The Apocalypse of Thomas

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Apocalypse of Thomas

"The Apocalypse Of Thomas" is also called "The Revelation of Thomas." The differing names come from the fact that the word rendered "Apocalypse" means to reveal or make known. This is the same title given to the last book of the New Testament. Its title in Greek is best interpreted as "The Apocalypse of John," however the English book carries the title of "The Revelation of John," or simply, "Revelation." Very little of the history of the Apocalypse of Thomas is known. The only reference to it in ancient writings seems to be a single citation by Jerome in his chronicles written in the eighth to ninth century A.D. Two versions of the Apocalypse exist in Latin, the longer version seems to be a later development. The longer text makes use of metaphors and symbols similar to those used in the Book of Revelation. Both texts describe how the Earth will be destroyed and the dead will come back to life in the final days. The composition of the Apocalypse of Thomas has two distinct streams of thought. It is akin to Daniel in its form of prophecy, which describes events contemporary with the author and continues them into the future; yet it is also akin to John The text refers to his two sons whose names begin with A and H. King Theodosius fits the bill and his sons have Latin names corresponding to the letters as follows: "The first is named with the first letter A (as in Arcadius,) the second with the eighth letter H, (as in Honorius.) The first will die before the second." The reference to the Latin alphabet would suggest that it was the original language of composition. This would place the earliest possible date of writing (and most scholars agree) at about 300 - 400 A.D. Several manuscripts and fragments of the Apocalypse of Thomas have been found. The text presented here is the best combination of many texts. Since some are shorter than others and many are fragments, it was thought that by combining all of the better known texts a complete, longer and more complete version could be presented. The version presented here is based on a combination of the best manuscripts and translations found. They include the F. Wilhelm text of 1907, the E. Hauler work on the fifth century Vienna fragment, the Verona manuscript of eighth century, the 1755 Dionisi work, 1911 Dom Biltmeyer text from Munich, and the Anglo-Saxon Old English version at Vercelli.

THE APOCALYPSE OF THOMAS — TEXT

Chapter 1

1. This begins the letter of (from) Yeshua to Thomas. 2. "Hear about the things that must happen in the last times. The world will be shared between kings, then after that when the hour of the end draws near there will be seven days of great signs in heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be moved. 3. There will be famine, war and earthquakes in various places, snow, ice, and tremendous drought. There will be many open conflicts among the peoples, blasphemy, unrighteousness, envy, evil, laziness, pride and excess, and everyone will speak in the manner that he wishes. 4. And my priests will fight among themselves, and will sacrifice to me with minds of deceit. Because of this I will not look upon them. The priests will see the people forsaking the house of Yahweh and turning to the world. 5. They will venture into restricted places in the house of Yahweh. And they will claim many things and places for themselves that were lost and those things and places will become subject to Caesar in the way they were given before as poll-taxes in the cities as it is with gold and silver. 6. And the chief men of the cities will be condemned and their possessions will be brought to the treasury of the kings, and it will be filled. 7. There will be disturbances throughout all the people, and there will be death. The house of Yahweh will be forsaken, and their altars will be despised, so that spiders weave their webs on them. 8. The place of holiness will be dishonored and violated, the priesthood contaminated. Distress will increase and righteousness will be overcome. 9. Happiness will die and gladness will leave. In those days evil will abound. People will cater to those of status and wealth. Hymns will stop coming from the house of Yahweh. Truth will cease. Greed will abound among the priests. No upright man nor an upright priesthood will be found.

