188. Fourth Memorable Relation:
As I have been permitted by the Lord to behold wonderful things in the heavens and beneath the heavens, it behooves me, as commanded, to relate what has been seen. There was seen a magnificent palace, and in the innermost parts of it a temple, and in the center of the temple a golden table upon which the Word was lying, and two angels stood beside it. Around the table were seats in triple rows. The seats of the first row were covered with cloth of pure silk, purple colored; those of the second row with cloth of sky-blue silk; and those of the third row with white cloth. Beneath the roof, high above the table, a wide canopy was seen ablaze with precious stones, from the glow of which shone a rainbow, such as is seen when the sky is clearing after a shower. Presently a number of the clergy equal to the number of the seats appeared and occupied the seats, all clothed in the garments of the priestly office. At one side was a wardrobe where an angel keeper stood; and within it arranged in beautiful order splendid robes were lying. This was a council called together by the Lord; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Deliberate." But they asked, "On what subject?" It was said, "On the Lord the Savior, and on the Holy Spirit." But when they began to meditate on these subjects they were not in a state of enlightenment; therefore they prayed, and a light then flowed down from heaven; and first the back part of their heads were lighted up, then their temples and at last their faces. Then they began to deliberate, and first, as bidden, in regard to the Lord the Savior. [2] And the first point proposed and discussed was, Who assumed the Human in the Virgin Mary? And the angel standing beside the table upon which was the Word, read to them the following from Luke:
The angel said to Mary, Behold thou shalt conceive in the womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And Mary said to the angel, How shall this thing be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing that is born of thee shall be called the Son of God (1:31, 32, 34, 35). Then he read the following from Matthew:
The angel said to Joseph in a dream, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy bride, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son and he called His name Jesus (Matt. 1:20, 25). We also read other passages from the Gospels (as Matt. 3:17; 17:5; John 1:18; 3:16; 20:31); and many others elsewhere, in which the Lord in respect to His Human is called the Son of God, and where from His Human He calls Jehovah His Father. We read also from the Prophets, where it is foretold that Jehovah Himself would come into the world; among them these two passages from Isaiah:
It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him that He may deliver us; this is Jehovah; we have waited for Him; let us exult and be glad in His salvation (25:9). The voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah; make level in the wilderness a highway for our God. For the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Behold, the Lord Jehovah cometh in strength, He shall feed His Bock like a shepherd (40:3, 5, 10, 11). [3] And the angel said, "Because Jehovah Himself came into the world and assumed the Human He is called in the Prophets Savior and Redeemer. Then he read to them the following passages:
Among Thee alone is God, and there is no God besides. Surely Thou art a hidden God, O God of Israel, the Savior (Isa. 45:14, 15). Am not I Jehovah? And there is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Savior, there is none beside Me (Isa. 45:21, 22). I am Jehovah, and beside Me there is no Savior (Isa. 43:11). I am Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt acknowledge no God beside Me, and there is no Savior beside Me (Hos. 13:4). That all flesh may know that I Jehovah am thy Savior and thy Redeemer (Isa. 49:26; 60:16). As for our Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts is His name (Isa. 47:4). Their Redeemer is strong, Jehovah of Hosts is His name (Jer. 50:34). O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer (Ps. 19:14). Thus said Jehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am Jehovah thy God (Isa. 48:17; 43:14; 49:7; 54:8). Thou, Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is Thy name (Isa. 63:16). Thus said Jehovah thy redeemer, I am Jehovah that maketh all things, even alone by Myself (Isa. 44:24). Thus said Jehovah the King of Israel, and His Redeemer Jehovah of hosts, I am the first, and I am the last; and besides Me there is no God (Isa. 44:6). Jehovah of Hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called (Isa. 54:5). Behold the days come, when I shall raise up unto David a righteous branch, and He shall reign as king, and this is His name, Jehovah, our Righteousness (Jer. 23:5, 6; 33:15, 16). In that day Jehovah shall be king over all the earth; in that day Jehovah shall be one, and His name one (Zech. 14:9). [4] Strengthened in belief by all these passages, those that sat upon the seats unanimously declared, that Jehovah himself assumed the Human that He might redeem and save men. And thereupon from some Roman Catholics who had hidden themselves behind the altar a voice was heard saying, "How can Jehovah God become a man? Is He not the creator of the universe?" And one of those on the second row of seats turned about and said, "Who then was it?" And he who had been behind the altar and was now standing near it said, "The Son from eternity." But he received the reply, "Is not the Son from eternity, according to your confession of faith, also the Creator of the universe? Moreover, what is a Son and a God born from eternity? And how can the Divine essence, which is one and indivisible, be separated, and one part of it descend and not the whole at once?" [5] The second subject of discussion about the Lord, was whether the Father and He are thus one as soul and body are one; and they said that this follows, because the soul is from the father. Then one of those who sat on the third row of seats read from what is called the Athanasian Creed as follows, "Although our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man, yet these are not two, but one Christ; yea, one altogether; He is one person; since as the soul and body make one Man, so God and Man is one Christ." The reader said that this creed, in which these words are found, is accepted throughout the Christian world, even by the Roman Catholics. The others said, "What more is needed? God the Father and He are one as soul and body are one." And they said, "This being so, we see that the Lord's Human is Divine because it is the Human of Jehovah; also that it is the Lord as to His Divine human who is to be approached, and that thus and in no other way can the Divine which is called the Father be approached." [6] This conclusion of theirs the angel confirmed by many passages from the Word, among which were the following:
Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and His name, Wonderful, Counselor, God, Mighty, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us; Thou, Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer from everlasting is Thy name (Isa. 63:16). And in John:
Jesus said, He that believeth in Me believeth in Him that sent Me; and he that seeth Me seeth Him that sent me (John 12:44, 45). Philip said to Jesus, Show us the Father, Jesus saith unto him, he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me (John 14:8-11). Jesus said, I and My Father are one (John 10:30). All things that the Father hath are Mine; and all Mine are the Father's (John 16:15; 17:10). Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one cometh unto the Father but by Me (John 14:6). To all this the reader added, that things like those here said by the Lord about himself and his Father might also be said by man about himself and his own soul. Having heard this they all with one voice and one heart declared that the Lord's human is Divine, and that this human must be approached in order to approach the Father, since by means of it Jehovah God sent himself thus accessible. To the ancients in like manner He made Himself visible, and thus accessible in a Human Form; but then through an angel. But as that form was representative of the Lord who was to come, so with the ancients all things pertaining to the church were representative. [7] This was followed by a deliberation about the Holy Spirit. In the first place there was set forth the idea of many respecting God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, namely, that God the Father sits on high with the Son at His right hand, and that the two send forth from themselves the Holy Spirit to enlighten, teach, justify and sanctify mankind. Then a voice from heaven was heard saying, "That idea of thought is to us unbearable. Who does not know that Jehovah God is omnipresent? And whoever knows and acknowledges this must acknowledge that He Himself enlightens, teaches, justifies, and sanctifies; and that there is no mediating God distinct from Him, still less a God distinct from two Gods, as one person from another person. Therefore have done with the former idea, which is foolish, and let this which is the right idea be accepted, and you will see the matter clearly." [8] Then a voice from the Roman Catholics who were standing near the altar of the temple was heard saying, "What, then, is the Holy Spirit which is mentioned in the Word in the Gospels and in Paul, by which so many learned men of the clergy, especially our own, say they are led? Who at this day in the Christian world denies the Holy Spirit and its operations?" At these words one of those sitting on the second row of seats turned about and said, You say that the Holy Spirit is a person by Himself and a God by Himself; but what is a person going out of and forth from a person but an operation going out and forth? One person cannot go out of or forth from another, but operation can. Or what is a God going out of or proceeding from God, but an outgoing and proceeding Divine? One God cannot go out of or forth from another God, and through still another, but the Divine can go out and forth from one God." [9] On hearing these words those sitting on the seats unanimously concluded that the Holy Spirit is not a person by itself, nor thus a God by itself, but is the Holy Divine going out of and forth from the one only and omnipresent God, who is the Lord. At this the angels who stood near the golden table upon which was the Word said, "It is well. Nowhere does one read in the Old Covenant that the prophets spoke the Word from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah; and in the new Covenant wherever the Holy Spirit is mentioned it means the Divine going forth, which is the Divine enlightening, teaching, vivifying, reforming, and regenerating." [10] After this another discussion about the Holy Spirit followed on this point, From whom does the Divine that is meant by the Holy Spirit go forth, whether from the Father or from the Lord? While they were discussing this subject a light from heaven beamed upon them by which they saw that the Holy Divine, which is meant by the Holy Spirit, does not go forth out of the Father through the Lord, but out of the Lord from the Father, comparatively as man's activity goes forth, not from the soul through the body, but out of the body from the soul. The angel who stood near the table confirmed this by the following passages from the Word:
He whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God; for not by measure doth God give the Spirit unto Him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand (John 3:34, 35). And there shall go forth a Shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding; the spirit of counsel and might (Isa. 9:1, 2). That the Spirit of Jehovah was put upon Him and was in Him (Isa. 42:1, 49:19, 20; 51:1; Luke 4:18). When the Holy Spirit is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father (John 15:26). He shall glorify Me, for He shall take of Mine and shall declare it unto you. All things whatsoever the Father hath are Mine therefore said I that He shall take of Mine and shall declare it unto you (John 16:14, 15). If I go away I will send the Comforter unto you (John 16:7). That the Comforter is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 8:39). But after the glorification:
Jesus breathed upon the disciples, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). And in the Apocalypse:
Who shall not glorify Thy name, O Lord? for Thou alone art holy (15:4). [11] As the Holy Spirit means the Lord's Divine operation from His Divine omnipresence, so when He spoke to His disciples about the Holy Spirit whom He would send from the Father He also said:
I will not leave you orphans. I go away and I come unto you. And in that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:18, 20, 28). And just before He left the world He said:
Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the consummation of the age (Matt. 28:20). Having read these passages to them the angel said, "From these and many other passages from the Word it is clear that the Divine which is called the Holy Spirit goes forth out of the Lord from the Father." Hereupon those who sat upon the seats said, "This is Divine truth." [12] Finally the following decree was adopted: "From the deliberation of this council we have clearly seen and therefore acknowledge as holy truth, that in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ there is a Divine trinity, namely, the Divine from which (a quo), which is called the Father, the Divine Human which is called the Son, and the Divine going forth which is called the Holy Spirit;" and together they cried out that:
"In Christ dwelleth all the fulness of Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9). Thus in the church God is one." [13] When this conclusion had been reached in that magnificent council the members arose; and an angel keeper came from the wardrobe bringing to each one of those occupying the seats splendid garments interwoven here and there with golden threads; and he said, "Accept these wedding garments." And they were conducted in glory to the new Christian heaven, with which the Lord's church on earth, which is the New Jerusalem, will be conjoined.