This article is about the Coptic Apocalypse of Elijah. For the Hebrew Apocalypse of Elijah, see Sefer Elijah.
The Apocalypse of Elijah is an early Christian work written in the Coptic language commonly held to be a documentation of the oral presentation of multiple original and classical manuscripts.[1] Presented in part as the direct word of the Hebrew God, Yahweh, to the biblical prophet Elijah, from where its name is derived, the text includes a short commentary on some early Christian fasting and prayer disciplines, a prophetic message about the kingdoms of Assyria and Egypt, and accounts of the presentation of the antichrist, his encounters with Elijah and Enoch, and his ultimate demise.[2]
Although it is given the title of apocalypse, it does not have many of the usual traits of a classical apocalypse; yet, it ties together critical themes of apocalyptic literature such as kingdom eschatology and antichrist imagery.
There is another Apocalypse of Elijah dating from the 3rd–7th centuries (Sefer Elijah or Sefer Eliahu) written in Hebrew to a Jewish audience, but it does not appear to share any significant similarities or inspiration from the Coptic, Christian work.[3][4][5]
Title, author, and setting
Contrary to what the title would suggest, the Coptic text is not often formally considered to be an apocalypse in genre, nor is it believed to be written or influenced by the biblical prophet Elijah.[2] The prophet's inclusion twice within the text presents a likely origin for the name, though his mention is always immediately connected in proximity to the biblical figure of Enoch.[2]
Additionally, around the time of the manuscript’s potential origin within the Christian communities in Egypt (discussed in detail below), there is evidence for the existence of multiple pseudepigraphic works attributed to the prophet Elijah, most famously referenced by the 4th century theologian Didymus the Blind.[6] These texts included another apocalyptic work elucidating a revelation to Elijah of the nature of hell, much in the same manner as the Apocalypses of Peter and of Paul.[6]
There is another text called the Apocalypse of Elijah that is referenced by both Origen and Jerome, early Christian scholars, that was subject to debate concerning its relationship to Paul the Apostle's first letter to the Corinthians.[7] This debate arose around the section of 1 Corinthians 2:9: "which the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard," which Origen attributed first to the Apocalypse of Elijah while Jerome held that Paul likely did not cite the apocalypse.[7] Whatever the case may be, this phrase is not found in any of the existing forms of the Apocalypse of Elijah and thus suggests an entirely separate variant.[7] Whether this text is the very same as that detailing Elijah's journey through hell is unknown.
Together, these pseudepigraphic works allude to a period of time in early Christianity where Elijah was considered to be an important biblical figure and his name was associated with a number of circulating manuscripts. More specifically, there is reason to believe that early Egyptian Christian scribes, suspected first because of the existing Coptic renditions of the text, would have had both a literary basis and a religious basis for pseudonymously ascribing the work to Elijah.[8]
Firstly, there are a host of recessional documents and original texts coming from that era that establish a tradition of Elijah receiving revelations, putting him as a prime pseudonymous author.[9] Secondly, there are stories of Egyptian Christians taking on the names of prophets such as Elijah in place of their own,[10] and there are numerous monastic traditions of piety surrounding the life and 'monastic' practices of Elijah that paint a strong picture of Elijah as a significant religious figure in the Coptic tradition.[11] Finally, within the text itself, in chapter 2, there are many references to Egypt as the site of many of the coming events predicted within the text, solidifying the notion that the authors were Christians living in Egypt at the time.
Date
The bulk of the text is commonly dated anywhere between the middle of the 2nd century to the beginning of the 4th century.[12] The text is clearly influenced by Christian thinking, with references to Christian manuscripts such as Revelation that could have only become available past the middle of the 2nd century, yet the earliest known Coptic fragments date back to the beginning of the 4th century.[12][13]
Earlier dates stem from the notion that, given the reality that pieces of the text were likely originally written in Greek[14] and subsequently translated into Coptic, it is probable that there existed forms of a written text as early as the end of the 2nd century, later given oral manifestation in Egypt which was subsequently transcribed.
Additionally, Epiphanius[15] ascribes to this work Eph. 5:14, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."
