the coming of Christ.
1 Then came the Word of God to Adam, and said to him:--
2 "O Adam, as to what you said, 'Bring me into a land where there is
rest,' it is not another land than this, but it is the kingdom of
heaven where alone there is rest.
3 But you can not make your entrance into it at present; but only after
your judgment is past and fulfilled.
4 Then will I make you go up into the kingdom of heaven, you and your
righteous descendants; and I will give you and them the rest you ask
for at present.
5 And if you said, 'Give me of the Water of Life that I may drink and
live'--it cannot be this day, but on the day that I shall descend into
hell, and break the gates of brass, and bruise in pieces the kingdoms
of iron.
6 Then will I in mercy save your soul and the souls of the righteous,
to give them rest in My garden. And that shall be when the end of the
world is come.
7 And, again, in regards to the Water of Life you seek, it will not be
granted you this day; but on the day that I shall shed My blood on your
head* in the land of Golgotha**.
8 For My blood shall be the Water of Life to you at that time, and not
to just you alone, but to all your descendants who shall believe in
Me***; that it be to them for rest forever."
9 The Lord said again to Adam, "O Adam, when you were in the garden,
these trials did not come to you.
10 But since you transgressed My commandment, all these sufferings have
come over you.
11 Now, also, does your flesh require food and drink; drink then of
that water that flows by you on the face of the earth.
12 Then God withdrew His Word from Adam.
13 And Adam and Eve worshipped the Lord, and returned from the river of
water to the cave. It was noon-day; and when they drew near to the
cave, they saw a large fire by it.
* This phrase indicates that the bleeding will take place in an
elevated position above the populace. This is believed to be a
reference to the cross whereby Christ bled profusely above the people
below.
** Golgotha (goal-goth-uh) was the hill outside the walls of Jerusalem
where Jesus was crucified. Its exact location is not precisely known,
but the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is believed to have been
constructed on this hill.
*** Reference: John 6:25 and 7:38