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The Secret Apocrypha of John is a description of events in the life of Jesus that were not recognized by the church. It talks about the secret Jesus revealed to the apostle at the Last Supper. Apocrypha translated from Greek means “secret, hidden.”
Apocrypha - the secret book of John
Books prohibited by the church are divided into two types:
- the first is a folklore work that tells in a fantastic genre about the life of Christ;
- the second is ideological creations that arose as a result of the desire of philosophical groups to express their religious point of view.
This refers to the Gnostics who are trying to reinterpret Christianity in their own way.
The Secret Book of John was written approximately from the tenth to the twelfth centuries. The concepts presented in the story will cause outrage to any person who professes Christianity. It says that the first who created the earth and people was Sataniel, the eldest son of God.
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Who are they, the chosen ones?
Before the opening of the seventh seal, a wondrous picture is revealed to John: “A great multitude of people from all nations and tribes and peoples and languages stood before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes and with palm branches in their hands. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Who are they, the chosen ones? “These are they who came out of the great tribulation; they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” A striking image: the blood of Christ cleanses believers from sin. Enduring life's trials with steadfastness introduces one to holiness. It does not matter what nationality a person speaks or what language he speaks. The main thing is his faith, loyalty to God, and patience.
“Revelation does not contain an image of a comfortable, calm Christian life,” notes Anton Nebolsin. - Anyone who sincerely follows Christ must be prepared for sorrows leading to martyrdom. But it is through earthly trials that a person approaches the Lord.
Warriors of the Apocalypse. Painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (1887)
The secret of the universe
The Apocrypha of John the Theologian is presented in the form of a conversational genre with Jesus Christ, where he reveals the main secret of the universe. Sataniel, the eldest son of God, led the heavenly forces, but he wanted more power and bribed the angels with the promise of joint rule. The secret conspiracy was declassified, God punished his son:
- deprived of divine light;
- endowed with a human appearance;
- exiled to earth, but left divine power.
Sataniel and the angels divided the sea and land, created the moon, the sun and all life on earth. He molded a man out of clay and drove an angel there, tore off a piece and created a woman with the help of another angel. Then he ordered people to create living flesh, but they had no idea how. Then he came up with a cunning plan. In the Garden of Eden, the tempter serpent turned into a handsome young man and seduced Eve, then pushed Adam to do it. The woman gave birth to Cain from Satan, and Abel from Adam.
Later, Satan suggested that he was God, and people on earth did not remember the angels that the Lord created. Therefore, Jesus came with this mission. Father the Creator sent him to deprive Sataniel of the divine principle. Even at the beginning of the work it is said that Jesus sat next to God, but did not serve as the main offspring. He will then be executed and ascend to heaven, where he will take the place of the eldest son until the second coming. He will return to earth again, where he will deal with his brother.
The Church prohibits reading the Apocrypha of John, since its ideas contradict Orthodox teaching and are heretical.
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May the Lord protect you!
[Apocrypha] | [Vekhi Library]
REVELATION OF JOHN THE THEOLOGIST
APOCRYPH[1]
(Translation by V. Vitkovsky)
I. After the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, I, John, found myself alone on Mount Tabor, where He revealed His pure Divinity to us. And I could not stand, and fell to the ground, and prayed to the Lord, and said: Lord my God, who has deigned me to become Your servant, listen to my voice and teach me about Your coming. When you have to come to earth, what will happen then? What will happen in those times to the sky, the earth, the Sun and the Moon? Reveal everything to me. I hope that You will hear Your servant.
II. And I spent seven days in prayer, and after that a bright cloud took me from the mountain and set me before the face of heaven, and I heard a voice saying to me: Look, servant of God John, and know. And looking, I saw the sky opening, and from the depths of the sky came a smell full of fragrant aroma, and I saw a great glow, much brighter than the sun.
