- On the Afterlife
- On Alcohol
- On Angels and Demons
- On the Ark of the Covenant
- On Death
- On Discipline from God
- On the End Times
- On God's Timing of the End
- On Giving
- On the Holy Spirit
- On Jesus
- On the Mysteries of God
- On the Nature of Man
- On Nephilim
- On Satan
On the Afterlife
Wisdom 3:1-6
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.
In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace. For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality.
And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself. As gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering.
On Alcohol
Tobit 4:15
Do that to no man which thou hatest: drink not wine to make thee drunken: neither let drunkenness go with thee in thy journey.
Sirach 31:27-31
Wine is as good as life to a man, if it be drunk moderately: what life is then to a man that is without wine? for it was made to make men glad.
Wine measurably drunk and in season bringeth gladness of the heart, and cheerfulness of the mind: But wine drunken with excess maketh bitterness of the mind, with brawling and quarrelling. Drunkenness increaseth the rage of a fool till he offend: it diminisheth strength, and maketh wounds.
Rebuke not thy neighbour at the wine, and despise him not in his mirth: give him no despiteful words, and press not upon him with urging him [to drink.]
On Angels and Demons
Tobit 3:8
Sara the daughter of Raguel had been married to seven husbands, whom Asmodeus the evil spirit had killed before they had lain with her. Dost thou not know, said they, that thou hast strangled thine husbands? thou hast had already seven husbands, neither wast thou named after any of them.
Tobit 3:17
And Raphael was sent to heal them both, that is, to scale away the whiteness of Tobit's eyes, and to give Sara the daughter of Raguel for a wife to Tobias the son of Tobit; and to bind Asmodeus the evil spirit; because she belonged to Tobias by right of inheritance.
Tobit 6:6-7
Then the young man said to the angel, Brother Azarias, to what use is the heart and the liver and the gal of the fish? And he said unto him, Touching the heart and the liver, if a devil or an evil spirit trouble any, we must make a smoke thereof before the man or the woman, and the party shall be no more vexed.
Tobit 12:15
I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.
On the Ark of the Covenant
2 Maccabees 2:4-8
It was also contained in the same writing, that the prophet [Jeremiah], being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of God. And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door.
And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it. Which when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying, As for that place, it shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy. Then shall the Lord shew them these things, and the glory of the Lord shall appear, and the cloud also, as it was shewed under Moses, and as when Solomon desired that the place might be honourably sanctified.
On Death
Wisdom 1:13-16
For God made not death: neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the living. For he created all things, that they might have their being: and the generations of the world were healthful; and there is no poison of destruction in them, nor the kingdom of death upon the earth: (For righteousness is immortal:) But ungodly men with their works and words called it to them: for when they thought to have it their friend, they consumed to nought, and made a covenant with it, because they are worthy to take part with it.
On Discipline from God
Sirach 39:28-30
There be spirits that are created for vengeance, which in their fury lay on sore strokes; in the time of destruction they pour out their force, and appease the wrath of him that made them. Fire, and hail, and famine, and death, all these were created for vengeance; teeth of wild beasts, and scorpions, serpents, and the sword punishing the wicked to destruction.
Sirach 40:9-10
Death, and bloodshed, strife, and sword, calamities, famine, tribulation, and the scourge; these things are created for the wicked, and for their sakes came the flood.
On the End Times
2 Esdras 2:10 Thus saith the Lord unto Esdras, Tell my people that I will give them the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I would have given unto Israel.
2 Esdr 2:11 Their glory also will I take unto me, and give these the everlasting tabernacles, which I had prepared for them.
2 Esdr 2:12 They shall have the tree of life for an ointment of sweet savour; they shall neither labour, nor be weary.
2 Esdr 2:13 Go, and ye shall receive: pray for few days unto you, that they may be shortened: the kingdom is already prepared for you: watch.
2 Esdr 2:14 Take heaven and earth to witness; for I have broken the evil in pieces, and created the good: for I live, saith the Lord.
2 Esdr 2:15 Mother, embrace thy children, and bring them up with gladness, make their feet as fast as a pillar: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord.
2 Esdr 2:16 And those that be dead will I raise up again from their places, and bring them out of the graves: for I have known my name in Israel.
2 Esdr 2:17 Fear not, thou mother of the children: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord.
2 Esdr 2:18 For thy help will I send my servants Esau and Jeremy, after whose counsel I have sanctified and prepared for thee twelve trees laden with divers fruits,
2 Esdr 2:19
And as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven
mighty mountains, whereupon there grow roses and lilies, whereby
I will fill thy children with joy.
2 Esdr 2:20 Do right to the widow, judge for the fatherless, give to the poor, defend the orphan, clothe the naked,
2 Esdr 2:21 Heal the broken and the weak, laugh not a lame man to scorn, defend the maimed, and let the blind man come into the sight of my clearness.
2 Esdr 2:22 Keep the old and young within thy walls.
2 Esdr 2:23 Wheresoever thou findest the dead, take them and bury them, and I will give thee the first place in my resurrection.
2 Esdr 2:24 Abide still, O my people, and take thy rest, for thy quietness still come.
2 Esdr 2:25 Nourish thy children, O thou good nurse; stablish their feet.
2 Esdr 2:26 As for the servants whom I have given thee, there shall not one of them perish; for I will require them from among thy number.
2 Esdr 2:27 Be not weary: for when the day of trouble and heaviness cometh, others shall weep and be sorrowful, but thou shalt be merry and have abundance.
