Li titf I mmm OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. Incorporated A. D. 1850, for the Printing, Publishing, and Circulating ofthe Theological Works'of Emanuel Swedenborg, for Charitable and Missionary purposes. THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION CONTAINING THE UNIVERSAL THEOLOGY NEW CHURCH, FOEETOLD BT THE LORD IN DANIEL, TIL 13, 14, AND IN THE APOCALYPSE, XXL 1, 2. Trajialated jrom the Latin of S:UEL SWEDENB \n Senant of Hw Lord Je»u3 Ohriet EMANUEL SWEDENBOEG, NEW YORK : AfflEKICAN SWEDENBORG PRINTING AND PUBLISHING SOCIETY. 1883. Daniel, vii. 13, li. 1 sa/uo im, the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son ob man ca/me with the cloudy of hea/oen ; and there was gi/oen him dominion, a/nd glory, amd a kingdom, that all people, Tuitions, and lam,guages, should serve him. His dominion is an everlast ing dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. Apocalypse, xxi. 1, 2, 9, 10, 5. And f, John, saw a new heaven am,d a new ea/rth ,• * * « a/nd I saw ihe holy city. New Jerusalem, comm,g down from Qod out of hemen, prepared as a bride adorned for 'hen' hus- bam.d. * * * And one of the seven a/ngels talked with me, saying, Come Jiither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's WIFE. And Jf^^a/rried me awa/y in the spirit to a great and high mountoMi^immd showed me that great city, the Holy Jeru salem, descending out of heaven from God. And he that sat upon the throne said. Behold, I make all THINGS NEW. And he said %mto me, Write ; for these words a/re faithful am,d true. Published hy The American Swedenborg Printing and Publishing SociETT, organized for the purpose of Stereotyping, Printing, and Publishing 'Cniform Editions ofthe Theological Writings ^Emanue- Swedenborg, and incorporated in the State of New Tori a. d. 1850 BTBmoxmD BT ¦lOHARO o. valent:iix, Vaw Toax. CONTENTS. ^^ IB*. THE FAirn of the New Heaven and the New Chdeoh , . \ CHAP. L GOD THE CREATOR 4 The Unity of God. 4 I. That the Holy Scriptures throughout, and the doctrines of all Christian churches thence derived, teach that there is a God, and that he is One 6 IL That there is an influx universal from God into the souls of men, teaching them that there ia a God, and that he is One 8 III. That hence there is no nation throughout the world, possessed either of religion or sound reason, but that acknowledges the being of a God, and that he is One 0 IV. That the nature and qualities of this One God are subjects respecting which vai'ious nations and people have differed, and do still differ ; and this from several causes 11 V. That human reason, if it be so disposed, may collect, and be convinced, from the various objects in the visible world, that there is a God, and that he is One, .. .' 12 VL That unless God were One, the universe could not have been created or preserved 18 yiL That every man who does not acknowledge a God, is excommunicated from the church, and in a state of condemnation 14 VIII. That no doctrine or worship of the Church can be consistent or cohe rent with those who acknowledge not one God, but many 15 The Divine Esse, which is Jehovah 18 L That the One God is called Jehovah from his Esse, because he alone is, was, and will be ; and because he is the First and the Last, the Be ginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega 19 H, That the One God is substance itself and form itself; and angels and men are substances and forms by derivation from him ; and so far as they are in him, and he in them, they are images and likenesses of him. . 20 ni. That the Divine Esse is Esse in itself; and at the same time Existere in itself 21 IV. That the Divine Es?e and Existere in itself cannot produce another Di vine, tliat is Esse and Existere in itself; consequently there cannot be another God of the same essence ; 23 V. That a plurality of Gods among the aneients, and also among the moderns, had. its rise solely.in consequence of the Divine Esse not being un derstood 84 The Infinity of God, ok his IiiMENarrY and Eternity 27 L That God is Infinite, because he is and exists in himself ; and that all things in the universe are and exist from him 28 IL That God is Infinite, because he was before the world, consequently be- ¦ fure spaces and times had birth 29 HI. That God, since the world was made, is in space without space, and in time without time 30 IV. That the Infinity of God in relation to spaces is called Immensity ; and in relation to times. Eternity; and yet, notwithstanding these rela tion^ there is nothing of space in his Immensity, and nothing of time in his Eternity. tl IV CONTENTS. S* V. That enlightened reason, from very many objects in the world may dis cover the Infinity of God the Creator 32 VL That every created thing is finite ; and the Infinite is in finite things, as in its receptacles, and in men as in its images. 33 The Essence of God, which is Divine Love and Divine Wisdom 86 t. That God is Love itself and Wisdom itself; and these two constitute his essence 37 U. That God is Good itself and Truth itself, because Good is of Love, and Truth is of Wisdom 38 UL That God, by reason of his being Love itself and Wisdom itself, is also Life itself, which is Life in itself 39 tv. That Love and Wisdom in God make One 41 V. That the essence of Love is to love others out of, or without itself, to de sire to be one with them, and from itself to make them happy. .... 43 VI. That these properties of the Divine Love we-j the cause of the creation ' of the universe, and are also the cause / its preservation 46 The Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipeesence of God 49 I, That Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence, are properties ofthe Divine Wisdom derived from the Divine Love 50 I n. That the Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence of God, cannot be known until it be known what is meant by Order, and until it be ascertained that God is Order, and that he introduced Order into the universe and all its parts, at the creation 52 IIL That the Omnipotence of God in the universe, and in all its parts pro ceeds and operates according to the laws of his own order 56 IV. That God is Omniscient, that is, he perceives, sees, and knows .ill and every thing, even to the most minute, that is done according to order, and by that means also whatever is done contrary to order. 59 V. That God is Omnipresent in all the gradations of his own order, from first to last 63 VL That man was created a form of Divine Order 65 VIL That a man has power against evil and the false from the Divine Omnipo tence, he has wisdom respecting Good and Truth from the Divine Omniscience, and he is in God by virtue of the Divine Omni presence, in proportion as he lives according to Divine Order 68 The Creation of the Universe 76 That no one can form a just idea concerning the creation of the universe unless the understanding be brought into a state of perception by certain universal knowledges being premised 76 The Creation of the universe described by five Memorable Relations. .76 — 80 CHAP. H. The Lord the Redeemer 81 L That Jehovah God descended and assumed the Human, that He might re deem and save mankind. , 82 n. That Jehovah God descended as Divine Truth, which is the Word ; never theless, he did not separate from it the Divine Good 85 HI. That God assumed the Humanity according to his own Divine Order . . P<» IV. That the Humanity by which God sent himself into the world ia the Son of God 93 V. That the Lord, by acts of Redemption, made himself Righteousness 9S VL That by the same acts the Lord united himself to the Father, and the Father united himself to him , 97 VII That thus God was made Man, and Man God, in one person.. . ....... 101 CONTENTS. t VIII. That the progress, towards union was his state of exinanition, and tho union itself is his state of glorification IO4 IX That henceforth no Christian can be admitted into heaven, unless he be lieve in the Lord God the Saviour. 107 A Corollary concerning the state of the Church before the coming of tbe Lord, and after it. jQg Redemption. 114 1 That Redemption it«elf consisted in bringing the helkinto subjection, and the heavens into order, and in thus preparing the way for a New SpirituiU Church 115 n. That without such Redemption, neither could men have been saved, nor could the angels have remained in a state of integrity , . lig in. That the Lord thus redeemed not only men, but also angels 121 IV. That Redemption was a work purely Divine , 123 V. That this real Redemption could not possibly have been effected but by God Incarnate 124 VL That the Passion of the Cross was not Redemption, but the last tempta- - tion which the Lord endured as the Grand Prophet ; and it was the means of the Glorification of his Human 126 Vn. That it is a fundamental error of the Church to believe the Passion of the Cross to be Redemption itself; and this error, together with that relating to three Divine Persons from eternity, has perverted the whole Church, so that nothing spiritual remains in it 133' CHAP. IIL The Holt Spirit and the Divine Operation 138 1 That the Holy Spirit is the Divine Truth, and also the Divine Virtue and Operation, proceeding from the One God, in whom th«re is the Di vine Trinity, thus from the Lord God the Saviour 189 n. That the Divine virtue and operation signified by the Holy Spirit, con sists in general in reformation and regeneration ; and in proportion as these are effected, in renovation, vivification, sanctification, and justification ; and, in proportion as these are effected, in purification from evils, remission of- sins, and finally salvation . . . , 142 IIL That that Divine virtue and operation, which is signified by the mission of the Holy Spirit, consists, with the clergy in particular, in illustra tion and instruction , 146 IV. That the Lord operates those virtues in such as believe in him 149 V. That the Lord operates of himself from the Father, and not contrariwise 153 VI. That a man's spirit is his mind, and whatever proceeds frona it 156 A Corollary. It is nowhere said in the Old Testament that the Prophets spoke from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah God ; but that it is otherwise iu the New Testament. 1S8 The Divine Trinity , 163 L That there is a Divine Trinity, consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 164 IL That these three. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are the three essentials of One God, which make a One, like soul, body, and operation in a man 166 ni. That before the creation of the world this Trinity did not exist ; but it was provided and made since the creation, when God became incar nate, and then centred in tlie Lord God, the Redeemer and Saviour Jesus Christ 17C IV That a Trinity of Divine Persons from eternity, or before the creation of yi CONTENTS. Ha the world, when conceived in idea, is a Trinity of Gods, which can not be expelled by the oral confession of One God 1' 2 V. That a Trinity of persons was unknown in the Apostolic Church, and the doctrine was first broached by the Council of Nice, and thence re ceived into the Roman Catholic Cliurch, and thus propagated among the Reformed Churches ^ ' ^ VL That the Nicene and Athanasian doctrines concerning a Trinity, have to- gethel- given risfe to a Faith whieh has entirely pervertetl the Chris tian Church 1" VIL That hence is come that abomination of desolation, and that afSiction, , such as was not in aU the world, neither shall be, whieh the Lord has foretold in Daniel, the Evangelists, and the Revelation 179 VIH. That hence too it has come to pass that unless a New Heaven and a • New Church be established by the Lord, no flesh can be saved. . . . 182 VS.. That a- Trinity of persons, each whereof singly and by himself is God, ac cording to the Athanasian Creed, has given rise to many absurd and heterogeneous notions about God, which are merely fanciful and abortive 18& CHAP. IV. The Sacked Sceiptuee, or the Word of the Lord 189 I. That the Sacred Scripture, or the Word, is fhe Divine Truth itself ' ib. IL That in the Word there is a Spiritual sense, heretofore unknown 193 1. What the spiriiwal dense is. 194 2. That frmn the Lord proceeds the Divirie Celestial, the Divine Spiritual, a-nd the Divine Nat-wral 195 3. Tliat the spiritual sense is in all and every part of the Word 196 4. That the Lord, when He was in the world, spoke according to correspond dences, thus spiritually as well as naturally 199 5. That it is owing to the spiritual sense that the Word is divinely inspired, a-nd holy in every syllable 200 6. That the spiritual sense of the Word has hitherto remained unknown [in the Church^, but it was known to the andenis. Also concerning cor respondences, with which they were acquainted 201 — 207 7. That liereafter the spiritual sense of the Word loill he made known only to those who are in genuine truths from the Lord. 208 8. A relation of some wonderful phenomena resultirig from, the spiritual, sense ofthe Word 209 UL That the literal sense of the Word ia the basis, the continent, and the fii^ mament of its spiritual and celestial senses 2n) IV. That the Divine Truth, in the literal sense of the Word, ia in ita fulness, its sanctity, and its power 214 1. That the truths ofthe literal sense of the Word are understood by the pre cious stones of which the foundations of the New Jerusalem were built, as mentioned in the Revelation ; and this was the case from corre spondence, chap. xxi. 17 — 21 217 9. Tliat tlie goods and truths of the Word in its literal sense are understood by tlie Urim, and Thummi-m on Aaron's ephod. 218 8. Tliat the same are understood by the precious stones in the garden of Mden, wherein tlie king of Tyre is said to have been 219 4. That truths and goods in their ultimates, such as are in the literal sense of the Word, were represented by the curtains, vails, and pillars of the tabemaele 2S0 CONTENTS. Vll No. 6. Tltat the same were represented by tlie externals ofthe tetnple at Jerusalem 221 '6. That tlie Word in its glory was represented in the person of the Lord at .his transfiguration 222 1. That (he power of the Word, in its ultimates, was represented by the Naz- arites. 228 8. Ofthe inexpressible power ofthe Word 224 V. That the Doctrine of the Church ought to be drawn from the literal sense of the Word, and to be confirmed thereby 225 1. Tliat the Word, without doctrine, is unintelligible 226 .2. That doctrine ought to be drawn from the literal sense of the Word, and to be confirmed thereby , 229 8, That genuine truth, which should constitute doctrine, in the literal sense of the Word, is apparent only to those who are in illustration from tlie Lord. .; i ..... i .. i i .. i 231 VI. That by the literal sense of the Word conjunction with the Lord, and consociation with the angels is effected 284 VIL That the Word is in. all the heavens, and the wisdom of the angels ia thence derived '..'..- 240 VHL That the Church exists from the Word, and the quality of the Church with man is according to his understanding of the Word 243 ex. That the marriage of the Lord and the Church, and thence the marriage of Good and Truth, is in every part of the Word 248 t That men may collect and imbibe heretical opinions from the letter of the Word ; but it is hurtful to confirm such opinions 254 1. That many things in the Word are appearances of truth, in wbich gen uine truths lie concealed 257 2. That fallacies arise from the confirmation of appearances of truth 258 8. That the literal sense of the Word is a guard to the genuine truths con tained in it 260 4. That the literal sense of the Word is represented, and in the Word is signified by Cherubs 260 XL That the Lord, during liis abode in the world, fulfilled all things con tained in the Word, and was thus made the Word, that is, the ' Divine Ti-uth, even iri ultimates. 261 XII. That previous to the Word which the world now possesses, there was a Word whieh ia lost 264 S.UL That by means of the Word, light is communicated to those who are out of the pale ofthe Church, and are not iu possession of the Word. . .267 S3V. That without the Word no one would have any knowledge of God, of heaven and hell, or of a life after death, and much less of the Lord 273 CHAP. V. The CATEcnisM or Deoalogue explained as to its External and In ternal Sense. 283 That the Decalogue, in the Israelitish Church, was the very Essence of holi ness ; and coneepning the holiness of the ark, in which was the law 288 That the Decalogue, in its literal sense, contains general precepts of doctrine and life, but in its spiritual and celestial sense all precepts universally 287 The first commandment : Thou shalt have no other Gods before me 291 The second commandment: Thou shalt not take the Name of Jehovah thy God in vain ; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain 297 The third commandment : Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy ; Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh is the Sabbath to Jehovah thy God 801 rill CONTENTS. So. The TOtJBTH commandment: Honor thy Father and thy Mother, that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee 305 Tbe fifth commandment: Thou shalt not commit murder. 309 The sixth commandment : Thou shalt not commit adulteiy 81'' T^E seventh commandment : Thou shalt not steal , 817 The mghth commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor "2' The ninth and tenth cohhandmenk: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house ; thon shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, or his servant, or his maid, or his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neigh bor's 325 That the ten Commandments of the Decalogue contain all things which re late to love to God, and all things vi'hich relate to love towaids our neighbor 829 CHAP. VL Of PATtti 836 Preface: That faitli is fiKt in regal-d to time, and charity fil-st in regard to end . 836 L That a Saving Faith ia a Faith in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ. 337 And this because He is the visil>le God in whom is the invisible. . . 339 n. That faith in general consists in a belief that tlie Lord will save all who live a good Ufe and believe aright 340 That the first l-eqiiisite of Faith in Him is the acknowledgment that He is the Son ef God 342 HL That a man receives Faith in BonseqUence of approaching the Lord, learn ing tretlis from the Word, and living a life in conformity with them S43 A general view of iheesse of Faith, the essence of Faitli, the states of Faith, and the farm of Faith. 844 Concerning merely n'atural faith, that it is a persuasion counterfeiting faith 345-8 IV. That a number of truths, cohering, as in a fascide or bundle, exalts and perfects Faith 349 1. Tliat tlie truths of faith are capable of being multiplied to infinity 350 2. That the truths of faith are arranged into orderly series, and thus, as it were, intofascicles or bandies ,» 851 8. That faith is perf ected in proportion to the mumher and coherence of truths 853 4. That the truths of faith, however numerous they may be, and however dif ferent they may appear, yet make a one, and are united by andfrotn the Lord, who is the Word, the God of heaven and earili, the Oodof all flesh, the God of the vineyard or church, the God offoiilli, and the essential Light, Truth, and eternal Life 854 V. That Faith without Charity is not Faith, and Charity without Faith is not Charity, and neither Faith nor Charity has any Life in it but from the Lord. 355 1. That a man has power to procure faith for himself 856 2. That a man liaspoicer to procure charity for himself, 857 S. That a man lias power also to procure for himself the life cffaiih and charity 858 4. Tltat nevertheless nothing of faith, of charity, and of the life of each is from the man, but from' the Lord alone 869 6, Tlie difference between natural faith aud spiritual faith ; and that tlie lat ter is implanted in the former by tlie Lord 860 VI. That the Lord, Charity, and Faith, constitute a One, like Life, Will, and Understanding in man ; and in case they are divided, each perishes, like a pearl bruised to powder 318 CONTENTS. IX No. 1. That the Lord, with all his divine lone, all his divine wisdom, and all /tii divine life, enters by influx into every man 864 2. Tliat consequently the Lord enters hy infiux into every man -with the wliolt essence of faith and charity , , 865 8. That every man receives those things tehich enter by influx from tlie Lord according to his state and form 866 4. Sut that the man who divides the Lord, charity, and faith, is not " form receptive, but a form destructive of them 86T vn. That the Lord is Charity and Faith in Man, and Man is Charity and ¦ '¦ Faith in the Lord 368 I. That conjunction with God is the medium by which a man has salvation and eternal life 369 2. That there cannot be conjunction with God the Father, but viith the^Lord, and by Mm with God the Father 370 3. Tliat conjunction with the Lord is reciprocal, that is, the Lord is in man, and man in the Lord 871 4. That this reciprocal coryimction of the Lord and man is effected hy means of charity and faith 372 VHL That Charity and Faith are together in Good Works 373 1. That charity consists in willing what is good, a-nd good works consist in doing wliat is good, from and under the influence of such a good mil 874 2. That charity and faith are merely mental and perishable things, unless they are determined to works, and coexist in them, whenever it is prac ticable 375 S. That charity alone does not produce good works, still less does faith alone ; but charity and faith together do produce them 877 IX. That there are a true Faith, a spurious Faith, and a hypocritical Faith 378 That the Christian Church, from its very cradle, began to be infested and torn to pieces by schisms and heresies 378 1. That there is only one true faith, and it is directed towards the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ, and abides viith those wlio believe him to be the Son of God, the God of heaven andearth, and One with the Father 379 2. That sp-u/rious faith is every faith that departs from the one only true faith, and it abides with those who climb up some other way, and re gard the Lord not as God, but as a mere man 880 8. That hypocritical faith is not faith.. 381 X. The wicked have no Faith .' 882 1, That the wicked have no faith, because wickedness is of hell, and faith is of heaven y 383 2. !niat throughout all Christendom there is no faith among those who reject tlie Lord and the Word, notwithstanding the morality and rationality - of their lives, and that they even speak, and tefich, . and write nbout /ailh 384 CHAP. VIL Chabitt, ok Love towards obe Neighbor, and Good Works 892 I. That there are three universal Loves; the Love of Heaven, the Love ol the World, and the Love of Self 394 I. The will and the understanding. 397 2. O'^od and truth 898 8. Love in general ., 809 X CONTENTS. No. 4. The love df self, and the love of the world, in particular. 400 S. TA« internal and the external man *"! 6. The merely nat-ural and sensual man ¦ ^^2 n. That those three Loves, when they are in right subordination, make a man perfect ; but when they are not in right subordination, they pervert and^ invert him. 408 IIL That every individual man is the neighbor whom we ought to love, but according to the quality of his good *06 rv. That man considered collectively, that is, as a lesser or larger society, and considered under the idea of compound societies, that is, as our country, is the neighbor that ought to be loved 412 V. That the Church is our neighbor, to be loved, in a higher degree, and the Lord's kingdom is our neighbor, to be loved in the highest degree 416 Vl. That to love our neighbor, considered in itself, is not to love his person, but the good which is in it 417 VIL That Charity and Good Works are as distinct as willing what is good and doing what is good 420 VHL That charity itself consists in acting justly and faithfully in whatever office, business, and employment a person is engaged, and with whom soever he has any connection 422 IX. That eleemosynary acts of charity consist in giving to the poor, and re lieving the indigent, but with prudence 425 X. That there are public, domestic, and private duties of Charity 429 XL Hat convivial recreations of charity consist of dinners and suppers, and social intercourse 433 xn. That the first part of Charity consists in putting away evils, and the second in doing good actions that are useful to our neighbor 438 Xni. That in performing the exercises of Charity, a man does not ascribe merit to works, so long as he believes that all good is from the Lord 439 XIV. That moral life,, if it is at the same time spiritual, is Charity 443 XV. That the friendship of love contracted with a person, without regard to his spiritual quality, ia detrimental after death 440 XVL That there are spurious Charity, nypocritical Charity, and dead Charity 450 XyiL That the friendship of love among the wicked is intestine hatred to- ' wards each other 454 XVHL The conjunction of love to God and love towards our neighbor. .... 456 CHAP. VHL PBED-DErERMINATIOtr 468 L Tlie precepts and dogmas of the church at this day concerning froe-deter- idinatio'n.. -. .. 463 IL That the two Trees in the Garden of Eden, one of Life nnd the other of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, signify the Free-determination which Man enjoys in respeet to spiritual things 466 IIL That Man is not Life, but a recipient of Life from God. 470 TV. Th'at'Man, during his abode in the world, is held in the miiH between heaven and hell, and thus in a spiritual equilibrium, which consti- ? • tutes Free-determination. 476 V. That from the permission of evil, -which eveiy one experionces in his in ternal man, it .is evident that man has Free-detenuin ation in spirit ual things 479 CONTENTS. "xi Na. VI That without Free-determination in spiritual things, the Word would not be of any use, consequently the Church would be a non-entity. .. . 483 VIL That without Free-determination in spiritual things, man would have nothing which could enable him to conjoin himself by reciprocation with .the Lord ; and consequently there would bo no Imputation, but mere Predestination, which is detestable 485 - . The, detestable tenets of Predestination disclosed 486 VIIL That without Free-determination in spiritual things, God would be chargeable as the. Cause of Evil, and consequently there would be no Imputation , 489 IX. That, every, spiritual principle of the Church that is admitted and re ceived with freedom, remains, but not otherwise 493 X. That the Human Will and Understanding enjoy this free-determination ; . bnt. the commission of evil, both in the spiritual and the natural world, is restrained by laws, or else society in both would perish. . 497 XL That if men. were destitute of JFree-determination in spiritual things, it would be possible for all men throughout the whole world, in a single day, to' be induced to believe in the Lord ; but this is impos sible, because nothing remains with man which is not freely re ceived 500 xn. That miracles are not done at the present day because they deprive man of free-determination 60t CHAP. IX. Repentance. , 609 1 That Repentance is. the first constituent of the Church in man 510 II. That Contrition, which at the present day is said to precede Faith, and to be fpljowed by evangelical consolation, is not Repentance 512 HL That the mere lip-confession of being a sinner ia not Repentance 516 IV. That every man is born with a propensity to evils of all kinds, and un less he remove them in .part by Repentance, he remains in them ; and whoever remains in them cannot be saved 620 What is meantby the fulfilment of the law 523 V. That the knowledge of sin, and the discovery of some particular sin in one's self, is the beginning of Repentance 525 VL That actual Repentance consists in a man's examining himself, knowing and acknowledging his sins, supplicating the Lord, and beginning a new life 628 Vll. That true Repentance consists in a man's examining not only the actions of his life, but also the intentions of his will 632 /in. That those also do the work of Repentance, who, though they do not examine themselves, abstain from evils because they are sins; and this kind of Repentance is done by those who perform works of charity from a religious motive 535 IX. That confession ought to be made before the Lord God the Saviour, " ' and at" the same time supplication for help and power to resist evils , 638 Z. That actual repentance is an easy duty to those who have occasionally practised it, but meets with violent opposition from those who have ¦ever practised it 661 IL That he that never did the work of repentance, and never looked into and examined himself, comes at last not to know the nature of - - either damnatory evil or saving good 664 "Xl CONTENTS. CHAP. X Reformation and Regeneration 671 L That nnless a man be born again, and as it were created anew, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God 572 IL That the new birth or Creation is effected by the Lord alone, through the medium of Charity and Faith, during man's co-operation 576 IH. That since all are redeemed, all have a capacity to be, regenerated, every one according to his state 679 IV. That the Several stages of man's Regeneration answer to his natural con ception, gestation in the womb, birth, and education 583 V. That the first act of the new birth, which is an act of the understanding, is called Reformafion, and the second, which is an act of the will, and thence of tbe understanding, is called Regeneration 68V VL That the internal man is first to be reformed, and by it the external, and thus the man is regenerated 691 vn. That when this takes place there arises a combat between the internal and external man, and then whichever conquers has dominion over the other 696 VIII. That the regenerate man has a new will and a new understanding. . . 601 IX. That a regenerate man is in communion with the angels of heaven, and an unregenerate man is in communion with spirits of hell 607 X. That in proportion as a man is regenerated, his sins are removed ; and this removal is what is meant by the remission of sins 611 XI, That Regeneration cannot be effected without free-determination in spir itual things 616 xn. That Regeneration is not attainable without truths, by which Faith is formed, and with which Charity conjoins itself. 618 Some observations concerning the distinction of sex attributed to the subjects of the vegetable kingdom 686 CHAP. XL Imputation 626 L That Imputation, and the Faith of the present Church, which alone is said to justify, are a one *. ti, [I. That the Imputation, which belongs to the Faith of the present times, is two-fold, the one part relating to the merit of Christ, and the other to Salvation as its consequence ...... 628 HI. That the Faith which is imputative of the Merit and Righteousness of Christ the Redeemer, first took its rise from the decrees in the Coun cil of Nice, concerning Three Divine Persons from eternity, and, from that time to the present, has been received by the whole Christian world 633 IV. That Faith imputative of the Merit of Christ was not known in the Apos tolic Church, which preceded the Council of Nice, and is neither declared nor signified in any part of the Word 836 V. Tliat an imputation of the Merit and Righteousness of Christ is impossible 640 VI. That there is such a thing aa imputation, but then it is an imputation of good and evil, and at the same time of Faith 643 VIL That the Faith and Imputation of the New Church cannot be together with the Faith and Imputation of the former Church ; and in case they were together, such a collision and conflict would ensue, that every principle of the Church in man would perish. ..... . ..... 647 CONTENTS. Xlll No. VIIL That the liord imputes good to every man, and he 1 imputes evil tu every man 660 IX. That Faith, with whatever principle it conjoins itself, passes sentence a-coordingly ; if a true Faith conjoins itself with goodness, the sen tence is for eternal life, but if Faith conjoins itself with evil, the sen tence is for eternal death 664 X That thought is imputed to no one, but will 683 CHAP. XIL Baptism 687 L That without a knowledge of the spiritual sense of the Word, no one can know what the two Sacraments, Baptism and the Holy Supper, in volve and effect 667 IL That the Washing, which is called Baptism, signifies spiritual washing, which is a purification from evils and fakes, and thus Regenera tion 670 IH. That as circumcision of the heart was represented by the circumcision of the foreskin. Baptism was instituted in lieu of it, to the end that an internal Church might succeed the external, in which all and every thing was a figure of the internal Church 674 IV. That the first use of Baptism ia introduction. into the Christian Church, and at the same time insertion among Christians in the Spiritual World 677 V. That the second use of Baptism is, that the Christian may know and ac knowledge the Lord Jesus Christ the Redeemer and Saviour, and may follow liim 681 VL That the third and final use of Baptism ia, that the Man may be regen erated 684 VH. That by the Baptism of John, a way was prepared that Jehovah the Lord might come down into the world, and accomplish the work of Redemption 688 CHAP. XHL The Holt Suffer 698 L That it is impossible for anyone, without an acquaintance with the corre spondences of natural things with spiritual, to know the uses and benefits of the Holy Supper ib, n. That an acquaintance with correspondences serves to discover the signifi cation of the Lord's Flesh and Blood, and that the bread and wine «ignify the same, namely, that the Lord's Flesh and the Bread signi^ the Divine Good of his Love, and likewise all the Goqd of Charity, and that his Blood and the Wine signify the Divine Truth of his Wisdom, and Hkewise all the Truth of Faith, and that to eat signi fies to appropriate. 702 The signification of the Flesh, of the Blood, of the Bread, and of tV. V Wine, shown from the Word 704 m. That by .fiuerstanding what has been said above, it may clearly be om- prehended, that the Holy Supper contains, both universally ind singularly, all things of the Church, and all things of Heaven .... 711 rv. That in the Holy Supper the Lord is entirely present, with the whole of his Redemption lit V That the Lord is present, and opens Heaven to those who approach tbe nt CONTENTS. Na Foly Supper worthily, and he is also present with those who ap- -pivjach it unworthily, -but does not open Heaven to them ; conse quently, as Baptisn, is an introduction into the Church, so the Holy Supper is an introduction into Heaven '19 VL lu't those approach the Holy Supper worthily, who are under the inflnence of Faith towards the Lord,, and of Charity towards their Neighbor, thus who are Regenerate 1^^ VIL That those who approach the Holy Supper worthily, are in the Lord, and he in them ; consequently, conjunction with the Lord is effected by the Holy Supper » '26 VHL That the Holy Supper is, to the worthy receivers, as a signature and seal that they are the Sons of God 728 CHAP. XIV. The Consummation of the Age, the Coming of the Lord, and the New Heaven and the New Church 753 I. That the Consummation of the Age is the last time or end of the Church Hk H T-iat the present day is the last time of the Christian Church, which the Lord foretold and described in the Gospels, and in the Revelation 757 m That this last time of the Christian Church, is the vei7 night, in which former Churches have set 761 .IV. That after this night, morning succeeds, and the Coming of the Lord is this morning 764 V. That the Coming of the Lord is not a coming to destroy the visible Heav en, and the habitable Earth, and to create a New Heaven and a New Earth, according to the opinions which many, from not under standing the spiritual sense of the Word, have hitherto entertained 768 VI. That this, which is the second Coming of the Lord, is for the Bake of sep arating the Evil from the Good, that those who have believed and who do believe in Him may be saved, and that there may be formed of them a New Angelic Heaven, and a New Church on Earth ; and without this coming no flesh could be saved 772 VH. That this second Coming of the Lord is a coming not in person, but in tlie Word, which is from, him, and is himself 776 VIIL That this second Coming of the Lord ia effected by the inatrumentality of a man, before whom he has manifested himself in person, and whom he has filled with hia spirit, to teach from him the doctrines of the New Church by means of the Word 77 J IX That this is meant by the New Heaven and the New Earth, and the New Jerusalem descending out of Heaven, spoken of in the Revela tion 781 X, That this New Church is the crown of all the Churches which have been until this time on the terrestrial globe 786 Vjcmoranddm 791 SUPPLEMENT. 792 Ofthe spiritual world ib. Of Lother, Melancthon, and Calatn in the spiritual world 796 Of the Dutch in the spiritual world 800 Of the English in the spiritual world 806 Of the Germans in the spiritual world ." 813 Of the-PAPisis in the spiritual world 817 Ofthe Romish SAisisin the spiritual world 823 CONTENTS. XT No. Ofthe Hahomedans in the spiritual world 828 pf the Africans in the spiritual world, with some Observations respecting the Gentiles Sa'S Of the Jews in the spiritual world 841 MEMORABLE RELATIONS. The false conceptions of certain spirits respecting the Trinity, as consisting of Three- Divine Persons, refuted 16 A discourse with the angels concerning the Divine Esae, and the Trinity in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ 26 On the Creation, supposed to be the work of nature ; also concerning the centre and expanse of nature and of life ' 35 The entertainments of wisdom in the spiiitual world — a discussion concern ing the image of God and the likeness of God — The difference be tween men and animals — On the Tree of Life, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil 48 On Order, in eight propositions, addressed to a satanic spirit 71 On Imputation and Predestination, in a dispute between some Hollanders and Englishmen ; with a further elucidation of order in relation to God i 72 On the natui'e of Order, and on Omnipotence, in a conversation held in the spiritual world with a body of the learned 74 On the Creation of the ¦ Universe, in a conversation with some angelic spirits 76 A debate concerning God and- Nature, between some angels and satans — . 77 On the Creation ; exemplified in tbe-Correspondencea in Heaven between the visible repreaentatiqna. and. the affeptio.na; 78 On the Creation, in a dispute with some philosophers 79 Notions prevailing in Hell concerning the Creation, Religion, Heaven and H§1J 80 The faith of a spirit of the dragon respecting the Trinity 110 On speech, which in the natural world is twofold, but in the spiritual world simple;, also concerning the pronunciation of the words Divine Sutricinify Ill On the Trinity, in the Lord ; a conversation 112 A description of Armageddon, Rev. xvi. 16 113 On Redemption ; a discourse held in a temple 134 On the Unity of God, and his habitation in the Heavenly Sun, together with a conversation held with those who entertained false ideas of the • Trinity, and the attributes thereof; also concerning the-true mean ing of the four terms expressive of Grace, viz.. Mediation, Inter cession, Atonement, and Propitiation 136 rhe Five Gymnasia — The true signification of sitting on the right hand of God.... 136 A Council convened of the learned, who debate concerning Faith and Justi fication 137 The origin of smoke and fire in the hells, in a conversation with angels ; together with a disputation between certain spirits concerning God 169 XVl CONTENTS. No. A Conversation witli angels on the appearance of stara in that world, and on the first, entrance of spirits into that world, with their various sen- , tinients in relation to Heayen and Hell, and a life after death 160 "Rie spiritual. si.gnification of grinding; and. of the doctrine of the present church on the nature of Justifying Faith 161 A disputation among certain spirits concerning God the Father and the Son, and on Justifying Faith ; also a discourse between angels and spir its of the bottomless pit on the comprehension of certain doctrinal truths by the latter — Concerning the Word : its power exemplified 162 Concerning the frigid zones in the spiritual world: the origin of cold there, exemplified 185 On the re^oti of the human mind where things of a theological nature have ' ; , . their. residence 186 On the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet (Rev. xiii.), with the place . pf theii; abode, and the emblem of their faith ; succeeded by an ap pearance of the tabernacle, the temple, and the Lord 187 A description of a palace and a temple in the spiritual world, wherein was a council and a debate on the subject of the Divine Trinity in the Person of the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ 188 Some representatives and appearances in the spiritual world explained in a , . natural sense 277 On Writings in Heaven , 278 Concerning the two Books mentioned by Moaes, Numb. xxi. 14, 15, 27 — 30, called the Wars of Jehovah, and the FmmcieUions ; also of the Book , pf Jasher, mentioned in Joshua x. 12, 13; and in 2 Sam. i. 17, 18 ; which Books are still preserved in Great Tartary 279 The difference between what is Spiritual and what is Natural ascertained in a conversation , , 280 On the states of men after death 281 On Justice in hell, exemplified. 332 On Learning in hell, exemplified 333 On Wisdom in hdl, exemplified. 334 Concerning eonnate ideas, and the nature of influx in brutes 335 A visible representation of the nature of Faith and Charity, manifested bv an angel '. 385 A discussion whether Heaven in its essence be Love or Wisdom, held be tween two angels, the one from the southern quarter, and tiie other from the eastern quarter of heayen 886 The Temple of Wisdom, and the nature of genuine Wisdom 387 The Delights of those meant by the Dragon in the Revelation 888 An exhortation to a certain society in the spiritual world to acknowledge the Lord to be the God of heaven and earth ; and the consequence of their refusal ggg A debate in the northern quarter of the spiritual world on Justification by Faith 890 Two of tho clergy questioned by an angel in relation to their opinions of Faith and Charity 39] The true nature and meaning of charity, discussed in a Gymnasium, in the spiritual world 459 A disputation between certain spirits on Faith and diarity separated 460 p conversation in the southern quarter of the spiritual world concerning man as an organ receptive of life, and of good and evil by influx 46 1 CojTesponding representations in the spiritual world of those who separate Charity from Faith ; and a discourse with those spirits 463 CONTENTS. Xvn No. A euuncil of the learned convened in the spiritual world, to deliberate on Man's Free-determination in spiritual things, and their false notions thereon refuted 503 The sentiments of an evil spirit and a good spirit on Free-determination. . . . 504 Concerning two spirits collecting proofs from the Word in favor of Justifica tion by Faith 505 A representation of a herd of goats and a Sock of sheep, with the sentiments of,those who separate, and of those who unite Faith and Charity. . 506 A conTersation with angels on the Concupiscence of Evil, which is in every man by birth , 607 A visible representation of the New Church, and its corresponding particu lars, explained 608 The great city called Sodom and. Egypt, destroyed ; and the nature of Repent ance and Remission, explained 667 The condition of Life after death, according to the life of the spirit in the Body, exemplified 668 Of the spheres of the inhabitants of Heaven and Hell, when made sensible as odors 669 Concerning the delights of hell, which show their nature and quality, exem plified 670 On Faith and Charity, on Repentance, on the Immortality of the Soul, on Regeneration, on Baptism, and on the Holy Supper, as explained by three angels, who were sent by the Lord to a company of spirits, who had prayed earnestly to God to be instructed in Divine Truths. . . . 62' Of the reception of spirits in heaven, after their final preparation for their respective states, and of the rejection of heaven by those who are in evils and falses , 622 Of the reception of certain spirits in heaven who believed it consisted in a mere external admission, without internal preparation ; with the corresponding representation of their ascent and descent, explained 623 The Marriage of Goodness and Truth explained by an angel 624 The Glorification of the Lord for his Advent, by the angels of Heaven 625 Concerning the places of instruction in the spiritual world for novitiate spir its ; with an inquiry into the general properties of Heaven and Hell, and their three universals, exemplified 661 On Concupiscence, Phantasy, and Intelligence, explained by angels, and ex emplified 662 A discourse among angels on Intelligence and Wisdom in man, not the least portion of which is from himself, but only the faculty of receiving them 663 Concerning the Elect and Election, explained in a conversation with certain angelic spirits ; and a convocation of the clergy and laity, who de liver their notions respecting conscience, the true nature of which is afterwards explained 664 The City of Athenmum — Its Entertainments of Wisdom — A discussion in a Palladium, why Man, created a form of God, could be changed into a form of a devil 692 An assembly at Parnassium — The introduction of three Novitiate Spirits ; with a discourse on the New Revelation of the spiritual world. . . . 693 Another assembly at Athenseum ; and Novitiate Spirits being introduced, they take into consideration the notions prevailing on earth re specting man's rest from his labors after death 694 A discourse with the angels concerning Influx 695 An interview with the disciples of Aristotle, Descartes, and Leibnitz; with their notions on influx 696 XVm CONTENTS. A descjtption of a Gymnasium, where young persons are initiatedinto vorions secrets of Wisdom ; with a debate on the nature and quality of the Soul. 697 A body of the learned assembled in the spiritual world, to deliver their sen timents on Heavenly Joy and Eternal Happiness : the true nature of which is afterwards manifested to ten of the body, who are in troduced into a society in heaven, and view the wonders therein. . 731 A conversation with the angels respecting the Areana of the New Church now revealed to mankind, ana their sentiments respecting them 846 A Theorem propounded by a certain electoral Duke of Germany, who also filled a station of the highest rank in the Church Fage 815 Coronis, or Appendix Fage 817 Index Page 885 The Author's Index to the Memorable Relations " •945 Index of Testa of Scripture ' 968 THB TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, CONTAININa THE UNIVERSAL THEOLOGY OP THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW CHURCH. THE FAITH OE THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW CHUECiS. 1. The reader is first presented with a view of Faith, in its universal and in its particular form, that it may stand as a frontispiece to the work which follows, and as a gate of intro duction to the temple, and as a compendium, or summary, wherein all the particulars that follow are in a measure included. It is called the faith of the new heaven and the new church, be cause heaven, which is the abode of angels, and the church, which is constituted by men on earth, are one in operation, like the internal and external of man. Hence every member of the church, who is in the good of love derived from the truths of faith, and in the truths of faith derived from the good of love, is, with regard to the interiors of his mind, an angel of heaven ; and therefore after death he enters into heaven, and enjoys hap piness therein, according to the state of the conjunction subsist ing between his love and faith. It is to be observed, that in the new heaven, which is at this day being established by the. Lord, this faith is cherished, and is the frontispiece, the portal, and the summary thereof. 2. The faxih of the new heaven and the new chuech, IN its univeksal form, is. That the Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, came into the world that he might subdue the hells, and glorify his humanity; that without him no flesh could have been saved ; and that all will be saved who believe in him. It is called' faith in its universal form, because this is the universal of faith, and the universal of faith is what entei-s into all and every particular part thereof. It is a universal of faith, that God is one in essence an& person, in whom there is a Divine Trinity, and that the Lord God the Saviour Jesua Christ is that God. It is a universal of faith, that no flesh could have been saved unless the Lord had come into the world. It is a universal of faith, that he came into the world to remove 2, 3 THE FAITH OF. THE NEW HEAVEN hell from, man, which he efiected by combats against it, and victories over it; whereby he subdued it, and reduced it to order, and under obedience to himself. It is a universal of faith,' that he came into the world to glorify his _ humanity, which he assumed in the world ; that is, to unite it with the Divinity of which it was begotten {Divino a quo); thus he keeps liell eternally in order, and under obedience. As this could not be effected except by means of the temptations where with he suffered his humanity to be assaulted, even to the last and most extreme of all, which was his passion on the cross, therefore he endured, that suffering. These are the universals oi faith concerning the Lord. The universal of faith on man's part is, that he should believe on the Lord: for by believing on him he has conjunc tion with him, and by conjunction salvation. To believe on him is to have confidence that he will save ; and since no one can have such confidence, but he that leads a good life, there fore this is also implied in believing on him. To this purpose the Lord testifies in John : " This is the will of the Father, that every one that believeth on the Son may have everlasting life" (vi. 40) : and in another place : " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him" (iii. 36). 3. The faith of the new heaven and the new chtjech, IN ITS paeticulae FOEM, is, That Jehovah God is essential love, and essential wisdom, or that he is essential good and essential truth ; and that as to the divine truth, which is the Word, and which was God with God, he came down and took upon him human nature, for the purpose of reducing to order all things which were in heaven, and in hell, and in the church ; since at that time the power of hell prevailed over the power oi heaven, and on earth the power of evil over the power of good ; in consequence whereof a total damnation was at hand, and threatened every creature. This impending damnation Jehovah God removed by his humanity, which was the divine truth, and thus he redeemed both angels and men ; and afterwards he united in his humanity divine truth with divine good, or divine wisdom with divine love, and thus returned into his divinity, in which he existed from eternity, together with and in his glorified humanity. This is signified by these words in John: "The Word was with God, and the "Word was God ; and the "Word was made flesh" (i. 1, 14) : and in another place : " 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 again : " We know that the Son of God hath 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 2 AND THE NEW CHTJECH. 3 the true God and eternal life" (1 John v. 20). Hence it is man ifest that unless the Lord had come into the world, no flesh cduld have been saved. The case is similar at this day ; and therefore, unless the Lord come again into the world in the divine truth, which is the Word, no person can be saved. The particulars of faith on man's part are, 1. That God is one, in whom there is a Divine Trinity, and that he is the Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2. That a saving faith is to believe on him. 3. That evil actions ought not to be done, because they are of the devil and from the devil. 4. That good actions ought to be done, because they are of God and from God. 5. And that a man should do them as of himself; nevertheless under this belief, that they are from the Lord operating with him and by him. The first two particulars have relation to faith ; the next two to charity ; and the last respects the conjunction of charity and faith, and thereby of the Lord and man. 3 4 GOD THE OBEATOE. OHAPTEE L GOD THE CEEATOE. 4. The Christian Church, since the time ot the Lord's -coming into the world, has passed through its several periods from infancy to extreme old age. Its infancy was in the days of the apostles, when they preached throughout the world, re pentance, and faith in the Lord God the Saviour. That this was the substance of their preaching is plain from these words in the Acts of the Ag.ostles : " Paul testified both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ" (xx. 21). It is here worth remarking as a memorable circumstance, that not many months ago the Lord called together his twelve disciples, now angels, and sent them throughout the spiritual world, with a commis sion to preach the gospel there anew, since the church which he had established by their labors, is at this day brought to such a state of consummation, that scarcely any remains of it are left. This has come to pass in consequence of separating the Divine Trinity into three persons, each of which is declared to be God and Lord. Hence a sort of frenzy has infected the whole system of theology, as well as the Christian church, so called from its divine founder. This disorder of the church is called a frenzy, because men's minds are reduced by it into such a state of delirium, that they do not know whether there is one God, or whether there are three. They confess but one God with their lips, while they entertain the idea of three in their thoughts ; so that their lips and their minds, or their words and their ideas, are at variance with each other : the consequence whereof is, that they deny the existence of any God. This is the true source of the naturalism which is now so prevalent in the world. For I appeal to experience, while the lips confess but one God, and the mind entertains the idea of three, whether such confession of the lips, and such idea in the mind, do not mutually tend to destroy each other ? Hence. if there be any conception of God left in the understanding, it is that of a mere word or name, destitute of any true per ception which implies a knowledge of him. Since then the idea of God, with all knowledge of him, is thus rent asunder, it is my design, in an orderly series, to enter into an inquiry con cerning God the Creator, the Lord the Eedeemer, and the Holy Spirit the Operator, and lastly, concerning the Divine Trinity ; to the end that what is thus torn to pieces may be re united, as it assuredly will be, whenever human reason is convinced from the "Word, and the light thence proceeding, 4 THE UNITY OF GOD. 4^—6 that there is a Divine Trinity, and that this Trinity exislB in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ, as the soul, body,' and proceeding operations exist together in a man ; and that there- tore this article in the Athanasian creed is true : " That in Christ God and Man, or the divine and human natures, are not two, but in one Person ; and that as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God ahd Man is one Christ." THE UNITY OF GOD. 6. Since the acknowledgment of God arising from a true kuowledge of him, constitutes the essence and soul of every pi.rt of theology, it is expedient to begin with the Unity of God ; which shall be proved methodically, in the following articles : I. That the Holy Sariptu/res throughout, and the doc trines of all Ohristm/n chwrches thence derived, maintain that the/re is a Ood, a/nd that hh is one. II. That there is an infux universal into the souls qf m,en, teaching them there is a Uod, a/nd he is one. III. That hence, there is no nation throughout the world, possessed either of religion or sound reason, hut that acknowledges a God, and that he is one. IY. That the nature and qualities of this one God, a/re subjects concerning which various nations and people have differed, a/nd do still differ ; a/nd this from several causes. V. That human reason, if it he so disposed, may collect and he convinced, from, the various ob jects in the visible world, that there is a God, and that he is one. VI. That unless God was one, the universe could not have been created or preserved. VII. TTiat every mam, who does not ac knowledge the being of a God, is excommum,icated from the Church, and in a state of condemnation. VIIL That no doc trine or worship of the Church, ca/n he consistent or coherent, with those who acknowledge not one God, but many. But we will proceed to a particular explanation of each article. 6. That the holy sceiptuees theoughout, and the doc- TEINES of all CHEISTIAN CHUECHES THENCE DEEIVED, MAINTAIN THAT THERE IS A GOD, AND THAT HE IS ONE. That the Holy Scriptures throughout maintain the being of a God, is plain from this consideration, that in their inmost contents they are nothing but God, that is, the Divine which proceeds from God, they being dictated by God ; and nothing can proceed from God, but what is himself, and is called the Divine. Such are the Holy Scriptures as to their inmost con tents : but in their derivative and subordinate contents, they are accommodated to the understandings of angels and men ; and in these contents the Divine is alike present, but in another form, wherein it is called the Divine-Celestial, the Divine-Spi ritual, and the Divine-Natural, all which forms are so many veils or coverings of God : foy God himself, as he dwells in the inmost 5 6, 7 THE UNITY OF GOD. contents of the Word, cannot be seen by any creature. Thus, when Moses desired to behold the glory of Jehovah, he was in formed, that no one can see God and live; which is equally true of the inmost contents of the "Word, wherein God is in his being (esse) and in his essence. JSTevertheless, the Divine which is in the inmost of the "Word, and is clothed with such veils as are accommodated to the perceptions of angels and men, emits thence its brightness, like light through crystalline forms, but with infinite varieties, according to the state of mind which a man has formed for himself, either from himself or from God. "Where the mind is framed in conformity to the divine will, the. Holy Scriptures are as a mirror, wherein men see God, every one after a manner and measure peculiar to himself: this mirror is composed of those truths that a man -learns from the Word, and imbibes into his soul by a suitable life and conversation ; from whence it is evident, that the Holy Scriptures are the ful ness of God. And as they maintain the existence of God, so do they also maintain his unity ; for the truths, whieh form the fore-mentioned mirror, cohere in one series, and do so affect tlie understanding, that a man cannot possibly frame an idea of God but as one. Hence, every one, whose reason is at all imbued with sanctity from the Word, knows in himself, as it were, that God is one, and deems it madness to affirm that there are more. Angels cannot open their lips to pronounce the word gods, by reason of, a continual resistance arising from the state and quality of the heavenly atmosphere which they breathe. The Divine Unity, however, is taught, not only by the general tenor of the Holy Scriptures, but also by a variety of particular passages ; as for example : " Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah" (Deut. vi. 4: and in like manner, Mark xii. 29) : " Surely God is in thee, and there is none else" (Isaiah xlv. 14) : " Am not I Jehovah ? and there is no God else beside me" (xlv. 21) : " I am Jehovah thy God ; and thou shalt know no other God but me" (Hosea xiii. 4). " Thus saith Jehovah the King of Israel, I am the First, and I am the Last, and beside me there is no God" (Isaiah xliv. 6) : " In that day Je hovah shall be king over all the earth : in that day there shall be one Jehovah, and his name one" (Zech. xiv. 9). 7. It is well known that all Christian churches assert the unity of God as au established point of doctrine. The reason of this is, because all their doctrines are derived from the Word .jf God : and they are all consistent with themselves, so far as one God is acknowledged, not only with the lips, but with the heart also. But where one God is acknowledged with the lips only, while the heart acknowledges three, as is the case with many Christians at this day, God with such persons is little else than a mere name, and the whole system of religion is no other- wiae regarded than as an idol of gold inclosed in a shrine, tha .6 THE UNITY OF GOD. 7, ^ eey to which is ..n possession of the priests alone ; so that while they read the Word, they have no perception of any light con tained in it, or derived from it, and do not even discover tlierein that God is one ; for with such persons the Word is as if it were covered with blots, by which the unity of God is entirely con cealed. These are the persons whom the Lord thus describes in the gospel : " Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand ; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive. For this peo ple's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed ; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should under stand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them" (Matt. xiii. 14, 15). All such persons are like men that shun the light, and enter into dark chambers where there are no windows for its admission, and grope about the walls in search of food or money ; till at length they acquire a sort ol vision like that of owls, whereby they are enabled to see in darkness : or they may be compared to a woman with several husbands, who is not a wife, but a lascivious harlot ; or to a virgin, who accepts rings from several suitors, and after her marriage with one, makes no scruple of bestowing her favors upon the rest. 8. II. That theee is an influx universal feom god into THE souls of men, TEACHING THEM THERE IS A GOD, AND HE is one. The existence of an influx from God into man, is implied in the general acknowledgment, that all good which is in a man, or which is done by him, if it be really good, is from God ; and in like manner, that all charity and all faith are from God ; for it is M'ritten, "A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven" (John iii. 27) ; and Jesus saifh, " Without me ye can do nothing" (John xv. 5) ; that is, nothing which has regard to charity or faith. This influx is into the souls of men, by reason that the soul is the inmost and supreme part of a man ; and the influx from God enters therein, and descends from thence into the inferior parts, which it quickens and en livens in proportion to its reception. Those truths which are the future materials for the building of faith, enter indeed by the organs of hearing, and so are implanted in the mind, thus in a region below the soul ; but the effect of these truths is, only to dispose a man for the reception of the divine influx through the soul ; and according as this disposition is produced, in the same proportion the divine influx is received, and the faith which was before only natural, is transformed into spiritual faith. This divine influx into the souls of men inspires the idea of one God alone, because all that is divine, whether it be con sidered in a general or a particular view, is God ; and since ali that is divine coheres together as a one, it cannot but inspire & 7 8, 9 THE UNITY OF GOD. man with an idea of the unity of God ; which idea is every day confirmed, in proportion as a man is elevated by the divine influence into the light of lieaven : for the angels, in the light of their world, cannot compel themselves to pronounce the word gods ; therefore all their speech, at the close of every sen tence, has its termination in unity of accent, which is merely in consequence of the divine influx into their souls respecting the unity of God. The reason why so many people conceive the Godhead to be separated into three persons of the same essence, notwithstanding this general influx into the souls of all men inspiring an idea of the divine unity, may be thus explained. That influx, as it descends, enters into forms that are not in a state of correspondence with it ; and the recipient form causes a change in the influx, according to the prevailing law in all the subjects of the three kingdoms of nature. It is the same God that communicates life to man and to beast ; but that this life in the former case is human, and in the latter bestial, is owing to the different natures of the recipient forms. The case is sim ilar with a man, when he induces on his mind the form of a beast, the change not being in the influx from God, but in the man's reception. Thus also the influx of light and heat from the sun into every plant is alike, but it is varied according to the particular form of each : it is the same in a vine that it is in a thorn ; bht if the thorn be ingrafted into the vine, the influx is then inverted, and proceeds according to the form of the thorn. So again in the subjects ofthe mineral kingdom : it is the same influx of light which shines upon a piece of chalk, and upon a diamond ; but it is owing to their different contextures, that in the former case it is rendered opaque, and in the latter it is transmitted with brightness. With respect to the minds of men, they are various according to their forms, which are in wardly spiritual, in proportion to their belief in God, if it be attended at the same time with life derived from God. Those forms become transparent and angelical by a faith in one God ; but, on the contrary, dark and bestial by a faith in several gods, which differs but little from a faith in no God. 9. III. That hence, there is no nation theoughout the WOELD, possessed EITHEE OF RELIGION OR SOUND REASON, BUT THAT ACKNOWLEDGES THE BEING OF A GOD, AND THAT HE IS ONE. From what has been said concerning the divine influx into the souls of men, it follows, that there is an internal impression on the heart of every man, dictating to him the existence and the unity of God. It is true, indeed, there are some men who deny the being of a God, and who set up nature m his stead ; aud others who worship more Gods than one, and like wise pay divine adoration to images ; but this is because they bave closed up the interiors of their reason, or understandingj THE UNITY OF GOD. 9. 10 with worldly and corporeal things, and have thereby obliterated the primitive idea of God, or that which was impressed upon them in their infancy ; and, at the same time, have banished all religion from their bosoms, casting it behind them. That Christians acknowledge one God, but in a certain manner, appears evident from this general confession in their Creed: " Ihe Catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in trinity, and trinity in unity ; neither confounding the persons, nor divid ing the substance : for there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost ; and yet there are not three gods, but one God ; although the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. For like as we are compelled hy the Christian verity to acknowledge every person by himself to he God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the Catholic faith to say there be three gods or three lords." Such is the faitli of Christians concerning the unity of God ; but that the trinity and unity of God are at variance with each other according to this confession, will appear, when we come to treat of the Divine Trinity. The other nations of the world, that are influenced either by religion or sound reason, are all agreed in their acknowledgment of one God alone ; as all the Mahometans in their several empires ; the Africans, throughout many kingdoms in their continent ; the Asiatics, for the most part, throughout in theirs ; and likewise the modern Jews. Among the most ancient people in the world, who lived in the time which is called the golden age, such as professed any sort of religion, worshipped one God, whom they called Je hovah. The people of the succeeding age agreed in the same worship, until the establishment of monarchical power, when worldly and at length corporeal affections began to close up the superior parts of the understanding, which heretofore had been opened towards heaven, as so many temples and sacred recesses for the worship of one God. It was to open again those inte riors of the human mind, and thereby to restore the worship of one God, that the Lord established a church among' the posterity of Jacob, and prefixed to all their religious precepts this com mandment, " Thou shalt have no other Gods before me" (Exod. XX. 3). The name Jehovah, also, which he assumed anew upon this occasion, signifies the supreme and only being, from whom all other beings in the universe derive their essence and exist ence. The ancient Gentiles worshipped the supreme God under the name Jove, possibly so called from Jehovah, and they ad mitted also many subordinate deities, who composed his court ; but the philosophers of succeeding ages, as Plato and Aristotle, would not allow these to be separate gods, but only distinct prop erties, qualities, and attributes of one God, which had gained the name of gods from their partaking of divinity. 10. Sound reason also, though it be not under any religious 9 lOjll THE UNriY OF GOD. influence, can discern plainly, that where things aie in a state of separation, and without dependence on one first cause, they must instantly fall to pieces, and be dissolved ; as the various members, viscera, and other organs of motion and sensation, whereof the human body is composed, could only be preserved in their state of life and activity, by their dependence upon one soul ; and the body itself must come to dissolution, if it were not connected with, and dependent on, one heart. In like man ner, every kingdom derives support from one king, and every family from one master, and every various function and office in each kingdom, from one officer or chief. What could an army do in the field of battle without a commander-in-chief, to whom the other officers are subordinate, each of whom exercises his particular authority over the common soldiers ? From this reasoning, then, we may conclude what would befall the church without the acknowledgment of one God, and also what would befall the whole angelic heaven, which is as the head of the church on earth, animated by tlie Lord, who is the life and soul of both : therefore heaven and the church are called his body ; which, in case they did not acknowledge their dependence upon one God, would become like a lifeless corpse, fit only to be cast out and buried. 11. IV. That the nature and qualities of Tins one god, ARE SUBJECTS EESPECTING WHICH VARIOUS NATIONS AND PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERED, AND DO STILL DIFFER ; AND THIS FROM SEVERAL CAUSES. ' The first reason is, because the knowledge of God, and a consequent acknowledgment of him, are not attainable without a revelation ; and a knowledge of the Lord, and a consequent acknowledgment that " in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," is not attainable, except from the Word of God, which is the crown of revelations. For by the help of revelation a man is enabled to approach unto God, and to re ceive influx from him, and thereby from natural to become spir itual. In the earliest ages of the world, therefore, a revelation was published and made universal ; but it was perverted by various artifices of the natural man, whence have arisen all the disputes, dissensions, heresies, and schisms, that have in all times divided the church. A second reason why men have dif fered in their opinions concerning God is, because the natural man cannot perceive, or apply to himself, the things of God, but only the things pf the world ; therefore it is an established doc trine in the Christian church, that the natural man and the spir itual man are at enmity with each other. Hence those who have discovered the being of God, from his Word and other revelations, have yet differed, and do differ, concerning his nature, and con cerning his unity. Where the intellectual sight has been made dependent on the bodily senses, and yet men have been desirous 10 THE UNITY OF GOD. 11, 12 to see God, they have formed for themselves images of gold, silver, stone, and wood, that they might worshif God under such appearances as were adapted to the senses of the natural man. Others' again, who saw the absurdity of such image-worship, fell into another species of idolatry, and fancied they could dis cern God in the sun, the moon, the stars, and other parts of the visible creation. A third sort, who had a fond opinion of their own superior wisdom, and yet remained in a natural or unregenerate state, seeing the immensity and omnipresence of the Deity in the creation of the world, conceived nature to be God, and acknowledged ber as such, either in her more secret and inward operations, or, according to others, in her visible and external manifestations. Others again, to make a distinc tion between God and nature, conceived to themselves some most universal principle as entering into the composition of all creatures, which they called the Being (Mis) of the universe, and this they supposed to be God ; but since they had no further knowledge of God, than of some such ideal principle, this was in fact no knowledge of God at all. For how plain is it to per ceive, that, knowledges concerning God are the only mirrors wherein to see God? and that those who- have no knowledge concerning God, do not see him, as it were, in a mirror with its face turned towards them, but look for him on the back, which, being covered with mercury, or some other thick substance, does not reflect, but suffocates, the image presented to it ? The faith of God enters into a man by a prior or interior way, that is, from the soul into the superior regions of the understanding ; but knowledges concerning God are received by a posterior or external way, that is, from the revealed Word of God by the understanding, through the channels of the bodily senses ; and these influences meet in the understanding as in a common cen tre, where natural faith, which at first is no more than a mere persuasion, is changed into spiritual faith, which is a real con sent and acknowledgment. The human understanding is, as it were, the refining vessel wherein this change is wrought. 12. V. That human reason, if it be so disposed, may col lect, AND BE CONVINCED, FROM THE VARIOUS OBJECTS IN THE VISIBLE WORLD, THAT THEEE IS A GOD, AND THAT HE IS ONE. This truth may be confirmed by innumerable testimonies m the visible creation ; for the universe is as a theatre, on which the evidences of the existence of a God, and his unity, are con tinually exhibited. But for the illustration of this truth I shall produce the following memorable relation from the spiritual world. Being on a time in conversation with angels, there joined us some spirits who were lately arrived from the natural world ; to whom, having wished them much joy in their new state, I related many particulars, before unknown to them, respecting the world of spirits. After some discourse I began 11 li THE UNH'Y OF GOD. to inquire of them, what opinions they had brought from their world concerning God and nature? They replied, that they had heard in the world, that nature is the sole operatrix in the universe of creation, and that God, after creation, gave or impressed upon nature this power and faculty of operation, while he himself only supports and preserves things from de struction, and therefore the life, the growth, and the increase of every thing, were at this day ascribed to nature. But in an swer to this I objected,, that nature of herself can do nothing, but that God is the sole operator, by and through nature ; and fbr their further satisfaction on this point, I argued, that who ever believes in a divine operation throughout the particular parts of nature, may confirm himself, by many arguments de rived from the visible things of the creation, in favor of the operation of God, rather than of nature. For let him but attend to the wonders conspicuous in the productions of both vegetables and -animals ; and first in the peoductions of vegetables ; that from a small seed sown in the ground there is emitted a root, and by means of the root a stem, and afterwards branches, buds, leaves, fiowers, and fruits, till at length new seeds are produced by such a regular process, as if the first seed was acquainted with all the orderly steps and successive stages, through which it must pass to its self-renewal in the second seed. What reason a;ble man can suppose that the sun, which is pure fire, is ac quainted with this wonderful process ; or that he can instruct his heat and light how to effect it ; or can design and intend such purposes ? Were the rational faculty in a man but in any degree elevated above the objects of sense, he must be forced to confess, from a sight and consideration of such things, that they. are derived from a being of infinite wisdom, and of consequence from God. Such persons as acknowledge the divine operation in every particular part of nature, confirm themselves in such an acknowledgment by the observation of these wonders ; but on the other hand, such as do not acknowledge the divine opera tion, behold these wonders with an inverted sight, and not with the clear and direct eye of reason ; forming all their ideas and conclusions according to the suggestions of the bodily senses, and confirming their fallacies by the most trivial arguments ; asserting the light and heat of the sun to be the principal and first operating causes of all effects, and denying the existence of such things as do not fall under the notice of the bodily eyes. Those who are willing to believe in a divine principle operating in nature, confirm this belief further, by attending to the various wonders which they behold in the productions of animals ; as first, when they consider an egg, wherein the young chicken lies hid, as in its seed, with all things requisite for its formation, and likewise for its future growth, from the time of incubation till it becomes a complete bird of its own oeculiar kind and form. A 12 THE UNrrY OF GOD. 13 ftirther attention to the general nature and instincts of' tlie feathered race exhibits to the contemplative mind, such a scene of wonders as begets astonishment ; to observe in the least as well as in the largest species, in the invisible as well as in the visible, that is, in the most minute insects as well as in birds and other large animals, that they are all endowed with organs of sense, such as seeing, smelling,- tasting, and feeling ; as like wise with organs of motion, such as muscles, whereby they are enabled to walk and fly ; and lastly, with viscera adhering to the heart and lungs ; all which derive their life and action from the brain. Those who ascribe all things to nature, observe indeed these woilderful phenomena, but then they reflect little upon their real causes, and resolve all into mere natural agency ; and this in consequence of having turned their minds from thinking about God, in which case they disqualify themselves for think ing rationally, and much more for thinking spiritually, upon the natural wonders wliich they behold : thus they fall into a sen sual and material way of thinking and concluding, never rising above the- sphere of nature, a,nd diQ'er from beasts in this respect alone, that they still enjoy the faculty of rationality, and are capable of understanding if they would. Men who are thus averse from thinking of God, and are become thereby mere sen sual corporeal beings, do not consider how gross aijd material the sight of the bodily eye is, which, when applied to discern the minute parts of animated nature, sees a heap of small insects as one obscure confused spot without form or order ; whereas every one of these insects is endowed with organs of sense and motion, and of consequence with fibres and vessels ; and likewise with a heartland pulmonary tubes, minute viscera, and brains; all which are contextures of the purest substances in nature, and correspond to life in its ultimate degree, by which their most minute parts are distinctly acted upon and enlivened. Since the sight of the bodily eye is so gross and defective, that many insects, with the innumerable component parts of each, appear to it as a small confused spot, and yet sensual men form their reasonings and conclusions from such vision, it is manifest how very gross and defective the vision of their understandings must be, and in what darkness they dwell with respect to the percep tion of spiritual things. Every man, if he be so disposed, may confirm himself in favor of a divine agency, from beholding the visible things of the crea tion ; ' and that man does so confirm himself who reflects upon the existence of a God, together with his omnipotence in crea ting the universe, and his omnipresence in preserving it ; while, for instance, he observes the fowls of the air, how every species knows its own proper food, a,nd where it may be found ; that it distinguishes those of its own kind by their voice and figure ; that each bird can distinguish its friends from its enemies ; that 13 12 THE UNI'lT OF GOD. the) al., at certain seasons, join in pairs, and celebrate connu bial ., ites ; how artfully they build their nests, lay their eggs, sit upon them, are acquainted with the time of hatching ; at which tijne they help their young out of the shell, love them with the utmost tenderness, cherish them under their wings, and provide them with food, with which they nourish and support them until they are able to provide for themselves, and go through a similar progression. Every man who is disposed to think of a divine influx through the spiritual world into that of nature, may surely behold a full proof of it in these wonders, and also con fess in his heart that such skill and science as is discoverable in these animals cannot possibly be communicated from the sun, by means of its heat and light ; since that sun, from which nature derives its birth and essence, is pure flre, and of con sequence the effluxes of its light and heat are altogether void of life ; and hence he may conclude that such effects are produced by a divine influx, through the spiritual world, into the ulti mates of nature. Every man may also confirm himself in favor of a divine agency, if he but attends to the history of caterpillars and silk worms ; how, under the impulse of pleasure, arising from some innate affection, they seek and aspire after a change of their earthly state for one analogous to a heavenly state ; and for this purpose they creep into suitable places, where they infold them selves in a covering, and so return again, as it were, into the womb, from whence they look for a new birth, to become chry salises, aurelise, nymphs, and at length butterfiies ; and when they have passed through these several changes, and put on their beautiful wings, according to their species, they fiy abroad into the open air, as into their proper heaven, where they in dulge in all festive sports, solemnize their connubial rites, and lay their eggs, with a view of continuing their kind to future generations ; and then they feed upon a sweet and pleasant food, extracted from the flowers of the field. Where the mind is con firmed in favor of a divine agency, by the visible things of nature, how plainly may it discern in these wonders an image of the earthly and heavenly states of man ! of his earthly state in the dull creeping worm, and of his heavenly and regenerate state in the sportive and exulting butterfly ! But those who con firm themselves in favor of nature's agency, though tbey behold these wonders, still call them mere natural effects, in conse quence of having rejected from their minds the heavenly state of man. Every one, again, may confirm himself in favor of a divine agency by the visible things of nature, if he but attends to the well-known facts relating to bees ; that they have the art to gather wax and suck honey from the flowers of the field, and Wild tliemselves cells for their little habitations, which they die- 14 THE UNITY OF GOD. li pose in the manner of a regular city, with streets and passages for their coming in and going out ; that they can smell out flowers and plants at a distance, from which they collect wax for their houses, and honey for their food ; and that, when laden with these treasures, they find their way back to their hives, where they store up their food to be a supply during winter, as if they foresaw its approach. It is further remarkable of these animals, that they choose themselves a- queen, to be at once their sovereign, and the parent of a future race, whom they provide therefore with a palace in an elevated situation, which they fur nish with proper guards and attendants ; and when the time comes that she should be the mother of a new offspring, she is accompanied by these guards, called drones, from cell to cell, wherein she deposits her eggs, while her attendants cover them with a sort of oiiitment, to secure them from the inclemencies of the air. Hence arises a new generation, which, when it is old enough to provide for itself, is expelled the hive, and forced to look out for a new habitation, not however till they have first collected themselves in a swarm, to prevent their disunion. About the time of autumn, the indolent drones, who have added nothing to the common stock, either of wax or honey, are led aWay f^om the hive, and deprived of their wings to prevent their return, lest they should consume that provision which they had taken no pains to collect. Many other surprising facts are re lated of these animals ; but the fore-mentioned are a sufficient proof that, on account of their uses to mankind, they are in structed by a divine influx, through the spiritual world, to model for themselves such a form of government as exists among men on earth, and even among angels in heaven. How plainly must every man of uncorrupted reason perceive that such instincts are . not communicated to bees from the natural world ! for what virtue is there in the sun of the natural world, to contrive a form of government so exactly corresponding with the celestial ? From these, then, and the like wonders observable in the animal creation, the advocate and worshipper of nature confirms himsell in favor of nature, while the advocate and worshipper of God, by a contemplation of the same wonders, confirms himself in favor of God ; for the spiritual man in such things sees what is spirit ual, but the natural man sees only what is natural ; thus every one according to his quality. As to myself, I must confess that the consideration of such wonders has long been a testimony with me in favor of an influx from God, through the spiritual world into the natural. Consider also, whether you feel it pos sible to reason analytically concerning any particular form of government, or any law of civil society, or any moral virtue, or any spiritual truth, except by means of an influx of divine wis dom from God, through the spiritual world. For my own part I have long felt and still feel it to be impossible, having had a 15 12, 13 THE UNTIY OF GOD. sensible and manifest perception of such infiux, without inter ruption, for six and twenty years past ; therefore I speak from my own experience. Can nature, let me ask, regard uses as the end of her opera tions, or dispose such uses into their orders and forms ? This is in the power of no one but a wise being ; and so to order and form the universe is in the power of no one but God, whose wisdom is infinite. Who else could foresee and provide"" for mankind what is necessary for their food and clothing, or make the herbs, fruits, and animals which the earth produces subser vient to such provision ? It is surely a most wonderful consid eration that those vile reptiles, called silkworms, should supply, with comfortable and elegant clothing, all ranks of men, from monarchs on their thrones, down to the lowest of their vassals ; and that those small animals, the bees, should furnish wax to illuminate both our temples and our palaces. These, with several other similar considerations, are standing proofs that God, by his own operation through the spiritual world, effects whatever is done in nature. It may not be amiss here to subjoin the extraordinary appear ance of those persons in the spiritual world, who, from a contem plation of things here below, have confirmed themselves iti favor of nature against God, arid have thereby become atheists. Their intellects, when viewed by spiritual light, appear open below, but closed above, in consequence of their having, in their reasonings and reflections, looked downwards towards the earth, and not upwards towards heaven. Above their sensual principle, which is the lowest region of the understanding, there appears as it were a veil, sparkling with infernal' fire ; in some cases black as smoke, and in others pale and livid as a corpse. Let every one, therefore, take heed to guard himself against confirmations in favor of nature, and to confirm himself in favor of God ; for this is at least the safer side. 13. VI. That unless god was one, the universe could not HAVE been CEEATED OE PEESEEVED. The unity of God may be inferred from the creation of the universe, since the universe being a coherent and uniform work, from first to last, depends upon God, as the body depends upon the soul. The universe is so created, that God may be everv- where present therein, and keep the whole, with all its parte, under his government and observation, and may thus maintain it in perpetual unity, which is to preserve it. It is for this reason that Jehovah God declares that he is " the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega" (Isaiah xliv. 6 ; Kev. i. 8, 17) ; and in another place, " I am the Lord that maketh all things ; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone ; tliat spreadeth abroad the earth by myself" (Isaiah xliv. 24Y .Tk,!s great system, which we call the universe, is a coherent an'd 16 THE UNITY OF GOD. 13, 14 uniform work, from first to last, by reason that God intended but this one end in its creation, — to form au angelic heaven from the human race ; and all things whereof the world consists are means to promote this end; for the desire of any end implies also a desire ofthe means requisite for its promotion. If, there fore, we regard the world as a work containing means adapted to such an end, we may also regard the universe of creation as a coherent and uniform work, and may perceive that it is a com plex of uses, in successive order, for the service of the human race, out of which is formed the angelib heaven. For the divine love cannot design any other end than the eternal happiness of men, by a communication of itself; and the divine wisdom can not produce any thing but uses, as means for the promotion of that end. By contemplating the world, according to this en larged and universal idea, every wise man may discern that the Creator of the universe is one, and that his essence is love and wisdom ; of consequence, there is not a single thing existing iu the world but that contains some hidden use, more or less remote, for the service of man. While people consider only particular parts of the creation, and do not take a view of the whole, iu its connected series, as consisting of ends, mediate causes, and effects ; or while they do not refer creation to its true source, as an effect derived from the divine love, by means of the divine wisdom, it is impossible they should see that the universe is the workmanship of one God, and that he has his abode in the uses of every particular thing, being the end for which it was created. For whatever is in the end is also in the means conducive thereto, inasmuch as the end itself is in all the means, acting in them, and producing its own ultimate pur poses. While men consider the universe, not as the workman ship of God, and the habitation of his love and wisdom, but as the workmanship of nature, and the habitation of the sun's light and heat alone, they close up the superior parts of their minds against the' admission of God, and open the inferior parts thereof for the admission of the devil, whereby they divest themselves of the nature of men, and acquire the nature of beasts, not only believing, but actually making, themselves like unto them ; for they become foxes in cunning, wolves in fierceness, leopards iii treachery, tigers in cruelty, and crocodiles, serpents, owls, and bats, as to the respective natures of those animals. In the spiritual world such persons appear also, at a distance, in the proper shapes of such beasts as they represeilt in disposition ; ¦for it is their love of evil which thus represents itself in the par ticular figure of each. 14. VII. That every man who does not acknowledge a 10D IS excommunicated from the church, and in a state of condemnation. Whoever does not acknowledge the being of a God, is of 17 c 14 THE UNITY :F GOD. necessity excommunicated from the church : since as God is tha all in all of the church, and divine subjects which are called theological, are what constitute its existence, therefore a denial of God is a denial also of the church, and of all things which be long to it ; and it is this denial which excommunicates, so that man, and not God is the author of such excommunication. _ By the same act the man is brought into a state of condemnation ; because whoever is excommunicated from the church, is excom municated also from heaven ; for the church on earth and the angelic heaven are one in operation, just as the internal and ex ternal and as the spiritual and natural principles of man are one ; for man was so created by God as to be, with respect to his internal, an inhabitant of the spiritual world, and with re spect tp his external, an inhabitant of the natural world : thus he was created a native of both worlds, to the intent that a spiritual principle, which is of heavenly extraction, might be im planted in his natural principle, which is of earthly extraction, like seed sown in the ground, that so he might acquire a fixed and everlasting existence. "Whoever, by a denial of God has excommunicated himself from the church, and thereby from heaven, has also by the same act closed up his internal man, with respect to the faculty pf the will, and thereby with respect to his genial love ; for a man's will is the receptacle of his love, and becomes its habitation. But the internal man cannot be closed up with respect to the faculty of the understanding ; for were this practicable, and to take place, then a man would be no longer a man. The love principle of the will, however, in fatuates the superior regions of the understanding with falses, in which case the understanding becomes as it were closed against the reception of the truths which are of faith and the goods which are of charity, and thereby more and more against the reception of God, and of the spiritual things of the church. Thus the man is excluded from communion with the angels of heaven, and when excluded he introduces himself into com munion with the satanic spirits of hell, and thinks in unity with them ; and as all satanic spirits deny God, and are infatuated in their conceptions concerning him and the spiritual things of the church, so also does every man who is joined in fellowship with them. When he thinks according to the dictates of his spirit, or internal man, as is the case when he is left alone to his own reflections, he suffers his thoughts to be led by the pleasures of the evil and the false which he has conceived and brought forth in himself, and he then fancies that there is no God, and that the name of such a Being is a mere fiction, devised by prieste, for the purpose of keeping the vulgar in obedience to the laws of civil society. He further imagines that the Word of God, from whence the ministers of God proclaim aloud his divine majesty, is a mere visionary collection of records, void of all 18' THE UNITY OF GOD. 14^ 15 sanctity, but what has been stamped upon it by public author ity ; and that the decalogue, or catechism, is a book fit ibr little children, but which may afterwards be thrown aside, as con taining no precepts but what are taught by the civil laws ol every country, as, that men should honor their parents, and do no murder, neither commit adultery, nor steal, nor bear false witness, &c. His notions concerning the church are of the same character ; that it is a congregation of weak, simple, and credulous people, who fancy they see things which have 'no real existence. Respecting man, and himself as a man, he has the same ideas as respecting brute beasts ; and concludes that both will experience a similar fate after death. These are the opin ions of his internal man, whatever contrary professions he may make with his external man ; for, as was observed above, every man has both an internal and an external part, and it is the in ternal which properly constitutes the man, and which is called his spirit, and survives the death of the body ; whereas the ex ternal part is buried at death, and however the internal may thereby have played the hypocrite by a semblance of virtue, yet by reason of his denial of God he is then in a state of condem nation. Every man, as to his spirit, is consociated with his like in the spiritual world, and is as one with them ; and I have fre quently been permitted to see the spirits of persons now alive on earth, in the spiritual societies, both angelic and infernal, whereto they respectively belong. I have also conversed with them for several days together, and it has often been matter ot wonder with me, that a man, while in the body, is totally unac quainted with this state of his spirit. Hereby I was fully as sured that whoever denies God, is already among the condemned, and after death is gathered to his companions. 15. VIII. That no doctrine or worship of the church can ? be consistent or coherent, with those who acknowledge not ONE GOD, but many. Whoever acknowledges one God in faith, and worships him in heart, is in the communion of saints on earth, and in the com munion of angels in heaven. These are called communions, and in reality are so ; since they are in one God, and one God is in them. Whoever also is in these communions, is in conjunction with the universal angelic heaven, and, I will venture to affirm, with all and every particular angel therein ; because they are all as the children and offspring of one father, whose minds, manners, and countenances, bear such a resemblance, that they thereby mutually recognize each other. The angelic heaven is arranged into societies, according to all the varieties of the love of good, which varieties all concentre in one most universal love, the love of God ; from which love all derive their birth and de scent, who in faith acknowledge, and in heart worship, one God, who is both the Creator of the universe, and at the same time 19 15, 16 THE UNITY OF GOD. the Eedeemer and Eegenerator of mankind. But the case is altered, if, instead of one God, men address and worship more than one; or if they acknowledge but one God with their lips, while they have the' idea of three in their thoughts ; as is done by those in the church of the present day who divide God into three persons, and declare each person, by himself, to be God, and attribute to each distinct qualities arid properties, which they do not allow to the other. Hepce not only is the unity of God actually divided, but the whole theological system, and also the human mind, in which it should reside, are divided with it ; and what can thence result but perplexity and incoherency in all things appertaining to the church ? That such is the_ state of the present church, will be proved in the appendix to this work. The truth is, that the division of God, or ofthe Divine Essence, into three persons, whereof each singly, or of himself, is God, leads to a denial of God ; and implies the same as if a man should go into a temple to perform his devotions, and should there see painted over the altar one God, as the ancient of days, another as a great high priest, and a third as a flying JEolus, with this inscription, " These three are one God ;" or, as if he should see there the unity and trinity described as a man with three heads upon one body, or with three bodies under one head, which is the form of a monster. Should any one enter heaven with such an idea, he would assuredly be cast out, how ever he might excuse himself by saying, that the head or heads signified essence, and the body or bodies different properties. 16. To . the above I shall add a memorable relation. I once observed some persons, lately arrived out of the natural world into the spiritual, who were conversing together about the existence of three Divine Persons from eternity. They wer6 dignitaries of the church, and one of them was a bishop. On their approach, after some discourse about the spiritual world, with which they were before utterly unacquainted, "I overheard you," said I, " conversing respecting three Divine Persons exist ing from eternity, and I beseech you to unfold this great mys tery to me, according to the ideas which you had conceived in the natural world, from whence you are lately come." Then the primate, looking attentively at me, replied, "I perceive that you are a layman, and therefore I will unfold to you the ideas of my mind concerning this great mystery for your instruction. It always was, and is still, my notion, that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, sit in the midst of heaven upon magnificent and lofty seats or thrones ; God the Father on a throne of the finest gold, with a sceptre in his hand ; God the Son at his right hand, upon a throne of the purest silver, with a crown on his head ; and God the Holy Ghost beside them, upon 20 the UNITY OF GOD. 16 a throne of shining crystal, holding in his hand a dove ; and that round about them there hangs a triple row of burning lamps. glittering with precious stones ; and at a distance there stand innumerable companies of angels, worshipping and singing praises. I conceive further, that God the Father holds continual conference with the Son, concerning those who are to be justified, and that they determine and decree together who upon the earth should be worthy to be received among the angels, and to be crowned with eternal life ; and that God the Holy Ghost, having heard the names of such, hastens instantly to them over all parts of the earth, carrying with him the gifts of righteousness, as so many tokens of salvation, to those who are justified ; and imme diately on his coming and breathing upon them, he disperses their sins, as a ventilator does the smoke out of a furnace, and also removes the stony hardness from their hearts, and makes them soft as fiesh, and at the same time renews their spirits or minds, and begets them to newness of life, and gives them the innocent countenances of little children ; and lastly, signs them in their foreheads with the sign of the cross, and calls them the elect, and the children of God." The primate having thus ex plained himself, further added, addressing himself to me, "Thus did I unravel this great mystery while i lived upon the earth ; and because several of our order, did then much applaud my opinions herein, I am persuaded that you also, being a layman, will join in the same approbation." Here the primate ended ; and I then, looking attentively at him and the dignitaries with him, observed that they all gave tokens of favorable assent to what he had advanced ; whereupon I prepared to reply, and said, " I have well weighed the exposition of your faith, and have thence collected, that you have conceived and cherished a merely natural and sensual, yea, a material idea concerning the triune God, from which there inevitably fiows the idea of three gods. Is it not a sensual conception of God the Father, to think that he sits upon a throne with a sceptre in his hand ? and of the Son, that he is on a throne with a crown upon his head ? and of the Holy Ghost, that he also sits upon his throne, with a dove in his hand; and that in obedience to the decrees of the two former, he runs to and fro through the whole earth ? Where fore, since there hence results such an idea, I cannot possibly accord with this exposition of your faith. For, from my earliest years, I could never admit into my mind the idea of more gods than one ; and as I have always received, and do still retain, this idea of one God alone, therefore all that you have said is of no weight with me. I then plainly perceived, that by the throne wliereon Jehovah is said to sit, according to the letter of Scrip ture, is signified the kingdom ; by the sceptre and crown, government and dominion ; by sitting on the right hand, the omnipotence of God by his humanity ; and that by all the ex- 31 16, 17 THE UNITY OF GOD. pressions relating to the Holy Ghost, are signified the operations cf the divine omnipresence. Be pleased only, my lord, to adopt the idea of one God, and give your reason time to digest it well ; and then you will plainly apprehend the truth of what I say. Indeed you yourselves also declare God to be one, inasmuch as you make the essence of those three persons to be one, and also indivisible ; nevertheless you do not allow any to maintain that one God to be one single person, but you insist that there are three ; and this you do from an apprehension lest the idea ot three gods, according to your conception, should be lost. Tou likewise ascribe to each person separate and distinct properties ; and do not you thereby separate the Divine Essence ? and how then can you say, and at the same time think, that God is one ? I could excuse you if you should assert that the Divine is one. How is it possible, when a man is told, that 'the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, and that each per son by himself is God,' that he should conceive there is only one God ? Is not there a contradiction herein, which cannot be reconciled ? It may, indeed, be said, that they partake of Divinity alike ; but to call them one God is highly improper ; and this may be illustrated by these considerations : — It would be improper to say of several men, who compose one senate, con gregation, or council, that they are one man; when, neverthe less, on a supposition that they all agree in sentiment, it may properly enough be said, that they think alike, and are of one opinion; so likewise, in the case of three diamonds of one and the same substance, it cannot properly be said that they are one diamond, but that they are one with respect to substance, and that each diamond diners from the other in value, according to its particular weight; whereas it would not be so, supposing there was only one, and not three. But I perceive the true reason why you call the three Divine Persons but one God, and insist upon every member of the church using the same lan guage, notwithstanding you declare each singly and by himself to be God : you are ashamed to contradict herein the common sense and reason of all mankind, which will not allow of more gods than one ; and yet you are not ashamed, while you profess with your lips only one God, to entertain the idea of three in your thoughts." On hearing this, the bishop, with his clerical attendants, retired ; and as he went away, he turned about, and endeavored to say, "There is one God;" but he was not able, for his thought drew his tongue back again ; and then he vocif erated, " Three gods." AH who stood by smiled at the strange eight, and departed. 17. Afterwards I inquired where I might meet with some of those learned men who have most distinguished themselves by their acuteness and arguments,' in maintaining the separation of the Divine Trinity into three persons ; and there appeai-ed before 2l£t THE UNITY OF GOD. 17 me three, whom 1 thus addressed : " How can you separate the Divine Trinity into three persons, and assert each person by hiiii.self, or singly, to be God and Lord ? Is not the confession of yuur lips, concerning the Divine Unity, as distant herein from the thought of your minds, as the north is from the south ?" " i^ot in the least," they replied ; " because we allow but one essence to the three persons, and the divine essence is God. We were formerly, while on earth; tutors of a trinity ot persons, and the pupil under our care was this our faith, by which we allow to each divine person his respective office ; to God the Father, that ol imputation and donation ; to God the Son, that of intercession and mediation ; and to God the Holy Ghost, that of effecting ihe purposes of imputation and media tion." " Bnt," I asked, ' wtiat do you mean by the Divine Essence ?" They answered, *' We mean omnipotence, omni science, omnipresence, immeftsity, eternity, equality of majesty." I replied, " According to this supposition, that such essence can make one God of several distinct gods, you may stiU keep adding to the number, and may take in a fourth, as for example, the God Schaddai,* mentioned by Moses, Ezekiel, and Job. For thus did the old philosophers in Greece and Italy, who assigned equal attributes, and thereby a like essence, to their several fods, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Apollo, Juno, Diana, Einerva' ; nay, even to Mercury and Venus ; but still they never pretended, that all those were but one God. You yourselves also are three distinct persons, and, as I perceive, of similar eru dition, and therefore of similar essence in that respect ; and yet you cannot, by any combination, become but one scholar." Hereupon they smiled, and replied, " You are surely not in earnest ; the case is very different with the Divine Essence, which being one, and not tripartite, and being individual, and so not divided, cannot possibly be an object of partition and division." To this I rejoined, " On this ground let us rest the dispute; and let me ask you, what you mean hj pearson, and what the word signifies ?" They answered, " The word person signifies, not any part or quality in another, but what properly and distinctly subsists in itself; thus do the most celebrated writers in the church define the word person, and we abide by their definition." " And is this," said I, " your signification of the word ?" They said, " It is." Then I rei>lied, " According to this definition, there is not any part of the Father in the Son, or any part of either in the Holy Ghost ; from which it follows, that each of the three is independent of the rest in respect of authority, power, and jurisdiction, and therefore nothing unites them but the will, which is distinct in each, and of consequence communicable only at the pleasure of each ; and is not this • It is to be observed, that no mention is to be found, in the English Bible, of th« 9od Schiiddai, our translators, having substituted the term " God Almighty."' 23 17, 18 THE DIVrNB ESSE, making the three persons into three separate gods ? Again, you have further defined the word person to signi'ty, that which has a distinct subsistence ; consequently you make three substances, into which you separate the Divine Essence ; and yet you say that this essence is incapable of division, because it is one and individual : you moreover attribute to each substance, that is, to each person, properties which do not belong to the other two, and which cannot even be communicated to them ; such as im putation, mediation, and operation ; and what conclusion must follow from this, but that the three persons are three distinct gods ?" On hearing these words they withdrew, saying, " We will consider this reasoning, and, after consideration, we will make our reply." There was present at the debate a certain wise man, who, when it was ended, said to the three learned dis putants, " I have no inclination -to examine this high subject through the medium of such subtle arguments ; but, setting them aside, I can see as clear as the light, that in the ideas of your minds there are three gods ; yet since you are ashamed to publish them to the world, fbr fear of being called madmen and idiots, which would certainly be the case, therefore, to avoid that ignominy, you confess but one God with your lips." The three disputants gave little attention to these words, continuing firm to their own opinions ; and as they departed, they muttered some metaphysical terms, which they had learned by rote ; whence I perceived that that science was the tripod, from which they were desirous to give their answers. WHICH IS JEHOVAH. 18. We shall first speak of the Divine Esse, and afterwards of the Divine Essence. It appears as if they were one and the same thing, when nevertheless the term esse is of more universal signification than essence ; for an essence supposes an esse, and an esse is the cause of an essence. The Esse of God, or the Divine Esse, cannot be described, since it transcends every idea of human thought ; for human thought can comprehend nothing but what is created and finite, and not what is uncreate and in finite ; consequently it can form uo conception of the Divine Esse. The Divine Esse is Esse itself, from which all things have their being, and which must needs be in all things to give them being. An ulterior notion of the Divine Esse may be formed from the following articles :— I. That ths one God is called Jehovali from his Esse, because he alone Is, Was, and Will he, and because he is the First and tlie Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha am,d the Omega. II. That the one God is substance itself, and Form itself ; and angds and men are substances and forms hy derivation from, him ; and so far as they are in him, and he in them, they a/re images and likenesses of him. HI. That tin 24 THE DIVINE ESSE. 18, 19 Divine Esse is Esse im, itself, and at the same time Existere in itself. IV. TJiat the Divine Esse and Existere in itself cannot produce another Divins that is Esse and Existere in itself ; consequently there cannot be a,nother God of the same essence. V. That a plurality of gods among tlie ancients, and also among the pwderns, had its rise solely in consequence of the Divine Esse not being understood. But we will proceed to explain each article particularly. 19. I. That the one god is called jbhovah feom his esse, BECAUSE he alone IS, WAS, AND WILL BK ; AND BECAUSE HE IS THE FIEST AND THE LAST, THE BEGESNING AND THE END, THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. That Jehovah signifies I AM and TO BE {Su,m et Esse), is well known ; and that God was so called from the earliest ages, appears from the book of creation, or Genesis, where, in the first chapter, he is called God ; but, in the second and the suc ceeding, Jehovah God ; and afterwards, when the descendants of Abraham, out of the loins of Jacob, forgot the name of God, by reason of their sojourning in Egypt, it was thus recalled to their remembrance : " Moses said unto God, what is thy name ? And God said, I AM. 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 forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations" (Exod. iii. 14, 15). Forasmuch as God alone is the I AM, and the ESSE, or JEHOVAH, therefore nothing exists in the universe of creation, but what derives its being {esse) from him ; the manner of which derivation will be shown presently. This also is signified by the following words : " I am the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega" (Isaiah xliv. 6 ; and Eev. i. 8, 11 ; xxii. 13) ; by which words is signified, that he is the essential Self, and the One only Being {Ipsum et Unicum) from first to last, and that all things are from him. The reason why God is called the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, is, be cause Alpha is the first, and Omega the last letter in the Greek alphabet ; and thence they signify all things in the complex. The true ground of this signification lies in the nature of alpha betic letters in the spiritual world, each of which is expressive of some particular sense or thing ; while every vowel, as serving to direct the tone of expression, is significative of something that has relation to affection or love. The spiritual or angelic speech and writing have their birth from this origin, but this is an arcanum hitherto unknown ; for there is a universal language, natural to all angels and spirits, and which has nothing in common with any language spoken by men on earth. Every man, after death, comes into the use and understanding of this language ; for it is implanted .in every one from creation ; and therefore throughout 25 19, 20 THE DIVINE ESSE. the whole spiritual world each understands another's speech. I have frequently been permitted to hear that language,_and, hav ing compared it with those spoken among men, I have found that it has not the slightest agreement or connection with any natural language on earth ; for it differs from them in this first principle, that every single letter of each word has its particular sense and signification. Hence then it is that God is called the Alpha and the Omega ; whereby is signified, that he is the essential Self, and the one only Being {Ipsum et IJnicum), from first to last, and that all things are from him. But concerning this language, and the writing thereof, as it flows from the spiritual thought of angels, more may be seen in a treatise written by me on Conjugiai. Love, n. 326 — 329 ; and also in the following pages. 20. II. That the one god is substance itself and form it self; AND angels and MEN ARE SUBSTANCES AND FORMS BY derivation FEOM HIM, AND SO FAR AS THEY ARE IN HIM, AND HE IN THEM, THEY AEE IMAGES AND LIKENESSES OF HIM. Since God is Esse, he is also substance ; for an esse without a substance is a mere imaginary entity, substance being a sub sisting entity ; and whatever is a substance is likewise a form, for substance too, without form, is a mere imaginary entity ; therefore both substance and form may be predicated of God, but with this distinction, that he is the only, the very, and the first substance and form {substantia et forma, unica, ipsa, et prima). That this form is truly and verily human, that is, that God is true and very man, in whom all things are infinite, is proved in a work entitled Angelic Wisdom concerning the DrviNE Love and the Divine WIsdom, published at Amster dam in the year 1763 ; as also that angels and men are sub stances and forms, created and organized for the reception of the divine influences through the heavens ; 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 ; but in the course of this work it will be abundantly proved, that in propor tion as a man lives under the divine government, that is, suffers himself to be led by God, so far he becomes his image more and more interiorly. Unless an idea be formed of God, as being the primary substance and form ; and of his form, as being truly and verily human, the minds of men would readily imbibe idle fancies, like so many imaginary spectres, concerning God him self, the origin of mankind, and the creation of the world. Of God they would conceive no other notion, than as of the nature of the universe in its first principles, that is, as of the expanse ol the universe, or &s of an empty shadow or a mere nothing ; con cerning the origin of mankind they would conceive, as of a for tuitous confiux of the elements into such a form ; and concern. ing the creation of the world, that the origin of its substances and forms is first from points, and afterwards from geometrical 26 THE DIVmE ESSE, 20, 21 lines, which as they are not predicated of any substance, are in fact mere nothings. To minds clouded with such notions, everv thing respecting the church appears as dark and obscure as tha river Styx or the gloom of Tartarus. 21. III. That the divine esse is esse in itself, and at the SAME TIME EXISTERE IN ITSELF. That Jehovah God is Esse in itself, is a consequence of his being the I AM, the essential Self, the one only Being, and the First {Sum, Ipswm, IJnicum,, et Primumi) from eternity to eter nity, from whom every thing that is derives its being, and with out whom it could not be any thing. In this, and no other sense, he is the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega. It cannot be said, that he had his own Esse from himself ; because this term from himself, supposes priority, and thereby time, which is not predicabje of the In finite, therefore it is said, from eteenity ; it likewise supposes another God, who is God in himself, and thereby God from God, or that God formed himself, in which case he would neither be uncreate nor infinite, because hereby he must have limited and determined himself, either from himself or from another. From this cause, that God is Esse in itself, it follows, that he is Love in itself, 'Wisdom in itself, and Life in itself; and that he is the very essential Self {Ipsum), from whom are all things, and to whom all things bear relation, as the sole ground of their being. That God is Life in itself, and thereby God, appears from the words of the Lord, in John v. 26 ; and in Isaiah : " I Jehovah make all things ; I stretch forth the heavens alone, and spread abroad the earth by myself" (xliv. 24): and that he is " God alone, and besides him there is no God" (Isaiah xlv. 14, 21 ; Hosea xiii. 4). That God is not only Esse in itself, but likewise Existere in itself, results from this, that an esse unless it exist is nothing, and in like manner an existere is nothing unless it be derived from its esse ; wherefore, granting one, we must also grant the other. The same reasoning is applicable to substance and form : a substance is nothing without a form, and a form cannot exist unless it be derived from a substance ; for nothing is predicable of a substance without a form ; and a form without a substance must be a mere nothing, because it is with out that which is necessary to give it quality or distinction. The reason of using the terms esse and existere, and not essence and existence, is, because there is a distinction to be made between esse and essence, and consequently between existere and exist ence, just as between what is prior and what is posterior, what is prior being more universal than what is posterior. Infinity and eternity are applicable to the Divine Esse ; but to the Divina Essence and Existence, divine love and divine wisdom are appli cable, and thereby omnipotence and omnipresence : of which therefore we shall speak in their order. 27 22 ' THE divine esse, 22. Tliat God is the very essential Self, the one only Being; and the First {Ipsu7n, JJnicam, et Primum), which is called the Esse and Existere in itself, from which are all things which are, and exist, the natural man by his own reason cannot possibly discover ; for the natural man by his own reason can apprehend nothing but what belongs to nature ; this being consonant with his essence, into which nothing else has, gained admission from his earliest years. But as a man is created to become a spiritual being also, by reason that he is to live after death, and then to dwell among spiritual beings in their world, therefore God has provided the Word, wherein he has not only revealed himself and his own existence, but likewise the existence of a heaven and a hell ; and that in one or other of these, every man must live to all eternity, each according to his life and faith conjointly. God has also, revealed in his "Word, that he is the I AM, or ESSE, the very essential Self, and the one oniy Being, which is sell'-essent {Ipsum et Unicum quod in Se), and thereby the First, or Beginning, from whom are all things. It is by means of this revelation, that the natural ma.n is enabled to elevate himself above nature, and thereby above himself, and to contemplate such things as have relation to God, but yet as at a distance, notwithstanding that God is nigh to every man, being in him with his essence ; and for this reason he ig nigh to those who love him ; and those love him who live according to his com mandments, and believe on him ; and these do, as it were, see God. For what is faith but a spiritual sight or perception of God's existence? And what is a life according to his command ments, but an actual acknowledgment that salvation and eternal life are from him ? W^here, however, the faith is not spiritual, but only natural. Which is nothing more than a sort of science, and where the life is similar, in such a case men indeed see God, but then it is at a great distance, and that only while they are talking of him. And the difference between these two descrip tions of men, is the same as between persons who stand in clear daylight, and see people near them, and touch them, and others who stand in a thick mist, wherein they cannot distinguish men from trees or stones. Or they may be compared, in the former case, with persons elevated on a high mountain, whereon a city is built,, through tho streets of which they walk at pleasure, and converse with their fellow-citizens ; and in the latter case, with persons who look downwards from that mountain, and cannot discern whether the objects they look upon be men, beasts, or statues. ]!^ay, the difference is as great, as between those who live in some planetary orb, and see their friends and acquaint ance therein, and those who only look upon that orb, from another planet, through optical glasses, and say that they perceive men therein, when yet they can discover nothing but a general con fusion of earth and water, as in the bright and dark spots of the 28 THE DIVINE ISSE. 22, 23 moon. Such is the difference between seeing God and the divine things which proceed from him, as they exist in the minds of those who are living in a right faith and at the same time in a life of charity, and as they exist in the minds of those who have only a scientific knowledge of such subjects ; and hence also is the difference between natural and spiritual men. But where men deny the divine sanctity ofthe Word, and yet load them selves with religious notions and opinions, which they carry aa in a bundle tied upon their backs, in such case they have no sight or perception of God,- but only learn to talk about him, like a parrot taught to speak by rote. 23. IV. That the divine esse and existere in itself can not PRODUCE another DIVINE THAT IS ESSE AND EXISTEEE IN itself ; consequently theee cannot be another god of thk same essence. It has been shown above that the one God, who is the Crea tor of the universe, is Esse and Existere in itself, thus God in himself. Hence it follows that the production of a God from a God is a thing iiripracticable, and not to be supposed, inasmuch as Essential Divinity, which is Esse and Existere in itself, could not possibly have place in such a production. It is the same thing whether we use the terms begotten by God, or proceeding from him : in both cases we must suppose a God to be produced by a God, and this differs little from the creation of a God Therefore to introduce into the church a belief that there are three divine persons, each of whom singly and by himself ia God, and of the same essence, and one born from eternity, and the third proceeding from etemity, is utterly to destroy the idea of God's unity, and thereby every just apprehension of the God head, and thus to banish all the spirituality of reason from the mind. The consequence is, that a man is no longer a man, but becomes entirely a merely natural being, differing from the brute creation only in the power of speech, and opposed to all the spiritual things of the church, which the natural man calls foolishness. Hence, and hence alone, have arisen such enor mously heretical opinions concerning God ; therefore a division ofthe Divine Trinity into persons has introduced not only night, but also death into the church. That an identity of three r>ivine Essences is an offence to reason, appeared evident to me from the angels, who declared that they could not utter the expression of three equal Divinities ; and that if any one should approach them with an intent to utter it, he would be forced to turn hia face away ; and when he had given it utterance, he would be come like a human log, and be cast out, and would afterwards betake himself to those spirits in' hell who acknowledge no God. It is a truth, that to implant in children and young people the idea of three divine persons, to which is unavoidably annexed the idea of three Gods, is to deprive them of all spiritual milk 29 23, 34 THE divine esse. and afterwards of all spiritual meat, and lastly of all spiritual reason ; and the consequence is spiritual death to all those who confirm themselves in such an opinion. The church therefore, which in faith and heart worships one God, the Creator of the universe, and the same God the Eedeemer and Eegenerator, may be compared with the city of Zion in the time of David, and with the city of Jerusalem in the time of Solomon, after the temple was built ; but the church which believes in three per sons, and in each as a distinct God, is like the city of Zion and Jerusalem when they were destroyed by Vespasian, and tho temple was burnt down. Moreover, the man who worships one God in whom is the Divine Trinit}', and who is thus one person, becomes more and more a living and angelic man ; but he who confirms himself in a plurality of Gods, by a plurality of persons, becomes by degrees like a statue formed with movable joints, in the midst of which Satan stands, and speaks through its artifi cial mouth. 24. V. That a plurality of gods among the ancients, and ALSO AMONG THE MODERNS, HAD ITS RISE SOLELY IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE DIVINE ESSE NOT BEING UNDERSTOOD. It has been shown already, n. 8, that the unity of God is most intimately inscribed on the minds of all mankind, since it is in the centre of all infiuxes from God into the human soul ; but the reason why it has not descended thence into the human understanding, is, because hitherto there has been a deficiency of those knowledges whereby a man ought to ascend to meet God, it being every man's duty to prepare a way for God, that is, to prepare himself for his reception, which must be done by know ledges. The knowledges hitherto wanting.to enable the human understanding to penetrate where it might perceive the divine unity, and see that there can be but one only Divine Esse, and that all things in nature are from that Esse, are the following : 1. No one has hitherto known any thing of the spiritual world, where spirits and angels have their abodes; and into which every man enters after death. 2. Or that, in that world, there is a sun which is pure love from Jehovah God, who is in its centre. 3. Or that from that sun proceed heat, which in its essence is love, and light, which in its essence is wisdom. 4. Or that of consequence all things in that world are spiritual, and affect the internal man, and form his will and understanding. 5. Or that Jehovah God, out of his sun, not only produced the spiritual world,, and all its spiritual contents, which are innumerable and substantial, but that he also produced the natural world, with all its natural contents, which are likewise innumerable, but material. 6. Hitherto no onfe has known the distinction be tween what is spiritual and what is natural, or even what the spiritual principle is in its essence. 7. It has also been hitherto unknown that there are three degrees of love and wisdom. 30 THE DIVINE ESSE. 24, 25 according to which the angelic heavens are arranged. 8. That the human mind is divided into as many degrees, to the intent that it may be exalted after death into one of the three heavens, which is effected according to the man's hfe and faith conjointly 9. And, lastly, that not a sii^le atom of all these things could have existed but from the Divine Esse, which in itself is the essential Self {Ipsum), and thus the First and the Beginning, from which are all things. These knowledges have hijjierto been wanting, which nevertheless are the necessary means of a man's ascent to know the Divine Esse. We speak of a man's ascent, but we would be understood to mean that he is elevated by God ; for by virtue of his free will every man is at liberty to collect for himself knowledges ; and as he collects them from the Word, by means of the understanding, he thereby prepares and makes ready a way for God to descend and elevate him. The knowledges by which the human understanding ascends, while supported and led by the hand of God, may be compared with the steps of Jacob's ladder, which was " set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended upon it : and behold, Jehovah stood above it" (Gen. xxviii. 12, 13). But the case is quite otherwise when those knowledges are wanting, or where a man despises them ; for when this happens, the elevation of the understand ing may be compared with a ladder raised from the ground up to the windows of the first story of a magnificent palace, where men have their apartments, but not to the windows of the second story, where spirits have theirs, much less to the windows of the third story, where angels have theirs. Hence it is that mankind abide merely in the atmospheres and material forms of nature, to which they confine their eyes, ears, and nostrils, and from which they collect no other ideas of heaven, and of the esse and essence of God, than such as are atmospherical and mate rial ; and while such ideas are the subjects of a man's thought, he is not in a capacity to form any judgment concerning God, whether he exists or not, or whether he is one or more, and. still less what his nature is with respect to his esse and his essence. Hence arose a plurality of gods among the ancients, and like wise among the moderns. 