1 And Joseph stood up and said to Annas and Caiaphas, "You have reason to be amazed, knowing that Jesus has been seen risen and ascended into the empyrean. But you will be even more amazed that he has not only risen, but that he has raised many other dead from the tomb, whom a great number of people have seen in Jerusalem.
2 And now listen to me, for we all know that that blessed High Priest, who was called Simeon, received the child Jesus into his hands in the temple. And Simeon had two sons, brothers by father and mother, and we all witnessed their death and were present at their burial. Go and see their tombs, and you will find them open, because the sons of Simeon are in the town of Arimathea, living in prayer. Sometimes their cries are heard, but they speak to no one, and they remain silent as dead. Let us go to them and treat them with the greatest kindness. And if we question them with gentle persistence, perhaps they will tell us about the mystery of Jesus’ resurrection.
3 At whose words everyone rejoiced, and Annas, Caiaphas, Nicodemus, Joseph and Gamaliel, going to the tombs, did not find the dead, but, going to Arimathea, they found them kneeling there.
4 And they embraced them with great respect and in the fear of God, and led them to the Synagogue of Jerusalem.
5 And as soon as the doors were closed, they took the holy book and put it in their hands and adjudged them by the God Adonai, the Lord of Israel, who spoke by the Law and by the Prophets, saying, If you know who it is who raised you from the dead, tell us how you were raised.
6 Hearing this oath, Carino and Leucio felt their bodies shudder, and, trembling and excited, they moaned from the bottom of their hearts.
7 And looking up to heaven, they made the sign of the cross on their tongue with their finger.
8 And immediately they spoke, saying, Give us reams of paper, that we may write what we have seen and heard.
9 And having given them, they sat down, and each of them wrote the following.
1 Jesus Christ, Lord God, life and resurrection of the dead, allow us to declare the mysteries by the death of your cross, since we have been conjured by you.
2 You have ordered not to tell anyone the secrets of your divine majesty, such as you have manifested in hell.
3 When we were with our parents, placed in the depths of darkness, a real brightness suddenly illuminated us, and we saw ourselves enveloped in a golden splendor like that of the sun.
4 And when Adam, the father of the entire human race, saw this, he rejoiced, as did all the patriarchs and all the prophets, who cried out together: This light is the author of light, who has promised to transmit to us a light that will have neither faintness nor end.
1 And the prophet Isaiah exclaimed: This is the light of the Father, the Son of God, as I predicted, being in the lands of the living: in the land of Zebulun and in the land of Naphtalim. Beyond the Jordan, the people who sat in darkness would see a great light, and this light would shine on those who were in the region of death. And now it has come, and has shone on us who were in death.
2 And as we rejoiced greatly at the light that had dawned on us, Simeon our father came to us and said to them all, “Glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, because I held him in my hands as a newborn baby in the temple, and I glorified him through the Holy Spirit and said, ‘My eyes have seen the salvation you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.’”
3 When the whole multitude of the saints heard these things, they rejoiced greatly.
4 And immediately there stood a man who seemed like a hermit. And when all asked him who he was, he answered, I am John, the oracle and prophet of the Most High, who came before him into the world to prepare his ways and to give the knowledge of salvation to his people for the remission of sins. And when I saw him coming to me, I was filled with the Holy Spirit, and I said to him, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. And I baptized him in the River Jordan, and saw the Holy Spirit descending on him in the form of a dove. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, and whom you must listen to. And now, having preceded his advent, I have come down to you to announce that, shortly, the Son of God himself, rising from on high, will come to visit us, us who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
1 And when father Adam, the first-formed, heard what John said about Jesus being baptized in the Jordan, he cried out, speaking to his son Seth: Tell your sons, the patriarchs and the prophets, everything that you heard from the archangel Michael, when, being sick, I sent you to the gates of Paradise, so that the Lord would allow his angel to give oil from the tree of mercy, to anoint my body.
2 Then Seth, approaching the patriarchs and the prophets, declared: I, Seth, was praying before the Lord at the gates of Paradise, and behold, Michael, the divine spirit, appeared to me and said to me: I have been sent to you by the Lord and I preside over the human body. And I declare to you, Seth, that it is useless for you to ask and beg with tears for oil from the tree of mercy to anoint your father Adam and to remove the sufferings of his body. For you will not be able to receive this oil until the last days, when five thousand years have passed. Then the Son of God, full of love, will come to earth and resurrect the body of Adam, and at the same time resurrect the bodies of the dead. And at his coming he will be baptized in the Jordan, and, having come up out of the water, he will anoint with the oil of his mercy all who believe in him, and the oil of his mercy will be for those who shall be born of water and the Holy Spirit to eternal life. Then Jesus Christ, the Son of God, full of love, and descending to earth, will bring your father Adam into Paradise and place him beside the tree of mercy.
