As
we speculate over this mysterious place called hell, we are confronted with
ideas that may stretch our preconceived ideas.
Chambers in hell, for different categories of peoples’ souls, may be a
new idea. Jesus himself used different
words for hell. What Jesus accomplished in his death was to eliminate hell for
the righteous. He made a spectacle of
the principalities, proving his power to them.
They could not believe Jesus would steal people from hell and give them
a better place to await his calling from the clouds. I seriously would love to see the re-runs in
heaven of those awesome three days.
Jesus was in the grave three days and three nights like Jonah. Jonah drowned, was swallowed by a big fish,
then spit out on the shore and given his life back.
Jonah
1:17-2:7 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah
was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.2:1 Then Jonah prayed
unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly,2 And said, I cried by reason of
mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried
I, and thou heardest my voice.3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the
midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy
waves passed over me.4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look
again toward thy holy temple.5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul:
the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.6 I went
down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me forever:
yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.7 When my soul
fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into
thine holy temple.KJV
Jesus,
the King of Glory, went into the grave for us, to take back the power over
death and hell. There was no way to rescue the redeemed dead from the grave, and
now Jesus has the keys. I can’t imagine
what it was like to witness to the fallen angels in Tartarus or Cain in hell,
or even the believing line from Adam and Seth in the grave.
1
Peter 3:18-22 For Christ [the Messiah Himself] died for sins once for all, the
Righteous for the unrighteous (the Just for the unjust, the Innocent for the
guilty), that He might bring us to God. In His human body He was put to death,
but He was made alive in the spirit, 19 In which He went and preached to the
spirits in prison, 20 [The souls of those] who long before in the days of Noah
had been disobedient, when God's patience waited during the building of the ark
in which a few [people], actually eight in number, were saved through water.
[Gen. 6-8.] 21 And baptism, which is a figure [of their deliverance], does now
also save you [from inward questionings and fears], not by the removing of
outward body filth [bathing], but by [providing you with] the answer of a good
and clear conscience (inward cleanness and peace) before God [because you are
demonstrating what you believe to be yours] through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. 22 [And He] has now entered into heaven and is at the right hand of
God, with [all] angels and authorities and powers made subservient to Him. AMP
Eph
4:8-10 Therefore it is said, When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive
[He led a train of vanquished foes] and He bestowed gifts on men. [Ps 68:18.] 9
[But He ascended?] Now what can this, He ascended, mean but that He had
previously descended from [the heights of] heaven into [the depths], the lower
parts of the earth? 10 He Who descended is the [very] same as He Who also has
ascended high above all the heavens, that He [His presence] might fill all
things (the whole universe, from the lowest to the highest)AMP
Ps
68:18 You have ascended on high. You have led away captive a train of
vanquished foes; You have received gifts of men, yes, of the rebellious also,
that the Lord God might dwell there with them. [Eph 4:8.] AMP
Col
2:13-16 And you who were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your
flesh (your sensuality, your sinful carnal nature), [God] brought to life
together with [Christ], having [freely] forgiven us all our transgressions, 14
Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note
(bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against
us (hostile to us). This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He
set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross.
15 [God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and
made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him
and in it [the cross]. 16 Therefore let no one sit in judgment on you in
matters of food and drink, or with regard to a feast day or a New Moon or a
Sabbath. AMP
Let’s
look at the place the fallen angels were given, a place that has chains and is
dark.
NT:5020
tartaroo (tar-tar-o'-o); from Tartaros (the deepest abyss of Hades); to
incarcerate in eternal torment: KJV - cast down to hell.(Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
2
Peter 2:4-5 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down
to hell [5020], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved
unto judgment;5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person,
a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the
ungodly; KJV
This
part of hell is different than other parts as it is reserved for the angels
that sinned. The book of Enoch tells us a bit more about the place these angels
were sent. For reference I included the
entire story in End Notes, but for our purpose, I am using this small section
here.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/boe013.htm
These
valleys of the earth are the same as Tartarus, and if we remember what we saw
regarding chambers in the earth, they are south in direction to east and there
are lower chambers than others. Uriel
the archangel is over Tartarus as Enoch mentions. This is a different place than Hades or
Paradise, and is only for these fallen angelic beings. It may be similar to the abyss as we will
see. But first let’s look at Hades,
which is the Greek word that is equivalent to Sheol.
