Angelic Wisdom about Divine Providence Part 17

238. The same natural man confirms himself against divine providence when he observes how religion is circ.u.mstanced in various nations.

1. Some are totally ignorant of G.o.d; some wors.h.i.+p the sun and moon; others idols and monstrous graven images, dead men also.

2. He notes especially that the Mohammedan religion is accepted by so many empires and kingdoms.

3. He notes that the Christian religion is found only in a very small part of the habitable globe, called Europe, and is divided there.

4. Also that some in Christendom arrogate divine power to themselves, want to be wors.h.i.+ped as G.o.ds, and invoke the dead.

5. And there are those who place salvation in certain phrases which they are to think and speak and not at all in good works which they are to do; likewise there are few who live their religion.

6. Besides there are heretical ideas; these have been many and some exist today, like those of the Quakers, Moravians and Anabaptists, besides others.

7. Judaism also persists.

As a result, one who denies divine providence concludes that religion in itself is nothing, but still is needed to serve as a restraint.

239. To these more arguments can be added today by which those who think interiorly in favor of nature and of human prudence alone can still further confirm themselves. For example:

1. All Christendom has acknowledged three G.o.ds, not knowing that G.o.d is one in essence and in person and that He is the Lord.

2. It has not been known before this that there is a spiritual sense in each particular of the Word from which it derives its holiness.

3. Again, Christians have not known that to avoid evils as sins is the Christian religion itself.

4. It has also been unknown that the human being lives as such after death.

For men may ask themselves and one another, "Why does divine providence, if it exists, reveal such things for the first time now?"

240. All the points listed in nn. 236-239 have been put forward in order that it may be seen that each and all things which take place in the world are of divine providence; consequently divine providence is in the least of man's thoughts and actions and thereby is universal. But this cannot be seen unless the points are taken up one by one; therefore they will be explained briefly in the order in which they were listed, beginning with n. 236.

241. _The wisest of human beings, Adam and his wife, allowed themselves to be led astray by the serpent, and G.o.d in His divine providence did not avert this._ This is because by Adam and his wife the first human beings created in the world are not meant, but the people of the Most Ancient Church, whose new creation or regeneration is described thus: their creation anew or regeneration in Genesis 1 by the creation of heaven and earth; their wisdom and intelligence by the Garden of Eden; and the end of that church by their eating of the tree of knowledge. For the Word in its bosom is spiritual, containing arcana of divine wisdom, and in order to contain them has been composed throughout in correspondences and representations. It is plain then that the men of that church, who at first were the wisest of men but finally became the worst through pride in their own intelligence, were led astray not by a serpent but by self-love, meant in Genesis by "the serpent's head," which the Seed of the woman, namely, the Lord, was to trample.

[2] Who cannot see from reason that other things are meant than those recorded literally like history? For who can understand that the world could be created as there described? The learned therefore labor over the explanation of the things in the first chapter, finally confessing that they do not understand them. So of the two trees placed in the garden or paradise, one of life and the other of knowledge, the latter as a stumbling-block. Again, that just by eating of this tree they transgressed so greatly that not only they but their posterity--the whole human race--became subject to d.a.m.nation; further, how any serpent could lead them astray; besides other things, as that the woman was created out of a rib of her husband; that they recognized their nakedness after the fall and covered it with fig leaves; that coats of skin were given them to cover the body; and that cherubim with a flaming sword were stationed to guard the way to the tree of life.

[3] All this is representative, describing the establishment, state, alteration and finally destruction of the Most Ancient Church. The arcana involved, contained in the spiritual sense which fills the details, may be seen explained in _Arcana Caelestia,_ on Genesis and Exodus, published at London. There it may also be seen that by the tree of life the Lord is meant as to His divine providence, and by the tree of knowledge man is meant as to his own prudence.

