(67) But those waters shall in those days serve for the kings and the mighty and the exalted, and those who dwell on the earth, for the healing of the body, but for the punishment of the spirit; now their spirit is full of lust, that they may be punished in their body, for they have denied the Lord of Spirits and see their punishment daily, and yet believe not in His name.

(17) Therefore must Christ in his Temptation overcome the Kingdom of the Anger, and this external Birth; and by his Entrance into Death, he broke the Head of the Serpent, viz. the Devil, and all Devils, and took them captive. Thou must understand it thus; That the inward Element (which comprises the whole Body of this World) became Christ's eternal Body; for the whole Deity, in the Word and the Heart of God, entered thereinto, and espoused itself to remain therein to all Eternity; and this same Deity became a Creature, even such a Creature as can be everywhere, as the Deity itself; and this same Creature has captivated all Devils in the Kingdom of this World. And all Men who with their Mind draw near to this Christ, and desire him in right Earnest, they are drawn by the Spirit of the Father, (viz. of the clear and pure Deity) into the Humanity of Christ, that is, into the pure Element before the Trinity. And if they continue steadfast, and do not again depart from God into the Desire of the Devil, then the precious Pearl, viz. the Light of God, is sown in their Soul, which [Light] attracts to itself the precious Body of Jesus Christ, with Paradise, and the Kingdom of Heaven. And thus the right new man (Christus) grows on the Soul in the heavenly Virgin of God's Wisdom, in the Holy Ternary, in the Kingdom of Heaven. And thus such a Man is according to the new Man in Heaven in the Body of Jesus Christ, and as to the old earthly Man, which hangs unto the holy [Man,] he is in this World in the House of Sin, and the Deity actuates the new Humanity, and the Spirit of this World the old, until he puts him off in Death; for he is a Man in Heaven, born in the Mercy of God in the Body of Jesus Christ.

(90) Though the Devil and this World rage and rave against this, yet it is nevertheless the Ground of Truth, highly known in the Wonders of God, and not from the Fables or Suppositions, such as the proud seeming holy or hypocritical World now ground their Babble upon, about the Cup of Jesus Christ, for the advancing of their Pomp and Haughtiness, their own Honour and supposed Wisdom, for their Pleasure, and the filling of their Bellies, like the proud Bride in Babylon, who rides upon the evil Beast, which devours the Miserable; therefore thus saith the Spirit against Babel in the Confusion, / have spewed thee out; in the Time of the Wrath, thou shalt drink of the Cup of thy Pride, and thy Source [or Torment] shall rise up in Eternity. Of the Voice of God in the Garden of Eden, and the Conference between God and those two, about Sin.

(1) Upon the margin of a lofty bank Which great rocks broken in a circle made, We came upon a still more cruel throng; And there, by reason of the horrible Excess of stench the deep abyss throws out, We drew ourselves aside behind the cover Of a great tomb, whereon I saw a writing, Which said: "Pope Anastasius I hold, Whom out of the right way Photinus drew." "Slow it behoveth our descent to be, So that the sense be first a little used To the sad blast, and then we shall not heed it." The Master thus; and unto him I said, "Some compensation find, that the time pass not Idly;" and he: "Thou seest I think of that. My son, upon the inside of these rocks," Began he then to say, "are three small circles, From grade to grade, like those which thou art leaving. They all are full of spirits maledict; But that hereafter sight alone suffice thee, Hear how and wherefore they are in constraint. Of every malice that wins hate in Heaven, Injury is the end; and all such end Either by force or fraud afflicteth others.

(4) Mine eyes he loosed, and said: "Direct the nerve Of vision now along that ancient foam, There yonder where that smoke is most intense." Even as the frogs before the hostile serpent Across the water scatter all abroad, Until each one is huddled in the earth. More than a thousand ruined souls I saw, Thus fleeing from before one who on foot Was passing o'er the Styx with soles unwet. From off his face he fanned that unctuous air, Waving his left hand oft in front of him, And only with that anguish seemed he weary. Well I perceived one sent from Heaven was he, And to the Master turned; and he made sign That I should quiet stand, and bow before him. Ah! how disdainful he appeared to me! He reached the gate, and with a little rod He opened it, for there was no resistance. "O banished out of Heaven, people despised!" Thus he began upon the horrid threshold; "Whence is this arrogance within you couched? Wherefore recalcitrate against that will, From which the end can never be cut off, And which has many times increased your pain?

