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(1) The one God is called Jehovah from esse, that is, because he alone is, was, and is to be, and because he is the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega.

It is known that “Jehovah” signifies I am and to be [esse]; and that God has been so called from the most ancient times is clear from the book of creation, or Genesis, where in the first chapter he is called “God,” and in the second and subsequent chapters “Jehovah God,” and afterwards, when the children of Abraham through Jacob, during their long sojourn in Egypt, forgot the name of God, it was recalled to their remembrance; of which as follows:

13모세가 하나님께 아뢰되 내가 이스라엘 자손에게 가서 이르기를 너희의 조상의 하나님이 나를 너희에게 보내셨다 하면 그들이 내게 묻기를 그의 이름이 무엇이냐 하리니 내가 무엇이라고 그들에게 말하리이까 14하나님이 모세에게 이르시되 나는 스스로 있는 자이니라 또 이르시되 너는 이스라엘 자손에게 이같이 이르기를 스스로 있는 자가 나를 너희에게 보내셨다 하라 15하나님이 또 모세에게 이르시되 너는 이스라엘 자손에게 이같이 이르기를 너희 조상의 하나님 여호와 곧 아브라함의 하나님, 이삭의 하나님, 야곱의 하나님께서 나를 너희에게 보내셨다 하라 이는 나의 영원한 이름이요 대대로 기억할 나의 칭호니라 (출3:13-15) Moses said unto God, What is thy name? God said unto Moses, I am who 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 to eternity, and this is my memorial from generation to generation (Exod. 3:13–15).

Since God alone is the I Am and esse, or Jehovah, nothing can exist in the created universe that does not derive its esse from him; but how will be seen below. The words:

이스라엘의 왕인 여호와, 이스라엘의 구원자인 만군의 여호와가 이같이 말하노라 나는 처음이요 나는 마지막이라나 외에 다른 신이 없느니라 (사44:6) I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega (Isa. 44:6: Rev. 1:8, 11; 22:13),

주 하나님이 이르시되 나는 알파와 오메가라 이제도 있고 전에도 있었고 장차 올 자요 전능한 자라 하시더라 (계1:8)

나는 알파와 오메가요 처음과 마지막이요 시작과 마침이라 (계22:13)

have the same meaning, signifying, who is the itself and the only from things first to things last, the source of all things.

[2] God is called “the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end,” because alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and omega the last; and therefore the two signify all things in the complex. This is because each letter in the alphabet in the spiritual world signifies a thing. And as the vowels furnish the tone, they signify something belonging to affection or love. This is the origin both of spiritual or angelic speech and of writing there. But it is an arcanum hitherto unknown; for there is a universal language which is the language of all angels and spirits, and which has nothing in common with any language of men in the world; into this language everyone comes after death, for it is inherent in every man from his creation; consequently in the spiritual world everyone can understand every other. I have frequently been permitted to hear that language; and I have compared it with languages in the world, and have found that in no respect whatever does it agree with any natural language on earth. It differs from them in its initial element, which is that each letter in each word has its special meaning. It is for this reason that God is called alpha and omega, which means that he is the itself and the only from things first to things last, the source of all things. But regarding this speech and form of writing, which flows from the spiritual thought of the angels, see Conjugial Love (n. 326–329), and also the following pages.

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Let us first consider the Divine esse, and afterwards the Divine essence. In appearance the two are one and the same; but esse is more universal than essence; for essence implies esse, and is derived from esse. The esse of God (or the Divine esse) it is impossible to define, because it transcends every idea of human thought, since this can take in only what is created and finite, and not what is uncreate and infinite, and therefore not the Divine esse. The Divine esse is esse itself, from which all things are, and which must be in all things in order that they may have being. A fuller conception of the Divine esse may be gained by the following propositions:

(1) The one God is called Jehovah from esse, that is because he alone is, was, and is to be, and because he is the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega.

(2) The one God is substance itself and form itself, and angels and men are substances and forms from him, and so far as they are in him and he is in them are images and likenesses of him.

(3) The Divine esse is at once esse [being] in itself and existere [manifestation] in itself.

(4) It is impossible for the Divine esse and existere in itself to produce another Divine which is esse and existere in itself; therefore another God of the same essence is impossible.

(5) The doctrine of a plurality of gods, both in past ages and at the present day, sprang solely from a failure to understand the Divine esse.

But these propositions must be elucidated one by one.

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(8) With men who acknowledge several Gods instead of one there is no coherence in the things relating to the church.

He who in his belief acknowledges and in his heart worships one God is both in the communion of the saints on earth and in the communion of the angels in heaven. These are called “communions,” and are communions, because such are in the one God and the one God is in them. Moreover, they are in conjunction with the entire angelic heaven, and, I might venture to say, with all and each of its inhabitants, for they are all like the children and descendants of one father, whose dispositions, manners, and features are similar, whereby they recognize each other. The angelic heaven is harmoniously arranged in societies in accordance with all the varieties of the love of good, and these varieties center in one universal love, which is love to God; from which love all are born who in belief acknowledge and in heart worship the one God, who is both the creator of the universe and the redeemer and regenerator.

[2] But it is a wholly different matter with those who approach and worship several gods instead of one, and with those who talk of one and think of three, as do those in the church at this day who divide God into three persons, and declare that each person by himself is God, and attribute to each one special qualities or properties that do not belong to the others. From this arises a disintegration not only of the unity of God but of theology itself, and still further of human thought, to which theology belongs. And what can follow from this but perplexity and incoherency in things of the church? That such is the state of the church at this day will be shown in the appendix to this work. The truth is that the division of God, or of the Divine essence, into three persons, each one of whom by himself or singly is God, induces a denial of God. It is as if a man should enter a temple to worship, and see painted on a tablet over the altar one God as the ancient of days, another as the great high priest, and the third as a flying Aeolus, with the inscription: “These three are one God”; or like seeing there the unity and trinity depicted as a man with three heads on one body, of three bodies under one head, which would be monstrosities. If anyone should enter heaven with such an idea he would certainly be cast out headlong, even if he should declare that the head or heads mean the essence, and the body or bodies its different properties.

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To this I will add the following memorable relation: I saw some who had recently come from the natural world into the spiritual world talking together about three Divine persons from eternity. They were dignitaries of the church, and one of them was a bishop.

They came up to me; and after some talk about the spiritual world, respecting which they had before known nothing, I said, “I heard you speaking of three Divine persons from eternity; I beseech you to disclose to me this great mystery according to the conception you had formed of it in the natural world from which you have lately come.”

