The Shepherd of Hermas

Ⅰ

The man who raised me sold me to a woman named Rhoda in Rome. After many years, I recognized her and began to love her like a sister. 2 After some time, I saw her bathing in the River Tiber and gave her my hand to help her out of the river. Seeing her beauty, I thought to myself, "I would be blessed if I had such a woman, both in beauty and character." This was my only thought and nothing more. 3 After some time, as I was traveling to Comae and admiring God's creations, how great and impressive and powerful they are, I was walking and lost in thought. A spirit took me and carried me through a path where no man could walk; the place was steep and jagged because of the waters. Crossing that river, I came to a flat area, knelt down, and began to pray to the Lord and confess my sins. 4 As I was praying, the heavens opened, and I saw that woman whom I longed for, greeting me from the sky, saying, "Hello, Hermas." 5 Looking at her, I said to her, "Lady, what are you doing here?" She replied to me, "I was taken up to reveal your sins to the Lord." 6 I said to her, "Are you here to judge me?" She said, "No, but listen to the words I am about to say. God, who lives in the heavens and created everything from nothing, multiplying and growing them for the sake of His holy church, is angry with you because you have sinned against me." 7 I replied to her, "I sinned against you? In what way or when did I ever speak a shameful word to you? Haven't I always regarded you as a goddess? Haven't I always respected you as a sister? Why are you accusing me of these evil and unclean things, woman?" 8 She laughed and said to me, "The desire for evil rose in your heart. Don't you think it's a bad thing for a righteous man if evil desire enters his heart? It is a sin, and a great one," she said. "For a righteous man thinks righteous thoughts. When he thinks righteous thoughts, his glory is strengthened in the heavens, and he is favored by the Lord in all his deeds. But those who think evil in their hearts bring death and captivity upon themselves, especially those who care too much about this world and boast in their riches, without holding on to the good things yet to come." 9 The souls of those who have no hope and have given up on themselves and their lives will repent. But you should pray to God, and He will heal your sins and those of your entire household and all who are holy.

Ⅱ

After she said these words, the heavens closed, and I was completely terrified and sorrowful. I said to myself, "If this sin is recorded against me, how can I be saved? How can I make amends with God for my serious sins? What words can I use to ask the Lord to be merciful to me?" 2 While I was considering these things and debating them in my heart, I saw in front of me a white chair made of wool as white as snow, and an elderly woman came, dressed in the brightest clothing, holding a book in her hands. She sat down alone and greeted me, "Hello, Hermas." And I, sorrowful and weeping, said, "Hello, Lady." 3 And she said to me, "Why are you gloomy, Hermas? You, who are usually patient and gentle, always laughing, why are you so downcast and not cheerful?" And I said to her, "Because a very good woman told me that I have sinned against her." 4 And she replied, "This should not be so for a servant of God. But it surely has troubled your heart concerning her. For such thoughts bring sin to God's servants. Evil thoughts are startling and inappropriate for a soul that is pure and tested, especially Hermas, who is self-controlled, avoiding every evil desire, and full of simplicity and great innocence."

Ⅲ

"But God is not angry with you because of this; rather, He wants you to turn back your household, which has sinned against the Lord and against you, their parents. You love your children, but you did not correct your household; instead, you let it be ruined. This is why the Lord is angry with you. But He will heal all the past evils in your house. Because of their sins and lawlessness, you have been ruined by worldly matters." 2 "But the great mercy of the Lord has had pity on you and your household, and He will strengthen you and establish you in His glory. Just do not be lazy; be brave and strengthen your household. For just as a blacksmith, hammering his work, achieves what he desires, so does daily righteous talk conquer all evil. Therefore, do not stop advising your children. I know that if they repent with all their hearts, they will be written in the books of life along with the saints." 3 After she left, she said to me, "Do you want to hear me read?" I said, "I do, lady." She said to me, "Be a good listener and hear the glories of God." I listened intently and wonderfully, but I could not remember everything, for all the words were awe-inspiring, beyond what a person can bear. But I did remember the last words, for they were beneficial and gentle to us. 4 Behold, the God of hosts, whom I love, with His mighty power and great wisdom created the world and with His glorious counsel adorned His creation with beauty. By His strong word, He established the heavens and founded the earth upon the waters. In His own wisdom and care, He created His holy church, which He has also blessed. Behold, He moves the heavens, and the mountains and hills and the seas, making everything smooth for His chosen ones, so that He may give them the promise which He proclaimed, with much glory and joy, if they keep the laws of God that they received with great faith.

Ⅳ

When she finished reading and got up from the chair, four young men came, lifted the chair, and went off toward the east. 2 She called me over, touched my chest, and asked, “Did you like my reading?” And I said to her, “Lady, I liked the last parts, but the first parts were hard and harsh.” She then said to me, “The last parts are for the righteous, but the first parts are for the nations and the rebels.” 3 While she was speaking with me, two men appeared, took her by the arms, and went away with her to where the chair was, toward the east. She left cheerfully and, as she was going, said to me, “Be brave, Hermas.”

Ⅰ

As I was going to the villages at the same time as last year, I remembered last year’s vision while walking, and again the spirit lifted me and carried me to the same place as last year. 2 So when I got to the place, I knelt down and started to pray to the Lord and praise His name because He considered me worthy and showed me my past sins. 3 After I got up from the prayer, I saw the old woman I had seen last year, walking and reading a small book, and she said to me, "Can you tell these things to God's chosen ones?" I said to her, "Madam, I cannot remember so much. Give me the small book so I can copy it." She said, "Take it, and you will return it to me." 4 I took it and went to a spot in the field where I copied everything letter by letter because I couldn't find the phrases. So, when I finished copying the letters of the small book, suddenly the small book was snatched from my hand, but I didn't see by whom.

Ⅱ

After fifteen days of fasting and asking the Lord many questions, the knowledge of the writing was revealed to me. And this is what was written: 2 "Your descendants, Hermas, have rejected God and blasphemed against the Lord. They betrayed their parents in great wickedness and were labeled as traitors of their parents. Their betrayal did not benefit them; instead, they added to their sins with acts of shamelessness and wickedness, and thus their iniquities were completed." 3 "But make these words known to all your children and to your spouse, the future sister, for she too does not refrain from evil speech. But if she hears these words, she will stop and will find mercy." 4 "After you make these words known to them, as the Lord commanded me to reveal to you, then all their previous sins will be forgiven, and the sins of all the saints who have sinned up to this day, if they truly repent from their hearts and remove all doubts from their hearts." 5 "For the Lord has sworn by His glory concerning His chosen ones: if after this determined day, there is still sin, they will not have salvation. For repentance has an end for the righteous. The days of repentance are completed for all the saints. But for the nations, there is repentance until the last day." 6 "So, you will tell the leaders of the church to straighten their ways in righteousness, so that they may fully receive the promises with great glory." 7 "Therefore, remain steadfast, you who work righteousness, and do not be of two minds, so that your passage may be with the holy angels. Blessed are you who endure the coming great tribulation and who do not deny your life." 8 "For the Lord has sworn by His Son that those who have denied Christ will be rejected from their life, those who are about to deny Him in the coming days. But to those who denied Him before, He became merciful because of His great compassion."

Ⅲ

"But you, Hermas, do not hold a grudge against your children or leave your sister, so they may be cleansed from their past sins. They will be taught with righteous discipline if you do not bear a grudge against them. Holding a grudge leads to death. You, Hermas, have had great personal troubles because of the wrongdoings in your household since you did not care for them. Instead, you were distracted and got involved in your evil business dealings." 2 "But what saves you is that you have not turned away from the living God, and your simplicity and great self-control have saved you. If you continue in this way, these things will save you and all who act and live in innocence and simplicity. They will overcome all evil and remain for eternal life." 3 "Blessed are all who practice righteousness. They will not be destroyed forever." 4 "You will say to Maximus, 'Look, trouble is coming; if it appears to you, deny it again. The Lord is near to those who turn back, as it is written in Eldad and Modat, who prophesied in the desert to the people.'"

Ⅳ

"It was revealed to me, brothers, while I was sleeping, by a very handsome young man who said to me, 'Who do you think the old woman who gave you the booklet is?' I said, 'The Sibyl.' 'You are mistaken,' he said, 'She is not.' 'Then who is she?' I asked. 'She is the Church,' he said. I replied, 'Then why is she old?' 'Because,' he said, 'she was created first of all things. That is why she is old, and through her, the world was prepared.'" 2 "Later, I saw a vision in my house. The old woman came and asked me if I had already given the book to the elders. I said I had not given it. 'Good,' she said, 'you have done well, for I have more words to add. When I finish all the words, it will be made known to all the chosen ones through you.'" 3 "So, you will write two small books and send one to Clement and one to Grapte. Clement will send it to the cities outside because that is his duty. Grapte will instruct the widows and orphans. And you will read it in this city with the elders who lead the church."

Ⅰ

What I saw, brothers, was like this. 2 I fasted many times and prayed to the Lord to reveal to me the vision He promised through that old woman. That very night she appeared to me and said, "Since you are so eager and eager to know everything, come to the field where you harvest, and about the fifth hour I will appear to you and show you what you need to see." 3 I asked her, saying, "Lady, to which part of the field?" She said, "Wherever you like." I chose a nice, secluded place. Before I could tell her the spot, she said to me, "I will come there, wherever you want." 4 So I went to the field, brothers, and counted the hours. I came to the place where I had arranged for her to come, and I saw an ivory couch. On the couch lay a linen cushion and a spread linen cloth. 5 Seeing these things lying there and no one being around, I was astounded and a bit scared, and I felt my hair stand on end. I got very nervous being alone. But then, coming to my senses and remembering God's glory, I took courage. I knelt down and confessed my sins to the Lord once again, as I had done before. 6 She came with six young men whom I had seen before. She stood near me and listened as I prayed and confessed my sins to the Lord. Touching me, she said, "Hermas, stop asking about all your sins. Instead, ask about righteousness, so you can bring some of it into your home." 7 She took me by the hand and led me to the group. Then she said to the young men, "Go and build." 8 After the young men left and we were alone, she said to me, "Sit here." I replied, "Lady, let the elders sit first." She said, "What I'm telling you is, sit down." 9 When I wanted to sit on the right side, she didn't let me. Instead, she gestured for me to sit on the left side. Feeling confused and upset because I couldn't sit on the right side, she said to me, "Are you sad, Hermas? The right side is for others who have already pleased God and suffered for His name. You still have a long way to go to sit with them. But continue in your simplicity, and you will join them along with all who do their work and endure what they did."

Ⅱ

"What did they endure?" I asked. She replied, "Listen: they endured whippings, prisons, great hardships, crosses, and wild beasts for His name. That's why the right side of the holy place belongs to them and to anyone who suffers for the name. The left side is for others. But both those on the right and the left receive the same gifts and promises; only the ones on the right have a special honor." 2 "You desire to sit on the right with them, but you have many shortcomings. You will be cleansed of your shortcomings, and all who do not doubt will be cleansed from all their sins on this day." 3 After saying this, she wanted to leave. I fell at her feet and begged her by the Lord to show me the vision she had promised. 4 But she took my hand again, lifted me up, and made me sit on the left side. She herself sat on the right. Then she raised a bright staff and said to me, "Do you see something great?" I said to her, "Lady, I see nothing." She said to me, "Look, don't you see a great tower being built on the water with bright, square stones?" 5 The tower was being built with square stones by the six young men who came with her. Thousands of other men were carrying stones, some from the depths and some from the land, and handing them to the six young men. The young men took the stones and built with them. 6 The stones drawn from the depths were all placed directly into the building. They fit together well and matched perfectly with the others, so much so that the joints could hardly be seen. The construction of the tower looked as if it was built from a single stone. 7 As for the other stones brought from the land, some were rejected, while others were placed into the building. Some stones they cut and threw far away from the tower. 8 Many other stones lay around the tower and were not used in the building. Some of them were covered in moss, others had cracks, some were broken, and others were white and round, not fitting for the construction. 9 I saw other stones thrown far away from the tower, landing on the road but not staying there. Instead, they rolled off the road into rough ground. Some fell into fire and burned, while others fell near water but couldn't roll into it, even though they wanted to get to the water.

Ⅲ

After showing me these things, she wanted to run away. I said to her, "Lady, what's the use of seeing these things without understanding what they are?" She answered, "You are a clever man, wanting to know about the tower." "Yes," I said, "so I can tell my brothers and they can be happier and know the Lord in great glory." 2 She said, "Many will listen; some of them will be happy when they hear, and some will cry. But even those who cry, if they listen and repent, will also be happy. So, listen to the parables of the tower; I will reveal everything to you. Stop troubling me about the revelations, for they have an end; they are completed. But you will not stop asking for revelations, because you are persistent." 3 The tower you see being built, that is me, the Church, which you have seen before and now. So whatever you wish to know about the tower, ask, and I will reveal it to you, so you may rejoice with the saints. 4 I said to her, "Lady, since you consider me worthy to reveal everything to me, please do so." She replied, "Whatever is possible for you to understand will be revealed. Just keep your heart toward God and do not doubt what you see." 5 I asked her, "Lady, why is the tower built on water?" She said, "I told you before, and you are diligently searching for the truth, so you will find it. Listen, the tower is built on water because your life was saved and will be saved through water. The tower is founded on the word of the Almighty and glorious name, and it is supported by the invisible power of the Lord."

Ⅳ

I responded, "Lady, this is a great and marvelous thing. But who are the six young men who are building?" She said, "These are the holy angels of God, the first ones created. The Lord entrusted them with all His creation to grow, build, and rule over it. Through them, the building of the tower will be completed." 2 "And the others who are carrying the stones, who are they?" I asked. "They are also holy angels of God," she replied, "but the six leading them are more important. The building of the tower will be completed, and everyone will rejoice around the tower and glorify God because the building is finished." 3 I asked her, "Lady, I wish to know about the nature and strength of the stones." She answered, "It is not because you are the most worthy that this is revealed to you. There are others before you and better than you who should have seen these visions. But it is revealed to you so that God's name may be glorified and to show those who doubt, who question in their hearts whether these things are true or not. Tell them that all these things are true and nothing is outside the truth. Everything is strong, firm, and well-founded."

Ⅴ

"Listen now about the stones used in the building. The square, white stones that fit perfectly are the apostles, bishops, teachers, and deacons who walked in God's reverence and served His chosen ones faithfully. These are both those who have passed away and those still living. They always agreed with each other, lived in peace, and listened to one another. That's why the stones fit so well in the building of the tower." 2 "And what about the stones that are pulled from the depths and set into the building, fitting well with the other already built stones, who are they? These are those who have suffered for the name of the Lord." 3 "I wish to know about the other stones brought from dry land, lady. Who are they?" She replied, "Those that go into the building without being chiseled are the ones the Lord has approved, for they walked in the Lord's righteousness and kept His commandments." 4 "And the ones who are being brought and placed into the building, who are they? They are young in faith and faithful. They are being guided by angels to do good because some wickedness was found in them." 5 "And the ones who were thrown out and discarded, who are they? These are the ones who have sinned and want to repent; that's why they were not thrown far away from the tower. They can still be useful for the building if they repent. Those who are about to repent, if they do so, will be strong in faith as the tower is being built. But if the building is finished, they will have no place, and they will be cast out, only lying near the tower."

Ⅵ

"Do you want to know about the ones who are cut and thrown far from the tower? These are the children of lawlessness; they believed with hypocrisy, and all wickedness did not depart from them. That's why they have no salvation, because they are not useful for the building due to their wickedness. Because of this, they were cut off and thrown far away by the Lord's anger for having angered Him." 2 "And the others, whom you saw lying around and not going into the building, these are the ones with sores. They knew the truth but did not continue in it." 3 "And the ones with cracks, who are they? These are the ones who have ill will towards each other in their hearts and are not at peace within themselves. They show a face of peace, but when they are apart, their wickedness remains in their hearts. These are the cracks that the stones have." 4 "And the ones who are shortened, who are they? These are the ones who have believed and mostly live in righteousness, but still have some parts of lawlessness. That is why they are incomplete and not whole." 5 "And the white and round ones that don’t fit into the building, who are they, lady? She answered me, saying, 'How much longer will you be foolish and without understanding, asking about everything and understanding nothing? These are the ones who have faith but also have the wealth of this world. When troubles come, because of their wealth and dealings, they deny their Lord.'" 6 "And I answered her, saying, 'Lady, when then will they be useful for the building?' She said, 'When their wealth that entertains them is cut off, then they will be useful to God. Just as the round stone cannot become square unless something is cut off it, so too the wealthy of this world cannot be useful to the Lord unless their wealth is cut off.'" 7 "First, learn from yourself. When you were rich, you were useless, but now you are useful and helpful in life. Be useful to God; you yourself use stones from the same source."

