12. (v) THERE ARE MANY THINGS IN THE WORLD WHICH CAN LEAD THE HUMAN REASON, IF IT WISHES, TO GRASP AND DEDUCE THAT THERE IS A GOD AND THAT HE IS ONE.

This truth can be supported by countless things in the visible world; for the universe is like a theatre, upon the stage of which demonstrations of the existence of God and His oneness are continually being presented. To illustrate this I shall relate this account from my experiences in the spiritual world.

Once when I was talking with angels, some newcomers from the natural world arrived. On seeing them I made them welcome, and told them many facts they did not know about the spiritual world. After this conversation I asked them what learning about God and nature they brought with them from the world.

'We have been taught,' they said, 'that nature performs all the operations which take place in the whole of creation. After the act of creation God assigned to nature and stamped upon her this ability and power; God only supports and preserves everything from being destroyed. Consequently everything on earth which comes into existence, is born or re-born, is to-day put down to nature.'

I replied that nature of herself performs no operation; but it is God who does this by means of nature. Since they demanded a proof, I said: ¹ 'Those who believe in the working of God in the details of Nature can find many sights in the world in favour of their belief in God, many more than in favour of nature.

[2] Those who favour the working of God in the details of nature pay attention to the amazing sights to be seen in the reproduction of both plants and animals. In the case of plants, a tiny seed cast into the ground produces a root, by means of the root a stem, and so in order branches, twigs, leaves, flowers and fruit, until the result is fresh seeds, just as if the seed knew the pattern of successive stages or processes which lead to its renewal. Can any rational person think that the sun, which is nothing but fire, has this knowledge, or that it can instruct its heat and light to produce such effects, and that it can act purposefully? A person whose reasoning faculty is uplifted, on seeing and duly considering these facts, is inevitably led to think that they come from Him who possesses infinite wisdom, that is, from God. Those who acknowledge the working of God in the details of nature are further confirmed in their view on seeing these things; those on the other hand who do not make this acknowledgment see them not with the eyes of reason set in the face, but with eyes in the back of the head; these are the people who get all the ideas in their heads from the bodily senses and support their fallacious beliefs by saying 'Surely you see it is the sun which produces all these results by its heat and light. Something you cannot see cannot be anything.'

[3] 'Those seeking support for a Divine origin pay attention to the amazing sights to be seen in animal reproduction. First of all I may mention eggs, which contain the chick hidden in its seed together with everything needed for its development, and its whole future growth after hatching until it becomes a bird resembling its mother. Further if we consider flying creatures in general, the mind which thinks profoundly boggles at the astonishing facts about them; that the smallest as well as the largest, the invisible as well as the visible, that is, tiny insects as well as birds and large animals, possess sensory organs of sight, smell, taste and touch; also motor organs or muscles which allow them to fly and walk; also viscera attached to a heart and lungs, all controlled by brains. Those who attribute everything to nature admittedly see these things, but they think of them merely as facts and call them the products of nature. They say this because they have turned their minds away from thinking about the Divine. This turning away from the Divine prevents them from thinking rationally, much less spiritually, about the amazing sights they see in nature. Their thoughts are limited to the senses and matter, so that they think in nature from nature, rather than above her. Their only difference from animals is that they enjoy the faculty of rationality, that is, they can understand if they wish.

[4] 'Those who have turned away from thoughts of the Divine, which makes them dependent upon the bodily senses, do not realise that the sight of the eye is so coarse and gross that it sees a group of tiny insects as a dark mass. Yet every one of these is endowed with the powers of sensation and movement, that is to say, it is provided with fibres and vessels, a tiny heart, breathing pores, viscera and brain. These are constructed of the simplest natural substances, and their systems answer to the vital principle in its lowest degree, for even the tiniest organs are individually activated by it. Since the sight of the eye is so gross that a number of creatures, each with its countless parts, look like a small dark mass, and yet those who rely on their senses found their thought and judgment on those visual powers, it is obvious how blunted their minds are and thus how blind they are on spiritual matters.

