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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 20 pagesAbout this book
What if creation itself bears witness to every human deed, and an angel leads you beyond the grave?
The Apocalypse of Paul is an anonymous early Christian vision ascribed to the apostle Paul. It takes up the unexplained journey to the third heaven mentioned in his second letter to the Corinthians. According to the text, an angel guides Paul through a world where souls face judgment, reward, and punishment, and earthly choices carry consequences beyond death.
The journey moves from creation reporting human sins to the places where souls meet their angels. Paul crosses the river Ocean toward the land of promise, then witnesses fiery rivers and dark pits of punishment. Widely read by medieval Christians, this vision explores divine justice and mercy through striking scenes rather than a calm account of doctrine.
What you’ll discover
- A discovery in Tarsus Explore the preface's story of an angelic appearance in Paul's home town.
- Creation as a witness Encounter a vision in which the natural world reports human wrongdoing to God.
- Souls at the threshold Follow Paul's account of the angels who accompany each soul at death.
- Landscapes of promised reward Cross Ocean with Paul toward the land where, according to the vision, saints will live.
- Justice beside mercy Consider how this harsh vision places compassion alongside the consequences of human actions.
Who will love it
Readers who love visionary writing, early Christian texts outside the Bible, and the Nag Hammadi manuscripts will find a vivid ascent of gates, guides, and judgment scenes.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A short vision born from one hint
- A child on the road knows who Paul is
- Seeing hidden things inside visible ones
- A soul on trial at the fourth gate
- Whips, rods, and gates that must open
- An old man on a bright throne
- Into the Ogdoad and how to read it
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Apocalypse of Paul
by Attributed to the Apostle Paul · 380
Paul climbs through the heavens, and at the fourth gate a soul stands trial before three witnesses.
ChallengingUnder 2 hours to readEnglish
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“Let your mind awaken, Paul, and see that this mountain upon which you are standing is the mountain of Jericho”
In short
Picture a traveller climbing through the sky, gate by gate, with a guide who never leaves his side. The story opens on an ordinary road.
Apocalypse of Paul at a glance
- Reading time
- About 10 min8 min fast, 10 min slow
- Length
- 2,350 words5 chapters
- Pages
- 20 pages18 in large print
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- about AD 380by Attributed to the Apostle Paul
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A short vision born from one hint
The Apocalypse of Paul begins with a gap in Paul's own writing. In his second letter to the Corinthians, he speaks of a man caught up to the third heaven who heard words that cannot be spoken. He does not say what he saw. Early readers wanted to know, and that wish is the seed of this text.
The work answers with a story. It is an apocalypse, from the Greek word for an unveiling. Such works pull back a curtain on the unseen world. A guide leads a human seer upward and explains what is shown. Christians filled this old form with their own questions about judgment, death, and the soul.
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Paul climbs through the heavens, and at the fourth gate a soul stands trial before three witnesses.
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Details
- First published
- 380
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
- Paperback
- 20 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 18 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Delivery and returns
- Printed when you order. Usually here in 12 to 14 days.Arrives Fri 13 Nov to Thu 19 Novto United States, printed for you at cost
For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
Paul. Apocalypse of Paul. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-apocalypse-of-paul.
Paul. (2026). Apocalypse of Paul. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-apocalypse-of-paul (Original work published ca. 380)
Paul. Apocalypse of Paul. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-apocalypse-of-paul.
@book{paul2026apocalypse,
author = {Paul},
title = {Apocalypse of Paul},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-apocalypse-of-paul},
note = {First published ca. 380}
}
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What is the Apocalypse of Paul about?
It tells of Paul being guided by the Holy Spirit up through the heavens. He watches a soul judged in the fourth heaven, passes through heavenly gates, meets an old man on a throne, and reaches the apostles above.
Is the Apocalypse of Paul in the Bible?
No. Churches did not include it among the books they recognised as scripture. It was valued by some early communities and survives in a Coptic manuscript found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt.
Who wrote the Apocalypse of Paul and when?
The author is unknown and writes under Paul's name. The Coptic codex dates to the fourth century, and many scholars think the Greek original is older, though the exact date is debated.
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