XLIII. 1. And I saw other lightnings and the stars of heaven, and I saw
how He called them all by their names and they hearkened unto Him. 2.
And I saw how they are weighed in a righteous balance according to their
proportions of light: (I saw) the width of their spaces and the day of
their appearing, and how their revolution produces lightning: and (I
saw) their revolution according to the number of the angels, and (how)
they keep faith with each other. 3. And I asked the angel who went with
me who showed me what was hidden: ‘What are these?’ 4. And he said to
me: ‘The Lord of Spirits hath showed thee their parabolic meaning (lit.
‘their parable’): these are the names of the holy who dwell on the earth
and believe in the name of the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever.’
XLIV. Also another phenomenon I saw in regard to the lightnings: how
some of the stars arise and become lightnings and cannot part with their
new form.