[1] And he said to me, "At the beginning of the circle of the earth,
before the portals of the world were in place, and before the assembled
winds blew,
[2] and before the rumblings of thunder sounded, and before the
flashes of lightning shone, and before the foundations of paradise were
laid,
[3] and before the beautiful flowers were seen, and before the
powers of movement were established, and before the innumerable hosts of
angels were gathered together,
[4] and before the heights of the air were lifted up, and before
the measures of the firmaments were named, and before the footstool of
Zion was established,
[5] and before the present years were reckoned; and before the
imaginations of those who now sin were estranged, and before those who
stored up treasures of faith were sealed --
[6] then I planned these things, and they were made through
me and not through another, just as the end shall come through me and not
through another."
[7] And I answered and said, "What will be the dividing of the
times? Or when will be the end of the first age and the beginning of the
age that follows?"
[8] He said to me, "From Abraham to Isaac, because from him were
born Jacob and Esau, for Jacob's hand held Esau's heel from the beginning.
[9] For Esau is the end of this age, and Jacob is the beginning
of the age that follows.
[10] For the beginning of a man is his hand, and the end of
a man is his heel; between the heel and the hand seek for nothing else,
Ezra!"
[11] I answered and said, "O sovereign Lord, if I have found
favor in thy sight,
[12] show thy servant the end of thy signs which thou didst show
me in part on a previous night."
[13] He answered and said to me, "Rise to your feet and you
will hear a full, resounding voice.
[14] And if the place where you are standing is greatly shaken
[15] while the voice is speaking, do not be terrified; because
the word concerns the end, and the foundations of the earth will understand
[16] that the speech concerns them. They will tremble and be
shaken, for they know that their end must be changed."
[17] When I heard this, I rose to my feet and listened, and
behold, a voice was speaking, and its sound was like the sound of many
waters.
[18] And it said, "Behold, the days are coming, and it shall
be that when I draw near to visit the inhabitants of the earth,
[19] and when I require from the doers of iniquity the penalty
of their iniquity, and when the humiliation of Zion is complete,
[20] and when the seal is placed upon the age which is about
to pass away, then I will show these signs: the books shall be opened before
the firmament, and all shall see it together.
[21] Infants a year old shall speak with their voices, and women
with child shall give birth to premature children at three and four months,
and these shall live and dance.
[22] Sown places shall suddenly appear unsown, and full storehouses
shall suddenly be found to be empty;
[23] and the trumpet shall sound aloud, and when all hear it,
they shall suddenly be terrified.
[24] At that time friends shall make war on friends like enemies,
and the earth and those who inhabit it shall be terrified, and the springs
of the fountains shall stand still, so that for three hours they shall
not flow.
[25] "And it shall be that whoever remains after all that I
have foretold to you shall himself be saved and shall see my salvation
and the end of my world.
[26] And they shall see the men who were taken up, who from their
birth have not tasted death; and the heart of the earth's inhabitants shall
be changed and converted to a different spirit.
[27] For evil shall be blotted out, and deceit shall be quenched;
[28] faithfulness shall flourish, and corruption shall be overcome,
and the truth, which has been so long without fruit, shall be revealed."
[29] While he spoke to me, behold, little by little the place
where I was standing began to rock to and fro.
[30] And he said to me, "I have come to show you these things
this night.
[31] If therefore you will pray again and fast again for seven
days, I will again declare to you greater things than these,
[32] because your voice has surely been heard before the Most
High; for the Mighty One has seen your uprightness and has also observed
the purity which you have maintained from your youth.
[33] Therefore he sent me to show you all these things, and
to say to you: `Believe and do not be afraid!
[34] Do not be quick to think vain thoughts concerning the former
times, lest you be hasty concerning the last times.'"
[35] Now after this I wept again and fasted seven days as before,
in order to complete the three weeks as I had been told.
[36] And on the eighth night my heart was troubled within me
again, and I began to speak in the presence of the Most High.
[37] For my spirit was greatly aroused, and my soul was in distress.
[38] I said, "O Lord, thou didst speak at the beginning of creation,
and didst say on the first day, `Let heaven and earth be made,' and thy
word accomplished the work.
[39] And then the Spirit was hovering, and darkness and silence
embraced everything; the sound of man's voice was not yet there.
[40] Then thou didst command that a ray of light be brought
forth from thy treasuries, so that thy works might then appear.
[41] "Again, on the second day, thou didst create the spirit
of the firmament, and didst command him to divide and separate the waters,
that one part might move upward and the other part remain beneath.
