The vision I saw, brothers, was as follows. After I had fasted often and pleaded with the Lord to reveal to me the revelation He had promised to show me through that elderly woman, the elderly woman appeared to me that very night and said, ‘Since your need is so great and you are eager to know everything, come to the field where you work with grain. Around the fifth hour I will appear to you and show you what you need to see.’ I asked her, ‘Lady, what part of the field?’ ‘Wherever you wish,’ she said. I chose a beautiful, secluded place. But before I could speak to her and tell her the place, she said to me, ‘I will come wherever you wish.’ So I went to the field, brothers, counted the hours, and came to the place where I had arranged for her to come. I saw an ivory couch there. On the couch lay a linen cushion, and over it was spread a fine linen cloth. When I saw these things laid out and no one there, I was astonished. Trembling seized me, my hair stood on end, and a shudder came over me because I was alone. Then I came to myself, remembered the glory of God, and took courage. I knelt down and once again confessed my sins to the Lord, as I had done before. She came with the six young men whom I had seen before. She stood beside me and listened closely as I prayed and confessed my sins to the Lord. Then she touched me and said, ‘Hermas, stop continually pleading about your sins. Plead also for righteousness, so that you may receive some share of it for your household.’ She raised me by the hand, led me to the couch, and said to the young men, ‘Go and build.’ After the young men had gone away and we were alone, she said to me, ‘Sit here.’ I said to her, ‘Lady, let the elders sit first.’ ‘Do what I tell you,’ she said. ‘Sit down.’ When I tried to sit on the right side, she would not allow me, but signaled with her hand for me to sit on the left. As I wondered about this and was saddened because she had not allowed me to sit on the right, she said to me, ‘Are you sad, Hermas? The place on the right belongs to others—to those who have already been pleasing to God and have suffered because of the Name. You still lack much before you can sit with them. But just as you have remained in your simplicity, continue in it, and you will sit with them, as will all who do their works and endure what they endured.’
“What did they suffer?” I asked. “Listen,” she said. “Scourgings, imprisonments, great tribulations, crosses, and wild beasts for the sake of the Name. Therefore the places on the right in the sanctuary belong to them and to everyone who suffers for the Name; the places on the left belong to the rest. Yet both those seated on the right and those on the left receive the same gifts and the same promises. Only those on the right are seated there and have a certain glory.” “You greatly desire to sit on the right with them, but your shortcomings are many. Yet you will be purified from your shortcomings, and all who are not double-minded will be purified from all the sins they have committed up to this day.” After saying this, she wanted to leave. But I fell at her feet and begged her by the Lord to show me the vision she had promised. Again she took me by the hand, raised me up, and seated me on the couch on the left, while she herself sat on the right. Then she lifted a shining rod and said to me, “Do you see something great?” I said to her, “Lady, I see nothing.” She said to me, “Look! Do you not see before you a great tower being built upon the waters out of bright, square stones?” The tower was being built square by the six young men who had come with her. Countless other men were carrying stones, some from the deep and others from the land, and handing them to the six young men. They took the stones and built with them. They placed every stone drawn from the deep into the building just as it was, for the stones had already been shaped and their joints fitted together with those of the other stones. They joined so closely to one another that their seams could not be seen, and the tower appeared to be built from a single stone. Of the other stones brought from the dry land, they rejected some and placed others in the building. Still others they broke into pieces and threw far away from the tower. Many other stones lay around the tower, but they did not use them in the building. Some were scabbed, some were cracked, some were cut short, and others were white and round and did not fit into the building. I also saw other stones thrown far from the tower. They came onto the road but did not remain there; instead they rolled off the road into pathless places. Others fell into the fire and burned, while still others fell near the waters but could not roll into the water, although they wanted to roll down and enter it.
