Containing
THE UNIVERSAL THEOLOGY
Of
THE NEW CHURCH
FORETOLD BY THE LORD IN DANIEL 7:13, 14; AND IN REVELATION 21:1, 2
By
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG
Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ
Daniel 7:13, 14
I was seeing in the night vision; and behold there was coming with the clouds of the heavens, one like unto the Son of man. And unto Him was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom; and all people, nations, and tongues shall worship Him. His dominion is the dominion of an age which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not perish.
Revelation 21:1, 2, 5, 9, 10
I John saw a new heaven and a new earth. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, descending from God out of Heaven made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And an angel spake with me, saying, Come, I will show thee the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in spirit upon a mountain great and high, and showed me a great city, the holy Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.
He who sitteth upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful.
CONTENTS.
FAITH OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW CHURCH IN ITS UNIVERSAL FORM AND IN ITS PARTICULAR FORM (n. 1-3).
CHAPTER I.
GOD THE CREATOR.
THE UNITY OF GOD.
(i.) The entire Holy Scripture, and all the doctrines therefrom of the churches in the Christian world, teach that there is a God and that He is one (n. 6-7).
(ii.) There is a universal influx from God into the souls of men of the truth that there is a God and that He is one (n. 8).
(iii.) For this reason in all the world there is no nation possessing religion and sound reason, that does not acknowledge a God and that God is one (n. 9, 10).
(iv.) Respecting what the one God is nations and peoples have differed and still differ from many causes (n. 11).
(v.) Human reason can, if it will, perceive and be convinced from many things in the world, that there is a God, and that He is one (n. 12).
(vi.) If God were not one, the universe could not have been created and preserved (n. 13).
(vii.) Whoever does not acknowledge a God is excommunicated from the church and condemned (n. 14).
(viii.) With men who acknowledge several gods instead of one, there is no coherence in the things relating to the church (n. 15).
THE DIVINE BEING, WHICH IS JEHOVAH.
(i.) The One God is called Jehovah from Esse, that is, because He alone Is, [Was], and is To Be, and because He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega (n. 19).
(ii.) The One God is Substance itself and Form itself; and angels and men are substances and forms from Him; and so far as they are in Him and He is in them, are images and likenesses of Him (n. 20).
(iii.) The Divine Esse is at once Esse [Being] in itself and Existere [Outgo] in itself (n. 21, 22).
(iv.) It is impossible for the Divine Esse and Existere in itself to produce another Divine, which is Ease and Existere in itself; therefore another God of the same Essence is impossible (n. 23).
(v.) The doctrine of a plurality of gods, both in past ages and at the present day, sprang solely from a failure to understand the Divine Esse (n. 24).
THE INFINITY OF GOD, OR HIS IMMENSITY AND ETERNITY.
(i.) God is Infinite because He is Being and Existence in Himself, and because all things in the universe have their being and existence from Him (n. 28).
(ii.) God is Infinite because He was before the world was, that is, before times and spaces arose (n. 29).
(iii.) Since the creation of the world, God is in space without space and in time without time (n. 30).
(iv.) In relation to spaces God’s infinity is called Immensity, while in relation to times it is called Eternity; but although it is so related, there is nothing of space in His Immensity, and nothing of time in His Eternity (n. 31).
(v.) The Infinity of God may be seen by enlightened reason from very many things in the world (n. 32).
(vi.) Every created thing is finite, and the Infinite is in the finite, as in its receptacles, and is in men as in its images (n. 33, 34).
THE DIVINE ESSENCE, WHICH IS DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM.
(i.) God is love itself and wisdom itself, and these two constitute His Essence (n. 37).
(ii.) God is good itself and truth itself, because good is of love and truth is of wisdom (n. 38).
(iii.) God, because He is love itself and wisdom itself, is Life itself, which is life in itself (n. 39, 40).
(iv.) Love and wisdom in God make one (n. 41, 42).
(v.) It is the essence of love to love others outside of oneself, to desire to be one with them, and to render them blessed from oneself (n. 43-45).
(vi.) These essentials of the Divine love were the cause of the creation of the universe, and are the cause of its preservation (n. 46, 47).
THE OMNIPOTENCE, OMNISCIENCE, AND OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD.
(i.) Omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence pertain to the Divine wisdom from the Divine love (n. 60, 51).
(ii.) The omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God can be clearly understood only when it is known what order is, and when it is known that God is order, and that He introduced order both into the universe and into each and all things of it at the time of their creation (n. 52-65).
(iii.) God’s omnipotence in the whole universe, with each and all things of it proceeds and operates in accordance with the laws of His order (n. 66-58).
(iv.) God is omniscient, that is, He perceives, sees, and knows each thing and all things, even to the most minute, that take place according to order, and from these the things also that take place contrary to order (n. 59-62)
(v.) God is omnipresent from the firsts to the lasts of His order (n. 83, 64).
(vi.) Man was created a form of Divine order (n. 66-67).
(vii.) From the Divine omnipotence man has power over evil and falsity; and from the Divine omniscience has wisdom respecting what is good and true; and from the Divine omnipresence is in God, just to the extent that he lives in accordance with Divine order (n. 68-70).
THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE.
No one can gain a right idea of the creation of the universe, until his understanding is brought into a state of perception by some universal knowledges previously recognized (n. 76).
The creation of the universe described in five Memorable Relations (n. 76-80).
CHAPTER II.
THE LORD THE REDEEMER.
(i.) Jehovah God descended and assumed a Human that He might redeem men and save them (n. 82-84).
(ii.) Jehovah God descended as the Divine truth, which is the Word, although He did not separate from it the Divine good (n. 86-88).
(iii.) God assumed the Human in accordance with His Divine order (n. 89-91).
(iv.) The Human whereby God sent Himself into the world is the Son of God (n. 92-94).
(v.) Through the acts of redemption the Lord made Himself righteousness (n. 96, 96).
(vi.) Through the same acts the Lord united Himself to the Father and the Father united Himself to Him (n. 97-100).
(vii.) Thus God became Man, and Man became God, in one Person (n. 101-103).
(viii.) The progress towards union was His state of Exinanition [emptying Himself], and the union itself is His state of glorification (n. 104-106).
(ix.) Hereafter no one from among Christians enters heaven unless he believes in the Lord God the Saviour [and approaches Him alone] (n. 107, 108).
(x.) Corollary on the state of the church before the Lord’s coming, and its state after that (n. 109).
REDEMPTION.
(i.) Redemption itself was a subjugation of the hells, a restoration of order in the heavens, and by means of these a preparation for a new spiritual church (n. 115-117).
(ii.) Without that Redemption no man could have been saved, nor could the angels have continued in a state of integrity (n. 118-120).
(iii.) In this wise not only man but the angels also were redeemed by the Lord (n. 121, 122).
(iv.) Redemption was a work purely Divine (n. 123).
(v.) This Redemption itself could not have been accomplished except by God incarnated (n. 124, 126).
(vi.) The Passion of the cross was the last temptation which the Lord as the greatest prophet endured; and was the means whereby His Human was glorified, but it was not Redemption (n. 126-131).
(vii.) The belief that the Passion of the cross was Redemption itself is a fundamental error of the church; and this error, with the error respecting three Divine persons from eternity, has perverted the whole church to such an extent that there is nothing spiritual left in it (n. 132, 133).
CHAPTER III.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE DIVINE OPERATION.
(i.) The Holy Spirit is the Divine Truth, and also the Divine Energy and Operation, proceeding from the one God in whom is the Divine Trinity-that is, from the Lord God the Saviour (n. 139-141).
(ii.) The Divine Energy and Operation, which are meant by the Holy Spirit, are in general reformation and regeneration; and in accordance with these, renovation, vivification, sanctification, and justification; and in accordance with these latter, purification from evils, forgiveness of sins, and finally salvation (n. 142-145).
(iii.) The Divine Energy and Operation, which are meant by the sending of the Holy Spirit, are, with the clergy specifically, enlightenment and instruction (n. 146-148).
(iv.) The Lord makes these energies operative in those who believe in Him (n. 149-151).
(v.) The Lord operates of Himself from the Father, and not the reverse (n. 153-155).
(vi.) The spirit of man is his mind and whatever proceeds from it (n. 156, 157).
A Corollary:-Nowhere in the Old Testament is it said that the Prophets spoke from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah God; it is otherwise, however, in the New (n. 158).
THE DIVINE TRINITY.
(i.) There is a Divine Trinity, which is Father, Son and Holy Spirit (n. 164, 165).
(ii.) These three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are the three essentials of the one God, and they make one, as the soul, body, and operation make one in man (n. 166-169).
(iii.) Before the world was created this Trinity was not; but after creation, when God became incarnate, it was provided and brought about, and then in the Lord God the Redeemer and Saviour, Jesus Christ (n. 170, 171).
(iv.) In the ideas of thought a Trinity of Divine persons from eternity, thus before the world was created, is a Trinity of Gods; and these ideas cannot be effaced by a lip-confession of one God (n. 172, 173).
(v.) A Trinity of persons was unknown in the Apostolic church, but was hatched by the Nicene Council, and from that was introduced into the Roman Catholic church, and from that again into churches separated from it (n. 174-176).
(vi.) From the Nicene Trinity and the Athanasian Trinity together a faith in three Gods arose by which the whole Christian church has been perverted (n. 177, 178).
(vii.) This is the source of that abomination of desolation, and that tribulation such as has not been nor ever shall be, which the Lord foretold in Daniel, and in the Gospels and in the Apocalypse (n. 179-181).
(viii.) So, too, unless a now heaven and a new church were established by the Lord there could no flesh be saved (n. 182).
(ix.) From a Trinity of persons, each one of whom singly is God, according to the Athanasian Creed, many discordant and heterogeneous ideas respecting God have arisen, which are fantasies and abortions (n. 183, 184).
CHAPTER IV.
THE SACRED SCRIPTURE OR WORD OF THE LORD.
I. THE SACRED SCRIPTURE OR THE WORD IS DIVINE TRUTH ITSELF (n. 189-192).
II. IN THE WORD THERE IS A SPIRITUAL SENSE HITHERTO UNKNOWN (n. 193).
(i.) What the spiritual sense is (n. 194).
From the Lord the Divine Celestial, the Divine Spiritual, and the Divine Natural go forth one after the other (n. 195).
(ii.) The spiritual sense is in each and every part of the Word (n. 196-198).
The Lord when in the world spoke by correspondences; that is, when He spoke naturally He also spoke spiritually (n. 199).
(iii.) It is because of the spiritual sense that the Word is Divinely inspired and holy in every word (n. 200).
(iv.) Hitherto the spiritual sense of the Word has been unknown; although it was known to the ancients. Of correspondence among them (n. 201-207).
(v.) Henceforth the spiritual sense of the Word will be given only to such as are in genuine truths from the Lord (n. 208).
(vi.) Some wonderful things respecting the Word from its spiritual sense (n. 209).
III. THE SENSE OF THE LETTER OF THE WORD IS THE BASIS, THE CONTAINANT, AND THE SUPPORT OF ITS SPIRITUAL AND CELESTIAL SENSES (n. 210-213).
IV. IN THE SENSE OF THE LETTER OF THE WORD DIVINE TRUTH IS IN ITS FULNESS, ITS HOLINESS, AND ITS POWER (n. 214-216).
(i.) The truths of the sense of the letter of the Word are meant by the precious stones of which the foundations of the New Jerusalem consisted (which is described in the Apocalypse); and this on account of the correspondence (n. 217).
(ii.) The goods and truths of the sense of the letter correspond to the Urim and Thummim on the ephod of Aaron (n. 218).
(iii.) Goods and truths in outmosts, such as are in the sense of the letter of the Word, are signified by the precious stones in the garden of Eden where the king of Tyre is said to have been (in Ezekiel) (n. 219).
(iv.) The same were represented by the curtains, veils, and pillars of the tabernacle (n. 220).
(v.) Likewise by the externals of the temple at Jerusalem (n. 221).
(vi.) The Word in its glory was represented in the Lord when He was transfigured (n. 222).
(vii.) The power of the Word in its outmosts was represented by the Nazarites (n. 223).
(viii.) The inexpressible power of the Word (n. 224).
V. THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH SHOULD BE DRAWN FROM THE SENSE OF THE LETTER OF THE WORD AND CONFIRMED THEREBY (n. 225, 229, 230).
(i.) Without doctrine the Word is not understood (n. 226-228).
(ii.) Doctrine should be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word and confirmed by it (n. 229-230).
(iii.) The genuine truth of which doctrine must consist can be seen in the sense of the letter of the Word only by those who are in enlightenment from the Lord (n. 231-233).
VI. BY MEANS OF THIS SENSE OF THE LETTER OF THE WORD THERE IS CONJUNCTION WITH THE LORD AND AFFILIATION WITH THE ANGELS (n. 234-239).
VII. THE WORD IS IN ALL THE HEAVENS AND ANGELIC WISDOM IS FROM IT (n. 240-242).
VIII. THE CHURCH IS FROM THE WORD, AND WITH MAN IT IS SUCH AS HIS UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD IS (n. 243-247).
IX. IN EVERY PARTICULAR OF THE WORD THERE IS A MARRIAGE OF THE LORD AND THE CHURCH, AND IN CONSEQUENCE A MARRIAGE OF GOOD AND TRUTH (n. 248-253).
X. HERESIES MAY BE DRAWN FROM THE SENSE OF THE LETTER OF THE WORD, BUT TO CONFIRM THEM IS HURTFUL (n.254-260).
Many things in the Word are appearances of truth, which conceal within them genuine truths (n. 257).
Fallacies arise through the confirmation of appearances of truth (n. 268).
The sense of the letter of the Word is a guard for the genuine truths concealed within it (n. 260).
The sense of the letter was represented by cherubs and is signified by cherubs in the Word (n. 260).
XI. THE LORD WHEN IN THE WORLD FULFILLED ALL THINGS OF THE WORD, AND THEREBY BECAME THE WORD, THAT IS, DIVINE TRUTH, EVEN IN THINGS LAST (n. 261-263).
XII. BEFORE THE WORD THAT IS NOW IN THE WORLD, THERE WAS A WORD THAT WAS LOST (n. 264-266).
XIII. THROUGH THE WORD THERE IS LIGHT ALSO TO THOSE WHO ARE OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH AND DO NOT POSSESS THE WORD (n. 267-272).
XIV. IF THERE WERE NO WORD THERE WOULD BE NO KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, OF HEAVEN AND HELL, OR OF A LIFE AFTER DEATH, STILL LESS OF THE LORD (n. 273-276).
CHAPTER V.
THE CATECHISM OR DECALOGUE EXPLAINED IN ITS EXTERNAL AND ITS INTERNAL SENSE.
I. IN THE ISRAELITISH CHURCH THE DECALOGUE WAS HOLINESS ITSELF. THE HOLINESS OF THE ARK WHICH CONTAINED THE LAW (n. 283-286).
II. IN THE SENSE OF THE LETTER THE DECALOGUE CONTAINS THE GENERAL PRECEPTS OF FAITH AND LIFE; BUT IN THE SPIRITUAL AND CELESTIAL SENSES IT CONTAINS ALL PRECEPTS UNIVERSALLY (n. 287-290).
III. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT: “Thou shalt have no other Gods before My Faces” (n. 291-296).
IV. THE SECOND COMMANDMENT: “Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain” (n. 297-300).
V. THE THIRD COMMANDMENT: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; six days shalt thou labor and do ail thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah thy God” (n. 301-304).
VI. THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT: “Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may be well with thee upon the earth” (n. 303-308).
VII. THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT: “Thou shalt not kill” (n. 309-312).
VIII. THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT: “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (n. 313-316).
IX. THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: “Thou shalt not steal” (n. 317-320).
X. THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” (n. 321-324).
XI. THE NINTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS ” Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s” (n. 325-328).
XII. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF THE DECALOGUE CONTAIN ALL THINGS THAT BELONG TO LOVE TO GOD, AND ALL THINGS THAT BELONG TO LOVE TOWARD THE NEIGHBOR” (n. 329-331).
CHAPTER VI.
FAITH.
PREFACE: Faith is first in time, but charity is first in end (n. 336).
I. SAVING FAITH IS FAITH IN THE LORD GOD THE SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST (n. 337-339).
Because He is a visible God in whom is the invisible (n. 339).
II. THE SUM OF FAITH IS, THAT HE WHO LIVES WELL AND BELIEVES RIGHTLY IS SAVED BY THE LORD (n. 340-342).
The first principle of Faith in Him is an acknowledgment that He is the Son of God (n. 342).
III. MAN ACQUIRES FAITH BY GOING TO THE LORD, LEARNING TRUTHS FROM THE WORD, AND LIVING ACCORDING TO THEM (n. 343-348).
(i.) The Being of faith; the Essence of faith; the Existence of faith; the State of faith; and the Form of faith (n. 344, seq.).
(ii.) Merely natural faith, that it is a persuasion counterfeiting faith (n. 345-348).
IV. AN ABUNDANCE OF TRUTHS COHERING AS IF IN A BUNDLE, EXALTS AND PERFECTS FAITH (n. 349-354).
(i.) The truths of faith may be multiplied to infinity (n. 350).
(ii.) The truths of faith are disposed into series, thus, as it were, into bundles (n. 351).
(iii.) According to the abundance and coherence of truths, faith is perfected (n. 352, 353).
(iv.) However numerous the truths of faith are, and however diverse they appear, they make one from the Lord (n. 354).
(v. The Lord is the Word, the God of heaven and earth, the God of all flesh, the God of the vineyard or church, the God of faith, Light itself, the Truth, and Life eternal (n. 354).
V. FAITH WITHOUT CHARITY IS NOT FAITH, AND CHARITY WITHOUT FAITH IS NOT CHARITY, AND NEITHER HAS LIFE EXCEPT FROM THE LORD (n. 356-361).
(i.) Man can acquire for himself faith (n. 356).
(ii.) Man can acquire for himself charity (n. 357).
(iii.) Man may also acquire for himself the life of faith and charity (n. 368).
(iv.) Yet nothing of faith, or of charity, or of the life of either, is from man, but from the Lord alone (n. 359).
(v.) The distinction between natural faith and spiritual faith, the latter being inwardly within the former, from the Lord (n. 360, 361).
VI. THE LORD, CHARITY, AND FAITH MAKE ONE, LIKE LIFE, WILL, AND UNDERSTANDING IN MAN; AND IF THEY ARE DIVIDED, EACH PERISHES LIKE A PEARL REDUCED TO POWDER (n. 362-367).
(i.) The Lord with all of His Divine love, with all of His Divine wisdom, thus with all of His Divine life, flows into every man (n.364).
(ii.) Consequently the Lord, with the whole essence of faith and charity flows into every man (n. 366).
(iii.) What flows in from the Lord is received by man according to his state and form (n. 366).
(iv.) But the man who divides the Lord, charity, and faith, is not a form that receives, but a form that destroys them (n. 367).
VII. THE LORD IS CHARITY AND FAITH IN MAN, AND MAN IS CHARITY AND FAITH IN THE LORD (n. 368-372).
(i.) It is by conjunction with God that man has salvation and eternal life (n. 369).
(ii.) Conjunction with God the Father is not possible, but only conjunction with the Lord, and through Him with the Father (n. 370).
(iii.) Conjunction with the Lord is a reciprocal conjunction, that is, that man is in the Lord and the Lord in man (n. 371).
(iv.) This reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man is effected by means of charity and faith (n. 372).
VIII. CHARITY AND FAITH ARE TOGETHER IN GOOD WORKS (n. 373-377).
(i.) Charity is willing well, and good works are doing well from willing well (n. 374).
(ii.) Charity and faith are only mental and perishable things, unless they are determined to acts and coexist in them when it is possible (n. 376, 376).
(iii.) Good works are not produced by charity alone, still less by faith alone, but by charity and faith together (n. 377).
IX. THERE IS A TRUE FAITH, A SPURIOUS FAITH, AND A HYPOCRITICAL FAITH (n. 378-381).
From its cradle the Christian church began to be infested and divided by schisms and heresies (respecting which n. 378).
(i.) True faith is the one only faith, which is a faith in the Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and this is held by those who believe Him to be the Son of God, the God of heaven and earth, and one with the Father (n. 379).
(ii.) Spurious faith is all faith that departs from the true faith, which is the only one faith; and this is the faith that is held by those who climb up some other way, and regard the Lord not as God but as a mere man (n. 380).
(iii.) Hypocritical faith is no faith (n. 381).
X. WITH THE EVIL THERE IS NO FAITH (n. 382-384).
(i.) The evil have no faith, since evil belongs to hell and faith to heaven (n. 383).
(ii.) Those in Christendom who reject the Lord and the Word have no faith although they live morally, and even speak, teach, and write rationally about truth (n. 384).
CHAPTER VII.
CHARITY OR LOVE TO THE NEIGHBOR, AND GOOD WORKS.
I. THERE ARE THREE UNIVERSAL LOVES-THE LOVE OF HEAVEN, THE LOVE OF THE WORLD, AND THE LOVE OF SELF (n. 394-396).
(i.) The will and understanding (n. 397).
(ii.) Good and truth (n. 398).
(iii.) Love in general (n. 399).
(iv.) Love of self and love of the world in particular (n. 400).
(v.) The external and internal man (n. 401).
(vi.) The merely natural and sensual man (n. 402).
II. THESE THREE LOVES, WHEN RIGHTLY SUBORDINATED, PERFECT MAN; BUT WHEN NOT RIGHTLY SUBORDINATED THEY PERVERT AND INVERT HIM (n. 403-406).
III. EVERY MAN INDIVIDUALLY IS THE NEIGHBOR WHO IS TO BE LOVED, BUT ACCORDING TO THE QUALITY OF HIS GOOD (n. 406-411).
IV. THE COLLECTIVE MAN, THAT IS, A COMMUNITY SMALLER OR GREATER, AND THE COMPOSITE MAN FORMED OF COMMUNITIES, THAT IS, ONE’S COUNTRY, IS THE NEIGHBOR THAT IS TO BE LOVED (n. 412-414).
V. THE CHURCH IS THE NEIGHBOR THAT IS TO BE LOVED IN A STILL HIGHER DEGREE, AND THE LORD’S KINGDOM IN THE HIGHEST DEGREE (n. 416, 416).
VI. To LOVE THE NEIGHBOR, VIEWED IN ITSELF, IS NOT TO LOVE THE PERSON, BUT THE GOOD THAT IS IN THE PERSON (n. 417-419).
VII. CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS ARE TWO DISTINCT THINGS, LIKE WILLING WELL AND DOING WELL (n. 420, 421).
VIII. CHARITY ITSELF IS ACTING JUSTLY AND FAITHFULLY IN THE OFFICE, BUSINESS, AND EMPLOYMENT IN WHICH A MAN IS ENGAGED, AND WITH THOSE WITH WHOM HE HAS ANY DEALINGS (n. 422-424).
IX. THE BENEFACTIONS OF CHARITY ARE GIVING TO THE POOR AND RELIEVING THE NEEDY, BUT WITH PRUDENCE (n. 425-428).
X. THERE ARE DUTIES OF CHARITY, SOME PUBLIC, SOME DOMESTIC, AND SOME PRIVATE (n. 429-432).
XI. THE DIVERSIONS OF CHARITY ARE DINNERS, SUPPERS, AND SOCIAL GATHERINGS (n. 433, 434).
XII. THE FIRST THING OF CHARITY IS TO PUT AWAY EVILS, AND THE SECOND IS TO DO GOOD WORKS THAT ARE OF USE TO THE NEIGHBOR (n. 435-438).
XIII. IN THE EXERCISE OF CHARITY MAN DOES NOT PLACE MERIT IN WORKS SO LONG AS HE BELIEVES THAT ALL GOOD IS FROM THE LORD (n. 439-442).
XIV. WHEN A MORAL LIFE IS ALSO SPIRITUAL IT IS CHARITY (n. 443-446).
XV. A FRIENDSHIP OF LOVE, CONTRACTED WITH A MAN WITHOUT REGARD TO HIS SPIRITUAL QUALITY IS DETRIMENTAL AFTER DEATH (n. 446-449).
XVI. THERE IS SPURIOUS CHARITY, HYPOCRITICAL CHARITY, AND DEAD CHARITY (n. 450-453).
XVII. THE FRIENDSHIP OF LOVE AMONG THE EVIL IS INTESTINE HATRED OF EACH OTHER (n. 454, 455).
XVIII. THE CONJUNCTION OF LOVE TO GOD AND LOVE TOWARDS THE NEIGHBOR (n. 456-458).
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII.
FREEDOM OF CHOICE.
I. THE PRECEPTS AND DOGMAS OF THE PRESENT CHURCH RESPECTING FREEDOM OF CHOICE (n. 463-465).
II. THE PLACING OF TWO TREES IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN, ONE OF LIFE, AND THE OTHER OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL SIGNIFIES THAT FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN THINGS SPIRITUAL HAS BEEN GIVEN TO MAN (n. 466-469).
III. MAN IS NOT LIFE, BUT A RECEPTACLE OF LIFE FROM GOD (n. 470-474).
IV. SO LONG AS MAN LIVES IN THE WORLD HE IS KEPT MIDWAY BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL, AND IS THERE IN SPIRITUAL EQUILIBRIUM, WHICH IS FREEDOM OF CHOICE (n. 475-478).
V. IT IS CLEARLY MANIFEST FROM THAT PERMISSION OF EVIL IN WHICH EVERY ONE’S INTERNAL MAN IS, THAT MAN HAS FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN SPIRITUAL THINGS (n. 479-482).
VI. WITHOUT FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN SPIRITUAL THINGS THE WORD WOULD BE OF No USE, AND CONSEQUENTLY THE CHURCH WOULD BE NOTHING (n. 483, 484).
VII. WITHOUT FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN SPIRITUAL THINGS THERE WOULD BE NOTHING IN MAN WHEREBY HE COULD IN TURN CONJOIN HIMSELF WITH THE LORD, CONSEQUENTLY THERE WOULD BE No IMPUTATION, BUT MERE PREDESTINATION, WHICH IS DETESTABLE (n. 485).
Detestable things concerning predestination divulged (n. 486-488)
VIII. IF THERE WERE NO FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN SPIRITUAL THINGS GOD WOULD BE THE CAUSE OF EVIL, AND THUS THERE WOULD BE NO IMPUTATION OF CHARITY OR FAITH (n. 489-492).
IX. EVERYTHING SPIRITUAL OF THE CHURCH THAT ENTERS MAN IN FREEDOM, AND IS RECEIVED WITH FREEDOM, REMAINS; BUT NOT THE REVERSE (n. 493-496).
X. MAN’S WILL AND UNDERSTANDING ARE IN THIS FREEDOM OF CHOICE; NEVERTHELESS IN BOTH WORLDS, THE SPIRITUAL AND THE NATURAL, THE DOING OF EVIL IS RESTRAINED BY LAWS, BECAUSE OTHERWISE SOCIETY IN BOTH WORLDS WOULD PERISH (n. 497-499).
XI. IF MAN HAD NOT FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN SPIRITUAL THINGS ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE WORLD MIGHT IN ONE DAY BE LED TO BELIEVE IN THE LORD; BUT THIS CANNOT BE DONE, BECAUSE THAT WHICH Is NOT RECEIVED BY MAN FROM FREEDOM OF CHOICE DOES NOT REMAIN (n. 500-502).
Miracles are not wrought at the present day, because they take away freedom of choice in spiritual things, and compel (n. 501).
CHAPTER IX.
REPENTANCE.
I. REPENTANCE IS THE FIRST THING OF THE CHURCH IN MAN (n. 510, 511).
II. THE CONTRITION WHICH AT THE PRESENT DAY IS SAID TO PRECEDE FAITH, AND TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE CONSOLATION OF THE GOSPEL IS NOT REPENTANCE (n. 512-515).
III. THE MERE LIP-CONFESSION THAT ONE IS A SINNER IS NOT REPENTANCE (n. 516-519).
IV. MAN IS BORN WITH AN INCLINATION TO EVILS OF EVERY KIND; AND UNLESS HE, TO SOME EXTENT, REMOVES HIS EVILS BY REPENTANCE, HE REMAINS IN THEM; AND HE WHO REMAINS IN EVILS CANNOT BE SAVED (n. 520-524).
The fulfilling of the law (n. 523, 524).
V. RECOGNITION OF SIN, AND THE DISCOVERY OF SOME SIN IN ONESELF, Is THE BEGINNING OF REPENTANCE (n. 525-527).
VI ACTUAL REPENTANCE IS EXAMINING ONESELF, RECOGNIZING AND ACKNOWLEDGING ONES SINS, PRAYING TO THE LORD AND BEGINNING A NEW LIFE (n. 528-531).
VII. TRUE REPENTANCE IS EXAMINING NOT ONLY THE ACTIONS OF ONE’S LIFE, BUT ALSO THE INTENTIONS OF ONE’S WILL (n. 532-534).
VIII. THOSE ALSO REPENT, WHO, ALTHOUGH THEY DO NOT EXAMINE THEMSELVES, YET REFRAIN FROM EVILS BECAUSE THEY ARE SINS; AND THOSE WHO FROM RELIGION DO THE WORKS OF CHARITY EXERCISE SUCH REPENTANCE (n. 535-537).
IX. CONFESSION OUGHT TO BE MADE BEFORE THE LORD GOD THE SAVIOUR, FOLLOWED BY SUPPLICATION FOR HELP AND THE POWER TO RESIST EVILS (n. 538-560)
X. ACTUAL REPENTANCE IS EASY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE Now AND THEN PRACTISED IT, BUT IS A DIFFICULT TASK FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT (n. 561-563).
XI. HE WHO HAS NEVER REPENTED OR HAS NEVER LOOKED INTO AND SEARCHED HIMSELF, FINALLY CEASES TO KNOW WHAT DAMNING EVIL OR SAVING GOOD IS (n. 564-566).
CHAPTER X.
REFORMATION AND REGENERATION.
I. UNLESS A MAN IS BORN AGAIN AND, AS IT WERE, CREATED ANEW, HE CANNOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD (n. 572-575).
II. THE NEW BIRTH OR CREATION IS EFFECTED BY THE LORD ALONE THROUGH CHARITY AND FAITH AS THE TWO MEANS, MAN CO-OPERATING (n. 576-578).
III. SINCE ALL HAVE BEEN REDEEMED, ALL MAY BE REGENERATED, EACH ACCORDING TO HIS STATE (n. 579-582).
IV. REGENERATION IS EFFECTED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO THAT IN WHICH MAN IS CONCEIVED, CARRIED IN THE WOMB, BORN AND EDUCATED (n. 583-586).
Something about the masculine and feminine sex in the vegetable kingdom (n. 585).
V. THE FIRST ACT IN THE NEW BIRTH IS CALLED REFORMATION, WHICH PERTAINS TO THE UNDERSTANDING; AND THE SECOND IS CALLED REGENERATION, WHICH PERTAINS TO THE WILL AND THEREFROM TO THE UNDERSTANDING (n. 587-590).
VI. THE INTERNAL MAN MUST FIRST BE REFORMED, AND BY MEANS OF IT THE EXTERNAL; AND THUS IS MAN REGENERATED (n. 591-595).
VII. WHEN THIS TAKES PLACE A CONFLICT ARISES BETWEEN THE INTERNAL AND THE EXTERNAL MAN, AND THEN THE ONE THAT CONQUERS RULES THE OTHER (n. 596-600).
VIII. THE REGENERATED MAN HAS A NEW WILL AND A NEW UNDERSTANDING (n. 601-606).
IX A REGENERATE MAN IS IN COMMUNION WITH ANGELS OF HEAVEN, AND AN UNREGENERATE MAN WITH SPIRITS OF HELL (n. 607-610).
X. SO FAR AS MAN IS REGENERATED SINS ARE REMOVED, AND THIS REMOVAL IS THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS (n. 611-614).
XI. WITHOUT FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN SPIRITUAL THINGS REGENERATION IS IMPOSSIBLE (n. 615-617).
XII. REGENERATION IS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT TRUTHS, BY WHICH FAITH IS FORMED AND WITH WHICH CHARITY CONJOINS ITSELF (n. 618-620).
CHAPTER XI.
IMPUTATION.
I. IMPUTATION AND THE FAITH OF THE PRESENT CHURCH (WHICH IS HELD TO BE THE SOLE GROUND OF JUSTIFICATION), MAKE ONE (n. 626, 627).
II. THE IMPUTATION THAT BELONGS TO THE FAITH OF THE PRESENT DAY IS A DOUBLE IMPUTATION, AN IMPUTATION OF CHRIST’S MERIT AND AN IMPUTATION OF SALVATION THEREBY (n. 628-631).
III. THE FAITH IMPUTATIVE OF THE MERIT AND RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST THE REDEEMER, FIRST AROSE FROM THE DECREES OF THE COUNCIL OF NICE RESPECTING THREE DIVINE PERSONS FROM ETERNITY, WHICH FAITH HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE WHOLE CHRISTIAN WORLD FROM THAT TIME TO THE PRESENT (n. 632-635).
IV. THE FAITH IMPUTATIVE OF CHRIST’S MERIT WAS UNKNOWN IN THE PRECEDING APOSTOLIC CHURCH, AND IS NOWHERE TAUGHT IN THE WORD (n. 636-639).
V. THE IMPUTATION OF CHRIST’S MERIT AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IS IMPOSSIBLE (n. 640-642).
VI. THERE IS AN IMPUTATION, BUT IT IS AN IMPUTATION OF GOOD AND EVIL (n. 643-646).
VII. THE FAITH AND IMPUTATION OF THE NEW CHURCH CAN BY NO MEANS EXIST TOGETHER WITH THE FAITH AND IMPUTATION OF THE FORMER CHURCH, AND IF THEY ARE TOGETHER, SUCH A COLLISION AND CONFLICT RESULT THAT EVERYTHING PERTAINING TO THE CHURCH IN MAN PERISHES (n. 647-649).
VIII. THE LORD IMPUTES GOOD TO EVERY MAN AND HELL IMPUTES EVIL (n. 650-653).
IX. FAITH, WITH THAT TO WHICH IT IS CONJOINED, IS WHAT DETERMINES THE VERDICT; IF A TRUE FAITH IS CONJOINED TO GOOD, THE VERDICT IS FOR ETERNAL LIFE, BUT IF FAITH IS CONJOINED TO EVIL THE VERDICT IS FOR ETERNAL DEATH (n. 654-657).
X. THOUGHT IS NOT IMPUTED TO ANY ONE, BUT WILL ONLY (n. 658-660).
CHAPTER XII.
BAPTISM.
I. WITHOUT A KNOWLEDGE OF THE SPIRITUAL SENSE OF THE WORD NO ONE CAN KNOW WHAT THE TWO SACRAMENTS, BAPTISM AND THE HOLY SUPPER, INVOLVE AND EFFECT (n. 667-669).
II. THE WASHING THAT IS CALLED BAPTISM MEANS SPIRITUAL WASHING, WHICH IS PURIFICATION FROM EVILS, AND THUS REGENERATION (n. 670-673).
III. BECAUSE CIRCUMCISION OF THE FORESKIN REPRESENTED CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART, IN THE PLACE OF CIRCUMCISION, BAPTISM WAS INSTITUTED, IN ORDER THAT AN INTERNAL CHURCH MIGHT SUCCEED THE EXTERNAL, WHICH IN EACH AND ALL THINGS PREFIGURED THE INTERNAL CHURCH (n. 674-676).
IV. THE FIRST USE OF BAPTISM IS INTRODUCTION INTO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, AND AT THE SAME TIME INSERTION AMONG CHRISTIANS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD (n. 677-680).
V. THE SECOND USE OF BAPTISM IS THAT THE CHRISTIAN MAY KNOW AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST THE REDEEMER AND SAVIOUR, AND FOLLOW HIM (n. 681-683).
VI. THE THIRD USE OF BAPTISM, WHICH IS THE FINAL USE, IS THAT THE MAN MAY BE REGENERATED (n. 684-687).
VII. BY THE BAPTISM OF JOHN A WAY WAS PREPARED, THAT JEHOVAH GOD MIGHT DESCEND INTO THE WORLD AND ACCOMPLISH REDEMPTION (n. 688-691).
CHAPTER XIII.
THE HOLY SUPPER.
I. WITHOUT SOME KNOWLEDGE OF THE CORRESPONDENCES OF NATURAL WITH SPIRITUAL THINGS, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW WHAT THE USES AND BENEFITS OF THE HOLY SUPPER ARE (n. 698-701).
II. WITH A KNOWLEDGE OF CORRESPONDENCES WHAT IS MEANT BY THE LORD’S FLESH AND BLOOD CAN BE KNOWN, ALSO THAT BREAD AND WINE HAVE A LIKE MEANING; NAMELY, THAT THE LORD’S FLESH AND THE BREAD MEAN THE DIVINE GOOD OF HIS LOVE, ALSO ALL GOOD OF CHARITY; AND THE LORD’S BLOOD AND THE WINE MEAN THE DIVINE TRUTH OF HIS WISDOM, ALSO ALL TRUTH OF FAITH, AND EATING MEANS APPROPRIATION (n. 702-710).
Shown from the Word what is meant by “flesh” (n. 704, 705).
What is meant by ” blood” (n. 706).
What is meant by ” bread” (n. 707).
What is meant by ” wine” (n. 708).
III. WHEN ALL THIS IS UNDERSTOOD ANY ONE CAN COMPREHEND THAT THE HOLY SUPPER CONTAINS ALL THINGS OF THE CHURCH AND ALL THINGS OF HEAVEN BOTH IN GENERAL AND IN PARTICULAR (n. 711-715).
IV. IN THE HOLY SUPPER THE LORD IS WHOLLY PRESENT WITH THE WHOLE OF HIS REDEMPTION (n. 716-718).
V. THE LORD IS PRESENT AND OPENS HEAVEN TO THOSE WHO COME TO THE HOLY SUPPER WORTHILY; AND IS ALSO PRESENT WITH THOSE WHO COME TO IT UNWORTHILY, BUT TO THEM HE DOES NOT OPEN HEAVEN: CONSEQUENTLY, AS BAPTISM IS INTRODUCTION INTO THE CHURCH, SO IS THE HOLY SUPPER INTRODUCTION INTO HEAVEN (n. 719-721)
VI. THOSE COME TO THE HOLY SUPPER WORTHILY WHO HAVE FAITH IN THE LORD AND CHARITY TOWARD THE NEIGHBOR THAT IS, WHO ARE REGENERATE (n. 722-724).
VII. THOSE WHO COME TO THE HOLY SUPPER WORTHILY ARE IN THE LORD AND THE LORD IS IN THEM; CONSEQUENTLY CONJUNCTION WITH THE LORD IS EFFECTED BY THE HOLY SUPPER (n. 725-727).
VIII. TO THOSE WHO WORTHILY COME TO THE HOLY SUPPER IT IS LIKE A SIGNATURE AND SEAL THAT THEY ARE SONS OF GOD (n. 728-730).
CHAPTER XIV.
THE CONSUMMATION OF THE AGE; THE COMING OF THE LORD; AND THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW CHURCH.
I. THE CONSUMMATION OF THE AGE IS THE LAST TIME OF THE CHURCH OR ITS END (n. 753-756).
II. THE PRESENT IS THE LAST TIME OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, WHICH WAS FORETOLD AND DESCRIBED BY THE LORD IN THE GOSPELS AND IN THE APOCALYPSE (n. 767-759).
III. THIS LAST TIME OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IS THE VERY NIGHT IN WHICH FORMER CHURCHES HAVE COME TO AN END (n. 760-763).
IV. THIS NIGHT IS FOLLOWED BY A MORNING, WHICH IS THE COMING OF THE LORD (n. 764-767).
V. THE LORD’S COMING IS NOT HIS COMING TO DESTROY THE VISIBLE HEAVEN AND THE HABITABLE EARTH, AND TO CREATE A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH, AS MANY, FROM NOT UNDERSTANDING THE SPIRITUAL SENSE OF THE WORD, HAVE HITHERTO SUPPOSED (n. 768-771).
VI. THIS COMING OF THE LORD, WHICH IS HIS SECOND COMING, IS TAKING PLACE IN ORDER THAT THE EVIL MAY BE SEPARATED FROM THE GOOD, AND THAT THOSE WHO HAVE BELIEVED AND DO BELIEVE IN HIM MAY BE SAVED, AND THAT FROM THEM A NEW ANGELIC HEAVEN AND A NEW CHURCH ON EARTH MAY BE FORMED, AND WITHOUT THIS, NO FLESH COULD BE SAVED (Matt. xxiv. 22) (n. 772-775).
VII. THIS SECOND COMING OF THE LORD IS NOT A COMING IN PERSON, BUT IN THE WORD, WHICH IS FROM HIM AND IS HIMSELF (n. 776-778).
VIII. THIS SECOND COMING OF THE LORD IS EFFECTED BY MEANS OF A MAN, TO WHOM THE LORD HAS MANIFESTED HIMSELF TN PERSON, AND WHOM HE HAS FILLED WITH HIS SPIRIT, THAT HE MAY TEACH THE DOCTRINES OF THE NEW CHURCH FROM THE LORD THROUGH THE WORD (n. 779-780).
IX. THIS IS WHAT IS MEANT IN THE APOCALYPSE BY “THE NEW HEAVEN,” AND “THE NEW JERUSALEM DESCENDING THEREFROM” (n. 781-785).
X. THIS NEW CHURCH IS THE CROWN OF ALL THE CHURCHES THAT HAVE HITHERTO EXISTED ON THE EARTH (n. 786-791).
SUPPLEMENT.
THE NATURE OF THE SPIRITUAL WORLD (n. 792-795).
LUTHER, MELANCTHON, AND CALVIN IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD (n. 796-799).
THE DUTCH IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD (n. 800-805).
THE ENGLISH IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD (n. 806-812).
THE GERMANS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD (n. 813-816).
THE PAPISTS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD (n. 817-821).
THE POPISH SAINTS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD (n. 822-827).
THE MOHAMMEDANS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD (n. 828-834).
THE AFRICANS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD; ALSO SOMETHING IN REGARD TO THE GENTILES (n. 835-840).
THE JEWS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD (n. 841-843).
This faith is first set forth in a universal and in a particular form, that it may serve as a preface set before the work that follows, also as a gate giving entrance to a temple, and as a summary, containing in their own mode the particulars that succeed. It is called the faith of the New Heaven and of the New Church because heaven which is the abode of angels, and the church which is made up of men, act as a one, like the internal and the external man; consequently the man of the church who is in the good of love from the truths of faith and in the truths of faith from the good of love, is, in respect to the interiors of his mind, an angel of heaven; and being such he after death enters heaven and there enjoys happiness in proportion to the state of conjunction of his love and faith. Let it be known that in the New Heaven, which the Lord is now establishing, this faith is its preface, gate, and summary.
The Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, came into the world to subjugate the hells and to glorify His Human; and without this no mortal could have been saved; and those are saved who believe in Him.
[2] This is called the faith in its universal form, because this is the universal principle of faith; and the universal principle of faith must be in each thing and in all things of it. It is a universal principle of faith that God is one in essence and in person, in whom is a Divine trinity, and that He is the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ. It is a universal principle of faith that no mortal could have been saved unless the Lord had come into the world. It is a universal principle of faith that He came into the world to remove hell from man, and that He did remove it by means of contests with it and victories over it, and thereby He subdued it and reduced it to order and made it obedient to Himself. It is a universal principle of faith that He came into the world to glorify His Human which He took on in the world, that is, to unite it with the Divine from which [are all things], and thereby He eternally holds hell in order and under obedience to Himself. As this could be accomplished only by means of temptations admitted into His Human, even to the last of them, which was the passion of the cross, He endured even that. These are the universal principles of faith relating to the Lord.
[3] The universal principle of faith on man’s part is that he should believe in the Lord; for by believing in Him there is conjunction with Him and thereby salvation. To believe in the Lord is to have confidence that He saves; and as only those who live rightly can have this confidence, this, too, is meant by believing in Him. And this the Lord teaches in John:
This is the Father’s will, that everyone that believeth in the Son may have eternal life (John 6:40);
and again:
He that believeth in the Son hath eternal life; but he that believeth not in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36).
Jehovah God is love itself and wisdom itself, or is good itself and truth itself; and in respect to Divine truth, which is the Word, and which was God with God, He came down and took on the Human for the purpose of reducing to order all things that were in heaven, and all things in hell, and all things in the church; because at that time the power of hell prevailed over the power of heaven, and upon the earth the power of evil over the power of good, and in consequence a total damnation stood threatening at the door. This impending damnation Jehovah God removed by means of His Human, which was Divine truth, and thus He redeemed angels and men, and thereupon He united, in His Human, Divine truth with Divine good or Divine wisdom with Divine love; and so, with and in His glorified Human, He returned into His Divine in which He was from eternity. All this is meant by these words in John:
The Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh (1:1, 14);
and in the same:
I came out from the Father and am come into the world; again I leave the world and go unto the Father (16:28);
and also by these words:
We know that the Son of God is come, and has given us understanding that we may know the True; and we are in the True, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and life eternal (1 John 5:20).
From these words it is clear that without the Lord’s coming into the world no one could have been saved. It is the same today; and therefore without the Lord’s coming again into the world in Divine truth, which is the Word, no one can be saved.
[2] THE PARTICULARS OF FAITH ON MAN’S PART are:
(1) God is one, in whom is a Divine trinity, and the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ is that one.
(2) Saving faith is to believe in Him.
(3) Evils should not be done, because they are of the devil and from the devil.
(4) Goods should be done, because they are of God and from God.
(5) These should be done by man as if by himself; but it should be believed that they are done by the Lord in man and through man.
The first two are matters of faith, the next two of charity, and the fifth of the conjunction of charity and faith, thus of the conjunction of the Lord and man.
Since the Lord’s time the Christian Church has passed through the several stages from infancy to extreme old age. Its infancy was in the lifetime of the apostles, when they preached throughout the world repentance and faith in the Lord God the Savior. That this is what they preached is evident from these words in the Acts of the Apostles:
Paul testified, both to the Jews and to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).
It is a noteworthy fact that some months ago the Lord called together His twelve disciples, now angels, and sent them forth throughout the spiritual world, with the command to preach the gospel there anew, since the church that was established by the Lord through them has at this day become so far consummated that scarcely a remnant of it survives; and this has come to pass, because the Divine trinity has been divided into three persons, each one of whom is God and Lord.
[2] Because of this a sort of frenzy has invaded not only all theology, but also the church that from the Lord’s name is called – Christian. It is called a frenzy because men’s minds have been made so demented by it as not to know whether there is one God or three. On the lips there is one God; but in the thought of the mind there are three; consequently the mind and lips, that is, the thought and speech, are at variance; and the result of this variance is that there is no God at all. The naturalism that prevails at this day is from no other source. Consider, if you will, with the lips speaking of one and the mind thinking of three, whether one of these statements does not, when they meet within, cancel the other. Consequently when a man thinks about God, if he thinks at all it is nothing more than thought from the mere name God, unaccompanied by any sense of the meaning of the name that involves any knowledge of God.
[3] The idea of God, with all conception of Him, having been thus rent asunder, it is my purpose to treat, in their order, of God the Creator, of the Lord the Redeemer, and of the Holy Spirit the Operator, and lastly of the Divine trinity, to the end that what has been rent asunder may be again made whole; which is done when the reason of man is convinced by the Word and by light therefrom that there is a Divine trinity, and that the trinity is in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ, like the soul, the body, and what goes forth from these, in man; and that thus this article in the Athanasian Creed is true:
In Christ God and man, or the Divine and the Human, are not two, but are in one person; and as the rational soul and the flesh are one man, so God and man are one Christ.
