The Ladder of Jacob

Chapter one

Jacob then went to Laban his uncle. He found a place and, laying his head on a stone, he slept there, for the son had gone down. He had a dream. And behold, a ladder was fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven. And the top of the ladder was the face as of a man, carved out of fire. There were twelve steps leading to the top of the ladder, and on each step to the top there were two human faces, on the right and on the left, twenty-four faces (or busts) including their chests. And the face in the middle was higher than all that I saw, the one of fire, including the shoulders and arms, exceedingly terrifying, more than those twenty-four faces. And while I was still looking at it, behold, angels of God ascended and descended on it. And God was standing above its highest face, and he called to me from there, saying “Jacob, Jacob!” And I said, “Here I sm Lord!” And he said to me, “The land on which you are sleeping, to you will I give it, and to your seed after you. And I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea. And through your seed all the earth and those living on it in the last times of the years of completion shall be blessed, My blessing with which I have blessed you shall flow from you unto the last generation, the East and the west all shall be full of your tribe.”

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Chapter two

And when I heard (this) from on high, awe and trembling fell upon me. And I rose up from my dream and, the voice still being in my ears, I said, “How fearful is this place! This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heave.” And I set up the stone which had been my pillow as a pillar, and I poured olive oil on the top of it, and I called the name of that place the House of God. And I stood and began to sing, and I said,

“Lord God of Adam your creature and

Lord God of Abraham and Isaac my fathers

and of all who have walked before you in justice!

You who sit firmly on the cherubim and the fiery throne of glory

...and the many-eyed (ones) just as I saw in my dream,

holding the four-faced cherubim,

bearing also the many-eyed seraphim,

carrying the whole world under your arm,

yet not bing borne by anyone;

you who have made the skies firm for the glory of your name,

stretching out on two heavenly clouds the heaven which gleams under you,

that beneath it you may cause the sun to course and conceal it during the night so that it might not seem a god;

(you) who made on them a way for the moon and the stars;

and you make the moon wax and wane, and destine the stars to pass on so that they too might not seen gods.

Before the face of your glory the six winged seraphim are afraid, and they

cover their feet and faces with their wings, while flying with their

other (wings), and they sing unceasingly a hymn:

...whom I now in sanctifying a new (song)...

Twelve-topped, twelve-faced, many-named, fiery one!

Lightning-eyed holy one!

Holy, Holy, Holy, Yao, Yaova, Yaoil, Yao,

Kados, Chavod, Savaoth,

Omlemlech il avir amismi varich,

eternal king, mighty, powerful, most great,

patient, blessed one!”

you who fill heaven and earth, the sea and abysses

and all the ages with your glory,

hear my song which I have sung you and grant me the request I ask of you,

and tell me the interpretation of my dream,

for you are a god who is mighty, powerful and glorious,

a god who is holy; my Lord and Lord of my fathers.”

Chapter three

And while I was still saying this prayer, behold, a voice came before my face saying, “Sariel, leader of the beguiled, you who are in charge of dreams, go and make Jacob understand the meaning of the dream he has had and explain to him everything he saw’ but first bless him.” And Sariel the archangel came to me and I saw (him), and his appearance was very beautiful and awesome. But I was not astonished by his appearance, for the vision which I had seen in my dream was more terrible than he. And I did not fear the vision of the angel.

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Chapter four

And the angel said to me, “What is your name?” And I said, “Jacob.” (He announced), “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but your name shall be similar to my name, Israel.” And when I was going from Phandana of Syria to meet Esau my brother, he came to me and blessed me and called me Israel. And he would not tell me his name until I adjured him. And then he said to me. “As you were kep zul...”

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chapter five

Thus he said to me: “You have seen a ladder with twelve steps, each step having two human faces which kept changing their appearance. The ladder is this age, and the twelve steps are the periods of this age. But the twenty-four faces are the kings of the ungodly nations of this age. Under these kings the children of you children and the generations of your sons will be interrogated. These will rise up against the iniquity of you grandsons. And this place will be made desolate by the four ascents...through the sins of your grandsons. And around the property of your forefathers a palace will be built, a temple in the name of your God and of (the God) of your fathers, and in the provocations of your children it will becomes deserted by the four ascents of this age. For you saw the first four busts which were striking against the steps...angels ascending and descending, and the busts amid the steps. The Most High will raise up kings from the grandsons of your brother Esau, and they will receive all the nobles of the tribes of the earth who will have maltreated your seed. And they will be delivered into his hands and he will be vexed by them. And he will hold them by force and rule over them, and they will not be able to oppose him until the day when his thought will go out against them to serve idols and (to offer) sacrifices of the dead....(He will) do violence to all those in his tribe and kfalkonagargailyuya. Know, Jacob that your descendants shall be exiles in a strange land, and they will afflict them with slavery and inflict wounds on them every day. But the Lord will judge the people for whom they slave.

