"arcana, which I have already mentioned, miracles?' but "they answered, 'They are not.' I then asked, 'What "miracles do you require?' 'Discover and reveal future " events,' they said, and we will believe:' but I replied, "Such discovery and revelation are not allowed by the "Lord, since in proportion as man is acquainted with future " events, his reason and understanding, with his prudence "and wisdom, sink into indolence, become torpid, and are "almost destroyed.' And I asked again, 'What other "miracles shall I do?' 'Do such as Moses did in Egypt,' "they cried out. Possibly,' I replied, ye may harden 66 your hearts against them, as Pharaoh and the Egyptians "did:' and they answered, 'We will not.' 'But,' said I "again, 'assure me of a certainty that ye will not dance "around a golden calf, and worship it, as the posterity of "Jacob did within about a month after they had seen all "mount Sinai on fire, and had heard Jehovah Himself "speaking out of the fire, thus after witnessing the great"est of all miracles:' (a golden calf in the spiritual sense "signifieth carnal pleasure:) And reply was made from " below, 'We will not be like the posterity of Jacob.' But "at that moment I heard a voice from heaven saying to "them, "If ye believe not Moses and the Prophets, that "is, the Word of the Lord, neither will ye be convinced "by miracles, any more than the posterity of Jacob in the "wilderness, or when they saw with their eyes the miracles "which the Lord did during his abode on earth.'

850. "After this I saw some spirits ascending from below, "whence the voices proceeded, who, addressing me in a "deep tone of voice, said, 'Why did thy Lord reveal "the long list of arcana, which thou hast just now enumer"ated, to thee who art a layman, and not to some one of "the clergy? To which I replied, "This was according

to the Lord's good pleasure, who prepared me for this "office from my earliest years: but let me in turn ask you

"" a question; Why did the Lord, when He was on earth, "choose fishermen for His disciples, and not some of the "lawyers, scribes, priests, or rabbies? Ponder well this "circumstance in your minds, and if ye form a right judg"ment upon it, ye will discover the reason.' Hereupon 66 a murmur arose, and afterwards they were silent.

851. "I foresee that many, who read the Memorable Re"lations annexed to each chapter of this work, will believe "them to be the fictions of imagination; but I protest in "truth that they are not fictions, but were really seen and "heard; not seen and heard in any state of the mind in "sleep, but in a state of complete wakefulness: for it hath "pleased the Lord to manifest Himself to me, and to send "me to teach those things which will belong to His New "Church, which is meant by the New Jerusalem in the "Revelation; for this purpose He hath opened the inte"riors of my mind, or spirit, by which privilege it has "been permitted me to be with angels in the spiritual "world and with men in the natural world at the same "time, and that now for twenty-seven years. Who in the "Christian world would have known any thing of HEAVEN "AND HELL, unless it had pleased the Lord to open the "spiritual sight of some person or other, and to shew and "teach him? That such things as are described in the "above MEMORABLE RELATIONS do actually appear in "the heavens, is clearly proved from similar objects being 66 seen and described by JOHN in the Apocalypse, and also "by the PROPHETS in the Word of the Old Testament. "In the APOCALYPSE we read that John saw the SON OF "MAN in the midst of seven candlesticks; that he saw a "tabernacle, a temple, an ark, and an altar in heaven; "a book sealed with seven seals; the book opened, and in "consequence thereof horses going forth; four animals "around the throne; twelve thousand chosen out of each "tribe; locusts ascending from the bottomless pit; a

woman bringing forth a man-child, and flying into a wil"derness by reason of the dragon; two beasts, one as"cending out of the sea, the other from the earth; an "angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the ever"lasting Gospel; a sea of glass mixed with fire; seven "angels having the seven last plagues; vials poured out 66 by them on the earth, on the sea, on the rivers, on "the sun, on the throne of the beast, on Euphrates, and

