name’s sake; and you have yet much to accomplish before you can sit with them. But abide
as you now do in your simplicity, and you will sit with them, and with all who do their deeds
and bear what they have borne.”
Chap. II.
“What have they borne?” said I. “Listen,” said she: “scourges, prisons, great tribulations,
crosses, wild beasts,84 for God’s name’s sake. On this account is assigned to them the division
of sanctification on the right hand, and to every one who shall suffer for God’s name: to the
rest is assigned the division on the left. But both for those who sit on the right, and those
who sit on the left, there are the same gifts and promises; only those sit on the right, and
have some glory. You then are eager to sit on the right with them, but your shortcomings
are many. But you will be cleansed from your shortcomings; and all who are not given to
doubts shall be cleansed from all their iniquities up till this day.” Saying this, she wished to
go away. But falling down at her feet, I begged her by the Lord that she would show me the
vision which she had promised to show me. And then she again took hold of me by the
hand, and raised me, and made me sit on the seat to the left; and lifting up a splendid rod,85
she said to me, “Do you see something great?” And I say, “Lady, I see nothing.” She said to
me, “Lo! do you not see opposite to you a great tower, built upon the waters, of splendid
square stones?” For the tower was built square86 by those six young men who had come
with her. But myriads of men were carrying stones to it, some dragging them from the
depths, others removing them from the land, and they handed them to these six young men.
They were taking them and building; and those of the stones that were dragged out of the
depths, they placed in the building just as they were: for they were polished and fitted exactly
into the other stones, and became so united one with another that the lines of juncture could
not be perceived.87 And in this way the building of the tower looked as if it were made out
of one stone. Those stones, however, which were taken from the earth suffered a different
fate; for the young men rejected some of them, some they fitted into the building, and some
they cut down, and cast far away from the tower. Many other stones, however, lay around
the tower, and the young men did not use them in building; for some of them were rough,
others had cracks in them, others had been made too short,88 and others were white and
round, but did not fit into the building of the tower. Moreover, I saw other stones thrown
far away from the tower, and falling into the public road; yet they did not remain on the
84 [Heb. xi. 36, 37]
85 [Rev. xi. 1.]
86 [Rev. xxi. 16.]
87 [1 Kings vi. 7; 1 Pet. ii. 4–8. The apostle interprets his own name,—shows Christ to be the Rock, himself
a stone laid upon the foundation, by which also all believers are made lively stones, like the original Cephas.]
88 Others had been made too short, not in Vat.
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Vision Third. Concerning the Building of the Triumphant Church, and the…