As the acknowledgment of God from a knowledge of God is the very essence and soul of the entire contents of theology, it is necessary that the unity of God should be the first thing treated of. This shall be set forth in order in the following sections:
(1) The entire Holy Scripture, and the doctrines therefrom of the churches in the Christian world, teach that God is one.
(2) There is a universal influx [from God] into the souls of men of the truth that there is a God, and that He is one.
(3) For this reason there is in all the world no nation possessing religion and sound reason that does not acknowledge a God, and that God is one.
(4) Respecting what the one God is, nations and peoples have differed and still differ, from many causes.
(5) Human reason can, if it will, perceive and be convinced, from many things in the world, that there is a God, and that He is one.
(6) If God were not one, the universe could not have been created and preserved.
(7) Whoever does not acknowledge a God is excommunicated from the church and condemned.
(8) With the man who acknowledges several Gods instead of one, there is no coherence in the things relating to the church.
These propositions shall be unfolded one by one.
Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah (Deut. 6:4; also Mark 12:29).
Surely God is in thee, and beside Me there is no god (Isa. 45:14).
Am not I Jehovah? and there is no god besides me? (Isa. 45:21).
I am Jehovah thy God and thou shalt acknowledge no god beside Me (Hosea 13:4).
Thus saith Jehovah, the king of Israel, I am the First and the Last, and beside Me there is no god (Isa. 44:6).
In that day Jehovah shall be king over all the earth; in that day Jehovah shall be one and His name one (Zech. 14:9).
In hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see and not discern. Their eyes they have closed, lest haply they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart, and should turn themselves and I should heal them (Matt. 13:14, 15).
All these are like men shunning the light, and entering chambers without windows, and groping about the walls, searching for food or money, and at length acquiring a vision like that of birds of the night, seeing in darkness. They are like a woman having several husbands, who is not a wife but a lascivious courtesan; or they are like a virgin who accepts rings from several suitors, and after the nuptials bestows her favors not upon one only, but also upon the others.
A man can take nothing except it be given him from heaven (John 3:27);
and Jesus said:
Without Me ye are unable to do anything (John 15:5);
that is, anything that pertains to charity and faith. This influx is into the souls of men because the soul is the inmost and highest part of man, and the influx from God enters into that, and descends therefrom into the things that are below, and vivifies them in accordance with reception. The truths that are to constitute belief flow in, it is true, through the hearing, and are thus implanted in the mind, that is, below the soul. But by means of such truths man is simply made ready to receive the influx from God through the soul; and such as this preparation is, such is the reception, and such the transformation of natural faith into spiritual faith.
[2] There is such an influx from God into the souls of men of the truth that God is one, because everything Divine, regarded most generally as well as most particularly, is God. And as the entire Divine coheres as one, it cannot fail to inspire in man the idea of one God; and this idea is strengthened daily as man is elevated by God into the light of heaven. For the angels in their light cannot force themselves to utter the word “gods.” Even their speech closes at the end of every sentence in a oneness of cadence; and there is no other cause of this than the influx into their souls of the truth that God is one.
[3] In spite of this influx into the souls of men of the truth that God is one, there are many who think that the Divinity of God is divided into several possessing the same essence; and the reason of this is that when the influx descends it falls into forms not correspondent, and influx is varied by the form that receives it, as takes place in all the subjects of the three kingdoms of nature. It is the same God who vivifies man and who vivifies every beast; but the recipient form is what causes the beast to be a beast and man to be a man. The same is true of man when he induces on his mind the form of a beast. There is the same influx from the sun into every kind of tree, but the influx differs in accordance with the form of each; that which flows into the vine is the same as that which flows into the thorn; but if a thorn were to be engrafted upon a vine the influx would be inverted and go forth in accordance with the form of the thorn.
[4] The same is true of the subjects of the mineral kingdom; the same light flows into limestone and into the diamond; but in the diamond it is transmitted, while in the limestone it is quenched. In human minds these differences are in accordance with the forms of the mind, which become inwardly spiritual in accordance with faith in God, together with life from God, such forms being made translucent and angelic by a faith in one God, and on the contrary, made dark and bestial by a faith in more than one God, which differs but little from a faith in no God.
The Catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in trinity, and trinity in unity. There are three Divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and yet there are not three Gods, but there is one God. There is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit, and their divinity is one, their glory equal, and their majesty coeternal. Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. But like as we are compelled by Christian verity to confess each person singly to be God and Lord, so we are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there be three Gods or three Lords.
Such is the Christian faith respecting the unity of God. But that the trinity of God and the unity of God in that creed are inconsistent with each other will be shown in the chapter on the Divine trinity. [2] The other nations in the world possessing a religion and sound reason agree in acknowledging that God is one; all the Mohammedans in their empires; the Africans in many kingdoms of that continent; the Asiatics in their many kingdoms; and finally the Jews to this day. Of the most ancient people in the golden age, such as had any religion worshiped one God, whom they called Jehovah. The same is true of the ancient people in the succeeding age, until monarchical governments were established, when worldly and afterwards corporeal loves began to close up the higher regions of the understanding, which previously had been open, and had been like temples and sacred recesses for the worship of one God. In order to reopen these and thus restore the worship of one God, the Lord God instituted a church among the posterity of Jacob, and made this the first of all the commandments of their religion:
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me (Exod. 20:3).
[3] Moreover, the name Jehovah, which He at this time restored, signifies the supreme and only Being, the Source of everything that is or exists in the universe. Jove, a name derived possibly from Jehovah, was worshiped as a supreme god by the ancient heathen; and many other gods who composed his court they also clothed with divinity; while in the following age wise men, like Plato and Aristotle, confessed that these were not gods, but were so many properties, qualities, and attributes of the one God, being called gods because there was something Divine in each of them.
Once while I was talking with angels, certain spirits that had recently arrived from the natural world were present. Seeing them, I bade them welcome, and told them many things they had not known before about the spiritual world.
After this I asked them what knowledge about God and about nature they had brought with them from the world.
“This,” they said, “that nature is the operative power in all things that are done in the created universe; and that God, after creation, endowed nature with and impressed upon it that capability and power; and that God merely sustains and preserves that power lest it perish; consequently, all things that spring forth or are produced and reproduced upon the earth are now ascribed to nature.”
But I replied that in nothing is nature of itself the operative power, but God through nature. And when they asked for proof I said, “Those who believe the Divine operation to be in every least thing of nature find in very many things they see in the world much more evidence in favor of a God than in favor of nature. [2] For those who find evidences in favor of the Divine operation in every least thing of nature observe attentively the wonderful things that are seen in the production of plants and of animals. In the Production of Plants, they observe that from a little seed sown in the ground there goes forth a root, and from the root a stem, and successively branches, buds, leaves, flowers, and fruits, even to new seeds, just as if the seed knew the order of succession or development by which to renew itself. What rational person can imagine that the sun, which is pure fire, knows this, or that it can impart to its heat and light the power to produce such effects and to have such uses in view? Any man whose reason looks upward, when he sees these things and properly considers them, must needs conclude that they are from one whose wisdom is infinite, that is, from God. In this conclusion those who recognize a Divine operation in all the particulars of nature confirm themselves when they observe these things. On the other hand, those who do not recognize such an operation in nature behold these things with the eyes of their reason in the back of the head, and not in the front. These are such as derive all the ideas of their thought from the bodily senses, and confirm the fallacies of the senses, saying, ‘Do you not see the sun accomplishing all these things by means of its heat and light? Is that which you do not see of any account?’ [3] Those who confirm themselves in favor of the Divine carefully observe the wonderful things they see in the Production of Animals; as in regard to eggs (speaking first of these), the chick in its seminal state lies concealed in them With every thing requisite for its formation, and also for its entire development after it is hatched until it becomes a bird in the form of the parent. Moreover, to any mind that thinks deeply, things which excite wonder are presented whenever winged creatures in general are observed; as that both the smallest and largest of them, both the invisible and the visible, that is, both minute insects and great birds and beasts, possess organs of sense, namely, sight, smell, taste, and touch; also organs of motion, which are muscles, for they fly and walk; also viscera connected with the heart and lungs which are moved by the brains. All these things are seen also by those who ascribe everything to nature; but such merely notice their existence, and claim that they are products of nature. This they claim because they have turned away their minds from all thoughts of the Divine; and those who have done this, when they behold the wonderful things in nature, are unable to think about them rationally, still less spiritually; but they think sensually and materially; thus they think in nature from nature, and not above nature; and such differ from beasts only in being endowed with rationality, that is, only in an ability to understand if they wish to. [4] Those who have turned themselves away from all thought of a Divine, and have thereby become corporeal-sensual, never consider that the sight of the eye is so gross and material that it sees many small insects as a single obscure object; and yet each one of these is organized for sensation and motion, and is consequently endowed with fibers and vessels, with a minute heart and pulmonic tubes, with minute viscera and with brains; and these are composed of nature’s purest elements, these textures corresponding to life in its lowest degree whereby their least parts are severally actuated. Considering the grossness of our bodily vision, to which many such insects, with the innumerable parts in each, appear as a single minute indistinct object, while yet it is from this vision that sensual men think and draw conclusions, it is evident how gross their minds must be, and in what darkness they must be respecting spiritual things.
[5] “Any man is able, if he will, to find evidences in favor of a Divine in the visible things of nature; and this he does whenever he thinks of God and of His omnipotence in the creation of the universe, and of His omnipresence in the preservation of it; as, for instance, when he sees that among the birds of heaven each species knows its own food and where to find it, recognizes its companions by sight and sound, and among other species knows which are friends and which enemies; that they know how to mate, to form marriages, construct their nests skillfully, place their eggs in them and hatch them, also the period of incubation; and when the young have been hatched they love them most tenderly, shelter them beneath their wings, feed and nourish them, and this until they are able to provide for themselves and to perform like offices. If anyone is willing to think about a Divine influx through the spiritual world into the natural he can see it in these creatures; and can also, if he will, say from his heart that the sun through its heat and light cannot be the source of such knowledge, for the sun from which nature has its rise and essence is pure fire, and consequently its effluent heat and light must be utterly dead; and thus he may reach the conclusion that these knowledges are from a Divine influx through the spiritual world into the outmosts of nature.
[6] “Anyone can find evidences in favor of a Divine in the visible things of nature when he observes those worms which are moved by the joy of a peculiar love to aspire after a change of their earthly state into one somewhat analogous to a heavenly state. For this purpose they crawl into suitable places, enclose themselves in a covering, and thus place themselves in a womb from which to be born again; and there they become chrysalids, aureliae, nymphs, and finally butterflies; and having undergone this transformation and been decked with beautiful wings according to their species, they fly forth into the air as into their heaven, and there disport themselves merrily, marrying, laying eggs, and providing for themselves a posterity, meanwhile nourishing themselves with sweet and pleasant food from flowers. Who that sees evidences in favor of a Divine in the visible things of nature can help seeing in these as worms an image of man’s earthly state, and in these as butterflies an image of his heavenly state? Those who have confirmed themselves in favor of nature behold the same things, but having rejected man’s heavenly state from their thought they call them mere operations of nature.
[7] “Anyone can find evidences in favor of a Divine in the visible things in nature when he gives thought to what is known of bees, their knowing how to collect wax from roses and blossoms, to suck out honey, to build cells like little houses, to arrange them like a city, with streets for going in and out; their smelling from a distance the flowers and herbs from which they collect wax for their houses and honey for food, being loaded with which they fly back straight to their hive. Thus they provide themselves with food for the coming winter as if they foresaw it. They also appoint a mistress over themselves as queen, and through her they propagate a posterity; and for her they build a sort of palace above themselves, and place guards around it. When the time for propagation arrives, accompanied by her guards, which are called drones, she goes from cell to cell, and lays her eggs, which her retinue seal up lest they be injured by the air. Thus a new generation is born; and when this generation has reached the proper age to be able to repeat the process it is expelled from the hive, and the new swarm, after gathering into a body to prevent separation, flies forth to find itself a home. About the time of autumn, as the drones have added nothing to the supply of wax or honey, they are led out and deprived of their wings to prevent their returning and consuming the food on which they had spent no labor. From this and other facts it can be seen that on account of the use they perform for the human race these insects receive by influx from the spiritual world a form of government similar to that which is formed among men on the earth, and even among the angels in the heavens. [8] What man of sound reason does not see that the natural world cannot be the source of all this? What has the sun, from which nature springs, in common with a government which so vies with and closely resembles heavenly government? From these and like facts exhibited among animals, one who acknowledges and worships nature confirms himself in favor of nature; while he who acknowledges and worships God confirms himself from the same facts in favor of God; for the spiritual man sees in them spiritual things, and the natural man sees in them natural things, thus each in accord with his character. For my own part, such things have been to me evidences that from God there is an influx of the spiritual world into the natural. Consider, moreover, whether you are able to think analytically of any form of government, of any civil law, or any moral virtue, or any spiritual truth, except on the supposition that there is an inflow of the Divine from its own wisdom through the spiritual world. As to myself, I am not able to do so, and never have been. I have now for twenty-six years continually observed that influx perceptibly and sensibly; I therefore speak from what I know.
[9] “Can nature pursue use as an end, and arrange uses in order and in forms? Only a wise being is able to do this; and God alone, whose wisdom is infinite, is able so to order and form the universe. Who else can foresee and provide food and clothing for man-food from the products of the field, from the fruits of the earth, and from animals; and clothing from the same sources? It is among these marvelous facts that those petty worms called silkworms clothe with silk and magnificently adorn both women and men, from queens and kings even to maidservants and menservants; and that a petty insect like the bee supplies the wax for the tapers that make temples and palaces brilliant. All these and more are conclusive proofs that God from Himself through the spiritual world operates all things that take place in nature.
[10] “To all this let me add the fact that I have seen in the spiritual world those who from things visible in the natural world had confirmed themselves in favor of nature until they had become atheists; and that in spiritual light the understanding of such appeared to be open below, but closed above, for the reason that in their thought they had looked down toward the earth, and not up toward heaven. Above their sensual faculties, which form the lowest part of the understanding, a kind of covering flashing with infernal fire was seen, in some cases like soot, and in others livid like a corpse. Let everyone therefore beware of these confirmations in favor of nature; and let him confirm himself in favor of God; there is no lack of means. “
That He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega (Isa. 44:6; Rev. 1:8, 17).
And elsewhere:
That He maketh all things, spreadeth forth the heavens above, and stretcheth forth the earth by Himself (Isa. 44:24).
This vast system which is called the universe is a work coherent as a unit from things first to things last, because in creating it God had a single end in view, which was an angelic heaven from the human race; and all things of which the world consists are means to that end; since he who seeks an end seeks also the means. [2] Consequently, whoever regards the world as a work containing means to that end is able to look upon the created universe as a work coherent as a unit, and to see that the world is a complex of uses, existing in a successive order, looking to the human race (from which is the angelic heaven) as its end. The Divine love can be intent upon no other end than the eternal blessedness of men, having its source in the Divine; and its Divine wisdom can bring forth nothing but uses that are means to that end. Surveying the world from this most general idea, every wise man can comprehend that the Creator of the universe is a One, and that His essence is love and wisdom; consequently there can not be in it the smallest particular in which there does not lie hidden some use, more or less remote, for man-food from the fruits of the earth and from animals, and clothing from the same sources.
[3] How wonderful it is that the insignificant silkworm should clothe with silk and magnificently adorn both women and men, from queens and kings to maidservants and menservants; and that a petty insect like the bee should supply wax for the tapers which make temples and palaces brilliant. Those who study in minute detail a few things in the world, and not all things in their most general relations, including ends, mediate cases, and effects, and who, furthermore, do not deduce creation from Divine love through the Divine wisdom, are unable to see that the universe is the workmanship of one God, and that He dwells in every particular use because He dwells in the end. For in every case one who is in an end must be in the means also, since the end is inmostly in all the means, actuating and directing them. [4] Those who do not regard the universe as the workmanship of God and the dwelling-place of His love and wisdom, but as the workmanship of nature and the dwelling-place of the sun’s heat and light, close the higher regions of their mind against God, and open its lower regions for the devil, and consequently put off their human nature and put on a bestial nature, and not only think themselves to be like the beasts but actually become so. For they become foxes in cunning, wolves in fierceness, panthers in treachery, tigers in cruelty, and crocodiles, serpents, owls, and other birds of night, in the several characteristics of these. Moreover, in the spiritual world those who are such do at a distance actually appear like these wild beasts. Thus does their love of evil portray itself.
They came up to me; and after some talk about the spiritual world, respecting which they had before known nothing, I said, “I heard you speaking of three Divine persons from eternity; I beseech you to disclose to me this great mystery according to the conception you had formed of it in the natural world from which you have lately come.”
Then the bishop, looking at me, said, “I see that you are a layman, therefore I will set forth my ideas on this great mystery, and will instruct you. My conception of the matter was, and still is, that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit sit in the center of heaven upon magnificent and lofty seats or thrones-God the Father on a throne of pure gold, with a scepter in His hand; God the Son at His right hand on a throne of the purest silver, with a crown on His head; and God the Holy Spirit near them, on a throne of dazzling crystal, holding a dove in His hand; and that round about them in triple order are hanging lamps glittering with precious stones; while at a distance from this circle stand innumerable angels, all worshiping and singing praises; and furthermore, that God the Father is continually talking with His Son about those who are to be justified, and they together judge and determine who on earth are worthy to be received by them among the angels, and crowned with eternal life; while God the Holy Spirit, on hearing the names of such, hastens to them throughout the earth, carrying with Him gifts of righteousness as so many tokens of salvation for the justified; and the instant He approaches and breathes upon them He disperses their sins, as a ventilator drives the smoke from a furnace and makes it white. He also takes away the stony hardness of their hearts, and imparts the tenderness of flesh, and at the same time renews their spirits or minds, and regenerates them, giving them infantile faces; and finally He seals them in the forehead with the sign of the cross, and calls them ‘the elect’ and ‘sons of God.'” Having finished this speech the bishop said, “Thus did I in the world elucidate this great mystery; and as most of our order there applauded my utterances, I am persuaded that you also, who are a layman, will assent to them.”
[2] When the bishop had ceased speaking I looked at him, and also at the dignitaries with him, and I noticed that they all gave full assent to what he had said. I therefore began to reply, and said, “I have given close attention to the statement of your belief, and from it I gather that you have conceived and cherish an idea of the triune God that is wholly natural, sensual, and even material, and that there inevitably follows from it the idea of three Gods. Is it not thinking sensually of God the Father to conceive of Him as seated on a throne with a scepter in His hand; and of the Son on His throne with a crown on His head; and of the Holy Spirit on His with a dove in His hand, and as hastening over the world in accordance with what He hears? And as such an idea results from your statements, I cannot assent to them; for from my childhood I have not been able to admit into my mind any other idea than that of one God; and since I have accepted and hold no other idea, all that you have said has no weight with me. I also saw that ‘the throne’ on which Jehovah is said in Scripture to sit means His kingdom, the ‘scepter’ and ‘crown,’ government and dominion; the ‘sitting at the right hand,’ God’s omnipotence through His Humanity; also that by what is attributed to the Holy Spirit the operations of the Divine omnipresence are meant. Assume, sir, if you please, the idea of one God, and rightly dwell upon that in your reasonings, and you will at length clearly apprehend that this is so. [3] Furthermore, you admit that God is one, in that you make the essence of these three persons one and indivisible; while yet you do not allow anyone to say that this one God is one person, but he must say that there are three persons and this you do lest the idea of three Gods, such as you entertain, should be lost; also you ascribe to each person a property different from those of the others. In all this do you not divide your Divine essence? And this being so, how can you say and also think that God is one? I could excuse you if you had said that the Divine is one. How can anyone on hearing that ‘The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and singly each person is God, ‘ possibly think of God as one? Is it not a contradiction, to which assent is utterly impossible? That they cannot be said to be one God, but only to have a like Divinity, may be thus illustrated. A number of men forming one senate, assembly, or council, cannot be called one man; although when each and all have the same opinion they may be said to be one in thought. Neither can three diamonds of the same substance be called one diamond; although they may be called one in substance. Moreover, each diamond would differ from the others in value according to its weight, which would not be true if they were one instead of three. [4] But I perceive the reason why three persons, each one of whom is by Himself singly God, are called by you one God, and why you enjoin upon everyone in the church so to speak, namely, because all sound and enlightened reason in the world acknowledges God to be one, and in consequence you would be covered with shame if you too did not speak in like manner. And yet when you utter the words ‘one God’ while in your thoughts there are three, that shame does not prevent your giving utterance to both of these ideas.”
After this conversation the bishop with his clerical companions withdrew, and as he departed he turned and tried to say, “There is one God;” but he could not say it, because this thought restrained his tongue, and with open mouth he gasped out, “Three Gods!” At this strange sight the bystanders laughed derisively and departed.
To this they replied, “It is not at all remote, since the three persons possess one essence, and the Divine essence is God. In the world we were guardians of a trinity of persons, and the ward under our charge was our faith; in that faith each Divine person had his office – God the Father to impute and bestow, God the Son to intercede and mediate, and God the Holy Spirit to carry out the work of imputation and mediation.”
[2] But I asked, “What do you mean by the ‘Divine essence?'”
They said, “We mean omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, immensity, eternity, and equality of majesty.”
I replied, “If that essence makes one God of several you might add more yet, for example: a fourth, mentioned by Moses, Ezekiel, and Job, under the name of ‘God Schaddai.’ Something of this kind was done in Greece and Italy by the ancients, who ascribed equal attributes and a like essence to their gods, for example, to Saturn, Jove, Neptune, Pluto, Apollo, Juno, Diana, Minerva, and even Mercury and Venus; although they could not say that all these were one God. Moreover, yourselves, who are three persons, and as I apprehend alike in learning and therefore in that respect of a similar essence, are not able to combine yourselves into one learned man.”
They laughed at this, and said, “You are joking. With the Divine essence it is different: it is not tripartite, but one; not divisible, but indivisible; partition and division do not apply to it. “
[3] Hearing this I said, “Let us come down to this ground and discuss the matter.” And I asked, “What do you mean by a ‘person?’ and what does the term signify?”
They said, “The term ‘person’ signifies that which has no part or quality in another, but subsists by itself. Thus do all the heads of the church define it, and we agree with them.”
I said, “Is this the definition of ‘person’?”
They replied, “It is.”
To this I answered, “There is then no part of the Father in the Son, or of either in the Holy Spirit. From this it follows that each is at His own disposal, and possesses His own rights and powers, and therefore there is nothing that joins them together except the will, which is proper to each, and thus communicable at pleasure. Does not this make the three persons three distinct Gods? Listen again: You have also defined ‘person’ as that which subsists by itself; consequently there are three substances into which you divide the Divine essence; and yet you say that this is incapable of division, since it is one and indivisible. Furthermore, to each substance, that is, to each person, you attribute properties that do not exist in the others, and even cannot be communicated to the others, namely, imputation, mediation, and operation. What can follow from this except that the three ‘persons’ are three Gods?”
At these remarks they withdrew, saying, “We will canvass these statements and then answer you.”
[4] There was present a wise man who, hearing the arguments, said, “I do not care to view this lofty subject through such fine network; but apart from these subtleties I see clearly that in your thought you have the idea of three Gods; but as you would incur disrepute by publishing this idea openly to all the world (for if you did so you would be called madmen and fools), it is expedient for you, in order to avoid that ignominy, to confess with your lips one God.”
But the three, tenacious of their opinions, paid no attention to this; and as they went away they muttered some terms culled from metaphysical lore: from which I saw that metaphysics was their tripod from which they wished to give responses.
Let us first consider the Divine Esse, and afterwards the Divine essence. In appearance the two are one and the same; but esse is more universal than essence; for essence implies esse, and is derived from esse. The Esse of God (or the Divine Esse) it is impossible to define, because it transcends every idea of human thought, since this can take in only what is created and finite, and not what is uncreate and infinite, and therefore not the Divine Esse. The Divine Esse is Esse itself, from which all things are, and which must be in all things in order that they may have being. A fuller conception of the Divine Esse may be gained by the following propositions:
(1) The one God is called Jehovah from Esse, that is because He alone Is, Was, and Is To Be, and because He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega.
(2) The one God is substance itself and Form itself, and angels and men are substances and forms from Him, and so far as they are in Him and He is in them are images and likenesses of Him.
(3) The Divine Esse is at once Esse [Being] in itself and Existere [Manifestation] in itself.
(4) It is impossible for the Divine Esse and Existere in itself to produce another Divine which is Esse and Existere in itself; therefore another God of the same Essence is impossible.
(5) The doctrine of a plurality of gods, both in past ages and at the present day, sprang solely from a failure to understand the Divine Esse.
But these propositions must be elucidated one by one.
Moses said unto God, What is Thy name? God said unto Moses, I am who I Am, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent Me unto you; and thou shalt say, Jehovah God of your fathers hath sent Me unto you: this is My name to eternity, and this is My memorial from generation to generation (Exod. 3:13-15).
Since God alone is the I Am and Esse, or Jehovah, nothing can exist in the created universe that does not derive its esse from Him; but how will be seen below. The words:
I am the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega (Isa. 44:6: Rev. 1:8, 11; 22:13),
have the same meaning, signifying, Who is the Itself and the Only from things first to things last, the source of all things. [2] God is called “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” because Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and Omega the last; and therefore the two signify all things in the complex. This is because each letter in the alphabet in the spiritual world signifies a thing. And as the vowels furnish the tone, they signify something belonging to affection or love. This is the origin both of spiritual or angelic speech and of writing there. But it is an arcanum hitherto unknown; for there is a universal language which is the language of all angels and spirits, and which has nothing in common with any language of men in the world; into this language everyone comes after death, for it is inherent in every man from his creation; consequently in the spiritual world everyone can understand every other. I have frequently been permitted to hear that language; and I have compared it with languages in the world, and have found that in no respect whatever does it agree with any natural language on earth. It differs from them in its initial element, which is that each letter in each word has its special meaning. It is for this reason that God is called Alpha and Omega, which means that He is the Itself and the Only from things first to things last, the source of all things. But regarding this speech and form of writing, which flows from the spiritual thought of the angels, see the work on Conjugial Love (n. 326-329) also in the following pages.
I am Jehovah that maketh all things; that spreadeth forth the heavens alone that stretcheth forth the earth by Myself (44:21)
and that He alone is God, and beside Him there is no God (Isa. 45:14, 15, 21, 22; Hos. 13:4). God is not only Esse [Being] in itself, but also Existere [Manifestation] in itself, because Esse without Existere is nothing, equally so Existere unless it is from Esse; therefore where the one is the other must needs be. The same is true of substance and form. Unless a substance is also a form nothing can be predicated of it, and for the reason that having no quality it is in itself nothing. The terms esse and existere are here used, and not essence and existence, because a distinction must be made between esse and essence, and between existere and existence, like that between the prior and the posterior, the prior being more universal than the posterior. To the Divine Esse infinity and eternity are applicable; while to the Divine Essence and Existence, Divine love and wisdom are applicable, and through these two omnipotence and omnipresence, which will be considered in their order.
[2] By this revelation the natural man is enabled to raise himself above nature, thus above himself, and to see such things as pertain to God, yet only as if at a distance, although God is nigh to every man, for in His essence He is in man; and being in man He is very nigh to those who love Him; and those love Him who live according to His commandments and believe in Him; these as it were see Him. What is faith but to see spiritually that God is? And what is a life according to His commandments but an acknowledgment in act that from Him are salvation and eternal life? But those whose faith is not spiritual but natural, which is mere knowledge, and whose life is therefore natural, do indeed see God, but from afar off, and this only when they speak of Him. The difference between these two classes is like the difference between those who stand in a clear light and see men near by and touch them, and those who stand in a thick mist in which they are unable to distinguish between men and trees or stones. [3] Or it is like the difference between men on a high mountain on which there is a city, who are going about there having interaction with their fellow townsmen, and men looking down from the top of that mountain who are unable to tell whether the objects they see below are people, beasts, or statues. Or it is like the difference between men standing upon some planet and seeing those about them, and men on another planet looking at these through telescopes, and saying that they see people there, when in fact they see nothing but a most general outline of the land as lunar brightness, and the watery parts as spots. Such is the difference in seeing God and the Divine things in the mind that go forth from Him, between those who are both in faith and in a life of charity, and those who merely know about faith and charity; and such consequently is the difference between natural and spiritual men. But those who deny the Divine holiness of the Word, and yet carry their religion about as in a sack upon the back, do not see God at all, but only utter the word “God,” almost like parrots.
Therefore, to introduce into the church a belief in three Divine persons each of whom singly is God, and of the same essence, one of them born from eternity, and a third proceeding from eternity, is to destroy utterly the idea of God’s unity, and with it every idea of Divinity, and so cause all the spirituality of reason to be driven into exile. Then man is man no longer; but is so wholly natural as to differ from a beast only in the power of speech, and is opposed to all the spiritual things of the church, for these the natural man calls foolishness. This is the source and only source from which have sprung the monstrous heresies concerning God; and thus the division of the Divine trinity into persons has introduced into the church not night alone but death as well. [2] That the identity of three Divine Essences is an offense to reason was made evident to me by angels, who said that they could not even utter the words “three equal divinities” and that if anyone should come into their presence wishing to utter these words he could not but turn himself away; and after uttering them he would become like the trunk of a man, and would be hurled downward; and would afterwards betake himself to those in hell who do not acknowledge any God. The truth is that to implant in the mind of a child or youth the idea of three Divine persons, to which inevitably the idea of three Gods clings, is to deprive it of all spiritual milk, and then of all spiritual food, and finally of all ability to reason spiritually, and to bring spiritual death upon those who confirm themselves in that idea. The difference between those who in faith and heart worship one God as the Creator of the universe, and those who worship Him as both the Redeemer and the Regenerator, is like the difference between the city of Zion in the time of David and the city of Jerusalem in the time of Solomon after the temple had been built; while a church that believes in three persons and in each as a distinct God, is like the city of Zion and Jerusalem after it had been overthrown by Vespasian and the temple burned. Furthermore, the man who worships one God in whom is a Divine trinity, and who is thus one Person, becomes more and more a living and angelic man; while he who confirms himself in a belief in a plurality of Gods from believing in a plurality of persons, gradually becomes like a statue with movable joints, within which Satan stands and speaks through its artificial mouth.
On one occasion, awaking from sleep I fell into a profound meditation about God; and looking up I saw above me in heaven an exceedingly bright light of oval form; and as I fixed my gaze upon it the light withdrew to the sides and formed a circle; and then, behold, heaven opened to me, and I saw magnificent scenes, and angels standing in a circle on the southern side of the opening talking together. As I greatly wished to hear what they were saying, I was permitted first to hear the sound of their voices, which was full of heavenly love, and afterwards what they said, which was full of wisdom from that love.
They were talking together about the One God, and conjunction with Him, and salvation thereby. They uttered things ineffable, most of which could not possibly be expressed in any natural language. But at different times I had been in company with the angels in heaven itself, and at such times had been in a state like theirs and in a similar language, and consequently I was now able to understand them, and select from what they said some things that can be rationally expressed in the words of natural language.
[2] They said that the Divine Esse is One, the Same, the Itself, and Indivisible. This they illustrated by spiritual ideas, saying that the Divine Esse could not separate itself into several, each of them possessing the Divine Esse, and still itself be One, the Same, and Indivisible; since each one from His own Esse would then think from Himself and by Himself separately and even if the Divine Esse could so separate itself, and all should think unanimously, each from the others, there would still be several unanimous Gods, and not one God. For unanimity, which means the agreement of several, each for himself and by himself, is not consistent with the unity, but only with the plurality of God. The angels did not say “of Gods,” because they could not; for such an expression would be strenuously resisted by the light of heaven, which is the source of their thought, and by the aura in which their words are conveyed.
They said furthermore, that when they wished to utter the word “Gods,” meaning each one a person by himself, the effort to utter it fell at once into the expression “one God,” and even “one only God.” To this they added that the Divine Esse is Divine Esse in itself, not from itself; because the expression “from itself” implies esse in itself from another and prior Esse; and this implies a God from God, which is impossible. That which is from God is not called God, but is called Divine; for what is a God from God? Thus what is a God born from God from eternity? And is a God going forth from God through a God born from eternity anything else than words in which there is no light from heaven?
[3] They said still further, that the Divine Esse, which is in itself God, is the Same; not the Same simply, but infinitely, that is, the Same from eternity to eternity; the Same every where and the Same with everyone and in everyone; and that all variableness and change are in the recipient, caused by the state of the recipient.
That the Divine Esse which is God in Himself is the Itself, they illustrated thus: God is the Itself because He is love itself and wisdom itself, that is, He is good itself and truth itself, and therefore life itself. Unless these in God were love and wisdom itself and were good and truth itself and therefore life itself, they would not be anything in heaven and in the world, because there would be nothing in them related to the Itself. Every quality is what it is from the fact that there is an Itself in which it originates, and to which it must be related in order to be what it is. This Itself, which is the Divine Esse, is not in place; but it is present with and in those who are in place in accordance with their reception of it, since place, or progress from place to place, cannot be predicated of love and wisdom nor of good and truth, nor of life therefrom, which are Itself in God, and are even God Himself. On this rests His omnipotence. So the Lord says that He is in the midst of them, and that He is in them and they in Him. [4] But as He can be received by no one as He is in Himself, what He is in His essence is made manifest as a sun above the angelic heavens, and what goes forth from that sun as light is Himself in respect to wisdom, and what goes forth as heat is Himself in respect to love. That sun is not God Himself; but the Divine love and Divine wisdom as they most nearly proceed from Him, all about Him are seen by the angels as a sun. He Himself within the sun is a Man. He is our Lord Jesus Christ, in regard both to the Divine from which [He is] and to the Divine Human, because the Itself which is love itself and wisdom itself was His soul from the Father, that is, the Divine life, or life in itself. It is not thus in any man. In man the soul is not life, but is a recipient of life. This the Lord teaches, saying:
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).
And again:
As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself (John 5:26)
“life in Himself” meaning God.
To this they added, that those who are in any spiritual light are able to perceive from these statements that the Divine Esse, because it is One, the Same, the Itself, and Indivisible, cannot exist in several; and if the opposite is asserted manifest contradictions must result.
But I said, “Enter, I pray you, more deeply into my thought, and you will see, perhaps, that there is an agreement between us.” This they did; and they saw that by three persons I understood three Divine attributes going forth, Creation, Redemption, and Regeneration, and that these are attributes of one God; also that by the birth of the Son of God from eternity I understood His birth foreseen from eternity and provided in time; (also that to think of the Son born of God from eternity would, to me, be not above nature and reason but contrary to nature and reason; while to think of the Son born of God in time through the virgin Mary as the only Son of God, and the only-begotten, is very different; and to believe otherwise than this would be a monstrous error. I then told them that the source of my natural thought about a trinity and unity of persons, and the birth of a Son of God from eternity, was the doctrine of faith in the church which has its name from Athanasius.
Then the angels said, “Very well,” and asked me to say from them that only those who approach the very God of heaven and earth can enter heaven, because heaven is heaven from that only God, and that this God is Jesus Christ, who is the Lord Jehovah, from eternity the Creator, in time the Redeemer, and to eternity the Regenerator, thus who is at once Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and this, they said, is the gospel to be preached.
After this the heavenly light which had been seen before over the opening returned, and gradually descended and filled the interiors of my mind, and enlightened my ideas on the trinity and unity of God; and the ideas which I had first formed on these subjects, and which had been merely natural, I then saw separated as chaff is separated from wheat by winnowing, and carried away as by a wind to the north of heaven, and scattered
There are two properties of the natural world which cause all things of it to be finite; one is space, and the other time. And as the natural world was created by God, and space and time were created together with it and render it finite, it is necessary to treat of the two origins of these properties, namely, Immensity and Eternity; for the immensity of God relates to spaces and His eternity to times; while both immensity and eternity are included in Infinity. But because the infinite transcends the finite, and because a knowledge of the infinite transcends the finite mind, to render it in some measure conceivable it shall be carefully considered in the following order:
(1) God is Infinite because He is Being and Existence in Himself, and because all things in the universe have their being and existence from Him.
(2) God is Infinite because He was before the world was, thus before spaces and times arose.
(3) Since the creation of the world God is in space without space, and in time without time.
(4) In relation to spaces Gods Infinity is called Immensity, while in relation to times it is called Eternity; but although they are so related there is nothing of space in His Immensity and nothing of time in His Eternity.
(5) The Infinity of God can be seen by enlightened reason in very many things in the world.
(6) Every created thing is finite, and the Infinite is in finite things as in its receptacles, and is in men as in its images.
These propositions shall be explained one by one.
That he should be placed in a cleft of the rock, and should see His back parts (Exod. 33:20-23);
“the back parts of God” meaning what is visible in the world, and especially what is perceptible in the Word. All this shows how vain it is to wish to comprehend what God is in His Esse, or in His substance; and that it is sufficient to acknowledge Him from finite things, that is, from things created, in which He is infinitely. The man who is not content with this may be likened to a fish out of water, or to a bird under an air pump, which, as the air is withdrawn, gasps and finally dies. Or he may be likened to a vessel which, overcome by a storm and failing to obey its helm, is carried upon rocks and quicksands. So it is with those who wish to comprehend from within the infinity of God, and are not content with being able to acknowledge it in its manifest indications from without. It is related of a certain philosopher among the ancients that not being able to see or comprehend the eternity of the world in the light of his own mind he threw himself into the sea. What if he had wished to see or comprehend the infinity of God!
[2] The common opinion about the state of souls after death, and therefore also about angels and spirits, is that they do not occupy any extension, and consequently are not in space and time. Owing to this idea souls after death are said to be in an indefinite somewhere, and spirits and angels are said to be mere puffs of air, which can be thought of only as ether, air, breath, or wind is thought of; when in fact they are substantial men, and like men in the natural world live together in spaces and in times, which, as just said, are determined in accordance with the states of their minds. If it were otherwise, that is, if they were without space and time, that universe into which souls are flowing, and in which angels and spirits dwell, might be passed through the eye of a needle, or be concentrated upon the end of a single hair. This would be possible if there were no substantial extension there; but as there is, angels dwell together as separately and distinctly as men who dwell in material extension, and even more distinctly. Nevertheless, times there are not divided into days, weeks, months, and years, since there the spiritual sun does not appear to rise and set, nor to move from east to west, but remains stationary in the east at a point midway between the zenith and the horizon. There are spaces there, because all things in that world are substantial which in the natural world are material. But this point will be further considered in the section of this chapter where Creation is treated of. [3] From all this it can be comprehended how spaces and times render each thing and all things in both worlds finite; and therefore men are finite not only in body but also in soul, and likewise angels and spirits. The conclusion to be drawn from all this is that God is infinite, that is, not finite; since He Himself, as the Creator, Former, and Maker of the universe, gave finiteness to all things; and this He did by means of His sun, in the midst of which He is, and which is constituted of the Divine essence that goes forth from Him as a sphere. There, and from that, is the first of the finiting process, and its progress reaches even to the outmost things of the world’s nature; consequently in Himself God is infinite because He is uncreated. To man, nevertheless, because he is finite, and thinks from things finite, the infinite seems to be nothing; and therefore he feels that if the finite which adheres to his thought should be taken away, what would be left would amount to nothing. And yet the truth is that God is infinitely all; and man of himself in comparison is nothing.
[2] God is present in space without space, and in time without time, because He is always the same, from eternity to eternity; thus He is the same since the world was created as before; and as before creation there were in God and in His sight no spaces and no times, but only since, and as He is always the same, so is He in space without space and in time without time. In consequence of this, nature is separate from Him, and yet He is omnipresent in nature; almost as life is present in every substantial and material part of man, and yet does not mingle itself with it; or it may be compared to light in the eye, or sound in the ear, taste in the tongue, or to the ether that pervades all solid and liquid matters, and holds the terraqueous globe together, and causes motion, and so on. If these agencies were withdrawn these substantialized and materialized forms would instantly collapse or fall asunder. Even the human mind, if God were not everywhere and always present in it, would burst like a bubble in the air, and both brains, in which the mind acts from first principles, would go off into froth, and thus every thing human would become dust of the earth, or an odor floating in the air. [3] As God is in all time without time so in His Word He speaks in the present tense of the past and the future, as in Isaiah:
Unto us a Child is born, a Son is given; and His name shall be called Mighty, the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6);
and in David:
I will declare the decree; Jehovah hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee (Ps. 2:7).
This is said of the Lord who was to come; wherefore it is also said:
A thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday (Ps. 90:4).
That God is everywhere present in the whole world, and yet there is in him nothing proper to the world, that is, nothing pertaining to space and time, can be clearly seen from many passages in the Word by those who look with watchful eyes, as from this passage in Jeremiah:
Am I a God at hand, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in the secret places that I shall not see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth? (Jer. 23:23-24).
At one extremity of the spiritual world there are seen two statues in monstrous human form, with open mouths and gaping throats, and those who indulge in useless and senseless thoughts about God from eternity seem to themselves to be swallowed up by these; but they are the hallucinations into which those cast themselves who cherish absurd and improper thoughts about God before the creation of the world.
This may be illustrated by the atmospheres, of which there are three degrees. There is a supreme aura, under this the ether, and below this the air; and no quality of the air can be raised up to any quality of the ether, nor any quality of the ether to that of the aura; and yet in each there is an ascent of perfections to infinity. It is within the range of man’s spiritual light that no natural love, which is an animal love, can be raised up to spiritual love, with which from creation man has been endowed. The same is true of the natural intelligence of the animal in relation to the spiritual intelligence of man. But as these things have been hitherto unknown they will be explained elsewhere. From all this it can be seen that the most general contents of the world are constant types of the infinity of God the Creator; but how the particular contents emulate the general, and represent the infinity of God, is an abyss or an ocean which the human mind may sail, as it were, but it must beware of a puff of wind that may arise from the natural man, which striking from aft, where he stands self-confident, may swamp the ship with its masts and sails standing.
And God said, Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. So God created man into His own image, into the image of God created He him (Gen. 1:26, 27).
From this it follows that man is an organic form recipient of God, and is an organic form that is in accordance with the kind of reception. The human mind, which makes man to be man, and in accordance with which man is man, is formed into three regions in accordance with the three degrees; in the first degree, in which also are the angels of the highest heaven, the mind is celestial; in the second degree, in which are the angels of the middle heaven, it is spiritual; and in the third degree, in which are the angels of the lowest heaven, it is natural.
[2] The human mind, organized in accordance with these three degrees, is a receptacle of Divine influx; nevertheless, the Divine flows into it no further than man prepares the way or opens the door. If man does this as far as to the highest or celestial degree he becomes truly an image of God, and after death an angel of the highest heaven; but if he prepares the way or opens the door only to the middle or spiritual degree, he becomes an image of God, but not in the same perfection; and after death he becomes an angel of the middle heaven. But if man prepares the way or opens the door only to the lowest or natural degree, in case he acknowledges God and worships Him with actual piety he becomes an image of God in the lowest degree, and after death an angel of the lowest heaven. But if man does not acknowledge God and does not worship Him with actual piety he puts off the image of God and becomes like some animal, except that he enjoys the faculty of understanding, and consequently of speech; and if he then closes up the highest natural degree, which corresponds to the highest celestial, he becomes as to his loves like a beast of the earth; and if he closes up the middle natural degree, which corresponds to the middle spiritual degree, he becomes in his love like a fox, and in his Intellectual Vision like a bird of night; while if he also closes up the lowest natural degree in its relation to his spiritual he becomes in his love like a wild beast, and in his understanding of truth like a fish [3] The Divine life that actuates man by means of the influx from the sun of the angelic heaven may be compared to light from the world’s sun and its influx into a transparent object-the reception of life in the highest degree to the influx of light into a diamond; the reception of life in the second degree to the influx of light into a crystal; and the reception of life in the lowest degree to the influx of light into glass or a transparent membrane; but when this degree in relation to his spiritual is wholly closed up, which is the case when God is denied and Satan is worshiped, the reception of life from God may be compared to the influx of light into the opaque things of the earth, as rotten wood, or marshy ground, or dung, and so on, for the man then becomes a spiritual corpse.
At one time I was in a state of amazement at the vast multitude of men who ascribe creation, and consequently every thing that is under the sun and every thing above the sun, to nature, saying with a hearty acknowledgment, when they see anything, “Is not this from nature?” And when asked why they say it is from nature and not from God, although they often say, in common with others, that God created nature, and might therefore just as well say that what they see is from God as that it is from nature, they answer with an inner tone that is scarcely audible, “What is God but nature?” All such, from this persuasion that nature created the universe, and from this insanity that appears like wisdom, seem to be elated to such a degree that they look down upon all those who acknowledge the creation of the universe by God as ants that creep upon the ground and keep the beaten track, and upon some as butterflies flying in the air; and the opinions of such they call dreams, because they see what they do not see; and they say, “Who has seen God, and who does not see nature?”
[2] While I was wondering greatly at the multitude of such, an angel stood at my side and said to me, “What are you meditating about?”
I replied, “About the great number of those who believe that nature exists of itself, and is thus the creator of the universe.”
And the angel said to me, “All hell consists of such, and those who are there are called satans and devils-satans those who have confirmed themselves in favor of nature, and in consequence have denied God; devils those who have lived wickedly and have thus cast out from their hearts all acknowledgment of God. But I will conduct you to the schools which are in the southwest quarter, where those are who are not yet in hell.”
He took me by the hand and led me away; and I saw small houses in which were the schools, and in the midst of them a building which served as headquarters for the rest. This was built of pitch-black stones overlaid with little glass-like plates, sparkling as it were with gold and silver, like what are called selenites, or like mica, with glittering shells here and there interspersed.
[3] We approached this building and knocked, and immediately a person opened the door and said, “Welcome.” And he ran to a table and brought four books, and said, “These books are the wisdom that is at this day applauded by many kingdoms; this book or wisdom is applauded by many in France; this by many in Germany; this by some in Holland; this by some in Britain.” He said also, “If you wish to see it I will cause these four books to shine before your eyes.” And he poured forth the glory of his fame round about; and immediately the books beamed as if with light; but this light quickly vanished from our sight.
We then asked what he was now writing; and he answered that he was bringing out from his treasures and setting forth matters pertaining to the deepest wisdom, which in general are these: (1) Whether nature is a property of life, or life of nature? (2) Whether the center is from the expanse, or the expanse from the center? (3) Respecting the center of the expanse and of life.
[4] After these remarks he seated himself at the table, while we walked about the building, which was spacious. He had a candle on his table, because there was no light of the sun there, but only the nocturnal light of the moon; and what seemed wonderful, the candle seemed to be carried round and round, and to give light; but not having been snuffed it gave but little light. While he wrote we saw images of various forms flying from the table to the walls, which appeared in the nocturnal moonlight there like beautiful eastern birds; but as soon as we opened the door these appeared in the light of day like those birds of night that have membranous wings; for they were resemblances of truth which through confirmations had become fallacies, and had been ingeniously woven by him into a series.
[5] After seeing this, we approached the table and asked him what he was then writing about.
He said about the first question, Whether nature is a property of life, or life of nature? And he said he could prove both sides of this and make them true; but as there was something lurking within that he feared, he dared only to prove that nature is a property of life, in other words, is from life, and not that life is a property of nature, in other words, is from nature.
We asked courteously what it was lurking within that he feared.
He replied that he was afraid of being called a naturalist, and thus an atheist, by the clergy, and a man of unsound reason by the laity, since both of these either believe from a blind faith or see only from the views of those who confirm that faith.
