Apocalypse of Adam

Adam, in the seven hundredth year of his life, summons Seth and discloses what was revealed to him by the three heavenly men — the loss of the original glory and the separation of Adam from Eve.

1The revelation which Adam taught his son Seth in the seven hundredth year of his life, saying:

2Hearken unto my words, my son Seth. When God had created me out of the earth, together with Eve thy mother, I walked with her in a glory which she had seen in the aeon out of which we had come forth.

3She taught me a word of knowledge of the eternal God; and we were like the great eternal angels, for we were higher than the god which had created us, and the powers which were with him, whom we knew not.

4Then God, the ruler of the aeons and the powers, separated us in wrath. Then we became two aeons. And the glory in our hearts left us — me and thy mother Eve — together with the first knowledge that breathed in us.

5And glory fled from us, and entered into a great aeon and a great generation, which had not come from this aeon, neither from the aeons of the powers.

6Therefore I myself called thee by the name of that man, who is the seed of the great generation — even the great generation that hath not come from this aeon. For after these days, the eternal knowledge of the God of truth withdrew from me and from thy mother Eve.

7Since that time we learned about dead things, like men. Then we recognized the god which had created us; for we were not strangers to his powers. We served him in fear and slavery.

8And after these things we became darkened in our hearts, and I slept in the thought of my heart. For I beheld three men before me, whose likeness I was unable to recognize, since they were not from the powers of the god which had created us.

9And they passed beyond his glory, and went above him. They said unto me: Arise, Adam, from the sleep of death; and hear concerning the aeon, and the seed of that man unto whom life hath come, who came from thee, and from Eve thy companion.

10Then I — when I had heard these words from the great men which were standing before me — we sighed; and my heart wept within me, and I said unto Eve: Hearken unto my words.

11Behold, Adam thy father — his life is no more than a thousand years; and the children which he hath begotten shall be carried away by the powers of the god which made us; and they shall serve him in fear and slavery.

12But there shall come a time when light shall shine forth from us. And the eternal knowledge of the God of truth shall come upon thee, and thy son, and the seed of thy son. And the children of his seed shall preserve the words which I have heard.

13Now therefore, my son Seth, I will reveal unto thee the things which those three men — Yesseus, Mazareus, Yessedekeus — revealed unto me, the things which they spake in the hearing of my heart.

14Hear, Seth: a great generation shall arise from thee. They shall be a holy seed, untouched by the powers. They shall walk in the light of the eternal God. They shall not be put to shame, neither shall they be cast out from before His face.

15But the world shall hate them; for they bear the name of the living. The rulers shall labour to find them; for they shall reign over the powers.

16Therefore keep thou the words which I tell thee. Hide them not from those who shall come after thee. Set them upon the holy mountain. Let them be a witness in the day of the consummation.

The first judgment — the flood. The god of the powers seeks to destroy the seed of Seth by water; but the holy generation is rescued by the great angels.

1And it came to pass, after the children of men had multiplied upon the earth, that the heart of Sakla — the god of the powers — was lifted up against them. He determined to destroy mankind.

2And he sent forth the flood, that he might wipe out every breath of life. The waters covered the face of the earth, and every flesh that moved upon the ground perished.

3But Noah, who is also called Deucalion, the god of the powers loved. And the god of the powers spake with him, saying: Make thee an ark of resinous wood, that thou mayest preserve thy life. So shalt thou be saved.

4And Noah hearkened. He built the ark; he entered into it, with his sons and the wives of his sons. And the rain descended; and the floods came; and the ark was lifted up upon the waters.

5But behold, the great angels of the heavens — even Abrasax, and Sablo, and Gamaliel — they came forth at the appointed time. They lifted up that holy seed of Seth upon a great cloud, and bare them away unto a place where the spirit of life dwelleth.

6And the cloud came, and conveyed them unto the borders of the great aeons. They were not consumed by the waters, for they belong unto the eternal God. The flood touched them not. The water passed under them, while they walked upon the cloud.

7And after the flood, the god of the powers said unto Noah and his sons: I will multiply thee upon the earth. Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the dry land.

8And ye shall serve me in fear and slavery. None of the seed of thy loins shall transgress my face. He also shall give glory unto me, like an obedient son.

9Then Noah divided the whole earth among his sons — Ham, and Japheth, and Shem. He said unto them: My children, hearken to my words. Behold, I have divided the earth among you. Serve him in fear and in slavery, all the days of your life.

