187# 第三则灵界经历
我默思启示录所载的大龙、海中兽与假先知之际，一位天使灵向我显现，问我：“你心中思索何事？”我答：“我正在思索假先知。”天使便说：“我要领你去到经文所指‘假先知’对应的灵所在之处。”他又说明，这群灵与启示录十三章“从地中上来的兽”所预表者为同一类；那兽长有两角，看似羔羊，开口说话却如同大龙。
我跟随天使前行，顷刻间望见一群灵，当中不乏教会主教。他们向来教导：唯有信靠基督之功，方能使人得救；善行虽属良善，却与救恩无干。只是圣言仍需教导行善的道理，好使平信徒，尤其是心思单纯之人，被牢牢约束在顺服掌权的秩序之中；看似出于宗教本分，内里却是驱使众人践行世俗层面的道德。
【2】这时人群中有一人看见我，开口说道：“你可愿参观我们的圣殿？殿内立有代表我们信仰的造像。”我近前观望，只见殿宇外观极其华美；殿中立有一尊妇人塑像，身着朱红衣裳，右手持一枚金币，左手握着一串珍珠。然而这座殿宇与塑像，全然是幻象所构。地狱灵只需封闭人心智的内层，仅敞开表层认知，便能借幻象营造出各样壮丽景象。
我察觉这尽是幻术，便向主祷告。转瞬之间，我心智的内层全然开启，方才华丽的圣殿霎时消散，取而代之的是一栋从上到下满是裂痕的破败屋宇，墙体梁柱互不衔接、全然松散；原先的妇人塑像，也变为悬挂屋内的恶兽偶像：头似大龙，身似豹子，脚似熊，口如狮子，完全契合启示录13:2所记载海中兽的样貌。屋中地面化为一片沼泽，沼间遍布青蛙。有灵告知我，沼泽之下压着一块巨大凿石，整本圣言全然被掩藏在这块巨石之下。
见此景象，我对那施行幻术的灵说：“这便是你们口中的圣殿吗？”他答：“正是。”话音刚落，他内在的眼目也一同开启，看见了与我相同的真相。他见状失声惊呼：“这是什么景象？从何而来？”我回应：“这是天堂之光显明的作为；天光能够穿透一切表象、辨明本质，也彻底揭露你们这套脱离属天仁爱、唯独倚靠外在功德的信仰本相。”
一阵东风骤然吹来，将幻象圣殿与塑像尽数卷去，沼泽全然干涸，那块掩埋圣言的巨石就此显露。不多时，天堂降下如春和煦的灵气，原地随即浮现一座样式简朴的帐幕。伴我同行的天使说：“你看，这便是亚伯拉罕的帐幕，也就是三位天使前来、向他宣告以撒降生之时的样式。此刻虽看似朴素简约，却会随天堂之光的持续涌入，日渐彰显属天的华美荣光。”
【3】随后，承载属灵智慧的天层向我们敞开，居于其中的天使皆完备充盈智慧。自这天层倾泻的天光，使朴素帐幕转化为一座圣殿，形制近似古耶路撒冷圣殿。我向内细看，那昔日掩埋圣言的根基石四周镶嵌各色宝石，宝石迸发闪电般的光辉映照殿墙；墙上绘有基路伯的形像，流光辗转，为其晕染出斑斓绚丽的色泽。
【4】我正为此异象惊叹，天使又说：“你还要看见更奇妙的事。”话音落下，承载属天纯爱的第三重天全然开启，此间天使皆安居于神圣纯爱之中。那火焰般的属天光辉倾泻而下，整座圣殿霎时消散，唯有主独自立在这块承载圣言的根基石上，形像与约翰在启示录第一章所见的主一致。
极致的圣洁充盈众天使心智内层，使他们心生俯伏敬拜的敬畏；主便暂时阻隔第三重天的光流，重新开启第二重天的光照，先前的圣殿与帐幕异象再度恢复，帐幕安立于圣殿正中。
这整段异象，正是阐释启示录两处经文的深层精意：“看哪，上帝的帐幕在人间，他要与人同住。”（启21:3）“我未见新耶路撒冷内有殿，因主上帝全能者和羔羊就是城的殿。”（启21:22）
187# 记事三：
有一次，当我正在沉思启示录所说的龙、兽和假先知时，一位天使灵出现在我面前，问我在沉思什么？我说：“假先知。”然后他说：“我带你去一个地方，假先知所指的人就住在那里。”他补充说，他们与启示录第十三章提到的“从地里上来、有两角如同羔羊，说话好像龙的兽”所指的人是一样的。我跟着他，瞧！我看到一大群人，中间是教会的领袖。他们教导说，除了对基督功德的信仰外，没有什么能拯救一个人；作为是好的，但无助于得救，然而仍应从圣言中被教导，以便平信徒，尤其简单人，可以更严格地服从地方官员，并仿佛从宗教，因而从里面被引导实践道德的仁爱。