Chapter 2

1. Near the last days a king will arise. He will be a lover of the law who will not hold office for long but he will leave two sons. 2. The first is named with the first letter A (as in Arcadius,) the second with the eighth letter H, (as in Honorius.) The first will die before the second. (Arcadius died in 408 A.D.- Honorius in 423 A.D. The somewhat uneventful life of Arcadius is of less importance than the significant developments that occurred during his reign. Born around 377 A.D. to General Theodosius, Arcadius and his younger brother, Honorius, ruled the eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire respectively from 395. Arcadius was proclaimed Augustus in January of 383 at the age of five or six. In the following year, his younger brother was born. Honorius achieved the office of consul posterior in 386. The chance for having his own two sons ruling both halves of Rome not only seemed practical and feasible, but such an arrangement would establish their father as the head of a new dynasty. With thoughts in that direction, Honorius was made Augustus in 393 and accompanied his father west in the summer of 394. Even though Arcadius was nearing maturity and the age of consent he was placed again under the guardianship of the Prefect of the East. In January of 395, Theodosius the Great died and his two sons took theoretical control of the two halves of the Roman Empire.) 3. After this, two princes will arise to oppress the nations. Under their hands a very great famine will occur. The famine will take place in the right-hand section of the east and that nation will rise up against another nation and be driven out from their own borders. 4. Again another king will arise. He will be a deceitful man. He will order a golden image of Caesar to be made, set up, and worshipped in the house of Yahweh. Martyrdoms will be widespread. 5. Then the faith will return to the servants of Yahweh, and holiness will greatly increase but so will distress and pain increase. 6. The mountains will be comforted (will comfort them?) and will drop down the sweetness of fire from its face, so that the (predestined) number of the saints may be completed. 7. After a little space of time a king will arise out of the east. He will be a lover of the law. He will cause all good and necessary things to be in supply within the house of Yahweh. He will show mercy to the widows and the needy. 8. He will order that a royal gift to be given to the priests. In his days (the days of the king) there will be abundance of all things. 9. After that a king will arise, this time in the southern section of the world, and will rule for only a short time. In his days the economy will bankrupt (treasury will fail) because of the wages of the Roman soldiers. And he will order the substance of all the older citizens be taken and given to the king so it could be distributed.

Chapter 3

1. After that there will be plenty of corn and wine and oil, but a tremendous lack of money, so that it would take the substances of gold and silver to buy corn, and there will be tremendous hunger (dearth). (Hyper-inflation is indicated here.) 2. At that time the sea level will rise greatly and communications will be cut off from man to man. The kings, princes and the captains of the earth will be nervous (troubled/ fearful,) and no man will speak freely. 3. Grey hairs will be seen upon boys, and the young men will not respect or listen to the aged. 4. After that will arise another king, a deceitful man, who will rule for a short time. In his days there will be all manner of evils. There will be genocide of the race of men living in the east to Babylon (the death of the race of men from the east to Babylon). 5. Famine and death by the sword will follow from Chanaan (Canaan) to Rome. Then all the springs of water and all the wells will dry up (boil over) and be turned into dust and blood.

Chapter 4

1. The heaven will be moved and the stars will fall upon the earth. The sun will be cut in half like the moon, and the moon will not give light. 2. There will be great signs and wonders in those days when Antichrist draws near. These are the signs for those that live on the earth. In those days the pains of great and hard work like those of a woman in labor will come upon them. 3. Woe to them that build because they will not live in there buildings. 4. Woe to them that plow the ground because they labor for no cause (no results). Woe to them that marry because they will bring forth sons in the famine. 5. Woe to them that join house to house or field to field because all things will be consumed with fire. Woe to them that are not introspective (examine themselves and their actions) while time allows because after this they will be condemned forever. 6. Woe to them that turn away from the poor when he asks. 7. You will know that I am the Father most high and I am the Father of all spirits. As you will see, this is the beginning of the latter age.