[6] Then with some heat of zeal for the truth we addressed him, saying, “Friend, you are very much deceived; you have been misled by your wisdom, which is a certain talent for writing, and you have been led by the glory of fame into proving what you do not believe. Do you not know that the human mind is capable of being raised above things sensual, which enter into the thought from the bodily senses; and that when the mind has been thus raised up it sees what is from life as above, and what is from nature as beneath? What is life but love and wisdom? And what is nature but the receptacle of these, by means of which they accomplish their effects or uses? Can life and nature be one except as the principal and the instrumental? Can light be one with the eye, or sound with the ear? Are not the sensations of these derived from life, and their forms from nature? What is the human body but an organ of life? Are not all things and each thing therein organically formed for the production of what the love wills and the understanding thinks? Are not the bodily organs from nature, and love and thought from life? And are not these perfectly distinct from each other? Raise the keenness of your intellect a little higher still, and you will see that to be moved by affection and to think belong to life-the former belonging to love and the latter to wisdom and both love and wisdom belong to life; for, as before said, love and wisdom are life. If you will lift your capacity to understand a little higher, you will see that love and wisdom could have no existence without having somewhere an origin, and that that origin is love itself and wisdom itself, and therefore life itself, and these are God, from whom nature is.”
[7] Afterwards we talked with him upon the second point, Whether the center is from the expanse or the expanse from the center? asking why he canvassed this. He answered that he did so in order to form a conclusion about the center and the expanse of nature and of life, and so about the origin of each. And when we asked his opinion, he replied, the same as before, that he could prove either of these, but from fear of loss of reputation he would prove that the expanse is of the center, that is, from the center, “although I know,” he said, “that there must have been something before there was a sun, and this throughout the whole expanse, and that this of itself flowed together into order, thus towards a center.”
[8] We then addressed him again with indignant zeal, and said, “Friend, you are insane.” Hearing this he drew his seat from the table, and looked at us timidly, and then gave us his attention, but with laughter. We went on to say, “What can be more insane than to say that the center is from the expanse? By your center we understand the sun, and by your expanse the universe; thus are you not contending that the universe came into existence without the sun? Does not the sun produce nature and all its properties, and do not these depend solely on the light and heat from the sun through the atmospheres? Where, then, could these have been previously? But the origin of these we will discuss hereafter. Are not the atmospheres and all things on the earth like surfaces, of which the sun is the center? What would all these be without the sun? Could they subsist for one moment? What, then, could they have been before the sun was formed? Could they have had any existence? Is not subsistence perpetual existence? As the subsistence, then, of all things of nature is from the sun, it follows that their existence is from the same source. This everyone sees, and from the evidence of his own eyes acknowledges.
[9] Does not the posterior have both its existence and its subsistence from the prior? If the surface were the prior and the center the posterior, would not the prior subsist from the posterior, and would not that be contrary to the laws of order? How can the posterior produce the prior, or the exterior the interior, or the grosser the purer? How then can the surface things which constitute the expanse produce the center? Who does not see that this is contrary to the laws of nature? We have presented these evidences from rational analysis to prove that the expanse has its existence from the center, and not the reverse, although everyone who thinks rightly can see this without these evidences.
You have said that the expanse of itself flowed together towards the center. Was it by chance that it did this in such a marvelous and amazing order that one thing is for the sake of another, and each and all things for the sake of man and his eternal life? Is nature, from any love through any wisdom, capable of premeditating ends, contemplating causes, and thus providing effects, that such things may exist in their order? Or is nature capable of converting men into angels, of making a heaven of these, and causing those who are there to live forever? Put these things together and reflect, and your idea of nature’s existence from nature will fall to the ground.”
[10] After this we asked him what he had thought and what he still thought about the third question, On the center and the expanse of nature and of life; whether he believed the center and the expanse of life to be the same with the center and expanse of nature?
He said that he was perplexed; that he had formerly believed life to be an interior activity of nature, and that this was the source of love and wisdom, which essentially constitute man’s life, and that this activity is produced by the sun’s fire, through its heat and light, by means of the atmospheres; but now from what he had heard of the life of men after death he was in doubt; and this doubt carried his mind sometimes upwards and sometimes downwards; and when upwards he acknowledged a center of which he had formerly known nothing; and when downwards he saw the center which he had supposed to be the only one; and he believed life to be from the center of which he had before known nothing, and nature to be from the center which he had formerly supposed to be the only one, each center having an expanse round about it.
[11] This, we said, would answer if he would look from the center and expanse of life to the center and expanse of nature, and not the reverse. And we informed him that above the angelic heaven there is a sun which is pure love, in appearance fiery, like the sun of the world; and that from the heat going forth from that sun angels and men have their will and love, and from its light their understanding and wisdom; and whatever is from that sun is called spiritual; while whatever proceeds from the sun of the world is a containant or receptacle of life, and is called natural; thus the expanse pertaining to the center of life is called the spiritual world, having its subsistence from its own sun, while the expanse pertaining to the center of nature is called the natural world, having its subsistence from its sun. Since, then, spaces and times cannot be predicated of love and wisdom, and since states take the place there of spaces and times, it follows that there is no extension in the expanse about the sun of the angelic heaven although this expanse is in the extension of the natural sun, and in the living subjects there in accordance with their reception, while their reception is in accordance with forms and states.
[12] Then he asked, “What is the origin of the fire of the sun of the world or of nature?”
We answered that it is from the sun of the angelic heaven, which is not fire, but the Divine love that most nearly goes forth from God, who is in the midst of that sun. As he seemed surprised at this we set it forth in this way: “Love in its essence is spiritual fire; and for this reason in the Word, in its spiritual sense, fire signifies love; and it is on this account that priests in churches pray that heavenly fire, by which they mean love, may fill the hearts of men. The fire of the altar and the fire of the candlestick in the tabernacle represented among the Israelites no other than the Divine love. The heat of the blood, or the vital heat of men and of animals in general, is from no other source than the love that constitutes their life. Therefore man is enkindled, grows warm, and is inflamed when his love is exalted to zeal or excited to anger and passion. Since, then, spiritual heat, which is love, produces in men natural heat, even so far as to enkindle and inflame their faces and limbs, it is clear that the fire of the natural sun sprang from no other source than the fire of the spiritual sun which is the Divine love. [13] And since, furthermore, the expanse, as has just been said, originates in the center, and not the reverse, and the center of life, which is the sun of the angelic heaven, is the Divine love most nearly going forth from God, who is in the midst of that sun; and since the expanse of that center, which is called the spiritual world, is from that origin; and since from that spiritual sun the sun of the world sprang, and from it its expanse, which is called the natural world, it is plain that the universe was created by God.” After this we departed; and he accompanied us out of the hall of his school, and talked with us about heaven and hell and the Divine auspices with a new intellectual sagacity.
A distinction has been made between the Esse of God and the essence of God, because there is a distinction between the infinity of God and the love of God, infinity being applicable to the Esse of God, and love to the essence of God, since the Esse of God, as has just been said, is more universal than His essence; just as the infinity of God is more universal than His love; and for this reason the word infinite is an adjective that is applicable to the essentials and attributes of God, which are all called infinite; as we say of the Divine love that it is infinite, of the Divine wisdom that it is infinite, also of the Divine power; not because of any pre-existence of the Esse of God, but because it enters into the essence as joined to it, cohering with it, determining and forming and also exalting it. But this section of this chapter, like the previous ones, shall be presented under the following divisions:
(1) God is Love itself and Wisdom itself, and these two constitute His Essence.
(2) God is Good itself and Truth itself, because Good is of Love and Truth is of Wisdom.
(3) Love itself and wisdom itself are Life itself, which is Life in itself.
(4) Love and Wisdom in God make one.
(5) It is the essence of Love to love others outside of one-self, to desire to be one with them, and to render them blessed from oneself.
(6) These essentials of the Divine Love were the cause of the universe, and are the cause of its preservation.
But of these separately.
[2] But the delights of love are of two kinds; so, too, are the pleasantnesses that seem to pertain to wisdom, namely, delights of the love of good and delights of the love of evil, and in consequence, the pleasantnesses of faith in what is true and of faith in what is false. In the subjects in which they exist, both of these kinds of delights, because of the feeling they produce, are called goods, and both of these kinds of pleasantness of faith, because of the perception they cause, are also called good; but as these are in the understanding they are in reality truths. Nevertheless, the two kinds are opposites, the good of one love being good, and the good of the other being evil, and the truth of one faith true, and that of the other false. The love whose delight is essentially good is like the sun’s heat in its work of fructifying, vivifying, and operating upon fertile soil, and useful trees and fields of grain; and where it operates the place becomes like a paradise, a garden of Jehovah, and like the land of Canaan; while the pleasantness of the truth of that love is like the sun’s light in spring, or like light flowing into a crystalline vase containing beautiful flowers, from which, when opened, a delightful odor goes forth. But the delight of the love of evil is like the sun’s heat when it parches and destroys, or when it operates upon barren soil or upon noxious growths, as thorns and brambles; and where it operates the place becomes an Arabian desert where there are water snakes and venomous snakes; and the pleasantness of its falsity is like the sun’s light in winter, or like light flowing into a bottle containing worms swimming in vinegar, and reptiles of offensive smell. [3] It must be understood that every kind of good gives itself form by means of truths, and clothes itself about with truths, and thus distinguishes itself from every other good; also that the various kinds of good belonging to the same family bind themselves into bundles, and swathe these about, and thus distinguish themselves from other families. That they are formed in this way is shown in each and all things in the human body; and as there is an invariable correspondence of all things of the mind with all things of the body the human mind is evidently formed in like ways. And from this it follows that the human mind is organized inwardly of spiritual substances, and outwardly of natural substances, and lastly of material substances. The mind whose love’s delights are good is formed inwardly of such spiritual substances as exist in heaven; while the mind whose love’s delights are evil is formed inwardly of such spiritual substances as exist in hell; and its evils are bound into bundles by falsities, while the goods in the former mind are bound into bundles by truths. Because of such bindings of good and of evil into bundles the Lord says:
That the tares must be gathered together into bundles to be burned, as well as all things that offend (Matt. 13:30, 40-41; John 15:6).
The Word was with God, and God was the Word. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:1, 4).
By “God” here the Divine love is meant, and by “the Word” the Divine wisdom; and strictly speaking “life” means the Divine wisdom, and the life strictly is the light that goes forth from the sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which sun is Jehovah God. As fire forms light so does the Divine love form life. In fire there are two properties, burning and shining; from its burning property heat proceeds, and from its shining property, light. There are two like properties in love, one to which the burning property of fire corresponds, which is a something that inmostly affects the will of man, and another to which the shining property of fire corresponds, which is a something that inmostly affects the understanding of man. This is the source of man’s love and intelligence; for, as repeatedly said before, from the sun of the spiritual world a heat goes forth that in its essence is love, and a light that in its essence is wisdom. These two flow into all things and each thing in the universe, and inmostly affect them, and with men these flow into their will and their understanding, for these two were created to be receptacles of influx-the will a receptacle of love, and the understanding a receptacle of wisdom. Thus it is manifest that the life of man dwells in his understanding, and is such as his wisdom is; and that it is modified by the love of the will.
As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son also to have life in Himself (5:26),
which means that just as the Divine Itself, which was from eternity, has life in itself, so the Human, which He took on in time, has life in itself. Life in itself is the very and only life, from which all angels and men have life. This can be seen by human reason from the light that goes forth from the sun of the natural world, in that this light is not creatable, but that forms for receiving it have been created. For example, the eyes are forms for receiving this light, and light flowing in from the sun is what makes them to see. The same is true of life which (as has been said) is the light that goes forth from the sun of the spiritual world, in that it is not creatable, but flows in unceasingly, and as it illuminates it also vivifies man’s understanding. So in consequence, as sight and life and wisdom are one, wisdom is not creatable, neither is faith, nor truth, nor love, nor charity, nor good; but forms for receiving these have been created; and these forms are human and angelic minds. Therefore let everyone beware of persuading himself that he lives from himself, or that he is wise, believes, loves, perceives truth, and wills and does good, from himself. For so far as anyone is so persuaded he casts his mind down from heaven to earth, and from being spiritual becomes natural, sensual, and corporeal; for he shuts up the higher regions of his mind, and thus makes himself blind in regard to every thing relating to God, heaven, and the church; and then all that he happens to think, reason, and say about these things is done in darkness and consequently in foolishness; while at the same time he adopts a confidence that it all belongs to wisdom. For when the higher regions of the mind, where the true light of life resides, are closed up, the region of the mind below these opens, into which the light of the world only is admitted; and when this light is separated from the light of the higher regions it is a delusive light, in which what is false seems true and what is true seems false, and reasoning from what is false appears to be wisdom, and from what is true to be folly. Then man believes himself to be endowed with the keen vision of an eagle, although he sees what belongs to wisdom no better than a bat sees in the light of day.
[2] The first essential, which is to love others outside of one’s self, is recognized in God’s love for the whole human race; and for its sake God loves all things that He has created because they are means; for when the end is loved the means also are loved. All men and things in the universe are outside of God, because they are finite and God is infinite. The love of God goes forth and extends not only to good men and good things, but also to evil men and evil things; consequently not only to the men and things in heaven but also in hell, thus not only to Michael and Gabriel but also to the devil and satan; for God is everywhere, and is from eternity to eternity the same. He says also:
That He makes the sun to rise on the good and on the evil, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matt. 5:45).
But the reason why evil men continue to be evil, and evil things continue to be evil, lies in the subjects and objects themselves, in that they do not receive the love of God as it is, and as it is inmostly in them, but as they themselves are; in the same way as thorns and thistles receive the heat of the sun and the rain of heaven. [3] The second essential of the love of God, which is a desire to be one with others, is recognized in His conjunction with the angelic heaven, with the church on earth, with everyone there, and with every thing good and true that enters into and constitutes man and the church. Moreover, love viewed in itself is nothing but an endeavor towards conjunction; therefore that this aim of the essence of love might be realized man was created by God into His own image and likeness, with which a conjunction is possible. That the Divine love continually seeks conjunction is evident from the Lord’s own words:
That He wishes them to be one, He in them and they in Him, and that the love of God might be in them (John 17:21-23, 26).
[4] The third essential of the love of God, which is to render others blessed from Himself, is recognized in eternal life, which is the endless blessedness, happiness, and felicity that God gives to those who receive into themselves His love. For as God is love itself, so is He blessedness itself; for all love breathes forth delight from itself, and the Divine love breathes forth blessedness itself, happiness, and felicity to eternity. Thus God from Himself renders the angels blessed, and men after death; and this He does by conjunction with them.
I was once talking with two angels, one from the eastern and the other from the southern heaven. When they perceived that I was meditating upon the arcana of wisdom respecting love, they said, “Do you know anything about the schools of wisdom in our world?”
I answered, “Not yet.”
They said that there were many such, and that those who love truths from spiritual affection, or because they are truths, and because by means of them wisdom is acquired, come together at a given signal and discuss and settle those questions that spring from a deeper understanding.
They then took me by the hand, saying, “Follow us, and you shall see and hear; the signal has been given for a meeting today.”
I was led over a plain to a hill; and behold, at the foot of the hill was an arcade of palms reaching to its very top. This we entered and ascended; and on the top or summit of the hill a grove was seen, and among its trees the raised ground formed a kind of theater, within which was a level spot paved with little stones of various colors. Around this in quadrangular form seats were placed upon which lovers of wisdom were sitting; and in the middle of the theater there was a table, upon which was laid a paper sealed with a seal.
[2] Those who were seated invited us to the still vacant seats; but I answered, “I have been brought here by two angels to see and hear, not to sit.”
Then the two angels went to the table in the middle of the level spot, and broke the seal of the paper, and read to those seated the arcana of wisdom written on the paper, which they were now to discuss and unfold. These arcana were written by angels of the third heaven, and let down upon the table. There were three: First, What is “the image of God,” and what is “the likeness of God,” into which man was created? Second, Why is man not born into the knowledge proper to any love, when even beasts and birds, both the noble and the ignoble, are born into the knowledges proper to all their loves? Third, What does “the tree of life” and what does “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” signify, and what is signified by “eating” of them?
Underneath was written, “Unite the answers to these three in one opinion. Write it on a fresh paper, and place it on this table, and we shall see. If the opinion seems well-balanced and correct, each one of you shall receive the prize for wisdom.” Having read this the two angels withdrew, and were taken up into their heavens.
Then those sitting upon the seats began to discuss and unfold the arcana proposed to them, speaking in this order, first those, who sat on the north side, then those on the west, next those on the south, and lastly those on the east. And they took up the first subject of discussion, which was, What is “the image of God” and what is “the likeness of God” into which man was created? In the first place there was read to all of them these words from the Book of Creation
God said, Let us make man into Our image, after Our likeness. So God created man into His own image, into the likeness of God made He him (Gen. 1:26, 27).
In the day that God created man, into the likeness of God made He him (Gen. 5:1).
[3] Those who sat on the north spoke first, saying that an image of God and a likeness of God are the two lives breathed into man by God, which are the life of the will and the life of the understanding; for we read:
Jehovah God breathed into the nostrils [of Adam] the breath of lives, and man was made into a living soul (Gen. 2:7).
This seems to mean that there was breathed into him the will of good and the perception of truth, thus the soul of lives. And inasmuch as life from God was breathed into him, image and likeness signify integrity in him from love and wisdom, and from righteousness and judgment.”
To this those sitting on the west assented, adding, however, that the state of integrity breathed into Adam from God is continually breathed into every man after him; but in man it is as into a receptacle; and man is an image and likeness of God in proportion as he becomes a receptacle.
[4] Afterwards the third in order, who were those seated at the south, said, “An image of God and a likeness of God are two distinct things but in man they are united by creation; and we see as if from some interior light that while the image of God may be destroyed by man, the likeness of God cannot. This we see as through a network, in that Adam retained the likeness of God after he had lost the image of God; for after the curse we read:
Behold the man has become as one of us, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:22)
and after this he was called a likeness of God, but not an image of God (Gen. 5:1). But let us leave to our companions who sit at the east, and are therefore in superior light, to say what is properly an image of God, and what is properly a likeness of God.”
[5] Then after a period of silence, those seated towards the east arose from their seats and looked up to the Lord, and again took their seats, and said that an image of God is a receptacle of God; and as God is love itself and wisdom itself, an image of God is the reception in that receptacle of love and wisdom from God; while a likeness of God is a perfect likeness and full appearance that love and wisdom are in man, and are therefore entirely his. For man has no other feeling than that he loves from himself and is wise from himself, or that he wills what is good and understands truth from himself; nevertheless, this is not from himself in the least degree, but from God. God alone loves from Himself and is wise from Himself, because He is love itself and wisdom itself. The likeness or appearance that love and wisdom, or good and truth, are in man as his own, is what makes man to be man, and makes him capable of conjunction with God, and thus of living to eternity; from which it follows that man is man from his being able to will what is good and understand truth wholly as if from himself, and yet with the ability to know and believe that he does so from God; for as man knows and believes this, God puts His image in man; but not so if man believes that he does this from himself, and not from God.
[6] When this had been said there came upon them a zeal arising from a love for the truth, from which they spoke as follows: “How can man receive anything of love and wisdom, and retain it and reproduce it, unless he feels it to be his own? And how is any conjunction with God by means of love and wisdom possible unless there has been given to man something by which he may reciprocate the conjunction? For without a reciprocal no conjunction is possible. And the reciprocal of conjunction is man’s loving God and doing what is of God as if from himself, and yet believing that it is from God. Moreover, how can man live to eternity unless he is joined to the eternal God? Consequently, how can man be man without that likeness in him?”
[7] These remarks were approved by all, and they said, “Let us form a conclusion from all this.” This was done as follows: “Man is a receptacle of God, and a receptacle of God is an image of God; and as God is love itself and wisdom itself, man is a receptacle of these; and the receptacle becomes an image of God in the measure in which it receives. And man is a likeness of God from his feeling that the things that are from God are in him as his own; and yet from that likeness he is only so far an image of God as he acknowledges that love and wisdom, or good and truth, are not his own in him, and are not from him, but are solely in God, and consequently from God.”
[8] After this they took up the second subject of discussion, Why is man not born into the knowledge proper to any love, when even beasts and birds, both the noble and the ignoble, are born into the knowledges proper to all their loves? They first confirmed the truth of the proposition by various arguments, as, that man is born into no knowledge, not even into a knowledge of marriage love. They inquired and learned from investigators the fact that an infant from connate knowledge does not even know its mother’s breast, but learns of it from the mother or nurse by being put to the breast; that it merely knows how to suck, and this it has acquired from continual suction in the mother’s womb; that subsequently it does not know how to walk, or to articulate sound into any human word, and not even to express by sounds its love’s affections as beasts do; furthermore, that it does not know what food is suitable for it, as beasts do, but seizes upon whatever comes in its way, clean or unclean, and puts it in its mouth. The investigators said that man without instruction knows nothing whatever of the modes of loving the sex, virgins and youths even knowing nothing about it until they have been taught by others. In a word, man is born a purely corporeal thing, like a worm, and so continues unless he acquires knowledge, understanding, and wisdom from others. [9] After this they confirmed the fact that both noble and ignoble animals, as the beasts of the earth, the birds of heaven, reptiles, fishes, and the smaller creatures called insects, are born into all the knowledges proper to their life’s loves, as into all things pertaining to nutrition, to their habitations, to sexual love and prolification, and all things pertaining to the rearing of their offspring. All this they confirmed by wonderful facts which they recalled to memory from what they had seen, heard, and read in the natural world, where they had formerly lived, and where the animals are real and not representative. When the truth of the proposition had been thus established, they applied their minds to the investigation and discovery of the reasons by means of which this arcanum might be unfolded and made clear. And they all said that these things could spring only from the Divine wisdom, to the end that man might be man, and beast might be beast; and thus man’s imperfection at birth becomes his perfection, and the beast’s perfection at birth is its imperfection.
[10] Then those on the north began to express their views; and they said that man is born without knowledges in order that he may be able to receive all knowledges; while if he were born into knowledges he would not be capable of receiving other knowledges beyond those into which he had been born, nor would he be capable of making any knowledge his own. This they illustrated by the comparison that man at birth is like ground in which no seed has been sown, but which nevertheless is capable of receiving all seeds and of causing them to grow and bear fruit; while a beast is like ground already sown, and full of grasses and herbs, which can receive no other seeds than those already sown, or if it did, would choke them. For this reason man is many years in coming to maturity, during which he can be cultivated, like soil, and bring forth, as it were, all kinds of crops, flowers, and trees, while the beast matures in a few years, during which it is capable of improvement only in the things into which it was born.
[11] Afterwards those on the west spoke, and said, “Man is not, as a beast is, born a knowledge, but is born a faculty and inclination-a faculty for knowing and an inclination for loving. Moreover, he is born a faculty for loving both what pertains to self and the world and what pertains to God and heaven. Consequently, man at birth is merely an organ, living only an obscure life through the external senses, and with no internal senses, to the end that his life may develop step by step, and he may become first a natural man, then a rational man, and finally a spiritual man; and this he could not become if he were born into knowledges and loves as beasts are. For that development is limited by connate knowledges and affections of love, while mere connate faculties and inclinations do not limit it. This is what gives man the ability to be perfected to eternity in knowledges, intelligence, and wisdom.
[12] Those on the south followed, and pronounced their opinion, saying that it is impossible for man to derive any knowledge from himself, and since he has no connate knowledge he can only gain it from others. “And as man can acquire no knowledge from himself, neither can he any love, since where knowledge is not love is not. Knowledge and love are inseparable companions, as inseparable as will and understanding, or as affection and thought, or even as essence and form. Therefore as man acquires knowledge from others, love unites with it as a companion. The most general love that unites itself is the love of knowing, and afterwards the love of understanding and of being wise. No beast has these loves, but man only; and they flow in from God. [13] We agree with our fellow-members on the west that man is not born into any love, and consequently not into any knowledge, but is born merely into an inclination for loving and thus into a faculty for receiving knowledge, not from himself but from others, that is, through others. We say through others, because neither do these receive anything from themselves, but originally from God. We agree also with our fellow-members on the north, that man at his birth is like soil in which no seeds have been planted, but in which all seeds, both noble and ignoble, may be planted. This is why man was called homo [man], from humus [soil], and Adam [Hebrew for man], from adamah, which means soil. To this we add that beasts are born into natural loves, and from these into knowledges corresponding thereto; and yet they have no ability to learn or to think or to understand or to be wise from knowledges; but are impelled to these by their loves, much as the blind are conducted through the streets by dogs (for beasts are blind so far as understanding is concerned; or rather, beasts are like persons walking in sleep, who do whatever they do from blind knowledge, their understanding being asleep).”
[14] Finally those on the east spoke and said, “We assent to what our brethren have said, that man derives no knowledge from himself, but only from and through others, in order that he may recognize and acknowledge that all his knowledge, understanding, and wisdom are from God; also that man can in no other way be born and begotten of God, and become His image and likeness. For man becomes an image of God by acknowledging and believing that he has received and continues to receive from God every good of charity and every truth of wisdom and faith, and none whatever from himself; while he is a likeness of God by his feeling these goods and truths to be in himself as if they were from himself. This he feels because he is not born into knowledges but acquires them; and what he requires seems to him to be from himself. Moreover to so feel is bestowed upon man by God in order that he may be a man and not a beast, since it is through man’s willing, thinking, loving, understanding, and being wise as if from himself, that he receives knowledges, and exalts them to intelligence, and, by using them, to wisdom; thus God conjoins man to Himself, and man conjoins himself to God. All this could not be done unless it had been provided by God that man should be born in total ignorance.”
[15] After this had been said it was the desire of all that a conclusion be drawn from the points discussed, and this was done as follows: “Man is born into no knowledge that he may be capable of entering into all knowledge and progressing into intelligence, and through this into wisdom; and he is born into no love that he may be capable of entering, into all love by the application of knowledges from intelligence, and into love to God through love of the neighbor, and thus of being conjoined to God, and thereby becoming man and living forever.”
[16] After this they took up the paper and read the third subject of discussion, which was, What is signified by “the tree of life,” and by “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” and by “eating” of them? They all requested that those in the east should unfold this arcanum, because it was a matter of deeper understanding, and because those from the east were in flaming light, that is, in the wisdom of love, and this wisdom is meant by “the garden of Eden,” in which those two trees were placed.
They replied, “We will speak; but as man receives nothing from himself, but everything from God, we will speak from Him, and yet from ourselves as if from ourselves.” And they said, “A tree signifies man, and its fruit the good of life therefore ‘the tree of life’ signifies man living from God; and as love and wisdom, or charity and faith, or good and truth, constitute the life of God in man, ‘the tree of life’ signifies a man who has these within him from God, and in consequence, eternal life. The tree of life of which it shall be given to eat (mentioned in Apoc. 2:7; 22:2, 14) has the same signification. [17] ‘The tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ signifies a man who believes that he lives from himself and not from God; thus that love and wisdom, or charity and faith, that is, good and truth, are not God’s in man, but his own, the reason for this belief being that man thinks and wills and speaks and acts in all likeness and appearance as if from himself; and as man thereby persuades himself that he is himself a god, the serpent said
God doth know that in the day ye eat of the fruit of that tree your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:5).
[18] “‘Eating’ of these trees signifies reception and appropriation, ‘eating of the tree of life’ reception of eternal life, and ‘eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ the reception of damnation. ‘The serpent’ means the devil in respect to the love of self and the conceit of one’s own intelligence; this love is the possessor of that tree, and the men who are in the conceit derived from that love are such trees. It is therefore a monstrous error to believe that Adam was wise and did good from himself, and that this was his state of integrity; when in fact Adam was himself cursed on account of that belief; for this is what is meant by his ‘eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil;’ and this was why he then fell from his state of integrity, which had been his possession because of his believing that he was wise and did good from God, and in no respect from himself, which is what is meant by his ‘eating of the tree of life.’ The Lord alone when He was in the world was wise from Himself and did good from Himself, because the Divine Itself was in Him, and was His from His birth; therefore by His own power He became the Redeemer and Savior.”
[19] From all this they formed this conclusion: “‘The tree of life, ‘ ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,’ and ‘eating’ therefrom, mean that man’s life is God in him, and when God is in him he has heaven and eternal life; while the death of man is the persuasion and belief that his life is not God, but himself, and this belief leads to hell and eternal death, which is damnation.”
[20] After this they looked at the paper left by the angels on the table, and saw written upon it, “Bring these three together in one opinion;” and bringing them together they saw that the three formed one coherent series, and the series or opinion was as follows: “Man was so created as to be capable of receiving love and wisdom from God, and yet in all likeness as if from himself, and this for the sake of reception and conjunction; and this is why man is not born into any love, nor into any knowledge, nor even into any power to love and be wise from himself. Therefore when he attributes every good of love and every truth of faith to God he becomes a living man; but when he attributes them to himself he becomes a dead man.”
This they wrote on a fresh paper, and placed it on the table; and behold, immediately angels came in, a bright cloud and carried the paper away to heaven.
And when it had been read there, those sitting upon the seats heard from heaven the words, “Well done, well done, well done.” And presently one from heaven was seen flying as it were with what appeared like two wings on his feet and two on his temples, bringing rewards, which were robes, caps, and laurel wreaths. He descended and gave to those sitting at the north robes of an opaline color; to those at the west robes of scarlet; to those at the south caps with borders ornamented with bands of gold and pearls, and with their tops on the left side adorned with diamonds cut in the form of flowers; while to those on the east he gave wreaths of laurel in which were rubies and sapphires. And all, decorated with these rewards, went home from the school of wisdom with joy.
We have treated of the Divine love and wisdom, and have shown that these two are the Divine essence. The omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God will now be considered; because these three proceed from the Divine love and Divine wisdom in much the same way as the power and presence of the sun are present in this world and in each and all things thereof, by means of its heat and light. Moreover, heat from the sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which is Jehovah God, is in its essence Divine love, and the light from it is in its essence Divine wisdom. Evidently, then, as infinity, immensity, and eternity pertain to the Divine Esse, so omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence pertain to the Divine essence. But as these three most general predicates of the Divine essence have hitherto not been understood, because their progression in accordance with their modes, which are the laws of order, has been unknown, they must be elucidated in separate sections, as follows:
(1) Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence pertain to the Divine wisdom from the Divine love.
(2) The Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence of God can be clearly understood only when it is known what order is, and when it is known that God is order, and that He introduced order, both into the universe and into each and all things of it, at the time of their creation.
(3) God’s Omnipotence in the universe and in each and all things of it, proceeds and operates in accordance with the laws of His order.
(4) God is omniscient, that is, He perceives, sees, and knows each thing and all things, even to the most minute, that take place according to order, and from these the things also that take place contrary to order.
(5) God is omnipresent from the firsts to the lasts of His order.
(6) Man was created a form of Divine order.
(7) From the Divine Omnipotence man has power over evil and falsity, and from the Divine Omniscience has wisdom respecting what is good and true, and from the Divine Omnipresence is in God, just to the extent that he lives in accordance with Divine order.
But these propositions shall be unfolded one by one.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the world was made by Him. And the Word was made flesh (John 1:1, 3-4, 10, 14);
“the Word” here meaning the Divine truth, or, what amounts to the same thing, the Divine wisdom; and for this reason it is called “life” and “light,” “life” and “light” being nothing else than wisdom.
Righteousness and judgment are the support of Thy Throne (Ps. 89:14).
Let him that glorieth glory in this, that Jehovah doeth judgment and righteousness in the earth (Jer. 9:24).
Let Jehovah be exalted, for He hath filled the land [Hebrew, Zion] with judgment and righteousness (Isa. 33:5).
Judgment shall flow as water, and righteousness as a mighty stream (Amos 5:24).
O Jehovah, Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God Thy judgments are a great deep (Ps. 36:6).
Jehovah shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday (Ps. 37:6).
Jehovah shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment (Ps. 72:2).
When I shall have learned the judgments of Thy righteousness seven times a day do I praise Thee because of the judgments of Thy righteousness (Ps. 119:7, 164).
I will betroth Me unto thee [Hebrew, thee unto Me] in righteousness and in judgment (Hos. 2:19).
Zion shall be redeemed in judgment and those that are brought back in righteousness (Isa. 1:27).
He shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it in judgment and in righteousness (Isa. 9:7).
I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as King, and shall do judgment and righteousness in the land (Jer. 23:5).
Elsewhere it is said that judgment and righteousness ought to be done, as in Isa. 1:21; 5:16; 58:2; Jer. 4:2; 22:3, 13, 15; Ezek. 18:5; 33:14, 16, 19; Amos 6:12; Micah 7:9; Deut. 33:21; John 16:8, 10, 11).
That God dwells in the light inaccessible (Ps. 104:2 comp. 1 Tim. 6:16);
and in the Apocalypse:
That in the New Jerusalem they need no candle, for the Lord God giveth them light (22:5);
and in John:
That the Word, which was with God and was God, is the light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world (1:1, 9)
the “Word” meaning the Divine wisdom. For this reason, so far as the angels are in wisdom they are in clearness of light, and for the same reason, whenever light is mentioned in the Word it means wisdom.
If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold Thou art there (Ps. 139:8);
and again:
Though they dig into hell, thence shall My hand take them (Amos 9:2).
[2] The man who lifts his mind to God and acknowledges that all the truth of wisdom is from God, and at the same time lives in accordance with order, is like one who stands upon a lofty tower and sees beneath him a populous city and all that is being done in its streets. But the man who confirms in himself the belief that all truth of wisdom is from the natural light in himself, that is, is from himself, is like one who remains in a cavern beneath that tower and looks through holes at the same city, seeing nothing but the wall of a single house in that city, and how its bricks are joined. Again, the man who derives wisdom from God is like a bird flying aloft, which looks around upon all things in the gardens, woods, and fields, and flies to those things that are of use to it; while the man who derives such things as pertain to wisdom from himself, with no added belief that they are from God, is like a hornet flying near the ground, which, seeing a dunghill, settles upon it and finds enjoyment in its stench. Every man, so long as he is living in the world, walks midway between heaven and hell, and is thereby in equilibrium, and thus in freedom of choice either to look upwards to God or downwards to hell. If he looks upwards to God he acknowledges that all wisdom is from God, and in spirit he is actually with the angels in heaven; while he who looks downward (as everyone does who is in falsities from evil) is in spirit actually with the devils in hell.
That it is His will that man should be in Him and He in man (John 15:4).
[2] Man is in God by means of a life in accordance with order, because God is omnipresent in the universe and in each and all things of it in their inmosts, for these inmosts are in order. But in those things that are contrary to order (which are solely those that are outside of the inmosts) God is omnipresent by a continual striving with them, and by a continual effort to bring them back to order. Thus it is that so far as man permits himself to be brought back to order, God is omnipresent in the whole of him, and consequently to the same extent God is in him and he is in God. The absence of God from man is no more possible than the absence of the sun from the earth through its heat and light. But earthly objects are affected by the sun’s power only so far as they receive the heat and light that go forth from that sun, as in spring time and summer time.
[3] This is applicable to the Divine omnipresence in this way, that so far as man is in order he is in spiritual heat and also in spiritual light; that is, in the good of love and the truth of wisdom. But spiritual heat and light are unlike natural heat and light, in that natural heat recedes from the earth and its objects in winter, and natural light at night; and this takes place because the earth by its diurnal and annual motions produces these periods. But with spiritual heat and light it is not so; since God through His sun is present with both heat and light, and does not undergo changes, as the sun of the world apparently does. Man turns himself away comparatively as the earth turns away from the sun; and when he turns away from the truths of wisdom he is like the earth when turned from its sun at night; and when he turns away from the goods of love he is like the earth when turned from its sun in winter. Such is the correspondence between the effects and uses from the sun of the spiritual world, and the effects and uses from the sun of the natural world.
I once heard beneath me something like the roaring of the sea; and I asked what it was; and one said to me that it was a tumult among those assembled in the lower earth, which is just above hell. And presently the ground that formed a roof over them opened, and behold, birds of night flew forth through the opening in flocks, and spread themselves towards the left; and immediately after them there swarmed forth locusts, which leaped upon the grass and made a desert everywhere; and a little after I heard from those nocturnal birds a succession of screeches, and on one side a confused clamor, as if from specters in the woods. After this I saw beautiful birds from heaven, which spread themselves towards the right. These birds were distinguished by gold-like wings with silvery streaks and specks interspersed; and on the heads of some of them there were crests in the form of crowns.
When I saw and wondered at these things there rose up suddenly from the lower earth, where the tumult was, a spirit who could take the form of an angel of light; and he cried out, “Where is he who talks and writes about the order to which the Omnipotent has bound Himself respecting man? This we have been hearing below through the roof.”
Once above ground he ran along a paved way and came to me, and instantly feigned himself an angel of heaven, and speaking in a tone not his own, said, “Are you the one who thinks and talks about order? Tell me briefly what order is, and some of the things pertaining to it.”
[2] I replied, “I will give you the summaries of order, but not its particulars, because you would not understand them.” And I said, “(1) God is order itself. (2) He created man from order, in order, and into order. (3) He created man’s rational mind in accordance with the order of the whole spiritual world, and his body in accordance with the order of the whole natural world; and this is why man was called by the ancients a little heaven and a little cosmos. (4) Therefore it is a law of order that man from his little heaven or his little spiritual world should govern his little cosmos or little natural world, just as God from His great heaven or spiritual world governs the great cosmos or natural world in each thing and all things of it. (5) It is a resulting law of order that it is needful for man to lead himself into faith by means of truths from the Word, and into charity by means of good works, and so reform and regenerate himself. (6) It is a law of order that man by his own exertion and power should purify himself from sins, and not stand still, believing in his own impotency, and expecting God to wash his sins away in a moment. (7) It is also a law of order that man should love God with his whole soul and with his whole heart, and his neighbor as himself, and should not wait and expect that God will in an instant put these loves into his mind and heart, as bread from a baker may be put into his mouth.” These with other like things.
[3] Having heard this, that satan with a soft voice within which there was craft, resumed, “What is that you say? That man must by his own power lead himself into order by keeping these laws of order? Do you not know that man is not under the law, but under grace; that all things are given him freely, and that he can receive only what is given him from heaven; and that in spiritual matters man has no more power to act from himself than the statue of Lot’s wife, or than Dagon, the idol of the Philistines in Ekron; and that it is therefore impossible for man to justify himself; but this must be done by faith and charity?”
To this I merely replied, “It is also a law of order that man by his own exertion and power ought to acquire faith by means of truths from the Word, and yet believe that not a grain of truth is from himself, but from God only; moreover, that man by his own exertion and power ought to justify himself, and yet believe that not a single point of justification is from himself, but from God only. Is not man commanded to believe in God, and to love God with all his strength, and his neighbor as himself? Consider and say how this could have been commanded by God if man possessed no power to obey and do it.”
[4] When the satan had heard this his countenance, from being bright at first, turned ghastly, and then black, and thus speaking from his own mouth he said, “You have uttered paradoxes on paradoxes;” and then instantly he sank down to his companions and was no more seen. The birds on the left, together with the specters, uttered strange cries and threw themselves into the sea, which is there called Suph; and the locusts leaped in after them; the air was cleansed, and the earth was cleansed of those wild creatures; the tumult below ceased, and all, became tranquil and serene.
I once heard a strange murmur at a distance, and following in spirit the direction of the sound I drew nearer. When I came to where it began, behold, it was a crowd of spirits arguing about Imputation and Predestination. They were Dutch and British, with some from other kingdoms intermingled, and these at the end of each argument exclaimed, “Wonderful! wonderful!”
The subject discussed was, “Why does not God impute the merit and righteousness of His Son to every man and all men created by Him and subsequently redeemed? Is He not omnipotent? Can He not, if He will, make archangels of Lucifer, the dragon, and all the goats? Is He not omnipotent? Why does He permit the unrighteousness and impiety of the devil to triumph over the righteousness of His Son, and over the piety of those who worship God? To God what could be easier than to deem all worthy of faith, and thus of salvation? What need of more than a little word to do this? And if He does it not, does He not act contrary to His words, which are that He desires the salvation of all and the death of none? Say, then, from whom and in whom is the cause of the damnation of those who are lost?”
And then a supralapsarian-predestinarian from the Dutch said, “Does not this belong to the good pleasure of the Almighty? Shall the clay complain to the potter that he has made of it a vessel of dishonor?” And another said, “The salvation of everyone is in His hand as a balance in the hand of a weigher.”
[2] There stood at the sides those who were simple in faith and upright in heart, and some with inflamed eyes, some who looked stupefied, some as if drunken, and some as if suffocated, muttering to one another, “What are these ravings to us? These men have been made foolish by their faith, which is, that God the Father imputes the righteousness of His Son to whom He will and when He will, and sends His Holy Spirit to give assurances of that righteousness; and lest any man should claim for himself the least share in the work of his salvation, he must be altogether like a stone in the matter of justification, and like a stock in things spiritual.” And one of these then thrust himself into the crowd, and said in a loud voice, “O madman! you are arguing about goat’s hair. You are wholly ignorant that the omnipotent God is order itself; and that the laws of order are numberless, as many as there are truths in the Word; and that God cannot act contrary to these laws, because to act contrary to them would be to act contrary to Himself, and thus not only contrary to righteousness but contrary to His own omnipotence.” [3] And seeing on his right, at some distance, the semblance of a sheep, a lamb, and a flying dove, on his left the semblance of a goat, a wolf, and a vulture, he said, “Do you believe that God by His omnipotence can change that goat into the sheep, that wolf into the lamb, or that vulture into the dove, or the reverse? By no means; for it is contrary to the laws of His order, of which, according to His words not a jot can fall to the ground. How then can He impart the righteousness of His Son’s redemption to anyone who resists the laws of His righteousness? How can righteousness itself do what is unrighteous, and predestine anyone to hell, and cast him into a fire, beside which the devil stands with torches in his hand to keep it burning? O madmen! empty in spirit! your faith has led you astray. Is it not in your hands like a snare for catching doves?”
Having heard this, a magician made of that faith a kind of snare, and put it upon a tree, saying, “You shall see me catch that dove.”
And presently a hawk flew towards it and thrust its neck into the snare and hung there; while the dove, seeing the hawk, flew away. The bystanders were astonished, and exclaimed, “Even this sport is a display of justice.”
[2] Having said this, they looked at me and I at them; and I saw that they were bewildered, and I said, “I will pray to the Lord, and thence bring a remedy lay an inflow of light on this subject; but at present only by examples.” And I said, “The omnipotent God created the world from the order within Him, that is, into the order in which He is, and in accordance with which He rules; and He impressed upon the universe and each and all things of it its own order, upon man his order, upon the beast its order, upon bird and fish and worm, and every tree and even every blade of grass, upon each its own order. But to illustrate by examples, I will mention briefly the following. The laws of order enjoined upon man are, that he should acquire for himself truths from the Word, and reflect upon them naturally, and as far as he can, rationally, and thus acquire for himself a natural faith. The laws of order on the part of God then are, that He will draw near and fill these truths with His Divine light, and thus fill the man’s natural faith (which is mere knowledge and persuasion) with a Divine essence. In this and in no other way can faith become saving. It is the same with charity. But some particulars shall be briefly mentioned. God, in accordance with His laws, is able to remit sins to any man only so far as the man, in accordance with his laws, refrains from them. God able to regenerate a man spiritually only so far as the man, accordance with his laws, regenerates himself naturally. God is in an unceasing endeavor to regenerate man, and thus save him; but this He is unable to accomplish except as man prepares himself as a receptacle, and thus levels the way and opens the door for God. A bridegroom cannot enter the chamber of a virgin till she becomes his bride; for she shuts the door and keeps the key to herself within; but when the virgin has become a bride she gives the key to the bridegroom. [3] God could not by His omnipotence have redeemed men unless He had become Man; neither could He have made His Human Divine unless that Human had first been like the human of a babe, and then like that of a boy; and unless afterwards the Human had formed itself into a receptacle and habitation, into which its Father might enter; which was done by His fulfilling all things in the Word, that is, all the laws of order therein; and so far as He accomplished this He united Himself to the Father, and the Father united Himself to Him. These are a few things, presented for the sake of illustration, to enable you to see that the Divine omnipotence is in order, and that its government, which is called Providence, is in accordance with order, and that it acts continually and to eternity in accordance with the laws of its order; nor can it act against them or change them one iota, because order, with all its laws, is Himself.”
[4] When this had been said a brilliant light of golden color flowed in through the roof and formed flying cherubs in the air; and with some of those present a glow therefrom was seen on the temples towards the back part of the head, but not yet on the front part, for they murmured, “We do not yet know what omnipotence is.”
And I said, “That will be revealed when what has been already said to you has become somewhat clear.”
I saw at a distance a number of persons gathered together with caps on their heads, some with caps bound around with silk – these had belonged to the ecclesiastical order; others had caps with borders ornamented with golden bands – these were civilians; they were all learned and accomplished. I also saw others with turbans; these were not learned.
I drew near, and heard them talking together about the Divine power, as being unlimited, and saying that if it were to proceed according to any established laws of order it would not be unlimited, but limited; and would thus be a power, but not omnipotence. “But who does not see,” they said, “that there can be no coercion of law that would compel omnipotence to do thus and so and not otherwise? Certainly, when we think of omnipotence, and at the same time of laws of order in accordance with which it is obliged to proceed, our preconceived ideas of omnipotence fall like a hand when its staff has been broken.”
[2] When they saw me near, some of them ran up, and said with some vehemence, “Are you the man who has circumscribed God by laws, as by chains? How insolent! Thus also you have torn to pieces our faith, upon which our salvation is based, in the center of which we place the righteousness of the Redeemer, and over this the omnipotence of God the Father, and add as an appendix the operation of the Holy Spirit, with its efficacy depending upon the absolute impotence of man in things spiritual; so that he only needs to speak of the fullness of justification which is in that faith by virtue of God’s omnipotence. But we have heard that you see in our faith nothing but emptiness, because you see in it nothing of Divine order on the part of man.”
Having heard this, I opened my mouth, and speaking with a loud voice, said, “Learn the laws of Divine order, and then lay open that faith and you will see a vast desert, and in it the long and crooked Leviathan, and round about it nets tangled in an inextricable knot. But do as it is said Alexander did when he saw the Gordian knot, that he drew his sword and cut it apart and thus loosed its entanglements, and then dashing it upon the ground trampled its strands under foot.”
[3] At these words those assembled bit their tongues, wishing to sharpen them for invectives; but they did not venture, for they saw heaven opened above me, and heard from it a voice saying, “In the first place, control yourselves and listen to what the order is, according to the laws of which the omnipotent God acts.” And [the voice] said, “God, from Himself as order, created the universe in order and for order; and in like manner He created man, in whom He established the laws of His order, by virtue of which laws man was made an image and likeness of God; which laws, in brief, are, that “man should believe in God and love his neighbor, and to the extent that he does these two things from his natural powers he constitutes himself a receptacle of the Divine omnipotence, and God conjoins Himself to man, and man to Himself. Thence man’s belief becomes a living and saving belief, and his doing becomes charity, which is also living and saving. But it must be understood that God is unceasingly present, and continually striving and acting in man, even touching his freedom of will, but in no way violating it. For if God should violate man’s freedom of will man’s dwelling-place in God would be destroyed, and there would remain only God’s dwelling-place in man; which dwelling-place is in all who are on earth and who are in the heavens, and even in those who are in the hells; and this is the source of their power, their will, and their understanding. But there is no reciprocal dwelling-place of man in God except in those who live in accordance with the laws of order set forth in the Word; and such become images and likenesses of God, and to them paradise is given as a possession, and the fruit of the tree of life for food; while the rest gather themselves about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and there talk with the serpent, and eat; but these afterwards are driven from paradise. Nevertheless, God does not forsake them, but they forsake God.”
