After I had written down the commandments and parables of the shepherd, the angel of repentance, he came to me and said to me: "I want to show you all that the Holy Spirit showed you, the Spirit that spoke with you in the form of the Church; for that Spirit is the Son of God."
"For since you were weaker in the flesh, it was not made clear to you through an angel. But when you were strengthened through the Spirit and grew strong in your strength, so that you were able even to see an angel, then indeed the building of the tower was revealed to you through the Church; you beheld all things beautifully and reverently, as from a virgin. But now you see it from an angel, though through the same Spirit."
"But you must learn everything from me more accurately. For it was for this purpose that I too was given by the glorious angel to dwell in your house, so that you might see all things mightily, in no way fearful as before."
And he led me away into Arcadia, to a certain breast-shaped mountain, and seated me on the top of the mountain, and showed me a great plain, and around the plain twelve mountains, each of the mountains having a different appearance.
the fourth had half-withered vegetation, the upper parts of the plants being green but the parts near the roots dry; and some of the plants, when the sun had scorched them, became dry;
the fifth mountain had green vegetation but was rugged. The sixth mountain was altogether full of cracks, some small and some large; the cracks had vegetation, but the plants were not very flourishing, but rather as if withered.
The seventh mountain had cheerful vegetation, and the whole mountain was thriving, and every kind of cattle and birds fed upon that mountain; and the more the cattle and the birds grazed, the more and more the vegetation of that mountain flourished. The eighth mountain was full of springs, and every kind of the Lord's creation drank from the springs of that mountain.
The ninth mountain had no water at all and was entirely desolate. It had in it wild beasts and deadly reptiles that destroyed people. The tenth mountain had very great trees and was entirely shady, and under the shelter of the trees sheep lay resting and chewing the cud.
The eleventh mountain was very thickly wooded, and those trees were laden with fruit, adorned with all kinds of fruit, so that anyone seeing them would desire to eat of their fruit. And the twelfth mountain was entirely white, and its appearance was cheerful; and the mountain was most beautiful in itself.
In the middle of the plain he showed me a great white rock that had risen up out of the plain. The rock was higher than the mountains, four-square, so that it could contain the whole world.
That rock was ancient, having a gate hewn out of it; but the carving of the gate seemed to me to be recent. And the gate so shone, beyond the sun, that I marveled at the brightness of the gate.
And around the gate stood twelve virgins. The four standing at the corners seemed to me to be more glorious; and the others too were glorious. They stood at the four sides of the gate, two virgins between each pair.
They were clothed in linen tunics and were becomingly girded, having their right shoulders bared as though about to carry some burden. So ready were they; for they were very cheerful and eager.
After I had seen these things, I marveled within myself, that I was beholding great and glorious things. And again I was perplexed about the virgins, that, being so delicate, they stood manfully as though about to carry the whole heaven.
And the shepherd said to me: "Why do you reason within yourself and are perplexed and draw grief upon yourself? For whatever you cannot understand, do not attempt, being a man of understanding, but ask the Lord, so that, receiving understanding, you may comprehend them."
"You cannot see what is behind you, but you do see what is before you. So leave alone what you cannot see, and do not torment yourself; but over what you do see, gain mastery, and do not busy yourself about the rest. I will explain to you everything that I shall show you. So fix your gaze on the rest."
I saw six men come, tall and glorious and alike in appearance; and they summoned a great multitude of men. And those who came were also tall men, handsome and powerful; and the six men ordered them to build a certain tower upon the rock. And there was a great commotion of those men who had come to build the tower, as they ran here and there around the gate.
And the virgins standing around the gate told the men to hasten to build the tower; and the virgins had stretched out their hands as though about to receive something from the men.
And the six men ordered stones to come up out of a certain deep and to go into the building of the tower. And there came up ten square stones, bright, unhewn.
And the six men called the virgins and ordered them to carry all the stones that were to go into the building of the tower, and to pass through the gate and to hand them to the men who were to build the tower.
