THE
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
CONTAINING
THE UNIVERSAL THEOLOGY OF
THE NEW CHURCH
FORETOLD BY THE LORD IN DANIEL vii 13, 14,
AND IN THE REVELATION xxi 1, 2.
From the Latin
of
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG
SERVANT OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
THE SWEDENBORG SOCIETY (INCORPORATED)
20/21 BLOOMSBURY WAY, LONDON, W. C. 1
1950
Daniel vii 13, 14
I saw in the night visions; and, behold, one like the SON OF MAN came with the clouds of heaven; and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and all people, nations, and languages shall serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Revelation xxi 1, 2
And I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; and I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And one of the seven angels talked with me, saying, Come hither; I will shew thee THE BRIDE, THE LAMB’S WIFE. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW. And he said unto me, Write; for these words are faithful and true.
AUTHOR’S GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS
Nos.
The Faith of the New Heaven and the New Church in its General and in its
Particular Form 1-3
CHAPTER I
GOD THE CREATOR
THE UNITY OF GOD
I. The whole of the Sacred Scripture, and the doctrines thence derived
of the Churches in the Christian world, teach that there is a God, and
that He is one 5-7
II. There is a universal influx from God into the souls of men, that there
is a God, and that He is one 8
III. There is no nation in the whole world, possessing religion and sound
reason, which does not acknowledge that there is a God, and that He is one 9-10
IV. As to the nature of this one God, nations and peoples have differed, and
still differ, from several causes 11
V. Human reason may, if it will, perceive and conclude from many things in
the world, that there is a God, and that He is one 12
VI. Unless God were one, the universe could not have been created and preserved 13
VII. The man who does not acknowledge God, is excommunicated from the
Church and condemned 14
VIII. With the man who does not acknowledge one God, but several, no principle of the Church remains 15
THE DIVINE BEING WHICH IS JEHOVAH
I. The one God is called Jehovah from His Being, because He alone is, and
will be; and because He is the First and the Lest, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega 19
II. The one God is Substance itself and Form itself, and angels and men are
substances and forms from Him; and as far as they are in Him, and He in them, so far are they images and likenesses of Him 20
III. The Divine Being is Being in itself, and at the same time Existing in itself 21-22
IV. The Divine Being and Existing in itself cannot produce another Divine
that is Being and Existing in itself; consequently there cannot be another
God of the same Essence 23
V. The idea of a plurality of Gods in ancient and also in modern times
arose because the nature of the Divine Being was not understood 24
THE INFINITY OF GOD, OR HIS IMMENSITY AND ETERNITY
I. God is Infinite, because He is and exists in Himself, and all things in
the universe are and exist from Him 28
II God is Infinite, because He was before the world, and thus before space and time arose 29
III. God, since the world was created, is in space apart from space, and in time apart from time 30
IV. The Infinity of God in relation to space is called immensity, and in relation to time, eternity; and although these relations exist, yet there is nothing of space in His immensity, and nothing of time in His eternity 31
V. Every one of enlightened reason, from very many things in the world, may see the Infinity of God 32
VI. Every created thing is finite, and the Infinite is in finite things as in its receptacles, and in men as in its images 33-34
THE ESSENCE OF GOD, WHICH IS DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM
I. God is Love itself and Wisdom itself, and these two constitute His Essence 37
II. God is Good itself and Truth itself, because Good is of Love, and Truth is of Wisdom 38
III. God, because He is Love itself and Wisdom itself, is also Life itself, in itself 39-40
IV. Love and Wisdom in God make one 41-42
V. The essence of Love is to love others outside itself, to desire to be one
with them, and to make them happy from itself 43-45
VI. These properties of the Divine Love were the cause of the creation of the
universe, and they are the cause of its preservation 46-47
THE OMNIPOTENCE, OMNISCIENCE AND OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD
I. Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence are attributes of the Divine Wisdom from the Divine Love 50-51
II. The Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence of God cannot be
understood unless it is known what order is; and unless it is known that
God is Order, and that at creation He introduced order into the universe,
and into all its parts 52-55
III. The Omnipotence of God in the universe and in all its parts, proceeds
and operates according to the laws of His order 56-58
V. God is Omnipresent from first things to last of His order 63-64
VI. Men was created a form of Divine Order 65-67
VII. A men has power against evil and falsity from the Divine
Omnipotence, and wisdom from the Divine Omniscience; and he is in
God from the Divine Omnipresence, so far as he lives according to the
Divine Order 68-70
THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE
No one can form a right idea of the creation of the universe unless some general
principles are first stated which will enlighten the understanding 75
The creation of the universe is described in five Memorabilia 76-80
CHAPTER II
THE LORD THE REDEEMER
I. Jehovah God descended and assumed the Human, in order to redeem
and save mankind 82-84
II. Jehovah God descended as the Divine Truth, which is the Word,
and yet He did not separate the Divine Good 85-88
III. God assumed the Human according to His own Divine order 89-91
IV. The Human, by which God sent Himself into the world, is the Son of
God 92-94
V. The Lord, by acts of redemption, made Himself Righteousness 95-96
VI. By the same acts, the Lord united Himself to the Father, and the
Father united Himself to Him 97-100
VII. Thus God became Man, and Man God, in one Person 101-103
VIII. The progress to union was His state of exinanition, and the union
itself is His state of glorification 104-106
IX. Hereafter no Christian can enter heaven unless he believes on the
Lord God the Savior 107-108
X. A corollary concerning the state of the Church before the coming
of the Lord, and its state afterwards 109
REDEMPTION
I. Redemption itself was the subjugation of the hells, the orderly
arrangement of the heavens, and thus the preparation for a new
spiritual Church 115-117
II. Without that redemption no man could have been saved, nor
could the angels have continued in a state of integrity 118-120
III. The Lord thus redeemed not only men but also angels 121-122
IV. Redemption was a work purely Divine 123
V. This redemption itself could not have been effected but by God
incarnate 124-125
VI. The Passion of the Cross was not redemption, but the last temptation
which the Lord endured as the Supreme Prophet; and it was the
means of the glorification of His Human 126-131
VII. It is a fundamental error of the Church to believe that the passion
of the cross was redemption itself; and this error, together with that
concerning three Divine Persons from eternity, has perverted the
whole Church so that nothing spiritual remains in it 132-133
CHAPTER III
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE DIVINE OPERATION
I. The Holy Spirit is the Divine Truth, and also the Divine Virtue and
Operation proceeding from the one God, in whom is the Divine Trinity,
thus from the Lord God the Savior 139-141
II. The Divine Virtue and Operation, signified by the Holy Spirit, consist,
in general, in reformation and regeneration; and following upon these,
renewal, vivification, sanctification and justification; and following
upon these again, purification from evils and remission of sins; and
finally salvation 142-145
III. The Divine Virtue and Operation, meant by the sending of the Holy
Spirit, with the clergy consist, in particular, in enlightenment and
instruction 146-148
IV. The Lord operates these virtues in those who believe on Him 149-151
V. The Lord operates of Himself from the Father, and not the reverse 153-155
VI. A man’s spirit is his mind, and whatever proceeds from it 156-157
A corollary. It is nowhere said in the Old Testament that the Prophets
spoke from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah God; but it is
otherwise in the New Testament 158
THE DIVINE TRINITY
I. There is a Divine Trinity, which consists of Father, Son and Holy Spirit 164-165
II. These three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are three essentials of one
God which make one, as soul, body and operation make one in a man 166-169
III. Before the creation of the world this Trinity did not exist; but after
the creation of the world, when God became incarnate, it was provided
for and came into existence, and was then in the Lord God the Redeemer
and Savior, Jesus Christ 170-171
IV. A Trinity of Divine Persons from eternity, or before the world was
created, is in idea, a trinity of gods; and this idea cannot be removed
by the oral confession of one God 172-173
V. A Trinity of Persons was unknown in the Apostolic Church, but
was put forward by the Nicene Council, then introduced into the
Roman Catholic Church, and from this into the Churches that
separated from it 174-176
VI. From the Nicene and also from the Athanasian doctrine concerning
the Trinity has arisen a faith in three gods which has perverted the
whole Christian Church 177-178
VII. Hence has arisen that abomination of desolation, and that affliction,
the like of which shall never again come to pass, which the Lord
foretold in Daniel, in the Evangelists, and in the Revelation 179-181
VIII. For the same reason, unless a new heaven and a new earth were
established by the Lord, no flesh should be saved 182
IX. From a trinity of Persons, each of whom is separately God,
according to the Athanasian Creed, have arisen many discordant and
incongruous ideas concerning God, which are delusive and monstrous 183-184
CHAPTER IV
THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, OR THE WORD OF GOD
I. The Sacred Scripture, or the Word of God, is the Divine Truth itself 189-192
II. In the Word there is a spiritual sense, hitherto unknown 193
(i) What the spiritual sense is 194
From the Lord proceed the Divine celestial, the Divine
spiritual and the Divine natural 195
(ii) The spiritual sense is in the whole of the Word, and in every
part of it 196-198
The Lord, when in the world, spoke by correspondences,
thus with a spiritual and at the same time a natural meaning 199
(iii) Because of the spiritual sense the Word is Divinely inspired,
and holy in every word 200
(iv) The spiritual sense has hitherto been unknown, but it was
known among the ancients; and concerning correspondences
among them 201-207
(v) Hereafter the spiritual sense of the Word will be made known
only to those who are in genuine truths from the Lord 208
(vi) Some wonderful things concerning the Word from its spiritual
sense 209
III. The sense of the Letter of the Word is the basis, the containant and
the support of its spiritual and celestial senses 210-213
IV. The Divine Truth, in the sense of the Letter of the Word, is in its
fulness, its sanctity and its power 214-216
(i) The truths of the sense of the Letter of the Word are meant
by the precious stones which formed the foundations of the
New Jerusalem, described in Revelation xxi. 17-21, and this
from correspondence 217
(ii) The goods and truths of the Word in the sense of its Letter
correspond to the Urim and Thummim on Aaron’s ephod 218
(iii) Goods and truths in ultimates, such as are in the sense of
the Letter of the Word, are meant by the precious stones in
the garden of Eden, where the king of Tyre is said to have
been, mentioned in Ezekiel 219
(iv) The same were represented by the curtains, veils and pillars
of the tabernacle 220
(v) The same were represented by the externals of the temple
at Jerusalem 221
(vi) The Word in its glory was represented in the Lord when
He was transfigured222
(vii) The power of the Word in ultimates was represented by
the Nazirites 223
(viii) Concerning the inexpressible power of the Word 224
V. The Doctrine of the Church must be taken from the sense of the
Letter of the Word, and be confirmed by it 225, 229, 230
(i) Without doctrine, the Word is unintelligible 226-228
(ii) Genuine truth, which is the source of doctrine, in the
sense of the Letter of the Word, is manifest only to those
who are enlightened by the Lord 231-233
VI. By the sense of the Letter of the Word there is conjunction with
the Lord, and association with the angels 234-239
VII. The Word is in all the heavens, and is the source of angelic wisdom 240-242
VIII. The Church exists from the Word, and its quality with man is
according to his understanding of the Word 243-247
IX. In every detail of the Word there is the marriage of the Lord and
the Church, and consequently the marriage of good and truth 248-253
X. Heresies may be formulated from the sense of the Letter of the
Word, but it is hurtful to confirm them 254-260
(i) Many things in the Word are appearances of truth, in
which genuine truths lie concealed 257
(ii) Fallacies arise from the confirmation of appearances of truth 258
(iii) The sense of the Letter of the Word is a guard for the
genuine truths which lie concealed within it 260
(iv) The sense of the Letter of the Word was represented, and
is signified in the Word by the Cherubim 260
XI. The Lord, when He was in the world, fulfilled all things in the
Word, and thus became the Word, that is, Divine Truth, even in
ultimates 261-263
XII. Previous to the Word which is now in the world, there was a Word
which is lost 264-266
XIII. By means of the Word those also have light who are outside the
Church, and do not possess the Word 267-272
XIV. Without the Word no one would have any knowledge of God,
of heaven and hell, of a life after death, and still less of the Lord 273-276
CHAPTER V
THE CATECHISM OR DECALOGUE EXPLAINED AS TO ITS EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL SENSES
I. In the Israelitish Church the Decalogue was holiness itself; and
concerning the holiness of the ark, in which was the Law 283-286
II. The Decalogue, in the sense of the Letter, contains the general
precepts of faith and life, but in the spiritual and celestial senses,
all precepts universally 287-290
III. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt have no other God before me 291-296
IV. THE SECOND COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain 297-300
V. THE THIRD COMMANDMENT: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath to Jehovah thy God 301-304
VI. THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT: Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may be well with thee in the land 305-308
VII. THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt not kill 309-312
VIII. THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt not commit adultery 313-316
IX. THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt not steel 317-320
X. THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor 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 man-servant, nor his maid-servent, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s 325-328
XII. The Ten Commandments of the Decalogue contain everything relating to love to God, and everything relating to love towards the neighbor 329-331
CHAPTER VI
FAITH
Preface: Faith is first in time, but charity is first in respect to end 336
I. A saving faith is faith in the Lord God the Savior, Jesus Christ 337-339
Since God is visible, in whom is the invisible 339
II. The sum and substance of faith is, that he who lives well and believes aright, is saved by the Lord 340-342
The first principle of a faith in Him is the acknowledgment that He is the Son of God 342
III. A man acquires faith by approaching the Lord, learning truths
from the Word, and living according to them 343-348
(i) Concerning the being of faith its essence, its state and its form 343 and foll.
(ii) Concerning merely natural faith, which is a persuasion, counterfeiting faith 345-348
IV. A number of truths, that cohere as one whole, exalts and perfects faith 349-354
(i) The truths of faith can be multiplied to infinity 350
(ii) The truths of faith are arranged in series, and thus, as it were, into groups 351
(iii) Faith is perfected according to the number and coherence of truths 352-353
(iv) The truths of faith, however numerous and diverse they may appear, make one from the Lord 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, and Light itself, Truth and Life eternal, shown from the
Word 354
V. Faith without Charity is not faith, and charity without faith is not
Charity, and neither has life except from the Lord 355-361
(i)A man can acquire faith for himself 356
(ii) A man can acquire charity for himself 357
(iii) A man can also acquire for himself the life of faith and charity 358
(iv) But nothing of faith, or of charity, or of the life of both, is
from man, but from the Lord alone 359
(v) The difference between natural faith and spiritual faith; the
latter is in the former from the Lord 360-361
VI. The Lord, charity and faith make one, like life, will and understanding
in men; and if they are divided, each perishes like a pearl reduced to
powder 362-367
(i) The Lord with all His Divine Love, and with all His Divine
Wisdom, thus with all His Divine Life, enters by influx
into every man 364
(ii) Consequently the Lord, with all the essence of faith and
charity, enters by influx into every men 365
(iii) Those things which flow in from the Lord are received by
man according to his state and form 366
(iv) The man, however, who separates the Lord, charity and
faith, is a form not recipient but destructive of them 367
VII. The Lord is charity and faith in men, and man is charity and faith
in the Lord 368-372
(i) It is by conjunction with God that a man has salvation and
eternal life 369
(ii) There cannot be conjunction with God the Father, but
with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father 370
(iii) Conjunction with the Lord is reciprocal, that is, the Lord
is in man, and man in the Lord 371
(iv) This reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man is effected
by means of charity and faith 372
VIII. Charity and faith are together in good works 373-377
(i) Charity consists in willing what is good, and good works
consist in doing what is good from willing what is good 374
(ii) Charity and faith are merely fleeting mental abstractions
unless, whenever it is possible, they are expressed in
works, and exist together in them 375-376
(iii) Charity alone does not produce good works, still less
does faith alone; but good works are produced by charity
and faith together 377
IX. There is a true faith, a spurious faith, and a hypocritical faith 378-381
The Christian Church from its earliest infancy, began to be
infested and rent asunder by schisms and heresies 378
(i) The only true faith is faith in the Lord God, the Savior
Jesus Christ; and this faith is held by those who believe
Him to be the Son of God, and the God of heaven and earth,
and one with the Father. 379
(ii) Spurious faith is every faith that departs from the one true
faith, and is held by those who climb up some other way,
and regard the Lord not as God, but as a mere man 380
(iii) Hypocritical faith is not faith 381
X. The evil have no faith 382-384
(i) The evil have no faith, because evil is of hell, and faith is of
Heaven 383
(ii) Those in Christendom have no faith who reject the Lord
and the Word, although they live morally, and speak, teach and
write rationally, even about faith 384
CHAPTER VII
CHARITY, OR LOVE TOWARDS 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 394-396
(i) The will and the understanding 397
(ii) Good and truth 398
(iii) Love in general 399
(iv) The love of self, and the love of the world in particular 400
(v) The external and the internal man 401
(vi) The merely natural and sensual man 402
II. These three loves, when they are rightly subordinated, make a man
perfect; but when not rightly subordinated, they pervert and invert him 403-405
III. Every man individually is the neighbor who ought to be loved, but
according to the quality of his good 406-411
IV. Man collectively, constituting not only smell and great societies but
also one’s country, which is composed of such societies, is the
neighbor that ought to be loved 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 415-416
VI. To love the neighbor, strictly speaking, is not to love the person,
but the good that is in the person 417-419
VII. Charity and good works are two distinct things, like willing what
is good and doing what is good420-421
VIII. Charity itself is to act justly and faithfully in the office, business and employment in which one is engaged, and towards those with whom one has any dealings 422-424
IX. The benefactions of charity ass giving to the poor and relieving the
needy, but with prudence 425-428
X. There are [public,] domestic and private duties of charity 429-432
XI. The recreations of charity are dinners, suppers and social intercourse 433-434
XII. The first thing of charity consists in putting away evils, and the
second, in doing good actions that are of use to the neighbor 435-438
XIII. In the exercise of charity, a man does not ascribe merit to works so
long as he believes that all good is from the Lord 439-442
XIV. Moral life, when it is at the same time spiritual, is charity 443-445
XV. The friendship of love, contracted with a person without regard to
his spiritual character, is detrimental after death 446-449
XVI. There are spurious charity, hypocritical charity and dead charity 450-453
XVII. The friendship of love among the wicked is intestine hatred of one
another 454-455
XVIII. The conjunction of love to God and love towards the neighbor 456-458
CHAPTER VIII
FREE WILL
I. The precepts and dogmas of the Church at this day concerning Free
Will 463-465
II. Two trees were placed in the garden of Eden, one of life and the
other of the knowledge of good and evil, to signify that Free Will
was given to men 466-469
III. Man is not life, but a form for the reception of life from God 470-474
IV. As long as a man lives in this world, he is kept midway between
heaven and hell, and there maintained in spiritual equilibrium, which
constitutes Free Will 475-478
V. From the permission to do evil, granted to the internal man of
every one, it is clearly evident that man has Free Will in spiritual
things 479-482
VI. Without Free Will in spiritual things there would be no use for the
Word; and consequently there would be no Church 483-484
VII. Without Free Will in spiritual things a man would have nothing
wherewith to enter into reciprocal conjunction with the Lord;
and consequently there would be no imputation, but mere
predestination, which is a detestable doctrine 485
The detestable tenets of predestination are disclosed 486-488
VII. Without Free Will in spiritual things, God would be the cause of
evil, and thus there would be no imputation of charity and faith 489-492
IX. Every spiritual principle of the Church which enters in freedom,
and is received from freedom, remains; but not otherwise 493-496
X. The will and the understanding of man function under this Free
Will; but the commission of evil in both worlds, the spiritual
and the natural, is restrained by laws; otherwise society in both
worlds would perish 497-499
XI. If men had not Free Will in spiritual things, it would be possible
for all men throughout the whole world, in a single day, to be
led to believe on the Lord; but this is impossible, because nothing
remains with a man but what he receives in the exercise of Free Will 500-502
Miracles are not wrought at this day, because they destroy Free
Will in spiritual things and compel belief 501
CHAPTER IX
REPENTANCE
I. Repentance is the first essential of the Church in man 510-511
II. Contrition, which at the present day is said to precede faith, and
which is followed by the consolation of the Gospel, is not repentance 512-515
III. Mere oral confession that one is a sinner is not repentance 516-519
IV. Man is born to evils of every kind, and unless he removes them
on his part by repentance, he remains in them; and whoever remains
in them cannot be saved 520-524
What is meant by the fulfillment of the law 523-524
V. Repentance begins with the knowledge of sin, and the examination
of some particular sin in oneself 525-527
VI. Actual repentance consists in a man’s examining himself
recognizing and acknowledging his sins, praying to the Lord,
and beginning a new life 528-531
VII. True repentance consists in a man’s examining not only the acts of
his life, but also the intentions of his will 532-534
VIII. Those also repent who, although they do not examine themselves,
yet abstain from evils because they are sins; and repentance of
this kind is likewise effected by those who do the works of charity
from a religious motive 535-537
IX. Confession ought to be made before the Lord God the Savior,
and also supplication for help and power to resist evils 558-560
X. Actual repentance is easy with those who have occasionally
practiced it; but extremely difficult for those who have never done so 561-563
XI. He who has never practised repentance, or who has not looked into
and examined himself, at length does not know what is condemnatory
evil and what is saving good 564-566
CHAPTER X
REFORMATION AND REGENERATION
I. Unless a man is born again and, as it were, created anew, he
cannot enter the kingdom of God 572-575
II. The new birth or creation is effected by the Lord alone, through
charity and faith as the two means, with the co-operation of man 567-578
III. Since all men have been redeemed, all can be regenerated, every
one according to his state 579-582
IV. Regeneration takes place in a manner analogous to that in which
man is conceived, carried in the womb, born and educated 583-586
V. The first act of the new birth, which is an act of the understanding,
is called reformation; and the second, which is an act of the will
and thence of the understanding, is called regeneration 587-590
VI. The internal man must be reformed first, and the external by
means of it; and in this way the man is regenerated 591-595
VII. When this takes place there arises a combat between the internal
and the external man; and then whichever conquers rules over the
other 596-600
VIII. The regenerate man has a new will and a new understanding 601-601
IX. A regenerate man is in communion with the angels of heaven,
and an unregenerate man in communion with the spirits of hell 607-610
X. As far as a man is regenerated, his sins are removed; and this
removal is the remission of sins 611-614
XI. Regeneration cannot take place without Free Will in spiritual things 615-617
XII. Regeneration is not possible without truths, by which faith is
formed, and with which charity conjoins itself (See what is said
concerning the male and female sexes in No. 585.) 618-620
CHAPTER XI
IMPUTATION
I. Imputation is one with the present Church’s faith which, it is
held, alone justifies 626-627
II. The imputation which forms part of the faith of the present day
is twofold, the imputation of Christ’s merit and the consequent
imputation of salvation 628-631
III. The faith which imputes the merit and righteousness of Christ
the Redeemer, first took its rise from the decrees of the Council
of Nice concerning three Divine Persons from eternity; and from
that time to the present this faith has been received by the whole
Christian world 632-635
IV. Faith which imputes Christ’s merit was not known in the Apostolic
Church, which existed earlier, and is nowhere meant in the Word 636-639
V. The imputation of the merit and righteousness of Christ is impossible 640-642
VI. There is imputation, but it is imputation of good and evil 643-646
VII. The faith and imputation of the New Church cannot possibly be
held along with the faith and imputation of the former Church; if
they were brought together such a collision and conflict would ensue
as to destroy every thing of the Church in a man 647-649
VIII. The Lord imputes good to every man, and hell imputes evil to every
man 650-653
IX. Faith decides the issue with what it conjoins itself. If true faith
conjoins itself with good, the decision is for eternal life; but if
faith conjoins itself with evil, the decision is for eternal death 654-657
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 667-669
II. By the washing which is called Baptism is meant spiritual
washing. which is purification from evils and falsities, and thus
regeneration 670-673
III. Circumcision of the foreskin represented the circumcision of
the heart; and Baptism was instituted in place of circumcision
because of the Divine purpose that an internal Church should
succeed the external, which in all things, in general and in particular,
represented the internal Church 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 677-680
V. The second use of Baptism is, that the Christian may know and
acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Savior,
and follow Him 681-683
VI. The third and final use of Baptism is, that man may be regenerated 681-683
VII. By the Baptism of John a way was prepared that Jehovah God
might descend into the world and accomplish the work of redemption 688-[691]
CHAPTER XIII
THE HOLY SUPPER
I. Without a knowledge of the correspondences of natural with
spiritual things, no one can know the uses and benefits of the Holy
Supper 698-701
II. From a knowledge of correspondences it may be known what is
meant by the flesh and blood of the Lord, and that the same is
meant by the bread and wine; namely, that by the flesh of the Lord,
and by the bread, is meant the Divine Good of His Love, and
also all the good of charity; and that by the blood of the Lord,
and by wine, is meant the Divine Truth of His Wisdom, and also
all the truth of faith; and that by eating is meant appropriation 702-710
From the Word it is shown what is meant by flesh 704-705
by blood 706
by bread 707
by wine 708
III. From an understanding of what has been said above, one may
perceive that the Holy Supper contains, both as to universals
and as to particulars, all things of the Church and all things of heaven 711-715
IV. In the Holy Supper the Lord is wholly present, and the whole of
His redemption 716-718
V. The Lord is present and opens heaven to those who worthily
approach the Holy Supper; and He is also present with those who
approach it unworthily, but does not open heaven to them;
consequently, as Baptism is an introduction into the Church,
so the Holy Supper is an introduction into heaven 719-721
VI. Those worthily approach the Holy Supper who have faith in the
Lord and charity towards the neighbor; thus those who are regenerate 722-724
VII. Those who worthily approach the Holy Supper are in the Lord,
and He in them; consequently, conjunction with the Lord is
effected by the Holy Supper 725-727
VIII. The Holy Supper, to those who worthily approach it, is like
a signature and seal that they are sons of God 728-730
CHAPTER XIV
THE CONSUMMATION OF THE AGE, THE COMING OF THE LORD, AND THE NEW CHURCH
I. The consummation of the age is the lest phase or end of the Church 753-756
II. The present day is the last phase of the Christian Church, which
the Lord foretold and described in the Gospels and in the Revelation 757-759
III. This last phase of the Christian Church is night itself, in which
the former Churches came to an end 760-763
IV. After this night there follows morning, and this is the Coming of the
Lord 764-767
V. The Coming of the Lord 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 not understanding the spiritual sense of the
Word, have hitherto supposed 768-771
VI. This Coming of the Lord, which is the Second, takes place in
order that the evil may be separated from the good; and that
those may be saved who have believed and who now believe on
Him; and that from these there may be formed heaven and a
New Church on earth; and without this Coming no flesh could
be saved, Matthew xxiv. 22. 772-775
VII. This Second Coming Of the Lord is not in Person, but in the
Word, which is from Him, and thus is Himself 776-778
VIII. This Second Coming of the Lord is effected by means of a man,
to whom He has manifested Himself in person, and whom
He has filled with His spirit, to teach the doctrines of the New
Church through the Word from Him 779-780
IX. This is meant by the new heaven and the New Jerusalem
in Revelation xxi 781-785
X. This New Church is the crown of all the Churches that have
hitherto existed on the earth 786-791
SUPPLEMENT
I. The spiritual world 792-795
II. LUTHER, MELANCHTHON AND CALVIN in the spiritual world 796-799
(i) Luther in the spiritual world 796
(ii) Melanchthon in the spiritual world 797
(iii) Calvin in the spiritual world 798-799
III. The Dutch in the spiritual world 800-805
IV. The English in the spiritual world 806-812
V. The Germans in the spiritual world 813-816
VI. Roman Catholics in the spiritual world 817-821
VII. Roman Catholic Saints in the spiritual world 822-827
VIII. Mohammedans in the spiritual world 828-834
IX. Africans in the spiritual world 835-840
X. The Jews in the spiritual world 841-845
(End of Author’s numeration of Selections)
[XI.] The revelation of spiritual truth to Swedenborg; and his account of things seen and heard in the spiritual world 846-851
[XII.] A question proposed by a certain Electoral Duke of Germany,
who also held high rank in the Church 853
Containing
THE UNIVERSAL THEOLOGY OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW CHURCH
THE FAITH OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW CHURCH
This faith is presented at the outset in its general and in its particular form. It is so presented that it may serve as a preface to the whole work which follows, as a gateway, as it were, by which entrance is made to a temple, and as an epitome in which the subsequent details are duly summarized. It is said to be “The Faith of the New Heaven and the New Church” because heaven, where angels are, and the Church, in which men are, act as one like the internal and the external with man. Hence it is that the member 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 an angel of heaven as to the interiors of his mind. Thus he enters into heaven after death, and there enjoys happiness according to the degree in which those principles are united in him. It should therefore be known that this faith in its summary form is the index and gateway of the new heaven now being formed by the Lord.
[2] This is said to be the general form of the faith, and faith in its general form enters into all its particulars. It is a general article of faith that God is one in Essence and in Person, in whom is the Divine Trinity, and that He is the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ. It is a general article of faith that no man could have been saved unless the Lord had come into the world. It is a general article of faith that He came into the world in order to remove hell from man, which He accomplished by victory in combats against it. He thus subdued it, and reduced it to a state of order and obedience to Himself. It is a general article of faith that He came into the world to glorify His Human, which He assumed in the world; that is, to unite it with the Divine, from whom it came. By this means He keeps hell in order and under obedience to Himself for ever. Since this could not have been done unless He had permitted temptations to assail His Human, even the most extreme-the passion of the Cross, therefore that also He endured. These are the general articles of faith concerning the Lord.
[3] The general form of faith on the part of man is that the should believe on the Lord; for belief on Him brings about conjunction with Him, and consequently salvation. To believe on Him is to have confidence that he saves; and since no one can have this confidence except the man who lives a good life, therefore this also is understood by believing on Him. This the Lord says in John:
“This is the will of the Father, that every one that believeth on the Son may have eternal life.” vi. 40.
An in another place:
“He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” iii. 36.
* English convention would not allow the apparently indiscriminate use of capitals by Swedenborg to be followed in translation. Their use is followed only in those cases which would appear to conform to English practice:
1. Proper names; also the Demonstrative Pronoun He, His, Him; and the Reflexive and Emphatic Himself, when used of God.
2. Terms used to designate subjects for consideration.
3. Terms forming headings to chapters and sections.
4. Capitals are used to distinguish between attributes, qualities and activities Divine and human. The initial capital is used when the reference of the term Human is to the Lord, but not when the reference is to man.
“The Word was with God, and the Word was God … and the Word was made flesh.” i. 1, 14;
and again:
“I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again I leave the world and go to the Father.” xvi. 28;
and further:
“We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true; and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” 1 John v. 20.
From these passages it is clear that unless the Lord had come into the world no one could have been saved. The case is similar to-day; and therefore unless the Lord comes again into the world in the 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 the Divine Trinity, and He is the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ.
(2) A saving faith is to believe on Him.
(3) Evil actions ought not to be done, because they are of the devil and from the devil.
(4) Good actions ought to be done, because they are of God and from God.
(5) Moreover these things ought to be done by man as of himself; but he should believe that they are from the Lord acting with him and through him.
The first two particulars have reference to faith, the next two to charity, and the fifth to the union of charity and faith, and thereby of the Lord and man.
GOD THE CREATOR
The Christian Church from the time of our Lord has passed through the various stages from infancy to extreme old age. Its infancy was in the time of the Apostles, when they preached throughout the whole world repentance and faith in the Lord God the Savior. That this was the substance of their preaching is evident from these words in the Acts of the Apostles, in which Paul testified
“both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” xx. 21.
It is worthy of note that several months ago* the Lord called together His twelve disciples, now angels, and sent them forth into the whole of the spiritual world, commanding them to preach the Gospel there anew, since the Church He had established through their labors has to-day so nearly reached its consummation that scarcely anything of it remains. This has come to pass because the Divine Trinity has been separated into three Persons, each of whom is God and Lord. [2] In consequence of this, a kind of insanity has pervaded the whole of theology, and also the Christian Church, so called from the name of the Lord. The term “insanity” is used because it has rendered men’s minds so confused that they do not know whether there is one God or three; one is on their lips, but three are in their minds, so that their minds and their lips, or their thought and their speech, are at variance. The result of this confusion is the denial that there is a God. This is the source of the materialism prevalent to-day. For while the lips speak of one God, and the mind thinks of three, does not the one idea destroy the other? [3] Consequently if a man thinks at all, he thinks of God as a mere name without any definite meaning. Since the idea of God, with every conception regarding Him, has been destroyed I propose to treat in due sequence of God the Creator, of the Lord the Redeemer, and of the Holy Spirit the Operator, and finally of the Divine Trinity, in order that what has been destroyed may be restored. This will happen whenever human reason is convinced by enlightenment from the Word that there is a Divine Trinity, and that this Trinity is in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ, just as the soul, the body and the operating energy are in man; and therefore that 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 body is one man, so God and Man is one Christ.
* This was written A.D. 1771.
** Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
Since the acknowledgment of God from a rational conception of Him is the very essence and soul of Theology, it is necessary to begin with the Unity of God. This will be demonstrated under the following headings:
(1) The whole of the Sacred Scripture, and the Doctrines thence derived of the Churches in the Christian World, teach that God is one.
(2) There is a universal influx into the souls of men that there is a God, and that He is one.
(3) Thus there is no nation in the whole world, possessing religion and sound reason, which does not acknowledge that there is a God, and that He is one.
(4) As to the nature of this one God nations and peoples have differed and still differ, from several causes.
(5) Human reason may, if it will, perceive and conclude from many things in the world, that there is a God, and that He is one.
(6) Unless God were one, the universe could not have been created and preserved.
(7) The man who does not acknowledge God is excommunicated from the church, and condemned.
(8) With the man who does not acknowledge one God but several, no principle of the church remains.
Each of these propositions will now be treated in order.
The whole of the Sacred Scripture teaches that there is a God, because its inmost content is no other than God, that is, the Divine which proceeds from Him; for it was dictated by God, and nothing can proceed from God but what is Himself, and therefore Divine; this the Scripture is in its inmost content. In its outer forms, however, derived from the inmost but on a lower plane, the Sacred Scripture has been accommodated to the perception of angels and men. In these forms, likewise Divine, it is called the Divine Celestial, the Divine Spiritual, and the Divine Natural. These are none other than veils of the Deity; since God Himself, as He is in the inmost of the Word, cannot be seen by any creature. For He said to Moses, when he prayed that he might see the glory of Jehovah,* that no one can see God and live. It is similar with the inmost of the Word, where God is in His Being (Esse) and in His Essence.
[2] Still the Divine, which is the inmost and is covered by such things as are accommodated to the perceptions of angels and; men, shines forth like light through crystals, but varied according to the state of mind which a man has formed for himself, either from God or from himself. With every one who has framed his mind according to the Divine Will, the Sacred Scripture is like a mirror in which he sees God, but each in his own way. That mirror is composed of truths which a man learns from the Word and according to which he fashions his life. It is thus evident that the
[3] Sacred Scripture is the fulness of God. That it teaches not only that there is a God, but also that He is one, can be seen from the truths which, as has been said, form that mirror, for they combine in a coherent series, and render it impossible for a man to think of God but as one. Hence every one whose reason has acquired some sanctity from the Word, knows as from himself that God is one, and he sees that it is like madness to say that there are more. The angels cannot open their lips to pronounce the word for “gods,” for the heavenly atmosphere in which they live opposes it.
The Sacred Scripture teaches that God is one not only in its general tenor but also particularly in many places, as in the following:
“Hear, O Israel; JEHOVAH OUR GOD is one JEHOVAH.” Deut. vi. 4, and also in Mark xxi. 29.
“Surely God is in thee; and there is none else.” Isa. xiv. 14.
“Have not I JEHOVAH (declared this)? and there is no God else beside Me.” Isa. xlv. 21.
“I am JEHOVAH thy GOD …and thou shalt know no God but Me.” Hos. xiii. 4.
“Thus saith JEHOVAH the King of Israel,… I am the first and I am the last; and besides Me there is no God.” Isa. xliv. 6.
“In that day … JEHOVAH shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one JEHOVAH, and His name one.” Zech. xiv. 8, 9.
* Such reverence was attached to this name by the Jews that they refrained from using it except in special circumstances. For this reason the term LORD has been employed in versions of the Old Testament where the word for Jehovah appears in the original. Where Jehovah is printed herein in small capitals the A.V. has “the LORD.” Similarly with Zebaoth, of hosts.
“By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive; … their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” xiii. 14, 15.
All these are like men who shun the light, and enter dark rooms where there are no windows, and grope about in search of food or money, till at length they acquire a vision like that of owls, and see in the dark. They are like a woman with several husbands, who is not a wife but a lascivious courtesan; or like a virgin who accepts rings from several suitors, and who after marriage with one continues to make assignations with the others.
The existence of an influx from God into man is implied in the general acknowledgment that all good which is in him and which is done by him, if it really is good, is from God; and also that all charity and all faith are from God. For it is written:
“A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” John iii. 27;
and Jesus said:
“Without me ye can do nothing.” John xv. 5,
that is, nothing of charity or of faith. This influx is into the souls of men because the soul is the inmost and highest part of man, and influx from God enters into it, passes thence into what is beneath, and vivifies all according to reception. The truths of which faith will ultimately be formed enter indeed through the hearing, and are in this way implanted in the mind beneath the soul. The immediate effect of these truths, however, is only to dispose a man to receive influx from God through the soul, and his reception of influx is according to his disposition. Thus what would have been merely natural faith becomes transformed into spiritual, that is, real faith.
[2] This Divine influx into the souls of men inspires the idea that God is one because all that is Divine, in general and in particular, is God; and since all that is Divine forms a consistent unity, it cannot but inspire in man the idea of one God. This idea is confirmed continually as man is raised by Divine influence into the light of heaven. For angels in that light cannot compel themselves to utter the word for “gods.” Therefore also in speaking they end every sentence with a uniform accent, a result of the influx into their souls of the unity of God.
[3] Although there is this influx, yet many people think that the Divinity is separated into several Persons of the same Essence, because as this influx descends it enters into forms that do not correspond with it; and influx is varied according to the recipient form. This happens in all the subjects of the three kingdoms of nature. It is the same God who imparts life to man and to beast, but the recipient form renders the life in the one case bestial and in the other human. A similar result follows when a man induces on his mind the form of a beast. The influx from the sun into every plant is the same, but is varied according to the form of each. There is the same influx into the vine as into the thorn; but if a thorn is grafted on a vine, the influx is changed and flows through the graft according to the form of the thorn.
[4] The case is similar with the subjects of the mineral kingdom. The light that flows into the lime-stone and into the diamond is the same: in the one is translucent and opaque in the other. As to human minds, they vary according to their forms. There are those which are inwardly spiritual, fashioned by faith in God and life from Him. They become translucent and angelic through faith in one God. On the other hand those become dark and bestial who believe on several gods, a belief which is but little removed from faith in no God.
From the Divine influx into the souls of men, which has just been treated of, it follows that there is an internal dictate with every man that there is a God and that He is one. Still there are some who deny that there is a God, and who acknowledge nature as God. There are, moreover, those who worship several gods, and those also who set up images for gods. The reason for this is that they have closed up the interiors of their reason or understanding with worldly and corporeal things, and have thereby obliterated the primitive idea of God which was theirs in infancy, banishing at the same time all religion from their hearts. That Christians do acknowledge one God is evident from the general Confession of their faith, which is as follows:
The Catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in a trinity, the trinity in unity. There three Divine Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and yet there are not three Gods, but 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 co-eternal. Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; but, although we are compelled by Christian verity to confess each Person to be God and Lord, yet we are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there are three Gods and three Lords.
Such is the Christian faith concerning the unity of God; but that the trinity and the unity of God in that Confession are inconsistent with each other, will be seen in the chapter on the Divine Trinity.
[2] The other nations in the world who possess religion and sound reason agree in acknowledging that God is one: all the Mohammedans* in their several dominions, the Africans in many kingdoms of their continent, the Asiatics in many of theirs, and also the modern Jews. In the golden age the most ancient people, who had any religion, worshiped one God, whom they called Jehovah. The same was the case with the ancient people in the age which followed, before monarchical governments were formed, when the lusts of the world and also of the flesh began to close the more interior parts of their understanding which, previously opened, were like temples and shrines for the worship of one God. It was to open again those inner recesses of the human mind, and so restore the worship of one God, that the Lord God established a Church among the posterity of Jacob, and set at the head of all the precepts of their religion the command:
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exod. xx. 3.
[3] The name Jehovah also which He assumed anew before them signifies the supreme and only Being (Ens), from whom everything is, that is and exists in the universe. The ancient Gentiles acknowledged Jove as the supreme God, probably so called from Jehovah, and they attributed Divinity to many others who composed his court. Wise men, however, in later times, as Plato** and Aristotle,*** declared that these mere not gods, but were so many properties, qualities, and attributes of the one God, and were called gods because something of the Divine entered into them.
* Mohammad, the founder of Mohammedanism or Islam, A.D. 571-632, was born at Mecca, where his father was spiritual and temporal head. He married a wealthy and devout widow, and owed much to her influence. In the visions to which he was subject he received confirmations of his Divine mission. He also received messages from Gabriel which were incorporated in the KORAN, the sacred book of Mohammedanism. Early persecution drove him from Mecca and in the year A.D. 622 he fled to Medina, where he was cordially welcomed. This flight, or Hejira, marks the beginning of the Mohammedan year, and from Medina he set out on his conquest of Arabia. Mohammedanism proclaims the unity of the God-head, and condemns idolatry; but the peaceful methods of propaganda soon gave place to ruthless persecution of infidels and merciless extermination of idolators.
** Plato, greatest of Greek philosophers, 427-347 B.C. His theory of ideas places the attainment of an exalted and spiritual yearning for a supersensible beauty only in an ideal world.
*** Aristotle, Greek philosopher, 384-322 B.C.; born at Stagiros, so called The Stagirite. He took all knowledge for his province, but had little appreciation of mathematics. He created the science of logic.
The first cause is that a rational conception of God, and a consequent acknowledgment of Him, are not attainable without revelation. Such a conception, with the consequent acknowledgment that “in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,” is not attainable, except from the Word, which is the crown of revelations. For by the revelation there given man can approach God and receive influx from Him, and thereby, from being natural can become spiritual. In the earliest ages of the world revelation existed everywhere, but natural men perverted it in many ways, with the result that there arose disputes, dissensions, heresies and schisms in religion.
The second cause is that the natural man cannot perceive and apply to himself the things of God, but only the things of the world. It is therefore one of the doctrines of the Christian Church that the natural man is opposed to the spiritual, and that they war against each other. Hence it is that those who have learned from the Word, or other revelation, that there is a God, have differed and still differ, concerning His nature and unity. [2] Those whose mental vision depended upon the senses of the body, but who still wished to see God, made for themselves images of gold, silver, stone and wood, in order that under the guise of visible objects they might worship God. Others, rejecting this form of worship, formed their idea of God from the sun, moon and stars and other objects of nature. Others, again, who thought themselves wiser than the common people, but who yet remained natural, from the immensity of God and His omnipresence in creating the world, acknowledged nature as God, some recognizing Him in her inner operation and some in her outer manifestations. Some, on the other hand, in order to distinguish between God and nature, formed a conception of something most universal, which they termed the Being (Ens) of the universe. As, however, they know nothing more of God, this Being is merely a creature of their own reason, and has no meaning at all. [3] Conceptions of God are like mirrors in which He may be seen. Those who know nothing of God look for Him, as it were, on the back of a mirror; but this, being covered with quicksilver or some black preparation, does not reflect any image. Faith in God enters into a man by an inner way, from the soul into the higher parts of the understanding. Knowledge concerning God, from which are formed conceptions of Him, enters by an outer way, because it is derived from the revealed Word by the understanding through the senses of the body. Both these forms of influx meet midway in the understanding. There natural faith, which is merely persuasion, becomes spiritual faith, which is real acknowledgment: the human understanding therefore, is, as it were, a place of exchange, or a refining vessel, in which the change takes place.
This truth may be confirmed by innumerable testimonies from the visible world; for the universe is like a stage on which are continually being exhibited evidences that there is a God, and that He is one.
To illustrate this I will mention the following remarkable experience from the spiritual world.* I was once talking with angels and there were present some spirits who had just arrived from the natural world. When I saw them I wished them happiness on their arrival, and told them many things that were new to them about the spiritual world. After talking to them, I enquired of them what knowledge concerning God and nature they brought with them from the world. They replied that according to their knowledge nature is the agent by which all things are done in the universe; for God, after creation, endowed and impressed upon nature this faculty and power, and God merely sustains and preserves all things lest they should perish. Therefore the existence, production and reproduction of all things are to-day ascribed to nature. [2] To this I replied that nature of herself does nothing, but that it is God who operates through nature. When they asked for proof I said that those who believe in the Divine agency in the various works of nature can confirm their view from the many things they see in nature much more than those who believe in the agency of nature. Those who believe in the Divine agency in nature study the wonders that appear in the production of plants and animals. In the production of plants they see that from a tiny seed sown in the ground there issues a root, by means of the root a stem, and successively branches, buds, leaves, flowers and fruit, till finally new seeds are produced just as if the seed knew the order of the successive stages by which it should reproduce itself. What rational man can suppose that the sun, which is pure fire, knows this, or can endow its heat and light with the power to accomplish such things, or can intentionally perform uses? The man whose rational faculty has been elevated cannot do otherwise than suppose, when he sees and duly considers these things, that they are from Him who has infinite wisdom, that is, from God. Those who acknowledge the Divine agency in the various works of nature confirm their view when they see these things. On the other hand, those who do not acknowledge it regard these things from an inverted point of view. They derive the ideas in their mind from the senses of the body, and confirm them by the illusions of the senses of the body, and confirm them by the illusions of the senses, saying: ‘Surely you see the sun effecting all these things by its own heat and light-sun effecting all these things by its own heat and light. What you cannot see cannot exist.’
[3] Those who believe in the Divine study also the wonders that appear in the production of animals. First may be mentioned the egg. In it the chicken lies in its seed, with all things necessary for its formation and also for its future growth till it becomes a bird like its parent. Further, when regard is paid to winged creatures in general, the thoughtful mind is astonished at what is presented to it. For in the least as in the greatest, in the invisible as in the visible, that is, in the least of insects as in birds and great animals, there are organs of sense, namely sight, smell, taste and touch; also organs of motion, or muscles, for they fly and walk. There are viscera also, connected with the heart and lungs, and these are actuated by the brain. Those who ascribe all things to nature indeed see these things, but note only their existence, and say that nature produces them. They say this because they have turned away their minds from thinking of the Divine; and those who have done this, when they regard the wonders of nature, cannot think rationally, still less spiritually, but sensually and materially, and finally they think in nature from nature, and not above nature; they differ only from beasts in that, having rationality, they are capable of understanding, if they will.
[4] Those who have turned away from thinking of the Divine and have thereby become sensual and corporeal, do not realize that the sight of the eye is so gross that it sees many tiny insects as mere dark specks; and yet each is organized to feel and to move, and so has fibres and vessels, a minute heart and pulmonary tubes, viscera and brains. All these are composed of the purest substances in nature, and their structures correspond to life in its lowest degree, by which the minutest of them are distinctly actuated. Since the sight of the eye is so gross that many insects, each with its innumerable parts, appear to it as tiny, dark specks, it is manifest how gross the minds of sensual men must be who base their thoughts and conclusions on that sight, and consequently in what darkness they are with respect to spiritual things.
[5] Every man, if he will, may confirm his belief in the Divine from the visible things in nature; and he does so who thinks about God and His omnipotence in creating the universe, and about His omnipresence in preserving it. As for instance when he observes the fowls of the air, how every species knows its own proper food, and where it may be found, and recognizes its own kind by sound and sight; how birds can distinguish friends and enemies among other birds, know the mating season, choose their mates, skillfully build their nests, lay their eggs and sit upon them; and how they know the time of hatching when they help their young out of the shell. These they love most tenderly, cherishing them under their wings, providing them with food, and supporting them until they are able to provide for themselves, and in their turn perform the same offices. Every man who is disposed to think of the Divine influx through the spiritual world into the natural may see it in those things; and, if he will, he may say in his heart that such knowledge cannot be communicated to these creatures from the sun through its heat and light. For the sun, from which nature derives her own origin and essence, is pure fire, and consequently its emanations of heat and light are completely void of life. It may therefore be concluded that such things are the result of Divine influx through the spiritual world into the ultimates of nature.
[6] Every one also may confirm his belief in the Divine when he considers those insects which, impelled by the craving of a sort of love, ardently seek for a change from their earth-bound state to one like that of heaven. For this purpose they creep into suitable places, weave round themselves a cocoon and thus, as it were, return into the womb to be born again, becoming pupae and finally butterflies. When they have passed through these changes and put on their beautiful wings, after their kind, they fly into the air as into a heaven of their own, where they sport in happy mood, choose mates, lay their eggs, and provide for themselves a posterity. In this state they feed upon a sweet and pleasant nectar drawn from the flowers. Any one who confirms his belief in the Divine from the visible things of nature sees an image of man’s earthly state in them as insects, and of his heavenly state in them as butterflies. Those, however, who confirm their belief in nature, see these things indeed, but as they have renounced all belief in the heavenly state, they call them merely the operations of nature.
[7] Again, every man may confirm his belief in the Divine from the visible things of nature when he studies the well-known facts about bees. They know how to gather wax and honey from roses and other flowers, and build cells like little houses, arranged in the form of a city, with passages by which to go in and out. They scent from afar the flowers and herbs from which they gather the wax for their homes and honey for food; and laden with these they fly back in the right direction to their own hive, and thus provide for themselves food for the coming winter, as if they foresaw its approach. They also set over themselves a queen, from whom to propagate their posterity. They provide a sort of palace for her with guards, called drones, and when her time comes, accompanied by them, she proceeds from cell to cell and lays her eggs, which her attendants seal up to protect them from the air. In this way a new progeny arises. When its time comes to perform similar offices it is driven from the hive. The swarm first gathers itself into a band so as not to be scattered, and then flies abroad to seek a home for itself. About autumn the drones, having brought in neither wax nor honey, are taken out and deprived of their wings, to prevent them from returning and consuming the food they had expended no labor to collect. Many other facts might be added; but from those just related it is evident that for the sake of the use they perform to mankind, from the Divine influx through the spiritual world, they have a form of government resembling that of men on earth, and indeed that of angels in heaven. [8] Any one of sound reason may see that the bees do not acquire their instincts from the world of nature, and that the sun, from which nature is derived, has no form of government like that of heaven.
From these and similar observations in the animal world he who believes in nature and worships her confirms his belief in her; while he who believes in God and worships Him confirms his belief in Him. The spiritual man sees what is spiritual in them, but the natural man only what is natural, each according to his own nature. For myself such things have been manifestations of Divine influx from the spiritual world into the natural. Consider also whether one could think analytically concerning any form of government, or any civil law, or any morel virtue, or any spiritual truth unless the Divine wisdom entered by influx through the spiritual world. For my own part, I never could, nor can I now, as I have perceptibly and manifestly observed this influx continuously, for twenty-six years: I therefore speak from my own experience.
[9] Could nature regard use as an end, and arrange uses into their orders and forms? No one could do this but one who is wise, and no one could so order and form the universe but God, whose wisdom is infinite. No other could foresee and provide for man food and clothing, food from the harvests of the fields, the fruits of the earth, and from animals, and clothing from the same. It is a wonderful thing that those humble insects called silk-worms should clothe with silk and magnificently adorn men and women, from kings and queens, even to menservants and maidservants; that those humble insects called bees should furnish wax for lamps to illuminate temples and palaces. These and many other things are outstanding proofs that God Himself, acting through the spiritual world, directs all the operations of nature.
[10] I should add that in the spiritual world I have seen some who had so confirmed their belief in nature from what they saw while in this world that they became atheists. In the light of the spiritual world their understanding appeared open from beneath but closed from above, because in thought they looked downwards to the earth, and not upwards to heaven. Over the sensual faculty, which is the lowest part of the understanding, there appeared as it were a veil, sparkling with infernal fire. With some it appeared black as soot, with others livid, corpse-like in color. No one, therefore, ought to confirm himself in a belief in nature from nature’s manifestations: these rather furnish grounds for belief in God.
* We render thus “memorabile” (pl. memorabilia). Swedenborg uses this term for the illustrative narratives he gives, as those appended to chapters of TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, of things seen and heard in the spiritual world. The reader should reserve judgment on Swedenborg’s descriptions of experiences in the spiritual world till he has satisfied himself as to the reality as well as the nature of that world. See 851, and Tafel’s Doc., Vol. 2, pp. 415-416.
