The Essene Book of Revelations

The Essene Book of Revelations
Translated by E B Szekely

Behold, the Angel of the Air shall bring him,
And every eye shall see him,
And the brotherhood,
All the vast brotherhood of the Earth
Shall raise their voice as one and sing,
Because of him.
Amen.

"I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End;
What is, what was, and what is to come."

And the voice spoke, and I turned to see
The voice that spoke to me,
And being turned, I saw seven golden candles;
And in the midst of their blazing light
I saw someone like a son of man,
Clothed in white, white as the snow.
And his voice filled the air with the sound of rushing water;
And in his hands were seven stars,
And when he spoke, his face was streaming light,
Blazing and golden like a thousand suns.
And he said, "Fear not, I am the first and the last;
I am the beginning and the end.
Write the things that you have seen,
And the things that are, and the things that will come after;
The mystery of the seven stars which fill my hands,
And the seven golden candles, blazing with eternal light.
The seven stars are the Angels of the Heavenly Father,
And the seven stars are the Angels of the Earthly Mother.
And the spirit of man is the flame
That streams between the starlight and the glowing candle;
A bridge of holy light between Heaven and Earth."

These things said he who held the seven stars in his hands,
Who walked within the flames of the seven golden candles.
He that has an ear, let him hear what the spirit said:
"To him that overcomes I will allow to eat from the tree of life,
That stands in the midst of the shining paradise of God."

And then I looked, and behold,
A door was opened in heaven:
And a voice which sounded from all sides, like a trumpet,
Spoke to me: "Come up here,
And I will show you the things which must be hereafter."

And immediately I was there, in spirit,
At the threshold of the open door.
And I entered through the open door
Into a sea of blazing light.
And in the midst of the blinding ocean of radiance was a throne:
And on the throne sat one whose face was hidden.
And there was a rainbow around about the throne,
Which looked like emerald.
And round about the throne were thirteen seats:
And upon the seats I saw thirteen elders sitting,
Clothed in white raiment;
And there faces were hidden by swirling clouds of light.
And seven lamps of fire burned before the throne,
The fire of the Earthly Mother.
And seven stars of heaven shone before the throne,
The fire of the Heavenly Father.
And before the throne
There was a sea of glass like crystal:
And reflected within it
Were all the mountains and valleys of the Earth,
And all the creatures abiding therein.
And the thirteen elders bowed down before the splendour of him
Who sat upon the throne, whose face was hidden,
And rivers of light streamed from their hands, one to the other,
And they cried, "Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Which was, and is, and is to come.
Thou art worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honour and power:
For thou hast created all things."
And then I saw in the right hand
Of him that sat on the throne,
A book written within and on the back,
Sealed with seven seals.
And I wept, because the book could not be opened,
Nor was I able to read what there was written.
And one of the elders said to me, 'Weep not.
Reach out your hand and take the book.'
And I reached out my hand and touched the book.
And behold, the cover lifted,
And my hands touched the golden pages,
And my eyes beheld the mystery of the seven seals.

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels
Round about the throne,
And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand,
And thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
"All glory, and wisdom, and strength,
and power forever and ever,
To him who shall reveal the Mystery of Mysteries."
And I saw the swirling clouds of golden light
Stretching like a fiery bridge between my hands,
And the hands of the thirteen elders,
And the feet of him who sat on the throne,
Whose face was hidden.

And I opened the first seal.
And I saw, and beheld the Angel of the Air,
And between her lips flowed the breath of life,
And she knelt over the earth
And gave to man the winds of wisdom,
And man breathed in.
And when he breathed out, the sky darkened,
And the sweet air became fetid,
And clouds of evil smoke hung low over all the earth.
And I turned my face away in shame.

And I opened the second seal.
And I saw, and beheld the Angel of the Water.
And between her lips flowed the water of life,
And she knelt over the Earth
And gave to man an ocean of love.
And man entered the clear and shining waters.
And when he touched the water, the clear streams darkened,
And the crystal waters became thick with slime,
And the fish lay gasping in the foul blackness,
And all the creatures died of thirst.
And I turned my face away in shame.

