Judgment in Hades
1 Again I turned back and saw a great sea. 2 I thought it was a sea of water, but I found that it was a whole sea of fire, like mud that throws out much fire, and its waves glowed with sulphur and pitch. 3 They began to come toward me. 4 I thought that the Lord Almighty had come to visit me. 5 When I saw it, I threw myself on my face before him to worship him. 6 I was very afraid and began to beg him to rescue me from this distress. 7 I groaned and said, "Eloi, Lord, Adonai Sabaoth, I beg you to rescue me from this distress that has come upon me." 8 At that hour I stood up and saw a great angel in front of me. His hair was loose like a lion's, his teeth stuck out of his mouth like a bear's, his hair was loose like women's hair, and his body was like a serpent's, and he wanted to swallow me. 9 When I saw him, I was so afraid of him that every part of my body trembled, and I threw myself on my face. 10 I could not stand, and I began to pray before the Lord Almighty: "You will rescue me from this distress, you who rescued Israel from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. You rescued Susanna from the hand of the wicked elders. You rescued the three holy men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, from the blazing, fiery furnace. I beg you to rescue me too from this distress."
Eremiel Refuses Worship
11 Then I got up and stood, and I saw a great angel standing in front of me. His face shone like the rays of the sun in its glory, and his face was like the face of one filled with his glory. 12 He wore what looked like a golden belt around his chest, and his feet were like brass glowing in the fire. 13 When I saw him, I was glad, because I thought that the Lord Almighty had come to visit me. 14 I threw myself on my face and worshipped him. 15 He said to me, "Take care! Do not worship me. I am not the Lord Almighty; I am the great angel Eremiel, who is over the abyss and the underworld below, in whose hand all the souls have been shut up since the end of the Flood that came upon the earth, until this day." 16 Then I asked the angel, "What is this place I have come to?" He said to me, "This is the underworld." 17 Then I asked him, "Who is the great angel standing there, the one I saw?" He answered, "This is the one who accuses people before the Lord."