Abraham ascends on a cloud, accompanied by the Archangel, and is shown the secrets of the other world. (Chapters VIII-XII.)

VIII. Then Michael went up into the heavens, and spoke concerning Abraham in the presence of the Lord. And the Lord answered Michael: "Depart, and take up Abraham in the body, and show him all, and whatsoever he sayeth unto thee, do thou for him as he is My friend." So Michael went out, and caught up Abraham in the body upon a cloud, and bore him up to the river Ocean. And Abraham looked and saw two gates, one small, and the other great. And between the two gates sat a man upon a seat of great glory. And a host of angels surrounded him. He was weeping, and, again, laughing, and his lamentation exceeded his laughter sevenfold. And Abraham said to Michael: Who is this, that sitteth between the two gates with great glory? At one time he laugheth, and anon weepeth. And the lamentation exceedeth the laughter seven-fold? Then Michael said unto Abraham: Dost thou not know who he is? And he said: No, lord. And Michael said unto Abraham: Seest thou these two gates, the small and the great? These are they which lead to life and to destruction. And this man who sits between them, this is Adam, the first man whom the Lord created. And He set him in this place to behold every soul that leaves the body; for all are sprung from him. So whenever thou beholdest him weeping, know that he has seen many souls being led away into destruction; but whenever thou seest him laughing, he has seen a few souls being led away into life. Seest thou how the lamentation exceeds the laughter? Because he beholds the most part of the world being led away through the broad gate into destruction, therefore his lamentation exceeds his laughter sevenfold.

IX. Abraham said: He who cannot enter through the strait gate, can he not enter into life? Then Abraham wept saying: Woe is me! what shall I do? I am a man broad in body, and how shall I be able to enter into the strait gate, by which a child of fifteen years cannot enter? Michael answered and said unto Abraham: Fear thou not, father, neither be grieved, for thou shalt enter through it without hindrance, thou and all like unto thee. Now while Abraham stood and marvelled, lo, an angel of the Lord driving sixty thousand souls of sinners to destruction. And Abraham said unto Michael: Are all these going to destruction? And Michael said unto him: Yea, but let us go and search among these souls, to see if there be even one of them righteous. And as they went, they found an angel holding in his hand one soul of a woman from among the sixty thousand, because he found her sins equally balanced with all her works; and they were neither in motion nor at rest, but in a condition midway between them; but those other souls they carried into destruction. And Abraham said unto Michael: Lord, is this the angel that removes the souls from the body, or not? Michael answered and said: This is Death, and he leads them away into the place of the judgement, that [GOD] may judge them.

X. And Abraham said: My lord, I beseech thee that thou bring me up into the place of judgement that I too may see how they are judged. Then Michael took Abraham upon a cloud and brought him into Paradise. And when he reached the place where was the [witness], the angel came and gave that soul to the [witness]. And the soul said: Have mercy on me, Lord, Lord. And the [witness] said: How shall [GOD] have mercy on thee when thou hadst no mercy on thy daughter which thou didst bear, the fruit of thy womb? Why didst thou slay her? And it answered: Nay, lord, the murder came not from me, but my daughter herself lied against me. So the [witness] bade come him who wrote the records. And behold, cherubim holding two books; and there was with them a man exceeding great in stature. And he had upon his head three crowns, and the one crown was higher than the other two crowns. And the crowns are called crowns of witness; and the man held in his hand a golden pen. The [witness] said to him: Show forth the sin of this soul. And that man opened one of the books that belonged unto the cherubim, and sought out the sin of the woman's soul, and found it. And the [witness] said: O wretched soul, how sayest thou that thou didst not do murder? Didst thou not go after thy husband's death, and commit adultery with thy daughter's husband, and slay her? And he convicted her also of her other sins, all that she had done from her youth. When the woman heard these things, she cried out, saying: Woe, woe is me! because all the sins which I did in the world I forgot: but here they were not forgotten! Then they carried her away, and delivered her to the tormentors.

