I, Theophilus, was in the land of the Eagle on the Lord’s Day. I had been studying the scriptures and was in the Spirit, when after many hours of seeking the truth, I fell into a deep slumber. After I know not how long, I awoke to find that night had fallen, and my candle was burned out. At once, I heard a loud voice like the sound of many waters. It called me by name. “Here I am, Lord,” I replied. A moment passed and I heard nothing more. Thinking that I must have imagined the voice, I proceeded to make my way towards the bedroom when suddenly the voice rang out once more. Again, it called my name and this time I could tell that it was coming from outside the house.

Although a feeling of dread welled in my gut, I sensed that I had no choice but to follow the sound, so I stepped out the back door. As I did, fear and trembling seized me. Finally, a third time, I heard the voice call my name, and I knew that it was coming from above. I looked up towards the moon and in its fullness, I saw something like a human being, ancient and grotesque. My heart thundered as it spoke. “Come up here!” At that moment, I was whisked out of my body.

When I came to my senses, I could take no solace in my surroundings, for an impossible landscape greeted my eyes. The lunar surface—unmistakable in its desolate vastness. I had barely a second to despair at my circumstances when my attention was robbed by yet another strange omen. A shining object in the profound darkness of the void. Its origin was among the rest of the stars, but its intensity was increasing rapidly until I was swallowed up within its tyrannical luminance. I felt as if I were quickly losing my sanity. Images and words swirled around me in a disorganized symphony and all preferences for life or for death were dissipated.

Amidst the chaos, a colossal form began to emerge. Now it was certain that I was doomed! For lo, I beheld a Beast, fearsome and mighty, riding in on a nebulous cloud. My consciousness miraculously intact, I saw that the bottom half of the Beast was like a fish and its torso was red and hairy. It had eight heads and each of the heads was like that of a son of man. And all of them had five horns like those of a goat. The eighth head bore a wound as if it had been pierced straight through, yet it lived and was, in fact, more vigorous than the rest. Branded above the eyes of this head were numbers that kept changing. At first, I saw 666, then those numbers faded to 616, and then to another set of numbers which I sensed were somehow more original than the other two. As I focused on this puzzle, the wounded head appeared to take notice of my gaze. Its serpentine neck extended so that the head and I were now eye to eye (although whether I even had eyes at the time, I do not know—God knows). It was then that I recognized the long-suffering visage of the head. My mind collapsed.

I awoke on the familiar shores of the sea as the sun crossed the threshold of the eastern horizon. Confusion reigned within me. Was it possible that I sleepwalked such a great distance? Was I drugged and then kidnapped—but why and by whom? As these nonsensical theories and others cycled about my thoughts, my stomach turned sour. It was as if I had been drinking prodigiously the evening prior, but as disoriented as I was, I knew this not to be the case! An extraordinary bitterness overwhelmed me, and I began to heave. With three mighty contractions, the source of my distress emerged, sticky and sweet. A small roll of parchment—a scroll of sorts! A shot of adrenaline bolted through my system and my heart thundered once more. The voice returned as well, and again it issued a command I wished not to follow. Nevertheless, I understood that resisting this domineering Will was futile. And the order it gave was simple enough. “Prophesy.” I unrolled the sticky parchment and read the contents aloud. The words before me were in English. This is what they said:

Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Interpreted, this concerns the Priest, the Teacher of Righteousness, also called the Baptist, whom God chose to stand before Him. For Herod slew him, who was a good man. And this thing will occur in the first week of the Jubilee that follows the nine Jubilees. He will assign them to the Sons of Heaven and to the inheritance of Melchizedek; for He will cast their lot amid the portions of Melchizedek, who will return them there and will proclaim to them liberty, forgiving them the wrong-doings of their iniquities. This is the day of Salvation concerning which God spoke through Isaiah the prophet, who said, ‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who proclaims peace, who brings good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion: Your Elohim reigns.’ The messenger is the Anointed one of the Spirit, concerning whom Daniel said, ‘After the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing.’

 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel:

Interpreted, this is the plant root, which He caused to spring from Israel and Aaron to inherit His Land and to prosper on the good things of His earth. He raised for Himself men called by name that a remnant might be left to the Land, and that the face of the earth might be filled with their seed. God called them all princes because they sought Him, and their renown was disputed by no man.

