The Garments, Thrones and Crowns of the Seventh Heaven

A²¹nd I fell on my face to worship him, but the angel who conducted me did not permit me, but said unto me: ‘Worship neither throne nor angel which belongs to the six heavens—for for this cause I was sent to conduct thee—until I tell thee in the seventh heaven,

²² For above all the heavens and their angels has thy throne been placed, and thy garments and thy crown which thou shalt see.’ ²³ And I rejoiced with great joy, that those who love the Most High and His Beloved will afterwards ascend thither by the angel of the Holy Spirit.

A¹nd he took me into the air of the seventh heaven, and moreover I heard a voice saying: ‘How far will he ascend that dwelleth in the flesh?’ and I feared and trembled.

² And when I trembled, behold I heard from hence another voice being sent forth, and saying: ‘It is permitted to the holy Isaiah to ascend hither; for here is his garment.’ ³ And I asked the angel who was with me and said: ‘Who is he who forbade me and who is he who permitted me to ascend?’ ⁴ And he said unto me: ‘He who forbade thee, this is he who is over the praise-giving of the sixth heaven. ⁵ And He who permitted thee, this is thy Lord God, the Lord Christ, who will be called “Jesus” in the world, but His name thou canst not hear till thou hast ascended out of thy body.’ ⁶ And he raised me up into the seventh heaven, and I saw there a wonderful light and angels innumerable. ⁷ And there I saw all the righteous from the time of Adam. ⁸ And there I saw the holy Abel and all the righteous. ⁹ And there I saw Enoch and all who were with him, stript of the garments of the flesh, and I saw them in their garments of the upper world, and they were like angels, standing there in great glory. ¹⁰ But they sat not on their thrones, nor were their crowns of glory on them. ¹¹ And I asked the angel who was with me: ‘How is it that they have received the garments, but have not the thrones and the crowns?’ ¹² And he said unto me: ‘Crowns and thrones of glory they do not receive, till the Beloved will descend in the form in which you will see Him descend, will descend, I say, into the world in the last days the Lord, who will be called Christ. ¹³ Nevertheless they see and know whose will be thrones, and whose the crowns when He has descended, and been made in your form, and they will think that He is flesh and is a man. ¹⁴ And the god of that world will stretch forth his hand against the Son, and they will crucify Him on a tree, and will slay Him not knowing who He is. ¹⁵ And thus His descent, as you will see, will be hidden even from the heavens, so that it will not be known who He is. ¹⁶ And when He hath plundered the angel of death, He will ascend on the third day, and he will remain in that world five hundred and forty-five days. ¹⁷ And then many of the righteous will ascend with Him, whose spirits do not receive their garments till the Lord Christ ascend and they ascend with Him. ¹⁸ Then indeed they will receive their garments and thrones and crowns, when He has ascended into the seventh heaven.

A²⁴nd I saw there many garments laid up, and many thrones and many crowns.

²⁵ And I said to the angel: ‘Whose are these garments and thrones and crowns?’ ²⁶ And he said unto me: ‘These garments many from that world will receive, believing in the words of That One, who shall be named as I told thee, and they will observe those things, and believe in them, and believe in His cross: for them are these laid up.’

A¹⁴nd after (one thousand) three hundred and thirty-two days the Lord will come with His angels and with the armies of the holy ones from the seventh heaven with the glory of the seventh heaven, and He will drag Beliar into Gehenna and also his armies.

¹⁵ And He will give rest to the godly whom He shall find in the body in this world, and the sun will be ashamed: ¹⁶ And to all who because of (their) faith in Him have execrated Beliar and his kings. But the saints will come with the Lord with their garments which are (now) stored up on high in the seventh heaven: with the Lord they will come, whose spirits are clothed, they will descend and be present in the world, and He will strengthen those, who have been found in the body, together with the saints, in the garments of the saints, and the Lord will minister to those who have kept watch in this world. ¹⁷ And afterwards they will turn themselves upward in their garments, and their body will be left in the world.