There is some question regarding the potential for the Coptic (and presumably the Greek) fragments to be drawing upon and re-interpreting a much earlier Jewish manuscript which could have been dated anywhere as early as the 1st century BCE; however, there is yet to be any significant evidence for the existence of such a text.[13]
Genre
The content of the Apocalypse of Elijah only somewhat resembles any classical definition of an apocalypse. An apocalypse, according to historian John J. Collins, can be defined as “a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial insofar as it involves another, supernatural world.”[16]
The Apocalypse of Elijah only loosely meets some of these specifications. For instance, there is no otherworldly creature to reveal the mysteries of the text to the author, at least not one that is stated in the text. Additionally, the temporo-spatial components are both relatively non-specific. However, though it may not fit into the ideal format, there are many aspects to the apocalypse which relate themselves to past apocalyptic works, including imagery of a figure who opposes Christ like the antichrist of the Book of Revelation, resurrection from the dead, a final judgement, and the section on the martyrdom of Elijah and Enoch which mirrors very closely the two witnesses in Revelation 11.[2] It is in its replication of a number of other apocalyptic manuscripts that the text comes to take on its reputation as an apocalypse in early antiquity.
Manuscript history
Two of the foundational Coptic texts of the Apocalypse of Elijah were edited and published by George Steindorff near the end of the 19th century, one of which was obtained from St. Shenoute's White Monastery, has been dated to the early 4th century and contained the beginning and conclusion of the text, but was missing most of the middle portion.[17][18] Another incredibly important manuscript dated to the 4th or 5th century is that published through the Chester Beatty Library, which to this day is the most complete variant of the text to be discovered.[18]
There exists a papyrus fragment dated to 4th century which is written in ancient Greek and includes only a small section of the end of the Apocalypse of Elijah.[14] Additionally, this Greek text does not entirely overlap any of the other manuscripts discovered, which suggests that it may be an iteration of an earlier alternative Greek manuscript.[14]
Textual outline
Notable translations of the Apocalypse of Elijah include that of O. S. Wintermute in his chapter in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha[19] and the original translation of Albert Pietersma and Susan Turner Cornstock with Harold W. Attridge, which is available through the Chester Beatty Library.[20]
God’s word on salvation, his true sons, and fasting
God’s addresses the people through the presumed author (1:1–2)
The Lord enacts His salvation and mercy through His Son (1:37)
God’s plans for those who obey Him and for the sinners is revealed (1:8–12)
God’s sons are taken to heaven, while the sinners are given to death
The wise men are warned of deceivers who speak lies about the practice of fasting (1:13–14)
Rules and reasons are given for fasting (1:15–22)
Fasting is presented as a blessing to man, with the capability to heal and cast out demons
Warnings are given against impure fasting
The audience is implored to remain single-minded in the Lord (1:23–27)
The fate of Assyria and Egypt
The king of Assyria, also called the king of injustice, brings disruption to Egypt (2:1–5)
“The king of peace” kills the king of injustice, creates a false peace, and establishes the heathens (2:6–16)
The king and his two sons capture the saints and offer unrighteous sacrifices (2:17–28)
An account of the tragedies which will befall Egypt (2:29–38)
Violence against poor ceases and the markets are silenced
The people will desire death but not die
Nursing women and mothers will grieve while virgins rejoice over their barrenness
The Persians kill the Assyrian king, the saints are restored to abundance, and the dead are commanded to rise (2:39–53)
The son of lawlessness presented
The son of lawlessness falsely calls himself “the Christ” (3:1)
Signs of the true Christ (3:2-4)
Comes with the sign of the cross
Surrounded by angels
Deceptive signs of the son of lawlessness (3:5-11)
Physical wonders
Miracles of healing and casting out demons
True signs of the lawlessness (3:12-18)
Cannot give life
“Tuft of gray hair at the front of his bald head”
Shifting ages from young to old
The virgin, Elijah, and Enoch shame the son of lawlessness
