The Pilgrim's Progress - Part One
The Author's Apology for His Book | Introduction | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | Conclusion
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I saw also that the INTERPRETER took him again by the hand, and led him into a pleasant place, where was builded a stately palace, beautiful to behold; at the sight of which CHRISTIAN was greatly delighted: he saw also upon the top thereof certain persons walking, who were clothed all in gold.

Chr. Then said CHRISTIAN, "May we go in thither?"

Then the INTERPRETER took him and led him up toward the door of the palace; and behold, at the door stood a great company of men, as desirous to go in, but durst not. There also sat a man at a little distance from the door, at a table side, with a book and his ink horn before him, to take the name of him that should enter therein: he saw also that in the doorway stood many men in armour, to keep it, being resolved to do to the men that would enter what hurt and mischief they could. Now was CHRISTIAN somewhat amazed: at last, when every man started back, for fear of the armed men, CHRISTIAN saw a man of a very stout countenance come up to the man that sat there to write, saying, "Set down my name, sir"; the which when he had done, he saw the man draw his sword, and put a helmet upon his head, and rush toward the door upon the armed men, who laid upon him with deadly force; but the man not at all discouraged, fell to cutting and hacking most fiercely. So, after he had received and given many wounds to those that attempted to keep him out, he cut his way through them all, and pressed forward into the palace;

"Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."
~ Acts 14:22 ~

at which there was a pleasant voice heard from those that were within even of those that walked upon the top of the palace, saying,

"Come in! Come in!
Eternal glory thou shalt win."

So he went in, and was clothed with such garments as they. Then CHRISTIAN smiled and said, "I think, verily, I know the meaning of this."

"Now," said CHRISTIAN, "let me go hence."

"Nay, stay," said the INTERPRETER, "till I have showed thee a little more; and after that thou shall go on thy way." So he took him by the hand again, and led him into a very dark room, where there sat a man in an iron cage.

Now, the man, to look on, seemed very sad. He sat with his eyes looking down to the ground; his hands folded together; and he sighed as if he would break his heart. Then said CHRISTIAN, "What means this?" At which the INTERPRETER bid him talk with the man.

Chr. Then said CHRISTIAN to the man, "What art thou?"

Backslider. The man answered, "I am what I was not once."

Chr. What wast thou once?

Back. The man said, "I was once a fair and flourishing professor,
both in mine own eyes and also in the eyes of others: I once
was, as I thought, fair for the Celestial City, and had then even joy
at the thoughts that I should get thither."

"They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away."
~ Luke 8:13 ~

Chr. Well, but what art thou now?

Back. I am now a man of despair, and am shut up in it, as in this iron cage. I cannot get out; oh now, I cannot!

Chr. But how camest thou in this condition?

Back. I left off to watch and be sober; I laid the reins upon the neck of my lusts; I sinned against the Light of the World, and the goodness of God. I have grieved the Spirit, and he is gone. I tempted the devil, and he is come to me. I have provoked God to anger, and he has left me. I have so hardened my heart, that I cannot repent.

Then said CHRISTIAN to the INTERPRETER, "But is there no hope for such a man as this?" "Ask him," said the INTERPRETER.

Chr. Then said CHRISTIAN, "Is there no hope, but you must be kept in the iron cage of despair?"

Back. No, none at all!

Chr. Why? The Son of the Blessed is very pitiful.

Back. I have crucified him to myself afresh;

"If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."
~ Hebrews 6:6 ~

I have despised his person;

"But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us."
~ Luke 19:14 ~

I have despised his righteousness; I have counted his blood an unholy thing; I have done despite to the Spirit of grace:

"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"
~ Hebrews 10:26-29 ~

therefore I have shut myself out of all the promises, and there now remains to me nothing but threatenings--dreadful threatenings --fearful threatenings, of certain judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour me as an adversary.

Chr. For what did you bring yourself into this condition?

Back. For the lusts, pleasures, and profits of this world; in the enjoyment of which I did then promise myself much delight; but now everyone of those things also bite me and gnaw me like a burning worm.

Chr. But canst thou not now repent and turn?

Back. God hath denied me repentance. His Word gives me no encouragement to believe: yea, he himself hath shut me up in this iron cage; nor can all the men in the world let me out. Oh, eternity! eternity! how shall I grapple with the misery that I must meet with in eternity?