[5] 'Anyone can, if he wishes, find support for the Divine idea in the sights of nature, and also further if he thinks about God and His omnipotence in the creation of the universe and His omnipresence in preserving it. As when he considers the birds of the air, each species of which knows its proper food and where to find it; it recognises its kind by sight and sound; it knows which birds are its friends and which its enemies; they know how to nestle under their plumage, they form pairs, cleverly construct nests, lay eggs in them and sit on them; they know how long to sit, and in due season hatch their chicks, whom they love dearly, protecting them under their wings, providing food and nourishing them, and continuing until they can look after themselves and perform the same service. Anyone who is willing to think how the Divine influences the natural world by means of the spiritual can see this in these facts. He can even, if he wishes, say in his heart, 'Such knowledge cannot be acquired from the sun's heat and light, for the sun which is the origin and essence of nature is nothing but fire. Consequently the radiation of its heat and light is totally devoid of life.' This may lead them to deduce that such things are the effect of Divine influence working on the lowest forms of nature by means of the spiritual world.

[6] 'Anyone can find support for the Divine idea from the sights of nature, when he looks at grubs. The pleasure of a certain love makes them seek and aspire to change their earthly condition into one analogous to the heavenly condition. Therefore they creep into suitable places, surround themselves with a cocoon and so put themselves into a womb that they may be born again. There they become chrysallises, pupae, nymphs, and finally butterflies. And when they have undergone their metamorphosis and have put on the lovely wings typical of their species, they fly up into the air as into their private heaven, play happily together, mate, lay eggs and see to the continuation of their race. Then they feed on lovely, sweet food provided by flowers. Can anyone, who finds support for the Divine idea in the sights of nature, fail to see a picture of man's earthly state in their life as grubs and his heavenly state when they become butterflies? But those who support the idea of nature admittedly see these facts, but because they have mentally rejected the idea of man's heavenly state, they call these nothing but the workings of nature.

[7] 'Anyone can find support for the Divine idea from the sights of nature when he pays attention to the facts known about bees. They know how to collect wax and suck up honey from roses and other flowers, how to construct cells as their tiny homes and arrange them so as to resemble a city with streets by which to come in and go out. They smell out from a distance the flowers and plants from which they collect wax for building and honey to eat. When they are loaded with these they know their bearings to fly home to their hive, and thus provide themselves with food for the coming winter, as if they could foresee it. They set a mistress or queen over them; she is the mother of their offspring. They build a sort of court above their own quarters for the queen surrounded by her courtiers. When the time comes for her to give birth, she goes around accompanied by her courtiers, called drones, from one cell to the next and lays her eggs which the attendant crowd seal in to protect them from the air. These produce their new stock. Later on when this grows up sufficiently to behave in the same way, it is expelled from the hive; the swarm first of all gathers into a cloud to keep together in formation, and then flies off to find themselves a home. Towards autumn the drones, because they have brought home no wax or honey, are taken out and stripped of their wings, so that they cannot come back and consume the food to which they have done nothing to contribute; and much more might be said. From all this it can be clearly seen that for the sake of the service they perform to human beings the Divine influence coming through the spiritual world has given them an organisation similar to that of men on earth, or indeed of angels in the heavens.

[8] 'Is there anyone of unimpaired reason who does not see that such effects are not produced in them by the natural world? What has the sun, the origin of nature, in common with an organisation which rivals and mirrors the organisation of the heavens? These and similar facts concerning the lower animals confirm in his belief the man who makes a profession of and worships nature. But the man who professes belief in and worships God uses the same facts to reinforce his belief in God; for the spiritual man sees in them spiritual facts, while the natural man sees natural ones, in other words, each sees what he is. For my part, such facts have been evidence to me of the influence of the spiritual world coming from God on the natural. Consider too whether you could think analytically about any type of organisation, or any civil law, or any moral virtue, or any spiritual truth, if the Divine influence did not make itself felt as a result of its wisdom by means of the spiritual world. I for my part have never been able to do so, nor can I now. I have consciously perceived that influence and felt it through the senses continuously for the last twenty-six years. So I make this statement as a witness.