NT:86
haides (hah'-dace); from NT:1 (as negative particle) and NT:1492; properly,
unseen, i.e. "Hades" or the place (state) of departed souls:KJV -
grave, hell.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Here
we see that Jesus will build His church on Peter The Rock (which could be
Peters WWF name) and the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church.
Gates are defensive as to 1) hold in departed souls and 2) keep out anyone who
would wish to raid hell. Yet hells
gates shall not overpower the ecclesia .
Matt
16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter (a rock), and upon this
[the] rock (giant rock) I will build (construct) my church (assembly); and the
gates of hell [86] shall not prevail (overcome) against it.KJV
The
story of the rich man and Lazarus gives us many clues on hell. This is not a parable as parables do not name
names, therefore this is a story, and probably a true story as the Messiah is
telling it. Therefore we should pay
close attention to the details recorded here.
Luke
16:19-31 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine
linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,21 And desiring to be fed
with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came
and licked his sores.22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was
carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was
buried;
Jesus
just finishes discussing some points of the law and then makes this comparison
between a rich man and a beggar. When Lazarus died the angels carried him to
Abraham’s bosom, but the rich man was buried.
Of first note, angels take the righteous to where they are to go. When the rich man was buried, he was in hell.
23
And in hell [86] he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar
off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
It
does not say that angels took the rich man to hell, he simply was in hell, and
therefore hell is a default place unless one is righteous. Secondly, we see the
rich man was tormented where he was, but could see Abraham and Lazarus a long
ways off. Thirdly, this rich man had consciousness in the grave, he knew where
he was, and knew where Abraham and Lazarus were. He was not asleep, or dreaming
as Jesus did not say that, Jesus says that the rich man saw, using his eyes,
not dreams.
24
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that
he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am
tormented in this flame.
Fourthly,
we see the rich man is not just tormented, but there are flames, which is why
he wants water. This speaks of discomfort on at least two fronts. It seems
funny that instead of being humbled by his situation, he is asking Abraham to
treat Lazarus as a slave and bring him water. It may be that since Lazarus
desired crumbs from the rich man, the rich man figured Lazarus should serve
him. The rich man is asking Abraham for mercy, but Abraham is not able to
extend mercy to anyone, only Yahweh can do that.
25
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good
things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art
tormented.
Abraham
points out their earthly life, then points out the space between them.
26
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that
they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that
would come from thence.
Fifth,
we see a mega-chasm established between these two places and no one can pass
between them. I’m sure the rich man saw
the chasm, but thought Abraham could do something about it since they were
speaking across the chasm.
27
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my
father's house:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest
they also come into this place of torment.29 Abraham saith unto him, They have
Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham:
but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
The
rich man assumes that one can leave the place where Abraham is and would like
Lazarus to go witness to the rich man’s family.
However, the man thinks one rising from the dead will make them
repent. Therefore, sixth, we see repentance
keeping people out of hell.
31
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.KJV
Abraham
says if they don’t hear Moses and the Prophets, they will not repent; even if
one rose from the dead. This is our seventh observation, that people have free
will to believe or disbelieve on Jesus and repent, so that hell is the choice
of the individual. Ouch. It seems there is no one else to blame if we choose
not believe on Jesus and repent. Enoch enlightens us on four places of the
dead.
Enoch
22
CHAPTER XXII.