2 Esdr 2:28 The heathen shall envy thee, but they shall be able to do nothing against thee, saith the Lord.
2 Esdr 2:29 My hands shall cover thee, so that thy children shall not see hell.
2 Esdr 2:30 Be joyful, O thou mother, with thy children; for I will deliver thee, saith the Lord.
2 Esdr 2:31 Remember thy children that sleep, for I shall bring them out of the sides of the earth, and shew mercy unto them: for I am merciful, saith the Lord Almighty.
2 Esdr 2:32 Embrace thy children until I come and shew mercy unto them: for my wells run over, and my grace shall not fail.
2 Esdr 2:33 I Esdras received a charge of the Lord upon the mount Oreb, that I should go unto Israel; but when I came unto them, they set me at nought, and despised the commandment of the Lord.
2 Esdr 2:34 And therefore I say unto you, O ye heathen, that hear and understand, look for your Shepherd, he shall give you everlasting rest; for he is nigh at hand, that shall come in the end of the world.
2 Esdr 2:35 Be ready to the reward of the kingdom, for the everlasting light shall shine upon you for evermore.
2 Esdr 2:36 Flee the shadow of this world, receive the joyfulness of your glory: I testify my Saviour openly.
2 Esdr 2:37 O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks unto him that hath led you to the heavenly kingdom.
2 Esdr 2:38 Arise up and stand, behold the number of those that be sealed in the feast of the Lord;
2 Esdr 2:39 Which are departed from the shadow of the world, and have received glorious garments of the Lord.
2 Esdr 2:40 Take thy number, O Sion, and shut up those of thine that are clothed in white, which have fulfilled the law of the Lord.
2 Esdr 2:41 The number of thy children, whom thou longedst for, is fulfilled: beseech the power of the Lord, that thy people, which have been called from the beginning, may be hallowed.
2 Esdr 4:45 Shew me then whether there be more to come than is past, or more past than is to come.
2 Esdr 4:46 What is past I know, but what is for to come I know not.
2 Esdr 4:47 And he said unto me, Stand up upon the right side, and I shall expound the similitude unto thee.
2 Esdr 4:48 So I stood, and saw, and, behold, an hot burning oven passed by before me: and it happened that when the flame was gone by I looked, and, behold, the smoke remained still.
2 Esdr 4:49 After this there passed by before me a watery cloud, and sent down much rain with a storm; and when the stormy rain was past, the drops remained still.
2 Esdr 4:50 Then said he unto me, Consider with thyself; as the rain is more than the drops, and as the fire is greater than the smoke; but the drops and the smoke remain behind: so the quantity which is past did more exceed.
2 Esdr 4:51 Then I prayed, and said, May I live, thinkest thou, until that time? or what shall happen in those days?
2 Esdr 4:52 He answered me, and said, As for the tokens whereof thou askest me, I may tell thee of them in part: but as touching thy life, I am not sent to shew thee; for I do not know it.
2 Esdr 5:1 Nevertheless as coming the tokens, behold, the days shall come, that they which dwell upon earth shall be taken in a great number, and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith.
2 Esdr 5:2 But iniquity shall be increased above that which now thou seest, or that thou hast heard long ago.
2 Esdr 5:3 And the land, that thou seest now to have root, shalt thou see wasted suddenly.
2 Esdr 5:4 But if the most High grant thee to live, thou shalt see after the third trumpet that the sun shall suddenly shine again in the night, and the moon thrice in the day:
2 Esdr 5:5 And blood shall drop out of wood, and the stone shall give his voice, and the people shall be troubled:
2 Esdr 5:6 And even he shall rule, whom they look not for that dwell upon the earth, and the fowls shall take their flight away together:
2 Esdr 5:7 And the Sodomitish sea shall cast out fish, and make a noise in the night, which many have not known: but they shall all hear the voice thereof.
2 Esdr 5:8 There shall be a confusion also in many places, and the fire shall be oft sent out again, and the wild beasts shall change their places, and menstruous women shall bring forth monsters:
2 Esdr 5:9 And salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends shall destroy one another; then shall wit hide itself, and understanding withdraw itself into his secret chamber,
2 Esdr 5:10 And shall be sought of many, and yet not be found: then shall unrighteousness and incontinency be multiplied upon earth.
2 Esdr 5:11
One land also shall ask another, and say, Is righteousness
that maketh a man righteous gone through thee? And it shall say,
No.
2 Esdr 5:12 At the same time shall men hope, but nothing obtain: they shall labour, but their ways shall not prosper.
2 Esdr 6:18 And it said, Behold, the days come, that I will begin to draw nigh, and to visit them that dwell upon the earth,
2 Esdr 6:19 And will begin to make inquisition of them, what they be that have hurt unjustly with their unrighteousness, and when the affliction of Sion shall be fulfilled;
2 Esdr 6:20 And when the world, that shall begin to vanish away, shall be finished, then will I shew these tokens: the books shall be opened before the firmament, and they shall see all together:
2 Esdr 6:21 And the children of a year old shall speak with their voices, the women with child shall bring forth untimely children of three or four months old, and they shall live, and be raised up.
2 Esdr 6:22 And suddenly shall the sown places appear unsown, the full storehouses shall suddenly be found empty:
2 Esdr 6:23 And tha trumpet shall give a sound, which when every man heareth, they shall be suddenly afraid.
2 Esdr 6:24 At that time shall friends fight one against another like enemies, and the earth shall stand in fear with those that dwell therein, the springs of the fountains shall stand still, and in three hours they shall not run.
2 Esdr 6:25 Whosoever remaineth from all these that I have told thee shall escape, and see my salvation, and the end of your world.
2 Esdr 6:26 And the men that are received shall see it, who have not tasted death from their birth: and the heart of the inhabitants shall be changed, and turned into another meaning.
