The Seven Heavens

A¹nd the vision which Isaiah saw, he told to Hezekiah and Josab his son and Micaiah and the rest of the prophets, (and) said:

² At this moment, when I prophesied according to the (words) heard which ye heard, I saw a glorious angel not like unto the glory of the angels which I used always to see, but possessing such glory and position that I cannot describe the glory of that angel. ³ And having seized me by my hand he raised me on high, and I said unto him: ‘Who art thou, and what is thy name, and whither art thou raising me on high? for strength was given me to speak with him.’ ⁴ And he said unto me: ‘When I have raised thee on high through the (various) degrees and made thee see the vision, on account of which I have been sent, then thou wilt understand who I am: but my name thou dost not know: ⁵ Because thou wilt return into this thy body, but whither I am raising thee on high, thou wilt see; for for this purpose have I been sent.’ ⁶ And I rejoiced because he spake courteously to me. ⁷ And he said unto me: ‘Hast thou rejoiced because I have spoken courteously to thee?’ And he said: ‘And thou wilt see how a greater also than I am will speak courteously and peaceably with thee. ⁸ And His Father also who is greater thou wilt see; for for this purpose have I been sent from the seventh heaven in order to explain all these things unto thee.’ ⁹ And we ascended to the firmament, I and he, and there I saw Sammael and his hosts, and there was great fighting therein and the angels of Satan were envying one another. ¹⁰ And as above so on the earth also; for the likeness of that which is in the firmament is here on the earth. ¹¹ And I said unto the angel (who was with me): ‘(What is this war and) what is this envying?’ ¹² And he said unto me: ‘So has it been since this world was made until now, and this war (will continue) till He, whom thou shalt see will come and destroy him. ¹³ And afterwards he caused me to ascend (to that which is) above the firmament: which is the (first) heaven. ¹⁴ And there I saw a throne in the midst, and on his right and on his left were angels. ¹⁵ And (the angels on the left were) not like unto the angels who stood on the right, but those who stood on the right had the greater glory, and they all praised with one voice, and there was a throne in the midst, and those who were on the left gave praise after them; but their voice was not such as the voice of those on the right, nor their praise like the praise of those. ¹⁶ And I asked the angel who conducted me, and I said unto him: ‘To whom is this praise sent?’ ¹⁷ And he said unto me: ‘(It is sent) to the praise of (Him who sitteth in) the seventh heaven: to Him who rests in the holy world, and to His Beloved, whence I have been sent to thee. Thither is it sent. ¹⁸ And again he made me to ascend to the second heaven. Now the height of that heaven is the same as from the heaven to the earth and to the firmament. ¹⁹ And (I saw there, as) in the first heaven, angels on the right and on the left, and a throne in the midst, and the praise of the angels in the second heaven; and he who sat on the throne in the second heaven was more glorious than all (the rest). ²⁰ And there was great glory in the second heaven, and the praise also was not like the praise of those who were in the first heaven. ²¹ And 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. ²⁴ And he raised me to the third heaven, and in like manner I saw those upon the right and upon the left, and there was a throne there in the midst; but the memorial of this world is there unheard of. ²⁵ And I said to the angel who was with me; for the glory of my appearance was undergoing transformation as I ascended to each heaven in turn: ‘Nothing of the vanity of that world is here named.’ ²⁶ And he answered me, and said unto me: ‘Nothing is named on account of its weakness, and nothing is hidden there of what is done.’ ²⁷ And I wished to learn how it is known, and he answered me saying: ‘When I have raised thee to the seventh heaven whence I was sent, to that which is above these, then thou shalt know that there is nothing hidden from the thrones and from those who dwell in the heavens and from the angels.’ And the praise wherewith they praised and the glory of him who sat on the throne was great, and the glory of the angels on the right hand and on the left was beyond that of the heaven which was below them. ²⁸ And again he raised me to the fourth heaven, and the height from the third to the fourth heaven was greater than from the earth to the firmament. ²⁹ And there again I saw those who were on the right hand and those who were on the left, and him who sat on the throne was in the midst, and there also they were praising. ³⁰ And the praise and glory of the angels on the right was greater than that of those on the left. ³¹ And again the glory of him who sat on the throne was greater than that of the angels on the right, and their glory was beyond that of those who were below. ³² And he raised me to the fifth heaven. ³³ And again I saw those upon the right hand and on the left, and him who sat on the throne possessing greater glory than those of the fourth heaven. ³⁴ And the glory of those on the right hand was greater than that of those on the left from the third to the fourth. ³⁵ And the glory of him who was on the throne was greater than that of the angels on the right hand. ³⁶ And their praise was more glorious than that of the fourth heaven. ³⁷ And I praised Him, who is not named and the Only-begotten who dwelleth in the heavens, whose name is not known to any flesh, who has bestowed such glory on the several heavens, and who makes great the glory of the angels, and more excellent the glory of Him who sitteth on the throne.

