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First Book of Adam and Eve

R >> Rutherford Platt >> First Book of Adam and Eve




16 Then, concerning the tree, I commanded you not to
eat of it. Yet I knew that Satan, who deceived himself,
would also deceive you.

17 So I made known to you by means of the tree, not to
come near him. And I told you not to eat of the fruit
thereof, nor to taste of it, nor yet to sit under it, nor
to yield to it.

18 Had I not been and spoken to you, O Adam,
concerning the tree, and had I left you without a
commandment, and you had sinned -- it would have been an
offence on My part, for not having given you any order; you
would turn around and blame Me for it.

19 But I commanded you, and warned you, and you fell.
So that My creatures cannot blame Me; but the blame rests
on them alone.

20 And, O Adam, I have made the day so that you and
your descendants can work and toil in it. And I have made
the night for them to rest in it from their work; and for
the beasts of the field to go forth by night and look for
their food.

21 But little of darkness now remains, O Adam, and
daylight will soon appear."



Chapter XIV - The earliest prophesy of the coming of Christ.


1 Then Adam said to God: "O Lord, take You my soul,
and let me not see this gloom any more; or remove me to
some place where there is no darkness."

2 But God the Lord said to Adam, "Indeed I say to you,
this darkness will pass from you, every day I have
determined for you, until the fulfillment of My covenant;
when I will save you and bring you back again into the
garden, into the house of light you long for, in which
there is no darkness*. I will bring you to it -- in the
kingdom of heaven."

3 Again said God to Adam, "All this misery that you
have been made to take on yourself because of your
transgression, will not free you from the hand of Satan,
and will not save you.

4 But I will. When I shall come down from heaven, and
shall become flesh of your descendants, and take on Myself
the infirmity from which you suffer, then the darkness that
covered you in this cave shall cover Me in the grave, when
I am in the flesh of your descendants.

5 And I, who am without years, shall be subject to the
reckoning of years, of times, of months, and of days, and I
shall be reckoned as one of the sons of men, in order to
save you."

6 And God ceased to commune with Adam.


* Reference: John 12:46



Chapter XV - Adam and Eve grieve over the suffering of God
to save them from their sins.


1 Then Adam and Eve cried and sorrowed by reason of
God's word to them, that they should not return to the
garden until the fulfillment of the days decreed on them;
but mostly because God had told them that He should suffer
for their salvation.



Chapter XVI - The first sunrise. Adam and Eve think it is
a fire coming to burn them.


1 After this, Adam and Eve continued to stand in the
cave, praying and crying, until the morning dawned on them.

2 And when they saw the light returned to them, they
retrained from fear, and strengthened their hearts.

3 Then Adam began to come out of the cave. And when
he came to the mouth of it, and stood and turned his face
towards the east, and saw the sunrise in glowing rays, and
felt the heat thereof on his body, he was afraid of it, and
thought in his heart that this flame came forth to plague him.

4 He then cried and beat his chest, then he fell on
the ground on his face and made his request, saying: --

5 "O Lord, plague me not, neither consume me, nor yet
take away my life from the earth."

6 For he thought the sun was God.

7 Because while he was in the garden and heard the
voice of God and the sound He made in the garden, and
feared Him, Adam never saw the brilliant light of the sun,
neither did its flaming heat touch his body.

8 Therefore he was afraid of the sun when flaming rays
of it reached him. He thought God meant to plague him
therewith all the days He had decreed for him.

9 For Adam also said in his thoughts, as God did not
plague us with darkness, behold, He has caused this sun to
rise and to plague us with burning heat.

10 But while he was thinking like this in his heart,
the Word of God came to him and said: --

11 "O Adam, get up on your feet. This sun is not God;
but it has been created to give light by day, of which I
spoke to you in the cave saying, 'that the dawn would come,
and there would be light by day.'

12 But I am God who comforted you in the night."

13 And God ceased to commune with Adam.



Chapter XVII - The Chapter of the Serpent.


1 The Adam and Eve came out at the mouth of the cave,
and went towards the garden.

2 But as they went near it, before the western gate,
from which Satan came when he deceived Adam and Eve, they
found the serpent that became Satan coming at the gate, and
sorrowfully licking the dust, and wiggling on its breast on
the ground, by reason of the curse that fell on it from God.

3 And whereas before the serpent was the most exalted
of all beasts, now it was changed and become slippery, and
the meanest of them all, and it crept on its breast and
went on its belly.

