The Dawn of Wisdom On the Three Principles and the Beginning of All Things

THE DAWN OF WISDOM

On the Three Principles and the Beginning of All Things

attributed to Paul Felgenhauer

The Dawn of Wisdom

That is:

On the Three Principiis (principles), or Origins and Beginning of All Things, in the Mystery of Wisdom; in which the ground and key to true wisdom is revealed, for the true knowledge of God and of man - indeed, of the whole world - in a new and true three-in-one wisdom, consisting in what is called Physisophia (wisdom of nature), Theologia (theology), and Theosophia (theosophy, or divine wisdom).

For the honour of God and the benefit of one's fellow man; indeed, for the revelation of true wisdom and for the service of the Sixth Congregation in Philadelphia.

Promoted for printing through the testimony of God and Jesus Christ.

Amsterdam, in the year of Christ 1762.

Printed Frankfurt and Leipzig: Fleischer, Johann Friedrich, 1762

Translated from the book:
Der Weisheit Morgenröthe, Das ist: Von den dreyen Principiis, oder Ursprung und Anfang aller Dinge im Geheimniss der Weisheit - Frankfurt and Leipzig: Fleischer, Johann Friedrich, 1762

Isaiah 43:18-19:
Remember no longer the former things, and look no more upon what is old; for behold, I create something new, and now it shall come forth, so that you may know it.

To the Elect Believers and Saints in Christ Jesus

To those who are called, through the Eternal Gospel, to the supper of the marriage of the Lamb in accordance with the glory of the New Jerusalem in the world to come: the firstfruits of the Sixth Congregation in Philadelphia. Grace and peace, joy from God, patience and faith, to all who until now have waited for the revelation of Jesus Christ and the glorious appearing of the great God, who has called us into His marvellous light in these last times according to the wisdom that is from above. For this we thank Him and pray that He will enlighten all people to the knowledge of Himself, so that they may see the day of the glorious appearing and revelation of the Son of Man, and that He will send labourers into His harvest, so that His name may become glorious in every land. To Him be honour from eternity to eternity. Amen (truly).

When the great Apostle speaks of the perfect wisdom hidden in the mystery, he also declares that God ordained it before the world for our glory, and that the rulers and wise men of this world know nothing of it. This wisdom, which until now has lain hidden in its mystery - God has, from the beginning of the world, revealed only to His beloved friends, to whom He has made known His covenant and mystery. Therefore this wisdom has never become common property, but has instead remained veiled and hidden from the fleshly eyes of all living men. God's wise ones themselves also concealed it, lest the pearls should come before swine and the sanctuary be cast before dogs. Thus the wise of this world know nothing whatever of it.

Yet this wisdom is such a treasure that no riches, no beautiful and healthy body, and nothing else in the world takes precedence over it; indeed, nothing at all can be compared with it. Therefore all the glory of this world is to be regarded as nothing but dung, filth, and paltry sand beside the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ and His mystery. This wisdom of which we speak was sealed in its book, and the way to it was guarded until this appointed last time, from the days of the holy patriarchs, prophets, and apostles; and its door was shut. But now the acceptable time has come upon us, so that we are to be the first - and indeed in such a way that the Holy and True One has given His congregation an open door by means of the Key of David. This key is the Spirit in the mystery of God's hidden wisdom: an open door that no one can shut, through which we enter into the true knowledge of all the wisdom that is in heaven and on earth, so that we receive through it not only the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, but also the key to the abyss. By it we can put darkness to shame, bind Satan, take him captive, and seal him up from above. All this is done through the name of God, through the name of the New Jerusalem, the city of our God, and through the new name of the Lord, according to the testimony of Jesus Christ, the great God - a name known by no one except him who possesses the Spirit of prophecy and upon whom it is written: the New Name, with the divine letter of the Word of Life. Since the day of the revelation of salvation has come, let us enter through the door opened to us. For it is such a day that even the holy apostles desired to see it, and yet could not see it: namely, the day of the revelation of the Son of Man. But the Lord has so highly honoured us, who are the last, that we are to receive the penny first, so that the others - the former ones - will murmur over it when they come.

Let us therefore carefully consider this word of the Lord and take to heart the goodness of the master of the house, whom it has pleased in His grace that the last should be first and the first last. Let us weigh this rightly, recognise it properly, and thank Him all the more. So that your hearts might be joined together in love unto a perfect knowledge of God the Father and of Jesus Christ, and so that you might refresh yourselves in this time, I have, according to the grace given to me by Him who holds the Key of David - been charged, in the name of the Holy and True One, to proclaim the day of the Lord by means of this dawn. In that day we shall rejoice together with all creatures; indeed, all God's saints and angels shall rejoice and sing a joyful Halleluja (Praise the Lord). Praised be He who is, who was, and who is to come; and blessed be He who comes in the name of the Lord. Halleluja (Praise the Lord).

Preface

The holy Apostle says: "Our knowledge is in part, and our prophesying is in part; but when that which is perfect comes, then what is partial shall cease. When I was a child, I spoke as a child and entertained childish designs; but when I became a man, I put away what was childish. Now we see through a mirror, as in a riddle, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know even as I am known." The Apostle certainly does not mean by this that only in eternal life, in the divine world, shall we possess such perfect knowledge. Rather, he plainly testifies that at that time prophecies will cease, and that languages and knowledge will also cease. From this it is clear enough that he points to the last time: namely, to the day on which the Son of Man shall be revealed, while the Antichrist shall likewise be revealed and at the same time destroyed by the Spirit of His mouth. He explicitly calls this time the appearing and revelation of Jesus Christ, the great God. Through it the whole earth shall be enlightened and filled with knowledge of the Lord, so that all shall know Him. Likewise the Apostle Peter prophesies of a blessedness prepared to be revealed in the last time, when Jesus Christ shall be revealed. Again the Apostle plainly testifies that the whole creation waits with longing for the revelation of the children of God. And the Lord Himself prophesies of a day on which the Son of Man shall be revealed, yet which His disciples would not see. That day therefore cannot be the day of His visible coming, when every eye - and thus all the more the apostles - shall see Him. Consequently, through the Spirit of prophecy we must diligently inquire what time, and what kind of time, the Spirit means here. All this we present to the members of the Sixth Congregation, to the Viris Desideriorum (men of longing), and to all Nicodemites, that they may know it, carefully weigh it, and consider it with rightly disciplined understanding.

Thus all of us, as the wise and discerning, may rightly prepare ourselves for the time, and none may be found a hypocrite, a Pharisee, or a foolish virgin who must remain outside when the Bridegroom comes. To Him be honour for eternity. Amen (truly). Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.

Contents of This Booklet

1. On Three Books of Wisdom.
2. On the Three Principiis (principles) and the Beginning of All Things.
3. On the Threefold World in the Mystery of Wisdom.
4. On the Elements of This Earthly World.
5. On the Counter-Elements and the Universal Creation.
6. On the Universal Seed of All Things.
7. On the Universal Distinction of Seeds.
8. On the Universal Anatomy and Division of All Creatures.
9. On the Distinction of Creation, Resurrection, and the Birth of the Inheritance from God.
10. On the Creation of Man.
11. On the Gods of the World.
12. On the Fall of the Angels and Its Principiis (principles).
13. On the Elements and World of the Devil.
14. On the Fall of Man.
15. On the Condition of Man after the Fall.
16. On Man's Redemption.
17. On Man's Rebirth.
18. On Man's Justification before God.
19. On the Complete Anatomy of Man in General.
20. On the Mystery of Wickedness in Its Beast.
21. On the Mystery of Time in Its Anatomy.

Epistolary Appendix to Several Good Friends in Philadelphia.

Aurora (Dawn), or The Dawn of Wisdom

Chapter 1.
On Three Books of Wisdom

Thus Wisdom calls and speaks: "Come, all you who are thirsty; come to the water. You who have no money, come, buy and eat. Come and buy, without money and without payment, both wine and milk. Listen diligently to me and eat what is good, and your soul shall grow fat with delight." Yet whoever does not hate, deny, and forsake himself - indeed, all that is his own and wishes to remain his own - cannot be my disciple. We now know and have recognized that whoever wishes to learn Wisdom must also know her mystery, in which she is attested and found to be triune throughout the testimony of God, in that which is in heaven and upon earth. According to this mystery, everything is weighed, numbered, and measured, and stands within a true, holy, and certain harmony. In accordance with this mystery of Wisdom, the Spirit of Wisdom has set before us three kinds of books in which he has borne witness to all his wisdom. The first book is the exceedingly great book of the entire world. From it, in its own light, we may learn to recognize and study our one true and certain Physophiam (wisdom of nature, or natural philosophy). Through the letters, word, and testimony of this Wisdom we are directed in all things toward God, through everything that is visible.

The second book is the book of Holy Scripture. From it we may learn the one true and saving Theologiam (theology), and the Wisdom that leads to salvation. With a still clearer utterance, this book likewise directs us toward God. The third book, however, is the human being, who is at once the sealed and the open little book. In it we may recognize Theosophiam (theosophy, or divine wisdom): the secret and hidden Wisdom of the mystery of God the Father, of Jesus Christ, and of his congregation. The beginning, origin, and sole centrum (centre) of these three books is the one true and most holy book: the Word that was in the beginning. Concerning this Word, the three books just mentioned bear one harmonious testimony, each in its own wisdom, its own letter, and its own witness. They do so in a most beautiful harmony, by which the three are one and remain together. Thus they form our one, whole, and great library, with which we disciples of true Wisdom should rightly be content.

No one, however, can read and study these three books unless he has received the very Spirit who himself wrote, made, and attested them. Through the anointing, this Spirit teaches his children and pupils so that they need no humanly learned master. God gives this Spirit to those who ask him for it day and night with penitent, obedient, and believing hearts, with a humble spirit and holy hands. This Spirit of Wisdom alone opens for us the Scripture, the understanding, and the mystery of each book; he teaches and instructs us. For the Spirit of God searches all things, even the deep things of God. Through him God has revealed to us those things which no fleshly eye has seen, no fleshly ear has heard, and which have entered no fleshly human heart: namely, a glory surpassing everything, which God has prepared for those who love him. These three books of Wisdom, in their Centro (centre), have been sealed to all the humanly learned and wise of this world from the beginning of the world. No one can open the sealed book, look into it, and read it except the Lamb alone and those who have been slain with him; those who have gained the victory over the Beast; those who have the spirit of prophecy, which is the testimony of Jesus Christ; and those who possess the key of David. Now, however, the time has come in which these books, sealed until now, are to be opened before the eyes of the whole firmament, so that all flesh together shall see, recognize, and understand what the mouth of the Lord speaks. Until now the Lamb has been slain, Christ Jesus has been cut off, his saints have been overcome, and his testimony has been trodden underfoot by the many false prophets - indeed, false apostles and Jews from Satan's school - amid that great abomination of desolation through which the apostasy from the faith crucified Christum Jesum (Christ Jesus) in its Antichrist, by means of the three languages of confused, sectarian, great Babylon, and killed his two witnesses.

But now the Son of Man shall also be raised up again in another tongue and in the German language, with chosen and pure lips, for which the mouth of the Lord and the learned tongue of the seven Spirits of God are reserved - those Spirits who shall go forth into every land. This, however, is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom) concerning her three books: whoever can read, recognize, and understand one book rightly and fundamentally in its testimony can also understand the other, for all three are so rich, abundant, and complete that the testimony of all the others is found together with it in the one.

Chapter 2.
On the Three Principiis (Principles) and the Beginning of All Things

The mystery of Wisdom, which is the Centrum (centre) of all Wisdom, sets before us three Principia (principles). In, with, and through them we can consider all things, anatomize or divide them, and distinguish the beginning, middle, and end of their continuance. These three Principia (principles) and their order are named and stand as follows:

1. Generalia (general principles): God, Nature, and the Elements.

2. Specialia (special principles): Spirit, Wind, and Water.

3. Particularia (particular principles): Body, Life, and Spirit.

The single Centrum (centre) of these three Principiorum (sets of principles) consists of these three: Light, Life, and Love. From these three Principiis (principles) everything comes forth. Through them everything has come to be; in them everything subsists; by them everything is recognized and attested; and within their harmony the entire Summa (sum or totality) is enclosed. Thus one Principium (principle) always corresponds to the other; they reciprocate and are reduced into one another according to the harmony. Where they cease, there they also begin again. One comes forth from another and is recognized, attested, and justified in, out of, with, and through the other. The Centrum (centre) of these Principiorum (principles) is so complete that by them we may recognize, contemplate, and name God himself. For God is Light; he is Life; he is Love. According to these Principiis (principles), God also has his own Nature and his own Element. He is a Spirit and has his own Wind and Water; indeed, he himself is the fountain of living water. Thus he is also an embodied Word and has in himself all the Principia (principles), which he himself is; and so he is all in all. This is the Principium Principiorum (Principle of principles): the embodied Word, from himself, with himself, and through himself; self-subsisting in himself; one Being of all beings; the one HAIAH (He Is), EHEIIE (I Am), and ESSE (to be, or Being); the JEHOVAH (the LORD), who is himself all in all; the heavenly Judah, Jesse, and David; the Most High Adam, who is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, who is, who was, and who is to come - Jesus Christ, yesterday and today and the same for all eternity; the faithful and true Witness; the beginning of being in God; the One, highly praised for ever. Amen. This is the Word which was from and in the beginning - indeed, which was the beginning itself. It was not some insubstantial and incorporeal thing without self-subsistence.

Rather, it is such an embodied reality in its flesh, in which the whole fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. To it all flesh bears witness, that is, everything made and created in heaven and upon earth, visible and invisible. This Word is recognized, attested, and justified with, through, out of, and in his own testimony, Name, and revelation: the three most holy witnesses in the heaven of God, namely the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. This accords with the testimony of the one revealed, visible, and embodied Person of God, in such a revelation that Christ Jesus is recognized as himself the embodied, self-subsisting, and only God; the Father, the Word, and the holy, life-giving Spirit. Apart from him there is, and can be, no God, Father, Word, or Holy Spirit. For he himself is the personal, visible, self-subsisting, and embodied Father, the Father of Eternity and the beginning of being in God. He himself is the embodied Word and the life-giving Spirit; indeed, the Most High Adam, ὕψος Ἀδάμ (the Adam of the height, or Most High Adam), Summus, Primus & Ultimus (Highest, First, and Last), α, & ω (Alpha and Omega), the one Man who is the Lord from heaven and at the same time all in all. For he is God and also a Son of God; he is a Child and Son, and yet also the Father of Eternity. He is the Being and also the Image of God, a visible image of the invisible God. He is the one Man and also the Son of Man who is in heaven. In summa (in sum), he is altogether all in all, according to the testimony, Name, revelation, Being, Image, self-subsistence, and Person of God. In the likeness of his image the earthly human being was made. A wondrous Amen: at once the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last - a precious mystery.

Therefore this is Wisdom's axioma (axiom): whoever rightly knows the earthly Adam, the human being and man, and his Evam (Eve), woman and female, according to the mystery of Wisdom, also knows the heavenly one; for the earthly was made and created according to the likeness of the heavenly one's image, of which the earthly is an image.

