seen: and in life I had not rest that I might reveal this mystery, but I wrote it and deposited it under the ground and the foundations of the house of a certain faithful man with whom I used to be in Tarsus a city of Cilicia. And when I was released from this life of time, and stood before my Lord, thus said he unto me: Paul, have we shown all these things unto thee that thou shouldst deposit them under the foundations of a house? Then send and disclose concerning this revelation, that men may read it and turn to the way of truth, that they also may not come to these bitter torments.
And thus was this revelation discovered. . . .
Then follows the history of the finding, which in the other texts is prefixed to the book.]
But this conclusion can hardly be the original one. The Coptic seems in part better. After the words 'rain upon the earth', it continues:
The sufferings which each endureth for God’s sake will God requite unto him twofold. Blessed art thou, Paul, and blessed are the heathen who shall believe through thee. And whilst he was speaking, Enoch (here Enoch replaces Elisha) also came and saluted me and said unto me: The man who endureth suffering for God’s sake, God will not afflict when he goeth out of the world.
Then there are similar meetings with Zacharias and John Baptist, and Abel. Zacharias says:
'I am he whom they killed when I was offering up the offering unto God: and when the angels came for the offering, they carried my body up to God, and no man found my body whither it had been taken.'
Then Adam, taller than the rest, appears. And this seems a suitable finale to the procession of saints.
After this Paul is carried into the third heaven. The angel who is with him changes in appearance and bursts into flames of fire, and a voice forbids Paul to reveal what he has seen.
There is a description of a mysterious vision of an altar with seven eagles of light on the right and seven on. the left. And this is followed by more descriptions of Paradise—partly resembling a vision seen by one Siophanes, in the Book of Bartholomew (p. 185). Some sentences also are taken from, or at least found in, the Apocalypse of Zephaniah. The meek, the prophets, David, all figure again in this episode: last are the martyrs. The conclusion runs thus (in substance):
The angel of the Lord took me up and brought me to the Mount of Olives. I found the apostles assembled and told them all I had seen. They praised God and commanded us, that is me, Mark, and Timothy, to write the revelation. And while they were talking, Christ appeared from the chariot of the cherubim and spoke greetings to Peter, John, and especially