And just as they had taken their stand together around the gate, so those who seemed to be strong carried the stones and had crept in under the corners of the stone. And the others crept in under the sides of the stone, and so they carried all the stones; and they brought them through the gate, as they were ordered, and handed them to the men for the tower; and those men, taking the stones, built.
Now the building of the tower was made upon the great rock and above the gate. So those ten stones were fitted together and filled the whole rock; and they became the foundation of the building of the tower; and the rock and the gate were supporting the whole tower.
And after the ten stones, others came up out of the deep, twenty stones; and these were fitted into the building of the tower, being carried by the virgins as also the former ones were. And after these came up thirty-five, and these likewise were fitted into the tower. And after these forty more stones came up, and all these were put into the building of the tower; so there came to be four rows in the foundations of the tower.
And the stones ceased coming up out of the deep; and the builders too ceased for a little while. And again the six men commanded the multitude of the crowd to bring stones from the mountains into the building of the tower.
So they were brought in from all the mountains, hewn into various colors by the men, and handed to the virgins; and the virgins carried them through the gate and gave them up for the building of the tower. And when the variously colored stones were set into the building, they all became white alike and changed their varied colors.
But some stones were handed in by the men for the building and did not turn bright; rather, just as they were set in, such they were found to be, for they had not been handed over by the virgins nor carried through the gate. These stones, therefore, were unseemly in the building of the tower.
When the six men saw the unseemly stones in the building, they ordered them to be taken up and carried down to their own place, from which they had been brought.
And they said to the men who were bringing in the stones: "Do not by any means hand any stones into the building yourselves; rather, lay them beside the tower, so that the virgins may carry them through the gate and hand them up for the building. For," they said, "unless they are carried through the gate by the hands of these virgins, their colors cannot be changed. Do not labor, then," they said, "in vain."
And the building was carried on that day, but the tower was not finished, for it was to be built up again; and there came a pause in the building. The six men ordered all the builders to withdraw a little and to rest; but they commanded the virgins not to withdraw from the tower. It seemed to me that the virgins were left behind to guard the tower.
After all had withdrawn and rested, I said to the shepherd: "Why is it, sir," I said, "that the building of the tower was not completed?" "The tower cannot yet be finished," he said, "unless its lord comes and inspects this building, so that, if any stones be found rotten, he may change them; for the tower is built according to his will."
"I should like, sir," I said, "to know concerning this tower what this building is, and about the rock and the gate and the mountains and the virgins and the stones that came up out of the deep and were not hewn, but went just as they were into the building;
and why first stones were laid in the foundations, then twenty, then thirty-five, then forty; and about the stones that had gone into the building and were again taken up and laid aside in their own place. Concerning all these things give rest to my soul, sir, and make them known to me."
"If," he said, "you are not found to be one given to idle curiosity, you shall know all things; for after a few days we shall come here, and you will see the rest of what is to befall this tower, and you will know all the parables accurately."
And after a few days we came to the place where we had sat, and he said to me: "Let us go to the tower; for the master of the tower is coming to examine it." And we came to the tower; and there was no one at all by it except the virgins alone.
And the shepherd asked the virgins whether the lord of the tower had perhaps already arrived. And they said that he was about to come to examine the building.
And the six men who had charge of the building walked with him on his right and on his left, and all who had labored in the building were with him, and many other glorious ones round about him. And the virgins who were guarding the tower ran up and kissed him, and began to walk near him around the tower.
And that man examined the building carefully, so that he felt each single stone; and holding a rod in his hand, he struck each one of the stones that had been built in.
And when he struck them, some of them became black as soot, some scabby, some cracked, some stunted, some neither white nor black, some rough and not matching the other stones, and some with many spots: these were the varieties of the stones found rotten in the building.
And the builders asked him from which mountain he wished stones to be brought and put in their place. And he did not order them to be brought from the mountains, but from a certain plain that was near by he ordered them to be brought.
