1 Enoch 91:19

Pseudepigrapha

17 And the first heaven shall depart and pass away, And a new heaven shall appear, And all the powers of the heavens shall give sevenfold light. 18 And after that there will be many weeks without number for ever, And all shall be in goodness and righteousness, And sin shall no more be mentioned for ever. 19 And now I tell you, my sons, and show you The paths of righteousness and the paths of violence. Yea, I will show them to you again That ye may know what will come to pass. 20 And now, hearken unto me, my sons, And walk in the paths of righteousness, And walk not in the paths of violence; For all who walk in the paths of unrighteousness shall perish for ever.'

Didache 1:1

Patristic

1 There are two Ways: one of Life and one of Death, and there is a significant difference between the two Ways. 2 The way of life is as follows: First, you should love the God who created you; secondly, love your neighbor as yourself. Treat others as you would want to be treated. 3 Now, the teaching behind these words is this: Bless those who curse you, pray for your enemies, and fast for those who persecute you. What credit is it to you if you love only those who love you back? Don't even the non-believers do the same? Instead, love those who hate you, and you will have no enemies.

 Notes and References

"... scholars have recognized that the initial developments of the two ways tradition can be found already in some biblical materials. Thus, for example, Deuteronomy 30:15-19 speaks about the ways of humanity, associating them with life and death, the very conceptual dichotomy that will become prominent in later formulations of the tradition. Jeremiah 21:8, likewise, speaks about the paths of life and death as two choices for human beings. The peculiar mold of the tradition found in Sirach 33:7-15 adds an important protological layer, by placing speculation about two ways in the midst of the details of the protoplast’s creation. The protological character of these reflections will become a prominent trait in later developments of the two ways lore, including depictions found in the Treatise on the Two Spirits and 2 Enoch... Early Enochic materials are also cognizant of two choices of humankind, depicting them as the ways of righteousness and iniquity, and associating the latter path with the path of destruction. In the Enochic passages one can already find the familiar identification of the two ways with life and death ..."

Orlov, Andrei Paths of Light and Darkness: The Two Ways Tradition in the Treatise on the Two Spirits and 2 Enoch (pp. 1-16) Marquette University, 2011

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