This is why the continentals are so laid back.......the glorious sunshine and high (for us)temperatures disincline computer use. And the lap-top screen can't be seen very well outside, so blogging will be kept to a minimum for the duration. Suffice to say that I have sourced a 1917 translation of The Book of Enoch (Ethiopic), which I have been reading in the shade of the vine-covered pergola. It's lovely and mesmeric stuff, full of arresting imagery, that meanders through the heavens and the underworld as Enoch reveals his visions:
'And I proceeded and saw a place which burns day and night, where there are seven mountains of magnificent stones, three towards the east, and three towards the south. And as for those towards the east, one was of coloured stone, and one of pearl, and one of jacinth, and those towards the south of red stone.
But the middle one reached to heaven like the throne of God, of alabaster, and the summit of the throne was of sapphire. And I saw a flaming fire. And beyond these mountains Is a region the end of the great earth: there the heavens were completed. And I saw a deep abyss, with columns of heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike towards the height and towards the depth. And beyond that abyss I saw a place which had no firmament of the heaven above, and no firmly founded earth beneath it: there was no water upon it, and no birds, but it was a waste and horrible place. I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains, and to me, when I inquired regarding them, The angel said: 'This place is the end of heaven and earth: this has become a prison for the stars and the host of heaven. And the stars which roll over the fire are they which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord in the beginning of their rising, because they did not come forth at their appointed times. And He was wroth with them, and bound them till the time when their guilt should be consummated (even) for ten thousand years.'
But the middle one reached to heaven like the throne of God, of alabaster, and the summit of the throne was of sapphire. And I saw a flaming fire. And beyond these mountains Is a region the end of the great earth: there the heavens were completed. And I saw a deep abyss, with columns of heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike towards the height and towards the depth. And beyond that abyss I saw a place which had no firmament of the heaven above, and no firmly founded earth beneath it: there was no water upon it, and no birds, but it was a waste and horrible place. I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains, and to me, when I inquired regarding them, The angel said: 'This place is the end of heaven and earth: this has become a prison for the stars and the host of heaven. And the stars which roll over the fire are they which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord in the beginning of their rising, because they did not come forth at their appointed times. And He was wroth with them, and bound them till the time when their guilt should be consummated (even) for ten thousand years.'
The Book of Enoch is seminal in that it is from here that the designation 'Son of Man' (as seen in the Matthaean Gospel) comes.
'And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen shall raise up the kings and the mighty from their seats,[and the strong from their thrones] and shall loosen the reins of the strong, and break the teeth of the sinners. [And he shall put down the kings from their thrones and kingdoms] b ecause they do not extol and praise Him, nor humbly acknowledge whence the kingdom was bestowed upon them. And he shall put down the countenance of the strong, and shall fill them with shame. And darkness shall be their dwelling, and worms shall be their bed, and they shall have no hope of rising from their beds, because they do not extol the name of the Lord of Spirits.'
As I am tracing the concept of the underworld and resurrection at the moment, this is all fantastic stuff and this text is referred to constantly in the Schweizer book (The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle) that constitutes my current reading first thing in the morning. But my favourite verses are the ones that refer to the dwelling-place of Wisdom ( as usual, a female personification):
'Wisdom found no place where she might dwell; Then a dwelling-place was assigned her in the heavens.
Wisdom went forth to make her dwelling among the children of men, and found no dwelling-place:
Wisdom returned to her place, and took her seat among the angels.
And unrighteousness went forth from her chambers: Whom she sought not she found, and dwelt with them,
As rain in a desert and dew on a thirsty land.'
Wisdom went forth to make her dwelling among the children of men, and found no dwelling-place:
Wisdom returned to her place, and took her seat among the angels.
And unrighteousness went forth from her chambers: Whom she sought not she found, and dwelt with them,
As rain in a desert and dew on a thirsty land.'
Fantastic!
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