Christ’s soul must needs descend into hell, before it ascended into heaven. So must also the soul of man. But mark ye in what manner this cometh to pass. When a man truly Perceiveth and considereth himself, who and what he is, and findeth himself utterly vile and wicked, and unworthy of all the comfort and kindness that he hath ever received from God, or from the creatures, he falleth into such a deep abasement and despising of himself, that he thinketh himself unworthy that the earth should bear him, and it seemeth to him reasonable that all creatures in heaven and earth should rise up against him and avenge their Creator on him, and should punish and torment him; and that he were unworthy even of that. And it seemeth to him that he shall be eternally lost and damned, and a footstool to all the devils in hell, and that this is right and just and all too little compared to his sins which he so often and in so many ways hath committed against God his Creator. And therefore also he will not and dare not desire any consolation or release, either from God or from any creature that is in heaven or on earth; but he is willing to be unconsoled and unreleased, and he doth not grieve over his condemnation and sufferings; for they are right and just, and not contrary to God, but according to the will of God. Therefore they are right in his eyes, and he hath nothing to say against them. Nothing grieveth him but his own guilt and wickedness; for that is not right and is contrary to God, and for that cause he is grieved and troubled in spirit. This is what is meant by true repentance for sin. And he who in this Present time entereth into this hell, entereth afterward into the Kingdom of Heaven, and obtaineth a foretaste there of which excelleth all the delight and joy which he ever hath had or could have in this present time from temporal things. But whilst a man is thus in hell, none may console him, neither God nor the creature, as it is written, “In hell there is no redemption.”11 Of this state hath one said, “Let me perish, let me die! I live without hope; from within and from without I am condemned, let no one pray that I may be released.” Now God hath not forsaken a man in this hell, but He is laying His hand upon him, that the man may not desire nor regard anything but the Eternal Good only, and may come to know that that is so noble and passing good, that none can search out or express its bliss, consolation and joy, peace, rest and satisfaction. And then, when the man neither careth for, nor seeketh, nor desireth, anything but the Eternal Good alone, and seeketh not himself, nor his own things, but the honour of God only, he is made a partaker of all manner of joy, bliss, peace, rest and consolation, and so the man is henceforth in the Kingdom of Heaven. This hell and this heaven are two good, safe ways for a man in this present time, and happy is he who truly findeth them. For this hell shall pass away, But Heaven shall endure for aye.

Now behold, thou beloved Soul, who art dearly redeemed by thy Saviour Jesus Christ, with his Entrance into the Humanity, and with his Entrance in the...

Now there must be striving here in the poor Soul, for it stands in the Midst. Christ offers it the new Garment, and the Devil presents the Garment of ...

The Parents shall no more think of their wicked Children that are in Hell, nor the Children of their Parents; for all shall be in Perfection, and that...

And, therefore, whoso will travail in this work, let him first cleanse his conscience; and afterward when he hath done that in him is lawfully, let hi...

We read in the Gospels that Our Lord fed many people with five loaves and two fishes. Speaking parabolically, we may say that the first loaf...

O thou blind Mind, with thy Might and Stateliness, full of Wickedness and devilish fierce Wrath, [wilt thou know where thou art after that thy Body...

And now the Soul of Christ came with the Light of God into the Anger; and then the Devils trembled, for the Light took the Anger captive, and the Fath...

And it is all vain and idle [which is said] concerning Purgatory, as the Wolf of the Whore's Beast feigns [or conceits], for it is well known, that af...

Beloved Reason, do not like those that are blind concerning God, who say, the Soul [of Christ] went away from the Body down into Hell into the Earth, ...

And into the heaven they shall not ascend, And on the earth they shall not come: Such shall be the lot of the sinners Who have denied the name of the ...

As also all Words (both the evil and the good) which were here spoken by a human Tongue, they continue standing in the Shadow and figured Similitude,...

He, then, who has received the forgiveness of sins ought to sin no more. For, in addition to the first and only repentance from sins (this is from...

And now when Death comes and separates the Body and Soul asunder, then the poor Soul hangs by a Thread [of Faith,] and will not let go; and yet its Es...

Behold, we understand by Jerusalem the Paradise, and by the Way to Jericho the Going forth out of Paradise into this World, where then the World...

The earnest Gate of the Purgatory.

Now if thou art holy, then, as to thy soul, thou art with God in heaven; but if thou art wicked, then, as to thy soul, thou art in hellfire. Now...

Besides, the Kingdom of Hell, and of [fierce] Wrath, always gape after the Soul, and set their Jaws wide open to devour the captive Soul; which is...

Now to know is more than to believe, as to be dignified with the highest honour after being saved is a greater thing than being saved. Accordingly...

"If that man [then] transgresseth and is in divers sins, from that moment onwards ye are not to forgive him nor to receive his repentance; but let...

And in such a manner heaven and earth are his; also in such a manner all the devils, together with all wicked men, must be his eternal prisoners; and ...