Mirc (Johnson) n. 1

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 1

1. MIRACLES AND SIGNS

THERE are many who assert that no one can speak with those in the other life, and bring back news thence. But this is said because they do not believe in a life after death, nor in the resuscitation of the dead; and yet they have learned that in ancient times it was quite a common thing to talk with spirits and angels. Others assert that there is no need for anything further to come down from heaven, because all things necessary for salvation have been revealed in the Word, and that further revelations are not to be expected. But they say this simply in order that each may retain his own particular dogma, just as those do who hold some heresy, which they confirm from the literal sense of the Word. The Word is indeed the sole source of teaching, but in its internal sense which is now being revealed, in which are the truths of faith. Others, again, argue in this fashion: 'Who can know the truth on such matters? There are no revelations of things to come, no hidden things revealed, no miracles performed. Were there such things we would believe.' It is well known, however, that in these days there is no likelihood of such happenings: this has also been foretold, for the reasons now to be given.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 2

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 2

2. Unbelieving spirits, who have been men of such a character in the life of the body, are most urgent in their demands to behold miracles, and to know hidden and future events, declaring that, without such signs, they cannot believe. But the answer to them is that for those who have no faith, miracles can accomplish absolutely nothing; while for those who have faith they are unnecessary. The reason for this was stated, namely, that faith is not implanted by miracles, that it is merely strengthened to some extent, and that this is clear from the Word. Pharaoh, for example, though he saw so many miracles, nevertheless hardened his heart. The sons of Jacob, also, despite the many miracles they beheld in Egypt, had no faith when a few days later they came to the Red Sea, and, despite the many miracles wrought on Mount Sinai, were within a single month worshipping the golden calf. They had their daily manna, yet they murmured continually from lack of faith. They beheld over the tabernacle the cloud by day and the fire by night, the very presence of Jehovah at every moment, yet they grew worse and not better; and from many another they saw miracles later in the land of Canaan, especially through Elijah and Elisha, as is made clear in the historical parts of the Word. It can be seen from these things how little is accomplished by miracles.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 3

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 3

3. On one occasion, when certain spirits were discussing the subject of miracles and signs, and those without faith were eagerly demanding them, there was perceptible something Divine, as of some indescribable sphere. There was in it something averse to, and destructive of, faith, with a sort of foreseen productiveness of disbelief, together with a removal of any power to implant goods and truths in those who love to ascribe to nature even those things that are Divine. It was evident from this that manifest miracles of Divine origin do not take place in these days. Those miracles are Divine which are wrought by the Lord and which signify and involve Him, His Kingdom and the church; they descend from Him through heaven, and spirits bring them into effect, whose selfhood has no part at all in the operation. These are Divine miracles, and they are called the Finger of God. All the miracles described in the Word were of this kind. The Lord's miracles are but lightly esteemed if we think merely that some blind persons received their sight, some deaf their hearing, and so on; for they all signify and involve Divine things, namely the heavenly state of His Kingdom and His church. This is a mystery hitherto unknown.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 4

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 4

4. The reason why plainly-apparent Divine miracles do not now take place has been revealed to me. It is because the inward things of faith, which we receive from the Lord, cannot be sown or implanted under compulsion, but only in freedom, thus not amid the terror and amazement induced by miracles. The things that inflow under compulsion, as when one is influenced by miracles, are of such a nature that they affect a man's interiors and there they excite persuasions not in accordance with his own state as to time or order. Consequently, in the case of those who have no faith from any other source, the goods and truths of faith which flow in at the same time are adjoined to falsities and are defiled by evils. Because they have no other root, in a short time they are either perverted or denied, whence arises a danger of profanation of that which is holy, a danger from which man is withheld by the Lord as far as possible; this must also be obvious to any one. And even if such miracles as were wrought in Egypt, and by Elijah and Elisha in Canaan, were to take place in these days, while at first regarded as something holy and demanding recognition, yet very soon, when men began to reason about them, would they not be disproved in various ways, and at length be ascribed to nature? This would be the case, more especially with the so-called erudite and intellectual than with the simple minded, but in time these also would be persuaded by the former, and their latter state would thereby become far worse than that in which they had formerly been. For first to acknowledge, but subsequently to pervert and deny, is profanation. (See AC nos. 573, 1008, 1010, 1059, 2081 and 2426.)

