Vision
Fourth.
Concerning
the Trial and Tribulation
that
are to Come Upon Men.
This fourth vision is summarized by Hermas:
"Twenty days after the former vision I saw another vision, brethren—a
representation of the tribulation that is to come."[1] I note that this is addressed to
"brethren" therefore implying a prophetic communication to the
Church. In this vision, Hermas is confronted by a whale-like beast with fiery
locusts in its mouth and four colors upon its head. Hermas places his trust in
the Lord and is not harmed. Beyond the beast, he meets the woman, this time
young and dressed in white, as a virgin. She tells him "this beast is a
type of the great tribulation that is coming. If then ye prepare yourselves,
and repent with all your heart, and turn to the Lord, it will be possible for
you to escape it, if your heart be pure and spotless, and ye spend the rest of
the days of your life in serving the Lord blamelessly."[2]
She explains the
colors to be four ages of the world: black is the current darkness, red the
perishing of the world by blood and fire, gold is what remains after the test,
and white the purity of eternal life. . While the beast represented calamities
that awaited the world, it would be powerless against faithfulness and
repentance.
Vision
Fifth.
Concerning
the Commandments.
In the last vision, Hermas is visited by an angelic figure dressed like
a shepherd who was sent to dwell with him for the remainder of his life and
deliver to him the commandments of the Lord. “The Shepherd,” then, is the
“angel of repentance,” here represented as a guardian angel. [Notation #151] The
shepherd's task was to give him the twelve commandments that he was not only to
write down but also to obey. The
Shepherd says to him:
"First of all, then, write down my commandments and similitudes,
and you will write the other things as I shall show you. For this purpose,”
said he, “I command you to write down the commandments and similitudes first,
that you may read them easily, and be able to keep them.”[3]
This is the shepherd for which the book is named.
In the fourth vision,. Then the old woman returned (now as a young
bride) and praised him for his faith. He was told to share his vision with the
elders
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