The unity of God may be inferred from the creation of the universe, because it is a work coherent as a unity from first to last, and dependent upon one God as the body depends upon its soul. The universe was so created that God may be present everywhere, keep every part under His own direction, and maintain its unity for ever, that is, preserve it. For this reason Jehovah God declares
that He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, Isa. xliv. 6; Rev. i. 8, 17;
and in another place,
that He maketh all things, stretcheth forth the heavens, and spreadeth abroad the earth by Himself. Isa. xliv. 24.
This great system which is called the Universe is a work cohering as a unity from first to last because God in creating it had one end in view, namely, an angelic heaven from the human race; and all things of which the world consists are means to that end: for he who wills the end, wills also the means. [2] Therefore he who looks upon the world as a work comprising the means to that end can look upon the created universe as a coherent unity and can see that the world is a complex of uses in successive order for the service of the human race, from which the angelic heaven is formed. The Divine Love can, from its own Divine nature, design no other end than the eternal happiness of men, and the Divine Wisdom can produce nothing but uses, as means to that end. From the contemplation of the world in the light of this universal idea every wise man may understand that the Creator of the universe is one, and that His Essence is Love and Wisdom. There is, therefore, nothing in the universe in which does not reside some use, more or less remote, for the service of man. His food and clothing he derives from the produce of the earth and from animals. [3] It is a wonderful thing that those humble insects, called silk-worms, should clothe with silk and magnificently adorn men and women, from kings and queens even to menservants and maid-servants; and that those humble insects, the bees, should furnish wax for lamps to illuminate temples and palaces.
Those who view things in the world signify, and not comprehensively in a series in which are ends, mediate causes and effects, and who do not refer Creation to the Divine Love through the Divine Wisdom, cannot that the universe is the work of one God, and that He is present in every single use, because He is present in the end. For whoever is in the end is also in the means, since the end is interiorly involved in all the means, actuating and directing them. [4] Those who do not regard the universe as the work of God and the habitation of His Love and Wisdom, but as the work of nature and a receptacle for the heat and light of the sun, close the higher parts of their minds to God and open the lower parts to the devil. They thus put off the nature of men and put on that of animals, and not only do they believe they are like animals but they even become animals; for they become foxes in cunning, wolves in ferocity, leopards in treachery, tigers in cruelty, and crocodiles, serpents, owls and night-birds in their respective qualities. In the spiritual world they appear at a distance like those creatures, for their evil loves assume such animal forms.
The man who does not acknowledge God is excommunicated from the Church because God is the All-in-all of the Church, and Divine things, which are called theological, constitute it. Therefore a denial of God is a denial of everything pertaining to the Church; and this very denial excommunicates him, so that man himself and not God is the author of his exclusion. He is also condemned, because whoever is excommunicated from the Church is likewise excluded from heaven, for the Church on earth and the angelic heaven make one, like the internal and the external, and like the spiritual and the natural in man. For man was created by God to be in the spiritual world as to his internal, and is the natural world as to his external. He was thus created a native of both worlds in order that the spiritual, or that which is of heaven, should be implanted in the natural, which is of the world, like a seed sown in the ground, so that he might thus acquire an existence fixed and eternal. [2] The man who by a denial of God has excluded himself from the Church, and thereby from heaven, has closed his internal man as to his will, and thus as to his nature’s love, for a man’s love is received into his will, and abides there. He cannot, however, close his internal man as to his understanding, for if he were to do this he would no longer be a man. The love which his will does entertain attracts falsities into the higher parts of his understanding, which thus become closed as it were to the truths of faith and the goods of charity; thus more and more against God and the spiritual things of the Church. In this way he is excluded from communion with the angels of heaven. He thereupon enters into communion with the satans of hell; and as all satans deny God, and form absurd ideas concerning Him and the spiritual things of the Church, so also does the man who is joined with them.
[3] When he is in the spirit, as when left to himself at home, he allows his thoughts to be led away by the pleasures of the evil and the falsity which he has conceived and allowed to come forth within himself. He then thinks that there is no God, but that God is merely a name uttered from pulpits to keep the common people in obedience to the laws of justice framed by society. He also thinks that the Word, from which the clergy proclaim God, is a collection of visionary records whose sanctity is derived from authority. Moreover, the Decalogue, or Catechism,* is only a little book which, after its use in childhood, may be discarded, for it enjoins that parents should be honored, and forbids murder, adultery, theft, and false witness, enactments which everyone knows are part of the civil law of every country. He regards the Church as a congregation of simple, credulous and weak-minded people, who fancy they see what they do not see. He regards man, and himself a man, merely as a beast, and thinks that life after death will be the same for both. These are the opinions of his internal man whatever his external man may declare. [4] For, as has been said above, every man has an internal and an external. His internal constitutes the man, and is called his spirit, and lives on after death, but his external is buried in the grave. Whilst in his external, he has been enabled to play the hypocrite by living a moral life, but at his death, because of his denial of God, he is condemned. Every man, as to his spirit, is associated with his like in the spiritual world, and is as one with them. I have frequently been permitted to see the spirits of persons still living, some in angelic and some in infernal societies. I have also been permitted to converse with them for days together, and I have been astonished that a man, while living the life of the body, should be so utterly ignorant of the life of the spirit. It was, therefore, manifest that whoever denies God is already among the condemned, and after death joins his companions.
* Catechismus, a book or summary of religious instruction. See 325.
He who in faith acknowledges, and in heart worships, one God is in the communion of saints on earth, and in the communion of angels in heaven. These are called communions, and in reality they are so; because they are in one God, and one God is in them. They are also in conjunction with the whole angelic heaven, and, I venture to say, with all and every one there; for they are all like the children and offspring of one father, similar in mind, character and features, so that they mutually recognize each other. The angelic heaven is arranged into societies according to all the varieties of the love of good, which are directed towards one universal love, the love of God. From this love all derive their origin who in faith acknowledge and in heart worship one God, the Creator of the universe, and at the same time the Redeemer and Regenerator.
[2] It is quite otherwise with those who approach and worship not one God but several, or who profess one with the lips and yet think of three; as do those in the Church to-day who divide God into three Persons, and declare each Person by Himself to be God, and attribute to each Person separate qualities or properties not possessed by another. Thus it happens that not only is the unity of God actually divided, but also theology itself, and likewise the human mind in which it should reside. What can result from this but perplexity and incoherence in the things of the Church? That such is the state of the Church to-day will be shown in the Appendix to this work. The truth is that the division of God, or of the Divine Essence, into three Persons, each of whom by Himself or singly is God, leads to a denial of God. It is as though a man were to enter a temple to worship, and should see over the altar one God depicted as the Ancient of Days, another as the High Priest and a third as a flying Aeolus,* with this inscription: “These three are one God,” or as if he were to see the Unity and the Trinity depicted as a man with three heads, or with three bodies under one head, which is the form of a monster. If any one should enter heaven with such an idea he would assuredly be cast out headlong, even though he were to say that the head or heads signified Essence, and the body or bodies distinct properties.
* Aeolus, god of the winds.
I will add here an illustrative experience.
I saw some persons, who had lately come from the natural world into the spiritual world, conversing about three Divine Persons from eternity. They were dignitaries of the Church, and one of them was a bishop. They approached me, and after some talk about the spiritual world, of which they had known nothing before, I said, “I heard you speaking about three Divine Persons from eternity. I beg you to explain this great mystery according to the ideas you acquired in the natural world from which you have just come.” Then the Primate, regarding me, said: “I see that you are a layman, so I will expound for your instruction the ideas in my mind concerning this great mystery. These ideas were, and still are, that ‘God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost sit in the midst of heaven on lofty, magnificent seats or thrones. God the Father sits on a throne of pure gold, with a sceptre in His hand. God the Son sits at His right hand on a throne of pure silver, with a crown on His head, and God the Holy Ghost sits beside them on a throne of brilliant crystal, holding a dove in His hand. Round them in triple row are hanging lamps, glittering with precious stones; and some distance away from this circle stand countless angels, all worshipping and singing praises. Further, God the Father holds continuous converse with His Son concerning those who were to be justified, and together they decree and determine who on earth are worthy to be received among the angels and to be crowned with eternal life. On hearing their names, God the Holy Ghost forthwith hurries to them over the length and breadth of the earth, bearing with Him the gifts of righteousness, as so many tokens of salvation, for those who are to be justified; and as soon as He arrives and breathes upon them, He disperses their sins as a fan disperses smoke from a furnace and clears it away. He also removes the stony hardness from their hearts and imparts to them the softness of flesh. At the same time He renews their spirits or minds and regenerates them, endowing them with the countenances of little children. Finally He marks their foreheads with the sign of the cross, calling them the elect and the children of God.'”
Having finished this discourse the Primate said to me: “Thus I explained this great mystery in the world; and because most members of our Order there applauded my opinions I am persuaded that you, a layman, will also approve of them.” [2] When the Primate had said this I looked at him, and at the dignitaries who were with him, and I noticed that his words met with their full approval. So in reply I said: “I have well considered the exposition of your faith, and have gathered from it that you have conceived and still hold a merely natural, sensual and indeed material idea of the triune God, from which inevitably flows the idea of three Gods. Is it not sensual to think of God the Father seated upon a throne with a sceptre in His hand, and of the Son, seated upon His throne with a crown on His head, and of the Holy Ghost, seated upon His throne with a dove in His hand, and then running over the length and breadth of the earth to give effect to what He hears? Since such a result follows from your teaching I cannot approve of what you have said. For from my earliest years I could not admit into my mind any other idea than that of one God; and because I entertained this idea and still hold it, all that you have said has no weight with me. In due course I understood that by the throne upon which the Scripture says Jehovah sits is meant His kingdom; by the sceptre and crown, His government and dominion; by sitting at the right hand, the omnipotence of God by the agency of His Human; and by those things which are related of the Holy Ghost, the operations of the Divine omnipresence. Admit, my lord bishop, the idea of one God, give it reasonable consideration, and you will at length see clearly the truth of it.
[3] You indeed say that God is one, for you make the Essence of those three Persons one and indivisible; yet you do not allow any one to say that the one God is one Person, but three, lest the idea of three Gods which you entertain should be lost. You also ascribe to each Person a property distinct from that of another; and do you not in this way divide the Divine Essence? Since this is so, how can you say, and at the same time think, that God is one? I could excuse you if you said that the Divine is one; but when any one hears it stated that “the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God; and that each Person singly is God,” how can he think that God is one? Is it not a contradiction which cannot possibly be believed? They cannot be called one God: they can be called alike Divine, as may be shown from the following illustrations. When several men form a Senate, or a Sanhedrin, or a Council, they cannot be called one God; but when they are all in complete agreement, it can be said that they are of one mind. It cannot be said of three diamonds of the same substance that they are one diamond, but that they are of one substance. Each diamond moreover differs from the others in value, according to its weight; but this would not be so if they were one, and not three. [4] However, I perceive that you call one God three Divine Persons, each of whom by Himself and singly is God, and insist that every member of the Church should say so, because every one of sound and enlightened reason throughout the whole world acknowledges that God is one and therefore you would be ashamed to say otherwise. Yet while you are saying ‘one God,’ but with three in your thoughts, shame does not check the words on your lips: you give them utterance.” On hearing this the bishop retired with his clerics; and as he departed he turned and tried to call out, “There is one God,” but could not, for his thoughts checked his tongue. Then his lips parted and he called out, “Three Gods.” At this strange sight the bystanders laughed loudly and went their way.
At this they laughed, saying, “You are jesting; it is otherwise with the Divine Essence, which is one and not tripartite, indivisible and so not divided: it is not subject to partition and division.” [3] When I heard these words I rejoined, “Well, let us make this the subject of discussion.” I then asked, “What do you understand by Person, and what does it mean?” They replied: “The word Person means not any part or duality in another, but what subsists of itself. This is how all the Leaders of the Church define Person, and we agree with them.” I said, “Is this then your definition of Person?” and they replied, “It is.” So I continued: “As there is no part of the Father in the Son, and no part of either in the Holy Ghost, it follows that each is independent in judgment, jurisdiction and power. There is nothing, therefore, to unite them but the will, which is one’s own, and only communicable at pleasure; are not the three Persons thus three Gods? Further, you have defined Person as what subsists of itself. Consequently there are three substances into which you separate the Divine Essence, and yet this Essence, you also say, is incapable of division, being one and indivisible. Moreover to each substance, that is, to each Person, you attribute properties which are not in another and which cannot he communicated to another, namely, imputation, mediation and operation. What conclusion can follow from this but that the three Persons are three Gods?” At these words they withdrew, saying that they would consider those points and afterwards give their answer.
[4] A wise man who was standing by and heard this discussion said: “I have no desire to examine this important subject by means of such subtleties of argument; but apart from these I clearly see that in the thoughts of your minds there are three Gods. You are ashamed, however, to publish these thoughts abroad to the whole world, for if you did so you would be called madmen and fools. Therefore, to avoid that ignominy you find it convenient to confess one God with your lips.” The three disputations, however, still holding their own opinion, paid no regard to his words, and as they departed kept muttering some terms borrowed from Metaphysics. From this I presumed that this was the oracle from which they would give their answers.
* Moses, the Books of the Bible comprising the Pentateuch, traditionally ascribed to Moses.
** Saturnus, Saturn, earliest king of Latium, became Roman god of civilization.
*** Jupiter or Jove, son of Saturn.
**** Neptune, god of the sea.
***** Pluto, king of the lower world.
****** Apollo, god of divination, healing, poetry and music.
******* Diana, sister of Apollo, goddess of the chase.
******** Minerva, daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom.
********* Venus, goddess of love.
In the first place the Divine Being (Esse) will be treated of, and afterwards the Divine Essence. It would appear as if they were one and the same; but Being is more universal than Essence, for Essence presupposes Being, and from Being Essence derives its origin. The Being of God, or the Divine Being, cannot be described, for it transcends every idea of human thought; and nothing enters human thought but the created and the finite, not the uncreated and the infinite, thus not the Divine Being. The Divine Being is Being itself, from which all things are, and which must be in all things that they may exist. A further conception of the Divine Being may be formed from the following articles:
(1) The one God is called Jehovah from His Being, because He alone is, was, and will 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 as far as they are in Him, and He in them, so far are they images and likenesses of Him.
(3) The Divine Being is Being in itself, and at the same time Existing (Existere) in itself.
(4) The Divine Being and Existing in itself cannot produce another Divine that is Being and Existing in itself; consequently there cannot be another God of the same Essence.
(5) The idea of a plurality of Gods in ancient and also in modern times arose because the nature of the Divine Being was not understood.
Each of these articles will now be explained in order.
It is well known that Jehovah signifies “I Am” and “Being”; and that God was so called from the most ancient times appears from the Book of Creation, or Genesis, where in the first chapter He is called God, but in the second and following chapters, Jehovah God. Afterwards, when the descendants of Abraham through Jacob forgot the name of God during their sojourn in Egypt, it was recalled to their remembrance as it is written:
“Moses said unto God, what is thy name? God said: I Am thee that 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 for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” Exod. iii. 13, 14, 15.
Since the only God is the I Am, and Being (Esse) or Jehovah, there is nothing in the created universe which does not derive its being (esse) from Him. How this is will be seen below. The same is also meant by these words:
“I am the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega.” Isa. xliv. 6; Rev. i. 8, 11; xxii. 13;
by which is meant that He is the Self and only One from first things to last, and that all things are from Him.
[2] God is called the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End because Alpha is the first and Omega the last letter in the Greek alphabet, and therefore they signify all things in the complex. This is because every letter of the alphabet in the spiritual world has a signification of its own; and every vowel, because it is a symbol of sound, signifies something of affection or love. From this arose spiritual or angelic speech and writing. Hitherto it has been unknown that there is a universal language,* the language of all angels and spirits, which has nothing in common with any language of men in the world. Into the use of this language every man comes after death, for it is implanted in every one from creation, and therefore throughout the whole spiritual world all can understand one another. I have frequently been permitted to hear this language, and I have compared it with languages in the world and found that it agrees in not the least particular with any natural language on earth. It differs from these in its fundamental principle that each letter of every word has a particular signification. For this reason God is now called the Alpha and the Omega, by which is meant that He is the Self and only One from first things to last, and that all things are from Him. Concerning this language and its written form expressing the spiritual thought of angels, see the work CONJUGIAL LOVE, NOS. 326-329, and also the following Nos. herein [280, 365, 386].
* Sed hoc est Arcanum hactenus ignotum. Arcanum, what is shut up, enclosed, from arceo, to shut up, and area, an ark, chest or box.
Since God is Being (Esse), He also is Substance, for unless Being is Substance it is only a figment of the mind. For substance is an entity that subsists; and He who is a substance is also a form, for unless a substance is also a form, it is only a figment of the mind. Therefore both substance and form can be predicated of God, but in such a way that He is the only, the very, and the first Substance and Form. That this Form is the very Human Form, that is, that God is very Man, in whom are all things in an infinite degree, is shown in the work entitled, THE ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING THE DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM, published at Amsterdam, in the year 1763. It is also shown there that angels and men are substances and forms created and organized to receive Divine things flowing into them through heaven; therefore in the Book of Genesis they are called images and likenesses of God, i. 26, 27; and in other places, “His sons,” and “born of Him.” In the course of this work it will be fully demonstrated that, as far as a man lives under the Divine guidance, that is, as far as he suffers himself to be led by the Lord, so far he becomes, more and more interiorly, an image of Him. Unless the idea were formed of God that He is the first Substance and Form, and that His Form is the very Human Form, the minds of men would readily acquire for themselves vague, fantastic ideas concerning God Himself, the origin of man, and the creation of the world. They would regard God as nature in her first principles, as the expanse of the universe, or as an empty unreality. They would think of the origin of men as a concatenation of elements fortuitously adopting the human form; and of the creation of the world as a combination of substances and forms derived from points and geometrical lines, which, as nothing can be predicated of them, are in themselves nothing. With such minds, everything of the Church is, as it were, involved in Stygian* darkness, or gloom of Tartarus.**
* Styx, river in the lower regions.
** Tartarus, the infernal regions.
Jehovah God is Being in itself because He is the I Am, the Self, the only One, and the First, from eternity to eternity, from whom is everything that is, else it would not be. In this way, and not otherwise, is He the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega. It cannot he said that His Being is from itself, for this phrase “from itself” supposes what is prior, and postulates time; but time is not applicable to the Infinite, which is said to be “from eternity.” It also supposes another God, who is God in Himself, thus a God from God, or that God formed Himself, and so would not be uncreated or infinite, because He thus would have made Himself finite from Himself or from another. Because God is Being in itself it follows that He is Love in itself, Wisdom in itself, and Life in itself; and that He is the Self, from whom all things are, and to whom all things are related that they might have existence. That God is Life in itself, and thus God, is evident from the words of the Lord in John v. 26; and in Isaiah:
“I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself.” xliv. 24;
and that He alone is God, and beside Him there is no God, Isa. xlv. 14, 21; Hos. xiii. 4.
God is not only Being in itself but also Existing in itself, because there is no Being unless it exists, just as there is no Existing apart from Being, for the one implies the other. Similarly there can be no substance unless it is also form, as nothing can be predicated of substance without form, and substance lacking quality is nothing in itself. The reason for using the terms Being and Existing and not Essence and Existence is because a distinction must be made between Being and Essence, and consequently between Existing and Existence, as between prior and posterior, what is prior being more universal than what is posterior. The terms infinity and eternity are applicable to the Divine Being; but to the Divine Essence and Existence, Divine Love and Divine Wisdom are applicable, and through these two omnipotence and omnipresence, and so these will be treated in order.
The difference between them is like that between those who stand in a clear light and see men near them and touch them, and those who stand in a dense mist, and cannot distinguish between men and trees or rocks. Or the difference is like that between men in a city upon a high mountain, who go from place to place and talk with their fellow-citizens, and men who look down from that mountain and do not know whether what they see are men or beasts or statues. Indeed the difference is like that between those who stand on some planet and see their own friends there, and those who, from another planet, look out through telescopes and say they see men there, when yet they only see, as it were, moon light reflected from stretches of land and patches of water as dark spots. There is a similar difference between seeing God and Divine things from Him with those who are in faith and the life of charity, and with those who are merely in the knowledge of such things; consequently between natural and spiritual men. Moreover, those who deny the Divine sanctity of the Word, and yet carry their religious ideas as it were in a sack upon their backs, do not see God, but only repeat His name as parrots would.
It has been shown above that the one God, who is the Creator of the universe, is Being and Existing in itself, and thus God in Himself. Hence it follows that there cannot be a God from God, because the very Essential Divine, which is Being and Existing in itself, could not exist in another. It is the same thing whether the phrase “begotten of God” or “proceeding from Him” is used; it still implies that he is produced by God, and this differs little from being created by Him. Therefore to introduce into the Church the faith that there are three Divine Persons, each of whom singly is God and of the same Essence, and one born from eternity and the third proceeding from eternity, is to destroy utterly the idea of the unity of God, and with it all idea of Divinity, and so banish all spirituality from the rational mind. The consequence is that man is no longer man but merely a creature of nature, differing from the beast only in that he has the power of speech. He is also opposed to all that is spiritual in the Church, for the natural man calls it foolishness. This is the sole reason for the great heresies concerning God that have arisen; so that the separation of the Divine Trinity into Persons has brought upon the Church not only night but also spiritual death. [2] That an identity of three Divine Essences is an offence to reason was made manifest to me from angels, who declared that they could not utter the expression “three equal divinities.” Moreover, if any one were to approach them with the intention of uttering it, he would be forced to turn back; and if he were to utter it, he would become like a human log and be thrown down. He would then depart to join those in hell who acknowledge no God. The truth is that to implant in infants and young people the idea of three Divine Persons, with which is inevitably associated the idea of three Gods, is to deprive them of all spiritual milk, thereafter of all spiritual food, and finally of all spiritual reason, with the result that spiritual death is brought upon those who confirm themselves in such an idea. Those who in faith and heart worship one God, the Creator of the universe, and also the Redeemer and Regenerator, are as the city of Zion in the time of David, and as the city of Jerusalem in the time of Solomon after the Temple was built. The Church, however, which believes in three Persons, and in each as a distinct God, is like the city of Zion and Jerusalem after their destruction by Vespasian,* and like the Temple there destroyed by fire. Further, the man who worships one God, in whom is the Divine Trinity, becomes more and more alive and angelic; but he who confirms his belief in a plurality of Gods from a plurality of Persons becomes more and more like a lay-figure, fashioned with movable joints, within which stands Satan, speaking through its jointed mouth.
* Vespasian, Emperor of Rome, A.D. 69-79, in whose reign the Jews were finally subdued, Jerusalem captured and the Temple destroyed, A.D. 70, by his son Titus.
It was shown above in No. 8 that the unity of God is most intimately inscribed on the mind of every man, since it is in the midst of all that flows from God into the soul of man. It has, however, not descended thence into the human understanding, because there has been wanting the knowledge by which man must ascend to meet God. Every one should prepare the way for God, that is, should prepare himself for His reception; and this is done by means of knowledge. The knowledge which has hitherto been wanting to enable the understanding to perceive that God is one, that only one Divine Being is possible, and that all things in nature are from Him may be summarized as follows:
(1) There is a spiritual world, where spirits and angels are, and into which every man comes after death.
(2) In that world is a Sun, which is pure Love from Jehovah God, who is in the midst of it.
(3) From that Sun proceed heat, which in its essence is love, and light, which in its essence is wisdom.
(4) From these all things in that world are spiritual, and affect the internal man, forming the will and the understanding.
(5) From His Sun Jehovah God produced not only the spiritual world, and all things spiritual in it, innumerable and substantial, but also the natural world, and all things natural in it, likewise innumerable but material.
(6) The distinction between what is spiritual and what is natural, and what the spiritual is in its essence.
(7) There are three degrees of love and wisdom according to which the angelic heavens are arranged.
(8) The human mind is divided into the same number of degrees, so that after death it may be raised into one of these heavens, depending upon the life a man has lived in accordance with his faith.
(9) And lastly, not a single one of all those things could have existed but from the Divine Being, which is self-existent, and so the First, and the Beginning, from which are all things.
This knowledge has hitherto been wanting; yet it is by this knowledge that man may ascend and know the Divine Being. [2] It is said that man ascends; but it is to be understood that he is raised by God; for man has free will in acquiring knowledge for himself, and as he acquires it from the Word by means of his understanding, he thus prepares the way by which God may descend and raise him. The knowledge in its sequence by which man’s understanding ascends, while God all the time holds him in His hand and leads him, may be compared to the steps of the ladder seen by Jacob. This was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven, and the angels ascended on it, and Jehovah stood above it, Gen. xxviii. 12, 13. It is quite otherwise when this knowledge is wanting, or when a man despises it. In that case the elevation of the understanding may be compared to a ladder raised from the ground to a window of the first story of a magnificent palace when men have their abode, and not to the windows of a second story where spirits are, and still less to the windows of the third story where angels dwell. It is for this reason that a man remains merely in the atmospheres and material forms of nature to which his senses of sight, hearing and smell are restricted, and from which he derives no other ideas of heaven and the Being and Essence of God than those that are atmospherical and material. While a man thinks from such ideas, he forms no judgment concerning God whether He exists or not, or whether He is one or more; and still less what His nature is as to Being and Essence. Hence arose the idea of a plurality of Gods in ancient and also in modern times.
I will add this illustrative experience.
Awaking once out of sleep I fell into profound meditation about God; and when I looked up, I saw above me in heaven a very bright light, oval in form. As I gazed intently at that light it gradually receded from the centre towards the circumference, and then heaven lay open before me. I saw magnificent scenes, and angels standing in a circle towards the south of the opening, conversing with one another. As I ardently desired to hear what they were saying it was granted me to hear first the sound of their voices, which was full of heavenly love, and then their speech, which was full of wisdom from that love. They were talking together about the one God, about conjunction with Him, and consequent salvation. Most of what they said could not be expressed in words of any natural language; but as I had several times been in the company of angels in that heaven, and understood their speech because I was in their state, I was able to understand them now and select from their conversation some particulars which may be expressed intelligibly in natural language.
[2] They said that the Divine Being is One, the Same, the Self and indivisible. This they illustrated by spiritual ideas, saying that the Divine Being cannot possibly be divided into several, each of whom has the Divine Being, and yet remain One, the Same, the Self and indivisible; for each would think from His own Being from Himself, and singly by Himself. If then their thoughts proceeded unanimously from, and were influenced by, one another, there would be several unanimous Gods, and not one God, for unanimity, by which is meant the agreement of several, and at the same time, of each from himself and by himself, does not accord with the unity of God but with a plurality. They did not add “of Gods,” because they could not, for the light of heaven from which their thought was derived, and the atmosphere in which their speech was voiced, prevented them. They also said that when they wished to utter the word for “Gods,” and say that each is a Person by Himself, the effort resulted in their saying there is one God, nay, only One. [3] Moreover, they added that the Divine Being is Divine Being in itself, not from itself, because the phrase “from itself” supposes Being in itself from another prior to it; thus it postulates a God from God, which is impossible. What is from God is not called God, but Divine: for a God from God, and a God born of God from eternity, and a God from God, proceeding through a God born from eternity, are but words in which there is no light from heaven. They further said that the Divine Being, which in itself is God, is the Same, not simply the Same but infinitely so; that is, the Same from eternity to eternity. He is the Same everywhere, with everyone and in everyone, whereas all variation and change are in those who receive Him, according to their state.
That the Divine Being, which is God in itself, is the Self, they illustrated as follows. God is the Self because He is Love itself and Wisdom itself, or Good itself and Truth itself, and consequently Life itself. Unless these were the Self in God, they would not exist in heaven and on earth, because there would be nothing of them related to the Self, for every quality depends for its existence upon the fact that there is a Self from which it is derived and to which it is related. This Self, which is the Divine Being, is not in place, but is with those, and in those, who are in place according to their reception of Him, since neither place nor progression from place to place can be predicated of Love and Wisdom, or of Good and Truth and consequently Life, which form the Self in God and which indeed are God. In this way there is omnipresence; therefore the Lord says that “He is in the midst of them; that He is in them and they in Him.” [4] But because He cannot be received by any one as He is in Himself, He appears as He is in His Essence, that is, as a Sun above the angelic heavens, the light proceeding from which is Himself as to Wisdom, and the heat is Himself as to Love. He Himself is not that Sun; but the Divine Love and Wisdom in their first emanation from Him appear round about Him as a Sun to the angels. He Himself in the Sun is Man, our Lord Jesus Christ, both as to the Divine Source of all things and as to the Divine Human, for the Self, which is Love itself and Wisdom itself, was His soul from the Father, thus the Divine Life, which is Life in itself. It is otherwise in the case of man. In him the soul is not life, but a recipient of life. This the Lord also teaches when He says,
“I am the way, the truth and the life”;
and in another place,
“As the Father hath life in Himself so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself.” John v. 26.
Life in Himself is God. They added that those who are in any spiritual light can perceive from these things that the Divine Being, because it is One, the Same, the Self, and consequently indivisible, cannot be in several; and that any declaration that this is possible could only be made on grounds that are manifestly contradictory.
* Athanasius, born at Alexandria, A.D. 296-373. He became bishop there and early displayed those powers of mind and determination which established him as the recognized champion of orthodoxy. Banished and reinstated several times as the influence of Arius rose and declined, he finally regained his position, and the Creed that bears his name became the principal standard of orthodox Christianity.
There are two things peculiar to the natural world which cause all things there to be finite: one is space and the other is time; and because that world was created by God, and space and time were created together with it, and make it finite, the sources from which these two things are derived, namely immensity and eternity, will now be treated, for the immensity of God has relation to space, His eternity to time, and His infinity comprehends both immensity and eternity. Because infinity transcends the finite, and any knowledge of it transcends the finite mind, therefore, in order that some perception of it may be obtained, it will be treated in the following series:
(1) God is infinite, because He is and exists in Himself, and all things in the universe are and exist from Him.
(2) God is infinite, because He was before the world, and thus before space and time arose.
(3) God, since the world was created, is in space apart from space, and in time apart from time.
(4) Infinity in relation to space is called immensity, and in relation to time, eternity; and although these relations exist, yet there is nothing of space in His immensity, and nothing of time in His eternity.
(5) Everyone of enlightened reason, from very many things in the world, may see the infinity of God the Creator.
(6) Every created thing is finite, and the infinite is in finite things as in its receptacles, and in men as in its images.
An explanation of each of these articles will now be given.
It has been shown above that God is one, the Self, and the Primary Being of all things, and that all things which are, which exist and which subsist in the universe, are from Him; it therefore follows that He is infinite. It will be shown in what follows that human reason can see this from very many things in the created universe. However, although the human mind may acknowledge from these that the primary Entity (Ens) or first Being (Esse) is infinite, yet it cannot know its nature, and therefore cannot define it otherwise than as the Infinite All. The human mind can only declare that this subsists in itself, and consequently is the very and the only Substance; and, since nothing can be predicated of substance unless it is form, that it is the very and the only Form. But what do these conclusions amount to as they throw no light on the nature of the infinite? For the human mind, although highly analytical and elevated, is itself finite, and its finite quality cannot be separated from it. It is, therefore, quite incapable of comprehending the infinity of God as it is in itself, and thus God. It may, however, see Him obscurely, as it were, from behind; as it is said of Moses, when he prayed to see God, that he was placed in a cleft of a rock and saw His back parts, Exod. xxxiii. 20-23. By the back parts of God are meant the visible things in the world, and in particular the things apparent in the Word. Hence it is clear that it is vain to desire to know what God is in His Being or in His Substance. It is enough to acknowledge Him from finite, that is, created things, in which He is infinitely. The man who persists in seeking more than this may be compared to a fish lifted into the air, or to a bird placed under the receiver of an air-pump, which, when the air is extracted, begins to gasp, and then dies. He may also be compared to a ship, which, when overwhelmed by a storm, fails to answer her helm and is borne upon rocks and quicksands. So it is with those who seek to comprehend the infinity of God from within, and who are not content to be convinced by manifest tokens from without. It is related of a certain philosopher of old that he threw himself into the sea because he could not see or comprehend by the light (lumen) of his own mind the eternity of the world. What would he have done had he wished to comprehend the infinity of God?
In the natural world there are times and spaces, whereas in the spiritual world these do not exist actually, but still they appear to exist. The reason why space and time were introduced into the material universe was that one thing might be distinguished from another, large from small, many from few, thus quantity from quantity and quality from quality; and that by their means the bodily senses might be able to distinguish their objects and the senses of the mind theirs, and might thus be stimulated, and exercise thought and judgment. Time came into being in the natural world with the rotation of the earth round its axis, and with the progression of those rotations from point to point in its orbit, these changes being apparently caused by the sun from which the whole terraqueous globe receives its heat and light. Thence arose the times of the day, morning, noon, evening and night; and also those of the year, namely spring, summer, autumn and winter; the times of the day according to light and darkness, and those of the year according to heat and cold. On the other hand space was introduced into the natural world when the earth was formed into a globe and filled with material substances, the various parts of which are distinct from one another, and at the same time are subject to extension.
In the spiritual world, however, there are no material spaces with corresponding times, but yet there are appearances of them; and these appearances are according to the different states in which are the minds of the spirits and angels there. Thus times and spaces there are in conformity with the affections of their will, and consequently with the thoughts of their understanding: but still these appearances are real, for they are constant according to their states.
[2] The common opinion regarding the state of souls after death, and also of angels and spirits, is that they are not in any state in which there is anything of extension, and therefore not in space and time. Hence it is said that souls after death are somewhere,* which cannot be defined, and that spirits and angels are merely breath, and only to be thought of as ether, air, vapour or wind; when nevertheless they are substantial men, living together as men do in the natural world, in space and in time, which, as was observed, depend upon the states of their mind. If it were not so, that is, if space and time did not exist there, that universe, into which are gathered the souls of men, and where angels and spirits dwell, could be drawn through the eye of a needle or be concentrated on the tip of a single hair. This would be possible if there was no extension of substance there; but since there is this extension angels live together separately and distinctly, in fact, more distinctly than men with whom there is extension of matter. However, time there is not divided into days, weeks, months and years, for the Sun does not appear to rise and set, nor to travel round, but it remains stationary in the East, midway between the zenith and the horizon. There is space also in that world because all things there are substantial, just as in the natural world they are material; but more will be said on this subject in the section of this chapter on Creation.
[3] From what has been said it may be understood that space and time put limits to all things in general and in particular in both worlds, and consequently that men as well as angels and spirits are finite, not only as to their bodies but also as to their souls. From all these considerations it may be concluded that God is Infinite, that is, not finite, because He, as the Creator, the Former and the Maker of the universe, made all things finite; and this He did by means of His Sun, in the midst of which He is, and which consists of His Divine Essence, that proceeds from Him as a sphere. It is there and from there that finiteness begins, but its progression extends to the last things in the natural world. It follows therefore that God is Infinite in Himself, because He is uncreated. The reason why the infinite appears as nothing to man is that he is finite, and thinks from what is finite, so that if the finite, which adheres to his thought, were taken away, he would imagine that nothing would be left; whereas the truth is that God is infinitely All, and man, in respect to himself, is nothing.
* Pu, Greek pou, where?, somewhere, whereabouts, abode.
That God, and the Divine which proceeds immediately from Him, is not in space, although He is omnipresent, and with every man in the world, with every angel in heaven, and with every spirit under heaven, cannot be comprehended by merely natural thought, but it may, in some degree, by spiritual thought. The reason is that space is associated with merely natural conceptions, as these are formed from objects in the world, in every one of which, as these are visible to the eye, there is space. Everything great and small there is spatial, likewise everything that has length, breadth and height; in a word, every measure, figure and form there is spatial. Nevertheless a man may, in some degree, comprehend this idea by his natural thought if he admits into it some spiritual light. However, something must first be said concerning spiritual thought. This derives nothing from space, but everything from state. State has relation to love, life, wisdom, affections, joys, and, in general, to good and truth. A truly spiritual idea concerning these has nothing in common with space: it is on a higher level, and looks down upon spatial ideas beneath it as heaven looks down upon the earth.
[2] God is present in space apart from space, and in time apart from time because He is always the same from eternity to eternity, the same before the creation of the world as after it. There was neither space nor time in God and in His sight before creation, but after it, so that because He is the same, He is in space apart from space, and in time apart from time. Hence it follows that nature is separate from Him, while yet He is omnipresent in it, just as life is present in every substantial and material part of man, yet does not mingle with them; or as light is in the eye, sound in the ear, and taste in the tongue, and also as ether is in land and water, by which the terraqueous globe is held together and made to revolve, and so on. If those active factors were removed, the substantial and the material things would immediately collapse and be dispersed. Indeed, if God were not present in all its parts and at all times in the human mind, it would dissolve like a bubble in the air, and both divisions of the brain, in which it acts from first principles, would melt away like froth; thus all that is human would become as the dust of the earth, or as an odour wafted away on the breeze.
[3] Since God is in all time yet apart from time, therefore in His Word He speaks of the past and of the future as of what is present; as in Isaiah:
“Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, … and His name shall be called … The mighty God,… The Prince of Peace.” ix. 6;
and in David:
“I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee.” Ps. ii. 5.
These words were spoken of the Lord who was to come; thus also it is said again:
“A thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday.” Ps. xc. 4.
That God is everywhere present in the created universe, while yet there is nothing of the world in Him, that is, nothing of space and time, can be perceived by the observant and attentive reader in many other places in the Word, as in this passage from Jeremiah:
“Am I a God at hand,… and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him? … do not I fill heaven and earth?” xxiii. 23, 24.
The infinity of God in relation to space is called immensity because “immense” is predicated of what is great and ample, and also of what is extended, and, in this respect, of what is spacious. On the other hand, the infinity of God in relation to time is called eternity, because “to eternity” is predicated of things whose unending progress is measured by time. For example, spatial relations are predicated of the earth regarded as a globe, and temporal relations with respect to its rotation and progression, the latter being the cause of times and the former of spaces; and so they are represented by the senses to the perception of reflecting minds. In God, however, there is nothing of space and time, as was shown above, and yet these have their origin from God. Hence it follows that His infinity in relation to space is meant by immensity, and His infinity in relation to time, by eternity. But in heaven the angels understand by the immensity of God His Divinity as to His Being (Esse), and by eternity, His Divinity as to His Existing (Existere); and also by immensity His Divinity as to Love, and by eternity His Divinity as to Wisdom. Those conceptions result because they remove space and time from the idea of Divinity. Since, however, man can think only from such ideas as are derived from space and time, he can comprehend nothing of the immensity of God before the existence of space and nothing of His eternity before the existence of time. Indeed, when he tries to form such conceptions, his mind as it were sinks into a swoon. He is like one who has fallen into the water from a wrecked ship, or like one who is being swallowed up by an earthquake. Moreover, should he persist in his speculations, he might easily lose his reason and be led to the denial of God. I was once in a state like this, thinking what God was from eternity, what He did before the creation of the world, whether He deliberated about creation, and thought out a plan for it; whether deliberative thought was possible in a pure vacuum, and other vain conceits. But lest I should be driven mad by such speculations, I was raised into the sphere and light in which the interior angels are; and after my former ideas of space and time were partly removed, it was granted me to see that the eternity of God is not an eternity of time; and because time did not exist before the creation of the world, that it was utterly vain to think of God in this way. Moreover, because the idea of the Divine from eternity, thus apart from time, does not involve days, years and ages, as all these are but a moment to God, I concluded that the world was created by God, not in time, but that time was introduced by God with creation.
In this connection I shall mention this noteworthy circumstance.
MEMORABILIA.
At one extremity of the spiritual world there appear two statues in monstrous human form, with open mouths and distended jaws, which seem to devour those who imagine vain and senseless ideas about God from eternity. These statues represent the illusions into which they plunge themselves who indulge in absurd and groundless speculations concerning God before He created the world.
The following are some of the considerations from which human reason may see the infinity of God. 1. In the whole of creation there are not two things the same. Human learning, supported by reason, has perceived and proved that there is no identity in things which exist simultaneously, and yet the substantial and the material things of creation, regarded individually, are infinite in number. It may be concluded from the rotation of the earth that no two results are identical in the succession of events in the world, because, owing to the inclination of her axis, the same position never recurs. Again, from a consideration of human faces it is clear that there is no identity, for in the whole of creation there is not one face exactly like another, nor can there be to eternity; and this infinite variety can only exist from the infinity of God the Creator.
[2] 2. The mind of one man is never exactly like that of another, whence arises the saying, “Many men, many minds.” Therefore, the mind of one man, that is, his will and his understanding, is never exactly like that of another man. Consequently the speech of one man with respect to sound, and also to the thought from which it springs, likewise his actions with respect to gesture and affection, are never exactly the same as another’s. From this infinite variety also the infinity of God the Creator can be seen as in a mirror.
[3] 3. In every seed, both animal and vegetable, there is implanted a certain immensity and eternity: an immensity, because it can be multiplied to infinity, and an eternity, because that multiplication has continued without interruption from the creation of the world, and still continues, and will continue for ever. As an example from the animal kingdom take the fish of the sea. If they multiplied according to the number of their seed, they would so fill the ocean within twenty or fifty years that it would consist of fish only, and the water would consequently overflow and destroy the whole earth. To prevent this, it was provided by God that some fish should be food for others. It would be the same with the seeds of plants; for if all those were sown which were produced from one plant each year, within twenty or thirty years they would cover the surface not of one earth only but of several. For there are some shrubs of which single seeds produce some a hundred and some a thousandfold. The truth of this would appear if the experiment were to be made of continuing the production of one plant successively for twenty or thirty times. Thus from a consideration of both plants and animals the immensity and eternity of God may be seen, for these qualities necessarily impart their own resemblance as a common feature.
[4] 4. The infinity of God may also appear to every one of enlightened reason from the infinity to which may extend every science, and consequently the intelligence and wisdom of every man, both of which may grow as a tree from seed, and as forests and gardens from trees. It is impossible to assign them limits, man’s memory being their planting ground, his understanding their place of germination, and his will where they bear fruit. These twin faculties, the understanding and the will, are such that they can progress in culture and perfection to the end of life in the world and afterwards to eternity.
[5] 5. The infinity of God the Creator may also be seen from the infinite number of the stars, which are so many suns, with a like number of worlds. In a little work* describing things seen, it has been shown that in the starry heavens there are earths on which are men, animals, birds and plants.
[6] 6. The infinity of God has appeared still more evident to me from a consideration of the angelic heaven and also of hell. These are organized into innumerable societies or congregations according to all the varieties of the love of good and of evil, and every man finds a place according to his love. For all members of the human race are gathered there from the creation of the world, and will be gathered for all ages to come. Although each one has his own dwelling place, still all are so grouped there that the universal angelic heaven represents one Divine Man, and the universal hell one monstrous devil. From these two, and their innumerable wonders, there appears clearly visible the immensity of God, together with His omnipotence.
[7] 7. Every one, if he will but slightly elevate his rational faculty, may perceive that eternal life, which every man has after death, cannot be granted save by an eternal God.
[8] 8. Moreover, there is a certain infinity in many things some of which are perceived by man in natural light (lumen),** and some in spiritual light. In natural light (lumen), man may recognize geometrical series, which extend to infinity. Again, within the three degrees of altitude there is progression to infinity, for the first degree, called the natural, can never be perfected and raised to the second degree, called the spiritual, nor can this be raised to the perfection of the third degree, called the celestial. Similarly with end, cause and effect, for effect cannot be continued to become its own cause, nor cause to become its own end. This may also be illustrated from the atmospheres, of which there are three degrees: the aura is the highest, the ether is under it, and beneath this is the air. No quality of the air can be raised to any quality of the ether, nor can any quality of the ether be raised to any quality of the aura, yet in each there is progression towards the perfection of its own qualities to infinity. In spiritual light it may be seen that natural love, which is merely animal, cannot be raised to spiritual love, with which man has been endowed from creation. It is similar with the natural intelligence of the animal compared with the spiritual intelligence of man; but as these things are as yet unknown in the world, they will be explained in another place. From what has been said it is evident that all things in general in the world are perpetual types of the infinity of God the Creator; but how things in particular resemble things in general, and represent the infinity of God, is a matter not easily understood. It is like an ocean on which the human mind can sail; but it must beware lest a storm, arising from man’s lower nature, should overwhelm the ship with its masts and sails from the poop, on which, confident in himself, stands the natural man.
* THE EARTHS IN THE UNIVERSE.
** That is, in the light of his natural intelligence. By lumen, light, is meant not the physical light of the sun, but the intellectual light of natural intelligence that comes from human learning, from natural science, and from reasoning therefrom. Lux is used for physical light, light in general, and also for spiritual light, or the light of spiritual intelligence. When lumen is used in the original Latin it is translated by light followed by lumen in brackets, thus (lumen).
Every created thing is finite because all things are from Jehovah God by means of the Sun of the spiritual world, which constitutes the first sphere surrounding Him. That Sun is formed of substance proceeding from Him, the essence of which is Love. From that Sun, by means of its heat and light, was created the universe from first things to last. This however is not the place to explain in order the course of Creation, the scheme of which will be described later. At this point it is important only to know that one thing was formed from another, and that degrees originated therefrom, three in the spiritual world, three corresponding to these in the natural world, and a like number in the inactive matter of which the terraqueous globe consists. The origin and nature of these degrees have been fully explained in the work entitled THE ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING THE DIVINE LOVE AND THE DIVINE WISDOM, published at Amsterdam in 1763, and in a small work entitled THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE SOUL AND THE BODY, published in London in 1769. By means of these degrees all posterior things are receptacles of prior things, these of still prior things, and so on to the receptacles of the first things which form the Sun of the angelic heaven, and in this way finite things are receptacles of the infinite. This also accords with the wisdom of the Ancients who held that all things in general and in particular are divisible to infinity. It is a common idea that, because the finite cannot grasp the infinite, finite things cannot be receptacles of the infinite. However, from what has been said in my works on Creation, it is evident that God first limited His infinity by substances sent out from Himself. From these arose the first sphere encompassing Him, which constitutes the Sun of the spiritual world. Afterwards, by means of that Sun, He formed the rest of the spheres, even to the last, which consists of inactive matter. In this way, by means of degrees He completed step by step the finite state of the world. This explanation is given here for the satisfaction of human reason, which does not rest unless it perceives a cause.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him.” Gen. i. 26, 27;
from which it follows that man is an organ recipient of God, and that he is an organ according to the quality of his reception. The human mind, from which and according to which man is man, is formed into three regions according to three degrees. In the first degree it is celestial, in which are the angels of the highest heaven. In the second degree it is spiritual, in which are the angels of the middle heaven, and in the third degree it is natural, in which are the angels of the lowest heaven. [2] The human mind, organized according to these three degrees, is a receptacle of Divine influx; but the Divine flows in only as far as a man prepares the way, or opens the door. If he does this to the highest or celestial degree, then the man 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, then the man becomes indeed an image of God, but not so perfectly, and after death he becomes an angel of the middle heaven; but if he prepares the way, or opens the door, only to the lowest or natural degree, then the man, if he acknowledges God and worships Him with real piety, becomes an image of God in the lowest degree, and after death becomes an angel of the lowest heaven. If, however, he does not acknowledge God, and does not worship Him with real piety, he puts off the image of God, and becomes like some animal, except that he still enjoys the faculty of understanding, and thence of speech. If he then closes the highest natural degree, which corresponds to the highest celestial, he becomes, as to his love, like a beast of the earth; but if he closes the middle natural degree, which corresponds to the middle spiritual, he becomes as to his love, like a fox, and as to his intellectual sight, like a nocturnal bird; but if he also closes the lowest natural degree with respect to what is spiritual there, he becomes, as to his love, as a wild beast, and as to his understanding of truth, like a fish.
[3] The Divine Life, which animates man by influx from the Sun of the angelic heaven, may be compared to the light of the sun of this world and its influx into a transparent object. The reception of that life in the highest degree may be compared to the influx of light into a diamond, its reception in the second degree to the influx of light into a crystal, and its reception in the lowest degree to the influx of light into glass or into a transparent membrane. If, however, this degree were to be quite closed with respect to what is spiritual there, as happens when God is denied and satan worshiped, the reception of life from God may be compared to the influx of light into the opaque substances of the earth, such as rotten wood, the putrid vegetation of a marsh, filth, and so on; for man then becomes a spiritual corpse.
In this connection I will now relate the following spiritual experience.
I was once reflecting with amazement on the vast number of men who ascribe Creation, and consequently all things that are under the sun and all things that are above it, to nature and who assure themselves that everything they see is the work of nature. When they are asked why they ascribe these things to nature and not to God, although they sometimes join in the general confession that God created nature, and could therefore ascribe what they see to God just as well as to nature, they reply in subdued and scarcely audible tone, “What is God but nature?” They are persuaded that Creation is the work of nature, and that this insanity is wisdom. In their conceit they regard those who acknowledge God to be the Creator of the universe as so many ants, creeping along the ground and treading the beaten track, or as butterflies fluttering through the air. They call their opinions dreams, or baseless illusions, and ask, “Who has ever seen God, and who does not see nature?” [2] As I continued in my reflections an angel stood by my side and said to me, “What is the subject of your meditation?” I replied, “It is the great number of those who believe that nature exists from herself, and is thus the creator of the universe. Whereupon the angel said to me: “All hell consists of such persons, who are called there satans and devils: satans if they have confirmed their belief in nature and have consequently denied God, and devils if they have lived wickedly and have thus expelled all acknowledgment of God from their hearts. But let me take you to the colleges in the south western quarter, where such persons reside before they enter hell.” He then took my hand and conducted me thither. There I saw small houses in which were studies, and in the centre, one which appeared to be the principal. It was built of black stones, overlaid with plates which resembled glass, sparkling like gold and silver, such as those made of selenite or mica, and here and there were interspersed glittering shells.
[3] We approached this study and knocked at the door, which was presently opened by one who bade us welcome. He then hurried to a table and brought four books, saying, “These books represent the wisdom which is lauded at this day in many kingdoms. This book, or wisdom, is esteemed by many men in France, this by many in Germany, this by some in Holland,* and this by some in Britain.” He continued: “If you wish to see it, I shall make these four books shine before your eyes.” He then poured forth and shed around them the glory of his own reputation, and the books instantly shone as with a light; but this brightness as quickly vanished from our sight. Thereupon we asked him what he was engaged in writing. He replied that he was about to bring forth from his treasure-store matters of the deepest wisdom, and would expound them under the following heads: 1. Whether nature is from life, or life from nature. 2. Whether the centre is from the expanse, or the expanse from the centre.
[4] 3. Concerning the centre of the expanse and of life. Having said this he seated himself at the table while we walked about his spacious study. He had a candle on the table, for the light of the sun did not shine into the room, but only a light like that of the nocturnal light of the moon. To my wonder the candle seemed to move round about the room, and thus to illuminate it; but because it had not been trimmed it gave out but little light. Whilst he wrote we saw images of various forms hitting from the table to the walls, like beautiful Indian birds in that pale light. When, however, we opened the door, in the bright sunlight they appeared like birds of night with wings of tracery-work; for they were appearances of truth, confirmed into fallacies and ingeniously connected by him to form a continuous theme.
[5] After we had seen these things, we approached the table and asked him what he was now writing. He replied: “On the first subject, Whether nature is from life, or life from nature.” He added that he could confirm either proposition and prove it to be true; but because of a secret fear which he entertained he ventured to prove only this proposition, ‘that nature is from life’ but not, ‘that life is from nature.’ Thereupon we courteously asked him what it was he was afraid of. He replied that he was afraid he would be called a naturalist, and thus an atheist, by the clergy, and a man of unsound reason by the laity, since they believe only from a blind faith, or see with the sight of those who confirm such a faith. [6] Then we, with a certain indignation in our zeal for the truth, said: “Friend, you are much mistaken. Your wisdom, which is only an ingenious talent for writing, has led you astray, and the glamour of renown has induced you to confirm what you do not believe. Do you not know that the human mind is capable of being raised above sensual things, which enter the thoughts through the bodily senses, and that, when it is so raised, it sees things relating to life above, and those relating to nature below? What is life but love and wisdom, and what is nature but their receptacle, through which they produce their effects or perform their uses? Can life and nature be one unless as agent and instrument are one? Can light be one with the eye, or sound with the ear? Whence come their sensations but from life, and their forms but from nature? What is the human body but an organ of life? Is not every single part of it organically formed to produce what the love wills and the understanding thinks? Are not the organs of the body from nature, and love and thought from life? And are not these entirely distinct from each other? Elevate your mental ingenuity but a little and you will see that affection and thought are related to life: that affection is related to love, that thought is related to wisdom, and that both are related to life, for, as was said above, love and wisdom are life. Now raise your faculty of understanding a little higher still, and you will see that love and wisdom cannot exist unless they have their origin somewhere: that their origin is Love itself and Wisdom itself, and consequently Life itself; and that these are God, from whom nature is derived.”