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Chapter six

“And when the king arises, judgment too will come upon that place. Then your seed, Israel, will go out of slavery to the nations who hold them by force and they will be free from any rebuke of your enemies. For this king is the head of all revenge and retaliation against those who have done evil to you, Israel, and the end of the age. For bitter ones will rise; they will cry out, and the Lord will hear them and accept their plea. And the Mighty One will repent because of their sufferings. For the angels and archangels will hurl their bolts of lightning before them for the sake of the salvation of your tribe. And you will gain the mercy of the Most High. Then their wives will bear many children. And afterward the Lord will fight for your tribe through great and terrible signs against those who made them slaves. He filled their storehouses, and they will be found empty. Their land swarmed with reptiles and all sorts of deadly things. There will be earthquakes and much destruction. And the Lord will pour out his wrath against Leviathan the sea-dragon; he will kill the lawless Falkon with the sword, because he will raise the wrath of the God of gods by his pride. And then your justice will be revealed, Jacob, and that of your children who are to be after you (and) who will walk in your justice. And then your seed will sound the horn and all the kingdom of Edom will perish together with all the peoples of Moab.

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Chapter seven

“And as for the angels you saw descending and ascending the ladder, in the last years there will be a man from the Most High, and he will desire to join the upper (things) with the lower. And before his coming your sons and daughters will tell about him and your young men will have visions about his. Such will be the signs at the time of his coming: A tree cut with an ax will bleed; three-month-old babes will speak understanding; a baby in the womb of his mother will speak of his way; a youth will be like an old man. And then the expected one will come, whose path will not be noticed by anyone.

“Then the earth will be glorified, receiving heavenly glory. What was above will be below also. And from your seed will bloom a root of kings; it will emerge and overthrow the power of evil. And he himself will be the Savior for every land and rest for those who toil, and a cloud shading the whole world from the burning heat, For otherwise the uncontrolled will not be controlled. If he does not come, the lower (things) cannot be joined with the upper. At his coming the idols of brass, stone, and any sort of carving will give voice for three days. They will give wise men news of him and let them know what will be on earth. By a star, those who wish to see on earth him whom the angels do not see above will find the way to him. Then the Almighty will be on earth in body, and, embraced by corporeal arms, he will restore human matter. And he will revive Eve, who died by the fruit of the tree. Then the deceit of the impious will be exposed and all the idols will fall face down. For they will be put to shame by a dignitary. For because (they were) lying by means of hallucinations, henceforth they will not be able to rule or to prophesy. Honor will be taken from them and they will remain without glory.

“For he who comes will take power and might and will give Abraham the truth which he previously told him. Everything sharp he will make dull, and the rough will be smooth. And he will cast all the iniquitous into the depths of the sea. He will work wonders in heaven and on earth. And he will be wounded in the midst of his beloved house. And when he is wounded, then salvation will be ready, and the end to all perdition. For those who have wounded him will themselves receive a wound which will not be cured in them forever. And all creation will bow to him who was wounded, and many will trust in him. And he will become known everywhere in all lands, and those who acknowledged his name will not be ashamed, His own dominion and years will be unending forever.”

* Apocrypha - (from the Greek word απόκρυφα meaning "those having been hidden away") are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. These texts may have been used in some churches by were never considered as part of the Bible

** Pseudepigrapha = (from Greek pseudes = "false", "epigraphe" = "inscription") are texts falsely attributed to biblical characters or times. These books were never part of the Bible & were never considered as scripture by the church at any time despite being published under such titles of "The Lost Books of the Bible" or "The Hidden Gospels". The church has always known about them & they were never "Hidden" & could be read at any University or college. There is no deep dark secret here, just publishers trying to make a buck with interesting book titles.

*** Noncanonical Literature =  Never part of the Canon or Bible.