| 338 be sanctified, and have eternal life? And the Lord said, It shall be in the meridian of time, in the days of wickedness and vengeance. And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying, the righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world; and through faith I am in the bosom of the Father: and behold Zion is with me! And it came to pass, that Enoch looked upon the earth, and he heard a voice from the bowels thereof, saying, Wo, wo is me the mother of men! I am pained: I am weary because of the wickedness of my children! When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which has gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness, for a season, abide upon my face? And when Enoch heard the earth mourn, he wept, and cried unto the Lord, saying, O Lord, will you not have compassion upon the earth? Will you not bless the children of Noah? And it came to pass that Enoch continued his cry unto the Lord, saying, I ask you, O Lord, in the name of your only Begotten, even Jesus Christ, that you will have mercy upon Noah and his seed, that the earth might never more be covered by the floods? And the Lord could not withhold: and he covenanted with Enoch, and swore unto him with an oath, that he would stay the floods; that he would call upon the children of Noah: and he sent forth an unalterable decree, that a remnant of his seed should always be found among all nations, while the earth should stand: and the Lord said, Blessed is him through whose seed the Messiah shall come: for he says, I am Messiah, the King of Zion; the Rock of heaven, which is broad as eternity; whoso comes in at the gate and climbs up by me shall never fall; wherefore, blessed are they of whom I have spoken, for they shall come forth with songs of everlasting joy.
And it came to pass, that Enoch cried unto the Lord, saying, When the Son of man comes in the flesh, shall the earth rest? I pray you show me these things. And the Lord said unto Enoch, Look, and he looked and beheld the Son of man lifted upon the cross, after the manner of men; and he heard a loud voice; and the heavens were veiled; and all the creation of God mourned; and the earth groaned; and the rocks were rent: and the saints arose and were crowned at the right hand of the Son of man, with crowns of glory; and as many of the spirits as were in prison, came forth and stood on the right hand of God; and the remainder were reserved in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day. And again, Enoch wept and cried unto the Lord, saying, When shall the earth rest? And Enoch beheld the Son of man ascend up unto the Father: and he called unto the Lord, saying, Will you not come again upon the earth, for inasmuch as you are God, and I know you, and you have sworn unto me, and commanded me that I should ask in the name of your Only Begotten, you have made me, and given unto me a right to your throne, and not of myself, but through your own grace: wherefore, I ask you if you will not come again on the earth? And the Lord said unto Enoch, as I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil [fulfill] the oath which I have made unto you, concerning the children of Noah: and the day shall come that the earth shall rest-but before that day, shall the heavens be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve: and righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of my Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men: and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out my own elect from the four quarters of the earth unto a place which I shall prepare; a holy city, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called ZION, a New Jerusalem. And the Lord said unto Enoch, then shall you and all your city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us, and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other, and there shall be my abode, and it shall be Zion which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years shall the earth rest. And it came to pass that Enoch saw the days of the coming of the Son of man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness, for the space of a thousand years: but before that day he saw great tribulations among the wicked; and he also saw the sea, that it was troubled, and men's hearts failing them, looking forth with fear for the judgments of the Almighty God, which should come upon the wicked. And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world; and he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption, and received a fulness [fullness] of joy: and all the days of Zion in the days of Enoch, were three hundred and sixty-five years: and Enoch and all his people walked with God and he dwelt in the midst of Zion: and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up
(page 338) |