After showing me these things, she wanted to hurry away. I said to her, “Lady, what good is it for me to have seen these things if I do not know what they mean?” She answered me, “You are a crafty man, wanting to know everything about the tower.” “Yes, Lady,” I said, “so that I may tell my brothers, and they may become more joyful and, when they hear these things, may know the Lord in great glory.” She said, “Many will hear. When they hear, some will rejoice and others will weep. But if those who weep hear and repent, they too will rejoice. So listen to the parables of the tower, for I will reveal everything to you. And do not trouble me any more about revelations, for these revelations have an end; they are complete. Yet you will not stop asking for revelations, because you are shameless.” “The tower you see being built is I, the Church, who appeared to you both now and before. Ask whatever you wish about the tower, and I will reveal it to you so that you may rejoice with the saints.” I said to her, “Lady, since you have once judged me worthy for everything to be revealed to me, reveal it.” She said to me, “Whatever can be revealed to you will be revealed. Only let your heart be set on God, and do not be double-minded about anything you see.” I asked her, “Lady, why is the tower built upon waters?” She said, “I told you before, and you are searching diligently. By searching, then, you find the truth. So listen to why the tower is built upon waters: your life was saved and will be saved through water. The tower, however, has been founded by the word of the almighty and glorious Name and is upheld by the unseen power of the Master.”
I answered her, “Lady, this is a great and marvelous thing. But who are the six young men who are building?” “These are the holy angels of God who were created first. The Lord entrusted all His creation to them, to increase it, build it up, and rule over all creation. Through them, therefore, the building of the tower will be completed.” “And who are the others carrying the stones?” “They too are holy angels of God, but these six are greater than they are. The building of the tower will therefore be completed, and all of them together will rejoice around the tower and glorify God because the building of the tower has been completed.” I asked her, “Lady, I want to know what becomes of the stones and what their significance is.” She answered me, “It is not because you are more worthy than everyone else that this has been revealed to you. Others came before you and are better than you, and these visions ought to have been revealed to them. But so that the name of God may be glorified, it has been revealed to you and will continue to be revealed for the sake of the double-minded, who question in their hearts whether these things are really so. Tell them that all these things are true and that nothing in them is outside the truth, but all are strong, certain, and firmly founded.”
“Now listen about the stones that go into the building. The square, white stones whose joints fit together are the apostles, bishops, teachers, and deacons who walked in the reverence of God and served as bishops, teachers, and deacons purely and reverently for God’s elect. Some have fallen asleep and others are still living. They always agreed with one another, lived at peace with one another, and listened to one another. For this reason their joints fit together in the building of the tower.” “And who are the stones drawn from the deep, placed into the building, and fitting at their joints with the other stones already built in?” “These are those who suffered for the sake of the name of the Lord.” “Lady, I want to know who the other stones brought from the dry land are.” She said, “Those that go into the building without being cut are those whom the Lord has approved, because they walked in the uprightness of the Lord and rightly carried out His commandments.” “And who are those that are brought and placed into the building?” “They are young in the faith and faithful. The angels admonish them to do good, because wickedness was found in them.” “And who are those whom they rejected and threw away?” “These are people who have sinned and want to repent. For this reason they were not thrown far away from the tower, because they will be useful for the building if they repent. Those who are going to repent, then, will become strong in the faith if they repent now, while the tower is being built. But if the building is completed, they will no longer have a place and will be cast out. The only thing left to them will be to lie beside the tower.”
“Do you want to know about those that are broken into pieces and thrown far away from the tower? These are the sons of lawlessness. They believed hypocritically, and no kind of wickedness departed from them. Therefore they have no salvation, because their wickedness makes them useless for the building. For this reason they were broken to pieces and thrown far away because of the Lord’s wrath, since they provoked Him to anger.” “As for the others whom you saw lying there in great numbers and not going into the building, those that are scabbed are the people who knew the truth but did not remain in it.” “And who are those with cracks?” “These are people who harbor things against one another in their hearts and are not at peace among themselves. They have the appearance of peace, but when they leave one another, their wickedness remains in their hearts. These are the cracks that the stones have.” “Those that are cut short are people who have believed and have the greater part of themselves in righteousness, but still have some parts of lawlessness. For this reason they are incomplete and not whole.” “Lady, who are the white, round stones that do not fit into the building?” She answered me, “How long will you be foolish and without understanding, asking about everything and understanding nothing? These are people who have faith but also possess the wealth of this age. When tribulation comes, they deny their Lord because of their wealth and their business affairs.” I answered her, “Lady, when will they be useful for the building?” She said, “When the wealth that entices them is cut away, then they will be useful to God. Just as a round stone cannot become square unless it is cut and loses something from itself, so those who are rich in this age cannot become useful to the Lord unless their wealth is cut away.” “Learn first from yourself. When you were rich, you were useless; but now you are useful and beneficial to life. Become useful to God, for you yourself also serve as one of these same stones.”