3 And when all the patriarchs and prophets heard what Seth said, they were overjoyed.
1 And while all the ancient fathers were rejoicing, behold, Satan, prince and chief of death, said to Fury: Prepare to receive Jesus, who boasts of being the Christ and the Son of God, and who is a man most afraid of death, since I myself have heard him say: My soul is sorrowful even to death. And then I understood that he was afraid of the cross.
2 And he said, Brother, let us both prepare for the evil day. Let us fortify this place, so that we may hold prisoner here the one called Jesus, who, according to what John and the prophets said, is to come and drive us out from here. For this man has caused me many evils on earth, opposing me in many things and robbing me of many resources. Those whom I had killed, he restored to life. Those whose limbs I had disjointed, he raised up at a word and commanded them to carry his bed on their shoulders. There were others whom I had seen blind and deprived of light, and on whose account I rejoiced, seeing them break their heads against the walls, and throw themselves into the water, and fall, stumbling in the cavities, and behold, this man, coming from I know not where, and doing exactly the opposite of what I did, restored their sight by his words. He ordered a man blind from birth to wash his eyes with water and mud at the fountain of Siloam, and that blind man received his sight. And, not knowing where else to go, I took my attendants with me and left Jesus. And having found a young man, I entered him, and dwelt in his body. I do not know how Jesus knew this, but it is certain that he came to where I was, and gave me orders to go out. And having gone out, and not knowing where to enter, I asked him permission to enter some swine, which I did, and strangled them.
3 And Fury, answering Satan, said: Who is this prince so powerful and yet fears death? For all the powerful of the earth are subject to my power from the moment you bring them subject to me by yours. If, then, you are so powerful, who is this Jesus who, fearing death, opposes you? If he is so powerful in his humanity, truly I tell you that he is all-powerful in his divinity, and no one will be able to resist his power. And when he said that he feared death, he wanted to deceive you, and he will be your disgrace for everlasting ages.
4 But Satan, the prince of death, answered and said, Why do you hesitate to bind this Jesus, who is both your adversary and mine? Because I have tempted him, and I have stirred up my ancient Jewish people against him, stirring up their hatred and anger. And I have sharpened the spear of the persecution. And I have had wood prepared for crucifying him, and nails to pierce his hands and his feet. And I have given him gall to drink mixed with vinegar. And his death is near, and I will bring him in subject to you and to me.
5 And Fury answered and said, “You have informed me that he is the one who has plucked up the dead from me. Many are here whom I hold, and yet, while they were living on earth, many have plucked up the dead from me, not by their own power, but by the prayers they made to their almighty God, who truly brought them to me. Who then is this Jesus, who by his word plucked up the dead from me? Is it perhaps he who by his commanding word raised Lazarus back to life, four days dead, full of rot and dissolving, whom I held as dead?”
6 And Satan, the prince of death, answered and said, It is that same Jesus.
7 And when Fury heard this, he said, "I adjure you by your power and mine that you shall not bring him to me. For when I heard the full force of his word, I trembled and was terrified, and at the same time all my wicked ministers were as troubled as I. We were unable to hold Lazarus, but with all the agility and swiftness of an eagle, he left us, and this very earth that held his lifeless body gave it back to him. Whereby now I know that this man, who has been able to accomplish such things, is the God strong in his empire, and powerful in humanity, and its Savior, and, if you bring him to me, he will free all those whom I retain here in the rigor of prison, and chained by the unbroken bonds of their sins, and, by virtue of his divinity, he will lead them to the life that must last as long as eternity.
1 And while Satan and Fury were thus speaking, there was a voice like thunder, saying, Open your gates, you princes! Open, you everlasting doors, for the King of Glory desires to enter.
2 And Fury, hearing the voice, said to Satan, Go, come out, and fight against him. And Satan went out.
3 Then Fury said to his demons: Close the great bronze doors, close the great iron bolts, lock the great locks, and stand guard, all of you, because if this man enters, we are all lost.
