Fourth Ezra

And it came to pass after I had finished speaking these words, behold, there was sent to me the angel who had been sent to me on the former nights.

And he said to me, 'Arise, Ezra, and hear the words that I have come to speak to you.'

And I said to him, 'Speak, my lord.' And he answered and said to me, 'Suppose a sea is situated in a spacious place, so that it is wide and limitless,

but its entrance is situated in a narrow place, so that it is like a river.

Now if anyone should desire to enter the sea and see it, and become master over it, if he does not pass through the narrow place, how is he able to come into the broad place?'

'Hear also another thing: There is a city built and situated in a great place of a plain, and that city is full of many good things;

and its entrance is narrow and situated on a height, so that there is fire on the right hand and deep water on the left;

and one path is set between both of these, between the fire and the water, such that the path is sufficient only for the sole of a man's foot alone.

Now if that city is given as an inheritance, if that heir does not pass through the danger that is set before him, how will he be able to receive his inheritance?'

And I said to him, 'Yes, so it is, my lord.' And he answered and said to me, 'So also is the portion of Israel.

For on their account I made the world; and when Adam transgressed my commandments, that which had been made was condemned.

And on account of this the entrances of this present world have become narrow, and full of sighs and toil and great danger, and heavy weariness along with sicknesses and sorrows.

But the entrances of that world to come are spacious and secure, and they produce fruits that do not die.

If therefore the living do not pass through these narrow and evil things, they are not able to receive what is laid up for them.

Now therefore, why are you shaken, seeing that you are corruptible? And why are you troubled, seeing that you are mortal?

And why have you not taken to heart what is to come, but rather what is present?'

And I answered and said, 'O Lord, my Lord, but behold, you have declared in your law that the righteous shall inherit these things, but the wicked shall perish.

The righteous therefore readily endure hardships, because they hope to come into the broad place; but the wicked suffer hardships, yet do not see the broad place.'

And he answered and said to me, 'You are not

wiser'

more than God, nor

wiser

more than the Most High.

Therefore let the many perish who have come, because the law that was set by me was despised by them.

For God strictly commanded those who came, when they came, what they should do to live, and what they should keep so as not to be tormented.

Yet they rebelled and did not obey him, and formed for themselves vain thoughts.

And they added to themselves deceitful crafts; and in addition to all these things they said that the Most High does not exist, and they did not know his ways.

And they despised his law,

and his covenants

they denied,

and his commandments

they did not trust, and they held his works in contempt.

Therefore, O Ezra: empty things for the empty, and full things for those that are full.

For behold, the days are coming, and it shall be, when the signs that I told you beforehand come to pass, the bride shall be revealed, appearing as a city, and that which is now withdrawn shall be seen.

And everyone who is delivered from these evils that were foretold, he shall see my wonders.

For my son the Messiah shall be revealed with those who are with him, and he shall rejoice those who remain for thirty years.

And it shall be after these years, my son the Messiah shall die, and all who have human breath.

And the world shall be turned back to its primeval silence for seven days, as it was in the beginning, so that no one is left.

And it shall be after seven days, that the world which is not now awake shall be awakened, and corruption shall die.

And the earth shall give up those who sleep in it, and the dust shall give up those who rest in it, and the chambers shall give up the souls that were entrusted to them.

And the Most High shall be revealed upon the throne of judgment; and the end shall come, and mercies shall pass away, and compassion shall depart, and longsuffering shall be withdrawn.

And my judgment alone shall remain, and truth shall stand, and faithfulness shall triumph.

And work shall follow, and reward shall be made known, and righteous deeds shall awaken, and ungodly deeds shall not sleep.

And the pit of torment shall appear, and opposite it the place of rest; the furnace of Gehenna shall be revealed, and opposite it again the paradise of delights.

And then the Most High shall say to those nations that have been raised: 'Look and see whom you have denied, or whom you have not served, or whose commandments you have despised.

Look therefore before you: behold, here are rest and delight, and there are fire and torment.' These things he shall say to them on that Day of Judgment.

For that Day of Judgment is such: there is neither sun in it, nor moon, nor stars,

nor clouds, nor lightning, nor thunder, nor winds, nor water, nor air, nor darkness, nor evening, nor morning,

nor summer, nor winter, nor spring, nor heat, nor frost, nor cold, nor hail, nor dew, nor rain,

nor midday, nor night, nor daytime, nor light, nor brightness, nor shining, nor radiance, but only the ray of the glory of the Most High, by which all are destined to see what has been prepared.

Its duration shall be as a week of years.

This is

my judgment

and its order, and to you alone have I made them known.

And I answered and said: 'Lord, my Lord, I said it then and now I say it again: Blessed are all those who have come and kept the commandments that were laid down by you.

But concerning those for whom my prayer was made: for who among those who have come has not sinned, or who among those born has not transgressed your commandment?

And now

I see

that the world to come is destined to bring delight to few, but to many

torment.

For an evil heart has been in us, which led us astray from these things, and brought us into corruption and showed us the paths of death, and made known to us the ways of destruction, and removed us far from life—and this not to a few, but nearly to all who have existed!'

