'World' (ዓለም) in the Ascension of Isaiah

In the Asc Isa, the world that human beings inhabit is dominated by satanic powers dwelling in the firmament. It is alien to the upper world, alien to the Spirit. Its poor state correlates with its distance from the summit of all that exists: God, the Lord and the Angel of the Spirit who dwell in the seventh heaven. The poor state of this world fits the order of all being in that there is a continuous loss of glory beginning in the upper heavens and continuing through all lower heavens, the firmament and, finally, the earth, the Sheol and the hell of destruction (the least is not included into the salvation realized by the descent and the ascension of the Lord). As a consequence, the concept of fall is unknown to the Asc Isa (as it is to John). A strong determinism is – although not often expressed – underlying this cosmology. Although the world view of the Asc Isa might fit current definitions of apocalypticism the label 'apocalyptic' would be misleading as it is unclear if such a thing like apocalypticism really existed. What existed is Christianity. The Asc Isa is a Christian book, influenced not at least by Pauline traditions.