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Infinity. The case is similar in respect to eter- | the same time of infinite power. That the divine nity, which men cannot conceive of otherwise than power is infinite, or that it is omnipotent, is very as eternity of time, it being presented to the mind under the idea of time with those who are in time. The real idea of the Divine Infinity is insinuated into the angels by this: that in an instant they are present under the Lord's view, without any intervention of space or time, even from the farthest extremity of the universe. The real idea of the Divine Eternity is insinuated into them by this: that thousands of years do not appear to them as time, but scarce otherwise than as if they had only lived a minute. Both ideas are insinuated into them by this: that in their Now they have together things past and future: hence they have no solicitude about things to come, nor have they ever any idea of death, but only an idea of life: thus in all their Now there is the Eternity and Infinity of the Lord. A. C. 1382.

Omnipotence of God.

manifest from this circumstance in the other world. that neither the angels of heaven nor the devils of hell have the least portion of power from themselves: if they had the least portion heaven would fall to pieces, hell would become a chaos, and every man would perish with them.-A. E. 1133. 21. That the Lord has infinite power, may ap pear from these considerations; that he is the God of heaven and the God of earth; that he created the universe, full of so many innumerable stars, which are suns, consequently so many worlds therein, and earths in the worlds; that they exceed several hundred thousand in number; and that He alone continually preserves and sustains the same, inasmuch as He created them; likewise, that as he created the natural worlds, so also he created the spiritual worlds above them, and perpetually fills these with angels and spirits to the number of myriads of myriads; and that he has hid the hells under them, which are also as many in number as the heavens; moreover, that he alone gives life to all and singular the things which are in the worlds of nature and in the worlds above nature; and whereas he alone gives life, that no angel, spirit, or man, can move a hand or foot, except from Him; the quality of the infinite power of the Lord is especially evident from this consideration, that He alone receives all who come from so many earths into the spiritual worlds, who are some myrads from our earth every week, and consequently so many myriads from so many thousand earths in the universe, and not only receives, but also leads by a thousand arcana of divine wisdom, every one to the place of his life, the faithful to their places in the heavens, and the unfaithful to their places in the hells, and that He every where rules the thoughts, intentions, and wills, of all, singularly as well as universally, and causes all and every one in the heavens to enjoy their felicity, and all and every one in the hells to be held in their bonds, insomuch that not one of them can lift up a hand, much less rise out, to the injury of any angel; also that all are thus held in order, and in bonds, howsoever the heavens and the hells may be multiplied, to eternity: these and several other things, which by reason of their abundance cannot be enumerated, would not be possible unless the Lord had infinite power. — A. È. 726.

20. The omnipotence of God shines forth from the universe, which is the visible heaven and habitable orb, which are the great works of an omnipotent Creator: in like manner, the creation and support of all things in the visible heaven and on the habitable orb, testify that they are from divine omnipotence, whilst their order and mutual respect to ends, from first to last, testify that they are from divine wisdom. The omnipotence of God shines forth, also, from the heaven which is above or within our visible heaven, and from the orb there, which is inhabited by angels, as ours is by men; in that orb are stupendous testimonies of the divine omnipotence, which, as having been seen by me, and revealed to me, it is allowed to mention; in that orb are all the men, who from the first creation of the world have departed out of it, who, after their decease, are also men as to form, and are spirits as to essence. Spirits are affections which are of love, and, thus, also, thoughts; spirits of heaven affections of the love of good, and spirits of hell affections of the love of evil the good affections, which are angels, dwell on an orb which is called heaven, and the evil affections, which are spirits of hell, dwell at a depth beneath them: the orb is one, but divided as into expanses, one below another: the expanses are six in the highest dwell the angels of the third heaven, and beneath them the angels of the second heaven, and beneath these the angels of the first below these latter dwell the spirits of the first hell, beneath them the spirits of the second 22. God is omnipotent, because He has all hell, and beneath these the spirits of the third; all power from Himself, and all others from Him. His things are so arranged in order, that the evil affec-power and will are one; and because he wills tions, which are spirits of hell, are held in bonds by the good affections, which are angels of heaven; the spirits of the lowest hell by the angels of the highest heaven, the spirits of the middle hell by the angels of the middle heaven, and the spirits of the first hell by the angels of the first heaven; from such opposition the affections are held in equilibrium, as in the scale of a balance. Such heavens and such hells are innumerable, distinguished into companies and societies according to the genera and species of all affections, and these latter are in order and in connection according to their affinities nearer and more remote: as it is in the heavens, so in the hells. This order and this connection of affections is known to the Lord alone, and the orderly arrangement of so many various affections, answering to the number of men who have been from the first creation, and who shall be hereafter, is of infinite wisdom, and at

