The Apocalypse (Revelation) of Peter is quite the interesting text. Not to be confused with the “Coptic” Apocalypse of Peter that was found in Nag Hammadi (gotta love similar titled texts), this apocalyptic work almost made it into the canon and was used in some early churches. If you are unfamiliar with it, the text deals with Peter and the revelation he is given to of the final day. These revelations include hellish torments but also heavenly blisses. The hell descriptions give off Dante’s Inferno vibes though it obviously predates that work by at least 1100 years. The history of the AoP is quite interesting. I will link the wiki article at the end as I do not want to dive too much into that back story, but if you like reading about how these ‘lost’ texts re-emerge, you should check it out.
The text survives in Greek and Ethiopic versions. The Greek is fragmented while the Ethiopic version is complete. From my research in the past, I noticed a lot of people like to dismiss the Ethiopian versions, even though time and time again, Ethiopian translations stay pretty accurate to the original versions (besides some name changes, etc…). As I have mentioned before, the Ethiopian Christian tradition has a LOT of material that is quite remarkable. Do not discount that tradition and overlook it. For this review of the AoP, I will be following the Ethiopic version (Bart Ehrman translation).
The text starts with Jesus and his disciples on the Mount of Olives. The disciples ask him what will be the signs of his second coming and the end of the world (this conversation is post resurrection). Jesus warns them not to believe in others who will use his name (i.e. the antichrist). He tells them “For the coming of the Son of God shall not be plain; but as the lightning that shines from the east to the west, so will I come upon the clouds of heaven with a great host in my majesty; with my cross going before my face will I come in my majesty; shining seven times brighter than the sun will I come in my majesty with all my saints, my angels. And my Father shall set a crown upon my head, that I may judge the quick and the dead and recompense everyone according to his works.”
Chapter 2 is an interesting description of the fig tree parable. Peter asks Jesus to explain this saying. Jesus responds by stating the fig tree is the house of Israel. He explains “Verily I say to you, when its twigs have sprouted forth in the last days, then all false Christs come and awake expectation, saying ‘I am the Christ who has now come into the world.’ And when they perceive the wickedness of their deeds they shall turn away and deny him whom our fathers praised, the first Christ whom they crucified and therein sinned a great sin. But this deceiver is not the Christ. And when they reject him, he shall slay them with the sword, and there shall be many martyrs. Then shall the twigs of the fig tree, that is, the house of Israel, shoot forth: many shall become martyrs at his hand. Enoch and Elijah shall be sent to teach them that this is the deceiver who must come into the world and do signs and wonders in order to deceive. And therefore those who die by his hand shall be martyrs, and shall be reckoned among the good and righteous martyrs who have pleased God in their life.“
Chapter 3 has Peter and Jesus once again conversating. This time, Jesus holds out his right hand and the souls of all people are shown onto it. He explains how the sinners and the righteous will be separated at the last day. Peter asks him if it would have been better if the sinners were not created. Jesus responds by asking Peter would he resist God and not show compassion for those who were created. He recognizes that Peter is troubled by seeing what will happen to the sinners and then proceeds to tell him what these sinners have done to receive such judgments.
Chapters 4 – 13 go into detail about the final days. Hell is commanded to open up and give up all that is therein. Animals will restore all the flesh that they have eaten, thus every living creature will once again be alive. The archangel Uriel is mentioned in chapter 4 as being sent by God to over see the resurrection of the dead on judgment day. The plants of the earth are all restored and become fruitful. Basically any living entity is brought back to life on this day. However, a surprise is awaiting them all. Cataracts of fire are let loose throughout the world. Darkness and obscurity spreads throughout. All the water is turned into coals of fire. Imagine being brought back to a flesh existence and the whole world goes to hell, literally!
During all this, Christ comes down on an eternal cloud of brightness with the angels behind him. The Father places a crown upon his head and now it’s time for judgment. Uriel is tasked with bringing forth the souls of sinners. Several examples of punishments are provided due to whatever sin(s) that the soul had performed. The archangel Azrael (spelled Ezrael) brings forth the souls of those who have been slain, who will then behold the torment of those who slew them. Azrael also has the job of casting sinners into a place of darkness so their entrails could be devoured for eternally.