Then the bishop, looking at me, said, “I see that you are a layman, therefore I will set forth my ideas on this great mystery, and will instruct you. My conception of the matter was, and still is, that God the Father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit sit in the center of heaven upon magnificent and lofty seats or thrones—God the Father on a throne of pure gold, with a scepter in his hand; God the son at his right hand on a throne of the purest silver, with a crown on his head; and God the Holy Spirit near them, on a throne of dazzling crystal, holding a dove in his hand; and that round about them in triple order are hanging lamps glittering with precious stones; while at a distance from this circle stand innumerable angels, all worshiping and singing praises; and furthermore, that God the Father is continually talking with his son about those who are to be justified, and they together judge and determine who on earth are worthy to be received by them among the angels, and crowned with eternal life; while God the Holy Spirit, on hearing the names of such, hastens to them throughout the earth, carrying with him gifts of righteousness as so many tokens of salvation for the justified; and the instant he approaches and breathes upon them he disperses their sins, as a ventilator drives the smoke from a furnace and makes it white. He also takes away the stony hardness of their hearts, and imparts the tenderness of flesh, and at the same time renews their spirits or minds, and regenerates them, giving them infantile faces; and finally he seals them in the forehead with the sign of the cross, and calls them ‘the elect’ and ‘sons of God.’” Having finished this speech the bishop said, “Thus did I in the world elucidate this great mystery; and as most of our order there applauded my utterances, I am persuaded that you also, who are a layman, will assent to them.”

[2] When the bishop had ceased speaking I looked at him, and also at the dignitaries with him, and I noticed that they all gave full assent to what he had said. I therefore began to reply, and said, “I have given close attention to the statement of your belief, and from it I gather that you have conceived and cherish an idea of the triune God that is wholly natural, sensual, and even material, and that there inevitably follows from it the idea of three gods. Is it not thinking sensually of God the Father to conceive of him as seated on a throne with a scepter in his hand; and of the son on his throne with a crown on his head; and of the Holy Spirit on his with a dove in his hand, and as hastening over the world in accordance with what he hears? And as such an idea results from your statements, I cannot assent to them; for from my childhood I have not been able to admit into my mind any other idea than that of one God; and since I have accepted and hold no other idea, all that you have said has no weight with me. I also saw that ‘the throne’ on which Jehovah is said in Scripture to sit means his kingdom, the ‘scepter’ and ‘crown,’ government and dominion; the ‘sitting at the right hand,’ God’s omnipotence through his humanity; also that by what is attributed to the Holy Spirit the operations of Divine omnipresence are meant. Assume, sir, if you please, the idea of one God, and rightly dwell upon that in your reasonings, and you will at length clearly apprehend that this is so.

[3] “Furthermore, you admit that God is one, in that you make the essence of these three persons one and indivisible; while yet you do not allow anyone to say that this one God is one person, but he must say that there are three persons and this you do lest the idea of three gods, such as you entertain, should be lost; also you ascribe to each person a property different from those of the others. In all this do you not divide your Divine essence? And this being so, how can you say and also think that God is one? I could excuse you if you had said that the Divine is one. How can anyone on hearing that ‘The Father is God, the son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and singly each person is God, ‘ possibly think of God as one? Is it not a contradiction, to which assent is utterly impossible? That they cannot be said to be one God, but only to have a like Divinity, may be thus illustrated. A number of men forming one senate, assembly, or council, cannot be called one man; although when each and all have the same opinion they may be said to be one in thought. Neither can three diamonds of the same substance be called one diamond; although they may be called one in substance. Moreover, each diamond would differ from the others in value according to its weight, which would not be true if they were one instead of three.

[4] “But I perceive the reason why three persons, each one of whom is by himself singly God, are called by you one God, and why you enjoin upon everyone in the church so to speak, namely, because all sound and enlightened reason in the world acknowledges God to be one, and in consequence you would be covered with shame if you too did not speak in like manner. And yet when you utter the words ‘one God’ while in your thoughts there are three, that shame does not prevent your giving utterance to both of these ideas.”

After this conversation the bishop with his clerical companions withdrew, and as he departed he turned and tried to say, “There is one God”; but he could not say it, because this thought restrained his tongue, and with open mouth he gasped out, “Three gods!” At this strange sight the bystanders laughed derisively and departed.

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Afterwards I asked where I could find those of the learned with the keenest minds who stood for a Divine trinity divided into three persons. Three of these presented themselves; and I said to them, “How can you divide the Divine trinity into three persons, and assert that each person, by himself or singly, is God and Lord? Is not a confession of the mouth that God is one thus made as remote from the thought as the south from the north?” To this they replied, “It is not at all remote, since the three persons possess one essence, and the Divine essence is God. In the world we were guardians of a trinity of persons, and the ward under our charge was our faith; in that faith each Divine person had his office—God the Father to impute and bestow, God the son to intercede and mediate, and God the Holy Spirit to carry out the work of imputation and mediation.”

[2] But I asked, “What do you mean by the ‘Divine essence?’”

They said, “We mean omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, immensity, eternity, and equality of majesty.”

I replied, “If that essence makes one God of several you might add more yet, for example: a fourth, mentioned by Moses, Ezekiel, and Job, under the name of ‘God Shaddai.’ Something of this kind was done in Greece and Italy by the ancients, who ascribed equal attributes and a like essence to their gods, for example, to Saturn, Jove, Neptune, Pluto, Apollo, Juno, Diana, Minerva, and even Mercury and Venus; although they could not say that all these were one God. Moreover, yourselves, who are three persons, and as I apprehend alike in learning and therefore in that respect of a similar essence, are not able to combine yourselves into one learned man.”

They laughed at this, and said, “You are joking. With the Divine essence it is different: it is not tripartite, but one; not divisible, but indivisible; partition and division do not apply to it.”

[3] Hearing this I said, “Let us come down to this ground and discuss the matter.” And I asked, “What do you mean by a ‘person,’ and what does the term signify?”

They said, “The term ‘person’ signifies that which has no part or quality in another, but subsists by itself. Thus do all the heads of the church define it, and we agree with them.”

I said, “Is this the definition of ‘person’?”

They replied, “It is.”

To this I answered, “There is then no part of the Father in the son, or of either in the Holy Spirit. From this it follows that each is at his own disposal, and possesses his own rights and powers, and therefore there is nothing that joins them together except the will, which is proper to each, and thus communicable at pleasure. Does not this make the three ‘persons’ three distinct gods? Listen again: You have also defined ‘person’ as that which subsists by itself; consequently there are three substances into which you divide the Divine essence; and yet you say that this is incapable of division, since it is one and indivisible. Furthermore, to each substance, that is, to each person, you attribute properties that do not exist in the others, and even cannot be communicated to the others, namely, imputation, mediation, and operation. What can follow from this except that the three ‘persons’ are three gods?”

At these remarks they withdrew, saying, “We will canvass these statements and then answer you.”

[4] There was present a wise man who, hearing the arguments, said, “I do not care to view this lofty subject through such fine network; but apart from these subtleties I see clearly that in your thought you have the idea of three gods; but as you would incur disrepute by publishing this idea openly to all the world (for if you did so you would be called madmen and fools), it is expedient for you, in order to avoid that ignominy, to confess with your lips one God.”

But the three, tenacious of their opinions, paid no attention to this; and as they went away they muttered some terms culled from metaphysical lore: from which I saw that metaphysics was their tripod from which they wished to give responses.

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(7) Whoever does not acknowledge a God is excommunicated from the church and condemned.

Whoever does not acknowledge a God is excommunicated from the church, because God is the all of the church; and Divine things which are called theological are what constitute the church; consequently a denial of God is a denial of all things pertaining to the church; and this denial is what excommunicates the man; thus he is excommunicated not by God, but by himself. And he stands condemned because he who is excommunicated from the church is also excommunicated from heaven; since the church on earth and the angelic heaven make one, like the internal and the external or the spiritual and the natural in man; and man was so created by God that in respect to his internal he might be in the spiritual world and in respect to his external in the natural world; consequently he was created a native of both worlds, in order that the spiritual which belongs to heaven might be implanted in the natural, which belongs to the world, just as seed is planted in the ground; and that man might thus become fixed and endure to eternity.

[2] The man who has excommunicated himself from the church and thus from heaven by a denial of God has closed up in himself his internal man in respect to his will and its genial love; for man’s will is the receptacle of his love, and becomes its dwelling place. But he cannot close up his internal man in respect to its understanding, for if he could and did he would be man no longer. Nevertheless, his will’s love infatuates with falsities the higher faculties of the understanding; and in consequence the understanding becomes closed to the truths pertaining to faith and the goods pertaining to charity; thus more and more against God, and also against the spiritual things of the church. Thus man is shut out from communion with the angels of heaven, and when so shut out he enters into communion with the satans of hell, and thinks as they think; and all satans deny God, and think foolishly about God and the spiritual things of the church; and in the same way does the man think who is conjoined with them.

[3] When such a man is in his spirit, as he is when left privately to himself, he suffers his thoughts to be led by the delights of evil and falsity which he has conceived and brought forth in himself; and he then thinks that God has no existence, but is merely a word uttered from the pulpit to hold the common people in obedience to the laws of justice, which are the laws of society. He also thinks the Word, from which ministers proclaim a God, to be a mass of visionary tales, which have been made holy by authority, and the Decalogue or catechism to be merely a little book to be thrown aside when it has been well worn by the hands of little boys, since it teaches that parents ought to be honored, forbids murder, adultery, theft, and false witness; and who does not learn the same things from civil law? He thinks of the church as an assembly of simple, credulous, and weak-minded people, who see what they see not. He thinks of man, and of himself as a man, as being like a beast, and of life after death as of the life of a beast after death.

[4] Thus does his internal man think, however differently his external man may speak. For, as just said, every man has an internal and an external; and it is the internal that makes the man, that is, the spirit, which is what lives after death; while the external, in which by a semblance of morality he plays the hypocrite, is laid in the grave; and on account of his denial of God the man then stands condemned. In respect to his spirit every man is associated in the spiritual world with his like, and becomes as one of them. It has frequently been granted me to see there in societies the spirits of men still living, some in angelic and some in infernal societies, and also to converse with them for days; and I have wondered how the man himself while still living in the body could be wholly ignorant of this. Thus was it made clear that he who denies God is even now among the damned, and that after death he is gathered to his own.

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(6) If God were not one, the universe could not have been created and preserved.

The unity of God may be inferred from the creation of the universe, because the universe is a work coherent as a unit from things first to things last, and dependent upon one God as a body upon its soul. The universe was so created that God might be omnipresent, and hold each and all of its parts under his direction, and keep its parts together as one body perpetually, which is to preserve it. Moreover, because of this Jehovah God declares:

이스라엘의 왕인 여호와, 이스라엘의 구원자인 만군의 여호와가 이같이 말하노라 나는 처음이요 나는 마지막이라 나 외에 다른 신이 없느니라 (사44:6); 주 하나님이 이르시되 나는 알파와 오메가라 이제도 있고 전에도 있었고 장차 올 자요 전능한 자라 하시더라 (계1:8); 내가 볼 때에 그의 발 앞에 엎드러져 죽은 자 같이 되매 그가 오른손을 내게 얹고 이르시되 두려워하지 말라 나는 처음이요 마지막이니 (계1:17) That he is the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega (Isa. 44:6; Rev. 1:8, 17).

네 구속자요 모태에서 너를 지은 나 여호와가 이같이 말하노라 나는 만물을 지은 여호와라 홀로 하늘을 폈으며 나와 함께 한 자 없이 땅을 펼쳤고 (사44:24) That he maketh all things, spreadeth forth the heavens above, and stretcheth forth the earth by himself (Isa. 44:24).

This vast system which is called the universe is a work coherent as a unit from things first to things last, because in creating it God had a single end in view, which was an angelic heaven from the human race; and all things of which the world consists are means to that end; since he who seeks an end seeks also the means.

[2] Consequently, whoever regards the world as a work containing means to that end is able to look upon the created universe as a work coherent as a unit, and to see that the world is a complex of uses, existing in a successive order, looking to the human race (from which is the angelic heaven) as its end. The Divine love can be intent upon no other end than the eternal blessedness of men, having its source in the Divine; and its Divine wisdom can bring forth nothing but uses that are means to that end. Surveying the world from this most general idea, every wise man can comprehend that the creator of the universe is a one, and that his essence is love and wisdom; consequently there can not be in it the smallest particular in which there does not lie hidden some use, more or less remote, for man—food from the fruits of the earth and from animals, and clothing from the same sources.