这时，他们中有一个人看到我说：“你想看看我们的圣殿吗？那里有一个代表或描绘我们信仰的雕像。”我走过去一看；瞧！这座圣殿颇为壮观；在它的中心有一个女人的雕像，穿着朱红色的长袍，右手拿着一枚金币，左手拿着一串珍珠。但这雕像和圣殿都是通过幻觉产生的；因为地狱灵能通过幻觉来代表或描绘壮观的东西，是通过关闭心智的内层，只打开心智的外层做到的。然而，当我意识到这些东西都是这种把戏时，就向主祷告；突然，我心智的内层打开了，然后，我看到的不是宏伟的圣殿，而是从上到下布满裂缝的一座建筑，它里面的东西都摔成了碎片；我看到的也不是女人，而是挂在这座建筑里的一个像，它的头像龙，身体像豹，脚像熊，嘴像狮子，因而与启示录（13:2）所描述的从海里上来的兽一样；那里没有地板，而是一片沼泽，里面有大量青蛙。我被告知，沼泽下面有一块凿过的大石头，圣言就深藏在它下面。看到这些东西，我对那幻觉贩子说：“这就是你们的圣殿？”他说：“是的。”但突然间，他的内在视觉也打开了，他通过这内在视觉看到了我所看到的东西。于是，他大声喊道：“这是什么？这是从哪里来的？”我说：“这是由于天堂之光，这光揭开了一切外在形状的品质，从而揭开了你们那与属灵仁爱分离的信仰的品质。”
立刻就有东风刮来，将殿和像吹走了，也把沼泽吹干了，从而露出了下面放有圣言的石头。然后，一种春天般的温暖从天上吹来；看哪，在同一个地方出现了一座外形简单的帐幕。与我同在的天使们说：“看哪，亚伯拉罕的帐幕，就像三位天使来预言以撒出生的时候一样。它看起来很简单，但随着来自天堂的光向下流，它变得越来越壮观。”他们被允许打开那些处于智慧的属灵天使所住的天堂；在随后从这个天堂流下来的光中，那帐幕看起来就像耶路撒冷城的圣殿。我往里面看，发现下面存有圣言的基石四周镶嵌着宝石，一种灿烂的光辉从这些宝石中照射到墙上，墙上有基路伯的雕像，这美丽的光辉把墙壁照得色彩斑斓。
当我惊奇地注视着这些景象时，天使们说：“你会看到更奇妙的东西。”然后，他们被允许打开第三层天堂，那里住着处于爱之状态的属天天使；在随后流下来的火光中，整座圣殿完全消失了，取而代之的是唯独主出现，站在那基石，即圣言上，祂是以祂向约翰显现的形式（启示录1章）出现的。但由于那时天使们的心智内层充满一种神圣，使他们感受到一种压倒性的冲动，想俯伏在地，所以主立刻关闭了来自第三天堂的光之通道，来自第二层天堂的光之通道重新打开了，这使得圣殿和帐幕都恢复到之前的样子，但现在帐幕出现在圣殿中心。这些经历说明了启示录中这些话的意思：
看哪，神的帐幕与人同在，祂要与人同住。（启示录21:3）
又：
我未见新耶路撒冷内有殿，因主神全能者和羔羊为城的殿。（启示录21:22）
187. The third memorable occurrence. Once as I was meditating on the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet mentioned in the Book of Revelation, an angelic spirit appeared to me and asked what I was meditating on. I said, "The false prophet. "
The angelic spirit said, "I will take you to the place where the spirits meant by the false prophet are. " He added, "They are the same spirits portrayed in chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation as the beast from the earth who had two horns like a lamb, but who spoke like a dragon. "
I followed the angelic spirit. To my surprise I saw a crowd with church leaders in the center of it. The leaders were teaching that nothing saves us except faith in Christ's merit and that works are good things to do, but not for our salvation. They were also proclaiming that works need to be taught from the Word so as to put lay people, especially simple ones, on a leash so that they obey their civic leaders and feel compelled from within by religion to practice moral goodwill.