III. And again I heard a voice saying to me: Look, righteous John. And I lifted my gaze and saw the book lying, and its thickness seemed to me to be seven mountains. The human mind cannot comprehend its length, and there were seven seals on it. And I said: Lord my God, reveal to me what is written in this book?
IV. And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. In the book that you saw was written what is in heaven, and what is on earth, and what is in hell, and the sins and righteousness of every human nature.
V. And I asked: Lord, when will this happen, and what is the difference between those times? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. At that time there will be an abundance of bread and wine, such as has never been on earth and will never be until those times come. Then an ear of grain will produce half a quinix, and a bunch of grapes will produce half a jug of wine. And next year there will not be found anywhere on the whole face of the earth either half a quinix of bread or half a jug of wine.
VI. And again I asked: Lord, what will you do then? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. Then the Adversary will appear, cast out into darkness, who is called the Antichrist. And again I said: Lord, reveal to me what he is like.
VII. And I heard a voice saying to me: His face is gloomy, the hair on his head is sharp like arrows, his eyebrows are like those of a beast, his right eye is like a star rising in the morning, and the other is like a lion’s, and his mouth is like a cubit. wide, his teeth are a span long, his fingers are like sickles, his footprint is two spans long, and on his forehead is the inscription “Antichrist.” He will rise to heaven and descend to hell, performing false signs. And then I will make the sky copper, so that it does not give moisture to the earth, and I will hide the clouds in hidden places, so that they do not send moisture to the earth, and I will keep the winds in the horns, so that the wind does not blow across the earth.
VIII. And again I asked: Lord, how many years will he be on earth? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. Those times will last three years, and I will make three years like three months, and three months like three weeks, and three weeks like three days, and three days like three hours, and three hours like three moments, according to the word of the prophet David: You have cast down his throne to the ground, you have shortened the days of his time, you have covered him with shame. And then I will send Enoch and Elijah to reprove him, and they will show that he is a liar and a deceiver, and he will kill them on the altar, according to the word of the prophet: Then they will bring bulls to your altar.
IX. And again I asked: Lord, what must happen after that? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. Then all human nature will disappear, and there will be no man anywhere on earth. And again I asked: Lord, what will you do after this? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. Then I will send My angels and lift up the horns of the ram that are lying on the cloud, and go beyond the sky, and Michael and Gabriel will blow these horns, as the prophet David predicted, with the voice of the trumpet of the horn. And the voice of the trumpet will reach the ends of the universe, and from the voice of that trumpet the whole earth will shake, as the prophet predicted: And from the voice of the sparrow all grass will rise, that is, from the voice of the archangel all human nature will rise.
X. And again I asked: Lord, those who have died from Adam to this day, and those who have lived in hell from eternity, and those who will die until the last centuries - how will they be resurrected? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. Every human nature will be resurrected at the age of thirty.
XI. And again I said: Lord, males and females die, some old, some young, and some infants. In the resurrection what will they be like? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. Just as bees do not differ from one another, but are all of the same species and of the same age, so in the resurrection all people will be: and there will be no white hair, no red hair, no black hair, there will be no black hair or others with different faces, but everyone will be resurrected. same species and same age. Every human nature will be resurrected incorporeally, just as I told you: In the resurrection they do not marry or be given in marriage, but all are like angels of God.
XII. And again I asked: Lord, will it be possible in this world to recognize each other: a brother - his brother, or an acquaintance - his acquaintance, or a father - his own children, or children - their own parents? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. For the righteous there will be recognition, but for sinners there will be no recognition, and in the resurrection they will not be able to recognize each other. And again I asked John: Lord, will there be thoughts about vineyards, fields and other things that are on earth? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. The prophet David says: I remembered that we are dust; the days of man are like grass; like the flower of the field, so it will bloom, for the wind will pass over it, and it will be no more, and will no longer know its place. And he said again: His spirit shall depart, and he shall return to his land: on that day all his thoughts shall perish.
XIII. And again I asked: Lord, what will you do after this? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. Then I will send My angels over the face of the whole earth, and they will take from the earth everything that is glorious and everything worthy, and holy and revered icons, and glorious and honorable crosses, and church shrines, and divine and sacred books. And everything that is revered and holy will rise into the air under the clouds. And then I will command you to raise the great and sacred scepter, on which I have stretched out My hands, and all orders of angels will worship it. And then all human nature will be caught up in the clouds, as the Apostle Paul predicted: Together with them we will be caught up in the clouds in the air to answer before the Lord. And then every evil spirit will come out, on earth and in hell, wherever it is from sunrise to sunset, and they will cleave to those who served the devil, or the Antichrist, and will be lifted up into the clouds.
XIV. And again I asked: Lord, what will you do after this? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. Then I will send My angels over the face of all the earth, and they will burn the whole earth to the extent of eight thousand five hundred cubits, and the high mountains will burn, and all the rocks will crumble and become like dust, and every tree, and every livestock, and every creeping thing will be burned. on the earth, and everything that moves along the face of the earth, and every bird that flies in the air, and there will no longer be anything on the face of the earth that moves, and the earth will become motionless.
XV. And again I asked: Lord, what will you do after this? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. Then I will open the four countries of the world, and four great winds will come out and sweep away the entire face of the earth from edge to edge. And the Lord will sweep away sin from the earth, and the earth will turn white like snow and become like a leaf, and there will be no cave, no mountain, no hill, no rock on it, but the face of the earth from sunrise to sunset will be smooth as a table and white as snow. And the depths of the earth will be scorched with fire, and the earth will cry out to Me, saying: I am virgin before You, Lord, and there is no sin on me. As the prophet David predicted: Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. And another prophet said: Let every gorge be filled, and every mountain and hill be made low, the crooked places made straight, and the rough paths made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
XVI. And again I asked: Lord, what will you do after this? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. Then the earth will be cleansed from sin, and it will be filled with fragrance, for I will have to come down to the earth. And then a great and sacred scepter will come out with thousands of angels praising it, as I foretold: And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear from heaven with power and great glory. And then the one who is doing injustice to his servants will see this and will gnash his teeth loudly, and all the unclean spirits will flee. And seized by an invisible force, having no place to run, they gnashed their teeth, saying to him: Where is your strength? Why did you deceive us? And we fled and fell away from the glory in which we were involved through Him who was coming to judge us and all human nature. Woe to us, for He will cast us out into outer darkness.
XVII. And again I asked: Lord, what will you do after this? And I heard a voice saying to me: Then I will send an angel from heaven, and he will shout with a loud voice, saying: Hear, O earth, and be strong, says the Lord, for I am coming down to you. And the voice of the angel will be heard from one end to the other of the universe and to the depths of hell. And then all the power of the angels and the many-eyed will tremble, and a great noise will be heard in the heavens, and the nine sheets of heaven will tremble, and great fear and confusion will occur among all the angels. And then the heavens will open from sunrise to sunset, and countless multitudes of angels will descend to earth, and then the heavenly storehouses will open, and they will carry down everything that is revered and incense burned, and will bring Jerusalem down to earth, like a bride in a dress. And then thousands of thousands of angels and archangels will pass before Me, carrying My throne and exclaiming: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! Heaven and earth are full of Your glory! And then I will come out with power and great glory, and every eye on the clouds will see Me, and then every knee in heaven, on earth and under the earth will bow. And then the sky will remain empty, and I will descend to the earth, and everything that is in the air will be brought down to the earth, and every human nature and every evil spirit with the Antichrist, and they will all be set before Me, naked and broken.
XVIII. And again I asked: Lord, what will happen to the sky, the Sun, the Moon and the stars? And I heard a voice saying to me: Look, righteous John. And I looked up and saw a lamb that had seven eyes and seven horns. And again I heard a voice saying to me: I will command a lamb to pass before Me and say: Who will open this book? And all the multitudes of angels will answer: Let the book be given to this lamb, that he may open it. And then I will command you to open the book.
