#5──《智者的啟示》6-10──THE “REVELATION OF THE MAGI” 6-10

THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE “REVELATION OF THE MAGI”

6. AN EXCERPT FROM SETH’S BOOKS OF REVELATION

Again, from the books that were in the Cave of Treasures of Hidden Mysteries: every word that our father Adam, the beginning of our great lineage, spoke with his son Seth, whom he had after the death of Abel, whom his brother Cain killed and over whom his father Adam mourned. And Adam instructed Seth his son about [text missing], and [and about the revelation] of the light of the star and about its glory, because he [saw] it in the Garden of Eden when it descended and came to rest over the Tree of Life; and it illuminated the entire (garden) before Adam transgressed against the commandment of the Father of heavenly majesty. And when he transgressed against the commandment that (the Father) or ordained for him, the sight of the star was taking away from him, and (it was also taken away from him) because of his expulsion from Paradise. And Adam our father mourned over (his) foolishness, that he was humbled from his greatness. And he strongly warned his son Seth, and he taught him to walk in righteousness so that he might find mercy before the Father of majesty.

7. THE FALL OF ADAM

And he said to him: “My son, there will be generations and ages from me and from my offspring, and they will be recounting my foolishness and speaking figuratively with figures of speech to one another.

They are fulfilled about me, and they will say: “Every kingdom that will be divided against itself shall not stand. This is fulfilled about me, because I doubted about my kingdom in which I stood, and I, by my hands, destroyed it myself. My son, the rib that was removed from me became a thorn, and it blinded my eye. I even prophesied when I saw her, and I said: “This time is bone and flesh from me. And rightly did I call her ‘time,’ because she became a stumbling block for me. My son, guard from her the words of your mouth and do not reveal to her all the mysteries of your heart. For my compassionate master made her a helper for me, for honor and glory, because he loved me like a beloved son. And I made her an injury for me and a destroyer of my footprints so that she cast me out of Paradise, my kingdom. And I did not understand my honor, but I was puffed up in my heart by the advice of treachery that she gave to me, a cup of sound filled with poison by the lie of the serpent.

8. ADAM’S IGNOREANCE OF GOD’S MERCY

“And I did not understand my priority when I did not (yet) exist, and when I did exist, in what sort of honor I was, nor my authority over the entire world, nor my love among the holy watchers, nor my entire life inside Paradise, nor, more than everything, the mercy and kindness of my holy master who loved me and was merciful to me like a kind father. And when I transgressed against his commandment in my boldness, he did not judge me as a Lord who holds a grudge, but as a kind father whose mercy is mixed with discipline. For if he had judged me according to my foolishness, he would have destroyed me a s vanity and made me as if I never existed. And who would stand p against him and say: “What are you doing?” But he disciplined me with mercy and did not judge me according to my foolishness, since, behold, my son, I saw the entire creation, which is under my authority as before. And my deceived, the Evil One, wanted to humiliate me with his fraud and be liberated from under my authority. On the contrary, my kind master, in his mercy, put him under my feet that I would trample him, having put fear upon me so that I would not obey his advice again. And like a judge (in) his justice, he shut his lying mouth and filled it with dust, and he tore off his feet so that he could not walk upon them, (and) he separated him from every animal created like him. And all these things happened to me, my son, and I was brought low from my majesty. The cause of all these evil things, Eve your mother, was a stumbling block for me. But you, my son, guard yourself from her advice and do not obey her as I (did,) but love and honor the Lord of life, my kind master, and he will save you and have mercy upon you.

9. ADAM’S PREDICTION OF THE END TIMES

For these will be from my family and my children glorious and honorable people, (the reciters) of the mysteries of the majesty. And they will find great mercy and will pray, ask, and he heard. And [text missing] of the majesty, but at the end times of that generation they will again be [rebelling,] and they will not be afraid of my foolishness and of the judgment that I have. Instead, they shall be headstrong and shall speak blasphemy unto the heavenly majesty. And they will say many things, and shall also make painted idols and graven images, and shall even serve the sun and the moon, and they shall speak words of blasphemy. And all these things that are among them from the deceits of my treacherous deceiver, because he will offer the love of his fraud and his deceit filled with poison to each of the generations that will be after me. And he will [show] and make them desire the empty praise of great riches, pride, clothes, property, fornication, boastfulness, injustice, greed, and various possessions. And he will appear to them like a lover or a friend and entice them. And again, with reveling, drunkenness, impure and defiled feasts, which are an illusion [of his] empty [apparitions,] and again, with possessions of assorted excesses, he will take hold of them with fraudulent affection, which is not virtuous, just as also to me through Eve.

10. ADAM’S FINAL EXHORTATION TO SETH

He led me astray by his fraudulent word like an innocent person concerned for my welfare: ‘See, I promise you something right and suitable for you, (namely) that, when you have eaten from the tree, from which you were commanded not to eat, you will become like your God, my merciful master. I, wretch (that I was), did not understand my honor, that his fraudulent promise could not come true, nor could the clay be like its potter, nor the servant like his master. But I know the great mercy of the majesty of my kind master, which is to be revealed for me at the end of days. And at the end he will save me from destruction and raise me from the dust as he raised me up when I did not exist. And my enemy rejoiced and exulted over me since I had fallen by his deceit. My kind savior and merciful master is going to sustain me and have pity upon me with his mercy, and [descending] to the darkness, he will strengthen me by his light and illuminate my eyes as he did before, (when) he breathed the spirit into my nostrils and I lived. But you my son, and your generations after you, it has pleased my maker and my savior that you should find mercy before him; for he does not reckon against you my own sins because of his kindness.

For if he had requited me according to my foolishness, I would not have begotten forth fruits, nor would he have accepted the offering from your brother Abel, nor would he have exacted retribution for his blood from the hands of his brother who killed him. For he does not neglect his great mercy anyone who loves him and walks in justice before him. Even to those who offend him, he gives opportunity for repentance, and is gracious to them if they repent and seek (it) from him, because his mercy upon his world is great. And Seth heard everything that his father Adam commanded him, commandments more numerous than these, and wrote them down with diligence, and we found them in the books that were placed in the Cave of Treasures of Hidden Mysteries. He also commanded and added to them. And Seth purified his heart so that he would not obey the deceitful Evil One, and he praised and called upon the name of the Father of heavenly majesty. And Seth also commanded these mysteries to his sons. And we were reading (them) every month that we went up the mountain, and with love we entered the Cave of Treasures of Hidden Mysteries. And we also learned them and taught our sons and families.

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