242. _Their first son, Cain, killed his brother Abel, and G.o.d did not speak to him and dissuade him, but only afterwards cursed him._ As the Most Ancient Church is meant by Adam and his wife, as we have just said, the two essentials of a church, love and wisdom or charity and faith are meant by their first sons, Cain and Abel. Love and charity are meant by Abel, and wisdom and faith and in particular wisdom separate from love, and faith separate from charity, are meant by Cain. Wisdom as well as faith when separate is of such a nature that it not only rejects love and charity, but also destroys them and thus kills its brother. It is well known in Christendom that faith apart from charity does so; see _Doctrine of the New Jerusalem about Faith._

[2] The curse on Cain portends the spiritual state into which those come after death who separate faith from charity or wisdom from love. But lest wisdom or faith should perish, a mark was put on Cain lest he be slain, for love cannot exist without wisdom, nor charity without faith. As almost the same thing is represented by this as by eating of the tree of knowledge, it follows next after the account of Adam and his wife.

Moreover, those in faith separate from charity are in intelligence of their own; those who are in charity and thence in faith are in intelligence from the Lord, thus in divine providence.

243. _The Israelites wors.h.i.+ped a golden calf in the wilderness and acknowledged it as the G.o.d that had brought them out of Egypt, yet Jehovah saw this from Mt. Sinai near by and did not warn against it._ This occurred in the desert of Sinai near the mountain. It is in accordance with all the laws of divine providence recounted so far and with those to follow that Jehovah did not restrain the Israelites from that atrocious wors.h.i.+p. This evil was permitted them that they might not all perish. For the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt to represent the Lord's church; they could not represent it unless the Egyptian idolatry was first rooted out of their hearts. This could not be done unless it was left to them to act upon what was in their hearts and then to remove it on being severely punished. What further is signified by that wors.h.i.+p, by the threat that they would be entirely rejected, and by the possibility that a new nation might be raised from Moses, may be seen in _Arcana Caelestia_ on Exodus 32, where these things are spoken of.

244. _David numbered the people and as a consequence a pestilence befell them in which so many thousands of them perished; G.o.d sent the prophet Gad to him not before but after the deed and denounced punishment._ One who confirms himself against divine providence may have various thoughts about this also and ponder especially why David was not admonished first and why the people were so severely punished for the king's transgression. That he was not warned first is in accord with the laws of divine providence already adduced, especially with the two explained at nn. 129-153 and 154-174. The people were so severely punished for the king's transgression and seventy thousand smitten by the pestilence not on account of the king but on account of themselves, for we read

The anger of Jehovah kindled still more against Israel; therefore He incited David against them saying, Go, number Israel and Judah (2 Sa 24:1).

245. _Solomon was allowed to establish idolatrous forms of wors.h.i.+p._ For he was to represent the Lord's kingdom or church in all varieties of religion in the world. For the church established with the Israelitish and Jewish nation was a representative church; all of its judgments and statutes represented the spiritual things of a church, which are its internals. The people represented the church, the king the Lord, David the Lord to come into the world, Solomon the Lord after His coming. As the Lord after the glorification of His humanity had all power over heaven and earth (as He said, Mt 28:18), Solomon as representative of Him appeared in glory and magnificence, was wise beyond all earthly kings, and also built the temple. Moreover, he permitted and set up the forms of wors.h.i.+p of many nations, by which the various religions of the world were represented. His wives, who numbered seven hundred and his concubines who numbered three hundred (1 Kgs 11:13), had a similar signification, for "wife" in the Word signifies the church and "concubine" a form of religion. Hence it may be evident why it was granted Solomon to build the temple, by which the Divine Humanity of the Lord (Jn 2:19, 21) is signified and the church, too; and why he was allowed to establish idolatrous forms of wors.h.i.+p and to take so many wives. See _Doctrine of the New Jerusalem about the Lord_ (nn. 43, 44) that in many places in the Word the Lord who was to come into the world is meant by David.