2 Esdr 6:27 For evil shall be put out, and deceit shall be quenched.
2 Esdr 6:28 As for faith, it shall flourish, corruption shall be overcome, and the truth, which hath been so long without fruit, shall be declared.
2 Esdr 7:26 Behold, the time shall come, that these tokens which I have told thee shall come to pass, and the bride shall appear, and she coming forth shall be seen, that now is withdrawn from the earth.
2 Esdr 7:27 And whosoever is delivered from the foresaid evils shall see my wonders.
2 Esdr 7:28 For my son Jesus shall be revealed with those that be with him, and they that remain shall rejoice within four hundred years.
2 Esdr 7:29 After these years shall my son Christ die, and all men that have life.
2 Esdr 7:30 And the world shall be turned into the old silence seven days, like as in the former judgments: so that no man shall remain.
2 Esdr 7:31 And after seven days the world, that yet awaketh not, shall be raised up, and that shall die that is corrupt
2 Esdr 7:32 And the earth shall restore those that are asleep in her, and so shall the dust those that dwell in silence, and the secret places shall deliver those souls that were committed unto them.
2 Esdr 7:33 And the most High shall appear upon the seat of judgment, and misery shall pass away, and the long suffering shall have an end:
2 Esdr 7:34 But judgment only shall remain, truth shall stand, and faith shall wax strong:
2 Esdr 7:35 And the work shall follow, and the reward shall be shewed, and the good deeds shall be of force, and wicked deeds shall bear no rule.
2 Esdr 9:1 He answered me then, and said, Measure thou the time diligently in itself: and when thou seest part of the signs past, which I have told thee before,
2 Esdr 9:2 Then shalt thou understand, that it is the very same time, wherein the Highest will begin to visit the world which he made.
2 Esdr 9:3 Therefore when there shall be seen earthquakes and uproars of the people in the world:
2 Esdr 9:4 Then shalt thou well understand, that the most High spake of those things from the days that were before thee, even from the beginning.
2 Esdr 9:5 For like as all that is made in the world hath a beginning and an end, and the end is manifest:
2 Esdr 9:6 Even so the times also of the Highest have plain beginnings in wonder and powerful works, and endings in effects and signs.
2 Esdr 9:7 And every one that shall be saved, and shall be able to escape by his works, and by faith, whereby ye have believed,
2 Esdr 9:8 Shall be preserved from the said perils, and shall see my salvation in my land, and within my borders: for I have sanctified them for me from the beginning.
2 Esdr 9:9 Then shall they be in pitiful case, which now have abused my ways: and they that have cast them away despitefully shall dwell in torments.
2 Esdr 9:10 For such as in their life have received benefits, and have not known me;
2 Esdr 9:11 And they that have loathed my law, while they had yet liberty, and, when as yet place of repentance was open unto them, understood not, but despised it;
2 Esdr 9:12 The same must know it after death by pain.
2 Esdr 9:13 And therefore be thou not curious how the ungodly shall be punished, and when: but enquire how the righteous shall be saved, whose the world is, and for whom the world is created.
2 Esdr 12:13 Behold, the days will come, that there shall rise up a kingdom upon earth, and it shall be feared above all the kingdoms that were before it.
2 Esdr 12:14 In the same shall twelve kings reign, one after another:
2 Esdr 12:15 Whereof the second shall begin to reign, and shall have more time than any of the twelve.
2 Esdr 12:16 And this do the twelve wings signify, which thou sawest.
2 Esdr 12:17 As for the voice which thou heardest speak, and that thou sawest not to go out from the heads but from the midst of the body thereof, this is the interpretation:
2 Esdr 12:18 That after the time of that kingdom there shall arise great strivings, and it shall stand in peril of failing: nevertheless it shall not then fall, but shall be restored again to his beginning.
2 Esdr 12:19 And whereas thou sawest the eight small under feathers sticking to her wings, this is the interpretation:
2 Esdr 12:20 That in him there shall arise eight kings, whose times shall be but small, and their years swift.
2 Esdr 12:21 And two of them shall perish, the middle time approaching: four shall be kept until their end begin to approach: but two shall be kept unto the end.
2 Esdr 12:22 And whereas thou sawest three heads resting, this is the interpretation:
2 Esdr 12:23 In his last days shall the most High raise up three kingdoms, and renew many things therein, and they shall have the dominion of the earth,
2 Esdr 12:24 And of those that dwell therein, with much oppression, above all those that were before them: therefore are they called the heads of the eagle.
2 Esdr 12:25 For these are they that shall accomplish his wickedness, and that shall finish his last end.
2 Esdr 12:26 And whereas thou sawest that the great head appeared no more, it signifieth that one of them shall die upon his bed, and yet with pain.
2 Esdr 12:27 For the two that remain shall be slain with the sword.
2 Esdr 12:28 For the sword of the one shall devour the other: but at the last shall he fall through the sword himself.
2 Esdr 12:29 And whereas thou sawest two feathers under the wings passing over the head that is on the right side;
2 Esdr 12:30 It signifieth that these are they, whom the Highest hath kept unto their end: this is the small kingdom and full of trouble, as thou sawest.
2 Esdr 12:31 And the lion, whom thou sawest rising up out of the wood, and roaring, and speaking to the eagle, and rebuking her for her unrighteousness with all the words which thou hast heard;
2 Esdr 12:32 This is the anointed, which the Highest hath kept for them and for their wickedness unto the end: he shall reprove them, and shall upbraid them with their cruelty.
