Shepherd of Hermas 10

11. “What,” I said, “did they endure?” She says, “Listen: scourges, imprisonments, great afflictions, crosses, wild beasts—for the sake of the Name. For this reason the right-hand parts of the sanctuary belong to them, and to whoever suffers because of the Name; but the left-hand parts belong to the rest. Yet for both, those sitting on the right and those on the left, the gifts are the same and the promises the same—only those on the right sit there and have some glory.”

22. “But you are eager to sit on the right with them; yet your shortcomings are many. Still, you will be cleansed from your shortcomings, and all who are not double-minded will be cleansed from all their sins up to this day.”

33. After she had said these things, she wanted to depart; but I fell at her feet and asked her by the Lord to show me the vision that she had promised me.

44. And again she took hold of my hand, raised me up, and seated me on the bench on the left; and she herself sat on the right. And, lifting up a certain bright rod, she says to me, “Do you see a great thing?” I say to her, “Lady, I see nothing.” She says to me, “[You,] look—do you not see opposite you a great tower being built upon the waters with square, shining stones?”

55. The tower was being built in a square by the six young men who had come with her; and myriads of other men were bringing stones, some from the deep and others from the land, and were handing them to the six young men. They would take them and build.

66. The stones hauled up from the deep they set, every one, into the building just as they were; for they were fitted and matched the joining with the other stones, and so were joined to one another, so that their joint was not visible. The construction of the tower appeared as if it had been built from a single stone.

77. But of the other stones being brought from the dry land, some they were rejecting, and some they were putting into the building; others they were cutting and throwing far from the tower.

88. Many other stones lay around the tower, and they were not using them for the building—for some of them were scabby, others had cracks, others were mutilated, others were white and round, not fitting for the building.

99. And I saw other stones being thrown far from the tower and coming into the road, and not remaining in the road but rolling into the wasteland; others falling into fire and being burned; others falling near waters and not being able to roll into the water, though they wanted to roll and come into the water.