Chapter XLIII: XLIV. Astronomical Secrets

XLIII. 1. And I saw other lightnings and the stars of heaven, and I saw how He called them all by their names and they hearkened unto Him. 2. And I saw how they are weighed in a righteous balance according to their proportions of light: (I saw) the width of their spaces and the day of their appearing, and how their revolution produces lightning: and (I saw) their revolution according to the number of the angels, and (how) they keep faith with each other. 3. And I asked the angel who went with me who showed me what was hidden: ‘What are these?’ 4. And he said to me: ‘The Lord of Spirits hath showed thee their parabolic meaning (lit. ‘their parable’): these are the names of the holy who dwell on the earth and believe in the name of the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever.’

XLIV. Also another phenomenon I saw in regard to the lightnings: how some of the stars arise and become lightnings and cannot part with their new form.

XLV-LVII. =The Second Parable.=

_The Lot of the Apostates: the New Heaven and the New Earth._

XLV. 1. And this is the Second Parable concerning those who deny the name of the dwelling of the holy ones and the Lord of Spirits.

2. And into the heaven they shall not ascend,
And on the earth they shall not come:

Such shall be the lot of the sinners
Who have denied the name of the Lord of Spirits,
Who are thus preserved for the day of suffering and tribulation.

3. On that day Mine Elect, One shall sit on the throne of glory
And shall =try= their works,
And their places of rest shall be innumerable.

And their souls shall grow strong within them when they see Mine
elect ones,
And those who have called upon My glorious name:
4. Then will I cause Mine Elect One to dwell among them.

And I will transform the heaven and make it an eternal blessing and
light,
5. And I will transform the earth and make it a blessing:

And I will cause Mine elect ones to dwell upon it:
But the sinners and evil-doers shall not set foot thereon.

6. For I have provided and satisfied with peace My righteous ones,
And have caused them to dwell before Me:

But for the sinners there is judgement impending with Me,
So that I shall destroy them from the face of the earth.

XLVI. _The Head of Days and the Son of Man._

XLVI. 1. And there I saw One, who had a head of days,
And His head was white like wool,
And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance
of a man,
And his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels.

2. And I asked the =angel= who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and) why he went with the Head of Days? 3. And he answered and said unto me:

This is the Son of Man who hath righteousness,
With whom dwelleth righteousness,
And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden,

Because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him,
And whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in
uprightness for ever.

4. And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen
Shall †raise up† the kings and the mighty from their seats,
[And the strong from their thrones]

And shall loosen the reins of the strong,
And break the teeth of the sinners;

5. [And he shall put down the kings from their thrones and kingdoms]
Because they do not extol and praise Him,
Nor humbly acknowledge whence the kingdom was bestowed upon them.
6. And he shall put down the countenance of the strong,
And shall fill them with shame.

And darkness shall be their dwelling,
And worms shall be their bed,

And they shall have no hope of rising from their beds,
Because they do not extol the name of the Lord of Spirits.

7. And these are they who †judge† the stars of heaven,
[And raise their hands against the Most High],
†And tread upon the earth and dwell upon it†.

And all their deeds manifest unrighteousness,
And their power rests upon their riches,

And their faith is in the †gods† which they have made with their
hands,
And they deny the name of the Lord of Spirits,

8. And they persecute the houses of His congregations,
And the faithful who hang upon the name of the Lord of Spirits.

XLVII. _The Prayer of the Righteous for Vengeance and their Joy at its
coming._

XLVII. 1. And in those days shall have ascended the prayer of the
righteous.
And the blood of the righteous from the earth before the Lord of
Spirits.
2. In those days the holy ones who dwell above in the heavens
Shall unite with one voice
And supplicate and pray [and praise,
And give thanks and bless the name of the Lord of Spirits]
On behalf of the blood of the righteous which has been shed,
And that the prayer of the righteous may not be in vain before the
Lord of Spirits,
That judgement may be done unto them,
And that they may not have to suffer for ever.
3. In those days I saw the Head of Days when He seated himself upon
the throne of His glory,
And the books of the living were opened before Him:
And all His host which is in heaven above and
His counsellors stood before Him,
4. And the hearts of the holy were filled with joy;

Because the number of the righteous =had been offered=,
And the prayer of the righteous had been heard,
And the blood of the righteous been required before the Lord of
Spirits.

XLVIII. _The Fount of Righteousness: the Son of Man—the Stay of the
Righteous: Judgement of the Kings and the Mighty._

XLVIII. 1. And in that place I saw the fountain of righteousness,
Which was inexhaustible:
And around it were many fountains of wisdom;

And all the thirsty drank of them,
And were filled with wisdom,
And their dwellings were with the righteous and holy and elect.
2. And at that hour that Son of Man was named
In the presence of the Lord of Spirits,
And his name before the Head of Days.

3. Yea, before the sun and the signs were created,
Before the stars of the heaven were made,
His name was named before the Lord of Spirits.

4. He shall be a staff to the righteous whereon to stay themselves
and not fall,
And he shall be the light of the Gentiles,
And the hope of those who are troubled of heart.

5. All who dwell on earth shall fall down and worship before him,
And will praise and bless and celebrate with song the Lord of
Spirits.