XIX. And when he opens the first seal, the stars will fall from heaven from edge to edge. And when the second seal is opened, the Moon will be hidden, and there will be no light in it. And when he opens the third seal, the light of the Sun will fade away, and there will be no light on earth. And when he opens the fourth seal, the heavens will be destroyed, and the air will be unsettled, as the prophet says: They will perish, but You will remain, and they will all wear out like a garment. And when he opens the fifth seal, the earth will open up and all the places of judgment will be revealed throughout the entire earth. And when he opens the sixth seal, half the sea will disappear. When the seventh seal is opened, hell will open.
XX. And I asked: Lord, who will be asked and who will accept the judgment first? And I heard a voice saying to me: Unclean spirits are with the Enemy. I will command them to go into outer darkness, which is under the water. And I asked: Lord, what place is this? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. Where a thirty-year-old man can roll a stone and throw it into the water and, having fallen, he will not reach the foundation of hell for twenty years. As the prophet David predicted: And darkness covered him.
XXI. And I asked: Lord, and after them what language will be asked? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. The tongues of Adam and the Hellenic language will be questioned: those who believed in idols, and in the Sun, and in the stars, and those who desecrated the faith by heresy, and those who did not believe in the Holy Resurrection, and those who did not recognize the Father. and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then I will send them to hell, as the prophet David predicted: Let the wicked turn to hell - all the nations that forget God. And he also said: He has set them in hell as sheep, and death will be their shepherd.
XXII. And again I asked: Lord, after these whom will You judge? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. Then the tribe of Jews will be asked, who crucified Me, like a villain, on a tree. And I asked: What punishments and in what place will they have to endure, having done such things to You? And I heard a voice saying to me: They will go to hell, as the prophet David predicted: They cried out, but there was no one to save, to the Lord - but He did not listen to them. And the Apostle Paul also said: Those who sinned without the law will perish without the law, and those who sinned under the law will be condemned by the law.
XXIII. And again I asked: Lord, what about those who received baptism? And I heard a voice saying to me: Afterwards the tribe of Christians who have been baptized will be asked, and then the righteous will come at My command, and angels will appear and separate them from sinners, as the prophet David predicted: The Lord will not leave the rod of the wicked over the lot of the righteous. And all the righteous will stand at My right hand and shine like the Sun. As you see, John, the stars in the sky, which are all alike, but differ in their light, so it will be with the righteous and sinners: for the righteous will shine like lights and like the Sun, but let sinners be dark.
XXIV. And again I asked: Lord, will all Christians accept the same punishment: kings, high priests, priests, patriarchs, rich and poor, slaves and free? And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. As the prophet David predicted, the patience of the poor will not perish completely. As for the kings, they will be persecuted like slaves and will cry like children. As for the patriarchs, priests and Levites who sinned, they will be divided in punishment according to the image of the sin of each of them: for some - a river of fire, for others - a vigilant worm, for others - a seven-mouthed well of torment. Different sinners will be subjected to such punishments.
XXV. And again I asked: Lord, where will the righteous settle? And I heard a voice saying to me: Then Paradise will open, and the whole world and Paradise will be one, and the righteous will abide over all the face of the earth with My angels, as the Holy Spirit predicted through the prophet David: The righteous will inherit the earth and will live on it forever.
XXVI. And again I asked: Lord, what is the number of angels? And who is greater: angels or people? And I heard a voice saying to me: As the number of angels is, so is the human race, as the prophet said: He has set limits for the nations according to the number of the angels of God.