XI. And Abraham said to Michael: Lord, who is this [witness], and who is the other, who convicts the sins? And Michael said to Abraham: Dost thou see the [witness]? This is Abel, who first testified, and GOD brought him hither [to witness]. And he who bears witness here is the teacher of heaven and earth, and the scribe of righteousness, Enoch. For the Lord sent them hither to record the sins and righteousnesses of each. Abraham said: How is Enoch able to bear the weight of the souls, not having seen death? Or, how can he give sentence to all the souls? Michael said: If he give sentence concerning the souls it is not accepted. But it is not Enoch's business to give sentence, but it is the Lord who gives sentence, and his (Enoch's) task is only to write. For Enoch prayed the Lord saying: Lord I am fain not to give sentence to the souls, lest I become grievous to any. And the Lord said to Enoch: "I will bid thee to record the sins of a soul that makes atonement, and it shall enter into life. As for the soul that makes not atonement and repents, thou shalt find its sins recorded, and it shall be cast into punishment."

XII. And after Abraham had beheld the place of judgement, the cloud carried him down to the firmament beneath. And Abraham looked down upon the earth, and saw a man committing adultery with a married woman. And Abraham turned and said to Michael: Dost thou behold this sin? But, lord, send fire from heaven that it may devour them. And immediately fire descended and devoured them; for the Lord had said to Michael: "Whatsoever Abraham shall ask thee to do for him, do thou." And again Abraham looked and saw other men slandering their companions, and he said: Let the earth open and swallow them up. And while he yet spake, the earth swallowed them up alive. And again the cloud brought him to another place, and Abraham saw certain men going into a desert place to commit murder; and he said unto Michael: Dost thou behold this wickedness? But let wild beasts come out from the desert and tear them in pieces. And in that very hour there came forth wild beasts from the desert, and devoured them. Then the Lord GOD spake unto Michael saying: "Turn Abraham away unto his house, and let him not go round all the creation which I have made; for he has no mercy upon sinners, but I have mercy on sinners, so that they turn again and live and repent of their sins, and be saved." And about the ninth hour Michael turned Abraham back to his own house. And Sarah his wife, because she had not seen what had become of Abraham, was consumed with grief and gave up her soul. And after his return Abraham found her dead, and buried her.

The Angel of Death visits Abraham. (Chapter XIII.)

XIII. Now when the days of the death of Abraham drew nigh the Lord GOD spake unto Michael: "Death will not dare to draw nigh to carry away the soul of My servant, because he is My friend; but do thou depart and deck out Death with great beauty, and so send him to Abraham that he may behold him with his eyes." Then Michael straightway, as he was bidden, decked out Death with great beauty, and so sent him to Abraham, that he might behold him. And he sat him down nigh unto Abraham, and when Abraham saw Death seated nigh unto him he was afraid with exceeding great fear. And Death said to Abraham: Hail, holy soul: hail, dear friend of the Lord GOD; hail, consolation and entertainment of wayfarers. And Abraham said: Thou art welcome, servant of the Most High GOD. I beseech thee, tell me who thou art, and enter into my house, and partake of meat and drink, and depart from me. For since I saw thee seated nigh unto me, my soul has been disquieted. For I am altogether unworthy to come nigh unto thee, for thou art a most high spirit, but I am flesh and blood, and therefore I cannot endure thy glory. For I behold thy beauty that it is not of this world. Then Death said to Abraham: I say unto thee, in all the creation which GOD has made there has not been found one like unto thee, for even GOD Himself [in His knowledge] has not found such an one on all the earth. And Abraham said: How hast thou dared to lie? For I see thy beauty that it is not of this world. And Death said unto Abraham: Think not, Abraham, that this is my beauty or that even thus I come to every man. But if a man is righteous as thou art, I take garlands then, and come to him; but if he is a sinner I come in great corruption and from their sin I make a crown for my head and trouble them with great fear, insomuch that they are dismayed. So Abraham said unto him: Whence comes this beauty? Death said: There is no other more full of corruption than I. Abraham said to him: Art thou he that is called Death? He answered him, and said: I am the bitter name. I am lamentation. . . .

