifies that the greatness of the nations shall be conquered by the children of Ishmael, and laid waste like the dust of the earth, and there shall be no rejoicing upon the earth, but clamor of weeping, and crying, and tumult.
13. And whereas the waves beat upon the wings of the eagle, the people of Ishmael shall smite and defeat the troops of the Romans and of the North, but they shall not be able to exterminate them.
14. And whereas the head of the dragon lay on the ash-heap, between the waves and the wind, and he had nine eyes, and his feet were like the claws of a lion, and his running like that of a leopard, he is the first prince of the people of Ishmael, and his strength is like the waves of the sea rising upon the land.
15. And whereas he had nine eyes, and his feet were like those of a lion, after him shall arise nine kings, and they shall conquer the earth, and they shall break it in pieces like a lion's prey. And whereas he overtook the eagle between the wind and the waves, and opened his mouth to swallow him, he shall rise against the king of the Romans, and shall harass him, and shall take away his power. And whereas the eagle cried out to the Most High and was not heard, signifies that God forsook him on account of his iniquity, he shall not be able to resist the dragon; but fear and terror shall dishearten and crush him; and his servant, whose name is The Beast, shall take his sovereignty, and shall destroy his strength; and he shall escape and flee to the ends of the North, and there shall he make on alliance with the prince of the north, and the name of that king is Bergia.
16. And whereas the dragon devoured all the peoples, and burned them as with fire, and in his belly there remained nothing, in that time the rage of the southern people shall be much more kindled against the earth; and like as the fire consumes and destroys everything, burning all to ashes, and is never satiated, so shall the dragon be tormented by the desire of riches and shall not be satisfied. He shall devastate the earth by the sword, and fire, and captivity; and until his sins are accomplished, and his iniquity full, there shall be ninety-six years. And whereas the eagle returned from the north with great strength against the dragon to take possession of the same place, through the command of the Most High; so those who rose against him shall perish before his presence.
17. And whereas the head of the dragon lay upon the ash-heap, signifies that his strength is vain and his dominion is despised, because he put his trust in the abundance of his treasures and not in God.
18. And whereas the eagle stood on the white horses and overtook the dragon; he shall march against the prince of the South with great strength, at the head of the northern nation and of all the remnant of the peoples. And he shall strike him with great slaughter, nd there shall remain no more strength in the dragon as before, but he shall be abandoned and discomfited by the king of the North, like a reed by the fire, and like the ash of a furnace by the wind of the North.
19. And whereas the head of the dragon was scattered throughout all nations; he shall destroy them with the sword, fire and captivity, and shall have no pity on their wives and their children until they are cut off and consumed, and the Lord's wrath is accomplished on them.
20. And because he destroyed without compassion the people of God, his iniquity shall return upon him two-fold; and he shall suffer hunger, thirst, and nakedness, and shall not find comfort. His body shall be burnt by the sun, and in his last poverty he shall not find clothing for his nakedness, but he shall cover him with a sheep-skin.
21. And whereas the white horses descended upon the ash-heap and scattered it, and the dust was thrown up and was scattered towards heaven; they, are the troops of the Romans, whose fury is like that of horses harnessed to chariots, which shall scatter the greatness of the people of the South throughout all the remnant of the nations, like the ashes of a furnace they shall be spread all over the earth.
22. And whereas the dust went up and was scattered towards heaven; this, is the smoke of the impious wrath of the people of the South; through the vengeance of whom the end of all the earth shall come.
23. And whereas there was no light upon the earth, but darkness; their ungodly bleeds keep back from created beings God's mercy which enlightens and comforts those whose hearts are crushed, like the light and the dew of morning that fall upon the earth and make the plants to rejoice.