2 Esdr 12:33 For he shall set them before him alive in judgment, and shall rebuke them, and correct them.
2 Esdr 12:34 For the rest of my people shall he deliver with mercy, those that have been pressed upon my borders, and he shall make them joyful until the coming of the day of judgment, whereof I have spoken unto thee from the the beginning.
2 Esdr 13:1 And it came to pass after seven days, I dreamed a dream by night:
2 Esdr 13:2 And, lo, there arose a wind from the sea, that it moved all the waves thereof.
2 Esdr 13:3 And I beheld, and, lo, that man waxed strong with the thousands of heaven: and when he turned his countenance to look, all the things trembled that were seen under him.
2 Esdr 13:4 And whensoever the voice went out of his mouth, all they burned that heard his voice, like as the earth faileth when it feeleth the fire.
2 Esdr 13:5 And after this I beheld, and, lo, there was gathered together a multitude of men, out of number, from the four winds of the heaven, to subdue the man that came out of the sea
2 Esdr 13:6 But I beheld, and, lo, he had graved himself a great mountain, and flew up upon it.
2 Esdr 13:7 But I would have seen the region or place whereout the hill was graven, and I could not.
2 Esdr 13:8 And after this I beheld, and, lo, all they which were gathered together to subdue him were sore afraid, and yet durst fight.
2 Esdr 13:9 And, lo, as he saw the violence of the multitude that came, he neither lifted up his hand, nor held sword, nor any instrument of war:
2 Esdr 13:10 But only I saw that he sent out of his mouth as it had been a blast of fire, and out of his lips a flaming breath, and out of his tongue he cast out sparks and tempests.
2 Esdr 13:11 And they were all mixed together; the blast of fire, the flaming breath, and the great tempest; and fell with violence upon the multitude which was prepared to fight, and burned them up every one, so that upon a sudden of an innumerable multitude nothing was to be perceived, but only dust and smell of smoke: when I saw this I was afraid.
2 Esdr 13:12 Afterward saw I the same man come down from the mountain, and call unto him another peaceable Multitude.
2 Esdr 13:13 And there came much people unto him, whereof some were glad, some were sorry, and some of them were bound, and other some brought of them that were offered: …
2 Esdr 13:21 The interpretation of the vision shall I shew thee, and I will open unto thee the thing that thou hast required.
2 Esdr 13:22 Whereas thou hast spoken of them that are left behind, this is the interpretation:
2 Esdr 13:23 He that shall endure the peril in that time hath kept himself: they that be fallen into danger are such as have works, and faith toward the Almighty.
2 Esdr 13:24 Know this therefore, that they which be left behind are more blessed than they that be dead.
2 Esdr 13:25 This is the meaning of the vision: Whereas thou sawest a man coming up from the midst of the sea:
2 Esdr 13:26 The same is he whom God the Highest hath kept a great season, which by his own self shall deliver his creature: and he shall order them that are left behind.
2 Esdr 13:27 And whereas thou sawest, that out of his mouth there came as a blast of wind, and fire, and storm;
2 Esdr 13:28 And that he held neither sword, nor any instrument of war, but that the rushing in of him destroyed the whole multitude that came to subdue him; this is the interpretation:
2 Esdr 13:29 Behold, the days come, when the most High will begin to deliver them that are upon the earth.
2 Esdr 13:30 And he shall come to the astonishment of them that dwell on the earth.
2 Esdr 13:31 And one shall undertake to fight against another, one city against another, one place against another, one people against another, and one realm against another.
2 Esdr 13:32 And the time shall be when these things shall come to pass, and the signs shall happen which I shewed thee before, and then shall my Son be declared, whom thou sawest as a man ascending.
2 Esdr 13:33 And when all the people hear his voice, every man shall in their own land leave the battle they have one against another.
2 Esdr 13:34 And an innumerable multitude shall be gathered together, as thou sawest them, willing to come, and to overcome him by fighting.
2 Esdr 13:35 But he shall stand upon the top of the mount Sion.
2 Esdr 13:36 And Sion shall come, and shall be shewed to all men, being prepared and builded, like as thou sawest the hill graven without hands.
2 Esdr 13:37 And this my Son shall rebuke the wicked inventions of those nations, which for their wicked life are fallen into the tempest;
2 Esdr 13:38 And shall lay before them their evil thoughts, and the torments wherewith they shall begin to be tormented, which are like unto a flame: and he shall destroy them without labour by the law which is like unto me.
2 Esdr 13:39 And whereas thou sawest that he gathered another peaceable multitude unto him;
2 Esdr 13:40 Those are the ten tribes, which were carried away prisoners out of their own land in the time of Osea the king, whom Salmanasar the king of Assyria led away captive, and he carried them over the waters, and so came they into another land.
2 Esdr 13:41 But they took this counsel among themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further country, where never mankind dwelt,
2 Esdr 13:42 That they might there keep their statutes, which they never kept in their own land.
2 Esdr 13:43 And they entered into Euphrates by the narrow places of the river.
2 Esdr 13:44 For the most High then shewed signs for them, and held still the flood, till they were passed over.
2 Esdr 13:45 For through that country there was a great way to go, namely, of a year and a half: and the same region is called Arsareth.
2 Esdr 13:46 Then dwelt they there until the latter time; and now when they shall begin to come,
2 Esdr 13:47 The Highest shall stay the springs of the stream again, that they may go through: therefore sawest thou the multitude with peace.
2 Esdr 13:48 But those that be left behind of thy people are they that are found within my borders.
2 Esdr 13:49 Now when he destroyeth the multitude of the nations that are gathered together, he shall defend his people that remain.