And I opened the third seal.
And I saw and beheld the Angel of the Sun.
And between her lips flowed the light of life,
And she knelt over the earth
And gave to man the Fires of Power.
And the strength of the Sun entered the heart of man,
And he took the power, and made with it a false sun,
And he spread the fires of destruction,
Burning the forests,
Laying waste the green valleys,
Leaving only charred bones of his brothers.
And I turned away in shame.

And I opened the fourth seal.
And I saw, and beheld the Angel of Joy.
And between her lips flowed the music of life,
And she knelt over the Earth
And gave to man the song of peace.
And peace and joy like music
Flowed through the soul of man.
But he heard only the harsh discord of sadness and discontent,
And he lifted up his sword
And cut off the heads of the singers.
And I turned my face away in shame.

And I opened the fifth seal.
And I saw, and beheld the Angel of Life.
And between her lips
Flowed the holy alliance between God and Man,
And she knelt over the Earth
And gave to man the gift of Creation.
And man created a sickle of iron in the shape of a serpent,
And the harvest he reaped was of hunger and death.
And I turned my face away in shame.

And I opened the sixth seal.
And I saw, and beheld the Angel of the Earth.
And between her lips flowed the river of eternal life,
And she knelt over the Earth
And gave to man the secret of eternity,
And told him to open his eyes
And behold the mysterious Tree of Life in the Endless Sea.
But man lifted up his hand and put out his own eyes,
And said there is no eternity.
And I turned my face away in shame.

And I opened the seventh seal.
And I saw, and beheld the Angel of the Earthly Mother.
And she brought with her a message of blazing light
From the throne of the Heavenly Father.
And this message was for the ears of Man alone,
He who walks between the Earth and Heaven,
And into the ear of man was whispered the message.
And he did not hear.
But I did not turn away my face in shame.
Lo, I reached out my hand to the wings of the angel,
And turned my voice to heaven saying,
"Tell me the message. For I would eat of the fruit
Of the Tree of Life that grows in the Sea of Eternity."

And the angel looked upon me with great sadness,
And there was silence in Heaven.

And then I heard a voice,
Which was like the voice that sounded like a trumpet,
Saying, "O Man, would you look upon the evil you have done
When you turned your face away from the throne of God?
When you did not make use of the gifts
Of the seven Angels of the Earthly Mother,
And the seven angels of the Heavenly Father?"

And a terrible pain seized me
As I felt within me the souls of all those
Who had blinded themselves,
So as to see only their own desires of the flesh.
And I saw the seven angels who stood before God;
And to them were given seven trumpets
And another angel came and stood at the alter,
Having a golden censer;
And there was given to him much incense,
That he should offer it with the prayers of all the angels
Upon the golden alter that was before the throne.

And the smoke of the incense ascended up before God
Out of the angels hand.
And the angel took the censer,
And filled it with fire of the alter,
And cast it onto the Earth,
And there were voices and thunderings,
And lightnings, and earthquakes.
And the seven angels that had the seven trumpets
Prepared themselves to sound.

The first angel sounded,
And there followed hail and fire mixed with blood,
And they were cast upon the Earth.
And the green forests and trees were burnt up,
And all the green grass shrivelled to cinders.

The second angel sounded,
And a great mountain burning with fire
Was cast into the sea
And blood rose from the earth as a vapour.

And the fourth angel sounded,
And there was a great earthquake;
And the sun became as black as sackcloth of hair,
And the moon became as blood.

And the fifth angel sounded
And the stars of heaven fell onto the earth
Like figs from fig tree
Shaken by a mighty wind.

And the sixth angel sounded
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together.
And over the whole earth there was not one tree,
Nor one flower, nor one blade of grass.
And I stood on the earth,
And my feet sank into the soil,
soft and thick with blood,
Stretching as far as the eye could see.
And all over the earth was silence.

And the seventh angel sounded.
And I saw a mighty being come down from Heaven,
Clothed with a cloud;
And a rainbow on his head,
And his face was as is it were the Sun,
And his feet were pillars of fire.
And he had in his hand a book open:
And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
And he cried with aloud voice, which was wondrous to hear:
'O Man, would you have this vision come to pass?'
And I answered, 'You know I would do anything
So that these terrible things might not come to pass.'

And he spoke: "Man has created these powers of destruction.
He has made them from his own mind.
He has turned his face away
From the angels of the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother,
And he has fashioned his own destruction."

