Fallen Angels and the Origins of Evil (16 page)

1 Thus the Lord commanded the kings, the princes, the exalted, and those who dwell on earth, saying, Open your eyes, and lift up your horns, if you are capable of comprehending the Elect One.

2 The Lord of spirits sat upon the throne of his glory.

3 And the spirit of righteousness was poured out over him.

4 The word of his mouth shall destroy all the sinners and all the ungodly, who shall perish at his presence.

5 In that day shall all the kings, the princes, the exalted, and those who possess the earth, stand up, behold, and perceive, that he is sitting on the throne of his glory; that before him the saints shall be judged in righteousness;

6 And that nothing, which shall be spoken before him, shall be
spoken
in vain.

7 Trouble shall come upon them, as upon a woman in travail, whose labour is severe, when her child comes to the mouth of the womb, and she finds it difficult to bring forth.

8 One portion of them shall look upon another. They shall be astonished, and shall humble their countenance;

9 And trouble shall seize them, when they shall behold this Son of woman sitting upon the throne of his glory.

10 Then shall the kings, the princes, and all who possess the earth, glorify him who has dominion over all things, him who was concealed; for from the beginning the Son of man existed in secret, whom the Most High preserved in the presence of his power, and revealed to the elect.

11 He shall sow the congregation of the saints, and of the elect; and all the elect shall stand before him in that day.

12 All the kings, the princes, the exalted, and those who rule over the earth, shall fall down on their faces before him, and shall worship him.

13 They shall fix their hopes on this Son of man, shall pray to him, and petition him for mercy.

14 Then shall the Lord of spirits hasten to expel them from his presence. Their faces shall be full of confusion, and their faces shall darkness cover. The angels shall take them to punishment, that vengeance may be inflicted on those who have oppressed his children and his elect. And they shall become an example to the saints and to his elect. Through them shall these be made joyful; for the anger of the Lord of spirits shall rest upon them.

15 Then the sword of the Lord of spirits shall be drunk with their blood; but the saints and elect shall be safe in that day; nor the face of the sinners and the ungodly shall they thenceforwards behold.

16 The Lord of spirits shall remain over them:

17 And with this Son of man shall they dwell, eat, lie down, and rise up, for ever and ever.

18 The saints and the elect have arisen from the earth, have left off to depress their countenances, and have been clothed with the garment of life. That garment of life is with the Lord of spirits, in whose presence your garment shall not wax old, nor shall your glory diminish.

1 In those days the kings who possess the earth shall be punished by the angels of his wrath, wheresoever they shall be delivered up, that he may give rest for a short period; and that they may fall down and worship before the Lord of spirits, confessing their sins before him.

2 They shall bless and glorify the Lord of spirits, saying, Blessed is the Lord of spirits, the Lord of kings, the Lord of princes, the Lord of the rich, the Lord of glory, and the Lord of wisdom.

3 He shall enlighten every secret thing.

4 Thy power is from generation to generation; and thy glory for ever and ever.

5 Deep are all thy secrets, and numberless; and thy righteousness cannot be computed.

6 Now we know, that we should glorify and bless the Lord of kings, him who is King over all things.

7 They shall also say, Who has granted us rest to glorify, laud, bless, and confess in the presence of his glory?

8 And now small is the rest we desire; but we do not find
it;
we reject, and do not possess
it.
Light has passed away from before us; and darkness
has covered
our thrones for ever.

9 For we have not confessed before him; we have not glorified the name of the Lord of kings; we have not glorified the Lord in all his works; but we have trusted in the sceptre of our dominion and of our glory.

10 In the day of our suffering and of our trouble he will not save us, neither shall we find rest. We confess that our Lord is faithful in all his works, in all his judgments, and in his righteousness.

