Hermas (est 80-140A.D.)

Hermas or otherwise known as Hermes of Philippopolis is believed to have lived somewhere around 80-140A.D. He is believed to have once been a slave that was brought to Greece, however at some point in his life he started to walk the life of a prophet. The main source for information about Hermas is a book called The Good Shepherd which has three sections; the first contains five visions, the second contains twelve mandates and the last contains ten parables. He is also mentioned in other places, for example he is mentioned by Paul in Romans16:14, and it is also suggested that he is the brother of Pius the bishop of Rome.

In the visions he is visited at various points by a woman, twice while making the journey to Cumae where he says:

“I had walked a little, I fell asleep; and the spirit caught me away”

At first he mistakes the woman for a sibyl who has been sent to give him messages from God, yet in his second vision he is told that it is not a sibyl but that the woman symbolises the Church of God. As the story of the visions develop, it is made clear that Hermes is a man of simplicity and innocence who keeps himself away from lusts. When he sees visions he describes it as being carried away or his hair would stand on end. He also mentions that he would spend a lot of time in prayer and fasting and meditating.

In the section of mandates, this time Hermas is visited by the Good Shepherd who gives him twelve mandates or commandments, each one is long and very detailed, yet they can be simplified for example believers should fear God but not the devil and the spirits and prophets are to be tried by their works and so on.

My favorite of the parables from the last section of the book is the one that says these times are like the winter and you cannot tell by the empty trees which are dry and which are not, if it was summer you would see some have fruit and some are barren, and so it is with the righteous and the sinner as their worlds have become so intwined that you cannot tell them apart.