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Ascension of Isaiah
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Translations |
The Ascension of Isaiah is quoted by some Early Church Fathers.
This excerpt is a prophecy of the way the Church would be before the Second Coming.
...when the Messiah's coming is at hand, his disciples will forsake the teaching of the
twelve apostles and their faith, their love and their purity, and there will arise much
contention about his coming and his appearing. And in those days there will be many who
will love office though they are devoid of wisdom, and many elders will be lawless and
violent shepherds to their sheep and will become ravagers of the sheep, since they have no
holy shepherds. And many will exchange the glory of the garment of the saints for the
garment of the covetous, and respect for persons will be common in those days, and such as
love the honor of this world. And there will be much slandering and boasting at the
approach of the Lord and the Holy Spirit will depart from many. And in those days there
will not be many prophets nor such as speak reliable words, except a few here and there,
on account of the spirit of error, of fornication, of boasting and of covetousness which
shall be in those who yet will be called his servants and who receive him. Great discord
will arise among them, between shepherds and elders. For great jealousy will prevail in
the last days, for each will say what seems pleasing in his own eyes. And they will set
aside the prophecies of the prophets, which were before me and also pay no attention to
these my visions, in order to speak forth from the torrent of their heart...
Compare to:
Paul in 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents,
ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal,
not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than
lovers of God 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do
with them. NIV
Hippolytus, a disciple of Irenaeus, about 210
adds:
The temples of God will be like houses, and there will be overturnings of the churches
everywhere. The Scriptures will be despised, and everywhere they will sing the songs of the adversary. Fornications, and adulteries, and perjuries will fill the land; sorceries, and incantations, and divinations will follow after
these with all force and zeal. And, on the whole, from among those who profess to be Christians will rise up then false prophets, false apostles, impostors, mischief-makers, evil-doers, liars against each other, adulterers, fornicators, robbers, grasping, perjured, mendacious, hating each other. The shepherds will be like wolves; the priests will embrace falsehood; the monks will lust after the things of the world;