4 And whereas it was the fairest of all beasts, it had
been changed, and was become the ugliest of them all.
Instead of feeding on the best food, now it turned to eat
the dust. Instead of living, as before, in the best
places, now it lived in the dust.

5 And, whereas it had been the most beautiful of all
beasts, all of which stood dumb at its beauty, it was now
abhorred of them.

6 And, again, whereas it lived in one beautiful home,
to which all other animals came from elsewhere; and where
it drank, they drank also of the same; now, after it had
become venomous, by reason of God's curse, all beasts fled
from its home, and would not drink of the water it drank;
but fled from it.



Chapter XVIII - The mortal combat with the serpent.

1 When the accursed serpent saw Adam and Eve, it
swelled its head, stood on its tail, and with eyes blood-
red, acted like it would kill them.

2 It made straight for Eve, and ran after her; while
Adam standing by, cried because he had no stick in his hand
with which to hit the serpent, and did not know how to put
it to death.

3 But with a heart burning for Eve, Adam approached
the serpent, and held it by the tail; when it turned
towards him and said to him: --

4 "O Adam, because of you and of Eve, I am slippery,
and go on my belly." Then with its great strength,
it threw down Adam and Eve and squeezed them,
and tried to kill them.

5 But God sent an angel who threw the serpent away
from them, and raised them up.

6 Then the Word of God came to the serpent, and said
to it, "The first time I made you slick, and made you to go
on your belly; but I did not deprive you of speech.

7 This time, however, you will be mute, and you and
your race will speak no more; because, the first time My
creatures were ruined because of you, and this time you
tried to kill them."

8 Then the serpent was struck mute, and was no longer
able to speak.

9 And a wind blew down from heaven by the command of
God and carried away the serpent from Adam and Eve, and
threw it on the seashore where it landed in India.



Chapter XIX - Beasts made subject to Adam.


1 But Adam and Eve cried before God. And Adam said to Him: --

2 "O Lord, when I was in the cave, I said this to you, my Lord,
the beasts of the field would rise and devour me,
and cut off my life from the earth."

3 Then Adam, because of what had happened to him, beat
his chest and fell on the ground like a corpse. Then the
Word of God came to him, who raised him, and said to him,

4 "O Adam, not one of these beasts will be able to hurt you;
because I have made the beasts and other moving things
come to you in the cave. I did not let the serpent come
with them because it might have risen against you and made
you tremble; and the fear of it should fall into your hearts.

5 For I knew that the accursed one is wicked; therefore
I would not let it come near you with the other beasts.

6 But now strengthen your heart and fear not. I am
with you to the end of the days I have determined on you."



Chapter XX - Adam wishes to protect Eve.


1 Then Adam cried and said, "O God, take us away to
some other place, where the serpent can not come near us
again, and rise against us. For fear that it might find
Your handmaid Eve alone and kill her; for its eyes are
hideous and evil."

2 But God said to Adam and Eve, "From now on, don't be
afraid, I will not let it come near you; I have driven it
away from you, from this mountain; neither will I leave in
it the ability to hurt you."

3 Then Adam and Eve worshipped before God and gave Him
thanks, and praised Him for having delivered them from death.



Chapter XXI - Adam and Eve attempt suicide.


1 Then Adam and Eve went in search of the garden.

2 And the heat beat like a flame on their faces; and
they sweated from the heat, and cried before the Lord.

3 But the place where they cried was close to a high mountain,
facing the western gate of the garden.

4 Then Adam threw himself down from the top of that
mountain; his face was torn and his flesh was ripped; he
lost a lot of blood and was close to death.

5 Meanwhile Eve remained standing on the mountain
crying over him, thus lying.

6 And she said, "I don't wish to live after him; for
all that he did to himself was through me."

7 Then she threw herself after him; and was torn and
ripped by stones; and remained lying as dead.

8 But the merciful God, who looks over His creatures,
looked at Adam and Eve as they lay dead, and He sent His
Word to them, and raised them.

9 And said to Adam, "O Adam, all this misery which you
have brought on yourself, will have no affect against My rule,
neither will it alter the covenant of the 5, 500 years."



Chapter XXII - Adam in a gracious mood.


1 Then Adam said to God, "I dry up in the heat, I am
faint from walking, and I don't want to be in this world.
And I don't know when You will take me out of it to rest."

