(7) There shall be no blood seen upon you of all }• the blood there shall be all the days in which ye have killed any beasts or cattle or whatever flieth upon the earth, and work ye a good work to your souls by covering that which hath been shed on the face of the earth, jj. And ye shall not be like him who eateth with blood, but guard yourselves that none may eat blood befpre you : * cover the blood, for thus have I been commanded to testify to you and your children, together with all flesh.

(2) And also, these people will speak of your everlasting dishonor, and to one who is honored, dishonor is worse than death.

(62) And they shall be a spectacle for the righteous and for His elect: They shall rejoice over them, Because the wrath of the Lord of Spirits resteth upon them, And His sword is drunk with their blood.

(103) And what will they receive and what will they see for ever? Behold, they too have died, And henceforth for ever shall they see no light."

(14) And there then the Judgment is set, and all Men (both the Living and the Dead) must stand there, every one in his own Body. And the angelical Choir of the holy Men (who have been killed for the Witness of Jesus) is set; there stand the holy Patriarchs of the Tribes of Israel, and the holy Prophets, with their Doctrine; and all that they have taught is made manifest and revealed, and stands before the Eyes of the Wicked; they must give an Account of all their Murderings of the Saints; for they that have been murdered for the Truth's Sake stand before the Eyes of their Murderers, whose Lives the Murderers must give an Account for, and yet have no Excuse to make, but stand Speechless; all a Man's slandering Reproaches which he has cast upon the Righteous stand there before him in Substance, and is a Substance, about which the Law is there read to him.

(23) And their bones will rest in the earth, And their spirits will have much joy, And they will know that it is the Lord who executeth judgment, And showeth mercy to hundreds and thousands and to all that love Him.

(4) Now, if the profane should see or hear that these things are done by us, they will, I suppose, split with laughter, and commiserate us on our, folly. But there is no need to wonder at this. For, as the Oracles say, "If they will not believe, neither shall they understand." And as for us, who have contemplated the spiritual meaning of the things done, whilst Jesus leads us to the light, let us say, that, not without reason, does the Hierarch conduct to, and place the man fallen asleep, in the place of the same rank; for it shews reverently, that, in the regeneration, all will be in those chosen inheritances, for which they have chosen their own life here. For example, if any one led a Godlike and most holy life here, so far as the imitation of God is attainable by man, he will be, in the age to come, in divine and blessed inheritances; but if he led a life inferior to the divine likeness in the highest degree, but, nevertheless, a holy life, even this man will receive the holy and similar retributions. The Hierarch, having given thanks for this Divine righteousness, offers a sacred prayer, and extols the worshipful Godhead, as subjugating the unjust and tyrannical power against us all, and conducting us back to our own most just possessions (or judgments).

(12) The murder of †their† beloved ones shall †they† see, and over the destruction of †their† children shall †they† lament, and shall make supplication unto eternity, but mercy and peace shall ye not attain."'

(3) When then Jesus had said this, he said unto his disciples: "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." "'1. Lord, God of my salvation, by day and by night have I cried unto thee. "'2. Let my weeping come before thee; incline thine ear to my supplication, O Lord. "'3. For my soul is full of evil, my life hath drawn nigh to the world below. "'4. I am counted among them who have gone down into the pit; I am become as a man who hath no helper. "'5. The free among the dead are as the slain who are thrown away and sleep in tombs, whom thou no more rememberest, and they are destroyed through thy hands. "'6. They have set me in a pit below, in darkness and shadow of death. "'7. Thy wrath hath settled down upon me and all thy cares have come upon me. (Selah.) "'8. Thou hast put away mine acquaintances far from me; they have made me an abomination for them. They have abandoned me, and I cannot go forth. "'9. My eye hath become dim in my misery; I have cried unto thee, O Lord, the whole day and have stretched forth my hands unto thee. "'10. Wilt thou not surely work thy wonders on the dead? Will not surely the physicians arise and confess thee? "'11. Will they not surely proclaim thy name in the tombs, "'12. And thy righteousness in a land which thou hast forgotten? "'13. But I have cried unto thee, O Lord, and my prayer shall reach thee early in the morning. "'14. Turn not thy face away from me. "15. For I am miserable, I am in sorrow from my youth up. And when I had exalted myself, I humbled myself and arose. "'16. Thy angers are come upon me and thy terrors have brought me into delusion. "'17. They have surrounded me as water; they have seized upon me the whole day long. "'18. My fellows hast thou kept far from me and my acquaintances from my misery.' "This is then the solution of the mystery of the fifth repentance which Pistis Sophia hath uttered, when she was oppressed in the chaos."

(7) And there will not be left any man that eateth blood. Or that sheddeth the blood of man on the earth, Nor will there be left to him any seed or descen- dants living under heaven ; For into Sheol will they go, And into the place of condemnation will they descend. And into the darkness of the deep will they all be removed by a violent death. v

(29) There be some who affirm, that a man, while in this present time, may and ought to be above being touched by outward things, and in all respects as Christ was after His resurrection. This they try to prove and establish by Christ’s words: “I go before you into Galilee there; shall ye see Me.”36 And again, “A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.”37 These sayings they interpret thus: “As ye have seen Me, and been followers of Me, in My mortal body and life, so also it behoveth you to see Me and follow Me, as I go before you into Galilee; that is to say, into a state in which nothing hath power to move or grieve the soul; on which state ye shall enter, and live and continue therein, before that ye have suffered and gone through your bodily death. And as ye see Me having flesh and bones, and not liable to suffer, so shall ye likewise, while yet in the body and having your mortal nature, cease to feel outward things, were it even the death of the body.” Now, I answer, in the first place, to this affirmation, that Christ did not mean that a man should or could attain unto this state, unless he have first gone through and suffered all that Christ did.

(20) But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power, the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

(54) And this will happen to that man who hath not entered, or refuseth to enter in by the right Way and the right Door (which is Christ, as we have said), and imagineth that he would or could come by any other way to the highest truth. He may perhaps dream that he hath attained thereunto, but verily he is in error. And our witness is Christ, who declareth: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.”59 A thief, for he robbeth God of His honour and glory, which belong to God alone; he taketh them unto himself, and seeketh and purposeth himself. A murderer, for he slayeth his own soul, and taketh away her life, which is God. For as the body liveth by the soul, even so the soul liveth by God. Moreover, he murdereth all those who follow him, by his doctrine and example. For Christ saith: “I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.”60 And again: “Why call ye Me Lord, Lord?”61 as if he would say, it will avail you nothing to Eternal life. And again: “Not every one that saith unto Me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in Heaven.”62 But He saith also: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”63 And what are the commandments?

(21) Verily, verily, I say unto you. The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

(62) And one portion of them shall look on the other, And they shall be terrified, And they shall be downcast of countenance, And pain shall seize them, When they see that Son of Man Sitting on the throne of his glory.

(103) And yet when ye die the sinners speak over you: "As we die, so die the righteous, And what benefit do they reap for their deeds?

(63) And after that their faces shall be filled with darkness And shame before that Son of Man, And they shall be driven from his presence, And the sword shall abide before his face in their midst.

(130) All men tremble at punishment, all men love life; remember that thou art like unto them, and do not kill, nor cause slaughter.

(20) He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

(81) And those who practice righteousness shall die on account of the deeds of men, And be taken away on account of the doings of the godless.'