And the plain was dug up, and bright square stones were found, and some round ones too. And as many stones as there were in that plain, all were brought, and were carried through the gate by the virgins.
And the square stones were hewn and laid in the place of those that had been removed; but the round ones were not laid in the building, because they were hard to hew and the work went slowly. They were laid beside the tower, as though they were to be hewn and set into the building; for they were exceedingly bright.
When the glorious man, the lord of the whole tower, had finished these things, he summoned the shepherd and handed over to him all the stones lying beside the tower, those that had been cast out of the building, and said to him:
"Carefully clean these stones and set into the building of the tower those that are able to fit with the rest; but those that do not fit, throw far away from the tower."
Having given these orders to the shepherd, he departed from the tower with all those with whom he had come; but the virgins stood round about the tower, guarding it.
I said to the shepherd: "How can these stones, having been rejected, go into the building of the tower?" He answered me, saying: "Do you see these stones?" "I see them, sir," I said. "I," he said, "will hew the greater part of these stones and put them into the building, and they will fit with the rest of the stones."
"How, sir," I said, "when they have been cut down, can they fill the same space?" He answered me: "Those that are found to be small will be put into the middle of the building, but those that are larger will be set on the outside and will hold them together."
Having said these things to me, he said: "Let us go, and after two days let us come and clean these stones and put them into the building; for all the area around the tower must be cleansed, lest the master come suddenly and find the surroundings of the tower foul and be displeased, and so these stones not go into the building of the tower, and I be thought negligent in the master's sight."
And after two days we came to the tower, and he said to me: "Let us examine all the stones and see which are able to go into the building." I said to him: "Sir, let us examine them."
And beginning first, we examined the black stones. And just as they had been removed from the building, such they were found to be. And the shepherd ordered them to be carried away from the tower and set apart.
Then he examined the scabby ones, and taking many of them he hewed them, and ordered the virgins to lift them and put them into the building. And the virgins lifted them and set them into the building of the tower, in the middle. The rest he ordered to be laid with the black ones; for these too were found to be black.
Then he examined those that had cracks; and of these too he hewed many and ordered them to be carried by the virgins into the building; and they were set on the outside, because they were found to be sounder. But the rest, because of the multitude of their cracks, could not be hewn; for this reason, therefore, they were cast out of the building of the tower.
Then he examined the stunted ones, and many among them were found to be black, and some had developed large cracks; and he ordered these too to be laid with the rejected ones. But those of them that were left over, after he had cleaned and hewn them, he ordered to be set into the building. And the virgins lifted them and fitted them into the middle of the building of the tower; for they were rather weak.
Then he examined those that were half white and half black, and many of them were found to be black. He ordered these too to be taken up with the rejected ones. But all the rest were lifted up by the virgins; for being white they were fitted by the virgins themselves into the building, and were set on the outside, because they were found to be sound, so as to be able to hold together those set in the middle; for in no way was any part of them stunted.
Then he examined the rough and hard ones, and few of them were cast out because they could not be hewn; for they were found to be exceedingly hard. But the rest of them were hewn and lifted up by the virgins and fitted into the middle of the building of the tower; for they were rather weak.
Then he examined those that had spots, and of these a very few had turned black and were cast out with the rest. But those that remained were found to be bright and sound; and these were fitted by the virgins into the building, and were set on the outside because of their strength.
Then he came to examine the white, round stones, and said to me: "What shall we do about these stones?" "How should I know, sir?" I said. "Do you have no idea, then, about them?"
"I, sir," I said, "do not have this craft, nor am I a stonecutter, nor can I understand it." "Do you not see," he said, "that they are very round? And if I wish to make them square, much must be cut away from them; yet some of them must of necessity be set into the building."
"If, then, sir," I said, "it is necessary, why do you torment yourself, and not choose for the building those you wish and fit them into it?" He chose out of them the larger and brighter ones and hewed them; and the virgins lifted them and fitted them into the outer parts of the building.
