LIFE & JOURNAL - Christian Israelite Church

1819-1822
not like Abraham when he offered up his son Isaac for a
sacrifice; thou hast with holden thine heart back from the Lord
thy God, but now thou art cleansed - Spirit, return to thy rest.”
And as sudden as lightning these words struck forcibly upon
me: “Though I walk through the valley and shadow of death, I
fear no evil, as long as thy rod and thy staff abideth with me.”
All the time I was in this situation (which was about twelve
hours), I knew what was passing in the room, and what every
person was saying, and shook hands with them, expecting that I
was immediately to leave the body.
About two days after, on the 14 th of November, about ten in
the morning, I had a second vision, being struck blind as on the
first, and remaining so for the space of seven hours. I was as if
I were travelling a long journey, in a lane which I could not
recollect, where I beheld a great many beasts and horned cattle,
which could not be numbered, one differing from another,
looking harmless and down to the ground: they were all of them
laid; I turned me round, and beheld one of a very large kind. I
thought I walked about a mile among those beasts, until I came
to my former place, where my guide said, “I’ll tell thee the
meaning of these beasts: that large one which thou sawest was
the king of beasts.” He then took me into a large place, where I
saw a great quantity of books put on the edge, with gilt letters
which I could not read; and there appeared a large altar full of
gilt letters. I begged that I might read that writing, and
understand it. There likewise appeared many more of the same
form, which I desired to read also; and there appeared another,
whose letters were black print, or Old English, and I saw
Jeremiah upon the top of it, and an L. At that time I wrote it on
the wall with my finger, as I laid in my bed; the people, who
were observing me, perceived that I wished to write, and was
not able to speak, for my tongue was fast in my mouth as
before, and they gave me a board and chalk into my hands, and
I wrote Jeremiah 50. My guide turned to me, and said, I will
tell thee the meaning of this chapter. (I had never read it, or
heard it read, or seen it before this time, to my recollection, but
when I came to myself, I could, without looking at the book,
repeat nearly every word in it, which indeed I did.) “Thou shalt