Ⅶ

"But those other stones you saw thrown far from the tower and falling onto the road, rolling off the road into rough places: these are the ones who have believed, but their doubt makes them leave the true path. Thinking they can find a better way, they get lost and suffer, wandering in rough places." 2 "The ones falling into the fire and burning are those who have completely turned away from the living God, and no longer feel like repenting because of their desires for bad things and the evil they have done." 3 "And the other ones you saw falling near the water but not able to roll into it, do you want to know who they are? These are the ones who heard the word and wanted to be baptized in the name of the Lord. But when they remember the purity of the truth, they regret it and turn back to their evil desires." 4 "So he finished explaining the tower." 5 Still being bold, I asked her if all those stones that were rejected and didn't fit in the tower, if they could repent and have a place in this tower. She said, "They can repent, but they can't fit into this tower." 6 "They will fit in a much smaller place, and this will happen after they are punished and complete the days of their sins. They will be moved because they received the word of the righteous. Then they will be taken out of their suffering because of the wicked deeds they have done. If it doesn’t come to their hearts, they will not be saved because of their hard-heartedness."

Ⅷ

So when I finished asking her about all these things, she said to me, "Do you want to see something else?" Eager to see more, I happily said yes. 2 She looked at me, smiled slightly, and said, "Do you see the seven women around the tower?" "I see them, ma'am," I said. "This tower is supported by them, by the order of the lord." 3 "Now listen to their roles. The first one, who holds their hands together, is called Faith; through her, the chosen of God are saved." 4 "The second one, who is girded and brave, is called Self-control; she is the daughter of Faith. Whoever follows her will be blessed in their life, because they will avoid all evil deeds, believing that if they abstain from all wicked desires, they will inherit eternal life." 5 "But who are the others, ma'am?" "They are daughters of each other. They are called Simplicity, Knowledge, Innocence, Reverence, and Love. So, if you do all the works of their mother, you can live." 6 "I wanted to know, ma'am, what power each of them has." "Listen," she said, "to the powers they have." 7 "Their powers hold onto each other and follow one another, just as they were born. From Faith comes Self-control, from Self-control comes Simplicity, from Simplicity comes Innocence, from Innocence comes Reverence, from Reverence comes Knowledge, from Knowledge comes Love. So, their works are pure, reverent, and divine." 8 "So, whoever serves them and is strong enough to do their works will live in the tower with the holy ones of God." 9 I asked her about the times, if the end was already near. She shouted loudly, "Foolish man, don't you see the tower still being built? When the tower is finished being built, then it will be the end. But it will be completed soon. Don't ask me anything more; this reminder is enough for you and the saints, renewing your spirits." 10 "But this was not revealed to you alone; it was shown to you so that you can tell everyone." 11 After three days, for you need to understand first. I command you, Hermas, to tell these words, which I will speak to you, to the ears of the saints, so that hearing them and doing them, they may be cleansed from their wickedness, and you along with them.

Ⅸ

Listen to me, children. I raised you with great simplicity, innocence, and respect because of the Lord's mercy, who poured righteousness on you so that you would be justified and made holy from all wickedness and crookedness. But you do not want to turn away from your wickedness. 2 Now then, listen to me and be at peace among yourselves. Visit one another and support one another. Do not take God's creations for yourselves alone, but share with those who are in need. 3 For those who eat a lot of rich foods bring sickness to their bodies and harm themselves. But for those who do not have enough food, their bodies suffer because they lack enough to eat, and their bodies are ruined. 4 This lack of self-control harms you who have and do not share with those who are in need. 5 See the coming judgment. Therefore, you who have much, seek out those who are hungry before the tower is completed. For after the tower is finished, you will want to do good, but you will not have the chance. 6 So, you who boast in your riches, be careful, lest the needy cry out and their cry reaches the Lord, and you will be shut out with your goods outside the door of the tower. 7 Now I say to you leaders of the church and those who take the best seats: do not be like sorcerers. Sorcerers carry their potions in boxes, but you carry your poison in your hearts. 8 You are stubborn and do not want to cleanse your hearts and unite your wisdom with a pure heart, so that you may receive mercy from the great King. 9 So, children, be careful that these divisions do not take away your life. 10 How can you teach the chosen ones of the Lord if you do not have education yourselves? Educate each other and live in peace among yourselves so that I may stand joyfully before the Father and speak on behalf of all of you to the Lord.

Ⅹ

When she finished speaking with me, six young men came who were building and carried her to the tower, and four others lifted the seat and carried it to the tower as well. I did not see their faces because they were turned away. 2 As she was leaving, I asked her to reveal to me the meaning of the three forms in which she had appeared to me. She answered me, saying, "You must ask someone else about these matters so that they can be revealed to you." 3 In the first vision last year, brothers, she appeared to me as a very old woman sitting on a chair. 4 In the second vision, her face looked younger, but her flesh and hair were still old. She was standing and spoke to me; she seemed happier than before. 5 In the third vision, she appeared entirely younger and very beautiful, except her hair was still old. She was cheerful and sitting on a couch. 6 I was very distressed about understanding this revelation. Then I saw the old woman in a night vision, and she said to me, "Every question needs humility. So, fast, and you will receive what you ask for from the Lord." 7 So I fasted for one day, and that very night, a young man appeared to me and said, "Why are you asking for revelations in prayer? Be careful, asking for too much might harm your body." 8 "These revelations are enough for you. Do you think you can handle stronger revelations than what you have already seen?" 9 I replied to him, "Lord, I only ask for a complete revelation about the three forms of the old woman." He answered me, "How long will you be foolish? Your doubts make you foolish and keep your heart from being with the Lord." 10 I replied to him again, "But Lord, we will understand them more clearly from you."

Ⅺ

"Listen," he said, "about the forms you seek." 2 "Why did she appear to you as an old woman sitting on a chair in the first vision? Because your spirit is old, worn out, and lacking strength from your weaknesses and doubts." 3 "Just as old people who have no hope of renewing themselves expect nothing but their rest, you, too, have given yourselves up to despair from worldly matters and haven't cast your cares onto the Lord. Your mind has been broken, and you've grown old in your sorrows." 4 "Why was she sitting on a chair? I wanted to know, sir. Because everyone who is weak sits on a chair due to their weakness, to support their body's frailty. That’s the meaning of the first vision."

Ⅻ

"In the second vision, you saw her standing and looking younger and happier than before, though her skin and hair were still old. Listen, he says, and understand this parable." 2 "When an old person, who has lost hope due to illness and poverty, expects nothing but the end of their life, and then suddenly inherits something valuable, they become joyful and regain strength. They no longer lie down, but stand up, and their spirit is renewed from its former state. Similarly, when you hear the revelation that the Lord has shown you, you are renewed and strengthened." 3 "because He had compassion on you and renewed your spirits. You put aside your weaknesses, gained strength, and grew strong in faith. Seeing your newfound strength, the Lord was happy. That’s why He showed you the building of the tower and will reveal more, if you keep peace in your hearts."

ⅩⅢ

"In the third vision, you saw her younger, beautiful, cheerful, and with a lovely appearance." 2 "When someone who is sad receives good news, they instantly forget their past sorrows and focus only on the news they've heard, gaining strength and renewing their spirit from the joy they've received. In the same way, you have renewed your spirits when you saw these good things." 3 "And because you saw her sitting on a bench, it shows stability since the bench has four legs and stands firmly. Just as the world is held together by four elements." 4 "Those who fully repent will be made new and strong, those who repent with all their heart. You have received the full revelation; do not ask for any more revelations. If anything is needed, it will be revealed to you."

Ⅰ

"Brothers, I saw this vision twenty days after the previous one, as a sign of the trouble that is coming." 2 "I was going to a field on the campanian road. It's about ten stadia away from the main road, and the place is easy to walk to." 3 "So, walking alone, I asked the Lord to finish revealing and showing me the visions He had given me through His holy Church, so that He might strengthen me and grant repentance to His servants who had stumbled, so that His great and glorious name could be honored, because He considered me worthy to show His wonders." 4 "And while I was praising and thanking Him, a voice answered me like an echo: 'Do not be double-minded, Hermas.' I began to reflect on this and said to myself, 'Why should I be double-minded, so firmly established by the Lord and having seen such glorious things?'" 5 "And I went a little further, brothers, and behold, I saw dust rising up to the sky, and I began to say to myself, 'Could it be that animals are coming and stirring up the dust?' It was about a stadium away from me." 6 "As the dust grew larger and larger, I thought it might be something divine. The sun shone a little, and behold, I saw a huge beast, like a giant sea monster, and fiery locusts were coming out of its mouth. The beast was about 100 feet long, and its head looked like a piece of pottery." 7 "And I began to cry and ask the Lord to save me from it. And I remembered the word I had heard: 'Do not be double-minded, Hermas.'" 8 "So, brothers, putting on the faith of the Lord and remembering the great things He taught me, I took courage and gave myself to the beast. It came with such a loud roar that it could destroy a city." 9 I came close to it, and the huge beast lay down on the ground, only sticking out its tongue a little and not moving at all until I passed by it. 10 The beast had four colors on its head: black, then fiery red like blood, then golden, and lastly white.

Ⅱ

After I passed the beast and had gone about thirty feet, there appeared a maiden dressed like she was coming out of a bridal chamber, all in white with white shoes, covered up to her forehead, and her veil was held with a headband; her hair was white. 2 I knew from previous visions that she was the Church, and I became happier. She greeted me, saying, “Greetings, man.” And I greeted her back, “Greetings, Lady.” 3 She answered me, saying, “Did nothing happen to you?” I said to her, “Lady, such a huge beast, capable of destroying people, but by the power of the Lord and His great mercy, I escaped it.” 4 “You escaped well,” she said, “because you cast your cares on God and opened your heart to the Lord, believing that you could be saved only by His great and glorious name. For this reason, the Lord sent His angel who is over the beasts, whose name is Thegri, and he shut the beast’s mouth so it wouldn’t harm you. You escaped great trouble because of your faith and because you did not doubt when you saw such a huge beast.” 5 “So go and explain to the Lord's chosen ones His great deeds and tell them that this beast is a symbol of the great trouble that is to come. If you prepare and repent with all your heart to the Lord, you will be able to escape it, if your heart becomes pure and blameless and you serve the Lord blamelessly for the rest of your days. Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will take care of them.” 6 “Trust in the Lord, you who are doubtful, because He can do everything and turn His anger away from you, even though He sends hardships to the doubters. Woe to those who hear these words and ignore them; it would have been better for them not to have been born.”

Ⅲ

I asked her about the four colors that the beast had on its head. She answered me, saying, “You are too curious about such things again.” “Yes, lady,” I said, “please tell me what these mean.” 2 “Listen,” she said, “the black color represents this world in which you live.” 3 “The red and fiery color means that this world must be destroyed by blood and fire.” 4 “The gold part means you are the ones who escape this world. Just like gold is tested by fire and becomes useful, you who live in it will also be tested. Those who stay and are purified by it will become clean. Just as gold sheds its rust, you will get rid of all sorrow and trouble and become clean and useful for building the tower.” 5 “The white part is the coming age, where God’s chosen ones will live. Because God’s chosen will be spotless and clean, they will have eternal life.” 6 “So do not stop speaking to the ears of the holy ones. You also have a sign of the great trouble that is coming. But if you are willing, it will be nothing. Remember what was written before.” 7 After saying this, he went away, and I did not see where he went, because a cloud came. I turned back, scared, thinking that the beast was coming.

Ⅰ

While I was praying in the house and sitting on the bed, a glorious man entered, dressed like a shepherd, wearing a white goat skin and carrying a bag on his shoulders and a staff in his hand. He greeted me, and I greeted him back. 2 And he immediately sat down next to me and said, "I was sent by the most honorable angel to live with you for the rest of your days." 3 I thought he might be testing me, so I said to him, "Who are you? Because I know who I was entrusted to." He said to me, "Don't you recognize me?" I said, "No." He said, "I am the shepherd to whom you were entrusted." 4 While he was still speaking, his appearance changed, and I recognized him as the one I had been entrusted to. I immediately became confused and fear overcame me. I was completely shaken with sorrow because I had answered him so rudely and foolishly. 5 He replied to me, "Don't be confused, but be strong in the commands I am about to give you. I was sent to show you again what you saw before, the important parts that are beneficial to you. First of all, write down my commands and parables. As I show you the other things, you will write them down too. This is why I command you to first write the commands and parables, so that you can read them at hand and be able to keep them." 6 So I wrote down the commands and parables as he had instructed me. 7 If you listen to them, keep them, walk in them, and do them with a pure heart, you will receive from the Lord all that He has promised you. But if you listen and do not repent, and instead add to your sins, you will receive the opposite from the Lord. The shepherd, the angel of repentance, commanded me to write all this down.

Ⅰ

First of all, believe that there is one God, who created and made everything, bringing everything into being from nothing. He is everywhere, but nothing contains Him. 2 So, believe in Him and fear Him. Fearing Him, control yourself. Keep these commands, and you will get rid of all evil from yourself and put on every virtue of righteousness. You will live for God if you keep this commandment.

Ⅰ

He says to me, "Be simple and innocent, and you will be like little children who do not know the evil that destroys the lives of people." 2 First, do not speak badly about anyone or gladly listen to those who do. If you do, you will be guilty of the same sin as the one who speaks badly. If you believe the gossip you hear, you will have something against your brother, making you just as guilty as the one who started it. 3 Gossip is evil; it is a restless demon that is never at peace but always causes division. Stay away from it, and you will always have peace with everyone. 4 Dress in modesty, which is free from any evil obstacles, making everything smooth and cheerful. Do good work, and from the things that God gives you, generously help those in need without hesitation. Give to everyone, for God wants His gifts to be shared with all. 5 Those who receive will answer to God for why and how they received. Those who were truly in need will not be judged, but those who took in hypocrisy will be punished. 6 So, the giver is blameless; just as he received the duty from the Lord, he fulfilled it simply, without deciding who should get it or not. Therefore, this simple service became glorious before God. The one who serves God in this way will live. 7 So, keep this command as I have told you, so that your repentance and that of your household may be found in simplicity, and in pure and spotless innocence.

Ⅰ

He says to me again: Love the truth, and let all truth come from your mouth, so that the spirit which God placed in this body may be found truthful by all people, and in this way, the Lord who lives in you will be glorified, because the Lord is true in every word and there is no falsehood in him. 2 So those who lie reject the Lord and become separated from him, not keeping the trust they received. For they received from him a truthful spirit. If they return it with falsehood, they have broken the Lord’s commandment and become separated. 3 When I heard these things, I cried a lot. Seeing me cry, he said, "Why are you crying?" "Because," I said, "Lord, I don't know if I can be saved." "Why?" he asked. "Because," I replied, "Lord, I have never spoken a truthful word in my life. I have always spoken cunningly and shown my lies to be true to all people, and no one ever contradicted me, but they believed my words. So, Lord, what can I do now to live?" 4 He said to me, "You think rightly and truthfully. You should have lived in truth as a servant of God, and not allowed an evil conscience to dwell with the spirit of truth, nor grieve the holy and truthful spirit." I said, "Lord, I have never heard such precise words before." 5 "Now you hear them," he said. "Keep these words so that even the lies you spoke before, when found to be true, will be believed. For those lies can also become trustworthy. If you keep these words and speak only the truth from now on, you will gain life for yourself. And whoever hears this commandment and refrains from the wicked lie will live for God."

Ⅰ

"I command you," he said, "to keep purity, and don't let thoughts about another man's wife or any kind of immorality or evil images enter your heart. Doing this would be a great sin. By always remembering your own wife, you will never sin." 2 "For if this thought rises in your heart, you will sin, and if there are other such evil thoughts, you will be committing sin. For this thought is a great sin for a servant of God. And if someone acts on this wicked deed, they bring death upon themselves." 3 "So be careful; stay away from this thought. For where dignity dwells, there should be no lawlessness rising in the heart of a righteous man." 4 I said to him, "Lord, may I ask you a few questions?" "Speak," he said. "Lord," I said, "if a man has a wife who is faithful in the Lord, and he finds her committing adultery, does he sin by still living with her?" 5 "Until he is unaware, he does not sin," he said. "But if the man knows of her sin and the woman does not repent but continues in her adultery, and the man still lives with her, he becomes guilty of her sin and shares in her adultery." 6 "So what, Lord," I said, "should the man do if the woman persists in this sin?" "He should divorce her," he said, "and the man should remain by himself. But if he divorces his wife and marries another, he also commits adultery." 7 "So Lord," I said, "if after the divorce the woman repents and wants to return to her husband, will he not take her back?" 8 "Yes," he said, "if the husband does not take her back, he sins and brings a great sin upon himself. He must welcome back the one who has sinned and repented, but not repeatedly; for there is one repentance for the servants of God. So because of repentance, the husband should not remarry. This rule applies to both women and men." 9 "It is not just adultery," he said, "if someone defiles his body, but also if someone does things like the pagans do, he commits adultery. So in such acts, if someone persists and does not repent, stay away from him and do not live with him; otherwise, you too share in his sin." 10 "This is why you were commanded to remain by yourself, whether man or woman; because in such situations, there can be repentance." 11 "I do not give an excuse for this behavior to continue," he said, "but so that the one who has sinned might not sin anymore. Concerning his previous sin, there is someone who can give healing; for He has all the authority."

Ⅱ

I asked him again, saying, "Since the Lord has deemed me worthy to have you always live with me, bear with me a little more, because I do not understand anything and my heart is hardened from my past actions. Teach me, because I am very foolish and understand nothing at all." 2 He answered me, saying, "I am with repentance and I give understanding to all who repent. Do you not think that repentance itself is understanding? Repenting is great understanding; for the one who has sinned realizes he has done evil before the Lord, and the deed he has done rises to his heart, and he repents and no longer does evil, but works good abundantly and humbles and disciplines himself because he sinned. So you see, repentance is great understanding." 3 "That is why, sir," I said, "I am asking you everything thoroughly: first, because I am a sinner, to know what kind of deeds I must do to live, because my sins are many and varied." 4 "You will live," he said, "if you keep my commandments and follow them; and whoever hears these commandments and keeps them will live by God."