Tabitha, the virgin, scolds the son of lawlessness up to Jerusalem, is killed by him only to rise again and become a source of healing blood to the people (4:1-6)
Elijah and Enoch appear to fight and argue with the son of lawlessness (4:7-12)
The shameless one kills Elijah and Enoch in the market place (4:13-14)
Elijah and Enoch are resurrected and taunt the son of lawlessness (4:15-16)
The son of lawlessness retaliates by torturing and killing the saints of the land, save only a few survivors who flee (4:17-24)
The Lord receives and resurrects those who have died and grants them favor and rule (4:25-30)
The saints return to fight the son of lawlessness, who grows angry and burns the righteous ones (4:31-33)
Christ battles the son of lawlessness and God brings final judgment
Many see the deception of the son of lawlessness (5:1)
Christ sends angels to the earth who strengthen the saints and grant them access to the tree of life (5:2-6)
The earth is disturbed and the waters dry up (5:7-9)
Those deceived by the son of lawlessness cry out against him and seek to worship the righteous one (5:10-14)
The son of lawlessness makes his final threats against the saints (5:15-20)
The angels come to earth and the Lord sends fire to consume the sinners and devils (5:21-23)
YHWH begins his “true judgment” (5:24-31)
Sinners meet their sins where they were committed
Saints will see the place of torment and sinners will see the righteous place
YHWH judges both heaven and earth, shepherd and flock
Elijah and Enoch return to finally kill the son of lawlessness and case him into the abyss (5:32-35)
Christ and the saints come from heaven to spend a thousand years upon the earth before burning it to create a new heaven and new earth (5:36-39)
Theological backgrounds and themes
To discuss the theological themes of the Apocalypse of Elijah is a difficult task, as its origin, date, and purpose are all subjects of debate. The text seamlessly weaves in both Christian and Jewish themes that makes it hard to discern which section ascribes to which line of thinking.[12]
Generally, there are strong themes of false leadership and the signs of the saints vs. that of the sinners throughout the text, from warnings given to the "wise men of the land" against the "deceivers" in 1:13 to the 'sinners' in 5:11 grieving because they believed the false signs of the son of lawlessness.[21] In this same vein, some of the signs of the true Christ are also presented in chapter 2, such as his arrival being heralded by hosts of angels or his ability to raise the dead. The work also introduces the concept of marks which identify the people who belong to God, found on both their foreheads and wrists, which are mentioned in both 1:9 and 5:4. There markings are reminiscent of the seals of the 144,000 from Revelation 7:3-4.
There are also very clear references to the idea of resurrection throughout the text, which was a very proliferative concept in early Christian apocalyptic literature, such as Revelation, but which had previously found tremendous traction in the Jewish apocalyptic texts such as Daniel, the Book of Enoch, and later works such as 2 Baruch and 4 Ezra.[22] In the Apocalypse of Elijah, resurrection manifests in a few distinct ways.
The first instance, and by far the strangest, is found in 2:53, where the "remnant" recently freed by the Persians approach the dead and say, "Rise up and be with us in this rest." Whether these dead do in fact rise is undisclosed, yet it is significant that it is not often humans are raising humans in these apocalyptic texts. There is also a section, 3:12, which mentions that the son of lawlessness does not have the power to raise the dead as the Christ did.
Stories of the resurrection of the saints in chapter 4:27, as well as of Tabitha the virgin and Elijah and Enoch in chapter 4 reflect clear Christian themes of martyrdom. This tradition of literary depictions of martyrdom became popular early on in the history of the church and tended to serve as a sort of sign of the end of days.[23]
A section in Chapter 5 is considered by some scholars to reference the original Apocalypse of Peter, as 5:27-29 seemingly discusses how the righteous may ask for the salvation of sinners in torment, and an act of grace will occur.[24]
The Book of Revelation or Book of the Apocalypse is the final book of the New Testament. Written in Koine Greek, its title is derived from the first word of the text: apokalypsis, meaning 'unveiling' or 'revelation'. The Book of Revelation is the only apocalyptic book in the New Testament canon. It occupies a central place in Christian eschatology.