26. To the above I shall add this memorable relation. — Awaking on a time out of sleep, I fell into a profound medita tion about God, and when I looked upwards I saw in the heaven above me a most clear shining light in an oval form. As I fixed my eyes attentively upon that light, it gradually receded from the centre towards the circumference ; and lo ! heaven was then opened before me, and I beheld magnificent scenes, and saw angels standing in the form of a circle, on the southern side oi 31 25 THE DIVINE ESSE. the opening, in conversation with each other ; and because I eaiTiestly desired to know what they were conversing aboutj it was permitted me first to hear the sound of their voices, which was full of celestial love, and afterwards to distinguish their speech, which was full of wisdom flowing from that love. They were conversing respecting the one God, of conjunction with HIM, and SALVATION thereby. The matter of their discourse was.for the most part ineftable, there being no words in any natural language adapted to convey its meaning ; but as I had oftentimes been in consort with angels in their heaven, and being at such times in a similar state with them, and also in tho use and understanding of their language, therefore I was now able to comprehend what they said, and to collect some par ticulars from their conversation which may be intelligibly ex pressed in the words of natural language. They said, the DrvnfE Esse is one, immutably the same, the very essen tial Self, and the Indivisible {idem, ipsum,, et individuum). This they illustrated by spiritual ideas, saying, the Divine Esse cannot possibly belong to several, go as to be a Divine Esse in each of them, and yet remain one, immutably the same, the very essential self, and indivisible ; for on such a supposition each would think from his own particular esse, and singly by himself; in which case, although the thoughts of each might ba influenced from and by the rest to agreement and unanimity, yet it is plain they would be several unanimous gods, and not one God ; because unanimity, being the consent of several, and at the same time of each separately from and by himself, does not agree with the unity of God, but implies plurality. They did not say of gods, because they could not ; since the light of heaven, which gave birth to their thought, and the atmosphere which conveyed their words, were in opposition to that expres sion. They added further, that when they had a desire to pro nounce the word gods, and each as a distinct person by himself, the power of pronunciation was diverted immediately to utter one God, yea, one only God. Again, they proved that the Divine Esse is a Divine Esse in iiself, not from itself; be cause to be from itself supposes an esse in itself from another prior to it ; thus it supposes a God from God, which is im possible. "What is from God is not called God, but is called divine ; for what is a God from God ; consequently, what is God born of God from eternity ; and what is God of God proceeding through a God born from eternity, but obscure words that have no light in them from heaven ? They said further, that the Divine Esse, which in itself is God, is immutably the same {idem) ; not simply the same, but infinitely the same, that is, the same from eternity to eternity. It is the same everywhere, with every one, and in every one ; but that all variableness and changeableness is in the recipient, occasioned by its peculiai 32 the divine esse. 25, 26 state. That the Divine Esse, which is God in hiniself, is the essential Self {ipswm), they thus explained : God is the essen tial Self, because he is love itself and wisdom itself ; or because he is good itself and truth itself, and of consequence life itself; which, unless they were the essential self in God, could have no existence in heaven and earth, since there would be nothing in them that had relation to the essential self ; for all quality has its quality from this condition of its existence, that there be an essential self from whence it is derived, and to which it has relation, as the cause of its peculiar quality. This essential self, which is the Divine Esse, is not in place, but with and in those who are in place, according to its reception ; since neither place, nor progression from one place to another, is predicable of love and wisdom, or of good and truth, or of life derived thence, which are the essential self in God, yea God himself ; and this is the foundation of the divine omnipresence ; and therefore the Lord says, that " he is in the midst of them, and that he is in them, and they in him." But since he cannot be received by any creature according to his quality ra his esse, he appears according to his quality iri his. essence, as a sun above the angelic heavens, being manifested, with respect to his wisdom, in the proceeding light thereof, and with respect to his love, in the proceeding heat. He himself is not that sun ; but divine love and divine wisdom, in their proximate emanation from him, and round about him, appear as a sun before the angels. Him self in the sun is a man, oue Loed Jesus Cheist, with ee- SPECT TO both the ALL-BEGETTING DiviNiTY {Divinum a quo), AND THE DIVINE HUMAN; sincc the essential self, whieh is love itself and wisdom itself, was a soul to him from the Father, and thus divine life, which is life in itself. The case is otherwise with a man ; for in him the soul is not life, but the recipient of Jife. 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 further added, that whoever is under the influence of any spi ritual light, may plainly see from what has been said, that the Divine Esse being one, immutably the same, the very essential self, and of consequence indivisible, cannot possibly exist in more than one ; and that if it should be supposed to exist in more, manifest contradictiona would follow such a supposition. 26. As I listened to this conversation, the angels perceived IB my thought the common ideas entertained in the Christiail church of a trinity of persons in unity, and of their unity in trinity, with respect to God ; and also of the birth of the Son of God. from eternity ; whereupon they said to me, " What no tions are these which you entertain ? Are not they the offspring of natural light, wherewith our spiritual light has no agreement V 33 n 26, 27 the INFINITY OF GOD. Unless' therefore you remove these ideas from your mind, wa must shut heaven against you, and take our leave." But I replied, " Enter, I beseech you, more deeply into my thought, and possibly you will finl it to be in agreement with your own. They accordingly did so, and perceived that by three persons I understood three proceeding divine attributes, which are ceea- TioN, eedemption, and eegeneeation, and that those attri butes belong to one God ; and that by the birth of the Sonof God from eternity, I understood his birth foreseen from eternity and provided in time ; and that it is not above what is rational and natural, but contrary thereto, to conceive that any Son was born of God from eternity ; but not so, to conceive that the Son, who was born of God by the Virgin Mary in time, is the only, and the only begotten. Son of God ; and that to suppose other wise is an insane error. I further acquainted them, that I had acquired my natural idea of a trinity of persons, and of the unity, and of the birth of the Son of God from eternity, from that doctrine of faith in the church which has its name from Athanasius. Then said the angels, " It is well ;" and they de sired me to declare upon their testimony, that whoever does not approach the true God of heaven and earth, cannot have entrance into heaven, because heaven is heaven from that one only God, and THAT God is Jesus Cheist, who is Jehovah the Loed, FEOM eteenity THE CrEATOE, IN TIME THE EeDEEMEE, AND TO ETEENITY THE Eegeneeatoe : of conscquence, who is at once Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ; and this is the Gospel which is to be preached. After this the heavenly light which I had be fore seen, returned over the aperture, and by degrees descended thence, and fllled the interiors of my mind, and illuminated my ideas concerning the trinity and unity of God ; and then I perceived that the ideas which I had originally entertained about them, and which were merely natural, were separated, as chafl is separated from wheat by winnowing, and were carried away. as by a wind, to the northern part of heaven, and disappeared. THE INFINrrY OF GOD ; OE, HIS IMMENSITY AND ETEENrTY. 27. There are two things peculiar to the natural world, by which all its contents are fixed and bounded ; one is space, and the other time ; and as that world was created by God, and spaces and times were created together with it, and are its limi tations or terminations, therefore it will be proper to treat of their two original sources, which are immensity and eteenity : for the immensity of God has relation to spaces, and his eternity to times ; and his infinity comprehends both immensitv anit] 34 THE INFINrrY OF GOD. 27, 28 eternity. But since infinity transcends what is finite, and the knowledge thereof a finite mind, therefore, in order to attain any degree of perception on this subject, it will be necessary to discuss it according to the following series. I. That God is imfmite because he is and exists in himself, and that all things in the universe are and exist from him. II. That God is infi nite, because he was before the world, consequentl/y before spaces wnd trnnes had hirth. III. That God, since the world was made, is in space without space, and in time without time. IV. That infinity, in relation to spaces, is called im/mensity, and in rela- t/ion to times, eternity ; and yet, notwithstanding these relations, there is nothing of space in God's immensity, and nothing of time im, his eternity. V. That enlightened reascn, from very many objects in the world, may discover the infinity of God the Creator. VI. That every created thing is finite, and the infi/nite is in fmite things, as in its receptacles, and in men, as im, its images. We will now proceed to a particular explanation of each article. 28. That god is infinite, because he is and exists in himself, AND that all things IN THE UNIVEESE ARE AND EXIST FROM HIM. It was shown above, that God is one, and that he is the essential self {ipsum), and the first Esse of all things, and that all things which are, exist, and subsist in the universe, are from him : hence it follows that he is infinite. That human reason may be convinced of this truth, by very many things in the uni verse of creation, will be shown presently. But although the human mind, by a contemplation of these, may discover the first Entity, or the first Esse, to be infinite, yet it cannot discover what is the quality of that Infinite ; and therefore cannot define it otherwise than that it is the infinite All, and that it subsists in itself, and is thereby the very and the one only substance ; and, since nothing is predicable of a substance, unless it be a form, that it is also the very and the one only form. But yet notwithstanding these conclusions, the true quality of the In finite does not appear ; for the human mind, however highly analytical, and fitted for sublime speculations, is still finite, and cannot get rid of this necessity of its being : it cannot therefore ever comprehend the infinity of God, as to its true quality ; con sequently it can never see God, as he is in himself, and his real esse ; it may, however, behold him obscurely, as it were behind ; as it is written of Moses, when he prayed to see God, that he was set in a cleft of the rock, and saw his back parts (Exod. xxxiii. 20 — 23) : by the back parts of God are signified the visible objects of tlie creation, and in particular such things in the Word as come under human perception. Hence it appears how vain it is to desire to know what God is in his esse, or in his substance, and that it is enough to acknowledge him from things finite, that is, from things created, in which he infinitely 35 88, 29 THE INFINITY OF GOD. IB. The man that wishes to see more of God than this, may be compared to a fish taken out of its native element into that of air ; or to a bird placed under the receiver of an air-pump, which, while the air is pumping out, begins to gasp for breath,, and then expires. He may also be compared to a ship, which, when she no longer obeys her rudder, from the violence of a storm, is wrecked upon the rocks and quicksands. This i? an exact resem blance of the case of those who wish to see the infinity of God by an interior view, and are not content to behold and acknow ledge it in its external and manifest tokens. We are told of a certain philosopher among the ancients, who cast himself into the sea, because by the light of his own mind he could not see and comprehend the eternity of the world ; but what would he have done had he desired to see and comprehend the infinity of God ? 29. H. That god is infinite, because he was before the WORLD, consequently BEFOEE SPACES AND TIMES HAD BIETH. In the natural world there are times and spaces, but in the Bpiritual world they have not the same actual existence, and yet they exist apparently. The reason why spaces and times were introduced into the worlds was, to distinguish one thing from another, great from small, many from few, and thereby the quantity and quality of different objects ; and that by their means the bodily senses might distinguish their objects, and the mental senses theirs, and might thus be excited to thought and choice. The introduction of times into the natural world is effected by the rotation of the earth about her axis, and by the process of those rotations through the different points of her orbit, in her motion round the sun ; these chariges appearing nevertheless to be occasioned by the , sun, from whose orb the whole terraqueous globe derives all its heat and light. Hence come the different times of the day, as morning, noon, evening, and night ; and also tho times of the year, as spring, summer, autumn, and winter ; the times of the daj"^, as distinguished with respect to light and darkness, and the times of the year with respect to heat and cold. But the introduction of spaces into the natural world was effected by the gathering together of the earth's particles into a globular form, and filling it with matters, the parts of which are distinct from each other, and at the same time extended. In the spiritual world, however, there are no material spaces, and times corresponding with them, yet never theless there are the appearances of them, which appearances are according to the differences of state in the minds of spirits and angels. Times and spaces, therefore, in the spiritual world, have a conformity with the affections of the will, and the thoughts that thence exist in the understandings of its inhabit ants : those appearances however are real, because they are constant according to their states. It is a general notion con cerning the state of souls after death, and also of angels and 36 THE INFINITY OF GOD. '29, 30 spirits, that they do not live in any extense, and consequently not in any space and time ; and from this idea it is conceived that departed souls have no fixed determinate abode ; and that angels and spirits are mere aerial beings, of whom no other idea is entertained, than such as may be formed of ether, vapor, or wind. Nevertheless the truth is, that they are substantial men, and live together, like men in the natural world, upon places of space, and in portions of time, which, as was observed, are deter mined according to the states of their minds. Were it not so, that is, were there no spaces and times in that world into which departed souls are gathered, and where spirits and angels dwell, the whole of it might then be drawn through the eye of a needle, or be concentrated on the point of a single hair. On the suppo sition that there is no substantial extense in that world, this would be very possible : but since there is a substantial extense therein, therefore the angels dwell together in a state of as true distinction and separation from one another, nay, more so, than men upon earth, where there is a material extense. Times, however, in the spiritual world, are not distinguished into days, weeks, months, and years, because the sun there never appears to rise and set, or to have any progressive motion, but remains stationary in the east, in a mean elevation between the zenith and the horizon. They have also spaces in that world, by rea son that all things therein are substantial, as in the natural world they are material ; but on this subject more will be said in the lemma concerning creation, at the conclusion of this chapter. From what has been observed, then, it may be easy to conceive, that spaces and times are the limits and termina tions of all and every thing in both worlds, and consequently that men, as well as angels and spirits, are confined within cer tain limits, not only with regard to their bodies, but also with regard to their souls. From all which considerations we may come to this conclusion, that God is infinite, that is, not finite, since he, being the Creator, Former, and Maker of the universe, limited and bounded all things ; and this he did by means of his sun, in the centre of which he dwells ; which sun consists of the Divine Essence that proceeds from God as a spherical ema nation ; and there and thence is the beginning of finiteness ; but its progression extends from thence to ultimates, which are in the natural world. That God is infinite in himself, by reason of his being uncreated, is obvious. But because man is finite, and thinks according to what is finite, infinite appears as no thing to him : therefore if that finite nature which adheres to his thought, were to be removed, he would have a perception that what was left was not any thing ; whereas the truth is, that God is infinitely all, and that man, respectively, of himself is nothing. 30. IH. That God, since the world was made, is in space WITHOUT SPACE, 37 30 THE INFINITY OF GOD That God, and the Divine which proceeds immediately from him, is not in space, notwithstanding he is omnipresent, and with every man upon earth, and every angel in heaven, and every spirit under heaven, is a truth that cannot be comprehended by a merely natural idea, although it may in some degree by a Bpiritual idea. The reason why it cannot be comprehended by a merely natural idea, is, because in every suchidea there is some notion of space,- being conceived from the objects of this world, in all and every one of which, so far as they are visible, there is some relation to space ; every thing great and small, long, broad, and high therein, has relation to space ; in a word, every meas ure, figure, and form therein, has the same relation. Never theless a man may comprehend this truth by his natural thought if he will only admit therein a ray of spiritual light. But, pre vious to this, it may be necessary to consider what is meant by an idea of spiritual thought. Such an idea derives nothing from space, but derives ite all from state. By state is to be under stood whatever has relation to love, to life, to wisdom, to the affections, to jpys, and, in general, to good and truth ; but a spiritual idea concerning such things has nothing in it that is common to space ; for it is superior to it, and looks down upon the ideas of space, as heaven looks down upon earth. That God is present in space without space, and in time without time, is a consequence of his being always the same from eternity to eter nity, and therefore the same before the world was created that he "was after its creation ; and in God, and in his presence, there existed neither spaces nor times before creation, but after it ; therefore he, being the same, is in space without space, and in time without time. Hence it follows, that nature is separate from God, and yet God is omnipresent therein ; in like manner as life is present in every substantial and material part of a man, although it does not mix and unite with them ; or as light is in the eye, sound in the ear, and taste in the tongue ; or as the ethereal fluid is in earth and water, preserving the terraqueous globe in its present harmony, and impelling it in ite rotations ; not to mention other instances ; in all which, supposing a priva tion of the active powers, the substantial and material subjects would in a moment fall to pieces, or be destroyed ; nay, even the human mind, were not God continually present in it in all its parts and at every moment, would be dissolved like a bubble in the air ; and both spheres of the brain, wherein the mind exerte its flrst and principal operations, would melt away like froth, and thus leave the whole bodily system a heap of dust, or as a volatile exhalation in the atmosphere. Forasmuch as God is in all time without time, therefore in his Word he speaks of what is past and to come as of what is present ; as in Isaiah : " Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given : and his name is called the everlasting Father, Prince of Peace," &c. (ix. 6) : and 38 THE INFINITT OF GOD. 30, 31 fli David : " I will declare the decree : Jehovah hath said unto me. Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten thee" (Psalm ii. 7) : these words are spoken of the Lord who Was to come ; therefore also it is said again, " A thousand years in thine eyea are as yesterday" (Psalm xc. 4). That God is everywhere pre sent throughout the universe, and yet that no part or property of the universe is in him, that is, nothing which has relation to space or time, must appear evident to every observant and attentive reader of the Word from several other passages ; to mention only this in 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.) 31. IV. That the iNFiNrrY of god, in relation to spaces, IS called immensity, and in relation to times, eternity ; AND YET, NOTWITHSTANDING THESE RELATIONS, THERE IS NO THING OF SPACE IN HIS IMMENSITY, AND NOTHING OF TIME IN HIS ETERNITY. The reason why the infinity of God, in relation to spaces, is called immensity, is, because the term " immense" is predicated of whatever is great and large, and also of what is extended, and herein of what is spacious : but the reason why the infinity of God in relation to times is called eternity, is, because the phrase " to eternity" is predicated of whatever is in endless progres sion, and capable of mensuration by time : as for example : the relations of space are predicated of the terraqueous globe with its several parts, and the relations of time are predicated of ita rotation and progression ; the latter also constitute times, and the former constitute spaces ; and they are represented under such appearances, by the senses, in the perception of every re flecting mind. In God, however, as was shown above, there is nothing of space or time, and yet they have their beginnings from God ; hence it follows, that by immensity is signified his infinity in relation to spaces, and by eternity, his inmiity in re lation to times. In heaven, however, the angels, by the immen sity of God, are led to a perception of his divinity with respect to his esse, and by his eternity, of his divinity with respect to his existere ; by immensity also they have a perception of the .Divinity with respect to love, and by eternity, of the Divinity with respect to wisdom. The reason of this is, because they ab stract spaces and times from their idea of the Godhead, and this abstraction leads immediately to such perception. Since, how ever, human thought is bounded by ideas conceived from such objects as have relation to space and time, it is therefore impos sible for a man to have any distinct perception of the immensity of God before the existence of spaces, and of his eternity before the existence of times ; nay, should he be desirous of such a per ception, he would feel himself as if his mind were falling into a 39 31, 32 THE INFINrrY OF GOD. swoon, or like a person in a shipwreck just falling into the water, or as one ready to be swallowed up alive by an earth quake ; and should he persist in penetrating more deeply into such profound speculations, he might easily fall into a delirium, and from this into a denial of God. I myself was once con vinced of this by experience, while I was revolving in my thoughts what God was from eternity, and what he did before the creation of the world, and whether he deliberated with him self about its creation, and whether such deliberate thought were possible in a pure vacuum ; with other vain conceits of a like nature. In order, however, to prevent my falling into a delirium by such speculations, I was elevated by the Lord into the sphere and light in which the interior angels dwell, and there, when the ideas of space and time, which had before limited my conceptions, were a little removed, it was granted me to comprehend that the eternity of God is not an eternity of time, and that since there was no time before the creation of the world, it was altogether an idle folly to entertain any such speculations about God. I was confirmed also in this truth, that, as the Divine from eternity, consequently abstracted from all time, has no connection with days, years, and ages, all such portions of time with God being instant, therefore the world was (Created by God not in time, but that times were first introduced by God with creation. To the above I shall add this memorable circumstance. There appear at one extremity of the spiritual world two statues in a monstrous human form, with their mouths wide open, and their jaws dilated, by which such persons as entertain vain and foolish conceits about God in his existence from eternity, seem to themselves to be devoured : these however are only the fan tasies into which those cast themselves who speculate wildly and unprofitably about God, what he was, and what he did be fore the creation of the world. 32. V. That Enlightened Eeason, from very many Ob jects IN the World, may discover the Infinity of God the Creator. The following are a few of the many considerations which evince the infinity of God. 1. In the universe of creation there are noA to be found two things precisely the same. This has been discovered and confirmed by human learning, aided by human reason, in the case of such things as have a simultaneous existence, or that exist at the same period of time. In these no such identity is to be found ; and yet the substantial and material parts of the creation, singly considered, are infinite in number. It is also equally true in the case of two effects, pro duced at different periods of time, that they are never found precisely the same ; as may be concladed from the earth's rota tion, which, from the inclination of her axis to the plane of tha 40 THE tNFINrrY OF GOD. 32 ecliptic, occasions a constant succession of different effects. The same truth is confirmed also by considering the faces of mankind, no two of which, throughout the whole world, are ex actly alike, and the same ; neither can there be to all eternity. This infinite variety could not possibly exist but from the in finity of God. 2. The mind of one man is never found exactly like the mind of another ; whence comes the common proverb, '•'¦Many mem, many minds /" consequently the will and under standing in one is never found exactly alike and the same as in another ; and hence also the speech of different people varies, both with regard to the soimd of their voices, and the thought which gives birth to it ; as also their actions, with respect both to gesture and affection, so that they are never found precisely the same in two different persons ; from which infinite variety the infinity of God may be" seen as in a mirror. 3. There is a kind of immensity and eternity innate in all seed, of both ani mals and vegetables ; an immensity, in that all seed is capable of being infinitely multiplied, and an eternity, in that such mul tiplication has already continued without interruption since the creation of the world, and will continue to all ages. As a proof of the truth of this observation in the animal kingdom, let us take the fish of the sea, which, supposing them to multiply according to the abundance of their seed, in twenty or thirty years would so fill the place of the ocean that it would consist of fish only, and its water would be so raised as to deluge and de stroy the whole face of the earth ; but to prevent this, the provi dence of God has ordained that one species of fish should be food for another. The case would be the same with the seeds of vegetables, which, supposing only the product of a single plant to be sown yearly, within twenty or thirty years would cover the surface not of one earth only, but of several ; for there are some shrubs, of which every single seed yields a hundred and a thousand-fold increase ; and if a calculation be made by multiplying the successive product of each single seed into twenty or thirty, the experiment would evince the truth of the observation. In both cases then, as well of vegetables as of animals, the immensity and eternity of God may be discovered, which must of necessity produce a sort of general image and re semblance of themselves in all creatures. 4. The infinity of jGod is also discoverable by the eye of enlightened reason, from tlie infinity to which every science, and thence the intelligence and wisdom of every man, may grow by cultivation ; for both the one and the other are capable of growth and increase, like a tree from its seeds, or like forests and gardens from, their trees ; and it is impossible to assign their liraite, the memory of man being as ground to receive them, and the understanding the place where they bud and blossom, and the will where they bring forth fruit ; aud these two faculties, the understandinar 41 32 the rNFmrrY of god. and the will, are of such a nature that they are capable of being cultivated and perfected during the term of the present life, and afterwards to eternity. 5. The infinity of God the Creator is also discoverable from the infinite number of fixed stars, which are so many suns, and consequently have so many worlds re volving around them. That in the starry heavens there are globes of earth, or worlds, with men, beasts, birds, and vegetables living upon them, I have shown from ocular experience in a par ticular treatise. 6. The infinity of God was made still more apparent to me from a view of the angelic heaven, and also ot hell ; and from the consideration that they are both of them divided and subdivided into innumerable societies or congrega tions, in an orderly arrangement, according to all the varieties of the love of good and of evil ; and that every one takes his place according to his love ; for the whole race of men since the creation of the world are there collected, and will be collected to ages of ages ; and although every individual person has his par ticular place or habitation, yet they are all so connected that the whole angelic heaven represents one divine man, and the univer sal hell one monstrous devil. From these two places, and from an infinity of wonders in them, the immensity, together with the omnipotence of God, are rendered most conspicuous and appa rent. 7. Who also cannot perceive, by a little elevation of his rational faculties, that the life which every man is to live after death to eternity can only be communicated from an eternal God ? 8. Moreover, there is a sort of infinity in many things which fall under the notice and apprehension of the natura. and spiritual light in man. The natural light, for instance, discovers that there are various series in geometrical calculations capable of infinite extension : and again, that among the three degrees of altitude there is a progression towards infinity, in that the first degree, which is called natural, can never be per fected and elevated so as to reach the purity of the second degree, which is called spiritual ; nor can this attain to the per fection of the third, which is called celestial. The case is the same with respect to the end, the cause, and the effect ; that the effect can never be perfected to become like its cause, nor the cause to become like its end. This may be illustrated by the atmospheres, of which there are three degrees, the aura being in the highest degree, the ether, in the second, and the air iu the lowest ; and no quality of the air can be exalted to the per fection of any quality of the ether, nor any quality of the ether to any quality of the aura, and yet each is capable of an eleva tion of its perfections to infinity. The spiritual light in man discovers that the natural love, which is peculiar to a beast, can never be elevated to the nature of spiritual love, of which everv man is capableby the law of his creation ; so aljo with respect to the natural intelligence of a beast, compared with the spiri- THE INFINITY OF GOD. 32, 33 tual intelligence of a man : but these truths, being at present unknown in the world, will be further explained in another place. From the above, then, it is plain to perceive, that the universals of creation are perpetual types of the infinity of God the Cre- tor; but in what manner particulars are copies of universals, and represent also the Creator's infinity, is an abyss and an ocean wherein the human mind may, as it were, sail ; but then, it should be upon ite guard lest any storm, arising from the natural man, should overset the ship with its masts and sails, and dash in pieces the stern, where the natural man stands, con fiding only in himself. 33. VL That every ceeated thing is finite ; and the in finite IS IN FINITE things, AS IN ITS RECEFIACLES, AND IN MEN AS IN rrS IMAGES. The reason why every created thing is finite, is because all things are from Jehovah God, by the instrumentality of the sun of the spiritual world, which proximately encompasses him, and is of the substance that proceeds from him, the essence of which is love. Out of that sun, by means of its heat and light, the universe was created from first to last, or from its first principles to its last effects ; but an orderly explanation of the progress of creation will come more properly in another place, a short sketch of which will be given in a future part of this work. It is only necessary here to observe, that one thing was formed from an other, and that hence originated degrees ; of these there are three iu the spiritual world, and three corresponding to them in the natural world, and an equal number in the passive subjecte of which the terraqueous globe consists. The origin and nature of those degrees I have fully explained in a work, entitled Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, published at Amsterdam in the year 1763, and in a small tract on the Intercourse between the Soul and the Body, published at London in the year 1769. The effect of these degrees is, that things posterior are the receptacles of things prior, and these again of things pridr to them, and so in order up to the receptacles of the primitives of which the sun of the angelic heaven consists ; and thus that finite things are the receptacles of the infinite, which coincides also with the wisdom of the ancients, who held that all things are divisible to infinity. It is the general idea, that because what is finite is not capable of containing what is infinite, therefore finite things cannot be the receptacles of the infinite : but from what is said in my works on the subject of creation, it appears evident that God first bounded his infinity by the substances emitted from himself, whence the proximate sphere of his glory, which consti tutes the sun of the spiritual world, exists, and that afterwards, by the instrumentality of that sun, he perfected other ambient sphei'es, even to the last, which consists of quiescent or passive 43 33, 34 the iNFmrrY of god. forms ; and that thus by means of degrees he bounded the world more and more. This explanation is given for the satisfaction of human reason, which is not easy without it has a perception of causes. 34. That the Divine Infinite is in men, as in its images, appears from the Word, where it is written, " And God said. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness : so God created man into his own image, into the image of God created he him" (Gen. i. 26, 27) ; from whence it follows that a man is an organ recipient of God, and that he is an organ according to the quality of reception. The human mind, from and in conformity to which a man is a man, is formed into three regions according to three degrees : in the first degree the human mind is celes tial, in which degree also are the angels of the highest heaven ; in the second degree the human mind is spiritual, in which de gree also are the angels of the middle heaven ; and in the third degree the human mind is natural, in which degree also are the angels of the lowest heaven. The human mind, organized ac cording to these three degrees, is a receptacle of Divine influx ; but still the Divine flows in no further than as the man prepares the way, or opens the door for its reception : if this be done up to the highest or celestial degree, the man in that case becomes truly an image of God, and after death an angel of the highest heaven ; but if he prepares the way, or opens the door only to the middle or spiritual degree, he then indeed becomes an image of God, but not in such perfection, and after death an angel of the middle heaven ; but if he prepares the way, or opens the door only to the last or natural degree, in that case, if he ac knowledges God, and worships him with actual piety, he be comes an image of God in the ultimate degree, and after death an angel of the lowest heaven. But if a man neither acknow ledges God, nor worships him with actual piety, he then puts off the image of God, and becomes like some animal, except that he retains the faculty of understanding, and thence of speech. If he then closes up the highest natural degree, which corre sponds to the highest celestial, he becomes, with respect to love, like a beast of the earth ; but if he closes the middle natural degree, which corresponds to the middle spiritual, he becomes, with respect to love, like a fox, and with respect to intellectual sight like a bird of the evening ; but if he also closes up the ultimate natural degree as to its spiritual part, he becomes, with respect to love, like a wild beast, and with respect to the under standing of truth, like a fish. The divine life, which acts upon a man by influx from the sun of the angelic heaven, may be compared with the light of the sun of this world, and with ite influx into a transparent object. The reception of that life in the highest degree may be compared with the influx of light into a diamond, the reception of life in the middle degree with the 44 THE inhnity op GOD. 34, 35 influx of light into a crystal, and the reception of life in the ulti mate degree with the influx of light into glass, or into a trans parent membrane ; but if this degree be closed as to its spiritual part, which is the case when God is denied, and Satan wor shipped, the reception of life from God may then be compared with the influx of light into opaque substances, such as rotten wood, mouldering earth, dung, &c. ; for the man in such a case becomes a spiritual carcass. 35. To the above I shall add the following memorable re lation. — I was once in much amazement at the great numbers of men who ascribe creation, and of consequence whatever is under the sun and above it, to the operation of nature, express ing the real sentiments of their hearts concerning the visible things of the world, by this question, " What are these buj; the works of nature?" And when they are asked why they ascribe those things to nature, and not to God, when nevertheless they sometimes join in the general confession that God has created nature, and consequently they might ascribe creation to God, aa well as to nature, they generally return for answer, with an in ternal tone of voice that is scarcely audible, " What is God but nature ?" All such persons, by reason of this persuasion con cerning nature as the creatrix of the universe, and in conse quence of this'insanity which they imagine to be wisdom, appear full of their own importance, so that they regard all others who acknowledge God to be the Creator of the universe, as so many ants which creep along the ground, and tread in a common beaten path, or as butterflies which fly in the air; ridiculing their opinions as mere dreams and the effects of a fanciful ima gination, and deciding all by this question, " Who has ever seen God? and who does not see nature?" While I was in amaze ment at the great number of such persons, I perceived an angel standing beside me, who asked me, "What is the subject of your meditation?" I replied, "It is concerning the great number of those who fancy that nature exists of herself, and is thus the creatrix ofthe universe." Hereupon the angel said to me, " All hell consists of such persons, and they are there called satans and devils ; satans, if they have confirmed themselves in favor of nature to the denial of God, and devils, if they have lived abandonedly, and have thereby rejected all acknowledg ment of God from their hearts : but come with me, and I will conduct you to the places of study in the southwest quarter, which such persons inhabit before they are separated to their infernal abodes." He then took me by the hand and conducted me ; and I saw several small houses, in which were places set apart for study, and in the midst of these was one which was liJce a palace in comparison to the rest. It was built of a pitchy 45 35 the infinity of god. kind of stone, covered with a sort of thin glazed plates, that seemed to sparkle with gold and silver, like the stones called selenites, pr those which were formerly used instead^ of glass, and here and there were interspersed bright glittering shells. To this house we approached, and knocked at the door, which was presently opened by one who desired us to walk in, and bade us welcome. He then ran to the table and fetched four books, and said, "These books are the wisdom which at this day is the admiration of many kingdoms ; this_ book, or this wisdom, is the admiration of many in France ; this, of many in Germany ; this, of some in Holland ; and this, of some in Bri tain." !Se further said, " I will cause these four books to cast forth a bright light before your eyes, if you wish to see it ;" and immediately he poured forth the glory of his own reputation around, and the books instantly shone, as it were, with light ; but f;Jiis light immediately after vanished from our sight. We then asked him what he was now writing, and he replied, that he was now about to bring forth from his treasures, and commu nicate to the world, disquisitions of the deepest wisdom, which would be comprised under these general heads : 1. Whether na ture he derived from life, or life from natwre. 2. Whether the centre be derived from the expa/nse, or the expanse from the ceih* tre. 3. Concerning the centre and the expanse of nature and life. Having given us this information, he sat down in a chair at his table, and we walked about in his study, which was large and spacious. He had a candle upon his table, because the light of the sun never shone in that room, but only the faint light of the moon ; and what appeared wonderful to me, the candle seemed to be carried all around the room, and to illuminate it ; but for want of being snuffed it gave very little light. While he was writing we' observed images, in various forms, fiying from the table towards the walls, which, viewed by the faint light pf the moon, appeared like beautiful Indian birds ; but on opening the door to the clear light of the sun, they appeared like those birds of the evening, which have wings like net-work ; for they were resemblances of truth made fallacies by being confirmed, and which he had ingeniously connected together in a regular series. After attending some time to this sight, we approached the table and asked him what he was then writing ; he replied, *' On the first subject of inquiry, whether nature be derived from life, or life feom nature ;" and on this he said, that he could confirm either side, and cause it to be true ; but as there was something concealed within, which excited his fears, he durst only confirm tho position, that nature is derived from life, and not that life is derived from nature. We then civilly re quested him to tell us, what was concealed within, that excited his fears ? He replied, he was afraid lest he should be called a naturalist, and so an atheist, by the clergy, and a man of un 46 the INFINrrY OF GOD. 35 sound judgment by the laity ; the former seeing only with the eyes of others who have confirmed that opinion, and the latter believing with a blind credulity. But being then no longer able to repress a sort of indignant zeal in favor of truth, we thus accosted him : " Friend, you are much deceived : your wisdom, which is only an ingenious talent for writing, has seduced you ; and the glory of reputation has tempted you to confirm what is contrary to your real belief. Do not you know that the human mind is capable of being elevated above sensual things, which are received into the thoughts from the bodily senses ; and that when it is so elevated, it sees whatever relates to life as above, and whatever relates to nature as beneath ? What is life but love and wisdom ? And what is nature but their receptacle, by which they may produce their effects or uses ? Can these possi ¦ bly be one in any other sense than as the principal and the in strumental are one ? Can light be one with the eye, or sound with the ear ? Whence come the sensations of these but from life ; whence their forms but from nature ? What is the human body but an organ of life ? Are not its general and particular parte organically formed for the purpose of bringing into effect 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 the former entirely distinct from the latter ? Eaise your acuteness of apprehension a little higher, and you will per ceive that it is the property of life to be affected and to think ; that to be affected belongs to love, and to think belongs to wisdom ; and both belong to life; for, as was observed, love and wisdom are life. If you raise your intellectual powers still a little higher, you will perceive that love and wisdom cannot exist, unless they have their origin somewhere or other, and that their origin is love itself, and wisdom itself, and consequently life itself ; and these are God, who is the author of nature." Afterwards we conversed with him about his second question, whether the CENTRE BE DEEIVED FEOM THE EXPANSE, OR THE EXPANSE FROM THE CENTRE ; and we asked him for what end he canvassed this question ? He replied, " For the sake of determining the centre and expanse of nature and of life,, and thereby the origin of each ;" and when we questioned him about his sentiments on the subject, he answered, as in the former case, that he could confirm either side, but for fear of suffering in his reputation, he chose to confirm the position that the expanse is derived from the centre. " Although I know," said he, " that something existed before the sun, which was dispersed everywhere in the expanse ; and that this was collected of itself into order, that is, into a centre." But here again we addressed him from the overflowing of an indignant zeal, and said, "Friend, you are beside yourself:" on hearing which, he drew his chair aside from the table, casting at us a look of alarm. He then prepared 47 35 THE INFINrrY OF GOD. to listen to our discourse, but with a smile of ridicule upon his countenance, while we thus proceeded : " What is a surer proof of madness, than to say that the centre is derived from the ex panse ? By your centre we understand the sun, and by your expanse tbe universe ; so that, according to you, the universe existed without the sun ; but does not the sun give rise to na ture, and all its properties, which depend solely on the light and heat proceeding from the sun through the atmospheres? Are not the atmosMieres, and all things that exist on the earth, as surfaces, and the sun as their centre ? What are they all with out the sun, or how could they subsist a single moment without it? Consequently, what were all those things before the sun, or how could they have existed ? Is not subsistence perpetual existence ? Since, therefore, all the parts of nature derive their subsistence from the sun, they must consequently derive their eixistence also from the same origin. Every one sees, and is convinced of this truth, by the testimony of his own eyes. Does not that which is posterior derive its subsistence from what is prior, as it derives thence its existence? And supposing the surface to be prior, and the centre to be posterior, would not the prior, in such case, derive subsistence from the posterior, which yet is contrary to the laws of order ? For how can those things which are posterior produce such as are prior, or exterior produce interior, or grosser produce purer ? Consequently, how can surfaces, which constitute an expanse, produce a centre ? Who does not perceive that this is contrary to the laws of nature? We have adduced these arguments, from a rational analysis, to prove that the expanse derives its existence from the centre, and not the centre from the expanse ; nevertheless, every sensible and considerate man must be convinced of this truth .without the help of such arguments. You have asserted that the expanse collected itself of its own accord into a centre ; and was it thus a work of chance only that such wonderful and stupendous order exists, where we see one thing made for the sake of another, and all and every thing for the sake of man, and his eternal life ? Is it possible that nature, from any prin ciple of love, or by any principle of wisdom, should intend ends, provide causes, and thus produce effects, to the intent that such things might exist in their order? And can she make angels of men, and heaven of angels, and give eternal life to its inhabit ants ? Ponder, and well consider these subjects, and your idea about nature as existing of herself will soon vanish." We after wards questioned him about his former and present sentiments, concerning his third inquiry of the centre and the exi'Anse OF NATUEE AND OF LIFE ; whether he was of opinion, that the centre and expanse of life is the same with the centre and ex panse of nature? He replied, that he was in doubt about it ; formerly he was of opinion, that the interior activity ot 48 THE INFINITY OF GOD. 35 nature was life ; and that love and wisdom, the two essential constituents of the life of man, were thence derived ; and that the sun's fire by the instrumentality of heat and light, through the atmospheres as mediates, produced it ; but now, from what he had heard about the life of man after death, he began to waver in his sentiments ; and, in consequence of such wavering, his mind was sometimes carried upward, and sometimes down ward. When it was carried upward, he acknowledged the ex istence of a centre, of which before he had no knowledge ; but when downward, he saw that centre which he had believed to be the only one that existed ; and he perceived that life is derived from the centre of which he before had no knowledge, and that nature is from the centre which he before thought to be the only one that existed ; and that both these centres had their re spective expanses around them. This, we told him, was right and well, if he would only consider the centre and expanse of nature as derived from the centre and expanse of life, and not contrariwise. We then instructed him, that above the angelic heaven there is a sun, which is pure love, of a fiery ap pearance like the sun of the world ; and that from the heat pro ceeding from that sun, angels and men derive will and love, and from its light, understanding and wisdom ; that all things de rived from that sun are called spiritual, and all things pro ceeding from the world's sun are continents or receptacles of life, and are called natural ; further, that the expanse of the centre of life is called the spieitual woeld, which subsists from its sun ; and that the expanse of the centre of nature is called THE NATURAL WORLD, which subsists from its sun. Now since spaces and times are not predicable of love and wisdom, but instead of these, states are predicated, it follows, that the expanse around the sun of the angelic heaven is not an extense, but yet it is in the extense of the natural sun, and present there with all living subjects according to their reception ; and their reception is according to their forms and states " But then," he inquired, " whence is the fire of the sun of the world or of nature derived?" We replied, "It is derived from the sun of the angelic heaven, which is not fire, but divine love, proxi mately proceeding from God, who is in the midst of it ;" and as he seemed to wonder at this, we proceeded thus to prove it : " Love, in its essence, is spiritual fire ; hence fire, in the Word or Holy Scriptures, according to its spiritual sense, signifies love : which is the reason why priests, when officiating in the temple, pray that heavenly fire may fill the hearts of those who worship ; by which they mean heavenly love. The fire on the altar, and in the candlestick of the tabernacle, among the chil dren of Israel, represented nothing but the divine love. The heat of the blood, or the vital heat of man, and of all animals in general, has no other origin than the love which constitutes 49 £ 35, 36 THE DIVINE ESSENCE their life ; and hence it is, that a man is heated, grows warm, and is inflamed, while his love is kindling into zeal, or being excited to anger and indignation. From this circumstance. therefore, that spiritual heat, which is love, produces natural heat in men, even to the kindling and inflaming their faces and limbs, it may appear, that the fire of the natural sun has its existence from no other origin than the flre of the spiritual sun, which is divine love. Now, since the expanse has its birth from the centre, and not the centre from the expanse, as we observed above ; and since the centre of life, which is the sun of the angelic heaven, is divine love proximately proceeding from God, who is in the midst of that sun ; and as the expanse of that centre, which is the spiritual world, is derived thence, and the sun of the lower world had its existence from that sun, and its expanse, which is called the natural world, is derived from it, it is evident that the universe was created by God. With these remarks we took our leave ; and he attended us out of his study, and talked with us concerning heaven and hell, and the divine government, with renovated sagacity and ingenuity. WISDOM. 36. We have made a distinction between the esse of God, and his essence, by reason of the distinction between the infinity of God, and his love ; infinity being a term applicable to the esse of God, and love to his essence : for, as was observed above, the esse of God is more universal than his essence, and in like manner, the infinity of God is more universal than his love ; therefore infinite is an adjective, or term added, to the essen tials and attributes of God, which are called infinite ; as we say of the Divine Love, that it is infinite, and of the Divine Wisdom, that it is infinite, and in like manner of the Divine Power ; — not that the esse of God is pre-existent to his essence, but be cause it enters into it as an adjunct, cohering with, determining, forming, and, at the same time, exalting it. But we will ar range this subject, as we have done the foregoing, into separate articles, according to the following order. I. That God is Love itself and Wisdom itself, and these two constitute his essence. II. That God is Good itself and Truth itself, heca/use good is of love, and truth is of wisdom. III. That love itself and wis dom itself, are life itself, which is Ufe in itself. IV. That love and wisdom in God make one. V. That the essence of love is to love others without, or out of, itself, to desire to he one with them, and frcm itself to make them happy. "VL Thai these properties of the Divine Love were the cause of the crea tion of the wiicerse, and a/re the cause of its pres&r-vatmn. But each article wUl require a particular consideration. 50 the divine essence. 37 37. I. That god is love ttself and wisdom iiself, and these two constitute his essence. That love and wisdom are the two essentials to which all tha infinite properties that are in God, and that proceed from him, have relation, was a truth known in the earliest ages of the world ; but succeeding generations, as they withdrew their minds from heaven, and immersed them in worldly and corpo real things, could not discern that truth ; for they began to lose the knowledge of what love is in its essence, and consequently of what wisdom is in its essence, not knowing that love ab stracted from form cannot exist, and that in and by form it effects its operations. Now since God is the very, the one only, and thus the first substance and form, whose essence is love and wisdom ; and since by him all things were made which are made, it follows that he created the universe, with all its parts, both general and particular, from love, by means of wisdom ; and that consequently divine love, in union with divine wisdom, is in all and every created subject. Love, moreover, is not only the essence which forms all things, but is also that which unites and conjoins them, and so keeps them, when formed, in order and connection. These truths are capable of receiving illustration from numberless objecte in nature ; as for instance from the HEAT and light proceeding from the sun, which are the two essentials and universals, by which all things upon earth, both in general and in particular, exist and subsist. Heat and light exist in nature, because they correspond with the divine love and the divine wisdom ; for the heat which proceeds from tho sun of the spiritual world, in its essence, is love, and the light derived thence, in its essence, is wisdom. They may be illus trated also by the two essentials and universals, by which human minds exist and subsist, which are the will and the undee- standing ; for of these two every man's mind consists ; ^nd they are, and operate, in all its parts, both in general and in particular. The reason of this is, because the will is the recip ient and habitation of love, and the understanding of wisdom ; therefore those two faculties correspond with the divine love and the divine wisdom, from whence they derive their origin. More over, the same truths may be illustrated by those two essentials and universals, by which human bodies exist and subsist, the HEART and LUNGS, OT the systole and diastole of the heart, and the respiration of the lungs ; which, it is well known, operate in all parts of the human body, both generally and particularly ; because the heart corresponds to love, a,nd the lungs to wisdom. This correspondence is fully demonstrated in the work en titled Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and THE Divine Wisdom. That love, as the bridegroom and hus band, produces or begets a?i forms, but still by wisdom as tha bride and wife, may be proved by numberless testimonies, in 51 37, 38 THE DIVINE ESSENCE. both the spiritual and the natural world : here, however, we shall only make this observation, that the whole angelic heaven is arranged into its form, and preserved in it, from the divine love operating by the divine wisdom. Where men deduce the creation of the world from any other source than from the divine love operating by the divine wisdom, and do not know that these two constitute the Divine Essence, they descend from rational vision to material, embrace nature as the creatrix of the universe, and thence conceive chimeras, and bring forth phan toms; their thoughts are fallacies, and their reasonings from them terminate in the formation of eggs, that are pregnant with birds of night : such men cannot properly be denominated minds, but rather eyes and ears without understanding, or thoughts without a soul : they talk of colors, as existing without light; and of trees, as produced without seed ; and of all created subjects, as formed without a sun ; since they put derivatives in the place of primitives, effecte in the place of causes, and thus turning every thing upside down, they lay the powers of reason asleep, and see as in a dream. 38. H. That god is good ' itself and truth itself, because GOOD IS OF love, AND TRUTH IS OF WISDOM. It is universally acknowledged, that all things have relation to good and truth, which is a plain token that all things derived their existence from love and wisdom ; for every thing that pro ceeds from love is called good, for this is sensibly perceived, and the delight by which love manifests itself is every one's good ; but every thing that proceeds from wisdom is called true, for wisdom consists solely of truths, and affects its objecte with the grateful perceptions of light, which gratification, when it is per ceived, is called truth from good ; therefore love is the complex of all goodnes.ses, and wisdom the complex of all truths ; but both the former and the latter are from God, who is Love itself, and thence God itself, and Wisdom itself, and thence Ti-uth itself. Hence it is, that in the church there are two essentials, which are called charity and faith, of which all things belonging to the 'church, both in general and in particular, consist, and which ought to be in all and every part of it ; because all the goods constituent of the church have relation to charity, and are called charity, and all ite truths have relation to faith, and are called faith. The delights of love, which are also the delights of charity, cause what is good to be called good ; and the grati fications of wisdom, which are also the grateful perceptions ot faith, cause what is true to be called true : for delights and gratifications constitute their life ; and without life thence de rived, goods and truths are like things inanimate, and are also iaarren and unfruitful. But the delights of love are of two kinds, as are also the gratiflcations which appear to be of wisdom: there are delights of the love .^f good, and delights of the love 52 THE DIVINE ESSENCE. Df evil ; and consequently there are gratifications of the faith of truth, and gratifications of the faith of the false. Both those kinds of love, from the sensations they excite in the subjects in which they dwell, are called good; and the gratifications of faith, of each kind, from the perceptions they produce, are also called good ; but because they exist in the understanding, they in. reality are nothing but truths. Nevertheless these two kinds of delighte and gratifications are in direct oppo sition to each other ; for the good of one love is really good, while the seeming good of the other love is evil ; so also th« truth of one faith is true, while the seeming truth of the othei faith is false. But the love, whose dehght is essentially good, is like the sun's heat, fructifying, quickening, and operat* ing upon the fertile ground, upon useful plants, and upon crops of corn ; and wherever it operates, producing as it weie a paradise, a garden of the Lord, and an image of the land of Canaan ; and the pleasantness of its truth is like the light of the sun in the spring time of the year, and ag the influx of light into a vessel of crystal, in which are beautiful flowers, and which, when opened, breathes forth a grateful perfume : but the delight of the love of evil is like the sun's heat, when it parches, withers, and operates upon barren ground and noxious plants, such as thorns and brambles ; and wherever it operates, producing a desert of Arabia, inhabited by hydras and venom ous serpente ; and the pleasantness of its false is like the light of the sun in the tirne of winter, and as the influx of light into a bottle, in which there are worms swimming in vinegar, and reptiles of a noisome smell. It is to be observed, that every particular good creates itself a form by means of truths, and also by them clothes itself, and thus distinguishes itself from every other good ; and likewise that the goods of one stock pr family wra"^ themselves up into fascicles, or distinct bundles (as fibres are wrapped in each muscle of the body), and at the same time clothe them, and thereby distinguish them from others. That formations of this kind are effected, is evident from the general and particular parts of the human body ; and that similar form ations obtain in the human mind, is alike evident, by reason of the invariable correspondence which all the parts of the mind have with all the parts of the body. Hence it follows, that the human mind is an organized form, consisting of spiritual sub stances within, and of natural substances without, and lastly of material substances. The mind, the delights of whose love are good, consists interiorly of spiritual substances, such as exist in heaven, but, the mind, the delights of whose love are evil, con sists interiorly of spiritual substances, such as exist in hell ; and the evils of the latter are bound into fascicles by falses, and the goods of the former are bound into fascicles by truths. The Lord speaks of such a binding up of goods and evils, where he says, S3 38 40 THE DIVINE ESSENCE. "that the tares must be bound in bundles to be burnt, and likewise all things chat offend" (Matt. xiii. 30, 40, 41 ; John XV. 6). 39. III. That god, by reason of ms being love itself and WISDOM ITSELF, IS ALSO LIFE ITSELF, WHICH IS LIFE IN ITSELF. 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 ; and Divine Wisdom properly is life ; and life properly is 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 prop erties in fire, that of burning, and that of shining : from ite burning property proceeds heat, and from its shining property proceeds light. In like manner there are two things in love, one to which the burning property of fire corresponds, which ia a something that most intimately affects a man's will ; and an other, to which the shining property of fire corresponds, which is a something that most intimately affecte his understanding. Hence a man derives love and intelligence ; for, as was observed above, from the sun of the spiritual world there proceed heat, which in its essence is love, and light, which in ite essence ia wisdom ; and those two enter by influx into all and every cre ated subject, affecting them most intimately ; and with men they enter into the will and understanding, which were created to be the receptacles of the influx, the will to be the receptacle of love, and the understanding to be the receptacle of wisdom. Hence it appears, that a man's life dwells in the understanding, that its quality is according to the quality of his wisdom, and that it receives modification from the love in the will. 40. It is also written in John, " As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself"* (v. 26) ; by which is signified that as the Divine itself, which was from eternity, lives in itself, so also the Humanity, which it as sumed in time, lives in itself. Life in itself is the very and only life, by derivation frorn which all angels and men live. Human reason may see a confirmation of this in the light that proceeds from the sun of the natural world, since it is not cre atable, but the forms that receive it are created : for the eyes are its recipient forms, and the infiux of light from the sun causes them to see. The case is just the same with the life, which, as was observed, is light proceeding from the sun of the spiritual world : it is not creatable, but continually flows into the human understanding, which it vivifies in proportion as it illuminates it ; consequently, since light, life, and wisdom are one, wisdom is not creatable, no more is faith, or truth, or love, or charity, or good ; but the forms that receive them are created, and human and angelic minds are such forms. Let every one 54 THE DIVINE ESSENCE. 40, 41 therefore be cautious how he gives into this persuasion, that ho lives from himself, or that his wisdom, his faith, his love, hia perception of truth, his good will, or his good deeds, are fron himself; for in proportion as any one gives into such a persua sion, in the same proportion he sinks his mind down from heaven towards earth, and from a spiritual being becomes natural, sensual, and corporeal ; for he closes up the superior regions of his mind, and thus becomes blind as to all things that relate to God, heaven, and the church ; and then whatever he may by chance think, reason, or speak about them, is done in foolishness, because it is done in darkness, notwithstanding the confidence which he at the same time indulges, that all is done in wisdom ; for when the superior regions of the mind are closed, where the true light of life dwells, the inferior region is opened, into which the light {]/umen) of the world* only is ad mitted ; and this light {lumen), when separated from the light of the superior regions, is a deceitful light {lumen), in which falses appear to be truths, and truths to be falses ; and reason ing from falses appears to be wisdom, and from truths to be madness. In this case a man imagines that he has the quick- sightedness of an eagle, although in respect to the realities of wisdom, he sees no more than a bat at noon-day. 41. IV. That love and wisdom in god make one. Every wise man in the church knows that all the £(Ood of love and charity is from God ; and in like manner all the truth of wisdom and faith ; and that this is really the case, human reason also may perceive, if it be only apprized that the origin of love and wisdom is frorn the sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which is Jehovah God ; or, what is the same thing, that it is derived from Jehovah God through the instrumentality of the sun with which he is encompassed. For the heat proceed ing from that sun in its essence is love, and the light proceed ing thence in its essence is wisdom : hence it is clear as daylight that love and wisdom in that origin are one, and consequently they are one in God, from whom the origin of that sun is derived. This may also be illustrated by the sun of the natural world, which is pure fire ; for heat proceeds from its fiery property, and light from the splendor of that fire, and so b)th are one in their origin. But that they are divided * By the light of this -world, which the author here speaks of, is meant not the light of the sun, the moon, or the stars, but the light of worldly sciences, and mere human learning, reasoning, and the like. It may here be observed, that when treat ing of light, the author sometimes uses the Latin term lux, and sometimes the term lumen. He uses the term lux, when treating of light in general, or of spiritual light in particular ; but he uses the term lumen when treating of the light of the natura] mind only. As the English language affords but one word for the translation ol both terms, therefore, when the term in the original is lumen, that word through out this translation is subjoined as above ; but when tl s term in the original is l-ux the -vord light is used without any addition. 55 41, 42 THE DIVINE ESSENCE. in the'course of their proceeding or going forth, is manifest from their recipient subjects, some of which receive a greater share of heat, and some a greater share of light. This is particularly the case with men : in them the light of life, which is intelligence, and the heat of life, which is love, are divided ; the reason whereof is, because man is to be reformed and regenerated ; and this could not be effected unless the light of life, which is intel ligence, should instruct him what he ought to will and to love. It is to be observed, however, that God is continually operating to effect the conjunction of love and wisdom in man, but that man, unless he looks up to God and believes on him, is con tinually operating to effect their division. In proportion there fore as these two things, the good of love or charity, and the truth of wisdom or faith, are conjoined in a man, so far he be comes an image of God, and is elevated towards heaven and into heaven, where angels dwell ; and on the contrary, in proportion as those two things are divided by a man, so far he becomes an image of Lucifer and the dragon, and is thrown down from heaven to earth, and afterwards under the earth into hell. From the conjunction of those two principles, a man's state becomes like that of a tree in the time of spring, when heat and light are equally conjoined, in consequence of which it brings forth buds, blossoms, and fruit ; but, on the other hand, from the division of those two, a man's state becomes like that of a tree in the time of winter, wheh heat is separated from light, in conse quence of which it is stripped and left bare of all ite leaves and verdure. When spiritual heat, which is love, separates iteelf from spiritual light, which is wisdom, or, what is the same thing, when charity separates itself from faith, a man becomes like sour or putrid earth, which is the nest of worms, or if it bears any shrubs, the leaves thereof are covered with lice, and are consumed ; for the allurements of the love of evil, which in themselves are concupiscences, then burst forth, and the under standing, instead of curbing and subduing them, loves, pampers, and cherishes them. In a word, to divide love and wisdom, or charity and faith, which God is continually endeavoring to join together, is comparatively like depriving the human face of its ruddiness, whereby, it becomes pale as death ; or like leaving the ruddiness without any mixture of the fair white, in which case it looks like a fiery torch. Such division, also, is like loosening the marriage tie between husband and wife, and so making the wife a harlot, and the husband an adulterer ; for love or charity may be considered as the husband, and wisdom or faith as the wife, and when they are separated, there ensue spiritual whore dom and adultery, which are the falsification of truth and the adulteration of good. 42 It is further to be remarked, that there are three degrees of lovi and wisdom, and three degrees of life thence derived ; 56 THE DIVINE ESSENCE. 42, 43 and that the human mind is formed into regions according to these degrees ; and that life in the highest region is in the supreme degree, in the second region in an inferior degree, and in the ultimate region in the lowest degree. These regions are successively opened in a man : the ultimate region, where life is in the lowest degree, is opened during the stages of his infancy and childhood, aud this is effected by means of sciences ; the second region, where life is in a higher degree, is opened during the stages of childhood and youth, and this is effected by means of thoughts or reflections derived from sciences ; and the highest region, where life is in the highest degree, is opened during the stages of youth and manhood, and so on successively, and this is effected by perceptions of truths both moral and spiritual. It is further to be observed, that perfection of life does not consist in thought, but in the perception of truth from the light of truth, whence the differences of life among men may be ascer tained : for there are some, who immediately upon hearing truth, perceive that it is truth, and these are represented in the spiritual world by eagles ; there are others who do not distin guish truth by perception, but arrive at it, or draw conclusions respecting it, by a series of proofs and probable arguments, or by confirmations from appearances,, and these are represented by singing birds : there are some again, who believe a thing to be true because it was asserted by an authority they can depend upon, and these are represented by birds of the pie kind ; and, lastly, there are some who have neither inclination nor capacity to perceive truth, but only to perceive the false as truth : the reason of which is, that they are in the light of infatuation, in which light what is false appears like truth, and truth either like something above them hid in a dark cloud, or like a meteor, or like falsity itself : the thoughts of such are represented by birds of night, and their discourse by screech-owls. Such among these as have obstinately confirmed their falses cannot bear to hear trutlis ; but as soon as any truth strikes the drum of their ears, they repel it with the i.tmost aversion, just as the stomach when loaded with bilious matter is sick at the sight of food. 43. V. That the essence of love is to love othees out OF OR WITHOUT ITSELF, TO DESIRE TO BE ONE WITH THEM, AND FROM ITSELF TO MAKE THEM HAPPY. There are two things which constitute the essence of God, — ^love and wisdom ; and there are three which constitute the essence cf his love — to love others out of or without himself, to desire to be one with them, and to make them happy from him self. The same three particulars also constitute the essence of his wisdom, since, as was shown above, love and wisdom in God make one : it is the ])roperty of love to wiU those things, and of wisdom to produce them. The first essential, — to love otliers 67 43, 44 THE DIVINE ESSENCE. out of or without himself, is acknowledged to be in God, Dy reason of his love towards the whole race of mankind ; and on their account God loves all things which he has created, be cause they are means to promote the end of that love ; for whoever loves the end loves also the means necessary to promote it. All persons and all things in the universe are without or out of God, because they are finite, and God is infinite. The love of God reaches and extends itself, not only to good persons and things, but also to evil persons and things ; of consequence, not only to those persons and things that are in heaven, but also to such as are 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 himself, that " 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). But the reason why evil persons and things are still evil, arises from the subjects and objects themselves, in that they do not receive the love of God according to its true quality and inmost influx, but according to their own qualities or states, just as the thorn and nettle receive the heat of the sun and the rain of heaven. The second essential of God's love, — to desire to he one with others, is manifest also from his conjunction with the angelic heaven, with the church upon earth, with every in dividual therein, aud with every good and truth that enters into the constitution of man and the church. Love, also, in its own nature, is nothing but an endeavor towards conjunction ; there fore, that this constituent of the essence of love might take effect, God created man in his image and likeness, that so he might have conjunction with him. That the Divine Love con tinually intends such conjunction, appears from the words ofthe Lord, expressing his desire, " That they may be one, he in them, and they in him : and that the love of God may be in them" (John xvii. 21, 22, 23, 26). The thied essential of God's love, — to make others haprpyfrom itself, is recognized in the gift of eternal life, which is blessedness, satisfaction, and happiness without end. These he communicates to those who receive his love in themselves ; for God, as he is love itself, is also blessedness itself; and as all love gives forth an emanation of delight, so the Divine Love gives forth an emanation of bless edness, satisfaction, and happiness itself to all eternity. Thus God'makes angels happy from himself, and men also after death, ¦which is effected by conjunction with them. 44. That such is the nature of the Divine Love, is discover able from the sphere of its emanation, which pervades the uni verse, and affects every one according to his state. This sphere more especially affects parents, inspiring them with a tender love towards their children, who are out of or without them, and with a desire to be one with them, and to make them happy 58 the DIVINE ESSENCE. 44^ 45 from themselves. It affects also the evil as well as the good ; and not only men, but likewise beasts and birds of every kind. For what is the oliject of a mother's thoughts when she brings forth her child, but as it were to unite herself with it, and to provide for its good ? Or what is a bird's concern when she has hatched her young, but to cherish them under her wings, and with every mark of endearment to feed and nourish them ? And that even vipers and snakes love their offspring, is a truth gene rally known. This universal sphere of the Divine Love affects, in a particular manner, those who receive the love of God .in themselves, as do all those who believe in God and love their neighbor, the charity which reigns with them being the image of that love. Even what is called friendship among men ofthe world, pute on the semblance of that love ; for every one, when he invites his friend to his table, gives him the best that his houso affords, receives him with kindness, takes him by the hand, and makes him offers of service. This love is also the cause and the only origin of all sympathies and tendencies of homogeneous and similar minds towards a union with each other. Nay, the same divine sphere also operates upon the in animate parts of the creation, as trees and plants ; but there it acts by the instrumentality of the natural sun, and its heat and light ; for the heat entering into them from without, conjoins iteelf with them, and causes them to bud, blossom, and bear fruit ; which operations may be called their state of bliss ; and this is effected by the sun's heat, because it corresponds with spiritual heat, which is love. There are representations of the operation of this love exhibited also in various subjects of the mineral kingdom, and their types are discoverable in the uses and consequent value to which each is exalted. 45. From this description of the essence of Divine Love may be seen, by contrast, the quality of the essence of diabolical love. Diabolical love is the love of self, which is indeed called love, but when considered in its true nature is hatred ; for it loves none out of, or besides itself, and it desires to be conjoined with others, not for their benefit, but only for its own : its inmost affection is a continual lust to rule over all, and to possess the property of all, and at last to be worshipped as a god. This is the reason why the inhabitants of hell do not acknowledge God, but worship as gods those who have most power over othjers ; so they have inferior and superior, or lesser and greater deities, according to the extent of their power ; and since every one h-as the same lust of dominion in his heart, therefore he burns with hatred against his presiden(>god, and he in return against those who are under his authority, whom he regards as the vilest of slaves, although he is courteous and civil towards them so long as they adore him : but his rage against others is without bounds ; and even his servants and clients are hated by him aJ 59 45—47 THE DIVINE ESSENCE. heart ; for the love of self is like the love subsisting among robbers, who show all marks of mutual affection during the per petration of their villanies, but afterwards are ready to murder one another for the sake of a larger share, of booty. It is in consequence of this love that its various lusts appear in hell at a distance like the various kinds of wild beasts ; some like foxes and leopards, some like wolves and tigers, and some like croco diles and venomous serpents ; and that the deserts where they live consist solely of heaps of stone, or of barren sand, with bogs interspersed full of croaking frogs ; and that dismal birds fly, harshly screeching, over their miserable abodes. These are the ochim, tziim, and jiim, mentioned in the prophecies of the Old Testament, where the love of dominion arising from the love of self is spoken of. See Isaiah xiii. 21 ; Jerem. 1. 39 ; Psalm Ixxiv. 14. 46. VI. That these properties of the divine love weee THE CAUSE OF TIIE CEEATION OF THE UNIVEESE, AND ARE ALSO THE CAUSE OF ITS PRESERVATION. That these three essential properties of the Divine Love were the cause of creation, may be clearly seen by an attentive exam ination of them. As for example, that the first, — to love others out of or without itself , operated as such a cause, is evident from the universe, in that it is without, or out of God, as the natural world is without, or out of, the sun ; and therefore God can ex tend his love to it, and exercise it therein, and so rest satisfied. We read also, that when God had created the heavens and the earth, he rested, and from that circumstance originated the sabbath day (Gen. ii. 2, 3). That the second, — to desire to he one with others, operated as such a cause, is evident from the creation of man in the image and likeness of God ; by which is signified that man was made a form receptive of love and wisdom from God, that so God might unite himself with him, and, for hia sake, with all and every thing in the universe, which are nothing but means to promote such union ; for conjunction with the final cause implies also a conjunction with middle causes. That all things were created for the sake of man, is evident also from the book of Genesis (i. 28, 29, 30). That the third, — to make others happy from, itself, operated as such a cause, is evi dent from the angelic heaven, which is provided for every man who receives the love of God, and where all .are made happy from God alone. The reason why these three essentials of the love of God are also the cause of the preservation of the uni verse, is, because preservation is perpetual creation, as subsist ence is perpetual existence ; and the Divine Love, from eternity to eternity, is the same ; consequently, whatever quality it had at the creation of the world, the same it still possesses and ex ercises in the world created. 47. From a right attent'an to the above observations, it must 6G THE DIVINE ESSENCE. 47, 48 be very evident that the universe is a Consistent and coherent work from first to last, or from first principles to ultimates ; for it is a work containing ends, causes, and effects, in an indisso luble connection ; and since in all love there is an end intended, and in all wisdom the promotion of such an end by middle causes, proceeding by them to effects, which are uses, it follows of consequence that the universe is a work containing divine love, divine wisdom, and uses, and thereby a work altogether coherent from fii-st principles to ultimates. That the universe consists of perpetual uses, produced by wisdom, and originated by love, may be seen, as it were, in a mirror, by every wise man who has a general idea of the creation of the universe, and regards ite particular parts according to that idea; fbr particu lars adapt themselves to their common whole, and the common whole gives to particulars their orderly arrangement. But this will be more fully illustrated hereafter. 48. To the above I shall add this memorable relation. I was once conversing • with two angels, one from the eastern quarter of heaven, and the other from the southern ; who per ceiving me engaged in meditation about love and the arcana of wisdom involved in it, addressed me, saying, " Are you at all ac quainted with the entertainments of wisdom in our world ?" I replied, "Not as yet." They said, "They are of several kinds; and all those who love truths with spiritual affection, or for the sake of truth, and because they are the means of attaining to wisdom, meet together on an appointed signal, and canvass and determine such questions as require deeper consideration than common." They then took me by the hand, saying, " Come with us, and you shall see and hear ; for the signal of meeting has been given to-day." They then led me across a plain to a hill, and behold, at the foot of the hill there was an avenue of palm-trees continued to the top, which we entered and ascended. On the top, or summit of the hill, there was a grove ; among the trees, on an elevated plot of ground, was formed a kind of theatre, within which was a smooth floor paved with various colored little stones : all around it were placed seats, in the form of a square, on which the lovers of wisdom were seated ; and in the midst of the theatre was a table, on which lay a scaled paper. Those who sat on the seats invited us to sit down where there was room ; upon which I replied, " I was conducted hither by two angels, to see and hear, and not to sit down." The two angels then walked towards the table in the middle of the floor, and, breaking the seal, they read, in the presence of those that were seated, the arcana of wisdom that were written on the paper, and which were now to be canvassed and dis cussed. They were written by angels of the third heaven, and 61 48 THE DIVINE ESSENCE. let down upon the table, and consisted of the three following questions : first, " What is the image of God, and what the Ukeness of God, into which man was created?" secondly, " What is the reason why men a/re not born into the science of amy love, when nevertheless, beasts and birds, from the highest to tlie lowest, a/re born into the sciences of all their loves T' thirdly, " What is signified hy the tree of life, amd what hy the tree of the knmvledge of good amd evil, and what hy eating of them V Underneath was added the following : " Collect your opinions on the three questions into one decision, write it on a fresh paper, and place it upon this table, and we shall see it ; and if, upon examination, your decision appears to be just, you shall each of you receive the prize of wisdom." When the two angels had read the contents of the paper, they retired, and were carried up into their respective heavens. Immediately thereupon those who sat upon the seats began to consider and canvass the deep questions proposed to them, and delivered their sentiments in succession. Those who sat towards the north spoke first, afterwards those towards the west, next those towards the south, and lastly those towards the east. They began with the first subject of inquiry. What is the image of God, and what the likeness of God, in which man was cee ated ? But before they proceeded, these words were read, in the presence of them all, out of the book of Genesis : " God said. Let us make man into our image, after our likeness ; so God created man into, his own image, into the likeness of God created he him" (Gen. i. 26, 27). "In the day that God created man, into the Ukeness of God made he him" (Gen. Those who sat towards the north first declared their senti ments, and 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 the nostrils of Adam the breath of lives, and man became a living soul' (Gen. ii. 7). These words seem to signify, that there was breathed into him the will of good, and the perception of truth, and thus a soul of lives ; and since life was breathed into him by God, image and likeness signify integrity derived from love and wisdom, and from justice and judgment in him." Those who sat towards the west favored this opinion, adding, however, ^' That the state of integrity, which was breathed into Adam by God, is continually breathed into every man since ; but that it is in the man, as in a receptacle ; and the man, as he is a receptacle, is an image and likeness of God." The third in order, who sat towards the south, next de clared their sentiments, in the following words ; " The image of God, and the likeness of God, are two distinct things, but yet united in man by creation ; and it appears tp us, by a sort ol 62 the divine essence. 48 interior perception, that the image of God may be lost by a man, but not the likeness of God. This seems to be distinctly pointed at by Adam's retaining the likeness of God, after that 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 afterwards he is called the likeness of God, and not the image of God (Gen. v. 1). But we will leave to oui friends, who sit towards the east, and are thereby in a higher degree of light, to determine what is properly meant by an image of God, and what by a likeness of God." Then, after a short silence, those who sat towards the east rose from their seats, and looking up to the Lord, they again sat down, and thus began : " An image of God is a receptacle of God ; and since God is love itself and wisdom itself, an image of God is the reception of love and wisdoni from God : but a likeness of God is a perfect like ness and a full appearance, as if love and wisdom were in a man, and consequently as if they were altogether his own ; for a man has no other sensation in this case, than that he loves and is wise of himself, or that he wills good and understands truth of himself; when nevertheless nothing of all this is from himself, but from God. God alone loves and is wise of himself, because he is Love itself and Wisdom itself. The likeness or appearance that love and wisdom, or good and truth, are in a man, as his own, causes him to be a man, and gives him the capacity of being conjoined with God, and thus of living to eternity ; from whence it follows, that a man is a man by virtue of this faculty, that he can will good, and understand truth, altogether as from himself, and yet know and believe that it is from God ; for as he knows and believes this, God implants his image in him, which could not be done if he should believe that his love and wisdom were from himself and not from God." When they had spoken these words, being inspired with zeal arising from the love of truth, they thus continued their discourse : " How is it jiossible for a man to receive any portion of love and wisdom so as to retain it, and reproduce it, unless he feel it in appear ance as his own? And how can conjunction with God, by means of love and wisdom, be effected, unless there be some thing of a reciprocation of conjunction on the part of man ? For unless it be reciprocal there can be no conjunction ; and the re ciprocation of conjunction, on man's part, consists in this, that he should love God, and do the things that are of God, as from him self, and yet believe that he has the power from God. Besides, how can a man live eternally, unless he be conjoined with the eternal God ? Consequently, how can a man be a man, unless he have that likeness in him?" To these words all present gave their assent, and said, " Let us make our conclusion in agreement with these sentiments ;" which they did as follows : " A man is a receptacle of God, and a receptacle of God is an 63 48 THE DIVINE ESSENCE. image of God ; and since God is love iteelf and wisdom itself, a man ia a receptacle of them both ; and a receptacle becomes nn image of God according to the degree of reception : a man, also, is a likeness of God b" virtue of a sensation in himself that such things as are from God appear to be in him as his own ; but that, nevertheless, from that likeness he becomes an image of Godj only so far as he acknowledges that love and wisdom, or good and truth, are not really his own in him, and thus not self derived, but that they exist only in God, and are conse quently derived from God." After this they entered upon the next subject of inquiry, Why MEN AEE NOT BOEN INTO THE SCIENCE OF ANY LOVE, WHEN NEVEETHELESS BOTH BEASTS AND BIRDS, FROM THE HIGHEST TO THE LOWEST, ARE BORN INTO THE SCIENCES OF ALL THEIR LOVES? They fii'st confirmed the truth of the proposi tion by various considerations ; as in the case of a man, that he is born into no science, not even that of conjugial love : they then inquired, and were informed by attentive examiners, that an infant does not even apply, from any connate science, to its mother's breast, but is taught to do so by frequent applications on the part of the mother or the nurse ; and that it knows only how to suck, from having learned it by continual suction in ita mother's womb ; and that afterwards it knows not how to walk, or to form its voice to any articulate sound, or even to express the affections of love, as beasts do : it is moreover unacquainted with what is salutary for it in the way of food, with which beasts are well acquainted, so that it will catch at any thing it can lay its hands upon, and apply it to its mouth whether it be clean or unclean. The examiners further declared, that without instruc tion a man is an utter stranger to the commerce between the sexes ; and that neither virgins nor young men have any know ledge of this, until they are instructed by others. In short, a man is born a merely corporeal being, like a worm, and contin ues so, unless he acquire knowledge, understanding, and wisdom from others. After this they gave abundant' proofs, that ani mals, from the highest to the lowest, both the beasts of the earth, and the fowls of the air, with reptiles, fishes, and insects, are born into all the sciences of the various kinds of love that form their life ; as into the knowledge of every thing concern ing nourishment, habitation, the love between the sexes, the propagation of their kind, and the education of their young ; and this they confirmed by many extraordinary facts which they recollected to have seen, heard, or read of, in the natural world, where they once lived, and in which animals are not merely representative, but real. When the truth of the proposition was thus proved, they applied all the powers of their minds to search out aud discover the reasons which might serve to explain and unfold this mystery ; and they all agreed that the Divine Wis- 64 THE DIVINE ESSENCE. 48 dom must necessarily have contrived and ordained all these things, to the end that a man might be a man, and a beast a beast ; and thus, that a man's imperfection at his nativity is his perfection ; and the perfection of brutes at their nativity is their imperfection. Then those on the north began first to declare their senti ments, and said, " That a man is born without sciences, to" the end that he may be capable of receiving them all ; whereas, sup posing him born into the knowledge thereof, he would not be in a capacity to receive any, except those into the knowledge of which he was born ; and the consequence would be, that he could not appropriate any to himself This they illustrated by the comparison of a man, when he is first born, with ground in which no seed has been sown, but which is still in a capacity of receiving all kinds of seed, and of bringing them to maturity and perfection.; whereas brutes are like ground already sown, and covered with grass and other herbs, which receives no other seed than what has been sown in it already ; or if it receives any other, it chokes it in the birth, and cannot bring it to maturity. Hence it is, that the growth of a man requires many years for its completion, during which time he may be cultivated like the ground, and bring forth, as it were, all kinds of grain, flowers, and trees ; whereas a beast arrives at the perfection of his growth in-a few years, during which time no power of cultivation can raise up or produce any thing but what was connate, or born with him." Those on the wsst next declared their sentiments to the following purport : " A man," said they, " has not science by birth, like a beast, but only faculty and in clination ; faculty to know, and 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 by birth is a mere organ, which has but a faint perception of life by the external senses, and none at all by the internal, to the intent that he may, by successive degrees, live and become a man ; first a natural man, afterwards a rational, and lastly a spiritual ; and this could not be the case, if, like the beaste, he were to receive his proper kind of science and love by birth : for the implantation of sciences and affections of love by birth, seta boundaries to their progression ; whereas the implantation of faculties and inclinations only, sets no such boundaries ; where fore a man has the capacity of being made more and more per fect in science, intelligence, and wisdom, to eternity." Those on the SOUTH next took up the debate, and spoke as follows : " It is impossible for a man to derive any science from himself, but he may learn it from others : for no science is connate or born with him ; and because he can derive no science from him self, neither can he derive from himself any love, since there can be no love where there is no science ; love and science being 65 V 48 THE DIYINE ESSENCE. inseparable companions, which admit of no division, any more tlian the will and the understanding, or affection and thought, or essence and form ; therefore in proportion as a man learns science from others, in the same proportion love adjoins itself to it as a companion. The universal love which thus adjoins itself, is the love of science, or of knowing, and in process of time the love of intelligence and wisdom, or of understanding and being wise ; arid these loves are implanted in men only, but not in brutes, and are received by infiux from _ God. We agree with our friends from the west, that a man is not born into any love, and consequently not into any science ; but that he is born only with an inclination to love, and thereby with a faculty to receive sciences, not from himself, but from others, that is, through others : we use the term through others, because neither did those others receive any thing from themselves, but all originally from God. We agree likewise with our friends from the north, that a man, at his first birth, is like the ground, in which no seeds are sown, but which is capable of receiving all kinds, both good and bad ; hence he derived his name from the ground, for Adam was so called from adama, which signifies ground. We are further of opinion, that beasts are born into all kinds of natural love, and consequently into such sciences as correspond with them ; but still they derive neither knowledge, nor thought, nor understanding, nor wisdom, from those sciences, but are impelled to them by their different kinds of natural love, much as a blind man is guided along the streets by a dog, for they indeed are blind as to intellectual sight; or rather they may be compared with sleep-walkers, who act under the gui dance of blind science, while their intellectual faculty remains in the profoundest sleep." Those on the eastern side next de clared their sentiments, and said, " We assent to all that our brethren have spoken, and are of opinion with them, that a man knows nothing of himself, but only from and by others, to the intent that he may know and acknowledge that all science, in telligence, and wisdom are from God ; and that he cannot be otherwise born and begotten of God, and become an image and likeness of him ; for he becomes an image of God by the ac knowledgment and belief, that all the good of love and charity, and all the truth of wisdom and faith, was and is received by him from God, and no part of them from himself; and he is a like ness of God, in consequence of his being sensible of those gifts in himself as if they were self-derived He has this feeling in consequence of his not being born into sciences, but learning them afterwards ; for what a man thus learns, appears to him as if it were acquired from himself This apparent sensation is granted him by God, in order that he may be a man and not a beast; since in consequence of his willing, thinking, loving, knowing, understanding, and improving in wisdom, as from the divine essence. 48 himself, a man learns sciences, and exalts them to intelligence, and by good uses to wisdom, whereby God conjoins him to him- self, and a man conjoins himself to God ; which conjunctions could not possibly be effected, unless it had been previously appointed by God, that a man should be born in total igno- rance."_ When they had thus delivered their sentiments, it was the desire of ail present, that a conclusion should be drawn from the arguments which had been urged ; and the following was agreed upon : " A man is born into no science, to the intent that he may arrive at all science, and advance to understanding, and thereby to wisdom ; and he is born into no love, to the intent that he may arrive at all love, by a prudent and intelli gent application of the sciences ; and by love towards his neigh bor, unto love to God, and thus be conjoined with God, and by that means become truly a man, and live eternally." After this they took up the paper, and read the third subject of inquiry. What is signified by the teee op life, what by THE tree of the KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL, AND WHAT BY THE EATING THEREOF? and they all requested that the wise spirits from the east would explain this mystery, because it re quired more than common depth of understanding to fathom it, which none were possessed of but the eastern spirits, who are in flaming light, that is, in the wisdom of love, which wisdom is signified by the garden of Eden, wherein those two trees were planted ; and they replied, " We will declare our opinion ; but seeing that all wisdom is from God, and nothing from a man's own self, therefore we will speak from him, or from his inspira tion, and yet of ourselves, as of ourselves." They then declared their sentiments to this effect : " A tree signifies a man^ and its fruit the good of life ; whence, by the tree of life is signified a man living from God ; and since 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 receiving those things by influx from God, and with them eternal life. The same is signified by the tree of life, whose fruit is promised in the Eeve- lation, ii. 7 ; and xxii. 2, 14. By the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, is signified a man believing that he derives life from himself, and not from God ; consequently, that love and wisdom, charity and faith, that is, good and truth, in him, are his own, and not God's ; to which "belief he is inclined from the similitude and appearance, that all his thoughts and inclinations, his words and actions, are from himself; and since by such a belief a man is persuaded to think himself a .god, therefore the serpent said, " God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then yoiir eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, know ing good and evil" (Gen. iii. 5). By eating of those trees is signified reception and appropriation ; by eating of the tree of life, the reception of eternal life ; and by eatirig of the tree of 67 4? THE DIVINE ESSENCE. the knowledge of good and evil, the reception of damnation. By the serpent is meant the devil, with respect to self-love, and the pride of one's gwn understanding, which love is the keeper of that tree ; and all men who are in the pride of their own understandings from the influence of that love, are such trees. It is a dreadful error, therefore, to suppose, that Adam enjoyed wisdom and did good of himself, and that this was hisstate ot integrity, seeing that Adam, on account of such belief, was cursed ; for this is signified by his eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil : therefore he instantly fell from his state of integrity, which state consisted in the "belief that his wisdom and power to do good were from God, and not at all from himself; for this is signified by eating of the tree of life. The Lord alone, when he was in the world, had the wisdom and the power to do good from himself, for the Divine Itself was in him, and was his from nativity ; therefore he became also by his own power a Eedeemer and Saviour." From all these argu ments they came to this final conclusion : " By the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and by eating of them, is meant, that a man's true life is God in him, in which case he is in possession of heaven and eternal life ; and that a. man's true death is the persuasion and belief, that his life is from himself, and not from God, for thence is hell and eternal death, which is damnation." After this they inspected the paper that was left by the an gels upon the table, and they saw written underneath. Join TOGETHER THESE THEEE CONCLUSIONS SO AS TO FORM ONE GENEEAL RESULT ; on which they compared them together, and perceived that the three were connected in one regular series, and that the general result was this : " Man was created to receive love and wisdom from God, and yet in all likeness, as from himself, which was for the sake of reception and conjunction ; and on this account a man is not born into any love, or into any science, or even into any power of loving and growing wise from him- t'self : if therefore he ascribes all the good of love and all the truth of wisdom to God, he then becomes a living man ; but it he ascribes them to himself, he becomes a dead man." This decision they wrote upon a fresh paper, and placed it on the table : and lo I on a sudden angels appeared present in a bright cloud, and took the paper away with them into heaven ; and after it was read there, those who sat upon the seats were saluted thence with these words, " Well, well, well." And instantly there appeared a single angel, as it were fiying down out of heaven, who had the likeness of two wings about his feet, and two about his temples, bringing with him the prizes, consisting of long flowing robes, caps, and wreaths of laurel. When he alighted on the ground, he presented those on the north with robes of the color of opal ; those on the west, with scarlet robes ; 68 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. 48, 49 tnose on the south, with caps whose borders were ornamented with bands of gold and pearls, and on the left side upwards adorned with sparkling diamonds set in the forms of fiowers ; and those on the east he presented with wreaths of laurel, inter spersed with rubies and sapphires. Then all of them, adorned with their respective prizes, left the place, and departed home with joy. OF THE OMNIPOTENCE, OMNISCIENCE, AND OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD. 49. We have already treated of the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, and shown that these two constitute the Di vine Essence ; we come now to treat of the omnipotence, omnis- oiENOE, and omnipresence of God, since these three proceed from the Divine Love and Divine Wisdom in much the same manner as the power and the presence of the sun in this world and in all ite parts proceed from its heat and light. The heat also proceed ing from the sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which is Jehovah God, in its essence is Divine Love, and the light pro ceeding thence in its essence is Divine Wisdom ; from whence it appears that as infinity, immensity, and eternity appertain to the Divine Esse, so omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence appertain to the Divine Essence. But as these three universal predicables of the Divine Essence have not hitherto been under stood, because their progression according to their respective courses, which are the law^s of order, was unknown, it will be expedient to represent them in a clear point of view under the following separate articles. I. That OTnnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence areproperWes qf the Divine Wisdom derived from the l>iuine Love. U. That the omnipotence, omniscience, a/nd ommipresence of God camnot he known, wntil it be known what is meamt hy order, a/nd until it he ascertained that God is order, and that he iml/roduced order into the imiverse and all its pa/rts, at the creation. III. That the omnipotence of God in the universe and all its parts, proceeds and operates according to ihe laws of his own order. IV. That God is omniscient, that is, he perceives, sees, and kmows all and every thing, even to the most minute, which is done according to order, and hy that means also whatever is done contrary to order. V. That God is omnipresent in all the gradaUons of his own order from fi/rst to last. VI. That man was created a form of divine order. VII. That a man has power against the evil and the false from the Divine omnipotence ; he has wisdom respecUrig good and truth from the Divine omniscience ; and he is im God by virtue ofthe Divine omnipresence, in proportion as he lives according to di vine order. But each article will require a particular explication'. 69 60, 51 THL OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. 50. I. That omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence; AEE properties OF THE DIVINE WISDOM DERIVED FROM THE DI VINE LOVE. That omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, are pro perties of the Divine "Wisdom derived from the Divine Love, bul not of the Divine Love operating by means of the Divine Wis dom, is an arcanum from heaven which has never yet been clearly revealed to any human understanding, because it has never yet been known what love is in its essence, or what wis dom is in its essence, and still less what is the law of the influx of the one into the other ; and that according to that law, love enters by a universal and particular influx into wisdom, and resides therein Hke a king in his own kingdom, or like a master in his own house, relinquishing to judgment all the authority of justice, or, what amounts to the same, relinquishing to wis dom all the authority of love ; for justice has respect to love, and judgment to wisdom. But this arcanum will be set in a clearer light presently ; in the mean time, it is here laid down as a general canon. That God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omni present, by means of the wisdom of his love, is signified also 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 any thing made ^hat was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The world was made by him : and the Word was mad© flesh" (i. 1, 3, 4, 10, 14). By the Word is there signified Divine Truth, or, what amounts to the same, Divine "Wisdom ; there fore he is also called life and light, both which are nothing but wisdom. 51. Forasmuch as justice, in the Word, is predicated of love, and judgment of wisdom, therefore we shaU here adduce some passages to prove that God's government in the world is main tained and carried on by means of both. The passages are these which follow : " JusUce and judgment are the support of thy throne" (Psalm Ixxxix. 14). " Let him that glorieth glory in this, that Jehovah doeth judgment and justice in the earth" (Jerem. ix. 24). " Let Jehovah be exalted, because he hath filled Zion with judgment and justice''' (Isa. xxxiii. 5). " Let judg ment run down as water, and justice as a mighty stream" (Amos V. 24_). '.' Thy justice, 0 Jehovah, is like the great mountains ; ^j judgments are as the ^reat deep" (Psalm xxxvi. 6). " Je/to- vah shall bring forth his justice aa the light, and his judgmeml^ as the noon-day" (Psalm xxxvii. 6). " Jehovah shall judge his p^le in justice, and his poor in judgment^'' (Psalm Ixxii. 2). "when I shall 'h&vQlQ&vTiQA.ihQ judgments oiih.j justice: seven times in the day I praise thee, because of the judgments of thy justice'^ (Ps. cxix. 7, 164). " I will betroth me unto thee in justice amd judgment" (Hosea ii. 19). " Zion shall be redeemed 70 THE OMUaPOTENCE OF GOD. 51 —53 ill fustice, and her converts in judgment^ (Isa. i. 27). "He shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it in judgment and justice" (ix. 7). " I will raise unto David a righteous branch, who shall reign as a king, and shall do judgment amd justice in the earth" (Jerem. 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; Iviii. 2; Jerem. IV. 1, 2 ; xxii. 3, 13, 16 ; Ezek. xviii. 5 ; xxxiii. 14, 16, 19 ; Amos vi. 12 ; Micah vii. 9 ; Deut. xxxiii. 21 ; John xvi. 8, 10, 11. 52. H. That the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipres ence OF GOD cannot BE KNOWN UNTIL IT BE KNOWN WHAT IS MEANT BY OEDEE, AND UNTIL IT BE ASCERTAINED THAT GOD IB ORDEE, AND THAT HE INTRODUCED ORDER INTO THE UNIVEESE AND ALL ITS PARTS, AT THE CREATION. How many monstrous and mistaken opinions have crept into the minds of men, and have thence been propagated in the church through the heads of the founders of every new sect, in consequence of not understanding the order in which God has created the universe and all ita parts, may be discovered from the bare mention of them in the following pages. But previous to this we will here explain the meaning of order by a kind of general definition of the term. Order is the quality of the dis position, determination, and activity of the pa/rts, substances, or entities, which constitute the form of a thing, and whereon its state depends; the perfection of which is produced by wisdom ^eratingfrom love ; or the impe/rfection of which is occasioned oy perverse reason operating from cupidity. In this definition mention is made of substance, form, and state ; and by substance we at the same time mean form, because every substance ia a form ; and the quality of a form ia its state, the perfection or imperfection of which results from order. But as this is meta physical reasoning, it will of necessity appear dark and obscure, until it be illustrated by references to particular examples, which will be mentioned hereafter. 53. God is order, because he is substance iteelf and form itself. He is substance, because all things that subsist derived their existence originally, and continue to derive it from him : and he is forai, because all the quality of substances did origi- mally, and does still arise from him ; and quality can only be derived from form. Now as God is the very, the one only, and the first substance and form, and at the same time the very and only love, and the very and only wisdom, and since wisdom operating from love constitutes form, and its state and quality is according to the order inherent in it, it necessarily follows tliat God is order iteelf, and consequently that he introduced order, both into the universe and into all ite parts, and that he introduced the- most perfect order; since whatever he created was very good as it is written in the book of Genesis. We shall 71 63 — 55 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. show in its proper place that evils had birth together with hell, consequently, after creation ; but at present we shall proceed to speculations which are of easier admission into the understand ing, and which enlighten it with a clearer and milder light. 54. The nature and quality of the order, according to which the universe was created, would require a volume for a full ex planation ; but a slight sketch of it may be seen hereafter in the lemma concerning creation. It is to be observed, that both the general and the particular parts of the universe, to the intent they may subsist by themselves, were created according to their respective orders, and that from the beginning they were so arranged as to conjoin themselves with the common order ofthe universe, so that each particular order should subsist in the uni versal order, and thus altogether constitute one whole. But let us refer to examples : man is created according to his proper order, and likewise every particular part according to its order, as the head and the body according to their respective orders ; the heart, the lungs, the liver, the pancreas, the stomach, accord ing to their orders ; every organ of motion, which is called a muscle, according to ite order ; and every organ of sense, as the eye, the ear, the tongue, according to its order ; yea, there is not the smallest artery or fibril in the body which is not created according to its order ; and yet these innumerable parts are con nected with the general order, and so inserted in it, that all to gether they constitute a one. The case is similar in all other instances, the bare mention of which will therefore suffice : eveiy beast of the earth, every bird of the air, every fish of the sea, every reptile, even to the minutest insect, is each created accord ing to its proper and peculiar order ; in like manner every tree, shrub, and herb, is created according to its peculiar order ; and so also is every stone and mineral, even to the smallest grain of dust. 65. Who does not see that there is not an empire, kingdom, dukedom, commonwealth, state, or private family, that is not established by laws which constitute the order, and thereby the form, of its government ? The laws of justice in all of them have the first place, political laws the second, and economical laws the third ; which, on comparison with the human frame, will answer respectively to these several parte; the laws of justice to the head, political laws to the body, and economical laws to the dress ; therefore the latter, like garments, may be changed at pleasure. As to what concerns the order according to which God has established his chm-ch, it is this, that he should be all in all, both generally and particularly therein ; and that the laws of order should be practised by every man towards his neighbor. The laws of this order are as many and various as the truths contained in the Word ; the laws which relate to God forming the head of the church, those relating to a man'g 72 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. 65 — 57- neighbor forming the body, and ceremonial laws forming the dress ; for unless these latter contained and preserved the forme in their order, it would be as if the body were stripped naked, and exposed to the summer's heat, and the winter's cold ; or as if a temple were bared of its walls and roof, so as to expose the altar, pulpit, and other holy parts within to the violence of every storm and tempest. 56. III. That the omnipotence of god in the univeese and ALL rrs PARTS proceeds and operates according to the laws of his own ORDEE. • God is Omnipotent, because he has all power from himself, and the power of all other beings is derived from him. His power and will are one ; and since he wills nothing but what is good, therefore he can do nothing but what is good. In the spiritual world no one can do any thing contrary to his own v^ill or inclination ; which peculiarity they derive in that world from God, whose power and will are one. God also is good itself, and therefore while he does good he is in himself, and to go out of himself is impossible. Hence it is manifest that his omnipo tence proceeds and operates within the sphere of the extension of good, which is infinite ; for this sphere fills the universe from its inmost centre, and all and every thing therein, and from that inmost centre governs the things that are without, so far as they enter into conjunction with it according to their respective orders ; and where they do not enter into such conjunction, this sphere nevertheless supports them, and labors with all its might to reduce them to an order concordant with that universal order, in which God is in his omnipotence, and according to which he acts; but where this cannot be effected, though they are cast out from him, he still supports them from that inmost centre in their state of rejection. It is evident from this that the Divine Omnipotence cannot so go out of itself as to enter into contact with any thing that is evil, or in the least to promote evil from itself ; for evil turns itself away, and of consequence is entirely separate from God, and cast into hell, between which and heav en, where God is, a great gulf is interposed. From these few considerations may be seen the great folly of those who imagine, and more of those who believe, but still more of those who teach, that God can condemn, curse, or cast into hell, that he can pre destinate the soul of any person to eternal death, or can avenge iniuries, be angry, and punish ; for he cannot even turn away his face from any one, or regard him with the least severity of countenance, these and the like acts being contrary to his es sence, and consequently contrary to himself 67. It is the i/revailing opinion at this day that the omnipo tence of God is like the absolute power of an earthly monarch, who can execute his own will as he chooses, can absolve and condemn whomsoever he pleases, make the innocent guilty, de 73 57, 58 the omnipotence of god. clare the faithless faithful, exalt the unworthy and undeseiwing above the deserving and worthy, and under the slightest pre tences deprive his subjects of their estates, and condemn them to death, with other acts of the same arbitrary nature. From this infatuated opinion, faith, and doctrine respecting the Divine Omnipotence, have arisen as many falsities, fallacies, and chime ras in the church as there are different changes, growths, and gen erations of faith therein ; and as many more may still arise as would equal the number of drops in a large lake of water, or the serpents that creep from their holes and regale on a, sunny day in the desertS of Arabia. What occasion is there for more than these two words omnipotence &nA. faith ; and then to spread con jectures, fables, and trifles, before the eyes of the vulgar, accom modated to their bodily senses, and so to turn reason out of doors? But when reason is so turned out, in what does the man's thought excel that of the bird which flies over his head ? Or what, in such a case, is all the spiritual principle, which is a man's distinguished property, above the beasts, but like the stench in the dens of beasts, that is agreeable to the brute in habitants, but not so to a man, unless he be of a brutal nature ? Supposing the Divine Omnipotence extended alike to do evil and to do good, what difference would there be between God and the devil, but like that subsisting between two monarchs, one of whom is a king, and at the same time a tyrant, and the other a tyrant whose power is controlled, so that he cannot be called a king ? Or how would they differ more than two shepherds, one of whom may by permission play the part of both of a sheep and a leopard towards his flock, while the other, though he be in clined to do mischief, yet is not permitted ? Who cannot dis cern that good and evil are opposites, and that supposing God by virtue of his omnipotence to be capable of willing and doing both the one and the other, he would in fact be able to will and to do nothing at all, and consequently would have no power, much less omnipotence ? It would happen in such a case as if two wheels, that had a contrary motion, should act upon each other ; the consequence of which opposite actions would be that they would both stop, and remain altogether at rest ; or as if a ship, and a violent current wherein it was sailing, should have contrary directions, so that the ship must inevitably be either carried away and lost, or else must rest at anchor ; or as if a man had two wills that were at variance together, of M'hich one must necessarily be at rest, while the other was in action ; or supposing both tp be in action at once, the man's mind must be come a prey to giddiness or delirium. 58. If the omnipotence of God, according to the prevailing belief of the times, be allowed to be absolute, and equally capa ble of effecting both good and evil, would it not be possible, yea, would it not be easy, for God to exalt the whole kingdom of hell 74 THE OMNIPtlENCE OF GOD. 58 59 mto heaven, to change devils and satanical spirits into angels, and to purge every sinner upon earth in a moment from his sins, to renew, to sanctify, and to regenerate him, and to make him a child of grace instead of a child of wrath, in other words, to justify him merely by the application and imputation of the righteousness of his Son ? But God, by virtue of his omnipo tence, cannot effect such things, because they are contrary to the laws of his own order established in the universe, and at tha same time contrary to the laws of order prescribed to every par ticular man; which require a mutual tendency to conjunction on both sides before God and man can be conjoined together, as will be seen more clearly in the progress of this work. From this infatuated opinion and belief respecting the omnipotence of God, it would follow that God has the power to change the nature of a goat in any person into the nature of a sheep, and at his own good pleasure to remove him from his left hand to his right ; or that he could,, at his will, transmute the spirits of the dragon into angels of Michael, or give an eagle's sight to one who was intellectually as blind as a mole ; or, in short, make a man a dove, who was before like an owl ; all which things are out of God's power to effect, since they are contrary to the laws of his own order, notwithstanding his continual in clination and endeavor to effect them. If the power of God were thus absolute, he would never have permitted Adam to obey the serpent, and eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ; neither would he have suffered Cain to murder his brother, or David to number the people, or Solomon to erect temples to idols, or the kings of Judah and Israel to profane the temple, as they so often did ; yea, had his power been able to effect it, he would certainly have saved the whole race of man kind, without exception, through the redemption wrought by his Son, and would have rooted out all the powers of dai'kness in hell. The Gentiles of old ascribed such absolute omnipotence to their gods and goddesses, which gave birth to the fabulous stories related of them ; as to the story of Deucalion and Pyrrha, how the stones they threw behind them became men ; and to that of Apollo, how he changed Daphne into a laurel ; and to Diana's turning a huntsman into a stag ; and to another of theii gods metamorphosing the virgins of Parnassus into magpies. A similar belief prevails at this day respecting the Divine Om nipotence, which has given birth to so many fanatical and he retical opinions, in every country where there is any religion. 59. IV. That god is omniscient, that is, he peeceives, sees. And knows, all and every thing, even to the most minute, that is done according to oedee, and by that means also whatever is done contrary to order. That God is omniscient, that is, that he perceives, sees, and knows all things, is a consequence of his being wisdom 75 59, 60 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. iteelf, and light itself; and it is wisdom itself which perceive? all things, and light itself which sees all things. That God is wisdom itself, was shown above ; and that he is light itself, ia owing to his being the sun of the angelic heaven, which illumi nates the understandings of all angels and all men ; for as the eye is enlightened by the light of the natural sun, so is the understanding by the light of the spiritual sun ; and not only is it enlightened, it is also filled with intelligence, in proportion to the love with which it receives it, since that light in its essence is wisdom ; therefore David says, that God dwelleth in inaccessi ble light ; and it is written in the Eevelation, that in the New Jerusalem they need no candle, because the Lord God enliglit- eneth them ; and in John, 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 signified the Divine Wisdom. Hence it is, that the angels enjoy a bright ness of light in proportion as they are perfected in wisdom ; and hence also it is, that in the Word, where light is mentioned, wisdom is understood. 60. That God perceives, sees, and knows all things, even to the most minute, which are done according to order, is a conse quence of the nature of order, which derives its universality from the singulars of which it is composed ; for singulars con sidered collectively are termed a universal, as particulars con sidered collectively are called a whole {cormnune) ; and the uni versal, together with all its most singular component parte, is a work that coheres together as a one ; so that no one part can be touched and affected, but all the rest have some perception of it. It is owing to this quality of order obtaining in the uni verse, that a like quality obtains in every part of creation ; as may appear in many instances taken from visible objects. The human body, for example, consists of general and particular parts ; and the general parts include particulars in them, and are so neatly and fitly connected with them, that they have a mutual dependence upon each other. This effect is owing to every member's being inclosed in a common coat or covering, which insinuates itself into all the particular parts of which the member is composed, for the purpose of producing unity of action in every function and service. As for example ; the coat or covering of every muscle enters into every particular moving fibre, and supplies it with a covering from itself : in like manner the coats of the liver, of the pancreas, and of the spleen, enter into all the particular parts within ; so the pleura enters into the inner parts of the lungs ; and so also does the pericardium into all and every part of the heart ; and in general, the peri tonaeum, by anastomoses, or inosculations, with the coverings of all the viscera : the like obtains in the meninges of the brain, which, by means of small threads emitted from them, into all 76 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. 60, 61 the minute glands beneath, and through them into all the nerv ous fibres, and through the fibres into all parts of the body ; which is the reason why the head, from the brain contained in it,, governs the whole body, with all its parts, as its subjecte. These cases are adduced from the visible objecte of creation, to give some idea how God perceives, sees, and knows all things. even to the most minute, that are done according to order. 61. That God, from the things which are according to order, perceives, knows, and sees all and every thing that is done con trary to order, is a consequence of his not keeping a man in evil, but withholding him from it, thus of his not leading him, but striving with him. For this continual striving, struggling, re sistance, repugnance, and reaction of evil and the false, against his good and truth, that is, against himself, God perceives both their quantity and their quality, which is a consequence of his omnipresence in all and every part of his own order, and at the same time of his omniscience in all and every thing that occurs or exists therein ; just as an ear well tuned, and formed to harmony, distinctly perceives the quantity and quality of dis cord arising from sounds that are unharmonious and dissonant : or as the senses of a man in the full enjoyment of pleasure have a quick perception of what is disagreeable ; or as the eye, atten tive to a handsome object, is more sensible of its beauty when it is contrasted with deformity ; for which reason it is usual with painters to introduce an ugly figure as a foil to that which they are desirous to set off to advantage. The case is exactly the same with good and truth ; for during the contrary action of evil and the false, the perception of them is rendered more dis tinct by such opposition. For whoever is principled in good, can perceive evil ; and whoever is principled in truth, can see what is false ; the reason of which is, that good is in tho heat of heaven, and truth in its light ; whereas evil is in the cold of hell, and the false in its darkness. This may appear in a clearer light from this circumstance, that the angels of heaven can see whatever is doing iu hell, and also what monsters are therein ; but the spirits of hell, on the other hand, cannot have the least discernment of what is doing in heaven ; nor can they see the angels that dwell there, any more than if they were blind, or were looking upon mere air or ether. Those whose understand ings enjoy the light that shines from wisdom, are like men standing at noon-day on the top of a mountain, who have a dis tinct view of all things below ; and those who enjoy still superior light, are like persons in the same situation, who, by the aid of a telescope, see the surrounding and lower objects, as if they were close to them ; but those who see by the fallacious light of hell, arising from the confirmation of falsities, are like men standing upon the same mountain at midnight, with lanterns in their hands, who see no objecte but such as are near at hand, n - 61 — 63 THE OMNIPuiFINOE OF GOD. and those indistinctly as to their shapes, and confusedly as to their colors. Where men enjoy some degree of the light of truth, and yet live in evil of life, they at first see truths, while they are in the delight arising from the love of evil, just as a bat sees linen hanging in a garden, to which it flies as to its place of retreat and safety ; and afterwards with respect to the per ceptions of truth, they become like insects of the night, and lastly like owls ; and when this is the case they may be com pared with a chimney-sweeper sticking fast in a smoking chim ney, who, when he raises his eyes upwards, sees the. sky through the smoke, but when he looks downwards, sees the fire whence that smoke proceeds. 