3 Meqabyan

3 Meqabyan

Christ shall bring joy to the people of Egypt, for in a later age he shall come among them to take vengeance upon the adversary, who wronged the innocent, deceived humankind, and hated the work of his Creator.

He shall overthrow the adversary’s dominion and turn his authority into shame, because he exalted himself in his thoughts and said, “I shall enter the midst of the sea; I shall ascend to heaven; I shall search the deep; and I shall seize the children of Adam like young birds. Who is higher than I?

“I shall bend their thoughts away from the straight law of the Lord. Unless they do the Lord’s will, I shall prevail over those who dwell in the world, and none shall remove them from my hand.

“I shall make smooth before them the road that descends with me into Gehenna. Those who love the Lord and keep his law shall hate me, but those who depart from their Lord’s command shall come to me, love my ways, and obey my oath. I shall corrupt their thoughts so that they do not return to their Creator.

“I shall show them the wealth of this world and turn their minds away from the straight law. I shall display beautiful women before them and use desire to lead them astray. I shall show them shining jewels, silver, gold, costly garments, red and white silk, and fine linen. I shall multiply their possessions and livestock like the sand, and through abundance I shall draw them into my work.

“I shall stir jealousy, pride, anger, quarrels, and rivalry. I shall place signs in their thoughts and lead them through the movements of stars, the passing of clouds, the flickering of fire, and the cries of beasts and birds. Those in whom I dwell shall proclaim signs to their companions.

“I shall cause men to honor diviners and magicians, saying, ‘None is as skilful as this man, for events occur as he foretold. He distinguishes good from evil, and all happens according to his word.’ I shall rejoice when they speak this, for those who perish through me shall increase.

“The Lord cast me down from my rank because of Adam. I said, ‘I shall not bow before one lower than I.’ Therefore I shall bring as many of his children as I can into the destruction prepared for me.

“When the Lord commanded that I be bound and cast into Gehenna, I pleaded, saying, ‘My Lord, grant me a little time to speak before you.’ He permitted me.

“I said, ‘Since I have fallen from my rank, let those whom I deceive fall with me into Gehenna. But those who reject me, keep your command, fulfil your will, and refuse my teaching—let them belong to you. Give them the crown and throne that I abandoned. Let them praise you in the place from which I and my hosts were cast down.’

“The Lord answered, ‘If they forsake my written word and my command and willingly follow you, they shall receive suffering with you. But those whom you fail to deceive shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.’”

The adversary said, “I provoke all the children of Adam. I make the pleasures of this world sweet to them. I entice them through food, drink, clothing, possessions, withholding and giving, seeing and hearing, touching and travelling, pride, sleep, drunkenness, insults, useless speech, quarrels, slander, the beauty of women, and the smell of perfumes. Through all these I seek to distance them from the Lord’s law, so that they may enter the destruction into which I was cast.”

The prophet answered him, “Perish, destroyer of humankind. You departed from the Lord’s law through stubbornness and pride. You grieved your Creator and refused to bow before him. Why do you now set yourself against the creature formed from earth, whom God made for his praise?

“You were created from wind and fire, subtle and exalted, yet you boasted as though you were the Creator. The Lord saw your evil and made Adam so that his name might be praised in the place where you and your company ceased to praise.

“Because you exalted yourself above the other angels, God created Adam from the dust. When you and your hosts abandoned praise, Adam and his children were appointed to lift praise before the Lord.

“He gave Adam one command, saying, ‘You may eat from every tree in the garden, but do not eat from the tree that brings death.’ He appointed him over the works of creation.

“When you heard the command, you entered the serpent and spoke deceitfully to Eve, who had been formed from Adam’s side. She was innocent and did not know your malice. You deceived her, and through her you deceived Adam, bringing death upon them and their descendants.

“You drove them from the garden and deprived them of its food. Yet the Lord did not abandon them. He gave them children, grain, water, plants, and the fruits of the ground, so that they might be comforted in the land of thorns.

“Though Adam was formed from earth, God gave him many thoughts and made him capable of praising his Creator in body, soul, and understanding. You had but one purpose, yet through pride you corrupted it.

“Adam had thoughts toward good and thoughts toward evil, thoughts as many as the waves of the sea, the drops of rain, and dust scattered by the wind. Though deceived, he was not the source of deception. The treachery began in you.

“Eve ate and gave to Adam. Because they broke the command, they were expelled by righteous judgment. Yet the Lord comforted them and did not end his care for them.”

The Lord has power to ransom Adam and put the adversary to shame. He shall rescue the sheep from the wolf’s mouth. The adversary and those who submit to him shall go toward Gehenna, but those who keep their Creator’s law shall rejoice with God and with the faithful angels.

