Book Three 1 страница

The Shepherd of Hermas

The Book of the Shepherd

(or, the Book of the the Pastor)

INTRODUCTON

Among the final canonical books of the first generations of the church fathers, the Book of Poimen, or the Pastor, was written circa AD 200. Clearly it is a tribute to Hermetics, the basis for the divine philosophy of the Pythagoreans circa 600 BC. Hermetics in turn was based on ancient Greek and Egyptian divine mythologies of the ancient mysteries, that pre-date Abraham.

Hermes, associated with the Egyptian Thoth and the Greek Poseidon called Neptune by the Romans, after Nepenthe, the pain reliving herb, is also associated with Isaac and Moses, as Abraham is with Zeus.

Also, the patriarchal heir of Babylon, Israel (Jacob) is correlated to Gilgamesh and Hercules, then Job, King David, and the divinne philosopher Jesus Christ, and then the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of David of the Book of Revelations.

The Persians, consisting of Sheba and Assyria, relate to Hagar and Ishmael, and Eve of the Garden, and also Samson, the strong hero fashioned after the ancient Babylonian Gilgamesh, and the the Helenese Hercules, and also Samuel, Solomon, and the prophet Zoroaster. The Turks and Iranians together form the empire of Persia, once the size of Indioa and China.

The Koreans and Tibet have always been affiliated with the Greeks, while Japan (Nippon) and Mongolia were allied with the Arabs of Babylon. China is ethnically rooted in Roman-Egyptian genes associated with Rachael, yet the Eastern door has been locked shut for most of history. India was the very ancient Polynesian naval empire. The teachings of the Buddha circa 600 BC claim to be divine philosphy, akin to that of the Greeks, and focused on the reformation of sinners.

Africa was headquartered in the Ethipoian disctricts of the upper Nile, an area ruled by Sheba and the very ancient kingdom of Thebes. The lower kingdom of Egypt, ruled from Memphis. Egypt was an international disctrict of governmental heads of state, literally the United Nations of the very ancient world. The indigenous peoples of the New World were a mixture of various groups aforementioned in Genesis. The door to the West was kept shut until the Renaissance era.

The Greek god Ares is associated with the Arabs. And, Hades correlates with Adam, the Roman-Egyptian Pharoah, also the Ammonite Canaanites which are also related to the Northern tribes of Israel associated with Joseph. The river Jordan (Joe or Dan? ) is a boundary between the districts of the ancient Damascus, (the ancient home of Adam, and the modern home of Babylonian Arabs) and the kingdom of Israel, with its the Israelite districts of godly and lawful legitimate heirs.

King David is, of course, the King of Israel, and Aaron is, of course, the Arabian Priest, of Esau the Red, who represents the rebellious Arab tribes that have always been affiliated with the Cannaites occupying the Promised Land.

The East Bank, occupied by the lower tribes of Israel, along with the Canaanites tribes, was apportioned to Lot, the Greco-Theban-Pheonician, when the West Bank was apportioned to Abraham and his offspring, in the book of Genesis.

The tribe of Levi, appointed the priesthood over the 12 tribes of the sons of Israel is associated with Seth, the son born after Cain smashed Abel with a rock. Seth correlates with Methuselah, the father of Lamech, associaed with Israel-David. Noah is Abraham, while Shem, Ham, and Japheth are the Semetic people, the Canaanite Roman-Egyptians, and the Greek sea peoples of Seth and Enoch (the Phoenician).

Seth also correlates with the hero Theseus, and the Levites also relate to the Celtic-Gaelic Irish, who are the sea peoples closely affiliated with the Helenese Greeks and the Aryan Germans and the Norse Vikings, exalted as Storm Giants in the ancient lore of India. The Scythians of Rus were several Greek-affiliated tribes of the Northern Black Sea, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe.

