102. It is believed that the Lord as to His Human not only was, but also is, the Son of Mary; but in this the Christian world is mistaken. That He was the Son of Mary is true, but that He still is, is not true; for by the acts of redemption He put off the Human derived from the mother and put on the Human from the Father. Consequently the Human of the Lord is Divine, and in Him God is Man, and Man God. That He put off the Human from the mother, and put on the Human from the Father, which is the Divine Human, is evident from the fact that He never called Mary His mother. This may be seen from the following passages:

"The mother of Jesus saith unto Him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come" John 2:3-4;

and elsewhere;

"When Jesus saw" from the cross "His mother, and the disciple standing by whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother!" John 19:26-27; and once He did not acknowledge her.

It was told Jesus "by certain, which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. And He answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the Word of God, and do it" Luke 8:20-21; Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35.

Thus the Lord did not call her "mother," but "woman," and entrusted her to John as a mother; in other places she is called His mother, but not by Himself.

[2] This is also proved by the fact that He did not acknowledge Himself to be the Son of David: for we read in the Evangelists:

that Jesus asked the Pharisees, "saying, What think ye of Christ? whose Son is He? They say unto Him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call Him Lord, how is He his Son? And no man was able to answer Him a word" Matthew 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; Psalms 110:1.

[3] ¹ To the above I will add this account of an incident not hitherto recorded: ²

It was once granted me to speak with Mary, the mother. She was then passing by, and appeared in heaven over my head, clothed in white raiment like silk. Pausing for a little she said that she had been the mother of the Lord, for He was born of her; but that He, having become God, put off all the Human He had from her; and therefore that she now worships Him as her God, and is unwilling that any one should acknowledge Him as her Son, because the whole Divinity is in Him.

From what has been said this truth is now clear that Jehovah is Man in first things and in last, as the following passages declare:

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,... which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" Revelation 1:8, 11.

When John saw the Son of Man in the midst of the seven candle-sticks, he fell at His feet as dead; and He laid His right hand upon him, saying, "I am the first and the last" Revelation 1:13, 17; 21:6;

"Behold, I come quickly, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" Revelation 22:12-13.

Again in Isaiah it is written:

"Thus saith JEHOVAH the King of Israel, and His Redeemer JEHOVAH ZEBAOTH; I am the first, and I am the last" Isaiah 44:6; 48:12.

Footnotes:

12. CHAPTER VIII. GOD'S OMNIPOTENCE, OMNISCIENCE, AND OMNIPRESENCE

1. God's Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence do not come within the scope of the human understanding because God's Omnipotence is infinite power, God's Omniscience is infinite wisdom, and Omnipresence is infinite presence in all the things that have gone forth and that do go forth from Him; and indeed the Infinite Divine does not come within the scope of a finite understanding. ¹

2. That God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent is acknowledged without rational investigation; for this flows in from God into the higher part of the human mind, and thence, with all with whom there is religion and sound reason, into acknowledgement. It flows in also with those with whom there is not religion; but with these, there is not reception, and hence not acknowledgement.

3. That God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent, a man can himself confirm from innumerable things that are matters of reason and at the same time of religion, as for instance these that follow:

4. First, God alone is and exists in Himself; and every other being and every other thing is from Him.

5. Second, God alone loves, is wise, and lives and acts from Himself; every other being and every other thing does so from Him.

6. Third, God alone has power from Himself; every other being and every other thing has power from Him.

7. Consequently, God is the soul of the whole, from which all beings and all things are, live, and move.

8. Unless every single thing in the world and in heaven had relation to One who is, lives, and has power from Himself, the universe would be dissipated in a moment.

9. On this account the universe was created by God a fullness of God, wherefore He Himself said that He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, who was, is, and will be, the Almighty. [Revelation 1:8, 11.]

10. The preservation of the universe which is an unceasing creation is complete evidence that God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent.

11. The reason contrary things, which are evils, are not taken away because God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent, is that evils are extraneous to subjects and created things and so do not penetrate to the Divine things that are within.

12. Of the Divine Providence, which indeed is universal in the very smallest things, evils are removed more and more from the interiors and cast out to the outside, and in this way are conveyed away and separated in order that they should not do any harm to the internal things that are Divine. ²

Footnotes: