A resume of the Similitudes of the Shepherd of Hermas Book (part 5)

A resume of the Similitudes of the Shepherd of Hermas Book (part 5)

The Seventh Similitude

The affliction comes to provoke repenting:

"...thou shouldest be afflicted for a while, that they also may repent
and cleanse themselves from every lust of this world.
When therefore they repent and are cleansed,
then the avenging angel shall depart."
(Shepherd of Hermas 7th Sim. 1.2)

The head of the house bears a bigger responsability and may suffer because of his family:

"The Glorious Angel is angered, yet what have I done?
They, quoth he, cannot else be afflicted except thou,
the head of all the house, be afflicted; for when thou art afflicted
of necessity they too shall be afflicted, but so long as thou prosperest
they can suffer no affliction.
(Shepherd of Hermas 7th Sim. 1.3)

The delay time between repention and healing.

"Thinkest thou then that the sins of those who repent are straightway remitted?
By no means; but he who repenteth must vex his own soul,
and humble himself mightily in all that he doeth, and be afflicted with all the
different afflictions; and if he endure the afflictions that come upon him,
He who created and strengthened all things will surely have mercy and
grant an healing.
(Shepherd of Hermas 7th Sim. 1.4) 

The afflictions of the righteous are shown before:

"And herein thank thou the Lord, for that He hath accounted thee worthy
to have thine affliction shewed thee before, so that foreknowing it thou mayest
bear it stedfastly." (Shepherd of Hermas 7th Sim. 1.4)

The Lord is with us during the affliction period too.

"6. I said to him, Sir, be thou with me,
and I shall be well able to bear all adversity.
I, quoth he, will be with thee; and I will also entreat the avenging angel
to afflict thee more lightly.
Yet a little while thou shalt be afflicted, and again thou shalt be restored
to thy house; only continue to be of lowly mind and serve the Lord
with a pure heart, thou and thy children and thy house,
and walk in my commandments which I command thee,
and thy repentance shall be able to be effectual and pure. "
(Shepherd of Hermas 7th Sim. 1.6)

If we keep these commandments the afflictions shall depart.

"7. If thou keep them, with thy house, all affliction shall depart from thee;
and affliction, quoth he, shall depart from all such as walk in these
my commandments. "
(Shepherd of Hermas 7th Sim. 1.7)

A resume of the Similitudes of the Shepherd of Hermas Book (part 4)

A resume of the Similitudes of the Shepherd of Hermas Book (part 4)

The angel of luxury and deceit

"1. And the Shepherd said to me, Seest thou this pastor? 
I see him, sir, quoth I.  This, quoth he, is the angel of luxury and deceit       
He weareth out the souls of God's servants and subverteth them from the truth,
cheating them with evil lusts whereby they perish.
2. For they forget the commandments of the living God,
and walk in vain deceits and delights, and are destroyed by this angel,
some unto death and some unto decay." (Shepherd of Hermas 6th Sim. 2.1,2)

"In them there is no repentance unto life, for they added to their sins
and blasphemed against the name of God.
To such men belongeth death." (Shepherd of Hermas 6th Sim. 2.3)

The angel of retribution

"1. Seeing them then so scourged and in misery I was grieved over them,
because they were thus tormented and had no respite at all.
2. And I said to the Shepherd who was speaking with me, Sir,
who is this shepherd that is so unmerciful and cruel and quite without pity
upon these sheep? This, quoth he, is the angel of retribution;
and he is one of the righteous angels, and is set over punishment.
3. He rcceiveth therefore such as have strayed away from God and walked
in the lusts and deceits of this world, and punisheth them with dreadful
and divers punishments according to their deserving." (Shepherd of Hermas 6th Sim. 3.2,3)

 "... the divers punishments and torments are torments during lifetime.
For some are punished with losses, some with wants, some with sundry infirmities,
some with all unsettlement; and some by being insulted by the unworthy,
and by suffering many other mishaps." (Shepherd of Hermas 6th Sim. 3.4)

The suffering, repentance, righteousness, happiness.