Inter. Then said the INTERPRETER to CHRISTIAN, "Let this man's misery be remembered by thee, and be an everlasting caution to thee."

Chr. "Well," said CHRISTIAN, "this is fearful! God help me to watch and be sober, and to pray that I may shun the cause of this man's misery. Sir, is it not time for me to go on my way now?"

Inter. Tarry till I shall show thee one thing more, and then
thou shalt go on thy way.

So he took CHRISTIAN by the hand again, and led him into a chamber where there was one rising out of bed; and as he put on his raiment, he shook and trembled. Then said CHRISTIAN, "Why doth this man thus tremble?" The INTERPRETER then bade him tell to CHRISTIAN the reason of his so doing. So he began and said, "This night, as I was in my sleep, I dreamed: and behold, the heavens grew exceeding black; also it thundered and lightened in most fearful wise, that it put me into an agony. So I looked up in my dream, and saw the clouds rack at an unusual rate; upon which I heard a great sound of a trumpet, and saw also a Man sit upon a cloud, attended with the thousands of heaven; they were all in flaming fire, also the heavens were on a burning flame. I heard then a voice, saying, 'Arise, ye dead, and come to Judgment!' and with that the rocks rent, the graves opened, and the dead that were therein came forth:

"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice"
~ John 5:28 ~

"Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."
~ 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 ~

"For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing."
~ 1 Thessalonians 1:8 ~



"To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
~ Jude 15 ~

"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
~ Revelation 20:11-14 ~

some of them were exceeding glad, and looked upward; and some sought to hide themselves under the mountains: then I saw the Man that sat upon the cloud open the book and bid the world draw near.

"The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him."
~ Psalm 50:1-3 ~

"For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain."
~ Isaiah 26:21 ~

"The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee."
~ Micah 7:16, 17 ~

Yet there was by reason of a fierce flame that issued out and came before him, a convenient distance betwixt him and them, as betwixt the judge and the prisoners at the bar.

"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened."
~ Daniel 7:9, 10 ~

"But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness."
~ Malachi 3:2, 3 ~

I heard it also proclaimed to them that attended the Man that sat on the cloud, 'Gather together the tares, the chaff and stubble, and cast them into the burning lake:

"Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
~ Matthew 3:12 ~

"Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."
~ Matthew 13:30 ~

"For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
~ Malachi 4:1 ~

and with that the bottomless pit opened just whereabout I stood; out of the mouth of which there came, in an abundant manner, smoke, and coals of fire, with hideous noises. It was also said to the same persons, 'Gather my wheat into the garner'.

"Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable."
~ Luke 3:17 ~

And with that I saw many caught up and carried away into the clouds;

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
~ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 ~

but I was left behind. I also sought to hide myself, but I could not, for the Man that sat upon the cloud still kept his eye upon me: my sins also came into my mind, and my conscience did accuse me on every side.

"For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another"
~ Romans 2:14-15 ~

Upon this I waked from my sleep."

Chr. But what was it that made you so afraid of this sight?

Unready. Why, I thought that the Day of Judgment was come, and that I was not ready for it: but this frightened me most, that the angels gathered up several, and left me behind; also the pit of hell opened her mouth just where I stood. My conscience, too, afflicted me; and, as I thought, the Judge had always his eye upon me, showing indignation in his countenance.

Then said the INTERPRETER to CHRISTIAN, "Hast thou considered all these things?"

Chr. Yes: and they put me in hope and fear.

Inter. Well, keep all things so in thy mind that they may be as a goad in thy sides, to prick thee forward in the way thou must go. Then CHRISTIAN began to gird up his loins, and to address himself to his journey. Then said the INTERPRETER, "The Comforter be always with thee, good CHRISTIAN, to guide thee in the way that leads to the city."

So CHRISTIAN went on his way, saying:

"Here I have seen things rare and profitable:
Things pleasant; dreadful things--to make me stable
In what I have begun to take in hand:
Then let me think on them, and understand
Wherefore they showed me were; and let me be
Thankful, O good INTERPRETER, to thee."

The Pilgrim's Progress - Part One
The Author's Apology for His Book | Introduction | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | Conclusion
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