Ⅲ

"Still," I said, "sir, I will ask you more questions." "Speak," he said. "I have heard, sir," I said, "from some teachers that there is no other repentance except the one when we descended into the water and received forgiveness for our past sins." 2 He said to me, "You heard correctly; that is indeed how it is. The one who has received forgiveness of sins should no longer sin, but live in purity." 3 "Since you are examining everything carefully, I will also explain this to you, without giving an excuse to those who will believe or who now believe in the Lord. Those who have now believed or will believe do not have repentance for their sins, but they do have forgiveness for their past sins." 4 "So, for those called before these days, the Lord established repentance. Because the Lord is a knower of hearts and knows everything beforehand, He knew the weakness of people and the deceitfulness of the devil, that he would do harm to the servants of God and act wickedly against them." 5 "Being very compassionate, the Lord took pity on His creation and established this repentance, and the authority for this repentance was given to me." 6 "But I tell you, he says: After that great and solemn calling, if someone is tempted by the devil and sins, they have one chance for repentance. If they sin and repent under pressure, it is not beneficial for such a person; for it will be difficult for them to live." 7 I said to him, "I feel revived hearing these things from you so clearly; for I know that if I no longer add to my sins, I will be saved." He said, "You will be saved, and everyone else who does these things will be saved too."

Ⅳ

I asked him again, saying, "Lord, since you are patient with me, explain this to me as well." He said, "Speak." I said, "Lord, if a woman or a man dies and someone marries them, does the one who marries sin?" 2 "He does not sin," he said. "But if someone remains alone, they gain greater honor and much glory before the Lord. And if they marry, they do not sin either." 3 "Therefore, keep purity and modesty, and live for God. These things I tell you and am about to tell you, keep from now on, from the day you were given to me, and I will dwell in your house." 4 "Your past sins will be forgiven if you keep my commandments. And forgiveness will be given to everyone if they keep these commandments and walk in this purity."

Ⅰ

He says, "Be patient and wise, and you will conquer all evil deeds and do all righteousness." 2 If you are patient, the Holy Spirit that lives in you will be clean, not darkened by any evil spirit. It will rejoice and be happy in its dwelling, and it will serve God with great joy, having peace within itself. 3 But if anger comes in, the Holy Spirit, being gentle, becomes distressed because it does not have a clean place and wants to leave. It is suffocated by the evil spirit and cannot serve the Lord as it wishes, being stained by anger. For the Lord lives in patience, but the devil lives in anger. 4 So, it is harmful and bad for a person to have both spirits living in them at the same time. 5 If you take just a tiny bit of wormwood and pour it into a jar of honey, doesn't the whole jar of honey get ruined? Even a small amount of wormwood makes the honey lose its sweetness and it is no longer pleasing to the owner because it becomes bitter and useless. But if the wormwood is not put into the honey, the honey stays sweet and is useful to its owner. 6 You see that patience is sweeter than honey and is useful to the Lord, and He lives in it. But quick temper is bitter and useless. So, if quick temper mixes with patience, patience is spoiled and is no longer useful to God. 7 I wanted to know, Lord, the effect of quick temper so that I can avoid it. And He said, if you and your household do not avoid it, you will lose all hope. But keep away from it, for I am with you. And all who repent with their whole hearts will avoid it too; I will be with them and protect them, for they have all been justified by the most righteous angel.

Ⅱ

Listen now, He said, to the effect of quick temper, how harmful it is, and how it ruins My servants with its influence and leads them away from righteousness. It does not mislead those who are strong in faith, nor can it act on them because My power is with them. But it misleads those who are empty and restless. 2 When it sees such people doing well, it slips into their hearts, and suddenly the man or woman becomes bitter over worldly things, like food, trivial matters, friends, giving or receiving, or other foolish things. All these things are foolish, empty, and unwise for the servants of God. 3 Patience is great and strong, having power and endurance, flourishing broadly. It is cheerful, rejoicing, carefree, always glorifying the Lord, having nothing bitter within, always remaining gentle and calm. Therefore, this patience dwells with those who have full faith. 4 Quick-temperedness is foolish, shallow, and senseless. From foolishness comes bitterness, from bitterness comes anger, from anger comes wrath, and from wrath comes rage. This rage, made up of so many evils, becomes a great and incurable sin. 5 When these spirits dwell in the same vessel where the Holy Spirit also dwells, that vessel cannot contain them all and overflows. 6 So, the gentle spirit, not accustomed to living with an evil spirit or harshness, departs from such a person and seeks to dwell with gentleness and peace. 7 Then, when it departs from that person, they become empty of the righteous spirit and, instead, filled with evil spirits, causing them to be restless in all their actions, driven this way and that by the evil spirits, and completely blinded to good sense. This happens to all quick-tempered people. 8 So avoid quick-tempered anger, the most wicked spirit. Put on patience and resist anger and bitterness, and you will be found with the dignity that is loved by the Lord. See to it that you never forget this command. If you master this command, you will also be able to keep the other commands I am about to give you. Be strong in them and get stronger, and let all who choose to walk in them be strengthened.

Ⅰ

"I commanded you," he says, "in the first commandment, to keep faith, fear, and self-control." "Yes," I say, "Lord." "But now," he says, "I want to explain their powers to you so that you understand the strength and work of each one. Their effects are twofold. They rely on both righteousness and wrongdoing." 2 So believe in the righteous path, but do not believe in the unrighteous one. For the righteous path is straight, but the unrighteous path is crooked. But you should walk the straight and smooth path, and leave the crooked one alone. 3 For the crooked path has no proper trails, but is full of obstacles, and is rough and thorny. So it is harmful to those who walk it. 4 But those who walk on the straight path walk smoothly and without obstacles. For it is neither rough nor thorny. So you see, it is better to walk on this path. 5 I like walking on this path, I said, Lord. You will walk on it, He said, and anyone who turns to the Lord with all their heart will walk on it too.

Ⅱ

Listen now, He said, about faith. There are two angels with each person, one of righteousness and one of wickedness. 2 How then, Lord, I said, will I know their actions, since both angels live with me? 3 Listen, He said, and you will understand them. The angel of righteousness is gentle, modest, kind, and peaceful. When he rises in your heart, he immediately speaks with you about justice, purity, reverence, self-control, all just deeds, and all glorious virtues. When these thoughts come into your heart, know that the angel of righteousness is with you. These are the works of the angel of righteousness. So trust him and his works. 4 Now observe the works of the angel of wickedness. First of all, he is quick-tempered, bitter, and foolish, and his works are evil, leading the servants of God astray. When he rises in your heart, recognize him by his deeds. 5 How, Lord, I said, will I recognize him? I don't know how. Listen, He said. When any quick temper or bitterness comes over you, know that he is within you. Then come desires for many actions, luxuries in food, drink, many forms of overeating, and drunkenness, a variety of improper foods, desires for women, greed, pride, and arrogance, and many similar things. When these thoughts rise in your heart, know that the angel of wickedness is within you. 6 So when you recognize his works, stay away from him and don't trust him, because his deeds are evil and harmful to the servants of God. You have the actions of both angels. Understand them and trust the angel of righteousness. 7 Stay away from the angel of wickedness, because his teaching is evil in every way. For if a man or woman is faithful, and the thoughts of this angel rise in their heart, that person is bound to sin in some way. 8 But if a man or woman is very wicked, and the works of the angel of righteousness rise in their heart, they will necessarily do something good. 9 So you see, he says, that it is good to follow the angel of righteousness, but to turn away from the angel of wickedness. 10 This commandment about faith means that you should trust the works of the angel of righteousness, and by doing them, live for God. Believe also that the works of the angel of wickedness are harmful; by not doing them, you will live for God.

Ⅰ

Fear the Lord, he says, and keep His commandments. By keeping God's commandments, you will be strong in every action, and your work will be unmatched. For by fearing the Lord, you will do everything well. This is the fear you should have, and you will be saved. 2 Do not fear the devil; by fearing the Lord, you will have power over the devil, because he has no strength. Where there is no strength, there is no fear; where there is strong power, there is also fear. Everyone with power has fear; but those without power are despised by all. 3 But fear the works of the devil, because they are evil. By fearing the Lord, you will not do them, but keep away from them. 4 So there are two kinds of fear: if you want to do evil, fear the Lord, and you won't do it; if you want to do good, fear the Lord, and you will do it. Thus, the fear of the Lord is strong, great, and glorious. So fear the Lord, and you will live for Him; and all who fear Him and keep His commandments will live with God. 5 Why, I asked, Lord, did you say about those who keep His commandments, "They will live with God"? Because, he said, all creation fears the Lord but does not keep His commandments. So the lives of those who fear Him and keep His commandments are with God; but those who do not keep His commandments do not have life in Him.

Ⅰ

I told you, he said, that the creations of God are twofold. And indeed, self-control is also twofold. For in some things, you must practice self-control, and in others, you must not. 2 Tell me, I said, Lord, on what things must one practice self-control, and on what things must one not? Listen, he said. Avoid doing evil and do not engage in it; but do not refrain from doing good, instead do it. If you refrain from doing good, you commit a great sin; but if you refrain from doing evil, you accomplish great righteousness. So, avoid all evil and do good. 3 What kinds of evil, I asked, Lord, must we avoid? Listen, he said. Avoid adultery and immorality, drunkenness, lawlessness, wicked indulgence, excessive eating, luxury, boasting, arrogance, pride, lying, slander, hypocrisy, holding grudges, and all blasphemy. 4 These actions are the worst evils in human life. Therefore, a servant of God must avoid them; for one who does not avoid these actions cannot live for God. Now listen to the consequences of these actions. 5 Are there more evil deeds, I asked, Lord? There are many more, he said, that a servant of God must avoid: stealing, lying, cheating, false witness, greed, evil desires, deceit, vanity, arrogance, and anything similar to these. 6 Don't you think these are evil? They are very evil, I said, for God's servants. Anyone serving God must avoid all of these. So avoid all of them in order to live for God and be counted among those who do. These are the things you must avoid. 7 But the things you shouldn't avoid, he said, but rather do, listen. Do not avoid doing good, but do it. 8 And tell me, Lord, I said, the power of these good deeds, so that I may follow them and serve them, so that by doing them I may be able to be saved. Listen, he said, to the good deeds you must do and not avoid. 9 First of all, faith, fear of the Lord, love, harmony, words of justice, truth, patience; nothing in human life is better than these. If someone keeps these and does not avoid them, they will be blessed in their life. 10 Then listen to the following: help widows, visit orphans and those in need, free the servants of God from distress, be hospitable (for in hospitality you find acts of kindness), do not oppose anyone, be peaceful, be humble among all people, respect the elderly, practice justice, maintain brotherhood, endure insults, be patient, hold no grudges, comfort those who are troubled in spirit, do not abandon those who have stumbled in faith, but draw them back and make them cheerful, advise those who sin, do not burden debtors and the needy, and anything else like these. 11 Do you think, he said, that these are good? What, I said, Lord, is better than these? Go then, he said, and follow them and do not avoid them, and you will live for God. 12 So keep this commandment: if you do good and do not avoid it, you will live for God, and everyone who does so will live for God. And again, if you do not do evil and avoid it, you will live for God, and everyone who follows these commandments and walks in them will live for God.

Ⅰ

He said to me, "Remove doubt from yourself, and do not doubt at all when you ask something from God. Saying to yourself, 'How can I ask from the Lord and receive, having sinned so much against Him?' 2 Do not think like that, but turn to the Lord with all your heart and ask Him without doubting. You will know His great mercy because He will not abandon you, but will fulfill the request of your soul. 3 For God is not like people who hold grudges, but He forgives and has compassion on His creation. 4 So, cleanse your heart from all the vain things of this world and from the words previously spoken to you. Ask from the Lord, and you will receive everything. None of your requests will go unmet if you ask the Lord without doubting. 5 But if you doubt in your heart, you will not receive any of your requests. For those who doubt God are double-minded and achieve none of their requests. 6 But those who are complete in faith ask for everything with confidence in the Lord and receive it because they ask without doubting, having no double mind. For any double-minded person, unless they repent, will have difficulty being saved. 7 So, cleanse your heart from double-mindedness, put on faith, for it is strong, and believe in God, because you will receive all your requests. And if it ever happens that you receive a request from the Lord later than you expected, do not be double-minded because you did not get what you asked for quickly. For surely, it is because of some trial or fault that you are unaware of that your request is delayed. 8 So do not stop asking for what your soul desires, and you will receive it. But if you grow weary and become double-minded while asking, blame yourself and not the one who gives to you. 9 Watch out for this double-mindedness, for it is evil and foolish, and it uproots many from their faith, even those who are very faithful and strong. This double-mindedness is the daughter of the devil and works much evil against God's servants. 10 So, despise double-mindedness and conquer it in everything by putting on strong and powerful faith. For faith promises and accomplishes all things, but double-mindedness, not trusting itself, fails in all its tasks. 11 So you see, he says, that faith comes from above from the Lord and has great power, but double-mindedness is an earthly spirit from the devil, having no power. 12 So serve the faith that has power and stay away from the double-mindedness that has no power, and you will live with God. All who think this way will live with God.

Ⅰ

Remove sadness from yourself, he says, for it is a sister to double-mindedness and anger. 2 How, I ask, sir, is it a sister to these? For it seems to me that anger is one thing, double-mindedness is another, and sadness is another. You are unwise, man, he says, and do not understand that sadness is the most harmful and dreadful of all spirits to the servants of God and destroys a person more than any other spirit, and it grieves the Holy Spirit and also saves? 3 I say, sir, I am unwise and do not understand these parables. How can it destroy and also save, I do not understand. 4 Listen, he says: Those who have never searched for the truth or sought out the divine, but only believed while being entangled in occupations, wealth, friendships with non-believers, and many other dealings of this world; those who are involved in these things do not understand the parables about divinity. They are darkened by these actions and are destroyed and become barren. 5 Just like good vineyards, when neglected, become barren due to thorns and various weeds, so too do people who have believed but fall into many such activities as mentioned before. They stray from their minds and do not understand anything about righteousness. Even when they hear about divinity and truth, their mind is occupied with their actions, and they understand nothing at all. 6 But those who have fear of God, who seek out divinity and truth, and have their hearts towards the Lord, understand everything said to them quickly because they have the fear of the Lord within themselves. For where the Lord dwells, there is much understanding. So, cling to the Lord, and you will understand and comprehend everything.

Ⅱ

Listen, then, he says, fool, how sorrow can drive away the Holy Spirit and yet again save it. 2 When the double-minded person undertakes some action and fails because of their double-mindedness, this sorrow enters into them, distresses the Holy Spirit, and drives it away. 3 Then again, when anger clings to a person over some matter and they become very bitter, this sorrow enters their heart, and they become distressed over their action and repent because they have done something wrong. 4 So this sorrow seems to bring salvation because the person repented after doing something bad. Both situations cause grief to the spirit: double-mindedness, because it failed in its action, and anger, because it did something bad. Both are distressing to the Holy Spirit—double-mindedness and anger. 5 Therefore, remove sorrow from yourself and do not distress the Holy Spirit that dwells in you, so that it may not intercede with God and leave you. 6 The Spirit of God given to this body cannot endure sorrow or distress.

Ⅲ

So put on cheerfulness, which always has favor with God and is pleasing to Him, and delight in it. For every cheerful person does good works, has good thoughts, and despises sorrow. 2 But the sorrowful person always acts wickedly: first, because he grieves the Holy Spirit given to people to be cheerful; second, by grieving the Holy Spirit, he commits sin by neither interceding nor confessing to the Lord. For the prayer of a sorrowful person never has the power to reach the altar of God. 3 "Why," I asked, "does the prayer of a sorrowful person not reach the altar?" "Because," he said, "sorrow settles in his heart. Sorrow mixed with his prayer does not let the prayer ascend pure to the altar. Just as vinegar and wine mixed together do not have the same pleasure, so sorrow mixed with the Holy Spirit does not offer the same prayer." 4 So cleanse yourself from this evil sorrow, and you will live for God; and all who get rid of sorrow and put on cheerfulness will live for God too.

Ⅰ

He showed me people sitting on a bench and another person sitting on a chair, and he said to me, "Do you see those sitting on the bench?" "I see them, Lord," I replied. "These," he said, "are the faithful, and the one sitting on the chair is a false prophet who destroys the minds of God's servants; he only destroys the double-minded, not the faithful." 2 So these double-minded people go to him as if he were a prophet and ask him what will happen to them. And that false prophet, having no divine spirit, speaks with them according to their questions and wicked desires and fills their souls as they wish. 3 For being empty, he answers empty things to empty people. Whatever he is asked, he responds to the emptiness of the person. He may also say some true words, for the devil fills him with his spirit to attempt to mislead the righteous. 4 So those who are strong in the faith of the Lord, clothed with truth, do not cling to such spirits but stay away from them. But those who are double-minded and often repent, they follow false prophecies like the pagans and bring greater sin upon themselves by worshiping idols. For anyone asking a false prophet about any matter is an idolater, empty of truth, and foolish. 5 For every spirit given by God is not questioned but speaks all things by itself with the power of divinity, for it comes from above, from the power of the divine spirit. 6 But the spirit that is questioned and speaks according to people's desires is earthly and shallow, having no power, and it doesn't speak at all unless it is asked. 7 “How then,” I said, “Lord, will a person know who is a prophet and who is a false prophet?” “Listen,” he said, “concerning both types of prophets. As I am about to tell you, this is how you will test the prophet and the false prophet: by examining the life of the person who has the divine spirit.” 8 First of all, someone who has the spirit from above is gentle, peaceful, humble, and keeps away from all evil and vain desires of this world. They make themselves lesser than all people and answer no one when asked, nor do they speak alone. The Holy Spirit does not speak whenever a person wants, but only when God wants them to speak. 9 So when a person with the divine spirit comes into a gathering of righteous people who have faith, and prayer is made to God by that gathering, then the angel of the prophetic spirit fills that person. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the person speaks to the crowd as the Lord wishes. 10 This is how the spirit of divinity will be revealed. Such is the power of the divine spirit of the Lord. 11 Now listen, he says, about the earthly spirit that is empty and has no power, but is foolish. 12 First, the person who seems to have a spirit raises themselves up and wants to have the best seat. They are immediately bold, shameless, and talkative, indulging in many luxuries and other deceptions, and taking payment for their prophecy. If they don't get paid, they don't prophesy. Can a divine spirit take payment and prophesy? This cannot be done by a prophet of God, but the spirit of such prophets is earthly. 13 Then, they don't approach a gathering of righteous people at all but avoid them. They stick to those who are double-minded and empty, and prophesy to them in corners, deceiving them by speaking according to their desires, all in vain. For they answer to the empty ones, for an empty vessel with other empty ones is not broken, but they agree with each other. 14 But when they come to a gathering full of righteous people who have the spirit of God, and a prayer is made by them, that person becomes empty, and the earthly spirit flees from them out of fear. That person becomes silent and is completely broken, unable to say anything. 15 If you store wine or oil in a cellar and place an empty jar among them, and then later decide to empty the cellar, you will find the jar still empty just as you left it. In the same way, empty prophets, when they come among the spirits of the righteous, remain exactly as they were when they arrived. 16 You know the lives of both types of prophets. So, test the person who claims to be guided by the Spirit by their actions and their way of life. 17 But trust the spirit that comes from God and has power. Do not believe the earthly and empty spirit, because it has no power and comes from the devil. 18 Listen to the parable I am about to tell you: Take a stone and throw it into the sky, and see if you can touch it. Or take a stream of water and squirt it into the sky, and see if you can pierce the sky. 19 I said, "How, Lord, can these things happen? Both things you mentioned are impossible." He said, "Just as these things are impossible, so too are the earthly spirits powerless and weak." 20 So, take the power that comes from above. Hailstones are very small, but when they fall on a person's head, how much pain do they cause? Or take a drop of water that falls from a roof tile and can pierce a stone. 21 So you see, things that come from above have great power, even when they are very small. In the same way, the divine spirit that comes from above is powerful. Believe in this spirit, and stay away from the other.

Ⅰ

He said to me, "Remove all bad desires from yourself, and put on good and honorable desires. When you wear these good desires, you will hate the bad ones and control them as you wish." 2 "For bad desires are wild and hard to tame. They are dangerous, and in their fierceness, they ruin people. Especially, if a servant of God falls into their trap and is not wise, he will be terribly ruined by them. These desires ruin those who do not have the clothing of good desires and are mixed up with this world. They lead such people to death." 3 I asked, "Lord, what are the works of bad desire that lead people to death? Show me so that I can avoid them." He said, "Listen, and I will tell you the works by which bad desire kills the servants of God."

Ⅱ

"Leading the list is the desire for someone else's wife or husband, wealth, fancy foods, drinks, and many other foolish pleasures. All such pleasures are empty and foolish for the servants of God." 2 "These desires are bad and kill the servants of God. These bad desires are the devil's offspring. So, you must avoid evil desires so that by avoiding them, you can live for God." 3 "But those who are dominated by these desires and don't resist them will ultimately die. These desires are deadly." 4 "But you should put on the desire for righteousness and arm yourself with the fear of the Lord to resist them. For the fear of God lives in good desires. If evil desire sees you armed with the fear of God and standing against it, it will flee far from you and will never appear to you again, scared of your weapons." 5 "So, after you conquer and are crowned over it, turn to the desire for righteousness. Offer it the victory you won and serve it as it wishes. If you serve and submit to good desire, you will be able to overcome and dominate the evil desire as you wish."

Ⅲ

"I wanted to know, sir, how I should serve good desire. Listen, he said: practice justice and virtue, truth and fear of the Lord, faith and gentleness, and all other similar good things. By doing these, you will be a pleasing servant of God and live for Him. And anyone who serves good desire will live for God." 2 "So, he finished the twelve commands and said to me: You have these commands. Follow them and encourage others who listen so their repentance will be pure for the rest of their lives." 3 Perform this service I give you carefully, and you will do great work. You will find favor with those about to repent, and they will be persuaded by your words. For I will be with you and make them listen to you. 4 I said to him: Lord, these commands are great, good, and glorious, able to make a person's heart rejoice if they can keep them. But I don't know if a person can keep these commands, because they are very hard. 5 He replied to me: If you decide that they can be kept, you will keep them easily, and they won't be hard. But if you let it into your heart that they can't be kept by a person, you won't keep them. 6 Now I tell you: If you don't keep these commands but ignore them, neither you nor your children nor your household will have salvation. For you have already judged yourself, thinking that these commands cannot be kept by a person.

Ⅳ

He spoke these things to me very angrily, so much that I was confused and very afraid of him. For his appearance changed, making it impossible for a person to bear his anger. 2 Seeing me completely troubled and confused, he began to speak to me more kindly and cheerfully, saying: "Foolish, unwise, and double-minded one, don't you understand the glory of God, how great and powerful and wonderful it is, that He created the world for the sake of man and subjected all His creation to man and gave him all authority to rule over everything under heaven?" 3 "So then," he says, "if man is lord over all of God's creations and rules over everything, can't he also master these commands? Yes, he says, a person can rule over all these commands if he has the Lord in his heart." 4 But those who have the Lord only on their lips, while their hearts are hardened and far from the Lord, to them these commands are hard and difficult to follow. 5 So then, you who are shallow and weak in faith, place the Lord in your heart, and you will know that nothing is easier, sweeter, or gentler than these commands. 6 Turn back, you who follow the devil's commands, which are hard, bitter, wild, and wicked. Do not be afraid of the devil, because he has no power over you. 7 For I will be with you, the angel of repentance who has power over him. The devil only has fear, but his fear has no strength. So do not be afraid of him, and he will flee from you.

Ⅴ

I said to him, "Lord, listen to me for a moment." "Speak, say what you wish," he said. "Lord," I replied, "a person is willing to keep God's commands, and everyone asks the Lord to be strengthened in His commands and to obey them. But the devil is harsh and overpowers them." 2 "He cannot overpower the servants of God who trust in Him with all their heart," he said. "The devil can struggle against them, but he cannot defeat them. If you resist him, he will be overcome and flee from you in shame. But those who are empty fear the devil as if he has power." 3 "When a person fills many jars with good wine and a few of them are empty, he comes to the jars and does not worry about the full ones because he knows they are full. But he pays attention to the empty ones, fearing they might have soured. For empty jars sour quickly, and the pleasure of the wine is lost." 4 "In the same way, the devil comes to test all the servants of God. Those who are full of faith resist him strongly, and he retreats because he has no place to enter. So he goes to the empty ones, finds a place to enter them, and does what he wants with them. They become his slaves."

Ⅵ

"But I tell you, I am the angel of repentance. Do not be afraid of the devil. I have been sent, he says, to be with those who repent with all their heart and to strengthen them in their faith." 2 "Believe in God, you who have given up on your life because of your sins and keep adding to them, making your life heavier. If you turn to the Lord with all your heart, do what is right, and serve Him correctly for the rest of your days, He will heal your past sins, and you will have the strength to overcome the devil's works. Do not be afraid of the devil's threats at all; he is as weak as the nerves of a dead person." 3 "So listen to me and fear the One who can save and destroy everything. Keep these commandments, and you will live with God." 4 I said to him, "Lord, now I am strengthened by all the commands of the Lord, because you are with me. I know that you will defeat all the devil's power, and we will overcome him and all his works. And I hope, Lord, that with the Lord giving me strength, I can keep these commandments you have given." 5 "You will keep them, he said, if your heart becomes clean before the Lord. And everyone who cleanses their hearts from the vain desires of this world will keep them, and they will live with God."

Ⅰ

He said to me, "You know, he said, that you, the servants of God, live in a foreign land. For your city is far from this city. So if you know, he said, your city where you are to live, why are you preparing fields, luxurious items, buildings, and vain dwellings here?" 2 "So, anyone who prepares these things for this city cannot return to their own city." 3 "Foolish and double-minded and miserable person, don't you understand that all these things belong to others and are under another's authority? For the lord of this city will say, 'I don't want you to live in my city. Instead, leave this city because you don't follow my laws.'" 4 "So, if you own fields and houses and many other possessions, what will you do with your field and your house and everything else you prepared for yourself when he casts you out? For the lord of this land will rightly say to you, 'Either follow my laws or leave my land.'" 5 "So what will you do, having a law in your own city? Will you reject your law and follow the law of this city because of your fields and other possessions? Be careful, it might not be wise to reject your law. For if you want to return to your city, you won't be welcomed because you rejected the law of your city, and you'll be shut out." 6 "So be careful: living in a foreign place, don’t prepare more than what’s enough for you. Be ready so that when the master of this city wants to cast you out for opposing his law, you can leave his city and return to your own city. There, you can live by your own law, happily and without disrespect." 7 "So, you who serve the Lord and have Him in your hearts, remember His commandments and promises. Do God's work and believe that He will fulfill His promises, as long as His commandments are kept." 8 "Instead of buying fields, help troubled souls as much as you can. Visit widows and orphans, and don't ignore them. Spend your wealth and all your resources on these kinds of fields and homes, which you received from God." 9 "For this reason, the Lord has made you rich, so that you can perform these services for Him. It's much better to help people in need than to buy fields, properties, and houses, which you will find in your own city when you return." 10 "This kind of generosity is good and holy, bringing no sorrow or fear, only joy. So don't follow the extravagance of the people around you, because it's not good for you, as servants of God." 11 "Practice your own kind of generosity, which brings joy, and don't cheat, touch, or desire what belongs to others, because it's wrong to crave what is not yours. Do your work, and you will be saved."

Ⅰ

"While I was walking in the field, observing an elm tree and a vine, and thinking about them and their fruits, a shepherd appeared to me and said, 'What are you pondering about the elm tree and the vine?' I replied, 'I am considering, sir, how beautifully they complement each other.'" 2 "These two trees, he said, are symbols for the servants of God. I wanted, I said, to know the meaning of these trees you mention. Do you see, he said, the elm tree and the vine? I see them, I said, sir." 3 "The vine, he said, bears fruit, but the elm tree is a barren wood. However, if the vine does not grow upon the elm tree, it will not bear much fruit when left on the ground, and what little fruit it bears will rot if it is not hanging on the elm tree. But when the vine is supported by the elm tree, it bears fruit both from itself and with the help of the elm tree." 4 "So you see that the elm tree also produces much fruit, no less than the vine, in fact, even more. How, I asked, sir, does it produce more? Because, he said, when the vine is hanging on the elm tree, it bears much good fruit, but left on the ground it bears little and rotten fruit. This parable, then, is about the servants of God, the poor and the rich." 5 How, I asked, sir, please explain to me. Listen, he said: The rich man has money, but he is poor towards the Lord because he is distracted by his wealth and has very little prayer and confession to the Lord. And what he has is weak and small and lacks power. But when the rich man supports the poor man and provides him with what he needs, he believes that by helping the poor man, he can earn a reward from God. This is because the poor man is rich in prayer and confession, and his prayer has great power before God. So the rich man eagerly helps the poor man with everything he needs. 6 The poor man, being supported by the rich man, prays to God, giving thanks for the one who helps him. And the rich man continues to care about the poor man, so he may be constant in his life. He knows that the poor man's prayer is accepted and valuable before the Lord. 7 So both carry out their work: the poor man works through his prayer, in which he is rich, which he received from the Lord; he offers this back to the Lord who provides for him. And the rich man likewise gives his wealth, which he received from the Lord, freely to the poor man. This is a great and accepted work before God, because he understood his wealth and worked for the poor from the gifts of the Lord, and he fulfilled his service rightly. 8 People think the elm tree doesn't bear fruit, and they don't know or understand that when there's a drought, the elm, having water, nourishes the vine. And, with the constant water, the vine gives double the fruit, for itself and for the elm. In the same way, the poor, praying to the Lord for the rich, secure their wealth, and the rich, providing for the needs of the poor, fulfill their prayers. 9 So both become partners in the work of righteousness. Therefore, the one who does this will not be abandoned by God, but will be written in the Book of Life. 10 Blessed are those who have and understand, for they are enriched by the Lord; for the one who understands this will also be able to do something good.

Ⅰ

He showed me many trees without leaves, which seemed to me to be dry; for they were all alike. And he said to me, "Do you see these trees?" "I see them," I said, "Lord, they are alike and dry." He answered me, "These trees, which you see, are the people living in this age." 2 "Why then, Lord," I said, "are they like dry and similar?" "Because," he said, "neither the righteous nor the sinners are recognized in this age, but they are alike; for this age is like winter to the righteous, and they do not appear living among the sinners." 3 "For just as in winter the trees have shed their leaves and look alike, and you can't tell which are dry or which are alive, so in this age neither the righteous nor the sinners are recognized, but all seem the same."

Ⅰ

He showed me many trees again, some bearing leaves, others dry, and said to me, “Do you see these trees?” I said, “Yes, Lord, I see the ones with leaves and the dry ones.” 2 "These trees with leaves," he said, "are the righteous who are going to live in the coming age. For the coming age is summer for the righteous, but winter for the sinners. When the Lord's mercy shines, those who serve God will be revealed, and everyone will be shown clearly." 3 "For just as in summer the fruits of each tree are seen and recognized for what they are, so will the fruits of the righteous be revealed, and they will all be known to be flourishing in that age." 4 "But the nations and sinners, which you saw as the dry trees, will be found to be dry and fruitless in that age. They will be burned like wood and it will be clear because their deeds were evil in their lives. The sinners will be burned because they sinned and did not repent. The nations will be burned because they did not know their Creator." 5 "So you must bear fruit, so that in that summer your fruit will be known. Avoid many actions, and you won't make any mistakes. Those who do many things also often sin because they are distracted by their activities and do not serve their Lord." 6 "So then, he says, how can such a person ask anything from the Lord and receive it if he doesn't serve the Lord? Those who serve Him will get their requests. But those who do not serve the Lord will receive nothing." 7 "But if someone focuses on one thing, he can also serve the Lord, because his mind will not be led astray from the Lord. Instead, he will serve the Lord with a clear mind." 8 "If you do these things, you can bear fruit for the coming age. Anyone who does these things will bear fruit."

Ⅰ

"Fasting and sitting on a certain mountain, giving thanks to the Lord for all He has done for me, I see the shepherd sitting beside me and saying, 'Why have you come here so early?' 'Because, sir,' I say, 'I have a watch to keep.'" 2 "'What,' he said, 'is a watch?' 'I am fasting, sir,' I say. 'And what,' he said, 'is this fasting that you do?' 'I fast in the usual way, sir,' I say." 3 "'You do not know,' he said, 'how to fast for the Lord, and this unhelpful fasting you practice is not fasting to Him.' 'Why,' I say, 'do you say this, sir?' 'I tell you,' he said, 'that this is not the fasting you think it is; but I will teach you what fasting is acceptable and complete to the Lord. Listen,' he said." 4 "God does not want such a pointless fast; for fasting this way, you achieve nothing in righteousness. But fast to God in this way:" 5 "Do nothing evil in your life, but serve the Lord with a pure heart; keep His commandments, walk in His ways, and let no evil desire rise in your heart. Believe in God, for if you do these things and fear Him and abstain from all evil deeds, you will live for God. By doing these, you will perform a great and acceptable fast to God."