"6. When therefore they have been afflicted with all manner of affliction,
they are delivered to me for good instruction and made strong
in the faith of the Lord, and the rest of the days of their life
they serve the Lord with a pure heart;
and if they repent, the evil things that they have done come into their mind,
and then they glorify God, saying that He is a just judge and that they
have suffered justly, each according to his doings.
And thenceforth they serve the Lord with a pure heart and are prospered
in all their doings, receiving from the Lord all things that they ask;
and then they glorify the Lord for that they were delivered to me,
and they never again suffer any ill." (Shepherd of Hermas 6th Sim. 3.6)

The time of torment. One year per day.

"As many days therefore as one liveth in pleasure,
so many years he is tormented." (Shepherd of Hermas 6th Sim. 4.4)

OBS: In accordance with Num. xiv. 34, Ezek. iv. 6 each day for a year, and
John xi. 9 Are there not twelve hours in the day?
although "day" there means daytime, he makes " the day of torment " equal
twelve months. Compare in Aboth iv. (Jewish Fathers, p. 74),
" Better is one hour of repentance and good works in this world than all the life
of the world to come  better is one hour of refreshment of spirit in the world
to come than all the life of this world." (Shepherd of Hermas 6th Sim. Taylor vol II, page 42)

The pleasures that hurt men.

"5. What manner of pleasures, sir, quoth I, are hurtful?
Every act, quoth he, which he doeth gladly is a pleasure to a man,
The passionate man in satisfying his own temper delighteth himself;
and the adulterer and the drunkard and the slanderer and the liar
and the covetous and the defrauder and they who
(do the like to these things indulge their proper disease, each taking pleasure
in what he doeth.
6. All these pleasures are hurtful to the servants of God,
and because of these deceits do they suffer who are punished and tormented. "
(Shepherd of Hermas 6th Sim. 5.5,6)

A resume of the Similitudes of the Shepherd of Hermas Book (part 3)

A resume of the Similitudes of the Shepherd of Hermas Book (part 3)

Fifth Similitude

Do no wickdness and serve with pure heart is better than fasting.

Fasting is good, but doesn´t help if the person don´t keep the commandments of the Lord.
If keeping the commandments he adds the fasting, so great, but otherwise the fast is not going to fix the lack of obedience.

Hermas was fasting and sit in a mountain, but his fasting was said to be unprofitable by the angel.
Hermas explained he fasted as acustomed and that he was "keeping a station", but the angel said he would tell he what kind of fast pleases the Lord.

"4. God desireth not such vain fasting; for by fasting thus unto God thou shalt
do nothing for righteousness. But fast thou such a fast as this unto God.
5. Do no wickedness in thy life, and serve the Lord with a pure heart.
Keep His precepts and walk in His ordinances, and let no evil lust arise
in thy heart; but believe in God.
If thou do these things and fear Him, and contain thyself from every evil deed,
thou shalt live unto God; and these things if thou do,
thou shalt accomplish a great fast and one acceptable to God." (Shepherd of Hermas 5th Sim. 1.4,5)

"5. This fasting, quoth he, when the commandments of the Lord are observed,
is exceeding good. Thus then shalt thou keep this fast which thou art about
to observe.
6. First of all keep thyself from every evil word and every evil desire,
and cleanse thy heart from all the vanities of this world.
If thou keep these things, this shall be a perfect fast for thee." (Shepherd of Hermas 5th Sim. 3.5,6)

"8. If thou thus accomplish the fast as I have enjoined thee,
thy sacrifice shall be accepted of God, and this fast shall be registered;
for the service so performed is good and agreeable and acceptable unto the Lord." (Shepherd of Hermas 5th Sim. 3.8)

Keep your body also clean and pure.

