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32 by her, Adam suggested that they "go and see what has happened to them." "And they both went, and found Abel murdered by the hand of Cain." The events, as recorded in the Book of Adam and Eve, then describe the birth of Sheth (meaning "Replacement" in Hebrew) "in place of Abel." With Abel dead and Cain ban- ished, Seth (as the name is spelled in English translations of the Bible) was now the patriarchal heir and successor to Adam. And so it was that when Adam fell sick and was close to death, he revealed to Seth "what I heard and saw after your mother and 1 had been driven out of paradise:" There came to me Michael the archangel, an emissary of God. And I saw a chariot like the wind, and its wheels were as on fire. And I was carried up unto the Paradise of the Righteous Ones and I saw the Lord sitting; But his face was a flaming fire that could not be endured. Though he could not face the awesome sight, he could hear God's voice telling him that because he had transgressed in the Garden of Eden, he was fated to die. Then the archan- gel Michael took Adam away from the vision of Paradise and brought him back to whence he had come. Concluding the account, Adam admonished Seth to avoid sin and to be righteous and to follow God's commandments and statutes that will be delivered to Seth and his descendants when "the Lord shall appear in a flame of fire." Since the death of Adam was the first natural passing of a mortal, Eve and Seth knew not what to do. They took the dying Adam and carried him to the "region of Paradise," and there sat at the Gates of Paradise until Adam's soul departed from his body. They sat bewildered, mourning and crying. Then the Sun and Moon and the stars darkened, "the heavens opened," and Eve saw celestial visions. Raising her eyes she saw "coming from the heavens a chariot of light, borne by four bright eagles. And she heard the Lord instruct DIVINE ENCOUNTERS