[9] 'Can nature have as its aim the fulfilment of a purpose, and arrange these purposes into organised structures? Only a wise being can do this; and no one could so order and structure the universe except God, whose wisdom is infinite. Who else can foresee and provide what men need to eat and clothe themselves: the crops of the field, the fruits of the earth and animals for food, and clothing from the same sources? One of the astonishing things in this is that those insignificant insects called silk-worms dress both women and men in silk and adorn them magnificently, from queens and kings down to maids and servants; and that those insignificant insects called bees supply wax to illuminate splendidly churches and halls. These and many more are the outstanding proofs that God of Himself performs all the workings of nature by means of the spiritual world.

[10] 'To this I must add that I have seen in the spiritual world those who found confirmation of their naturalistic view in the sights of the world, to such an extent that they became atheists. Seen in spiritual light, their understandings seemed to be open underneath, but closed on top, because their thoughts had been turned downwards to earth, and not up to heaven. Above their sensual area, which is the lowest level of the understanding, there appeared a sort of covering flashing with hellish fire, in some cases black as soot, in others livid like a corpse. Therefore let everyone take care not to confirm his belief in nature, but seek rather proofs of God; there is no lack of material.'

Footnotes:

355. Anyone can decide for Divinity on the basis of observations of nature by looking at what we know about bees. Bees know how to collect wax from plants and flowers and how to extract honey, how to build cells like little homes and arrange them in a form like a city, with open spaces for entrance and exit. They scent at a distance the flowers and plants from which they collect wax for their dwellings and honey for their food. Laden with them they fly back to their own territory, to their own hive. In this way, they provide themselves with food and shelter for the coming winter just as though they saw it coming. They appoint a female leader as queen to be the source of their progeny and they build a kind of hall above her, surrounding her with servants; and when the time of birth has arrived, she goes from cell to cell with her retinue of servants and lays her eggs, with the attendant crew sealing the cells to protect them from the air. This provides them with a new generation.

Later, when this generation has reached the age when it can do the same, it is driven out of its home, and once it has been driven out it first gathers itself and then forms a swarm so that its company will not be dispersed, and flies off in search of a home. About autumn, too, the useless drones are taken out and shorn of their wings so that they cannot return and use up food to which they contribute nothing. There is much more, which enables us to conclude that it is for the useful function they perform for the human race and from an inflow from the spiritual world that they have a form of government like ours on earth and even like angels' in heaven. Can anyone furnished with rationality fail to see that things like this do not come from the physical world? What does the sun, the source of nature, have in common with a government that rivals and reflects heavenly government?

On the basis of all this and of other miracles among simple animals, people who acknowledge and worship nature decide for nature, while people who acknowledge and worship God decide for Divinity on the very same basis. That is, a spiritually-minded person sees spiritual forces in these events, and an earthly-minded person sees physical forces in these events. We see [reflections of] our own nature.

As for me, things like this have been testimonies to a spiritual inflow into nature, of the spiritual world into the physical world, an inflow, therefore, from the Lord's divine wisdom. Ask yourself seriously whether you could even think analytically about any form of government, any civil law, any moral virtue, or any spiritual truth unless Divinity were flowing in with its wisdom through the spiritual world. In my own case, I never could and I still cannot. I have actually been constantly watching this inflow perceptibly, tangibly, for nineteen years, so I am saying this on the basis of evidence.

157. The following rational propositions will prove that our life comes from the Lord alone and not from us. (a) There is only one essence, only one substance, and only one form from which have come all the essences, substances, and forms that have been created. (b) The only essence, substance, and form is divine love and divine wisdom, and everything in us that has to do with love and wisdom comes from that source. (c) This is also the goodness itself and the truth itself that underlie everything. (d) These are the life that is the source of the life of everything and of every aspect of life. (e) This single, essential reality is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. (f) This single, essential reality is the Lord from eternity, or Jehovah.

[2] (a) There is only one essence, only one substance, and only one form from which have come all the essences, substances, and forms that have been created. I explained in Divine Love and Wisdom 44-46 and in its part 2 that the sun of the angelic heaven, which comes from the Lord and in which the Lord is present, is the single substance and form that is the source of everything that has been created, and that there neither is nor can be anything that does not come from that source. I explained in part 3 of that work that everything comes from that source by development according to different levels.