Ⅱ

"Listen to the parable I am about to tell you about fasting." 2 "A man had a farm and many servants. He planted a vineyard in part of his farm, and choosing a trustworthy and pleasing servant, he called him and said, ‘Take care of this vineyard that I planted. Fence it in until I come back, and do nothing else with the vineyard. Keep this command of mine, and you will be free in my house.’ The master then left on a journey." 3 "After the master left, the servant took care of the vineyard and fenced it in. When he finished the fencing, he saw that the vineyard was full of weeds." 4 So he thought to himself, 'I have fulfilled my master's command. I will now dig up the vineyard, and it will look nicer. Without weeds, it will produce more fruit, since it won't be choked by them.' He took tools and dug up the vineyard, pulling out all the weeds. The vineyard became very neat and healthy, no longer choked by the weeds. 5 After some time, the master of the servant and the farm came back and entered the vineyard. Seeing the vineyard neatly fenced, dug up, and free of weeds with the vines healthy and strong, he was very pleased with the servant's work. 6 So, he called his beloved son, who was his heir, and his friends, who were his advisors, and told them what he had commanded the servant and what he had found upon his return. They all congratulated the servant for the praise the master had given him. 7 And he said to them, "I promised this servant his freedom if he kept my command. He kept my command and did good work in the vineyard, which pleased me greatly. For this work he has done, I want to make him a co-heir with my son, because he took care to do the right thing and completed it." 8 The master's son agreed with this decision, so that the servant would become a co-heir with the son. 9 A few days later, he held a feast and sent the servant many dishes from the meal. The servant took what he needed and shared the rest with his fellow servants. 10 His fellow servants were happy when they received the food and began to pray for him, hoping that he would find even more favor with the master because he was so kind to them. 11 The master heard about all these things that had happened and was very happy with the servant's actions. He called his friends and his son again and told them what the servant had done with the food he received. They all agreed even more that the servant should become a co-heir with the master's son.

Ⅲ

I said, "Lord, I don't understand these parables and can't figure them out unless you explain them to me." 2 "I will explain everything to you," he said, "and all that I will discuss with you." 3 "I will show you His commandments. If you do anything good apart from God's commandment, you will gain even more glory for yourself and be more honored before God than you were meant to be. So if you keep God's commandments and also perform these acts of service, you will rejoice, if you follow them according to my instruction." 4 I said to him, "Lord, whatever you command me, I will keep it, because I know you are with me." He said, "I will be with you, for you have such eagerness to do good, and I will also be with all who have this eagerness." 5 "This fasting," he said, "if you keep the Lord's commandments, is very good. So this is how you will observe the fast that you are about to undertake." 6 "First of all, stay away from all evil words and all evil desires and cleanse your heart from all the vanities of this world. If you keep these things, your fasting will be perfect." 7 "And this is how you will do it: Once you have completed the written instructions, on the day you are fasting, eat nothing except bread and water. And from the food you were planning to eat, calculate the value and give it to a widow, an orphan, or someone in need. In this way, you will humble yourself, so that from your humility, the one who receives will be satisfied and pray for you to the Lord." 8 "So if you complete the fast as I have instructed you, your sacrifice will be acceptable to God, and this fasting will be recorded. This way, your service will be good, cheerful, and pleasing to the Lord." 9 "Keep these things this way with your children and everyone in your household. If you do so, you will be blessed. And all who hear and keep these things will also be blessed, and whatever they ask from the Lord, they will receive."

Ⅳ

"I asked him many times to explain to me the parable of the field, the master, the vineyard, the servant who cleared the vineyard, the fences, the weeds that were pulled out of the vineyard, the son, and the friends who gave advice. Because I understood that all these were a parable." 2 But he answered me and said, "You are very bold to ask questions. You should not ask anything at all. If it needs to be explained to you, it will be explained." I said to him, "Lord, if you show me things and do not explain them, I will see them but not understand what they are. Likewise, if you tell me parables and do not explain them, it will be in vain that I hear anything from you." 3 But he answered me again, saying, "Whoever is a servant of God and has the Lord in his heart asks Him for understanding and receives it, and he can explain all parables, and the words of the Lord spoken in parables become known to him. But those who are weak and lazy in their prayers, they hesitate to ask the Lord." 4 The Lord is very merciful and gives to all who ask Him constantly. You, being strengthened by the holy angel and having received such an opportunity from him and not being lazy, why do you not ask the Lord for understanding and receive it from Him?" 5 I said to him, "Lord, since I have you with me, I need to ask and consult you. For you show me everything and speak with me. If I were seeing or hearing these things without you, I would ask the Lord to explain them to me."

Ⅴ

He said to me, "I told you before, and now again, that you are cunning and stubborn, asking for the explanations of the parables. Since you are so persistent, I will explain to you the parable of the field and all the others that follow, so you can make them known to everyone. Listen now and understand them." 2 The field is this world. The lord of the field is the one who created and completed everything and made them strong. The servant is the Son of God. The vines are the people that he planted. 3 The fences are the holy angels of the lord who protect his people. The weeds pulled from the vineyard are the sins of God's servants. The meals he sent from the feast are the commandments he gave to his people through his son. The friends and advisors are the holy angels who were created first. The master's journey represents the time until his return. 4 I said to him, "Lord, everything is great and wonderful and full of glory. But, I ask, how could I have understood these things? No other human, even a very wise one, could understand them. Still, I ask, Lord, explain to me what I am about to ask you." 5 "Speak," he says, "if you wish to ask anything." I said, "Lord, why is the Son of God depicted as a servant in the parable?"

Ⅵ

"Listen," he says, "the Son of God is not depicted as a servant, but in great authority and lordship." I said, "Lord, I do not understand how." 2 "Because," he says, "God planted the vineyard, which means He created the people, and He gave it to His Son. The Son appointed angels over them to take care of them, and He Himself cleansed their sins, working very hard and enduring much effort. For no vineyard can be cultivated without labor or toil." 3 Therefore, after cleansing the people's sins, He showed them the paths of life, giving them the law that He received from His Father. 4 Listen to this: The Lord took His Son and the glorious angels as advisors regarding the inheritance of the servant. 5 The Holy Spirit, which existed before and created everything, God placed into a body of flesh as He wished. So this flesh, in which the Holy Spirit lived, served the Spirit well, walking in dignity and purity, without defiling the Spirit at all. 6 So, because it lived well and purely, working hard with the Spirit and helping in everything, behaving strongly and bravely, God chose it to share in the Holy Spirit. The way this flesh lived pleased Him, because it did not get defiled on earth while having the Holy Spirit. 7 So He took His Son and the glorious angels as advisors, in order that this flesh, which served the Spirit faultlessly, might have a place to stay and not seem to lose its reward for serving. For every flesh that is found pure and spotless, in which the Holy Spirit lived, will receive a reward. 8 You also have the explanation of this parable.

Ⅶ

I was glad, I said, Lord, to hear this explanation. Listen now, he said; keep your flesh pure and spotless, so that the spirit living in it may bear witness to it and your flesh be justified. 2 Be careful not to think that your flesh is corruptible and misuse it in any impurity. If you defile your flesh, you will also defile the Holy Spirit. If you defile your flesh, you will not live. 3 But if someone, I said, Lord, was ignorant before hearing these words, how can the person who defiled their flesh be saved? About past ignorances, he said, only God can provide healing, for all power belongs to Him. 4 If from now on you do not defile your flesh or your spirit—for both are connected and cannot be defiled separately—then keep both pure, and you will live for God.

Ⅰ

Sitting in my house and praising the Lord for everything I had seen and discussing the commandments—because they are good, powerful, joyful, glorious, and able to save a person’s soul—I said to myself, "I will be blessed if I follow these commandments, and anyone who follows them will be blessed." 2 As I was saying these things to myself, I suddenly saw him sitting next to me and saying, "Why do you have doubts about the commandments I gave you? They are good. Do not doubt at all, but put on the faith of the Lord, and walk in them. For I will strengthen you in them." 3 These commandments are helpful for those who are going to repent. For if they do not walk in them, their repentance is in vain. 4 So those who repent, cast aside the evils of this age that destroy you; putting on every virtue of righteousness, you will be able to keep these commandments and no longer add to your sins. Walk in my commandments, and you will live with God. All these things I have spoken to you. 5 And after he said these things to me, he said to me, "Let's go to the field, and I will show you the shepherds of the sheep." I said, "Let's go, lord." And we went to a certain plain, and he showed me a young shepherd dressed in saffron-colored robes. 6 He was herding very many sheep, and these sheep seemed to be thriving, very well-fed, and happy, leaping here and there. And the shepherd himself was very cheerful over his flock. Even the appearance of the shepherd was very joyful, and he ran around among the sheep.

Ⅱ

And he said to me, "Do you see this shepherd?" I said, "I see him, lord." He said, "This is the angel of luxury and deceit. He destroys the souls of the servants of God and leads them away from the truth, deceiving them with wicked desires in which they perish." 2 They forget the commandments of the living God and follow empty deceptions and luxuries, and they perish because of this angel. Some are led to death, and others to destruction. 3 I said to him, "Lord, I do not understand what leads to death and what leads to destruction." He said, "Listen. The sheep you saw being cheerful and leaping are those who have completely turned away from God and have given themselves over to the desires of this world. For them, there is no chance of repentance leading to life because they have added to their sins and blasphemed the name of God. For such people, this is death." 4 The sheep you saw that were not leaping but grazing in one place are those who have given themselves to luxuries and deceptions but have not blasphemed the Lord. These are corrupted and have strayed from the truth. For them, there is hope for repentance, which can lead to life. Destruction has a hope of renewal, but death brings eternal loss. 5 I went a little further and saw a great shepherd who looked wild. He was wearing a white goat skin and had a wallet on his shoulders, a very hard staff with knots, and a big whip. His look was so fierce that it made me afraid. His gaze was like that. 6 This shepherd took the sheep from the young shepherd—those that were wasting and indulging but not leaping—and drove them into a rocky, thorny, and prickly place. The sheep got so tangled in the thorns and thistles that they couldn't get free. 7 These tangled sheep tried to graze among the thorns and thistles, suffering greatly as they were scratched and torn by them. The shepherd drove them around, giving them no rest, and the sheep were completely unsettled.

Ⅲ

Seeing them whipped and tormented like this, I felt sorry for them because they were suffering so much and had no relief at all. 2 I said to the shepherd who was talking with me, "Sir, who is this shepherd that is so heartless, bitter, and completely unfeeling towards these sheep?" He replied, "This is the angel of punishment; he is one of the righteous angels, but he is in charge of punishment." 3 He takes those who have strayed from God and followed the desires and deceptions of this world, and he punishes them as they deserve with severe and varied punishments. 4 "I wanted to know, sir," I said, "what these various punishments are like." He replied, "Listen to the various torments and punishments. These torments are earthly. Some are punished by losses, others by poverty, others by various illnesses, some by complete chaos, and some by being mistreated by unworthy people, and suffering in many other ways." 5 "Many people who are confused in their plans attempt many things, but nothing works out for them. They say they are not successful in their actions, but it never occurs to them that they have done evil deeds. Instead, they blame the Lord." 6 "When they are afflicted with all kinds of troubles, they turn to me for good instruction and become strong in the faith of the Lord. For the rest of their days, they serve the Lord with pure hearts. If they repent, then the evil things they've done come to their minds, and they praise God, saying that He is a just judge and that each of them has suffered rightly for their deeds. From then on, they serve the Lord with pure hearts and succeed in all they do, receiving everything they ask for from the Lord. They praise the Lord for delivering them to me, and they suffer no more evil."

Ⅳ

I said to him, "Lord, please explain this to me further." He replied, "What do you want to know?" I asked, "Do those who live in luxury and deceit suffer torment for the same amount of time that they lived in luxury and deceit?" He said to me, "Yes, they are tormented for the same amount of time." 2 "I said, 'Lord, they suffer very little. Those who live in such luxury and forget God should be tormented seven times more.'" 3 He said to me, "You are foolish and do not understand the power of the torment. If I understood it, Lord, I wouldn't be asking you to explain it to me." He said, "Listen to the power of both." 4 "The time of luxury and deceit is like one hour, but the hour of torment has the power of thirty days. So, if someone enjoys luxury and deceit for one day and is tormented for one day, the day of torment is equal to a whole year. Therefore, as many days as someone enjoys luxury, they are tormented for that many years. See then," he said, "that the time of luxury and deceit is very short, but the time of punishment and torment is much longer."

Ⅴ

"I still haven't completely understood the time of deceit and luxury and torment, Lord," I said. "Please explain it to me more clearly." 2 He replied to me, "Your foolishness is stubborn, and you do not wish to cleanse your heart and serve God. Be careful," he said, "that the time does not come and you are found to be a fool. Listen then," he said, "as you wish, so that you may understand." 3 "The one who indulges and deceives themselves for one day and does whatever they want is filled with much foolishness and does not understand what they are doing. By the next day, they forget what they did the day before, for luxury and deceit do not leave memories because of the foolishness in them. But when punishment and torment cling to a person even for one day, they are punished and tormented for a whole year, because punishment and torment have big memories." 4 "So, being tormented and punished for the whole year, they remember their luxury and deceit and understand that they suffer the bad things because of them. Every person who indulges and deceives themselves is tormented in this way because, having life, they have given themselves over to death." 5 "What kinds of indulgences are harmful?" I asked. "Any action is indulgence for a person if they do it with pleasure," he said. "Even someone with a quick temper indulges in their anger; and the adulterer, the drunkard, the slanderer, the liar, the greedy person, the thief, and those who do similar things satisfy their own sickness. So, they indulge in their own actions." 6 "All these indulgences are harmful to the servants of God. Because of these deceptions, those who are punished and tormented suffer." 7 "But there are also indulgences that save people. Many find joy in doing good deeds. This kind of indulgence benefits the servants of God and brings life to such a person. However, the harmful indulgences mentioned before bring torment and punishment. If they persist and do not repent, they bring death upon themselves."

Ⅰ

"A few days later, I saw him in the same field where I had seen the shepherds, and he said to me, 'What are you looking for?' 'I am here, sir,' I said, 'to ask you to order the punishing shepherd to leave my house because he is hurting me greatly.' 'You must suffer,' he said, 'for this is what the glorious angel has commanded concerning you. He wants you to be tested.' 'What have I done so wrong,' I asked, 'to be handed over to this angel?'" 2 "Listen," he said. "Your sins are many, but not so many that you deserve to be handed over to this angel. However, your household has committed great injustices and sins. The glorious angel was angered by their actions and therefore commanded that you suffer for a while, so they might repent and cleanse themselves from all desires of this world. When they repent and purify themselves, the angel of punishment will leave you." 3 I said to him, "Lord, if they have done such things to anger the glorious angel, what did I do?" He said, "Otherwise, they cannot suffer unless you, the head of the household, suffer. If you are in distress, they will be forced to be in distress, but if you are fine, they will not be able to experience any suffering." 4 "But look," I said, "Lord, they have repented with all their hearts." "I know," he said, "that they have repented with all their hearts. But do you think that sins are immediately forgiven to those who repent? Not completely. The repentant person must trouble his own soul, be humble in all his actions, and endure various sufferings. If he endures the sufferings that come to him, the Creator of all things will have mercy, give strength, and provide some healing." 5 This will surely happen if He sees the heart of the repentant person is pure from all evil things. It is good for you and your household to suffer now. Why say more? You must suffer, as the angel of the Lord commanded, the one who handed you over to me. Be thankful to the Lord that He considered you worthy to show you this suffering beforehand, so you can endure it strongly knowing it is coming. 6 I said to him, "Lord, be with me, and I will be able to endure all suffering." He said, "I will be with you, and I will ask the punishing angel to lighten your suffering. You will suffer for a short time and then be restored to your home. Just remain humble, serve the Lord with a pure heart, and lead your children and household to follow my commands. Your repentance will then be strong and pure." 7 If you and your household follow these commands, all suffering will leave you. In fact, he said, suffering will leave everyone who follows my commands.

Ⅰ

He showed me a large willow tree that covered fields and mountains, and under its shade all those called in the name of the Lord had come. 2 There stood a very tall and glorious angel of the Lord next to the willow tree, holding a large sickle. He was cutting branches from the willow tree and handing them to the people sheltered under the tree. He gave them small sticks, about a cubit long. 3 After everyone received the sticks, the angel put down the sickle, and that tree was healthy, just as it had been before. 4 I wondered to myself, saying, "How can the tree be healthy with so many branches cut off?" The shepherd said to me, "Do not marvel that this tree remains healthy despite so many branches being cut. If you see everything, it will be revealed to you what it means." 5 The angel who had given the people the sticks asked for them back. As they were called, each person went to him and returned the sticks. The angel of the Lord took them and examined them. 6 From some, he received sticks that were dry and eaten by rot. The angel ordered those who had returned such sticks to stand apart. 7 Others handed over sticks that were dry but not eaten by rot. He also ordered these people to stand apart. 8 Others handed over half-dry sticks. These people were also told to stand apart. 9 Others handed over their half-dry sticks that had cracks. These people were also told to stand apart. 10 Others handed over their green sticks that had cracks. These people were also told to stand apart. 11 Others handed over their sticks, which were half dry and half green. These people were also told to stand apart. 12 Others brought their sticks, which were two parts green and one part dry. These people were also told to stand apart. 13 Others handed over their sticks, which were two parts dry and one part green. These people were also told to stand apart. 14 Others handed over their sticks, which were almost entirely green, with just a tiny bit of the tip being dry. Their sticks also had splits in them. These people were also told to stand apart. 15 For others, the sticks were mostly dry, with just a tiny bit being green. These people were also told to stand apart. 16 Others came carrying green sticks just as they had received from the angel. Most of the crowd handed over sticks like these. The angel was very happy about this. These people were also told to stand apart. 17 Others handed over their green sticks that had shoots on them. These people were also told to stand apart. The angel was very happy about this. 18 Others handed over their green sticks that had shoots, and the shoots seemed to have some fruit. The people who had these kinds of sticks were very happy. The angel was delighted about this, and the shepherd was also very happy.