The Shepherd of Hermas

The Book of the Shepherd

Book One

Visions

1. Against filthy and proud thoughts,

and the carelessness of Hermas inchastising his sons

2. His neglect in chastising his talkative wife and his lustful sons,

and of his character

3. The building of the triumphant church,

and the various classes of reprobate men

4. The trial and tribulation that are to come upon men

5. The commandments

Book Two

Commandments

1. Faith in God

2. Avoiding evil-speaking, and on giving alms in simplicity

3. Avoiding falsehood, and on the repentance of Hermas for his dissimulation

4. Putting one's wife away for adultery

5. Of sadness of heart, and of patience

6. How to recognise the two spirits attendant on each man,

and how to distinguish the suggestions of the one from those of the other

7. Fearing god, and not fearing the devil

8. We ought to shun that which is evil, and do that which is good

9. Prayer must be made to god without ceasing and with unwavering confidence

10. Of grief, and not grieving the spirit of god which is in us

11. The spirit and prophets to be tried by their works;

also of the two kinds of spirit

12. On the twofold desire the commandments of god can be kept,

and believers ought not to fear the devil

Book Three

Similitudes

[Things that are Similar]

1. As in this world we have no abiding city, we ought to seek one to come

2. As the vine is supported by the elm, so is the rich man helper by the prayer of the poor

3. As in winter green trees cannot be distinguished from withered,

so in this world neither can the just from the unjust

4. As in summer living trees are distinguished from withered by fruit and living leaves,

so in the world to come the just differ from the unjust inhappiness

5. Of true fasting and its reward: also of purity of body

6. Of the two classes of voluptuous men,

and of their death, falling away, and the duration of their punishment

7. They who repent must bring forth fruits worthy of repentance

8. The sins of the elect and of the penitent are of many kinds,

but all will be rewarded according to the measure of their repentance and good works

9. The great mysteries in the building of the militant and triumphant church

10. Repentance and alms-giving

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER ONE

Divisions 1-30

Book One – Visions

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 1, 1

Vision 1 – Against filthy and proud thoughts, and the carelessness of Hermas in chastising his sons.

[a metaphor of ancient history]

My brethren, he who had brought me up from my youth, sold me to a certain lady Rhode in Rome.

Many years after this I recognised her, and I began to love her as a sister.

Some time after, I saw her bathe in the river Tiber;

and I gave her my hand, and drew her out of the river.

The sight of her beauty made me think with myself,

I should be a happy man if I could but get a wife as handsome and good as she is.

This was the only thought that went through my mind,

this and nothing more.

A short time after this, as I was walking on my road to the villages, and magnifying the creatures of God, and thinking how magnificent, and beautiful, and powerful they are, I fell asleep.

And the Spirit carried me away, and took me through a pathless place,

through which a man could not travel, for it was situated in the midst of rocks;

it was rugged and impassible on account of water.

Having passed over this river, I came to a plain.

10.

I then bent down on my knees, and began to pray to the Lord, and to confess my sins.

11.

And as I prayed, the heavens were opened,

and I see the woman whom I had desired saluting me from the sky, and saying,

“Hail, Hermas! ”

12.

And looking up to her, I said,

“Lady, what are you doing here? ”

13.

And she answered me,

“I have been taken up here to accuse you of your sins before the Lord. ”

14.

“Lady”, said I,

“are you to be the subject of my accusation? ”

15.

“No”, said she;

“yet hear the words which I am going to speak to you. ”

16.

God, who dwells in the heavens, and made out of nothing the things that exist,

and multiplied and increased them on account of His holy Church,

is angry with you for having sinned against me.

17.

I answered her,

“Lady, have I sinned against you?

18.

How or when spoke I an unseemly word to you?

19.

Did I not always think of you as a lady?

20.

Did I not always respect you as a sister?

21.

Why do you falsely accuse me of this wickedness and impurity?

22.

With a smile she replied to me,

“The desire of wickedness arose within your heart.

23.

Is it not your opinion that a righteous man commits sin when an evil desire arises in his heart? ”

24.

“There is sin in such a case, and the sin is great, ” said she;

25.

“for the thoughts of a righteous man should be righteous.

26.

For by thinking righteously his character is established in the heavens,

and he has the Lord merciful to him in every business.