A¹nd again he raised me into the air of the sixth heaven, and I saw such glory as I had not seen in the five heavens.

² For I saw angels possessing great glory. ³ And the praise there was holy and wonderful. ⁴ And I said to the angel who conducted me: ‘What is this which I see, my lord?’ ⁵ And he said: ‘I am not thy lord, but thy fellow servant.’ ⁶ And again I asked him, and I said unto him: ‘Why are there not angelic fellow servants (on the left)?’ ⁷ And he said: ‘From the sixth heaven there are no longer angels on the left, nor a throne set in the midst, but (they are directed) by the power of the seventh heaven, where dwelleth He that is not named and the Elect One, whose name has not been made known, and none of the heavens can learn His name. ⁸ For it is He alone to whose voice all the heavens and thrones give answer. I have therefore been empowered and sent to raise thee here that thou mayest see this glory, ⁹ And that thou mayest see the Lord of all those heavens and these thrones, ¹⁰ Undergoing (successive) transformation until He resembles your form and likeness. ¹¹ I indeed say unto thee, Isaiah; No man about to return into a body of that world has ascended or seen what thou seest or perceived what thou hast perceived and what thou wilt see. ¹² For it has been permitted to thee in the lot of the Lord to come hither and from thence comes the power of the sixth heaven and of the air. ¹³ And I magnified my Lord with praise, in that through His lot I should come hither. ¹⁴ And he said: Hear, furthermore, therefore, this also from thy fellow servant; when from the body by the will of God thou hast ascended hither, then thou wilt receive the garment which thou seest, and likewise other numbered garments laid up (there) thou wilt see, ¹⁵ And then thou wilt become equal to the angels of the seventh heaven.’ ¹⁶ And he raised me up into the sixth heaven, and there were no (angels) on the left, nor a throne in the midst, but all had one appearance and their (power of) praise was equal. ¹⁷ And (power) was given to me also, and I also praised along with them and that angel also, and our praise was like theirs. ¹⁸ And there they all named the primal Father and His Beloved, the Christ and the Holy Spirit, all with one voice. ¹⁹ And (their voice) was not like the voice of the angels in the five heavens, ²⁰ Nor like their discourse but the voice was different there, and there was much light there. ²¹ And then, when I was in the sixth heaven I thought the light which I had seen in the five heavens to be but darkness. ²² And I rejoiced and praised Him who hath bestowed such lights on those who wait for His promise. ²³ And I besought the angel who conducted me that I should not henceforth return to the carnal world. ²⁴ I say indeed unto you, Hezekiah and Josab my son and Micaiah that there is much darkness here. ²⁵ And the angel who conducted me discovered what I thought and said: ‘If in this light thou dost rejoice, how much more wilt thou rejoice, when in the seventh heaven thou seest the light, where is the Lord and His Beloved whence I have been sent, who is to be called “Son” in this world. ²⁶ Not (yet) hath been manifested He who shall be in the corruptible world and the garments, and the thrones, and the crowns which are laid up for the righteous, for those who trust in that Lord who will descend in your form. For the light which is there is great and wonderful. ²⁷ And as concerning thy not returning into the body thy days are not yet fulfilled for coming here.’ ²⁸ And when I heard (that) I was troubled, and he said: ‘Do not be troubled.’

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. ¹⁹ And I said unto him that which I had asked him in the third heaven: ²⁰ ‘Show me how everything which is done in that world is here made known.’ ²¹ And whilst I was still speaking with him, behold one of the angels who stood nigh, more glorious than the glory of that angel, who had raised me up from the world, ²² Showed me a book, but not as a book of this world and he opened it, and the book was written, but not as a book of this world. And he gave (it) to me and I read it, and lo! the deeds of the children of Israel were written therein, and the deeds of those whom I know (not), my son Josab. ²³ And I said: ‘In truth, there is nothing hidden in the seventh heaven, which is done in this world.’ ²⁴ And 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.’ ²⁷ And I saw a certain One standing, whose glory surpassed that of all, and His glory was great and wonderful. ²⁸ And after I had seen Him, all the righteous whom I had seen and also the angels whom I had seen came to Him. And Adam and Abel and Seth, and all the righteous first drew near and worshipped Him, and they all praised Him with one voice, and I myself also gave praise with them, and my giving of praise was as theirs. ²⁹ And then all the angels drew nigh and worshipped and gave praise. ³⁰ And I was (again) transformed and became like an angel. ³¹ And thereupon the angel who conducted me, said to me: ‘Worship this One,’ and I worshipped and praised. ³² And the angel said unto me: ‘This is the Lord of all the praisegivings which thou hast seen.’ ³³ And whilst he was still speaking, I saw another Glorious One who was like Him, and the righteous drew nigh and worshipped and praised, and I praised together with them. But my glory was not transformed into accordance with their form. ³⁴ And thereupon the angels drew near and worshipped Him. ³⁵ And I saw the Lord and the second angel, and they were standing. ³⁶ And the second whom I saw was on the left of my Lord. And I asked: ‘Who is this?’ and he said unto me: ‘Worship Him, for He is the angel of the Holy Spirit, who speaketh in thee and the rest of the righteous.’ ³⁷ And I saw the great glory, the eyes of my spirit being open, and I could not thereupon see, nor yet could the angel who was with me, nor all the angels whom I had seen worshipping my Lord. ³⁸ But I saw the righteous beholding with great power the glory of that One. ³⁹ And my Lord drew nigh to me and the angel of the Spirit and He said: ‘See how it is given to thee to see God, and on thy account power is given to the angel who is with thee.’ ⁴⁰ And I saw how my Lord and the angel of the Spirit worshipped, and they both together praised God. ⁴¹ And thereupon all the righteous drew near and worshipped. ⁴² And the angels drew near and worshipped and all the angels praised.

