Concerning the Three Principles of the Divine Essence
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anger, so hath the Deity of Christ opened the gate of the eternal life, so that all men can press in to God, in this opened gate. For the third Principle is broken here, and judgment passed upon the prince of darkness, which so long held us prisoners in death.
49. But since man is so slow of apprehension, it may be, we shall not sufficiently be understood, and therefore we will once more set it down briefly and accurately, how these great Mysteries are ; for we know what adversary we have, viz. the prince of this world ; he will not sleep, but try what he can to suppress this noble grain of mustard-seed.
50. Behold, thou noble mind, thou who desirest the kingdom of God, to thee we speak, and not to the Antichrist in Babel, who desireth nothing else but the kingdom of this world ; take notice of it, the time of sleep is past, the bridegroom cometh, for the bride saith, Come, be in earnest, gaze not at the hand that used this pen, it is another pen that hath written this, which neither thou nor I do know ; for the mind (if it be faithful) apprehendeth the Deity ; and do not so slight thyself ; if thou art born in God, then thou art greater and more than all this world.
51. Observe it; the angel said to Mary, Thou shalt conceive and bear a Son, and shalt call his name Jesus ; he shall be great, and be called a Son of the Most High, and God the Lord shall give him the throne of his Father David, and he
Ch. 22] THE NEW REGENERATION IN CHRIST 609
shall be a king over the house of Jacob eternally, and of his kingdom tJiere shall be no end.
52. You must- understand, Mary was to conceive in the body, viz. in her own body, not in a strange assumed [body], as the unenlightened (who apprehend not the kingdom of God) might interpret our writings to mean. Besides, it is not the ground either which the ancients and those heretofore have set down (which yet went very high) as if Mary from eternity had been hidden in Ternario Sancto [the holy Ternary or Trinity], and that she entered at that time only into Anna, as into a case [or house], and was not of the seed of Joachim, and blood of Anna. They say, she was an eternal virgin out of the Trinity, of whom Christ was born ; because he came not out of the flesh and blood of any man, and as himself witnesseth, that he was not of this world, but was come from heaven. He saith, That he came forth from God, and must return again to God ; and to Nicodemus he said, None goeth into heaven, but the Son of Man which is come from heaven, and who is in heaven.
53. And there he spake clearly of the Son of Man, of his humanity, and not of his Deity merely ; for he saith plainly, The Son of Man. But God from eternity was not the Son of Man, and therefore no Son of Man can proceed from the Trinity ; therefore we must look upon it aright. If Mary had proceeded out of the Trinity, where should our poor captivated souls have been? If
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p. 610
Christ had brought a strange soul from heaven, how should we have been delivered ? Had it been possible to redeem man [without it], what needed God to come into our form, and be crucified ? If it could have been so, then God should instantly have separated or freed Adam from death, when he fell. Or dost thou suppose that God is so maliciously zealous, as to be so angry without a cause ?
54. Indeed, when his wrath was sprung up in man, then he would manifest his wonders, but that was not the purpose of God when he created Adam ; but it was tried which of them should get the victory, the meekness, or the fierceness in the eternal root ; but the soul in Adam was yet free, and there was nothing else that could perish, but
1 self-will, or the l own will.
55. And so now the soul was the will, which was breathed into Adam, by the spirit of God out of the eternal will of the Father, and yet out of that place where the Father (viz. God) out of the darkness, in his own reconceived will, entereth into himself, and in himself generateth the meekness in his own reconceived will.
56. And so the soul of man is out of the same balance in the angle of the recomprehended will, towards the light, and also in the first will in itself, in its own centre, where behind it the darkness is comprehended, and before it is the end of the eternal band, and in itself there would be nothing
608 THE THREE PRINCIPLES [Ch. 22 anger, so has the Deity of Christ opened the gate of the eternal life, so that all men can press in to God, in this opened gate. For the third Principle is broken here, and judgment passed upon the prince of darkness, which so long held us prisoners in death.
49. But since man is so slow of apprehension, it may be, we shall not sufficiently be understood, and therefore we will once more set it down briefly and accurately, how these great Mysteries are ; for we know what adversary we have, viz. the prince of this world ; he will not sleep, but try what he can to suppress this noble grain of mustard-seed.
50. Behold, you noble mind, you who desirest the kingdom of God, to you we speak, and not to the Antichrist in Babel, who desires nothing else but the kingdom of this world ; take notice of it, the time of sleep is past, the bridegroom comes, for the bride says, Come, be in earnest, gaze not at the hand that used this pen, it is another pen that has written this, which neither you nor I do know ; for the mind (if it be faithful) apprehends the Deity ; and do not so slight yourself ; if you art born in God, then you are greater and more than all this world.
51. Observe it; the angel said to Mary, You shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Jesus ; he shall be great, and be called a Son of the Most High, and God the Lord shall give him the throne of his Father David, and he Ch. 22] THE NEW REGENERATION IN CHRIST 609 shall be a king over the house of Jacob eternally, and of his kingdom tJiere shall be no end.
52. You must- understand, Mary was to conceive in the body, viz. in her own body, not in a strange assumed [body], as the unenlightened (who apprehend not the kingdom of God) might interpret our writings to mean. Besides, it is not the ground either which the ancients and those heretofore have set down (which yet went very high) as if Mary from eternity had been hidden in Ternario Sancto [the holy Ternary or Trinity], and that she entered at that time only into Anna, as into a case [or house], and was not of the seed of Joachim, and blood of Anna. They say, she was an eternal virgin out of the Trinity, of whom Christ was born ; because he came not out of the flesh and blood of any man, and as himself witnesses, that he was not of this world, but was come from heaven. He says, That he came forth from God, and must return again to God ; and to Nicodemus he said, None goes into heaven, but the Son of Man which is come from heaven, and who is in heaven.
53. And there he spake clearly of the Son of Man, of his humanity, and not of his Deity merely ; for he says plainly, The Son of Man. But God from eternity was not the Son of Man, and therefore no Son of Man can proceed from the Trinity ; therefore we must look upon it aright. If Mary had proceeded out of the Trinity, where should our poor captivated souls have been? If
p. 39
610 THE THREE PRINCIPLES [Ch. 22
Christ had brought a strange soul from heaven, how should we have been delivered ? Had it been possible to redeem man [without it], what needed God to come into our form, and be crucified ? If it could have been so, then God should instantly have separated or freed Adam from death, when he fell. Or do you suppose that God is so maliciously zealous, as to be so angry without a cause ?
54. Indeed, when his wrath was sprung up in man, then he would manifest his wonders, but that was not the purpose of God when he created Adam ; but it was tried which of them should get the victory, the meekness, or the fierceness in the eternal root ; but the soul in Adam was yet free, and there was nothing else that could perish, but
1 self-will, or the l own will.
55. And so now the soul was the will, which was breathed into Adam, by the spirit of God out of the eternal will of the Father, and yet out of that place where the Father (viz. God) out of the darkness, in his own reconceived will, enters into himself, and in himself generats the meekness in his own reconceived will.
56. And so the soul of man is out of the same balance in the angle of the recomprehended will, towards the light, and also in the first will in itself, in its own centre, where behind it the darkness is comprehended, and before it is the end of the eternal band, and in itself there would be nothing