27.

Yet such as entertain wicked thoughts in their minds are bringing upon themselves death and captivity;

28.

and especially is this the case with those who set their affections on this world,

and glory in their riches,

and look not forward to the blessings of the life to come.

29.

For many will their regrets be;

for they have no hope, yet have despaired of themselves and their life.

30.

Yet pray to God, and He will heal your sins,

and the sins of your whole house, and of all the Saints. ”

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER TWO

Divisions 31-70

Book One – Visions

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 1, 1

31.

After she had spoken these words, the heavens were shut.

32.

I was overwhelmed with sorrow and fear, and said to myself,

33.

“If this sin is assigned to me, how can I be saved,

or how shall I propitiate God in regard to my sins, which are of the grossest character?

34.

With what words shall I ask the Lord to be merciful to me? ”

35.

While I was thinking over these things, and discussing them in my mind,

I saw opposite to me a chair, white, made of white wool, of great size.

36.

And there came up an old woman, arrayed in a splendid robe, and with a book in her hand;

and she sat down alone, and saluted me, “Hail, Hermas! ”

36.

And in sadness and tears I said to her, “Lady, hail! ”

37.

And she said to me, “Why are you downcast, Hermas?

38.

For you were wont to be patient and temperate, and always smiling.

39.

Why are you so gloomy, and not cheerful? ”

40.

I answered her and said,

“O Lady, I have been reproached by a very good woman, who says that I sinned against her. ”

41.

And she said, “Far be such a deed from a servant of God.

42.

Yet perhaps a desire after her has arisen within your heart.

43.

Such a wish, in the case of the servants of God, produces sin.

44.

For it is a wicked and horrible wish in an all-chaste and already well-tried spirit

to desire an evil deed;

45.

and especially for Hermas so to do,

who keeps himself from all wicked desire,

and is full of all simplicity, and of great guilelessness. ”

46.

“Yet God is not angry with you on account of this, except that you may convert your house,

which have committed iniquity against the Lord, and against you, their parents.

47.

And although you love your sons, yet did you not warn your house,

yet permitted them to be terribly corrupted.

48.

On this account is the Lord angry with you,

yet He will heal all the evils which have been done in your house

49.

For, on account of their sins and iniquities, you have been destroyed by the affairs of this world.

50.

Yet now the mercy of the Lord has taken pity on you and your house,

and will strengthen you, and establish you in his glory.

51.

Only be not easy-minded,

yet be of good courageand comfort your house.

52.

For as a smith hammers out his work, and accomplishes whatever he wishes,

so shall righteous daily speech overcome all iniquity.

53.

Cease not therefore to admonish your sons;

54.

for I know that, if they will repent with all their heart,

they will be enrolled in the Books of Life with the saints. ”

55.

Having ended these words, she said to me,

“Do you wish to hear me read? ”

56.

Then I say to her,

“Lady, I do. ”

57.

Then she says to me,

“Listen then, and give ear to the glories of God”

58.

And then I heard from her, magnificently and admirably,

things which my memory could not retain

59.

For all the words were terrible, such as man could not endure

60.

The last words, however, I did remember;

for they were useful to us, and gentle.

61.

Lo, the God of powers, who by His invisible strong power and great wisdom has created the world,

and by His glorious counsel has surrounded His creation with beauty,

62.

and by His strong word has fixed the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth upon the waters,

63.

and by His own wisdom and providence has created His holy Church, which He has blessed,

64.

Lo! He removes the heavens and the mountains, the hills and the seas,

and all things become plain to His elect,

65.

that He may bestow on them the blessing which He has promised them, with much glory and joy,

if only they shall keep the commandments of God which they have received in great faith.

66.

When she had ended her reading, she rose from the chair,

and four young men came and carried off the chair and went away to the East.

67.

And she called me to herself and touched my breast, and said to me,

“Have you been pleased with my reading? ”

68.

And I say to her,

“Lady, the last words please me,

yet the first are cruel and harsh. ”

69.