Omnipotence according to Order.

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 will; this they derive there from God, whose power and will are one. God also is Good itself; wherefore, whilst he does good, He is in Himself, and he cannot go out of himself. Thence it appears, that his omnipotence proceeds and operates within the sphere of the extension of good, which is infinite; for this sphere, from the inmost, fills the universe and all and every thing there; and from the inmost, governs those things which are without, as far as they conjoin themselves according to their orders; and if they do not conjoin themselves, still it sustains them, and with all effort labors to bring them into order, according to the universal order in which God is in his omnipotence; and if this is not effected, they are cast out from Him, where nevertheless, He sustains them from the inmost

From this it is evident, that the Divine Omnipotence can by no means go out from itself to the contact of any thing evil, nor promote it from itself, for evil turns itself away; thence it is, that evil is entirely separated from Him, and cast into hell. between which and heaven, where He is, there is a great gulf. From these few things it may be seen how delirious they are, who think, and more so who believe, and still more so who teach, that God can condemn any one, curse any one, cast any one into hell, predestinate the soul of any one to eternal death, avenge injuries, be angry, or punish. He cannot even turn away his face from any one, or look at him with a stern countenance; these and similar things are contrary tohis essence, and what is contrary to this is contrary to Himself.-T. C. R. 56.

23. As to what concerns the divine omnipotence, it does not involve any power of acting contrary to order, but it involves all power of acting according to order, for all order is from the Lord; hence it follows, that no one has any power of acting according to order, except from Him who is the source of order; hence also it inay appear that it is of the divine omnipotence to lead man according to order, and this every moment from the beginning of his life even to eternity, and this according to the laws of order, which are innumerable and ineffable in number; it is to be observed, however, that this can only take place in proportion as man suffers himself to be led, that is, in proportion as he does not will to be led of himself, for in proportion as he wills this, he is carried away contrary to order; and whereas it is of the divine omnipotence to lead man who wills to be led, according to order, consequently not any one contrary to order, therefore it is not of the divine omnipotence to lead any one to heaven who wills to lead himself, because it is a law of order, that what man acts, he should act from rationality and from liberty, inasmuch as that which is received in rationality, and acted from liberty, remains with man, and is appropriated to him as his own, but not that which is not received in rationality and acted from liberty; hence it may appear that it is not of the divine omnipotence to save those who do not will to be led according to order, for to be led according to order is to be led according to the laws of order, and the laws of order are the precepts of doctrine and of life from the Word; wherefore to lead man according to these, who wills to be led, every moment and continually to eternity, is of the divine omnipotence; for in every moment there are infinite things to be seen, infinite things to be removed, and infinite things to be insinuated, in order that man may be withheld from evils, and held in goods, and this continually in a wonderful connection, according to order. - A. E. 689.

