on_abbaton.01 Chapter 1

The discourse which Apa Timothy, Archbishop of Rakote, our Holy Father, who was glorious in every respect, pronounced on the making of Abbaton, the Angel of Death.

Our holy fathers the apostles asked the Saviour about [Abbaon], so that they might be able to preach about him to all mankind, for they knew that men would ask them questions about everything.

And the Saviour, who did not wish to disappoint them about any matter concerning which they asked him questions, informed them, saying, 'The day on which my Father created Abbaton was the thirteenth day of the month Athor, and he made him king over all creation, which he had made, because of the transgression of Adam and Eve.'

And the Archbishop wishing to learn concerning this fearful and terrifying being whom God made and who pursueth every soul until it yieldeth up its spirit in misery, when he went into Jerusalem to worship the cross of our Saviour, and his life-giving tomb, on the seventeenth day of the month Thoth, searched through the books which were in the library of Jerusalem, and which had been made by our holy fathers the Apostles, and deposited them therein, until he discovered [the account of] the creation of Abbaton, with an aged elder who was a native of Jerusalem.

When one asked him what was the occasion for the discourse he had forgotten what it was.

And he spake also concerning the holy apostle Saint John, theologian and virgin who is not to taste death until the thrones are set in the valley of Jehosaphat, which is the place wherein the last strife of the world shall take place.

In the peace of God! Amen. Bless us!

Hearken unto my speech, which is sweet and is filled with gladness of every kind!

My Lord and my God crieth out to us daily in the Holy Gospel, saying, 'Every one who asketh shall receive, he who seeketh shall find, and to him that knocketh they will open.'

And again, 'Everything which ye shall ask in My Name from My Father, shall be unto you.'

And the holy song-writer David saith, 'Blessed are they who are righteous in the way, and who walk in the law of the Lord'

Blessed are the saints, and those who seek them.

Blessed are those who walk in His testimonies, and who seek Him with their whole heart.'

And again, 'Those who seek after the Lord shall not lack any manner of thing which is good.'

Who are they who seek after the Lord?

O my beloved, hearken attentively, O [ye] who love to hear, [and I will tell you].

Those who seek the Lord are all those wise men who meditate upon His law, and His commandments, and His righteous judgments, by day and by night, according to what is written, 'The law of God shall never be absent from thy mouth (or speech).'

And again, 'It is. meet that every man who is a Christian should fill his body with the fruits of his lips, as if it were corporeal food.'

Those who seek after God are those men who enquire concerning the creation of the angels of God, and who make manifest their holy commemorations.

Those who seek after God are all those men who seek after His saints, and who bear in remembrance the sufferings which they endured, and record them in the churches.

Those who seek after God are all the men who give alms, and charities, and offerings unto God at their holy commemorations, each one according to his power.

Those who seek after God are all the men who love strangers (i.e. who shew hospitality), and those who love the poor, and who clothe the naked on the festival of the saints, each one according to his power.

For this reason, O my beloved brethren, let us give this day unto the saints, each one according to his power.

For this reason, then, O my beloved brethren, let us give with a right heart and with a perfect faith, in order that we may find them (i.e. our gifts) for ourselves in the day of our visitation.

Our Saviour informeth us in the Holy Gospel, saying, 'Whosoever shall give one of these little ones even a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, Amen, I say unto you…

…a week of days before the festival came.

And in this manner we entered into the martyrium of the holy God-bearer Mary, which had been built to her in the Valley of Jehosaphat, and we received a blessing, and we prayed together with those who had come there for the festival.

And in this wise we were mindful of the Offering with all diligence, and we received the Eucharist with all the people on that day.

And each man departed to his house, and we withdrew ourselves from the festival, and I took up my abode in the church.

And whilst we were living there the aged presbyter, whose name was John, came up to me, and did homage before me, saying, 'If thy servant hath found favour before thee, let my lord father come to the house of they servant, for we would enjoy thy blessing.'

And when I had perceived his great love for his fellow man, and his gentleness, which was like [unto that of] an angel of God, I rose up, and I went with him, both I and those who were with me.

And when he had taken us up into the upper storey of his house we prayed, and we sad down according to the commandment of our Saviour.

And he made for us a great banquet that day, because he was a lover of men, and he was especially hospitable to strangers, and to every one who sojourned in the church, even as was the Patriarch Abraham.