[42] "On the third day thou didst command the waters to be gathered
together in the seventh part of the earth; six parts thou didst dry up
and keep so that some of them might be planted and cultivated and be of
service before thee.
[43] For thy word went forth, and at once the work was done.
[44] For immediately fruit came forth in endless abundance and
of varied appeal to the taste; and flowers of inimitable color; and odors
of inexpressible fragrance. These were made on the third day.
[45] "On the fourth day thou didst command the brightness of
the sun, the light of the moon, and the arrangement of the stars to come
into being;
[46] and thou didst command them to serve man, who was about
to be formed.
[47] "On the fifth day thou didst command the seventh part,
where the water had been gathered together, to bring forth living creatures,
birds, and fishes; and so it was done.
[48] The dumb and lifeless water produced living creatures, as
it was commanded, that therefore the nations might declare thy wondrous
works.
[49] "Then thou didst keep in existence two living creatures;
the name of one thou didst call Behemoth and the name of the other Leviathan.
[50] And thou didst separate one from the other, for the seventh
part where the water had been gathered together could not hold them both.
[51] And thou didst give Behemoth one of the parts which had
been dried up on the third day, to live in it, where there are a thousand
mountains;
[52] but to Leviathan thou didst give the seventh part, the
watery part; and thou hast kept them to be eaten by whom thou wilt, and
when thou wilt.
[53] "On the sixth day thou didst command the earth to bring
forth before thee cattle, beasts, and creeping things;
[54] and over these thou didst place Adam, as ruler over all
the works which thou hadst made; and from him we have all come, the people
whom thou hast chosen.
[55] "All this I have spoken before thee, O Lord, because thou
hast said that it was for us that thou didst create this world.
[56] As for the other nations which have descended from Adam,
thou hast said that they are nothing, and that they are like spittle, and
thou hast compared their abundance to a drop from a bucket.
[57] And now, O Lord, behold, these nations, which are reputed
as nothing, domineer over us and devour us.
[58] But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy first-born,
only begotten, zealous for thee, and most dear, have been given into their
hands.
[59] If the world has indeed been created for us, why do we
not possess our world as an inheritance? How long will this be so?"
[1] When I had finished speaking these words, the angel who had
been sent to me on the former nights was sent to me again,
[2] and he said to me, "Rise, Ezra, and listen to the words that
I have come to speak to you."
[3] I said, "Speak, my lord." And he said to me, "There is a
sea set in a wide expanse so that it is broad and vast,
[4] but it has an entrance set in a narrow place, so that it
is like a river.
[5] If any one, then, wishes to reach the sea, to look at it
or to navigate it, how can he come to the broad part unless he passes through
the narrow part?
[6] Another example: There is a city built and set on a plain,
and it is full of all good things;
[7] but the entrance to it is narrow and set in a precipitous
place, so that there is fire on the right hand and deep water on the left;
[8] and there is only one path lying between them, that is,
between the fire and the water, so that only one man can walk upon that
path.
[9] If now that city is given to a man for an inheritance, how
will the heir receive his inheritance unless he passes through the danger
set before him?"
[10] I said, "He cannot, lord." And he said to me, "So also
is Israel's portion.
[11] For I made the world for their sake, and when Adam transgressed
my statutes, what had been made was judged.
[12] And so the entrances of this world were made narrow and
sorrowful and toilsome; they are few and evil, full of dangers and involved
in great hardships.
[13] But the entrances of the greater world are broad and safe,
and really yield the fruit of immortality.
[14] Therefore unless the living pass through the difficult
and vain experiences, they can never receive those things that have been
reserved for them.
[15] But now why are you disturbed, seeing that you are to perish?
And why are you moved, seeing that you are mortal?
[16] And why have you not considered in your mind what is to
come, rather than what is now present?"
[17] Then I answered and said, "O sovereign Lord, behold, thou
hast ordained in thy law that the righteous shall inherit these things,
but that the ungodly shall perish.
[18] The righteous therefore can endure difficult circumstances
while hoping for easier ones; but those who have done wickedly have suffered
the difficult circumstances and will not see the easier ones."
[19] And he said to me, "You are not a better judge than God,
or wiser than the Most High!
[20] Let many perish who are now living, rather than that the
law of God which is set before them be disregarded!
[21] For God strictly commanded those who came into the world,
when they came, what they should do to live, and what they should observe
to avoid punishment.
[22] Nevertheless they were not obedient, and spoke against
him; they devised for themselves vain thoughts,
[23] and proposed to themselves wicked frauds; they even declared
that the Most High does not exist, and they ignored his ways!