Omniscience of God.

things and particular things, and the general include the particular therein, and unite themselves together by such a connection, that one depends upon another: this is done by this, that there is a general covering about every member there, and that this insinuates itself into every part therein, so that they make one in every office and use. For example, the covering of every muscle enters into every moving fibre, and from itself clothes them; in like manner, the coverings of the liver, the pancreas, and the spleen enter into all the particular parts which are within; in like manner the covering of the lungs, which is called the pleura, into the interior parts of the lungs ; and in like manner the pericardium, into all and every part of the heart; and, generally, the peritoneum by anastomoses, with the coverings of all the viscera, in like manner the meninges of the brain; these, by threads emitted from them, enter into all the glands below them, and, through these, into all the fibres, and, through these, into all parts of the body; thence it is, that the head, from the brains, governs all and every thing subject to itself. These things are adduced merely for the purpose that, from visible things, some idea may be formed, how God perceives, sees, and knows all things, even to the most minute, which are done according to order.

25. That God, from those things which are according to order, perceives, sees, and knows all and every thing, even to the most minute, which is done contrary to order, is, because God does not hold man in evil, but withholds him from evil; thus he does not lead him, but strives with him. From that perpetual striving, struggling, resistance, repugnance, and reaction of the evil and the false, against his good and truth, thus against Himself, He perceives both their quantity and quality. This follows from the omnipresence of God, in all and every part of his order, and, at the same time, from his perfect knowledge of all and every thing there; comparatively, as he who has an ear for music and harmony, accurately notices every discordant and unharmonious sound, as soon as it enters.-T. C. R. 60, 61.

Omnipresence of God.

26. The divine omnipresence may be illustrated by the wonderful presence of angels and spirits in the spiritual world. In this world, because there is no space, but only an appearance of space, an angel or a spirit may, in a moment, become present to another, provided he comes into a similar affection of love, and thence thought, for these two make the appearance of space. That such is the presence of all there, was manifest to me from this, that I could see Africans and Indians there very near me, although they are so many miles distant upon earth; nay, that I could become present to those who are in other planets of this 24. That God perceives, sees, and knows all system, and also to those who are in the planets in tnings, even to the most minute, which are done other systems, out of this solar system. By virtue according to order, is, because order is universal of this presence, not of place, but of the appear from all the several parts; for the several parts, ance of place, I have conversed with apostles, taken together, are called a universal, as the par- deceased popes, emperors, and kings; with the ticulars are called a general; and a universal, toge-founders of the present church, Luther, Calvin, ther with all its several parts, is a work cohering as one, so that one part cannot be touched and affected, without communicating to the rest some sensible perception of it. It is from this quality of order in the universe, that there is something similar in all created things in the universe; but this will be illustrated by comparisons taken from visible things. In the whole man, there are general

and Melancthon; and with others from distant countries. Since such is the presence of angels and spirits, what limits can be set to the Divine presence in the universe, which is infinite! The reason that angels and spirits have such presence, is, because every affection of love, and thence every thought of the understanding, is in space without space, and in time without time; for any

one can think of a brother, relation, or friend in the Indies, and then have him, as it were, present to him; in like manner, he may be affected with their love by recollection. By these things, because they are familiar to every one, the divine omnipresence may, in some degree, be illustrated; and also by human thoughts, as, when any one recalls to his remembrance what he has seen upon a journey in various places, he is, as it were, present at those places. Nay, the sight of the body emulates that same presence; the eye does not perceive distances, except by intermediate objects, which, as it were, measure them. The sun itself would be near the eye, nay, in the eye, unless intermediate objects discovered that it is so distant: that it is so, writers on optics have also observed in their books. Such presence has each sight of man, both intellectual and corporeal, because his spirit sees through his eyes; but no beast has similar presence, because they have not any spirital sight. From these things, it is evident that God is omnipresent, from the firsts to the lasts of his order. T. C. R. 64.

men.

God is very Man.

and he observed that they had no other idea of God than the idea of Man, which is the same with the idea of a Divine Humanity."-D. L. W. 11.

28. Some, in the Christian world, have formed to themselves an idea of God as of some universal principle; some, as of nature, in her inmost principle; some, as of a cloud in some space of ether; some, as a bright ray of light; and some, no idea at all; whilst few have formed an idea of God as of Man, when yet God is Man. Several causes have operated to excite such ideas of God in Christians: the first is, because from their doctrine they believe in three divine persons distinct from each other, in the Father as an invisible God, in the Lord also, but as to His Human [principle] not God. The second is, that they believe God to be a spirit, and they conceive of a spirit as of wind, as of air or ether, when yet every spirit is a man. The third is, that Christians, in consequence of their faith alone without life, have been rendered worldly, and from self-love corporeal, and the worldly and corporeal man does not see God except from space, thus as the inmost principle in the universe, consequently as extended, when yet God is not to be seen from space, for there is no space in the spiritual world, space in that world being only in appearance grounded on what is like it. Every sensual man sees God in like manner, because he thinks little above speech, and the thought of speech says to itself, "What the eye sees and the hand touches, this I know is," and all other things it dissipates, as if they were only things to be talked of. These are the causes why in the Christian world there is no idea of God as Man. That there is no such idea, yea, that there is a repugnance to it, you may know from examining yourself, and thinking of the Divine Human [principle], when yet the Human [principle] of the Lord is divine. Nevertheless, the above ideas of God do not appertain so much to the simple as the intelligent, for many of the latter are blinded by the conceit of their own intelligence, and are hence infatuated by science, according to the Lord's words (Matthew xi. 25; xiii. 13, 14, 15). But let them know, that all who see God as man, see Him from the Lord, the rest from themselves; and they who see from themselves do not see.

27. In all the heavens there is no other idea of God than that of Man: the reason is, because heaven in the whole, and in part, is in form as a man, and the Divine, which is with the angels, constitutes heaven; and thought proceeds according to the form of heaven; wherefore it is impossible for the angels to think of God otherwise: hence it is that all those in the world who are in conjunction with heaven, think in like manner of God, when they think inwardly in themselves, or in their spirit. Since God is Man, all angels and all spirits are men in a perfect form: this is a consequence of the form of heaven, which in its greatest and least parts is like itself. That men were created after the image and likeness of God, is known from Genesis i. 26, 27; also that God was seen as Man by Abraham and others. The ancients, from the wise to the simple, thought no otherwise of God than as of Man, and at length, when they began to worship a plurality of gods, as at Athens and Rome, they worshipped them all as What has been said may be illustrated by the following extract from a small treatise pub-A. E. 1114. lished sometime ago: "The Gentiles, particularly the Africans, who acknowledge and worship one God, the Creator of the universe, entertain an idea of God as of Man, and say that no one can have any other idea of God. When they hear that many form an idea of God as of a little cloud in the midst of the universe, they ask where such are; and when it is said that there are such among Christians, they deny that it is possible; but in reply it is shown, that some Christians conceive such an idea from this circumstance, that God in the Word is called a spirit, and of a spirit they think no otherwise than as of a thin cloud, not knowing that every spirit and every angel is a man. Nevertheless, examination was made, whether their spiritual idea was similar to their natural idea, and it was found that with those who interiorly acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth it was not similar. I heard a certain presbyter of the Christians say, that no one can have any idea of a Divine Humanity; and I saw him carried about to various nations, successively to such as were more and more interior, and from them to their heavens, and lastly to the Christian heaven, and every where there was a communication of their interior perception of God;