Then she said to me,

“The last are for the righteous:

the first are for heathens and apostates. ”

And while she spoke to me, two men appeared and raised her on their shoulders,

and they went to where the chair was in the east.

70.

With joyful countenance did she depart;

and as she went, she said to me,

“Behave like a man, Hermas. ”

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER THREE

Divisions 71-95

Book One – Visions

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 1, 2

71.

Vision 2 – Of neglect in chastising his talkative wife and his lustful sons, and of his character

72.

As I was going to the country about the same time as on the previous year,

in my walk I recalled to memory the vision of that year.

73.

And again the Spirit carried me away, and took me to the same place where I had been the year before.

74.

On coming to that place, I bowed my knees and began to pray to the Lord, and to glorify His name, because He had deemed me worthy, and had made known to me my former sins.

75.

On rising from prayer, I see opposite me that old woman,

whom I had seen the year before, walking and reading some book.

76.

And she says to me,

Can you carry a report of these things to the elect of God?

77.

I say to her, Lady, so much I cannot retain in my memory,

yet give me the book and I shall transcribe it.

78.

Take it, says she, and you will give it back to me.

79.

Thereupon I took it, and going away into a certain part of the country,

I transcribed the whole of it letter by letter;

yet the syllables of it I did not catch.

80.

No sooner, however, had I finished the writing of the book,

than all of a sudden it was snatched from my hands;

yet who the person was that snatched it, I saw not.

81.

Fifteen days after, when I had fasted and prayed much to the Lord,

the knowledge of the writing was revealed to me.

82.

Now the writing was to this effect:

Your seed, O Hermas, has sinned against God, and they have blasphemed against the Lord,

and in their great wickedness they have betrayed their parents.

83.

And they passed as traitors of their parents, and by their treachery did they not reap profit.

84.

And even now they have added to their sins lusts and iniquitous pollutions,

and thus their iniquities have been filled up.

85.

Yet make known these words to all your children, and to your wife, who is to be your sister in spirit.

86.

For she does not restrain her tongue, with which she commits iniquity;

yet, on hearing these words, she will control herself, and will obtain mercy.

87.

For after you have made known to them these words

which my Lord has commanded me to reveal to you,

then shall they be forgiven all the sins which in former times they committed,

88.

and forgiveness will be granted to all the saints who have sinned even to the present day,

if they repent with all their heart, and drive all doubts from their minds.

89.

For the Lord has sworn by His glory, in regard to His elect,

that if any one of them sin after a certain day which has been fixed, he shall not be saved,

for the repentance of the righteous has limits.

90.

Filled up are the days of repentance to all the saints;

yet to the heathen, repentance will be possible even to the last day.

91.

You will tell, therefore, those who preside over the Church,

to direct their ways in righteousness, that they may receive in full the promises with great glory.

92.

Stand steadfast, therefore, you who work righteousness,

and doubt not, that your passage may be with the holy angels.

92.

Happy you who endure the great tribulation that is coming on,

and happy they who shall not deny their own life.

94.

For the Lord has sworn by His Son,

that those who denied their Lord have abandoned their life in despair,

for even now these are to deny Him in the days that are coming.

95.

To those who denied in earlier times, God became gracious,

on account of His exceeding tender mercy.

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER FOUR

Divisions 96-120

Vision 2

THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 1, 2

96.

Yet as for you, Hermas, remember not the wrongs done to you by your children,

nor neglect your sister, that they may be cleansed from their former sins.

97.

For they will be instructed with righteous instruction,

if you remember not the wrongs they have done you For the remembrance of wrongs works death.

98.

And you, Hermas,

have endured great personal tribulations on account of the transgressions of your house,

because you did not attend to them, yet were careless and engaged in your wicked transactions.

99.

Yet you are saved, because you did not depart from the living God,

and on account of your simplicity and great self-control.

100.

These have savedyou, if you remain steadfast.

101.

And they will save all who act in the same manner, and walk in guilelessness and simplicity.

102.

Those who possess such virtues will wax strong against every form of wickedness,

and will abide unto eternal life.

103.