And he answered and said to me: 'Listen to me, Ezra, and I will speak to you, and instruct you yet again.

For this reason the Most High did not make one world, but two.

For as for you saying that the righteous are not many, but few, hear concerning these things:

If you had precious stones, and they were few, in proportion to their number would you prepare for yourself lead and clay?

And I said: 'How is that possible, my lord?'

And he answered and said to me: 'Not only this, but ask the earth and she will tell you, and speak to her and she will recount to you.

Say to her: You bring forth gold and silver and bronze, and iron and lead, and clay.

Now silver is more abundant than gold, and bronze than silver, and iron than bronze, and lead than iron, and clay than lead.

Judge therefore yourself and consider: which things are precious and desirable, those that are abundant or those that are rare?'

And I answered and said, "O Lord, my Lord, the things that are plentiful are cheap, and the few are precious."

And he answered and said to me, "Consider then in yourself what you have thought, because everyone who has a little rejoices more over what is little than over what is plentiful.

Such is the promise

of my judgment.

For I rejoice and take delight in the few who are saved, because it is they who now establish my glory, and on whose account my name is now praised.

And I am not grieved over the multitude of those who perish, for they are those who now are likened to vapor, and are counted as smoke, and are compared to a flame that burned and was extinguished."

And I answered and said, "O earth, what have you done, that these were born from you and are going to perdition? For if

the mind

comes from the dust, like the rest of the creatures,

it would have been better if even the dust itself had not been, so that

the mind

might not have come from there.

But now the mind grows with us, and on this account we are tormented, because knowing, we perish.

Let the generations of human beings mourn, but let the wild beasts of the field rejoice; let all who are born weep, but let the cattle and the flocks delight,

for it is much better for them than for us, because they do not look for a judgment, nor do they know torment, nor has life after death been promised to them.

For what does it profit us that living we live, but tormenting we are tormented?

For all who are born are entangled in sins, and are full of iniquity, and their falls are heavy upon them.

And if after death we were not to come to judgment, it would have been much better for us."

And he answered and said to me, "When the Most High made the world, and Adam and all those who came from him, he first prepared the judgment and the things

pertaining to the judgment

themselves.

And now understand from your words, for you said that the mind grows with us.

Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are tormented for this reason, that while they possessed a mind they acted wickedly, and received commandments and did not keep them, and they also violated the law that was set for them.

What then will they have to say at the judgment, or how will they open their mouths and speak in the last time?

For how long a time has the Most High been patient with the inhabitants of the world, and not on their own account, but on account of the times that have been appointed?"

And I answered and said, "If I have found mercy before you, O Lord, my Lord, make this known also to your servant: whether after death now, when each one of us gives up our soul, whether we are kept in rest until those times come in which you will renew your creation, or are we tormented from now on?"

And he answered and said to me, "I will make known to you also concerning this; but you, do not join yourself with the rebellious, nor count yourself among those who are tormented.

For you have a treasure of works laid up with the Most High, and it will not be shown to you until the last times.

Now concerning death, this is the word: when the decree of the sentence goes out from the Most High concerning a person that he should die, when the soul is separated from the body, that it may be sent to the one who gave it, first it worships the glory of God.

And if it is of the oppressors, or of those who did not keep the ways of the Most High, or of those who hated those who fear God,

these souls do not enter into the storehouses, but from now on they exist in torment, and they groan and are grieved in seven ways:

The first way: that they rebelled against the law of the Most High.

The second way: that they are unable to turn and do good works by which they might live.

The third way: that they see the reward that is laid up for those who have believed.

The fourth way: when they know and understand the torment that is prepared for them in the end, in which the souls of the ungodly are reproached, because when they had time to serve, they did not subject themselves to the commandments of the Most High.

The fifth way: that they see the storehouses of other souls being guarded by angels in great rest.

The sixth way: that they see the torment that is prepared for them from now on.

The seventh way, which is greater than all these ways that have been mentioned before: that they pine away

in shame,

and are consumed with reproach, and wither in fear as they see the glory of the Most High, before whom they sinned in their life, and before whom they are about to be judged in the end.

Now concerning those who kept the way of the Most High, this is the way when the day arrives that they are separated from this corruptible vessel:

for in that time when they dwelt in it, they served the Most High with labor, and endured danger every hour in order that they might perfectly keep the law of him who gave them the law.

Therefore, this is the word concerning them:

First of all, they see with great joy the glory of the Most High who leads them, and they are refreshed and proceed in seven ways:

The first way: because with great labor they strove to overcome the evil thought that was fashioned with them, that they might not go astray from life unto death.

The second way: that they see the wandering wherein the souls of the ungodly wander and are tossed about, and the torment that is kept for them.

The third way: that they see the testimony that their Fashioner testifies concerning them, because in their life they kept the law that was entrusted to them.

The fourth way: that they see and understand the rest which they now have when gathered in their storehouses, being refreshed in great rest and guarded by angels, and the glory that is kept for them in the end.

