But
the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and
no torment will touch them.
In
the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died.
Their
departure was considered affliction,
and
their travel away from us ruin;
But
they are in peace.
For
even if in the sight of men they are punished,
their
hope is full of immortality.
Having
borne a little chastening, they will receive great good;
because
God tested them and found them worthy of himself.
He
tested them like gold in the furnace,
and
he accepted them as a whole burnt offering.
In
the time of their visitation they will shine.
They
will run back and forth like sparks among stubble.
They
will judge nations and have dominion over peoples.
The
Lord will reign over them forever.
Those
who trust him will understand truth.
The
faithful will live with him in love,
because
grace and mercy are with his chosen ones.
Wisdom of
Solomon 3:1-9
This
beautiful passage describes heaven. I
particularly like the reference to the souls that, “will run back and forth like
sparks among stubble.” I have never
found any interpretation of this, but I assume it refers to St. Elmo’s Fire –
static discharges in the winter-dry harvested wheat fields that probably
mysteriously illuminated the night in ancient times.
(This passage
may not be familiar to Jewish and Protestant readers. The Wisdom of Solomon is considered Apocrypha
in those traditions.)