And I spoke: "Then is there no hope, bright angel?"
And a blazing light streamed like a river from his hands
As he answered, "There is always hope,
O thou for whom Heaven and Earth were created."

And then the angel,
He who stood upon the sea and upon the earth,
Lifted up his hand to heaven,
And swore by him who lives for ever and ever,
Who created heaven and the things that therein are,
And the Earth, and the things that therein are,
And the sea, and the things that are therein,
That there should be time no longer:
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel,
When he shall begin to sound,
The mystery of God should be revealed to those
Who have eaten from the Tree of Life
Which stands forever in the Eternal Sea.

And the voice spoke again saying:
"Go take the book that is in the hand of the angel,
who stands upon the sea and upon the earth."
And I went to the angel, and said to him,
"Give me the book,
For I would eat from the Tree of Life
Which stands in the middle of the Eternal Sea."
And the angel gave to me the book,
And I opened the book, and I read therein
What had always been, what was now, and what would come to pass.

I saw the holocaust that would engulf the Earth,
And the great destruction
That would drown all her people in oceans of blood.
And I saw too the eternity of man
And the endless forgiveness of the Almighty.
The souls of men were as blank pages in the book,
Always ready for a new song to be there inscribed.

And I lifted up my face
To the seven Angels of the Earthly Mother
And the seven Angels of the Heavenly Father,
And I felt my feet touching the holy brow of the Earthly Mother,
And my fingers touching the holy feet of the Heavenly Father,
And I uttered a hymn of thanksgiving:
"I thank thee, heavenly father,
Because thou hast put me at a source of running streams,
At a living spring in a land of drought,
Watering an eternal garden of wonders,
The Tree of Life, Mystery of mysteries,
Growing everlasting branches for eternal planting,
To sink their roots into the stream of life from an eternal source.
And thou, Heavenly Father,
Protect their fruits
With the angels of day and night,
And with flames of Eternal Light lighting every way.

But again the voice spoke,
And again my eyes were drawn away
From the splendours of the realm of light,
"Heed thou, O man!
You may walk on the right path
And walk in the presence of the angels,
You may sing of the Earthly Mother by day
And of the Heavenly Father by night,
And through your being course the golden stream of the Law,
But would you leave your brothers
To plunge through the gaping chasm of blood,
As the pain-wracked Earth shudders and groans
Under her chains of stone?
Can you drink from the cup of eternal life
While your brothers die of thirst?"

And my heart was heavy with compassion.
And I looked, and lo,
There appeared a great wonder in heaven:
A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet,
And upon her head a crown of seven stars.
And I knew she was the source of running streams
And the mother of the forests.

And I stood upon the sand of the sea,
And saw a beast rise up out of the sea,
And from his nostrils wafted foul and loathsome air,
And where he rose from the sea, the clear waters turned to slime,
And his body was covered with black and steaming stone.

And the woman clothed with the sun
Reached out her arms to the beast,
And the beast drew near and embraced her.
And lo, her skin of pearl withered beneath his foul breath,
And her back was broken by his arms of crushing rock,
And with tears of blood she sank into the pool of slime.

And from the mouth of this beast there poured armies of men,
Brandishing swords and fighting, one with the other.
And they fought with a terrible anger,
And they cut off their own limbs and clawed out their own eyes,
Until they fell into the pit of slime,
Screaming in agony and pain.

And I stepped to the edge of the pool and reached down my hand,
And I could see the swirling maelstrom of blood,
And the men therein, trapped like flies in a web.
And I spoke in a loud voice, saying,
"Brothers, drop your swords and take hold of my hand.
Leave off this defiling and desecration
Of she who has given thee birth,
And he who has given thee thy inheritance.
For you the days of buying and selling are over
And over, too, the days of hunting and killing.
For he that leadeth into captivity will go into captivity,
And he who kills with the sword must be killed by the sword.
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn
Because no man buys their merchandise any more.
The merchants of gold, and silver, and precious stones,
And of pearls, and fine linen, and purple dyes, and silk, and scarlet,
And marble, and beasts, and sheep, and horses,
And chariots, and slaves, and souls of men,
All these things you cannot buy and sell,
For all is buried in a sea of blood
Because you have turned your back on your father and mother,
And worshipped the beast who would build a paradise of stone.
Drop thy swords, my brothers, and take hold of my hand!"

