1 “First of all, Sir,” I said, “explain this to me: what are the rock and the gate?” “This rock and gate,” he said, “are the Son of God.” “How, Sir,” I said, “is the rock ancient, but the gate new?” “Listen,” he said, “and understand, foolish one. 2 The Son of God is older than all His creation, so that He was the Father’s adviser in creation. That is why He is ancient.”⁠a “But why is the gate new, Sir?” I said. 3 “Because,” he said, “He was revealed in the last days of the fulfillment; that is why the gate was made new, so that those who are to be saved can enter through it into the kingdom of God.⁠b 4 Did you see,” he said, “that the stones that came through the gate went into the building of the tower, but those that did not come through it were thrown back to their own place?” “I saw, Sir,” I said. “So,” he said, “no one will enter God’s kingdom unless he receives the name of His Son. 5 For if you want to enter a city that is walled and has only one gate, can you enter that city except through its gate?” “How, Sir,” I said, “could it be done any other way?” “Just as you cannot enter a city except through its gate,” he said, “so no one can enter the kingdom of God except through the name of His beloved Son. 6 Did you see,” he said, “the crowd that is building the tower?” “I saw it, Sir,” I said. “They,” he said, “are all glorious angels. The Lord is walled all around with these. But the gate is the Son of God; there is only one entrance to the Lord. No one will come in to Him except through His Son. 7 Did you see,” he said, “the six men, and among them the glorious and mighty man who walked around the tower and rejected stones from the building?” “I saw him, Sir,” I said. 8 “That glorious man,” he said, “is the Son of God, and those six are the glorious angels who guard Him on the right hand and on the left. No one,” he said, “will go in to God without Him; whoever does not receive His name will not enter God’s kingdom.”