10But there came forth out of the seed of Ham and Japheth four hundred thousand men. They went up into another land. They sojourned with those men who came forth from the great eternal knowledge.

11For the shadow of their power shall protect them which dwell with them, from every evil thing, and every unclean lust.

12Then the seed of Ham and Japheth shall form twelve kingdoms. And their seed also shall enter into the kingdom of another people.

13Then the god of the aeons shall give unto them, of those whom he loveth, the powers, the angels, even all that he hath; and he shall serve them. But the four hundred thousand men shall be received into another land, and shall sojourn with those great men of the eternal knowledge.

14For there shall be no defilement of the lust of the powers. Neither shall they enter into the iniquities of the kingdom of Sakla. They shall stand upon the high mountain, the place where the eternal knowledge cometh from above.

15And they shall remain there four hundred and fifty years. The angels of the great Light shall dwell with them. There shall not be in their hearts any unrighteous deed, but only the knowledge of God.

The second judgment — fire from heaven. The god of the powers, in jealousy, kindles fire and brimstone upon the elect; but the heavenly Light delivers them.

1Then Sakla, the god of the powers, beheld the great glory upon the four hundred thousand men. And he was filled with envy and wrath.

2He said unto his angels: They have despised our power. They have not obeyed our word. The seed of Seth shall not stand. We will burn them with fire and brimstone, that they may be no more.

3And the powers came down with a great army of fire. They circled the holy generation. They sought to consume them upon the holy mountain.

4But behold, there came great clouds of light. They descended from the eternal aeons. They covered the holy seed. They withdrew them out of the flame.

5And Abrasax, and Sablo, and Gamaliel — they took the men. They placed them in another land. The fire passed by, and consumed them not.

6Then the god of the powers gnashed his teeth. He said: Where are they? How have they escaped? Have we not the heavens, and the earth, and the air? Yet they pass through our hand as smoke.

7His powers said unto him: There hath come down a great cloud of light. They are taken into the place of the eternal knowledge. We have no power over them.

8Then the rage of Sakla burned hotter than before. He sent a third time. He sent the spirit of his unrighteousness. He sent his angels of darkness.

9But the holy seed received the seal. They received the baptism of the living water. They were sealed with the seal of the great Light. The angels of darkness fled from before them.

10Then the god of the powers, when he saw that he could not prevail, prepared the great judgment of the latter days. He hardened his heart against the holy ones. But the eternal God watched over His seed; and they were not moved.

11And the four hundred thousand stood in the high place, blessing the eternal God. They knew that the powers could not lay hold of them, neither could the fire, neither could the water, neither could the spirit of unrighteousness.

12For they were sealed of the great Light. They were sealed with the seal of the great generation. They were sealed in the name of the holy Father, and the holy Mother, and the holy Son.

The thirteen kingdoms — false sayings concerning the origin of the Illuminator. Each kingdom claims its own version of his coming. But the kingless generation alone speaks the truth.

1Hear, my son Seth: the Illuminator of knowledge shall come at the close of the days. He shall pass through the worlds and shall save them which are the seed of Noemi, the seed of Ham and Japheth — even the holy seed which hath kept the words of the eternal God.

2But the powers shall not understand his coming. They shall persecute him. They shall lay their hands upon him. They shall punish the flesh of the man upon whom the holy Spirit hath come.

3And the angels and all the generations of the powers shall use the name in error, asking: Whence cometh he? or: Whence have come the words of falsehood, which all the powers have failed to understand?

4Now the first kingdom saith of him that he came forth from a great prophet. A bird took him; it bare him up unto the mountain. He was nourished there. The angel of that mountain came forth, and gave him the glory and the power. So he came upon the water.

5And the second kingdom saith of him that he came forth from a great prophet. A bird came; it took up the child that was begotten. It bare him upon a high mountain. He was nourished by the bird of heaven. An angel came forth there. He said unto him: Arise. God hath given thee glory. He received glory and power. So he came upon the water.

6And the third kingdom saith of him that he came forth from a virgin womb. He was cast out of his city, he and his mother. He was brought to a desert place. He was nourished there. He came; he received glory and power. So he came upon the water.