[7] We then conversed with him about his second proposition: Whether the centre is from the expanse, or the expanse from the centre; and we asked him why he discussed this question. He replied: “In order to determine the centre and the expanse of nature and of life, and thus the origin of each.” When we asked what his opinion was, he replied as in the former case, that he could confirm each proposition, but that, from fear of losing his reputation, he would prove that the expanse is from the centre, “Although I know,” he added, “that before the sun, there existed, everywhere in the expanse, something which of itself flowed into order, and thus into a centre.” [8] Addressing him again with zealous fervour we said, “Friend, you are beside yourself.” On hearing this, he drew back his chair from the table, and with a startled look in his eyes, but smiling incredulously, he listened as we continued: “What could be more insane than to say that the centre is from the expanse? For by your centre we understand the sun, and by your expanse the universe, and thus that the universe existed without the sun. But does not the sun give rise to nature and all her properties, which depend solely upon the light and heat proceeding from the sun through the atmospheres? We have already spoken about these things as being somewhere; but their origin we will now explain in what follows. Are not the atmospheres and all things upon the earth as surfaces, and the sun as their centre? What would all these be without the sun, or how could they subsist a single moment without it? What then were all these things before the sun? Could they have existed, and is not subsistence perpetual existence? Since, therefore, the subsistence of all things in nature depends upon the sun, it follows that their existence also depends upon it. Everyone sees this and acknowledges it from his own perception.
[9] Does not what is posterior subsist as well as exist from what is prior? If then the surface were prior and the centre posterior, would not the prior subsist from the posterior, which is contrary to the laws of order? For how could posterior things produce prior, or exterior things interior, or grosser things purer? How then could surfaces, of which the expense is formed, produce the centre? Who does not see that this is contrary to the laws of nature? We have adduced these arguments from a rational analysis to prove that the expanse exists from the centre, and not the centre from the expense, although everyone who thinks rightly sees this without such arguments. You said that the expanse of itself flowed into the centre. Did it thus by chance flow into such marvelous and stupendous order that one thing serves another, and each and all subserve man and his eternal life? Could nature, from some kind of love through some kind of wisdom, propose ends, provide for causes and so produce effects that such things should exist in their proper order? Could she make angels of men and a heaven from angels, and cause those who are there to live for ever? Consider these things well. Give due consideration to these arguments and your idea of the existence of nature from nature will vanish.”
[10] We next asked him what he had thought, and what he still thought, about his third proposition: Concerning the centre and the expanse of nature and of life. ‘Did he believe that the centre and the expense of life were the same as the centre and the expanse of nature?’ He replied that he was at a loss what to believe. At first he had thought that the inner activity of nature was life, and that love and wisdom, which are the essentials of the life of man, had their origin there; and that the sun’s fire, by means of its heat and light, produced this activity through the medium of the atmospheres. Now, however, from what he had heard of the life of men after death, he was in doubt, and so his mind was borne now upwards, now downwards; when upwards, he recognized a centre of which he had formerly known nothing, and when downwards, he saw the centre which he had believed to be the only one. He perceived that life was from the centre of which he had formerly known nothing, that nature was from the centre which he had believed was the only one, and that each centre had an expense around it.
[11] This, we replied, was right, provided he would also regard the centre and expanse of nature as originating from the centre and the expanse of life, and not the reverse. We then instructed him that above the angelic heaven there is a Sun which is pure love, fiery in appearance like the sun of this world; that from the heat of that Sun angels and men have their will and love, and from its light they have understanding and wisdom; and that the things from it are called spiritual, while those that proceed from the sun of this world are containants or receptacles of life, and are called natural. Further, that the expense of the centre of life is called the spiritual world, which subsists from its own Sun, while the expanse of the centre of nature is called the natural world, which subsists from its sun. Now, since space and time cannot be predicated of love and wisdom, but instead of them, states, it follows that the expense around the Sun of the angelic heaven is not an extension, although it is within the extension of the natural sun, and present with the living subjects of the natural world according to their reception of it; and their reception is according to their forms and states.
[12] But then he enquired, “Whence does the sun of this world or nature derive its fire?” and we answered that it comes from the Sun of the angelic heaven, which is not fire, but Divine Love, the first proceeding from God, who is in its midst. As he wondered at this we proceeded to explain it in the following way. “Love in its essence is spiritual fire: hence fire in the Word in its spiritual sense signifies love. For this reason the clergy in places of worship pray that heavenly fire may fill the heart, by which they mean heavenly love. Among the Israelites the fire on the altar and the fire in the lampstand in the Tabernacle represented nothing but the Divine Love. The heat of the blood, the vital heat of men and of animals in general, has no other origin than the love which constitutes their life. It is for this reason that man burns, grows warm and is inflamed as his love is roused to zeal, or stirred to burning wrath. Therefore, since spiritual heat, which is love, produces natural heat in men, causing their faces and limbs to burn and glow, it is evident that the fire of the natural sun has come from no other source than the fire of the spiritual Sun, which is Divine Love.
[13] Now, since the expense arises from the centre, and not the reverse, as we said above, and the centre of life, or the Sun of the angelic heaven, is the Divine Love, the first Proceeding from God who is in the midst of that Sun; and since from it is the expense of that centre which is called the spiritual world; since also from that Sun has come the sun of this world, and from this sun its expense which is called the natural world, it is plain that the universe was created by God.” We thereupon took our departure, and he accompanied us beyond the hall of his study, still conversing about heaven and hell and the Divine providence with newly acquired wisdom.
* Batavia, Holland.
We have distinguished between the Being of God and the Essence of God, because there is a distinction between the Infinity of God and the Love of God, Infinity being predicated of the Being of God and Love of the Essence of God; for, as was observed above, the Being of God is more universal than the Essence of God, and the Infinity more universal than the Love of God. Therefore the term infinite is applicable to the essentials and attributes of God, which are all called infinite. Thus the Divine Love, and the Divine Wisdom and the Divine Power are said to be infinite; not that the Being of God existed before His Essence, but because it enters into His Essence as an adjunct, cohering with, determining, forming, and at the same time, exalting it. This subject, as in previous cases, will be treated under separate articles in the following order:
(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) The essence of love is to love others outside itself, to desire to be one with them, and to make them happy from itself.
(6) These properties of Divine Love were the cause of the creation of the universe, and they are the cause of its preservation.
Each article will now be treated in order.
Our first ancestors perceived that love and wisdom are the two essentials to which are related all the infinite things which are in God and which proceed from Him. In succeeding ages, however, as men withdrew their minds from heaven and immersed them in worldly and corporeal things, they lost this power of perception. They gradually lost the knowledge of what love is in its essence, and hence what wisdom is in its essence, and ceased to be aware that love cannot exist apart from form, and that it functions only in and through form. Now since God is Substance itself and Form itself, the only and thus the first, whose Essence is Love and Wisdom, and since from Him all things were made which are made, it follows that He created the universe with everything in it, from Love by means of Wisdom; and consequently that the Divine Love, together with the Divine Wisdom, is in every created subject. Love, moreover, is not only the essence which forms all things; but it also unites and conjoins them, and thus keeps them in connection when formed. These truths may be illustrated by innumerable things in the world, as for instance, by the heat and light from the sun, the two essentials and universals by means of which all things on the earth exist and subsist. Heat and light are in the world because they correspond to the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, for the heat, which proceeds from the Sun of the spiritual world, in its essence is love, and the light, which is derived from it, in its essence is wisdom.
[2] Illustration may also be found in the two essentials and universals by means of which human minds exist and subsist, namely, the will and the understanding, for of these two the mind of every man is constituted. The reason why these two are in everything of the mind and function there is that the will is the receptacle and habitation of love, and the understanding of wisdom. These two faculties therefore correspond to the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, from which they derive their origin. Further illustration may be found in the two essentials and universals by means of which human bodies exist and subsist, namely, the heart and the lungs, or the systole and diastole of the heart and the respiration of the lungs. These, as is well known, operate in every part of the body, because the heart corresponds to love and the lungs to wisdom. This correspondence is fully demonstrated in the ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING THE DIVINE LOVE AND THE DIVINE WISDOM, published at Amsterdam. [3] That love, as bridegroom and husband, produces or begets all forms, but by means of wisdom, as bride and wife, may be proved by innumerable things both in the spiritual and in the natural world. However, this only need be observed here, that the whole angelic heaven is arranged into its own form and maintained in it from the Divine Love by means of the Divine Wisdom. Those who deduce the creation of the world from any other source than the Divine Love by means of the Divine Wisdom, and who do not know that these two constitute the Divine Essence, descend from rational to ocular vision, and greet nature as the creator of the universe; and consequently they conceive chimaeras and bring forth phantoms. The thoughts from which they reason are fallacies, and their conclusions are eggs in which are birds of night. These cannot be called minds, but eyes and ears without understanding, or thoughts without a soul. They talk of colours as if they existed without light, of the existence of trees without seed, and of all things in this world as if they existed without the sun, regarding derivatives as primitives, and effects as causes. Thus they turn everything upside down, lull to sleep the watchful powers of reason and see nothing but dreams.
It is universally known that all things have relation to good and truth, and this is a proof that all things have derived their existence from love and wisdom; for everything that proceeds from love is called good, from the feeling it arouses; and whatever is delightful by which love manifests itself is every man’s good.* On the other hand, everything that proceeds from wisdom is called truth, for wisdom consists of nothing but truths, and it affects its objects with the pleasantness of light which is perceived as truth from good. Love therefore comprises all varieties of good, and wisdom all varieties of truth; but both the former and the latter are from God, who is Love itself and consequently Good itself, and Wisdom itself and consequently Truth itself. Hence it is that in the Church there are two essentials, called charity and faith, of which all things of the Church are constituted and which will ever be in them. For all the goods in the Church have relation to charity, and are called charity, and all its truths have relation to faith, and are called faith. The delights of love, which are also the delights of charity, cause what is delightful to be called good; and the pleasures of wisdom, which are also the pleasures of faith, cause what is pleasant to be called truth; for what is delightful and what pleasant constitute their life, and without life derived from these, goods and truths are inanimate and sterile.
[2] The delights of love are of two kinds, as are also the pleasures which apparently are of wisdom; for there are delights of the love of good and delights of the love of evil, and consequently there are pleasures of the faith of truth and pleasures of the faith of falsity. The two delights of love, from the feeling they arouse in their subjects, are called goods, and the two pleasures of faith, from their perception, are also called goods, but because these are in the understanding, they are in reality truths. Nevertheless these two kinds of delights and pleasures are the direct opposites of each other, the good of the one love being good and the good of the other love being evil; so also the truth of the one faith is true, and the truth of the other faith is false. That love, however, whose delight is essentially good, is like the heat of the sun, fructifying, quickening, and acting on a fertile soil, on useful plants and fields of corn, and, wherever it acts, producing as it were a paradise, a garden of the Lord, a veritable land of Canaan; and the pleasure of its companion truth is like the light from the sun in spring-time, and the light flooding a crystal casket of beautiful flowers, which, when opened up, breathes out a grateful perfume. On the other hand, the delight of the love of evil is like the heat of the sun parching, withering, and acting on sterile soil and on noxious plants, such as thorns and brambles, and wherever it acts, producing an Arabian desert, where lurk hydras and fiery serpents; while the pleasure of its falsity is like the light from the sun in winter, and like the light that finds its way into a wine-skin in which are worms swimming about in sour wine and creeping things of a noisome smell.
[3] It should be known that every good fashions itself into a form by means of truths, and also clothes itself with them, and thus distinguishes itself from any other good; further, that goods of one kind bind themselves into groups, and at the same time envelop these in a covering, and in this way distinguish themselves from others. The formation of these groups may be exemplified from all things, in general and in particular, in the human body. It is evident that something like this takes place in the human mind because there is a perpetual correspondence between all things of the mind and all things of the body. Consequently it follows that the human mind is an organized form, consisting of spiritual substances interiorly, and of natural substances exteriorly, and in the last resort of matter. That mind, the delightful things of whose love are good, consists interiorly of spiritual substances, such as exist in heaven; but the mind, whose delights are evil, consists interiorly of spiritual substances such as exist in hell. The evils of the latter are bound into groups by means of falsities, but the goods of the former into groups by means of truths. This grouping of good and evil explains why our Lord said,
that the tares must be gathered into bundles to be burnt, and likewise all things that offend. Matt. xiii. 30, 40, 41; John xv. 6.
* The translation adopted changes vera to amaena. Thus jucundum = delightful (to the feelings) is predicated of good, and amaenum = pleasant (to the sight) is predicated of truth.
It is written in John:
“The Word was with God, and the Word was God…. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” i. 1, 4.
By God is there signified the Divine Love, and by the Word the Divine Wisdom. The Divine Wisdom is essentially life, and life is essentially the light which proceeds from the Sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which is Jehovah God. Divine Love forms life, as fire forms light. There are two properties in fire, burning and brilliance; from its burning proceeds heat and from its brilliance light. Similarly there are two properties in love, one to which the burning of fire corresponds, and which in a certain way intimately affects the will of man, and the other to which the brilliance of fire corresponds, and which similarly affects his understanding. From these two properties man derives his love and his intelligence; for as has been said several times before, there proceeds from the Sun of the spiritual world heat, which in its essence is love, and Light, which in its essence is wisdom. These two flow into everything in the universe and intimately affect them; and in the case of men, they flow into the will and the understanding, for these two are created to be the receptacles of influx, the will to be the receptacle of love, and the understanding to be the receptacle of wisdom. It is therefore evident that a man’s life dwells in his understanding, that its quality depends upon his wisdom, and that it is modified by the love of his will.
“As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself.” v. 26.
By this is meant that as the Divine itself, which was from eternity, lives in itself, so also the Human, which it assumed in time, lives in itself. Life in itself is life itself and the only life, from which all angels and men live. Human reason may see this from the light which proceeds from the sun of the natural world. This light is not creatable, but the forms which receive it are created; for the eyes are its recipient forms, and the light flowing into them from the sun causes them to see. It is similar with life which, as has been said, is the light which proceeds from the Sun of the spiritual world. This light is not creatable, but continually flows in, and both illumines and vivifies the understanding of man. Consequently, since light, life and wisdom are one, wisdom is not creatable, nor are faith, truth, love, charity and good; but their recipient forms are created, and these forms are the minds of men and of angels. Let each one therefore beware lest he persuade himself that he lives from himself and that he is wise from himself: that he believes, loves, perceives truth, and wills and does good from himself. For as far as any one indulges in such persuasions so far does he turn his mind downward from heaven to earth, and from being spiritual he becomes natural, sensual and corporeal. In effect he closes the higher regions of his mind, and thus becomes blind to all that belongs to God, to heaven and to the Church. Then whatever he may happen to think, reason or say about these things is nothing but foolishness, because all is done in darkness; and yet he deludes himself that it is the result of wisdom. For when the higher regions of his mind are closed, where dwells the true light (lux) of life, there opens up below these a region of the mind to which only the light (lumen) of the world is admitted. When separated from the light (lux) of the higher regions this is a delusive light (lumen), in which falsities appear as truths and truths as falsities; and reasoning from falsities appears as wisdom and from truths as madness. In this case a man believes he possesses the keen sight of an eagle, whereas he no more sees the realities of wisdom than a bat sees in the light of noon-day.
Every wise man in the Church knows that all the good of love and of charity is from God, and likewise all the truth of wisdom and of faith. Human reason can see that this is so, provided it knows that the origin of love and wisdom is from the Sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which is Jehovah God, or which is the same thing, that it is from Jehovah God operating through that Sun which encompasses Him. The heat proceeding from that Sun is in its essence love, and the light in its essence is wisdom; it is therefore perfectly clear that love and wisdom are one in virtue of that origin, and consequently in God, from whom that Sun derives its origin. This may be illustrated also from the sun of the natural world, which is pure fire; for heat proceeds from its burning quality and light from its brilliance, and thus both are one in their origin. [2] But that they are divided as they proceed is evident from their subjects,* some of which receive more heat and some more light. This is especially the case with men. Amongst men the light of life, which is intelligence, and the heat of life, which is love, are divided. This happens because man must be reformed and regenerated, which cannot be accomplished unless the light of life, which is intelligence, should teach what he ought to will and to love.
Nevertheless it should be known that God continually works for the union of love and wisdom in man, but that man, unless he looks to God and believes on Him, continually works for their separation. Therefore as far as these two, the good of love or charity, and the truth of wisdom or faith, are united in a man, so far he becomes an image of God, and is raised heavenwards and then into heaven, where angels dwell. On the other hand, as far as these two are divided by a man, so far he becomes an image of Lucifer** and the dragon, and is cast downwards from heaven to the earth, and afterwards under the earth into hell. From the union of these two principles the state of man becomes like that of a tree in spring-time when heat and light are present equally, causing it to bud, blossom and bear fruit; but from the division of these two the state of man becomes like that of a tree in winter, when heat withdraws from light, causing it to be stripped bare of every leaf and green shoot. [3] When spiritual heat, which is love, is separated from spiritual light, which is wisdom, or what is the same thing, when charity is separated from faith, man becomes like ground that is sour or rotten, which breeds worms, and if it produces vegetation the leaves are eaten up by swarming pests. For the allurements of the love of evil, which in themselves are lusts, break forth, and the understanding, instead of subduing and curbing them, loves, pampers and cherishes them. In a word, to divide love and wisdom, or charity and faith, which God continually endeavours to unite, is as it were to rob the face of its ruddiness for the paleness of death, or to deprive it of its white lustre, leaving only the fiery red of a burning brand. Or it is like dissolving the conjugial*** tie between two partners, thus making the wife a harlot and the husband an adulterer; for love or charity is like the husband and wisdom and faith like the wife. When these two are separated there ensue spiritual whoredom and adultery, which are falsification of truth and adulteration of good.
* A subject-subjectum-is that in which attributes, powers, and qualities are, and by which they are rendered effective. See 621:7.
** Lucifer, fabled son of Aurora, or of Jupiter, morning star, day.
*** “… vinculum conjugiale.” Here and elsewhere throughout this work the word conugialis as well as conjugalis is translated conjugial, in preference to marriage, on account of the new spiritual concept introduced by Swedenborg. In the first translation of Swedenborg’s DE AMOR CONJUGIALI the Rev. John Clowes introduced the word conjugial as a translation of conjugialis; but in this he is not followed by some translators of Swedenborg. In the first translation of T. C. R. Clowes translates this phrase, vinculum conjugiale, as “the marriage tie.”
* This addition in parentheses is in accordance with what is said lower: horum cogitationes repraesentantur per noctuas.
There are two things which make the Essence of God, namely, Love and Wisdom, and there are three things which make the essence of His Love, namely, to love others outside of itself, to desire to be one with them, and to make them happy from itself. The same three things also make the essence of His Wisdom, because, as has been shown above, Love and Wisdom make one in God: while Love wills these things, Wisdom gives effect to them. [2] The first essential, to love others outside of itself, is recognized from the Love of God towards the whole human race; and for their sake God loves all things He has created, because they are means; for he who loves the end loves also the means. All persons and all things in the universe are outside of God because they are finite, and God is infinite. Yet the Love of God approaches and extends not only to good persons and good things, but also to evil persons and evil things; consequently not only to persons and things in heaven, but also to those in hell; thus not only to Michael* and Gabriel, but also to the devil and satan, for God is everywhere, and from eternity to eternity the same. He says also:
“He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matt. v. 45.
[3] The reason, however, why evil persons and things are still evil is in the subjects and objects themselves, because they do not receive the Love of God in its own quality and interior nature, but according to their own nature, just as the thorn and nettle receive the heat of the sun and the rain of heaven.
The second essential of the Love of God, to desire to be one with them, is perceived from His conjunction with the angelic heaven, with the Church on earth, with every individual there, and with every good and truth which enters into and constitutes man and the Church. Moreover, love viewed in itself is nothing but an endeavor towards conjunction; therefore, in order that this object of the essence of love might be attained, God created man in His own image and likeness by which conjunction might be effected. That the Divine Love is ever directed towards this union is evident from the words of the Lord,
that He desires that they may be one, He in them and they in Him, and that the Love of God may be in them, John xvii. 2, 22, 23, 26.
[4] The third essential of the Love of God, to make them happy from itself, is recognized from eternal life, or blessedness, happiness and felicity without end, which He gives those who receive His Love. For as God is Love itself so also is He Blessedness itself, since all love breathes out from itself what is delightful, and the Divine Love breathes out blessedness itself, happiness and felicity to eternity. Thus God makes angels happy from Himself, and also men after death, by conjunction with them.
* Michael, the archangel.
* This combines the separate actions indicated by osculatur, palpat et conjungit manus.
That these three essentials of the Divine Love were the cause of Creation may be clearly seen from a careful examination of them. That the first, which is to love others outside of itself, was a cause is evident from the universe, which is outside of God as the world is outside of the sun, and to which He can extend His love, and in which He can exercise His love and consequently rest; as it is written that after God had created the heaven and the earth, He rested; and thus originated the Sabbath day, Gen. ii. 2, 3. That the second, which is to desire to be one with them, was a cause is evident from the creation of man in the image and likeness of God. By this is meant that man was made a form recipient of love and wisdom from God, so that He could unite Himself with man and, for his sake, with the whole universe and everything in it, as these are but means; for conjunction with a final cause implies also conjunction with mediate causes. That all things were created for the sake of man is evident from the Book of Creation, or Genesis, i. 28, 29, 30. That the third essential of Divine Love, which is to make others happy from itself, is a cause of Creation is evident from the angelic heaven, which is provided for every man who receives the Love of God, where all are made happy from God alone. These three essentials of the Love of God are also the cause of the preservation of the universe, for preservation is perpetual creation, just as subsistence is perpetual existence; and as the Divine Love from eternity to eternity is the same, it is and it remains in the world after its creation such as it was when the world was being created.
To the above will now be added this spiritual experience. I was once conversing with two angels, one from the eastern heaven and the other from the southern. When they perceived that I was meditating upon the mysteries of wisdom involved in love, they asked if I knew anything of the schools of wisdom in their world. On my replying that I did not yet, they said: “There are several where those, who love truths from spiritual affection, or truths because they are truths and the means of attaining wisdom, meet together at an appointed sign, and discuss and determine matters requiring more than ordinary consideration.” They then took me by the hand saying: “Come with us, and you shall see and hear, for to-day the signal for a meeting has been given.” I was conducted across a plain to a hill, at the foot of which was an avenue of palm trees stretching to the top. We entered this avenue and ascended, and at the top or summit of the hill was a grove within whose trees the ground was raised to form a sort of theatre, with a smooth floor of small colored stones. Around it in the form of a square were seats on which lovers of wisdom sat, and in the centre of the theatre was a table on which was laid a sealed paper.
[2] Those who were seated invited us to places that were still unoccupied, but I replied: “I have been brought here by two angels to see and hear but not to take a seat.” The two angels then walked to the table in the middle of the door, and, breaking the seal on the paper, they read out to those who were seated the mysteries of wisdom written on the paper which they were now to discuss and unfold. These had been written by angels of the third heaven and deposited on the table. They consisted of three subjects, the first of which was, What is the image of God and what is the likeness of God in which man was created? The second was, Why is man not born into the knowledge relating to any love, while beasts and birds both noble and vile are born into the knowledge relating to all their loves? The third was, What is meant by the tree of life, what by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and what by eating of them? Underneath was written: “Combine your answers to these three questions into one, write it upon a fresh paper and place it on the table, and we shall see it. If your decision appears well-balanced and just, each of you shall be awarded the prize of wisdom.” Having read these words the two angels retired and were borne away to their own heaven. Thereupon those who were seated began to discuss and unfold the propositions laid before them. They spoke in order, first those who sat on the north, then those on the west, next those on the south, and lastly those on the east. They began with the first subject of consideration, namely, What is the image of God and what is the likeness of God in which man was created? In the first place from the Book of Creation in the presence of all were read these words:
“God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:… So God created man in His own image, in the likeness (A.V., image) of God created He him.” Gen. i. [26, 27];
“In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him.” Gen. v. 1.
[3] Those who sat on the north spoke first. They said: “The image of God and the 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 it is written:
“JEHOVAH God breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives (A.V., life), and man became a living soul.” Gen. ii. 7.
These words seem to mean that there was breathed into him the will of good and the perception of truth, and thus the soul of lives; and because life was breathed into him by God, an image and a likeness signify integrity from love and wisdom, and from justice and judgment in him.” Those who were seated on the west agreed with this opinion, but with this addition, that the state of integrity inspired into him by God at creation is continually inspired by God into every man since; but that it is in man as in a recipient, and man, as a recipient, is an image and likeness of God. [4] Afterwards the third in order, who sat on the south, said: “The image of God and the likeness of God are two distinct things, but united in man at creation; and we see, as by a kind of interior light, that the image of God may be destroyed by man, but not the likeness of God. This seems to be implied by the fact that Adam retained the likeness of God after he had lost the image of God, for it is said after the curse:
“Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.” Gen. iii. 22;
and later he is called the likeness of God, and not the image of God, Gen. v. 1. But let us leave it to our friends who sit on the east and are therefore in a higher light to say what is properly an image of God, and what a likeness of God.”
[5] Then after a silence, those who were seated on the east rose; and looking up to the Lord they resumed their seats and said: “An image of God is a recipient of God; and because God is Love itself and Wisdom itself, an image of God is the result of the reception of love and wisdom from God in a man. On the other hand, a likeness of God is a perfect likeness and full appearance as if love and wisdom were in a man and consequently were altogether his own; for then he feels just as if he loves from himself and is wise from himself, or that he wills good and understands truth from himself; whereas he does none of these things from himself, but from God. God alone loves from Himself and is wise from Himself, because God is Love itself and Wisdom itself. The likeness or appearance that love and wisdom, or goodness and truth, are in a man as his own causes him to be a man, and enables him to be united with God, and so live for ever. Hence it follows that man is man because be is able to will good and to understand truth, altogether as from himself, and yet to know and believe that good and truth are from God; for as he knows and believes this, God implants His image in him. It would be otherwise were he to believe that love and wisdom were from himself and not from God.”
[6] Having spoken these words, and being inspired with zeal for the truth they continued as follows: “How can a man receive any love and wisdom, retain it and give it forth unless he feels it as his own? How can there be conjunction with God by means of love and wisdom unless there is something reciprocal on the part of man to effect conjunction? For without reciprocation no conjunction is possible. What is necessary for conjunction is that a man should love God and do the things that are of God as if from himself, and yet in the belief that he does so from God. Moreover, how can a man live to eternity unless he is conjoined with the eternal God? And consequently how can a man be man unless he has that likeness in him?” [7] All agreed with these words and said: “Let our conclusion be drawn up in accordance with these sentiments.” This they did as follows: “A man is a recipient of God, and a recipient of God is an image of God; and since God is Love itself and Wisdom itself, a man is a recipient of these, and a recipient becomes an image of God in so far as it receives Him. Further, a man is a likeness of God because he feels in himself that the things which are from God are in him as his own. Still he is an image of God from that likeness only in so far as he acknowledges that love and wisdom, or good and truth in him are not his own, and consequently are not from himself, but that they are only in God, and consequently from God.”
[8] After this they took up the second subject of inquiry: Why is man not born into the knowledge relating to any love, while beasts and birds, both noble and vile, are born into the knowledge relating to all their loves? They first confirmed the truth of the proposition by various considerations. Then they instanced that in the case of man he is born into no knowledge, not even into knowledge concerning conjugial love. They made inquiry and found out from investigators that an infant does not even know from innate knowledge its mother’s breast, but that it learns this from its mother or its nurse by being put to the breast; and that it only knows how to suck from having learned it by continual suction in its mother’s womb. Afterwards it does not know how to walk, or how to articulate sound in any human language, or even how to give expression to its affections of love as beasts do. Moreover, it does not know what food is suitable for it, as beasts do, but lays hold of whatever comes its way, clean or unclean, and puts it into its mouth. The investigators also said that without instruction man knows nothing at all about sexual love: that not even do maidens and youths have such knowledge except by instruction from others. In short, a man is born corporeal like a worm, and remains so, unless he learns to know, to understand, and to be wise from others. [9] After this they confirmed that beasts, both noble and vile, as animals of the earth, the birds of heaven, reptiles, fish and insects, are born into all knowledge of the loves of their life, as into what relates to their nourishment, habitation, sexual love, propagation of their kind and up-bringing of their young. These things they confirmed by the wonderful things they recalled to memory from what they had seen, heard and read in the natural world where they formerly lived, and where there are not representations, but real beasts. When the truth of this proposition was thus proved, they turned their minds to investigate and discover reasons by which they might resolve and explain this mystery. They all said that these things could only be from the Divine Wisdom, to the end that man may be man and beast may be beast; and that thus the imperfection of man at his birth is his perfection, and the perfection of beasts at their birth is their imperfection.
[10] Then those on the north first expressed their views, and they said: “Man is born without knowledge that he may be able to acquire all knowledge. If, however, he were born with knowledge he would not be able to acquire any beyond what was innate, and would therefore not be able to appropriate any to himself.” This they illustrated by means of the following comparison. “When a man is born he is at first like ground in which no seed has been sown, but which can receive all kinds of seed, cause them to grow and bear fruit. Beasts on the other hand are like ground already sown and covered with grass and herbs. This ground receives no other seed than what has already been sown; and if it were to receive other seed it would choke them. Hence a man takes many years to reach maturity, and during this time he can be cultivated like the ground, and bring forth, as it were, all kinds of grain, flowers and trees. A beast, however, reaches maturity in a few years, during which it cannot be cultivated to produce anything but what was innate.”
[11] Those on the west next spoke, and they said: “A man is not born with knowledge, like a beast, but with faculty and inclination, with faculty to know and with inclination to love; and not only to love whatever relates to himself and the world, but also whatever relates to God and heaven. Consequently a man is by birth an organism, at first living only an uncertain kind of life, using external but no internal senses, to the end that he may live a life of ever-increasing fulness, and become first a natural, then a rational, and finally a spiritual man. This would not be possible if, like the beasts’, his knowledge and his loves were innate. For such knowledge and love would limit this progression, whereas innate faculties and inclinations set no bounds, and thus a man may be perfected in knowledge, intelligence and wisdom to eternity.”
[12] Those on the south next took up the subject and said: “It is impossible for a man to acquire any knowledge from himself, but he must acquire it from others, since no knowledge is born with him. Moreover, as he cannot acquire any knowledge from himself, neither can he acquire any love, for where there is no knowledge there is no love, knowledge and love being inseparable companions. They can no more be separated than the will and the understanding, or affection and thought, or essence and form. Therefore as man acquires knowledge from others, love joins it as a companion. The universal love which joins it is the love of knowing, and afterwards that of understanding and of being wise. [13] Man only, and not beasts, has these loves, and they flow in from God. We agree with our friends on the west that a man is not born with any love, and consequently, not with any knowledge, but that he is born only with an inclination to love, and consequently with a faculty to receive knowledge, not indeed from himself, but from others, that is, through others: ‘through others,’ because neither have these acquired anything from themselves, but originally from God. We agree also with our friends on the north that a man, when born, is like ground in which no seed has been sown, but in which all kinds, both good and bad, can be planted. It is for this reason that man was called homo from humus, ‘the ground,’ and Adam from Adama, which also means ‘the ground.’ We add, however, that beasts are born with all kinds of natural love, and consequently with the knowledge concerning these. Still from this knowledge they do not exercise the power of knowing, thinking, understanding, nor do they become wise; but they are impelled by their love almost as blind men are led along the streets by their dogs, for they are blind as to intellectual sight; or rather they are like sleep-walkers, whose actions are all done blindly, and whose mental faculties are sound asleep.”
[14] Lastly those on the east spoke, and they said: “We agree with what our brethren have stated, that a man knows nothing from himself, but only from others and through others, in order that he may realize and acknowledge that all his knowledge, intelligence and wisdom are from God; otherwise a man could not be born and begotten of God, and become an image and likeness of Him. For he becomes an image of God as he acknowledges and believes that all the good of love and charity and all the truth of wisdom and faith which he has received and continues to receive are from God, and that none whatever is from himself; and he is a likeness of God in that he sensibly perceives these things in himself as if they were from himself. He so feels because he is not born with knowledge, but acquires it; and what a man acquires appears to him to be from himself. God grants that he should have this feeling that he may be a man and not a beast. Since by it he wills, thinks, loves, knows, understands and becomes wise as from himself, he acquires knowledge, exalts it to intelligence, and by using it converts it into wisdom. In this way God conjoins man to Himself and a man conjoins himself to God. This would have been impossible had God not provided that a man should be born in total ignorance.”
[15] After this statement all desired that a conclusion should be drawn up from the views expressed, and this was done as follows: “A man is born without knowledge in order that he may acquire all knowledge, advance to intelligence, and thence to wisdom. He is born with no love that he may acquire all love by the intelligent use of knowledge; and particularly that he may acquire love of God by love towards the neighbor, that he may thus be conjoined to God, and consequently become a man and live for ever.”
[16] Thereupon they took up the paper and read the third subject of inquiry, which was: What is meant by the tree of life, what by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and what by eating of them? As this is a subject of unusual difficulty, all requested that those on the east should explain it, because those from the east are in that fiery light which is the wisdom of love. This wisdom is meant by the Garden of Eden, in which were planted those two trees. They replied: “We will express our views, but as man does not derive anything from himself but from God, we will speak from Him, but still as from ourselves.” They then spoke as follows: “A tree signifies a man, and its fruit the good of life. Hence by the tree of life is signified a man living from God; and because love and wisdom, and charity and faith, or good and truth, constitute the life of God in a man, by the tree of life is signified a man who has those qualities from God, and who consequently has eternal life. The same is signified by the tree of life of which it will be granted to eat, Rev. ii. 7; and xxii. 2, 14. [17] By the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is signified a man who believes that he lives from himself, and not from God; thus that love and wisdom, charity and faith, that is, good and truth, are in a man as his own, and not God’s. He believes this because he thinks and wills, speaks and acts to all appearance as if from himself; and because a man by such a belief persuades himself that he is a god, therefore the serpent said:
“God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God (A.V., gods), knowing good and evil.” Gen. iii. 5.
[18] By eating of those trees is signified reception and appropriation: by eating of the tree of life, the reception of eternal life, and by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the reception of eternal death or damnation. By the serpent is meant the devil as to the love of self and the pride of self-intelligence. Love of self is the possessor of that tree, and men who are in the pride of that love are such trees. Those therefore are in great error who believe that Adam was wise and did good from himself and that his was a state of integrity, seeing that Adam himself was cursed for that belief; for this is signified by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For this reason he fell from the state of integrity he enjoyed while he believed that he was wise and did good from God, and not from himself; for this is meant by eating of the tree of life. The Lord alone, when He was in the world, was wise and did good from Himself, because the Divine itself was in Him and was His from birth; therefore also by His own power He became the Redeemer and Savior.” [19] From these arguments they came to this conclusion: “By the tree of life, and by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and by eating of them is meant that God in a man is his life, and His presence brings heaven and eternal life; but death for a man is the rooted belief that his life is not God but man himself, and this brings hell and eternal death, which is meant by damnation.”
[20] After this they looked at the paper which had been left by the angels upon the table, and read what was written as a post-script: “Unite these three in one general conclusion.” They brought them together and saw that the three formed a coherent sequence which they expressed as follows: “Man was created to receive love and wisdom from God, yet to all appearance as if from himself, and this for the sake of reception and conjunction; and therefore a man is not born with any love, nor any knowledge, nor even any power of loving and of becoming wise from himself. Therefore if he ascribes all the good of love and all the truth of wisdom to God, he becomes a living man; but if he ascribes them to himself, he becomes a dead man.” This they wrote upon a fresh paper and laid it on the table; and suddenly angels appeared in a bright cloud, and carried the paper into heaven. When it was read there those who sat on the seats heard words of approbation. Immediately there appeared one flying as it were from heaven, with two wings about his feet and two about his temples, bringing the rewards which consisted of robes, caps and laurel wreaths. When he alighted he presented to those who sat on the north opal-colored robes, to those on the west scarlet-colored robes, and to those on the south caps having their borders adorned with bands of gold and pearls, and ornamented on the top of the left side with diamonds cut in the form of flowers; but to those on the east he presented laurel wreaths with rubies and sapphires among the leaves. Then, decorated with these rewards, they all went joyfully home from the school of wisdom.
We have treated of the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, and shown that these two are the Divine Essence. We shall now treat of the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God, because these three proceed from the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom in much the same manner as the power and the presence of the sun are in this world, and in every part of it, by means of its heat and light. Also, the 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 therefrom is, in its essence, Divine Wisdom. From this it is clear that as infinity, immensity, and eternity pertain to the Divine Being, so omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence pertain to the Divine Essence. But as these three attributes of the Divine Essence have not hitherto been understood, because the method of their activity according to the laws of order was unknown, they will be explained in separate articles as follows:
(1) Omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence are attributes of the Divine Wisdom from the Divine Love.
(2) The omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God cannot be understood unless it is known what order is; and unless it is known that God is order, and that at creation He introduced order into the universe and into all its parts.
(3) The Omnipotence of God, in the universe and in all its parts, proceeds and operates according to the laws of His order.
(4) God is Omniscient, that is, He perceives, sees, and knows all things, even to the most minute, that are done according to order, and also from these, whatever is done contrary to order.
(5) God is Omnipresent in all things from first to last of His order.
(6) Man was created a form of Divine order.
(7) A man has power against evil and falsity from the Divine omnipotence, wisdom concerning good and truth from the Divine omniscience, and is in God from the Divine omnipresence, so far as he lives according to the Divine order.
These articles will now be treated separately.
That omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence are attributes of the Divine Wisdom from the Divine Love, but not of the Divine Love through the Divine Wisdom is an abstruse heavenly truth (arcanum) which has yet entered the mind of any one, because no one has hitherto known what love is in its essence, and what wisdom is in its essence, and still less concerning the influx of the one into the other. For love with all that pertains to it flows into wisdom and there abides, like a king in his kingdom, or a master in his house, leaving to its judgment the whole direction of justice, and since justice is an attribute of love, and judgment of wisdom, leaving to wisdom the whole authority of love. This truth will be made clear in what follows; in the meantime let it stand as a general principle. That God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent by means of the wisdom of His Love is meant by these words in John:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. …. 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…. The world was made by Him: … and the Word was made flesh.” i. 1, 3, 4, 10, 14.
By the Word is there meant Divine Truth, or, what amounts to the same, Divine Wisdom. Therefore also it is called life and light, and life and light are nothing but wisdom.
“Justice and judgment are the support. (A. V., habitation) of Thy throne.” Ps. lxxxix. 14.
“Let him that glorieth glory in this,… (that I am the Lord) which exercise … judgment and righteousness in the earth.” Jer. ix. 24.
“JEHOVAH is exalted…for He hath filled the earth (A.V., Zion) with judgment and righteousness.” Isa. xxxiii. 6.
“Let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” Amos v. 24.
“Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; Thy judgments are a great deep.” Ps. xxxvi. 6.
“He shall bring forth His (A.V., thy) righteousness as the light, and Thy judgment as the noon-day.” Ps. xxxvii. 6.
“He shall judge His (A.V., thy) people with righteousness, and His (A.V., thy) poor with judgment.” Ps. lxxii. 2.
“When I shall have learned Thy righteous judgments…. Seven times a day do I praise Thee because of Thy righteous judgments.” Ps. cxix. 7, 164.
“I will betroth me unto Thee (A.V., thee unto me) in righteousness and in judgment.” Hos. ii. 19.
“Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.” Isa. i. 27.
“Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,… to establish it with judgment and with justice.” Isa. ix. 7.
“I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign … and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” Jer. xxiii. 5; xxxiii. 15.
In other places it is said that men ought to do justice and judgment,
as in Isa. i. 21, v. 16, lviii. 2; Jer. iv. 2, xxii. 3, 13, 15; Ezek. viii. 5, xxxiii. 14, 16, 19; Amos vi. 12; Micah vii. 9; Deut. xxxiii. 21; John xvi. 8, 10, 11.
Many grave absurdities have crept into the minds of men, and thence into the Church by the introduction of innovations, because men have not understood the order in which God created the universe, and every part of it. The number and nature of these views will be evident from the mere record of them in the following pages. In the first place what order is may be explained by this general definition of the term: Order is the quality of disposition, determination, and activity of the parts, substances, or entities which constitute form, giving rise to state, whose perfection is produced by wisdom from its own love, or whose imperfection is brought about by insane reasoning from lust. In this definition mention is made of substance, form and state; and by substance is at the same time meant form, because all substance is form, and the quality of form is its state, the perfection or imperfection of which results from order. However, since these things are metaphysical, they will necessarily appear obscure until they are illustrated by references to particular examples, which will be done in what follows.
God is omnipotent because He is able to do all things from Himself, and the power of all others is derived from Him. His power and will are one; and since He wills nothing but good, therefore He can do nothing but good. In the spiritual world no one can do anything contrary to his own will, and this they derive from God, whose power and will are one. God also is good itself, so that while He does good, He is in Himself, and to go out of Himself is impossible. It is therefore clear that His omnipotence proceeds and operates within the sphere of the extension of good, which is infinite; for this sphere from its inmost fills the universe and everything in it, and from its inmost rules over the things that are without in so far as they unite according to their order. If they do not enter into this conjunction, this sphere still sustains them, and strives with all its endeavor to bring them into the order that harmonizes with the universal order in which God Himself is in His omnipotence, and according to which He acts. If this is unavailing, they are cast out from Him, yet nevertheless this sphere, from its inmost, continues to sustain them. It may be evident from this that the Divine omnipotence can in no wise go out from itself to make contact with any evil, nor can it promote evil from itself. For evil turns itself away, and thus it happens that evil is completely separated from God and cast into hell, between which and heaven, where He is, there is a great gulf. From these few considerations it may be seen how foolish those are who think, and more so who believe, and still more so who teach that God can condemn, curse, and cast any one into hell; that He can predestine the soul of any to eternal death, avenge injuries, be angry, and punish. The fact is that He cannot turn Himself away from any man, nor look upon him with a stern countenance. Such things as these are contrary to His Essence, and what is contrary to this is contrary to Himself.
If the Divine omnipotence went out equally to do evil as well as good, what difference would there be between God and the devil? The difference would be like that between two monarchs, one of whom is both king and tyrant, and the other only a tyrant whose power is so constricted that he cannot exercise the beneficent functions of a king; or like that between two shepherds, one of whom may tend both sheep and the leopard, while the other may not exercise this choice. Any one can see that good and evil are opposites, and if God from His omnipotence could will both, and could carry out His will, He would in fact be able to accomplish nothing, and would have no power, much less omnipotence. It would be as if two wheels were to act against each other, turning in opposite directions, so that each wheel would consequently stop, and remain completely at rest. Or it would be as if a ship were to be caught in a current running contrary to its course: it would be carried away and lost if its anchor did not bring it to rest. Or it would be as if a man had two wills at variance with one another, one of which was forced to remain dormant while the other was active; but if each were active at the same time, a raging madness would seize hold of his mind.
From this absurd belief concerning the omnipotence of God it would follow that God could change every goat among men into a sheep, and at His own good pleasure transfer him from His left to His right hand. Then also He could transform the spirits of the dragon into angels of Michael,* and bestow the sight of an eagle upon a man with the intellect of a mole; in a word make a human owl into a human dove. These things, however, God cannot do, because they are contrary to the laws of His order, although His constant will and endeavor is to bring them about. If He could have done such things He would not have permitted Adam to listen to the serpent and take the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and put it to his mouth. Nor would He have permitted Cain to kill his brother, David to number the people, Solomon to erect temples to idols, and the kings of Judah and of Israel to profane the Temple, as they so often did. Indeed, if He could have done so, He would have saved, without exception, the whole human race through the redemption wrought by His Son, and extirpated the whole of hell. Such omnipotence as this the Gentiles of old attributed to their gods and goddesses. Thus arose their fables, as that Deucalion and Pyrrha threw stones behind them, which became men, that Apollo** changed Daphne into a laurel, that Diana*** changed a hunter into a stag, and that another goddess turned the maidens of Parnassus into magpies. It is a similar belief concerning the Divine omnipotence which is prevalent today, and from it have spread, throughout the religious world, so many fanatical and consequently heretical opinions.
* Michael, the archangel.
** Apollo, god of divination, healing, poetry and music.
*** Diana, sister of Apollo, goddess of the chase.
God is omniscient, that is, He perceives, sees, and knows all things because He is Wisdom itself and Light itself; and Wisdom itself perceives all things, and Light itself sees all things. That God is Wisdom itself was shown above; and He is Light itself because He is the Sun of the angelic heaven which enlightens the understanding of all, both angels and men. For as the eye is illumined by the light of the natural sun, so is the understanding illumined by the light of the spiritual Sun; and not only illumined but also filled with intelligence according to the love of receiving it, since that light in its essence is wisdom. Therefore in David it is said:
that God dwelleth in light inaccessible;
and in Revelation:
that in the New Jerusalem they have no need of a candle, because the Lord God enlighteneth them.
In John also it is said
that the Word which was with God, and which was God, is the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
By the Word is meant Divine Wisdom. The angels therefore enjoy clearness of light in proportion to their wisdom; and therefore also when light is mentioned in the Word wisdom is meant.
Those whose understandings are in the light of wisdom are like men standing at mid-day on a mountain top, who see clearly all that is below; and those who are in a still higher light are like those who observe through telescopes objects around and beneath them as if close at hand. Those, however, who are in the delusive light of hell from the confirmation of falsities are like men who, standing on the same mountain in the night time with lanterns in their hands, see nothing but the objects nearest them, and even their forms indistinctly and their colors vaguely. The man who is in some light of truth, but nevertheless in a life of evil, while he remains in the delight of the love of evil, at first sees truths only as a bat sees linen hanging out in a garden, towards which it flies as to a place of refuge. Afterwards he becomes like a bird of night, and at length like an owl. He then may be compared to a chimney-sweep, clinging in a dark flue, who when he looks upward sees the sky through smoke, but when he looks downward sees only the fire-place from which the smoke rises.
“If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold Thou art there.” Ps. cxxxix. 8;
and in another place:
“Though they dig into hell, thence shall My hand take them.” Amos ix. 2.
God is omnipresent from first things to last of His order by means of the heat and light from the Sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which He is. By means of this Sun order was created, and from it He sends out the heat and light which pervade the universe from first things to last, producing life in men and in all animals, and also the vegetable life in every germinating thing on the earth. Heat and light enter by influx into all things in general and in particular, causing every subject to live and grow according to the order impressed upon it at Creation; and because God is not extended, and yet fills all things in the universe that are extended, He is omnipresent. It has been shown elsewhere that God is in all space yet without space, and in all time without time, and consequently that the universe as to its essence and order is the fullness of God; and because this is so, by His omnipresence He perceives all things, by His omniscience He provides for all things, and by His omnipotence He administers all things. Hence it is evident that omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence make one, or that each implies the other, and thus that they cannot be separated.
Presence with angels and spirits is of this nature because every affection of love, and consequently every thought of the understanding is in space without space, and in time without time. For every one can think of a brother, relative, or friend in the Indies and have him then, as if were, present with him. Similarly he can feel affection for his friends by calling them to remembrance. By these examples which are familiar to every one the Divine omnipresence may in some measure be illustrated. The thoughts of men furnish other examples; for when any one recalls to memory what he has seen on his travels in various places, he, as it were, re-visits them. Indeed physical sight acts in a somewhat similar manner. It does not notice distance except by means of intermediate objects, which serve as a measure. The sun itself would be close to the eye, would in fact appear to be in it, unless intervening objects indicated its remoteness, as writers on optics point out in their books. Presence of this nature pertains both to the intellectual and to the physical sight of man, because his spirit sees by means of his eyes; but this is not so with animals, for they have no spiritual sight. From these considerations it is evident that God is omnipresent from first things to last of His order: that He is also omnipresent in hell was shown in the preceding article.
* …into a similar affection of love. …in similem affectionem amoris. In general, by affectio is meant the relation or disposition toward a thing produced in a person by some influence (Lewis and Short). In A.E. 1175 it is stated: “By affection is meant the same as love but love is as the fountain and affections are as the streams that how from it, thus also they are its continuations.” In D.P. 194 affections are called loves, ” … the life’s love produces from itself subordinate loves called affections.” In CHARITY, 8, we have “a spiritual love or affection,” and “a … natural love or affection,” and in 152: “His life and his soul become a love of use, or an affection of use.”
** Luther, Martin, A.D. 1483-1646, the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, was born at Eisleben, Saxony. He was a student at Erfurt in law and divinity, and was ordained priest in A.D. 1507. He left Erfurt for a chair in the university of Wittenberg, where his preaching attracted great attention. Here he made his first public protest against the Romish Church by condemning the sale of indulgences. The Lutheran Church dates its origin from the year A.D. 1520 when Luther was expelled from the Romish Church. It assumed a more definite shape on the publication in A.D. 1530 of the Augsburg Confession. This was drawn up by Melanchthon and Luther as the principal standard of the Church. The final establishment of the Lutheran Church was made possible by the friendly offices of Maurice, Elector of Saxony.
*** Calvin, John, A.D. 1509-1564, was called by Melanchthon “The theologian of the sixteenth century.” He studied law as well as theology, became a Protestant and induced the authorities of Geneva to renounce Popery. The friend of John Knox, he exercised a powerful influence on Scottish Protestantism. His views may be summarized thus: particular election; particular redemption; moral inability in a fallen state; free grace; and ultimate salvation for the elect, notwithstanding many failings and aberrations on the part of the believer. In its leading features his theology is that of Augustine.
**** Melanchthon, the foremost scholar among the early Protestants, A.D. 1497-1560. He met Luther at Wittenberg where he was professor of Greek. He exercised a powerful influence over Luther, and was mainly responsible for drawing up the Augsburg Confession. On Luther’s death he became the leader of the Lutherans.
Man was created a form of Divine order because he was created an image and likeness of God; and because God is order itself, he was created an image and likeness of order. Order first originated and has since continued to subsist from these two, Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. As man was created to be a recipient of these, he was also created in the order according to which they operate in the universe, and especially according to which they operate in the angelic heaven, for the whole of heaven is thus a form of Divine order on the largest scale, and is in the sight of God as one man. There is also a complete correspondence between heaven and man; for there is not a single society in heaven which does not correspond to one of the members, viscera, or organs in man. Therefore in heaven it is said that such and such a society is in the province of the liver, the pancreas, the spleen, the stomach, the eye, the ear, the tongue, and so forth. The angels themselves also know what part of the body is represented by the province in which they live. The truth of this I have been able to observe from actual demonstration. I have seen a society of angels, consisting of several thousands, as one man; from which it was evident to me that heaven in the aggregate is an image of God, and that an image of God is a form of Divine order.
Man has power against evils and falsities from the Divine omnipotence so far as he lives according to Divine order, because no one can resist evils and their falsities but God alone. For all evils and their falsities are from hell, where they combine, forming as it were a unity, as do all kinds of good and their truths in heaven. As was said above, all heaven appears as one man in the sight of God, while hell is like a giant monster; so that to oppose one evil and its falsity is to oppose that monstrous giant, or all hell, and this no one can do but God, because He is omnipotent. From this it is evident that unless a man approaches the omnipotent God, he has of himself no more power against evil and its falsity than a fish has against the ocean, or a flea against a whale, or a speck of dust against an avalanche; and much less than a locust has against an elephant, or a fly against a camel. Moreover, a man has still less power against evil and its falsity because he is born in evil, and evil cannot act against itself. It follows, therefore, that unless a man lives according to order, that is, unless he acknowledges God, His omnipotence, and its protection against hell; and further, unless he, on his part, also fights against evil in himself, for both are implied by order, he must sink down to hell, and be there overwhelmed, driven about by one evil after another as a boat is tossed on the sea by storms.
[2] The man who raises his mind to God and acknowledges that all the truth of wisdom is from Him, and at the same time lives according to order, is like one who, standing upon a lofty tower, sees below him a populous city and all the activity of its streets. The man, however, who confirms in his own mind that all the truth of wisdom is from the natural light (lumen) within him, and thus from himself, is like one who remains in a cave at the foot of that tower, looking through clefts in it towards the same city, but who sees nothing there except the wall of one house, and how the bricks are built into it. Moreover, the man who derives wisdom from God, is like a bird flying on high, which surveys everything in the gardens, woods, and farms beneath, and flies towards whatever can be of use to its wants. The man, however, who derives from himself such things as pertain to wisdom, believing they can in no way be of God, is like the hornet which, flying close to the ground, lights upon the first dung-hill it sees, and delights in its stench. Every man while he lives in the world walks midway between heaven and hell. Consequently he is in equilibrium, and has freedom of will to look upward to God or downward to hell. If he looks upward to God, he acknowledges that all wisdom is from Him, and as to his spirit he actually is in the company of angels in heaven; but he who looks downward, as every one does who lives in falsity from evil, is as to his spirit actually in the company of devils in hell.
