Apocalypse of Zephaniah - Content

Content

The narrative tells of Zephaniah being taken to see the destiny of souls after death.

• In the short Sahidic fragment, a soul taken out of its body before repentance for its lawlessness is lashed by five thousand angels. Later Zephaniah sees thousands of thousands of beings with human features (with hair and teeth), but the text is interrupted.
• The Akhmimic text includes some fragmentary scenes:
  • It starts with a short fragmentary scene of a burial and with a vision of inhabitants of a town where there is no darkness, because it is the place for the righteous and the saints. Zephaniah then sees all the souls of those being punished and asks the Lord to have compassion.
  • The main vision is placed upon Mount Seir: in front of bronze gates, the angels of the Lord write down all the good deeds of the righteous, and the angels of the Accuser (the Greek word διάβολος literally meant slanderer or accuser) write down all the sins of men, in order to accuse them when their souls leave the world. Zephaniah sees myriads of terrible angels with leopard-like faces, tusks and fiery scourges, who cast the souls of ungodly men into their eternal punishment. The seer looks back and sees a sea of flame and the Accuser, with unkempt lioness's hair, bear's teeth, and serpent body, wishing to swallow him. Zephaniah prays the Lord and the great angel Eremiel, "who is over the abyss", appears and saves him. Two scrolls are read to Zephaniah, one with all his sins and one with his good deeds on earth. The good deeds prevail over the sins and the seer is allowed to cross the river and leave Hades. On the boat he puts on an angelic garment.
  • The Akhmimic fragments ends with some scenes introduced by trumpets sounded by angels. Only three of these scenes have survived. At the first trumpet, victory over the Accuser is proclaimed, and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Enoch, Elijah and David are introduced. At the second trumpet, the heavens are opened and Zephaniah sees the sinful souls (which are given body and hair) tormented in a sea of flame until the day when the Lord will judge. He sees also a multitude of saints praying in intercession for those in these torments. The last trumpet mentioned in the fragments prepares for the announcement that the Lord will rise up in his wrath to destroy the earth and the heavens.