4 And, hearing these great voices, the ancient saints exclaimed: Devouring and insatiable Fury, open the King of Glory, the son of David, the one prophesied by Moses and Isaiah.
5 And again there was a voice of thunder, saying, Open your everlasting doors, for the King of Glory desireth to come in.
6 And Fury cried out in rage, “Who is the King of Glory?” And the angels of God answered, “The Lord, mighty and victorious.”
7 And at once the great bronze doors flew into a thousand pieces, and those whom death had chained rose up.
8 And the King of Glory entered in the form of a man, and all the caves of Fury were illuminated.
9 And he broke the bonds, which until then had not been broken, and the help of an invincible virtue visited us, we who were sitting in the depths of the darkness of our faults and in the shadow of the death of our sins.
1 Seeing this, the two princes of death and hell, their impious officials and their cruel ministers were seized with terror in their own kingdoms, as if they could not resist the dazzling clarity of such a vivid light, and the presence of Christ, suddenly established in their dwellings.
2 And they cried out in impotent rage: You have defeated us. Who are you, whom the Lord sends to confound us? Who are you, so small and so great, so humble and so exalted, soldier and general, admirable combatant in the form of a slave, King of Glory dead on a cross and alive, since from your tomb you have come down to us? Who are you, at whose death every creature trembled, and all the stars were shaken, and who now remain free among the dead, and trouble our legions? Who are you, who redeem the captives, and who flood with brilliant light those who are blinded by the darkness of their sins?
3 And all the legions of demons, seized with equal terror, cried out in the same tone, with fearful submission and with one voice, saying: Where are you from, Jesus, a man so powerful, so luminous, of such high majesty, free from blemish and pure from crime? Because this earthly world, which until now has always been subject to us, and which paid us tributes for our abominable customs, has never sent us a dead man such as you, nor destined such gifts to hell. Who, then, are you, who have fearlessly crossed the borders of our dominions, and who not only do not fear our infernal torments, but who claim to free those we hold in our chains? Perhaps you are that Jesus, of whom Satan, our prince, said that, by his torment on the cross, he would receive unlimited power over the entire world.
4 Then the King of Glory, in his majesty crushing death under his feet, and taking our first father, deprived the Fury of all its power and drew Adam into the brightness of his light.
1 And Fury, roaring and howling, and overwhelming Satan with violent reproaches, said to him: Beelzebub, prince of condemnation, chief of destruction, derision of the angels of God, what have you wanted to do? Have you wanted to crucify the King of Glory, upon whose ruin and upon whose death you had promised us such great spoils? Do you not know how foolishly you have acted? For behold, this Jesus, by the splendor of his divinity, dispels all the darkness of death. He has pierced the depths of the most solid prisons, freeing the captives, and breaking the irons of those who are chained. And behold, all those who groaned under our torments insult us, and riddle us with their imprecations. Our empires and our kingdoms have been vanquished, and not only do we no longer inspire terror in the human race, but, on the contrary, we are threatened and insulted by those who, in death, had never been able to show pride before us, nor had ever been able to experience a moment of joy during their captivity. Prince of all evils and father of the rebellious and the impious, what did you want to do? Those who, from the beginning of the world until now, had despaired of their life and their salvation no longer make their groans heard. None of their clamorous complaints resound, nor is the slightest trace of tears to be seen on the face of any of them. Unclean King, holder of the keys of hell, you have lost through the cross the riches you had acquired through transgression and the loss of Paradise. All your happiness has dissipated, and by putting this Christ, Jesus, King of Glory, on the cross, you have acted against yourself and against me. Know from now on how many eternal torments and endless torments are in store for you under my endless guardianship. Lucifer, monarch of all wicked people, author of death and source of pride, you should have sought a just reproach to direct at Jesus above all else. And if you found no fault in him, why, without reason, did you dare to crucify him unjustly and bring the innocent and the just to our land, you who have destroyed the wicked, the impious, and the unjust of the whole world?
2 And when Fury had finished speaking thus to Satan, the King of Glory said to the first: Prince Satan shall remain under your power for ever and ever, in place of Adam and his sons, who are righteous to me.
1 And the Lord stretched out his hand and said, "Come to me, all my saints, made in my image and likeness. You who were condemned by the tree and by the devil and by death will see death and the devil condemned by the tree.
2 And immediately all the saints were gathered together under the hand of the Lord. And the Lord took Adam’s hand and said to him, “Peace to you and to all your children, my righteous ones.”