62. It is to be observed, that the perception of opposites differs from the perception of relatives ; for opposites are things that are without, and contrary to, those which are within. An opposite arises from the cessation of existence in some one thing, and the rising up of another at that time with a tendency contrary to what the former had, acting as a wheel against a wheel, or as a stream against a stream ; but relatives have re spect to the disposition of a variety and multiplicity of things in suitable and agreeable prder ; as of precious stones of different colors in the stomacher of a queen, or of different colored flow ers in an ornamental garland. Eelatives therefore exist in each opposite, both in the, good and in the evil, in the true and in the false, consequently both in heaven and in hell ; but the re latives in hell are all opposite to the relatives in heaven. Now since God perceives and sees, and thereby knows, all the rela tives in heaven, by virtue of the order in which he himself is, and in consequence thereof perceives, sees, and Iraows all the opposite relatives in hell, which follows from what has been said above, it is evident that God is omniscient in hell, as well as in heaven, and also among men upon earth ; and that he thus perceives, sees, and is acquainted with their evils and falses, by virtue ofthe good and truth in which he himself is, and which in their essence are himself: for it is written, " If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there ; if I make my [bed] in hell, be hold thou art there" (Psalm cxxxix. 8) : and in another place, " Though they dig into hell, thence shall my hand take them" (Amos ix. 2). 63. V. That god is omnipresent in at.t. the gradations op HIS OWN ORDER, FROM FIRST TO LAST. The omnipresence of God in all the gradations of his own order, from first to last, is effected by mears of the heat and light from the sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which he dwells. By the instrumectality of this sun, order was first es tablished, and there is a continual efflux of heat and light issuing thence, which pervade every part of the universe, from first to last, producing life in men and animals, and also the vegetativ* 1 78 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. 63, 04 soul that belongs to every germination upon the face of the earth. Thia heat and light enter by influx into all and eveiy part of the universe, causing each subject therein to live an I grow according to the order impressed thereon at the creation ; and since God is not extended, and yet fills every extense of the universe, therefore he is omnipresent. That God is in all space without space, and in all time without time, and that conse quently the universe, as to essence and order, is the fulness of God, has been shown elsewhere ; and this being the case, il follows, that by his omnipresence he perceives all things, by his. omniscience he provides for all things, and by his omnipotence he operates all things; hence it is plain, that omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence, make a one, or that the one im plies the others, so that they cannot admit of separation. 64. The divine omnipresence may be illustrated by the mar vellous presence of angels and spirits in the spiritual world ; in which world, as there is no space, but only the appearance of space, one angel or spirit may, in an instant, be made present with another, provided they meet in similar affections of love, and thence of thought ; for a difference with regard to these two circumstances is what causes the appearance of space. That such is the nature of presence in the spiritual world, was made plain to me from this consideration, that there I could see Africans and Indians very near together, although they are so many miles distant here upon earth ; yea, that I could be made present with the inhabitants of other planets in our system, and also with the inhabitants of planets that are in other worlds, which revolve about other suns. By virtue of such presence, not of place, but of the appearance of place, I have conversed with apostles, departed popes, emperors, and kings ; with the founders of the present church, Luther, Calvin, and Melancthon, and with others from distant countries. Such then being the presence of angels and spirits, what limite can be set to the divine presence in the universe, which is infinite ? The reason why angels and spirits enjoy such presence, is, because every affection of love, and thence every thought of the understand ing, is in space without space, and in time without time ; for every one has the power to think of a brother, relation, or friend in the Indies, and thereby to bring him, as it were, present to ,his view ; in like manner he may be affected with love towards him by recollection. These considerations, then, which are familiar to every man, will serve in some measure to illustrate the divine omnipresence ; and the subject is capable of receiving Still further light from the power of human thought and refiec tion, which can make things as it were present before our eyes vii-M we barely recollect to have seen at some distant time aad place. Even corporeal vision has in some degree a like power of removing the distance of bodies, and making them present with 79 S4 66 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD.' us ; for were there no intermediate bodies to be the measure of distance, the eye would not perceive that any distance existed, and consequently would see remote objects as if they were close at hand. The sun itself would appear near to the eye, and even within it, as writers on optics have shown, supposing that no intervening objects discovered its remoteness. Man's intellec tual and corporeal vision have each this power of abstracting dis tance, and promoting the presence of bodies, in consequence of the spirit within using the outward eye to see through ; but other animals have not the like power, because they do not en joy spiritual vision. From these considerations, then, it is very evident that God is omnipresent in all the gradations of his own order from first to last : that he is also omnipresent in hell was shown in the foregoing article. ¦ 65. VI. That man was created a foem of divine order. That man was created a form of divine order, is a conse quence of his being created an image and likeness of God ; there fore since God is order itself, man was created an image and likeness of order. There are two origins from which order exists, and by which it subsists, divine love and divine wisdom ; and man was created a receptacle of them both ; consequently he was created in the order according to which these two principles operate in the universe, and particularly into that according to which they operate in the angelic heaven ; for by virtue of such operation that whole heaven is a form of divine order in its largest portraiture, and appears in the sight of God as a single man. There is also a plenary correspondence be tween that heaven and man, insomuch that there is not a single society in that heaven which does not correspond with some member, viscus, or organ in man. It is therefore common in heaven to say that such a society is in the province of the liver, the pancreas, the spleen, the stomach, the eye, the ear, or the tongue, and so forth ; the angels also know in what district or- jurisdiction of any part of man they dwell. The truth of this has been evinced to me by ocular demonstration ; for I have seen a society of angels, consisting of several thousands, appear as a single man ; whence it was evident to me that heaven in the complex is an image of God, and an image of God is a form of divine order. 66. It is to be observed, that all things which proceed from the sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which is Jehovah God, have some resemblance to man, and that consequently whatever things exist in that world have a general tendency to the human form, which, in their inmost essences, they exhibit ; ¦whence all the visible objects in that world are representatives of man. There appear animals of all kinds, which are likenesses of the affections of love, and of the thoughts thence generated in the bosoms of the angels ; in like manner shrubberies, flower- 80 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. 66, 67 gardens, and green fields, in each of which the angels are en abled to discover what particular affection this or that object represents ; and, what is very wonderful, when their inmost sight is opened, they know their own image in each object. The reason of this is, because every man is his own peculiar love, and his own peculiar thought arising from that love ; and since the affections, and the thoughts thence derived, are vari ous and manifold in each particular man, and some of thera represent the affection of one animal, and some of another, therefore the images of their affections are thus expressed : but more will be said hereafter on this subject in the article con cerning creation. From these considerations it is also evident that the end of creation was the formation of an angelic heaven out of the human race, and consequently the end was man, in whom God may dwell, as in his peculiar receptacle ; which is the true cause why man was created a form of divine order. 67. God before creation was Love itself and Wisdom it self, in their respective tendencies to effect uses ; for love and wisdom without use, are merely volatile existences in the niind, which do really take wing and fly away, unless they be firmly fixed in uses ; and in that case they may be compared with birds which take their flight over an extensive ocean, but at last fall down through fatigue, and perish in the waters. Hence it appears that the universe was created by God for the existence of uses, on which account it maj' with propriety be called a theatre of uses ; and since man is the principal end of creation, it follows of consequence that all and every thing was created for his sake, and therefore that all the properties of order, both in general and in particular, were collected into him, and con centrated in him, to the intent that God by him might effect primary uses. Love and wisdom, without their attendant, use, may be likened to the sun's heat and light, which, unless they operated upon men, animals, and vegetables, would be mere vain things, but which become real by such influx and opera tion. There are three things which follow each other in order — end, cause, and effect ; and it is well known in the learned world that the end is nothing, unless it regard the efficient cause ; and that the end, together with this cause, are nothing, unless they produce the effect. The end and the cause may indeed be abstractedly contemplated in the mind ; but still it should be with a view to producing some effect, which the end intends, aud the cause promotes. The case is similar with regard to love, wisdom, and use : it is use which love intends and produces by wisdom ; and when use is produced, love and wisdom acquire a real existence, and in this make for themselves a habitation and a seat, where they may be at rest as in their own house. So also it ia with man, in whom the love and wis dom of God abide, while he is promoting uses ; and for the sake 81 » 67— 69 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. of promoting divine uses he was created an image and likeness. that is, a form of divine order. 68. VII. That a man has power against evil and thk FALSE FROM THE DIVINE OMNIPOTENCE ; HE HAS WISDOM RESPECTING GOOD AND TEUTH FROM THE DIVINE OMNISCIENCE ; AND HE IS IN GOD BY VIRTUE OF THE DIVINE OMNIPRESENCE, IN PROPOETION A^ HE LIVES ACCORDING TO DIVINE ORDEE. That a man has power against evils and 'falses from the Divine Omnipotence, in proportion as he lives according to divine order, is owing to this, that none can resist evils and the falses thence originating but God alone ; for all evils and the falses thence originating are from hell, and are there connected as one single body, just as all the varieties of good and truth are connected in heaven. For, as was observed above, the whole heaven appears before God as a single man, and, on the other hand, the whole hell as a single gigantic monster ; therefore, to oppose one single evil, or one single false originating from evil, is to oppose that gigantic monster, or hell, which none can do but God, by virtue of his omnipotence : hence it is evident that unless a man approaches the omnipotent God, he has no more power of himself against evil and the falses thence originating than a fish has against the ocean, or a flea has against a whale, or a grain of sand has to oppose a falling mountain ; yea, a locust might more easily withstand an elephant, and a fly a camel, than a man in such a case withstand hell. Moreover, a man has still less power against evil and the false thence origi nating, since he is born into evil, and evil has no power to act against itself. Hence it follows, that except a man lives accord ing to order, that is, except he acknowledges God and his om nipotence, and protection thereby against hell ; and except he further, on his part also, fights against evil in himself (for this as well as the former, is a law of order), he must of necessity sink down into hell, be overwhelmed there, and tossed and driven by the storms of various evils, one after another, like a little bark in a tempestuous sea. 69. The reason why a man has wisdom respecting good and truth from the Divine Omniscience, in proportion as he lives according to divine order, is, because all love of goodness, and all wisdom of truth, or all the good of love, and all the truth of wisdom, is from God. This is agreeable to the confession of every church in Christendom ; hence it follows that a man can not be interiorly principled in any truth of wisdom but from God, who is omniscient, that is, who has infinite wisdom. The human mind, like the angelic heaven, ia divided into three dis tinct degrees, and hence it may be elevated to a degree higher and higher, or depressed to a degree lower and lower ; but in pro portion as it is elevated to the higher degrees, it is exalted to wisdom, because it has a proportionable admission into the light 82 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. 69, 70* of heaven, which can only be effected by God ; and so far as it is elevated into that light, it becomes a man ; but so far as it is de pressed to the lower degrees, it sinks into the false light of hell, and becomes not a man, but a beast. It is for this reason that a man stands erect upon his feet, and looks upward with his face towards the firmament, and can raise his eye even to behold the zenith; whereas a beast stands on his feet in a posture, parallel with the ground, to which every feature of his face is inclined, so that it is with difficulty he can raise his countenance upwards to behold the heavens. The man who raises his mind towards God, and acknowledges every truth of wisdom to pro ceed from him, and, at the same time, lives according to order, is like one standing on a high tower, who sees a populous city below, and can discern what is doing in the streets ; but tho man who confirms himself in a belief that every truth of wisdom is derived from his own natural light, and consequently from himself, is like one confined in a cavern under that tower, who through its clefts looks towards the same city, but can discern nothing therein save the wall of some one house, and how the bricks of which it is built are cemented together. Moreover, the man who draws wisdom from God is like a bird flying aloft, which enjoys a wide and extensive view of whatever is contained in the gardens, woods, and villages beneath, and directs its flight to whatever is required for its use ; but the man who draws wisdom from himself, without a belief that it is from God, is like a hornet flying close along the ground, which lights upon the flrst dunghill in its way, and regales itself in its filthi ness. Every man, so long as he lives upon earth, walks in a midway between heaven and hell, and consequently is in equi librium, so as to have freedom of will either to look upward to wards God, or downward towards hell. If he looks upward to wards God, he acknowledges that all wisdom is from him, and as to his spirit is actually in consort with angels in heaven ; but if he looks downward, as every one does who is under the influ ence of falses originating from evil, he is then, as to hia spirit, actually in consort with devils in hell. 70. 'The reason why a man, by virtue of the divine omni presence, is in God, in proportion as he lives according to order, is, because God is omnipresent, and wherever he is in his own divine order, there he is as in himself, because, as was shown above, he is order itself Now since man was created a form of divine order, God is in him ; and so far as a man lives according to divine order, God is in him after a full and plenary manner ; but if be does not live according to divine order, God is still in him ; but then he is only in the highest regions of the soul, so as to give him the capacitj' of understanding what is true, and willing what is good ; that is, he gives him the capacity to understand, and the inclination to love : but in proportion as a S3 70, 71 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. man lives contrary to order, in the same proportion he closes uj) the inferior regions of his mind or spirit, and so preveiits God from descending and filling those inferior regions with his pres ence ; the consequence of which is, that God is in him, but he is not in God. It is therefore a general canon in heaven, that God is in every man, whether he be evil or good, but that a man is not in God unless he lives according to order ; for thus the Lord expresses his desire, not only that he should be in man, but that man should be in him : " Abide in me, and I in you" (John XV. 4). That a man is in God by a life according to order, is a consequence of the divine omnipresence throughout the uni verse and all its component parts, in their inmost essences, for these are in order ; but where there is a contrariety to order, as is the case with those things alone that are without and below the inmost essences, there God is omnipresent by a continual struggle with them, and a perpetual endeavor to reduce them to order. In proportion therefore as a man suffers himself to be reduced to order, God is omnipresent in the whole of him, and consequently God is so far in him, and he in God. The absence of God from a man is as impossible as the absence of the sun, by heat and light, from the earth ; earthly objects however do not enjoy the sun's virtue, except so far as they are recipient of his proceeding heat and light, as is the case in spring and summer. These considerations may be applied to the omnipresence of God ; for a man is under the infiuence of spiritual heat and at the same time of spiritual light, that is, under the infiuence of the good of love and the truths of wisdom, only in proportion as he lives in and according to order. Spiritual heat and light, however, dif fer from natural heat and light in this respect, that natural heat departs from the earth and its objects during winter, and the light departs during night, in consequence of the earth's rota tions round its own axis, and of its revolutions round the sun ; whereas spiritual heat and light are subject to no such vicissi tudes, God being present with every one by the instrumentality of his sun, which uiidergoes no changes as the sun of this world apparently does. There is indeed a turning away from that sun on man's part, just as the earth turns from its sun: when a man turns himself away from the truths of wisdom, he is like the earth in the night turned from its sun, and when from the good influences of love, he is like the earth turned from its sun in winter. Such is the correspondence between effects and uses derived from the sun of the spiritual world, and effects and uses derived from the sun ofthe natural world. 71. I shall here subjoin three memoeable eelations. — First. I once [in the spiritual world] heard a noise like the roaring of the sea under my feet. On my inquiring what it was, a person informed me that it was a disturbance raised by a THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. 71 crowd of people in the lower parts of the eartn, immediately over hell ; and .presently the ground, which formed a kind of roof over their heads, opened asunder, and lo! through the opening there flew forth birds of night in numerous Sights, which spread themselves on my left hand; immediately after them there rose out locusts, which leaped on the grass, and made a desert wherever they came; and in a little while I heard alternately a sort of mournful note uttered by the birds of night, and a confused clamor on the side, as if it issued from spectres in the woods. After this I saw beautiful birds descending out of heaven, whieh spread themselves on my right hand. They were remarkable for the lustre of their wings, which shone like gold, interspersed with streaks and spots as of silver, and some of them had creste on their heads in the form of crowns. While I was looking and wondering at these sights, suddenly there arose a spirit from the lower part of the earth where the dis turbance was, who had the ability to transform himself into an angel of light ; and he cried with a loud voice, " Where is the man who speaks and writes concerning the order by which the omnipotent God has bound himself with regard to man ? For we have heard his tenets in our lower world." When he had uttered these words, and had emerged from the opening beneath, he came running towards me along a paved way, and, instantly assuming the appearance of an angel of heaven, he thus ad dressed me in a feigned tone of voice : " Are you the man who thinks and speaks concerning order ? If so, tell me briefly what is meant by order, and what are its chief properties." I replied, " I will acquaint you with some of its general laws ; but I will not enter into particulars, because you cannot comprehend them." I said, " 1. God is Order Itself 2. He created man from order, in order, and to order. 3. He created his rational mind according to the order of the whole spiritual world, and his body according to the order of the whole natural world, on which account a man was called by the ancients a micro-uranos, or little heaven, and a microcosm, or little world. 4. Hence it ia a law of order, that a man should submit his microcosm, or little natural world, to be governed by his micro-uranoa, or little spiritual world, as God from his micro-uranos, or spiritual world, governa hia microcosm, or natural world, in the whole and in every part. 5. A consequent law of order is, that it is a man's duty to introduce himself into faith by truths derived from the Word, and into charity by good works, and thus to reform and regenerate himself 6. It is a law of order, that a man should purify himself from sins by his own labor and power, and not stand idle under a conceit of his inability to do so, in a vain ex pectation that God will wipe away his sins in an instant. 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 85 71, 72 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. not wait and expect that such love should be immediately in serted by God into his mind and heart, as bread is put into his mouth ; with many other particulars to the same purport." When that Satanic spirit had heard these words, in a mild and gentle tone of voice, which he had the artifice to assume, he thus replied : " "What is this that you assert ? Must a man of his own ability introduce himself into order by the practice of its laws ? Do you not know that a man is not under the law, but under trace, and that all is of free gift, and that he can take nothing of imself except it be given him from above, and that in regard to spiritual things he has no more ability to act of himself, than had the pillar of salt into which Lot's wife was turned, or than Dagon the idol ofthe Philistines in Ekron ; and that consequently it is impossible for a man to effect his own justification, for which faith and charity are requisite ?" In reply to these ques tions, I only said, " It is a further law of order, that a man by his own labor and power should procure faith by means of truths collected from the Word, but yet should believe that he has not a grain of faith from liimself, but all from God; and fur ther, that a man, by his own labor and power, should Avork out his own justification, but yet with this full belief, that not a jot of such justification is from himself, but all from God. Is it not commanded, that a man should believe in God, and love him with all his strength, and his neighbor as himself? and how could these duties have been commanded by God unless the man had the power to obey, and to practise them ?" When the Satanic spirit heard this, his countenance changed, and his com- 'plexion, which at first was fair, by degrees became swarthy 'and black ; and then, addressing me in this his proper charac ter, he said, " You speak paradoxes upon paradoxes ;" and in stantly he sunk down to his own place, and disappeared. The birds on my left hand, together with the spectres, then uttered strange unusual cries, and immediately cast themselves into the sea, which is there called Suph, or the Eed Sea, whither the lo custs followed them : so the air was purified, and the earth rid of those fierce creatures ; the tumult below ceased, and all be came tranquil and serene. 72. The second memoeable eelation.^I once heard an uncommon murmur at a distance, and being in the spirit, I fol lowed the direction of the noise, until I arrived at the place whence it proceeded ; where I found a company of spirits dis puting together about imputation and predestination. They were Hollanders and Englishmen, with a few from other countries intermixed ; and these latter cried out, at the conclusion of every argument. Admirable 1 admirable ! The subject of dispute was, why God does not impute the merits and righteousness of his Son to all and every person created, and afterwards redeemed by him ; and the tenor of their inquiry was to this effect : " Is 86 t'he omnipotence of god. 72 not God omnipotent ? And cannot he therefore, if he please, change Lucifer, the dragon, and all that are called the goats on his left hand, into archangels ? For is he not omnipotent ? "Why does he permit the iniquity and impiety of the devil to triuriaph over his Son's righteousness and the piety of his own true ser vants ? What is more easy than for God to bestow faith, and thereby salvation, upon all? Would not the pronouncing of a single word be sufficient for such a purpose ? If all then are not saved, does he not act contrary to his own declaration, that he wishes not the death of a sinner, but that all should have ever lasting life ? Declare to us, therefore, from whom proceeds, and in whom rests, the cause of the damnation of those who perish." A certain Hollander, then, who maintained the predestinariah and supralapsarian doctrine, replied, " Is it not in the disposal and good pleasure of Omnipotence to make his vessels as he likes ? And shall the clay find fault with the potter, because he has not made it a vessel of honor ?" And another said, " The salvation of every one is in the hand of God, as a balance in the hand of him that uses it." There were standing, at a little dis tance, certain spirits distinguished for simplicity of faith and uprightness of heart, some with their eyes inflamed, some ap pearing to be stupefied, some as if intoxicated, and some as it were in a state of suffocation, by the preceding discourse ; who muttered one to another, "What have we to do with these wild extravagances ? These people are certainly infatuated with this their favorite faith, that God imputes the righteousness of his Son, and sends his Holy Spirit to give the pledges and proofs of that righteousness, to whatever persons, and at whatever times, he pleases ; and that, lest a man should claim any merit to himself in the work of salvation, he must be like a stone in the business of justification, and as a stick with regard to spiri tual things." And immediately one of them made his way into the crowd, and thus addressed them with a loud voice: "O foolish people, how trifling and groundless are your reasonings 1 You seem totally ignorant that the omnipptent God is order itself; and that the laws of order are ten thousand times ten thousand, being equal in number to the truths contained in the Word ; and that God cannot possibly act contrary to them, be cause that would be to act confrary to himself, and therefore not only contrary to righteousness, but also to his own omnipotence." While he was thus speaking, he saw on his right hand, as it were, a sheep and a lamb, and a dove upon the wing, aud on his left hand a goat, a wolf, and a vulture ; and he said, " Do you suppose it possible for God, by his omnipotence, to turn that goat into a sheep, or that wolf into a lamb, or that vulture into a dove, or the contrary ? No ; for it is contrary to the laws of his order, one tittle of which cannot fall to the ground, as he himself has declared: how then can he impart the righteousncsa 87 72, 73 the omnipotence of god. of his Son's redemption to one who spurns at tlie laws of that righteousness? Or how can righteousness commit unrighteous ness, by predestinating any to hell, and casting them into that fire which the devil kindles and feeds ? O foolish and carnal people, your faith has seduced you, and has become in your hands like a snare to catch doves'." On hearing these words, a certain magician formed as it were a snare or gin, after the image of that faith, and hung it in a tree, saying, " Observe and see how I shall catch that dove ;" but just as he spoke, a hawk flew towards the snare, and entangled his neck in it, and was taken ;. while the dove, seeing the hawk, flew past and escaped. Then all who stood by were amazed at the sight, and cried out, " Behold in this sportive image a proof of God's righteousness." 73. The next day there came to me several of the same compau}', who favored the doctrine of predestination and impu tation, and said, " We are like men drunken, not with wine, but with the discourse we heard yesterday about omnipotence and order, and with the conclusion which the speaker deduced, that as omnipotence is divine, so likewise is order ; yea, that God himself is order, and that there are as many laws relating to it, as there are truths contained in God's Word, which amount not to thousands only, but to ten thousand times ten thousand ; and that God is bound to the observance of his own laws declared therein, and man to his : but, according to this statement, what are we to understand by divine omnipotence? If it be tied up by laws, it is no longer absolute ; and is not the power of God in such a case inferior to that of an earthly monarch, who can change the laws of justice at his pleasure, and act with an absolute authority, either like that of Octavius Augustus, or like that of Nero ? From the moment we thought of omnipotence as bound by laws, we became as it were drunken, and are now ready to faint away, unless some remedy be imme diately applied : fbr it has been our custom, in consequence of our faith, to pray to the Father, that he would be merciful to us for the sake of his Son ; and we have been used to believe, that he can be merciful, and forgive sins, to whomsoever he pleases, and save whomsoever he wills ; and we durst not rob him of the smallest prerogative of his omnipotence ; therefore to bind God Avith the chains of any of his own laws, appeared to us a great wickedness, because it seemed opposed to his omnipotence." When they had thus spoken, they looked on me, and I on them ; and observing their amazement, I said, " I will entreat the Lord for you, and will thereby procure you a remedy, by the illustra tion of the subject of your doubts ; but at present I shall adduce some examples only. The omnipotent God created the worid from the order which is in himself, consequently agreeably to the order in which he himself is, and according to which he rules ; and he stamped on the universe and all its parts, as on 88 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. 73 man and beast, on birds and fishes, on worms, on every tree and herb, its own particular order. For instance, the laws of order prescribed to or stamped on man, are, tliat he acquire for himself truths from the Word ; that he weigh and digest them, accord ing to his best natural and rational powers ; and thus that he furnish himself with what may be called natural faith ; in which case the laws of order on God's part are, that he will approach those truths so acquired, and fill them with his own divine light, and thus communicate a divine essence to man's natural faith, which of itself is only science and persuasion, and which can only become saving faith by this process. The case is the same with respect to charity, as will appear in these few instances : God, according to his laws, cannot remit sins to any person, but in proportion as that person, according to his laws, ceases from them ; nor can God spiritually regenerate any person, but in proportion as that person, agreeably to his laws, naturally re generates himself God is continually striving to regenerate, and thus to save, every man ; but he cannot effect his purpose except the man prepares himself to become a receptacle, and by this makes the way smooth for God's approach, and opens the door for his admission : as a bridegroom cannot enter into the chamber of a virgin not betrothed to him in marriage, for she shuts the door, and locks herself in ; but when she becomes a bride, she then gives the bridegroom the key. God could not, by hia omnipotence, have redeemed mankind, unless he had himself been made a man ; nor could he have made his humanity divine, unless it liad been at first like the humanity of an infant, and afterwards like that of a child, and lastly, had formed itself into a receptacle and habitation into which its Father might enter, which was effected by fulfilling all things contained in the Word, that is, all the laws of order therein ; for in proportion as this was accomplished, the humanity united itself to the Father, and the Father united himself to the humanity. But these are only a few instances, adduced for your satisfaction, and to con vince you that divine omnipotence is within the bounds of order, and that its government, which is called providence, is according to order, and that it acts continually and eternally in conformity with the laws of its own order, which it cannot contradict, or change as to a single tittle, because order, with all its laws, is Himself." When I had ended these words, a radiant light of a golden tinge darted in through the roof, and presented an ap pearance of cherubs flying in the air ; and its ruddy glow shone upon some who were present, on that part of their temples which is nearest the occiput, but net as yet on the fore part of their temples ; for they muttered to each other, saying, " We are still ignorant what omnipotence is :" but I replied, "It will ba re vealed to you, as soon as the foregoing considerations have be come productive by the accession of some degree of light." 89 74 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. 74. The third memorable relation. — ^I once observed [in the spiritual world] a concourse of people at a distance, with caps upon their heads ; the caps of some were bound around witt silk, and these were of the clerical order ; the caps of others had their borders adorned with bands of gold, and these were of the civil order, all of them men of deep learning and erudition : besidse these, I observed others who wore a sort of turbans on their heads, and these were illiterate men. As I drew near, I hoard them conversing upon the unboundedness of the divine power, urging, " that if it proceeded according to any appointed laws of order, it would not be unlimited, but limited, and con sequently would only be power, but not omnipotence ; whereas how plain is it to see, that no necessity of law can compel om nipotence to act after any one particular manner and no other wise 1 Certainly while we conceive omnipotence to be deter mined by any particular laws of order, our preconceived ideas fall down like a hand bereft of thp staff on which it leaned." Several of them, then, observing me approach, came running to me, and with some earnestness exclaimed, " Are you the man that has circumscribed God with laws, as with bonds ? How rash and unbecoming is your conduct 1 Besides, you have thus rent in pieces the principles of our faith, on which our salvation is founded, in the midst of which we place the righteousness of the Eedeemer, and over this the omnipotence of God the Father, to which we add the operation of the Holy Spirit as a necessary appendage. The efficacy of this faith we establish from the absolute impotence of man with respect to things spiritual, it being sufficient for him to allow of a fulness of justification as being contained in that faith by virtue of the divine omnipo tence ; whereas we are informed that you regard such a faith as vain and groundless, because it contains nothing relative to divine order on man's part." On hearing this, I began to speak, and said, in a commanding tone, " Learn the laws of divine order, and after that disclose your faith, and you will see as it were a vast desert, and leviathan therein, that crooked and oblong serpent, and all around it nets, entangled as it were into an inextricable knot ; but do as Alexander is reported to have done, who, when he saw the Gordian knot, drew his sword, cut it in pieces, and thus loosed its entanglements, and throwing it on the ground trod it under his feet." As I uttered these words the congregation bit their tongues, with an intent to sharpen them fbr scoffing aud abuse ; but they were afraid to proceed, for they saw heaven open above me, and heard from thence these words, "Give ear with moderation, while you are taught the nature of order, according to whose laws the omnipotent God acts." On this I said, " God from himself, as from order, created the universe in order, and to order ; in like manner he created man, in whom he fixed the laws of his own order, bv 90 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. 74 viriue of which he became an image and likeness of God. The sum and substance of those laws are, that a man should believe in God, and love his neighbor; and in the same proportion as he practises those two duties by his own natural powers, he makes himself a receptacle of the divine omnipotence, and God conjoins himself to him and him to himself, and hence his faith becomes a living and saving faith, and his actions living and saving charity. It is however to be observed, that God is per petually present with every man, and is continually striving with and acting upbn him, and even touches his free will, but yet never forces it ; for if a man's free will should be forced, his power of abiding in God would be destroyed, and nothing would remain but the abiding of God in him, which latter is common to all, whether on earth, in heaven, or in hell ; for it is hence that they derive their respective principles of power, of will, and of understanding. The reciprocal abiding of a man in God is, however, only effected' among those who live according to tbe laws of order prescribed in the Word. These become images and likenesses of him, and to these paradise is given for a pos session, and the fruit of the tree of life for food ; but all others aSseiiible about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and converse there with the serpent, and eat of the fruit of that tree, and are afterwards expelled from paradise ; nevertheless God does not forsake them, but they forsake God." These re marks were understood and approved by those who wore caps ; but those who wore turbans denied and contradicted them, say ing, " Is not omnipotence hereby limited ? and does not a limi tation of omnipotence imply a contradiction ?" To this I re plied, " It is no contradiction to act omnipotently according to the laws of justice with judgment, or according to the laws in scribed on love from Wisdom ; but it is a contradiction to sup pose that God can act contrary to the laws of his own justice and love, which would be to act from no principle of judgment and wisdom ; yet such a contradiction is implied in this faith of yours, that God ean of mere grace justify an unrighteous person, and enrich him with all the gifts of salvation and the rewards of life. But I will tell you in a few words what the omnipotence of God is. God by virtue of his omnipotence created the uni verse, and at the same time introduced order into all and every part thereof ; God also, by virtue of his omnipotence, preserves the universe, and watches perpetually over the order established in it with all its laws, and when any thing departs from order, he brings it back, and restores it again. Moreover, by virtue of his omnipotence, God established the church, and revealed tho laws of its order in his Word ; and when it fell from order, he effected ita restoration ; and when it totally fell, he came down into the world, and by means of the Humanity which ha ftssunied, clothed himself with omnipotence, and so restored it 91 74, 75 ON THE CEEATION OF THE UNIVERSE. again. God, by his omnipotence and omniscience together, examines every one after death, and prepares the righteous, or his sheep, for their respective places in heaven, and forms heaven of them ; but he prepares the unrighteous, or the goats, for their respective places in hell, and of them also forms hell. More over, he disposes both heaven and hell into societies and congre gations, according to all the varieties of love which prevail in each, and which in heaven are as many as the stars in the firma ment ; and he joins the heavenly societies into one, that they may be as a single man in his sight : in like manner he joins together the congregations in hell, that they may be as a single diabolic form ; and he separates the latter from the former by a great gulf, lest hell should do violence to heaven, and lest heaven should be an occasion of torment to hell ; for those who are in hell suffer torment in proportion as they receive the influx from heaven. Unless God, by his omnipotence, were thus continually active both in heaven and hell, the bestial nature would enter and take possession of men, so that no laws of any order would be effectual to restrain them, and thus the human race would entirely perish. These and the like mischiefs would come to pass, unless God were order, and omnipotent in order." On hearing this, those who wore caps departed with them under their arms, praising God ; for in the spiritual world the intelli gent wear caps ; not so those who wore turbans, for they were bald, and baldness signifies stupidity and dulness ; the latter therefore went away to the left hand, but the former to the right. ON THE CEEATION OF THE UNIVERSE. 75. As in this first chapter we have treated upon God the Creator, we ought also to treat upon the creation of the universe by him, as in the following chapter concerning the Lord the Eedeemer, we shall also treat upon redemption. None, how ever, can form a just idea concerning the creation of the uni verse, unless the understanding be brought into a state of per ception by certain universal knowledges being premised, such as the following : — I. There are two worlds, a spiritual world for angels and spirite, and a natural world for men. II. In eacli world there is a sun, and the sun of the spiritual woi-ld is pure love from Jehovah God, who is in the midst of it ; and from that Bun proceed heat and light, the heat thence proceeding being in its essence love, and the light thence proceeding being in its essence wisdom ; and these two affect the will and understand ing of man, the heat his will, and the light his understanding ; but the sun of the natural world is pure fire, and therefore the 92 ON THE CREATION OF THE UNIVEESE. 76, 76 heat and light thence proceeding are dead, and serve as cloth ing and aids to spiritual heat and light, by which they may be conveyed to man. III. Further, the heat and light proceeding from the sun of the spiritual world, and consequently whatever exists by their means in that world, are substantial, and are called spiritual ; and the heat and light proceeding from the sun of the natural world, and consequently whatever exists therein by their means, are material, and are called natural. IV. In each world there are three degrees, which are called degrees of altitude, and consequently three regions, according to which the three angelic heavens are arranged ; there is also a similar arrangement in human minds, which thus correspond with the three angelic heavens ; and other things in each world have a like arrangement. V. There is a correspondence between the tilings that exist in the spiritual world and those that exist in the riatural world. Vl. There is an order, in and according to which all and every thing in both worlds was created. VII. Unless a just idea on these subjects be first obtained, the human mind may, by mere ignorance, be easily betrayed into an idea of the creation of the universe by nature, and allow nature to be created by God only in compliance with the authority of the church ; but because it knows not how this was effected, if it enters upon a deeper investigation of the subject, it falls into naturalism, which denies the being of a God. Since, however, a particular explanation and demonstration of those propositions would require a volume to do them justice, and besides do not properly belong to a system of theology, I shall content myself with laying before the reader some memorable eelations, by which he may conceive an idea of the creation of the universe by God, and after conception may produce a birth representa tive of such creation. 76. The first memoeable eelation. — On a certain day I was engaged in meditation upon the creation of the universe : and this being perceived by some angels above me on the right side, where there were some who had been accustomed to such meditations and reflections, one of them descended, and invited me up to them. I was in the spirit, and attended him ; and on my entrance into his society, I was conducted to the prince, in whose palace I saw some hundreds assembled, and the prince in, the midst of them. Then one of them accosted me, and said, " We have perceived in our society that you were meditating about the creation of the universe, in which meditation we have also sorrietiines been engaged ; but we could never come to any certain .conclusion on the subject, by reason that our thoughts were perplexed with the idea of a chaos, as of a large egg, from which the universe and all its parte were brought forth in their 93 ON THE CEEATION OF THE UNIVERSE. respective orders ; but we now perceive that so great a universe could not possibly be produced in such a manner. There was also another idea riveted fast in our minds, that all thirigs were created by God out of nothing ; and yet we now perceive,^ that out of nothing nothing can be produced. From these two ideas we have not yet been able so far to extricate our minds, as to "discover the nature and manner of creation in any degree of clearness ; we have therefore called you up from the place where we observed you, to desire that you would disclose to us your meditation on this subject." " Your desire," I replied, " shall be granted :" and I said, " This subject -had often engaged my meditations, yet to no purpose ; but after I was admitted by the Lord into your world, I perceived the impossibility of coming to any just conclusion about the creation of the universe, except it be first known that there are two worlds, one inhabited by angels, and another by men ; and that men after death depart out of their world into the other : and then also I saw that there were two suns, one from which all spiritual things proceed, and the other from which all natural things proceed ; and that the sun from which all spiritual things proceed is pure love from Jehpvah God, who is in the midst of it, and that the sun from which all natural things proceed is pure fire. Knowing these truths, I once, when in a particular state of illustration, was en abled to perceive that the universe was created by Jehovah God, by the instrumentality of the sun in the midst of which he is ; and since love cannot exist but in union with wisdom, I saw that the universe was created by Jehovah God out of his love, by means of his wisdom : and I was convinced of this by all and everything that I observed, both in your world and in that where I am as to the body. But to explain the several stages and progressions of creation from ite beginning, would take up too much of your time : during my state of illustration, however, I perceived that, by means of the light and heat proceeding from the sun of your world, spiritual atmospheres were created, which are substantial in their natures, and that one was derived from another ; and they being three in number, and conse quently there being three degrees of them, three heavens were also formed, one for the angels who are in the highest degree of love and wisdom, another for angels in the second degree, and a third for angels in the lowest degree. "But because this spiritual universe cannot exist without a natural universe, there to pro duce its effects and uses, 1 perceived that the sun, from which all natural things proceed, was created at the same time ; and in like manner, by means Of his heat and light, three natural atmospheres were produced, encompassing the former, as tho shell of a nut does the kernel, or as the bark of a tree encom passes the wood ; and lastly, by means of these atmospheres, the terraqueous globe was formed to be the abode of men, beasts, fish. 94 ON THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE. 70, 77 and other animals, and also to bear trees, shrubs, and herbs, on its surface, consisting of different kinds of earth, minerals, and stones. This, however, is only a nide and general sketch of creation and its progression ; the particulars it would require volumes of books to explain. All things however serve to prove that God did not create the universe out of nothing, since, as you oljserved, out of nothing nothing can be produced ; but he created it by the instrumentality of the sun of the angelic heaven, which is derived from his Esse, and consequently is pure love in union with wisdom. That the universe, which in cludes both the spiritual and the natural worlds, was created out of the divine love by the divine wisdom, is clearly and plainly evidenced by all its parts ; and if you will consider each part in its order and eonnection, by virtue of the light which illumi nates the perceptions of your understandings, you will be en abled to see that it must be so. It is to be observed, however, that love and wisdom, which are one in God, are not love and wisdom in an abstract sense, but are in God as a substance ; for God is the very, the only, and consequently the first substance and ess'enco, which is and subsists in itself. That ctll and every thing was created out of the divine love by the divine wisdom, is signified 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 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 signified divine wisdom." As I finished speaking, and was preparing to take my leave, some sparks of light, descending through the angelic heavens from the spiritual sun, entered their eyes, and passed thence into the interiors of their minds ; and by the illustration of that light they were disposed to favor all that I had said. After wards they attended me to the outer court of the palace : and the angel, who had introduced me, accompanied me to the house where he found me, and from thence reascended to his own society. 77. The second memorable relation. — One morning, as I awoke from sleep, before it was broad daylight, the sky being very serene, I saw through the window, while I was engaged in meditation, as it were, a flash of lightning ; and presently I heard, as it were, a clap of thunder. Wondering whence this could be, I was informed from heaven, that there were some spirits not far from me, who were engaged in a sharp debate concerning God and Nature, and that the vibration of light like lightning, and the clapping of the air like thunder, were corre spondences, and consequent appearances, of the confiict and col lision of arguments, on one side in favor of God, and on the other in favor of nature. The occasion of this spiritual combal 96 77 ON THE CEEATION OF THE UNIVEESE. ft was as follows : there were in hell some satans, who had ex pressed a desire that, they might be permitted to converse with the angels of heaven ; " for," said they, " we will clearly prove, that what they call God, the Creator of all things, is nothing but nature ; consequently, that God is a word without meaning, unless nature be meant :" and because those satans believed this to be true with all their heart and all their soul, and had a desire to converse with the angels of heaven, they were per mitted to ascend out of the filth and darkness of hell, and to converse with two angels at that time descending from heaven. They were in the world of spirits, which is in the midst between heaven and hell ; and the satans, when they saw the angels, ran towards them with all speed, and cried out in an angry tone of voice, " Are you the angels of heaven, with whom we are per mitted to engage in debate concerning God and nature ? You are called wise, because you acknowledge God ; but oh, how simple you are I for who ever saw God, or who understands what God is, or who can conceive that God governs, or is able to govern, the universe and all the things it contains ? And who but the vulgar, and the common herd of mankind, acfknow- ledge what they neither see nor understand ? Besides, what is mpre evident than that nature is all in all? For is it not nature alone which we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, smell with our nostrils, taste with our tongues, and touch and feel with our hands and bodies ? And are not our bodily senses the best evi dences of truth ? And according to their evidence would not any one swear that this is the truth ? For is not respiration, by which the body is kept alive, a plain proof that we breathe no thing but nature ? Are not our heads and yours in nature ; and have we not from thence an infiux into the thoughts, without which influx it would be impossible to think at all ?" And in this strain did they continue their attack. When the angels had heard these things, they replied, " This is your method of arguing, because you are mere sensualists ; for all who are in hell have the ideas of their thoughts immersed in the bodily senses, above which they have no power to elevate them : we therefore excuse your ignorance, since evil of life, and a false faith thence derived, have closed up the interiors of your minds, so that you are incapable of any elevation above the objecte of sense, except while you are in a state removed from the evils of life, and the falses of faith ; for a satan can understand truth, as well as an angel, just at the time it is proposed to him ; but then he does not reta,in it, because evil obliterates truth, and gives only the impressions of the false. But we perceive that you are now in such a state of removal from evil, and can therefore under stand the truth that we speak ; attend therefore to what we now declare to you." The angels proceeded thus : " Tou have lived in the natural world, and have died there, and are now in the 96 ON THE CEEATION OF THE UNTVEESE. 77 spiritual world : have you, till now, known any thing concern ing a life after death ? Did you not, till now, deny such a life, and thereby degrade yourselves to a level with beasts ? Had you before any knowledge, of heaven and hell, or of the light and heat of this world, or of your being now no longer within nature, but above it ? for this world and whatever it contains is spiritual, and spiritual things, are in a sphere above natural, so that not the least part or property of nature, wherein you have lived, can have admission by influx into this world. But you, in consequence of believing nature to be a god, or a goddess, believe also that the light and heat of this world are the same with the light and heat of the natural world ; whereas they are totally different, natural light being darkness here, and natural heat cold. Moreover, have you hitherto had any knowledge of the sun of this world, fi-om whence our light and heat proceed ? Have you understood that this sun is pure love, and the sun of the natural world pure fire ? that the sun of the natural world, which is pure fire, gives existence and subsistence to nature, but that the sun of heaven, which is pure love, gives existence and subsistence to life itself, which is love united with wisdom ? and that consequently nature, which you make to be a god or a god dess, is absolutely dead and lifeless ? Under the care of a pro per guard, you may ascend with us into heaven, and we also, under the same protection, can descend with you into hell. In heaven are to be seen the most magnificent and splendid objects, but in hell the most filthy and unclean ; the reason of which difference is, because all in heaven worship God, and all in hell worship nature ; and the magnificent and splendid objects in heaven are correspondences, agreeable to the affections of the love of good and truth ; but the filthy and unclean objects in hell are correspondences agreeable to the affections of the love of evil and the false. Judge then from these circumstances, whether God or nature be all in all." To this the satans replied, " In our present state we can conclude, from what you have told us, that there is a God ; but when the delights of evil take possession of our minds, we then see nothing but nature." During this conversation the two angels and the satans were at uo great distance from me, so that I could see and hear them. And, behold ! I perceived several gathered round them, who in the natural world had been celebrated for their deep learn ing ; and I was surprised to observe, that those great scholars at one time stood near the angels, and at another near the satans, and that they favored the opinions of those near whom they stood : and I was told, that the changes of their situ ations were changes in the state of their minds, which some times favored one side, and sometimes the other ; for, with re gard to their faith, they were like Vertumni. Moreover the angels said, " We will tell vou a great mystery. On look- 97 " H 77, 78 ON THE CEEA'nON OF THE UNIVERSE. ing down upon the earth, and examining those who are most distinguished for their erudition, we have found six hundred out of a thousand to be favorers of nature, and the rest favorers of God ; and that the latter became favorers of God in conse quence of having frequently maintained in their discourse, and this not from any conviction of their understandings, but only from hearsay, that nature is from God ; for frequent discourse fn.im the memorj'' and recollection, gives birth to an appearance of faith, although it may not be grounded in. the thoughts and" understanding." After this the satans were intrusted to a pro per guard, and ascended with the two angels into heaven, where they saw scenes of the utmost magnificence and splendor ; and while they remained there in a state of illustration from the light of heaven, they acknowledged the being of a God, and that nature was created to be subservient to the life which is from God, and therefore that in itself it is dead, and has no power of action, but is acted upon by the life which is from God. Having seen and perceived these things, they descended, and, during their descent, the love of evil returned, closing their under standing on the upper part, and opening it on the lower ; and immediately there appeared above it a dusky shade, sparkling from infernal fire ; and as soon as their feet touched the ground, it cleaved asunder beneath them, and they sunk down to their associates. 78. The TumD memoeable relation. — The day following, an angel came to me from another society in heaven, and said, " We have heard in our heaven, that in consequence of medita ting about the creation of the universe, you were invited up into a society in the vicinity of ours, where you gave such an account of the creation as was at the time agreeable to their sentimente, and has since given them much joy and delight, I will now show you how animals and vegetables of every kind were pro duced by God." He then led me into a large green field, and said, " Look around :" and when I looked I saw birds of the most beautiful colors, some flying, some perching on trees, and some hopping on the ground and plucking the leaves of roses : among the birds I observed some doves and swans. "When these had disappeared, I saw, at a small distance from me, several flocks of sheep with lambs, and of goats and kids ; and round about them I observed herds of cows and calves, and also of camels and mules, and in a neighboring grove, stags with high branching horns, and likewise unicorns. After I had looked some time on these objects, the angel said, " Turn your face towards the east :" and I did so, and saw a garden full of all kinds of fruit trees, as orange-trees, citrons, olives, vines, fig- trees, pomegranates, and shrubs of different sorte laden wifti berries. _ The angel then said, " Look now towards the south :" and I did so, and saw crops of vai-ious kinds of grain, as wheat 98 OH THE CEEATIOW OF THE UNIVERSE. 78 oats, barley, and beans, and round about them beds of roses, the colors of which were most beautifully variegated. Towards the north were groves planted thick with chestnut-trees, palm-trees, linden-trees, plane-trees, and trees of several other kinds, all in the richest foliage. When I had sufficiently attended to these scenes, the angel said, " All the objects which you have seen are correspondences, agreeable to the affections of love in the angels who dwell in the neighborhood." He then told me wifli what particular affections each particular object corre sponded ; and, moreover, that not only those, but likewise every other visible form which they behold, are correspondences, as their houses, with the furniture and utensils contained in them, their tables', their food and raiment, also their gold and silver coin, together with the diamonds and other precious stones, with which the married women and virgins in heaven are adorned. " We perceive," added he, " from all such things, wjiat is the nature and quality of each person as to love and wisdom. The things that are in our houses, and which serve us for necessary uses, constantly remain there ; but in the eyes ot such as wander from one society to another, they are changed according to consociation. You have been favored with these sights, that you might see creation in general exemplified in a particular type : for God is love itself and wisdom itself, and the affections of his love are infinite, as are also the perceptions ot his wisdom, of which all and every object that appears on the face of the earth are correspondences. Hence come birds and beasts, trees and shrubs, corn and all sorte of grain, with herbs and grass of every kind : for God is not extended, but yet is everywhere in all extense, and consequently in the universe, from its first principles to its last effects ; and since he is omni present, such correspondences of the affections of his love and wisdom exist throughout the whole natural world ; but in our world, which is called the spiritual world, the like correspond ences exist with all those who receive affections and perceptions from God. The only difference is, that in our world such things are created by God instantaneously, according to the affectioiis of the angels ; whereas in your world they were created in like manner at the beginning, butdt was provided that they should be renewed successively by propagation from one another, aijd thus that creation should be continued. The reason why crea tion in our world is instantaneous, and in yours is continued \^y successive propagations, is, because the atmospheres and soils in our world are spiritual, and the atmospheres and soils in your world are natural; and natural things were created to be, a clothing for spiritual, as the skin clothes the bodies of men arid other animals, or as the rind and bark clothe the trunks and branches of trees, or as the two membranes, called the pia and the dura mater, clothe the brain, or as the coats clothe tha 99 78, 79 ON THE CEEATION OF THE UNIVEESE. nerves, or the delicate membranes the nervous fibres, &c. Hence it is that all those objects in your world are fixed, and are also constant in their yearly return." The angel further said, " Go and tell what you have seen and heard to the inhabitante of the world where you dwell, because heretofore they have been in entire ignorance respecting the spiritual world, without a know ledge of which it is impossible for any one to know, or even ,to guess, that creation is continual in our world, and that it pro ceeded in like manner in your world, while the universe was creating by God." After this we conversed on various subjects, and at last about hell, especially in regard to this circumstance, that none of the pleasing scenery of heaven is to be seen there, but all things in direct opposition ; because the affections of love in its inhabit ants, which are the lusts of evil, are directly opposite to the affections of love that prevail in the angels of heaven. There fore among the inhabitants of hell, particularly in their deserts, there appear birds of night, as bats and owls; and likewise wolves, leopards, tigers, rats, and mice, with venomous serpents of all kinds, dragons and crocodiles ; and where there is any appearance of grass, there grow briers, nettles, thorns, and thistles, as well as certain poisonous plants, all which at times disappear, and then nothing is to be seen but heaps of stones, and large fens full of croaking frogs. These things also are correspondences ; but then, as was observed, they are corre spondences agreeable to the affections of love in the inhabitants, which are the lusts of evil. 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 that God ever did or does create were and are good ; but they had their birth in the natural world together with hell, which de rived its existence originally from men, who by turning away from God became devils and satans after the death of the body. But because this dreadful subject began to give us pain, we diverted our thoughts from it by the recollection of what we had seen in heaven. 79. The fourth memorable relation. — Once, when I was in a spiritual state, reflecting on the creation of the universe, I was accosted by certain philosophers from the Christian world, who in their day had been particularly distinguished for their talents, and had acquired a reputation for wisdom. They said to me, "We perceive that your thoughts are engaged about creation ; tell us your sentiments upon that subject :" but I re plied, " Let me first hear yours." Then one of them answered, " My opinion is, that creation originates from nature, and con sequently that nature created herself, and tljat she has existed from eternity ; since there never was, and never can be, such a thing as a vacuum : for, let me ask, what is it that we see with 100 ON THE CREATION OF THE UNIVEESE. 79 our eyes, hear with our ears, smell with our nostrils, and receive into our lungs by respiration, except nature, which being with out us, must of necessity also be within us ?" Another of the philosophers, on hearing this, said, " You talk of nature, and make her the creatrix of the universe ; but as you are unac quainted with the manner of her operation, I will explain it to you. She folded herself up into vortexes, which by collision, like clouds one against another, or like houses overturned by an earthquake, were so arranged, that the denser parts collected themselves into one body, and these formed the globe of earth ; the more fiuid parts separated themselves and, being also col lected together, formed the seas ; and the parts still lighter, by a further separation, became air and ether ; and lastly, from the purest particles of these the sun was formed. Did you never observe that when oil, water, and earth are mixed together, they separate of their own accord, and arrange triemselves in order one above another ?" Another of the philosophers, hearing this account, said, " Your opinions are merely imaginary ; for how plain is it to see, that all things had their birth originally from a chaos, which with its bulk filled the fourth part of the uni verse ; that fire possessed the central sphere of that chaos, ether the sphere next above the fire, and gross matter the external sphere; and that in process of tirne that chaos burst asunder, and let out first the fire, as from Mount JEtna or Vesuvius, which gave birth to the sun, and after the flre, the ether rushed forth, and became an atmosphere; and lastly the residue of gross matter collected itself into a round mass, and formed the globe of earth. With respect to the stars, they are only lumi naries in the expanse of the universe, which had birth from the sun's fire and light; for the sun was at first like an ocean of fire, and to prevent its burning the earth, it separated from its body several smaller fires, which having places assigned them in the circumference of the universe, completed the whole, and gave birth to what is called the firmament." But there was standing among the philosophers a certain person, who said, " You are in a great error ; you appear to yourselves to be very wise, and consider me as very simple and ignorant; yet in my ignorance and simplicity I have always believed, and do still believe, that the universe was created by God ; and since nature belongs to the universe, I believe also that universal nature was created at the s^me time ; but if nature had created herself, must she not necessarily have existed from eternity ? But, oh ! what folly is there in such a supposition I" Then one of the wise men, so called, drew nearer and nearer to the person who thus spoke, and applying his left ear to his mouth, for his right ear was stopped up as with cotton, he asked him what he had been saying, and the person repeated it over again : then the other looking round to see whether any ecclesiastic was near. 101 79 ON THE CREATI3N OF THE UNIVERSE. perceived one standing at the right hand of the person who had been speaking ; on which he replied, " I also acknowledge that universal nature is derived from God, but" Here he paused, and then went away, whispering to his companions, that the presence of the priest had extorted that declaration from him ; " but," says he, " both you and I are well convinced that nature is derived from nature ; and since nature consequently is God, therefore I asserted that universal nature is derived from God : but" Here the priest overhearing their whisperings, said, " Your wisdom, which is merely philosophical, has deceived you, and closed the interiors of your minds, so that no light from God and his heaven can enter to enlighten you, for you have utterly extinguished it." Arid he added, " Consider, I pray, and determine with yourselves concerning the origin of your souls, which are immortal, whether they are the work of nature, or whether they existed together and at the same tiiue in that great chaos which you talk of." Then the philosopher went to his companions, requesting them to assist him in this difficult inquiry ; and they presently agreed in this conclusion that the human soul is mere ether, and that thought is nothina but a modification of that ether by means of the sun's light, which ether is derived from nature. The sum of their argument was to the following purpose : " How plain is it," said they, " that speech is framed by means of air ? And what is thought tut speech framed in a purer air, which is called ether ? Hence thought and speech are united, arid make a one ; as is evident from a consideration of the infantile state of a man, who is first taught to speak, and by degrees to speak with himself, that is, to think ; of consequence, thought, is a mere modification of ether, and the sound of the voice in speech is a mere modifica tion of air ; from which circumstances we conclude that the soul, which is the subject of thought, is derived from nature." These were the unanimous sentiments of the whole company ; to which some added, by way of illustration, " that human souls had their birth and beginning at the time of the ether's emerg ing from the fore-mentioned chaos, when it divided itself in the supreme region into innumerable individual forms, which infuse themselves into men when they begin to think under the in fiuence of the purer air, and are then called souls." Another of the company further said, " I allow that the individual forms framed by the ether in its superior region were innumerable ; but still the number of men who have been born since the crea tion of the world exceeds the number of such forms ; and how then could those forms be sufficient to frame so many souls ? It ia therefore my opinion that departed souls, after a revolution of many ages, return into other bodies, and begin a course of life similar to that which they once lived, according to the -known doctrine of the metempsychosis, which manv wise men have 102 ON THE CEEATION OF THE UNIVEESE. 79 maintained." Several other conjectures of the same kind were started by the rest of the company, which, as being utterly absurd and groundless, I pass over in silence. After a short time the priest returned, and immediately the person "who before spoke of the creation of the universe by God, acquainted him with their determinations concerning the human soul ; on which the priest again addressed them, and said, " You have spoken agreeably to the sentiments you embraced while you were in the natural world, not knowing that you are no longer in that world, but in another, which is called the spiritual world ; for all such persons as, by confirming themselves in favor of nature, have acquired a sensual and corporeal life, have no knowledge of their change of state when they die, but fancy themselves still in the same world wherein they were born and educated. The reason of this is, because in the natural ¦world their bodies were mate rial, but here in the spiritual world their bodies are substantial ; and the substantial man sees himself and his companions about him just as the material man does ; for substantial existences are the primitives whence material existences are derived ; and because you now think, see, smell, taste, and speak, just as you did in the natural world, therefore you imagine that nature is the same in both worlds, when nevertheless the nature of this world is as different from the nature of the material world as what is substantial is from what is material, or what is spiritual from what is natural, or what is prior from what is posterior ; and since the nature of the world wherein you once lived is com paratively dead, therefore you also, by confirming yourselves in favor of its operations, are become dead with respect to such things as relate to God and heaven, and to the church and your own souls. Notwithstanding, every man, whether he be good or evil, is capable of being elevated, as to his intellectual part, into the light which the angels of heaven enjoy, and may then see that there is a God and a life after death, and that a man's soul ia not merely ethereal, and formed of natural substances, but that it is spiritual, and consequently is to live for ever. The understanding may be admitted into such angelic light, provided the natural loves' be removed which are derived from the world, and favor the world and its nature ; and which are derived from the body, and favor the body and its proprium or self-will." H& had no sooner spoken than those evil loves were removed by the Lord, and they were permitted to converse with the angels ; and from their conversation, while they were in that state, they per ceived that there is a God, and that they were living after death in ^another world ; at which discovery they blushed with shame and confusion, and cried out, " What folly and madness have we been uttering!" but as this was not their proper and fixed state, and consequently in a few moments became tiresome and disagreeable to them, they turned away from the priest, and 103 79, 80 ON THE CEEATION OF THE UNIVERSE. would hear him no longer. Thus they relapsed into their foriner loves, which were altogether natural, worldly, and corporeal, and departed towards the left hand, from one society to another, until they came to a path where they perceived a savor of the delights of their loves, and said, "Let us follow this path :'| so they followed it, and descended, and came at length to a society of spirits who had a relish for the delights of the same loves. And because their delight was to do evil, and they did evil to many in the way, therefore they were put in prison, and became demons ; and then their pleasure was turned into pain, because they were restrained, by punishment and the dread of punish ment, from the indulgence of their former delights, which con stituted their nature. They afterwards inquired of those who were confined in the same prison whether they were to remain tl;iere for ever ; to which some replied, " We have now been here for several ages, and must continue here to ages of ages, since tbe nature which we have contracted in the world cannot be changed or expelled by punishments ; for though by these means it be expelled for a time, yet after a short interval it returns." 80. The fifth memorable relation. — A single satan was once permitted to ascend out of hell, together with a woman, and to come to the house where I was. As soon as I per ceived them I closed the window, but entered into conversation with them through it, and asked the satan whence he came ? He replied, from the company of his fellows ; and I asked whence the woman came, and received the same answer. She was of the tribe of Sirens, who have the art, by means of fantasies, to assume all habits and figures of beauty and ornament ; for at one time they put on the beauty of a Venus, at another the graces ofthe nymphs of Parnassus, at another they adorn them selves with crowns and robes like those of queens, walking in great state with wands of silver in their hands. In the world of spirits all such are harlots, and apply themselves to the study of fantasies. Fantasy is effected by means of sensual thought, while the ideas are closed against the admission of any interior thought. I then asked the satan whether the woman was his wife ? He replied, " What is a wife ? Neither I nor the society to which I belong, know the meaning of the word. She is my harlot." Whereupon she inspired him with wanton lust, which these sirens can artfully do; and he kissed her, and cried out, '• Ah ! my Adonis." But to proceed to more serious matters : — I asked the satan what was his employment ? He answered, " My employment is the pursuit of learning : do you not see the laurel with which I am crowned ?" for his harlot had formed this by her magical art, and going behind him had placed it on his head. I then said, " Since you come from a society dis tinguished foi men of learning, tell me what you and your zom ON THE CREATION OF THE UNIVEESE. 80 panions believe concerning God." He replied, "Our god is the universe, which we also call nature, and which the more simple among us call the atmosphere, which they take to be air ; the more wise, however, by the atmosphere Understand the ether also. Qod, heaven, angels, and the like, whereof various stories are invented by many people in this world, are all empty words and imaginary things, derived from meteor-like appearances, which float before the eyes of many in this place. Are not all things which appear on the face of the earth created by the sun ? At liis approach in the spring of the year are not all winged and creeping insects produced ? And are not birds by his heat im pelled to mutual love and prolification ? And is it not owing to the same cause that the earth produces plants and fruits from the seeds which she receives into her bosom ? Is not The uni verse therefore a god, and nature a goddess, who, as the wife of the universe, conceives, brings forth, educates, and nourishes her young offspring?" I next asked him what he and his society believed concerning religion ? He replied, " We who are raised by our learning above the common herd of men, con sider religion only as a charm for the vulgar, which forms as it were an atmosphere about the sensitive and imaginative powers of their minds, in which atmosphere the ideas of piety take wing, like butterflies in the air ; and their faith, which connects those ideas as it were into a coherent chain, we regard like a silkworm in its silken cocoon, from which it flies forth as the king of butterflies. For the illiterate herd of mankind, out of a strong desire to fly, are in love with imaginations that are exalted above the sensualities of the body and its thoughts, and thus they make to themselves wings, that they may soar aloft like eagles, and boastfully cry to those below, ' Behold, how high' we are above you 1' But we believe what we see, and love what we touch;" whereupon he touched his harlot, and said, "I believe this, because I see and touch it. As to those ridiculous imaginations of which we have been speaking, we open the windows of our understandings to let them out, and expel them with the blast of ridicule." 1 then asked him what he and his companions believed concerning heaven and hell ? He replied with a sneer, " What is heaven but the ethereal firmament above ? And what are angels there but like the spots that revolve about the sun ? And what are archangels but comets with long tails inhabited by the imaginary crew ? And what is hell but bogs and fens inhabited by frogs and crocodiles, which, in the imaginations of such simple people as we have been speaking of, are so many devils ? All other ideas concerning heaven and hell are mere tricks devised by some prelate of the church, with a view to aggrandize his reputation among an ignorant multitude." The satan delivered himself on these subjects according to the ideas which he had conceived in th« 105 80, 81 THE LOED THE REDEEMER. natural world, not knowing that he was now livlhg after death, and forgetting what had been told him when he first entered into the spiritual world ; therefore when I further questioned him concerning the life after death, he replied, that it was all imaginary, and that most probably some effiuvia rising in a human form from a dead body laid in the grave, or some fabu lous story of a ghost, had given rise to such an imagination in men's minds. On hearing this I was no longer able to refrain from laughter, and said, " Oh satan, you have surely lost your senses as well as your understanding ; for what are you now ? Are you not a man in a human form ? Do you not talk, see, hear, walk, &c. ? Eecollect that you have lived in another world, which you seem to have forgotten, and that now you live after death, and talk as you used to do in the body." Then immediately his recollection returned to him, and he remem bered his former life upon earth, whereat he was much ashamed, and cried out, " I have certainly lost my senses : I have seen heaven above, and heard the angels conversing there in words and on subjects inexpressible ; but this was when I had recently entered this world : I will now however retain in my mind what I then heard, that I may tell it to my companions whom I have left below, and perhaps they also, like myself, will be ashamed." He then departed with a full determination to tell them that they had lost their senses ; but as he descended, forgetfulness took the place of recollection, and when he came- among hia comrades he was as insane as they were, and called all that I said to him folly and infatuation. Such is the state of thought and the manner of speech among satans after death. Those who have confirmed themselves in the pei-suaBion of falses are called satans, and those who have confirmed themselves in evils of life are called devils. CHAPTEE II. THE LORD THE REDEEMER. 81. In the foregoing chapter we have treated of God the Creator, and at the same time of creation ; in this chapter we shall treat of the Lord the Eedeemer, and at the same time of redemption ; and in -the following chapter of the Holy Spirit, and at the same time of the divine operation. By the Lord the Eedeemer we mean Jehovah in the humanity ; for that Jehovah himself descended, and assumed the humanity, for the purpose of redemption, will be proved in the following pages. The rea- THK LORD THE EEDEEMER. 81, 82 son why we call him the Lord, and not Jehovah, is, because Jehovah in the Old Testament is called the Lord in the New, as may appear from the following passages : " Hear, O Israel, Jehovah your God is one Jehovah : thou shalt love Jehovah God with all thy heart and with all thy soul" (Deut. vi. 4, 5). Thus it is written in this Book of Moses ; but in the Gospel by Mark it is expressed thus : "The Lord your God is one Lord: thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy Boul" (xii. 29, 30). Again, Isaiah says, " Prepare ye the way oi Jehovah; make straight in the desert a highway for our God'^ (xl. 3) ; which is thus expressed in Luke : " Thou shalt go be fore the face of the Lord to prepare his way" (i. 76). The same distinction is made in other places. The Lord also enjoined his disciples to call him Lord, and therefore he was so called by the apostles in their epistles, and afterwards by the apostolic church, as appears from the creed received in that church, which is called the apostles' creed. The reason of this was, because the Jews, on account of its sanctity, durst not use the name Jehovah ; and likewise because by Jehovah is signified the Divine Esse, which was from eternity ; and the humanity, which he assumed in time, was not that esse. What is meant by the Divine Esse, or Jehovah, was shown in the foregoing chapter, n. 18 — 26, and n. 27 — 35. For this reason, both here and in other parte of thia work, by the name Lord, we mean Jehovah in his humanity. Now since knowledge concerning the Lord is far more excellent than all other knowledges, of which either the church or even heaven itself, is in possession, we shall therefore proceed, in the illustration of this subject, according to the following orderly arrangement. I. That Jehovah the Creator of the universe de scended, and assumed the humanity, for the purpose of redeem ing amd saving mankind. II. That he descended as the Divine Truth, which is the Word ; nevertheless, he did not separate the Divine Good. HI. That he assumed the humanity according to his own divine order. IV. That the humanity, by which he sent himself into the world, is what is called the Son of God. V. That the Lord, hy acts of redemption, made himself right eousness. VI. That hy the same acts he united himself to the Father, and the Father unnted himself to him ; and this also was effected according to divine order. VII. That thus God was made m,an, and man God, in one person. VIII. That the progress towards union was his state of exinanition, and the union itself is his state of glorification. IX. That hereof ter no Christian can be admitted into hea/ven unless he believe on the Lord God the Saviour, and approach him alone. But we will explain each article particularly. 82. I. That jehovah god descended, and assumed the HUMANITY, FOR THE PURPOSE OF REDEEMING AND SAVING MAN KIND. 107 82 THE LORD. THE REDEEMER'. It is believed at this day in all Christian churches, that God the Creator of the universe begot a Son from eternity, and that this Son descended, and assumed the humanity, for the purpose of redeeming and saving mankind ; but this is a great error, and is overturned by its own absurdity, if it be only considered that God is one, and that it is a more than fabulous imposition on reason to suppose, that one God should beget any son from eternity ; and further, that God the Father, together with the Son and the Holy Spirit, each whereof singly and by himself is God, form but one God. This fabulous account of the Deity totally vanishes like a meteor in the air, when it is demonstrated frpm the Word, that Jehovah God himself descended and was made a man, and also the Eedeemer. With respect to the first point, that Jehovah God himself descended, and was made man, this is evident from the following passages : " Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bring forth a son, who shall be called God with us" (Isaiah vii. 14 ; Matt. i. 23). " Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given : the government shall be upon his shoulder ; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsel lor, God, Hero, the Father of Eternity, the Prince of Peace' (Isaiah ix. 6). " It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is owr God, we have waited for him, and he wiU save us ; this is Jeliovah, we have waited for him ; we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation (Isaiah xxv. 9). " The voice of one crying in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of Jehovah ; make straight in the desert a highway for ou/r God: and all flesh shall see him to gether" (xl. 3, 5). " Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come in strength, and his arm shall rule for him : behold his reward is with him ; he shall feed his flock like a shepherd" (xl. 10, 11). " Thus saith Jehovah, Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion ; for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee : and many nations in that day shall cleave to Jehovah'''' (Zech. ii. 10, 11) " I Jehovah have called thee in righteousness, and will give thee for a covenant of the people. I am Jehovah ; tliat is my name : and m/y glory will I not give to another"" (Isaiah xlii. 6, 8). "Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, who shall reign as a king, and pros- per, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth : and this is his name, Jehovah our righteousness (Jerem. xxiii. 6, 6) ; xxxiii. 15, 16). Besides many other passages, where the coming of the Lord is called the Day of Jehovah, as in Isaiah xiii. 6, 9, 13 ; Ezek. xxxi. 15 ; Joel i. 15 ; ii. 1, 11 ; iii. 14; Amos v. 18, 20 ; Zeph. i. 7—18 ; Zech. xiv. 1, 4—21 ; and in many othei places. That Jehovah himself descended, and assumed the hurhanity, is very evident from this passage in Luke : " 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 shak . 108 tHE LORD THE REDEEMER. 82, 83 voershadoio 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 : "Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto Joseph in a dream, and said unto him. 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 ; and he called his name Jesus" (i. 20, 25). That by the Holy Spirit is signified the Divine, which proceeded from Jehovah God, will be seen in the third chapter of this work. Who does not know that every child receives his soul and life from his father, and that the body is derived from the soul? How then could it be more plainly expressed in words, that the Lord received his soul and life from Jehovah God ? And, since the Divine cannot be divided, what can be more evident than that the divine of the Father was the Lord's soul and life ? Therefore the Lord so often calls Jehovah God his Father, and Jehovah God calls him his Son. What then can be more ridiculous than to say, that the soul of our Lord was de rived from his mother Mary, as both the Eoman Catholic and the Eeformed churches at this day dream, not being yet awak ened by the light of the Word ? 83. The idea of a Son born from eternity descending and assuming the humanity, must be found to be altogether errone ous, aud will therefore fall to the ground and vanish, when those passages in the Word are attended to where Jeh(^vah himself asserts, that he himself is the Saviour and Eedeemer of the world, as he does in the following places : " Am not I Jehovah f and thei'c is no God else beside me : a just God, and a Saviour ; there is none beside me" (Isaiah xlv. 21, 22). " / am Jehovah, and beside me there is no Saviour" (xliii. 11). " lam Jehovah thy God : thou shalt know no God but me •,for there is no Saviour beside me" (Hos. xiii. 4). " And all flesh shall know that / Jehovah am thy Saviour, and thy Bedeemer" (Isaiah xlix. 26 ; 'x. 16). ~ " As for our Bedeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth is his name" (xlvii. 4). " Their Redeemer is strong, Jehovah Zebapth is his name" (Jerem. 1. 34). '¦'¦Jehovah, my rock and my Redeemer''^ (Psalm xix. 14). " Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of ferael; I am Jehovah thy God" (Isaiah xlviii. 17; xliii. 14 ; xlix. 7). " Thus saith Jehovah thy Redeemer, I am Jehovah, that make all things by nvyself alone"^ (xliv. 24). "Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth, I am the First and the Last, and beside me there is no God" (xliv. 6). " Thou Jehovah art our Father, ov/r Redeemer : thy name is from everlasting" (Ixiii. 16). " With the mercy of eternity will I have mercy on thee, saith Jehovah thy Redeemer" (liv. 8). " Thou hast redeemed me, Jehovah of Truth"' (Psalm xxxi. 5). " Let Israel hope in Jehovah ; for with Jehovah there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption: and he will 109 83, 84 THE LORD THE REDEEMER. redeem Israel from all his iniquities" (Psalm cxxx. 7, 8). ^'¦Jehovah Zebaoth is his name, and thy Redeemer the holy one of Israel ; the God of the whole earth shall he he called" (Isaiah liv. 5). From these and many other passages it must be evident to every man who has the use of his eyes, and whose mind is opened by such use, that God, who is one, descended, and was made man, for the purpose of effecting the work of redemption. How plainly is this seen, as in morning light, by attending to the divine declarations here quoted ! Such men, however, as walk in the shadows of night, from a confirmed persuasion in their minds of the birth of another God from eternity, and of his descent, and redeeming labors, close their eyes against the light bf those divine declarations, and in that state consider how thoy may apply and pervert them to the confirmation of their own falses. 84. Several causes exist, as will be shown in the course of these pages, why God could not redeem mankind, that is, deliver them from damnation and hell, by any other process than that of assuming the humanity. For redemption consisted in re ducing the hells into subjection, and bringing the heavens into an orderly arrangement, and afterwards renewing the church on earth ; and there was no other possible means by which the omnipotence of God could effect these purposes, than by assuming the humanity; just as there is no possibility for a man 'to work without hands and arms ; therefore, in the Word, the humanity is called " the arm of Jehovah" (Isaiah xl. 10 ; liii. V). In like manner it is impossible for any one to enter into a fortified city, and destroy the temples of its idols, unless he be furnished with mediate powers suited to such a design. It is also evident from the Word, that God, by means of his humanity, was omnipotent in the accomplishment of that divine work: for God, who is in inmost, and thus in purest principles, could not possibly by any other means descend to ultimate or lowest principles, in which the hells are, and in which mankind were at that time ; comparatively as the soul cannot act without a body, or as it is impossible to conquer enemies while they re main out of sight, or while they cannot be approached and attacked with some kind of weapons, such as spears, shields, or guns. For God to have effected redemption without assuming the humanity, would have been as impossible as for Europeans to subdue the Indies without soldiers and shipping ; or as it is impossible to make trees grow by heat and light alone, without air for their transmission, and unless earth be formed for their production : yea, it would have been as impossible as for a man to catch fish by casting nets into the air instead of tho water. For Jehovah, as he is in himself, cannot by all his omnipotence approach any devil in hell, or any devil on. earth, so as to curb his ftiry, and subdue his violence, unless he be in ultimate as b« 110 TES LORD THE REDEEMER. 84, 85 is iu first principles ; and he is in ultimates in his humanity : therefore, in the Word, he is called the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. 85. II. That jehovah god descended as the divine truth, WHICH IS THE WORD ; NEVERTHELESS, HE DID NOT SEPARATE FROM IT THE DIVINE GOOD. There are two things which constitute the essence of God. divine love and divine wisdom, or what amounts to the same, divine good and divine truth ; as was proved above, n. 36 — 48. These two constituents of the divine essence are also signified, in the Word, by the name '•''Jehovah God:" by Jehovah is signified divine love, or divine good, and by God, divine wis dom, or divine truth ; hence they are distinguished throughout the Word in a variety of ways ; sometimes Jehovah is named alone, and sometimes God alone ; for when the divine good is spoken of, there the word " Jehovah" is used, but when the divine truth is spoken of, there the word "God" is used, and when they are both spoken of, there both terms, "Jehovah God," are applied. That Jehovah God descended as the divine truth, which is the Word, appears from this passage 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 any thing made that was made (i. 1, 3). The reason why divine truth is there signified by the Word, ia, because the Word, which is received in the church is divine truth iteelf ; for it was dictated by Jehovah himself, and what ever is dictated by Jehovah is divine truth in its purity, and can be nothing else. As, however,, that Word passed through all the heavens until it reached the lower world, it was accommo dated to the angels in heaven, and also to men on earth : hence there is in the 'Word a spiritual sense, in which the divine truth shines with its full light, and also a natural sense, in which the divine truth is respectively shaded and obscure ; therefore the divine truth residing in this Word is what is signified in John. This is further confirmed by this consideration, that the Lord came into the world to fulfil the whole Word ; for which reason we so often read of his doing this and that thing, that the Scrip ture might be fulfilled. Nor is aught else but divine truth understood by the words " Messiah" or " Christ," or by the Son of Man, or by the Holy Ghost the Comforter, whom the Lord sent after his departure out of the world. We shall show in the chapter on the Sacred Sceiptuee, that the Lord him self represented that Word, both in his transformation before his three disciples on the mount, and also before John in the Eevelation. That the Lord, when in the world, was the divine truth is evident from his own words : " I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John xiv. 6) : and from these of John ; " We know that the Son of God is come, ar d has given us an 111 86 — -87 THE LORD, THE EEDEEMER. understanding to know the truth; and we are in the truth, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal Life" (Ist Epist. V. 20). It is still further evident from the circum stance of his being called " Light ;" as in these passages : "That was the true Light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world" (John i. 9): "Yet a little while and the Light is with you ; walk whilst ye have the Light, lest darkness over take you : so long as ye have the Light, believe in the Light, that ye may be the children of the Light" (John xii. 35, 36, 46) : " I am the lAght of the world" (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. He that doeth the Truth, cometh to the Light" (John iii. 19, 21) : besides many other places ; where by hght is meant divine truth. 86. The reason why Jehovah God came into the world aa the divine truth, was, that he might accomplish the work of re demption, which consisted in reducing the hells to subjection, and in bringing the heavens into a new orderly arrangement, and in a restoration of the church by these means. The divine good alone has no power to effect these purposes ; but the di vine truth derived from the divine good, has all power to effect them ; for the divine good, considered in itself, is like the round hilt of a sword, a piece of blunt wood, or a bow without an ar row ; but the divine truth derived from the divine good is like a sharp-pointed sword, or like a piece of wood fashioned, into a spear, or like a bow furnished with arrows, which are of use in the day of battle. Swords,, spears, and bows, in the spiritual sense of the Word, also, signify truths adapted to spiritual war fare, as may be seen in the Apocalypse Revealed, n. 62, 299, 436. The evils and falses, which then prevailed, and do contin ually prevail, throughout all hell, could not have been attacked, conquered, and brought into subjection, by any other weapon than by the divine truth from the Word ; and there was no other means of founding, forming, and arranging in order, the new heaven which was at that time establisned, or of raising up a new church on earth. It is to be observed, too, that all the strength, virtue, and power of God, is in divine truth derived from divine good. This was the reason why Jehovah God de scended as the divine truth, which is the Word ; and on thia account it is said by David, " Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, 0 Mighty ; ascend in thy majesty, ride upon theWord of Truth; and thy right hand shall teach thee marvellous things. Thine arrows are sharp, and thy foes shall fall under thee" (Psalm xlv. 3, 4, 6). This is spoken of the Lord, and of his combats with the hells, and his victories over them. 87. The quality of good when separate from truth, and of truth when separate from good, appears manifestly from fi«,'> 112 THE LORD THE REDEEMER. 87, 88 state and nature of man ; for all the good that is in. him has its residence in the will, and all the truth that is in him has its residence in the understanding ; and the will with the good that is in it, has no power of action, operation, speech, or sensation, bnt by means of the understanding ; all its virtue and strength is thence produced into effect, and consequently owes its efficacy to truth, of which the understanding is the receptacle and habi tation. The case in this respect is similar to the operation of the heart and lungs in the body ; for the heart, without the respiration ofthe lungs, is incapable of producing either motion or sensation ; whereas the respiration of the lungs derived from the heart produces both ; as is evident in the cases of persons in a swoon, from suffocation, or from immersion under water, who cease to breathe, although the systolic activity of the heart con tinues ; and it is well known that such persons have neither motion nor sensation. Similar to this is the case of embryos in the womb of the mother ; and the reason is, because the heart corresponds to the will and its goods, and the lungs to the' understanding and its truths. In the spiritual world the power of truth is particularly conspicuous ; for a single angel, who is principled in divine truths from the Lord, although as to his body he has all the feebleness of a little child, can yet put to flight, pursue, and confine in the caverns of hell, a whole troop of infernal spirits, notwithstanding they appear like the Anakim and Nephilim, that is, like giants ; and when they come out again from their confinement, they dare not approach him. Those who, in the world of spirits, are principled in divine truths from the Lord, are like lions, although with respect to bodily strength they are like lambs. Men on earth who are principled in divine truths from the Lord, have a like power over evils and falses, and consequently over whole legions of devils, who, considered in their true essences, are nothing but evils and falses. The reason why such strength is inherent in divine truth is, because God is good itself and truth itself, and he created the universe by means of divine truth ; and all the laws of order by which he preserves the universe are truths ; it is therefore written in John, " that by the Word all things were made, and without him was not any thing made that was made" (i. 3, 10) ; and in David : " By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made ; and all the host of them by the breath of hia mouth" (Psalm xxxiii. 6). 88. That God, notwithstanding he came down as the divine truth, did not separate the divine good from it, is evident from his conception ; concerning which it is written that the power ofthe Highest overshadowed the virgin Mary (Luke i. 35) ; and by the power of the Highest is signified the divine good. The same appears also from the passages where he himself declares, that the Father ia in him, and he in the Father, and that all 113 I 88 90 THE LOED THE REDEEMER. things which the Father hath are his; and that he and tha Father are one ; with many other expressions to the same pur port, in all which by the Father is signified the divine good. 89. IH. That god assumed the humanity according to hls OWN DIVINE ORDEE. In the section concerning the divine omnipotence and omni science, it was shown that God introduced order at the tirne ol creation, both into the universe and all its component parts ; and that consequently the omnipotence of God, in the universe and all its parts, proceeds and operates according to the laws oi his own order, of whieh laws we have spoken above, from n. 49 to 74. Now since God did descend, and since he is order iteelf, as was proved also in the same place, it was necessary, in order to his actually becoming a man, that he should be conceived, carried in the womb, born, educated, successively instructed in the sciences, and thus introduced to intelligence and wisdom. With respect therefore to the Humanity, he was an infant like other infants, a child like other children, and so forth ; with this difference alone, that he more rapidly, more fully, and more perfectly than others, accomplished the different stages of that progression. That he thus advanced according to order is evi dent from these words in Luke : " And the child Jesus grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (ii. 40, 52).' That he advanced more rapidly, more fully, and more perfectly than others, is evi dent from the account of him given in the same evangelist, that " when he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, and asking them questions ; and all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers" (ii. 42, 46, 47; and afterwards, iv. 16 — 22, 32). All this process was'accomplished because divine order requires that a man should prepare himself for the reception of God ; and in proportion as he go prepares himself, God enters into him, as into his house and liabitation. Such preparation is effected by means ofthe knowledges of God and of the spiritual doctrines of the church, and a consequent intelligence and wis dom ; for it is a law of order, that in proportion as a man ap proaches and draws nigh unto God, -which he ought to do entirely as of himself, in the same proportion God approaches and draws nigh unto him, and conjoins himself to him in the middle region of his mind. That the Lord proceeded according tp this order, even to union with his Father, will bo further proved in the following sections. 90. Those who are unacquainted with this law of the divine omnipotence, that it proceeds and operates in conformity to order, may be led to entertain many fanciful suggestions "that are opposite and contradictory to sound reason ; as for e.xample, they may ask, why God did not instantly assume the Humanity 114 THE LORD THE REDEEMER. 90 93 without the trouble of such a process ? Why did he not create or compose a body for himself out of elements from the four quarters of the world, and thus make himself visible as God- Man, not only to the Jewish nation, but also to the whole world ? Or, if he would go through the process of a birth; why did he not infuse his whole divinity into the embryo, or the infant humanity ? Or why, after his birth, did he not instantly rise up to the stature of an adult, and begin to speak imme diately from divine wisdom ? These and such like suggestiona may be conceived and brought forth by those who fancy the divine omnipotence to be unconnected with order, and thus the church might be overspread with their wild and groundless ima ginations. And this in fact has been done ; as where men entertained the notions that God could beget a Son from eter nity, and then cause a third God to proceed from himself and that Son ; also, that he could be full of wrath towards mankind, and give them over to destruction, and be inclined again to mercy by means of his Son, and this by his intercession, and the re membrance of his cross ; and further, that he can infuse hia Son'a righteousness into a man, and implant it in his heart like the simple substance of Wolfius, in which, as the author affirms, all the merits of the Son are included, but which cannot be divided, since if it be divided it is of necessity annihilated ; and lastly, that he can remit sin by arbitrary mercy, as the pope does by a bull of indulgence, and purify the most wicked person from his worst iniquities, and thus change devilish IJlack- ness into angelic brightness, while the man in the mean time remains motionleas like a stone, and exerts himself no more than a statue or an image ; not to mention other insane notions, which those who maintain the absoluteness of divine power, without any reference to order, may disperse about in the church, as the winnower's fan disperses the chaff into the air. Such persons, with respect to spiritual subjects that relate to heaven and the church, and thereby to eternal life, are liable to wander far from divine truths, as a blind man wandering about in a wood, who now stumbles amongst stones, now dashes his forehead against a tree, and now entangles his hair in ita branches. 91. Divine miracles are also effected according to divine order ; but then it is according to the order of the influx OF THE spiritual WORLD INTO THE NATURAL WORLD, with which order no person has hitherto been acquainted, because no per son has hitherto had any knowledge respecting the spiritual world ; but the nature of that order will be made manifest in its time, when we come to speak of divine miracles and magical MIRACLES. 92. IV. That the humanity by wracH god sent hdhsel* INTO THE WORLD IS THE SON OF GOD. 115 92, 93 THE LORD THE REDEEMER. The Lord frequentlv 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. 23, 24, 36, 37, 38 ; vi. 29, 39, 40, 44, 67 ; vii. 16, 18, 28, 29 ; viii. 16, 18, 29, 42 ; ix. 4 ; and in many other places : this he said, because by being sent into the world is signified to descend, and come among men ; and this was effected through the Humanity which he took by means of the Virgin Mary. The Humanity is also actually the Son of God, because it was conceived of Jehovah God, as its Father, according to Luke i. 32, 35. .He is called the Son of God, the Son of Man, and the Son of Mary ; and by the Son of God'is meant Jehovah God in his Humanity, by the Son of Man the Lord as to the Word, and by the Son of Mary that principle which he assumed which was strictly human. That the Son of God and the Son of Man have those two significations will be proved hereafter. That by the Son of Mary is signified that which was merely human, is very evident from this circumstance in the generation of man kind, that the soul is from the father and the body from the mother ; for the soul is in the seed of the father, and is clothed with a body in the womb of the mother ; or, what amounts to the same, all the spiritual part of a man is from the father, and all the material part from the mother. With respect to the Lord, what was divine appertaining to him was from the Father Jehovah, and what was human from the mother ; and these two united are the Son of God. The truth of this appears evident fromthe Lord's nativity as thus recorded by Luke : " The angel Gabriel said unto 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" (i. 35). The Lord called himself sent by the Father also on this account, because by sent is signified the same as by angel, for the word angel in the original language signifies sent, as in Isaiah : " The Angel of tlie presence of Jehovah de livered them : in his love and in his pity he redeemed them" (Ixiii. 9) : and in Malachi : " The Lord whom ye seek shall sud denly come to his temple, and the angel of tlie covenant whom ye delight in" (iii. 1) ; besides 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 All-originating Divinity {Divinum a Quo), the Son the Divine Human, and the Holy Spirit the Divine Proceeding, will be shown in the third chapter of this work, when we come to treat of the Divine Trinity. 93. As the angel Gabriel said unto Mary, " Tlie Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God, we will produce some passages from the Word to show that the Lord, with respect to his Humanly, is called the Holy One of Israel. .The passages are these : " I saw in visions, and behold a watcher, and a Holy One came down from heaven" (Dan. iv. 116 THE LOED THE EEDEEMEE. 93, 94 13). " God shall come from Teman, and ihe Holy One from Mount Paran" (Habak. iii. 3). "Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker" (Isaiah xlv. 11). "Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One'"' (xlix. 7). " I am Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour" (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). tfeho- vah Zebaoth is his name, and thy Redeemer, tlie Holy One of Israel" (liv. 5). " They tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel" (Psalm Ixxviii. 41). " They have forsaken Jeho vah, and have provoked the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 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 make speed and hasten his work that we inay see it ; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and conie" (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). " At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel" (xvii. 7). "The poor among men shall rejoice inthe Holy One of Israel" {xxin:. 19). "The earth is full of gTiilt against the Holy One of Israel" (Jerem. I. 29) : not to mention several other places, as Isaiah lv. 5 ; Ix. 9, and else where. In all these passages, by the Holy One of Israel is sig nified the Lord with respect to his Divine Humanity ; for the angel said to Mary, " The Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son qf God" (Luke i. 35). That Jehovah and the Holy One of Israel are one, notwithstanding their being mentioned separately, is evident from the passages already quoted, in which it appears that Jehovah is that Holy One of Israel. That the Lord is called the God of Israel, is manifest also from a great number of passages in the Word, as in Isaiah xvii. 6 ; xxi. 10, 17 ; xxiv. 16 ; xxix. 23 ; Jer. vii. 3 ; ix. 15 ; xi. 3 ; xiii. 12 ; xvi. 9 ; xix. 3, 15 ; xxiii. 2 ; xxiv. 5 ; xxv. 15, 27 ; xxix. 4, 8, 21, 26 ; xxx. 2 ; xxxi. 23 ; xxxii. 14, 15, 36 ; xxxiii. 4; xxxiv. 2, 13; xxxv. 13, 17, 18, 19 ; xxxvii. 7; xxxviii. 17; xxxix. 16 ; xlii. 9, 15, 18 ; xliii. 10 ; xliv. 2, 7, 11, 25 ; xlviii. 1 ; 1. 18 ; li. 33 ; Ezek. viii. 4 ; ix. 3 ; x. 19, 20 ; xi. 22 ; xliii. 2 ; xliv. 2 ; Zeph. ii. 9 ; Psalm xii. 13 ; lix. 5 ; Ixviii. 8. 94. It is usual throughout the several churches at this day in Christendom to call the Lord our Saviour the Son of Mary, and seldom the Son of God, except they mean by it the Son of God as born from eternity. The reason of this is, because the .Rbman Catholics have considered the Virgin Mary as the most holy of the saints, and have exalted her as a goddess or queen above the rest ; and yet the Lord, when he glorified his Hu- 117 94 THE LOED THE EEDEEMEE. manity, put off all that he received from his mother, and put o\ all that belonged to his Father, as will be fully proved in the following pages. From this common mode of speaking of the Lord as the Son of Mary, several monstrous opinions have been propagated throughout the church, which have been particularly cherished by such as have never paid attention to those. passages in the Word in which it is said of the Lord, that he and the Father are one ; that he is in the Father, and the Father in him ; and all the Father hath are his ; in which he called Jeho- \vah his Father, and his Father Jehovah called him his Son. The sad consequence of thus calling the Lord the Son of Mary, and not the Son of God is, that thus all notion of his Divinity is lost, and with it is lost all that is said in the Word concerning him as the Son of God. Hence arise Judaism, Arianism, Socin- ianism, Calvinism, according to its original principles, and at length naturalism, attended with that fanatical conceit that he was the Son of Mary by Joseph, and that he received his soul from his mother, consequently that he is called the Son of God when in reality he is not so. For I appeal to any person, be he clergyman or layman, whether he can conceive and entertain any other idea of the Lord, considered as the Son of Mary, than as of a mere man. Since this idea began to prevail among Christians so early as the third century, when the doctrines of Arius were first propagated, therefore the council of Nice, with a view of vindicating the Lord's Divinity, invented the fiction of a Son of God born from eternity ; but by this device the Lord's Humanity was indeed at that time exalted to a participation of divinity, and is so exalted at this day also among many persons, yet not among such as understand, by the hypostatical union of which they speak, a union subsisting between two, one of whom is superior to the other. What however is the necessary conse quence of this, but the total destruction of the whole Christian church, which was founded solely on the worship of Jehovah in the Humanity, that is, of God-Man ? That no one can see the Father, or know him, or come unto him, or believe in him, ex cept by his Humanity, is declared by the Lord in numerous ^places. If then this declaration be disregarded, all the precious seed of the church is changed instantly into that which is vile ; the seed of the ohve into that of the pine ; the seed of the orange, the citron, the apple, and the pear, into the seed of the willow, the elm, the linden, and the oak ; the vine is turned into the bulrush of a bog ; the wheat and the barley into mere chaff: yea, all spiritual food is converted into the dust of the earth, fit only to be the food of serpents ; the spiritual light in man becomes natural light, and at last corporeally sensual,. which, if truly considered, is the light of falsehood and infatua tion ; yea, a man in that case becomes like a bird, which having ite wings cut in its high flight through the air, falls down to the 118 THE LOED THE EEDEEMEE, 94 — 96 ground, where it no longer enjoys its delightful prospects, but can see nothing beyond the little spot of earth on which it treads ; and then, with respect to all the spiritual things of the church, such as concern his eternal life, he is guided by mere guess and conjecture. All this must of necessity be the conse quence while men regard the Lord God, the Eedeemer and Saviour, as the mere Son of Mary, or, in other words, as a mere man. 95. V. That the loed, by acts op eedemption, made himself EIGHTEOUSNESS. It is at this day asserted and believed in all the Christian churches, that the Lord alone has merit and righteousness, by virtue of the obedience which he yielded to his Father during his abode in the world, and particularly by his passion on the cross ; but , it is imagined that the passion on the cross was the very act itself of redemption ; it did not, however, constitute the act of redemption, but of the glorification of his humanity, of which we shall speak hereafter in the lemma on Redemption. The acts of redemption by which the Lord made himself right eousness, consisted in this, that he accomplished a last judg ment which was executed in the spiritual world, and then separated the evil from the good, and the goats from the sheep, and drove out of heaven those who were united with the beasts that belonged to the dragon, and formed a new heaven of such as were found worthy, and a new hell of such as were' found unworthy, and by degrees reduced all things in each place to order, and moreover established a new church on earth. 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 reducing to order whatever has departed from it ; for righteousness is divine order itself All this is understood by these words of the Lord, " It becometh ua to fulfil all righteousness" (Matt. iii. 15) ; and by these expres sions in the Old Testament : " Behold, the days come, saith Je hovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, who shall reign a king, and shall do righteousness in the earth : and this is his name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah our right eousness" (Jer. xxiii. 5, 6 ; xxxiii. 15, 16). " I that speak in right eousness, mighty to save" (Isaiah Ixiii. 1). " He shall sit upon the throne of David, to establish it in judgment and in righteous ness" (Isaiah ix. 7). " Zion shall be redeemed in righteousness'' (i. 27). 96. The modem rulers of the church give a very different description of the Lord's righteousness, and also assert, that the Eower which they attribute to their faith of inscribing it on the earts of men, is what gives to faith its saving quality ; whereas the truth is, that the Lord's righteousness, being of such a nature and origin, and in 'tself purely divine, cannot possibly be 119 96, 97 THE loed the eedeemer. conjoined to any man, and therefore cannot possibly produce salvation, any more than can the divine life, which is divine love and divine wisdom. The Lord enters indeed, with these, into every man; but unless a man lives according to order, though he thus has life from the Lord in him, it contributes noth ing to his salvation, but simply communicates to him the capa city of understanding truth and doing good. To live according to order is to live according to the commandments of God ; and when a man so lives and does, he procures for himself righteous ness; not the righteousness of redemption as eflPected by the Lord, but the Lord himself as his righteousness. These are those who are pointed at in these words : " Unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. v. 20). " Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteous ness sake ; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. v. 10) : " In the consummation of the age the angels shall go forth and shall separate the evil from amongst the righteous" (Matt. xiii. 49) : not to mention other passages ; in all which by the right eous are meant those who have lived according to divine order, since divine order is righteousness. The essential righteousness, which the Lord became by acts of redemption, cannot be ascribed, inscribed, adapted, or conjoined to a man, in any other way than as light is to the eye, sound to the ear, will to the muscles in action, thought to the lips of the speaker, air to the lungs in respiration, heat to the blood, &c. ; in all which cases every one may perceive that there is an influx, and what may be properly termed adjunction, but not conjunction. But right eousness is acquired in proportion as a man lives in the exer cise of righteousness ; and he lives in the exercise of righteous ness in proportion as in all his conduct towards his neighbor he acts under the influence of the love of righteousness and truth ; for righteousness dwells in the real good, or the real use, which a man does ; and therefore the Lord declares that every tree is known by its fruit. Who does not judge of another by his works, attending at the same time to the end and design by which he is influenced, and his intention or motive of action ? These are attended to and regarded by the angels, and likewise by every wise man here below. In general, every plant and shrub that springs out of the ground is estimated by its flower, seed, and use ; every metal by its goodness ; every stone by its quality ; all kinds of land, all kinds of food, every animal on the earth, and every bird of the air, by their qualities ; how much more then every man ? But the quality of a man's works, and on what it depends, will be explained more particularly in the chapter on Faith. 97. VI. That by the same acts the lord united himself ro THE FATHER, AND THK FATHER i;"NrrED HIMSELF TO HIM. 120 THE LORD THE EEDEEMEE. 97, 9S The reason why union was effected by acts of redemption, is, becauae the Lord performed those acts by his Humanity, and as he performed them, in the same degree the Divinity, which ia understood by the Father, approached, assisted, and co-operated, till at length they were so conjoined, as to be no longer two, but one ; and this union was the glorification, of which we shall speak hereafter. 98. That the Father and the Son, that is, the Divinity and the Humanity, are united in the Lord, like soul and body, is indeed acknowledged by the church, at this day, as an article of faith, and is also confirmed by the Word of Holy Scripture : but yet scarcely five persons in a hundred, or fifty in a thousand, acknowledge it as a truth. This is owing to the doctrine of justification by faith alone, which engages the whole attention of many among the clergy, who are ambitious to secure the rep utation of learning, for the sake of worldly honor and preferment; and since they are intoxicated in all their thoughts by that doc trine, just as if they had drunk of the vinous spirit called alco hol, therefore in such a state of inebriation they cannot discern this most essential tenet of the church, viz. that Jehovah God descended, and assumed the Humanity ; when nevertheless it is by that union alone of the Divinity and Humanity, that the way is opened for a man to attain conjunction with God, and by conjunction salvation. That salvation depends on a man's knowledge and acknowledgment of God, must appear evident to every one who considers that God is all in all, in both heaven and the church, and consequently in theology. But we will first prove, that the union of the Father and the Son, or of the Divinity and Humanity, in the Lord, is like the union of soul and body ; and then, that this union is reciprocal. Now the similitude of this union to that of soul and body, is established in the creed of Athanasius, which, as a rule of doctrine concern ing the Deity, is received throughout all Christendom. We there read, " Our Lord Jesus Christ is God and man ; and although he be God and man, yet they are not two, but one Christ ; one by the taking ofthe manhood into God; one altogether in unity of person ; for as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ." In this passage it is understood, that such union subsisted between the Son of God born from eternity, and the Son that was born in time ; but, since there is only one God and not three, supposing the union there spoken of to relate to the one eternal God with the humanity, the doc trine then agrees with the Word ; for in the "Word we read, that he was conceived of Jehovah the Father (Luke i. 34, 35). Hence he derived his soul and life ; therefore he says, that he and the Father are One (John x. 30): "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (xiv. 9) : " If ye had known me, ye would have known mv Father also" (viii. 19) : " He that receiveth me, re 121 ' 98 100 THE LORD THE REDEEMER. ceiveth him that sent me" (xiii. 20) : that he " is in the bosom of the Father" (i. 18) : that all that the Father hath are his (xvi. 15). He is called " the Father of eternity" (Isaiah ix. 6) : Hence he hath "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 him is like that which subsists be tween the soul and the body ; therefore also in the Old Testa ment he is frequently called Jehovah, Jehovah Zebaoth, and Jehovah the Eedeemer, as may be seen above (n. 83). 99. That this union is reciprocal, appears evidently from these passages in the Word : " Philip, believest thou not that 1 am in the Father, and the Father in me ? Believe me, that 1 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 all thine are mine" (xvii. 10). The reason of the union's being reciprocal, is, because there is no possibility of any union or conjunction being effected between two, unless there be a mutual approach the one towards the other. All conjunction throughout the universal heaven, the universal world, and the whole of man, has no other source than from the reciprocal ap proach of one part to another, attended at the same time with a unity of will on both sides ; hence arises a principle of homoge neity and sympathy, unanimity and concord, in all the partic ulars of each. Such is the reciprocal conjunction of soul and body in every individual man ; such is the conjunction subsisting between a man's spirit and his bodily organs of sensation and motion ; such is the conjunction of the heart and lungs ; such of the will and understanding ; such of all the members and viscera in and among each other in the human frame ; such of the minds of those persons who inwardly love one another ; for such con junction is inscribed on all- love and friendship, it being the very nature of love to desire to love and be beloved. There is a re ciprocal conjunction subsisting between all things in the world that are perfectly and completely united ; a similar conjunction prevails between the sun's heat, and that of wood and stone ; between the vital heat, and that of all the animal fibres ; between a tree and its root ; between the magnet and iron, &c. Where conjunction is not efiected by the approach or accession of one to another, reciprocally and mutually, there is only an external conjunction, but no internal one ; and such conjunction, in course of time, is mutually and spontaneously dissolved, and sometimes so entirely, that the parties do not even retain any recollection of each other. 100. Now since it is not possible for conjunction, properlj so called, to be effected, unless it be reciprocal and mutual 122 THE LOED THE EEDEEMEE. 100, 101 therefore the conjunction ofthe Lord and man is subject to this same law, as appears evident from the following passages : " He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him^'' (John vi. 56) : " Abide in me, and lin you; he that abideth in me, and lin him, the same bringeth forth much fruit" (xv. 4, 5) : ^' If any man open the door, I will corine in to him, and loill sup with Mm,, and he with me" (Eev. iii. 20) ; besides many other places. This conjunction is effected by a man's drawing nigh to the Lord, and the Lord to him ; for it is a fixed and unchangeable law, that in proportion as a man draws nigh to the Lord, the Lord draws nigh to him. But we shall treat more particularly on this subject in the chapters concerning Chaeity AND Faith. 101. VII. That thus god was made man, and man god, in ONE PEESON. That Jehovah God was made man, and man God, in one person, follows as a necessary conclusion from all the forego ing articles of this chapter, and particularly from these two : Jehovah the Creator of the Universe descended, and assumed the Humanity, for the purpose of redeeming and saving man kind" (see n. 82 — 84) ; and " The Lord by acts of redemp tion united himself to the Father, and the Father united himself to him, so that the union was reciprocal and mutual" (see n. 97 — 100). From that reciprocal union it appears evi dent, that God was made man, and man God, in one person. The same conclusion also follows from thia circumstance in the union, that it is like the union of soul and body ; and that it is agreeable to the faith of the church at this day, as explained in the Creed of Athanasius, may be seen above (n. 98) : it is also agreeable to the faith of the Evangelical Protestants, as stated in their chief book of orthodoxy, called the Foemula Con- coedIjE, where the doctrine 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, is strongly confirmed, both from Holy Scripture and the Fathers, and also by rational arguments, as may be seen in that book (p. 607, 765). Besides, in this chapter it has been proved, that Jehovah God, with respect to his humanity, is called in the Word, Jehovah, Jehovah God, the Lord of Hosts, and also the God of Israel ; therefore Paul says, that in Jesus 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, and eternal life" (1 Epist. v. 20). That by the Son of God, properly speaking, is meant his humanity, may be seen above (n. 92). And 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" (Psalm ex. 1) ; and in Isaiah, " Unto us a Child ia born, unto us a Son is given ; and bis name shall be called Gody 123 101, 102 THE LOED THE REDEEMER. the Father of eternity^'' &c. (ix. 6). By the Son is also meant the Lord as to his humanity, in David, where he says, " I wil. declare the statute : Jehovah hath said unto me. Thou, art m/y Son ; this day have I begotten thee. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way" (Psalm ii. 7, 12). In thia passage is not meant a Son born from eternity, but the Son that was born in time ; for it is a prophetical, psalm relating to the Lord who was to come, and therefore it is called the statute which Jehovah declared unto David ; wherefbre it is written before in the same Psalm, " I have anointed my king over Sion" (ver. 6) ; and it follows, " I will give him the nations for an in heritance" (ver. 8) : of consequence, the expression, this day, does not mean from eternity, but in time ; for with Jehovah the future is present. 102. It is believed at this day, that the Lord as to his humanity not only was, but also is, the Son of Mary : but in this the Christian world is under a great mistake. That he was the Son of Mary, is true ; but that he is so still, is not true ; for by acts of redemption he put off the humanity which he derived from his mother, and put on a humanity from his Father ; in consequence of which the humanity of the Lord is divine, and in him God is man, and man God. That he put off the humanity from the mother, and put on a humanity from his Father, whieh is a divine humanity, may appear evident from this circumstance, that he himself never called Mary his mother : as may be seen in the following passages : " 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 in another place : " When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother. Woman, behold thy Son 1 Then saith he to the disciple. Behold thy mother !" (John xix. 26, 27) ; and at one time we find he did not acknow ledge her to be his mother : " It was told him by some who said. Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. And he said unto them. My mother and brethren are these who hear the Word of God, and do it" (Luke viii. 20, 21 ; Matt. xii. 46 — 49). Thus the Lord did not call her mother, but woman, and gave her to John as a mother ; in other places she is called indeed his mother, but not by himself This is further confirmed from the circumstance, that he did not allow 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 answei 124 THE LORD TUE REDEEMER, 102, 103 him a word" (Matt. xxii. 41 — 46'; Mark xii. 35 — 37; Luke XX. 41 — 44 ; Psalm ex. 1). I shall here subjoin this extraordi nary particular : " It was once granted me to speak with the mother Mary. As she passed by she appeared in the heaven immediately over my head, clothed in white raim.ent, as of silk ; when stopping awhile she said, that she had been the mother of the Lord, for he was born of her ; but that when he was made God, he put off all the humanity which he had from her, and that therefore she worships him as her God, and is unwilling that any one should acknowledge him as her son, because in him all is di\ ine." From what has been said, then, this truth appears in all ita brightness, that thus Jehovah is a man, as in first principles, so also in ultimates ; according to these words : " I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, saith the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (Eev. i. 8, 11) : "»And I saw seven golden candlesticks ; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me. Fear not ; I am the First and the Last" (Eev. i. 12 — 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" (Eev. xxii. 12, 13) : and in Isaiah : " Thus saith Jehovah the iGng of Israel, and his Eedeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth, I am the First and I am the Last" (xliv. 6 ; xlviii. 12). 103. I shall here subjoin this arcanum. The soul, which is from the father, is the real man, and the body, which is from the mother, is not the man in itself, but by derivation from the soul, and is only the clothing of the real man, composed of such ma terials as belong to the natural world ; whereas the soul is com posed of such substances as belong to the spiritual world. Every man after death casts off the natural, which he had from hia mother, and retains the spiritual which he had from his father, together with a certain containing ultimate {limbo), derived from the purest parts of nature. But this containing ultimate, in such as are admitted into heaven, is beneath, and the spiritual uppermost ; whereas in such as go to hell, it is upper most, and the spiritual beneath. Hence it is that a man-angel speaks by influence from heaven, consequently what is good and true ; but a man-devil speaks by influence from hell, while he speaks from his heart, and yet in appearance aa from heaven, it we judge only by his external speech. This appearance of. heavenly influence he assumes in his intercourse with the world, while infernal influence governs him when alone, or in his owu family. Since a man's soul is the real man, and is spiritual in its origin, we may hence see the reason why the mind, temper, disposition, inclination, and affection of love, in the father, is 125 103, 104 THE LORD THE REDEEMER. communicated to his children in succession, reviving and dis covering itself anew from generation to generation. Hence it is that many families, yea, even whole nations, may be distin guished by the resemblance they bear to their common original progenitor, a general image or likeness discovering iteelf in the countenance of every particular descendant ; which image can only be changed by the infiuence of religion and the spiritual things of the church. The reason why the general image ot Jacob and Judah still remains in their posterity, by which they are easily distinguished from all other people, is, because they have hitherto adhered steadily to their religious principles ; for there ns in the seed, of which every one is conceived, the graft, or offset, of the -father's soul in its fulness, enveloped with a kind of covering taken from the natural elemente, by which in the womb of the mother his body is formed, which may be after either the father's or mother's likeness, the true image of the father still remaining within, and continually endeavoring to unfold itself, which if it cannot do in one generation it effecte in another. The true cause why the image of the father is in its fulness in the seed, is, because, as was observed, the soul is spiritual in its origin, and what is spiritual possesses nothing in common with space ; of consequence, it is equally similar to itself in a small as in a large compass. With respect to the Lord, he, during his abode in the world, by acts of redemption, put off the whole humanity which he had from his mother, and put cn a humanity from the Father, which is the Divine Hu manity ; so that in him Man is God, and God Man. 104. VIII. That the progress towards union was his state OF exinanition, and the union itself is his state of gloeifi- CATTON. It is acknowledged in the church, that the Lord, during his abode in the world, passed through two states, called states of exinanition and glorification. The former state, or that of ex- inanition, is described in many passages of the Word, particu larly in the Psalms of David, also by the prophets, and more especially by Isaiah, liii., where it is said, that he "poured out his soul unto death" (ver. 12). This same state was his state of humiliation befoi'e the Father ; for therein he prayed to the Father, and speaks of doing his will, and ascribes all that he did or said to the Father. That he prayed to the Father, may be seen, Matt. xxvi. 42 ; Mark i. 35 ; vi. 46 ; xiv. 32—39 ; Luke V. 16 ; vi. 12 ; xxii. 41—44; John xvii. 9, 16, 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. 26 — 28 ; xii. 49, 60 ; xiv. 10 ; yea, he even cried out on the cross, " My God, my God I why hast thou forsaken me ?" (Matt, xxvii. 46 ; Mark XV. 34) ; and unless he had been in this state he could not have been crucified. The state of glorification is also a state of union 126 the LtRD THE REDEEMER. 104,105 He was in this state when he was transfigured before his three disciples, also when he wrought miracles, and when he said that he and his Father are one ; that the Father is in him and he in the Father ; that all things that the Father hath 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. 106. The reason why the Lord pas'sed through these two states of exinanition and gloriflcation, was, because there is no other possible way of attaining unto union, since this is accord ing to the divine order, which is unchangeable. Divine order requires that a man should dispose himself for the reception of God, and prepare himself to be a receptacle and habitation into which God may enter, and dwell as in his own temple. A man ought to do this of himself, but yet to acknowledge that it is an effect of divine influence. This he must acknowledge, because he does not perceive the presence and operation of God, although God by his most immediate presence and operation produces in him all the good of love, and all the truth of faith. According to this order every man proceeds and must proceed, who from natural wishes to become spiritual. In like manner the Lord proceeded, for the purpose of making his natural humanity divine. This was the reason why he prayed tp the Father, that he did his will, that he ascribed to him whatever he did or spoke, and that he cried out on the cross, " My God, my God ! why hast thou forsaken me ?" for in this state God appears to be absent. But this state is succeeded by another, which is con- jutaction with God, in which the man acts indeed as in the former state, but now from God ; and it is not necessary that he should now, as before, ascribe to God all the good which he wills and does, and all the truth which he thinks and speaks, since this acknowledgment is inscribed on his heart, and is inwardly contained in all his words and actions. In this same manner the Lord united himself to hjs Father, and the Father himself to him. In short, the Lord glorified his Humanity, that is, made it divine, by a similar process to that by which he regen erates a man, that is, makes him spiritual. That every man, who from natural becomes spiritual, passes through two states, and is introduced by the one into the other, and so is led from the world to heaven, will be fully proved in tlie chapters concerning Freewill, CuARrrY, and Faith, and concerning Eeformation and Eegeneraiton. We shall merely observe here, that in tlie first state, which is called the state of reformation, the man is at full liberty to act according to the dictates of his rational understanding ; and that in the second, which is the state of regeneration, he is likewise in the same liberty, but that he then wills and acts, thinks and speaks, under the influence of a new love and a new intelligence from the 127 105, 106 • THE LORD THE REDEEMER. Lord ; for in the former state the understanding holds the first station, and the will the second, but in the latter state the w^ill holds the first station, and the understanding the second ; still, however, in this state it is the understanding which acts by in fluence from the will, and not the will which acts by means of the understanding. The conjunction of good and truth, of charity and faith, and of the "internal and external man, is no otherwise effected. 106. These two states are represented by various circum stances and effects in the universe ; the reason of which is, be cause they are according to divine order, and divine order fills all and every thing in the universe, even to the most minute particulars. The first state is represented in the life of every man by his state of infancy and childhood, until he grows up to riper years of youth and manhood; and this is his state of humiliation before his parents, and of obedience, and likewise of instruction under masters and teachers ; but the other state is represented by the state of the same person when he comes to be his own master, and at his own disposal ; or, in other words, when he has no one's will and understanding to con sult but his own, in which state he has absolute rule in his own house. The first state is also represented by the state of a prince, or the son of a king, or of a duke, before he be comes a king or a duke; also by the state of every citizen before he is advanced to the office of a magistrate ; of every sub ject before he holds any post in the government ; likewise ot every student who is preparing for the ministry, before he be comes a priest, of every priest before he becomes a pastor, and of every pastor before he is a primate ; also of every virgin before she becomes a wife, and of every maid-servant before she be comes a mistress ; in general of every clerk before he becomes a merchant ; of every soldier before he is made an officer ; and of every servant before he becomes a master. In all these cases the first state is that of servitude and qbedience, and the second is that of rule and government from a man's own will and under standing. These two states are represented also by various par ticulars in the animal kingdom; the first by beasts and birds, so long as they continue with their dams, following them, and depending upon them for direction and sustenance; and the second by their leaving their dams, and providing for them selves : in like manner in the case of caterpillars, the first state is represented by their creeping, and feeding on the leaves of trees, and the second by their casting their skins, and becoming butterflies. Those two states are represented also in the sub jects of the vegetable kingdom ; the first by the vegetable springing up from the seed, and putting forth 'branches, buds, and leaves, and the second by its bearing fruit, and producing new seeds ; which process may be compared to the conjunction 128 THE LORD THE EEDEEMEE. 106 107 of truth and good, since the several parts of a tree correspond to truths, and its fruit to goods. But the man who stops at the first state, and does not enter into the second, is like a tree which only bears leaves and no fruit, concerning which it is said in the Word that it is fit only to be rooted up and cast into the fire (Matt. xxi. 19 ; Luke xiii. 9 ; John xv. 5, 6). And he is like a servant that is unwilling to be made free, concerning whom it was appointed " that he should be brought to the door, or to the door-post, and his master should bore his ear through with an awl" (Exod. xxi. 6). Servants are such as are not con joined to the Lord, but freemen are such as are conjoined to him ; for the Lord says, " If the Son make you free, then are ye free indeed" (John viii. 36). 107. IX. Hencefoeth no cheistian can be admitted into HEAVEN UNLESS HE BELIEVE IN TIIE LOED GOD AND SAVIOUR, AND APPROACH HIM ALONE. It is written in Isaiah, " Behold, 1 create new heavens and a new earth : and the former shall not be remembered, or come into mind. Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy" (Ixv. 17, 18); and in the Eevelation, "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, 6). It is declared too in many places that none shall enter into heaven except those who are written in the Lamb's book of life (Eev. xiii. 8'; xvii. 8 ; xx. 12, 15 ; xxi. 27). By heaven here is meant not the visible heaven which we see with our eyes, but the angelic heaven ; by Jerusalem, not any city from heaven, but the church which shall descend out of heaven from the Lord ; by the book of life is meant not any book written in heaven, which shall be opened, but the Word which is from the Lord, and treats of him. That Jehovah God, who is called the Creator and Father, descended and assumed the, humanity, for tbe purpose of ena bling man to approach to and be conjoined with him, has been fully proved, evinced, and confirmed in the foregoing parts of this chapter. For what person, when he addresses himself to another, directs his address to his invisible soul ? Or indeeid how is such address practicable ? Does he not rather address the man himself, whom he sees face to face, and with whom he converses mouth to mouth ? Just so it ia with God the Father and the Son ; for God the Father is in the Son, as the soul in ite body. That the Lord God and Saviour is the true object of faith, is evident from these passages in the Word : " God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that who soever believeth in him should not perish, but should have ever lasting life" (John iii. 16). " He that believeth on the Son is not condemned ; but he that believeth not is condemned already, be- 129 . K 107 THE LORD THE EEDEEMEE. cause he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God" (John iii. 18). " He that believeth on fhe Son hath eternal life ; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; bnt the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 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 himger ; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (vi. 33, 3.5). " This is the will of him that sent me, that every one that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have eternal life : and I will raise him up at the. last day" (vi. 40). " They said unto Jesus, What shall we "do, that we may work the works of God ? Jesus answered, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (vi. 28, 29). " Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that believeth on me hath eternal life" (vi. 47). " Jesus stood and 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, ye will die in your sins" (viii. 24). " Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection' and tKe life : he that heUeveth 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 in me should not abide in darkness" (viii. 12 ; xii. 46). " While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the chil dren of the light" (xii. 36). 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 " 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, the truth, and the life : no man cometh unto the Father but by me" (John xiv. 6). That whosoever believes on the Son believes on the Father (since, as we 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 would have known my Father also" (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, because 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, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (John i. 18). " No man hath seen the Father, save he who 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). But those persons who arc unacquainted with the Lord, as is the case with numbers in Asia and Africa, and also in the Indies, if thoy believe in one God, and live agreeably to the precepts which tlieir religion enjoins, are.saved by virtue of such faith and life ; for those who know their duty and not those who are ignorant of it, are the obiects 130 THE LORD THE REDEEMER. 107 ^109 of imputation, whether it be of righteousness or of guilt ; just as blind men, when they stumble, are no objecte of blame ; for the Lord says, " If ye were blind, ye would have no sin ; but now ye say. We see ; therefore your sin remaineth" (John ix. 41). 108. For the further confirmation of what has been said, I shalL'relate the following particulars, which I know, because I have been an eye-witness of them, and therefore can testify their truth. There is at this day a new angelic heaven forriiing by the Lord, consisting of such only as believe on the Lord God the Saviour, and approach him immediately in their worship, all others being rejected. If therefore from henceforth any one coming from a Christian country into the spiritual world, where every man is received after death, does not believe on the Lord, and approach him alone in worship, and is not then able to re ceive this doctrine, in consequence of having lived wickedly, or confirmed himself in falses, he is rejected at his first approach towards heaven, his face is thence averted, and is turned towards the, region below, called the lower earth, whither he goes, and there joins himself in society with those who are signified in the Eevelation by the dragon and the false prophet. The prayers also of every man that lives in a Christian country, and does not believe on the Lord, are henceforth not attended to, but are in heaven like ill-scented odors, or like eructations .from corrupted lungs ; and although he may fancy that his prayer is like the perfume of incense, yet in its ascent to the angelic heaven, it is but like the smoke of a chimney, which, by the violence of the wind, is driven down into the eyes of men below ; or like in cense from a censer under a monk's cloak. This is t'he case from henceforward with all worship which is directed towards a Trinity of distinct persons, and, not towards a Trinity conjoined in one person. To show that the Divine Trinity is conjoined in the Lord's pei-son, is the principal object of this work. I will here add this extraordinary information : — Some months ago the Lord called together his twelve apostles, and sent them forth throughout the whole spiritual world, as he had formerly done throughout the whole natural world, with a com mission to preach this gospel ; and then every apostle had his particular district assigned him ; and they are each of them ful filling their charge with the utmost zeal and industry. But I shall treat more particularly on this subject in the last chapter of this work, when I come to speak of the consummation of the AGE, THE COMING OF THE LoED, AND OF A NEW ChUECH. A COEOLLARY. 109. All the churches before the coming of the Lord were representative churches, which could only see divine truths aa in shade ; but after the Lord's coming into the world a church was 131 Ij09 THE LOED THE EEDEEMEE. established by him which saw divine truths, or rather had a capacity to see them, in a full and clear light. The difference was like that between evening and morning ; and indeed the state of the church before the coming of the Lord is in the Word called evening, and its state after his coming, morning. The Lord, before his advent into the world, was indeed present with the members of the church, but then his presence was mediate, through the angels, who represented him ; whereas, since his advent, be is present with the members of the church immediately ; for during his abode in the world he put on the DIVINE NATUEAL, iu which he is present with mankind. The. glorification of the Lord is the glorification of his Humanity Avhich he assumed in the world ; and the glorified Humanity of the Lord is the divine natueal. That this is the case, is evi dent from this circumstance, that the Lord rose from the sepul chre with his whole body which he had in the world, and left sothing behind him therein ; consequently, that he took thence along with him the real natural Humanity from first to last : therefore he said to his disciples, after his resurrection, when they supposed 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 ye see me have" (Luke xxiv. 37, 39). Hence it appears 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" (1st Epist. V. 20). Hence the angels know that the Lord alone, in the whole spiritual world, is fully a man. It is known in the church, that all worship among the race of the Israelites and of the Jews was merely external, and was but a shadow of the internal worship which the Lord opened ; thus that all worship before the coming of the Lord consisted in types and figures, which were representative of true worship according to its just and real portraiture. The Lord indeed appeared to the people of old, for he said unto 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" (Jolm viiL 66, 58). But as the Lord was then only represented, which waa effected by angels, therefore whatever belonged to the church at that time was made representative ; whereas, after he came into the world, those representations vanished, and that for this hid den reason, because the Lord, during his abode in the world, put on also the divine natural, by which he enlightens not only the internal spiritual man, but likewise the external natural, both of which must be enlightened in order that the man may enjoy the daylight of truth ;' otherwise he sees only as in a twi light shade; for, while the internal man alone is enlightened without the external, or the external alone without the internal, 132 THE LOED THE EEDEEMEE. 109, 110 he is as one who sleeps and dreams, and presently when he awakes he recollects his dream, and forms various conclu sions' upon it, which nevertheless are the suggestions of mere fancy and imagination ; or he is like a person Walking in his sleep, who seeing a variety of objects, fancies that he sees them in broad dayligfit. The difference between the state of the church before the Lord's coming, and after it, is like the dif ference between reading a piece of writing in the night by the b'ght of the moon and the stars, and in the day by the light of the sun ; and it is well known, that in the former case the eye is liable to be deceived, because it sees only by a pale light, where as in the latter, the light being fiery and full, the eye is not liable to deception. On this account it is written concerning the Lord, " The God of Israel said, the Eock of Israel spake to me. He shall be as the light of the moi-ning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds" (2 Sam. xxiii. 3, 4) : The God of Israel, and the Eock of Israel, is the Lord. In another place : " Moreover the light ofthe 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 the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people" (Isaiah xxx. 26) ; which words are descriptive Of the state of the church after the coming of the Lord. In a word, the state of the church before the coming of the Lord may be compared to an aged woman, whose face is painted, and who fancies herself beautiful, by reason of the vivid colors of the paint ; but the state of the church after his coming may be com pared to a young virgin in all the native beauty of her own com plexion ; further, the state of the church before the Lord's com ing, may be compared to the outward rind of any sort of fruit, as of an orange, an apple, a pear, or a grape, and its flavor ; but the state of the church after his coming may be compared to the inner parts of those fruits, and their flavor ; nPt to mention many other similar comparisons. The reason of this difference arose from the Lord's putting on the divine natural, in which state he enlightens the internal spiritual man and the external natural at the same time ; whereas, when the internal man alone is enlightened without the external, or the external alone with out the internal, there is no clear light, but only shade. 110. I shall here adduce the following memoeable eela tions. — First. I once saw in the spiritual world a meteor in the air falling to the ground, encompassed about with a lucid brightness, and noted the place where it fell ; but, as ia the case A^'ith all such phenomena, at day-dawn before sunrise it had' totally disappeared. I went in the morning to the place where I had observed the meteor fall the night before, and behold, the ground was a composition of sulphur, iron-filings, and clay : and suddenly there appeared two tents, one immediately over the place, and the other beside it, towards the south. I then looked' 133 110 THE LORD THE REDEEMER. upwards, and saw a certain spirit falling down from heaven, like lightning, into the tent which stood directly over the spot where the meteor fell, while I was standing in the door of the other tent which was beside it towards the south : and presently I observed the spirit standing also at the door of his tent ; and immediately I asked him the reason of his falling so precipitately from heaven ; to which he answered, " I was cast down by the angels of Michael, as being an angel of the dragon, because I spoke upon certain points of that faith which I had embraced and confirmed in the world, particularly that God the Father and God the Son are two, and not one ; for at this day, all the angels in heaven believe that they are one, like soul and body ; and every word that contradicts this belief, causes the same emotion and pain in them as if they should snuff up some pun gent powder into their nostrils, or as if one should bore their ears through with an awl ; therefore whoever maintains a con trary opinion is ordered to depart, and in case of refusal or re luctance, he is cast down headlong." Upon this I asked him why he did not believe as they did. He replied, that after death no one has it in his power to alter the belief which he had impressed on his mind by arguments of confirmation ; it remains fixed, and cannot be rooted out, especially whatever 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 persuaded himself to believe that the Father and the Son were, two. He answered, by what he had read in the Word, concerning the Son's praying to the Father, not only before his passion on the cross, but even at the time he suffered, and also concerning his hu miliation before the Father ; " for in this case," said he, " how could they be one, like the soul and the body of a man ? Who ever prays as to another, or humbles himself as before another, while he himself is that other ? No man in his senses could so act, much less the Son of God ; and besides, the universal Christian church in my time divided the Divinity into persons, making each person one by himself, and the term person is de fined to be, that which has a proper and distinct subsistence^ In reply to this I said, " From your discourse it seems clear to ma that you are utterly unacquainted how God the Father and Son are one, and in consequence of this you have confirmed yourself in the false notions which the church to this day entertains con cerning God. Do you not know that the Lord, during hia abode in the world, had a soul like every other man ? And whence had he that soul, but from God the Father ? This is abundantly evident from the declaration of the Evangeliste ; aud what then is that which is called Son, but the Humanity, which was conceived by the Divinity of the Father, and born of the Virgin Mary ? A mother cannot conceive a soul ; this is totally repugnant to the order according to which every man is born : 1134 THE LORD THE REDEEMER. 110 and God the Father cannot beget a soul from himself, which shall be distinct from himself, as every father among men can do, since God is his own divine essence, and this is one, and in capable of division ; and because it is incapable of division, it ia himaelf. This is the reason why the Lord declares, that he and the Father are one, and that he is in the Father, and the Father in him, with many expressions to the same purport. The com posers ofthe Athanasian. creed had also some faint perception of this truth, in consequence of which, when they had divided the Deity into three persons, they still asserted that in Christ, God and man, that is. Divinity and Humanity, are not two, but one, like the soul and body in a man. That the Lord, when he was in the world, prayed to the Father as to a distinct person, and humbled himself before the Father as before a distinct person, was in conformity to the order established at creation, and which is immutable, according to which every one must proceed towards conjunction with God. The condition of this order is, that in proportioh as a man conjoins himself to God, by living accord ing to the laws of order, which are the divine precepts, in the same proportion God conjoins himself to him, and from natural makes him spiritual : according to this same law the Lord united himself to his Father, and God the Father united himself to him. For 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 favor ; and afterwards, that he prayed the Father to glorify his name, that is, his humanity ? and to glorify it is to make it divine by union with himself Hence it is evident, that when the Lord prayed to the Father, he was in the state of his exinanition, which was the state of his progress towards union. This same order is inscribed on every man since the creation of the world, and thus as he prepares his understanding by truths from the Word of God, 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 a jeweller fits a diamond to receive and emit the brightness of the' light, according to his manner of cutting it ; and so in other instances. To prepare one's self for the reception of God, and for conjunction with him, is to live in conformity to divine order ; and the laws of order are all the commandments of God. These the Lord fulfilled most niinutely, and thus he became a recipient of the Godhead in all its fulness; therefore Paul says, thatin Jesus Christ all the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth bodily ; and the Lord himself says, that all that the Father hath are his. It is further to be observed, that the Lord alone is active in man, and that man of himself is merely passive, but that by virtue of continual influx of life from the Lord, he is also rendered active, apparently as of himself: in consequence of this he has freedom of will, which was giver, him for the purpose of preparing him- 135 110 THE LORD THE REDEEMER. self for the reception of God, and thus for conjunction, which ia not possible unless it be effected reciprocally ; and it is effected reciprocally when man is active by virtue of his free-will, and yet by faith attributes all activity to the Lord." After this I asked him, wheliher he and his companions con fessed that God is one ? He replied in the affirmative. Then I said, " But I am afraid that the confession of your heart is against the existence of any God ; for do not the words of the mouth proceed from the thoughts of the rnind ? It must there fore necessarily follow, that the confession of the mouth declar ing God to be one, will expel from the mind its thoughts of three ; and again, that the thought of the mind concerning three Gods, will expel from the mouth its confession that there is only one : and what conclusion then will necessarily result, but that there is no God at all ? For will not that region which inter venes between the thought and the mouth be thus rendered an empty void ? And when this is the case, what conclusion can be espoused by the mind concerning God, but that nature is God? And what notion will it entertain of the Lord, but that he received his soul either from Mary or from Joseph? both which opinions all the angels of heaven hold in utter aversion, as most horrid and abominable." When I had concluded, the spirit was delivered up to the abyss or bottomless pit, men tioned in the Eevelation ix. 2 ; where the angels of the dragon dispute about the mysteries of their faith. The next day when I looked towards the same place, I saw, instead of the tente, two statues in the likeness of liuman beings, formed of the dust of the earth, which was a mixture of sulphur, iron, and clay. One statue seemed to have a sceptre in its left hand, a crown on ite head, and a book in its right hand, and also a stomacher obliquely tied across with a band set with precious stones, and a long flowing robe behind, which reached to the other statue; but these ornaments of the statue were the effect of fantasy. Then these words were heard from the bottomless pit, uttered by one of the spirits of the dragon : " This statue represents our Faith as a queen, and the other behind it represents Charity as her servant." The other statue was composed of the same mixture of the dust, and stood just at the extremity of the robe which flowed from behind the queen, and had a paper in ite hand, on which was written, " Take heed lest you approach nearer, so as to touch the robe." Then suddenly there fell from heaven a shower of rain, which thoroughly wetted both the statues ; and they, in consequence of the composition of sulphur, iron, and clay, of which they were made, began to ferment and bubble up, as is common with that mixture when water is poured upon it ; and being thus agitated with intestine fire, they sunk down into two heajps of dust, and lay there afterwards on the ground, like mounds of earth over the tombs of the dead. 136 THE LOED THE EEDEEMEE. Ill 111. The second memoeable eelation. — In the natural world man's speech is twofold, because his thought is twofold, being both external and internal ; for he can speak from his in ternal thought, and at the same time from his external ; and he can speak from his external thought separate from his internal, yea, in contradiction to it ; which is the ground of all dissimula tion, fiattery, and hypocrisy ; but in the spiritual world, man's speech is not twofold, but single ; for he there speaks as he thinks, otherwise the tone of his voice is grating, and hurts the ear : he may however be silent, and by that means conceal the thoughts of his heart ; therefore a hypocrite, when he is in com pany with the truly wise, either takes the first opportunity of leaving them, or else retires into a corner of the room, where ho may sit unnoticed, and say nothing. There was once a large assembly in the world of spirits, when the conversation turned upon this subject ; and it was observed, that it is painful for such as have not formed right conceptions of God and the Lord, when in company with the good, to speak in agreement with their thoughts. In the middle of the assembly were those who belonged to the reformed churches, with several of the clergy ; and next to them stood the adherents of the Eoman Pontiff, with some monks : and it was at first the opinion of both these orders, that there could be no great pain in having the speech so confined ; " for what necessity is there," said triey, " for a man to speak otherwise than as he thinks ? and if it happeris that he does not think aright, cannot he shut his lips and be silent?" Then one of the clergy said, "Who is there that does not think aright concerning God and the Lord ?" But some of the assembly requested that the experiment might be made ; and they desired those who had confirmed themselves in the be lief of a trinity of persons in the Godhead, to pronounce, from the real sentiments of their hearts, the words, " One God ;" but they were not able : and although they twisted and folded their lips every way, yet they could not articulate a sound in other words than what were in consonance, with the ideas of their thoughts, which were of three persons, and consequently, three gods. The inquirers next desired those who had confirmed themselves in the sufficiency of faith separate from charity, to pronounce the word " Jesus ;" but they were not able, although they could all pronounce the word " Christ," and likewise " God the Father." They were much surprised at this, and on inquiry discovered the reason to be that they had been used to pray to God the Father for the sake of his Son, and had never prayed to the Saviour himself, aud the name " Jesus" signifies Saviour They were then requested, from their real thoughts concerning the Lord's Humanity, to pronounce the words " Divine Human ;" but none of the clergy present were able ; but some of the laity could pronounce '.t ; therefore it became the immediate subject ' 137 Ill THE LOED THE EEDEEMER. of serious debate. 1. First of all, these passages from the Evan gelists were read in their presence : " The Father hath given all things into the hand of the Son" (John iii. 36). " 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) : and then they were desired to keep in mind, accord ing to these words, that Christ is God of heaven and earth, both as to his divinity and his humanity, and so try to pronounce " Divine Human :" but still they were not able, and they said, that from the passages they had heard, they had conceived some idea of it in their understandings, but yet it did not amount to any degree of acknowledgment, and therefore they could not pronounce it. 2. It was afterwards read to them from Luke i. 32, 34, 35, that the Lord, aa to his humanity, was the Son of Jehovah God, and that he is there called the Son of the Highest, and constantly in other places the Son of God, and also the only- begotten ; and then they were requested to keep this in mind, and likewise that the only-begotten Son of God, born in the world, must of necessity be God, as the Father is God, and so try to pronounce " Divine Human :" but they said, " We are not able, because our spiritual thought, which is interior, admite no ideas into the thought bordering upon speech but such as are similar to itself; and hence we perceive that we have now no power to divide our thoughts, as in the natural world." 3. Then these words of the Lord to Philip were read before them : " Philip saith. Lord, shew us the Father. Jesus saith unto him. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Be lievest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me" (John xiv. 8 — 11) ? and also other passages declaring that he and the Father are one, as in John x. 30 ; and they were re quested to retain this in their thought, and so pronounce " Divine Human :" but as that thought was not grounded in an acknowledgment that the Lord was God, even with respect to his humanity, they twisted their lips about until they were angry, striving to force the words from their mouths ; but the}' could not. The reason was, because the ideas of thought which flow from acknowledgment are united and make one with the words of the mouth, among spirits in the spiritual world ; and where there are no such ideas, there are no words : for ideas be come words in speech. 4. Then were read to them these words from the doctrine univei-sally received in the Christian church. That the divinity and humanity in the Lord are not two, but one, yea, one person, united like soul and body in man, according to the creed of Athanasius, and the confession of general coun cils ; and it was told them that hence they might have an idea grounded in the fullest acknowledgment that the humanity oi the Lord is divine, becausf hia soul is divine, this being ar 138 THE LOED THE EEDEEMEE. Ill article of the doctrine of their own church which they had ac knowledged in the world. It was moreover added, that the soul is the very essence of a man, and the body is its form ; and essence and form make one like esse and existere, or like cause and effect. This idea they retained, and were desirous from its influence to pronounce the words " Divine Human," but they were not able; for their interior idea concerning the Lord's Humanity exterminated and expunged this new adventitious idea, as they called it. 5. There was further read to them this passage from John, " The Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh" (John i. 1, 14); and also this, " Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life" (1st Epist. V. 20) ; and from Paul, " In him (Christ Jesus) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Coloss. ii. 9) ; and they were desired to think according to the tenor of these words, that God, who was the Word, was made man ; that Jesus Christ ia the true God ; and that in him dwells all the fulness of the God head bodily : and they did so, yet only in their external thought ; wherefore by reason of the resistance of the internal they still could not pronounce " Divine Human," declaring openly that they could form no idea of a Divine Humanity, because God ia God, and man is man, and God is a spirit, and of a spirit we can conceive no idea, but as of wind or ether. 6. At length they were desired to recollect what the Lord said, " Abide in me, and I in you. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bring eth forth much fruit : for without me ye can do nothing" (John XV. 4, 5). And because some of the English clergy were pres ent, this passage was read to them from their exhortation at the holy communion : " For when we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink his blood, then we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us ;" and it was said to them, " Now if you only consider that this is impossible unless the humanity of the Lord be divine, you may then perhaps pronounce ' Divine Human' from a true acknowledgment influencing your thought." But still the}' were not able, the idea being so deeply rooted in their minds, that what is divine cannot be human, and what is human cannot be divine, and that the Lord's Divinity was the Divinity of the Son born from eternity, and his humanity like that of another man: on which it was said to them, "How can you think thus ? Can a reasonable mind ever conceive that any Sou was born of God from eternity ?" 7. The inquirers afterwards addressed themselves to the Evangelical Protestants, telling them that both Luther and the Augsburg Confession taught that the Son of God and the Son of man in Christ are one per son, and that even as to his human nature he is omnipotent and omnipresent, and that in respect to this he sits at the right hand of God the Father, and governs all things in heaven and on earth, fills all things, is with us, and dwells aud operates in us 139 Ill, 112 THE LORD THE REDEEMEH. and there is no difference of worship, because by the natura which is perceived, the. Divinity, which is not perceived, is wor shipped, and that in Christ, God is man, and man God. To this they made no other reply, than suggesting a doubt whether it was really so written ; and after some consideration they said, " We were entirely unacquainted with this before ; therefore we cannot pronounce the words ' Divine Human.' " One or two of thera added, " We have indeed read and even written such sentiments ; but yet when we have considered them in our minds, we regarded them as mere words whereof we had no in terior idea." 8. Lastly, addressing the Eoman Catholics, the explorers said, " You possibly can pronounce ' Divine Human,' because you believe that, in your eucharist, Christ is entire in the bread and wine, and in every part thereof: and you also worship him as the most holy God when you elevate and carry about the host ; likewise you call Mary God^odudng {dei- para'/n), or the mother of God, consequently you acknowledge that she brought forth God, that is, the Divine Humanity." Then they attempted to pronounce the words ; but because a material idea intervened concerning the body and blood of Christ, attended with a belief that his human is separable from his divine, and that it actually is separated in the person ofthe Pope, to whom his human power only, and not his divine, is transferred, .therefore they could not pronounce them. Then there arose a certain monk who said, that he could conceive a Divine Humanity in the person of the most holy Virgin Mary, and likewise in the saint of his order ; and another monk came, and said, " According to the idea which I at present entertain, I can pronounce the words ' Divine Human'-Iu reference to the most holy Pope, rather than to Christ ;" but immediately some of the adherents of the Eoman Pontiff pulled him back, and said, " Fio, for shame !" After this, heaven appeared open, and there were seen tongues as of fire descending, and lighting upon some of the assembly ; and they instantly began to celebrate the Divine Human of the Lord, saying, " Eemove the idea of three Gods, and believe that in the Lord all the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily, and that He and the Father are one, as the soul and body are one, and that God is not wind and ether, but that he is a man, and then, you will be conjoined with heaven, and be enabled by the Lord to pronounce the name Jesus, and to say, ' Divine Human.' " 112. The third memorable relation. — Awaking once, a little before day, I walked out in the garden before the house, and saw the sun rising in his splendor, encompassed with a sort of border, which was at first very faint, but afterwards grew plainer and shone like gold ; under its edge I observed a cloud ascending, which from the flame of the sun had a ruddy glow like a carbuncle ; and immediately I fell into a meditation on 140 THE LOED THE EEDEIMEE. 112 the fables of the ancients, who feigned Aurora to nave wings of silver, and to display in her countenance the ruddiness of gold. While my mind was delighting itself with these meditations, suddenly I was in the spirit, and heard several persons talking together, and saying, " I wish I might be allowed to speak with that teacher of novelties, who has cast the apple of contention among the rulers of the church, which has been eagerly run after by many of the laity, who have picked it up and presented it to our view." By that apple they meant the pamphlet en titled, A BRIEF Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church. They said, "It is a schismatical doctrine, which never before entered into any man's head :" and then I heard one of them exclaim, " How, schismatical ! it is altogether he retical." But some who stood behind him replied, " Hush ! hold your tongue ; it is not heretical ; the author confirms what he says by numberless quotations from Scripture, to which our strangers, by whom we mean the laity, attend and assent." On hearing these words, as I was in the spirit, I approached and said, "Behold the teacher of novelties you talk of! what would you have with him ?" Then one of them, who, as I afterwards learnt, was a German, a native of Saxony, said in an authorita tive tone, " How could you have the impudence to overturn tha worship which has been for so many ages established in the Christian world, which prescribes that God the Father should be invoked as the Creator of the universe, his Son as the Media tor, and the Holy Ghost as the Operator ? whereas you separate the first and last God from our personality, notwithstanding the Lord himself says, ' When ye pray, say, Owr Father wlw art in the heavens, hallowed he thy name. Thy kingdom come' Is it not here enjoined that we should invoke God the Father ?" Hereupon there was a dead silence, and all who were his favor ers stood, like brave warriors on board of ships of war, crying out when they see the enemy's fleet, "Lead us on to the battle; we are sure of victory." Then I began to speak, and said, " Who among you does not know that God came down from heaven, and was made Man ? for it is written, ' The Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh ;' also, who among you does not know" (and I looked to wards the Evangelical Protestants, among whom was the dicta tor who had just addressed me), " that in Christ, who was born of the Virgin Mary, God is Man, and Man God ?" On this the company made a tumultuous noise ; therefore I said, " Do not you know this ? It is according to the doctrine of your confession, which is called the Formula Concoedi^, where this tenet is as serted, and confirmed by many proofs." The dictator then turned towards the company, and asked whether they were acquainted with this ? They replied, " We have paid but little attention to what is said in that book on the person of Christ; but we 141 112 the lord the redeemer. have laboriously studied what is taught in the article concerning JUSTmcATioN by faith alone; but however, if it be written in that book, we are satisfied." Then one of thena recollecting himself, said, " It is written therein, and further still it_ is asserted that the human nature of Christ is exalted to divine majesty and all its attributes, and also that Christ in that nature sits at the right hand of his Father." On hearing these words they were all silenced ; and finding them thus yield assent, \ again addressed them, saying, " Since this is the truth, what is the Father then but the Son, and the Son but the Father also ?" But because this again sounded harsh in their ears, I proceeded, saying, " Hearken to the words of the Lord himself, to which if you never attended before, it is time you should now ; for he has said, ' I and my Father are one ; the Father is in me, and I in the Father; Father, all mine are thine, and thine are mine; he that seeth me seeth the Father.' What now can these words signify, but that the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father ; and that they are one, like soul and body in a man, and thus that they are one person ? You must of necessity allow this also, if you believe the Athanasian creed, where the same truths are asserted. From the above passages, however, select only this declaration of the Lord's, ' Father, all mine are thine, and thine are mine.' What else can this mean, than that the Divine of the Father belongs to the Human of the Son, and the Human of the Son to the Divine of the Father, consequently that in Christ God is man, and man is God, and thus that they are one, as soul and body are one ? Every man also may say this of his own soul and body, that mine are thine, and thine are mine ; thou art in me, and I in thee ; he that seeth me seeth thee. We are one both with regard to person and to life : the reason hereof is, because 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 connection between them. Hence 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. From whence has a child his soul, but from his father? and his body, but from his mother ? We speak of the Divine of the Father ; but we mean thereby the Father himself, since he and his Divinity are tbe same thing, the Divine being one and indivisible. That this is the case, is evident also 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 lost only among the learned clergy and the deep-read laity, who, w'hen they elevate their thoughts above 142 THE LOED THE EEDEEMEE. 112, 113 the sensualities of the body, consult the aggrandizement of their own glory and reputation, which not only darkens but even ex tinguishes the light by which the glory of God enters. But let us return to the Lord's Prayer, where it is said, ' Our Father, who art in the heavens, hallowed be thy name : thy kingdom come.' All you that are here present understand these words as relating to the Father in his Divinity alone ; whereas I uuder- stand them as relating to him in his Humanity. And this also is the Father's name ; for the Lord said, ' Father, glorify thy name,' that is, thy humanity ; and when this is done, the kingdom of God comes. This prayer was commanded for this present time, in order that God the Father might be approached by means of his Humanity. The Lord has also declared, ' No man cometh to the Father but by me ;' and in the prophet, ' Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son ia given ; and his name shall be called God, Hero, the Father of eterrdty ;' and in another place, ' Thou, Jehovah, art our Father ; our Eedeemer is thy name from ages ;' also in a thousand other places, where the Lord our Saviour is called Jehovah. This is a true explanation of the words of that prayer." After I had done speaking I looked upon them, and remarked the changes of their counte nances according to the changes of the states of their minds ; and I observed some assenting and looking upon me, some dis senting and turning themselves from me. Then towards the right I saw a cloud of the color of opal, and towards the left a dusky cloud, and under both the appearance as of a falling shower ; under the latter as of rain at the end of autumn, and under the former as of dew. at the beginning of spring ; and im mediately I returned from the spirit into the body, and thus from the spiritual into the natural world. 113. The fourth memorable relation. — I was looking into the world of spirits, and saw an army mounted on red and black horses. Those who sat upon them appeared like apes, having their faces and breasts turned towards the horses' tails, and the hinder parts of their heads and backs towards the horses' heads, and the bridles hung about the necks of the riders ; and they cried out against a party that rode on white horses, but held the bridles with both their hands, and so re strained their horses from combat ; and this they continued doing for some time. Then two angels descended from heaven, and came to me, and said, " What do you see ?" I told them I saw a strange collection of horsemen ; and I asked what they meant, and who they were ? The angel answered, " They are frorn a place which is called Armageddon (Eev. xvi. 16), wherein some thousands are assembled, to fight against those who are of the New Church of the Lord, which is called the New Jerusalem. They were'talking there about the church and religion, and yet there was nothing of the church among them, because there was 143 113 THE LOED THE REDEEMER. no spiritual truth, and nothing of religion, because there was no Bpiritual good : thoy were talking with their mouths and lips on this opinion and that, but it was only for the purpose of extend ing and securing dominion. They have been taught from their youth to confirm the doctrine of faith alone, and have imbibed some notions about God, which they retained for some time after they were advanced to high stations in the church ; but a." they then began to think no more concerning God and heaven, but about themselves and the world, consequently no more con cerning eternal bliss and happiness, but about temporal wealth and exaltation, they cast out the doctrines which they had re ceived in their early years from the interiors of the rational mind, which have communication with heaven, and are thus in the light of heaven, into the exteriors of the rational mind, which have communication with the world, and are thus in the light of the world ; and at length they thrust them down into the sensual-natural region of the mind, so that the doctrines of the church became merely topics for conversation, and had no longer any place in their thought from reason, much less any place in their affections from love. And because they have reduced themselves to such a state, they do not admit any divine truth which is of the church, or any divine good which is of religion. The interiors of their minds are become comparatively like bottles filled with a mixture of iron-filings and powder of brim stone, into which if water be poured, there is at first heat ex cited, afterwards fire, and so the bottles are burst : in like manner, when they admit any thing of that living water, which is the genuine truth of the Word, in at their ears, they are violently heated and inflamed, and reject it as something that would burst their heads. These are those who appeared to you like apes, riding with their bodies inverted, on red and black horses, with bridles about their necks ; since those who do not love the truth and the. good of the church, as derived from the W^ord of God, have no inclination to look at the fore parte of any horse, but towards his hinder parte ; for a horse signifies the understanding of the Word of God ; a red horse the under standing of the Word destroyed with respect to good, and a black horse the understanding of the Word destroyed with re spect to truth. The reason of their crjdng out to battle against those who ride on white horses is, because a white horse signifies the understanding of the Word of God with respect to truth and good ; and their appearing to pull back their horses was owing to their fear of the combat, lest the truth of the Word should thus, become known to many, and so should come to light. Thia is the interpretation." The angels said moreover, " We belong to the society in heav en which is called Michael, and we were ordei-ed by the Lord to descend into the place called Armageddon, whence you saw 144 THE LORD THE EEDEEMER. 113 that troop of horsemen come forth. By Armageddon, with ua in heaven, is signified a state and desire of the mind to wage war under the influence of falsified truths, arising from the love of eminence and universal dominion ; and because we have per ceived in you a desire to know something of the nature of that war, we will give you a short account of it. Immediately on our descent from laeaven we went to the place called Arma geddon, where we saw several thousands assembled ; we did not however enter into the assembly, but went into some houses on the southern side of that place, where there were young children with their masters, who received us kindly : we were delighted with their company." Their countenances were full of beauty, arising from the life that shone in their eyes, and the zeal that animated their conversation: the life in their eyes was derived from the perception of truth, and the zeal in their conversation from the affection of good : therefore also we made them a present of caps, the edges of which were ornamented with bands composed of threads of gold interwoven with jewels, and likewise a present of garments variegated with white and blue {hyacinthinum). We then asked them whether they had ever looked into the neighboring place called Armageddon ? They replied that they had seen it through a window below the roof of the house, and had observed a large assembly of persons there, but under different figures, sometimes appear ing like men of authority, and at other times not like men, but like statues and graven images, and round about them a numerous company on their bended knees. These also appeared to us under various forms, some like men, some like leopards, some like goats with their horns pointed forwards, with which they dug up the ground. We interpreted to them those meta morphoses, showing their representations and significations. But to come to the point : — That assembly of people, when they heard that we were entered into those houses, said one to an other, ' Who are they that have been admitted among the children ? Let us send some of our company to turn them out.' So they sent some, who, when they came, said to us, ' What is the reason of your entering into these houses ? Whence do you come ? We are commissioned to insist upon your immediate departure.' To this we replied, ' You have no right to insist upon any such thing : you appear indeed in your own eyes like the giants called Anakim, and those who are here seem to you like dwarfs ; but still you have no power and authority here, except by means of craft and cunning, which yet will be of no ava$ ; therefore carry word back to your companions that we were sent here from heaven., to come and see whether you have any religion or not ; and if not, you are to be cast out from this place : go therefore and propose to your companions this question, which involves the real essence of tlie church and of religion, 146 L 113 THE LORD THE REDEEMER. how they understand these words in the Lord's prayer, Oub Father who art in the heavens, hallowed be thy name ; THY KINGDOM COME.' When WO had thus opened our commis sion, they said at first, ' What is the meaning of all this ?' But afterwards they promised that they would propose the ques tion: So they went and related to their companions all that had passed, who asked to what end or purpose is this proposal ? But when they understood the reason of it, and that it was to determine the nature of their faith in God the Father, they said, 'The meaning of the words is plain, that men ought to pray to (jod the Father; and as Christ is our Mediator, that prayer ought to be directed to God the Father for the sake of the Son ;' and presently they determined, in a fit of passion, that they would come to us, and make this declaration to our faces, adding further, that they would pull our ears. So they left that place, and went into a grove that was near the houses where the chil dren were with their masters, in the middle of which grove there was a plain piece of ground in the form of an amphitheatre, or place of exercise, into which they entered, holding by each other's hands, and there they found us waiting for them. There were in the place small mounds of earth raised like little hillocks, upon which they seated themselves ; for they said one to another, 'We will not stand in their presence, but will sit down.' Then one of them, who had the art to assume an appearance as of an angel of light, and who was commissioned by the rest to speak with us, said, ' You have proposed to us that we should declare our sentiments respecting the sense of the first words in the Lord's prayer. I must inform you therefore, 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 merits, we should pray to .God the Father from faith in his merits.' We then informed them of our errand, saying, ' We belong to a society in heaven which is called Michael, and wo are sent to make visitation, and to inquire whether you who are assembled in this place have any religion or not ; for the idea of God enters into every part of religion^ and thereby conjunction is effected, and by conjunction salva tion. We in heaven, like men on earth, repeat that prayer daily, and at such times we do not think of God the Father, be cause 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 is our Father in the heavens. The Lord also taugut that he and the Father are one : that the Father is in him, and he in the Father ; and thar he, that seeth him, seeth the Father; also, that no man cometh to the Father but by him ; and likewise, that it is the will of the Father that we should beUeve on the Son ; and that he that dotih.inot. believe on the Son will not see life, but the wrath of 146 THE lORD THE REDEEMER. 113^ God abideth on him ; hence it is evident that the Father is to be approached by him and in him ; and since this is the casej he further taught that all power is given unto him in heaven and in earth. It is said in that prayer. Hallowed be thy NAME, THY KINGDOM COME ; and WO havo proved from the Word* that his Divine Humanity is the Father's name, and that thai kingdom of the Father then cometh when the Lord is ap proached immediately ; and not when God the Father is ap proached immediately ; therefore also the Lord commanded his disciples to preach the kingdom of God ; and this is the king dom of God.' On hearing these words the antagonists said, ' You make many quotations from the Word, and possibly we may have read those passages, but we do not recollect them ; therefore let us have the Word produced, and let us hear those passages read, particularly those which tend to show that the kingdom of the Father cometh when the kingdona of the Lord cometh.' They then said to the children, 'Bring us the Word;' and they brought it. We then read out of it the following passages ; Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and saying. The time is fulfilled, and the Mngdom of God is at hand. (Mark i. 14, 15 ; Matt. iii. 2). Jesus himself preached the gos pel of the kingdom, and that the hingdom of God was at hand (Matt. iv. 17, 23 ; ix. 35). Jesus gave commandment to hia disciples that they should preach and teach the hingdom of God (Mark xvi. 15 ; Luke viii. 1 ; ix. 60). And also the seventy whom he sent out (Luke x. 9, 11 ; and in other places, as Matt. xi. 5 ; xvi. 28 ; ix. 1 ; Mark xi. 10 ; Luke iv. 43 ; xxi. 31 ; xxii. 18). The kingdom of God which was preached was the kingdom of the Lord, and thereby the kingdom of the Father, as is evident from these passages : ' The Father hath giveu all things into the hands of the Son' (John iii. 36). ' All thinga are deliveredi unto me of my Father' (Matt. xi. 27).. ' The Father hath given the Son power over all flesh' (John xvii. 2). ' All power is- fiven unto me in heaven and in earth' (Matt, xxviii. 18). 'The lOrd of Hosts is his name, and thy Eedeemer the Holy One of Israel ; The God of the whole earth shall he be called' (Isaiah liv. 5). ' I saw, and behold, one \\ke.the Son of Man ; and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that alt people, nations, and languages should serve him : his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and hist 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 kingdomf of this world are become the kingdoms of cur Lord, and of his Christ ; and he shall reign for ever and ever' (Eev. xi. 15 ; xii. 10). 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 with God the Father by him and in him ; for he taught 147 113 THE LORD THE REDEEMER. that such as believe in him are in him, and he in them (John vi, 56 ; xiv. 20 ; xv, 4, 6). Hereupon they asked, ' How then can your Lord be called Father ?' We replied, ' From what has been read to you already, and also from these passages. ' Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given : and his name shall be called God, Hero, the Father of eterniti/ (Isaiah ix. 6). ' Doubtless thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not ; thou, 0 Jehovah, art ou/r Father, ou/r Redeemer ; thy name is from ages' (Ixiii. 16). Did not he say to Philip, who desired to see the Father, ' Hast thou not known me, Philip ? He that seeth me seeth the Father' (John xiv. 9 ; xii. 45). ' Who else then is the Father, but he whom Philip saw with his eyes ?' We fiirther added, ' tt is said throughout the whole Christian world that those who are of the church constitute the Lord's body, and are in it ; how then can any member of the church approach to God the Father but by him, in whpse body he is ? If not, he must of necessity go out of the body, and so approach.' We lastly informed them that a New Church is now at this day establishing by the Lord, which is signified by the New Jerusalem in the Eevelation, in which the Lord alone will b'e worshipped, as in heaven, and that thus all will be fulfilled that is contained in the Lor'd's Prayer from beginning to end. We produced so many passages in confirma tion of this from the evangelists, the prophets, and the Eevela tion, which from beginning to end treats of that church, that they were tired of hearing them. Having listened with indignation, the Armageddons were desirous at every turn to interrupt our discouree : at length they broke out and exclaimed, ' You have spoken against the doc trine of our church, in which it is insisted that God the Father is to be approached immediately, and that men ought to believe on him ; thus you stand convicted of a violation of our faith ; therefore, depart hence instantlj'^, or you shall be turned out by force.' Then their minds being violently infiamed, they were about to proceed from threats to violence ; but at that instant, by virtue of the power committed to us, we struck them with blindness, in consequence of which, not seeing us, they rushed forth, and ran about in great confusion, and some fell into the bottomless pit, mentioned in the Eevelation ix. 2, which is at this time in the southeast quarter, and where all those are con fined who confirm the doctrine of justification by faith alone ; and such of them as confirm that doctrine by the Word, are driven forth into a desert, where they are conveyed to the very extremity of the Christian world, and mixed with pagans." 148 ON REDEMPTION. 114, 115 ON EEDEMPTION. 114. It is acknowledged throughout the church that the Lord acts in a double office, as a peiest and as a king ; but few persons know wherein the distinction between those two offices consists, therefore it shall be explained. The Lord, from hia priestly office, ia called Jesus, and from his regal office, Christ ; in the Word also, from his priestly office, he is called Jehovah and Lord, aud from his regal office, God, and the Holy One of Israel, and likewise king. These two offices are distinguished from each other like love and wisdom, or what amounte to tha same, like good and truth : hence, whatever the Lord did and performed from divine love or divine good, he did and performed in his priestly character ; but whatever from divine wisdom, or divine truth, that he did and performed in his regal character. In the Word also, priest and priesthood signify divine good, and Mng and royalty signify divine truth ; both which were repre sented by the priests and kings in the Israelitish church. Ee demption has reference to both these offices ; but in what re spect to the one, and in what to the other, will be shown here after. For the clearer perception however of this subject, we will arrange ,it under the following heads or articles : — I. That redemption itself consisted in bringing the hells into subjection, and the heavens into order ; and in thus prepa/ring the way for a new spiritual church. ¦ II. That without such redemption, nei ther could men have been saved, nor could the angels have re- manned in a state of integrity. III. That the Lord thus redeemed not onl/y men, but also angels. IV. That redemption was a work purely divine. V. That this real redemption could not possibly have been effected, but hy God imca/rnate. v I. That the passion of the aross was not redemption, but the last temptation which the Lord endwred as the Grand Prophet ; and it was the means of the glorification of his humanity, that is, ofthe union with the divinity of his Farther. VII. That it is a fundamental error of the Church to believe the passion of the cross to be redempUon. itself ; and this error, together with that relating to Three Di vine Persons existing from eternity, has perverted the whole chv/rch, so tliat nothing spiritual is left remaining in it. We will now proceed to a particular consideration of each article. 116. I. That redemption itself consisted in bringing the HELLS INTO SUBJFICITION, AND THE HEAVENS INTO ORDER; AND IN THUS PEEPAEING THE WAY FOE A NEW SPIEITUAL CHURCH. That redemption consists in these three things, I can declare with the utmost certainty, since the Lord at this day also is ac complishing a redemption, which was begun in the year 1767, together with the Last Judgment, which was then executed. From that time redemption has continued even till now ; because 149 115, 116 ON REDEMPTION. Now IS THE Loed's Second Advent, and a new church is to be established, which could not be effected unless the hells were first reduced into subjection and the heavens restored to order; and as I was permitted to see the whole process of this work, I could describe in what manner the hells were subdued, and the new heaven was formed and arranged ; but the description would take up an entire volume. With respect, however, to the ,Last Judgment, and the manner in which it was executed, i |have published an account of it in a small treatise, printed «at London in the year 1758. That the subjugation of the hells^ the restoration of the heavens tfj order, and the establishment of ..a new church, constitute redemption, is a truth grounded in tlws circumstance, that without such a process no man could have (been saved. The parts of that process also foUow each other in .an orderly connection ; for it is necessary that the hells should be subdued before a new angelic heaven can be formed, and the ¦formation of a new heaven is equally necessary before a new church on earth can be established ; for mankind on earth are so connected with the angels of heaven and the spirite of hell, th^t to whichever they are joined, they make one with them as to the interiors of their minds. But we will treat more particularly on this subject in the last chapter of this work, when we come*^ •6J)eak of THE CONSUMMATION OF THE AGE, OF THE COMING OF THE LOED, AND OF THE NEW CHUECH. 116. The Lord during his abode in the world fought against the hells, and overcame and subdued them, and thus reduced. them to obedience, as is manifest from many passages in the Word, of which I will only produce these few : " "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garmente from Bozrah ? thi^ that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his ^strength? I that speak in, righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garmente like 4iim that treadeth in the wine-press ? I have trodden the wine- j)ress alone, and of the people there was none with me: fori will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my wrath; hence the blood of their mighty ones was sprinkled upon my garments. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. My arm brought salvation to jne ; I brought down their victory to the earth. He said. Surely they are my people, my sons : so he became their Saviour. Ia his love and in his pity he redeemed them" (Isaiah Ixiii. 1 — 9). This is spoken of the Lord's combats against the hells. By the garments in which he was glorious, and which were red, is sig nified the Word, which had suffered violence from the Jews ; his combats against the hells, and his victory over them, are described by his treading them in his anger, and trampling them in his wrath ; that he fought alone, and by his own strength, is described in these words : " Of the people there was non» 150 ON EEDEMPTION. ll(j With me ; my arm brought salvation to me. I brought down their victory to the earth." That he thereby saved and re deemed them, is signified by these words : " So he became their Saviour. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them." That this was the cause of his coming, is signified by these words : " The day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my re deemed is come." Again, it is written in Isaiah : " He saw thai there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor : therefore his arm brought salvation unto him, and his right eousness sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breast plate, and the helmet of salvation upon his head ; and he put on the garments of vengeance, and covered himself with zeal as a cloak: then came the Eedeemer unto Zion" (lix. 16, 17, 20). And in Jeremiah : " They were dismayed ; their mighty ones were beaten down ; they fled apace, and looked not back. For it was the day of the Lord Jehovah Zebaoth, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his foes : and the sword shall devour and be satiated" (xlvi. 5, 10). Both these passages relate to the Lord's combats against the hells, and his victory over them. It is written also in David, " Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou mighty One. Thine arrows are sharp, and the people shall fall under thee. Thy throne is forever and ever : thou hast loved righteousness : therefore God hath anointed thee" (Psalm xlv. 3 — 7) : the like is asserted in many other places. As the Lord singly conquered the hells without the aid of any angel, he is therefore called a Hero or Mighty Man, and a Man of War (Isaiah xlii. 13 ; ix. 6) ; the King of glory, Jehovah strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle (Psalm xxiv. 8, 10) ; the mnghty One of Jacob (Psalm cxxxii. 2) ; and in many places, Jehovah Zebaoth,th3,t is, Jehovah of Hosts : and his coming is also called The dm/ of Jehovah, terrible and cruel, a day of indignation,.of. wrath, of anger, of vengeance, of destruction, of war, of a trum pet, of noise, of confusion, -dec. It is written also in the evan gelists, " 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" (John xvi. 11). " Be of good cheer ; I have overcome the world" (John- xvi. 33). "I beheld Satan as light ning fall from heaven" (Luke x. 18). By the world, the prince of the world, Satan, and the devil, is signified hell. Moreover, in the Eevelation, from beginning to end, the present state of the Christian church ia described ; and it is also foretold that the Lord would come again, and subdue the hells, and form a new ai^gelic heaven, and afterwards establish a new church on earth. Though these particulars are there all foretold, they were never discovered before this time, because the book of Eevelation, as well as all the prophetical parts of the Word, was written by mere correspondences ; without the discovery of which, by the Lord, scarcely anv one could rightly have understood oi-e 151 116, 117 ON EEDEMPTION. verse of that book; but now, for the sake of a new church, all its contents are discovered in a work entitled the Apocalypse Eevealed, published at Amsterdam in the year 1766, and they will be attended to by those who believe the Word of the Lord in Matt. xxiv. concerning the state of the church at this day, and concerning his coming. But this belief is still weak and wavering among those, and those only, in whose hearts the faith of the present church in a trinity of divine persons from eternity, and in the passion of Christ as constituting redemption itself, is so deeply rooted, that it cannot be eradicated. Such however (as was shown in the memoeable eelation above, n. 113) are like bottles filled with iron-filings and powder of brimstone, which, when water is poured into them, first grow hot, and after wards break out into a flame, by which the bottles are burst : they also, in like manner, when they receive any living water, which is the genuine truth of the Word, either by their eyes or their ears, are vehemently heated and set on fire, and reject it as something that would burst their heads. 117. The subjugation of the hells, the orderly arrangement of the heavens, and the consequent establishment of a church, may be illustrated by various similitudes. The character of the hells may be compared to an army of robbers or rebels who invade a kingdom or city, set fire to the houses, lay waste the possessions of the inhabitants, and divide the spoil, with great joy and triumph; but redemption may be compared with a righteous king, who marches against them with his army, and puts part of them to the sword, confines another part in prison, takes away their spoil, and having restored it to his subjects, afterwards establishes his kingdom in peace and order, and secures it against the like outrages for the future. The hells may also be compared with a number of wild beasts sallying forth in a body from the forests, and committing depredations on flocks and herds, and even on men, so that none dare stir out beyond the walls of the city to till the ground ; in consequence of which .the fields are left uncultivated, and the inhabitante of the city are in fear of perishing by famine ; but redemption may be compared with the slaughter and dispersion of those wild beasts, and with the defence of the plains and fields against all further depredations. The hells may be compared also with locusts that consume every green thing growing on the earth : and redemption, with the means to prevent their further pro gress ; in like manner, to a multitude of grubs, which at the beginning of summer devour the leaves of trees, and thus pre vent the growth of any fruit, so that the boughs are left bare and barren as in the depth of winter ; but redemption, to the destruction of such vermin, by which the trees of the garden are restored to their natural state of bloom and fruitfulness. All ^heso are exact pictures of the state in which the church must 152 ON REDEMPTION. 117 119 have remained, unless the Lord, by redemption, had separated tiie good from the evil, and cast the latter into hell, and elevated the former into heaven ; for what consequences ai-e not to be dreaded, where there is neither justice nor judgment in a king dom, to separate the evil from the good, and to secure the latter from injuries, so that every one may dwell safely in his own house, and, as the Scripture expresses it, may sit in safety under his own vine and his own fig-tree ? 118. II. That without such redemption neither could men HAVE BEEN SAVED, NOR COULD THE ANGELS HAVE REMAINED IN A STATE OF INTEGRITY. It may be proper first to state the true nature and meaning of redemption. To redeem signifies to deliver from damnation, to rescue from eternal death, to snatch out of hell, and to pluck out of the hands of the devil those that were led captive and bound. This was effected by the Lord when he reduced the hells to subjection, and formed a new heaven. Men could not otherwise have been saved, because the spiritual world aud the natural have such a connection with each other, that they are incapable of separation, particularly with respect to men's in teriors, which are called their souls and minds, and which, if good, are connected with the souls and minds of angels, but if evil, with the souls and minds of infernal spirits. Such is the nature of this union, that if angels and spirits were to be removed from a man he would instantly fall down dead like a stock or a stone ; and they, on the other hand, could not subsist, if they were de prived of their support and resting-place in mankind. Hence may be seen a reason why redemption took place in the spiritual world ; and why heaven and hell were first to be regulated be fore the church on earth could be established. The truth of this appears evident from the book of Eevelation, where it is said, that after the formation of the new heaven, the New Jeru salem, which is a new church, came down from that heaven (xxi. 1, 2). 119. The angels could not have stood in their state of integ rity, had npt redemption been effected by the Lord, because the whole angelic heaven, together with the church on earth, is before the Lord as a single man, whose internal is constituted by the angelic heaven, and whose external is constituted by the church ; or, to be more particular, the.highest heaven constitutes the head ; the second and lowest heaven constitute the breast and middle region of the body ; the church on earth constitutes the loins and, feet ; and the Lord himself is the soul and life of that whole man : therefore, unless the Lord had effected redemp tion, this man must have been destroyed ; the feet and loins must have perished by the defection of the church on earth ; the region of the stomach and intestines, by the defection of the lowest heaven ; the region of the breast, by the defection of the 153 119, 120 ON EEDEMPTION. second heaven ; and then the head, being left without a corre sponding body, must of necessity have fallen into a state of in sensibility. But we will endeaVor to illustrate this by com parisons. It is as when a mortification begins in the feet of the natural body, and by degrees advances upwards, and infecte first the loins, and afterwards the viscera of the abdomen, and at length seizes upon the parts near the heart; in which case, it is well known that the infection instantly proves fatal. Or it may be compared with disorders of the viscera below the diaphragm ; for no sooner do they receive any material injury, than the heart begins to palpitate, and the lungs to pant heavily, and presently all motion ceases in both. It may be illustrated also by thia circumstance relating to the internal and external man, that all goes well with the internal, so long as the external is obedient in the discharge of ite duties ; but in case the external man is not obedient, but refractory, and especially if it assaults the in ternal, then this latter is gradually weakened and overthrown, and at length is betrayed by the pleasures of the external into a base assent to, and compliance with, its suggestions. It may likewise be illustrated by comparison with a man standing on the top of a mountain, who sees a flood of waters inundating the country below, and observes the waves rising by degrees towards the summit where he stands, which haviitg reached, he himself must perish in the inundation, unless he can provide for his safety in a boat till the waters are subsided : or as if a person from the top of a mountain sees a thick fog rising higher and higher from beneath, and hiding from his view the plains, the villages, and cities, till at length it reaches himself, and then he can neither see any thing, nor know where he himself is situated. Exactly similar to this is the case of the angels when the church on earth perishes ; then also the inferior heavens pass away, be cause the heavens consist of men from earth, and where there is no longer any real goodness of heart and truth of the Word re maining among men, the heavens are overwhelmed by the evils thence arising, and are choked up by them as by Stygian waters ; nevertheless the inhabitants are preserved elsewhere by the Lord, and reserved till the day of the last judgment, and are then raised up into a new heaven. These are those who are signified in the Eevelation in this passage : " I saw ur^der the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held; and they cried wi*h a loud voice, saying. How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on th<^ earth ? And white robes were given unto every one of them ; -^nd it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little time, until their fellow-servants also, and their brethren that should be iiilled as they were, should be fulfilled" (vi. 9 — 11). 120. Had it not been, therefore, for the redemv^tic: vMcb 154 ON REDEMPTION. 120, 121 the Lord effected, iniquity and evil would have overspiead tha whole body, of Christians, both in the natural and the spiritual world ; and of the many reasons for this, one is, because every man after death enters into the world of spirits, and takes along with him altogether the same nature that he had in the natural world ; and no person, at his first coming, can be prevented from conversing with his deceased parents, brethren, relations, and friends. Every husband is immediately eager in quest of his wife, and every wife of her husband ; and by one or other they are introduced into a variety of acquaintance among such as out wardly appear like lambs, but inwardly are like wolves ; and thus even those of a religious character are corrupted, and turned from the right way. In consequence of this, and of many wicked artifices there practised, whicli are unknown in the natural world, the world of spirits is so full of subtle wickedness, that it may be compared to a pool of water replete with the spawn of frogs. That evil communications have such an effect even in the spiritual world, may appear from this circumstance, that whoever associates much with robbers pr pirates, by degrees acquires a disposition to the same evils ; whoever lives among adulterers and harlots, in course of time makes light of adultery ; and whoever connects himself with rebellious persons, presently makes no scruple to do all kinds of violence. For all evils are infectious, and may be compared to the plague, whose contagion is communicated even by the breath and perspiration of the in fected person ; or they may be compared to a cancer and gan grene, which spread slowly, and corrupt first the parts which lie near, and by degrees those which are more remote, till at last they infect and destroy the whole system. The delights of evil, which are hereditary in every man, are. what make him so sus ceptible of the contagion of wickv-idnesn. Hence, then, it may a,ppear plain, that unless redeiiipiion had been wrought by the Lord, no'man could have been sieved, nor could the angels have remained in their state of integrity. The only refuge for any one against destruction is in the Lord ; for he says, " Abide in me, and I in you : as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, ex cept 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 any one 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. 121. III. That the loed thus redeemed not only men, but ALSO ANGELS. This follows from what has been said in the foregoing article, that unless redemption had been wrought by the Lord, the angels could not have remained in a state of integrity. To tlio 166 121 ON eedemption. reasons abovc assigned, the following may be added : — 1 . At the time of the Lord's first coming the hells had grown to such a height, that they filled the whole world of spirits, which is in the middle between heaven and hell, and had thereby not only disturbed the last, or lowest heaven, but had also made attempte upon the middle heaven, which they infested a thousand differ ent ways, and which would have been destroyed unless the Lord had protected it. Such insurrection of the hells is signi fied by the tower that was built in the land of Shinar, whose head was to reach unto heaven ; which attempt was prevented by the confusion of languages, when the builders were dispersed, and the city was called Babel (Gen. xi. 1 — 9). What is there signified by the tower and the confusion of languages, is ex plained in the work entitled Aecana C(elestia, published at London. The hells had grown to such a height, because at the time when the Lord came into the world, the whole earth was altogether alienated from God by idolatries and magic ; and the church, which had formerly been established among the children of Israel, and lastl}'^ among the Jews, was entirely destroyed in consequence of the falsification and adulteration of the Word. In the mean time both Jews and Gentiles after death flocked into the world of spirits, where in process of time they so in creased and multiplied, that there was no possibility of driving them out thence but by the coming down of God himself, and by the strength of his divine arm. The means by which this work was effected is described in a small treatise on the Last Judgment, published at London in the year 1758. This was accomplished by the Lord during his abode in the world. A similar judgment also is accomplished by the Lord at this day, because, as was observed above, this is the time of his second coming, according to his predictions in every part of the Eeve lation, and in Matt. xxiv. 3 — 30 ; in Mark xiii. 26 ; in Luke xxi. 27 ; in the Acts of the Apostles, i. 11 ; and in many other places. There is this difference, indeed, that at his flrst coming the hells had grown to their great height, in consequence of being crowded with idolaters, magicians, and falsiflers of the Word ; but at this his second coming they are crowded with Christians, so called, both such as are immersed in naturalism, and such as have falsified the Word by confirmations of their invented scheme of faith concerning the existence of three divine persons from eternity, and concerning the Lord's passion as constituting the sum and substance of redemption ; for these are those who are signified by the dragon and his two beasts in the Eevela tion (xii. and xiii). 2. Ihe second reason why the Lord .ilso redeemed angels is, because not only every individual man, but likewise every individual angel, is withheld from evil and pre served in good by the Lord ; fbr no one, whether he be an angel or a man, is in good of himself, but all good is from the Lord ; 156 ON eedemption. 121, 122 when therefore tho footstool of the angels, which is in the world of spirits, was removed from under them, they were in a similar situation with a person sitting on a throne when its pedestals 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, iv. 18 ; and from this consideration, that there is not a single angel who was not once a man. This then is the confirmation of 'that part of the Faith of the New .Heaven and the New Chuech, in rrs univeesal and paeticu- LAE FORM, prefixed to this work, where it is said, " That the Lord came into the world to remove hell from man, and that ho removed it by combats against it and victories over it, by which he subdued it, and reduced it under obedience to his authority ;" and further, " That Jehovah God descended and assumed the Humanity, for the purpose of reducing to order all things in heaven and in the church : since at that time the jiower of the devil, that is, of hell, prevailed over the power of heaven, and on earth the power of evil over the power of good ; in consequence of which a total damnation was at hand, and threatened every creature. This impending damnation Jehovah God removed by his Humanity, and thus redeemed both angels and men ; from whence it is evident, that unless the Lord had come into the world, no flesh could have been saved. The case is similar at this day ; consequently, unless the Lord come again into the world, no flesh can be saved." (See above, n. 2, 3.) 122. The deliverance wrought by the Lord, by which both the spiritual world and the church on eartli were rescued from universal damnation, may be iriustrated by comparison with a king, who, by victories ebtaiufid over his enemies, sets at liberty, and brings back to his palace the princes, his sons, who had been taken prisoners, bound in chains, and shut up in a dun geon. It may be illustrated ak-ci by comparison with a shep herd, who, like Samson and Dav\d,'rescues his sheep from the jaws of a lion or a bear, drives back those wild beasts into the forests from which they came, pursues them to their retreats, aud at last forces them to take refuge in bogs or deserte, and afterwards returns to his sheep, feeds them in safety, and gives them drink out of fountains of pure water. It may be illus trated also by a comparison with a person who sees a serpent lying coiled up in the way, and just ready to bite a traveller by the heel, which he immediately seizes by the head, and in spite of its twisting and twining about his hand, carries it to his house, where he cuts off its head, and caste its body into the fire. It ia capable of receiving further illustration from the case of a bridegroom or husband, who seeing an adulterer attempt to do violence to hia bride or wife, immediately attacka him, and either wounda his hand with his sword, or disables him with 157 122, 123 ON eedemption. blows on- his legs and loins, or else orders his servants to cast him into the streets, and beat him with clubs to his own house, thus rescuing his beloved, and conducting her in safety to his own chamber. Moreover, by a bride and wife, in the Word, ia signified the church of the Lord, and by adulterers are signified the violators of the church ; as all those are who adulterate the Word of the Lord. It was because the Jews did so, that the Lord called them an adulterous generation. 123. IV. That eedemption was a woek purely DrvnrE. Whoever considers the true nature of hell, and how it had arisen and overflowed the whole world of spirits at the time ot the Lord's coming, and with what power the Lord cast it down and dispersed it, and afterwards reduced it to order together with heaven, cannot but stand in amazement, and exclaim, that all was a work purely divine. For first, with respect to the nature of hell ; it consists of myriads of myriads of spirits, being composed of all those who, from the creation of the world, have alienated themselves from God, by evils of life, and falses of faith. Secondly, with respect to the manner in which hell had a/risen, and overflowed the whole world of spirits, at the time of the Lord's coming ; this was in some measure explained in the foregoing article. What was its state at the time of the Lord's first coming, was never made known to any person, because it is not revealed in the literal sense of the Word ; but what it was at the time of his second coming, I was permitted to be an eye witness ; and hence some idea may be collected of its former state, according to the description given in a small treatise on the Last Judgment, published at London in the year 1758 ; in which treatise there is also described with what power the Lord cast down the h,ells, and dispersed them. It is therefore needless in this place to transcribe "the account of all that I was an eye witness of, since every reader may plainly see from what is said in that treatise, that such casting down and dispersion of thc' hells w^as the work of an omnipotent God. Fourthly, v)ith re gard to the manner in which the Lord afterwards reduced to order all things both in heaven and in hell : this I have not as yet described, since the reduction of the heavens and the hells to order is not yet accomplished, but has continued in ite pro cess since the day of the Last Judgment until now, and still continues ; nevertheless, if it be desired, it shall be made public after the completion of this work. With respect to myself, I have seen, and do see daily, the divine omnipotence of the Lord manifested in this as in a true mirror. The latter process is indeed peculiarly that of redempticn, whereas the former belongs more properly to the Last Judgment; and such pereons aa have a distinct idea of each, may discern several things that lie concealed under figures in the prophetical parts of the Word', and yet stand plainly revealed, if by an explication of corre- "l58 ON REDEMFHON. 123, 124 spond ences they are exposed to the light of the understanding. Forasmuch as each Work, both the former and the latter, is divine, therefore they can only be illustrated by comparisons, and that in a very imperfect manner. They may be illustrated by comparison with a battle against the armies of all the nations throughout the whole world, accoutred with apeara, shields, swords, guns, and cannon, headed by skilful and cunning gen erals and commanders : they are called skilful and cunning, be cause numbers in hell are acquainted with arts unknown in our world, in which they exercise themselves, that they may attack, ensnare, beset, and assault, to the greatest advantage, the in habitants of heaven. The Lord's combat with hell may also be compared, but yet imperfectly, with a combat against all the wild beasts throughout the whole world, and with their slaughtei and complete subjugation, so that not one of them dare to stir out of his den, and attack any man who is in the Lord ; hence, if any such man looks at them with a menacing aspect, they suddenly shrink back, as if they felt a vulture in their bosoms, endeavoring to eat his way into their hearts. Infernal spirits are also described in the Word by wild beasts, and are signified particularly by those among which the Lord is said to have been forty days (Mark i. 13). It may be compared also with an op position to the whole body of the ocean, when the dykes which confine it are broken down, and it deluges whole countries and cities with its waters. The reducing of hell to subjection by the Lord is also signified by his calming the raging sea, when he said, " Peace, be still" (Mark iv. 38, 39 ; Matt. viii. 26 ; Luke viii. 23, 24) ; for by the sea there, as in many other places, is signi fied hell. The Lord, by the same divine power, fights at this day against hell in every particular person who is advancing in regeneration ; for hell rises up against every such person with all its diabolical fury ; and unless the Lord opposed and sub dued it, the man must of necessity fall an easy prey to ite tyranny. For hell is like a single gigantic monster or a savage lion, with which it iS also compared in the Word ; and conse quently, unless the Lord kept that lion or monster bound hand and foot, it must of necessity happen, that a man, though res cued from one evil, would of himself fall into another, and so on into others, without end. 124. "V. That this eeal eedemption could not possibly HAVE been effected BUT BY GOD INCAENATE. It was shown in the foregoing article, that redemption was a work purely divine, consequently that it cOuld only be effected by an omnipotent God. The reason why it was necessary for God to become incarnate, that is, to be made a man, in order to effect redemption, is, because Jehovah God, such aa he is in his infinite essence, cannot approach unto hell, much less enter into it, being in that essence in purest and first principles ; there- 169 124 ON EEDEMPTION. fore Jehovah God being such in himself, if he had only breathed on the inhabitants of hell, would have deprived them instantly of life ; for he said to Moses, who was desirous of seeing him, " Thou canst not see my face ; for there shall no man see me and live" (Exod. xxxiii. 20); and if Moses could not see him, much less could the infernal spirits, who, being in the lowest degree natural, are in last and grossest principles, and thus in such as are most remote from God ; consequently, unless Jehovah God had assumed the Humanity, and thus clothed himself with a body, which is in last or ultimate principles, it would have been vain to have attempted any thing like redemp tion. For who can attack an enemy, unless he approach towards him, and be furnished with arms for the battle ? Or who can disperse and destroy dragons, hydras, and basilisks in the wilder ness, unless he cover his body with a coat of mail, and his head with a helmet, and be armed with a spear in his hand ? Or who can catch whales in the sea without a ship, and the necessary tackle for the purpose ? By these, and such like comparisons, the combat which the omnipotent God waged with the hells may in some sort be illustrated, though by no means perfectly repre sented. In this combat he could not possibly have engaged, un less he had first put on the Humanity. But it is to be observed, that the combat which the Lord waged with the hells was not an oral combat, as between reasoners and disputers, for here such kind of warfare would have had no effect ; but it was a spiritual combat, or the combat of divine truth from divine good, which was the Lord's very principle of life, the influx of which, when made through the medium of sight or aspect, is irresistible to all in the hells ; for such power is contained in it, that the infernal genii, at the mere perception of it, flee away, cast themselves into the deep, and creep into clefts and caverns to conceal themselves, according to the description given of them by Isaiah in these words : " They shall go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the cleft* of the earth, for fear of Jehovah, when he ariseth to affright the earth" (ii. 19) ; and in the Eeve lation : " They hid themselves in the dens 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 anger of the Lamb" (vi. 15, 16, 17). How great the power is which the Lord exercised when he accomplished the last judgment in the year 1757, and which he possesses by virtue of divine good, may appear from the circumstances described in the small treatise concerning that judgment ; as that he plucked up from their foundations the hills and mountains which the in fernal spirits had taken possession of in the world of spirits, and cast them to a vast distance, caused some to sink down into the earth, deluged their cities, villages, and fields with a flood of water, and rooted up the ground on which they stood, and cast 160 " ON REDEMPTION. 124— 126 it with its inhabitants into whirlpools, bogs, and fens, with many other particulars; all which operations were effected by the Lord alone, through the power of divine truth derived from divine good. 126. That Jehovah God could not have been thus active and operative, except by his Humanity, may be illustrated by vari ous comparisons ; as, for example, it is impossible for persons that are invisible to each other to unite in salutation or conver sation : angels or spirits cannot join hands, or engage in dis course with a man, even though they should stand just beside his person and before his face ; and the soul of any one cannot converse and negotiate business with another, except by means of his body. The sun cannot enter with its light and heat into any man, "beast, or vegetable, unless it flrst enter into the air, and act by that aa a conveying medium ; in like manner also that heat and light cannot enter into flsh but by the medium of water ; for it is necessary it should act by means of the element in which the subject ofits operation dwells. No one can scrape off the scales of a flsh with a knife, or pluck thc' feathers from a bird without fingers, or go down to the bottom of a lake without a diving-bell, in short, one thing must be accommodated to another before there can be any communication between them, or any operation of either contrariety or concord. 126. V I. That the passion of the cross was not redemp tion, BUT THE LAST TEMPTATION WHICH THE LORD ENDURED AS THE GRAND PROPHET ; AND IT WAS THE MEANS OF THE GLORIFICATION OP HIS HUMANITY, THAT IS, OF THE UNION WITH THE DrVINITY OF mS FATHER. The two purposes for which the Lord came into the world, arid by which he saved men and angels, are these, redemption and the glorification of his Humanity. These two are distinct from each other, but yet they make one with respect to salva tion. It has been shown in the foregoing articles, that redemp tion was a combat with the hells and their subjugation, and afterwards the orderly establishment of the heavens. But GLORIFICATION was the uniting of the Lord's Humanity with the Divinity of his Father, which was effected by successive steps, and was fully completed by the passion of the cross ; so every man, on his part, ought to approach towards God, and as he so appi'oaches, God enters, on his part, in the same propor tion. It io in this case as with a temple, which must first be built by men's hands, and afterwards consecrated, and lastly sanctified by prayer, that God would make it the abode of his nresence, and unite himself with his church assembled there. The reason why that union was fully effected by the passion of the cross, is, because this was the last temptation which the Lord underwent during his abode in the world ; and conjunc tion is effected by temptations ; for in them, the man, to all 161 M 126 12£ ON REDEMPTION. appearance, is left to l.:mself alone ; yet it is but in appearance ; fbr God is then most present with him, in the inmost principles of his mind, and supports him. When therefore a person con- 2ners in temptation, he is then most intimately conjoined with rod ; and this was the case with the Lord in the union with his Father. That the Lord during his sufferings on the cross, was left to himself, is evident fi-om his exclamation at that time, " My God, 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 is evident then from this, that the Lord suffered not as to his Divinity, but as to his Humanity, and that, at the time of suffering, the most intimate and thereby the most complete union was effected. This may be illustrated by the consideration, that while a man suffers with respect to his body, his soul does not suffer, but only mourns ; which mourn ing God removes after victory obtained, and as it were wipes the tears from his eyes. 127. These two points, Redemption and the passion of the cross, ought to be considered as distinct ; otherwise the human mind, like a ship, strikes upon quicksands or rocks, and is lost, together with the pilot, the captain, and the sailors ; that is, it falls into error respecting all those truths that relate to salvation by the Lord. For unless he has right ideas of these two pointe, as distinct from each other, a man is as in a dream, in which he sees imaginary objecte, and forms conclusions on things which he fancies to be real, but which at last prove visionary ; or he is like a person walking by night, who lays hold on the leaves of a tree, supposing them to be the hair of a man's head, and, coming near, entangles his own hair in the branches. But although redemption and the passion of the cross are two dis tinct things, yet they are united and make one in the matter of salvation ; since the Lord, by union with his Father, which was completed by the passion of the cross, became a Eedeemer to all eternity. 128. Concerning the glorification, which signifies the uniting of the Divine Human of the Lord with the Divinity of the Father, which was fully completed by the passion of the cross, the Lord thus speaks in the Gospel : " When Judas was gone out, Jesus said. Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and will straightway glorify him" (John xiii. 31, 32). Here glorification is spoken" both of God the Father and of the Son ; for it is said, 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). 162 ON REDEMPTION. 128 — 136 This is to intimate that the union was reciprocal, and, as it ia also said, that the Father was in him, and he in the Father. " Now is my soul troubled : and he said. Father, glorify thy name ; and there came a voice from heaven, saying, I both have glorified it, and will glorify it again" (John xii. 27, 28). This was said because the union was effected successively, or by de grees. " Ought not Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into hia glory?" (Luke xxiv. 26). Glory, in the Word, when spoken of the Lord, signifies divine truth united with divine good. Hence it appears evident, that the Humanity of the Lord is Divine. 129. The Lord was willing to be tempted, even to his suffer ing on the cross, because he was the Grand Prophet ; and pro phets formerly signified the doctrine of the ehurch derived from the Word, and hence they represented the church, according to ite nature and quality, by various emblems, and also by unjust, grievous, and even wicked acts, which were enjoined them by God for that purpose. But the Lord, since he was the Word itself, by his suffering on the cross as the Prophet, represented the Jewish church, as to the manner in which it had profaned the Word. To this may be added another reason, that he might thus be acknowledged in the heavens as the Saviour of both worlds ; for all the particulars of his suffering or passion were significative of such things as relate to the profanation of the Word, and the angels understand them in a spiritual sense, while men on earth understand them in a natural sense. That the Lord was the Prophet is evident from these passages : " 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 is not fitting that a Prophet perish out of Jeru salem" (Luke xiii. 33). " And there came a fear on all, and they glorified God, saying that a great Prophet is raised up ¦amongst us" (Luke vii. 16). " They said of Jesus, This is the Prophet of Nazareth" (Matt. xxi. 11 ; John vii. 40). "That a Prophet should be raised up out of their brethren, whom they should obey" (Deut. xviii. 15 — 19). i 130. The prophets represented the state of the church to which they belonged, with respect to doctrine derived from the Word, and with respect to life according to such doctrine, as is evident from the following passages : Isaiah the prophet was en joined to loose the sackcloth from off his loins, and the shoe from off his foot, and to go naked and barefoot three years for a •sign and a wonder (Isaiah xx. 2, 3). The prophet Ezekiel was enjoined, for the purpose of representing the state ofthe church, to prepare him stuff for removing, and to remove to another place in the eyes of the cnildren of Israel, and to bring forth his stuff by day, and to go forth at even, through a hole dug in the wall, and to cover his face that he might not see the earth, and 163 130 ON redemption. that thus he should be a sign to the house of Israel : and should say,,," Behold, 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 ofthe church, to take unto him a harlot to wife ; so he took her, and she bare him three children, one of whom he called Jezreel, and another Not-to-be-pitied, and the third Not-a-people. And again he was commanded to go and love a woman beloved of her companion, and an adulteress, whom he bought for himself (Hos. i. 2 — 9 ; and iii. 1, 2). A certain prophet was enjoined to cast ashes on his eyes, and to suffer himself to be smitten and beaten (1 Kings xx. 35 — 38). Further, as a representative of the state of the church, the prophet Ezekiel was ordered to take a tile, to engrave upon it Jerusalem, to lay siege to it, to cast a trench and mound against it, to put an iron pan between him and the city, and to lie upon his left side and upon his right side. Also, to take wheat and barley, beans, and lentiles, millet and vetches, and to make bread thereof, also to make a cake of barley with man's dung ; and because he prayed that it might not be so, he was permitted to make it with cow's dung. The injunction was thus expressed : " Lie thou upon thy left side, and put the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it ; the number of th]e days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt hear their iniquity ; for I will give the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days, to bear the iniquity of the house of Israel ; and when thou hast accomplished them, thou shalt lie again on thy right side, to hear the iniquity of the house of Judah" (Ezek. iv. 1 — 16). The prophet herein bore the iniquities of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, and did not take them away ; thus he represented them, and ' pointed them out, but did not ex piate them, as is plain from what follows in the same chap ter : " And Jehovah said. Even thus shall the children ol Israel eat their unclean bread. Behold I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, that they may want bread and water, and be desolated, a man and his brother, and consume away for their iniquity" (ver. 13, 16, 17). The same therefore is understood of the Lord, where it is said, "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows ; Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquities of us all : by his knowledge shall he justify many, for he shall hea/r their iniquities" (Baiah liii. 4 — 11) : throughout the whole of which chapter the sufferings or passion of the Lord are treated of The Lord, as the Prophet, repre sented the state of the Jewish church with respect to the Word, as is evident fi-om the particulars of his sufferings ; as that he was betrayed by Judas, and was taken and condemned by the chief priests and elders ; that he was buffeted, and struck on the head with a veed, and was crowned with thorns; that thev 164 •' ON REDEMPTION. 130 133 divided his garments, and cast lots upon his vesture ; that they crucified him ; that they gave him vinegar to drink, and pierced bis side ; that he was buried, and rose again the third day. His being betrayed by Judas signified that he was betrayed by the Jewish nation, who were in possession of the Word, and were represented by Judas : his being taken and condemned by the chief priests and elders, signified that he was dealt with in like manner by the whole Jewish church ; his being buffeted and spit upon, scourged, and struck on the head with a reed, signi fied that the like had been done to the Word with regard to its divine truths ; his being crowned with thorns signified that the Jewish nation had falsified and adulterated divine truths ; the di vision of his garmente, and the casting lots upon his vesture, sig nified that they had dissipated all the truths of the Word, but had not injured its spiritual sense, which the Lord's vesture or tunic represented ; his crucifixion signified the destruction and profanation of the. whole Word; the offering him vinegar to drink signified that the truths of the Word were altogether falsified, wherefore he did not drink it ; the piercing his side signified that they had totally extinguished all the truth and all the good ofthe "Word ; his burial signified the rejection of what remained from the mother ; his rising again on the third day signified his glorification, or the union of his humanity with the divinity of the Father. Hence then it appears, that to bear ini quities does not mean to remove them, but to represent the profanation of the truths of the Word. 131. This may also be illustrated by comparisons, which are employed for the sake of the simple and unlearned, who see better by such illustrations than by analytical conclusions de duced from the Word and from reason. Every citizen or subject is united with his king by virtue of obedience to his commands and injunctions, particularly if he undergoes any hardships for the sake of his sovereign, and still more if he sacrifices his life in his service, either in single combat or in a general battle. In like manner, a friend ia united with a friend, a son with a father, a servant with a master, in consequence of doing such things as are agi-eeable to their will, and especially by standing up in their defence against enemies, and still more by fighting for their honor. "Who that wishes to be united with the virgin whom he desires for a bride, is not ready to fight with those that defame her, and to contend with his rival even to blows and wounds ? for that the union is promoted by such meana is according to the law inscribed on nature. Therefore the Lord says, " I am the good shepherd ; the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep ; therefore my Father loveth me" (John X. 11, 17). 132. VH. That it is a fundamental error of the church TO BELIEVE THE PASSION OF THE CEOSS TO BE EEDEMPTION ITSELF ; 165 132 ON EEDEMPTION. HAS PEEVEETED THE WHOLE CHUECH, SO THAT NOTHING SPIEIIUAL IS LEFT EEMAUSTING IN IT, What doctrine more abounds in the books of the orthodox at this day, or what is more zealously taught and insisted on in the schools of divinity, or more constantly preached and cried up in the pulpit, than this, that God the Father, being full of wrath against mankind, not only separated them from himself but also sentenced them to universal damnation, and thus ex communicated them from his favor ; but, because he was gra cious and merciful, that he persuaded or excited his Son to descend, and take upon himself the determined curse, and so to expiate the wrath of his Father ; and that thus, and no other wise, could the Father be prevailed upon to look again with an eye of mercy on mankind ? Likewise, that this was effected by the Son, who, in taking upon himself the curse pronounced against men, suffered himself to be scourged by the Jews, to be spit upon, and lastly to be crucified as the accursed of God (Deut. xxi. 23) ; and that by this means the Father was ap peased, and, out of love towards his Son, cancelled the sentence of damnation, yet only in favor of those for whom the Son should intercede, who was thus to be a perpetual Mediator in the pres ence of the Father? These and similar doctrines are at this day sounded forth from the pulpit, and re-echoed from the walls of the temple, as an echo from a M^ood, and the ears of all pres ent are filled with it. But who that has his reason enlightened, and is restored to health by the Word, cannot see that God ia mercy and clemency itself, because he is love itself, and good ness itself, and that these constitute his essence ; and conse quently that it is a contradiction to say, that mercy itself, or goodness itself, can behold a man with an angry eye, and sentence him to damnation, and still abide in his own divine essence \ Such dispositions are never ascribed to a good man or an angel of heaven, but only to a wicked man and a spirit of hell ; it ia therefore blasphemy to ascribe them to God. But if we inquire into the cause of this false judgment, we shall find it to be this, that men have mistaken the passion of the cross for redemption itself : hence have fiowed those opinions, as falses flow in a con tinued series from one false principle; or as from a cask of vinegar nothing but vinegar can come forth ; or as from an in sane mind, we can expect nothing but insanity. For one point being taked for granted, the conclusions that are made from it must be of the same family, because they are included in it, and are severally and successively produced from it ; and from this one point concerning the passion of the cross, as constituting ihe sum of redemption, many more scandalous opinions, impious and disgraceful as referring to God, may still arise and go forth into the world, until that prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, where it 166 ON EEDEMPTION. 132 , 133 M said, "'The priest and the prophet have erred, through strong dvmk ; they stumble in judgment : all tables are full of vomit and filthiness" (xxviii. 7, 8). 133. From this idea concerning God and redemption, the whole system of theology has lost its spirituality, and is become in the lowest degree natural. This was the necessary conse quence of ascribing to God merely natural properties and attri butes ; and yet on the idea entertained of God and of redemp tion, which makes one with salvation, every thing that has rela tion to the church depends. For that idea is like the head, from which all parts of the body are derived ; when therefore that idea is spiritual, every thing that belongs to the church becomes spiritual also ; but when that idea is natural, then every thing belonging to the church becomes natural : therefore, as the idea of God and of redemption is become merely natural, that is, sensual and corporeal, of consequence all those things are merely natural which the heads and members of the church have main tained, and do maintain, in their systems and forms of doctrine. That idea must of necessity give birth to nothing but falses, be cause the natural man is in continual opposition to the spiritual man, and thus regards spiritual things as airy and visionary fantasies ; it may therefore be truly said, that in consequence of that sensual idea concerning redemption, and thence concerning God, the ways towards heaven, which are those that lead to tha Lord God the Saviour, "are beset with thieves and robbers (John X. 1, 8, 9) ; and that the doors of the temple are thrown down, so that dragons and owls, and the tzjim and jiim, have entered and made a concert of dreadful discord. That this idea con cerning redemption, and concerning God, pervades the faith which prevails at this day throughout all Christendom, is an ac knowledged truth ; for that faith requires men to pray to God the Father that he would remit their sins for the sake of the cross and blood of his Son, and to God the Son, that he would pray and intercede for them, and to God the Holy Ghost, that he would justify and sanctify them ; and what is all this but to supplicate three distinct gods one after another ? And, in such a case, how can the notion which the mind forms of the divine government differ from that of an aristocratical or hierarchical government ? or from that of the triumvirate which once existed at Eome,, if only instead of triumvirate, it be called a triumper- sonate ? And in such a government, what is easier than for the devil to put in practice the old maxim. Divide and govern ; that is, to distract men's minds, and excite rebellious motions, some times against one God, and sometimes against another, as has been his practice since the time of Arius to this day ; and thus to thrust the Lord God the Saviour from his throne, " who hatb all power in heaven and in earth" (Matt, xxviii. 18) ; and tc exalt some creature of his ow,n in his place, and to enjoin mcu 167 I3.i, 134 ON REDEMPTION. to worship him, or, when the folly of this is detected, to destroy the worship of the Lord himself together with that of the ima ginary idol ? 134. I shall here adjoin the following memorable rela tions. — First. I once entered into a temple in the world of spirits, where there was a large congregation ; and before the eermon they reasoned together about redemption. The temple was a square building, with no windows in the walls, but a large opening above in the centre of the roof, through which the light from heaven entered, and illuminated it better than if there had been windows at the sides. As they were talking about redemp tion, a black cloud gathering from the north, on a sudden covered the opening, which occasioned so thick a darkness, that they could not see each other, and scarce any one could discern his own hand. While they were standing lost in amazement at this circumstance, lo! tbe black cloud was divided in the midst, and through the aperture were seen angels descending from heaven, who dispersed the cloud on each side, so that the temple became again full of light {lumen) ; and immediately the angels sent one of their party down into the temple, who, in the name of the rest, inquired of the congregation the subject of their dis pute, which had occasioned so thick a cloud to gather over them, and prevent the admission of light. They replied, that they were debating about redemption, and had concluded that it was effected by the Son of God, through the passion of the cross, by which he made atonement, and delivered mankind from damna tion and eternal death. Hereupon the deputed angel said, " How by the passion of the cross ? Why do you conceive that redemption was thus effected?" Immediately a priest ap proached, and said, " I will explain to you in order what we know and believe. It is our opinion that God the Father being angry with mankind, condemned them, and excluded them from his mercy, pronounced them all accursed and reprobate, and ac cordingly sentenced them all to hell ; but that he desired his Son would take that curse upon himself, and that the Son consented, and for that purpose descended, and assumed the humanity, and suffered himself to be crucified, and the condemnation of man kind thus to be transferred to himself; for it is written. Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree ; that thus the Son appeased the Father by his intercession' and mediation ; and then the Father, out of' love towards the Son, and moved with the misery which he had endured on the cross, determined to pass an act of pardon, but only in favor of those to whom he imputes his Son's rigiiteousness ; these he would make children of grace and blessing, who were before children of wrath and the curse, ,ind would give them justification and salvation ; but all othere must 168 ON EEDEMPTION. 134 continue children of wrath, as was before decreed. This is our faith, and this is the righteousness which God inserts in oui- faith, which faith alone justifies and saves." The angel, on hearing this was silent for a long time, standing motionless in astonishment ; and when his surprise was somewhat abated, he thus delivered himself: " Is it possible that the Christian world should be so infatuated, and should wander so far from sound reason into such crooked devices and establish the funda mental doctrine df salvation on these paradoxes ? Who cannot see that such delusions are diametrically opposite to the very divine essence itself, that is, to God's divine love and wisdom, and at the same time, to his omnipotence and omnipresence ? For no upright master could deal in such manner with his men-servants or maid-servants ; or even a wild beast with its cubs ; or a bird of prey with its young : it is therefore a most unsound doctrine. Besides, is it not contrary to his divine essence to annul the call which is made to every individual of the human race ? Is it not contrary to his divine essence to change the order established from eternity, which declares that every one should be judged according to his life ? Is it not con trary to the divine essence to withdraw his love and mercy from any man, and much more from the whole race of men ? Is it not contrary to the divine essence to be brought back again to mercy by a sight of the Son's misery, that is, to be brought back again to his own essence, since mercy is the very essence of God ? And is it not wicked to suppose that he ever departed from it ? for his essence is himself from eternity to eternity. Is it not also an impossibility to introduce into an entity, such as your faith, the righteousness .of redemption, which in itself is a property of divine omnipotence, and to impute and ascribe that righteousness to a man, and to declare him righteous, pure, and holy, without the assistance of any other means? Is it not an impossibility to remit a person's sins, and to renew, re generate, and save him, by virtue of imputation only, and thus to change unrighteousness into righteousness, and the curse into blessing ? In such a case would it not be possible to turn hell into heaven, and heaven into hell, or the dragon into Michael, and Michael into the dragon, and thus to put an end to the combat between them ? For what is there wanting to produce euch an effect, but to remove the imputation which your faith teaches from the one, and to inscribe it on the other ? But were this possible, we in heaven must live in eternal anxiety and trembling. Justice and judgment cannot allow that one person should take upon himself the wickedness of another, and so make the wicked innocent, and wash away his guilt : surely this is contrary to all righteousness, both divine and human 1 The Christian world, moreover, is ignorant of the existence of order, and especially what is meant by the order which God introducd 169 134, 135 ON EEDEMPTION. into the world at its creation, and contrary to which God cannot act, because he would then act contrary to himself; for God is order itself" The priest understood what the angel said, be cause the angels who were above infused light from heaven ; and' immediately he sighed and said, " What must be done ? All at this day preach, and pray, and beUeve, according to the faith I have mentioned : this is the form of supplication in every mouth, ' 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, ' Lord, intercede for us ;' to which we priests make this addition, ' Send the Holy Spirit upon us.' " Then the angel said, " I observe that you prieste prepare a kind of eye-salve from the Word, which you do not understand in ite inward sense, and that with it you anoint the eyes of such as are blinded by your faith, or make to yourselves a sort of plaster of it, which you spread upon the wounds that your doctrines have occasioned, but which does not heal them, because they are too deep to admit of such a cure : go therefore to the man who stands there (and he pointed to me), and he will instruct you from the Lord, that the passion of the cross was the uniting of the Lord's Humanity with the Divinity of the Father, but that it was not redemption ; for this consisted in subduing the hells, and restoring the heavens to order ; and that unless the Lord, during his abode in the world, had accomphshed these works, no one could have been saved either on earth or in heaven : he will instruct you further concerning the order that was intro duced at creation, and which must be the rule of life to such as would be saved, and that all who live according to that rule are reckoned among the redeemed, and are called the elect." As the angel ended, there appeared windows on the sides of the temple, through which there entered a luminous infiux from the four quarters of the world, and there appeared cherubs flying in the brightness of the light ; and the angel was taken up to his companions above the aperture, and we all retired full of joy. 135. The second memoeable eelation. — One morning as I awoke out of sleep, the sun of the spiritual world appeared to me in all its splendor, and underneath I saw the heavens at a distance, as the earth appears distant from her sun. Then were heard from the heavens words unutterable in natural language, from which when collected into one this utterable sentence was articulated, " That there is one God, who is a Man, and whose habitation is in that sun." This articulate sentence descended through the middle heavens down to the lowest, and from thence into the world of spirits M^here I was ; and I perceived that the idea of one God, which the angels entertained, was changed ac cording to the degrees of descent into the idea of three Gods ; and when I observed this, I entered into conversation with those who conceived there were three Gods, and said, " Oh what as 170 ON EEDEMPTION. 135 enormity is thia ! Whence did you receive it ?" They replied, " We conceive there are three in consequence of the idea we entertain concerning the triune God, but this idea nevertheless does not influence our speech ; for.when we speak, we always say roundly that God is one : if our minds and our lips be at vari ance, wha,t does it signify, so long as the idea is confined in our minds, and does not descend and divide the unity of God in our mouths ? But still it does descend at times, because it has taken inward possession of us. and if we were then to speak out we should say there are three Gods. We are however on our guard against this, lest we should be exposed to the ridicule of those that hear us." At that instant they began to speak under the immediate influence of their real thoughts, saying, " Are there not three Gods, since there are three divine persons, each of which is God I "We cannot think otherwise, since the great oracle of our church, out of the shrine of his holy doctrines, ascribes creation to one, redemption to another, and sanctifica tion to a third ; and especially since he assigns to each his pecu liar properties, which he declares to be incommunicable ; and these are not only creation, redemption, and sanctification, but also imputation, mediation, and operation. Is there not then one who has created us, and who has also the office of imputa tion ? another who has redeemed us, and who has also the office of mediation ? and a third who operates this mediated imputa tion, and who has also the office of sanctification ? Who does not know that the Son of God was sent into the world by God the Father to redeem mankind, and thereby to become an atoner, mediator, propitiator, and intercessor ? And since he is one with the Son of God from eternity, are not these two per sons, the Father and the Son, distinct from each other ? Since these two are in heaven, one sitting at the right hand of the other, must there not necessarily be a third person to execute on earth what is decreed in heaven ?" On hearing these words I held my peace ; yet I thought within myself, " What infatua tion is this ! they are in utter ignorance of what is meant in the Word by mediation." At that instant, by the command of the Lord, three angels descended from heaven, and joined company -with me, to the end that from an interior perception I might converse with those who entertained an idea of three Gods, par ticularly on the subject of mediation, intercession, propitiation, and atonement, which offices are by them ascribed to the second person, or the Son, but not till after he was made Man ; and he was mad 3 Man several ages after the creation, when those four means of salvation had previously no existence, and thus God the Father was not rendered propitious, mankind was not atoned, and no one was sent from heaven to be an intercessor and mediator. Then under the influence of the offered inspiration, I entered 171 135 ON EEDEMPTION. into conversation with them, saying, " Come near, as many aa are able, and hear what is meant in the Word by mediation, in tercession, atonement, and propitiation. They are four terms expressive of the grace of the one only God in his Humanity. God the Father can never be approached, nor can he come to any man, because he is infinite, and dwells in his Esse, which is Jehovah, from which Esse, if he should come to a man, he would consume him or decompose him, as fire does wood when it re duces it to ashes. This is evident from what he said to Moses, who desired to see him ; ' No man shall see me, and live' (Exod. xxxiii. 