Blessed are all they who practice righteousness, for they shall never be destroyed.

104.

Now you will tell Maximus:

Lo! tribulation comes on. If it seems good to you, deny again.

105.

The Lord is near to them who return unto Him,

as it is written in the book of Eldad and Modat, who prophesied to the people in the wilderness.

106.

Now a revelation was given to me, my brethren, while I slept,

by a young man of comely appearance, who said to me,

Who do you think that old woman is from whom you received the book?

107.

And I said, the Sibyl. [the oracle, the priestess of prophecy]

108.

You are in a mistake, says he; it is not the Sibyl.

109.

Who is it then? say I And he said, It is the Church

110.

And I said to him, Why then is she an old woman?

111.

Because, said he, she was created first of all, and on this account is she old.

112.

And for her sake was the world made.

113.

After that I saw a vision in my house, and that old woman came and asked me,

if I had yet given the book to the presbyters. [priests]

114.

And I said that I had not.

115.

And then she said, You have done well, for I have some words to add.

116.

Yet when I finish all the words, all the elect will then become acquainted with them through you.

117.

You will write therefore two books,

and you will send the one to Clemens and the other to Grapte.

118.

And Clemens will send his to foreign countries, for permission has been granted to him to do so.

119.

And Grapte will admonish the widows and the orphans.

120.

Yet you will read the words in this city,

along with the presbyters who preside over the Church.

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER FIVE

Divisions 121-145

121.

Vision 3 -- Concerning the building of the triumphant church, and the various classes of reprobate men

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 1, 3

122.

The vision which I saw, my brethren, was of the following nature.

123.

Having fasted frequently, and having prayed to the Lord

that He would show me the revelation which He promised to show me through that old woman,

the same night that old woman appeared to me, and said to me,

124.

Since you are so anxious and eager to know all things,

go into the part of the country where you tarry;

125.

and about the fifth hour I shall appear unto you, and shine light for you on all that you ought to see.

126.

I asked her, saying Lady, to what part of the land am I to go?

127.

And she said, To any area you wish.

128.

Then I chose a spot which was suitable, and retired.

129.

Before, however, I began to speak and to mention the place, she said to me,

I will meet with you where you wish.

130.

Accordingly, I went to the countrysider, and counted the hours,

and reached the place where I had promised to meet her.

131.

And I see an ivory seat ready placed, and on it a linen cushion,

and above the linen cushion was spread a covering of fine linen.

132.

Seeing these laid out, and yet no one in the place,

I began to feel awe, and as it were a trembling seized hold of me, and my hair stood on end,

and as it were a horror came upon me when I saw that I was all alone.

133.

Yet on coming back to myself and calling to mind the glory of God,

I took courage, bent my knees in prayer, and again confessed my sins to God as I had done before.

134.

Whereupon the old woman approached, accompanied by six young men whom I had also seen before;

135.

And she stood nearme, and listened to me, as I prayed and confessed my sins to the Lord.

136.

And placing her hand on my shoulder me she said,

Hermas, cease praying continually for your sins;

137.

Pray for righteousness, that you may have a portion of it immediately in your house.

138.

On this, she took me up by the hand, and brought me to the seat,

and said to the young men, Go and build.

139.

When the young men had gone and we were alone, she said to me, Sit here.

140.

I say to her, Lady, permit my elders to be seated first.

141.

Do what I bid you, said she;

Sit down.

142.

When I would have sat down on her right, she did not permit me,

yet with her hand beckoned to me to sit down on the left.

143.

While I was thinking about this, and feeling vexed that she did not let me sit on the right, she said,

Are you vexed, Hermas?

144.

The place to the right is for others who have already pleased God,

and have suffered for His name's sake;

and you have yet much to accomplish before you can sit with them.

145.

Yet 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.

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER FIVE

Divisions 146-180

Visions

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 1, 3

146.

“What have they borne? ”, said I.

147.

“Listen”, said she:

“Scourges, prisons, great tribulations, crosses, wild beasts, for God's name's sake.

148.

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.

149.

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.

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