APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA THE SON OF MAN 70th Birthday AND 3^RD MEMORIAL OF THE WOMAN OF SUBSEUENT CREATION, THE QUEEN OF PARADISE MUMMY JOY NZUBECHI ODOEMENA (NWANYINWEULO)

70TH BIRTHDAY OF APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA THE SON OF MAN

Then I said, Behold, here I am, coming to do Your will, O God—[to fulfill] what is written of Me in the volume of the Book. Hebrews 10:7 AMP 3RD APRIL, 2025

Some Excerpts From

In The Light of Truth [Grail Message] BY ABDRUSHIN (OSKAR ERNEST BERNHARD) The German Prophet And Leader Of Grail Message (1875 – 1941)

He That Cometh

The Messiah Concept In Old Testament & Later Judaism

[Published In 1956] BY PROF SIGMUND OLAF PLYTT MOWINCKEL [Professor of Theology]

Message to the Black Man BY ELIJAH MOHAMMAD

(THE NEGRO PROPHET FROM AMERICA)

(1897 – 1975)

APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA THE SON OF MAN AT 70

Books By Yahweh’s Sword Book 1 Of BARUCH Books By Yahweh’s Sword Book 2 of BARUCH

Testament of Job

Translated by M. R. James (Apocrypha Anecdota 2. Texts and Studies 5/1. CAMBRIDGE: UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1897)

EXTRACTED by

APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA (THE SON OF MAN) THE FULFILLMENT OF ALL

SECTION 1

APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA THE SON OF MAN @ 70

Then I said, Behold, here I am, coming to do Your will, O God—to fulfill what is written of Me in the volume of the Book. Hebrews 10:7 AMP

EXTRACTED BY APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA THE SON OF MAN 3^RD APRIL, 2025

THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM

There shall now be Light here on earth, as once it should have been when the Star of Promise shone radiantly for three nights above a stable in Bethlehem.

But at that time only a few accepted the Light, and their listeners very soon distorted and misrepresented it, as men on earth are apt to do, by trying to replace what they forgot with their own ideas, thereby creating only confusion which nowadays is meant to pass as inviolable Truth.
Out of alarm that everything will collapse if even the smallest pillar proves to be unsound, every ray of Light that can bring recognition is resisted, defiled and, if there is no other way, at least ridiculed with a malice and cunning which plainly indicates to clear thinking that it springs from fear! But clear thinking is only rarely to be found on earth.
In spite of this the light of true recognition must at last come over all mankind!
The time has arrived when everything unhealthy invented by the human brain will be swept out of Creation, so that it no longer suppresses the enlightenment that the Truth wears a different aspect from the unsteady images which boastful conceit and commercialism, morbid imagination and hypocrisy, in a craving for earthly power and earthly admiration, have created out of the sultry swamp of base narrow-mindedness.
Accursed now be those who through leading millions of people astray have so enslaved them that today they no longer dare to open their eyes to the Light, but blindly revile anything coming to their knowledge that sounds different from what they have hitherto heard, instead of at last listening attentively and examining inwardly to see whether the new does not come nearer to their understanding than what they have learned in the past; and examining whether their intuitive perception does not stir them to the conviction that the old can no longer exist when the wake-up call from the Light reaches them and must collapse, because it is standing on the wrong foundation!
Their ears are stopped, and anxiously they see to it that no breath of fresh air penetrates to them, actually just out of laziness and fear that this fresh air, through the ensuing recovery, implies spiritual activity, demanding and enforcing self-exertion. In contrast to the present apparently comfortable spiritual slumber, which is followed by the heavy permanent sleep, and thereby only gives a free hand to the cunning of the distorted, debased intellect!
But it is of no avail to stop your ears against the new Word, to shut your eyes lest the Light dazzle and startle you! You will now be forcibly roused from this deplorable stupor! You will have to stand shivering before the cold Light that mercilessly strips you of all false wrappings. Shivering because your spirit-spark can no longer be kindled within you, and thus generate the warmth from within that will unite with the Light. It is too late for that! And this too late brings spiritual death in rigidity!
I throw the Light onto your false actions and thoughts so that it will shred the many cloaks which in iridescent splendor cover up with fool’s gold what is disingenuous and sluggish in you. Indeed it is all too easy for you to believe the unbelievable; for then you need not trouble to think and examine for yourselves. Just because it cannot stand up to any test that is in accordance with the Divine Laws of Nature, you simply have to believe, without questioning the why or wherefore; you have to believe blindly, and this you imagine to be great! You who so conveniently imagine you are particularly devout, simply raise yourselves above all doubts in this matter, and… feel happy, secure, noble, pious and sure of a place in Heaven!
However, you have not thereby raised yourselves above all doubt, but only bypassed it in a cowardly way! You were too spiritually indolent to bestir yourselves, and preferred blind faith to a knowledge of the natural happening in the Law of God’s Will. Fictions devised by the human brain aided you in this.
For the more absurd and incomprehensible the things you are supposed to believe, the easier it also becomes literally to believe in them blindly, because in such matters it is quite impossible to do otherwise.
Knowledge and conviction must be eliminated then. Only the impossible demands blind, unreserved faith; for whatever is possible immediately stimulates independent thinking.
Wherever there is Truth, which is always characterized by naturalness and consistency, thinking and deep intuitive sensing automatically set in. This only ceases where it no longer finds anything natural, thus where Truth does not exist.
And it is only through deep intuitive sensing that anything can become conviction, which alone brings values to the human spirit!
So now, along with everything else in the Judgment, the cycle which begins with the Holy Night in Bethlehem is also closing! And the closing of this cycle must cast out all inaccuracies in the transmissions, and in their stead bring the Truth to victory. The Darkness created by humanity is dispelled by the penetrating Light!
All legends which in the course of time have been woven around the life of Jesus must fall away so that it may at last emerge in purity, in accordance with Divine Laws, as indeed it could not have been otherwise in this Creation. Hitherto you have credulously and wantonly denied the Perfection of the Creator, your God, with your self-established cults.
You deliberately and consciously represent Him in these cults as imperfect in His Will! I have already spoken about this in my Message and, turn and twist as you will, not a single subterfuge can acquit you of having been too indolent to think about it yourselves.
You do not honor God by blindly believing in things that are not in accordance with the Primordial Laws of Creation!On the contrary, if you believe in the Perfection of the Creator, then you must know that nothing can happen here in Creation that does not also precisely conform to the logical sequence in the firmly established Laws of God. Only therein can you truly honor Him.
He who thinks otherwise thus doubts the Perfection of the Creator, his God! For where alterations or further improvements are possible, there is not and never has been perfection! Development is something different. This is provided for and intended in this Creation.
However, it must follow unconditionally as a logical sequence of the effect of already existing Laws. But all this cannot produce such things as many believers take for granted, especially in the life of Christ!
Wake up from your dreams at last and become inwardly true! Let it be said once more that according to the Laws in Creation it is impossible for bodies of earthmen ever to be born without previous physical procreation, and equally impossible for a physical body to be raised into the Ethereal Realm after its earthly death, still less into the Animistic or even the Spiritual Realm!
And since Jesus had to be born here on earth, this event was also subject to the gross material Divine Law of a previous procreation.
If it had happened with Christ as transmissions report, God would have to act against His own Laws. But this He cannot do since He is perfect from the very beginning, and thus also His Will, Which lies in the Laws of Creation. Whoever still dares to think otherwise doubts this Perfection and thus ultimately also doubts God! For God without Perfection would not be God. There can be no subterfuge! No human spirit can quibble about this simple certainty, even if the foundations of many a former opinion must now be shaken thereby.
Here there is only either-or. All or nothing. There can be no compromise, because nothing incomplete or unfinished can exist in the Godhead! Nor in anything concerned with God!
Jesus was procreated physically, otherwise an earthly birth would not have been possible.
At that time only a few recognized the Star as the fulfillment of the prophecies. Among them were Mary herself, and also Joseph who, deeply stirred, hid his face.
Three kings found their way to the stable and presented earthly gifts; but then they went away, leaving without protection the Child Whose earthly path they should have smoothed with their wealth and power, so that no harm might befall Him in the fulfillment of His Mission.
Although they received enlightenment enabling them to find the Child, they did not fully recognize their sublime call.
Disquietude drove Mary away from Nazareth, and Joseph, seeing her silent suffering and longing, granted her wish solely to make her happy. He handed over the management of his carpenter’s shop to his oldest employee, and with Mary and the Child journeyed to a distant country.
In the course of their everyday life of work and cares, the memory of the Radiant Star slowly faded from their minds, especially as in His early years Jesus displayed nothing extraordinary, but like all children was quite natural.
It was only on his deathbed, after returning to his native town, that Joseph, who had always been the best of fatherly friends to Jesus, saw in his passing, during his last moments on earth, the Crown and the Dove above Jesus, Who stood alone at his bedside. Deeply stirring were his last words: “So Thou art He after all!”
Jesus Himself knew nothing of this until something urged Him to go to John, of whom He had heard that he was proclaiming wise teachings and baptizing at the River Jordan.
With this gross material act of baptism, the beginning of the Mission was firmly anchored in the World of Gross Matter. The bandage fell. From this moment Jesus Himself was conscious that He was to carry the Word of the Father among mankind on earth.
His whole life as it really was will unfold itself before you, divested of all the fantasies invented by human brains! With the closing of the cycle of this event, it will be revealed to all during the Judgment through the victory of the Truth, which for a long time to come may no longer be obscured!
Mary fought an inward battle with her doubts, which were strengthened through motherly anxiety for her son, right up to the grievous walk to Golgotha. Purely human and not supernatural. Only there did recognition of His Mission, and with it belief, finally come to her.
But now, AT THE RETURN OF THE STAR (Reference: Luke 17:26 TLB“When I return the world will be as indifferent to the things of God as the people were in Noah’s day…”)
But now, AT THE RETURN OF THE STAR, all errors shall henceforth be redeemed through the Grace of God; and likewise all the faults of those who, without obstinacy or evil intent, rendered Christ’s way more difficult at that time; and who now at the closing of the cycle come to recognition, and try to make good their neglect or failures.
Through their desire to make good, redemption arises for them with the Radiant Star; liberated, they can give jubilant thanks to Him Who in His Wisdom and Goodness created the Laws by which all creatures must judge and also redeem themselves.

THE STRANGER

Once more Darkness had settled over the earth. Triumphantly it cast its shadow over men, and barred their way to the Pure-Spiritual Realm. The Light of God had withdrawn from them. The body that had served It as an earthly vessel hung bleeding and ravaged on the Cross, a victim of the protest of those to whom It wished to bring happiness and holy peace.

At the summit of the entire Creation, in the radiant vicinity of God, stands the Grail Castle as the Temple of Light. Great sorrow prevailed there over the human spirits gone astray in the depths who out of hostility and with their blind know-it-all attitude, closed themselves off from the Truth and allowed themselves to be driven by the hate-filled Darkness so far as to commit this crime against the Son of God.
The curse thus created by mankind fell heavily on the whole world, pressing them into an ever greater limitation of understanding.
In grave wonder, a youth beheld this monstrous happening from the Castle of the Grail… THE FUTURE SON OF MAN. He was already then being prepared for His Mission, a process which took thousands of years; for He was to descend well-equipped into those lower regions, where Darkness reigned through the volition of mankind.
A woman’s hand was gently laid on the shoulder of the dreaming youth. The Primordial Queen of Womanhood stood beside Him, and spoke in a sad and loving voice:
“Take in the full impact of this event, dear Son. Such is the battlefield through which you will have to pass in the hour of fulfillment; for at the request of the murdered Savior, God the Father grants that before the Judgment you shall once more proclaim His Word to the faithless, in order to save those who are still willing to listen to It!”
The youth bowed His head in silence and sent up a fervent prayer for strength, for the echo of such great Divine Love reverberated mightily within Him!
The tidings of another, final possibility of Grace spread rapidly through all the spheres, and many souls implored God to grant that they might be permitted to help in the great work of the redemption of all those who still wish to find the way to God. The Love of God the Father granted this to many a soul, which was thereby helped in its ascent. In grateful joy the host of these so blessed souls jubilantly gave a solemn pledge of loyalty for the fulfillment of the opportunity to serve which was granted them.
Thus were prepared those Called ones, who were later to hold themselves at the disposal of the Envoy of God at His hour of fulfillment on earth. They were carefully developed for these tasks and incarnated on earth at the right time, so that they might be ready whenever the Call reached them; to listen for this Call remained the first fulfillment of their duty.
Meanwhile the legacy of the murdered Son of God, His Living Word, was exploited on earth solely for selfish purposes. Mankind had no conception of the true Principles of Christ.
On the contrary, they gradually grew into such a wrong and purely earthly servility that eventually they rejected anything else as not coming from God; they still do so today, rejecting and attacking whatever does not conform to the loathsome and mushy sentimentality they desire, and whatever does not practice a similar, very unwholesome and slavish human self-worship.
Everything that is not built upon the supremacy of mankind is simply labeled as false and as not belonging to the Word of God.This behavior, however, actually only conceals the apprehensive worry that the long-felt hollowness of the false structure might become apparent.
This is what the sacred legacy of the Son of God was turned into! Upon such degrading assumptions, His clear words were interpreted and passed on, in ways which were all too human. Adherents were solicited by wooing human weaknesses, until some earthly power could be gained, which has always been the ultimate goal.
Then, however, their brutal cruelties very soon showed how far removed from the real understanding of the misconstrued Christ-Principle its bearers were, and how little they lived it. Continually and ever more clearly there was proof that the very ones who claimed to be the bearers of the Christ-Principle were shamelessly and unpardonably the worst enemies and greatest offenders against the true Christ-Principle!
After Christ’s life on earth the whole of history, from the beginning of the churches, sets forth these facts so clearly, in letters so indelibly engraved and branded, that they can never be denied or attenuated. The stigma of conscious hypocrisy was indelibly established throughout the long history of individual and mass murders under criminal invocations of God. Even today many parts of this structure are being expanded, only in different forms adapted to the present time.
Thus, thanks to the willingness of all of the human spirits, the Darkness became ever denser as the time approached when the Son of Man had to be incarnated upon earth.
Joyful activity in the elements heralded the earthly birth. Angels lovingly accompanied Him down to this earth. Primordial Beings formed a solid rampart around Him and around His earthly childhood. His earthly youth was allowed to be bright and sunny. In the evenings He saw the Comet, radiant above Him, like a greeting from God the Father; He regarded it as nothing unusual, as one of the other stars, until the bandage which He had to wear during His bitter training on earth was put before His eyes.
Then life around Him seemed strange; only a great unquenchable longing filled His soul, and grew to restlessness, to continual nervous seeking. Nothing of what the earth had to offer could satisfy it.
With the ethereal bandage over His eyes, He now stood on hostile ground facing the Darkness on a battlefield where everything dark could have a firmer foothold than He Himself had.
Therefore it was only natural that wherever He sought to undertake something He found no response and no success, but always and only the Darkness erupting in hostility.
As long as the time of fulfillment for Him had not arrived, the Darkness could always remain stronger, and could inflict material damage on Him wherever He engaged in earthly affairs in some way, whether in private, business or government affairs; for everything earthly quite naturally had to confront the Envoy of God with nothing but hostility, because all human volition today is directed against the true Will of God, in spite of the alleged search for Truth, behind which there always lurks only self-conceit in various forms. The Darkness easily found willing creatures everywhere to hinder the Envoy from the Light, and to injure Him grievously and painfully.
Thus His time of learning on earth became the path of suffering.
Just as the Spiritual exerts its influence, with great power and an apparently magnetically attracting and holding effect upon animistic, ethereal and gross material substances, so in a similar and much more powerful way must that which has its origin above the spiritual in Subsequent Creation exert its influence on everything that lies below it.
This is a perfectly natural process and could not be otherwise. However, its effect only appears to be similar to the power of attraction. The power of attraction in the traditional sense is effective only among homogeneous species.
Whereas here it is a matter of the existing power of the stronger in a purely objective and most noble sense!
It is not to be thought of in an earthly human way; for in the World of Gross Matter this Law, like everything else, has been coarsened in its effect through the actions of men. The outward form of the natural effect of this dominant power manifests as a magnetic attracting, uniting, holding together and controlling power.
Now because of this Law, men felt themselves magnetically drawn to this veiled, more powerful Stranger from On High, although often with hostile resistance.
The dense veils He wore around Him could not entirely obstruct the penetration of this power which was alien on earth; while on the other hand this power could not yet radiate freely in order to exert that irresistible might which it will have after the falling away of the imposed veils at the hour of fulfillment.
This caused conflict in the intuitive perceptions of men. The very being of the Stranger was enough to awaken in those who met Him hopes of the most varied kinds which, because of their attitude, unfortunately were always concentrated on merely earthly wishes, which they nourished and fostered within themselves.
The Stranger, however, could never heed such wishes, since His hour had not yet come. Thereby many were often greatly disappointed through their own imaginings and, strange to say, even felt deceived. They never reflected that in reality it was only their own selfish expectations which were not fulfilled and, indignant about this through their disappointment, they laid the responsibility on the Stranger.
Yet He did not call them; rather, they forced themselves upon Him, and clung to Him, because of this Law which was unknown to them, and they often became a heavy burden to Him, with which He journeyed through those years on earth that were provided to Him for His time of learning.
Men on earth perceived something mysterious and unknown about Him which they could not explain; they sensed a hidden power which they did not understand, and in the end, in their ignorance, they naturally suspected only intentional suggestion, hypnotism, and magic, depending on the nature of their incomprehension, whereas in fact none of these were involved.
Their original affection and awareness of a strange attraction was then very often turned into hatred, which expressed itself in moral stone-throwing and attempts to defile Him from Whom they had expected much too soon.
No one took the trouble of making a just self-examination, which would have revealed that it was the Stranger, living by Himself with different views and ideals, who was exploited by the obtruders, rather than them being exploited by Him, as they made themselves and others believe, in their bitterness over the non-fulfillment of their desires for a life of ease. They blindly repaid the kindness shown to them with senseless hatred and enmity, similar to the way Judas had acted.
But the Stranger on earth had to endure everything patiently, for it was only a quite natural consequence of His existence, so long as mankind was still living in aberration.
At the same time, however, such experiences provided the necessary hardening, which slowly wrapped itself around His otherwise ever-present helpfulness like an armor, thus tearing a chasm between His readiness to help and mankind… through the wounds inflicted upon His soul, which effected a separation, and which can only be healed through the complete transformation of mankind.
From that hour on, these wounds inflicted on Him have formed the gulf which can be bridged only by that man who wholly follows the road of the Laws of God. This alone can serve as a bridge. Everyone else must be dashed to pieces in the abyss; for there is no other way over it. To remain standing before it leads to destruction.
AT THE EXACT HOUR, EVEN BEFORE THE END OF THIS ARDUOUS TIME OF LEARNING, IT CAME TO PASS THAT HE MET THE COMPANION WHO, AS A PART OF HIM, WAS TO JOURNEY WITH HIM THROUGH EARTHLY LIFE, TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GREAT TASK ACCORDING TO DIVINE ORDINANCE. HERSELF A STRANGER ON EARTH, SHE JOYFULLY ENTERED THE WILL OF GOD THROUGH HER OWN RECOGNITION, AND GRATEFULLY MERGED WITH IT, IN ORDER TO BECOME ABSORBED IN IT.
Only then came the time for the Called ones, who had once solemnly pledged their loyalty for their service to God! The granting of their petition had been carefully carried out. At the appropriate time they were incarnated on earth. Under faithful guidance they were equipped in the earthly sense with everything they needed for the fulfillment of their respective tasks.
It was brought to them, given to them, so conspicuously that they simply could not consider it as anything other than a gift, a loan for the hour of the fulfillment of their former promise. At the precise moment, they came into contact with the Envoy, first through His Word, and then also personally…
But many of them, although they sensed the Call, and intuitively perceived something unusual in their souls, had in the meantime in the course of their earth-life, permitted themselves to be so ensnared by purely earthly matters, and to some extent even by the Darkness, that they could not summon up the strength to conquer themselves for the true service, for the fulfillment of which they were permitted to come to the earth for this great time. A few did show a faint willingness to fulfill, yet their earthly faults prevented them. Unfortunately there were also those, who although they entered into the path of their mission, sought from the outset first of all to gain earthly advantage for themselves thereby.
Even among those of earnest volition there were some who expected Him Whom they were to serve, to smooth their way to the fulfillment, instead of the reverse.
Only a few isolated ones really showed themselves capable of growing into their task. In the hour of fulfillment these were given tenfold strength, so that the gaps were no longer noticeable, and in loyalty they became capable of accomplishing even more than the large number could ever have achieved.
It was with grief that the Stranger on earth saw the havoc among the group of the called ones. That was one of the most bitter experiences for Him! Much as He had learned, much as He suffered at the hands of men… before this last fact He stood uncomprehending; for He found no excuse whatsoever for this failure.
In His conception a Called one, who, in the granting of his petition, was specially guided and incarnated, could do no other than faithfully carry out his task in the most joyous fulfillment!
For what other purpose was he on earth! Why had he been faithfully protected up to the hour when the Envoy needed him!
Everything was given to him solely for the sake of his necessary service. So it was that the Stranger, upon meeting the first Called ones, put His full trust in them.
He only regarded them as friends, who simply could not think, intuitively perceive and act in any other way than in the most steadfast loyalty. Was it not the highest, the most precious privilege that could fall to the lot of a human being. The possibility never entered His mind that even Called ones could have become impure during their time of waiting.
It was inconceivable to Him that any human being, in view of such grace, could or would wantonly waste and trifle away the real purpose of his earth-life.With the faults clinging to them they only appeared to Him as being in dire need of help…
Thus he was struck all the harder by the dreadful recognition when He had to experience that even in such exceptional cases the human spirit is not reliable, and that it shows itself unworthy of the highest blessing, even with the most faithful spiritual guidance!
Deeply shaken, He suddenly saw before Him mankind in all their unspeakable wretchedness and depravity. They filled Him with disgust.
More oppressive desolation befell the earth. The instability of the false structure of all that mankind had hitherto produced became ever more apparent. Proof of their incapacity came to light ever more clearly. With increasing confusion everything slowly began to waver, with one exception: Man’s self-conceit in his own imagined abilities.
It was this self-conceit that sprouted more abundantly than ever, which was quite natural, because conceit always needs the soil of narrow-mindedness. Increasing narrow-mindedness must entail the rampant growth of conceit.
The craving for importance grew into feverish convulsions. The less man had to offer, the more his soul, which sensed only too well that it was sinking, cried out in anguish for liberation, and the more obtrusively he then, in his false need for balance, pursued outward, earthly frills. Human honors.
Even if in quiet moments men at last began to doubt themselves, this only made them the more eager to have at least a reputation for knowledge. At all costs!
Thus things went rapidly downhill. In the fear-producing recognition of the approaching collapse, each in his own way finally thought to numb himself, letting the outrageous state of affairs continue to take its course. He closed his eyes to the menacing responsibility.
“Wise” men, however, proclaimed the time of the coming of a strong helper out of the distress. But most of them wanted to see this helper in themselves or, if they were modest, at least to find him within their circle.
The “faithful” prayed to God for help out of the confusion. But it became evident that these small earthmen, even with their plea in expectation of a fulfillment, sought inwardly to impose conditions upon God by wishing that this helper should correspond to their views.
Such is the extent of earthly narrow-mindedness. Mankind can believe that an Envoy of God needs to adorn Himself with earthly honors! They expect Him to adapt Himself to their narrow-minded earthly opinions in order to be acknowledged by them, and thereby to win their faith and confidence. What incredible conceit, what arrogance, lies in this fact alone! In the hour of fulfillment the conceit will be completely shattered, along with all those whose minds indulged in such delusion!
Then the Lord Called to His Servant, Who was walking on the earth as a Stranger, that He should speak and give tidings to all those who were thirsting for it!
And behold, the knowledge of the “wise ones” was false, the prayers of the faithful were not genuine; for they did not open themselves to the Voice that came forth from the Truth, and which therefore could only be recognized where the spark of Truth within man had not been buried by earthly flaws, the domination of the intellect, and all things that tend to drive the human spirit from the right path and cause its downfall.
The voice found resonance only where prayer came from a truly humble and honest soul.
The Call went forth. Wherever it struck it brought disturbance and dissipation. But in places where it was earnestly awaited it brought peace and happiness.
The Darkness listened up, began to stir restlessly, and massed ever more densely, heavily and darkly around the earth. Here and there it snarled maliciously and spat hatefully into the ranks of those who wished to obey the Call.
Ever more closely it surrounded those Called ones who, through their failure, were forced to sink away into the Darkness, to which they had thereby voluntarily held out their hand. Their former solemn vow bound them fast to the Envoy spiritually, and drew them to Him at the hour of the approaching fulfillment, while their faults formed obstacles and repelled them from Him, for they made a connection with the Light impossible.
As a result, only a bridge for hate could be formed, a bridge for all the hatred of the Darkness for all that is Light.
And so they intensified the path of suffering of the Envoy from the Light until it became a Golgotha, joined only too gladly by the majority of mankind; especially those men who imagined that they themselves already knew and were following the path of the Light, as once did the Pharisees and Scribes.
All this created a situation in which mankind proved once more that they would again commit exactly the same crime today that they once committed against the Son of God. Only this time in more modern form, by symbolic crucifixion through attempted moral murder, which according to the Laws of God is no less punishable than physical murder.
It was fulfillment after the last opportunity of mercy had been frivolously neglected. Traitors, false witnesses and slanderers came from the ranks of those who had been called. Base minions of the Darkness ventured to approach in ever increasing numbers, feeling safe since the Stranger on earth kept silent in fulfillment when confronted with this filth, as He had been commanded to do, and as once the Son of God had done when He also was silent before the howling mob that wanted to have Him nailed to the cross as a criminal.
But when the disloyal renegades in their blind hate already thought themselves close to victory and the Darkness once more assumed that the Work of the Light had been destroyed, because it hoped that the Bearer of this Work had been rendered quite impotent on earth, then this time God revealed His Will with Omnipotence! And then… even the mockers sank trembling to their knees before His splendor, but… for them it was too late!

SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN

For thousands of years already a great error has persisted: The assumption that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God and at the same time the oft-mentioned Son of Man is wrong!

In order to bridge the gulf between God and humanity, which humanity itself had torn open by cultivating the space- and time- bound intellect, a part of the Divinity had incarnated *(Entered into earthly existence) in Jesus of Nazareth.
Thus Jesus was Son of God; as a part of Him He fulfilled His mission among humanity, which he could only accomplish in a physical body of flesh and blood. Even during the incarnation He remained the Son of God.
If he was the Son of God, however, he could not also be the Son of Man, for they are two and essentially different. And He was and still is the Son of God! Who then is the Son of Man? *(Lecture No. 60: The Son of Man)
The disciples did notice that Jesus spoke in the third person whenever He spoke of the Son of Man, and they questioned Him about this. The Gospels were written based upon the writers’ own assumption that Jesus, the Son of God, and the Son of Man were one and the same person. From the outset, all of their reports were based upon this error, and thereby, unknowingly and unintentionally, misconceptions were spread.
Whenever Jesus spoke of the Son of Man He spoke prophetically of His coming. He Himself announced it because the coming of the Son of Man is intimately related to the ministry of the Son of God. He said: “But when the Son of Man shall come…”
Like everywhere in Creation, this is a cyclical process. The Godhead descended to humanity through Jesus, in order to bring the Truth and sow the seed. The seed sprouted, and the fruit ripens toward the harvest. At the present time within this cycle, humanity, matured through the Truth brought by the Son of God, shall foam upwards to the Godhead in the Son of Man, and through Him reestablish the close connection to God.
This is not to be thought of purely symbolically, as so many assume, but the Word will be fulfilled literally through a person, just as it was with Jesus. Between the two Persons, Jesus the Son of God and the Son of Man, lies the immense karma of humanity.
Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Easter Festival where people of many nations were represented. The people sent out messengers to Gethsemane in order to fetch Jesus. It was the time when through their messengers, humanity, filled with hate and brutality, sought the emissary of God. Now observe the moment when He stepped from the garden and they were standing before Him with weapons and torches with thoughts of destruction.
When the Son of God spoke the words: “I am He!” and thereby delivered Himself up to mankind, the immense karma with which mankind burdened itself set in.
From that moment on it weighed upon humanity, and in accordance with the inexorable Laws of the Universe forced it lower and lower to the ground, until the final resolution draws near. We are now close to it!
It will close in an elliptical cycle. The resolution comes through the Son of Man!
When mankind will have become disheartened, desperate, demoralized and small, so very small through the severity of events, then the hour will have arrived when they will yearn for and seek the Envoy of God!
And when they find Him, they will, as before, send out messengers. They however will not bear thoughts of hatred and destruction.
But this time, through these messengers, humanity, broken down, humble and pleading but filled with trust approaches Him who has been chosen by the highest Ruler of all the worlds to free them from their bondage and to bring them help and deliverance from spiritual and earthly distress.
These messengers will also bring questions. And just as the Son of God once spoke: “I am He!” at Gethsemane, whereby the karma of humanity began, so this time God’s Envoy will again answer with the same words: “I am He!”
Whereby this terrible human karma will be resolved. The same words which once burdened a hate-filled humanity with great guilt will remove the guilt from a humanity which now approaches again with the same question, full of fear yet trusting and pleading.
This karmic cycle is of gigantic proportion, and yet it is led with such certainty and precision that the prophecies are fulfilled in it. From the hour on when this word is spoken to humanity for the second time by an Emissary of God, the ascent begins. Only then will the Kingdom of Peace commence according to the Will of the Most High, but not before!
On the one side you see the messengers of a hate-filled humanity approaching the Son of God, fettering and mistreating Him and seeming to triumph over Him. Then follows the self-induced and continual decline in the inevitable reciprocal action. At the same time, however, there is also the strengthening and maturing of the seed that was sown by Jesus.
Now the Son of Man, the Envoy of God heralded by Jesus himself, approaches. He will carry on and complete the mission of the Son of God in His service, and will gather the harvest while separating the wheat from the chaff in accordance with Divine Justice.
Jesus, the Son of God, came among humanity out of love in order to restore the connection which humanity had destroyed. The Son of Man is the Man who is in God, and who closes the connection in the cycle so that pure harmony can flow through all of Creation once again.

THE SON OF MAN

Ever since the crime committed against the Son of God, the Bringer of Truth, Jesus of Nazareth, the fact that men did not recognize the most significant prophecy for mankind made by the greatest of all prophets, has weighed upon mankind like a curse, and even today they stand before it unwittingly as if wearing a dense blindfold.