The adversary was once given a place of honor, but he lost it through arrogance. His name became a name of rebellion, and his companions became demons. Those who love the Lord shall inherit the place abandoned by the rebels and shall praise with the cherubim and seraphim.

God’s praise was not diminished when the adversary fell. God formed Adam from earth, water, fire, and wind, making him in his image and appointing him over the works of creation. Adam’s praise was joined to the praise of heaven.

Before the hills, mountains, winds, stars, sun, moon, day, night, sea, and all visible things were established, the counsel of God already knew his works. He knew the pride of the adversary and the repentance of Adam before either had acted.

God loves the humble and hears the cry of the poor. He does not delight in the strength of horses or in the pride of rulers. The arrogant shall weep because of their deeds.

The adversary did not seek repentance. Adam, though formed from dust, returned with tears, mourning, humility, and love. He confessed his wrong and did not exalt himself.

A person who sins and refuses repentance adds new evil to the first. But one who turns, weeps, bows before the Creator, abandons the former path, and does not return to the sin has found true repentance. The Lord lightens the burden of the one who humbles himself.

Therefore, adversary, repent before your Creator and cease harming those who are flesh and blood, for the Lord knows their weakness. Their bodies return to dust when the soul departs, and they remain there until the day appointed for resurrection.

Remember the Lord who formed you and established you. He placed Adam in the garden to tend it and rejoice, but after transgression sent him into a world that brought forth thorns.

You are earth and shall return to earth. You are dust and shall become dust. From the ground you receive food, and to the ground your body returns until the Lord raises you and examines every work.

Consider what you shall answer. Weigh the good and evil you have done. If you do good, joy awaits you when the dead arise. If you do evil, suffering shall come according to the work of your hands.

Woe to the one who betrays a companion, swears falsely by the Lord’s name, speaks lies as truth, multiplies deceit, promises without intending to give, or steals by false scales.

Demons make use of those whose minds are divided by greed. They gather wealth without knowing for whom it is gathered. The children of Adam make crooked balances and pass from one act of robbery to another.

Do not place hope in false weights, stolen money, fields seized from another, or gain obtained through injustice. Eat from the honest work of your hands. Do not desire another person’s goods.

Stolen wealth does not satisfy. At death it is left to another, and the one who fattened himself upon it gains nothing. Do not let increasing wealth corrupt the mind. A small possession gathered in truth is better than the abundance of sinners, which vanishes like smoke driven by wind.

Remember the day of death, when the soul is separated from the flesh, possessions pass to another, and you enter a path unknown to you.

The spirits that receive the wicked are terrifying, and they do not heed the pleas of those who rejected their Creator’s will. They mock the souls of sinners.

But angels of mercy receive the souls of the kind and righteous. They are sent from the Lord to comfort those who kept his command. The righteous do not fear the evil spirits, for the evil spirits fear them.

O sinners, weep before the day of death arrives. Enter repentance while time remains. The hour that has passed does not return, and after death one cannot return to complete neglected repentance.

Do not follow the path of vanity. Discipline desire so that gluttony and excessive pleasure do not rule you. A body filled without measure forgets the Lord’s name, and the Holy Spirit does not dwell in one enslaved to excess.

Moses said, “Jacob ate, was satisfied, grew fat, and forgot the Lord who made him.” Therefore let there be moderation in eating, drinking, sleep, and desire.

One who receives food with restraint is strengthened by the Lord and becomes firm like a tower enclosed by stone. The person who forgets the Lord’s law flees even when no one pursues him, but the upright stands with courage like a lion.

Those who refuse the Lord’s law shall encounter fear, grief, loss, captivity, and many disturbances. Their wealth shall be taken, and they shall find no lasting rest.

But David said, “I trust in the Lord; I shall not fear. What can a human being do to me?” Those who believe in God need not tremble before armies or evil tidings. The one who trusts in him shall live and shall not be abandoned.

Who has trusted in the Lord and been put to shame? Who has returned in repentance and been rejected?

The Lord says, “I love the one who loves me. I honor the one who glorifies me. I keep the one who returns to me.”

Judge in truth. Defend the widow and save the oppressed, so that the Lord may save you from those who rise against you. The children of those who act kindly shall be preserved.

Remember Job. He trusted the Lord and did not cease praising his Creator when the adversary brought suffering upon him. He said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord withheld. As the Lord desired, so it happened. Blessed be the Lord’s name in heaven and on earth.”

Because Job did not allow his heart to turn against God, the Lord received him with honor, healed his wounds, and gave him more than he had possessed before.