"Attend now, quoth he; keep this thy flesh pure and undefiled,
that the Spirit which dwelleth in it may bear witness to it,
and thy flesh maybe justified.
2. Beware lest the thought arise in thy heart that this thy flesh is to perish,
and thou abuse it with any pollution.
If thou pollute thy flesh thou shalt pollute the Holy Spirit also;
the which if thou pollute thou shalt not live." (Shepherd of Hermas 5th Sim. 7.1,2)

"¹⁶ yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." (Gal. 2:16)

A resume of the Similitudes of the Shepherd of Hermas Book (part 2)

A resume of the Similitudes of the Shepherd of Hermas Book (part 2)

Third Similitude

The righteous and the sinners are like the live and the dead trees.
In the winter they look alike, but when the summer comes
a great difference will became evident.

"... These trees which thou seest are they that dwell in this world.  
... neither the righteous nor the sinners appear in this world, 
but they are alike; for this world is winter to the righteous, 
and they appear not while they dwell with the sinners.
3. For as in the winter the trees when they have cast their
leaves are alike, and neither the dry nor the living are seen
to be what they are, so in this world neither the righteous
nor the sinners appear, but they are all alike." (Shepherd of Hermas 3rd Sim. 1.1-3)

Forth Similitude

The forth similitude is actually a continuation of the third similitude.

"2. These trees, quoth he, which are sprouting are the righteous,
who shall dwell in the world to come; for the world to come
is summer to the righteous but winter to sinners." (Shepherd of Hermas 4th Sim. 1.2)

"When therefore the mercy of the Lord shall shine forth,
then shall they who serve God be manifested, and all shall be manifested.
3. For as in summer the fruits of the several trees are manifested,
and it is known of what kind they are, so also shall the fruits of the righteous
be manifest; and all of them shall be known when they are blossoming in that world.
4. But, as thou sawest the dry trees, so the heathen and the sinners shall be found
dry and unfruitful in that world, and they shall be burned like logs
and shall be manifest; because their doing in their lifetime was evil.
The sinners shall be burned because they sinned and repented not;
and the heathen shall be burned because they knew not Him who created them.
5. Do thou therefore bear fruit, that in that summer thy fruit may be known."
(Shepherd of Hermas 4th Sim. 1.2-5)

Refrain from excess of business

"Refrain from excess of business, and thou shalt commit no sin.
For they who are busied overmuch also sin much,
being cumbered by their affairs and not serving their own Lord.
6. How, quoth he, can such an one ask and receive anything from the Lord,
when he doth not serve the Lord?
They who serve Him are they that shall receive their requests,
and they who serve not the Lord shall receive nothing."
(Shepherd of Hermas 4th Sim. 1.5,6)

A resume of the Similitudes of the Shepherd of Hermas Book (part 1)

A resume of the Similitudes of the Shepherd of Hermas Book (part 1)

The Book Shepherd of Hermas have many similitudes that I find very instructive for the servants of God. These texts help us understand better some doctrines of Lord Jesus and the way of thinking of the righteous of the first century.
I recommend you to read the whole book, but if you want a resume to have a look of what this book have to offer this is it.

First Similitude - We are dwelling in a foring city, preparing to return to our own city.

Why prepare vain habitations?

"1. HE said to me, Ye know, ye who are God's servants,
that ye are dwelling in a strange land;
for your city is far off from this city.
If then ye know your city in which ye are to dwell,
why prepare ye here fields and costly arrays and buildings
and vain habitations?
2. He who prepareth these things for this city thinketh not of
returning to his own city." (Shepherd of Hermas 1st Sim. 1.1,2)

"6. Take heed therefore and, as one that dwelleth in a strange land,
provide no more for thyself than the competency which sufficeth thee..."
(Shepherd of Hermas 1st Sim. 1.6)

Keep the law of your (celestial) city.