Chapter 5

1. These are the seven signs of the ending of this world. There will be in all the earth famine and tremendous disease and sicknesses of vast proportions. 2. All nations will take captives and men will fall by the edge of the sword. 3. The beginning of the days of judgment will make you wonder greatly. 4. At the third hour (The Jewish day starts around 6:00 P.M.) of the first day will be a loud and powerful voice in the firmament (sky/theater of stars) of heaven, and a large cloud of blood will come down out of the north, and loud thunder and powerful lightning will follow the cloud. 5. Blood will rain down on all the earth. These are the signs of the first day. (There is some dispute as to whether this is a literal Sunday or Monday. It is assumed by the editor that Sunday is the first day.) 6. And on the second day there will be a loud voice in the firmament of heaven, and the earth will be moved out of its place and the portals of the eastern part of heaven will be and a great power will be sent forth as if it were belched by the portals of heaven themselves and the power will cover all the heaven even until evening and there will be fear and trembling in the world. 7. These are the signs of the second day. In the third day at about the second hour, there will be a voice in heaven, and the vast depths of the earth will sound their voices from the four corners of the earth. 8. The first heaven will be rolled up like a scroll and will vanish quickly in an instant. 9. Smoke and stench of the brimstone in the chasms will darken the day until the tenth hour. Then all men will say, "I think the end draws near, that we will die." These are the signs of the third day. 10. And on the fourth day at the first hour, the eastern section of the earth will sound, the abyss will roar and all the earth be moved by a strong earthquake. 11. On that day all the idols of the heathen will fall along with all the buildings on earth. These are the signs of the fourth day. 12. And on the fifth day, at the sixth hour the thunder will be loud and sudden in the sky, and the stars (powers of light) and the sphere of the sun will be snatched away, and there will be total (vast) darkness over the world until evening, and the stars will be sent off their course. 13. In that day all nations will hate the world and all men will despise his life on the world. These are the signs of the fifth day. 14. On the sixth day there will be signs in heaven. At the fourth hour the firmament of heaven will be split from east to west. And the angels of the heavens will be looking out on the earth and they will open the heavens. 15. And all men will see the host of the angels above the earth looking out of heaven. Then all men will flee. 16. All men will flee to the mountains and hide themselves from the face of the righteous angels, and will say, "I wish the earth would open and swallow us!" These things will happen like this world has never seen since it was created. 17. Then they will see me coming from above in the light of my Father with the power and honor of the holy angels. 18. At my coming, the fires that border/restrain paradise will be removed because paradise is encompassed with fire. 19. In that, this is the perpetual fire that will consume the earth and all the elements of the world. Then they will be clothed, and be carried by the hand of the holy angels as I have told you before. 20. They will be lifted up in the air on a cloud of light, and will go with me into heaven rejoicing. They will continue in the light and honor of my Father. 21. There be gladness abounding with my Father and before the holy angels. These are the signs of the sixth day.

Chapter 6

1. Then will the spirits and souls of all men come out of paradise and will come on all the earth and every one of them will go to his own body where it is laid up, and every one of them will say, "My body lies here." 2. And when the loud voices of those spirits will be heard, like a huge earthquake (there will be a large earthquake) all over the world. 3. The mountains will be split in two from above and the rocks from beneath. Then every spirit will return into his own vessel and the bodies of the saints who have died (which have fallen asleep) will rise. 4. Then will their bodies be changed into the image and likeness and the honor of the holy angels, and into the power of the image of my holy Father. 5. Then will they be clothed with the garments of life eternal made from the cloud of light which has never been seen in this world, because that cloud came down out of the highest realm of the heaven from the power of my Father. 6. And that cloud will contain the beauty of all the spirits that have believed in me. 7. And on the seventh day at the eighth hour there will be voices in the four corners of the heaven. And all the air will be shaken, and filled with holy angels, and they will make war among the heathen all the day long. And in that day my elect will be sought out by the holy angels and saved from the destruction of the world. Then all men (unbelievers) will see that the hour of their destruction draws near. 8. These are the signs of the seventh day. And when the seven days are passed by, on the eighth day at the sixth hour there will be a sweet and tender voice in heaven from the east. Then that angel will be revealed which has power over all the holy angels and all the angels will go out with him who is sitting upon a chariot made of the clouds of my holy Father and they will rejoice, running upon the air beneath the heaven to deliver the elect that have believed in me. 9. And they will rejoice that the destruction of this world has come. 10. Thomas, you must hear because I am the Son of Yahweh the Father and I am the father of all spirits. You must hear my signs that will come to pass at the end of this world. 11. The end of the world will come and the world will pass away before my elect depart out of the world. I will tell (have told) you openly (plainly) what will come, but when these things will come to pass even the princes of the angels do not know. It is now hidden from their sight as to what day the end will come." 12. The words of the Savior to Thomas are ended, concerning the end of this world.