Chapter 3.
On the Threefold World in the Mystery of Wisdom

According to the mystery of Wisdom, the three Generalia Principia (general principles) are distinguished from one another in this way: each has its own world, with a very great distinction between them. First, God has his own world, whose Centrum (centre) is Christ Jesus, who is Melchizedek and is rightly called Wonderful, because he himself is all in all. His mystery is inexpressible; therefore he must speak himself forth. The Word is the true testimony of God and is also God himself. He is without father, without mother, and without lineage; he has neither beginning nor end of days, and yet he himself is the Father of Eternity. From him come all the children of God, a chosen race and a royal priesthood. Through him everything was created, and he himself is also the firstborn before all creatures. And because he himself is the one God, there is assuredly no other distinction between Father and Son, between God and his Son, or between the Word and Christ, except with respect to the testimony of Jesus: the Father bears witness concerning the Son, and the Son concerning the Father. Yet no one knows the Father except the Son and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal him. God is likewise distinguished according to Name and revelation, although there is only one testimony of God, namely the Word. No one knows it except the one who has the spirit of prophecy, which is the testimony of Jesus Christ. No one knows that Name except the one who has received it and upon whom it is written; and no one knows that revelation except the one who has seen and received the revelation of Jesus Christ. Just as there is only one God, and consequently three witnesses for the sake of revelation, so there is also only one testimony of God in a threefold revelation.

It bears witness to the one God, who is named with one Name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in the one embodied, self-subsisting, and visible Person of God, who is and is called Jesus Christ - the one God, the one Angel, and the one Man, who is A und Ω (Alpha and Omega). His testimony, Name, and revelation are wonderful in their mystery and have been hidden from the foundation of the world until the day of the revelation of the Son of Man. Thus the divine world consists solely and entirely in Christ, who is before everything that exists in heaven and upon earth. All flesh bears witness concerning him that the Word in his flesh is the beginning of being in God: a Being before every being; an "Is" before everything that is; an image of the invisible God, who became visible in the flesh and whose going forth is from the beginning of the days of eternity. O what a depth of Wisdom, what a precious testimony of truth, and what a worthy Word of the mystery!

After the first Principio (principle) and its world, there follows the second Principium (principle): Nature with her world. This is Paradise, the angelic and middle world. As to its place it lies toward the morning, that is, where there is pure light, above the firmament and the upper waters, nearest to the divine world and its forecourt, which is the light in which God dwells. This Paradise is the garden that God planted before this visible world yet existed. Solomon sings of it in the Song of Songs. In it are every kind of fruit and the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden. This is the holy mountain of the LORD upon which the Son of Man shall be transfigured and exalted, where the Lamb and the King's Son - and thus also the human being - will hold his supper and wedding feast. We shall ascend this holy mountain and be caught up in the air to meet the Lord when he comes, and there we shall always be with the Lord, together with all those who partake in the first resurrection, the transformation, and the prize of the heavenly calling in the kingdom of God. In that kingdom many shall sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But the sectarian dogs, sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters, liars, and evildoers, who blaspheme, deny, and reject God's Sabbath in its thousand years and therefore refuse to come to the supper, must remain outside. The Lord will not know them, because they themselves refuse to know him. Therefore the Gospel will be taken from the heathen, the Christians of the mouth only, and the un-Christians, and will be given to the poor, crippled, lame, and blind Jews. In this Paradise are Enoch, Moses, Elijah, and the saints who came out of their graves after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is heaven, indeed Abraham's bosom and the chamber into which the souls of the righteous are borne, just as the Lord Jesus says to the thief: "Today you shall be with me in Paradise." This, then, is the New World which until now has remained hidden.

The third Principium (principle), together with its world, follows below. This is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom): whoever knows one world rightly and fundamentally according to the mystery of Wisdom also knows the other; but whoever denies one also denies the other, for the mystery of Wisdom can never be broken in its testimony. Posito ergò uno, ponuntur omnia: Sublato uno, tolluntur omnia (Therefore, when one is posited, all are posited; when one is taken away, all are taken away).

Chapter 4.
On the Elements of This Earthly World

The elements are the third Principium (principle), namely that out of which, in which, and through which the world subsists. The elements stand in their Subordinatis (subordinate order) in such a way that we must recognize them according to their order from the Special Principiis (special principles), which we include and place among the elements. There are seven: 1. Spirit; 2. Wind; 3. Water; 4 Light; 5. Heaven; 6. Air; and 7. Earth.

Spirit is the very first and most worthy element. It proceeds from God through the speaking of the Word. In, with, and through this Spirit the Lord sends his Word; therefore the Spirit is a creator of all things, the same good Spirit who is in all things. Accordingly, when the Lord sends his Spirit, they are created; when he takes it away again, they fall away. The merely soulish people do not number this Spirit among the elements because they themselves have neither spirit nor understanding, although it is the first, is before all things, and without it nothing is or can be. Wind is the second element. The merely soulish people do not recognize it either, although it is the universal breath and life of all things, a house, Receptacul (receptacle), and vehiculum (vehicle) of the Spirit from which it proceeds. Upon its wings the Spirit of the Lord travels and moves; it blows and gives life wherever it wills, and no one knows whence it comes or whither it goes. It is so worthy an element that throughout the whole world it is the mouth and voice of the Lord. Water is the third element. It comes forth out of, from, and through the Wind and is the universal body of the whole great world, just as the Wind is its life. The whole world was constituted out of this Water; upon, above, and over it the Spirit of the Lord hovered with and through his Wind. Therefore Water is nothing other than coagulated Wind; Wind is Spirit; and Spirit is a coagulated Word. Thus everything was made through the Word. Light is the fourth element. It too is rejected by the blind and wise of this world, who have eyes that do not see that Light is an element called by God out of darkness. It is the most beautiful, great eye of the world, a house and dwelling of the seven Spirits of God, and that through which God sees everything, here considered in an elemental manner. It is the Centrum (centre) of the elements standing in their midst, in which are Life and Love.

According to its being it is the Essenz (essence) of the elements, that is, the noblest, highest, and best. In and through it God first revealed himself to the world, and the world revealed itself to him. It is an image of the countenance of God. Heaven is the fifth element. According to its being it is a spiritual, utterly pure water and an outstretched crystalline firmament which embraces the world and separates the upper waters from the lower. It is full of powers and gives everything down from above. It is the great ear of the world through which God, here again in an elemental manner, hears all things. Yet the deaf, blind, and mute wise men of this world reject it too and do not reckon it an element. Air, when, as, and insofar as it is embraced in its embodied reality by the firmament, is the sixth element. It is the bodily life of all things, a spiritual Matrix (womb or mother) in which lies the seed of all things, a wondrous and surpassing magnet which attracts and allows itself to be attracted, which gives from itself and takes to itself. Finally, Earth is the seventh and last element. It has received the lowest place, yet it is nevertheless the local Centrum (centre), middle, and Punct (point) of the entire world. Together with Water it is one body, held by the Air. Thus one is founded upon another so that it can never fall. Water, then, is the living Matrix (womb or mother) of the world, and Earth its bodily Matrix (womb or mother), just as Air is its spiritual one. Through, in, and from this threefold mother of the world, everything is conceived, born, and nourished. These are the seven elements out of which, in which, and through which the world subsists. Each is most distinctly different from the others, yet one cannot exist without another. One is in another; one comes out of and through another; and thus they bear witness among themselves to their Harmoniam (harmony).

Because the first four elements are also themselves Principia (principles), we might also count only three elements which are the world's Spirit, Life, and Body and which were constituted out of the Water, namely Heaven, Air, and Earth.

The first thing after the elements is the Germen (germ or seed), the first seed of the world and the firstborn child, an image of the mystery of that which is above. In its signature it is at once father, mother, and child, and thus man and woman, without father, mother, or sex. It is sown by the Spirit through the Wind into its matricem (womb or matrix). Everything in the world subsists from the elements in its Body, Life, and Spirit. This is Wisdom's axioma (axiom): every world has its own proper Principia (principles) and element. Therefore one world cannot be transformed into another, though one element within its own world may indeed be transformed into another.

Chapter 5.
On the Counter-Elements and the Universal Creation

Everything that has been created subsists from these three: the Word, the elements, and the counter-elements. The counter-elements are those things through which the elements are changed, either toward life or toward death. Their Principium (principle) is Nothing, out of which all things were called by the Word in the Word. This Nothing gave birth to the counter-elements, namely these three: Darkness, Fire, and Change. These three counter-elements are more an accident, accidens (an accident), than a substance and being, because they come from Nothing: Darkness from Nothing, Fire from Darkness, and Change from Fire. The counter-elements are thus distinguished from the elements in that they are from Nothing, whereas the elements are from Something. For when the Word had spoken, that speaking did not vanish; instead, it immediately became embodied and stood forth: in its being, a Spirit; and in the Spirit, a being that exists; the Spirit in the Wind; and the Wind in the Water. Thus from the invisible there came a visible thing, from Nothing a Something, and from the spiritual an embodied thing, namely Water: a little drop that is pure Spirit in its seed, possessing such surpassing, powerful, and mighty multiplication that, when the Spirit blows into it with his Wind, it becomes an immeasurable multitude and is called Schamaim (heavens, or the multitude of waters). For in the beginning God created the waters in which Heaven and Earth lay hidden and invisible, being constituted out of Water: Schamaim (the heavens), the multitude of waters, indeed the fire-waters, where element and counter-element came together. This was the unformed world, surrounded by the counter-elements. Therefore darkness lay upon the deep, and the Spirit of the Lord fovirte (brooded or cherished) and overshadowed the waters. Thereafter the world was created out of this unformed being.

Thus the world was created out of Nothing - that is, with respect to the counter-elements that entered between - and out of an unformed being, and also out of Water. These three therefore come together in the universal creation of this world: the Word, Nothing, and the unformed Something, corresponding to the Word, the counter-elements, and the elements.

The Word is therefore the beginning of all created things. It called forth that which was not Nothing and yet did not yet exist, and through itself it made this into a Something, into such a being as it was to be. Before this Word, and without this Word, everything that exists is Nothing. All flesh - that is, everything created - is to be accounted Nothing in comparison with the Word; but for the Word's sake it is something. When the Word is taken away again, everything will again become nothing. The elements will be consumed by the counter-elements and pass away; then the counter-elements too will return into their Nothing, from which they came. Thus the world now subsists through the Word in its elements, and through the counter-elements it will perish again when, in due course, the Word is taken from it. Fire, therefore, is not an element out of which the world subsists. Rather, it is a counter-element through which the world is changed: either toward life, as at the beginning of creation, or toward death, as at the end of creation when the world passes away and the elements melt. Therefore two trees stand in Paradise: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Hidden in the first lies created, temporal, and eternal Life, which will again be revealed in all creatures at the coming of Jesus Christ, when the Tree of Life is broken open. In the other lay hidden eternal Death, which was unknown and was not in the world from the beginning. But when this tree was broken and known by the Centro (centre) of the world of all worlds, which is the human being, Death too was revealed and entered the world. Therefore the forbidden tree is embodied Nothing, out of which all things were called. It was to remain unknown and unbroken; then it would have been very good.

But when it was known through the breaking, it became very evil and had to fall back into that same Nothing out of which it was called in the beginning, just as, through the fall of the human being, this has also happened. The Centrum (centre) of the counter-elements in the universal creation is Fire. Just as the world was constituted out of Water, which is the Centrum (centre) of the elements according to the universal creation, so in turn it will be reduced through Fire to nothing again, namely to such a state as it had when it did not yet exist.

Therefore this is Wisdom's axioma (axiom): as the world's beginning was, so shall its end also be. For that which has been created can become uncreated in no other way than according to Nothing, but not according to God, who alone is uncreated. Therefore the creature cannot become God.

Chapter 6.
On the Universal Seed of All Things

All things were made through the Word, and without it nothing was made that has been made. Therefore the Word, in his word, is the universal Seed of all things, according to the testimony of God in everything that has ever been created by God. After it comes Water according to the testimony of the elements, and then Fire according to the testimony of the counter-elements. Thus the universal Seed of all things consists of these three, according to the three Special Principiis (special principles): Spirit, Wind, and Water. In the earthly creation one can never exist without the others. The Word is the Spirit of all things; Fire in the Wind is Life, but without the Wind it is Death; and Water is the Body.

When the Spirit is taken away, Life dies in its Body, which becomes dust. But when the Spirit is sent forth and blows through his Wind, Life rises from the dead and appears with its Body. One cannot exist without another. Without the Word nothing whatever can exist; likewise without Water there is no Fire, and without Fire there is no Water. Therefore the spiritual Water is in Fire, otherwise Fire could not burn; and, in turn, the spiritual Fire is in Water, otherwise Water could not flow. When this Fire in Water is driven inward by the cold into its Centrum (centre) and hidden place, the Water is coagulated and frozen. Likewise, when this Water is driven into the Fire by moisture, the Fire is extinguished and loses itself. Through warmth and heat, however, both are reawakened and appear again. Thus in these two, Fire and Water, six qualities and properties manifest themselves: cold and hot, moist and warm, wet and dry. The seventh property, however, is called tempered and is moved by the Word. Through this property every seed, and likewise every creature, is justified. But if it loses its temperament, it is subjected to the counter-elements and changed, so that it becomes something other than it was before. This universal, threefold Seed of all things bears witness to itself in the seed of every thing through these three: Salt, Sulfur, and the Spirit that gives life, commonly called Sal sulphur und Mercurius (Salt, Sulfur, and Mercury).

These three comprehend the seven qualities within themselves. Yet Sal, Sulphur und Mercurius (Salt, Sulfur, and Mercury) are each threefold: one volatile; one fixed and stable; and one hidden. The hidden one is the Salt of the Covenant in all creatures. It cannot be overcome by the counter-elements; through it all things are preserved. It is in all things and all things are in it, and without it nothing whatever can subsist. It is Fire and Water together, fire and watery fire and dryness: something that comprehends all qualities within itself at once. These three, Sal Sulphur und Mercurius (Salt, Sulfur, and Mercury), as the universal Seed of all things, come from the threefold matrice (womb or matrix) and mother of the world, namely Air, Water, and Earth. They are the best essence and being of these, something that travels downward from above and ascends again from below. These three continually interchange with, in, and through one another, so that all things are born from them. It is one in all, all in one, and all in all. Thus it is also the beginning, middle, and end in all things; and from its seed comes the seed of all things through the Word, Spirit, and Wind. Because it is the Salt of the Covenant, it allows nothing to perish. Therefore not even the smallest droplet of water has been reduced to nothing since the beginning of the world. When it dries up and visibly disappears, it thereby becomes spiritual and enters its invisible state until it is called forth again from the Wind by the Word through the Spirit. Thus all things are preserved and borne by the power of the Word, each by the Word that is within it; and consequently nothing in the world is ever lost by coming to nothing. Rather, when something is dissolved and separated from itself, it is joined together again into another thing. This occurs through Spirit, Wind, and Water, according to Word, Fire, and Water, in Sale, Sulphure und Mercurio (Salt, Sulfur, and Mercury).

The universal Seed of all things is sown from above by the Spirit through the Wind into the threefold Matricem (womb or matrix) and mothers of all creatures, namely Air, Water, and Earth. From these it is also conducted upward again, and thus it is enclosed with its beginning, middle, and end. Its key is Salt, which unlocks and locks. This, however, is Wisdom's axioma (axiom): every creation takes place according to the universal Seed of all things, through Solution (dissolution), through Separation (separation or division), and through Coagulation (coagulation or reunion).