The terrible consequence of this will be that a great part of mankind will stumble towards destruction, past the only possibility of rescue from being cast away.
This is the prophecy of the Coming of the Son of Man, which the Son of God, under the constant attacks upon Him by the masses who, standing in the Darkness, naturally hated the Bringer of Truth, held out as a star of hope and also as a serious warning.
The same wave of erring feelings and thoughts, which prevented the recognition of the Son of God as such, also confused the ability to understand the importance of this prophecy even at the time it was made. The human spirit was too dark and far too conceited to still be able to receive such high Divine Messages undimmed.
Messages coming from a height above their own sphere of origin passed them by without leaving any impression. A real understanding of this Message would have required a belief based on conscious conviction, which not even His followers were capable of at the time. The soil upon which the words of the Redeemer fell still remained much too wildly overgrown.
Furthermore, the momentous, deeply moving emotional upheavals of life in the Savior’s environment were compressed into only a few years, whereby all their feelings were bound to be concentrated on the Person of Jesus, so that when He spoke of another Person in the distant future it was not regarded as such but was again interwoven with Him personally.
Thus the error has lived on in the views of men until the present day, because the unbelievers did not bother themselves about the Savior’s words, while the believers, just because of their belief, forcibly suppressed every serious criticism of the transmissions out of holy awe and concern that they must not offend these words of the Savior.
But in doing so they overlooked the fact that they were not His own real and original words, but merely transmissions, written down long after His life on earth. Thus the words were naturally subject to unconscious modifications through the human intellect and personal opinions. Surely there is a certain greatness in this reverential upholding of purely human transmissions, and therefore no reproach shall be made.
All this, however, does not prevent the hampering consequences of erroneous beliefs which have arisen through faulty transmissions, because the Laws of Reciprocal Action cannot be overthrown even in this case.
Even if the only effect of such errors is to raise bars which obstruct the human spirit in its further ascent, this still constitutes a fateful standstill and lack of progress as long as the liberating Word of Enlightenment cannot come to life within them.
He who believes in the Son of God and in His words and has made them come to life within himself, that is he carries them within him in their correct interpretation and acts accordingly, naturally need not wait for the promised Son of Man for the Son of Man has nothing to bring other than what the Son of God has already brought.
It is a condition, however, that such a person has really understood the words of the Son of God, and does not stubbornly cling to erroneous transmissions. If he has bound himself to errors somewhere he will not be able to complete his ascent until he has received the enlightenment which was reserved for the Son of Man to bring because the limited human spirit is unable to free itself from the dense undergrowth which now obscures the Truth.
Jesus spoke of the Coming of the Son of Man as the last possibility of salvation, and also pointed out that with His Coming the Judgment would commence and that those who are still not willing, in other words, who, because of their own stubbornness or indolence, are not ready to accept enlightenment, would be irretrievably cast out.
This leads to the conclusion that there will be no further opportunity for consideration and decision. It is also unmistakably an announcement of great tribulations to come which will bring to an end a period of patient forbearance.
This in turn attests to the impending struggle of the Light against all darkness, which must end with the forced destruction of all darkness.
It is not to be assumed that all these events will coincide with human expectations, wishes and conceptions, because all past happenings indicate to the contrary. Never as yet have human ideas agreed with the manifestations of the Divine Will.
Reality was always different than the ideas of men, and only long afterwards did the recognition of what had happened dawn on them. Nor is there any hope that it will be different this time, because human ideas and views have gained nothing in comparison with former times. On the contrary they have become even much more “realistic.”
The Son of Man! A veil is still shrouding Him and His time. While a vague sense of anticipation awakens in many a spirit, a longing for the Day of His Coming, many of those who feel this longing will probably pass Him by unawares and will not wish to know Him, because their expectations made them believe in a different kind of fulfillment.
It is only with great difficulty that man can get used to the idea that, in obedience to the Law of God, a Divine Being on earth cannot differ outwardly from human beings themselves. Man insists on picturing the Divine in supernatural form only, and yet he has unfortunately so fettered himself that he would not be capable of recognizing aright what is supernatural, much less would he be able to bear it. Nor is this even necessary at all!
The man who seeks the Will of his God in the Natural Laws of all Creation will soon recognize it therein, and finally realize that the Divine can come to him only on the paths of these adamantine laws, not otherwise.
As a result such a person will become vigilant and will carefully scrutinize everything he meets on these paths, but only with a view to the Divine Laws and not with regard to human opinions. Thus he will recognize at the right hour Him Who brings liberation in the Word. Through his personal examination of what is brought, and not through the clamor of the masses.
It will have occurred already to every thinking person that the Son of God and the Son of Man cannot be one! The difference is quite clearly expressed in the words themselves.
During His mission and incarnation on earth, the pure Divinity of the Son of God bore within It, precisely because of its pure Divine nature, the precondition and inevitable necessity of reuniting with Divinity. In the natural order of things there is simply no other possibility.
This is also confirmed by the Son of God Himself when He referred to His “Becoming One with the Father” and His “being reunited with the Father.”
For this reason the Son of God’s Mission as Mediator between the Godhead and Creation could only last a limited time.
The Son of God who, being purely Divine, absolutely must, through the power of attraction of the stronger homogeneity, be drawn back to His Divine origin where He is forced to remain, after discarding anything adhering to Him which is not Divine.
Therefore He could not remain the eternal Mediator between the Godhead and the Creation with mankind. Thus, through the reunion of the Son of God and the Father, a new chasm (gap) would have arisen, and the Mediator between pure Divinity and Creation would again have been missing.
The Son of God Himself proclaimed to mankind the Coming of the Son of Man, Who will then remain the eternal Mediator between the Divine and Creation. This expresses the sublime love of the Creator for His Creation.
The difference between the Son of Man and the Son of God is that, though born out of the purely Divine, the Son of Man was at the same time connected with the Sphere of Conscious Spiritual Substantiality, so that it is as if He stands simultaneously with one foot in the Divine and with the other in the highest part of Conscious Spiritual Substantiality. He is a part of each, and thus forms the eternal bridge between the Divine and the summit of Creation.
This connection, however, involves the imperative of remaining separated from the pure Divine, yet in spite of this, permits, even requires admittance to Divinity.
The spiritual adjunct to the Divine merely prevents a reunion which would otherwise be unavoidable. Mankind will hardly ever grasp the fact that this is another sacrifice of love on the part of the Creator, and the fulfillment of a promise of such magnitude as only God Himself is capable of giving and fulfilling. That is the difference between the Son of God and the Son of Man.
This also provides the justification for the designation of Son of Man; for in Him a twin-birth occurred, one part as Son from the Divine, and the other part as Son from the Conscious Spiritual, in whose unconscious outermost edges the germ of the human spirit has its origin.
The Mission of the Son of Man is the continuation and consummation of the Mission of the Son of God, since the Mission of the Son of God could only be a transient one. Hence in the continuation and completion it is at the same time a reinforcement of Christ’s mission.
Whereas the Son of God was born directly into His earthly Mission, the Son of Man had to traverse a far wider sphere before He could enter into the beginning of His actual Mission.
As a condition for the fulfillment of His task, which in comparison to that of the Son of God was more earthly, the Son of Man, coming as He did from the highest Heights, also had to descend into the deepest depths. Not only in the beyond but also here on earth, so that He might personally “experience” all the misery and suffering of mankind. Only then will He be in the position, when His Hour comes, to interveneeffectively in their shortcomings and help to bring about change.
For this reason He could not stand aside from the experiences of mankind, but through experiencing the bitter aspects Himself, He had to stand in the midst of them and suffer from them. Again, it was only for the sake of men that His learning period had to be like this.
But people will try to blame Him for just this in order to make His task more difficult, just as they did with Jesus in His time, since such high guidance remains incomprehensible to the human spirit in its narrowness which allows it to judge by external appearances only.
Just what He had to suffer for the sake of men in order to recognize the weakest points in their errors, that is, what He suffered or came to know through His own experiences in the interests of the future welfare of mankind, they will wish to use as stones to throw at Him when their rising hatred is inflamed by the Darkness as it trembles in fear of annihilation.
It is not difficult to explain that something so incredible can happen again in spite of the events during the Son of God’s time on earth, because in reality more than half of the present inhabitants of the earth do not belong here at all but should be maturing in much lower and darker regions!
The reason for this lies only in a persistent psychic regression, caused by the dominance of the slaves of their own tool, i.e., the limited intellect.
As an exclusive ruler the limited intellect will, because it is merely earthly, always promote everything material and thereby will also cultivate all the accompanying evil side effects.
The resulting decline of higher comprehension created a breach, and stretched out a hand downwards, whereby, souls which could otherwise have never come to the surface of the earth owing to their spiritual gravity caused by the density of the darkness, were able to hoist themselves up for incarnations.
Most of all, though, it is a matter of the purely animalistic sensations accompanying procreation, as well as the general striving for earthy pleasures, which in this time of moral deprivation which has lasted for centuries already, has enabled inferior souls to rise.
These souls then constantly circle round expectant mothers, and, given an opportunity, they incarnate, because up until now all that is light has voluntarily retreated from what is dark in order to avoid becoming soiled.
So it gradually became possible for the ethereal environment of the earth to grow ever denser and darker and thus heavier, so heavy in fact that it even keeps the gross material earth itself from a course that would make it more accessible to higher spiritual influences.
As the majority of all incarnated souls actually belong to regions that lie much lower than the earth itself, it will therefore be but Divine Justice if such souls are swept away and sink back to where they properly belong; to the region where, due to their absolute homogeneity, they have no further opportunity to burden themselves with new guilt; consequently they are better able to mature toward an ascending change through the suffering in their spheres.
It is not up to human will to someday elect the Son of Man sent by God, but the Power of God will uplift Him at the hour when a helpless, whimpering mankind begs for deliverance.
Then all blasphemy will cease, because horror will silence these mouths, and they will accept willingly all the gifts the Creator offers His creatures through Him. But he who will not accept them from Him shall be cast out for all eternity.

THE ANTICHRIST

Men! When the hour comes in which the purification and winnowing must take place on earth, in accordance with the Divine Will, then watch for the promised, in part supernatural signs in the sky!

Do not then allow yourselves to be confused by those men and also churches who have already long ago surrendered to the Antichrist. It is sad that until now not even the churches have known where to look for this Antichrist, although it has already been active among all of mankind for so long. With only a little alertness they should have recognized it! Who can possibly act in a more anti-Christian manner than those who at the time fought against Christ Himself and finally even murdered Him! Who could have revealed themselves in a worse and more obvious way as being the Antichrist!
They were the leaders and representatives of earthly religion; the true teaching of God, as revealed in and through the Son of God, did not fit into their own structure. Indeed, the true Message of God could not be reconciled with it, since the structure set up by the earthly priests and dignitaries was aimed primarily at earthly influence, earthly power and expansion.
They proved quite clearly thereby that they were servants of the human intellect, which is directed solely towards earthly knowledge and earthly power, and is hostile and obstructive to anything that is beyond earthly comprehension!
Reference:Romans 16:18 King James Version (KJV) “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple”.
Now since God as well as the spiritual remain completely outside the range of earthly intellectual knowledge, it is actually the intellect which is clearly the only real obstacle! Thus, by its nature, it is opposed to all that is Divine and all that is spiritual!
And therefore, as a logical consequence, so are all those men who accept their intellect as being the highest and best thing, seeking to build upon it alone!
The religious leaders of those days were afraid of losing influence among the people through the enlightenment of the Son of God. As everyone today knows, this was the main reason for the slander they sought to spread against Christ and ultimately for the execution of the Son of God.
They nailed Him to the cross as a blasphemer of the very God Who had sent Him to bring enlightenment, and Whose servants they professed to be!
How little did they really know this God and the Will of Him Whom they pretended to serve, in whose honor and earthly defense they, however… murdered this Son of God, the Divine messenger!
This was clearly the disastrous result of the fact that they were slaves of the earthly intellect, which only fought to maintain its influence. They gave themselves over to the Antichrist as tools and executioners, having secretly built a throne to him within themselves. For this satisfied their human weaknesses, such as their presumption, arrogance and vanity.Whoever expects clearer proof cannot be helped; for there is nothing more in opposition to Christ, the Son of God, and His Words!
And indeed Antichrist signifies the fighter against Christ, against man’s redemption in God’s Message.
The earthly intellect drove them to it! This very intellect, the poisonous product of Lucifer, is his instrument which has become the greatest danger to mankind!
Thus the disproportionate over-development of the human intellect grew into the hereditary sin for man! Behind this, however, stands Lucifer himself as the Antichrist in person! He is the one who was able to raise his head through men! He, the only real enemy of God! He acquired the name of Antichrist through his hostile struggle against the Mission of the Son of God. None other would have had the strength and the power to become the Antichrist.
And in his warfare against the Will of God, Lucifer makes use not merely of one man on earth but of nearly all of mankind, thus leading them to destruction under the effect of the Divine Wrath!Whoever cannot grasp this most obvious fact, the fact that only Lucifer himself could be the Antichrist who dares to oppose God, will never be able to understand anything of all that takes place outside the World of Gross Matter, that is, outside of what is purely earthly. Such a one must already today give himself up as lost.
And as it was then, so is it still today! Indeed it is far worse. Also today many religious representatives will wish to fight bitterly to maintain the earthly intellectual ordinances hitherto upheld in the temples and churches.
It is precisely this human intellect, blunting all nobler intuition, which is one of Lucifer’s most dangerous cultivated outgrowths which he was able to spread among mankind. All slaves to the intellect, however, are in truth Lucifer’s servants, who are accomplices in the terrible collapse which must thus befall mankind!
Since no one looked for the Antichrist in the intellect, it’s terribly extensive propagation was made so much easier! Lucifer triumphed; for he thereby cut mankind off from any way of comprehending anything lying outside the World of Gross Matter. From real life! From the point of first contact with the Spiritual, which leads to the proximity of God!
With this he set his foot upon this earth as lord of the earth and of the greater part of mankind!
No wonder, then, that he could penetrate all the way to the altars, and that earthly religious representatives, even those of the Christian churches, were bound to become his victims. For they too expect the Antichrist just before the predicted Judgment. In this respect the great Revelation in the Bible, like many other things, has not yet been understood.
The Book of Revelation says that this Antichrist will raise his head before the Judgment! But not that he is yet to come! If it is said therein that he raises his head, this clearly indicates that he must be here already, but not that he is yet to come. It means that he will be at the pinnacle of his dominion shortly before the Judgment!
Listen to this warning call, you who have not yet become spiritually deaf and blind! Make the effort of thinking very seriously about it yourselves; for this is what is demanded of you now! If you remain indolent in this respect you give yourselves up as lost!
If one lifts the protective cover from the lair of a poisonous snake which then suddenly realizes that it has been exposed, it will naturally try to lunge at the ruthless hand in order to bite it.
It is no different here. Finding himself exposed, the Antichrist will quickly protest through his servants; on being unmasked he will make a great outcry, and try in every possible way to maintain himself on the throne which mankind so willingly offered him.
But all this he can only do through those who worship him within themselves. Therefore, keep a sharp watch on your surroundings from now on, as the conflict begins! By their very outcry you will recognize all the more clearly each and every one who belongs to him! For once again, as they did before, they will walk in fear of and in opposition to a pure Truth!
The Antichrist will again try desperately to retain his influence on earth. Observe his lack of objectivity in defense and in offense; for again he will use only slander and suspicion, since his followers are incapable of doing anything else. It is impossible to confront the Truth and refute It.
Thus the servants of Lucifer will this time call the Messenger of God the Antichrist, a blasphemer, just as they once did the Son of God! However, everyone must recognize this as a weak defense, lacking in any logic. How can He be called the Antichrist, who exposes Lucifer and forces his machinations to the surface.
This is but a new form of what was done when they made the Son of God out to be a blasphemer, for the sole reason that His explanations did not accord with human opinions.
Be on the alert wherever such an attempt is made; for such men only seek therewith to protect Lucifer in order to uphold his reign on earth. In that place there is a center of Darkness, even if the people tend to appear in bright earthly garments, even if they are servants of a church.
Do not forget what happened when the Son of God was on earth, but bear in mind that still today the same Antichrist, with a far greater human following, is striving to retain dominion over the earth, to escape destruction and to continue to obscure the true Will of God.
Therefore watch carefully for all the promised signs! Each individual must make his final decision. Salvation or destruction! For this time it is God’s Will that everything which again dares to oppose Him shall be lost!
Being negligent in this will now be your Judgment! – THE DIVINE INSIGNIA WILL NOT APPEAR ABOVE SOME CHURCH, NOR WILL ANY EARTHLY CHURCH DIGNITARY BEAR THE SIGN THAT PROVES THAT HE IS THE MESSENGER OF GOD!
BUT ONLY HE WHO IS INSEPARABLY LINKED WITH THE SIGNS, WHO THEREFORE ALSO CARRIES THEM WITH HIM, LIVING AND RADIATING, AS ONCE DID THE SON OF GOD WHEN HE DWELT ON THIS EARTH. THEY ARE THE CROSS OF TRUTH, LIVING AND RADIATING WITHIN HIM, AND THE DOVE ABOVE HIM! THEY WILL BECOME VISIBLE TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE BLESSED TO SEE SPIRITUAL THINGS, SO THAT THEY MAY GIVE TESTIMONY TO ALL PEOPLE ON EARTH; FOR THERE WILL BE AMONG ALL PEOPLES THOSE WHO THIS TIME WILL BE PERMITTED TO “SEE”, AS THE LAST GRACE OF GOD!
These Sublime Signs of the Holy Truth can never be simulated. Not even Lucifer, who must retreat before these signs, can achieve this, and much less can a human being.
Therefore he who still seeks to set himself against these Divine insignia henceforth opposes God, he is an enemy of God. He proves thereby that he neither is nor ever was a servant of God, no matter what he has hitherto pretended to be on earth.
Being a slave of the intellect he is a servant of Lucifer, the Antichrist, and together they will now, through God’s Will, incur the Judgment!
Be on your guard, lest you should also be among such!

SECTION 2

APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA THE SON OF MAN @ 70

Extracted by APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA THE SON OF MAN

THE SON OF MAN GATHERS TO HIMSELF ALL THE DISPERSED

He shall chose the righteous and holy from among them: For the day has drawn nigh that they should be saved. And the Elect One shall in those days sit on My throne . . .

This passage does not directly indicate who shall raise the dead. Within normative Judaism it is taken for granted that the resurrection is God’s own work. God is ‘He who quickens the dead’ …The Messiah of the earlier period has nothing to do with the resurrection. …
…It is He who is the intermediary at the resurrection, or who calls forth the dead. ‘And it shall come to pass after these things, when the time of the advent of the Messiah is fulfilled, …
… The same thought occurs (but with a more collective emphasis) in connexion with the reference to the fate of the different nations at the judgement, when it is said that He will call forth all the nations for judgement, and will spare some but slay others. …
‘At the first he shall set for judgement; and when He hath rebuked them he shall save those who are saveable.
What made some unsavable? Romans 1:18-28 The Message Bible 18-23 But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.
24-25 So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!
26-27 Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn’t know how to be human either—women didn’t know how to be women, men didn’t know how to be men. Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men—all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it—emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches.
28-32 Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing.
This suggests that Enoch is echoing a tradition which originally said that the Son of Mansummons forth the dead.
So, too, when we read, “And these measures shall reveal all the secrets of the depths of the earth, And those who have been destroyed by the desert, And those who have been devoured by the beasts, And those who have been devoured by the fish of the sea, That they may return and stay themselves on the day of the Elect One.”
For the godly (the elect, the holy, the righteous) the coming and judgement of the Son of Man mean salvation and deliverance. They were eagerly and patiently waiting for him.
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 . . . 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 … For in His Name they are saved,…
… But deliverance also means that the godly, the Elect, and the righteous, share in the blessedness which God has appointed for them. …
Then will I cause Mine Elect One to dwell among them(the Elect) . . . 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.
. The righteous will rise up to eternal life, and light, and blessedness. They will share in the divine wisdom, righteousness, and compassion. This is God’s work; … may also be regarded the work of the Son of Man,…
be regarded the work of the Son of Man, not only because it accompanies his appearing and judgement, but because it is said that at the resurrection He will choose the righteous as his own and that they will stand before him.
The deliverance of the righteous can, however, be regarded from a more nationalistic standpoint, or from one that is more individualistic and universalistic. Within the framework of a more nationalistic eschatology, it means that the Son of Man, like the Messiah of the earlier period, delivers Israel, and saves God’s people who survive, who have been saved throughout His borders,
This salvation also means that the Son of Mangathers to himself all the dispersed, including the lost ten tribes, and leads them back to Israel’s land.
The aim of salvation may be regarded as the restoration and glorification of Israel, when the Son of Manappears and ends the world power and its ungodly kings.
…on that day the Israelites who have been carried away will come from the ends of the earth, and fall down and worship the Lordof Spirits.
The fundamental idea in apocalyptic is a different one. There the good and the wicked are not necessarily identical with Israel and the heathen.There are many sinners in Israel, too, who come mournfully before the Son of Man and are condemned. … the majority must be lost.
In the first place, His Kingdom is a … dominion. He comes and takes His seat … God’s throne of glory
the earth … praise and exalt Him.
All … must bow down before Him, that He may be mighty and strong.‘All who dwell on the earth and sea and islands shall bring … gifts and presents and tokens of homage
REFERENCES: [1]Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 252. If Allah permits you to see this RUN TO SWEAR ALLEGIANCE TO HIM [FOLLOW HIM] AND NEVER ABANDON HIM. IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL, NEVER ABANDON HIM IF YOU REACH HIM AND FIND THE TRUE PATH. Ah – and he pointed to his chest – how I long to see him.
LET NOTHING HOLD YOU BACK FROM SWEARING ALLEGIANCE TO HIM [FROM BEING HIS FOLLOWER, FROM FOLLOWING HIM] those who hold you back are those who have always sought refuge in corruption. If they speak, they speak evil, and if they are silent, they are impious and perverse.
[2] Surah 14:12, Yusuf Ali Translation.¹²“No reason have we why we should not put our trust on Allah. Indeed He Has guided us to the Ways we (follow). We shall certainly bear with patience all the hurt you may cause us. For those who put their trust should put their trust on Allah.”
References: [1]Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 51, p. 65; Al-Hurr al-Amili, Ithbat al-Hudat, Vol. 6, p. 382. It is related that our Prophet (saas) said: The Hour will not come until the Qaim [Hazrat Mahdi (as)], my descendant, appears. This will be at a time permitted by Allah. Those who follow him will be saved, while those who hang back will be perished.
O servants of Allah! Fear Allah:WHEN HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) APPEARS, ABANDON EVERYTHING AND RUN TO HIM BY ALL POSSIBLE MEANS because he ıs the calıph of Allah and my heir.
[2]Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, 29^th Letter 7^th Section Sixth Sign. A ZEALOUS, SELF-SACRIFICING COMMUNITY KNOWN AS A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY BUT WORTHY OF BEING CALLED “MUSLIM CHRISTIANS,” WILL WORK TO UNITE THE TRUE RELIGION OF JESUS (Upon whom be peace) WITH THE REALITY OF ISLAM and will kill and rout that society of the Dajjal under the leadership of Jesus (UWP), thus saving humanity from atheism. This important mystery is very lengthy. Since we have discussed it briefly in other places, here we make do with this indication…

THE SON OF MAN HAS TAKEN HIS SEAT FOR JUDGEMENT ON HIS THRONE OF GLORY

In the first place, his kingdom is a world dominion. He comes and takes his seat on His (… God’s) Throne of glory.

He requires all the kings of the earth to praise and exalt Him. All might must bow down before Him, that He may be mighty and strong on the earth.
‘All who dwell on the earth and sea and islands shall bring to Him gifts and presents and tokens of homage.’
As early as Daniel (which means the tradition before him) we hear that … the Son of Man, … the clouds of heaven,…
Given ‘dominion and glory … kingdom, that all peoples, nations … tongues … serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass AWAY …AND His kingdom a kingdom that shall not be destroyed’.
It is a world which has been created …, an earth where stands…
In the last times … will be revealed. … eschatological community of holy and righteous Elect ones, which from one point of view is the remnant,…
REFERENCE: Luke 19:26-27, TLB. “’Yes’ the King replied, ‘but it is always true that those who have, get more, and those who have little, soon lose even that.’²⁷And now about these enemies of mine who revolted – bring them in and execute them before Me.”
Luke 19:26-27, AMP. ²⁶And [said Jesus,] I tell you that to everyone who gets and has will more be given, but from the man who does not get and does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷[The indignant king ended by saying] But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them–bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!
Reference:Daniel 7:13-14, KJV. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
… In the last times it will be revealed. The eschatological community of holy and righteous Elect ones, which from one point of view is the remnant…
The dwelling place of the Elect ones is in Heaven… Some light may be shed on this dual character of
But the dwelling of … Elect One is in heaven,… Some light may be shed on this dual character of the kingdom of the Son of Man by another seemingly obscure passage: ‘And after this the Righteous and Elect One shall cause the house of his congregation to appear; henceforth they shall no more be hindered in the name of the Lord of Spirits’ (i En. liii, 6). The reference is clearly to the heavenly community, which is with the Son of Man even now, before his parousia. In the last times … The eschatological community of holy and righteous elect ones, which … the remnant, those who have passed through the final afflictions, … have been saved from evil at the coming of the Son of Man, … from another point of view, identical with, and the ‘earthly’ realization and manifestation of, the heavenly community … the Son of Man.
… the society of the holy, the new, distinctive, eschatological, people of God, consisting of both the Elect in heaven and the Elect on earth.
Behind all this lies the conception of Paradise, which, would remain hidden with God until the end.
And on the day of their affliction there shall be rest on the earth. And from henceforth there shall be nothing corruptible. For the Son of Man, who rules over them, is Himself full of wisdom and righteousness, of the spirit of might, and understanding.
Salvation is then realized, and blessedness attained. … Because the essence of the blessedness of the Elect is the personal fellowship … with the Son of MAN in his kingdom before God’s face.
And the Lordof Spirits will abide over them, and with that Son of Man shall they eat. And lie down and rise up for ever and ever. Like Him, they will be arrayed in the heavenly glory.
Arrayed in the heavenly festal attire,…Arrayed in … heavenly festal attire, to share in an everlasting, joyous banquet with the Son of Man: this is the simple picture by means of which the apocalyptist tries to express the inexpressible.
But the ungodly, the mighty ones and the tyrants … May not set foot on this transformed earth.
In their affliction they cry for mercy, but are denied it.’And we pass away from before His face on account of our works, And all our sins are reckoned up in righteousness …
… souls are full of unrighteous gain, but it does not prevent … them from descending from the midst thereof into the burden of Sheol.’
And after that their faces shall be filled with darkness and shame before that Son of Man, And they shall be driven from His presence, …
But the last aim which the Lordof Spirits appointed for the work of the Son of Man, when He called him by Name, before the creation of the sun and the zodiac, and chose Him, and hid Him beside Himself…
But the last aim which the Lordof Spirits appointed for the work of the Son of Man, when He called him by Name, before the creation of the sun and the zodiac, and chose Him, is that all who dwell on earth should fall down and worship and praise and extol and celebrate with song the Name of the Lord of Spirits.
When the Son of Manhas taken His seat for judgement on His throne of glory, He will summon the whole host of heaven,…
All the holy ones in the height, God’s host, cherubim, seraphim, and ophannim, all the angels of power, all the angels of dominion, the Elect ones, and all the other powers, those on earth, and those over the water (i.e., the water above the vault of heaven)…
…And on that day they will unite with one voice to praise and glorify, to extol and celebrate with song in the spirit of faith, wisdom, patience, mercy, peace, and goodness, and all will say with one voice ‘Blessed is He, and may the Name of the Lordof Spirits be blessed for ever and ever’.
That God alone should have the glory for ever is the sum of the mission of the Son of Man.

THE SON OF MAN IS THE MORTAL IMMORTALITY

It ought to be obvious that the heavenly, pre-existent being, ‘the Man’, of divine, angelic character, preserved and hidden with God until the time of His epiphany, surrounded by a heavenly community of Elect righteous ones, the souls of the great departed, did not originally have any connexion with;

It was not until the later period of Judaism that this change of fate within history came to be regarded as a change from one age to another. The Messiah and the Son of Man common origin …ideology.
The following may be taken as the most important features in the figure of Anthropos. …
[1] He is a divine, heavenly, pre-existent being, who came into existence before all creation, the ‘son‘ of the supreme God,…
[1] He is a divine, heavenly, pre-existent being, who came into existence before all creation, the ‘Son’ of the Supreme God, or identified with one of the high gods. He has divine qualities and characteristics, and is endued with the divine radiance or glory.
[2] He is called Man, the One like a man, Anthropos, the Primordial Man, Adam, Adamus, Adamanus, Anosh, Enosh, Mortal Immortality, etc.
[3] He is in the closest relationship to Creation. The cosmos and mankind came into existence through … His sacrifice, His voluntary descent, …
[3] He is in the closest relationship to Creation. The cosmos and mankind came into existence through His sacrifice, His voluntary descent, or His moral fall into the world of matter.
He is, in fact, originally a cosmogonic idea, the mystical, speculative expression of the cosmos itself, the macrocosm regarded as a microcosm in human form.
[4] He is often thought of as King of Paradise, as ruler in the world beyond, the other land, which can be thought of as the place where departed or unborn souls are.
[4] He is often thought of as King of Paradise, as ruler in the world beyond, the other land, which can be thought of as the place where departed or unborn souls are.
[5] He is the Soul, the Primordial Soul, which includes all the individual souls, the anima generalis, to which, or into which, the souls of the dead return.
[6] As Primordial Man He is also the typical man, the prototype and pattern, the ideal man, and is, therefore, sometimes called ‘the right or righteous man’. …
He is thought of as the first, perfect, godly
REFERENCES: [1] Matthew 8;28-29, KJV. ²⁸And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. ²⁹And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
[2] Mark 3:11-12, KJV.And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And He straitly charged them that they should not make Him known.
[3]Luke 4:41, KJV. And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And He rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that He was Christ.
REFERENCE:BE CONSCIOUS OF THE HOUR YOU ARE LIVING IN; Preached on Sunday, 3^rd December, 2017; Pg. 102 vs. 13 – 17. ¹³Any day THE SON OF MAN begins to approve for you things that run contrary to His teaching, that will make you to compete with the world, THE SON OF MAN has already rejected you. He has started giving you your heart’s desire.
¹⁴Any day I begin to give you authority to absent yourself from the Fellowship of the Saints or to do something that is against the doctrines of Christ that we have received, which God has confirmed to be true, and you begin to rejoice, “Daddy has approved it. I told Him. He approved it”, He has already discarded you.
¹⁵When God discards a man or a woman, He begins to dance to the tunes of the person’s desire.That is why, if you are in the hand of God and you come before a man of God, you bind Him with an oath to tell you the truth and nothing but the truth. But where He discerns that you are making a mockery of His Words, He will be dancing to your tune.

HE BELONGS TO THE HIDDEN WORLD BEYOND; ONLY REVEALED TO HIS ELECT

[6] As Primordial Man He is also the typical man, the prototype and pattern, the ideal man, and is, therefore, sometimes called ‘the right or righteous man’. He is thought of as the first, perfect, godly

…He is thought of as the first, perfect, godly.
He is thought of as the first, perfect,as homo religiosus,…
He is thought of as the first, perfect, godly as homo religiosus, the first adherent and preacher of the true religion. the first adherent and preacher of the true religion.
[7] In particular, He is the typical sage,… …the wise man of primordial time, possessing all secrets, the Source and Mediator of all understanding. Among the Mandeans He is known as ‘the Understanding of Life’.
[8] His destiny is a type of the destiny of mankind and of the individual man or soul.
His imprisonment in the material, and his redemption from it are the symbol and the realization of the imprisonment and redemption of the individual man.
To put it in the naïve language of myth: there come to Him in His Kingdom of light the other ‘perfect’ and ‘Elect’ ones, who, through His liberation and His work of redemption, have been helped to gain their freedom from matter and evil.
[9] Sometimes … the Most High God… created Him for conflict with evil, darkness, and the devil, and to liberate the light from captivity … darkness.
He belongs to the hidden world beyond; and therefore He is Himself hidden, as it is said of the Mandean Adakas (the hidden Adam). But one day he appears, revealing himself in his bright glory, as the Mandean ‘Envoy’.
… But one day he appears, revealing himself in his bright glory, as the Mandean ‘Envoy’.
[10] Thereby He becomes a Redeemer and Saviour, partly because His own redemption is an act of creative symbolism, anticipating and having as its consequence the redemption of the other souls, and partly because He is regarded as the Saviour who acts and intervenes.
The understanding which He conveys is the means of redemptionfrom matter and evil.

THE TYPICAL AND THE IDEAL MAN THE REDEEMER

[10]… He is regarded as the saviour who acts and intervenes. The understanding which He conveys is the means of redemption from matter and evil.

[11] Both as the Typical and Ideal Man and as Redeemer, He is incarnated in the godly ones or ‘helpers’ of later times. It is his soul or spirit which is also in the other helpers and righteous ones, those of whom it is most natural to think when reference is made to those who ascend to his world of light.
He gathers to Himself a people in the other world, the redeemed righteous ones, or, in the Mandean phrase, the righteous ones who have been translated.
[12] As a cosmogonic potency, He is more frequently connected with the thought of recurring ages. He reappears at the beginning of the era of the new world.
As redeemer He is, in particular, the helper of the godly in the catastrophe brought about by the destruction of the old world and the genesis of the new, or by the transition to the pure spiritual existence in the Paradise of light.
… In a religion with a clear eschatology, He must become not only a figure from primordial time, but an eschatological figure, indeed, the eschatological figure. …
His position, come into question …
[13] As a heavenly being, the Primordial Man reveals Himself in the Clouds.
[13] As a heavenly being, the Primordial Man reveals Himself in the Clouds.
[14] In several contexts He is connected with the resurrection. Of both Gayomart and Adam it is explicitly stated that they will be the first to rise again.
For the purposes of comparison, we add a brief summary of the most important features in the figure of the Son of Man.
[1] He is divine by nature,arrayed in the glory of the deity, in appearance like the angels.
[2] He is a heavenly Being, who dwells on high with the Lord of Spirits, where the Elect righteous ones have their dwellings.
[3] He is not merely an apotheosized man, who has been taken up to heaven, like Enoch or Elijah,……or who has become one with the deity in mystical cultic experiences, like the king-god of the ancient east. He has always belonged to the heavenly plane. He was pre-existent.
[4] In spite of this, He is called ‘the Man’ (the Son of Man), the typical Man, the Prototype of mankind. Thus, He is a divine being in human form, a ‘Man’ with a divine nature.
[5] It seems that He is……connected with Creation. It is strongly emphasized that He came into existence before the creation of the world, and in order to fulfil God’s purpose for creation; and he will, in the end, be lord over creation.
[6] He is in some way connected with the conception of Paradise, and was at one time thought of as King of Paradise.
[7] The name ‘the Man’ seems to have implied that he was the ideal pattern of mankind. He is called ‘the Righteous One ‘ and ‘the Elect One’…
[7] The name ‘the Man’ seems to have implied that he was the ideal pattern of mankind. He is called ‘the Righteous One ‘ and ‘the Elect One’, which seems to show that He was, or at one time had been, regarded as the prototype of the righteous, Elect.
[8] As such, He is evennow the Head of a Heavenly Community…
[8] As such, He is even now the Head of a Heavenly Community of the departed of earlier times, the translated Patriarchs and godly men, the Righteous Elect, who surround Him in heaven, and have their dwellings with theLord of Spirits.
[9] It seems, too, that at one stage, at least, of the history of the idea, there was a mystic connexion between the Son of Man and the spirits of the righteous departed, so that they were thought of as identical with Him in some way.
[10] His most characteristic qualities are wisdom and understanding.
… Only occasional traces of it appear; and their existence can be shown only by the methods of the scientific, comparative study of religion.Of course, the Jewish belief in creation also exerted an influence.
God alone is the almighty creator (from the time of Deutero-Isaiah this was a basic element in Jewish belief³); and He created the world by His will and by His almighty word, without any intermediary.
Another consequence is that the principle of monotheism is maintained.In late Judaism the Son of Man is not a ‘second God’, as so often in Gnosticism. Although pre-existent, he was created by God according to His will and for His glory, like all angels, powers and holy ones. The object of the genesis of the Son of Man before all time is that all who dwell on earth may fall down and worship, praise, laud, and extol the name of the Lord of Spirits;⁴ and he attains that object by his eschatological work.
But another consequence is that what was originally the essential characteristic has been removed. In late Judaism the Son of Man is not regarded as the Primordial Man.⁵It is only by the methods of the scientific, comparative study of religion that we can discern that he was formerly so regarded outside Judaism, and that we can show the feeble traces of this thought, which survive in certain individual sayings and phrases applied to him, the original meaning of which was no longer known in Judaism.⁶
It also follows that his peculiar role as redeemer, which he had acquired in Chaldean, Hellenistic, Gnostic systems, was not taken over in Judaism,¹In these systems we meet many varying forms of the thought that this material and sinful world came into existence because the heavenly Man descended into matter and was fettered to it. Redemption takes place, in part because the redeemer himself is first redeemed, and in part because he wins his own freedom from matter, and then draws the souls of light with himself back to the eternal source of light. In Judaism all this has vanished from the figure of the Son of Man, We hear nothing about the fall of the Son of Man, or his conflict with darkness at the beginning, or about his death and resurrection, and the like. The redemption of the righteous does not consist in any mystic, cultic participation in the redemption, of the redeemer; it is a result of his eschatological appearance for judgement and for the destruction of all the evil powers.
The apocalyptists have, in fact, nothing to tell about the life and work of the Son of Man in his pre-existence. All the emphasis inlaid on his eschatological role. Before he assumes that role, he is hidden and preserved beside the Lord of Spirits. It is only then that he is revealed, coming in his glory with all his companions, and heralding the resurrection. In this way he brings to fulfilment the purpose for which he was created, chosen, and preserved by God.
Judaism, then, was unaware that the Son of Man was really the Primordial Man. What it had to say about the Primordial Man was connected with the biblical figure of Adam as he is presented in the rabbinic legend of Adam.2 Instead, by identifying the Son of Man with the Messiah, Judaism made him the representative of the living, personal God, who created the world and who reveals Himself and is at work in the actual course of history.There emerged a Messianic figure both eternal and transcendental, and also historical and human, in an eschatology both historical and also supra-historical and absolute. It is, therefore, not without justification that Sjoberg claims that the difference between the Primordial Man and the Son of Man is greater than the similarity.³
In the Messiah-Son-of-Man, the continuation of revelation history into later Judaism provided a form for the longing and hope cherished by God’s people. This was the hope of a saviour who could be more than a this-worldly, national, political Messiah, and who could also bring the fulfilment of the demand for the victory of justice over injustice, and the victory of the power of God over the world power, which was the ethical and religious core in the national hope of restoration and of a Messiah. It was also the hope of a saviour, who could bring victory over the power of sin and the devil, both in men and outside them, a mediator who could bring the transcendent and holy God near to sinful, suffering men, and bring the kingdom of God down to earth and into the souls of men.
Jesus was God’s answer to this divinely directed longing and expectation.

SECTION 3

Some Excerpts From

MESSAGE TO THE BLACK MAN BY ELIJAH MOHAMMAD (1897 – 1975) EXTRACTED BY APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA, THE SON OF MAN ALLAH IS GOD WHO IS THAT MYSTERY GOD?

PART 1

For thousands of years, the people who did not have the Knowledge of the person, or reality of God worshiped their own Ideas of God. He has been made like many things other than what He really is.

The Christians refer to God as a “Mystery” and a “Spirit” and divide Him into thirds. One part they call the Father, another part the Son, and the third part they call the Holy Ghost; which makes the three, one. This is contrary to both nature and mathematics.
The law of mathematics will not allow us to put three into one. Our nature rebels against such a belief of God being a mystery and yet the Father of a son and a Holy Ghost without a wife or without being something In reality. We wonder how can the son be human, and the father a mystery (unknown), or a spirit? Who is this Holy Ghost that is classified as being the equal of the father and the son?
²The Christians do not believe in God as being a human being, yet they believe in Him as being the Father of all human beings. They also refer to God as He, Him, Man, King and The Ruler. They teach that God sees, hears, talks, walks, stands, sits, rides, and flies; that He grieves or sorrows; and that He is interested in the affairs of human beings.
They also teach that once upon a time He made the first man like Himself in the image and likeness of Himself, but yet they believe that He, Himself, is not a man or human. They preach and prophesy of His coming and that He will be seen on the Judgment Day but is not man. They cannot tell us what He looks like, yet man is made like Him and in the image of God, and yet they still say that He is a mystery (unknown).
³How can one teach the people to know God if He, himself, does not know God. If you try teaching the Christians that God is also a human being, they will say that you are crazy, that you do not believe in God and that you are an infidel.
In the meantime, while they admit that He is a Mystery God (unknown), they teach not to make any likeness of Him; yet they adorn their walls and churches with pictures, images and statues like human beings.
⁴Can God be a Mystery God and yet send prophets to represent Himself? Have the prophets been representing a God that is not known (Mystery)? They tell us that they heard Gods voice speaking to them in their own language. Can a spirit speak a language while being an immaterial something?
If God is not material, what pleasure would He get out of material beings and the material universe? What is the basis of spirit? Is the spirit independent of material?
⁵Actually, who is that Mystery God? We should take time and study what has and is being taught to us. Study the word and examine it, and if it be the Truth, lay hold to it. To teach people that God is a Mystery God is to teach them that God is unknown. There is no truth in such teaching. Can one teach that which he himself does not know?
⁶If one teaches a thing that he himself does not know, he can be charged with lying to the people.The word “mystery,” according to the English dictionaries, is something that has not been or cannot be – something beyond human comprehension. The unintelligent, or rather ones without divine knowledge, seem to delight themselves in representing the God as something mysterious Unknown.
….For the past 6,000 years, the prophets have been predicting the coming of God who would be just and righteous. This righteous God would appear at the end of the world (the world of the white race).
¹²Today, the God of Truth and Righteousness is making Himself manifest, that He is not anymore a mystery (unknown), but is known and can be seen and heard the earth over. This teaching of a mystery God enslaves the minds of the ignorant.
My poor people are victims of every robbery. They are so pitifully blind, deaf and dumb that it hurts, but I am going to prove to them that I am with Allah (God) and that Allah is with me, in spite of their ignorance of Allah and myself, whom He has sent. For I am not self-sent and the world shall soon know who it is that has sent me. Allah (God) loves us, the so-called Negroes (Tribe of Shabazz,) so that He will give lives for our sake today.
Fear not, you are no more forsaken. God is in person, and stop looking for a dead Jesus for help, but pray to Him whom Jesus prophesied would come after Him. He who is alive and not a spook (ghost, apparition).Do you hate me because I represent Allah, the Living God, your Lord and my Lord?
Can you, who believe in a mystery God (unknown), trust your Mystery to bring you bread or to defend you against your open enemies? If so, on what occasion did He help you?
¹³If God is a mystery, you are lying to the world when you say that you know Him. He wants to be known, it is His enemy (the devil) who does not want God to be known to you and me. Do you refer to God as He, Him!
These pronouns refer to a man. Do you say that you want to be like Him. Surely, you don’t want to be a spirit without form, as spirits have no material form. Your God and my God is a material Being-the Supreme of Beings.

ALLAH IS GOD WHO IS THAT MYSTERY GOD?

PART 2

1 Did God say that He was a Mystery God, or did someone say it of Him? Did God say that He was only a Spirit, or did someone say it of Him? The most important question of all questions that one could ask is, “Who is God?” It is like a child who does not know his father asking his mother to tell him the name of his father, wanting to know what his father looks like and if he favors his father.

Can we not ask the same question who are seeking the knowledge of Our Father, God? Should we be called disbeliever’s or infidels, just because we seek the truth or knowledge of Our Father, God? The mother may, in some cases, think it best to keep the name of her child a secret, as it was in the case of Mary and Joseph, 2,000 years ago.
But, in the case of God, one would say that we all should know Him, but at the proper time.
²It has been for the past 6,000 years that we had to wait for the proper time to learn just who is Our Father, for the false god (the devil) would not dare tell us lest he lose his followers. Naturally, the child will leave a foster father for his real father, especially when he is a good father. The real father by nature loves his own flesh and blood regardless of how it looks or acts, for it is his own child.
So it is with us, the so-called Negroes, “lost-found members of the Asiatic nation.” – original people of the earth , especially black people and other non-white peoples. He who has found us is Our Father, the God of love, light, life, freedom, Justice, and Equality.
He has found his own, though His own does not know Him. They (the so-called Negroes) are following and loving a foster father (the devil) who has no love for them nor their real father but seeks to persecute and kill them daily. He (the devil) makes the lost and found children (the American so-called Negroes) think that their real father (God) is a mystery (unknown) or is some invisible spook somewhere in space.
The only chance that the children have to know their real father is that He must come and make Himself known by overpowering and freeing them from Him whom they fear.
³The devils reared the poor so-called Negroes for 400 years and put fear in them when they were babies. They (the devils) kept them apart from their own kind coming in from abroad, so as to deprive them of any knowledge other than what he (the devil) has taught them.
As soon as they hears of a so-called Negro learning and teaching his own people that which they (the devils) would not teach them, the devils then seek to kill that one or trail him wherever he goes, threatening those who would listen to him, believe him and follow him. Knowing that their very presence and inquiries might frighten or scare Negroes they ask, “What is this you are listening to and believing in?”
This will frighten most of them away from accepting his or her own salvation and keep them from returning to their own God, religion and people.
⁴My people, if you only knew the time and presence of your God, Allah, there should be no fear for you nor grief. But, you are deceived in the knowledge of your God.
If your God were a mystery, you and I would be a mystery people. If He were a Spirit and not a man, we would all be spirits and not human beings! If He were a mystery or only a Spirit, the prophets could not have predicted the coming of that which no one has knowledge of or of a spirit which cannot be seen, only felt.
⁵Because of the false teaching of our enemies (the devils), God has made Himself known; (for I teach not the coming of God but the presence of God, in person.) This kind of teaching hurts the false teachings of the devils, for they knew that God would come in person after you.
They, (the devils) also are aware that God is present among us, but those of you who are asleep they desire to keep asleep.
⁶The enemies of God today are the same as they were thousands of years ago, thinking that they will be the winner against Him. America, for her evil done to me and my people, shall be isolated and deceived by her friends. The heavens shall withhold their blessing until America is brought to a disgraceful ruin.

IS GOD A SPIRIT OR A MAN?

1 God is a man and we just cannot make Him other than man, lest we make him an inferior one; for man’s intelligence has no equal in other than man. His wisdom is infinite; capable of accomplishing anything that his brain can conceive.

A spirit is subjected to us and not we to the spirit. Habakkuk uses the pronoun “He” in reference to God. This pronoun “He” is only used in the case when we refer to a man or boy or something of the male sex.
²Are we living in a material universe or a “spirit” universe? We are material beings and live in a material universe. Would not we be making ourselves fools to be looking forward to see that which cannot be seen, only felt? Where is our proof for such a God (spirit) to teach that God is other than man? It is due to your ignorance of God, or you are one deceived by the devil whose nature is to mislead you in the knowledge of God.
³You originally came from the God of Righteousness and have the opportunity to return…. We must not take our enemies for our spiritual guides lest we regret it. You are already deceived by them.Why seek to follow them and their evil doings?
If I would say that God is not man, I would be a liar before him and stand to be condemned. Remember! You look forward to seeing God or the coming of the “Son of Man” (a man from a man) and not the coming of a “spirit.” Let that one among you who believes God is other than man prove it!

THE COMING OF GOD: IS HE A MAN OR A SPIRIT?

1 According to the dictionary of the Bible: Teman, a son of Esau by Adah (Gen. 36:11, 15, 42) and in I Chron. 1:36, now if Habakkuk saw God come or coming from the sons of Esau (Eliphaz), then God must be a man and not a spook.

If Habakkuk’s (3:3) prophecy refers to some country, town, or city, if there be any truth at all in this prophecy, then we can say that this prophet saw God as a material being, belonging to the human family of the earth-and not to a spirit (ghost).
²In the same chapter and verse, Habakkuk saw the Holy One from Mount Paran. This is also earthly, somewhere in Arabia.

THE ORIGIN OF GOD AS A SPIRIT AND NOT A MAN

“Take heed to yourselves that your hearts be not deceived and you turn aside, and serve other gods; worship them.” (Deut. 11:26)

1The American so-called Negroes are gravely deceived by their slave masters teaching of God and the true religion of God. They do not know that they are deceived and do earnestly believe that they are taught right regardless of how evil the white race may be. Not knowing self or anyone else, they are a prey in the hands of the white race, the world’s archdecievers (the real devils in person). You are made to believe that you worship the true God, but you do not! God is unknown to you in that which the white race teaches you (a mystery God).

²The great archdeceivcr, (The white race) were taught by their father, Yakub, 6,000 years ago, how to teach that God is a spirit (spook) and not a man. In the grafting of his people, (the white race), Mr. Yakub taught his people to contend with us over the reality of God by asking us of the whereabouts of that first One (God) who created the heavens and the earth, and that, Yakub said, we cannot do.
Well, we all know that there was a God in the beginning that created all these things and do know that He does not exist today but we know again that from that God the person of God continued until today in His people, and today a Supreme One (God) has appeared among us with the same infinite wisdom to bring about a complete change.
³This is He whom I preach and teach you to believe and obey. The devil calls Him a Mystery God but yet claim that He begot a son by Mary. They call on you and me to take this Son of Mary for a God, who was a man before and after His death. Yet they deny the coming of God to be a man. If Jesus were a Son of God, what about Moses and the other prophets? Were they not His Sons since they were His prophets?
⁴The belief in a God other than man (a spirit) Allah has taught me goes back into the millions of years–long before Yakub (the father of the devils) because the knowledge of God was kept as a secret from the public. This is the first time that it has ever been revealed, and we, the poor, rejected and despised people, are blessed to be the first of all the people of earth to receive this secret knowledge of God.
If this people (the white race) would teach you truth which has been revealed to me, they would be hastening their own doom, for they were not created to teach us the truth but rather to teach us falsehood (just contrary to the truth).
⁵It stands true that they are enemies of the truth by their ever warring against the truth. They know that Islam is the truth; they know that the history of them that God has revealed to me is the truth but do not like you to know such truth of them. Therefore, they seek every means to oppose this teaching. They try everyone of you that say that you believe it and are my followers. They are watching you and me, seeking a chance to do us harm. They are so upset and afraid that they visit you at your homes to question you of your sincerity of Islam.
⁶As David said in his Psalms (37:32): “The wicked watcheth the righteous and seeketh to slay him”. Also, Psalms (37:30): “The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.” And in another place (Psa. 95:16): “Who will rise up for me against the workers of iniquity?”
I have answered Him and said, “Here I am, take me.” For the evil done against my people (the so-called Negroes) I will not keep silent until He executes judgment and defends my cause. Fear not my life, for He is well able to defend it. Know that God is a man and not a spook!

THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN, THE GREAT MAHDI

“For as the lightning cometh out of the East, and shineth even unto the West, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matt. 24:27)

1 My greatest and only desire is to bring true understanding of the word of God, His prophets and the scriptures, which the prophets were sent with, pertaining to the lost-found people (the American so-called Negroes) of God and the judgment of the world.

²You must forget about ever seeing the return of Jesus, Who was here 2,000 years ago. Set your heart on seeing the One that He prophesied would come at the end of the present world’s time (the white race’s time).
³He is called the “Son of Man,” the “Christ,” the “Comforter.” You are really foolish to be looking to see the return of the Prophet Jesus. It is the same as looking for the return of Abraham, Moses and Muhammad. All of these prophets prophesied the coming of Allah or one with equal power, under many names.
You must remember that Jesus could not have been referring to Himself as returning to the people in the last days. He prophesied of another’s coming who was much greater than He.
Jesus even acknowledged that He did not know when the hour would come in these words; “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (Matt. 24:36).
⁴If He were the one to return at the end of the world, surely He would have had knowledge of the time of His return, the knowledge of the hour. But He left Himself out of that knowledge and placed it where it belonged, as all the other prophets had done.
No one has been able to tell us the hour of the judgment. No one but He, the great all wise God, Allah. He is called the “Son of Man,” the “Mahdi”, the “Christ”.The prophets, Jesus included, could only foretell those things which would serve as signs, signs that would precede such a great one’s coming to judge the world. The knowledge of the hour of judgment is with the Executor only.
⁵The prophets teach us to let the past judgments of people, their cities, and their warner’s serve as a lesson, or sign of the last judgment and its warner’s. Noah did not know the hour of the flood. Lot did not know the Hour of Sodom and Gomorrah until the Executors had arrived, and Jesus prophesied; (Matt.24:37-39), “it will be the same in the last judgment of the world of Satan.”
You have gone astray because of your misunderstanding of the scripture, the Prophet Jesus, and the coming of God to judge the world. My corrections are not accepted.
⁶Your misunderstanding and misinterpretation of it is really the joy of devils. For it is the devils’ desire to keep the so-called Negroes ignorant of the truth of God until they see it with their eyes.The truth of God is the salvation and freedom of the so called Negroes from the devils’ power.
⁷Can you blame them? No! Blame yourself for being so foolish as to allow the devils to fool you in not accepting the truth after it comes to you. The devils have tried to deceive the people all over the earth with Christianity, that is, God the Father, Jesus the Son, the Holy Ghost; three Gods into One God.
The resurrection of the Son and His return to judge the world; or that the Son is in some place above the earth, sitting on the right-hand side of the Father, waiting until the Father makes His enemies His footstool. The period of waiting is 2,000 years. Yet, He died for the Father to save His enemies (the whole world of sinners).
⁸My friends, use a bit of common sense.First, could a wounded flesh and blood body, made of the essence of our earth, last 2,00O years on the earth, or off the earth, without being healed! Second, where exists such a heaven, of the earth, that flesh and blood of the earth can exist, since the Bible teaches that flesh and blood cannot enter heaven? (Cor. 15:50)
⁹Flesh and blood cannot survive without that of which it is made, the earth. Jesus’ prophesy of the coming of the Son of Man is very clear, if you rightly understand. First, this removes all doubt about who we should expect to execute judgment, for if man is to be judged and rewarded according to his actions, who could be justified in sitting as judge of man’s doings but another man?
How could a spirit be our judge when we cannot see a spirit? And ever since life was created, life has had spirit. But the Bible teaches that God will be seen on the Day of Judgment. Not only the righteous will see Him, but even His enemies shall see Him.
¹⁰On that day, A Son of a Man will sit to judge men according to their works. Who is the Father of this Son, coming to judge the world? Is His Father of flesh and blood or is He a “Spirit”? Where is this Son coming from? Prophet Jesus said “He will come from the East”(Matt 24:27), from the land and people of Islam, where all the former prophets came from. Jesus compared His coming as “the lightning”. Of course lightning cannot be seen or heard at a great distance.
¹¹The actual light (the Truth) which “shineth even unto the West,” is our day sun. But the Son of Man’s coming is like both the lightning and our day sun. His work of the resurrection of the mentally dead so-called Negroes, and judgment between truth and falsehood, is compared with lightning on an instant. His swiftness in condemning the falsehood is like the sudden flash of lightning in a dark place. America is that dark place, where the darkness has blinded the people so that they cannot find the “right way” out.
The sudden “flash of lightning” enables them to see that they are off from the “right path.” They walk a few steps toward the “right way” but soon have to stop and wait for another bright flash. What they actually need is the light of the Sun (God in Person), that they may clearly see their way.The lightning does more than flash a light. It is also destructive striking whom Allah pleases, or taking property as well as lives. The brightness of its flashes almost blinds the eyes.
¹²So it is with the coming of the Son of Man, with the truth, to cast it against falsehood that it breaks the head. Just a little hint of it makes the falsehood begin looking guilty and seeking cover from the brightness of the truth. Sometimes lightning serves as a warning of an approaching storm.
So does Allah warn us by sending His Messengers with the truth, before the approaching destruction of a people to whom chastisement is justly due. They come flashing the truth in the midst of the spiritually darkened people.
Those who love spiritual darkness will close their eyes to the flash of truth, like lightning, pointing out to them the “right way” thus blinding themselves from the knowledge of the approaching destruction of the storm of Allah, and are destroyed. “As the lightning cometh out of the East, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.”
¹³Let us reflect on this prophecy from the direction in which this Son shall come, “out of the East.” If He is to come from the East, to chastise or destroy that of the West, then He must be pleased with the East.
The dominant religion of the East is Islam. The holy religious teachings of all the prophets, from Adam to Muhammad, was none other than Islam(Holy Qur-an 4:16), they all were of the East and came from that direction with the light of the Truth and shone toward the old wicked darkness of the West.
But the West has ever closed its eyes and thus making it necessary for the coming of the Son of Man, the Great Mahdi, God in person. ¹⁴Being the end of the signs, in His person, He dispels falsehood with the truth as the sun dispels night on its rising from the East.
Why should the tribes of the earth mourn because of the coming of the Son of Man, instead of rejoicing?

THE COMING OF ALLAH (GOD)

1 The reality of God. I have been and still am trying to make clear to you how important it is. This knowledge of the True God, the reality of God has been and is even now a mystery to the world of mankind with a few exceptions. The day has come that all mankind MUST know the reality of Allah (God)

²“There can be no judgment of the people until this knowledge has been given to the people.” How can we serve a God without knowledge of Him? My people, the so-called Negroes (The Tribe of Shabazz), are the worst off when it comes to the reality of God.
³The whole world has been and is looking for the coming of God. Several places in both the Bible and the Holy Qur-an refer to the coming of Allah (God). “The Coming of the Son of Man.” Referring to God as the Son of Man should remove all doubts as to his being anything other than a man.
⁴The Bible mentions Him as the Son of Man and also mentions Him as not being a man but a spirit. On one side He is made clear and on the other He is made a mystery. Representation such as this causes confusion in understanding. We are blind to the knowledge of God when we make Him a mystery and unreal.
⁵Anyone so blind to the reality of God is the servant of the devil, until he or she sees God as a reality. Thousands of years the devil has been blinding man to God’s reality, and that is the reason why God had to come in person (and He has), to clear us of such ignorance and blindness to the knowledge of Him.
⁶Therefore, we have the “Coming of Allah (God).” He is referred to as the Son of Man because, (1) first, He is the Son of Man and gotten for a special purpose, which is to return the lost back to their own and to punish and destroy the wicked for their destruction of the righteous, that the righteous may live in peace and do the will of the God of righteousness, free from trouble and interference. (2) Second, He must be a man to deal with man, and we cannot receive or respect other than man.
⁷Since His work is to destroy the wicked. He must remain hidden from the eyes of the world until the time is ripe (the end), for the two (God and devil) cannot rule together.
⁸The Son of man (Allah) must wait until His time, after the works of the devil. (II Thessalonians 2:8-9; Holy Our-an 7:14-18).
And another place in the Holy Qur’an describes them as the people with the blue eyes. Holy Qur’an 20:102).
(3)⁹Third, the reality of God is as clear as the reality of the devil, but we did not know it until His coming to judge the world. For instance, if we take God for something other than a man (not the man devil), we cannot prove it. If we believe that He Is a spirit and not a man, then we can never expect to have any knowledge of Him except by the sense of feel.
¹⁰We cannot see a spirit; therefore, the teachings of His coming would be false. The spirit of life is and has been with us all of our lives. God is in person among us today. He is a man, He is in His time. God sees, hears, knows, wills, acts and is a person (man).

THE COMING OF GOD AND THE GATHERING TOGETHER OF HIS PEOPLE

The prophets have warned us of a time that would come when God would judge the wicked and punish, or rather destroy, the wicked and give the earth over to the rule of a righteous people. So many of us have misunderstood just what we should expect. What will God look like if we expect the destruction of the devil, what will the devil look like? How will I distinguish him?

If the devils should be destroyed, what does that devil look like? In order not to follow him to his destruction I must be able to recognize him so that he won’t be able to deceive me. What world’s end will come, and what is that world that is going to end? Does that include everything that makes up the solar system? The planet earth?
If so, what shall we expect? What kind of solar system will we have after the destruction of the present one? Think over these things. “We must get down to the facts so that we can recognize them when they are presented to us.
But you never questioned the first teacher. Shouldn’t we be fair about this?’ Let us go after the thing right!
²If we want to give each teacher justice, we should start with the first one. When Moses began to preach to the Hebrews to make themselves ready to go out to another country that God had promised their fathers on the condition that they believe and obey, here was the reply: “Who made you a judge over us?”
³Let us question this as they questioned Moses. Why didn’t you question Pharaoh, “Who made you a judge over us?” Question me with facts. If they did not question Pharaoh, why should they question Moses since Pharaoh didn’t say that a God sent him? They should have made Pharaoh answer the question, “Who made you God over us!?”
They were born under Pharaoh’s teaching; therefore, from their early existence, they believed in Pharaoh, right or wrong. They worshiped Pharaoh’s God and when Moses made himself present, they wanted Moses to give them a good knowledge of who had sent him and made him such a man.
If today a Moses were in your midst and he said, “The God of your fathers has sent me” and “the Government of America has deceived you as to the knowledge of God and has you indirectly worshiping yourselves,” wouldn’t your reply be the same as the one given to Moses? That is right. You are asking me that. A man questioned me the other day when he said, “You mean to say that you talked to God face to face?”
⁴Where was Moses and what time was that? What did the God have in mind? If no one has gone to heaven or seen the face of God, then all of these prophets, are liars.You must think these things over. You have a lot to learn if you understand it; otherwise, you are still in the dark as to the Truth. …He chose me to bear the message of life (Islam) to my people here. Islam is our salvation. It removes fear, grief, and sorrow from any believer and it brings to us peace of mind of contentment.
¹⁷The greatest hindrance to the truth of our people is the Christianity. He will not accept it, nor is he content to let others alone who are trying to accept the truth. He is the man who stands in the way of the salvation of his people, and as soon as the people awaken to the knowledge of this man in their way to God, freedom, justice and equality and stop following him, the sooner they will be in heaven while they live.

THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; and then shall all of the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” [Matt.24:30]

Here in the plainest words is the Son of Man on the Judgment Day. We are not told by either Moses or Jesus to look for God on Judgment Day to be anything other than man. Spirits and spooks cannot be the judge of man’s affairs. Man is material, of the earth. How long will you be ignorant of the reality of God? You are poisoned by the devil’s touch. Why are you looking for a God that is not flesh and blood as you are? Spirits can only be found in another being like yourself. What pleasure would you have in an invisible world?

And on the other hand what pleasure would spirits have in this material universe of ours? Your very nature is against your being anything other than a human being.
²These are the days of the resurrection of the mentally dead so-called Negroes. The Son of Man is here. His coming has been fulfilled. He seeks that which was lost (the so called Negroes). Many now are receiving His name, and that name alone will save you.The wicked nations of the earth are sorry and angry to see the Son of Man set up a government of justice and peace over this, their wicked world. They see signs in the heavens (sky) of great power to execute judgment on the world of the wicked, and they mourn.
³We must have a new ruler and a new government, where the people can enjoy freedom, justice, and equality. Let the so-called Negroes rejoice for Allah has prepared for them what the eye has not seen, the ear has not heard, and the heart has not been able to conceive.
The enemy knows this to be true and is now doing everything to prevent the so-called Negroes from seeing the hereafter.

THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN, THE INFIDELS ARE ANGRY

Who is the father if God is not His Father? God is His Father, but the Father is also a man. You have heard of old that God prepared a body, or the expected Son of Man; Jesus is a specially prepared man to do a work of redeeming the lost sheep (the so-called Negro). …This is no secret.

The Son of Man is after the so-called Negroes to set them in Heaven and His enemies in hell. After His conquest of the black nation’s enemies, the world will know and recognize Him (Allah) to be God alone. …By all means, they must be separated from the white race, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled. “For I will take you from among the heathen and gather you out of all countries and will bring you into your own land.” (Ezek.36:24)
…²This is the purpose of His coming, to give everyone that which is rightfully theirs. The Son of Man has power over all things. You cannot find a defense against Him in a war. Your weapons mean nothing.
The power, of heaven and earth today will be ordered to fight on the side of the Mahdi against His enemies. He is the friend of the so called Negroes and not of the white people. His purpose is to take the so called Negroes and kill their enemies; although many of us will suffer from persecution and hunger.
But, the good end is for those of you who will hold fast to Allah and His religion, Islam. They (the devils) cannot escape. Fly to Allah! Come, follow me. Although I may look insignificant to you, you will find salvation with us.

ALLAH, THE BEST KNOWER

There are many other chapters of the Holy Quran Sharrieff that open with the above verses, “Allah is the best knower.” The beautiful teachings of the Holy Quran have no equal in other scriptures.

²All so-called Negro preachers should have one, but be sure it is the one translated by Yusuf Ali or Maulana Muhammad Ali. Any other translation of the Holy Quran, by Christian authors, is as poisonous to the reader as a rattlesnake.
³What I am trying to make clear is that white people do not believe in Allah and Islam or the prophets of Allah. Why then, should you seek the truth of it from them? You will soon come to know that you should not seek any truth from them. They have you following in the wrong direction and hope to keep you like that; but by my Allah’s power and wisdom, and my life’s blood, you shall know the Truth even against your own will.
⁴They (white people) have nearly all of the poor black preachers on their side to oppose Allah, myself and Islam, the religion of righteous. They will fail and be brought to disgrace as Pharaoh’s magicians and he himself were by Allah (God), for you have not known Him, or His religion, as Israel had not known God by His name Jehovah (Exod. 6:3)
⁵They felt that they should not believe Moses’ representation of God by any other name than God Almighty, regardless of Moses’ stress upon Jehovah as being the God of their Fathers. Pharaoh had not used that name (Jehovah); so Israel would not accept it until a showdown between Jehovah and Pharaoh.
I would not like to have you wait until a showdown between Allah and the modern Pharaoh’s people; therefore I come to you with the truth, verifying that which is before it, and giving good news to the believers that they most certainly shall have Heaven in this life. I also come to you with the warning to those who disbelieve that you most certainly shall have hell in this life, and in the hereafter you most certainly will be among the losers, or do they say, “He has forged it?”
Nay, it is the truth from the Lord, that you may warn a people to whom no warning has come before, that they may follow the right direction (Holy Qur’an 32-3).
⁶You say, “Who is this Allah, and this religion Islam?” Know my people, the Divine Supreme Being, has 99 attributes that make up His name, and Allah is the 100th. Surely His are the most beautiful names. He will make Himself known to the world that He is God and besides Him there is no God and that I am His Messenger, that Islam is a religion backed by the power of Allah (God ) to free you from the hands of you merciless enemies (the slave masters) once and forever.
⁷Allah, your God, will grant you power to overcome your enemies though their power may look as endurable as the mountains. Fear not! Allah is the Best Knower. Armageddon has started, and after it there will be no Christian religion or churches. Jesus was a Muslim, not a Christian.

THE DAYS OF ALLAH

Say to those who believe that they forgive those who do not fear the days of Allah, they He may reward a people for why they earn” (Holy Qur’an 45:14)

¹What is meant by “Days of Allah” are the battles between right and wrong. They are often mentioned as follows: the Days of Judgment, the Days of resurrection, the Days of the Son of Man, and the Days of Allah. These days must not be mistaken for the regular 24 hour day. No, the Days of Allah, the Days of Resurrection, the Days of the Son of Man means years, not the common 24 hour day.
²What will make us know when we are living in the Days of Allah? It is by the fulfilling of the predictions made by the Prophets of Allah, long before they come to pass.
I quote Maulvi Muhammad Ali’s footnote 2275 on this verse, in which he says: “The Days of Allah are the contests in which the righteous shall be made successful.” That no one can deny for this is a sign for the disbelievers who have enjoyed great temporary prosperity and who thought that they were too rich and powerful to be brought into a state of helplessness. Although they had the histories of those who were before them, there is no difference between the disbelievers today or the past.
³We are living in the Days of Allah. The earth and its people have been ruled by the evil race known as the white race. In these days of Allah, the righteous (the Muslims) are now gaining power over the wicked and will soon rule the earth again as they did before the creation of the white race.
⁴Take notice of my followers who have given up the wicked ways of the white race and their self-styled Christianity and have accepted the Truth. They are gradually becoming the most successful people in the world. Allah has chosen us; we have chosen Allah.
⁵Who can successfully oppose Allah in His Days and time of rule? It is easy for a weak and poverty stricken people to give up, but it is not so easy when they are powerful and wealthy. They think there will be on end to their power and wealth which is made to deceive them.

SECTION 4

Books By YAHWEH’s Sword

Book 1 Of BARUCH

Chapters 1 through 6

1 Baruch 1

1 BARUCH 1:1

And these are the words of the book, which Baruch the son of NeraiYah, the son of

MahseiYah, the son of ZedekiYah, the son of HasadiYah, the son of HilkiYah, wrote in Babylon,

1 BARUCH 1:2

In the fifth year, and in the seventh day of the month, what time as the Chaldeans took Yerusalem, and burnt it with fire.

1 BARUCH 1:3

And Baruch did read the words of this book in the hearing of JeconiYah the son of

Joachim king of Yahuda, and in the ears of all the people that came to hear the book,

1 BARUCH 1:4

And in the hearing of the nobles, and of the king’s sons, and in the hearing of the elders, and of all the people, from the lowest unto the highest, even of all them that dwelt at Babylon by the river Sud.

1 BARUCH 1:5

Whereupon they wept, fasted, and prayed before YAHWEH.

1 BARUCH 1:6

They made also a collection of money according to every man’s power:

1 BARUCH 1:7

And they sent it to Yerusalem unto Jehoiakim the high kohen, the son of Hilkiah, son of

Shallum, and to the kohenim, and to all the people which were found with him at Yerusalem,

1 BARUCH 1:8

At the same time when he received the vessels of the house of YAHWEH, that were carried out of the tabernacle, to return them into the land of Yahuda, the tenth day of the month Sivan, namely, silver vessels, which ZedekiYah the son of YoshiYah king of Yahuda had made,

1 BARUCH 1:9

After that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away YeconiYah, and the princes, and the captives, and the mighty men, and the people of the land, from Yerusalem, and brought them unto Babylon.

1 BARUCH 1:10

And they said, Behold, we have sent you money to buy you burnt offerings, and sin offerings, and incense, and prepare you a grain offering, and offer upon the altar of YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY;

1 BARUCH 1:11

And pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and for the life of Belshazzar his son, that their days may be upon earth as the days of heaven:

1 BARUCH 1:12

And YAHWEH will give us strength, and lighten our eyes, and we shall live under the shadow of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and under the shadow of Belshazzar his son, and we shall serve them many days, and find favor in their sight.

1 BARUCH 1:13

Pray for us also unto YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY, for we have sinned against YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY; and unto this day the fury of YAHWEH and HIS wrath is not turned from us.

1 BARUCH 1:14

And you shall read this book which we have sent unto you, to make confession in the house of YAHWEH, upon the feasts and solemn days.

1 BARUCH 1:15

And you shall say, To YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY belongs righteousness, but unto us the confusion of faces, as it is come to pass this day, unto them of Yahuda, and to the inhabitants of Yerusalem,

1 BARUCH 1:16

And to our kings, and to our princes, and to our kohenim, and to our prophets, and to our fathers:

1 BARUCH 1:17

For we have sinned before YAHWEH,

1 BARUCH 1:18

And disobeyed HIM, and have not hearkened unto the voice of YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY, to walk in the commandments that HE gave us openly:

1 BARUCH 1:19

Since the day that YAHWEH brought our forefathers out of the land of Egypt, unto this present day, we have been disobedient unto YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY, and we have been negligent in not hearing HIS voice.

1 BARUCH 1:20

Wherefore the evils cleaved unto us, and the curse, which YAHWEH appointed by Mosheh HIS servant at the time that HE brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt, to give us a land that flows with milk and honey, like as it is to see this day.

1 BARUCH 1:21

Nevertheless we have not hearkened unto the voice of YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY, according unto all the words of the prophets, whom HE sent unto us:

1 BARUCH 1:22

But every man followed the imagination of his own wicked heart, to serve strange gods, and to do evil in the sight of YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY.

1 Baruch 2

1 BARUCH 2:1

Therefore YAHWEH has made tov HIS Word, which HE pronounced against us, and against our judges that judged Yisrael, and against our kings, and against our princes, and against the men of Yisrael and Yahuda,

1 BARUCH 2:2

To bring upon us great plagues, such as never happened under the whole heaven, as it came to pass in Yerusalem, according to the things that were written in the Torah of Mosheh;

1 BARUCH 2:3

That a man should eat the flesh of his own son, and the flesh of his own daughter.

1 BARUCH 2:4

Moreover HE has delivered them to be in subjection to all the kingdoms that are round about us, to be as a reproach and desolation among all the people round about, where YAHWEH has scattered them.

1 BARUCH 2:5

Thus we were cast down, and not exalted, because we have sinned against YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY, and have not been obedient unto HIS Voice.

1 BARUCH 2:6

To YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY appertains righteousness: but unto us and to our fathers open shame, as appears this day.

1 BARUCH 2:7

For all these plagues are come upon us, which YAHWEH has pronounced against us

1 BARUCH 2:8

Yet have we not prayed before YAHWEH, that we might turn every one from the imaginations of his wicked heart.

1 BARUCH 2:9

Wherefore YAHWEH watched over us for evil, and YAHWEH has brought it upon us: for YAHWEH is righteous in all HIS works which HE has commanded us.

1 BARUCH 2:10

Yet we have not hearkened unto HIS voice, to walk in the commandments of YAHWEH, that HE has set before us.

1 BARUCH 2:11

And now, O YAHWEH the ALMIGHTY of Yisrael, that hast brought YOUR people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and high arm, and with signs, and with wonders, and with great power, and have gotten YOURSELF a NAME, as appears this day:

1 BARUCH 2:12

O YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY, we have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have dealt unrighteously in all YOUR ordinances.

1 BARUCH 2:13

Let YOUR wrath turn from us: for we are but a few left among the heathen, where YOU have scattered us.

1 BARUCH 2:14

Hear our prayers, O YAHWEH, and our petitions, and deliver us for YOUR own sake, and give us favor in the sight of them which have led us away:

1 BARUCH 2:15

That all the earth may know that YOU are YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY, because Yisrael and HIS posterity is called by YOUR NAME.

1 BARUCH 2:16

O YAHWEH, look down from YOUR Kodesh house, and consider us: bow down YOUR ear, O YAHWEH, to hear us.

1 BARUCH 2:17

Open YOUR eyes, and behold; for the dead that are in the graves, whose souls are taken from their bodies, will give unto YAHWEH neither praise nor righteousness:

1 BARUCH 2:18

But the soul that is greatly vexed, which goes stooping and feeble, and the eyes that fail, and the hungry soul, will give YOU praise and righteousness, O YAHWEH.

1 BARUCH 2:19

Therefore we do not make our humble supplication before YOU, O YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY, for the righteousness of our fathers, and of our kings.

1 BARUCH 2:20

For YOU have sent out YOUR wrath and indignation upon us, as YOU have spoken by YOUR servants the prophets, saying,

1 BARUCH 2:21

Thus saith YAHWEH, Bow down your shoulders to serve the king of Babylon: so shall you remain in the land that I gave unto your fathers.

1 BARUCH 2:22

But if you will not hear the Voice of YAHWEH, to serve the king of Babylon,

1 BARUCH 2:23

I will cause to cease out of the cites of Yahudah, and from without Yerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: and the whole land shall be desolate of inhabitants.

1 BARUCH 2:24

But we would not hearken unto YOUR voice, to serve the king of Babylon: therefore have YOU made tov the Words that YOU spoke by YOUR servants the prophets, namely, that the bones of our kings, and the bones of our fathers, should be taken out of their place.

1 BARUCH 2:25

And, lo, they are cast out to the heat of the day, and to the frost of the night, and they died in great miseries, by famine, by sword, and by pestilence.

1 BARUCH 2:26

And the House which is called by YOUR NAME have YOU laid waste, as it is to be seen this day, for the wickedness of the house of Yisrael and the house of Yahuda.

1 BARUCH 2:27

O YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY, YOU have dealt with us after all YOUR tov, and according to all that great mercy of YOURS,

1 BARUCH 2:28

As YOU spoke by YOUR servant Mosheh in the day when YOU did command him to write the Torah before the children of Yisrael, saying,

1 BARUCH 2:29

If you will not hear MY Voice, surely this very great multitude shall be turned into a small number among the nations, where I will scatter them.

1 BARUCH 2:30

For I knew that they would not hear ME, because it is a stiffnecked people: but in the land of their captivities they shall remember themselves.

1 BARUCH 2:31

And shall know that I am YAHWEH their ALMIGHTY: for I will give them a heart, and ears to hear:

1 BARUCH 2:32

And they shall praise ME in the land of their captivity, and think upon MY NAME,

1 BARUCH 2:33

And return from their stiff neck, and from their wicked deeds: for they shall remember the way of their fathers, which sinned before YAHWEH.

1 BARUCH 2:34

And I will bring them again into the land which I promised with an oath unto their fathers, Abraham, Yitschaq, and Yacob, and they shall be stewards of it: and I will increase them, and they shall not be diminished.

1 BARUCH 2:35

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their ALMIGHTY, and they shall be MY people: and I will no more drive MY people out of Yisrael, the land that I have given them.

1 BARUCH 4:23

For I sent you out with mourning and weeping: but YAHWEH will give you to me again with joy and gladness forever.

1 BARUCH 4:24

Like as now the neighbors of Zion have seen your captivity: so shall they see shortly your deliverance from YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY which shall come upon you with great splendor, and brightness of the Everlasting YAHWEH.

1 BARUCH 4:25

My children, suffer patiently the wrath that is come upon you from YAHWEH ALMIGHTY: for your enemy has persecuted you; but shortly you shall see his destruction, and shall tread upon his neck.

1 BARUCH 4:26

My delicate ones have gone rough ways, and were taken away as a flock caught of the enemies.

1 BARUCH 4:27

Be of tov comfort, O my children, and cry unto YAHWEH: for you shall be remembered of HIM that brought these things upon you.

1 BARUCH 4:28

For as it was your mind to go astray from YAHWEH: so, being returned, seek HIM ten times more.

1 BARUCH 4:29

For HE that has brought these plagues upon you shall bring you everlasting joy with your deliverance.

1 BARUCH 4:30

Take a tov heart, O Yerusalem: for HE that gave you that NAME will comfort you.

1 BARUCH 4:31

Miserable are they that afflicted you, and rejoiced at your fall.

1 BARUCH 4:32

Miserable are the cities which your children served: miserable is she that received your sons.

1 BARUCH 4:33

For as she rejoiced at your ruin, and was glad of your fall: so shall she be grieved for her own desolation.

1 BARUCH 4:34

For I will take away the rejoicing of her great multitude, and her pride shall be turned into mourning.

1 BARUCH 4:35

For fire shall come upon her from the Everlasting YAHWEH, long to endure; and she shall be inhabited of devils for a great time.

1 BARUCH 4:36

O Yerusalem, look about you toward the east, and behold the joy that comes unto you from YAHWEH.

1 BARUCH 4:37

Lo, your sons come, whom you sent away, they come gathered together from the east to the west by the Word of the Kodesh One, rejoicing in the splendor of YAHWEH.

1 Baruch 5

1 BARUCH 5:1

Put off, O Yerusalem, the garment of mourning and affliction, and put on the comeliness of the splendor that comes from YAHWEH forever.

1 BARUCH 5:2

Cast about you a double garment of the righteousness which comes from YAHWEH; and set a diadem on your head of the splendor of the Everlasting YAHWEH.

1 BARUCH 5:3

For YAHWEH will show your splendor to every country under heaven.

1 BARUCH 5:4

For your name shall be called by YAHWEH ALMIGHTY forever, “The shalom of righteousness, and The splendor of ALMIGHTY’s worship.

1 BARUCH 5:5

Arise, O Yerusalem, and stand on high, and look about toward the east, and behold your children gathered from the west unto the east by the Word of the Kodesh One, rejoicing in the remembrance of YAHWEH.

1 BARUCH 5:6

For they departed from you on foot, and were led away of their enemies: but YAHWEH brings them to you exalted with splendor, as children of the Kingdom.

1 BARUCH 5:7

For YAHWEH has appointed that every high hill, and banks of long continuance, should be cast down, and valleys filled up, to make even the ground, that Yisrael may go safely in the splendor of YAHWEH,

1 BARUCH 5:8

Moreover even the woods and every sweetsmelling tree shall overshadow Yisrael by the commandment of YAHWEH.

1 BARUCH 5:9

For YAHWEH shall lead Yisrael with joy in the Light of HIS splendor with the mercy and righteousness that comes from HIM.

1 Baruch 6

The Letter of YermeYah To Baruch On The False Gods Of Babylon

1 BARUCH 6:1

A copy of an epistle, which YermeYah sent unto them which were to be led captives into Babylon by the king of the Babylonians, to certify them, as it was commanded him of YAHWEH.

1 BARUCH 6:2

Because of the sins which you have committed before YAHWEH, you shall be led away captives into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of the Babylonians.

1 BARUCH 6:3

So when you come to Babylon, you shall remain there many years, and for a long season, namely, seven generations: and after that I will bring you away peaceably from there.

1 BARUCH 6:4

Now shall you see in Babylon gods of silver, and of gold, and of wood, borne upon shoulders, which cause the nations to fear.

1 BARUCH 6:5

Beware therefore that you in no wise be like to strangers, neither be you and of them, when you see the multitude before them and behind them, worshipping them.

1 BARUCH 6:6

But say you in your hearts, O YAHWEH, we must worship YOU.

1 BARUCH 6:7

For MY malak is with you, and I myself caring for your souls.

1 BARUCH 6:8

As for their tongue, it is polished by the workman, and they themselves are gilded and laid over with silver; yet are they but false, and cannot speak.

1 BARUCH 6:9

And taking gold, as it were for a virgin that loves to go gay, they make crowns for the heads of their gods.

1 BARUCH 6:10

Sometimes also the priests convey from their gods gold and silver, and bestow it upon themselves.

1 BARUCH 6:11

Yes, they will give thereof to the common harlots, and deck them as men with garments, being gods of silver, and gods of gold, and wood.

1 BARUCH 6:12

Yet cannot these gods save themselves from rust and moth, though they be covered with purple raiment.

1 BARUCH 6:13

They wipe their faces because of the dust of the temple, when there is much upon them.

1 BARUCH 6:14

And he that cannot put to death one that offends him holds a sceptre, as though he were a judge of the country.

1 BARUCH 6:15

He has also in his right hand a dagger and an ax: but cannot deliver himself from war and thieves.

1 BARUCH 6:16

Whereby they are known not to be YAHWEH: therefore fear them not.

1 BARUCH 6:17

For like as a vessel that a man uses is nothing worth when it is broken; even so it is with their gods: when they be set up in the temple, their eyes be full of dust through the feet of them that come in.

1 BARUCH 6:18

And as the doors are made sure on every side upon him that offends the king, as being committed to suffer death: even so the priests make fast their temples with doors, with locks, and bars, lest their gods be spoiled with robbers.

1 BARUCH 6:19

They light them candles, yes, more than for themselves, whereof they cannot see one.

1 BARUCH 6:20

They are as one of the beams of the temple, yet they say their hearts are gnawed upon by things creeping out of the earth; and when they eat them and their clothes, they feel it not.

1 BARUCH 6:21

Their faces are blacked through the smoke that comes out of the temple.

1 BARUCH 6:22

Upon their bodies and heads sit bats, swallows, and birds, and the cats also.

1 BARUCH 6:23

By this you may know that they are not YAHWEH: therefore fear them not.

1 BARUCH 6:24

Notwithstanding the gold that is about them to make them beautiful, except they wipe off the rust, they will not shine: for neither when they were molten did they feel it.

1 BARUCH 6:25

The things wherein there is no breath are bought for a very high price.

1 BARUCH 6:26

They are borne upon shoulders, having no feet whereby they declare unto men that they be nothing worth.

1 BARUCH 6:27

They also that serve them are ashamed: for if they fall to the ground at any time, they cannot rise up again of themselves: neither, if one set them upright, can they move of themselves: neither, if they be bowed down, can they make themselves straight: but they set gifts before them as unto dead men.

1 BARUCH 6:28

As for the things that are sacrificed unto them, their priests sell and abuse; in like manner their wives lay up part thereof in salt; but unto the poor and impotent they give nothing of it.

1 BARUCH 6:29

Menstruous women and women in childbed eat their sacrifices: by these things you may know that they are not YAHWEH: fear them not.

1 BARUCH 6:30

For how can they be called gods? because women set meat before the gods of silver, gold, and wood.

1 BARUCH 6:31

And the priests sit in their temples, having their clothes rent, and their heads and beards shaven, and nothing upon their heads.

1 BARUCH 6:32

They roar and cry before their gods, as men do at the feast when one is dead.

1 BARUCH 6:33

The priests also take off their garments, and clothe their wives and children.

1 BARUCH 6:34

Whether it be evil that one does unto them, or tov, they are not able to recompense it: they can neither set up a king, nor put him down.

1 BARUCH 6:35

In like manner, they can neither give riches nor money: though a man make a vow unto them, and keep it not, they will not require it.

1 BARUCH 6:36

They can save no man from death, neither deliver the weak from the mighty.

1 BARUCH 6:37

They cannot restore a blind man to his sight, nor help any man in his distress.

1 BARUCH 6:38

They can show no mercy to the widow, nor do tov to the fatherless.

1 BARUCH 6:39

Their gods of wood, and which are overlaid with gold and silver, are like the stones that be hewn out of the mountain: they that worship them shall be confounded.

1 BARUCH 6:40

How should a man then think and say that they are gods, when even the Chaldeans themselves dishonor them?

1 BARUCH 6:41

Who if they shall see one dumb that cannot speak, they bring him, and intreat Bel that he may speak, as though he were able to understand.

1 BARUCH 6:42

Yet they cannot understand this themselves, and leave them: for they have no knowledge.

1 BARUCH 6:43

The women also with cords about them, sitting in the ways, burn bran for perfume: but if any of them, drawn by some that passes by, lie with him, she reproaches her fellow, that she was not thought as worthy as herself, nor her cord broken.

1 BARUCH 6:44

Whatsoever is done among them is false: how may it then be thought or said that they are gods?

1 BARUCH 6:45

They are made of carpenters and goldsmiths: they can be nothing else than the workmen will have them to be.

1 BARUCH 6:46

And they themselves that made them can never continue long; how should then the things that are made of them be gods?

6:47

For they left lies and reproaches to them that come after.

1 BARUCH 6:48

For when there comes any war or plague upon them, the priests consult with themselves, where they may be hidden with them.

1 BARUCH 6:49

How then cannot men perceive that they be not YAHWEH, which can neither save themselves from war, nor from plague?

1 BARUCH 6:50

For seeing they be but of wood, and overlaid with silver and gold, it shall be known hereafter that they are false:

1 BARUCH 6:51

And it shall manifestly appear to all nations and kings that they are not YAHWEH, but the works of men’s hands, and that there is no work of YAHWEH in them.

1 BARUCH 6:52

Who then may not know that they are not YAHWEH?

1 BARUCH 6:53

For neither can they set up a king in the land, nor give rain unto men.

1 BARUCH 6:54

Neither can they judge their own cause, nor redress a wrong, being unable: for they are as crows between heaven and earth.

1 BARUCH 6:55

Whereupon when fire falls upon the house of gods of wood, or laid over with gold or silver, their priests will flee away, and escape; but they themselves shall be burned asunder like beams.

1 BARUCH 6:56

Moreover they cannot withstand any king or enemies: how can it then be thought or said that they be YAHWEH?

1 BARUCH 6:57

Neither are those gods of wood, and laid over with silver or gold, able to escape either from thieves or robbers.

1 BARUCH 6:58

Whose gold, and silver, and garments wherewith they are clothed, they that are strong take, and go away withal: neither are they able to help themselves.

1 BARUCH 6:59

Therefore it is better to be a king that shows his power, or else a profitable vessel in a house, which the owner shall have use of, than such false gods; or to be a door in a house, to keep such things therein, than such false gods, or a pillar of wood in a a palace, than such false gods.

1 BARUCH 6:60

For sun, moon, and stars, being bright and sent to do their offices, are obedient.

1 BARUCH 6:61

In like manner the lightning when it breaks forth is easy to be seen; and after the same manner the wind blows in every country.

1 BARUCH 6:62

And when YAHWEH commands the clouds to go over the whole world, they do as they are bidden.

1 BARUCH 6:63

And the fire sent from above to consume hills and woods does as it is commanded: but these are like unto them neither in show nor power.

1 BARUCH 6:64

Wherefore it is neither to be supposed nor said that they are YAHWEH, seeing, they are able neither to judge causes, nor to do tov unto men.

1 BARUCH 6:65

Knowing therefore that they are not YAHWEH, fear them not,

1 BARUCH 6:66

For they can neither curse nor bless kings:

1 BARUCH 6:67

Neither can they show signs in the heavens among the heathen, nor shine as the sun, nor give light as the moon.

1 BARUCH 6:68

The beasts are better than they: for they can get under a cover and help themselves.

1 BARUCH 6:69

It is then by no means manifest unto us that they are not YAHWEH: therefore fear them not.

1 BARUCH 6:70

For as a scarecrow in a garden of cucumbers keeps nothing: so are their gods of wood, and laid over with silver and gold.

1 BARUCH 6:71

And likewise their gods of wood, and laid over with silver and gold, are like to a white thorn in an orchard, that every bird sits upon; as also to a dead body, that is east into the dark.

1 BARUCH 6:72

And you shall not know them to be YAHWEH by the bright purple that rots upon them, and they themselves afterward shall be eaten, and shall be a reproach in the country.

1 BARUCH 6:73

Better therefore is the just man that has no idols: for he shall be far from reproach.

Shalom

Blessed are they that do the word of YAHWEH.

YAHWEH’s Sword

SECTION 5

Books By YAHWEH’s Sword

Book 2 of BARUCH

Chapters 1 through 87

2 BARUCH 1

Yerusalem will be destroyed

2 BARUCH 1:1

And it happened in the twenty-fifth year of YeconiYah (Jeconiah), the king of Yahudah, that the Word of YAHWEH came to Baruch, the son of Neriah,

2 BARUCH 1:2

And said to him: Have you seen all that this people are doing to ME, the evil things which the two tribes which remained have done more than the ten tribes which were carried away into captivity?

2 BARUCH 1:3

For the former tribes were forced by their kings to sin, but these two have themselves forced and compelled their kings to sin.

2 BARUCH 1:4

Behold, therefore, I shall bring evil upon this city and its inhabitants. And it will be taken away from before MY presence for a time. And I shall scatter this people among the nations that they may be beneficial to the nations.

2 BARUCH 1:5

And MY people will be chastened, and the time will come that they will look for that which can make their times prosperous.

2 BARUCH 2

2 BARUCH 2:1

This, then, I have said to you that you may say to YermeYah(Jeremiah) and all those who are like you that you may retire from this city. For your works are for this city like a firm pillar and your prayers like a strong wall.

2 BARUCH 3

2 BARUCH 3:1

And I said:

2 BARUCH 3:2

O YAHWEH, Sovereign Master, have I therefore come into the world to see the evil things of my mother?

2 BARUCH 3:3

No, Sovereign Master. If I have found free unmerited favor and pardon in YOUR eyes, take away my ruach first that I may go to my fathers and I may not see the destruction of my mother.

2 BARUCH 3:4

For from two sides I am hard pressed: I cannot resist YOU, but my soul also cannot behold the evil of my mother. But one thing I shall say in YOUR presence, O YAHWEH:

Now, what will happen after these things?

2 BARUCH 3:5

For if YOU destroy YOUR city and deliver up YOUR country to those who hate us, how will the name of Yisrael be remembered again?

2 BARUCH 3:6

Or how shall we speak again about YOUR splendid deeds? Or to whom again will that which is in YOUR Torah be explained?

2 BARUCH 3:7

Or will the universe return to its nature and the world go back to its original silence?

2 BARUCH 3:8

And will the multitude of the souls be taken away and will not the nature of man be mentioned again?

2 BARUCH 3:9

And where is all that which YOU said to Mosheh about us?

2 BARUCH 4

The New Yerusalem

2 BARUCH 4:1

And YAHWEH said to me:This city will be delivered up for a time, And the people will be chastened for a time, And the world will not be forgotten.

2 BARUCH 4:2

Or do you think that this is the city of which I said: On the palms of MY hands I have carved you?

2 BARUCH 4:3

It is not this building that is in your midst now; it is that which will be revealed, with ME, that was already prepared from the moment that I decided to create Paradise. And I showed it to Adam before he sinned. But when he transgressed the commandment, it was taken away from him – as also Paradise.

2 BARUCH 4:4

After these things I showed it to MY servant Abraham in the night between the portions of the victims.

2 BARUCH 4:5

And again I showed it also to Mosheh on Mount Sinai when I showed him the likeness of the tabernacle and all its vessels.

2 BARUCH 4:6

Behold, now it is preserved with ME – as also Kingdom Paradise.

2 BARUCH 4:7

Now go away and do as I command you.

2 BARUCH 5

Preparation made by the malakim before the enemies arrive

2 BARUCH 5:1

And I answered and said: So then I shall be guilty in Zion, that YOUR haters will come to this place and pollute YOUR sanctuary, and carry off YOUR heritage into captivity, and rule over them whom YOU love. And then they will go away again to the land of their idols, and boast before them. And what have YOU done to YOUR great NAME?

2 BARUCH 5:2

And YAHWEH said to me:

MY NAME and MY splendor shall last unto eternity.

MY judgment, however, shall assert its rights in its own time.

2 BARUCH 5:3

And you shall see with your eyes that the enemy shall not destroy Zion and burn Yerusalem, but that they shall serve the Judge for a time.

2 BARUCH 5:4

You, however, go away and do all which I have said to you.

2 BARUCH 5:5

And I went away and took with me YermeYah and Adu and SeraiYah and Jabish and GedaliYah and all the nobles of the people. And I brought them to the valley of Kidron and told them all which had been said to me.

2 BARUCH 5:6

And they raised their voices and they all lamented.

2 BARUCH 5:7

And we sat there and fasted until the evening.

2 BARUCH 6

2 BARUCH 6:1

Now it happened on the following day that, behold, an army of the Chaldeans surrounded the city. And in the evening I, Baruch, left the people, went outside, and set myself by an oak.

2 BARUCH 6:2

And I was grieving over Zion and sighed because of the captivity which had come upon the people.

2 BARUCH 6:3

And behold, suddenly a strong ruach lifted me and carried me above the wall of Yerusalem.

2 BARUCH 6:4

And I saw, and behold, there were standing four malakim at the four comers of the city, each of them with a burning torch in his hands.

2 BARUCH 6:5

And another malak came down from heaven and said to them, “Hold your torches and do not light them before I say it to you.

2 BARUCH 6:6

Because I was sent first to speak a Word to the earth and then to deposit in it what

YAHWEH, the Most High, has commanded me.”

2 BARUCH 6:7

And I saw that he descended in the Kodesh of HaKodesh and that he took from there the veil, the kodesh ephod, the mercy seat, the two tables, the kodesh raiment of the kohenim, the altar of incense, the forty-eight precious stones with which the kohenim were clothed, and all the kodesh vessels of the tabernacle.

2 BARUCH 6:8

And he said to the earth with a loud voice: Earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of the ALMIGHTY YAHWEH, and receive the things which I commit to you, and guard them until the last times, so that you may restore them when you are ordered, so that strangers may not get possession of them.

2 BARUCH 6:9

For the time has arrived when Yerusalem will also be delivered up for a time, until the moment that it will be said that it will be restored forever.

2 BARUCH 6:10

And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up.

2 BARUCH 7

2 BARUCH 7:1

And after these things I heard this malak saying to the malakim who held the torches:

2 BARUCH 7:2

Now destroy the walls and overthrow them to their foundations so that the enemies do not boast and say, “We have overthrown the wall of Zion and we have burnt down the place of the ALMIGHTY YAHWEH.” And they restored me to the place where I once stood.

2 BARUCH 8

The Enemies Enter the City

2 BARUCH 8:1

Now the malakim did as he had commanded them; and when they had broken up the comers of the wall, a voice was heard from the midst of the Great Tabernacle after the wall had fallen, saying:

2 BARUCH 8:2

Enter, enemies, and come, adversaries, because he who guarded the house has left it. 2 BARUCH 8:3

And I, Baruch, went away.

