THE COPTIC
APOCALYPSE OF
ELIJAH
COMMONLY CALLED
FIRST ELIJAH
CHAPTER 1
1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, "ᵃSon of man, say to this people, 'Why do you ᵇadd sin to your sins and anger the Lord God who created you?' "
2 Don't ᵃlove the ᵇworld or the things which are in the world, for the ᶜboasting of the world and its destruction belong to the devil.
3 ᵃRemember that the Lord of ᵇglory, who created everything, had mercy upon you so that he might save us from the ᶜcaptivity of this ᵈage.
4 For many times the devil desired not to let the ᵃsun rise above the earth and not to let the earth yield fruit, since he ᵇdesires to ᶜconsume men like a fire which rages in ᵈstubble, and he desires to swallow them like water.
5 Therefore, on account of this, the ᵃGod of glory had mercy upon us, and he ᵇsent his son to the world so that he might save us from the captivity.
6 He did not inform an angel or an archangel or any principality when he was about to come to us, but he changed himself to be like a ᵃman when he was about to come to us so that he might save us [from flesh].
8 Remember that he has prepared ᵃthrones and ᵇcrowns for you in heaven, saying, "Everyone who will obey me will receive thrones and crowns among those who are mine."
9 The Lord said, "I will write my name upon their ᵃforehead and I will seal their right hand, and they will not ᵇhunger or thirst.
10 Neither will the son of ᵃlawlessness prevail over them, nor will the thrones hinder them, but they will walk with the angels up to my ᵇcity."
11 Now, as for the sinners, ᵃthey will be shamed and they will not ᵇpass by the thrones, but the thrones of death will seize them and rule over them because the angels will not agree with them.
13 Hear, O wise men of the land, concerning the deceivers who will multiply in the last times so that they will set down for themselves ᵃdoctrines which do not belong to God, setting ᵇaside the Law of God, those who have made their ᶜbelly their God, saying, "The fast does not exist, nor did God create it," making themselves ᵈstrangers to the covenant of God and robbing themselves of the glorious ᵉpromises.
14 Now these are not ever correctly ᵃestablished in the firm faith. Therefore, don't let those people lead you astray.
15 Remember that from the time when he created the heavens, the Lord created the fast for a benefit to men on account of the passions and ᵃdesires which fight against you so that the evil will not ᵇinflame you.
18 Let the pure one fast, but whenever the one who fasts is ᵃnot pure he has angered the Lord and also the angels.
22 It is effective up to the throne of God for an ᵃointment
and for a release from sin by means of a pure prayer.
and for a release from sin by means of a pure prayer.
23 Who among you, if he is honored in his craft, will go forth to the field without a tool in his hand? Or who will go forth to the battle ᵃto fight without a ᵇbreastplate on?
25 Likewise no one is able to enter the holy place if he is double-minded.
26 The one who is ᵃdouble-minded in his ᵇprayer is darkness to ᶜhimself. And even the angels do not trust him.