177.

177.

Then said he who writeth: 'O master, hath paradise light from the sun as this world hath?'

Jesus answered: 'Thus hath God said to me, O Barnabas: "The world wherein ye men that are sinners dwell hath the sun and the moon and the stars that adorn it, for your benefit and your gladness; for this have I created.

'"Think ye, then, that the house where my faithful dwell shall not be better? Assuredly, ye err, so thinking: for I, your God, am the sun of paradise, and my messenger is the moon who from me receiveth all; and the stars are my prophets which have preached to you my will. Wherefore my faithful, even as they received my word from my prophets here, shall in like manner obtain delight and gladness through them in the paradise of my delights."