2 BARUCH 8:4

And it happened after these things that the army of the Chaldeans entered and seized the house and all that is around it.

2 BARUCH 8:5

And they carried away the people into captivity and killed some of them. And they put

King ZedekiYah in irons and sent him to the king of Babylon.

2 BARUCH 9

2 BARUCH 9:1

And I, Baruch, came with YermeYah, whose heart was found to be pure from sins, and who was not captured during the seizure of the city;

2 BARUCH 9:2

And we rent our garments, and wept and mourned, and fasted for seven days.

2 BARUCH 10

Baruch’s lamentation

2 BARUCH 10:1

And it happened after seven days that the Word of YAHWEH came to me and said to me:

2 BARUCH 10:2

Tell YermeYah to go away in order to support the captives unto Babylon.

2 BARUCH 10:3

You, however, stay here in the desolation of Zion and I shall show you after th

ese days what will happen at the end of days.

2 BARUCH 10:4

And I spoke to YermeYah as YAHWEH commanded me.

2 BARUCH 10:5

He, then, went away with the people, but I, Baruch, came back and sat in front of the doors of the Great Tabernacle, and I raised the following lamentation over Zion and said:

2 BARUCH 10:6

Blessed is he who was not born, or he who was born and died.

2 BARUCH 10:7

But we, the living, woe to us, because we have seen those afflictions of Zion, and that which has befallen Yerusalem.

2 BARUCH 10:8

I shall call the Sirens from the sea, and you, Lilin, come from the desert, and you, demons and dragons from the woods. Awake and gird up your loins to mourn, and raise lamentations with me, and mourn with me.

2 BARUCH 10:9

You, farmers, sow not again. And you, O earth, why do you give the fruit of your harvest? Keep within you the sweetness of your sustenance.

2 BARUCH 10:10

And you, vine, why do you still give your wine? For an offering will not be given again from you in Zion, and the firstfruits will not again be offered.

2 BARUCH 10:11

And you, heaven, keep your dew within you, and do not open the treasuries of rain.

2 BARUCH 10:12

And you, sun, keep the light of your rays within you. And you, moon, extinguish the multitude of your light. For why should the light rise again, where the light of Zion is darkened?

2 BARUCH 10:13

And you, bridegrooms, do not enter, and do not let the brides adorn themselves.

2 BARUCH 10:14

And you, wives, do not pray to bear children, for the barren will rejoice more. And those who have no children will be glad, and those who have children will be sad.

2 BARUCH 10:15

For why do they bear in pains only to bury in grief?

2 BARUCH 10:16

Or why should men have children again? Or why should the generation of their kind be named again, where this mother is lonely, and her children have been carried away in captivity?

2 BARUCH 10:17

Henceforth, do not speak anymore of beauty, and do not talk about comeliness.

2 BARUCH 10:18

You, kohenim, take the keys of the sanctuary, and cast them to the highest heaven, and give them to YAHWEH and say, “Guard YOUR house YOURSELF, because, behold, we have been found to be false stewards.”

2 BARUCH 10:19

And you, virgins who spin fine linen, and silk with gold of Ophir, make haste and take all things, and cast them into the fire, so that it may carry them to HIM who made them. And the flame sends them to HIM who created them, so that the enemies do not take possession of them.

2 BARUCH 11

2 BARUCH 11:1

Now this I, Baruch, say to you, O Babylon: If you had lived in happiness and Zion in its splendor, it would have been a great sorrow to us that you had been equal to Zion.

2 BARUCH 11:2

But now, behold, the grief is infinite and the lamentation is unmeasurable, because, behold, you are happy and Zion has been destroyed.

2 BARUCH 11:3

Who will judge over these things? Or to whom shall we complain about that which has befallen us?

2 BARUCH 11:4

O YAHWEH, how have YOU borne it? Our fathers went to rest without grief and, behold, the righteous sleep at rest in the earth.

2 BARUCH 11:5

For they did not know this anguish nor did they hear that which has befallen us.

2 BARUCH 11:6

Would that you had ears, O earth and would that you had a heart, O dust, so that you might go and announce in the realm of death and say to the dead,

2 BARUCH 11:7

“You are more happy than we who live.”

2 BARUCH 12

2 BARUCH 12:1

But I shall say as I think and I shall speak to you, O land, that which is happy.

2 BARUCH 12:2

The afternoon will not always burn nor will the rays of the sun always give light.

2 BARUCH 12:3

Do not think and do not expect that you will always have happiness and joy, and do not raise yourself too much and do not oppress.

2 BARUCH 12:4

For surely wrath will arise against you in its own time, because long-suffering is now held back, as it were, by reins.

2 BARUCH 12:5

And having said these things, I fasted for seven days.

2 BARUCH 13

The nations will be judged

2 BARUCH 13:1

And after these things, it happened that I, Baruch, was standing on Mount Zion and, behold, a voice came from the high heavens, saying to me:

2 BARUCH 13:2

Stand upon your feet, Baruch, and hear the Word of the ALMIGHTY YAHWEH.

2 BARUCH 13:3

Because you have been astonished at that which has befallen Zion, you will surely be preserved until the end of times to be for a testimony.

2 BARUCH 13:4

This means that if these happy cities will ever say, “Why has the ALMIGHTY YAHWEH brought upon us this retribution?”,

2 BARUCH 13:5

You and those who are like you, those who have seen this evil and retribution coming over you and your nation in their own time, may say to them that the nations will be thoroughly punished.”

2 BARUCH 13:6

And this they may expect.

2 BARUCH 13:7

And when they say in that time, “When?”, you will say to them:

2 BARUCH 13:8

You who have drunk the clarified wine, you now drink its dregs, for the judgment of YAHWEH the Most High is impartial.

2 BARUCH 13:9

Therefore, HE did not spare HIS own sons first, but HE afflicted them as HIS enemies because they sinned.

2 BARUCH 13:10

Therefore, they were once punished, that they might be forgiven.

2 BARUCH 13:11

But now, you nations and tribes, you are guilty, because you have trodden the earth all this time, and because you have used creation unrighteously.

2 BARUCH 13:12

For I have always benefited you, and you have always denied the beneficence.

2 BARUCH 14

What is the profit of being righteous?

2 BARUCH 14:1

And I answered and said: Behold, YOU have shown me the course of times, and that which will happen after these things.

2 BARUCH 14:2

And YOU have told me that the retribution of that which has been spoken by YOU will come upon the nations. And now, I know there are many who have sinned and who have lived in happiness and who have left the world, but there will be few nations left in those times to which those Words can be spoken which YOU said.

2 BARUCH 14:3

For what is the advantage (of this), or what evil worse than that which we have seen befall us can we expect to see?

2 BARUCH 14:4

But I will continue to speak before YOU.

2 BARUCH 14:5

What have they profited who have knowledge before YOU, and who did not walk in vanity like the rest of the nations, and who did not say to the dead: “Give life to us,” but always feared YOU and did not leave YOUR ways?

2 BARUCH 14:6

And, behold, they have been diligent and, nevertheless, YOU had no mercy on Zion on their account.

2 BARUCH 14:7

And if there are others who did evil, Zion should have been forgiven on account of the works of those who did moraly right works and should not have been overwhelmed because of the works of those who acted unrighteously.

2 BARUCH 14:8

O YAHWEH, Sovereign Master, who can understand YOUR judgment? Or who can explore the depth of YOUR way?

2 BARUCH 14:9

Or who can discern the majesty of YOUR path? Or who can discern YOUR incomprehensible counsel? Or who of those who are born has ever discovered the beginning and the end of YOUR Wisdom?

2 BARUCH 14:10

For we all have been made like breath.

2 BARUCH 14:11

For as breath ascends without human control and vanishes, so it is with the nature of men, who do not go away according to their own will, and who do not know what will happen to them in the end.

2 BARUCH 14:12

For the righteous justly have excellent hope for the end and go away from this habitation without fear because they possess with YOU a store of moraly right works which is preserved in treasuries.

2 BARUCH 14:13

Therefore, they leave this world without fear and are confident of the world which YOU have promised to them with an expectation full of joy.

2 BARUCH 14:14

But woe to those of us who have also now been treated shamefully and who await evils at that time.

2 BARUCH 14:15

But YOU know exactly what YOU have made of YOUR servants, for we are not able to understand that which is excellent like YOU, YAHWEH our Creator.

2 BARUCH 14:16

I shall continue to speak before YOUR presence, O YAHWEH, Sovereign Master.

2 BARUCH 14:17

When in the beginning the world did not exist with its inhabitants, YOU devised and spoke by means of YOUR Word and at the same time the works of YOUR creation stood before YOU.

2 BARUCH 14:18

And YOU said that YOU would make a man for this world as a guardian over YOUR works that it should be known that he was not created for the world, but the world for him.

2 BARUCH 14:19

And now, I see that the world which was made for us, behold, it remains; but we, for whom it was made, depart.

2 BARUCH 15

2 BARUCH 15:1

And YAHWEH answered and said to me: You are rightly astonished about man’s departure, but your judgment about the evils which befell those who sin is incorrect.

2 BARUCH 15:2

And with regard to what you say about the righteous who are taken away and the wicked ones who are happy,

2 BARUCH 15:3

And with regard to what you say that man does not know your judgment,

2 BARUCH 15:4

For this reason, now, listen and I shall speak to you; pay attention and I shall let MY Words be heard.

2 BARUCH 15:5

It is true that man would not have understood MY judgment if he had not received the Torah and if he were not instructed with understanding.

2 BARUCH 15:6

But now, because he trespassed, having understanding, he will be punished because he has understanding.

2 BARUCH 15:7

And with regard to the righteous ones, those whom you said the world has come on their account, yes, also that which is coming is on their account.

2 BARUCH 15:8

For this world is to them a struggle and an effort with much trouble. And that accordingly which will come, a crown with great splendor.

2 BARUCH 16

2 BARUCH 16:1

And I answered and said: O YAHWEH, Sovereign Master, behold, the present years are few and evil, and who can inherit that which is unmeasurable in this short time?

2 BARUCH 17

2 BARUCH 17:1

And YAHWEH answered and said to me: With the Most High no account is taken of much time and of few years.

2 BARUCH 17:2

For what did it profit Adam that he lived nine hundred and thirty years and transgressed that which he was commanded?

2 BARUCH 17:3

Therefore, the multitude of time that he lived did not profit him, but it brought death and cut off the years of those who were born from him.

2 BARUCH 17:4

Or what did it harm Mosheh that he lived only one hundred and twenty years and, because he subjected himself to HIM who created him, he brought the Torah to the descendants of Yacob and he lighted a lamp to the generation of Yisrael?

2 BARUCH 18

2 BARUCH 18:1

And I answered and said: He who lighted took from the light, and there are few who imitated him.

2 BARUCH 18:2

But many whom he illuminated took from the darkness of Adam and did not rejoice in the light of the lamp.

2 BARUCH 19

2 BARUCH 19:1

And HE answered and said to me: Therefore he appointed a covenant for them at that time and said, “Behold, I appoint for you Life and death,” and HE called heaven and earth as a witness against them.

2 BARUCH 19:2

For he knew that his time was short, but that heaven and earth will stay forever.

2 BARUCH 19:3

They, however, sinned and trespassed after his death, although they knew that they had the Torah to reprove them and that Light in which nothing could err, apart from the spheres, which witnessed, and ME. And I judge everything that exists.

2 BARUCH 19:4

You, however, should not think about this in your heart and you should not be afflicted because of the things which have been.

2 BARUCH 19:5

For now the end of times is at stake whether it be property, happiness, or shame; and not its beginning.

2 BARUCH 19:6

For when a man is happy in his youth and is treated badly in his old age, he forgets all happiness he possessed.

2 BARUCH 19:7

And further, when a man is badly treated in his youth but will be happy in the end, he does not remember his unhappiness anymore.

2 BARUCH 19:8

And further, listen: Even if everyone had been happy continually since the day death was decreed against those who trespassed, but was destroyed in the end, everything would have been in vain.

2 BARUCH 20

2 BARUCH 20:1

Therefore, behold, the days will come and the times will hasten, more than the former, and the periods will hasten more than those which are gone, and the years will pass more quickly than the present ones.

2 BARUCH 20:2

Therefore, I now took away Zion to visit the world in its own time more speedily.

2 BARUCH 20:3

Now, however, remember everything which I commanded you and seal it in the interior of your mind.

2 BARUCH 20:4

And then I shall show you MY strong judgment and MY unexplorable ways.

2 BARUCH 20:5

Therefore, go away and sanctify yourself for seven days and do not eat bread and do not drink water and do not speak to anybody.

2 BARUCH 20:6

And after this time come to this place, and I shall reveal MYSELF to you, and I shall speak to you true things, and I shall command you with regard to the course of times, for they will come and will not tarry.

2 BARUCH 21

Prayer of Baruch, the Son of Neriah

2 BARUCH 21:1

I went from there and sat in the valley of Kidron in a cave of the earth and sanctified myself there and ate no bread, but I was not hungry; I drank no water, but I was not thirsty. And I stayed there until the seventh day as YAHWEH had commanded me.

2 BARUCH 21:2

And after this I came to the place where HE had spoken with me.

2 BARUCH 21:3

And it happened at sunset that my soul received many thoughts, and I began to speak in the presence of YAHWEH the Mighty One, and said:

2 BARUCH 21:4

O hear me, YOU who created the earth, the one who fixed the firmament by the Word and fastened the height of heaven by the Ruach, the one who in the beginning of the world called that which did not yet exist and they obeyed YOU.

2 BARUCH 21:5

YOU who gave commandments to the air with YOUR sign and have seen the things which are to come as well as those which have passed.

2 BARUCH 21:6

YOU who reign with great thoughts over the powers which stand before YOU, and who rules with indignation the countless kodesh beings, who are flame and fire, whom YOU created from the beginning, those who stand around YOUR throne.

2 BARUCH 21:7

For YOU alone (all) this exists so that YOU may create at once all that YOU want.

2 BARUCH 21:8

YOU are the one who causes the rain to fall on earth with a specific number of raindrops. YOU alone know the end of times before it has arrived. Hear my prayer.

2 BARUCH 21:9

For only YOU can sustain those who exist, those who have gone and those who will come, those who sin and those who have proved themselves to be righteous, since YOU are the Living One, the Inscrutable One.

2 BARUCH 21:10

For YOU are the only Living One, the Immortal One and the Inscrutable One, and YOU know the number of men.

2 BARUCH 21:11

And while many have sinned once, many others have proved themselves to be righteous.

2 BARUCH 21:12

YOU know where YOU have preserved the end of those who have sinned or the fulfillment of those who have proved themselves to be righteous.

2 BARUCH 21:13

For if only this life exists which everyone possesses here, nothing could be more bitter than this.

2 BARUCH 21:14

For of what help is strength which changes into weakness, or food in abundance which changes into famine, or beauty which changes into ugliness?

2 BARUCH 21:15

For the nature of men is always changeable.

2 BARUCH 21:16

For as we were once, we are no longer, and as we are now, we shall not remain in the future.

2 BARUCH 21:17

For if an end of all things had not been prepared, their beginning would have been senseless.

2 BARUCH 21:18

But let me know all that which comes from YOU, and regarding that which I ask YOU, enlighten me.

2 BARUCH 21:19

How long will corruption remain, and until when will the time of mortals be happy, and until when will those who pass away be polluted by the great wickedness in this world?

2 BARUCH 21:20

Therefore, command mercifully and confirm all that YOU have said that YOU would do so that YOUR Power will be recognized by those who believe that YOUR long-suffering means weakness.

2 BARUCH 21:21

And now show it to them, those who do not know, but who have seen that which has befallen us and our city, up to now, that it is in agreement with the long-suffering of YOUR Power, because YOU called us a beloved people on account of YOUR NAME.

2 BARUCH 21:22

From now, therefore, everything is in a state of dying.

2 BARUCH 21:23

Therefore, reprove the malak of death, and let YOUR splendor appear, and let the greatness of YOUR beauty be known, and let the realm of death be sealed so that it may not receive the dead from this time, and let the treasuries of the souls restore those who are enclosed in them.

2 BARUCH 21:24

For as many years have passed as those which passed since the days of Abraham, Yitschaq, and Yacob and all those who were like them, who sleep in the earth-those on whose account YOU have said YOU have created the world.

2 BARUCH 21:25

And now, show YOUR splendor soon and do not postpone that which was promised by YOU.

2 BARUCH 21:26

And it happened that when I had ended the words of this prayer, I became very weak.

2 BARUCH 22

2 BARUCH 22:1

And afterward it happened that, behold, the heaven was opened, and I saw and strength was given to me, and a Voice was heard from on high which said to me:

2 BARUCH 22:2

Baruch, Baruch, why are you disturbed?

2 BARUCH 22:3

Who starts on a journey and does not complete it? Or who will be comforted making a sea voyage unless he can reach a harbor?

2 BARUCH 22:4

Or he who promises to give a present to somebody; is it not a theft, unless it is fulfilled?

2 BARUCH 22:5

Or he who sows the earth; does he not lose everything unless he reaps its harvest in its own time?

2 BARUCH 22:6

Or he who plants a vineyard; does the planter expect to receive fruit from it, unless it grows until its appointed time?

2 BARUCH 22:7

Or a woman who has conceived; does she not surely kill the child when she bears untimely?

2 BARUCH 22:8

Or he who builds a house, can it be called a house, unless it is provided with a roof and is finished? Tell this to ME first.

2 BARUCH 23

2 BARUCH 23:1

And I answered and said: No, YAHWEH, the Sovereign Master.

2 BARUCH 23:2

And HE answered and said to me: Why, then, are you disturbed about that which you do not know, and why are you restless about that of which you do not possess any knowledge?

2 BARUCH 23:3

For as you have not forgotten men who exist and who have passed away, I remember those who will come.

2 BARUCH 23:4

For when Adam sinned and death was decreed against those who were to be born, the multitude of those who would be born was numbered. And for that number a place was prepared where the living ones might live and where the dead might be preserved.

2 BARUCH 23:5

No creature will live again unless the number that has been appointed is completed. For MY Ruach creates the living, and the realm of death receives the dead.

2 BARUCH 23:6

And further, it is given to you to hear that which will come after these times.

2 BARUCH 23:7

For truly, MY yashuah (salvation) which comes has drawn near and is not as far away as before.

2 BARUCH 24

2 BARUCH 24:1

For behold, the days are coming, and the scrolls will be opened in which are written the sins of all those who have sinned, and moreover, also the treasuries in which are brought together the righteousness of all those who have proven themselves to be righteous.

2 BARUCH 24:2

And it will happen at that time that you shall see, and many with you, the long-suffering of YAHWEH the Most High, which lasts from generation to generation, who has been long-suffering toward all who are born, both those who sinned and those who proved themselves to be righteous.

2 BARUCH 24:3

And I answered and said: But, behold, O YAHWEH, a man does not know the number of things which pass away nor those which come.

2 BARUCH 24:4

For behold, I also know what has befallen me; but that which will happen with our enemies, I do not know, or when YOU will command YOUR works.

2 BARUCH 25

2 BARUCH 25:1

And YAHWEH answered and said to me: You also will be preserved until that time, namely until that sign which YAHWEH the Most High will bring about before the inhabitants of the earth at the end of days.

2 BARUCH 25:2

This then will be the sign:

2 BARUCH 25:3

When horror seizes the inhabitants of earth, and they fall into many tribulations and further, they fall into great torments.

2 BARUCH 25:4

And it will happen that they will say in their thoughts because of their great tribulations, “YAHWEH the Mighty One does not anymore remember the earth”; It will happen when they lose hope, that the time will awake.

2 BARUCH 26

The apocalypse of the twelve calamities and the coming of the Messiah

2 BARUCH 26:1

And I answered and said: That tribulation which will be will it last a long time; and that distress, will it embrace many years?

2 BARUCH 27

2 BARUCH 27:1

And YAHWEH answered and said to me: That time will be divided into twelve parts, and each part has been preserved for that for which it was appointed.

2 BARUCH 27:2

In the first part: the beginning of commotions.

2 BARUCH 27:3

In the second part: the slaughtering of the great.

2 BARUCH 27:4

In the third part: the fall of many into death.

2 BARUCH 27:5

In the fourth part: the drawing of the sword.

2 BARUCH 27:6

In the fifth part: famine and the withholding of rain.

2 BARUCH 27:7

In the sixth part: earthquakes and terrors.

2 BARUCH 27:8

In the eighth part: a multitude of ghosts and the appearances of demons.

2 BARUCH 27:9

In the ninth part: the fall of fire.

2 BARUCH 27:10

In the tenth part: rape and much violence.

2 BARUCH 27:11

In the eleventh part: injustice and unchastity.

2 BARUCH 27:12

In the twelfth part: disorder and a mixture of all that has been before.

2 BARUCH 27:13

These parts of that time will be preserved and will be mixed, one with another, and they will minister to each other.

2 BARUCH 27:14

For some of these parts will withhold a part of themselves and take from others and will accomplish that which belongs to them and to others; hence, those who live on earth in those days will not understand that it is the end of times.

2 BARUCH 28

2 BARUCH 28:1

But everyone who will understand will be wise at that time.

2 BARUCH 28:2

For the measure and the calculation of that time will be two parts: weeks of seven weeks.

2 BARUCH 28:3

And I answered and said: It is excellent that man should come so far and see, but it is better that he should not come so far lest he fall.

2 BARUCH 28:4

But I shall also say this:

2 BARUCH 28:5

Will he who is incorruptible despise those who are corruptible, and will he despise what happens with those who are corruptible so that he might only look to those who are not corruptible?

2 BARUCH 28:6

But when, YAHWEH, these things will surely come of which YOU spoke to me before, let me also know this, if I have found free unmerited favor and pardon in YOUR eyes:

2 BARUCH 28:7

Is it in one place or in one part of the earth that these things will come or will they be noticed by the whole earth?

2 BARUCH 29

2 BARUCH 29:7

And YAHWEH answered and said to me: That which will happen at that time bears upon the whole earth. Therefore, all who live will notice it.

2 BARUCH 29:2

For at that time I shall only protect those found in this land at that time.

2 BARUCH 29:3

And it will happen that when all that which should come to pass in these parts has been accomplished, the Anointed One will begin to be revealed.

2 BARUCH 29:4

And Behemoth will reveal itself from its place, and Leviathan will come from the sea, the two great monsters which I created on the fifth day of creation and which I shall have kept until that time. And they will be nourishment for all who are left.

2 BARUCH 29:5

The earth will also yield fruits ten thousand fold. And on one vine will be one thousand branches, and one branch will produce one thousand clusters, and one cluster will produce one thousand grapes, and one grape will produce a cor of wine.

2 BARUCH 29:6

And those who are hungry will enjoy themselves and they will, moreover, see marvels every day.

2 BARUCH 29:7

For winds will go out in front of ME every morning to bring the fragrance of aromatic fruits and clouds at the end of the day to distill the dew of health.

2 BARUCH 29:8

And it will happen at that time that the treasury of manna will come down again from on high, and they will eat of it in those years because these are they who will have arrived at the consummation of time.

2 BARUCH 30

2 BARUCH 30:1

And it will happen after these things when the time of the appearance of the Anointed One has been fulfilled and He returns with splendor, that then all who sleep in hope of Him will rise.

2 BARUCH 30:2

And it will happen at that time that those treasuries will be opened in which the number of the souls of the righteous were kept, and they will go out and the multitudes of the souls will appear together, in One assemblage, of one mind. And the first ones will enjoy themselves and the last ones will not be sad.

2 BARUCH 30:3

For they know that the time has come of which it is said that it is the end of times.

2 BARUCH 30:4

But the souls of the wicked will the more waste away when they shall see all these things.

2 BARUCH 30:5

For they know that their torment has come and that their perditions have arrived.

2 BARUCH 31

Baruch speaks to the people

2 BARUCH 31:1

And it happened after these things, that I went to the people and said to them: Assemble to me all our elders and I shall speak words to you.

2 BARUCH 31:2

I And they all assembled in the valley of the Kidron.

2 BARUCH 31:3

And I began to speak and said to them: Hear, O Yisrael, and I shall speak to you, and you, O seed of Yacob, pay attention, and I shall teach you.

2 BARUCH 31:4

Do not forget Zion but remember the distress of Yerusalem.

2 BARUCH 31:5

For, behold, the days are coming, that all that has been will be taken away to be destroyed, and it will become as though it had not been.

2 BARUCH 32

2 BARUCH 32:1

You, however, if you prepare your minds to sow into them the fruits of the Torah, YAHWEH shall protect you in the time in which YAHWEH the Mighty One shall shake the entire creation.

2 BARUCH 32:2

For after a short time, the building of Zion will be shaken in order that it will be rebuilt.

2 BARUCH 32:3

That building will not remain; but it will again be uprooted after some time and will remain desolate for a time.

2 BARUCH 32:4

And after that it is necessary that it will be renewed in splendor and that it will be perfected into eternity.

2 BARUCH 32:5

We should not, therefore, be so sad regarding the evil which has come now, but much more (distressed) regarding that which is in the future.

2 BARUCH 32:6

For greater than the two evils will be the trial when YAHWEH the Mighty One will renew HIS creation.

2 BARUCH 32:7

And now, do not draw near to me for some days and do not call upon me until I shall come to you.

2 BARUCH 32:8

And it happened after having said all these words to them that I, Baruch, went my way. And when the people saw that I went away, they raised their voices and lamented and said:

2 BARUCH 32:9

Where are you going from us, Baruch, and do you leave us as a father who leaves his children as orphans and goes away from them?

2 BARUCH 33

2 BARUCH 33:1

These are the commands which your friend YermeYah, the prophet, gave to you. And he said to you,

2 BARUCH 33:2

“Look to this people during the time I am absent, while I help the rest of our brothers in Babylon, against whom has been declared the sentence that they should be carried away into captivity.”

2 BARUCH 33:3

And now, if you abandon us too, it would have been better for all of us that we shall die first, and that then you should abandon us.

2 BARUCH 34

2 BARUCH 34:1

And I answered and said to the people:

Heaven forbid that I should abandon you or that I should go away from you. But I shall go to the Kodesh of Ha Kodeshim to ask from YAHWEH the Mighty One on behalf of you and Zion so that I may receive in some ways more Light, and after that I shall return to you.

2 BARUCH 35

The apocalypse of the forest, the vine, the fountain, and the cedar

2 BARUCH 35:1

And I, Baruch, went to the Kodesh place and sat on the ruins and wept and said:

2 BARUCH 35:2

O that my eyes were springs, and my eyelids, that they were a fountain of tears.

2 BARUCH 35:3

For how shall I be sad over Zion, and lament over Yerusalem?

2 BARUCH 35:4

For at the place where now I am prostrate, the high kohenim used to offer Kodesh sacrifices, and placed thereon incense of fragrant spices.

2 BARUCH 35:5

Now, however, that of which we are proud has become dust, and that which our soul desired is ashes.

2 BARUCH 36

2 BARUCH 36:1

And when I had said this, I fell asleep at that place and saw a vision in the night.

2 BARUCH 36:2

And behold there was a forest with trees that was planted on the plain and surrounded by high mountains and rugged rocks. And the forest occupied much space.

2 BARUCH 36:3

And behold, over against it a vine arose, and from under it a fountain (ran) peacefully.

2 BARUCH 36:4

And that fountain came to the forest and changed into great waves, and those waves submerged the forest and suddenly uprooted the entire forest and overthrew all the mountains which surrounded it.

2 BARUCH 36:5

And the height of the forest became low, and that top of the mountains became low. And that fountain became so strong that it left nothing of the great forest except one cedar.

2 BARUCH 36:6

When it had also cast that one down, it destroyed the entire forest and uprooted it so that nothing was left of it, and its place was not even known anymore. Then that vine arrived with the fountain in shalom and in great tranquillity and arrived at a place which was not far away from the cedar, and they brought to him that cedar which had been cast down.

2 BARUCH 36:7

And I saw, and behold, that vine opened its mouth and spoke and said to the cedar, “Are you not that cedar which remained of the forest of wickedness? Because of you, wickedness remained and has been done during all these years, but never goodness.

2 BARUCH 36:8

And you possessed power over that which did not belong to you; you did not even show compassion to that which did belong to you. And you extended your power over those who were living far from you, and you keep those who are close to you in the nets of your wickedness, and you uplift your soul always like one who could not be uprooted.

2 BARUCH 36:9

But now your time has hastened and your hour has come.

2 BARUCH 36:10

Therefore O cedar, follow the forest which has departed before you and become ashes with it, and let your earth be mixed together.

2 BARUCH 36:11

And now, sleep in distress and rest in pain until your last time comes in which you will return to be tormented even more.”

2 BARUCH 37

2 BARUCH 37:1

And after these things I saw that the cedar was burning and the vine growing, while it and all around it became a valley full of unfading flowers. And I awoke and arose.

2 BARUCH 38

Interpretation of the apocalypse

2 BARUCH 38:1

And I prayed and said: O YAHWEH, the Sovereign Master, YOU are the ONE who has always enlightened those who conduct themselves with understanding.

2 BARUCH 38:2

YOUR Torah is Life, and YOUR wisdom is the right way.

2 BARUCH 38:3

Now, show me the explanation of this vision.

2 BARUCH 38:4

For YOU know that my soul has always been associated with YOUR Torah, and that I did not depart from YOUR wisdom from my earliest days.

2 BARUCH 39

2 BARUCH 39:1

And YAHWEH answered and said to me: Baruch, this is the explanation of the vision which you have seen.

2 BARUCH 39:2

As you have seen the great forest surrounded by high and rocky mountains, this is the world:

2 BARUCH 39:3

Behold, the days will come when this kingdom that destroyed Zion once will be destroyed and that it will be subjected to that which will come after it.

2 BARUCH 39:4

This again will also be destroyed after some time. And another, a third, will rise and also that will possess power in its own time and will be destroyed.

2 BARUCH 39:5

After that a fourth kingdom arises whose power is harsher and more evil than those which were before it, and it will reign a multitude of times like the trees on the plain, and it will rule the times and exalt itself more than the cedars of Lebanon.

2 BARUCH 39:6

And the Truth will hide itself in this and all who are polluted with unrighteousness will flee to it like the evil beasts flee and creep into the forest.

2 BARUCH 39:7

And it will happen when the time of its fulfillment is approaching in which it will fall, that at that time the dominion of MY Anointed One which is like the fountain and the vine, will be revealed. And when it has revealed itself, it will uproot the multitude of its host.

2 BARUCH 39:8

And that which you have seen, namely the tall cedar, which remained of that forest, and with regard to the words which the vine said to it which you heard, this is the meaning.

2 BARUCH 40

2 BARUCH 40:1

The last ruler who is left alive at that time will be bound, whereas the entire host will be destroyed. And they will carry Him on Mount Zion, and MY Anointed One will convict him of all his wicked deeds and will assemble and set before him all the works of his hosts.

2 BARUCH 40:2

And after these things He will kill him and protect the rest of MY people who will be found in the place that I have chosen.

2 BARUCH 40:3

And His dominion will last forever until the world of corruption has ended and until the times which have been mentioned before have been fulfilled.

2 BARUCH 40:4

This is your vision, and this is its explanation.

2 BARUCH 41

About the apostates and the believers

2 BARUCH 41:1

And I answered and said: For whom and for how many will these things be? Or who will be worthy to live in that time?

2 BARUCH 41:2

I shall now say before YOU everything that I think, and I shall ask YOU about the things of which I meditate.

2 BARUCH 41:3

For behold, I see many of YOUR people who separated themselves from YOUR statutes and who have cast away from them the yoke of YOUR Torah.

2 BARUCH 41:4

Further, I have seen others who left behind their vanity and who have fled under YOUR wings.

2 BARUCH 41:5

What will, therefore, happen with those? Or how will that last time receive them?