29. Inasmuch as the idea of God as Man is implanted in every one, therefore several people and nations have worshipped gods who either were men or were seen by them as men; as in Greece, Italy, and some kingdoms under their power, they worshipped Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Apollo, Mercury, Juno, Minerva, Diana, Venus and her boy, and others, and ascribed to them the government of the universe. The reason why they distinguished the Divinity into so many persons, was, because it was from a principle implanted in them, that they saw God as Man, and therefore they saw all the attributes, properties, and qualities of God, and thence, also, the virtues, affections, inclinations, and sciences, as persons. It was, also, from an implanted principle that the inhabitants of the lands round about Canaan, and likewise of the regions within it, worshipped Baalim, Astoroth, Beelzebub, Chemosh, Milcom, Molech, and others, several of whom had lived as men. It is, also, from an implanted principle, that, at this day, in Gentile Christendom, saints are worshipped as gods, that the knees are bended before their idols, that they are kissed, that the head is made bare for them in the ways where they are exposed, and that their sepulchres are adored; yea, even in the

presence of the pope, the shoes of whose feet, and, I selves, nor from the flesh, but from the spirit, think

of H determinately, that is, present to themselves an idea of the Divine under a human appearance: so the angels in heaven think of the Divine, and so the wise ancients thought, to whom also, when the Divine Itself appeared, it appeared as a Divine Man, for the Divine passing through heaven is a Divine Man; the reason is, because heaven is the Grand Man, as has been shown at the close of several chapters. From these considerations it is evident, what is the quality of the intelligent ones of the world, and what is the quality of the intelligent ones of heaven, namely, that the intelligent ones of the world remove from themselves the idea of the human, whence it is that between their

in some cases, his footsteps, are eagerly saluted; and he would have been saluted as a god, if religion had allowed it. These and several other particulars are from an implanted principle, inclining men to worship a god whom they see, and not any thing aerial, for this latter is smoke to them. But the idea of God as Man, flowing in out of heaven, is perverted with many, insomuch, that either a man of the world, or an idol, is worshipped instead of God; comparatively, as the bright light of the sun is turned into colors not beautiful, and his summer heat into fetid odors, according to the objects into which they fall. But that the idea of God is made an idea of a little cloud, of a mist, or of the inmost principles of nature, is from the causes above ad-minds and the Divine there is no mediation, in duced, and has place amongst Christians, but rarely amongst other nations who enjoy any light of reason, as amongst the Africans and several others.A. E. 1118.

consequence whereof they have thick darkness; whereas the intelligent ones of heaven have an idea of the Divine in the Human, thus the Lord is to them mediation, and hence their minds have light.-A. C. 8705.

SEC. 2.-THE CREATION OF THE UNIVerse. The Universe created from God, not from Nothing.

30. That God is Man, and that the Lord is that Man, is manifest from all things which are in the heavens, and which are beneath the heavens. In the heavens, all things which proceed from he Lord, in the greatest and in the least [parts], are either in a human form, or have reference to the 32. Every one who thinks from clear reason, human form; the universal heaven is in a human sees that the universe is not created from nothing, form, every society of heaven is in a human form, because He sees that it is impossible for any thing every angel is a human form, and, likewise, every to be made out of nothing; for nothing is nothing, spirit beneath the heavens: and it has been re- and to make any thing out of nothing, is a contravealed, that all things, both least and greatest, diction, and a contradiction is contrary to the light which proceed immediately from the Lord, are in of truth, which is from the divine wisdom; and that form, for what proceeds from God is a resem- whatever is not from the divine wisdom, is not from blance of Him. Hence it is, that it is said of the the divine omnipotence. Every one who thinks man Adam and Eve, that they were "created into from clear reason, sees also, that all things were the image and likeness of God" (Gen. i. 26, 27). created out of a substance, which is substance in Hence, also, it is, that the angels in the heavens, itself, for this is the real esse, from which all things inasmuch as they are recipients of the Divine that are, can exist; and as God alone is substance [principle] which proceeds from the Lord, are men in itself, and thence the real esse, it is evident that of astonishing beauty, whereas spirits in the hells, the existence of things is from no other source. because they do not receive the Divine [principle] Many have seen this, for reason gives to see it; which proceeds from the Lord, are devils, who, in but they durst not confirm it, fearing that thereby, the light of heaven, do not appear as men, but as they might come to think, that the created universe monsters. From this consideration it is, that every is God, because it is from God, or that nature exists one in the spiritual world is known from his human from itself, and thus that its inmost is what is form, as to the degree in which he partakes of the called God. Hence, although many have seen, Divine [principle] proceeding from the Lord. that the existence of all things is from no other A. E. 1119.