He wills that man should be in Him, and that He should be in man. John xv. 4.
[2] Man is in God by a life according to order, because God is omnipresent in the inmost parts of the universe and everything therein, for these are in order. In those things, however, which are contrary to order, as is the case with those things alone which are outside the inmost parts, God is omnipresent, continually striving with them in the constant effort to reduce them to order. Therefore so far as a man suffers himself to be brought into order, God is omnipresent in his whole being, and consequently God is in him and he is in God. The absence of God from a man is no more possible than the absence from the earth of the sun with its heat and light. Earthly objects, however, do not enjoy the full influence of the sun except when they receive its heat and light in springtime and summer. [3] These considerations may be applied to the Divine omnipresence, because a man is in spiritual heat and at the same time in spiritual light, that is, in the good of love and in the truths of wisdom, only in so far as he is in order. However, spiritual heat and light differ from natural heat and light, for natural heat departs from the earth and its objects in winter, and natural light withdraws during the night in consequence of the earth’s rotation round its own axis and its revolution round the sun; but it is not so with spiritual heat and light, for God is present with every one by means of His Sun, which does not change as the sun of this world appears to do. It is man who turns himself away as the earth turns from its sun; and when he turns away from the truths of wisdom he is like the earth turned away from the sun at night, but as he turns from the good of love he is like the earth turned away from the sun in winter. From this comparison may be seen the correspondence existing between the effects and uses of the Sun of the spiritual world and those of the sun of the natural world.
To the above will now be added three Memorabilia. The first is as follows:
I once heard beneath me a sound like the roaring of the sea; and when I asked what it was, one informed me that it was a disturbance among spirits gathered in the lower earth which is just over hell. Presently the ground that formed a roof over them opened up, and there flew through the opening birds of night in flocks, spreading towards the left. Immediately after them rose swarms of locusts, lighting on the herbage of the earth and turning it everywhere into a desert. In a little while, coming in quick succession from the birds of night, I heard screamings, and on one side a confused clamor as if from spectres in the woods. Then I saw beautiful birds from heaven spreading towards the right, brilliant with wings like gold, streaked and spotted with silver, while on the heads of some were crests in the form of crowns. While I gazed at these things with wonder suddenly from the lower earth, where the disturbance was, a spirit arose who was able to assume the form of an angel of light, calling out: “Where is he who speaks and writes about the order to which the omnipotent God has bound Himself in relation to man? We have heard his views through the covering that is over us.” Being now above that earth he hurried along a paved way, and approaching me, he instantly put on the appearance of an angel of heaven, and in an assumed voice said: “Are you the man who thinks and speaks about order? Tell me briefly what order is, and some facts concerning it.”
[2] To this I replied: “I will tell you the general principles, but not particulars, because you cannot understand them,” and I proceeded to enumerate them as follows: (1) God is order itself. (2) He created man from order, in order, and for order. (3) He created man’s rational mind according to the order of the whole spiritual world, and his body according to the order of the whole natural world. On this account man was called by the Ancients a heaven in little, and a world in little. (4) Therefore it is a law of order that a man from his own little heaven or little spiritual world should govern his own microcosm or little natural world, just as God from His great heaven or spiritual world governs the macrocosm or natural world in all things in general and in particular. (5) It is a consequent law of order that a man ought to enter into faith by truths from the Word, and into charity by good works, and so reform and regenerate himself. (6) It is a law of order that a man should purify himself from sins by his labor and power, and not stand still, believing in his own impotence, and expecting God forthwith to wash away his sins. (7) It is a further law of order that a man should love God with all his soul and with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself, and not wait in the expectation that these loves will be put into his mind and heart in an instant by God, just as bread from the baker’s is put into his mouth. And there are many more laws like these.”
[3] When the satan heard these things he replied in a bland voice infused with cunning: “What is this that you say? That a man by his own power must enter into order by the practice of its laws? Do you not know that a man is not under the law but under grace, that all things are given him of free grace, that he cannot acquire anything for himself unless it be given him from heaven, and that in spiritual matters of himself he has no more power of action than the pillar which was Lot’s wife, or Dagon the idol of the Philistines in Ekron? Consequently that it is impossible for a man to justify himself, for this is accomplished by faith and charity?” To this I merely replied: “It is also a law of order that a man must, by his own labor and power, procure for himself faith by truths from the Word, and yet he must believe that not a particle of faith is from himself but from God. Also that a man must justify himself by his own labor and power, but in the belief that not even a jot of justification is from himself but from God. Has it not been commanded that a man must believe on God and love Him with all his strength, and his neighbor as himself? Think, therefore, and say how these things could have been commanded by God, if a man had not the power to obey and to do them?” [4] When the satan heard this his appearance changed, and his countenance, which was bright at first, became sallow and quickly darkened, and speaking in undisguised tones he said, “You utter paradox upon paradox.” Thereupon sinking down towards his own companions he disappeared. The birds on the left together with the spectres uttering their strange cries plunged into the sea which is there called Suph. The locusts in their flight followed them, and both air and land were cleared of these dire creatures, the disturbance below ceased and all became tranquil and serene.
[2] There stood beside them certain spirits of simple faith and upright in heart, some with flaming eyes, some as if stupefied, some as if intoxicated and some gasping as they listened to the discussion. They muttered to one another: “What have we to do with these ravings? These spirits have become infatuated with their belief that God the Father imputes the righteousness of His Son to whomsoever He wills, and whenever He pleases, and sends the Holy Spirit to ratify the assurances of that righteousness; and lest any man should claim for himself the least part in the work of his salvation, he must be just like a stone in the matter of justification, and like a stock in regard to spiritual things.” Then one of them made his way into the company and in a loud voice exclaimed: “O fools! Your reasoning is utterly futile. You evidently do not know that the omnipotent God is order itself, and that the laws of order are countless in number, as numerous indeed as the truths contained in the Word. God cannot act contrary to those laws, for this would be to act contrary to Himself, and thus not only contrary to justice but also contrary to His own omnipotence.”
[3] He looked and there appeared on his right hand some distance away a sheep, and a lamb, and a dove in flight; and on his left a goat, a wolf, and a vulture; and he said: “Do you suppose that God, by His omnipotence, could change that goat into a sheep, or that wolf into a lamb, or that vulture into a dove, or the reverse? No: for it is against the laws of His order, of which not even a tittle can fail, according to His own words. How then can He impart the righteousness of His Son’s redemption to any one who stubbornly opposes the laws of His righteousness? How can righteousness itself commit unrighteousness and predestine any one to hell, and consign him to the fire which the devil kindles and feeds? O fools! There is nothing of the spirit in you. Your faith has seduced you. That faith is like a snare in your hands to catch doves.” On hearing these words a certain magician appeared to make of that faith a snare and hung it on a tree, saying, “Watch me catch that dove!” Presently a hawk flew towards the snare, and putting its neck into it was caught, while the dove, seeing the plight of the hawk, flew past. Those who stood by were amazed at the sight, and exclaimed, “This display is an assurance of righteousness.”
* Lucifer, fabled son of Aurora, or of Jupiter, morning star, day.
** Supralapsarian, one who maintains that the decree of election as regards eternal salvation of some and the eternal reprobation of others was a part of the original plan; and that the fall of Adam was predestinated from all eternity. (Supra, beyond, and lapsus, the fall.)
[2] As they said this they looked at me and I at them: and observing their perplexity I said: “I will entreat the Lord for you and offer you a remedy from Him by making this matter clear to you; but for the present merely by citing some examples. The omnipotent God created the world from the order which is in Himself, and thus in the order in which He is, and according to which He rules; and He has endowed the universe and every part of it with its own order, man with his own order, and beast, bird, fish, worm, every tree and even the grass with its own particular order. As examples will make this clear I will briefly mention the following. The laws of order have been prescribed for man to the end that he should acquire for himself truths from the Word, consider them from his natural faculties, and as far as he is able, from his rational faculty, and so procure for himself a natural faith. On the other hand the laws of order as they relate to God are that He should draw near and fill those truths with His Divine light, and so fill with His Divine Essence man’s natural faith, which of itself is mere knowledge and persuasion: for thus only does natural faith become a saving faith.
The case is the same with charity, some particulars of which we will now briefly review. God, according to His laws of order, cannot remit the sins of any one except in so far as he, according to his laws of order, abstains from them; nor can God regenerate man on the spiritual plane except in so far as he, according to his laws, regenerates himself on the natural plane. God is continually endeavoring to regenerate, and thus to save man; but this He cannot do unless man prepares himself to become a recipient, and so clears the way for God’s entry by opening the door. The bridegroom cannot enter the chamber of a maiden before she becomes his bride, for she closes the door and keeps the key herself; but when she becomes his bride she gives the key to her husband. [3] God could not, by His omnipotence, have redeemed man unless He had Himself become man, nor could He have made His Human Divine unless His Human had first been like that of an infant, and later like that of a child; and unless His Human had afterwards formed itself into a recipient and abiding-place into which the Father of it might enter. This took place as the Lord fulfilled all things in the Word, that is, all the laws of order in it; and as He completed this work, He united Himself with the Father and the Father became united with Him. These few things are adduced by way of illustration to show you that the Divine omnipotence is within the bounds of order, and that its government, which is called providence, is in accordance with order, and that it acts continually and to eternity in conformity with the laws of its own order; moreover that it cannot act against them, nor change the slightest particle of them, because order with all its laws is Himself.”
[4] At these words a glory of golden light streamed through the roof like flying cherubs in the air, and its ruddy glow lighted up the heads of some of those present backward from the temples, but not their foreheads as yet, for they murmured, “We still do not know what omnipotence is.” However I replied: “This will be revealed to you when the words have just heard are more fully understood.”
* Augustus Octavius, first and greatest of Roman Emperors, 63 B.C.-A.D. 14. He ruled as an absolute monarch although appearing to preserve the republican constitution.
** Nero, Emperor of Rome, A.D. 37-68, noted for his indiscriminate brutality and cruel persecution of the Christians.
[2] When they caught sight of me near them some ran towards me and said with some vehemence: “Are you the one who has circumscribed God with laws as with bonds? What presumption! By this you have also shattered our faith on which our salvation is founded, in the centre of which we place the righteousness of the Redeemer, next to this the omnipotence of God the Father, and to these we add the operation of the Holy Spirit. We attribute the efficacy of this faith to the absolute impotence of man in spiritual matters, for whom it is enough to proclaim the fullness of justification, which is imparted to this faith from the omnipotence of God.” “But I have heard,” continued one of them, “that you see only absurdity in this faith, because it contains nothing on the part of man in the Divine order.” On hearing these words I said in a loud voice: “Learn the laws of Divine order, and then examine your faith, and you will see a great wilderness in which is a leviathan, long and sinuous, with nets coiled round it in an inextricable knot. But do as Alexander is reported to have done, who, when he saw the Gordian knot, drew his sword, severed it, and thus loosed its entanglements. Then throwing it on the ground, he trod its cords under foot.”
[3] At these words those who were gathered round bit their tongues, as though to sharpen them for a crushing retort; but they did not dare to reply, for they saw heaven opened above me and heard a voice thence saying: “Restrain yourselves, and first hear what order is, according to whose laws the omnipotent God acts.” And the voice continued: “God from Himself, as from order, created the universe in order and for order. In like manner He created man, and established in him the laws of his own order, by virtue of which he became an image and likeness of God. The substance of these laws is that he should believe on God and love his neighbor; and so far as he does this from his natural powers, he makes himself a recipient of the Divine omnipotence, and God unites Himself to man and man to God. Consequently his faith becomes a living and a saving faith, and his practice a living and saving charity. It should be known, however, that God is always present, striving and acting in every man, even touching his free will, but never forcing it. For if He should violate man’s free will, his dwelling place in God would be destroyed, and only God’s dwelling place in man would remain. This dwelling place is in all men, whether on earth, in heaven, or in hell, for it is the source of their power to will and to understand. But there is no reciprocal dwelling of man in God, unless with those who live according to the laws of order prescribed in the Word; and they become images and likenesses of Him. To them paradise is given for a possession, and the fruit of the tree of life for food; but the others gather round the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, hold converse there with the serpent, eat of this tree, and are afterwards driven from paradise; nevertheless God does not forsake them, but they forsake God.”
[4] Those who wore caps understood these things and approved them, but those who wore turbans denied their truth, saying, “Does not this mean a limitation of omnipotence? and a limitation of omnipotence implies a contradiction.” To this I replied: “It is not a contradiction to act with omnipotence according to the laws of justice with judgment, or according to laws inscribed on love from wisdom. It is a contradiction, however, that God should be able to act contrary to the laws of His own justice and love, for this would not be from judgment and wisdom. Such a contradiction is involved in your faith that God can of mere grace justify an unrighteous man, and single him out with all the gifts of salvation and the rewards of life. I will, however, briefly state what is meant by the omnipotence of God. God from His omnipotence created the universe, and at the same time introduced order into all its parts. He also from His omnipotence preserves the universe and perpetually maintains order there with all its laws; and should anything lapse from order, He brings it back and restores it again. Further, God from His omnipotence established the Church, and revealed in the Word its laws of order. When it lapsed from order He restored it; and when its fall was complete, He Himself came down into the world, and by means of the Human which He assumed, He clothed Himself with omnipotence, and restored it.
[5] From His omnipotence and also from His omniscience God examines every one after death and prepares the righteous, or the sheep, for their places in heaven, and of them He forms heaven; but He prepares the unrighteous, or the goats, for their places in hell, and of them He forms hell. He arranges both into societies and communities, according to all the varieties of their love, which are as numerous in heaven as the stars in the natural firmament; and He unites the societies in heaven into one, so that they appear as one man before Him. In like manner He unites the communities in hell, so that they appear as one devil; and He separates the latter from the former by a gulf, lest hell should do violence to heaven, and lest heaven should cause torment to hell, for those who are in hell suffer torment should they receive influx from heaven. Unless God from His omnipotence were to continue acting thus every moment, a savage nature would enter into men until they could no longer be restrained by the laws of any order, and thus the human race would perish. These things, and others of a like nature, would happen unless God were order, and omnipotent in order.” Having heard this, those who wore caps departed with their caps under their arms, praising God; for in that world the intelligent wear caps. It is different with those who wear turbans, for they are bald, and baldness is a sign of dullness. As they all departed the latter went away to the left, but the former to the right.
Since the subject of this first Chapter is God the Creator, the Creation of the universe by Him must also be treated, as in the following Chapter, where the subject is the Lord the Redeemer, Redemption shall also be considered. No one, however, can form a right idea of the creation of the universe unless some general principles are first stated which will enlighten the understanding, such as the following:
[2] (1) There are two worlds, the spiritual world where angels and spirits are, and the natural world where men are. (2) In each world there is a sun, and the Sun of the spiritual world is pure love from Jehovah God, who is in the midst of it. From that Sun proceed heat and light, the heat from it being, in its essence, love, and the light, in its essence, being wisdom. These two affect the will and the understanding of man, the heat affecting his will and the light his understanding. But the sun of the natural world is pure fire, and therefore its heat and light are dead, and serve as a covering and means to spiritual heat and light by which they may be conveyed to man. [3] (3) Moreover, the heat and light which proceed from the Sun of the spiritual world, and consequently all things that exist in that world by their means, are substantial, and are called spiritual; and the heat and light which proceed from the sun of the natural world, and consequently all things that exist in this world by their means, are material and are called natural. [4] (4) In each world there are three degrees, called degrees of altitude, and consequently three regions according to which the three angelic heavens are arranged. Men’s minds are also arranged in three degrees and regions, which thus correspond to the three angelic heavens; and other things in each world have a similar arrangement. [5] (5) There is a correspondence between the things in the spiritual and those in the natural world. [6] (6) There is an order into which all things in both worlds were created. [7] (7) Unless a right idea of these things be first of all obtained, the human mind, from mere ignorance of them, may easily conceive the idea of the creation of the universe by nature, and yet assert on ecclesiastical authority alone that nature was created by God; but because it knows not how, if it continues to examine the matter more closely, it falls into naturalism, which denies God. Since, however, a large volume would be required to explain and demonstrate in an adequate manner these articles in detail, and, moreover, as this does not properly belong to a system of theology, which is the subject of this book, even as an illustration or as an argument, I shall merely relate some memorabilia from which one may derive an idea of the creation of the universe by God, which may result in an adequate conception being attained.
Five memorabilia illustrating the subject of creation. The first experience. One day I was meditating upon the creation of the universe. This was noticed by angels above me on the right, where dwelt those who sometimes meditated and reasoned on this subject; so one of them came down and invited me to join them, and I, being in the spirit, accompanied him. On my arrival, I was conducted to the court of their prince where I saw some hundreds assembled, and the prince was in their midst. One of them said: “From our place here we perceived that you were meditating upon the creation of the universe. On several occasions we have considered the same subject, but we have not been able to come to any definite conclusion, because our thoughts were obsessed by the idea of a chaos, as of a great egg from which came forth the universe and all its parts in their order. Since, however, we now perceive that so great a universe could not have been so produced, another idea has clung to our minds, that all things were created by God out of nothing; and yet we also see that out of nothing nothing is made. From these two ideas our minds are not yet able to free themselves and perceive, with any degree of clearness, how creation was effected. We have, therefore, called you from the place where you were that you might give us the results of your meditation on the subject.”
[2] On hearing these words I replied: “I will do so;” and I said: “I had long considered this matter without reaching any conclusion; but after I was admitted by the Lord into your world, I perceived it was vain to form any conclusion about the creation of the universe unless it is first known that there are two worlds, one in which the angels are, and the other in which men are; and that after death men pass from their own world into the other world. Then I perceived that there were two suns, from one of which all spiritual things proceed, and from the other, all natural things; and that the Sun, from which all spiritual things proceed, is pure Love from Jehovah God, who is in its midst, and that the sun, from which all natural things proceed, is pure fire. When I learned these things, it was once granted me, in a state of enlightenment, to perceive that the universe was created by Jehovah God by means of the Sun, in the midst of which He is; and since Love cannot exist apart from Wisdom, I saw that the universe was created by Jehovah God from His Love by means of His Wisdom. The truth of this is clearly proved by everything I have seen in the world in which you are, as well as in the world in which I am as to the body.
[3] However, it would take too long to explain fully how creation proceeded from its beginning; but once, when in a state of enlightenment, I perceived that by means of light and heat from the Sun of your world spiritual atmospheres, which are in themselves substantial, were created one from another. As there are three of these atmospheres, and consequently three degrees of them, three heavens were formed, one for the angels who are in the highest degree of love and wisdom, another for those in the second degree, and a third for those in the lowest degree. As this spiritual universe cannot exist without a natural universe in which to produce its effects and perform its uses, I perceived that at the same time there was created a sun from which all natural things proceed, and that, in a similar manner by means of it, through the medium of its light and heat, three atmospheres were created, encompassing the former as the shell surrounds its kernel or as the bark of a tree surrounds the wood; and that finally, by means of these atmospheres, the terraqueous globe was formed, where are men, beasts and fish, also trees, shrubs and plants growing from earthly substances composed of soil, stones and minerals. [4] This, however, is but a most general sketch of creation and its progress, detailed particulars of which would require volumes to explain. But all things point to the conclusion that God did not create the universe out of nothing, for, as you have just remarked, out of nothing nothing is made; but He did so by means of the Sun of the angelic heaven, which is from His own Being, and consequently is pure Love united with Wisdom. That the universe, by which is meant both worlds, the spiritual and the natural, was created from the Divine Love by means of the Divine Wisdom, is clearly proved by everything in it; and if you study those things in their order and connection, you will be able to see them clearly by the light of your own understandings.
It has to be borne in mind, however, that Love and Wisdom, which form one in God, are not Love and Wisdom in any abstract sense, but are in Him as a substance, for God is Substance and Essence itself, the only and consequently the first, which is self-existent and self-subsistent. [5] That all things in general and in particular were created from the Divine Love and Divine Wisdom is meant by these words in John:
“The Word was with God, and the Word was God…. All things were made by Him … and the world was made by Him.” i. 1, 3, 10.
In this passage God signifies the Divine Love, and the Word signifies Divine Truth, or Divine Wisdom; for which reason the Word is also called light; and by light, when spoken of God, is meant Divine Wisdom.” When I had finished speaking and was preparing to take my leave, tiny rays of light came down through the angelic heavens from the Sun there into their eyes, and through these into the interiors of their minds; and being thus enlightened, they agreed with what I had said. Then they followed me to the entrance hall, and my former companion accompanied me to my house, and thence re-ascended to his own society.
[3] When the angels had listened to all this they replied: “You speak in this way because you are merely sensual. All who are in hell have their thoughts immersed in the bodily senses, above which they have no power to elevate their minds: we therefore excuse you. A life of evil and consequently a belief in what is false have closed the interiors of your minds, so that any elevation above what is sensual in you is not possible, unless in a state removed from the evils of life and the falsities of faith. For a satan, as well as an angel, has the power to understand truth when he hears it; but he does not retain it, because evil destroys truth, and introduces falsity. We perceive, however, that you are now in a state removed from evil, and so can understand the truth we speak. Attend therefore to what we are about to say.” Then they continued: “You once lived in the natural world and died there, and are now in the spiritual world. Before this did you know anything about the life after death? Did you not formerly deny it, thus making yourselves the equals of the beasts? Had you then any knowledge of heaven and hell, or of the light and heat of this world, or of the fact that you are no longer within the sphere of nature, but above it? For this world with everything in it is spiritual, and spiritual things are so far above natural things that not even the least thing of nature, in which you were, can come into this world. But, because you believed that nature is a god or a goddess, you believe also that the light and heat of this world are the light and heat of the natural world; which is far from being the case, for natural light is darkness here, and natural heat is cold. You knew nothing of the Sun of this world, from which proceed our light and heat. You did not know that this Sun is pure Love, and that the sun of the natural world is pure fire, from which nature exists and subsists; whereas from the Sun of heaven, which is pure Love, life itself, which is Love and Wisdom, exists and subsists; and consequently that nature, which you regard as a god or a goddess, is absolutely dead. [4] Under the care of a proper escort you can ascend with us into heaven, and with a similar escort we can descend with you into hell. In heaven are to be seen things magnificent and beautiful, but in hell things vile and unsightly. The reason for this difference is that all in heaven worship God, but all in hell worship nature; and the magnificent and beautiful things in heaven are correspondences of the affections of the love of good and truth, and the vile and unsightly things in the hells are correspondences of the affections of the love of evil and falsity. Judge then from all these considerations whether God or nature is all in all.” To this the satans replied: “In the state in which we are at the moment we can conclude from what we have heard that there is a God; but when the delight of evil takes possession of our minds we see nothing but nature.”
[5] The two angels and the satans were standing not far from me, so that I saw and heard them; and, behold! around them I saw many who had been renowned for their learning in the natural world. I was surprised to observe that those scholars stood now near the angels and now near the satans and agreed with those beside whom they stood; and I was informed that the change in the position they took up indicated the change in their attitude of mind, as it agreed now with one side, and now with the other, for they were as fickle in their faith as Vertumnus, the god of change; and the angels continued: “We will tell you something you will find hard to believe. We once looked down upon those on the earth who were celebrated for their learning, and found that six hundred out of a thousand were in favor of nature, and the rest in favor of God. Moreover, the latter are in favor of God, not from any understanding of the matter, but merely because they frequently repeated, from what they had heard, that nature is from God; for frequent repetition from the recollections of memory, and not at the same time from intelligent thought, induces a kind of faith.”
[6] Thereupon the satans were provided with an escort, and in the company of the two angels they ascended into heaven, and saw its magnificence and splendor. While they were there illumined by 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 so does nothing of itself, but is actuated by life. After seeing these things, and understanding them, they descended; and as they went down, their love of evil returned, closing their understanding as to what is above, and opening it as to what is below. Then there appeared over it, as it were, an awning overshadowing it, flashing with infernal fire; and immediately their feet touched the ground, it yawned beneath them and they sank down again to their own.
[2] After I had seen these things, the angel said: “Turn your face to the east”; and I saw a garden in which were fruit trees, as orange, citron, olive, vine, fig, and pomegranate; and bushes which bore berries. He then told me to look towards the south, and I saw crops of various kinds of grain, such as wheat, millet, barley, and beans, and surrounding them rose-gardens with their beautifully variegated colors. Towards the north I saw groves of chestnut trees, palms, limes, planes, and other leafy trees. When I had seen these the angel said: “All these things which you have seen are correspondences of the affections of the love of the angels who are near you, and who were accustomed to say to what affection each of the objects corresponded. Moreover, not only these things, but all things that can be presented to our view, are correspondences, such as houses and the utensils in them, tables, food, clothing, even money in gold and silver, also diamonds and other precious stones, with which wives and virgins are adorned in the heavens. From all these things we perceive the nature of every one as to love and wisdom. The objects in our homes which are of use to us remain there always; but with those who pass from one society to another such things change according to their associations.
[3] These things have been shown to you that you may see creation in general exemplified in a particular type. For God is Love itself and Wisdom itself: the affections of His Love are infinite, as are also the perceptions of His Wisdom, and of these all things which appear on the earth are correspondences. This is the origin of birds and beasts, trees and shrubs, corn and grain, herbs and grass. For God is not spatial, but is in space everywhere, so that He is in the universe from first things to last; and because He is omnipresent, such correspondences of the affections of His Love and Wisdom exist throughout the whole natural world; while in our world, which is called the spiritual world, there are similar correspondences with those who receive affections and perceptions from God. There is this difference, however; such things in our world are created instantly by God, according to the affections of the angels, whereas in your world they were so created at the beginning, but with the provision that they should be perpetually renewed by propagation one from another, and thus that creation should be continued. [4] Creation in our world is instantaneous, and in yours continuous by propagation, because the atmospheres and ground of our world are spiritual, while the atmospheres and ground of your world are natural, and natural things were created that they might invest spiritual things just as skins clothe the bodies of men and animals, as the outer and inner bark clothe the trunks and branches of trees, as the mater and membranes clothe the brain, as the tegument clothes the nerves, as the delicate membranes clothe the nervous fibres, and so on. It is for this reason that all things in your world are permanent, and are constantly renewed year by year. The angel added: “Report what you have seen and heard to the inhabitants of your world, for till now they have been in complete ignorance concerning the spiritual world; and without some idea of it, no one can possibly know, or even guess, that creation is continuous in our world, and that it was the same in your world when the universe was created by God.”
[5] After this we talked on various subjects, and finally about hell. It was remarked that none of the things seen in heaven are seen in hell, but only their opposites, since the affections of the love of those in hell, which are evil lusts, are the opposites of the affections of the love in which the angels of heaven are. Therefore, with those in hell, and especially in their desert places, there appear birds of night, such as bats and owls, wolves, leopards, tigers, rats, and mice; also poisonous creeping things of every kind, as dragons and crocodiles; and where there is any herbage, there grow up brambles, nettles, thorns, and thistles, as well as poisonous plants. These at times vanish, and then nothing is to be seen but heaps of stones, and marshes in which frogs croak. All these are also correspondences, but as has been said, correspondences of the affections of their love, which are evil lusts. Such things, however, are not created there by God, nor were they created by Him in the natural world, where similar things exist. For all things which God created, and continues to create, were and are good; whereas such things as those arose on the earth together with hell, which came into being from men, who, by turning away from God, after death became devils and satans. However, as these terrible things began to be offensive to our ears, we turned our thoughts away from them, and called to mind what we had seen in heaven.
[3] Then another, hearing this, said: “You are speaking under a delusion. Every one knows that the original source of all things was chaos, which with its bulk had filled a fourth part of the universe. In its centre was fire, all round it was ether, and surrounding this again was matter. This chaos developed fissures, through which the fire burst, as it does from Aetna* and Vesuvius,** and formed the sun. After this was formed the ether rushed forth, enveloping it, and from this an atmosphere was formed. Finally the matter that was left gathered together into a globe, and formed the earth. As for the stars, they are only luminaries in the expanse of the universe, originating from the fire and light of the sun; for the sun was at first like an ocean of fire, but, lest it should consume the earth, it detached from itself small shining bodies of fire; and these, taking up their position in the surrounding space, completed the universe, and thus was formed its firmament.”
[4] Amongst them, however, there stood one who said: “You are mistaken. In your own eyes you appear to be wise, and I but a simpleton; yet in my simplicity I have believed, and do still believe, that the universe was created by God; and since nature belongs to the universe, and is thus universal, it was created at the same time. If, however, nature created herself, would she not have existed from eternity? But oh, what madness!” Then one of the so-called wise came nearer and nearer, and putting his left ear close to the mouth of the speaker, for his right ear was stopped as with cotton-wool, asked what he had said. The latter repeated his remarks. Thereupon the other looked round to see whether any priest was near; and noticing one by the side of the person who had been speaking, he replied: “I also acknowledge that Universal nature is from God, but….” Then he went away, whispering to his companions, “I said that because there was a priest standing by; but you and I know that nature is from nature; and as nature is thus God, therefore I said that universal nature is from God, but….” [5] The priest, however, overhearing the whispers, said: “Your wisdom, which is merely philosophic, has led you astray, and has closed the interiors of your minds so that no light from God and His heaven can flow in and enlighten you: you have utterly extinguished it.” And he added: “Consider, therefore, and decide among yourselves whence came your souls, which are immortal. Was it from nature, or were they also in that great chaos at the same time?”
When he heard this the former speaker withdrew to his companions, asking them to assist him in solving this knotty problem; and they came to the conclusion that the human soul is nothing but ether, that thought is nothing but a modification of the ether by the action of the sun’s light, and that ether belongs to nature. And they said: “Every one knows that we speak by means of the air, and that thought is nothing but speech in a purer air called ether. Therefore thought and speech make one. Every one can observe this from what takes place during infancy. The infant first learns to speak, and then to speak with himself, that is, to think. What then is thought but a modification of the ether, and the sound of speech but a modulation of it? We conclude therefore that the soul, which thinks, is derived from nature.”
[6] Some of them, not indeed dissenting, illustrated the position by saying that souls came into being when the ether emerged from that great chaos, and then in the highest region divided itself into innumerable individual forms, which infuse themselves into men when they begin to think from the purer air; and these forms are then called souls. On hearing this another said: “I grant that the individual forms produced from the ether in the higher regions may have been innumerable; but still, the men born since the creation of the world have exceeded the number of those forms. How then could those ethereal forms have been sufficient? I have therefore formed the opinion that the souls of men, departing out of their mouths when they die, return to them after several thousand years, when they enter upon and pass through a life similar to the one they lived before. It is well known that many wise men believe in such a process, and in the doctrine of Metempsychosis.” In addition to these several other conjectures were put forth by the rest, which I pass over as being utterly absurd.
[7] After a short time the priest returned, and the one who had before spoken of the creation of the universe by God, told him their conclusions regarding the soul. When he heard these, the priest said: “You have spoken just as you thought in the natural world, not knowing that you are in that world no longer, but in another, which is called the spiritual world. All who have become sensual and corporeal by confirming their belief in nature, suppose that they are still in the same world in which they were born and brought up; because in that world their bodies were material, but here they are in a substantial body and the substantial man sees himself and those around him precisely as the material man does. For the substantial is the primitive element of the material; and because you think, see, smell, taste and speak as you did in the natural world, therefore you believe that nature is the same in both worlds, although, as a matter of fact, the nature of this world differs, and is as remote from the nature of the material world as the substantial from the material, or the spiritual from the natural, or what is prior from what is posterior. Because nature in the world where you formerly lived is in itself dead, therefore you, by confirming your belief in it, have become, as it were, dead with regard to what relates to God, to heaven and to the Church, and also to your own souls. Nevertheless, every man, whether he be evil or good, may be elevated as to his understanding into the light in which the angels of heaven are, and may then see that there is a God and a life after death; and that the soul of man is not formed from ether, and thus from the nature of the material world, but that it is spiritual, and therefore that it will live for ever. The understanding may be in that angelic light provided only that the natural loves which are worldly and cling to the world and its nature, and which are also corporeal and cling to the body and its proprium,*** are removed.”
[8] Thereupon those loves were removed by the Lord, and they were permitted to speak with angels; and from their conversation in that state they perceived that there is a God, and that they were living in another world after death. They were, therefore, overcome with shame, and called out: “We have been mad!” As this, however, was not their proper state and consequently in a short time became tedious and irksome, they turned away from the priest, and would no longer listen to him. They went back to their former loves, which were merely natural, mundane and corporeal, going towards the left from society to society till they came to a road along which the delights of their own loves were wafted to them. So they said: “Let us take this road.” Down they went and at length they came to those who were in the delights of similar loves. Still downward they proceeded, but because their delight was to do evil, and this they had done to many on the way, they mere put in prison, and became demons. Then their delight was turned to misery, for by punishment and dread of punishment they were restrained from indulging in their former pleasures, which constituted their nature. They asked those who were in the same prison if this was to be their life for ever. Some of them replied: “We have been here for several ages, and we are to remain here for ages of ages; for the nature which we contracted in the world cannot be changed, or expelled by punishment; and should it be expelled at any time by this means, yet after a short interval it returns.”
* Aethna, Aetna, volcano of Sicily.
** Vesuvius, volcano in Campania, Italy.
*** The Latin word proprium when used as a substantive means “what is one’s own.” Swedenborg uses it in a special sense involving “what is of the self.”
[3] I further asked what he and his society believed about religion. He replied: “To us, who are learned above the mass of men, religion is nothing but a bewitchment of the common people, enveloping their feelings and imaginations as a rare atmosphere, in which flit about pious notions like butterflies in the air; and their faith, which connects those ideas into a system, is like a silk-worm in its cocoon, from which it emerges as the king of butterflies. For the illiterate community love imaginary things, transcending the bodily senses and the thoughts that spring from them, from a desire to fly. They even make for themselves wings, that they may soar upward like eagles and boastfully cry to those on the earth, ‘Look at me!’ We believe what we see, and we love what we touch.” Then touching his love he said: “This I believe, because I see and touch her; but as for that other nonsense, we throw it out of the window, casting it from us with a burst of laughter.”
[4] After this I asked what he and his associates believed concerning heaven and hell. He replied, with a derisive laugh: “What is heaven but the lofty ethereal firmament, and the angels there but spots, wandering round the sun, and the archangels but comets with long tails, upon which the whole crowd dwells? And what is hell but marshes, where frogs and crocodiles become devils in the imagination of simple people? All other ideas about heaven and hell are mere trumpery, devised by some prelate to win glory from an ignorant multitude.” All these things he spoke just as he had thought concerning them in the world, not knowing that he was now living after death, and forgetting all that he had heard when he first entered the spiritual world. Therefore also, when I questioned him regarding the life after death, he replied that it was a figment of the imagination; and that probably some vapor rising from a buried corpse in a form resembling a man, or some so-called spectre, about which people spread fables, had suggested such a thing to the popular imagination.
When I heard this I could no longer refrain from bursting into laughter, and I said: “Satan, you are raving mad. Are you not now in form a man? Do you not talk, see, hear, and walk? Pray recollect that you once lived in another world, which you have forgotten, and that you are now living after death, and have been speaking just as you did before.” The power to recollect was restored to him: his memory returned, and thoroughly ashamed he cried out: “I am mad! I have seen heaven above, and have heard angels there uttering things ineffable; but that was when I first came here. However, I will keep this in mind to tell it to my companions whom I have just left, and perchance they also will be ashamed.” He kept repeating that he would call them madmen; but as he went down, forgetfulness took the place of recollection. So when he arrived among them, he was as mad as they, and called madness what he had heard from me. Such is the state of thought and conversation of satans after death. Those who have confirmed themselves in belief in falsities are called satans, and devils those who have confirmed themselves in evils of life.
* Venus, goddess of love.
THE LORD THE REDEEMER
In the previous chapter we treated of God the Creator and also of creation; but in this chapter we shall treat of the Lord the Redeemer and also of redemption; and in the following chapter we shall treat of the Holy Spirit and also of the Divine operation. By the Lord the Redeemer we mean Jehovah in the Human for it will be shown in the following pages that Jehovah Himself descended and assumed the Human in order to effect our redemption. He is called the Lord and not Jehovah, because Jehovah in the Old Testament is called the Lord in the New, as is evident from the following passages. In Moses it is said:
“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. vi. 4, 5.
But in Mark it is said:
“The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.” xii. 29, 30.
Then in Isaiah it is said:
“Prepare ye the way of JEHOVAH, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” xl. 3.
But in Luke it is said:
“Thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.” i. 76.
In other passages the same distinction is made. The Lord also commanded His disciples to call Him Lord, and therefore He is so called by the Apostles in their Epistles, and afterwards by the Apostolic Church, as is evident from its Creed, which is called The Apostles’ Creed. This was because the Jews dared not utter the name “Jehovah” on account of its holiness; and also because by Jehovah is meant the Divine Being, which was from eternity; and the Human, which He assumed in time, was not that Being. What is meant by the Divine Being, or Jehovah, was shown in the previous chapter, numbers 18-26, and numbers 27-35. For this reason, both here and in the following pages, by the Lord we mean Jehovah in His Human; and since knowledge of the Lord surpasses in excellence all knowledge in the Church, and even in heaven, some revelation of it will now be made in the following series of articles:
(1) Jehovah the Creator of the universe descended and assumed the Human, in order to redeem and save mankind.
(2) He descended as the Divine Truth, which is the Word; and yet He did not separate the Divine Good.
(3) He assumed the Human according to His own Divine order.
(4) The Human, by which He sent Himself into the world, is what is called the Son of God.
(5) The Lord, by acts of redemption, made Himself righteousness.
(6) By the same acts He united Himself to the Father, and the Father united Himself to Him, also according to the Divine order.
(7) Thus God became Man, and Man God, in one Person.
(8) The progress to union was His state of exinanition,* and the union itself is His state of glorification.
(9) Hereafter no Christian can enter heaven unless he believes on the Lord God the Savior, and approaches Him alone.
Each of these articles will now be treated separately.
* Or state of humiliation, during which the maternal heredity was being removed.
It is believed at this day in the Christian Churches that God, the Creator of the universe, beget a Son from eternity, who descended and assumed a human in order to redeem and save mankind. This, however, is erroneous, and cannot be upheld when it is considered that God is one, and that it is utterly opposed to reason to say that the one God beget a Son from eternity, and that God the Father, together with the Son and the Holy Spirit, each of whom separately is God, is one God. This absurd belief is completely dissipated, like a falling star in the air, when it is shown from the Word that Jehovah God Himself descended and became Man and also the Redeemer. [2] The first point, that Jehovah God Himself descended and became Man, is evident from the following passages:
“Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, who shall be called God with us (A.V., Immanuel).” Is. vii. 14; Matt. i. 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,…the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Is. ix. 6.
“It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is JEHOVAH; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” Is. xxv. 9.
“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of JEHOVAH, make straight in the desert a highway for our God, … and all flesh shall see it together.” Is. xl. 3, 6.
“Behold, the Lord Jehovih (A.V., Lord God), will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him … He shall feed His flock like a shepherd.” Is. xl. 10, 11.
“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith JEHOVAH: and many nations shall be joined to JEHOVAH in that day.” Zech. ii. 10, 11.
“I JEHOVAH have called thee in righteousness,… and will give thee for a covenant to the people … I am JEHOVAH; that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another.” Is. xlii 6, 8.
“Behold the days come, … that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign … and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth,… and this is His name … JEHOVAH our righteousness.” Jer. xxiii. 6, 6; xxxiii. 15, 16.
Besides these there are other passages where the Coming of the Lord is called the Day of Jehovah,
as Is. xiii. 6, 9, 13; Ezek. xxxi. 15; Joel i. 15, ii. 1, 11, iii. 1, 14, 18; Amos v. 13, 18, 20; Zeph. i. 7-18; Zech. xiv. 1, 4-21; and in other places.
[3] That Jehovah Himself descended and assumed the Human is clearly evident in Luke, where it is written:
“Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this 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 Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” i. 34, 35.
And in Matthew:
The angel said to Joseph, the husband of Mary, in a dream, that what was conceived in her was of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph knew her not till she had brought forth her son: “And he called His name Jesus.” i. 20-25.
It will be seen in the third chapter of this work that by the Holy Spirit is meant the Divine which proceeds from Jehovah God. Everyone knows that a child receives his soul and life from his father, and that the body is from the soul. What then is more clearly stated than that the Lord received His soul and life from Jehovah God? And since the Divine cannot be divided, what is more evident than that the Divine itself of the Father was His soul and life? It was for this reason that the Lord so often called Jehovah God His Father, and Jehovah God called Him His own Son. What, then, could one hear more unreasonable than that the soul of our Lord was derived from Mary, His mother, as both Roman Catholics and Protestants at this day affirm, as in a dream, not being as yet awakened by the light of the Word?
“Have not I JEHOVAH? And there is no God else besides me; a just God and a Savior; there is none besides me.” Is. xlv. 21, 22.
“I am JEHOVAH; and besides me there is no Savior.” xliii. 11.
“I am JEHOVAH thy God …, and thou shalt know no god but me; for there is no Savior besides me.” Hos. xiii. 4.
“And all flesh shall know that I Jehovah am thy Savior and thy Redeemer.” Is. xlix. 26; lx. 16.
“As for our Redeemer, JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH is His name.” Is. xlvii. 4.
“Their Redeemer is strong; JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH is His name.” Jer. l. 34.
“JEHOVAH, my rock (A.V., strength) and my Redeemer.” Ps. xix. 14.
“Thus saith JEHOVAH, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am JEHOVAH thy God.” Is. xlviii. 17; xliii. 14; xlix. 7.
“Thus saith JEHOVAH, thy Redeemer, … I am JEHOVAH that maketh all things … alone … by myself.” Is. xliv. 24.
“Thus saith JEHOVAH the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH, I am the First and I am the Last, and besides me there is no God.” Is. xliv. 8.
“Thou, JEHOVAH, art our Father, … our Redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.” Is lxiii. 16.
“With everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith JEHOVAH thy Redeemer.” Is. liv. 8.
“Thou hast redeemed me, JEHOVAH of truth.” Ps. xxxi. 6.
“Let Israel hope in JEHOVAH: for with JEHOVAH there is mercy, and with Him there is plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” Ps. cxxx. 7, 8.
“JEHOVAH God, and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called.” Is. liv. 6.
From these and many other passages every man who has eyes, and a mind that is opened up through the use of them, may see that God, who is one, descended, and became man, in order to accomplish the work of redemption. Everyone may see this as in the light of morning, when he considers these Divine declarations which have just been quoted. Those, however, who are in the darkness of night through having confirmed themselves in the belief of the birth of another God from eternity, and of His descent and redemption, close their eyes to these Divine declarations, and then consider how they may apply them to the confirmation of their own false views, and so pervert them.
There are two things which constitute the Essence of God: Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, or what is the same, Divine Good and Divine Truth. It has been shown above in numbers 36-48, that these two are the Essence of God. These two are also meant in the Word by Jehovah God: by Jehovah is meant the Divine Love or the Divine Good, and by God the Divine Wisdom or the Divine Truth. Therefore it is that in the Word they are distinguished in various ways; at one time the name Jehovah is used alone, at another time the name God; for when the Divine Good is treated, the name Jehovah is used, and when the Divine Truth is the subject the name God is used; while when both are being treated, the expression Jehovah God is used. That Jehovah God descended as the Divine Truth, which is the Word, is evident from this passage in John, where it is said:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made … And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” i. 1, 3, 14.
By the Word is there meant Divine Truth, because the Word, which is received in the Church, is Divine Truth itself, for it was dictated by Jehovah Himself; and what is dictated by Jehovah is Divine Truth in its purity, and can be nothing else. [2] As the Word passed through the heavens down to this world, it was accommodated to the angels in heaven and also to men in the world. There is thus in the Word at spiritual sense, in which the Divine Truth appears in clear light, and a natural sense, in which the Divine Truth is but dimly seen. Therefore it is the Divine Truth in this Word that is meant in John. Moreover, this is evident from this consideration that the Lord came into the world to fulfil all things in the Word; and for this reason we so often read that this or that was done by Him that the Scripture might be fulfilled. The Divine Truth is also meant by the Messiah or Christ, by the Son of Man, and by the Holy Spirit the Comforter, whom the Lord sent after His departure from the world.
It will be seen in the chapter on the Sacred Scripture that the Lord represented Himself as that Word in the Transfiguration on the Mount before His three disciples, Matt. xvii.; Mark ix.; and Luke ix.; and also before John in the Revelation, i. 12-16. [3] That the Lord, when in the world, was the Divine Truth, is evident from His words:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” John xiv. 8;
and from these words:
“We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know the truth (A.V., him that is true); and we are in the truth (A.V., him that is true), even in His Son Jesus Christ, This is the true God and eternal life.” 1 John v. 20.
It is still further evident from the fact that He is called the Light, as in these passages:
“That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John i. 4, 9.
“Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you …. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.” John xii. 35, 36, 48.
“I am the light of the world.” John ix. 5.
Simeon said: “Mine eyes have seen thy salvation, … a light to lighten the Gentiles.” Luke ii. 30, 32.
“This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world,… But he that doeth truth cometh to the light.” John iii. 19, 21.
and other passages might be quoted where by light is meant the Divine Truth.
“Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O Mighty; ascend in thy majesty, ride upon the Word of truth; and thy right hand shall teach thee wonderful things. Thine arrows are sharp, and thine enemies shall fall under thee.” (A.V., variously). Ps. xlv. 3, 4, 5.
These words are spoken of the Lord concerning His combats with the hells, and His victories over them.
that “by the Word all things were made, and without it not anything was made that was made.” i. 3, 10,
and in David:
“By the Word of JEHOVAH were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” Ps. xxxiii. 6.
that the power of the Highest overshadowed Mary, Luke i. 35;
and by the power of the Highest is signified the Divine Good. The same is also evident from passages where He Himself says that the Father is in Him, and that He is in the Father; that all things which the Father hath are His, and that the Father and He are one; besides many other similar declarations. By the Father is meant the Divine Good.
In the section concerning the Divine omnipotence and omniscience it was shown that God at the creation introduced order into the universe and all its parts; and accordingly that the omnipotence of God proceeds and operates in the universe and all its parts according to the laws of His order. This has been treated above in numbers 49-74. Now since God came down, and since He is Order itself, as is there shown, it was necessary, in order for Him actually to become Man, that He should be conceived, carried in the womb, and be born; and that He should be educated, acquiring in due course the knowledge by which He might attain to intelligence and wisdom. Therefore as to His Humanity He was an infant like any other infant, a boy like any other boy, and so on; but with this sole difference, that He passed through those progressive states sooner, more fully and more perfectly than others. That He advanced in this way according to order is manifest from these words in Luke:
“The child Jesus grew, and waxed strong in spirit; and increased in wisdom and age (A.V., stature), and in favor with God and man.” ii. 40, 52.
That He did so sooner, more fully and more perfectly than others appears from the account recorded of Him in the same Evangelist,
that as a boy, twelve years old, He sat in the Temple in the midst of the doctors and taught; and that all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. ii. 46, 47; and also iv. 16-22, 32.
This was done because the Divine order is that a man should prepare himself for the reception of God; and as he prepares himself so God enters into him, as into His own dwelling-place and home. Such preparation is effected by means of the knowledge of God and of the spiritual things belonging to the Church, and thus by intelligence and wisdom. For it is a law of order that so far as a man approaches and draws near to God, which he must do entirely as of himself, so far God approaches and draws near to him, and interiorly conjoins Himself to him. It will be shown further in the following numbers that the Lord advanced to complete union with His Father according to this order.
This in fact has been done. It has been declared that God could beget a Son from eternity, and then cause a third God to proceed from Himself and the Son. Also that He could be angry with the human race, put them under a curse, and then be willing to show them mercy through the Son, by the Son’s intercession and the remembrance of His cross. Further that He can impart His Son’s righteousness to man, and implant it in his heart like the simple substance of Wolff,* in which, as this author says, is all the merit of the Son that cannot be divided, since if it were divided it would come to nothing. Moreover that He can, as by a Papal Bull, remit sin to whomsoever He will, or cleanse the most impious sinner from his dark evils, making a man, who is as black as a devil, as white as angel of light; and this while he remains inert as a stone, and inactive as a statue or an idol. Many are the other inane notions which those may spread abroad, as the winnower’s fan scatters chaff into the air, who with no knowledge and acknowledgment of any order, suppose the Divine Power to be absolute. Such men, in respect to spiritual matters which belong to heaven, the Church, and therefore to eternal life, may wander from Divine truths as a blind man in a wood, who now stumbles over stones, now dashes his forehead against a tree, and now entangles his hair in its branches.
* Wolff, Johann Christian, A.D. 1679-1754, a German philosopher of little originality or depth. His leading ideas are taken from Leibnitz.
The Lord frequently declared that the Father sent Him, and that He was sent by the Father,
as in Matt. x. 40; xv. 24; John iii. 17, 34; v. 3, 24, 36, 37, 38; vi. 29, 38, 40, 44, 57; vii. 16, 18, 28, 29; viii. 16, 18, 29, 42; ix. 4; and in many other places.
He speaks thus because by being sent into the world is meant descending and coming among men; and this was done by means of the Human which He assumed through the Virgin Mary. The Human is also actually the Son of God, because it was conceived of Jehovah God as Father, according to Luke i. 32, 35. He is called the Son of God, the Son of Man, and the Son of Mary. By the Son of God is meant Jehovah God in His Human, by the Son of Man the Lord as to the Word, and by the Son of Mary the Human, strictly so-called, which He assumed. It will be shown in what follows that the Son of God and the Son of Man have those meanings. It is, however, manifest from man’s generation that by the Son of Mary is meant merely the Human, because the soul is from the father and the body from the mother. For the soul is in the seed of the father, and this is clothed with a body in the mother; or what is the same, all that is spiritual in man is from the father, and all that is material is from the mother. In the case of the Lord, what was Divine in Him was from Jehovah the Father, and what was Human was from the mother; and these two united are the Son of God. That this is so is clearly manifest from the Lord’s Nativity, which is thus recorded by Luke:
The angel Gabriel said to Mary: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” i. 35.
The Lord called Himself “sent by the Father” for this reason also that “one sent” has the same meaning as angel, for the word angel in the original language means “sent,” as in Isaiah:
“The angel of the faces of JEHOVAH (A.V., the angel of the Lord) saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them.” lxiii. 9;
and in Malachi:
“The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the angel (A.V., messenger) of the covenant, whom ye delight in. iii. 1, and in other passages.
That the Divine Trinity-God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is in the Lord, and that the Father in Him is the Divine Source of all things, the Son the Divine Human, and the Holy Spirit the Divine Proceeding, will be seen in the third chapter of this work, on the Divine Trinity.
“I saw in visions,… and, behold, a watcher and an Holy One came down from heaven.” Dan. iv. 13.
“God will come (A.V., came) from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran.” Habak. iii. 3.
“I am JEHOVAH, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel.” Is. xliii. 15.
“Thus saith JEHOVAH, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One.” xlix. 7.
“I am JEHOVAH thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior.” xliii.3.
“As for our Redeemer, JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH is His name, the Holy One of Israel.” xlvii. 4.
“Thus saith JEHOVAH, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” xliii. 14; xlviii. 17.
“JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel.” liv. 5.
“They tempted God, and (A.V. limited) the Holy One of Israel.” Ps. lxxviii. 41.
“They have forsaken JEHOVAH, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel.” Is. i. 4.
They said: “Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel.” xxx. 11, 12.
“That say, Let Him hasten His work that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come.” v. 19.
“In that day … they shall stay upon JEHOVAH, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.” x. 20.
“Cry out and shout, O daughter of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” xii. 6.
It is said also of the God of Israel: “At that day … his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.” xvii. 7.
“The poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” xxix. 19; xli. 18.
“Their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.” Jer. li. 5;
also see Isaiah lv. 5, lx. 9, and elsewhere.
By the Holy One of Israel is meant the Lord as to His Divine Human; for the angel said to Mary:
“That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke i. 35.
That Jehovah and the Holy One of Israel are one, although named separately, is evident from the passages just quoted, which declare that Jehovah is the Holy One of Israel. That the Lord is called the God of Israel is also evident from numerous passages, as the following:
Is. xvii. 6; xxi. 10, l7; xxiv. l5; xxix. 23; Jer. vii. 3; ix. 15; xi. 3; xiii. l2; xvi. 9; xix. 3, 16; xxiii. 2; xxiv. 6; xxv. 15, 27; xxix. 4, 8, 21, 26; xxx. 2; xxxi. 23; xxxii. l4; xxxiii. 4; xxxiv. 2, 13; xxxv. 13, 17, 18, 19; xxxvii. 7; xxxviii. 17; xxxix. 16; xlii. 9, 15, l8; xliii. 10; xliv. 2, 7, 11, 25; xlviii. 1; l. 18; ii. 33; Ezek. viii. 4; ix. 3; x. 19, 20; xi. 22; xliii. 2; xliv. 2; Zeph. ii. 9; Ps. xli. 13; lix. 5; lxviii. 8.