2 BARUCH 41:6

Their time will surely not be weighed exactly, and they will certainly not be judged as the scale indicates?

2 BARUCH 42

2 BARUCH 42:1

And YAHWEH answered and said to me:

2 BARUCH 42:2

Also these things I shall show you. As for what you said: “To whom and to how many will these things be?” The tov that was mentioned before will be to those who have believed, and the opposite of these things will be to those who have despised.

2 BARUCH 42:3

And as for that which you said with regard to those who have drawn near and to those who have withdrawn, this is the explanation.

2 BARUCH 42:4

As for those who have first subjected themselves and have withdrawn later and who mingled themselves with the seed of the mingled nations, their first time will be considered as mountains.

2 BARUCH 42:5

And those who first did not know Life and who later knew it exactly and who mingled with the seed of the people who have separated themselves, their first time will be considered as mountains.

2 BARUCH 42:6

And times will inherit times, and periods periods, and they will receive from one another. And then, with a view to the end, all will be compared according to the length of times and the hours of periods.

2 BARUCH 42:7

For corruption will take away those who belong to it, and Life those who belong to it.

2 BARUCH 42:8

And dust will be called, and told, “Give back that which does not belong to you and raise up all that you have kept until its own time.”

2 BARUCH 43

2 BARUCH 43:1

You, however, Baruch, strengthen your heart with a view to that which has been said to you, and understand that which has been revealed to you because you have many consolations which will last forever.

2 BARUCH 43:2

For you will go away from this place and leave the regions which are now before your eyes. And you shall forget that which is corruptible and not again remember that which is among the mortal ones.

2 BARUCH 43:3

Go away, therefore, and command your people and come to this place and afterward fast seven days. And then I shall come to you and speak with you.

2 BARUCH 44

Baruch speaks to the people

2 BARUCH 44:1

And I, Baruch, went from there and came to my people and called my first-born son and the Gedaliahs, my friends, and seven of the elders of the people and said to them:

2 BARUCH 44:2

Behold, I go to my fathers in accordance with the way of the whole earth.

2 BARUCH 44:3

You, however, do not withdraw from the way of the Torah, but guard and admonish the people who are left lest they withdraw from the commandments of YAHWEH the Mighty One.

2 BARUCH 44:4

For you see that HE whom we serve is righteous and that our Creator is impartial.

2 BARUCH 44:5

And see what has befallen Zion and what happened to Yerusalem,

2 BARUCH 44:6

that the judgment of YAHWEH the Mighty One will be made known, as well as HIS ways which are inscrutable and right.

2 BARUCH 44:7

For when you endure and persevere in HIS fear and do not forget HIS Torah, the time again will take a turn for the better for you. And they will participate in the consolation of Zion.

2 BARUCH 44:8

For that which is now is nothing. But that which is in the future will be very great.

2 BARUCH 44:9

For everything will pass away which is corruptible, and everything that dies will go away, and all present time will be forgotten, and there will be no remembrance of the present time which is polluted by evils.

2 BARUCH 44:10

For he who runs now runs in vain and he who is happy will fall quickly and be humiliated.

2 BARUCH 44:11

For that which will be in the future, that is what one will look for, and that which comes later, that is what we shall hope for. For there is a time that does not pass away.

2 BARUCH 44:12

And that period is coming which will remain forever; and there is the new world which does not carry back to corruption those who enter into its beginning, and which has no mercy on those who come into torment or those who are living in it, and it does not carry to perdition.

2 BARUCH 44:13

For those are the ones who will inherit this time of which it is spoken, and to these is the heritage of the promised time.

2 BARUCH 44:14

These are they who prepared for themselves treasures of wisdom. And stores of insight are found with them. And they have not withdrawn from mercy and they have preserved the Truth of the Torah.

2 BARUCH 44:15

For the coming world will be given to these, but the habitation of the many others will be in the fire.

2 BARUCH 45

2 BARUCH 45:1

You, therefore, admonish the people as much as you can. For this is our work.

2 BARUCH 45:2

For, when you instruct them, you will make them alive.

2 BARUCH 46

2 BARUCH 46:1

And my son and the elders of the people said to me: Did YAHWEH the Mighty One humiliate us to such an extent that HE will take you away from us quickly?

2 BARUCH 46:2

And shall we truly be in darkness, and will there be no Light anymore for that people who are left?

2 BARUCH 46:3

For where shall we again investigate the Torah, or who will distinguish between death and Life for us?

2 BARUCH 46:4

And I said to them: I cannot resist the throne of YAHWEH the Mighty One. But Yisrael will not be in want of a wise man, nor the tribe of Yacob, a son of the Torah.

2 BARUCH 46:5

But only prepare your heart so that you obey the Torah, and be subject to those who are wise and understanding with fear. And prepare your soul that you shall not depart from them.

2 BARUCH 46:6

If you do this, those pleasant tidings will come to you of which I spoke to you earlier, and you will not fall into the torment of which I spoke to you earlier.

2 BARUCH 46:7

But with regard to the word that I shall be taken up, I did not let it be known to them at that time, not even to my son.

2 BARUCH 47

2 BARUCH 47:1

And after I had left, having dismissed them, I returned from there and said to them: Behold, I go to Hebron, for to there YAHWEH the Mighty One has sent me.

2 BARUCH 47:2

And I arrived at that place where the Word was spoken to me, and I sat there and fasted seven days.

2 BARUCH 48

Prayer of Baruch

2 BARUCH 48:1

And it happened after seven days that I prayed before YAHWEH the Mighty One and said:

2 BARUCH 48:2

O YAHWEH, YOU summon the coming of the times, and they stand before YOU. YOU cause the display of power of the worlds to pass away and they do not resist YOU. YOU arrange the course of the periods, and they obey YOU.

2 BARUCH 48:3

Only YOU know the length of the generations, and YOU do not reveal YOUR secrets to many.

2 BARUCH 48:4

YOU make known the multitude of the fire, and YOU weigh the lightness of the wind.

2 BARUCH 48:5

YOU investigate the end of the heights, and YOU scrutinize the depths of darkness.

2 BARUCH 48:6

YOU command the number which will pass away, and which will be preserved. And YOU prepare a house for those who will be.

2 BARUCH 48:7

YOU remember the beginning which YOU created, and YOU do not forget that destruction which will come.

2 BARUCH 48:8

With signs of fear and threat YOU command the flames, and they change into winds. And with the Word YOU bring to Life that which does not exist, and with great Power YOU hold that which has not yet come.

2 BARUCH 48:9

YOU instruct the creation with YOUR understanding, and YOU give wisdom to the spheres so that they minister according to their positions.

2 BARUCH 48:10

Innumerable hosts stand before YOU, and serve peacefully YOUR sign according to their positions.

2 BARUCH 48:11

Hear YOUR servant, and regard my appeal.

2 BARUCH 48:12

For we are born in a short time, and in a short time we return.

2 BARUCH 48:13

With YOU, however, the hours are like times, and the days like generations.

2 BARUCH 48:14

Be, therefore, not angry at man because he is nothing; and do not take count of our works; for what are we?

2 BARUCH 48:15

For behold, by YOUR gift we come into the world, and we do go not of our own will.

2 BARUCH 48:16

For we did not say to our parents: “Beget us,” nor have we sent to the realm of death saying: “Receive us.”

2 BARUCH 48:17

What therefore is our strength that we can bear YOUR wrath, or what are we that we can endure YOUR judgment?

2 BARUCH 48:18

Protect us in YOUR free unmerited favor and pardon, and in YOUR mercy help us.

2 BARUCH 48:19

Look at the small ones who submit to YOU, and deliver all those who come to YOU. And do not take away the hope of our people, and do not make short the times of our help.

2 BARUCH 48:20

For these are the people whom YOU have elected, and this is the nation of which YOU found no equal.

2 BARUCH 48:21

But I shall speak to YOU now, and I shall say as my heart thinks.

2 BARUCH 48:22

In YOU we have put our trust, because, behold, YOUR Torah is with us, and we know that we do not fall as long as we keep YOUR statutes.

2 BARUCH 48:23

We shall always be blessed; at least, we did not mingle with the nations. For we are all a people of the NAME; we, who received one Torah from YAHWEH the One.

2 BARUCH 48:24

And that Torah that is among us will help us, and that excellent wisdom which is in us will support us.

2 BARUCH 48:25

And when I had prayed these things I became very weak.

2 BARUCH 48:26

And HE answered and said to me: You have prayed honestly, Baruch, and all your words have been heard.

2 BARUCH 48:27

But MY judgment asks for its own, and MY Torah demands its right.

2 BARUCH 48:28

For from your words I shall answer you, and from your prayer I shall speak with you.

2 BARUCH 48:29

Because it is as follows: There is nothing that will be destroyed unless it acted wickedly, if it had been able to do something without remembering MY goodness and accepting MY long-suffering.

2 BARUCH 48:30

For this reason surely you will be taken up, as I said to you before.

2 BARUCH 48:31

And the time will come of which I spoke to you and that true is appearing which brings affliction. For it will come and pass away with enormous vehemence; and arriving in the heat of indignation, it will be turbulent.

2 BARUCH 48:32

And it will be in those days that all inhabitants of the earth will live with each other in shalom, because they do not know that MY judgment has come near.

2 BARUCH 48:33

For in that time there will not be found many wise men and there will also be not many intelligent ones, but, in addition, they who know will be silent more and more.

2 BARUCH 48:34

And there will be many tidings and not a few rumors, and the works of the phantoms will be visible, and not a few promises will be told, some idle and others affirmed.

2 BARUCH 48:35

And honor will change itself into shame, and strength will be humiliated to contempt, and the strong one will be broken down, and beauty will become contemptible.

2 BARUCH 48:36

And many will say to many in that time, “Where did the multitude of intelligence hide itself and where did the multitude of wisdom depart?”

2 BARUCH 48:37

And when one thinks about these things, jealousy will arise in those who did not think much of themselves; and passion will take hold of those who were peaceful; and many will be agitated by wrath to injure many; and they will raise armies to shed blood; and they will perish with those in the end.

2 BARUCH 48:38

And it will happen in that time that a change of times will reveal itself openly for the eyes of everyone because they polluted themselves in all those times and caused oppression, and each one walked in his own works and did not remember the Torah of YAHWEH the Mighty One.

2 BARUCH 48:39

Therefore, a fire will consume their thoughts, and with a flame the meditations of their kidneys will be examined. For the Judge will come and will not hesitate.

2 BARUCH 48:40

For each of the inhabitants of the earth knew when he acted unrighteously, and they did not know MY Torah because of their pride.

2 BARUCH 48:41

But many will surely weep at that time-more, however, because of the living ones than of the dead.

2 BARUCH 48:42

And I answered and said: O Adam, what did you do to all who were born after you?

And what will be said of the first Eve who obeyed the serpent,

2 BARUCH 48:43

so that this whole multitude is going to corruption? And countless are those whom the fire devours.

2 BARUCH 48:44

But again I shall speak before YOU.

2 BARUCH 48:45

YOU, O YAHWEH, Sovereign Master, YOU know that which is in YOUR creation, 2 BARUCH 48:46

for YOU commanded the dust one day to produce Adam; and YOU knew the number of those who are born from him and how they sinned before YOU, those who existed and who did not recognize YOU as their Creator.

2 BARUCH 48:47

And concerning all of those, their end will put them to shame, and YOUR Torah which they transgressed will repay them on YOUR day.

2 BARUCH 48:48

And HE answered and said to me: But now, let us cease talking about the wicked and inquire about the righteous.

2 BARUCH 48:49

And I will tell about their blessedness and I shall not be silent about their splendor which is kept for them.

2 BARUCH 48:50

For surely, as you endured much labor in the short time in which you live in this passing world, so you will receive great Light in that world which has no end.

2 BARUCH 49

2 BARUCH 49:1

But further, I ask YOU, O YAHWEH the Mighty One; and I shall ask free unmerited and pardon from YOU who created all things.

2 BARUCH 49:2

In which shape will the living live in YOUR day? Or how will remain their splendor which will be after that?

2 BARUCH 49:3

Will they, perhaps, take again this present form, and will they put on the chained members which are in evil and by which evils are accomplished? Or will you perhaps change these things which have been in the world, as also the world itself?

2 BARUCH 50

2 BARUCH 50:1

And HE answered and said to me: Listen, Baruch, to this Word and write down in the memory of your heart all that you shall learn.

2 BARUCH 50:2

For the earth will surely give back the dead at that time; it receives them now in order to keep them, not changing anything in their form. But as it has received them so it will give them back. And as I have delivered them to it so it will raise them.

2 BARUCH 50:3

For then it will be necessary to show those who live that the dead are living again, and that those who went away have come back.

2 BARUCH 50:4

And it will be that when they have recognized each other, those who know each other at this moment, then MY judgment will be strong, and those things which have been spoken of before will come.

2 BARUCH 51

2 BARUCH 51:1

And it will happen after this day which I appointed is over that both the shape of those who are found to be guilty as also the splendor of those who have proved to be righteous will be changed.

2 BARUCH 51:2

For the shape of those who now act wickedly will be made more evil than it is (now) so that they shall suffer torment.

2 BARUCH 51:3

Also, as for the honor and splendor of those who proved to be righteous on account of MY Torah, those who possessed intelligence in their life, and those who planted the root of wisdom in their heart; their honor and splendor will then be magnified by transformations, and the shape of their face will be changed into the Light of their beauty so that they may acquire and receive the undying world which is promised to them.

2 BARUCH 51:4

Therefore, especially they who will then come will be sad, because they despised MY Torah and stopped their ears lest they hear wisdom and receive intelligence.

2 BARUCH 51:5

When they, therefore, will see that those over whom they are exalted now will then be more exalted and magnified than they, then both these and those will be changed, these into the honor and splendor of malakim and those into startling visions and horrible shapes; and they will waste away even more.

2 BARUCH 51:6

For they will first see and then they will go away to be tormented.

2 BARUCH 51:7

Miracles, however, will appear at their own time to those who are saved because of their works and for whom the Torah is now a hope, and intelligence, expectation, and wisdom a trust.

2 BARUCH 51:8

For they shall see that world which is now invisible to them, and they will see a time which is now hidden to them.

2 BARUCH 51:9

And time will no longer make them older.

2 BARUCH 51:10

For they will live in the heights of that world and they will be like the malakim and be equal to the stars. And they will be changed into any shape which they wished, from beauty to loveliness, and from light to the splendor of honor.

2 BARUCH 51:11

For the extents of Kingdom Paradise will be spread out for them, and to them will be shown the beauty of the majesty of the living beings under the throne, as well as all the hosts of the malakim, those who are held by MY Word now lest they show themselves, and those who are withheld by MY command so that they may stand at their places until their coming has arrived.

2 BARUCH 51:12

And the excellence of the righteous will then be greater than that of the malakim.

2 BARUCH 51:13

For the first will receive the last, those whom they expected; and the last, those of whom they had heard that they had gone away.

2 BARUCH 51:14

For they have been saved from this world of affliction and have put down the burden of anguishes.

2 BARUCH 51:15

Because of which men lost their life and for what have those who were on the earth exchanged their soul?

2 BARUCH 51:16

For once they chose for themselves that time which cannot pass away without afflictions. And they chose for themselves that time of which the end is full of lamentations and evils. And they have denied the world that does not make those who come to it older. And they have rejected the time which causes splendor so that they are not coming to the splendor of which I spoke to you before.

2 BARUCH 52

2 BARUCH 52:1

And I answered and said: How shall we forget those for whom at that time woe is preserved?

2 BARUCH 52:2

And why are we again sad for those who die? Or why do we weep for those who go into the realm of death?

2 BARUCH 52:3

The lamentations should be kept for the beginning of that coming torment; let the tears be laid down for the coming of that destruction which will then come.

2 BARUCH 52:4

But with a view of these things, I shall also speak.

2 BARUCH 52:5

And concerning the righteous ones, what will they do now?

2 BARUCH 52:6

And HE answered and said: Enjoy yourselves in the suffering which you suffer now. For why do you look for the decline of your enemies?

2 BARUCH 52:7

Prepare your souls for that which is kept for you, and make ready your souls for the reward which is preserved for you. And when HE had said this I fell asleep there.

2 BARUCH 53

The apocalypse of the clouds

2 BARUCH 53:1

And I saw a vision. And behold, a cloud was coming up from the great sea. And I was looking at it, and behold, it was entirely filled with black water and there were many colors in that water. And something like great lightning appeared at its top.

2 BARUCH 53:2

And I saw that the cloud was rapidly passing in a quick run and covering the whole earth.

2 BARUCH 53:3

And it happened after this that the cloud began to pour the water that it contained upon the earth.

2 BARUCH 53:4

And I saw that the water which descended from it was not of the same likeness.

2 BARUCH 53:5

For at first, it was very black until a certain time. And then, I saw that the water became bright, but there was not much of it. And after this, I saw black water again, and after this bright again, and black again and bright again.

2 BARUCH 53:6

This, now, happened twelve times, but the black were always more than the bright.

2 BARUCH 53:7

And it happened at the end of the cloud that, behold, it poured black water and it was much darker than all the water that had been before. And fire was mingled with it. And where that water descended, it brought about devastation and destruction.

2 BARUCH 53:8

And after this I saw how the lightning which I had seen at the top of the cloud seized it and pressed it down to the earth.

2 BARUCH 53:9

That lightning shone much more, so that it lighted the whole earth and healed the regions where the last waters had descended and where it had brought about destruction.

2 BARUCH 53:10

And it occupied the whole earth and took command of it.

2 BARUCH 53:11

And after this I saw, behold, twelve rivers came from the sea and surrounded the lightning and became subject to it.

2 BARUCH 53:12

And because of my fear I awoke.

2 BARUCH 54

Prayer of Baruch

2 BARUCH 54:1

And I asked YAHWEH the Mighty One and said: YOU alone, O YAHWEH, knew the heights of the world beforehand and that which will happen in the times which YOU bring about by YOUR Word. And against the works of the inhabitants of the earth YOU hasten the beginnings of the times. And the ends of the periods YOU alone know.

2 BARUCH 54:2

YOU are the one for whom nothing is hard; but YOU are, however, the one who easily accomplishes all by a sign.

2 BARUCH 54:3

YOU are the one to whom both the depths and the heights come together, and whose Word the beginnings of the periods serve.

2 BARUCH 54:4

YOU are the one who reveals to those who fear that which is prepared for them so that YOU may comfort them.

2 BARUCH 54:5

YOU show YOUR mighty works to those who do not know. YOU pull down the enclosure for those who have no experience and enlighten the darknesses, and reveal the secrets to those who are spotless, to those who subjected themselves to YOU and YOUR Torah in faith.

2 BARUCH 54:6

YOU showed this vision to YOUR servant; open to me its exposition also.

2 BARUCH 54:7

For I know that I have received the answer regarding the subjects about which I asked YOU, and that YOU gave me a revelation about that which I asked, and that YOU have let me know with what voice I should honor YOU or from which members I should cause honor and praise to go up to YOU.

2 BARUCH 54:8

For if my members should be mouths and the hairs of my head voices, even so I should not be able to honor YOU properly; and I should not be able to utter YOUR splendor or to express the excellence of YOUR beauty.

2 BARUCH 54:9

For who am I among men or what is my significance among those who are more excellent than I that I have heard all these marvelous things from YAHWEH the Most High and innumerable promises from HIM who created me?

2 BARUCH 54:10

Blessed is my mother among those who bear, and praised among women is she who bore me.

2 BARUCH 54:11

For I shall not be silent in honoring YAHWEH the Mighty One but with the voice of reverence I shall narrate HIS marvelous works.

2 BARUCH 54:12

For who is able to imitate YOUR miracles, O YAHWEH, or who understands YOUR deep thoughts of Life?

2 BARUCH 54:13

For with YOUR counsel, YOU reign over all creation which YOUR right hand has created, and YOU have established the whole fountain of Light with YOURSELF, and YOU have prepared under YOUR throne the treasures of wisdom.

2 BARUCH 54:14

And those who do not love YOUR Torah are justly perishing. And the torment of judgment will fall upon those who have not subjected themselves to YOUR Power.

2 BARUCH 54:15

For, although Adam sinned first and has brought death upon all who were not in his own time, yet each of them who has been born from him has prepared for himself the coming torment. And further, each of them has chosen for himself the coming splendor.

2 BARUCH 54:16

For truly, the one who believes will receive reward.

2 BARUCH 54:17

But now, turn yourselves to destruction, you unrighteous ones who are living now, for you will be visited suddenly, since you have once rejected the understanding of YAHWEH the Most High.

2 BARUCH 54:18

For HIS works have not taught you, nor has the artful work of HIS creation which has existed always persuaded you.

2 BARUCH 54:19

Adam is, therefore, not the cause, except only for himself, but each of us has become our own Adam.

2 BARUCH 54:20

YOU, however, O YAHWEH, explain to me what YOU have revealed to me. And inform me about that which I asked YOU.

2 BARUCH 54:21

For at the end of the world, a retribution will be demanded with regard to those who have done wickedly in accordance with their wickedness, and YOU will honor the faithful ones in accordance with their faith.

2 BARUCH 54:22

For those who are among YOUR own, YOU rule; and those who sin, YOU blot out among YOUR own.

2 BARUCH 55

Interpretation of the apocalypse

2 BARUCH 55:1

And it happened that when I had finished the words of this prayer, I sat down there under a tree to rest in the shadow of its branches.

2 BARUCH 55:2

And I was surprised and astonished, and I pondered in my thoughts about the multitude of the goodness which the sinners who are on earth have rejected from them, and about the great punishment which they have despised, when they knew that they should be punished because of the sins they have committed.

2 BARUCH 55:3

And while I was pondering these and similar things, behold, Ramael, the malak who is set over true visions, was sent to me and said to me:

2 BARUCH 55:4

Why does your heart trouble you, Baruch, and why are you disturbed by your thought?

2 BARUCH 55:5

For if you are already disturbed, only hearing about the judgment, what about when you see it with your eyes openly?

2 BARUCH 55:6

And if you are already so disturbed by the expectation with which you expect the day of YAHWEH the Mighty One, what about when you arrive at its coming?

2 BARUCH 55:7

And if you are so fully terrified by the Words of the announcement of the punishment of those who have transgressed, how much more when this event itself will reveal marvelous things?

2 BARUCH 55:8

And if you have heard the names of the tov and evil things which will come at that time, and if you are grieved, what about when you will see what the Majesty will reveal, who will convince some and cause others to rejoice?

2 BARUCH 56

2 BARUCH 56:1

But now, since you have asked YAHWEH the Most High to reveal to you the explanation of the vision which you have seen,

2 BARUCH 56:2

I have been sent to say to you that YAHWEH the Mighty One has let you know the course of times, namely those which have passed and those which in HIS world will come to pass, from the beginning of HIS creation until the end, (the times) which are known by deceit and by Truth.

2 BARUCH 56:3

For as you saw a great cloud which came up from the sea and went and covered the earth; this is the length of the world which YAHWEH the Mighty One has created when HE took counsel in order to create the world.

2 BARUCH 56:4

And it happened when the word had gone out from HIM, that the length of the world was standing as something small, and it was established in accordance with the abundance of the intelligence of HIM who let it go forth.

2 BARUCH 56:5

And as you first saw the black waters on the top of the cloud which first came down upon the earth; this is the transgression which Adam, the first man, committed.

2 BARUCH 56:6

For when he transgressed, untimely death came into being, mourning was mentioned, affliction was prepared, illness was created, labor accomplished, pride began to come into existence, the realm of death began to ask to be renewed with blood, the conception of children came about, the passion of the parents was produced, the loftiness of men was humiliated, and goodness vanished.

2 BARUCH 56:7

What could, therefore, have been blacker and darker than these things?

2 BARUCH 56:8

This is the beginning of the black waters which you have seen.

2 BARUCH 56:9

And from these black waters again black were born, and very dark darkness originated.

2 BARUCH 56:10

For he who was a danger to himself was also a danger to the malakim.

2 BARUCH 56:11

For they possessed freedom in that time in which they were created.

2 BARUCH 56:12

And some of them came down and mingled themselves with women.

2 BARUCH 56:13

At that time they who acted like this were tormented in chains.

2 BARUCH 56:14

But the rest of the multitude of malakim, who have no number, restrained themselves.

2 BARUCH 56:15

And those living on earth perished together through the waters of the flood.

2 BARUCH 56:16

Those are the first black waters.

2 BARUCH 57

2 BARUCH 57:1

And after these you saw the bright waters; that is the fountain of Abraham and his generation, and the coming of his son, and the son of his son, and of those who are like them.

2 BARUCH 57:2

For at that time the unwritten Torah was in force among them, and the works of the commandments were accomplished at that time, and the belief in the coming judgment was brought about, and the hope of the world which will be renewed was built at that time, and the promise of the Life that will come later was planted.

2 BARUCH 57:3

Those are the bright waters which you have seen.

2 BARUCH 58

2 BARUCH 58:1

And the third black waters you have seen; that is the mingling of all sins which the nations committed afterward, after the death of those righteous men, and the wickedness of the land of Egypt, in which they acted wickedly in the oppression with which they oppressed their sons.

2 BARUCH 58:2

But also these perished at the end.

2 BARUCH 59

2 BARUCH 59:1

And the fourth bright waters which you have seen; that is the coming of Mosheh, and of Aaron, and of Miriam, and of Joshua, the son of Nun, and of Caleb, and all those who are like these.

2 BARUCH 59:2

For at that time the lamp of the eternal Torah which exists forever and ever illuminated all those who sat in darkness. This (lamp) will announce to those who believe the promise of their reward and to those who deny the punishment of the fire which is kept for them.

2 BARUCH 59:3

But also the heaven will be shaken from its place at that time; that is, the heavens which are under the throne of YAHWEH the Mighty One were severely shaken when HE took Mosheh with HIM.

2 BARUCH 59:4

For HE showed him many warnings together with the ways of the Torah and the end of time, as also to you; and then further, also the likeness of Zion with its measurements which was to be made after the likeness of the present sanctuary.

2 BARUCH 59:5

But HE also showed him, at that time, the measures of fire, the depths of the abyss, the weight of the winds, the number of the raindrops,

2 BARUCH 59:6

the suppression of wrath, the abundance of long-suffering, the Truth of Judgment,

2 BARUCH 59:7

the root of wisdom, the richness of understanding, the fountain of knowledge,

2 BARUCH 59:8

the height of the air, the greatness of Kingdom Paradise, the end of the periods, the beginning of the day of judgment,

2 BARUCH 59:9

the number of offerings, the worlds which have not yet come,

2 BARUCH 59:10

the mouth of hell, the standing place of vengeance, the place of faith, the region of hope,

2 BARUCH 59:11

the picture of the coming punishment, the multitude of the malakim which cannot be counted, the powers of the flame, the splendor of lightnings, the voice of the thunders, the orders of the Chief malakim, the treasuries of the Light, the changes of the times, and the inquiries into the Torah.

2 BARUCH 59:12

These are the fourth bright waters you have seen.

2 BARUCH 60

2 BARUCH 60:1

And the fifth black waters which you have seen poured down; those are the works which the Amorites have done, and the invocations of their incantations which they wrought, and the wickedness of their mysteries, and the mingling of their pollutions.

2 BARUCH 60:2

But even Yisrael was polluted with sins in these days of the judges, although they saw many signs which were from HIM who created them.

2 BARUCH 61

2 BARUCH 61:1

And the sixth bright waters which you have seen; this is the time in which David and Solomon were born.

2 BARUCH 61:2

And at that time the building of Zion took place, and the dedication of the sanctuary, and the shedding of much blood of the nations which sinned at that time, and the many offerings which were offered at that time at the inauguration of the sanctuary.

2 BARUCH 61:3

And rest and shalom reigned at that time.

2 BARUCH 61:4

And wisdom was heard in the assembly, and the richness of understanding was magnified in the congregations.

2 BARUCH 61:5

And the Kodesh festivals were fulfilled in happiness and much joy.

2 BARUCH 61:6

And the judgment of the rulers was seen at that time without deceit, and the righteousness of the commandments of YAHWEH the Mighty One was accomplished in Truth.

2 BARUCH 61:7

And the land which then received mercy, since its inhabitants did not sin, was praised above all countries, and the city of Zion ruled over all countries and regions at that time.

2 BARUCH 61:8

These are those bright waters you have seen.

2 BARUCH 62

2 BARUCH 62:1

And the seventh black waters you have seen; that is the perversion of the ideas of

Jeroboam who planned to make two golden calves,

2 BARUCH 62:2

and all the iniquities accomplished by the kings who succeeded him,

2 BARUCH 62:3

and the curse of Jezebel, and the idolatry which Yisrael practiced at that time,

2 BARUCH 62:4

and the withholding of rain, and the famines of such a kind that the women ate the fruits of their womb,

2 BARUCH 62:5

and the time of their exile which befell the nine and a half tribes because they lived in many sins.

2 BARUCH 62:6

And Salmanassar, the king of the Assyrians, came and carried them away into captivity.

2 BARUCH 62:7

And concerning the nations much could be said: how they acted unrighteously and wickedly, and how they never proved themselves to be righteous.

2 BARUCH 62:8

These are those seventh black waters you have seen.

2 BARUCH 63

2 BARUCH 63:1

And the eighth bright waters you have seen; that is the righteousness and the integrity of Hezekiah, King of Yahudah, and the free unmerited favor and pardon which came upon him.

2 BARUCH 63:2

For at that time Sennacherib was moved to destroy, and his wrath roused him, and also the multitude of the nations which were with him in order to destroy;

2 BARUCH 63:3

when Hezekiah the king heard that which the Assyrian king devised, namely, to come and seize him and destroy his people; the two and a half tribes which were left -and that he also wanted to destroy Zion, then Hezekiah trusted upon his works and hoped upon his righteousnesses, and spoke with YAHWEH the Mighty One and said;

2 BARUCH 63:4

“Pay attention, behold, Sennacherib is ready to destroy us, and he will boast and be uplifted when he has destroyed Zion.”

2 BARUCH 63:5

And YAHWEH the Mighty One heard him for Hezekiah was wise, and he paid attention to his prayers for he was righteous.

2 BARUCH 63:6

And YAHWEH the Mighty One then commanded Ramael, his malak who speaks with you.

2 BARUCH 63:7

And I went away and destroyed their multitude, of which the number of the chiefs alone was one hundred and eighty-five thousand, and each of them had an equal number.

2 BARUCH 63:8

And at that time I burned their bodies within, but I preserved their clothes and their arms on the outside so that still more of the marvelous works of YAHWEH the Mighty One might be seen, and so that HIS NAME might be mentioned throughout the entire earth.

2 BARUCH 63:9

Thus Zion was saved, and Yerusalem was delivered from its tribulations.

2 BARUCH 63:10

And all those who were in the kodesh land rejoiced, and the NAME of YAHWEH the Mighty One was praised so that it was spoken of.

2 BARUCH 63:11

These are those bright waters which you have seen.

2 BARUCH 64

2 BARUCH 64:1

And the ninth black waters you have seen; that is, the wickedness that existed in the days of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah.

2 BARUCH 64:2

For he acted very wickedly, and killed the righteous, and perverted judgment, and shed innocent blood, and violently polluted married women, and overturned altars, and abolished their offerings, and drove away the kohenim lest they minister in the sanctuary.

2 BARUCH 64:3

And he made a statue with five faces: Four of them looked into the direction of the four winds, and the fifth was on the top of the statue so as to challenge the zeal of YAHWEH the Mighty One.”

2 BARUCH 64:4

And then the wrath of YAHWEH the Mighty One went out so that Zion should be uprooted as has also happened in your days.

2 BARUCH 64:5

But also the judgment went out against the two and a half tribes so that they also should be carried away into captivity as you have now seen.

2 BARUCH 64:6

And the impiety of Manasseh increased to such a degree that the splendor of YAHWEH the Most High removed itself from the sanctuary.