Death discloses his terrors to Abraham. The death and burial of the Patriarch. (Chapter XIV.)

XIV. And Abraham said to Death: Show us thy corruption. And Death revealed his corruption; and he had two heads: the one head had the face of a serpent, and by it some meet their end suddenly through vipers; and the other head was like a sword; and so some meet their end by the sword, as by arrows.

In that day the servants of Abraham met their end through fear of Death; and when Abraham saw them he prayed to the Lord, and He raised them up. Then GOD [turned in mercy] and drew out the soul of Abraham as in a dream, and the archangel Michael took it up into heaven.

And Isaac buried his father beside his mother Sarah, glorifying and praising GOD: for to Him is due glory, honour, and worship, [of GOD alone,] now and ever, world without end. Amen.

Appendix

I. THE TESTAMENT OF ISAAC

This is the coming forth from the body of the Patriarch Isaac, the son of Abraham, on the twenty-eighth day of the month Mesore, in the peace of GOD. Amen.

Now the Patriarch Isaac wrote his Testament and spake his words for the instruction of Jacob his son and of all them that were gathered together unto him, so that the blessings of the Patriarch should be upon those that heard, and upon those also that should come after them.

Hearken unto these words of instruction and these refreshing medicines, so that the will of GOD may be done always upon him that hearkeneth, not only with the outward ear, but in the depth of the heart, and remaineth in faith without doubting: even as it is written: If thou hear a word, let it remain with thee; that is, that a man should strive, when he hath heard it, with endurance, and GOD shall give him a blessing in that after which he hath sought. And again it is written: He shall deny them nothing [good] which the sons of men have asked upon the earth. For if GOD hath given power to us over every thing that is upon the earth, how much more to him who shall be established in his faith in the words of GOD and of His saints, not in unbelief, but in a heart made straight in the words of GOD and of all His saints: and he shall be made an inheritor with the saints in the kingdom of GOD. But GOD is compassionate and merciful, who hath accepted robbers and publicans in the generations that are gone by, because of their innocence and their faith that was righteous and surely founded in GOD: and likewise shall He be with all the generations that are to come.

Now it came to pass that when the days of our father the patriarch Isaac were come nigh that he should come forth from the body, GOD the merciful sent unto him the great holy archangel Michael, the same that He had sent unto Abraham his father. At the hour of dawn on the twenty-second day of Mesore he said unto him: Hail, my son, the chosen of GOD, and His beloved [servant]: now as for the GOD-loving and righteous old man, our father Isaac, it was his custom daily to speak with the holy angels. He cast down his face, he saw him, that he was in the likeness of his father Abraham; he opened his mouth, he lifted up his voice, he cried out in great joy and exultation: I am looking upon thy face even as one that hath looked upon [the angel of] GOD. The angel said: Take thought, my beloved Isaac, for I have been sent for thee from the living GOD, to take thee to the heavens unto thy father Abraham, and that thou mayest keep festival with all the saints; for thy father Abraham keepeth watch over thee, and cometh for thee himself [by GOD's leave]. But behold thy throne, it is set up for thee in the heavens, near unto thy father Abraham. As for thee and thy beloved son Jacob, ye shall be with an high inheritance that belongeth to all that are in the kingdom of the heavens, in the glory of [GOD], for they shall call you by this name unto all generations, namely, Patriarch and father of all the earth. But the GOD-loving old man our father Isaac answered and said unto the angel: I am astonished at thee exceedingly. Art thou not my father Abraham? The angel said: My beloved Isaac, I am the angel that ministers unto thy father Abraham. Now indeed rejoice and be glad, and be not troubled, for thou shalt not be taken in pain, but it is a rejoicing that thou shalt be taken in honour and rest for ever. Thou shalt be taken from a prison unto a broad place. Thou shalt be taken unto joy unfailing, and gladness, and light, and pleasure, and rejoicing, and unfailing freshness. But set in order thy testament and the instruction of thy house, so that thou mayest be translated unto rest: after that, blessed is thy father that begat thee, and blessed art thou thyself: blessed is thy son Jacob, blessed is thy seed that cometh after thee.