[4] Those with caps understood all this, and assented to it; but those with turbans denied, saying, “Is not omnipotence thus limited? and a limited omnipotence is a contradiction.”
But I answered, “There is no contradiction in acting omnipotently according to the laws of justice with judgment, or according to the laws inscribed on love from wisdom; but there is a contradiction in claiming that God can act in opposition to the laws of His justice and love, which would be to act from what is not judgment or wisdom. Such a contradiction is implied in your faith, which is that from mere grace God can justify an unjust man, and can endow him with all the gifts of salvation and rewards of life. But I will state briefly what God’s omnipotence is. From His omnipotence God created the universe, and at the same time introduced order into each thing and all things in it. From His omnipotence God also preserves the universe, and unceasingly watches over the order of it with its laws; and when anything falls from order He brings it back and makes it whole again. Furthermore, from His omnipotence God instituted the church and revealed the laws of its order in the Word; and when it fell from order He restored it; and when it wholly fell away He Himself came down into the world, and putting on omnipotence by means of the Human then assumed, He re-established it. [5] From His omnipotence and omniscience God searches every man after death, and prepares the righteous, or the sheep, for their places in heaven, and establishes a heaven from them; while He prepares the unrighteous, or the goats, for their places in hell, and establishes a hell from them. Both of these He arranges into societies or congregated bodies in accordance with all the varieties of their love, which in heaven are as many as the stars in the natural firmament; and He joins in one the societies of heaven that they may be as one man before Him. In like manner He brings together the congregated bodies of hell that they may be as one devil; and He separates the latter from the former by a gulf, that hell may not do violence to heaven or heaven torment hell; for those who are in hell are tormented in the degree that heaven flows in. If God from His omnipotence did not do this every instant, a savage nature would enter into men to such an extent that they could no longer be restrained by the laws of any order; and thus the human race would perish. These and other such things would happen unless God were order, and omnipotent in order. “
Having heard this, those who wore caps went away with their caps under their arms, praising God; for in that world the intelligent wear caps. But not so those who wore turbans, for such are bald, and baldness signifies stupidity. The latter went away to the left, and the former to the right.
As the subject of this first chapter is God the Creator, the creation of the universe by Him must also be considered; as in the next chapter on the Lord the Redeemer, redemption will also be treated of. But no one can gain a right idea of the creation of the universe until his understanding is brought into a state of perception by some most general knowledges previously recognized, which are as follows. [2] (1) There are two worlds, a spiritual world where angels and spirits are, and a natural world where men are. (2) In each world there is a sun. The sun of the spiritual world is nothing but love from Jehovah God who is in the midst of it. From that sun heat and light go forth; the heat that goes forth therefrom in its essence is love, and the light that goes forth in its essence is wisdom; and these two affect the will and understanding of man-the heat his will and the light his understanding. But the sun of the natural world is nothing but fire, and therefore its heat is dead, also its light; and these serve as a covering and auxiliary to spiritual heat and light, to enable them to pass over to man. [3] (3) Again, these two which go forth from the sun of the spiritual world, and in consequence all things that have existence in that world by means of them, are substantial, and are called spiritual; while the two like things that go forth from the sun of the natural world, and in consequence all things here that have existence by means of them, are material, and are called natural. [4] (4) In each world there are three degrees, called degrees of height, and in consequence three regions; and in accordance with these the three angelic heavens are arranged, and also in accordance with them human minds are arranged, which thus correspond to those three angelic heavens; and the same is true of every thing else in both worlds. [5] (5) There is a correspondence between those things that are in the spiritual world and those in the natural world. [6] (6) There is an order in which each thing and all things belonging to both worlds were created. [7] (7) It is necessary that an idea of these things should first be gained, for unless this is done the human mind from mere ignorance of these things easily falls into a notion of a creation of the universe by nature; while on mere ecclesiastical authority it asserts that nature was created by God; and yet, because it does not know how creation was effected, as soon as it begins to look interiorly into the matter, it plunges headlong into the naturalism that denies God. But it would be truly the work of a large volume to explain and demonstrate these statements properly one by one; moreover, the matter does not properly enter into the theological system of this book as a theme or argument therefore I will merely relate some memorable occurrences from which an idea of the creation of the universe by God may be conceived, and from such a conception some offspring that will represent it may be born.
One day I was meditating upon the creation of the universe; and this being perceived by the angels above me on the right side, where were some who from time to time meditated and reasoned on this subject, one of them descended and invited me to join them; and coming into the spirit I went with him; and having joined them I was taken to the prince, in whose palace I saw some hundreds assembled, with the prince in the midst.
Then one of them said, “We perceived here that you were meditating upon the creation of the universe; and we too have sometimes indulged in like meditation; but we have never been able to reach a conclusion, because there clung to our thoughts the idea of a chaos, as having been the great egg, as it were, out of which each thing and all things in the universe in their order were hatched; whereas we now perceive that so great a universe could not have been so brought forth. Then there also clung to our minds another idea, namely, that all things were created by God out of nothing; but we are now able to see that out of nothing nothing comes. From these two ideas we have never yet been able to extricate our minds, and to see with any degree of clearness how creation was accomplished. Therefore we have called you from the place where you were, that you might set forth your mediation on this subject. “
[2] Having heard this I replied, “I will do so.” And I said, “I have meditated on this subject for a long time, but to no purpose. But since I have been introduced by the Lord into your world I have perceived how idle it would be to try to form a conclusion about the creation of the universe without first knowing that there are two worlds, one in which angels are, and the other in which men are; and that men through death pass from their world to the other. I then also saw that there are two suns, one from which all spiritual things flow, and the other from which all natural things flow; and that the sun from which all spiritual things flow is nothing but love from Jehovah God, who is in its midst, and that the sun from which all natural things flow is nothing but fire. Having learned these facts, at one time when in a state of enlightenment I was permitted to perceive that the universe was created by Jehovah God by means of the sun in the midst of which He is; and as there can be no love apart from wisdom, that the universe was created by Jehovah God from His love by means of His wisdom. The truth of this is evinced by all things and each thing I have seen in the world where you are, and in the-world where I am in the body. [3] It would take too much space to explain how creation progressed from its primordial state; but when I have been in a state of enlightenment I have perceived that by means of the heat and light from the sun of your world spiritual atmospheres, which are in themselves substantial, were created one from another. As there were three of these atmospheres, and consequently three degrees of them, three heavens were made; one for the angels who are in the highest degree of love and wisdom, a second for those who are in the second degree, and a third for those who are in the lowest degree. But as this spiritual universe cannot exist without a natural universe wherein it can work out its effects and uses, so at the same time a sun was created from which all natural things proceed, and through which in like manner, by means of heat and light, three atmospheres were created, encompassing the three former as a shell its kernel, or as bark its wood; and finally by means of these atmospheres the terraqueous globe was created where men, beasts, fishes, trees, shrubs, and herbs were formed of earthly substances, composed of soil, stones, and minerals. [4] This is a very general outline of creation and its progress. It would require many volumes to explain the particular and most particular things of it; yet all things point to the conclusion that God did not create the universe out of nothing, for as you have said, out of nothing nothing comes, but that He created it by means of the sun of the angelic heaven, which is from His very Esse, and is therefore nothing but love joined with wisdom. That the universe, by which is meant both the spiritual world and the natural world, was created from the Divine love by means of the Divine wisdom is attested and proved by each thing and all things in it; and this, if you will consider these things in their order and connection, you will be able to see clearly in the light that illuminates the perceptions of your understanding. But it must be kept in mind that the love and wisdom which make one in God are not love and wisdom in an abstract sense, but are in Him as substance; for God is the Very, the Only, and thus the primal Substance and Essence, which has Being and Subsistence in itself. [5] That it was from the Divine love and the Divine wisdom that each and all things were created is meant by these words in John:
The Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by Him, and the world was made by Him (John 1:1, 3, 10),
‘God’ signifying here the Divine love, and the ‘Word’ the truth or Divine wisdom; therefore in the same passage the Word is called ‘Light’, and in relation to God ‘Light’ means the Divine wisdom.”
When I had finished and was bidding them adieu, some rays of light from the sun there descended through the angelic heavens into their eyes, and through these into the abodes of their minds; and when thus enlightened they assented to what I had said, and afterwards followed me into the hall; and my former companion took me to the house where he had found me, and from there he reascended to his own society.
One morning when I awoke from sleep and was meditating in the serene morning light before I was fully awake, I saw through the window something like a flash of lightning, and presently heard something like a crash of thunder. While I wondered where this was from, I heard from heaven that there were some spirits near me disputing sharply about God and nature; and that the flash of light like lightning and the crashing sound like thunder were correspondences and consequent manifestations of the conflict and collision of arguments on the one side in favor of God, and on the other in favor of nature.
The origin of this spiritual contest was this: There were certain satans in hell who said to one another, “O that we might be permitted to talk with the angels of heaven! We would completely and fully demonstrate that what they call God, the origin of all things, is nature; therefore that God, unless nature is meant by it, is a mere word.” And as these satans believed this with all their hearts and souls, and wished to talk with the angels of heaven, they were permitted to ascend from the mire and darkness of hell, and converse with two angels then descending from heaven. [2] These were in the world of spirits, which is midway between heaven and hell. The satans seeing the angels there, ran to them quickly, and cried out in a furious voice, “Are you the angels of heaven whom we are permitted to meet in argument about God and nature? You are called wise because you acknowledge God; but O how simple you are! Who has ever seen God? Who understands what God is? Who can comprehend that God rules, or is able to rule, the universe and each and all things in it? Who but the multitude and the rabble profess what they do not see nor understand? What is more obvious than that nature is the all-in-all? Who with his eye has ever seen anything but nature? Who with his ear has ever heard anything but nature? Who with his nostrils has ever smelt anything but nature? Who with his tongue has ever tasted anything but nature? Who by any touch of hand or body has ever felt anything but nature? Are not our bodily senses the witnesses of what is true? From their evidences cannot one swear that a thing is so? Does not the respiration by which our bodies live testify to this? What else do we breathe but nature? Are not our heads and yours in nature? Whence comes the influx into the thoughts of the head if not from nature? If nature were to be taken away could you think any thing?” And much more in the same strain.
[3] When the angels had heard this they replied, “You talk in this way because you are merely sensual; for all who are in hell have the ideas of their thoughts immersed in the bodily senses, and are unable to raise their minds above the senses. We therefore excuse you. A life of evil and a consequent belief in what is false have so far closed the interiors of your minds that with you any elevation above sensual things is impossible unless in a state remote from your evils of life and falsities of belief. For although a satan can understand truth when he hears it just as well as an angel, he does not retain it, because evil blots out truth and introduces falsity. But we perceive that you are now in a state remote from evil, and can therefore understand the truth we are presenting; therefore give attention to what we shall say.”
And they said, “You were in the natural world; but you died there and are now in the spiritual world. Did you ever till now know anything about a life after death? Have you not heretofore denied it, and made yourselves the equals of beasts? Have you heretofore known anything about heaven and hell, or about the light of this world? Or have you known that you are no longer within the sphere of nature, but are above it? For this world and all things of it are spiritual; and spiritual things are so far above natural things that not the least thing of nature, in which you were, can flow into this world. But because you have believed nature to be a god or a goddess you also believe that the light and heat of this world are the light and heat of the natural world; and yet it is not so at all; for here natural light is darkness and natural heat is cold. Have you known any thing about the sun of this world, from which our light and our heat proceed? Have you known that this sun is nothing but love, while the sun of the natural world is nothing but fire; and that it is the sun of the natural world, which is nothing but fire, from which nature derives its existence and subsistence; while it is the sun of heaven, which is nothing but love, from which life itself, which is love joined with wisdom, has its existence and subsistence, and thus that nature, which you make to be a god or a goddess, is manifestly dead. [4] You, if a guard were given you, could ascend with us into heaven; and if a guard were given us we could descend with you into hell. In heaven you would see things magnificent and splendid; while in hell you see things vile and unclean. The reason of these differences is that all in heaven worship God, and all in hell worship nature; and the magnificent and splendid things in the heavens are correspondences of affections of the love of what is good and true; while the vile and unclean things in the hells are correspondences of affections of the love of what is evil and false. Decide now from all this whether God or nature is the all-in-all.”
To this the satans replied, “In the state in which we now are we are able to conclude from what we have heard that there is a God; and yet when the delight of evil fills our minds we see nothing but nature.”
[5] I saw the two angels and the satans, and heard what they said, because they were standing not far from me; and behold, I saw around them many who had been celebrated for learning in the natural world; and I wondered why the learned stood sometimes near the angels and sometimes near the satans, and why they favored those near whom they stood; and it was said to me, “Their changes of position are changes in the state of their minds, favoring first one side and then the other; for in faith they are like Vertumni from [Vertumnus, the Etruscan god of change]. And we will tell you a secret: We have looked down upon those celebrated for learning on the earth, and we have found six hundred out of a thousand in favor of nature, and the rest in favor of God; and those in favor of God were so not from any understanding of the matter, but only because they had heard that nature is from God, and had often talked about it; and frequent speaking about a matter from memory and recollection, even when it is not also a matter of thought and understanding, begets a kind of belief.”
[6] After this a guard was given to the satans, and they ascended with the two angels into heaven; and they saw things magnificent and splendid; and as they were then in a state of enlightenment from the light of heaven they acknowledged that there is a God, and that nature was created to be subservient to the life that is from God; and that nature in itself is dead, and therefore does nothing of itself, but is acted upon by life. Having seen and perceived all this they descended; and as they descended the love of evil returned and closed their understandings above and opened them below; and then there appeared above them a kind of shadow, flashing with infernal fire. And the moment their feet touched the earth the ground gaped beneath them and they sunk to their own.
The next day an angel came to me from another society and said, “We have heard in our society that on account of your meditations about the creation of the universe you were summoned to a society near ours, and there told things about creation which the society then assented to, and have since remembered with pleasure. I will now show you how all kinds of animals and vegetables were produced by God.”
He led me away to a broad green field and said, “Look around.” And I looked around, and saw birds of most beautiful colors, some flying, some perched upon the trees, and some scattered over the field plucking little leaves from roses. Among the birds were doves and swans. After these had disappeared from my sight I saw not far from me flocks of sheep with lambs, and of kids and she-goats; and round about these flocks I saw herds of cattle, young and old, also of camels and mules, and in a kind of grove, deer with high horns, and also unicorns.
When I had beheld these things the angel said, “Turn your face towards the east.” And I saw a garden containing fruit trees, as orange trees, lemon trees, olive trees, vines, fig-trees, pomegranates, and also shrubs bearing berries.
The angel then said, “Look now towards the south.” And I saw fields of various kinds of grain, as wheat, millet, barley, and beans, and round about them flower beds containing roses of beautifully varied colors; but toward the north I saw thick groves of chestnut trees, palms, lindens, plane trees, and other trees with rich foliage.
[2] When I had seen these things the angel said, “All these things that you have seen are correspondences of affections of the love of the angels who are near.” And he told me to what affection each particular thing corresponded; and moreover, that not these only, but also all other things that presented themselves to their sight were correspondences, as houses, the articles of furniture in them, the tables and food, the clothing, and even the gold and silver coins, as also the diamonds and other precious stones with which wives and virgins in the heavens are adorned. “From all these things,” he said, “the character of every person in respect to love and wisdom is perceived by us. The things in our houses that are of use remain there permanently; while to the sight of those who wander from one society to another these things change as their associations change. [3] These things have been shown to enable you to see, in a special example, the entire creation. For God is love itself and wisdom itself; the affections of His love are infinite, and the perceptions of His wisdom are infinite; and of these each thing and all things that appear on earth are correspondences. This is the origin of birds and beasts, forest trees, fruit trees, crops and harvests, herbs and grasses. For God is not extended, and yet He is present throughout all extension, thus throughout the universe from its firsts to its lasts; and He being thus omnipresent, there are these correspondences of the affections of His love and wisdom in the whole natural world; while in our world, which is called the spiritual world, there are like correspondences with those who are receiving affections and perceptions from God. The difference is that in our world such things are created by God from moment to moment in accordance with the affections of the angels. In your world they were created in like manner in the beginning; but it was provided that they should be renewed unceasingly by the propagation of one from another, and creation be thus continued. [4] In our world creation is from moment to moment, and in yours continued by propagation, because the atmospheres and earths of our world are spiritual, and the atmospheres and earths of your world natural; and natural things were created to clothe spiritual things as skin clothes the bodies of men and animals, as outer and inner barks clothe the trunks and branches of trees, the several membranes clothe the brain, tunics the nerves, and the inner coats their fibers, and so on. This is why all things in your world are constant, and are renewed constantly from year to year.”
To this the angel added, “Go and tell the inhabitants of your world what you have seen and heard, for hitherto they have been in complete ignorance about the spiritual world; and without some knowledge about it no one can know, nor even guess, that in our world creation is a continuous process, and that it was the same in yours while the universe was being created by God.”
[5] After this we talked about various matters; and at length about hell, that no such things are seen there as are seen in heaven, but only their opposites; since the affections of the love of those there, which are lusts of evil, are opposites of the affections of love in which angels of heaven are. Thus with those in hell, and in general in their deserts, there are seen birds of night, such as bats and owls; also wolves, panthers, tigers, and rats and mice; also venomous serpents of every kind, dragons and crocodiles; and (where there is any herbage) brambles, nettles, thorns, and thistles, and some poisonous plants grow: and at times these disappear, and then nothing is seen but heaps of stones, and bogs in which frogs croak. All of these things are correspondences; but as has been said, they are correspondences of the affections of the love of those in hell, which affections are lusts of evil. Notwithstanding these things are not created there by God; nor were they created by Him in the natural world, where like things exist. For all things that God has created and does create were and are good; while such things on the earth sprang up along with hell, and hell originated in men, who by turning away from God became after death satans and devils. But as these terrible things began to be painful to our ears, we turned our thoughts from them and recalled to mind what we had seen in heaven.
Once when I was reflecting upon the creation of the universe, some spirits from the Christian world approached, who had been in their time among the most celebrated philosophers, and had been regarded as wiser than all others; and they said, “We perceive that you are thinking about creation; tell us what your idea is about it.”
But I replied, “Tell me your own first.”
And one of them said, “It is my opinion that creation is from nature, and thus that nature created itself, and that it has existed from eternity; for there is no vacuum, and there can be none. In fact, what else do we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, smell with our nostrils, and breathe with our breasts, but nature, which being outside of us must be also within us?”
[2] Another having heard this, said, “You speak of nature and make her the creator of the universe; but as you do not know how nature operated in producing the universe I will tell you. Nature infolded herself in vortices, which dashed together like clouds, or like houses when overthrown by an earthquake; and by such collision the grosser materials brought themselves together into one mass which formed the land; and the more fluid portions separated themselves from these and brought themselves together into one body which formed the seas; and again the still lighter parts separated themselves from these, forming the ether and air; and finally from the lightest of these the sun was formed. Have you not seen that when oil, water, and the dust of the earth are mixed together they freely separate themselves, and arrange themselves in order one above another?”
[3] Then another, hearing this, said, “Both of you are talking from mere fancy. Who does not know that the first origin of all things was chaos, which in magnitude had filled a fourth part of the universe; that at the center of it was fire; round about this ether, and round this matter; that this chaos opened in fissures, through which the fire broke forth, as from Aetna and Vesuvius, and formed the sun; after this the ether issued forth and poured itself about, and formed the atmosphere; and finally the remaining matter solidified into a globe and formed the earth? As to the stars, they are only luminaries in the expanse of the universe, which sprang from the sun and its heat and light; for at first the sun was like a fiery ocean; but, that it might not burn up the earth, it sent off from itself small masses of bright Same, which locating themselves in surrounding space, completed the universe, forming its firmament. “
[4] But there stood one among them who said, “You are mistaken. You seem to yourselves to be wise, and I seem to you to be simple; and yet in my simplicity I have believed and continue to believe that the universe was created by God; and as nature pertains to the universe, that universal nature was then simultaneously created. If nature created herself must she not have existed from eternity? But O what madness!”
And then one of the so-called wise men ran up closer and closer to the speaker, and put his left ear near to the speaker’s mouth-for his right ear had been filled with something like cotton-and asked him what he had said; and the statements were repeated. Then he who had come up looked around to see if any priest were present, and seeing one at the side of the speaker he replied, “I also confess that universal nature is from God; but-” Then he went off and whispered to his companions, saying, “I said that because there was a priest near; you and I know that nature is from nature; but as this makes nature to be God, I said that universal nature is from God; but-“
[5] The priest hearing their whispers, said, “Your wisdom, which is purely philosophical, has misled you, and has so closed the interiors of your minds that no light can flow into them from God and His heaven and enlighten you; you have extinguished this light.” And he said, “Consider, therefore, he state in which yourselves where your souls, which are immortal originated-whether in nature or whether they also were in included in that great chaos.”
Having heard this the former went to his companions and asked them to join him in the solution of this knotty question. And they came to the conclusion that the human soul is nothing but ether, and thought nothing but a modification of ether by the sun’s light, and ether a property of nature. And they said, “Who does not know that we speak by means of the air? And what is thought but speech in a purer air, which is called the ether? Therefore thought and speech make one. Who cannot see this in man during his infancy? He first learns to talk, then he gradually learns to talk with himself-and that is thinking. What, then, is thought but a modification of the ether? And what is the sound of the voice but a modulation of that? From which we conclude that the soul which thinks is a property of nature.”
[6] But some of them-not exactly dissenting, but to make the matter clear-said that souls came into existence when the ether separated itself from that great chaos, the ether then dividing itself in the highest region into innumerable individual forms, which pour themselves into men when they begin to think from the purer air; and these are then called souls.
Another, having heard this, said, “I admit that there were innumerable individual forms formed out of the ether in the higher region; nevertheless there have been a still greater number of men born since the creation of the world; how then could there have been enough of these ethereal forms? Therefore I have thought to myself, that souls departing from the mouths of men when they die, return to them again after some thousands of years, and enter upon and pass through a life similar to their former life. That many of the wise believe in something like this, and in metempsychosis, is known. “
Other conjectures beside these were broached by the rest; but as they were mere ravings I pass them by.
[7] In a short time the priest returned, and then the one who had before spoken about the creation of the universe by God told of their conclusions about the soul; having heard which the priest said to them, “You have spoken precisely as you thought in the world, not knowing that you are not in that world, but in another, which is called the spiritual world. All those who have become corporeal-sensual by confirming themselves in favor of nature are unaware that they are not in the same world in which they were born and brought up. This is because they there had material bodies, while here they have substantial bodies; and a substantial man sees himself and his companions about him precisely as a material man sees himself and his companions; for the substantial is the primitive of the material. And you believe that the same nature exists here, for the reason that you think, see, smell, taste, and talk in the same way as you did in the natural world; when in fact the nature of this world is as different and distinct from the nature of that world as the substantial is from the material, or the spiritual from the natural, or the prior from the posterior. And as the nature of the world where you formerly lived is comparatively dead, so have you, by confirming yourselves in its favor, become as it were dead, that is, in respect to what pertains to God, to heaven, and to the church, and also in this matter which relates to your souls. And yet every man, the bad and the good alike, may in understanding be elevated even into the light in which the angels of heaven are; and then they are able to see that there is a God and a life after death, and that man’s soul is not ethereal, and therefore not of the nature of that world, but is spiritual, and therefore will live to eternity. The understanding may be in such angelic light, provided those natural loves are set aside which are derived from the world, and which favor it and its nature, and which are derived from the body and favor it and what belongs to it.”
[8] Then instantly these loves were taken away from them by the Lord, and they were permitted to speak with angels, from whose conversation they in that state perceived that there is a God, and that they were living after death in another world; wherefore they were covered with shame, and exclaimed, “We were mad! we were mad.” But as this was not their own proper state, and as after a few minutes it became tiresome and unpleasant, they turned away from the priest and were unwilling to listen to him any longer; so they returned to their former loves, which were merely natural, worldly, and corporeal, and they went away toward the left, passing from one society to another; and finally they came to a path, where the delights of their own loves breathed upon them, and they said, “Let us go this way;” and they went; and descending, they came at length to those who were in the delights of similar loves; and they went on. And as their delight was a delight in doing evil, and as they did evil to many on the way, they were imprisoned and became demons. And then their delight was changed to undelight, because by punishments and fears of punishment they were curbed and restrained from their former delight which constituted their nature.
And they asked those who were in the same prison if they were to live in that way for ever; and some answered, “We have been here for some ages, and are to remain for ages of ages, because the nature that we contracted in the world cannot be changed, nor can it be expelled by punishments; for whenever it is so expelled, after a short lapse of time it returns.”
Once by permission a satan and a woman with him, ascended from hell, and came to the house where I was. Seeing them I closed the window, but talked with them through it. I asked the satan where he came from; and he said from his own companions.
And I asked where the woman came from; and he made the same answer. She was from a crowd of sirens, such as are skilled in assuming by means of fantasies all the modes and forms of beauty and adornment, now putting on the beauty of Venus, and now the chaste features of Parnassian nymphs; and again decking themselves out like queens with crowns and royal robes, and walking majestically leaning on silver canes. Such in the world of spirits are harlots, and study fantasies. Fantasy arises from sensual thought when the ideas springing from any interior thought have been excluded.
I asked the satan if she was his wife. He replied, “What is a wife? I do not know and my society does not; she is my harlot.” Then she inspired him with lascivious desire, which sirens can do with great skill; and on receiving it he kissed her, and said, “Ah my Adonis!”
[2] But to proceed to serious things. I asked the satan what his occupation was; and he said, “My occupation is the pursuit of learning; do you not see the laurel on my head?” This his Adonis had created by her art, and put on him from behind.
And I said, “Since you come from a society where learning prevails, tell me what you and your companions believe in regard to God.”
He replied, “To us God is the universe, which we also call nature, and which the more simple of our people call the atmosphere, by which they mean the air, but the wise mean by it the ether. God, heaven, angels and the like, about which many in this world have much to say, are empty terms, and fictions taken from the meteors which here play before the eyes of many people. Are not all things that are visible on the earth created by the sun? At its approach every spring are not winged and creeping insects brought forth; and do not birds, moved by its heat, love each other and propagate their species; and does not the earth when warmed by its heat make seeds to sprout and finally yield fruit as offspring? Is not the universe then a god, and nature a goddess; and does she not, as the spouse of the universe, conceive, bear, bring up, and nourish these offspring?”
[3] I asked further what he and his society believed about religion. He replied, “To us, who are more learned than the masses, religion is nothing but a bewitchment of the common people, which encompasses, like an aura, the sensitive and imaginative powers of their minds; and in that aura notions of piety fly about like butterflies in the air; and their faith, which connects these ideas, as it were, in a chain, is like a silkworm in his cocoon, from which he comes forth as king of the butterflies. For the unlearned masses, from a desire to fly, love to imagine things above their bodily senses and their thought therefrom, in this way making wings for themselves, with which they may soar like eagles and cry boastfully to those on the ground, ‘Look at me!’ But we believe what we see, and we love what we touch.” With that he touched his harlot and said, “This is something I believe in because I see and touch it. But we throw that other nonsense out of our windows, and blow it away with a breath of laughter.”
[4] I then asked what he and his companions believed about heaven and hell. He replied with a loud laugh, “What is heaven but the ethereal firmament above? And what are its angels but spots wandering about the sun? And what are archangels but comets with long tails, upon which a crowd of them dwell? And what is hell but bogs where, in their imagination, frogs and crocodiles are the devils? Everything beyond these ideas of heaven and hell is mere trumpery brought forth by some prelate for the purpose of winning glory from the ignorant multitude.”
All this he said precisely as he had thought upon these subjects in the world, not knowing that he was then living after death, and having forgotten all that he had heard when he first entered the spiritual world. So again he replied to a question about a life after death, that it was a thing of the imagination; and that perchance some effluvium arising from a buried corpse in the shape of a man, or a thing called a ghost, about which some tell stories, had introduced such a notion among men’s fancies.
When I heard this I could no longer keep from laughing; and I said, “Satan, you are raving mad. What are you now? Are you not now in the form of a man? Do you not talk, see, hear, walk? Recall to mind that you have lived in another world which you have forgotten, and that you are now living after death, and that you were even now talking just as you formerly did.”
And recollection was given him, and he remembered and was ashamed; and he cried out, “I am mad! I saw heaven above, and I heard angels there uttering things ineffable; but that was when I first came here. I will now keep this in mind to tell to my companions from whom I came; and perhaps they too will be ashamed as I am.”
And he kept repeating that he would call them madmen; but as he descended forgetfulness expelled remembrance; and when he reached his companions he was as mad as they, and said that what he had heard from me was madness.
In this way do satans think and talk after death. Those are called satans who have confirmed in themselves falsities until they believe them; and those are called devils who have confirmed in themselves evils by their life.
THE LORD THE REDEEMER.
In the preceding chapter God the Creator, together with Creation, has been treated of. This chapter will treat of the Lord the Redeemer, together with Redemption; and the next chapter of the Holy Spirit, together with the Divine Operation. By the Lord the Redeemer we mean Jehovah in the Human; for in what follows it will be shown that Jehovah Himself descended and assumed a Human in order that He might effect redemption. The name Lord is used and not Jehovah, because the Jehovah of the Old Testament is called the Lord in the New, as is shown in the following passages. In Moses:
Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah; and thou shalt love Jehovah God with all thy heart and with all thy soul (Deut. 6:4, 5);
and in Mark:
The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul (Mark 12:29, 30).
Again, in Isaiah:
Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make level in the wilderness a highway for our God (Isa. 40:3);
and in Luke:
Thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His way 1:76);
besides other passages. Moreover, the Lord commanded His disciples to call Him Lord, and this is why He was so called by the Apostles in their Epistles, and afterwards by the Apostolic Church, as appears from its creed, which is called the Apostles’ Creed. The reason of this was that the Jews durst not utter the name Jehovah on account of its holiness; also that “Jehovah” means the Divine Esse which was from eternity; and the Human that He assumed in time was not that Esse. What the Divine Esse or Jehovah is, has been shown in the preceding chapter (n. 18-26, 27-35). For this reason, by the Lord, here and in the following pages, Jehovah in His Human is meant. And since a knowledge of the Lord surpasses in excellence all other knowledges in the church, and even in heaven, the subject shall be so arranged in order as to bring this knowledge out into clear light. It will be considered in the following order:
(1) Jehovah the Creator of the universe descended and assumed a Human that He might redeem men and save them.
(2) He descended as Divine Truth, which is the Word, although He did not separate from it the Divine Good.
(3) He assumed the Human in accordance with His Divine Order.
(4) The Human whereby He sent Himself into the world is what is called the Son of God.
(5) Through the acts of Redemption the Lord made Himself Righteousness.
(6) Through the same acts He united Himself to the Father, and the Father united Himself to Him, also in accordance with the Divine Order.
(7) Thus God became Man, and Man became God, in one Person.
(8) The progress towards union was His state of Exinanition [emptying Himself]; and the union itself is His state of Glorification.
(9) Hereafter no one from among Christians enters heaven unless he believes in the Lord God the Savior, and approaches Him alone.
But these statements shall be explained separately.
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and shall bear a Son, who shall be called God-with-us (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:22, 23).
Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, God, Mighty, Father of Eternity, the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6).
It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him that He may deliver us; this is Jehovah; we have waited for Him; let us exult and be glad in His salvation (Isa. 25:9).
The voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah; make level in the wilderness a highway for our God, and all flesh shall see it together (Isa. 40:3, 5).
Behold, the Lord Jehovah cometh in strength, and His arm shall rule for Him behold, His reward is with Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd (Isa. 40:10, 11).
Jehovah said, Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come to dwell in the midst of thee. Then many nations shall cleave to Jehovah in that day (Zech. 2:10, 11).
I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and I will give thee for a covenant of the people. I am Jehovah; this is My name; My glory will I not give to another (Isa. 42:6-8).
Behold, the days come, that I will raise up unto David a righteous Branch and He shall reign as King, and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth, and this is His name, Jehovah our righteousness (Jer. 23:5, 6; 33:15, 16).
See also the places where the Lord’s coming is called “the day of Jehovah” (as in Isa. 13:6, 9, 13, 22; Ezek. 31:15; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 2, 11; 3:1, 14, 18; Amos 5:13, 18, 20; Zeph. 1:7-18; Zech. 14:1, 4-21; and elsewhere).
[3] That it was Jehovah Himself who descended and assumed the Human is especially evident in Luke, where it is said:
Mary said to the angel, How shall this come to pass, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing that is born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:34, 35).
And in Matthew:
The angel said to Joseph, the bridegroom of Mary, in a dream, that that which was begotten in her was of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called His name Jesus (Matt. 1:20, 25).
It will be shown in the third chapter of this work that the Divine that goes forth from Jehovah God is what is meant by the Holy Spirit. Who does not know that the offspring has its soul and life from the father, and that the body is from the soul? Can anything, then, be more plainly declared than that the Lord had His soul and life from Jehovah God; and as the Divine cannot be divided, that the very Divine of the Father was His soul and life? This is why the Lord so often called Jehovah God His Father, and why Jehovah God called Him His Son. Can there be anything, then, more absurd than to say that the soul of the Lord was from His mother Mary? as is at this day dreamed by both the Roman Catholics and the Reformed, they not having yet been awakened by the Word.
Am I not Jehovah, and there is no God else beside Me? A just God and a Savior, there is none beside Me (Isa. 45:21, 22).
I am Jehovah; and beside Me there is no Savior (Isa. 43:11).
I am Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt acknowledge no God beside Me and there is no Savior beside Me (Hos. 13:4).
That all flesh may know that I Jehovah am thy Savior and thy Redeemer (Isa. 49:26; 60:16).
As for our Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts is His name (Isa. 47:4).
Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah of Hosts is His name (Jer. 1:34).
O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer (Ps. 19:14).
Thus said Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am Jehovah thy God (Isa. 48:17; 43:14; 49:7).
Thus said Jehovah, thy Redeemer, I am Jehovah that maketh all things, even alone by Myself (Isa. 44:24).
Thus said Jehovah, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts, I am the First and I am the Last; and beside Me there is no God (Isa. 44:6).
Thou, O Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer; from everlasting is Thy name (Isa. 68:16).
With everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, said Jehovah, Thy Redeemer (Isa. 54:8).
Thou hast redeemed me, O Jehovah of truth (Ps. 31:5).
Let Israel hope in Jehovah; for with Jehovah there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities (Ps. 130:7, 8).
Jehovah of Hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called (Isa. 54:5).
From these and many other passages it can be seen by every man who has eyes, and a mind that has been opened by means of them, that God, who is one, descended and became Man, in order to effect redemption. Who cannot see this as in the light of morning when he gives any attention to these Divine declarations themselves which have been presented? But those who are in the shades of night, owing to a confirmed belief in the birth of another God from eternity, and in His descent and work of redemption, shut their eyes to these Divine declarations, and in that state study how to apply them to their own falsities and pervert them.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among, us (John 1:1, 3, 14).
By “the Word” here the Divine truth is meant; because the Word, which is in the church, is Divine truth itself, for it was dictated by Jehovah Himself; and what is dictated by Jehovah is nothing but Divine truth, and can be nothing else. [2] But inasmuch as the Divine truth passed down through the heavens even to the world, it became adapted to angels in heaven and also to men in the world. For this reason there is in the Word a spiritual sense in which the Divine truth is seen in clear light, and a natural sense in which it is seen obscurely. Thus it is the Divine truth in our Word that is here meant in John. This is made still clearer by the fact that the Lord came into the world to fulfill all things of the Word; and this is why it is so often said that this or that was done to Him “that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” Nor is anything but the Divine truth meant by “the Messiah” or “the Christ,” or “the Son of man,” or “the Holy Spirit the Comforter,” which the Lord sent after His departure. In the chapter on the Sacred Scripture it will be shown that in His transfiguration before the three disciples on the mount (Matt. 17; Mark 9; Luke 9), and also before John in the Apocalypse (1:12-16), the Lord represented Himself as that Word. [3] That the Lord in the world was the Divine truth is evident from His own words:
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6);
also from these words:
We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding that we may know the True; and we are in the True, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20);
and still further by His being called “the Light,” as in the following passages:
There was the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world (John 1:4, 9).
Jesus said, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not. While ye have the light believe in the light, that ye may be sons of light (John 12:35, 36, 46).
I am the light of the world (John 9:5).
Simeon said, For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, a light for revelation to the Gentiles (Luke 2:30-32).
And this is the judgment, that light is come into the world; he that doeth the truth cometh to the light (John 3:19, 21);
besides other places. “Light” means the Divine truth.
Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O mighty One, and in Thy majesty mount up; ride upon the Word of truth; Thy right hand shall teach Thee wonderful things. Thine arrows are sharp, Thine enemies shall fall under Thee (Ps. 45:3-5).
This is said of the Lord, of His conflicts with the hells, and of His victories over them.
In the spiritual world the power of truth is especially conspicuous. An angel who is in Divine truths from the Lord, although in body as weak as an infant, can nevertheless put to flight a troop of infernal spirits that look like Anakim and Nephilim, that is, like giants, and can pursue them to hell, and thrust them into their caverns there; and when they emerge therefrom they dare not come near the angel. Those who are in Divine truths from the Lord are in that world like lions, although in body they have no more strength than sheep. Men who are in Divine truths from the Lord have a like power against evils and falsities, and consequently against cohorts of devils, who, regarded in their essence, are nothing but evils and falsities. There is such strength in Divine truth because God is good itself and truth itself; and it was by means of Divine truth that He created the universe; and all the laws of order by means of which He preserves the universe are truths. Therefore it is said in John:
That all things were made by the Word, and without Him was nothing thing made that was made (1:3, 10).
And in David:
By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made; and all the hosts of them by the breath of His mouth (Ps. 33:6).
That the power of the Most High overshadowed Mary (Luke 1:35),
“the power of the Most High” meaning the Divine good. This is evident also from the passages where He says that the Father is in Him and He in the Father, that all things that the Father hath are His, and that the Father and He are one; also from other passages. By “the Father” the Divine good is meant.
And the child Jesus grew and waxed strong in spirit. And Jesus advanced in wisdom, and in the stages of life, and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:40, 52).
That this was done more quickly, more fully, and more perfectly than with others is evident from what is said of Him in the same Gospel, that
When He was twelve years old He sat in the temple in the midst of the doctors and taught them and that all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers (Luke 2:46, 47; and afterwards, 4:16-22, 32).
This took place because Divine order requires that man should prepare himself for the reception of God; and in proportion as he prepares himself, God enters into him as into His dwelling-place and home; and this preparation is effected by means of knowledges respecting God and the spiritual things pertaining to the church, and thus by means of intelligence and wisdom. For it is a law of order that in proportion as man approaches and gets near to God (which he must do wholly as if of himself) does God approach and get near to man, and conjoin Himself with man in man’s interiors. It was in accordance with this order that the Lord progressed even to a oneness with His Father, as will be further shown in what follows.
The angel Gabriel said to Mary, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee therefore the Holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35).
The Lord also called Himself “one sent by the Father,” for the reason that sent and angel have the same meaning, angel meaning in the original one sent. For it is said in Isaiah:
The angel of the faces of Jehovah delivered them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them (63:9);
and in Malachi:
And the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in (Mal. 3:1; also elsewhere).
That the Divine Trinity-God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit-is in the Lord, and that the Father in Him is the Divine from which, the Son the Divine Human, and the Holy Spirit the Divine going forth, will be seen in the third chapter of this work where the Divine Trinity is treated of.
I saw in visions and, behold, a Watcher and an Holy One came down from heaven (Dan. 4:13, 23).
God cometh from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran (Hab. 3:3).
I am Jehovah, the Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your Holy One (Isa 43:14, 15).
Thus said Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One (Isa. 49:7).
I am Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior (Isa. 43:1, 3).
As for our Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 47:4).
Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 43:14; 48:17).
Jehovah of Hosts is His name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 54:5).
They tempted God and the Holy One of Israel (Ps. 78:41).
They have forsaken Jehovah, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 1:4).
They said, Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore thus said the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 30:11, 12).
Who say, Let Him hasten His work that we may see; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come (Isa. 5:19).
In that day they shall stay upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth (Isa. 10:20).
Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee (Isa. 7:6).
The God of Israel said, In that day His eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 17:6, 7).
The poor of men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 29:19; 41:16).
The land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel (Jer. 51:5). (See also Isa. 55:5; 50:9; and elsewhere.)
Thus “the Holy One of Israel” means the Lord in respect to His Divine Human, since the angel said to Mary:
The Holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35).
That Jehovah and the holy one of Israel are one, although the names are different, is also made clear by the passages here quoted which state that Jehovah is that holy one of Israel. It is also made evident from numerous passages that the Lord is called the God of Israel (as Isa. 17:6; 21:10, 17; 24:15; 29:23; Jer. 7:3; 9:15; 11:3; 13:12; 16:9; 19:3, 15; 23:2; 24:5; 25:15, 27; 29:4, 8, 21, 25; 30:2; 31:23; 32:14, 15, 36; 33:4; 34:2, 13; 35:13, 17, 18, 19; 37:7; 38:17; 39:16; 42:9, 15, 18; 43:10; 44:2, 7, 11, 25; 48:1; 50:18; 51:33; Ezek. 8:4; 9:3; 10:19, 20; 11:22; 43:2; 44:2; Zeph. 2:9; Ps. 41:13; 59:5; 68:8).
It becometh Me to fulfill all the righteousness of God (Matt. 3:15);
and by these words in the Old Testament:
Behold, the days come when I will raise up unto David a righteous Branch and He shall reign as King, and shall execute righteousness in the land. And this is His name, Jehovah our Righteousness (Jer. 23:5, 6; 33:15, 16)
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save (Isa. 63:1).
He shall sit upon the throne of David, to establish it in judgment and righteousness (Isa. 9:7).
Zion shall be redeemed in righteousness (Isa. 1:27).
Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees ye shall not enter into the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 5:19-20).
Blessed are they who endure persecution for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 5:10).
At the end of the age the angels shall go forth and separate the wicked from the midst of the righteous (Matt. 13:49);
and elsewhere. In the Word by “the righteous” those are meant who have lived in accordance with Divine order, since the Divine order is righteousness. The righteousness itself which the Lord became through the acts of redemption can be ascribed to man, inscribed upon man, adapted and conjoined to man, only as can light to the eye, sound to the ear, will to the muscles in action, thought to the lips in speaking, air to the lungs in breathing, heat to the blood, and so on; and everyone perceives of himself that these flow in and adjoin and conjoin themselves. Righteousness is acquired only so far as man practices righteousness; and this he does so far as he acts towards the neighbor from a love of what is righteous and true; and righteousness has its abode in the good itself or use itself which he performs. For the Lord says that every tree is known by its fruit. Does not everyone know another from his works, if he attends to them with reference to the end and purpose of his will, and the intention and reason from which they are done? To these things all angels direct their attention, as well as all in our own world who are wise. In general, every product and growth from the earth is known by its flower and seed and by its use; every metal by its excellence; every stone by its character; every field, every kind of food, every beast of the earth, and every bird of the air, each by its quality-and why not man? But in the chapter on Faith the source of the quality of man’s works shall be explained.
That He was conceived of Jehovah the Father (Luke 1:34, 35);
this was the source of His soul and life; therefore He says:
That He and the Father are one (John 10:30);
That he that seeth and knoweth Him seeth and knoweth the Father (John 14:9);
If ye knew Me ye would know My Father also (John 8:19);
He that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me (John 13:20);
That He is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18);
That all things whatsoever the Father hath are His (John 16:15);
That He is called the Father of Eternity (Isa. 9:6);
That therefore He has power over all flesh (John 17:2);
And all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).
From these and many other passages in the Word it can be clearly seen that the union of the Father and Himself is like the union of soul and body. Therefore in the Old Testament also He is frequently called “Jehovah,” “Jehovah of Hosts,” and “Jehovah the Redeemer” (see above, n. 83).
Philip, believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? Believe Me, that I am in the Father and the Father in Me (John 14:10, 11).
That ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in the Father (John 10:36, 38).
That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee (John 17:21).
Father, all things that are Mine are Thine, and all things that are Thine are Mine (John 17:10).
The union is reciprocal, because no union or conjunction between two persons is possible unless each in turn approached the other. In the whole heaven, and in the whole world, and in the entire man, all conjunction has its source in the reciprocal approach of one to another, each then willing in oneness with the other. From this comes homogeneity and sympathy, also unanimity and concord, in every particular of each. In every man there is such a reciprocal conjunction of soul and body; such is the conjunction of the spirit of man with the sensory and motor organs of his body; such is the conjunction of the heart and the lungs; such is the conjunction of the will and the understanding; such is the conjunction in man of all the members and viscera in themselves and with each other; the minds of all who interiorly love each other are so conjoined, for this conjunction is inscribed upon all love and friendship; since love desires to love and be loved. Of all things in the world that are fully conjoined one to the other there is a reciprocal conjunction. There is a like conjunction of the sun’s heat with the heat of wood and mineral, of vital heat with the heat of all the fibers of animate things, of the soil with the root, through the root with the tree, and through the tree with the fruit; a like conjunction of the magnet with iron; and so on. Unless conjunction is effected by the reciprocal and mutual approach of one to another, no internal but only external conjunction is effected, and this in time is dissolved by mutual consent, sometimes even so far that they no longer recognize each other.
He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood dwelleth in Me and I in him (John 6:56).
Abide in Me and I in you. He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit (John 15:4, 5).
If anyone open the door I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with Me (Apoc. 3:20);
and elsewhere. This conjunction is effected by man’s approaching the Lord, and the Lord’s approaching him, for it is a sure and immutable law, that so far as man approaches the Lord so far does the Lord approach man. But more will be seen on this subject in the chapters on Charity and Faith.
That in Jesus Christ dwelleth all the fullness of Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9);
and John:
That Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20).
That “the Son of God” means strictly His Human may be seen above (n. 92 and the following numbers). Furthermore, Jehovah God calls both Himself and Him Lord; for we read:
The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at My right hand (Ps. 110:1);
and in Isaiah:
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; whose name is God, the Father of Eternity (9:6).
The Lord as to His Human is also meant by “the Son” in David:
I will declare the decree, Jehovah said unto me, Thou art My Son, this day I have begotten Thee. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish in the way (Ps. 2:7, 12).
Here no Son from eternity is meant, but the Son born in the world; for this is a prophecy about the Lord who was to come; consequently it is called a “decree” which Jehovah declared to David; and in the same Psalm it is said previously:
I have anointed my King upon Zion (verse 6);
and further on:
I will give to Him the nations for an inheritance (verse 8).
Therefore “this day” does not mean from eternity, but in time; for with Jehovah the future is present.
The mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine. Jesus said unto her, Woman, what to Me and to thee? Mine hour is not yet come (John 2:3, 4);
and again:
When Jesus saw [from the cross] His mother, and the disciple standing by whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother (John 19:26, 27);
and on one occasion He did not acknowledge her:
It was told Jesus by some who said, Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without, desiring to see Thee. Jesus answering said, My mother and My brethren are these who hear the Word of God and do it (Luke 8:20, 21; Matt. 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35).
Thus the Lord did not call her mother but “woman,” and gave her to John as a mother. In other places she is called His mother, but not by His own lips. [2] This is further confirmed by the fact that He did not acknowledge Himself to be the son of David; for we read in the Gospels:
Jesus asked the Pharisees, saying, How does it seem to you about the Christ? Whose son is He? They say unto Him, David’s. He said unto them, How then doth David in spirit call Him his Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I place Thine enemies as the footstool of Thy feet? If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his son? And no man was able to answer Him a word (Matt. 12:41-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; Ps. 110:1).
[3] To the above I will add this, which is new: Once it was granted me to speak with Mary the mother. On a certain occasion she passed by and appeared in heaven above my head in white raiment like silk; and then pausing a little she said that she had been the mother of the Lord, who was born of her; but that He, having become God, had put off everything human that He had derived from her, and that she therefore worshiped Him as her God, and was unwilling that anyone should acknowledge Him as her son, because in Him all is Divine. From all this there now shines forth this truth, that thus Jehovah is Man as in things first so also in things last according to these passages:
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, He who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (Rev. 1:8, 11).
When John saw the Son of Man in the midst of the seven lamp stands he fell at His feet as dead; but He laid His right hand upon him saying, I am the First and the Last (Apoc. 1:13, 17; 21:6).
Behold I come quickly, to give every man according to his word I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last (Apoc. 22:12, 13).
and in Isaiah:
Thus said Jehovah, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts, I am the First and the Last (44:6; 48:12).
[2] Since the soul of man is the man himself, and is spiritual in its origin, it is evident why the mind, disposition, nature, inclination, and affection of the father’s love dwell in offspring after offspring, and return and display themselves from generation to generation. Because of this many families and even nations are recognized from their first father. There is a common likeness which shows itself in the face of each descendant; and it is only by means of the spiritual things of the church that this likeness is changed. A common likeness of Jacob and Judah still remains in their posterity, whereby they are distinguished from others, and for the reason that they have adhered firmly to their religion even until now. For in the semen from which every man is conceived there exists a graft or offshoot of the father’s soul in its fullness, within a sort of envelope formed of elements from nature; and by means of this his body is formed in the mother’s womb, which body may become a likeness either of the father or of the mother, the image of the father still remaining within it and constantly striving to put itself forth; consequently if it cannot accomplish this in the first offspring it does in those that follow. [3] A likeness of the father in its fullness exists in the semen for the reason, as has been said, that the soul from its origin is spiritual; and the spiritual has nothing in common with space, and is therefore like itself in little compass as in great. With respect to the Lord: While He was in the world He put off by the acts of redemption everything of the human from the mother, and put on a Human from the Father, which is the Divine Human; and this is why in Him Man is God, and God is Man.
That He emptied His soul even unto death (Isa. 53:12).
This same state was His state of humiliation before the Father; for in it He prayed to the Father; and He says that He does the Father’s will, and ascribes to the Father all that He did and said.
That He prayed to the Father is evident from these places: Matt. 26:39, 44; Mark 1:35; 6:46; 14:32-39; Luke 5:16; 6:12; 22:41-44; John 17:9, 15, 20. That He did the Father’s will: John 4:34; 5:30. That He ascribed to the Father all that He did and said: John 8:26-28; 12:49, 50; 14:10. He even cried out upon the cross:
My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34.)
Moreover, except for this state He could not have been crucified. But the state of glorification is also the state of union. He was in that state when He was transfigured before His three disciples, and also when He wrought miracles, and whenever He said that the Father and He are one, that the Father is in Him and He in the Father, and that all things of the Father are His; and, when the union was complete, that He had “power over all flesh” (John 17:2), and “all power in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18); besides other things.
That every man who from being natural becomes spiritual passes through two states, entering through the first into the second, and thus from the world into heaven, will be fully shown in the chapters on Free Will, on Charity and Faith, and on Reformation and Regeneration. Here let it be noticed only that in the first state, which is called the state of reformation, man has complete freedom to act according to the rationality of his understanding: and in the second, which is the state of regeneration, he has the same freedom; but he now wills and acts, and thinks and speaks, from a new love and a new intelligence, which are from the Lord. For in the first state the understanding takes the chief part and the will the second; while in the following state the will takes the chief part, and the understanding the second; nevertheless, the understanding now acts from the will, and not the will through the understanding. The conjunction of good and truth, of charity and faith, and of the internal and external, is effected in the same way.
That it must be rooted up and cast into the fire (Matt. 7:19; 21:19; Luke 3:9; 13:6-9; John 15:5, 6);
and he is like a servant that did not wish to be free, concerning whom it was commanded:
That he should be brought to the door or to the doorpost, and his ear be pierced with an awl (Exod. 21:6).
Servants are those who are not conjoined to the Lord; while the free are those who are conjoined to Him; for the Lord says:
If the Son maketh you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36).
Behold I create a new heaven and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered nor come into mind; and behold, I will create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy (Isa. 65:17, 18);
and in Revelation:
I saw a new heaven and a new earth: and I saw the holy Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, made ready as a bride for her husband. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new (Rev. 21:1, 2, 5)
and in other places:
That no others should enter heaven than those who were written in the Lamb’s book of Life (Rev. 13:8; 17:8, 12; 20:12, 15; 21:27).
By the “heaven” here mentioned the heaven visible to our eyes is not meant, but the angelic heaven; by “Jerusalem” no city coming down out of the sky is meant, but a church that is to descend from the Lord out of the angelic heaven, and “the Lamb’s book of Life” means not a book written in heaven, which is to be opened, but the Word, which is from the Lord and which treats of the Lord. In the preceding sections of this chapter it has been proved, authenticated, and established that Jehovah God, who is called the creator and the Father, descended and assumed a Human in order that He might be approached by man and be conjoined to man. For does anyone get near to a man by approaching his soul? Can that be done? It is the man himself who is approached, who is seen face to face, and who is talked with mouth to mouth. It is the same with God the Father and the Son; since God the Father is in the Son as a soul is in its body.
[2] That the Lord God the savior is he in whom men ought to believe is evident from the following passages in the Word:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life (John 3:15, 16).
He that believeth in the Son is not judged; but he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18).
He that believeth in the son hath eternal life; but he that believeth not the son shall not see life, but the anger of God abideth on him (John 3:36).
The bread of God is He that cometh down out of heaven, and giveth life unto the world. He that cometh to Me shall not hunger; and he that believeth in Me shall never thirst (John 6:33, 35).
This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who beholdeth the Son and believeth in Him may have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:40).
They said to Jesus, What must we do that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered, This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him whom He hath sent (John 6:28, 29).
Verily, I say unto you, he that believeth in Me hath everlasting life (John 6:47).
Jesus cried saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. He that believeth in Me out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:37, 38).
Unless ye believe that I am, ye shall die in your sins (John 8:24).
Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he die, shall live and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die (John 11:25, 26).
Jesus said, I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in Me may not abide in darkness (John 12:46; 8:12).
While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be sons of the light (John 12:36).
The Lord also said that the disciples should abide in Him, and He in them (John 14:20; 15:1-5; 17:23);
which is done by faith:
Paul testified both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me (John 14:6).
[3] That whosoever believes in the son believes in the Father, since, as said above the Father is in him as the soul in the body, is evident from the following passages:
If ye had known Me ye would have known My Father also (John 8:19; 14:7).
He that seeth Me, seeth Him that sent Me (John 12:45).
He that receiveth Me, receiveth Him that sent Me (John 13:20).
This is because no one can see the Father and live (Exod. 33:20).
Therefore the Lord says:
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father He hath manifested him (John 1:18).
Not that any man hath seen the Father save He that is with the Father, He hath seen the Father (John 6:46).
Ye have neither heard the voice of the Father at any time, nor seen His form (John 5:37).
But those who know nothing about the Lord, like most of those in the two divisions of the globe called Asia and Africa, including those in the Indies, provided they believe in one God and live according to the precepts of their religion, are saved by their faith and life; for imputation has reference to those who know, not to those who do not know; as when the blind stumble it is not imputed to them; for the Lord says:
If ye were blind ye would not have sin; but now ye say that ye see therefore your sin remaineth (John 9:41).
All the churches that existed before the Lord’s coming were representative churches; and only in shadow could Divine truths be seen by them. But after the Lord’s coming into the world a church was established by Him which saw, or rather was able to see, Divine truths in light. The difference is like that between evening and morning; likewise in the Word the state of the church before the Lord’s coming is called evening, and the state after His coming is called morning. Before the Lord came into the world He was present with men of the church, but only mediately, through angels who represented Him; but since His coming He is present with men of the church immediately; and this for the reason that in the world He put on also a Divine Natural in which He is present with men. The glorification of the Lord is the glorification of His Human, which He assumed in the world; and the Lord’s glorified Human is the Divine Natural. The truth of this is evident from the fact that the Lord rose from the tomb with the whole of the body that He had in the world, leaving nothing in the tomb, and therefore took with Him from the tomb the Natural Human itself from the firsts to the lasts of it. So after the resurrection when His disciples thought that what they saw was a ghost, He said to them:
See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me and see; for a ghost hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have (Luke 24:37, 39).
This makes it clear that by means of His glorification His natural body was made Divine. Therefore Paul says:
That in Christ dwelleth all the fullness of Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9);
and John:
That Jesus Christ the Son of God is the true God (1 John 5:20).
From all this the angels are aware that in the whole spiritual world the Lord alone is complete Man.
[2] In the church it is well known that with the Israelitish and Jewish nation all worship was merely external, and shadowed forth an internal worship which the Lord opened up; thus before the Lord’s coming worship consisted in types and figures which represented true worship in its faithful imagery. The Lord Himself was indeed seen by the ancients; for He said to the Jews:
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw and was glad. I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am (John 8:56, 58).
But as the Lord in those times was merely represented (which was done by means of angels), so all things of the church with them were made representative; but after the Lord had come into the world those representations vanished. The interior reason of this was that in the world the Lord put on also a Divine Natural, and from this not only is the internal spiritual man enlightened, but also the external natural; and unless these two are simultaneously enlightened, man is, as it were, in shadow; but when both are enlightened, he is, as it were, in the light of day. For when the internal man alone is enlightened, and not the external also, or when the external man alone is enlightened and not the internal also, it is as when one sleeps and dreams, and as soon as he wakes remembers his dream, and from it draws various conclusions, but all imaginary. Or he is like one walking in his sleep, and fancying that the objects he sees are seen by daylight.
[3] Again, the difference between the state of the church before the Lord’s coming, and after it, is like the difference between reading at night by the light of the moon and stars, and reading by the light of the sun. Evidently, in the former light, which is a purely white light, the eye sees amiss, while in the latter, which is also flame-like, it does not. So we read respecting the Lord:
The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to Me, He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, a morning without clouds (2 Sam. 23:3, 4);
“the God of Israel” and “the Rock of Israel” meaning the Lord. And again:
The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when Jehovah shall bind up the breach of His people (Isa. 30:26).
All this is said of the state of the church after the Lord’s coming. In a word, the state of the church before the Lord’s coming may be compared to an old woman whose face has been painted and who because of the glow of the paint seems to herself to be beautiful; while the state of the church after the Lord’s coming may be likened to a maiden who is beautiful from the native glow of her complexion. Again, the state of the church before the Lord’s coming may be likened to the skin of any fruit (as an orange, an apple, a pear, or a grape) and the taste of the skin; while its state after His coming may be likened to the insides of these fruits and their taste; with other like things; and this for the reason that the Lord having now put on also the Divine natural, enlightens both the internal spiritual man and the external natural man; for when only the internal man is enlightened, and not the external as well, there is shadow; and the same is true when the external man is enlightened and not the internal.
I once saw in the spiritual world an ignis fatuus in the air with a glow about it, falling toward the earth. It was a meteor, such as the common people call a dragon. I noted the place where it fell; but it disappeared in the twilight before sunrise, as every ignis fatuus does.
After dawn I went to the place where I had seen it fall in the night, and behold, the ground there was a mixture of sulfur, iron chips, and clay; and suddenly there appeared two tents, one directly over the place, and the other at one side towards the south; and looking upwards I saw a spirit fall like lightning from heaven, and he struck within the tent that stood directly over the place where the meteor fell; I myself being in the other that was near it towards the south, and as I stood in the door I saw the spirit standing in the entrance of the other tent.
Therefore I asked him why he had so fallen from heaven; and he answered that he had been cast down as an angel of the dragon by the angels of Michael, because he had said something about the faith in which he had confirmed himself while in the world; among other things, that God the Father and God the Son are not one but two; for at this day in the heavens all believe that these are one, like soul and body; and whatever contradicts this is like a pungent odor in their nostrils, or like an awl boring through their ears, which causes disturbance and pain; therefore anyone so contradicting is ordered to leave; and if he refuses is cast out.
[2] Hearing this I said to him, “Why did you not believe as they do?”
He replied that after leaving the world no one is able to believe anything different from what he had before impressed upon himself by confirmation; this remains fixed in him, and can not be removed, especially that which he has confirmed in himself respecting God, since in the heavens everyone has his place according to his idea of God.
I asked him further, by what means he had confirmed the notion that the Father and Son are two.
He said, “By the statements in the Word, that the Son prayed to the Father, both before and during the passion of the cross; also that He humiliated Himself before His Father: how then can they be one, as soul and body are one in man? Who prays as if to another and humiliates himself as if before another, when that other is in fact himself? No one does so, much less the Son of God. Moreover, in my time the entire Christian church divided the Godhead into persons; and each person is one by Himself, and is defined as being what is self-subsistent.”
[3] Hearing this I replied, “From what you say I perceive that you do not know at all how God the Father and the Son are one; and not knowing this you have confirmed yourself in the falsities respecting God which the church still holds to. Do you not know that when the Lord was in the world He had a soul like every other man? Whence had He that soul, unless from God the Father? The truth of this is abundantly evident from the word of the Gospels. What then is that which is called the Son but a Human that was conceived from the Divine of the Father and born of the virgin Mary? The mother cannot conceive the soul. This would be totally opposed to the order in accordance with which every man is born. Neither could God the Father impart from Himself a soul and then withdraw from it, as is done by every father in the world, because God is His own Divine essence, and this is one and indivisible; and being indivisible, it is Himself. This is why the Lord declares that the Father and He are one, and that the Father is in Him and He in the Father, and other like things. The framers of the Athanasian creed saw this remotely, and therefore, after dividing God into three persons, they still maintained that in Christ, God and Man, that is, the Divine and the Human, are not two, but are one, like soul and body in man. [4] The Lord’s praying to the Father as to another when He was in the world, and His humiliating Himself before the Father as before another, was in accordance with the order established at creation. That order is immutable, and in accordance therewith must be everyone’s progress towards conjunction with God. That order is, that so far as man conjoins himself to God by a life in accordance with the laws of order, which are God’s commandments, does God conjoin Himself to man, and change man from natural to spiritual. It was in this way that the Lord made Himself one with His Father, and God the Father made Himself one with Him. When the Lord was an infant was He not like any other infant, and when a boy like any other boy? Do we not read that He increased in wisdom and favor, and that afterwards He asked the Father to glorify His name, that is, His Human? To glorify is to make Divine by oneness with Himself. This makes clear why the Lord prayed to His Father whilst in His state of exinanition, which was the state of His progress towards union. [5] This same order is inscribed upon every man by his creation. In the precise degree in which man prepares his understanding by means of truths from the Word does he adapt his understanding to receive faith from God, and precisely as he prepares his will by means of works of charity does he fit his will for the reception of love from God, as when a workman cuts a diamond he fits it to receive and emit the glow of light; and so on. One prepares himself to receive God and to be conjoined with Him by living in accordance with the Divine order; and the laws of order are all the commandments of God. These the Lord fulfilled to every tittle, and so made Himself a receptacle of Divinity in all fullness. Therefore Paul says:
That in Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9).
And the Lord Himself says:
That all things that the Father hath are His (John 16:15).
[6] “Furthermore, it must be borne in mind that in man the Lord alone is active and man of himself is merely passive; and that it is by means of the influx of life from God that man is also active. It is because this influx from God is unceasing that it seems to man as if he were active from himself; and it is because of this appearance that man has free-will; and this is given him that he may prepare himself for receiving the Lord, and thus for conjunction with Him, which would not be possible unless the action were reciprocal; and it becomes reciprocal when man acts from his freedom, and yet from faith ascribes all his activity to the Lord.”
[7] After this I asked him whether he, like the others his companions, confessed that God is one. He replied that he did. Then I said, “But I am afraid that the confession of your heart is that there is no God. Does not every word uttered by the mouth go forth from the thought of the mind? Must not, then, the lip-confession of God’s oneness banish from the mind the thought that there are three; and on the other hand, must not this thought of the mind banish from the lips the confession that He is one; and what else can result from this than that there is no God? Is not the whole interval, from the thought to the lips, and back again from the lips to the thought, thus made a vacuum? And what conclusion can the mind then form about God than that nature is God; and about the Lord than that His soul was either from the mother or from Joseph? From these two ideas all the angels of heaven turn away as from things horrible and abominable.”
All this having been said, that spirit was sent away into the abyss (spoken of in Rev. 9:2 and following verses), where the angels of the dragon discuss the mysteries of their faith.
[8] The next day, when I looked towards the same place, I saw instead of the tents two statues in the likeness of human beings, made of the dust of the earth that was a mixture of sulfur, iron, and clay. One statue seemed to have a scepter in its left hand, a crown on its head, a book in its right hand, and a stomacher with an oblique band tied across, set with precious stones, and behind a robe that spread towards the other statue. But these decorations of the statue were induced upon it by fantasy. A voice from some draconic spirit was then heard proceeding from it, saying, “This statue represents our faith as a queen, and the one behind it represents charity as her maidservant. This latter was made of a similar mixture of dust, and was placed at the extremity of the robe that spread out behind the queen, and it held in its hand a paper, on which was written, “Be careful not to come so near as to touch the robe.” Then a sudden shower fell from heaven and penetrated both statues, which being made of a mixture of sulfur, iron, and clay, began to effervesce, as a mixture of those ingredients does when water is poured upon it; and so burning as it were with inward fire they melted into heaps, which afterwards stood out above the ground there like sepulchral mounds.
In the natural world man’s speech is twofold, because his thought is twofold, external and internal; for he can speak simultaneously from internal thought and from external thought; and he can speak from external thought and not from internal thought, and even contrary to internal thought; and this is the source of pretenses, flattery, and hypocrisy. But this twofold speech man does not have in the spiritual world; his speech there is single; he speaks as he thinks; or if not, the tone of his voice is grating and hurts the ear. Nevertheless, he can be silent and not divulge the thoughts of his mind. So when a hypocrite gets among wise men he either leaves or betakes himself to a corner of the room and avoids notice and keeps silent.
[2] At one time a large number had assembled in the world of spirits, and were talking together about this matter, saying that to be able to speak only as one thinks is a hardship to such as have not thought rightly about God and the Lord whenever they come into association with the good. In the midst of the assembly were the Reformed and some of their clergy, and next to them the Papists with their monks. The clergy and the monks spoke first, saying, “This is not a hardship; what need is there for anyone to speak otherwise than as he thinks? If perchance he does not think rightly, can he not close his lips and keep silent?” And a clergyman said, “Who does not think rightly about God and about the Lord?”
But some of the assembly said, “Let us try them.” And they asked those who had confirmed themselves in a trinity of persons in the Godhead to say from their thought one God; and they could not. They twisted and folded their lips in various ways, but were unable to articulate a sound into any words except such as were harmonious with the ideas of their thought, which were of three persons, and consequently of three Gods. [3] Again, those who had confirmed themselves in faith apart from charity were asked to utter the name Jesus; but they could not; although they could all say Christ, and also God the Father.
They wondered at this, and inquired the cause; and they found it to be that they had prayed to God the Father for the sake of the Son, but had not prayed to the Savior Himself; and Jesus signifies Savior.
[4] Again, from their thought of the Lord’s Human they were asked to say Divine Human; but not one of the clergy there present could do so, though some of the laity could; and therefore this fact was made a subject of serious discussion.
First, the following passages from the Gospels were read to them:
The Father hath given all things into the hand of the Son (John 3:35);
The Father hath given to the Son power over all flesh (John 17:2);
All things are delivered unto Me by the Father (Matt. 11:27);
All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18);
and they were asked to keep in their thought from these passages that Christ, both as to His Divine and as to His Human, is the God of heaven and earth, and then to pronounce the words Divine Human; but still they could not. They said that although from these passages they retained from the understanding some thought about the matter, they still had no acknowledgment of it, and therefore they could not bring it into speech.
[5] (ii.) Afterwards there was read to them from Luke (1:32, 34, 35) that the Lord as to His Human was the Son of Jehovah God, and is there called “the God of the Most High,” and in many other places, “the Son of God” and also “the Only begotten;” and they were asked to retain this in their thought, as also that the only-begotten Son of God born in the world could not but be God, as the Father is God, and then to utter the words Divine Human. But they said, “We cannot, because our spiritual thought, that is, our more internal thought, does not admit into the thought which lies nearest to speech any other ideas except those that are in harmony with the internal thought; and from this we perceive that we are not now permitted, as we were in the natural world, to divide our thoughts.
[6] (iii.) Therefore, the Lord’s words to Philip were read to them:
Philip said, Lord, show us the Father. And the Lord said, He that seeth Me seeth the Father. Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? (John 14:8-11)
and also other passages, as:
That the Father and He are one (John 10:30)
and they were asked to retain this in thought and then to say, Divine Human; but because that thought was not rooted in the acknowledgment that the Lord is God even in respect to the Human, they twisted their lips into folds till they grew angry, desiring to force their mouths to speak the words but they did not succeed; and for the reason that with those who are in the spiritual world the ideas of thought which flow from acknowledgment make one with the words of speech; and where these ideas do not exist words cannot be had; for in speaking, ideas become words.
[7] (iv.) Still again, there was read to them the following from the doctrine accepted throughout the Christian world: The Divine and Human in the Lord are not two, but one, even one person, united like soul and body in man. This is from the Athanasian Creed, and has been recognized by the councils; and it was said to them, “From this certainly you can gain an idea grounded in acknowledgment that the Human of the Lord is Divine, since His soul is Divine; for this statement is from the doctrine of your church which you accepted while in the world; moreover, the soul is the very essence of the man, and the body is the form of this essence; and essence and form make one like esse and existere, or like the effecting cause of the effect and the effect itself.” This idea they retained, and from it wished to utter the words Divine Human; but they could not; for their more internal idea of the Human of the Lord banished and erased this new adscititious idea, as they called it.
[8] (v.) Once again, this passage from John was read to them:
The Word was with God, and God was the Word, and the Word became flesh (1:1, 14).
Also this:
Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20).
Also from Paul:
In Jesus Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9);
and they were requested to think accordingly, namely, that God who was the Word became Man, that He was the true God, and that in Him dwelt all the fullness of Divinity bodily. This they did, but only in external thought; and therefore, because of the resistance of internal thought, they were unable to pronounce the words Divine Human; and they said frankly, “We can form no idea of a Divine Human, because God is God, and man is man, and God is a Spirit, and we have always thought of spirit as being wind or ether.”
[9] (vi.) Finally, it was said to them, You know that the Lord said:
Abide in Me, and I in you. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:4, 5).
And as there were some of the English clergy present, the following from one of their exhortations at the Holy Communion was read to them: “For when we spiritually eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, then we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us.” And it was said, “If your thought now is that this is not possible unless the Lord’s Human is Divine, pronounce the words Divine Human from acknowledgment in thought.” But still they could not, so deeply impressed upon them was the idea that the Divine could not be Human, nor the Human be Divine, and that the Lord’s Divine was from the Divine of a Son born from eternity, and His Human like that of any other man. They were asked, “How can you think thus? Can a rational mind ever conceive of a Son born of God from eternity?”
[10] (vii.) Then the inquirers turned to the Evangelicals, saying that the Augsburg Confession and Luther taught that the Son of God and the Son of man in Christ is one Person; and that He, even as to His Human nature, is omnipotent and omnipresent, and as to that nature sits at the right hand of God the Father, governs all things in heaven and on earth, fills all things, is present with us, and dwells and operates in us; also that there is no difference of adoration, because the Divinity that is not discerned is worshiped through the nature that is discerned; and that in Christ God is Man, and Man is God. Hearing this they said, “Can this be so?” And they looked around and said presently, “We did not know this before; therefore we are unable to say Divine Human.” And first one and then another said, “We have read this, and we have written it; and yet when we thought about it in our minds it was mere words, of which we had no interior idea.”
[11] (viii.) Finally they turned to the Papists and said, “Perhaps you can say Divine Human, since you believe that Christ is wholly present in the bread and wine of your Eucharist, and in every part of them; and you also worship Him as God most holy when you exhibit and carry about the host; also because you call Mary ‘Deipara,’ that is, ‘Mother of God;’ consequently you acknowledge that she gave birth to God, that is, to the Divine Human.” Then they wished to pronounce it, but they could not, because a material idea of Christ’s body and blood then suggested itself, and also a belief that His Human is separable from the Divine, and with the pope is actually so separated, since to him the human power only, and not the Divine, was transferred. Then one of the monks arose and said that he could conceive of a Divine Human with reference to the most holy virgin Mary, and also with reference to the saint of his monastery. And another monk came forward and said, “From an idea of my thought which I now entertain I am able to say Divine Human, but with reference to his holiness the pope rather than in reference to Christ.” But some of the Papists pulled him back, saying, “For shame.”
[12] After this heaven was seen open, and tongues like little flames were seen descending and alighting upon some; and they then celebrated the Divine Human of the Lord, saying, “Have done with the idea of three Gods, and believe that in the Lord dwells all the fullness of Divinity bodily, that the Father and He are one, as soul and body are one, and that God is not wind or ether, but a Man, then you will be conjoined with heaven, and from the Lord you will be able to speak the name Jesus, and to say Divine Human.”
Awaking once soon after daybreak, I went out into the garden in front of my house, and saw the sun rising in his glory, and round about him a halo, at first faint, but afterwards more distinct, and beaming like gold, and beneath its border was a rising cloud, which from the sun’s rays glowed like a carbuncle. It set me thinking about the fables of the most ancient people which depicted Aurora with wings of silver and countenance of gold.
With my mind immersed in the delights of these meditations, I came into the spirit; and I heard certain spirits conversing, who said, “O that we might be permitted to talk with the innovator who has thrown among the leaders of the church that apple of discord after which so many of the laity have been running, and which they have picked up and held up for us to look at.” By that apple they meant the little work, entitled, A Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church. And they said, “It is certainly a schismatical writing, such as no man ever before conceived of.” And then I heard one of them exclaim, “Schismatical? It is heretical!” But some of those beside him said, “Hush! Hold your tongue! It is not heretical; he gives an abundance of quotations from the Word; and to these our neophytes, by whom we mean the laity, give heed and assent.”
[2] Hearing this I came forward, being in the spirit, and said, “Here I am; what is the matter?”
At once one of them, a German, as I afterwards heard, a native of Saxony, said in an authoritative tone, “How dare you turn upside down the worship established in the Christian world for so many centuries, which teaches that God the Father should be invoked as the Creator of the universe, His Son as the Mediator, and the Holy Spirit as the Operator? Moreover, you divest the first and the last God of the personality we ascribe to them, although the Lord Himself says, ‘When ye pray, pray thus, Our Father who art in the heavens; hallowed be Thy Name; Thy Kingdom come.’ Therefore are we not commanded to invoke God the Father?”
After this there was silence, and all who favored the speaker stood like brave seamen on their warships when they sight the enemy, and stand by to shout, “Now, have at them; victory is sure.”
[3] Then I rose to speak; and said, “Who among you is not aware that God came down from heaven and became Man? For we read, ‘The Word was with God, and God was the Word, and the Word became flesh.'” Then, looking towards the Evangelicals, among whom was that dictator who had just addressed me, I said, “Who among you does not know that in Christ, who was born of Mary the Virgin, God is Man and Man is God?” But at this the assembly made a great noise; therefore I said, “Do you not know this? It is according to the doctrine of your confession which is called the Formula Concordioe, where this is affirmed and fully corroborated.”
Then the dictator turned to the assembly and asked if they were aware of this; and they answered, “As to the person of Christ we have given the book very little study, but we have worked hard at the part on Justification by Faith Alone; if, however, it is so written in that book, we acquiesce.” Then one of them remembering, said, “That is the way it reads; and it says furthermore that the Human nature of Christ has been exalted to Divine majesty and all its attributes; also that in that nature Christ sits at the right hand of the Father.”
[4] Hearing this they were silent; and as it was undisputed I spoke again, and said, “This being so, what then is the Father but the Son, and what is the Son but the Father also?” Yet as this again offended their ears, I continued, “Hear the very words of the Lord and attend to them now, if you never have before; for He said, ‘I and My Father are one;’ ‘I am in the Father and the Father in Me;’ ‘Father, all Mine are Thine and Thine are Mine;’ ‘He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.’ What do these things mean, but that the Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father, and that they are one as the soul and body in man are one, and thus that they are one person? And must not this be your belief, if you believe in the Athanasian creed, where nearly the same things are said? But from the passages quoted take this one saying of the Lord, ‘Father, all Mine are Thine, and all Thine are Mine.’ What else does this mean than that the Divine of the Father belongs to the Human of the Son, and the Human of the Son to the Divine of the Father, consequently that, in Christ, God is Man and Man is God, and thus that they are one as soul and body are one? [5] Every man may say the same of his own soul and body, namely, ‘All mine are thine, and all thine are mine; thou art in me and I in thee; he that seeth me, seeth thee; we are one in person and in life.’ This is because the soul is in the man, both in the whole and in every part of him, for the life of the soul is the life of the body, and between the two there is a mutuality. All this makes clear that the Divine of the Father is the soul of the Son, and the Human of the Son the body of the Father. From where does the soul of an offspring come unless from its father, and its body unless from its mother? The expression is the Divine of the Father; but the Father Himself is what is meant, since He and His Divine are the same; and this Divine is one and indivisible. That this is true is evident also from the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary, ‘The power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, and the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee; and the Holy Thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.’ And just above He is called ‘the Son of the Most High,’ and elsewhere ‘the only-begotten Son.’ But you, who call Him merely the Son of Mary, destroy the idea of His Divinity; yet it is only the learned among the clergy and the scholars among the laity who destroy this idea, for these, when they raise their thoughts above the sensual things pertaining to their bodies, regard the glory of their reputation; and this not only obscures but extinguishes the light whereby the glory of God enters. [6] But let us return to the Lord’s Prayer, where it says, ‘Our Father who art in the heavens; hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come.’ By these words you who are present understand the Father in His Divine alone but I understand the Father in His Human. Moreover, this Human is the name of the Father; for the Lord said, ‘Father, glorify Thy name,’ that is, Thy Human; and when this is done the kingdom of God comes. And the reason why this Prayer was commanded for the present time is evident, namely, that through His Human an approach may be had to God the Father. The Lord also said, ‘No man cometh unto the Father but by Me;’ and in the Prophet, ‘Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and His name is God, Mighty, Father of Eternity;’ and elsewhere, ‘Thou, Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer, from everlasting is Thy name;’ besides many other places where the Lord our Savior is called Jehovah. This is the true explanation of the words of that Prayer.”
[7] When I had said all this, I looked at them and noted the changes in their countenances according to changes in the states of their minds, some favoring me and looking toward me, and some not favoring and turning themselves away. And then on the right I saw a cloud of opal color, and on the left a dusky cloud, and under each the appearance of a shower. That under the dusky cloud was like a rain at the close of autumn, and that under the opal cloud was like the fall of dew in early spring.
Then suddenly I came out of the spirit into the body, and thus returned from the spiritual world into the natural world.
I looked into the world of spirits and saw an army mounted on red and black horses. The riders looked like apes, with face and breast turned toward the horse’s tail, and the hinder part of the head and the back toward the horse’s neck and head, and the bridle-rein thrown over the rider’s neck; and they were shouting at other riders mounted on white horses, and were jerking the reins with both hands, thus pulling back their horses from the battle; and this they did continuously.
Then two angels descended from heaven, and approaching me said, “What do you see?”
I told about the ludicrous company of horsemen that I saw, and asked what it meant and who they were.
The angels answered, “They are from the place called Armageddon (Rev. 16:16), where they have assembled to the number of several thousands, to fight against those who belong to the Lord’s New Church, which is called the New Jerusalem. They were talking there about the church and about religion; and yet there was nothing of the church among them, because they had nothing of spiritual truth, and nothing of religion, because they had no spiritual good. About both of these they were talking with their mouths and lips; but their aim was to acquire dominion by means of them. [2] In their youth they had learned to confirm the doctrine of faith alone, and something about God; and when they had been advanced to higher offices in the church, they held on to these teachings for a time, but having ceased to think any longer about God and heaven, but only about themselves and the world, thus not about eternal blessedness and happiness, but only about temporal eminence and wealth, the doctrinal principles which in youth they had drawn from the interiors of the rational mind, which communicate with heaven and therefore are in the light of heaven, were cast out into the exteriors of the rational mind, which communicate with the world and are therefore in the light of the world; and finally these principles were thrust down into the region of the natural senses; and as a consequence the doctrines of the church became with them a mere matter of words, and no longer of thought from reason, much less of affection from love. And having made themselves such, they grant no admittance to that Divine truth which constitutes the church, nor to that genuine good that constitutes religion. The interiors of their minds have become like bottles filled with a mixture of iron chips and sulfur, upon which, if water is poured, there is first produced heat and then a flame, whereby the bottles are burst. So when they hear anything about the living water, which is the genuine truth of the Word, and it finds entrance through their ears, they become violently heated and inflamed, and reject it as a thing that would burst their heads. [3] These are they that appeared to you like apes riding horses red and black, and facing toward the tail, and the bridle-rein around the rider’s neck. Men that do not love the truth and good of the church derived from the Word never wish to look toward the forward parts of a horse, but only toward his hinder parts. For a horse signifies understanding of the Word-a red horse that understanding when destroyed in respect to good, and a black horse when destroyed in respect to truth. They were shouting for battle against the riders on the white horses, because a white horse signifies understanding of the Word in respect to truth and good. They seemed to pull their horses backward by the neck, because they dreaded the battle, and feared that the truth of the Word might be reaching many and might thus come to light. This is the interpretation.”
[4] The angels further said, “We are from a society of heaven which is called Michael, and we were commanded by the Lord to descend to the place Armageddon, from which the horsemen that you saw broke forth. With us in heaven Armageddon signifies a state of mind and a disposition (arising from a love of ruling and being eminent over all others) to fight from truths falsified; and as we perceive in you a desire to learn about this kind of contest, we will relate to you a certain matter. On descending from heaven we came to that place called Armageddon, and there saw several thousands assembled. We did not enter this crowd; but on the southern side of the place there stood several houses where there were lads with their teachers; we entered these, and were kindly received. We were delighted with their company. From the life in their eyes and the eagerness displayed in their talk their faces were beautiful. The life in their eyes came from perceiving what is true, and the eagerness in their talk from the affection for what is good. Because of this we presented them with caps, the borders of which were ornamented with bands of gold lace in which pearls were interwoven, also with garments of white and blue commingled.
“We asked them if they had ever looked in upon the so called Armageddon, near by. They said that they had, through a window under the roof, and had seen an assembly there, but the shapes of the people were changeable; sometimes they looked like men of lofty stature, and sometimes like statues and carved idols, with a crowd on bended knees around them. To ourselves as well they appeared under various forms; some like men, others like leopards, and others again like goats, the latter with horns projecting downward, with which they tore up the ground. We interpreted these transformations, and showed what classes they represented, and what things they signified.
[5] “But to return:When those assembled there heard of our having entered the houses they said to one another, ‘What are they doing among those lads? Let us send some of us thither and put them out.’ They did send a number, and when these came they said, ‘What took you into these houses? Where do you come from? By authority we order you to leave.’
“But we answered, ‘You cannot give that order by authority. In your own eyes, indeed, you seem like Anakim, and we here like dwarfs; yet here you have no power or authority except by cunning, and that will not prevail. Go, then, and tell your comrades that we are sent here from heaven to find out if you have religion or if you have none; and if none, you will be cast out of this place. Go, then, and put to them this question, which contains the veriest essential of the church and of religion: In the Lord’s Prayer what mean the words ‘Our Father who art in the heavens; hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come?’
“Hearing this, they said at first, ‘What is all that?’ And then they consented and went away and told their companions what had been said, who replied, ‘What sort of a proposal is that?’ But they guessed what was behind the question, namely, that we wished to know if they thought that these words confirmed what their faith taught about the way to approach God the Father. Therefore they said, ‘The words are clear that we ought to pray to God the Father; and as Christ is our Mediator, that we ought to pray to God the Father for the sake of the Son. ‘
“And at once in their indignation they resolved to come to us and say this to our faces, and they added that they would pull our ears. So they left that place, and went into a grove near the houses where the lads and their teachers were. In the center of this was an elevated spot like a place for games; and joining hands they came there. We were there also, and were waiting for them. The ground was thrown up into little green mounds, as it were, upon which they reclined, saying to one another, ‘We will not stand in their presence; we will sit.’
“Then one of them who could make himself appear like an angel of light, and who had been deputed by the others to speak with us, said, ‘You have proposed that we open our minds as to our understanding of the first words of the Lord’s Prayer. Therefore I say to you that this is our understanding of them, that we ought to pray to the Father; and as Christ is our Mediator, and as it is through His merit that we are saved, that we ought to pray to God the Father from faith in Christ’s merit.’
[6] “But then we said to them, ‘We are from the heavenly society called Michael, and have been sent to see you and inquire whether you who were assembled yonder have any religion or not; for the idea of God enters into everything of religion, and by means of it man is conjoined with God, and by means of conjunction is saved. We in heaven say that Prayer daily in the same way as men do on earth, and in doing so we are not thinking of God the Father, for He is invisible; but we think of Him in His Divine Human, because in that He is visible, and in that He is by you called Christ, but by us is called the Lord; in this way it is that to us the Lord is the Father in the heavens. Moreover, the Lord has taught that He and the Father are one; that the Father is in Him and He in the Father; and that whosoever sees Him sees the Father; and again, that no one comes to the Father except through Him; also that it is the will of the Father that men should believe in the Son, and that whosoever believes not in the Son shall not see life; and even that the wrath of God abides upon him. All this makes it clear that approach to the Father is through the Son and in the Son. And because this is so He has also taught that to Him all power has been given in heaven and on earth. In that Prayer it is said, ‘Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come;’ and we have shown from the Word that the Father’s name is the Divine Human of the Lord, and that the kingdom of the Father comes when the Lord is approached directly, and comes not at all when God the Father is approached directly. For this reason, too, the Lord commanded His disciples to preach the kingdom of God; and the kingdom of God is this very thing.’
[7] “Having heard this, our antagonists said, ‘You quote many passages from the Word; and such perhaps we may have read there-we do not remember; therefore open the Word here before us, and read them from it; especially the statement that the Father’s kingdom comes when the Lord’s kingdom comes.’ And they said to the lads, ‘Bring the Word.’ And the lads brought it, and we read from it as follows:
John preached the gospel of the kingdom, and said, The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand (Mark 1:14, 15; Matt. 3:2).
Jesus Himself preached the gospel of the kingdom, and that the kingdom of God was at hand (Matt. 4:17, 23; 9:35).
Jesus commanded His disciples to preach and declare the gospel of the kingdom of God (Mark 16:15; Luke 8:1; 9:60); as also the seventy whom He sent forth (Luke 10:9, 11).
(And elsewhere, as in Matt. Xi. 5; xvi. 27, 28; Mark viii. 35; ix. 1, 47; x. 29, 30; xi. 10; Luke i. 19; ii. 10, 11; iv. 43; vii. 22; xvii. 20, 21; xxi. 31; xxii. 18).
The kingdom of God, of which the good tidings were preached, was the kingdom of the Lord, and thus the kingdom of the Father. This is evident from the following statements:
The Father gave all things into the hand of the Son (John 3:35).
The Father gave the Son power over all flesh (John 17:2).
All things have been delivered unto Me of My Father (Matt. 11:27).
All power is given unto Me in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).
Also from the following:
Jehovah of Hosts is His name, and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called (Isa. 54:6).
I saw, and behold one like unto the Son of man; and there was given Him dominion and glory and a kingdom, and all people and nations shall worship Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (Dan. 7:13, 14).
When the seventh angel sounded there came great voices in the heavens, saying, The kingdoms of the world are become our Lord’s and His Christ’s, and He shall reign unto the ages of the ages (Apoc. 11:15; 12:10).
[8] “We showed them still further from the Word that the Lord came into the world not only in order that angels and men might be redeemed, but also that through Him and in Him they might be made one with God the Father; for He taught:
That those who believe in Him are in Him, and He in them (John 6:56; 14:20; 15:4, 5).
“Having heard these things they asked, How then can your Lord be called the Father?’ We replied, ‘Because of what we have just read, and also the following passages:
Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and His name is God, Mighty, Father of Eternity (Isa. 9:6).
Thou art our Father; Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us Thou Jehovah art our Father, our Redeemer, from everlasting is Thy name (Isa. 63:16).
Did He not say to Philip, who wished to see the Father:
Hast thou not known Me, Phillip? He that seeth Me seeth the Father (John 14:9; 12:45).
What other Father then is there than He whom Philip’s eyes were seeing?’
“To this we added, ‘It is said in the Christian world that those who are of the church constitute the body of Christ and are in His body; how then can the man of the church approach to God the Father except through Christ, in whose body he resides? Otherwise he must pass entirely out of that body in order to approach the Father.’ In concluding we informed them that at this day the Lord is establishing a New Church, which is meant by the New Jerusalem in the Apocalypse, in which there will be, as in heaven, the worship of the Lord alone, and that thus everything which is contained in the Lord’s Prayer from beginning to end will be fulfilled.
“All this we confirmed so copiously from the Word, in the Gospels and Prophets and in the Apocalypse, where from the beginning to the end that church is treated of, that they grew tired of listening.
[9] “The Armageddons heard all this with indignation, and wished constantly to interrupt our speaking; and at last they did break in, exclaiming, ‘You have spoken contrary to the doctrine of our church, which teaches that men must approach God the Father directly and must believe in Him; thus have you made yourselves guilty of a violation of our faith. Get you gone, therefore; if not, you will be put out by force.’ And their passions being aroused, from threats they proceeded to the attempt; but by power given us we smote them with blindness, and not seeing us they rushed away and ran about wandering in all directions. Some fell into the abyss spoken of in Revelation (9:2), which is now in the southern quarter toward the east, and is occupied by those who confirm the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Those there who confirm that doctrine by the Word are banished to a desert, where they are driven to the boundary of the Christian realm, and are mingled with the heathen.”
It is known in the church that there are two offices belonging to the Lord, that of priest and that of king; but as few know in what each office consists this shall be explained. From His priestly office the Lord is called Jesus, and from his kingly office, Christ; also from His priestly office He is called in the Word, Jehovah and Lord, and from His kingly office He is called God and the Holy One of Israel, as well as King. These two offices are distinguished from each other, like love and wisdom, or what is the same, like good and truth; consequently whatever the Lord did and effected from Divine love or Divine good was done and effected from His priestly office; but whatever He did and effected from Divine wisdom or Divine truth was done and effected from His kingly office. Moreover, in the Word priest and priesthood signify the Divine good; while king and royalty signify the Divine truth, and these two were represented by priests and kings in the Israelitish church. Redemption pertains to both offices; and what part of it to one and what to the other will be disclosed in what follows. And that the particulars of the subject may be clearly seen, the explanation shall be divided into the following heads or sections:
(1) Redemption itself was a subjugation of the hells, a restoration of order in the heavens, and by means of these a preparation for a new spiritual church.
(2) Without that redemption no man could have been saved, nor could the angels have continued in a state of integrity.
(3) In this wise not only men but the angels also were redeemed by the Lord.
(4) Redemption was a work purely Divine.
(5) This redemption itself could not have been accomplished except by God incarnated.
(6) The passion of the cross was the last temptation which the Lord, as the greatest Prophet, endured; also it was a means of glorifying His Human, that is, of uniting it with the Divine of the Father; but it was not redemption.
(7) The belief that the passion of the cross was redemption itself is the fundamental error of the church; and this error, together with the error respecting three Divine Persons from eternity, has perverted the whole church to such an extent that nothing spiritual is left in it.
These statements shall now be unfolded one by one.
Redemption was a subjugation of the hells, a restoration of order in the heavens, and the establishment of a new church, because without these no one could have been saved. Moreover, they follow in order; for the hells must be subjugated before a new angelic heaven can be formed; and this must be formed before a new church can be established on earth; because men in the world are so closely connected with angels of heaven and spirits of hell as on both sides to be one with them in the interiors of their minds. But this subject will be explained in the last chapter of this work, where the Consummation of the Age, the Coming of the Lord, and the New Church, will be treated of in detail.
Who is this that cometh from Edom, His garments sprinkled from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His apparel, walking in the multitude of His strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like his that treadeth in the wine-vat? I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people not a man was with Me therefore have I trodden them in Mine anger, and trampled them in My wrath; therefore their victory is sprinkled upon My garments. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed hath come. Mine arm brought salvation to Me; I have made their victory to go down into the earth. He said, Surely they are My people, children; so He became a Savior for thee Because of His love and His pity He redeemed them (63:1-9).
This refers to the Lord’s combat against the hells. The “apparel” in which He was glorious, and which was red, means the Word, to which the Jewish people had done violence; His combat against the hells and His victory over them are described by His “treading the people in His anger, and trampling them in His wrath;” that He fought alone from His own power is described by the words, “of the people not a man was with Me; Mine arm brought salvation to Me; I have made their victory to go down to the earth;” that thereby He wrought salvation and redemption is declared in the words, “So He became a Savior for them; because of His love and His pity He redeemed them.” That this was the reason of His coming is meant by the words, “the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed hath come.” [2] Again in Isaiah:
He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him, and his righteousness sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head; and He put on the garments of vengeance, and clothed Himself with zeal as with a robe. Then the Redeemer came to Zion (59:16, 17, 20). In Jeremiah:
They were dismayed, their mighty ones were beaten down, they fled apace and looked not back. For this is the day of the Lord Jehovih of Hosts, a day of vengeance that He may avenge Him of His adversaries; and the sword shall devour and it shall be satiate (46:5, 10).
Both of these passages refer to the Lord’s combat against the hells and His victory over them. In David:
Gird the sword upon the thigh, O mighty One. ‘Thine arrows are sharp; the people shall fall under Thee, enemies of the king from the heart; Thy throne is for the age and for eternity; Thou hast loved righteousness, therefore God hath anointed Thee (Ps. 45:3-7);
also in many other places. [3] Because the Lord conquered the hells alone, with no help from any angel, He is called:
Mighty and a man of war (Isa. 42:13; 9:6)
The King of glory, Jehovah the Mighty, Mighty in battle (Ps. 24:8, 10)
The Mighty One of Jacob (Ps. 132:2);
and in many places “Jehovah of Hosts,” that I, Jehovah of armies; and His coming is called the day of Jehovah, terrible, cruel, the day of indignation, of wrath, of anger, of vengeance, of destruction, of war, of a trumpet, of a noise, of a tumult, and so on. And we read in the Gospels:
Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out (John 12:31).
The prince of this world hath been judged (John 16:11).
Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
I beheld Satan as lightning falling from heaven (Luke 10:18).