The text has a lot of descriptions of tortures for specific sins. I am not going to list them all (I’d end up quoting most of the text if that was the case), but here are a few examples:
“Women are swallowed up therein up to their necks and tormented with great pain. These are they who have caused their children to be born untimely and have corrupted the work of God who created them. Opposite them shall be another place where children sit alive and cry to God. And flashes of lightning go forth from those children and pierce the eyes of those who for fornication’s sake have caused their destruction.”
“And beside those who are there, shall be other men and women, gnawing their tongues; and they shall torment them with red-hot irons and burn their eyes. These are they who slander and doubt my righteousness.”
“And near by this place of torment shall be men and women who are dumb and blind and whose raiment is white. They shall crowd one upon another, and fall upon coals of unquenchable fire. These are they who give alms and say, ‘We are righteous before God,’ whereas they have not sought after righteousness.”
You get the point. One could put together quite the list of ‘sins equals this type of punishment’ with this text! Chapter 13 has the angels bring the righteous and elect to show them the sinners who had torment upon them. It mentions that all the tormented cry out for mercy. The angel Temeluchus (spelled Tatirokos, chief angel of torment) comes along and chastises them with even more torment while saying to them “Now do you repent, when it is no longer the time for repentance, and nothing of life remains.” The torment cry out one last time “Righteous is the judgment of God, for we have heard and perceived that his judgment is good, for we are recompenses according to our deeds.” And that sentence right there is why many scholars believe this text did not make the canon. It is saying that if the sinners were able to ask for repentance during this time, then what does it matter during their lifetime what they do. What good is a church if you can ask for repentance during the day of judgment? Regardless of one’s belief on the subject matter, I think we can all agree this would cause an issue in the order of what the church was to become.
Chapter 14 takes us away from the hellish torments and has Jesus ending his discourse with Peter, telling him to go spread the gospel throughout the world. Before he leaves, Jesus takes all his disciples up the holy mountain where two men are standing. These two beings had a light coming from them so bright it made the sun’s light pale in comparison. The appearances of them had a rose like color to them. Each of them had a crown of nard woven from flowers upon their heads. Their hair was like rainbows. Jesus tells his disciples that two beings are Moses and Elijah. The disciples ask of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the other righteous fathers. Jesus shows them a garden full of fair trees and blessed fruits, all of which had a pleasant fragrance that filled the air. Chapters 15 & 16 are descriptions of heaven. Kind of odd that hell gets numerous chapters but heaven only two?
The text ends with a voice from above saying “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased: he has kept my commandments.” Jesus, Moses and Elijah all ascend into heaven. The disciples watched as the three rose through the air and entered. The clouds of heaven closed and the disciples went down the mountain while glorifying God.
Now I want to compare the Greek fragment to the Ethiopian version. In the Greek manuscript that survives, it starts with the introduction of the two heavenly beings as well as a small glimpse into heaven. However it does NOT mention that the two beings are Moses and Elijah. After the showing of heaven, Jesus directs Peter to where the damned are, thus the tour of hell starts. The manuscript ends before all the hellish torments are explored. This fragment was found in a burial tomb of an 8th/9th century monk in Akhmim, Egypt. Many scholars believe this is an edited version of the text and that the Ethiopian version would be more close to the original in its structure. I agree with this statement.
The Revelation to John would win out for inclusion into the New Testament (though itself was almost not included, a story for another time) and the AoP was left out. As I mentioned during the review, that sentence about repentance during judgment would have thrown a major kink into the theology that was being set forth during the formation of an official church. I guess they could have easily edited out that line if need be. The AoP would survive well into medieval times in Europe before copies disappeared (i.e. were just not being copied anymore and not some conspiracy to “silence it”). Thankfully the Ethiopian tradition kept copying the text and we now have it for all to read.
Wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_of_Peter
Featured artwork is Midjourney AI created and is based on the description of Moses and Elijah.
-bP
Culmination of Wisdom 