246. _After Solomon many kings were allowed to profane the temple and the sacred things of the church._ This was because the people represented the church and the king was their head. The Israelitish and Jewish nation was of such a nature that they could not represent the church for long, for at heart they were idolaters; they therefore relapsed gradually from representative wors.h.i.+p, perverting all things of the church, even to devastating it finally. This was represented by the profanations of the temple by the kings and by the people's idolatries; the full devastation of the church was represented by the destruction of the temple, the carrying off of Israel, and the captivity of Judah in Babylon. Such was the cause of this toleration; and what is done for some cause is done under divine providence according to one of its laws.

247. _That nation was permitted to crucify the Lord._ This was because the church with that nation was entirely devastated and had become such that they not only did not know or acknowledge the Lord, but hated Him.

Still, all that they did to Him was according to laws of His divine providence. See in _Doctrine of the New Jerusalem about the Lord_ (nn.

12-14) and in _Doctrine of the New Jerusalem about Faith_ (nn. 34, 35) that the pa.s.sion of the cross was the last temptation or battle by which the Lord fully conquered the h.e.l.ls and fully glorified His Humanity.

248. So far the points listed at n. 236 have been explained, involving pa.s.sages in the Word by which the naturally minded reasoner may confirm himself against divine providence. For, as was said, whatever such a man sees, hears or reads he can make into an argument against providence. Few persons, however, confirm themselves against divine providence from incidents in the Word, but many do so from things before their eyes, listed at n. 237. These are to be explained now in like manner.

249. _Every wors.h.i.+per of self and of nature confirms himself against divine providence when he sees so many impious in the world and so many of their impieties and how some glory in them, yet sees the impious go unpunished by G.o.d._ All impieties and all gloryings in them are permissions, of which the causes are laws of divine providence. Each human being can freely, indeed very freely, think what he wills, against G.o.d as well as in favor of G.o.d. One who thinks against G.o.d is rarely punished in the natural world, for he is always in a state to be reformed then, but is punished in the spiritual world, which is done after death, for then he can no longer be reformed.

[2] That laws of divine providence are the causes of tolerance is clear from the laws set forth above, if you will recall and examine them. They are: that man shall act in freedom according to reason (of this law above, nn. 71-79); that he shall not be forced by external means to think and will, thus to believe and love what is of religion, but bring himself and sometimes compel himself to do so (nn. 129-153); that there is no such thing as one's own prudence, but there only appears to be and it should so appear, but divine providence is universal from being in the least things (nn. 191-213); divine providence looks to what is eternal, and to the temporal only as this makes one with the eternal (nn.

214-220); man is not admitted inwardly into truths of faith and goods of charity except as he can be kept in them to the close of life (nn.

221-233).

[3] That the laws of divine providence are the causes of tolerance will also be evident from the following, for one thing from this: evils are tolerated because of the end, which is salvation. Again from this: that divine providence is continual with the wicked as well as with the good.

And finally from this: the Lord cannot act contrary to the laws of His divine providence because to do so would be to act contrary to His divine love and wisdom, thus contrary to Himself. Brought together, these laws can make the causes manifest why impieties are tolerated by the Lord and are not punished while they exist in the thought only and rarely, too, while they exist in intention, thus in the will but not in act. Yet its own punishment follows every evil; it is as if its punishment were inscribed on an evil, and the impious man suffers it after death.

[4] These considerations also explain the next point, listed at n. 237: _The wors.h.i.+per of self and of nature confirms himself still more against divine providence when he sees plots, schemes and frauds succeed even against the devout, just and sincere, and injustice triumph over justice in the courts and in business._ All the laws of divine providence have requirements; and as they are the causes why such things are permitted, it is plain that for man to live as a human being and be reformed and saved, these things can be removed from him by the Lord only through means. The Word and, in particular, the precepts of the Decalog are the means with those who acknowledge all kinds of murder, adultery, theft and false witness to be sins. With those who do not acknowledge such things as sins, they are removed by means of the civil laws and fear of their penalties and by means also of the moral laws and fear of disrepute and consequent loss of standing and wealth. By the latter means the Lord leads the evil, but only away from doing such things, not from thinking and willing them. But by the former means He leads the good, not only away from doing them, but from thinking and willing them, too.