“The world,” “the prince of this world,” “satan,” and “the devil,” mean hell. [4] Moreover, in the Apocalypse from beginning to end the present character of the Christian church is set forth, also that the Lord is to come again, and is to subjugate the hells, and form a new angelic heaven, and at last establish a new church on earth. All these things are there predicted, but have not been disclosed until now. This is because the Apocalypse, like all the prophetical parts of the Word, was written in pure correspondences; and unless these had been disclosed by the Lord scarcely anyone would be able to understand rightly a single verse in that book; but now, on account of a new church, all its contents have been laid open in the Apocalypse Revealed (Amsterdam, 1766); and will be seen by those who believe the Word of the Lord in Matt. 24, about the present state of the church, and His coming. But this is as yet only a vacillating belief with those who have impressed on their hearts, so deeply that it cannot be rooted out, the faith of the church at this day in three Divine persons from eternity, and in Christ’s passion as being redemption itself. But such (as has been said in the Memorable Relation above, n. 113) are like bottles filled with iron chips and pulverized sulfur, in which, if water be added, first heat is produced, and then flame, which bursts the bottles. So when these hear anything about the living water, which is genuine truth from the Word, and that truth enters their minds through the eyes or ears, they become violently excited and inflamed, and reject the truth as something that might split their heads.
[2] But this shall be illustrated by similitudes. It may be compared to mortification attacking the feet and gradually ascending, infecting first the loins, the abdominal viscera, and finally the parts near the heart, when, as is well known, the man dies. It may also be compared to diseases of the abdominal viscera; for when these are weakened the heart begins to palpitate and the lungs to gasp heavily, and finally the action of both heart and lungs ceases. It may also be illustrated by comparison with the internal and external man; in that the internal man is well so long as the external obediently discharges its functions; but if the external fails to obey and resists, and still more if it attacks the internal, the latter is at length weakened, and at last is so far carried away by the delights of the external as to favor it and yield to it. Again, it may be illustrated by comparison with a man standing on lofty ground, who sees the country below him flooded and the waters gradually rising; and when they reach his height, he, too, will be engulfed unless saved by some boat washed to him by the waves. Or it is like one’s seeing from a mountain a dense fog rising higher and higher above the earth and hiding the fields and houses and towns; and at last, when the fog gets up to him, he can see nothing, not even where he is. [3] So is it with the angels when the church on earth perishes; for then the lower heavens also pass away; and for the reason that the heavens consist of men from the earth; and when there is no longer any good in the heart or truth from the Word left among men, the heavens are inundated by the rising flood of evils, and are drowned as it were in Stygian waters. Those who are there, however, are somewhere hidden away and preserved by the Lord until the day of final judgment, and are then raised up into a new heaven. Such are meant by those spoken of in the Apocalypse:
I saw under the altar the souls of those slain because of the Word of God, and because of the testimony that they held. And they were crying out with a great voice, saying, How long, O Lord, who art holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth? And there was given unto each one of them white robes; and it was said unto them that they should rest yet a little time, until their fellow-servants and their brethren, who were to be killed as they were, should be fulfilled (Rev. 6:9-11).
Abide in Me, and I in you; as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, so neither can ye except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for apart from Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me he is cast forth and is withered, and cast into the fire and burned (John 15:4-6).
[2] The hells had increased to such a height because at the time when the Lord came into the world the whole earth had completely alienated itself from God by idolatries and magic; and the church which had existed among the children of Israel and afterwards with the Jews, had been utterly destroyed by the falsification and adulteration of the Word. All these, both Jews and Gentiles, had after death streamed into the world of spirits, where at length their number was so increased and multiplied that they could be driven out only by a descent of God Himself and then only by the strength of His Divine arm. How this was done has been described in the little work on the Last Judgment (London, 1758). This task was accomplished by the Lord when He was in the world. A like work has been done by the Lord at the present time, because, as has been said before, this is the time of His second coming which is foretold through the Apocalypse, and in Matthew (24:3, 30), Mark (13:26), Luke (21:27), Acts (1:11), and elsewhere. The difference is, that at the Lord’s first coming this increase of the hells was the work of idolaters, magicians, and falsifiers of the Word; while at His second coming it was the work of so called Christians, both those who had imbibed naturalism, and those who had falsified the Word by confirmations of their fabulous faith in three Divine persons from eternity, and in the passion of the Lord as itself constituting redemption; for it is these who are meant by “the dragon and his two beasts” (Apoc. 12 and 13). [3] (2) The second reason why the Lord also redeemed angels is, that not only every man but also every angel is withheld from evil and held in good by the Lord; for no one, angel or man, is in good from himself, but all good is from the Lord. Therefore when the footstool of the angels, which they have in the world of spirits, is plucked away, they become like one seated upon a throne when its pedestals are removed. That in God’s sight the angels are not pure is evident from the prophecies and also from Job; and again from the fact that there can be no angel who has not previously been a man. This confirms what has been stated in the Faith of the New Heaven and the New Church in its universal and in its particular form, at the beginning of this work, namely, “The Lord came into the world to remove Hell from man, and He did remove it by means of combats with it and victories over it, thereby subduing it and reducing it to obedience to Himself.” And further, “Jehovah God came down and took upon Him the Human for the purpose of reducing to order all things in heaven and all things in the church; because at that time the power of the devil, that is, of hell, prevailed over the power of heaven, and upon earth the power of evil over that of good and in consequence a total damnation stood threatening at the door. This impending damnation Jehovah God removed by means of His Human, thus redeeming angels and men. From this it is clear that without the Lord’s coming no one could have been saved. It is the same today; and therefore without the Lord’s coming again into the world no one can be saved” (see above, n. 2, 3).
[2] Fourthly, How the Lord afterwards reduced all things to order, both in heaven and in hell, I have not yet described, because the restoration of order in the heavens and in the hells has continued since the time of the last judgment until now, and still continues; but after this book has been published, if it seems desirable, this information shall be given to the public. For my own part, with reference to this matter, I have seen daily and still see in it the Lord’s Divine omnipotence as it were face to face. This latter work is properly the work of redemption, while the former is properly that of the last judgment. When these two are viewed separately, many things respecting them, which are concealed under figures and yet described in the prophecies of the Word, can be seen, as soon as by an explanation of the correspondences these things are brought forth into the light of the understanding. [3] Neither of these two Divine operations can be made clear except by comparisons; and then but faintly. This latter work may be compared to a battle against an army composed of all the nations in the whole world, armed with spears, shields, swords, muskets, and cannon, led by skilful and shrewd generals and other officers. This is said because very many in hell excel in arts unknown in our world, and practice them among themselves, studying how to advance against, to ensnare, to besiege, and to assault those who are in heaven. [4] The Lord’s combat against hell may also be compared, though imperfectly, to a conflict with all the wild beasts on the earth and their slaughter and subjugation, until not one of them dares comes forth to attack any man who is in the Lord; so that if the man but shows a threatening countenance his enemy instantly shrinks back as if he felt a vulture on his breast striving to pierce him to the very heart. Moreover, infernal spirits are compared in the Word to wild beasts; and such are meant by the wild beasts with which the Lord was for forty days (Mark 1:13).
[5] It may also be compared to resistance against the whole ocean, breaking in with its waves over demolished barriers upon countries and towns; and the Lord’s subjugation of hell is meant by His calming the sea by saying:
Peace, be still (Mark 4:38, 39; Matt. 8:26; Luke 8:23, 24)
for here, as in many other places, the “sea” signifies hell.
[6] By a like Divine power the Lord fights at this day against hell in every man who is being regenerated; for hell attacks all such with diabolical fury, and unless the Lord resisted and tamed that fury man could not but succumb. For hell is like one monstrous man, or like a huge lion, with which indeed it is compared in the Word; therefore unless the Lord kept that lion or monster manacled and fettered, a man from himself must needs, when rescued from one evil, fall into another, and again into others continually.
Thou canst not see My face; for there shall no man see Me and live (Ex. 33:20).
As Moses, then, could not see Him, still less could those who are in hell, where all are in things last and grossest, and thus most remote, for they are the lowest natural. For this reason, if Jehovah God had not assumed a Human, and thus clothed Himself with a body that belongs to things lowest, He would have undertaken in vain any redemption. For who can attack an enemy without approaching him, or without being armed for the battle? Or who can disperse and destroy the dragons, hydras, and basilisks in a desert, unless he covers his body with armor and his head with a helmet, and takes a spear in his hand? Or who can capture whales in the sea without a boat and implements adapted to the work? The combat of God Almighty against the hells, upon which He could not have entered unless He had first assumed a Human, may be illustrated by these and like things, though they afford no adequate comparison. [2] But it must be understood that the Lord’s combat against the hells was not an oral combat, like one between reasoners and disputants; such a combat would have no effect whatever there. It was a spiritual combat, which is that of Divine truth from Divine good. This truth was the Lord’s very life, the influx of which through the medium of sight no one in the hells can resist. There is in it such power that the infernal genii flee away at the mere perception of it, cast themselves into the abyss, and creep into caves to hide themselves. This is what is described in Isaiah:
They shall enter into the caves of the rocks and into the clefts of the dust for fear of Jehovah when He shall arise to terrify the earth (Isa. 2:19).
And in the Apocalypse:
All hid themselves in caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb (6:15-17).
[3] The kind of power which the Lord possessed from Divine good when He executed the last judgment, in 1757, may be seen from the things described in the little work on that judgment; as that He tore up from their places the hills and mountains which the infernals occupied in the world of spirits, dispersed them, and caused some of them to sink. He also deluged their towns and houses and fields with a flood, rooted up their lands from their foundations, and hurled them with their inhabitants into whirlpools, swamps, and marshes; and much more; and all this was done by the Lord alone, by the power of Divine truth from Divine good.
O God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? (Matt. 27:46); as also from these words of the Lord:
No man taketh My life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself I had power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment received I from My Father (John 10:18).
From all this it can now be seen that it was not in respect to His Divine but in respect to His Human that the Lord suffered; and that thereby an inmost and thus a complete union was effected. This may also be illustrated by the fact that when a man suffers in body his soul does not suffer, but only grieves; and after the victory God takes away this grief and wipes it away as one wipes away tears from the eyes.
When Judas was gone out Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God be glorified in Him God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him (John 13:31, 32).
Here glorification is predicated both of God the Father and of the Son; for it is said, “God is glorified in Him,” and “shall glorify Him in Himself.” Evidently this means being united:
Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee (John 17:1, 5).
This is so said because the uniting was reciprocal, as it was also said that the Father was in Him and He in the Father:
Now is My soul troubled. And He said, Father, glorify Thy Name. Then there came a voice out of heaven, I have hath glorified it and will glorify it again (John 12:27, 28).
This was said because the uniting was effected gradually:
Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory? (Luke 24:26).
In the Word, when “glory” is predicated of the Lord it signifies Divine truth united to Divine good. From all this it is clearly evident that the Lord’s Human is Divine.
The Lord said, A prophet is not without honor save in his own country and in his own house (Matt 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24).
Jesus said, It is not meet that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem (Luke 13:33).
Fear took hold on all, praising God, and saying that a great prophet is risen up among us (Luke 7:16).
They said of Jesus, This is the prophet of Nazareth (Matt. 21:11; John 7:40, 41).
That a prophet was to be raised up from the midst of the brethren to whose words they should hearken (Deut. 18:15-16).
To loose the sackcloth from off his loins, and to put off the shoe from his foot, and to go naked and barefoot three years, for a sign and a wonder (Isa. 20:2-3).
The prophet Ezekiel was commanded to represent the state of the church,
By preparing stuff for a journey, and by removing to another place in the sight of the children of Israel; and by bringing forth the stuff by day, and going forth at even through a hole in the wall; and by covering his face that he might not see the ground; that he might be for a sign unto the house of Israel, and say, Behold, I am your sign; like as I have done so shall it be done unto you (Ezek. 12:3-7, 11).
The prophet Hosea was commanded to represent the state of the church,
By taking to himself a harlot for a wife, and he did so, and she bore to him three children, one of whom was called Jezreel, another, Loruhamah (not to be pitied), and the third Lo-ammi (not my people). And again he was commanded to go and love a woman beloved of a friend, and an adulteress, whom he also took to himself (Hos. 1:2-9; 3:2, 3).
One prophet was even commanded,
To put ashes upon his eyes, and to permit himself to be struck and wounded (1 Kings 20:35, 38).
The prophet Ezekiel was commanded to represent the state of the church,
By taking a tile and portraying upon it Jerusalem by laying siege and casting a rampart and mound against it; by setting an iron pan between him and the city by lying upon his left side, and upon his right side. Also by taking wheat, barley, beans, millet, and fitches, and making bread of them; also by making barley cakes to be baked with human excrement (but because he prayed that this might not be he was permitted to use cow’s dung instead). It was said to him, Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I will give thee the years of their iniquity according to the number of their days, three hundred and ninety days so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them thou shalt lie again on thy right side, that thou mayest bear the iniquity of the house of Judah (Ezek. 4:1-15).
[2] That the prophet by these means bore the iniquities of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, but did not take them away and thus expiate them, but only represented and pointed them out, is evident from the following:
Thus saith Jehovah, The sons of Israel shall eat their bread unclean behold, I will break the staff of bread, that they may want bread and water and be made desolate, a man with his brother, and pine away for their iniquity (Ezek. 4:13, 16, 17).
The same is meant in respect to the Lord where it is said:
Surely He hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows Jehovah hath laid on Him the iniquities of us all by His knowledge He hath justified many, in that He hath borne their iniquities (Isa. 53:4, 6, 11).
This whole chapter treats of the Lord’s passion. [3] That the Lord as the essential Prophet represented the state of the Jewish church with regard to the Word is evident from the particulars of His passion; as that He was betrayed by Judas: was seized and condemned by the chief priests and elders; that they buffeted Him; smote Him on the head with a reed; put a crown of thorns on His head, divided His garments, and cast lots for His vesture; crucified Him; gave Him vinegar to drink and pierced His side; that He was buried; and that He rose again the third day. His betrayal by Judas signified that He was betrayed by the Jewish nation, which then possessed the Word (for Judas represented that nation); His seizure and condemnation by the chief priests and elders signified that this was done by the whole Jewish church; their buffeting Him, spitting in His face, scourging Him, and smiting Him on the head with a reed, signified that they did like things to the Word in respect to its Divine truths; their putting a crown of thorns upon His head signified that they falsified and adulterated those truths; their dividing His garments and casting lots upon His vesture signified that they dispersed all the truths of the Word, but not its spiritual sense, the Lord’s vesture signifying that sense; their crucifying Him signified that they destroyed and profaned the whole Word; their offering Him vinegar to drink signified that the truths they had were wholly falsified, and therefore He did not drink the vinegar; their piercing His side signified that they wholly extinguished everything true and good in the Word; His burial signified the rejection of everything that was left in Him from the mother; His resurrection on the third day signified His glorification, or the union of His Human with the Divine of the Father. Evidently, then, “bearing iniquities” does not mean taking them away, but it means representing the profanation of the truths of the Word.
I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. Therefore doth My Father love Me (John 10:11- 17).
The priest and the prophet err through strong drink; they stumble in judgment; for all tables are full of the vomit of filthiness (Isa. 28:7-8).
I once entered a temple in the world of spirits where many were assembled. Before the sermon began they were discussing with each other the subject of Redemption. The temple was square, with no windows in the walls; but in the center of the roof there was a large opening, through which light from heaven entered, making it lighter than if there had been windows at the sides.
And behold, in the midst of their talk about redemption a black cloud floating from the north suddenly covered the opening, causing such darkness that they could not see each other, and could scarcely see their own hands.
While they were standing amazed at this, behold, the black cloud parted in the middle, and through the parting angels sent down from heaven appeared, who dispelled the cloud to both sides, and again the temple was filled with light. The angels then sent down one of their number into the temple, who in their name asked the congregation what they were contending about to cause so dense a cloud to overshadow them, take away the light, and bring on darkness.
They answered that it was about redemption, as having been wrought by the Son of God through the passion of the cross, whereby He made expiation, and delivered the human race from damnation and eternal death.
To this the angel who had been sent down said, “Why through the passion of the cross? Explain why through that.”
[2] Then a priest came forward and said, “I will explain in order what we know and believe, which is, That God the Father, being angry with the human race, condemned it, shut it out from His clemency, and declared all men doomed and accursed, and consigned them to hell; and that He wished His Son to take upon Himself that condemnation, and the Son consented, and for that purpose came down and assumed the human, suffered Himself to be crucified, and thus transferred to Himself the condemnation of the human race; for we read, ‘Cursed is everyone that hangeth on the wood of a cross.’ Thus did the Son by interceding and mediating propitiate the Father; and then the Father, moved by love for His Son, and by witnessing His anguish upon the wood of the cross, determined to forgive men; ‘but only those to whom I impute Thy righteousness; these I will change from children of wrath and malediction to children of grace and benediction, and will justify and save them; the rest, as before determined, may remain children of wrath.’ This is our faith, and these things are our righteousness, which God the Father implants in our faith, which alone justifies and saves.”
[3] When the angel had heard this he was silent for some time, for he was motionless with amazement; but afterwards he broke silence and said, “Can the Christian world be so insane, and wander away from sound reason into such madnesses, and from such paradoxes draw conclusions about the fundamental dogma of salvation? Who does not see that these things are diametrically opposed to the very Divine essence, that is, to God’s Divine love and Divine wisdom, and at the same time to His omnipotence and omnipresence? No good master could so deal with his manservants and maidservants, nor even a wild beast or a bird of prey with its young. It is horrible. Is it not contrary to God’s Divine essence to annul that call which has been made to the whole human race and to each individual? Is it not contrary to the Divine essence to change the order established from eternity, which is, that every man is to be judged by his life? Is it not contrary to the Divine essence to withdraw its love and mercy from any man, still more from the whole human race? Is it not contrary to the Divine essence that it should be brought back to mercy, and as mercy is the very essence of God, that it should be brought back to its own essence, by witnessing the anguish of the Son? Is it not abominable to imagine that He ever departed from that essence, since that essence is Himself from eternity to eternity?
[4] Furthermore, is it not impossible to introduce into such a thing as your faith is, the righteousness of redemption (which in itself belongs to the Divine omnipotence), and to impute and ascribe it to man, and without any further means to declare him righteous, pure, and holy? Is it not impossible to remit sins to anyone, and to renew, regenerate, and save him, by mere imputation, whereby unrighteousness is turned into righteousness, and a curse into a blessing? Would it not be possible in this way to change hell into heaven and heaven into hell, or the dragon into Michael and Michael into the dragon, and so end the war between them? Is anything needed but to withdraw the imputation of your faith from one and bestow it upon the other? Thus would you compel us who are in heaven to live for ever in constant fear. Neither is it in accordance with justice and judgment for one person to take upon himself the guilt of another, and for the guilty thus to be made innocent and have his guilt washed away. Is not this opposed to both Divine and human justice? The Christian world does not yet know that there is an order, still less what that order is, which God introduced into the world simultaneously with the creation of it; and that God cannot act contrary to that order, since He would then be acting contrary to Himself; for God is order itself.”
[5] The priest understood what was said by the angel, because the angels who were above let in light from heaven; and presently he sighed and said, “What is to be done? At this day all men so preach and pray and believe. It is in every mouth, ‘Good Father, have mercy upon us; forgive us our sins for the sake of Thy Son’s blood, which He poured out for us upon the cross.’ And to Christ they pray, ‘Lord, intercede for us.’ And to this we priests add, ‘Send us the Holy Spirit.'”
The angel then said, “I have observed that from the Word not interiorly understood the priests prepare an eyesalve which they apply to the eyes that are blinded by their faith; or they make from it a sort of plaster which they spread upon the wounds inflicted by their dogmas; and yet they fail to heal those wounds, because they are chronic sores. Therefore go to him who stands yonder,’ pointing his finger towards me, “and he will teach you from the Lord that the passion of the cross was not redemption, but the uniting of the Lord’s Human with the Divine of the Father; while redemption was the subjugation of the hells and the restoration of order in the heavens; and unless this had been done by the Lord when He was in the world there would be no salvation for anyone on the earth or in heaven. He will also teach you the order established from creation, to live according to which is to be saved, those who live according to it being numbered among the redeemed, and called the elect.”
When all this had been said, windows were formed in the walls of the temple through which there flowed in an illumination from the four quarters of that world, and cherubs appeared flying in the brightness of the light; and the angel was taken up to his companions above the opening; and we went away delighted.
One morning as I awoke from sleep, the sun of the spiritual world appeared to me in its glory; and as far below it as our earth is from its sun I saw the heavens; and presently there were heard from the heavens words ineffable, the sum of which found utterance in this declaration, “There is one God, who is Man; and His abode is in that sun.” This utterance passed down through the middle heavens to the lowest, and from that into the world of spirits where I was; and I perceived that the angels’ idea of the one God, in its descent by degrees, was changed into the idea of three Gods. Observing this I went forward to speak with those whose thought was of three Gods, saying, “What a monstrous idea! Where did you get it?”
They replied, “We think of three from our way of conceiving of the Triune God; nevertheless this idea does not fall into our utterance. When we speak we always declare emphatically that God is one. If there is a different idea in our minds, let it be, provided it does not come forth and sever the idea of the unity of God in our speech. Still it does come forth from time to time, because it is within; and if at such times we should speak plainly we should declare that there are three Gods. But we guard against this, lest we should be laughed at by those hearing us.”
[2] Then they spoke openly from their thought, saying, “Are there not three Gods, since there are three Divine persons, each of whom is God? We cannot think otherwise when a leader of our church, speaking from his collection of holy dogmas, ascribes to one creation, to another redemption, and to the third sanctification; and when furthermore he ascribes to them certain attributes, to each one His own, which he asserts are incommunicable; and these include not only creation, redemption, and sanctification, but also imputation, mediation, and operation. Is there not, then, one who creates us, and He also imputes; and is there not another who redeems us, and He also mediates; and a third who effects the mediated imputation, and He also sanctifies? Who does not know that the Son of God was sent into the world by God the Father to redeem the human race, and thus become the Expiator, Mediator, Propitiator, and Intercessor? And as He was one with the Son of God from eternity, are not the Father and Son two distinct persons? And as these two are in heaven, one sitting at the right hand of the other, must there not be a third person to carry out in the world what is decreed in heaven?”
[3] Hearing this I was silent, and thought to myself, O what folly! They have no idea of what is meant in the Word by mediation.
And presently, at the Lord’s command, three angels descended from heaven and were associated with me, in order that I might speak from interior perception with those who were in the idea of three Gods, particularly in respect to mediation, intercession, propitiation, and expiation, which they attribute to the second person, that is, the Son, but not until after He had become Man; and He became Man many centuries after creation, and during this time these four means of salvation did not exist, and thus God the Father was not propitiated, no expiation was made for the human race, and no one was sent from heaven to intercede and mediate.
[4] Then from an inspiration that came upon me I spoke with them, saying, “Draw near, as many of you as can, and hear what is meant in the Word by mediation, intercession, expiation, and propitiation. These are the four predicates of the grace of the one God in His Human. God the Father can in no way be approached, nor can He approach any man, because He is the Infinite, and is in His own Esse which is Jehovah; and if from His Esse He were to approach man He would consume him as fire consumes wood and reduces it to ashes. This is evident from what He said to Moses when Moses wished to see God:
That no man could see Him and live (Ex. 33:20). And the Lord says:
That no man hath seen God at any time, except the Son who is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18; Matt. 11:27).
Again:
That no one hath either heard the Father’s voice or seen His shape (John 5:37).
We read, indeed, that Moses saw Jehovah face to face, and spoke with Him mouth to mouth; but this was done through an angel, as was the case also with Abraham and Gideon. Such, then, being the nature of God the Father in Himself, it pleased Him to assume a Human, and in that to become accessible to men, and thus hear them and speak with them; and that Human is what is called the Son of God; and it is that which mediates, intercedes, propitiates, and expiates. I will therefore explain the signification of these four things which are predicated of the Human of God the Father. [5] Mediation means that this Human is the medium through which man is enabled to approach God the Father, and God the Father to approach man, and to so teach and lead man that he may be saved. Therefore the Son of God, by which is meant the Human of God the Father, is called the Savior, and in the world, Jesus, that is, Salvation. Intercession means unceasing mediation; for love itself, which is the source of mercy, clemency, and grace, unceasingly intercedes, that is, mediates in behalf of those who keep His commandments, whom He loves. Expiation means the removal of the sins into which man would rush if Jehovah unclothed should be approached. Propitiation means the operation of clemency and grace to prevent man’s bringing himself by sin into condemnation; also protection, to prevent him from profaning holiness. This was the signification of the mercy-seat over the ark in the tabernacle. [6] It is known that in the Word God has spoken according to appearances, as that He becomes angry, takes revenge, tempts, punishes, casts into hell, damns, and even does what is evil; when in fact He is angry with no one, neither does He take revenge, tempt, punish, cast into hell, or damn. All these things are as far from God as hell is from heaven, and infinitely farther; consequently they are forms of speech to express the appearance. Expiation, propitiation, intercession, and mediation, are also forms of speech to express the appearance in another sense, since these are to be understood as predications of approach to God and of receiving grace from God through His Human. But these terms not having been understood, men have divided God into three, and upon these three have based the entire doctrine of the church, and have thus falsified the Word. From this has come ‘the abomination of desolation’ foretold by the Lord in Daniel, and again in Matthew 24.”
When I had said this the crowd of spirits withdrew from about me, and I noticed that those whose thought was actually of three Gods looked towards hell; while those whose thought was of one God, in whom is a Divine trinity, and that this trinity is in the Lord God the Savior, looked towards heaven; and these beheld the sun of heaven, in which Jehovah in His Human dwells.
I saw at a distance five gymnasia, each one surrounded by a light from heaven. A purple light, such as there is in the clouds in the morning before sunrise on earth, surrounded the first; a yellowish light, like that in the east after sunrise, surrounded the second; a bright light, like that of noonday in the world, surrounded the third; and a moderate light, like daylight when it begins to be tempered by the shades of evening, surrounded the fourth. The fifth stood in the actual shade of evening. Gymnasia in the spiritual world are halls where the learned assemble and discuss various arcana that are serviceable to their knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom.
Seeing these gymnasia I felt a strong desire to visit one of them, and went in spirit to the one that was surrounded by the moderate light; and entering I saw an assembly of the learned; who were discussing with one another what is involved in the statement that the Lord was taken up to heaven and sits at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19).
[2] The greater part of the assembly said that this should be understood in accordance with the very words, that the Son does so sit beside the Father; and it was asked why He did so.
Some said that the Son had been placed by the Father at His right hand on account of the redemption He had accomplished; others said that it was from love that He sat there; others that it was in order that He might be the Father’s counselor; and being such, that He might be honored by the angels; others that it was because it had been granted Him by the Father to rule in His stead, for it is written that all power was given to Him in heaven and on earth. But the greater number said that it was in order that He might hear, from the right hand, those for whom He intercedes; for in the church at the present day all approach God the Father, and pray to Him to be merciful for the Son’s sake; and this causes the Father Himself to turn to the Son, that He may receive the Son’s mediation. Some, however, said that it is only the Son of God from eternity who sits at the right hand of the Father, that He may impart His Divinity to the Son of man born in the world.
[3] Hearing this, I was greatly astonished that learned men, who had already been living for some time in the spiritual world, should be so ignorant of heavenly things; but I perceived why it was so, namely, that from confidence in their own intelligence they had not suffered themselves to be taught by the wise. But that they might no longer remain ignorant of the meaning of the Son’s sitting at the Father’s right hand I raised my hand, asking them to give ear to a few words that I wished to say on that subject; and as they assented I said, “Do you not know from the Word that the Father and the Son are one, that the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father? This the Lord plainly says (in John 10:30, and 14:10, 11). If you do not believe this you divide God into two; and when this is done you are unable to think about God otherwise than naturally, sensually, and even materially; and this has been done in the world since the time of the Council of Nice, which introduced the doctrine of three Divine persons from eternity, and thereby turned the church into a theater furnished with painted hangings, wherein the actors were representing new plays. Who does not know and acknowledge that God is one? If you acknowledge this in heart and spirit, all that you have just said is of itself dissipated, or rebounds into the air like nonsense from the ear of a wise man.”
[4] At these remarks many were incensed, and burned to pull my ears and order me to be silent. But the president of the congregation said with indignation,” This discussion is not about the unity and plurality of God, for we believe in both, but about what is involved in the statement that the Son sits at His Father’s right hand; if you know anything about this, speak.”
I replied, “I will speak, but I pray you to suppress the noise.” And I said, “‘To sit at the right hand’ does not mean to sit at the right hand, but it means God’s omnipotence through the Human that He assumed in the world. By means of this He is in things last as well as in things first; by means of this He entered and overthrew and subjugated the hells; by means of this He restored order in the heavens; and thus by means of this He redeemed both men and angels, and will continue to redeem for ever. If you consult the Word, and are capable of enlightenment, you will perceive that ‘right hand’ means here omnipotence, as it does in Isaiah:
My hand hath founded the earth, and My right hand hath spanned the heavens (47:13).
Jehovah hath sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength (62:8).
Thy right hand doth hold Me up (Ps. 18:35).
Look to the Son that Thou madest strong for Thyself; let Thy hand be for the man of the right hand, for the Son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself (Ps. 80:15, 17).
From this it is plain how the following is to be understood:
The saying of Jehovah to my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet. Jehovah shall send the staff of Thy strength out of Zion; rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies (Ps. 110:1, 2).
This whole Psalm treats of the Lord’s combat against the hells, and His subjugation of them. As ‘the right hand of God’ signifies omnipotence:
The Lord says that He is to sit at the right of power (Matt. 26:63, 64)
And at the right hand of the power of God” (Luke 22:69).
[5] But at this the assembly became tumultuous, and I said, “Take heed; for a hand may appear from heaven, and when it appears (as it had appeared to me), it strikes the beholder with an incredible terror of its power; and this has been to me a proof that ‘the right hand of God’ signifies omnipotence.”
Scarcely had I spoken when beneath heaven an outstretched hand was seen, at the appearance of which such terror seized them that they rushed in crowds toward the doors, and some to the windows to throw themselves out, and some fell down unable to breathe. But I remained unterrified, and went out calmly after them; and when some distance away I turned and saw the building enveloped in a dense cloud, and was told from heaven that this was done because they had spoken from a belief in three Gods, and that the former light would return when those who were more sane should meet there.
I heard that a synod had been convoked of those celebrated for their writings and learning in respect to the faith of the present day and the justification of the elect thereby. This was in the world of spirits; and it was granted me to be present in spirit; and I saw an assembly of the clergy, both those of like belief and those of differing beliefs. On the right stood those who were called in the world the Apostolic Fathers, who had lived in the centuries preceding the Nicene Council; on the left stood men renowned in the succeeding centuries for their printed or manuscript works. Many of these latter had no beards, and wore curled wigs made of women’s hair; and some of them wore ruffled collars with points; while the former had beards and wore their natural hair.
In front of them all stood a man (a judge and a critic of the writings of the present century), with a staff in his hand. He struck the floor and caused silence. He then ascended the upper step of the pulpit and breathed out a sigh, and wished to follow it up by a loud exclamation; but the sighing breath kept back the sound in his throat.
[2] At length he spoke and said, “O what an age, my brethren! There has risen up from the herd of the laity one having neither gown, tiara, nor laurel, who has plucked our faith from heaven and hurled it into the Styx. O horrible! And yet that faith alone is our star, shining like Orion in the night, and like Lucifer in the morning. That man, though advanced in years, is wholly blind to the mysteries of our faith, because he has not investigated it and seen in it the righteousness of the Lord our Savior and His mediation and propitiation; and as he has not seen these neither has he seen the wonders of its justification, which are the remission of sins, regeneration, sanctification, and salvation. This man, in place of our faith-which, being a faith in three Divine persons and therefore in the whole Deity, is saving to the utmost has transferred faith to the second person; yet not even to Him, but to His Human which we call Divine because of the incarnation of the Son from eternity; but is there anyone who thinks of it as any thing more than merely human? From this what else can result but a faith from which naturalism flows as from a fountain? And such a faith, not being spiritual, differs but little from faith in a pope or in a saint. You know what Calvin said in his time about worship from that kind of faith. And pray tell me, anyone of you, whence comes faith. Must it not be directly from God to thus have in it all things of salvation?”
[3] At this his companions on the left, who had shaven faces, curly wigs, and collars about their necks, clapped their hands and shouted, “You have spoken most wisely. We know that we can take nothing that is not given us from heaven. If this is not faith, let that prophet tell us where faith comes from, and what it is. It cannot be any thing else or from any other source. To set forth any faith that is a faith, other than this, is as impossible as for one to ride on horseback to some constellation in heaven, and to take a star from it and hide it in his pocket and bring it down.” This they said to make their companions laugh at any new belief.
[4] Hearing this, the men on the right, who had bearded chins and wore their natural hair, were indignant. And one of them rose up (an old man, although he afterwards looked like a young man, for he was an angel from heaven, where those of all ages become youthful); and he spoke and said, “I have heard what your faith is, which the man in the pulpit has so magnified; but what is such a faith but our Lord’s sepulchre after the resurrection, when it had been closed again by Pilate’s soldiers? I have explored it and have seen nothing in it but the juggler’s rods with which the magicians in Egypt wrought miracles. Indeed, externally your faith in your eyes is like a shrine of molten gold set with precious stones, but when opened it is found empty, except, perhaps, for a little dust in the corners from Papal relics, since that church has the same faith; only with them at the present day it is overlaid with external sanctities. Your faith, if I may indulge in further comparisons, is like a vestal virgin among the ancients who has been buried alive for letting the sacred fire go out. And I can assure you that in my eyes it is like the golden calf around which the children of Israel danced when Moses had gone away, and had ascended Mount Sinai to Jehovah. [5] Be not surprised that I use such comparisons in speaking of your faith; for so we speak of it in heaven. Our faith on the other hand is, was, and for ever will be, a faith in the Lord God the Savior, whose Human is Divine and whose Divine is Human; thus it is adapted to reception, and by it the Divine spiritual is united to the natural of man, and a spiritual faith is formed in the natural, and from the spiritual light in which our faith is the natural becomes as it were transparent. The truths of which our faith consists are as many as the verses in the sacred Volume; thee truths are all like stars, which by their light make the faith manifest and give it form. Man acquires this faith from the Word by means of his natural light, in which light it is knowledge, thought, and persuasion; but the Lord causes it, in those who believe in Him, to become conviction, trust, and confidence; thus faith becomes spiritual-natural, and by means of charity becomes living. With us this faith is like a queen adorned with precious stones, as numerous as those in the wall of the holy Jerusalem (Apoc. 21:17-20). [6] But lest you may look upon what I have said as mere boasting, and worthy of little regard, I will read to you some passages from the Holy Word, from which it will be evident that our faith is not faith in a man, as you suppose, but in the true God, in whom is the entire Divine. John says that:
Jesus Christ is the true God, and eternal life (1 John 5:20). Paul says that:
In Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9); and in the Acts of the Apostles:
That he preached both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (20:21). And the Lord Himself says:
That there was given to Him all power in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18).
These are but a few of such passages.”
[7] After this the angel looked at me and said, “You know what those who are called Evangelical believe, or are expected to believe, about the Lord the Savior. Recite some of these things, that we may see whether they are so foolish as to believe that His Human is merely human, or whether they attribute to Him something of the Divine, and how.”
And then, in the presence of those assembled, I read the following passages from their standard work called the Formula Concordioe, published at Leipsic in 1756: In Christ the Divine and the Human Natures are so united as to make one person (pp. 606, 762). Christ is truly God and Man in one undivided person, and so remains for ever (pp. 609, 673, 762). In Christ God is Man, and Man is God (pp. 607, 765). Christ’s Human Nature is exalted to all Divine Majesty; this also from many of the Fathers (pp. 844-852, 860-865, 869-878). As to His Human nature Christ is omnipresent, and fills all things (pp. 768, 783-785). In Christ, as to His Human nature, resides all power in heaven and on earth (pp. 775, 776, 780). As to His Human nature Christ sits at the right hand of the Father (pp. 608, 764). Christ, as to His Human nature, is to be invoked; there proved by quotations from the Scriptures (p. 226). The Augustan Confession especially endorses this doctrine (p. 19).
[8] When I had read these passages I turned to the president and said, “I know that all here present are associated with their like in the natural world; tell me, I pray, do you know with whom you are associated?”
He answered in a grave tone, “I do; I am associated with a celebrated man, a leader of a host in the army of illustrious men in the church.”
As he answered in so grave a tone I said, “Pardon me if I ask whether you know where that celebrated leader lives.”
He answered, “I do; he lives not far from the tomb of Luther.”
At this I smiled and said, “Why do you mention the tomb? Do you not know that Luther has risen, and has now renounced his erroneous ideas of justification by faith in three Divine persons from eternity, and therefore has been placed among the blessed in the new heaven, and sees and laughs at those who run mad after him?”
He replied, “I know, but what is that to me?”
I then addressed him in a grave tone like his own, saying, “Inspire your celebrated man with whom you are associated with this, Whether there is not reason to fear that in writing as he did against the worship of our Lord and Savior, he at the same time robbed the Lord of His Divinity, contrary to the orthodoxy of his church, or allowed his pen to plough a furrow in which he thoughtlessly sowed naturalism.”
To this he replied, “That I cannot do, because he and I in that matter are almost of one mind; but what I say he does not understand, while all that he says I understand clearly.” This is because the spiritual world enters into the natural and perceives the thoughts of men there, but not the reverse; such is the condition of association of spirits and men.
[9] As I had begun to talk with the president I continued, “If I may be permitted I will throw in still another query, Whether you are aware that the orthodoxy of the Evangelicals, in the manual of their church called the Formula Concordioe, teaches that in Christ God is Man, and Man is God, and that His Divine and Human are and will for ever remain one undivided Person? How then could he and how can you defile the worship of the Lord with naturalism?”
To this he replied, “I know that, and yet I do not know it.” I therefore continued, “Let me ask him, or you in his place, since he is absent, from whom did the Lord our Savior derive His soul? If you say from the mother, you are irrational; if from Joseph, you profane the Word; if from the Holy Spirit, you say truly, provided that by the Holy Spirit you mean the proceeding and operating Divine, thus that He is the Son of Jehovah God. [10] Again, I ask, What is the hypostatic union? If you reply that it is a union as between two persons, a superior and an inferior, you are irrational; for thus you might make God the Savior two persons, as you make God three; but if you say that it is a personal union like that of soul and body, you say rightly: and this is in harmony with your doctrine, also with that of the Fathers. Consult the Formula Concordioe (pp. 765-768), also the Athanasian creed, where this is said, ‘The correct faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is God and Man; who although He be God and Man, yet is not two, but is one Christ, one altogether, not by confusion of substance but by unity of Person; for as the reasonable soul and flesh are one man, so God and Man is one Christ. ‘ [11] I ask still further, What else was the damnable heresy of Arius, on account of whom the Nicene Council was convened by the Emperor Constantine the Great, than his denial of the Divinity of the Lord’s Human? Tell me, moreover, whom you understand by these words in Jeremiah:
Behold, the days come that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as King, and this is His name, Jehovah our Righteousness (23:5, 6; 33:15, 16). If you say a Son born from eternity, you are irrational; that was not the Redeemer; but if you say the Son born in time, who was the only-begotten Son of God (John 1:18; 3:16), you say rightly; He through redemption became the righteousness upon which you build your faith. Read also Isaiah 9:6, besides other passages in which it is foretold that Jehovah Himself would come into the world.”
At this the president was silent, and turned away.
[12] When all this had occurred the president wished to dismiss the synod with a prayer; but just then a man started up from the company on the left, with a turban on his head and a cap over the turban; and he touched his cap with his finger, and said, “I also am associated with a man in your world, who there occupies a position of great honor; this I know because I speak from him as from myself.”
I asked where that eminent man lived.
He answered, “At Gottenburg; and from him I at one time thought that your new doctrines favored of Mohammedanism.”
I saw that on hearing this all those on the right, where the Apostolic Fathers stood, were thunderstruck, and their countenances changed, and I heard such exclamations as these issuing from their minds through their mouths, “O horrible!” “O what an age!”
But to calm their just indignation I stretched forth my hand begged a hearing; which being granted I said, “I know that a man of that eminence wrote something of the kind in a letter which was afterwards printed; but if he had then known what blasphemy it was he would certainly have torn the letter to pieces and thrown it into the fire. A slander like that is meant by the Lord’s words to the Jews, when they said that Christ wrought miracles by other than Divine power (Matt. 12:22-32); and in addition to this the Lord there says:
He that is not with Me is against Me, and be that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad” (verse 30).
At these words the countenance of the associate spirit fell; but presently he looked up and said, “I have now heard worse things from you than ever.”
But I continued, “There are two items in this charge-naturalism and Mohammedanism-Which are wicked lies and crafty inventions; and two deadly stigmas, designed to turn aside the wills of men and to deter them from the holy worship of the Lord.” And I turned to the latter associate spirit and said, “Tell the man at Gottenburg, if you can, to read what is said by the Lord in Apoc. 3:18, and also in 2:16.”
[13] At these remarks a tumult arose; but it was quieted by light sent down from heaven, in consequence of which many of those on the left passed over to those on the right, those only remaining who thought superficially, and therefore depended on the word of some master, also those who thought of the Word as merely human. From both of these classes the light went down from heaven appeared to be thrown back, but to fall upon those who had passed over from the left to the right.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE DIVINE OPERATION
All those of the clerical order who have cherished any right idea of the Lord our Savior, when they enter the spiritual world (which generally takes place on the third day after death), receive instruction at first about the Divine trinity, and particularly about the Holy Spirit, that it is not a God by itself, but that the Divine operation proceeding from the one and omnipresent God is what is meant in the Word by the Holy Spirit. They are thus particularly instructed about this, because very many enthusiasts after death fall into the insane phantasy that they themselves are the Holy Spirit; also because many belonging to the church who had believed while in the world that the Holy Spirit spoke through them, terrify others with the words of the Lord in Matthew (12:31, 32), claiming that to speak against what the Holy Spirit has inspired into them is the unpardonable sin. Those who after instruction relinquish the belief that the Holy Spirit is a God by itself are then taught that the unity of God is not divided into three persons, each one of whom is singly God and Lord, according to the Athanasian creed; but that the Divine trinity is in the Lord the Savior, like the soul, the body, and the proceeding energy in every man. After this they are prepared for receiving the faith of the new heaven; and when so prepared a way is opened for them to a society in heaven where a like faith prevails, and an abode is given them among brethren, with whom they are to live in blessedness to eternity. As God the Creator and the Lord the Redeemer have already been treated of, it is now necessary to treat also of the Holy Spirit; and this subject, like the others, shall be considered under appropriate heads, as follows:
(1) The Holy Spirit is the Divine Truth and also the Divine Energy and Operation proceeding from the one God in whom is the Divine Trinity, that is, from the Lord God the Savior.
(2) The Divine Energy and Operation, which are meant by the Holy Spirit, are, in general, reformation and regeneration; and in accordance with these, renovation, vivification, sanctification, and justification; and in accordance with these latter, purification from evils and forgiveness of sins, and finally salvation.
(3) The Divine Energy and Operation which are meant by the “sending of the Holy Spirit,” are, with the clergy especially, enlightenment and instruction.
(4) The Lord makes these energies operative in those who believe in Him.
(5) The Lord operates of Himself from the Father, and not the reverse.
(6) The spirit of man is his mind and whatever proceeds from it.
There shall go forth a Shoot out of the stock of Jesse; the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and might; and He shall smite the land with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked; and righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and truth the girdle of His thighs (Isa. 11:1, 2, 4, 5).
He shall come like a narrow flood; the Spirit of Jehovah shall lift up a standard against him; then a Redeemer shall come to Zion (Isa. 59:19, 20).
The spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon Me; therefore Jehovah hath anointed Me, He hath sent Me to preach good tidings unto the poor (Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18).
This is My covenant; My spirit that is upon thee, and My words shall not depart out of thy mouth from henceforth and for ever (Isa. 59:21).
[3] As the Lord is truth itself, all that goes forth from Him is truth, and this is what is meant by the Comforter, who is also called the Spirit of truth and the Holy Spirit. This is evident from the following passages:
I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I go away I will send Him unto you (John 16:7).
When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth for He will not speak from Himself, but whatsoever things He shall hear shall He speak (John 16:13).
He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine and shall declare it unto you. All things whatsoever the Father hath are Mine therefore said I that He shall take of Mine and shall declare it unto you (John 16:14, 15).
I will ask the Father to give you another Comforter, the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him, for He abideth with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I come to you: and ye shall see Me (John 14:16-19).
When the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, He shall bear witness of Me (John 15:26).
He is called the Holy Spirit (John 14:26).
[4] That by “the Comforter” or “the Holy Spirit” the Lord meant Himself, is evident from His words, that the world had not yet known Him:
But ye know Him; I will not leave you orphans; I come to you; ye shall see Me (John 14:17-19);
and in another passage:
Lo I am with you always, even unto the consummation of the age (Matthew 28:20);
also from these words, “He shall not speak from Himself,” but “He shall take of Mine.”
The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:39),
and after the glorification:
He breathed upon His disciples and said, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).
The Lord breathed upon His disciples and said this because “breathing upon, (aspiratio)” was an outward symbol representative of the Divine breathing-into (inspiratio). Breathing-into effects insertion into angelic societies. From all this the understanding can comprehend what was said by the angel Gabriel respecting the conception of the Lord:
The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35).
And again:
The angel of the Lord said to Joseph, in a dream, Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy bride; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph touched her not until she had brought forth her firstborn Son (Matt. 1:20, 25).
Here the “Holy Spirit” means the Divine truth going forth from Jehovah the Father; and this going forth is the power of the Most High which then overshadowed the mother. This, therefore, agrees with what is said in John:
The Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word became flesh (1:1, 14).
That by “the Word” here the Divine truth is meant may be seen above (n. 3) on The Faith of the New Church.
I will give you a new heart and a new spirit; and I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes (Ezek. 36:26, 27; 11:19).
Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and let a willing spirit uphold me (Ps. 51:10, 12).
Jehovah formeth the spirit of man within him (Zech. 12:1).
With my soul have I waited for Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me have I waited for Thee in the morning (Isa. 26:9).
Make you a new heart and a new spirit; why will ye die, O house of Israel? (Ezek. 18:31);
and elsewhere. In these passages “a new heart” means a will of good and “a new spirit” an understanding of truth. That the Lord operates these in such as do good and believe the truth, that is, in those who are in the faith of charity, is clearly evident from what is said above-that God gives a soul to those who walk in His statutes; also from the words, “a willing spirit.” And that man must operate on his part is evident from the words, “Make you a new heart and a new spirit; why will ye die O house of Israel?”
That when Jesus was baptized the heavens were opened, and John saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:21, 22; John 1:32, 33).
This took place because baptism signifies regeneration and purification; and a dove has the same signification. Who cannot see that the dove was not the Holy Spirit; and that the Holy Spirit was not the dove? Doves often appear in heaven; and whenever they appear the angels know that they are correspondences of the affections and the consequent thoughts concerning regeneration and purification of some who are near by; therefore as soon as these are approached and are spoken to about some other subject than was in their thoughts when that appearance took place the doves instantly vanish. This is like many things seen by the prophets; as that John saw a lamb standing upon Mount Zion (Apoc. 14:1); and elsewhere. Who does not know that the Lord was not that lamb, and was not in the lamb, but the lamb was a representation of His innocence? This shows clearly the error of those who deduce a trinity of three persons from the dove seen descending upon the Lord when He was baptized, and from the voice heard out of heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son.” That the Lord regenerates man by means of faith and charity is meant by what John the Baptist said:
I baptize you with water unto repentance; but He that cometh after me shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16).
“To baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire” means to regenerate by the Divine truth that belongs to faith and the Divine good that belongs to charity. The same is meant by these words of the Lord:
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5).
“Water,” here as elsewhere in the Word, signifies truth in the natural or external man; and “spirit” signifies truth from good in the spiritual or internal man.