The Lord declares in many places that no one can see the Father, or know Him, or come to Him, or believe on Him, except through His Human. If this declaration is disregarded, all the precious seed of the Church is changed into what is of less esteem: the seed of the olive becomes that of the pine; the seeds of the orange, the citron, the apple and the pear become those of the willow, the elm, the linden, and the oak; the vine becomes a marsh reed, and wheat and barley become mere chaff. Indeed all spiritual food becomes like dust, or food such as serpents eat, for spiritual light in man becomes natural (the light of his natural intelligence), and at length becomes sensual corporeal, which regarded in itself is a delusive light. Man in fact becomes like a bird which, attempting to fly when its wings are clipped, falls to the ground, and walking about sees nothing more around it than what lies at its feet. Then with respect to the spiritual things of the Church which would benefit his eternal life, his ideas are as worthless as the forecasts of a soothsayer. Such are the results when man regards the Lord God, the Redeemer and Savior, as merely the Son of Mary, that is, as a mere man.
* Socinians, members of a religious sect taking their name from Faustus Socinus, A.D. 1539-1604, and his uncle Laelius Socinus. They are antitrinitarians, denying the personality of the Holy Ghost and the Divinity of Christ. Early Socians believed in the miraculous conception and that Christ was entitled to Divine worship; but modern Socinians, chiefly Unitarians, deny both.
** Calvin, John, A.D. 1509-1564, was called by Melanchthon “The theologian of the sixteenth century.” He studied law as well as theology, became a Protestant and induced the authorities of Geneva to renounce Popery. The friend of John Knox, he exercised a powerful influence on Scottish Protestantism. His views may be summarized thus: particular election; particular redemption; moral inability in a fallen state; free grace; and ultimate salvation for the elect, notwithstanding many failings and aberrations on the part of the believer. In its leading features his theology is that of Augustine.
It is asserted and believed in the Christian Churches to-day that to the Lord alone belong merit and righteousness in virtue of the obedience which He yielded to God the Father while in the world, and especially by His Passion on the Cross. It is, however, imagined that the Passion on the Cross was itself the work of redemption, when yet it was not the work of redemption that was thereby effected, but the glorification of His Human. This will be treated in the following section on Redemption. The acts of redemption, by which the Lord made Himself Righteousness, were these: He carried out a last judgment, which took place in the spiritual world, separating the evil from the good, and the goats from the sheep; He drove out from heaven those who made common cause with the beasts of the dragon, founded a new heaven from those who were worthy, and a hell from the unworthy, and successively reduced all things everywhere to order; and finally He established the New Church. These were the acts of redemption by which the Lord made Himself Righteousness; for righteousness consists in doing all things according to Divine order, and in restoring to order whatever has departed from it, for Divine order itself is righteousness. Such things are signified by the words of the Lord when He says
that “it becometh me to fulfil all the righteousness of God.” Matt. iii. 15;
and by these passages in the Old Testament:
“Behold, the days come … that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign … and shall execute … righteousness in the earth … and this is His name, JEHOVAH our Righteousness.” Jer. xxiii. 5, 8; xxxiii. 15, 16;
“I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” Is. lxii. 1;
He shall sit “upon the throne of David … to establish it with judgment and with justice.” ix. 7;
“Zion shall be redeemed … with righteousness.” i. 27.
“Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. v. 20.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. v. 10.
“In the consummation of the age (A.V., At the end of the world), the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous.” (A.V., the just). Matt. xiii. 49;
and in other passages. By the righteous in the Word are meant those who have lived according to Divine order, since the Divine order is righteousness. Righteousness itself, which the Lord became by the acts of redemption, cannot be ascribed to any man, nor can it be inscribed upon him, adapted to his nature and conjoined to him, except as light can be to the eye, sound to the ear, will to the muscles of one acting, thought to the lips of one speaking, air to the lungs in respiration, heat to the blood, and so on. In these cases everyone may see from his own observation that there is influx and contiguity, but no conjunction. Righteousness, however, is acquired so far as a man practices it, and this he does as he acts towards his neighbor from a love of what is righteous and true. Righteousness dwells in the good itself, that is, in the use itself which he performs; for the Lord declares that every tree is known by its fruit. Every man may know another from his works, if he regards the end and purpose of the will, and the intention and cause from which they are done. Such things all the angels regard, as well as all wise men in this world. In general, every plant and shrub that springs from the ground is known by its flower, seed and use; every metal by its excellence; every stone by its quality; likewise every field, every kind of food, every beast of the field and every bird of the air; why should man not be so known? The quality of a man’s works, and upon what this depends, will be explained in the chapter on Faith.
Union was effected by the acts of redemption, because the Lord performed those by His Human, and as He did so, the Divine, by which is meant the Father, drew nearer, assisted and co-operated; and at length they were so united as to be not two but one. This union is the Glorification, which will be treated in what follows.
It will now be shown in the first place that the union of the Father and the Son, or of the Divine and the Human, in the Lord is like the union of the soul and body; and afterwards that this union is reciprocal. A union like that of soul and body is maintained in the Athanasian Creed,* which is received throughout the whole Christian world as the doctrine concerning God. We there read:
“Our Lord Jesus Christ is God and Man; and although He is God and Man, yet they are not two but one Christ. He is one, because the Divine took the Human to itself; yea, He is altogether one, and He is one Person; for as the soul and body is one man, so God and Man is one Christ.”
But in this passage it is meant that this union exists between the Son of God from eternity and the Son born in time. However, since God is one and not three, if by that union is meant union with the one God from eternity, that doctrine agrees with the Word, where we read
that He was conceived of Jehovah the Father, Luke i. 34, 35,
whence He derived His soul and His life. Therefore He says
that He and His Father are one, John x. 30;
that he who sees and knows Him, sees and knows the Father, John xiv. 9;
“If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.” John viii. 19;
“He that receiveth me, receiveth Him that sent me.” John xiii. 20;
“Which is in the bosom of the Father.” John i. 18;
that all things that the Father hath, are His, John xvi. 15;
that he is called the everlasting Father, Is. ix. 8;
that therefore He has power over all flesh, John xvii. 2,
and all power in heaven and in earth, Matt. xxviii. 18.
From these and many other passages in the Word it may be clearly seen that the union of the Father and the Son is like that of soul and body. Therefore also in the Old Testament He is frequently called JEHOVAH, JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH, and JEHOVAH the Redeemer, as may be seen in number 83.
* Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
“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 xiv. 10, 11;
“That ye may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in Him.” x. 38;
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee.” xvii. 21;
“Father, all mine are thine, and thine are mine.” xvii. 10.
The union is reciprocal, because there cannot be any union or conjunction between two, unless they mutually approach each other. All conjunction in the whole of heaven, in the whole of the world and in the whole of man arises solely from the reciprocal approach of one to the other, and consequently from the unity of will on both sides: hence arises homogeneity and sympathy, unanimity and concord in all particulars affecting each. Such is the reciprocal union of soul and body in every man; the union of man’s spirit with the sensory and motor organs of the body; the union of the heart and lungs; the union of the will and the understanding; the union of all members and viscera in man, in themselves and with one another; the union of minds with all who interiorly love one another, for it is inscribed on all love and friendship, as it is the nature of love to desire to love and to be loved. There is reciprocal union of all things in the world that are perfectly united, as the union of the sun’s heat with the heat of wood and stone, of vital heat with the heat of all fibres in living things; as the union of tree with the root,* through the root with the tree, and through the tree with the fruit; such is the union between the magnet and iron, and so on. Unless union arises from the reciprocal and mutual approach of one to the other it is only an external, and not an internal union, which in time is mutually dissolved, and sometimes so entirely that the parties no longer recognize one another.
* The two Latin Editions of 1857 and 1906 suggest humi for arboris so that the translation would read: “the union of soil with root…”
“He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” John vi. 56;
“Abide in me and I in you… He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.” xv. 4, 5;
“If any man … open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Rev. iii. 20;
besides other passages. This union is effected by a man drawing near to the Lord, and by the Lord, drawing near to him; for it is a sure and immutable law that so far as a man draws near to the Lord, the Lord draws near to him. More will be seen concerning this in the chapter on Charity and Faith.
That Jehovah God became Man, and Man God, in one Person, follows as a conclusion from the preceding articles of this chapter, particularly from these two: “Jehovah, the Creator of the universe descended and assumed the Human, in order to redeem and save mankind,” nos. 82-84; and “The Lord, by the acts of redemption, united Himself to the Father, and the Father united Himself to Him, thus reciprocally and mutually,” nos. 97-100. From that reciprocal union it is clearly evident that God became Man, and Man God, in one Person. The same also follows as a consequence from the Union of both, which is like that of soul and body. That this is in agreement with the faith of the Church at this day, as it is set forth in the Athanasian Creed,* may be seen above, no. 98. It is also in agreement with the faith of the Evangelical Protestants, as stated in their chief book of orthodoxy, called the Formula Concordiae,** where it is strongly established, both from the Sacred Scripture and the Fathers, as well as by rational arguments, that the Human Nature of Christ was exalted to Divine majesty, omnipotence and omnipresence, and also that in Christ Man is God and God Man; as may be seen in that work, p. 607, 765. Moreover it has been proved in this chapter that Jehovah God, as to His Human, is called in the Word, JEHOVAH, Jehovah God, JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH, (A.V., the Lord of Hosts), and also the God of Israel. Therefore, Paul says
that in Jesus Christ “dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Coloss. ii. 9;
and John says
that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, “is the true God, and eternal life.” 1 John v. 20.
That the Son of God, properly speaking, means His Human, may be seen above, no. 92 and following. Moreover, Jehovah God calls both Himself and Him Lord; for it is written:
“The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand.” Ps. cx. 1;
and in Isaiah:
“Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: … and His name shall be called God, the everlasting Father.” ix. 8.
By the Son is also meant the Lord as to His Human in David:
“I will declare the decree: JEHOVAH hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee…. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way.” Ps. ii. 7, 12.
A Son born from eternity is not here meant, but the Son born in the world, for this is a prophecy concerning the Lord who was to come, and therefore it is called the decree which Jehovah announced to David. It is also written before in the same Psalm:
“I have anointed my King upon Zion,” ver. 6,
and later,
“I shall give Him the nations for an inheritance,” ver. 6.
Therefore, “this day” does not mean from eternity, but in time, for with Jehovah the future is present.
* Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
** Form of Concord, Formula Concordiae, designed to effect an amicable adjustment of the differences among the Lutherans, by drawing them more closely to their principal standard, the Augsburg or Augustan Confession. Most of the Lutheran Churches add this Formula to their standard creeds.
“The mother of Jesus saith unto Him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.” John ii. 3, 4;
and elsewhere;
“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 xix. 26, 27;
and once He did not acknowledge her.
It was told Jesus “by certain, which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. And He answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the Word of God, and do it.” Luke viii. 20, 21; Matt. xii. 46-50; Mark iii. 31-35.
Thus the Lord did not call her “mother,” but “woman,” and entrusted her to John as a mother; in other places she is called His mother, but not by Himself. [2] This is also proved by the fact that He did not acknowledge Himself to be the Son of David: for we read in the Evangelists
that Jesus asked the Pharisees, “saying, What think ye of Christ? whose Son is He? They say unto Him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call Him Lord, how is He his Son? And no man was able to answer Him a word.” Matt. xxii. 41-48; Mark xii. 35-37; Luke xx. 41-44; Ps. cx. 1.
[3]* To the above I will add this account of an incident not hitherto recorded:**
It was once granted me to speak with Mary, the mother. She was then passing by, and appeared in heaven over my head, clothed in white raiment like silk. Pausing for a little she said that she had been the mother of the Lord, for He was born of her; but that He, having become God, put off all the Human He had from her; and therefore that she now worships Him as her God, and is unwilling that any one should acknowledge Him as her Son, because the whole Divinity is in Him.
From what has been said this truth is now clear that Jehovah is Man in first things and in last, as the following passages declare:
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,… which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Rev. i. 8, 11.
When John saw the Son of Man in the midst of the seven candle-sticks, he fell at His feet as dead; and He laid His right hand upon him, saying, “I am the first and the last.” Rev. i. 13, 17; xxi. 6;
“Behold, I come quickly, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” xxii. 12, 13.
Again in Isaiah it is written:
“Thus saith JEHOVAH the King of Israel, and His Redeemer JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH; I am the first, and I am the last.” xliv. 6; xlviii. 12.
* This passage is in quotation marks in Original Edition.
** This incident is repeated in 827 with variations.
[2] Since a man’s soul is the real man, and is spiritual in its origin, it is clear why the mind, temper, disposition, inclination and affection of the father’s love dwell in the succeeding offspring, and return and display themselves from generation to generation. This is the reason why many families, even whole nations, are known by the resemblance they bear to their original progenitor; there is a common likeness which shows itself in the countenance of every one of the race: and this likeness is not changed except by the spiritual things of the Church. The common likeness of Jacob and Judah, by which their posterity are distinguished from others, still persists, because they have hitherto firmly adhered to their religion. For in the seed from which every one is conceived there is a graft, or offshoot, of the father’s soul in its fullness, within a kind of covering composed of natural elements. By means of this his body is formed in the womb of the mother, which may be in the likeness either of the father or of the mother, the likeness of the father still remaining within, and continually endeavoring to bring itself forth; and if it cannot do so in the first generation, it effects it in those that follow. The likeness of the father is in its fullness in the seed because, as has been stated, the soul is spiritual in its origin, and what is spiritual has nothing in common with space; and therefore the likeness remains the same, as well in small compass as in large. When the Lord was in the world, by the acts of redemption He put off the whole of the Human which He had from the mother and put on a Human from the Father, the Divine Human; therefore in Him Man is God, and God Man.
It is known in the Church that the Lord, when in the world, passed through two states, called states of exinanition and glorification. The state of exinanition is described in many passages of the Word, especially in the Psalms of David, also in the Prophets, and particularly in Isaiah liii., where it is said,
“He hath poured out His soul unto death.” verse 12.
This same state was His state of humiliation before the Father, for in it He prayed to the Father, saying that He does His will, and ascribes all that He did and said to the Father.
That He prayed to the Father, is evident from these passages: Matt. xiv. 23; Mark 36; vi. 46; xiv. 32-39; Luke v. 16; vi. 12; xxii. 41-44; John xvii. 9, 15, 20.
That He did the will of the Father: John iv. 34; v. 30.
That He ascribed all that He did and said to the Father: John viii. 28-28; xii. 49-50; xiv. 10;
indeed, He even cried out on the cross: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matt. xxvii. 46; Mark xv. 34;
and moreover, unless He had been in this state, He could not have been crucified. The state of glorification is also the state of union. He was in this state when He was transfigured before His three disciples; and also when He wrought miracles; and when He said that He and the Father are one, that the Father is in Him and He in the Father, and that all things the Father had are His; and when the union was fully completed, that He had “power over all flesh,” John xvii. 2; and that He had “all power in heaven and in earth,” Matt. xxviii. 18; besides many other passages to the same effect.
It will be fully proved in the chapters on Free Will, on Charity and Faith, and on Reformation and Regeneration that every man who, from being natural becomes spiritual, passes through two states, that he enters through the first into the second, and so from the world enters into heaven. We shall merely observe here that in the first state, which is called the state of reformation, the man is at full liberty to act according to the rationality of his understanding; and that in the second, which is the state of regeneration, he is also in the same liberty, but now wills and acts, thinks and speaks from a new love and a new intelligence from the Lord. For in the first state his understanding plays the first part, and his will the second; but in the latter state the will plays the first part and the understanding the second; but still the understanding acts from the will, and not the will [directed] by the understanding.* The union of good and truth, of charity and faith, and of the internal and external man is likewise effected in the same way.
* …and not the will [directed] by the understanding, non autem voluntas per intellectum. Per has the force not so much as of “through” or “by means of,” as of “at the direction of.”
These two states are also represented by various stages in the animal kingdom: the first by beasts and birds so long as they remain with their parents, whom they follow continually and by whom they are nourished and guided; and the second when they leave their parents and provide for themselves. In the case of caterpillars, the first state is when they creep and feed on leaves, and the second when they cast their skins and become butterflies. These two states are also represented in the subjects of the vegetable kingdom: the first when the plant springs from the seed, and puts forth branches, shoots and leaves; and the second when it bears fruit and produces new seeds. This process may be compared to the union of good and truth, since the several parts of a tree correspond to truths, and the fruit to good. The man who continues in the first state, and does not enter upon the second, is like a tree that bears leaves only, and not fruit, concerning which it is said in the Word
that it must be rooted up and cast into the fire, Matt. xxi. 19; Luke iii. 9; xiii. 8-10; John xv. 5, 8.
He is also like a servant who does not wish to be free, concerning whom it was decreed
that he should be brought to the door, or to the door-post, and his ear bored through with an awl. Exod. xxi. 6.
Servants are those who are not united to the Lord, but the free are those who are united to Him, for the Lord says:
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John viii. 36.
It is written in Isaiah:
“Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind…. Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.” lxv. 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, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband…. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” xxi. 1, 2, 5.
It is also said in many places
that none should enter heaven but those who were written in the Lamb’s book of life, Rev. xiii. 8; xvii. 8; xx. 12, 15; xxi. 27.
By heaven in those passages is not meant the heaven that appears to our eyes, but the angelic heaven. By Jerusalem is not meant any city coming out of heaven, but the Church which shall descend from the Lord out of that angelic heaven; and by the Lamb’s book of life is not meant some book written in heaven, which shall be opened, but the Word which is from the Lord, and which treats of Him. It has been confirmed, proved and established in the preceding sections of this chapter that Jehovah God, who is called the Creator and Father, descended and assumed the Human in order that men might approach and be united to Him. For who, when he draws near to a man, approaches his soul, or who can do so? He approaches the man himself, whom he sees and addresses face to face. It is the same with God the Father and the Son; for God the Father is in the Son, as the soul is in its body.
[2] That men ought to believe on the Lord God the Savior is evident from these passages in the Word:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John iii. 16.
“He that believeth on Him (the Son) is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” iii. 18.
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” iii. 36.
“The bread of God is He that cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world…. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” vi. 33, 35.
“This is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” vi. 40.
“Then said they unto Him (Jesus), what shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered … This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He (the Father) hath sent.” vi. 28, 29.
“Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” vi. 47.
“Jesus … cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me … out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” vii. 37, 38.
“If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.” viii. 24.
“Jesus said … I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die.” xi. 25, 26.
Jesus said, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.” xii. 46; viii. 12.
“While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.” xii. 36.
It is also written
that they should abide in the Lord, and the Lord in them, xiv. 20; xv. 1-5; xvii. 23;
and this is effected by faith.
Paul testified “both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts xx. 21.
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John xiv. 6.
[3] That whosoever believes the Son believes on the Father, since, as has been said above, the Father is in Him as the soul is in the body, is evident from these passages:
“If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.” John viii. 19; xiv. 7.
“He that seeth me seeth Him that sent me.” xii. 45.
“He that receiveth me receiveth Him that sent me.” xiii. 20.
The reason of this is
that no one can see the Father and live, Exod. xxxiii. 20.
Therefore the Lord says:
“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” John i. l8.
“Not that any man hath seen the Father, save He which is of God, He hath seen the Father.” vi. 46.
“Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape.” v. 37.
There are, however, those who do not know anything about the Lord, as is the case with many inhabitants of Asia, Africa and the Indies. If they believe on one God and live according to the precepts of their own religion, they are saved by their faith and life. For imputation is to those who know, and not to those who are in ignorance, just as the blind are not blamed when they stumble; for the Lord says:
“If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” John ix. 41.
I will here make known this fact hitherto unknown, that some months ago the Lord called together the twelve Apostles, and sent them forth throughout the whole spiritual world, just as He had formerly sent them into all the natural world, with the command to preach this gospel. Each Apostle has his own province assigned to him, and they are now executing this command with all zeal and industry. More will be said concerning this subject in the last chapter of this book, which deals particularly with the Consummation of the Age, the Coming of the Lord, and the New Church.
All the Churches before the Coming of the Lord were representative Churches, which could see Divine truths only in the shadow of darkness; but after the Coming of the Lord into the world a Church was established by Him which saw Divine truths, or rather, which could see them, in light. The difference between those Churches is all the difference between evening and morning; the state of the Church before the Coming of the Lord is also called in the Word evening, and its state after His Coming, morning. The Lord, before His Advent into the world, was indeed present with the men of the Church, but mediately, through angels who represented Him; whereas, since His Advent, He is present with the members of the Church immediately; for in the world He put on the 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 glorified Human of the Lord is the Divine Natural. That this is the case is evident from the fact that the Lord rose from the tomb with His whole body which He had in the world, leaving nothing behind; consequently He took with Him from the tomb the Natural Human itself, complete from first things to last. Therefore after His resurrection He said to the disciples who believed that they saw a 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 yea see me have.” Luke xxiv. 37, 39.
From this it is clear that His natural body by glorification was made Divine. Therefore Paul says
that in Christ “dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Coloss. ii. 9;
and John says
that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, “is the true God.” 1 John v. 20,
Hence the angels know that the Lord alone, in the whole spiritual world, is fully Man.
[2] It is well known in the Church that all worship with the Israelitish and the Jewish race was merely external, and that it shadowed forth the internal worship which the Lord revealed. Thus worship before the Coming of the Lord consisted in types and figures, which represented true worship in appropriate imagery. Indeed the Lord Himself appeared among the people of old, for He said to the Jews:
“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad . . . I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” John viii. 56, 58.
As the Lord, however, was only represented at that time, which representation was effected by angels, so all things relating to the Church with the Jews were made representative; but after He came into the world, those representations came to an end. The interior reason for this was that the Lord, while in the world, put on the Divine Natural, from which He enlightens not only the internal spiritual man, but also the external natural man. If both of these are not enlightened at the same time, the man remains as it were in the shadow of darkness; but if both are so enlightened he is, as it were, in the light of day. When only the internal man is enlightened, and not at the same time the external, or when only the external and not the internal, it is as when one sleeps and dreams. When he awakens, he remembers his dream, and from it fashions various conclusions, which nevertheless are imaginary. He may be likened also to one walking in his sleep, who supposes the objects he sees are seen in the light of day.
[3] The difference between the state of the Church before the Lord’s Coming and after it is like the difference seen in reading a paper by one who reads it at night by the light of the moon and stars, and by one who reads it in the sunlight. In the pale light of the moon the eye is liable to error, but not in the brilliant light of the sun. Thus it is written concerning the Lord:
“The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me … He shall be as the light of the morning when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds.” 2 Sam xxiii. 3, 4.
The God of Israel, and the Rock of Israel, is the Lord. In another place it is written:
“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 that JEHOVAH bindeth up the breach of His people.” Is. xxx. 26.
These words are spoken of the state of the Church after the Coming of the Lord. Briefly, the state of the Church before the Coming of the Lord may be compared to an old woman, whose face was painted, and who thought herself beautiful because of the bright colour of the paint; whereas the state of the Church after the Coming of the Lord may be compared to a maiden, comely in her native beauty. Again, the state of the Church before the Coming of the Lord may be compared to the rind of any fruit, as the orange, apple, pear, or grape, and its flavour; whereas the state of the Church after His Coming may be compared to the inner parts of these fruits and their flavour; and other similar comparisons may be made. There is this difference in the state of the Church because the Lord, after He put on the Divine Natural, enlightens the internal spiritual man and the external natural man at the same time. For while the internal man only is enlightened, without the external, or the external only without the internal, the shadow of darkness persists.
At this point the following Memorabilia will now be set forth.
The first experience. I once saw in the spiritual world a wandering fire in the air falling to the ground, surrounded by a brilliant light. It was a meteor, commonly called a dragon. I noted the place where it fell, but it disappeared in the gray morning light before the rising sun, as these phenomena do. 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 sulphur, fragments of iron and clay. Suddenly there appeared two tents, one directly over the place and the other near it, towards the south. Then looking up, I saw a spirit falling like lightning from heaven, and thrown into the tent which stood directly over the spot where the meteor fell. I then stood in the doorway of the other tent which was near-by towards the south, and I saw the spirit standing at the door of his tent. I asked him why he fell so precipitately from heaven, and he replied that he was cast down as an angel of the dragon by the angels of Michael,* because he had expressed something of the faith in which he had confirmed himself while in the world. “For instance,” said he, “God the Father and God the Son are two, and not one. Now all in the heavens at this day believe that they are one, like soul and body. Whatever contradicts this, is like an irritant in their nostrils, or an awl perforating their ears, causing them great pain. Whoever, therefore, maintains a contrary opinion is ordered to depart; and if he refuses, he is cast down headlong.”
[2] On hearing this I said, “Why did you not believe as they did?” He replied that after leaving the world no one could believe anything but what he had impressed upon himself and become confirmed in. This remains fixed, he said, and cannot be rooted out, especially what relates to God; for every one has a place in heaven according to his idea of God. I then asked him by what arguments he had confirmed his belief that the Father and the Son were two. He answered: “By what is stated in the Word, that the Son prayed to the Father, not only before, but also during, His Passion on the Cross; and also that He humbled Himself before the Father. How then can they be one, as the soul and body are one in a man? For who prays as to another, and humbles himself as before another, while he himself is that other? No one acts in this way, much less the Son of God. Moreover, the whole Christian Church in my time divided the Divinity into Persons, each of whom is one by himself, Person being defined as that which is self-subsistent.” [3] When I heard him say this I replied: “From your remarks I perceive that you know nothing of how God the Father and Son are one, and in consequence you have confirmed yourself in the false opinions which the Church to this day entertains concerning God. Do you not know that the Lord, when in the world, had a soul like every other man? Whence had He that soul but from God the Father? This is abundantly evident from the Word of the Evangelists. What then is that which is called the Son, but the Human, which was conceived by the Divine of the Father and born of the virgin Mary? A mother cannot conceive a soul, for this is totally opposed to the order according to which every man is born; nor can God the Father implant a soul from Himself and then withdraw from it, as every father in the world can, since God is His own Divine Essence, and this is one and indivisible; and because it is indivisible, it is Himself. For this reason the Lord says that the Father and He are one, that the Father is in Him and He in the Father, and there are many other expressions to the same effect. Those who drew up the Athanasian Creed** had a faint impression of this; and therefore, after they had divided God into three Persons, they still declare that in Christ, God and Man, that is, the Divine and the Human, are not two, but one, like the soul and body in a man.
[4] “That the Lord when in the world prayed to the Father as to another, and humbled Himself before the Father as before another, was according to the order established at the creation. This is immutable, and according to it every one must progress towards union with God. This order is that as man unites himself to God by a life according to the laws of order, which are the Commandments of God, so God unites Himself to man, and from being natural makes him spiritual. In like manner the Lord united Himself to His Father, and God the Father united Himself to Him. Was not the Lord, when an infant, like an infant, and when a child, like a child? Is it not written that He increased in wisdom and favour; and later that He asked the Father to glorify His Name, that is, His Human? To glorify is to make Divine by union with Himself. Hence it is evident that the Lord prayed to the Father when in the state of His exinanition, which was a state of His progression towards union.
[5] “That same order is inscribed on every man at creation, and accordingly, as a man prepares his understanding by means of truths from the Word, he adapts it to the reception of faith from God; and as he prepares his will by works of charity, he accommodates it to the reception of love from God; just as when a workman cuts a diamond, he prepares it to receive and reflect the brilliant rays of light; and so on. To prepare oneself for the reception of God, and union with Him, is to live according to Divine order, and all the Commandments of God are laws of order. These the Lord fulfilled to every letter, and so became a recipient of Divinity in all its fulness. Therefore Paul says, that in Jesus Christ dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and the Lord Himself declares that all things that the Father hath are His. [6] It must be further borne in mind that the Lord alone is active in man, and that man himself is merely passive. Man is indeed an active agent, but only through the influx of life from the Lord; for it is owing to this perpetual influx from the Lord that man appears to act from himself. It is because of this appearance that he has Free Will, which is given him that he may prepare himself to receive the Lord, and so be united to Him. This union would not be possible unless it were reciprocal; and it becomes reciprocal when man acts from his own freedom, and yet by faith attributes all activity to the Lord.”
[7] After this I asked him whether he, like the rest of his companions, confessed that God is one. He replied that he did. Then I said: “But I am afraid the confession of your heart is that there is no God. Does not every word of the mouth proceed from thought in the mind? It must follow therefore that the confession of the lips that God is one will drive out from the mind the thought that there are three. On the other hand, the thought of the mind will drive out the lip confession that there is one: and what conclusion then will necessarily result but that there is no God? When this opinion that there are three is held in the mind, as there is no room for intermediate opinions between thought and speech, the mind comes to the conclusion concerning God, that nature is God, and concerning the Lord, that He received His soul either from the mother or from Joseph: and both of these opinions are held by all the angels of heaven in utter aversion.” When I said this, the spirit was sent away to the abyss, mentioned in Rev. ix. 2, and the 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 human form, made of the dust of the ground, which was a mixture of sulphur, iron and clay. One statue appeared to have a sceptre in the left hand, a crown on the head, a book in the right hand, and an ornament for the breast bound obliquely with a cincture set with precious stones, and a robe flowing behind toward the other statue; but these adornments of the statue were the effects of phantasy. Then a voice was heard from the abyss, uttered by some spirit of the dragon, saying “This statue represents our faith as a queen, and the other behind it represents charity as her servant.” The other statue was composed of a similar mixture of dust, and was set up at the extremity of the robe which flowed from behind the queen. It held a paper in its hand on which was written: “Beware, lest you approach too near, and touch the robe.” Then suddenly a shower of rain fell from heaven, thoroughly saturating the statues, which, composed as they were of a mixture of sulphur, iron and clay, began to effervesce, as happens with a mixture of these ingredients when water is poured upon it. Then bursting into flames from the fire generated within them, they were reduced to heaps of ashes, which afterwards appeared as burial mounds on the ground.
* Michael, the archangel.
** Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
[2] There was once a large assembly in the world of spirits, and the conversation turned upon this subject. Some said that not to be able to speak except as one thought, when in company with the good, was rather hard for those who had not formed right conceptions of God and of the Lord. In the assembly were some Protestants, with many of their clergy, and near by were some Roman Catholics, among them being several monks. Both of these parties at once declared that it was not at all hard, saying, “Why must one speak otherwise than as one thinks? If it happens that a man does not think aright, can he not keep his lips closed and remain silent?” Then one of the clergy said, “Who does not think aright concerning God and the Lord?” Some of the assembly suggested that they should try and see. So they asked those who, when thinking about God, had confirmed themselves in their belief in a trinity of Persons, to utter from their thought the words “One God”; but they could not. They performed many twists and contortions with their lips, but they could not make them pronounce words other than those which conformed to their thoughts, which were of three Persons and consequently of three Gods.
[3] Next, those who had confirmed their belief in faith separate from charity were asked to pronounce the name “Jesus”; but they could not, yet they were all able to say “Christ” and also “God the Father.” They wondered at this, and on inquiry they discovered the reason to be that they prayed to God the Father for the sake of the Son, and not to the Saviour Himself; and Jesus means Saviour. [4] They were then asked, from their thought concerning the Human of the Lord, to say the words, “Divine Human.” Not one of the clergy present was able to do so, but some of the laymen were able; so this became the subject of serious discussion.
(1) First of all the following passages in the Evangelists were read to them:
that “the Father hath given all things into the hand of the Son,” John iii. 35;
that “the Father hath given the Son power over all flesh,” John xvii. 2;
“All things are delivered unto me of my Father.” Matt. xi. 27;
“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Matt. xxviii. 18.
They were requested to bear in mind that, according to these passages, Christ is God of heaven and earth in respect of His Divine and of His Human, and so to utter the words, “Divine Human”; but still they could not, and they said that, although from these passages they had in their understanding a certain idea of it, there was no acknowledgment, and therefore they were unable to pronounce the words.
[5] (2) Afterwards the passage from Luke i. 32, 34, 35, was read to them, which declares that the Lord as to His Human was the Son of Jehovah God, and that He is there called the Son of the Highest, and everywhere else the Son of God, and also the Only Begotten. They were asked to keep this in mind, and also the fact that the Only Begotten Son of God, born in the world, must of necessity be God, as the Father is God, and to utter the words, “Divine Human”; but they said, “We cannot, because our spiritual thought, which is interior, admits into the thought nearest to speech no ideas but such as are similar to itself.” For this reason, they added, they perceived that they could not divide their thoughts, as they did in the natural world.
[6] (3) Then the following words of the Lord to Philip were read to them:
“Philip saith, Lord, show us the Father.” Jesus said unto him: “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father . . . Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?” John xiv. 8-11;
and other passages also, which declare
that “the Father and He are one,” as in John x. 30.
They were asked to keep this in their thought, and then to say, “Divine Human”; but as that thought was not rooted in the acknowledgment that the Lord is God even with respect to His Human, they could not, although they twisted their lips till they were angry, endeavouring to force their mouths to utter the words. This was because, among those in the spiritual world, the ideas of thought which arise from acknowledgment unite with the words of the tongue, and where those ideas do not exist, neither do words, for only such ideas become expressed in words.
[7] (4) The following words from the doctrine universally received in the Christian Church were then read to them:
“The Divine and the Human in the Lord are not two, but one; yea, one Person, united like soul and body in man.”
This is from the Athanasian Creed,* and has been acknowledged by the Church Councils; and it was added: “You can therefore surely have some idea from the acknowledgment that the Human of the Lord is Divine, because His soul is Divine, this being in accordance with the doctrine of your Church, which you acknowledged in the world. Moreover, it was added, “the soul is the essence itself of a man, and the body is its form; and essence and form make one, like being (esse) and existing (existere), or like cause and effect.” They accepted this idea, and from it endeavored to pronounce the words, “Divine Human” but they could not, for their interior idea of the Human of the Lord utterly destroyed this new-fangled idea, as they called it.
[8] (5) Thereupon the following passages from John were read to them:
“The Word was with God, and the Word was God … And the Word was made flesh.” John i. 1, 14;
and also this:
“This (Jesus Christ) is the true God, and eternal life.” 1 John v. 20;
and this passage from Paul:
“In Him (Christ Jesus) dwelleth all the fulness of the God-head bodily.” Coloss. ii. 9.
They were then asked to think according to the tenor of these words, that God, who was the Word, became Man; that He was the true God; and that in Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. They did so, but in their external thought only. Therefore they were unable, because of the resistance of their internal thought, to say the words, “Divine Human.” They said frankly that they could not maintain the idea of the Divine Human, because God is God, and man is man, and God is a spirit, “and of a spirit,” they added, “we have no idea except that it is wind or ether.”
[9] (6) At length they were reminded of what the Lord said:
“Abide in me, and I in you…. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John xv. 4, 5;
and as some of the English clergy were present, this passage was read to them from their exhortation at the Holy Communion:
“For, when we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ and drink the blood, then we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us”;**
and the request was made to them: “If you now think that this is impossible unless the Human of the Lord is Divine, repeat the words, ‘Divine Human’ from acknowledgment in thought.” But still they could not do this, so deeply impressed upon them was the idea that what is Divine cannot be human, and what is human cannot be Divine, and that the Lord’s Divine was from the Divine of the Son born from eternity, and His Human like the human of any other man. Upon this they were asked: “How can you think so? Can a rational mind conceive of a Son born of God from eternity?”
[10] (7) After this the Evangelical Protestants were addressed. They were reminded that both the Augustan Confession*** and Luther**** taught that the Son of God and the Son of Man in Christ are one Person, that even as to His Human Nature He is omnipotent and omnipresent; that in respect to this Nature He sits at the right hand of God the Father, governs all things in heaven and on earth, fills all things, is with us, and dwells and operates in us; that there is no division of worship, because by the Nature which is discerned, the Divinity which is not discerned is worshiped, and that in Christ, God is Man and Man God. On hearing this they asked, “Is it really so?” and looking grave they said: “We did not know this before. That is why we cannot say the words, ‘Divine Human.'” And first one and then another said: “We have read this, and even written it; and yet when we deeply considered it, it was a matter of mere words, carrying no interior idea whatever.”
[11] (8) Finally, those who were conducting the inquiry turned to the Roman Catholics and said: “Perhaps you can say ‘Divine Human,’ because you believe that, in your Eucharist,***** Christ is wholly present in the bread and wine, and in every part of them. You also worship Him as God most holy when you exhibit and carry about the Host. Then you call Mary Deipara, or Mother of God, thereby acknowledging that she brought forth God, that is, the Divine Human.” They then endeavored to pronounce the words, but were unable, because there intervened the material idea of the body and blood of Christ, and also the belief that His Human is separable from the Divine, and that it is actually separated in the person of the Pope, to whom His Human power only, and not His Divine, is transferred. Then one of the monks rose and said that he could think of a divine human in respect of the most holy virgin Mary, and also in respect of a saint in his own monastery; and another monk approaching, said: “According to the idea which I now entertain, I can pronounce the words ‘Divine Human’ in reference to his Holiness the Pope, rather than to Christ;” but some of the Catholics drew him back, saying, “Shame on you!” [12] Thereupon heaven was seen open, and there appeared, as it were, tongues of fire descending and lighting upon some of the assembly, who then began to proclaim the Divine Human of the Lord, saying: “Put away the idea of three Gods, and believe that in the Lord dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and that the Father and He are one as the soul and body are one, and that God is not wind or ether, but is Man. Then will you be conjoined with heaven, and from the Lord will be able to name Jesus, and to say, ‘Divine Human.'”
* Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
** In Orig. Ed. this passage from the exhortation to the Communion read to the members of the English clergy is in English: “For, when we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ and drink the blood, then we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us.”
*** Augustan or Augsburg Confession, presented by the Lutherans to Charles V at Augusta or Augsburg, in A.D. 1530. This is one of the standard books of faith to which members of the Lutheran Church subscribe. Melanchthon was mainly responsible for its composition.
**** Luther, Martin, A.D. 1483-1646, the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, was born at Eisleben, Saxony. He was a student at Erfurt in law and divinity, and was ordained priest in A.D. 1507. He left Erfurt for a chair in the university of Wittenberg, where his preaching attracted great attention. Here he made his first public protest against the Romish Church by condemning the sale of indulgences. The Lutheran Church dates its origin from the year A.D. 1520 when Luther was expelled from the Romish Church. It assumed a more definite shape on the publication in A.D. 1530 of the Augsburg Confession. This was drawn up by Melanchthon and Luther as the principal standard of the Church. The final establishment of the Lutheran Church was made possible by the friendly offices of Maurice, Elector of Saxony.
***** Eucharist, Holy Supper, thanksgiving.
[2] When I heard this, being in the spirit, I approached them and said: “Here I am. What is the matter?” Immediately one of them, who I afterwards learned was a German, a native of Saxony, said in an authoritative tone: “How dare you overturn the worship which has been established in the Christian world for so many centuries, and which is founded on the teaching that God the Father should be invoked as the Creator of the universe, His Son as the Mediator, and the Holy Ghost as the Operator? And you divest the first and the last God of our personality, although the Lord Himself says, ‘When ye pray, say, “Our Father who art in the heavens, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.”‘ Are we not here commanded to invoke God the Father?” At these words there was silence, and all who agreed with him stood like brave soldiers on board men-of-war, ready to cry out when they see the enemy’s fleet: “Now let us fight: victory is sure.” [3] Then I began to speak, and I said: “Which of you does not know that God came from heaven, and became Man? For it is written, ‘The Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh.’ Moreover, which of you does not know,”-and here I looked at the Evangelicals among whom was that dictatorial one who had addressed me-“that in Christ, who was born of the virgin Mary, God is Man, and Man is God?” Upon this the company murmured; so I said: “Do you not know this? It is according to the doctrine of your own Confession, called the Formula Concordiae,* where this is stated and confirmed by many proofs.” Then the dictator, turning to the company, asked if they knew this. They replied: “We have not given much attention to what is said in that Book concerning the Person of Christ, but we have spent much labor studying the Article on Justification by Faith Alone. However, if it is so written in that Book, we agree.” Hereupon one of them, recalling it to memory, said: “It is so written; and furthermore, that Christ’s Human Nature with all its attributes, has been exalted to Divine Majesty, and also that Christ in that Nature sits at the right hand of His Father.”
[4] When they heard this they were silent. After this confirmation I continued saying, “Since this is the case, what then is the Father but the Son, and the Son but the Father?” As this, however, again offended their ears, I proceeded: “Hear the very words of the Lord. If you would not attend to them before, attend to them now. He said: ‘I and the Father are one; the Father is in me, and I am in the Father; Father, all mine are thine, and all thine are mine; and, he that seeth me, seeth the Father.’ What else do these words mean but that the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father? Also that they are one, like the soul and body in a man, and therefore that they are one Person? This also must be your belief if you believe the Athanasian Creed** where the same things are stated. However, from the passages just quoted take this declaration of the Lord’s: ‘Father, all mine are thine, and all thine are mine.’ What else does this mean but 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 the soul and body are one? [5] Similarly every man may say of his own soul and body, that all thine are mine, and all mine are thine; thou art in me, and I am in thee; he that seeth me, seeth thee; we are one with regard both to person and life. The reason of this is, that the soul is in the whole and every part of a man; for the life of the soul is the life of the body, and there is a mutual relation between them. From this it is plain that the Divine of the Father is the soul of the Son, and that the Human of the Son is the body of the Father. Whence has a son his soul but from his father, and his body, but from his mother? We speak of the Divine of the Father, and by this we mean the Father Himself, since He and His Divine are the same thing, the Divine being one and indivisible. It is also evident that this is the case from these words of the angel Gabriel to Mary: ‘The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore, also, that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God’; and a little before He is called ‘The Son of the Highest,’ and in another place ‘The only-begotten Son’; but you, who call Him only the Son of Mary, destroy the idea of His Divinity. This idea, however, is destroyed only among the learned clergy and the erudite laity who, when they raise their thoughts above the things of bodily sense, regard the glory of their own reputation, which not only obscures but even extinguishes the light by which the glory of God enters.
[6] “Let us now return to the Lord’s Prayer, where it is said: ‘Our Father, who art in the heavens, hallowed be thy name: thy kingdom come.’ You that are here present understand by these words the Father in His Divine alone; whereas I understand them as relating to Him in His Human. By the latter term is also meant the name of the Father; for the Lord said, ‘Father, glorify thy name,’ that is, Thy Human; and when this is done, then the kingdom of God comes. This prayer was enjoined for the present time, in order that God the Father might be approached by means of His Human. The Lord has also declared: ‘No man cometh unto the Father but by me’; and it is written in the Prophet: ‘Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and His name shall be called … The mighty God, The everlasting Father’; and in another place: ‘Thou, JEHOVAH, art our Father, our Redeemer; thy name is from everlasting’; and in numerous other places, where the Lord our Saviour is called JEHOVAH. This is the true explanation of the words of that prayer.”
[7] After I had said this, I looked upon them, and noted the changes in their countenances according to the changes in the states of their minds; and I observed some assenting and looking towards me, and some dissenting and turning away from me. Then towards the right I saw a cloud opaline in colour, and a dark cloud towards the left. Under each was, as it were, a falling shower, that under the latter being like rain in the late Autumn, while that under the former was like dew in the early Spring time. Then suddenly, from being in the spirit, I was in the body again, and so I returned from the spiritual to the natural world.
* Form of Concord, Formula Concordiae, designed to effect an amicable adjustment of the differences among the Lutherans, by drawing them more closely to their principal standard, the Augsburg or Augustan Confession. Most of the Lutheran Churches add this Formula to their standard creeds.
** Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
[2] “In their youth they learned to confirm the doctrine of Faith Alone, as well as some teaching about God; and after attaining to higher offices in the Church, they maintained their views for some time. However, because they then began to think no more about God and heaven, but about themselves and the world, thus not about eternal blessedness and happiness but about temporal eminence and wealth, they cast out the doctrines which they had received in their early years, from the interiors of their rational mind, which communicate with heaven, and which are therefore in the light (lux) of heaven, into the exteriors of the rational mind, which communicate with the world, and which are therefore in the light (lumen)* of the world, and at length they relegated them to the natural plane of the senses. Consequently the doctrinals of the Church have become with them matters of lip service only, and no longer matters of thought from reason, still less of affection from love. Because they have reduced themselves to such a state as this, they do not give admittance to the Divine Truth which has relation to the Church, nor to any genuine good which has relation to religion. It is as if their minds were like bottles, filled with fragments of iron mixed with powdered sulphur. If water is poured upon this mixture, heat is generated and then fire, which causes the bottles to burst. In like manner, when they hear, and admit through their ears, any mention of living water, which is the genuine truth of the Word, they become heated, and violently flare up, and cast it out as something which would burst their heads.
[3] “Those are they who appeared to you like apes, riding on red and black horses, with their bodies turned the wrong way, and with the bridle-reins round their necks; since those who do not love the truth and good of the Church derived from the Word, do not desire to view the fore parts of a horse, but only its hinder parts; for a horse signifies the understanding of the Word, a red horse signifying the understanding of the Word destroyed as to good, and a black horse the understanding of the Word destroyed as to truth. They raised shouts of battle against those who rode upon white horses, because a white horse signifies the understanding of the Word as to truth and good; and they appeared to draw back their horses because they feared the combat, lest the truth of the Word should become known to many, and so come to light. This is the interpretation of the incident.”
[4] The angels continued, saying: “We belong to the Society in heaven which is called Michael,** and we were commanded by the Lord to descend to the place called Armageddon, from which the horsemen you saw sallied forth. With us in heaven Armageddon signifies the state and desire of the mind to wage war, prompted by falsified truths, arising from the love of domination and pre-eminence over all; and because we perceive in you a desire to know something of that war, we will give you some account of it. On our descent from heaven we went to that place Armageddon, and saw several thousands assembled there. We did not join that assembly, but there were some houses to the south of that place, and these we entered. In them were children with their teachers, who received us kindly; and we were delighted with their company. They were all attractive in appearance, with vitality flashing from their eyes and an engaging eagerness in their conversation. The life in their eyes arose from their perception of truth, and their eagerness in conversation from their affection of good. We therefore presented them with caps, the borders of which were ornamented with bands of gold thread interwoven with pearls; and we also gave them garments parti-colored in white and blue. We asked them if they ever looked into the neighboring place called Armageddon. They replied that they did, through a window under the roof of the house, and that they saw a large assembly there, but under various forms, at one time appearing like noble men, at another, not like men but like statues and graven images, and round them a company on bended knees. These also appeared to us under various guises, some like men, some like leopards, and some like goats with their horns thrust downwards, digging up the ground. We interpreted for them these transformations, explaining who were represented and what was signified by them.
[5] “But to come to the point. When those who formed the assembly heard that we had entered those houses, they said to one another: ‘What are they doing among the children? Let us send some of our company to turn them out.’ So they sent some, and when they came to us they said: ‘Why did you enter those houses? Where do you come from? We, by authority, command you to depart.’ To this we replied: ‘You have no authority to command that. You appear indeed in your own eyes like giant Anakim, and those who are here like dwarfs; but still you have no power or authority here, except by cunning, which nevertheless will be of no avail. So tell your companions that we have been sent here from heaven, to see whether there is any religion with you or not; and if there is not, you will be cast out of the place where you now are. Propose, therefore, to your companions this question, which involves the very essence of the Church and of religion, how they understand these words in the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father, who art in the heavens, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come.”‘
“When they heard these words, they said at first: ‘What is the meaning of this?’ but afterwards they agreed to convey the proposed question. They went away and reported those things to their companions, who said: ‘What is the meaning of this proposal?’ However, they understood that behind this question there lay the desire to know whether those words affirmed their belief in the way of approach to God the Father which our faith taught.*** Therefore they said: ‘The meaning of the words is plain, that we ought to pray to God the Father, and because Christ is our Mediator, that we ought to pray to God the Father for the sake of the Son.’ Forthwith in their indignation they determined to come to us and say so to our faces, adding further that they would pull our ears.
“So they left that place, and went into a grove near the houses where the children were with their teachers. In the centre of this grove was a level clearing like an arena. Having joined hands, they entered this, and found us there waiting for them. On the ground were heaps of turf like little green mounds; and they sat down on these, saying, ‘We will not stand in their presence, but sit.’ Then one of them, who could assume the appearance of an angel of light, and who was asked by the others to speak with us, said: ‘You have proposed to us that we should explain how we understand those first words in the Lord’s Prayer. I say, therefore, to you that according to our interpretation they signify, that we ought to pray to God the Father; and because Christ is our Mediator, and we are saved by His merit, we ought to pray to God the Father from faith in His merit.’
[6] “Thereupon we said to them: ‘We are from a Society in heaven which is called Michael, and we have been sent to see you, and to enquire whether you, who are assembled in this place, have any religion or not; for the idea of God enters into everything of religion, and by it conjunction is effected, and by conjunction, salvation. We in heaven, like men on earth, repeat that prayer daily, and in doing so we do not think of God the Father, because He is invisible, but we think of Him in His Divine Human, because in this He is visible; and in this He is by you called Christ, but by us the Lord, and thus the Lord to us is the Father in the heavens. Moreover, the Lord taught us that He and the Father are one; that the Father is in Him, and He in the Father; and that he who seeth Him, seeth the Father. He taught also that no one cometh to the Father but by Him; and that it is the will of the Father that men should believe on the Son; and that he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. From these passages it is manifest that the Father is to be approached through Him and in Him; and since this is the case, He also taught that all power is given Him in heaven and on earth. It is said in that prayer, “Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come:” and we have shown from the Word that His Divine Human is the Father’s name, and that the Father’s kingdom then comes when the Lord is approached directly, and not when God the Father is approached directly. Therefore also the Lord commanded His disciples to preach the kingdom of God; and this is the kingdom of God.’
[7] “On hearing these words our opponents said: ‘You quote many passages from the Word, and possibly we may have read them there, but we do not remember. Therefore open the Word in our presence, and read those passages from it, especially that which says that the Father’s kingdom comes when the Lord’s kingdom comes.’ Then they said to the children: ‘Bring hither the Word;’ and they brought it. We then read from it the following passages:
John came preaching the Gospel of the kingdom. Jesus said, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.’ Mark i. 14, 15; Matt. iii. 2.
Jesus Himself preached the Gospel of the kingdom, and said that the kingdom of God was at hand. Matt. iv. 17, 23; ix. 35.
Jesus gave commandment to His disciples that they should preach and show the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. Mark xvi. 15; Luke viii. 1; ix. 60. So also the Seventy taught, whom He sent forth. Luke x. 9, 11;
besides what is taught in other places, as Matt. xi. 5; xvi. 28; Mark ix. 1; xi. 10; Luke iv. 43; xxi. 31; xxii. 18.
The kingdom of God which was preached was the Lord’s kingdom, and thus the Father’s kingdom, as is evident from these passages:
‘The Father … hath given all things into His (the Son’s) hand.’ John iii. 35;
The Father hath given the Son power over all flesh. John xvii. 2;
‘All things are delivered unto me of my Father,’ Matt. xi. 27;
‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. xxviii. 18.
It is also evident from these passages:
‘JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called.’ Isa. liv. 5;
‘I saw … and behold, one like the Son of Man…. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people and nations … should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.’ Dan. vii. 13, 14;
‘And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.’ Rev. xi. 15; xii. 10.
[8] “We further instructed them from the Word that the Lord came into the world, not only to redeem angels and men, but also that they might be united to God the Father through Him and in Him; for He taught
that those who believe on Him are in Him, and He in them. John vi. 56; xiv. 20; xv. 4, 5.
When they heard this they asked, ‘How then can your Lord be called Father?’ We replied: ‘That appears from what has just been read, and also from these passages:
‘Unto as a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and His name shall be called…. The mighty God, The everlasting Father. Isa. ix. 6
‘Doubtless thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, JEHOVAH, art our Father, our Redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.’
Did He not say to Philip, who desired to see the Father,
‘Hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.’ John xiv. 9; xii. 45.
Who else, then, is the Father but He whom Philip saw with his eyes? To this we added: It is said throughout the whole Christian world that those who are of the Church constitute the body of Christ, and are in His body. How, then, can any man of the Church approach God the Father but through Him in whose body he is? Otherwise he must go quite out of the body and so approach Him. Finally, we informed them that at this day the Lord is establishing a New Church which is signified by the New Jerusalem in the Revelation, in which there will be the worship of the Lord alone, as in heaven, and that thus everything contained in the Lord’s Prayer from beginning to end will be fulfilled. So fully did we confirm all this from the Word in the Evangelists, and in the Prophets, as well as from the Revelation, which from beginning to end treats of that Church, that they grew tired of listening.
