172. After this some monastic spirits were seen, some, that is, who had been travelling monks or missionaries in the world, as already mentioned above. We also saw a crowd of spirits from that world, most of them wicked ones, whom they had induced to accept their views and so seduced. There were to be seen towards the eastern regions of that world; they had driven the good away from there, and these had taken themselves off to the north side of that world, as I said before. The whole crowd together with its seducers were collected together until they numbered several thousand, and then separated, the wicked among them being cast into hells.
I was able to talk with one of the monastic spirits and enquire what he was doing there. He said it was to teach them about the Lord. Asked what else, he said about heaven and hell; and further, about trusting everything he was going to say; and further, about the power of remitting sins and opening and closing heaven. He was then tested on his knowledge of the Lord, the truths of faith, the remission of sins, personal salvation, and heaven and hell. It transpired that he knew hardly anything, having vague and false notions about every single subject. All he had was a desire to gain advantage and exercise control; this he had acquired in the world and brought with him from there. He was therefore told that, having been led by that desire to journey to that world and being so deficient in his teaching, he could do nothing for the spirits of that world but deprive them of heaven's light and substitute the darkness of hell, so ensuring that hell, and not the Lord, would rule amongst them. Moreover, he was crafty in seducing, but a fool as regards heavenly matters; and being such a one, he was then cast into hell. By this the spirits of that world were freed from these attackers.
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