Ⅱ

The angel of the Lord commanded crowns to be brought. Crowns that looked like they were made of palm leaves were brought, and he crowned the men who had handed over the sticks with shoots and some fruit. Then he sent them to the tower. 2 He also sent the others who had handed over green sticks with shoots but no fruit to the tower, giving them seals. 3 Everyone going to the tower had the same clothing, white as snow. 4 He released those who had handed over green sticks as they received them, giving them clothing and seals. 5 After completing these tasks, the angel said to the shepherd, "I am going away. You will release these people to the walls, each according to their worthiness to live there. Carefully examine their sticks and then release them; be very careful. Make sure no one escapes your notice. If anyone does, I will test them at the altar." After saying this to the shepherd, he departed. 6 After the angel left, the shepherd said to me, "Let's take all the sticks and plant them to see if any of them can live." I said to him, "Lord, how can these dry sticks possibly live?" 7 He replied to me, "This tree is a willow and it loves life; if the sticks are planted and get even a little moisture, many of them will live. Let's also try giving them some water. If any of them can live, I will rejoice with them; if they do not live, I will not be found negligent." 8 The shepherd then instructed me to call them as they stood. They came in groups and handed their sticks to the shepherd. The shepherd took the sticks and planted them in groups, and after planting them, he poured a lot of water over them, so much that the sticks could not be seen because of the water. 9 After watering the sticks, he said to me, "Let's go, and in a few days we will come back and check all the sticks, for the one who created this tree wants all the branches taken from it to live. I also hope that most of these sticks, having received moisture and being watered, will live."

Ⅲ

I said to him, "Sir, please tell me what this tree is, for I am puzzled about it. Even though so many branches are cut from it, the tree remains healthy and shows no signs of being cut. This is what confuses me." 2 "Listen," he said, "this great tree that covers fields and mountains and the whole earth is the law of God given to the entire world. This law is the Son of God, proclaimed to the ends of the earth. The people under its shade are those who heard the message and believed in him." 3 The great and glorious angel Michael, who has authority over this people and governs them, is the one who gives them the law in the hearts of those who believe. He visits them to see if they have kept it. 4 You see each person's rods; the rods are the law. So, when you see many rods that are useless, you will know all those who have not kept the law. You will also see each person's dwelling. 5 I said to him, "Lord, why did he send some to the tower, but leave others with you?" He replied, "Those who broke the law they received from him, he left under my authority for repentance. Those who have already pleased the law and kept it, he holds under his own authority." 6 So I asked, "Lord, who are those who are crowned and go into the tower?" He said, "Those who fought against the devil and defeated him are crowned. These are the ones who suffered for the law." 7 The others who also have given green rods with shoots but no fruit are those who were troubled for the law but did not suffer or deny their law. 8 Those who have given green rods are the ones who lived with honor and justice and walked with a pure heart, keeping the Lord's commandments. You will understand the rest when I see these rods planted and watered.

Ⅳ

And after a few days, we came to the place, and the shepherd sat in the angel's place, and I stood by him. And he said to me, "Put on a linen apron and serve me." So I tied a clean linen apron made from sackcloth around myself. 2 Seeing me tied with the apron and ready to serve him, he said, "Call the men whose rods are planted, each in the order as they gave their rods." So I went to the field and called everyone, and they all stood in groups. 3 He said to them, "Each one of you, take your own rod and bring it to me." 4 First, those with dry and chopped rods handed them over, and because they were found to be dry and chopped, he ordered them to stand apart. 5 Next, those with dry but unchopped rods handed them over. Among them, some handed over green rods, while others gave dry and decayed rods. He ordered those with green rods to stand apart, and those with dry and decayed rods to stand with the first group. 6 Then, those with half-dry and split rods handed them over. Many of them gave green rods with no splits, while some handed over green rods with shoots and fruit on them, like those carried by the crowned men who went to the tower. Some gave dry and eaten-away rods, some dry and uneaten ones, and some that were half-dry and split. He ordered each of them to stand apart, some in their own groups and some separately.

Ⅴ

Next, those with green but split rods handed them over. They all gave green rods and stood in their own group. The shepherd was glad because they had all changed and gotten rid of their splits. 2 Those with rods that were half green and half dry also handed them over. Some of these were found to have entirely green rods, some half-dry, some dry and eaten-away, and some green with shoots. They were all sent back to their own groups. 3 Next, those with two parts green and one part dry handed them over. Many of them gave green rods, many half-dry, and others dry and eaten-away. They all stood in their own group. 4 Next, those with two parts dry and one part green handed them over. Many of them gave half-dry rods, some gave dry and eaten-away rods, others gave half-dry and split rods, and a few gave green rods. They all stood in their own group. 5 Those who had mainly green rods with a small part dry and split handed them over. Some of these gave green rods, and some gave green rods with shoots. They also returned to their group. 6 Then those who had a little green and the rest dry handed them over. Their rods were mostly found to be green with shoots and fruit on the shoots, and others were entirely green. The shepherd was very happy with these rods because that’s how they were found. These also went back to their group.

Ⅵ

After examining everyone's rods, the shepherd said to me, "I told you this tree is full of life. Do you see how many people repented and were saved?" "I see, sir," I replied. "So that you may see the great and glorious mercy of the Lord, who gave the spirit of repentance to those worthy of it," he said. 2 "Why, then," I asked, "didn't everyone repent?" "To those whose hearts He saw would become pure and serve Him wholeheartedly, He gave repentance," he said. "But to those whose deceit and wickedness He saw, knowing they would pretend to repent, He did not give repentance, so they would not again defile His name." 3 I said to him, "Sir, now show me those who handed over the rods, what kind of people they are, and where they live, so that those who believed, received the seal, broke it, and didn't keep it whole, may hear and repent after realizing their deeds. Then, receiving the seal from you, they may glorify the Lord because He showed mercy to them and sent you to renew their spirits." 4 "Listen," he said. "Those whose rods were found dry and eaten by worms are the deserters and traitors of the church and those who blasphemed the Lord in their sins, even feeling ashamed of the name of the Lord called upon them. These have been lost to God forever. You see that not one of them repented, even after hearing the words you spoke to them, which I commanded you. Life has departed from such as these." 5 Those who handed over rods that were dry but not rotten are also nearby. They were hypocrites, bringing in strange teachings and leading the servants of God astray, especially those who had sinned, not allowing them to repent but persuading them with foolish teachings. These, however, have hope of repentance. 6 You see that many of them have repented since I gave them my commandments. And more will still repent. But those who do not repent have lost their lives. Those who did repent became good, and their dwelling was placed in the first walls; some even ascended into the tower. So you see, he said, that repentance from sins brings life, but not repenting brings death.

Ⅶ

As for those who handed over rods that were half-dry and had cracks in them, listen about them too. Those whose rods were half-dry are double-minded; they are neither fully alive nor fully dead. 2 Those who have half-dry rods with cracks in them are also double-minded, slanderous, and never at peace with themselves, always causing division. But even for these, he says, there is repentance available. You see, he says, some of them have repented. And still, he says, there is hope for repentance among them. 3 And for those who have repented, he says, they will have their dwelling in the tower; those who have repented later will dwell in the walls. But those who do not repent and continue in their actions will die. 4 Those who handed over green rods with cracks have always been faithful and good, but they have had some jealousy among themselves about rank and certain honors. However, they are all foolish, being jealous of each other over rank. 5 But even these, hearing my commands, being good, purified themselves and repented quickly. Therefore, their dwelling was in the tower. If any of them turn back to division, they will be thrown out of the tower and lose their life. 6 The life of all who keep the Lord's commands is secure. In these commands, there is nothing about rank or certain honors, but about patience and humility. Therefore, life comes from the Lord in such things, but for those who cause division and break the law, there is death.

Ⅷ

Those who handed over rods that were half green and half dry are mixed up in business and not close to the holy ones. Therefore, half of them are alive, and half of them are dead. 2 Many who heard my commands repented. Those who repented have their home in the tower. But some turned away in the end. These have no repentance because their actions blasphemed the Lord and denied Him. They lost their lives because of the evil they did. 3 Many of them were doubtful. These still have repentance if they repent quickly, and their home will be in the tower. If they repent later, they will live in the walls. But if they do not repent, they too will lose their lives. 4 Those who handed over rods that were two parts green and one part dry are the ones who denied in various ways. 5 Many of them repented and went to live in the tower. But many turned away from God completely; these lost their lives. Some of them were doubtful and divided. These can still repent if they do so quickly and stop their sinful pleasures. But if they continue their ways, they too are bringing death upon themselves.

Ⅸ

Those who handed over rods that were two parts dry and one part green are the ones who became believers, but then grew wealthy and famous among the nations. They became very prideful and arrogant, leaving the truth and not staying close to the righteous. They lived with the nations because this path seemed nicer to them. But they did not completely turn away from God and remained in the faith, though they did not do the works of faith. 2 Many of them repented and came to live in the tower. 3 Others, however, lived with the nations until the end, being corrupted by their false glories. They turned away from God and did the deeds of the nations. These were counted among the nations. 4 Some of them doubted, losing hope of being saved because of their actions. Others doubted and caused divisions among themselves. For these doubters, there is still a chance to repent, but their repentance must be quick so that they can live in the tower. Those who do not repent and continue in their pleasures face imminent death.

Ⅹ

Those who handed in rods that were green but had dry and split ends were always good, faithful, and honorable before God. They had sinned only a little because of small desires and quarrels among themselves. But after hearing my words, most of them quickly repented, and they were able to live in the tower. 2 Some of them doubted, and some, in their doubting, caused greater divisions. For these, there is hope of repentance, because they were always good. It is unlikely that any of them will die. 3 Those who handed in rods that were dry but had a little green were the ones who believed but did wrong things. However, they never turned away from God and happily carried His name, welcoming God's servants into their homes. After hearing about this repentance, they quickly changed their ways and now practice every virtue and act justly. 4 Some of them are also afraid because they know what they have done. But all of them will live in the tower.

Ⅺ

After he finished explaining all the rods, he said to me, "Go and tell everyone to repent so they may live for God. The Lord sent me, having compassion, to offer repentance to all, even though some don't deserve it because of their deeds. But the Lord is patient and wants the calling through His Son to bring salvation." 2 I said to him, "Lord, I hope that everyone who hears this will repent, for I believe that each person, realizing their own deeds and fearing God, will repent." 3 He answered me, "Those who repent with all their heart, cleanse themselves from their former evils, and add no more to their sins, will receive healing from the Lord for their past sins, if they do not doubt these commands, and they will live for God. But those who add to their sins and follow the desires of this world will condemn themselves to death." 4 "But you, follow my commands and you will live for God; and those who follow them and do what is right will live for God." 5 After showing me these things and telling me everything, he said to me, "I will show you the rest in a few days."

Ⅰ

After I wrote the commands and parables of the Shepherd, the Angel of Repentance came to me and said, "I want to show you what the Holy Spirit, which spoke with you in the form of the Church, showed you. For that Spirit is the Son of God." 2 Since you were weaker in the flesh, it was not revealed to you through an angel. But when you were strengthened by the spirit and became strong enough to see an angel, the building of the tower was then revealed to you through the Church in a good and noble way, just as you saw it from a virgin. Now, you see it through an angel by the same spirit. 3 But you need to learn everything from me more accurately. I was sent by the glorious angel to live in your house so that you can see everything clearly and without fear, unlike before. 4 And he led me to Arcadia, to a hilly mountain, and he sat me on the peak of the mountain. He showed me a large plain surrounded by twelve mountains, each mountain having its own unique appearance. 5 The first mountain was as black as soot; the second was bare, without any plants; the third was full of thorns and sharp plants. 6 The fourth mountain had plants that were half-dry, with the tops of the plants being green and the roots being dry. Some of the plants would dry up when the sun burned them. 7 The fifth mountain was rough and had green plants. The sixth mountain was full of cracks, some small and some big. The cracks had plants, but the plants were not very healthy and looked more like they were withered. 8 The seventh mountain had cheerful plants, and the whole mountain was flourishing. All kinds of animals and birds lived there, and the more they fed, the more the plants on the mountain thrived. The eighth mountain was full of springs, and all kinds of creatures drank from the springs on that mountain. 9 The ninth mountain had no water at all and was completely deserted. It had wild beasts and deadly reptiles that could kill people. The tenth mountain had very large trees and was completely shaded. Under the shade of the trees, sheep lay down to rest and graze. 10 The eleventh mountain was full of trees, and those trees were laden with different kinds of fruit, so that anyone who saw them would desire to eat the fruit. The twelfth mountain was entirely white, and its appearance was cheerful; it was the most beautiful of all the mountains.

Ⅱ

In the middle of the plain, he showed me a large white rock rising from the ground. The rock was higher than the mountains, square-shaped, and capable of holding the entire world. 2 The rock was ancient and had a carved door. The carving of the door seemed recent to me. The door shone brighter than the sun, making me marvel at its brilliance. 3 Around the door stood twelve maidens. The four standing at the corners seemed more glorious to me, but the others were also splendid. They were positioned in four pairs around the door, with two maidens between each pair. 4 They were dressed in linen tunics and properly belted, with their right shoulders bare as if they were ready to carry a load. They seemed very prepared, cheerful, and eager. 5 After seeing this, I marveled to myself because I was witnessing great and glorious things. I was also puzzled by the maidens, because although they appeared delicate, they stood firmly as if they were ready to hold up the entire sky. 6 And the shepherd said to me, "Why are you pondering and puzzling over this and causing yourself distress? If you can't understand something, don't try to figure it out on your own. Instead, ask the Lord so that you can understand it clearly." 7 "You cannot see what's behind you, only what's in front of you. So don't worry about what you can't see, and don't twist yourself up over it. Focus on what you can see and don't concern yourself with the rest. I will explain everything to you that I show you. So, pay attention to the rest."

Ⅲ

I saw six tall and noble men who looked alike. They called a large group of men. These men who came were tall, handsome, and strong. The six men told them to build a tower on a rock. There was a great commotion among the men building the tower, running here and there around the gate. 2 The young women standing around the gate told the men to hurry up with building the tower. The young women had their hands outstretched as if they were expecting to receive something from the men. 3 The six men ordered stones to be brought up from some depth and carried to the construction of the tower. Ten shiny, square stones, not yet cut, were brought up. 4 The six men called the young women and told them to carry all the stones that were to be used for the tower. The young women were to pass through the gate and give the stones to the men who would build the tower. 5 The young women placed the first ten stones that were brought up from the depth on each other and carried them one by one together.

Ⅳ

The young women stood together in a circle around the gate and carried the stones, with the stronger ones taking the corners of the stone. The others grabbed the sides, and together they carried all the stones through the gate as instructed. They passed the stones to the men, who then used them to build the tower. 2 The building of the tower took place on the great rock and above the gate. The ten stones were fitted together and filled the entire rock, becoming the foundation of the tower's structure. The rock and the gate supported the whole tower. 3 After the first ten stones, another twenty stones were brought up from the depth. These were also fitted into the tower by the young women, just like the ones before. Then fifty-five more stones were brought up and placed into the tower in the same way. Finally, forty more stones were brought up and all of them were added to the tower's structure. Thus, there were four layers in the foundation of the tower. 4 Then they stopped bringing stones up from the depth. The builders also took a short break. After that, the six men ordered the crowd to bring stones from the mountains for the tower's construction. 5 So, from all the mountains, men brought stones of various colors and gave them to the young women. The young women carried them through the gate and handed them over for the tower's construction. Once the colorful stones were placed in the tower, they became white and changed their colors to match. 6 Some stones were given directly by the men for the construction and did not become bright. They remained just as they were when placed. These stones had not been passed through the young women or carried through the gate. Therefore, these stones did not look good in the tower's construction. 7 Seeing the unsuitable stones in the construction, the six men ordered them to be removed and taken back down to their original place from where they were brought. 8 And they said to the men bringing the stones, "Do not put any more stones directly into the construction. Instead, place the stones next to the tower so that the young women can carry them through the gate and give them for the construction. If they are not carried through the gate by the hands of these young women, the stones cannot change their colors. So, do not waste your efforts."

Ⅴ

And the construction was completed that day, but the tower was not finished because it was meant to be built further. So, there was a pause in the construction. The six men ordered all the builders to step back a little and rest, but they instructed the young women not to leave the tower. It seemed to me that the young women were left to guard the tower. 2 After everyone stepped back and rested, I said to the shepherd, "Why, sir, was the construction of the tower not finished?" He replied, "The tower cannot be completed until its lord comes and inspects this construction, so that if any stones are found to be rotten, he can replace them. The tower is being built according to his will." 3 I wanted, sir, to know what this construction of the tower is about, and about the rock, the gate, the mountains, the young women, and the stones that came up from the bottom and were not chiseled but went straight into the building. 4 And why were ten stones placed first in the foundation, then twenty, then thirty-five, then forty? And what about the stones that went into the building and then were taken out again and placed in their own spot? Please put my mind at rest about all these things, sir, and explain them to me. 5 "If you're not found to be idle, you will know everything," he said. "In a few days we will come here, and you will see the rest of what happens to this tower and understand all the parables exactly." 6 And after a few days we came to the place where we had sat down, and he said to me, "Let's go to the tower; the master of the tower is coming to inspect it." So we went to the tower, and there was no one there except for the young women. 7 And the shepherd asked the young women if the master of the tower had come. They said he was about to come to inspect the construction.