2 BARUCH 64:7

Therefore, Manasseh was called the impious one in that time, and finally his habitation was in the fire.

2 BARUCH 64:8

For although YAHWEH the Most High had heard his prayer, in the end when he fell into the brazen horse and the brazen horse was melted, it became to him as a sign regarding the hour (which was to come).

2 BARUCH 64:9

For he had not lived perfectly since he was not worthy, but (the sign was given to him) that he might know henceforth by whom he should be punished at the end.

2 BARUCH 64:10

For HE who is able to benefit is also able to punish.

2 BARUCH 65

2 BARUCH 65:1

This Manasseh sinned and he thought in his time that YAHWEH the Mighty One would not call account for these things.

2 BARUCH 65:2

These are those ninth black waters you have seen.

2 BARUCH 66

2 BARUCH 66:1

And the tenth bright waters you have seen; that is the purity of the generation of YoshiYah, the king of Yahudah, who was the only one in his time who subjected himself to YAHWEH the Mighty One with his whole heart and his whole soul.

2 BARUCH 66:2

He purified the country from the idols, sanctified all the vessels which were polluted, restored the offerings to the altar, raised the horn of the Kodesh, exalted the righteous, and honored all those who were wise with understanding. He brought the kohenim back to their ministry, and destroyed and removed the magicians, enchanters, and diviners from the land.

2 BARUCH 66:3

And he not only killed the impious who were living, but also the bones were taken from the graves of the dead and burned with fire.

2 BARUCH 66:4

And he established the Festivals and the Shabbats with their kodesh practices, and he burned the polluted with fire, and as for the lying prophets who deceived the people, also these he burned with fire. He cast the people who obeyed them, as long as they lived, into the Kidron valley, and heaped stones upon them.

2 BARUCH 66:5

And he was zealous with the zeal of YAHWEH the Mighty One with his whole soul, and he alone was strong in the Torah at that time so that he left no one un-circumcised or anyone who acted wickedly in the whole country all the days of his life.

2 BARUCH 66:6

He, then, is one who shall receive reward forever and ever and be honored with YAHWEH the Mighty One more than many in the last time.

2 BARUCH 66:7

For on his account and on account of those who are like him, the precious splendors have been created and prepared which were spoken to you earlier.

2 BARUCH 66:8

These are those bright waters which you have seen.

2 BARUCH 67

2 BARUCH 67:1

And the eleventh black waters you have seen; that is the disaster which has befallen Zion now.

2 BARUCH 67:2

Do you think that there is no mourning among the malakim before YAHWEH the Mighty One, that Zion is delivered up in this way? Behold, the nations rejoice in their hearts, and the multitudes are before their idols and say, ..She who has trodden others down for such a long time has been trodden down; and she who has subjugated has been subjugated.” 2 BARUCH 67:3

Do you think that YAHWEH the Most High rejoices in these things or that HIS NAME has been magnified?

2 BARUCH 67:4

But how will it be with HIS righteous judgment?

2 BARUCH 67:5

But after these things those scattered among the nations will be taken hold of by tribulations and live in shame in every place.

2 BARUCH 67:6

For so far as Zion has been delivered up and Yerusalem laid waste, the idols in the cities of the nations are happy and the flavor of the smoke of the incense of the righteousness of the Torah has been extinguished everywhere in the region of Zion; behold, the smoke of the impiety is there.

2 BARUCH 67:7

But the king of Babylon will arise, the one who now has destroyed Zion, and he will boast over the people and speak haughtily in his heart before YAHWEH the Most High.

2 BARUCH 67:8

And he too will fall finally.

2 BARUCH 67:9

These are those black waters.

2 BARUCH 68

2 BARUCH 68:1

And the twelfth bright waters which you have seen; this is the word.

2 BARUCH 68:2

For there will come a time after these things, and your people will fall into such a distress so that they are all together in danger of perishing.

2 BARUCH 68:3

They, however, will be saved, and their enemies will fall before them.

2 BARUCH 68:4

And to them will fall much joy one day.

2 BARUCH 68:5

And at that time, after a short time, Zion will be rebuilt again, and the offerings will be restored, and the kohenim will again return to their ministry. And the nations will again come to honor it.

2 BARUCH 68:6

But not as fully as before.

2 BARUCH 68:7

But it will happen after these things that there will be a fall of many nations.

2 BARUCH 68:8

These are the bright waters you have seen.

2 BARUCH 69

2 BARUCH 69:1

With regard to the last waters you have seen which are blacker than all those preceding which came after the twelfth, those which were brought together; they apply to the whole world.

2 BARUCH 69:2

For YAHWEH the Most High made a division at the beginning for only HE knows what will happen in the future.

2 BARUCH 69:3

For with regard to the evils of the coming impieties which occurred before HIM, he saw six kinds.

2 BARUCH 69:4

And of the moraly right works of the righteous which would be accomplished before HIM, he foresaw six kinds, with the exclusion of that which HE should accomplish HIMSELF at the end of the world.

2 BARUCH 69:5

These are, therefore, not black waters with black, nor bright with bright. For that is the end.

2 BARUCH 70

2 BARUCH 70:1

Therefore, hear the exposition of the last black waters which will come after the black waters. This is the Word.

2 BARUCH 70:2

Behold, the days are coming and it will happen when the time of the world has ripened and the harvest of the seed of the evil ones and the tov ones has come that YAHWEH the Mighty One will cause to come over the earth and its inhabitants and its rulers confusion of the ruach and amazement of the heart. And they will hate one another and provoke one another to fight.

2 BARUCH 70:3

And the despised will rule over the honorable, and the unworthy will raise themselves over the illustrious.

2 BARUCH 70:4

And many will be delivered to the few, those who were nothing will rule over the strong, the poor will be greater in number than the rich, and the impious will exalt themselves over the brave.

2 BARUCH 70:5

The wise will be silent, and the foolish will speak. And the thought of men will not be realized then, nor the counsel of the strong, and the hope of those who hope will not be realized.

2 BARUCH 70:6

Then it will happen when those things occur which have been said before will come to pass, that confusion will fall upon all men. And some of them will fall in war, and others will perish in tribulations, and again others of them will be troubled by their own.

2 BARUCH 70:7

YAHWEH the Most High will then give a sign to those nations which HE has prepared before, and they will come and wage war with the rulers who will then remain.

2 BARUCH 70:8

And it will happen that everyone who saves himself from the war will die in an earthquake, and he who saves himself from the earthquake will be burned by fire, and he who saves himself from the fire will perish by famine.

2 BARUCH 70:9

And it will happen that everyone who will deliver himself and escape from all things which have been said before; both those who have won and those who have been overcome; that all will be delivered into the hands of MY Servant, the Anointed One.

2 BARUCH 70:10

For the whole earth will devour its inhabitants.

2 BARUCH 71

2 BARUCH 71:1

And the kodesh land will have mercy on its own and will protect its inhabitants at that time.

2 BARUCH 71:2

This is the vision which you have seen, and this is its explanation. For I have come to tell you these things since your prayer has been heard by YAHWEH the Most High.

2 BARUCH 72

2 BARUCH 72:1

Now, hear also about the bright waters which come at the end after these black ones. This is the Word.

2 BARUCH 72:2

After the signs have come of which I have spoken to you before, when the nations are moved and the time of MY Anointed One comes, He will call all nations, and some of them He will spare, and others He will kill.

2 BARUCH 72:3

These things will befall the nations which will be spared by Him.

2 BARUCH 72:4

Every nation which has not known Yisrael and which has not trodden down the seed of Yacob will live.

2 BARUCH 72:5

And this is because some from all the nations have been subjected to your people.

2 BARUCH 72:6

All those, now, who have ruled over you or have known you, will be delivered up to the sword.

2 BARUCH 73

2 BARUCH 73:1

And it will happen that after He has brought down everything which is in the world, and has sat down in eternal shalom on the throne of the Kingdom, and then joy will be revealed and rest will appear.

2 BARUCH 73:2

And then health will descend in dew, and illness will vanish, and fear and tribulation and lamentation will pass away from among men, and joy will encompass the earth.

2 BARUCH 73:3

And nobody will again die untimely, nor will any adversity take place suddenly.

2 BARUCH 73:4

Unjust judgment, condemnations, contentions, revenges, blood, passions, zeal, hate, and all such things will go into condemnation since they will be uprooted.

2 BARUCH 73:5

For these are the things that have filled this earth with evils, and because of them life of men came in yet greater confusion.

2 BARUCH 73:6

And the wild beasts will come from the wood and serve men, and the asps and dragons will come out of their holes to subject themselves to a child.

2 BARUCH 73:7

And women will no longer have pain when they bear, nor will they be tormented when they yield the fruits of their womb.

2 BARUCH 74

2 BARUCH 74:1

And it will happen in those days that the reapers will not become tired, and the farmers will not wear themselves out, because the products of themselves will shoot out speedily, during the time that they work on them in full tranquility.

2 BARUCH 74:2

For that time is the end of that which is corruptible and the beginning of that which is incorruptible.

2 BARUCH 74:3

Therefore, the things which were said before will happen in it. Therefore, it is far away from the evil things and near to those which do not die.

2 BARUCH 74:4

Those are the last bright waters which have come after the last dark waters.

2 BARUCH 75

2 BARUCH 75:1

And I answered and said: Who can equal YOUR tov, O YAHWEH? for it is incomprehensible.

2 BARUCH 75:2

Or who can fathom YOUR free unmerited favor and pardon which is without end?

2 BARUCH 75:3

Or who can understand YOUR intelligence?

2 BARUCH 75:4

Or who can narrate the thoughts of YOUR Ruach?

2 BARUCH 75:5

Or who of those born can hope to arrive at these things, apart from those to whom YOU are merciful and kind?

2 BARUCH 75:6

For if YOU were not merciful to men, those who are under YOUR right hand, they were not able to come to them, apart from those who are named among the famous number.”

2 BARUCH 75:7

But we who exist, when we know why we have come, and then subject ourselves to YOU who brought us out of Egypt, we shall come again and remember those things which have passed away, and rejoice with regard to the things which have been.

2 BARUCH 75:8

But if we do not know now why we have come, and do not recognize the sovereignty of YOU who brought us up from Egypt, we will come again and ask for that which has now occurred, and shall be severely grieved because of that which has happened.

2 BARUCH 76

2 BARUCH 76:1

And he answered and said to me: Since the revelation of this vision has been explained to you as you prayed for, hear the Word of YAHWEH the Most High that you know that which will happen to you after these things.

2 BARUCH 76:2

For you will surely depart from this world, nevertheless not to death but to be kept unto ( the end) of times.

2 BARUCH 76:3

Therefore, go up to the top of this mountain, and all countries of this earth will pass before you, as well as the likeness of the inhabited world, and the top of the mountains, and the depths of the valleys, and the depths of the seas, and the number of rivers, so that you may see that which you leave and where you go.

2 BARUCH 76:4

This will happen after forty days.

2 BARUCH 76:5

Go, therefore, now during these days and instruct the people as much as you can so that they may learn lest they die in the last times, but may learn so that they live in the last times.

2 BARUCH 77

Baruch speaks to the people

2 BARUCH 77:1

And I, Baruch, went away from there and came to the people, and assembled them from the greatest to the smallest and said to them:

2 BARUCH 77:2

Hear, O children of Yisrael, behold how many are left from the twelve tribes of Yisrael.

2 BARUCH 77:3

To you and to your fathers YAHWEH gave the Torah above all nations.

2 BARUCH 77:4

And because your brothers have transgressed the commandments of YAHWEH the Most High, HE brought vengeance upon you and upon them and did not spare the ancestors, but HE also gave the descendants into captivity and did not leave a remnant of them.

2 BARUCH 77:5

And, behold, you are here, with me.

2 BARUCH 77:6

If, therefore, you will make straight your ways, you will not go away as your brothers went away, but they will come to you.

2 BARUCH 77:7

For HE is merciful whom you honor, and kind in whom you hope, and True so that HE will do tov to you and not evil.

2 BARUCH 77:8

Have you not seen what has befallen Zion?

2 BARUCH 77:9

Or do you think that the place has sinned and that it has been destroyed for this reason, or that the country has done some crime and that it is delivered up for that reason?

2 BARUCH 77:10

And do you not know that because of you who sinned the one who did not sin was destroyed, and that because of those who acted unrighteously, the one who has not gone astray has been delivered up to the enemies? The people invite Baruch to write a letter.

2 BARUCH 77:11

And the whole people answered and they said to me: Everything which we can remember of the excellent things which YAHWEH the Mighty One has done to us we shall remember, and that which we do not remember HE knows in HIS free unmerited favor and pardon.

2 BARUCH 77:12

But do this for us, YOUR people: Write also to our brothers in Babylon a letter of doctrine and a roll of hope so that you might strengthen them also before you go away from us.

2 BARUCH 77:13

For the shepherds of Yisrael have perished, and the Lamps which gave Light are extinguished, and the fountains from which we used to drink have withheld their streams.

2 BARUCH 77:14

Now we have been left in the darkness and in the thick forest and in the aridness of the desert.

2 BARUCH 77:15

And I answered and said to them: Shepherds and lamps and fountains came from the Torah and when we go away, the Torah will abide.

2 BARUCH 77:16

If you, therefore, look upon the Torah and are intent upon wisdom, then the lamp will not be wanting and the shepherd will not give way and the fountain will not dry up.

2 BARUCH 77:17

Nevertheless, I shall also write to your brothers in Babylon as you have said to me, and I shall send it by means of men. Also I shall write to the nine and a half tribes, and send it by means of a bird.

2 BARUCH 77:18

And it happened on the twenty-first day of the ninth month that I, Baruch, came and sat down under the oak in the shadow of the branches, and nobody was with me; I was alone.

2 BARUCH 77:19

And I wrote two letters. One I sent by means of an eagle to the nine and a half tribes, and the other I sent by means of three men to those who were in Babylon.

2 BARUCH 77:20

And I called an eagle and said to him these words:

2 BARUCH 77:21

You have been created by YAHWEH the Most High that you should be higher than any other bird.

2 BARUCH 77:22

But now go and do not stay in any place, do not go into a nest, do not sit on any tree until you have flown over the breadth of the many waters of the river Euphrates and have come to the people that live there and cast down to them this letter.

2 BARUCH 77:23

Remember that Noah at the time of the flood received the fruit of the olive tree from a dove when he sent it away from the ark.

2 BARUCH 77:24

And also the ravens served EliYah when they brought food to him as they were commanded.

2 BARUCH 77:25

Also Solomon, in the time of his kingship, commanded a bird where he wanted to send a letter and in whatever he was in need of and it obeyed him as he commanded it.

2 BARUCH 77:26

And do not be reluctant and do not deviate to the right nor to the left, but fly and go straight away that you may preserve the command of YAHWEH the Mighty One as I said to you.

2 BARUCH 78

The letter to the nine and a half tribes

2 BARUCH 78:1

The letter of Baruch, the son of Neriah which he wrote to the nine and a half tribes. These are the words of the letter which Baruch, the son of Neriah’ sent to the nine and a half tribes which were across the rivers in which were written the following things:

2 BARUCH 78:2

Thus speaks Baruch, the son of Neriah, to the brothers who were carried away in captivity:

2 BARUCH 78:3

Free unmerited favor and pardon and shalom be with you. I remember, my brothers, the love of HIM who created me, who loved us from the beginning and who never hated us but, on the contrary, chastised us.

2 BARUCH 78:4

And truly I know: Are we not all, the twelve tribes, bound by one captivity as we also descend from one father?

2 BARUCH 78:5

Therefore, I have been the more diligent to leave you the words of this letter before I die so that you may be comforted regarding the evils which have befallen you, and you may also be grieved with regard to the evils which have befallen your brothers, and then further, so that you may consider the judgment of HIM who decreed it against you to be righteous, namely, that you should be carried away into captivity, for what you have suffered is smaller than what you have done, in order that you may be found worthy of your fathers in the last times.

2 BARUCH 78:6

Therefore, if you think about the things you have suffered now for your excellence so that you may not be condemned at the end and be tormented, you shall receive hope which lasts forever and ever, particularly if you remove from your hearts the idol error for which you went away from here.

2 BARUCH 78:7

For if you do these things in this way, HE shall continually remember you. HE is the one who always promised on our behalf to those who are more excellent than we that HE will not forever forget or forsake our offspring, but with much mercy assemble all those again who were dispersed.”

2 BARUCH 79

2 BARUCH 79:1

Therefore, my brothers, learn first what befell Zion, namely, that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came up against us.

2 BARUCH 79:2

For we had sinned against YAHWEH who created us, and had not observed the commandments which HE ordered us.

2 BARUCH 79:3

And yet HE has not chastised us as we deserved.

2 BARUCH 79:4

For what befell you, we suffered even more, for it befell us also.

2 BARUCH 80

2 BARUCH 80:1

And now, my brothers,” when the enemies had surrounded the city, malakim were sent from YAHWEH the Most High. And they demolished the fortification of the strong wall, and HE destroyed their solid iron comers which could not be loosened.

2 BARUCH 80:2

Nevertheless, they hid the Kodesh vessels lest they be polluted by the enemies.

2 BARUCH 80:3

And when they had done these things, they left the demolished wall, the looted house, the burned Great Tabernacle, and the people who were overcome to the enemies, for they were delivered up lest the enemies should boast and say, “We have overcome to such an extent that we have even destroyed the house of YAHWEH the Most High.”

2 BARUCH 80:4

They have also bound your brothers and carried them away to Babylon and have caused them to live there.

2 BARUCH 80:5

And we have been left here with very few.

2 BARUCH 80:6

That is the affliction about which I write to you.

2 BARUCH 80:7

For truly I know that the inhabitants of Zion were a comfort to you. As long as you knew that they were happy, this was more important than the affliction you endured being separated from them.

2 BARUCH 81

2 BARUCH 81:1

But also hear the word of consolation.

2 BARUCH 81:2

For I mourned with regard to Zion and asked free unmerited favor and pardon from

YAHWEH the Most High and said,

2 BARUCH 81:3

“Will these things exist for us until the end?

2 BARUCH 81:4

And will these evils befall us always?” And YAHWEH the Mighty One did according to the multitude of HIS free unmerited favor and pardon, and YAHWEH the Most High according to the magnitude of HIS mercy, and HE revealed to me a Word that I might be comforted, and showed me visions that I might not be again sorrowful, and made known to me the mysteries of the times, and showed me the coming of the periods.

2 BARUCH 82

2 BARUCH 82:1

My brothers, therefore I have written to you that you may find consolation with regard to the multitude of tribulations.”

2 BARUCH 82:2

But you ought to know that our Creator will surely avenge us on all our brothers according to everything which they have done against us and among us; in particular that the end which YAHWEH the Most High prepared is near, and that HIS free unmerited favor and pardon is coming, and that the fulfillment of HIS judgment is not far.

2 BARUCH 82:3

For now we seed the multitude of the happiness of the nations although they have acted wickedly; but they are like a vapor.

2 BARUCH 82:4

And we behold the multitude of their power while they act impiously; but they will be made like a drop.

2 BARUCH 82:5

And we see the strength of their power while they resist YAHWEH the Mighty One every hour; but they will be reckoned like spittle.

2 BARUCH 82:6

And we will ponder about the splendor of their majesty while they do not keep the statutes of YAHWEH the Most High; but as smoke they will pass away.

2 BARUCH 82:7

And we think about the beauty of their splendor while they go down in impurities; but like grass which is withering, they will fade away.

2 BARUCH 82:8

And we ponder about the strength of their cruelty while they themselves do not think about the end; but they will be broken like a passing wave.

2 BARUCH 82:9

And we notice the pride of their power while they deny the tov of YAHWEH by whom it was given to them; but as a passing cloud they will vanish.

2 BARUCH 83

2 BARUCH 83:1

For YAHWEH the Most High will surely hasten HIS times, and HE will certainly cause HIS periods to arrive.

2 BARUCH 83:2

And HE will surely judge those who are in HIS world, and will truly inquire into everything with regard to all their works which were sins.

2 BARUCH 83:3

HE will certainly investigate the secret thoughts and everything which is lying in the inner chambers of all their members which are in sin. And HE will make them manifest in the presence of everyone with blame.

2 BARUCH 83:4

Therefore, nothing of the present things should come into your heart, but they should, on the contrary, be expected, since that which was promised will come.

2 BARUCH 83:5

And we should not look upon the delights of the present nations, but let us think about that which has been promised to us regarding the end.

2 BARUCH 83:6

For the ends of the times and the periods will surely pass away and all which is in them together.

2 BARUCH 83:7

The end of the world will then show the great power of YAHWEH our Ruler since everything will come to judgment.

2 BARUCH 83:8

You should, therefore, prepare your hearts for that which you have believed before, lest you should be excluded from both worlds, namely, that you were carried away into captivity here and tormented there.

2 BARUCH 83:9

For that which exists now or that which has passed away or that which will come, in all of that, neither the evil in it is fully evil, nor the tov is even fully tov.

2 BARUCH 83:10

For all sorts of health which exist now changes into illnesses.

2 BARUCH 83:11

And every might which exists now changes into weakness, and every power that exists now changes into miseries, and every youthful energy changes into old age and consummation.

2 BARUCH 83:12

And every beauty of elegances which exists now changes into withering and ugliness. 2 BARUCH 83:13

And every infantile pride which exists now changes into lowliness and shame. And every boast of haughtiness which exists now changes into the shame of silence.

2 BARUCH 83:14

And every delight and all splendor which exists now changes into ruin of silence.

2 BARUCH 83:15

And every joy and every delight which exist now change into rejection and ruin.

2 BARUCH 83:16

And every clamor of pride changes into silent dust.

2 BARUCH 83:17

And every possession of richness which exists now changes into the realm of death alone.

2 BARUCH 83:18

And every seizing desire which exists now changes into involuntary death, and every desire of lust! changes into the judgment of punishment.

2 BARUCH 83:19

And every capability of deceit which exists now changes into refutation by truth.

2 BARUCH 83:20

And every sweetness of ointments which exists now changes into judgment and condemnation.

2 BARUCH 83:21

And every friendship changes into silent defamations.

2 BARUCH 83:22

Since all these things happened now, do you think that they will not be avenged?

2 BARUCH 83:23

But the end of everything will come to Light.

2 BARUCH 84

2 BARUCH 84:1

Now, I gave you knowledge, while I still live. For I have said that you should particularly learn my mighty commandments which HE has instructed you. And I shall set before you some of the commandments of HIS judgment before I die.

2 BARUCH 84:2

Remember that once Mosheh called heaven and earth to witness against you and said, “If you trespass the Torah, you shall be dispersed. And if you shall keep it, you shall be planted.’

2 BARUCH 84:3

And also other things he said to you when you were in the desert as twelve tribes together.

2 BARUCH 84:4

And after his death you cast it away from you and, therefore, that which has been said before has come upon you.

2 BARUCH 84:5

And now, Mosheh spoke to you before it befell you and, behold, it has befallen you for you have forsaken the Torah.

2 BARUCH 84:6

Also I, behold, I say to you after you suffered that if you obey the things which I have said to you, you shall receive from YAHWEH the Mighty One everything which has been prepared and has been preserved for you.

2 BARUCH 84:7

Therefore, let this letter be a witness between me and you that you may remember the commandments of YAHWEH the Mighty One, and that it also may serve as my defense in the presence of HIM who has sent me.

2 BARUCH 84:8

And remember Zion and the Torah and the kodesh land and your brothers and the covenant and your fathers, and do not forget the Festivals and the Shabbats.

2 BARUCH 84:9

And give this letter and the doctrine of the Torah to your children after you as also your fathers handed down to you.

2 BARUCH 84:10

And ask always and pray seriously with your whole soul that YAHWEH the Mighty One may accept you in mercy and that HE may not reckon the multitude of your sinners, but remember the integrity of your fathers.

2 BARUCH 84:11

For if HE judges us not according to the multitude of HIS free unmerited favor and pardon, woe to all us who are born.!

2 BARUCH 85

2 BARUCH 85:1

Further, know that our fathers in former times and former generations had helpers, righteous prophets and kodesh men.”

2 BARUCH 85:2

But we were also in our country, and they helped us when we sinned, and they intervened for us with HIM who has created us since they trusted in their works. And YAHWEH the Mighty One heard them and purged us from our sins.

2 BARUCH 85:3

But now, the righteous have been assembled, and the prophets are sleeping. Also we have left our land, and Zion has been taken away from us, and we have nothing now apart from YAHWEH the Mighty One and HIS Torah.

2 BARUCH 85:4

Therefore, if we direct and dispose our hearts, we shall receive everything which we lost again by many times.

2 BARUCH 85:5

For that which we lost was subjected to corruption, and that which we receive will not be corruptible.

2 BARUCH 85:6

We also have written to our brothers in Babylon so that I may attest to them these things also.

2 BARUCH 85:7

And these things which I have said earlier should be before your eyes always, since we are still in the ruach of the power of our liberty.

2 BARUCH 85:8

And further, YAHWEH the Most High is also long-suffering to us here and has shown to us that which comes and has not concealed from us what will happen at the end.

2 BARUCH 85:9

Therefore, before HIS judgment exacts HIS own and Truth of that which is its due, let us prepare ourselves that we may possess and not be possessed, and that we may hope and not be put to shame, and that we may rest with our fathers and not be punished with those who hate us.

2 BARUCH 85:10

For the youth of this world has passed away, and the power of creation is already exhausted, and the coming of the times is very near and has passed by. And the pitcher is near the well, and the ship to the harbor, and the journey to the city, and life to its end.

2 BARUCH 85:11

Further, prepare yourselves so that, when you sail and ascend from the ship, you may have rest and not be condemned when you have gone away.

2 BARUCH 85:12

For behold, YAHWEH the Most High will cause all these things to come. There will not be an opportunity to repent anymore, nor a limit to the times, nor a duration of the periods, nor a change to rest,” nor an opportunity to prayer, nor sending up petition, nor giving knowledge, nor giving love, nor opportunity of repentance, nor supplicating for offenses, nor prayers of the fathers, nor intercessions of the prophets, nor help of the righteous.

2 BARUCH 85:13

There is the proclamation of judgment to corruption,’ regarding the way! to the fire and the path that leads to the glowing coals.”

2 BARUCH 85:14

Therefore, there is one Torah by One, one world and an end for all those who exist.

2 BARUCH 85:15

Then HE will make alive those whom HE has found, and HE will purge them from sins, and at the same time HE will destroy those who are polluted with sins.

2 BARUCH 86

2 BARUCH 86:1

When you, therefore, receive the letter,’ read it carefully in your assemblies. And think about it, in particular, however, on the days of your fasts. And remember me by means of this letter in the same way as I remember you by means of this, and always.

2 BARUCH 87

2 BARUCH 86:1

And” it happened when I had finished all the words of this letter and had written it carefully until the end, I folded it, sealed it cautiously, and bound it to the neck of the eagle. And I let it go and sent it away.

The end of the letter of Baruch, the son of Neriah.

Shalom

Blessed are they that do the word of YAHWEH.

YAHWEH’s Sword

SECTION 6

TESTAMENT OF JOB

The blameless, the sacrifice, the conqueror in many contests.

Book of Job, called Jobab, his life and the transcript of his Testament.

Translated by M. R. James (Apocrypha anecdota 2. Texts and Studies 5/1.

Cambridge: University Press, 1897)

TAKE HEED OF YOUR NOBLE BIRTH

On the day he became sick and (he) knew that he would have to leave his bodily abode, he called his seven sons and his three daughters together and spake to them as follows:

“Form a circle around me, children, and hear, and I shall relate to you what the Lord did for me and all that happened to me.
For I am Job your father. Know ye then my children, that you are the generation of a chosen one and take heed of your noble birth.
For I am of the sons of Esau. My brother is Nahor, and your mother is Dinah. By her have I become your father. For my first wife died with my other ten children in bitter death. Hear now, children, and I will reveal unto you what happened to me.
I was a very rich man living in the East in the land Ausitis, (Utz) and before the Lord had named me Job, I was called Jobab.
The beginning of my trial was thus. 10. Near my house there was the idol of one worshipped by the people; and I saw constantly burnt-offerings brought to him as a god.
Then I pondered and said to myself: “Is this he who made heaven and earth, the sea and us all How will I know the truth”
And in that night as I lay asleep, a voice came and called: “Jobab! Jobab! Rise up, and I will tell thee who is the one whom thou wishest to know. This, however, to whom the people bring burnt-offerings and libations, is not God, but this is the power and work of the Seducer (Satan) by which he beguiles the people”.
And when I heard this, I fell upon the earth and I prostrated myself saying: “O my Lord who speakest for the salvation of my soul. I pray thee, if this is the idol of Satan, I pray thee, let me go hence and destroy it and purify this spot. For there is none that can forbid me doing this, as I am the king of this land, so that those that live in it will no longer be led astray’’.
And the voice that spoke out of the flame answered to me: “Thou canst purify this spot. But behold I announce to thee what the Lord ordered me to tell thee, for I am the archangel of the God”.
And I said: “Whatever shall be told to his servant. I shall hear”.
And the archangel, said to me: “Thus speaketh the Lord: If thou undertakest to destroy and takest away the image of Satan, he will set himself with wrath to wage war against thee, and he will display against thee all his malice.
He will bring upon thee many severe plagues, and take from thee all that thou hast. He will take away thine children, and will inflict many evils upon thee.
Then thou must wrestle like an athlete and resist pain, sure of thy reward, overcome trials and afflictions.
But when thou endurest, I shall make thy name renowned throughout all generations of the earth until to the end of the world. And I shall restore thee to all that thou hadst had, and the double part of what thou shalt lose will be given to thee in order that thou mayest know that God does not consider the person but giveth to each who deserveth the good.
And also to thee shall it be given, and thou shalt put on a crown of amarant. And at the resurrection thou shalt awaken for eternal life. Then shalt thou know that he Lord is just, and true and mighty”.
Whereupon, my children, I replied: “I shall from love of God endure until death all that will come upon me, and I shall not shrink back”.
Then the angel put his seal upon me and left me.

BEWARE OF THE WHIMS OF THE DEVIL

After this I rose up in the night and took fifty slaves and went to the temple of the idol and destroyed it to the ground.

And so I went back to my house and gave orders that the door should be firmly locked; saying to my doorkeepers:
“If somebody shall ask for me, bring no report to me, but tell him: He investigates urgent affairs. He is inside”.
Then Satan disguised himself as a beggar and knocked heavily at the door, saying to the door-keeper:
“Report to Job and say that I desire to meet him’’,
And the door-keeper came in and told me that, but heard from me that I was studying.
The Evil One, having failed in this, went away and took upon his shoulder an old, torn basket and went in and spoke to the doorkeeper saying: “Tell Job : Give me bread from thine hands that I may eat”.
And when I heard this, I gave her burnt bread to give it to him, and I made known to him: “Expect not to eat of my bread, for it is forbidden to thee”.
But the door-keeper, being ashamed to hand him the burnt and ashy bread, as she did not know that it was Satan, took of her own fine bread and gave it to him.
But he took it and, knowing what occured, said to the maiden: “Go hence, bad servant, and bring me the bread that was given thee to hand to me”.
And the servant cried and spoke in grief: “Thou speakest the truth, saying that I am a bad servant. because I have not done as I was instructed by my master”.
And he turned back and brought him the burnt bread and said to him: “Thus says my lord: Thou shalt not eat of my bread anymore, for it is forbidden to thee.
And this he gave me [saying: This I give] in order that the charge may not be brought against me that I did not give to the enemy who asked”.)
And when Satan heard this, he sent back the servant to me, saying: “As thou seest this bread all burnt, so shall I soon burn thy body to make it like this”.
And I replied: “Do what thou desirest to do and accomplish whatever thou plottest. For I am ready to endure whatever thou bringest upon me”.
And when the devil heard this, he left me, and walking up to under the [highest] heaven, he took from the Lord the oath that he might have power, over all my possessions.
And after having taken the power he went and instantly took away all my wealth.

