Hill of Error
Then I saw in my Dream, that in the morning the Shepherds called up Christian and Hopeful to walk with them upon the Mountains; so they went forth with them, and walked a while, having a pleasant prospect on every side. Then said the Shepherds one to another, Shall we shew these Pilgrims some wonders? So when they had concluded to do it, they had them first to the top of a Hill called Error, which was very steep on the furthest side, and bid them to look down to the bottom. So Christian and Hopeful looked down, and saw at the bottom several men dashed all to pieces by a fall, that they had from the top.
Then said Christian, What meaneth this? The Shepherds answered, Have you not heard of them that were made to err, by hearkening to Hymeneus and Philetus, as concerning the Faith of the Resurrection of the body? They answered, Yes.
Then said the Shepherds, Those that you see lie dashed in pieces at the bottom of this Mountain are they; and they have continued to this day unburied (as you see) for an example to others to take heed how they clamber too high, or how they come too near the brink of this Mountain.
Then I saw that they had them to the top of another Mountain, and the name of that is Caution, and bid them look afar off; which when they did, they perceived, as they thought, several men walking up and down among the tombs that were there; and they perceived that the men were blind, because they stumbled sometimes upon the tombs, and because they could not get out from among them. Then said Christian, What means this?
The Shepherds then answered, Did you not see a little below these Mountains a Stile, that led into a Meadow, on the left hand of this way? They answered, Yes. Then said the Shepherds, From that Stile there goes a path that leads directly to Doubting Castle, which is kept by Giant Despair; and these men (pointing to them among the Tombs) came once on Pilgrimage, as you do now, even till they came to that same Stile; and because the right way was rough in that place, they chose to go out of it into that Meadow, and there were taken by Giant Despair, and cast into Doubting Castle; where, after they had been awhile kept in the Dungeon, he at last did put out their eyes, and led them among those Tombs, where he has left them to wander to this very day, that the saying of the Wise Man might be fulfilled, He that wandereth out of the way of understanding, shall remain in the congregation of the dead. Then Christian and Hopeful looked upon one another, with tears gushing out, but yet said nothing to the Shepherds.
Interpretation:
When we take time to be in the tents of Shepherds, we are warned by the shepherds not to stray aside from the path set by God for us, towards the Hill of Error, the Path Meadow, so that we may not end up in the Doubting Castle which has become the place of spiritual death for many saints. A prophetic ministry is required to teach and to warn us against impending perils during our pilgrimage.
The tents of Shepherds are not only seminars or retreats but the prophetic ministries who give us warnings from time to time. Prophets appointed secondarily in the body of Christ have their own tents in the Delectable Mountains.
Many people have denied the Lord and backslide from their faith in the Doubting Castle. They have ultimately fallen into the deep pit. Many people who had experienced the Cross and the Sepulchre but hearkened to false doctrines that emanated from Hymeneus and Philetus have faced spiritual death in this pit.
Christian and Faithful had strayed into the forbidden land and suffered a lot as they chose to deviate from the path set by God for them. But they escaped the Hill of Error as they did not hearken to false prophets like Hymeneus and Philetus.
Millions in Christendom have fallen a prey to the doctrines of false teachers and have thus attained spiritual death. The Hill of Error is controlled by the Antichrist.