But the rest that were left over were taken up and laid back in the plain from which they had been brought; yet they were not cast away. "Because," he said, "the tower still lacks a little to be built; and the master of the tower wishes all these stones to be fitted into the building, for they are exceedingly bright."
Then twelve women were summoned, most beautiful in form, clothed in black, girded and with their shoulders bare, and with their hair loose; these women seemed to me to be wild. And the shepherd ordered them to lift the stones that had been cast out of the building and to carry them away to the mountains from which they had also been brought.
And they cheerfully lifted and carried away all the stones and laid them where they had been taken from. And after all the stones had been removed and no stone any longer lay around the tower, the shepherd said to me: "Let us go around the tower and see whether there is any defect in it." And I went around it with him.
And when the shepherd saw that the tower was beautiful in its building, he was exceedingly glad; for the tower was so built that, when I saw it, I longed for its construction. For it was built as if of a single stone, without having a single joint in itself. And the stone appeared as though hewn out of the rock; for it seemed to me to be a single stone.
And I, walking with him, was glad to see such good things. And the shepherd said to me: "Go and bring lime and fine potsherd, that I may fill in the impressions of the stones that have been removed and put into the building; for all the area around the tower must be made smooth."
And I did as he ordered, and brought them to him. "Help me," he said, "and the work will soon be finished." So he filled in the impressions of the stones that had gone into the building, and ordered the area around the tower to be swept and made clean.
And the virgins took brooms and swept, and removed all the rubbish from the tower and sprinkled water; and the place became cheerful and most beautiful for the tower.
The shepherd said to me: "All has now been cleansed," he said; "if the lord comes to visit the tower, he will have nothing to blame in us." Having said this, he wished to go away.
But I laid hold of his bag and began to adjure him by the Lord that he would explain to me what he had shown me. He said to me: "I have a little time to spare, and I will explain everything to you; wait for me here until I come."
I said to him: "Sir, being here alone, what shall I do?" "You are not alone," he said; "for these virgins are with you." "Hand me over, then," I said, "to them." The shepherd called them and said to them: "I entrust this man to you until I come"; and he went away.
And I was alone with the virgins; and they were quite cheerful and kindly disposed toward me, especially the four who were the more glorious among them.
The virgins said to me: "The shepherd is not coming here today." "What, then," I said, "shall I do?" "Wait for him until evening," they said; "and if he comes, he will speak with you, but if he does not come, you shall remain here with us until he comes."
I said to them: "I will wait for him until evening; but if he does not come, I will go away to my house and return early in the morning." But they answered and said to me: "You were handed over to us; you cannot withdraw from us."
"Where, then," I said, "shall I stay?" "With us," they said, "you shall sleep as a brother, and not as a husband; for you are our brother, and from now on we are to dwell with you, for we love you very much." But I was ashamed to stay with them.
And she who seemed to be the first among them began to kiss me and to embrace me; and the others, seeing her embracing me, also began to kiss me and to lead me around the tower and to play with me.
And I became as it were younger, and I myself also began to play with them: for some were dancing, some were leaping, some were singing; while I, keeping silence, walked with them around the tower and was glad with them.
And when evening came, I wished to go away to my house; but they would not let me, and held me back. So I remained with them through the night and slept beside the tower.
For the virgins spread their linen tunics on the ground and laid me down in the midst of them, and they did nothing at all except pray; and I prayed unceasingly with them, and no less than they. And the virgins rejoiced that I prayed thus. And I remained there with the virgins until the next day, until the second hour.
Then the shepherd came, and said to the virgins: "Have you done him any wrong?" "Ask him," they said. I said to him: "Sir, I was glad to have stayed with them." "What," he said, "did you have for supper?" "I supped, sir," I said, "on the words of the Lord all night long." "Did they treat you well?" he said. "Yes, sir," I said.
