Levi's Vision of the Heavens

I¹ Levi was conceived in Haran and born there, and after that I came with my father to Shechem.

² And I was young, about twenty years of age, when with Simeon I wrought the vengeance on Hamor for our sister Dinah. ³ And when we were feeding our flocks in Abel-Maul, a spirit of understanding of the Lord came upon me, and I saw all men corrupting their way, and that unrighteousness had built to itself walls, and iniquity sat upon towers; and I grieved for the race of men, and I prayed to the Lord that I might be saved. ⁴ Then there fell upon me a sleep, and I beheld a high mountain: this is the mountain of Aspis in Abel-Maul. ⁵ And behold, the heavens were opened, and an angel of God said to me, Levi, enter. ⁶ And I entered from the first heaven into the second, and I saw there water hanging between the one and the other. ⁷ And I saw a third heaven far brighter than those two, for there was in it a height without bounds. ⁸ And I said to the angel, Wherefore is this? ⁹ And the angel said to me, Marvel not at these, for thou shalt see four other heavens brighter than these, and without comparison, when thou shalt have ascended thither: because thou shalt stand near the Lord, and shalt be His minister, and shall declare His mysteries to men, and shalt proclaim concerning Him who shall redeem Israel; and by thee and Judah shall the Lord appear among men, saving in them every race of men; and of the portion of the Lord shall be thy life, and He shall be thy field and vineyard, fruits, gold, silver.

H¹ear, then, concerning the seven heavens.

² The lowest is for this cause more gloomy, in that it is near all the iniquities of men. ³ The second hath fire, snow, ice, ready for the day of the ordinance of the Lord, in the righteous judgment of God: in it are all the spirits of the retributions for vengeance on the wicked. ⁴ In the third are the hosts of the armies which are ordained for the day of judgment, to work vengeance on the spirits of deceit and of Beliar. ⁵ And the heavens up to the fourth above these are holy, for in the highest of all dwelleth the Great Glory, in the holy of holies, far above all holiness. ⁶ In the heaven next to it are the angels of the presence of the Lord, who minister and make propitiation to the Lord for all the ignorances of the righteous; and they offer to the Lord a reasonable sweet-smelling savour, and a bloodless offering. ⁷ And in the heaven below this are the angels who bear the answers to the angels of the presence of the Lord. ⁸ And in the heaven next to this are thrones, dominions, in which hymns are ever offered to God. ⁹ Therefore, whenever the Lord looketh upon us, all of us are shaken; yea, the heavens, and the earth, and the abysses, are shaken at the presence of His majesty; but the sons of men, regarding not these things, sin, and provoke the Most High.

N¹ow, therefore, know that the Lord will execute judgment upon the sons of men; because when the rocks are rent, and the sun quenched, and the waters dried up, and the fire trembling, and all creation troubled, and the invisible spirits melting away, and the grave spoiled in the suffering of the Most High, men unbelieving will abide in their iniquity, therefore with punishment shall they be judged.

² Therefore the Most High hath heard thy prayer, to separate thee from iniquity, and that thou shouldest become to Him a son, and a servant, and a minister of His presence. ³ A shining light of knowledge shalt thou shine in Jacob, and as the sun shalt thou be to all the seed of Israel. ⁴ And a blessing shall be given to thee, and to all thy seed, until the Lord shall visit all the heathen in the tender mercies of His Son, even for ever. ⁵ Nevertheless thy sons shall lay hands upon Him to crucify Him; and therefore have counsel and understanding been given thee, that thou mightest instruct thy sons concerning Him, because he that blesseth Him shall be blessed, but they that curse Him shall perish.

A¹nd the angel opened to me the gates of heaven, and I saw the holy temple, and the Most High upon a throne of glory.

² And He said to me, Levi, I have given thee the blessings of the priesthood until that I shall come and sojourn in the midst of Israel. ³ Then the angel brought me to the earth, and gave me a shield and a sword, and said, Work vengeance on Shechem because of Dinah, and I will be with thee, because the Lord hath sent me. ⁴ And I destroyed at that time the sons of Hamor, as it is written in the heavenly tablets. ⁵ And I said to Him, I pray Thee, O Lord, tell me Thy name, that I may call upon Thee in a day of tribulation. ⁶ And He said, I am the angel who intercedeth for the race of Israel, that He smite them not utterly, because every evil spirit attacketh it. ⁷ And after these things I was as it were awaked, and blessed the Most High, and the angel that intercedeth for the race of Israel, and for all the righteous.

A¹nd there I saw a thing again even as the former, after we had passed seventy days.

² And I saw seven men in white raiment saying to me, Arise, put on the robe of the priesthood, and the crown of righteousness, and the breastplate of understanding, and the garment of truth, and the diadem of faith, and the tiara of miracle, and the ephod of prophecy. ³ And each one of them bearing each of these things put them on me, and said, From henceforth become a priest of the Lord, thou and thy seed for ever. ⁴ And the first anointed me with holy oil, and gave to me the rod of judgment. ⁵ The second washed me with pure water, and fed me with bread and wine, the most holy things, and clad me with a holy and glorious robe. ⁶ The third clothed me with a linen vestment like to an ephod. ⁷ The fourth put round me a girdle like unto purple. ⁸ The fifth gave to me a branch of rich olive. ⁹ The sixth placed a crown on my head. The seventh placed on my head a diadem of priesthood, and filled my hands with incense, so that I served as a priest to the Lord. ¹⁰ And they said to me, Levi, thy seed shall be divided into three branches, for a sign of the glory of the Lord who is to come; and first shall he be that hath been faithful; no portion shall be greater than his. ¹¹ The second shall be in the priesthood. The third—a new name shall be called over Him, because He shall arise as King from Judah, and shall establish a new priesthood, after the fashion of the Gentiles, to all the Gentiles. ¹² And His appearing shall be unutterable, as of an exalted prophet of the seed of Abraham our father. ¹³ Every desirable thing in Israel shall be for thee and for thy seed, and everything fair to look upon shall ye eat, and the table of the Lord shall thy seed apportion, and some of them shall be high priests, and judges, and scribes; for by their mouth shall the holy place be guarded. ¹⁴ And when I awoke, I understood that this thing was like unto the former. ¹⁵ And I hid this also in my heart, and told it not to any man upon the earth.