XXVII. And again I asked: Lord, what will you do after this? And what will the world be like? Reveal everything to me. And I heard a voice saying to me: Listen, righteous John. From that time on there will be no suffering, no sorrow, no lamentation, no rancor, no tears, no envy, no hatred of brothers, no injustice, no pride, no slander, no resentment, no there will be the worries of life, there will be no suffering from parents or children, there will be no suffering for the sake of gold, there will be no evil speeches, there will be no devil, there will be no death, there will be no night, but everything will be continuous day. As I predicted: I will also have other sheep, not of this fold, that is, people who will become like the angels in their virtue; I will bring them, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one Shepherd.
XXVIII. And again I heard a voice saying to me: Behold, you heard all this, righteous John. Pass this on to faithful people, so that others may be taught, and not neglected, but also not throw our pearls to swine, lest they trample them under their feet. And while I was still listening to that voice, a cloud carried me down and placed me on Mount Tabor. And a voice came to me saying: Blessed are those who await Judgment and do justice at every hour, and blessed is the house where they think like this. As the Lord said: He who loves Me keeps My words in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory to Him forever. Amen.
[Apocrypha] | [Vekhi Library]© 2007, Vekhi Library
What does "number of the beast" mean?
In the 13th chapter, two monsters come out to people - a beast from the sea and a beast from the earth. The first acts with brutal violence - this is a symbol of the pagan state. The second “forces the whole earth and those who dwell on it to worship the first beast.” This is a propaganda machine designed to put peoples in the service of evil. She acts cunningly: everyone is given an inscription, that is, a seal, on their right hand or forehead. Without it you can neither buy nor sell.
The seal depicts the number of the name of the beast: “He who has understanding, count the number of the beast, for it is a human number; its number is six hundred and sixty-six.”
“Our ancestors did not know Arabic numerals, so there are no sixes in Revelation,” explains the famous missionary priest Georgy Maximov. — In ancient times, numbers were designated by letters. Any name could be read by letters, or could be viewed as a series of numbers. Their sum gave the numerical equivalent of the name. In Revelation, the number of the beast is indicated by three Greek letters: chi - 600, xi - 60 and sigma - 6. In Greek there are different names with this amount. But the Holy Fathers forbade guessing on this topic. Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyon said that it is truer and safer to wait for the fulfillment of prophecy than to assume and predict any names.
Compositional and stylistic features of the text[ | ]
- The “Tale within a Story” technique: the narration in apocrypha comes first from the third person, and then from the first.
- Two lines run like a red thread through the entire work: the line of John, corresponding to the path of the knower, and the line of the savior, the path of the initiator.
- In the apocrypha there are different styles of storytelling. It seems that the apocryphal text was composed of many separate parts.
- The text of the monument is replete with allusions to various cultural traditions: Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Iranian mythology, Christianity, and Qumranite beliefs. For example, the Pharisee mentioned at the beginning of the text in the dialogue with John bears the name of the Zoroastrian spirit of evil Ahriman.
Content
- 1 Historiography 1.1 Dating
- 1.2 Sources
- 1.3 Origin
- 3.1 Contents:
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Chernobyl and the star Wormwood
The seventh seal is broken and seven angels with trumpets appear in the sky. A new series of disasters is befalling the earth. This time, not only people die, but also plants, animals, and fish. “And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a lamp, and fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of this star is “wormwood”; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many of the people died from the waters, because they became bitter.”
This fragment became especially relevant in 1986. The popular name for wormwood is Chernobyl, Chernobyl. The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant saw a prophecy come true, the beginning of the end of the world, followed by more terrible cataclysms. But theologians warn against simplified interpretations.
“A nuclear power plant is not like a star that fell from the sky,” explained Archimandrite Iannuarius. — Disasters in the Apocalypse do not mean specific events, but what has always accompanied and will accompany our sinful life on earth: wars, epidemics, storms, falling stars, earthquakes.
Seeing in Revelation an exact scenario of future events and interpreting its images literally is a wrong approach. “The main and only theme of the Apocalypse, like its prophetic preaching, is to endure history courageously and to the end,” wrote the famous Russian philosopher Archpriest Sergius Bulgakov, “for it is the path to the Kingdom of Christ.”