Apocalypse is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In it a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imagery drawn from the Jewish Bible, cosmological and (pessimistic) historical surveys, the division of time into periods, esoteric numerology, and claims of ecstasy and inspiration. Almost all are written under pseudonyms, claiming as author a venerated hero from previous centuries, as with the Book of Daniel, composed during the 2nd century BCE but bearing the name of the legendary Daniel from the 6th century BCE.
The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to the patriarch Enoch who was the father of Methuselah and the great-grandfather of Noah. The Book of Enoch contains unique material on the origins of demons and Nephilim, why some angels fell from heaven, an explanation of why the Genesis flood was morally necessary, and a prophetic exposition of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah. Three books are traditionally attributed to Enoch, including the distinct works 2 Enoch and 3 Enoch. None of the three are considered to be canonical scripture by most Jewish or Christian church bodies.
Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post-Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. Apocalypse is a Greek word meaning "revelation", "an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling".
The Apocalypse of Peter, also called the Revelation of Peter, is an early Christian text of the 2nd century and a work of apocalyptic literature. It is the earliest-written extant work depicting a Christian account of heaven and hell in detail. The Apocalypse of Peter is influenced by both Jewish apocalyptic literature and Greek philosophy of the Hellenistic period. The text is extant in two diverging versions based on a lost Koine Greek original: a shorter Greek version and a longer Ethiopic version.
In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the Messianic Kingdom, the meeting place of the twelve tribes of Israel, during the Messianic era. The prophecy is recorded by Ezekiel as having been received on Yom Kippur of the year 3372 of the Hebrew calendar.
The Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter, also known as the Coptic Apocalypse of Peter and Revelation of Peter, is the third tractate in Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library. The work is associated with Gnosticism, a sect of early Christianity, and is considered part of the New Testament apocrypha and a work of apocalyptic literature. It was likely originally written in the Koine Greek language and composed around 200 CE. The surviving manuscript from Nag Hammadi is a poor-quality translation of the Greek into Coptic, and likely dates from the 4th century.
The Apocalypse of Paul is a fourth-century non-canonical apocalypse and part of the New Testament apocrypha. The full original Greek version of the Apocalypse of Paul is lost, although fragmentary versions still exist. Using later versions and translations, the text has been reconstructed, notably from Latin and Syriac translations of the work.
The Epistle of the Apostles is a work of New Testament apocrypha. Despite its name, it is more a gospel or an apocalypse than an epistle. The work takes the form of an open letter purportedly from the remaining eleven apostles describing key events of the life of Jesus, followed by a dialogue between the resurrected Jesus and the apostles where Jesus reveals apocalyptic secrets of reality and the future. It is 51 chapters long. The epistle was likely written in the 2nd century CE in Koine Greek, but was lost for many centuries. A partial Coptic language manuscript was discovered in 1895, a more complete Ethiopic language manuscript was published in 1913, and a full Coptic-Ethiopic-German edition was published in 1919.
Written in Syriac in the late seventh century, the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius shaped and influenced Christian eschatological thinking in the Middle Ages. Falsely attributed to Methodius of Olympus, a fourth century Church Father, the work attempts to make sense of the Islamic conquest of the Near East.
The Second Book of Enoch is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten heavens of an Earth-centered cosmos. The Slavonic edition and translation of 2 Enoch is of Christian origin in the 8th century but is based on an earlier work. 2 Enoch is distinct from the Book of Enoch, known as 1 Enoch, and there is also an unrelated 3 Enoch, although none of the three books are considered canonical scripture by the majority of Jewish or Christian bodies. The numbering of these texts has been applied by scholars to distinguish each from the others.
Muspilli is an Old High German alliterative verse poem known in incomplete form from a ninth-century Bavarian manuscript. Its subject is the fate of the soul immediately after death and at the Last Judgment. Many aspects of the interpretation of the poem, including its title, remain controversial among scholars.
The Apocalypse of Zephaniah is a 1st-century pseudepigraphic Jewish text attributed to the Biblical Zephaniah and so associated with the Old Testament, but not regarded as scripture by Jews or any Christian group. It was rediscovered and published at the end of the 19th century. The canonical Book of Zephaniah has much mystical and apocalyptic imagery, and this apocalyptic-style text deals with a similar subject.