Receive ye the Holy Spirit (John 20:22; see also Mark 13:11).
Some affirm even that they have felt the influx. But they should be very careful not to persuade themselves that the zeal by which many are carried away while preaching is the Divine operation in their hearts; for a like and even warmer zeal prevails with enthusiasts, as also with those who are in the utmost falsities of doctrine; and even with those who despise the Word and worship nature instead of God, and fling faith and charity, as it were, into a bag on the back; but when preaching or teaching they hang it before them like a sort of ruminatory stomach, from which they draw out and disgorge such things as they know will serve as food for their hearers. For zeal, in itself considered, is a glow of the natural man. If it has within it a love of truth it is like the sacred fire that descended upon the apostles, as described in the Acts:
There appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3-4).
But if within that zeal or glow a love of falsity is concealed, it is like a fire imprisoned in wood, which bursts forth and consumes the house. You who deny the holiness of the Word and the Divinity of the Lord, take, I pray, the bag from your back and open it, as you freely do in your privacy, and you will see. I know that those who are meant by “Lucifer” in Isaiah, who are such as belong to Babylon, when they enter a church, and still more when they ascend the pulpit (especially those who call themselves members of the Society of Jesus), are swept away by a zeal which with many springs from infernal love, and from it declaim more vehemently, and from their breasts draw deeper sighs, than those who are zealous from heavenly love. With the clergy there are two other spiritual operations (as may be seen below, n. 155).
Jesus said, He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spoke He of the Spirit which they that believed in Him were to receive (John 7:38, 39).
And from this:
The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Apoc. 19:10). “The spirit of prophecy” means truth of doctrine from the Word, “prophecy” signifying doctrine, while “to prophesy” signifies to teach doctrine; and “the testimony of Jesus” means confession from faith in Him. “His testimony” has a similar meaning in the following passage:
The angels of Michael overcame the dragon through the blood of the Lamb and through the word of their testimony. And the dragon went away to make war with the rest of her seed who kept the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Apoc. 12:11 17).
When the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that goes forth from the Father, He shall bear witness of Me (John 15:26).
If I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go away I will send Him unto you (John 16:7).
The Comforter, the Spirit of truth, shall not speak from Himself, but He shall take of Mine and shall declare it unto you. All things whatsoever the Father hath are Mine; therefore said I that He shall take of Mine and shall declare it unto you (John 16:13-15).
The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:39).
Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).
Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name I will do it (John 14:13, 14).
[2] From these passages it is very evident that the Lord sends the Holy Spirit, that is, effects those things which at this day are ascribed to the Holy Spirit as a God by Himself; for He says that “He will send the Comforter from the Father,” that “He will send it to them,” that “the Holy Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified;” and after the glorification He breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit;” also that He said, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do;” and that the Comforter “shall take of Mine what He is to declare.” That the Comforter and the Holy Spirit are the same see John 14:26. That God the Father does not operate these energies of Himself through the Son, but that the Son operates them of Himself from the Father, is evident from the following:
No one hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath brought Him forth to view (John 1:18).
And elsewhere:
Ye have neither heard the Father’s voice at any time nor seen His form (John 5:37).
[3] From all this it follows that God the Father operates in and into the Son, but not through the Son; also that the Lord operates of Himself from His Father; for He says:
All things of the Father are Mine (John 16:15).
The Father hath given all things into the hand of the Son (John 3:35).
Again:
As the Father hath life in Himself so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself (John 5:26).
And again:
The words that I speak unto you are spirit and are life (John 6:63).
The Lord declares that the Spirit of truth goes forth from the Father (John 15:26), because it goes forth from God the Father into the Son, and out of the Son from the Father. Therefore He also says:
In that day ye shall know that the Father is in Me and I am in the Father, and ye in Me and I in you (John 14:11, 20).
From these plain declarations of the Lord an error of the Christian world is clearly manifest, namely, that God the Father sends the Holy Spirit to man; also the error of the Greek Church, which is, that God the Father sends the Holy Spirit directly. The truth that the Lord of Himself from God the Father sends the Holy Spirit, and not the reverse, is from heaven. The angels call this an arcanum because it has not before been disclosed to the world.
[2] It is the same with every minister of the church, whether he be in truths or in falsities; each one has his own utterance and his own intelligence, and each one speaks from his own mind, that is, from the spirit he possesses. So with all Protestants, whether called Evangelical or Reformed, after they have been instructed in the dogmas taught by Luther, Melancthon, or Calvin. It is not these leaders or their dogmas that speak of themselves through their followers; but their followers speak of themselves from the leaders or the dogmas. Furthermore, each dogma may be explained in a thousand ways, for each is like a cornucopia from which everyone draws what favors and is suited to his genius, and explains it according to his talent. [3] This may be illustrated by the action of the heart in and upon the lungs, and by the reaction of the lungs of themselves from the heart, the two being distinct, and yet reciprocally united. The lungs breathe of themselves from the heart; but the heart does not breathe through the lungs; if this should take place they would both cease to act. It is the same again with the action of the heart in and into the viscera of the whole body. The heart sends out the blood in all directions, and the viscera draw from it each one its portion in accordance with the nature of the use it performs, and in accordance with that use it acts, thus each in its own way.
[4] The same truth may be illustrated also by the evil derived from parents, which is called hereditary evil; this acts in and into man; in like manner good from the Lord acts, the good acting above or within, and the evil acting below or without. If the evil acted through man he would neither be capable of reformation nor be culpable; or if the good from the Lord acted through man he would be incapable of reformation; but as both good and evil depend on man’s free choice he becomes guilty when he acts of himself from evil, and is blameless when he acts of himself from good. And since evil is the devil, and good is the Lord, man becomes guilty when he acts from the devil, and is blameless when he acts from the Lord. It is from this free choice, which every man has, that man is capable of reformation.
[5] It is the same with the entire internal and the entire external in man. These two are distinct, and yet are reciprocally united. The internal acts in and into the external, but not through it; for the internal meditates a thousand things, and from these the external chooses only such as are suited to its use. For in man’s internal (by which is meant his voluntary and perceptive mind) there are voluminous heaps of ideas, and if these were to flow forth through man’s mouth it would be like a blast from a bellows. As the internal deals with universals it may be compared to an ocean or flower bed or garden, from which the external selects just what is sufficient for its use. Again, the Word of the Lord is like an ocean or a flower bed or a garden, in that when it has place in man’s internal in any degree of fullness it does not act through man, but man speaks and acts of himself from the Word. The same is true of the Lord, because He is the Word, that is, the Divine truth and Divine good that are in it. The Lord acts from Himself or from the Word in and into man, and not through him, since man acts and speaks from the Lord freely when he acts and speaks from the Word.
[6] But this may be illustrated more closely by the mutual interaction of the soul and body, which are two distinct things, and yet are reciprocally united. The soul acts in and into the body, not through it; the body acts of itself from the soul. The soul does not act through the body, for the two do not consult and deliberate each with the other, nor does the soul command or ask the body to do this or that, or to speak from its mouth; neither does the body demand or beg the soul to give or supply anything; for every thing that belongs to the soul belongs also to the body, mutually and interchangeably. It is the same with the Divine and the Human of the Lord, for the soul of His Human is the Divine of the Father, and the Human is His body; and the Human does not ask its own Divine to tell it what to say or do. Therefore the Lord says:
In that day ye shall ask in My name; and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father Himself loveth you because ye have loved Me (John 16:26, 27).
“In that day” means after His glorification, that is, after His perfect and absolute union with the Father. This arcanum is from the Lord Himself, given for those who will be of His new church.
Bezaleel was filled with the spirit of wisdom and understanding and knowledge (Exod. 31:3).
Nebuchadnezzar said of Daniel that an excellent spirit of knowledge and understanding and wisdom was found in him (Dan. 5:11, 12).
Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom (Deut. 34:9).
Make you a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek. 18:31).
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for of such is the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 5:3).
I dwell in the contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble (Isa. 57:15).
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit (Ps. 51:17).
I will give the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isa. 61:3). (And elsewhere.)
That “the spirit” signifies also such things as pertain to a perverse and wicked mind is evident from the following:
He said to the foolish prophets that go away after their own spirit (Ezek. 13:3).
Conceive chaff, bring forth stubble; as to your spirit, fire shall devour you (Isa. 33:11).
A man who is a wanderer in spirit and uttereth falsehood (Micah 2:11).
A generation whose spirit is not constant with God (Ps. 78:8).
The spirit of whoredoms (Hos. 5:4; 4:12).
That every heart may melt, and every spirit faint (Ezek. 21:7).
That which ascendeth upon your spirit shall never come to pass (Ezek. 20:32).
In whose spirit there is no guile (Ps. 32:2).
Pharaoh’s spirit was troubled (Gen. 41:8);
So also was Nebuchadnezzar’s (Dan. 2:3).
From these and numerous other passages it is clearly evident that the “spirit” signifies the mind of man and such things as pertain thereto.
The spirit lifted me up, and brought me back in vision in the spirit of God into Chaldea, to the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me (Ezek. 11:1, 24).
That the spirit lifted him up, and he heard behind him an earthquake (Ezek. 3:12, 14).
That the spirit lifted him up between earth and heaven and brought him to Jerusalem, and he saw abominations (Ezek. 8:3 seq.).
That he saw four living creatures that were cherubim, and various things with them (Ezek. 1, 10).
Also a new earth and a new temple, and an angel measuring them (Ezek. 40, 47).
That he was then in vision and in the spirit (Ezek. 40:2; 43:5).
[2] It was the same with Zachariah (in whom there was then an angel) when he saw:
A man riding among the myrtle trees (Zech. 1:8 seq.);
Four horns, and a man with a measuring line in his hand (Zech. 1:18; 2:1, 5 seq.);
Joshua the high priest (Zech. 3:1 seq.);
The lampstand and two olive trees (Zech. 4:1 seq.);
A flying roll and an ephah (Zech. 5:1, 6);
Four chariots going out from between two mountains, and horses (Zech 6:1-3).
Daniel was in a like state:
When he saw the four great beasts coming up from the sea, and many things respecting them (Dan. 7:1-12);
When he saw the battles between the ram and the he-goat (Dan. 8:1-12);
All of which he saw in vision (Dan. 7:1, 2, 7, 13; 8:2; 10:1, 7, 8); The angel Gabriel appeared to him in vision and talked with him (Dan. 9:21).
[3] The same occurred to John when he wrote the Apocalypse; he said:
That he was in the spirit on the Lord’s day (1:10);
That he was carried away in the spirit into the wilderness (17:3);
Upon a high mountain in spirit (21:10);
That he saw in vision (9:17);
and elsewhere that he saw the things he described; as when he saw the Son of man in the midst of the seven lampstands; the tabernacle, the temple, the ark and the altar, in heaven; a book sealed with seven seals, and horses going out of it; four living creatures around the throne; the twelve thousand elect from each tribe; the Lamb on Mount Zion; the locusts ascending from the abyss; the dragon, and his combat with Michael; the woman bringing forth a male child, and fleeing into the desert on account of the dragon; the two beasts, one ascending out of the sea and the other out of the earth; the woman sitting upon the scarlet beast; the dragon cast into the lake of fire and brimstone; the white horse and the great supper; the holy city Jerusalem descending, the gates, walls, and foundations of which he described; the river of the water of life, and the trees of life bearing fruit every month; and many other things. Peter, James, and John were in a like state when they saw Jesus transfigured, and Paul when he heard from heaven things ineffable.
As this chapter treats of the Holy Spirit, it is worthy of special notice that in the Word of the Old Testament the Holy Spirit is nowhere mentioned, and the “Spirit of Holiness” in three places only, once in David (Ps. 51:11); and twice in Isaiah 43:10, 11). But in the Word of the New Testament, both in the Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles, as also in their Epistles it is mentioned frequently. This is because the Holy Spirit first was, when the Lord had come into the world; for it goes forth out of Him from the Father; for:
The Lord alone is Holy (Apoc. 15:4)
therefore also the angel Gabriel said to Mary the mother:
The holy thing that shall be born of thee (Luke 1:35).
It is said:
The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:39)
although it is previously declared that the Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth (Luke 1:41), and Zacharias (Luke 1:67), as also Simeon (Luke 2:25); this is because the Spirit of Jehovah the Father filled them, which was called the Holy Spirit because of the Lord who was already in the world. This is why nowhere in the Word of the Old Testament is it said that the prophets spoke from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah; for everywhere we read, “Jehovah spoke unto me,” “The Word of Jehovah came unto me,” “Jehovah said,” “Thus said Jehovah.” That no one may be in doubt about this I will refer to the passages in Jeremiah alone, where these expressions occur: 1:4, 7, 11-14, 19; 2:1-5, 9, 19, 22, 29, 31; 3:1, 6, 10, 12, 14, 16; 4:1, 3, 9, 17, 27; 5:11, 14, 18, 22, 29; 6:6, 9, 12, 15, 16, 21, 22; 7:1, 3, 11, 13, 19-21; 8:1, 3, 12, 13; ix. 3, 7, 9, 13, 15, 17, 22, 24, 25; 10:1, 2, 18; 11:1, 3, 6, 9, 11, 17, 18, 21, 22; 12:14, 17; 13:1, 6, 9, 11-15, 25; 14:1, 10, 14, 15; 15:1-6, 11, 19, 20; 16:1, 3, 5, 9, 14, 16; 17:5, 19-21, 24; 18:1, 5, 6, 11, 13; 19:1, 3, 6, 12, 15; 20:4; 21:1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14; 22:2, 5, 6, 11, 16, 18, 24, 29, 30; 23:2, 5, 7, 12, 15, 24, 29, 31, 38; 24:3, 5, 8; 25:1, 3, 7-9, 15, 27-29, 32; 26:1, 2, 18; 27:1, 2, 4, 8, 11, 16, 19, 21, 22; 28:2, 12, 14, 16; 29:4, 8, 9, 16, 19-21, 25, 30-32; 30:1-5, 8, 10-12, 17, 18; 31:1, 2, 7, 10, 15-17, 23, 27, 28, 31-38; 32:1, 6, 14, 15, 25, 26, 28, 30, 36, 42, 44; 33:1, 2, 4, 10-13, 17, 19, 20, 23, 25; 34:1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 13, 17, 22; 35:1, 13, 17-19; 36:1, 6, 27, 29, 30; 37:6, 7, 9; 38:2, 3, 17; 39:15-18; 40:1; 42:7, 9, 15, 18, 19; 43:8, 10; 44:1, 2, 7, 11, 24-26, 30; 45:2, 5; 46:1, 23, 25, 28; 47:1; 48:1, 8, 12, 30, 35, 38, 40, 43, 44, 47; 49:2, 5-7, 12, 13, 16, 18, 26, 28, 30, 32, 35, 37-39; 50:1, 4, 10, 18, 20, 21, 30, 31, 33, 35, 40; 51:25, 33, 36, 39, 52, 58. The same expressions occur in all the other prophets, but nowhere is it said that the Holy Spirit spoke to them, or that Jehovah spoke to them through the Holy Spirit.
Once when in company with the angels in heaven, I saw below at some distance a great smoke, and then fire breaking out from it; and I said to the angels talking with me that the smoke seen in the hells, as a few among them knew, arises from falsities confirmed by reasonings, and that the fire is burning anger against those who contradict; and I added, “In this world, as in mine where I live in the body, it is unknown that flame is simply smoke on fire. That such is the fact I have often proved by experiment; for I have seen streaks of smoke rising from wood on the hearth, and when I set fire to them with a brand I have seen them turn to flames, which assumed a shape like that of the smoke; for the separate particles of smoke become little sparks which blaze up together, like gunpowder when it is ignited. So is it with the smoke we see below. This consists of an equal number of falsities; and the fire breaking out like flames is the glow of zeal in behalf of those falsities.”
[2] Then the angels said to me, “Let us ask the Lord for leave to go down and draw towards the smoke, that we may perceive what those falsities are that so smoke and blaze with those there.”
This was granted; and lo, there appeared round about us a column of light reaching continuously to the place. And then we saw four crowds of spirits, who were strenuously maintaining that it is God the Father who should be approached and worshiped, because He is invisible, and not His Son born in the world, since He is a man and is visible.
Looking towards the sides I saw on the left some learned men of the clergy, and behind these the unlearned; and on the right the learned of the laity, and behind these the unlearned; while between us and these there was a yawning gulf which was impassable.
[3] But we turned our eyes and ears to the left, where were the learned of the clergy, and behind them the unlearned, and we heard them reasoning about God in this wise, “From the doctrine of our church respecting God which is the same everywhere in Europe, we know that God the Father ought to be approached, because He is invisible, and at the same time God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, who are also invisible, being co-eternal with the Father; also God the Father, being the Creator of the universe, and therefore in the universe, is present wherever we turn our eyes; and whenever we pray to Him He graciously listens, and after accepting the mediation of the Son He sends the Holy Spirit, who implants in our hearts the glory of His Son’s righteousness and bestows blessedness upon us. We who have been made doctors in the church have felt in our breasts, when preaching, the holy operation of that sending, and from the presence of the Spirit in our minds have then breathed forth devotion. We are thus affected because we direct all our senses to the invisible God, who operates not singly upon the sight of our understanding, but universally upon our whole system, mental and corporeal, by the Spirit He sends. Such effects as these would not result from the worship of a visible God, that is, of a God conspicuously before the mind as a man.”
[4] When this was said the unlearned of the clergy who stood behind the others applauded, and added, “Whence comes what is holy but from an invisible and imperceptible Divine? At this, the moment it touches the entrance to our ears, our features expand, and we are gladdened as by the sweetness of a fragrant aura, and we smite upon our breasts. But it is otherwise with a visible and perceptible Divine; when this enters our ears it becomes merely natural, and not Divine. For a like reason the Roman Catholics repeat their masses in Latin, and the host (to which they ascribe Divine mystical properties) they bring out from the recesses of the altar and hold up to sight; whereupon the people fall on their knees as before something most mysterious, and take in breaths of holiness.”
[5] After this we turned to the right, where the learned of the laity stood, and the unlearned behind them; and from the learned we heard the following: “We know that the wisest of the ancients worshiped an invisible God whom they called Jehovah; but after them in the succeeding ages men made for themselves gods out of deceased rulers, among whom were Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Apollo, and also Minerva, Diana, Venus, and Themis; and to these they built temples and offered divine worship; and as in time this worship degenerated it gave rise to idolatry, from which at last the whole world became filled with insanity. We therefore agree unanimously with our priests and elders that there were and are three Divine persons from eternity, each one of whom is God; and it is enough for us that they are invisible.”
To this the unlearned behind them added, “We agree. Is not God God, and man man? Still we know that if anyone should set before them a God-Man, the common people, who have a sensuous idea about God, would accept it.”
[6] When they had said this their eyes were opened and they saw us near them; but being indignant because we had heard them they became silent. But presently the angels, from a power given them, closed the outer or lower things of their thoughts, from which they had been speaking, and opened the inner or higher things, and compelled them to speak from these about God. And speaking thus they said, “What is God? We have neither seen His shape nor heard His voice. What, then, is God but nature in its firsts and lasts. Nature we have seen, for she beams in our eyes; and we have heard her, for she sounds in our ears.”
On hearing this we said to them, “Have you ever seen Socinus, who acknowledged God the Father only; or Arius, who denied the Divinity of the Lord our Savior, or have you seen any of their adherents?” To which they answered, “We have not.”
We said, “They are in the deep beneath you.” And shortly some of them were summoned from the deep and questioned about God; and they spoke as the others had done; and they added, “What is God? We can make as many gods as we like.”
[7] And then we said, “It is useless to talk with you about the Son of God born in the world; yet we will say this much: Lest faith respecting God and faith in God and from God, which in the first two ages, from no one’s having beheld God, had been like a beautifully colored bubble in the air, should for the same reason in the third and following age collapse to nothing, it pleased Jehovah God to descend and assume a Human and thus make Himself visible, and convince men that He is not a mere figment of reason, but the Itself, which was and is and will be, from eternity to eternity; also that God is not a mere word of three letters, but is the All of reality from Alpha to Omega, consequently the life and salvation of all who believe in Him as visible, but not of those who say that they believe in an invisible God. For believing, seeing, and knowing make one. Therefore the Lord said to Philip:
That whosoever sees and knows Him sees and knows the Father; and elsewhere:
That it is the will of the Father that men should believe in the Son and that whosoever believes in the Son has eternal life, while he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:15-16, 36; 14:6-15).
Hearing this many of the four crowds were so enraged that smoke and flame issued from their nostrils; we therefore left them; and the angels, after accompanying me home, ascended to their heaven.
At one time in company with some angels I was walking in the world of spirits (which is intermediate between heaven and hell, and which all men enter first after death, the good being there made ready for heaven and the evil for hell), and I talked with them on various subjects, on this among others: That in the world where I am living in the body there are seen at night innumerable stars, larger and smaller, which are so many suns, only the light of which reaches our solar system; and I added, “When I saw that stars are visible in your world also I supposed them to be as numerous as those in the world where I live.”
The angels, delighted with this conversation, said, “Perhaps they are, since every society of heaven, in the sight of those who are under heaven, sometimes shines like a star; and the societies of heaven are numberless, all arranged in order according to the varieties of the affections of the love of good; which affections in God are infinite, and thus from Him are numberless; and as these were all foreseen before creation, I suppose that in accord with their number there have been provided, that is, created, an equal number of stars in the world where the men live who were to be natural-material bodies.”
[2] While we were talking together in this way I saw in the north a leveled way, so crowded with spirits that there was scarcely room to step between any two; and I said to the angels that I had already seen this way, with spirits thronging it like an army; and that I had heard that this is the way by which all pass when departing from the natural world. And the way is covered with such a vast number of spirits because many thousands of men die every week, and after death they all pass into this world.
The angels added, “This road terminates in the middle of this world where we now are-in the middle because on the sides towards the east there are societies who are in love to God and love towards the neighbor, and to the left towards the west societies of those who are opposed to these loves; while in front towards the south are societies of those who are more intelligent than the others. This is why the newcomers from the natural world move first to this point. When here, they are in the externals in which they had last been in the former world. Afterwards they are gradually let into their internals, and their characters are examined; and after the examination the good are borne to their places in heaven and the evil to theirs in hell.”
[3] We stopped at the middle point, at the termination of this way of entrance, and we said, “Let us wait here awhile and talk with some of the newcomers.” And from those approaching we picked out twelve, who having just come from the natural world did not know but that they were in it still. We asked them their views of heaven and hell and the life after death.
One replied, “Our sacred order impressed upon me the belief that we are to live after death, and that there is a heaven and a hell; and therefore I have believed that all who live a moral life go to heaven; and as all do live a moral life, that no one goes to hell; and therefore that hell is a fable manufactured by the clergy to frighten men from evil living. What does it matter whether I think about God in this way or that, Thought is only chaff, as it were, or like a bubble on the water that bursts and passes away.”
Another near him said, “It is my belief that there is a heaven and a hell; and that God rules heaven, and the devil rules hell; and as they are enemies, and therefore opposed to each other, one calls evil what the other calls good; also that a moral man who is a dissembler, and who can make evil look like good and good like evil, will side with both parties. What, then, does it matter whether I am on the side of one Lord or the other, providing He favors me? Good and evil are equally delightful to men.”
[4] A third, standing beside him, said, “Of what consequence is it to me to believe that there is a heaven and a hell? For who has come from either place and told us of them? If every man lives after death, why, out of so vast a multitude, has no one come back and told us?”
Next came a fourth, who said, “I will tell you why no one has come back and told. It is because when a man breathes his last and dies, he either becomes a ghost and is dissipated, or is like the breath of the mouth, which is merely wind. How can a being like that come back and talk with anyone?”
The fifth took up the matter and said, “Friends, wait till the day of the last judgment; for all will then return into their bodies, and you will see and talk with them, and each one will tell his fate to the other.”
[5] A sixth, standing opposite, laughed and said, “How can the spirit, which is wind, return into a body that has been eaten up by worms, and into its skeleton that has been dried up by the sun and has crumbled into dust? Or how is an Egyptian, who has been made a mummy and mixed by a quack with extracts or emulsions into a potion or powder, to come back and tell anything? Therefore, if you have the faith, wait till that last day; but your waiting will be forever, and forever in vain.”
After him a seventh said, “If I believed in a heaven and a hell, and therefore in a life after death, I would also believe that birds and beasts live after death likewise. Are not some of these quite as moral and as rational as men? It is denied that beasts live after death, therefore I deny that men do. The reasoning is equally good; one follows from the other. What is man but an animal?”
An eighth, standing at his back, came forward and said, “Believe in a heaven if you will, but I do not believe in any hell. Is not God omnipotent and able to save everybody?”
[6] Then a ninth, caressing his hand, said, “God is not only omnipotent He is also gracious; and cannot send anyone into eternal fire; and if anyone is there He cannot but take him out and raise him up.”
A tenth ran out of his place into the midst and said, “Neither do I believe in a hell. Did not God send His Son, and did He not make expiation for the sins of the whole world and take them away? What can the devil do against that? And as he can do nothing, what then is hell?”
An eleventh, who was a priest, took fire at hearing this, and said, “Do you not know that those who have attained to the faith on which Christ’s merit is inscribed are saved, and that those attain to that faith whom God elects. Does not election rest in the will of the Almighty, and in His judgment as to who are worthy of it? Who can prevail against these?”
The twelfth, who was a politician, kept silent; but being asked to crown the replies, he said, “From my own thought I will not say anything about heaven and hell and the life after death, since no one knows anything about them; nevertheless you should not blame the priests for preaching them; for in that way the minds of the vulgar are kept bound by an invisible bond to the laws and to their rulers. Does not the public welfare depend upon this?”
[7] We were amazed to hear such things as these, and we said to each other, “Although these go by the name of Christians they are neither men nor beasts, but they are men-beasts.” However, to arouse them from their sleep we said, “There is a heaven and a hell and a life after death; of this you will be convinced when we have dispelled your ignorance of the state of life in which you now are. During the first few days after death no one knows but that he is still living in the same world in which he lived before; for the time that has passed is like a Sleep, on being awakened from which he had no other feeling than that he still is where he was before. So is it with you now; and therefore you have been speaking just as you thought the former world.”
The angels then dispelled their ignorance; and they saw that they were in another world, and among those with whom they were not acquainted; and they cried out, “O where are we?”
We said, “You are no longer in the natural world, but in the spiritual world, and we are angels.”
Then, being quite awake, they said, “If you are angels, show us heaven.”
We replied, “Wait here a little, and we will return.” And returning after half an hour we found them waiting for us; and we said, “Follow us into heaven.” They did so, and we went up with them, and because we were with them the guards opened the gate and admitted us.
And we said to those who receive newcomers at the entrance, “Examine these men.”
And they turned them about and saw that the hinder parts of their heads were quite hollow. They then said to them, “Go away from here, for there is in you the delight of the love of doing evil; therefore you are not in conjunction with heaven; for in your heads you have denied God and have despised religion.”
And we said to them, “Do not delay, or you will be cast out.” So they hastened down and departed.
[8] On the way home we talked about the reason why in the spiritual world the back parts of the head of those who take delight in doing evil are hollow. And I gave as the reason that man has two brains, one behind, called the cerebellum, and one in front called the cerebrum; and the love of the will dwells in the cerebellum, and the thought of the understanding in the cerebrum; and whenever the thought of the understanding does not guide the love of man’s will the inmosts of the cerebellum, which in themselves are heavenly, collapse; hence the hollowness.
In the spiritual world I once heard a noise like that of a mill; it was in the northern quarter. At first I wondered what It was: but I called to mind that the meaning of a mill and of grinding is to seek from the Word what is serviceable for doctrine. I therefore went towards the place where the noise was heard, and when I came near it stopped; and I then saw a sort of arched roof above the ground, to which there was an entrance through a cavern; seeing which I descended, and entered.
And behold, there was a room in which I saw an old man sitting among books, holding the Word before him and searching out from it what would be serviceable for his doctrine. Pieces of paper were lying around, on which he had written whatever he could use. In an adjoining room were copyists who were collecting the papers and copying what was written on them on a full-sized sheet. I first asked him about the books around him.
He said that they all treated of Justifying Faith; those from Sweden and Denmark profoundly; those from Germany more profoundly; those from Britain still more so; and most profoundly of all the ones from Holland. And he added that on several points they differed; but in the article on justification and salvation by faith alone they all agreed. He afterwards said that he was then collecting from the Word this first principle of justifying faith, that God the Father ceased to be gracious towards the human race on account of its iniquities, and it was therefore a Divine necessity for man’s salvation that satisfaction, reconciliation, propitiation, and mediation should be effected by some one who would take upon himself the damnation enjoined by justice; and that this could never have been done except by His only Son; but having once been done there was a way of approach open to God the Father for the Son’s sake; for we pray, “Father, be merciful to us for the sake of Thy Son.” And he said, “I see and have seen, that this is in accordance with all reason and Scripture. By what other way than by faith in the merits of could God the Father be approached?”
[2] I listened to this, and was amazed that he should declare it to be in accord with reason and Scripture, when yet it is contrary to both, and this I plainly told him.
In the heat of his zeal he then rejoined, “How can you say that?”
Therefore I opened my mind to him, saying, “Is it not contrary to reason to think that God the Father failed of grace towards the human race, and rejected and excommunicated it? Is not Divine grace an attribute of the Divine essence? Wherefore failing of grace would be failing of Divine essence; and failing of His Divine essence would be to be no longer God. Is it possible for God to be alienated from Himself? Believe me, as grace on God’s part is infinite, so it is also eternal. On men’s part God’s grace may be lost if man does not accept it [but never on God’s part]. But if grace were to depart from God there would be an end to the whole heaven and the whole human race. Wherefore on God’s part grace endures forever, not only towards angels and men, but even towards the devils in hell. Since this accords with reason, why do you say that the only access to God the Father is through faith in the merits of the Son, when yet there is perpetually an access to Him through grace? [3] But why do you say, access to God the Father for the sake of the Son, instead of through the Son? Is not the Son the Mediator and Savior? Why do you not go to the Mediator and Savior Himself Is He not both God and Man? On earth who goes directly to an emperor, king, or prince? Must there not be some one to procure admission and introduce him? Do you not know that the Lord came into the world that He might introduce men to the Father, and that only through Him is there any access to the Father; while this access is perpetual when you go directly to the Lord Himself, since He is in the Father and the Father in Him? Search now in Scripture, and you will see that this is in accordance with Scripture, while your way to the Father is contrary to Scripture as it is contrary to reason. I tell you, moreover, it is a presumption to climb up thus to God the Father, and not through Him who is in the bosom of the Father, and who alone is present with the Father. Have you not read John 14:6?”
Hearing this, the old man became so angry that he sprang from his seat and shouted to his copyists to put me out; and when I had gone out immediately of my own accord, he threw after me out of the door a book that he happened to lay hand upon, and that book was the Word.
A discussion arose among certain spirits, whether one can see any doctrinal truth of theology in the Word except from the Lord. They all agreed in this, that no one can except from God, because:
Man can receive nothing except it be given from heaven (John 3:27).
The discussion, therefore, was whether anyone can do this unless he go directly to the Lord.
On one side it was declared that the Lord must be approached directly, because He is the Word; and on the other that true doctrine may also be seen when God the Father is approached directly. The discussion therefore first turned to this point: Is it permissible for any Christian to approach God the Father directly, thereby climbing over the Lord; and is not this insolence and audacity unbecoming as well as rash, since the Lord says that:
No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6)?
But they left this point, and said that man can see true doctrine from the Word by his own natural light. This was rejected. Then they insisted that it could be seen by those who pray to God the Father; and something from the Word was read to them, and upon their knees they prayed God the Father to enlighten them; and they said of what had been read to them from the Word that it contained such and such truth; but it was falsity. This was repeated until it became tiresome; and at last they confessed that it could not be done.
But those on the other side who approached the Lord directly saw the truths, and communicated them to the others.
[2] When this discussion had been thus ended, certain spirits ascended from the abyss who at first looked like locusts, and afterwards like dwarfs. They were such as in the world had prayed to God the Father, and had confirmed themselves in the doctrine of justification by faith alone. They were the same as those treated of in Revelation (9:1-11). They said that they saw in clear light, and also from the Word that a man is justified by faith alone without the works of the law.
They were asked, “By what faith?” They answered, “By faith in God the Father.” But when they had been examined they were told from heaven that they did not know a single doctrinal truth from the Word. They retorted that still they saw their own truths in light.
They were told that it was a fatuous light in which they saw them. They asked, “What is a fatuous light?” They were told that a fatuous light is the light of the confirmation of what is false, and that it corresponds to the light in which are owls and bats, to which darkness is light and light darkness. This was confirmed to them by the fact that when they looked up to heaven, the abode of light itself, they saw darkness; and when they looked down to the abyss from which they came they saw light.
[3] Nettled by this confirmation they said that light and darkness then are nothing, being a mere state of the eye, according to which light is said to be light and darkness to be darkness. But it was shown that their light was a fatuous light, which is the light of the confirmation of what is false, and that it was nothing but an activity of the mind, arising from the fire of their lusts, not unlike the light with cats, whose eyes at night in cellars, from their burning appetite for mice, look like candles.
Enraged at hearing this, they said they were not cats and were not like cats, for they could see if they wished to.
But fearing they might be asked why they did not wish to see, they withdrew, and let themselves down to their abyss. Those in that abyss and those like them are called by the angels owls and bats and also locusts.
[4] When they had reached their companions in the abyss, and had told them that the angels had said “that we know no doctrinal truth whatever, not a single one; and they called us owls, bats, and locusts,” a tumult arose there. And they said, “Let us pray to God for permission to ascend, and we will show clearly that we have many doctrinal truths, which the archangels themselves will acknowledge.” And because they prayed to God, permission was given them; and as many as three hundred of them ascended.
And when they appeared above the ground they said, “In the world we were men of celebrity and renown, because we knew and taught the mysteries of justification by faith alone; and from confirmations we not only saw light, but saw it as a glittering radiance, and we see it so still in our cells; and yet we have heard from our companions who were still with you that that light is not light but darkness, for the reason, as you say, that we have no doctrinal truth from the Word. We know that every truth of the Word shines, and we have believed that our radiance, when we meditated profoundly upon our mysteries, came from that source. We will therefore demonstrate to you that we have truths from the Word in abundance.” And they said, “Have we not this truth, that there is a trinity, consisting of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and that men ought to believe in the trinity? Have we not this truth, that Christ is our Redeemer and Savior? Have we not this truth, that Christ alone is righteousness, and to Him alone belongs merit, and that any man who wishes to attribute to himself any of Christ’s merit and righteousness is himself unrighteous and impious? Have we not this truth, that no mortal man is able of himself to do any spiritual good, but that from God is all good that is good in itself? Have we not this truth, that there are meritorious good and hypocritical good, and that such goods are evil? Have we not this truth, that good works ought nevertheless to be done? Have we not this truth, that there is such a thing as faith, and that men ought to believe in God, and that everyone has life according as he believes; besides many other truths from the Word? Which of you can deny a single one of these? And yet you declared that in our schools we have no truths at all, not even a single one. Have you not cast these charges against us ungraciously?”
[5] But they received this answer, “All these things that you have advanced are in themselves true; but with you they are truths falsified, which are falsities, because they are derived from a false principle. That this is so we will make clear to your sight. Not far from here is a place upon which the light of heaven falls directly, and in the center of it there is a table. Whenever any paper upon which some truth from the Word has been written is placed upon this table, the paper, because of the truth written upon it, shines like a star. Therefore write your truths on a paper, and let the paper be placed on the table, and you will see.”
This they did, and gave the paper to a guard, who placed it on the table and said to them, “Stand back and look at the table.”
They stood back and looked, and lo, the paper shone like a star.
Then the guards said, “You see that the things you have written on the paper are truths; but come nearer and fix your gaze upon it.”
They did so, and suddenly the light vanished and the paper became black, as if covered with soot from a furnace.
The guard said further, “Touch the paper with your hands, but be careful not to touch the writing.”
And when they did so a flame broke out and consumed the paper. When they had seen this they were told, “If you had touched the writing you would have heard an explosion and you would have burned your fingers.”
Then those standing behind them said, “You now see that the truths which you abused to confirm the mysteries of your justification are truths in themselves, but that in you they are truths falsified.”
Then they looked upward, and heaven appeared to them like blood, and presently like thick darkness; and in the eyes of the angelic spirits they appeared, some like bats, and some like owls, and some like horned owls; and they fled away into their own darkness, which to their eyes shone delusively.
[6] The angelic spirits who were present were astonished, for until then they had known nothing of that place or of the table there. And a voice then came to them from the southern quarter, saying, “Come hither, and you will see something still more wonderful.”
And they went, and entered a chamber, the walls of which shone like gold, and there also they saw a table on which the Word lay, encircled with precious stones arranged in a heavenly form.
And the angel guard said, “When the Word is opened a light of ineffable brightness shines forth from it; and at the same time there is from the precious stones the appearance of a rainbow above and roundabout the Word. When an angel from the third heaven comes hither there appears above and around the Word a rainbow on a red ground; when an angel from the second heaven comes and looks, a rainbow on an azure ground appears; when an angel from the lowest heaven comes and looks, a rainbow on a white ground appears; when any good spirit comes and looks a variegation of light like marble appears.” That this was so was also showed to them visibly.
The angel guard said further, “When anyone who has falsified the Word approaches, at first the splendor is dissipated, and then if he comes near and fixes his eyes on the Word, there arises an appearance of blood about it; and he is admonished to withdraw because there is danger.”
[7] But a certain person who in the world had been a leading writer on the doctrine of justification by faith alone, came up boldly and said, “When I was in the world I did not falsify the Word. Together with faith I exalted charity and taught that a man in that state of faith in which he practices charity and its works is renewed, regenerated, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit; also that faith does not exist solitary, that is, separated from good works, as there can be no good tree without fruit, no sun without light, no fire without heat. I also rebuked those who said that good works are not necessary; and even obedience to the commandments of the Decalogue is not necessary; and I made repentance of great importance; and thus in wonderful manner applied everything in the Word to the subject of faith; and yet I made it clear and demonstrated that faith alone is saving.”
Confident in this assertion that he had not falsified the Word, this man approached the table, and in spite of the warning of the angel he touched the Word; and suddenly out of the Word there went forth fire and smoke, and there was an explosion and a crash which hurled him to a corner of the room, where he lay like one dead for nearly an hour.
The angelic spirits were astonished at this; but they were told that although this leader had exalted more than others the goods of charity as proceeding from faith, yet he had meant nothing more than political social works, which are also called moral and civil, and which were to be done for the sake of the world and worldly prosperity, but by no means for the sake of salvation; also that he had assumed some hidden works of the Holy Spirit, of which man knows nothing, but which are generated in the act of faith in a state of faith.
[8] The angelic spirits then talked together about the falsification of the Word; and they agreed that falsifying the Word is taking truths therefrom and applying them to confirm falsities; whereby truths from the Word are dragged apart from it and slain; as for example, when any such truths as those quoted above by the spirits from the abyss are applied to the faith of the present day and are explained by that faith, which is impregnated with falsities, as will be shown hereafter; or, again, when one takes from the Word the truth that charity ought to be exercised, and that good ought to be done to the neighbor, and then adds confirmations to show that this ought to be done, but not for the sake of salvation (since no good done by man is good, because meritorious), he drags that truth from the Word apart from the Word, and slays it. For the Lord in His Word enjoins it on every man who wishes to be saved that he must love the neighbor, and from love do good to. So also with other truths.
God the Creator, together with creation, has been treated of; also the Lord the Redeemer, together with redemption; and lastly the Holy Spirit, together with the Divine operation. Having thus treated of the Triune God, it is necessary to treat also of the Divine trinity, which is known and yet unknown in the Christian world; for only through this can a right idea of God be acquired; and a right idea of God in the church is like the sanctuary and altar in a temple, or like the crown upon the head and the scepter in the hand of a king on his throne; for on a right idea of God the whole body of theology hangs, like a chain on its first link; and if you will believe it, everyone is allotted his place in the heavens in accordance with his idea of God. For that idea is like a touchstone by which the gold and silver are tested, that is, the quality of good and truth in man. For there can be no saving good in man except from God, nor any truth that does not derive its quality from the bosom of good. But that it may be seen with both eyes what the Divine trinity is, the explanation of it shall be divided into sections as follows:
(1) There is a Divine Trinity, which is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
(2) These three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are the three essentials of one God, and they make one as soul, body, and operation make one in man.
(3) Before the world was created this Trinity was not; but after creation, when God became incarnate, it was provided and brought about; and then in the Lord God the Redeemer and Savior Jesus Christ.
(4) In the ideas of thought a Trinity of Divine Persons from eternity, or before the world was created, is a Trinity of Gods; and these ideas cannot be effaced by a lip-confession of one God.
(5) A Trinity of Persons was unknown in the Apostolic church, but was hatched by the Nicene Council, and from that was introduced into the Roman Catholic church, and from that again into the churches separated from it.
(6) From the Nicene Trinity and the Athanasian Trinity together a faith arose by which the whole Christian church has been perverted.
(7) This is the source of that “abomination of desolation, and that tribulation such as has not been nor ever shall be,” which the Lord foretold in Daniel and in the Gospels and in the Apocalypse.
(8) So too, unless a new heaven and a new church were established by the Lord there could no flesh be saved.
(9) From a Trinity of Persons, each one of whom singly is God, according to the Athanasian Creed, many discordant and heterogeneous ideas respecting God have arisen, which are phantasies and abortions.
These propositions shall now be explained one by one.
The angel Gabriel said to Mary, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35).
Here three are mentioned, the Most High, who is God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Son of God:
When Jesus was baptized, Lo, the heavens were opened, and John saw the Holy Spirit descending as a dove and coming upon Him and lo, a voice out of heaven saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matt. 3:16, 17; Mark 1:10, 11; John 1:32).
And still more plainly in these words of the Lord to His disciples:
Go ye and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19);
and still again in these words in John:
There are three that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit (1 John 5:7).
Furthermore, the Lord prayed to His Father, and spoke of Him and with Him, and said that He would send the Holy Spirit, and He did send it. Finally the apostles in their Epistles frequently mentioned the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. From all this it is clear that there is a Divine trinity, which is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself handle Me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have (Luke 24:39).
From this every man may be convinced, if he will, that the Lord’s humanity is Divine; consequently, that in Him God is Man and Man is God.
I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; and he shall be their shepherd and I Jehovah will be to them as God, and David a prince among them (34:23, 24);
besides other passages; not knowing that the Lord is there meant by “David.”
[2] But, my friend, not only cut down the tree, but also dig up the root, and then plant in your garden trees bearing good fruit. Thus beware, lest in your mind there should lurk the idea of three Gods, while your mouth utters the words one God, with no idea in them. In that case is not the understanding (which above the memory is thinking of three Gods, and at the same time below the memory is causing the mouth to utter one God), like a player on the stage able to act two roles by running from one side to the other, at one side saying one thing and at the other just the opposite, and by such contradiction playing on the one side the wise man and on the other the fool? What else can result from this but that when the understanding stands in the center and looks both ways it will conclude that neither this nor that amounts to anything, and so, perhaps, that there is neither one God nor three, thus that there is no God? The prevailing naturalism of the day is from no other source. In heaven no one can utter the words, A trinity of persons each one of whom singly is God; for it is resisted by the very aura of heaven, in which the thoughts of those there fly and undulate, as sounds do in our air. Such words can be uttered only by a hypocrite, and the sound of his speech grates in the heavenly aura like the gnashing of teeth, or is like the croak of a raven trying to imitate a bird of song. Moreover, I have heard from heaven that to efface a belief established in the mind by confirmations favoring a trinity of Gods, by means of a lip-confession of one God, is as impossible as it is to draw a tree back through its seed, or a man’s chin through a hair growing out of it.
Verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheep fold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. I am the door; by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved (John 10:1, 9).
This crime was committed by Arius and his followers. [2] On this account a council was convoked by Constantine the Great at Nice, a city in Bithynia; and in order to overthrow the pernicious heresy of Arius it was devised, decided upon, and ratified by the members of the council that there were from eternity three Divine persons, a Father, a Son, and a Holy Spirit, to each one of whom belonged personality, existence, and subsistence, by Himself and in Himself; also that the second person, or the Son, came down and took on a Human and wrought redemption; and therefore His Human, by a hypostatic union, possesses Divinity, and through that union He has close relationship with God the Father. From that time heaps of abominable heresies about God and the person of Christ began to spring up from the earth, and Antichrists began to rear their heads and to divide God into three persons, and the Lord the Savior into two, thus destroying the temple set up by the Lord through the apostles, and this until not one stone was left upon another that was not thrown down, according to the Lord’s words (Matt. 24:2), where by “the temple” not only the edifice at Jerusalem is meant but also the church, the consummation or end of which is treated of in the whole chapter. [3] But what else could have been expected from that council, or from those that followed, which in like manner divided the Godhead into three, and placed God in the flesh beneath them on their footstool? For by climbing up some other way they took the Head of the church away from its body; that is, they passed Him by, and mounted beyond to God the Father as to another, with the mere mention on their lips of Christ’s merit, that is, that God on account of it might be merciful, and justification might thus flow into them directly with all that goes with it, namely, remission of sins, renovation, sanctification, regeneration, and salvation, and this without any meditation on man’s part.
That Jesus Christ was the true God (1 John 5:20)
And that in Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9);
And that the apostles preached faith in Him (Acts 20:21);
And that to Him was given all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).
With a mouth like that of a lion, a body like that of a leopard, and feet like those of a bear (Apoc. 13:2).
It is said in heaven that when the Nicene Council had finished its work, that had come to pass which the Lord foretold to His disciples:
The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (Matt. 24:29);
and in fact the Apostolic church was like a new star appearing in the starry heaven. But the church after the two Nicene councils became finally like the same star darkened and lost to view, as has sometimes happened, according to the observation of astronomers, in the natural world. We read in the Word that:
Jehovah God dwells in light unapproachable (1 Tim. 6:16).
Who, then, can approach Him, unless He take up His abode in light that is approachable, that is, unless He come down and assume a Human, and in it become the light of the world (John 1:9; 12:46)? Anyone can see that to get near to Jehovah the Father in His own light is as impossible as to take the wings of the morning and fly on them to the sun, or to feed upon the sun’s rays instead of material food, or as for a bird to fly in the ether, or a stag to run on air.
[3] The faith of the church respecting God is like the soul in the body, and doctrinals are like the members of the body. Or again, faith in God is like a queen, and dogmas like the officers of her court; and as these all hang upon the word of the queen, so do dogmas upon the utterance of faith. Solely from the faith of a church it can be seen how the Word is understood in that church; for a faith inwardly adapts and draws to itself, as if by cords, whatever things it can. If the faith is false it plays the harlot with every truth therein, and perverts and falsifies it, and in the spiritual things makes man insane. But if the faith is true the whole Word sustains it; and the God of the Word, who is the Lord God the Savior, pours light upon it and breathes upon it His Divine assent and makes man wise. [4] It will also be seen in the Appendix that the faith of the present day (which in its inward form is a faith in three Gods, but in its outward form a faith in one God) has quenched the light in the Word and taken away the Lord from the church, and has thus changed its morning into night. This was done by heresies before the council of Nice, and further by heresies arising from that council and after it. But what confidence is to be placed in councils which:
Enter not through the door into the sheepfold but climb up some other way (according to the Lord’s words in John 10:1, 9)?