24. And whereas six men sat each on a throne, the three being ill favored to look upon and black, this shows the time of the people of the South; three chiefs of tribes, that is three times thirty, which makes ninety years; and six more years of their dominion, in which the tribulations shall be increased. The fields shall lose their fertility, the springs shall decrease, the earth shall become arid, the plants shall be unfruitful, the woods shall be dried up, the cedars shall fall, the flowers shall fade. There shall be flaming and consuming fire, the air shall be turned to smoke, the birds shall die, the fishes shall diminish, the animals and the beasts of the field shall be destroyed, the rain shall produce no fertility, and frost and hail shall cause ravages. Mankind shall not beget children, they shall be sterile and they shall be of short life; so there shall be want of everything. For the earth, on account of the evil doings of men, shall grow old, and shall cease to bear; and as they that dwell upon her shall give, no fruit of life, so the earth also shall not conceive through the virtue of her seeds, and her womb shall not put out the flower of the fruit; but there shall be found in her putrefaction and filthiness, and from heaven shall come down fire and destruction upon sea and land.
25. But after the suppression of the dominion of the South, when the anger and the wrath of the Lord shall be fulfilled against them; afterwards, whereas thou sawest two men sitting, white and well favored and ruddy and graceful; so when the Romans shall destroy the Southern people, they shall smite them first upon the sea, and the Lord shall cause a storm to rise and drown them, and the king shall trust in God, and shall ascribe the victory unto Him. And again he shall smite them six times upon the land, and the remnant of them shall he drive away to their own land; and shall carry away captive their wives and their children to Greece and to Sicily, and through the command of the Most High he shall make peace. And he shall live twelve years more, and then peacefully pass to another life.
26. And afterwards shall arise another peaceful king, and his name is ' Phouvive,' which being translated is ' Tiber, ' and he shall rule thirty-three years. These are the two chiefs of tribes white and fine to look on. And in their days shall be peace and abundance, and men shall forget all the former evils and tribulations; there shall be fertile fields, and abundance of products for the barn and for the wine-press. Then the earth shall give forth her produce as before, to the joy of men; the fields shall abound with corn and wine, and heaven shall pour down fruitful rains; and there shall be no more hail, neither shall fire come down from heaven, nor shall there be thunderstorms. One grain of corn shall give one hundred ears of corn, and one branch of the vine one thousand bunches of grapes. And upon the mountains shall be vine plants, fine-branched and laden with fruit, and the olive-trees shall produce sevenfold to the joy of men; and men shall rest and shall forget their former tribulations.
27. Then shall appear a certain star, having a tail toward the east, which means that there shall be more peace in those parts. And the people of the Jews shall gather together in Mesopotamia and toward the country of Palestine; the town of Damascus shall be abandoned by its inhabitants and shall become an abode of the beasts of the field and of the wild beasts.
28. And concerning the sixth man who was mourning for his wives and children; he represents the end of the time of the life of the world, for, after the death of the peaceful king, whose name is Tiber, a king of low birth shall arise, whose name is Hertzik, and his dominion shall be despised, and he shall rule three years. In that year the kingdom shall be in perturbation, and it shall be divided into ten kingdoms, for when the king of the North shall strike the people of the South and shall carry them away captive, he shall carry away captive with them the ungodly prince, young in age, born in the town of Bishana, whose name is Oumd, and his mother with him. He shall go to Byzantium, and there he shall dwell thirty years, and learn among the Greeks the science of philosophy. And he shall distinguish himself in it more than all the others, and he shall be honored by the kings. He shall become a general, and shall perform acts of valor in war, and shall receive honor from the king.
29. Afterwards the kingdom shall be divided into ten, and thenceforth the universe shall not cease from being agitated by wars. And during five years there shall be famine upon the earth, and the heavens shall keep back their rain, and the earth shall not give her produce. The rivers shall dwindle, and the sea shall stink, and the wild beasts and the animals shall perish. In the towns men shall fall down and die, and there shall be no one to bury them. Gold and silver shall be despised, and there shall be no one to gather them; even the beauty of women shall be disdained. This is the time of the sixth chief, who was mourning for his wives and sons.