20); and the Lord says, ' No one 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, or seen his shape (John v. 37). It is written indeed that Moses saw Jehovah face to face, and conversed with him as one man does with another ; but this was done by the medium of an angel, as was the case also with Abraham and Gideon. Now since God the Father in himself is such, there fore he was pleased to assume the Humanity, and in this Hu manity to admit mankind to himself, and so to hear them, and converse with them ; and this Humanity it is which is called the Son of God, and which mediates, intercedes, propitiates, and atones. I will explain, therefore, what these four terms, predi cated ofthe Humanity of God the Father, signify. Mediation signifies that the Humanity is the medium by which a man may come to God the Father, and God the Father to him, and thus be his teacher and guide unto salvation ; therefore the Son of God, by whom is meant the Humanity of God the Father, is called Saviour, and on earth Jesus, that ia. Salvation. Intee- cession signifies perpetual mediation ; for love itself, the prop erties of which are mercy, clemency, and grace, perpetually intercedes, that is, mediates for those who do his command ments, and who are thus the objects of his love. Atonement signifies the removal of sins, into which a man would rush head long, were he to approach Jehovah unclothed with the Humanity. Peopitiation signifies the operation of clemency and grace, to prevent a man firom falling into damnation by sin, and at the same time to guard against the profanation of holiness : this was signified by the propitiatory, or mercy-seat, over the ark in the tabernacle. It is acknowledged that God spoke in his Word according to appearances, as when it is said that he is angry, that he avenges, that he tempts, that he punishes, that he casts into hell, that he condemns, yea, that he does evil ; when the truth is, that God is never angry with any one. he never avenees, tempts, punishes, casts into hell, or condemns ; such things^are as far from God as hell is from heaven, and infinitely farther. They are forms of speech, then, used only according to appear ances ; so also, but in a different sense, are the terms atonement 172 ON EEDEMPTION. 135, 136 propitiation, intercession, and mediation, for these are forms of speech expressive of the approach which is opened to God, and of the grace communicated from God by means of his Hu manity ; which terms being misunderstood, men have divided God into three, and upon that division have grounded all the doctrine of the church, and so falsified the "Word : hence has arisen the abomination of desolation foretold by the Lord in Daniel, and again in Matt, xxiv." When I had ended, the company of spirits retired from about me, and I observed that tl ose who actually entertained an idea of three gods looked to wards hell, and that those who conceived there is one God, in whom there is a Divine Trinity, and that this trinity is in the Lord God the Saviour, looked towards heaven ; and to these appeared the sun of heaven, in which Jehovah is in his Hu manity. 136. The third memoeable relation. — I saw at a dis tance five buildings called Gymnasia, each of which was over spread with light from heaven. The first was overspread with a light, such as before sunrise is seen to tinge the clouds in a morning here on earth ; the second with a yellow light, such as appears in the morning after sunrise ; the third with a bright clear light, such as we see on earth at midday ; the fourth with a light of a middle kind, as when it begins to be mixed with the shades of evening ; and the fifth was completely involved in twilight. The gymnasia in the world of spirits are spacious halls, where the learned assemble to discuss various arcana that may be of service to them in the promotion of science, intelli gence, and wisdom. On seeing them I was seized with a strong desire to go to one of them ; so I went in the spirit to that which was overspread with a light of a middle kind. When I entered I found a company of the learned met together, who were debating about the true interpretation of that passage where it is said of the Lord, that " when he was received up into heaven, he sat on the right hand of God" (Mark xvi. 19). Many of the assembly insisted that those words were to be understood literally, and that the Son does really so sit beside the Father ; but being asked for what reason he could be so placed, some of them replied, that he was exalted to the right hand of the Father on account of the redemption which he accomplished ; some, that he was seated there out of the love with which he is regarded by the Father ; some, for this purpose, that he might be the Father's counsellor to advise with, and therefore that in that character he might receive honor from the angels ; and some, that he was placed there by the Father to reign in his stead, for it is written that " all power is given unto him in heaven and in earth ;" but the greater part affii-med that he was placed there to hear thosa on the right hand for whom he intercedes ; for all the membera of the church at this day approach God the Father, and beseech 173 136 ON redemption. him to have mercy for the sake of his Son, believing that this causes the Father to turn himself to the Son, for the purpose of receiving^ his mediation ; some, however, asserted that only the Son of God born from eternity site on the right hand of the Father, to communicate his divinity with the Son of Man that was born in the world. On hearing this I was much amazed that people of such learning, who had resided some time in the Bpiritual world, should yet be so ignorant upon heavenly sub jects ; but I perceived their ignorance to be owing to this cause, that from a trust in their own self-derived intelligence they had not submitted to be taught by those who are truly wise. But that they might not continue any longer ignorant of what is meant by the Son's sitting at the right hand of the Father, I waved my hand, begging them to listen to what I wished to say on that subject; and as I saw them disposed to attend, I said, " Have you not learned 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 ; xiv. 10, 11). If you do not believe these words, you divide God into two, in which case you must of necessity form natural, sensual, yea, material conceptions of God, as the church on earth has done since the time of the Council of Nice, when the doctrine of the existence of three divine persons from eternity was intro duced, whereby the church was turned into a theatre, orna mented with painted scenery, before which the performers ex hibited new scenes. Who does not know and acknowledge that God is one ? If you acknowledge this in heart and spirit, all that you have said instantly vanishes of itself, and rebounds into the air like idle tales from the ear of a wise man." At these words many of the company were much enraged, and wished to pull my ears, and enjoin me silence ; but the president of the assembly in great indignation said, " We are here speaking not of the unity and plurality of God, because we believe both ; but we are debating about the true interpretation of that passage where it is said that the Son sits on the right hand of the Father ; if you can give us any information on this subject, let us hear it?" I replied, " You shall hear it ; only, I beseech you, be not so tumultuous." I then added, "To sit on the right hand does not mean literally to sit on the right hand, but it signifies the omnipotence of God by means of the Humanity which he assumed in the world : by this Humanity he is in last ,ind lowest principles as well as in first ; and by this he entered into, destroyed, and subdued the hells, and by this he restored' the heavens to order ; consequently, by this he redeemed both r.ien and angels, and redeems them to all eternity. If you con sult the Word of God, and are in a capacity to receive illustra tion, you will be enabled to discover that by the right hand is there meant omnipotence; as in Isaiah: '¦My hand laid tha 174 ON REDEMPTION. 136, 137 foundation of the earth, and my right hand spanned the heavens' (xlviii. 13). ' God hath sworn by his right hand, and by tlie arm of his strength' (Ixii. 8). ' Thy right hmid holdeth me up' (Psalm xviii. 35). ' Let thy hand be upon the Mom cf thy right hand, and upon the Son of Man whom thou madest strong fi ir thyself (Ixxx. 17). Hence it is evident how this passage is to be understood : ' Jehovah said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. - The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zi.on : rule thou in the midst of thine enemies' (ex. 1, 2). This whole psalm through out treate ofthe Lord's combats with the hells, and of their sub jugation; and since the right hand of God signifies omnipo tence, therefore the Lord says that he shall sit at ' the right hand of power'' (Matt. xxvi. 64) ; and at ' the right hand, of the power of God' (Luke xxii. 69)." On hearing these texts, the assembly grew tumultuous ; and I said, " T^e heed to your selves : possibly a hand may appear from heaven, which, when it appears, never fails to strike the beholder with an incredible terror of its power, and which, when I saw it, was a convincing froof to me that the right hand of God signifies omnipotence." had scarcely uttered these words, when there appeared under heaven a stretched-out hand, at the sight of which the company was struck with such terror, that they rushed in crowds towards the gates ; some ran to throw themselves out at the windows, and some fell down fainting and breathless. With respect to myself, I remained without the least apprehension, but walked out quietly after them ; and when I had proceeded to some dis tance I turned about, and observed the gymnasium overspread with a dark cloud ; and I was informed from heaven that it was in consequence of their having been influenced in their discus sion by a belief in three gods, and that the former light would return whenever a congregation of sounder minds should assem ble there. 137. The fourth memorable relation. — I was informed on a time that a council was convened of those who had been distinguished for their writings and erudition on the subject of the faith now professed, and of the justification of the elect by it. This council was to be held in the world of spirits, and it was permitted me to be present there in the spirit. 1 saw a large assembly of the clergy, both of the same and of different professions : on the right side stood those who in the world were called apostolic fathers, and who lived before the time of the council of Nice ; and on , the left stood those who had distin guished themselves since that time by their printed or written books. Many of the latter had their faces shaven, and wore wigs on their heads made of women's hair ; some of them had collars round their necks made of twisted intestines, and some of other materials ; but the former appeared with their beards 175 137 ON REDEMPTION. at full length, and wore their own hair. Before both parties there stood a person who was esteemed a great judge and critic ¦n the writings of the present age ; he had a wand in his hand. with which he struck the ground, and proclaimed silence ; thee ascending to the highest step of the pulpit, he fetched a deep sigh, and after that prepared to lift up his voice aloud, but the sighing gasp drew back his voice into his throat. At last how ever he broke out into the following exclamation : " Oh ! my brethren, what an age is this ! There is risen up a person out ot the common herd of laymen, who having neither gown, nor cap, nor laurelled crown, has yet had the assurance to pull down our faith from heaven, and cast it into the stygian lake. What a sin and a shame is this I when yet that faith is our star, which shines like Orion in the night, and like Lucifer in the morning ! This person, although advanced in years, is altogether blind as to the mysteries of our faith, having neither opened it, nor discovered iu it the Lord's righteousness, or his mediation and propitiation ; in consequence of which he is totally blind to the wonders ot justification, such as the remission of sins, regeneration, sancti fication, and salvation. This person, in opposition to our faith, which has a transcendent saving power, because it is directed towards three divine persons, and thus towards the whole Deity, has transferred all faith to the second person, and not even to him, but to his Humanity, which we indeed call divine in con sequence of the incarnation of the Son begotten from eternity ; but who considers it as any thing more than merely human ? And what faith can be thence derived, but such as must give birth to naturalism ? for such a faith, ha-ving nothing spiritual in it, differs little from a faith directed towards a pope or a saint. You know what Calvin in his time used to say of wor ship derived from such faith ; and I beseech you tell me, any one of you, whence faith comes ? Is it not the immediate gift of God ? and does it not therefore contain all things relating to salvation?" Hereupon his companions on the left, 'who had their faces shaven, and,wore wigs, with collars round their necks, clapped their hands, and cried out, " Most wisely spoken ! We know that we cannot take any thing, unless it be given us from above. Let that prophet inform us of any other origin to faith, and what else does faith mean : it is impossible that it should either have any other meaning, or any other origin ; and to talk of another faith which deserves the name beside this, is as ab surd _ as to think of a man's riding on horseback to a constella tion in the heavens, and taking a star from thence, and putting it in his pocket, and bringing it along with him to the world below." This they said by way of exposing every new faith to ridicule among their companions. On hearing this, the men on the right, who wore their beards, and their own natural hair. expressed great indignation ; and one of them rose up to speak 176 ON REDEMPTION. 137 (he appeared aa an old man, but afterwards he was seen to be young, for he was an angel from heaven, where every age is turned to youth). He said, " I have heard the nature and quality of your faith, which the man in the pulpit has so mag- nifie^d ; but what is such a faith but the sepulchre of our Lord after his resuiTCCtion, shut up a second time, by the soldiers of Pilate ? I have opened it, and can find in it nothing but the rods of ju^lers, by which the magicians in Egypt performed miracles. Truly this faith of yours is in your eyes like a chest of wrought gold, set with precious stones ; but when it is opened it is found to contain nothing, except perhaps the dust of some relics in its corners : it is therefore (to use comparisons) like the vestal virgin among the ancients, buried under ground, for letting the sacred fire go out ; and I do solemnly assure you, that in my eyes it appears like the golden calf, around which the children of Israel danced, after Moses had left them to ascend and be with Jehovah on mount Sinai. Do not be sur prised to hear me speak of your faith by such comparisons, for such we are accustomed to use when we speak of it in heaven. But our faith is, was, and will be to eternity, directed towards the Lord God the Saviour, whose humanity is divine, and whose divinity is human ; which faith is thus accommodated to man's reception, and by virtue of which a divine spiritual principle is united with what is natural in man, so that it becomes a spirit ual faith implanted in the natural principle, whereby the natural principle becomes as it were transparent from the spiritual light in which our faith dwells. The truths which constitute this faith are equal in number to the verses in the sacred volume, and all those truths are so many stars, which by their several lights give it both manifestation and form. A man acquires this faith from the Word by means of his own natural liglit {lumen), in which light it is science, thought, and persuasion ; but the Lord, in such as believe on him, causes it to be come conviction, trust, and confidence ; thus natural faith be comes spiritual faith, and "by means of charity is made living. This fpth, with us in heaven, is like a queen adorned with all the variety of precious stones described in the wall of the New Jerusalem (Eev. xxi. 17— -20). Lest, however, you should ima gine that what I have said is a mere flight of fancy and imagi nation, and should accordingly slight and despise it, I will read you some passages out of the Holy Word, from which it will appear that our faith is not, as you suppose, directed towards a mere man, but towards the true God, in ¦^hom is all the Divin ity. John says, ' Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life' (1 Epis. V. 20) ; Paul says, ' In Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily' (Coloss. ii. 9) ; and it is written in the Acts of the Apostles, ' that ho preached to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Josus 177 H 137 ON REDEMPTION, Christ' (xx. 21) ; and the Lord himself says, ' All power is given to me in heaven and in earth' (Matt, xxviii. 18). But these ara only a few of the numerous passages which teach this great truth." After this the angel looked towards me, and said, " You know what the Evangelical Protestants, so called, believe, or profess to believe, concerning the Lord and Saviour : read us then some passages from their writings, that we may know whether they are so infatuated as to suppose that his humanity is merely human, or whether they ascribe divinity to it, or how. Then in the presence of all the assembly, I read the following passages, being some I had collected from their book of ortho doxy, called Formula Concordia, the edition of Leipzig, 1756 : In Christ the divine and human natures are so united, as to make one person (p. 606, 762). Christ is very God and Man in one individual person, and remains so forever (p. 609, 673, 762). In Christ God is Man, and Man is God (p. 607, 765). The human nature of Christ is exalted to all Divine Majesty, proved also from many of the Fathers (p. 844 — 852, 860 — 865, 869 — 878). Christ, as to his human nature, is omnipresent, and fills all things (p. 768, 783 — 785). Christ as to his human na ture has all power in heaven and in earth (p. 775, 776, 780). Christ, as to his human nature, sits on the right hand of God (p. 608, 764). Christ is to be prayed to, as to his human na,ture,' proved by many quotations from Scripture (p. 226). The Augs burg confession greatly approves of that worship (p. 19). After reading these passages, I turned towards the president of the coimcil, and said, " I know that all here present are consociated with their like in the natural world : tell me, I pray, do you know with whom you are so connected ?" He replied in a deep tone of voice, " Yes ; I am consociated with a famous man, a leader ofthe troops that compose the army of church worthies." And because he spoke in so deep a tone of voice, I said, " Pardon me, if I ask you further, whether you know where that famous leader lives?" He said, "I do know; 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 again, and that he has now renounced his errors respect ing justification by a faith in three divine persons frorn eternity, and is in consequence translated into the societies of the blessed in the new heaven, and that he sees and pities those who follow his insane opinions ?" He then rejoined, " I do know it ; but what is that to me ?" Then addressing him in the same tone of voice with his own, I said, " Be so good as to exert your in- • At Eyaleben in gaxony. Tlie person here alluded to was Dr. John A. Emesti, of Leipzig, -who published some virulent attacks on our author and his writiLgs ; who, in reply, only printed a fe-^ lines on a slip of paper for circulation among nia friends, a translation of which may be seen at the end of the Coronis or Appetid'M io this work. 178 ON REDEMPTION. 137 fluence on your dignified friend with whom you are consociated, and communicate to him my fears, that in contradiction to the opinions deemed orthodox by his church, he has in his great haste robbed the Lord of his Divinity, and suffered his pen to open a furrow, in which he has thoughtlessly sown the seed of naturalism, by writing as he did against the worship of our Lord and Saviour." To this he replied, " That is impossible ; for he and I, on that subject, make almost one mind : but what I say upon it he does not understand, whereas I understand clearly whatever he says ; for the spiritual world enters into the natural world, and perceives the thoughts of men there, but not con trariwise ; such is the nature of the connection between spirits and men." As I had now engaged in conversation with the president of the council, I took the liberty of asking him this further question : " Do you know," said I, " that the orthodoxy ?of the Evangelical Protestants, as expressed in their manual, called the Formula Concordije, teaches that in Christ God is Man, and Man is God ? and that his divinity and humanity exist together, and forever abide in one individual person ? How then could either you or he defile the worship of the Lord with natu ralism ?" To which he replied, " I know that, and yet I do not know it." I therefore continued, and said, "I could wish to ask your friend, or you as his representative. Whence had our Lord and Saviour 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 say right ; if by the Holy Spirit you mean the Divinity proceeding and operating, and that thereby the Lord is the Son of Jehovah God. I ask you again, What is meant by hypostatic union ? If you say that it is a union as of two persons, one superior and the other inferior, you talk foolishly ; for at that rate you might divide the Saviour into two persons, as you divide God into three ; but if you say, that it is a personal union, like that of soul and body, you say rightly ; for this is agreeable to your own doctrine and that of the Fathers, as you may see by consulting the Formula Con coEDi.ai (p. 765 — 768); and also the Ceeed of Athanasius, where it is said, ' The right faith is, that we believe and con fess, that our Lord Jesus Christ is God and Man ; who although he be God and Man, yet he is not two, but one Christ ; one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of per son ; for as the reasonable soul and fiesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ.' I woiud ask you further. In what did the damnable heresy of Aeius consist (which gave occasion to the calling of the Council of Nice by the emperor Constantine the Great), but in a denial of the divinity of the Lord's hu manity ? Tell me moreover, "Wlio do you suppose is meant by these words in Jeremiah : ' Behold, the days come when I will raise unto David a righteous branch, who shall reign as a king; 179 1)37 ON EfllDEMPraON, a^d! this is his name, Jfihovah our righteousness' (xxiii. 5, 6 ; x?pciii, 15, 16). If you say, the Son bom from eternity, you. !^lk foolishly, for he was not the Eedeemer ; but if you say, the Son born iu time, who was the only begotten Son of God (John \. 18 ; iii. 16), you say rightly ; for he by redemption was. made cighteousness,,on which you found your faith. Eead also Isaiab IX. 6; and several other passages, in which it is foretold, that Jehovah himself should come mto the worid." On hearing this the president of the council was silent and turned away. ¦When the debate was thus concluded, the president was desirous to close the council with jirayer; 'but suddenly a man started up from the party on the left, having on his head a tiara, and over that a cap ; and he touched his cap with his finger, and said, " I also am joined by spiritual consociation with a man in your world, who is honorable for his eminent station : I know this, because I speak from him as from myself." I then in-» quired where, that honorable person lived. He replied, " At Gottenburg ;* and I was once of opinion, from the ideas in Ijim, that this new doctrine of yours has a tincture of Mahom- etanism." At these words, I perceived, that all those on the right, where the apostolic fathers stood, seemed astonished and changed color ; and. I could hear these exclamations often re peated, " Oh ! what a scandal 1 What an age is this !" In order, however, to appease their just indignation, I waved my hand, requesting to be heard, and said, " I know indeed that a person of that distinction did bring some such charge against me, in an epistle which he afterwards published ; but had he known at the time what a blasphemous charge it was, he would have torn the letter to pieces, and committed it to the fire, Father than to the press. It was such contumely which the Lord condemned in the Jews, when they ascribed his miracles to some other power than that which is divine (Matt. xii. 22 — - 32) ; and to this he adds in the same place, ' Whosoever is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scat- tereth abroad' (ver. 30)." At these words the associate spirit hung down his head, but presently raising it again, he said, "This is the severest speech I have yet heard from you;" but I resumed my discourse, and said, " The fault is in the two ac cusations brought against me, of naturalism and Mahometanism. which are both wicked lies and deadly stigmas, invented in sub tlety, with a design to prejudice the hearer, and deter him from the holy worship of the Lord." Then addressing myself to, the former associate spirit, I said, " Desire your friend at Gotten- * The individual here alluded to, is Dr. Ekebon, Dean of Gottenburg, in Sweden who wrote a violent philippic against our author's writings, with a view of procuring their condemnation as heretical by ecclesiastical autliority. Our author vindicated himself 'n two letters addressed to the consistory of the clergy, which may be aoei in the Intellectual Repository for the New Ch-urch, vol. i., p. 169 aud \1% 180 THE HOLT SPIRIT. 137, 13& burg, if it be possible, to read what the Lord says in the Eevela tion (iii. 18, and also ii. 16)." As I concluded, the council began to grotv noisy ; bht the noise was appeased by the descent of light from heaven, on which severa;l of those who were on the left hand passed over to those on the right, so that none re mained but those who thought vainly, and who consequently funned their faith on the opinion of their leaders, or such as be- ieved the Lord to be no more thain a mere man : from these the heavenly light appeared to be diverted, and to pour its in fluence on those who had passed from 'the left side to the right. CHAPTEE IH. THE HOLT SPIErr AND THE DIVINE OPERATION. 138. All ofthe sacred order, wlio have entertained any just idea of the Lord our Saviour, on their entrance into the spiritual world, which is generally on the third day after their decease, are first instructed concerning the Divirie Trinity, and partic ularly concerning the Holy Spirit. This, they are informed, is liot a God of itself, but, when mentioned in the Word, signifies the divine operation proceeding from the one omni present God. The reason why they are particiilarly instructed concerning 'the Holy Spirit, is, because most enthusiasts, after death, fall into the insane fancy that they themselves are the Holy Spirit; and also because many people of the church, who have imagined, during their abode on earth, that fhe Holy Spirit spoke by them, frighten others with the word's of the Lord in Matthew xii. 31, 32 ; aflirming that the unpardonable sin there s'pdken of consiste in contradicting what they speak by the in spiration of the Holy Spirit. Those who, after instruction, depart from their belief that the Holy Spirit is a God of itself, are afterwards taught, concerning the unity of God, that it is not divided into three persons, each of which singly, and by himself, is God and Lord, according to the doctrine of the Athanasian creed, but that the Divine Trinity is in the Lord the Saviour, as the soul, the body, and the virtues thence pro. ceeding, a;re in every individtial man. These are further pre pared to receive the faith of the new heaiven, and after such pi'eparatidii a 'way is' opened for them to a society in heaven which is tinker the infiuence of a similar faith, and a mansion is given the'm ariiong thieir brethren, witJh whom they live in eter nal blessedness. Now as we have already treated on God the Creator, and on the Lord the Eedeemer, it is necessary also to treat on the Holy Spirit ; and as we have arranged the previous 181 138, 139 THE HOLT SPIEIT. subjects under particular heads or articles, we will pursue the same rule in the present case, according to the following divi sion. I. That the Holy Spirit is the Divine Truth, and also the Divine Virtue and Operation, proceeding from the one only God, in whom there is a Divine Trinity, consequently proceed ing from the Lord God the Samiowr. II. That the divine virtue amd operation signified by the Holy Spirit, consists, in general, in reformation and regeneration ; and in ^proportion as these are effected, in renovation,, vivification, sanctification, amd justifveor tion ; and in prcportion as these are effected, in purification from evils, remission of sins, and finally salvation. IH. That such divine virtue a/nd ope/ration, which is understood hy the mission of the Holy Spirit, consists, with the clergy in particu lar, in illustration and instruction. IY. That the Lord ope rates those virtues in such as believe on him. Y. That the Lord operates of Himself from the Father, and not contrariwise. V I. That a man's spirit is his mind, and whatever proceeds from it. 139. I. That the holt spieit is the divine tbuth, and also THE DIVINE VIETUE AND OPEEATION, PROCEEDING FEOM THE ONE ONLT GOD, IN WHOM THEEE IS A DIVINE TEINITT, CONSEQUENTLT PROCEED ING FROM THE LORD GOD THE SAVIOUR. Properly speaking, the divine truth, and consequently the Word, is signified by the Holy Spirit, and in this sense the Lord Himself is also the Holy Spirit ; but whereas, in the church at this day, the divine operation, which is specified by the Holy Spirit, is actual justification, therefore this divine operation is here considered as the Holy Spirit. Of this we now propose chiefiy to speak, especially as 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 virtues, which together form one essence ; in a man a merely human essence, but in the Lord divine and human also ; these being, after his glorification, united together like the prior with its posterior, and like essence with its form : thus the three essentials, called Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in the Lord are a one. The Lord is divine truth, or the very divine truth itself, as was shown above ; and the Holy Spirit is also the same, as is evident from these passages : " 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 intelligence, the Spirit of counsel and might : 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 truth the girdle of his reins" (Isaiah xi. 1, 2; 4, 5). " When the enemy shall come in like a fiood, the Spirit of Jehovah shall lift up a standard against him ; then shall the Eedeemer com? 182 THE! HOLT SPIRIT. 139, 140 to Zion" (Isaiah lix. 19, 20). ^' The Spirit of the Lord Jihovih is upon me ; Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; he hatii sent me" (Isaiah Ixi. 1; Luke iv. 18). "This is my covenant, my spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart from out of thy mouth from Henceforth and for ever" (Isaiah lix. 21). Since the Lord is the very truth itself, therefore all that which proceeds from him must be truth ; and this is understood by the Comforter, who is also called the Spirit of Truth, and the Holy Spirit, as is evident from the following passages : " I tell you the truth ; it is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I depart, I will send him unto you" (John xvi. 7). "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will lead you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself ; but whateoever he shall hear, that shall he speak" (xvi. 13). " Ho 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, 16). " I will pray the Father, and he will give you another comforter, tlie Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him ; but ye know him ; fbr 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, 17, 18, 19). " 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). He is called the Holy Spirit (xiv. 26). That the Lord by the Comforter, or Holy Spirit, meant him self, is manifest from his saying, that the world would not know him ; " but ye know him. I will not leave you comfort less ; I will come unto you ; and ye shaU see me." And in an other place : " Lo ! I am with you always, even to the consum mation of the age" (Matt, xxviii. 20). And also from this : " he shall not speak of himself, but he shall take of mine." 140. Now since the divine truth, which was in the Lord, and was the Lord (John xiv. 6), is meant by the Holy Spirit ; and since the Holy Spirit could therefore proceed from him only, it was for this reason said, " The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (vii. 39). And after his glorification, " He breathed on his disciples, and said, Eeceive ye the Holy Spirit" (xx. 22). The reason why the Lord breathed on his disciples was, because breathing was an ex ternal representative sign of divine inspiration ; and inspiration is an insertion into the angelic societies. After these elucida- iions the understanding will be enabled to comprehend the words of the angel Gabriel concerning the conception of the Lord : " The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of tha Highest shall overshadow thee : therefore that holy thing which 183 140 142 THE HOLT SPIEIT. ' 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 con ceived in her is of the Holy Spirit : and Joseph knew her not till she brought forth her first-born Son" (Matt. i. 20, 25'). The Holy Spirit mentioued in these passages is the divine truth proceeding from Jehovah the Father ; and this ijroceeding is the power of the Highest which then overshadov/ed the mother Mary, which coincides therefore with what is said in John: " Tlie Word was with God, and the Word was God : and the Word was made flesh" (i. 1, 14). The Word there signifies the divine truth, as may be seen above, in the Faith of the. New Chuech, n. 3. 141. It was demonstrated above, and will be evinced still more at large when we come to treat particularly on the subject, that the Divine Trinity is in the Lord : at present we shall only point out some incongruities arising from the division of that trinity into separate persons. .This may be compared to a minister of the church teaching from the pulpit what ought to be believed and practised, and another minister standing near him, and whispering in his ear, "That is well said; go on:" and then both saying to a third minister, who stands on the stairs, " Descend into the temple, and open the peoj)le's eare, and infuse into their hearts the good advice which is given, and at the same time make them pure, holy, and vessels of right eousness." A divine trinity, divided into distinct persons, each of which singly is God and Lord, would be similar to three suns in one world, the first in the upper firmament, the second near it, and the third beneath, encompassing angels and men, and introducing the heat and light of the two former, with all power into their minds, hearts, and bodies ; and, like fire acting upon matter in a retort, subtilizing, clarifying, and subliming tliem ; but who cannot see that in such a case a man would instantly be reduced to ashes ? A government of three divine persons in heaven may also be compared with a government of three kings in one kingdom, or of three generals, of equal authority, over one army ; or rather with the Eoman government, befoi-e the time of the Csesars, when there were consuls, a senate, and tri bunes of the people, among whom the power was divided, but yet the sovereignty was in them all conjointly. Who does not see the inconsistency, trifiing, and folly of introducing such a government into heaven, by ascribing to God the Father a power like that of the consuls, to the Son a power like that of the senate, and to the Holy Spirit a power like that of the tribunes of the people? and yet this mxist necessarily be the case when a peculiar office is ascribed to each, especially if it be insisted that the properties are not communicable. 142. II. That the divine vietue and operation, siGNiFna) 184 THE HOLT SPIEir. 142, 143 B1 THE HOLT SPIRIT, CONSISTS IN GENEEAL IN EEFORMATION AND EEGENEEATION ; AND, IN PEOPOETION AS THESE AEE EFFECT ED, IN EENOVATION, VIVIFICATION, SANCTIFICATION, AND JUSTI FICATION ; AND, IN PEOPOETION AS THESE AEE EFFECTED, IN PUEIFICATION FEOM EVILS, EEMISSION OF SINS, AND FINALLT SALVATION. These are the virtues in their order which the Lord operates in those who believe On him, and accommodate and prepare themselves for his reception and abode ; and this is effected by means of divine truth, and among Christians by means df the Word, this being the only medium by which a man can approach 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. But the divine truth here spoken of must be understood ,as originating in good, which is the same thing as faith originating in charity ; for faith is nothing else but truth, and charity is nothing else bilt goodness. By means of divine truth originating in good, that is, by means of faith originating in charity, a man is reformed and regenerated, and also renewed, quickened, sanctified, justified, and in proportion to his progress and growth in these graces, is purified from evils, in which purification consists the remission of sins. But all these several operations of the Lord canndt here be particularly explained ; for each requires its particular analysis confirmed from the "Word, and illustrated by rational considerations, and this is foreign to our present subject ; we must therefore refer the reader to a future part of this work, where we shall treat on charity, faith, free-will, repentance, reformation, and regenera tion. It is to be observed, that the Lord Operates those saving graces continually in every man, for they are the steps that lead to heaven, and the Lord wills the salvation of all men ; there fore the salvation of all men is the end which he proposes, and whoever desires to promote an end, desires also to promote the means conducive thereto. The coming of the Lord, the redemp tion which he wrought, and his passion on the cross, were all for the sake of man's salvation (Matt, xviii. 11 ; Luke xix. 10); and as the salvation of mankind ever was, and ever will be, the end which the Lord proposes, it follows that the above-men tioned operations are mediate ends, and salvation the ultimate end, 143. The operation of these virtues is the Holy Spirit, which the Lord sends to those who believe in him, and prepare them selves to receive him ; and this is understood by the spirit in these passages : " A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit ^'A\ I put within you ; I will put my spirit in the midst of you, and will cause you to walk in my statutes" (Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27 ; xi. 19). " Create in me a clean heart, O God, and re new a right spirit within me : cast me not away from thy pres 185 ¦ 143, 144 THE HOLT SPIEIT. ence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me : restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and establish me with 'thy free Spirit" (Psalm li. 10, 11, 12). " Jehovah formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him" (Zech. xii. 1). " With my soul have I de sired thee in the night ; yea, with my spirit in the midst of me have I looked for thee in the mornmg" (Isaiah xxvi.' 9). " Make you a new heart, and a new spirit : why will ye die, O house of Israel ?" (Ezek. xviii. 31) ; besides many other places. In these passages a new heart signifies a will towards good, and a new spirit the understanding of truth. The Lord operates such a will and understanding in those who practise what is good and believe what is true, that is, who are principled in a faith origi nating in charity, as is veiy plain from these words, that he giveth his Spirit to those who walk in the Way of salvation, and that it is called a free spirit ; and that a man also ought to op erate on his part, is evident from these words, "Make you a new heart, and a new spirit : why will ye die, O house of Israel ?" 144. It is written, 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. 22 ; John i. 32, 33). The reason of this was, because baptism signifies regeneration and purification, and these are also represented by a dove. Who cannot perceive that the dove was not the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit was not in the dove ? Doves often appear in heaven, and the angels know when they observe them that they are correspondences of the affections, and thence of the thoughts relating to regeneration and purification, in some persons not far off : when therefore they approach those persons, and con verse with them on a subject foreign to what was in their thoughts when that appearance was presented, the doves in stantly vanish. The case was the same with respect to many things that appeared to the prophets, as when John saw a lamb on Mount Sion (Eev. xiv.), and in other places. How plain must it be to every one that the Lord neither was that lamb, nor in it, but that it was a representation of his innocence! Hence their error is manifest, who, from this appearance of the dove when the Lord was baptized, and from the voice then heard from heaven. This is my beloved Son, conclude that the Trinity consists of three persons. That the Lord regenerates man by means of faith and charity, is signified by these words of John the Baptist : "I baptize you with water unto repentance ; but he that cometh after me shall baptize you with the Holy Spiiit 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 divine truth which is of faith, and by divine good which is of chaiity. The same is signified by these words of the Lord : " Except a man be born of water aud of the spirit, he cannot enter into tha kingdom of God" (John iii. 6). By water here, as in cthei 186 TUE HOLT SPIEIT. 144 — 146 parts of the Word, truth in the natural or external man is sig nified, and by spirit, truth derived from good in the spiritual or internal man. 145. Now since the Lord is the divine truth itself, originat ing in the divine good, and this is his very essence, and every one of necessity acts at all times from his essence, it is evident that the Lord continually wills to implant truth and good, or faith and charity, in every man, and that he cannot will any thing else. This may be illustrated by many similar cases here on earth ; as, for instance, every man wills and thinks, and, so far as he is permitted, speaks and acts from his own essence. A faithful man thinks and intends what is faithful ; an honest, upright, pious, and religious man thinks and intends what is honest, upright, pious, and religious ; so, on the contrary, a haughty, cunning, treacherous, and covetous man thinks and intends such things as are in unity with his essence : a fortune teller would be always telling fortunes ; a fool always opposing the lessons of wisdom ; in a word, an angel is always meditating and practising what is in agreement with his heavenly nature, and a devil what is in agreement with his infernal nature. The case is similar with regard to every subject of an inferior rank in the animal kingdom, as with a bird, a beast, a fish, a winged or a creeping insect ; each is known by its essence or nature, from, and according to which, the instinct of each is derived and directed. In like manner, in the vegetable kingdom, every tree, shrub, and herb is known by its fruit and. seed, in which its essence is innate ; and nothing can be thence produced but what has a similar nature and essence ; so likewise every kind of earth, clay, stone, mineral, and metal, has a determined value according to its essence. 146. HI. That that divine vietue and opeeation, which is SIGNIFIED ET THE MISSION OF THE flOLY SPIEIT, CONSISTS, WITH THE CLEE6T IN PAETTCULAE, IN ILLUSTRATION AND INSTRUCTION. The operations of the Lord, enumerated in the foregoing article, viz., reformation, regeneration, renovation, vivification, sanctification, justification, purification, the remission of sins, and finally salvation, are effected by influx from the Lord, among both clergy and laity, and are received by all those who are in the Lord, and who have the Lord in them (John vi. 56 ; xiv. 20 ; XV. 4, 5) ; but the reasons why the clergy are particularly gifted with the graces of illustration and instruction are, because those graces have particular relation to their ministerial office, and their ordination to the ministry conveys those graces ; and they believe also that while they are preaching in the heat of zeal, they are inspired like the disciples of the Lord, on whom he breathed, saying, " Eeceive ye the Holy Spirit" (John xx. 22 ; Mark xiii. 11) : some of them also affirm that they have perceived the influx. But let them be very cautious how thev persuade 187 146, 147 THE HOLT SPIEIT, themselves that the zeal with which many of them are heated during their preaching, is the divine opera;tion in their hearts ; for a similar and even warmer zeal is often kindled in the breaste of enthusiasts, and also among those who maintain doctrines the most false, yea, even among those who shght the Word of God, and worship nature instead of God, and reject faith and charity, which they tie up, as it were, in a bag behind them, but whidi in their preaching and teaching, they hang before them, aa if it were a ruminatory stomach, from which they press out and disgorge such things as they know will serve fOr food to their hearers ; fbr zeal, considered in its true nature, is a violent heat ing of the- natural man. If the love of truth kindles it, it is then like the sacred fire which came down on the apostles, and which is thus described in the Acte : " 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) : but if thelove dt the false lies concealed in that zeal or heat, it is then like fire imprisoned in wood, which bursts out, and burns the house. Thou, therefore, 0 main, who deniest the holiness of the Word, and the Divinity of the Lord, take off, I beseech thee, the Ibag from thy back, and open it, as thou mayest freely do in private at thy own home, and thou wilt see the true nature of thy zeal. I know that those whom Isaiaih describes under the character of Lucifer, and who are of Babel, when they enter the temple, especially when they ascend the pulpit, and particularly those who call themselves of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, are hurried away by a zeal which, in many cases, is kindled by infernal love, under the infiuence of which they can make more noise, and fetch deeper sighs, than those who are influenced by a zeal originating in heavenly love. There are two other spiritual operations among the clergy, as may be seen below, n. 156. 147- The church at this day is little aware, that in all human will and thought, and in all human action and speech thence derived, there is an internal and an external ; and that a man from his infancy is taught to speak from the external, however the internal may dissent ; whence come all the varieties of dis simulation, flattery, and hypocrisy ; consequently there is a du plicity, or twofold nature, in the human character, and he alone is a man of true singleness and simplicity whose external thinks and speaks, wills and acts, from the i"ntemal. Such also are signified in the Word by the persons called simple or of a single eye, as in Luke viii. 15, xi. 34, and in other places ; although they are much wiser than people of a double character. That there is duplicity and triplicity in every created thing, is evident from the parts of the humari body, in which it is found that every nerve consists of fibres, and every fibre of fibrils ; thait every muscle is composed of fascicles of fibres, and these agaiin of moving fibres ; and that every artery is formed of coats in a 188 THE HOLT SPIRIT. 147, 14,8 triple series. There is: a. similar composition in the human mind, and its spiritual organization is of a similq,r natuie : this is what we remarked abose, that the human mind, is divided into three regions, the highest, which is also the inmost, beingcalled celes tial, the middle, spiritual, and the lowest natural. The minds of all men who deny the holiness of the Word, and the Divinity of the Lord, have, the sphere of their thought confined tp the lowest region ; but as frpm their infancy they have been instructed in the spiritual truths of the church, they also receive them; but then they place them below all natural truths, such ap the va rious- Idnds of scientific, political, civil, and moral knowledge; and as the spiritual truths so degraded possess the lowest place, in the mind, and that which, is, nearest to the organs of speech, therefore at church, apd in company, they can speak under the ijlfluence of those trutihs, and, what is wonderful, they know not at such times but that they are speaking and teaching under the infiuence of a sincere belief; when nevertheless, as soon as they are at their own liberty, that is, when they are retired in private to their homes, the door is opened which closed the internal of their minds, and then sometimes they laugh at their own public li^rangues, saying in their heai;ts that religion is but a well- contrived, snare to catch doves. 148. The internal and external of such persons may be likened to poison covered over with a crust of sugar ; and also to the wild gourds, which the sons of the prophets gathered, and cast into a pot of pottage, of which when they ate they cried out, "There is death in the pot" (2 K;ings iv.x38— 43). They may also be corripared with the beast arising out of the sea, which "had two horns like a, lamb, and spake as a dragon" {Rev. xiii. 11), and which is afterwards called the false prophet. They are also like highwaymen in a, city, who behave there like good; citizens, doing what is right, and conversing like sober and reasonable men ; but when they return again into the highways and forests, they become like wild beasts : or they may be further compared with pirates, who when they are on land are men, but when at sea are crocodiles ; for pirates on laiid, and highwaymen in,, a city, are like panthers clothed in sheepskins, or like apes dressed in men's clothes, with masks representing the human countenance to conqeal their frightful faces. They may also be likened to a hariot, who anointe herself with perfumes, and pajnts her face with carmine, and puts on a garment of white silk ornamented with fiowers ; but when she returns to hei house, she undresses herself in the presence of her paramours, and infects them with her diseases. Such are those who in heart deny the holiness of the Word and the Divinity of the Lord ; and that this is a true description of them I can testify from many years' experience in the spiritual world, where I have been permitted to see and know them ; for in that world all per- 189 148 151 THE HOLT SPlfRrr. sons are suffered for some time to remain in their externals, but on the removal of these they are let into their internals, and then their comic acting is over, and the tragic scene com mences. 149. IY. That the Lord operates those virtues in such as BELIEVE IN HIM. The Lord operates those virtues, which are understood by the mission of the Holy Spirit, in those who believe in 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, which may be seen quoted above, n. 108, where it is declared that salvation and eternal life are given to those who believe in the Lord. It is further confirmed by this passage : " Jesus said. Whoso believeth on me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This said he of the Spirit, which they that believe in him should receive" (John vii. 38, 39). And also by this pas sage : " The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Eev xix. 10). By the spirit of prophecy is understood the truth •! doctrine derived from the Word : prophecy signifles nothing else but doctrine, and to prophesy signifies to teach doctrine ; and by the testimony of Jesus is understood acknowledgment origi nating in faith towards him. The same is understood by testi mony in this passage : " The angels of Michael overcame the dragon by the blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of his testi mony : and the dragon went to make war with the remnant ot the woman's seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Eev. xii. 11, 17). 150. The reason why those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ receive those spiritual virtues is, because he is salvation and eternal life ; salvation, because he is the Saviour, which his name, Jesus, also implies ; and eternal life, because those have eternal life who are in him, and he in them ; therefore also he is called eternal life in John (1 Epist. v. 20). Now since he is salvation and eternal life, it follows of consequence that he is all that by which salvation and eternal life are obtained, conse quently that he is the all of reformation, regeneration, renova tion, viviflcation, sanctification, justification, purification from evils, and final salvation. The Lord operates those virtues in every man, that is, he strives to introduce them ; and when the man accommodates and prepares himself for their reception, he then does introduce them. The active power of accommodation and preparation is also from the Lord ; but if the man does not receive it with a willing spirit, there can be no introduction of the above virtues, but only a constant attempt on the Lord's part. 151. To believe in the Lord, is not only to acknowledge him, but also to do his commandments ; for a bare acknowledg' 190 THE HOLT SPIRIT. 151 152 ment proceeds only from thought grounded in some degree of understanding ; but the doing of his commandments proceeds from an acknowledgment which has its root in the will. The mind of man consists of understanding and will ; and it is the part of the understanding to think, and of the will to do and practise ; while therefore a man only acknowledges the tiuth from the thought of his understanding, he comes to the Lord with only half his mind; but when he does his commandments, he comes with his whole mind, and this is truly to believe. Ac cording to every other sense of believing, a man does but divide his heart, and compel its surface to raise itself upward, while its fleshy substance is turned downward, so that, like an eagle, he flies between heaven and hell. The man, however, not being influenced by the perceptions of sight so much as by the pleas ures of the flesh, and these being in hell, he of consequence, flies down to them ; and there, after having offered sacrifice to his lusts, and poured out libations of wine to demons, with mirth in his countenance, and fire sparkling in his eyes, he assumes the appeai-ance of an angel of light. Those who acknowledge the Lord, and yet neglect to do his commandments, become such satans after death. 152. It was shown, in the foregoing article, that the salva tion aud eternal life of men are the first and last ends proposed by the Lord ; and since the first and last ends contain in them the mediate ends, it follows that the above-mentioned spiritual virtues are together and at the same time in the Lord, and from the Lord in man, but still they come forth in succession. For the human mind grows like the body, save only that the body grows in stature, and the mind in wisdom ; and thus the latter is exalted from one region to another, from the natural region to the spiritual, and from this to the celestial ; in the last region a man is called wise, in the middle, intelligent, and in the first, or lowest, scientific : but this exaltation of the mind is not sud den, but is effected by degrees, in proportion as a man stores his mind with truths, and conjoins those truths with good. It is in this case as in the building of a house : the builder first provides materials for the work, as bricks, tiles, beams, and rafters ; he, then lays the foundation, raises the walls, divides it into separate apartments, makes doors to each, with windows to admit the light, and stairs to ascend from one story to another ; all which are included, and exist at the same time, in the end proposed, which is a commodious and handsome habitation. The case is the same with a temple : while it is building, all the component parts exist together in the end proposed, which is the worship of God. It is the same also in all other cases, as in gardens and fields, and likewise in offices and employments, in which the end proposed supplies itself with all needful means for ita accomplishment. 191 153; THE HOLT SPIRIT. 153. T. Thatthe lord operates of himself from the fa ther, AND not contrariwise. By operating is here meant the same thing as by sending the Holy Spirit, since the above-mentioned operations of refor mation, regeneration, renovation, vivification, sanctification, justi fication, purification from evils, and the remission of sins,.which are at this day ascribed to the Holy Spirit, as a God by himself, are the operations of the Lord. That these operations are of the Lord from the Father, and not contrariwise, shall be first confirmed from the Word, and afterwards illustrated by rational considera tions. First from the Word, from the following passages.:, " When the Comforter is come, whom I will sendwnto you from, the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds, from the Father, he shall testify of me" (John xv. 26). " If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I go away, I will send him unto you" (xvi. 7). " The Comforter, the Spirit of truth, shall not speak of himself, but shall, receive of 'mine, and, shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath arfi 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 Jesus was not yet glorified" (vii. 39), " Jesus breathed: on his disciples, and said unto them, Eeceive ye the Holy Spirit" (xx. 22). "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son : if ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" (xiv. 13, 14). From these passages it plainly appears, that the Lord sends the Holy Spirit ; that is, that it is he who affecte those operations; which are at this day ascribed to the Holy Spirit as a God by- himself: for it is declared, that he would send the Holy Spirit, from the Father; that the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified ; that after his glorification he breathed on his disciples, and said, "Eeceive ye the Holy Spirit;" and further, " Whatsoever," says he, " ye shall ask in my name, I will do it ; for the Comforter shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you." The Comforter is the same with the Holy Spirit, as may be seen in John xiv. 26. God the Father doeSi not operate those virtues of himself by the Son, but the Son operates them of himself from the Father, as is evident from, the following passages : " No one hath seen God at any time ; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (i. 18). And in another place: "Ye have neither heard the voice of the Father at 'any time, nor seen his shape" (v. 37). Hence then it follows, that God the Father operates in the Son and upon the Son, but not by or through the Son ; and that the Lord operates of himself from the Father ; for he says, " All things that the Father hath are mine" (xvi. 15) ; that " the Father hath -given all things into the hand of the Son" (iii. 35) ; also, that " as the Father hath life in him 192 THE HOLT SPIEir. 163, 154 self, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself (v. 26) ; and fuTther, " The words that I speak unto you are spirit and are life" (vi. 63). The reason why the Lord says that the Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father (John xv. 26), is, because it proceeds from God the Father into the Son, and out of the Son from the Father ; therefore he also says, " In that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and ye in me, and I in you" (xiv. 11, 20). From these plain declarations of the Lord, it is easy to discover the error which generally prevails throughout the Christian world, that God the Father sends the Holy Spirit to mankind ; and also the error of the Greek church, that God the Father sends the Holy Spirit immediately. This truth concerning the Lord's sending the Holy Spirit out of himself from God the Father, and not contrariwise, is of heavenly extraction, and the angels call it an Arcanum, because it was never before discovered to the world. 154. What is here asserted may also be illustrated and ex plained by many suggestions of reason; as for instance: It is well known that the apostles, after they had received from the Lord the gift of the Holy Spirit, preached the Gospel through a great part of the world, and that they published it both by their discourses and writings ; and this they did of themselves from the Lord ; for Peter taught and wrote in one manner, James in another, John in another, and Paul in another, each according to his own particular intelligence. The Lord filled them all with his spirit ; but each took a portion according to the quality of his peculiar perception, and exercised it according to the quality of his strength or power. All the angels in the heavens are filled with the Lord, for they are in the Lord, and the Lord in them ; but nevertheless every one of them speaks and acts according to the state of his own mind, some in sim plicity, some in wisdom, with an infinite variety ; and yet every one speaks and acts of himself, from the Lord. The case is the same with every minister in the church, whether he be under the infiuence of the truth, or of the false ; each has his own peculiar expression and intelligence, and each speaks from his own mind, that is, from the spirit which he possesses as his own. So in the case of Protestants, whether they be called Evangeli cal or Eeformed : after they are instructed in the tenets of their particular leaders, as Luther, Melancthon, or Calvin, it cannot with propriety be said that those leaders or their tenets speak of themselves by their disciples, but that those disciples speak of themselves from their leaders and their tenets ; for every par ticular tenet may be explained a thousand different ways, being like a cornucopia, from which each person draws forth what favors and is suited to his own peculiar genius, and then ex plains it according to his peculiar talent. This may be illus- 193 ¦ o 164 THE HOLT SPIEIT. Btrated also by the action of the heart in and upon the lungs, and by the reaction of the lungs of themselves from the Heart: these are two distinct actions, which nevertheless are reciprocally united ; for the lungs respire of themselves from the heart, but the heart does not respire through the lungs: if this were the case the action of both would stop. The case is similar with respect to the action of the heart in and upon the viscera of the whole body : the heart propels the blood in every direction, but the viscera imbibe it, each its share according to the kind of use which it performs in the body, according to which each also, acts; consequently the action of each is different. The same truth is capable of receiving fur ther illustration from this circumstance relating to the nature and state of man ; evil derived from parents, which is therefore called hereditary, acts in and upon every man ; so also does good from the Lord ; the latter acting from above or from within, the former from beneath or from without : if now evil acted by or through the man, he would not be capable of reformation, nor yet a subject of blame ; and in like manner, if the Lord thus acted by or through him, he would not be capable of refor mation ; but since §ach depends on the man's free choice, he becomes guilty when he acts of liimself from evil, and guiltless when he acts of himself from good ; and 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 : thus the capacity of reformation is owing to this freedom of choice with which every man is endowed. The case is the same with the internal and external of man ; these are perfectly distinct from each other, and yet reciprocally united ; the internal acts in and upon the external, but not by or through it ; for in the internal innumerable particulars are involved, from which the external takes only what is suited to its purposes : for iu a man's internal, by which is underetood his mind, consisting of the will and per ceptive faculty, there are such volumes of accumulated ideas, that were they to fiow out through the organs of speech, they might be compared with the violent rushing of wind from a pafr of bellows. The internal, by reason of the universals included in it, resembles an ocean, a flower-bed, or a garden, from whose stores the external selects as much as is sufficient for its use. The Word of the Lord resembles this ocean, flower-bed, or garden ; and when it dwells in some degree of fulness in the internal of a man, he then speaks and acts of himself from the Word, and not the Word by or through him. It is so likewise with the Lord, who is himself the Word, that is, the divina truth and the divine good therein : the Lord acts 'from himself, or from the AVord, in and upon a man, but not by or through him, ibecause a man acts and speaks freely of himself fi'om the Loud, while he acts and speaks from the Word. But this wiU 194 THE HOLT spntn. 154, 155 admit of still more familiar illustration from the mutual inter- .course which subsists between the soul and the body, which are two substances distinct from each other, but yet reciprocally united : the soul acts in and upon the body, but not by or through it ; for the body acts of itself from the soul. It is plain that the soul does not act by or through the body, since they do not consult and deliberate with each other ; the soul too does not command or request the body to do, or to say, this thing or that ; and on the other hand, the body does not require or re quest the soul to give and supply it with its power and assist ance ; for all that the one has belongs to the other, and this mutually and reciprocally. Just so is it in respect to the Lord's Divinity and Humanity ; for the Divinity of the Father is the soul of his Humanity, and the Humanity is his body ; -and the Humanity does not inquire of its Divinity what it shall speak or what it shall 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" means after his glorification, that is, after his perfect and complete union with the Father. This arcanum is revealed from the Lord himself, for the use of those who shall become members of his New Church. 155. It was shown above, in the third article, that that divine virtue, which, among the clergy, is meant by the opera tion of the Holy Spirit, is, in particular, illustration and in struction ; but to these may be added two intermediate virtues, which are perception and disposition : there are therefore, among the clergy, four successive operations following each other in this order, — illustration, percejjtion, disposition, and instruction. Illusteaiton is from the Lord alone. Peeception has place in a man, according to the state of his mind, as formed by doc trines ; and where those doctrines are true, the perception is rendered clear by the light of illustration ; but where they are false, the perception is rendered obscure, yet so as to have the appearance of clearness arising from the reasonings and argu ments which have been used for their confirmation : such ap parent clearness is however only a consequence of that false and delusive light, which, in the eye of the merely natural man, appears like the light of truth. Disposition arises from the affection of the love-principle in the will, and it is the delight springing from that love which effects it. If this delight springs from the love of evil and its attendant false, it gives birth to a zeal, which is outwardly sharp, harsh, furious, fiery, and inwardly full of anger, rage, and unmercifulness ; but if it springs from the love of good and its attendant truth, it then gives birth to a zeal, which is outwardly soft and smooth, yet loud and burn ing, and inwardly full of charity, kindness, and mercy. In- 195 156, 156 the holt spirit. BTEucTioN follows as au effect produced by the former. Thus illustration, which is from the Lord, is changed into various lights and colors in every individual, according to the state of his mind. 156. YI. That a man's spirit is ms mind, and whatever proceeds from it. By a man's spirit in the concrete nothing else is meant but his mind, for it is this which lives after death, and is then called a spirit ; if good, an angelic spirit, which afterwards becomes an angel, but if evil, a satanical spu-it, which afterwards becomes a satan. The mind of every one is his internal man, which is actually a man, and dwells within the external man, that makes its body ; therefore, on the rejection of the body by death, it is in a complete human form. It is therefore a palpable error to suppose, that a man's mind is only in his head : this is indeed the mind's seat in its first principles, from which primarily issues all that a man thinks from the understanding and acte from the will ; but as to its principiates, or derivations from those first principles, formed for the purposes of sensation and action, the mind dwells in the body also, and in consequence of this internal adherence to the particles of the body, it imparte to them sense and motion, and likewise infuses into the body a perception, as if thought and action were its own, and self- derived ; but every wise man is well aware that this is a fallacy. Now since a man's spirit is alone possessed of the power of thought by virtue of the understanding, and of action by the will, and the body of itself possesses no such powers, but only by derivation from the spirit, it follows, that by a man's spirit is signified his intelligence and love-affection, and whatever pro ceeds as an operation from them. That a man's spirit signifies such things as have relation to the mind, is evident from many passages of the Word, which need only be adduced to evince the truth of this observation : the following may suffice, out of many which might be mentioned : " Bezaleel was filled with the spirit of wisdom, of understanding, and of knowledge" (Exod. xxxi. 3). Nebuchadnezzar says of Daniel, that "an excellent spirit of knowledge and of understanding was found in him" (Dan. v. 12). " Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom" (Deut. xxxiv. 9). " Make ye a new heart and a new 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 re%ive the spirit of the humble" (Isaiah Ivii. 15). "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit" (Psalm li. 17). " I will give the cloak of praise instead of a contracted spirit" (Isaiah Ixi. 6) ; not to mention other passages to the like purport. That spirit also signifies such things as relate to a perverse and wicked mind, is evident from the following passages : " Woe unto tha foolish prophets, that go away after their own spirite !" (Ezek. 196 THE HOLT spiRrr. 156, 157 xiii. 3.) " Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring fo.-th stubble : as to yom- spirit, fire shall devour you" (Isaiah xxxiii. 11). " A man who wandereth in spirit and uttereth a lie" (Micah ii. 11). " A generation whose spirit was not steadfast with God" (Psalm Ixxviii. 8). "The spirit of whoredoms" (Hosea v. 4). " Every heart shall melt, and every spirit shall be contracted" (Ezek. xxi. 7). " Blessed is the man in whose spirit there is no guile" (Psalm xxxii. 2). "The spirit of Pharaoh was troubled" (Gen. xii. 8). From these and many other passages it is very evident, that the spirit signifies a man's mind, and whatever belongs to it. 157. Since by a man's spirit is meant his mind, therefore by heing in the spirit, which is a phrase that sometimes occurs in the Word, is meant a state of the mind separate from the body ; and as in that state the prophets had a sight of such ob jects as exist in the spiritual world, therefore that state is called the vision of God. They were at such times in the same state as spirite and angels in their world, and there a man's spirit, like his mind with respect to ite intellectual vision, may be conveyed from place to place, while the body remains at rest. This is the state in which I have now lived six-and-twenty years, but with this difference, that I have been in the spirit and in the body at one and the same time, and only on some particular occasions out of the body. That Ezekiel, Zechariah, Daniel, and John when he wrote the book of the Eevelation, were in that state, is evident from the following passages : Ezekiel says, " The spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea : so the vision that I had seen went up from me" (Ezek. xi. 1, 24). " Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing" (iii. 12, 14). " And the spirit lifted, me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the vision of God to Jerusalem" (viii. 3). " And I saw four living creatures, which were cherubs, and various things with them" (i. and x.V " 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 ; xliii. 3. The same was Zechariah's state when he saw " a man riding among the myrtle-trees" (i. 8). " And a man with a measuring line in his hand" (ii. 1) ; " and Joshua the high-priest" (iii. 1) ; " and four chariots and horses coming out from between two moun tains" (vi. 1, 2, &c.). Daniel was in a similar state when he saw " four beasts come up from the sea, and many things re lating to them" (vii. 3) ; ahd " the battles of the ram and the goat'' (viii. 4). That he saw those things in vision, is declared vii. 1, 2, 7, 13 ; viii. 2 ; x. 1. 7, 8; for it is said, that the ar^el Gabriel appeared to him in vision, and talked with him. The same was .fohn's state when he wrote the book of the Eevela tion, in which he declares, " that he was in the spirit on the 197 157, 158 THE HOLT spiRrr. Lord's day" (i. 10) ; " that he was carried in the spint into tha wilderness" (xvii. 3) ; " and to a great and high mountain in the spirit" (xxi. 10) ; " that he saw in 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 coming out ; the four animals about the throne ; the twelve thousand chosen out of each tribe ; the lamb on Mount Sion ; locuste ascending from the bottomless pit ; the dragon, and his war with Michael ; a woman bringing forth a male child, and flying into the wilderness on account of the dragon ; two beasts, one ascending out of the sea, the other out of the earth ; a 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 holy city Jerusalem coming down, with a descrip tion of its gates, its wall and foundation ; the river of the water of life, and the trees of life which yielded fruit every month ; with many other particulars. Peter, James, and John were in a similar state when they saw Jesus transfigured ; and so like wise was Paul, when he was caught up to heaven, and heard unspeakable things. A COROLLART. 158. Having in this chapter treated on the Holt Spirit, it deserves to be particularly noticed, that in the Word of the Old Testament there is no mention made of the Holy Spirit, but only of the spirit of holiness in three places, once in David (Psalm li. 11) ; and twice in Isaiah Ixiii. 10, 11 ; whereas in the "Word of the New Testament, as well in the Gospels as in the Acts of the Apostles, and in the Epistles, it is mentioned fre quently : the reason of this is, because there was no Holy Spirit before the coming of the Lord, for it proceeds out of the Lord from the Father ; for the Lord only is holy (Eev. xv. 4) ; therefore also it is said by the angel Gabriel to the mother Mary, the Holy Thing which shall be born of thee (Luke i. 36). It is written, that the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John vii. 39) ; and yet it is said before, that the Holy Spirit filled Elisabeth (Luke i. 41) ; and Zechariah (Luke i. 67); and Simeon (Luke ii. 26) : the reason of which seeming contra diction is, because those three persons 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 the reason too why, in the Word of the Old Testament, it is no where said that the prophets spoke from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah ; for in expressing themselves on this subject, they constantly use some of these terms, Jehovah spake to m,e ; the word ^Jehovah came to me ; Jehovah hath spoken ; the smi 198 THE HOLT SPIRIT. 158, 159 ing of Jehovah ; to evince which, I will only refer the reader to the following passages in Jeremiah, where those expressions are used :— Chap. i. 4, 7, 11—14, 19 ; chap. ii. 1—5, 9, 19, 22, 29, 31 ; chap. iii. 1. 6, 10, 12, 14, 16 ; chap. iv. 1, 3, 9, 17, 27 ; chan. V. 11, 14, 18, 22, 29 ; chap. vi. 6, 9, 12, 15, 16, 21, 22 ; chap. vii. 1, 3, 11, 13, 19, 20, 21 ; chap. viii. 1, 3, 12, 13 ; chap. ix. 6, 9, 12, 13, 17, 22, 23, 24 ; chap. x. 1, 2, 18 ; chap. xi. 1, 6, 9, 11, 21, 22 : chap. xii. 14, 17 ; chap. xiii. 1, 6, 9, 11—15, 26 ; chap. xiv. 1, 10, 14, 15 ; chap. xv. 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 19, 20 ; chap. xvi. 1, 3, 5, 9, 14, 16 ; chap. xvii. 6, 20, 21, 24 ; chap, xviii. 6, 11, 13; chap. xix. 1, 3, 6, 12, 16 ; chap. xx. 4 ; chap. xxi. 1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12 ; chap. xxii. 2, 6, 6, 11, 18, 24, 29, 30 ; chap. xxiii. 2, 6, 7, 12, 15, 24, 29, 31, 38 ; chap. xxiv. 3, 5, 8 ; chap xxv. 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, 15, 27, 28, 29, 32 ; chap. xxvi. 1, 2, 18 ; chap. xxvii. 1, 2, 4, 8, 11, 16, 19, 21, 22 ; chap, xxviii. 2, 12, 14, 16 ; chap. xxix. 4, 8, 9, 16, 19, 20, 21, 25, 30, 31 ; chap. xxx. 1—5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 ; chap. xxxi. 1, 2, 7, 10, 15, 16, 17, 23, 27, 28, 31—38 ; chap, xxxii. 1, 6, 14, 15, 25, 26, 28, 30, 36, 42 , chap, xxxiii. 1, 2, 4, 10, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 23, 25 ; chap, xxxiv. 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 13, 17, 22 ; chap. xxxv. 1, 13, 17, 18, 19 ; chap. xxxvi. 1, 6, 27, 29, 30 ; chap, xxxvii. 6, 7, 9 ; chap, xxxviii. 2, 3, 17; chap, xxxix. 15 — 18; chap. xL 1; chap. xlii. 7, 9, 16, 18, 19 ; chap, xliii. 8, 10 ; chap. xliv. 1, 2, 7, 11, 24, 25, 26, 30 ; chap. xlv. 1, 2, 5 ; chap. xlvi. 1, 23, 25, 28 ; chap, xlvii. 1 ; chap. xlviii. 1, 8, 12, 30, 35, 38, 40, 43, 44, 47 ; chap. xlix. 2, 6, 6, 7, 12, 13, 16, 18, 26, 28, 30, 32, 35, 37, 38, 39 ; chap. 1. 1, 4, 10, 18, 20, 21, 30, 31, 33, 35, 40 ; chap. li. 25, 33, 36, 39, 62, 58. These passages occur in Jeremiah alone : similar expres sions are used by all the other prophets, and it is never said by any of them that the Holy Spirit spoke by them, or that Jehovah spoke to them by the Holy Spirit. 159. To the above I will add the following memorable re lations : — First. On a time when I was in company with some angels in heaven, I saw at a distance below us a great smoke, from which there issued every now and then a fiame of fire : hereupon I observed to the angels in conversation with me, that few persons in that world know that the smoke seen in the hells arises from falses confirmed by reasonings, and that fire is anger kindled against those who maintain contrary opinions ; to which observation I added, that as this truth is little known in the spiritual world, so the people in the natural world, where I live in the body, are equally ignorant that natural fiame is nothing but smoke set on fire, which truth I have often proved experi mentally, by applying a lighted stick to the volumes of smoke that I have observed to arise from a wood-fire, in which case the smoke is instantly turned into a blaze of the same farm and figure with the a moke ; for all the particles of the latter become 199 159 THE HOLT SPIRIT. small separate sparks, which burn in conjunction like lighted gunpowder. The case is the same with that smoke which we see beneath us : it consists of a great many falses, and the fire that bursts out into a blaze is the heat of zeal kindled in them in favor of those falses. The angels then said to me, " Let us pray to the Lord for leave to go down and inquire what are the particular falses which occasion such a smoke and blaze ;" and leave being given, behold ! there appeared round _ about us a pillar of light that extended to the place whence the smoke issued, and we then saw four companies of spirits vehemently contending that God the Father, being invisible, ought to be approached and worshipped, and not his Son, who was born in the world, for he is a Man, and consequently visible. Then looking around I observed, towards the left hand, a body of learned clergy, and behind them such as were unlearned, and towards the right a body of lettered laymen, and behind them such as had no advantages of instruction ; but between us and them there was a great gulf fixed, which it was impossible to pass. We however turned our eyes and ears towards the. left side, where the clergy stood, and overheard them reasoning about God in the following manner : — " We are certain, from the doctrine of our church, which, so far as it relates to God, is generally received in every state in Europe, that God the Father, since he is invisible, ought to be approached and worshipped, and that God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, who also are invisible, as being co-eternal with the Father, are also to be approached and worshipped at the same time ; and since God the Father is the creator of the universe, and consequently dwells in the universe, we know that he is present wherever we turn our eyes, and graciously hearkens to our prayers, and, after accepting his Son's mediation, sends the Holy Ghost, who pours into our hearts the glory of the Son's righteousness, and thereby blesses us ; for we, being appointed teachers in his church, have felt in our bosoms, while we have been preaching, the holy operation of such mission, and have perceived our devotion in flamed by his presence in our minds. This effect wc ascribe to our directing all our senses towards the invisible God, who does not operate partially on our intellectual sight only, but univer sally throughout the whole system of our bodies and minds by his emissary spirit ; for such effects could not result from the worship of a visible God, or one that stands conspicuous before our mental view as a Man." At these words the unlearned part of the clergy, who stood behind, expressed their approbation, adding, " "Whence can holiness come but from an unseen and imperceptible Deity ? The bare mention of such a God affects every part of our frame, infusing pleasure into the countenance, and joy into the heart, like what arises from the fragrance of an odoriferous atmosphere ; whereas the mention of a visible 200 THE HOLT SPIRIT. 159 and perceptible Deity produces no such effects, but while it enters the ear, suggests a merely natural idea, that has nothing divine in it. For a similar reason the Eoman Catholics repeat their masses in Latin, and carry forth and exhibit the host, which they give out is possessed of many divine and mysterious properties, and thus the people are induced to pay it divine reverence, as containing in it some most hidden principle of holiness." After this we turned towards the body of laymen, and from the lettered part of them I could collect 1;he following sentiment : " We are certain that the wisest of the ancients worshipped an invisible God, whom they called Jehovah, but that in succeeding ages men made gods of their deceased rulers, of which number were Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Apollo, and also Minerva, Diana, Venus, Themis, &c., and erected temples in honor of them, and paid them divine worship, from •which worship, in process of time, idolatry ai-ose, and overspread the whole world with its wild superstitions. We therefore are entirely agreed, with our priests and presbyters in this, that there always have been, and now are, three divine persons of an eter nal existence, each whereof is God ; and it is sufficient for us that they are invisible." To these sentiments the unlettered part assented, adding withal,- " Is not God God, and . man man ? We are aware, however, that should any one suggest the notion of a God-Man, the common herd of mankind, who entertain a sensual idea of God, would accede to it." As they said this, their eyes were opened, and they saw us near them, and then, out of anger that we had overheard them, they held their peace, but instantly the angels, by a power committed to them, closed up the exterior or interior regions of their thoughts, from whence their words proceeded, and opened the interior or superior regions, and compelled them to speak of God accord ing to the tholights that flowed thence, and immediately they spoke as follows : " What is God ? We have neither seen his appearance at any time, nor heard his voice ; what therefore is God, except nature in her flrst principles, and in her last? We have seen her, because she is the light of our eyes, and we have heard her, for she is the sound in our ears." On hearing these words, we inquired of them whether they had ever seen Socinus, who acknowledged only God the Father, or Arius, who denied the Divinity of the Lord the Saviour, or any of their folbwers ? They replied, " No ; we never saw thera." " They are all in the deep below you," we said ; and presently some of them came to us, and we asked them some questions concerning God, and they all answered according to the tenor of what we had just now heard, profanely exclaiming, " What is God ? We can make as many gods as we please." We then said, " It js in vain to talk with you about the Son of God who was born in the world ; but so far we will declare to you, that for the sake 201 159. 160 THE HOLT SPIRIT. of preserving a true faith with respect to God, as directed to wards him and proceeding from him, and for fear this faith should perish because no one had ever seen God, and should thus burst like a bubble floating in the air in the latter ages of the world, which in former times had shone with so much brightness of color and beauty, it therefore pleased Jehovah God to descend and assume humanity, and thus to present him self to view before his creatures, and convince them that he is not a mere imaginary entity, but the real and very Being {Ipsum), which was, and is, and will be, from eternity to eter nity ; and that God is not a word only, consisting of so many letters, but he is the all of every thing from Alpha to Omega ; consequently that he is the life and salvation of all who believe on him as visible, but not of those who pretend to 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 ;" and declared in other places that " it is the will of the Father that men should believe on the Son," and that " whoso believeth on the Son hath eternal life, but whoso believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the anger of Gpd abideth on him." (See John iii. 15, 16, 36 ; xiv. 6—15.) When they heard this, many of the four companies grew so en raged, that smoke and fire came out of their nostrils : we there fore departed ; and the angels, after attending me home, returned to their own heaven. 160. The second memorable relation. — I was once walk ing in company with some angels in the world of spirits, which is in the middle between heaven and hell, and into which all men enter immediately after death, and where they are prepared, for heaven if they have been good, and for hell if they have been evil. After conversing on a variety of subjects, I remarked to them, that in the world where I live in tlie body, there appear in the night innumerable stars of different magnitudes, which are so many suns, that transmit their light only into our solar system ; and that on observing the same appearance of stars in the spiritual world, it had occurred to me that possibly they might be as numerous as in the natural world. The angels, being much delighted with this remark, replied, that perhaps the numbers were equal, since every society in heaven some times shines like a bright star before those who are below in the world of spirits ; and that the heavenly societies are innumei-- able, all regulated and arranged according to the variety of the affections of the love of good, which are inflnite in God, and consequently by derivation from him are innumerable: and as these were foreseen before creation began, therefore there is reason to imagine that according to their variety an equal num ber of stars was provided, that is, created, in the world where men were to live in a material natural body. As we were con 202 THE HOLY SPUJIT. 160 versing on these subjects, I observed towards the north a beaten way, so crowded with spirits that they almost touched each other ; and I told the angels that I had often seen this way before, with the same crowd of spirits moving along it, like so many armies, and that I had been informed it was the way through which all pass on their departure out of the natural world, and that the reason of its being so crowded with spirits is, because some myriads of men die every week, all of whom after death migrate into that world. To tliis the angels added, " That way is terminated in the middle of this world where we now are ; and the reason of its being terminated in the middle is, because on the side towards the east dwell the societies that are in love towards God and their neighbor; on the left to wards the west dwell the societies of those who are in opposite loves ; and directly forward towards the south are the societies of such as excel others in intelligence : and hence it is, that all on their departure out of the. natural world flock to this middle part. At their first coming they are in their externals according to their last state in the former world, and afterwards they are successively let into their internals, and examined as to their true natures and qualities ; and after examination the good are conveyed to their abodes in heaven, and the bad to their abodes in hell." We stopped in the middle, at the termination of the crowded way, and said, " Let us stay a while and converse with some of the new-comers." For this purpose we chose twelve out of the multitude, who having but just left the natural world, did not yet know but that they were still alive in it. We questioned them about their sentiments in relation to heaven and hell, AND A life after DEATH. To this ONE of them replied, " I have been taught by the clergy to believe that we are to live after death, and that there is a heaven and a hell : hence I have conceived that all who live a moral life go to heaven, and since all do live a moral life, that none go to hell, and that hell there fore is a mere fable invented by the clergy to deter mankind from sin and wickedness ; besides, what matters it how I think upon these subjects, and whether my sentiments in relation to God be right or wrong ? Thought is only like a bubble on the water, which bursts, and there is an end of it." Then a second near him said, " It is my full belief that there is both a heaven and a hell, and that God rules in heaven, and the devil in hell : and since they are enemies, and consequently at variance with each other, one calls evil what the other calls good ; and there fore a moral man, who has the art of dissimulation, and can make evil appear good, and good evil, sides with both : and what does it signify whether I belong to one master or another, if he be but kind towards me ? Good and evil are al\ke capable of affording delight." A third beside him next declared his senti- 203 160 THE HOLT SPIEIT. ments, and said, " What good will it do me to believe that there are such places as heaven and hell ; for who ever came hence to certify their existence? If every man lives after death, surely out of so great a multitude some would have returned, and re lated to the world the particulars of the future life." A foueth near him said, " I will tell you the reason why none ever re turned to relate the particulars of a life to come. When a man breathes his last, and dies, he then becomes either a spectre, and vanishes away, or he is like the breath of the mouth, which is mere wind ; and how can such a one return arid converse with men on earth ?" A fifth took up the debate, and said, " Wait, my friends, till the day of judgment*; for all men will then return to their bodies, and you shall see them, and converee with them, and each shall acquaint his neighbor with his condition." .A SIXTH, who stood opposite, said with a smile, " How can a spirit, which is mere wind, return into a body devoured by worms, or into a skeleton that has been dried in the sun, and reduced to powder ? Or how can an Egyptian mummy, that has been made into medicines and emulsions by an apothecary, and swallowed by his patients, return to declare to the world what he has seen and heard in another life ? "Wait, then, till the last day, if you believe in such matters ; but if you wait to eternity, depend upon it, it will be to no purpose." Then a SEVENTH said, " If I believed in such places as heaven and hell, and that consequently men were to live after death, I should believe also that birds and beaste will have immortal life ; for are not the same marks of morality and rationality discoverable in some of them as in men ? yet the immortality of brutes is universally denied, and for the same reason I deny also the ira mortality of man : is not the argument as strong in the one case as in the other ? for what is a man but a mere animal ?" An EIGHTH, who stood behind the former, then came forward, and thus declared his sentiments : " I believe, if you please, in the existence of a heaven, but never can I be persuaded that there is such a place as hell ; for is not God omnipotent, and cannot he therefore save every one ?" Then a ninth, taking him by the hand, said, " God is not only omnipotent, but he is also merciful ; he cannot therefore cast any one into eternal fire ; and if there be any already there, his mercy must compel him to take them out, aiicl deliver them." A tenth then advanced hastily from his rank, and said, " I also do not believe in such a place as hell : for did not God send his Son, who atoned for and took away the sins of the whole world ? What power then has the devil to hurt mankind ? And if he has no such power, what then is meant by hell ?" An eleventh, who was a priest, took fire at this, and said, " Do you not know that such as have ob tained faith, on which is inscribed the merit of Christ, are saved. and that those whom' God electe obtain that faith ? Is not elec 204 THE HOLT SPIEIT. 160 tion according to the good pleasure of the Almighty ? and is not he to judge who are deserving of it ? How is it possible to counteract almighty power?" The twelfth, who was a poli tician, was silent ; but being requested to crown all with hia opinion, he said, " I shall not declare my sentiments about heaven, hell, or a life after death, since no one knows any thing respecting them ; yet it may be expedient to allow the clergy tc preach about such things, in order by such invisible bonds to keep vulgar minds obedient to the laws of civil authoritj^ ; for on this the public security depends." We were amazed to hear such declarations, and said one to another, "These, although they have the name of Christians, are yet neither men nor beasts, biit are more properly men- beasts." In order, however, to awaken them from sleep, we said, " There is a heaven and a hell, and also a life after death, and you will be convinced of this as soon as we have dispelled your ignorance of the state of life in which you are at present ; for during a few days immediately after death, it is the common supposition of every spirit that he is still alive in the world from which he came, the time past seeming like a sleep, from which when a person awakes he fancies himself still in the place in which he was when he fell asleep, and this is now the case with you ; therefore you declared your sentiments according to what you had conceived in your former state of existence." So say ing, the angels dispelled their ignorance ; and then they saw themselves in another world, and among persons of whom they had no knowledge; and they exclaimed, " Oh ! v/here are we?" And we said, " You are no longer in the natural world, but in the spiritual, and we are angels." Then, when they were well awakened, they said, " If you are angels, show us the way to heaven :" to this we replied, " Stay here a while, and we will return to you." In about half an hour we returned, and found them waiting for us ; and we said, "Follow us to heaven." They did so ; and we went up with them ; and the keepers of the gate seeing us in company with them, admitted us all. We then ordered those who are appointed to receive strangers on their first admission to examine our companions : they accordingly turned them about, and observing that their heads on the hinder part were very hollow, they instantly said, " Eetire hence, for the delight of your love is to do evil, and you have consequently no conjunction with heaven ; for in your hearts you have denied God, and have despised religion." Then we said to tbem, " Do not stand hesitating, for otherwise you will be cast out." So they hastened down again, and departed. In our way home we inquired into the cause why, in the spiritual world, the hinder part of the head is hollow in such as delight to do evil ; and I accounted for it thus : the human brain is divided into two spheres, one of which fills the hinder part ot 205 160, 161 THE HOLT SPIEIT. the head, and is called the cerebellum, and the other, the fore part, and is called the cerebrum ; and the love of the will has its residence in the cerebellum, and the thought of the understand ing in the cerebrum; consequently when the thought of the understanding does not lead the love of the man's will, the in most contente of the eerehellwm,, which in themselves are celes tial, fall flat together, and thus occasion a hollowness. 161. The thied memorable relation. — \ once heard, in the spiritual world, a noise like the grinding of a mill, in the quarter towards the north. At flrst I wondered what it meant, till I recollected that by a mill, and by grinding, is signified in a spiritual sense, to collect from the "Word matter serviceable to doctrine ; I advanced therefore towards the place from which the noise came, and as I approached, the noise ceased. Then I ob served something like an arched roof above ground, the entrance to which was through a cave : on seeing this I descended and entered ; and lo ! there was a large room, and an aged person sitting, surrounded by books, and holding before him the Word, in which he was searching for what might be serviceable to his doctrine. About him lay several scraps of paper, on which he wrote such passages as suited his purpose ; and in the next apart ment were a number of scribes, who collected the scraps of paper, and copied out their contents on a whole sheet. I inquired first concerning the books which lay about him. He said that they all treated on Justifying Faith. " These," says he, " from Sweden and Denmark, enter deeply into the subject, but these from Germany somewhat deeper, these from England deeper still, and these from Holland the deepest of all I" He added, moreover, that notwithstanding the difference of their senti ments on other pointe, yet in the article of justification and salvation by faith alone, they were all agreed. He then told me, that at that time he was collecting from the Word this chief article of justifying faith, "That God the Father fell away from grace towards mankind on account of their iniquities, and that, consequently, in order to effect their salvation, it was become indispensably necessary that satisfaction, reconciliation, propitia tion, and mediation, should be made by some person, who would take upon himself the sentence of wrath and justice, and that none could be found qualified for this purpose but his only Son ; and that when this purpose was effected, access was opened to God the Father for his sake, for so we pray, ' Father, have mercy upon us for the sake of thy Son.' " He said likewise, " I now see, and have long seen, that this belief is agreeable to all reasou and Scripture ; for how can God the Father be approached, but by faith in the merit of his Son ?" I listened to his discourse, and was amazed to hear him assert that such a belief was agree able to both reason and Scripture, when yet, as I plainly told him, it is directly contrary to both. He then, in the heat of his 206 the holt spirit. 161, 162 zeal, replied, " How can you pretend to say so ? ' I therefore began to explain myself, saying, "Is it not contrary to reason to conceive that God ever fell away from grace towards man kind, and that he ever reprobated and excommunicated them ? Is not divine grace an attribute of the Divine Essence ? To fall away from grace, therefore, would be to fall away from his Divine Essence, and to fall away from his Divine Essence would be to be no longer God ; for how can God be alienated from him self? Believe me, that grace on God's part, as it is infinite, so also is it eternal : it may indeed be lost on man's part, if he does not receive it ; but if grace were to depart from God, the universe of heaven, as well as the whole race of mankind, must imme diately perish ; therefore grace remains on God's part to all eternity, not only towards angels and men, but likewise towards devils in hell. Since this then is agreeable to reason, why do you assert that the only access to God the Father is by faith in his Son's merits, when yet continual access is open by grace ? And why do you further assert, that access is open to God the Father for the sake of his Son, and not by his Son ? Is not the Son the Mediator and Saviour ? Why then do you not approach him as your Mediator and Saviour ? Is he not God and Man ? Who on earth approaches immediately any emperor, king, or prince, without having some person to introduce him ? And did you never learn that the Lord came into the world that he him self might introduce us to the Father ? and that there is no pos sible access but by him ? and that this access is perpetual, while you approach the Lord himself immediately, for he is in the Father, and the Father in him ? Search now the Scriptures, and you will there see that what I tell you is agreeable to them ; and that the 'way to the Father which you talk of is as contrary to them as it is to reason. I assert, moreover, that it is great presumption to climb up to God the Father, and not to approach by him who is in the bosom of the Father, and is alone with him. Did you never read John xiv. 6 ?" As I said this, the oM man was inflamed to such a height of passion, that he spra:^ from his chair, and called to his scribes to turn me out of his house ; and as I walked out of my own accord, he threw after me the flrst book he could lay his hands on, which happened to be the Word. 162. The fourth memorable relation. — There was once a dispute among some spirits, whether it be in a man's power to apprehend any doctrinal theological truth contained in the Word, without help from the Lord ? In this they all agreed, that such a thing is impossible without help from God, since " no man can take any thing, except it be given him from above" (John iii. 27) : the point then in dispute was, whether it be possible with out approaching the Lord immediately. On one side it was UJged, that the Lord ought directly to be approached, because 207 162 THE HOLT SPIRIT. he is the Word; on the other side, they said, that doctrinal truth may be apprehended when God the Father is immediately approached. The debate therefore at flrst turned on this ques tion, whether it be lawful for any Christian to approach God the Father immediately, and so to climb above the Lord ; and whether this be not most indecent, and rash insolence and boldness, since the Lord says, that " no one cometh to the Father, but by him" (John xiv. 6). But presently they left this subject, and asserted that it is possible for a man to apprehend doctrinal truth from the Word of God by his own natural light. This assertion, however, was afterwards rejected ; they therefore next insisted, that such doctrinal truth may be apprehended by those who pray to God the Father. Some passages out of the Word were then read to them ; and they fell on their knees, and prayed that God the Father would enlighten them ; and they instantly asserted, in relation to the passages which had been read to them, that such and such truths might be thence collected : but what they called truths were falses ; and this was repeated till they were tired, when they at last confessed their inability. Those, however, on the other hand, who approached the Lord immediately, were enabled to apprehend divine and doctrinal truths, and to make them known to the others. When this dispute was thus ended, there ascended out of the bottomless pit some spirits, who appeared at first sight like locusts, and after wards like dwarfs : they were of the number of those, who, during their abode on earth, had directed their worship imme diately to God the Father, and had confirmed the doctrine of justification by faith alone ; and they were the same that are described in the Eevelation ix. 1 — 11. They insisted that they had a clear apprehension, and that from the Word, that a man is justified by faith alone without the works of the law ; and being asked by what faith, they replied, by faith in God the Father ; but after they were examined, it was told them from heaven, that they had never apprehended a single doctrinal truth from the Word. They still however insisted, that they had a clear perception of truth in its light ; but they were informed that the light which they imagined to be that of truth, was the light of infatuation. On their asking what was meant by the light of infatuation, they were told, that it is a Hght arising from the confirmation of what is false, and that it corresponds to the light of owls and bats, and that to them darkness is hght, and light darkness. This was confirmed by a circumstance relating to themselves, that when they looked up towards heaven, where the true light shines, they saw nothing but darkness, and when down towards the bottomless pit, whence they came, they per ceived light. At this appeal to their own case they were very indigna,nt, and said, that by this way of reasoning, light and darkness are not real existences, but only states of the eye, ac- 208 . ^ J J , THE HOLT SPIErr. 162 cording to which light is called light, and darkness darkness : but it was shown them, that the light by which they saw was the light of infatuation, arising from the confirmation of what is fWse, and that it was merely an activity of their minds derived from the fire of their concupiscences, not unlike the light by which cats see, whose eyes appear in the night like balls of fire, in consequence of their burning appetite after their prey. On hearing this, they exclaimed in great indignation, that they were neither cats, nor like cate, for that they could see if they would ; but fearing to be asked why they would not, they de- Earted, and descended again into the bottomless pit. The in- abitants of that pit, and all such as resemble them, are called by the angels owls and bate, and likewise locusts. When they were returned to their companions in the bottomless pit, and had told them what the angels had said, that they did not apprehend a single doctrinal truth, and that they were called owls, bats, and locusts, it caused a great commotion among them ; and they said, " Let us pray to God for permis sion to ascend, and we will prove clearly that we are in posses sion of many doctrinal truths, which archangels themselves will acknowledge." So they prayed to God, and their prayer was granted, and they ascended to the number of about three hun dred. As soon as they were risen above ground, they said, " We have been held in high fame and reputation among men on earth, in consequence of understanding and teaching the mysteries of justification by faith alone; and from the argu- mente which we have used to confirm those mysteries, we have not only attained to the light, but have likewise seen it in ite meridian brightness, as we also do at this time in our cells ; and yet we are informed by our companions, who have been with you, that our light is not light but darkness, for, according to you, we are in possession of no doctrinal truth derived from the Word. Now we know that every truth of the Word is ' in the light, and we have believed that the shining brightness arising in our minds from a deep meditation of our mysteries was de rived from that source ; we will therefore demonstrate to you that we are possessed of divine truths in great abundance." Then they said, " Are not we in possession of this truth, that there is a trinity consisting of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and that we must believe in this trinity ? Are not we in possession of this truth, that Christ is our Eedeemer and Saviour? And of this, that Christ alone is righteousness, and that he alone has merit, and that it is a wicked and unjust thing for any person to desire to ascribe to himself any part of his righteousness and merit ? Are not we in possession also of this truth, that no man can do any spiritual good of himself, and that all good, which is really so, is from God ? Are not we in possession too of this truth, that there is a meritorious and hypo- 209 ' p 162 THE HOLT SPIRIT. critical goodness, and that all such goodness is evil ? Are not we in possession of this truth, that good works ought to be dpne ? And of this, that men ought to believe in God, and that every one obtains life according to his belief? Not to mention many other truths, which we have learnt from the Word ; and which of you can deny one of them ? Yet you say, that in our schools we are not in possession of a single truth ; but surely such an assertion must be made from mere opposition." To this we returned for answer, " All the truths which you have adduced are in themselves true ; but as they are held by you, they are truths falsified ; and truths falsified, in consequence of the fals,e principle which lurks within, are in reality falses ; that this is really so, we will convince you by ocular demonstration. There is a place not far from this, into which there is a- direct influx of light from heaven, and in the midst of it there is a table, on which if a piece of paper be placed, with any truth de rived from the Word written on it, by virtue of that truth the paper instantly shines like a star. "Write now the truths you ipentioned on a piece of paper, and let it be placed on the table, v^nd, you shall judge for yourselves." They did so, and gave the paper to the keeper of the table, who placed it there, and then desired them to remove to a little distance, and look towards the table : they did so, and lo ! the paper shone like a star. Then said the keeper, " From this you plainly see, that these ai-e truths which you have written on the paper ; but come now nearer, and fix your eyes attentively on the paper." They did so, and lo! the light suddenly disappeared, and the paper be came black, as if it had been in the smoke of a furnace. Then said the keeper, " Touch the paper with your hands ; but take. care that you do not touch the writing ;" and as they did so, it ipstantly took fire, and was consumed. When these experi ments were concluded, the keeper explained the reason of his caution. " For," s^id he, " if you had touched the writing, you would have heard a crackling, and have burnt your fingers." This declaration was then made in the hearing of those who stood behind : " You see now, that the truths which you have abused to confirm the mysteries of your justifying faith, are in themselves truths, but in you they are truths falsified." They then looked upward, a,nd the heavens appeared to them like blood, and afterwards like thick darkness ; and in the eyes of the angelic spirits, some of them seenr.ed in the shape of bate, some in the shape of owls, and some like other birds of night. So they fled away to their own regions of darkness, which shone in their eyes by the light of infatuation. The angelic spirits, who were present, wondered that they had never before been acquainted with this place, and the table contained in it; and immediately a voice from the southern quarter called to them, saying, " Come this way, and you shall 210 . •' •' THK HOLT SPIErr. 162 see soinething still more extraordinary." So tihey went, and were, admitted into an apartment, whose walls shone as with gold ; and there also they observed a table, on which lay the Word, decorated on all sides with precious stones in celestial arrangement. Then the angel that kept it, said, " Every time that the Word is opened, there darts from it a light of inexpresr sible brightness, and at the same time, from the precious stones, liiere appears as it were a rainbow, encompassing the Word on all sides, and forming an arch above it. When an angel from the third heaven approaches and looks at it, the rainbow appears in a red ground ; when an angel from the second heaven ap proaches and- looks, the rainbow appears in a blue ground ; when an angel from the last heaven approaches and looks, the rain bow appears in a white ground ; when a good spirit approaches and looks, the light appears variegated, like the different veins and colors in marble." The truth of these circumstances was then evinced by ocular demonstration. Afterwards the angel proceeded, saying, " If any one approaches who has falsified me Word, the brightness instantly vanishes ; and if he approaches nearer, and fixes his eyes on the Word, it seems as if it was covered over with blood, and in this case he is admonished, at his peril, to stay there no longer." A certain person, however, who, during his abode on earth, had been' much distinguished for his writings in favor of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, approached with great confidence, and said, " Through the whole course of my former life I never falsified the Word ; I laid equal stress on charity and on faith, and taught that in a state of faith, in which a man exercises charity, and does good works, he is renewed, regenerated, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit: I also insisted that, in such a case, it is impossible for faith to remain single, thatis, unattended by good works, just as a good tree cannot be without fruit, or the sun without light, or fire without heat; I likewise blamed those who asserted that good works were unnecessary, and that the commandments of the decalogue need not be observed ; I also laid great stress on re pentance, and thus in a wonderful manner connected all the duties prescribed in the Word with the single article concerning faith, which I nevertheless discovered and demonstrated to be the only saving virtue." In the confidence of this assertion, that he had never falsified the Word', he approached the table; and, disregarding the angel's caution, touched the Word, when lo! there was a sudden efflux of fire and smoke from the Word, attended with a loud explosion, by which he was thrown into a distant corner of the apartment, and lay there for the space of an hour as if he had been dead. The angelic spirits were much surprised at this phenomenon, till they were informed that this distinguished leader had, more than other teachers, exalted works of charity, as proceeding from faith, but that he meant 211 ' c . 162, 163 THE DIVINE TEINITT. no other works than what relate to society, and are called moral and civil works, which have this world and ite prosperity for their end, and are not done with a view to salvation and etenial life. By works too he had supposed some hidden operations of the Holy Spirit, with which the man is utterly unacquainted, and which are effected in some particular states of faith. The angelic spirits had then some conversation with each other about the falsification of the Word, and they agreed in this, that to falsify the Word signifies to collect truths therefrom, and to apply them to the confirmation of what is false, which is to extract truths from the Word, and when they have got them out in a disconnected state, to murder them ; as for example, to apply all those truths which were adduced above by the spirits of the bottomless pit, to the faith now prevalent, and to explain them accordingly ; for that this faith is fully impregnated with falses, will be proved hereafter. So again, to collect from the Word this truth, that charity ought to be practised, and that a man should do good to his neighbor, and then to insist that such charity and good works should not be done and practised with a view to salvation, since all the good which a man does is not good, because it is meritorious ; this is to extract truth from the Word, and when it is so extracted and disconnected, to murder it, while yet the Lord in his Word enjoins every one who would be saved, to love his neighbor, and from the infiuence of that love to do him good. The case is the same in other instances. THE DIVINE TEINITT. 163. Having treated on God the Creator, and at the same time on Creation, and afterwards on the Lord the Eedeemer, and at the same time on Eedemption, and lastly on the Holy Spirit, and at the same time on the Divine Operation, and having thus treated on the triune God, it is necessary now to treat also on the Divine Trinity, a doctrine which in the Chris tian world is known, and yet is unknown. By this doctrine alone we can acquire a right idea of God : and a right idea of God is to the church what the inmost sanctuary and altar were to the temple ; or like a crown on the head and a sceptre in the hand of a king sitting on his throne ; for as a chain depends on the staple from which it hangs, so does the whole body of the ology depend on a right idea of God as its head ; and if the reader is willing to credit it, every one has a place in heaven according to his idea of God : for this idea, like a touchstone by which gold and silver are tried, is the true test for examining the quality of good and truth in a man, since no possible saving good can come except from God, and there is not a single saving 21S THE DIVINE TEINITT. 163, 164 truth but what derives its quality from the bosom of goodness. To unfold this doctrine more fully, so that men may see what the Divine Trinity is with both their eyes, we will arrange it under the following articles : — I. That there is a DiAsine Trinity, consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. II. That these three. Father, Son, amd Holy Spirit, a/re the three essenUals of one God, which make a one, like soul, body, a/nd operation in a mam-. III. That before the creation of the world tliis Trinity did not exist, but it was provided and made since the creation qf the world, when God became inca/rnate, a/nd then centred in the Lord God, the Redeemer and Saviour, Jesus Christ. IV. That a Trinity qf Divine Persons existing from eternity, or before the creal/ion ofthe world, when conceived in idea, is a trinity of Gods, which can never be eomelled hy the oral confession of one God. Y. That a Trinity of^Persons was unknown in the apostolic chv/rch, and the doctrine was first broached by the Council of Nice,- and thence recei/ved into the Roman Catholic Church, and thus propagated among the reformed chwrches. YI. That the Nicene and Atha nasian doctrines concerning the Trinity have together given rise to a faith which has totally perverted the Cli/ristian chv/rch. YIL That hence has come that abomination of desolation, and that afiUcl/ion, such as was not in all the world, neither shall be, which the Lord hasforetold in Daniel, a/nd the F/vangeUsts, and the Rev elation. YIII. That hence too it is come to pass, that except a new heaven and a new church be established m) the Lord, noflesh can he saved. IX. That a Trinity of Persons, each of which singly and by himself is God, according to the Athanasian, Creed, has given rise to manyy dhsu/rd and heterogeneous not/ions con cerning God, which are merely fanciful arid aborti/ve. We will now proceed to a particular explanation of each article. 164. That there is a divine trinitt, consisting of father, son, and holt spirit. That there is a Divine Trinity, consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is manifestly declared in the Word, and partic ularly in these passages : " The angel Gabriel said unto 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, viz., the Highest, who is God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Son of God. Again : " When Jesus was baptized, lo ! the heavens were opened, and John saw t\e Holy Spirit descending like a dove, and lighting upon him ; and lo ! a voice from heaven, saying. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Mat. iii. 16, 17 ; Mark i 10, 11 ; John i. 32). It is still more evidently declared in these words of the Lord to his disciples : " Go ye and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son. and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt, xxviii. 19) ; and 213 164, 165 THE DIVINE TRINITT. in these words of John : " There are three tha't bear wituefes ih heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit" (Ist Epi^ V. 7). To this may be added the further evidence arising froin the circumstance of our Lord's praying to his Father, an'd speaking of him and with him, and declaring that he would send the Holy Spirit, which also he did. The apostles too, in their epistles, make frequent mention of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Hence then it is evident that there is a Divine Trinity, consisting of Father, Son, aud Holy Spirit. 165. But in what sense this Trinity is to be understood, whether as consisting of three Gods, who in essence, and conse quently in name, are one God, or as three objects of one subjecJt, and thus that what are so named are only the qualities or attri butes of one God, or whether it is to be understood in some other sense, human reason, if left to itself, can by no means dis cern. Of whom therefore shall we ask counsel? There is no other possible help for a man but to go to the Lord God the Saviour, and read the Word under his influence, for he is the God of the Word ; and his understanding will be enlightened, and he will see truths to which his reason also will assent. But in case, O man, thou dost not go to the Lord, although thou shouldst read the Word a thousand times over, and shouldst discern therein a Divine Trinity and also a Unity, yet in vain wilt thou hope to see the Tiinity in any other light than as con sisting of three divine persons, each of whom singly and by himself is God, and who thus together form three Gods. Such doctrine, however, is plainly repugnant to the common perception of all men throughout the universe ; and therefore its advocates, to avoid the imputation of folly, take refuge in this device, that although in reality there are three Gods, yet faith requires that they should not be called three Gods, but one ; and further, to guard against the aspersions of censure, they give out that the understanding, in this case particularly, should be put in chains, and kept bound under obedience to faith. The production of such a paralytic birth was a consequence of not reading the Word under the Lord's auspices ; for he that does not read it under his taspices, reads it under the auspices of his own under- Standing, which is Uke a bird of night in relation to things that are in spiritual light, such as are all the essentials of the church. When, therefore, such a man reads those passages in the Word which relate to the Trinity, and thence conceives that notwith standing there are three, yet still tho§e three are one, this ap pears to him like one of those dark answers that used to be given by the oracles of old, which because he does not under stand, he mumbles it in his mouth, instead of placing it directly before his eyes ; for if he should take such a direct view of it, it would be like a riddle, which the more he desires to unfold it, the more would it puzzle and confuse him, till at last he would 214 ¦THE DIVINE TRINITT. 165, 166 begin to think of it without the aid of the understanding, which IB the same thing as to pretend to see without an eye. In short, to read the Word under the auspices of our own understanding only, which is the case with all those who do not acknowledge the Lord to be the God of heaven and earth, and, in conse quence of such acknowledgment, approach and worship him alone, may be likened unto a common pastime among children when they tie a handkerchief before their eyes, and attempt to walk in a straight line, and even fancy that they do so, although they turn aside every step they take, and at length bend into a direction opposite to that in which they set out, till they stum ble upon some stone or other in the way, and fall to the ground. Such persons may also be compared with mariners sailing with out a compass, the consequence of which is, that they let the vessel drive upon rocks and sands, and are shipwrecked. They are also like a man walking over a wide plain in a thick fogj who sees a scorpion, and supposes it to be a bird, and striving to catch it, and take it up in his hand, does not discover his mistake till he is pierced with its deadly sting. They may like wise be compared with a cormorant or a kite, spying a small part only of the back of some great fish above the surface of the water, at which it instantly darts, and fixes its beak so fast, that it is pulled underwater by the fish and drowned. They are also like a person who enters into a labyrinth without either a guide or a clue for his direction ; the consequence of which is, that the further he penetrates the more he is at a loss to find his way out again. In fine, the man who reads the Word not under the Lord's auspices, but under those of his own understanding, fancies himself to be as quick-sighted as a lynx, and to have more eyes than Argus, when yet interiorly he discerns no single truth, but only what is false, and persuading himself that this is true, it appears to him like the polar star by which he steers, and to which he directs all the sails of thought and conception, till at length he has no more discernment of truth than a mole, and what he does discern he bends in favor of his own fancy, and so perverts and falsifies the holy subjects of the Word. 166. II. That these three, father, son, and holt spirit, ARE THE THREE ESSENTIALS OF ONE GOD, WHICH MAKE A ONE, LIKB SOUL, BODT, AND OPERATION IN A MAN. There are general and also particular essentials of every one thing, which all together constitute one essence. The general essentials of every one man are his soul, body, and operation ; and that these constitute one essence, is evident from this circum stance, that one exists by derivation from the other, and for the sake of the other, in a continued series ; for a man has his be ginning from the soul, which is the very essence of the seed; and which is not only the initiating, but also the producing cause of all the parts of the body in their respective order and 216 166—168 THE DIVINE TRINITT. afterwards of a,l the acts proceeding from the soul and bod^ united, which are called operations ; therefore from this. circum stance of the production of one from another, and their conse quent insertiori and conjunction one with another, it is evident that these three are of one essence, and are therefore called three essentials. 167. That these three essentials, soul, body, and operation, did and do exist in the Lord God the Saviour, is universally acknowledged. That his soul was from Jehovah the Father can be denied only by Antichrist ; for in the Word of both the Old and the New Testament he is called the Son of Jehovah, the Son of the Most High God, the Only-begotten ; therefore the divine of the Father, answering to the soul in a man, is his first essential. That the Son, who was born of the mother Mary, is the body of that divine soul, is a consequence ofits conception'; for nothing is provided in the womb of the mother except a body, conceived by and derived from the soul ; this, therefore, is the second essential. That operations constitute the third essential, is a consequence of their proceeding from soul, and body together; for such things as proceed are of the same essence with those which produce them. That the three essen tials, which are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are one in the Lord, like soul, body, and operation in a man, is evident from the words of the Lord, declaring that he and the Father are one, and that the Father is in him and he in the Father ; and that in like manner he and the Holy Spirit are one ; for the Holy Spirit is the divine that proceeds out of the Lord from the Father, as was shown above, n. 153, 154, by so many quotations from the Word, that to prove it again would be superfluous, and like loading a table with food after men have satisfied their appetites. 168. When it is said that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are the three essentials of one God, like soul, body, and operation in a man, it may appear to human reason as if those three essentials were three distinct persons, which yet cannot possibly be true ; but when it is understood that the divine of the Father, which constitutes the soul, and the divine of the Son, which constitutes the body, and tie divine of the Holy Spirit, or the divine proceeding, which constitutes operation, are the three essentials of one God, this the understanding can apprehend. For there is a peculiar divinity of nature in God the Father, also in the Son derived from the Father, and in the Holy Spirit pro ceeding from both, which being of the same essence and the same mind, constitute together one God. But if those three divine natures are called persons, and have each of them their particular attributes allotted them, as when imputation is ascribed to the Father, mediation to the Son, and operation to the Holy Spirit, in this case the divine essence is divided, which a et is 216 THE DIVINE TRINITT. , 168—170 one and indivisible, and thus no one of the three is God in per feet fulness, but each in subtriplicate power, which is a concep tion that every man of sound understanding must reject. 169. How plain therefore is it to discern a trinity in the Lord from the trinity discernible in every individual man I For in every individual man there is a soul, a body, and an opera tion ; so is there also in the Lord ; for in him, as Paul says, " dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Coloss. ii. 9) ; therefore the trinity in the Lord is divine, but in a man it is human. How plain also is it to see that in the common mys terious saying, that there are three divine persons, and yet but one God, and that this God, although he is but one, is still not one person, — reason has nothing to do, but is laid to sleep, still compelling the mouth to speak like a parrot without meaning ! And when reason is laid asleep, what are the words of the mouth but lifeless and inanimate sounds ? Or when the mouth speaks what the reason contradicts, what are such words but the off spring of infatuation ? At this day, with respect to the Divine Trinity, human reason is bound, like a man handcuffed and fettered in prison, and may be compared to a vestal virgin buried alive for letting out the sacred fire ; when nevertheless the Divine Trinity ought to shine like a lamp in the mind of every member of the church, since God in his trinity and in his unity is the all in aU of the sanctities of heaven and the church. But to make one God of the soul, another of the body, and a third of the operation, what is this but like forming three distinct parts out of the three essentials of one man, which is to behead and slay him ? 170. HI. That before the creation of the world this TRINITT DID NOT EXIST, BUT IT WAS PROVIDED AND MADE SINCE THE CREATION,' 'WHEN GOD BECAME INCARNATE, AND THEN CEN TRED IN THE LOED GOD, THE EEDEEMER AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. In the Christian church at the present day, a Divine Trinity is acknowledged as existing before the creation of the world ; according to which Jehovah God begot a Son from eternity, and the Holy Spirit then proceeded from both ; and each of these three is God singly, or by himself, since each one is a per son subsisting of himself. But this belief, being incomprehen sible to reason, is called a mystery, to which there is no other key than this, that those three partake of one divine essence, by which is understood eternity, immensity, and omnipotence, and, consequently, they enjoy equal divinity, glory, and majesty. This trinity, however, is a trinity of three gods, and therefore not by any means a Divine Trinity,, as will be proved hereafter ; but a Trinity, consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which was provided and made after God became incarnate, consetiuently after the creation of the world, is a Divine Trinity, since i t exists 317 170, 171 THE DIVINE TRINITY. in one God, as is evident from all that has been said ahovh. The reason that this Divine Trinity is centred in the Lord God, the Eedeemer and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is, because the three essen tials of one God, which constitute one essence, are in him. That in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead, according to P.aul, is evident also from the Lord's own words, where he says, that all that the Father hath is his, and that the Holy Spirit does not speak of himself, but from him ; and also from this circumstance, that at his resurrection he took with him from the sepulchre his whole human body, as to both the flesh and the bones (Matt, xxviii. 