"For rightly saith the lord of this country unto thee,
Either use my laws or get thee out of my country.
5. Thou then, what wilt thou do, seeing thou hast a law in thine own city?
See if it is not unprofitable for thee to deny thy law;
for if thou then desire to return to thy city,
thou shalt surely not be received, because thou hast denied the law
of thy city, but shalt be shut out from it. "
(Shepherd of Hermas 1st Sim. 1.5)

What should the rich do with the money?
Invest in people salvation, help the poor.

"7. Take heed ye that serve God and have Him in your heart;
work the works of God, remembering His commandments and the promises
which He promised, and believe that He will perform them
if His commandments be kept.
8. Instead of fields therefore purchase souls that are afflicted,
according as one is able, and visit widows and orphans and neglect them not.
On such fields and houses freely spend your wealth and all your array
which ye have received from God.
9. For thereunto did the Master enrich you, that ye might fulfil
these ministrations unto Him. Far better is it to buy
such lands and possessions and houses as thou shalt find in
thy city when thou goest home to it."
(Shepherd of Hermas 1st Sim. 1.7-9)

Second Similitude - The Elm and the Vine - Rich and Poor

In this similitude the Elm represents a servant of God that is rich but produces no fruit alone, and the Vine represents the servant of god that is poor and produces fruit. If the Elm support the Vine, the vine will produce more fruits and the elm will share the participation on th vine´s fruits so the fruits are from both.
So the rich servant of God should help and support the poor servant so they can produce toguether many fruits.

"... the elm having water nourisheth the vine, and the vine having continual
moisture yieldeth double increase, for itself and for the elm.
Thus also the poor by interceding with the Lord for the rich fulfil
their wealth; and again the rich by supplying the needs of the poor
satisfy their souls.
9. So then both become partners in the righteous work."
(Shepherd of Hermas 2nd Sim. 1.8,9)

A resume of the Mandates on the Book of Shepherd of Hermas (part 6)

A resume of the Mandates on the Book of Shepherd of Hermas (part 6)

The Resume List of The Commandments of God
according to the book of Shepherd of Hermas.

1 - Believe there is one God Creator of all things
2 - Fear God
3 - Be continent
4 - Learn no guile
5 - Speak evil of no man. Slander not.
6 - Do good. Work the thing that is good.
7 - Give
8 - Say only truth
9 - Purity of thought. Don´t even think about another man´s wife.
10 - Never remarry. But receive the repented wife.
11 - Be longsuffering and prudent
12 - Believe in what is righteous (in the agnel of righteousness), and put no faith in the unrighteous (in the angel of wickedness).
13 - Doubt not when asking something to the Lord.
14 - Repent, but don´t live in sorrow forever.
15 - Put on joyfulness.
16 - Study the scriptures. Search about the truth. Cleave therefore unto the Lord.
17 - Put away from thee every evil desire, and put on the good and holy desire

A resume of the Mandates on the Book of Shepherd of Hermas (part 5)

A resume of the Mandates on the Book of Shepherd of Hermas (part 5)

Twelveth Mandate

17 - Put away from thee every evil desire, and put on the good and holy desire:

"1. HE said to me, Put away from thee every evil desire,
and put on the good and holy desire; for having put on this desire thou shalt
hate the evil desire, and shalt curb it as thou wilt. "
(Shepherd of Hermas 12th Mand. 1.1)

Examples of evil desires:

 "1. FOREMOST of all is the desire for another's wife or husband,
and for much outlay of wealth, and for divers vain meats and strong drinks
and many other foolish luxuries; for all luxury is foolish and vain to
the servants of God." (Shepherd of Hermas 12th Mand. 2.1)

Evil desires are deadly:

 "3. But as many as are overmastered by them and withstand them not perish utterly,
for these desires are deadly.
4. But do thou put on the desire of righteousness, and being fully armed
with the fear of the Lord withstand them.
For the fear of the Lord dwelleth in the good desire.
The evil desire, if she see thee armed in the fear of God and withstanding her,
will flee far from thee and be no more seen of thee, being in fear of thy arms."
(Shepherd of Hermas 12th Mand. 2.3,4)

