Fallen Angels and the Origins of Evil (13 page)

1 Then I beheld another mountain containing trees, from which water flowed like Neketro [a nectar (Knibb, p. 119)]. Its name was Sarira, and Kalboneba [styrax and galbanum (Knibb, p. 119)]. And upon this mountain I beheld another mountain, upon which were trees of Alva [aloe (Knibb, p. 119)].

2 These trees were full, like almond trees, and strong; and when they produced fruit, it was superior to all perfume.

1 After these things, surveying the entrances of the north, above the mountains, I perceived seven mountains replete with pure nard, odoriferous trees, cinnamon and papyrus.

2 From thence I passed on above the summits of those mountains to some distance eastwards, and went over the Erythraean sea [Red Sea]. And when I was advanced far beyond it, I passed along above the angel Zateel, and arrived at the garden of righteousness. In this garden I beheld, among other trees, some which were numerous and large, and which flourished there.

3 Their fragrance was agreeable and powerful, and their appearance both varied and elegant. The tree of knowledge also was there, of which if any one eats, he becomes endowed with great wisdom.

4 It was like a species of the tamarind tree, bearing fruit which resembled grapes extremely fine; and its fragrance extended to a considerable distance. I exclaimed, How beautiful is this tree, and how delightful is its appearance!

5 Then holy Raphael, an angel who was with me, answered and said, This is the tree of knowledge, of which thy ancient father and thy aged mother ate, who were before thee; and who, obtaining knowledge, their eyes being opened, and knowing themselves to be naked, were expelled from the garden.

1 From thence I went on towards the extremities of the earth; where I saw large beasts different from each other, and birds various in their countenances and forms, as well as with notes of different sounds.

2 To the east of these beasts I perceived the extremities of the earth, where heaven ceased. The gates of heaven stood open, and I beheld the celestial stars come forth. I numbered them as they proceeded out of the gate, and wrote them all down, as they came out one by one according to their number.
I wrote down
their names altogether, their times and their seasons, as the angel Uriel, who was with me, pointed them out to me.

3 He showed them all to me, and wrote down
an account of
them.

4 He also wrote down for me their names, their regulations, and their operations.

1 From thence I advanced on towards the north, to the extremities of the earth.

2 And there I saw a great and glorious wonder at the extremities of the whole earth.

3 I saw there heavenly gates opening into heaven; three of them distinctly separated. The northern winds proceeded from them, blowing cold, hail, frost, snow, dew, and rain.

4 From one of the gates they blew mildly; but when they blew from the two
other gates,
it was with violence and force. They blew over the earth strongly.

1 From thence I went to the extremities of the world westwards;

2 Where I perceived three gates open, as I had seen in the north; the gates and passages through them being of equal magnitude.

1 Then I proceeded to the extremities of the earth southwards; where I saw three gates open to the south, from which issued dew, rain, and wind.

2 From thence I went to the extremities of heaven eastwards; where I saw three heavenly gates open to the east, which had smaller gates within them. Through each of these small gates the stars of heaven passed on, and proceeded towards the west by a path which was seen by them, and that at every period
of their appearance.

3 When I beheld
them,
I blessed; every time
in which they appeared,
I blessed the Lord of glory, who had made those great and splendid signs, that they might display the magnificence of his works to angels and to the souls of men; and that these might glorify all his works and operations; might see the effect of his power; might glorify the great labour of his hands; and bless him for ever.

1 The vision which he saw, the second vision of wisdom, which Enoch saw, the son of Jared, the son of Malaleel, the son of Canan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam. This is the commencement of the word of wisdom, which I received to declare and tell to those who dwell upon earth. Hear from the beginning, and understand to the end, the holy things which I utter in the presence of the Lord of spirits. Those who were before
us
thought it good to speak;

2 And let not us, who come after, obstruct the beginning of wisdom. Until the present period never has there been given before the Lord of spirits that which I have received, wisdom according to the capacity of my intellect, and according to the pleasure of the Lord of spirits; that which I have received from him, a portion of life eternal.

3 And I obtained three parables, which I declared to the inhabitants of the world.

1 Parable the first. When the congregation of the righteous shall be manifested; and sinners be judged for their crimes, and be troubled in the sight of the world;

2 When righteousness shall be manifested [or, “when the Righteous One appears” (Knibb, p. 125; cp. Charles, p. 112)] in the presence of the righteous themselves, who will be elected for their
good
works
duly
weighed by the Lord of spirits; and when the light of the righteous and the elect, who dwell on earth, shall be manifested; where will the habitation of sinners be? and where the place of rest for those who have rejected the Lord of spirits? It would have been better for them, had they never been born.

3 When, too, the secrets of the righteous shall be revealed, then shall sinners be judged; and impious men shall be afflicted in the presence of the righteous and the elect.

4 From that period those who possess the earth shall cease to be powerful and exalted. Neither shall they be capable of beholding the countenances of the holy; for the light of the countenances of the holy, the righteous, and the elect, has been seen by the Lord of spirits [or, “for the light of the Lord of Spirits will have appeared on the face of the holy, the righteous, and the chosen” (Knibb, p. 126)].

5 Yet shall not the mighty kings of that period be destroyed; but be delivered into the hands of the righteous and the holy.

6 Nor thenceforwards shall any obtain commiseration from the Lord of spirits, because their lives
in this world
will have been completed.

1 In those days shall the elect and holy race descend from the upper heavens, and their seed shall then be with the sons of men. Enoch received books of indignation and wrath, and books of hurry and agitation.

2 Never shall they obtain mercy, saith the Lord of spirits.

3 A cloud then snatched me up, and the wind raised me above the surface of the earth, placing me at the extremity of the heavens.

4 There I saw another vision; I
saw
the habitations and couches of the saints. There my eyes beheld their habitations with the angels, and their couches with the holy ones. They were entreating, supplicating, and praying for the sons of men; while righteousness like water flowed before them, and mercy like dew
was scattered
over the earth. And thus
shall it be
with them for ever and for ever.

5 At that time my eyes beheld the dwelling of the elect, of truth, faith, and righteousness.

6 Countless shall be the number of the holy and the elect, in the presence of God for ever and for ever.

7 Their residence I beheld under the wings of the Lord of spirits. All the holy and the elect sung before him, in appearance like a blaze of fire; their mouths being full of blessings, and their lips glorifying the name of the Lord of spirits. And righteousness incessantly
dwelt
before him.

8 There was I desirous of remaining, and my soul longed for that habitation. There was my antecedent inheritance; for thus had I prevailed before the Lord of spirits.

9 At that time I glorified and extolled the name of the Lord of spirits with blessing and with praise; for he has established it with blessing and with praise, according to his own good pleasure.

10 That place long did my eyes contemplate. I blessed and said, Blessed be he, blessed from the beginning for ever. In the beginning, before the world was created, and without end is his knowledge.

11 What is this world? Of every existing generation those shall bless thee who do not sleep
in the dust,
but stand before thy glory, blessing, glorifying, exalting thee, and saying, The holy, holy, Lord of spirits, fills the whole world of spirits.

12 There my eyes beheld all who, without sleeping, stand before him and bless him, saying, Blessed be thou, and blessed be the name of God for ever and for ever. Then my countenance became changed, until I was incapable of seeing.

1 After this I beheld thousands of thousands, and myriads of myriads, and an infinite number of people, standing before the Lord of spirits.

2 On the four wings likewise of the Lord of spirits, on the four sides, I perceived others, besides those who were standing
before him.
Their names, too, I know; because the angel, who proceeded with me, declared them to me, discovering to me every secret thing.

3 Then I heard the voices of those upon the four sides magnifying the Lord of glory.

4 The first voice blessed the Lord of spirits for ever and for ever.

5 The second voice I heard blessing the elect One, and the elect who suffer on account of the Lords of spirits.

6 The third voice I heard petitioning and praying for those who dwell upon earth, and supplicate the name of the Lord of spirits.

7 The fourth voice I heard expelling the impious angels [literally, “the Satans” (Laurence, p. 45; Knibb, p. 128)],
[118]
and prohibiting them from entering into [the] presence of the Lord of spirits, to prefer accusations against [or, “to accuse” (Charles, p. 119)] the inhabitants of the earth.

8 After this I besought the angel of peace, who proceeded with me, to explain all that was concealed. I said to him, Who are those
whom
I have seen on the four sides, and whose words I have heard and written down? He replied, The first is the merciful, the patient, the holy Michael.

9 The second is he who
presides
over every suffering and every affliction of the sons of men, the holy Raphael. The third, who
presides
over all that is powerful, is Gabriel. And the fourth, who
presides
over repentance, and the hope of those who will inherit eternal life, is Phanuel. These are the four angels of the most high God, and their four voices, which at that time I heard.

1 After this I beheld the secrets of the heavens and of paradise, according to its divisions; and of human action, as they weigh it there in balances. I saw the habitations of the elect, and the habitations of the holy. And there my eyes beheld all the sinners, who denied the Lord of glory, and whom they were expelling from thence, and dragging away, as they stood
there;
no punishment proceeding against them from the Lord of spirits.

2 There, too, my eyes beheld the secrets of the lightning and the thunder; and the secrets of the winds, how they are distributed as they blow over the earth: the secrets of the winds, of the dew, and of the clouds. There I perceived the place from which they issued forth, and became saturated with the dust of the earth.

3 There I saw the wooden receptacles out of which the winds became separated, the receptacle of hail, the receptacle of snow, the receptacle of the clouds, and the cloud itself,
which
continued over the earth before
the creation of
the world.

4 I beheld also the receptacles of the moon, whence the moons came, whither they proceeded, their glorious return, and how one became more splendid than another. I
marked
their rich progress, their unchangeable progress, their disunited and undiminished progress; their observance of a mutual fidelity by a stable oath; their proceeding forth before the sun, and their adherence to the path
allotted
them [or, “the sun goes out first and completes its journey” (Knibb, p. 129; cp. Charles, p. 122)], in obedience to the command of the Lord of spirits. Potent is his name for ever and for ever.

5 After this
I perceived, that
the path both concealed and manifest of the moon, as well as the progress of its path, was there completed by day and by night; while each, one with another, looked towards the Lord of spirits, magnifying and praising without cessation, since praise to them is rest; for in the splendid sun there is a frequent conversion to blessing and to malediction.

6 The course of the moon’s path to the righteous is light, but to sinners it is darkness; in the name of the Lord of spirits, who created
a division
between light and darkness, and, separating the spirits of men, strengthened the spirits of the righteous in the name of his own righteousness.

7 Nor does the angel prevent
this,
neither is he endowed with the power of preventing it; for the Judge beholds them all, and judges them all in his own presence.

1 Wisdom found not a place
on earth
where she could inhabit; her dwelling therefore is in heaven.

2 Wisdom went forth to dwell among the sons of men, but she obtained not
an habitation.
Wisdom returned to her place, and seated herself in the midst of the angels. But iniquity went forth after her return, who unwillingly found
an habitation,
and resided among them, as rain in the desert, and as a dew in a thirsty land.