[2] Then one of them saw me and said, "Do you want to see our shrine? It has a sculpture in it that portrays our faith. "
I went and saw it. It was magnificent! In the center of the shrine there was a statue of a woman dressed in scarlet clothes. She had a gold coin in her right hand and a chain of pearls in her left.
Both the statue and the shrine, however, were projected images. Hellish spirits have the ability to portray magnificent things using projected images. They do it by closing off the inner levels of our mind and opening only its outer levels.
When I realized that the statue and the shrine were conjured up through sorcery I prayed to the Lord. Suddenly the inner levels of my mind were opened. Then instead of a magnificent shrine, I saw a house that was full of cracks from the roof all the way to the foundation. Nothing in it was solidly connected. Instead of the woman, I saw a dummy hanging in the house that had the head of a dragon, the body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion. It was exactly like the beast from the sea described in Revelation 13:2. Instead of the floor, there was a swamp that contained thousands of frogs. I was told that under the swamp there was a great hewn stone; and beneath it the Word lay deeply hidden.
Seeing this I said to the sorcerer, "Is this your shrine?"
"It is," the sorcerer said.
Just then, though, the sorcerers inner sight opened up as well. The sorcerer saw the same things I was seeing and loudly shouted, "What is this? Where did this come from?"
"It came from the light of heaven," I said, "which has disclosed the true quality of each form here, including the quality of your faith, which has been separated from spiritual goodwill. "
[3] Immediately the east wind came up and blew away the shrine with the sculpture. It dried up the swamp and exposed the stone that had the Word lying underneath it.
Then a warm, springlike breeze blew in from heaven. To my surprise I then saw a tent in that same place, a very simple one in its outer form.
Angels who were with me said, "Look, it is Abrahams tent just as it was when the three angels came to him to announce that Isaac was going to be born [, and following]. The tent looks simple to the eye, but as the light of heaven flows in, it becomes more and more magnificent. "
The angels were then granted the ability to open the heaven where spiritual angels live - the angels who have wisdom. In the light that flowed in from that heaven, the tent looked like the Temple in Jerusalem. When I looked inside, I saw that the foundation stone under which the Word had been hidden was now covered in precious stones. From the precious stones a kind of lightning was flashing across to walls that had relief's of angel guardians on them, giving the angel guardians beautifully different colors.
[4] As I was feeling awestruck by these sights, the angels said, "You are about to see things that are even more miraculous. " They were then granted the ability to open the third heaven where heavenly angels live - the angels who have love. As a result of the blazing light that flowed in from that heaven, the entire temple disappeared. In its place I saw the Lord alone, standing on the foundation stone, which was the Word. He looked much the way he had when seen by John in Revelation chapter 1.
Yet because holiness then filled the inner realms of the angels' minds so that they felt an overwhelming urge to fall forward on their faces, suddenly the channel of light from the third heaven was closed by the Lord and the channel of light from the second heaven was reopened. As a result, the earlier appearance of a temple, and also a tent, returned. The tent was in the middle of the temple.
These experiences illustrated what Revelation 21 means when it says, "Behold, the tent of God is with people, and he will dwell with them" (Revelation 21:3); and when it says, "I saw no temple in the New Jerusalem, because the Lord God Almighty is its Temple, and the Lamb" (Revelation 21:22).