Examples of good desires:

 "1. I WOULD know, sir, quoth I, by what behaviour I must serve the good desire.
Hear, quoth he;
work righteousness and virtue, truth and fear of the Lord,
faith and meekness, and whatsoever good things are like unto these.
If thou do these things thou shalt be a wellpleasing servant of God,
and shalt live unto Him; and every one who serveth the good desire shall
live unto God."
 (Shepherd of Hermas 12th Mand. 3.1)

The end of the commandments list:

 "2. So he made an end of the twelve commandments, and said unto me,
Thou hast these commandments; walk therein, and exhort them that hear,
that their repentance may be pure the rest of the days of their life.
3. Do thy diligence to accomplish this ministry which I give thee,
and thou shalt do much; for thou shalt find favour with those who are about
to repent, and they shall be persuaded by thy words; for I will be with thee,
and will constrain them to obey thee."  (Shepherd of Hermas 12th Mand. 3.2,3)

Keeping these commandments is not as hard as it looks.

"... But I wot not if these commandments can be kept by a man,
because they are exceeding hard.
5. He answered and said to me, If thou put it to thyself that they can be kept,
thou shalt keep them easily, and they will not be hard;
but If it enter thy heart that they cannot be kept by a man,
thou wilt not keep them." (Shepherd of Hermas 12th Mand. 3.4,5)

Salvation depends on keeping these commandments:

"6. Now therefore I say unto thee, If thou keep them not, but neglect them,
thou shalt not have salvation, neither thy children nor thy house,
since thou hast already judged for thyself that these commandments
cannot be kept by a man." (Shepherd of Hermas 12th Mand. 3.6)

"5. Thou shalt keep them, quoth he, if thy heart be pure unto the Lord;
and all who cleanse their hearts from the vain desires of this world
shall keep them, and they shall live unto God. " (Shepherd of Hermas 12th Mand. 6.5)

Repent:

"O foolish, unwise, and doubleminded man, perceivest thou not the glory of God,
how great and strong and marvellous it is for He created the world for the sake
of man, and put all His creation in subjection to man, and gave him
all authority to rule over all things under heaven?
3. If then, quoth he, man is lord of the creatures of God and hath dominion
over them all, can he not have dominion over these commandments also?
The man, quoth he, who hath the Lord in his heart is able to have dominion
over all things and all these commandments.
4. But they who have the Lord on their lips, and their heart hardened,
and who are far from the Lord, to them these commandments are difficult and hard
to walk in.
5. Set ye therefore the Lord in your hearts, ye that are empty and light
in the faith, and ye shall know that there is nothing easier nor sweeter
nor gentler than these commandments.
6. Turn again ye that walk in the commandments of the devil,
that are so hard and bitter and wild and wanton, and fear not the devil,
because in him there is no power against you.
7. For I, the Angel of Repentance, who have dominion over him,
will be with you.
The devil hath only fear, and his fear hath no force; fear him not therefore,
and he shall flee from you." (Shepherd of Hermas 12th Mand. 4.2-7)

 "... if ye turn to the Lord with all your heart and do righteousness the rest
of the days of your life and serve Him rightly according to His will,
He will heal your former sins; and ye shall have power to have dominion
over the works of the devil.
3. Hearken to me therefore, and fear Him who is all-able,
to save and to destroy; and observe these commandments,
and ye shall live unto God. " (Shepherd of Hermas 12th Mand. 6.2,3)

"3. These commandments are profitable to such as are about to repent;
for except they walk in them their repentance is in vain.
4. Do ye therefore who repent cast off the wickednesses of this world
which wear you away; and having put on every virtue of righteousness
ye shall be able to observe these commandments, and no longer to add
to your sins. If ye add no more at all to them, ye shall depart from your
former sins. Walk then in these my commandments, and ye shall live unto God."
(Shepherd of Hermas 6th Sim. 1.3,4)