And as our fingers clasped,
I saw in the distance a great city,
White and shining on the far horizon, glowing alabaster,
And there were voices and thunders, and lightnings,
And there was a great earthquake,
Such as was not since men were on the Earth,
So mighty an earthquake, and so great.
And the great city was divided into three parts,
And the cities of the nations fell.
And the great city came in remembrance before God
To give unto her the cup of the wine
Of the fierceness of his wrath,

And every island fled away,
And the mountains were not found,
And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven,
Every stone about the weight of a talent.
And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone,
And threw it into the sea, saying,
"Thus, with violence shall the great city be thrown down,
And shall be found no more at all.'

And the voice of harpists, and musicians, and of pipers,
And of singers, and trumpeters,
Shall be heard no more in thee;
And no craftsmen, of whatever craft he be,
Shall be found anymore in thee;
And the sound of the millstone shall be heard no more in thee.
And the light of the candle will shine no more in thee
And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride
Shall be heard no more in thee
For your merchants were great men of the Earth;
By there sorceries all nations were deceived.
And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints,
And all those who were slain upon Earth.

And my brothers laid hold of my hand,
And they struggled out of the pool of slime
And stood bewildered on the sea of sand,
And the skies opened and washed their naked bodies with rain.
And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters,
And as the voice of great thunder:
And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps,
And they sang a new song before the throne.

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of Heaven,
Having the songs of day and night
And the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the Earth,
Unto them that have climbed from the pit of slime,
And stand naked and washed by rain before the throne.
And the angel cried out, "Fear God, and give glory to him;
For the hour of his judgement has come:
And worship him that made Heaven and Earth,
And the sea, and the fountains of waters."

And I saw Heaven open, and beheld a white horse;
And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True,
And in righteousness he does judge.
His eyes were like a flame of fire,
And on his head were many crowns,
And he was cloaked in blazing light
And his feet were bare.
And his name is called the Word of God.
And the holy brotherhood followed him upon white horses,
Clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And they entered the eternal Infinite Garden,
In whose midst stood the Tree of Life.

And the rain washed naked throngs came before them,
Trembling to receive their judgement.
For their sins were many, and they had defiled the Earth,
Yea, they had destroyed the creatures of the land and sea,
Poisoned the ground, fouled the air,
And buried alive the mother who had given them birth.

But, I saw not what befell them, for my vision changed,
And I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth;
For the first Heaven and the first Earth had passed away;
And there was no more sea.
And I saw the holy city of the brotherhood
Coming down from God out of Heaven,
Prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying:
"Lo, the mountain of the Lord's house
Is established in the top of the mountains
And is exalted above the hills;
And all people shall flow to it.
Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of God;
And he will teach us of his ways,
And we will walk in his paths:
For out of the Holy Brotherhood shall go forth the Law.
Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men,
And he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,
And God himself will be with them, and be their God.'
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
And there shall be no more death,
Neither sorrow, nor crying,
Neither shall there be any more pain:
For the former things have all passed away.
Those who made war shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks:
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore:
For the former things have passed away.

And he spoke again: "Behold I make all things new.
I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.
I will give to him that thirsts at the Fountain of the Water of Life freely.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
And I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
But the fearful, and the unbelieving,
And the abominable, and murderers, and all liars,
Shall dig their own pit which burns with fire and brimstone."

And again my vision changed,
And I heard the voices of the holy brotherhood raised in song,
Saying, "Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Law."
And I saw the Holy City,
And the brothers were streaming to it.
And the city had no need of the sun,
Neither of the moon to shine on it:
For the glory of God did lighten it.

And I saw the pure river of the Water of Life,
Clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God.
And in the middle of the river stood the Tree of Life,
Which bore fourteen kinds of fruits,
And yielded her fruit to those who would eat of it,
And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

And there shall be no night there;
And they need no candle, neither light of the sun,
For the Lord gives them light:
And they shall reign for ever and ever.

I have reached the inner vision
And through thy spirit in me
I have heard thy wondrous secret.
Through thy mystic insight
Thou hast caused a spring of knowledge
To well up within me,
A fountain of power pouring forth living waters;
A flood of love and all embracing wisdom
Like the splendour of eternal light.

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