7And the fourth kingdom saith of him that he came forth from a virgin. Solomon sought her, he and Phersalo and Sauel and his armies. They sought her, and Solomon himself sent the army of demons. They found her not. The virgin who was given them, that one was she whom they brought. Solomon took her. The virgin became pregnant. She bare the child. She nourished him on the border of the desert. When he had been nourished, he received glory and power from the seed by which he had been begotten. So he came upon the water.

8And the fifth kingdom saith of him that he came forth from a drop of heaven. He was cast into the sea. The abyss received him. It begat him; it caused him to come up unto the heaven. He received glory and power. So he came upon the water.

9And the sixth kingdom saith of him that an aeon went down unto an aeon below, that it might gather flowers. It became pregnant from the desire of the flowers. It begat him in that place. The angels of the flower-garden nourished him. He received glory and power there. So he came upon the water.

10And the seventh kingdom saith of him that he is a drop. It came from heaven unto the earth. Dragons brought him down unto the caves. He became a child. The Spirit came upon him. It bare him up unto the place out of which the drop had come. He received glory and power there. So he came upon the water.

11And the eighth kingdom saith of him that a cloud came upon the earth. It enveloped a rock. He came forth from it. The angels who were over the cloud nourished him. He received glory and power there. So he came upon the water.

12And the ninth kingdom saith of him that of the nine Muses one was set apart. She came up unto a high mountain. She sat there a season, that she might lust after herself, that she might become a male. She fulfilled her desire. She became great with child of her desire. She bare him. The angels who were over the desire nourished him. He received glory there and power. So he came upon the water.

13And the tenth kingdom saith of him that his god loved a cloud of desire. He begat him in his hand. He cast unto the cloud above him a portion of the drop, and he was begotten. He received glory and power there. So he came upon the water.

14And the eleventh kingdom saith of him that the father desired his own daughter. The daughter herself became pregnant of her father. She cast him forth into a tomb in the desert. The angel nourished him there. So he came upon the water.

15And the twelfth kingdom saith of him that he came forth from two illuminators. He was nourished there. He received glory and power. So he came upon the water.

16And the thirteenth kingdom saith of him that every birth of their ruler is a word, and that this word received a charge there. He received glory and power. So he came upon the water, that the desire of those powers might be fulfilled.

17But the kingless generation saith: God hath chosen him out of all the aeons. He hath caused a knowledge of the Undefiled One of truth to come into being in him. The great Illuminator came forth out of a foreign air, from a great aeon. He came not from a womb of flesh; nor from any of the kingdoms. He shone the great Light upon the seed of Seth. The cloud of the eternal Light hath received him. He came upon the water of life. So shall the powers be put to shame.

The final judgment, the testimony of the holy water of baptism, and the sealing of the words of Adam upon the holy mountain — to be revealed at the consummation of the age.

1Therefore, my son Seth, the powers shall not lay hold upon the seed which I have shown thee. They which have received the seal of the holy water shall stand in the day of judgment. They shall not be ashamed in the day of the consummation.

2But woe unto them which have not received the seal! Woe unto them which have served Sakla! Woe unto them which have despised the words of the great Illuminator! For their judgment is prepared.

3And the wrath of the powers shall come upon them. The fire shall consume them. The waters of the sea shall not save them. The angels of the great Light shall not know them, for they bear not the seal.

4But the holy ones — them that have received the seal — they shall be received into the eternal aeons. They shall stand before the throne of the great Father. They shall behold the great Mother. They shall walk with the Self-Begotten Son.

5And it shall come to pass in those days that the holy seed shall reveal unto the elect the things hidden from the foundation of the world. The mysteries of God shall be unsealed. The voices of the prophets shall be vindicated. The names of the kingless generation shall be written in the heavens.

6Then they shall sing the everlasting song. They shall say: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.

7Now therefore, my son Seth, hide these words. Carve them upon a high mountain. Set them upon a rock of stone. Let them not perish until the day of the consummation, when they shall be brought forth, and the children of the seed shall read them, and shall remember the eternal God.

8These are the apocalypses which Adam revealed to Seth his son. And Seth taught his children. They preserved them as they had received them. They placed them upon the holy mountain.

9These are the holy baptisms of those who know the eternal knowledge — through the wood-borne ones, and the water-borne ones — even Yesseus and Mazareus and Yessedekeus, the Living Water.

10Glory be unto the great Father, and unto the great Mother, and unto the Self-Begotten Son. Glory be unto the seed of Seth, the unshakable race. Glory be unto them which have received the seal of the living water, forever and ever. Amen.