2 Then the Lord God said to him, "O Adam, it cannot be
now, not until you have ended your days. Then shall I
bring you out of this miserable land."

3 And Adam said to God, "While I was in the garden I
knew neither heat, nor languor, neither moving about, nor
trembling, nor fear; but now since I came to this land, all
this affliction has come over me.

4 Then God said to Adam, "So long as you were keeping
My commandment, My light and My grace rested on you. But
when you transgressed My commandment, sorrow and misery
came to you in this land."

5 And Adam cried and said, "O Lord, do not cut me off
for this, neither punish me with heavy plagues, nor yet
repay me according to my sin; for we, of our own will,
transgressed Your commandment, and ignored Your law, and
tried to become gods like you, when Satan the enemy
deceived us."

6 Then God said again to Adam, "Because you have
endured fear and trembling in this land, languor and
suffering, treading and walking about, going on this
mountain, and dying from it, I will take all this on Myself
in order to save you."



Chapter XXIII - Adam and Eve strengthen themselves and make
the first altar ever built.


1 Then Adam cried more and said, "O God, have mercy on
me, so far as to take on yourself, that which I will do."

2 But God withdrew His Word from Adam and Eve.

3 Then Adam and Eve stood on their feet; and Adam said to Eve,
"Strengthen yourself, and I also will strengthen myself."
And she strengthened herself, as Adam told her.

4 Then Adam and Eve took stones and placed them in the
shape of an altar; and they took leaves from the trees
outside the garden, with which they wiped, from the face of
the rock, the blood they had spilled.

5 But that which had dropped on the sand, they took
together with the dust with which it was mingled and
offered it on the altar as an offering to God.

6 Then Adam and Eve stood under the Altar and cried,
thus praying to God, "Forgive us our trespass* and our sin,
and look at us with Thine eye of mercy. For when we were
in the garden our praises and our hymns went up before you
without ceasing.

7 But when we came into this strange land, pure praise
was not longer ours, nor righteous prayer, nor
understanding hearts, nor sweet thoughts, nor just
counsels, nor long discernment, nor upright feelings,
neither is our bright nature left us. But our body is
changed from the likeness in which it was at first, when we
were created.

8 Yet now look at our blood which is offered on these
stones, and accept it at our hands, like the praise we used
to sing to you at first, when in the garden."

9 And Adam began to make more requests of God.


* ORIGINAL OF THE LORD'S PRAYER SAID TO BE USED ABOUT
150 YEARS BEFORE OUR LORD: Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
be gracious unto us, O Lord our God, hallowed be Your Name,
and let the remembrance of Thee be glorified Heaven above
and upon earth here below.

Let Your kingdom reign over us now and forever. The
Holy Men of old said remit and forgive unto all men
whatsoever they have done unto me. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from the evil thing; for Thine
is the kingdom and Thou shalt reign in glory forever and
forevermore, AMEN.



Chapter XXIV - A vivid prophecy of the life and death of Christ.


1 Then the merciful God, good and lover of men, looked
at Adam and Eve, and at their blood, which they had held up
as an offering to Him; without an order from Him for so
doing. But He wondered at them; and accepted their
offerings.

2 And God sent from His presence a bright fire, that
consumed their offering.

3 He smelled the sweet savor of their offering, and
showed them mercy.

4 Then came the Word of God to Adam, and said to him,
"O Adam, as you have shed your blood, so will I shed My own
blood when I become flesh of your descendants; and as you
died, O Adam, so also will I die. And as you built an
altar, so also will I make for you an altar of the earth;
and as you offered your blood on it, so also will I offer
My blood on an altar on the earth.

5 And as you sued for forgiveness through that blood,
so also will I make My blood forgiveness of sins, and erase
transgressions in it.

6 And now, behold, I have accepted your offering, O
Adam, but the days of the covenant in which I have bound
you are not fulfilled. When they are fulfilled, then will
I bring you back into the garden.

7 Now, therefore, strengthen your heart; and when
sorrow comes over you, make Me an offering, and I will be
favorable to you."



Chapter XXV - God represented as merciful and loving.
The establishing of worship.


1 But God knew that Adam believed he should frequently
kill himself and make an offering to Him of his blood.

2 Therefore He said to him, "O Adam, don't ever kill
yourself like this again, by throwing yourself down from
that mountain."