Chapter 7.
On the Universal Distinction among Seeds

Corresponding to the distinction among the three worlds, there is also a threefold Seed according to the three Principiis (principles). The divine world has its own Seed according to the new birth from God, his Nature and elements, in Spirit, Wind, and Water from above, out of the highest divine world, which is uncreated. This is a Seed begotten, conceived, and born bodily from God; according to its being it comes from the embodied reality of the Word, that is, from the flesh and bones of Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus spoke with Nicodemus concerning these three - Spirit, Wind, and Water - from which the Seed of the divine world proceeds. We should know that in the divine world there is no Fire and no counter-element, but only Light, Life, and Love. For God is not a consuming Fire in himself or in those who are his, but only in, from, and through another. Therefore the divine world is distinguished from the other as Light is distinguished from Fire. The middle and angelic world also has its own Seed. It is received by those who partake in the first resurrection, the mystery of transformation, and the prize of the heavenly calling. These shall consequently become like the angels of God, being worthy of that world, namely Paradise. The elemental world also has its own Seed. It is commonly threefold, in the image of the threefold world according to the testimony of God in the mystery of Wisdom, and is divided into Mineralisch (mineral), Vegetabilisch (vegetable), and Animalisch (animal), that is, into stones, plants, and animals. Each Seed of these three is bodily, living, and spiritual. The Body of each thing is its Minera (mineral substance), and this Minera (mineral substance) is itself threefold: the visible, living one; the dead one as dust or ash; and the one that rises from the ash, which is Salt, the very best Minera (mineral substance) of all things. The Life of each creature is its Vegetativa (vegetative life), which is Sulfur and is likewise threefold.

Its Spirit is its Anima (soul) from above and is Mercurius vitae (Mercury of life), also threefold. Among the animals the serpent is the foremost; among the Vegetabilien (vegetable things), the vine; and among the Mineralien (mineral things), the rock, which possesses both Fire and Water. If we now distinguish Seed in general according to its multiplication and propagation, this occurs in animals through Generation (generation); in Vegetabilien (vegetable things) through Semination (sowing) and seed; and in minerals and metals through Solution per reductionem (dissolution by reduction). Thus each has its order in its own Nature. Every Seed is sown in its own Mother and not in another; and so each also has its own Conjugium (conjunction or marriage-bed) in its own kingdom and not in another. Nevertheless, because all the Principia (principles), the elements, and the counter-elements are present together in all things - one in all and all in one according to the harmony - one kingdom may indeed be transformed into another according to the order of Nature. Animals and the human being themselves are earth. Thus Scripture also says that God can awaken children for Abraham out of stones, for Solution (dissolution), Separation (separation), and Coagulation (coagulation) can accomplish all things, turning the mineral inward and bringing the animal forth in return. This, however, belongs to God alone. We, by contrast, must remain within his order: take each thing's own Seed out of, through, and from its like; sow it and harvest it; and not do so in another, lest we revile God to his face. For the human being is not the Creator but the sower, and therefore must remain within God's order. Whatever each person sows, that he shall also harvest; and whatever he wishes to harvest, that he must also sow. Every Seed, however, comes through the Special Principia (special principles), Spirit, Wind, and Water, and by no means from the constellations and Astris (stars).

For all Vegetabilia (vegetable things) were already present in perfection before the constellations had yet been created. Therefore the astra (stars) do not operate in the way the wise and clever of this world teach. Rather, they illuminate the world and were created to distinguish day from night and to be signs of the times by which the world is governed. They therefore prophesy concerning the times; they indicate the powers of the elements and point to the Light that is in each creature. The Spirit of Light in each creature beholds itself in relation to the Astris (stars), according to the eye that is within it. Hence one thing becomes dry and hard, another soft; one wet, ut Solaria (as solar things), another withered; one living, another dead. This, however, is Wisdom's axioma (axiom) and rule: every Seed of the three general Principien (principles) inherits within its own world and not within another; for the earthly cannot possess the heavenly, and properties cannot transform a substance except within their own world.

Chapter 8.
On the Universal Anatomy and Division of All Creatures

In every anatomy, attention must be paid to God's testimony in all creatures, which is the Trinity in the mystery of Wisdom. According to it, everything is weighed, numbered, and measured together in all Wisdom, so that each thing is attested through three in one and through one in three. Accordingly, all creatures subsist in a trinity, from the smallest mote in a sunbeam to the most beautifully formed human being, who was created according to the likeness of the image of God. Therefore all the Principia (principles), elements, and counter-elements are present together at once in every creature, each according to its part, its weight, number, and measure, and its power. Without any exception, every creature has, according to the universal anatomy, a threefold Seed: a spiritual, a living, and a bodily Seed. First, the spiritual Seed is threefold according to the three Principiis (principles): the Word, the Spirit, and the spiritual Body. This Body is of such a kind that it cannot be overcome by the counter-elements so long as the Word with his Spirit remains in it. According to this anatomy, every creature is from God for the Word's sake, from Nature for the Spirit's sake, and from the elements for the sake of God's testimony, for the elements were created by God. This is God's right, true, and very good creation in all creatures, which before the fall of the human being was in the world: immortal in its glory, incorruptible, and eternal with respect to temporality. Through the Fall it was lost and carried away until the renewal of all things and the resurrection of the dead. For this glory the whole world, πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις (the whole creation), now longs with pain in every creature. Second, the living Seed from the elements is also threefold: in its Spirit, from Nature; in its Life, from the elements; and in its Body, from the counter-elements. This is the creature that was revealed through the breaking of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

With respect to its glory it stands between evil and good, between Death and Life, between Darkness and Light. In its Life it is mortal, and in its Death it still has a Life within it, according to the counter-elements.

Nature now stands between God and the elements, immovable in her Centro (centre) and Tree of Life, and powerfully preserves the elements, which continually hover between Life and Death, so that they cannot be overcome by the counter-elements until the end comes. According to this living Seed, every thing that has been killed can be made alive again. For the Seed of the creature is threefold: the visible outward Body and Seed; the inward living Seed, which reveals itself in its Matrice (womb or matrix) and Mother per solutionem (by dissolution); and then the newborn Seed, which again becomes visible and self-subsisting. The spiritual Seed is likewise threefold: namely Salt, enduring in Fire; the Essentz (essence), enduring before the spirits; and the new birth, enduring before the evil one, namely in the elemental world. There is a great distinction among these three. Through Wisdom, and through, in, and out of the anatomy, the human being can indeed bring forth the first two - Salt and the Essentiam (essence) - but not the new birth as well. The Tree of Life alone can accomplish this. When it is broken open, it will restore this very good creation of God: it will turn the evil inward and bring the good outward again, just as the other tree turned the good inward and brought the evil outward. Finally, the bodily Seed of everything that lies under the curse, violence, and power of the murderer is also threefold: in its Spirit, from the elements; in its Body, from the counter-elements; and in its Life, from the Principiis (principles), elements, and world of the Devil, of which below. These three constitute such a self-subsistence of the creature as is animal and cursed from the abyss. This Seed is again threefold: according to the animal human being in this world and life; according to the man of sin in Hell; and according to the child of the Devil buried in Death. Yet the Fall did not create another being in respect of substance, but only in respect of properties.

Through these the good is bound with chains of darkness and held captive in all creatures by the Dragon's power until the Dragon too is captured, bound, and sealed over. Thus every creature, according to the universal anatomy, is considered in its threefold Body, Life, and Spirit, according as it is: from the elements of God's good creation; from the counter-elements of Nothing; and from the elements of the Devil. This, however, is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom): the Spirit of Judgment must anatomize and decide all things. Whoever does not have this Spirit cannot know Wisdom.

Chapter 9.
On the Distinction among Creation, Resurrection, and the Birth of the Inheritance from God

Corresponding to the threefold world attested in all things, there is also a threefold creation, which we may discern from the Seed of each world according to the distinction among the three general Principien (principles), of which we have already spoken. Creation is the very first thing of this world. It belongs to God alone and consists of the elements, so that every creature in this world is nothing other than elemental in all its glory, dignity, and properties. It is not also angelic, much less divine, unless it is within its own world; otherwise it could not have fallen into Death and the curse if it had been divine. Therefore, just as the elements are the highest things here and everything comes from them, and as they must nevertheless finally pass away through Fire, so that which comes from them can be no more glorious than the elements themselves. Nothing is divine except that which has also been begotten, conceived, and born from God; and that overcomes the world. Likewise, nothing is angelic except that which has also been born from the angelic world and its Centro (centre), the Tree of Life. Thus each thing belongs to its own world and not to another. Through the breaking of the forbidden tree, however, everything fell into Nothing, out of which it had also been called in the beginning, and thus came into Death. In opposition to this Death, Resurrection in turn came and was revealed. It overcomes Death and, through renewal and transformation, restores the very good creature of God that had been lost. It does so in an elemental-spiritual, incorruptible, and very good Body, Life, and Spirit, and indeed through the power of Nature, which is angelic and possesses the Tree of Life. The Fall cannot rule that Tree; rather, the Tree rules the Fall. Therefore, if Adam had eaten from the Tree of Life, he would indeed have lived eternally and become angelic, but only in Nature and not in God.

He would nevertheless have been above the elements, but in that condition he could never have multiplied, because that world neither marries nor permits marriage among its children, who are like the angels of God.

Consequently, the whole world would have remained closed forever, and we could never have become children of God. This is a mystery. Since neither creation nor resurrection - and thus neither element nor Nature - makes the human being a child of God, because neither of the two can give us God's Seed, the Lord therefore created something entirely new: the Birth from himself. For this reason he permitted the Fall, so that the Mother of the divine world might be broken open and be able to bear children. O what a depth of Wisdom and knowledge!

Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor?

Thus the old, cunning serpent was deceived by itself, and the Fall happened for our very best. In this way secret Wisdom searches by the Spirit all things which otherwise have never entered any human heart; for the Spirit also searches the depths of God. We should further know that resurrection always proceeds from the middle Principio (principle). First, the first resurrection, with respect to its own part, proceeds from Nature toward entrance into the angelic world and Paradise, according to the Seed from the Tree of Life. The second and universal resurrection of all the dead from their graves proceeds generally from the Wind. Through the blowing, breath, and inbreathing of his Spirit, the Wind will make all the dead alive again and call them; for in the elemental world it is the mouth and voice, indeed the Word, of the Lord. All the dead shall rise incorruptible with an elemental-spiritual Body and shall shine. This is the very Body that existed before the Fall, and in it they shall stand before judgment. The third resurrection proceeds from the eternal Life that is in God. It is a putting off of the angelic Body, Life, and Spirit in Paradise, just as the first resurrection is a putting off of the elemental-spiritual resurrected Body, Life, and Spirit, and the other, universal resurrection of all the dead is a putting off of the Body and Spirit of Nothing. Third, the renewal, regeneration, and so-called resurrection of the elemental world, in the restoration of all things, will restore to us God's good creation in all creatures within the elemental world. Therefore all flesh waits for the outpouring of the Spirit from on high as for a new baptism, and for the breaking open of the Tree of Life as for a new supper, which the angel proclaims with the eternal Evangelio (Gospel). Let the one who has understanding take heed to it.

We must therefore distinguish very precisely and carefully the creation, resurrection, and birth of each world according to each one's own being, properties, and fellowship, within its testimony. This is Wisdom's great Axioma (axiom): everything returns to its Principium (principle) from which it came, each within its own world and not within another; and as its beginning is, so also is its end.

Chapter 10.
On the Creation of the Human Being

The human being is the one Centrum (centre) of the world of all worlds, a precious, worthy, and most noble creature of God, a true book of God's secret Wisdom and of the depths of all Wisdom and knowledge. In him, as in a single Punct (point), all Wisdom is concentrated with the one Summa (sum or totality) of its entire harmony. For he is a right and true extract of every world and is therefore properly called the world of all worlds. We will accordingly consider his creation in the light of the mystery of Wisdom. All creatures and created things subsist in a Trinity according to the testimony of God in their self-subsistence. Therefore everything that is a creature and created thing of God must also bear witness in its Trinity - in its Body, Life, and Spirit - to God its Creator. How much more, then, must the human being, the most perfect creature, do so. The human being's elemental part, in its Body, Life, and Spirit, is a true extract of the whole elemental world and of everything within it, in a perfect and complete Trinity of an elemental Body, Life, and Spirit. For the human being was not made from a dead or lifeless clod of earth in which there was no Life or Spirit. Rather, he was made from the spermatic Limo (mud) and clod of Earth, which is an extract of Earth, something in which everything was and is present together at once. Thus the first part of the human being in his Trinity is from the elements. According to the second part, the human being has his Life-Spirit from Nature, that is, from the second Principio (principle). According to its being, this part is an extract of the angelic world and is the Life between Spirit and Breath: namely a natural, eternal Life of angelic Nature and properties, according to its part and according to its weight, number, and measure. We call this part the mind. It subsists in a Trinity consisting of the understanding, the conscience, and the will toward good.

This is a part of the human being which is not as substantial as the elemental part. That is, it does not consist of a true substantial Body, Life, and Spirit like the elemental part, but is bare and is the Life between Spirit and Breath, as stated.

According to the third Principio (principle), the human being in his creation also has a third part from the divine world and from God. This is the heavenly Soul, in its being a Breath of the Almighty and, in its Trinity, eternal Light, Life, and Love according to its part. Thus the heavenly Soul is a true extract of the divine world and a Breath. Accordingly, in the human being's creation his Spirit is from the elements, his Life from Nature, and his Breath from God; and conversely, the Spirit is from God, the Life from Nature, and the Breath from the universal Air and elements. This is the creation of the human being according to the three Principiis (principles), in such glory that the human being was created according to the likeness of the image of God. This image is threefold:

1. The image of Being, which is Flesh, something in which the whole fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. According to the likeness of this image of God, the human being too was created as Flesh, and indeed such Flesh as that in which the whole fullness of the world dwells bodily.

2. The image of the properties, which is eternal, immortal, holy, and very good, and so forth; indeed, the highest Good, which is God above all. According to the likeness of this image the earthly human being was also created: eternal, immortal, holy, and very good according to elemental glory; indeed, above everything and yet more glorious than the angels, on account of the heavenly Soul. The human being is consequently an earthly god and lord over everything: divine in all his properties, and equal to God according to earthly dignity within his own part; placed by God in Paradise with everything under his feet.

3. The image of the Mystery, which is Christ Jesus and his congregation, an exceedingly precious and great mystery. According to the likeness of this image the earthly human being was also created as an Adam and Eve, a man and woman, one human being. Thus the human being and his wife, the man and his woman, the earthly Adam and his Eve, are an image of the heavenly one, in whom the Name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the Name of the Lord are both hidden and revealed.

With respect to creation in the womb, the human being's elemental bodily part comes from the Seed of his father, which is threefold: the spiritual Seed, which proceeds from the brain; the living Seed, from the kidneys; and the bodily Seed, from the vessels. The mother, however, has no Seed, but rather a fruitfulness with which she surrounds the Seed. He receives the natural Life in his mind from the middle world, and the heavenly Soul from the mouth of God through the office and ministry of the angels. The eyes together with the head are the very first in every birth, then the ears, and then the heart, whose Centrum (centre) is the mouth. This, however, is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom): the human being in his creation is the central image of all Wisdom. Therefore whoever rightly knows himself according to the mystery of Wisdom also knows the Man in heaven, who is God, highly praised for eternity. Amen.