250. _The wors.h.i.+per of self and of nature confirms himself against divine providence on seeing the impious advanced to honors and becoming leaders in the state and in the church, abounding, too, in riches and living in luxury and magnificence, and on the other hand sees wors.h.i.+pers of G.o.d despised and poor._ A wors.h.i.+per of self and of nature believes that standing and riches are the greatest and the one felicity possible, thus felicity itself. If he has some thought of G.o.d as a result of wors.h.i.+p begun in childhood, he calls them divine blessings, and as long as he is not elated by them he thinks that there is a G.o.d and wors.h.i.+ps Him. But in the wors.h.i.+p there lurks a desire, of which he is unaware then, to be advanced by G.o.d to still higher standing and to still greater wealth. If he attains them, his wors.h.i.+p tends more and more to externalities until it slips away and at last he makes little account of G.o.d and denies Him.

The same thing occurs if he is cast down from the standing and loses the riches on which he has set his heart. What, then, are standing and riches to the wicked but stumbling blocks?

[2] To the good they are not, for these do not set their heart on them, but on the uses or goods for rendering which standing and wealth serve as means. Hence only a wors.h.i.+per of self and of nature can confirm himself against divine providence because the impious are advanced to honors and become leaders in the state and in the church. Moreover, what is greater or less standing, or greater or less wealth? Is this not in itself imaginary? Is one person more blessed and happier than another for it? Is a great man's standing, or even a king's or an emperor's, not regarded in a year's time as a commonplace, no longer exalting his heart with joy but quite possibly becoming worthless to him? Have those with standing a larger measure of happiness than those with little standing or even the least standing, like farmers and their hands? May not these enjoy more happiness when it is well with them and they are content with their lot?

What is more unquiet at heart, more often provoked, or more violently enraged than self-love? It happens as often as it is not honored to suit the haughtiness of its heart or as something does not succeed at its beck and wish. What, then, is standing except an idea, unless it attaches to the office or the use? Can the idea exist in any other thought than thought about self and the world, and does it not really mean that the world is all and eternity nothing?

[3] Something shall be said now why divine providence permits the impious at heart to be promoted to standing and to acquire wealth. The impious or the evil can render services as well as the pious or good, indeed with more fire, for they regard themselves in the use and their standing as the use. As self-love mounts, therefore, the l.u.s.t of doing service for one's glory is fired. There is no such fire with the devout or good unless it is kindled incidentally to their standing. Therefore the Lord governs the impious at heart who have standing by their desire for a name and arouses them to perform uses to the community or their country, their society or city, and their fellow citizen or neighbor. With such persons this is the Lord's government which is called divine providence, for the Lord's kingdom is one of uses, and where only a few perform uses for uses' sake providence brings it about that wors.h.i.+pers of self are raised to higher offices, in which each is incited by his love to do good.

[4] Suppose an infernal kingdom in the world (though there is none) where self-love alone rules, which is itself the devil, would not everyone perform uses with the zeal of self-love and for the enhancement of his glory more than in another kingdom? The public good is borne on the lips of them all, but their own benefit in the heart. And as each relies on what rules him in order to become greater, and aspires to be greatest, how can he see that G.o.d exists? A smoke like that of a conflagration envelops him through which no spiritual truth can pa.s.s with its light. I have seen that smoke around the h.e.l.ls of such men. Light a lamp and inquire how many in present-day kingdoms aspire to eminence who are not loves of self and the world. Will you find fifty in a thousand who are loves of G.o.d, among whom, moreover, only a few aspire to eminence? Since so few are loves of G.o.d and so many are loves of self and the world and since the latter perform more uses by their ardor, how can one confirm himself against divine providence because the evil surpa.s.s the good in eminence and opulence?