1 — 8 ; Mark xvi. 6, 6 : Luke xxiv. 1, 2, 3 ; John xx. 11 — 15), contrary to the manner of all other men ; ¦which also he testifled openly to his disciples, saying, " Behold my hands and 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 circumstance every man, if he is willing, may be convinced that the Humanity of the Lord is Divine, and consequently that in him God is Man, and Man is God. l7l. The doctrine of the trinity, which the present Christiaii church embraces, and admits into its articles of faith, is, that God the Father begot a Son from eternity, and that then the Holy Spirit proceeded from both, and that each by himself is God. Of this trinity no other possible conception can be formed in the minds ^f men than as of a triarchy, or as of the govern ment of three kings in one kingdom, or of three generals over one army, or of three masters in one house, each of whom has equal power, the certain consequence of which must be ruin and destruction. And should any one be desirous to sketch out the form or figure of such a triarchy in his imagination, and yet to connect it, by some means, with the idea of unity, he must be obliged to represent it to his fancy like a man with three heads upon one body, or with three bodies under one head ; which monstrous image is nevertheless formed in the imagination of those who believe in three divine persons, each of ¦whom by him self is God, and join these together as one God, and yet deny that God, not^w'ithstanding his unity, is one Person. This notion concerning the birth of the Son of God from eternity, and that this Son descended and assumed the Humanity, may be com pared with the fabulous stories of the ancients concerning the creation of human souls at the beginning of the world, and their entering into bodies and becoming men ; and likewise with those ridiculous conceits, that the soul of one person passes into afiother, as many in the. Jewish church believed, fancying that the soul of Elias had passed into the body of John the Baptist, and that David would return into his own body, or that of some other person, and reign over Israel and Judah, because it is said in Ezekiel, " I will set up one shepherd over tiiem, and he shall feed them, even my servant David ; and he shall be thefr shep- 218 THE DIVINE TTHNITT. 171) 1^2 herd, and I Jehov'ah will be their God, and my servant David a prince in the midst of them" (xxxiv. 23, 24), and in other places, not discerning that by-David there is meant the Lord. 172. IY. That a trinitt of divine persons existing feoM; ETEENTTT, OE BEFORE THE CREATION OF THE WOELD, WHEN CON CEIVED IN IDEA, IS A 'irEINITT OF GODS, WHICH CANNOT BE EX PELLED BT THE ORAL CONFESSION OF ONE GOD. That a trinity of Divine persons existing from eternity is a trinity of gods, appears evidently from these passages in the Athanasian Creed : There is one person of the Father, another of th-e 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 or three lords, hut one God and one Lord ; for as we a/re compelled by the Christi-an verity to acknowledge every person by himself to he God Omd Lord, so a/re we forbidden hy the -Catholic religion to say there he three gods or three lords. This creed is received as oecumenieal, or uriiversal, by the whole Christian church, and from it is derived all that at this day is known and acknow ledged concerning God. Every one who reads this creed with his eyes open may perceive that a trinity of gods was the only trinity thought of by those who composed the Council of Nice, whence this creed, as a posthumous birth, was first introduced into the church. That a trinity of gods was not only had in view by the members of the Nicene Council, but that no other trinity is understood throughout all Christendom, is a necessary consequence of making that creed the standard of knowledge respecting God, to which every one pays an implicit obedience. I appeal to every one, both layman and cler'gyman, both learned masters and doctors, and consecrated bishops and archbishops, yea even to purple cardinals, and the Eoman pontiff himself, whether any other trinity than a trinity of gods be at this day conceived in idea throughout Christendom. Let each examine himself, and then declare his sentiments openly according to the ideas of his own mind ; for from the words of this generally re ceived doctrine concerning God, it is as clear and transparent to the sight, as ¦water in a cup of crystal, that there are three persons, each whereof is God and Lord ; amd also, that according to Christian verity men ought to confess or acknowledge each per son singly to be God and Lord, but that the Catholic or Christian religion or faith forbids them to say and make mention of three gods and three lords ; and thus that verity and religion, or truth and faith, are not one and the same thing, but two different things in a state of contrariety to each other. It is added, indeed, that there are not three gods and three lords, but one God and one Lord ; bnt this was plainly done to prevent their being exposed to the derision of the whole world ; for who can 219 172, 173 THE DrVINE TEINITT. forbear derision on hearing of three gods ? And who does not see a manifest contradiction between this palliating assertion and the preceding declarations ? Whereas had they said that divine essence belongs to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, and yet there are not three divine essences, but only one indivisible essence, the mystery in this case would have been easily explained, while by the Father men had under stood the all-originating Divinity {Divinum a Quo), by the Son the Divine Humanity thence, and by the Holy Spirit the Divine Proceeding, whicli are the three essentials of one God ; or if tJie Divinity of the Father had been considered as the soul of a man, the Divine Humanity as the body of .that soul, and the Holy Spirit as the operation proceeding from both ; in this case three essences are understood as belonging to one and the same per son, and therefore as constituting together one single indivisible essence. 173. The reason why the idea of three gods cannot be ex tirpated by the oral confession of one God, is, because that idea is implanted in memory from childhood, and every man thinks from the things which are contained in his memory. For the memory in men is like the ruminatory stomach in birds and beasts ; in this stomach they store up food by which they are from time to time nourished, and which they bring forth and transmit into the true stomach, where it is digested, and prepared for all the purposes of bodily nourishment ; the human understanding answers to the latter stomach, as the memory does to the former. Every one may see that the idea of three divine persons existing from eternity, which is the same as the idea of three gods, cannot be extirpated by an oral confession of one god if he only considers this circumstance, that it has never as yet been extirpated, and that there are many persons of note and distinction in the church, who are unwilling that it should be extirpated, contending that three divine persons are one God, and obstinately denying God to be one person, although they allow him to be one God. What man of sense, however, does not think with himself, that by the word person a real person cannot be understood, 'but that the term is used to denote some particular quality ; but what this quality is, remains unknown ; on which account the notion im planted in the memory in the early part of life, remains there, like the root of a tree in the ground, from which, though the tree itself be cut down, a fresh shoot is sure to spring up. Bu*'. do you, my friend, not only cut down that tree, but also extir pate its root, and then plant in your garden such trees as yield good fruits ; fbr this purpose talce heed lest the idea of three gods abide in your mind, while your mouth, without any idea to influence it, confesses one God. For in such case, what is the understanding which is above the memory, and conceives 220 THE DIVINE TRINITT. 173, 174 three gods, and the understanding which is below the memory, and from which the mouth confesses one God, but like a per former on the stage, who can act two characters, by crossing from one side of the stage to the other, and can assert one thing on one side, and contradict it on the other, and by such alterca tion call himself a wise man on this side, and a fool on that ? And what is the consequence of such ambiguity of character, but that while he stands in the middle, and looks towards each side, he begins to imagine that there is nothing real in either, and thus, perhaps, that there is neither one God, nor three, and consequently no God ? This is the true source and origin of the naturalism that so much prevails at present throughout the world. No one in heaven can pronounce such a phrase as a trinity of persons, each whereof singly is God ; for the heavenly^ atmosphere, which is the medium for the conveyance and prop agation of angelic thoughts, as bur air is of natural sounds, would refuse to give utterance to such an expression. A hypo crite, indeed, can do this ; but then the tone of his voice, in the heavenly atmosphere, grates like the gnashing of teeth, or croaks like a raven that attempts to imitate the note of a nightingale. I have been informed also from heaven, that it is as impossible to extirpate a belief conflrmed and rooted in the mind in favor of a trinity of gods, by an oral confession of one God, as it would be to draw a full-grown tree through its seed, or a man's whole chin through a single hair of his beard. 174. Y. That a trinitt of persons was unknown in the APOSTOLIC CHURCH, AND THE DOCTRINE WAS FIEST BEOACHED BY THE COUNCIL OF NICE, AND THENCE EECEIVED INTO THE EOMAN CATHOLIC CHUECH, AND THUS PEOPAGATED AMONG THE EBFOEMEU OHUECHES. The apostolic church signifles the church which existed in various places not only while the apostles lived, but for two or three centuries after their decease. It was after this that men began to pluck the door of the temple off its hinges, and to rush like thieves and robbers into the holy of holies. The temple signifies the church, the door the Lord God the Eedeemer, and the holy of holies his Divinity; for Jesus says, " Vemly 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." This horrid deed was done by Arius and his adherents ; on which account a council was assembled by Coistantine the Great, at Nice, a city of Bithynia : and, with a view to stop the jirogress of Arius's damnable heresy, the members of this council devised, concluded, and determined that three divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost have existed from eternity, each of whom has a distinct and independent personality, exist ence, and subsistence : and further, that the second person, or 221 174 176 THE DIVINE TTJINITT. the Son, descended, and assumed the Humanity, and accom plished the work of redemption ; in consequence of which his Hr^manity was made partaker of Divinity by a hypostatic union, and by virtue of this union he had an intimate relationship with God the Father. From that time an incredible number of dreadful heresies, respecting God and the person of Christ, began to spring out of the earth, whereby the head of Antichrist was exalted, and God divided into three persons, and the Lord the Saviour into two ; and thus the temple which the Lord had built by means of his apostles was so effectually destroyed, that there was not one stone left on another which was not thrown down, according to his own words (Matt. xxiv. 2) ; where by the temple is meant not only the temple at Jerusalem, but also the church, of whose consummation, or end, that chapter treats throughout. But what else could be expected from that council, and from the others that succeeded it, which divided the Divinity in like manner into three persons, and placed the incarnate God below them on their footstool ? For they removed the head of the church from its body, in consequence oi clim,bing up another way, that is, they passed by Jesus Christ, and climbed up to God the Father, as to another person, with only the mention of Christ's merits in their mouths, as an inducement for the Father to have mercy on them, believing that they should thus receive instantaneous justification, with all ite attendant graces, such as the remission of sins, renovation, sanctification, regeneration, and salvation; and all this without the use of any means on man's part. 175. The apostolic church had no idea of a trinity of per sons, or of three persons existing from eternity, as is evident from the Creed of that church, which is called the Apostles' Ceeed, where it is said, I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maksr of heaven and ea/rth ; a/nd in Jesus Christ his only Son ov/r Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, bm-n of the Virgin Mary, <&g., and I believe in the Holy Ghost. Here no mention is made of any Son born from eternity, but of a Son conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Yirgin Mary ; the composers of that creed having learnt from the apostles, that " Jesus Christ is the true God" (1 John v. 20) ; that " In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Coloss. ii. 9) ; that the apostles preached faith in him (Acte xx. 21) ; and that " He hath all power in heaven and in earth" (Matt, xxviii. 18). 176. What dependence is to be placed on councils, while they do not immediately approach the God of the church ? Is not tha church the Lord's body, and he ite head? And what is a body without a head, or a body on which are set three heads, which take counsel together, and make decrees ? Does not illustration, which is of a spiritual nature, as it descends from the Lord alone, who is the God of heaven and the church, and also the 222 THE DIVINE TRINITT. 176, 177 God of the Word, become in such case more and more natural, and at last sensual? And when this happens, not a single genuine theological truth is discerned in its internal form, but IS instantly cast out from the thought of the rational under standing, and dispersed into the air like chaff by the winnower's fan ; in which case fallacies enter and take the place of truths, and darkness reigns instead of light ; and then men stand as in a dark cave, with spectacles before their eyes, and a candle in their hands, and close their eyelids against all spiritual truths which are in the light of heaven, but open them for the reception of sensual truths, which are in the false light of the bodily senses ; and afterwards, when they hear the "Word read to them, their minds in like manner are asleep to the apperception of truths, and awake to the apperception of falses, and become like the beast that rose out of the sea, which had a mouth like a lion, a body like a leopard, and feet like a bear (Eev. xiii. 2). It is said in heaven, that at the conclusion of the council at Nice, there was a fulfilling of these prophecies, which the Lord de clared 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) ; and in truth the apostolic church was like a new star appearing among the heavenly constellations ; but after the second council of Nice it became like the same star when it is darkened and disappears, as has sometimes also been the case in the natural world, according to the observations of astronomers. It is written in the Word, that Jehovah God dwells in light in accessible ; who then could approach him unless he had come to dwell in accessible light, that is, unless he had descended and assumed the humanity, and in this made himself the light of the world? (John i. 9 ; xii. 46.) Who cannot see, that to approach Jehovah the Father in his light, is as impossible as to take the wings of the morning, and fiy by their aid to the sun ? or to feed on the sun's rays instead of elementary food ? or as it is for a bird to fiy in ether, and a stag to run in air ? 177. YI. That the nicene and athanasian doctrines con ceening A TEINITT HAVE TOGETHEE GIVEN EISE TO A FAITH WHICH HAS ENTIEELT PERVERTED THE CHRISTIAN CHUECH. Both the Nicene and the Athanasian doctrines concerning the trinity assert a trinity of gods, as was shown above, n. 172. Hence sprung the faith of the present church, which is directed towards God the Father, God the Son, and God, the Holy Ghost ; towards God the Father, as him that imputes the righteousness of the Saviour, his Son, and ascribes it to man; towards God the Son, as him that intercedes, and is the Mediator of a cove nant ; and towards God the Holy Ghost, as him who actually in- aoribes on the heart the imputed righteousness of the Son, and secures it with the seal of justification, sanctification, and regen-, 223 177 THE DIVINE TRESriTT. oration. This is the faith of the present church, which alone la sufficient to prove, that a trinity of gods is acknowledged and worshipped. From the faith of every church is derived not only the whole of its worship, but also of its doctrine; therefore it may truly be said, that such as its faith is, such is its doctrine : hence it follows, that this faith, since it is directed towards three gods, has perverted all things belonging to the church ; for faith may be considered as the first principle, and doctrinals as its derivatives, and derivatives take their essence from their prin ciple. And if any one be disposed to examine the particulars of doctrine, in relation to God, the person of Christ, charity, re pentance, free-will, election, the use ofthe sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper, he will clearly see, that a trinity of gods enters into every particular, and although it may rjot actually appear therein, yet that is the fountain fi-om which it fiows ; but since it is not convenient in this place to enter upon such an examination, and yet for the sake of opening men's eyes it might be expedient to do so, therefore we will give it in an ap pendix to this work. The faith of the church in relation to God, is like the soul which animates the body, and points of doctrine are like the members of that body. Faith towards God also is like a queen, and doctrinal tenets are like the officers of her court ; and as such officers are dependent on the queen's author ity, so are doctrinal tenets on the injunctions of faith. From the nature of this faith too may be seen, in what manner the Word is understood in the church ; for faith bends and draws towards itself, with all its might, whatever it can ; so that if it is a false faith, it plays the harlot with every truth that the Word contains, and puts a false interpretation upon it, and thereby falsifies it, so as to make the man of the church insane in regard to spiritual subjecte ; but if it is a true faith, then the whole Word is on its side, and the God of the Word, who is the Lord God the Saviour, infuses light, and gives the testimony of his divine assent, so as to beget wisdom in the believer. That the present faith of the church, which in ite internal form is a faith in three gods, but in its external form in one God, has ex tinguished the light of the Word, and removed the Lord from his church, and thus plunged its morning into midnight dark ness, will also be seen in the appendix. This was effected by the heretics who lived before the council of Nice, and afterwards by those sabeequent to that council, who derived their heretical opinions from it. But what dependence is to be placed on 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 may be compared with the steps of a blind man walking in the day, or of a man who has good eyes walking in the night, neither of whom can see the pit before he falls headlong into it. Have there not been conn 224 THE DIVINE 'TRINITY. 177, 178 cils, for instance, which have established the Pope's vicarship, the canonization ofthe dead, the invocation of saints as so many deities, the worship of .their images, the authority of indul gences, and the division of the eucharist, with many other things of a similar nature ? What dependence then is to be placed on such councils ? Has there not also been a council which has established the horrid doctrine of predestination, and hung it up before the doors of the temple as the palladium of religion ? What dependence then is to be placed on such a council ? But do you, my friend, go to the God of the Word, and thus to the Word itself, and enter by the door into the sheepfold, that is, into the church, and you will be enlightened ; and then you ¦will see, as from a high mountain, not only the errors of many others, bnt also your own former bewildered wanderings' in the dark forest at the foot of the mountain. 178 The faith of every church is as the seed from which all its doctrines spring, and may be compared to the seed of a tree, from which all its parts, even to the fruit, successively derive their birth ; . and also to the human seed, from which are pro duced children and families to many generations ; therefore when we are acquainted with the primary faith of any church, which, from its predominancy is called saving faith, we may know from thence the quality of that church. This may be illustrated from the following example : suppose the primary article of faith to be, that nature is the creator of the universe ; the consequence of such a faith is a belief, that the universe is what is generally called God ; that nature is his essence ; that the ether is the supreme god, whom the ancients called Jupiter ; that the air is a goddess, whom the ancients called Juno, and made the wife of Jupiter; that the ocean is a deity below them, who, according to the ancients, is named Neptune ; and since the divinity of nature extends even to the centre of the earth, that there also is a god, who, in conformity to the ancients, may be called Pluto ; that the sun is the palace of all the gods, in which they assem'ble when Jupiter calls a council ; and more over that fire is life issuing from God ; and thus that birds fiy in God, beasts walk in God, and fishes swim in God ; and fur ther, that thoughts are only modifications of ether, as expres sions of thought are only modulations of air; and that the affections of love are mere occasional changes of state, owing to the influx of the sun's rays into the before-named atmospheres : it will further follow, that a life after death, and heaven and hell, are mere fictions invented by the clergy, with a view to their own honor and wealth, but that, notwithstanding their being fictions, they are still useful, and ought not to be publicly despised, because they may be serviceable to keep the minds of the vulgar under the yoke of obedience to the civil magistrate ; that those, however, who are seriously devoted to religion, are .225 Q 178, 179 THE DIVINE TRINITT. recluse men, whose thoughts are mere phantasms, whose actions are ridiculous, and who, living in servile subjection to priests, believe what they do not see, and see what is above the sphere of their comprehension. These, and many other such conse quent notions, are contained in the faith, that nature is the creator of the universe, and they issue from it, as soon as it is opened to give them vent. This example then may serve to show, that in the faith of the present church, which in its in ternal form is directed towards three gods, but in its external towards one, there are contained legions of falsities, ready to burst into»birth, like the swarms of young spiders hatched from the ball of eggs produced by a single mother. How plain must this appear to those whose minds have acquired true rationahty by light from- the Lord! but how should those be able to see it, who have barred up the door of, that faith and ite offspring, by the persuasion, that it is not allowable for reason to look into its mysteries ? 179. YH. That hence is come that abomination of desola tion, AND THAT AFFLICTION, SUCH AS WAS NOT IN ALL THE WORLD, NEITHER SHALL BE, WHICH THE LORD HAS FORETOLD IN DANIEL, THE EVANGELISTS, AND THE RE^VELATION. It is written in Daniel, " Upon the bird of abominations there shall be desolation, and even to the consummation and decision, it shall drop upon the devastation" (Dan. ix. 27). In Matthew the Evangelist, the Lord says, " Many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many ; when therefore ye shall see the abopii- nation of desolation, foretold by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, let him that readeth understand" (Matt, xxiv. 11, 15); and afterwards in the same chapter, "Then shall be great affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be" (ver. 21). This affliction and abom ination are spoken of in seven chapters in the Eevelation, and are signified by the black horse, and the pale horse, coming out of the book whose seals the Lamb opened (vi. 5 — 8) ; also, by the beast rising out of the bottomless pit, which made war with the two witnesses, and slew them (xi. 7) ; and likewise by the dragon which stood before the woman tnat was about to be de ¦*& ^l' tha livered, to devour her child, and pursued her into the wilderness, and there cast out from his mouth water as a fiood after her, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood (xii.) ; and likewise by the beaste of the dragon, one rising out of the sea, and another out of the earth (xiii.). Also by the three spirits like frogs, which came forth from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet (xvi. 13); and further by this, that after the seven angels had poured out the vials of the anger of God, in which were the seven last plagues, upon the earth, upon the sea, upon the fount ains and rivers, upon the sun, upon the throne of the beast^ 226 THE DIVINE TEINrrT. 179 181 Upon the river Euphrates, and lastly upon the air, there was a great earthquake, such as had not been since men were upon Sie earth (xvi.). An earthquake signifies the overthrow of the church, which is effected by falses and the falsifications of truth, and which is signified also by the great tribulation, such as had not been from me beginning of the world (Matt. xxiv. 21). The same is understood also by these words : " And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the ^eat wine-press of the anger of God ; and the wine-press was trodden, and blood came out, even to the horses' bridles, for a thousand six hundred furlongs" (Eev. xiv. 19, 20) ; where blood signifies truth falsified ; not to mention other pas sages in those seven chapters. 180. In the Evangelists (Matt, xxiv., Mark xiii., arid Luke xxi.), are described the successive declensions and corruptions of the Christian church ; and in those chapters, by great affliction or tribulation, such as had not been since the beginning of the world, neither shall be, is signified, as in all other passages throughout the Word, the infestation of truth by falses, to such a degree, that there does not remain a single truth which is not falsified and brought to ite consummation. This is also under stood by the a'bomination of desolation in the same passages,' also by the desolation upon the bird of abominations, and by the consummation and decision in Daniel ; and in the Eevelation by the circumstances described above. All this was a consequence of men's not acknowledging the unity of God in trinity, and hia trinity in unity in one person, but in three, and thence founding the church on the idea of three gods in the mind, and the confession of one God with the lips ; for thus they have separated themselves from the Lord, and at leug-th to such a degree that they have no idea left of the Divinity in his human nature, when nevertheless he is God the Father himself in the Human ity; on which account he is called the Fathee of Eteenity (Isaiah ix. 6) ; and he says to Philip, " He that seeth me, seeth the Father" (John xiv. 7, 9). 181. But it will be asked, what is the source or fountain, from which such abomination of desolation, as is described in Daniel (ix. 27), and such affliction as never had been, nor shall be (Matt. xxiv. 1, 2,), has sprang? I answer, the faith which universally prevails throughout the Christian world, with its influx, operation, and imputation, according to the received tra ditions. It is wonderful that the doctrine of justification by this faith alone, although it be no faith, but a mere chimera, is accounted as. every thing in all Christian churches, that is, it bears sway among the clergy almost as if the whole of theology consisted in it alone. It is this faith which all young students in divinity eagerly learn, imbibe, and suck in at the univer sities, and which, as if they were inspired by it with heavenly 227 181, 182 THE divine TEINITT. wisdom, they afterwards teach in their churches, publish in their writings, and make the ground of all the literary fame and reputation they hope to acquire, as it is the way to all rewards, preferments, and university honors : and all this is done, notwith standing that in consequence of such faith alone the sun at this day is darkened, the moon does not give her light, the stars are fallen from heaven, and the powers of the heavens are shaken, according to the words of the Lord's prophecy in Matthew xxiv. 29. That the doctrine of this faith has now blinded men's minds to such a degree that they are unwilhng, and therefore seemingly unable, to see any divine truth interiorly, either in the light of the sun or in the light of the moon, but only ex teriorly, rudely, and superficially, as by the light of a fire at night, has been proved to me by the clearest evidence ; so that I can venture to affirm, that should the divine truths which re late to the genuine conjunction of charity and faith, to heaven and hell, to the Lord, to a life after death, and to eternal happi ness, be sent down from heaven written in letters of silver, they would be rejected, as not worth reading, by those who maintain the doctrine of justification and sanctification by faith alone ; whereas, on the other hand, should a paper containing the doctrines of justification by faith alone be sent from hell, this they would receive, embrace, and carry home with them in their bosoms. 182. "YIII. That hence too it is come to pass, that unless A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW CHUECH BE ESTABLISHED BT THE LOED, NO FLESH CAN BE SAVED. It is written in Matthew, " Then shall be great affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of the world unto this time, neither shall be ; and except those days should be shortened, no fiesh should be saved" (xxiv. 21, 22). The Lord, in this chapter, is speaking of the consummation of the age, by which is signified the end of the present church ; therefore by shortening those days is signified to put a period to this church, and to lay the foundation of a new one. Who does not know that except the .Lord Ijad come into the world and accomplished the work of redemption, no flesh could have been saved ? and to accomplish the work of redemption is to establish a new heaven and a new church. That the Lord will come again into the world, he himself has prophetically declared in the Evangelists (Matt, xxiv.^0, 31 ; Mark xiii. 26 ; Luke xii. 40 ; xxi. 27) ; and in the Eevelation, particularly in the last chapter. That he is also at this day accomplishing a redemption, by establishing a new heaven, and laying the foundation of a new church, with a view to make salvation possible to mankind, was shown above in the lemma concerning redemption. The great arcanum respecting the im- jwssibility of any flesh being saved, except a new church be founded by the Lord, is this : that as long as the dragon with his 228 THE DI-VINE TEINTTT. 182, 183 crew, continues in the world of spirits, into which he was cast, so long it is impossible for any divine truth, united with divine good, to pass through unto men on earth ; but it is either per verted, or falsified, or destroyed. This is what is signified in the Eevelation by these words : " The dragon was cast out upon the earth, and his angels were cast out with him : woe to the inhabi tante of the earth and of the sea ; for the devil is come down unto you, having great anger" (Eev. 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 signified all those who are principled in the faith of the present church. I have at times conversed in the spiritual world with those who maintain the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and have told them that their doctrine is erroneous and absurd, and that it occasions a false security, blindness, sleep, and darkness ¦with respect to spiritual things, and thereby brings death to the soul, exhorting them at the same time to desist from it ; but the answer I have commonly received was, " How ! desist ? Does not the superior excellence of clerical erudition over that ofthe laity depend solely on this doctrine?" Then I represented to them, that according to this way of reasoning, they do not so much regard the salvation of souls as the aggrandizement of their own reputation, and that, in consequence of applying the truths of the Word to their own false principles, and thereby adulterating them, they are angels of the bottomless pit, called Abaddons and Apolltons (Eev. ix. 11), by which are signified the destroyers of the church by the total falsification of the Word ; but they replied,, " What is that to the purpose ? By our knowledge of the' mysteries of this faith we are oracles, and from this faith, as from an oracular temple, we give responses ; therefore we are not ApoUyons, but Apollos." To this I re plied, with some degree of indignation, " If you are Apollos, you are also Leviathans, the chief among you crooked Leviathans, and the inferior among you oblong Leviathans, whom God will visit with his strong and great sword" (Isaiah xxvii. 1) ; but this they laughed at. 183. IX. That a teinity op peesons, each wheeeof singly AND BY himself IS GOD, ACCOEDING TO THE ATHANASIAN CEEED, HAS GIVEN EISE TO MANY ABSUED AND HETEEOGENEOUS NOTIONS ABOUT GOD, WHICH AEE MEEELY FANCIFUL AND ABOETIVE. From the doctrine of three divine persons existing from eternity, which is in itself the head of all the doctrinals in the Christian churches, have arisen many unbecoming notions con cerning God, unworthy of the Christian world, which ought to be, and which might be, a bright luminary to all people and nations in the four quarters of the globe respecting God and his unitv. All who are without the pale of the Christian church 229 183, 184 THE DIVINE TEINITT. whether they are Mahometans, Jews, or Gentiles, whatever religion they profess, have conceived an aversion to Christianity solely because Christians believe in three gods. Of this the missionaries sent abroad to propagate Christianity are aware, and therefore they are particularly cautious how they mention a trinity of persons, according to the Nicene and Athanasian doc trine ; because they know that in such a case their converte would leave them, and laugh them to scorn. The absurd, ludi crous, and frivolous ideas which have arisen from the doctrine of three divine persons existing from eternity, and which still con tinue to arise in every one that continues in a belief of the words of that doctrine, and the images which, in conformity with the notions imbibed by their ears and eyes, present themselves to the view of their imagination, are these, that God the Father sits above on a high throne, with the Son at his right hand, and the Holy Ghost before them, attending to -what they say, who, instantly as he is ordered, runs through the whole world, and, according to their determination, dispenses the gifte of justifica tion, and inscribes them on the hearte of men, and thus makes those the children of grace, and objects of election, who were before children of wrath and objecte of reprobation. I appeal to the learned, both clergy and laity, whether they entertain in their minds any other view of the Trinity than this, since the doctrine they embrace occasions a spontaneous infiux of this conception, as may be seen in the Memorable Eelation above, n. 16. It is attended also with the curiosity of conjecturing what was the subject of the conversation of these divine persons with each other before the world was created ; whether it was about the purposed creation, or about those who were to be pre destinated and justified, according to the opinion of the Supra- lapsarians, or about redemption ; and also what is the subject of their conversation since the world was made ; as what the Father says, by virtue of his authority and power of imputation, and what the Son, by virtue of his power of mediation ; supposing thus, that imputation, which is election, is a consequence of the Son's interceding in mercy for all mankind in general, and for certain individuals in particular, to whom the Father is moved to show favor, out of love towards his Son, and by reason of the misery which he saw him endure when nailed upon the cross. But who caunot see that all such notions are the delusions of a mind in a state of delirium concerning God? .And yet these are the notions which are held to be most holy in every Christian church, which, however, are only to be kissed with the lips, but not to be examined with the eye ofthe mind, because they are supposed to be matters above the sphere and comprehension of reason, which, if they should be raised from the memory into the higher regions of the under standing, would occasion madness. Nevertheless, the idea of 230 THE DIVINE TEINITT. 183 185 :three gods is not hereby removed, but a heavy and stupid faith is begotten, under the infiuence of which men think of God, like people dreaming in their sleep, who walk about in midnight darkness, or like persons born blind, who cannot see even at noonday. 184. That a trinity of gods abides in the minds of Christians, although through shame they deny it, is very evident from the ingenuity of many in contriving methods to demonstrate that three are one, and one three, by geometrical and stereomet- rical figures, and various applications of arithmetic and natural phenomena to the same purpose, and also by the foldings of a piece of cloth or paper ; thus they trifie with the Divine Trinity, playing tricks with it, like those of jugglers. This sort of leger demain may be compared with the sight of the eye when people are in a fever, who looking at any single object, as a man, a table, or a candle, fancy it to be three, and, on the other hand, fancy three to be one. It may be compared also with the ludi crous representation sometimes exhibited with a piece of soft wax, which a man takes in his fingers and moulds into various forms, at one time into a triangular form to represent the Trinity, at another time into a spherical form to represent the Unity, asserting it still to be one and the same substance. But the Divine Tiinity, nevertheless, is like a pearl of the highest price ; and the dividing it into persons is like a pearl divided into three parts, by which it most cleariy and altogether loses ite value. 186. To the above I shall add the following memoeable teELATioNS. — FiEST. lu the spiritual world there are climates and zones as well as in the natural world, there being nothing in the latter world but what exists also in the former, although the origin, of their existence is different. In the natural world the varieties of climates depend on the sun's distances from the equator, but in the spiritual world they depend on the distances of the affections of the will, and of the thoughts of the under standing thence arising, from a true love arid a true faith, of the states as to which all things in the spiritual world are corre spondences. In the frigid zones, in the spiritual world, there are the same appearances as in the frigid zones in the natural world ; the .ground seems frozen hard, the water covered with ice, and the whole face of the country appears white with snow. These cold regions are the resort and habitation of those who, during their abode in the natural world, have brought a lethargy on their Understandings, in consequence of an indolent indispo sition to think on spiritual subjects, attended with a laziness in the execution of any useful purposes : they go by the name of Boreal spirits. On a certain time I was seized with a strong desire to see some coimtry in the frigid sione where those Boreal 231 185 THE DI^VlNE TEINITT. spirits dwell, aud accordingly I was carried in the spirit towards the north, to a region where all the land appeared covered with snow, and all the water frozen to ice. It was the sabbath-day, and I saw a number of men, that is, spirits, of the same size and stature with men in the natural world, but on accoimt of the cold they had their heads covered with lions' skins, so put on that the mouths answered to those of the wearers, while their bodies, both before and behind, down to the loins, were covered with leopards' skins, and their legs and feet with bears' skins. I also observed several riding in chariots, and some in chariote carved into the shape of a dragon, with horns stretching out before : they were drawn by small horses, whose tails had been cut off, which ran with the impetuosity of terrible fierce beaste, while the driver, with the reinj in his hand, was continually whipping them to hasten their speed. I found afterwards that they were all fiocking to a church or temple, which was invisible, being covered with snow; some, however, who had the care ofthe church, were laboring at the snow, and made a way, by digging, for the people to enter, who accordingly descended and took their places. I was then permitted to take a view of the inside of the church, which was abundantly lighted with lamps and candles. The altar was of hewn stone, behind which hung a tablet, with this inscription: "The Divine Trinttt consists OF Fathee, Son, and Holt Ghost, who aee in essence one God, but in Peeson three." Presently, the priest standing at the altar, after he had three times kneeled before the sacred tablet, with a book in his hand, ascended the pulpit, and began his sermon with a description of the Divine Trinity, crying out in a loud voice, " Oh, what a grand mystery ! that the most High God should beget a Son from eternity, and by him pro duce the Holy Ghost, and that they three should be joined in essence, but yet be separate in their properties, which are im putation, redemption, and operation ! If, however, we set reason to look into this mystery, her eye is blinded, and overspread with darkness, as when one attempte to look at the naked sun with the bodily eye ; therefore, my brethren, it is my advice, that on this subject we keep our understandings in obedience to faith." After this he again lifted up his voice, and said, " Oh, what a grand mystery is our holy faith 1 which is, that God the Father imputes the righteousness of his Son, and sends the Holy Ghost, who, in consequence of that imputation, gives the pledges of justification, which are remission of sins, renova tion, regeneration, and salvation ; of the infiux of which, or the act of justification, a man is as ignorant as the statue of salt into which Lot's wife was turned, and of the indwelling of which, or the state of justification, he knows no more than a fish in the oea. But, my friends, there is a treasure hid in this faith, so deep however, and so covered up, that not a morsel of it can 232 the divine TEINITT. 185 appear ; therefore it is rriy advice, that in this case also we keep our understandings in obedience to faith." He then heaved some sighs, after which he again raised his voice, and said, "Oh, how grand a mystery is election I He is one of the elect to whom God imputes his faith, which of his free pleasure and pi: re grace he infuses into whomsoever he pleases, and at whatever time it seems good to him ; and during the act of such infusion from God the man is like a dead stock, but when this faith is infused he becomes like a living and fruitful 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 cohere with it ; therefore, the preciousness of that tree is not owing to its fruit ; but as this may appear like heterodoxy, and yet is a great mystical truth, therefore, my brethren, it is my advice that on this subject also we keep our understandings in obedience to faith." Then, after a short pause, seeming as if he wanted to recollect something which he had stored up in his memory, he continued his discourse, saying, " From my store of mysteries I will yet produce one other, which is this, that a man has not a single grain of free-will with respect to spiritual things ; for the chiefs and leaders of our church assert, in their theological canons, that in regard to what concerns faith and salvation, or matters particularly called spiritual, a man has no power to will, to think, to understand, no, nor even to accom modate and apply himself to the reception of them ; therefore I do positively insist, that a man of himself has no more power to think rationally or talk sensibly on such subjects than a parrot, a jackdaw, or a raven ; and that of consequence, with respect to spiritual things, he is a mere ass, and only a man with respect to natural things ; but, my beloved friends, lest this subject should be troublesome to our reason, let me advise that in this also we keep our understandings in obedience to faith ; for our theology is like a bottomless abyss, into which if we suffer our understandings to look down, we shall be drowned, and perish as in a shipwreck. Yet hear what I have to say : we are never theless in the true light of the gospel, which shines aloft over our heads ; but the misfortune is, that the hair of our heads and the bones of our skulls prevent it from penetrating into the inner chambers of our understandings." When he had thus spoken, he descended from the pulpit ; and after he had offered up a prayer at the altar, and die service was ended, I joined some of the congregation, who were conversing together, aud had formed themselves into a circle round the priest, to whom they paid their complimente,- saying, " We are ever bound to thank you for your riaost excellent discourse, so replete with the grandest wisdom." I then addressed myself to them, and said, " Did you at all understand what the priest was preaching about ?" And they replied, " We took it all in with open ears ; 233 186, 186 THE DIVINE TRINTTT. but why do you ask whether we understood it ? Is not the understanding quite stupid with respect to such subjecte?" Here the priest interposed, and said, " Because you have heard, and have not understood, blessed are ye ; for thence shall ye have salvation." I had some conversation afterwards with the priest, and asked him whether he had taken his degrees regu larly ? He answered in the affirmative, that he was a master of arts. Then, addressing him by his title, I said, " You have been preaching about great mysteries, but if you only know their names, without knowing what they contain, you know nothing ; for they are like caskets locked with a triple lock, which unless you open and look in (and this is only to be done by the under standing), you cannot tell whether they contain things of value or things of no value, or even things hurtful, as cockatrice eggs, and spiders' webs, according to the description in Isaiah (lix. 5)." On my saying this, the priest looked at me with a scowling aspect ; and the congregation departed and entered their chariots, intoxicated with paradoxes, infatuated with empty words, and enveloped in darkness in all things relating to faith and the means of salvation. 186. The second memorable relation. — 1 was once en gaged in contemplation as to what region of the human mind it is in which things of a theological nature have their residence. At first I conceived, that as such things are of a spiritual arid celestial nature, they must of course reside in the highest region. For the human mind is divided into three distinct regions, as a house is into three stories, and as the abodes of the angels are into three heavens. Then an angel presented himself before me, and said, " Things relating to theology, in those who love truth for truth's sake, emerge even to the highest region, be^ cause in that region is their heaven, and they enjoy there tbe same light as do the angels ; and things relating to morality^ theoretically examined and contemplated, have their abode beneath the former, in the second region, because they have conl- munication with what is spiritual ; and under these, in the first region, are things of a political or civil nature ; but scientifics, or maiiters of science, which are of sundry kinds, and may be classed into their respective genera and species, form the door that leads to those higher regions. Those in whom spiritual, moral, political, and scientific things are in this subordination, have all their thoughte and actions influenced by justice and judgment, because the light of truth, which is also the light of heaven, from the highest region, illumines what is below, just aa the light of the sun, passing through the atmospheres and air, progressively, illuminates the eyes of men, beasts, and fishes. But the case is altered with those who do not love truth for truth's sake, but only for the sake of their own glory and rep- utatioii : things of a theological nature, in them, reside in tho 234 THE DI'VINE TRINrrT. 186, 187 'asi /egion where scientifics have their abode, and in some instances mix with the scientifics, but in other instances they cannot mix ; under these, in the same region, is the residence of political things, and under them of moral : for in such persons, the two higher regions are not opened on the right side ; they have therefore no interior discernment^ of true judgment, and no affection for justice, but only a certain ingenuity, whereby they can converse on every subject with seeming intelligence, and confirm whatever they please with an appearance of reason ; but the objects of reason, which they are most enamored of^ are falses, because these cohere with the fallacies of the senses. Hence it is that there are so many people in the world, who no more see the truths of doctrine derived from the Word, than men born blind can see the objecte of nature ; and when they hear such truths, they close their nostrils, lest their odor should offend them, and excite nausea ; whereas to the reception of falses they open thefr senses, and suck them in as a whale does water. 187. The thied memoeable eelation. — I was once medi tating about the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, men tioned in the Eevelation, when an angelic spirit appeared before me, and inquired what was the subject of my meditation. I answered, " Concerning the false prophet." Then he said, " Come with me, and I will lead you to the place of abode of those who are signified by the false prophet, and who are the same that are understood, in the 13th chapter of the Eevelation, by the beast rising out of the earth, which had two horns like a lamb, and which spoke like a dragon." I followed him ; and lo ! I saw a great multitude of people, and in the midst of them several persons of note and distinction in the church, who had taught that a man is saved only by faith in the merits of Christ, and that works are good, but not conducive to salvation ; and that, nevertheless, they are to be insisted on as agreeable to the Word of God, as a means of keeping the laity, particularly the more simple among them, in stricter obedience to the civil magistrate, while they are instigated to the exercise of moral charity from a principle of religion, thus by interior obligations. Then one of them observing me, said, " Have you any desire to see our place of worship, wherein is an image representative of our faith ?" I answered in the affirmative ; so he conducted me to the building, which was very magnificent, and lo ! in the midst of it there was the image of a woman, clothed in a scarlet vest, and holding in her right hand a piece of gold coin, and in her left a chain of pearls ; but both the image and the place of worship were the effect of phantasy ; for thereby infernal spirits have the power of representing very magnificent objects, by closing the interiors of the mind, and opening only its exteriors. When I perceived, however, that all this was a mere jugg^'ug 235 Sfti THE DIVINE TEINITT. trick, I prayed to the Lord ; and suddenly the interiors of m^y mind were opened, and I then beheld, instead of the magnificent dome, a poor house, full of clefte and chinks from top to bottom, so that none of its parts cohered together ; and I saw within the house, instead of a woman, a pendent image, with a head like a dragon, a body like a leopard, feet like a bear, and a mouth like a lion, in every respect as the beast is described rising out of the sea (Eev. xiii. 2) : moreover, instead of firm ground, there was a bog, containing a great multitude of frogs ; and I was in formed that beneath the bog there was a large hewn stone under which the Word lay entirely hidden. On seeing these things, I said to the juggler, " Is this your place of worship ?" He replied, " It is ;" but suddenly, at that very instant, his interior sight was opened, whence he saw the same appearances that I did ; whereupon he uttered a great cry, and said, " What and whence is all this?" And I said, "This is in consequence of light from heaven, which discovers the quality of every form, and thus has discovered the quality of your faith separate from spiritual charity." Then immediately an east wind blew, and carried away the place of worship, together with the image, and likewise dried up the bog, and thereby exposed the stone, under which lay the Word. After this a warmth like that of spring breathed from heaven ; and lo ! then in the very same place there appeared a tabernacle, as to its outward form plain and simple ; and the angels who were with me said, " Behold the tabemaele of Abraham, such as it was when the three angels came to him, and announced the future birth of Isaac. It appears indeed plain and simple to the eye, but nevertheless, according to the influx of light from heaven, it becomes more and more mag nificent." And immediately they were permitted to open the heaven, which is the abode of the spiritual angels, who excel in wisdom ; and suddenly, by virtue of the influx of light from thence, the tabernacle appeared as a temple resembling that at .Terusalem ; and on looking into it, I saw that the stone in the floor, under which the Word was deposited, was set round with precious stones, from which there issued forth bright rays, as ot lightning, that shone upon the walls, and caused beautiful varie gations of colors on certain cherubic forms that were sculptured on them. As I was wondering at these things, the angels said, " You shall see something still more surprising." Then they were permitted to open the third heaven, which is the abode of the celestial angels, who excel in love ; and suddenly, by virtue of the influx of flaming light from thence, the whole temple dis appeared, and in its stead was seen the Lord alone, standing on the foundation stone, which was the Word, in the same form _ that he appeared in before John (Eev. i.). But as a sanctity instantly filled the interiors of the angels' minds, occar sioning in them a strong propensity to fall prostrate on their 236 THE DIVINE TEINITT. 187, 188 faces, suddenly the passage of light from the third heaven was closed by the Lord, and that from the second heaven opened again, in consequence of which the former appearance of the temple returned, and also of the tabernacle, but this was in the midst of the temple. Hereby was illustrated the meaning of these words in the Eevelation (xxi. 3) : " Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them ;" and also of these : " I saw no temple in the New Jerusalem ; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb is the temple of it" (ver. 22). 188. The foueth memoeable eelation. — Since the Lord has favored me with a sight of the wonderful things that are in the heavens, and under them, it is therefore my duty, in the discharge of my commission, to relate what I have seen. There was shown me a magnificent palace, with a temple in its inmost part, and in the midst of the temple was a table of gold, on which lay the Word, and two angels stood beside it. About the table were three rows of seats : the seats of the first row were covered with silk drapery, of a purple color ; the seats of the second row with silk drapery, of a blue color ; and the seats of the third row with white drapery. Below the roof, high above the table, there was a spreading curtain, whieh shone with precious stones, from whose lustre there issued forth a bright appearance as of a rainbow when the sky clears up after a shower. Suddenly there appeared a number of clergy sitting on the seats, all clothed in the garments of their priestly office. On one side was a wardrobe, where an angel, who had the care of it, attended, and within lay rich vestments in most beautiful order. It was A COUNCIL CONVENED BY THE LoED. I heard a voice from heaven, saying, " deliberate ;" but they said, " On what sub ject ?" It was said, " Concerning the Lord the Saviour and THE Holt Spirit." But when they began to think on these subjects, they were not in a state of illustration ; therefore they made supplication, and immediately light issued down out of heaven, which first illuminated the hinder part of their heads, and afterwards their temples, and lastly their faces ; and then they began their deliberation, as they were commanded, first, CONCERNING THE LoED THE Savioue. The first propositiou and matter of inquiry was. Who assumed the Humanity in THE YiEGiN Maet ? Then an angel standing at the table, on which the Word lay, read before them these words in Luke : " The angel said unto 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. And Mary said to the angel. How shall this be, seeing I know not a man ? And the angel answering sai d. The Holy i^mit shall come upon thee, and tlie power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; ¦wherefore also that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God''' (i. 31, 32, 34, 35). He also read 237 188 the divine TEINITT. 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 born 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 beside these -passages he read many more out of the Evangelists, as Matt. iii. 17 ; xvii. 5 ; John i. 18 ; iii. 16 ; xx. 31, and several other places, where the Lord, as to his Humanity, is called the Son of God, and where he, from his Humanity, calls Jehovah HIS Fathee ; and also out of the Prophets, where it is foretold that Jehovah should come into the world ; particularly these two passages in Isaiah : " It shall be said in that day, Lo ! this is our God; we have waited for him, and hewiU 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 ; for the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all fiesh shall see it together : behold, the Lord Jehovah will come in strength ; he shall feed his fiock like a shepherd" (xl. 3, 5, 10, 11). And the angel said, " Since Jehovah himself came into the world, and assumed the humanity, there fore he is called by the prophets the Saviour and the Redeemer /" and then he read before them the following passages : " Surely God is in thee, and there is none else ; verily, thou art a God that hidest thyself, 0 God of Israel the Saviour''' (Isaiah xlv. 14, 15). " Am not I Jehovah? and there is no God else beside me ; a just God a/nd a Saviowr ; there is none beside me" (xlv. 21). " I am Jehovah ; a/nd beside me there is no Saviour" (xliii. 11). " I Jehovah am thy God, and thou shalt know no God beside me ; for there is no Sa/viour beside me" (Hosea xiii. 4). " And all flesh shall know that I Jehovah am thy Sa/oiour and thy Re deemer" (Isaiah xlix. 26 ; Ix. 16). '¦'¦As for ourRedeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth is his name" (xlvii. 4). '¦'¦Their Redeemer is strong, Jehovah Zebaoth is his name" (Jerem. 1. 34). '¦'¦Jehovah is my rock, and my Redeemer" (Psalm xix. 14). " Thus saith Jehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I Jehovah am thy God" (Isaiah xlviii. 17 ; xlix. 7 ; liv. 8). " Thou, Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer ; thy name is from the age" (Ixiii. 16). " Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, I am Jehovah that make all things, and alone 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 beside me there is no God" (xliv. 6). " Jehovah Zebaoth is his name, and thy Re deemer the Holy One of Israel ; the God ofthe whole earth shall he be called" (liv. 5). " Behold, the days come that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, who shall reign as king ; and this its his name, Jehovah our Righteousness" (Jeremiah xxiii. 5, &; xxxiii. 15, 16). "And Jehovah shall be king over all the 238 THE DIVINE '.EINTTT, 188 earth : in that day there shall he one Jehovah, and his na%ie one" (Zech. xiv. 9). From all these passages, together with the former, those who sat on the seats were confirmed in this opinion, which they unanim.ously declared, viz., that Jehovah himself assumed the Humanity for the purpose of redeeming, and saving mankind. But instantly a voice was heard from some Eoman Catholics, who had hid themselves behind the altar. saying, " How was it possible for Jehovah God to become a man ? is not he the Creator of the universe ?" And one of those on the second row of seats turned himself towards the voice, and said, " Who was it then ?" And he that had been concealed behind the altar, standing then near the altar, replied, " The Son begotten from eternity ;" but answer was returned, " Is not the Son begotten from eternity, according to your confession, the Creator also 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 sepa rated, so that one part can descend without the whole ?" The second matter of inquiry concerning the Lord was. Whether OR NO, ACCORDING TO THIS REASONING, THE FaTHER AND HE ARE ONE, AS THE SOUL AND THE BODT ARE ONE ? This, they Said, must foUow of consequenfee, for . the soul is from the Father. Then one of those on the third row of seats read out of 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 he is not two, but one Christ, one altogether by unity of person ; for as the soul and hody make one man, so God amd Man is one Christ." He added, that the creed con taining these words is received throughout the whole Christian world, even by the Eoman Catholics. They then said, " What need have we of further proof? The Father and he are one, as the soul and body are one ; and since this is the, case, we per-; ceive that the humanity of the Lord is divine, because it is the humanity of Jehovah ; and also, that the Lord ought to be approached as to his Divine Humanity, because this is the only possible way to come at the Divinity which is called the Father." This conclusion. the angel confirmed by several passages out of the Word ; among which were these : " Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given ; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, the Father of eternity, the Prince of Peace" (Isaiah ix. 6). " Doubtless thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not ; thou, Jehovah, art our Father, ov/r Redeemer ; thy name is from e/^&rlaMng" (Ixiii. 16). " Jesus said. He that believeth on rne, believeth on him that sent me ; and he that seeth me, seeth him that sent me" (John xii. 44, 46). " Philip saith unto Jesus, Show us the Father: Jesus saith unto him, He that seeth me,- seeth the Father ; how then sayest thou, Show us the Father J' 239 188 THE DIVINE TRINrrT. Believest thou not that I am in the Father, amd tlie Fatht^r in me?" (John xiv. 8 — 11). " Jesus said, land the Father are mie" (x. 30) : and again : " All things that the Father hath are mine, and all mine are the Father's" (xvi. 16 ; xvii. 10). Lastly, " Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life ; no man cometh to the Father but by me" (xiv. 6). To this the angel added, that the same things which are here spoken by the Lord of himsell and his Father, may also be spoken by a man with respect to himself and his soul. When the angel had ended, they all de clared with one voice and one heart, that the humanity of the Lord is divine, and that it ought to be approached in order to come to the Father ; since Jehovah God, by it, sent himself into the world, and made himself visible to mankind, and thereby gave them access unto him. He in like manner made himself visible in a human form, and thus accessible to the anciente ; but that was by means of an angel ; and as this form was rep resentative of the Lord, who was about to come into the world, therefore all things in the church at that time were representatives. After this they proceeded to deliberate concerning the Holy Spirit ; but previous to this, they laid open the idea generally received concerning God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, which is, that God the Father is seated on high, with the Son at his right hand, and that by them the Holy Ghost ia sent forth to enlighten, instruct, justify, and sanctify mankind. But instantly a voice was heard from heaven, saying, " We cannot endure an idea formed on such a conception. Who does not know that Jehovah God is omnipresent ? And whoever knows and acknowledges this, may also acknowledge, that it is he who enlightens, instructs, sanctifies, and justifies, and not a mediating God distinct from him ; much less is it a third God as distinct from two others, as one person from another ; where fore let the former idea, which is vain and unjust, be removed, and let this, which is just and right, be received, and then you will see this subject clearly." But then a voice was heard from the Eoman Catholics, who stood near the altar, saying, " What then is the Holy Ghost, mentioned in the writings of the evangelists and Paul, by whom so many learned men among the clergy, and particularlj'^ of our church, profess themselves to be guided ? "What person in Christendom at this day denies the Holy Ghost, and his operations ?" Upon this, one of those on the second row of seats turned towards the altar, and said, " You insist that the Holy Spirit is a distinct person of himself, and a distinct God of himself; but what is a person coming forth and proceeding from a person ? Can any thing but opera tion be said so to come forth and proceed ? One person cannot come forth and proceed from another, but operation can. Or what is a God coming forth and proceeding from a God ? Can 240 the divine TEINTTT. 18S anything but a divine efflux come forth and proceed ? One God cannot come forth and proceed from and by another; but a divine efflux may come forth and proceed from one God." On hearing this, those upon the seats unanimously agreed in this conclusion: "The Holy Spirit is not a distinct person by him self, consequently not a distinct God by himself; but the Holy Spirit signifies the Holy Divine, coming forth and proceed ing from the one only omnipresent God, who is the Lord." To this, the angels who stood at the golden table whereon the AVord was placed said, " Well deteemined. It is not written in any part of the Old Testament that the prophets spoke the Word from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah ; and wherever the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the New Testament, it signifies the Divine Proceeding, which is the Divine that enlightens, instructs, vivifies, reforms, and regenerates." After this came on another subject of inquiry respecting the Holy Spirit, viz., Feom whom peoceeds the Divine which is signified by this Holy Spieit, — ^feom the Fathee, oe from the Lord? While they were engaged in this inquiry, there shone upon them a light from heaven, whereby they saw that the Holy Divine, which is signified by the Holy Spirit, does not proceed out of the Father through the Lord, but out of the Lord from the Father, comparatively as in the case of every individual man, whose activity does not proceed from the soul through the body, but out of the body from the soul. This the angel who stood at the table confirmed by these passages from the Word : " He whom 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 : the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might" (Isaiah xi. 1, 2). " That the spirit of Jehovah was put upon him, and was in him" (xlii. 1; lix. 19, 21; Ixi. 1; Luke iv. 18). "When the Holy Spirit shall come, whom I will send unto y mi from the Father" (John XV. 26). " He shall glorify me ; for he shall take of mine, and stall show it unto you. AU things that ihe Father hath are mine ; wherefore I said, that he shall take of mine, and show it unto you," (xvi. 14, 15). " If I go away, I will send the Com forter unto you" (xvi. 7). That "the Comforter is the Holy Spirit" (xiv. 26). " Tlie Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (vii. 39) ; but after his glorification ^'^ Jesus breathed on his disciples and said. Receive ye the Holy Spi/rif (xx. 22). And in the Eevelation : " Who shall not glorify thy name, 0 Lord, because thou only art holy" (xv. 4). Since the divine operation of the Lord, by virtue of his divine omnipres ence, is signifled by the Holy Spirit, therefore when the Lord spoke to his disciples concerning tlie Holy Spirit, whom he 241 R J 88, 189 the sacred sceiptuee, would send from the Father, he also said, " I will not leave 3 on comfortless ; I go away and come again unto you; and in that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and 1 in you" (John xiv. 18, 20, 28) ; and just before his departure out of the world he said, " Lo ! I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age" (Matt, xxviii. 20). Having read these passages in their presence, the angel said, " From these, and many other passages in the Word, it is evident that the Divine, which is called the Holy Spirit, proceeds out of the Lord from the Father." Whereupon those upon the seats all declared, " Tms IS DIVINE TEUTH." Lastly, this decree was passed : " From what has been delib erated in this council, we clearly see, and consequently acknow ledge as holy truth, that in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ there is a Divine Trinity, consisting of the all-originating Divinity {Divinum a quo), which is called the Father, the Divine Humanity, which is called the Son, and the Divine Proceeding, which is called the Holy Spirit." Then they lifted up their voices together, exclaiming, " In Jesus Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Coloss. ii. 9). Thus there is one God in the church. When thes,e conclusions were determined in that magnificent council, they rose to depart ; and the angel, the keeper of the wardrobe, presented to each of those on the seats shining gar ments, interwoven here and there with threads of gold, and said, "Accept these wedding gaements." They were then con ducted in a glorious manner to the new Christian heaven, with which the church of the Lord on earth, which is the New Jeni- salem, is to be in conjunction. CHAPTEE IY. THE SACKED SCEIPTUEE, OR THE WORD OF THE LORD. I. That the sacred scripture, or the word, is the divine T'BUl'H rrSELF. 189. It is universally confessed that the Word is from God, is divinely inspired, and of consequence holy ; but still it has to this day remained a secret in what part of the Word ite divinity resides ; for in the letter it appears like common writ ing, composed in a strange style, neither so sublime nor so elegant as that -which distinguishes the best secular composi tions. Hence it is, that the man who worships fiature instead of God, or in preference to God, and in consequence of such OK WOED OF THE LOED. 189, 19C worship makes himself and his own proprium* the centre and fountain of his thoughte, instead of deriving them from the Lord out of heaven, may easily fall into error concerning the Word, and into contempt for it, and say within himself, while he reads it, " What is the meaning of this passage ? What is the meaning of that ? Is it possible this should be divine ? Is it possible that God, whose wisdom is infinite, should speak in this manner ? Where is its sanctity, or whence can it be derived, but from superstition and credulity ?" 190. But he who reasons thus, does not reflect that Jehovah the Lord, who is God of heaven and earth, spoke the Word by Moses and the prophets, and that, consequently, it must be divine truth ; for what Jehovah the Lord himself speaks can be nothing else ; nor does such a one consider that the Lord the Saviour, who is the same with Jehovah, spoke the Word written by the evangelists, many parts from his o-vm mouth, and the rest from the spirit of his mouth, which is the Holy Spirit, by his twelve apostles. Hence it is, as he himself declares, that iu his words there are spirit and life, and that he is the light which enlightens, and that he is the truth ; as is evident from the following passages : '¦ Jesus said. The words which 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 unto thee. Give me to drink, thou wouldest ask of him, and he would give thee living water. Whosoever drinketh of the water which I shall give him, shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life" (iv. 6, 10, 14). By Jacob's well is here signified the Word, as also in Deut. xxxiii. 28 ; for which reason the Lord, who is the Word, sat there ; and conversed with the woman ; and by living water is signified the truth of the Word. " Jesus said. If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. Whosoever believeth on me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall fiow rivers of Jiving water" (John vii. 37, 38). " Peter said unto Jesus, Thou hast the words of eternal life" (vi. 68). " Jesus said. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Mark xiii. 31). The reason why the words of the Lord are truth and life is, because he is the truth and the life, as he teaches in John : " I am the way, the truth, and the life" (xiv. 6) ; and in another place : " 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 meant the Lord wi^th respect to divine truth, in which alone there is life and light. Hence it is, that the Word, which * By proprium, as here applied to iTian, is meant aU that he has of himsell when separated from divine influence ; and we retain tlie Latin word, as best adapted to cojivey the meaning designed by the author. 243 '^ 190—192 THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, is from the Lord, and which is the Lord, is called " a fo-umtam oflwmig waters" (Jerem. ii. 13 ; xvii. 13 ; xxxi. 9) ; '¦'¦ a fountain of salvation!' (Isaiah xii. 3); '•'• a fountain" (Zech. xiii. 1); and " a river of living waters" (Eev. xxii. 1) ; and it is said that " the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, feeds them at the living fountains of waters" (vii. 17) ; not to mention other passages, where the Word is also called the sanctuary and THE tabernacle, whcreiu the Lord dwells with man. 191. The natural man, however, cannot still be persuaded to believe that the Word is divine truth iteelf, in which are divine wisdom and divine life ; for he judges of it by its style, in which no such things appear. Nevertheless the style, wherein the Word is written, is a truly divine style, with which no other style, however sublime and excellent it may seem, can be com pared. The style of the Word is of such a nature as to contain what is holy in every verse, in every word, and in some cases in every letter ; and hence the Word conjoins man with the Lord, and opens heaven. There are two things which proceed from the Lord, viz., divine love and divine wisdom, or what is the same, divine good and divine truth ; and the Word, in ite essence, is both ; and since it conjoins man with the Lord, and opens heaven, as was observed, therefore the Word fills man with the goods of love and the truths of wisdom, his will with the goods of love, and his understandiiig with the truths of wisdom : hence man receives life by the "Word. But it is well to be observed, that those only receive life from the Word who read it with this end and design, viz., to draw divine truths from it, as from their proper fountain, and to apply such divine truths to the regulation of their lives ; and that the very reverse happens to those who read the Word with no further end and design than to procure worldly riches and reputation. 192. Where men do not know that there is a certain spiritual sense contained in the Word, as the soul in the body, they must of necessity judge ofthe Word only from its literal sense, when nevertheless the literal sense is like a casket containing precious jewels, which jewels themselves belong to ite spiritual sense. If therefore this internal sense be unknown, mankind cannot pos sibly judge ofthe divine sanctity of the Word but as they would judge of a precious stone by the matrix which covers and con tains it, and which in many cases appeara like an ordinary stone; or as they would judge of diamonds, rubies, sardonixes, oriental topazes, &c., by the outward cabinet of jasper, lapis lazuli, ami anthus, or agate, in which they are contained, and arranged in order. While the contente of the cabinet are unknown, it is not to be wondered at, if the cabinet itself be estimated only according to the va.ue of the visible materials of which it is made; and this is exactly the case with the Word as to ite litera. sense. Lest, however, mankind should -emain any longer ia OE WORD OP THE LORD, 192, 193 doubt concerning the divinity and most adorable sanctity of tho Word, it has pleased the Lord to reveal to me its internal sense, which in ite essence is spiritual, and which is, to the external sense, which is natural, what the soul is to the body. This in ternal sense is th> spirit which gives life to the letter; therefore this sense wiU evince the divinity and sanctity of the Word, and may convince even the natural man, if he is in a disposition to be convinced. II. That in the word there is a spirttuax sense, here-to- FOEE UNKNOWN. 193. Who does not acknowledge and assent to the proposi tion, that the Word, as being divine, is in its inmost contente spiritual ? But heretofore who has known what the term " spirit ual" means, and where that spirituality in the Word lies con cealed ? The meaning however of this term spiritual will be shown in one of the memorable relations at the conclusion of this chapter ; and where the spirituality in the Word lies con cealed, we will now proceed to inquire. That the Word in ite bosom is spiritual, is a consequence of its descending from Jehovah the Lord, and passing through the angelic heavens ; in which descent the Divine itself, which in itself is ineffable and imperceptible, was made adequate to the perception of angels, and lastly to the perception of men. Hence the Word has a spiritual sense, which is within the natural sense, just as the soul is within the body, or as the thought of the understanding is ¦within the words of speech, or as the affection of the will is within the actions to which it gives birth ; and, if we may be allowed to draw comparisons from the visible things of the natural world, we may say that the spiritual sense of the Word is within the natural sense, just as the universal brain is within its meninges or matres ; or as the young shoots of a tree are within their inner and outer barks ; or as all the parts belong ing to the generation of a young chicken are within the shell of the egg ; not to mention other similar instances. But that such a spiritual sense is contained within the natural sense of the Word, has never heretofore entered into the conception of any person on earth ; it is necessary therefore that this arcanum, which in itself is superior to all that were ever before discovered, should be fully opened to the understanding, as will be best effected by considering it according to the following arrange ment : — I. What the spinitual sense is. II. That this sense is in all and every part (f the Ward. III. That it is owing to this sense that the Word is divinely inspired, and holy in every syl Idble. IY. That this sense has heret^ore been unknown. Y. That hereafter it will be made known only to those who are in genuine truths from the Lord. YI. A relation of some wonderful phe nomena resvlting from the spiritual sense of ihe Word. We will now proceed to a particular explanation of each article. 246 194, 195 THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, 194. I. What the spiritual sense is. The spiritual sense of the Word is not that which breaks forth as light out of the literal sense while a person is studying and explaining the Word, with a view to establish some partic ular tenet of the church ; for this sense may be called the literal and ecclesiastical sense of the Word ; but the spiritual sense does not appear in the literal sense, being 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, principally, which renders the Word spiritual, and thus it is adapted to the use not only of men, but also of angels ; whence also, by means of that sense, the Word communicates with the heavens. Since the Word is inwardly spfritual, there fore it is written by mere correspondences ; and what is written by correspondences exhibits, in its last or ultimate sense, such a style as we meet with in the prophete, the evangeliste, and the Eevelation, which, although it appears ordinary, is nevertheless the repository of all divine and angelic wisdom. What is meant by correspondence, may be seen in the treatise concerning Heaven and Hell, published at London in the year 1758, which treats on the correspondenxie of all things in heaven with all things in man, n. 87 — 102 ; and on the cwrespondence of all things in hea/ven with all things on earth, n. 103 — 115 ; and it will be further shown by examples from the Word, which will be adduced presently. 195. From the Lord proceed the divine-celestial, the DiviNE-spmiTUAL, and the divine-natural, one after another. Whatever proceeds from his divine love is called the divine- celestial, all which is good ; whatever proceeds from his divine wisdom is called the divine spiritual, all which is truth. The divine-natural partakes of both, and is their complex in ultimates. The angels of the celestial kingdom, who compose the third or highest heaven, are in that divine which proceeds from the Lord that is called celestial, for they are in the good of love from the Lord ; the angels of the Lord's spiritual king dom, who compose the second or middle heaven, are in that divine which proceeds from the Lord that is called spiritual, for they are in divine wisdom from the Lord ; the angels of the Lord's natural kingdom, who compose the first or lowest heaven, are in that divine which proceeds from the Lord that is called divine-natural, and are in the faith of charity from the Lord ; but the members of the church on earth ai-e in one or other of these kingdoms, according to their love, wisdom, and faith; and in whichever they are, to the same they are admitted after death. As heaven is, such also is the Word of the Lord ; in its last sense it is natural, in its interior sense it is spiritual, and in ite inmost sense it is celestial, and in all its senses it is divine ; therefore it is accommodated to the angels ofthe three heavens, and also to mea 24« ' OB WORD OF THE LORD. 196 196. II. That the spiritaal sense is in all and every part of the Wwd. This cannot be better seen than by examples ; as for in stance, John says in the Eevelation, " 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 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 to all the fowls that fiy in the midst of heaven. Come and gather yourselves unto 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 men, both free and bond, both small and great" (xix. 11 — 18). What these words signify, cannot possibly be known but from the spiritual sense of the Word ; and the spirit ual sense of the Word cannot possibly be known but from tho science of correspondences ; for all the above words are corre spondences, and there is not ono without a meaning. The science of correspondences teaches what is signifled by a white horse, what by him that sits upon him, what by his eyes which were as a flame of fire, what by the crowns which he wore on his head, what by his vesture dipped in blood, what by white linen witli which the armies that followed him in heaven were clothed, what by the angel standing in the sun, what by the great supper to which they should come and gather themselves, what by the flesh of kings, captains, and others, which they should eat. The particular signiflcation of all these expressions in their spiritual sense may be seen explained in the work en titled the Apocalypse Eevealed, from n. 820 — 838 ; and like wise in the small treatise on the Whtte Horse ; therefore it is needless to repeat the explanation. In those books it is shown, that in the passage here quoted the Lord is described as to the Word ; that by his eyes, which were like a flame of fire, is meant the divine wisdom of his divine love ; by the cro^^ns which he wore on his head, and by the name which no one knew but him self, are meant the divine truths of the Word derived 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, that by his vesture dipped in blood is meant the natural sense of the Word, which is its literal sense, to which violence has been offered. That it is the Word which is thus described, is very evident from its being said, his name is called the Word of God; 247 196, 197 the sacred scripture, and that it is the Lord who is meant is likewise evident, for it is said that the name of him who sat on the white horse was King of kings and Lord of lords, in like manner as in Eevelation xvu. 14, where we find these words : " and the Lainb shall over come them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings." That the spiritual sense of the Word is to be opened at the end ofthe church, is signified not only by what is said of the white horse, and of him that sat upon him, but also by the great supper to which all were invited to come, by the angel standing in the sun, and to eat the flesh of kings and captains, &c., by which is signified the appropriation of good of all kinds from the Lord. All these expressions would be idle unmeaning words, and with out life and spirit, unless there was a spiritual sense within them, as the soul is within the body. 197. In the Eevelation, chap, xxi., the New Jerusalem is thus described : "Her light was like unto a stone most precious, even as a jasper-stone, clear as crystal ; and she had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and over the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. And the wall was a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel ; and the building of the wall was of jasper ; and ite foundations of all manner of precious stones, of jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonix, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprasus, jacinth, and amethyst. And the gates were twelve pearls. And the street of the city was pure gold, like pure glass; and it was four-square ; the length, and the breadth, and the height of it equal, twelve thousand furlongs ;" with many other circumstances. That a,ll this description is to be understood spiritually appears from hence, that by the New Jerusalem is meant a new church which is to be established by the Lord, as is shown in the Apocalypse Eevealed, n. 880 ; and since by Jerusalem is there signified the church, it follows of consequence that all things spoken of it, as of a city, respecting its wall, the foundations of the wall, and their measures, contain a spiritual sense ; for all things relating to the church are spiritual. What the expressions in the above description particularly signify, is shown in the Apocalypse Eevealed, n. 896 — 925, therefore it is needless here to repeat the explanation. It is enough to un derstand from thence, that there is a spiritual sense in every part of the description, like a soul in ite body, and that without such a sense the expressions could have no reference tq the church ; as -where it is said that the city was of pure gold, its gates of pearls, the wall of jasper, the foundations ofthe wall of precious stones, that the wall was a hundred and forty-four cubite, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel, and that the city was in length, breadth, and height, twelve thousand furlongs, with many other particulars ; but whoever, by the science of 248 OE WOED OF THE LOED. 197, 198 correspondences, is acquainted ¦with the spiritual sense Of the Word, will understand all those expressions, and will see, for instance, that the wall and its foundations signify the doctrinals of the New Church derived from the literal sense of the Word ; and that the numbers twelve, bne hundred and forty-four, and twelve thousand, signify all things belonging to it, or all ite truths and goods in one complex. 198. 'where the Lord speaks to his disciples about the con summation of the age, which is the last time of the church, at the end of his predictions concerning its successive changes of state, he says, "Immediately after the affliction of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light (lumen), 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 much glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. xxiv. 29 — 31). By these words, in their spiritual sense, is not meant that the sun and moon should be darkened, that the stars should fall from heaven, and that the sign of the Lord should appear in the heavens, and that he should be seen in the clouds, attended by his angels with trumpets ; but by all these expressions are meant spiritual things relating to the church, of whose final state or period they are spoken ; for in the spiritual sense, by the sun, which shall be darkened, is meant love towards the Lord ; by the moon, which shall not give her light {luTnen), is meant faith towards him ; by the stars, which shall fall from heaven, are meant the knowledges of truth and good ; by the sign of the Son of man' in heaven, is meant the appearance of divine truth in the Word from him ; by the tribes ofthe earth,' which shall mourn, is meant the failure of all truth which is of faith, and of all good which is of love ; by the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven, with power and glory, is meant the presence of the Lord in the Word, and rev elation ; by the clouds of heaven is signified the literal sense of the Word, and by glory its spiritual sense ; by the angels with a great sound of a trumpet is meant heaven, whence divine truth comes; by, gathering together the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other, is meant a new heaven and a new church, to be formed of those who have faith in the Lord and live according to his precepts. That in this passage we are not to understand the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the stars upon the earth, is evident from the writings of the prophets, where mention is made of the same circum stances relating to the state of the church at the time when the Lord should come into the world ; as in Isaiah : " Behold, the 24'9 198, 199 THE SACEED SCEXPITJEE, day of Jehovah cometh, cruel with wrath and anger ; for the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shall not give their light ; the sun shall be darkened in his rising, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine ; and I will visit the world for their evil" (xiii. 9—11) ; and in Joel : " The day of Jehovah cometh, a day of darkness and of thick darkness ; the sun and the moon shall be blackened, and the stars shall with draw their shining" (ii. 2 ; iii. 16) ; and in -Ezekiel : " I will cover the heavens and blacken the stars ; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not cause her light {lumen) to shine ; all the luqiinaries of light will I cover, and set darkness upon thy land" (xxxii. 7, 8). By the day of Jehovah is meant the Lord's advent, which was at a time when there was no longer any good of love and truth of faith remaining in the church, or^ any knowledge of the Lord ; therefore it is called a day of dark ness and thick darkness. 199. That the Lord, during his abode in the world, spoke by correspondences, and thus both spiritually and naturally at the same time, may appear from his parables, in every word of which there is a spiritual sense contained. Let us take an instance from the parable of the ten virgins, which runs thus : " The king dom of heaven is like unto ten virgins, that took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom : and five of them were wise, and five were foolish : those that were foolish took their lamps, but took no oil in them ; but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and s^ept ; and at midnight there was a cry made. Behold, the bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps : and the foolish said unto the wise. Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out : but the wise answered, saying. Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you ; but go ye rather to those that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom;. came ; and those that were ready went in with him to the wed ding ; and the door was shut. Afterwards came also the other virgins, saying. Lord, Lord, open to us ; but he answered and said, Yeriiy, I say unto you, 1 know you not" (Matt. xxv. 1 — 13). That in every part of this parable there is a spiritual sense, and consequently a divine holiness, can only be seen by those who are apprised of the existence of a spiritual sense, and are acquainted with the nature of it. In the spiritual sense, by the kingdom of heaven is meant heaven and the church ; by the bridegroom, the Lord ; by a wedding, the marriage of the Lord with heaven and the church by the good of love and the truth of faith ; by the virgins, those who are of the church ; by ten, all; by five, a certain part ; by lamps, the things which are oi faith ; by oil, the things which are of love and ite good; by sleeping aud waking, the life of man in the world, wMch ifl 260 OE WOED OF THE LOED. 199, 200 natural, and his life after death, which is spiritual ; by buying, to procure for themselves ; by going to those that sell, and buy. ing oil, to procure for themselves the good of love from others after death ; and because this is then impracticable, therefore, although they came with their lamps and the oil they had bought, to the marriage door, yet the bridegroom said unto them, I know you not. The reason of this is, because every man, after the conclusion of his life in this world, retains the nature and quality which he had acquired by that life. From hence it is evident, that the Lord spoke by mere correspond ences, and this in consequence of speaking from the Divinity which was in him and was his. Because virgins signify those who are of the church, therefore, in the prophetical parts of the Word, we find so frequent mention made of the virgin and daughter of Zion, Jerusalem, Judah, and Israel : and because oil signifies the good of love, therefore all the holy things of the church were anointed with oil. The case is similar in respect to the other parables, and all the words spoken by the Lord ; and it was from this ground that the Lord declares, that his words are spirit and life (John vi. 63). 200. IH. That it is owing to the spiritual sense that the Word is divinely inspired, and holy in every syllable. It is asserted in the church, that the Word is holy, because Jehovah the Lord spoke it ; but since its holiness does not appear ia its literal sense, therefore those who once begin to doubt its holiness on that account, in the future course of their reading confirm their doubts by many passages they meet with, suggesting these questions, " Can this be holy ? Can this be divine ?" Now to prevent the influence of such doubts on men's minds, lest they should become general, and the Word of God, in consequence, should be rejected as a common trivial writing, and thereby the Lord's conjunction with man should be cut ofi', it has pleased the Lord, at this time, to reveal its spiritual sense, for the purpose of discovering to mankind in what part of it its divine sanctity lies concealed. But to illustrate this, let us apply to examples. In the Word we find frequent mention made of Egypt, Ashur, Edom, Moab, the children of Ammon, the Philistines, Tyre and Sidon, and of Gog. Those now who do not know that by those names are signified the things of heaven and of the church, may easily be led into an erroneous notion that the Word treats much of people and nations, and but little of heaven and the church, thus much about earthly things, and but little about heavenly things ; whereas if such pereons knew what is signified by those people and nations, or by their names, this might be a means to lead them out of error into truth. In like manner, when it is observed that in the Word frequent mention is made of gardens, groves, woods, and also of the trees that grow therein, as the olive tJ'e vine, the 251 SOO, 201 THE SACEED SCEIPTUEE, cedar, the poj)lar, aud the oak ; and also of lambs, sheep, goats, calves, oxen ; and likewise of mountains, hills, valleys, fountains, rivers, waters, and the like. He that knows nothing of the spiritual sense of the Word must of necessity be led to suppose that nothing further is meant by these things than what is ex pressed in the letter : for he little thinks that by a garden, a grove, and a wood, are meant wisdom, intelligence, and science ; by the olive, the vine, the cedar, the poplar, and the oak, are meant the good and truth of the church, under, the different qualities of celestial, spiritual, rational, natural, and sensual; by a lamb, a sheep, a goat, a calf, and an ox, are meant in nocence, charity, and natural affection ; and by mountains, hills, and valleys, are meant the higher, the lower, and the lowest things relating to the church. The case is in like manner altered, when the reader is aware, that by Egypt is signified what is scientific, by Ashur what is rational, by Edom what is natural, by Moab the adulteration of good, by the children of Ammon the adulteration of truth, by the Philistines faith with out charity, by Tyre and Sidon the knowledge of goodness and truth, by Gog external worship without internal ; and that, in general, by Jacob, in the Word, is understood the church- natural, by IsEAEL the church-spiritual, and by Judah the church-celestial. When the mind is opened to this knowledge, it may then be able to conceive that the Word treats solely of heavenly things, and that the earthly things mentioned in it are only the subjects wherein those heavenly ones are contained. But let us take another instance from the Word for the illustra tion of this truth. We read in Isaiah, " In that day there shall be a highway out of Egypt into Assyria ; and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyp tians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the land; which Jehovah Zebaoth shall bless, -saying. Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my blessing" (xix. 23 — 26). By these words, in their spiritual sense is signified, that at the time of the Lord's coming, the scientific, the rational, and the spiritual, should make a one, and that then the scientific should serve the rational, and both the spiritual ; for, as was said above, by Egypt is signified the scientific, by Ashur or Assyria the rational, and by Israel, the spiritual ; by the repetition of tlie words, in that day, is meant the flrst and second coming of the Lord. 201. IY. That tlie spiritual sense oftheWord has heretofore remained unknown. That all things in nature, both in general and in particular, correspond to things spiritual, and in like manner all and every thing in the human body, is shown in the treatise conceraina 252 OK WOKl) OF THE LOED. 201, 202 Hbaven and Hell, n. 87 — 105. But what is meant by coiTe spondence has to this day remained unknown, notwithstanding it was a subject most familiar to the men of the most ancient times, who esteemed it the science of sciences, and cultivated it so uni versally, that all their books and treatises were written by corre spondences. The book of Job, which was a book of the ancient church, is full of correspondences. The hieroglyphics of the Egyptians, and the fabulous stories of antiquity, were founded on the same science. All the ancient churches were churches representative of spiritual things, and their ceremonies, and also their. statutes, which were rules for the institution of their worship, consisted of mere correspondences. In like manner, every thing in the Israelitish church, the burnt-offerings, sacri fices, meat-offerings, and drink-offerings, with all the particulars belonging to each, were correspondences ; so also was the taber nacle, with all things contained in it ; and likewise the festivals, as the feast of unleavened bi;ead, the feast of tabernacles, the feast of the first-fruits ; also, the priesthood of Aaron and the Levites, and their garments of holiness : but what were the particular spiritual things with which each corresponded, is shown in the Aecana Ccelestia, published at London : and besides the things above-mentioned, all the statutes and judg ments relating to worship and life were correspondences. Now, as divine things fix their existence in outward nature in corre spondences, therefore the Word was written by mere cone- spondences ; and for the same reason the Lord, in consequence of speaking from the Divine, spoke by correspondences ; for whatever proceeds from the Divine, when it comes into outward nature, manifests itself in such outward things as correspond with what is divine, which outward things become then the repositories of divine things, otherwise called, celestial and spir itual, which lie concealed within them. 202. I have been informed, that the men of the most ancient church, which was before the fiood, were of so heavenly a genius, that they conversed with angels, and that they had the power of holding such converse by means of correspondences ; hence the state of their wisdom became such, that, on viewing any of the objects of this world, they thought of them not only naturally, but also spiritually, thus in conjunction with the angels of heaven. I have been further informed, that Enoch, who is spoken of in Genesis, v. 21 — 24, together with his associates, collected correspondences from the lips of these celestial men, and transmitted the knowledge thereof to posterity ; in con sequence of which, the science of correspondences was not only known in many kingdoms of Asia, but was also much cul tivated, particularly in the land of Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea, Syria, Arabia, in Tyre, Sidon, and Nineveh, and from thence it was conveyed into Greece, where it was changed 263 . 202^-204 THE SACEED gCEIPTUEE, into fable, as may appear from the works of the oldest writers of that country. 203. To show that the science of correspondences was long preserved in the Asiatic nations, among those who were called diviners and wise men, and by some magi, I will adduce a re markable instance from 1 Sam. v. and vi. We are there in formed, that the ark, containing the two tables whereon were written the ten commandments, was taken by the Philistines, and placed in the house of Dagon in Ashdod, and that Dagon fell to the ground before it ; and afterwards, that his head and both the palms of his hands were separated from his body, and lay on the threshold ; and that the people of Ashdod and Ekron, to the number of several thousands, were smitten with hemor rhoids, and that the land was devoured with mice ; and that the Philistines, on this occasion, called together their priests and diviners, and that to put a stop to the destruction which threat ened them, they determined to make five golden hemorrhoids, and five golden mice, and a new cart, and to set the ark on this cart, with the golden hemorrhoids and mice, and have it drawn by two milch kine, which lowed in the way before the cart, and thus to send back the ark to the children of Israel, by whom the kine and the cart were offered up- in sacrifice, and the God of Israel was appeased. That all these devices of the Philistine diviners were correspondences, is evident from their significa tion, which is this : the Philistines themselves signified those who are in faith separate from charity ; Dagon represented that religious principle ; the hemorrhoids, wherewith they were smitten, signified the natural loves, which, if separated from spiritual love, are unclean ; and mice signified the devastation of the church by falsifications of truth ; a new cart signified natural doctrine of the church, for a chariot, in the Word, signifies doctrines derived from spiritual truths ; the milch kine signi fied good natural affections ; the golden hemorrhoids signified the natural loves purified and made good ; the golden mice signified the devastation of the church removed by means of good, for gold in the Word signifies good ; the lowing of the kine in the way signified the difficult conversion of the concu piscences of evil in the natural man into good affections ; the offering up of the kine and the cart as a burnt-offering signified that thus the God of Israel was rendered propitious. All these things which the Philistines did by the advice of their diviners were correspondences ; from which it appears that that science was long preserved among the Gentiles. 204. As the representative rites of the church, which were correspondences, began, in process of time, to be corrupted by idolatrous and likewise magical applications of them, there fore, by the divine providence of the Lord, the science of cor respondences was gradually lost, and among the Israelitish and 254 OlS WOED OF THE LOED. 204, 205 Jewish people entirely obliterated. The divine worship of that people consisted indeed of mere correspondences, and conse quently was representative of heavenly things ; but still they had no knowledge of a single thing represented ; for they were altogether natural men, and therefore had neither inclination nor ability to gain any knowledge of spiritual and celestial sub jects ; for the same reason they were necessarily ignorant ol eorrespondences, these being representations of things spiritual and celestial in things natural. 205. The reason why the idolatries of the gentiles of old took their rise from the science of correspondences, was because all things that appear on the face of the earth have correspond ence, consequently, not only trees and vegetables, but also beasts and birds of every kind, with fishes and all other things. The ancients who were versed in the science of correspondences made themselves images, which correspond with heavenly things ; and were greatly delighted with them by reason of their signification, and because they could discern in them what related to heaven and the church : they therefore placed those images not only in their temples, but also in their houses, not with any intention to worship them, but that they might serve as means of recollecting the heavenly things which they signified. Hence in Egypt and other places they made images of calves, oxen, serpents, and also of children, old men, and virgins ; because calves and oxen signified the affections and powers of the natural man ; serpents, the prudence and likewise the cun ning of the sensual man ; children, innocence and charity ; old men, wisdom ; and virgins, the affections of truth ; and so in other instances. Succeeding ages, when the science of corre spondences was obliterated, began to adore as holy, and at length to worship as deities, the images and resemblances set up by their forefathers, because they found them in and about their temples. For the same reason the ancients performed their worship in gardens and groves, according to the different kinds of trees growing in them, and also on mountains and hills ; for gardens and groves signified wisdom and intelligence, and every particu lar tree something that had relation thereto ; as the olive, the good of love ; the vine, truth derived from that good ; the cedar, good and truth rational ; a mountain, the highest heaven ; a hill, the heaven beneath. That the science of correspondences remained among many eastern nations, even till the coming of the Lord, may appear also from the wise men of the east, who visited the Lord at his nativity ; wherefore a star went before them, and they brought with them gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matt. ii. 1, 2, 9, 10, 11); for the star which went before them signified knowledge from heaven ; gold signified celestial good ; frankincense, spiritual good ; and myrrh, natural good; which are the three constituents of all worship. But 255 205 207 THE SACEED SCEIPTUEE, still there was no knowledge whatever of the science of corre; spondences among the Israelitish and Jewish people, although all the parts of their worship, and all the statutes and judg ments given them by Moses, and all things contained in the Word, were mere correspondences. The reason of this was, because they were idolaters at heart, and consequently were of such a nature and genius that they were not even willing to know that any part of their worship had a celestial and spiritual signification, for they believed that all the parts of it were holy of themselves ; therefore had the celestial and spiritual significa tions been revealed to them, they would not only have rejected, but also have profaned them : for this reason heaven was so shut to them, that they scarcely knew whether there was such a thing as eternal life. That such was the case with them, ap- peai-s evident from the circumstance, that they did not acknowl edge the Lord, although the whole Scripture throughout prophe sied concerning him, and foretold his coming; and they rejected him solely on this account, because he instructed them about a heavenly kingdom, and not about an earthly one ; for they wanted a Messiah who should exalt them above all the nations in the world, and not one who should provide only for their eternal salvation. 206. The reason why the science of correspondences, which is the key to the spiritual sense of the Word, was not discovered to later ages, was because the Christians of the primitive church were men of such great simplicity that it was impossible to discover it to them ; for had it been discovered, they would have found no use in it, and would not have understood it. After those first ages of Christianity there arose thick clouds of darkness, which overspread the whole Christian world, first iu consequence of many heretical opinions propagated in the church, and soon after in consequence of the decrees and determinations of THE Council of Nice, concerning the existence of three divine persons from eternity, and concerning the person of Christ as the Son of Mary, and not as the Son of Jehovah God. Hence sprang the present faith of justification, in which three gods are approached and worshipped according to their respective orders, and on which depend all and every thing belonging to the present church, as the members of the body depend on the head : and because men applied every part of the "Word to con firm this erroneous faith, therefore the spiritual sense could not be discovered ; for had it been discovered, they would have applied it also to a confirmation of the same faith, and thereby would have profaned the very holiness of the Word, and thus would have shut heaven entirely against themselves, and have removed the Lord entirely from the church. 207. The reason why the science of correspondences, which is the key to the spiritual sense of the Word, is now revealed, 256 OE WOED OF THE LORD. 207, 208 is, because the divine truths of the church are now coming to light, and of these the spiritual sense of the Word consists ; and while these are in inah, the literal sense of the Word cannot be perverted ; for the literal sense is capable of being turned any way, but if it be turned to favor the false, then its internal sanctity is destroyed, and ite external along with it ; whereas if it be turned to favor the truth, then its sanctity is preserved : more, however, will be said on this subject hereafter. That the spiritual sense of the Word should be opened now, at this time, is signified by John's seeing heaven open, and the white horse, and also by his seeing and hearing the angel, who stood in the sun, calling all people together to a great supper (Eev. xix. 11 — 18); but that it would not be acknowledged for some time, is signifled by the beasts and the kings of the earth, who were about to make war with him that sat on the white horse (Eev. xix. 19) ; and also by the dragon, which persecuted the woman that brought forth the man-child, into the wilderness, and cast out of his mouth water as a flood after her, that he might cause her to be carried away with the flood (Eev. xii. 13 — 17). • 208. Y. That hereafter the spiritual sense of the Word will be made known only to those wlw are in genuine truths from the Lord. The reason of this is, because no one can see the spiritual sense except it be granted him by the Lord alone, and except he be principled in divine truths from the Lord ; for the spiritual sense of the Word treats solely of the Lord and his kingdom, and that is the sense which his angels in heaven are in the per ception of, for it is his divirie truth there. This sense it is possible for a man to violate, if he is versed in the science of correspondences, and desirous thereby to explore the spiritual sense of the Word, under the influence of his own self derived intelligence alone; for by some correspondences with which 'he is acquainted, he may pervert the spiritual sense, and force it even to confirm what is false ; and this would be to offer violence to divine truth, and consequently to heaven also, which is ite place of abode ; therefore, if any one wishes to open that sense by virtue of his own power, and not of the Lord's, heaven, is closed against him ; in which case he either loses sight of all truth or falls into spiritual insanity. Another reason also is, be cause the Lord teaches every one by means of the Word, and grounds his teaching on the knowledges which a man is in possession of, and does not infuse new ones immediately ; therefore, unless a man be principled in divine truths, or if he be only in a few truths, and at the same time in falses, lie may falsify truths by falses, as is done by every heretic with regard to the literal sense of the Word. To prevent, therefore, any person from entering into the spiritual sense, and perverting genuine truth, which belongs to that sense, 257 8 208. 209 THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, there are guards set by the Lord, which are signified in the Word by cherubs. 209. YI. A relaUon of some wonderful phenomena resulting from the spiritual sense qf the Word. In the natural world no such wonderful phenomena result from the Word, because the spiritual sense does not there appear, and is not received inwardly by man according to its own proper nat'ire and quality ; but in the spiritual world there are wonder ful phenomena resulting from the Word, because all in that world are spiritual, and spiritual things affect the spiritual man as natural things do the natural man. There are many wonder ful phenomena resulting from the Word in the spiritual world, of which I will here mention a few. The Word itseF, kept in the most sacred recesses of the temples in that world, shines in the sight of the angels like a great star, and sometimes like a sun, and from the bright radiance with which it is encompassed there is also an appearance as of beautiful rainbows formed round about it : this phenomenon is exhibited as soon as ever the -sacred repository of the Word is opened. That all and every particular truth of the Word shines with a bright light, was made manifest to me from this circumstance, that when any single verse out of the Word is transcribed on paper, and the paper is thrown up into the air, the paper itself shines with a bright light, of the same form with that in which it was cut out ; so that spirits have the power of producing by the Word a variety of bright lucid figures, and also of birds and fishes. But what is still more wonderful, if any person [imbued with genuine truth] rubs his face, hands, or clothes against the Word, when it is open, so as to touch the writing with them, his face, hands, and clothes shine as if he were standing in a star, encompassed with its light.. This I have often seen and wondered at ; and hence it was evi dent to me what occasioned the face of Moses to shine, when he brought the tables of the covenant down from mount Sinai. Besides these, there are many other wonderful phenomena resulting from the Word in the spiritual world ; as, for instance, if any person who is in falses looks at the Word, as it lies in its holy repository, there arises a thick darkness before his eyes, in consequence of which the Word appears to him of a black color, and sometimes as if it were covered with soot ; but if the same person touches the Word, it occasions an explosion, attended with a loud noise, and he is thrown to a corner of the room, where he lies for about the space of an hour, as if he were dead. If any passage is transcribed out of the Word on a piece of paper by a person who is in falses, and the paper is thrown up towards heaven, instantly the same explosion is occasioned in the air between his eye and heaven, and the paper is torn to Eieces and vanishes from the sight ; and the like happens, as I ave often seen, if the paper is thrown into a corner of the room. 258 OE WORD OF THE LOED. 209, 210 Hence it appeared to me that those persons who are in falses of docfrine have no communication with heaven by means of the Word, but that their reading is dispersed in the way, and van ishes like gunpowder made up in paper, when it is set on fire and goes off in the air. The very reverse happens with those who are in truths of doctrine, by means of the Word, from the Lord ; their reading of the "Word penetrates even into heaven; and is effective of conjunction with the angels therein. The angels themselves, when they descend from heaven to execute any business below, appear besejt with small stars, particularly about the head, which is a sign that they are inwardly replen ished with divine truths from the Lord. Moreover, in the spiritual world there are existences similar to those on earth, but every thing therein is derived from a spiritual origin ; so, among other things, there are gold and suver, and precious stones of all kinds, whose spiritual origin is the literal sense of the Word. Hence it is that in the Eevela tion the foundations of the wall of the New Jerusalem are described by twelve precious stones, because by the foundations ofits wall are signified the doctrinals of the New Church derived from the literal sense of the Word ; hence, likewise, it is that in Aaron's ephod there were also twelve precious stones, called Urim and Thummim, and that by means of these, responses were given out of heaven. Besides these, there are still many more won derful phenomena resulting from the Word with respect to the power of truth therein, and which is so immense that the de scription would surpass all belief; for the power of truth in the Word is such, that in the spiritual world it overturns mountains tod hills, and removes them to a great distance, and casts them into the sea, with many other circumstances ; in short, the power of the Lord, by virtue of the Word, is infinite. in. That the literal sense of the word is the basis, the con- IriNENT, AND THE FIEMAMENT OF ITS SPIEITUAL AND CELESTIAL SENSES. 210. In every thing divine there is a first, a middle, and a last, and the first passes through the middle to the last, and thereby exists and subsists ; hence the last is the basis. The first also is in the middle, and by means of the middle in the last, and thus the last is the continent ; and because the last is the con-^ tinent and the basis, it is also the fiemament. The learned Beader will be able to comprehend the propriety of calling thos6 three, end, cause, and effect, and also esse, fieri, and existere, and that the end answers to esse, the cause to fieri, and the effect to emstere ; consequently, that in every complete thing there is a trinity, which is called first, middle, and last ; likewise end, cause, and efifeet. He that comprehends this reasoning will also be able to comprehend that every divine work is complete and perfect in the last; and likewise that in the last is contained the whde, because the prior things are contained together in it. 269 211 213 THE SACEED SCEIPTUEE, 211. From this ground it is that, in the Word, according to ite spiritual sense, the number theee signifies what is complete and perfect, and also the all or whole together ;_ and because this is the signification of that number, therefore it is so frequently applied in the Word, when that signification is intended to be expressed ; as in the following places : Isaiah was to go naked and barefoot three years (Isaiah xx. 3). Jehovah called Samuel three times, and Samuel ran three times to Eli, and Eli under stood him ^e thnrd time (1 Sam. iii. 1 — 8). David said to Jonathan that he would hide himself in the field three days; and Jonathan afterwards shot three arrows at the stone ; and David, lastly, bowed himself three times before Jonathan (1 Sam. xx. 5, 12 — 42). Elijah stretched himself three times on the widow's son (1 Kings xvii. 21) ; Elijah commanded to pour water on the burnt-offering three times (xviii. 34). Jesus said. The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened (Matt. xiii. 33). Jesus said to Peter that he should deny him thrice (xxvi. 34). Jesus said three times unto Peter, Lovest thou me ? (John xxi. 15 — 17.) Jonah was in the whale's belly three days and three nights (Jonah i. 17). Jesus said. Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John ii. 19). Jesus prayed three times in the garden of Gethsemane (Matt. xxvi. 39—44). Jesus rose again on the third day (xxviii. 1) ; besides many other pas sages, where the number three is mentioned : in all these it denotes a work finished and perfect, because such a work is signified by that number. 212. There are three heavens, the highest, the middle, and the lowest ; the highest heaven constitutes the Lord's celestial kingdom, the middle heaven his spiritual kingdom, and the lowest heaven his natural kingdom. , In like manner as there are three heavens, so there are also three senses of the Word, the celestial sense, the spiritual, and the natural ; to which also may be applied what was said above, n. 210, that the first is in the middle, and by means of the middle in the last ; just as the end is in the cause, and by means of the cause in the efl'ect. Hence appears the true nature and quality of the Word, viz. that in its literal sense, which is natural, there is contained an interior sense, which is spiritual, and in this an inmost sense, which is celestial ; and thus that the last sense, which is natural, and is called the literal sense, is the continent, and consequently tlie basis and firmament of the two interior senses. 213. Hence it is evident that the Word, without its literal Bense, would be like a palace without a foundation, that is, like a palace in the air and not on the ground, which could only be the shadow of a palace, and must vanish away ; also that the Word without the literal sense would be like a temple in which are many holy things, with the most holy place in the midst, OE WOBD OF THE LOED. 213, 214 without roof or walls, which are its boundaries ; if these were wanting or were taken away, its holy things would be carried away by thieves, and violated by the beaste of the earth and the birds of the air, and would thus be destroyed. It would be the same as if the tabemaele of the sons of Israel in the wilderness, iu the inmost of which was the ark of the covenant, and in the middle part the golden candlestick with the golden altar upon which was the incense, and the table upon which was the shew-bread, had been without ite ultimates, which were courts, veils, and pillars. In short, the Word without its hteral sense would be like the human body without its cov erings, which are called skins, and without its supporters, which are called bones, of which supposing it to be deprived, ite inner parts must of necessity be dispersed and perish. It would also be like the heart and the lungs in the thorax, de prived of their covering, which is called the plewra, and their supporters, which are called the ribs ; and like the brain without its coverings, which are called the dura and ®m mater, and with out its common covering, continent, and firmament, which is called the skull. So would it be with the Word without its lit eral sense ; therefore it is said in Isaiah, " the Lord will create upon all the glory a covering" (iv. 5). IY. That the divine teuth, in the liteeal sense of the WOED, IS IN ITS FULNESS, ITS SANCTITY, AND ITS POWEE. 214. The reason why the Word in its literal sense is in its fulness, its sanctity, and its power, is because the two prior or interior senses, which are called spiritual and celestial, are simul taneously contained in the natural sense, which is the sense of the letter, as was said above, n. 210, 212 ; but in what manner they are so simultaneously contained shall now be shown. Both in heaven and in the world there are two kinds of order, suc cessive order, and simultaneous order: in successive order one thing succeeds and follows another, from what is highest to what is lowest ; but in simultaneous order one thing is next to another, from what is innermost to what is outermost. Succes sive order is like a column with degrees from highest to lowest ; but simultaneous order is like a work whose centre and circum ferences have a regular coherence, even to the outermost surface. We will now show in what manner successive order becomes, in ite ultimates, simultaneous order, which is thus : the highest parts of successive order become the inmost of simultaneous order, and the lowest parts of successive order become the outer most of simultaneous order, just as would be the case with a column of degrees, were it to sink down and become a coherent body in a plane. Thus what is simultaneous is formed from what is successive, and this is the case in all and every thing in the natural world, and in all and every thing in the spiritual world; fbr there is everywhere a first, a middle, and a last, and the first, 261 214, 215 THE SACEED SCELPl-UEE, by means of the middle, tends and proceeds to its last : but it should be well observed, that there are also degrees of purity, according to which both these kinds of order are established. Now, to apply this reasoning to the Word : the celestial, spiri^ ual, and natural [principles] proceed from the Lord in successive order, and in their last, or ultimate, they are in simultaneous order ; thus then the celestial and spiritual senses of the Word are simultalneously contained in its natural sense. When this truth is comprehended, it will be easy to see how the natural sense of the Word is the continent, basis, and firmament of its spiritual and celestial senses : and also in what manner divine good and divine truth, in the literal sense of the Word, are in their fulness, their sanctity, and their power. From hence it rnust appear evident that the Word is pre-eminently the Word in its literal sense, for it is in this sense that spirit and life are inwardly contained ; and this is what the Lord meant when he said, " The words which I speak unto you are spirit and life" (John vi. 63) ; for the Lord spoke his words in the natural sense. The celestial and spiritual senses are not the Word without the natural sense ; for in such a case they are like spirit and life without a body ; or, as was said above, n. 213, like a palace which has no foundation. 216. The truths of the literal sense of the Word, in sorrre cases, are not naked truths, but only appearances of truth, and are like similitudes and comparisons taken from such things as are in nature, and thus accommodated and adequate to the ap- ,prehension of simple minds and children ; but they are at the same time correspondences, therefore they are the receptacles and abodes of genuine truth : they are also its containing vessels, in like manner as a crystalline cup contains excellent wine, or as a silver dish contains rich meats," or as garments clothing the body, like swaddling, clothes to an infant, or an elegant dress on a beautiful virgin : they are also like the scientifics of the natm-al man, which comprehend in them the perceptions and affections of spiritual truth. The naked truths themselves, which are in cluded, contained, attired, and comprehended, are in the spiritual sense of the Word, and the naked goods are in its celestial sense. But let us illustrate this by instances from the Word : " Jesus said. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees ; for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse firet that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also" (Matt, xxiii. 25, 26). In this passage the Lord spoke by similitudes and comparisons, which at the same time are coiTespondences. He uses the words " cup and platter," and by cup is not only meant, but also signified, the ti'uth of the Word ; for by the cup is meant wine, and by wine is signified truth ; but by the .platter is meant meat, and by 262 OE WOED OF THE LORD. 15, 216 meat is signified good ; therefore by making clean the inside of the cup and platter, is signified to purify the interiors of the mind, which relate to the will and the thoughts, by means of the Word ; and by the consequent cleansing of the outside is signified that thus the exteriors are purified, which are the words and works, for these derive their essence from the former. Again : " Jesus said. There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day ; and there was a certain poor man, named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate full of sores" (Luke xvi. 19, 20). In this passage also the Lord spoke by similitudes and comparisons, which are correspondences, and contain in them spiritual things. By the rich man is meant the Jewish nation, who are called rich, because they were in possession of the Word, in which there are spiritual riches ; by the purple and fine linen with which the rich man was clothed, are signified the good and truth of the Word, by purple its good, and by fine linen its truth ; by faring sumptuously every day is signified the delight which the Jewish people took in possessing the Word, and hea^ring it often read in their temples and synagogues ; by the poor Lazarus are meant the Gentiles, because they were not in possession of the Word ; by Lazarus lying at the rich man's gate is meant that the Gentiles were despised and rejected by the Jews ; by being full of sores is signified, that the Gentiles from their ignorance of truth were in many falses. The reason why the Gentiles were meant by Lazarus, was, because the Gentiles were beloved by the Lord, as was Lazarus whom he raised from the dead (John xi. 3, 5, 36); who is called his friend (xi. 11) ; and who sat with him at table (xii. 2). From these two passages it is evident that the truths and goods of the literal sense of the Word are like vessels and garments, to contain and cover the naked good and truth which lie concealed in the spiritual and celestial senses of the Word. Since the Word iri its literal sense is of such a nature, it follows of consequence that those who are in divine truths, and in a belief that the Word in its internal parts is divine and holy, see divine truths in natural light, while they read the Word in a state of illustration from the Lord, and more especially if they believe that the Word is of such a nature by virtue of its spiritual and celestial sense ; for the light of heaven in which the spiritual sense of the Word is, descends by influx into the natural light in which the literal sense of the "Word is, and illuminates a man's intellectual principle, which is called his rational principle, and makes him see and acknowledge divine truths, both where they are manifest and where they lie concealed. This effect of the influx of light from heaven takes place in some cases even when men are ignorant of it. 216. Since the Word in its inmost contents, from its celes tial sense, is like a gentle burning flame, and in its middle con 263 L 8, 217 THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, tents, from its spiritual sense, is like an illustrating light, it follows, that in its ultimate or last contente, from its natural sense, it is like a transparent object recipient both of flame and light, which from the flame is red like crimson, and from the light is white like snow ; thus it is respectively like a ruby and a diamond, from the celestial flame like a ruby, and from the spiritual light like a diamond. And since this is the nature and quality of the Word in its literal sense, therefore the Word is meant in that sense, 1. By the precious stones of which the foundations of the New Jerusalem were huilt; 2. Also by the Urim, and Thummim on the Ephod of Aaron ; 3. Likewise hy the precious stones in the garden of Eden, wherein the king of Tyre is said to have been ; 4. And further by the curtains, vails, and pillars of the tabernacle ; f>. In like manner by the external parts of the temple of Jerusalem. 6. TheWord in its glory was represented in the person of the Lord when he was tra/nsfiyured ; 7. The power cf the Word in its last or ultimate sense, was represented by the Naza/rites. 8. Of the inexpressible power ofthe Word. But these articles shall be severally illustrated. 217. 1. That the truths ofthe literal sense of the Word are understood hy the precious stones of which the foundations of the New Jerusalem were built, as mentioned in the Revelation (xxi. 17—21.) It was observed above, n. 209, that in the spiritual world there are precious stones, just as in the natural world, and that they derive their spiritual origin from the truths which are in the literal sense of the "Word. This may ajjpear incredible, but still it is true. Hence it is, that in whatever part of the Word precious stones are mentioned, in the spiritual sense truths are understood by them. Th^t by the precious stones of which the foundations of the wall encompassing the city. New Jerusalem, are said to be constructed, are signified the truths of the doctrine of the New Church, follows from hence, because by the New Jerusalem is signified the New Church in respect to doctrine derived from the Word ; therefore by its wall, and the foundations thereof, nothing can be meant but the external of the Word, which is its literal sense ; for it is this sense from which doctrine is derived, and by doctrine the church ; and this sense is like a wall with foundations, that encompasses and secures the city. The New Jerusalem and its foundations are thus described in the Eevelation : "The angel measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. And the wall had twelve foundations, garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was a jasper; the second, a sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald ; the fifth, a sardonyx ; the sixth, a sardius ; the seventh, a chrysolite ; the eighth, a beryl ; the ninth, a topaz; Jie tenth, a chrysoprasus ; the eleventh, a jacinth ; the twelfth, an 264 OE WOED OF THE LOED. 217, 218 amethyst" (xxi. 17 — 20). The reason why the twelve foundations of the- wall were built of the same number of precious stones is, because the number twelve signifies the all of truth derived from good, aud consequently in this place the all of doctrine. But this, with the preceding and following passages of that chapter, may be seen particularly explained and confirmed by parallel passages from the prophetic writings in the Apocalypse Eevealed. 218. 2. 