2 Esdr 13:50 And then shall he shew them great wonders.
2 Esdr 13:51
2 Esdr 15:28 Behold an horrible vision, and the appearance thereof from the east:
2 Esdr 15:29 Where the nations of the dragons of Arabia shall come out with many chariots, and the multitude of them shall be carried as the wind upon earth, that all they which hear them may fear and tremble.
2 Esdr 15:30 Also the Carmanians raging in wrath shall go forth as the wild boars of the wood, and with great power shall they come, and join battle with them, and shall waste a portion of the land of the Assyrians.
2 Esdr 15:31 And then shall the dragons have the upper hand, remembering their nature; and if they shall turn themselves, conspiring together in great power to persecute them,
2 Esdr 15:32 Then these shall be troubled bled, and keep silence through their power, and shall flee.
2 Esdr 15:33 And from the land of the Assyrians shall the enemy besiege them, and consume some of them, and in their host shall be fear and dread, and strife among their kings.
2 Esdr 15:34 Behold clouds from the east and from the north unto the south, and they are very horrible to look upon, full of wrath and storm.
2 Esdr 15:35 They shall smite one upon another, and they shall smite down a great multitude of stars upon the earth, even their own star; and blood shall be from the sword unto the belly,
2 Esdr 15:36 And dung of men unto the camel's hough.
2 Esdr 15:37 And there shall be great fearfulness and trembling upon earth: and they that see the wrath shall be afraid, and trembling shall come upon them.
2 Esdr 15:38 And then shall there come great storms from the south, and from the north, and another part from the west.
2 Esdr 15:39 And strong winds shall arise from the east, and shall open it; and the cloud which he raised up in wrath, and the star stirred to cause fear toward the east and west wind, shall be destroyed.
2 Esdr 15:40 The great and mighty clouds shall be puffed up full of wrath, and the star, that they may make all the earth afraid, and them that dwell therein; and they shall pour out over every high and eminent place an horrible star,
2 Esdr 15:41 Fire, and hail, and flying swords, and many waters, that all fields may be full, and all rivers, with the abundance of great waters.
2 Esdr 15:42 And they shall break down the cities and walls, mountains and hills, trees of the wood, and grass of the meadows, and their corn.
2 Esdr 15:43 And they shall go stedfastly unto Babylon, and make her afraid.
2 Esdr 15:44 They shall come to her, and besiege her, the star and all wrath shall they pour out upon her: then shall the dust and smoke go up unto the heaven, and all they that be about her shall bewail her.
2 Esdr 15:45 And they that remain under her shall do service unto them that have put her in fear.
2 Esdr 15:46 And thou, Asia, that art partaker of the hope of Babylon, and art the glory of her person:
2 Esdr 15:47 Woe be unto thee, thou wretch, because thou hast made thyself like unto her; and hast decked thy daughters in whoredom, that they might please and glory in thy lovers, which have always desired to commit whoredom with thee.
2 Esdr 15:48 Thou hast followed her that is hated in all her works and inventions: therefore saith God,
2 Esdr 15:49 I will send plagues upon thee; widowhood, poverty, famine, sword, and pestilence, to waste thy houses with destruction and death.
2 Esdr 15:50 And the glory of thy Power shall be dried up as a flower, the heat shall arise that is sent over thee.
2 Esdr 15:51 Thou shalt be weakened as a poor woman with stripes, and as one chastised with wounds, so that the mighty and lovers shall not be able to receive thee.
2 Esdr 15:52 Would I with jealousy have so proceeded against thee, saith the Lord,
2 Esdr 15:53 If thou hadst not always slain my chosen, exalting the stroke of thine hands, and saying over their dead, when thou wast drunken,
2 Esdr 15:54 Set forth the beauty of thy countenance?
2 Esdr 15:55 The reward of thy whoredom shall be in thy bosom, therefore shalt thou receive recompence.
2 Esdr 15:56 Like as thou hast done unto my chosen, saith the Lord, even so shall God do unto thee, and shall deliver thee into mischief
2 Esdr 15:57 Thy children shall die of hunger, and thou shalt fall through the sword: thy cities shall be broken down, and all thine shall perish with the sword in the field.
2 Esdr 15:58 They that be in the mountains shall die of hunger, and eat their own flesh, and drink their own blood, for very hunger of bread, and thirst of water.
2 Esdr 15:59 Thou as unhappy shalt come through the sea, and receive plagues again.
2 Esdr 15:60 And in the passage they shall rush on the idle city, and shall destroy some portion of thy land, and consume part of thy glory, and shall return to Babylon that was destroyed.
2 Esdr 15:61 And thou shalt be cast down by them as stubble, and they shall be unto thee as fire;
2 Esdr 15:62 And shall consume thee, and thy cities, thy land, and thy mountains; all thy woods and thy fruitful trees shall they burn up with fire.
2 Esdr 15:63 Thy children shall they carry away captive, and, look, what thou hast, they shall spoil it, and mar the beauty of thy face.
2 Esdr 16:1 Woe be unto thee, Babylon, and Asia! woe be unto thee, Egypt and Syria!
2 Esdr 16:2 Gird up yourselves with cloths of sack and hair, bewail your children, and be sorry; for your destruction is at hand.
2 Esdr 16:3 A sword is sent upon you, and who may turn it back?
2 Esdr 16:4 A fire is sent among you, and who may quench it?
2 Esdr 16:5 Plagues are sent unto you, and what is he that may drive them away?
2 Esdr 16:6 May any man drive away an hungry lion in the wood? or may any one quench the fire in stubble, when it hath begun to burn?