[3] How wonderful it is that the insignificant silkworm should clothe with silk and magnificently adorn both women and men, from queens and kings to maidservants and menservants; and that a petty insect like the bee should supply wax for the tapers which make temples and palaces brilliant. Those who study in minute detail a few things in the world, and not all things in their most general relations, including ends, mediate cases, and effects, and who, furthermore, do not deduce creation from Divine love through Divine wisdom, are unable to see that the universe is the workmanship of one God, and that he dwells in every particular use because he dwells in the end. For in every case one who is in an end must be in the means also, since the end is inmostly in all the means, actuating and directing them.

[4] Those who do not regard the universe as the workmanship of God and the dwelling place of his love and wisdom, but as the workmanship of nature and the dwelling place of the sun’s heat and light, close the higher regions of their mind against God, and open its lower regions for the devil, and consequently put off their human nature and put on a bestial nature, and not only think themselves to be like the beasts but actually become so. For they become foxes in cunning, wolves in fierceness, panthers in treachery, tigers in cruelty, and crocodiles, serpents, owls, and other birds of night, in the several characteristics of these. Moreover, in the spiritual world those who are such do at a distance actually appear like these wild beasts. Thus does their love of evil portray itself.

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(5) Human reason can, if it will, perceive and be convinced, from many things in the world, that there is a God, and that he is one.

This truth may be confirmed by innumerable things in the visible world; for the universe is like a stage, upon which evidences that there is a God and that he is one are continually exhibited. To illustrate this I will cite this memorable relation from the spiritual world:

Once while I was talking with angels, certain spirits that had recently arrived from the natural world were present. Seeing them, I bade them welcome, and told them many things they had not known before about the spiritual world.

After this I asked them what knowledge about God and about nature they had brought with them from the world.

“This,” they said, “that nature is the operative power in all things that are done in the created universe; and that God, after creation, endowed nature with and impressed upon it that capability and power; and that God merely sustains and preserves that power lest it perish; consequently, all things that spring forth or are produced and reproduced upon the earth are now ascribed to nature.”

But I replied that in nothing is nature of itself the operative power, but God through nature. And when they asked for proof I said, “Those who believe the Divine operation to be in every least thing of nature find in very many things they see in the world much more evidence in favor of a God than in favor of nature.

[2] “For those who find evidences in favor of the Divine operation in every least thing of nature observe attentively the wonderful things that are seen in the production of plants and of animals. In the production of plants, they observe that from a little seed sown in the ground there goes forth a root, and from the root a stem, and successively branches, buds, leaves, flowers, and fruits, even to new seeds, just as if the seed knew the order of succession or development by which to renew itself. What rational person can imagine that the sun, which is pure fire, knows this, or that it can impart to its heat and light the power to produce such effects and to have such uses in view? Any man whose reason looks upward, when he sees these things and properly considers them, must needs conclude that they are from one whose wisdom is infinite, that is, from God. In this conclusion those who recognize a Divine operation in all the particulars of nature confirm themselves when they observe these things. On the other hand, those who do not recognize such an operation in nature behold these things with the eyes of their reason in the back of the head, and not in the front. These are such as derive all the ideas of their thought from the bodily senses, and confirm the fallacies of the senses, saying, ‘Do you not see the sun accomplishing all these things by means of its heat and light? Is that which you do not see of any account?’

[3] “Those who confirm themselves in favor of the Divine carefully observe the wonderful things they see in the production of animals; as in regard to eggs (speaking first of these), the chick in its seminal state lies concealed in them with everything requisite for its formation, and also for its entire development after it is hatched until it becomes a bird in the form of the parent. Moreover, to any mind that thinks deeply, things which excite wonder are presented whenever winged creatures in general are observed; as that both the smallest and largest of them, both the invisible and the visible, that is, both minute insects and great birds and beasts, possess organs of sense, namely, sight, smell, taste, and touch; also organs of motion, which are muscles, for they fly and walk; also viscera connected with the heart and lungs which are moved by the brains. All these things are seen also by those who ascribe everything to nature; but such merely notice their existence, and claim that they are products of nature. This they claim because they have turned away their minds from all thoughts of the Divine; and those who have done this, when they behold the wonderful things in nature, are unable to think about them rationally, still less spiritually; but they think sensually and materially; thus they think in nature from nature, and not above nature; and such differ from beasts only in being endowed with rationality, that is, only in an ability to understand if they wish to.

[4] “Those who have turned themselves away from all thought of a Divine, and have thereby become corporeal-sensual, never consider that the sight of the eye is so gross and material that it sees many small insects as a single obscure object; and yet each one of these is organized for sensation and motion, and is consequently endowed with fibers and vessels, with a minute heart and pulmonic tubes, with minute viscera and with brains; and these are composed of nature’s purest elements, these textures corresponding to life in its lowest degree whereby their least parts are severally actuated. Considering the grossness of our bodily vision, to which many such insects, with the innumerable parts in each, appear as a single minute indistinct object, while yet it is from this vision that sensual men think and draw conclusions, it is evident how gross their minds must be, and in what darkness they must be respecting spiritual things.

[5] “Any man is able, if he will, to find evidences in favor of a Divine in the visible things of nature; and this he does whenever he thinks of God and of his omnipotence in the creation of the universe, and of his omnipresence in the preservation of it; as, for instance, when he sees that among the birds of heaven each species knows its own food and where to find it, recognizes its companions by sight and sound, and among other species knows which are friends and which enemies; that they know how to mate, to form marriages, construct their nests skillfully, place their eggs in them and hatch them, also the period of incubation; and when the young have been hatched they love them most tenderly, shelter them beneath their wings, feed and nourish them, and this until they are able to provide for themselves and to perform like offices. If anyone is willing to think about a Divine influx through the spiritual world into the natural he can see it in these creatures; and can also, if he will, say from his heart that the sun through its heat and light cannot be the source of such knowledge, for the sun from which nature has its rise and essence is pure fire, and consequently its effluent heat and light must be utterly dead; and thus he may reach the conclusion that these knowledges are from a Divine influx through the spiritual world into the outmosts of nature.