11 In his judgments he pays no respect to persons; and we must depart from his presence, on account of our
evil
deeds.

12 All our sins are truly without number.

13 Then shall they say to themselves, Our souls are satiated with the instruments of crime;

14 But that prevents us not from descending to the flaming womb of hell.

15 Afterwards, their countenances shall be filled with darkness and confusion before the Son of man; from whose presence they shall be expelled, and before whom the sword shall remain to expel them.

16 Thus saith the Lord of spirits, This is the decree and the judgment against the princes, the kings, the exalted, and those who possess the earth, in the presence of the Lord of spirits.

I saw also other countenances in that secret place. I heard the voice of an angel, saying, These are the angels who have descended from heaven to earth, and have revealed secrets to the sons of men, and have seduced the sons of men to the commission of sin.

1 In those days Noah saw that the earth became inclined, and that destruction approached.

2 Then he lifted up his feet, and went to the ends of the earth, to the dwelling of his great-grandfather Enoch.

3 And Noah cried with a bitter voice, Hear me; hear me; hear me: three times. And he said, Tell me what is transacting upon earth; for the earth labours, and is violently shaken. Surely I shall perish with it.

4 After this there was a great perturbation on earth, and a voice was heard from heaven. I fell down on my face, when my great-grandfather Enoch came and stood by me.

5 He said to me, Why hast thou cried out to me with a bitter cry and lamentation?

6 A commandment has gone forth from the Lord against those who dwell on the earth, that they may be destroyed; for they know every secret of the angels, every oppressive and secret power of the devils [literally, “the Satans” (Laurence, p. 78)], and every power of those who commit sorcery, as well as of those who make molten
images
in the whole earth.

7
They know
how silver is produced from the dust of the earth, and how on the earth the
metallic
drop exists; for lead and tin are not produced from earth, as the primary fountain of their production.

8 There is an angel standing upon it, and that angel struggles to prevail.

9 Afterwards my great-grandfather Enoch seized me with his hand, raising me up, and saying to me, Go, for I have asked the Lord of spirits respecting this perturbation of the earth; who replied, On account of their impiety have their innumerable judgments been consummated before me. Respecting the moons have they inquired, and they have known that the earth will perish with those who dwell upon it [or, “Because of the sorceries which they have searched out and learnt, the earth and those who dwell upon it will be destroyed” (Knibb, p. 155)], and that to these there will be
no place of
refuge for ever.

10 They have discovered secrets, and
they are
those who have been judged; but not thou, my son. The Lord of spirits knows that thou art pure and good,
free
from the reproach of
discovering
secrets.

11 He, the holy One, will establish thy name in the midst of the saints, and will preserve thee from those who dwell upon the earth. He will establish thy seed in righteousness, with dominion and great glory [literally, “for kings, and for great glory” (Laurence, p. 79)]; and from thy seed shall spring forth righteous and holy men without number for ever.

1 After this he showed me the angels of punishment, who were prepared to come, and to open all the mighty waters under the earth:

2 That they may be for judgment, and for the destruction of all those who remain and dwell upon the earth.

3 And the Lord of spirits commanded the angels who went forth, not to take up the men and preserve
them.

4 For those angels
presided
over all the mighty waters. Then I went out from the presence of Enoch.

1 In those days the word of God came to me, and said, Noah, behold, thy lot has ascended up to me, a lot void of crime, a lot beloved and upright.

2 Now then shall the angels labour at the trees [or, “are making a wooden (structure)” (Knibb, p. 156)]; but when they proceed to this, I will put my hand upon it, and preserve it.

3 The seed of life shall arise from it, and a change shall take place, that the dry land may not be left empty. I will establish thy seed before me for ever and ever, and the seed of those who dwell with thee on the surface of the earth. It shall be blessed and multiplied in the presence of the earth, in the name of the Lord.

4 And they shall confine those angels who disclosed impiety. In that burning valley
it is, that they shall be confined,
which at first my great-grandfather Enoch showed me in the west, where there were mountains of gold and silver, of iron, of fluid metal, and of tin.