Now Jacob heard them talking one with the other: he came, he gave ear unto them, but spake not. Our father Isaac said unto the angel with pity in his heart: What shall I do with the light of mine eyes, Jacob, my beloved son? I am afraid because of Esau: thou knowest thyself all the matter. The angel said unto him: O my beloved Isaac, if all the Gentiles that are in the earth were gathered together into one place, they would not be able to loosen the blessing thou hast spoken over Jacob in the hour when thou didst bless him. [GOD] hath blessed him: Michael, and all the angels, and all the heavenly ones, and the spirits of all the righteous, and thy father Abraham, all have answered Amen. The steel shall not come nigh him, but he shall be exalted exceedingly and shall spread abroad; he shall be made a mighty nation, and twelve tribes shall come forth from him. Our father Isaac said unto the angel: Thou hast comforted me exceedingly. But let not Jacob know, so that he may not be troubled and weep; because never have I given him pain. The angel of the Lord said unto him: O my beloved Isaac, blessed is every righteous man that cometh forth from the body: blessed are they in their meeting with GOD. Woe, woe, woe unto three times to the sinner, because he has been born into the world. Trouble must there be, O my beloved: therefore do thou thyself instruct thy sons after thy way and all the things which thy father did command thee. Hide nothing from Jacob, so that he may write them down unto all the generations that come after him, that all they that love GOD may work according to them, and obtain for themselves everlasting life. But do thou by all means take thought, because I come unto thee in joy, without delay. The peace which the Lord gave unto us, I give it unto thee: for I must depart with all speed unto Him that sent me.

Now when the angel had said this, he arose above the bed of our father Isaac; he departed while our father Isaac watched after him. And he was astonished at the revelation which he had seen, and he said: I shall not see the light until I shall be sought. Now while he was saying this, behold Jacob arose: he came nigh unto the door of the bed-chamber of his father: now the angel had cast a slumber upon him, so that he should not hear them speaking. And when he had come nigh unto the place wherein his father slept, he said unto him: My father, with whom speakest thou? His father said: Unto Isaac: Dost thou hear me, O my son? Thine aged father hath been sent for to be taken from thee, O my beloved son. He cast his arms about his father; he wept, saying unto him: My strength hath gone and hath left me; thou hast made me an orphan, O my father; I am become fatherless and wretched to-day. And our father Isaac cast his arms about Jacob; he kissed him; both wept until they ceased, while Jacob said: take me with thee, O my beloved Isaac, my blessed father. But his father said: I cannot so ordain, my beloved Jacob. But thanks be unto GOD that thou too art a father, O my beloved. Tarry until thou art sent for. I also remember a day when the high and flourishing cypress was moved, while I spake unto my lord and father Abraham, and I could do nothing. So now, O my son, the ordinance which GOD hath ordained for each one according to His power--it is come to pass, for the things which are written may not be altered. But the Lord knoweth, my son, that behold my heart is heavy indeed because of thee: beside this I rejoice in my going unto the Lord. So now make thyself strong in a princely spirit, and be silent from weeping thus with exceeding weeping. Hearken unto me, O my beloved son, that I may speak with thee. Where is the first creation that GOD made with His own hands, I mean our father Adam and our mother Eve? where are Abel, and Seth? where are Enos and Mahalaleel? where are Jared and my father Enoch? where are Methuselah and Lamech? where is our father Noah, and his three sons, Shem, Ham, Japheth? After these Arphaxad and Cainan and Salah and Eber and Reu and Serug and Nahor and Terah, and my father Abraham and Lot his brother: and all these tasted of death saving only our father Enoch the perfect, who was taken up unto the heavenly parts of the skies. After these, therefore, there are twelve generations that shall come from thee, so that Jesus Christ [GOD's messenger] may come forth from thy seed, from a virgin called Mary.