[6] “Any one can find evidences in favor of a Divine in the visible things of nature when he observes those worms which are moved by the joy of a peculiar love to aspire after a change of their earthly state into one somewhat analogous to a heavenly state. For this purpose they crawl into suitable places, enclose themselves in a covering, and thus place themselves in a womb from which to be born again; and there they become chrysalids, aureliae, nymphs, and finally butterflies; and having undergone this transformation and been decked with beautiful wings according to their species, they fly forth into the air as into their heaven, and there disport themselves merrily, marrying, laying eggs, and providing for themselves a posterity, meanwhile nourishing themselves with sweet and pleasant food from flowers. Who that sees evidences in favor of a Divine in the visible things of nature can help seeing in these as worms an image of man’s earthly state, and in these as butterflies an image of his heavenly state? Those who have confirmed themselves in favor of nature behold the same things, but having rejected man’s heavenly state from their thought they call them mere operations of nature.

[7] “Any one can find evidences in favor of a Divine in the visible things in nature when he gives thought to what is known of bees, their knowing how to collect wax from roses and blossoms, to suck out honey, to build cells like little houses, to arrange them like a city, with streets for going in and out; their smelling from a distance the flowers and herbs from which they collect wax for their houses and honey for food, being loaded with which they fly back straight to their hive. Thus they provide themselves with food for the coming winter as if they foresaw it. They also appoint a mistress over themselves as queen, and through her they propagate a posterity; and for her they build a sort of palace above themselves, and place guards around it. When the time for propagation arrives, accompanied by her guards, which are called drones, she goes from cell to cell, and lays her eggs, which her retinue seal up lest they be injured by the air. Thus a new generation is born; and when this generation has reached the proper age to be able to repeat the process it is expelled from the hive, and the new swarm, after gathering into a body to prevent separation, flies forth to find itself a home. About the time of autumn, as the drones have added nothing to the supply of wax or honey, they are led out and deprived of their wings to prevent their returning and consuming the food on which they had spent no labor. From this and other facts it can be seen that on account of the use they perform for the human race these insects receive by influx from the spiritual world a form of government similar to that which is formed among men on the earth, and even among the angels in the heavens.

[8] “What man of sound reason does not see that the natural world cannot be the source of all this? What has the sun, from which nature springs, in common with a government which so vies with and closely resembles heavenly government? From these and like facts exhibited among animals, one who acknowledges and worships nature confirms himself in favor of nature; while he who acknowledges and worships God confirms himself from the same facts in favor of God; for the spiritual man sees in them spiritual things, and the natural man sees in them natural things, thus each in accord with his character. For my own part, such things have been to me evidences that from God there is an influx of the spiritual world into the natural. Consider, moreover, whether you are able to think analytically of any form of government, of any civil law, or any moral virtue, or any spiritual truth, except on the supposition that there is an inflow of the Divine from its own wisdom through the spiritual world. As to myself, I am not able to do so, and never have been. I have now for twenty-six years continually observed that influx perceptibly and sensibly; I therefore speak from what I know.

[9] “Can nature pursue use as an end, and arrange uses in order and in forms? Only a wise being is able to do this; and God alone, whose wisdom is infinite, is able so to order and form the universe. Who else can foresee and provide food and clothing for man—food from the products of the field, from the fruits of the earth, and from animals; and clothing from the same sources? It is among these marvelous facts that those petty worms called silkworms clothe with silk and magnificently adorn both women and men, from queens and kings even to maidservants and menservants; and that a petty insect like the bee supplies the wax for the tapers that make temples and palaces brilliant. All these and more are conclusive proofs that God from himself through the spiritual world operates all things that take place in nature.

[10] “To all this let me add the fact that I have seen in the spiritual world those who from things visible in the natural world had confirmed themselves in favor of nature until they had become atheists; and that in spiritual light the understanding of such appeared to be open below, but closed above, for the reason that in their thought they had looked down toward the earth, and not up toward heaven. Above their sensual faculties, which form the lowest part of the understanding, a kind of covering flashing with infernal fire was seen, in some cases like soot, and in others livid like a corpse. Let everyone therefore beware of these confirmations in favor of nature; and let him confirm himself in favor of God; there is no lack of means.”

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(4) Respecting what the one God is, nations and peoples have differed and still differ, from many causes.

The first cause is that knowledge and consequent acknowledgment of God are not possible without revelation; nor are a knowledge of the Lord, and a consequent acknowledgment that “in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” possible except from the Word, which is the crown of revelations; for it is by the revelation given to man that he is able to approach God and to receive influx, and thereby from being natural to become spiritual. The primeval revelation extended throughout the world; but it was perverted by the natural man in many ways, which was the origin of religious disputes, dissensions, heresies, and schisms. The second cause is that the natural man is not capable of any perception of God, but only of the world and adapting this to himself. Consequently it is among the canons of the Christian church that the natural man is opposed to the spiritual, and that they contend against each other. This explains why those who have learned from the Word or other revelation that there is a God have differed and still differ respecting the nature and the unity of God.

[2] For this reason those whose mental sight depended on the bodily senses, but who nevertheless had a desire to see God, formed for themselves images of gold, silver, stone, and wood, under which as visible objects they might worship God; while others who discarded idols from their religion found for themselves representations of God in the sun and moon, in the stars, and in various objects on the earth. But those who thought themselves wiser than the common people, and yet remained natural, from the immensity and omnipresence of God in creating the world acknowledged nature as God, some of them nature in its inmosts, some in its outmosts; while others, that they might separate God from nature, conceived an idea of something most universal, which they called the being of the universe [ens universi]; and because such have no further knowledge of God this being becomes to them mere rational abstraction [ens rationis] which has no meaning.

[3] Everyone can see that a man’s knowledge of God is his mirror of God, and that those who know nothing about God do not see God in a mirror with its face toward them, but in a mirror with its back toward them; and as this is covered with quicksilver, or some dark paste, it does not reflect the image but extinguishes it. Faith in God enters into man through a prior way, which is from the soul into the higher parts of the understanding; while knowledges about God enter through a posterior way, because they are drawn from the revealed Word by the understanding, through the bodily senses; and these inflowings meet midway in the understanding; and there natural faith, which is merely persuasion, becomes spiritual, which is real acknowledgment. Thus the human understanding is like a refining vessel, in which this transmutation is effected.

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(3) For this reason, there is in all the world no nation possessing religion and sound reason that does not acknowledge a God, and that God is one.

As a consequence of the Divine influx into the souls of men, treated of just above, there is in every man an internal dictate that there is a God and that he is one. And yet there are some who deny God, and some who acknowledge nature as god, and some who acknowledge more gods than one, and some who worship images as gods; which is possible because such have blocked up the interiors of their reason or understanding with worldly and corporeal things, thereby obliterating their first or childhood idea respecting God, and at the same time rejecting religion from their breasts and casting it behind their backs. Christians acknowledge one God; but in what manner is evident from their established creed, which is as follows:

The Catholic faith is this: that we worship one God in trinity, and trinity in unity. There are three Divine persons, Father, son, and Holy Spirit, and yet there are not three gods, but there is one God. There is one person of the Father, another of the son, and another of the Holy Spirit, and their divinity is one, their glory equal, and their majesty coeternal. Thus the Father is God, the son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. But like as we are compelled by Christian verity to confess each person singly to be God and Lord, so we are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there be three gods or three Lords.

Such is the Christian faith respecting the unity of God. But that the trinity of God and the unity of God in that creed are inconsistent with each other will be shown in the chapter on the Divine trinity.

[2] The other nations in the world possessing a religion and sound reason agree in acknowledging that God is one; all the Mohammedans in their empires; the Africans in many kingdoms of that continent; the Asiatics in their many kingdoms; and finally the Jews to this day. Of the most ancient people in the golden age, such as had any religion worshiped one God, whom they called Jehovah. The same is true of the ancient people in the succeeding age, until monarchical governments were established, when worldly and afterwards corporeal loves began to close up the higher regions of the understanding, which previously had been open, and had been like temples and sacred recesses for the worship of one God. In order to reopen these and thus restore the worship of one God, the Lord God instituted a church among the posterity of Jacob, and made this the first of all the commandments of their religion:

너는 나 외에는 다른 신들을 네게 두지 말라 (출20:3) Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exod. 20:3).

[3] Moreover, the name Jehovah, which he at this time re- stored, signifies the supreme and only being, the source of everything that is or exists in the universe. Jove, a name derived possibly from Jehovah, was worshiped as a supreme god by the ancient heathen; and many other gods who composed his court they also clothed with divinity; while in the following age wise men, like Plato and Aristotle, confessed that these were not gods, but were so many properties, qualities, and attributes of the one God, being called gods because there was something Divine in each of them.

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All sound reason, even when it is not religious, sees that every composite thing would of itself fall to pieces unless it depended upon some one thing; as in the case of man, composed of so many members, viscera, and organs of sensation and motion, unless they all depended on one soul; or the body itself, unless it depended on one heart. The same is true of a kingdom unless it depends on one king; a household, unless on one master; and every office, of which there are many kinds in every kingdom, unless on one officer. What would an army avail against the enemy unless it had a leader having supreme power, and officers subordinate to him, each of them having his proper command over the soldiers? So would it be with the church if it did not acknowledge one God, or with the angelic heaven, which is like a head to the church on earth, in both of which the Lord is the very soul. This is why heaven and the church are called his body; and when these do not acknowledge one God they are like a dead body, which being useless is carried away and buried.

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(2) 하나님으로부터 나와서 사람들의 영혼(souls) 속으로 흘러 들어가는 범우주적인 인플럭스(influx, 入流)라는 게 있는데, 이는 하나님이 계시며, 그분은 한 분이시라는 진리에 관한 것이다. There is a universal influx from God into the souls of men of the truth that there is a God, and that he is one.

하나님으로부터 나와서 사람 안으로 들어가는 인플럭스라는 게 있다는 사실은 그 자체로 선하며, 사람 안에 있어 사람에 의해 실행되는 모든 선은 하나님으로부터 말미암는다는 범우주적인 고백을 보면 분명합니다. 모든 체어리티와 신앙 역시 마찬가지인데요, 우리가 말씀에서 다음과 같이 읽기 때문이며, That there is an influx from God into man is evident from the universal confession that all good that is in itself good, and that exists in man and is done by him, is from God; in like manner everything of charity and everything of faith; for we read:

요한이 대답하여 이르되 만일 하늘에서 주신 바 아니면 사람이 아무 것도 받을 수 없느니라 (요3:27) A man can take nothing except it be given him from heaven (John 3:27);  

주님께서 말씀하시기를,

나는 포도나무요 너희는 가지라 그가 내 안에, 내가 그 안에 거하면 사람이 열매를 많이 맺나니 나를 떠나서는 너희가 아무 것도 할 수 없음이라 (요15:5)

즉, 체어리티와 신앙에 관한 것들도이기 때문입니다. 이 인플럭스는 일단 사람들의 영혼 속으로 들어갑니다. 영혼은 사람에게 있어 가장 안쪽이고, 가장 높은 영역이기 때문이지요. 하나님으로 말미암는 이 인플럭스는 먼저 그리로 흘러 들어간 후, 거기서 나와 그 아래 있는 것들 안으로 흘러 내려가면서 그 수용 여부에 따라 그것들을 살립니다. 앞으로 믿음을 구성하게 될 진리들이 이 인플럭스를 통해 흘러 들어오며, 사실은 듣기(the hearing)를 통해서이지만, 그리고 그렇게 해서 마음에 심어집니다(implanted). 이 마음은 영혼 아래 있습니다. 그러나 이 진리들에 의해서는 사람은 단순히 영혼을 통해 하나님으로부터 오는 인플럭스 받을 준비만 하는 것입니다. 이런 게 준비이고, 받아들이는 것, 영접(the reception)이며, 자연적 신앙이 영적 신앙으로 변화하는 것입니다. and Jesus said: Without me ye are unable to do anything (John 15:5); that is, anything that pertains to charity and faith. This influx is into the souls of men because the soul is the inmost and highest part of man, and the influx from God enters into that, and descends therefrom into the things that are below, and vivifies them in accordance with reception. The truths that are to constitute belief flow in, it is true, through the hearing, and are thus implanted in the mind, that is, below the soul. But by means of such truths man is simply made ready to receive the influx from God through the soul; and such as this preparation is, such is the reception, and such the transformation of natural faith into spiritual faith.

[2] There is such an influx from God into the souls of men of the truth that God is one, because everything Divine, regarded most generally as well as most particularly, is God. And as the entire Divine coheres as one, it cannot fail to inspire in man the idea of one God; and this idea is strengthened daily as man is elevated by God into the light of heaven. For the angels in their light cannot force themselves to utter the word “gods.” Even their speech closes at the end of every sentence in a oneness of cadence; and there is no other cause of this than the influx into their souls of the truth that God is one.