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source than from God and His esse, nevertheless, they durst not proceed beyond the first thought on the subject, lest they should entangle their understandings in a Gordian knot, as it is called, from whence they might not afterwards be able to extricate them. The reason why they might not have been able to extricate their understandings, is, because they thought of God, and of the creation of the universe by God, from time and space, which are proper to nature; and no one can perceive God and the creation of the universe from nature, but every one whose understanding is in any degree of interior light, may perceive nature and its creation from God, because God is not in time and space. — D. L. W. 283.

31. If any one, without the idea of a Divine Man, thinks of the Divine Himself, he thinks indeterminately, and an indeterminate idea is no idea; or he conceives an idea of the Divine from the visible universe without an end, or with an end in what is obscure, which idea conjoins itself with the idea of the worshippers of nature; it also falls into nature, and so becomes no idea; hence it is evident that there would not be any conjunction with the Divine by faith nor by love. All conjunction requires an object, and the conjunction effected is according to the quality of the object; hence it is that the Lord, as to the Divine Human, is called a mediator and intercessor, but mediates and intercedes with Himself. That the Divine Itself cannot be apprehended by any idea, is manifest from the Lord's words in John, "No one hath seen 33. There are two suns, by which all things God at any time, the only-begotten Son, who is in were created from the Lord, the sun of the spiritual the bosom of the Father, He hath brought Him world, and the sun of the natural world: all things forth to view," i. 18; and again, "Ye have neither were created from the Lord by the sun of the heard the voice of the Father at any time, nor seen spiritual world, but not by the sun of the natural His appearance," v. 37. Nevertheless, what is world; for the latter is far below the former, and in remarkable, all who think from themselves, or from a mean distance: the spiritual world is above it, the flesh concerning God, think of Him indeter- and the natural world is beneath it; and the sun of ninately, that is, without any determinate idea; the natural world was created to act as a medium whereas they who think of God not from them- or substitute.-D. L. W. 153.

Creation by two Suns.

34. The reason why there is one sun of the ascribe to it any thing of creation, would be like spiritual world and another sun of the natural ascribing to the instrument, with which the hand world, is because those worlds are altogether dis- of the artificer operates, the work of the artificer. tinct; and a world derives its origin from its sun; The sun of the natural world is pure fire, from for a world in which all things are spiritual cannot which all life is abstracted; but the sun of the originate from a sun all things from which are spiritual world is fire containing divine life. The natural, for thus influx would be physical, which idea of the angels concerning the fire of the sun of nevertheless is contrary to order. That the world the natural world, and the fire of the sun of the existed from the sun, and not vice versa, is manifest spiritual world, is this; that the divine life is infrom an effect of this cause, viz., that the world in ternally in the fire of the sun of the spiritual world, all and each of its parts subsists by means of the but externally in the fire of the sun of the natural sun, and subsistence demonstrates existence, where- world. From this it may be seen that the actuality fore it is said that subsistence is perpetual exist- of the sun of the natural world, is not from itself, ence; from whence it is evident, that if the sun but from the living power proceeding from the sun were removed, its world would fall into chaos, and of the spiritual world; wherefore, if the living this chaos into nothing. That in the spiritual world power of the latter sun were withdrawn or taken there is a different sun from that in the natural away, the former sun would perish. Hence it is, world, I can testify, for I have seen it: it appears that the worship of the sun is the lowest of all fiery like our sun, nearly of a similar magnitude, kinds of worship of a God; and therefore in the and is at a distance from the angels as our sun is Word, it is called an abomination. from men; but it does not rise nor set, but stands immovable in a middle altitude between the zenith and the horizon, whence the angels have perpetual light and perpetual spring. The man of reason, who knows nothing concerning the sun of the spiritual world, easily becomes delirious in his idea concerning the creation of the universe, which, when he deeply considers it, he perceives no otherwise than as being from nature and as the origin of nature is the sun, no otherwise than as being from its sun as a creator. I. S. B. 4.

