73.第二天，有一些相信预定和分配的人从这群灵人中来到我面前，他们说：“我们觉得自己醉了，不是因为喝酒，而是因为昨天那人所说的话。他谈到全能，还谈到秩序，并得出结论说，由于全能是神性，所以秩序也是神性，甚至神自己就是秩序。他还声称，秩序的法则和圣言里的真理一样多，不止成千上万，而且数以亿万。而神服从祂自己在圣言里的律法，人则服从他的律法。神性全能若受制于律法，那它算什么呢？因为这样的话，全能就丧失了一切绝对权力。难道神所拥有的权力还不如世上专制的君王？他尚能以绝对的权力行事，如屋大维·奥古斯都或尼禄。一想到全能受制于律法，我们就觉得好象喝醉了，若不得到帮助就要昏倒。我们的信教导我们这样祷告：父神必因祂儿子的缘故怜悯我们；我们相信祂会怜悯祂所拣选的任何人，赦免祂所喜悦之人的罪过，拯救凡祂所愿意的人。我们不敢从祂的全能那里减损丝毫东西。因此，对于将神束缚在自己律法枷锁下的行为，我们视为不敬，因为这与祂的全能是矛盾的。”
说完这番话，他们看着我，我也看着他们。我发现他们很迷惘，于是就说：“我会向主祷告，通过祂带给你们帮助，让这个问题有些眉目，不过，现在我只能举几个例子。”我说：“全能的神通过祂里面的秩序创造了这个世界，也就是说，使这个世界服从祂所在的秩序，并照着这秩序管理它；祂赋予整个宇宙及其万物以自己的秩序。所以，人类有自己的秩序，动物、鸟类、鱼类、昆虫都各有自己的秩序，每棵树，甚至每片草也有自己的秩序。我简要举例说明如下：指定给人类的秩序法则是，他当通过圣言为自己获取真理，以属世的方式思考它们，并尽其所能理性这样做，从而为自己获得一种属世之信。神那一方的秩序法则是，祂以其神性之光靠近并充满这些真理，从而以神性本质充满这人的属世之信。属世之信仅仅是知识和信念，并且只能以这种方式成为得救之信，别无它法。仁也一样。我再举几个例子简要说明。只有人照着他的律法避免作恶，神才能照着祂的律法饶恕任何人的罪孽。只有人照着他的律法以属世的方式使自己重生，神才能以属灵的方式使他重生。神不断努力重生并救赎人，但祂无法实现这一点，除非这人预备好接受神，从而铺平道路，并向祂打开门。新郎在少女成为他的新娘之前无法进入她的寝室，因为她会关上门，将钥匙保存在里面。不过，当许下婚姻的诺言时，她会把钥匙交给新郎。
神若非成为一个人，就无法凭祂的全能救赎人类。若非祂的人性首先如同婴儿的人性，然后如同孩童的人性，接着将自身塑造为祂的父所能进入的容器和居所，祂也无法使祂的人性变成神性。祂通过应验圣言的全部，也就是说，圣言所包含的一切秩序法则而成就这一切。祂做得越完全，祂将自己与父融合得越紧密，父也将自己与祂融合得越紧密。举这些例子只是为了说明，以使你们能明白：神性全能处在秩序中，它的治理，也就是所谓的圣治（或天命）则遵循祂的秩序；它不可能与它们背道而行，也不可能改变它们的一点一划，因为神就是秩序及其一切法则。
说完这番话，一道明亮的金光透过屋顶照射进来，又变成基路伯飞在空中。它们所散发的红光照亮了一些人的太阳穴，不过是朝向他们的脑后，而非额前，因为他们嘟哝说：“我们还是不明白全能是什么。”于是我说：“一旦对你们所说的话给你们一些启发，它就会被揭示出来。”
73. 第二天, 相信預定和歸算的那群人, 有些來我這裡, 說:"我們有點醉了, 不是因為喝酒, 而是因為昨天那人所說的話。他說到全能, 同時還說到聖規。他總結出定規是上帝的屬性, 就像全能一樣。他說聖規的法則如同聖言的真理之多——不是數千,而是以數百萬計, 並且上帝服從於祂的聖規的法則。這樣, 倘若祂受限於這些規則, 那是什麼造就祂的全能呢？因為這樣, 全能就失去所有絕對的能力。上帝的能力豈不比世上任何作為最高統治者的君王還小？連他們都能顛覆公義的法律, 易如反掌。能像奧古斯都和尼祿那樣行使絕對的權力。一想到全能受限於法律與規則, 讓我們的感覺如同喝醉。要是找不到扶手, 我們簡單會昏倒。我們基於所信的來禱告, 父上帝必因著祂兒子的緣故施憐憫於我們。我們還相信祂可以施憐憫於任何一個祂所選之人, 赫免任何一個祂喜悅之人的罪過, 拯救任何一個祂想拯救的。我們不敢從祂的全能中減少絲毫內容。因祂自己的法律與規則而受限的上帝, 對我們來說簡直是悖理逆天的言論, 因為這完全違反祂的全能。"
[2]他們講完後, 我們互相對望片刻, 他們看起來很迷惘。"我會向主禱告, 盼望從祂而來的光芒能幫你們明白。"於是我說:"現在我只能用幾個例子來說明。"
"全能上帝, "我說:"以祂自己裡面的定規創造了世界, 也就是說, 服從於定規——祂在定規之中, 並且按照定規來治理世界。祂還將這定規賜予給宇宙及其中的萬物。因此, 人有人的定規, 動物有它們的定規, 鳥和魚,昆蟲, 每棵樹, 甚至每棵小草都有自己的定規。
"下面是個簡單的例子用來說明。對人來說, 有個定規的法則, 就是他自己當從聖言中獲取真理, 以屬世方式去思考這些真理——盡其所能以理性的方式, 這就是我們自身如何建立屬世的信仰。在上帝方面, 聖規的法則指明, 祂會接近人, 以神性真理注入到人的屬世信仰, 這屬世信仰原本只是知識和被說服的觀念而已。當以神性的本質來填充, 屬世信仰靠此(僅僅靠此)就變成得救之信。義也是以這樣的方式來發展的。
"讓我再簡述幾個例子。照著上帝的法律, 只有在我們遵循世上法律並停止犯罪的情況下, 上帝才能寬饒我們的罪惡。我們當遵循我們的法律,以屬世的方式來自我更新; 只有在這種情形下, 上帝才可以屬靈地更新我們。上帝不停地努力去更新我們,拯救我們, 除非我們為上帝預備自己成器皿,修平道路,打開心門, 上帝就無法更新和拯救我們。追求者不能進入他愛人的臥室, 她會鎖上門並拿著鑰匙, 除非她成為他的新娘。 [3]除非上帝變成人, 祂不可以憑著祂的全能來救贖人類。除非祂所取的肉身先從嬰兒,再到孩童, 並將自己塑成一個器皿和居所讓祂的父能夠進入, 就無法使祂的肉身成聖(成為神性)。祂成就此事, 是藉著祂應驗或成就了聖言中的一切, 也就是裡面包含聖規的所有法律。祂越應驗或成就得完全, 自己就越與父聯合,父自己也越與祂聯合。
"然而, 舉這幾點例子只是為了解釋, 想讓你明白:神性全能存在於聖規之內。上帝的治理(稱為"天命")當與聖規一致, 持續並永遠照著祂定規的法則而行, 不可以違背它們,甚至不能改變一點一劃, 因為上帝就是聖規及其所有的法則本身。"
[4]說完這些, 一道明亮的金光透過屋頂射進來, 又變成基路伯飛在空中。從它們散出紅光照射殿裡的人們, 不過只射向他們的腦後, 而非額前, 因為他們仍在嘟噥著:"我們還是不明白全能是什麼。"
"我會揭示的, "我說:"不過只能在上述內容於你腦中有所啟發以後。"
73. The next day some people from the main group came to me - the group that believed in predestination and God's assigning of spiritual credit or blame. They said, "We are drunk in a way, not on wine but on the things that man said yesterday. He spoke about omnipotence and also about the divine design. He concluded that the design is as divine as omnipotence is. He even said that God himself is the divine design. He said that there are as many laws of the divine design as there are truths in the Word - not just thousands but millions - and that God is bound by his laws in the Word as we are bound by ours. But what does that make divine omnipotence, if it is restricted by laws? It takes all the absoluteness out of omnipotence. Isn't God's power then less than the power of a monarch on a worldly throne? Monarchs can turn the laws of justice in another direction as easily as they turn the palms of their hands. They can have the absolute power of an Octavian Augustus; they can also have the absolute power of a Nero. After we thought for a while about omnipotence bound by laws, we felt drunk and likely to lose consciousness if we didn't find some remedy very quickly.
"Our prayers have been said on the basis of our faith. We have prayed for God our Father to have mercy for the sake of his Son, believing that he could have mercy on whomever he wished, forgive the sins of whomever he pleased, and save whomever he wanted to. We wouldn't have dared take away in the least from his omnipotence. Therefore binding God with the chains of some of his own laws seems unspeakable to us, because it goes against his omnipotence. "
[2] When they finished they looked at me and I looked at them. They appeared thunderstruck. I said, "I will take an appeal to the Lord and bring back a remedy to enlighten the issue. In the meanwhile, though, I'll resort to some examples.
"God Almighty created the world from the design in himself," I said. "The divine design in which he is and which he follows as he rules is something he built into the world. He endowed the universe and everything in it with its own design. Human beings have theirs, animals theirs, birds and fish theirs, insects theirs; every species of tree, even every type of grass has its own design.
"As examples to provide enlightenment, I'll briefly give the following. There are laws of the divine design imposed on human beings that indicate that we are to acquire truths from the Word for ourselves and that we are to base our thinking on them in an earthly way and, as much as we can, in a rational way. This is how we develop an earthly faith for ourselves. On God's side, there are laws of the divine design dictating that he is to come closer, fill those truths with his own divine light, take our earthly faith, which is only knowledge and persuasion, and fill it with a divine essence. This is the only way for faith to become capable of saving. There is a similar process for developing goodwill.
"Let's list some other points briefly. According to God's laws, he can forgive us our sins only to the extent that we follow our laws and stop doing them. God cannot regenerate us spiritually beyond the point to which we, following our laws, have regenerated ourselves in an earthly way. God makes an unceasing effort to regenerate us and save us, but he cannot do it unless we prepare ourselves as a vessel, leveling a pathway for God [] and opening the door [Revelation 3:20]. A suitor cannot enter his beloveds bedroom before she becomes his brides - he locks the door and keeps the key with her. After she has become a bride, though, she gives her bridegroom the key.
[3] Even for all God's omnipotence, he could not have redeemed humankind unless he had become human. He could not have made his human nature divine unless it was first like a human being as an infant and then like a human being as a child. Later his human nature also needed to form itself into a vessel and a dwelling place for his Father to enter, which he did by fulfilling everything in the Word, meaning all the laws of the divine design in it. The more he completed this process, the more he united himself to the Father and the Father united himself to him.
"However, these are just a few points I bring up for the sake of illustration, so that you can see that divine omnipotence exists within the divine design and follows that design in its governing called providence. Constantly and to eternity divine omnipotence acts in accordance with the laws of its own design. God cannot act against them or change even the tip of one letter of them, because he is the divine design along with all its laws. "
[4] After I finished speaking, a bright, golden-colored light flowed in through the roof and formed angel guardians flying in the air. The redness in the light lit up the temples of some of the people, but only toward the backs of their heads, not yet near their foreheads, because they were muttering, "We still don't know what omnipotence is. "
"It will be revealed," I said, "but only after the things I have already said gain more light in you. "
73. The next day some of the group who believed in predestination and imputation came to me and said: 'We feel as if we were tipsy, not with wine, but with the way that man talked yesterday. He talked about omnipotence and at the same time about order, drawing the conclusion that just as omnipotence is an attribute of God, so too is order; in fact he asserted that God Himself is order. He said that there are as many laws of order as there are truths in the Word, not merely thousands, but hundreds of millions; and that God is subject to His own laws in this respect, and man to his. What then is God's omnipotence, if it is restricted by laws? For in this way omnipotence loses all absolute power. Does not that give God less power than any king on earth who is a sovereign? He can turn the laws of justice upside down as easily as his hands; he can act with absolute power like Octavius 1 Augustus, or like Nero. Thinking about omnipotence restricted by laws has made us feel as if we were tipsy, and ready to faint if we do not get immediate help. Our faith has taught us to pray that God the Father should have mercy on us for the sake of His Son; and we believed that He could have mercy on whomever He chose, forgive the sins of any He pleased, and save whom He willed. We did not dare to detract in the slightest from His omnipotence. Therefore we regard confining God in any fetters of His own laws as sacrilege, seeing that it is a contradiction of His omnipotence.'
[2] At the conclusion of this speech we looked at each other, and I saw that they were perplexed. 'I will pray to the Lord,' I said, 'and bring you help from Him by shedding some light on the subject, but for now only by way of examples.'
'Almighty God,' I said, 'created the world out of order in Himself, that is to say, to be subject to the order in which He is present, and in accordance with which He controls it; and He has endowed the universe and every one of its parts with its own order. So man has his order, animals theirs, birds and fishes theirs, worms theirs; every tree, the very grass has its own order. To provide illustrative examples let me briefly suggest the following. The laws of order assigned to man are that he should acquire for himself truths from the Word, and think about them in a natural way, and, so far as he is able, rationally, thus equipping himself with a natural faith. The laws of order on God's side then are that He approaches the man, fills the truths with His Divine light, and so fills man's natural faith, which is merely factual knowledge and strongly held opinion, with the Divine essence. Thus, and only thus, does it become a saving faith.
'It is similar with charity; but let me briefly give some examples. God's laws prevent Him from forgiving anyone's sins, except to the extent that the person in accordance with his laws refrains from committing them. God cannot spiritually regenerate a person, except in so far as the person in accordance with his laws regenerates himself naturally. God is constantly striving to regenerate and so save people, but He cannot achieve this unless the person prepares himself to receive God, and so smooths the way and opens the door to Him. A bridegroom cannot enter the bedroom of a young woman who has not pledged herself to him; she locks the door and keeps the key herself inside. But when she takes the vows of marriage, she gives the bridegroom the key.
[3] 'God could not by His omnipotence have redeemed mankind, except by becoming a man. Nor could He have made His Human Divine, if His Human had not first been like that of a baby, then that of a child, and then formed itself into a container and dwelling into which His Father could enter. He did this by fulfilling everything in the Word, that is to say, all the laws of order it contains; and the more perfectly He did this, the more closely He united Himself with the Father and the Father united Himself with Him. These are merely a few illustrations which are offered, so that you can see that Divine omnipotence is subject to order; and His rule, which is called providence, is in accordance with order. It acts continually and for ever in accordance with the laws of His order; it cannot act contrary to them, nor can it change a tittle of them, because God is order together with all its laws.'
[4] At this speech a brilliance of golden light flooded in through the roof, and turned into cherubs flying through the air. A ruddy glow from them lit up the temples of some people, coming from the back of the head, but not at this stage from the forehead, for they were murmuring: 'We still do not know what omnipotence is.' 'That will be revealed,' I said, 'once what has been said so far has shed on your minds a little illumination.'
Footnotes:
1. The name of the first of the Roman Emperors before he took the title Augustus.
73. The next day some came to me from this crowd who had believed in predestination and imputation; and they said, "We feel as if we were drunk, not with wine, but from what was said yesterday by that man. He talked about omnipotence and also about order; and he concluded that as omnipotence is Divine so order is Divine, and even that God Himself is order; and he said that there are as many laws of order as there are truths in the Word, which are not only thousands, but myriads of myriads; and that God is tied up to His own laws in the Word, and man to his. What then is the Divine omnipotence, if it is bound by laws? For thus every thing absolute is withdrawn from omnipotence. Thus has not God less power than a worldly king who is a despot, and who can as easily change the laws of justice as he can turn his hands, and can act without restriction, like Octavius Augustus or like Nero? When we had thought about omnipotence being tied up to laws, we felt as if we were drunk, or ready to swoon unless we quickly got some remedy; for in accordance with our faith we have been accustomed to pray to God the Father to have mercy on us for the sake of His Son; and we have believed that He could have mercy on whom He chose, and forgive the sins of anyone He pleased, and could save whom He would; and we dared not take away the least iota from His omnipotence. We therefore regard it as impious to bind God in the chains of some of His own laws, because that would be contradictory to His omnipotence."
[2] Having said this, they looked at me and I at them; and I saw that they were bewildered, and I said, "I will pray to the Lord, and thence bring a remedy lay an inflow of light on this subject; but at present only by examples." And I said, "The omnipotent God created the world from the order within Him, that is, into the order in which He is, and in accordance with which He rules; and He impressed upon the universe and each and all things of it its own order, upon man his order, upon the beast its order, upon bird and fish and worm, and every tree and even every blade of grass, upon each its own order. But to illustrate by examples, I will mention briefly the following. The laws of order enjoined upon man are, that he should acquire for himself truths from the Word, and reflect upon them naturally, and as far as he can, rationally, and thus acquire for himself a natural faith. The laws of order on the part of God then are, that He will draw near and fill these truths with His Divine light, and thus fill the man's natural faith (which is mere knowledge and persuasion) with a Divine essence. In this and in no other way can faith become saving. It is the same with charity. But some particulars shall be briefly mentioned. God, in accordance with His laws, is able to remit sins to any man only so far as the man, in accordance with his laws, refrains from them. God able to regenerate a man spiritually only so far as the man, accordance with his laws, regenerates himself naturally. God is in an unceasing endeavor to regenerate man, and thus save him; but this He is unable to accomplish except as man prepares himself as a receptacle, and thus levels the way and opens the door for God. A bridegroom cannot enter the chamber of a virgin till she becomes his bride; for she shuts the door and keeps the key to herself within; but when the virgin has become a bride she gives the key to the bridegroom.
[3] God could not by His omnipotence have redeemed men unless He had become Man; neither could He have made His Human Divine unless that Human had first been like the human of a babe, and then like that of a boy; and unless afterwards the Human had formed itself into a receptacle and habitation, into which its Father might enter; which was done by His fulfilling all things in the Word, that is, all the laws of order therein; and so far as He accomplished this He united Himself to the Father, and the Father united Himself to Him. These are a few things, presented for the sake of illustration, to enable you to see that the Divine omnipotence is in order, and that its government, which is called Providence, is in accordance with order, and that it acts continually and to eternity in accordance with the laws of its order; nor can it act against them or change them one iota, because order, with all its laws, is Himself."
[4] When this had been said a brilliant light of golden color flowed in through the roof and formed flying cherubs in the air; and with some of those present a glow therefrom was seen on the temples towards the back part of the head, but not yet on the front part, for they murmured, "We do not yet know what omnipotence is."
And I said, "That will be revealed when what has been already said to you has become somewhat clear."
73. On the following day there came to me several of the company who believed in predestination and imputation, and said: "We are, as it were, intoxicated, not with wine but with the utterance of that man yesterday, who spoke of omnipotence and also of order. He concluded that just as omnipotence is Divine so also is order: in fact that God Himself is order. He also said that the laws of order are as many as the truths contained in the Word, which are numbered not by the thousand but by countless myriads; and that God is bound by the laws therein relating to Himself, and man by the laws relating to him. What then is the Divine omnipotence if it is bound by laws? for in this case omnipotence would not be absolute. Does not this make God's power less than that of an earthly monarch who can turn the laws of justice to suit himself, and rule with absolute power, like Octavius Augustus 1 or Nero 2 ? When we thought of omnipotence being bound by laws, we became, as it were, intoxicated, and ready to faint unless some remedy be immediately supplied. For according to our faith we have been accustomed to pray God the Father to be merciful to us for the sake of His Son; and we believed that He can show mercy to whomsoever He will and remit sins at His pleasure, and save whomsoever He pleases; and we did not dare to detract from His omnipotence in the slightest degree. Therefore we regard it as gross impiety to bind God by the chains of any of His own laws, because that would be a contradiction of His omnipotence."
[2] As they said this they looked at me and I at them: and observing their perplexity I said: "I will entreat the Lord for you and offer you a remedy from Him by making this matter clear to you; but for the present merely by citing some examples. The omnipotent God created the world from the order which is in Himself, and thus in the order in which He is, and according to which He rules; and He has endowed the universe and every part of it with its own order, man with his own order, and beast, bird, fish, worm, every tree and even the grass with its own particular order. As examples will make this clear I will briefly mention the following. The laws of order have been prescribed for man to the end that he should acquire for himself truths from the Word, consider them from his natural faculties, and as far as he is able, from his rational faculty, and so procure for himself a natural faith. On the other hand the laws of order as they relate to God are that He should draw near and fill those truths with His Divine light, and so fill with His Divine Essence man's natural faith, which of itself is mere knowledge and persuasion: for thus only does natural faith become a saving faith.
The case is the same with charity, some particulars of which we will now briefly review. God, according to His laws of order, cannot remit the sins of any one except in so far as he, according to his laws of order, abstains from them; nor can God regenerate man on the spiritual plane except in so far as he, according to his laws, regenerates himself on the natural plane. God is continually endeavoring to regenerate, and thus to save man; but this He cannot do unless man prepares himself to become a recipient, and so clears the way for God's entry by opening the door. The bridegroom cannot enter the chamber of a maiden before she becomes his bride, for she closes the door and keeps the key herself; but when she becomes his bride she gives the key to her husband.
[3] God could not, by His omnipotence, have redeemed man unless He had Himself become man, nor could He have made His Human Divine unless His Human had first been like that of an infant, and later like that of a child; and unless His Human had afterwards formed itself into a recipient and abiding-place into which the Father of it might enter. This took place as the Lord fulfilled all things in the Word, that is, all the laws of order in it; and as He completed this work, He united Himself with the Father and the Father became united with Him. These few things are adduced by way of illustration to show you that the Divine omnipotence is within the bounds of order, and that its government, which is called providence, is in accordance with order, and that it acts continually and to eternity in conformity with the laws of its own order; moreover that it cannot act against them, nor change the slightest particle of them, because order with all its laws is Himself."
[4] At these words a glory of golden light streamed through the roof like flying cherubs in the air, and its ruddy glow lighted up the heads of some of those present backward from the temples, but not their foreheads as yet, for they murmured, "We still do not know what omnipotence is." However I replied: "This will be revealed to you when the words have just heard are more fully understood."
Footnotes:
1. Augustus Octavius, first and greatest of Roman Emperors, 63 B.C.-A.D. 14. He ruled as an absolute monarch although appearing to preserve the republican constitution.
2. Nero, Emperor of Rome, A.D. 37-68, noted for his indiscriminate brutality and cruel persecution of the Christians.
73. Postridie ad me venerunt aliqui, ex Cohorte, qui in Fide praedestinata et imputata erant, et dixerunt, sumus sicut temulenti, non ex vino, sed ex sermone hesterno istius viri; loquutus est de Omnipotentia et simul de Ordine, et conclusit quod sicut Omnipotentia est Divina, ita etiam Ordo sit Divinus, imo quod ipse Deus sit Ordo, et dixit quod totidem sint leges Ordinis, quot veritates in Verbo, quae non modo chiliades sunt, sed myriades myriadum, et quod Deus obstrictus sit ad suas leges ibi, et quod homo ad suas; quid tunc Omnipotentia Divina, si ligata est legibus, sic etenim ab Omnipotentia omne absolutum recedit, estne sic Deo minor potestas quam Regi Mundi qui est Monarcha; hic potest leges justitiae vertere sicut suas palmas, ac agere absolute sicut Octavius Augustus, et quoque absolute sicut Nero; nos postquam cogitavimus de Omnipotentia ad leges ligata, tanquam temulenti facti sumus, ac proni ad deliquium, si non subito medela affertur; nos enim ex fide nostra oravimus, ut Deus Pater nostri misereatur propter Filium suum, et credidimus quod misereri possit cujus lubet, ac remittere peccata cui placet, ac salvare quem vult, et non ausi sumus aliquod minimum subtrahere ex Omnipotentia Ipsius, quare obstringere Deum aliquarum suarum legum catenis aspicimus ut nefas, quia ut contradictorium Omnipotentiae Ipsius.