[3] In spite of this influx into the souls of men of the truth that God is one, there are many who think that the divinity of God is divided into several possessing the same essence; and the reason of this is that when the influx descends it falls into forms not correspondent, and influx is varied by the form that receives it, as takes place in all the subjects of the three kingdoms of nature. It is the same God who vivifies man and who vivifies every beast; but the recipient form is what causes the beast to be a beast and man to be a man. The same is true of man when he induces on his mind the form of a beast. There is the same influx from the sun into every kind of tree, but the influx differs in accordance with the form of each; that which flows into the vine is the same as that which flows into the thorn; but if a thorn were to be engrafted upon a vine the influx would be inverted and go forth in accordance with the form of the thorn.

[4] The same is true of the subjects of the mineral kingdom; the same light flows into limestone and into the diamond; but in the diamond it is transmitted, while in the limestone it is quenched. In human minds these differences are in accordance with the forms of the mind, which become inwardly spiritual in accordance with faith in God, together with life from God, such forms being made translucent and angelic by a faith in one God, and on the contrary, made dark and bestial by a faith in more than one God, which differs but little from a faith in no God.

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(1) 성경 전체와 거기서 나오는, 기독교계 전체 교회들의 교리들에 의하면, 하나님은 계시며, 그분은 한 분이시다. The entire holy Scripture, and all the doctrines therefrom of the churches in the Christian world, teach that there is a God and that he is one.

성경 전체가 가르치는 바는 이것입니다. 하나님이 계신다(there is a God). 성경 그 가장 깊은 내면(inmosts)에는 하나님 밖에, 즉 하나님으로부터 나오는 신성(神性, the Divine) 밖에는 없기 때문인데요, 성경은 하나님에 의해 구술(口述, dictated)된 것이며, 하나님으로부터는 하나님과 신성이라고 하는 것 말고는 아무것도 나올 수 없기 때문입니다. 이것이 성경 그 가장 깊은 곳(inmosts)에 있는 핵심입니다. 거기서 나온 것들(derivatives), 곧 그 맨 안쪽(inmosts)보다 낮은 단계에 있는 것들한테 있어서는, 성경은 천사들과 사람들의 퍼셉션(perception) 눈높이에 맞춰집니다. 신성은 이들 파생되어 나온 것들 안에도 마찬가지로 있지만, 그 형태가 다른데요, 각각 천적(天的, celestial), 영적, 그리고 자연적 신성이라고 합니다. 이들은 그저 하나님의 휘장들일 뿐입니다. 하나님 자신은 그 자신, 말씀의 가장 깊은 곳(the inmosts of the Word)에 계신 것처럼 그 어떤 피조물도 볼 수 없으신 분이기 때문입니다. 그래서 모세가 여호와의 영광 보여주시기를 구했을 때, 하나님은 그에게 아무도 하나님을 보고 살 수 있는 자가 없다 하신 것입니다. 이것은 말씀의 가장 깊은 곳, 거기 하나님이 존재와 본질 그 자체(his very being and essence)로 계신, 바로 그곳에도 똑같이 적용되는 진리입니다. The entire holy Scripture teaches that there is a God, because in its inmosts it is nothing but God, that is, it is nothing but the Divine that goes forth from God; for it was dictated by God; and from God nothing can go forth except what is God and is called Divine. This the holy Scripture is in its inmosts. But in its derivatives, which are below and from these inmosts, the holy Scripture is adapted to the perception of angels and men. The Divine is likewise in these derivatives, but in another form, in which it is called the celestial, spiritual, and natural Divine. These are simply the draperies of God; for God himself, such as he is in the inmosts of the Word, cannot be seen by any creature. For he said to Moses, when Moses prayed that he might see the glory of Jehovah, that no one can see God and live. This is equally true of the inmosts of the Word, where God is in his very being and essence.  

※ ‘퍼셉션’(perception)은 하나님이 천사들과 사람들에게 거저 주시는 영적 통찰력입니다. 즉 무슨 학습을 통해 습득하는 게 아닌, 하나님에 관한 영적 진리들을 직관적으로 아는 능력입니다. 굳이 번역하자면, ‘지각’(知覺) 정도인데요, 그런데 우리말의 이 단어하고는 또 좀 그 내포된 의미와 뉘앙스가 달라 저는 그냥 음독 그대로 표기하고 있습니다.

[2] 그럼에도 불구하고 가장 안쪽을 형성하고, 천사들과 사람들의 퍼셉션 눈높이에 맞춰진 것들에 의해 휘장처럼 가려진 신성은 크리스탈 같은 형태를 통해 나오는 빛처럼 그 빛을 발산합니다. 사람이 하나님으로부터든 스스로든 자신을 위해 형성해 온 마음 상태에 따라 다르지만 말입니다. 하나님으로부터 자기 마음을 형성해 온 사람한테는 그 앞에 성경이 마치 거울처럼 서 있습니다. 그 거울 안에서 그는 하나님을 보지요. 그러나 누구나 자기 방식으로 봅니다. 이 거울은 사람이 말씀으로부터 배운 진리들로 되어 있는데요, 이 진리들은 그가 그걸 가지고 살면서 자기 것으로 만든(appropriates) 그런 진리들입니다. 이 모든 걸 통해 분명한 건, 성경은 하나님의 충만하심(the fullness of God)이라는 사실이 맨 먼저라는 것입니다. Nevertheless, the Divine, which forms the inmost and is draped by things adapted to the perceptions of angels and men, beams forth like light through crystalline forms, although variously in accordance with the state of mind that man has formed for himself; either from God or from himself. Before everyone who has formed the state of his mind from God the holy Scripture stands like a mirror wherein he sees God; but everyone in his own way. This mirror is made up of those truths that man learns from the Word, and that he appropriates by living in accordance with them. From all this it is evident, in the first place, that the holy Scripture is the fullness of God.