And when the morning had come we talked together concerning the mighty deeds and miracles which our Saviour had wrought, and how the Jews had crucified Him because of their jealousy of Him.

And in this wise I spake unto the old man, the presbyter, 'My noble son, is not the Book of the appointing of Abbaton, the Angel of Death, among all these books which are here, and under thy charge?'

I want it because I wish to learn how it came about that God made him the king of all mankind, and of all the created things which He made, and how it was that God made him awful and terrifying, for he cometh and pursueth after every soul until it hath yielded up its spirit.'

And straightaway the old man, the elder, said unto me with a face filled with graciousness, 'Well hath the Master of us all, the Christ, said i the Holy Gospel, 'Whosoever seeketh shall find, and whosoever knocketh it shall be opened unto him, and whosoever asketh shall receive.'

And as for thee, O my holy father, thou seekest, and thou shalt find; thou knockest, and it shall be opened unto thee; thou askest, and thou shalt receive.

The Lord shall fulfill thy petition which thou hast asked.

And when I had heard these things from the old man, the presbyter, I gave thanks to God because He had never disappointed me in respect of any matter which I had asked from him; and thus the [old man] brought it (i.e. the book) to me.

And when it had come into my hand I rejoiced over it more than [I should have done over] very much riches,.

And I cried out with David the Psalmist, the righteous king, saying, 'I rejoice over they words even as doth the man who hath found great spoil.'

And I read in the book,

and I found written therein the following:

And it came to pass that when our Saviour, Who is the Root of all good, had finished everything, when the days of His Apocalypse were completed and he was to ascend up to His Father, He laid His hand upon each one of His holy Apostles.

and He prayed over them, and sent them forth into all the world to preach His holy Resurrection to all the heathen,

He filled them with power and with His Holy Spirit, and He spake unto them, saying, 'The mighty deeds and miracles which I have performed, ye yourselves also shall do.'

Ye shall lay your hands upon the sick and they shall have rest (or relief).

Ye shall tread upon serpents and scorpions.

Ye shall take up serpents in your hands.

And when ye drink deadly poisons they shall have no evil effect upon you.

Baptize those who believe in Me, and in My Good Father, and the Holy Spirit, in the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and I will forgive them [their sins].

Those who do not believe shall be condemned to the second death.

Depart in peace.

The peace which is mine shall be with you.

And I will never cease to walk with you even to the end of this world.

Then the Lord answered and said unto Saint Peter, the greatest of the Apostles, the pillar of the Church, the steward of the kingdom which is in the heavens, 'Him that thou wishest to take into it, take; and him that thou wishest to reject, reject.'

[And Peter] said unto the Saviour, 'My Lord and my God. Behold, Thou has informed us concerning everything about which we have asked Thee, and Thou hast hidden nothing from us.

And now, O my Lord, and my God, behold, Thou hast sent us out into the whole world to preach Thy holy Resurrection to all the nations, and the mighty deeds and miracles which Thou hast done, which we have seen with our eyes, and concerning which we have heard, and Thou hast explained them all to us, even [the matter of] Thy Virgin Mother, and Thy holy Birth.

And, O my Lord, Thou knowest that there are very many contentious and unbelieving people who will ask questions of us concerning everything, and we wish to be able to explain unto them everything.

Now therefore, O my Lord, we wish Thee to inform us concerning the day wherein Thou didst stablish Abbaton, the Angel of Death, and didst make him to be awful and disturbing, and to pursue all souls until they yield up their spirits, so that we may preach concerning him to all mankind, even as we preach concerning all his fellow angels whom Thou hast created, and of whom Thou hast shewn us the days of their stablishing, and also that when men hear of [him on] the day of his stablishing that they may be afraid, and may repent, and may give charities and gifts on the day of his commemoration, just as they do to Michael and Gabriel, so that their souls may find mercy and respite on the day of Thy holy Resurrection.'

And the Saviour, the Storehouse that is filled with mercy and compassion of every kind, who loveth everything which is good in respect of His day, Who wisheth not to cause is disappointment about anything concerning which we are asked, and said unto them, 'O ye whom I have chosen from out of the whole world, I will hide nothing from you, but I will inform you how My Father stablished him (i.e. Abbaton) over all the created things which He had made.

For I and my father are one, according to what Philip said unto me, 'Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.'