[3] Can anyone fail to see and admit on rational grounds that there is only one essence that is the source of all essence, one reality that is the source of all reality? What could become manifest except from some reality, and what is the reality behind all reality except reality itself? And whatever is reality itself is also the only reality, reality in its own right. Since this is the case--and everyone sees and admits it on rational grounds and could see and recognize it if it were not the case--what other conclusion is there than that this reality that is Deity itself, that is Jehovah, is all there is to everything that exists and happens?

[4] This is the same as saying that there is only one substance that underlies everything; and since substance is nothing apart from form, it follows that there is only one form that underlies everything. I have explained in the book just mentioned that the sun of the angelic heaven is that one substance and form, and have explained how that essence, substance, and form come out variously in things created.

[5] (b) The only essence, substance, and form is divine love and divine wisdom, and everything in us that has to do with love and wisdom comes from that source. I have given ample evidence of this in Divine Love and Wisdom as well. Everything about us that seems to be alive involves our volition and our discernment, and everyone sees and admits on rational grounds that these two abilities constitute our life. This is simply saying, "This is what I intend," "This is what I discern," "This is what I love," or "This is what I think"; and since we intend what we love and think about what we discern, all our volition has to do with love and all our discernment has to do with wisdom. Further, since these two abilities cannot occur in any of us from ourselves, only from the one who is love itself and wisdom itself, it follows that this comes from the Lord from eternity or Jehovah. Otherwise, we would be love itself and wisdom itself, we would be God from eternity, and human reason itself recoils from this thought in horror.

Can anything exist except from some prior source, and can this prior source exist except from some source still prior, and so on finally back to a First that simply exists in its own right?

[6] (c) By the same token, this is also the goodness itself and the truth itself that underlie everything. Everyone possessed of reason accepts and admits the fact that God is goodness itself and truth itself and that everything good and true comes from him. In fact, nothing that is good and true can come from any other source than from the one who is goodness itself and truth itself. Every rational individual admits this on first hearing it. If we go on to say that when we are being led by the Lord everything that has to do with our volition and discernment, with our love and wisdom, with our feelings and thoughts, rests in what is good and true, it follows that everything we then intend and think, every exercise of our love and wisdom, everything that moves us or occupies our thoughts, comes from the Lord. This is why everyone in the church knows that everything good and true within us that originates in us is not really good or true, only what comes from the Lord.

Since this is the case, everything that we intend and think under this leading comes from the Lord. We will see later [285-294] that even evil people cannot intend and think from any other source.

[7] (d) These are the life that is the source of the life of everything and of every aspect of life. I have given ample evidence of this in Divine Love and Wisdom. On first hearing, human reason accepts and admits the fact that our whole life is a matter of our intending and its discerning, because if we were deprived of our ability to intend and discern, we would not be alive. This is the same as saying that our whole life is a matter of our love and its thinking, because if we were deprived of our ability to love and to think we would not be alive. Since the Lord is the only source of everything in us that has to do with intent and discernment, or with love and thought, as just noted, it follows that all our life comes from him.

[8] (e) This single, essential reality is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. All Christians know this on the basis of their theology and all non-Christians on the basis of their religions. This is also why all of us think that God is present wherever we happen to be, why we pray to God as present with us; and since we all do think this way while we are praying, it follows that the only way we can think is that God is everywhere, that God is therefore omnipresent. The same holds true for God's omniscience and omnipotence. This is why everyone who prays to God is asking at heart for guidance--because God is able to guide; and this means that we all recognize divine omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. We recognize it because then we are turning our faces toward the Lord, and this truth flows into us from him.

[9] (f) This single, essential reality is the Lord from eternity, or Jehovah. In Teachings for the New Jerusalem on the Lord, I explained that God is one in essence and in person and that this God is the Lord. I also explained that the essential Deity called Jehovah the Father is the Lord from eternity, that the Son conceived by Deity from eternity and born into the world is the Divine-Human One, and that the Holy Spirit is the Deity emanating.

This reality is called "single" and "essential" because it has already been stated that the Lord from eternity or Jehovah is life itself because he is love itself and wisdom itself, or goodness itself and truth itself, the source of everything. I have shown in Divine Love and Wisdom 282-284, 349-357 that the Lord created everything from his own self and not from nothing.

These propositions may serve as rational evidence of the truth that we are led and taught by the Lord alone.