Part 3: The Threshing Floor Summary

In this chapter, John experiences an ecstatic religious transformation that is described in fantastic terms. Much of this section of the book is devoted to describing dreams and visions that John has while experiencing a religious ecstasy. During the service, John is overcome by wanting to be like Elisha and wants to become saved as a way to escape his father's domination. This yearning is described here: "In his heart there was a sudden yearning tenderness for holy Elisha; desire, sharp and awful as a reflecting knife, to usurp the body of Elisha, and lie where Elisha lay; to speak in tongues, as Elisha spoke, and, with that authority, to confound his father." While in the church, during the small evening service he suddenly feels himself overwhelmed by feeling, drops to the dusty floor and begins to...