Mirc (Johnson) n. 5

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 5

5. A band of spirits arose from behind me, making their way to the back of my head, then further above my head, and at length they came to rest above me and in front. The spirits of this band were inconspicuous but still could be seen obscurely. I thought they must be deceitful, but I was told that they were a special kind of spirits, inconspicuous in a spiritual sphere, but clearly seen in a natural sphere. (Those who think spiritually have a spiritual sphere; but those who think naturally a natural.) The reason for this was that while they were men they did not believe in the existence of anything spiritual, but only in what is natural; and from this belief a state of this kind awaits them after death. These same spirits, having no belief in the existence of anything spiritual, had also no belief in the existence of hell or of heaven, and therefore none in life after death. I was told that they were of a European nation, famous, free and prosperous in trade. Later I talked with them and noticed how they strove with the utmost effort and the most subtle craft to disclose nothing of their own thoughts. That they might be successful in this, they had learned how to steal the ideas of others, and to excite in their place such ideas as might turn their thoughts into other directions. They did this for a considerable time and with some cunning. It was thus revealed that, in the life of the body, they were such as were unwilling that anything should be discovered of what they were thinking and doing, and that they were eager to steal the goods of others. They did not, however, make false pretences so as to deceive by lies; none the less it was deception of a peculiar kind. They employed it for ten hours or so, that I might learn what sort of men they are who behave in this manner in the life of the body. As they had no belief in hell, in heaven or in the life after death, I was allowed to ask them what they now thought of their former belief, as they must now know that those things are; and what they now thought about life in the world, which had seemed to them of such importance as to be the only one, when yet that life was but momentary for, in the life they now experience, a thousand years, yea ten thousand years, are scarcely anything. When they heard these words they were thoughtful, but made no reply. Afterwards I was permitted to talk with them about the truths of faith. When they lived in the world, they had rejected these because they were spiritual matters, so to these questions also they answered nothing. It was noticeable that they continually rejected the truths of faith, and that their sphere was even more opposed to them than is the sphere of other spirits. I thus saw for a whole day how difficult it would be to bring them to acknowledge even a single truth of faith, for they were obstinately silent, and put forward no open contradiction. Moreover, strange to relate, they could not bear that the truth should be demonstrated to them by any living proof. It may be noted that, in a natural sphere, they appear, unlike others, to be dressed in clothing similar to that of men on earth, even to the extent of wearing breeches; but in a spiritual sphere they appear monsters. There they have the face drawn back so that it appears scarcely more than a framework of teeth. The reason for this is that in the world of spirits the face represents the spiritual interiors, and the teeth the natural. Those of them who have led a moral life, and have not craftily robbed people of their goods, are not instructed in the other life concerning the truths of faith like others, but they are left to themselves to think about the kingdom in which they find themselves, and concerning its government and laws; and about what they are to do there, since that kingdom has no laws other than those of good and truth; and they wonder anxiously as to the future state that awaits them, and so at last they are brought, as from themselves, to a healthier state. Later, however, they are taught that this is not from themselves.