A¹nd thereupon I heard the voices and the giving of praise, which I had heard in each of the six heavens, ascending and being heard there:

² And all were being sent up to that Glorious One whose glory I could not behold. ³ And I myself was hearing and beholding the praise (which was given) to Him. ⁴ And the Lord and the angel of the Spirit were beholding all and hearing all. ⁵ And all the praises which are sent up from the six heavens are not only heard but seen. ⁶ And I heard the angel who conducted me and he said: ‘This is the Most High of the high ones, dwelling in the holy world, and resting in His holy ones, who will be called by the Holy Spirit through the lips of the righteous the Father of the Lord.’ ⁷ And I heard the voice of the Most High the Father of my Lord saying to my Lord Christ who will be called Jesus: ⁸ ‘Go forth and descend through all the heavens, and thou wilt descend to the firmament and that world: to the angel in Sheol thou wilt descend, but to Haguel thou wilt not go. ⁹ And thou wilt become like unto the likeness of all who are in the five heavens. ¹⁰ And thou wilt be careful to become like the form of the angels of the firmament and the angels also who are in Sheol. ¹¹ And none of the angels of that world shall know that Thou art Lord with Me of the seven heavens and of their angels. ¹² And they shall not know that Thou art with Me, till with a loud voice I have called (to) the heavens, and their angels and their lights, (even) unto the sixth heaven, in order that you mayst judge and destroy the princes and angels and gods of that world, and the world that is dominated by them: ¹³ For they have denied Me and said: “We alone are and there is none beside us.” ¹⁴ And afterwards from the angels of death Thou wilt ascend to Thy place, and Thou wilt not be transformed in each heaven, but in glory wilt Thou ascend and sit on My right hand. ¹⁵ And thereupon the princes and powers of that world will worship Thee.’ ¹⁶ These commands I heard the Great Glory giving to my Lord. ¹⁷ And so I saw my Lord go forth from the seventh heaven into the sixth heaven. ¹⁸ And the angel who conducted me from this world was with me and said unto me: ‘Understand, Isaiah, and see how the transformation and descent of the Lord will appear. ¹⁹ And I saw, and when the angels saw Him, thereupon those in the sixth heaven praised and lauded Him; for He had not been transformed after the shape of the angels there, and they praised Him and I also praised with them. ²⁰ And I saw when He descended into the fifth heaven, that in the fifth heaven He made Himself like unto the form of the angels there, and they did not praise Him (nor worship Him); for His form was like unto theirs. ²¹ And then He descended into the fourth heaven, and made Himself like unto the form of the angels there. ²² And when they saw Him, they did not praise or laud Him; for His form was like unto their form. ²³ And again I saw when He descended into the third heaven, and He made Himself like unto the form of the angels in the third heaven. ²⁴ And those who kept the gate of the (third) heaven demanded the password, and the Lord gave (it) to them in order that He should not be recognized. And when they saw Him, they did not praise or laud Him; for His form was like unto their form. ²⁵ And again I saw when He descended into the second heaven, and again He gave the password there; those who kept the gate proceeded to demand and the Lord to give. ²⁶ And I saw when He made Himself like unto the form of the angels in the second heaven, and they saw Him and they did not praise Him; for His form was like unto their form. ²⁷ And again I saw when He descended into the first heaven, and there also He gave the password to those who kept the gate, and He made Himself like unto the form of the angels who were on the left of that throne, and they neither praised nor lauded Him; for His form was like unto their form. ²⁸ But as for me no one asked me on account of the angel who conducted me. ²⁹ And again He descended into the firmament where dwelleth the ruler of this world, and He gave the password to those on the left, and His form was like theirs, and they did not praise Him there; but they were envying one another and fighting; for here there is a power of evil and envying about trifles. ³⁰ And I saw when He descended and made Himself like unto the angels of the air, and He was like one of them. ³¹ And He gave no password; for one was plundering and doing violence to another.

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.