on the air; a woman sitting on a scarlet beast; the "dragon cast out into a lake of fire and sulphur; a white "horse; a great supper; a new heaven and a new earth; "the Holy Jerusalem coming down from heaven, described "as to its gates, its wall, and foundations; also a river of "the water of life, and trees of life bearing fruit every "month; with many things beside; which were all seen by "JOHN, whilst as to his spirit he was in the spiritual world "and in heaven. Not to mention what things were seen by "the apostles after the Lord's resurrection, and those seen "afterwards by PETER, Acts xi, and by PAUL: and also by "the PROPHETS in the Old Testament; as by EZECHIEL, "who saw four animals, which were cherubs, chap. i. and X. and a new temple, and a new earth, and an angel mea66 suring them chap. xl. to xlviii. he was also carried to Jeru"salem, and saw there abominations, and also to Chaldæa, "chap. viii. xi. The case was the same with ZECHARIAH, "in that he saw a man riding amongst myrtle-trees, chap. "i. 8; that he saw four horns, and afterwards a man "with a measuring-line in his hand, chap. iii. that he 66 saw a flying roll and an ephah, chap. v. 1, 6; that he "saw four chariots and horses between two mountains,

chap. vi. 1, &c. So again with DANIEL, in that he saw "four beasts ascending out of the sea, chap. vii. 1, &c. that ❝he saw the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, "whose dominion shall not pass away, and whose king"dom shall not be destroyed, chap. vii. 13, 14; that he

"saw the combat of the ram and the he-goat, chap. viii. 1, "&c. that he saw the angel Gabriel, and conversed with "him, chap. ix. So also the young man of Elisha saw "chariots and horses of fire about Elisha, and he saw them "when his eyes were opened, 2 Kings vi. 17. From these, "and several other instances in the Word, it is evident, "that the objects which exist in the spiritual world have "appeared to many, both before and since the coming of "the Lord: what wonder then is it, that the same circum"stance should now occur at the commencement of a church,

or when the New Jerusalem is coming down out of "heaven?"

A THEOREM PROPOUNDED BY A CERTAIN ELECTORAL DUKE OF GERMANY, WHO ALSO FILLED A STATION OF THE HIGHEST RANK IN THE CHURCH.

I once saw, in the spiritual world, a certain electoral duke of Germany who also filled a station of the highest rank in the church: there were standing near him two bishops, and two ministers: I was at some distance, but sufficiently near to hear their conversation. The elector asked the four by-standers, whether they knew what constituted the chief point of religion in Christendom: the bishops answered, "The chief point of religion in Christendom, is FAITH

ALONE PRODUCTIVE OF JUSTIFICATION AND SALVA

TION." He inquired again, "Do you know what is inwardly latent in that faith? Open it, look into it, and tell me." They replied, "Nothing else is inwardly latent in it, but the MERIT AND RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE LORD THE SAVIOUR." To this the elector rejoined, "Does it not then involve the Lord and Saviour in His Humanity, in which He is called JESUS CHRIST, since He alone, in His Humanity was righteousness?" They said, "This follows as a necessary and inseparable conclusion." The elector,

following up the subject, added, “Open that faith, and look further into it, and examine whether it contain any thing else." The ministers observed, "It implies also the GRACE OF GOD THE FATHER." To this the elector said, "Take the pains both to conceive and perceive the matter rightly, and you will see THAT IT IS THE GRACE OF THE SON WITH THE FATHER; for it is the Son who entreats and intercedes: depend upon it then, since you confess, reverence, and embrace that faith alone of yours, that you must necessarily confess, reverence, and embrace the Lord the Saviour alone in His Humanity, for as was said before, He in His Humanity was and is RIGHTEOUSNESS. That He, in His Humanity, is also JEHOVAH and GOD, I have discovered in the Holy Writings from these passages: 'Behold the days come, that I will raise up unto David a Righteous Branch, who shall reign as a king, and shall prosper, and this is the name which they shall call Him, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS,' Jer. xxiii. 5, 6: in Paul, In Jesus Christ dwelleth ALL THE FULNESS OF THE GODHEAD bodily,' Col. ii. 9: and in John, 'Jesus Christ is THE TRUE GOD and eternal life,' 1 Ep. v. 20, 21: wherefore also He is called, 'THE GOD OF FAITH,' Phil. iii. 9.

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