While I was in conversation with them, a certain one appeared, passing to heaven from left to right, and we were told that some one had died recently and had been immediately conducted by angels into heaven. We talked about him, and the fact that some are taken to heaven immediately after death. (See AC 317-9, 1112, 2119, 2130.) I perceived a sphere of disbelief from them, for they were held fast in the opinion that they had maintained in the world when they heard such suggestions. Such a sphere of unbelief is the outcome of many considerations confirming that such a happening is impossible. Then, as the spirit was seen, they began to wonder, and then to be moved with envy that others should be carried up to heaven, while they were standing there below and not very far from hell. Their envy was increased when they were told that he, who had been raised to heaven, came from a nation bordering on their own and with which they were in continual rivalry. Lastly, I spoke with them about miracles, and it was now possible for them to express their opinion openly, as to what belief they had in them, and what faith they would have had, if they had seen miracles performed in the world. At first they affirmed that they would have believed if they had seen miracles, as for example, if they had seen some one raised from the dead. But I told them that even then they would not have believed, and perhaps their faith would have been even less than before. When they had been left to themselves to think on this, they confessed from their heart that, if they had seen some one raise a corpse to life from his bier, their first thought would have been that it was a deception; but if they were convinced that this was not so, they would have said that there was some secret communication between the soul of the dead man and the one who resuscitated him. If, however, they had seen the latter do this several times, then they would have thought that there was some mystery about it beyond their comprehension, for there are many things in nature which can neither be grasped, nor explained. They would have thought it super-natural. In the end, therefore, they would never have believed, whereby their state would have been worse than it had been before; for then, as a result of the miracle, they would have confirmed themselves still further against the truth that there is a resurrection, or life after death, and thus against the existence of any such Divine thing in the lower world. The effect of miracles upon those of such a character, who did not formerly believe in heaven and hell, was thus made clear.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 6

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 6

6. Some may wonder how it is that disbelievers in the other life, when they hear and thence know these facts, do not immediately come to a state of belief, acknowledge that the Lord rules the universe, and worship Him from the heart. With regard to such persons, I was taught by the angels that the principles of falsity from an evil life, which they have absorbed in the life of the body, oppose any such change. The false principles from the evil life so cling to their souls that they cannot be uprooted; their very life is in them. To take away the false principles and the evil would be to take away their life, and so they abide in them. The case is almost the same with man, but with this difference; he has an external or bodily memory, which is especially active while he lives in the world; those things which belong to his interior memory are terminated in the exterior memory as in the ultimate order. In the life of the body it is the exterior memory that can be perfected, and it is perfected by agreement with the interior. But in the other life the exterior memory is indeed present, yet nothing may be drawn from it, though it still serves there as a foundation for the interior memory. Hence it is that in the other life a man's interiors can be perfected no further than to the extent that there is agreement between these two memories, or to the extent that such agreement is not hindered by evils and falsities. The nature of these two memories may be seen from AC 2469-2494.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 7

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 7

7. There are some who think that the evil can be saved, can miraculously become good, and can enter into heaven by the Lord's omnipotence; and that whatever may have been a man's life and faith, all his evils and falsities will be wiped away, provided only that at the hour of death he breathes out the sighs of faith. But the evil with which a man is stained cannot be turned into good. If, indeed, the evil were miraculously taken away from a wicked man, he would scarcely have any life remaining. A certain spirit, from the principle he had adopted while in the life of the body, talked in just this way; he insisted upon its truth and urged others to the same persuasion. To teach them that it was not so, the evil and falsity of the spirit were miraculously removed, so that they might see how much life was left to him. He was then seen like some infant making vague motions with his hands, which he could scarcely move. At the same time he was in such a mental state as to be less able to think than is an infant; he could neither speak a word, nor grasp an idea. Very soon he was restored to his former state; but from this it could be seen that the wicked cannot be made good, and enter heaven, by any miracle.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 8

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 8

8. There is a general belief to-day that all are saved who, at the close of life, have certain pious thoughts and from their heart speak about salvation and concerning the Lord, especially if they then confess that the Lord suffered for them. This opinion they confirm by our Lord's words to the thief, and by the oft-quoted assertion that 'where the tree falls, there it will lie': and this no matter how the man has lived through the whole course of his life. Such teachings may afford some consolation to those at the point of death; they may allay anxious thought about one's previous life, but the truth is quite otherwise. It is the previous life that determines a man's future happiness or unhappiness, and piety just before the hour of death does not take anything away from that life. It is the present state of fearing death, that makes a man think and talk piously, and especially the cessation of the love of self and of the world, or the lulling of bodily and worldly cares. When these cease, or are put to sleep, every one behaves in the same way; for it is the same bodily and worldly loves that present the only barrier to the reception of the good that inflows continually from the Lord. As to the thief to whom the Lord's words were spoken, he had been prepared beforehand; and with regard to the assertion that where a tree falls, there it will lie, this is simply untrue. Still it may prove helpful as a consolation to the dying, for it is impossible to know the interior quality of any man in his previous life.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 9