They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.

Interpreted, this concerns the Destroyer, the idol of the nations, of whom the Righteous One wrote, “The torrents of Belial shall break into Abaddon, and the deeps of the Abyss shall groan amid the roar of heaving mud.” In his domain, the city of the bottomless pit, the Liar will be declared, “Son of the Living God.” This is the place of which Josephus spoke: “This is a very fine cave in a mountain, under which there is a great cavity in the earth, and the cavern is abrupt, and prodigiously deep, and frill of a still water; over it hangs a vast mountain; and under the caverns arise the springs of the river Jordan.” And inside this bottomless pit, the dragon, that ancient serpent, is bound with a great chain. From its mouth, the serpent pours water like a river until the earth opens its mouth and swallows the river.

And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, wearing sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

Interpreted, this concerns the anointed high priests of the House of Ananus and the House of Gamaliel, who Josephus mentions. They bitterly reproached the people and excited them against the Men of Violence, who polluted the sanctuary. The ancientest of high priests, stood in the midst of them, and casting his eyes frequently at the temple, and having a flood of tears in his eyes, he encouraged the multitude to go against the zealots, although he knew how difficult it would be to disperse them. And the next eldest of the high priests stood upon the tower that was over against the Idumeans, and spoke to them to try what persuasions would do. Yet did not the multitude of the Idumeans give any attention to what he said, but were in a rage. And in the night, there broke out a prodigious storm, with the utmost violence, and very strong winds, with the largest showers of rain, with continued lightnings, terrible thunderings, and amazing concussions and bellowings of the earth, that was in an earthquake. These things were a manifest indication that some destruction was coming upon men.

When they have finished their testimony, the Beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

Interpreted, the Beast represents the Idumeans, who betook themselves to the city, and plundered every house, and slew every one they met. They sought for the high priests, and the generality went with the greatest zeal against them; and as soon as they caught them they slew them, and then standing upon their dead bodies, in way of jest, upbraided the one olive tree with his kindness to the people, and the other olive tree with his speech made to them from the wall. Nay, they proceeded to that degree of impiety, as to cast away their dead bodies without burial, although the Jews used to take so much care of the burial of men, that they took down those that were condemned and crucified, and buried them before the going down of the sun. It was because God had doomed this city to destruction, as a polluted city, and was resolved to purge his sanctuary by fire, that he cut off these their great defenders and well-wishers, while those that a little before had worn the sacred garments, and had presided over the public worship; and had been esteemed venerable by those that dwelt on the whole habitable earth when they came into our city, were cast out naked, and seen to be the food of dogs and wild beasts. Virtue itself groaned at these men’s case, and lamented that she was here so terribly conquered by wickedness. And this at last was the end of the two olive trees.

Then the dragon took his stand on the seashore. And I saw a Beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. And the Beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have received a death-blow, but its mortal wound had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast.

Interpreted, this concerns the Scoffer, the Man of Lawlessness. He will oppose the righteous of Israel and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. And many will be led astray and receive what he says with pleasure, and they will build for him a city of vanity with blood and raise a congregation on deceit. This is the Wicked Priest who will rule over Israel. The ten diadems are for his ten disciples whom he will place on ten thrones, as is written, “When, the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on thrones, judging the tribes of Israel.” And the reason why there are ten diadems and not twelve is this: The Beast himself will rule over the tribe of Judah and there will be a priest by his throne. And all will fear the Beast as though he were a god. The Beast has the feet of a bear, for he is a descendent of Esau, the hairy one. And he has the mouth of a lion, for with him were prudence and knowledge of the law of Judah. And by his Word, he will perform many signs and wonders, so that all will be amazed and ask one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority!” The death-blow is a destroying scourge which is executed by the violent of the nations. Although of a man hanged alive on the tree, He proclaims, ‘Behold I am against you, says the Lord of Hosts.’ And as the Righteous One proclaimed, ‘If he is wicked he shall become a sign forever, and a wonder to every generation, and an object of horror to all flesh.’ But by becoming a curse, he will redeem those outside the law from the curses of iniquity; for the mysteries of God are astounding.

Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.

Interpreted this concerns the violent of the Covenant who are in the House of Judah, who have plotted to destroy those who practice the law, who are in the Council of the Community. They banded together against the life of the righteous and loathed all who walked in perfection; the pursued them with the sword and exulted in the strife of the people. They are all of them rebels, for they have not turned from the way of traitors but have wallowed in the ways of whoredom and wicked wealth.

Then I saw another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first Beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first Beast, whose mortal wound will be healed.

Interpreted this concerns the Just One. The Men of Violence will say to the first Beast, ‘We know that you will depart from us. Who will be our leader?’ And the Beast will say to them, ‘Where you are, you are to go to The Just One, for whose sake heaven and earth came into existence’. The beasts are the kin of he who Joshua spoke of when he said: “Cursed be the man who rebuilds this city! May he lay its foundation on his first-born and set its gate upon his youngest son.” Behold, an accursed man, a man of Belial, has risen to become a fowler’s net to his people, and a cause of destruction to all his neighbors. And his brother arose and ruled in lies, both being instruments of violence. They have committed an abomination in the land, and a great blasphemy among the children of Jacob.

It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all; and by the signs that it is allowed to perform on behalf of the Beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived; and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the Beast could even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the Beast to be killed.

Interpreted, this concerns the Just One, the Brother of the Beast, who will perform signs and wonders and mighty works. He will wear the priestly diadem and raise his hands to heaven and pray during a drought, and heaven will immediately give rain. As for the fire that came down from heaven to earth, it is as written: “And the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” and “before their eyes the Messiah was publicly exhibited as crucified.” (Let the reader understand). Furthermore, the image of the Beast will even speak, as is testified: “And they heard a voice from the heavens, saying, ‘You have preached to them that sleep.’ And a response was heard from the cross, ‘Yes.’”

Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the Beast or the number of its name.

Interpreted this means that he will cause all who worship the Beast to brand their flesh as if they are slaves to the Beast. This is what the apostle means when he writes, “From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of salvation branded on my body.” As for the number of the Beast, this is why it is written, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” For the one who added to this book did not wish for another to do likewise.

So he carried me away into the wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.

Its interpretation, the woman is the great city of Jerusalem, whose priests commit fornication with the Beast. The scarlet beast is the House of Herod the Idumean, who is descended from Esau, of whom Moses wrote, “The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle.”

The Beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.

Interpreted, this concerns the Spouter of Lies. He will be pronounced Messiah by the flattery-seekers in the city of the bottomless pit, where reigns Pan, the Old One. And when the Chief of the Gentile Kings arrives, the Men of War, his Sicarii, will be blotted out. The anger of God will be kindled against their congregation so that He ravaged all their multitude; for their deeds were defilement before Him. This will occur at the end of the tenth Jubilee, for this is the moment for the Year of Grace for Melchizedek, His Elohim, when all the Sons of Light and the men of the lot of Melchizedek will be atoned for. And Melchizedek will avenge the vengeance of the judgements of God. And the gods of Justice will come to his aid to attend to the destruction of Belial.

Also, they are seven kings, of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain only a little while. As for the Beast that was and is not, it is an eighth, but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.

Interpreted, this concerns the House of Herod who ruled over the land of Israel. Listen closely and you will know this to be true. For I will make explicit that which before was spoken of only in mysteries. The heads who have fallen are Herod the Great, Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, Philip the Tetrarch, and Herod Agrippa. The one who is living is Herod Agrippa II. The one who has yet to come but will remain for only a little while is Menahem, Son of Judah. The eighth Beast who goes to destruction but belongs to the seven is the king who did not reign while he was alive, but he humbled himself, taking the form of a slave, and his dominion was increased. This is the Beast who is called ‘the son of Panthera,’ that is, ‘the son of all beasts.’ He was, and was not, and he ascended from the bottomless pit to sit at the right hand of the Father. I passed before him, and, lo, he was no more, though I sought him, he could not be found. But to those who are called, he is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. Let anyone with understanding receive the gnosis that this Beast is a man. His name is Judah, Son of Jesus.