Their deliberation is not unlike the walking of a blind man in the daytime or of a man not blind at night, neither of whom sees a ditch until he has tumbled into it. What confidence, for example, can be placed in councils that established the vicarship of the pope, the canonization of the dead, the invocation of the dead as deities, the worship of their images, the granting of indulgences, the division of the Eucharist, and other things? Or what confidence is to be placed in a council that established the unspeakable doctrine of predestination, and hung it up before its church buildings as the palladium of religion? But, my friend, go to the God of the Word, and thus to the Word itself, and so enter through the door into the sheepfold, that is, into the church, and you will be enlightened; and then as from a mountain top you will see for yourself the goings and wanderings, not only of the many but your own also previously in the gloomy forest below.
Upon the bird of abominations shall be desolation even until the consummation and decision, it shall drop upon the devastation (9:27).
In the gospel of Matthew the Lord says:
Many false prophets shall arise and shall lead many astray. When, therefore, ye shall see the abomination of desolation predicted by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, let him that readeth note it well (24:11, 15);
and afterwards in the same chapter:
Then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be (verse 21).
This tribulation and that abomination are treated of in seven chapters of the Apocalypse; they are what are meant:
By the black horse, and the pale horse going out of the book, the seal of which the Lamb opened (6:5-8).
Also by:
The beast coming up out of the abyss which made war upon the two witnesses and killed them (11:7 seq.).
Also by:
The dragon which stood before the woman about to be delivered, that he might devour her child, and which pursued her into the desert and there from his mouth cast out water as a river that he might drown her (12).
Also by:
The beasts of the dragon, one from the sea and the other from the earth (13).
Again:
By the three green spirits like frogs which went forth out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet (16:13).
And finally by this:
That after the seven angels had poured out the bowls of the wrath of God, in which were the seven last plagues, into the earth, the sea, the fountains and rivers, upon the sun, upon the seat of the beast, upon the Euphrates, and at length into the air, there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth (16).
The “earthquake” means the overturning of the church, which is done by falsities and falsifications of truth, and this is signified also by:
The great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world (Matt. 24:21).
The following words have a like meaning:
And the angel thrust in his sickle and gathered the vineyard of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the anger of God; and the wine-press was trodden and there went out blood even unto the bridles of the horses for a thousand and six hundred furlongs (Apoc. 14:19, 20);
“blood” signifying truth falsified. Besides other things contained in those seven chapters.
The Father of eternity (Isa. 9:6)
And He said to Philip, He that seeth Me seeth the Father (John 14:7, 9).
Then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days be shortened no flesh would be saved (24:21, 22).
This chapter treats of “the consummation of the age,” by which the end of the present church is meant; therefore “to shorten those days” means to bring that church to an end and establish a new one. Who does not know that unless the Lord had come into the world and wrought redemption no flesh could have been saved? To work redemption means to found a new heaven and a new church. That the Lord would again come into the world He foretold in the Gospels, Matt. 24:30, 31; Mark 13:26; Luke 12:40; 21:27; and in the Apocalypse, particularly in the last chapter. That He is also effecting a redemption at this day by founding a new heaven and establishing a new church to the end that man may be saved, has been shown above in the chapter on Redemption. [2] The great mystery that unless a new church is established by the Lord no flesh can he saved, is this: That so long as the dragon with his horde remains in the world of spirits into which he has been cast, no Divine truth united to Divine good can pass through that world to men on earth without being perverted and falsified, or without its perishing. This is what is meant in the Apocalypse by the words:
The dragon was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Woe to those that inhabit the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down unto them having great anger (12:9, 12, 13).
But when the dragon had been cast into hell (10:10),
John saw a new heaven and a new earth, and he saw the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven (21:1, 2);
“the dragon” meaning those who are in the faith of the present church.
[3] In the spiritual world I have several times talked with those who believe that men are justified by faith alone; and I have told them that their doctrine is both erroneous and absurd, and induces upon men security, blindness, sleep, and in spiritual things a night, and consequently death to the soul; and I have exhorted them to discard it; but I received the answer, “Why discard it? Does not the superiority of the learning of the clergy over that of the laity hang upon that sole doctrine?” I replied, “In that case they do not regard the salvation of souls as any object, but the superiority of their own reputation; and as they have adapted the truths of the Word to their false principles, and have thus adulterated them, they are those angels of the abyss, called Abaddons and Apollyons (Apoc. 9:11), who signify those that destroy the church by a total falsification of the Word.” But they made answer, “What do you mean? By our knowledge of the mysteries of that faith we are oracles, and from it as from a sanctuary we give responses; therefore we are not Apollyons but Apollos.” Indignant at this reply I said, “If you are Apollos you are also leviathans – your leaders the crooked leviathans, and the rest of you the stretched-out leviathans, whom God will visit with His sore and great sword” (Isa. 27:1). But at this they laughed.
In the spiritual world there are climates and zones just as in the natural world. Nothing exists in this world that does not also exist in that; yet in origin they differ. In the natural world climates vary according to the distance of the sun from the equator; in the spiritual world they vary according to the distances of the will’s affections and the consequent thought of the understanding from true love and true faith; for of these latter all things in that world are correspondences.
In the frigid zones of the spiritual world things appear similar to those in the frigid zones of the natural world; lands and waters alike are bound in ice with snow upon them. Those come hither and dwell here who in the world had lulled their understanding to sleep by their indolence in thinking of spiritual things, and who were consequently indolent in doing anything useful. Such are called boreal spirits.
[2] On one occasion I had a strong desire to see some region of the frigid zone where these boreal spirits dwell. I was therefore conducted in spirit northward to a region where the whole earth appeared to be covered with snow and all the water frozen. It was the Sabbath day; and I saw men, that is, spirits similar in stature to the men of our world, with their heads, owing to the cold, covered with lions’ skins, the mouth of the skin fitted to their own; while before and behind and down to the loins their bodies were clad with leopard skins and their feet with bear skin. I also saw many riding in chariots, and some in chariots carved in the form of a dragon with the horns projecting forward. The chariots were drawn by small horses with their tails clipped, which ran like frightful wild creatures, the driver holding tight the reins and continually speeding and whipping them to a run.
At length I saw that the crowds were flocking towards a temple, which was invisible because it was buried in snow; but the caretakers of the temple were shoveling away the snow and digging a path for the coming worshipers, who descended and entered.
[3] I was permitted to see the inside of the temple. It was lighted with an abundance of lamps and torches. There was an altar of hewn stone, behind which hung a tablet with the inscription, The Divine Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are essentially one God, but personally three.
At length a priest who stood at the altar, after kneeling thrice before the tablet, went up into the pulpit with a book in his hand and began a discourse on the Divine trinity. “O how great the mystery,” he exclaimed, “that God in the highest begot a Son from eternity, and through Him sent forth the Holy Spirit, the three conjoining themselves by their essence but dividing themselves by their properties, which are imputation, redemption, and operation! But if we look upon these things from reason our vision grows obscure, and a spot comes before it such as appears before the eye of one who fixes his gaze upon the naked sun. Therefore, my hearers, in this matter let us keep the understanding under obedience to faith.”
[4] Again he exclaimed, “O how great a mystery is our holy faith, that God the Father imputes the righteousness of His Son and sends the Holy Spirit, who from that imputed righteousness works out the evidences of justification! These in brief are forgiveness of sins, renovation, regeneration, and salvation, of the influx of action of which a man is no more conscious than the statue of salt into which Lot’s wife was turned; and of the indwelling or the state of which he is no more conscious than a fish in the sea. But, my friends, in this faith there lies a treasure so enclosed and hidden that not a particle of it can be seen; therefore in this matter also let us keep the understanding under obedience to faith.”
[5] After some deep sighs he again exclaimed, “O how great is the mystery of election! He becomes one of the elect to whom God imputes that faith, which He imparts, at His good pleasure and out of pure grace, to whomsoever He wills and when He wills, and while it is being poured into him man is like a stock, but when this has been done he becomes like a tree. It is true that there are fruits, that is, good works, hanging upon the tree (which in a representative sense is our faith); but the fruit does not cling to it, and therefore the worth of the tree is not in the fruit. Yet as this sounds heterodox, although it is a mystical verity, let us, my brethren, keep the understanding under obedience to faith in it.”
[6] Then again, after a brief pause, standing as if he would produce something further from his memory, he continued, “From the mass of mysteries I will present one more, namely, that in spiritual things man has not a grain of free-will. For the primates and rulers of our order say in their theological canons that in matters pertaining to faith and salvation, which are especially called spiritual, man has no ability to will, think or understand anything, nor even adapt or apply himself to their reception. Therefore of myself I say, that a man is no better able than a parrot or a magpie or a raven to think about these things from reason and talk about them from thought; so that in spiritual things man is in fact an ass, and only in natural things is he a man. But, my friends, lest this should annoy your reason, let us in this as in the others keep the understanding under obedience to faith. For our theology is a bottomless abyss, and if you let your intellectual vision down into it you will be overwhelmed, and will perish as by shipwreck. And yet keep this in mind: we are none the less in the true light of the Gospel, which is shining far above our heads; but sad to say, the hairs of our heads and the bones of our skulls stand in the way and keep the light from penetrating the recesses of our understanding.”
[7] Having said this he came down from the pulpit; and when he had offered a prayer at the altar and the service was over I approached some who were talking together, among whom was the priest; and those standing around him said, “We give you everlasting thanks for a discourse so magnificent and so rich in wisdom.”
But I said to them, “Did you understand anything?”
And they answered, “We took in everything with full ears; but why do you ask whether we understand? Is not the understanding benumbed by such matters?”
And to this the priest added, “Forasmuch as you have heard and have not understood you are blessed, for thereby you have salvation.”
[8] Afterwards I talked with the priest and asked him whether he had a degree. He answered, “I am a laureled Master.”
I then said, “Master, I have heard you preaching mysteries; if you know of the mysteries but know nothing that they contain, you know nothing; for they are like chests locked with triple bolts; and unless you open them and look inside, which must be done by the understanding, you do not know whether the contents are precious or whether they are worthless, or are hurtful. They may contain vipers’ eggs or spiders’ webs, according to the description in Isaiah” (59:5).
At this the priest looked at me grimly; and the worshipers withdrew and entered their chariots, drunken with paradoxes, muddled with empty words, and enveloped in darkness respecting all things of faith and the means of salvation.
I was engaged in thought about what region of the mind in man is occupied with theological matters. At first I supposed that being spiritual and heavenly they occupy the highest region. For the human mind is divided into three regions, as a house into three stories, or the angelic abodes into three heavens.
Then an angel standing near said, “With those who love truth because it is true, theological matters rise even into the highest region of the mind, because in that region is their heaven, and they are in the light in which angels dwell. But moral subjects theoretically examined and perceived have their place in a second region beneath these, because they communicate with things spiritual. Beneath these in a first region political subjects have their place; while scientific matters, which are manifold, and may be referred to genera and species, form a door to these higher matters. Those with whom things spiritual, moral, political, and scientific are thus subordinated, think what they think and do what they do from justice and judgment. This is because the light of truth, which is also the light of heaven, illuminates from the highest region all things that follow, as the light of the sun, passing in turn through the ethers and through the atmospheres, illumines the eyes of men and beasts and fishes. It is different, however, in matters of theology with those who love truth not because it is true, but only for the glory of their reputation. With them theological subjects have their seat in the lowest region along with scientific subjects; with some the former are mingled with the latter; with others the two cannot be so mingled. In the same region but still lower are political subjects, and beneath these again moral subjects, for in such persons the two higher regions are not opened on the right hand; and in consequence they have no interior reason from judgment and no affection for justice, but only a cleverness which enables them to talk on every subject as if from intelligence and to confirm whatever presents itself as if from reason; but the objects of reason which they chiefly love are falsities, because these adhere to the fallacies of the senses. This is why there are so many in the world who no more see truths of doctrine from the Word than those blind can see; and when such hear truths they hold their nostrils, lest the scent of the truths should disturb them and excite nausea; while on the other hand, they open all their senses to falsities and drink them in as whales drink in water.”
Once when I was meditating about the dragon and the beast and the false prophet spoken of in the Apocalypse, an angelic spirit appeared to me and asked, “What are you meditating about?” And I said, “About the false prophet.”
Then he said, “I will take you to the place where those are who are meant by the false prophet;” and he added that they are the same as are meant in the thirteenth chapter of the Apocalypse by “the beast rising up out of the earth,” which had two horns like a lamb, and which spoke like a dragon.
I followed him, and lo, I saw a great crowd, in the midst of which were leaders of the church who taught that nothing saves man but faith in the merit of Christ; and that works are good, but contribute nothing to salvation, and yet should be taught from the Word in order that the laity, especially the simple, may be held more firmly in the bonds of obedience to magistrates, and may be compelled as if from religion, and thus from within, to practice moral charity.
[2] Then one of them, seeing me, said, “Would you like to see our temple, in which there is an image representative of our faith?”
I approached and looked, and behold the temple was magnificent. In the center of it was an image of a woman clad in scarlet robes, holding in her right hand a golden coin, and in her left a chain of pearls. But both the image and the temple were produced through phantasy; for through phantasies infernal spirits are able to represent magnificent things by closing up the interiors of the mind and opening the exteriors only. When, however, I observed that these things were such juggleries, I prayed to the Lord, and immediately the interiors of my mind were opened, and then in place of a magnificent temple I saw a house full of chinks from top to bottom, tumbling all to pieces; and in place of the woman, I saw hanging within the building a figure with a head like a dragon’s, a body like a leopard’s, its feet like bear’s feet, and its mouth like that of a lion, thus precisely like the beast described as rising up out of the sea (Rev. 13:2); and for a floor there was a bog with a multitude of frogs in it, and I was told that underneath the bog was a large hewn stone, with the Word hidden deep below it.
Seeing this I said to the juggler, “Is this your temple?” And he said, “It is.”
But suddenly he, too, had his inner sight opened, and from it he saw the same things that I did, and he cried out loudly, “What is this, and whence is it?”
And I said, “It is from the light of heaven, which discloses the quality of every outward shape, and thus the quality of your faith separate from spiritual charity.”
[3] And presently a wind blew up from the east and swept away the temple and the image and dried up the bog and thus laid bare the stone beneath which the Word was lying. And then a warmth like that of spring breathed upon it from heaven, and behold in the same place a tabernacle simple in outward form appeared.
And the angels who were with me said, “Behold the tabernacle of Abraham, as it was when the three angels came to him and foretold the birth of Isaac. To the eye it appears simple, but it becomes more and more magnificent according to the influx of light from heaven.”
It was granted them to open the heaven occupied by spiritual angels, who are in wisdom. And at once from the light flowing in from that heaven the tabernacle appeared like a temple similar to that at Jerusalem. And when I looked inside I saw the foundation-stone under which the Word was deposited, set about with precious stones, and from these a kind of effulgence beamed upon the walls, on which were figures of cherubim, and the glow beautifully variegated the walls with colors.
[4] While I wondered at these things the angels said, “You shall see something still more wonderful.” And it was granted them to open the third heaven, where celestial angels dwell who are in a state of love; and then because of the flamy light flowing in from that heaven the whole temple vanished, and in its place the Lord alone was seen standing upon the foundation-stone, which was the Word, appearing in the same form in which He appeared to John (Rev. 1). But as the interiors of the angels’ minds were then filled with a holiness which impelled them to fall down upon their faces, the way by which the light came from the third heaven was immediately closed by the Lord, and a way was opened for light from the second heaven, and this caused the temple to assume its former aspect, and also the tabernacle, which was now in the center of the temple.
This was an illustration of what is meant in the Apocalypse by these words:
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them (21:3).
And by these words:
I saw no temple in the New Jerusalem, for the Lord God the Almighty is the temple thereof, and the Lamb (21:22).
As I have been permitted by the Lord to behold wonderful things in the heavens and beneath the heavens, it behooves me, as commanded, to relate what has been seen.
There was seen a magnificent palace, and in the innermost parts of it a temple, and in the center of the temple a golden table upon which the Word was lying, and two angels stood beside it. Around the table were seats in triple rows. The seats of the first row were covered with cloth of pure silk, purple colored; those of the second row with cloth of sky-blue silk; and those of the third row with white cloth.
Beneath the roof, high above the table, a wide canopy was seen ablaze with precious stones, from the glow of which shone a rainbow, such as is seen when the sky is clearing after a shower. Presently a number of the clergy equal to the number of the seats appeared and occupied the seats, all clothed in the garments of the priestly office. At one side was a wardrobe where an angel keeper stood; and within it arranged in beautiful order splendid robes were lying.
This was a council called together by the Lord; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Deliberate.”
But they asked, “On what subject?”
It was said, “On the Lord the Savior, and on the Holy Spirit.” But when they began to meditate on these subjects they were not in a state of enlightenment; therefore they prayed, and a light then flowed down from heaven; and first the back part of their heads were lighted up, then their temples and at last their faces. Then they began to deliberate, and first, as bidden, in regard to the Lord the Savior.
[2] And the first point proposed and discussed was, Who assumed the Human in the Virgin Mary?
And the angel standing beside the table upon which was the Word, read to them the following from Luke:
The angel said to Mary, Behold thou shalt conceive in the womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And Mary said to the angel, How shall this thing be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing that is born of thee shall be called the Son of God (1:31, 32, 34, 35).
Then he read the following from Matthew:
The angel said to Joseph in a dream, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy bride, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son and he called His name Jesus (Matt. 1:20, 25).
We also read other passages from the Gospels (as Matt. 3:17; 17:5; John 1:18; 3:16; 20:31); and many others elsewhere, in which the Lord in respect to His Human is called the Son of God, and where from His Human He calls Jehovah His Father. We read also from the Prophets, where it is foretold that Jehovah Himself would come into the world; among them these two passages from Isaiah:
It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him that He may deliver us; this is Jehovah; we have waited for Him; let us exult and be glad in His salvation (25:9).
The voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah; make level in the wilderness a highway for our God. For the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Behold, the Lord Jehovah cometh in strength, He shall feed His flock like a shepherd (40:3, 5, 10, 11).
[3] And the angel said, “Because Jehovah Himself came into the world and assumed the Human He is called in the Prophets Savior and Redeemer. Then he read to them the following passages:
Among Thee alone is God, and there is no God besides. Surely Thou art a hidden God, O God of Israel, the Savior (Isa. 45:14, 15).
Am not I Jehovah? And there is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Savior, there is none beside Me (Isa. 45:21, 22).
I am Jehovah, and beside Me there is no Savior (Isa. 43:11).
I am Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt acknowledge no God beside Me, and there is no Savior beside Me (Hos. 13:4).
That all flesh may know that I Jehovah am thy Savior and thy Redeemer (Isa. 49:26; 60:16).
As for our Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts is His name (Isa. 47:4).
Their Redeemer is strong, Jehovah of Hosts is His name (Jer. 50:34).
O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer (Ps. 19:14).
Thus said Jehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am Jehovah thy God (Isa. 48:17; 43:14; 49:7; 54:8).
Thou, Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is Thy name (Isa. 63:16).
Thus said Jehovah thy redeemer, I am Jehovah that maketh all things, even alone by Myself (Isa. 44:24).
Thus said Jehovah the King of Israel, and His Redeemer Jehovah of hosts, I am the first, and I am the last; and besides Me there is no God (Isa. 44:6).
Jehovah of Hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called (Isa. 54:5).
Behold the days come, when I shall raise up unto David a righteous branch, and He shall reign as king, and this is His name, Jehovah, our Righteousness (Jer. 23:5, 6; 33:15, 16).
In that day Jehovah shall be king over all the earth; in that day Jehovah shall be one, and His name one (Zech. 14:9).
[4] Strengthened in belief by all these passages, those that sat upon the seats unanimously declared, that Jehovah himself assumed the Human that He might redeem and save men.
And thereupon from some Roman Catholics who had hidden themselves behind the altar a voice was heard saying, “How can Jehovah God become a man? Is He not the creator of the universe?”
And one of those on the second row of seats turned about and said, “Who then was it?”
And he who had been behind the altar and was now standing near it said, “The Son from eternity.”
But he received the reply, “Is not the Son from eternity, according to your confession of faith, also the Creator of the universe? Moreover, what is a Son and a God born from eternity? And how can the Divine essence, which is one and indivisible, be separated, and one part of it descend and not the whole at once?”
[5] The second subject of discussion about the Lord, was whether the Father and He are thus one as soul and body are one; and they said that this follows, because the soul is from the father.
Then one of those who sat on the third row of seats read from what is called the Athanasian Creed as follows, “Although our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man, yet these are not two, but one Christ; yea, one altogether; He is one person; since as the soul and body make one Man, so God and Man is one Christ.” The reader said that this creed, in which these words are found, is accepted throughout the Christian world, even by the Roman Catholics.
The others said, “What more is needed? God the Father and He are one as soul and body are one.” And they said, “This being so, we see that the Lord’s Human is Divine because it is the Human of Jehovah; also that it is the Lord as to His Divine human who is to be approached, and that thus and in no other way can the Divine which is called the Father be approached.”
[6] This conclusion of theirs the angel confirmed by many passages from the Word, among which were the following:
Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and His name, Wonderful, Counselor, God, Mighty, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6).
Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us; Thou, Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer from everlasting is Thy name (Isa. 63:16).
And in John:
Jesus said, He that believeth in Me believeth in Him that sent Me; and he that seeth Me seeth Him that sent me (John 12:44, 45).
Philip said to Jesus, Show us the Father, Jesus saith unto him, he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me (John 14:8-11).
Jesus said, I and My Father are one (John 10:30).
All things that the Father hath are Mine; and all Mine are the Father’s (John 16:15; 17:10).
Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one cometh unto the Father but by Me (John 14:6).
To all this the reader added, that things like those here said by the Lord about himself and his Father might also be said by man about himself and his own soul. Having heard this they all with one voice and one heart declared that the Lord’s human is Divine, and that this human must be approached in order to approach the Father, since by means of it Jehovah God sent himself thus accessible. To the ancients in like manner He made Himself visible, and thus accessible in a Human Form; but then through an angel. But as that form was representative of the Lord who was to come, so with the ancients all things pertaining to the church were representative.
[7] This was followed by a deliberation about the Holy Spirit. In the first place there was set forth the idea of many respecting God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, namely, that God the Father sits on high with the Son at His right hand, and that the two send forth from themselves the Holy Spirit to enlighten, teach, justify and sanctify mankind.
Then a voice from heaven was heard saying, “That idea of thought is to us unbearable. Who does not know that Jehovah God is omnipresent? And whoever knows and acknowledges this must acknowledge that He Himself enlightens, teaches, justifies, and sanctifies; and that there is no mediating God distinct from Him, still less a God distinct from two Gods, as one person from another person. Therefore have done with the former idea, which is foolish, and let this which is the right idea be accepted, and you will see the matter clearly.”
[8] Then a voice from the Roman Catholics who were standing near the altar of the temple was heard saying, “What, then, is the Holy Spirit which is mentioned in the Word in the Gospels and in Paul, by which so many learned men of the clergy, especially our own, say they are led? Who at this day in the Christian world denies the Holy Spirit and its operations?”
At these words one of those sitting on the second row of seats turned about and said, You say that the Holy Spirit is a person by Himself and a God by Himself; but what is a person going out of and forth from a person but an operation going out and forth? One person cannot go out of or forth from another, but operation can. Or what is a God going out of or proceeding from God, but an outgoing and proceeding Divine? One God cannot go out of or forth from another God, and through still another, but the Divine can go out and forth from one God.”
[9] On hearing these words those sitting on the seats unanimously concluded that the Holy Spirit is not a person by itself, nor thus a God by itself, but is the Holy Divine going out of and forth from the one only and omnipresent God, who is the Lord.
At this the angels who stood near the golden table upon which was the Word said, “It is well. Nowhere does one read in the Old Covenant that the prophets spoke the Word from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah; and in the new Covenant wherever the Holy Spirit is mentioned it means the Divine going forth, which is the Divine enlightening, teaching, vivifying, reforming, and regenerating.”
[10] After this another discussion about the Holy Spirit followed on this point, From whom does the Divine that is meant by the Holy Spirit go forth, whether from the Father or from the Lord? While they were discussing this subject a light from heaven beamed upon them by which they saw that the Holy Divine, which is meant by the Holy Spirit, does not go forth out of the Father through the Lord, but out of the Lord from the Father, comparatively as man’s activity goes forth, not from the soul through the body, but out of the body from the soul.
The angel who stood near the table confirmed this by the following passages from the Word:
He whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God; for not by measure doth God give the Spirit unto Him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand (John 3:34, 35).
And there shall go forth a Shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding; the spirit of counsel and might (Isa. 9:1, 2).
That the Spirit of Jehovah was put upon Him and was in Him (Isa. 42:1, 49:19, 20; 51:1; Luke 4:18).
When the Holy Spirit is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father (John 15:26).
He shall glorify Me, for He shall take of Mine and shall declare it unto you. All things whatsoever the Father hath are Mine therefore said I that He shall take of Mine and shall declare it unto you (John 16:14, 15).
If I go away I will send the Comforter unto you (John 16:7).
That the Comforter is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26).
The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 8:39).
But after the glorification:
Jesus breathed upon the disciples, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).
And in the Apocalypse:
Who shall not glorify Thy name, O Lord? for Thou alone art holy (15:4).
[11] As the Holy Spirit means the Lord’s Divine operation from His Divine omnipresence, so when He spoke to His disciples about the Holy Spirit whom He would send from the Father He also said:
I will not leave you orphans. I go away and I come unto you. And in that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:18, 20, 28).
And just before He left the world He said:
Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the consummation of the age (Matt. 28:20).
Having read these passages to them the angel said, “From these and many other passages from the Word it is clear that the Divine which is called the Holy Spirit goes forth out of the Lord from the Father.”
Hereupon those who sat upon the seats said, “This is Divine truth.”
[12] Finally the following decree was adopted: “From the deliberation of this council we have clearly seen and therefore acknowledge as holy truth, that in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ there is a Divine trinity, namely, the Divine from which (a quo), which is called the Father, the Divine Human which is called the Son, and the Divine going forth which is called the Holy Spirit;” and together they cried out that:
“In Christ dwelleth all the fulness of Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9).
Thus in the church God is one.”
[13] When this conclusion had been reached in that magnificent council the members arose; and an angel keeper came from the wardrobe bringing to each one of those occupying the seats splendid garments interwoven here and there with golden threads; and he said, “Accept these wedding garments.” And they were conducted in glory to the new Christian heaven, with which the Lord’s church on earth, which is the New Jerusalem, will be conjoined.
THE SACRED SCRIPTURE OR WORD OF THE LORD
I. THE SACRED SCRIPTURE OR THE WORD IS DIVINE TRUTH ITSELF.
It is on everyone’s lips that the Word is from God, is Divinely inspired, and is therefore holy; and yet it has not been known heretofore where in the Word its Divinity resides. For in its letter the Word appears like ordinary writing, foreign in style, neither lofty nor brilliant as the writings of the present time are in appearance. For this reason the man who worships nature instead of God or more than God, and whose thought therefore is from himself and his selfhood and not from the Lord out of heaven, may easily fall into error respecting the Word, and into contempt for it, and when reading it may say to himself, What does this and that mean? Is this Divine? Can God, whose wisdom is infinite speak thus? Wherein and wherefrom is its holiness, except from some religious notion and consequent persuasion?
Jesus said, The words that I speak unto you are spirit and are life (John 6:63).
Jesus said to the woman at Jacob’s well, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of Him and He would give thee living water. Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:6, 10, 11, 14);
“Jacob’s well” signifying the Word. (As also in Deut. 33:28). Therefore the Lord, because He is the Word, sat there and talked with the woman. “Living water” signifies the truth of the Word:
Jesus said, If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:37, 38).
Peter said to Jesus, Thou hast the words of eternal life (John 6:68).
Jesus said, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away (Mark 13:31).
The Lord’s words are Truth and Life because He is the Truth and the Life, as He teaches in John:
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life (14:6);
and in the same:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men (1:1, 4).
“The Word” means the Lord in respect to Divine truth, in whom alone there is life and there is light. For this reason the Word, which is from the Lord and which is the Lord, is called:
The fountain of living waters (Jer. 2:13; 17:13; 31:9)
The fountain of salvation (Isa. 12:3)
A fountain (Zech. 13:1)
And the river of the water of life (Apoc. 22:1);
and it is said that:
The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall guide them unto living fountains of waters (Apoc. 7:17)
with other things also in passages where the Word is also called “a sanctuary” and “a tabernacle,” wherein the Lord dwells with man.
When it is asserted that inasmuch as the Word is Divine it is in its bosom spiritual, who does not acknowledge and assent to the statement? But who has known as yet what the spiritual is, and where in the Word it is stored up? What the spiritual is will be made clear in the Memorable Relation at the end of this chapter; and where it is hidden in the Word shall be shown in what now follows. The Word in its bosom is spiritual, because it descended from Jehovah the Lord, and passed through the angelic heavens; and in its descent the Divine itself, which in itself is ineffable and unperceivable, became adapted to the perception of angels, and finally to the perception of men. From this is the spiritual sense, which is inwardly in the natural, as the soul is in man, as the thought of the understanding is in speech, and as the will’s affection is in action; and if it is permissible to compare it with such things as appear to the eye in the natural world, the spiritual sense is in the natural sense as the whole brain is within its meninges or matres, or as a tree’s branches are within their barks and coats, or as all things needful for the production of a chick are within the shell of the egg, and so on. But that there is such a spiritual sense of the Word in its natural sense no one as yet has divined; and for that reason it is necessary that this arcanum (which in itself stands pre-eminent over all arcana hitherto disclosed) should be made clear to the understanding, as it will be when explained in the following order:
(1) What the spiritual sense is.
(2) This sense is in each and every part of the Word.
(3) It is because of this sense that the Word is Divinely inspired, and holy in every word.
(4) Heretofore this sense has been unknown.
(5) Henceforth it will be given only to such as are in genuine truths from the Lord.
(6) Wonderful things respecting the Word, from its spiritual sense.
These propositions will now be unfolded separately.
I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. And His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, having a name written that no man but Himself knoweth. And He was clothed in a garment dyed in blood and His name is called The Word of God. His armies in heaven were following Him upon white horses, and were clothed in fine linen, white and clean. He hath on His garment and on His thigh a name written King of kings and Lord of lords. I saw also an angel standing in the sun, who cried with a loud voice, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper; that ye may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders of thousands and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of those that sit on them, and the flesh of all, free and bond, small and great (19:11-18).
What these words signify no one can see except from the spiritual sense of the Word; and no one can see the spiritual sense except from a knowledge of correspondences for all these words are correspondences, and not one of them is void of meaning. The science of correspondences teaches the significance of “the white horse,” of “Him who sat upon him,” of “His eyes” which were “like a flame of fire,” of “the diadems on His head,” “the garment dyed in blood,” “the white linen” with which those were clothed who belonged to His army in heaven, of “the angel standing in the sun,” of “the great supper” to which the fowls of heaven “came and were gathered together” and of “the flesh of kings and commanders of thousands” and many others whose flesh they were to eat. [2] But what each particular thing signifies in the spiritual sense can be seen explained in the Apocalypse Revealed (n. 820-838) and also in the little work on The White Horse; therefore further explanation of them is unnecessary. It is there shown that it is the Lord as to the Word who is described; and that by “His eyes which were like a flame of fire” the Divine wisdom of His Divine love is meant; and by “the diadems on His head” and “the name which no one but Himself knew” the Divine truths of the Word from Him are meant, and that the nature of the Word in its spiritual sense is seen by none but the Lord and him to whom He reveals it; also by “His garment dyed in blood” the natural sense of the Word is meant, which is the sense of the letter, to which violence has been done. It is very clear that it is the Word that is thus described, for it is said, “His name is called the Word of God.” That it is the Lord who is meant is equally clear, for it is said that the name of the One sitting upon the white horse was, “King of kings and Lord of lords,” the same as in Apoc. 17:14, where it is said, “And the Lamb shall overcome them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings.” [3] That the spiritual sense of the Word is to be opened at the end of the church is signified not only by what is said of the white horse and Him who sat upon it, but also by the great supper to which the angel standing in the sun invited all [the fowls of heaven] to come, and to eat the flesh of kings, of commanders of thousands, and so forth; by which is signified the appropriation of all goods from the Lord. All these expressions would be empty words, and without life and spirit, if there were no spiritual sense with in them like the soul in the body.
That in her there was light like unto a stone most precious, as it were a jasper atone shining like crystal. And she had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and above the gates twelve angels, and the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel written thereon. That the wall was a hundred and forty and four cubits, which was the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. That the building of the wall was of jasper, and its foundations were of every precious stone, jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, hyacinth, and amethyst. That the gates were twelve pearls. That the city itself was pure gold like pure glass, and was four square and her length, breadth, and height were equal, twelve thousand furlongs; and so forth (21:11, 12, 16-21).
That all this is to be understood spiritually can be seen from what is set forth in the Apocalypse Revealed (n. 880), that “the New Jerusalem” means a new church that is to be established by the Lord. And since “Jerusalem” here signifies the church it follows that everything said of it as a city, of its gates, its wall, the foundations of its wall, and also its dimensions contains a spiritual sense, for whatever relates to the church is spiritual. What these things signify has been shown in the Apocalypse Revealed (n. 896-925); therefore further explanation would be superfluous. It is sufficient to know from this that there is a spiritual sense in every particular of the above description, like the soul in the body, and without that sense nothing relating to the church could be seen in what is there written; as, that the city was of pure gold, its gates of pearls, its wall of jasper, the foundations of the wall of precious stones; that the wall was one hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel; that the city was twelve thousand furlongs in length, breadth, and height; and so on. But all this is understood by anyone who from a knowledge of correspondences is acquainted with the spiritual sense; as, that the wall and its foundations signify the doctrinals of that church drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word; also that the numbers twelve, one hundred and forty-four, and twelve thousand, signify all things of the church, that is, its truths and goods in one complex.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth wail, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send forth the angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the end of the heavens even to the end thereof (Matt. 24:29-31).
When understood spiritually this does not mean that the sun and moon would be darkened, that the stars would fall from heaven, and that the sign of the Lord was to appear in the heavens, and that they were to see Him in the clouds, and also angels with trumpets; but by each particular word here something spiritual pertaining to the church is meant, the state of the church at its end being here treated of. For in the spiritual sense “the sun” that shall be darkened means love to the Lord; “the moon” that shall not give her light means faith in the Lord; “the stars” that shall fall from heaven mean knowledges of what is true and good; “the sign of the Son of man in heaven” means the appearing of Divine truth in the Word from Him; that “the tribes of the earth shall wail” means a failing of all truth pertaining to faith, and of all good pertaining to love; “the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven with power and glory” means the Lord’s presence in the Word and revelation; “the clouds of heaven” signify the sense of the letter of the Word, and “glory” signifies its spiritual sense; “angels with the great sound of a trumpet” mean heaven from whence comes Divine truth; “the gathering together of the elect from the four winds, from the end of the heavens even to the end thereof” means a new heaven and a new church formed of those who have faith in the Lord and who live according to His commandments. That this does not mean the darkening of the sun and moon and the falling of the stars to the earth, is very clear from like statements in the prophets respecting the state of the church, when the Lord was about to come into the world; as in Isaiah:
Behold the day of Jehovah shall come, cruel and of the burning of anger. The stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its rising, and the moon shall not make its light to shine. I will visit malice upon the world (13:9-11; 24:21, 23).
In Joel:
The day of Jehovah cometh, a day of darkness and of thick darkness; the sun and moon shall be blackened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining (2:1, 2, 10; 3:15).
In Ezekiel:
I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not make her light to shine. All the luminaries of light will I make dark, and I will set darkness upon the land (32:7, 8).
By “the day of Jehovah” the coming of the Lord is meant, which took place when there no longer remained in the church any good of love or truth of faith, or any knowledge of the Lord; therefore it is called “a day of darkness and of thick darkness.”
The kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise, but five were foolish. They that were foolish taking their lamps took no oil; but the wise took oil in their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. But the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered saying Peradventure, there will not be enough for us and you; go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. But while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with Him to the wedding, and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not (Matt. 25:1-12).
That in all these particulars there is a spiritual sense and therefore a Divine holiness, no one sees except he who knows that the Word has a spiritual sense and who knows what that sense is. In the spiritual sense “the kingdom of the heavens” means heaven and the church; “the bridegroom” means the Lord; “the wedding” means the marriage of the Lord with heaven and the church, through good of love and truth of faith; “the virgins” mean those who constitute the church; “ten” means all; “five” some portion; “lamps” things pertaining to faith; “oil” things pertaining to good of love; “to sleep” and “to arise” means man’s life in the world which is natural, and his life after death which is spiritual; “to buy” means to procure for oneself; “going to those who sell and buying oil” means to procure for oneself good of love from others after death; and because good of love is then no longer to be procured, although they came to the door where the wedding feast was with their lamps and the oil they had bought, still the bridegroom said to them, “I know you not;” this is because man, after his life in the world, remains such as he had lived in the world. From all this it is clear that the Lord spoke solely by correspondences, and this because He spoke from the Divine that was in Him and was His. As “virgins” signify those who constitute the church, so the terms virgin and daughter of Zion, of Jerusalem, of Judah, and of Israel, are frequently used in the prophetic Word. And because “oil” signifies good of love, all the sacred things of the church were anointed with oil. It is the same with the other parables, and with all the words spoken by the Lord. This is why the Lord says that His words are spirit and are life (John 6:63).
[2] Likewise when he sees that gardens, groves, forests, and their trees, as the olive, the vine, the cedar, the poplar, the oak, are so frequently mentioned in the Word, also the lamb, the sheep, the goat, the calf, the ox; also mountains, hills, and valleys, and their fountains, rivers, and waters, and many other such things, one who knows nothing about the spiritual sense of the Word cannot but believe that these objects alone are meant; for he does not know that “a garden,” “a grove,” and “a forest,” mean wisdom, intelligence and knowledge; that “the olive,” “the vine,” “the cedar,” “the poplar,” and “the oak,” mean the good and truth of the church, celestial, spiritual, rational, natural, and sensual; that “a lamb,” “a sheep,” “a goat,” “a calf,” and “an ox,” mean innocence, charity, and natural affection; and that “mountains,” “hills,” and “valleys,” mean the higher, the lower, and the lowest things of the church. [3] Also he does not know that “Egypt” signifies the scientific, “Assyria” the rational, “Edom” the natural, “Moab” the adulteration of good, “the sons of Ammon” the adulteration of truth, “the Philistines” faith separate from charity, “Tyre and Sidon” knowledges of good and truth, and “Gog” external worship apart from internal. In general “Jacob” means in the Word the natural church, “Israel” the spiritual church, and “Judah” the celestial church. When man knows all this he is able to see that the Word treats of nothing but heavenly things, and that these worldly things are merely the subjects which contain the heavenly. Let this be illustrated by an example from the Word. [4] We read in Isaiah:
In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, that Assyria may come into Egypt and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians may serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be a third to Egypt and to Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the land; whom Jehovah of Hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be My people Egypt, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance (19:23-25).
In the spiritual sense this means that at the time of the Lord’s coming the scientific, the rational and the spiritual will make one, and that the scientific will then serve the rational, and both the spiritual; for, as said before, “Egypt” signifies the scientific, “Assyria” the rational, and “Israel” the spiritual. “That day” twice mentioned, means the first and the second coming of the Lord.
“The Philistines” themselves signified those who are in faith separate from charity; “Dagon” represented that religion; “the tumors” with which they were smitten, signified natural loves, which when separated from spiritual love are unclean; “the mice” signified the devastation of the church by falsifications of truth; “the new cart” signified natural doctrine of the church (as doctrine from spiritual truths is signified in the Word by “a chariot”); “the cows” signified good natural affections; “the golden tumors” signified natural loves purified and made good; “the golden mice” signified the vastation of the church removed by means of good (“gold” in the Word signifying good); “the lowing of the cows in the way” signified the difficult conversion of the natural man’s lust of evil to good affections; the offering of the cows together with the cart as a burnt offering, signified that thus the God of Israel was propitiated. All these things which the Philistines did by the advice of their diviners were correspondences from which it is clear that that knowledge was long preserved among the nations.
Therefore a star went before them, and they brought with them gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matt. 2:1, 2, 9-11);
for “the star” that went before signified knowledge from heaven; “gold” signified celestial good; “frankincense” spiritual good; and “myrrh” natural good; from which three all worship proceeds. Nevertheless, with the Israelitish and Jewish nation there was no knowledge whatever of correspondences, although every thing pertaining to their worship, and all the statutes and judgments given them by Moses, and all things in the Word, were pure correspondences. This was because in heart the Jews were idolaters, and therefore such that they were not even willing to know that anything in their worship signified what is heavenly and spiritual; for they believed that all things of their worship were holy in themselves; and therefore if things heavenly and spiritual had been disclosed to them they would not only have rejected them but also have profaned them. For this reason heaven was so closed to them that they scarcely knew that there was any eternal life. The truth of this is plainly evident from the fact that they did not acknowledge the Lord, although the whole Sacred Scripture prophesied of Him and foretold His coming. They rejected Him solely for the reason that He taught them of a heavenly instead of an earthly kingdom; for they wanted a Messiah who would exalt them above all the nations in the whole world, and not a Messiah who would have regard to their eternal salvation.
[2] That each truth and all truths of the Word shine has been made evident to me by the fact that when any least sentence from it is written out upon paper, and this is thrown into the air, the very paper shines in the form in which it has been cut. Thus by means of the Word spirits can produce a variety of shining forms, also the forms of birds and fishes. Again, what is still more wonderful, when anyone rubs his face, his hands, or the clothing he has on, with the open Word, touching them with the writing, the face itself, the hands, and the clothing shine as though he were standing in a star encompassed by its light. This I have seen very often, and wondered at it. Thus it was made clear to me how it was that Moses’ face shone when he brought the tables of the covenant down from Mount Sinai. [3] Besides these there are many other wonderful things there which are from the Word; for instance, if anyone who is in falsities looks towards the Word as it lies in its holy place a darkness comes over his eyes, and in consequence the Word appears to him to be black, and sometimes as if covered with soot; and if he likewise touches the Word an explosion follows with a crash, and he is thrown to a corner of the room, and lies there for a brief hour as if dead. If something from the Word is written on a paper by one who is in falsities, and the paper is thrown up toward heaven, a like explosion follows in the air between his eyes and heaven, and the paper is torn to shreds and vanishes; the same thing happens if the paper is thrown towards an angel standing near. This I have often seen.
[4] It has thus been made clear to me that those who are in falsities of doctrine have no communication with heaven through the Word, but their reading of it is dissipated on the way and is lost, like gunpowder wrapped in paper when ignited and thrown into the air. The opposite occurs with those who are in truths of doctrine from the Lord through the Word; their reading of the Word penetrates even into heaven and effects conjunction with the angels there. The angels themselves, when they descend from heaven to discharge any duty below, appear surrounded with little stars, especially about the head; which is a sign that Divine truths from the Word are in them. [5] Furthermore, in the spiritual world things exist similar to those on earth; but there each thing and all things are from a spiritual origin. Thus gold and silver exist there, and all kinds of precious stones, and the spiritual origin of these is the sense of the letter of the Word; and on this account in the Apocalypse the foundations of the wall of the New Jerusalem are described by twelve precious stones. The reason of this is that the foundations of its wall signify the doctrinals of the New Church, which are derived from the sense of the letter of the Word. For the same reason there were twelve precious stones called Urim and Thummim in Aaron’s ephod, by means of which responses were given from heaven. There are many other wonderful things proceeding from the Word that have relation to the power of the truth within it. This power is so great that if described it would surpass all belief; for it is such that it overturns mountains and hills there, and removes them afar off, and hurls them into the sea; and many things besides. In short the power of the Lord proceeding from the Word is infinite.
In everything Divine there is a first, a middle, and a last, the first passing through the middle to the last, and so existing and subsisting; consequently the last is the basis. Again, the first is in the middle, and through the middle in the last; thus the last is the Containant. And since the last is the Containant and the Basis, it is also the Support. The learned can understand that these three may be called end, cause, and effect; also being [esse], becoming [fieri] and standing forth [existere]; and that the end is being, the cause is becoming, and the effect is standing forth; consequently that in every complete thing there is a trine, which is called the first, the middle, and the last, also end, cause, and effect. When this is understood, it can also be understood that every Divine work is complete and perfect in its last; also that the whole is in the last, because in it prior things are together.
That Isaiah went naked and barefoot three years (Isa. 20:3).
That Jehovah called Samuel three times, and Samuel three times ran to Eli, and the third time Eli understood (1 Sam. 3:1-8).
That Jonathan told David to hide himself in the field three days, and Jonathan afterwards shot three arrows on the side of the stone, and thereupon David bowed himself three times before Jonathan (1 Sam. 20:5, 12-42).
That Elijah stretched himself upon the widow’s son three times (1 Kings 17:21).
That Elijah commanded them to pour water upon the burnt offering three times (1 Kings 18:34).
That Jesus said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened (Matt. 13:33).
That Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times (Matt. 26:34).
That three times Jesus said to Peter, Lovest thou Me? (John 21:15-17).
That Jonah was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17).
That Jesus said that He would destroy the temple and would rebuild it in three days (John 2:19; Matt. 26:61).
That Jesus prayed in Gethsemane three times (Matt. 26:39-44). That Jesus rose on the third day (Matt. 28:1)
besides many other passages where the number three is mentioned; and it is mentioned where a finished and perfect work is treated of, because this is what that number signifies.
That Jehovah creates over all the glory a covering (Isa. 4:5).
In the sense of the letter the Word is in its fullness, its holiness, and its power, because the two prior or interior senses, which are called spiritual and celestial, exist simultaneously in the natural sense which is the sense of the letter (as stated above, n. 210, 212). How they exist simultaneously shall be further explained. In heaven and in the world there is successive order and there is simultaneous order. In successive order one thing succeeds and follows another from the highest down to the lowest; but in simultaneous order one thing stands next to another from inmosts even to outermosts. Successive order is like a column arranged in steps from summit to base; while simultaneous order is like a work coherent with the circumferences from the center even to the outmost surface. I will now explain how successive order becomes simultaneous order in the outmost. It is done as follows: the highest things of successive order become the inmost things of simultaneous order; and the lowest things of successive order become the outermost things of simultaneous order; comparatively as a column arranged in steps when it subsides becomes a body coherent in a plane. Thus is the simultaneous formed from the successive, and this in each and all things both of the natural world and of the spiritual world; for there is everywhere a first, a middle, and a last, and the first tends and passes through the middle to its last. But it must be clearly understood that there are degrees of purity in accordance with which both of these orders are determined. [2] Now in respect to the Word: the celestial, the spiritual, and the natural go forth from the Lord in successive order; and in the outmost they exist in simultaneous order; and thus the celestial and spiritual senses of the Word exist simultaneously in its natural sense. When this is comprehended it can be seen how the natural sense of the Word is the containant, the basis, and the support of its spiritual and celestial senses; also how the Divine good and truth are in the sense of the letter of the Word in their fullness, their holiness and their power. From all this it is clear that the Word is the real Word in the sense of the letter, for inwardly in this there is spirit and life. This is what the Lord says:
The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life (John 6:63);
for the words of the Lord were spoken in the natural sense. The celestial and spiritual senses separated from the natural sense are not the Word; for they are like spirit and life without a body, and are like a palace without a foundation (as said above, n. 213).
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside may be clean also (Matt. 23:25, 26).
Here the Lord spoke by similitudes and comparisons that are also correspondences, using the terms “cup” and “platter,” “cup” not only meaning but also signifying the truth of the Word, for by the “cup” wine is meant, and “wine” signifies truth. But by “platter” food is meant, and food signifies good; therefore “to clea