31. Then I saw a vast number of angelic spirits rising from the depths and being lifted up to heaven. These were the sheep, who had been kept back and guarded by the Lord for centuries past, to prevent them from coming into the malign sphere of influence emanating from the dragon-people and having their charity stifled. These are the people meant in the Word by those who came out of their graves, and by the souls of those slain for bearing witness to Jesus, who awoke from sleep; and by those of the first resurrection.