The fifth way: that they rejoice over how they have now escaped from what is corruptible, and how they inherit what is to come; and again they see the affliction and the abundance of labor from which they have been freed, and the wide spaces that they are about to receive, and the delights that they will take, becoming immortal.

The sixth way: when it is shown to them how their faces are about to shine like the sun, and how they are about to be made like the light of the stars, and no longer be corruptible.

The seventh way, which is greater than all those that have been mentioned before, is that they exult with boldness, and take courage and are not put to shame, and are eager to see the face of him whom they served in their life, and from whom they are to be glorified, and from whom they are to receive a reward.

These are the ways of the souls of the righteous, which from now on are announced. And the ways of torment that were mentioned before, the rebellious will receive from now on; these souls do not enter the chambers, but from now on they are tossed about in torment, and groan and mourn in seven ways.

And I answered and said, 'Therefore, will there be given

to them

space or time for the souls, after they are separated from the bodies, to see what you have told me?'

And he answered and said to me, 'Seven are the days

of their freedom,

that in those seven days they may see these things that were mentioned beforehand, and afterward they will be gathered into their chambers.'

And I answered and said, 'If I have found mercy in your eyes, show your servant this also: whether on the day of judgment the righteous will be able to intercede for the ungodly, or to pray for them to the Most High,

or fathers on behalf of their children, or children on behalf of their fathers, or brothers on behalf of their brothers, or relatives on behalf of their relatives, or friends on behalf of their beloved friends?'

And he answered and said to me, 'Because you have found mercy before my eyes, I will also make this known to you: the day of judgment is a decisive day, and displays to all the seal of truth. For just as now a father does not send his son, or a son his father, or a master his slave, or a friend his beloved, to be sick in his place, or to sleep, or to eat, or to be healed,

so then also no one can pray on behalf of anyone on that day, nor can anyone lay a burden on another, for everyone then will bear, each one his own righteousness or his own unrighteousness.'

And I answered and said, 'And how, my lord, do we find that Abraham prayed first for the Sodomites, and Moses in the wilderness for the fathers when they sinned,

and Joshua the son of Nun after him for Israel in the days of Achar,

and Samuel in the days of Saul, and David for the destruction of the people, and Solomon for those at the sanctuary,

and Elijah for those who received rain, and for the dead that he might live,

and Hezekiah for the people in the days of Sennacherib, and many on behalf of many?'

If therefore now, when corruption was great and oppression increased, the righteous prayed for

the ungodly,

why, my lord, will it not be so then also?'

And he answered and said to me, 'This world has an end, and the glory of God does not remain continually in it. Therefore the strong prayed for those who have no strength.

But the day of judgment is the end of this world, and the beginning of the future world which is immortal, in which corruption passes away,

and dissoluteness is dissolved, and unbelief is abolished, and righteousness increases, and truth shines forth.

Then, therefore, no one can have mercy on the one who was condemned in the judgment, nor harm the one who was victorious in the judgment.'

And I answered and said, 'This is my first and last word: that it would have been better for the earth not to have produced Adam, or when it had produced him, to have restrained him from sinning.

For what advantage is there for all who have come, that behold, they live in distress, and when they have died, they await torment?

O what have you done, Adam? For though it was you who sinned, the evil was not yours alone, but also ours who are descended from you.

For what

profit is there, that behold, an immortal time was promised to us, but we have done mortal deeds?

And that an imperishable hope was made known to us, but we have wickedly become destitute?

And that behold, chambers are kept without care and without sickness, but we have conducted ourselves evilly?

And that the glory of the Most High is to protect those who have lived in chastity, but we have walked in evil ways?

And that Paradise is to be shown, whose fruit does not spoil, in which are delights and healing,

but we shall not enter, because we have served evil places?

And that the faces of the holy ones are to shine brighter than the stars, but our faces will be blacker than darkness?

For we did not consider in our lives, while committing iniquity, that we were going to suffer after our death.'

And he answered and said to me, 'This is the meaning of the contest which the human being who is born struggles upon earth:

if he is defeated, he will suffer what you have said; but if he conquers, he will receive what I have said.

For this is the way that Moses spoke when he was alive to the people, saying to them, "Behold, I have set before you today life and death, good and evil; choose therefore life, that you may live, you and your seed."

Yet they rebelled and did not obey him, nor the prophets after him, nor even me who spoke with them.

Therefore there will not be grief over their destruction, as there will be joy over the life of those who obeyed.'

And I answered and said to him, 'I know, my lord, that now the Most High is called merciful, because he has mercy on those who have not yet come into the world;

and gracious, because he is gracious to those who turn to his law;

and patient, because he shows patience with us, with those who sin, because we are his works;

and generous, because he prefers to give rather than to demand;

and very merciful, because he increasingly multiplies mercy upon those who are now, and upon those who have passed away, and upon those who are to come.

For if he were not to multiply his mercies, the world could not live with its inhabitants;

and giving, because if he did not give out of his goodness, so that the wicked might be lightened of their iniquities, not one of ten thousand of humankind could live;

and a judge,

because if he did not forgive the souls of those who were created by his word, and blot out the multitude of their iniquities, there would not be left of the countless multitude anything except very few.'