The highest light

 

Revelation 3

14And vnto the Angel of the Church of the Laodiceans, write, These things saith the Amen, the faithfull and true witnesse, the beginning of the creation of God:

15I know thy workes, that thou art neither cold nor hot, I would thou wert cold or hot.

16So then because thou art lukewarme, and neither cold nor hot, I wil spew thee out of my mouth:

17Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and haue need of nothing: and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poore, and blinde, and naked.

18I counsell thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest bee rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakednesse doe not appeare, and anoint thine eyes with eye salue, that thou mayest see.

19As many as I loue, I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore, and repent.

20Behold, I stand at the doore, and knocke: if any man heare my voyce, and open the doore, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

21To him that ouercommeth, will I graunt to sit with mee in my throne, euen as I also ouercame, and am set downe with my Father in his throne.

22Hee that hath an eare, let him heare what the Spirit saith vnto the Churches.

 

Similitude Ninth.
The Great Mysteries in the Building of the Militant and Triumphant Church.

“And from the tenth mountain, where were trees which overshadowed certain sheep,
they who believed were the following: bishops389 given to hospitality, who always gladly received into their houses the servants of God, without dissimulation. And the bishops never failed to protect, by their service, the widows, and those who were in want, and always maintained a holy conversation. All these, accordingly, shall be protected by the Lord for ever. They who do these things are honourable before God, and their place is already with the angels, if they remain to the end serving God.”
Chap. XXVIII.
“And from the eleventh mountain, where were trees full of fruits, adorned with fruits
of various kinds, they who believed were the following: they who suffered for the name of the Son of God, and who also suffered cheerfully with their whole heart, and laid down their lives.” “Why, then, sir,” I said, “do all these trees bear fruit, and some of them fairer than the rest?” “Listen,” he said: “all who once suffered for the name of the Lord are honourable before God; and of all these the sins were remitted, because they suffered for the name of the Son of God.390 And why their fruits are of various kinds, and some of them superior, 389 Bishops. Bishops, that is, presidents of the churches.—Vat. [This textual peculiarity must have originated
at the period when the Ignatian use of episcopus was becoming naturalized in Rome. It was originally common
to all pastors, local or regionary.]
390 [This passage (with Vision iii. 2, and especially Similitude v. 3) has been pressed into the service of those who seek to find “super-erogatory merit” in the Fathers. See 1 Cor. vii. 38. But why not begin with the Scriptures
which Hermas doubtless has in mind, such as Rev. iii. 4, 5, “They are worthy”? Does this ascribe to them any merit apart from (“worthy is the Lamb”) the only meritorious cause of salvation? So also Rev. vii. 14, xiv. 4, 5.

All,” he continued, “who were brought before the authorities and were examined,
and did not deny, but suffered cheerfully—these are held in greater honour with God, and
of these the fruit is superior; but all who were cowards, and in doubt, and who reasoned in
their hearts whether they would deny or confess, and yet suffered, of these the fruit is less,
because that suggestion came into their hearts; for that suggestion—that a servant should
deny his Lord—is evil. Have a care, therefore, ye who are planning such things, lest that
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suggestion remain in your hearts, and ye perish unto God. And ye who suffer for His name
ought to glorify God, because He deemed you worthy to bear His name, that all your sins
might be healed. [Therefore, rather deem yourselves happy], and think that ye have done a
great thing, if any of you suffer on account of God. The Lord bestows upon you life, and ye
do not understand, for your sins were heavy; but if you had not suffered for the name of the
Lord, ye would have died to God on account of your sins. These things I say to you who are
hesitating about denying or confessing: acknowledge that ye have the Lord, lest, denying
Him, ye be delivered up to prison. If the heathen chastise their slaves, when one of them
denies his master, what, think ye, will your Lord do, who has authority over all men? Put
away these counsels out of your hearts, that you may live continually unto God.”
Chap. XXIX.
“And they who believed from the twelfth mountain, which was white, are the following:
they are as infant children, in whose hearts no evil originates; nor did they know what
wickedness is, but always remained as children. Such accordingly, without doubt, dwell in
the kingdom of God, because they defiled in nothing the commandments of God; but they
remained like children all the days of their life in the same mind. All of you, then, who shall
remain stedfast, and be as children,391 without doing evil, will be more honoured than all
who have been previously mentioned; for all infants are honourable before God, and are
the first persons with Him.392 Blessed, then, are ye who put away wickedness from yourselves,
and put on innocence. As the first of all will you live unto God.”
The primitive Fathers accepted such truths like innocent children, and loved them. They believed St. Paul as to
degrees of glory (1 Cor. xv. 41), and our Lord Himself as to the awards (Matt. xx. 21–23) of mercy to fruits of
grace: and they are no more responsible for forced constructions that have been put upon them by afterthought
and subsequent heresy, then our blessed Lord can be charged with all that has overloaded His precious sayings
(Matt. xix. 12 or xiv. 18). The principle of deficient works of faith, which is the corresponding idea of the negative
side, appears in St. Paul (1 Cor. iii. 13–15), and has been abused to sustain the whole system of creature merit,
and the monstrous atfterthought of purgatory. Those, therefore, who read such ideas into “The Ante-Nicene
Fathers,” to diminish their credit, often, unintentionally (1) help the perverters of truth to claim the Fathers,
and (2) give them the like aid in claiming the Scriptures. See p. 34, supra, note 3.]
391 Matt. xviii. 3.
392 [Mark ix. 36.]