1. And thence I went to
another place, and he showed me in the west ⌈another⌉ great and high
mountain [and] of hard rock. 2. And there were †four† hollow places in it, deep and very
smooth: †three† of them were dark and one bright; and there was a fountain of
water in its midst. And I said: '†How† smooth are these hollow places, and deep
and dark to view.'3. Then Raphael answered, one of
the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: 'These hollow places have
been created for this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead
should assemble therein, yea that all the souls of the children of men should
assemble here. And these places have been made to
receive them till the day of their judgement and till their appointed
period ⌈till the period
appointed⌉, till the great
judgement (comes) upon them.'5. I saw (the
spirit of) a dead man making suit, and his voice went forth to
heaven and made suit. 6. And I asked Raphael the angel who was with me, and I
said unto him: 'This spirit which maketh suit, whose is it, whose voice goeth
forth and maketh suit to heaven?'7. And he answered
me saying: 'This is the spirit which went forth from Abel, whom his brother
Cain slew, and he makes his suit against him till his seed is destroyed from
the face of the earth, and his seed is annihilated from amongst the seed of
men.'8. Then I asked regarding all the hollow places: 'Why
is one separated from the other?'9. And he answered me saying: 'These three
have been made that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And this division
has been made for the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright
spring of water. 10. And this has been made for sinners when
they die and are buried in the earth and judgement has not been executed upon
them in their lifetime. 11. Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great
pain, till the great day of judgement, scourgings, and torments of the accursed
for ever,so that (there maybe) retribution for their spirits. There
He shall bind judgement, scourgings, and torments of the accursed for ever,so
that (there maybe) retribution for their spirits. There He shall bind
them for ever. 12. And this division has been made for the spirits
of those who make their suit, who make disclosures concerning their
destruction, when they were slain in the days of the sinners. 13. And this has
been made for the spirits of men who shall not be righteous but sinners, who
are godless, and of the lawless they shall be companions: but their spirits
shall not be punished in the day of judgement nor shall they be raised from
thence. 14. Then I blessed the Lord of Glory and said: 'Blessed art Thou, Lord
of righteousness, who rulest over the world.'
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/boe013.htm
Three
places are for the sinful dead and one place for the righteous dead. If we remember, when Jesus went into hell and
took the believers out, they all went to Paradise, and Enoch and Elijah were
both there along with the thief who hung on the cross next to Jesus. Jesus made an even better place for those who
believe on Him. Remember Jesus’ words to the churches; he has the keys.
Rev
1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore,
Amen; and have the keys of hell [86] and of death. KJV
Jesus
has the keys now; he earned them back from satan as the grave could not hold
him. During the wrath of the Lamb, the fourth seal will be opened and death and
hell will kill one fourth of the earth’s inhabitants.
Rev
6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was
Death, and Hell [86] followed with him. And power was given unto them over the
fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death,
and with the beasts of the earth.KJV
During
the great white throne judgment, death and hell will release the individuals in
them to be judged.
Rev
20:13-15 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works.14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire. KJV
Another
compartment to the grave is Gehenna. The Valley of Hinnom was used as a sermon
illustration which was a fiery garbage dump where the fire always burned. Just as we saw Sodom and Gomorrah was still
burning and smoldering through about 350 AD, Gehenna was a local example to
people of the fires of hell.
NT:1067
geena (gheh'-en-nah); of Hebrew origin [OT:1516 and OT:2011]; valley of (the
son of) Hinnom; ge-henna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used
(figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: KJV
- hell.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded
Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and
International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Keeping
in mind the multiple chambers of the dead, Jesus points out if one were to
curse his brother, he would be in danger of gehenna. Since Jesus is the one
speaking, we should pay close attention as he knows what he is talking
about.
Matt
5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a
cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his
brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou
fool, shall be in danger of hell [1067]fire.KJV
Matt
5:29-30 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee:
for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not
that thy whole body should be cast into hell [1067].30 And if thy right hand
offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee
that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be
cast into hell[1067].KJV
If
we have offending body parts, we would be better off without them, or in other
words if we cannot control our bodies, we are headed to gehenna.
Matt
10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell [1067].KJV
Don’t
fear man who can kill your body but God who can destroy both body and soul in
the fiery grave. These are good words for the Pharisees to keep in mind.