And GOD was with him until he had completed an hundred years, and he did fast every day until sunset, offering up his sacrifices [for GOD's sake], and those of his household, for the salvation of his soul, and passing the half of the day in his ascetic practices and the half of the night praying unto GOD: and so he did unto many years. And thrice in the year did he pass forty days without eating, and he drank no wine and ate no fruit and slept not on a bed nor upon a mattress: and he did pray unto GOD.

Now when the multitude heard that the man of GOD could see clearly, they came together unto him from every country and from every place, to hearken unto his instructions of life, knowing that a spirit of GOD was speaking in him. The great ones that were gathered together unto him said unto him: Our holy father, what is the ordinance that hath been delivered to thee, after this long time on this sort since the light of thine eyes was dimmed? lo and behold, now thou seest clearly. But he, the GOD-loving old man, opened his mouth in laughter and said unto them: My sons and my beloved brethren, it is GOD that hath healed me. When He saw that I had approached unto the gate of death, He caused this to happen to me as a consolation in my old age.

But the priest of GOD said unto him: Show me the way unto a word of consolation. He said unto him: Keep thy body holy, because it is the temple of GOD, and the spirit of GOD dwelleth in it. Keep also thy little flesh pure and holy. Keep thyself, mingle not with men, so that no word of wrath may come out of thy mouth. Keep thyself from slander. Keep thyself from vain-glory. Keep thyself, speak not alone with a woman. Keep thyself, speak no idle word from thy mouth. Keep thy hands, so that they be not stretched out to that which is not thine. Offer not up a sacrifice [to GOD] when there is a blemish in thee. Wash in water at the hour when thou desirest to come nigh the altar. Mingle not the thoughts of the world with the thoughts of GOD in the hour when thou shalt stand before Him. Strive to be at peace with all men in the hour when thou shalt offer up sacrifice to GOD. If thou shalt come to approach unto the altar, thou shalt repeat to thyself an hundred times a prayer unto GOD, making this confession, speaking after this fashion: GOD, the incomprehensible, the inscrutable, the invincible, the hallowed treasure, purify me in love, for I am flesh and blood, and I have taken refuge in Thee. I know that I am unclean; Thou shalt cleanse me, O Lord, who have come unto Thee bowed down before Thee.

I know that I am unclean; Thou shalt cleanse me, O Lord, who have come unto Thee bowed down so that Thou mayest send upon me the fire that consumeth created matter. It is Thy mercy that taketh away mine iniquity; forgive me, sinner that I am, and forgive all Thy creation which Thou hast made. I have no contentions like unto the beasts; I am at peace with all that is made [by Thee]; I am untroubled by all the evil reasonings that have been made. I am Thy [creature], I am Thy servant, I am the son of Thine handmaid. I am the sinner, Thou art the forgiver; forgive me in love and hearken unto my prayer, that I may stand at the altar and my sacrifice be made acceptable in Thy sight. Turn me not back because of my sin, but take me unto Thyself like a sheep that is gone astray. GOD that hast been with our father Adam, and Abel, and Noah, and our father Abraham, even Thou shalt be with me. Thou hast been with our father Jacob, even Thou shalt be with me and receive my sacrifice from my hand.