3 But Adam said to God, "I was thinking to put an end
to myself at once, for having transgressed Your
commandments, and for my having come out of the beautiful
garden; and for the bright light of which You have deprived
me; and for the praises which poured forth from my mouth
without ceasing, and for the light that covered me.

4 Yet of Your goodness, O God, do not get rid of me
altogether; but be favorable to me every time I die, and
bring me to life.

5 And thereby it will be made known that You are a
merciful God, who does not want anyone to perish; who loves
not that one should fall; and who does not condemn any one
cruelly, badly, and by whole destruction."

6 Then Adam remained silent.

7 And the Word of God came to him, and blessed him,
and comforted him, and covenanted with him, that He would
save him at the end of the days determined for him.

8 This, then, was the first offering Adam made to God;
and so it became his custom to do.



Chapter XXVI - A beautiful prophecy of eternal life and joy
(v. 15). The fall of night.

1 Then Adam took Eve, and they began to return to the
Cave of Treasures where they lived. But when they got
closer to it and saw it from a distance, heavy sorrow fell
on Adam and Eve when they looked at it.

2 Then Adam said to Eve, "When we were on the mountain
we were comforted by the Word of God that conversed with
us; and the light that came from the east shown over us.

3 But now the Word of God is hidden from us; and the
light that shown over us is so changed as to disappear, and
let darkness and sorrow come over us.

4 And we are forced to enter this cave which is like a
prison, in which darkness covers us, so that we are
separated from each other; and you can not see me, neither
can I see you."

5 When Adam had said these words, they cried and
spread their hands before God; for they were full of
sorrow.

6 And they prayed to God to bring the sun to them, to
shine on them, so that darkness would not return to them,
and that they wouldn't have to go under this covering of
rock. And they wished to die rather than see the darkness.

7 Then God looked at Adam and Eve and at their great
sorrow, and at all they had done with a fervent heart, on
account of all the trouble they were in, instead of their
former well-being, and on account of all the misery that
came over them in a strange land.

8 Therefore God was not angry with them; nor impatient
with them; but he was patient and forbearing towards them,
as towards the children He had created.

9 Then came the Word of God to Adam, and said to him,
"Adam, as for the sun, if I were to take it and bring it to
you, days, hours, years and months would all stop, and the
covenant I have made with you, would never be fulfilled.

10 But then you would be deserted and stuck in a
perpetual plague, and you would never be saved.

11 Yes, rather, bear long and calm your soul while you
live night and day; until the fulfillment of the days, and
the time of My covenant is come.

12 Then shall I come and save you, O Adam, for I do
not wish that you be afflicted.

13 And when I look at all the good things in which you
lived, and why you came out of them, then would I willingly
show you mercy.

14 But I cannot alter the covenant that has gone out
of My mouth; otherwise I would have brought you back into
the garden.

15 When, however, the covenant is fulfilled, then
shall I show you and your descendants mercy, and bring you
into a land of gladness, where there is neither sorrow nor
suffering; but abiding joy and gladness, and light that
never fails, and praises that never cease; and a beautiful
garden that shall never pass away."

16 And God said again to Adam, "Be patient and enter the cave,
for the darkness, of which you were afraid, shall only be
twelve hours long; and when ended, light shall come up."

17 Then when Adam heard these words from God, he and
Eve worshipped before Him, and their hearts were comforted.
They returned into the cave after their custom, while tears
flowed from their eyes, sorrow and wailing came from their
hearts, and they wished their soul would leave their body.

18 And Adam and Eve stood praying until the darkness
of night came over them, and Adam was hid from Eve, and she
from him.

19 And they remained standing in prayer.



Chapter XXVII - The second tempting of Adam and Eve.
The devil takes on the form of a beguiling light.


1 When Satan, the hater of all good, saw how they
continued in prayer, and how God communed with them, and
comforted them, and how He had accepted their offering --
Satan made an apparition.

2 He began with transforming his hosts; in his hands
was a flashing fire, and they were in a great light.

3 He then placed his throne near the mouth of the cave
because he could not enter into it by reason of their prayers.
And he shed light into the cave, until the cave glistened over
Adam and Eve; while his hosts began to sing praises.

4 And Satan did this, in order that when Adam saw the
light, he should think within himself that it was a
heavenly light, and that Satan's hosts were angels; and
that God had sent them to watch at the cave, and to give
him light in the darkness.

