The Judgment of Souls

1 While he was still saying these things to me, two angels appeared, fiery in appearance, merciless in mind and severe in look, and they drove thousands of souls along, mercilessly whipping them with fiery lashes. The angel took hold of one soul, and they drove all the souls in through the broad gate to destruction. 2 So we went along with the angels and came inside that broad gate, and between the two gates stood a throne of terrifying appearance, made of terrifying crystal, gleaming like fire, and on it sat a marvelous man bright as the sun, like the Son of God. 3 In front of him stood a table like crystal, all of gold and fine linen, and on the table lay a book six cubits thick and ten cubits wide, and on its right and left stood two angels holding paper and ink and pen. 4 In front of the table sat an angel of light holding a balance in his hand, and on his left sat an angel entirely of fire, merciless and severe, holding a trumpet in his hand that contained all-consuming fire for testing the sinners. 5 The marvelous man who sat on the throne judged and sentenced the souls himself, and the two angels on the right and on the left wrote down the record, the one on the right the righteousness and the one on the left the wickedness. The one in front of the table, who held the balance, weighed the souls, and the fiery angel, who held the fire, tested the souls. Abraham asked the chief-captain Michael: What is this that we are seeing? The chief-captain said: These things that you see, holy Abraham, are the judgment and the repayment. 6 Then the angel holding the soul in his hand brought it before the judge, and the judge said to one of the angels who served him: Open this book for me, and find me the sins of this soul. Opening the book, he found its sins and its righteous deeds⁠a equally balanced, and he gave it neither to the tormentors nor to those who were saved, but set it in the middle.