[5] This is borne out also by these words of the Lord:

The lord praised the unjust steward because he had acted prudently; for the sons of this age are more prudent in their generation than the sons of light in their generation. So I say to you, Make friends for yourselves of the unjust mammon that when you fail they may receive you into eternal habitations (Lu 16:8, 9).

The meaning in the sense of the letter is plain. But in the spiritual sense by the "mammon of injustice" are meant knowledges of good and truth which the evil possess and employ solely to acquire standing and wealth for themselves. It is of these knowledges that the good or the children of light are to make friends for themselves and it is these knowledges that will conduct them into eternal homes. The Lord also teaches that many are loves of self and the world, and few are loves of G.o.d, in these words:

Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, which leads to destruction, and many there be who enter it, but narrow and strait is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it (Mt 7:13, 14).

It may be seen above (n. 217) that eminence and riches are either curses or blessings, and with whom they are the one or the other.

251. _The wors.h.i.+per of self and of nature confirms himself against divine providence when he reflects that wars are permitted and the slaughter in them of so many men and the plundering of their wealth._ It is not by divine providence that wars occur, for they entail murder, plunder, violence, cruelty, and other terrible evils which are diametrically opposed to Christian charity. Yet they cannot but be permitted because the life's love of mankind, since the time of the most ancient people, meant by Adam and his wife (n. 241), has become such that it wants to rule over others and finally over all, and also to possess the wealth of the world and finally all wealth. These two loves cannot be kept in fetters, for it is according to divine providence that everyone is allowed to act in freedom in accordance with reason, as may be seen above (nn. 71-97); and apart from permissions man cannot be led from evil by the Lord and consequently cannot be reformed and saved. For unless evils were allowed to break out, man would not see them, therefore would not acknowledge them, and thus could not be induced to resist them. Evils cannot be repressed, therefore, by any act of providence; if they were, they would remain shut in, and like a disease such as cancer and gangrene, would spread and consume everything vital in man.

[2] For from birth man is like a little h.e.l.l between which and heaven there is perpetual discord. No one can be withdrawn from his h.e.l.l by the Lord unless he sees he is in it and desires to be led out of it. This cannot be done apart from tolerations the causes of which are laws of divine providence. As a result, minor and major wars occur, the minor between owners of estates and their neighbors, and the major between sovereigns of kingdoms and their neighbors. Except for size the only difference is that the minor conflicts are held within limits by a country's laws and the major by the law of nations; each may wish to transgress its laws, but the minor cannot, and while the major can, still the possibility has limits.

[3] Hidden in the stores of divine wisdom are several causes why the major wars of kings and rulers, involving murder, looting, violence and cruelty as they do, are not prevented by the Lord, either at their beginning or during their course, only finally when the power of one or the other has been so reduced that he is in danger of annihilation. Some of the causes have been revealed to me and among them is this: all wars, although they are civil in character, represent in heaven states of the church and are correspondences. The wars described in the Word were all of this character; so are all wars at this day. Those in the Word are the wars which the children of Israel waged with various nations, Amorites, Moabites, Philistines, Syrians, Egyptians, Chaldeans and a.s.syrians.

Moreover, it was when the children of Israel, who represented the church, departed from their precepts and statutes and fell into evils represented by other peoples (for each nation with which the children of Israel waged war represented a particular evil), that they were punished by that nation. For instance, when they profaned the sanct.i.ties of the church by foul idolatries they were punished by the a.s.syrians and Chaldeans because a.s.syria and Chaldea signify the profanation of what is holy. What was signified by the wars with the Philistines may be seen in _Doctrine of the New Jerusalem about Faith_ (nn. 50-54).

[4] Wars at the present day, wherever they may occur, represent similar things. For all things which occur in the natural world correspond to spiritual things in the spiritual world, and all spiritual things are related to the church. It is not known in the world which kingdoms in Christendom represent the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Syrians, the Philistines, the Chaldeans and the a.s.syrians or others, with whom the children of Israel waged war; yet there are nations that do so. Moreover, the condition of the church on earth and what the evils are into which it falls and for which it is punished by wars, cannot be seen at all in the natural world, for only externals are manifest here and these do not const.i.tute the church. This is seen, however, in the spiritual world where internal conditions appear and in these the church itself consists.