[24] They scorned his law, and denied his covenants; they have
been unfaithful to his statutes, and have not performed his works.
[25] "Therefore, Ezra, empty things are for the empty, and full
things are for the full.
[26] For behold, the time will come, when the signs which I have
foretold to you will come to pass, that the city which now is not seen
shall appear, and the land which now is hidden shall be disclosed.
[27] And every one who has been delivered from the evils that
I have foretold shall see my wonders.
[28] For my son the Messiah shall be revealed with those who
are with him, and those who remain shall rejoice four hundred years.
[29] And after these years my son the Messiah shall die, and
all who draw human breath.
[30] And the world shall be turned back to primeval silence
for seven days, as it was at the first beginnings; so that no one shall
be left.
[31] And after seven days the world, which is not yet awake,
shall be roused, and that which is corruptible shall perish.
[32] And the earth shall give up those who are asleep in it,
and the dust those who dwell silently in it; and the chambers shall give
up the souls which have been committed to them.
[33] And the Most High shall be revealed upon the seat of judgment,
and compassion shall pass away, and patience shall be withdrawn;
[34] but only judgment shall remain, truth shall stand, and
faithfulness shall grow strong.
[35] And recompense shall follow, and the reward shall be manifested;
righteous deeds shall awake, and unrighteous deeds shall not sleep.
[36] Then the pit of torment shall appear, and opposite it shall
be the place of rest; and the furnace of hell shall be disclosed, and opposite
it the paradise of delight.
[37] Then the Most High will say to the nations that have been
raised from the dead, `Look now, and understand whom you have denied, whom
you have not served, whose commandments you have despised!
[38] Look on this side and on that; here are delight and rest,
and there are fire and torments!' Thus he will speak to them on the day
of judgment --
[39] a day that has no sun or moon or stars,
[40] or cloud or thunder or lightning or wind or water or air,
or darkness or evening or morning,
[41] or summer or spring or heat or winter or frost or cold
or hail or rain or dew,
[42] or noon or night, or dawn or shining or brightness or light,
but only the splendor of the glory of the Most High, by which all shall
see what has been determined for them.
[43] For it will last for about a week of years.
[44] This is my judgment and its prescribed order; and to you
alone have I shown these things."
[45] I answered and said, "O sovereign Lord, I said then and
I say now: Blessed are those who are alive and keep thy commandments!
[46] But what of those for whom I prayed? For who among the living
is there that has not sinned, or who among men that has not transgressed
thy covenant?
[47] And now I see that the world to come will bring delight
to few, but torments to many.
[48] For an evil heart has grown up in us, which has alienated
us from God, and has brought us into corruption and the ways of death,
and has shown us the paths of perdition and removed us far from life --
and that not just a few of us but almost all who have been created!"
[49] He answered me and said, "Listen to me, Ezra, and I will
instruct you, and will admonish you yet again.
[50] For this reason the Most High has made not one world but
two.
[51] For whereas you have said that the righteous are not many
but few, while the ungodly abound, hear the explanation for this.
[52] "If you have just a few precious stones, will you add to
them lead and clay?"
[53] I said, "Lord, how could that be?"
[54] And he said to me, "Not only that, but ask the earth and
she will tell you; defer to her, and she will declare it to you.
[55] Say to her, `You produce gold and silver and brass, and
also iron and lead and clay;
[56] but silver is more abundant than gold, and brass than silver,
and iron than brass, and lead than iron, and clay than lead.'
[57] Judge therefore which things are precious and desirable,
those that are abundant or those that are rare?"
[58] I said, "O sovereign Lord, what is plentiful is of less
worth, for what is more rare is more precious."
[59] He answered me and said, "Weigh within yourself what you
have thought, for he who has what is hard to get rejoices more than he
who has what is plentiful.
[60] So also will be the judgment which I have promised; for
I will rejoice over the few who shall be saved, because it is they who
have made my glory to prevail now, and through them my name has now been
honored.
[61] And I will not grieve over the multitude of those who perish;
for it is they who are now like a mist, and are similar to a flame and
smoke -- they are set on fire and burn hotly, and are extinguished."
[62] I replied and said, "O earth, what have you brought forth,
if the mind is made out of the dust like the other created things!
[63] For it would have been better if the dust itself had not
been born, so that the mind might not have been made from it.
[64] But now the mind grows with us, and therefore we are tormented,
because we perish and know it.
[65] Let the human race lament, but let the beasts of the field
be glad; let all who have been born lament, but let the four-footed beasts
and the flocks rejoice!