“The other stones you saw thrown far from the tower, falling onto the road, and then rolling off the road into pathless places are people who have believed but, because of their double-mindedness, abandon their true way. Thinking they can find a better way, they go astray and suffer as they wander through pathless places.” “Those that fall into the fire and burn are people who have completely fallen away from the living God. Repentance no longer rises in their hearts because of their desires for licentiousness and the wicked deeds they have done.” “Do you want to know who the others are that fall near the waters but cannot roll into the water? These are people who heard the word and wanted to be baptized into the name of the Lord. But then, when the purity of the truth comes to their remembrance, they change their minds and go back again after their evil desires.” With this she finished the explanation of the tower. Still shamelessly persistent, I asked her whether all these stones that had been rejected and did not fit into the building of the tower could repent and have a place in this tower. “They can repent,” she said, “but they cannot fit into this tower.” “They will fit into another place, one much lower, but only after they have been tormented and have fulfilled the days of their sins. They will be transferred because they shared in the righteous word. Then it will happen that they are transferred out of their torments when the evil deeds they committed come into their hearts. But if this does not come into their hearts, they are not saved because of the hardness of their hearts.”
When I had stopped questioning her about all these things, she said to me, “Do you want to see something else?” Since I greatly desired to see, I was overjoyed at the prospect. She looked at me, smiled slightly, and said, “Do you see seven women around the tower?” “I see them, Lady,” I said. “This tower is supported by them at the Lord’s command.” “Now listen to their functions. The first of them, the one with strong hands, is called Faith. Through her God’s elect are saved.” “The second, who is girded and acts courageously, is called Self-control. She is the daughter of Faith. Whoever follows her becomes blessed in his life, because he will abstain from every evil deed, believing that if he abstains from every evil desire, he will inherit eternal life.” “And who are the others, Lady?” “They are daughters of one another. They are called Simplicity, Knowledge, Guilelessness, Reverence, and Love. When you do all the works of their mother, you will be able to live.” I said, “Lady, I want to know what power each of them has.” “Listen,” she said, “to the powers they possess.” “Their powers are linked to one another and follow one another in the order in which they were born. From Faith is born Self-control; from Self-control, Simplicity; from Simplicity, Guilelessness; from Guilelessness, Reverence; from Reverence, Knowledge; and from Knowledge, Love. Their works, therefore, are pure, reverent, and divine.” “Whoever serves these women and is strong enough to hold fast to their works will have a dwelling in the tower with the saints of God.” I asked her about the times, whether the end was already here. She cried out in a loud voice, “Foolish man! Do you not see that the tower is still being built? When the tower is finished being built, then the end comes. But it will be built up quickly. Do not ask me anything more. This reminder, and the renewal of your spirits, is enough for you and for the saints.” “But these things were not revealed to you alone, but so that you might make them known to everyone— after three days, for you must first understand them. First, Hermas, I command you concerning these words that I am about to speak to you: speak all of them into the ears of the saints, so that by hearing them and doing them they may be purified from their wickedness, and you with them.”
“Listen to me, children. I raised you in great simplicity, guilelessness, and reverence because of the Lord’s mercy, which poured righteousness upon you so that you might be justified and sanctified from every wickedness and every crookedness. But you do not want to cease from your wickedness.” “Now, therefore, listen to me. Be at peace among yourselves, care for one another, and help one another. Do not enjoy God’s created gifts by yourselves in abundance, but share them also with those who are in need.” “Some, through eating too much, bring weakness upon their flesh and damage it; while the flesh of those who have no food is damaged because they do not have enough nourishment, and their bodies waste away.” “This lack of sharing, then, is harmful to you who have plenty but do not share with those in need.” “Keep in mind the judgment that is coming. You who have more than enough, seek out those who are hungry while the tower is not yet finished. For after the tower is finished, you will want to do good but will have no opportunity.” “So take care, you who boast in your wealth, lest those in need groan and their groaning rise up to the Lord, and you, together with your good things, be shut outside the door of the tower.” “Now I speak to you who lead the Church and occupy the chief seats: do not become like poisoners. Poisoners carry their poisons in boxes, but you carry your poison and venom in your heart.” “You have become hardened, and you do not want to cleanse your hearts and bring your understanding together in unity with a pure heart, so that you may receive mercy from the great King.” “So take care, children, lest these divisions deprive you of your life.” “How do you wish to instruct the Lord’s elect when you yourselves have no instruction? Instruct one another, then, and be at peace among yourselves, so that I too may stand joyfully before the Father and give an account concerning all of you to the Lord.”