5 So that when Adam came out of the cave and saw them,
and Adam and Eve bowed to Satan, then he would overcome
Adam thereby, and a second time humble him before God.

6 When, therefore, Adam and Eve saw the light,
fancying it was real, they strengthened their hearts; yet,
as they were trembling, Adam said to Eve: --

7 "Look at that great light, and at those many songs
of praise, and at that host standing outside who won't come
into our cave. Why don't they tell us what they want,
where they are from, what the meaning of this light is,
what those praises are, why they have been sent to this
place, and why they won't come in?

8 If they were from God, they would come into the cave
with us, and would tell us why they were sent."

9 Then Adam stood up and prayed to God with a burning
heart, and said: --

10 "O Lord, is there in the world another god besides
You, who created angels and filled them with light, and
sent them to keep us, who would come with them?

11 But, look, we see these hosts that stand at the
mouth of the cave; they are in a great light; they sing
loud praises. If they are of some other god than You, tell
me; and if they are sent by you, inform me of the reason
for which You have sent them."

12 No sooner had Adam said this, than an angel from
God appeared to him in the cave, who said to him, "O Adam,
fear not. This is Satan and his hosts; he wishes to
deceive you as he deceived you at first. For the first
time, he was hidden in the serpent; but this time he is
come to you in the likeness of an angel of light; in order
that, when you worshipped him, he might enslave you, in the
very presence of God."

13 Then the angel went from Adam and seized Satan at
the opening of the cave, and stripped him of the pretense
he had assumed, and brought him in his own hideous form to
Adam and Eve; who were afraid of him when they saw him.

14 And the angel said to Adam, "This hideous form has
been his ever since God made him fall from heaven. He
could not have come near you in it; he therefore
transformed himself into an angel of light."

15 Then the angel drove away Satan and his hosts from
Adam and Eve, and said to them, "Fear not; God who created
you, will strengthen you."

16 And the angel left them.

17 But Adam and Eve remained standing in the cave; no
consolation came to them; they divided in their thoughts.

18 And when it was morning they prayed; and then went
out to seek the garden. For their hearts were towards it,
and they could get no consolation for having left it.



Chapter XXVIII - The Devil pretends to lead Adam and Eve to
the water to bathe.


1 But when the crafty Satan saw them, that they were
going to the garden, he gathered together his host, and
came in appearance on a cloud, intent on deceiving them.

2 But when Adam and Eve saw him thus in a vision, they
thought they were angels of God come to comfort them about
having left the garden, or to bring them back again into it.

3 And Adam spread his hands before God, beseeching Him
to make him understand what they were.

4 Then Satan, the hater of all good, said to Adam, "O
Adam, I am an angel of the great God; and, behold the hosts
that surround me.

5 God has sent us to take you and bring you to the
border of the garden northwards; to the shore of the clear
sea, and bathe you and Eve in it, and raise you to your
former gladness, that you return again to the garden."

6 These words sank into the heart of Adam and Eve.

7 Yet God withheld His Word from Adam, and did not
make him understand at once, but waited to see his
strength; whether he would be overcome as Eve was when in
the garden, or whether he would prevail.

8 Then Satan called to Adam and Eve, and said,
"Behold, we go to the sea of water," and they began to go.

9 And Adam and Eve followed them at some little distance.

10 But when they came to the mountain to the north of
the garden, a very high mountain, without any steps to the
top of it, the Devil drew near to Adam and Eve, and made
them go up to the top in reality, and not in a vision;
wishing, as he did, to throw them down and kill them, and
to wipe off their name from the earth; so that this earth
should remain to him and his hosts alone.



Chapter XXIX - God tells Adam of the Devil's purpose. (v. 4).


1 But when the merciful God saw that Satan wished to
kill Adam with his many tricks, and saw that Adam was meek
and without guile, God spoke to Satan in a loud voice, and
cursed him.

2 Then he and his hosts fled, and Adam and Eve
remained standing on the top of the mountain, from there
they saw below them the wide world, high above which they
were. But they saw none of the host which time after time
were by them.

3 They cried, both Adam and Eve, before God, and
begged for forgiveness of Him.

4 Then came the Word from God to Adam, and said to
him, "Know you and understand concerning this Satan, that
he seeks to deceive you and your descendants after you."

5 And Adam cried before the Lord God, and begged and
prayed to Him to give him something from the garden, as a
token to him, wherein to be comforted.

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