Angelic Wisdom about Divine Providence Part 26

[2] Plainly, then, the divine love is in every man, an evil man as well as a good man, and the Lord who is divine love cannot act otherwise than a father on earth does with his children, infinitely more lovingly because divine love is infinite. Furthermore, He cannot withdraw from anyone because everyone's life is from Him. He appears to withdraw from those who are evil, but it is they who withdraw, while He still in love leads them. Thus the Lord says:

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you will find; knock and it shall be opened to you . . . What man of you, if his son shall ask bread, will give him a stone? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more shall your Father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask Him (Mt 7:7-11),

and in another place,

He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and unjust (Mt 5:45).

It is also known in the church that the Lord desires the salvation of all and the death of no one. It may be seen from all this that predestination except to heaven is contrary to divine love.

[3] Second: _Predestination other than to heaven is contrary to divine wisdom, which is infinite._ By its divine wisdom divine love provides the means by which every man can be saved. To say that there is any predestination except to heaven is therefore to say that divine love cannot provide means to salvation, when yet the means exist for all, as was shown above, and these are of divine providence which is boundless.

The reason that there are those who are not saved is that divine love desires man to feel the felicity and blessedness of heaven for himself, else it would not be heaven to him, and this can be effected only as it seems to man that he thinks and wills of himself. For without this appearance nothing would be appropriated to him nor would he be a human being. To this end divine providence exists, which acts by divine wisdom out of divine love.

[4] But this does not do away with the truth that all are predestined to heaven and no one to h.e.l.l. Were the means to salvation lacking, it would; but, as was demonstrated above, the means to salvation have been provided for everyone, and heaven is such that all of whatever religion who live rightly have a place in it. Man is like the earth which produces fruits of every kind, a power the earth has as the earth. That it also produces evil fruits does not do away with its capability of producing good fruits; it would if it could only produce evil fruits. Or, again, man is like an object which variegates the rays of light in it. If the object gives only unpleasing colors, the light is not the cause, for its rays can be variegated to produce pleasing colors.

[5] Third: _That only those who have been born in the church are saved is an insane heresy._ Those born outside the church are human beings equally with those born within it; they have the same heavenly origin, and like them they are living and immortal souls. They also have some religion by virtue of which they acknowledge G.o.d's existence and that they should live aright. One who acknowledges G.o.d and lives aright becomes spiritual in his measure and is saved, as we showed above. It may be protested that they have not been baptized, but baptism does not save any who are not washed spiritually, that is, regenerated, of which baptism is a sign and reminder.

[6] It is also objected that the Lord is not known to them and that there is no salvation without Him. But salvation does not come to a person because the Lord is known to him, but because he lives according to the Lord's precepts. Moreover, the Lord is known to everyone who acknowledges G.o.d, for He is G.o.d of heaven and earth, as He Himself teaches (Mt 28:18 and elsewhere). Furthermore, those outside the church have a clearer idea about G.o.d as Man than Christians have, and those who have a concept of G.o.d as Man and live rightly are accepted by the Lord. They also acknowledge G.o.d as one in person and essence, differently from Christians. They also give thought to G.o.d in their lives, for they regard evils as sins against G.o.d, and those who do this regard G.o.d in their lives. Christians have precepts of religion from the Word, but few draw precepts of life from it.

[7] Roman Catholics do not read the Word, and the Reformed who are in faith apart from charity do not attend to those utterances in it which concern life, only to those which concern faith, and yet the Word as a whole is nothing else than a doctrine of life. Christianity obtains only in Europe; Mohammedanism and Gentilism are found in Asia, the Indies, Africa and America, and the people in these parts of the globe are ten times more numerous than those in the Christian part, and in this part few put religion in life. What then is more mad than to believe that only these latter are saved and the former condemned, and that a man has heaven on the strength of his birth and not on the strength of his life?

So the Lord says:

I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and recline with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out (Mt 8:11, 12).

[8] Fourth: _That any of mankind are condemned by predestination is a cruel heresy._ For it is cruel to believe that the Lord, who is love itself and mercy itself, suffers so vast a throng of persons to be born for h.e.l.l or so many myriads of myriads to be born condemned and doomed, that is, to be born devils and satans, and that He does not provide out of His divine wisdom that those who live aright and acknowledge G.o.d should not be cast into everlasting fire and torment. The Lord is still the Creator and the Savior of all men and wills the death of no one. It is cruel therefore to believe and think that a vast mult.i.tude of nations and peoples under His auspices and care should be handed over as prey to the devil by predestination.

XVIII. THE LORD CANNOT ACT CONTRARY TO THE LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE BECAUSE TO DO SO WOULD BE TO ACT CONTRARY TO HIS DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM, THUS CONTRARY TO HIMSELF

331. It was shown in _Angelic Wisdom about Divine Love and Wisdom_ that the Lord is divine love and wisdom, and that these are being itself and life itself from which everything is and lives. It was also shown that they proceed from Him, so that the proceeding divine is the Lord Himself.