Ⅵ

And soon I saw a large group of men coming, and in the middle was a man so tall that he was taller than the tower. 2 And the six men who were overseeing the construction walked with him on his right and left. All those who worked on the construction were with him, and many others, who were important, surrounded him. The young women guarding the tower ran to him, kissed him, and began to walk near him around the tower. 3 The man carefully inspected the construction, feeling each stone one by one. Holding a rod in his hand, he touched each stone that was being built. 4 And when he touched them, some became black like soot, some were scaly, some had cracks, some were missing pieces, some were neither white nor black, some were rough and didn't fit with the other stones, and some had many spots. These were the types of faulty stones found in the construction. 5 So he ordered all those stones to be removed from the tower and placed beside it, and other stones to be brought and put in their place. 6 And the builders asked him from which mountain he wanted the stones to be brought and set in their place. He did not order them to be brought from the mountains, but from a plain nearby. 7 And they dug into the plain, and found bright, square stones, and some round ones too. All the stones that were in that plain were brought and carried through the gate by the maidens. 8 And the square stones were cut and placed where the removed ones had been. But the round stones were not used in the building because they were hard to cut and took a long time. They were placed next to the tower, to be cut and used in the building later, because they were very bright.

Ⅶ

So, after finishing these tasks, the distinguished man who was the master of the whole tower called the shepherd and handed over to him all the stones lying next to the tower, the ones that had been rejected from the building, and said to him: 2 "Carefully clean these stones and place them in the construction of the tower if they fit with the others. But the ones that do not fit, throw far away from the tower." 3 After giving these orders to the shepherd, he left the tower along with everyone who had come with him. The maidens stood around the tower, watching over it. 4 I said to the shepherd, "How can these rejected stones be used for the construction of the tower?" He replied to me, "Do you see these stones?" "Yes, I see them, sir," I said. He said, "I will cut most of these stones and place them in the building, and they will fit with the other stones." 5 "How, sir," I asked, "can they fill the same place once cut?" He replied, "Those that are found to be small will be placed in the middle of the building. The larger ones will be placed on the outside and will hold them together." 6 After saying this to me, he added, "Let's go and in two days let's come back and clean these stones and put them in the building. Everything around the tower needs to be cleaned, in case the master suddenly comes and finds the area around the tower dirty and gets angry. Then these stones won't be used in the construction of the tower, and I will seem careless to the master." 7 And after two days we came to the tower, and he said to me, "Let's examine all the stones and see which ones can be used for the building." I said to him, "Yes, sir, let's examine them."

Ⅷ

And first, we began to examine the black stones. They were the same as the ones that had been placed in the building. The shepherd ordered them to be removed from the tower and separated. 2 Then he examined the scabby stones, and taking many of them, he trimmed them and ordered the maidens to carry them and put them in the building. And the maidens carried them and placed them in the middle section of the tower. The others he ordered to be placed with the black stones, for they were also found to be black. 3 Then he examined the stones with cracks. From these, he trimmed many and ordered the maidens to carry them to the building. They were placed on the outer part because they were found to be sturdier. But the others, due to having too many cracks, could not be trimmed and were therefore discarded from the tower's building. 4 Then he examined the damaged stones and found that many were black and some had big cracks. He ordered these to be placed with the discarded stones. He cleaned and trimmed the remaining stones and ordered them to be placed in the building. The maidens carried these stones and fit them into the middle section of the tower because they were weaker. 5 Then he examined the stones that were half white and half black. Many of them were found to be black. He ordered these to be placed with the discarded stones. The rest were carried by the maidens. The white stones were placed in the building by the maidens. They were positioned on the outer part because they were found to be strong, so they could support those placed in the middle. None of these stones were damaged at all. 6 Then he examined the rough and hard stones. Only a few were discarded because they were too hard to be trimmed. The rest were trimmed and carried by the maidens, then fitted into the middle section of the tower because they were weaker. 7 Then he examined the stones with spots. Only a few of these were blackened and discarded with the others. The remaining stones were found to be bright and strong. These were fitted into the building by the maidens and placed on the outer part because of their strength.

Ⅸ

Then he came to examine the white and round stones and said to me, “What should we do with these stones?” I replied, “I don't know, sir.” He asked, “Do you have any idea about them at all?” 2 I said, “Sir, I don't have that skill, nor am I a stonecutter, so I can't figure it out.” He replied, “Don't you see that they are very round? If we want to make them square, a lot will have to be cut off. But some of them must be used in the building by necessity.” 3 I replied, “Sir, if it’s necessary, why do you trouble yourself? Just choose the ones you want and fit them into the building.” He selected the larger and brighter ones and cut them. Then the maidens lifted and placed them on the outer parts of the building. 4 The remaining stones were carried and placed back in the field where they had come from. They weren’t thrown away, because he said, “The tower still needs a little more building.” The master of the tower wants all these stones to be fitted into the construction since they are very bright. 5 Twelve women were called, who were very beautiful in appearance, dressed in black, with their shoulders exposed and their hair loose. These women seemed wild to me. The shepherd instructed them to lift the stones that had been cast out from the building and carry them back to the mountains, from where they had been brought. 6 The cheerful women lifted and carried all the stones back to where they had been taken from. After all the stones were removed and there were no more stones lying around the tower, the shepherd said to me, “Let’s walk around the tower and see if there are any flaws in it.” So, I walked around with him. 7 When the shepherd saw that the tower was very well-built, he was very happy. The tower was built in such a way that, when I saw it, I desired its construction. It was built so perfectly that it looked like it was made from one single stone with no joints. The stone seemed to be carved out of a rock; to me, it looked like a monolith.

Ⅹ

Walking around with him, I was happy to see such good things. The shepherd said to me, “Go and bring some unburnt clay and fine pottery shards so I can fill in the gaps where the stones have been removed and placed into the building. The area around the tower needs to be made smooth.” 2 I did as he instructed and brought them to him. He said, “Help me, and the work will soon be finished.” So, he filled in the gaps where the stones had been placed into the building and ordered the area around the tower to be swept and cleaned. 3 The young women took brooms and swept away all the dirt from the tower. They sprinkled water, and the place around the tower became cheerful and very beautiful. 4 The shepherd said to me, “Everything is clean. If the master comes to inspect the tower, he will have nothing to criticize.” After saying this, he wanted to leave. 5 I grabbed his bag and began to beg him by the Lord to explain to me what he had shown me. He said to me, "I have only a little time to spare, and I will explain everything to you. Wait here for me until I return." 6 I said to him, "Lord, what will I do alone here?" He replied, "You are not alone; these young women are with you." So I said, "Then entrust me to them." The shepherd called the young women and said to them, "I leave him in your care until I return," and then he left. 7 I was alone with the young women. They were cheerful and treated me well, especially the four most distinguished among them.

Ⅺ

The young women said to me, "The shepherd is not coming here today." So I asked, "What should I do then?" They replied, "Wait for him until late. If he comes, he will talk with you. If he doesn't come, you will stay here with us until he arrives." 2 I said to them, "I will wait for him until late; if he doesn't come, I will go home and return in the morning." But they answered me, "You have been entrusted to us; you cannot leave us." 3 So I asked, "Where will I stay?" They said, "You will sleep with us as a brother, not as a man, for you are our brother, and from now on we plan to live with you because we love you very much." But I was embarrassed to stay with them. 4 And the one who seemed to be the leader of them began to kiss me and embrace me. The others, seeing her embracing me, also started to kiss me and lead me around the tower, playing with me. 5 And I, feeling younger, began to play with them too. Some of them were dancing, some were singing, and I walked around the tower with them silently but cheerfully. 6 When evening came, I wanted to go back home, but they didn't let me; instead, they kept me with them. So I stayed with them that night and slept by the tower. 7 The maidens spread their linen tunics on the ground and had me lie down in the middle of them. They did nothing but pray, and I prayed with them without stopping, just like them. The maidens were happy to see me praying like that. I stayed there with them until the next day, until the second hour. 8 Then the shepherd came and asked the maidens, "Did you harm him in any way?" They replied, "Ask him yourself." I said to him, "Sir, I was happy staying with them." He asked, "Did you have dinner?" I said, "Yes, sir, I feasted on the words of the Lord all night." He asked, "Did they treat you well?" I said, "Yes, sir." 9 "Now," he said, "what do you want to hear first?" I replied, "Sir, as you showed me from the beginning, I ask you to explain to me whatever I ask." He said, "As you wish, I will explain it to you and hide nothing from you."

Ⅻ

"First of all, sir," I said, "tell me this: What are the rock and the gate?" He replied, "The rock and the gate are the Son of God." I asked, "How is the rock old and the gate new?" He said, "Listen and understand, you who do not understand." 2 "The Son of God is older than all of His creation, so He was a counselor to the Father in the creation of everything; that's why the rock is old. But why is the gate new, sir?" I asked. 3 "Because," he said, "in the last days, He was revealed, so the gate became new, so that those who are to be saved may enter through it into the kingdom of God." 4 "Did you see," he said, "the stones that went through the gate and were placed in the building of the tower, and those that didn't go through were thrown back to their own place?" "I saw them, sir," I said. "So," he said, "no one will enter the kingdom of God unless they receive His holy name." 5 "If someone wants to enter a city that is surrounded by a wall and has only one gate, can they enter that city unless they go through the gate it has?" "How could they, sir?" I said. "So," he said, "no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they go through the name of His beloved Son." 6 "Did you see," he said, "the crowd building the tower?" "I saw them, sir," I said. "They are all glorious angels," he said. "The Lord is surrounded by them. The gate is the Son of God; this is the only way to the Lord. No one can enter to Him except through His Son." 7 "Did you see," he said, "the six men and the glorious, great man among them walking around the tower and rejecting the stones from the building?" "I saw them, sir," I said. 8 "The glorious man," he said, "is the Son of God, and those six glorious ones are angels standing at his right and left. None of these glorious angels, he said, will enter to God without Him; whoever does not take His name will not enter the kingdom of God."

ⅩⅢ

"What is the tower?" I asked. "The tower," he said, "is the church." 2 "And who are these virgins?" I asked. "These," he said, "are holy spirits; a person cannot enter the kingdom of God unless they clothe him with their garments. If you only take the name and do not receive the garment from them, it will not help you at all. These virgins are the powers of the Son of God. If you bear his name but not his power, you will bear his name in vain." 3 "The stones you saw being thrown away," he said, "these people took the name but did not wear the garments of the virgins." "What kind of garments are theirs, Lord?" I asked. "The names themselves," he said, "are their garments. Whoever bears the name of the Son of God should also bear these names. For even the Son himself bears the names of these virgins." 4 "The stones you saw being brought into the building of the tower," he said, "were placed there by their hands and stayed in the building. They are clothed with the power of these virgins." 5 "That's why you see the tower made of a single stone with the rock," he said. "So too, those who believe in the Lord through His Son and are clothed with these spirits will become one spirit, one body, and one color of garment. The dwelling in the tower belongs to those who bear the names of the virgins." 6 "So why," I asked, "Lord, were the stones that were rejected thrown away? For they passed through the gate and were placed in the building of the tower by the hands of the virgins." He said, "Since you care about everything and examine closely, listen about the rejected stones." 7 "They all," he said, "took the name of the Son of God and received the power of these virgins. Having received these spirits, they became strong and were with the servants of God, and they were one spirit, one body, and wore the same garment. For they thought the same things and acted justly." 8 "After some time, they were persuaded by the women you saw dressed in black clothes, with their shoulders bare and their hair untied and lovely. Seeing them, they desired them and put on their power but took off the garment and power of the virgins." 9 "So they were cast out of the house of God and handed over to those women. But those not deceived by the beauty of these women remained in the house of God. You have, he said, the explanation for the rejected ones."

ⅩⅣ

"So then, I ask, sir, if these people, being such as they are, repent and give up their desires for these women, and return to the virgins and walk in their power and deeds, won't they be allowed back into the house of God?" 2 "They will be allowed back, he said, if they abandon the deeds of these women, take up the strength of the virgins, and walk in their deeds. That is why there was a delay in the building, so that if they repent, they can join the building of the tower. But if they do not repent, then others will enter, and these will be cast out forever." 3 Upon all this, I gave thanks to the Lord, for He had mercy on all who called on His name and sent the angel of repentance to us who had sinned against Him. He renewed our spirit and restored our life even when we were already ruined and had no hope of living. 4 Now, I said, sir, please show me why the tower is not built on the ground, but on the rock and the gate. Still, he said, are you so foolish and without understanding? I need, I said, sir, to ask you about everything, because I cannot understand anything at all. All these things are great and glorious and difficult for people to understand. 5 Listen, he said. The name of the Son of God is great and beyond measure, and it sustains the whole world. If all creation is upheld by the Son of God, what do you think of those who are called by Him, bear the name of the Son of God, and follow His commands? 6 Do you see, then, whom He upholds? Those who bear His name with all their heart. He has become their foundation and gladly supports them because they are not ashamed to carry His name.

ⅩⅤ

Please tell me, sir, the names of the virgins and the women dressed in black clothes. Listen, he said, the names of the strongest virgins who stood in the corners. 2 The first is Faith, the second is Self-Control, the third is Strength, and the fourth is Patience. The others standing in between them are named Simplicity, Purity, Innocence, Joy, Truth, Understanding, Harmony, and Love. Whoever bears these names and the name of the Son of God will be able to enter the Kingdom of God. 3 Listen, he said, to the names of the women wearing black clothes. And four of these are stronger. The first is Unbelief, the second is Lack of Self-Control, the third is Disobedience, and the fourth is Deception. Their followers are named Grief, Wickedness, Indecency, Quick Temper, Lies, Foolishness, Slander, and Hatred. Whoever bears these names, though he may see the Kingdom of God, will not enter into it. 4 Who are the stones, sir, that were taken from the bottom and fitted into the building? The first ten stones, he said, laid in the foundations, are the first generation. The next twenty-five are the second generation of righteous men. The thirty-five are the prophets of God and His servants. The forty are the apostles and teachers of the message of the Son of God. 5 Why, then, sir, I asked, did the virgins also carry these stones through the gate into the building of the tower? 6 Because, he said, these people were the first to have these spirits and never separated from each other; the spirits did not separate from the people, and the people did not separate from the spirits, but the spirits remained with them until they died. And if they had not had these spirits with them, they would not have been useful in building this tower.

ⅩⅥ

Explain it to me further, sir, I said. What do you seek to know? he asked. Why, sir, I said, did the stones come up from the bottom and were placed in the building of the tower, carrying these spirits? 2 They had to come up through water, he said, so they could be made alive. They could not enter the kingdom of God in any other way, unless they got rid of the death from their former life. 3 So these who were asleep also received the seal of the Son of God and entered into the kingdom of God. For, he said, before a person bears the name of the Son of God, they are dead. But when they receive the seal, they put away death and take up life. 4 The seal is the water; they go down into the water dead and come up alive. So, this seal was also proclaimed to them, and they used it so they could enter the kingdom of God. 5 Why, I asked, Lord, did the stones also rise from the depths with them, already having the seal? Because, he said, these apostles and teachers who preached the name of the Son of God, having died in the power and faith of the Son of God, also preached to those who had fallen asleep before and gave them the seal of the proclamation. 6 So they went down into the water with them and came up again. But these went down alive and came up alive, while those who had fallen asleep went down dead and came up alive. 7 Through these, they were brought to life and came to know the name of the Son of God. That’s why they came up with them and were fitted into the building of the tower, and they were built in without cutting. For they had fallen asleep in righteousness and great purity, but they only lacked this seal. So now you have the explanation about them. Yes, Lord, I said, I understand.

ⅩⅦ

Now then, Lord, please explain to me about the mountains. Why are they all different and varied? Listen, he said, these mountains are the twelve tribes who live all over the world. The Son of God was preached to them by the apostles. 2 Why are the mountains different and varied in their appearance? Explain this to me, Lord. Listen, he said, these twelve tribes that live all over the world are twelve nations. They are varied in their wisdom and understanding, just as you saw the mountains being different. So are the differences in the minds and wisdom of these nations. I will explain to you also the actions of each one. 3 First, I said, Lord, explain this: why is it that although the mountains are so varied, when the stones from them were placed in the building, they became bright and uniform in color, just like the stones that came up from the depths? 4 Because, he said, all the nations living under heaven, when they heard and believed in the name of the Son of God, received the seal. Therefore, they had one mind and one understanding, and their faith became one, and so did their love. They bore the spirits of the virgins along with the name. That's why the building of the tower became bright and uniform in color like the sun. 5 After they came together and became one body, some of them defiled themselves and were cast out from the group of the righteous. They became as they were before, or even worse.