Matt
23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you
travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes one [a
proselyte], you make him doubly as much a child of hell (Gehenna) as you
are.AMP
It
is possible to make someone a child of hell by wrong teaching and
practice. Jesus’ words were strong.
Matt
23:33 You serpents! You spawn of vipers! How can you escape the penalty to be
suffered in hell (Gehenna)?AMP
They
cannot escape. Once one dies, there is no changing where one ends up. And as Jesus pointed out, regarding cursing a
brother, our tongues can lead us straight to hell.
James
3:6 And the tongue is a fire. [The tongue is a] world of wickedness set among
our members, contaminating and depraving the whole body and setting on fire the
wheel of birth (the cycle of man's nature), being itself ignited by hell
(Gehenna). AMP
Another
chamber to study is the deep or abyss.
The demons don’t want to go there, there is an angel over it, and a
beast comes out of it during the tribulation.
NT:12
abussos (ab'-us-sos); from NT:1 (as a negative particle) and a variation of
NT:1037; depthless, i.e. (specially) (infernal) "abyss":KJV - deep,
(bottomless) pit.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance
with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft,
Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Luke
8:30-32 Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he answered, Legion; for
many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged [Jesus] not to command them to
depart into the Abyss (bottomless pit). [Rev 9:1.] 32 Now a great herd of swine
was there feeding on the hillside; and [the demons] begged Him to give them
leave to enter these. And He allowed them [to do so]. AMP
Funny,
one might think that demons should feel right at home in the abyss, and, as we
have previously studied, demons are the disembodied spirits of the
Nephilim. They roam the earth looking
for a warm body to inhabit. Ninety
percent were bound to the place of condemnation but there were ten percent left
on earth. (Jubilees 10:9) By going into the swine, the demons caused the swine
to commit suicide and they were then without bodies to inhabit. It must be possible then to send demons to
the abyss. I would guess that the abyss
is closely related to Tartarus if not the same place.
Rev
9:1-3And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the
earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.2 And he opened the
bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great
furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the
pit.3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was
given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.KJV
Locusts
come out of the abyss during the tribulation. It is a dark, smoky place that is
under lock and key. When the locusts are let out, the atmosphere of earth
darkens because of the smoke from the abyss’ furnace.
Rev
9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit,
whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his
name Apollyon.KJV
Apollyon,
destroyer, is the king or angel of the abyss, the king of the locusts. John tells us of the two witnesses. When they
have been on earth for three and one half years, a beast will come out of the
bottomless pit, and kill them. The idea
is that the two witnesses are Elijah and Enoch, and when they are killed they
are immediately taken up to the coronation of Jesus as King of kings and Lord
of lords.
Rev
11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that
ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall
overcome them, and kill them.KJV
The
Bible says a beast comes out of the abyss, this is the first place we see a
beast that is a leader coming out of the abyss, and his first action is to kill
the two witnesses. (Interesting to note
that in chapter 13 of Revelation, we start to see a whole lot of things this
beast will do. But his first action is to kill the two witnesses.) One day
satan will be bound in the abyss.
Rev
20:1-3 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the
bottomless pit [12] and a great chain in his hand.2 And he laid hold on the
dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a
thousand years,3 And cast him into the bottomless pit [12], and shut him up,
and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the
thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little
season.KJV
Satan
will be in the abyss for one thousand years with a seal on him. There will be a chain to keep him there as
well, whether the chain is for the gate or for satan’s leg as a shackle we
aren’t told. But if we remember, the others in hell will mock him as we saw
from Isaiah. Is there a chasm between
those in sheol and the abyss, we don’t know.
As
Enoch mentioned, there are different chambers in the grave, and as we saw from
the acts of Pilate, paradise is one of them.