And I said unto him, 'O Philip, in all the time which thou hast known Me, hast thou not known Me?'

He who hath seen Me has seen My Father.

Believe thou that I am in My father, and My Father is in Me.

If it be impossible [for thee], believe His works.'

And now, O my holy members, whom I have chosen from out of the whole world, I will hide nothing from you.

It came to pass that when My Father was creating the heavens, and the earth, and the things which are therein, He spake the word, and they all came into being, Angel, and Archangel, and Cherubim, and Seraphim, and Thrones, and Divine Governors, and Dominions, and all the Powers that are in the heavens, and all the army of heaven.,

And He made the earth also, [and] the wild animals, and the reptiles, and the cattle, and the birds, and everything which moveth upon it.

And He planted also a paradise in the eastern part of the earth.

And My Father saw that the whole world was a desert, and that there was no one to work it.

And My Father said, 'Let us make a man in Our image and likeness, that he may continue to praise us by day and by night, and that [every one] may know that it is the hand of the Lord that hath made all these things; for I existed before these things were.'

And My Father commanded an angel, saying, 'By My wish and by My command get thee to the land of Edem, and bring to Me some virgin earth in order that I may make a man in Our image and likeness therewith, so that he may ascribe blessing unto Us by day and by night.'

And the angel went to the land of Edem, according to My Father's command. And he stood upon the earth, and he reached out his hand to gather together some of it and take it to My Father.

And straightaway the earth cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'I swear unto thee by Him Who sent thee to Me, that if thou takest me to Him, He will mould me into a form, and I shall become a man, and a living soul. And very many sins shall come forth from my heart (or, body), and many fornications, and slanderous abuse, and jealousy, and hatred and contention shall come forth from his hand.

and many murders and sheddings of blood shall come forth from his hand.

And they shall cast me out to the dogs, and to the cats, and into pits and holes in the ground, and into streams of water before my time, and after all these things they will finally cast me into punishment, and they will punish me by day and by night.

Let me stay here, and go back to the ground and be quiet.

And when the Angel of God heard these things he was afraid of My Father's Name,

and he returned and came to My Father, and said, 'My Lord, when I heard Thy awful Name I did not wish to bring the earth unto Thee.'

And straightaway My Father commanded an angel a second time to go to it, and then a third angel, and so on even unto seven angels, and not one of them wished to approach the earth because it took awful oaths by mighty [names].

And when My Father saw that none of the angels wished to bring the earth to Him, He sent the angel Mouriel to the earth, saying unto him, 'Go thou by My command to the land of Edem, and bring unto me some virgin earth so that I may fashion a man therefrom, after Mine own image and likeness, that he may ascribe blessing unto Us by day and by night.'

And when the Angel of God had departed to the earth he stood upon it in great power and might, and in the commandment of God.

And he reached out his hand to take some of it,

and straightaway the dust (or, clay) cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'I swear unto thee by the name of Him that created the heavens, and the earth, and the things that are therein, that thou shalt not approach me to take me unto God.'

And the angel Mouriel was not afraid at [the mention of] the Name of My Father when he heard it, and he paid no heed thereto, but he went to it, and he laid hold of it with firmness and determination,

and he brought it to My Father [Who] rejoiced over it.

And He took the clay from the hand of the angel, and made Adam according to Our image and likeness, and He left him lying for forty days and forty nights without putting breath into him.

And He heaved sighs over him daily, saying, 'If I put breath into this [man], he must suffer many pains.'

And I said unto My Father, 'Put breath into him; I will be an advocate for him.'

And My Father said unto Me, 'If I put breath into him, My beloved Son, Thou wilt be obliged to go down into the world, and to suffer many pains for him before Thou shalt have redeemed him, and made him to come back to his primal state.'

And I said unto My Father, 'Put breath into him; I will be his advocate, and I will go down into the world, and will fulfil Thy command.'

And whilst He was wishing to put breath into him He took a book, and wrote therein [the names of] those who should come forth from him and who should enter into the kingdom which is in the heavens, according to what is written, 'These are they whose names are written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world.'

And He put breath into him in this way; He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life three times, saying, 'Live! Live! Live! according to the type of My Divinity.'

And the man lived straightaway, and became a living soul, according to the image and likeness of God.

And when Adam had risen up he cast himself down before [My] Father, saying, 'My Lord and my God!'