[9] “The men from Armageddon were so angry at hearing these things that they desired at every turn to interrupt our remarks. Finally they did interrupt, calling out: ‘You have spoken against the doctrine of our Church, which teaches that God the Father is to be approached directly, and that men should believe on Him; you are thus guilty of a violation of our faith. Leave this place, therefore, or you will be turned out. Inflamed with angry passion they now proceeded to carry out their threats; but at that instant, being endowed with power, we struck them with blindness, so that they could not see us; but rushing forth they ran, not knowing whither, and some fell into the abyss mentioned in Revelation ix. 2. This is now in the region lying to the south-east, where dwell those who confirm their belief in justification by faith alone. Those among them who confirm it from the Word, are sent forth to a desert part, where they reach the outskirts of the Christian world, and associate with the heathen.”
* See footnote on 3:8.
** Michael, the archangel.
*** The phrase ad Deum Patrem is attached to viam. quod velint scire, num illa confirmant viam fidei nostrae ad Deum Patrem.
It is acknowledged throughout the Church that to the Lord there pertain two offices, that of priest and that of king; but as few persons know in what these offices consist it shall now be explained. The Lord, from the office of priest, is called Jesus, and Christ from the office of king. In the Word also, from the office of priest, He is called Jehovah and Lord, and from the office of king, God and the Holy One of Israel, as well as King. These two offices are distinct from each other like love and wisdom, or what is the same, like goodness and truth. Therefore whatever the Lord did, and whatever function He performed, from Divine Love or Divine Good, He did from His priestly office; but whatever He did from Divine Wisdom or Divine Truth, He did from His kingly office. In the Word also priest and priesthood signify Divine Good, and king and kingship signify Divine Truth; and these were represented by the priests and kings in the Israelitish Church. Redemption pertains to both offices; but in what respect to the one, and in what to the other, will be shown in what follows. That the subject in its details may be clearly understood, the exposition will be arranged under the following heads or articles:
(1) Redemption itself was the subjugation of the hells, the orderly arrangement of the heavens, and thus the 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) The Lord thus redeemed not only men but also angels.
(4) Redemption was a work purely Divine.
(5) This redemption itself could not have been effected but by God incarnate.
(6) The passion of the cross was not redemption, but the last temptation which the Lord endured as the Supreme Prophet; and it was the means of the glorification of His Human, that is, of union with the Divine of His Father.
(7) It is a fundamental error of the Church to believe that the passion of the cross was redemption itself; and this error, together with that concerning three Divine Persons from eternity, has perverted the whole Church so that nothing spiritual remains in it.
A detailed exposition of each article will now be given.
That redemption consists in these three things I can declare with the utmost certainty, for the Lord also at this day is accomplishing a redemption, which began in the year 1757, together with the Last Judgment, which was then completed. From that time right up to the present this redemption has continued, because now is the time of the Lord’s Second Advent, and a New Church is to be established, which would be impossible unless the hells were first reduced to subjection and the heavens restored to order. As it was granted me to see all this, I can describe how the hells were subdued, and how the founding of the new heaven and its orderly arrangement were effected; but the description would require an entire volume. However, in a little work, published in London, in 1758, I have shown how the Last Judgment took place. The subjugation of the hells, the orderly arrangement of the heavens, and the establishment of a New Church constituted redemption, because without these operations no man could have been saved. Moreover, they follow in order; for the hells had first to be subdued before a new angelic heaven could be formed; and this had to be formed before a New Church could be established on earth; because men in the world are so connected with the spiritual world that their minds are in unison with angels in heaven or with spirits in hell. But this subject will be dealt with in the last chapter of this work where the Consummation of the Age, the Coming of the Lord, and the New Church are specifically treated.
“Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to sate. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. . . Mine own arm brought salvation unto me . . . and I will bring down their strength to the earth. . . For He said, Surely they are my people, my children. . . So He was their Saviour. . . . In His love and pity He redeemed them.” Isa. lxiii. 1-9.
These words are spoken of the Lord’s combat against the hells. By the garment in which He was honourable, and which was red, is signified the Word, which was violated by the Jewish people. His combat against the hells and His victory over them are described by His treading them in His anger, and trampling them in His fury. That He fought alone, and from His own power, is described by these words:
“Of the people there was none with me. Mine own arm brought salvation unto me . . . and I will bring down their strength to the earth.” That He thus saved and redeemed them, is signified by these words: “So He was their Saviour. . . . In His love and pity He redeemed them.” That this was the cause of His Coming is under-stood by these words: “The day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.”
[2] Again, it is written in Isaiah:
“And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him, and His righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon His head; and He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. . . . And the Redeemer shall come to Zion.” lix. 16, 17, 20.
In Jeremiah it is written:
They were dismayed. “Their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back. . . . For this is the day of JEHOVIH ZEBAOTH, a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Him of His adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate.” xlvi. 5, 10.
These passages relate to the Lord’s combat against the hells, and His victory over them. It is written also in
David:
“Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O Most Mighty. . . . Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. . Thou lovest righteousness . . . therefore God hath anointed thee.” Ps. xlv. 3-7;
and in many other places.
[3] As the Lord conquered the hells alone, without help from any angel, He is therefore called
Mighty, and a Man of War, Isa. xlii. 13; ix. 6;
the King of glory, JEHOVAH strong and mighty in battle, Ps. xxiv. 8, 10;
the mighty God of Jacob, Ps. cxxxii. 2;
and in many places He is called JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH, that is, JEHOVAH of Hosts. Further, His Coming is called ‘The day of JEHOVAH, terrible and cruel, a day of indignation, of flaming anger, of wrath, of vengenance, of destruction, of war, of a trumpet, of noise, of tumult,’ and so on. It is written also in the Evangelists,
“Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” John xii. 31;
“The prince of this world is judged.” xvi. 11;
“Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” xvi. 33.
“I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” Luke x. 18.
By the world, the prince of the world, Satan, and the Devil, is signified hell.
[4] Moreover, in the Revelation, from beginning to end, is described the character of the Christian Church at the present day; and there is foretold that the Lord will come again, and subdue the hells, and form a new angelic heaven, and afterwards establish a New Church on earth. All these things are there predicted, but they have not been disclosed till the present time. The reason of this is that the Book of Revelation, like all the prophetical parts of the Word, was written by pure correspondences; and unless these had been disclosed by the Lord, scarcely any one could have rightly understood a single verse in that Book. However, for the sake of the New Church, all things therein have now been made known in the work entitled, APOCALYPSE REVEALED, published at Amsterdam, in the year 1766; and they will understand these things who believe the Word of the Lord as it is written in Matthew xxiv., concerning the present state of the Church and His Coming. But this belief is as yet only vague and uncertain with those who have the belief of the Church of to-day in a trinity of Divine Persons from eternity, and in the Passion of Christ as constituting redemption itself, so deeply implanted in their hearts that it cannot be eradicated. They resemble those described in the incident recorded in No. 113. They are like bottles filled with fragments of iron and powdered sulphur. When water is poured into them, heat is at first generated and then fire, which causes the bottles to burst. In like manner when they hear anything of that living water, which is the genuine truth of the Word, and when it enters into their minds either through their eyes or their ears, they become heated, and violently flare up, and cast it out as something which would burst their heads.
It shall first be stated what redemption is. To redeem means to deliver from condemnation, to save from eternal death, to rescue from hell, and to release the captive and the bound from the power of the devil. This the Lord did by subduing the hells and founding a new heaven. Man could not otherwise have been saved, because the spiritual world is so connected with the natural that they cannot be separated. The connection is primarily with the interiors of men, called their souls and minds, those of good men being connected with the souls and minds of angels, and those of evil men with the souls and minds of infernal spirits. So close is this connection that if angels and spirits were removed from a man, he would fall down dead, like a log; and in the same way they would cease to exist if men were withdrawn from them. Hence it is plain why redemption took place in the spiritual world, and why heaven and hell had to be reduced to order before a Church could be established on earth. That this is so is very evident from what is said in the Book of Revelation, that after the new heaven was formed, there came down out of that heaven the New Jerusalem, which is the New Church. xxi. 1, 2.
[3] The case is similar with the angels when the Church on earth perishes; for then the lower heavens pass away. This is because the heavens consist of men from the earth; and when there remain no longer any goodness of heart and truth from the Word among men, the heavens are overwhelmed by the evils which surge up, and they are suffocated by them as by a flood of Stygian waters. Nevertheless, the Lord makes provision elsewhere for these angels; and they are preserved till the day of the Last Judgment, when they are raised up into a new heaven. These are they who are meant in the Revelation:
“I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” vi. 9, 10, 11.
[3] Hence, then, it may appear evident, that without redemption by the Lord, no man could be saved, nor could the angels remain in their state of integrity. The only refuge from destruction for any one is in the Lord; for He says:
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more 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 bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered: and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” John xv. 4-6.
This follows from what was stated in the preceding article, that unless redemption had been wrought by the Lord, the angels could not have continued in their state of integrity. To the reasons already mentioned the two following may be added. (1) At the time of the Lord’s First Coming, the hells had increased to such an extent as to fill the whole world of spirits, which lies between heaven and hell; and thus not only did they disturb the lowest heaven, but they also made attacks upon the middle heaven, which they infested in a thousand different ways; and which would have been brought to destruction had not the Lord protected it. This uprising of the hells is meant by the tower that was built in the land of Shinar, whose top was to reach unto heaven; but the enterprise of its builders was frustrated by the confusion of tongues. They were dispersed, and the city was called Babel. Gen. xi. 1-9. What is there signified by the tower, and by the confusion of tongues is explained in the ARCANA CAELESTIA, published in London. [2] The hells had increased to such an extent because at the time the Lord came into the world the whole earth had completely alienated itself from God by idolatry and magic; and the Church which had existed among the Children of Israel, and latterly among the Jews, was entirely destroyed by the falsification and adulteration of the Word. As both Jews and Gentiles passed into the spiritual world after death, they so increased and multiplied that they could not have been driven out had not God Himself come down, with the strength of His Divine arm. How this was effected is described in the little work, THE LAST JUDGMENT, published in London, in the year 1758. It was accomplished by the Lord when He was in the world. A similar judgment has been effected by the Lord at the present day, since, as has been said above, this is the time of His Second Coming, which is foretold throughout the Revelation, and in Matthew xxiv. 3, 30; in Mark xiii. 26; in Luke xxi. 27; in the Acts of the Apostles i. 11; and elsewhere. The difference is, that at His First Coming the hells had been greatly increased by idolators, magicians and falsifiers of the Word; while at His Second Coming they were increased by so-called Christians, both those who were imbued with naturalism, and those who falsified the Word by confirming from it their vain belief in three Divine Persons from eternity, and in the passion of the Lord as constituting redemption itself; for these are signified in Revelation xii. and xiii., by the dragon and his two beasts.
[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 maintained in good by the Lord; for no one, whether angel or man, is in good of himself, but all good is from the Lord. When, therefore, the footstool of the angels, which is in the world of spirits, was removed from under them, they were like a person sitting on a throne when its supports are taken away. That the angels are not pure in the sight of God is evident from the prophetical parts of the Word, and also from the Book of Job; and likewise from this consideration that there is not a single angel who was not once a man. This confirms that section on the Faith of the New Heaven and the New Church in its general and in its particular form, prefixed to this work, where it is said,
That the Lord came into the world in order to remove hell from man; which He accomplished by victory in combats against it. He thus subdued it, and reduced it to a state of obedience to Himself.
Further,
That Jehovah God came down and assumed the Human; to the end that He might restore order to all things in heaven, … and in the Church. For at that time the power of the devil, that is, of hell, prevailed over the power of heaven, and on earth the power of evil prevailed over the power of good. Consequently mankind was threatened with imminent destruction. This impending destruction Jehovah God prevented by means of His Human, and so He redeemed both angels and men…. From this it is clear that unless the Lord had come into the world no one could have been saved. The case is similar to-day; and therefore unless the Lord comes again into the world … no one can be saved. See above, Nos. 2, 3.
* This passage is in quotation marks in Original Edition.
He who knows the nature of hell, and the height to which it had risen and overflowed the whole world of spirits at the time of the Lord’s Coming, and with what power the Lord cast it down and dispersed it, afterwards reducing it to order, together with heaven, cannot but be astonished, and exclaim that all was a work purely Divine. In the first place, the nature of hell may be realized from the fact that it consists of countless myriads, since it is composed of all those who from the creation of the world have alienated themselves from God by evils of life and falsities of faith. In the second place, the height to which hell had risen and overflowed the whole world of spirits at the time of the Lord’s Coming has been described in some measure in the preceding articles. The nature of hell at the time of the Lord’s First Coming has never been made known to any one, because it is not revealed in the sense of the letter of the Word; but its nature at the time of His Second Coming I was permitted to see with my own eyes; and from the description, which is recorded in the little work on THE LAST JUDGMENT, published in London in 1768, it is possible to form some idea of its former state. [In the third place,]* this little work also describes with what power the Lord cast down that hell and dispersed it. It would, however, be useless labor to repeat what I have there set forth as an eye-witness, because that book is extant, and there are still numerous copies at the printer’s in London. Every reader of that book may clearly see that what the Lord accomplished was the work of an omnipotent God. [2] In the fourth place, the manner in which the Lord afterwards reduced to order all things both in heaven and in hell has not yet been described by me, because the work of bringing the heavens and the hells into order has continued since the day of the Last Judgment until now, and still continues. Nevertheless, if it is desired, it shall be made known after this book has been published. With respect to myself, I have seen, and do see daily, the Divine omnipotence in this matter plainly manifest. The latter work, however, (reducing to order heaven and hell) is properly that of redemption, but the former (casting down the insurgent hell) is properly that of the Last Judgment. Those who regard the two as separate works may see many things which, in the prophetical parts of the Word, lie concealed under figures, but which stand out plainly revealed when brought to the light of the understanding by an explanation of their correspondence.
[3] This two-fold Divine work of redemption can be illustrated only by comparisons, and then but faintly. It may be compared to a battle against the armies of all the nations in the world, armed with spears, shields, swords, muskets and cannon, and led by skillful and cunning generals and officers. These are so described because many in hell excel in arts unknown in our world, and practice them among themselves, studying how they may attack, ensnare, besiege, and assault those who are in heaven. [4] The Lord’s combat with hell may also be compared, though imperfectly, to a battle against the wild beasts of the whole earth, and to their overthrow and subjugation, till not one of them dares to come forth and attack any man, who is in the Lord. Consequently if such a man presents a threatening countenance, they instantly shrink back, as if they felt a vulture at their breast, endeavoring to pierce them to the heart. Infernal spirits are also described in the Word by wild beasts, and are meant by the wild beasts among whom the Lord is said to have been forty days. Mark i. 13. [5] The work of the Lord may be compared also to the resistance which is offered to the whole body of the ocean, as it surges with its waves through broken dykes, over the countryside and cities. The subjugation of hell by the Lord is also meant by His calming the sea, by saying,
“Peace, be still.” Mark iv. 38, 39; Matt. viii. 26; Luke viii. 23, 24;
for the sea, there, as in many other passages, signifies hell.
[6] The Lord, by the same Divine power, fights at this day against hell in every one who is being regenerated; for hell attacks all such persons with diabolical fury; and if the Lord does not resist and subdue it, man cannot but succumb. For hell is like a monstrous man, or a huge lion, with which it is also compared in the Word; therefore unless the Lord kept that lion or monster bound hand and foot, a man, though rescued from one evil, would of necessity fall into another, and later into many more.
* The four points detailed are not clearly distinguished, therefore insert “In the third place.”
In the preceding article it was shown that redemption was a work purely Divine; consequently, that it could only have been effected by an omnipotent God. It could not have been accomplished but by God incarnate, that is, made Man, because Jehovah God, as He is in His infinite essence, cannot approach hell, much less enter into it, for He is in purest and first things. Therefore, if Jehovah God being such in Himself were but to breathe upon those who are in hell, He would instantly destroy them; for He said to Moses, who desired to see Him:
“Thou canst not see my faces (A.V. face): for there shall no man see me, and live.” Exod. xxxiii. 20.
If, therefore, Moses could not see Him, much less could those who are in hell, where all are in things ultimate and most gross, and thus most remote from God; for they are natural in the lowest degree. Consequently, if Jehovah God had not assumed the Human, and so clothed Himself with a body which was in ultimates, He would have undertaken any work of redemption in vain. For who can attack an enemy unless he approaches him, and is equipped with arms for the fight? Or who can drive off and destroy dragons, serpents and basilisks in a desert unless he covers his body with a coat of mail and his head with a helmet, and advances with a spear in his hand? Or who can capture whales in the sea without a ship and the tackle necessary for the purpose? By such instances it may be possible, not indeed to make comparisons, but to illustrate how the omnipotent God could not have joined combat with the hells unless He had first assumed the Human.
[2] It must be understood, however, that the Lord’s combat with the hells was not one of words, as between opponents in a discussion or in a law-suit. Such a combat would be fruitless: but it was a spiritual combat, that of Divine Truth from Divine Good, which was the very vital principle of the Lord; and the influx of this, through the medium of sight, no one in the hells can resist. It has such power that the infernal spirits (genii), as soon as they perceive it, flee away, cast themselves into the depths and creep into caves to hide themselves, as is described in Isaiah
“And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of JEHOVAH when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” ii. 19;
and in the Revelation:
All “hid themselves in the dens of the rocks and in the rocks of the mountains: And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” vi. 15, 16.
[3] What kind of power the Lord possessed from the Divine Good when He effected the Last Judgment in the year 1757 may be seen from what is described in the little work on that subject. It hurled from their places hills and mountains which infernal spirits had seized in the world of spirits, transporting them to a distance, and causing some to sink into the earth. It overwhelmed in a flood their cities, villages and fields, tore up their lands from their very depths, and cast them with their inhabitants into whirl-pools, swamps and marshes; and much more. All this was done by the Lord alone, by the power of Divine Truth from Divine Good.
There are two things for which the Lord came into the world, and by means of which He effected the salvation of men and angels, namely, redemption and the glorification of His Human. These two are distinct from each other, but yet they make one with regard to salvation. It has been shown in the preceding articles that redemption was a combat with the hells, their subjugation, and afterwards the orderly arrangement of the heavens; but glorification was the uniting of the Lord’s Human with the Divine of His Father, which was effected gradually, and fully completed by the passion of the cross. For every man, on his part, ought to approach God; and as man approaches, so God on His part, enters. It is in this case as with a temple, which first must be built by men’s hands, and afterwards consecrated. Then prayer must be offered that God may be present, and there unite Himself with the Church. That union was completed by the passion of the cross, because it was the last temptation which the Lord underwent in the world, and conjunction is effected by temptations. In them a man, to all appearance, is left to himself; nevertheless, this is not so, for at such a time God is most intimately present with him in the interiors of his mind, and supports him. Therefore, when any one conquers in temptation, he becomes most closely conjoined with God; and thus it was with the Lord in His union with His Father. That the Lord in the passion of the cross was left to Himself is evident from His cry upon the cross:
“My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
and also from His own words:
“No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” John x. 18.
It may therefore be evident that the Lord suffered not as to His Divine but as to His Human, and that then the most intimate, and thus the most complete union was effected. This may be illustrated by the fact that when a man suffers in body, his soul does not suffer, but only grieves; while God takes away this grief after victory, and wipes it away as one wipes tears from the eyes.
When Judas was gone out, “Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God was glorified in Him. If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him.” John xiii. 31, 32.
Here glorification is spoken both of God the Father and of the Son, for it is said that God is glorified in Him, and will glorify Him in Himself. It is evident, therefore, that glorification signifies union.
“Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.” John xvii. 1, 5.
This is said because the union was reciprocal, and, as is also said, the Father was in Him and He in the Father.
“Now is my soul troubled.” And He said: “Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” John xii. 27, 28.
This was said because the union was effected successively, or by degrees.
“Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?” Luke xxiv. 28.
Glory in the Word when spoken of the Lord signifies Divine Truth united to Divine Good. Hence 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. xiii. 57; Mark vi. 4; Luke iv. 24.
Jesus said: “It cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.” Luke xiii. 33.
“And there came a fear upon all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us.” Luke vii. 16.
They said concerning Jesus: that He was the prophet of Nazareth. Matt. xxi. 11; John vii. 40, 41.
Moreover, it is written in Deut. xviii. 15-19, that a prophet should be raised up from among their brethren, whose word they should obey.
to loose the sackcloth from off his loins, and to put off the shoe from his foot, and to go naked and barefoot for three years, for a sign and a wonder. Isa. xx. 2, 3.
The prophet Ezekiel was commanded, for the purpose of representing the state of the Church,
to prepare stuff for removing, and to remove to another place in the eyes of the Children of Israel, and to bring forth the stuff by day, and to go forth at even, through a hole dug in the wall, and to cover his face, so that he should not see the ground; and that thus he should be a sign to the house of Israel, and should say: “I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto you.” Ezek. xii. 3-7, 11.
The prophet Hosea was commanded, for the purpose of representing the state of the Church,
to take to himself a harlot to be his wife. So he took her, and she bore him three children, one of whom he called Jezreel, and another Not-to-be-pitied, and the third Not-a-people. Hos. i. 2-9. And again he was commanded to go and love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, whom he also bought for himself. iii. 1, 2.
A certain prophet was also commanded
to put ashes on his eyes, and suffer himself to be smitten and beaten. 1 Kings xx. 35, 37.
For the purpose of representing the state of the Church the prophet Ezekiel was commanded
to take a tile, and portray upon it Jerusalem, to lay siege to it, to cast a trench and mound against it, to put an iron baking-pan between him and the city, and to lie upon his left side and upon his right side. Then he was commanded to take wheat, barley, lentils, millet and fitches, and to make bread of them; and also to make a cake of barley, baked with human excrement; and because he prayed that it might not be so, he was permitted to make it with cow’s dung. He was commanded: “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 have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah.” Ezek. iv. 1-15.
[2] The prophet by these signs bore the iniquities of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, but he did not take them away and so expiate them; he only represented them and pointed them out, as is plain from what follows in the same chapter:
And JEHOVAH said, Even thus shall the Children of Israel eat their defiled bread…. Behold, I will break the staff of bread…. That they may want bread and water, and be left alone, a man and his brother (A.V. astonied one with another), and consume away for their iniquity. Ezek. iv. 13, 16, 17.
The same therefore is understood concerning the Lord, where it is said:
Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows … JEHOVAH hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all; … that by His knowledge He justified many, and Himself bore their iniquities. Isa. liii. 4, 6, 11;
and throughout the whole of this chapter, which treats of the passion of the Lord.
[3] The Lord as The Prophet represented the state of the Jewish Church with respect to the Word, as is evident from the particulars of His passion: as that He was betrayed by Judas, and was taken and condemned by the chief priests and elders; that they buffeted Him, smote His head with a reed, and put on Him a crown of thorns; that they divided His garments and cast lots upon His vesture; that they crucified Him, gave Him vinegar to drink, and pierced His side; that He was buried, and on the third day rose again. His betrayal by Judas signified that He was betrayed by the Jewish nation, which at that time possessed the Word and which was represented by Judas. His being taken and condemned by the chief priests and elders signified that it was done by the whole of that Church. Their buffeting Him, spitting upon His face, scourging Him, and smiting His head with a reed, signified that they acted in like manner toward the Word, with respect to its Divine truths; and their putting a crown of thorns upon Him signified that they had falsified and adulterated those truths. Their dividing His garments and casting lots upon His vesture signified that they had dissipated all the truths of the Word, but had not injured its spiritual sense, which the Lord’s vesture represented. His crucifixion signified that they had destroyed and profaned the whole Word. Their offering Him vinegar to drink signified that the truths of the Word were altogether falsified, and therefore He did not drink it. Their piercing His side signified that they had totally extinguished all the truth and all the good of the Word. His burial signified the removal of what yet remained from the mother, and His rising again the third day signified the glorification, or union of His Human with the Divine of the Father. Hence it is manifest that to bear iniquities does not mean to take them away: it represents the profanation of the truths of the Word.
“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep…. Therefore doth my Father love me.” John x. 11, 17.
There is no doctrine at the present time more extensively promulgated in the books of the orthodox, or more zealously taught and inculcated in the schools, or more frequently preached and proclaimed from the pulpit than this: “God the Father, being angry with the human race, not only removed it from His presence, but involved it in a general condemnation, and thus excommunicated it; but because He was gracious, He persuaded or stirred His Son to descend and take upon Himself the condemnation which had been decided, and thus appease the wrath of His Father; and by this means only could the Father look with any favor on mankind. This was done by the Son, who, by taking upon Himself the condemnation pronounced upon the human race, suffered Himself to be scourged by the Jews, spit upon, and finally crucified as one accursed of God, Deut. xxi. 23. Moreover, after this was done, the Father was propitiated, and from love of His Son, cancelled the condemnation; but only in the case of those for whom the Son should intercede, and thus He became a Mediator in the presence of the Father for ever.”
[2] These and similar doctrines are at this day proclaimed in the Churches, re-echoing from their walls as an echo resounds from the woods, and filling the ears of all present. Any one, however, whose reason is enlightened, and made sound by the Word, can see that God is mercy and pity itself, because He is love itself and Goodness itself, and that these are His Essence. It is, therefore, a contradiction to say that mercy itself or goodness itself can look upon a man with anger, and decide upon his condemnation, and still remain His own Divine Essence. Such things are scarcely ever ascribed to an upright man or to an angel, but only to a wicked man or to an infernal spirit; it is therefore impious to ascribe them to God. [3] If inquiry be made into the cause of so widespread a belief, it will be found to be this, that men have assumed the passion of the cross to be redemption itself; hence have flowed those ideas as falsities in a continuous series flow from one false principle; as from a cask of vinegar nothing but vinegar can come forth, or from an insane mind nothing but insanity. For from a single conclusion there branch forth propositions of a like nature; they are latent in it, and emerge in due order. So from the belief that the passion of the cross is redemption many more opinions, offensive and dishonoring to God, can come forth and be spread abroad till that happens which is spoken of by Isaiah:
“Priest and prophet have erred through strong drink… they stumble in judgment…. All tables are full of vomit and filthiness. Isa. xxviii. 7, 8.
What is this but praying to three Gods in their order? And wherein does this conception of the Divine government differ from that of an aristocracy, or hierarchy, or that triumvirate which once ruled Rome, except instead of a triumvirate it may be called a tripersonate? There is then nothing easier for the devil than to put in practice the old maxim: “Divide and rule.” This is in effect to distract men’s minds, to excite rebellious movements, now against one God and now against another, as has been done since the time of Arius* until now, and thus to cast down from His throne the Lord God the Savior, who has all power in heaven and in earth.” Matt. xxviii. 18; and to set upon it some creature of his own, and to ascribe worship to him, or if this worship is withheld, to withhold it also from the Lord Himself.
* Arius, theologian of Alexandria, A.D 256-336; founder of Arianism, affirming that Christ was an originated Being. Excommunicated by bishops of Egypt for denying that Christ was made of the same substance (homo-ousion) of any previously existing substance. To settle the consequent dispute Constantine called the Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325. Athanasius successfully led the opposition to Arius; and Arius, with Eusebius, who also refused to accept the Athanasian position, was banished.
To these things will now be added the following Memorabilia.
The first experience. I once entered a temple in the world of spirits, where there was a large congregation; and before the sermon they reasoned together about redemption. The temple was square with no windows in the walls, but there was a great opening overhead in the centre of the roof, through which light from heaven entered and illuminated it better than if there had been windows at the sides. While they were talking about redemption, suddenly a black cloud, coming from the north, covered the opening and caused such darkness that they could not see each other, and scarcely any one could see his own hand. While they stood amazed at this, the black cloud parted in the middle, and through the aperture angels were seen descending from heaven, who dispersed the cloud on each side so that it became light again in the temple. Then the angels sent down one of their number into the temple who, in the name of the rest, asked the congregation the subject of their discussion, which had caused such a dense cloud to gather over them, depriving them of light and bringing on darkness. They replied that they were discussing redemption, maintaining that it was effected by the Son of God through the passion of the cross, by which means He made expiation for the human race and delivered man from condemnation and eternal death. To this, the angel who had been sent down said: “How was it effected through the passion of the cross? Please explain this.” [2] A priest then came forward and said: “I will explain in order what we know and what we believe: ‘God the Father, being angry with mankind, condemned it and shut it out from His pity; and, having declared all men doomed and accursed, delivered them over to hell. He desired His Son to take that condemnation upon Himself; who consented, and for that purpose descended, assumed the Human, and suffered Himself to be crucified and the condemnation of mankind to be thus transferred to Himself: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a wooden cross. The Son thus appeased the Father by His intercession and mediation; and then the Father, out of love for the Son, and moved by the anguish exhibited by Him on the cross, determined that He would pardon, “But only those to whom I impute thy righteousness, and these will I make children of grace and blessing from being children of wrath and curse, and I will justify and save them. The rest will remain, as was before decreed, children of wrath.” This is our faith, and this is the righteousness which God the Father implants in our faith, the faith which alone justifies and saves.”
[3] When the angel heard this he was silent for a long time, standing motionless with astonishment. Then he broke silence and said: “Can the Christian world be so insane, and wander from sound reason into such madness, and establish its fundamental doctrine of salvation on such paradoxes? Who cannot see that those opinions are diametrically opposed to the Divine Essence itself, that is, to God’s Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and at the same time to His omnipotence and omnipresence? No upright master could act so towards his men-servants and his maid-servants; nor even a wild beast towards its cubs, nor a wild bird towards its young: it is unspeakable. Moreover, it is contrary to His Divine Essence to annul the call made to every individual of the human race; to change the order established from eternity, which in effect is, that every one should be judged according to his life; to withdraw love and mercy from any man, and much more from the whole human race; and to be brought back again to mercy by the sight of His Son’s anguish, that is, to be brought back again to His own Essence, since mercy is the Essence itself of God. It is unspeakable to suppose that He ever departed from it, for that Essence is Himself from eternity to eternity. It is also impossible to implant in such a thing as your faith the righteousness of redemption, which in itself belongs to Divine omnipotence, and to impart and ascribe it to a man, and to declare him, for no other reason, righteous, pure and holy.
[4] It is impossible, by mere imputation, to forgive anyone’s sins, to renew him, to regenerate and save him, and thus to convert unrighteousness into righteousness and a curse into a blessing. Would it not be possible, if such were the case, to turn hell into heaven, and heaven into hell, or to make the dragon Michael,* and Michael the dragon, and so to end the combat between them? For what is needed but to remove the imputation your faith assumes from the one and bestow it on the other? Were this possible we in heaven should live in constant dread. It is not according to justice and judgment that one should take upon himself the sin of another, that the wicked be made innocent, and the crime be thus washed away. Surely this is contrary to justice, both Divine and human. The Christian world is ignorant as yet of the existence of order, and more so of the nature of that order which God introduced at the time He created the world; nor does it know that God cannot act contrary to it, as then He would be acting contrary to Himself, for God is order itself.”
[5] The priest understood what the angel said, because the angels who were above shed upon him the light of heaven. Then with a sigh he said: “What is to be done? At this day all men so preach and pray and believe. This prayer is spoken by all: ‘Good Father, have mercy on us, and forgive our sins for the sake of thy Son’s blood, which He shed for us on the cross,’ and to Christ they pray: ‘Lord, intercede for us;’ to which we priests add: ‘Send us the Holy Spirit.'” Thereupon the angel said: “I have observed that the priests prepare an eye-salve from the Word, but not from a spiritual understanding of it, with which they anoint the eyes of those who are blinded by their faith; or they make for themselves a sort of plaster from it, which they place upon the wounds their dogmas cause; but still they are not healed, because they are too deep-seated. Go therefore to him who stands yonder;”-and he pointed to me-“he will teach you from the Lord that the passion of the cross was not redemption, but that it was the uniting of the Lord’s Human with the Divine of the Father; whereas redemption consisted in the subjugation of the hells, and the establishment of order in the heavens; and unless these operations had been effected by the Lord when He was in the world, there would have been no salvation for any one either on earth or in heaven. He will also teach you the order which was introduced at creation, according to which those must live who would be saved; and that those who live according to it will be numbered among the Redeemed and will be called the Elect.”
When the angel finished speaking, windows were opened up on the sides of the temple, through which light entered from the four quarters of the world, and in the brilliant light there appeared flying cherubs. The angel was then borne aloft to his companions above the aperture, and we retired elated by our experience.
* Michael, the archangel.
At that moment, by the Lord’s command, three angels descended from heaven and joined me, that from an interior perception I might converse with those who entertained the idea of three Gods, particularly on the subject of mediation, intercession, propitiation and expiation, functions which they attribute to the second Person or the Son, but not till after He became Man. As He became Man many ages after the creation, during which those four means of salvation did not exist, so God the Father was not propitiated, no expiation was made for the human race, and no one was sent from heaven who acted as intercessor and mediator.
[4] Then speaking from an inspiration that came upon me, I said to them: “Come near, as many of you as can, and hear what is meant in the Word by mediation, intercession, expiation and propitiation. These are four terms expressing the grace of the one God in His Human. God the Father can nowhere be approached, nor can He come to any man, because He is infinite and dwells in His own Being, which is Jehovah, by whom a man, if he were approached, would be consumed as wood is consumed by fire and reduced to ashes. This is evident from what He said to Moses, who desired to see Him:
that no man can see Him and live. Exod. xxxiii. 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 i. 18; Matt. xi. 27:
also
that no one hath heard the voice of the Father nor seen His shape. John v. 37.
We read indeed that Moses saw Jehovah face to face, and held actual converse with Him; but this was done by means of an angel, as was the case also with Abraham and Gideon. Now since God the Father in Himself is of such a nature, He was pleased to assume the Human and in this to admit men to Himself, and so hear and talk with them. It is this Human which is called the Son of God, and which mediates, intercedes, propitiates and expiates. I will explain therefore what is signified by those four terms used in reference to the Human of God the Father.
[5] “Mediation signifies that the Human is a medium by which a man may come to God the Father, and God the Father to him, and so teach and lead him that he may be saved. Therefore the Son of God, by whom is meant the Human of God the Father, is called the Savior, and on earth Jesus, that is, Salvation. Intercession signifies perpetual mediation, for Love itself, to which belong mercy, pity and grace, perpetually intercedes, that is, mediates for those who do His commandments, and whom therefore He loves. Expiation signifies the removal of sins in which a man would become immersed were he to approach Jehovah not clothed with His Human. Propitiation signifies the operation of pity and grace, to prevent a man from bringing himself into condemnation by sin; and it likewise signifies protection, lest he should profane what is holy. This was the signification of the mercy-seat over the ark in the tabernacle. [6] It is well known that God spoke in the Word according to appearances, as when it is said that He is angry, that He avenges, tempts, punishes, casts into hell, condemns, and even that He does evil; when yet He shows anger to no one, never takes revenge, tempts, punishes, casts into hell, nor does He condemn; such things are as far removed from God as hell is from heaven, and infinitely farther. They are forms of speech then, used only according to appearances. Such also in another sense are expiation, propitiation, intercession and mediation; for these are forms of speech expressive of approach to God and of grace from God through His Human. Because these have not been understood men have divided God into three, and upon these three have founded the whole doctrine of the Church, and so have falsified the Word. Hence has arisen, ‘the abomination of desolation’ foretold by the Lord in Daniel, and again in Matthew xxiv.” On these words the company of spirits around me withdrew, and I noticed that those who actually entertained the idea of three Gods were looking towards hell; while those who thought of one God, in whom is a Divine Trinity which is in the Lord God the Savior, looked towards heaven; and to them appeared the Sun of heaven, in which is Jehovah in His Human.
[3] On hearing these things I was much amazed that learned men, who had spent some time in the spiritual world, yet remained so ignorant in regard to heavenly things; but I perceived the reason was that they, through confidence in their own intelligence, did not suffer themselves to be instructed by the truly wise. However, that they might not remain any longer ignorant of what is meant by the Son’s sitting at the right hand of the Father, I raised my hand, requesting them to listen to a few things I wished to say on the subject. As they assented, I said: “Do you not know from the Word that the Father and the Son are one, and that the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father? This the Lord plainly declares, John x. 30; and xiv. 10, 11. If you do not believe these words, you divide God into two, and then you cannot but think of God naturally, sensually, indeed materially. This, moreover, has been done in the world since the time of the Council of Nice, which introduced the doctrine of three Divine Persons from eternity, by virtue of which it turned the Church into a theater, furnishing it with a painted curtain before which the fictitious characters performed new roles. Who does not know and acknowledge that God is one? If you acknowledge this in heart and spirit, all that you have said vanishes of itself, rebounding into the air like idle talk from the ear of a wise man.”
[4] At these words many were enraged, and wished to pull my ears, and bid me be silent; while the president of the assembly indignantly said: “This discussion is not about the unity and the plurality of God, because we believe in both, but about what is involved in the statement that the Son sits at the right hand of His Father. If you know any thing about this, say on.” I replied: “I will speak; but, I pray you, calm the disorder.” So I continued: “To sit at the right hand does not mean literally to sit at the right hand, but it signifies the omnipotence of God by means of the Human which He assumed in the world. By this He is in last things as He is in first; and by this He entered into, destroyed and subdued the hells, and also restored the heavens to order. Thus He redeemed both men and angels, and continues to redeem them to eternity. If you consult the Word, and are capable of being enlightened, you will see that by the right hand is there signified omnipotence, as in Isaiah:
My hand also hath laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens. xlviii. 13;
The Lord hath sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength. lxii. 8;
Thy right hand hath holden me up. Ps. xviii. 35;
Look upon the Son whom thou hadst made strong for thyself. Let thy hand be upon the Man of thy right hand, upon the Son of Man whom thou madest strong for thyself. Ps. lxxx. 15, 17.
From this it is evident how the following is to be understood:
JEHOVAH said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. JEHOVAH shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Ps. cx. 1, 2.
The whole of this Psalm treats of the Lord’s combat with the hells and their subjugation. Since the right hand of God signifies omnipotence, therefore the Lord says
that He shall sit on the right hand of power. Matt. xxvi. 64;
and
On the right hand of the power of God. Luke xxii. 69.”
[5] At this the company raised a noisy clamor; but I said: “Take heed to yourselves: there may perchance appear a hand from heaven; and when it appears, as it has appeared to me, it inspires an incredible terror of its power. It was convincing proof to me that the right hand of God signifies omnipotence.” Scarcely had I said this when there appeared under heaven a stretched-out hand, at the sight of which such terror seized them that they rushed in crowds to the doors. Some rushed to throw themselves out of the windows, and some fell down in a faint. I remained unperturbed, and calmly walked out after them. Some distance away I turned and saw the college enveloped in a dark cloud; and I was told from heaven that this happened because they spoke from a belief in three Gods, but that the former light would return when a company with saner views should assemble there.
[3] At this his companions on the left, who were beardless and wore curled wigs and had ruffled collars round their necks, clapped their hands and called out: “You have spoken most wisely. We know that we cannot receive anything which is not given us from heaven. Let that prophet tell us whence faith comes, and what else faith means; it is impossible that there should be any other, or have any other source. To produce any other faith, which really is faith, than this is as impossible as it is to ride to one of the constellations in the heavens, take a star from it, pocket it and carry it off.” This he said in order that he might bring into ridicule among his companions every new faith.
[4] On hearing this the men on the right, who were bearded and wore their own hair, were indignant. Then one of them stood up, an old man, but who later appeared to be young: for he was an angel from heaven, where to grow old is to grow young, and he said: “I have heard the nature of your faith which your leader in the pulpit has so extolled. What is that faith, however, but the tomb of our Lord after His resurrection, closed again by the soldiers of Pilate? I have opened it, and seen nothing but jugglers’ rods, with which the magicians in Egypt performed miracles. Truly that faith of yours is to all outward appearance like a chest constructed of gold, and set with precious stones; but when opened it is empty, unless perchance there is in its corners the dust of relics of pontifical dignitaries; for these have the same faith, only by them at the present day it is overlaid with external sanctities. Moreover, to use comparisons, it is like a vestal virgin among the ancients who was buried alive for having let 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 after the departure of Moses when he ascended Mount Sinai to Jehovah. [5] Do not be surprised that I have used such comparisons in speaking of your faith, for so we speak of it in heaven. But our faith is, was, and ever shall be, in the Lord God the Savior, whose Human is Divine and whose Divine is Human. It is a faith accommodated to man’s reception, and by it the spiritual Divine is united to what is natural in man; and it becomes a spiritual faith in the natural, in consequence of which the natural becomes as it were illuminated from the spiritual light in which our faith is. The truths which constitute this faith are as numerous as the several verses in the sacred Volume; and all those truths are like stars which by their own peculiar lights give manifestation and form to the faith. A man acquires this faith from the Word by the light (lumen) of his own natural intelligence, in which, however, it is only knowledge, thought, and persuasion. But the Lord, with those who believe on Him, causes this faith to become conviction, trust and confidence; thus natural faith becomes spiritual, and is made living by means of charity. Amongst us this faith is like a queen adorned with as many precious stones as the wall of the holy Jerusalem, Rev. xxi. 17-20.
[6] Do not suppose, however, that what I have said is mere boasting; and, that it may not be thus lightly regarded, I will read out some passages from the Holy Word, from which it will be evident that our faith is not, as you suppose, in a man, but in the true God, in whom resides all Divinity. John says,
that Jesus Christ is the true God, and eternal life. I Epis. v. 20;
Paul says,
that in Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Coloss. ii. 9;
and in the Acts of the Apostles it is written,
that he testified both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. xx. 21;
and the Lord Himself says,
All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Matt. xxviii. 18.
But these are only a few passages.”
[7] Thereupon the angel looked towards me and said: “You know what the Evangelical Protestants, so called, believe, or are likely to believe, concerning the Lord the Savior. Read out some passages from their creed that we may know whether they are so foolish as to believe that His Human is merely human, or whether they ascribe any Divinity to Him, and in what manner.” Then in the presence of all the assembly I read the following passages from several collected from their standard orthodox work, called the Formula Concordia,**** published at Leipzig,***** in the year 1758:
In Christ the Divine and Human Natures are so united as to make one Person, pp. 806, 762.
Christ is truly God and Man in one indivisible Person, and remains so 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, proved also from many of the Fathers, pp. 844-852, 860-865, 869-878.
Christ as to His Human Nature is omnipresent, and fills all things, pp. 768, 783-785.
Christ as to His Human Nature has all power in heaven and in earth, pp. 775, 776, 780.
Christ as to His Human Nature sits on the right hand of the Father, pp. 608, 764.
Christ as to His Human Nature is to be invoked, proved by many quotations from Scripture, p. 226.
The Augustan Confession very highly approves of that worship, p. 19.******
[8] After reading 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 replied in a solemn tone of voice: “I do. I am associated with a famous man,******* a leader of battalions in the army of the Church’s famous men.” As he replied in a tone of such solemnity I said: “Pardon me, if I ask whether you know where that famous man lives,” and he said: “I do. He lives not far from Luther’s******* tomb.” Upon this I said, with a smile, “Why do you speak of his tomb? Do you not know that Luther has risen, and has now renounced his errors concerning justification by a faith in three Divine Persons from eternity? He has, therefore, been transferred to the company of the blessed in the new heaven, and he smiles as he sees his followers still holding these absurd views.” He replied: “I know it; but what is that to me?” Thereupon, speaking in the same solemn tone in which he had addressed me, I said: “Please convey to the celebrated person with whom you are associated my fear that contrary to the orthodoxy of his own Church he has incontinently robbed the Lord of His Divinity; or he has suffered his pen to plough a furrow in which he has thoughtlessly planted the seed of naturalism, by writing against the worship of the Lord our Savior.” To this he replied: “I cannot do this. While he and I are almost of one mind on this matter, what I say he does not understand, but all that he says I understand perfectly. For the spiritual world penetrates the natural world, and perceives the thoughts of men there; but this is not reciprocal: such is the nature of the association between spirits and men.”
[9] As I had now entered into conversation with the President, I said: “If I may be permitted, I will ask another question. Do you know that the orthodoxy of the Evangelicals, in the manual of their Church called the Formula Concordiae, teaches that in Christ God is Man and Man God, and that His Divine and His Human are, and will remain for ever, in one indivisible Person? How then could you and he defile the worship of the Lord with naturalism?” To this he replied: “I know it, and yet I do not know it.” I therefore continued: “I ask your friend, although he is absent, or you in his place, from whom had the Lord our Savior His soul? If you answer, from His mother, you talk foolishly; if from Joseph, you profane the Word; but if from the Holy Spirit, you speak truly, provided that by the Holy Spirit you mean the Divine, proceeding and operating; and therefore that the Lord is the Son of Jehovah God. [10] Again I ask, what is meant by hypostatic union? If you say it is like that between two persons, one superior and one inferior, you talk foolishly; for thus you could make God the Savior two Persons as you make God three. If, however, you say it is a personal union, like that of soul and body, you say rightly; and this is in agreement with your own doctrine and also with that of the Fathers, as you may see by consulting the Formula Concordiae, pp. 765-768; and also the Athanasian Creed,******** where it is said:
The right faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ is God and Man; who, although He is God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ: one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of Person; for as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ.
[11] I ask, moreover, what was the damnable heresy of Arius,********* on account of whom the Council of Nice was summoned by the Emperor Constantine the Great,********** but that he denied the Divinity of the Lord’s Human? Further, tell me who do you suppose is meant by these words in Jeremiah:
“Behold, the days come … that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a king shall reign … and this is His name … JEHOVAH our Righteousness.” xxiii. 5, 8; xxxiii. 13, 16.
If you say, the Son from eternity, you talk foolishly, for He was not the Redeemer; but if you say, the Son born in time, who was the only-begotten Son of God, John i. 18; iii. 16, you say rightly, for He by redemption became the righteousness of which you make your faith consist. Read also Isaiah ix. 6, as well as other passages, where it is foretold that Jehovah Himself would come into the world.” At these words the President was silent, and turned away.
[12] After these proceedings the President was about to close the council with prayer, when suddenly a man started up from the company on the left, having on his head a mitre and over that a cap. He touched the cap with his finger, and said: “I also am associated with a man in your world, who is held in high honor there. This I know, for I speak from him as from myself.” I then inquired where that eminent person*********** lived. He replied: “At Gottenburg; and from him I once got the idea that this new doctrine of yours savors of Mohammedanism.”************
On hearing this, I observed that all those on the right, where the Apostolic Fathers stood, were astounded, and their countenances changed; and I heard them expressing what was in their minds by their exclamations: “What a crime is this! What an age!” However, to appease their just indignation, I stretched forth my hand, and begged for a hearing. This was granted, and I said: “I know that a person of that eminence wrote something of the kind in a letter which he afterwards published; but if he had known at the time what a blasphemous charge this is, he would certainly have torn the letter up with his fingers, and thrown it into the fire. Such a slander as that is meant by the Lord’s words to the Jews, when they said that Christ wrought miracles by some other than Divine power, Matt. xii. 22-32; to which the Lord adds in the same place:
“He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” v. 30.
At these words the associated spirit looked down, but soon looked up again and said: “I have heard things from you harder than ever.” But I continued: “In the case against me there are two charges, Naturalism and Mohammedanism. These are wicked lies, craftily devised, and two deadly stigmas, designed to prejudice the desires of men, and deter them from the holy worship of the Lord.” I then turned to the associated spirit who had just spoken, and I said: “Tell your friend at Gottenburg, if you can, to read what the Lord says in Revelation iii. 18, and also in ii. 16.”
[13] When I said this an uproar arose; but it was calmed by a light sent down from heaven, which caused many of those on the left to cross over to those on the right, those only remaining who did not think deeply, and who therefore relied on the word of some teacher; as well as those who believed that the Lord is merely human. From both of these the light sent down from heaven appeared as it were to be thrown back, and to fall upon those who passed over from the left to the right.
* This Number is in quotation marks in Original Edition. See TAF. DOC. I, p. 58.
** Lucifer, fabled son of Aurora, or of Jupiter, morning star, day.
*** Calvin, John, A.D. 1509-1564, was called by Melanchthon “The theologian of the sixteenth century.” He studied law as well as theology, became a Protestant and induced the authorities of Geneva to renounce Popery. The friend of John Knox, he exercised a powerful influence on Scottish Protestantism. His views may be summarized thus: particular election; particular redemption; moral inability in a fallen state; free grace; and ultimate salvation for the elect, notwithstanding many failings and aberrations on the part of the believer. In its leading features his theology is that of Augustine.
**** Form of Concord, Formula Concordiae, designed to effect an amicable adjustment of the differences among the Lutherans, by drawing them more closely to their principal standard, the Augsburg or Augustan Confession. Most of the Lutheran Churches add this Formula to their standard creeds.
***** Leipzig, capital of province of same name, seat of highest court of justice in Germany.
****** Augustan or Augsburg Confession, presented by the Lutherans to Charles V at Augusta or Augsburg, in A.D. 1530. This is one of the standard books of faith to which members of the Lutheran Church subscribe. Melanchthon was mainly responsible for its composition.
******* The famous man here referred to was Dr. Ernesti (1707-1781), who lived at Eisleben, in Saxony, where Luther was buried. Republished some violent attacks on Swedenborg and his writings, to which Swedenborg wrote a brief reply. This reply refers to the spiritual narratives recorded in T. C. R. Nos. 846-851. It also mentions No. 137 as having been written with particular reference to Dr. Ernesti, and then inserted in T. C. R. It should be noted that No. 137 and Nos. 846-851 are in quotation marks in the original edition. See Tafel’s DOCUMENTS, Vol. 1, p. 58.
******** Luther, Martin, A.D. 1483-1646, the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, was born at Eisleben, Saxony. He was a student at Erfurt in law and divinity, and was ordained priest in A.D. 1507. He left Erfurt for a chair in the university of Wittenberg, where his preaching attracted great attention. Here he made his first public protest against the Romish Church by condemning the sale of indulgences. The Lutheran Church dates its origin from the year A.D. 1520 when Luther was expelled from the Romish Church. It assumed a more definite shape on the publication in A.D. 1530 of the Augsburg Confession. This was drawn up by Melanchthon and Luther as the principal standard of the Church. The final establishment of the Lutheran Church was made possible by the friendly offices of Maurice, Elector of Saxony.
********** Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
*********** Arius, theologian of Alexandria, A.D 256-336; founder of Arianism, affirming that Christ was an originated Being. Excommunicated by bishops of Egypt for denying that Christ was made of the same substance (homo-ousion) of any previously existing substance. To settle the consequent dispute Constantine called the Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325. Athanasius successfully led the opposition to Arius; and Arius, with Eusebius, who also refused to accept the Athanasian position, was banished.
************ Constantine, Emperor of Rome, A. D. 272-337. A convert to Christianity, he summoned the Council of Nice, A.D. 325 to settle the Arian controversy. This Council gave its name to the Nicene Creed which resulted, and which subsequently became the standard creed of the Christian Church.
************* That eminent person here referred to was Dr. O. A. Ekehom, A.D. 1716-1784, who was appointed Dean of Gottenburg in A.D. 1761. He wrote a detailed charge against the doctrines of Swedenborg, virulently attacking them, yet declaring that he was not acquainted with the religious system of Swedenborg, and that he would not take any trouble, to become acquainted with it. See references to him in Tafel’s DOCUMENTS CONCERNING SWEDENBORG, Vol. 2, p. 1133.
************** Mohammad, the founder of Mohammedanism or Islam, A.D. 571-632, was born at Mecca, where his father was spiritual and temporal head. He married a wealthy and devout widow, and owed much to her influence. In the visions to which he was subject he received confirmations of his Divine mission. He also received messages from Gabriel which were incorporated in the KORAN, the sacred book of Mohammedanism. Early persecution drove him from Mecca and in the year A.D. 622 he fled to Medina, where he was cordially welcomed. This flight, or Hejira, marks the beginning of the Mohammedan year, and from Medina he set out on his conquest of Arabia. Mohammedanism proclaims the unity of the God-head, and condemns idolatry; but the peaceful methods of propaganda soon gave place to ruthless persecution of infidels and merciless extermination of idolators.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE DIVINE OPERATION
When clerics, who have entertained any correct idea of our Lord the Savior, enter the world of spirits, which generally happens the third day after their death, their first instruction is concerning the Divine Trinity, and particularly concerning the Holy Spirit. This they are informed is not a God by itself, but when mentioned in the Word, it means the Divine Operation proceeding from the one omnipresent God. They are particularly instructed concerning the Holy Spirit because very many fanatics after death fall under the insane delusion that they themselves are the Holy Spirit; and many belonging to the Church, who while in the world believed that the Holy Spirit spoke through them, terrify others with the words of the Lord in Matthew xii. 31, 32, declaring that to speak against what the Holy Spirit has breathed into them is the unpardonable sin. Those who, after instruction, abandon the belief that the Holy Spirit is a God by itself, are then informed that the unity of God is not divided into three Persons, each of whom is singly God and Lord, according to the Athanasian Creed,* but that the Divine Trinity is in the Lord the Savior, as the soul, the body and the virtue thence proceeding are in every man. They are then prepared to receive the faith of the New Heaven; and after this preparation a way is opened for them to a society in heaven where a like faith prevails; and a dwelling-place is given them with kindred spirits, among whom they live in a state of blessedness for ever. Now, as we have treated of God the Creator, and of the Lord the Redeemer, it is necessary that we should also treat of the Holy Spirit; and the treatment of this subject, like that of the others, will be under particular heads, as follows:
(1) The Holy Spirit is the Divine Truth, and also the Divine Virtue and Operation proceeding from the one God, in whom is the Divine Trinity, thus from the Lord God the Savior.
