18. Whosoever sheds blood out of his own pleasure, to advance his authority, without urgent, absolute necessity, or God's command, he is moved, acted and driven by the wrathful fire of God's anger, and falls at last to be a captive in the same kingdom.
19. Every warrior [or soldier] is a rod of God's anger, wherewith he does, through his wrath and indignation, rebuke and devour the iniquity and malice of man. And it does not belong at all unto the order [or ordinance] of nature, but unto the wrathful desire in turba magna, unto the order of the eager, fierce-devouring wrath, whereby God's anger does overturn and lay waste countries and kingdoms.
20. Understand, it is the order of the dark world's property, which, by God's permission, advances its mighty force in the time of man's wickedness. And then it goes as the wrath will have it, until the same be well 'satiated in the blood of man.
21. For this is even the revenge of God's anger, of which he says, that he would take vengeance for [or require] the blood of man; therefore he of ten takes one man, and by him in anger slays another that has deserved death.
22. When the great and potent rulers shed innocent blood, then comes the anger of God, with its officers, and sheds their peoples' blood, and brings the sword of the turba upon them, whence war arises. But this is not from the divine order of the good nature, in which God governs with his wisdom.
23. The wisdom of God desires no war, but the anger of God, according to the dark world's nature, doth eagerly desire it, and effects the same in the vanity and iniquity of man.
24. If we lived as the children of God one among another, we need not have any warring and fighting. But that we wage war, we do thereby testify and declare that we are only children of this world, and fight for a strange inheritance, which yet we must forego, and thereby we serve the God of anger, as obedient servants. For no warrior or soldier shall inherit the kingdom of God, while he is such a one; but [he that is] a child, new-born of the spirit of God, which forsakes this world.
25. And God said further to Noah, and to his sons with him: saying, Lo I, even I, establish my Covenant with you, and with your seed after you, and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, and of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth that is with you, even of all that came forth out of the ark; that henceforth all flesh shall not any more be cut off by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more come a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the Covenant which I have made between me and you and every living creature that is with you, from henceforth for ever: I have set my bow in the clouds, the same shall he for a token of a Covenant between me and the earth; and it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, the bow shall be seen in the cloud. And then I will remember the Covenant, which is between me and you (Gen. ix. 8-16).
This Covenant with man is a type of the Three Principles of the divine being, viz. of the Being of all beings.
26. For the rainbow is the sign and token of this Covenant, that God does here mind, and very intimately look upon, that man was created out of three Principles into an image, and that he should live in all three; and beheld now the unability and great peril of mankind; and set the sign of this Covenant before him, as a representation that his wrath should not any more be stirred so to destroy every life.
18. Whosoever sheds blood out of his own pleasure, to advance his authority, without urgent, absolute necessity, or God's command, he is moved, acted and driven by the wrathful fire of God's anger, and falls at last to be a captive in the same kingdom.
19. Every warrior [or soldier] is a rod of God's anger, wherewith he does, through his wrath and indignation, rebuke and devour the iniquity and malice of man. And it does not belong at all unto the order [or ordinance] of nature, but unto the wrathful desire in turba magna, unto the order of the eager, fierce-devouring wrath, whereby God's anger does overturn and lay waste countries and kingdoms.
20. Understand, it is the order of the dark world's property, which, by God's permission, advances its mighty force in the time of man's wickedness. And then it goes as the wrath will have it, until the same be well 'satiated in the blood of man.
21. For this is even the revenge of God's anger, of which he says, that he would take vengeance for [or require] the blood of man; therefore he of ten takes one man, and by him in anger slays another that has deserved death.
22. When the great and potent rulers shed innocent blood, then comes the anger of God, with its officers, and sheds their peoples' blood, and brings the sword of the turba upon them, whence war arises. But this is not from the divine order of the good nature, in which God governs with his wisdom.
23. The wisdom of God desires no war, but the anger of God, according to the dark world's nature, does eagerly desire it, and effects the same in the vanity and iniquity of man.
24. If we lived as the children of God one among another, we need not have any warring and fighting. But that we wage war, we do thereby testify and declare that we are only children of this world, and fight for a strange inheritance, which yet we must forego, and thereby we serve the God of anger, as obedient servants. For no warrior or soldier shall inherit the kingdom of God, while he is such a one; but [he that is] a child, new-born of the spirit of God, which forsakes this world.
25. And God said further to Noah, and to his sons with him: saying, Lo I, even I, establish my Covenant with you, and with your seed after you, and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, and of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth that is with you, even of all that came forth out of the ark; that henceforth all flesh shall not any more be cut off by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more come a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the Covenant which I have made between me and you and every living creature that is with you, from henceforth for ever: I have set my bow in the clouds, the same shall he for a token of a Covenant between me and the earth; and it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, the bow shall be seen in the cloud. And then I will remember the Covenant, which is between me and you (Gen. ix. 8-16).
This Covenant with man is a type of the Three Principles of the divine being, viz. of the Being of all beings.
26. For the rainbow is the sign and token of this Covenant, that God does here mind, and very intimately look upon, that man was created out of three Principles into an image, and that he should live in all three; and beheld now the unability and great peril of mankind; and set the sign of this Covenant before him, as a representation that his wrath should not any more be stirred so to destroy every life.
No commentary for this page.
There is commentary on page 1.