Chapter 2
(18).
O Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life
of the world, grant us grace that we may give an account of Thy
resurrection, and Thy miracles which Thou didst in Hades. We then
were in Hades, with all who had fallen asleep since the beginning of
the world. And at the hour of midnight there rose a light as if
of the sun, and shone into these dark regions; and we were all
lighted up, and saw each other. And straightway our father
Abraham was united with the patriarchs and the prophets, and at the
same time they were filled with joy, and said to each other: This
light is from a great source of light. The prophet Hesaias, who
was there present, said: This light is from the Father, and from
the Son, and from the Holy Spirit; about whom I prophesied when yet
alive, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, the
people that sat in darkness, have seen a great light.1931
Then there came into the midst another, an ascetic
from the desert; and the patriarchs said to him: Who art
thou? And he said: I am John, the last of the prophets, who
made the paths of the Son of God straight,1932
and proclaimed to the people repentance
for the
remission of
sins.
1933
And the
Son of
God came to me; and I, seeing Him a long way off, said to the
people: Behold the
Lamb of
God, who taketh away the
sin of the
world.
1934
And with
my
hand I
baptized Him in the
river Jordan, and I saw like a
dove also
the
Holy Spirit coming upon Him;
1935
and I heard
also the voice of
God, even the
Father,
1936
thus saying: This is my
beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased.
1937
And
on this account He sent me also to you, to
proclaim how the only
begotten Son of
God is coming here, that whosoever shall believe in Him
shall be
saved, and whosoever shall not believe in Him shall be
condemned.
1938
On this account I say to you
all, in order that when you see Him you all may adore Him, that now
only is for you the time of repentance for having adored
idols in the
vain upper world, and for the sins you have committed, and that this is
impossible at any other time.
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