35. Spiritual things cannot proceed from any other source than from love, and love cannot proceed from any other source than from Jehovah God, who is love itself; wherefore the sun of the spiritual world, from which all spiritual things issue as from their fountain, is pure love, proceeding from Jehovah God, who is in the midst of it: that sun itself is not God, but is from God, and is the proximate sphere about him from him. Through this sun the universe was created by Jehovah God: by the universe all the worlds in one complex are understood, which are as many as the stars in the expanse of our heaven. That creation was effected through that sun, which is pure love, thus by Jehovah God, is because love is the very esse of lit and wisdom is the existere of life thence der.sed, and all things were created from love by wisdom. This is understood by these words in John, "The Word was with God, and God was the Word; all things were made by him, and without him nothing was made which was made; and the world was made by him," i. 1, 3, 10. The Word here is the divine truth, thus likewise the divine wisdom; wherefore also the Word is called the light which illumines every man, ver. 9, in like manner as divine wisdom illumines by divine truth. As God is one, so also the spiritual sun is one; for the extension of space is not predicable of spiritual things, which are the derivations of that sun; and essence and existence without space is every where in space without space: thus the divine love is from the beginning of the universe to all its boundaries. - I. S. B. 5.

37. Since the sun of the natural world is pure fire, and for that reason dead, therefore, the heat thence proceeding, is dead heat, and the light thence proceeding, dead light. By parity of reasoning, the atmospheres, the ether and the air, which receive and communicate the heat and light of that sun, are dead; and being dead, all and singular the things of the world, which is subject to them, and is called earth, are dead. Nevertheless, all and singular these things are surrounded by spiritual things, which proceed and flow from the sun of the spiritual world; and unless they were thus surrounded, the earths could not have been actuated, and made capable of producing forms of uses, that is, vegetables or forms of life, that is, animals; or of furnishing a supply of materials for the existence and subsistence of man.

38. Now since nature begins from that sun, and all that exists and subsists therefrom is called natural, it follows, that nature, with all and singular the things appertaining to it, is dead. The appearance of nature as alive, in men and animals, is owing to the life which accompanies and actuates nature.-D. L. W. 157-159.

39. From the spiritual sun, as a great centre. proceed circles, one after another, and one from another, even to the last, where their end is, subsisting in rest; and those circles, appearing as extended into what is broad, and into what is long, are spiritual atmospheres, which the light and heat from that sun fill, and by which they propagate themselves to the ultimate circle: and in the last, by means of those atmospheres, and afterwards by means of the natural atmospheres which are from the sun of the world, was effected the creation of the earth, and on it of all things which are for use, which creation is afterwards continued by generations from seeds, in wombs or in eggs. D. W. 5.

Origin of Matter.

40. That substances or matters, like those on the earth, were produced from the sun by its atmospheres, is affirmed by all who think that 36. The sun of the natural world is pure fire, there are perpetual intermediations from the first and therefore dead, and since nature derives its to the last: and that nothing can exist, but from origin from that sun, it is also dead. Creation | a prior self, and at length, from the First: and the itself cannot in the least be ascribed to the sun of First is the sun of the spiritual world, and the First the natural world, but all to the sun of the spiritual of that sun is God-Man, or the Lord. Now as the world, because the sun of the natural world is atmospheres are the prior things, by which that wholly dead, but the sun of the spiritual world is sun presents itself in ultimates, and as those prior alive, being the first proceeding of the divine love things continually decrease in activity and expanand the divine wisdom; and what is dead does not sion, to ultimates, it follows, that when their ac act from itself, but is acted on; wherefore to tivity and expansion cease in ultimates, they be

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