Chapter 11.
On the Gods of the World

Corresponding to the threefold world there are also three kinds of gods: God the Most High, then the angels, and then the human being. Although there are many gods in heaven and upon earth, we nevertheless have only one God and one Lord, Jesus Christ, who himself is all in all: the one true, embodied, and personal God; also the one Angel and Messenger of God, the Servant of the LORD, who is nevertheless the LORD and JEHOVAH himself; and also the one Man, the Most High Adam, the Man, who is the Lord from heaven himself. He is indeed rightly called Wonderful, because he himself is everything together at once. Through him everything that exists was created. He is the true Zehmah (Branch or Sprout), Germen (Shoot), and Oriens (Rising One or East), the Melchizedek in whom are hidden all the depths of Wisdom, knowledge, and every mystery, which no humanly learned or wise person of this world has seen or recognized, nor is able to recognize. God, however, has revealed it to us through his Spirit, who searches all things, even the depths of God. For no one knows what is in God except the Spirit of God; therefore it must be judged spiritually. The animalische (animal or merely soulish) person who has no Spirit understands nothing of it; to him it is foolishness. But we have received the Spirit from God, and we speak what we know and bear witness to what we have seen. No one accepts our testimony except the one who has received the same Spirit with us. By this we know who is from God: that person hears us. Whoever does not hear us is not from God, and the Spirit bears witness that we are from God. The angels too, in their continued existence, were called forth through the Word out of this Light in which God dwells. In their substantial self-subsistence they consist of Light, Fire, and Wind, with such glory in their own part that they are eternal with respect to their end, but not also with respect to their beginning, as God is.

Thus the creation or origin of the angels is not to be considered in an earthly manner, but in an angelic manner. The angels existed earlier in time than this elemental world, and so did Paradise. Fire, as the middle part of the angels' self-subsistence, is as it were their counter-element, bearing witness that their beginning is not equal to God, and likewise that their Nature, being, and glory are not equal to his. They are distinguished from God as Fire is from Light, between which there is as great and notable a distinction as between Death and Life. Therefore the angels stand before God with fear and trembling, before his countenance, which is the Light in which God dwells: the forecourt of the divine world, which the angels inherit according to their share in sonship. This Light is an outflow of the eyes of the Almighty and, according to its origin, a glance of his glorious Majesty. From beholding this Light the angels receive their command - from the Urim (Lights) and Thummim (Perfections) in heaven - and they rejoice, though with fear and trembling, whenever they are found worthy to come before the countenance of God. Now every human being has his own angel, assigned to him from his mother's womb as soon as he receives the heavenly Soul from the mouth of God. Therefore the dear angels rejoice whenever a person is devout and God-fearing; for then they too may come before God's countenance and behold it, as do the angels of the children. But when a person sins and lives in impenitence, his angel may not come before God's countenance. Instead, he must remain in the Air among the evil spirits until the sinner repents once more and the sole Mediator between God and humanity intercedes for him. Then his angel may again come before God's countenance, at which all the angels in heaven rejoice together - namely, over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine righteous persons.

But if the person dies in impenitence, his angel must remain away from God's countenance until the Day of Judgment. Hence Scripture says that the saints shall judge not only the world but also the angels. The angels, however, are assigned chiefly to the middle world beneath Paradise, over which Saint Michael is the foremost. They are to tend it and carry the souls of the righteous into it. In general, there are three kinds of heaven. First there is the heaven of the congregation of God here below upon earth, in which the woman who has borne the Child will appear. Next comes the heaven of the prophets: that is, the visions, revelations, and divine dreams of the saints and believers, the servants and maids of the Lord, in which heaven much has been prophesied until now, much fulfilled, and much has already come to pass. For the Lord does nothing unless he first reveals his secret to his servants the prophets. Finally there is the third heaven and Paradise, into which the great Apostle was caught up, as an image of him who was to come: namely, the Angel of the Covenant, who goes before the Lord to prepare his way. This, however, is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom): heavenly things must be compared with heavenly things, and earthly things with earthly things. Whoever would ascend into heaven must also have descended from it; but if someone does not yet understand the earthly, how will he judge concerning the heavenly?

Chapter 12.
On the Fall of the Angels and Its Principiis (Principles)

Everything created by God was created for his testimony, according to the likeness and as a prefiguration of his image, in heaven and upon earth. Thus Lucifer, the first angel, was also called to the Light as a prefiguration of the bright Morning Star in God's heaven. Into that heaven no one has ever entered - neither into the forecourt, nor into the Holy Place, much less into the Most Holy; for no one has ever seen God, nor can anyone see him. Paradise, however, bears in all things the image of the heavenly realities. Lucifer was its supreme keeper and prince, the first before all the angels. Yet he was not content with this. He wished to behold God himself and to be equal to the bright Morning Star in God's heaven, though he already was such a star according to his own part and within his own world. This Lucifer therefore took occasion from the good, without any cause, to produce evil, both against God and, above all, against himself. He thereby brought it about that other Principia (principles) were born in him, namely these three: Lust, Temptation, and Sin. Thus this angel became a tempter. Enticed by his own lust, through which he tempted himself, he gave birth to sin within himself and to such Principia (principles) as had not existed before. From them, in them, and through them were revealed the depths of the tempter's unfathomable Abyss, and the abyss of the depths of the mystery of Folly, Duality, and Wickedness. From these, in turn, three further Principia (principles) were born: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Through them the Fall was accomplished, and finally these three Principia (principles) too were revealed: Darkness, Fire, and Change. From these three Principiis (principles) the tempter received another Body, Life, and Spirit for his subsistence. In return, he lost the Light and the Wind, which returned to their Principium (principle).

Thereby God, in his testimony, Name, and revelation, became a consuming Fire to Satan, and remains so for all eternity. Thus Light and Fire were separated, and Satan received the following testimony, Name, and revelation: he is a tempter, a liar, and a murderer from the beginning; no longer an angel of God, but a devil in his own Principiis (principles), according to which he is living-dead and mortally alive. He lost God's testimony in the Word and thus became his own creator. In the same way he lost the name Angel and became a Devil; he lost the revelation of the Light and became a Prince of Darkness, from his own Principiis (principles), out of his own elements, in his own world, concerning which more follows. That Lucifer was capable of falling was not created by God. Rather, the tempter created it in himself through the temptation of himself, enticed by his own lust. We must understand that neither Lucifer nor the human being could have been created by God in such a way, or so constituted, that he could not have fallen. Otherwise he would himself have been God, who alone cannot sin, because he is uncreated and not from another. Nor can God, as the supreme Good, ever be the cause of evil. On the contrary, he created his creature as exceedingly good as it could possibly be, and thereby gave it cause to recognize itself in this great goodness, in which it is like God as far as is at all possible according to its own part, and to thank him for it. The tempter, however, despised this - namely, self-knowledge, that precious Nosce te ipsum (Know thyself) - and consequently despised, rejected, and cursed his very self. This is the great mystery of the Folly of all folly, the Duality of all duality, and the Wickedness of all wickedness. For he is a fool within himself, at variance with himself, and made himself a villain in an evil so exceedingly malignant that it has never yet been fathomed and cannot be fathomed throughout all eternity.

This is because there is in it no Wisdom, no Unity, no Light or knowledge; neither eye, ear, nor heart; neither mouth nor senses, reason, or understanding; and no tongue that can express how immeasurably and desperately evil this villain is. Thus he can never discover or know himself, and therefore has no key to his own Abyss. Instead, he must allow himself to be taken captive, bound, and sealed over by the Angel of the Covenant, who has received the keys to heaven, to Paradise, and to the Abyss. This Angel is Eliakim, upon whose shoulder the Lord has laid the key of David.

This, then, is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom): evil, in its entire mystery, is the cause, means, and beginning of itself; in all and in each, without anything else, it is itself all in all, alone within its own.

Chapter 13.
On the Elements and World of the Devil

Evil did not have its beginning together with God from eternity. Therefore it is no God, but rather a villain and Devil who wished to be equal to God and indeed became so - yet not in that which belongs to God, but in his own Principiis (principles), elements, and world, according to the mystery of Folly. Even today he disguises himself as an angel of Light, although he is a Prince of Darkness. He wilfully abandoned his principality and thus became an adversary - yet in every respect an adversary only to himself. Against his own conscience he denied and despised God and “blessed” him to his face - that is, he cursed him. In abandoning his Lord, he thereby hated his very self and is lost eternally because he resisted the will of God. Whoever, by contrast, does that will abides eternally and will not fall. Just as the Devil has his own Principia (principles), so too he has his own elements, which proceed from his own Principiis (principles). They are these seven: unbelief, disobedience, self-conceit, ambition, malice, vice, and wickedness. Through these elements of his own, Satan became an enemy of God and of the good. He sowed the seed of his weeds among all his angels, and afterward likewise in the world. Thus the Dragon draws the third part of the stars with his tail and casts them upon the earth. From these Principiis (principles) and elements of his, the Devil also has his own threefold world: namely, Hell, Death, and the Fiery Pool, in which are Judgment, Curse, and Damnation. Hell is, as it were, the Devil's elemental world. Its place is below, within the Earth, to which Satan must go for Judgment, where he is cast down and bound with chains of darkness. Into this world enter all those who in this world have lived in the Devil's elements and their fruits, have died in them, and have departed from here with the rich man.

In Hell they possess a corresponding Body, Life, and Spirit, formed from the vain elements, the worthless counter-elements, and Satan's elements. Living-dead and mortally alive, they are tormented by the counter-elements through Satan's power; judged in the flesh and in the man of sin; and delivered to Satan for the destruction of sinful flesh and being, so that the Spirit - that is, the heavenly Soul - may be saved on the Day of the Lord. We must know that after his resurrection the Lord went and preached to the spirits in prison: that is, he descended into Hell and there proclaimed the Gospel to the dead. Thus, through the blood of the Covenant, he released the captives from the pit in which there is no water. This is what it means that the Lord took captivity captive; plundered the strong armed man's palace; took the spoil from the giant; stripped the principalities and powers; made a triumph of them and exposed them openly; and distributed the booty. All those who have been banished by the keys of the kingdom of heaven, so that after their departure their heavenly Soul and Spirit from God neither can nor may enter Paradise, are in Hell. Therefore, though the Lord leads into Hell, he also leads out again. He has the keys of Hell and of Death. He kills and makes alive; therefore every knee must bow before him - of those in heaven, upon earth, and beneath the earth, that is, in Hell. For these dead in Hell his side was opened upon the Cross after he had already died - O tremendum mysterium (O awesome mystery!) - so that the heavenly Soul which proceeded from his mouth and was taken from his side would not have to remain eternally under the Devil's power. Thus the Lord suffered even after his death, so that he might become such a sting to Death that Death could not kick against it. Death is the Devil's second world. Into it Satan must enter at the coming of Christ, as into his prison, until the thousand years are completed.

Into this world of the Devil enter all those who have sinned against the Holy Spirit, have again lost the new birth from God together with its Seed, and in exchange have been born from the Devil's world, and are therefore themselves devils. They have no forgiveness either in this world or in the one to come. Their heavenly Soul, however, returns to God, while the damned person is a child of the Devil in each and every respect. The Devil's third world is the Fiery Pool, in which at last the Devil will be tormented from eternity to eternity, when Light and Fire are separated from one another on the very last Day of the final Judgment.

This, then, is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom): everything that enters God, ought to enter him, or will enter him, has also and necessarily proceeded from him. Conversely, whatever enters the Devil's world has also come from that world, in all and in each; for everything returns to its own Principium (principle), and not into another.

Chapter 14.
On the Fall of the Human Being

Through the Devil's envy, Death entered the world. The Devil was cast out of Paradise, outward and downward into the Darkness, to the place where the present world now stands. During and after the Creation he is subsequently to be cast into the middle of the Earth - that is, into Hell. In order that Paradise might again have a keeper, God called this world out of the Invisible, afterward made the human being, and placed him in Paradise. This greatly vexed the tempter. Since he himself was not permitted to enter Paradise, he disguised himself as an angel of Light and, through his Principiis (principles) and elements, seduced the Serpent, which was the foremost and most cunning animal upon earth. He caused it to ascend into Paradise and seduce the woman, persuading her to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Thus the Serpent entered Paradise through the human being's neglect, even though the human being had been placed there by God to cultivate and guard it. Through the Serpent's seduction, the woman then broke the forbidden Tree and revealed the mystery of Nothing, out of which all things had been called, but which ought to have remained concealed and unknown. She also gave of it to her husband. Thereupon their eyes were opened; both of them - indeed, the whole world together with them - became naked in shame, so that they had to be ashamed. Although the human being was naked even before his Fall, this was no shame to him, but an honor, and he had no need to be ashamed. For the shame of Nothingness was covered throughout the whole world by the likeness of God's image, according to which the human being had been created. Through the Fall, however, this shame was uncovered throughout the whole world and before the eyes of all the world. Indeed, even the Most Holy Image of God in God's own heaven was put to shame, and the Most Holy was uncovered which had been hidden and concealed in the depths of God.

For the Man of God in heaven was also made naked, so that he had to be ashamed, because the likeness of his image had been broken, dishonored, and brought to nothing in the earthly human being, the most beautiful creature of all. What had proceeded from his mouth - namely, the heavenly Soul - was abducted from him.

We would still have much to say about all this. The heavenly Soul is the Breath of the Almighty, which Satan and the Dragon, the ancient Serpent, dragged down into the depths of Hell's Abyss. As a result, self-subsisting eternal Life had to yield up his Spirit upon the Cross, and the covering or veil had to be torn, so that the Most Holy was stripped bare and uncovered before the eyes of all the world. Through the Fall, therefore, the Lord in heaven himself had to be ashamed. He is Adam, the Most High, the Man and Husband, according to the likeness of whose image the earthly man was created; and he had to be ashamed of his wife. In the angelic world and Paradise, the Archangel Michael likewise had to be ashamed. Before his own eyes he had to see the Dragon, the ancient Serpent, returning into Paradise after the Fall, and to hear the human being accused before God day and night. Satan, the ancient Serpent, consequently remained in Paradise until the Lord Jesus rose again. Therefore, as Jesus went to his Passion and death, he said: now Satan will be cast out. In the elemental world, the human being cast out from above had to be ashamed before all the animals. To this day they flee from him as from their enemy, who has subjected them to vanity. He slaughters and eats them and takes their hide and hair. Thus the creature must be subjected to vanity against its will, and waits with pangs and anguish for deliverance. Thus the Fall was accomplished through transgression of the Law. Yet this Law was not a cause of evil, but rather of good, so that the human being would not fall into sin through ignorance. Nor, indeed, can a creature exist without a law; otherwise both the Creator and the creature itself would be denied. God alone is without law, because he cannot sin. Whoever besides God wishes to be without law is a devil; but whoever lives in God, and God in him, is righteous, and no law is given to him.