[66] For it is much better with them than with us; for they
do not look for a judgment, nor do they know of any torment or salvation
promised to them after death.
[67] For what does it profit us that we shall be preserved alive
but cruelly tormented?
[68] For all who have been born are involved in iniquities,
and are full of sins and burdened with transgressions.
[69] And if we were not to come into judgment after death, perhaps
it would have been better for us."
[70] He answered me and said, "When the Most High made the world
and Adam and all who have come from him, he first prepared the judgment
and the things that pertain to the judgment.
[71] And now understand from your own words, for you have said
that the mind grows with us.
[72] For this reason, therefore, those who dwell on earth shall
be tormented, because though they had understanding they committed iniquity,
and though they received the commandments they did not keep them, and though
they obtained the law they dealt unfaithfully with what they received.
[73] What, then, will they have to say in the judgment, or how
will they answer in the last times?
[74] For how long the time is that the Most High has been patient
with those who inhabit the world, and not for their sake, but because of
the times which he has foreordained!"
[75] I answered and said, "If I have found favor in thy sight,
O Lord, show this also to thy servant: whether after death, as soon as
every one of us yields up his soul, we shall be kept in rest until those
times come when thou wilt renew the creation, or whether we shall be tormented
at once?"
[76] He answered me and said, "I will show you that also, but
do not be associated with those who have shown scorn, nor number yourself
among those who are tormented.
[77] For you have a treasure of works laid up with the Most High;
but it will not be shown to you until the last times.
[78] Now, concerning death, the teaching is: When the decisive
decree has gone forth from the Most High that a man shall die, as the spirit
leaves the body to return again to him who gave it, first of all it adores
the glory of the Most High.
[79] And if it is one of those who have shown scorn and have
not kept the way of the Most High, and who have despised his law, and who
have hated those who fear God --
[80] such spirits shall not enter into habitations, but shall
immediately wander about in torments, ever grieving and sad, in seven ways.
[81] The first way, because they have scorned the law of the
Most High.
[82] The second way, because they cannot now make a good repentance
that they may live.
[83] The third way, they shall see the reward laid up for those
who have trusted the covenants of the Most High.
[84] The fourth way, they shall consider the torment laid up
for themselves in the last days.
[85] The fifth way, they shall see how the habitations of the
others are guarded by angels in profound quiet.
[86] The sixth way, they shall see how some of them will pass
over into torments.
[87] The seventh way, which is worse than all the ways that
have been mentioned, because they shall utterly waste away in confusion
and be consumed with shame, and shall wither with fear at seeing the glory
of the Most High before whom they sinned while they were alive, and before
whom they are to be judged in the last times.
[88] "Now this is the order of those who have kept the ways
of the Most High, when they shall be separated from their mortal body.
[89] During the time that they lived in it, they laboriously
served the Most High, and withstood danger every hour, that they might
keep the law of the Lawgiver perfectly.
[90] Therefore this is the teaching concerning them:
[91] First of all, they shall see with great joy the glory of
him who receives them, for they shall have rest in seven orders.
[92] The first order, because they have striven with great effort
to overcome the evil thought which was formed with them, that it might
not lead them astray from life into death.
[93] The second order, because they see the perplexity in which
the souls of the ungodly wander, and the punishment that awaits them.
[94] The third order, they see the witness which he who formed
them bears concerning them, that while they were alive they kept the law
which was given them in trust.
[95] The fourth order, they understand the rest which they now
enjoy, being gathered into their chambers and guarded by angels in profound
quiet, and the glory which awaits them in the last days.
[96] The fifth order, they rejoice that they have now escaped
what is corruptible, and shall inherit what is to come; and besides they
see the straits and toil from which they have been delivered, and the spacious
liberty which they are to receive and enjoy in immortality.
[97] The sixth order, when it is shown to them how their face
is to shine like the sun, and how they are to be made like the light of
the stars, being incorruptible from then on.
[98] The seventh order, which is greater than all that have
been mentioned, because they shall rejoice with boldness, and shall be
confident without confusion, and shall be glad without fear, for they hasten
to behold the face of him whom they served in life and from whom they are
to receive their reward when glorified.
[99] This is the order of the souls of the righteous, as henceforth
is announced; and the aforesaid are the ways of torment which those who
would not give heed shall suffer hereafter."
[100] I answered and said, "Will time therefore be given to
the souls, after they have been separated from the bodies, to see what
you have described to me?"
[101] He said to me, "They shall have freedom for seven days,
so that during these seven days they may see the things of which you have
been told, and afterwards they shall be gathered in their habitations."
[102] I answered and said, "If I have found favor in thy sight,
show further to me, thy servant, whether on the day of judgment the righteous
will be able to intercede for the ungodly or to entreat the Most High for
them,
[103] fathers for sons or sons for parents, brothers for brothers,
relatives for their kinsmen, or friends for those who are most dear."
[104] He answered me and said, "Since you have found favor in
my sight, I will show you this also. The day of judgment is decisive and
displays to all the seal of truth. Just as now a father does not send his
son, or a son his father, or a master his servant, or a friend his dearest
friend, to be ill or sleep or eat or be healed in his stead,
[105] so no one shall ever pray for another on that day, neither
shall any one lay a burden on another; for then every one shall bear his
own righteousness and unrighteousness."
[36(106)] I answered and said, "How then do we find that first
Abraham prayed for the people of Sodom, and Moses for our fathers who sinned
in the desert,
[37(107)] and Joshua after him for Israel in the days of Achan,
[38(108)] and Samuel in the days of Saul, and David for the
plague, and Solomon for those in the sanctuary,
[39(109)] and Elijah for those who received the rain, and for
the one who was dead, that he might live,
[40(110)] and Hezekiah for the people in the days of Sennacherib,
and many others prayed for many?
[41(111)] If therefore the righteous have prayed for the ungodly
now, when corruption has increased and unrighteousness has multiplied,
why will it not be so then as well?"
[42(112)] He answered me and said, "This present world is not
the end; the full glory does not abide in it; therefore those who were
strong prayed for the weak.
[43(113)] But the day of judgment will be the end of this age
and the beginning of the immortal age to come, in which corruption has
passed away,
[44(114)] sinful indulgence has come to an end, unbelief has
been cut off, and righteousness has increased and truth has appeared.
[45(115)] Therefore no one will then be able to have mercy on
him who has been condemned in the judgment, or to harm him who is victorious."
[46(116)] I answered and said, "This is my first and last word,
that it would have been better if the earth had not produced Adam, or else,
when it had produced him, had restrained him from sinning.
[47(117)] For what good is it to all that they live in sorrow
now and expect punishment after death?
[48(118)] O Adam, what have you done? For though it was you
who sinned, the fall was not yours alone, but ours also who are your descendants.
[49(119)] For what good is it to us, if an eternal age has been
promised to us, but we have done deeds that bring death?
[50(120)] And what good is it that an everlasting hope has been
promised to us, but we have miserably failed?
[51(121)] Or that safe and healthful habitations have been reserved
for us, but we have lived wickedly?
[52(122)] Or that the glory of the Most High will defend those
who have led a pure life, but we have walked in the most wicked ways?
[53(123)] Or that a paradise shall be revealed, whose fruit
remains unspoiled and in which are abundance and healing, but we shall
not enter it,
[54(124)] because we have lived in unseemly places?
[55(125)] Or that the faces of those who practiced self-control
shall shine more than the stars, but our faces shall be blacker than darkness?
[56(126)] For while we lived and committed iniquity we did not
consider what we should suffer after death."
[57(127)] He answered and said, "This is the meaning of the
contest which every man who is born on earth shall wage,
[58(128)] that if he is defeated he shall suffer what you have
said, but if he is victorious he shall receive what I have said.
[59(129)] For this is the way of which Moses, while he was alive,
spoke to the people, saying, `Choose for yourself life, that you may live!'
[60(130)] But they did not believe him, or the prophets after
him, or even myself who have spoken to them.
[61(131)] Therefore there shall not be grief at their destruction,
so much as joy over those to whom salvation is assured."
[62(132)] I answered and said, "I know, O Lord, that the Most
High is now called merciful, because he has mercy on those who have not
yet come into the world;
[63(133)] and gracious, because he is gracious to those who
turn in repentance to his law;
[64(134)] and patient, because he shows patience toward those
who have sinned, since they are his own works;
[65(135)] and bountiful, because he would rather give than take
away;
[66(136)] and abundant in compassion, because he makes his compassions
abound more and more to those now living and to those who are gone and
to those yet to come,
[67(137)] for if he did not make them abound, the world with
those who inhabit it would not have life;
[68(138)] and he is called giver, because if he did not give
out of his goodness so that those who have committed iniquities might be
relieved of them, not one ten-thousandth of mankind could have life;
[69(139)] and judge, because if he did not pardon those who
were created by his word and blot out the multitude of their sins,
[70(140)] there would probably be left only very few of the
innumerable multitude."
