Concerning the Three Principles of the Divine Essence
1 infidels or Turks, and l Pagans, and they keep them back from the Christian faith. Therefore now we must write for the sake of the Tree of Pearl, and not conceal what appeareth to us in the great wonder. Behold, thou child of man, consider what we set down here ; gaze not on the hand of the pen ; if you do, you err, and will lose the jewel, which in all eternity you will be sorry for ; consider thyself only, and thou shalt find in thyself all the causes [of the Passion of Christ] that are here written down ; for there was a wonderful pen in the writing of it, and neither thou nor the hand A knoweth him sufficiently, that directed it in the writing; though indeed the spirit knoweth him very well, yet the natural man is blind in it, neither can it be expressed with earthly words. Therefore consider thyself, and if you search into the new-born man, then you will find the Pearl.
The very horrible wonderful Gate of Man's Sins.
17. As we have, in the beginning of this book. 3 Or working, mentioned the eternal 2 birth in the originality, so we have mentioned the birth of the essences, and the seven spirits of the eternal nature ; and therein we shewed how there is a cross-birth in the eternal birth in the fourth form, where the essences in the turning wheel make a cross-birth, because they cannot go out from themselves, but that the eternal birth is everywhere so in all things, in the essence of all essences.
Ch. 25] CHRIST'S DEATH AND RESURRECTION 687
18. And we give you to understand thus much (in very exact knowledge) at the instant of this text ; that all essences in all qualities at the time of the overcoming of death (when Christ was to overcome death and destroy hell and captivate the devil) were predominant, for so it must be ; he must release the soul from all essences.
19. Now the cross-birth is the middlemost in the essences, yet before the fire ; l it standeth in * the crossthe anxious death in the fierceness of the hell, asb you may read before ; for from the fierce flash in the brimstone-spirit, the fire cometh forth, and in the flash the light, and the fierceness itself maketh the brimstone-spirit and out of that (in the light) cometh water, as is before mentioned. Now then the soul of man is discovered in the flash, as a spirit, and held by the Fiat, and so is created or generated, and was brought in itself into the fifth form of the birth, as into the love, where then it was an angel in the light of God.
20. But this world being created (as a Principle) in the fourth form (as an out-birth), and the paradise [being] between the fourth and the fifth forms, and the 2 element [being] in the fifth form, «the one pore and therein the eternal light of the Deity having element< opened another centre, and the soul having reflected back again into the fourth form, and entered thereinto, it made all essences predominant in it, which stood in the fourth form.
21. And now when the body of the soul, in thep. 688 fourth form, was come to be a mass out of the water, with a mixture of the other forms, then stuck all essences, out of the fourth form, upon the soul, and it was captivated with this body ; and it had continued in an eternal prison, if the 1 Or put. eternal Word had not instantly l given itself into the centre of the fifth form, as was manifested in Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
22. And now when the time came that the Word became man, then the dear life came into the soul again. But when the strife came, that the fourth form should be broken, then the outward body of Christ and we all in the fourth form were environed with death, and then all the forms in nature did stir, and were all predominant together, whereupon the Person of Christ (in the garden) did sweat blood out of his body, when he cried, Father, if it be possible, take this cup from me : Thus the outward man cried out ; and the inward said, Yet not my will (understand [my] outward will) but thy will be done.
1 infidels or Turks, and l Pagans, and they keep them back from the Christian faith. Therefore now we must write for the sake of the Tree of Pearl, and not conceal what appears to us in the great wonder. Behold, you child of man, consider what we set down here ; gaze not on the hand of the pen ; if you do, you err, and will lose the jewel, which in all eternity you will be sorry for ; consider yourself only, and you shall find in yourself all the causes [of the Passion of Christ] that are here written down ; for there was a wonderful pen in the writing of it, and neither you nor the hand A knows him sufficiently, that directed it in the writing; though indeed the spirit knows him very well, yet the natural man is blind in it, neither can it be expressed with earthly words. Therefore consider yourself, and if you search into the new-born man, then you will find the Pearl.
The very horrible wonderful Gate of Man's Sins.
17. As we have, in the beginning of this book. 3 Or working, mentioned the eternal 2 birth in the originality, so we have mentioned the birth of the essences, and the seven spirits of the eternal nature ; and therein we showed how there is a cross-birth in the eternal birth in the fourth form, where the essences in the turning wheel make a cross-birth, because they cannot go out from themselves, but that the eternal birth is everywhere so in all things, in the essence of all essences.
Ch. 25] CHRIST'S DEATH AND RESURRECTION 687
18. And we give you to understand thus much (in very exact knowledge) at the instant of this text ; that all essences in all qualities at the time of the overcoming of death (when Christ was to overcome death and destroy hell and captivate the devil) were predominant, for so it must be ; he must release the soul from all essences.
19. Now the cross-birth is the middlemost in the essences, yet before the fire ; l it stands in * the crossthe anxious death in the fierceness of the hell, asb you may read before ; for from the fierce flash in the brimstone-spirit, the fire comes forth, and in the flash the light, and the fierceness itself makes the brimstone-spirit and out of that (in the light) comes water, as is before mentioned. Now then the soul of man is discovered in the flash, as a spirit, and held by the Fiat, and so is created or generated, and was brought in itself into the fifth form of the birth, as into the love, where then it was an angel in the light of God.
20. But this world being created (as a Principle) in the fourth form (as an out-birth), and the paradise [being] between the fourth and the fifth forms, and the 2 element [being] in the fifth form, «the one pore and therein the eternal light of the Deity having element< opened another centre, and the soul having reflected back again into the fourth form, and entered thereinto, it made all essences predominant in it, which stood in the fourth form.
21. And now when the body of the soul, in the
688 THE THREE PRINCIPLES [Ch. 25 fourth form, was come to be a mass out of the water, with a mixture of the other forms, then stuck all essences, out of the fourth form, upon the soul, and it was captivated with this body ; and it had continued in an eternal prison, if the 1 Or put. eternal Word had not instantly l given itself into the centre of the fifth form, as was manifested in Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
22. And now when the time came that the Word became man, then the dear life came into the soul again. But when the strife came, that the fourth form should be broken, then the outward body of Christ and we all in the fourth form were environed with death, and then all the forms in nature did stir, and were all predominant together, whereupon the Person of Christ (in the garden) did sweat blood out of his body, when he cried, Father, if it be possible, take this cup from me : Thus the outward man cried out ; and the inward said, Yet not my will (understand [my] outward will) but your will be done.