"Now," he said, "what do you wish to hear first?" "As you showed me from the beginning, sir," I said; "I ask you, sir, that just as I question you, so you may also explain to me." "As you wish," he said, "so I will also expound to you, and will hide nothing at all from you."
"First of all, sir," I said, "make this clear to me: who is the rock and the gate?" "This rock," he said, "and the gate are the Son of God." "How, sir," I said, "is the rock old, but the gate new?" "Listen," he said, "and understand, you without understanding."
"The Son of God is older than all his creation, so that he was the Father's counselor in his creation; for this reason also the rock is old." "But why is the gate new, sir?" I said.
"Because," he said, "he was manifested in the last days of the consummation; for this reason the gate became new, so that those who are to be saved might enter through it into the kingdom of God."
"Did you see," he said, "the stones that came in through the gate and were put into the building of the tower, but those that did not come in were cast out again into their own place?" "I saw them, sir," I said. "Thus," he said, "no one shall enter into the kingdom of God unless he receives his holy name."
For if you wish to enter a certain city, and that city is walled all around and has but one gate, can you possibly enter that city except through the gate it has? "How could it be otherwise, sir?" I said. "If, then, you cannot enter the city except through the gate it has, so too," he said, "a man cannot enter the kingdom of God in any other way than through the name of his beloved Son."
"Did you see," he said, "the crowd building the tower?" "I saw it, sir," I said. "Those," he said, "are all glorious angels; by these the Lord is walled about. And the gate is the Son of God; this is the one entrance to the Lord. No one, therefore, shall come in to him in any other way than through his Son."
"Did you see," he said, "the six men, and in their midst the glorious and great man who walked about the tower and rejected the stones from the building?" "I saw them, sir," I said.
"The glorious man," he said, "is the Son of God, and those six glorious ones are the angels who support him on the right and the left. None of these glorious angels," he said, "comes in to God apart from him; whoever does not receive his name shall not enter the kingdom of God."
"And these virgins, who are they?" "These," he said, "are holy spirits; and in no other way can a man be found in the kingdom of God unless they clothe him with their garment. For if you receive only the name, but do not receive the garment from them, it profits you nothing; for these virgins are the powers of the Son of God. If you bear the name but do not bear his power, you will be bearing his name in vain."
"And the stones," he said, "which you saw cast away—these bore the name, but did not put on the clothing of the virgins." "What is their clothing, sir?" I said. "The very names," he said, "are their clothing. Whoever bears the name of the Son of God ought also to bear the names of these virgins; for the Son himself bears the names of these virgins."
"As many stones as you saw entering into the building of the tower, handed in through their hands and remaining in the building—these are clothed with the power of these virgins."
"For this reason you see the tower has become of a single stone with the rock. So also those who have believed in the Lord through his Son and are clothed with these spirits will become one spirit, one body, and the colour of their garments will be one. And the dwelling of such, who bear the names of the virgins, is in the tower."
"Then, sir," I said, "why were the rejected stones cast away? For they too passed through the gate, and were placed in the building of the tower by the hands of the virgins." "Since everything matters to you," he said, "and you inquire so carefully, hear concerning the rejected stones."
"These all," he said, "received the name of the Son of God, and received also the power of these virgins. Having therefore received these spirits, they were strengthened and were with the servants of God, and they had one spirit and one body and one garment; for they were of one mind and worked righteousness."
"But after some time they were seduced by the women whom you saw clothed in black garments, with their shoulders bare and their hair loose, and beautiful. Seeing these, they desired them and put on their power, and stripped off the garment and the power of the virgins."
"These, then, were cast out from the house of God and handed over to those women; but those who were not deceived by the beauty of these women remained in the house of God. You have," he said, "the explanation of the rejected ones."
"What then, sir," I said, "if these men, being such as they are, repent and cast off the desires of these women, and turn back to the virgins, and walk in their power and in their works—shall they not enter into the house of God?"