187. The third experience 1 .
Once when I was meditating on the dragon, the beast and the false prophet described in Revelation, an angelic spirit appeared to me and asked: 'What are you meditating about?' 'The false prophet,' I told him. Then he said: 'I will take you to a place where those live who are meant by the false prophet.' He told me that the same people are meant in chapter 13 of Revelation by the beast from the land, which had two horns like a lamb's, and spoke like a dragon.
I followed him, and came upon a crowd surrounding some leading ecclesiastics, who taught that nothing but faith in Christ's merit confers salvation on people, and that deeds are good but do not contribute to their salvation. None the less, they said, these should be taught in accordance with the Word, so that laymen, particularly the simple, should be kept more rigorously subject to the dictates of magistrates, and thus be impelled, as if by religion and thus inwardly, to exercise ethical charity.
[2] Then one of them saw me and said: 'Would you like to see our shrine, which contains a statue representing our faith?'
I went along and looked; and there was a magnificent shrine, and inside it a statue of a woman wearing a scarlet dress, holding a gold coin in her right hand and a pearl necklace in her left. But both the statue and the shrine were imaginary, for the spirits in hell can by their imagination produce magnificent representations, by closing the interiors of the mind, and opening only its exteriors. When I realised that all this was mere conjuring, I prayed to the Lord, and the interiors of my mind were suddenly opened. Then in place of that magnificent shrine I saw a ruinous building with cracks in the walls from ceiling to floor; and in place of the woman I saw hanging in that building an image with a head like a dragon's, a body like a leopard's, feet like a bear's and a mouth like a lion's, exactly as the beast from the sea is described in Revelation 13:2. Instead of the floor there was a marsh teeming with frogs. I was told that beneath the marsh there was a great squared stone, beneath which lay the Word, deeply hidden away.
[3] On seeing this I asked the conjurer: 'Is this your shrine?' He said it was. But then suddenly his interior sight was opened, which made him see what I saw. At this sight he shouted very loudly: 'What is this? Where has it come from?' I told him that it was the result of light from heaven, which reveals the true nature of every form, and consequently the true nature of his faith separated from spiritual charity.
Immediately the east wind sprang up and blew away the shrine with its statue. It also dried up the marsh, thus laying bare the stone beneath which the Word lay. After this a warm wind, as in springtime, blew from heaven, and then in the same place was to be seen a tent, of simple external construction. The angels with me said: 'This is what Abraham's tent was like, when the three angels came to him and told him that Isaac was to be born. This may appear to view as simple, but it becomes more and more magnificent as light flows in from heaven.'
They were allowed to open the heaven where the spiritual angels are, who possess wisdom, and the light which poured in from there made that tent look like a temple such as that in Jerusalem. When I looked inside, I saw the stone base under which the Word was stored inlaid all around with precious stones. A sort of radiance was projected from these on to the walls, which were decorated with carved cherubs; and these the radiance beautifully picked out in various colours.
[4] When I admired this, the angels said: 'Now you will see something even more wonderful.' They were allowed to open the third heaven, where the celestial angels are who possess love. Then the flame-coloured light flooding in made that whole temple vanish, and in its place was to be seen the Lord alone, standing upon the stone base which was the Word, in appearance as He was seen by John (Rev. chapter 1). But because a feeling of holiness then filled the interiors of the angels' minds, causing them to long to fall on their faces, the path of light from the third heaven was suddenly blocked by the Lord, and the path for light from the second heaven was opened up, thus restoring the previous appearance of the temple, and also of the tent, but this was inside the temple. These sights provided an illustration of what is meant by the verse in Revelation:
Here is the tabernacle of God with men, and He will dwell with them, Revelation 21:3.
and also this:
I saw no temple in the New Jerusalem, for the Lord God almighty and the Lamb are its temple, Revelation 21:22.
Footnotes:
1. This section is repeated from Apocalypse Revealed 926.
187. Third Memorable Relation:
Once when I was meditating about the dragon and the beast and the false prophet spoken of in the Apocalypse, an angelic spirit appeared to me and asked, "What are you meditating about?" And I said, "About the false prophet."
