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The Apocalypse of Paul is a 4th century text of the New Testament apocrypha
New Testament apocrypha

New Testament apocrypha are a number of writings of the early Christian church that give accounts of the teachings of Jesus, aspects of the life of Jesus, accounts of the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives....
. There is an Ethiopic version of the Apocalypse
Apocalypse

Apocalypse is a term applied to the disclosure to certain privileged persons of something hidden from the majority of humankind. Today the term is often used to refer to the Doomsday event, which may be a shortening of the phrase apokalupsis eschaton which literally means "revelation at the end of the ?on, or age"....
 which features the Virgin Mary in the place of Paul the Apostle, as the receiver of the vision, known as the Apocalypse of the Virgin. The text is not to be confused with the gnostic Apocalypse of Paul
Coptic Apocalypse of Paul

The Coptic Apocalypse of Paul is one of the texts of the New Testament apocrypha found amongst the Nag Hammadi library. The text is not to be confused with the Apocalypse of Paul, which is unlikely to be related....
, which is unlikely to be related.

The text appears to be an elaborate expansion and rearrangement of the Apocalypse of Peter
Apocalypse of Peter

The recovered Apocalypse of Saint Peter or Revelation of Peter is an example of a simple, popular Early Christianity text of the second century; it is an example of Apocalyptic literature with Hellenistic civilization overtones....
, and is essentially a description of a vision of Heaven
Heaven

Heaven may refer to the physical heavens, the atmosphere or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond. This is the traditional literal meaning of the term in English, however since at least AD 1000, it is typically also used to refer to an afterlife plane of existence in various religions and spirituality philosophy, often descri...
, and then of Hell
Hell

In many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear Divinity history often depict Hell as endless ....
 - although it also contains a prologue describing all creation appealing to God against the sin of man, which is not present in Peter's Apocalypse.






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The Apocalypse of Paul is a 4th century text of the New Testament apocrypha
New Testament apocrypha

New Testament apocrypha are a number of writings of the early Christian church that give accounts of the teachings of Jesus, aspects of the life of Jesus, accounts of the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives....
. There is an Ethiopic version of the Apocalypse
Apocalypse

Apocalypse is a term applied to the disclosure to certain privileged persons of something hidden from the majority of humankind. Today the term is often used to refer to the Doomsday event, which may be a shortening of the phrase apokalupsis eschaton which literally means "revelation at the end of the ?on, or age"....
 which features the Virgin Mary in the place of Paul the Apostle, as the receiver of the vision, known as the Apocalypse of the Virgin. The text is not to be confused with the gnostic Apocalypse of Paul
Coptic Apocalypse of Paul

The Coptic Apocalypse of Paul is one of the texts of the New Testament apocrypha found amongst the Nag Hammadi library. The text is not to be confused with the Apocalypse of Paul, which is unlikely to be related....
, which is unlikely to be related.

The text appears to be an elaborate expansion and rearrangement of the Apocalypse of Peter
Apocalypse of Peter

The recovered Apocalypse of Saint Peter or Revelation of Peter is an example of a simple, popular Early Christianity text of the second century; it is an example of Apocalyptic literature with Hellenistic civilization overtones....
, and is essentially a description of a vision of Heaven
Heaven

Heaven may refer to the physical heavens, the atmosphere or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond. This is the traditional literal meaning of the term in English, however since at least AD 1000, it is typically also used to refer to an afterlife plane of existence in various religions and spirituality philosophy, often descri...
, and then of Hell
Hell

In many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear Divinity history often depict Hell as endless ....
 - although it also contains a prologue describing all creation appealing to God against the sin of man, which is not present in Peter's Apocalypse. At the end of the text, Paul/Mary manages to persuade God to give everyone in Hell a day off every Sunday.

The text extends Peter's Apocalypse by framing the reasons for the visits to heaven and hell as the witnessing of the death and judgement of one wicked man, and one who is righteous. The text is heavily moralistic, and adds, to the Apocalypse of Peter, features such as:
  • Pride is the root of all evil
    Root of all evil

    The root of all evil is a common figure of speech signifying something that causes serious problems and people would be better off without. It may also refer to:...
  • Heaven is the land of milk and honey
  • Hell has rivers of fire and of ice (for the cold hearted)
  • Some angels are evil, the dark angel
    Fallen angel

    In most Christianity traditions, a fallen angel is an angel that has been exiled or banished from Heaven.Often such banishment is a punishment for disobeying or rebelling against God....
    s of hell, including Temeluchus
    Temeluchus

    Temeluchus is one of the tartaruchi, the chief fallen angel of torment , according to the Biblical canon Apocalypse of Paul. In addition to being described as "a merciless angel, all fire," Temeluchus also has the surprising designation as a caretaking angel set over children at birth or during infancy....
    , the tartaruchi
    Tartaruchi

    Tartaruchi are the keepers of Tartarus , according to the Biblical canon Apocalypse of Paul. The author describes them as using one hand to choke damned souls, and the other using an "trident"....
    .


Plan of the book

  • 1, 2. Discovery of the revelation.
  • 3-6. Appeal of creation to God against man
  • 7-10. The report of the angels to God about men.
  • 11-18. Deaths and judgements of the righteous and the wicked.
  • 19-30. First vision of Paradise, including lake Acherusa
    Acherusa

    Acherusa is a lake that lies near the city of Jesus, according to chapters 22 – 23 of the Biblical_canon Apocalypse of Paul:Acherusa is also mentioned in the older, fragmentary work Apocalypse of Peter, though in Peter it is a field, rather than a lake:...
    .
  • 31-44. Hell. Paul obtains rest on Sunday for the lost.
  • 45-51. Second vision of Paradise.

Versions

Greek copies of the texts are rare; those existing containing many omissions. Of the Eastern versions -Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic- the Syriac are considered to be the most reliable. There are also several abridged Latin texts, from which many current versions were translated from, into most European languages.

Whole episodes are repeated hinting of unskilled compilation.

James also sees its influence in the Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno

Dante's Inferno may refer to:* The Divine Comedy#Inferno, the epic poem by Dante Alighieri* Dante's Inferno , a game that will be realeased in 2009....
 (ii. 28), when Dante mentions the visit of the 'Chosen Vessel' to Hell.

External links

  • M.R. James' translation and commentary. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.