Jesus came to take people out of one chamber because they believed on
him and brought them to another one, one for those who are righteous. From the time of Adam we see the prophecy in
the heavens of Jesus’ coming, Genesis 3:15, and many believed on his
coming. These are the redeemed of the
Old Testament. As we looked at righteousness and justification, the simplicity
of Christ is that the new man is righteousness. Jesus made it possible for us,
but before he came it was not easy to be righteousness. He made it available for us to live Godly in
Christ, but our forefathers had to work hard to live Godly. Remember we saw Elijah and Enoch in paradise
already when Jesus brought the others out of one chamber of the grave. The
reason they were taken up before they died was so that they didn’t have to
spend their time in hell, but instead in paradise, awaiting their return to
earth where they will actually die. These men, Elijah and Enoch will die once,
not twice. Their bodies did not see corruption. The thief was on the cross with Jesus,
believed on him, repented, and went directly to paradise. Jesus’ instructions
were to tell the angel who guards paradise the things Jesus said, and when the
angel heard those things, he let the thief in.
Enoch says Gabriel is the angel over paradise, the serpents, and the
Cherubim. Let’s look at paradise.
NT:3857
paradeisos (par-ad'-i-sos); of Oriental origin [compare OT:6508]; a park, i.e. (specifically)
an Eden (place of future happiness, "paradise"):(Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
NT:3857
paradeisos, paradeisou, ho 1. among the
Persians a grand enclosure or preserve, hunting-ground, park, 2. universally, a garden, pleasure-ground;
grove, park: 3. that part of Hades which
was thought by the later Jews to be the
abode of the souls of the pious until the resurrection: Luke 23:43 4. an upper region in the heavens: 2 Cor
12:4(from Thayer's Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003,
2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Luke
23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be
with me in paradise [3857].KJV
Jesus
met up with the thief in paradise. Paul went to paradise; most likely when he
was stoned and left for dead.
2
Cor 12:4 How that he was caught up into paradise [3857], and heard unspeakable
words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.KJV
There
must be good eating in paradise, some type of restorative properties for the
overcomer. If we keep in mind our time, the Church at Ephesus was a literal
church, but also a type of many churches since that first church. For those people who remember their first
love, and overcome; when they die they will get to eat of the tree in paradise.
Rev
2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the
midst of the paradise [3857] of God.KJV
Something
to keep in mind is that the seven churches can be ages of the church since
Pentecost, and they also can be understood as individual churches today. One of
these churches is promised to go into the great tribulation, while the others
are warned strongly to be overcomers. One church cannot go into the tribulation
if it was only in existence years ago, as the people would all be dead by
now. Therefore the churches are also a type of our churches today. Individually, all seven types of churches are
on earth, and some people are not going to paradise if they do not overcome.
People who die before the return of the Lord always go to hell or paradise.
Then the dead in Christ will rise first at his calling from the clouds. The rewards listed to the churches sometimes
suggest that those people that do not go to paradise when they die will get a
second chance at living in the new heaven and new earth. There will be people
judged for their works at white throne judgment and those approved by their
works will then enter the new Jerusalem rather than eternal fire. Therefore
someone could attend “church” but not truly saved from hell at the time of
death. This is always our decision. Some
of these rewards to the overcomers, the people in the churches, take place in
the new heaven and new earth. Clearly, we should desire to not end up in hell,
but do what we have to, so that we can enter paradise. This is not a crap shoot; it is by our
decision and will. Making Jesus Lord of
our lives is a good choice.
You
may remember the old hymn “When We All Get To Heaven”, that is our next
question to answer. Since there are no
chambers of the dead in heaven when will we go there?
End Notes:
Enoch 6
CHAPTER VI.
1.
And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days
were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. 2. And the angels, the
children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another:
'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us
children.' 3. And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye
will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the
penalty of a great sin.' 4. And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all
swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon
this plan but to do this thing.' 5. Then sware they all together and bound
themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 6. And they were in all two hundred;
who descended ⌈in the days⌉ of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and
they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by
mutual imprecations upon it. 7. And these are the names of their leaders:
Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl,
Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl,
Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. 8. These are their chiefs of tens.
CHAPTER VII.
1.