'That the goods and truths of the Word in its literal sense are understoodby the Urim and Thum,mim on Aaron's ephod. The Urim and Thummim were on Aaron's ephod, whose priesthood was representative of the Lord with respect to divine good and the work of salvation ; the garments of the priesthood, or of his holiness, were representative of divine truths from the Lord ; the ephod was representative of divine truth in its ulti mate, consequently of the Word in its literal sense, for this is divine truth in its ultimate : hence, by the twelve precious stones, with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, which were the Urim and Thummim, were represented divine truths as derived from divine good in their whole complex. Concerning the ephod with the Urim and Thummim, Moses has these words : " They shall make the ephod of blue {hyacinthinuin) and purple, of scarlet double dyed and fine twined linen ; and they shall make the breast-plate of judgment according to the work of the ephod, and shall set it with settings bf stones, even lour rows of stones : the first row shall be a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald ; and the second row shall be a chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond ; and the third row a figure, an agate, and an amethyst ; and the fourth row a beryl, a sardius, and a jasper : and the stones shall be on the names of the children of Israel ; the en gravings of a signet shall be on the name of every one for the twelve tribes. ¦ And Aaron shall carry on the breast-plate of judgment the Urim and Thummim, and they shall be upon Aaron's heart -when he goeth in before Jehovah" (Exod. xxviii. 6, 15 — 21, 29, 30). What is represented by Aaron's garments, his ephod, robe, coat, mitre, and belt, is explained in the work entitled Aecana Ccelestia, published at London, where, in treating on that chapter, it is shown, that by the ephod is repre sented divine truth in its ultimate ; by the precious stones therein are signified truths, transparent from good ; by twelve in a fourfold order, all those truths from the first to the last ; by the twelve tribes of Israel, all things relating to the church ; by the breast-plate, divine truth derived from divine good in a universal sense ; by the Urim and Thummim, the brilliancy of divine truth derived from divine good in its ultimates, for Urim signifies a shining fire, and Thummim, brilliancy, in the angelic tongue, and in the Hebrew tongue, integrity. In the same work it is also shown,' that responses were given by the vari(sgations of light, accompanied by a tacit perception, or by an ludibla 265 218 220 THE SACEED SCEIPTUEE, -voice, with many other circumstances. Hence .it may appear evident, that by those stones were likewise signified truths derived from good in the ultimate sense of the Word : responses from heaven are not given by any other means, because in that sense the divine proceeding is in its fulness. 219. 3. That the same is understood by ihe precious stones in the garden of Eden, wherein the king of Tyre is said to home been. It is written in Ezekiel, " King of Tyre, thou who sealest up thy sum, fuU of wisdom, and perfect in beauty ; thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God : every precious stone was thy covering : the ruby, the topaz, and the diamond ; the beryl, the sardonyx, and the jasper; the sapphire, the chrysoprase, and the emerald ; and gold" ^xviii. 12, 13). By Tyre, in the "Word, is signified the church with respect to the knowledges of good and truth ; by king is signified the truth of the church ; by the gar den of Eden is signified wisdom and intelligence derived from theWord ; by precious stones are signified truths, such as are, in the literal sense of the Word, bright and transparent from good:; and as these are signified by those stones, therefore they are called his covering. That the literal sense of the Word serves as a covering for the interior senses, may be seen above, n. 213. 220. 4. That truths and goods in tlieir uUimates, such a? are in tlie Uteral sense of the Word, were represented hy the cur tains, vails, andpilla/rs of ihe tabernacle. The tabernacle v,'hich Moses built in the wilderness repre sented heaven and the church ; therefore the pattern of it was shown to Moses by Jehqvah on Mount Sinai. Hence all the things contained in that tabernacle, as the candlestick, the golden altar for incense, and the table wUereon was the -shew- bread, represented and signified the holy things of heaven and the church ; and the holy of holies, where was the ark of the covenant, represented and thence signified the inmost of heaven and the church ; and the law written on two tables, signified the Word ; and the cherubs above it signified guards, to prevent the violation of the holy things of the Word. Now as externals derive their essence from internals, and both the one and the other from what is inmost, which in the tabernacle was the law, therefore the holy things of the Word were represented and signified by all things belonging to the tabernacle ; hence it follows, that the ultimates of the tabernacle, as the curtains, the vails, and the pillars, which were its coverings, continents, and firmaments, signified the ultimates of the Word, which are the truths and goods of its literal sense ; and because those things were signified, therefore all the curtains and vails were made of fine twined linen, and blue {hyacinthinum), and scarlet double dyed, with cherubs (Exod. xxvi. 1, 31, 36). The general and particular representations and significations of the tabernacle and all that was in it, are expla.uied in the Aecana Ccelestia 266 OB WORD OF THE LORD 220 — 222 and in treating on that chapter of Exodus, it is there shown that the curtains and vails represented the externals of heaven and the church, consequently also the externals of the Word ; aud further, that fine linen signified truth from a spiritual ori gin ; blue {hyacinthimim), truth from a celestial origin ; purple, celestial good ; double dyed scarlet, spiritual good ; and cherubs, th« guards of the interiors of the "Word. 221. 6. That the same was represented by ths externals qf tlie temple at Jerusalem. The reason of this is, because the temple, as well as the tab ernacle was representative of heaven and the church, with this difference only, that the temple was representative. of the heaven in which the spiritual angels dwell, whereas the tabernacle was representative of the heaven in which the celestial angels dwell. The spiritual angels are those who are in wisdom from the Word, and the celestial angels" are those who -are in love from theWord. That the temple at Jerusalem, in its highest sense, signified the Divine Humanity of the Lord, he himself teaches in these words : " Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up ; but he spoke of the temple of his body" (John ii. 19, 21) ; and where- ever the Lord is understood, there also the Word is understood, because he is the Word. Now, since the interiors of the temple were representative of the interiors of heaven and the church, and also of the Word, therefore its exteriors were representative and significative of the exteriors of heaven and the church, and consequently of the exteriors of the Word, which are its literal sense. Concerning the exteriors of the temple it is written, " they were built of whole stones not hewn, and of cedar within ; and all its walls within were carved with figures of cherubs, palm- trees, and openings of flowers ; and the floor was overlaid with gold" (1 Kings vi. 7, 39, 30) ; all which likewise signifled the ex ternals of the Word, which are the holy things of its literal sense. 222. 6. That the Word in its glory was represented in the person pf the Lord at his transfigipration-,. Concerning the Lord's transfiguration in the presence o' Peter, James, and John, it is written, " His face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was as the light ; and there appeared Moses and Elias talking with him ; and a bright cloud over shadowed them : and a voice was heard out of the cloud, saying. This is my beloved Son ; hear ye him" (Matt. xvii. 1 — 5). 1 have been informed that the Lord on this occasion represented the Word ; his face, which shone as the sun, represented the divine good of his divine love ; his raiment, which was as the light, the divine truth of his divine wisdom ; Moses and Elias, the historical and prophetical Word ; Moses, the Word which was -written by him, and in general the historical Word ; and Elias, the whole prophetical "Word ; the bright cloud which over shadowed the disciples, the Word in its literal sense ; therefore 267 222 224 THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, out of this a voice was heard, saying, "This is my* beloved Son; hear him ;" for all declarations and responses from heaven are delivered by means of ultimates, such as are in the literal sense of the Word ; for they are delivered in fulness from the Lord. 223. 7. That the power of the Word in its ultimates was represented by the Naza/iites. It is written in the book of Judges concerning Sampson, that he was a Nazarite from his mother's womb, and that his strength consisted in his hair. By the words Nazarite and Nazariteship also is signified hair. That Sampson's strength consisted in his hair is plain from these his own words : " There hath hot come a razor upon my head, for I have been a Nazarite unto Gud from my mother's womb ; if I be shaven, then my strength wiU go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man" (Judges xvi. 17). It is impossible for any one to know why the Nazariteship, which signified hair, was instituted, and on what ground it was that Sampson derived strength from his hair, unless he is first acquainted with the signification of the hea^ in the Word. The head signifies intelligence, which angels and men have from the Lord by means of divine truth ; hence hair signifies intelligence in its ultimates or extremes derived from divine truth. Since this is the signification of hair, it was there fore ordained as a law for the Nazarites, " That they should not shave the hair of their heads, because that is the Nazariteship of God upon their heads" (Numb. vi. 1 — 21). And for the same reason it was likewise ordained, " That the high priest and his sons should not shave their heads, lest they should die, and wrath should come upon the whole house of Israel" (Levit. x. 6). Since the hair by reason of this signification, grounded in cor respondence, was so holy, therefore the Son of man, who is the Lord in respect to the Word, is described even as to his hairs, " that they were white like wool, as white as snow" (Eev. i. 14). In like manner the Ancient of days is described (Dan. vii. 9). Since hair signifies truth in its ultimates, consequently the literal sense of the Word, therefore those who despise the Word in the spiritual world become bald, and on the contrary, those who have held the Word in much esteem, and accounted it holy, appear adorned with graceful and becoming locks. It was on account of this correspondence that the forty-two children who called Elisha bald-head, were torn in pieces by two she-bears (2 Kings ii. 23, 24) ; for EUsha represented the church in respect to doctrine derived from the Word, and she-bears signify the power of truth in its ultimates. The reason why the power of divine truth, or the Word, is in its literal sense is, because the Word in that sense is in its fulness, and the angels of both the Lord's kingdoms, together with men on earth, are united in that sense. 224. 8. Of ihe inmpressihle power of the Word. Scarcely a single person at this day knows that there is anv 268 OR WOED OF THE LOED. 224 power in truths ; for it is generally supposed that truth is nothing more than a word spoken by some person of authority, which on that account ought to be attended to and obeyed, con sequently that it is only like breath issuing from the mouth, and like a sound in the air ; whereas truth and good are the con stituent principles of all things existing in both the spiritual and natural worlds, and are the essences by which the universe was created, and by which it is preserved, and also by which man was made; therefore these two principles are the all in all throughout the system of created things. That the universe was created by divine truth, is expressly declared in John : " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. And the world was made by him" (i. 1, 3,10); and in David: "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made" (Psalm xxxiii. 6). By the Word, in both pas sages, is meant divine truth. And as the universe was created by it, so also it is preserved by it ; for subsistence is perpetual existence, and preservation is perpetual creation. That man was made by divine truth is the real cause that all things in Lim have relation to the understanding and the will ; the under standing is the recipient of divine truth, and the will of divine good ; consequently the human mind, which consists of those two principles, is nothing else but a form of divine truth and divine good, spiritually and naturally organized, which form is the human brain ; and whereas the whole man is dependent on his mind, therefore all things in and belonging to the body are appendages, which receive life and action from those two prin ciples. Hence the reason may now appear why God came into the world as the Word, and was made a man, in order to effect redemption ; for God at that time by means of the humanity, which was divine truth, put on all power, and cast down, sub dued, and reduced to obedience, the hells, which had grown up even to the heavens where the angels dwell. And this he effected, not by any oral word, but the Divine Word, which is divine truth ; and afterwards he fixed a great gulf between the hells and the heavens, which none from liell can pass over ; tor if any one attempts to pass, at his first entrance into it, he is instantly tortured like a serpent on plates of red-hot iron, or on a bed of ants ; for devils and satans no sooner smell the odor of divine truth, than they instantly throw themselves headlong into the deep, and cast themselves into caverns, which they stop up so closely that not a single cleft is left open to admit the light. The reason of this is, because their wills are in evils, and their understandings in falses, consequently in the opposites to divine good and truth ; and as the whale man consists of those two principles of life, therefore on the perception of the opposites they are so grievously tortured fi-om head to foot. Hence it 269 324 226 THE SACEED sceipttjee, may app&ar that the power of divine truth is inexpressible ; and- since the Word which is in the Christian church, is the conti nent of divine truth in its three degrees, it is evident that it is this which is meant in John i. 3, 10. That this power is inex pressible, I could prove by much experimental evidence exhibited before me in the spiritual world ; but as such evidence might exceed all belief, and appear incredible, I think it best to be silent, only referring the reader to what is said above on this subject, n. 209. Hence will result this memorable teuth, that the church which is principled in divine truths from the Lord, has power over the hells, and is that church of which the Lord said to Peter, " On this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. xvi. 18). The Lord said this after Peter's confession, " That he was Christ the Son of the living God" (verse 16). This truth is understood in that passage by the rock ; for by a rock, wherever mentioned in the "Word, is meant the Lord as to divine truth. Y. That the doctrine of the chuech ought to be deawn FEOM the liteeal SENSE OF THE WOED, AND TO BE CONFIEMED thereby. 225. It was shown in the foregoing article that the Word, in its literal sense, is in its fulness, its holiness, and its power ; and since the Lord is the Word, and the First and the Last, according to his own declaration in the Eevelation, i. 17, it follows that the Lord in that sense is most eminently present, and that from that sense he teaches and enlightens mankind ; but the truth of this will fall under the following propositions : — 1. That the Word, without doctrine, is unintelligible. 2. That doctrine ought to be drawn from tlie literal sense qf the Word. 3. 27iat Divine truth, which constitutes doctrine, appears only to those who are in illustration from the Lprd. 226. 1. That the Word, without doctrine, is umintelligible. The reason of this is because the Word, in ite literal sense, consists of mere correspondences, to the end that spiritual and celestial things may be simultaneously in it, and that every single expression may aftbrd them a continent and support ; therefore divine truths in the literal sense are rarely found naked, but clothed, in which state they are called the appeai-ances of truth, consisting of various relations accommodated to the appre hension of the simple, who are not used to any elevation ot their thoughts above visible objects. There are also some things which appear like contradictions, when nevertheless there is not a single contradiction in the Word, if it be viewed in its own spiritual light : in some parts, likewise, of the prophetic writings there is a collection of names of places and persons, from wnich in the letter no sense can be gathered. Such then being the nature of the Word in its literal sense, it must be very evident that without doctrine it cannot possibly be understood; but 270 OE WOED OF THE LOED, 226 this will be best illustrated by examples. It is said, for Instance, " that Jehovah repenteth" (Exod. xxxii. 12, 14 ; Jonah iii. 9 ; iv. 2); and it is also said "that Jehovah doth not repent" (Numb, xxiii. 19 ; 1 Sam. xv. 29) ; which apparently contradic tory passages, without doctrine, are not reconcilable. It is also said " that Jehovah visiteth the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generation" (Numb, xiv 18) ; and it is likewise said " that neither shall the fathers be put to death for the children, nor the children for the fathers • but every man shall be put to death for his own sin" (Deut. xxi^^ 16). These passages, without doctrine, seem contradictory ; but when illustrated by doctrine they are in perfect agreement. Jesus says, " Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Without doc trine it might be supposed from these words that every one would certainly receive what he requests ; but doctrine teaches that whatever a man asks of the Lord, and under his influence, is granted him ; for thus the Lord explains himself: " If ye abiue in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John xv. 7). The Lord says, " Blessed are the poor ; for theirs is the kingdom of God" (Luke vi. 20). Without doctrine it may be imagined that heav en is designed for the poor, and not for the rich ; but doctrine teaches that the poor in spirit are here meant ; for the Lord says in another place, " Blessed are the poor in spirit ; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. v. 3). Again the Lord says, " Judge not, and ye shall not be judged ; for with what judg ment ye judge, ye shall be judged" (vii. 1, 2; Luke vi. 37). Without doctrine a person might here be led to this conclu sion, that he ought not to judge in respect to an evil man that he is evil ; whereas from doctrine it appears that it is lawful to judge, if it be done righteously ; for the Lord says " Judge righteous judgment" (John vii. 24). Again the Lord says, " Be not ye called teacher, for one is your teacher, even Christ ; and call no man your father upon earth, for one is your Father in heaven ; neither be ye called masters, for one is your Master, even Christ" (Matt, xxiii. 8, 9, 10). These words, unexplained by doctrine, would seem to imply that it is not lawful to call any person teacher, father, or master ; whereas by doctrine we learn that this is lawful in a natural sense, though it is unlaw ful in a spiritual sense. Again, Jesus said to his disciples, " When the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matt. xix. 28). From these words it mignt be con cluded that the disciples of the Lord are to sit hereafter in judgment, when the truth is, that they cannot judge any per son ; doctrine therefore explains this mystery, by teaching that the Lord alone, who is omniscient, and knows all hearts, will sil 271 226 229 THE SACEED SCEIPTUEE, in judgthent, and is able to judge ; and that by his twelve dis ciples is meant the church in respect to all the truths and goods which it has from the Lord by means of the Word ; from whence doctrine concludes that those, truths and goods are to judge every one, according to the words of the Lord in John iii. 17, 18 ; xii. 47, 48. Many other passages of a similar kind occur in the Word, from which it manifestly appears that the Word, without doctrine, is unintelligible. 227. The Word, by means of doctrine, is rendered not only intelligible, but also bright and shining in the understanding ; for it is then like a chandelier full of lighted candles, whereby a man sees what was before invisible, and understands what was before unintelligible. The obscure and discordant passages he either does not see, and therefore takes no notice of them, or he sees, and by means of doctrine reconciles them to each other. That men see, and also explain the Word according to doctrine, is clear from the practice of all Christian churches. The Ee formed see it by the light of their doctrine, and explain it accord ingly ; the Eoman Catholics, and even the Jews, do the same, with respect to their doctrine ; consequently, where the doctrine is false, men see falsely, and give false interpretations ; but where the doctrine is true, they see and interpret according to truth. Hence it is evident that true doctrine is like a lantern in a dark night, or like a guide-post to direct travellers in the right way. 228. From what has been said it is very clear that those who read the Word without doctrine, are in the dark concerning every truth, and that their minds must be wavering and un settled, prone to errors, and easily betrayed into heresies, which they will even embrace with eagerness, in case they are sup ported by the authority and favorable opinion of mankind, and that they may do it with a safe reputation ; for the Word is to them as a candlestick without a light in it, and they see many things as it were in shade, though scarcely discerning a single object distinctly ; for doctrine is the only light which can guido them in their inquiries, I have seen such persons examined by the angels ; and it was found that they could confirm from the Word whatever opinion they pleased, and that they actually do so, par ticularly all such opinions and tenets as favor their own love, and the lo^v e of those whom they study to oblige ; but I afterwards saw them stripped of their garments, which is a sign that they were destitute of truths ; for garments in the spiritual world are truths. 229. 2. That doctrine ought to be drawn from tlie literal sense of the Word, and to be confirmed thereby. The reason of this is, because the Lord is present in that sense, teaching and enlightening the mind : for all the Lord's operations are performed in fulness, and the Word in its litera! sense is in its fulness, as was shown above : this is the frue ground why doctrine ought to be drawn from the sense of the 272 OR WOED OP THE LORD. 229 231 letter. The doctrine of genuine tinith may also be fully drawn from the literal sense of the Word ; for the Word in that sense is like a person with his clotnes on, whose face and hands, not- ¦withstanding, are bare ; so all things in the Word, which apper tain to man's faith and life, and consequently to salvation, are bare and naked, but the rest are clothed ; and in many places where they are clothed they appear through their clothing, as ffemales appear through a thin veil of silk thrown over meir fa3es'. The truths of the Word also, in proportion as they are niultiplied by the love of therii, and by that love are arranged in order, shine and become apparent more and more clearly through their outward covering. 230. It may be imagined thatthe doctrine of genuine truth might be collected by means of the spiritual sense of the Word, which is learnt by the science of correspondences ; doctrine, liowever, is not attainable by means of that sense, but is only capable of receiving illustration and confirmation from it ; for, as was observed above, n. 208, it is possible for a person to falsify the Word by some correspondences with which he is ac quainted, when he connects them together, and applies them to the Confirmation of particular opinions originally flxed in his mind. Besides, the spiritual sense of the Word is not granted to any one except by the Lord only, and he guards it as he does the angelic heaven, which indeed is included in it. 231. 3. That genuine truth, which should consUiute doc trine, in the literal sense of the Word, is apparent only to those who are in illustration from ihe Lord. Illustration conies from the Lord alone, and is afforded to those who love truths for truth's sake, and apply them to the uses of life ; none else can receive illustration from the Word. The reason why illustration comes from the Lord alone is, be cause the Word is from him, and consequently he is in the Word ; and the reason of its being afforded only to those who love truths for truth's sake, and apply them to the uses of life, is because they are in the Lord, and the Lord in them ; for the Lord is truth itself, as was shown in the chapter concerning him ; and the Lord is then loved when men live according to his divine truths, and by virtue thereof perform uses, according to these words in John : " At that day ye Shall know that ye are in me, and I in you : he that hath my commandments, and doeth them, he it is that loveth me ; and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him ; and will come unto him, and make mjr abode with him" (xiv. 20, 21, 23). These are those who are in illlistration when they read the "Word, and to whom the Word appears in its brightness and transparence. The reason why the Word appears to such in its brightness and transparence, is be cause there is both a spiritual and a celestial sense in every part ' ofthe Word, and these senses arc in the light of heaven ; there- 273 T 231 233 THE SACEED SCRIPTURE, fore the Lord, by these senses and their light, enters by influx into the natural sense of the Word and the light thereof abiding in man : hence a man acknowledges the truth from an interior perception, and afterwards sees it in his own thought, and this as often as he is in the affection of truth for truth's sake ; for perception comes from affection, and thought from perception, and thence arises acknowledgment, which is called faith. 232. The very reverse takes place with men who interpret the Word by the doctrine of false religion, and particularly when they conflrm such doctrine by the Word, with a view to their own glory and the acquirement of worldly wealth. To such persons the truths ofthe Word appear as in the shades of night, and falses as in the light of day : they read truths, but they do not see them ; and if they see the shadow of them they falsify them. These are those whom the Lord describes as " having eyes, and yet they see not, and ears, and yet they do not under stand" (Matt. xiii. 14, 16). Hence their light in spiritual things, or such as regard the church, becomes merely natural, and their intellectual sight is like that of a person who imagines he sees phantoms when he lies awake in his bed, or like that of a man walking in his sleep, who fancies himself broad awake. 233. I have been permitted to converse with several after death, who believed they should shine as the stars in the firma ment, because, as they said, they had accounted the Word holy, had often perused it, and had collected many things from it, whereby they had confirmed the tenete of their particular faith, and had acquired the reputation of being great scholars and learned men, in consequence of which they supposed they should be advanced to the dignity of a Michael or a Eaphael. But on the examination of several of them respecting the love which in fluenced them in their study of the Word, it was discovered that some of them had studied it from self-love, with a view to ac quire rank and distinction in the church, and some from worldly love, with a view to gain. On their examination also respecting what they had learnt from the Word, it was discovered that they did not know a single genuine truth, but only what may be called truth falsified, which, in its own proper nature, is the false in a state of putridity, for in heaven it stinks ; and they were informed that this was a consequence of reading the Word only with a view to themselves and the world, without regarding the truth of faith, and the good of life, as the ends of tli.eir read ing ; for in this case, where self and the world are the ends, the mind, in reading the Word, abides in self and in the world, and hence their thoughts are constantly derived from their own proprium or selfhood, and the proprium of man is in utter dark ness respecting all things that relate to heaven and the church ; so that in such a state it is impossible for a man to be under the Lord's guidance, and to be elevated by him into the light o/ 274 OR WOED OF THE LOED, 233 236 heaven ; consequently it is impossible he should receive any influx from the Lord through heaven. I have also seen such persons admitted into heaven ; but when they were discovered to be without truths, they were cast down again ; yet still they remained full of a conpeit that they deserved to be in heaven. The case is different with those who have studied the Word from the affection of knowing truth for truth's sake, and because it is serviceable to the uses of life, not only in respect to themselves, but also to their neighbor. I have seen these raised up into heaven, and thus into the light wherein divine truth there appears, and at the same time exalted into that angelic wisdom and its happiness which the angels of heaven enjoy. YI. That by the liteeal sense of the woed a man has con junction WITH THE LOED, AND CONSOCIATION WITH THE ANGELS. 234. The reason why a man has conjunction with the Lord, 'by means of the Word, is, because he is the Word, that is, the very divine truth and divine good contained therein ; and the reason why such conjunction is effected by the literal sense is, because the Word in that sense is in its fulness, in its holiness, and in its power, as was shown above. This conjunction is not apparent to man, but is wrought in the affection and perception of truth. The reason of a man's consociation with angels, by means of the lit eral sense, is because the spiritual and celestial senses are contained in that sense, and the angels are in those senses, the angels of the Lord's spiritual kingdom in the spiritual sense of the Word, and the angels of the Lord's celestial kingdom in ite celestial sense. Those two senses are evolved or unfolded from the natural sense, while it is read by a person who accounts the Word holy. Such evolution is instantaneous, consequently so also is consociation. 235. It has been proved to me by manifold experience, that the spiritual angels are, in the spiritual sense of the Word, and the celestial angels in its celestial sense. It was granted me to perceive, that while I was reading the Word in its literal sense communication was opened with the heavens, sometimes with one society, sometimes with another. What I understood according to the natural sense, the spiritual angels understood according to the spiritual sense, and the celestial angels according to the celes tial sense, and this in an instant ; and as I have perceived this communication many thousand times, I have not a single doubt remaining as to its reality. There are spirits also below the heavens, who abuse this communication ; for they read over particular pas sages in the literal sense of the Word, and immediately observe and note the society with which communication is effected. This also I have frequently seen and heard. From these circumstances it has been granted me to know, by sensible experience, that the Word, as to its literal sense, is a divine medium of conjunction with me Lord, and of consociation with the angels of heaven. 236. But we will illustrate by instances in what manner the 275 286, 237 THE SACEED SCEIPTUEE, Bpiritual angels perceive their sense, and the celestial angels theirs, from the natural sense, while a man is reading the Word. Let us take as examples four commandments of the Decalogue beginning with the fifth. Thou shalt not commit murder.. By murdering, a man understands not only the taking _ away another's life, but likewise bearing malice and hatred in the heart, and breathing a revengeful spirit against any person, even to death ; whereas, by murdering, a spiritual angel understands to play the devil's part, and destroy men's souls ; and a celestial angel, by murdering, understands to hate the Lord and the Word. So with respect to ,the sixth commandment. Thou shalt not commit adultery. By committing adultery, a man under stands to commit whoredom, to be guilty of obscene practices, to indulge in wanton discourse, and to entertain filthy thoughte ; whereas a spiritual angel, by committing adultery, understands to adulterate the goods of the Word, and to falsify its truths ; but a celestial angel, by committing adultery, understands to deny the Divinity of the Lord, and to profane the Word. Again, in the seventh commandment. Thou shalt not steal. By stealing, a man understands to rob, to defraud, and under any pre tence to take from another what belongs to him ; whereas a spiritual angel, by stealing, understands to deprive others of their truths and goods of faith, by means of falses and evils ; but a celestial angel, by stealing, understands to attribute to himself what belongs to the Lord, and to appropriate to himself his righteousness and merit. Lastly, in the eighth commandment, 'ihou shalt not bear false witness. By bearing false witness, a man understands also to tell lies, anci to defame any pei-son ; whereas a spiritual angel, by bearing false witness, understands to declare and to endeavor to persuade others that what is false is true, and what is evil is good, and contrariwise ; but a celestial angel, by bearing false witness, understands to blaspheme the Lord and the Word. These instances may serve to show after what manner the spiritual and celestial senses of the Word ai-e unfolded and extracted from the natural sense in which they are contained ; and what is wonderful, the angels extract their senses without having any knowledge of a man's thoughte ; but still the thoughts of angels and men make a one by correspond ences, like endj cause, and effect ; for ends do actually exist in the celestial kingdom, causes, in the spiritual kingdom, and effects in the natural kingdom ; hence, then, the consociation of men with angels is effected by the Word. 237. The reason why a spiritual angel, from the literal sense of the Word, extracts and calls forth spiritual things, and a celestial angel celestial things, is, because they are in agreement with their natures, and are homogeneous. This may be illus trated by similar cases in the three kingdoms of natil-e, the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral. In the animal kin& 276 OR WOED OF THE LORD. 237 239 DOM, for instance, when the food is formed into chyle, the blood vessels extract from thence and call forth their blood, the nerv ous fibres their juices, and the substances whence those fibres ariginate their spirit. In the vegetable kingdom, a tree with il;s trunk, branches, leaves, and fruits, is supported on its root, and out of the ground, by means of its root, extracts and calls forth a grosser juice for the trunk, branches, and leaves, a purer for the fleshy part of the fruit, and the purest of all for the seeds within the fruit. So lastly, in the mineeal kingdom, minerals, in some places in the bowels ofthe earth, are impregnated with gold, silver, copper, and iron ; and from the vapors and effluvia which exhale from the rocks, the gold, silver, copper, and iron, attract their several elements, while the watery element is the medium of conveyance by which the other elements are dis tributed around. 238. The Word, in its literal sense, is like a cabinet which contains precious stones, pearls, and diadems, arranged in exact order ; and where a man accounts the Word holy, and reads it fbr the sake of ite uses in respect to life, the thoughts of his mind may be compared with a person who takes such a cabinet in his hand, and sends it up towards heaven, when lo ! it flies open in ite ascent, and its precious contents are displayed to the sight of the angels, who are penetrated with delight in beholding and examining thetn. This delight of the angels is' communi cated to the man, producing consociation, and likewise a com munication of perceptions. For the sake of such consociation with angels, and conjunction with the Lord, the Holy Supper was instituted, in which the bread becomes, in heaven, divine good, and the wine, divine truth, both from the Lord. Such correspondence was established from creation, in order that the angelic heaven and the church on earth, and in general the spiritual world and the natural, might make a one, and that the Lord might at once conjoin himself with both. 239. The reason why the consociation of a man with the an gels is effected by the natural or literal sense of the Word, is, because in every man from creation, there are three degrees of life, the celestial, the spiritual, and the natural. A man, how ever, is in the natural degree, so long as he continues in this world ; and at the same time so far in the angelic spiritual de gree as he is in genuine truths ; and so far in the angelic celes tial degree as he is in a life according to those truths ; neverthe less, he is not admitted into the spiritual and celestial degrees themselves till after death, because they are both included and hid within his natural ideas ; wherefore when the natural is put off by death, the spiritual and celestial remain, from whence the ideas of his thought then flow. From what has been said it must appear evidently, that the word alone contains spirit and life, as the Lord says, " The words which I speak unto you are 277 239 241 THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, spirit and life" (John vi. 63). " The water that I will give you, shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John iv. 14). " Man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. iv. 4). " Labor not for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man will give unto you" (John vi. 27). "YIL That the word is in all the heavens, and the wisdom OF THE angels IS THENCE DERIVED. 240. It has remained a secret to mankind unto this day, that the Word is in the heavens, and it could not be made known so long as the church was ignorant that angels and spirits are men, with faces and bodies like men in this our world, and other things among them similar to what we see among men on earth, differ ing only in this, that they themselves are spiritual beings, and that all things which they have among them are from a spiritual origin ; whereas men on earth are natural beings, and all things among them are from a natural origin. So long as this remained concealed, it could never be known that the "Word is also in the heavens, and is read by the angelic inhabitante, and also by the spirits who are beneath the heavens. But lest this truth should remain forever a secret, it has been granted me to be in fellow ship with angels and spirits, to converse with them, and to see what is in their world, and afterwards to relate to mankind many of the things which I have seen and heai-d. This I have done in a treatise concerning Heaven and Hell, published at London in the year 1758 ; from which work it will appear that angels and spirite are men, and having among them an abundance of all such things as exist among men on earth. That angels and spirits are men may be seen in that treatise, n. 73 — 77, and n. 453 — 456. That the same things exist among them that exist here among men, n. 170 — 190 ; also, that they have divine woi-ship among them, and preaching in their temples, n. 221 — 227 ; likewise writings and books, n. 253 — 264 ; and also the Holy Scriptm-e or Word, n. 259. 241. As to what respects the Word in heaven, it is written in a spiritual style, which differs entirely from a natural style : a spiritual style consists of mere letters, each of which in volves some particular sense ; and there are small lines, cur vatures and dote, above and between the letters, and inserted in them, which exalt the sense. The letters in use among the angels of the spiritual kingdom are like the letters used in printing among men ; and the letters in use among the angels of tlie celestial kingdom are, in some societies, like Ara bic characters, in others like the old Hebrew letters, but in flected above and beneath, with marks above, between, and within them, each of which in itself involves some entire sense. Since their writing is of such a nature, therefore the names v«i 278 OR WORD OF THE LORD. 241, 242 persons and places which occur in the Word are expressed among them by marks. Thence the wiser angels understand what spiritual and celestial meaning is involved in each name ; as that Moses means the Word of God which he wrote, and in general the historical Word ; Elijah, the prophetic Word ; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Lord with respect to his divine-celestial, his divine-spiritual, and his divine-natural ; Aaron, the priestly office ; David, the kingly office, each in relation to the Lord ; the names of the sons of Jacob, or the twelve tribes of Israel, signify various things respecting heaven and the church ; so also the names of the Lord's twelve disciples ; Zion and Jerusalem, the church as to doctrine derived from the Word ; the land of Canaan, the church itself; the places and cities therein, on this side the river Jordan and beyond it, signify various things relating to the church and its doctrine. The case is the same in respect to numbers ; they do not occur in the copies of the Word writ ten in heaven, but instead of them the realities with which the numbers correspond are expressed. It is hence plain to see, that the Word in heaven, as to the literal sense, is similar to, and at the same time corresponding with, our "Word, and that con sequently they are a one. It is a wonderful circumstance, that the Word in heaven is so written, that the simple understand it in simplicity, and the wise in wisdom ; for there are various curvatures and marks over the letters, which, as was observed, exalt the sense, but which the simple neither regard nor un derstand; whereas the wise are attentive to them, every one in proportion to his wisdom, even to its highest degree. A copy of the Word, written by angels under the Lord's inspira tion, is kept by every considerable society in a sacred reposi tory appointed for that purpose, lest it should suffer alteration in any of its points and marks. The Word in our world is so far similar to that in heaven, that the simple understand it in simplicity, and the wise in wisdom ; but this is effected in a different manner. 242. The angels themselves confess that they derive all their, wisdom from the Word ; for in proportion to their understanding of the Word is the degree of light in which they dwell : the light of heaven is divine wisdom, which in the eyes of the angels is light. In the sacred repository where the copy of the Word is kept, the light is bright and flaming, exceeding every degree of light that shines in the other parts of heaven. The wisdom of the celestial angels exceeds that of the spiritual angels, almost as much as the wisdom of the spiritual angels exceeds that of men ; and this because the celestial angels are in the good of love from the Lord, and the spiritual angels in the truths ol wisdom from the Lord ; and wherever there is the good of love, there wisdom resides at the same time ; but where there are truths, there no more wisdom resides than in proportion to the 279 !242— 246 THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, good of love by which it is attended. This is the reason why the Word in the Lord's celestial kingdom is differently written from the Word in his spiritual kingdom ; for in the Word of the celestial kingdom the expressions are ^ods of love, and fhe marks are affections of love ; but in the Word of the spiritual kingdom the expressions are truths of wisdom, and the marks interior perceptions of truth. We may from this conclude Jiow treat must be the wisdom which lies concealed in the Word we ave here on earth ; for in this is hidden all angelic wisdom, which is inexpressible ; and every man who is made an angel by the Lord through the Word, comes into this wisdom after death. YHI. That the church exists from the word, and the QUALITY OF THE CHURCH WITH MAN IS ACCORDING TO HIS UNDEE- 6TANDING OF THE WORD. 243. That the church exists from the Word cannot possibly be a matter of doubt, for it was shown above that the Word is divine truth, n. 189 — 192 ; that the doctrine of the church is derived from the Word, n. 225 — 233 ; and that conjunction with the Lord is eft'ected by means of the Word, n. 284 — 239 ; but that the understanding of the Word constitutes the church, may be made a matter of doubt, as there are some who believe that they belong to the church merely because they are in pos session of the "Word, and read it, or hear it from a preaciier and have some knowledge of its literal sense ; although at the same time, they are totally ignorant of its meaning, and how it is to be understood in different passages, which they very frequently make a matter of small account. It will be necessary to prove then that it is not merely the Word, but the right understanding thereof, which constitutes the church, and that the quality of the church is determinable by the understanding of the Word among its members. 244. The reason why the quality of the church depends on the understanding of the Word is because the quality of the church depends on the truths of faith and the goods of charity:; and these are two universals, which are not only scattered through every part of the literal sense of the Word, but also lie concealed within like jewels in a treasury. The contents of the literal sense are apparent to every man, because they lie im mediately before his eyes ; but the latent contents of the spfritual sense appear only to those who love truths for the sake of truths, and do good for the sake of good : to such the treasure is dis covered, which the literal sense hides and guards ; and these goods and truths are the essential constituents of the church. 246. It is generally acknowledged that the quality of the church depends on its doctrine, also that its doctrine must be drawn from the Word ; still it is not mere doctrine, but ite soundness and pmity, which establishes the church, consequently the understanding of the Word ; for mere doctrine does not 280 OR WOED OF THE LORD. 245, 246 establish and constitute the church in each individual man, but faith and life in agreement with it ; in like manner the "Word does not establish and constitute the church in individuals, but a faith conformable to the truths, and a life conformable to the goods, which each man extracts thence and applies to his own state. The Word is like a mine, whose depths contain an abun dance of gold and silver ; or like a mine which, the deeper it is penetrated, exhibite precious stones of a higher and more excel lent value; and these mines are opened according to the under standing of the Word : for if it be not understood, as it is in ite true nature, in its interior contents and its depths, it is impossi ble it should constitute the church among men any more than the mines of gold and precious stones in the kingdoms of Asia would make a European rich, unless he had some share in their actual possession. The Word, among such as seek to collect thence the truths of faith and the goods of life, is like the treas ures belonging to the King of Persia, the Great Mogul, or the Emperor of China ; and the members of the church are like of ficers set over those itreasures, having the liberty given them of taking what they please to their own use ; whereas, those who only nave the "Word in their possession, aud read it, without ever seeking after genuine truths to form the objects of their faith, and genuine goods for the purposes of life, are like those who only know by hearsay that such treasures exist, but never receive a single piece of money for their own use. Those who have the word in their possession, and yet never draw from thence any portion of the understanding of genuine truth, or of the will of genuine good, are like persons who fancy themselves rich in consequence of having borrowed money from others, or who imagine that they are the real owners of estates, houses, and goods, which they only rent and hire ; than which there cannot be a more palpable delusion. They may be further compared with those who are clad in rich garments, and are carried in gilded chariots, with a numerous train of guards and attendants, and yet have no property in, all this stately equipage and retinue. 246. Such was the Jewish nation when the Lord appeared among them, and he therefore likens them, in consequence of their possessing the Word, to a rich man, clothed in purple and fine linen, who fared sumptuously every day ; and yet this rich man had never extracted from the "Word so much truth and good as to show mercy and compassion to poor Lazarus, who lay at his gates full of sores ; for the Jews not only neglected to appropriate to themselves any truths from the Word, but they appropriated falses in such abundance that at length they could not see any truth ; for truths are not only concealed by falses, but also are thereby obliterated and r^'ected : hence it was that 281 246, 247 THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, they did not acknowledge the Messiah, although all the prophets had announced his advent. 247. The prophets, in many parts of their writings, desciibe the Israelitish and Jewish church as totally destroyed and anni hilated, in consequence of falsifying the meaning or understand ing of the Word ; for the destruction of the church proceeds from no other source than this. The understanding of the Word, both true and false, is described in the prophetic writings, par ticularly in the prophet Hosea, by Ephraim ; for the understand ing of the Word in the church is signified in the Word by Ephraim. Since the understanding of the Word constitutes the church, therefore Ephraim is called " adear son and a pleasant child" (Jeremiah xxxi. 2^; "¦ The fi/rst-born" (xxxi. 9); ''The strength of tlie head of fehovah" (Psalm Ix. 7 ; cviii. 8) ; " A mighty man" (Zech. x. 7) ; " Filled with the bow" (ix. 13) ; and the children of Ephraim are called " armed and shooters with the bow" (Psalm Ixxviii. 9) ; for a bow signifies doctrine derived from the Word, combating with falses. For the same reason also, " Israel set his right hand upon Ephraim, and blessed him" (Gen. xlviii. 14). And he was also accepted in lieu of Eeuben (ver. 5) ; and for the same reason, Ephraim, with his brother, Manasseh, under the name of thefr father Joseph, was exalted by Moses in his blessing of the children of Israel above all the rest (Deut. xxxiii. 13 — 17). But the state and nature of the church when the understanding ofthe Word is destroyed, is also described in the writings of the prophets by Ephraim, particu larly in Hosea ; as in these passages : " Israel and Ephraim shall fall in their iniquity ; Ephraim shall be desolate ; Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment" (v. 5, 9, 11 — 14). " 0 Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee ? For thy goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away" (Hosea vi. 4). " They shall not dwell in the land of Jehovah ; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and shall eat unclean things in Assyria" (ix. 3). The land of Jehovah is the church; Egypt is the scientific principle of the natural man; Assyria is reasoning founded on it : therefore it is said, that Ephraim shall return into Egypt, and shall eat unclean things in Assyria. "Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind ; he daily increaseth lies and desolations ; he maketh a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt" (xii. 1). To feed on wind, to follow after the east wind, to increase lies and desola tions, is to falsify truths, and so to destroy the church. The same is also signified by the whoredom of Ephraim ; for whore dom signifies the falsification ofthe understanding oftheWord, that is, of its genuine truth ; as in these passages : " For now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled' (v. 3). "I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel; 282 OE WOED OF THE LOED. 247, 248 there is the whoredom of Ephraim, and Israel is defiled" (vi. 10). Israel means the church itself, and Ephraim, the under standing of the Word, which determines the state and quality ofthe church ; therefore it is said, Ephraim commits whoredom and Israel is defiled. But as the church among the children of Israel and ^udah was totally destroyed by falsifications of the Word, therefore it is said of Ephraim, " I will give thee up, Ephraim, I will deliver thee up, Israel, I will make thee as Admah, I will set thee as Zeboim" (xi. 8). Now since the prophet Hosea, from the first chapter to the last, treats of the falsification of the genuine understanding of the Word, and of the consequent destruction of the church, therefore he was com manded, for the purpose of representing that state of the church, " to take unto himself a wife of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms" (i. 2) ; and again, " to take to himself an adulter ess" (iii. 1). We have quoted these passages for the sake of showing and proving from the Word that the quality of the church is always determined by its understanding of the Word ; and that it is excellent and precious, if its understanding be founded on the genuine truths of the Word, but that it is de stroyed, yea, fllthy, if it be founded on truths falsifled. IX. That the maeeiage of the loed and the ohuech, and thence the maeeiage of good and teuth, is in eveey paet of the woed. 248. That the marriage of the Lord and the church, and thence the marriage of good and truth, is in every part of the Word, has never yet been discovered ; and it could not be dis covered so long as the spiritual sense of the Word remained unknown, for this sense alone can make manifest such a mar riage. There are two senses contained in the Word, which lie concealed in its literal sense, and are called spiritual and celes tial ; what belongs to the spiritual sense of the Word has more particular relation to the church, and what belongs to the celes tial sense, to the Lord. The contents also of the spiritual sense have relation to divine truth, and the contents of the celestial sense, to divine good ; and this is the ground of the above-men tioned marriage in the Word. But this is apparent only to those who, by virtue of the spiritual and celestial sense of the Word, are acquainted with the signiflcation of its names and expressions ; for some particular names and expressions are pre dicated of good, and some of truth, and some include both ; therefore, without tBe knowledge of such signiflcation, it is im possible to see how such a marriage exists in every part of the Word ; and this is the reason why this arcanum was never here tofore discovered. Since there is such a marriage in every part of the Word, therefore we frequently flnd in the Word two ex pressions, which appear like repetitions of one and the same thing ; they are, however, not repetitions, but one has relation 283 '248 250 THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, to good, and the other to truth, and both taken together effect the conjunction of good and truth, and consequently make them a one. This also is the true ground ofthe divine sanctity of the Word ; for In every divine work there is a conjunction of good with truth, and of truth with good. 249. It is asserted that the marriage of good and truth in the Word is a consequence of^he marriage of the Lord and the church therein, because wherever the marriage of the Lord and the church is, there also is the marriage of good and truth, the latter marriage being derived from the former ; for when the church, or any member of it, is principled in truths, then the Lord flows in by good into those truths, and communicates life to them ; or, what amounts to the same, when any member of the church is in the understanding of truth, then the Lord flows in by the good of charity into that understanding, and thus in fuses life into it. There are two faculties of life in every man, which are called understanding and will : the understanding is the receptacle of truth, and thence of wisdom, and the wiU is the receptacle of good, and thence of charity. These two facul ties ought to be united, and make a one, in order that a man may be a member of the church ; and they are so united when a man forms his understanding of genuine truths, which is done to all appearance as of himself, and when his will is replenished with the good of love, which is effected by the Lord : hence man derives the life of truth and the life of good ; the life of truth in his understanding, and the life of good in his will, which being united, constitute no longer two but one life. In this consists the marriage of the Lord and the chm-ch, and also the marriage of good and truth in man. 250. That there are two expressions used in the Word, which appear like repetitions of the same thing, must be e^vicient to every attentive reader ; as for instance, brother and companioUj poor and needy, wilderness and desert, vacuity and emptiness, foe and enemy, sin and iniquity, anger and wrath, nation and people, joy and gladness, mourning and weeping, justice and judgment, &c. These appear to be synonymous expressions, when in fact they are not ; for the terms brother, poor, wildei> ness, vacuity, foe, sin, anger, nation joy, mourning, and justice, are predicated of good, and, in the opposite sense, of evil; whereas the terms companion, needy, desert, emptiness, enemy, iniquity, wrath, people, gladness, weeping, and judgment, are predicated of truth, and, in the opposite sense, of what is false ; and yet it must ajDpear to the reader who is unacquainted with this arcanum, as if the terms poor and needy, desert aud wilder ness, vacuity and emptiness, &c., were one thing ; whereas they are not so, but yet they become one thing bj"^ conjunction. In the Word also we frequently find two things joined together,; as fire and flame, gold and silver, brass and iron, wood and stone, 284 OR. WOED OF THE LOED. 250, 25l bread and wine, purple and fine linen, &c. ; because fire, gold, brass, wood, bread, and purple, are predicated of good ; whereas flame,, silver, iron, stone, water, wine, and fine linen, are predi cated of ti-uth. In like manner it is said that God is to be loved, with all the heart, and with all the soul, and also that God will create in man a new heart and a new spirit ; for heart is predir cated of the good of love, and soul and spirit of the truths of faith. Tliere are some expressions also, which in consequence of partaking alike both of good and truth, are used by themselves without the adjunction of others ; but these, and many things. besides, are apparent only to the angels,, and to those who see into the spiritual sense of the Word while they are reading the; natural sense. 251. It would be tedious to show from the Word that two expressions of this nature are used, and it would fill a volume to quote all the particular cases that occur ; I will however produce some passages, in order to remove all doUbt on this subject, where the terms nation and people, joy and gladness, are used together. The following are the passages where nation and people occur together : "Ah! sinful nation, s, people laden with iniquity" (Isaiah i. 4). " The people that walked in dark ness have seen a great light: thoU hast multiplied the nation" (ix. 2, 3). " O Assyria, the rod of mine anger, I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge" (x. 6, 6). "In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign to the people ' to it shall the nations seek" (xi. 10). "Jehovah, who smitetn the people in wrath with an incurable stroke, that ruleth the nwtions in anger" (xiv. &). "In that day shall be brought, as an offering to Jehovah Ttehsioth, people scattered and peeled, a nation drawn out and trodden down" (xviii. 7). " A strong people shall honor thee ; the city of powerful nations shall fear thee" (xxv. 3). " Jehovah will destroy in this mountain the fiace of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations" (xxv. 7). "Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people" (xxxiv. 1). " I have called thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the nations" (xlii. 6). " Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the pecple be assembled" (xliii. 9). " Behold^ I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my standard to the people" (xlix. 22). " Be hold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and a!.eommander to the nations" (Iv. 4). " Behold, & people cometh from the north country, and a great nation from the sides of the earth" (Jerem. vi. 22). "I will not make thee hear the calumny ofthe nations s/CLy more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more" (Ezek. xxxvi. 15). " All people and nations shall worship him" (Dan. vii. 14). "Let not the nations rule over them, and let them not say among the people where is theii' 285 251, 252 THE SACEED SCRIP'TURE, God?" (Joel ii. 17). "The remains of my people shall spoil them, and the residue of my nation shall possess them" (Zeph. ii. 9). " 'Wax^y people, and numerous nations, shall come to seek Jehovah in Jerusalem" (Zech. viii. 22). " Mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the nations" (Luke ii. 30, 31, 32). " Thou hast redeemed us by thy blood out of every people and nation" (Eev. v. 9). " Thou must prophesy again before many people and nations" (x. 11). " Thou shalt set me as the head of the nations : & people whom I have not known shall serve me" (Psalm xviii. 43). " Jehovah maketh vain the counsel of the nations ; he overtumeth the thoughts of the people" (xxxiii. 10). " Thou makest us a proverb among the nations, a shaking of the head among thepe(^e" (xliv. 14). " Jehovah shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet : Jehovah reign eth over the nations; the princes of the people are gathered together" (xlvii. 3, 8, 9). " Let the people praise thee ; let the nations sing for joy : for thou shalt judge the people in upright ness, and govern the nations upon earth" (Ixvii. 3, 4). "Ee- member me, Jehovah, when thou art well pleased with thy people, that I may be glad in the joy of thy nations" (cvi. 4, 6) ; not to mention several other places. The reason why people and nations are expressed at the same time is because by nations are under stood those who are in good, and, in the opposite sense, those who are in evil, and by people, those who are in ti-uths, and, in the opposite sense, those who are in falses. For this reason those who are of the Lord's spiritual kingdom are called people, and those who are of his celestial kingdorn are called nations ; for all in the spiritual kingdom are in truths, and thereby in inteUi- gence, but all in the celestial kingdom are in goods, and thereby in wisdom. 252. The case is the same jvith many other expressions, as with JOY and gladness, which frequently occur together, ag may be seen in the following passages : " And behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep" (Isaiah xxii. 13). " They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (xxxv. 10 ; li. IIV " Joy and gladness are cut off from the house of our God" (Joel i. 16). " Then will I cause to cease from Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice ot gladness" (Jer. vii. 34 ; xxv. 10). " The fast of the tenth month shall be to the house of Judah ^^oy and gladness" (Zech. viii. 19). "¦Be glad in Jerusalem, and rejoice in her" (Isaiah Ixvi. 10). " Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom" (Lament, iv. 21). " Let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God" (Psalm Ixviii. 3). Make me to hear joy and gladness" (li. 8). Joy and glad ness shall be found in Zion, thanksgiving and the voice of sing ing" (Isaiah li. 3). And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth" (Luke i. 14). " I will cause to 286 OR WOED OF THE LOED, 252—254 cease the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride" (Jerem. vii. 34 ; xvi. 9 ; xxv. 10). " Again there shall be heard in this place the voice oijoy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride" (xxxin. 10, 11). The reason why both joy and gladness are mentioned in these passages is, because joy is predicated of good, and gladness of truth ; or joy of love, and gladness of wisdom ; for joy belongs to the heart, and gladness to the spirit ; or joy belongs to the will, and gladness to the understanding. That the marriage of the Lord and the church is also contained in these two, is evident from this circumstance, that mention is made of " the voice of joy and the voice of glad ness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride" (Jer. vii. 34 ; xvi. 9 ; xxv. 10 ; xxxiii. 10, 11) ; and the Lord is the bridegroom, and the church the bride. That the Loi-d is the bridegroom, may be seen (Matt. ix. 15 ; Mark ii. 19, 20 ; Luke V. 34) ; and that the church is the bride, may be seen (Eev. xxi. 2, 9 ; xxii. 17) ; therefore John the Baptist said of Jesus, " He that hath the bride is the bridegroom" (John iii. 29). 253. By reason of the marriage of divine good and divine truth in every part of the Word, the expression Jehovah God so frequently occurs, also Jehovah and the Holy One of Israel, as if they were two, when nevertheless they are one ; for by Je hovah is meant the Lord as to the divine good of his divine love ; and by God, and the Holy One of Israel, is meant the Lord as to the divine truth of his divine wisdom. That the expressions Jehovah and God, and Jehovah and the Holy One of Israel, also occur in many parts of the Word, and yet signify one, may be seen in the Doctteine concerning the Loed the Eedeemee. X. That men may collect and imbibe heretical opinions from the letter of the word, but it is hurtful to confirm such opinions. 254. It was shown above, that the Word cannot be under stood ¦without doctrine, that doctrine is as a lantern for the discovery of genuine, truths, and that this is a consequence of the Word's being written by mere correspondences : hence it is that many passages are appearances of truth, and not naked truths ; thus many are adapted to the apprehension of the merely natural man, yet in such a manner that the simple may under stand them in simplicity, the intelligent in intelligence, and the wise in wisdom.- Now since the "Word is of such a nature, the appearances of truth, which are truths clothed, may be takep for naked truths; and such appearances, when they are con firmed, become fallacies, which in themselves are falses. All the heresies which ever did or do still exist in Christendom, have sprung from this circumstance, that men have taken ap pearances of truth for genuine truths, and as such have conflrmed hem. Heresies themselves do not occasion a man's condemna- 287 254, 255. THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, tion ; but conflrmations of the falsities contained in any heresy, by misapplication of the Word, and by reasonings that originate in the natural man together with an evil life ; these are what condemn him. For every one is by birth iritroduced into the religion of his country, or his; parents, and is initiated info it from his earliest years, and afterwards continues in the same persuasion ; and he cannot of himself extricate himself from its falses, being prevented both by his engagements in the world and by the weakness of the human understanding when applied to the discovery of religious truths ; but to live in evil, and to confirm falses, so as to destroy genuine truths, this it is which causes condemnation. For whoever abides in the religion of his coun try, and believes in God, and (in case he be of the Christian church) believes in the Lord, esteems the Word to be holy, and from a religious motive lives according to the commandments of the decalogue, such a one never confirms himself iu falses. When therefore truths are proposed to him, and he perceives them according to the measure of light which he has attained, he is in a capacity to embrace them, and thus to be extricated from falses ; but the case is other^wise where a man has confirmed the falses of his religion; these, when confirmed, are made pdi-- mauent and cannot be extirpated ; for when a man has con firmed himself in what is false, he is bound to it, as it were, by an oath, especially if self-love, or the pride of his own under standing, be engaged in its favor. 255. I have conversed in the spiritual world with some who lived many ages ago, and had confirmed themselves in the falses of their particular religious persuasions, and I found that they still continued rooted in the same ; I have likewise conversed in that world with others who had been of the same religious per suasion, and had entertained the same notions with the former, but yet had not confirmed their falses in themselves ; and 1, found that when they were instructed by the angels, they rejected falses, and received truths : the consequence was, that the latter were saved, but the former were not. Every man after death is- instructed by angels, and those who discern truths, and thence falses, are received into heaven ; but those only are in a capacity to see truths who have not confirmed themselves in falses ; for those who have so confirmed themselves are unwilling to see truths, and in case they do see them, they turn their backs upon them, and then either ridicule or falsify them : the true cause hereof is, that confirmation enters the will, and the will is the real man, and imparts to the understanding whatever form it pleases ; whereas 'bare knowledge enters the understanding only, and this' has no power over the will; consequently such knowl edge is not in the man, but is, comparatively, like one stand ing in an outer court, or gateway, and has not yet entered into tlie house. 288 OR WORD OF THE LOED. 256, 267 256. But we ¦yvill illustrate what we mean by an example. Jn many passages of the Word we find anger, wrath, and ven geance, attributed to God, and it is said that he punishes, casts into hell, and tempts, with many other expressions of a similar nature ; now when this is believed in a childlike simplicity, and made the ground of the fear of God, and of care not to offend him, no man incurs condemnation by such a simple belief. But when a man confirms himself in such notions, so as to be per- 8|iaded that anger, wrath, vengeance, vindictiveness, and conse quently passions which originate in evil, belong to God, and that he punishes mankind, and casts them into hell, under the infiu ence of such anger, wrath, and vengeance, in this case his belief is goiidemnatory, because he has destroyed the genuine truth, .which teaches that God is love itself, meiey itself, and goodness itself, and being these, that he cannot be angiy, wrathful, or revengeful. Where such evil passions then are ^rttributed in the Word to God, it is owing to the appearance only ; such things are but appearances of truth. 257. That several expressions in the literal sense of theWord are but appearances of truth, which conceal genuine truths, and that it is not hurtful to think or even to speak in simplicity, according to such appearances, but that it is hurtful to confirm them, since by confirmation the divine truth concealed within is destroyed, may be also illustrated by an example from nature, to which we shall appeal, because what is natural enlightens and iufltructe the mind more clearly than what is spiritual. It appears to the bodily eye as if the sun performed a daily and annual revolution about the earth ; hence it is common to say that the sun rises and sets, that it causes morning, nocHi, even ing, and night, and also the seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and consequently days and years, when nevertheless the sun, being an ocean of fire, continues immova ble, while it is the earth which moves, revolving daily on her own axis, and an^nually around the sun. A person now, who in sim plicity and ignorance supposes that the sun revolves about tho earth, does not destroy this natural truth respecting the earth's rotation about her own axis, and her annual revolution in the ecliptic ; but whoever confirms the sun's apparent motion by the reasonings of the natural man, particularly if he supports uch an opinion by the authority of the Word, which speaks of the sun's rising and setting, invalidates and destroys the truth ; the consequence of whiqh is, that he cannot afterwards discern it, though he have ocular demonstration given him that the whole firmament of stars has in like manner an apparent daily and annual motion, and yet one star never changes its situation in respect to another. That the sun moves is then an apparent truth, but that it does not move is a genuine truth ; neverthe 289 ' V •257, 258 THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, less every one speaks according to apparent truth, saying that the sun rises and sets ; and this indeed is allowable, because it is impossible to use any other mode of expression ; but to think, in conformity with such a mode of expression, that the fact is really so, and to confirm such a thought, this dulls and darkens the rational understanding. 258. That it is hurtful to confirm the appearances of fruth that occur in the Word, on account of the fallacies which are thus occasioned, and because the divine truth which lies con cealed under such appearances is thus destrgyed, may be evident from this consideration : All and every part of the literal sense of the Word has communication with heaven, arising, as was shown above, from the spiritual sense which it contains, and which is opened in its passage from man to heaven. Now all things contained in the spiritual sense are genuine truths ; when therefore a man is principled in falses, and applies the literal sense of the Word to their confirmation, in this case falses have interior possession, and when these enter, truths are dissipated, which dissipation is effected in the way from man to heaven. This circumstance may admit of illustration by comparisons. It is like a shining bladder filled with gall, thrown by one person at another, which before it reaches him bursts in the air, and the gall is scattered about, and infects the air with its horrid stench ; and when the person at whom it was thrown perceives it he turns away, and also shuts his mouth, lest any particle of the gall should touch his tongue. It may also be compared to a barrel with cedar hoops, filled with vinegar, in which worms have bred, and which being thrown in like manner by one per son at another, bursts in the way, and communicates ite stench to the person at whom it was thrown ; and he, on account of the nausea which it excites, instantly fans the air, to prevent the stench from entering his nostrils. It may be further compared with the shell of an almond, within which, instead of the almond, a new-born serpent is inclosed, which, on the shell being broken, appears to be carried by the wind towards the eyes of a by stander, who instantly turns aside to escape the invader. So it is with the reading of the Word, when the reader is principled in falses, and applies some particulars contained in the literal sense to favor those falses ; his reading, in this case, is rejected before it reaches heaven, lest any of the falses with which he connects it should fiow in, and infest the angels ; for the false, when it comes into contact with the truth, is Jike the point of a needle when it touches the fibril of a nei-ve,'or the pupil of the eye : every one knows that in such a case the nervous fibril in stantly draws back into a spiral, and folds itself within itself; in like manner the eye, at the first sensation of the needle's touch, covers itself with its eyelids. Hence it appears that truth falsi- 290 ^^ OE WOED OF THE LOED. 258 260 fied prevente communication with heaven, and shuts it against the alsifier ; and this is the reason why it is hurtful to confirm any false heretical opinion. 259. The Word is like a garden, which may be called a heavenly paradise, containing delicacies and delights of every kind, deficacies of fruits, and delights of fiowers, in the midst ot which are trees of life, and beside them fountains of living water, and forest trees round about the garden. Whoever is principled in divine truths, by virtue of doctrine, is in the midst of the garden, among the trees of life, and in the actual enjoyment ot its delicacies and delights. When a man is not principled in truths by virtue of doctrine, but only from the literal sense, he abides in the boundaries of the garden, and sees nothing but forest scenery ; but where a man is in the doctrine of a fal^e religion, and has confirmed its falses in his mind, he is not even in the forest, but in a sandy plain without, where there is not even grass. That these are also the respective states of such persons after death, is shown in the treatise concerning Heaven AND Hell. 260. It is moreover to be observed, that the literal sense oi the Word is a guard to the genuine truths concealed in it, lest they should be injured ; and it operates as a guard thus, that the literal sense can be turned in every direction, and be ex plained according to the reader's apprehension, without its in ternal being hurt and violated ; fbr no hurt ensues from the literal sense being understood differently by different persons : ¦ but the danger is, when a man introduces falses, which are con trary to divine truths, as is the case with those, and those only, who have confirmed themselves in falses. From this the Word Buffers violence, to prevent which the literal sense is its guard, and it operates as such a guard with those who are in falses from a principle of religion, and yet do not conflrm them. The literal sense of the Word acting as a guard, is signifled and also described in the Word by the cherubs. This guard is signified by the cherubs, which, after the expulsion of Adam and his wife from the garden of Eden, were placed at the entrance, of which it is ¦written, " Jehovah God drove out the man, and placed, at the east of the garden of Eden, cherubs, and a flaming sword, which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" (Gen. iii. 23, 24). .No one can know what these words signify, nnless he knows the signiflcation of cherubs, of the garden of Eden, of the tree of life therein, and lastly, of the flaming sword which turned every way. All these particulars are explained in, the work entitled Aecana Ccexestia, published at London, where it is shown that chembs signify a guard ; the way of the tree of life signifles admission to the Lord, which men have by means of the truths contained in the spiritual sense of the Word ¦ 291 260 THE SACEED SCRIPTURE, divine truth in its ultimates is represented by the flaming sword, which turned every way, which, like the Word in ite literal sense, is thus capable of being so turned. The like is under stood by the " cherubs made of gold over the two extremities of the propitiatory which was above the ark, in the tabernacle" (Exod. xxv. 17 — 21). The Word is signified by the ark, because the decalogue contained in it was its primitive; the cherubs there signify a guard, on which account the Lord talked with Moses from between them (xxv. 22 ; Numb. vii. 89) ; and he spoke in the natural sense, for he never speaks with man but in fulness, and divine truth, in the literal sense, is in its fulness, as was shown above, n. 214 — 224. The like is understood by " ihe cherubs over the curtains of the tabemaele, and over the vail" (Exod. xxvi. 31) ; for the curtains and vails o.f the taber nacle signified the ultimates of heaven and the church, and con sequently of the Word, n. 220 ; and also by the " cherubs carved over the walls and doors of the temple at Jerusalem" (1 Kings vi. 29, 32, 35) ; see above, n. 221 ; and also by the "•chervbs in the new temple" (Ezek. xii. 18, 19, 20). Since cherubs signi fied a guard, to show that the Lord, heaven, and divine truth, which constitute the internal of the Word, should not be ap proached immediately, but by the mediation of ultimates, it is therefore said of the king of Tyre, " Thou that sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty ; thou hast been in Eden the garden of God ; every precious stone was thy covering ; thou, 0 fherub, wast the spreading forth of the covering ; I have destroyed thee, 0 covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire" (xxviii. 12, 13, 14, 16). Tyre signifies the church in respect to the knowledges of trijth and good, and hence, the iking of Tyre is the Word, wher« those knowledges are, and from whence they are derived. That the Word in its ultimate in this place is signified by the king of Tyre, and by cherub, a guard, is plain from this circumstance, that it is said, "Thou that sealest up the sum, every precious stone was thy covering ; thou, O cherub, art the sjareading forth of the covering," and " 0 covering cherub." That whatever belongs to the literal sense of the Word is signified by the precious stones, which are also men tioned in the same chapter, may be seen above, n. 217, 218. Since the Word in its ultimates is signified by cherubs, and also a guard, it is therefore written in the Psalms of David, " Jehovah bowed the heavens, and came down ; and he rode upon a cherub" ,(xvui. 9, 10). " 0 shepherd of Israel, thou that sittest upon the cherubs, shine forth" (Ixxx. 1). "Jehovah sitteth upon the cherubs" (xcix. 1). To ride on the cLerubs, and to sit upon them, means on the ultimate sense of the Word. Divine truth in theWord, with its nature and quality, is described by the four animals, which are a.so called cherubs, in Ezekiel i., ix.,.and 292 OE WOED OF THE LOED. 260 262 X. ; and likewise by the four animals in the midsi of the throne, imd near the throne, Eev. iv. 6. See the Apocalypse Eevealed, ri. 239, 275, 314. XI. That the loed, during his abode in the world, ful- IriLLED ALL THINGS CONTAINED IN THE WORD, AND WAS THUS MADE THE WORD, THAT IS, THE DIVINE TEUTH, RVEN IN ULIT- MATES. 261, That the Lord during his abode in the world fulfilled all things contained in the Word, and that he was thus made the divine truth, or the Word, even in ultimates, is understood by these words in John : " And the Word was made fiesh, and dwelt amongst us ; and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (i. 14) ; to be made flesh, is to be made the Word in ultimates. What the Lord's appearance is, as the Word in ultimates, he exhibited to his disciples at his transfiguration (Matt. xvii. 2, &c. ; Mark ix. 2, &c. ; Luke ix. 29). It is there said that Moses and Elias appeared in glory ; and by Moses is meant the Word which was written by him, and in general the historical Word, and by Elias the prophetical Word. The Lord, as the Word in ultimates, was also represented before John in the Eevelation (i. 13 — 16) ; where all parts of the description given of him, signify the ulti mates of divine truth, or of the Word. The Lord indeed, before his incarnation, was the Word, or the divine truth, but only in flrst principles ; for it is said, " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the 'Word was God" (John i. 1, 2) ; but when the Word was made flesh, then the Lord was made the Word in ultimates also ; and it is from this circum stance that he is called the Fi/rst and the Last (Eev. i. 8, 11, 17 ; ii. 8; xxi. 6; xxii. 13; Isaiah xliv. 6). 262. That the Lord fulfilled all things contained in the Word, is evident from the passages where it is said that the law and the Scripture were fulfilled, and that all things were accomr ^lished or finished by him ; as in the foUovving : " Jesus said, hink not that I am come to destroy the law and the pi^opheis ; I am not come to destroy, hut to fulfil" (Matt. v. 17). '" Jesus went into the synagogue, and stood up to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had unrolled the book, he found the place where it is written, The spirit of Jehovah is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal the brokeU-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recov ering of sight to the blind, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book and said. This day is this scrip ture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke iv. 16 — 21). " That the Scrip ture may he fulfilled. He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me" (John xiii. 18). " None of them is lost, but tho son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled" 293 262, 263 THE SACEED SCEIPTUEE, ^^John xvii. 12). " That the word might be fvlfiUed which ho spake. Of them that thou gavest me have I lost none" (John xviii. 9). " Jesus said unto Peter, Put up again thy sword into his place ; how then shall the Scripture he fulfiUed, that thus it must be ? But all this was done that the Scripture might he ful, iilled" (Matt. xxvi. 54, 56). " The Son of man goeth as it is written. of him?' (Mark xiv. 21) . " And the Scriptwre was fulfilled, which saith. And he was numbered with the transgressors" (Mark xv. 28; Luke xxii. 37). "That the Scriptwre might be fulfilled^ which saith. They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture did they cast lots" (John xix. 24). " After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, ilmt the Serip- twre might he fulfilled" (John xix. 28). " When Jesus therefore had taken the vinegar, he said. It is finished (that \s,fvlfilledf (John xix. 30). "These things were done, that the Scriptwre might he fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken ; and again, another Scripture saith. They shall look on him whom they pierced" (xix. 36, 37). That the whole Word was written con cerning him, and that he came into the world to fulfil it, he himself, before his departure, taught his disciples in these words : " O fools, and slow of heart to believe afi that the pro phets have spoken ! Ought not Christ to suffer these things, and so to enter into his glory ? And beginning at Moses and all tlie prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Soriptwres the things concerning himself" (Luke xxiv. 25, 26, 27.) Moreover Jesus said, '¦'¦All things m.ust be fulfilled which were written iii. the la/w of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, conr cerning me" (xxiv. 44, 45). That the Lord, during his abode in the world, fulfilled all things contained in the Word, even to its most minute particulars, is evident from these his own words: " Yeriiy I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be ful filled" (Matt. V. 18). Hence then it may clearly appear that by this circumstance of the Lord's fulfilling the whole law, is meant that he fulfilled not only all things contained in the decalogue, but all things contained in the Word. That all the contents of the Word are understood by the law, may be evident from these passages : " Jesus said : Is it not written in your law, I said ye are gods ?" (John x. 34) ; it is so written Psalm Ixxxii. 6. " The people answered him. We have heard out of the law, that Christ abideth for ever" (John xii. 34). This is written Psalm Ixxxix. 29 ; ex. 4 ; Dan. vii. 14. "That the Word might be fulfilled, which is written in their law. They hated me without a cause" (John XV. 25) ; this is written Psalm xxxv. 19. " It is easiei for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail" (Luke xvi. 17). In these and other passages throughout the Word, the law means the whole Sacred Scripture. 263. Few people understand in what sense the Lord is the 294 OE WOED OF THE LOjSD. 263, 261 Word. It is generally supposed that the Lord, by means ofthe Word, may enlighten and teach mankind, and yet that this is no reason why he should be called the Word ; but let it be ob served that every man is his own particular will, and his own partic-alar understanding, and thus one person is distinguished from another. Now as the wilL is the recipient of love, and consequently of all the goods belonging to that love, and the understanding is the recipient of wisdom, and consequently of all the truths belonging tb that wisdom, it follows that every man is his own particular love, and his own particular wisdom, or what amounts to the same, his own particular good, and his own particular truth. A man is a man only by virtue of these his constituent parts, and nothing else in his constitution can be called man. "With respect to the Lord, he is love itself and wisdom itself, thus good iteelf and truth iteelf, which he became by virtue of his fulfilling all the good and all the truth contained in the Word ; for whoever thinks and speaks nothing but truth, becomes that truth, and whoever wills and does nothing but good, becomes that good ; and thus the Lord, in consequence of fulfilling all divine truth and divine good contained in the Word, as well in its natural as in its spiritual sense, became good itself and truth itself, thus the Word. XII. That previous to the word which the world now POSSESSES, THERE WAS A WORD WHICH IS LOST. 264. That previous to the Word which was given by Mose? and the prophets to the people of Israel, men were acquainted with sacrificial worship, and prophesied from the mouth of Jeho vah, may appear from what is recorde'd in the books of Moses. That they were acquainted with sacrificial worship, is evident from these circumstances, that the children of Israel were com manded to destroy the altars of the Gentiles, to break their images and cut down their groves (Exodus xxxiv. 13 ; Deut. vii. 5 ; xii. 3) ; that Israel in Schittim began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab, and called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods, and that the people did eat (Numb. xxv. 1, 2, 3) ; that Balaam, who was from the land of Syria, caused altars to be built, and sacrificed oxen and sheep (Numb. xxii. 40; xxiii. 1, 2, 14, 29, 30); th&the sho prophesied concern ing the Lord, saying, that there should come a star out of Ja cob, and a sceptre shouldrise out of Israel (xxiv. 17) ; and that he pn'ophesiedfrom the mouth of Jehovah (xxii. 13, 18 ; xxiii. 3, 5, 8, 16, 26 ; xxiv. 1, 13) : from these circumstances it is very evident that the Gentiles performed divine worship, in many respects similar to that which was instituted by Moses among the people of Israel. That such worship was in use also before the days of Abraham, is plain from what is written by Moses (Deut. xxxii. 7, 8) ; but still plainer from what is recorded of Melchize- deoh, king of Salem, as that he brought forth bread arid win*. 295 - 264, 265 THE SACEED SCRIPTURE, and blessed Abraham ; that Abraham gave him ti,thes of all (Gen. xiv. 18, 19, 20) ; and that Melchizedech represented the Lord, for he is called the priest of the Most High God (xiv. 18) , and it is said of the Lord by David, " Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedech" (Psalm ex. 4). Hence it was that Melchizedech brought forth bread and wine, as being the most holy things of the church, agreeably to their holiness in the Lord's Supper. These and many other circumstances of the same nature, are standing proofs, that previous to the Word which was given to the people of Israel, there was a Word from which such revelations were derived. 265. That the ancients had a Word, is declared by MoseS, who mentions it, and also gives some quotations from it (Numb. xxi. 14, 15, 27 — 30) ; the historical parts of that Word were called the wars or jehovah, and the prophetical parts ENUNCIATIONS. From the historical parts of that Word MoseS has given this quotation, " Wherefore it is said in the hook of the wars of Jehovah, I marched into the Eed Sea {Suphd), and the rivers of Arnon, and the channels of the rivers ; that turned aside where Ar dwelleth, and stopped at the border of Moab" (Xxi. 14, 15). By the wars of Jehovah mentioned in that Word, as in ours, are understood and described the Lord's combats with the hells, and his victories over them, when he should come into the world : the same combate are also undei-stood and de scribed in many passages in the historical part of our Word, as in the wars of Joshua with the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, and in the wars of the Judges and of the Kings oflsrael. From the prophetical parts of that Word Moses has given this quota tion : " Wherefore say the enunciato-rs. Come into Heshbon ; the city of Sihon shall be built and strengthened ; for there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a fiame from the city of Sihon ; it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the possessors of the high places of Amon. Woe to thee, Moab, thou art undone, O people of Che- mosh ! he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon, king of the Amorites : we have shot them ; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba" (Numb. xxi. 27 — 30). The translators render it composers of proverbs, but they are more properly called enunciatoes, and their com positions prophetical ENUNCL4.TI0NS, as may appear from the signification of the word Moschalim in the Hebrew tongue, which means not only proverbs, but also prophetical enuncia tion; as in Numb, xxiii. 7, 18; xxiv. 3, 15. It is there said, that Balaam uttered his enunciation, which was also prophet ical concerning the Lord : his enunciation is called Moschal, iu the singular number. It may be furtner observed, that tiie passages thence quoted by Moses are not pro'^erbs bul prophe cies. That that Word, like ours, was l>uiol^ ipspp^-ed. w plaiu 296 . f . t OE WOED OF THE LOED. 265 — 268 froBl a passage in Jeremiah, where nearly the same expressions ¦jccur : " A flre hath gone forth out of Heshbon, and a fiame from the midst of Sihon, and hath devoured the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the sons of Shaon. Woe unto thee, 0 Moab ! the people of Chemosh perisheth ; for thy sons are taken away into captivity, and thy daughters into captivity" (xlviii. 45, 46). Mention is also made of a prophetical book of the ancient Word, called the book of Jashee, or the book of the Upright, by David and by Joshua ; by David in the following passage : " David lamented over Saul and over Jonathan ; also he bade them teach the children of Judah the boW : behold, it is written in the book of Jasher" (2 Sam. i. 17, 18) : and by Joshua in this passage : " Joshua said. Sun, stand thod still upon Gibeon, and thoU moon, in the valley of Ajalon : is not this written ih the book of Ja,sher ?" (Josh. x. 12). 266. From these quotations it may appear, that there was an ancient Word extant in the world, particularly in Asia, previous to the Word which was given to the children of Israel. That the former is preserved in heaven among the angels who lived in those times, and that it is also still extant among the nations inhabiting Geeat Taetaey, may be seen in the TmED memoe able EELATION, at the close of this chapter on the Sacred Scripture. aIH. That by means of the woed, light is communicated to those who are out of the pale of the church, and not in possession of the word. 267. There is no possibility of conjunction with heaven, un less there be, in some part or other of the earth, a church which is in possession of the Word, and is thus acquainted with the Lord ; for the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and without him there is no salvation. That conjunction with the Lord and consociation with angels, are effected by ineans of the Word, may be seen above, n. 234 — 240. It is enough that there be a church which is in possession of the Word, although it may consist of very few persons in respect to the whole race of man kind ; for still, by means of the "Word so possessed, the Lord is present in every country on the face of the earth, since by that means heaven is in conjunction with mankind. 268. We will now show in what manner the presence and conjunction of the Lord and heaven are effected in all countries by means of the Word. The universal angelic heaven is, in the Lord's sight, as a single man, and so also is the church on earth ; that they have moreover the actua. appearance of a man, may be seen in the treatise concerning Heaven and Hell, n. 59-^ 87. In this man, the church where the Word is read, and where the Lord is thereby known, is as the heart and lungs ; the Lord's celestiial kingdom as the heart, and his spiritual kingdom as the Inngs. Now aa from these two fountains of life in the 297 S68, 269 THE SACEED SCEIPTUEE, human bo iy, all the other members, viscera, and organs subsist and live, so also do all those people in every part of the earth, who have any religion, who worship one God, lead good lives, and thus make a part of this man, subsist and live from the con junction of the Lord and heaven ¦with the church by means of the Word, resembling in this respect the members and viscera without the thorax, wherein the heart and lungs are contained ; for the Word in the Christian church is life to all the rest from the Lord through the heavens, just as the members and viscera of the whole body receive life from the heart and lungs. The communication also is similar; which is a reason why those Christians among whom the Word is read, constitute the breast of the fore-mentioned man. They are also in the middle or centre of all the rest ; next about them are the Eoman Catholics ; about these are the Mahometans, who acknowledge the Lord as a very great prophet, and a Son of God ; after these come the Africans ; and the last circumference is occupied by the people and nations in Asia and the Indies. 269. That this is the case in the universal heaven, may be concluded from a similarity of circumstances in every particular society there ; for every particular society is a heaven in a lesser form, and is likewise as a man : this may be seen in the treatise concerning Heaven and Hell, n. 41 — 87. In every society of heaven, those who are in the "middle in like manner represent the heart and lungs, and enjoy the greatest degree of light ; this light, and the perception of truth thence arising, diffuse them selves from the centre in every direction towards the circum ferences, consequently to all in the society, and cause their spir itual life. It was shown me, that when those who were in the centre, and who constituted the province of the heart and lungs, and e-ijoyed the greatest degree of light, were removed, imme diately those who were in the neighborhood around them had their understandings obscured, and were reduced to so faint a perception of truth, as to cause them to utter lamentations ; but as soon as the others were replaced, the light reappeared, and their former perception of truth was restored. This may be illustrated by comparison with the heat and light fiowing Iroui the sun of this world, which cause vegetation in trees and shrubs, even in such as are not exposed to their direct infiuence, but are planted in shady places, which yet never fail to grow, if the sun be only risen above the horizon. So it is with the light and heat of heaven proceeding from the Lord as the sun of heaven, which light in its essence is Divine Truth, whence angels and men derive all intelligence and wisdom : it is therefore said ol the Word, " that it was with God, and was God ; that it enlight eneth every man that cometh into the world ; and that this light also shineth in darkness" (John i. 1, 5, 9). The Word there means tho Lord as to divine truth. 298 OE WOED OF THE 1 ded. 270 — 272 270, From these circumstances it may evidently appear that the Word, which Protestants and the Eeformed possess, en lightens all nations and people by spiritual communication ; and further, that the Lord provides that there should always be a church on earth, where the Word may be read, and the Lord in consequence be inade known : when therefore the Word was almost totally rejected by the Eomish church, through the divine providence of the Lord the reformation took place, to draw forth the Word, as it, were, from its hiding-places, and bring it again into use. When the Word also was entirely falsified and adul terated by the Jewish nation, and rendered in a manner null, it pleased the Lord immediately to descend from heaven, and to come as the Word, and to fulfil it, and thus to renew and restore it, and to give liglit again to the inhabitants of the earth, accord ing to these words of the Lord : " The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light ; to them that sit in the region and shadow of death hath the light arisen" (Isaiah ix. 2 ; Matt iv. 16). 271. It having been foretold that at the end ofthe present church darkness should also arise, in consequence of not know ing the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, and of separating faith from charity, therefore, lest the genuine understanding of the Word, and consequently the church, should perish, it has pleased the Lord now to reveal the spieitual sense of the Woed, and to show that in that sense, and from this in the natural sense, it contains innumerable things by which the light of truth derived from the Word, that was well-nigh extinguished, may be restored. That the light of truth would be almost wholly extinguished at the end of the present church, is foretold in many passages of the Eevelation, and is also meant by these words o'f the Lord : " Immediately after the affliction 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 they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matt. xxiv. 29, 30). The sun there means the Lord in respect to love ; the moon, the Lord as to faith ; the stars, the Lord as to the knowledges of good and truth ; the Son of man, the Lord as to the Word ; clouds, the literal sense of the Word ; glory, its spiritual sense, and its transparence through the literal sense ; and power, the power of the "Word. 272. It has been granted me to know, by much experience, that a man has communication with heaven by means of the Word. In reading the Word, from the first chapter of Isaiah to the last of Malachi, with the Psalms of David, and keeping my thought fixed on the spiritual sense of each passage, it was granted me to perc^ve clearly that every verse communicated with some particular society in heaven, and thus that the whol* 299 272, 273 THE SACEED SCEIPTUEE, Word communicated with the universal heaven ; from whence it appeared, that as the Lord is the Word, so also heaven is tha Word, since heaven is heaven from the Lord, and the Lord, by the Word, is the all in all of heaven. XIY. That without the woed no one would ha^ve any Knowledge of god, of heaven and hell, oe of a life aftee death, and much less of the loed. 273. Those who insist, and are confirmed in the opinion, that a man without the Word might know the existence of God, and likewise of heaven and hell, with other points which the "Word teaches, do not believe that Word, but themselves ; it would not therefore be proper to reason with such persons from the Word, but from the natural light {Iwmen) of reason. Inquire then of the light of reason, and you will find that there are two faculties of life in man, called understanding and will, and that the under standing is subject to the will, and not the will to the under standing ; for the understanding only teaches and shows what from the will ought to be done : hence there are many men of bright natural parts who have a clearer understanding than others of the moral duties of life, and who yet do not live according to them, which they would necessarily do if their wills concurred in such duties. Inquire further, and you will find that a man's will is his proprium, or selfhood, that this is evil from his birth, and that in consequence of this his understand ing is full of falses. When you have made these discoveries, you will see that a man of himself is not willing to understand anything but what comes from the proprium or selfhood of his will, and that unless there were some other source of knowledge, a man from the proprium of his will would not be desirous of understanding any thing but what regarded himself and the world. Every thing of a higher nature would be in darkness to him : when he saw the sun, moon, and stars, if by chance he should reflect on their origin, he would not be able to refer them to any other creative power than their own, as many very learned men in the world have done, who, although they were informed by the Word that God created all things, have yet ascribed creation to nature ; what then would have been their sentiments in case they had received no information from the 'Word ? Is it credible that the ancient philosophers, Aristotle, Cicero, Seneca, and others, who have written about God, and the immortality of the soul, received their first information on those subjects from their own understanding ? No, surely, but from others, to whom the information was successively handed down from those who had it originally from that ancient Word of which we have spoken above. In like manner the writers on natural religion do not derive their knowledge on the subject from themselves, but only confirm, by rational deductions, the truths they have learnt from the church which is in possession of the Word : and 300 OE WOED OF THE LOED. 273 — 275 itis possible there may be some among them who confirm such truths, and yet do not believe them. 274. It has been permitted me to see people, born in remote islands, who were possessed of rationality, so far as relates to civil concerns, and yet had no knowledge at all concerning God. Such persons in the spiritual world have the appearance of sphinxes ; but whereas by birth they are men, and consequently in a capacity of receiving spiritual life, they are instructed by angels, and, by means of knowledges concerning the Lord as to his human character, are made alive. What a man of himself is, clearly appears from those who are in hell, some of whom have been rauKed among the learned and distinguished : these are unwilling to hear any thing of God, and on that account cannot pronounce the word " God." I have seen and conversed with them ; and I have also conversed with some who have fallen into the fire of wrath and anger at the bare mention of the Lord. Consider therefore what sort of a creature man would have been, .supposing him to have received no information about God, when some who have spoken, written, and preached about God, are still in such a blind and miserable state. The reason why they are in such a state is, because their wills are evil, and as before observed, the will leads the understanding, and robs it of the truths which it had received from the "Word. If man could have known of himself that there is a God, and a life after death, why has he never discovered that a man is a real man after death ? Why does he imagine tliat his soul, or spirit, is like wind, or ether, which has neither eyes to see, ears to hear, nor mouth to speak, until it' be reunited with its dead body and skel eton ? Supposing therefore a doctrine derived from the light (lumen) of reason alone, must it not of necessity establish the worship of self, as was the case in former ages, and is still the case with many who yet are instructed by the Word that God alone is to be worshipped ? It is impossible that any other wor ship than that of self can be derived from the proprium or self hood of man, not even the worship of the sun and moon. 275. The prevalence of religious worship from the most early ages of the world, and the universal knowledge of a God among the inhabitants of the globe, with some notion of a life after death, are not to be ascribed to men, or to their self-derived intelligence, but to the ancient Word mentioned above, n. 264, 265, 266, and in succeeding times to the Israelitish Word. From those two religious knowledge was propagated through all parte of India, with its islands ; through Egypt and Ethiopia into the kingdoms of Africa; from the maritime parts of Asia into Greece, and from thence into Italy. But as the Word could not be written otherwise than by rep;;esentati-^es, which are such earthly existences as correspond with heavenly ones, aud are Mconsequently significative of them, therefore the reU- 301 275 277 THE SACEED SCEIPTUEE, gious notions of the gentiles were changed into idolati-y, and in Greece were turned into fables ; and the divine properties and attributes were considered as so many separate gods, governed by one supreme Deity whom they called Jove, possibly frorn Jehovah. It is well known that they had a knowledge of para disc, the flood, the sacred fire, the four ages, beginning with that of gold, and ending with that of iron, as in Daniel ii. 31—35. 276. Those who fancy themselves able, by their own intelli gence, to procure any knowledge of God, of heaven and hell, and of the spiritual things of the church, do not consider that the natural man, regarded in himself, is in opposition to the spiritual man, and that, consequently, he is desirous to extirj^ate all the spiritualities which enter his understanding, or to involve them in fallacies, which are as worms, devouring the roots of pulse and corn. Such persons may be compared -with those who dream that they are sitting on eagles, and are carried aloft in the air, or on winged horses flying over Mount Parnassus to Helicon ; whereas they are actually like Lucifers in hell, who there still call themselves sons of the morning (Isaiah xiv. 12). They are also like the people in the plain of the land of Shinar, who attempted to build a tower whose top should reach to heaven (Gen. xi. 2, 4) ; and they are full of self-confidence like Goliah, not foreseeing that, like him, they may be struck to the ground by a stone from a sling sinking into their foreheads. I will here declare what is the state of such after death ; they are first like persons intoxicated, afterwards like idjots, and lastly they sink into stupidity, and sit in darkness. Let every one therefore take heed to himself that he fall not into such a delirium. 277. To the above I shall add the following memoeable RELATIONS. — ^FiRST. I was ouc day in the spirit, traversing va rious parts of the spiritual world, that I might observe the rep resentations of heavenly things which are there exhibited in many places. In a certain house, where there were angels, I saw great purses, in which were contained large sums of money ; and as they were open, it seemed as if any person might take out, or even steal, the money there deposited ; but near the purses there sat two young men as guards. The place where the purses were laid appeared like a manger in a stable. In an adjoining apartment there were modest virgins,with a chaste mar ried woman, and near the apartment stood two little children ; it was given me however to understand that they were not to be played with like children, but to be treated wisely. Afterwards there appeared a harlot, and also a dead horse lying on the ground. ¦When 1 had attended to these appearances, 1 was informed that they represented the natura. sense Df the Word, which cm- 302 OR WORD OF THE LORD. 277, 278 tains the spiritual sense. The great purses full of money signi fied knowledges of truth in great abundance ; fheir being open, and yet guarded by young men, signified that every one might take thence the knowledges of truth, but that care is taken lest any one should violate the pure truths which are contained in its spiritual sense. The manger, like those in a stable, signified spiritual nourishment for the understanding ; this is the s^gnifi cation of a manger, because a horse, which feeds out of it, sig nifies the understanding. The modest virgins who appeared in the adjoining apartment, signified the auctions of truth ; the chaste married woman, the conjunction of good and truth ; and the young children, innocence of wisdom ; for the angels of the highest heaven, who are the wisest of all, appear at a distance, by reason of their innocence, like little children. The harlot, with the dead horse, represented the falsification of truth among many people at this day, by which the understanding of the Word is totally lost ; a harlot signifying falsification, and a dead horse the understanding of truth annihilated. 278. The second memorable relation. — ^There was once sent me down from heaven a small piece of paper, covered with Hebrew characters, but written as they used to be among the ancients, with whom those letters, which are at this day partly linear, were inflected with little bendings upward. The angels who were then with me, declared that they could discover entire and complete senses by the very letters, and that they discovered them particularly by the flexures of the lines, and of the apexes of each letter. They explained their signification both sepa rately and conjointly, telling me that the H, which was added to the names of Abram and Sarai, signified the infinite and the eternal : they also explained to me the meaning of the Word in Psalm xxxii. 1, by the letters or syllables only, and that the general sense contained therein was, that the lord is merci ful EVEN TO THOSE WHO DO EVIL. They informed me that writing in the third heaven consisted of letters inflected, and variously curved, each of which contained some particular mean ing; that, the vowels there used were to express a sound corre sponding with affection ; and that in that heaven they were not able to pronounce the vowels Zand E, but instead of them J^and EU,wA that the vowels A, 0, and U, were in use among them, because they give a full sound ; also, that they did not express any consonants roughly, but softly, and that it was on this ac count that some Hebrew letters have points placed within them, as a mark that their pronunciation should be soft. They added that harshness in the pronunciation of letters was in use in the spiritual heaven because the spiritual angels are principled in truths, and truth admits of harshness, whereas good, in which the angels of the Lord's celestial kingdom, or of the third hea ven,' are principled, admits of no harshness. They declared 303 278, 279 THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, further, that they had the Word among them written in inflected letters, with signiflcative little bendings and apexes, from whence it appeared what these words of the Lord signify : " One jot o.r one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulnlled" (Matt, V. 18) ; and again : " It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail" (Luke xvi. 17). 279. The third memorable relation. — About seven years ago, as I was calling to mind what Moses had transcribed frorr. the two books called The Wars of Jehovah, and The Enun ciations (Numb, xxi.), there were some angels present, who told me that those books were the ancient "Word, the histoei cal parts of which were called The Wars of Jehovah, and the peophetical parts. The Enunciations. They said too, that that Word is still preserved in heaven, and is in use among the ancients there, who were in possession of it during thefr abode on earth. Those ancients, who still use it in heaven, were in part natives of the land of Canaan and its conflnes, as Syria, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Chaldea, Assyria, Egypt, Zidon, Tyi-e, and Nineveh, the inhabitants of all which kingdoms were in the practice of representative worship, and consequently were skilled in the science of correspondences. The wisdom of those times was derived from that science, and thus they enjoyed in terior perception and communication with the heavens. Those who were acquainted with the correspondences of that Word were called wise men, and intelligent, and in succeeding ages diviners and magi : but as that Word was full of such correspond ences -as were remotely signiflcative of celestial and spiritual things, and in consequence began to be falsifled by many, by the divine providence of the Lord in process of time it was removed, and another Word written by correspondences less remote was given, which was that delivered by the prophets among the children of Israel. In this word were retained several names of places, not only of such as were in the land of Canaan, but also in the surrounding kingdoms of Asia, all which signifled things and states of the church ; but then they derived such significa tions from the ancient Word. It was on this account that Abram was commanded to go into that land, and that his posterity, out of the loins of Jacob, were introduced into it. Concerning that ancient Word which was in Asia before the Israelitish Word, I am at liberty to state that it is still preserved among the people in Great Tartary. I have conversed with spir its and angels in tho spiritual world who came from that coun try, and who informed me that they are in possession of the Word, and that they have possessed it time immemorial ; that according to this Word they celebrate their divine worship, and that it consists of mere correspondences. They said likewise that it contains the book of Jasher, mentioned in Joshua, x. 12, 13 ; and in the second book of Samuel, i. 17, 18 ; and that 304 ob word of the lc/RD. 279, 280 'they are also in possession of the books called The Wars of Jehovah, and The Enunciations, which are mentioned by .Moses (Numb. xxi. 14, 16, 27 — 30) ; and when I, read to them the words which Moses has quoted from these books, they ex amined whether they were in the original, and found them there ; from which circumstances it was evident to me that they are «till in ;possession of the ancient Word. In the conversation which passed between us, they said that they worship Jehovah, fiome as an invisible God, and some as a visible one. They told me further, that they do not permit any foreigners to come among them except the Chinese, with whom they study to live upon good terms, because the emperor of China is from their iGOuntry ; and besides, that they are so populous, they cannot ifflaiagine any country in the whole world to be more so, which indeed may appear credible from the great length of the wall which the Chinese formerly built, as a security against their incui-sions. I have been further informed by the angels, that the first iohapters of Genesis, which treat of the creation, of Adam and Eve, of the garden of Eden, and of their children and posterity till the fiood, and likewise of Noah and his chil dren, are contained in that Word, and so were copied from it by riMJQses. The angels and spirits from Great Tartary appear in the southern quarter towards the east, and are separated from others by dwelling in a more eminent expanse. They do not .admit among Ihem any from the Christian world ; and if any do iascend, they secure them, so that they cannot return. The :cauBe of such separation is because they are in possession of Another Word. ;280. The fourth memorable relation. — I once saw at a distance .shady walks, planted with rows of trees, and several companies of young men assembled there conversing on subjects ¦of wisdom. This was in the spiritual world,; so I went to join .them; and as I approadied, I observed one to whom the rest paid particular respect, as to their chief, because he excelled them'in wisdom. On seeing me, he said, " I was surprised, as :Iisaw you in the way coming :towards us, 'to observe that some- ¦times you were in sight, and sometimes out of sight, or at one moment visible, and the next invisible ; surely you are not in the same state of life with us ?" To this I replied, with a smile, "I am neither a stage-player nor a Yertumnus, but I am alternate, dwelling sometimes in your light and sometimes in your shade ; thus I am a stranger here, and at the same time an inhabitant." On this the wise personage looked at me attentively, and said, " You speak strange and wonderful things ; tell me -svho you are." I said, " I am in the world in which you have been, and from which you are departed, which is'.ealled the natural world, and I am also in the world in which you now are, which is called the spiritual world : hence 306 X 280 the sacred scripture, I am in a natural state, and at the same time in a spiritual stated; in a natural state with men on earth, and in a spiritual state with you. When I am in a natural state, I am invisible to you, but when I am in a spiritual state I become visible; and, this peculiarity in my nature is of the Lord's appointment. It must be well known to a man so enlightened as you are, that an inhabitant of the natural world is invisible to an inhabitant written with the finger of God on two tables of stone; that the face of Moses shone, when he earned down the two tables the second time ; that the tables were afterwards deposited in the ark, and the ark in the inmost part of the tabernacle, and the propitiatory or mercy-seat over , 313 283, 284 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. it, and the cherubs of gold over the mercy-seat, that the inmost of the tabernacle, where the ark was kept, was called the holy of holies ; that without the vail, within which the ark was placed, many things were deposited, which represented the holy things of heaven and the church, such as the table overlaid with gold, on which was the shew-bread, the golden altar on which the incense was burnt, and the golden candlestick with seven lamps, and also the curtains round about, made of fine linen, purple, and scarlet. The holiness of the whole of this tabernacle was derived solely from the law which was in the ark. By reason of the holiness of the tabernacle derived from the law in the ark, all, the people of Israel were commanded to encamp about it in order, according to their tribes, and to march in order after it ; and at those times a cloud was over it in the day-time, and a fire iu the night. By reason of the holiness of that law, and the presence of Jehovah in it, Jehovah conversed with Moses from over the propitiatory or mercy-seat between the cherubs ; and the ark which stood there was itself called Jehovah ; and Aaron was not permitted to enter within the vail, except -with sacri fices and incense, lest he should die. By reason of the presence of Jehovah in that law, and about it, miracles were also wrought by the ark, wherein the law was deposited : thus the waters of Jordan were divided, and, while the ark rested in the midst thereof, the people passed over on dry ground ; the walls of Jericho fell down in consequence of the ark's being carried round about it ; Dagon, the god of the Philistines, fell on his face before it, and was afterwards found lying without his head, with the palms of his hands on the threshold of the house ; the Bethshemites, to the number of several thousands, were smitten on account of it ; and Uzzah died in consequence of touching it. It is further to be noted, that the same ark was introduced by David into Zion, with sacrifices and rejoicings, and afterwarda by Solomon into the temple at Jerusalem, where it constituted the most sacred part of the temple ; not to mention other cir cumstances, which, together with these, are convincing proofs that, in the Israelitish church, the decalogue was the very essence of holiness. 284. The facts above-mentioned concerning the promulga tion, holiness, and power of the law, are recorded in these places in the Word : That Jehovah descended in fire on Mount Sinai, and that then the mountain smoked and shook, and that there were thunders, lightnings, thick clouds, and the voice of a trumpet, Exod. xix. 16, 17, 18 ; Deut. iv. 11 ; v. 19—23 ; That the people, before the descent of Jehovah, prepared and sanc tified themselves three days, Exod. xix. 10,11, 15 ; That bounds were set about the mount, lest any of the people should approach and die, and that not even the priests were permitted to approach, but Moses only, xix. 12, 13, 20—23 ; xxiv, 1, 2 ; That tho law 314 ' ' ' . THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. '2S4, 286 was promulgated from Mount Sinai, xix. 2 — 14 ; Deut. v. 6 — 18 ; That the law was written on two tables of stone, and with the finger of God, Exod. xxxi. 18 ; xxxii. 15, 16 ; Deut. ix. 10 ; That Moses' face did so shine, when he brought the two tables down from the mount the second time, that he covered his face with a vail while he talked with the people, Exod. xxxiv. 29 — 35 ; That the tables were laid up in the ark, xxv, 16 ; xl. 20 ; Deut. X. 5 ; 1 Kings viii. 9 ; That the propitiatory or mercy-seat was put over the ark, and the cherubs of gold placed over the mercy- seat, Exod. xxv. 17 — 21; That tho ark, with the mercy-seat and the cherubs, was put into the tabernacle, and constituted the first and thus the inmost part thereof; that the table over laid with gold, on which was the shew-bread, the golden altar of incense, and the golden candlestick, with its golden lamps, constituted the outer part of the tabernacle ; and that the ten curtains of fine linen, purple, and scarlet, constituted its outer most part, xxv. 1 to the end ; xxvi. 1 to the end ; xl. 17 — 28 ; That the place where the ark was, was called the holy of holies, xxvi. 33 ; That the whole body of the people of Israel encamped round about the tabernacle in order, according to their tribes, and marched in order after it. Numb. ii. 1 to the end ; That then there was a cloud on the tabemaele by day, and fire by night, Exod. xh 38; Numb. ix. 15 to the end; xiv. 14; Deut. i. 33 ; That Jehovah talked with Moses above the ark, between the cherubs, Exod. xxv. 22 ; Numb. vii. 89 ; That the ark, by reason of the law which it contained, was called Jehovah ; for Moses said, when the ark set forward. Rise wp, Jehovah, and when it rested, Retu/rn, Jehovah, Numb. x. 35, 36 ; Psalm cxxxii. 7, 8 ; That by reason of the holiness of the law it was not lawful for Aaron to enter within the vail except with sacrifices and incense, Levit. xvi. 2 — 14 ; That by virtue of the presence of the Lord's power in the law which was in the ark, the waters of Jordan were divided, and, while it rested in the middle, the people passed over on dry ground. Josh. iii. 1 — 17 ; iv. 5 — 20 ; That on .carrying the ark round about the walls of Jericho, they fell down, vi. 1 — 20 ; That Dagon, the god of the Philistines, fell to the ground before the ark, and afterwards lay on the threshold, with his head separated from his body, and the palms of his hands cut off, 1 Sam. v. ; That the Bethshemites, on account of the ark, were smitten, to the number of many thou sands, V. and vi. ; That Uzzah, because he touched the ark, died, 2 Sam. vi. 7 ; That the ark was introduced into Zion by David, with sacrifices and rejoicings, vi. 1 — 19 ; That it was introduced also by Solomon into the temple at Jerusalem, where it con stituted the naost sacred part of the temple, 1 Eangs vi. 19 ; viii. 3—9. 285. The conjunction of the Lord with man, and of man with the Lord, being effected by means of that law, it is thefe- 316 386 — 287- THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. fore called the covenant, and the testimony ; the covenant, because it conjoins, and the testimony, because it confirms tho articles of the Covenant; for a covenant in the Word signifies conjunction, and testimony the confirmation and witnessing of its articles. For this reason there were two tables, one for God, and the other for man. Conjunction is effected by the Lord, but only at that time when man performs what is written in his table ; for the Lord is continually present, and desires to enter ; but it is man's part, by virtue of the freedom which he enjoys from the Lord, tO' open the door; for the Lord says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock ; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me" (Eev. iii. 20). That the tables of stone, on which the law was written, were called the tables of the covenant, and that the ark was from them called the ark of the covenant, and the law itself the covenant, may be seen Numb. x. 33 ; Deut. iv. 13, 23 ; V. 2, 3 ; ix. 9 ; Josh. iii. 3 ; 1 Kings viiii 19, 21 ; Eev. xi. 19 ; and in other places. And as covenant signifies conjunc tion, it is therefore said of the Lord " that he shall be for a covenant to the people" (Isaiah xlii. 6 ; xlix. '$)¦; and he is called' the angel of the covenant (Malachi iii. 1) ; and his blood the blood ofthe covenant (Matt. xxvi. 28 ; Zech. ix. 11 ; Exod. xxiv. 4 — 10) ; and therefore the Word is called the old covenant, and the new covenant; for covenants are entered into for the sake of love, friendship, consociation, and conjunction. 286. The cause why the law was so full of holiness and power was, because it contained the sum and substance of all religion ; for it was written on two tables, one of which contained the sum and substance of all duties relating to God, and the other the sum and substance of all duties relating to man ; therefore the commandments of that law are called the ten words (Exod. xxxiv. 28 ; Deut. iv. 13 ; x. 4). They are so called, because ten signi fies all, and words signify truths ; for it is evident there were more than ten words. That ten signifies all, and' that tenths, or tithes, were appointed on account of that signification, may "oe seen in the Apocalypse Eevealed, n. 101 ; and that that law contains the sum and substance of all things in religion, will be seen in the following pages. That the decalogue, in its literal sense, contains geneeal peecepts of doctrine and life, but in its spieitual and celes tial sense all precepts univeesally. 287. It is well known that in the word the decalogue is called THE LAW by way of eminence, because it contains all things relating to doctrine and life ; for it contains not only the sum and substance of whatever regards God, but likewise the sum and substance of whatever regards man ; that law was therefore written on two tables, one of which treats of God, and the other of man. It is also known that all things belonging to doctrine and 316 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. ¦ 287.28-8 life have relation to love to God and love towards oui neighbor and all things belonging to these loves are contained in the dec alogue. That the whole word teaches nothing else, is plain from these words of the Lord : " Jesus said. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with aU thy mind, .and thy neighbor as thyself: on these ,two commandments bang all the law and the ,prophets" (Matt. xxii. 37 — 40). The law and the prophets signify the whole Word And in ^another place ; " A certain lawyer, tempting Jesus, bb,\A, Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him. What is written in the law ? how readest thou? And he .answering, said. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. And Jesus &&\.di, TJds do, andthou shalt live" (Luke x. 26 — 28). Now, since love to .God and love towards our neighbor are the all of the Word, and the decalogue contains in its first table a summary of all things relating to love to God, and, in the second, a summary of all things relating to love towards our neighbor, it follows of consequence that it contains all things that relate . to doctrine and life. It is plain, from looking at the two tables, that they are so conjoined that God from his table regards man, and that man from his regards God in return, and consequently that the regard is reciprocal, and of such. a nature, that God, on his part, never ceases to regard man, and to operate whatever may concern his sa,l vation ; and if man receives and performs the duties contained in his table, a reciprocal conjun,ction is •effected, and the words which the Lord said to the lawyer are verified. This do, and thou shalt live. 288. In the "Word the law is frequently mentioned, and it may be expedient to show what it means in its confined sense, ¦what in. a more extensive sense, and what in the most exten sive sense. In a confined sense the law means the decalogue ; in a more extensive sense it means the statutes given by Moses to the children oflsrael,; and in the most extensive sense it means the whole Word. That in a confined sense the law means THE decalogue, is wcU known ; but that in a more exten- ¦ STVE SENSE IT MEANS THE STATUTES GIVEN BY MoSES TO THE ¦children of Israel, is evident from the particular statutes -n Leviticus being so called; as for instance: "This is the law of the trespass-offering" (Levit. vii. 1) ; " This is the law of the isacrffice of peace-offerings" (vii. 11)-; "This is the law of the meat-offering" (vi. 14, &c.) ; "This isthe la^ ofthe burnt-offering, of the meat-offering, of the sin-offering, and of the trespass- offering, and of the consecrations" (vii. 37) ; " This is the law of the beasts and of the fowls" (xi. 46); "This is the law for her that, hath borne a son or a. daughter" (xii. 7); "This is the law of the leprosy" (xiii. 59 : xiv. 2, 32, 54, .57) ; "This is the law 317 288 290 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. of him that hath an issue" (xv. 32) ; " This is the law of jealousy" (Numb. V. 29) ; " This is the law of the Nazarite" (vi. 13, 21) ; " This is the law when a man dieth in a tent" (xix. 14) ; " This is the law concerning a red heifer" (xix. 2) ; " The law for a king" (Deut. xvii. 15 — 19). Yea, the whole book of Moses is called the law (Deut. xxxi. 9, 11, 12, 26) ; as also in the New Testa ment (Luke ii. 22; xxiv. 44; John i. 45; ¦vii. 23; viii. 5), and in other places. That those statutes were meant by the works of the law mentioned by Paul, where he says, that a man is justified without the works of the law (Eom. iii. 28), is very evi dent from what follows these words, and also from his words to Peter, whom he blames for Judaizing, where he says three times in one verse, " that no man is justified by the works of the law" (Gal. ii. 16). That the law, in its most extensive sense, MEANS THE WHOLE WoRD, IS plain from thcsc passages : " Jesus said. Is it not written in yov/r law. Ye are gods ?" (John x. 34) ; this is written in Psalm Ixxxii. 6 : " The people answered him. We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever" (John xii. 34) ; this is in Psalm Ixxxix. 29 ; ex. 4 ; Dan. -vii. 14 : " That the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, They hated me without a cause" (John xv. 25) ; this is in Psalm xxxv. 19 : " Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed on him ? but these people, who know not the la/w, are cursed" (John vii. 48, 49) : " It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than one tittle of ihe law to fail" (Luke xvi. 17). In these passages tho whole sacred scripture is meant by the law, as may be seen in numerous places in the Psalms 'of David. 