When she had finished speaking with me, the six young men who were building came and carried her to the tower. Four others lifted the couch and carried it too to the tower. I did not see their faces, because they were turned away. As she was leaving, I asked her to reveal to me the meaning of the three forms in which she had appeared to me. She answered, “About these things you must ask someone else, so that they may be revealed to you.” Brothers, in the first vision last year she appeared to me very old and seated on a chair. In the second vision her face looked younger, but her flesh and hair were old, and she spoke to me while standing. She was more cheerful than before. In the third vision she was entirely younger and exceptionally beautiful; only her hair was old. She was exceedingly cheerful and seated on a couch. I was deeply troubled about these things because I wanted to understand this revelation. Then I saw the old woman in a vision at night saying to me, “Every inquiry requires humility. Fast, then, and you will receive from the Lord what you ask.” So I fasted for one day, and that very night a young man appeared to me and said, “Why are you so quick to ask for revelations in prayer? Be careful that by asking for many things you do not harm your flesh. These revelations are enough for you. Can you see revelations more powerful than those you have seen?” I answered him, “Sir, I ask only this one thing: that there may be a complete revelation concerning the three forms of the old woman.” He answered me, “How long will you be without understanding? Your double-mindedness makes you without understanding, and so does your failure to set your heart toward the Lord.” I answered him again, “But from you, Sir, we will learn these things more precisely.”
“Listen,” he said, “about the forms you are asking about. In the first vision, why did she appear to you as an old woman seated on a chair? Because your spirit had grown old, was already withered, and had no strength because of your weaknesses and double-mindedness. For just as elderly people who no longer hope to become young again expect nothing but their sleep, so you too, weakened by the affairs of this life, gave yourselves over to discouragement and did not cast your cares upon the Lord. Instead, your mind was broken, and you grew old through your sorrows.” “Sir, I would like to know why she was seated on a chair.” “Because every weak person sits on a chair because of his weakness, so that his bodily weakness may be supported. You now have the symbol of the first vision.”
“In the second vision you saw her standing, with her face younger and more cheerful than before, while her flesh and hair were old. Listen also to this parable,” he said. “Suppose an old man has already given up hope for himself because of his weakness and poverty and expects nothing except the last day of his life. Then suddenly an inheritance is left to him. When he hears about it, he rises, becomes overjoyed, and puts on strength. He no longer lies down but stands, and his spirit, already worn down by his former circumstances, is renewed. He no longer sits but takes courage. So it was with you when you heard the revelation that the Lord revealed to you. He had compassion on you, renewed your spirits, and you laid aside your weaknesses. Strength came to you, and you were strengthened in the faith. When the Lord saw that you had grown strong, He rejoiced. For this reason He showed you the building of the tower, and He will show you other things if you are at peace among yourselves with your whole heart.”
“In the third vision you saw her younger, beautiful, and cheerful, and her form was beautiful. For just as when good news comes to someone who is grieving, he immediately forgets his former sorrows and attends to nothing except the news he has heard. From then on he is strengthened for what is good, and his spirit is renewed because of the joy he received. So you too have received renewal of your spirits by seeing these good things. And because you saw her seated on a couch, the position is firm, since the couch has four feet and stands firmly. Indeed, the world also is upheld by four elements. Those, therefore, who repent completely will become young and firmly founded—those who repent with their whole heart. You have received the complete revelation. Do not ask anything more concerning revelation; but if anything is needed, it will be revealed to you.”