3 And Adam, shedding tears, fell prostrate at the Lord’s feet and said with a loud voice, “Lord, I will glorify you, because you have welcomed me and have not allowed my enemies to triumph over me forever. I cried to you, and you have healed me, Lord. You have brought my soul up from hell and saved me, not leaving me with those who go down to the pit. Sing the Lord’s praises, all you who are holy, and confess his holiness. For in his wrath is anger, and in his will is life.”
4 And all the saints of God fell prostrate at the Lord’s feet and said with one voice: You have come at last, Redeemer of the world, and have fulfilled what you had foretold by the Law and by your prophets. You have redeemed the living by your cross, and, by death on the cross, you have come down to us, to snatch us from hell and from death, in your majesty. And, just as you have placed the title of your glory in heaven, and have raised the sign of redemption, your cross, on earth, in the same way, Lord, place in hell the sign of the victory of your cross, so that death may no longer dominate.
5 And the Lord stretched out his hand and made the sign of the cross over Adam and all his saints. And taking Adam by the right hand, he rose from Hades, and all the saints followed him.
6 Then the prophet David cried out in a loud voice, "Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wonderful things. His right hand and his arm have saved us. The Lord has made his salvation known, and his righteousness he has revealed in the sight of all the nations.
7 And the whole multitude of the saints answered, saying, This glory is for all the saints. So be it. Give thanks to God.
8 And then the prophet Habakkuk cried out, saying, You have come for the salvation of your people, and for the deliverance of your chosen ones.
9 And all the saints answered, saying: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, and gives us light.
10 Likewise the prophet Micah cried out, saying, "Who is a God like you, Lord, who banishes iniquities and blots out sins? And now you have withheld the testimony of your anger and are inclined to show mercy. You have had mercy on us and have forgiven us of our sins and have cast all our iniquities into the pit of death, just as you swore to our fathers in days of old.
11 And all the saints answered, saying, He is our God forever, for ever and ever, and he will rule over us all. So be it. Give thanks to God.
12 And the other prophets also recited passages from their old songs, dedicated to praising God. And all the saints did the same.
1 And the Lord took Adam by the hand and placed him in the hands of Michael the Archangel, and all the saints followed him.
2 And he introduced them all into the glorious grace of Paradise, and two men, very old, stood before them.
3 And the saints questioned them, saying: Who are you, that you have not been in hell with us, and that you have been brought bodily into Paradise?
4 And one of them answered, I am Enoch, who was carried here by the commandment of the Lord. And he who is with me is Elijah the Tishbite, who was taken up in a chariot of fire. Until today we have not tasted death, but we are reserved for the coming of the Antichrist, armed with divine ensigns, and abundantly prepared to fight against him, to kill him in Jerusalem, and, after three and a half days, to be taken up again alive in the clouds.
1 And while Enoch and Elijah were thus speaking, behold, there stood a very miserable man, having the sign of the cross on his back.
2 And when all the saints saw him, they asked him, “Who are you? You look like a thief. Where have you come from, that you bear the sign of the cross on your shoulders?”
3 And he answered them and said, You speak truly, for I was a thief and committed crimes on earth. And the Jews crucified me with Jesus, and I saw the wonders that were performed by the cross of my companion, and I believed that he is the Creator of all creatures, and the almighty King, and I begged him, crying out, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And immediately, granting my supplication, he answered, Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. And he gave me this sign of the cross, warning me, Enter Paradise wearing this, and if his guardian angel does not want to let you in, show him the sign of the cross and say to him, It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is crucified now, who has sent me to you. And I repeated these things to the guardian angel, who, upon hearing them, quickly opened the door for me, brought me in, and placed me on the right side of Paradise, saying: Wait a little, for soon Adam, the father of the entire human race, will enter with all his children, the saints and the righteous of Christ, the crucified Lord.
4 And when they had heard these words of the thief, all the patriarchs with one voice cried out: Blessed be the Lord Almighty, the Father of mercies and eternal blessings, who has granted such grace to sinners, and who has introduced them into the glory of Paradise, and into the fertile fields wherein true spiritual life resides. So be it.