Paramount in what proceeds is divine providence, for this is constantly in the end for which the universe was created. The operation and progress of the end through means is what is called divine providence.

[2] Inasmuch as the proceeding divine is the Lord Himself and paramount in it is divine providence, to act contrary to the laws of His divine providence is to act contrary to Himself. One can also say that the Lord is providence just as one says that G.o.d is order, for divine providence is the divine order with reference primarily to the salvation of men. As order does not exist without laws, for they const.i.tute it, and each law derives from order that it, too, is order, it follows that G.o.d, who is order, is also the law of His order. Similarly it is to be said of divine providence that as the Lord is providence Himself, He is also the law of His providence. Hence it is clear that the Lord cannot act contrary to the laws of His divine providence because to do so would be to act contrary to Himself.

[3] Furthermore, there is no activity except on a subject and on the subject by means; action is impossible except on a subject and on it by means. Man is the subject of divine providence; divine truths by which he has wisdom, and divine goods by which he has love, are the means; and by these means divine providence pursues its purpose, which is the salvation of man. For he who wills the purpose, wills the means. Therefore when he who wills the purpose pursues it, he does so through means. But these things will become plainer on being examined in this order:

i. The activity of divine providence to save man begins at his birth and continues to the close of his life and afterwards to eternity.

ii. The activity of divine providence is maintained steadily out of pure mercy through means.

iii. Instantaneous salvation by direct mercy is impossible.

iv. Instantaneous salvation by direct mercy is the flying fiery serpent in the church.

332. (i) _The activity of divine providence to save man begins at his birth and continues to the close of his life and afterwards to eternity._ It was shown above that a heaven from mankind is the very purpose of the creation of the universe; that this purpose in its operation and progress is the divine providence for the salvation of man; and that all which is external to man and available to him for use is a secondary end in creation--in brief, all that is to be found in the three kingdoms, animal, vegetable and mineral. When all this constantly proceeds according to laws of divine order fixed at the first of creation, how can the primary end, which is the salvation of the human race, fail to proceed constantly according to laws of its order, which are the laws of divine providence?

[2] Observe just a fruit tree. It springs up first as a slender shoot from a tiny seed, grows gradually into a stalk, spreads branches which become covered with leaves, and then puts forth flowers and bears fruit, in which it deposits fresh seed to provide for its perpetuation. This is also true of every shrub and of every herb of the field. Do not each and all things in tree or shrub proceed constantly and wonderfully from purpose to purpose according to the laws of their order of things? Why should not the supreme end, a heaven from the human race, proceed in similar fashion? Can there be anything in its progress which does not proceed with all constancy according to the laws of divine providence?

[3] As there is a correspondence of man's life with the growth of a tree, let us draw the parallel or make the comparison. His infancy is relatively like the tender shoot of the tree sprouting from seed out of the ground; his childhood and youth are like the shoot grown to a stalk with its small branches; the natural truths with which everyone is imbued at first are like the leaves with which the branches are covered ("leaves" signify precisely this in the Word); man's first steps in the marriage of good and truth or the spiritual marriage are like the blossoms which the tree puts forth in the springtime; spiritual truths are the petals in these blossoms; the earliest signs of the spiritual marriage are like the start of fruit; spiritual goods, which are goods of charity, are like the fruit (they are also signified in the Word by "fruits"); the procreations of wisdom from love are like the seed and by them the human being becomes like a garden or paradise. Man is also described in the Word by a tree, and his wisdom from love by a garden; nothing else is meant by the Garden of Eden.

[4] True, man is a corrupt tree from the seed, but still a grafting or budding with shoots taken from the Tree of Life is possible, by which the sap drawn from the old root is turned into sap producing good fruit. The comparison was drawn for it to be known that when the progression of divine providence is so constant in the growth and rebirth of trees, it surely must be constant in the reformation and rebirth of human beings, who are of much more value than trees; so the Lord's words:

Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, yet not one of them is forgotten by G.o.d? But even the hairs of your head are all numbered; fear not therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Which of you moreover can by taking thought add a cubit to his stature? .. . if then you are unable to do what is least, why do you take thought for the rest?

Consider the lilies, how they grow . . . If then G.o.d so clothed the gra.s.s, which is in the field today and is cast into an oven tomorrow, how much more will he clothe you, 0 men of little faith? (Lu 12: 6, 7, 25-28).

333. The activity of divine providence for man's salvation is said to begin with his birth and continue to the close of his life. For this to be understood, it should be known that the Lord sees what a man's nature is and foresees what he wills to be and thus what he will be. For him to be man and thus immortal, his freedom of will cannot be taken away. The Lord therefore foresees his state after death and provides for it from the man's birth to the close of his life. With the evil He makes the provision by permitting and withdrawing from evils, in the case of the good by leading to good. Divine providence is thus continually acting for man's salvation, but more cannot be saved than are willing to be saved, and those are willing who acknowledge G.o.d and are led by Him. Those are not willing who do not acknowledge G.o.d and who lead themselves. The latter give no thought to eternal life and to salvation, the former do.