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 9

9. It has been stated that there can be no faith through miracles. Faith is implanted in the interior man and it there conjoins itself with an affection for good; a faith which does not thus conjoin itself is no faith, because it is not of the heart. Affection for good is gradually introduced by the Lord by way of the soul, or by an internal way, the man being quite unaware of it. The teaching of faith, on the other hand, enters by way of the hearing, or by an external way, and is carried to the memory, whence the Lord calls it forth at its due time and in its due order, to conjoin it with the affection for good. This is done while the man is in freedom; man's freedom arises from his affection; there is no other freedom than that of the affection. Such is the sowing and enrooting of faith; only what is done in freedom is conjoined; never what is done under compulsion. It follows that there can be no conjunction through miracles, for they are of such a nature as to compel. Whatever beliefs are sown through miracles, if they do not wither away of themselves, are assuredly uprooted, for they attach themselves to falsities, and link up with evils.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 10

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 10

10. Men who had no internal worship, but only external rites, had to be compelled, not only through miracles, but also by fears and manifold punishments. Of such a character were the Jews and Israelites; for the church with them was only representative of the celestial things of love and the spiritual things of faith which belong to a true church. There was nothing internal to hold them in bonds, and without an internal, the external is tossed hither and thither like a reed shaken with the stormy wind. With them miracles were performed, for they could not influence their interiors, where the affection of good is united with that of truth. Even in their case, however, in order that their liberty might not be taken away, the Egyptian magicians were allowed to perform miracles like those of Moses as to outward appearance, so that their freedom of choice might be left to them. But after interior truths were revealed by the Lord, then miracles ceased, for the reasons already given.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 11

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 11

11. I have talked with the angels on the subject that man ought to compel himself to do good against his own lusts, and that he ought to compel himself to believe truths contrary to his own opinions; but that he should not be compelled to do so. They told me that self-compulsion is a mark of freedom, because it springs from an interior affection, and that to be compelled is not from freedom, but is from an exterior force. Miracles, they said, are not means of self-compulsion, for by them a man is compelled from without.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 12

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 12

12. Few people know what freedom is, and what is not freedom. Whatever is in agreement with anyone's love and the enjoyment of it seems to be freedom, and what opposes that love and the enjoyment of it does not seem free. What is in accord with the love of self and the love of the world, and with their lusts, appears to a man as freedom, but this is the freedom of hell. That which comes from love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, and so from the love of good and truth, is freedom indeed, and this is the freedom of heaven. Infernal spirits do not know of any liberty apart from the love of self and the world, for such liberty is their very life. If this is taken from them they are left with no more life than that of a new-born babe (see n. 7 above). Every such spirit is in that kind of freedom when as some miserable slave he is serving some devil or other, but, as soon as ever he ceases to serve, a lamentable state ensues; each tortures the other in turn in dreadful fashion. Such liberty awaits all those who recognize and desire no other kind of freedom than that which springs from selfish and worldly love; and it is a remarkable fact that they know nothing of heavenly freedom, and that if it is described to them in a thousand ways, and disclosed in the liveliest manner, they still do not believe it to be of any account. But heavenly freedom is that which is from the Lord. In this freedom are all the angels of heaven, and it comes, as has been stated, from love to the Lord and from mutual love; it is therefore an affection of good and truth. The nature of this freedom can be known from the fact that every one who enjoys it shares his blessing and his joy with others from the depth of his heart, and his beatitude and joy arise from his power thus to share them with others; each is thus as a centre of blessedness and joy for all if in heaven; and because each individual is of like nature there results a continuous circle, a never-ending participation, and this from the Lord alone. From this something can be understood of the quality of heavenly freedom. As the Lord, from Divine mercy, desires that all men should be endowed with this freedom, therefore the affection of good and truth is inseminated in such freedom.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 13