(2) The Divine Virtue and Operation, signified by the Holy Spirit, consist in general in reformation and regeneration; and following upon these, renewal, vivification, sanctification and justification; and following upon these again, purification from evils and remission of sins; and finally, salvation.
(3) The Divine Virtue and Operation, meant by the sending of the Holy Spirit, with the clergy consist in particular in enlightenment and instruction.
(4) The Lord operates these virtues in those who believe on Him.
(5) The Lord operates of Himself from the Father, and not the reverse.
(6) Man’s spirit is his mind, and whatever proceeds from it.
* Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
The Holy Spirit, strictly speaking, signifies the Divine Truth, thus also the Word; and in this sense the Lord Himself is also the Holy Spirit. Since, however, in the Church at this day the Holy Spirit is regarded as the Divine Operation, which in reality is justification, therefore this is here assumed to be the Holy Spirit. This, moreover, is being specially treated because the Divine Operation is effected by means of the Divine Truth, which proceeds from the Lord; and that which proceeds is of one and the same essence with Him from whom it proceeds; like these three, the soul, the body and the proceeding activity, which together constitute one essence. With man this is merely human, but with the Lord it is Divine and at the same time Human, such a union having been effected after glorification as exists between what is prior and its posterior, and between an essence and its form. Thus the three Essentials, which are called Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are one in the Lord.
[2] It was shown above that the Lord is Divine Truth itself, or the Divine Verity; and that the Holy Spirit is also the same is evident from the following passages:
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse… And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might … and He shall smite the earth 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 faithfulness the girdle of His reins.” Isa. xi. 1, 2, 4, 5.
“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of JEHOVAH shall lift up a standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion.” Isa. lix. 19, 20.
“The Spirit of the LORD JEHOVAH is upon me; because JEHOVAH hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek.” lxi. 1; Luke iv. 18.
“This is my covenant with them … My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words … shall not depart out of thy mouth … from henceforth and for ever.” Isa. lix. 21.
[3] Since the Lord is Truth itself, therefore everything that proceeds from Him is truth; and this is meant by the Comforter, who is also called the Spirit of Truth, and the Holy Spirit, as is evident from the following passages:
“Nevertheless 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 depart, I will send Him unto you.” John xvi. 7.
“When He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak.” John xvi. 13.
“He shall glorify me; for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” xvi. 14, 15.
“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter…. even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you,” and ye shall see me. xiv. 16-19.
“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth … He shall testify of me.” xv. 26;
and in xiv. 26 He is called the Holy Spirit.
[4] That the Lord by the Comforter, or Holy Spirit, meant Himself is evident from His saying, that the world knew Him not:
“But ye know Him; I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you; and ye shall see me.” And in another place He says: “I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. (A.V. world) Matt. xxviii. 20.
It is evident also from His saying that 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 vii. 39;
and after glorification,
He breathed on the disciples, and said: “Receive ye the Holy Spirit.” John xx. 22.
The Lord breathed on the disciples and said these words, because breathing was an external representative sign of Divine inspiration; and inspiration is introduction into angelic societies. From these things may be understood what the angel Gabriel said concerning the conception of the Lord:
“The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God.” Luke i. 35.
Again:
The angel of the Lord said to Joseph in a dream, “Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit… and Joseph knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born son.” Matt. i. 20, 25.
The Holy Spirit in these passages is the Divine Truth proceeding from Jehovah the Father; and this Proceeding is the power of the Highest which then overshadowed the mother: which agrees with what is said in John,
“The Word was with God, and the Word was God … and the Word was made flesh.” Ch. i. 1, 14.
The Word there signifies the Divine Truth, as may be seen above, No. 3, on the Faith of the New Church.
These are the virtues in their order which the Lord makes effective in those who believe on Him, and who adapt and prepare themselves to receive Him and become His dwelling-place. This is brought about by means of Divine Truth, and in the case of Christians, by means of the Word, as this is the only means by which a man approaches the Lord, and into which the Lord enters. For, as was said above, the Lord is the Divine Truth itself, and whatever proceeds from Him is Divine Truth. It is, however, Divine Truth from good that is to be understood, and this is the same as faith from charity, for faith is nothing but truth, and charity is nothing but goodness. By means of Divine Truth from good, that is, by means of faith from charity, a man is reformed and regenerated; then renewed, quickened, sanctified and justified; and according as those virtues progress and develop, he is also purified from evils: and purification from these is the remission of sins. However, all these several operations of the Lord cannot here be explained in detail, for each requires its exposition to be confirmed from the Word and rationally illustrated; and this does not belong to our present subject. The reader is therefore referred to later parts of this work which treat in due order of Charity, Faith, Free Will, Repentance, Reformation and Regeneration. It should be known that the Lord without ceasing renders effective those saving graces in every man, for they are the steps to heaven, and the Lord wills the salvation of all men; thus the salvation of all is the end He has in view, and He who wills the end wills also the means. The Lord’s Coming, His Redemption, and the Passion of the Cross, were all for the sake of man’s salvation, Matt. xviii. 11; Luke xix. 10; and as man’s salvation was, and eternally is, the end He has in view, it follows that the operations just mentioned are mediate ends, while salvation is the ultimate end.
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit … And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in the way of salvation. (A.V., in my statutes.) Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27; xi. 19.
“Create in us (A.V., me) a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me… Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit.” Ps. li. 10, 12.
JEHOVAH “formeth the spirit of man within him.” Zech xii. 1.
“With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early.” Isa. xxvi. 9.
“Make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” Ezek. xviii. 31;
and in other passages. In these places a new heart means the will of good, and a new spirit, the understanding of truth. The Lord operates these virtues in those who do good and believe the truth, that is, in those who are principled in faith originating in charity, as is evident from the statements above, that God gives a soul to those who walk in that faith, which is called a free spirit; and that man also ought to do his part is evident from these words.
“Make you a new heart and a new spirit: for 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. iii. 16; Mark i. 10; Luke iii. 21, 22; John i. 32, 33.
This took place because baptism signifies regeneration and purification; and these are also represented by a dove. Any one can see that the dove was not the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit was not in the dove. In heaven doves frequently appear, and whenever they are seen the angels know that they are correspondences of the affections and the thoughts thence arising, concerning regeneration and purification, in some persons who are near by. Therefore as soon as they approach those persons, and converse with them on some other subject than that which occupied their thoughts when that appearance was presented, the doves instantly vanish. The case is the same with many things that appeared to the prophets, as when John saw a lamb on Mount Sion, Rev. xiv. 1: and in other passages. Any one can see that the Lord was not that Lamb, nor in it, but that it was a representation of His innocence. Hence is evident the error of those who conclude that there are three Persons in the Trinity from the dove seen when the Lord was baptized, and from the voice heard at the same time from heaven, saving, “This is my beloved Son.”
That the Lord regenerates man by means of faith and charity is signified by these words of John the Baptist,
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me … shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire.” Matt. iii. 11; Mark i. 8; Luke iii. 16.
To baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire is to regenerate by means of the Divine Truth of faith, and by the Divine Good of charity. The same is signified 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 iii. 5.
By water here, as elsewhere in the Word, is signified truth in the natural or external man, and by spirit is signified truth from good in the spiritual or internal man.
The operations of the Lord, enumerated in the previous article, namely, reformation, regeneration, renewal, vivification, sanctification, justification, purification, the remission of sins, and finally salvation, are effected by influx from the Lord in both clergy and laity; and are received by those who are in the Lord, and who have the Lord in them,
John vi. 56; xiv. 20; xv. 4, 5.
However, the clergy in particular receive enlightenment and instruction because these relate to their office, inauguration into the ministry brings them with it. They believe, moreover, that when they preach with zeal, they are inspired, like the Lord’s disciples, on whom He breathed, saying:
“Receive ye the Holy Spirit.” John xx. 22. See also Mark xiii. 11.
Some declare that, they have perceived the influx. But they ought to be very careful not to persuade themselves that the zeal which takes hold of many when preaching is the Divine operation in their hearts. For a similar and even more ardent zeal prevails with fanatics, and with those whose doctrines are false in the extreme, who lightly esteem the Word, and who worship nature instead of God. They also cast faith and charity, as it were, into a bag behind their back; but when they preach and teach, they hold it in front of them, like a ruminatory stomach, from which they draw out and disgorge what they know will serve as food for their hearers.
Zeal, regarded in itself, is intense ardor of the natural man. If there is in it the love of truth, then it is like the sacred fire which flowed into the Apostles, as is thus described in the Acts:
“And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” ii. 3, 4.
However, if the love of falsity lies concealed within that zeal or intense ardor, it is then like fire imprisoned in wood, which bursts out and burns down the house. I beseech you, who deny the sanctity of the Word and the Divinity of the Lord, take the bag off your back and open it, which you may freely do in the privacy of your own home, and you will see. I know that those who are meant by Lucifer* in Isaiah, and who 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 carried away by a zeal which with many arises from an infernal love. They make their voices resound more vehemently and they heave deeper sighs than those whose zeal arises from a heavenly love. It will be seen later in No. 155 that there are two other spiritual operations relating to the clergy in addition to enlightenment and instruction.
* Lucifer, fabled son of Aurora, or of Jupiter, morning star, day.
** Jesuiticus Ordo, the Society of Jesus, founded by Ignatius Loyola, A. D. 1534, to stem the rising tide of Protestantism. See DP 222:2.
It is the same in the human mind, whose spiritual organization is of a similar nature; that is, as was stated above, the human mind is divided into three regions, the highest, which is also the inmost, being called the celestial, the middle the spiritual, and the lowest the natural. The minds of all those who deny the sanctity of the Word and the Divinity of the Lord, think in the lowest region. However, because they from infancy have also been instructed in the spiritual things of the Church, and still retain them, although regarding them as inferior to natural things, which are the various kinds of scientific, political, civil and moral knowledge; and because these spiritual things remain on the lowest plane of their minds and nearest to speech, they speak from them in churches and in assemblies; and, what is wonderful, they do not know but that they speak and teach from their own sincere belief. Nevertheless when they are free, as they are in their own home, the door which closed the internal of their minds is opened, and then sometimes they laugh at those things which they preached in public, saying in heart that theology is but a specious snare for catching doves.
“and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.” Rev. xiii. 11.
That beast is afterwards called the false prophet. They are like robbers in a city where good citizens dwell; and then they act morally and speak reasonably; but on returning to the woods they are wild beasts again. They are also like pirates who are men when on land, but savage monsters at sea. Whether they parade on land or stroll about the city they are like panthers clothed in sheep-skins, or like apes dressed in men’s clothing, wearing masks over their own faces to represent the human countenance. They may also be likened to a courtesan who anoints herself with perfume, rouges her face and puts on a robe of white silk, embroidered with flowers; but when she returns to her own house, she, unadorned, infects her paramours with her own disease. That such is the real character of those who in their hearts deny the sanctity of the Word and the Divinity of the Lord it has been granted me to know by the experience of years in the spiritual world. For there all are at first suffered to remain in their externals, but afterwards, on the removal of these, they are brought into their internal state, and then the comedy of their lives is turned to tragedy.
The Lord renders effective these virtues, which are meant by the sending of the Holy Spirit, in those who believe on Him, that is, He reforms, regenerates, renews, quickens, sanctifies, justifies, purifies from evils, and finally saves them, as is evident from all those passages in the Word, quoted in No. 107, which prove that they have salvation and eternal life who believe on the Lord. It is evident moreover from this passage: Jesus said,
“He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive.” John vii. 38, 39;
and also from this:
“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Rev. xix. 10.
By the spirit of prophecy is meant the truth of doctrine derived from the Word; prophecy signifies nothing else but doctrine, and to prophesy signifies to teach doctrine; and by the testimony of Jesus is meant acknowledgment from faith in Him. The same is meant by testimony of Him when it is said
that the angels of Michael* overcame the dragon “by the blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of His (A.V. their) testimony … and the dragon went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Rev. xii. 11, 17.
* Michael, the archangel.
* To believe in the Lord as the Christ, the Son of God, is an intellectual act, within the province of the understanding. Belief is usually followed by in. To believe on takes belief in for granted; but in addition throws the whole of the life, body and soul, upon the Lord, and is an act within the province of the will. See No. 159:7.
By operating is here meant the same as sending the Holy Spirit, since the operations already mentioned are operations of the Lord. They are in general, reformation, regeneration, renewal, vivification, sanctification, justification, purification from evils, remission of sins and salvation, which are at this day ascribed to the Holy Spirit as a God by Himself. That these operations are of the Lord from the Father, and not the reverse, will be first confirmed from the Word, and then illustrated by rational considerations. It is confirmed from the Word by the following passages:
“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me.” John xv. 28.
“If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.” xvi. 7.
The Comforter, the Spirit of truth “shall not speak of Himself … He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine … therefore said I, that He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” xvi. 13, 14, 15.
“The Holy Spirit was not yet; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” vii. 39.
Jesus breathed on the disciples, “and saith, Receive ye the Holy Spirit.” xx. 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.” xiv. 13, 14.
From these passages it is clear that the Lord sends the Holy Spirit, that is, that it is He who effects those operations which are at this day ascribed to the Holy Spirit as a God by Himself: for He said that He would send the Holy Spirit from the Father; and that He would send Him to you. That the Lord sends the Holy Spirit is also clear from the statements that the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified; that after His glorification He breathed on His disciples, and said: “Receive ye the Holy Spirit;” that He also said: “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do;” and that the Comforter would receive from Him what He should announce. The Comforter is the same as the Holy Spirit, as may be seen from John xiv. 20. God the Father does not render these virtues effective of Himself through the Son, but the Son of Himself from the Father, as is evident from the following:
“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” John i. 18;
and in another place:
“Ye have neither heard the Father’s (A.V., His) voice at any time, nor seen His shape. v. 37.
Accordingly it follows from these statements that God the Father operates in and upon the Son, but not through Him, while the Lord operates of Himself from His Father; for He says:
“All things that the Father hath are mine.” John xvi. 15; that the Father hath given all things into the hand of the Son, iii. 35;
also:
“As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself.” v. 28;
and further:
“The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” vi. 63.
The Lord says that the Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father (John xv. 26) because it proceeds from God the Father into the Son, and out of the Son from the Father. Therefore He also says:
“At that day ye shall know that the Father is in me … and that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” John xiv. 11, 20.
From these plain statements of the Lord the error of the Christian world is clearly manifest, namely that God the Father sends the Holy Spirit to man; and also the error of the Greek Church that God the Father sends out the Holy Spirit immediately. This truth, that the Lord sends it of Himself from God the Father, and not the reverse, is from heaven; and the angels call it a mystery, because it has not hitherto been revealed to the world.
[2] It is the same with every minister in the Church, whether he is in truth or in falsity. Each has his own manner of expression and his own intelligence, and each speaks from his own mind, that is, from the spirit which he possesses as his own. Take for example the case of the Protestants, whether Evangelical or Reformed. After they have been instructed in the dogmas taught by Luther,* Melanchthon,** or Calvin,*** these leaders or their dogmas do not speak, of themselves, through their disciples, but the disciples speak, of themselves, from their leaders and their dogmas. Every dogma, moreover, may be explained in a thousand different ways; for each is like a horn of plenty, from which every one takes what favors and suits his own genius, and then explains it according to his own peculiar talent.
[3] This may be illustrated also by the action of the heart in and upon the lungs, and by the reaction of the lungs themselves from the heart. These are two distinct actions, yet reciprocally united, for the lungs respire of themselves from the heart, but not the heart through the lungs; for if this were to happen, the action of both would cease. It is the same with the action of the heart in and upon the internal organs of the whole body; the heart propels the blood in every direction, but the organs draw from it, each one its share according to the use which it performs, and according to which it functions, thus the action of each is different.
[4] The same may also be illustrated by the following considerations. Evil derived from parents, called hereditary evil, acts in and upon man; so also does good from the Lord, the latter from above or from within, the former from beneath or from without. If evil were to act through man, he would not be capable of reformation, nor would he be subject to blame; and likewise, if good from the Lord were to act through man, he would not be capable of reformation; but as each depends on man’s free choice, he becomes guilty when he acts of himself from evil, and guiltless when he acts of himself from good. Now since evil is the devil, and good is the Lord, he becomes guilty if he acts from the devil, and guiltless if he acts from the Lord. It is from this free choice, which every man has, that the possibility of his reformation arises.
[5] It is the same with the whole internal and external in man. These are perfectly distinct, but yet reciprocally united; the internal acts in and upon the external, but not through it, as the internal includes innumerable things from which the external chooses only such as are suited to its purposes. For in the internal man, by which is meant his voluntary and perceptive mind, there are vast collections of ideas, and if they were to flow out in speech, it would be like the rush of wind from a pair of bellows. The internal, from the comprehensive nature of what it includes, may be compared to an ocean, or to a bed of flowers, or to a garden, from which the external selects what is adequate for its use. The Word of the Lord is like an ocean, a bed of flowers and a garden: and when it is present in any degree of fulness in the internal of a man, he then speaks and acts of himself from the Word, and not the Word through Him. It is the same with the Lord, because He Himself is the Word; that is, the Divine Truth and the Divine Good therein. The Lord acts of Himself, or from the Word, in and upon man, but not through him, because a man, in freedom, acts and speaks from the Lord when he does so from the Word.
[6] This, however, may be better illustrated by the mutual intercourse between the soul and the body. These two are perfectly distinct, but are reciprocally united; the soul acts in and upon the body, but not through it, while the body acts of itself from the soul. The soul does not act through the body, because they do not consult and deliberate with each other. The soul does not command or request the body to do or to say this or that; nor does the body demand or beg the soul to give or supply anything, for all that belongs to the soul belongs also to the body, mutually and reciprocally. This is the case with the Divine and the Human of the Lord; for the Divine of the Father is the soul of His Human, and the Human is His body; and the Human does not ask His Divine to say what it shall say or do. Therefore the Lord says:
“At 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 xvi. 26, 27.
“At that day” is after the glorification, that is, after perfect and complete union with the Father. This is an interior truth revealed from the Lord Himself for those who will form His New Church.
* Luther, Martin, A.D. 1483-1646, the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, was born at Eisleben, Saxony. He was a student at Erfurt in law and divinity, and was ordained priest in A.D. 1507. He left Erfurt for a chair in the university of Wittenberg, where his preaching attracted great attention. Here he made his first public protest against the Romish Church by condemning the sale of indulgences. The Lutheran Church dates its origin from the year A.D. 1520 when Luther was expelled from the Romish Church. It assumed a more definite shape on the publication in A.D. 1530 of the Augsburg Confession. This was drawn up by Melanchthon and Luther as the principal standard of the Church. The final establishment of the Lutheran Church was made possible by the friendly offices of Maurice, Elector of Saxony.
** Melanchthon, the foremost scholar among the early Protestants, A.D. 1497-1560. He met Luther at Wittenberg where he was professor of Greek. He exercised a powerful influence over Luther, and was mainly responsible for drawing up the Augsburg Confession. On Luther’s death he became the leader of the Lutherans.
*** Calvin, John, A.D. 1509-1564, was called by Melanchthon “The theologian of the sixteenth century.” He studied law as well as theology, became a Protestant and induced the authorities of Geneva to renounce Popery. The friend of John Knox, he exercised a powerful influence on Scottish Protestantism. His views may be summarized thus: particular election; particular redemption; moral inability in a fallen state; free grace; and ultimate salvation for the elect, notwithstanding many failings and aberrations on the part of the believer. In its leading features his theology is that of Augustine.
By a man’s spirit, in the strict sense of the term, is meant simply his mind, for it is this which lives after death, and is then called a spirit; if good, an angelic spirit, and afterwards an angel; but if evil, a satanic spirit, and afterwards a satan. The mind of every man is the internal, or real man, and is within the external man, which constitutes its body; therefore, when the body is laid aside at death, the internal man is in a complete human form. So they are mistaken who suppose that a man’s mind is only in his head. It is there only in the principles from which first proceeds everything that a man thinks from the understanding and does from the will. Moreover, it resides in the body in derivatives formed for sensation and action; and because it is inwardly connected with the bodily structures, it imparts to them sensation and motion. It also inspires a sort of perception that the body thinks and acts of itself; but every wise man knows that this is a fallacy. Now because a man’s spirit thinks from the understanding and acts from the will, and because the body does not act from itself but from the spirit, it follows that a man’s spirit means his intelligence and the affection of his love, and whatever proceeds and acts from them. That a man’s spirit signifies such things as pertain to his mind, is obvious from many passages in the Word, which need only to be quoted to show that it is so. The following are a few taken from many.
Bezaleel “was filled with the spirit of wisdom, understanding and knowledge.” Exod. xxxi. 3.
Nebuchadnezzar testified of Daniel, that “an excellent spirit of knowledge and understanding and wisdom was in him.” Dan. v. 12.
“Joshua … was full of the spirit of wisdom.” Deut. xxxiv. 9.
“Make you a new heart and anew spirit.” Ezek. xviii. 31.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. v. 3.
“I dwell … in a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble.” Isa. lvii. 15.
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.” Ps. li. 17.
I will give “the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” Isa. lxi. 3; besides other passages to the same effect.
That spirit also signifies such things as relate to a perverse and wicked mind is evident from these passages:
He said to the foolish prophets “that follow their own spirit.” Ezek. xiii. 3.
“Ye shall conceive chaff; ye shall bring forth stubble: as to your spirit (A.V., breath) fire shall devour you. Isa. xxxiii. 11.
“If a man walking in the spirit … and do lie.” Micah ii. 11.
“A generation … whose spirit was not steadfast with God.” Ps. lxxviii. 8.
“The spirit of whoredoms.” Hos. v. 4; iv. 12.
“Every heart shall melt and every spirit shall faint.” Ezek. xxi. 7.
“That which cometh into your spirit (A.V., mind), shall not be at all.” Ezek. xx. 32.
“And in whose spirit there is no guile.” Ps. xxxii. 2.
The spirit of Pharaoh was troubled, Gen. xli. 8.
and also the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar. Dan. ii. 2.
From these and many other passages it is clearly manifest that the spirit signifies the mind of man, and whatever belongs to it.
“The spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.” Ezek. xi. 1, 24.
The spirit took him up, and he heard behind him an earthquake, iii. 12, 14.
The spirit lifted him up between the earth and the heaven, and brought him to Jerusalem, and he saw abominations. viii. 3, and following verses.
He saw four living creatures, which were cherubs, and various things with them, i. and x.;
and a new earth, and a new temple, and an angel measuring them, xl. to xlviii.
That he was then in vision, and in the spirit, appears from xl. 2, and xliii. 5.
[2] The case was the same with Zechariah, with whom there was then an angel, when he saw
a man riding among the myrtle-trees, i. 8, and following verses; four horns, v. 18; and a man with a measuring line in his hand, ii. 1-5; and following verses.
Joshua the high priest, iii. 1; a flying roll, v. 1-6,
and four chariots and horses coming out from between two mountains. vi. 1, and following verses.
Daniel was in a similar state
when he saw four beasts come up from the sea, and many things relating to them. vii. 1-3;
and when he saw the battles of the ram and the goat, viii. 1 and following verses.
That he saw those things in vision is declared in vii. 1, 2, 7, 13; viii. 2; x. 1, 7, 8.
The angel Gabriel appeared to him in vision, and talked with him, ix. 21.
[3] John experienced the same when he wrote the Rook of Revelation, for he says
he “was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” Rev. i. 10;
that he was “carried away in the spirit into the wilderness.” xvii. 3;
and “to a great and high mountain” in the spirit, xxi. 10: that he saw “in the vision,” ix. 17;
and in other places that “he saw” what he described, as the Son of Man in the midst of the seven candlesticks, a tabernacle, a temple, an ark and an altar in heaven; the book sealed with seven seals, and horses going out of it; four animals around the throne; the twelve thousand chosen out of each tribe; the Lamb on Mount Sion; locusts ascending from the bottomless pit; the dragon and his war with Michael;** the woman bringing forth a male child, and fleeing into the wilderness on account of the dragon; two beasts, one ascending out of the sea and the other out of the earth; the woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast; the dragon cast into a lake of fire and brimstone; a white horse and a great supper; the descent of the Holy City Jerusalem, whose gates, walls and foundations 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 similar state when they saw Jesus transfigured; and Paul also, when he heard ineffable words from heaven.
* Apocalypse, the Revelation.
** Michael, the archangel.
Since this chapter has treated of the Holy Spirit, it deserves to be specially noticed that in the Word of the Old Testament no mention is made of the Holy Spirit, but only of the Spirit of holiness (A.V., Holy Spirit), in three places, once in David, Ps. ii. 11 and twice in Isaiah lxiii. 10, 11. In the Word of the New Testament, however, both in the Evangelists and in the Acts of the Apostles, as well as in their Epistles, it is mentioned frequently. The reason is because the Holy Spirit existed for the first time when the Lord came into the world, for it proceeds out of Him from the Father;
for the Lord only is Holy, Rev. xv. 4.
Therefore it is also said by the angel Gabriel to the mother Mary:
“That holy thing which shall be born of thee.” Luke i. 35.
It is written:
“The Holy Spirit (A.V., Holy Ghost) was not yet; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” John vii. 39;
and yet it is said before this that the Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth, Luke i. 41; and Zechariah, Luke i. 67; and also Simeon, Luke ii. 25. This was because they were filled with the Spirit of Jehovah the Father, which was called the Holy Spirit, on account of the Lord who was already in the world. This is also the reason why it is nowhere stated in the Word of the Old Testament that the Prophets spoke from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah; for it is everywhere said, “Jehovah spoke to me,” “The Word of Jehovah came to me,” “Jehovah said,” “The saying of Jehovah.” That no one may have any doubt upon the matter, I will quote only from Jeremiah, where these expressions occur: Ch. i. 4, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19; ii. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 19, 22, 29, 31; iii. 1, 6, 10, 12, 14, 16; iv. 1, 3, 9, 17, 27; v. 11, 14, 18, 22, 29; vi. 6, 9, 12, 15, 16, 21, 22; vii. 1, 3, 11, 13, 19, 20, 21; viii. 1, 3, 12, 13; ix. 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, 17, 22, 23, 24, x. 1, 2, 18; xi. 1, 6, 9, 11, 21, 22; xii. 14, 17; 11-15, 25; xiv. 1, 10, 14, 15; xv. 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 19, 20; xvi. 1, 3, 5, 9, 14, 16; xvii. 5, 19, 20, 21, 24; xviii. 1, 5, 6, 11, 13; xix. 1, 3, 6, 12, 15; xx. 4; xxi. 4, 7, 8, 11, 12; xxii. 2, 5, 8, 11, (16), 18, 24, 29, 30; xxiii. 2, 5, 7, 12, 15, 24, 29, 31, 38, xxiv. 3, 5, 8; xxv. 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, 15, 27, 28, 29, 32; xxvi. 1, 2, 18; xxvii. 1, 2, 4, 8, 11, 16, 19, 21, 22; xxviii. 2, 12, 14, 16; xxix. 4, 8, 9, 16, 19, 20, 21, 25, 30, 31, 32; xxx. 1-5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18; xxxi. 1, 2, 7, 10, 15, 16, 17, 23, 27, 28, 31-38; xxxii. 1, 6, 14, 15, 25, 26, 28, 30, 36, 42, (44); xxxiii. 1, 2, 4, 10, (11), 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 23, 25; xxxiv. 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 13, 17, 22; xxxv. 1, 13, 17, 18, 19; xxxvi. 1, 6, 27, 29, 30; xxxvii. 6, 7, 9; xxxviii. 2, 3, 17; xxxix. 15-18; xl. 1; xlii. 7, 9, 15, 18, 19; xliii. 8, 10; xliv. 1, 2, 7, 11, 24, 25, 26, 30; xlv. 1, 2, 5; xlvi. 1, 23, 25, 28; xlvii. 1; xlviii. 1, 8, 12, 30, 35, 38, 40, 43, 44, 47; xlix. 2, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 16, 18, 26, 28, 30, 32, 35, 37, 38, 39; l. 1, 4, 10, 18, 20, 21, 30, 31, 33, 35, 40; li. 25, 33, 36, 39, 52, 58. These passages are in Jeremiah alone. It is similarly recorded in all the other Prophets, and not that the Holy Spirit spoke, nor that Jehovah spoke to them by the Holy Spirit.
To these things I will add the following Memorabilia.
The first experience. Once, when I was in company with some angels in heaven, I saw at some distance below me a great smoke, from which fire burst forth at intervals. Thereupon I said to the angels who were conversing with me that few persons in that world know that the smoke seen in the hells arises from falsities confirmed by reasoning, and that the fire is anger kindled against those who maintain contrary opinions. To this I added that it is as little known in that world as in the natural world where I live in the body, that flame is nothing but smoke ignited. That such is the case I have often proved experimentally, by applying a lighted stick to the smoke rising from a wood-fire. Then I saw the smoke turn into flame of the same form, for all the separate particles of smoke become little sparks, which blazed up together, as also happens with gun-powder when ignited. It is the same, I said, with this smoke which we see below; it consists of as many falsities as there are smoke particles, and the fire that blazes out there is the heat of zeal for those falsities. [2] The angels then said to me: “Let us pray the Lord for permission to go down and draw near that we may see what are the falsities which occasion such a smoke and blaze among the spirits there.” This was granted, and forthwith there appeared around us a column of light extending down to the place. Then we saw four companies of spirits vehemently maintaining that God the Father, because He is invisible, ought to be approached and worshiped, and not His Son who was born in the world, because He is a man and visible. Further, on looking round, I saw on the left a number of learned clergy, and behind them some unlearned; and on the right a number of learned laymen, with some unlearned behind them; while between them and us was a yawning impassable gulf.
[3] We turned our attention to the left, where were the clergy, the learned and the unlearned; and we heard the learned reasoning concerning God in the following manner: “We know from the doctrine of our Church, which, so far as it relates to God, is unanimously received throughout the whole of Europe, that God the Father, because He is invisible, ought to be approached, and at the same time God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, who are also invisible, because they are co-eternal with the Father. We know also that God the Father is the Creator of the universe, and is therefore present in the universe wherever we turn our eyes, and graciously hearkens to our prayers; and, after accepting the Son’s mediation, He sends the Holy Spirit, who pours into our hearts the glory of the Son’s righteousness, and blesses us. We, therefore, who are duly appointed doctors of the Church, have felt in our bosoms, when preaching, the holy influence of that sending, and from its presence in our minds have breathed forth our devotion. We are thus affected because we direct all our senses towards the invisible God, who operates not merely in our intellectual sight but universally throughout our whole system of mind and body by the spirit He sends out. The worship of a visible God, or one presented to our minds as a man, would not produce such results.”
[4] At these words the unlearned clergy, who stood behind, applauded and said: “Whence can holiness come but from the Divine, who is unseen and imperceptible? At the bare mention of such a God our countenances expand, we are gladdened as by a soothing, fragrant atmosphere, and we beat our breasts. The case is otherwise with a visible and perceptible Deity. When the mention of this enters our ears it becomes merely natural and not Divine. For a similar reason the Roman Catholics repeat their masses in Latin, bring out the host from the sacred recess of the altar and exhibit it, ascribing to it certain mystical divine properties, before which, as before the most profound mystery, the people fall on their knees, and breathe out the breath of sanctity.”
[5] Thereupon I turned to the right where stood the learned laity with the unlearned behind them, and from the learned I heard the following: “We know that the wisest of the ancients worshiped an invisible God whom they called Jehovah; but after these, in the age which succeeded, men made gods of their deceased rulers, among whom were Saturn,* Jupiter,** Neptune,*** Pluto,**** Apollo,***** and also Minerva,****** Diana,******* Venus,******** Themis,********* and erected temples to them, and paid them Divine worship. In course of time this worship degenerated, and from it idolatry arose, with which at length the whole world was obsessed. We, therefore, entirely agree with our priests and elders that there have been, and now are, three Divine Persons from eternity, each of whom is God; and it is enough for us that they are invisible.” Thereupon the unlearned who stood behind, added: “We agree: is not God God, and man man? We know, however, that if any one should suggest that God is man, the common people, who entertain a sensual idea of God, would agree.”
[6] After these words their eyes were opened, and they observed us near them; and then, angry because we had heard them, they were silent. But the angels, by a power given to them, closed the exterior or lower plane of their thoughts from which they had spoken, and opened the interior or higher plane, and from this induced them to speak of God; and then they said: “What is God? We have neither seen His shape nor heard His voice. What therefore is God but nature in her first and last principles? We have seen her, because she is apparent to our eyes, and we have heard her, for she is audible to our ears.” On hearing this we enquired of them whether they had ever seen Socinus,********** who acknowledged God the Father only, or Arius,*********** who denied the Divinity of the Lord the Savior, or any of their followers. They replied that they had not. “They are in the abyss beneath you,” we said, and presently some of them were summoned thence, and questioned about God. They answered in similar terms to those who had just spoken adding, “What is God? We can make as many gods as we please.” [7] We then said: “It is useless to talk with you about the Son of God who was born in the world, but this we will declare: Lest faith respecting God, faith in Him, and faith from Him, which in the first and second age was like a beautifully colored bubble in the air, should, because no one ever saw Him, in the third and following age dissolve into the void, it pleased Jehovah God to descend and assume the Human, and in this way to make Himself visible to men, and convince them that He is not a product of the reason but the Self, who was, and is, and will be from eternity to eternity; and that God (Elohim) is not a mere word of three syllables, but that He is the all of everything from Alpha to Omega; consequently that He is the life and salvation of all who believe on Him as visible, and not of those who say that they believe on an invisible God. For to believe, to see, and to know make one; therefore the Lord said to Philip:
‘He that seeth and knoweth me, seeth and knoweth the Father.’
Elsewhere He declared
that it is the will of the Father that men should believe on the Son, and that he who believes on the Son has eternal life, but he who believes not the Son shall not see life, but the anger of God abides on him. These things He says in John iii. 15, 16, 36; and xiv. 6-15.”
On hearing this many in the four companies burned so with anger that smoke and flame poured out of their nostrils. We therefore departed, and the angels, after accompanying me home, ascended to their own heaven.
* Saturnus, Saturn, earliest king of Latium, became Roman god of civilization.
** Jupiter or Jove, son of Saturn.
*** Neptune, god of the sea.
**** Pluto, king of the lower world.
***** Apollo, god of divination, healing, poetry and music.
****** Minerva, daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom.
******* Diana, sister of Apollo, goddess of the chase.
******** Venus, goddess of love.
********* Themis, goddess of justice.
********** Socinians, members of a religious sect taking their name from Faustus Socinus, A.D. 1539-1604, and his uncle Laelius Socinus. They are antitrinitarians, denying the personality of the Holy Ghost and the Divinity of Christ. Early Socians believed in the miraculous conception and that Christ was entitled to Divine worship; but modern Socinians, chiefly Unitarians, deny both.
*********** Arius, theologian of Alexandria, A.D 256-336; founder of Arianism, affirming that Christ was an originated Being. Excommunicated by bishops of Egypt for denying that Christ was made of the same substance (homo-ousion) of any previously existing substance. To settle the consequent dispute Constantine called the Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325. Athanasius successfully led the opposition to Arius; and Arius, with Eusebius, who also refused to accept the Athanasian position, was banished.
[2] As we were conversing in this way I saw towards the north a paved way so crowded with spirits that there was scarcely room to step between any two of them. I told the angels that I had seen this road before, with spirits moving along it like companies of an army; that I had heard that this was the road along which passed all spirits on their departure from the natural world; and that it was crowded with such a vast number of spirits because many thousands of men died every week, all of whom, after death, entered that world. To this the angels added: “That road comes to an end in the centre of this world where we now are; and it does so because on the side towards the east are the societies that are in love to God and love towards the neighbor. On the left towards the west are the societies of those who are in the opposite loves, while forward, towards the south are the societies of those who excel others in intelligence; therefore all on arriving from the natural world proceed first to this point. While they are here they continue in the external life in which they last were in the former world; but afterwards they gradually enter into their own inner life, and their characters are examined. After examination the good are conducted to their own places in heaven, and the wicked to theirs in hell.”
[3] We stopped at the centre where the crowded way terminated, and said: “Let us stay here awhile and talk with some of the new-comers.” From the crowd as it moved on we chose twelve, and as they had all just arrived from the natural world they did not know but that they were still there. We asked them their views about heaven and hell, and a life after death. In reply to this one of them said: “Our clergy impressed upon me the belief that we shall live after death, and that there is a heaven and a hell. Consequently I have believed that all who live a moral life go to heaven, and since all do live a moral life, that no one goes to hell; and that hell therefore is a fable, invented by the clergy to deter men from living wickedly. What matters it how I think about God? Thought is only like chaff, or like a bubble on the water which bursts and is gone.”
Another near him said: “My belief is that heaven and hell exist, and that God rules heaven and the devil hell: and because they are enemies, and consequently opposed to each other, the one calls evil what the other calls good. I think also that the moral man, who can dissemble, and who can act so as to make evil appear good and good evil, sides with both. What does it signify whether I am under the one master or the other, if he is but kind to me? Evil and good equally give delight to men.”
[4] A third, standing beside him, said: “What advantage is it to me if I believe in the existence of heaven and hell? Who has ever come from them and described them? If every man were living after death, why should not one from so great a multitude have returned and reported the fact?”
A fourth near him said: “I will tell you why no one has returned and reported. When a man has breathed out his spirit and died, he then becomes a spectre and dissolves away; or he is like the breath of the mouth, which is only wind. How can such a thing return and speak with any one?”
A fifth following him said: “Wait, my friends, till the day of the last judgment, for all will then return to their own bodies, and you will see them and speak with them, and each will tell the other what has befallen him.”
[5] A sixth, who was standing opposite, laughed and said: “How can a spirit that is wind, return into a body eaten up by worms, or into a skeleton dried up by the sun and reduced to dust? How can an Egyptian, turned into a mummy, which has been compounded by the apothecary with extracts and emulsions, and swallowed in potions and powders, return and give a report? Wait then, if such is your belief, till the last day; but your waiting, even to eternity, will be in vain.”
After this one a seventh said: “If I believed in heaven and hell, and consequently in a life after death, I would also believe that birds and beasts likewise continued to live: for are not some of them as moral and rational as men? It is denied that beasts live after death; therefore I deny that men do. The reasoning is the same in each case; the one follows from the other, for what is man but an animal?”
An eighth standing behind him came forward and said: “Believe if you will there is a heaven, but I do not believe there is a hell. Is not God omnipotent, and able to save every one?”
[6] Then a ninth, touching this one’s hand, said: “God is not only omnipotent, but He is also merciful, and cannot send any one into eternal fire; and if any one should be there, He cannot but take him out and lift him up.”
A tenth, running out from his place into their midst, exclaimed: “I also do not believe in hell. Did not God send His Son, who atoned for and took away the sins of the whole world? What power has the devil against that? And since he has no power, what then is meant by hell?”
An eleventh, who was a priest, flaring up as he heard this, said: “Do you not know that those are saved who have obtained the faith on which is inscribed the merit of Christ, and that those whom God elects obtain that faith? Election is according to the will of the Almighty, and His judgment determines who are worthy of it. Who can prevail against these Divine prerogatives?”
The twelfth, who was a politician, remained silent; but on being pressed to sum up the replies, he said: “I shall express no positive opinion about heaven and hell, and the life after death, for no one knows anything about them. Nevertheless you should allow the clergy, without abusing them, to preach such things; for in this way the minds of the common people are kept bound to laws and rulers by all invisible chain. Upon this hangs the public welfare.”
[7] We were amazed to hear such opinions, and said to one another: “Although these are called Christians, they are not men; neither are they beasts, but are men-beasts.” However in order to rouse them from their sleep, we said: “There is a heaven, and a hell, and a life after death. You will be convinced of this as soon as we have dispelled your ignorance concerning the state of life in which you now are. For in the first days after death every one imagines he is still living in the same world in which he was before, the past seeming like a sleep: and when a person awakes, he seems to be where he formerly lived. Thus it is with you to-day; therefore you have spoken just as you thought in the former world.” As their ignorance was dispelled by the angels they saw they were now in another world among persons they did not know, and they called out, “Where are we?” We replied: “You are no longer in the natural world, but are now in the spiritual world, and we are angels.” Then, after they were thoroughly wakened up, they said: “If you are angels, show us heaven.” However, we answered: “Stay here for a short time, and we will return.” On returning half an hour later we saw them awaiting us, and we said, “Follow us to heaven.” They followed and we went up together. As we were with them, the keepers of the gate opened it and admitted us. We then asked those who received new arrivals at the entrance to examine them. They turned them round and saw that the back parts of their heads were quite hollow; and they said: “Depart from this place, because the delight of your love is to do evil, and you have no conjunction with heaven; for in your hearts you have denied God and despised religion.” Thereupon we said to them: “Make no delay, for otherwise you will be cast out.” So they hastened down and departed.
[8] On the way home we spoke of the reason why in the spiritual world the back of the head are hollow with those whose delight is to do evil. I said the reason was this: man has two brains, one in the back part of the head, called the cerebellum, and the other in the front, called the cerebrum. In the cerebellum resides the love of the will, and in the cerebrum the thought of the understanding: and when the thought of the understanding does not lead the love of a man’s will, the inmost parts of the cerebellum, which in themselves are heavenly, collapse, and a hollowness is the result.
Then in the heat of his zeal he replied: “How can you say so?” I therefore explained myself saying: “Is it not contrary to reason to suppose that God the Father ceased to be gracious towards mankind, and condemned and excommunicated them? Is not Divine grace an attribute of the Divine Essence? To cease to be gracious, therefore, would be to depart from the Divine Essence, and this would mean that He would be no longer God. Is it possible for God to be alienated from Himself? Believe me, grace on God’s part, as it is infinite, is also eternal. On man’s part it may be lost, if he does not accept it; but if grace were to depart from God, the whole of heaven as well as the whole of mankind would perish. Therefore, grace on God’s part endures to eternity, not only towards angels and men, but even towards devils in hell. Since this then is according to reason, why do you say that the only access to God the Father is through faith in the merit of the Son, when yet there is perpetual access through grace?
[3] “Moreover, why do you say, access to God the Father for the sake of the Son, and not through the Son? Is not the Son the Mediator and Savior? Why then do you not approach Him who is Mediator and Savior? Is He not God and Man? On earth who approaches directly a Caesar, a king, or a prince? Will there not be required one to procure admission and introduce him? Do you not know that the Lord came into the world that He might introduce us to the Father, and that there is no access to Him except through the Lord, access that is perpetual if you directly approach the Lord Himself, since He is in the Father, and the Father in Him? Search now the Scriptures, and you will see that this is in agreement with them; and that your way to the Father is contrary to them as it is contrary to reason. I tell you further that it is presumption to climb up to God the Father and not to approach through Him who is in the bosom of the Father, and who alone is with Him. Have you not read John xiv. 6?” When the old man heard this he flew into such a rage that he sprang from his seat, and called to his scribes to put me out. As I walked out at once of my own accord he threw after me out of the door the first Book that he happened to lay his hand on: and that Book was the Word.
* Suecia, Sweden.
[2] When this dispute was thus ended, there ascended from the abyss some spirits who appeared first like locusts, and afterwards like dwarfs. In the world they had prayed to God the Father and had confirmed in themselves the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and they were such as are referred to in Revelation, Ch. ix. 1-11. They maintained 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. Being asked by what faith, they replied: “By faith in God the Father.” However, after examination, they were told from heaven that they did not understand a single doctrinal truth from the Word. When they insisted that they saw their truths in light, they were told that they saw them in a delusive light. “What is a delusive light?” they asked, and they were informed it is a light arising from the confirmation of falsity and corresponding to the light of owls and bats, to which darkness is light and light darkness. [3] Proof of this was the fact that when they looked up towards heaven, where is Light itself, they saw darkness, and when they looked down towards the abyss, whence they came, they saw light. Annoyed at this proof, they said that by this reasoning light and darkness are nothing but states of the eye, according to which light is called light and darkness darkness. But it was shown them that theirs was a delusive light, arising from the confirmation of falsity, and that it was merely an activity of their mind, originating in the fire of their lusts, not unlike the light associated with cats, whose eyes, in cellars in the night, appear like blazing candles, because of their burning appetite for mice. When they heard this they became angry, and declared that they were neither cats nor like cats, for they could see if they wished; but fearing they would be asked why they did not wish, they retired and betook themselves to their abyss. Those who dwell there, and others like them, are called by the angels owls and bats, and also locusts.
[4] When they returned to their companions in the abyss, and reported what the angels had said, namely, that they did not know any truth of doctrine, not even one, and that they had been called owls, bats and locusts, a tumult arose; and they said: “Let us pray God for permission to go up, and we will prove clearly that we have many truths of doctrine, which the archangels themselves will acknowledge.” As they prayed to God their prayer was granted, and they went up, to the number of three hundred. When they appeared above ground they said: “In the world we were celebrated and renowned because we knew and taught the mysteries of justification by faith alone; and from the proofs which we used we have not only seen the light, but have seen it as a brilliant radiance, and so we see it now in our rooms. Yet we have heard from our companions, who were with you, that that light is not light, but darkness, because, as you said, we have no truth of doctrine from the Word. We know that every truth of the Word shines brightly, and it is our belief that this is the source of our illumination when pondering deeply our mysteries. We will, therefore, prove that we possess truths from the Word in great abundance.” Then they continued: “We have this truth, that there is a Trinity, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and that we ought to believe in the Trinity. We have this also, that Christ is our Redeemer and Savior. And this, that Christ alone is righteousness, and that merit is His alone; and that he is unjust and wicked who would ascribe to himself any of His merit and righteousness. We have this truth also, that no man can do any spiritual good of himself, and that all good, which is good in itself, is from God. And this, that there is a merit-seeking and a hypocritical good, and that such good is evil. And this, that good works ought to be done. And this, that there is faith, and that men ought to believe in God, and that every one has life according to his belief; besides many other truths derived from the Word. Which of you can deny any of these? And yet you said that in our schools we have not a single truth. Surely you are ungracious in making such a charge against us.”
[5] They were then answered as follows: “All those things which you have advanced are true in themselves; but with you they are truths falsified, and these are falsities, because they are derived from a false principle. That this is so we shall give you ocular proof. Not far from here is a place upon which the light of heaven falls directly. In the centre of it there is a table, and if a paper is placed upon it on which is written a truth from the Word, the paper, by virtue of that truth, shines like a star. Therefore, write your truths on a paper, and let it be placed on the table, and you will see.” They did so, and gave the paper to an attendant who placed it on the table. He then told them to move away and look at the table. They moved away and looked, and lo! the paper shone like a star. Thereupon the attendant said: “You see that those are truths which you have written on the paper. Now approach nearer, and fix your gaze on the paper.” They did so, and suddenly the light disappeared, and the paper became black, as though covered with soot from a furnace. The attendant then said: “Touch the paper with your hands; but take care that you do not touch the writing.” When they did so, a flame burst forth and consumed the paper.
When they had seen this they were told that if they had touched the writing, they would have heard a report, and would have had their fingers burnt. Then some who were standing behind said: “You see now that the truths you have misused to confirm the mysteries of your justification theory are truths in themselves, but in you they are truths falsified.” They then looked upwards, and heaven appeared to them like blood, and afterwards like thick darkness; and they themselves appeared to the eyes of the angelic spirits, some like bats, some like owls and some like other birds of night. So they fled away into their own states of darkness, which shone in their eyes with a delusive light.
[6] The angelic spirits who were present were astonished, because they had before known nothing of that place and the table there; and presently a voice came to them from the southern quarter saying: “Come this way, and you will see something still more wonderful.” So they went, and entered a room whose walls shone like gold; and they saw a table there also, upon which the Word lay, decorated all round with precious stones, arranged in a heavenly design. The angel attendant said: “When the Word is opened, a light of inexpressible brilliance shines from it; and at the same time from the precious stones there arises the appearance of a rainbow over and around the Word. When an angel from the third heaven approaches, there appears over and around the Word a rainbow on a red ground; when an angel from the second heaven approaches and looks at it, the rainbow appears on a blue ground; when an angel from the lowest heaven approaches and looks, the rainbow appears on a white ground; and when a good spirit approaches and looks, there appears a light variegated like marble.” The truth of this was then demonstrated to them. The angel attendant continued: “Should any one approach who has falsified the Word, the brightness first vanishes. If he comes nearer and looks on the Word, there arises the appearance of blood around it, and he is then warned to depart, because there is danger.”
[7] A certain man, however, who in the world had been a leading writer on the doctrine of justification by faith alone came up boldly and said: “While I was in the world I did not falsify the Word. I exalted charity together with faith, and taught that, in a state of faith in which a man exercises charity and does the works of charity, he is renewed, regenerated and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In such a case, faith is not alone, that is, without good works, just as a good tree is not without fruit, the sun without light, and fire without heat. I also reproved those who declared that good works were unnecessary. Moreover, in my teaching I insisted on the importance of the Commandments of the Decalogue, and also of repentance; and thus in a wonderful way I made everything in the Word relate to the Article on Faith, which I still explained and proved to be alone saving.”
In the confidence of his assertion that he had not falsified the Word, he approached the table, and, disregarding the warning of the angel, he touched the Word. Immediately fire and smoke burst forth from the Word, followed by a crash and an explosion, which hurled him into a corner of the room, where he lay for some time as if dead. The angelic spirits were much surprised at this, but they were informed that this leader more than others had exalted the good works of charity, as if proceeding from faith; but that he meant only those relating to society, called moral and civil, which have as their end the world and worldly prosperity, and which have no regard to salvation. By works too, he had understood some hidden operations of the Holy Spirit, about which man knows nothing, which are generated when he is in a state of faith.
[8] The angelic spirits then conversed with one another about the falsification of the Word. They agreed that to falsify the Word is to select truths from it and apply them to the confirmation of what is false, which is to separate them from the Word and destroy them; for example, to relate all those truths, quoted by the spirits from the abyss, to the faith of the present day, and to explain them in accordance with it. That this faith is impregnated with falsities will be shown in what follows. Consider this truth from the Word, that charity ought to be practiced, and that good should be done to the neighbor. If any one confirms his belief that this should be done, but not for the sake of salvation, since all such good which a man does is for the sake of merit and therefore not really good, he takes that truth from the Word, separates it from the Word, and destroys it. For it is the man who has his salvation in view that the Lord in His Word enjoins to love his neighbor, and from that love to do good to him. So also is it in other cases.
We have now treated of the following subjects: God the Creator and Creation, the Lord Redeemer and Redemption, the Holy Spirit and the Divine Operation. Having thus treated of the Triune God, we must now treat of the Divine Trinity, which is known, and yet unknown, in the Christian world. For by this doctrine alone is a right idea of God acquired; and a right idea of God is in the Church like the sanctuary and altar in the Temple, and like the crown on the head and sceptre in the hand of a king, sitting upon his throne. On this doctrine depends the whole body of theology, like a chain upon its first link; and, if you will believe it, every one has his place in heaven according to his idea of God, for it is a kind of touchstone by which gold and silver, that is, the nature of good and truth in a man, are tested, since man has no saving good except from God, nor any truth which does not derive its quality from the very inmost of good. In order, however, that the nature of the Divine Trinity may be clearly seen, an exposition of it will be given in detail, arranged under the following articles:
(1) There is a Divine Trinity, which consists of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
(2) These three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are three essentials of one God, which make one, as soul, body and operation make one in a man.
(3) Before the creation of the world this Trinity did not exist; but after the creation of the world, when God became incarnate, it was provided for and came into existence, and was then in the Lord God, the Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ.
(4) A Trinity of Divine Persons from eternity, or before the world was created, is in idea a Trinity of Gods; and this idea cannot be removed by the oral confession of one God.