2 Esdr 16:7 May one turn again the arrow that is shot of a strong archer?
2 Esdr 16:8 The mighty Lord sendeth the plagues and who is he that can drive them away?
2 Esdr 16:9 A fire shall go forth from his wrath, and who is he that may quench it?
2 Esdr 16:10 He shall cast lightnings, and who shall not fear? he shall thunder, and who shall not be afraid?
2 Esdr 16:11 The Lord shall threaten, and who shall not be utterly beaten to powder at his presence?
2 Esdr 16:12 The earth quaketh, and the foundations thereof; the sea ariseth up with waves from the deep, and the waves of it are troubled, and the fishes thereof also, before the Lord, and before the glory of his power:
2 Esdr 16:13 For strong is his right hand that bendeth the bow, his arrows that he shooteth are sharp, and shall not miss, when they begin to be shot into the ends of the world.
2 Esdr 16:14 Behold, the plagues are sent, and shall not return again, until they come upon the earth.
2 Esdr 16:15 The fire is kindled, and shall not be put out, till it consume the foundation of the earth.
2 Esdr 16:16 Like as an arrow which is shot of a mighty archer returneth not backward: even so the plagues that shall be sent upon earth shall not return again.
2 Esdr 16:17 Woe is me! woe is me! who will deliver me in those days?
2 Esdr 16:18 The beginning of sorrows and great mournings; the beginning of famine and great death; the beginning of wars, and the powers shall stand in fear; the beginning of evils! what shall I do when these evils shall come?
2 Esdr 16:19 Behold, famine and plague, tribulation and anguish, are sent as scourges for amendment.
2 Esdr 16:20 But for all these things they shall not turn from their wickedness, nor be always mindful of the scourges.
2 Esdr 16:21 Behold, victuals shall be so good cheap upon earth, that they shall think themselves to be in good case, and even then shall evils grow upon earth, sword, famine, and great confusion.
2 Esdr 16:22 For many of them that dwell upon earth shall perish of famine; and the other, that escape the hunger, shall the sword destroy.
2 Esdr 16:23 And the dead shall be cast out as dung, and there shall be no man to comfort them: for the earth shall be wasted, and the cities shall be cast down.
2 Esdr 16:24 There shall be no man left to till the earth, and to sow it
2 Esdr 16:25 The trees shall give fruit, and who shall gather them?
2 Esdr 16:26 The grapes shall ripen, and who shall tread them? for all places shall be desolate of men:
2 Esdr 16:27 So that one man shall desire to see another, and to hear his voice.
2 Esdr 16:28 For of a city there shall be ten left, and two of the field, which shall hide themselves in the thick groves, and in the clefts of the rocks.
2 Esdr 16:29 As in an orchard of Olives upon every tree there are left three or four olives;
2 Esdr 16:30 Or as when a vineyard is gathered, there are left some clusters of them that diligently seek through the vineyard:
2 Esdr 16:31 Even so in those days there shall be three or four left by them that search their houses with the sword.
2 Esdr 16:32 And the earth shall be laid waste, and the fields thereof shall wax old, and her ways and all her paths shall grow full of thorns, because no man shall travel therethrough.
2 Esdr 16:33 The virgins shall mourn, having no bridegrooms; the women shall mourn, having no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, having no helpers.
2 Esdr 16:34 In the wars shall their bridegrooms be destroyed, and their husbands shall perish of famine.
2 Esdr 16:35
Hear now these things and understand them, ye servants of the
Lord.
2 Esdr 16:36 Behold, the word of the Lord, receive it: believe not the gods of whom the Lord spake.
2 Esdr 16:37 Behold, the plagues draw nigh, and are not slack.
2 Esdr 16:38 As when a woman with child in the ninth month bringeth forth her son, with two or three hours of her birth great pains compass her womb, which pains, when the child cometh forth, they slack not a moment:
2 Esdr 16:39 Even so shall not the plagues be slack to come upon the earth, and the world shall mourn, and sorrows shall come upon it on every side.
2 Esdr 16:40 O my people, hear my word: make you ready to thy battle, and in those evils be even as pilgrims upon the earth.
2 Esdr 16:41 He that selleth, let him be as he that fleeth away: and he that buyeth, as one that will lose:
2 Esdr 16:42 He that occupieth merchandise, as he that hath no profit by it: and he that buildeth, as he that shall not dwell therein:
2 Esdr 16:43 He that soweth, as if he should not reap: so also he that planteth the vineyard, as he that shall not gather the grapes:
2 Esdr 16:44 They that marry, as they that shall get no children; and they that marry not, as the widowers.
2 Esdr 16:45 And therefore they that labour labour in vain:
2 Esdr 16:46 For strangers shall reap their fruits, and spoil their goods, overthrow their houses, and take their children captives, for in captivity and famine shall they get children.
2 Esdr 16:47 And they that occupy their merchandise with robbery, the more they deck their cities, their houses, their possessions, and their own persons:
2 Esdr 16:48
The more will I be angry with them for their sin, saith the
Lord.
2 Esdr 16:49 Like as a whore envieth a right honest and virtuous woman:
2 Esdr 16:50 So shall righteousness hate iniquity, when she decketh herself, and shall accuse her to her face, when he cometh that shall defend him that diligently searcheth out every sin upon earth.
2 Esdr 16:51 And therefore be ye not like thereunto, nor to the works thereof.
2 Esdr 16:52 For yet a little, and iniquity shall be taken away out of the earth, and righteousness shall reign among you.
2 Esdr 16:67 Behold, God himself is the judge, fear him: leave off from your sins, and forget your iniquities, to meddle no more with them for ever: so shall God lead you forth, and deliver you from all trouble.
2 Esdr 16:68 For, behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is kindled over you, and they shall take away certain of you, and feed you, being idle, with things offered unto idols.
2 Esdr 16:69 And they that consent unto them shall be had in derision and in reproach, and trodden under foot.
2 Esdr 16:70 For there shall be in every place, and in the next cities, a great insurrection upon those that fear the Lord.
2 Esdr 16:71 They shall be like mad men, sparing none, but still spoiling and destroying those that fear the Lord.
2 Esdr 16:72 For they shall waste and take away their goods, and cast them out of their houses.
2 Esdr 16:73 Then shall they be known, who are my chosen; and they shall be tried as the gold in the fire.
2 Esdr 16:74 Hear, O ye my beloved, saith the Lord: behold, the days of trouble are at hand, but I will deliver you from the same.
2 Esdr 16:75 Be ye not afraid neither doubt; for God is your guide,
2 Esdr 16:76 And the guide of them who keep my commandments and precepts, saith the Lord God: let not your sins weigh you down, and let not your iniquities lift up themselves.
2 Esdr 16:77 Woe be unto them that are bound with their sins, and covered with their iniquities like as a field is covered over with bushes, and the path thereof covered with thorns, that no man may travel through!
2 Esdr 16:78 It is left undressed, and is cast into the fire to be consumed therewith.
On God’s Timing of the End
2 Esdras 5:41-48
And I said, Behold, O Lord, yet art thou nigh unto them that be reserved till the end: and what shall they do that have been before me, or we that be now, or they that shall come after us?
And he said unto me, I will liken my judgment unto a ring: like as there is no slackness of the last, even so there is no swiftness of the first.
So I answered and said, Couldest thou not make those that have been made, and be now, and that are for to come, at once; that thou mightest shew thy judgment the sooner?
Then answered he me, and said, The creature may not haste above the maker; neither may the world hold them at once that shall be created therein.
And I said, As thou hast said unto thy servant, that thou, which givest life to all, hast given life at once to the creature that thou hast created, and the creature bare it: even so it might now also bear them that now be present at once.
And he said unto me, Ask the womb of a woman, and say unto her, If thou bringest forth children, why dost thou it not together, but one after another? pray her therefore to bring forth ten children at once.
And I said, She cannot: but must do it by distance of time.
Then said he unto me, Even so have I given the womb of the earth to those that be sown in it in their times.
2 Esdras 14:7-12
And now I say unto thee, That thou lay up in thy heart the signs that I have shewed, and the dreams that thou hast seen, and the interpretations which thou hast heard: For thou shalt be taken away from all, and from henceforth thou shalt remain with my Son, and with such as be like thee, until the times be ended. For the world hath lost his youth, and the times begin to wax old. For the world is divided into twelve parts, and the ten parts of it are gone already, and half of a tenth part: And there remaineth that which is after the half of the tenth part.
2 Esdras 14:17
For look how much the world shall be weaker through age, so much the more shall evils increase upon them that dwell therein.
On Giving
Tobit 4:7-11
Give alms of thy substance; and when thou givest alms, let not thine eye be envious, neither turn thy face from any poor, and the face of God shall not be turned away from thee. If thou hast abundance give alms accordingly: if thou have but a little, be not afraid to give according to that little: For thou layest up a good treasure for thyself against the day of necessity. Because that alms do deliver from death, and suffereth not to come into darkness. For alms is a good gift unto all that give it in the sight of the most High.
Tobit 4:16-17
Give of thy bread to the hungry, and of thy garments to them that are naked; and according to thine abundance give alms: and let not thine eye be envious, when thou givest alms. Pour out thy bread on the burial of the just, but give nothing to the wicked.
Tobit 12:8-9
Prayer is good with fasting and alms and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with unrighteousness. It is better to give alms than to lay up gold: For alms doth deliver from death, and shall purge away all sin. Those that exercise alms and righteousness shall be filled with life:
Sirach 12:3-5
There can no good come to him that is always occupied in evil, nor to him that giveth no alms.
Give to the godly man, and help not a sinner.
Do well unto him that is lowly, but give not to the ungodly: hold back thy bread, and give it not unto him, lest he overmaster thee thereby: or else thou shalt receive twice as much evil for all the good thou shalt have done unto him.
On the Holy Spirit
Wisdom 1:5
For the holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit, and remove from thoughts that are without understanding, and will not abide when unrighteousness cometh in.
Wisdom 9:17-18
And thy counsel who hath known, except thou give wisdom, and send thy Holy Spirit from above? For so the ways of them which lived on the earth were reformed, and men were taught the things that are pleasing unto thee, and were saved through wisdom.
On Jesus
2 Esdras 2:42-48
I Esdras saw upon the mount Sion a great people, whom I could not number, and they all praised the Lord with songs.
And in the midst of them there was a young man of a high stature, taller than all the rest, and upon every one of their heads he set crowns, and was more exalted; which I marvelled at greatly. So I asked the angel, and said, Sir, what are these?
He answered and said unto me, These be they that have put off the mortal clothing, and put on the immortal, and have confessed the name of God: now are they crowned, and receive palms.
Then said I unto the angel, What young person is it that crowneth them, and giveth them palms in their hands?
So he answered and said unto me, It is the Son of God, whom they have confessed in the world. Then began I greatly to commend them that stood so stiffly for the name of the Lord.
Then the angel said unto me, Go thy way, and tell my people what manner of things, and how great wonders of the Lord thy God, thou hast seen.
Wisdom 2:12-23
Therefore let us lie in wait for the righteous; because he is not for our turn, and he is clean contrary to our doings: he upbraideth us with our offending the law, and objecteth to our infamy the transgressings of our education. He professeth to have the knowledge of God: and he calleth himself the child of the Lord. He was made to reprove our thoughts. He is grievous unto us even to behold: for his life is not like other men's, his ways are of another fashion.
