The Shepherd of Hermas

Go then[*](The explanation of the Leviathan) and tell the Lord’s elect ones of his great deeds, and tell them that this beast is a type of the great persecution which is to come. If then you are prepared beforehand, and repent with all your hearts towards the Lord, you will be able to escape it, if your heart be made pure and blameless, and you serve the Lord blamelessly for the rest of the days of your life. Cast your cares upon the Lord, and he will put them straight.

Believe on the Lord, you who are double-minded, that he can do all things, and turns his wrath away from you, and sends scourges on you who are double-minded. Woe to those who hear these words and disobey; it were better for them not to have been born.

I asked her concerning the four colours which[*](The four colours on the Leviathan) the beast had on its head. She answered and said to me, Are you again curious about such matters? Yes, I said, Lady, let me know what they are.

Listen, she said, the black is this world, in which you are living;

the colour of fire and blood means that this world must be destroyed by blood and fire.

The golden part is you, who have fled from this world, for even as gold is tried in the fire, and becomes valuable, so also you who live among them,[*](The them means fire and blood ; but the construction of the sentence is awkward.) are being tried. Those then who remain and pass through the flames shall be purified by them. Even as the gold puts away its dross, so also you will put away all sorrow and tribulation, and will be made pure and become useful for the building of the tower.

But the white part is the world to come, in which the elect of God shall dwell, for those who have been chosen by God for eternal life will be without spot and pure.