289. The decalogue, in its spiritual and celestial senses, con tains universally all precepts of doctrine and life, thus all things relating to faith and charity; because the Word, in all and every part of its literal sense, that is, both generally and par ticularly, contains two interior senses, one called spiritual, and the other celestial, and because in these senses divine truth is in its light, and divine good in its heat. Now, since the Word, both as to the whole and every particular part, is of such a nature, it must of necessity follow that the ten commandments of the decalogue should be explained according to the three senses, called natural, spiritual, and celestial. That such is the nature of the Word, appears from what has been already proved in the chapter concerning the Holy Scripture or the "Word, n. 193—208. 290. It is impossible for anyone, who is unacquainted with the nature and quality of the Word, by any stretch of thought to discover that in each several part there is an infinity, that is, that each contains innumerable things which the angels them selves cannot exhaust. Every single word of it may be com pared to a seed, which has a capacity, if it be sown in the ground, of growing up into a great tree, and producing abundance ol 318 THE DEOALOGUE EXPLAINED, 290, 291 other seeds, from which again similar trees may be produced, of these a garden formed, and from its seeds other gardens, and so ori to infinity. Such is the Word of the Lord in all its parts, and particularly in the decalogue, which, as it teaches love to God and love towards our neighbor, is a brief complex of the whole Word. That the Word is of such a nature the Lord also shows in the following similitude : " The kingdom of God is like unto a ^ain of mustard-seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof" (Matt. xiii. 31, 32 ; Mark iv. 31, 32 ; Luke xiii, 18, 19). Com pare also Ezek. xvii. 2 — 8. That such is the infinity of spfritual seeds, or of truths in the Word, is evident from the wisdom of angels, which is all derived from the Word, and which increases in them to eternity ; and they, in proportion as they grow wiser, see more clearly that no limit can be set to wisdom, and that they themselves are but in its outer court, and can never, in the smallest particular, attain to the divine wisdom of the Lord, which they call art abyss. Now, since the Word is derived from this abyss, in consequence of coming from the Lord, it is plain that there is in all ite contents a kind of infinity. THE FIEST COMMANDMENT, THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME. 291. These are the words of the first commandment (Exod. XX. 3 ; Deut. v. 7) : in the natural sense, which is that of the letter, they first of all signify that idols ought not to be wor shipped ; for it follows, " Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, or the likeness of any thing that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth ; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor worship them ; for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God" (Exod. XX. 3 — 6). The reason why this commandment means, in the first place, that idols ought not to be worshipped, was, Isecause before the time of giving the law, and after it, even till the coming of the Lord, the worship of idols prevailed in most of the kingdoms of Asia ; which worship originated in this circum stance, that all the churches before the Lord's coming were representative and typical, and the types and representations were such, that divine things were exhibited under various figures and sculptures, which the vulgar, losing sight of their significations, began to worship as gods. That such worship prevailed among the people of Israel, during their sojourning in Egypt, is evident from the golden calf which they worshipped in tne wilderness instead of Jehovah, and from thefr continual 319 291 294 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. relapses into such worship, as ¦appears from both the historical and the prophetical parts of the 'Word, 292. This commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods be fore me, in a natural sense, also signifies that no man, whether dead or alive, ought to be worshipped as a god, which was a practice very common in Asia and the neighboring countries. Hence came many of the ,gods of the Gentiles, as Baal, Ashta roth, Chemosh, ]!iilkom, Beelzebub ; and amongst the Greeks and Eomans, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Apollo, Pallas, ,&c. Some of these they at.first worshipped as saints, afterwards as .subordinate deities {numina),.and lastly as gods. That they also worshipped living men as gods, is evident from the decree of Darius fhe Mede, that no one, for the space of thirty days, -should offer any petition to God, but to the .king alone, on pain of being cast into the den of lions (Dan. vi. 7 to the end). ,293. In the natural sense, which is that of the letter, this commandment also signifies that no one, except God, and noth ing except what proceeds from God, is to be loved with the chief and governing love, according to the Lord's words (Matt.,x3di. 35, 36, 37 ; Luke x. 25---28) ; for that person or thing which is (loved with the chief and governing love, is to the lover a god, and is divine ; thus where a man's chief and governing -love is centred in himself or the world, there self or the world is his god ; and the consequence is that in his heart he does not ac knowledge any other god, and is therefore in conjunction with his like in hell, where all are gatkered who have loved them selves and the world with their chief and governing love. 294. The spiritual sense of this commandment is, ithat no other god is to be worshipped than the Lord Jesus Christ ; fc>r he is Jehovah, who came into the world and accomplished the work of redemption, without which neither man nor angel could have been saved. That there is no other god besides him, is evident from these passages in the Word : " It shall be said in that day, Lo! this is our God, whom we have waited for to , deliver us ; this is Jehovah, whom we have waited for ; let us exult and be glad in his salvation" (Isaiah xxv. 9). " The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of Je hovah ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God ; fbi the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and .all fiesh shall see it together. Behold, the Lord Jehovah cometh in strength ; he shall feed his fiock like a shepherd" (xl. 3, 6, 10, 11). "Surely God is in thee, and there is no God else : verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, ihe Saviour" (xlv. 14, 15). "Am not I Jehovah ? and there is no God beside me ; a just God and a Saviour • there is none beside me" (xlv. 21). "I am Jehovah, and beside me there is no Saviour" (xliii. 11 ; Hos. xiii. 4). "And all fiesh shall know that I Jehovah am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer" (Isaiah xlix. 26 ; Ix, 16), " As for 320 r^£ liKCALOGUE EXPLAINED. 294 29P ffut lie-die'>ni-*, -yohoviN'h Zebaoth is his name" (xlvii. 4; Jer. 1. 3^ " Jehovah is my rock and my Redeemer" (Psalm xix. 14). " Tliiis saith ,J ehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I Jehovah am thy God" (Isaiah xlviii. 17 ; xliii. 14 ; xlix. 7). " Thus saith Jehovah thy Redeemer, I am Jehovah that make all things, and alone by myself (xliv. 24). " Thus saith Je hovah the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth, I am the First and I am the Last, and beside me there is no God" (xliv. 6). " Jehovah of Hosts is his name, and thy Re deemer the Holy One of Israel ; the God of the whole earth shall he be called" (liv. 5). "Though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not, thou, Jehovah, art our Y &ther, our Redeemer ; thy name is from everlasting" (Ixiii. 16). " Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, the Father of Eternity, the Prince of Peace" (ix. 6). "Behold, the days come that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, who shall reign as a king : and this is his name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah our righteousness" (Jer. xxiii, 5, 6). " Philip said unto Jesus, 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 — 10). " In Jesus Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Coloss ii. 9). "We are in the truth, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John v. 20, 21). From these passages it clearly appears, that the Lord our Saviour is Jehovah himself, who is at once the Creator, the Eedeemer, and the Eegenerator. This is the spiritual sense of this commandment. 295. The celestial sense of this commandment is, that Jehovah the Lord is infinite, immense, and eternal ; that he is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent ; that he is the first and the last, the beginning and the end, who was, is, and will be ; that he is love itself and wisdom itself, or good itself and truth itself, consequently life iteelf; and thus the one only Being from whom are all things. 296. All who acknowledge and worship any other God than the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah God himself in a human form, offend against this first commandment ; and so also do those who persuade themselves into the belief of three divine persons actually existing from eternity. These latter, in proportion as they confirm themselves in this error, become more and more natural and corporeal, in which case they have no capacity inwardly to comprehend any, divine truth ; and if they hear and receive it, still they defile it and involve it in fal lacies. They may therefore be compared with those who dwell in the lowest story of a house, or in the rooms under ground, who on that account hear nothing of the conversation which 321 T 296 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. passes in the second or third stones, because the ceUing above prevents the sound from descending to them. The htftnan mind is like a house consisting of three stories, in the lowest of which are those who have confirmed themselves in favor of three gods existing from eternity, while in the second and third stories are those who acknowledge and believe in one God, under a ¦visible human fornj, and the Lord God the Saviour to be that God, The sensual and corporeal man, since he is merely natural, is nothing more, considered in himself, than an animal, and differs from brute animals only in being able to speak and reason : hence he is like one that lives in a den full of all kinds of ¦wild beasts, where he sometimes plays the lion, sometimes the bear, the tiger, the leopard, or the wolf; yea, he can also' at times play the sheep, but then in his heart he ridicules such an inno cent character. The merely natural man forms all his concep .tions of divine truths from mundane objecte only, thus from the fallacies of the senses, above which he cannot raise his men tal powers ; so that the doctrine of his faith may be compared to pottage made of chaff, on which he feeds as a dainty, or to the food prescribed to Ezekiel the prophet, when he was commanded to mix wheat, barley, beans, lentiles, and spelt, with the dung of a man or of an ox, and make himself bread and cakes, in order that he might represent the church according to ite quality among the people of Israel, chap iv. 9. Similar to this is the doctrine of the church, which is founded and built on three divine persons existing from eternity, each of which is of him self a distinct god. Who would not see the enormity of such a faith were it represented before his eyes, according to ite inte rior form and quality, in a picture where three persons should be standing in order beside each other, the first distinguished with a sceptre and crown, the second holding in fiis right hand a book, which is the Word, and in his left hand a cross of geld sprinkled with blood, and a third, furnished with wings, standing on one foot, ready to fiy and execute the commands of the other two, with this inscription over all. These three persons, who ARE so MANY DISTINCT GODS, ARE ONE GoD ? What wisC man, at the sight of such a picture, could forbear exclaiming. What a phantasy is here ! But he would have other sentiments, and exclaim in other language, at the sight of a picture representing bne Divine Person, with a glory of heavenly light about his head, and with this superscription, Tms is our God, at once ths Creator, Eedeemer, and Eegeneeatoe, consequently the Sa vioue. Would not that wise man kiss such a picture as this, and carry it home in his bosom^ and by the sight of it make glad both his own mind, anc" the minds of his wife, children, and servants ? .3^2 THE DEOALOGUE EXPLAINED, 297, 298 THE SECOND COMMANDMENT, IbOO SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF JEHOVAH THY GOD IN VAIN ; FOE JEHOVAH WILL NOT HOLD HIM GUILTLESS THAT TAKETH HIS NAME IN VAIN. 297. In the natueal sense, which is that of the letter, to take the name of Jehovah God in vain, signifies the name itself, and the abuse of it in common discourse, especially in support ing falsehoods or lies, and in unnecessary oaths, or in impre cating curses on one's self with a view to exculpation from the imputation of any bad design, or in the practice of witchcraft and incantations. But to swear by God and his holiness, or by the Word and Gospel, in the case of admission to any office, as at the coronation of a king, the inauguration of a priest, or an appointment to any place of trust, this is not to take the name of God in vain, unless he who swears afterwards make light of his engagements. The name of God being holy itself, must necessarily be in constant use in the holy offices of the church, as in prayers, psalms, and in all divine worship, also in preach ing, and in writing on religious subjects ; for God is in all thinga that regard religion, and when he is properly invoked by his name, he is present, and hears ; and on such occasions the name of God is hallowed. That the name of Jehovah God is in itself holy, is evident from this circumstance, that the Jews, from the first time that name was used, never durst, and still dare not, f)ronounce it ; and that, on their account, neither the evange- ists nor the apostles chose to mention it : therefore, instead of the name of Jehovah, they adopted that of Lord, as appears from various passages transcribed out of the Old Testament into the New, where instead of Jehovahj the Loed is named, as in Matt. xxii. 37 ; Luke x. 27, compared with Deut. vi. 6 ; and in other places. That the name of Jesus is in like manner holy, is known from the declaration of the apostle, where he says, that at that name every knee shall bow, both in heaven and in earth ; and its holiness is also manifest from this circumstance, that no devil in hell has power to pronounce it. There are several names of God which are not to be taken in vain, as Jehovah, Jehovah God, Jehovah Zebaoth, the Holy One of Israel, Jesus and Christ, and the Holy Spirit. •298. In the spiritual sense, the name of God means all that which the church teaches from the Word, and by which the Lord is invoked and worshipped : all those things are the name of God in the complex ; so that to take the name of God in vain, means to take any thing thepce, and use it in vain dis courses, false assertions, lies, execrations, witchcrafts, and in cantations ; for this is also to revile and blaspheme God, and consequently his name. That the Word, and. whatever tha 323 298, 299 THE decalogue explained. church thence possesses, and thus all worship, is the name of God, may be seen from these passages : " The desire of our soul is to thy name" (Isaiah xxvi. 8, 13). " From the rising of the Bun, even to the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles ; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name. Ye profane my name, in that ye say the table of Jehovah is polluted ; and ye snuff at my name when ye bring the torn, the lame, and the sick" (Malachi i. 11 — 13). "All people walk every one in the name of his God, and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God" (Micah iv. 6). " They shall worship Jehovah in one place where he shall place his name" (Deut. xii. 6, 11, 13, 18 ; xvi. 2, 6, 11, 15, 16) ; that is, where he shall appoint his worship. " Jesus said. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt, xviii. 20). " But as many as re ceived him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name" (John i. 12). " He that believeth not is judged already, because he hath not be lieved in the name of the only-begotten Son of God" (iii. 18). " I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it" (xvii. 26). "And that believing ye might have life in his name" (xx. 31). " The Lord said, I have a few names in Sardis" (Eev. iii. 4) ; and in many other passages : in all which, as in the foregoing, the name of God means the divine which proceeds from God, and by which he is worshipped. The name " Jesus Christ" signifies the all of redemption, and the all of his doctrine, and thus the all of salvation ; Jesus, the all of sal vation by redemption, and Christ, the all of salvation by his doctrine. 299. In the celestial sense, the same is signified by taking the name of God in vain, as the Lord said to the Pharisees : " All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven" (Matt. xii. 31). Blasphemy against *the Holy Spirit, means blasphemy against the Divinity of the Lord's Humanity, and against the holiness of theWord. That the divine human of the Lord is meant by the name of Jehovah God in ite celestial or supreme sense, is evident from these passages : " Jesus said. Father, glorify thy name ; and there came a voice from heaven, saying, I both have glorified it, and will glorify it again" (John xii. 28). " Whatever ye shall ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father maybe glorified in the Son : if ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" (xiv. 13, 14). In the Lord's Prayer, according to its celestial sense, the same is signified by this pe tition. Hallowed be thy nan^; and also by name iri Exod. xxiu 21 ; Isaiah Ixiii. 16. Since blasphemy against the Holy Spfrit IS never remitted, according to the Lord's words (Matt. xii. 31) ¦ and as this blasphemy is meant in the celestial sense of this com 324 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. 299 301 mandment, therefore this denunciation is annexed, because Jeho vah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 300. That the name of any person does not mean his name only, but likewise all his characteristic quality, is evident from names in the spiritual world, where no man retains that which he received at his baptism and derived from his father and pro genitors ; but every one is named according to his characteristic quality : thus the angels are named according to their moral and spiritual Hfe ; and these also are those who are understood by these words of the Lord : " He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. I am the good Shepherd" (John x. 2, 3, 11), " I have a few names in Sardis which have not defiled their garments. Him that overcometh, I will write upon him the name of the city New Jerusalem, and my new name" (Eev. iii. 4, 12). Gabriel and Michael are not the names of two persons in heaven ; but those names sigm'fy all those in heaven who are in the enjoyment of wisdom concei-ning the Lord, and who worshiphim. The names also of persons and places mentioned in the W ord, do not mean persons and places, but things relating to the church. In the natural world, likewise, the term " name" does not mean name alone, but at the same time the quality and nature of the person tp whom the name belongs, because these are annexed to his name : it is therefore usual in common discourse to say of a man that he does this or that, for the sake of his name, or to acquire a good name ; and of another, that he has a great name, which signifies that he is distinguished for some interior qualities, as his ingenuity, erudition, merits, and the like. Who is not aware that to revile and calumniate any one as to his name, is to revile and calumniate the actions of his life, since they are united in idea, and must consequently both suffer together ? In like manner, whoever makes opprobrious mention of the name of a king, a prince, or any great personage, must of necessity at the same time taint the reputation of their majesty and high station ; so also to utter a person's name with a contemptuous tone of voice is a kind of slight shown towards his actions and character ; and it is therefore a general law in all nations not to admit that any scandal or abuse be offered to a person's name, because his quaHty and reputation must necessarily suffer with it. THE THIED COMMANDMENT. Remember the sabbath day,. to keep it holy: six days shalt thou labor and do all thy woek ; but the seventh day is the sabbath to jehovah thy god. 301. In the natueal sense, which is that of the letter, 335 301, 302 the decalogl"e explained. this commandment signifies that six days are for man and his labors, and the seventh for the Lord and for man's rest in depen dence on him ; for the word sabbath in the original tongue sig- nifies rest. The sabbath among the children of Israel was the sanctity of sanctities, because it represented the Lord ; the six days being significative of his laboi-s and combate with the hells, and the seventh of his victory over them, and of the rest which he thereby attained ; and because that day represented the close and period of the whole work of redemption accomplished by the Lord, it was esteemed holiness itself. But when the Lord came into the world, and in consequence made all representations of himself to cease, that day was then made a day for insti-uction in divine subjects, and thus also a day of rest from labors, and of meditation on matters that concern salvation and eternal life, and also a day for the exercise of love towards our neighbor. That it was made a day for instruction in divine subjects, is evi dent from this circumstance, that the Lord on that day taught in the temple and the synagogues (Mark vi. 2 ; Luke iv. 16, 31, 32 ; xiii. 10) ; and that he said to the man who was healed, " Take up thy bed and walk ;" and to the Pharisees, that it was lawful for his disciples on the sabbath day to gather the ears of corn and eat (Matt. xii. 1 — 9 ; Mark ii. 23 to the end ; Luke vi. 1 — 6 ; John v. 9—19) ; which particulars signify, in the spiritual sense, to be instructed in doctrinals. That that day was also made a day for the exercise of love towards our neighbor, is evident from what the Lord both did and taught on the sabbath day (Matt. xii. 10 — 14 ; Mark iii. 1 — 9 ; Luke yi. 6—12 ; xiii. 10—18 ; xiv. 1—7 ; John v. 9—19 ; vii. 22, 23; ix. 14 — 16). From these and the foregoing passages, it ap pears why the Lord said that he is Lord also of the sabbath (Matt. xii. 8 ; Mark ii. 28 ; Luke vi. 5) ; and from his making this declaration it follows, that the sabbath day was representa tive of him. 302. This commandment, in the spiettual sense, signifies the reformation and regeneration of man by the Lord : six days of labor signify man's combats against the fiesh and ite lusts, and at the same time against the evils and falses which are in fused into him from hell ; and the seventh day signifies his con junction with the Lord, and consequent regeneration. That during such combat, man undergoes spiritual labor, but enters into rest when he is regenerate, will appear from what will here after be said in the chapter concerning eefoemation and eegen eeation, particularly under these articles : I. The work of regeneration is successive, answering in its several stages to mams conception, hisformaUo^i in the womb, his 'birth, and his educa tion. II. The first act of the ne-u: birth is called reformation, which has reference to the understanding; and the second is calleil regeneration, which has reference to the will, and to the under 326 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. 302, 303 standing in subordination to the will. III. The internal m,an is first to be reformed, and hy this tlie asternal. IY. A combat Ihen commences between ihe internal and external man, mid whichever conquers has dominion over the other. Y. The regen erate man has a new will and a new understanding, die. The reason why the reformation and regeneration of man are signi fled in the spiritual sense by this commandment, is, because they coincide with the labors and combats of the Lord against the hells, and with his victory over them, and the rest into which he then entered ; for the Lord reforms and regenerates man, and makes him spiritual, after the same method as that by which he glorified his humanity and made it divine : this is what is meant by man's being commanded to follow him. That the Lord had his combate, and that they are called labors, appears from Isaiah liii. and Ixiii., and that a similar description is given of man's labors may be seen (Ixv. 23 ; Eev. ii. 2, 3). 303. In the celestial sense, this commandment means conjunction with the Lord and that attendant peace which is the effect of protection from hell ; for the Sabbath signifies rest, and in this highest sense, peace; on which account the Lord is caled the Prince of Peace, and styles himself Peace in the ab stract, as is evident from the following passages : " 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, poiinsellor, God, Hero, the Father of Eternity, the Prince of Peace : of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end" (Isaiah ix, 6, 7). " Jesus said. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you" (John xiv. 27). "Jesus said. These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might ha/ve peace". {xvi. 33). "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that saith. Thy God reigneth" (Isaiah Hi. 7). " Jehovah shall redeem my soul in peace" (Psalm lv. 18). " The work of Je hovah is peace, the labor of righteousness, rest and security to eternity, that they may dwell in the habitation oi' peace, and in the tents of security, and in tranquil resUngplaces" (Isaiah xxxii. 17, 18). " Jesus said unto the seventy. Into whatsoever house ye enter, first say. Peace be to this house; and if the Son qf peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it" (Lnke x. 5, 6 ; Matt. x. 12 — 14). " Jehovah will speak peace unto his people ; righteousness and peace shall kiss each other" (Psalm Ixxxv. 8, 10). When the Lord himself appeared to his disciples, he said, '•'•Peace be unto you!' (John xx. 19 — ^21). Moreover, co-icerning the state of peace into which the regenerate are to be admitted by the Lord, Isaiah treate, chap. lv. and Ivi. and in other places : into this state are to come those who are received into the new church which is now estabHshing by the Lord. The ijiature and essence of that peace which the angels of heaven 327 .803 305 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. and those who are in the Lord enjoy, may be seen in the trea tise concerning Heaven and Hell, n. 284 — 290. From these considerations it also appears why the Lord styles himself Lord of the Sabbath, that is, of rest and peace. 304. Celestial peace, which consists in security against the hells, and the prevention of assault from the evils and falses thence arising, may be compared, in many respects, with a state of natural peace ; as when men. after the horrors of war, come to live in safety and protection from their enemies, and in the secure enjoyment of their own cities, houses, farms, and gardens ; or, as the prophet expresses it, in speaking of celestial peace under natural images, when " they shall sit every man under his vine, and under his fig-tree ; and none shall make them afraid" (Micah iv. 4; Isaiah Ixv. 21 — 23). It may be com pared also with recreation of mind, and rest after extraordinary fatigues ; and with the consolations which a mother experiences after the time of her delivery, when her tender love towards her child begins to manifest its sweetnesses. It may be compared further with the serenity that succeeds stormy weather, which had been attended with dark clouds and thunder ; and likewise with the appearance of spring after a severe winter, when the lands seem to express their joy in the fresh springing herbage, and the gardens, fields, and woods, in their buds and blossoms. It may be compared, lastly, with the state of mind of those who, after escaping a variety of storms and dangers at sea, reach the haven, and are landed in the wished-for country, THE FOUETH COMMANDMENT, Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which jehovah thy god giveth thee, 305. By honoring father and mother, in the natural sense, which is that of the letter, is meant that children should honor their parents, should obey them, should be attentive to them, and grateful for benefits received from them, remembering with all thankfulness that they have been fed and clothed by them, and introduced into the world to act in a civil and moral char acter, and likewise into heaven, by the religious advice and counsels which they have received from them. Thus parents provide for the temporal prosperity, and also for the eternal hap piness, of their children, all which they do under the impulse of that parental affection implanted in them by the Lord, in whose place they stand. In a respective sense, this command ment implies the honor due from wards to their guardians, in case they have lost their pai-ente. In a more extensive sense, this precept enjoins the honor due to a king and public magis trates, since they too provide every thing that is necessary foi 32S THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. 305 307 the good of the community, as parents do for the private good of their particular families. In the most extensive natural sense, this commandment implies that men should love their country, since it is this which nourishes and protects them ; and there fore, in the Latin tongue, country is expressed by the word miria, evidently derived from pater, which signifies father. But parente themselves are equally bound to show honor in the two last cases, and to teach their children to do the same. 306. In the spiritual sense, Jby honoring, father and mother is meant to revere and love God and the church. In this sense, by father is meant God, who is the Father of all, and by mother the church. Infants and angels in heaven know of no other father or mother, since they are there born anew of the Lord by the church : the Lord therefore says, " Call no man your father on earth ; for one is your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. xxiii. 9) ; which was spoken for angels and infants in heaven, but riot for infants and men on earth. The Lord teaches the same thing in the common prayer of all Christian churches, Owr Father, who art in the heavens, hallowed be thy name. The reason why, in a spiritual sense, mother means the- church, is, because as a natural mother nourishes her children with natural ¦food, so the church nourishes her children with spiritual food; in the Word, therefore, the church is everywhere called mother; as in Hosea : "Plead with your mother ; for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband" (ii. 2) ; ahd in Isaiah : " Where is the bill oiyowr mother's divorcement, whom I have put away?" (1. 1) ; and in Ezek. xvi. 45, xix. 10, and in the Evangelists : "Jesus, stretching out his hands towards his disciples, said, Jfj/ mother and my brethren are those who hear the Word of God, and do it" (Matt. xii. 46, 49 ; Mark iu. 33—35 ; Luke vin. 21 ; John xix. 26—27). 307. In the celestial sense, by father is meant our Lord Jesus Christ, and by mother the communion of saints, in other words, his church dispersed throughout the whole world. That the Lord is the Father, is evident from these passages : " Unto us a Cliild is born, unto us a Son is given, whose name shall be called God, Hero, the Father of eternity, the Prince of peace" (Isaiah ix. 6). " Thou art owr Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not : thou art our Father, our Eedeemer ; thy name is from everlasting" (Ixiii. 16). "Philip said. Show us the Father, and it sufflceth us; Jesus saith unto him. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father ; how sayest thou then. Show us the Father ? Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me" (John xiv. 8 — 11, xii. 45). That the church of the Lord is meant by mother in this sense, is evident from these passages : " I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, prepared as a hnde adorned for her hus band" (Eev. xxi. 2). "The angel said to John, Come hither, 329 307, 308 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife; and he showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem" (xxi. 9, 10). " The mar riage of tlie Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready" (xix. 7) ; see also Matt. ix. 16 ; Mark ii. 19, 20 ; Luke v. 34, 35 ; John Hi. 29. That the New Jerusalem means a new church, which is at this day establishing by the Lord, may be seen in the Apocalypse Eevealed, n. 880, 881 : this church, and not the former, is the wife and mother in this sense. The spir itual offspring, which are the fruits of this marriage, are the goods of charity and the truths of faith ; and those who are prin cipled in these from the Lord are called the children of the mar riage, the children of God, and born of God. 308. It is a great truth, which should never be forgotten, that there is continually proceeding from the Lord a divine sphere of celestiail love towards all those who embrace the doc trine of his church, and who, like children in regard to their natural parents, obey him, apply themselves to him, and desire to be nourished, that is, to be instructed by him. From this celestial sphere originates a natural sphere, which is that of love towards infants and children, and which is most universal, affect ing not only men, but likewise birds and beasts, and even ser pents, and not only animate, but also inanimate things. For the purpose, however, of operating on the inanimate parte of creation, as he operates on the spiritual parts, the Lord formed the sun, to be in the natural world as a father, while the earth supplies the place of a mother ; for the sun is like a common father, and the earth like a common mother, from whose mar riage-union all the vegetables which adorn the face of the globe are brought forth into being. The influx of that celestial sphere into the natural world gives birth to all the wonderful progr^- sions of vegetation, from the seed to the fruit, and from thence to new seeds. Hence also it is that there are many kinds of shrubs, which in the daytime tui-n, as it were, their faces towards the sun, and turn them away again when the sun goes down ; and hence also some flowers open and expand at sunrise, and close again at his setting : hence too the nightingales sing most sweetly about the early dawn of morning, and in like manner when they have been fed by their mother earth : thus both animals and vegetables honor their father and mother, and are all so many standing evidences that the Lord, by ineans of the sun and the earth in the natural world, provides for all the wants and necessities of both animate and inanimate creation. It is therefore said in David, " Praise Jehovah from the heavens ; praise him, sun and moon ; praise him from the earth, ye whales and all deeps ; praise him, ye fruitful trees and all cedars, beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowls, kings of the earth and all people, young men and maidens" (Psalm CAiviii. 1 —12) ; and in Job : " But ask now the beasts, and they shall 330 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. 308 — 310 teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee ; or the shrub of the earth, and it shall instruct thee ; and the fishes of :the sea shall declare unto thee : who knoweth not from all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this ?" (xii. 7 — 9). Ask, and they shall teach, signifies look at, attend to, and judge from them that the Lord Jehovah has created them. THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT, THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT MURDEE. 309. This coramandment, Tliou shalt not commit murder^ in the NATUEAL SENSE, signifies riot to take away a man's life, or to give any blow or wound whieh may be the occasion of his death, or even to maim or mutilate his body : it also implies that no deadly injury should be done to the good name or character of any person ; for a fair character is held by many in equal esti mation with life itself. In a more extensive natural sense, murder signifies enmity, hatred, and revenge, which may be called death-breathing passions, because murder lies concealed in them, just as fire does in wood embers. The,fire of hell, in fact, consists of nothing else, and therefore we talk of being inflamed with hatred, and buiming with revenge. These pas sions are murder in intention, though .not in act, from which open manifestation of themselves they are prevented merely by fear of the law and penal retaliation, especially where treachery and ferocity dwell in the intention. ' That hatred is murder, is evident from these words of the Lord, " Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time. Thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment ; but I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger ofthe judgment" (Matt. v. 21, 22). The rea son of this is, because whatever is of the intention, is also of the will, and is thus in its essence the act itself. 310. In the .spirttual sense, murders signify all methods of killing and destroying the souls of men, which are various and. manifold ; as, for example, by turning them away from God, from religion, and from divine worship, by insinuating objec- ' tions against them, and raising such scandalous suggestions, as may beget aversion from them, and even loathing. Such mur derers are all the devils and satans in hell, with whom are con joined those in this world who violate and prostitute the sancti ties of the church. Those who destroy souls by means of falses, are understood by the king of the bottomless pit, called Abaddon or Apollyon, that is, the destroyer, in the Eevelation, chap. ix. 11 ; and in the prophetic Word* they are described under tho name ofthe slain ; as in these passages : "Thus saith Jehovah my God, Feed the flock of the slaughter, whose possessors slay 331 SiO — 312 THE decalogue explainee. them" (Zech. xi. 4, 5). " For thy sake are we slain all the day long ; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter" (Psalrii xliv. 22). " Jacob shall cause them that shall come to take root: is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him ?" (Isaiah xxvii. 6, 7). " The thief cometh not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy : I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John x. 10); besides in other places, as in Isaiah xiv. 21 ; xxvi. 21 ; Jer. iv. 31 ; xii. 3 ; Eev. ix. 4 ; xi. 7. . Hence it is that the devil is called " a murderer from the beginning" (John viii. 44). 311. In the celestial sense, to commit murder, signifies to ndulge hasty resentment against the Lord, to bear hatred to wards him, and to be desirous to blot out his name. Such per sons as do so are said to crucify him afresh ; which also they would actually do, as the Jews did formerly, where he to come again into the world. This is signified by " a Lamb standing as it were slain" (Eev. v. 6 ; xiii. 8) ; and by " Him that was cru cified" (Eev. xi. 8 ; Heb. vi. 6 ; Gal. Hi. 1). 312. The nature and quality of mari's,internal, unless it be reformed by the Lord, was made manifest to me from the nature and quality of the devils and satans in hell : these are possessed by a constant desire and intention of killing the Lord ; and be cause they cannot effect that purpose, they attempt to kiU all those who are devoted to his service ; but as they cannot do this actually, as men in the world can, they exert .all thefr endeav ors to destroy their souls, that is, to destroy in them every prin ciple of faith and charity. The hatred and revenge that influ ence them appear Hke dusky and pale fires, the hatred like dusky fire and the revenge like pale fire ; nevertheless they are not fires, but only appearances of fire. The rage and cruelty of their hearts also are sometimes figured visibly over their heads, in the likeness of combats with the angels, and the slaughter and overthrow of the latter : it is their animosity and hatred against heaven which give birth to such dreadful imagery. Moreover, they themselves appear at a distance like wild beaste of all sorts, as tigers, leopards, wolves, foxes, dogs, crocodiles, and also I'ke every kind of serpents ; and when they see gentle and harmless beasts in their representative forms, they are in stantly urged, in phantasy, to attempt their destruction. There were once presented to my view, as it were, dragons, standing near some women, who had infants attending them, whom the dragons endeavored, as it were, to devour, according to what is related in the Eevelation, chap. xii. ; which appearance was only a representation of their hatred against the Lord and his new church. That men here on earth, who wish to destroy the Lord's church, are of a similar nature and form w'th those infernal spir ite, is not indeed apparent to those among whom they now liviB, because their bodies, which serve them for the outward exercise 332 THE decalogue EXPLAINED. 312 314 of social duties here below, absorb and conceal the true forms of their spirits ; but nevertheless, in the sight of angels, who behold their spirits and not theii bodies, they appear in forms similar to those of the devils above described. This is indeed wonderful, and could never possibly have been discovered to be so, unless the Lord had opened the spiritual sight of some per son or other, and thus enabled him to look into the spiritual world, and explore what must otherwise, with a variety of othei most important information, have remained hidden from mankind to all eternity. THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 313. In the natural sense, this commandment signifies not only the committing of adultery, but also the cherishing of ilthy and obscene desires, and giving them vent in wanton thoughts, words, and actions. That mere lust constitutes adul tery, is evident from these words of the Lord : " Ye have heard that it was said by those of old time. Thou shalt not commit adultery : but I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a wo man to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matt, v. 27, 28). The reason of this is because lust, when it is in the will, acquires the nature of an act ; for the understanding is only receptive of the allurement of sin, but the will is receptive of the intention, and the intention of lust has the nature of an act. More, however, may be seen on this subject in the Treatise on Conjugial love and on scor- TATORT Lo-VE, published at Amsterdam in the year 1768, where the following subjects are discussed : The opposition between, Conjugial and Scortatory Love, n. 423 — 443 : Fornication, n. 444—460 : The several kinds and degrees of Adultery, n. 478 — 499: The Lust ^ deflowering Virgins, n. 601 — 505 : The Lust of indulging in Varieties, n. 506 — 510 : The Lust of Violation, n. 511, 512 : The Lust of seducing innocence, n. 513, 514: The Imputation of Love,hoth Scortatory and Conjugial, n. 623 — 531. All these things are meant by this commandment in its natural sense. 314. In the spiritual sense, to commit adultery signifies to adulterate the goods of the Word, and to falsify its truths. It has been heretofore unknown to mankind that this too is meant by committing adultery, because the spiritual sense of tbe Word has heretofore remained undiscovered ; but that this is signified in the Word by committing whoredoms, adulteries, and SGortations, is very evident fi-om these passages : " Eun ye tc and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and seek if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeJceth ihe tt^uth : when I had fed them to the full then they committed advb 333 314 316 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. tery" (Jer. v. 1, 7). " Ihave seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible obstinacy ; they comm,it adultery, and walk in liss" (xxiii. 14). " They have comnntted folly in Israel, they hme Gommiittea, adultery, and have spoken lying words in my name" (xxix. 23). " They committed whoredom, because they have forsaken Jehovah'"' (Hosea iv. 10). "The soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, him will I cut off from among his people" (Lev. XX. 6). "Let them not make a covenant with the inhab itants of the land, lest they go a whoring after their gods" (Exod. xxxiv. 15), Because Babylon, above all others, adulter ates and falsifies the Word, she is therefore called the great WHOEE, and it is said of her in the Eevelation, " Babylon hath made all nations drink of the wine of the anger of her whoredom" (Eev. xiv. 8). " The angel said, I will ' show thee the judgment of the great whore, with whom the kings of the earth have com mitted whoredom" (xvii. 1, 2). " He hath judged the great wTwre which did corrupt the earth with her whoredom!' (xix. 2). For asmuch as the Jewish nation had falsified the Word, itis there fore called by .the Lord " An adulterous generation" (Matt. xii. 39; xvi. 4; Mark viii. 38); and '•'•the seed ofthe adulterer" (Isaiah Ivii. 3) ; not to mention other places in the Word, where by adulteries and whoredoms are understood adulterations and falsifications of the Word, as in Jerem. iii. 6, 8 ; xiii. 27 ; Ezek. xvi. 15, 16, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33 ; xxiH. 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 14, 16, 17; Hos. V. 3 ; vi. 10 ; Nahum iii. 4. 315. In the celestial sense, to commit adultery signifies to deny the holiness of the Word, and to profane it. That this is meant in the celestial sense of this commandment is a conse quence of the foregoing spiritual sense, which is to adulterate the goods of the Word, and to falsify ite truths. All those deny the holiness of the Word and profane it, who in their hearts make a mockery of whatever relates to the church and religion ; for all things relating to the church and religion among Chris tians are derived from the Word. 316. Yarious causes conspire to give a man the appearance of being chaste, both in the eyes of others and also in his own, when yet he may be altogether unchaste ; for he is not aware that when lust is in the will, it is equivalent to the act, and that it cannot be removed but by the Lord after repentance. Absti nence from act does not constitute a man chaste, but abstinence from will, where the act is possible ; and where a man abstains in consideration of the sinfulness of indulgence, this constitutes true chastity. But if a man abstains from adulteries and whore doms, only through fear ofthe civil law and its penalties ; through fear of suffering in his honor or reputation; through fear ol diseases -^vhich may be contracted, through fear of domestic quarrels with his wife, and the unquiet state of life which might 334 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. 316 318 ensue ; through fear of vengeance from the husband and relations of the party seduced ; or from motives of avarice ; from bodily weakness, arising either from disease, abuse, or age, or from any other cause of impotence ; yea, if he abstain from a principle of obedience to some natural or civil law, yet unconnected with anv regard to spiritual law, — such a one is still in his inner man an adulterer and whoremonger ; for he is still in a belief that adultery and whoredom are not sins, in consequence of which belief he never condemns them in his spirit before God, and therefore in spirit he commits them, however innocent he may appear in body before men ; and when he becomes a spirit after death, he declares openly in their favor. Adulterers may be compared with the violators of treaties, who break through all compacts and engagements ; and also with the satyrs and Priapi of the ancients, who were feigned to wander about in forests, ciying out for virgins, brides, and married women to come and sport with them : adulterers also in the spiritual world actually appear like satyrs and Priapi. They may further be compared to rank goats, and likewise to dogs that run about the streets, hunting after a female to satisfy their lusts. The power of en joynent possessed by such persons when they enter the married state, may be compared with the blossoming of tulips in the spring-, ¦which in a few weeks drop their fiowers and wither away. THE SE"YENTH COMMANDMENT. Thou shalt not steal. 317 In the natural sense, this commandment signifies, according to the letter, not to steal or plunder, or to play the pirate in time of peace ; and in general, never to deprive another of his property under any pretence whatever. In this sense it extends also to all impositions, and unlawful methods of gain, usury, and exactions ; likewise to all fraudulent practices m the payment of duties and taxes, and in the discharge of debts. Workmen offend against this commandment who do their work in any unjust manner by practising deceit ; traders offend against it; who in their trading endeavor to impose, either in regard to the quality of their goods, or in weight, in measure, or in mak ing out their accounts ; commanders offend against it, when they would deprive the soldiers under their command of thefr just wages ; judges offend against it, who are infiuenced in their judgments by friendship, bribes, relationship, or any other con siderations, to the perverting of law and equity, and the depriv ing of others, in consequence, of their just claims and possessions. 318. In the spiritual sense, to steal means to deprive others of the truths which they embrace in faith, which is done by means of false and heretical opinions. Priests, who do the 335 318 — 320 THE decalogue explained. work of their ministry from no higher motives than those of gain and worldly honor, and who teach such doctrines as they see by the Word, or may see, are not true, are spiritual thieves ; for they rob the people of the means of salvation, which are the truths of faith. They are also called thieves in the following passages of the Word : " He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. The thief cometh not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (John x. 1, 10). " Lay not up for your selves treasures on earth, but in heaven, where thieves do not break through and steal" (Matt. vi. 19, 20). " If thieves come to thee, robbers by night, how art thou cut off! will they not steal tUl they have enough ?" (Obad. ver. 5). " They shall run to and fro in the city ; they shall run upon the wall ; they shall climb up into the houses ; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief" (Joel ii. 9). "They have made a lie, and the thief cometh in, and the troop spreadeth itself without" (Hos. vii. 1). 319. In the celestial sense, thieves signify those who take away divine power from the Lord ; and also those who arrogate to themselves his merit and righteousness. All such, notwith standing their seeming adoration of God, do not trust in him, but in themselves, and likewise do not believe in God, but in themselves. 320. Those who teach false and heretical opinions, and en deavor to persuade the vulgar that they are true and orthodox, and yet read the Word, from whence they might learn what ia true and what is false ; and those also who confirm the falses oi religion by fallacies, to the misleading of others, are guilty of theft spiritually understood, and may be compared with impos- ters and impositions of every kind ; as with those who coin false money, which they gild over, or by other means give it the color of gold, and pass it as such ; and also with those who have the art of cutting and polishing crystal stones, and harden ing them, in so dexterous a manner as to make them pass for diamonds ; and likewise with those who carry sphinxes or apes, clothed like men, with their faces covered, on horseback through a city, -and proclaim as they go that they are noblemen of an cient and honorable extraction. They are also like those who conceal their living and true faces under painted masks, thereby hiding all their beauty ; and like those who dispose of selenites and sparkling stones, which shine like gold and silver, calling them stones of a high price and value. They may also be com pared with those who, by means of theatrical exhibitions, divert people from the true worship of God, and draw them away from the church to the play-house. Those who, without any regard to truth, confirm falses of every kind, and who discharge the duty of priests merely with a view to worldly gain or reputation, and are thus spiritual thieves, may be compared with those thieves 336 THE DEOALOGUE EXPLAINED. 320 322 who are in possession of keys for opening the doors of any house; they may also be compared with leopards and eagles, who are quick and sharp-sighted wherever an abundance of prey may be discovered. THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 321- To bear false witness, in the natural sense nearest to the letter, signifies to bear false witness either before a judge, or, in cases not relating to civil judicature, before other people, against any person accused on a groundless charge ; and to cor roborate such evidence by the name of God, or by an appeal to any thing else that is holy, or by the respect due to the witness's own character and reputation. In a more extensive natural sense, this commandment forbids all kinds of lies and hypo critical artifices, forged with a bad design ; and also all ways of traducing or defaming our neighbor to the injury of his honor, fame, and reputation, on which his whole character depends. In the most extensive natural sense, this commandment forbids all cunrung devices, stratagems, and evil purposes, contrived against any person, and originating in enmity, hatred, revenge, envy, rivalship, and the like ; for all such evil dispositions have the sin of false witness deeply hidden and rooted in them. 322. In the spiritual sense, to bear false witness signifies to endeavor to persuade people that the false of faith is the truth of faith, and that the evil of life is the good of life, and contrariwise ; but to constitute this false witness, it must be done intentionally, and not in ignorance, consequently after a man has been informed respecting the nature of good and truth ; for the Lord says, " If ye were blind, ye would have no sin ; but now ye say. We see, therefore your sin remaineth" (John ix. 41). This kind ofthe false is signified in the Word, by a lie, and the intentional purpose to propagate it, by deceit, in the following passages : " We have made a covenant with death, and with hell have we made a vision ; in a lie have we placed our trust, and in falsehood have we hid ourselves" (Isaiah xxviii. 16). " This is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of Jehovah" (xxx. 9). " From the prophet even to the priest, every one maketh a lie" (Jer. viii.lt)). "The inhabitants thereof have spoken a lie ; and as for their tongue, deceit is in their mouths" (Micah vi. 12). "Thou shalt destroy them that speak a lie ; the Lord will abhor the man of deceit" (Psalm V. 6.) " They have taught their tongues to speak a lie ; their habitation is in the midst of deceit" (Jer. ix. 5, 6). Since the false is signified by a lie, therefore the Lord says, "the devil, when he speaketh a lie, speaketh from his own" (John viu. 44). A lie also signifies the false, and speaking falsely, in 337 z 322 — 326 THE DECALO&UE EXPLAINEl?. these passages : Jer. xxiii. 14, 32 ; Ezek. xiii. 15 — 19 ; xxi, 29 ; Hos. vH. 1 ; XU. 1 ; Nah. in. 1 ; Psalm cxx. 2, 3. _ 323. In the celestial sense, to bear false witness signifies to blaspheme the Lord and the Word, and thus to expel truth iteelf from the church ; for the Lord is truth itself, and so is the Word. On the other hand, in this sense, to bear witness signi fies fo speak the truth, and testimony signifies the truth iteelf: on this ground it is the decalogue is called the testimony (Exod, xxv. 16, 21, 22 ; xxx. 6, 26 ; xxxH. 16 ; xl. 20 ; Levit. xvi. 13). And whereas the Lord is the truth itself, he says of himself that he testifieth : that the Lord is the truth, may be seen John xiv. 6 ; Eev. iii. 7. And that he testifieth and beareth witness of him self, may be seen, John iii. 11 ; viii. 13 — 19 ; xv. 26 ; xviii. 37, 38. 324. Those who speak falses from deceit or on purpose, and utter thena in a tone of voice that seems to proceed from spiritual affection, and particularly if they intermix them with truths taken from the Word, which thus become falsified, were by the ancients called enchanters ; respecting whom more may be seen in the Apocalypse Ee-vealed, n. 462 : they were also called Pythons, and serpents of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Such false speakers, liars, and deceivers, may be likened to those who converse with their enemies in a courteous and friendly manner, and during their conversation hold a dagger behind them to take away their lives. They may also be likened to those who dip their swords in poison, and in this manner attack their enemies ; and to those who mix hemlock with water,^ and poison with sweetmeats. They may further be compared with handsome and alluring harlots, infected with the foul dis ease ; and likewise with twigs full of prickles, which when applied to the nose, wound the minute nerves of smell. They are lastly like sweetened poison, or like dung, which, when dry in the time of autumn, emits a fragrant odor. Such persons are described in the Word under the character of leopards, as may be seen in the Apocalypse Eevealed, n. 572. THE NINTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house ; thou shalt not COVET THY neighbor's WIFE, OE HIS SERVANT, OR HIS MAID, OE his ox, or his ass, or any thing that IS THY NEIGHBOR'S. 326. In the catechism which is at this day made use of,* these words are divided into two commandments, one of which, being the ninth, is, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house ; * This alludes to the catechism used by the Roman Catholics, and also, we beUeve, by the Lutherans ; but in the catechism of the church of England, mA other Protestants, these t^o commandments are united as one, and the flrst pom maodiaent ia divided into two 338 the decalogue explained. ''326, 326 and the other, or the tenth is. Thou shalt not covet thy neig'k: bar's wife, or his servant, or his maid, or his ox, or his assr.^ or any thing that is thy neighbor's. As these two command-^ lilents constitute one thing, a^d in Exodus xx. 17, and Deu teronomy V. 21, form one verse, I shall here treat of them both at the same time, not through any desire that they may be con- ioined into one commandment, but that they may be distinguished into two as before ; for the commandments are called the Tfciif Words (Exod. xxxiv. 28 ; Deut. iv. 13 ; x. 4). 326. These two commandments relate to all the preceding commandments, teaching and enjoining that evils are not to be done, or e-veii lusted after, consequently that they are to be Rejected, not only from the exiernal man, but also from the' internal ; for the lust of evil, notwithsiauding a forbearance frorii the out-«vard commission, constitutes an act ; for the Lord says,' '"Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, haih com-' mitted adultery with her already in his heart" (Matt. v. 27,28) ;' and the external man is never rendered internal, or reduced td a conformity of action with the internal, until lusts are removed. This also the Lord teaches when he says, " Woe unto yoti, Scribes and Pharisees ! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess, thou' blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and the platter, that the outside of them may be clean also" (Matt. xxiii. 25, 26) ; and his instructions throughout the -whole chapter,' from beginning to end, are to the same purport. The internal evils which he charges upon the Pharisees, are the lusts of thos'gf things which are forbidden in the first, second, fifth, sixth/ seventh, and eighth commandments. It is well known that th^ Lord while in the world instructed mankind in the internals pf the Church, whieh internals consist in abstaining from the! ¦ lusts' of, evil ; thus he taught that the internal and external man must be united, and act in unity, which is to be bOrn again ; the necessity of which the Lord insisted on in his discourse with Mcodemus (John Hi.) ; and none can be born anew, or b$ regenr-^ erated, consequently none can be rendered internal, but by the Lord. In order that these two commandments might have fespect to all the preceding commandments, and show that the evils forbidden by them should not even be lusted after, there fore mention is made, first of a house, then of a wife, and after wards of a servant, a maid, an ox, and an ass, and lastly of all that is our neighbor's : for the word " house" includes in it all that follows, as containing the husband, the wife, the servant, the maid, the ox, and the ass. The word Wife, which is next inentioned, includes in it all the subsequent terms ; for she is mistress, as the husband is master, in the house, and they both have authority over the servant and maid, as these again haVe over the oxen and asses, after which succeed all things that ai^ 339 326 — 328 THE DECALOuuE explained below or without, which are expressed by whatever is thy neigh bor's ; from whence it is evident that all the foregoing com mandments are regarded in these two commandments, both iu feneral and in particular, both in an extensive and in a con ned sense. 327. In the spiritual sense, by these commandmente all lusts are forbidden which are contrai;y to the spirit, consequently, vrhich are contrary to the spiritual principles of the church, which chiefly relate to faith and charity ; for unless lusts are subdued, the flesh, according to the liberty afforded it, will rush into the commission of all wickedness and outrage ; for Paul informs us, " that the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh" (Galat. v. 17) ; and James says, " Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed : then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin ; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (i. 14, 15) ; and Peter, " The Lord reserveth the unjust ¦ unto the day of judgment to be punished, but chiefiy them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness" (2 Epist. ii. 9, 10). In fine, these two commandments, according to their spiritual sense, have respect to whatever is contained in the spiritual sense of all the other commandmente, prohibiting the lust of the evils for bidden by them ; in like manner they have respect to whatever is contained in their celestial sense ; but to repeat the particu lars of those two senses is needless. 328. The lusts of the fiesh, of the eyes, and of the other senses, when separated from the lusts, that is, from the affec tions, desires, and delights of the spirit, are altogether similar to the luste of brute creatures, and consequently in themselves are bestial ; but the affections of the spirit are such as prevail in the angels, and may therefore be called truly human. Hence it follows, that in proportion as any one indulges in the lusts of the fiesh, he becomes a brute and a wild beast ; but in propor tion as he delights in the desires of the spirit, he becomes a man and an angel. _ The lusts of the flesh may be compared with parched and withered grapes, and also with wild grapes ; but the affections of the spirit may be compared with juicy and well- flavored grapes, and also with the flavor of the wine pressed fi-om them. The luste of the flesh may be compared with stables con taining asses, goate, and hogs : but the affections of the spirit may be compared with stables containing high-bred horses, and also sheep and lambs : they differ also from each other as an ass differs from a horse, or a goat from a sheep, or as a hog from a lamb ; and in general as dross differs from gold, a calx from sil ver, coral from a ruby, &c. Lust and act cohere together like blood and flesh, or like flame and oU ; for lust is in the act, as the air is in the lungs during respiration or discourse, as the wind in the sails of a ship while it is sailing, and as the 340 ^' the decalogue exi'LAined. ' 328, 349 cater in a wheel, which communicates motion and action to a machine. That the ten commandments of the decalogue contain all things which relate to love to god, and all things which relate to love towards our neighbor. 329. In eight commandments of the decalogue, the first, the second, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh, the eighth, the ninth, and the tenth, nothing is said relating to love to God and love towards our neighbor ; for it is not said that God is to be loved, or that the name of God is to be hallowed, or that our neigh bor is to be loved, and consequently nothing is said of sincere and upright dealing with our neighbor, but only, " Thou shalt have no other gods but me ; thou shalt not take the name of God in vain ; thou shalt do no murder ; thou shalt not commit aidultery ; thou shalt not steal ; thou shalt not bear false witness ; thou shalt not covet what is thy neighbor's." Thus it is said in general that evil, either against God or our neighbor, is not to be willed, thought, or done. Now the true reason why there is no direct injunction ofthe duties of love and charity, but only a 'prohibition of the opposite vices, is, because in proportion as a man shuns evils as sins, his will is infiuenced by the goods of love and charity. The first principle of love to God, and of love towards our neighbor, is to do no evil, and the second is to do good, as will be seen in the chapter concerning charity. There are two kinds of love in opposition to each other, the love of wilHng and doihg good, and the love of willing and doing evil: the latter love is infernal, and the former is heavenly; for all hell is infiuenced by the love of doing evil, and all heaven by the love of doing good. Now as a man is born into evils of every kind, and consequently from his birth in clines to such things as belong to hell, and as he cannot be ad mitted into heaven unless he be born again, that is, regenerated, it is necessary, in the first place, that evils, which are of hell, be removed, before good inclinations, which are of heaven, can be implanted ; for no one can be adopted by the Lord before he is separated from the devil. But in what manner evils are re moved, and man is led on to good, will be shown in the two chapters on repentance and reformation. That evils must first be removed, before the good which a man does becomes good in the sight of God, is thus taught by the Lord in Isaiah: " Wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil, learn to do good ; then, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; though they be red Hke purple, they shall be as wool" (i. 16 — 18), Agi-eeably to this are the words in Jeremiah : " Stand in the gate of Jehovah's house, and proclaim there this word : t'lns saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel : Amend your 341 ,329,. 330 the decalogue exi'lained. ways and your doings ; trust ye not in lying words, saying, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jeho vah {thai is, the chu/rch) is here : will ye steal, murder, and .commit adultery, and swear falsely, and come and stand before /me in this house, which is called by my name, and say. We are delivered, while ye do aH these abominations ? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes I Behold, I have seen it, saith Jehovah" (vii. 2 — 4, 9— ll). That prayer to God is not attended to before the soul is washed and imrified from ite evHs, is also taught in Isaiah : "Ah, sinful nation ! a people laden with iniquity ; they are gone away ^backward ; when ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you ; yea, when ye make many prayers I -wiU not hear" (i. 4, 15). That love and charity follow of course, when a inan keeps the commandments of the decalogue, by shunning evils, is evident from these words of the Lord in John : " Jesus said. He that hath my commandmente and keepeth them, be it , is that loveth me : and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him, and we wHl make our abode with him" (John xiv. 21, 23). By commandmente in this place are meant, in particular, the com mandments of the decalogue, which insist that evUs are neither to be done nor lusted after ; and that thus the love of man to God and the love of God towards man, foUow of course, as good does after the removal of evil. 330. It was observed, that so far as a man shims evHs, his will is infiuenced by good, because evils and goods are oppositesj for evils are from hell, and goods are from heaven ; therefore so tar as hell, that is, evil, is removed, heaven is approached, and man regards what is good. That this is the case evidently ap pears from the eight commandmente above-mentioned, viewed under this aspect ; as for example : 1. So fJar as any one does not worship other gods, he worships the true God. 2. So far j^s any one does not take the name of God in vain, he loves whatever is from God. 3. So far as any one is unwiUing t» commit murder, and to indulge hatred and revenge, he beais good will to his neighbor. 4. So far as any one has no inclina tion to commit adultery, he wishes to live in chastity with hig wife. 6. So far as any one has no inclination to steal, he lives according to the law of sincerity. 6. So far as any one h»8 no inclination to bear false witness, he is disposed to think and speak the truth. 7. and 8. So far as any one does not covet what is his neighbor's, he wishes his neighbor happy ip the enjoyment of his possessions. Hence it appears that the commandments of the decalogue contain all things relating tP love to God and love towards our neighbor; therefore Paul says, " He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law : for this, Thou shalt not commit adultery ; thou shalt not kill : thou sbal* 342 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. 330, 331 oot steal ; thou shalt not bear false witness ; thou sha t not ^ovet ; and if t.iere be any other commandment, it is briefly fiOmprehended in this saying. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself Love [or charity] worketh no ill to his neighbor ; therefore love [or charity] is the fulfilling of the law" (Eom. xiii.'8 — 10), To the above are to be added these two canons, for the service of the New Church : 1. No one can shun evils as jSiuB, and do good which may be good in the sight of God, of timself ; but so far as any one shuns evils as sins, he does what is good, not of himself, but from the Lord. 2. A man ought to shun evils as sins, and to fight against them as of himself; and if he shuns evils from any other motive than because they are gins, he does not shun them, but only prevents them from ap pearing in the sight of the world. [ 331. Evil and good cannot abide together, and in proportion as evil is removed good is regarded and felt, because in the spir itual world there exhales from every one the sphere of his par ticular love, which diffuses itself, and gives forth its influences all around, causing sympathies and antipathies; by means of such spheres the good are separated from the evil. That evil must be removed before good can be known, perceived, and loved, may be illustrated by manj' comparisons borrowed from pircumstances in the natural world ; as, for example, no one can approach another who keeps a leopard and a panther in his cham ber, and who lives secure from their attacks in consequence of giving them food, unless he flrst remove those fierce creatures; Who that is invited to the table of a king and a queen, does not Wiash his face and hands before he approaches the royal presence ? Who ever enters into the bridechamber with the bride, after the marriage ceremony, before he has washed himself thoroughly, and put on a wedding garment ? Who does not purify metallic ores in the fire, and separate them from dirt and dross, before he can procure pure gold and silver ? What husbandman does not separate his wheat from weeds and tares, before he stores it up in his barn ? And who does not thrash his barley, to separate the grain from the prickly ears, before he lays it up in his gran ary 'i Who does not boil his meat, and thus remove its impuri ties and rawness, before it is brought to his table and considered fit to be eaten ? Who does not shake the trees of his garden, and clear them from grubs and insects, in order to save the leaves from being devoured, and the fruit from being spoiled? Who does not dislike to see his house or hall dirty, and does not set about making tbem clean, particularly when he expects a visit fi'om a prince, or is prepafing to receive his bride, the daughter of a prince? Who can be in love with a virgin, and make her offers of marriage, whom he knows, to be infected with malignant distempers, or covered with pimples and spreading sores, however she may paint her &ce, bededs: herself with ornaf 343 331, 332 THE decalogue explained. ments of dress, and study to attract admiration by the blan^ dishments of speech and manner? A man ought to purify himself from evils, and not to wait for the Lord to purify him by an immediate act of his power ; for in this case he would be like a servant, who, with his face and clothes all bedaubed with soot and filth, should go to his master, and say, " Master, wash me:" would not his master say to him, "You foolish servant, what do you mean ? See, there are water, soap, and a towel ; have you not hands of your own, and power to use tbem ? Go, and -wash yourself" And the Lord God wiU say to his servant, " The means of purification are provided by me, and from me also thou hast thy will and thy power; therefore use these my gifts and talents as thine own, and thou wilt be purified :" and so in other instances. That the external man is to be purified, but by means of the internal, is taught by the Lord in the 23d chapter of Matthew, from the beginning to the end. 332. To the above shall be added four memorable rela tions. — First. I once heard several loud exclamations issuing from below, with a gurgling sound, like that of bubbles as they rise in water ; one towards the left hand, O how just ! another towards the right, O how leaened I and a third from behind, O HOW WISE ! Now, as the doubt instantly arose in my mind whether there could be in hell any persons of justice, learning, and wisdom, I was strongly impressed with a desire of seeing into the truth of the matter. A voice from heaven then said to me, "You shall see and hear;" so I went out in the spirit, and saw before me an opening, which I approached and looked do-wn ; and lo ! there was a ladder at the entrance, by which I de scended ; and when I had got down, I observed a champaign country, with shrubs growing here and there, intermixed with thorns and ne^^tles ; and I inquired whether this was hell, and was told that il was the lower earth, which is immediately above hell. Then I continued my course in the direction of the ex clamations; and when I came to the piace from whence the first sound issued, 0 how just ! I found an assembly of persons who in the world had been judges, and had been infiuenced in their decisions by friendship and bribes. I next noticed those who uttered the second cry, O how learned ! which I found proceeded from an assembly of persons who in the world had been reasoners. I then remarked the third cry, O how wise ! which was vociferated by an assembly of persons who in the ¦world had been confirmers. I left, however, the two latter assemblies, and went to the first, consisting of judges infiuenced by friendship and bribes, who had been proclaimed just ; and I saw on one side, as it were, an amphitheati-e, built of brick, and covered with black tiles; and I was told that this was their 344 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. 332 TEIBUNAL. There were three entrances into it on the north side, and three on the west, but none on the south and east, which was a token that their decisions were not those of justice, but were arbitrary and partial. In the midst of the amphi theatre there appeared a lighted fire, into which the servants who attended cast torches made of sulphur and bitumen, the light of which, by ite vibrations on the rough-casted walls, pic tured various representations of birds of the evening and night ; but both the fire and the vibrations of light thence issuing, and producing the forms of those images, were representations of their judgments and decisions, in that they had the talent to color over the facts connected with the question at issue, and give them whatever appearance was most agreeable to their own prepossessions. In about half an hour I saw several persons, both old and young, enter the amphitheatre, clothed in gowns and robes, who, laying aside their caps, took their seats at the tables, in order to proceed to the hearing of causes ; and I heard and perceived with what dexterity and ingenuity, under the in fluence of favor towards their friends, they could warp and per vert the right side of the question, with an appearance of justice, till by attempting to deceive others they so far deluded them selves that injustice appeared to them as justice, and justice as injustice : their persuasions to this effect were apparent from their countenances and the sound of their voices. I was then favored with illustration from heaven, which enabled me to per ceive all the particulars of the cause in question, in regard both to right and wrong; and I observed with what caution they concealed the wrong, and gave it the appearance of right, and selected some particular statute which favored their own side, and upon which they rested the matter in question, while by their artful reasonings they contrived to keep all other statutes which made against them out of sight. After judgment was given, the decrees were conveyed to their clients, friends, and favorers, who, in return for the favor shown them, uttered, as they passed along, this exclamation, O iiow just ! O how just ! After this I had some conversation with the angels of heaven concerning these judges, and related to them some of the cir cumstances which I had seen and heard ; upon which the angels said, "Such judges, though they appear to others as if they were endowed with a singular acuteness of intellect, have not the least perception of what is just and equitable ; for if you remove from them motives of friendship to others, they sit in judgment like so many statues, and say nothing, but — 'I ac quiesce and agree entirely with you in opinion.' The reason of this is, because all their decisions are founded in prejudice, and fH-ejudice with partiality attends the investigation of the cause rom beginning to end : hence their eyes are open only to their friend's in'^erest, and whatever is contrary to this thev regard 345 332,, 333 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED^ only with a side glance ; and if they take it under consideration, they involve it in the intricacies of argument as a spider wraps up her prey in a web, and so get rid of it ; the consequence is, that unless they follow the web of their partiality and preju dice, they can see nothing of legal right They had been ex amined whether they were able to see it, and it was discovered that they were not able. At this the inhabitants of the world where you live will doubtless wonder ; but tell them that this is a truth which the angels of heaven have fully searched out As such judges have no discernment of justice, we in heaven regard them not as men, but as monstrous images of men, whose heads constitute whatever belongs to friendship, thefr breaste, whatever belongs to injustice, thefr hands and feet, whatever belongs to confirmation, and the soles of thefr feet, whatever be longs to justice and equity, which, in case they are unfavorable to the interest of a friend, they supplant and trample under foot But you will soon see their real nature and figure when viewed according to their true state ; for thefr end is near at hand." At that instant, behold, the ground suddenly opened, and the tables fell one upon another, and they were swallowed up, to gether with the whole amphitheatre, and cast into caverns and imprisoned. The angels then asked me whether I wished to see them -in their present state ; and lo ! their faces appeared like polished steel, their bodies, from the neck down to the loinsi, like graven images clothed with leopard skins, and their fe^ like serpents ; I also saw their law-books, which .were piled up on the tables, changed into packs of cards ; and now, instead of sitting in judgment, their oflBce was to prepare vermilion, and mix it up into a paint, to bedaub the faces of harlote, and give them the outward appearance of beauty. Aftei" seeing the end of this assembly, I was desirous to go to the other two, one of which consisted of mere reasoners and the other of mere con firmers ; but a voice said unto me, " Stop a while, and you shall be favored with attendant angels belonging to the society imme diately above them, by whose means you will receive light from the Lord, and see things that will surprise you." 333. The second memoeable eelation. — After some time I heard again, from the lower earth, the same exclamations ae before, O how leaened 1 O how learned ! and I looked around to see who were near me, and lo ! there were several angels belonging to the heaven which was immediately above those who uttered, the exclamation ; and on mjj^ inquiring intp the cause of such exclamation the angels said to me, " Those called learned are such as only reason whether a thing be, OR BE NOT, and seldom think that rr is so. They are therefore like gusts of wind which blow and pass away ; and like bark about trees which are without pith ; and Hke the outward shells of an almond without the kernel ; or like the rind of fruit with 346 •mU DEOAXOOUE EXPLAINED. '838 out any pulp ; for their minds are void of interior judgment, and attached only to the senses of the body, so that where the jfjatter is beyond the reach of the senses they can come to no conclusions ; in short, they are mere sensualists, and we call them REASONERS. We call them reasoners, because they nevei come to any certain determination, but make whatever they hear a matter of argument, disputing whether there be any such thing, which they perpetually contradict. Thefr chief pleasure is to attack truths, and to pull them in pieces by debating about them ; yet these are they who in the world lay claim to the title of learned, above all other men." On receiving this informa tion, I requested the angels to conduct me to them ; so they led me to a cave, through which, by a flight of steps, we descended to the lower earth, where we followed the sound of the excla mation, O how learned ! and lo ! there were several hundred persons stjanding together in one place, beating the ground. Being surprised at this sight, I inquired the reason of their standing in that manner, beating the gi-ound with their feet ; adding, that they would soon beat the ground into a hollow by their trampling. At this the angel smiled, and said, " They appear to stand in that posture, because they never think on any subject that it iis 00, but only whether it be so, and dispute about jt; and in such cases, where the thought proceeds no farthej- than this, they appear to tread and trample upon a single spot of ground only, without advancing a step forwards." The angels further said, " Such persons, ¦when they come from the natural world intothis, and are informed that they are in another world, gather themselves together into companies, in various places, md inquire whereabout heaven aud hell are, and also where God dwells ; and when they receive information on these points, stiU they begin to reason, to dispute, and cavil about whethee there be a God. The reason of this is, because there are now in the natural world so many favorers of nature, who in all com panies, when the discourse turns upon religion, make the ex istence of God a matter of debate, and seldom close the proposed inquiry in the affirmative of faith ; the consequence is, that they consociate themselves more and more with evil spirits, for no one can do any good from the love of good, except from God." 1 was then conducted to the assembly, and lo ! they appeared to me like men, not unhandsome in the face, and decently attired ; and the angels said, " This, is their appearance when viewed in their own light ; but if the light of heaven be let in upon them, both their countenances and their clothes are instantly changed." The experiment was accordingly made, and then their counte nances appeared of a dusky hue, and they seemed to be clothed- in black sacks ; but on the removal of the heavenly light they jiesumed their former appearance. I soon entered into discourse with some of the congregation, and said, "I heard from the 347 333 THE DEOALOGUE EXPLAINED. multitude that surrounds your assembly an exclamation of, 0 how learned ! permit me then, I pray, to converse with you on a few subjects of the deepest learning." They replied, " Mention any subject, and we will endeavor to give you satisfaction." I then asked, " What must be the nature of that religion by which a man is saved?" To this they replied, " We must divide this question into several others, and we cannot answer it until we have formed conclusions on its subdivisions ; therefore our in quiry must be arranged under the following heads : — 1. Wheth er religion have any real existence ; 2. Whether there be any such thing as salvation, or not ; 3. Whether one religion be of more efficiency than another ; 4. Whether there be any such places as heaven and hell ; 5. Whether men live eternally after death ;" with many other such like questions. Then I desired to know their opinion on the first article of inquiry. Whether religion have any real existence? They accordingly began to discuss the subject with abundance of arguments ; and I desired them to refer it to the assembly at large for their opinion : they did so, and the general answer was, that it was a point which required so much investigation that it would not be finished by the evening. I then asked whether a year would be sufficient ; and one of them replied, that a hundred years would not suffice ; to this I rejoined, " In the mean time you are without religion ; and since salvation depends upon religion, you are without any idea, faith, and hope of salvation." He~replied, " Ought it not first to be proved whether there be such a thing as religion, and what it is, and whether in fact it be any thing real ? for if there be such a thing, it must concern even the wise ; if there be no such thing, it is then only for the vulgar. We all allow that religion is called a bond, but for whom ? If it is only for the vulgar, in itself it is nothing ; but if it be for the ¦wise, it must then be something of consequence and reality." On hearing these arguments I replied, " There is no character you deserve less than that of being accounted learned, because all your con ceptions are entangled in doubts about things, whether they exist or not, and you cannot extend your thoughts beyond the investigation of the two sides of this question ; and who can have any pretensions to learning, unless he know something of a certainty, and advance into it step by step, as a man advances in walking, tiU he arrives by degrees at wisdom? If this be not your rule of proceeding, you cannot so much as touch truth with your finger nail, but you remove her -further and further from your view. To reason only whether a thing be or not, is like reasoning about a cap or a shoe, whether they fit or i.ot, without ever putting them on ; and what must be the conse quence of such reasoning, but that you will remain in doubt whether any thing really exist, and whether all be not ideal, and thus whether there be such a thing as salvation and a life aftei 348 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. 333, 334 death, whether one religion be better than another, and whether there be such places as heaven and hell ? On these subjects you cannot possibly form any conceptions, so long as you halt at the first step, and stand there beating the sand, and do not set oue foot before the other in order to advance forwards. Take heed, however, to yourselves, lest your minds, while they stop without in such a state of indetermination, should inwardly "harden, and become statues of salt." With these remarks I left them, and they, in the violence of their passion, threw stones after me ; and then they appeared to me like graven images, in which there is no spark of human reason. Afterwards I inquired ofthe angels concerning their final lot ; and they told me that the lowest of them are let down into the deep, and are then driven into a wilderness, and compelled to carry burdens ; and then, because they are no longer capable of holding any rational conversation, they give themselves up to all kinds of idle dis course, and appear at a distance like asses carrying burdens. 334. The thied memoeable relation. — After this, one of the angels said to me, " Follow me to the place from whence issues the last exclamation, O how wise !" and he added, " You shall see prodigies of men ; you shall see faces and bodies, such as belong to men, and yet they are not men." I inquired, " Are they then beasts ?" and he answered, " No ; they are not beasts, but men-beasts ; for they are such as cannot discern whether truth be truth or not ; and yet they can give whatever they please the appearance of truth : such persons we call confirmers." So we followed the exclamation, and came to a place where there was an assembly of men, and round about the assembly a crowd of people, and in the crowd some of noble blood, who, on hearing whatever they themselves advanced confirmed by the assembly, and their opinions, whatever they might be, so openly assented to, turned about and cried, O how wise ! But the angel said to me, " Let us not go near them, but let us call one from the com pany to come to us ;" so we called one, and taking him aside, we talked with him on various subjects, and he, confirmed what ever was said, so as to give it completely the appearance of truth. We then asked him whether he could in like manner confirm the contrary side ofthe question. He said he could as easily as the other side. He then declared to us the real sentiments of his heart, saying, " What is truth? Is any thing in the nature of things true, but what a man makes true ? Advance any pro position you please, and I will make it true." I then said, " Make this proposition true, that faith is the all of the church ;" and he did it in so artful and dexterous a manner, that some learned bystanders were amazed, and greatly applauded him. I then desired him to make this proposition true,' that charity is the all ofthe church ; and he did so; and afterwards, that char- «ty has nothing to do with the church ; and he so clothed and 349 334 THE DEOALOGCTE EXPLAINED. tricked up both sides of the question with appearances, that the bystanders looked at one another and said, " Is not this a wise man ?" I then said, " Do you not know that charity consists in living well, and that faith consists in believing well ? Does not he wlio lives well, also believe well ? and consequently does not faith belong to charity, and charity to faith ? Do you not see that this proposition is true?" He replied, " I ¦will make it true, and then I shall see it;" aiid having done so, he said, "Now I see it to be true :" and soon after he made the contrary proposi tion true, and then said, " I see that this also is true." Hereat we smiled and said, "Are they not contrary propositions ? How then can they both be true?" To this he replied with warmth, " You are mistaken ; both propositions are true ; for nothing is true but what a man makes so." There was a certain person standing near, who during his abode on earth had been an am bassador of the first rank ; he was surprised at this assertion, and said, " I acknowledge that on eai-th something like this method of reasoning prevails ; but still it will not prove you to be in your right senses. Make this true if you can, that light is darkness, and darkness light." He immediately replied, " I can do this with ease ; for what are light and darkness but states of the eye? Is not light changed into shade when the eye has been long used to sunshine, or when a man has kept his eyes fixed for any time on the sun ? How plain is it to see, that the state of the eye is then changed, and that, consequently, light then appears like shade, and on the other hand, when the eye recovers its former state, that shade appears Hke light ! Does not the darkness of night appear to an owl like the light of day, and the light of day like the darkness of night, and the sun itself Hke an opake and dusky orb ? If a man had eyes like an owl's, which would he call light and which darkness ? What then is light but a state of the eye ? and if it be only a state of the eye, is not light darkness, and darkness light? therefore both the one and the other proposition are ti-ue." But, because this confirmation puzzled some that were present, I said, "I perceive that this confirmer is not aware that there is such a thing as true light, and such a thing as false Hght ( lux fatua), and that both those kinds appear like light, when yet the false light in its real nature is not Hght, but in respect to the true is darkness. Now an owl is in false light ; for there is within its eyes the lust of pursuing and devouring birds, and this light causes its eyes to see in the night time, just as cats see, whose eyes when they are on the watch for prey in dark ;^laces appear Hke lighted candles, in consequence of the false light arising from the lust of pursuing and devouring mice, which lies within and so affects their eyes. Hence it is evident that the light of the sun is true light, and the Mght of lust is false Hght " After this the ambassador desired the confimmr to 350 . THE DBCALOGUl; EXPLAINED. 334 make this proposition true, "That a crow is not black, but white." He thereupon replied, " I will do this too with great ease ;" and said, " Take a needle, or a sharp knife, and lay open the quills and feathers of a crow ; remove also the quills and feathers, and look at the crow's skin, and is it not white ? What then is the blackness surrounding it but a shade, which by no means deter mines the' true color of the crow ? That black is but a kind of shade, I appeal to the Writers on the science of optics, who will toll you that if you pound a black stone or a piece of black glass into a fine powder, it will be white." But the ambassador re- pHed, "Does not a crow appear, black to the eye?" The con- firmer answered, " Will you, who are a man of sense, be deter mined in your judgment by appearance ? You may speak indeed according to appearance, and say -that a crow is black ; but you cannot imagine that to be really the case : as for example, you may speak according to appearancej and say that thesun rises and sets ; but, as a man of sense^ you cannot imagine that it really does so, because the sun remains motionless, and the earth alone changes its situation : the case is the same with a crow. Appear ance is but appearance ; and, say what you please, a crow is altogether and entirely white, and it also does become white with age, as I have seen with my own eyes." When he had done speaking, the bystanders looked at me : I said therefore, " It is true that the quills and feathers of a crow are within of a whitish cast, as is also the skin ; but this is the case not only with crows, but likewise with all birds in the universe; yet every man dis tinguishes birds by the appearance of their colors, and if they were not to be so distinguished, we might say of every bird that it is white, which would be altogether absurd and ridiculous." The ambassador then put this question to him, " Can you make it true that you are out of your senses ?" to which he replied, "I could, but I do not choose : who is not out of his senses?" Afterwards they requested him to tell them sincerely, whether he was in joke, or whether he really believed that nothing is true but what a man makes true ; and he replied, " I positively believe it in earnest." The conversation being here closed, this universal confirmer was sent to the angels to be examined as to his true quality ; and the report they made after examination was, that he did not possess a single grain of understanding, as all that region was closed in him which is above the rational sphere, and that sphere only was open which is below it. Spir itual light is above the rational sphere, and natural light below it, and this latter Hght is of such a nature that it can confirm whatever it pleases ; but in case there is no influx of spiritual la'ght into that which is natural, a man can neither discern whether any truth be true, nor consequently whether any false be fklse ; for such discernment results solely from the existence ot' spiritual light in natural light, and spiritual light comes frona ^ 351 334, 335 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. the God of heaven, who is the Lord; therefore that universal confirmer is neither a man nor a beast, but he is a beast-man. I then questioned the angels in relation to the flnal lot of such persons, wbethei they can associate with such as are alive, since a man lives and has understanding only by virtue of spiritual light. To this they replied, that such persons, when they are alone, are incapable of any thought, and consequently cannot speak, but stand like mute automata, and as if they were in a deep sleep ; but that their attention is awakened as soon as any sound strikes their ears ; and they added that this was a consequence of their being inwardly evil, for evil is not recep tive of the influx of spiritual light from above, but only of a kind of spiritual principle through the world, whence they de rive the faculty of confirmation. As they said this, I heard a voice from the examining angels, saying, " Form a general con clusion from what you have now heard." I accordingly formed this : It is no mark of a man's intelligence to he able to confirm whatever he pleases ; hut to be able to discern that to he true which is true, and that to he false which is false, is the mark and char acter of intelligence. After this I looked towards the assembly where the confirmers were standing, and the crowd about them exclaiming, 0 how wise I and behold ! a dusky cloud covered them, and in the cloud were seen owls and bats on the wing ; and it was granted me to understand that the owls and bate fly ing in that cloud were correspondences, and consequent appear ances of the thoughts of those confirmers ; for conflrmations of falsities, so as to give them the appearance of truths, are repre sented in the spiritual world under the forms of birds of night, whose eyes are illuminated within by a false light, enabling them to see objects in the dark as if they were in the light. Such a false spiritual light have those who conflrm falses so as to give them the semblance of truths, and afterwards embrace them as truths. All such are intellectually in what may be called bach- ward sight, and not in any kind oi front-sight. 335. The fourth memorable relation. — Awaking one morn ing out of sleep, I saw, as it were, several apparitions {larvm) in various forms, floating before- my eyes ; and presently, as the morning advanced, I observed false lights {luces fatuoi) in dif ferent forms, some like sheets of paper written all over, which, being folded over and over, at last appeared like falling stars, which in their descent through the atmosphere vanished ; and others again like open books, some of which shown like little moons, while some flamed like lighted candles. Among the latter were some books which were carried up aloft, and lost when they arrived at their highest altitude, and others which fell down to the ground, and were there reduced to dust. From these appearances I conjectured, that in the region below these meteors, there were some spirits disputing on matters of specu- THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. 336 lation, which they reckoned of great importance ; for in the spiritual world such phenomena appear in the atmospheres, in consequence of the reasonings of those who are beneath. Pres ently my spiritual sight was opened, and I observed a number of spirits whose heads were encompassed with leaves of laurel, and who were clothed in fiowered robes, which indicated that they were spirits who in the natural world had been distin- iguished for their great learning ; and as I was in the spirit,-I ap- iproached and joined their company. I then found that they were •disputing sharply and warmly with each other about connate IDEAS, whether men receive any at their birth as the beasts do. Those who maintained the negative side of the question turned away from those who maintained the affirmative, and at length they formed two separate parties, like the ranks of two armies going to engage sword in hand; but having no swords, they carried on the battle with sharp-pointed words and arguments. At that instant a certain angelic spirit presented himself in the midst of the assembly, and crying with a loud voice, said, " I have overheard you at a little distance disputing vehemently about connate ideas, whether men have them as well as beasts ; but I tell you. That neither men nor beasts have any connate IDEAS. You are disputing about nothing, or, according to the common expression, you are contending about straws and the merest absurdities." On hearing this declaration, they all exd limed in great anger, "Away with him, turn him out; he cont ,'adicts all com'mon sense ;" but as they were attempting to turn him out, they perceived he was encompassed with a circle of heavenly light, which they could not break through, for he was an angelic spirit ; then- they retired and removed to a little distance from him. But when the heavenly light was indrawn, be said to them, " Why are you so angry ? Hear me first, and attend to the reasons which I have to offer in support of what I advance, and then form a conclusion from those reasons ; and I foresee that such of you as have any solid judgment will accede to my opinion, and will calm the storm of anger rising in their minds." To this they replied, yet in an indignant tone of voice, " Speak then, and we will hear what you have to say." Then he began as follows : " You are of opinion that beasts have con nate ideas, and you ground your opinion on this circumstance, that their actions appear to be the result of thought ; and yet they are not possessed of any thought, and consequently not of any ideas, which can only be predicated ofthe result of thought ; and the true test of thought is to act in such and such a manner, for such and such a purpose. Consider, now, whether a spider, in the curious act of weaving its web, ever thinks in its little head, and says, ' I will extend my threads in this order, and connect and tie them together with transverse threads, to secure my web against the rude vibrations of the air ; and in the first 353 A A 336 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. terminations of the threads, which constitute tLe central point of the web, I will provide myself a seat, where I may discover whatever happens, and may be ready to run to the spot and immediately seize and envelop every intruding fiy that is caught in my trap.' Or do you fancy that the little bee reasons ¦with itself, and says, ' I will take my fiight to such a field, where I know there is plenty of fiowers, and I -will gather wax and honey from them, and of the wax I will build contiguous cells in an orderly arrangement, and disposed in such a manner that I and my companions may have free ingress and egress as throughthe street of a city, and in process of time may lay up a large stock of honey, sufficient for our necessities during the approaching winter, that we may not perish ;' not to mention other wonder ful circumstances, in which they discover a degree of political and economical prudence, equal at least, but in some cases supe rior to that of men ? [See above, n. 11.] Can you suppose again, that the larger wild bee thinks in its diminutive head, and says, ' I and my companions will build ourselves a small habitation of a thin paper-like substance, whose walls we will contrive after the manner of a labyrinth, and in ite inmost recess we will construct a sort of forum, so as fo have free ingress and egress, yet of such cunning architecture that no other living creature but one of our own family will be able to find its way to our secret place of assembly ?' Do you suppose, further, that the silk-worm, while it is yet in its caterpillar state, thinks with iteelf, and says, ' Now is the time to prepare myself for the spinning of silk, to the intent that, when I have done spinning, I may fiy abroad, and sport with my companions in the air, into which I shall not be able to ascend before, and may there provide for myself a future progeny?' In like manner, can you fancy that other caterpillars think to themselves, while they are creeping along a wall in quest of a convenient place in which to undergo these transformations into nymphs, aurelias, chrysalises, and at last into butterflies ? The case is the same with the larger animals, as with birds and winged fowls of every kind, in their pairing, building their nests, laying their eggs, sitting on them, hatching their young, providing them food, watching over them with care till they are able to fly, and then driving them away from the nest as if they were no longer their offspring, besides innumer able other particulars. The case is the same also with the beasts of the earth, with serpents, and with fish. Which of you cannot see, from what has been . said, that the spontaneous acts of such creatures do not fiow from any thought, of which alone an idea can be predicable ? The error of supposing beasts to have ideas is grounded solely in a persuasion that they have thoughts as well as men, and that speech alone is the distin guishing characteristic between them." Having thus spoken, the angelic spirit looked around, and seeing them still in doubt 354 THE DECALOGUE EXPLAINED. 335 whether beasts are possessed of thought or not, he continued his 'discourse, and said, " I perceive that, from a similarity in the actions of brute and human creatures, you still entertain an imaginary idea that brutes think ; therefore I will inform you whence their actions proceed. Every beast, bird, fish, reptile, and insect, has its peculiar natural, sensual, and corporeal love, whose habitation is the head, and the brains within the head : bv means of the brain the spiritual world has an immediate influx into their bodily senses, and thus determines their actions, which is the reason why their bodily senses are far more exquisite than' those of men. This influx from the spiritual world is what is caUed instinct, and it is so called because it exists without the medium of thought. There are also some peculiarities, which may be called accessory to instinct, derived from habit. But the peculiar love by which each is governed, and by means of which they are determined to action by an influx from the spir itual world, is solely a love for nutrition and propagation, and not for any science, intelligence, and wisdom, by means of which his peculiar love is successively implanted in man, " That man also has no connate ideas, must appear evident from the circumstance that he has no connate thought ; and where there is no thought, there is no idea, for they have a mutual relation to each other. This may be confirmed by the case of new-born infants, whose powers are confined to suction and respfration, and their power of suction is not derived from any thing connate, but from their constant exercise thereof in the mother's womb ; and their power of respiration is a conse quence of their having life, respiration being a universal of Hfe. Their bodily senses also are in a state of the greatest imperfec tion and obscurity, out of which they successively emerge, by means of the objects on which they are exercised, as their motions are acquired by repeated habits ; and as they learn by degrees to lisp out vocal sounds, at first without ideas, there Arises a certain obscurity of phantasy, which, as it becomes clearer and more distinct, gives birth to the obscurity of imagination, and thence of thought. In proportion as they advance in the formation of this state, ideas begin to exist ; and ideas, as was observed above, are one with the thought, and thought grows and increases from its state of nothingness by instruction : there fore men have ideas, yet not connate, but acquired and formed, and from those ideas their speech and actions fiow." [That nothing is connate in man, except the faculty of acquiring science, intelligence, and wisdom, also an incHnatioii to love, not only those, but likewise his neighbor and God, may be seen above in the memorable relation, n. 48, and ^Iso in an other memorable relation below.] After this discourse I looked around, and saw, at a little distance from me, Leibnitz and Wolfius, who were both very attentive to tbe arguments pro- 355 336, 336 OF FAITH. duced by the ahgeHc spirit. Leibnitz immediately approaehted, and declared himself convinced; but Wolfius walked off, both denying and affirming, for he had not the same strength of inte rior judgment as Leibnitz. CHAPTEE YL FATTH. 336. It was a received tenet of the wisdom of the ancients, that the universe, both in general and in particular, has relation to good and truth, and consequently that all things belonging to the church have relation to love, or charity and faith'; for all that which fiows from love or charity is called good, and all that which fiows from faith is called true. Now since charity and faith are distinctly two, and yet must be united in man, so as to become a one, that he may be a member of the church, or in other words, that the church may be in him, it was therefore a matter of controversy and dispute among the anciente which 6f the two was the first or chief constituent of the church, and thus which had a claim to the title of first-born. Some insisted that truth, and, consequently, faith had the better claim, and some that the preference was due to good, and, consequently, to char ity. The former indeed observed that a man, immed'ately after his birth, learns to speak and think, and by these becomes per fected in understanding, which is effected by sciences : thus be learns and understands what is true, arid "by these means, in process of time, learns and understands what is good ; conse quently, that he first learns what faith is, and afterwards what charity is. Those who considered the matter according ¦ to this idea supposed the truth of faith to be the fii-st-born, and the good of charity to be the younger ; they attributed therefore to faith the honor and prerogative.of primogeniture. These, however, so bewildered their understandings with arguments in favor of faith, that they could not perceive that faith is not faith unless it he conjoined with charity, and that charity, in Hke manner, is not charity unless it be conjoined with faith, and thus that they in fact become a one, and that if they are not so, neither the one nor the other is any constituent of the church. That charity and faith are absolutely a one, will be proved in the following pages. In the mean tinie, by way of preface, I will explain how or in what man ner they are a one, this being of importance to be understood, iu order to throw light on what is to follow. Faith, then, which also means truth, is first in respect to time ; but charity, which also means good, is first in respect to end ; and that which is fii'st in respect to end is actually the first, because it is the primary con- 356 OF FAITH, 336 stituent of the church, and consequently the first-born ; wiiereaa that which is first in respect to time is not actually the first, but only apparently so. But for the better elucidation of this sub ject, it shall be illustrated by comparisons, as by the building of a temple and a house, the laying out of a garden, and the cultivation of land. With regard to the building of a temple, the first thing in respect to time is to lay the foundation, to erect the walls, to cover it with a roof, and afterwards to pro- ride an altar 'and raise a pulpit ; but the first thing in respect to the end is the worship of God therein, for the sake of which all those constructions are made. So with regard to the building of A HOUSE, the first thing in respect to time is to build its exterior parts, and to provideit with all conveniences within ; but the first thing in respect to the end is a commodious dwelling for the mas ter and his family. So again with' regard to the laying out of AGAEDEN, the fiist thing in respect to time is to level the ground, tO' prepare the soil, to plant trees, and to sow such seeds as may' conduce to use ; but the first thing in respect to the end is the enjoyment of the fruits to be produced. So lastly, with regard to the culture of land, the first thing in respect to time is to make the ground level, to plough and manure it, and afterwards to sow it with seeds ; but the first thing in respect to the end is a plentiful harvest, and consequently the use to be derived from it. From these comparisons it is in every one's power to deter mine what in reality is the first object of consideration ; for in building a temple or a house, and in the preparation of a garden and the culture of land, who does not regard use in the first place, and keep that ever uppermost in his mind, while he pro vides the means necessary for its promotion? We conclude therefore that the truth of faith is first in respect to time, but that the good of charity is first in respect to end, and con sequently that this, being the primary object of regard, is actu ally the first-born in the mind. But it is necessary to ascertain what faith and charity are, each in its respective essence, and; this can only be done by an orderly arrangement of both under particular heads or articles. We will begin with the articles of fkjth, which are as follows : I. That a saving faith is a faith in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ. II. That faith in gen eral consists in a belief, that the Lord will save all who live a good. life and believe arigtii. III. Thai a man receives faith in con sequence of approaching the Lord, learning truths from, the Word, and li/ving in conformity withthem. IY. That an abundance of ' tf%ths, cohering as in a fascicle or bundle, exalts amdperfects faith, Y. Thai faith without charity is not faith, and charity without faith is not charity, a/ndneiiher faith nor charity has any life in it but from the Lord. YI. That the Lord, charity, andfoAth constitute a one, like life:, will, amd understanding in man ; and w case they are divided, each perishes like a pearl bruised to 357 336, 337 OF FAITH. powder. YIL That tlie Lord is charity and faith in man, and man is cha/rity and faith in the Lord. YIII, That charity and faith are together in good works. IX. That there are a true faith, a spwrious faith, and a hypocritical faith. X. That the wicked have no faith. We will now proceed to a particular ex; plication of each article. I. That a sa-ving faith is a faith in the lord god the sa viour JESUS CHRIST. 337. The reason why saving faith is a faith in God the Sa viour is, because he is God and Man, and he is in the Father, and the Father in him, and thus one ; therefore all who approach him approach the Father also at the same time, and thus approach the one and only God ; and no faith can be saving that is directed towards any other. That we ought to believe or to have faith in the Son of God, the Eedeemer and Saviour, conceived of Je hovah, and born of the Yirgin Mary, called Jesus Christ, is evident from the injunctions so frequently repeated by him, and afterwards by his apostles. That he himself enjoined faith- in himself is evident from the following passages : " Jesus said. This is the will of him that sent me, that every one that seeth the Son and believeth on him, may have everlasting life ; and I will raise him up at the last day" (John vi. 40). " He that be lieveth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not on the Son, will not see life, but the anger of God abideth on him" (iii. 36). " That whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting Hfe : for God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever hdieveth on him should not perish, but should have everlasting life" (iii. 15, 16). " Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life : he that believeth on me shall not die to eternity" (xi. 25, 26). " Yeriiy, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am the Bread of Life" (vi. 47, 48). " I am the Bread of Life ; he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he thai believeth on me shall never thirst" (vi. 35). " Jesus cried, say ing. If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink ; hs that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (vii. 37, 38). " They said unto Jesus, What shall we do that we may work the works of God \ Jesus answered and said unto them. This is the woik of God, that ye believe on Mm whom lie hath sent" (vi. 28, 29). " While ye have the light, believe on the light, that ye may be the chil dren of the Hght" (xii. 36). " He that believeth on the Son of God is not condemned ; but he thai believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on tbe name of the only- begotten Son of God" (iu. 18). " These things are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that believ ing ye may have life in his name" (xx. 31). If ye believe not 368 OF FAITH. 337, 338 that lam, ye will die in your sins" (vHi. 24). " Jesus said, When the Comforter is come, he will reprove the world of sin, of right eousness, and of judgment ; of sin, because they believe not on ine" (xvi. 8). 338. That the faith of the apostles was no other than a "faith iu the Lord Jesus Christ, is evident from many passages in their epistles, of which I will only adduce the following : " Neverthe less I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; and the life which I now live in the flesh, / Uve by faith in the Son of God" (Gal. ii. 20). " Paul testifled to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acte XX. 21). " And he brought them out and said. Sirs, what must I do to be saved ? and they said. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou wilt be saved, and thy hoUse" (xvi. 30, 31). " He that hath tlie Son, hath life ; but he that hath not the Son of Ood, hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God" (1 John v. 12,' 13). " We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed on Jesus Christ" (Gal. ii. 15, 16). As their faith was directed towards Jesus Christ, and as such faith is also derived from him, therefore they call it the faith of Jesus Christ, as above. Gal. ii. 16 ; as well as in the following passages : " The righteousness of God, which is hy faith of Jesus Christ, unto and upon all them that believe ; that he might be the justifier of him who believeth on Jesus" (Eom. iii. 22, 26). " But having the righteousness which is through the faith of Christ, even the righteousness which is of God by faith" (Phil, iii. 9). " These are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Eev. xiv. 12). " Thvough faith, which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. iii. 15). "in Jesus Christ is faith which worketh by love" (Gal. v. 6). Hence it may appear what is meant by faith in that passage of Paul, so often repeated in the church at this time. "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Eom. iii. 28) ; that it is not a faith in God the Father, but in his Son ; still less is it a faith in three gods in succession ; as in one from whom comes salvation, in another, for the sake of whom salva tion is granted, and in a third, by whom ite effects are wrought in the believer. It is believed in the church that its tri-personal faith is meant by Paul in that passage, because the church fbr centuries past, since the Council of ^KTige, has acknowledged no other faith, and consequently has been acquainted with no. other, believing that it was the only true faith, and that there could not be any other ; sc that in whatever part of the New Testament the word faith is inentioned, it is believed to have 359 338, 839 OF FATTH. this moaning of a tri-personal faith, and to this faith they ap plied all that is there written. The consequence is, that the only saving faith, which is a faith in God the Saviour, has perished ; and hence likewise so many fallacies, and so many paradoxes contradictory to common sense and reason, have crept into their doctrines ; for all the doctrine of the church which ought to teach and point out the way to heaven, or to salva tion, depends on its faith ; and because so many fallacies and paradoxes have crept into faith, as was just observed, it was therefore necessary to establish this tenet, that the understand ing is to be kept bound under obedience to faith. Now since by faith in the forementioned saying of Paul (Eom. iii. 28) is meant faith, not towards God the Father, but towards his Son, and by the works of the law are meant, not the works of the law of the decalogue, but those of the Mosaic law intended for the Jews, as appears from the subsequent part of that epistle, and also from similar passages in the epistle to the Galatians (chap. ii. 14, 16), the foundation-stone of the faith of the present day, together with all its supposed sacred superstructure, gives way, like a nouse sinking down into the earth, the top of whose roof alone is seen above the surface. 339. The reason why it is requisite to believe, that is, to have faith in God the Saviour Jesus Christ, is, because such faith is directed towards a visible God in whom is the invisible, and faith towards a visible God, who is at the sanae time Man and God, gains admission into man ; for faith in its essence is spiritual, but in its form natural, therefore in man it becomes spiritual-natural ; for whatever is spiritual is received in that which is natural, that man may possess it as a something real. Bare and naked spirituality enters indeed into man, but then it is not received by him, being Hke ether, which flows in and out, without affecting him in any perceptible manner-; for that it may affect him, it must be attended with perception, and con sequently with reception in his mind ; and this is not granted to man, except in his natural principle. But on the other hand, a faith which is merely natural, or which is deprived of its spiritual essence, is not faith, but only a kind of persuasion or science, having an appearance of faith in its externals, but with nothing in it of a saving nature, being destitute bf any spiritual principle in its internals : such is the faith of all those who deny the Divinity of the Lord's Humanity ; such was the faith of Arius, and such also is the Socinian faith, because each has rejected the Divinity of the Lord. For what is faith without a term or limit of directiouj but Hke an unbounded view, ex tending through the universe, where the sight of the eye, fall- ing as it were into an empty void, is lost? Such a- faith toe may be compared to a bird flying above the atrriosphere into the purer regions of ether, when it expires as in a vacuum. Tha 360 OF FAITK. 339 habitaition of such u faith in the human mind may be compared to the habitation of the winds in the wings of .^olus, and to the habitation of light in a falling star ; for although it arises like a comet with a long tail, yet like a comet also it passes away and disappears. In short, faith directed towards an in visible God is actually blind, because the human mind does not see its God; and the light of such a faith, since it is not spir itual-natural, is a false light; and thisi Hght is Hke that which shines in the tail of a glow-worm ; or like the light which is seen in marshy ground, or over sulphureous earth, in the night time ; or like the light in decayed wood. Whatever is seen by this light is merely visionary, and the mind is deceived by a semblance of existences which are without truth or foundation. Such is the Hght of faith when directed towards an invisible God, particularly when God is conceived to be spirit, and spirit is conceived to be like ether : for what must be the consequence of such a conception, but that a man will look upon God as he looks upon ether, and will thus seek him in the universe, and not finding him there, will fancy nature to be the .God of the universe? This is, the source of the prevailing naturalism of the present times. Has not the Lord declared, that no one hath ever heard the voice of the Father', or seen his shape (John V. 37) ; and also, "No one hath seen God at any time ; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (i. 18). " Not that any one hath seen the Father, save he who is of God : he hath seen the father" (vi. 46). Like wise: "No man cometh to the Father, but by me" (xiv. 6). And again : That whosoever seeth and knoweth him, seeth and knoweth the Father (xiv. 7- — 9). But very different from the above is a faith directed towards the Lord God the Saviour, who by reason of his being God and Man may be both approached and seen in thought. Such a faith is not indeterminate, but has a term from which it originates, and to which it is directed back again, and being once received, it remains; as when a fierson nas once seen an emperor or a king, whenever he I'ecol- ecte him at a future period, his distinct image recurs to his mind. 'Jhe sight afforded by this faith is as when one looks on a bright cloud, and sees an angel in the midst of it, inviting him to come to him, in order that he may raise him into heaven : in such a manner 'the Lord appears to those who have faith in him ; and he also draws near to every particular man, in pro portion as the man knows and acknowledges him, which is in proportion as he knows and does his commandments, that is, as he shuns evils, and does good ; and at length he comes into his house, and makes his abode with him, together with the Father, who is in him, according to these wqrds in John : " Jesus said. He that hath my commandments and doeth them, he it is that loveth me : and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, 361 339, 340 OF FAITH. and I will love him, and will manifest myself to bin. ; and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him" (John xiv. 21, 23). These statements were written in the presence of the Lord's twelve apostles, who, while I was writing them, were sent to me by the Lord. II. That fatth in general consists in a belief, that the LORD WILL SAVE ALL WHO LIVE A GOOD LIFE AND BELIEVE ARIGHT. 340. That man is created to inherit eternal life, and that every man may inherit it provided only that he live according to the means of salvation prescribed in the Word is a truth to which every Christian, and even every heathen who has any re ligion and sound reason, assents. The means of salvation, how ever, are manifold, and yet they all and every one of them have relation to living well and believing aright, consequently to charity and faith ; for charity consists in living well, and faith in believing aright. These two general means of salvation are not only prescribed to man in the Word, but are also com manded ; and since they are commanded, it follows of conse quence, that man by those means must have the power given and communicated to him by God of providing for his eternal life, and that so far as he uses this power, and at the same time looks to God, so far God confirms and strengthens it, till natural charity and its fruits become spiritual charity and its fruits, and natural faith and its fruits become spiritual faith and its fruite ; thus charity and faith, and at the same time the man, which were dead, are made alive by God. There are two things which must be united before it can be said that a man lives well and believes aright : these two things are called, in the church, the internal man and the external man. When the internal man wills what is good, and the external does what is good, then both become a one, the external subsisting and acting from the internal, and the internal by the external ; thus the man sub- siste and acts from God, and God acts by the man. But on the other hand, if the internal man wills what is evil, and still the external does what is good, they are both notwithstanding under the influence of hell, because the will is from thence, and the deeds are hypocritical ; and in every hypocritical deed, the will, which is infernal, lurks within, like a snakcv in the grass, or a worm iu a flower. He that is not only acquainted with the existence of the internal and external man, but also knows what they are, and that they have a capacity of acting in real unity, and likewise in apparent unity, and moreover that the internal man lives after death, and the external is buried, such a person possesses within his reach arcana of heaven', and also of the world, in great abundance ; arid he that conjoins in him self those two men for the practice of good, becomes happy to eternity ; but he that separates them, and, above aU, he that conjoins them for an evil purpose, becomes wretched to eternity 362 OF FAITH. 341, 342 341. To believe that the man who lives well and believes aright, will not be saved, and that God of his free-will and pleasure can save and condemn whomsoever he pleases, is to charge God with unmercifulness and severity towards those that perisD, and even with cruelty ; yea, it is denying God to be God : it is saying further, that God in his word has spoken without meaning, and has prescribed duties which are trivial and of no signification ; and it is accusing him of violating the covenant which he ratified on Mount Sinai, and inscribed with his own finger on two tables. That God cannot do otherwise than save those who live according to his commandments, and have faith in him, is evident from the words of the Lord in John xiv. 21 — 24 ; and every one who has any religion and sound reason, may also confirm himself in the same truth, while he considers that God, who is continually with man, and gives him life, together with the faculties of understanding and loving, must needs love, and by love conjoin himself with, the man who lives well and believes aright. And is not this inscribed by God on every man and on every creature ? Can a father or mother reject their children, a bird its young, or a beast its cubs ? Even tigers, leopards, and serpents, are incapable of such conduct ; and to do this would be contrary to the order in which God is, and according to which he acts, and likewise contrary to the order into which he has created mankind. Now as it is impossible for God to condemn any one who lives well and believes aright, so is it alike impossible for him to save any one who lives an evil life, and in consequence is in the belief of falses ; for this again is contrary to order, and of course contrary to his own omnipo tence, which can only proceed in the way of justice : the laws of justice are truths, which cannot be changed ; for the Lord says, " It is easier for heaven and eaith to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail" (Luke xvi. 17). Every one who is at all acquainted with the essence of God and with man's free-will, may be fully convinced of this ; as for example : Adam was at liberty to eat of the tree of life, and also of the tree of the know ledge of good and evil. If he had eaten only of the tree or trees of life, would it have been possible for God in this case to have driven him out of the garden ? It is my belief that it would lot. But after he had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, would it have been possible for God to keep him any longer in the garden ? In this case also it is my belief that it would not. In like manner, it is not to be believed that God can cast into hell any angel that has been received into heaven, or can introduce into heaven any devil condemned to hell : that he cannot from his divine omnipotence do either of these, may be seen above, in the section on the Divine C acnipotenoe, n. 49—70. 342. In the preceding article, from n. 337 *» 339, it was 363 342 OF FAITH. shown that a saving faith is a faith directed towards the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ. But it may be asked. What is the first requisite of a faith directed towards Jesus Christ ? I answer, it is an acknowledgment that he is the Son of God. This first requisite of faith was that which the Lord, when ho came into the world, revealed and announced ; for unless man kind had first acknowledged that he was the Son of God, and thus God op God, in vain would he himself, and his apostles after him, have preached faith in him. Now the case being sim ilar at this day, so that those who think from their own selfhood, that is, from the external or natural man only, say with them^ selves, "How can Jehovah God conceive a Son, and how can man be God?" it is necessary that this first requisite of faith be confirmed and established from the Word ; therefore we wili here adduce the following passages : — " The angel said unto Mary, 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 Most High. And Mary said 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 Most High shall ovei-shadow thee; therefore also that iloly Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke i. 31, 32, 34, 35). " When Jesus was baptized there came a voice from heaven, say- ingj This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. iH. 16, 17; Mark i. 10, 11 ; Luke iu. 21, 22). So again, when Jesus was transfigured, a voice also came from heaven, saying, " Thisis my helovedSon in whom I am well pleased ; hearye him" (Matt. xvii. 5 ; Mark ix. 7 ; Luke ix. 35). " Jesus asked his disciples. Who do men say that I am? Peter answered. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said. Blessed art thou, Simon, son of Jonah : I say unto thee, Upon this rock will I build my church" (Matt. xvi. 13, 16 — 18). The Lord said that upon this rock he would build his church, namely, on the truth and confession that he is the Son of God ; for rock signifies truth, and likewise the Lord with respect to divine truth. In whom soever then there does not abide the confession of this truth, that he is the Son of God, there neither does the church abide ; and for this reason it was said above that this is the first requisite of a faith in Jesus Christ, consequently faith in its origin. John the Baptist saw and testified that " this is the Son of God" (John i. 34). Nathaniel the disciple said unto Jesus, " Thou art the Son of God ; thou art the King of IsraeV (John i. 49). The twelve disciples said. We believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of tlie living God (John vi. 69). He is caUed the only-begot ten