Then he said, "I will take you to the place where those are who are meant by the false prophet;" and he added that they are the same as are meant in the thirteenth chapter of the Apocalypse by "the beast rising up out of the earth," which had two horns like a lamb, and which spoke like a dragon.
I followed him, and lo, I saw a great crowd, in the midst of which were leaders of the church who taught that nothing saves man but faith in the merit of Christ; and that works are good, but contribute nothing to salvation, and yet should be taught from the Word in order that the laity, especially the simple, may be held more firmly in the bonds of obedience to magistrates, and may be compelled as if from religion, and thus from within, to practice moral charity.
[2] Then one of them, seeing me, said, "Would you like to see our temple, in which there is an image representative of our faith?"
I approached and looked, and behold the temple was magnificent. In the center of it was an image of a woman clad in scarlet robes, holding in her right hand a golden coin, and in her left a chain of pearls. But both the image and the temple were produced through phantasy; for through phantasies infernal spirits are able to represent magnificent things by closing up the interiors of the mind and opening the exteriors only. When, however, I observed that these things were such juggleries, I prayed to the Lord, and immediately the interiors of my mind were opened, and then in place of a magnificent temple I saw a house full of chinks from top to bottom, tumbling all to pieces; and in place of the woman, I saw hanging within the building a figure with a head like a dragon's, a body like a leopard's, its feet like bear's feet, and its mouth like that of a lion, thus precisely like the beast described as rising up out of the sea (Revelation 13:2); and for a floor there was a bog with a multitude of frogs in it, and I was told that underneath the bog was a large hewn stone, with the Word hidden deep below it.
Seeing this I said to the juggler, "Is this your temple?" And he said, "It is."
But suddenly he, too, had his inner sight opened, and from it he saw the same things that I did, and he cried out loudly, "What is this, and whence is it?"
And I said, "It is from the light of heaven, which discloses the quality of every outward shape, and thus the quality of your faith separate from spiritual charity."
[3] And presently a wind blew up from the east and swept away the temple and the image and dried up the bog and thus laid bare the stone beneath which the Word was lying. And then a warmth like that of spring breathed upon it from heaven, and behold in the same place a tabernacle simple in outward form appeared.
And the angels who were with me said, "Behold the tabernacle of Abraham, as it was when the three angels came to him and foretold the birth of Isaac. To the eye it appears simple, but it becomes more and more magnificent according to the influx of light from heaven."
It was granted them to open the heaven occupied by spiritual angels, who are in wisdom. And at once from the light flowing in from that heaven the tabernacle appeared like a temple similar to that at Jerusalem. And when I looked inside I saw the foundation-stone under which the Word was deposited, set about with precious stones, and from these a kind of effulgence beamed upon the walls, on which were figures of cherubim, and the glow beautifully variegated the walls with colors.
[4] While I wondered at these things the angels said, "You shall see something still more wonderful." And it was granted them to open the third heaven, where celestial angels dwell who are in a state of love; and then because of the flamy light flowing in from that heaven the whole temple vanished, and in its place the Lord alone was seen standing upon the foundation-stone, which was the Word, appearing in the same form in which He appeared to John (Revelation 1). But as the interiors of the angels' minds were then filled with a holiness which impelled them to fall down upon their faces, the way by which the light came from the third heaven was immediately closed by the Lord, and a way was opened for light from the second heaven, and this caused the temple to assume its former aspect, and also the tabernacle, which was now in the center of the temple.
This was an illustration of what is meant in the Apocalypse by these words:
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them (21:3).
And by these words:
I saw no temple in the New Jerusalem, for the Lord God the Almighty is the temple thereof, and the Lamb (21:22).
187. The third experience. Once when I was meditating about the dragon, the beast and the false prophet spoken of in the Revelation, an angelic spirit appeared to me and inquired what was the subject of my meditation. I replied: "The false prophet." Then he said: "I will lead you to the place where those are who are meant by the false prophet," and he added, "they are the same as are meant in the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation by the beast rising out of the earth, which had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon." I followed him, and lo! I saw a multitude of people, and in their midst were leaders of the Church. According to their teaching nothing saves a man but faith in the merit of Christ, and works are good, though not conducive to salvation, but they must be taught from the Word, in order that the laity, particularly the simple among them, may be kept in stricter obedience to the magistrates, and be led, as from religion and thus from more interior principles, to the exercise of moral charity.