And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each
chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile
themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the
cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. 2. And they became
pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: 3.
Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain
them, 4. the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. 5. And they began
to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one
another's flesh, and drink the blood. 6. Then the earth laid accusation against
the lawless ones.
CHAPTER VIII.
1.
And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and
breastplates, and made known to them the
metals 〈of the earth〉 and the art of working them, and bracelets,
and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and
all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. 2. And there arose
much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and
became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and
root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl,(taught)
astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Ezêqêêl
the knowledge of the clouds, 〈Araqiêl the signs of the earth,
Shamsiêl the signs of the sun〉, and
Sariêl the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry
went up to heaven . . .
CHAPTER IX.
1.
And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw
much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon
the earth. 2. And they said one to another: 'The earth made †without inhabitant
cries the voice of their crying† up to the gates of heaven. 3 ⌈⌈And now
to you, the holy ones of heaven⌉⌉, the
souls of men make their suit, saying, "Bring our cause before the Most
High.".' 4. And they said to the Lord of
the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, 〈and God of the ages〉, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of
the ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! 5. Thou
hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are
naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all things, and nothing can hide
itself from Thee. 6. Thou seest what Azâzêl hath done, who hath taught all
unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were
(preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn: 7. And Semjâzâ, to whom
Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. 8. And they have
gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and
have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. 9. And the
women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood
and unrighteousness. 10. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are
crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have
ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are
wrought on the earth. 11. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass,
and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to
us what we are to do to them in regard to these.'
CHAPTER X.
1.
Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, and said to him:
2. '〈Go to Noah〉 and tell him in my name "Hide
thyself!" and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole
earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth,
and will destroy all that is on it. 3. And now instruct him that he may escape
and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world.' 4. And
again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azâzêl hand and foot, and cast him into
the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dûdâêl, and cast
him therein. 5. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with
darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not
see light. 6. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the
fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the
healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children
of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. 8. And the
whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azâzêl: to
him ascribe all sin.' 9. And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the
bastards and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and
destroy [the
children of fornication and] the
children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause
them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other
in battle: for length of days shall they not have. 10. And no request that they (i.e. their fathers) make of thee shall be
granted unto their fathers on their behalf; for they hope to live an eternal
life, and that each one of them will live five hundred years.' 11. And the Lord
said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjâzâ and his associates who have
united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all
their uncleanness. 12. And when their sons have slain one another, and they
have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy
generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their
judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is for ever and ever
is consummated. 13. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: 〈and〉 to the torment and the prison in which they
shall be confined for ever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be
bound together with them to the end of all generations. 15. And destroy all the
spirits of the reprobate and the children of the Watchers, because they have
wronged mankind. Destroy all wrong from the face of the earth and let every
evil work come to an end: and let the plant of righteousness and truth appear:⌈and it shall prove a blessing; the works of righteousness and
truth⌉ shall be planted in truth and joy for
evermore.
17 And then shall all the righteous escape,
And shall live till they beget thousands of children,
And all the days of their youth and their old age
Shall they complete in peace.
18
And then shall the whole earth be tilled in righteousness, and shall all be
planted with trees and be full of blessing. 19. And all desirable trees shall
be planted on it, and they shall plant vines on it: and the vine which they
plant thereon shall yield wine in abundance, and as for all the seed which is
sown thereon each measure (of it) shall bear a thousand, and each measure of
olives shall yield ten presses of oil. 20. And cleanse thou the earth from all
oppression, and from all unrighteousness, and from all sin, and from all
godlessness: and all the uncleanness that is wrought upon the earth destroy
from off the earth. 21. ⌈And all the children of men shall become righteous⌉, and all nations shalloffer adoration and shall praise Me, and
all shall worship Me. And the earth shall be cleansed from all defilement, and
from all sin, and from all punishment, and from all torment, and I will never
again send (them) upon it from generation to generation and for ever.And shall live till they beget thousands of children,
And all the days of their youth and their old age
Shall they complete in peace.
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