(5) A Trinity of Persons was unknown in the Apostolic Church, but was put forward by the Nicene Council, then introduced into the Roman Catholic Church, and from this into the Churches that separated from it.
(6) From the Nicene and also from the Athanasian doctrine concerning the Trinity has arisen a faith which has perverted the whole Christian Church.
(7) Hence has sprung that abomination of desolation and that affliction, the like of which has not been nor ever shall be, which the Lord foretold in Daniel, in the Evangelists and in the Revelation.
(8) For the same reason, unless a new heaven and a new church were established by the Lord, no flesh should be saved.
(9) From a trinity of persons, each of whom is separately God, according to the Athanasian Creed,* have arisen many discordant and incongruous ideas concerning God, which are delusive and monstrous.
These articles will now be explained separately.
* Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
This is clearly evident from the Word, particularly from these passages:
The angel Gabriel said to Mary: “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke i. 35.
Here mention is made of three, the Highest, 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 like a dove, and lighting upon Him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saving, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matt. iii. 16, 17; Mark i. 10, 11; John i. 32.
It appears still more clearly from these words of the Lord to His disciples:
“Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matt. xxviii. 19;
and further from these words in John,
“There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit.” 1 John v. 7.
In addition to these passages it is recorded that the Lord prayed to His Father, that He spoke of Him and with Him, and said that He would send the Holy Spirit, and also that He did send it. Moreover, the Apostles in their Epistles frequently make mention of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. From these references it is evident that there is a Divine Trinity, which consists of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
[2] This was the paralyzing result of not reading the Word under the Lord’s guidance; and every one who does not so read it, reads it guided by his own intelligence; and this is like an owl regarding matters which are seen only in spiritual light, as are all the essentials of the Church. When such a man reads those passages in the Word which relate to the Trinity, and, thence forms the opinion that although they are three, still they are one, this appears to him like an answer from an oracle, which he merely mumbles because he does not understand it. For if he were to examine it closely, it would simply be an enigma, which becomes the more involved in darkness the more he tries to solve it; till at length he begins to think concerning it without using his understanding, which is like trying to see without using the eyes. In short, those who read the Word under the guidance of their own intelligence, which is the case with all who do not acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, and who consequently do not approach and worship Him alone, may be likened to boys at play, who tie a handkerchief over their eyes, and try to walk in a straight line. They even imagine they are so walking, but with every step they are going now to the one side and now to the other, till they stumble against a stone and fall to the ground.
[3] Such men may also be compared to mariners who, sailing without a compass, steer their ship against rocks, and so perish. They are also like a man walking over a wide field in a thick fog, who sees a scorpion, and supposes it to be a bird; and while trying to catch it and take it up in his hand, receives a deadly wound. They may also be compared to a cormorant or a kite, which, seeing a small part of the back of a great fish above the water, darts down and fixes its beak in it; but is drawn under water by the fish and drowned. They are also like one who enters a labyrinth without either guide or clue: the farther he penetrates the more difficult he makes it to find his way out. The man who does not read the Word under the guidance of the Lord, but under the guidance of his own imagines himself to be as keen-sighted as a lynx, and to have more eyes than Argus,* when yet interiorly he does not see a single truth, but only what is false; and having persuaded himself that this is true, it appears to him like the pole star by which he directs all the sails of his thought. He has then no more discernment of truth than a mole, and what he does discern he bends in favor of his own delusions, and so perverts and falsifies the holy things of the Word.
* Argus, the watcher with a hundred eyes.
In everything there are general and particular essentials which together constitute one essence. The general essentials of a man are his soul, body and operation; and that these constitute one essence is evident from this fact that one exists from the other, and for the sake of the other, in a continuous series; for a man has his beginning from the soul, which is the very essence of the seed. It, moreover, not only initiates but also produces in its own order the parts of the body, and later the activities, or operations, which result from the co-operation of soul and body. Thus from the production of one from the other, and their interpenetration and conjunction, it is evident that these three are of one essence, and are therefore called three essentials.
In the Christian world at the present day a Divine Trinity is acknowledged as existing before the creation of the world. It is based on the belief that Jehovah God from eternity begot a Son, and that the Holy Spirit then came forth from both, and that each of these three is God by Himself or separately, since each is a Person subsisting from Himself. This, however, as it is not in accordance with reason, is termed a mystery, an approach to which can only be made by supposing that to these three there pertains one Divine Essence, by which is meant eternity, immensity, omnipotence and, consequently, equal Divinity, Glory and Majesty. But this trinity is one of three gods, and thus is not a Divine Trinity, as will be shown in what follows. Moreover, the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which was provided for and came into existence after God became incarnate, and so after the creation of the world, is a Divine Trinity, because it is of one God, as is evident from all that precedes. This Divine Trinity is in the Lord God, the Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ, because the three essentials of one God, which constitute one essence, are in Him. That all the fullness of the Godhead is in Him, as Paul declares, is evident also from the Lord’s own words, that all that the Father hath is His, and that the Holy Spirit speaks not from itself but from Him; and further that when He rose, He took from the sepulchre His whole human body, both the flesh and the bones,
Matt. xxviii. 1-8; Mark xvi. 5, 6; Luke xxiv. 1-3; John xx. 11-15,
unlike all other men. This also He testified openly to the disciples, saying,
“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 xxiv. 39.
From this every man may be convinced, if he is willing, that the Human of the Lord is Divine, and consequently that in Him God is Man and Man is God.
That a trinity of Divine Persons from eternity is a trinity of gods is plainly evident from the following passage in the Athanasian Creed:*
“There is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. The Father is God and Lord, the Son is God and Lord, and the Holy Ghost is God and Lord; nevertheless there are not three gods and lords, but one God and Lord; for as we are compelled by Christian verity to acknowledge each Person by Himself to be God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there are three gods or three lords.”
This creed is received as ecumenical, or universal by the whole Christian Church, and from it is derived all that is at this day known and acknowledged concerning God. Every one who reads this creed with his eyes open may see that only a trinity of gods was understood by those who formed the Nicene Council, from which came forth, as a posthumous production, this Athanasian Creed. That not only was a trinity of gods understood by them, but also that no other trinity is understood throughout the Christian world, follows from the fact that all its knowledge of God is derived from that creed, to which every one pays literal obedience. [2] I appeal to every one, whether layman or clergyman, both learned masters and doctors of divinity consecrated bishops and archbishops, to purple-robed cardinals, even to the Roman Pontiff himself, whether any other trinity than a trinity of gods is at the present day understood in the Christian world.
Let each one consult himself, and then declare the ideas he has formed. From the words of this generally received doctrine concerning God it is as manifest and clear as water in a crystal cup, that there are three Persons, each of whom is God and Lord; also that according to Christian verity men ought to confess or acknowledge each Person separately to be God and Lord, but that the Catholic or Christian religion or faith forbids them to say or name three gods and lords; and thus that verity and religion, or truth and faith, are not one thing, but two, at variance with one another. Moreover it was added that there are not three gods and lords, but one God and Lord, lest they should be exposed to the ridicule of the whole world, for who can forbear derision at the idea of three gods? Who does not see the contradiction in this addition?
[3] If, however, they had said that the Divine Essence belongs to the Father, and the Divine Essence to the Son, and the Divine Essence to the Holy Spirit, and that there are not three Divine Essences, but that the Divine Essence is one and indivisible, then this mystery would be comprehensible; that is, when by the Father is understood the originating Divine, by the Son the Divine Human therefrom, and by the Holy Spirit the proceeding Divine, which are the three constituents of one God; or if the Divine of the Father is understood to be like the soul in man, the Divine Human like the body of that soul, and the Holy Spirit like the operation proceeding from both, then indeed three essences are understood, but they belong to one and the same Person, and thus constitute one indivisible Essence.
* Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
[2] But do you, my friend, not only cut down that tree, but also dig up its root, and then plant in your garden trees yielding good fruit. Take heed, therefore, lest the idea of three gods becomes fixed in your mind, while your mouth, which is void of idea, says “one God.” What then is the understanding above the memory, which thinks of three Gods, and the understanding below the memory, from which the mouth at the same time says “one God,” but like a conjurer on the stage, who can impersonate two characters by crossing from one side to the other? He can say something on one side and contradict it on the other, and by thus expressing opposing sentiments, can call himself a wise man on one side and a fool on the other. The result is that should he stand in the middle and look in each direction he must think there is no reality in the one or in the other. Thus perchance the understanding must conclude that there is neither one God nor three, and consequently that there is no God at all. This is the source of the naturalism that is prevalent at the present day.
In heaven no one can utter the words “a trinity of Persons,” each of whom separately is God, for the heavenly aura itself, through which the thoughts of angels travel in waves like sounds in our air, offers resistance. Only a hypocrite can do this; but the sound of his speech grates in that aura like the gnashing of teeth, or croaks like a raven trying to emulate a song-bird. I have heard from heaven, moreover, that to destroy a belief, implanted in the mind and confirmed in favor of a trinity of gods, by the oral confession of one God is as impossible as to draw a tree through its seed, or a man’s chin through a hair of his beard.
By the Apostolic Church is meant the Church which existed in various places not only in the time of the Apostles but for two or three centuries later. Then men began to wrench the door of the Temple off its hinges and to rush like thieves into its sanctuary. By the Temple is understood the Church, by the door the Lord God the Redeemer, and by the sanctuary His Divinity; for Jesus says:
“Verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, 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 x. 1, 9.]
[2] This crime was committed by Arius* and his adherents. A council was therefore convened by Constantine the Great** at Nice, a city in Bithynia; and to destroy the pernicious heresy of Arius, those assembled there devised, decided upon Divine Persons from eternity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to each of whom, by Himself and in Himself, belonged personality, existence and subsistence. Further, that the second Person, or the Son, descended and assumed the Human, and accomplished the work of redemption; and consequently that Divinity pertains to His Human by hypostatic union, through which He has close affinity with God the Father. From that time numerous impious heresies concerning God and the Person of Christ began to spring up from the earth, which exalted the head of Antichrist, divided God into three and the Lord the Savior into two, and thus destroyed the Temple which the Lord had built by means of His Apostles, and this with such effect that not one stone was left upon another which was not thrown down, according to His own words in Matt. xxiv. 2. In this passage by the Temple is meant not only that at Jerusalem, but also the Church, the consummation or end of which is treated of in that chapter. [3] But what else could be expected from that Council, and those that succeeded it, which similarly divided the Divinity into three, and placed the incarnate God below them on their footstool? For they removed the head of the Church from its body, by “climbing up another way”; that is, they passed by Jesus Christ, climbing up to God the Father as to another Divinity, with only the merit of Christ on their lips, in order that God, on account of it, might be merciful; and thus that justification might directly flow into them with all its train, namely, remission of sins, renewal, sanctification, regeneration and salvation, and this without the use of any effort on man’s part to bring it about.
* Arius, theologian of Alexandria, A.D 256-336; founder of Arianism, affirming that Christ was an originated Being. Excommunicated by bishops of Egypt for denying that Christ was made of the same substance (homo-ousion) of any previously existing substance. To settle the consequent dispute Constantine called the Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325. Athanasius successfully led the opposition to Arius; and Arius, with Eusebius, who also refused to accept the Athanasian position, was banished.
** Constantine, Emperor of Rome, A. D. 272-337. A convert to Christianity, he summoned the Council of Nice, A.D. 325 to settle the Arian controversy. This Council gave its name to the Nicene Creed which resulted, and which subsequently became the standard creed of the Christian Church.
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; and in the Holy Ghost.”
Here no mention is made of any Son from eternity, but of a Son conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary; for those who framed that creed knew from the Apostles
that Jesus Christ was the true God, 1 John v. 20;
that in Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, Coloss. ii. 9;
that the Apostles preached faith in Him, Acts xx. 21; and that He had all power in heaven and in earth, Matt. xxviii. 18.
with a mouth like a lion, a body like a leopard and feet like a bear. Rev. xiii. 2.
[2] It is said in heaven that at the conclusion of the Council of Nice those things happened 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. xxiv. 29.
In fact the Apostolic Church was like a new star appearing in the starry heaven; but the Church, after the two Nicene Councils, was like the same star obscured and rent asunder, as has sometimes happened in the world of nature, according to the observations of astronomers. In the Word it is written
that Jehovah God dwells in light inaccessible.
Who then could approach Him unless He dwelt in light accessible, that is, unless He descended, and assumed the Human, and in it became the Light of the world? John i. 8; xii. 46. Every one may see that to approach Jehovah the Father in His own light is as impossible as to take the wings of the morning and on them fly to the sun, or to feed on the sun’s rays instead of material food, or for a bird to fly in the ether, or a stag to run in the air.
As was shown above in No. 172 from the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds* the trinity, according to them, is a trinity of gods. From them arose the faith of the present Church, which is a belief in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit: in God the Father, as imputing the righteousness of His Son, the Savior, and ascribing it to man; in God the Son, as interceding and mediating; and in the Holy Spirit, as actually inscribing on man the imputed righteousness of the Son, and sealing it when confirmed by justifying, sanctifying and regenerating him. This is the faith of the present day, which alone is sufficient to prove that a trinity of gods is acknowledged and worshiped. [2] From the faith of every Church is derived all its worship and doctrine: and it can therefore be said that such as its faith is, such is its doctrine. Hence it follows that this faith in three gods has perverted everything pertaining to the Church, for faith is the first principle and doctrinal teachings are derivatives, and derivatives take their essence from their first principle. If any one examines the particulars of this doctrine in relation to God, the Person of Christ, charity, repentance, regeneration, free will, election, and the use of the sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper, he will clearly see that a trinity of gods enters into every one of them; and if it does not actually appear to be in them, yet it is the source from which they flow. It is not possible, however, at this point to undertake such an examination; but since it is expedient to do so for the sake of opening men’s eyes, an Appendix will therefore be added to this work in which this point will be demonstrated.
[3] The faith of the Church respecting God is like the soul in the body, and particulars of doctrine are like its members. Moreover, faith in God is like a queen, and doctrinal tenets are like the officers of her court; and as these depend on the authority of the queen, so doctrinal tenets depend on the declarations of faith. From the nature of this faith may be seen how the Word is understood in the Church, for faith bends and attracts to itself whatever it can, as it were with cords. If it is a false faith, it plays the harlot with every truth in the Word; it puts a wrong interpretation upon it, and falsifies it, and renders a man insane in regard to spiritual matters. If however it is a true faith, then the whole Word is in harmony with it, and the God of the Word, who is the Lord God the Savior, sheds light and breathes upon it His Divine assent, and makes a man wise.
[4] The faith of the present day, which in its internal form is a faith of three gods but is its external form is a faith of one God, has extinguished the light in the Word, and removed the Lord from the Church, and has thus turned its morning into night, as will also be seen in the Appendix. This was done by heretics before the Council of Nice, and then by the heretics of that Council and those who followed.
But what confidence ought to be placed in Councils which do not enter
“by the door into the sheepfold, but climb up some other way,” according to the words of the Lord in John x. 1, 9?
Their deliberations are not unlike the steps of a blind man by day, or those of a man who has the use of his eyes by night, neither of whom sees the ditch before he falls into it. For example, what confidence ought to be placed in Councils which have established the Pope’s vicarship, the canonization of the dead, the invocation of them as deities and the worship of their images, the authority of indulgences, the division of the Eucharist,** and so on? Moreover, what confidence ought to be placed in a Council which established the abominable doctrine of predestination, and hung this up before the temples of their Church as the palladium of their religion? But do you, my friend, go to the God of the Word, and so to the Word, and in this way enter by the door into the sheepfold, that is, the Church, and you will be enlightened. You will then see for yourself as from a mountain top not only the errors of many others, but also the tracks of your own former wanderings in the dark forest at the foot of the mountain.
* Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
** Eucharist, Holy Supper, thanksgiving.
* Jupiter or Jove, son of Saturn.
** Neptune, god of the sea.
*** Pluto, king of the lower world.
In Daniel it is written:
“At length there shall be desolation upon the bird of abominations, even until the consummation and the decision: it shall drop upon the devastation.” (A.V., And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.) ix. 27.
In Matthew the Evangelist, the Lord says:
“Then many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many … when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand.)” xxiv. 11, 15;
and afterwards in the same chapter,
“Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” v. 21.
This affliction and abomination are treated of in seven chapters in the Revelation. They are meant
by the black horse and the pale horse coming out of the book whose seal the Lamb opened, Rev. vi. 5-8;
also by the beast rising out of the abyss, which made war with the two witnesses, and slew them, xi. 7, and following verses; by the dragon which stood before the woman that was about to be delivered, to devour her child, and pursued her into the wilderness, and there cast out from his mouth water as a flood that he might drown her, xiii; by the beasts of the dragon, one rising out of the sea, and the other out of the earth, xiii.;
also by the three spirits like frogs, which came 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, xvi. 13;
and further by this, that after the seven angels had poured out the vials of the wrath of God, in which were the seven last plagues, upon the earth, upon the sea, upon the fountains and rivers, upon the sun, upon the throne of the beast, upon the Euphrates,* and lastly into the air, there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, xvi.
The earthquake signifies the overthrow of the Church, which is effected by falsities and falsifications of truth; and this is signified also by
the great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world. Matt. xxiv. 21.
The same is meant by these words:
“The angel thrust in his sickle, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God. And the wine-press was trodden … and blood came out … even unto the horses’ bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” Rev. xiv. 19, 20.
Blood signifies truth falsified; and there are many other passages in those seven chapters to the same effect.
* Euphrates, river of Syria.
Matt. xxiv.; Mark xiii.; and Luke xxi.,
are described the successive states of the decline and corruption of the Christian Church. In those chapters by the great affliction, such as was not since the beginning of the world, neither shall be, is meant, as elsewhere in the Word, the infestation of truth by falsities to such a degree that there does not remain a single truth which is not falsified and consummated. This is also meant by the abomination of desolation in those passages, and by the desolation upon the bird of abominations, and by the consummation and the decision in Daniel; and the same is described in the Revelation, in those passages which have just been quoted. This happened because the Church did not acknowledge the Unity of God in the Trinity, and His Trinity in Unity in one Person, but in three. The Church has therefore been based on the mental idea of three gods, but on the lip confession of one God. Thus men have separated themselves from the Lord to such it degree that they have no idea of Divinity in His Human Nature now left, although He is God the Father Himself in the Human; and on this account He is called
the Father of Eternity, Isa. ix. 6;
and He says to Philip: “He that seeth me (A.V., hath seen) seeth (A.V., hath seen) the Father.” John xiv. 7, 9.
It is written in Matthew:
“Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.” xxiv. 21, 22.
This chapter treats of the consummation of the age, by which is meant the end of the present Church; therefore, by shortening those days is meant bringing it to an end and establishing a new one. Who does not know that unless the Lord had come into the world and accomplished redemption no flesh could have been saved? and to accomplish redemption means to form a new heaven and a New Church. That the Lord would come again into the world He foretold in the Evangelists:
Matt. xxiv. 30, 31; Mark xiii. 28; Luke xii. 40, xxi. 27;
and in the Revelation, particularly in the last chapter. It has also been shown above in the section on redemption that He is to-day accomplishing the work of redemption, by forming a new heaven and establishing a new church in order that man may be saved. [2] There is a great truth, hitherto unknown, underlying the fact that unless a New Church is established by the Lord no flesh can be saved. This is, that as long as the dragon with his crew remained in the world of spirits, into which he was cast, it was impossible for any Divine truth conjoined with Divine good to pass through to men on earth, without being perverted and falsified, or destroyed. This is what is meant in the Revelation by these Words:
The dragon “was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him …Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto them (A.V., you), having great wrath. xii. 9, 12, 13.
But when the dragon was cast into hell, xx. 10, then
John saw the new heaven and the new earth, and the New Jerusalem descending from God out of heaven, xxi. 1, 2.
By the dragon are meant those who are in the faith of the present Church.
MEMORABILIA.
I have sometimes conversed in the spiritual world with those who hold the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and I have told them that their doctrine is erroneous and absurd, that it induces carelessness, blindness, sleep and night in spiritual matters, and consequently brings death to the soul. I exhorted them to give it up, but I received the reply: “Why give it up? The superiority of the learning of the clergy over that of the laity depends solely upon this doctrine.” But I answered that they evidently did not regard the salvation of souls as an end in view, but the superiority of their own reputation; and therefore, because they applied the truths of the Word to their own false principles, and thus defiled them, they were angels of the abyss, called Abaddons and Apollyons, Rev. ix. 11, by whom are signified those who destroy the Church by the complete falsification of the Word. But they replied: “How can this be? By our knowledge of the mysteries of this faith we are oracles, and from this faith as from a shrine we deliver responses; and so we are not Apollyons but Apollos.”* Indignant at this I said: “If you are Apollos you are also leviathans. The chief among you are crooked leviathans, and those lower in station are piercing leviathans,** whom God shall punish with His sore and great sword.” Isa. xxvii. 1. But they laughed at these words.
* Apollo, god of divination, healing, poetry and music.
** primi vestrum Leviathanes tortuosi, et seeundi vestrum Leviathanes oblongi. Isa. xxvii. 1.
From the doctrine of three Divine Persons from eternity, which in itself is the head of all the doctrinal teachings in Christian Churches, have arisen many unbecoming ideas concerning God, unworthy of the Christian world, which ought to be, and which might be, a light to all peoples and nations in the four quarters of the earth, on the subject of God and His Unity. All who live outside the Christian Church, Mohammedans,** Jews and also Gentiles, whatever religion they profess, hold Christianity in aversion, solely because of its belief in three gods. Its missionaries know this; and they are therefore particularly cautious in expounding the trinity of Persons, as it is in the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, since in doing so they might be shunned and ridiculed.
[2] The following are the discordant, unreal and worthless ideas which have arisen from the doctrine of three Divine Persons from eternity, and which still arise in the mind of every one who continues to believe in the words of that doctrine, and which surge into his range of thought from what he hears and reads: Somewhere overhead God the Father sits on high, the Son at His right hand, and the Holy Spirit before them, attending to what is said, who instantly runs over the whole earth, dispensing the gifts of justification according to what has been decided, inscribing them on the hearts of men, and changing them from children of wrath to children of grace, and transforming them from the condemned to the elect. I appeal to the learned, both clergy and laity, whether they entertain in their minds any other view of the Trinity than this, for it flows spontaneously from that doctrine, as may be seen in the Narrative above, No. 16. [3] Where this view is held there is also curiosity regarding what the three Persons conversed about with one another before the world was created; whether about the world that was to be created, about those who were to be predestined and justified, according to the Supralapsarians,*** or even about redemption; and also regarding what they now converse about with one another since the creation of the world, the Father speaking from His authority and power of imputation, the Son from His power of mediation. Thus it will be concluded that imputation, which is election, comes from compassion roused by the Son’s pleading for all men, and particularly for some to whom the Father is moved to show favor from His love of the Son, and from the agony which He saw Him endure on the cross.
Who cannot see that such ideas concerning God are but ravings of the mind? And yet they are in the Christian Churches the holy things, themselves, to be revered by the lips but not to be examined by the mind, because they transcend reason, and if raised from the memory into the understanding, would drive a man mad. Nevertheless this does not remove the idea of three gods, but it induces a stupid faith, from which a man thinks about God like who dreams in his sleep, or who walks in the darkness of night, or like one blind from his birth who walks in the light of day.
* Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
** Mohammad, the founder of Mohammedanism or Islam, A.D. 571-632, was born at Mecca, where his father was spiritual and temporal head. He married a wealthy and devout widow, and owed much to her influence. In the visions to which he was subject he received confirmations of his Divine mission. He also received messages from Gabriel which were incorporated in the KORAN, the sacred book of Mohammedanism. Early persecution drove him from Mecca and in the year A.D. 622 he fled to Medina, where he was cordially welcomed. This flight, or Hejira, marks the beginning of the Mohammedan year, and from Medina he set out on his conquest of Arabia. Mohammedanism proclaims the unity of the God-head, and condemns idolatry; but the peaceful methods of propaganda soon gave place to ruthless persecution of infidels and merciless extermination of idolators.
*** Supralapsarian, one who maintains that the decree of election as regards eternal salvation of some and the eternal reprobation of others was a part of the original plan; and that the fall of Adam was predestinated from all eternity. (Supra, beyond, and lapsus, the fall.)
* Trinitas Divine, est sicut Unio maximi pretii, at … est sicut unio. Here Unio with initial capital = the pearl, but unio with small initial = a pearl.
To the above will be added the following Memorabilia. The first is this. In the spiritual world there are climates and zones just as in the natural world, there being nothing in the latter world that does not exist also in the former: but they differ in origin. In the natural world varieties of climate depend upon the distance of the sun from the equator; but in the spiritual world they vary according to the distance of the affections of the will and the resulting thoughts of the understanding from true love and faith; for of these all things in the spiritual world are correspondences. In the frigid zones in the spiritual world things appear similar to those in the frigid zones of the natural world. The ground there seems to be frozen, the waters also, and wow appears to cover all things. Those come there and settle down who in the natural world lulled their understanding to sleep by their indolence in thinking on spiritual matters, and who consequently were too indolent to perform any uses; they are called northern spirits. [2] I once had a strong desire to see some district in the frigid zone where these northern spirits dwell, and accordingly I was conducted in spirit towards the north, to a region where all the land appeared covered with snow, and all the water frozen. It was the Sabbath day, and I saw a number of men, that is, spirits similar in stature to men in the natural world. On account of the cold they had their heads covered with lion skins, the animals’ faces over their own, while their bodies, back and front down to the loins, were covered with leopard skins, and their feet with bear skins. I saw also many riding in chariots, some of which were carved in the shape of a dragon with horns projecting forwards. These were drawn by small horses, which had their tails docked, galloping furiously like wild beasts, while the drivers, holding the reins in their hands, continually urged them on their course. I then saw that they were flocking to a temple, which had not been visible because it was covered with snow; but the keepers of the temple were clearing the snow away, digging out an entrance for the worshippers as they arrived; and they, dismounting, made their way in.
[3] I was then permitted to view the inside of the church, which was brilliantly lit with lamps and candles. The altar was of hewn stone, and behind it hung a tablet with this inscription: “THE DIVINE TRINITY, FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT, WHO ARE IN ESSENCE ONE GOD, BUT IN PERSON THREE.” Presently a priest who was standing at the altar, after kneeling three times before the tablet ascended the pulpit with a book in his hand, and began his sermon by speaking of the Divine Trinity: “Oh, how great a mystery, that God in the Highest should have begotten a Son from eternity and by Him should have brought forth the Holy Spirit, three that are united by essence but separated by their properties of imputation, redemption and operation! If, however, we look into these things and use our reason, our vision is dimmed, and a darkness rises before it like that before the eye when one gazes on the unshaded sun. Therefore, my hearers, on this subject let us keep our understanding in obedience to faith.”
[4] Continuing he said: “Oh, how great a mystery is our holy faith, which affirms that God the Father imputes the righteousness of His Son, and sends the Holy Spirit, who, because of that imputed righteousness, sets in operation the pledges of justification, which in brief are the remission of sins, renewal, regeneration and salvation. A man, however, knows no more of the influx and working of justification than does the pillar of salt into which Lot’s wife was turned, nor does he know any more of its indwelling or state than a fish in the sea. But, my friends, there is a treasure hid in this faith, so fenced in and hidden away that not a particle of it can be seen. Therefore on this subject also let us keep our understanding in obedience to faith.”
[5] He sighed and again continued: “Oh, how great a mystery is election! He becomes one of the elect to whom God imputes this faith, which, of free determination and pure grace he infuses into whomsoever, and whenever, He pleases. When this is taking place, a man is like a stock; but after it has taken place, he becomes like a tree. The fruits, however, which are good works, hang indeed from that tree, which in a representative sense is our faith, but still they do not essentially belong to it. Therefore the value of that tree is not in its fruit. As this, however, sounds like heterodoxy, and yet is a mystical truth, let us, my brethren, keep our understanding in obedience to this faith.”
[6] Then after a short pause, hesitating as if he were recalling something else from his memory, he went on: “From the store of mysteries I will produce still one more, namely, that a man has not a grain of Free Will in spiritual things. For our leaders and priestly rulers in the Church in their theological canons declare that in matters of faith and salvation, which are properly called spiritual, a man has no power to will, think, understand, or even to accommodate and apply himself to receive them. Therefore I, speaking for myself, say that a man of himself has no more power to think rationally and talk sensibly on such matters than a parrot, a magpie or a raven; consequently that a man in spiritual matters is truly an ass, and a man only in natural things. But, my friends, lest this subject should trouble your reason, let us, as in the case of the others, keep our understanding in obedience to faith. For our theology is a bottomless abyss; if you try to fathom it in the light of your understanding you will be overwhelmed and perish like a shipwrecked mariner. However, hear what I say. We are nevertheless in the very light of the Gospel, which shines aloft over our heads; but, alas! the hair of our heads and the bones of our skulls block its way and prevent it from penetrating into the inner chamber of our understanding.”
[7] When he had thus spoken, he descended from the pulpit, and after he had offered up a prayer at the altar, the service was at an end. I then approached some of the congregation who were conversing together. Among them was the priest, and those standing around him were saying: “We are eternally grateful to you for such a magnificent sermon, so replete with wisdom.” But I said to them: “Did you understand any of it?” They replied, “We took it all in with all our ears; but why do you ask if we understood it? Is not the understanding numb in relation to such subjects?” At these words the priest said: “Blessed are ye because hearing ye have not understood; for in this way ye have salvation.”
[8] Afterwards I spoke to the priest and asked him whether he had taken a degree. He replied: “I am a Master of Arts.” I then said: “Well, Master, I heard you preaching mysteries; but if you only know them as such, and do not know anything of their inner content, you know nothing; for they are like boxes fastened with a triple lock; and if you do not open them and look in, which can only be done by means of the understanding, you do not know whether they contain things of value or things of no value, or even hurtful things. They may contain asp’s eggs, or spider’s webs, according to the description in Isa. lix. 5.” On my saying this, the priest looked at me with a scowl on his face, and the worshipers departed, and mounted their chariots, intoxicated with paradoxes, infatuated with empty words and enveloped with darkness in all things relating to faith and the means of salvation.
[2] Then one of them seeing me said: “Would you like to see our place of worship, in which there is an image representing our faith” “I went and looked; and lo! the temple was magnificent, and in its centre was the image of a woman, clothed in a scarlet robe, holding in her right hand a gold coin, and in her left a string of pearls. But both the image and the temple were an illusion; for infernal spirits have the power of calling up by means of illusions magnificent representations, by closing the interiors of the mind, and opening its exteriors only. When I noticed that all this was such a trick, I prayed to the Lord; and suddenly the interiors of my mind were opened, and then I saw, instead of the magnificent temple, a building rent from top to bottom, where nothing was secure. Instead of the women, I saw hanging within the building an image with its head like a dragon, its body like a leopard, its feet like those of a bear and its mouth like that of a lion, precisely like the beast rising up out of the sea as described in Rev. xiii. 2. Instead of a floor there was a marsh, in which was a great number of frogs; and I was told that under the marsh there was a large hewn stone, beneath which lay the Word, entirely concealed. On seeing these things I said to the illusion-monger: “Is this your place of worship?” and he replied, “It is.” But suddenly his interior vision was then opened, and by it he saw what I saw. Thereupon he called out with a loud voice: “What is this, and how comes it about?” I said: “It is due to light from heaven, which reveals the quality of every form, and thus it discloses the quality of your faith, which is separated from spiritual charity.”
[3] Immediately a wind blew from the east, and carried away the temple and the image, and also dried up the marsh, thus exposing the stone, beneath which lay the Word. After this a warmth like that of spring breathed from heaven; and lo! in the same place appeared a tabernacle, plain in its outward form. 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. It appears plain to the eye, but yet as light from heaven flows down it becomes more and more magnificent.” Then they were permitted to open up the heaven where dwell spiritual angels, who excel in wisdom; and from the light which thereupon flowed down, the tabernacle appeared like the temple at Jerusalem. On looking within I saw that the foundation stone, under which the Word reposed, was set round with precious stones, from which it flashed its light like lightning upon the walls where were placed statues of cherubs, and beautifully lit them up with its iridescent beams.
[4] As I gazed with wonder at these things, the angels said: “You will now see something more wonderful still.” They were then permitted to open up the third heaven, where dwell celestial angels, who excel in love; and in the flaming light which thereupon flowed down, the temple completely vanished, and in its place there appeared the Lord alone, standing upon the foundation stone, which was the Word, in appearance as He was seen by John, Rev. i. But as the interiors of the angels’ minds were then filled with a holiness which moved them to fall prostrate, the passage of light from the third heaven forthwith closed by the Lord, and that from the second heaven left open. Then the former appearance of the temple returned, and also that of the tabernacle, which, however, appeared in the centre of the temple. By this was illustrated the meaning of these words in Rev. xxi. 3:
“Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them;”
and also of these words:
“And I saw no temple” in the New Jerusalem: “for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” v. 22.
[2] The first proposition and subject of inquiry was, Who assumed the Human in the Virgin Mary? An angel standing at the table on which the Word lay, read to them these words in Luke:
The angel said to Mary, “Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest … Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this 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 Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” i. 31, 32, 34, 36.
He also read these words in Matthew:
The angel said to Joseph in a dream, “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit … And Joseph … knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born Son: and he called His name Jesus.” i. 20, 25;
And besides these passages, he read many more from the Evangelists,
as Matt. iii. 17; xvii. 6; John i. 18; iii. 18; xx. 31,
and many others where the Lord, as to His Human, is called the Son of God, and where He, from His Human, calls Jehovah His Father. He also read passages from the Prophets, where it is foretold that Jehovah Himself would come into the world; among them these two passages in Isaiah:
“It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him to save us (A.V., and He will save us): This is Jehovah; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” xxv. 9.
“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of JEHOVAH, make straight in the desert a highway for our God…. And the glory of JEHOVAH shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together…. Behold the Lord JEHOVIH comes in strength (A. V., will come with strong hand)…. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd.” xl. 3, 5, 10, 11.
[3] The angel continued: “Since Jehovah Himself came into the world, and assumed the Human, therefore He is called in the Prophets the Savior and the Redeemer.” Then he read to them the following passages:
“Surely God is in thee; and there is no God else. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior.” Isa. xlv. 14, 15.
“Am not I JEHOVAH? and there is no God else besides me a just God, and a Savior: there is (A.V., none) besides me. xlv. 21.
“I, even I, am JEHOVAH, and besides me there in no Savior.” xliii. 11.
“I am JEHOVAH thy God … and thou shalt know no God but me; for there is no Savior besides me.” Hos. xiii. 4.
“That all flesh shall know that I JEHOVAH am thy Savior and thy Redeemer.” Isa. xlix. 26; lx. 16.
“As for our Redeemer, JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH is His name.” Isa. xlvii. 4.
“Their Redeemer is strong: JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH is His name.” Jer. l. 34.
“JEHOVAH, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Ps. xix. 14.
“Thus saith JEHOVAH thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am JEHOVAH thy God.” Isa. xlviii. 17: xliii. 3:
“Thou, JEHOVAH, art our Father, our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name.” Isa. lxiii. 16.
“Thus saith JEHOVAH, thy Redeemer I am JEHOVAH that maketh all things, and alone by myself (A.V., that stretcheth forth the heavens alone: that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself). xliv. 24.
“Thus saith JEHOVAH the King of Israel, and His Redeemer JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH; I am the first and I am the last: and besides me there is no God.” Isa. xliv. 6.
“JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called.” liv. 5.
“Behold the days come … that I will raise onto David a righteous Branch, who shall reign as King (A.V., and a King shall reign and prosper) and this is His name JEHOVAH our Righteousness.” Jer. xxiii. 5, 6; xxxiii. 15, 16.
In that day “JEHOVAH shall be king over all the earth; In that day shall there be one JEHOVAH, and His name one.” Zech. xiv. 9.
[4] Convinced by all these passages, those who sat on the seats unanimously declared that Jehovah Himself assumed the Human for the purpose of redeeming and saving mankind. But then a voice was heard from some Roman Catholics, who had hid themselves behind the altar, saying, “How could Jehovah God become Man? Is He not the Creator of the universe?” One of those on the second row of seats turned and said, “Who was it then?” and he who was behind the altar, now standing close to it, said, “The Son from eternity.” But he was answered: “Is not the Son from eternity, according to your confession, also Creator of the universe? And what is a Son and a God born from eternity? And how is it possible for the Divine Essence, which is one and indivisible, to be separated, and for one part of it to descend, and not the whole of it at the same time?”
[5] The second subject of inquiry concerning the Lord was, Whether, according to this reasoning, the Father and He are one, as the soul and the body are one? They said that this question followed, because the soul is from the father. Then one of those who sat on the third row of seats read from the confession of faith, called the Athanasian Creed,* the following passage:
“Although our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man, yet there are not two, but one Christ: yea, He is absolutely one. He is one Person; for as the soul and body make one man, so God and Man is one Christ.”
He added that the Creed containing these words is accepted throughout the whole Christian world, even by the Roman Catholics. Then they said: “What need have we of further proof? God the Father and He are one, as the soul and body are one; and since this is the case, we perceive that the Human of the Lord is Divine, because it is the Human of Jehovah. We also perceive that the Lord ought to be approached as to His Divine Human, and that this is the only possible way to approach the Divine called the Father.”
This conclusion the angel confirmed by further quotations from the Word, among which were the following
“Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given … and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isa. ix. 8:
and in the same Prophet:
“Though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, JEHOVAH, art our Father, our Redeemer thy name is from everlasting.” lxiii. 16:
and in John:
“Jesus … said, He that believeth on me … believeth on Him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth Him that sent me.” xii. 44, 46.
“Philip saith unto Him … show us the Father … Jesus saith unto him he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and 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 xiv. 8-11.
Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” John x. 30.
Further there is this passage:
“All things that the Father hath are mine” … and all mine are the Father’s. John xvi. 15: xvii. 10.
And finally,
“Jesus saith I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John xiv. 8.
[6] To this the reader added that the same things that are here said by the Lord concerning Himself and His Father may also be said by a man concerning himself and his soul. Having heard these things they all declared with one heart and voice that “the Human of the Lord Divine, and that one must come to this Human in order to come to the Father; since Jehovah God, by means of it, sent Himself into the world, and made Himself visible to the eyes of men, and thus accessible. In like manner He made Himself visible, and thus accessible in a human form, to the ancients: but then it was by means of an angel: and as this form was representative of the Lord who was to come, all things of the Church with the ancients were representative.
[7] After this there followed a deliberation concerning the Holy Spirit; but first there stated the idea held by most persons concerning God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, namely that God the Father sat on high, and the Son at His right hand; and that they sent forth from themselves the Holy Spirit to enlighten, instruct, justify and sanctify men. But a voice was then heard from heaven saying, “We do not uphold that idea. Who does not know that Jehovah God is omnipresent? He who knows and acknowledges this will also acknowledge that it is He who enlightens, instructs, justifies and sanctifies, and not a mediating God distinct from Him, much less one distinct from these two, as one person is distinct from another. Therefore let the former idea, which is foolish, be removed, and let the latter, which is correct, be received, and then you will have a clear perception of this subject.”
[8] A voice was then heard from the Roman Catholics, who stood near the altar of the temple, saying, “What then is the Holy Spirit, mentioned in the Word in the writings of the Evangelists and Paul, by which so many learned men among the clergy, especially our clergy, declare that they are guided? What person in the Christian world to-day denies the Holy Spirit and His operations?” At this one of those who were seated on the second row turned round 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 and proceeding from a person but an outgoing and proceeding operation? One person cannot go out and proceed from another, but operation can. Or what is a God going out and proceeding from a God but the outgoing and proceeding Divine? One God cannot go out and proceed from another, but the Divine can from one God.” [9] On hearing this, those occupying the seats unanimously agreed to this conclusion: “The Holy Spirit is not a Person by Himself, and thus not a God by Himself; but it is the Holy Divine going out and proceeding from the one only omnipresent God, who is the Lord.” To this the angels, standing at the golden table upon which was the Word, said: “It is well determined. We nowhere read in the Old Testament that the prophets spoke the Word from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah: and whenever the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the New Testament it signifies the proceeding Divine, which enlightens, instructs, quickens, reforms and regenerates.”
[10] After this there followed another subject of inquiry concerning the Holy Spirit, namely, From whom proceeds the Divine meant by the Holy Spirit; from the Father, or from the Lord? While they were considering this, there shone a light from heaven, and by it they perceived that the Holy Divine, which is meant by the Holy Spirit, does not proceed out of the Father through the Lord, but out of the Lord from the Father, just as in the case of a man; his activity does not proceed from his soul through the body, but out of the body from the soul. This the angel who stood at the table confirmed by the following passages from the Word:
“He whom the Father (A. V., God) hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand.” John iii. 34, 35.
“There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse … and the Spirit of JEHOVAH shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might.” Isa. xi. 1, 2.
The Spirit of JEHOVAH was put upon Him, and was in Him, xlii. 1; lix. 19, 20; lxi 1. Luke iv. 18.
“When the Holy Spirit (A. V., the Comforter) is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father.” John xv. 26;
“He shall glorify me; for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” xvi. 14, 15;
“If I depart, I will send the Comforter to you.” xvi. 7;
“The Comforter is the Holy Spirit.” xiv. 26;
“The Holy Spirit was not yet, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” vii. 39;
After His glorification, however.
Jesus breathed on the disciples and said unto them, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit.” xx. 22.
And in the Revelation:
“Who shall not glorify thy name, O Lord? for thou only art holy.” xv. 4.
[11] Since the Divine operation of the Lord, from His Divine omnipresence, is meant by the Holy Spirit, therefore when the Lord spoke to His disciples concerning the Holy Spirit whom He would send from the Father, He also said:
“I will not leave you comfortless…. I go away and come to you…. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” John xiv. 18, 20, 28;
and just before He departed out of the world, He said:
“Lo, I am with you always, even unto the consummation of the age. (A. V., the end of the world).” Matt. xxviii. 20.
Having read these passages to them, the angel said: “From these and many other passages from the Word, it is evident that the Divine, which is called the Holy Spirit, proceeds out of the Lord from the Father.” Whereupon those on the seats declared: “This is Divine Truth.”
[12] Finally this resolution was drawn up: “From the deliberations in this council, we clearly see, and therefore acknowledge as holy truth, that in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ there is the Divine Trinity consisting of the originating Divine, which is called the Father, the Divine Human, which is called the Son, and the proceeding Divine, which is called the Holy Spirit; and we declare that in Christ ‘dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.’ Col. ii. 9. Thus there is one God in the Church.”
After reaching these conclusions the grand council rose; and the angel, who was the keeper of the treasury, came and brought each of those who sat upon the seats splendid robes, interwoven here and there with threads of gold, saying, “Receive ye the wedding garments.” They were then conducted in glory to the new Christian heaven, with which the Church of the Lord on earth, which is the New Jerusalem, will be united.
* Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
THE SACRED SCRIPTURE OR THE WORD OF THE LORD
I. THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, OR THE WORD, IS THE DIVINE TRUTH ITSELF.
It is generally agreed that the Word is from God, is divinely inspired, and therefore holy; but hitherto it has remained unknown wherein its divinity resides; for the Word in the Letter appears like common writing in a strange style, lacking the sublimity and brilliance which are apparently features of the literature of the world. For this reason the man who worships nature instead of God, and who consequently thinks from himself and his own proprium* and not from heaven from the Lord, may easily fall into error respecting the Word and into contempt for it, and say within himself as he reads it “What does this mean? What does that mean? Is this Divine? Can God, to whom belongs infinite wisdom, speak in this way? Where is its sanctity, or whence is it derived but from man’s religious credulity?”
* The Latin word proprium, used as a substantive, means “what is one’s own.” Swedenborg uses it in a special sense, involving “what is of the self.”
Jesus said: “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” John vi. 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 have given 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 be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John iv. 8, 10, 14.
By Jacob’s well is signified the Word,
as also in Deut. xxxiii. 28;
therefore the Lord, because He is the Word, sat there, and spoke with the woman; and by living water is signified 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 hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John vii. 37, 38.
Peter said unto Jesus: “Thou hast the words of eternal life.” John vi. 68.
Jesus said: “Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away.” Mark xiii. 31.
The words of the Lord are truth and life, because He is the truth and the life, as He teaches in John:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” xiv. 6:
and in the same Book:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” i. 1, 4.
By the Word is understood the Lord as to Divine Truth, in which alone there is life and light. For this reason the Word, which is from the Lord, and which is the Lord, is called
“a fountain of living waters,” Jer. ii. 13, xvii. 13, xxxi. 9;
“a well (A.V., wells) of salvation.” Isa. xii. 3:
“a fountain,” Zech. xiii. 1;
“a river of water of life,” Rev. xxii. 1.
It is said also:
“The Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, (A.V., and shall lead them), unto living fountains of waters.” vii. 17.
Further quotations might be given where the Word is also called “the sanctuary and the tabernacle,” in which the Lord dwells with man.
Who does not acknowledge, and agree when it is asserted, that the Word, because it is Divine, is in its inmost content spiritual? But who has hitherto known what the spiritual is, and where in the Word it lies concealed? What the spiritual is will be shown in a narrative at the conclusion of this chapter, and where it lies concealed in the Word in what now follows. The Word is spiritual in its inmost content because it descended from Jehovah the Lord, and passed through the angelic heavens; and the Divine Itself, which in itself is ineffable and incomprehensible, was adapted in its descent to the perception of angels, and lastly to that of men. Hence the Word has a spiritual sense which is within the natural sense just as the soul is in man, or as the thought of the understanding is in speech, or as the affection of the will is in act. And if we may compare it with visible things in the world of nature, the spiritual sense is within the natural sense as the whole of the brain is within its enveloping membranes or coverings, or as the young shoots of a tree are within their coverings of bark, or as the embryo of the chicken is within the shell of the egg: and so on. As the fact that there is such a spiritual sense has not hitherto been made known by any one through Divine inspiration, this truth, in itself surpassing all truths that have so far been revealed, must now be made clear to the understanding. This will be done as it is explained in the following articles:
(1) What the spiritual sense is.
(2) This sense is in the whole of the Word, and in every part of it.
(3) Because of this sense the Word is Divinely inspired, and holy in every word.
(4) This sense has hitherto been unknown.
(5) Hereafter it will be made known only to those who are in genuine truths from the Lord.
(6) Some wonderful things concerning the Word from its spiritual sense.
Each of these articles will now be treated separately.
The spiritual sense of the Word is not that which shines from the sense of the Letter when any one searches the Word and explains it to prove some dogma of the Church. This may be called the literal and ecclesiastical sense of the Word; but the spiritual sense is not apparent in the sense of the Letter; it is interiorly within it, as the soul is in the body, or as the thought of the understanding is in the eye, or as the affection of love is in the countenance. It is this sense especially that makes the Word spiritual, not only for men, but also for angels; and therefore the Word by means of this sense communicates with the heavens. Since the interior content of the Word is spiritual, it is written by pure correspondences; and what is thus written exhibits in its ultimate sense the style of the Prophets, the Evangelists and the Revelation. This style, ordinary as it may appear, yet has stored up within it all Divine and angelic wisdom. What is meant by correspondence may be seen in the work entitled, “Heaven and Hell,” published in London in 1758, where it treats of the correspondence of all things in heaven with all things in man, (n. 87-202); and the correspondence of all things in heaven with all things on earth, (n. 103-115). This will be more fully explained by examples from the Word; and these will be given presently.
This cannot be better seen than from examples, such as the following: John says in the Revelation:
“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. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written that no man knew but He Himself: And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean…. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying, Come and gather yourselves together unto the great supper (A.V., the supper of the great God); That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all, free and bond, both small and great.” xix. 11-18.
What these words signify no one can see but from the spiritual sense of the Word; and no one can see the spiritual sense of the Word but from a knowledge of correspondences, for all the words are correspondences and not one is without meaning. The science of correspondences teaches the signification of a white horse, of Him that sat upon it, of His eyes which were like a flame of fire, of the crowns which were on His head, of the vesture dipped in blood, of the white linen with which they who were of His army in heaven were clothed, of the angel standing in the sun, of the great supper to which they should come and gather themselves, and also of the flesh of kings, captains and many others which they were to eat.
[2] The particular signification of each of those things in the spiritual sense may be seen explained in “The Apocalypse Revealed,” n. 820-838; and also in the small work on “The White Horse”; it is therefore unnecessary to explain them here at great length. In those books it is shown that in the passage just quoted the Lord is described as to the Word. By His eyes, which were as a flame of fire, is meant the Divine Wisdom of His Divine Love; by the crowns, which were on His head, and by the name which no one knew but Himself, are meant the Divine truths of the Word from Him, and that no one knows what the Word is in its spiritual sense, except the Lord and those to whom He reveals it; also, by His vesture dipped in blood is meant the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of its Letter, to which violence had been done. It is very evident that it is the Word which is thus described, for it is said, “His name is called The Word of God.” It is also clear that it is the Lord who is meant, for it is said that the name of Him who sat upon the white horse was “King of kings and Lord of lords,” the same term being used in Rev. xvii. 14, where it is said: “And the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings.” That the spiritual sense of the Word would be revealed at the end of the Church is signified not only by what is said of the white horse, and of Him that sat upon it, but also by the great supper to which all were invited to come by the angel standing in the sun, to eat the flesh of kings and captains and the rest, by which is meant the appropriation of good of all kinds from the Lord. All these expressions would be without meaning, and without life and spirit, unless there was within them a spiritual sense, as the soul is within the body.
“Her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon which are the names of the twelve tribes of the Children of Israel. The wall was a hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper; and its foundations of all manner of precious stones, of jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysopraus, jacinth and amethyst. The gates were twelve pearls. The city itself was pure gold, like clear glass; and it was four-square, the length, the breadth and the height being equal, twelve thousand furlongs;” with many other particulars.
That all these things are to be understood spiritually may be evident from the fact that by the New Jerusalem is meant a New Church to be established by the Lord, as is shown in “The Apocalypse Revealed,” n. 880. Since by Jerusalem is there signified the Church, it follows that everything said of it as a city, of its gates, its wall, the foundations of the wall, and their dimensions, contains a spiritual sense, for whatever relates to the Church is spiritual. What those things signify is shown in “The Apocalypse Revealed,” n. 896-925; it is therefore needless to explain them at great length. It is sufficient to know from that work that there is a spiritual sense in every particular of that description, like the soul in the body. Apart from that sense nothing that is there written could be understood as relating to the Church; as that the city was of pure gold, its gates of pearl, its wall of jasper, the foundations of the wall of precious stones; that the wall was a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of the angel, and that the city was in length, breadth and height twelve thousand furlongs: with many other particulars. Any one, however, who has a knowledge of the spiritual sense from the science of correspondences understands those things, as for instance that the wall and its foundations signify the doctrinal teachings of the Church, derived from the sense of the Letter of the Word, and that the numbers twelve, one hundred and forty-four, and twelve thousand signify everything belonging to that Church, namely, the sum total of its truths and goods.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun 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: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matt. xxiv. 29, 30, 31.
These words, in their spiritual sense, do not mean that the sun and moon shall be darkened, that the stars shall fall from heaven, that the sign of the Lord shall appear in heaven, and that He shall be seen in the clouds, as well as angels with trumpets; but by all the words there are meant spiritual things relating to the Church, of whose final state they are spoken. In the spiritual sense by the sun which shall be darkened is meant love to the Lord; by the moon which shall not give her light is meant faith in Him; and by the stars which shall fall from heaven are meant knowledges of truth and good. By the sign of the Son of Man in heaven is meant the appearing of Divine Truth in the Word from Him; and by the tribes of the earth which shall mourn is meant the failure of all the truth of faith, and of all the good of love. By the Coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven, with power and glory, is meant the revelation of the Lord’s presence in the Word; by the clouds of heaven is meant the sense of the Letter of the Word; and by glory is meant the spiritual sense of the Word. By the angels with a great sound of a trumpet is meant heaven, whence comes Divine Truth; and by the gathering together of the elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other, is meant a new heaven and a New Church, to be formed of those who have faith in the Lord, and who live according to His commandments. That the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the stars to the earth, are not meant is clearly manifest from the Prophets, where similar statements are made concerning the state of the Church at the time when the Lord should come into the world; as in Isaiah:
“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger…. The stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil.” [xiii. 9, 10, 11] and see xxiv. 21, 23;
in Joel:
“The day of JEHOVAH cometh a day of darkness and of gloominess…. The sun and moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.” ii. 1, 2 … iii. 15;
and in Ezekiel:
“I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land.” xxxii. 7, 8.
By the day of Jehovah is meant the Advent of the Lord, which took place at a time when there was no longer any good of love and truth of faith left in the Church, nor any knowledge of the Lord; therefore it is called a day of darkness and gloominess.
“The kingdom of the heavens is like (A.V., Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened) unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight