6026. That in the other life all who acknowledge the Divine think of God as a person
All in the world who have not denied God and have acknowledged and to some extent believed in God, do not think otherwise about God than as being a person. Thus those who have worshiped God the Father see some spirit whom they think to be God the Father: as Fr[ederik] Gyllenborg 1does, as secret i 2Karlskrona 3does; as do all the rest who acknowledged Welling[k] 4, who claimed to be God the Father. Thus those who see a spirit above the head on high all think that he is God the Father. I said to someone, "Why does he believe this way when yet in the world he had a different mental image of the Father, as being the universe, because He is the creator the universe?" And [he said] that at that time he had not thought about Him as being a person; now, however, [he thinks of Him] as being a person. It was said to him this that this is from the influence of heaven, because the whole heaven is like one man, and this is from the Lord, who is Man; therefore the Divine proceeding is also Man, which in form is heaven; as a result it is not possible to think about God otherwise than as Man.
Footnotes:
1. For information on this person see footnote for passage 4740.
2. Swedish for "the hidden/secret one in".
3. A city on the far south-east coast of Sweden.
4. Count Mauritz Wellingk (1651-1726) was a prominent person in Swedish politics.
6026. IN THE OTHER LIFE, ALL WHO ACKNOWLEDGE THE DIVINE THINK OF GOD AS A MAN.
All who did not in the world deny God, and who acknowledged God with some faith, do not think of God otherwise than as a man. Those, therefore, who have worshipped God the Father, see some spirit whom they suppose to be God the Father; thus Fr[ederick] Gyllenborg, thus Secret[ary] Carlscrona, and thus all the rest who acknowledged [God]. Wellingk was the one who boasted that he was God the Father. Thus all those who see a spirit on high over the head, think that it is God the Father. I asked someone why he believed so, when, nevertheless, in the world he had entertained a different idea about the Father, - as of the universe, because of His being the Creator of the universe, and did not then think of Him as a man; whereas now he does think of Him as a man. He was told that this comes from the influx of heaven because the universal heaven is as one man; and this from the Lord, who is Man: wherefore, the Divine proceeding is also Man; and this, in form, is heaven. Hence God cannot be thought of otherwise than as a Man.
6026. Quod in altera vita omnes qui agnoscunt Divinum, cogitent de Deo ut homine
Omnes qui in mundo non negaverunt Deum, et qui aliqua fide agnoverunt Deum, non aliter cogitant de Deo quam sicut de homine, ita qui adoraverunt Deum Patrem, vident aliquem spiritum, quem putant esse Deum patrem, ita Fr. Gyllenborg, ita secret i Carlscrona, ita omnes reliqui qui agnoverunt, Welling qui se venditavit Deum patrem, sic qui vident spiritum in alto super capite, illi omnes cogitant quod sit Deus pater; dixi alicui cur ita credit, cum tamen in mundo aliam ideam habuerit de Patre, ut de universo, quia creator universi, et quod tunc de Illo non cogitaverit ut de homine, nunc autem ut de homine, dictum est illi quod hoc sit ex influxu coeli, quia universum coelum est sicut unus homo, et hoc a Domino qui est Homo, quare Divinum procedens etiam est Homo, quod in forma est coelum, inde non aliter de Deo potest cogitari, quam ut de Homine.