When thou hast rehearsed this before thou goest up to the altar, then come, offer up thy sacrifice: and strive earnestly to keep watch upon thyself, for here is the Spirit [Gabriel] of the Lord, so that thou shouldst not vex Him: for the work of a priest is no small work. It beseemeth every one among the priests to-day, and unto the lattermost generation, and unto the end of the world, not to be filled with wine, not to be filled with bread, not to be filled with water, not to speak of the happenings of this world, nor listen to them that speak of them: but they should lead all their life instant unto prayer and watching and ascetic practice, until the Lord cometh to seek them in peace. Every man that is upon the earth, whether monk [devotee] or priest [scholar], it beseemeth them to love the well-chosen withdrawing of themselves after a little time, and that they should renounce the world and its evil cares, and remain in the holy angelic service in purity, and become purified before the Lord and His angels, because of their holy sacrifices and their angelic service, which is the type that they shall perform in the heavens. And the angels shall be their companions because of their perfect faith and their purity, and great is their honour before GOD. Simply, whether he be small or great, it is sinlessness that the Lord seeketh from him: but as for the wicked that commit sin, it behoveth them to repent before GOD. Thou shalt not sin in any of these sins: thou shalt not slay [unjustly] with the sword; thou shalt not slay with the tongue; thou shalt not commit fornication in thy body; thou shalt not commit fornication in thy thoughts; thou shalt not defile thyself; thou shalt not envy; thou shalt not be wroth until the sun set, nor remain in vain glory. Thou shalt not rejoice at the fall of thine enemy, nor at that of thy neighbour; thou shalt not blaspheme; thou shalt not teach thy mouth to slander; thine eye shall not look after a woman with concupiscence. Now as for these and things like unto them, we have need of taking great heed, until each one of us be saved from the wrath that shall be revealed in heaven.

Now when the multitude that was gathered together unto him had heard these things, they all cried out together in a loud voice, saying: Meet and right are these words of truth. But the GOD-loving old man kept silence: he drew up the coverlet, he covered his face. Now the multitude and the priest kept silence, while he should repose a little: but the angel of his father came unto him; he took him up to the heavens. And he saw in fear and trembling multitudes parted on this side and on that, after the fashion of the last day, and it was a great consternation to see them. Some had faces of camels, others had faces of lions and hyaenas and leopards, others had faces of dogs, others had one eye, which was a fearful thing in them. And I beheld, and lo one was brought being pursued; and when they came unto the beasts, they who were going with him drew to one side: the lions came nigh unto him, they rent him in the midst, they tare him limb from limb, they rent him, they ate him. Then did they cast him up again, and he became like to himself again and when he came further than the lions, they likewise did thus unto him. They did simply give him into each other's hands, and each one would rend him and eat him and cast him up, and he would become like to himself, yea, his own self again. I said unto the angel: My lord, how many sins then hath this man committed, that all these things are done unto him? The angel said unto me: This man whom thou hast seen hath passed five hours being at enmity with his neighbour: he died without peace being made with one another. Lo and behold, he is given into the hands of five tormentors: they pass a year tormenting him for each hour, in requital for the five hours which he passed being at enmity with his neighbour. The angel spake again unto me: O my beloved Isaac, thinkest thou that there are no more save these? Believe, O my beloved Isaac, that there are seventy thousand tormentors. Every hour that a man shall be at enmity with his neighbour, he must go into the hands of these tormentors, until the end of a year of days for each hour, if he have not repented of his sins before he came forth from the body. He led me further unto a river of fire: I saw that it was in waves, and its waves were forty cubits high; and the noise of it was like a thunder of heaven. I saw a multitude of souls plunged in it nine cubits deep, and they who were in that river were crying out, weeping with a loud voice and great sighing; the river hath not afflicted the righteous, but it is the sinners whom it doth burn, knowing them because of the great stink that surroundeth them. I saw the depth of the abyss, whose smoke rose exceeding high; I saw a multitude of men that were cast down therein, crying out, weeping each one of them with his sighing. The angel said unto me: Look down and see these others also. And when I had seen them he said unto me: These that are plunged down into the cold, these are they that have committed the iniquity of Sodom, and so they are tormented exceedingly. Again I saw another depth, full of sleepless worms and snakes; and there were men that were plunged down into it, crying out, weeping. Again I saw Abtelmoluchos, that is set in charge of the torments, and he was all fire, beating the tormentors of Hell, saying unto them: Beat them, so that they may know that GOD is. Again I saw another great depth, which was all fire, and there was a multitude of men beneath it, crying out, weeping, every one with sighing. The angel said unto me: Look with thine eyes and see all the punishments. But I said unto the angel: Mine eyes reach not far enough to see them: but I will look. How long then are these in punishments? He said unto me: Until the merciful GOD have pity upon them [as He wills].