5 I beheld that valley in which there was great perturbation, and
where
the waters were troubled.

6 And when all this was effected, from the fluid mass of fire, and the perturbation which prevailed [literally, “troubled them” (Laurence, p. 81)] in that place, there arose a strong smell of sulphur, which became mixed with the waters; and the valley of the angels, who had been guilty of seduction, burned underneath its soil.

7 Through that valley also rivers of fire were flowing, to which those angels shall be condemned, who seduced the inhabitants of the earth.

8 And in those days shall these waters be to kings, to princes, to the exalted, and to the inhabitants of the earth, for the healing of the soul and body, and for the judgment of the spirit.

9 Their spirits shall be full of revelry [or, “lust” (Knibb, p. 157)], that they may be judged in their bodies; because they have denied the Lord of spirits, and
although
they perceive their condemnation day by day, they believe not in his name.

10 And as the inflammation of their bodies shall be great, so shall their spirits undergo a change for ever.

11 For no word which is uttered before the Lord of spirits shall be in vain.

12 Judgment has come upon them, because they trusted in their carnal revelry, and denied the Lord of spirits.

13 In those days shall the waters of that valley be changed; for when the angels shall be judged, then shall the heat of those springs of water experience an alteration.

14 And when the angels shall ascend, the water of the springs shall
again
undergo a change, and be frozen. Then I heard holy Michael answering and saying, This judgment, with which the angels shall be judged, shall bear testimony against the kings, the princes, and those who possess the earth.

15 For these waters of judgment shall be for their healing, and for the death [or, “lust” (Charles, p. 176; Knibb, p. 158)] of their bodies. But they shall not perceive and believe that the waters will be changed, and become a fire, which shall blaze for ever.

1 After this he gave me the characteristical marks [literally, “the signs” (Laurence, p. 83)] of all the secret things in the book of my great-grandfather Enoch, and in the parables which had been given to him; inserting them for me among the words of the book of parables.

2 At that time holy Michael answered and said to Raphael, The power of the spirit hurries me away, and impels me on. The severity of the judgment, of the secret judgment of the angels, who is capable
of beholding
—the endurance of that severe judgment which has taken place and been made permanent—without being melted at the sight of it? Again holy Michael answered and said to holy Raphael, Who is there whose heart is not softened by it, and whose reins are not troubled at this thing?

3 Judgment has gone forth against them by those who have thus dragged them away; and that was, when they stood in the presence of the Lord of spirits.

4 In like manner also holy Rakael said to Raphael, They shall not be before the eye of the Lord [or, “I will not take their part under the eye of the Lord” (Knibb, p. 159)]; since the Lord of spirits has been offended with them; for like Lords have they conducted themselves [or, “for they act as if they were the Lord” (Knibb, p. 159)]. Therefore will he bring upon them a secret judgment for ever and ever.

5 For neither shall angel nor man receive a portion of it; but they alone shall receive their own judgment for ever and ever.

1 After this judgment they shall be astonished and irritated; for it shall be exhibited to the inhabitants of the earth.

2 Behold the names of those angels. These are their names. The first of them is Samyaza; the second, Arstikapha; the third, Armen; the fourth, Kakabael; the fifth, Turel; the sixth, Rumyel; the seventh, Danyal; the eighth, Kael; the ninth, Barakel; the tenth, Azazel; the eleventh, Armers; the twelfth, Bataryal; the thirteenth, Basasael; the fourteenth, Ananel; the fifteenth, Turyal; the sixteenth, Simapiseel; the seventeenth, Yetarel; the eighteenth, Tumael; the nineteenth, Tarel; the twentieth, Rumel; the twenty-first, Azazyel.

3 These are the chiefs of their angels, and the names of the leaders of their hundreds, and the leaders of their fifties, and the leaders of their tens.

4 The name of the first is Yekun [may simply mean “the rebel” (Knibb, p. 160)]: he it was who seduced all the sons of the holy angels; and causing them to descend on earth, led astray the offspring of men.