from the land of two rivers.’ I stepped out of the chariot and entered the city.”
THE MAN IN THE BLACK ROBE
“I turned again and saw a city on fire and people fleeing it in every direction. In their midst was a man in a black robe with a hood that covered his head—likewise fleeing. The scene changed. I was now standing on a ship filled with slaves in chains. One of them stood out from the rest. It was the man in the black robe. The scene changed again. It now seemed to be something out of the Middle Ages—a procession of men, women, and children, all carrying baggage. Some were crying. In the distance was a burning village. I knew it was their village. And there in the procession was the man in the black robe. Again the scene changed, scene after scene, each of some kind of calamity or sorrow, and departure. And in every scene he was there, the man in the black robe. Finally I approached him. ‘Who are you?’ I asked. ‘My name,’ he said, ‘is Separation.’”
THE IMAGE OF A SIEGE
“I turned again and saw a bearded man in ancient garments walking along a bas-relief carved in the side of a mountain. It depicted the siege of an ancient city; ancient horsemen, soldiers, archers, and lancers; after that colossal birds; and finally lions just as colossal as the birds. The man turned to the engraved lions and spoke to them. They began to move and then to emerge from the wall. They now stood as giant statues, except they were moving. In the distant landscape a war was raging. The lions set out in the direction of the battle. I watched as they encircled one of its mountains and two of them made their way up to its peak, where one of them roared. When the battle ended, the lions returned to the mountain, where they reentered its side and resumed their original positions in the stone relief.”
THE THRESHING FLOOR
“In the next vision I was standing in a meadow. To my right were two angels in the midst of a conversation. ‘Who will perform the sounding?’ the one asked the other. ‘Come,’ said the other, ‘and I’ll show you.’ They walked through a meadow until they came upon a little boy sitting on the grass, dressed in the black clothing of an Orthodox Jew. The two angels sat down beside him, one on each side. One of them handed him an object. It was a ram’s horn. ‘When am I to sound it?’ asked the boy. ‘At the time of the harvest,’ said the angel, ‘and in the place of the threshing floor.’ The scene now changed. The fields and hills were now filled with workers reaping the harvest. ‘It’s time!’ said the boy. He ascended a high hill and entered the gate of a threshing floor made up of golden stones. He then took out the ram’s horn and sounded it. When the people heard the sound, they began converging on the threshing floor with rejoicing and tears.”
THE SUNDIAL
“In the last of the visions within the vision, I found myself standing in front of an antiquities store. I went inside and began browsing through its pottery, coins, oil lamps, and other ancient artifacts. ‘Can I help you?’ asked the man in the store. ‘I’m just looking,’ I replied. ‘You’re looking for answers,’ he said. ‘Come.’ He led me over to a square plate of stone covered with markings. Engraved on the plate was the image of two mountains, one on each side of the stone. ‘It’s a sundial,’ he said, ‘but no ordinary sundial. Watch what it does.’ As I looked, the shadow began moving across its surface from the engraving of the one mountain to that of the other. We were inside, so it had nothing to do with the sun. ‘Keep watching,’ he said. The shadow now began reversing its motion, moving back from the other mountain to the one. ‘This,’ he said, ‘is the clock of restorations.’”
“The larger vision now moved toward its conclusion. I followed the ram through the desert. I began to hear low rumblings, the sound of war. I could now see armies lining up in the distance on every side. The rumblings were growing louder and louder. The armies were drawing near. I feared for the ram. But just then a transformation began. The ram began increasing in size and appearing more and more lionlike.”
“As in the