[2] His dictis inspexerunt me, et ego illos, et vidi attonitos, et dixi, supplicabo ad Dominum, et afferam inde medelam, illustrando hanc rem, sed nunc duntaxat per exempla, et dixi; Deus Omnipotens creavit 1 Mundum ex Ordine in se, ita in Ordinem in quo sit, ac secundum quem regat, ac indidit Universo et omnibus et singulis ejus suum ordinem, homini suum, bestiae suum, avi et pisci suum, vermi suum, cuivis arbori, imo gramini suum; sed ut exempla illustrent, breviter adducam sequentia; leges Ordinis homini indictae sunt, ut homo acquirat sibi veritates ex Verbo, ac naturaliter et, 2 quantum valet, rationaliter cogitet illas, et sic fidem naturalem sibi comparet; leges Ordinis tunc a parte Dei sunt, quod appropinquet, impleat veritates Divina sua luce, et sic fidem ejus naturalem, quae modo est scientia et persuasio, Divina essentia, sic et non aliter fit fides salvifica; simile est cum charitate; sed breviter recensebimus aliqua; Deus non potest secundum suas leges alicui homini remittere peccata, nisi quantum homo secundum suas leges desistit ab illis; Deus non potest spiritualiter regenerare hominem, nisi quantum homo secundum suas leges se naturaliter regenerat; Deus in perpetuo conatu est regenerandi et sic salvandi hominem, sed hoc non potest efficere nisi sicut homo parat se receptaculum, et sic applanat Deo viam, et aperit januam; non potest sponsus intrare thalamum virginis non desponsatae; haec occludit januam, et clavem intus apud se custodit, sed postquam virgo sponsa facta est, dat clavem sponso.
[3] Deus non potuit ex sua Omnipotentia redimere homines, nisi Homo factus sit; nec potuit Humanum 3 suum Divinum facere, nisi Humanum Ipsius primum esset sicut Humanum infantis, et postea sicut Humanum pueri, et nisi Humanum postea formaret se in receptaculum et habitaculum in quod Pater Ipsius intraret, quod factum est per quod impleverit omnia Verbi, hoc est, omnes leges ordinis ibi, et quantum hoc perfecit, tantum Se univit Patri, et Se Pater Ipsi. Sed haec sunt pauca, illustrationis causa adducta, ut videatis, quod Omnipotentia Divina sit in ordine, ac regimen Ipsius, quod vocatur Providentia, sit secundum Ordinem, et quod agat continue et in aeternum secundum leges Ordinis sui, et quod contra illas nequeat, nec illas quoad apicem mutare, quia Ordo cum omnibus ejus legibus est Ipse.
[4] His dictis splendor lucis in colore aureo per tectum influxit, et cherubos volantes formavit in aere, et rutilum inde illustravit quorundam 4 tempora a parte occipitii, sed nondum a parte frontispicii, murmurabant enim, ignoramus adhuc quid Omnipotentia; et dixi, revelabitur illa, postquam hactenus dicta apud vos aliquam lucem foenerata sunt.
Footnotes:
1. Sic Errores Typographici.
2. Prima editio: naturaliter, et.
3. factus sit; nec potuit Humanum ubi in prima editione factus sit nec potuit; Humanum.
4. Prima editio: quorandam.