[2] Then one of them seeing me said: "Would you like to see our place of worship, in which there is an image representing our faith" "I went and looked; and lo! the temple was magnificent, and in its centre was the image of a woman, clothed in a scarlet robe, holding in her right hand a gold coin, and in her left a string of pearls. But both the image and the temple were an illusion; for infernal spirits have the power of calling up by means of illusions magnificent representations, by closing the interiors of the mind, and opening its exteriors only. When I noticed that all this was such a trick, I prayed to the Lord; and suddenly the interiors of my mind were opened, and then I saw, instead of the magnificent temple, a building rent from top to bottom, where nothing was secure. Instead of the women, I saw hanging within the building an image with its head like a dragon, its body like a leopard, its feet like those of a bear and its mouth like that of a lion, precisely like the beast rising up out of the sea as described in Revelation 13:2. Instead of a floor there was a marsh, in which was a great number of frogs; and I was told that under the marsh there was a large hewn stone, beneath which lay the Word, entirely concealed. On seeing these things I said to the illusion-monger: "Is this your place of worship?" and he replied, "It is." But suddenly his interior vision was then opened, and by it he saw what I saw. Thereupon he called out with a loud voice: "What is this, and how comes it about?" I said: "It is due to light from heaven, which reveals the quality of every form, and thus it discloses the quality of your faith, which is separated from spiritual charity."
[3] Immediately a wind blew from the east, and carried away the temple and the image, and also dried up the marsh, thus exposing the stone, beneath which lay the Word. After this a warmth like that of spring breathed from heaven; and lo! in the same place appeared a tabernacle, plain in its outward form. The angels who were with me said: "Behold the tabernacle of Abraham, as it was when the three angels came to him and foretold the birth of Isaac. It appears plain to the eye, but yet as light from heaven flows down it becomes more and more magnificent." Then they were permitted to open up the heaven where dwell spiritual angels, who excel in wisdom; and from the light which thereupon flowed down, the tabernacle appeared like the temple at Jerusalem. On looking within I saw that the foundation stone, under which the Word reposed, was set round with precious stones, from which it flashed its light like lightning upon the walls where were placed statues of cherubs, and beautifully lit them up with its iridescent beams.
[4] As I gazed with wonder at these things, the angels said: "You will now see something more wonderful still." They were then permitted to open up the third heaven, where dwell celestial angels, who excel in love; and in the flaming light which thereupon flowed down, the temple completely vanished, and in its place there appeared the Lord alone, standing upon the foundation stone, which was the Word, in appearance as He was seen by John, Revelation 1. But as the interiors of the angels' minds were then filled with a holiness which moved them to fall prostrate, the passage of light from the third heaven forthwith closed by the Lord, and that from the second heaven left open. Then the former appearance of the temple returned, and also that of the tabernacle, which, however, appeared in the centre of the temple. By this was illustrated the meaning of these words in Revelation 21:3,
"Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them;"
and also of these words:
"And I saw no temple" in the New Jerusalem: "for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it" Revelation 21:22.
187. TERTIUM MEMORABILE.
Quondam cum meditabar de Dracone, Bestia et Pseudopropheta, de quibus in Apocalypsi, apparuit mihi Spiritus Angelicus. et quaesivit, quid meditaris, et dixi, quod de Pseudopropheta; tunc ille dixit, deducam te ad locum, ubi sunt, qui per Pseudoprophetam intelliguntur, et inquiit, quod iidem sint, qui in Capite XIII Apocalypseos intelliguntur per Bestiam ex terra, quae habebat duo cornua similia Agno, et loquuta est sicut Draco. Sequutus sum illum, et ecce vidi turbam, in cujus medio erant Antistites Ecclesiae, qui docuerunt, quod nihil hominem salvet, quam Fides in meritum Christi, et quod Opera sint bona, sed non ad salutem, et quod usque docenda sint ex Verbo, ut Laici, imprimis simplices, strictus in vinculis obedientiae erga Magistratus teneantur, ac sicut ex Religione, ita interius, ad Charitatem moralem exercendam adigantur.