ⅩⅧ

How, I asked, Lord, did they become worse after knowing God? He said, The one who doesn't know God and does evil is punished for their wrongdoing, but the one who knows God should no longer do evil, but do good. 2 So, if the one who should do good does evil, doesn't it seem like they are doing more wrong than the one who doesn't know God? That's why those who don't know God and do evil are judged to death, but those who know God, have seen His wonders, and still do evil will be punished twice as much and will die forever. This is how the church of God will be purified. 3 As you saw the stones being taken from the tower and given to the evil spirits, and then thrown out; (the tower became like it was made from one stone after being cleansed); in the same way, the church of God will be after it is purified and the wicked, hypocrites, blasphemers, and double-minded people who do various evils are cast out. 4 After these are cast out, the church of God will be one body, with one mind, one understanding, one faith, one love; and then the Son of God will rejoice and be glad in them, having received His people pure. Everything, I say, Lord, is truly great and glorious. 5 Still, I say, Lord, show me the power and deeds of each one of the mountains, so that every soul trusting in the Lord may hear and glorify His great, wonderful, and glorious name. Listen, he says, to the variety of the mountains and the twelve nations.

ⅩⅨ

From the first black mountain, those who believe are like this: they are apostates, blasphemers against the Lord, and traitors to the servants of God. For them, there is no repentance, only death, and that is why they are black; for their kind is lawless. 2 From the second bare mountain, those who believe are like this: they are hypocrites and teachers of wickedness. They are similar to the first group, having no fruit of righteousness; just as their mountain is barren, so are these people. They have a name but are empty of faith and bear no fruit of truth. For them, repentance is still available if they repent quickly; but if they delay, their death will be like those of the first group. 3 Why, I asked, Lord, is repentance available to these but not to the first? Their deeds seem the same. He said, Repentance is available to these because they did not blaspheme their Lord or become traitors to the servants of God. Instead, they were hypocrites and taught according to the desires of sinful people due to their greed. They will face some punishment; however, repentance is available to them because they did not become blasphemers or traitors.

ⅩⅩ

From the third mountain, which has thorns and thistles, those who believe are like this. Some of them are rich, and others are involved in many businesses. The rich are the thistles, and those tangled in various dealings are the thorns. 2 These people, caught up in many and various businesses, do not join with the servants of God but are led astray, choked by their own affairs. The rich also find it hard to associate with God's servants, fearing they might be asked for something. Therefore, such people will have a hard time entering the kingdom of God. 3 Just as it is hard to walk barefoot among thistles, so it is hard for such people to enter the kingdom of God. 4 But there is hope for all of them if they quickly repent, making up for what they didn't do before by doing good deeds now. If they repent and do good, they will live with God. But if they continue in their ways, they will be handed over to those who will bring about their downfall.

ⅩⅪ

From the fourth mountain, which had many herbs, some green at the top but dry at the roots, and some dried by the sun, such are the believers who are double-minded or who honor the Lord with their lips but not with their hearts. 2 That's why their foundations are dry and powerless. Their words are alive, but their deeds are dead. Such people are neither alive nor dead. They are like the double-minded; for the double-minded are neither green nor dry, neither truly alive nor truly dead. 3 Just as these plants dried up when they saw the sun, so too the double-minded, when they hear of trouble, because of their fear, they turn to idol worship and are ashamed of their Lord's name. 4 Such people are neither alive nor dead. But if they quickly repent, they can live; if they don't repent, they are already given over to women who take away their lives.

ⅩⅫ

From the fifth mountain, which has green, rough plants, the believers are like this: they are faithful but difficult to teach, stubborn, and self-satisfied, wanting to know everything but understanding nothing at all. 2 Because of their stubbornness, understanding has left them, and foolishness entered them. They praise themselves as having wisdom and want to be self-appointed teachers, but they are fools. 3 Because of this arrogance, many have been emptied, raising themselves up; for stubbornness and empty pride are great evils. Because of these, many have been cast away, but some repented, believed, and submitted themselves to those with understanding, recognizing their own foolishness. 4 And repentance is available to those others like them; for they were not wicked, but rather foolish and lacking understanding. If they repent, they will live with God; but if they do not repent, they will dwell with the wicked women who lead them astray.

ⅩⅩⅢ

Those from the sixth mountain, which has large and small cracks and in the cracks are withered plants, are like this when they believe. 2 Those with the small cracks are the ones who have grievances against each other and are weakened in faith from their slanders; but many have repented from these. And the rest will also repent when they hear my commandments; for their grievances are small, and they will quickly repent. 3 Those with the large cracks are the ones who persist in their slanders and hold grudges against each other; therefore, they were thrown out from the tower and rejected from its building. Such people will have a hard time living. 4 If God, our Lord who rules over everything and has power over all creation, does not hold grudges against those who confess their sins but is merciful, how can a mortal man, full of sins, hold a grudge against another person as if he could destroy or save them? 5 I say to you, I am the angel of repentance: all of you who have this mindset, put it away and repent, and the Lord will heal your past sins if you cleanse yourselves from this demon; but if you do not, you will be delivered to it unto death.

ⅩⅩⅣ

From the seventh mountain, where the plants are green and cheerful, and the whole mountain is fruitful, and every kind of animal and the birds of the sky fed on the plants from this mountain, and the plants they fed on became even more flourishing, such are those who believe. 2 They always became simple and innocent and blessed, holding nothing against each other, but always rejoicing with the servants of God and clothed with the Holy Spirit of these virgins, and always feeling compassion for every person, and from their labor, they provided for everyone generously and confidently. 3 So the Lord, seeing their simplicity and complete innocence, multiplied them in the works of their hands and blessed them in all their deeds. 4 I say to you who are like this, I am the angel of repentance: stay like this, and your offspring will never be erased, for the Lord has tested you and written you in our number, and all your descendants will live with the Son of God, for you have received His Spirit.

ⅩⅩⅤ

From the eighth mountain, where there were many springs and all the creation of the Lord was watered from the springs, those who believed are like this. 2 The apostles and teachers who preached to the whole world and taught the word of the Lord simply and purely, without any evil desire, but always walked in righteousness and truth, as they received the Holy Spirit. So, these people will pass away with the angels.

ⅩⅩⅥ

From the ninth mountain, which is desolate and full of creatures and beasts that destroy people, those who believed are like this. 2 Those who have spots are servants who served poorly and took the livelihood of widows and orphans, keeping it for themselves from the service they were given to perform. If they continue in this same desire, they are dead, and there is no hope of life for them. But if they turn back and complete their service purely, they will be able to live. 3 Those who are scabby are the ones who denied and did not return to their Lord, but became barren and desolate. They do not cling to the servants of God but remain alone, and they destroy their own souls. 4 Just like a vine left neglected in a fence gets ruined, overgrown with weeds, and becomes wild and useless to its owner, so too do these people harm themselves and become useless to their Lord by becoming wild. 5 So, repentance is possible for them if they are not found to have denied from their heart. But if someone is found to have denied from their heart, I do not know if they can live. 6 And this I do not say for these days, for someone who denies now to receive repentance; for it is impossible to save the one who now denies their Lord. But for those who denied long ago, repentance seems to be possible. If anyone is going to repent, let them do it quickly before the tower is completed; if not, they will perish because of the women. 7 And the maimed, these are deceitful and slanderous; and the beasts you saw on the mountain, they are the same. For just as beasts destroy people with their venom and kill them, so too the words of such people corrupt and destroy others. 8 These, then, are maimed from their faith because of their actions within themselves; some have repented and were saved. And the rest who are like them can be saved if they repent; but if they do not repent, they will die because of those women who have power over them.

ⅩⅩⅦ

From the tenth mountain, where there were trees covering some sheep, those who believed are like this. 2 They are bishops and hospitable people who always gladly welcomed God's servants into their homes without any hypocrisy; and the bishops always took care of the needy and the widows with their service and lived a pure life continuously. 3 So all these people will be protected by the Lord forever. Those who do such things are honored by God, and their place is already with the angels, if they continue serving the Lord until the end.

ⅩⅩⅧ

From the eleventh mountain, where there were trees full of fruits, decorated with many different kinds of fruits, those who believed are like this. 2 Those who suffered for the name of the Son of God, and who also suffered willingly with all their heart and gave up their lives. 3 "Why then," I said, "Lord, do all the trees have fruits, but some of the fruits are more beautiful?" "Listen," he said, "those who have suffered for the name are honored by God, and all their sins are forgiven because they suffered for the name of the Son of God. As for why their fruits are different and some are more splendid, listen." 4 "Those," he said, "who were brought before authorities and questioned but did not deny, and suffered willingly, are more honored by the Lord. Their fruit is the more splendid. But those who were timid and hesitant, who pondered in their hearts whether to deny or confess, and suffered, their fruits are lesser because that thought arose in their hearts. This thought is wicked, that a servant should deny his own Lord." 5 So, you who are planning these things, be careful that this thought does not remain in your hearts and you die to God. But you who suffer for the name should glorify God, because God has considered you worthy to bear this name, and all your sins will be healed. 6 So, you bless yourselves; but you think it is a great thing if one of you suffers for God. The Lord gives you life, and you do not realize it; for your sins have weighed you down, and if you had not suffered for the name of the Lord, you would have died to God because of your sins. 7 I say this to you who are hesitating about denying or confessing: confess, because you have a Lord, and never deny Him, or you might be handed over to prison. 8 If the nations punish their slaves when someone denies their own lord, what do you think the Lord will do to you, who has authority over everything? Remove these thoughts from your hearts so that you may always live for God.

ⅩⅩⅨ

Those who believed from the twelfth white mountain are like this: they are like infant babies, who have no evil in their hearts and do not know what wickedness is, but always remain in innocence. 2 Therefore, such people will dwell in the kingdom of God without hesitation, because they have not broken God's commands in any way, but have remained innocent all the days of their lives. 3 Therefore, he says, those of you who remain and become like babies, without evil, will be more glorious than all those mentioned before; for all babies are glorious before God and are first with Him. So, blessed are you who remove wickedness from yourselves and put on innocence; you will live first of all for God. 4 After he finished the parables of the mountains, I said to him, “Lord, now explain to me about the stones taken from the field and placed in the building instead of the stones taken from the tower, and the round ones set in the building, and those that are still round."

ⅩⅩⅩ

"Listen," he said, "and I will explain all these things. The stones taken from the field and placed in the building of the tower instead of the ones thrown away come from the roots of the white mountain." 2 "Since all those who believed and came from the white mountain were found to be innocent, the lord of the tower commanded that these stones be taken from the roots of this mountain and placed in the building of the tower. For he knew that if these stones go into the building of the tower, they will remain shining and none of them will become dark." 3 But if he had added stones from the other mountains, he would have needed to visit the tower again and clean it. However, these stones were all found to be white, having believed and those about to believe, for they are from the same family. This family is blessed because it is innocent. 4 "Now listen about the stones that are round and shining. They all come from the white mountain. Hear why they were found to be round. Their riches made them a little dim from the truth and caused some obscurity, but they never turned away from God, and no bad word ever came from their mouths, but only fairness and the virtue of truth." 5 So when the lord saw that their minds could support the truth and remain good, he ordered their riches to be cut down a little, but not completely taken away, so they could still do some good with what was left to them and live for God, because they come from a good family. That’s why they were trimmed a little and placed in the structure of this tower.

ⅩⅩⅪ

However, the others, who stayed round and were not fitted into the structure because they hadn't received the seal yet, were put in their own place; they were found to be very round. 2 This worldliness and the vanity of their riches must be cut away from them, and then they will fit into God's kingdom. It is necessary for them to enter God's kingdom because the Lord has blessed this innocent kind. So, no one from this group will perish. Even if one of them is tempted by the wicked devil and does something wrong, they will quickly return to their Lord. 3 I consider all of you happy, as I am the messenger of repentance, whoever you are who are innocent like children, because your part is good and honored by God. 4 I tell all of you, whoever has received this seal, to be simple and not hold onto offenses, nor remain in your malice or memories of bitterness. Become one in spirit and mend these bad divisions and remove them from among you, so that the Lord of the flock will rejoice because of this. 5 He will rejoice if everything is found to be sound, and none of them have fallen away. But if any of them are found to have fallen away, woe to the shepherds. 6 But if even the shepherds themselves are found to have fallen away, what will they say to the master of the flock? That they fell away because of the sheep? They will not be believed, for it is unbelievable that a shepherd would suffer something because of the sheep. Rather, they will be punished for their lies. And I am a shepherd, and I must give a very strong account concerning you.

ⅩⅩⅫ

So, fix yourselves while the tower is still being built. 2 The Lord lives in people who love peace; for peace is very dear to Him. But from those who are quarrelsome and lost in wickedness, He stays far away. So, give Him a pure spirit, just as you received it. 3 If you give a new, whole garment to a launderer and you want to get it back whole again, but the launderer returns it to you torn, would you accept it? Wouldn't you immediately get angry and scold him, saying: I gave you a whole garment; why have you torn it and made it useless? And because of the tear you made, it cannot be used. Wouldn't you say all these things to the launderer about the tear he made in your garment? 4 If you feel so bad about your garment and complain that you didn't get it back whole, what do you think the Lord will do to you, who gave you a whole spirit, and you made it completely useless, so it cannot be of any use to its master? Its use became worthless because it was corrupted by you. Won't the Lord punish you with death because of this? 5 Clearly, I say, He will punish all those He finds holding onto grudges. Do not take His mercy for granted, he said, but rather honor Him for being so patient with your sins and not being like you. So, repent in a way that is helpful to you.

ⅩⅩⅩⅢ

All these things that are written above, I, the shepherd, the messenger of repentance, have shown and spoken to the servants of God. So, if you believe and listen to my words and follow them and correct your ways, you will be able to live. But if you remain in wickedness and hold onto grudges, none of you will live before God. These are all the things I had to say to you. 2 The shepherd said to me: Have you asked me everything? And I said: Yes, lord. Then why didn't you ask me about the shape of the stones in the building we completed? And I said: I forgot, lord. 3 Listen now, he said, about them. These are the ones who have heard my commands and have truly repented from their hearts. When the Lord saw that their repentance was good and pure and that they could remain in it, he ordered their past sins to be erased. These forms were their sins, and they were leveled out so they would not appear.

Ⅰ

After I had finished writing this book, that messenger who had handed me over to this shepherd came into the house where I was, sat on the bed, and the shepherd stood to the right. Then he called me and said this to me: 2 "I have handed you and your household over to this shepherd so that you can be protected by him," he said. "Yes, sir," I replied. "If you want to be protected from all trouble and cruelty and succeed in every good work and word, and possess all righteousness, then follow the commands I have given you, and you will be able to overcome all wickedness." 3 "If you keep his commands, all greed and the pleasures of this world will be under your control, and success in every good deed will follow you. Take his wisdom and humility into yourself and tell everyone that he is held in great honor and dignity by the Lord and that he has great authority and power in his duty. He alone has been given the power of repentance throughout the world. Do you think he is powerful? But you despise his wisdom and the respect he has for you."

Ⅱ

I said to him, "Ask him, sir, since he has been in my house, if I have done anything out of order that might have offended him." 2 And he said, "I know you have done nothing out of order and will not do so. That is why I am telling you this, so you can continue. He has thought well of you here with me. You should tell these words to others so that those who have repented or will repent feel the same as you, and he will speak well of them with me, and I with the Lord." 3 And I said, "Sir, I tell everyone about the great deeds of the Lord. I hope that all who have sinned before, if they hear this, will gladly repent and regain their lives." 4 "So continue in this service and complete it," he said. "Whoever follows these commands will have life and great honor with the Lord. But those who do not keep these commands flee from their life and oppose Him; they do not follow His orders and give themselves to death, becoming guilty of their own blood. But I tell you, keep these commands, and you will have a remedy for sins."

Ⅲ

"I sent these virgins to stay with you because I saw they are friendly to you. They will help you keep these commands better; it is not possible to follow these commands without them. I see they are happy to be with you, and I will tell them not to leave your house at all." 2 "Just keep your house clean; they will gladly stay in a clean house. They are pure, chaste, and hardworking, and they all have grace with the Lord. So, if they find your house pure, they will stay with you. But if any little impurity happens, they will immediately leave because these virgins do not tolerate any impurity at all." 3 I said to him, "I hope, Lord, that I will please them so that they will always gladly live in my house. Just as the one you gave me does not blame me, they will not blame me either." 4 The shepherd said, "I know that the servant of God wants to live and will keep these commands and keep the virgins in purity." 5 After saying this, the shepherd handed me over again and, calling the virgins, said to them, "Since I see you gladly live in his house, I entrust him and his house to you, so do not leave his home at all." They gladly listened to these words.

Ⅳ

Then he said to me, "Be brave in this service, tell everyone about the great deeds of the Lord, and you will find favor in this ministry. Whoever follows these commands will live and be happy in their life; but whoever neglects them will not live and will be unhappy in their life." 2 Tell everyone not to stop, whoever can do good; doing good deeds is useful for them. However, I say that every person should be rescued from hardships. For the one who is in need and suffers daily troubles is in great torment and necessity. 3 Therefore, whoever rescues a soul from necessity gains great joy for themselves. For the one troubled by such hardship suffers the same torment as someone in chains. Many people, because of such calamities, when they cannot bear them, bring death upon themselves. So, whoever knows of such a person's distress and does not rescue them, commits a great sin and becomes guilty of their blood. 4 So, do good deeds, whoever has received from the Lord, so that while you delay, the building of the tower is not finished. Because of you, the construction has been paused. Unless you hurry to do right, the tower will be completed, and you will be left out. 5 After he spoke with me, he got up from the bed and, taking the shepherd and the maidens, went away, saying to me that he would send the shepherd and the maidens back to my house.