Because of this inflow we have free choice, which is given to us so we
can prepare ourselves to receive the Lord and forge a partnership with
him. Forging a partnership cannot happen unless that partnership is
reciprocal. It becomes reciprocal when we act with our own freedom,
and yet on the basis of faith we attribute all our action to the Lord.”
[ 7 ] Next I asked whether he, like his colleagues, confessed that there
is one God. He replied that he did. Then I said, “I am afraid, though,
that the confession of your heart is that there is no God. What the
mouth says emanates from what the mind thinks, does it not? The con-
fession of your lips that there is one God will therefore tend to drive out
of your mind the thought that there are three, and in turn your mind’s
thought will tend to drive away from your lips the confession that there
is one. Surely this will eventually culminate in denial of God. The posi-
tion that there is no God would eliminate the whole discrepancy
between your mind and your lips. About God, then, your mind will
surely conclude that nature is God. About the Lord, it will conclude
that his soul was either from his mother or from Joseph. Yet all the
angels in heaven turn away from these two conclusions as something
horrible and detestable.”
After I said that, the spirit was sent off into the great pit referred to
in Revelation 9 : 2 – 3 where the dragon’s angels debate the mysteries of
their faith.
[ 8 ] The next day when I looked out at the spot, in place of the tents I
saw two statues that looked like human beings. They were made out of
dust from the ground, which as I say was a mixture of sulfur, iron, and
clay. One statue looked as though it had a scepter in its left hand, a crown
on its head, and a book in its right hand, as well as a bodice held in place
by a diagonal sash covered with gems, and a robe with a train that flowed
out behind it toward the other statue. These features, however, had been
put on the statue through someone’s power to project images.
Then I heard a voice there from some follower of the dragon: “This
statue portrays our faith as a queen. The statue behind it portrays good-
will as faith’s maidservant.”
The other statue was made out of the same mixture of different types
of dust. It was placed just beyond the edge of the robe flowing down off
the queen’s back. The second statue held a sheet of paper in its hand with
writing on it that said, “Warning: don’t come too close or touch the robe.”
Then suddenly a rain shower fell from heaven, drenching each
statue. They began to fizz because they were made out of that mixture of
sulfur, iron, and clay. (A mixture of those substances in powdered form
singke
(singke)
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