The Seven Seals of God from the Bible's Book of Revelation are the seven symbolic seals that secure the book or scroll that John of Patmos saw in an apocalyptic vision. The opening of the seals of the document occurs in Rev Ch 5–8 and marks the Second Coming of the Christ and the beginning of The Apocalypse/Revelation. Upon the Lamb of God/Lion of Judah opening a seal on the cover of the book/scroll, a judgment is released or an apocalyptic event occurs. The opening of the first four Seals releases the Four Horsemen, each with his own specific mission. The opening of the fifth Seal releases the cries of martyrs for the "Word/Wrath of God". The sixth Seal prompts plagues, storms and other cataclysmic events. The seventh Seal cues seven angelic trumpeters who in turn cue the seven bowl judgments and more cataclysmic events.
The two witnesses are two literary figures who are mentioned in Revelation 11:1-14. Some Christians interpret this as two literal people, such as Moses and Elijah or Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle. Others interpret this as a symbol for a group or groups of people, such as the Christian church or the Jews and the Christians. Still others interpret this as a symbol of two concepts, such as the Torah and Nevi’im or the Old Testament and New Testament. The earliest interpretation of the two witnesses is that they are Enoch and Elijah, the only two that did not see death as required by the Scriptures. Hippolytus of Rome is the first commentator to unambiguously present this view.
The Apocalypse of Shenute is a short Coptic apocalyptic text which purports to be a prophecy of Shenute from Christ about the eschaton. The Coptic Apocalypse of Elijah greatly influenced the text. It is the oldest miaphysite Coptic apocalypse to survive from the Islamic period, a rare contemporary witness to Coptic–Muslim relations in the earliest period, one of the earliest miaphysite Coptic sources to mention the Islamic rejection of the crucifixion of Christ, and a response to the Islamic conversion of Copts.
The Apocalypse of Anastasia is a medieval apocalyptic text pertaining to the nun Anastasia, and her near-death experience. Anastasia explores the "otherworld" with the Archangel Michael in her time of being dead for three days, and after her resurrection, she explains the marvelous and terrible things she had encountered. The text was originally written in Greek by an anonymous author and is dated either to the early tenth century or the early eleventh century. The genre of the text is that of touring Hell, and Anastasia's experience similarly follows famous biblical figures whose Apocalypses survived: Enoch, Baruch ben Neriah, Paul the Apostle, Saint Peter, and Mary, mother of Jesus.
The Second Apocalypse of John is a pseudepigraphal Greek Christian text sometimes classified as among the New Testament apocrypha. It is falsely attributed to John of Patmos. Its date is uncertain and has been placed as early as the late fourth century and as late as the mid-ninth.
Sefer Elijah is an ancient apocalyptic text which was written in Hebrew to a Jewish audience as early as the 3rd century and as late as the 7th century. This text is presented in a fashion that closely matches the classical definition of the apocalyptic genre as a revelation coming to Elijah from an angelic being about judgment, the coming of a messiah, and the destiny of the Jewish temple and of Jerusalem.
The Apocalypse of Peter or Vision of Peter, also known as the Book of the Rolls and other titles, is an Arab Christian work probably written in the 10th century; the late 9th century and 11th century are also considered plausible. Around 40 manuscripts of it have been preserved and found. It is pseudepigraphically attributed to Clement of Rome, relating a vision experienced by the Apostle Peter of the resurrected Jesus; the actual author is unknown. The work was originally written in Arabic; many Ethiopic manuscripts exist as well, with the reworked Ethiopic version in the work Clement along with other stories of Clementine literature.
↑ Pietersma, A., Turner, S., and Attridge, H. W. (1981). "The Apocalypse of Elijah based on P. Chester Beatty (2018)" (Pseudepigrapha). Chico: Scholars Press. pp. 21–65.
Frankfurter, David (1993). "Elijah in Upper Egypt: The Apocalypse of Elijah and Early Egyptian Christianity" (Studies in Antiquity and Christianity). Minneapolis: Fortress Press. ISBN 0-8006-3106-4.
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