THE HUSBANDRY OF CHARITY

For I had one hundred and thirty thousand sheep, and of these I separated seven thousand for the clothing of orphans and widows and of needy and sick ones.

I had a herd of eight hundred dogs who watched my sheep and besides these two hundred to watch my house.
And I had nine mills working for the whole city and ships to carry goods, and I seat them into every city and into the villages to the feeble and sick and to those that were unfortunate.
And I had three hundred and forty thousand nomadic asses, and of these I set aside five hundred, and the offspring of these I order to be sold and the proceeds to be given to the poor and the needy. For from all the lands the poor came to meet me.
For the four doors of my house were opened, each, being in charge of a watchman who had to see whether there were any people coming asking alms, and whether they would see me sitting at one of the door’s so that they could leave through the other and take whatever they needed.
I also had thirty immovable tables set at all hours for the strangers alone, and I also had twelve tables spread for the widows.
And if any one came asking for alms, he found food on my table to take all he needed, and I turned nobody away to leave my door with an empty stomach.
I also had three thousand five hundred yokes of oxen, and I selected of these five hundred and had them tend to the plowing.
And with these I had done all the work in each field by those who would, take it in charge and the income of their crops I laid aside for the poor on their table.
I also had fifty bakeries from which I sent [the bread] to the table for the poor. And I had slaves selected for their service.
There were also some strangers who saw my good will; they wished to serve as waiters themselves.
Others, being in distress and unable to obtain a living, came with the request saying: “We pray thee, since we also can fill this office of waiters (deacons) and have no possession, have pity upon us and advance money to us in order that we may go into the great cities and sell merchandise.
And the surplus of our profit we may give as help to the poor, and then shall we return to thee thine own (money).
And when I heard this, I was glad that they should take this altogether from me for the husbandry of charity for the poor.
And with a willing heart I gave them what they wanted, and I accepted their written bond, but would not take any other security from them except the written document.
And they went abroad and gave to time poor as far as they were successful.
Frequently, however, some of their goods were lost on the road or on the sea, or they would be robbed of them.
Then they would come and say: “We pray thee, act generously towards us in order that we may see how we can restore to you thine own”.
And when I heard this, I had sympathy with them, and handed to them their bond, and often having read it before them tore it up and released them of their debt. Saying to them: “What I have consecrated for the benefit of the poor, I shall not take from you’’. And so I accepted nothing from my debtor.
And when a man with cheerful heart came to me saying: I am not in need to be compelled to be a paid worker for the poor. But I wish to serve the needy at thy table”, and be consented to work, and he ate his share. So I gave him his wages nevertheless, and I went home rejoicing.
And when he did not wish to take it, I forced him to do so, saying: “I know that thou art a laboring man who looks for and waits for his wages, and thou must take it.”
Never did I defer paying the wages of the hireling or any other, nor keep back in my house for a single evening his hire that was due to him.
Those that milked the cows and the ewes signaled to the passersby that they should take their share. For the milk flowed in such plenty that it curdled into butter on the hills and by the road side; and by the rocks and the hills the cattle lay which had given birth to their offspring.
For my servants grew weary keeping the meat of the widows and the poor and dividing it into small pieces.
For they would curse and say: “Oh that we had of his flesh that we could be satisfied’’, although I was very kind to them,
I also had six harps [and six slaves to play the harps] and also a cithara, a decachord, and I struck it during the day. And I took the cithara, and the widows responded after their meals.
And with the musical instrument I reminded them of God that they should give praise to the Lord.
Andwhen my female slaves would murmur, then I took the musical instruments and played as much as they would have done for their wages, and gave them respite from their labor and sighs.

OVER BEARING PRIDE IS AN ABOMINATION BEFORE THE LORD

And my children, after having taken charge of the service, took their meals each day along with their three sisters beginning with the older brother, and made a feast.

And I rose in the morning and offered as sin-offering for them fifty rams and nineteen sheep, and what remained as a residue was consecrated to the poor.
And I said to them: “Take these as residue and pray for my children.
Perchance my sons have sinned before the Lord, speaking in haughtiness of spirit: We are children of this rich man. Ours are all these goods; why should we be servants of the poor’
And speaking thus in a haughty spirit they may have provoked the anger of God, for overbearing pride is an abomination before the Lord.”
So I brought oxen as offerings to the priest at the altar saying: “May my children never think evil towards God in their hearts.’’
While I lived in this manner, the Seducer could not bear to see the good [I did], and he demanded the warfare of God against me.
And he came upon me cruelly.
First he burnt up the large number of sheep, then the camels, then he burnt up the cattle and all my herds; or they were captured not only by enemies but also by such as had received benefits from me.
And the shepherds came and announced that to me.
But when I heard it, I gave praise to God and did not blaspheme.
And when the Seducer learned of my fortitude, he plotted new thing’s against me.
He disguised himself as King of Persia and besieged my city, and after he had led off all that were therein, he spoke to them in malice, saying in boastful language:
“This man Job who has obtained all the goods of the earth and left nothing for others, he has destroyed and torn down the temple of god.
Therefore shall I repay to him what he has done to the house of the great god.
Now come with me and we shall pillage all that is left in his house.”
And they answered and said to him: “He has seven sons and three daughters.
Take heed lest they flee into other lands and they may become our tyrants and then come over us with force and kill us.’’
And he said: Be not at all afraid. His flocks and his wealth have I destroyed by fire, and the rest have I captured, and behold, his children shall I kill.”
And having spoken thus, he went and threw the house upon my children and killed them.
And my fellow-citizens, seeing that what was said by him had become true, came and pursued me, and robbed me of all that was in my house.
And I saw with mine own eyes the pillage of my house, and men without culture and without honor sat at my table and on my couches, and I could not remonstrate against them.
For I was exhausted like a woman with her loins let loose from multitude of pains, remembering chiefly that this warfare had been predicted to me by the Lord through His angel.
And I became like one who, when seeing the rough sea and the adverse winds, while the lading of the vessel in mid-ocean is too heavy, casts the burden into the sea, saying:
“I wish to destroy all this only in order to come safely into the city so that I may take as profit the rescued ship and the best of my things.”
Thus did I manage my own affairs?
But there came another messenger and announced to me the ruin of my own children, and I was shaken with terror.
And I tore my clothes and said: The Lord hath given, the Lord hath taken. As it hath deemed best to the Lord, thus it hath come to be. May the name of the Lord be blessed.”

THE EVIL ONE COULD NOT BEAR MY PATIENCE

And when Satan saw that he could riot put me to despair, he went and asked my body of the Lord in order to inflict plague on me, for the Evil one could not bear my patience.

Then the Lord delivered me into his hands to use my body as he wanted, but he gave him no power over my soul.
And he came to me as I was sitting on my throne still mourning over my children.
And he resembled a great hurricane and turned over my throne and threw me upon the ground.
And I continued lying on the floor for three hours. And he smote me with a hard plague from the top of my head to the toes of my feet.
And I left the city in great terror and woe and sat down upon a dunghill, my body being worm-eaten.
And I wet the earth with the moistness of my sore body, for matter flowed off my body, and many worms covered it.
And when a single worm crept off my body, I put it back saying: “Remain on the spot where thou hast been placed until He who hath sent thee will order thee elsewhere.”
Thus I endured for seven years, sitting on a dung-hill outside of the city while being plague-stricken.
And I saw with mine own eyes my longed-for children [carried by angels to heaven]
And my humbled wife who had been brought to her bridal chamber in such great luxuriousness and with spearmen as body-guards. I saw her do a water-carrier’s work like a slave in the house of a common man in order to win some bread and bring it to me.
And in my sore affliction I said: “Oh that these braggart city rulers whom I soul not have thought to be equal with my shepherd dogs should now employ my wife as servant!”
And after this I took courage again.
Yet afterwards they withheld even the bread that it should only have her own nourishment.
But she took it and divided it between herself and me, saying woefully: “Woe to me! Forthwith she may no longer feed on bread, and she cannot go to the market to ask bread of the breadsellers in order to bring it to me that she may eat”
And when Satan learned this, he took the guise of a breadseller, and it was as if by chance that my wife met him and asked him for bread thinking that it was that sort of man.
But Satan said to her: “Give me the value, and then take what thou wishest.”
Whereupon she answered saying: Where shall I get money Dost thou not know what misfortune happened to me. If thou hast pity, show it to me; if not, thou shalt see.”
And he replied saying: “If you did not deserve this misfortune, you would not have suffered all this.
Now, if there is no silver piece in thine hand, give me the hair of thine head and take three loaves of bread for it, so that ye may live on there for three days.
Then she said to herself: “What is the hair of my head in comparison with my starving husband”
And so after having pondered over the matter, she said to him: “Rise and cut off my hair”.
Then he took a pair of scissors and took off the hair of her head in the presence of all, and gave her three loaves of bread.
Then she took them and brought them to me. And Satan went behind her on the road, hiding himself as he walked and troubling her heart greatly.

GREATER THAN ALL THINGS IS THE FIRMNESS OF HEART

And immediately my wife came near me and crying aloud and weeping she said: “Job! Job! How long wilt thou sit upon the dung-hill outside of the city, pondering yet for a while and expecting to obtain your hoped-for salvation!”

And I have been wandering from place to place, roaming about as a hired servant, behold thy memory has already died away from earth.
And my sons and the daughters that I carried on my bosom and the labors and pains that I sustained have been for nothing
And thou sittest in the malodorous state of soreness and worms, passing the nights in the cold air.
And I have undergone all trials and troubles and pains, day and night until I succeeded in bringing bread to thee.
For your surplus of bread is no longer allowed to me; and as I can scarcely take my own food and divide it between us, I pondered in my heart that it was not right that thou shouldst be in pain and hunger for bread.
And so I ventured to go to the market without bashfulness. And when the bread-seller told me: “Give me money. And thou shalt have bread’’. I disclosed to him our state of distress.
Then I heard him say : “If thou hast no money, hand me the hair of thy head, and take three loaves of bread in order that ye may live on these for three days’’.
And I yielded to the wrong and said to him “Rise and cut off my hair !‘‘ and he rose and in disgrace cut off with the scissors the hair of my head on the market place while the crowd stood by and wondered.
Who would then not be astonished saying: “Is this Sitis, the wife of Job, who had fourteen curtains to cover her inner sitting room, and doors within doors so that he was greatly honored who would be brought near her, and now behold, she barters off her hair for bread!
Who had camels laden with goods. and they were brought into remote lands to the poor, and now she sells her hair for bread!
Behold her who had seven tables immovably set in her house at which each poor man and each stranger ate, and now she sells her hair for bread!
Behold her who had the basin wherewith to wash her feet made of gold and silver, and now she walks upon the ground and [sells her hair for bread!]
Behold her who had her garments made of byssus interwoven with gold, and now she exchanges her hair for bread!
Behold her who had couches of gold and of silver, and now she sells her hair for bread!”
In short then, Job, after the many things that have been said to me, I now say in one word to thee:
“Since the feebleness of my heart has crushed my bones, rise then and take these loaves of bread and enjoy them, and then speak some word against the Lord and die!
For I too, would exchange the torpor of death for the sustenance of my body”.
But I replied to her “Behold I have been for these seven years plague-stricken, and I have stood the worms of my body, and I was not weighed down in my soul by all these pains.
And as to the word which thou sayest: ‘Speak some word against God and die!‘, together with thee I will sustain the evil which thou seest. And let us endure the ruin of all that we have.
Yet thou desirest that we should say some word against God and that He should be exchanged for the great Pluto [the god of the nether world.]
Why dost thou not remember those great goods which we possessed If these goods come from the lands of the Lord, should not we also endure evils and be high-minded in everything until the Lord will have mercy again and show pity to us.
Dost thou not see the Seducer stand behind thee and confound thy thoughts in order that thou shouldst beguile me.
And he turned to Satan and said : “Why dost thou not come openly to me Stop hiding thyself thou wretched one,
Does the lion show his strength in the weasel cage Or does the bird fly in the basket I now tell thee: Go away and wage thy war against me”.
Then he went of from behind my wife and placed himself before me crying and he said : Behold, Job, I yield and give way to thee who art but flesh while I am a spirit.
Thou art plague-stricken, but I am in great trouble.
For I am like a wrestler contesting with a wrestler who has, in a single-handed combat, torn down his antagonist and covered him with dust and broken every limb of his, whereas the other one who lies beneath, having displayed his bravery, gives forth sounds of triumph testifying to his own superior excellence.
Thus thou, O Job, art beneath and stricken with plague and pain, and yet thou hast carried the victory in the wrestling-match with me, and behold, I yield to thee”.
Then he left me abashed.
Now my children, do you also show a firm heart in all the evil that happens to you, for greater than all things is firmness of heart.

MY GLORY WILL BE EVERLASTING

At this time the kings heard what had happened to me and they rose and came to me. each from his land to visit me and to comfort me.

And when they came near me, they cried with a loud voice and each tore his clothes.
And after they had prostrated themselves, touching the earth with their heads, they sat down next to me for seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word.
They were four in numbers: Eliplaz, the king of Teman, and Balad, and Sophar, and Elilhu.
And when they had taken their seat, they conversed about what had happened to me.
Now, when for the first time they had come to me and I had shown them my precious stones, they were astonished and said:
“If of us three kings all our possessions would be brought together into one, it would not come up to the precious stones of .Jobab’s kingdom (crown). For thou art of greater nobility than all the people of the East.
And when, therefore, they now came to the land of Ausitis “Uz” to visit me, they asked in the city: “Where is Jobab, the ruler of this whole land”
And they told them concerning me: “He sitteth upon the dung-hill outside of the city for he has not entered the city’ for seven years”.
And then again they- inquired concerning my possessions, and there was revealed to them all that happened to me.
And when they had learned this, they went out of the city with the inhabitants, and my fellow-citizens pointed me out to them.
But these remonstrated and said: “Surely, this is not Jobab’’.
And while they hesitated, there said Eliphaz. the King of Teman: “Come let us step near and see.”
And when they came near I remembered them, and I wept very much when I learned the purpose of their journey.
And I threw earth upon my head, and while shaking my head I revealed unto them that I was [Job].
And when they saw me shake my head they threw themselves down upon the ground, all overcome with emotion.
And while their hosts were standing around, I saw the three kings lie upon the ground for three hours like dead.
Then they rose and said to each other: We cannot believe that this is Jobab”.
And finally, after they had for seven day’s inquired after everything concerning me and searched for my flocks and other possessions, they said:
“Do we not know how many goods were sent by him to the cities and the villages round about to be given to the poor, aside from all that was given away by him within his own house How then could he have fallen into such a state of perdition and misery !”
And after the seven days Elihu said to the kings : “Come let us step near and examine him accurately, whether he truly is Jobab or not”.
And they, being not half a mile (stadium) distant from his malodorous body, they rose and stepped near, carrying perfume in their hands, while their soldiers went with them and threw fragrant incense round about them so that they could come near me.
And after they had thus passed three hours, covering the way with aroma, they drew nigh.
And Eliphaz began and said: “Art thou, indeed, Job, our fellow-king? Art thou the one who owned the great glory?
Art thou he who once shone like the sun of day upon the whole earth? Art thou he who once resembled the moon and the stars effulgent throughout the night”?
And I answered him and said: “I am”, and thereupon all wept and lamented, and they sang a royal song of lamentation, their whole army joining them in a chorus.
And again Eliphaz said to me: “Art thou he who had ordered seven thousand sheep to be given for the clothing of the poor? Whither, then hath gone the glory of thy throne?
Art thou he who had ordered three thousand cattle to do the plowing of the field for the poor Wither, then hath thy glory gone?
Art thou he who had golden couches, and now thou sittest upon a dung hill [“Whither then hath thy glory gone”?]
Art thou he who had sixty tables set for the poor? Art thou he who had censer’s for the fine perfume made of precious stones, and now thou art in a malodorous state, Whither then hath thy glory gone?
Art thou he who had golden candelabras set upon silver stands; and now must thou long for the natural gleam of the moon [“Whither then hath thy glory gone”?]
Art thou the one who had ointment made of the spices of frankincense, and now thou art in a state of repulsiveness! [Whither then hath thy glory gone”?]
Art thou he who laughed the wrong doers and sinners to scorn and now thou hast become a laughingstock to all!” [Whither then hath thine glory gone?]
And when Eliphaz had for a long time cried and lamented, while all the others joined him, so that the commotion was very great, I said to them :
Be silent and I will show you my throne, and the glory of its splendor: My glory will be everlasting.
The whole world shall perish, and its glory shall vanish, and all those who hold fast to it, will remain beneath, but my throne is in the upper world and its glory and splendor will be to the right of the Savior in the heavens.
My throne exists in the life of the “holy ones” and its glory in the imperishable world.
For rivers will be dried up and their arrogance shall go down to the depth of the abyss, but the streams of my land in which my throne is erected, shall not dry up, but shall remain unbroken in strength.
The kings perish and the rulers vanish, and their glory and pride is as the shadow in a looking glass, but my Kingdom lasts forever and ever, and its glory and beauty is in the chariot of my Father).

THE EARTH IS UNSTABLE WITH ALL ITS INHABITANTS

I When I spoke thus to them, Ehiphaz. became angry and said to the other friends “For what purpose is it that we have come here with our hosts to comfort him 9 Behold, he upbraids us. Therefore let us return to our countries.

This man sits here in misery worm-eaten amidst an unbearable state of putrefaction, and yet he challenges its saving : ‘Kingdoms shall perish and their rulers, but my Kingdom, says he, shall last forever’”.
Eliphaz, then, rose in great commotion, and, turning away from them in great fury, said’: “I go hence. We have indeed come to comfort him, but he declares war to us in view of our armies”.
But then Baldad seized him by the hand and said :” Not thus ought one to speak to an afflicted man, and especially to one stricken down with so many plagues.
Behold, we, being in good health, dared not approach him on account of the offensive odor, except with the help of plenty of fragrant aroma.But thou, Eliphaz. Art forgetful of all this.
Let me speak plainly. Let us be magnanimous and learn what is the cause Must he in remembering his former days of happiness not become mad in his mind
Who should not be altogether perplexed seeing himself thus lapse into misfortune and plagues But let me step near him that I may find by what cause is he thus”
And Baldad rose and approached me saying: “Art thou Job” and he said : “Is thy heart still in good keeping
And I said: “I did not hold fast to the earthly things, since the earth with all that inhabit it is unstable. But my heart holds fast to the heaven, because there is no trouble in heaven”.
Then Baldad rejoined and said: “We know that the earth is unstable, for it changes according to season. At times it is in a state of peace, and at times it is in a state of war. But of the heaven we hear that it is perfectly steady.
But art thou truly in a state of calmness Therefore let me ask and speak, and when thou answerest me to my first word, I shall have a second question to ask, and if again thou answerest in well-set words, it will be manifest that thy heart has not been unbalanced”.
And I said: “Upon what dost thou set thy hope” And I said: “Upon the living God”.
And he said to me: “Who deprived thee of all thou didst possess And who inflicted thee with these plagues 9” And I said: “God”.
And he said: “If thou still placest thy hope upon God, how can He do wrong in judgment, having brought upon thee these plagues and misfortunes, and having taken from thee all thy possessions
And since He has taken these, it is clear that He has given thee nothing. No king will disgrace his soldier who has served him well as body-guard”
[And I answered saying] : “Who understands the depths of the Lord and of His wisdom to be able to accuse God of injustice”
[And Baldad said]: “Answer me, o Job, to this. Again I say to thee : ‘If thou art in a state of calm reason, teach me if thou hast wisdom:
Why do we see the sun rise in the East and set in the West And again when rising in the morning we find him rise in the East Tell me thy- thought about this’’
Then said I: “Why shall I betray (babble forth) the mighty mysteries of God And should my mouth stumble in revealing things belonging to the Master Never!
Who are we that we should pry into matters concerning the upper world while we are only of flesh, nay, earth and ashes!
In order that you know that my heart is sound, hear what I ask you:
Through the stomach cometh food, and water you drink through the mouth, and then it flows through thesame throat, and when the two go down to become excrement, they again part; who effects this separation”.
And Baldad said: “I do not know”. And I rejoined and said to him : “If thou dost not understand even the exits of the body, how canst thou understand the celestial circuits”
Then Sophar rejoined and said: “We do not inquire after our own affairs, but we desire to know whether thou art in a sound state, and behold, we see that thy reason has not been shaken.
What now dost thou wish that we should do for thee Behold, we have come here and brought the physicians of three kings, and if thou wishest, thou mayest he cured by them”.
But I answered and said: “My cure and my restoration cometh from God, the Maker of physicians”.

MY GLORY WILL BE EVER LASTING

And when I spoke thus to them, behold, there my wife Sitis came running, dressed in rags. From the service of the master by whom she was employed as slave though she had been forbidden to leave, lest the kings, on seeing her, might take her as captive.

And when she came, she threw herself prostrate to their feet, crying and saying: ‘‘Remember’. Eliphaz and ye other friends, what I was once with you, and how I have changed, how I am now dressed to meet you’’
Then the kings broke forth in great weeping and, being in double perplexity, they kept silent. But Eliphaz took his purple mantle and cast it about her to wrap herself up with it.
But she asked him saying: “I ask as favor of you, my Lords, that you order your soldiers that they should dig among the ruins of our house which fell upon my children, so that their bones could be brought in a perfect state to the tombs.
Fir as we have, owing to our misfortune, no power at all, and so we may at least see their bones.
For have I like a brute the motherly feeling of wild beasts that my ten children should have perished on one day and not to one of them could I give a decent burial’’
And the kings gave order that the ruins of my house should be dug up. But I prohibited it, saving
‘‘Do not go to the trouble in vain; for my children will not be found, for they are in the keeping of their Maker and Ruler’’.
And the kings answered and said : “Who will gainsay that he is out of his mind and raves
For while we desire to bring the bones of his children back, he forbids us to do so saying: ‘They have been taken and placed in the keeping of their Maker’. Therefore prove unto us the truth”.
But I said to them: “Raise me that I may stand up, and they lifted me, holding up my arms from both sides.
And I stood upright, and pronounced first the praise of God and after the prayer I said to them : ‘‘Look with your eyes to the East’’.
And they looked and saw my children with crowns near the glory of the King, the Ruler of heaven.
And when my wife Sitis saw this, she fell to the ground and prostrated [herself] before God, saying: ‘‘Now I know that my memory remains with the Lord”.
And after she had spoken this, and the evening came, she went to the city, back to the master whom she served as slave, and lay herself down at the manger of the cattle and died there from exhaustion.
And when her despotic master searched for her and did not find her, he came to the fold of his herds, and there he saw her stretched out upon the manger dead, while all the animals around were crying about her.
And all who saw her wept and lamented, and the cry extended throughout the whole city.
And the people brought her down and wrapt her up and buried her by the house which had fallen upon her children.
And the poor of the city made a great mourning for her and said: “Behold this Sitis whose like in nobility and in glory is not found in any woman. Alas ! she was not found worthy of a proper tomb!‘‘
The dirge for her you will find in the record.

OUR SINS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN AND OUR

INJUSTICE CLEANSED

But Eliphaz and those that were with him were astonished at these things, and they sat down with me and replying to me, spoke in boastful words concerning me for twenty seven days.

They repeated it again and again that I suffered deservedly thus for having committed many sins, and that there was no hope left for me, but I retorted to these men in zest of contention myself.
And they rose in anger, ready to part in wrathful spirit.But Elihu conjured them to stay yet a little while until he would have shown them what it was.
“For”, said he, “so many days did you pass, allowing Job to boast that he is just. But I shall no longer suffer it.
For from the beginning did I continue crying over him, remembering his former happiness. But now he speaks boastfully and in overbearing pride he says that he has his throne in the heavens.
Therefore, hear me, and I will tell you what is the cause of his destiny.
Then, imbued with the spirit of Satan. Elihu spoke hard words which are written down in the records left of Elihu.
And after he had ended, God appeared to me in a storm and in clouds, and spoke. blaming Elihu and showing me that he who had spoken was not a man, but a wild beast.
And when God had finished speaking to me, the Lord spoke to Eliphaz: “Thou and thy friends have sinned in that ye have not spoken the truth concerning my servant Job.
Therefore rise up and make him bring a sinoffering for you in order that your sins may be forgiven; for were it not for him, I would have destroyed you’’.
And so they brought to me all that belonged to a sacrifice, and I took it and brought for them a sin-offering, and the Lord received it favorably and forgave them their wrong.
Then when Eliphaz, Baldad and Sophar saw that God had graciously pardoned their sin through His servant Job, but that He did not deign to pardon Elihu, then did Eliphaz begin to sing a hymn, while the others responded, their soldiers also joining while standing by the altar.
And Eliphaz spoke thus “Taken off is the sin and our injustice gone;

But Elihu, the evil one, shall have no remembrance among the living; his luminary is extinguished and has lost its light.
The glory of his lamp will announce itself for him, for he is the son of darkness. and not of light.
The doorkeepers of the place of darkness shall give him their glory and beauty as share; His Kingdom hath vanished, his throne hath moldered, and the honor of his stature is in (Sheol) Hades.
For he has loved the beauty of the serpent and the scales (skins) of’ the dracon his gall and his venom belongs to the Northern One (Zphuni = Adder).
For he did not own himself unto the Lord nor did he fear him, but he hated those whom He hath chosen (known).
Thus God forgot him, and “the holy ones” forsook him, his wrath and anger shall be unto him desolation and he will have no mercy in his heart nor peace, because he, had the venom of an adder on his tongue.
Righteous is the Lord, and His judgments are true, With him there is no preference of person, for He judgeth all alike.
Behold, the Lord cometh! Behold, the “holy ones” have been prepared: The crowns and the prizes of the victors precede them!
Let the saints rejoice, and let their hearts exult in gladness; for they shall receive the glory which is in store for them.

Chorus.

Our sins are forgiven, our injustice has been cleansed, but Elihu hath no remembrance among the living”.
After Eliphaz had finished the hymn, we rose and went back to the city, each to the house where they lived.
And the people made a feast for me in gratitude and delight of God, and all my friends came back to me.
And all those who had seen me in my former state of happiness, asked me saying: “What are those three things here amongst us”

DO NOT FORSAKE THE LORD

But I being desirous to take up again my work of benevolence for the poor, asked them saying:

“Give me each a lamb for the clothing of the poor in their state of nakedness, and four drachmas (coins) of silver or gold”
Then the Lord blessed all that was left to me, and after a few days I became rich again in merchandise, in flocks and all things which I had lost, and I received all in double number again.
Then I also took as wife your mother and became the father of you ten in place of the ten children that had died.
And now, my children, let me admonish you: “Behold I die. You will take my place.
Only do not forsake the Lord. Be charitable towards the poor; Do not disregard the feeble. Take not unto yourselves wives from strangers.
Behold, my children, I shall divide among you what I possess, so that each may have control over his own and have full power to do good with his share”.
And after he had spoken thus, he brought all his goods and divided them among his seven sons, but he gave nothing of his goods to his daughters.
Then they said to their father: “Our lord and father! Are we not also thy children Why, then, dost thou not also give us a share of thy possessions”
Then said Job to his daughters : “Do not become angry my daughters. I have not forgotten you. Behold, I have preserved for you a possession better than that which your brothers have taken”.
And he called his daughter whose name was Day (Yemima) and said to her: “Take this double ring used as a key and go to the treasure-house and bring me the golden casket, that I may give you your possession’’.
And she went and brought it to him, and he opened it and took out three-stringed girdles about the appearance of which no man can speak.
For they were not earthly work, but celestial sparks of light flashed through them like the rays of the sun.
And he gave one string to each of His daughters and said: “Put these as girdles around you in order that all the days of your life they may encircle you and endow you with every thing good”.
And the other daughter whose name was Kassiah said: “Is this the possession of which thou sayest it is better than that of our brothers? What now Can we live on this”?
And their father said to them: “Not only have you here sufficient to live on, but these bring you into a better world to live in, in the heavens.
Or do you not know my children, the value of these things here? Hear then! When the Lord had deemed me worthy to have compassion on me and to take off my body the plagues and the worms, He called me and handed to me these three strings.
And He said to me: ‘Rise and gird up thy loins like a man I will demand of thee and declare thou unto me’.
And I took them and girt them around my loins, and immediately did the worms leave my body, and likewise did the plagues, and my whole body took new strength through the Lord, and thus I passed on, as though I had never suffered.
But also in my heart I forgot the pains. Then spoke the Lord unto me in His great power and showed to me all that was and will be.
Now then, my children, in keeping these, you will not have the enemy plotting against you nor [evil] intentions in your mind because this is a charm (Phylacterion) from the Lord.
Rise then and gird these around you before I die in order that you may see the angels come at my parting so that you may behold with wonder the powers of God”.
Then rose the one whose name was Day (Yemima) and girt herself; and immediately she departed her body, as her father had said, and she put on another heart, as if she never cared for earthly things.
And she sang angelic hymns in the voice of angels, and she chanted forth the angelic praise of God while dancing.
Then the other daughter, Kassia by name, put on the girdle, and her heart was transformed, so that she no longer wished for worldly things.
And her mouth assumed the dialect of the heavenly rulers (Archonts) and she sang the donology of the work of the High Place and if any one wishes to know the work of the heavens he may take an insight into the hymns of Kassia.
Then did the other daughter by the name of Amalthea’s Horn (Keren Happukh) gird herself and her mouth spoke in the language of those on high; for her heart was transformed, being lifted above the worldly things.
She spoke in the dialect of the Cherubim, singing the praise of the Ruler of the cosmic powers (virtues) and extolling their (His) glory.
And he who desires to follow the vestiges of the “Glory of the Father” will find them written down in the Prayers of Amalthea’s Horn.

THE REWARD OF STEADFASTNESS AND

FAITHFULNESS

After these three had finished singing hymns. did I Nahor (Neros) brother of Job sit down next to him, as he lay down.

And I heard the marvelous (great) things of the three daughters of my brother, one always succeeding the other amidst awful silence.
And I wrote down this book containing the hymns except the hymns and signs of the [holy] Word, for these were the great things of God.
And Job lay down from sickness on his couch, yet without pain and suffering, because his pain did not take strong hold of him on account of, the charm of the girdle which he had wound around himself.
But after three days Job saw the holy angels come for his soul, and instantly he rose and took the cithara and gave it to his daughter Day (Yemima).
And to Kassia he gave a censer (with perfume = Kassia, and to Amalthea’s horn (= music) he gave a timbrel in order that they might bless the holy angels who came for his soul.
And they took these, and sang, and played on the psaltery and praised and glorified God in the holy dialect.
And after this he came He who sitteth upon the great chariot and kissed Job, while his three daughters looked on, but the others saw it not.
And He took the soul of Job and He soared upward, taking her (the soul) by the arm and carrying her upon the chariot, and He went towards the East.
His body, however, was brought to the grave while the three daughters marched ahead, having put on their girdles and singing hymns in praise of God.
Then held Nahor (Nereos) his brother and his seven sons, with the rest of the people and the poor, the orphans and the feeble ones, a great mourning over him, saying:
“Woe unto us, for today has been taken from us the strength of the feeble, the light of the blind, the father of the orphans;
The receiver of strangers has been taken off the leader of the erring, the cover of the naked. The shield of the widows. Who would not mourn for the man of God!
And as they were mourning in this and in that form, they would not suffer him to be put into the grave.
After three days, however, he was finally put into the grave, like one in sweet slumber, and he received the name of the good (beautiful) who will remain renowned throughout all generations of the world.
He left seven sons and three daughters, and there were no daughters found on earth as fair as the daughters of Job.
The name of Job was formerly Jobab, and he was called Job by the Lord.
He had lived before his plague eighty five years, and after the plague he took the double share of all; hence also his year’s he doubled, which is 170 years.Thus he lived altogether 255 years.
And, he saw sons of his sons unto the fourth generation. It is written that he will rise up with those whom the Lord will reawaken. To our Lord by glory. Amen.