The Law is therefore a safeguard against the Fall, rather than an occasion, means, cause, or anything of that kind. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil likewise had necessarily to stand there; otherwise the whole Creation would have been denied before God and his angels, as though it had not been called out of Nothing and created in time, but had existed from eternity like God. While the human being stood in Paradise, however, he was not in sonship, but only in servanthood and creatureliness. He was merely a day-laborer and servant, and not a child. There is therefore a great distinction between sonship, which proceeds from the divine world; servanthood, which proceeds from the middle and angelic world; and creatureliness, which proceeds from this elemental world. This, however, is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom): just as everything was lost through breaking the forbidden Tree, so through breaking the Tree of Life everything will be restored at the future coming of Christ. For if Death was mighty for evil, how much mightier will Life yet be for good!

The villain can never be stronger than God, who is highly praised in eternity. Amen.

Chapter 15.
On the State of the Human Being after the Fall

The fact that the human being had to be ashamed after the Fall is a testimony that what had formerly been his outward part - God's very good Creation - was turned inward. Thereby God's testimony in his Creation was lost, and in its place an animal part and Nothingness were revealed in him. This part is from the vain elements, the worthless counter-elements, and the Devil's elements; that is, from the Abyss. It is a man of sin and, in its mystery, the Beast, the Whore, and the False Prophet - that is, an Antichrist. Thus through the Fall God's testimony in all creatures was broken and torn apart, and divided in its Trinity. The creature was thereby separated from God and divided into three according to the anatomy of which we have already spoken above. Three kinds of spirit were likewise revealed in all creatures, in utter adversity:

1. The spirit of vanity, which oppresses the Soul and from which proceed all misery, care, toil, and the like.

2. The spirit of Nothingness, from the counter-elements, from which proceed all diseases, infirmities, and natural death.

3. The spirit of wickedness, from the Principiis (principles), elements, and world of the Devil, from which proceed all folly, Darkness, unreason - indeed, evil and the like.

Thus the Soul or Spirit, the Life, and the Body of the human being and of all creatures are burdened, and the human being must indeed remain continually in conflict. Through this spirit of wickedness Satan, the ancient Serpent, still continually slithers into the human being and thus deceives the whole world. Now through the Fall the human being outwardly lost God's testimony, Name, and revelation in the likeness of his image, and in exchange entered into the testimony, property, and fellowship of the Devil. Nevertheless, he was not thereby also outwardly and bodily begotten, conceived, and born from the Devil himself, nor did he participate in the Devil's essence as though he were himself an embodied devil. For the human being, unlike the Devil, is not an originator of evil, but was seduced by him. Therefore, although the human being's essence was divided, made twofold, and torn apart through the Fall, it did not thereby become the Devil's own in the same way that the Devil is his own possession and thus an embodied devil. Otherwise the human being could no more be redeemed again, throughout all eternity, than the Devil can. The same is true of those who have sinned against the Holy Spirit and, through persistent impenitence, drive the Holy Spirit together with the new birth out from themselves, though they had once already received it. For this reason David too pleads and says: “Take not your Holy Spirit from me”; that is: do not lead me into temptation, lest I persist in impenitence and your Holy Spirit thus be taken from me. Therefore it is indeed said: watch and pray without ceasing, so that you do not fall into temptation. After the Fall, therefore, the creature is ruled by the three spirits just mentioned. Each ruler has his share in it: Vanity, or the elements, torments the human being in his Life; the counter-elements in his Death; and Satan in Hell.

Through these three spirits, God's good Creation in all creatures is subdued, bound, and held captive until the time of restoration, renewal, and resurrection in Redemption, when the Dragon will be bound. Whoever now wishes to free himself from these three spirits must lead a divine Life with Enoch, Moses, and Elijah, and with the Apostle strive for the prize of the heavenly calling, to see whether he can attain it: to be taken into Paradise without temporal death, to enter it again with angelic glory, and thus to participate in the first resurrection while still in a living Body. This is the mystery of transformation, according to which the last will be the first. As many of us, then, as know this, let us be of this mind and so run that we may obtain the prize. For we testify and say, as a Word of the Lord, that the time has now come in which the last will be the first. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.

These three, then, were the first to enter Paradise again: Enoch, Moses, and Elijah. They put off and laid aside the elemental, and gave back to the elements, counter-elements, and elements of the Devil what belonged to them. For this reason Satan also disputed with the Archangel Michael over Moses' body, because Moses had become guilty of unbelief at the Waters of Strife. Next to Christ and salvation, no higher goal is set before us in hidden Wisdom than that we should strive after this prize of the heavenly calling. This, however, is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom) and teaching: whoever wishes to find the best in the world must reduciren (reduce), put off, and strip away the evil, the nothing-like, and the vain, and thereby bring it back into its Nothing; he must turn the outward inward and the inward outward. For everything depends upon Reduction (reduction).

Chapter 16.
On the Redemption of the Human Being

Because the heavenly Soul, according to her origin, comes forth from the mouth of God, which is the embodied Word that is Flesh, and is thus a Breath of the Almighty in her spiritual and bodily being, she was accordingly also breathed out from the corporeality of the self-subsisting and essential Flesh and Bone of the Most High Adam and Man, who is God's in heaven, into the nose and face of the human being created upon earth. Therefore, as regards her creatureliness, the heavenly Soul comes and has been taken from Christ Jesus, from his Flesh and Bone, and is thus a Breath, yet consequently and nevertheless a heavenly Eve entrusted to an earthly man, and is an image of the spiritual Eve, that is, the congregation of Christ, which in turn is an image of the divine Eve, that is, the most holy Godhead, who is the true Free Woman, the true Jerusalem, Life, and the Mother of us all. Accordingly, the heavenly Soul is also a wife of the Most High Adam, the maid of the Lord in the house of service under bondage, who was seduced into sin by the earthly Adam. The Lord looked upon this wretched maid of his and thus became the Savior of her body. O mystery!

Therefore the man Jesus Christ took upon himself the guilt of his wife, indeed her disgrace and shame. He stripped himself, indeed made himself naked, and put off his divine form; in return, however, he put on the form of the flesh of sins, which is a creaturely, null, and animal form. He became a Lamb that was known from the beginning of the world and truly slaughtered in his Blood, a Bread that was broken, and a Rock that was struck at the time when all flesh had entered Satan's wilderness and was about to languish and die of thirst, and therefore cried out for water. Now this precious Savior Jesus Christ, through his faithfulness and inexpressible love, gave himself for his wife. At the fullness of time he came into this world through so profound a humiliation of himself that, in his most holy, divine, and self-subsisting corporeality, he contracted himself and became a Seed according to the form of the creation of all flesh, and also according to the form of the flesh of sins, in all things like another human being. He took on sin, and indeed so completely that the most holy Godhead took the form of our heavenly Souls; the life-giving Spirit, the form of our natural Life-Spirit; and the embodied Word, in the being of his Flesh, altogether reduced himself and assumed the form of our earthly, animal, indeed sinful flesh. He was conceived, born, and nurtured by a woman, and thus was subject not only to vanity, nullity, and weakness, but also to all suffering, indeed even to flesh and Death. According to the flesh, therefore - that is, according to the form, but not according to the being, of sinful flesh - he was a Seed of Abraham, indeed the Son of David and from the fathers, inasmuch as he was reckoned a son of Joseph: such a Man as the world did not know, has not known until now, and still does not know to this present day, when the Son of Man is first to be revealed.

He will be, and is, in his great mystery, which with his testimony, Name, and revelation has been written to the angel of the sixth congregation through the Key of David. Thus Jesus Christ has now come with water and Blood for redemption and cleansing, indeed for new birth according to the Spirit who bears witness, namely, that the Spirit is truth. Therefore these three bear witness: the Spirit, the water, and the Blood; and these three are one and remain together. Thus Jesus Christ has come in the Flesh, namely in his own Flesh from heaven and not in a foreign, earthly, and animal flesh that he might perhaps have borrowed. Rather, through his own Blood he entered the Holy Place, and God acquired his congregation for himself through his very own Blood. By this we now recognize the universal Antichrist: namely, the one who in his spirit denies the Flesh of Christ, which is the living Bread that came from heaven. And by this we recognize the Spirit from God: that he confesses that Christ came in the Flesh, a Son of Man who is in heaven, that is, God's. Thus we have indeed been bought very dearly, namely through the Blood of an innocent and unblemished Lamb that never knew any sin and in whose mouth no deceit was ever found. This is the Lamb of God, not of animal human beings, which bears the sin of the whole world; and consequently the reconciliation is not only for our sin, but also for the sin of the whole world. Accordingly, when after the Fall the human being received his judgment, God clothed him in skins as an open, precious, and certain testimony that the Lamb had already been slaughtered and had taken every curse upon itself, so that through itself it might reconcile again with God everything that is in heaven and upon earth. God thus appointed it as a Mercy Seat for all flesh, in such a redemption as is now preached in the fullness of time through an eternal Gospel to every creature under heaven.

This, however, is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom): no one knows how dearly we have been bought except the one who has the testimony of Jesus Christ in the Spirit of prophecy; and no one knows Christ except the one who has his Spirit. Therefore every spirit is recognized and judged by its own mouth, word, and testimony, et contra (and conversely).

Chapter 17.
On the Rebirth of the Human Being

Through the death of Christ, the one true God himself, we have come to Life. In his death he took upon himself the form of our Death; and just as through the Fall the creature's Trinity was separated, divided, and torn apart, so too, in the death of Christ, God tore himself from himself in his most holy Trinity. The most holy Godhead, in the form of the heavenly Soul, departed from her Body into Paradise; the life-giving Spirit, according to the form of an earthly Life, departed into the Air; and the most holy Corpse was laid in the Earth. At this the veil before the Most Holy Place was torn, because God tore himself from himself, and thus the Most Holy in God and his depths was uncovered and could be seen naked and bare before the eyes of the whole world. O the suffering, disgrace, and Death!

Thus we now enter into Life in God through a new birth, as a new creation that proceeds from the divine world. Although the old creation in us is very good, it is nevertheless earthly and proceeds from the elements; it has only bare creatureliness and consequently cannot in its flesh and blood possess the Kingdom of God. Therefore, whoever wishes to enter into God and his Kingdom and inherit it must also be begotten, conceived, and born from that same Kingdom. Then he possesses the sonship, inheritance, and property of God. The first human being is earthly and from the Earth; the other Human Being in us is the Lord from heaven and is spiritual. Thus in Adam, through the Fall, we lost something earthly and, in return, through Christ received again something divine, spiritual, and heavenly. Accordingly, with respect to rebirth, we have been begotten, conceived, and born from God: from his Seed, from the Seed of the living, self-subsisting, and embodied Word; that is, according to its being, from Christ's Flesh and Bone. We are a spiritual Eve of the Most High Adam, a bride of the Lamb, a daughter of the Father of the eternal world, a child of the life-giving Spirit, a sister of the King of all kings, and a blood-relative of the Most High; from a chosen royal-priestly family; partakers of the divine Nature; and, according to the being, fellowship, and property of God's testimony, Name, and revelation, children and heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. Our rebirth from God takes place as follows. When we have come to believe in Christ Jesus through his preaching and that of his Spirit and apostles, in childlike obedience, we receive the Holy Spirit in such an overshadowing that he brings us the Seed of God into the vessel of our heavenly Souls. The Soul thus becomes and is a Mother of the Lord according to the new Human Being within us.

From this Seed of God, which is the husband of our heavenly Soul, while she, conversely, is to the Lord Christ a spiritual Eve, there comes forth such a Woman as is holy, unblemished, and blameless before the throne of God: a wife, bride, and virgin of the Lamb, who bears the Name of her Father written upon her forehead. There are three kinds of preachers of faith unto rebirth. Jesus Christ preaches the Gospel to the spirits in prison, as to the dead; the Holy Spirit preaches to children and infants, even in the womb; but the apostles preach to adults. Thus we now have an exceedingly precious treasure in earthen vessels: namely, God, Christ, and his Spirit present within us, not personally, indeed, but by an essential participation, united as a child is with its bodily father. The presence of God, Christ, and his Spirit is therefore in general threefold:

1. personal, corporeal, and visible;
2. united in his children;
3. manifest and according to the testimony, in that he fills all in all, creates, preserves, and governs everything, and then also reveals himself in some form, voice, or vision.

The inner human being is likewise threefold. First, there is the one in the heavenly Soul, as the one who is born from God and cannot sin, for it is Christ Jesus himself within us, a precious mystery. With this treasure our heavenly Soul travels into Paradise after departing from this body. Then there is the inner human being of the mind, according to his understanding, conscience, and will toward good, who always delights in the Law of God and indeed has the willing, but not also the accomplishing. Finally there is the inner human being of the heart, in our humbled, obedient, and submissive elemental spirit. According to these we become children per reductionem (by a turning back), through conversion, and when we have become like them. Thus in our rebirth we now eat and drink the Flesh and Blood of Christ as a meal, in the form of a Seed, as food and drink of Life. From this all the fathers too ate and drank from the beginning of the world: namely, the same spiritual food and drink as we. Otherwise, how could they have been saved?

In its remembrance they had the paschal lamb, whereas we have the Table of the Lord, in such an understanding of Christ's words at the Supper that the blessed Bread and blessed Cup are not themselves the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus, nor are they under, with, or in them. Rather, they are only the fellowship, Κοινωνία (communion), but not the participation, non (not) μετοχή (participation), and this in remembrance of him. This, however, is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom) and saying: Christ within us is our sole, true, and right Theologia (theology), an essential, self-subsisting, embodied Word dwelling within us with his Flesh. No one knows his testimony, Name, and revelation except the one who has seen, heard, and recognized it with an inward eye, ear, and heart, in the Spirit and in truth, and who has attested it as if through the mouth of the Lord himself.

Chapter 18.
On the Justification of the Human Being before God

Just as the human being fell through unbelief, disobedience, and self-conceit, and went far away from God, so too he must return to God through faith, obedience, and yieldedness. Faith is therefore first and precedes election by far, so that in general it does not proceed from election; rather, election proceeds from it. Otherwise Israel would surely have been saved before all others, yet Israel was cast out because of unbelief, and election consequently passed to those who believe, for whoever believes is pronounced blessed. We also know, however, that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world was laid: namely, with respect to that part which, according to the new birth, we have from him himself, since God can choose nothing other than that which is also from himself. Furthermore, we know that faith does not come from human beings. It is not human, nor is it directed in its religion according to name, human doctrine, or confession, but solely according to God, or according to Christ Jesus and his Spirit, in its hope, love, and justification, in every testimony, according to his working in us all. Thus the human being cannot accomplish even the least thing toward his justification; for whatever God himself does not work within us - both as to beginning and end, willing and accomplishment, and all in all - is also unrecognized by him. Therefore in all things he comes before us, causes faith to be preached, and in his grace offers and presents it to us as an eye, hand, and foot, as an ear, heart, and mouth, and as such a means through which we can come to him, if only we ourselves are willing and do not despise his grace. Therefore he also wills that all human beings be saved, and accordingly calls them in three ways.

1. In general, through the Book of Nature, the Law, and the Gospel, through which he calls us daily and thus draws us to himself. He absolutely does not will, as truly as he himself lives, that anyone at all should be lost. Therefore he has also enclosed all under sin and unbelief, so that he might have mercy upon all. The deficiency lies only in us: namely, that we do not stand in faith, obedience, and yieldedness.

2. In particular, God receives those who receive him in faith, obedience, and yieldedness when he comes to them; and whoever comes to him he will not cast out. Yet the human being's receiving him is still not a cooperating cause of salvation, but rather a passive endurance or childlike yielding, for God comes before us in all things. What otherwise could we receive if he did not give us everything?

Or what does a human being have that he has not received?

Thus Christ is the Savior of all human beings, but particularly of believers, as those who receive him.

3. He also calls us according to his free will with a special calling, which is threefold:

1. in temporal election and blessing, where he loves Jacob but hates Esau, though without injury to Esau's salvation;
2. in spiritual election and calling, where he chooses one as an apostle but not another;
3. finally, also in salvation, where from the same clay he makes different vessels, one for honor and another for dishonor, lets Pharaoh perish in his hardening, but in return wondrously converts the raging Saul. In this matter and passage, Scripture says that it depends on no one's willing or running, but only on God's mercy. Thus it says: "I have chosen David, but rejected his brother Eliab"; and again: "Let my grace suffice you"; and once more: "For this reason I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you." We receive justification from God through faith in three ways.

1. Inasmuch as righteousness is imputed to us by grace for Christ's sake, when we receive grace for grace, according to which we are Filii adoptivi (adoptive children), received by God in the place of children.

2. Inasmuch as God, Christ, and his Spirit alone work righteousness itself within us in its fruits, so that we are such righteous persons as have no law given to them, and Filii dilectionis (children of love), who keep and perform Christ's Word and accomplish his will.

3. We are righteous in his essential righteousness according to the new birth: Hæredes Dei (heirs of God) and fellow heirs of Christ, Filii Sancti (holy children), chosen saints and human beings of God. Furthermore, we consider the Word, hearing, and faith in three ways as well.

1. The outward Word, hearing, and faith in its letter, belonging to the outward elemental human being.

2. The inward Word, the giving of ear, and contemplation of the Law of God in the spirit of the mind: for recognition of sins in the conscience, for understanding of evil and good, and for the will and obedience toward good.

3. The living Word and true Seed in our heavenly Souls: this is Christ, our faith, hope, and love, who has become a cause of salvation to all those who obey him. There is likewise a threefold baptism: namely, the outward baptism with water from the elemental world, performed by human beings; the inward baptism with water from the divine world, performed by Christ, who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit; and then the third, universal baptism with the water from the angelic world, which at the coming of Christ will be performed by the Spirit of God upon all flesh, for the bodily cleansing from all sins. There is likewise a threefold Supper: namely, the outward one in remembrance of Christ; the inward one in rebirth; and the future one in Paradise. The Kingdom of Christ is also threefold: namely, the Kingdom of Grace here in this world in faith; the Kingdom of Glory in the world to come and in Paradise, in sight; and then the Kingdom of Eternity in the supreme divine, uncreated world. This, however, is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom): everything must be done in God and spiritually directed according to Christ, not merely according to the letter. Otherwise it is a curse, an abomination, and Death; it does not come into the Light. Whoever imagines that he possesses something of his own over against God is a devil, Satan, and villain.

Chapter 19.
On the Complete Anatomy of the Human Being in General

There is no more beautiful Wisdom in the whole world than to know oneself; none more right than to fear God; and none more perfect than to love Christ Jesus, and all this in the Spirit and in truth. The Centrum (centre) of this Wisdom is the jewel of the heavenly calling. Now, in order that the human being may rightly know himself, he must above all learn rightly to distinguish and recognize the spirit within himself, for all knowledge depends upon this. In general there is a threefold spirit within the human being:

1. a perverse animal and elemental spirit, which in the elemental human being has the senses, will, and reason under itself;

2. the spirit of the mind, in which are the understanding, the conscience, and the will toward good, a servile spirit.

According to this threefold spirit within the human being, government, Wisdom, Theologi (theology), works, and salvation are now also threefold; and, in Summa (in sum), everything is judged, recognized, and proved according to the spirit. Accordingly, there is indeed a very great distinction among that which is elemental, animal, and fleshly; that which is mental; and that which is divine. Whoever has the Spirit of God can examine everything and recognize and distinguish all spirits, for the spiritual human being judges everything and is judged by no one. Since the human being is also a Temple of God, we consider him according to the forecourt, which is the elemental human being who is to be sacrificed; according to the Holy Place, which is the mental human being who is to be a priest and preach the Law; and according to the Most Holy Place, which is the Human Being from God and Christ himself within us. Thus the Temple also signifies to us the threefold world according to the mystery of Wisdom, and everything that is in the whole world bears witness to the threefold world. When we further anatomize the human being according to vanity, he possesses nothing more than the beast; for the human being and the beast breathe with the same Breath. When they die, the entire Body becomes ash, the Life flutters away into the Air from which it was also taken, and the Spirit returns to him who gave it. The beast has no resurrection because it possesses nothing from the angelic world; nevertheless it subsists in a complete Trinity: its Body is from water and Earth, its Life from the Wind and Air, and its Spirit from heaven. At the creation of the human being in the womb, these three come together: namely, the Spirit from God, who works in the elements and is the Creator of all things; then comes the spirit of the counter-element and makes God's good creature vain, null, and frail; but the spirit of wickedness subjects it to Death, Curse, and Judgment.

Thus the good being of the creature is corrupted by these two. When the human being departs and falls asleep in the Lord, his Life-Spirit rests with Samuel in the Earth, in that part of the elemental human being which lives even in Death and bears within it the Seed of the resurrection.

If, however, the human being dies with a troubled or evil conscience, it may indeed happen that his spirit wanders about after departure. If he dies in the elements of the Devil, he must go wholly into Hell; but if he has sinned against the Holy Spirit, he is buried wholly in Death. In the universal resurrection, three kinds of dead are to be considered. First are the dead in the world, that is, in the Earth and in the sea; then the dead in Hell, who are the banished; and finally the dead in Death, who are the children of the Devil. The middle part within the human being is also threefold. In creation it is bare: a Life-Spirit. After rebirth, if it has gained the victory over the Beast, it bears within itself the Seed from the Tree of Life for a share in the first resurrection. In the universal resurrection the elemental human being will rise incorruptible, as was considered above. In it those who enter Paradise will also rise at Christ's coming and, after the Judgment at the first resurrection, will put off the elemental, appear in the angelic human being, and enter Paradise, in which we shall bear the image of the heavenly ones. The heavenly Soul will then be the middle part within us, and the new Human Being from God within us the third and highest. The inner human being in our heavenly Souls is likewise threefold: namely,

1. the heavenly Soul, bare in the creation of the human being;

2. then the spiritual human being according to the Seed of God within us;

3. finally, the complete Man of God, appearing in the supreme divine world and subsisting in himself according to the perfect age of Jesus Christ, with all fullness.

In this world and time the heavenly Soul is a child, but in Paradise a bride, and in God's heaven like the Breath of the Almighty in the Man of God, thus returning again to her Principio (principle). There we shall behold God face to face and see him as he is. Thus, in the complete anatomy of the human being, there is an elemental Trinity, and indeed a threefold Body, Life, and Spirit, as has already been considered. There is likewise an angelic Trinity, and then also a divine Trinity, concerning which something too has been said. Yet each is always the house, image, and testimony of the other; and when the one is dissolved, the other soon appears. Thus the human being proceeds from one clarity to another - or, contrariwise, from one darkness to another - from one world into the other. According to the image of the Temple, the divine world is also threefold. Of it the angels inherit the forecourt, we the Holy Place, and Christ Jesus the Most Holy Place. Now this is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom) and saying: whoever wishes to learn Wisdom must begin with himself and end in God; and whoever wishes to teach Wisdom must first himself have been taught, called, and sent by God, must begin in God and end in himself. For whoever rightly knows himself has learned well, and whoever rightly knows God can also rightly teach; no one else can do so.

Chapter 20.
On the Mystery of Wickedness in Its Beast

Just as the mystery of godliness is a very great mystery and until now has been wholly hidden, so too is the mystery of wickedness. For although the prophets, indeed Christ and his apostles, prophesied clearly enough concerning the exceedingly great abomination of desolation, the falling away from faith, and the universal great Antichrist in the last times, no one can nevertheless recognize it - neither the one mystery nor the other - unless he has the Spirit of prophecy, the Spirit of truth and judgment, whom the world does not know. Therefore it does not yet know itself either, nor how the Devil goes about in the form of an angel of Light. But whoever has the Spirit of prophecy recognizes Christ Jesus and also the Antichrist. For just as Christ has the spiritual human being, and in him his Kingdom, so the Dragon has the animal human being. The mystery of these two is clearly described for us in the Revelation of Jesus Christ and set one against the other. The Beast in its mystery is threefold, namely according to the three estates in the world. Each estate has its Beast, Whore, and false prophet; and an Antichrist is recognized by everything that proceeds from the Principiis (principles), elements, and world of the Devil. This Beast is so very diverse and manifold in its mysteries that it cannot be considered sufficiently.

The Beast in the secular estate is described especially clearly for us in the prophet Daniel and the Fourth Book of Ezra, and likewise in Revelation. The Beast in the animal-spiritual estate is sufficiently indicated to us by Christ and his apostles in all the sectarian and antichristian false prophets who do not have his Spirit. The Beast in the household estate is also attested in its wickedness; with it things proceed as in the time of Noah and Lot. The Centrum (centre), however, of this threefold Beast is the great mystery concerning which the apostle prophesies and bears witness: namely, that it is the man of sin, the child of perdition, and the Antichrist, who has set himself in God's Temple in the holy place - in the temple of the congregation, of the teachers, and of the human being - and pretends that he is God, exalting himself against Christ and against everything divine. This Antichrist, then, is properly the fabricated God, Christ, and Savior. Concerning him, the Antichrist, through his spirit in the false prophets of sectarian, confused Babel, testifies that according to his being he comes from Adam, Abraham, and David the earthly ones; that in his flesh and blood he is from the being of a woman; and that, as regards the origin of his being, he comes from the most incestuous intercourse of Judah with Tamar. This man of sin they hold to be their God per communicationem Idiomatum (through the communication of properties); their Christ per unionem personæ (through the union of the person); and their Savior per assumptionem humanæ carnis (through the assumption of human flesh). This malicious Antichrist bears witness to the falling away from faith and fights against the Lamb and his saints. The apostle says clearly that he shall be revealed shortly before the coming of the Lord, and that the Lord will slay him through the Spirit of his mouth at his appearing.

Although there are already many antichrists in the world, this is nevertheless the universal, great, and proper Antichrist: namely, the one who denies that Christ Jesus has come in the Flesh. This, then, is the same Beast that opens its mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his Name and his tabernacles and those who dwell in heaven. Until now this Beast has fought against the saints, overcome them, and killed the witnesses of Jesus, and has spoken great things with its mouth. All who dwell upon earth have until now worshipped this Beast, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slaughtered from the beginning of the world. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear. With this Beast is the false prophet, who seduces the animal human being, and the spirit of wickedness. Upon this Beast sits the Whore, upon whose forehead is written: the mystery, great Babylon, a mother of harlotry and of every abomination upon earth. This is the woman Jezebel, false doctrine, who has adorned herself so beautifully and bears in her hand a cup of abomination and impurity. From it she has given to drink to all who dwell upon earth and has made them drunk with the wine of her harlotry; and she herself is drunk with the Blood of the witnesses of Jesus.

This is the Beast, the Whore, and the false prophet. The Spirit of God therefore says: Here is the mind of Wisdom. Whoever has understanding, let him consider the number of the Beast, for it is the number of a human being, namely of the man of sin; and its number is six hundred and sixty-six, a threefold royal number. Through its power the Beast has fought against, overcome, and killed God's most precious triune testimony - that which is in heaven and upon earth - for so long, until the great Prince Michael, who stands for his people, comes at the seventh trumpet of these last times and fights, overcomes, and casts out the Dragon through the Blood of the Lamb and through the Word of his testimony, so that he is now also cast out of the heaven of the congregation of God. This Beast came forth from the abyss of the depths of Satan: namely, from the Principiis (principles), elements, and world of the Devil. It has existed since the Fall and was not present at the time of Christ and his apostles, although it nevertheless was present, namely in the false prophets. It came up again from the abyss after the apostles, who held back the Antichrist, had been taken away. Yet he was already stirring in the spirit of his wickedness, and thus Christ was indeed rooted out and was no more; the holy city was trodden underfoot until now, the time of the seventh trumpet. Thus the Lord says: whoever reads this, let him take heed and understand it. And the Spirit of Judgment says: accursed be the one who does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, Anathema (accursed), Maran-atha (our Lord, come). The Angel of the LORD earnestly bears witness and says: Today, if you hear this voice, come out of Babel, so that you do not become participants in her sins and receive nothing of her plagues; for now she will fall, is falling, and has fallen. In one day her end has come. Amen (truly), yes, Amen (truly), says the Spirit of prophecy, for the Lord comes. Halleluja (Praise the Lord).

This, however, is Wisdom's Axioma (axiom): every spirit seeks, loves, and keeps to its own kind. Therefore, whoever is animal, let him remain so; and whoever belongs to Christ, let him remain so; for each will have shame or honor in himself.

Chapter 21.
On the Mystery of Time in Its Anatomy

Whoever wishes to be a wise man must also learn to accommodate himself rightly to time. Whoever now wishes to do this and to know the right, true, and proper Chronologiam (chronology) needs to observe closely only the single Septenarium (septenary) and the number seven, which stands thus in its harmony: Simplex (simple) - 7 Compositus (composite) - 49 Perfectus (perfect) - 70 Thus the Septenarius (septenary) counts and reckons itself, precisely through itself, in and with itself. Nothing needs to be added to it or taken from it. The heavenly Master of the House, however, has divided the one great day of this world, according to its time, into twelve hours. If you now wish to know how many years each hour comprehends in itself, you can calculate it very easily and simply through the Septenarium (septenary) presented above, and will then afterward find the entire Summam (sum). We know, however, that the days shall be shortened for the sake of the elect. Therefore those same years will also be shortened; precisely how many from the total of six thousand years can be found quite clearly in Scripture. But if we speak of the septenario in specie (septenary in particular), the seventy weeks will end at the coming of Christ. Then the iniquity of all Israel will be atoned for, transgression will come to an end, sin will be sealed, vision and prophecy fulfilled, everlasting righteousness restored, Jerusalem rebuilt, and the Most Holy anointed, who is called Melchizedek. This is the mystery of the seventy weeks in its time. Then the 1,335 days too will end, but the 1,290 days have already been fulfilled as regards their part. The forty-nine years likewise end with the coming of Christ. When they have elapsed, everything will return to its inheritance, and it will be the time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, when everything of which the Lord has spoken through the mouth of his holy prophets since the beginning of the world will be restored.