(6) For the Son of Man clothed himself with their first-fruits; he went down to Hades and performed many mighty works. He raised the dead therein; and the world-rulers of darkness became envious of him, for they did not find sin in him. But he also destroyed their works from among men, so that the lame, the blind, the paralytic, the dumb, (and) the demon-possessed were granted healing. And he walked upon the waters of the sea. For this reason he destroyed his flesh from [...] which he [...]. And he became [...] salvation [...] his death ... ... (4 lines unrecoverable) ... everyone [...] how many they are! They are blind guides, like the disciples. They boarded the ship; at about thirty stadies, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. These are empty martyrs, since they bear witness only to themselves. And yet they are sick, and they are not able to raise themselves.

Then when forethought saw the messenger, she became enamored of him, but he hated her because she was in darkness. Moreover, she desired to embrace him, but she was not able. When she was unable to quench her love, she poured out her light upon the earth. From that day, that messenger was called Adam of light, which is interpreted the enlightened man of blood. And the earth upon which the light spread was called holy Adamas, which is interpreted as “the holy steel-like earth.” At that time, all the authorities began to honor the blood of the virgin, and the earth was purified because of the blood of the virgin. But especially the water was purified by the likeness of Pistis Sophia, who appeared to the chief creator in the waters. Rightly, then, has it been said, “through the waters.” Since the holy water gives life to everything, it purifies it too.

(65) Thus the Word in the holy Ternary let itself into the Earthliness, and received to it a true Soul out of the Essences of the Soul of Mary (like all other Men) in the Time, viz. in the End of three Months, not out of the holy Ternary, but our Soul; yet not our Body, wherein the Kingdom of this World and Sin did stick.

(68) So also it is with the damned [Soul,] when the Body breaks, the Soul needs no flying forth, or departing far away; it remains in that which is Outermost a without the four Elements, in the Darkness, and in the anguishing Source; its Source is [that which comes] after the Light, and its Rising [or Springing-up] is Enmity against itself, and so climbs continually aloft over the Thrones of the Deity, and finds them not, to Eternity; but it rides in its Pride aloft over the Thrones, in their own Game, with the strong Might of the Grimness; of which you shall find at large, about the Description of the last Judgment.

(86) Now when the poor Soul was thus bathed in the Water of eternal Life (out of the pure Element) which is in the Holy Ternary, that it not only enjoyed the same outwardly, but was also filled [or impregnated] therewith, as the Holy Ghost impregnated Mary in the Holy Ternary; then it stood [inclined] forward, viz. right forward towards God, and into God, as a new half generated and washed Creature, and behind it was the Anger of the Darkness in the Kingdom of this World still fast bound to it, so that it could not be wholly freed from it, except it entered into Death, and quite broke off the Kingdom of this World. Of the Temptation of Christ.

(106) And here is apparently seen the Glass of the Abyss of Hell, and [of the] eternal Despair; when the Anger of God rises up in the Source, that the Malice [and Wickedness] is made stirring, and there begins Trembling, Galling, and Crying, and Despair in itself as to God; there the Soul seeks Abstinence in the Kingdom of this World, and finds mnone; and then it leaves the Kingdom of this World also, and runs also into the Originality into the Root of the eternal Birth, and seeks Abstinence, and yet finds nothing; and then casts itself into the abominable Deep, supposing to reach the Original of the Abstinence, or the Gate of the Breaking in; but it mounts only above the Heaven, out (into the most outermost) into the fierce [wrathful, grim] Eternity.

(4) Then the savior continued and said, "O unsearchable love of the light! O bitterness of the fire that blazes in the bodies of men and in their marrow, kindling in them night and day, and burning the limbs of men and [making] their minds become drunk and their souls become deranged. [And that which is imprisoned] in them (bodies)—within males and females [by day and] night—and that moves them [powerfully, burns] secretly and visibly. For the males [move; they move upon the females] and the females upon [the males. Therefore it is] said, "Everyone who seeks the truth from true wisdom will make himself wings so as to fly, fleeing the lust that scorches the spirits of men." And he will make himself wings to flee every visible spirit." And Thomas answered, saying, "Lord, this is exactly what I am asking you about, since I have understood that you are the one who is beneficial to us, as you say." Again the savior answered and said, "Therefore it is necessary for us to speak to you, since this is the doctrine of the perfect. If, now, you desire to become perfect, you shall observe these things; if not, your name is 'Ignorant', since it is impossible for an intelligent man to dwell with a fool, for the intelligent man is perfect in all wisdom. To the fool, however, the good and bad are the same—indeed the wise man will be nourished by the truth and (Ps.1:3) "will be like a tree growing by the meandering stream"—seeing that there are some who, although having wings, rush upon the visible things, things that are far from the truth. For that which guides them, the fire, will give them an illusion of truth, [and] will shine on them with a [perishable] beauty, and it will imprison them in a dark sweetness and captivate them with fragrant pleasure. And it will blind them with insatiable lust and burn their souls and become for them like a stake stuck in their heart which they can never dislodge. And like a bit in the mouth, it leads them according to its own desire. And it has fettered them with its chains and bound all their limbs with the bitterness of the bondage of lust for those visible things that will decay and change and swerve by impulse. They have always been attracted downwards; as they are killed, they are assimilated to all the beasts of the perishable realm." Thomas answered and said, "It is obvious and has been said, '[Many are those who cry [out] to those who do not know [the repose of] [their] soul.'" And [the savior] answered, saying, "[Blessed is] the wise man who [sought after the truth, and] when he found it, he rested upon it forever and was unafraid of those who wanted to disturb him."

(29) And therefore he sent his Angel hither before him, that he should baptize with the Water of the eternal Life; for so can the eternal Body (into which the Soul must enter, and in its Tincture, in its Blood, be new-born again) be translated into the Body of Christ; to describe which, a great Deal of Room is requisite. But I will finish here briefly, and mention it more in another Book. And now we will handle the Matter of the Use [or Celebration,] for it is very hard to be apprehended by the Simple. And therefore we will deal with him after a childish Manner, to try whether he may come to see, and find the Pearl, for all shall not find what we in the Love of God have found; though indeed we could earnestly wish that all might have it, yet there is a great Matter between it; viz. the swelled puft-up Kingdom of this World and the Devil will set themselves against it, as raging Dogs, but the Smell of the Lily will make him faint; and so now we will speak as a Child.

(38) The Soul is washed in the holy Water, and the Word is presented to it, and the Soul stands in the Covenant. And now it may reach after the Pearl; although the Soul be tied backward in the Kingdom of this World, yet it stands in the Covenant notwithstanding. And if, in the unfeigned Faith of the Parents, of the Priest, and of the Standers by, it be thus washed in the Laver of Regeneration, and so passes into the Covenant, then the Devil may not touch it, till [the Time] that it understands what Evil and Good are, and enters into one of them in a free Will.

(48) Yet he sows the Pearl in his afflicting Anguish, and the Devil covers it in him, that he may not know it, neither does he know himself; he sows in the Kingdom of God, and knows not his own Seed, but the Seed of Sin, and of the Hunter. And so he consents not to the Sins which he commits; but the Devil with his Followers [or Associates] overpower him, so that the Adamical Man in the Anger does that which the new-born [Man] in the holy Element wills not; now though he does it, yet the new Man in the Image does it not, but the old Man in the Anger. And therefore there is in him a continual Strife, and he runs continually to Repentance; where yet the hidden Man in the

(50) And behold, I tell you a Mystery; as all whatsoever Adam was guilty of must stand yet [and be manifested] in this World on the Body of Christ, and must be seen in this World, so also you shall see this Temple (before the Time that the Incorruptible shall wholly swallow up the Corruptible) in the Lily in the Wonders; where the Anger opposes the Lily, till it be reconciled in Love, and till the Driver be put to open Shame (as was done also in the Death of Christ) which the Jews hope for. But their Scepter is broken, and their Life stands in the Birth of Christ; yet they come from the Ends of the World, and go out from Jericho again into the holy Jerusalem, and eat with the Lamb; this is a Wonder; but the a Driver is taken captive, and therefore we speak thus wonderfully; and at present we shall not be understood, till the Hunter is destroyed; and then our Life comes to us again, and stands in the Valley of Jehosaphat. The other Gate of the Sufferings of Christ.

(6) Far more than uselessly he leaves the shore, (Since he returneth not the same he went,) Who fishes for the truth, and has no skill; And in the world proofs manifest thereof Parmenides, Melissus, Brissus are, And many who went on and knew not whither; Thus did Sabellius, Arius, and those fools Who have been even as swords unto the Scriptures In rendering distorted their straight faces. Nor yet shall people be too confident In judging, even as he is who doth count The corn in field or ever it be ripe. For I have seen all winter long the thorn First show itself intractable and fierce, And after bear the rose upon its top; And I have seen a ship direct and swift Run o'er the sea throughout its course entire, To perish at the harbour's mouth at last. Let not Dame Bertha nor Ser Martin think, Seeing one steal, another offering make, To see them in the arbitrament divine; For one may rise, and fall the other may."

(53) And then when the poor Soul shall travel [Home,] there are great Mountains in its Way; and then thy fair Tincture will appear before the [holy] Element like a defiled Cloth; and there stands the Devil and reads the Law to you about it; and then the poor Soul quakes, and begins to doubt; and when it is to break through the bitter Gate [of the Cherubim,] then it continually fears that the fierce Anger of God shall seize upon it, [as upon hellish Brimstone,] and kindle it; as it comes to pass for certain, if it be not born anew in Christ, through earnest Repentance.

(10) Wherefore also the apostle exhorts, "that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men," who profess to persuade, "but in the power of God," which alone without proofs, by mere faith, is able to save. "For the most approved of those that are reputable knows how to keep watch. And justice will apprehend the forger and witnesses of lies," says the Ephesian. For he, having derived his knowledge from the barbarian philosophy, is acquainted with the purification by fire of those who have led bad lives, which the Stoics afterwards called the Conflagration (ekpurwsiu), in which also they teach that each will arise exactly as he was, so treating of the resurrection; while Plato says as follows, that the earth at certain periods is purified by fire and water: "There have been many destructions of men in many ways; and there shall be very great ones by fire and water; and others briefer by innumerable causes." And after a little he adds: "And, in truth, there is a change of the objects which revolve about earth and heaven; and in the course of long periods there is the destruction of the objects on earth by a great conflagration." Then he subjoins respecting the deluge: "But when, again, the gods deluge the earth to purify it with water, those on the mountains herdsmen and shepherds, are saved; those in your cities are carried down by the rivers into the sea." And we showed in the first Miscellany that the philosophers of the Greeks are called thieves, inasmuch as they have taken without acknowledgment their principal dogmas from Moses and the prophets. To which also we shall add, that the angels who had obtained the superior rank, having sunk into pleasures, told to the women the secrets which had come to their knowledge; while the rest of the angels concealed them, or rather, kept them against the coming of the Lord. Thence emanated the doctrine of providence, and the revelation of high things; and prophecy having already been imparted to the philosophers of the Greeks, the treatment of dogma arose among the philosophers, sometimes true when they hit the mark, and sometimes erroneous, when they comprehended not the secret of the prophetic allegory. And this it is proposed briefly to indicate in running over the points requiring mention. Faith, then, we say, we are to show must not be inert and alone, but accompanied with investigation. For I do not say that we are not to inquire at all. For "Search, and thou shalt find," it is said.

(13) After this Manner you may understand how he destroyed Death, by the Springing of the eternal Life in the Deity through Death; and you may understand how the new Body in the Love of God holds the eternal Source of the Anger captive, for the Love is the Prison [of the Anger,] for the Source of the Anger cannot enter into the Love, but continues only by itself, as it was from Eternity, and therein the Devils are imprisoned; for the Light of God strikes them down, they neither can nor dare behold that Light in Eternity; a Principle is between; for the Love springs forth in the Center of the Soul, and therein the Holy Trinity appears, [or shines.]