There all are united according to their various states. Conflicts between them correspond to wars, which on both sides are governed by the Lord correspondentially in accordance with His divine providence.

[5] The spiritual man acknowledges that wars on earth are ruled by the Lord's divine providence. The natural man does not, except that at a celebration of a victory he may thank G.o.d on his knees for having given the victory, and except for a few words on going into battle. But when he returns into himself he ascribes the victory either to the prudence of the general or to some counsel or incident in the midst of the fighting which escaped notice and yet decided the victory.

[6] It may be seen above (n. 212) that divine providence, which is called fortune, is in the least things, even in trivial ones, and if you acknowledge divine providence in these you will certainly do so in the issues of war. Success and happy conduct of war, moreover, are in common parlance called the fortune of war, and this is divine providence, to be found especially in a general's judgments and plans, although he may at the time and also afterwards ascribe all to his own prudence. This he may do if he will, for he has full freedom to think in favor of divine providence or against it, indeed in favor of G.o.d or against Him; but let him know that no judgment or plan is from himself; it comes either from heaven or from h.e.l.l, from h.e.l.l by permission, from heaven by providence.

252. _A wors.h.i.+per of self and of nature confirms himself against divine providence when he thinks, as he sees it, that victories are on the side of prudence and not always on the side of justice, and that it is immaterial whether a commander is upright or not._ Victories seem to be on the side of prudence and not always on the side of justice, because man judges by the appearance and favors one side more than the other and can by reasoning confirm what he favors. Nor does he know that the justice of a cause is spiritual in heaven and natural in the world, as was said just above, and that the two are united in a connection of things past and of things to come, known only to the Lord.

[2] It is immaterial whether the commander is an upright man or not because, as was established above (n. 250), the evil as well as the good perform uses, and by their zeal more ardently than the good. This is so especially in war because the evil man is more crafty and cunning in devising schemes than a good man, and in his love of glory takes pleasure in killing and plundering those whom he knows and declares to be the enemy. The good man has prudence and zeal for defense and rarely for attacking. This is much the same as it is with spirits of h.e.l.l and angels of heaven; the spirits of h.e.l.l attack and the angels of heaven defend themselves. Hence comes this conclusion that it is allowable for one to defend his country and his fellow-citizens against invading enemies even by iniquitous commanders, but not allowable to make oneself an enemy without cause. To have the seeking of glory for cause is in itself diabolical, for it comes of self-love.

253. The points made above (n. 237) by which the merely natural man confirms himself against divine providence have now been explained. The points which follow (n. 238) about the varieties of religion in many nations, which also serve the merely natural man for arguments against divine providence, are to be clarified next. For the merely natural man says in his heart, How can so many discordant religions exist instead of one world-wide and true religion when (as was shown above, nn. 27-45) divine providence has a heaven from mankind for its purpose? But pray, listen: all human beings who are born, however numerous and of whatever religion, can be saved if only they acknowledge G.o.d and live according to the precepts of the Decalog, which forbid committing murder, adultery, theft, and false witness because to do such things is contrary to religion and therefore contrary to G.o.d. Such persons fear G.o.d and love the neighbor. They fear G.o.d inasmuch as they think that to do such things is to act against G.o.d, and they love the neighbor because to murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness and covet the neighbor's house or wife is to act against one's neighbor. Heeding G.o.d in their lives and doing no evil to the neighbor, they are led by the Lord, and those whom He leads are also taught about G.o.d and the neighbor in accordance with their religion, for those who live in this way love to be taught, but those living otherwise have no such desire. Loving to be taught, they are also instructed by angels after death when they become spirits, and willingly receive such truths as the Word contains. Something about them may be seen in _Doctrine of the New Jerusalem about Sacred Scripture_ (nn. 91-97 and 104-113).