[2] Et tunc unus ex illis me videns dixit, vis videre nostrum Fanum, in quo est imago repraesentativa nostrae Fidei; accessi et vidi, et ecce erat magnificum, et in medio ejus imago Mulieris, indutae veste coccinea, tenentis in dextra Nummum aureum, et in sinistra Catenam ex Unionibus: sed erant et Imago et Fanum inducta per phantasiam; possunt enim Spiritus infernales per phantasias repraesentare magnifica, occludendo interiora mentis, et aperiendo solum exteriora ejus. Sed cum animadverti, quod tales praestigiae essent, oravi ad Dominum, et subito aperta sunt interiora mentis meae, et tunc vidi loco magnifici Fani Domum rimosam a tecto usque ad imum, in qua nihil cohaesit; et vidi loco Mulieris in Domo illa pendens Simulachrum, cujus Caput erat simile Draconi, Corpus simile Pardo, Pedes sicut Ursi, et Os sicut Leonis, ita prorsus sicut describitur Bestia e mari, Apocalypsis 13:2 et loco Soli erat 1 Palus, in qua multitudo ranarum: et dictum est mihi, quod sub Palude esset Lapis magnus caesus, sub quo jaceret Verbum penitus reconditum.
[3] His visis dixi ad Praestigiatorem, est hoc Fanum vestrum, et dixit, quod sit; at subito tunc aperiebatur etiam illi visus interior, ex quo vidit 2 similia quae ego; quibus visis clamavit clamore magno, quid hoc, et unde hoc; et dixi, quod sit ex luce e Coelo, quae detegit qualitatem cujusvis formae, et sic qualitatem vestrae Fidei separatae a Charitate spirituali: et illico flavit Ventus orientalis, et sustulit Fanum cum Imagine, et quoque exsiccabat Paludem, et sic nudabat Lapidem, sub quo jacuit Verbum: et post haec spiravit Calor sicut vernalis e Coelo, et ecce tunc in eodem loco visum est Tabernaculum, quoad formam externam simplex; et dicebant Angeli qui apud me erant, ecce Tabernaculum Abrahami, quale id fuit, quando tres Angeli ad illum venerunt, et annuntiarunt de Isaco nascituro; hoc apparet coram oculis simplex, sed usque fit secundum influxum lucis e Coelo plus et plus magnificum; et datum est illis aperire Coelum, in quo erant Angeli spirituales, qui in sapientia sunt, et tunc ex Luce inde influente apparebat Tabernaculum illud sicut Templum simile Hierosolymitano; quod cum introspexi, vidi Lapidem fundi, sub quo Verbum erat repostum, circum obsitum lapidibus pretiosis, e quibus sicut fulgur emicuit in parietes, super quibus erant formae cheruborum, et pulchre variegavit illos coloribus.
[4] Cum haec admiratus sum, dixerunt Angeli, videbis adhuc mirabilius, et datum est illis aperire Coelum Tertium, in quo erant Angeli coelestes, qui in amore sunt, et tunc ex Luce flammea inde influente, totum illud Templum evanuit, et loco ejus visus est Dominus Solus, stans super Lapide fundi, qui erat Verbum, in simili effigie, in qua visus est Johanni Cap. Apocalypsi 1 Apoc. At quia sanctitas tunc implevit interiora mentis Angelorum, ex qua illis fuit nisus procidendi super facies, subito obstruebatur a Domino via Lucis e Coelo tertio, et aperiebatur via Lucis e Coelo secundo, ex quo rediit aspectus prior Templi, et quoque Tabernaculi, sed hoc in medio Templi. Ex his illustratum est, quid intelligitur in Apocalypsis 21, per hoc, Ecce Tabernaculum Dei cum hominibus, et habitabit cum illis, Vers. 3; et per hoc, Templum non vidi in Nova Hierosolyma, quia Dominus Deus Omnipotens Templum ejus, et Agnus, Vers. 22.
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