154. On the subject of Divine worship they said that they acknowledged God in human form, that is, our Lord. For any who acknowledge the God of the universe in human form are acceptable to the Lord and are guided by Him. The rest cannot be guided, since their thought is shapeless. They added that the inhabitants of their world are taught about things in heaven by some kind of direct contact with angels and spirits. It is easier for them than for others to be brought into contact by the Lord, because they banish bodily things from their thoughts and affections.
I asked what happens to wicked people among them. They said no one was allowed in their world to behave badly, but if anyone had wicked thoughts and did wicked deeds, he is rebuked by a certain spirit, who threatens him with death if he persists in wrongdoing. If he still persists, he loses consciousness and dies. In this way the people of that world are saved from being infected by the wicked.
One of the spirits of this kind was sent to me, to talk with me as he does with the wicked. In addition he caused me a certain amount of pain in the abdominal region, saying that this was what he did to those who have wicked thoughts and do wicked deeds, threatening them with death if they persisted. They said that those who profane sacred things are severely punished. Before the spirit appears to punish them, they have a vision of a lion's jaws gaping wide open, livid in colour, looking as if it intended to swallow their head and tear it from the body. This gives them a dreadful fright. They call the spirit who punishes them a devil.