We are esteemed of him as counterfeits: he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness: he pronounceth the end of the just to be blessed, and maketh his boast that God is his father.
Let us see if his words be true: and let us prove what shall happen in the end of him. For if the just man be the son of God, he will help him, and deliver him from the hand of his enemies.
Let us examine him with despitefulness and torture, that we may know his meekness, and prove his patience. Let us condemn him with a shameful death: for by his own saying he shall be respected.
Such things they did imagine, and were deceived: for their own wickedness hath blinded them. As for the mysteries of God, they knew them not: neither hoped they for the wages of righteousness, nor discerned a reward for blameless souls. For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.
On the Mysteries of God
2 Esdr 3:32-4:11
Or is there any other people that knoweth thee beside Israel? or what generation hath so believed thy covenants as Jacob? And yet their reward appeareth not, and their labour hath no fruit: for I have gone here and there through the heathen, and I see that they flow in wealth, and think not upon thy commandments.
Weigh thou therefore our wickedness now in the balance, and their's also that dwell the world; and so shall thy name no where be found but in Israel. Or when was it that they which dwell upon the earth have not sinned in thy sight? or what people have so kept thy commandments? Thou shalt find that Israel by name hath kept thy precepts; but not the heathen.
And the angel that was sent unto me, whose name was Uriel, gave me an answer, and said, Thy heart hath gone to far in this world, and thinkest thou to comprehend the way of the most High?
Then said I, Yea, my lord.
And he answered me, and said, I am sent to shew thee three ways, and to set forth three similitudes before thee: whereof if thou canst declare me one, I will shew thee also the way that thou desirest to see, and I shall shew thee from whence the wicked heart cometh.
And I said, Tell on, my lord.
Then said he unto me, Go thy way, weigh me the weight of the fire, or measure me the blast of the wind, or call me again the day that is past.
Then answered I and said, What man is able to do that, that thou shouldest ask such things of me?
And he said unto me, If I should ask thee how great dwellings are in the midst of the sea, or how many springs are in the beginning of the deep, or how many springs are above the firmament, or which are the outgoings of paradise: Peradventure thou wouldest say unto me, I never went down into the deep, nor as yet into hell, neither did I ever climb up into heaven. Nevertheless now have I asked thee but only of the fire and wind, and of the day wherethrough thou hast passed, and of things from which thou canst not be separated, and yet canst thou give me no answer of them.
He said moreover unto me, Thine own things, and such as are grown up with thee, canst thou not know; How should thy vessel then be able to comprehend the way of the Highest, and, the world being now outwardly corrupted to understand the corruption that is evident in my sight?
2 Esdras 5:27-40
And among all the multitudes of people thou hast gotten thee one people: and unto this people, whom thou lovedst, thou gavest a law that is approved of all. And now, O Lord, why hast thou given this one people over unto many? and upon the one root hast thou prepared others, and why hast thou scattered thy only one people among many?
And they which did gainsay thy promises, and believed not thy covenants, have trodden them down. If thou didst so much hate thy people, yet shouldest thou punish them with thine own hands.
Now when I had spoken these words, the angel that came to me the night afore was sent unto me, and said unto me, Hear me, and I will instruct thee; hearken to the thing that I say, and I shall tell thee more.
And I said, Speak on, my Lord. Then said he unto me, Thou art sore troubled in mind for Israel's sake: lovest thou that people better than he that made them?
And I said, No, Lord: but of very grief have I spoken: for my reins pain me every hour, while I labour to comprehend the way of the most High, and to seek out part of his judgment.
And he said unto me, Thou canst not.
And I said, Wherefore, Lord? whereunto was I born then? or why was not my mother's womb then my grave, that I might not have seen the travail of Jacob, and the wearisome toil of the stock of Israel?
And he said unto me, Number me the things that are not yet come, gather me together the dross that are scattered abroad, make me the flowers green again that are withered,
Open me the places that are closed, and bring me forth the winds that in them are shut up, shew me the image of a voice: and then I will declare to thee the thing that thou labourest to know.
And I said, O Lord that bearest rule, who may know these things, but he that hath not his dwelling with men? As for me, I am unwise: how may I then speak of these things whereof thou askest me?
Then said he unto me, Like as thou canst do none of these things that I have spoken of, even so canst thou not find out my judgment, or in the end the love that I have promised unto my people.
On the Nature of Man
Sirach 17:1-9
The Lord created man of the earth, and turned him into it again. He gave them few days, and a short time, and power also over the things therein. He endued them with strength by themselves, and made them according to his image, And put the fear of man upon all flesh, and gave him dominion over beasts and fowls.
They received the use of the five operations of the Lord, and in the sixth place he imparted them understanding, and in the seventh speech, an interpreter of the cogitations thereof. Counsel, and a tongue, and eyes, ears, and a heart, gave he them to understand.
Withal he filled them with the knowledge of understanding, and shewed them good and evil. He set his eye upon their hearts, that he might shew them the greatness of his works. He gave them to glory in his marvellous acts for ever, that they might declare his works with understanding.
On Nephilim
Sirach 16:7
He was not pacified toward the old giants, who fell away in the strength of their foolishness.
Baruch 3:26-28
There were the giants famous from the beginning, that were of so great stature, and so expert in war. Those did not the Lord choose, neither gave he the way of knowledge unto them: But they were destroyed, because they had no wisdom, and perished through their own foolishness.
On Satan
Wisdom 2:24
Nevertheless through envy of the devil came death into the world: and they that do hold of his side do find it.
Sirach 21:27
When the ungodly curseth Satan, he curseth his own soul.
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