30. And whereas thou sawest those who were afraid and said: A fire shall come out of the dragon and shall burn all the earth: this means that after the death of the king, whose name is Hertzik, the kingdom shall be in confusion, and in one month shall be divided into ten; and after the 1st Fiftieth the Rebel shall reign and shall prevail against the ten kings. He shall strike two of them, and shall undo and overthrow the dominion of the ten; and seizing upon the kingdom, he shall march against Palestina and against the dominion of the children of Ishmael. He shall return victorious, and with many auxiliaries of the people of the South, and shall go against Palestina and strike it. His anger shall be kindled, like that of the Serpent, throughout all the earth, and he shall call himself a God, and shall speak proudly before the Most High, and all the ungodly shall worship him. That is the fire that came out of the dragon and burnt the earth; for in that time there shall be found no righteousness in men, but they shall all be like thorns to be burnt with their own iniquities. With the same fire shall be kindled among men vengeance, as well us famines, plagues and conflagrations, false signs and wonders, and by these he shall frighten his worshipers, and shall persecute and kill the saints of the Most High, who do not consent to worship him as a God. And the mercy of the Most High shall be upon them that fear Him; and the more they are tortured, so much the more they shall be made glorious; like gardens that through living waters become bright, and blossom, some white, some red, some purple; so they shall be glorified through divers sufferings and torments. And the days of the dominion of the Rebel shall be one thousand, two hundred and sixty-five.
31. After this a pious king shall arise in Rome, and all the remnant of the faithful shall gather together unto him; and he shall rise and take the field against the Rebel and his soldiers, and the Lord Himself shall take vengeance on him. For a fire shall come down from the Lord, and shall destroy the Rebel and his troops, and shall devour all the sinners. The fire shall not approach nor destroy the servants of the Most High; but they shall walk in the midst of the fire as if in a storm of rain; and in seven days it shall consume all the earth, which is corrupted by the evil doings of men. It shall burn the mountains and the hills, and shall melt the stones, and shall dry up the springs and the rivers, and shall entirely consume everything. And after the seven days, the sign of the cross shall appear in the east, luminous like the light, on Friday, at the third hour, and there it shall remain two days. And on the third day, in the morning at day-break, the Lord shall come with His holy angels, to reward His saints, and to reprove the ungodly of the earth. The archangel shall blow the trumpet three times, and all the nations shall arise to present themselves before the Lord.
32. Then they shall bind the Rebel and his troops, and those who worshiped him and the idols, and they shall carry them as fuel to the unquenchable fire, and to the sleepless worm, unto the hell of Ephestus, to the south-west of the Ocean; and with burning sulphur and pitch, which never may be quenched, they shall burn all the sinners. Then all the saints, together with the angels, shall abide alway before God the Most High, reigning and rejoicing, and glorifying God, for ever and ever.
Armenian Seventh Vision of Daniel
Armenian Vision of Enoch the Just
Of The Seventh Vision of Daniel there are two MSS. preserved in the Armenian Library of St, Lazarus. The one is numbered 1635, and is a copy taken from an Armenian MS., preserved in the Library of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in London, which seems to have been written in the fifteenth century, or a little before that date. The second MS. in which this apocryphal writing is found, is a Bible, numbered 936 — 7 X 9 V, inches, — written in the year 1341, on paper, in double columns, of 41 lines each. In this last Bible the Seventh Vision of Daniel is placed Just after the Sixth Vision of the same prophet. The first of these two Apocrypha, i. e. the Vision of Enoch, is a piece akin to the second, i. e., to Daniel's Seventh Vision; and the subject of both is an allegory which concerns the Byzantine Empire and its historical and religious revolutions and vicissitudes. Therefore it is supposed that the author of both must have been a Greek, and consequently the original text from which the Armenian version was made, must have been written in the Greek language. As to the antiquity of the original texts, it seems that their date cannot go back to the first centuries; however one may suppose in the beginning the existence of an ancient and short text, which in later centuries successively received many additions by different people. Although the The Vision of Enoch the Just is found only in the Armenian text, it need not be thought that it is an Armenian composition. Therefore it probably has another origin, and it may be it is a small portion of a larger work which is lost. In any case this apocryphal writing is worthy of attention. As regards the age of the Armenian version, it is supposed to have been made at the end of the seventh or during the eighth century.