Finally, the seven days likewise end at the coming of the Lord Jesus: namely, the seven days Silentii antiqui (of the ancient silence), which precede the Judgment. Then the renewal of all things will take place, Paradise will be opened again, God's Sabbath will begin on his seventh day and in the thousand years, the people of God will enter into rest, and every creature will be freed from vanity. In general, time is divided into three parts: from Adam until the Flood; from and after the Flood until Christ, which time was divided by the angel with Ezra into twelve parts; and from Christ until his coming. In considering time we must also observe the distinction among the Judgments, which are threefold. The first Judgment will be held with the seventh trumpet, in this time of the appearing of Jesus Christ, the great God, as on the day of the revelation of the Son of Man, who comes like lightning and with his exceedingly bright Light illuminates the whole Earth and everything under the whole heaven. In this Judgment the threefold Antichrist in his Beast will, as regards his part, be slain, killed, and utterly destroyed by the two-edged sword of the living, powerful, and piercing Word of God, by the Lion from the forest, who is the Spirit of the Most High. For the Lord will roar from Zion, his holy dwelling, and from Jerusalem will cause his voice to be heard in such a way that heaven and Earth will tremble. Blessed is the one who watches and keeps his garments, so that he is not found naked. Behold, I come like a thief. Thus Babel will fall, is falling, and has fallen in one day; and her sectarian merchants, who have carried on their trade with her, will weep and howl because their commerce has come to an end. Those who have committed harlotry with her will be ashamed eternally. Then the mockers will stand in shame, the despisers will perish, and the molar teeth of the blasphemers will be shattered.

The second Judgment will be and take place at the coming of Christ in three ways:

1. the Beast and the false prophet, together with Gog and Magog, will be seized, judged, and cast into the Fiery Pool, and Satan will be captured and bound;

2. the first resurrection will have its special Judgment;

3. and then the Spirit from on high will be poured out upon all flesh, according to the baptism from the upper waters that are above the firmament, in a holy Flood prefigured by the Deluge.

The third and very last Judgment will be held at the universal resurrection of all the dead. Then the books will be opened, in which all the words, works, and beings of human beings are inscribed. These books are, in general, the elements, counter-elements, and each person's own conscience. After the Judgment heaven will depart like a rolled-up book. Blessed are those whose names are written in the Book of the Lamb. When all this has taken place and the Sabbath has passed away, everything will also return to its Principium (principle), and the supreme divine world will be revealed with its forecourt, Holy Place, and Most Holy Place, and with the right, true, and sole Jerusalem, of which the other is a prefiguration. Thus God will be all in all, in an eternal Light, Life, and Love. The Fiery Pool, however, will be outside, consisting of the counter-elements and eternally separated from God. This is the end, namely: It is done. Finally, this is Wisdom's general Axioma (general axiom): everything must be recognized, attested, and justified from the Principiis (principles), through the subordinata (subordinate things), according to the harmony, in all time, Wisdom, and truth; in weight, number, and measure; in Phisisophia (wisdom of nature), Theologia (theology), and Theosophia (theosophy); according to the one Centro (centre), who is Jesus Christ, yesterday and today, and the same throughout all eternity, highly praised and blessed. Amen (truly). Alleluja (Praise the Lord).

Epistolary Appendix to Several Friends

To Georg J. in Philadelphia Jesus Immanuel (Jesus, God with us).

Although, my especially beloved friend, you and U. have for some time had to listen to many know-it-all speeches from the unlearned concerning true Wisdom, about which we have often conversed together in the Lord, so that the enviers of true Wisdom continually object and ask whether one intends to bring something new into the world and to make much ado about a Reformation, even though, in their opinion, so many learned people have existed whom one may not improperly invoke as authorities: we therefore inform and remind one another that the knowledge of God is chiefly to be considered in three distinct times.

1. The prophets preached the knowledge of God under the Law, at which time the knowledge of the Son of God as Christo (Christ) was not yet so well known, manifest, and common. Hence the apostles also say plainly that they proclaim a mystery which had been concealed from the beginning of the world. Every age, therefore, certainly has its own knowledge.

2. The apostles preached the knowledge of God still more clearly during the age of faith in the Evangelio (Gospel).

3. But now the age of the Evangelists has also come, a day which even the apostles desired to see, Luke 17:22, 26: an age of seeing, through which the glory of the eternal Evangelii (Gospel) will illuminate the whole earth. Furthermore, something new has certainly been given to us, for the old sectarian condition will now be abolished. Yet the animal people are themselves the ones who have continually begun something new in their sects, abandoned the old, and invented a novelty for themselves. What has been given to us by God, however, is indeed something new and certainly brings the Reformation with it. The sectarian serpent and brood of vipers cannot endure it, but that avails nothing. Moses's staff will devour the serpents of the sectarian magicians and lead the children of Israel out of dark Egypt. Pharaoh may resist as he will, yet he must drown in the Red Sea. If counsel can still help you, O Laodicea, then buy the refined gold, anoint your eyes, and put on white garments - today, today, for the Bridegroom is coming. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.

To Heinrich F.

Jesus Immanuel (Jesus, God with us).

My esteemed, faithful friend and dear Obadiah, you have always wished to hear a thorough account of our resurrection. We have now considered it sufficiently in its mysteries in the foregoing Morgenröthe (Dawn), from which its meaning may be grasped. Yet because it seems as though we did not agree with the apostle on this point, since we say that the human being will rise in a spiritual body indeed, but one that is not from heaven and is only elemental-spiritual, while the apostle in 1 Corinthians 15 speaks of another spiritual body, we must accordingly give an account of how the apostle there does not speak of the general resurrection of the bodies of all the dead, both the righteous and the damned, but only of those whose resurrection proceeds from eternal Life, or who rise to eternal Life. These have a spiritual body; that is, the new human being from God who can inherit and possess God's heaven, as the apostle clearly distinguishes and says: the earthly or first human being in us is from the earth, whose flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom of God; but the other human being in us is the Lord from heaven, that is, Christ in us. Thus he also distinguishes the two Adams: the first and earthly Adam is animal, but the last is spiritual, the Most High Adam, that is, Christ, a life-giving Spirit. Therefore what is begotten from flesh is flesh, and what is begotten from Spirit is Spirit. Earthly flesh, which is animal and elemental, cannot ascend; only that Flesh can do so which also came from heaven and descended from above. Thus the apostle speaks of the resurrection of the regenerate, specifically of that resurrection which proceeds from Life and not from the earth. The apostle clearly attests in 1 Corinthians 15:23, and elsewhere in Scripture, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, that there is also a particular order in the resurrection. The first resurrection is one thing, the general and second another, and the third yet another.

Accordingly, the dead in the world are one thing, the dead in Hell another, and the dead in Death yet another. In the resurrection, therefore, each shall have from the Seed his own particular Body. If counsel can still help you, you dead literalists who trust only in Flesh, then rise up to Spirit and Truth and let the Flesh go, for it is of no use. Today, today, arise, you virgins, so that you do not fall eternally with Babylon, for the Bridegroom is coming.

To Heinrich R.

Jesus Immanuel (Jesus, God with us).

Although you have hitherto still been an immature child in knowledge, dear brother - and we must all be children if the heavenly Father is to reveal to us the mystery of his Son - you nevertheless always have a heartfelt desire to speak of Wisdom and to grasp a correct understanding of the person of the true Jesus Christ. Know first that, in general, we must view Scripture chiefly according to three kinds of exposition:

1. According to the letter, and its correct understanding and sense, as in Phisiology (the study of nature).

2. According to the Spirit and its correct sense and meaning, in Theology (theology).

3. Finally, according to the secret, hidden Wisdom in Theosophy (divine wisdom).

As concerns the letter of Scripture regarding the person of Jesus Christ: according to the letter, under the Law, Christ Jesus is a son of David according to the Flesh and descended from the fathers. Thus he was considered and held to be a son of Joseph, although he was so only according to the form of the Flesh, according to the form of a servant, and according to the likeness of human beings, but not also according to his being. Hence the two genealogies belong to Christ only according to the letter of the Flesh, just as though he were Joseph's son, since he is not from a man's Seed. The genealogy therefore has nothing to do with the Virgin Mary, because she was not of the house of David as Joseph was. Elizabeth, however, who was of the daughters of Aaron, was Mary's blood relation and kinswoman; hence John was a maternal kinsman of the Lord. It is especially to be noted that, according to the letter and the Flesh, the Lord Jesus is of royal lineage on the Father's side and of priestly lineage on the Mother's side. He is thus the same true Prophet foretold through Moses and promised by God to Israel. Accordingly, the Lord Jesus is a true Melchizedek in the hidden understanding of the letter according to the Flesh, just as according to Theologi (theology) and the Spirit he was a promised son of Abraham and David.

Abraham had a threefold Seed and son: one by the maidservant, another by the free woman, and the third by the Virgin according to the promise. This is a particular mystery. As concerns Joseph's genealogy, Matthew relates the royal lineage in Solomon's line, from which Joseph did not come; Luke, however, relates David's lineage in Nathan's line, from which Joseph did come, being a true, naturally begotten son of Eli. The Holy Spirit thereby wished to indicate that we should seek Christ Jesus not in earthly Flesh, but in the Spirit in God. Thus Christ Jesus is not of a man's lineage and Seed, much less from a woman, for his Mother is a Virgin who has no seed, who was not deflowered, and who did not beget, although she did conceive and give birth. Therefore she is a Mother of the Lord, and not the mother of a fleshly, animal, earthly, Adamic, elemental, vain, and worthless human being or son. Nor did she conceive from herself or from her blood, but from the Holy Spirit; therefore she also remains a Virgin. And although with her fruitfulness, blood, and milk she foviert (cherished), nourished, and fed the Lord, the Lord did not thereby become one being with her, just as we likewise do not become one being with every kind of flesh, food, and drink that we consume. This is the understanding of the letter concerning the person of Christ, of which animal people know nothing. According to the Spirit, Christ is a Son of God in the Evangelio (Gospel), in Theologi (theology); and according to secret Wisdom he is a Son of this Man who is in heaven, indeed the Man himself, that is, God, in the Theosophi (theosophy) and the eternal Evangelio (Gospel). Where now are your wisdom, languages, and Philosophi (philosophy), you animal scholars?

You do not yet even know the letter; indeed, you do not yet know yourselves. What, then, would you know of the Spirit and heavenly things?

If you are wise, be so in the Spirit; if not, the Lord will spew you out and destroy you through the Spirit of his mouth.

To Ludovi. C. and Justum H.

Jesus Immanuel (Jesus, God with us).

You once requested from me a detailed proof concerning the three distinct parts of the human being. In response, we remind ourselves that in every disputation and conversation with another person we must have regard especially to three things.

1. We must have regard to the Spirit, namely in ourselves and in the other. In ourselves, we must consider what the Spirit permits and grants, and whether or not it reaches so far; for we must not take more upon ourselves than is and will be given to us. I am therefore not ashamed if I do not know and understand absolutely everything, for everything is not given to everyone, and therefore not everyone should presume to be a teacher.

In the other person, however, we must consider what sort of spirit is in him and test it, for everything depends upon testing. Thus, whether the Spirit in another person is from God is something I must test for myself. Even if the other affirms it, that is by no means sufficient, since all false prophets say that they are from God; yet if one were to ask them what God is and what they themselves are, they would not know. Conversely, another person must also test in me whether my testimony is out of and from God or not. It is not enough that I affirm it; rather, the Spirit must attest that Spirit is Truth. Thus we say with the apostle: If anyone among you is spiritual or a prophet, let him recognize and test what we write, for it is the testimony of Truth. But if anyone presumes to judge us and does not have the Spirit of Judgment, he condemns himself.

2. We must have regard to the magnet that is in the other person, and thus with the apostle become all things to all people: in the fear of the Lord, without self-conceit; in the purity of God, without ambition; and with a good conscience, without giving offense, &c. (and so forth). Therefore I must not speak to a Jew straightaway about the Messia (Messiah), but about the Kingdom of Israel; for by this I can draw him so that he gladly hears me, and the rest will then follow in due course.

3. There is no better disputation than one conducted through questions. If someone asks me a question, I answer him in turn with a question, in such a way that he must answer himself or else fall completely silent. Christ our Master followed this Methodum (method).

The question is now asked whether the human being consists of three distinct essential parts: Body, Soul, and Spirit. The answer lies in this question: Was not the human being created according to the likeness of God, which is to be triune?

For this is indeed God's testimony: three are one and one is three. Further, is there not a distinction between the earthly soul, life, or life-spirit which all living creatures possess in common, and the heavenly Soul or Spirit which, of all living creatures, the human being alone possesses?

Item (likewise), is not the animal human being himself also anima vivens (a living soul) or animal (an animal), and does he not therefore share with the animals an earthly soul, life, or life-spirit, as Solomon attests in Ecclesiastes?

Item (likewise), do not the Vegetativa, Sensitiva und Ratiocinativa (vegetative, sensitive, and rational faculties) come from the earthly soul, and thus animal reason from the senses, the senses from the Vegetativa (vegetative faculty), and this from the Spiritu vitali (vital spirit)?

For there is no little animal anywhere that does not have its reason, sense, and Vegetativam (vegetative faculty). When, through some accident, the Vegetativa (vegetative faculty) is weakened, diseased, or corrupted, the corresponding sense is also disordered, corrupted, and entirely lost, and consequently so is the reason belonging to that sense, whether it be among the spiritual senses, such as remembering, deliberating, and speaking; the living senses, such as seeing, hearing, and smelling; or the bodily senses, such as grasping, feeling, and tasting. These three kinds of senses come from Spirit, Wind, and Water. Again, there is a great distinction between Life, anima vivente (the living soul), and the Body, namely the distinction between Death and Life. For when the living soul has departed, the Body is dead; the eye no longer sees, even though it may still be whole and warm, &c. (and so forth). If, however, the Vegetativa, Sensitiva und Ratiocinativa (vegetative, sensitive, and rational faculties) were to come from the heavenly Soul, then all animals would also have to possess a heavenly Soul. Or, if the human being did not also possess a living earthly soul as another animal and beast does, he would likewise have to possess no Vegetativam, Sensitivam und Ratiocinativam (vegetative, sensitive, and rational faculties). There is therefore certainly a great distinction between the Body and the living soul, and likewise between the living soul and the heavenly Soul. I submit this to your further consideration. Further, someone asks me how I intend to prove that Paradise is a particular world.

In response I present myself as one who wishes to learn from him, not as though I wished to teach him, and I ask in return: What does Scripture say of Paradise?

Where is it?

He says: toward the Morning, or eastward. I then ask: Where is Morning?

What is it, and whence does it come?

He answers me in an animal manner and says that it lies toward that place and location which, from where he lives and is, is toward the Morning, where the sun rises for him. Yet another person who lives elsewhere would say an outright No to this. It therefore finally comes to this: evening itself also originates in the very place where Morning originates. For it is clear and manifest enough that evening always follows Morning from one place, and conversely Morning follows evening; likewise night follows day and day night, darkness Light and Light darkness. Therefore this must be the Morning, the Day, and the Light in which there is no evening, night, or darkness; for Morning, Day, and Light cannot also be evening, night, and darkness. In an animal manner every peasant certainly knows where Morning lies in his own country. But let him go there and see whether Paradise is to be found there. Or perhaps it perished through the Flood - although the great apostle was nevertheless in it long after the Flood, as he attests, and gives Paradise such a Concordantz (correspondence), namely that it is the third heaven. Therefore it cannot be upon this elemental world and earth. What, however, are we to do with the blind when speaking of color, with fools when speaking of Wisdom, and with animal people when speaking of the Spirit of God?

They know neither Light nor darkness and have now studied for so many hundreds, indeed thousands, of years and filled the world with books, yet concerning Nothing they know nothing. We therefore rightly ask them, since they wish to be masters, what every single thing is, whence it comes, and whither it goes again. But if you do not yet understand earthly things, how are we to speak with you of heavenly things?