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 13

13. It is a fact, well known in the other life, but entirely unknown in the world to-day, that no one is able to think and to will from himself, but that he does so from others: the link which connects all with the First of Life, that is, with the Lord, is such that anything not connected has no existence. Those who are in evils and falsities have their link with the hells, whence come their thought and desire; those who are in goods and truths have their link with heaven, and thence they draw their thought and desire. From this the origin and nature of the two kinds of freedom can also be clearly seen. That this is the case has been frequently shown.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 14

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 14

14. From what has already been stated it can be seen how there is an eternal law that everyone is in freedom as to what he thinks and wills, but is held in bonds as to what he does. For him who is of an evil and false disposition there are outward bonds, such as the fear of losing honour, wealth, reputation or life, and the dread of legal penalties: without these bonds every such person would fall violently upon those who do not bow to his will; this is what happens in the hells. Most men at this time are controlled by the Lord through such bonds, and yet they seem to themselves to be in freedom. But those whose affection is for and from good and truth are ruled by the Lord by means of internal bonds, which are those of conscience. These bonds are love to the Lord and love toward the neighbour, but when they are thus bound they are in heaven and affections are called bonds, although they do not seem to be so.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 15

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 15

15. Man is unwilling to believe, and even to know, that he does not live, i.e. think and will, from himself; and because of this refusal evils and falsities become his own. They cling to him because he clasps them to himself, and as long as he is in this state no good or truth can be imputed to him. How different it would be if he would believe, what is actually the case, that all evil is from hell, and all good from the Lord. Evil would not then become his own, because it belongs to hell; nor would he claim good as his own, because it is the Lord's; so, in the other life, he would not be punished on account of evil, and yet he would be rewarded on account of good, not from merit, but from mercy.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 16

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 16

16. Many false miracles were wrought of old, and may be wrought still, but only among such as are in falsities as to their faith, and whose worship, as a result, is not internal but external; for miracles cannot enter such men and defile their interior truths, because they have none. Although these are not true miracles, but for the most part are deceptions, they may nevertheless stir simple minds to some sort of external piety and sanctity, which is impure to the extent that they are in falsities.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 17

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 17

17. Magical miracles, such as were of old performed in Egypt, in Chaldea and among other gentile races, were accomplished by artificial means only, or by jugglery, for no other end than to bring about a belief that they were divine manifestations, and thus to assert authority even over souls, and to gain worldly wealth. These miracles were in themselves contrary to Divine order, but as to outward form they were like Divine miracles. Many such miracles are wrought by diabolic spirits in the other life. These, when set free, have no other aim than to imitate heavenly things; and by these imitations to delude the minds of others, especially to the end that they may rule over, and injure them. Those are delusions induced by persuasions and appearances, and by disorderly applications of correspondences, by which novitiate spirits are particularly charmed. There is a field stretching forward to a considerable length, in the plane of the sole of the foot, where these are present in great number. The hell of the magi of Egypt and Chaldea is there also, but in caverns below. All who entangled others by their cunning wiles, during their life in the body, are associated with such spirits.

Mirc (Johnson) n. 18

Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 18

18. The Divine miracles which take place to-day are not manifest, but hidden. In the course of their occurrence there are many happenings which, because they do not appear as miracles, are ascribed to chance, to prudence, or to nature, except by those who acknowledge the Divine Providence in every single event. They are hidden, for the reason already stated, in order that those minds should not be influenced inopportunely, whose interiors the Lord is preparing for receiving good and truth; but that they should be in freedom, that is, that they should receive their faith from an interior affection. That is why the Lord said to Thomas: 'Because thou hast seen Me, Thomas, thou hast believed; blessed are they who do not see, and yet believe.' (John 20:29.)