6. And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before Him,
Before the creation of the world and for evermore.

7. And the wisdom of the Lord of Spirits hath revealed him to the
holy and righteous;
For he hath preserved the lot of the righteous;

Because they have hated and despised this world of unrighteousness,
And have hated all its works and ways in the name of the Lord of
Spirits:

For in his name they are saved,
And according to his good pleasure hath it been in regard to their
life.

8. In those days downcast in countenance shall the kings of the
earth have become,
And the strong who possess the land because of the works of their
hands;

For on the day of their anguish and affliction they shall not (be
able to) save themselves,
9. And I will give them over into the hands of Mine elect:

As straw in the fire so shall they burn before the face of the holy:
As lead in the water shall they sink before the face of the
righteous,
And no trace of them shall any more be found.

10. And on the day of their affliction there shall be rest on the
earth,
And before them they shall fall and not rise again:

And there shall be no one to take them with his hands and raise
them:
For they have denied the Lord of Spirits and His Anointed.
The name of the Lord of Spirits be blessed.

XLIX. _The Power and Wisdom of the Elect One._

XLIX. 1. For wisdom is poured out like water,
And glory faileth not before him for evermore.

2. For he is mighty in all the secrets of righteousness,
And unrighteousness shall disappear as a shadow,
And have no continuance;
Because the Elect One standeth before the Lord of Spirits,
And his glory is for ever and ever,
And his might unto all generations.

3. And in him dwells the spirit of wisdom,
And the spirit which gives insight,
And the spirit of understanding and of might,
And the spirit of those who have fallen asleep in righteousness.

4. And he shall judge the secret things,
And none shall be able to utter a lying word before him;
For he is the Elect One before the Lord of Spirits according to His
good pleasure.

L. _The Glorification and Victory of the Righteous: the Repentance of
the Gentiles._

L. 1. And in those days a change shall take place for the holy and
elect,
And the light of days shall abide upon them,
And glory and honour shall turn to the holy,
2. On the day of affliction on which evil shall have been treasured
up against the sinners.

And the righteous shall be victorious in the name of the Lord of
Spirits:
And He will cause the others to witness (this),
That they may repent
And forgo the works of their hands.

3. They shall have no honour through the name of the Lord of
Spirits,
Yet through His name shall they be saved,
And the Lord of Spirits will have compassion on them,
For His compassion is great.
4. And He is righteous also in His judgement,
And in the presence of His glory unrighteousness also shall not
maintain itself:
At His judgement the unrepentant shall perish before Him.
5. And from henceforth I will have no mercy on them, saith the Lord
of Spirits.

LI. _The Resurrection of the Dead, and the Separation by the Judge of
the Righteous and the Wicked._

LI. 1. And in those days shall the earth also give back that which
has been entrusted to it,
And Sheol also shall give back that which it has received,
And hell shall give back that which it owes.

5 _a._ For in those days the Elect One shall arise,
2. And he shall choose the righteous and holy from among them:
For the day has drawn nigh that they should be saved.

3. And the Elect One shall in those days sit on My throne,
And his mouth shall pour forth all the secrets of wisdom and
counsel:
For the Lord of Spirits hath given (them) to him and hath glorified
him.

4. And in those days shall the mountains leap like rams,
And the hills also shall skip like lambs satisfied with milk,
And the faces of [all] the angels in heaven shall be lighted up with
joy.

5 _b._ And the earth shall rejoice,
_c._ And the righteous shall dwell upon it,
_d._ And the elect shall walk thereon.

LII. _The Seven Metal Mountains and the Elect One._

[Only six are mentioned; see Charles’ note in his large edition.—EDD.]

LII. 1. And after those days in that place where I had seen all the visions of that which is hidden—for I had been carried off in a whirlwind and they had borne me towards the west— 2. There mine eyes saw all the secret things of heaven that shall be, a mountain of iron, and a mountain of copper, and a mountain of silver, and a mountain of gold, and a mountain of soft metal, and a mountain of lead.

3. And I asked the angel who went with me, saying, ‘What things are these which I have seen in secret?’ 4. And he said unto me: ‘All these things which thou hast seen shall serve the dominion of His Anointed that he may be potent and mighty on the earth.’

5. And that angel of peace answered, saying unto me: ‘Wait a little and there shall be revealed unto thee all the secret things, which surround the Lord of Spirits.

6. And these mountains which thine eyes have seen, The mountain of
iron, and the mountain of copper, and the mountain of silver,
And the mountain of gold, and the mountain of soft metal, and the
mountain of lead,
All these shall be in the presence of the Elect One,
As wax before the fire,
And like the water which streams down from above [upon those
mountains],
And they shall become powerless before his feet.
7. And it shall come to pass in those days that none shall be saved,
Either by gold or by silver,
And none be able to escape.
8. And there shall be no iron for war,
Nor shall one clothe oneself with a breastplate.
Bronze shall be of no service,
And tin [shall be of no service and] shall not be esteemed,
And lead shall not be desired.
9. And all these things shall be [denied and] destroyed from the
surface of the earth,
When the Elect One shall appear before the face of the Lord of
Spirits.’