If you endure the trial sent against you and remain faithful, the Lord shall be a fortress for you and for your children after you. Do not let your mind be destroyed by trouble. Trust him, call upon him, and he shall hear.

Remember Mordecai and Esther, Judith and Gideon, Deborah and Barak, Jephthah and Samson, and the others who held firmly to faith. Their enemies did not prevail over them.

The Lord is true and shows no partiality. Those who love sin harm themselves, but those who fear him and keep his law shall receive protection, love, and honor.

He blesses their going out and coming in, their rising and sitting, their life and their death. He saves and sets apart. He brings low and raises up. He makes poor and makes rich. He permits sorrow and grants pardon.

Everything in heaven and on earth, subtle or solid, remains within his order. Nothing escapes the law of the Creator.

The flight of the vulture, the path of the serpent, and the course of a ship upon the sea are directed by him. No one but God knows the path of the soul when it leaves the body, whether it belongs to a righteous person or a sinner.

Who knows whether the soul moves like a bird, like dew upon a mountain, like wind in the deep, like lightning, like stars shining in darkness, like sand by the sea, like a foundation stone beside the waters, like a fruitful tree, like a reed carried from its place, or like mist whose trace disappears?

Who has known the Lord’s counsel? Who advised him? His thoughts are hidden from humankind.

He founded the earth upon the waters without stakes. He stretched the heavens upon the winds like a tent. He commanded the clouds to rain, caused grass to grow, and produced fruits without number for the nourishment of Adam’s children.

He gives food, clothing, satisfaction, joy, and peace so that people may praise him. To those who do his will he gives honor in the dwelling prepared for them and in the kingdom of heaven.

I have seen what the Lord does for his friends: he weakens their enemies, preserves them, and hears their requests. Therefore do not depart from him or from the command of your fathers.

If you abandon his law, anger and destruction may overtake you, and your dwelling may become Gehenna, from which there is no release.

Keep the law of your Creator so that when your soul departs from your flesh you may stand before him with hope.

The kingdoms of earth and heaven belong to him. Strength, mercy, and forgiveness are his. He makes rich and poor, lowly and honored.

David said, “A human being is like a breath; his days pass like a shadow.” But of the Lord he said, “You remain forever, and the remembrance of your name is from generation to generation. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your rule endures through all generations.”

God gave the kingdom to David and removed it from Saul. No one appoints God and no one removes him. He sees all, but no one comprehends him.

He formed humankind in his image so that they might know him and praise him with an undivided mind. He searches the kidneys and knows every thought.

Yet people bow to stone, wood, silver, and gold shaped by human hands. They offer sacrifices until the smoke rises, while refusing to worship the one who made them.

They practise astrology, sorcery, idolatry, and corrupt desire. They learn every work God hates and neglect the command they received.

When all arise from the graves where their bodies decayed, their souls shall stand before the Lord. The righteous souls shall enter the kingdom prepared for them, but the souls of sinners shall enter Gehenna.

The graves shall open, the dead shall arise, and souls shall return to the bodies from which they were separated.

As people came naked from their mothers, so they shall stand uncovered before the Lord. Every deed from infancy onward shall be revealed. Each shall receive according to the measure of sin.

The life-blood appointed by God shall again dwell in the raised body. If you do not believe the dead shall rise, look at the creatures that appear when the rains come, though they were unseen before.

By God’s word they perish, and by his word they appear again. Their bodies vanish and are renewed. When rain satisfies the earth, life emerges as God commanded.

The creatures of the waters receive life by the Lord’s authority without father or mother, because he says, “Let them be.” How then can one say that the dead shall not rise by the word of their Creator?

The dead are dust and ashes, but they shall arise through the Lord’s word. Therefore return in repentance.

As his word acted in the beginning, so the dew of mercy shall awaken the dead. The word shall pass over the whole world and raise them according to his will.

Know that you shall arise and stand before him. Do not imagine that you shall remain forever in the grave.

You shall receive according to what you did, good or evil. All works shall be brought forward, and there shall be no false excuse.

In this world people make lies appear as truth, deny their deeds, and persuade others with false words. But there the soul remembers every act and testifies before the Creator.

The Lord’s word shall stand against deceit, and no one shall hide what was done.

Therefore turn while there is time. Keep the command, love truth, defend the weak, reject false worship, endure trial, and remember the resurrection.

The Lord who formed Adam from the dust shall call every body from the dust. He who gave the first breath shall restore life. He who knows the hidden path of the soul shall reunite soul and body.

The righteous shall receive joy, and the wicked shall receive the fruit of their works.

Blessed is the one who believes, repents, keeps the law of the Lord, and remains faithful until the day when the dead arise.