Summa (in sum), the animal people who have no Spirit are so stupid, irrational, and blind that they do not yet know whence their reason and senses come. They do not yet know their own living soul and elemental Spirit, through which they nevertheless see, hear, and think. With seeing eyes they are stone-blind, with hearing ears deaf, and with living hearts stupider than cattle, as Peter attests; and they stand up to their ears in the mystery of folly, duality, and wickedness. So brace yourself now, you animal kind, for now you must be slaughtered. Struggle as you will and cry out to your Baal as much as ever you can, for it is over with you, and you are lost.

To Johann and Daniel H.

Jesus Immanuel (Jesus, God with us).

When we conversed with one another about all kinds of Wisdom while we were still together, we also considered the stars. You could not accept it as known when I said that the Astra (stars) do not exercise the kind of influence commonly ascribed to them by ordinary Philosophy (philosophy). We should know that all things in general must be considered according to their Principio (principle), according to their Creation (creation) or Generation (generation), and then also according to their Definition (definition). According to their Principio (principle), the Astra (stars) are from the elements; according to creation, from spiritual Water; and in their Definition (definition), or name, a light of heaven. I submit the following to your most careful consideration.

1. There is a very great distinction among Light, Fire, and Lightning. We would indeed have much to say about these three, but the time does not yet permit it. Yet very soon everything will be manifested like lightning; the Morgenröth (Dawn) is already breaking.

Meanwhile we know that, because the Astra (stars) are a light, they are from the elements, not from the counter-elements, and are therefore not a fiery Corpus (body) but a watery one. It consequently remains true that everything is from Water, which, as the spiritual element, is a true prima Materia (first matter) of all things: namely, the true spiritual elemental Water. For the elements are threefold: spiritual, living, and bodily. The Astra (stars), however, are as it were the eyes of heaven. They therefore chiefly correspond in likeness to the eyes, and just as the eyes operate, so too do the Astra (stars), and in no other way. Here again we would have much to say about how both Love and Wrath are born through beholding. We submit it, however, to your own consideration. It is no less true that there is no Fire in the sun, nor in the mirror, and yet it is born through these two beholding one another. Everything, however, is in the spiritual Matrice (womb or matrix) in the Air; only the Gegen-Matrice (counter-matrix) and Magneten (magnet) are lacking through which we draw everything to ourselves. This must be spiritual, pure, and empty.

2. It should be known that there is also a great distinction between the universal Light of the world, which was created first, and the Astris (stars), and then also among the lights of heaven themselves. The sun has one glory, the moon another, and the stars another; indeed, one star exceeds another in glory. Likewise, there is a very great distinction among the Light in this world, that in the middle world, and that in the divine world.

We know, however, that Life and Love come from Light, and from Love Conjugium (conjunction or marriage) and unity; but from Fire come Wrath, Death, and separation or duality. Now there is a threefold Fire: the elemental, the mineral, and the metallic. Likewise there is an animal, a vegetable, and a mineral Fire; a spiritual, a living, and a bodily Fire; and also a hellish Fire, a cold and a wet one; item (likewise), a dry, a moist, and a warm one. According to the qualities, moist and warm stand in the middle and are Life. Light is also a Fire, and so too are Life and Love, but in such a mystery that Fire has not recognized it. No Conjugium (conjunction or marriage), however, can occur without Fire, namely without tempered Fire, which is a Light. Here again we would have much to say, but it is enough for the present if we have the key.

3. Finally, it should be known that everything in the world is wrought through the Principia (principles), elements, and counter-elements, for the powers reside in them, and by no means through the Astra (stars). In the Astris (stars), three things are to be considered: their course; Disposition (arrangement) and hour; and their light. Their course governs the world in its times; their Disposition (arrangement) gives signs of the order of time; and their light illuminates so gloriously that the Astra (stars) are true prophets concerning the powers, times, and signs of all things in the whole world. They therefore also reveal the manifold Wisdom of God, so that Light may be distinguished from darkness, &c. (and so forth).

Whoever wishes to be a true Astrologus (astrologer) must possess the Spirit of Light and the Light of the Spirit. So now let your stargazers step forward, O Babel, and cast your Thema (horoscope) for you. Your birth is from the whoring spirit; your forehead shows it. Your dealings come from the mystery of duality; your animal sects attest it. Your end shall be, and is, that you are burned with Fire. Woe to those who have committed fornication with you.

To Arnd and Anna von B.

Jesus Immanuel (Jesus, God with us).

I always desire to have someone with whom I might converse about the manifold Wisdom of God, my especially dear brother and sister. I was therefore especially refreshed with you when, although only for a short time, we were still together. Thus it is rightly said: It is not good for the human being to be alone. For then he is just as though he did not exist; the image of God remains as if dead, and the depths of his Wisdom hidden, so that Light, Life, and Love are as though dead. This certainly is not good, for in this condition it does not seem unlike the mystery of vanity. Therefore God made a Conjugium (conjunction or marriage) and created the woman, who is the glory of the man. From these two comes the third, and yet they are neither two nor three, but only one, because these two and three are reduced again into one. Now God has willed us particular good by creating for us a helper, both according to the letter and the Flesh, as also according to the Spirit, and then also according to secret Wisdom. According to the Spirit, this helper is Wisdom, whom I choose for my playmate and companion, indeed for my bride. From her children shall be born who are similar, equal, and conformed in image to the Firstborn in heaven, whose mystery they attest according to secret Wisdom, from the free Woman who is above and is the Mother of us all, the true Jerusalem. O what a loving, gracious, and friendly Conjugium (conjunction or marriage) this is, in which the human being is not alone but has a helper - indeed, a threefold helper, who is nevertheless reduced into one: the one in the letter and the Flesh, who prefigures the greatest mystery of the true letter and Word in his Flesh; the one in the Spirit, who is Wisdom and who declares such a mystery; and the depths of God, who are the divine Jerusalem.

My heart desires to speak of all this, but I am like a solitary person who lies alone and cannot become warm, whereas I would much rather be full of flames and burn in such a way that all the waters could not extinguish them. Here is the magnet, but where is the iron?

Here is the iron, but where is the magnet?

Why should I not rather be kindled than be dead?

If I were Rachel, I would say to my husband Jacob: Give me children, or I die. Yet I wait upon the Lord until he turns his countenance toward me and spreads his wings over me, as he has promised me. Therefore, O you daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my Friend, tell him that I lie sick with love. But to whom are we to preach knowledge, and with whom are we to speak of Wisdom, since the world is full of beasts, full of dogs and swinish people who do not esteem the sanctuary and the pearls, but trample them underfoot and desire to tear us apart?

It stinks to them if we happen to speak of Paradise, the New Jerusalem, and the Day of the Lord. O that the stone with the seven eyes which lies before Joshua might be engraved, and that the seven thousand who have not bowed their knees before Baal might be revealed!

We know, however, that the animal and bestial human being understands nothing of all this; to him it is foolishness. These despisers therefore make themselves unworthy of the first resurrection and shall not see Paradise, the New Jerusalem, or the Day of the Lord. As concerns Paradise, it seems strange to our animal people that we speak of it. But if they knew the mystery of Wisdom, they would also know the threefold world, which nevertheless attests itself indisputably in all visible things. If, then, we properly consider the Tree of Life and what God says of it, we can also soon find its Definition (definition), and thereby recognize clearly enough what a distinction there is between the elements and Nature, which is the middle through which God works in the elements, just as the mind in us is the middle through which the Spirit of God works in our elemental human being. Thus there must always be a middle between two, so that from three there comes one, according to the testimony of God. This is a true Conjugium (conjunction or marriage), which the world does not know. The know-it-alls, however, presume to prove from the four rivers mentioned in connection with Paradise that Paradise is upon this world. They do not know that what is highest always has its image here below, just as the Jerusalem here below is an image of that which is above in Paradise and is described in Revelation; and, conversely, that which is in Paradise is an image of that which is in the divine world.

The apostle attests and says: Just as we have borne in this world the image of the earthly, so shall we also bear the image of the heavenly in Paradise, when we shall first become like the angels. But there in the divine, highest world we shall bear the Being itself and thus see God face to face. There is therefore a very great distinction among the three kinds of gods in the world: human beings, angels, and God. There are three things which we shall hereafter perceive in Paradise for our glory: the Supper of the Wedding of the Lamb; the New Jerusalem; and the royal Priests and priestly Kings. Blessed are those who perceive it. O how great is the Bridegroom, how beautiful is the Bride, and how honored are the attendants of the Bride!

For they shall sit at the right hand and at the left as kings and priests, exalted above all the saints of God. The New Jerusalem is likewise threefold: first, this one here below, which shall hereafter be rebuilt; then that which is in Paradise; and thereafter the one and true Jerusalem which is in the highest divine world and is uncreated. Thus one is always the image of another, and the human being himself is all in all, so that the entire mystery rests solely and entirely upon the Conjugio (conjunction or marriage) and the married state. The Day of the Lord is also threefold:

1. The Day of the revelation of the Son of Man and of the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ, the great God, which I, the last among the first and the first among the last, proclaim by the grace of God. This is the Day which the Lord has made, and it is a wonder before our eyes. Rejoice, you elect, for on this Day the Woman clothed with the sun appears, she who has borne the Child and shall embrace the Man. The twelve stars in Jacob, the tribes of Israel, shall be her crown, and she has the changeable moon beneath her feet. Thus the Man shall return again to his Woman, and Zion shall bear children whom she shall appoint as princes in all the world.

2. The Day of the visible coming of Jesus Christ, which is the Day of the Lord, namely the Sabbath in the thousand years, when everything shall rest from sins and a holy Conjugium (conjunction or marriage) shall be manifested. Rachel shall no longer give birth in pain or die from it. Rather, all flesh shall beget with reverence, receive with thanksgiving, and give birth with joy and laughter; for the curse has been removed, the enmity abolished, and sin sealed up forever. This shall be a glorious Day of the Lord, a Day the like of which has never been.

3. Finally, when the Sabbath has passed, the true Day of the Lord shall first be revealed. Its glory is still ineffable, and therefore we also say nothing of it.

We would have much more to say about all these things, but the Day itself will reveal them. If you animal people now think that I speak foolishly with my dear friends, then know that the divine fools act in no other way, as you may see and perceive in Solomon, when he wrote the Song of Songs, or the Song of all Songs.

To Michael H., Nicolaum T., Johann K., and Johann D.

Jesus Immanuel (Jesus, God with us).

There are three things, my dear friends, which a human being should choose above all others as his treasure in this world: Christ, the Fear of the Lord, and then the Wisdom of God. The Fear of the Lord stands in the middle and, in its Love, surpasses all knowledge, Wisdom, and mysteries. Although he who is wise is therefore certainly great, he who fears God is greater still. Thus, although we do not all possess knowledge, what does that hinder us?

The whole earth will nevertheless be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. Since all the treasures of Wisdom and knowledge lie hidden in Christ, and he has also been made Wisdom for us; and since the Fear of the Lord is the beginning and end of all Wisdom, we see clearly how beautifully these three come together as one in our treasure. Whoever therefore loves Christ certainly does not hate the Wisdom of God, for Christ himself is Wisdom. Likewise, whoever holds firmly to the Fear of the Lord is certainly wise, prudent, and understanding, since it is the beginning of Wisdom. Through Wisdom we learn discipline; through discipline, Fear; and through Fear, Wisdom, through which we learn to know, honor, and love Christ, whereas without Wisdom we would otherwise know nothing of him. Thus one cannot exist without the other. Whoever is truly wise is not proud but proceeds in Fear, because the opened door within him can in one moment be closed and, conversely, in another be opened, as happened to Nebuchadnezzar. Whoever is wise, let him fear God; and whoever fears God is wise enough, and God reveals his mystery to those who fear him. The animal people, however, will never become wise, for they hate Wisdom, will not allow themselves to be disciplined by her, and do not know the Fear of the Lord. Therefore no Wisdom is among them or among their scholars, who do not know themselves; instead, the mystery of folly, duality, and wickedness is among them.

If you will not learn Wisdom, you animal, perverse, and wicked human being, then go your way. You should not suppose that you have despised human beings, but rather him who has given his Spirit within us, who is the Lord Jehovah, highly praised for all eternity, who is Wisdom himself and has no need of fools; he can very well dispense with you. But let us all be diligent, my dear friends, that we may hold fast this treasure with abundant increase until the end, so that we may then, as faithful servants and maidservants, enter into our Lord's joy. Amen (truly).

To Martin S. and Andre L.

Jesus Immanuel (Jesus, God with us).

My beloved in Jesus, in our A. und O. (Alpha and Omega), who is the beginning and the end of our faith, life, and death, indeed of our new birth and regeneration from God, &c. (and so forth). In response to your request concerning the new birth and true regeneration from God, I inform and attest to you and to all human beings that no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born from above, John 3:3. There are consequently two kinds of birth: one from the Flesh, from below; the other from the Spirit, from above, John 3:5-6. There is the birth from blood and the birth from God, John 1:13 and 1 John 5:1, 4, 18. There are also two kinds of Seed, a corruptible and an incorruptible, 1 John 3:9 and 1 Peter 1:23. Indeed, there are two kinds of House and Dwelling: an earthly one made with hands, and another which is from God and from heaven, ἐκ θεοῦ καὶ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ (from God and from heaven), which is not made with hands, 2 Corinthians 5:1. There are also two kinds of creation, Isaiah 43:19 and Revelation 21:5; and two kinds of creature, the old and the new, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 5:6, and chapter 6:15. There are two kinds of human being, the earthly and the heavenly, 1 Corinthians 15:47-48; and also two Adams, one soulish and one spiritual, 1 Corinthians 15:45, 47. This is the great God's explicit, bright, and clear Yes: the clearly pronounced and indisputable Word and testimony of Jesus and of the Spirit of God, which no one can contradict, distort, or make a matter of disputation. Just as all of us, according to the birth from below out of the earthly Flesh of the soulish Adam and earthly human being, are of Adam's flesh and bones, as Eve herself was, Genesis 2:23 and 1 Corinthians 11:8, and are members of his body; so the children of God are from God and of the flesh and bones of the spiritual Adam and heavenly Man, Christ Jesus the Son of God, and members of his Body according to Holy Scripture, Ephesians 5:30.

They are new human beings, Ephesians 2:15, chapter 4:22-24, and Colossians 3:9-10; also human beings of God, 1 Timothy 6:11, 2 Timothy 3:17, and 2 Peter 1:21; indeed, spiritual and heavenly human beings, 1 Corinthians 2:15, chapter 3:1, chapter 15:48-49; also children and heirs of God, Galatians 4:6-7, and fellow heirs with Jesus Christ, Romans 8:17, partakers of the divine Nature, 2 Peter 1:4; also a divine race, Acts 17:28-29, and born from God, 1 John 5:1. Indeed, they are an elect, royal, and priestly race, Exodus 19:6, Isaiah 61:6, 1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6, and chapter 5:10. The great glory of the children of God has certainly not yet been revealed, 1 John 3:1-2; yet all creation now waits for it together with us, Romans 8:19-23. Now, dear friends, these are all words of God which attest and show to you and to us all what the new birth and true regeneration from God is. May the Grace, Love, and Truth of our one Lord and great God, Jesus Christ, be with you all. Amen (truly). I commend myself to the Grace of God and to your devout prayer, &c. (and so forth). In Jesus, your devoted fellow brother, known in the Grace of God.

THE END