1 Such are the divine and sacred mysteries that we, Carino and Leucio, hear and live.
2 But we are not permitted to go on and recount the other mysteries of God, as the archangel Michael has clearly declared, saying to us: Go with your brothers to Jerusalem, and continue in prayer, blessing and glorifying the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he raised from the dead. Do not speak to anyone who is still born, and remain mute, until the time comes when the Lord allows you to recount the mysteries of his deity.
3 And the archangel Michael commanded us to go beyond the Jordan, where there are several who have been raised with us, as witnesses of the resurrection of Christ. For it is only three days since we were allowed to celebrate the Lord’s Passover with our relatives in Jerusalem, as witnesses of the resurrection of Christ. We were baptized in the holy river Jordan and all received white robes.
4 And after the three days of the Passover, all who had been resurrected with us were caught up in the clouds. They were carried across the Jordan, and no one saw them.
5 These are the things the Lord has commanded us to tell you. Praise him, confess him, and do penance, so that he may deal kindly with you. Peace to you in the Lord God Jesus Christ, the Savior of all men. Amen.
6 And as soon as they had finished writing all these things on separate reams of paper, they arose. And Charinus delivered what he had written into the hands of Annas, Caiaphas, and Gamaliel. And Leucius likewise gave his manuscript to Joseph and Nicodemus.
7 And suddenly they were transfigured and appeared clothed in dazzling white garments, and they were seen no more.
8 And it was found that his writings were exactly the same in length and diction, without a single letter of difference between them.
9 And the whole synagogue was greatly amazed at those wonderful speeches of Carinus and Leucius. And the Jews were saying to one another, Truly it is God who has done all these things, and blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever. Amen.
10 And they all left the synagogue in great anxiety, fear and trembling, beating their breasts, and each one went to his home.
11 And Joseph and Nicodemus told the governor everything that had happened, and Pilate wrote down everything the Jews had said about Jesus, and he put all those words in the public records of his Praetorium.
1 After this, Pilate entered the temple of the Jews and gathered together all the chief priests, the scribes, and the doctors of the law.
2 And he entered with them into the sanctuary, and ordered that all the doors be closed, and said to them: I have learned that you have in this temple a great collection of books, and I command you to show them to me.
3 And when four of the ministers of the temple had brought those books adorned with gold and precious stones, Pilate said to them all: By your God and Father, who made and commanded this temple to be built, I adjure you not to hide the truth from me. You all know what is written in these books. Now therefore, show me whether you find in the Scriptures that this Jesus, whom you crucified, is the Son of God, who is to come for the salvation of the human race, and explain to me how many years must be until his coming.
4 Thus pressured by the governor, Annas and Caiaphas forced the others who were with them to leave, and they themselves shut all the doors of the temple and the sanctuary, and said to Pilate, "You ask us, invoking the building of the temple, to make known to you the truth, and to give you an account of the mysteries. Now then, after we crucified Jesus, not knowing that he was the Son of God, and supposing that he worked miracles by the art of enchantments, we held a great assembly in this very place. And, consulting among ourselves about the miracles that Jesus had performed, we found many witnesses of our race, who assured us that they had seen him alive after his passion of death. We even found two witnesses that Jesus had raised bodies from the dead. And we have had in our hands the written account of the great wonders that Jesus performed among those dead. And it is our custom that each year, when we open the sacred books before our Synagogue, we seek the testimony of God. And, in the first book of Septuagint, where the archangel Michael speaks to the third son of Adam, we find mention of the five thousand years that were to pass until the Christ, the beloved Son of God, would descend from heaven, and we consider that the Lord of Israel said to Moses: Make an ark of the covenant two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half high, and a cubit and a half wide. In these five and a half cubits we have understood and divined the symbolism of the making of the ark of the Old Testament, a significant symbolism that, after five and a half thousand years, Jesus Christ was to come into the world in the ark of his body, and that, according to the testimony of our Scriptures, he is the Son of God and the Lord of Israel. For after his passion, we, the chief priests, being astonished at the miracles that were wrought through him, opened these books and examined all the generations down to the generation of Joseph and Mary, the mother of Jesus. Supposing that he was of the seed of David, we found what the Lord has accomplished. From the creation of heaven and earth and man until the flood, there were 2,212 years. And from the flood to Abraham, 912 years. And from Abraham to Moses, 430 years. And from Moses to David, 510 years. And from David to the Babylonian captivity, 500 years. And from the Babylonian captivity to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, 400 years. Which together make 5,500 years. And so it turns out that Jesus, whom we crucified, is the true Christ, the Son of Almighty God.