[3] 하나님이 계실 뿐 아니라 하나님은 한 분이시라는 것을 성경이 가르치고 있다는 사실은 앞서 말씀드린 대로, 그 거울을 구성하는 진리들로부터 알 수 있는데요, 이들 진리는 전체적으로 하나의 일관성을 형성, 사람이 하나님을 생각할 때, 한 분으로밖에는 생각할 수 없게 만든다는 점에서 그렇습니다. 그 결과, 자신의 이성이 말씀에서 나오는 어떤 성스러움(sanctity)으로 충만해진 사람은 누구나 하나님은 한 분이시라는 것을 마치 자기 스스로 아는 것처럼, 즉 본능적으로 알며, 또 하나님이 한 분 이상이라 말하는 자체를 일종의 광기(insanity)로 느낍니다. 천사들은 ‘하나님들’(gods)이라는 단어를 발음하려고 입술을 여는 것조차 불가능한데요, 그들이 살고 있는 천국의 아우라 자체가 거기에 저항하기 때문입니다. 하나님은 한 분이시라는 것을 성경은 이렇게 범우주적으로뿐 아니라 지금까지 말씀드린 것처럼, 다음과 같은 수많은 구절을 통해서도 가르치고 있습니다. That the holy Scripture teaches not only that there is a God, but also that God is one, can be seen from the truths which, as before stated, compose that mirror, in that they form a coherent whole and make it impossible for man to think of God except as one. In consequence of this, every person whose reason is imbued with any sanctity from the Word knows, as if from himself, that God is one, and feels it to be a sort of insanity to say that there are more. The angels are unable to open their lips to utter the word “gods,” for the heavenly aura in which they live resists it. That God is one the holy Scripture teaches, not only thus universally, as has been said, but also in many particular passages, as in the following:

이스라엘아 들으라 우리 하나님 여호와는 오직 유일한 여호와이시니 (신6:4) Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah (Deut. 6:4; also Mark 12:29).

여호와께서 이같이 말씀하시되 애굽의 소득과 구스가 무역한 것과 스바의 장대한 남자들이 네게로 건너와서 네게 속할 것이요 그들이 너를 따를 것이라 사슬에 매여 건너와서 네게 굴복하고 간구하기를 하나님이 과연 네게 계시고 그 외에는 다른 하나님이 없다 하리라 하시니라 (사45:14) Surely God is in thee, and besides me there is no god (Isa. 45:14).

너희는 알리며 진술하고 또 함께 의논하여 보라 이 일을 옛부터 듣게 한 자가 누구냐 이전부터 그것을 알게 한 자가 누구냐 나 여호와가 아니냐 나 외에 다른 신이 없나니 나는 공의를 행하며 구원을 베푸는 하나님이라 나 외에 다른 이가 없느니라 (사45:21) Am not I Jehovah, and there is no god else besides me?(Isa. 45:21).

그러나 애굽 땅에 있을 때부터 나는 네 하나님 여호와라 나 밖에 네가 다른 신을 알지 말 것이라 나 외에는 구원자가 없느니라 (호13:4) I am Jehovah thy God and thou shalt acknowledge no god besides me (Hosea 13:4).

이스라엘의 왕인 여호와, 이스라엘의 구원자인 만군의 여호와가 이같이 말하노라 나는 처음이요 나는 마지막이라 나 외에 다른 신이 없느니라 (사44:6) Thus saith Jehovah, the king of Israel, I am the first and the last, and besides me there is no god (Isa. 44:6).

여호와께서 천하의 왕이 되시리니 그 날에는 여호와께서 홀로 한 분이실 것이요 그의 이름이 홀로 하나이실 것이라 (슥14:9) 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).

7

기독교계 교회들의 교리들은 ‘하나님은 한 분이시다’라고 가르치는 것으로 알려져 있습니다. 그들이 이렇게 가르치는 것은 그들의 교리는 모두 말씀에서 나오는 것이며, 한 분 하나님을 입술과 마음으로 시인하는 한, 그들의 교리는 일관되기 때문입니다. 한 분 하나님을 입술로만 고백할 뿐, 마음으로는 세 하나님을 받아들이는 사람들한테는, 이것이 오늘날 전 세계 기독교 국가(Christendom)의 많은 사람의 현실인데요, 하나님은 그저 입술의 한 마디 단어에 불과할 뿐이며, 그들의 모든 신학은 그저 성지에 보관된 금 우상이요, 그 열쇠를 사제들만 혼자 쥐고 있고, 그리고 그런 사람들은 말씀을 읽을 때, 그 안에 있는, 혹은 거기서 나오는 그 어떤 빛도 지각하지 못합니다. 심지어 하나님이 한 분이심에 대해서조차 말입니다. 그런 사람들한테는 말씀은 얼룩져 흐릿하게 나타나며, 하나님의 하나 되심(the unity of God)에 관하여서는 얼룩으로 완전히 뒤범벅된 걸로 나타납니다. 주님이 아래 마태복음에서 묘사하신 사람들이 바로 이들입니다. It is known that the doctrines of the churches in the Christian world teach that God is one. This they teach because all their doctrines are from the Word, and so far as one God is acknowledged both with the lips and the heart these doctrines are consistent. To those who confess one God with the lips only, but in heart accept three, as is true of many at this day in Christendom, God is nothing but a word on the lips; and all their theology is a mere idol of gold enclosed in a shrine, the key to which the priests alone hold; and when such read the Word they perceive no light in it or from it, not even that God is one. To such the Word appears blurred with blots, and in regard to the unity of God entirely covered with them. It is these who are described by the Lord in Matthew:

14이사야의 예언이 그들에게 이루어졌으니 일렀으되 너희가 듣기는 들어도 깨닫지 못할 것이요 보기는 보아도 알지 못하리라 15이 백성들의 마음이 완악하여져서 그 귀는 듣기에 둔하고 눈은 감았으니 이는 눈으로 보고 귀로 듣고 마음으로 깨달아 돌이켜 내게 고침을 받을까 두려워함이라 하였느니라 (마13:14, 15) In hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see and not discern. Their eyes they have closed, lest haply they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart, and should turn themselves and I should heal them (Matt. 13:14, 15).

이 사람들은 모두 마치 빛을 피해 창문 없는 방에 들어가 벽을 더듬으며 음식과 돈을 찾고, 결국엔 밤 부엉이처럼 어둠을 보는 시력을 얻게 된 사람들과 같습니다. 그들은 마치 남편을 여럿 둔 여자, 그러나 아내는 아니고, 음탕한 창녀인 여자와 같거나, 여러 구혼자로부터 반지를 받아놓고는 결혼식 후, 한 사람한테만이 아닌, 다른 사람들에게도 호의를 베푸는 처녀와도 같습니다. All these are like men shunning the light, and entering chambers without windows, and groping about the walls, searching for food or money, and at length acquiring a vision like that of birds of the night, seeing in darkness. They are like a woman having several husbands, who is not a wife but a lascivious courtesan; or they are like a virgin who accepts rings from several suitors, and after the nuptials bestows her favors not upon one only, but also upon the others.