[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Know, sons of men, that all that is done byyou day by day, the angels write in the heavens.Do you therefore cease not to bless God.And Iwas in the Holy Spirit, and an angel says to me: Come, follow me, that I may show thee the placeof the just, where they go after their end.And I went along with the angel, and he brought me upinto the heavens under the firmament; and I perceived and saw powers great and dreadful, full ofwrath, and through the mouth of them a flame of fire coming out, and clothed in garments of fire.And I asked the angel: Who are these? And he said to me: These are they who are sent away tothe souls of the sinners in the hour of necessity; for they have not believed that there is judgmentand retribution.And I looked up into the heaven, and saw angels, whose faces shone like the sun,girded with golden girdles, having in their hands prizes, on which the name of the Lord wasinscribed, full of all meekness and compassion.And I asked the angel: Who are these? And heanswered and said to me: These are they who are sent forth in the day of the resurrection to bringthe souls of the righteous, (3) who intrepidly walk according to God.(4) And I said to the angel:I wish to see the souls of the righteous and of the sinners, how they go out of the world.And theangel said to me: Look to the earth.And I looked, and saw the whole world as nothingdisappearing before me.And I said to the angel: is this the greatness of men? And he said to me:Yes; for thus every unjust man disappears.And I looked, and saw a cloud of fire wrapped overall the world; and I said: What is this, my lord? And he said to me:This is the unrighteousnessmingled with the destruction of the sinners.And I wept, and said to the angel: I wished to see thedepartures of the righteous and of the sinners, in what manner they go out of the world.And theangel says to me: Paul, look down, and see what thou hast asked.And I looked, and saw one ofthe sons of men falling near death.And the angel says to me: This is a righteous man, and,behold, all his works stand beside him in the hour of his necessity.(5) And there were beside himgood angels, and along with them also evil angels.And the evil angels indeed found no place inhim, but the good took possession of (6) the soul of the righteous man, and said to it: Take noteof the body whence thou art coming out; for it is necessary for thee again to return to it in the dayof the resurrection, that thou mayst receive what God hath promised to the righteous.And thegood angels who had received the soul of the righteous man, saluted it, as being well known tothem.And it went with them; and the Spirit came forth to meet them, saying: Come, soul, enterinto the place of the resurrection, which God hath prepared for His righteous ones.And the angelsaid to me: Look down to the earth, and behold the soul of the impious, how it goes forth from itstabernacle, which has provoked God to anger, saying, Let us eat and drink; (7) for who is it that218 219has gone down to Hades, and come up and announced that there is judgment and retribution?And take heed, and see all his works which he has done standing before him.And the evil angelscame and the good.The good therefore found no place of rest in it, but the evil took possessionof it, saying: O wretched soul, pay heed to thy flesh; take note of that whence thou art comingforth, for thou must return into thy flesh in the day of the resurrection, that thou mayst receivethe recompense of thy sins.And when it had gone forth from its tabernacle, the angel who hadlived along with it ran up to it, saying to it: O wretched soul, whither goest thou? I am he whoeach day wrote down thy sins.Thou hast destroyed the time of repentance; be exceedinglyashamed.And when it came, all the angels saw it, and cried out with one voice, saying: Woe tothee, wretched soul! what excuse hast thou come to give to God? And the angel of that soul said:Weep for it, all of you, along with me.And the angel came up, and worshipped the Lord, saying:Lord, behold the soul which has dwelt in wickedness in its time, and in its temporary life; do to itaccording to Thy decision.And there came a voice to that soul, saying: Where is the fruit of thyrighteousness? And it was silent, (8) not being able to give an answer [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]