| 594 church of the first born, who have received the fulness [fullness] of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun of the firmament. Behold, these are they who died without law; and also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it; these are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men: these are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness [fullness]; these are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fulness [fullness] of the Father; wherefore they are bodies terrestrial, und [and] not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun: these are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus: wherefore they obtained not the crown over the kingdom of our God. And now this is the end of the vision which we saw of the terrestrial, that the Lord commanded us to write while we were yet in the Spirit.
And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differ from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament; these are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus: these are they who deny not the Holy Spirit: these are they who are thrust down to hell: these are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil, until the first resurrection, the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work: these are they who receive not of his fulness [fullness] in the eter [eternal] world, but of the Holy spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial through the ministration of the celestial; and also the telestial receive it of the administering of angels, who are appointed to minister for them, or who are appointed to be ministering spirits for them, for they shall be heirs of salvation.-And thus we saw in the heavenly vision, the glory of the telestial which surpasses all understanding; and no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed it. And thus we saw the glory of the terrestrial, which excels in all things the glory of the telestial, even in glory, and in power, and in might, and in dominion: And thus we saw the glory of the celestial, which excels in all things; where God, even the Father, reigns upon his throne forever, and ever: before whose throne all things bow in humble reverence and give him glory forever and ever. They who dwell in his presence are the church of the first born; and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fulness [fullness] and of his grace; and he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion. And the glory of the celestial is one, even as the glory of the sun is one. And the glory of the terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the moon is one. And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one, for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial world: for these are they who are of Paul, and of Appollos, and of Cephas: these are they who say they are some of one and some of another; some of Christ; and some of John; and some of Moses; and some of Elias; and some of Esaias; and some of Isaiah; and some of Enoch, but received not the gospel; neither the testimony of Jesus; neither the prophets: neither the everlasting covenant; last of all, these all are they who will not be gathered with the saints, to be caught unto the church of the first born, and received into the cloud: these are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whoever loves and makes a lie: these are they who suffer the wrath of God on the earth: these are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal fire: these are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God until the fulness [fullness] of times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies nnder [under] his feet, and shall have perfected his work, when he shall deliver up the kingdom and present it unto the Father spotless, saying I have overcome and have trodden the wine-press alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God: then shall be crowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on the throne of his power to reign forever and ever. But behold and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore, and heard the voice of the Lord saying:-These all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall confess to him who sits upon the throne forever and ever: for they shall be judged [according] to their works; and every man shall receive accordlng [according] to his own works, and his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared, and they shall be servants of the Most High, but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end. This is the end of the vision which we saw, which we were commanded to write while we were yet in the spirit.
But great and marvelous are the works of the Lord and the mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpasses all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion, which he commanded us we should not write, while we were yet in the spirit, and
(page 594) |
