64. Thus it goes with the simple, single-hearted children of Christ, whom the Spirit of Christ drives, and out of whom he teaches here in this world, etc. They are only as sheep among wolves; as Christ said, / send you as sheep among wolves. The earthly man is a serpentine wolf under whom the virgin-child, viz. Christ's lamb, must dwell; and then begins and arises murdering, slaying [or robbing], and killing.
65. But it does not at all hurt the virgin-child; its external wolf is also by this means hitten off by another, for the outward wolf of all men is grown from the anger of God, and arisen with the sin in Adam; therefore it must be given for food to the anger of God, that the virgin-child of the woman's seed may become manifest.
66. For thus they do separate themselves as two enemies, and are continually opposite enemies one against another in the time of this outward life; for the judgement is given to the virgin-child against the introduced Serpent's child of sin. In the resurrection the virgin-child shall condemn the serpent-child into the fire of God; there the limus of the earth shall be proved and purged from the Serpent's ens, and again put upon the virgin-child.
67. Now says reason, What pleasure has God in this murdering ofhis children, can he not defend them from the enemy? Thus it must be: that the light may be manifest in the darkness, else the light would stand still in the darkness and bring forth no fruit. Seeing then the light receives into itself essence and perceivancy, also sensation from the darkness, viz. from the source of the fire, therefore one is set against the other, that so one might be manifest in the other: the joy against grief and grief against joy; that it may be known what evil or good is.
68. For if there were no grief then the joy were not manifest to itself; but yet all is in the free will: as every thing does introduce itself into evil or good, so it runs on its course, and the one is but the manifestation of the other; for if there were no night or darkness then we should know nothing of the light or day. Thus the great God has introduced himself into severation, to his own contemplation and sport of joy.
69. The like also is to be understood in the various diversity and severalty of men, touching evil and good. The evil must be a cause that the good be made manifest to itself; and the good must be a cause to manifest the evil in its wicked malicious subtlety and iniquity;
that all things may come into their contemplation [and visible ken], and every thing might manifest its judgement in itself unto the great separation-day of the LORD of all beings, where every thing shall give in itself into its barn, for its usefulness and profit, that, in the eternity, the great God may be known in a creatural and formal manner, according to light and darkness.
70. for all things were created by the Word, and brought into a form. Seeing then God is an angry jealous God and a consuming fire, and also a merciful loving meek God of light and giving [or free grace], in whom there cannot be any evil at all, therefore he has introduced fire and light, evil and good, one with another in the
Verbum Fiat, into a free will, whereby the will may form [or work] either in the evil or [in the] good;
and yet he has created all things good, and to the light, and set them into the free will, to multiply themselves in the free will, to conceive in evil or good; and yet has associated to each thing its likeness, viz. to a male its female, that so nothing has cause to degenerate [or fall from its place and order into destruction] ;
and to man he has given commands what to do, and [what to] leave undone.
64. Thus it goes with the simple, single-hearted children of Christ, whom the Spirit of Christ drives, and out of whom he teaches here in this world, etc. They are only as sheep among wolves; as Christ said, / send you as sheep among wolves. The earthly man is a serpentine wolf under whom the virgin-child, viz. Christ's lamb, must dwell; and then begins and arises murdering, slaying [or robbing], and killing.
65. But it does not at all hurt the virgin-child; its external wolf is also by this means hitten off by another, for the outward wolf of all men is grown from the anger of God, and arisen with the sin in Adam; therefore it must be given for food to the anger of God, that the virgin-child of the woman's seed may become manifest.
66. For thus they do separate themselves as two enemies, and are continually opposite enemies one against another in the time of this outward life; for the judgement is given to the virgin-child against the introduced Serpent's child of sin. In the resurrection the virgin-child shall condemn the serpent-child into the fire of God; there the limus of the earth shall be proved and purged from the Serpent's ens, and again put upon the virgin-child.
67. Now says reason, What pleasure has God in this murdering ofhis children, can he not defend them from the enemy? Thus it must be: that the light may be manifest in the darkness, else the light would stand still in the darkness and bring forth no fruit. Seeing then the light receives into itself essence and perceivancy, also sensation from the darkness, viz. from the source of the fire, therefore one is set against the other, that so one might be manifest in the other: the joy against grief and grief against joy; that it may be known what evil or good is.
68. For if there were no grief then the joy were not manifest to itself; but yet all is in the free will: as every thing does introduce itself into evil or good, so it runs on its course, and the one is but the manifestation of the other; for if there were no night or darkness then we should know nothing of the light or day. Thus the great God has introduced himself into severation, to his own contemplation and sport of joy.
69. The like also is to be understood in the various diversity and severalty of men, touching evil and good. The evil must be a cause that the good be made manifest to itself; and the good must be a cause to manifest the evil in its wicked malicious subtlety and iniquity;
that all things may come into their contemplation [and visible ken], and every thing might manifest its judgement in itself unto the great separation-day of the LORD of all beings, where every thing shall give in itself into its barn, for its usefulness and profit, that, in the eternity, the great God may be known in a creatural and formal manner, according to light and darkness.
70. for all things were created by the Word, and brought into a form. Seeing then God is an angry jealous God and a consuming fire, and also a merciful loving meek God of light and giving [or free grace], in whom there cannot be any evil at all, therefore he has introduced fire and light, evil and good, one with another in the
Verbum Fiat, into a free will, whereby the will may form [or work] either in the evil or [in the] good;
and yet he has created all things good, and to the light, and set them into the free will, to multiply themselves in the free will, to conceive in evil or good; and yet has associated to each thing its likeness, viz. to a male its female, that so nothing has cause to degenerate [or fall from its place and order into destruction] ;
and to man he has given commands what to do, and [what to] leave undone.
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