Thou hast made me to come into being [from a state in which] I did not exist.'

Thereupon my Father set him upon a great throne, and He placed on his head a crown of glory, and He put a royal sceptre [in his hand], and My Father made every order [of angels] in the heavens to come and worship him, whether angel or archangel.'

And all the hosts of heaven worshipped God first of all, and then they worshipped Adam, saying, 'Hail, thou image and likeness of God!'

And He intended that the order of angels who were fashioned [before Adam] should worship him, and My Father said to him (i.e. their chief), 'Come, thou thyself shalt worship my image and likeness.'

And he, being of great pride, drew himself up in a shameless manner, and said, 'It is meet that this [man Adam] should come and worship me, for I existed before he came into being.'

And when My Father saw his great pride, and that his wickedness and evil-doing were complete, He commanded all the armies of heaven, saying, 'Remove the writing [which is] in the hand of the proud one, strip ye off his armour, and cast ye him down upon the earth, for his time hath come.

For he is the greatest of them all, he is the head over them, and is like a king, and he commandeth them as the general of an army [commandeth his] soldiers; he is the head over them, and their names are written in his hand.'

Thus it is with this cunning one, and the [names of the] angels were written in his hand.

And all the angels gathered together to him, and they did not wish to remove the writing from his hand.

And My Father commanded them to bring a sharp reaping-knife, and to stab him therewith on this side and on that, right through his body to the vertebrae of his shoulders, and he was unable to hold himself up.

And straightaway My Father commanded a mighty Cherubim, and he smote him, and cast him down from heaven upon the earth, because of his pride, and he broke his wings and his ribs and made him helpless, and those whom he had brought with him became devils with him.

And My Father made them take Adam into Paradise, and a multitude of angels sang hymns before him, and they left him there, and he continued to ascribe blessing unto God.

And Adam lived alone in Paradise for one hundred years. And when he had completed the period of one hundred years–now Adam lived in the Paradise of Delight, and remained there alone, and the angels used to come to him every day—My Father said, 'It is not good to allow the man to live by himself, but let Us make for him a helper like unto himself.'

And He brought a slumber upon Adam, who fell into a deep sleep, and He took out one of his ribs and filled up [the place thereof] with flesh, and He made a woman according to the form of Adam.

And when Adam woke up out of his sleep he saw her, and he said, 'This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of [my flesh]; she shall be called 'woman,' because she was taken out of her male.'

Now it was Adam who gave names to all the cattle, and to the wild beasts and to the birds, and to every living creature which moveth upon the earth, and even to those which are in the waters; unto all of them did Adam give names, according to the command of My Good Father.

And Adam lived in the Paradise of Delight, he and Eve his wife, for two hundred years; and they were virgins, and the were even as the angels of God.

And when they had been living in the Paradise of Delight for two hundred years, Eve came forth and passed through the northern part of Paradise, close by the wall, in order to obtain fruit (sic) for the cattle and for all the [other] creatures, because My Father had told Adam and Even to feed them according to His command, and they received their food from the hand of Adam and Eve.

And the serpent himself came at the hour of evening to receive his food according to his wont, for the serpent was like unto all the [other] beasts, and he walked upon his feet just as did they.

And the Devil lived nigh unto Paradise, and he lay in wait for Adam and Eve by day and by night, and when he saw Even by herself he went into the serpent, and said within himself, 'Behold, I have found [my] opportunity; I will speak into her ear, and I will make her to eat of the tree, and I will cause them to be expelled from Paradise, for I myself was expelled from Paradise for their sakes.'

And the Devil spake to Eve through the mouth of the serpent, saying, 'Why do ye not eat of the tree which is in the middle of Paradise, as ye do all of the [other ] trees, for the fruit thereof is good?'

And [Eve] said, 'God said unto us, Ye may certainly eat of every tree which is in Paradise with the exception of the tree of knowledge of the good and and of the evil; in the day wherein ye eat thereof ye shall surely die.'

And the serpent said unto her, 'Ye shall not surely die, but ye shall be like unto these gods, ye shall know the good and the evil, and ye shall [be able] to separate the sweet from the bitter.

God spake to you in this manner because when ye have eaten thereof ye shall become as gods.[

And the Devil ceased not to speak into her [ear] until he had beguiled her and she ate of the tree.