The Lord sees the unwillingness but still He leads such men, and does so in accordance with the laws of His divine providence, contrary to which he cannot act, for to act contrary to them would be to act contrary to His divine love and wisdom, and this is to act contrary to Himself.

[2] Inasmuch as the Lord foresees the states of all after death, and also foresees the places in h.e.l.l of those who do not desire to be saved and the places in heaven of those who do desire to be saved, it follows that He provides their places for the evil by the permitting and withdrawing of which we spoke, and their places for the good by leading them. Unless this was done steadily from birth to the close of life neither heaven nor h.e.l.l would remain standing, for apart from this foresight and providence neither would be anything but confusion. It may be seen above (nn. 202, 203) that everyone has his place provided for him by the Lord through this foresight.

[3] A comparison may throw light on this. If a javelin thrower or a marksman should aim at a target, from which a line was drawn straight back for a mile and should err in aim by only a finger's breadth, the missile or the bullet at the end of the mile would have deviated very far from the line. So would it be if the Lord did not, at every moment and even the least fraction of a moment, look to what is eternal in foreseeing and making provision for one's place after death. But this the Lord does: the entire future is present to Him, and the entire present is to Him eternal. That divine providence looks in all it does to what is infinite and eternal, may be seen above, nn. 46-49, 214 ff.

334. As was said also, the activity of divine providence continues to eternity, for every angel is being perfected in wisdom to eternity, each, however, according to the degree of affection of good and truth in which he was when he left this world. It is this degree that is perfected to eternity; what is beyond that is outside the angel and not in him, and what is external to him cannot be perfected in him. This perfecting is meant by the

"Good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over" which will be given into the bosom of those who forgive and give to others (Lu 6:37, 38),

that is, those who are in the good of charity.

335. (ii) _The activity of divine providence is maintained steadily out of pure mercy through means._ Divine providence has means and methods.

Its means are the things by which man becomes man and is perfected in will and understanding; its methods are the ways this is accomplished.

The means by which man becomes man and is perfected in understanding are collectively called truths. In the thought they become ideas, are called objects of the memory, and in themselves are forms of knowledge from which information comes. All these means, viewed in themselves, are spiritual, but as they exist in what is natural, they seem by reason of their covering or clothing to be natural and some of them seem to be material. They are infinite in number and variety, and more or less simple or composite, and also more or less imperfect or perfect. There are means for forming and perfecting natural civil life; likewise for forming and perfecting rational moral life; as there are for forming and perfecting heavenly spiritual life.

[2] These means advance, one kind after another, from infancy to the last of man's life, and thereafter to eternity. As they come along and mount, the earlier ones become means to the later, entering into all that is forming as mediate causes. From these every effect or conclusion is efficacious and therefore becomes a cause. In turn what is later becomes means; and as this goes on to eternity, there is nothing farthest on or final to make an end. For as what is eternal is without end, so a wisdom that increases to eternity is without end. If there were an end to wisdom for a wise man, the enjoyment of his wisdom would perish, which consists in the perpetual multiplication and fructification of wisdom. His life's enjoyment would also perish; in its place an enjoyment of glory would succeed, in which by itself there is no heavenly life. The wise man then becomes no longer like a youth but like an old man, and at length like a decrepit one.

[3] Although a wise man's wisdom increases forever in heaven, angelic wisdom cannot approximate the divine wisdom so much as to touch it. It is relatively like what is said of a straight line drawn about a hyperbola, always approaching but never touching it, and like what is said about squaring a circle. Hence it may be plain what is meant by the means by which divine providence acts in order that man may be man and be perfected in understanding, and that these means are called by the common term truths. There are an equal number of means by which man is formed and perfected as to his will. These are called collectively goods. By them man comes to have love, by the others wisdom. The conjunction of love and wisdom makes the man, for what he is is in keeping with the nature of this conjunction. This conjunction is what is called the marriage of good and truth.

336. The methods by which divine providence acts on and through the means to form and perfect the human being are also infinite in number and variety. They are as numerous as the activities of divine wisdom from divine love to save man, and therefore as numerous as the activities of divine providence in accordance with its laws, treated of above. That these methods are most secret was ill.u.s.trated above by the activities of the soul in the body, of which man knows so little it is scarcely anything--how, for instance, eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin sense things; how the stomach digests; how the mesentery elaborates the chyle and the liver the blood; how the pancreas and the spleen purify the blood, the kidneys separate it from impure humors, the heart collects and distributes it, and the lungs purify it and pa.s.s it on; how the brain refines the blood and vivifies it anew; besides innumerable other things which are all secret, and of which one can scarcely know. Clearly, the hidden activities of divine providence can be entered into even less; it is enough to know its laws.

337. Divine providence acts in all things out of pure mercy. For the divine essence is itself pure love; this love acts through divine wisdom and its activity is what is called divine providence. This pure love is pure mercy because 1. It is active with all men the world over, who are such that they can do nothing of themselves. 2. It is active with the evil and unjust and the good and just alike. 3. It leads the former in h.e.l.l and rescues them from it. 4. It strives with them there perpetually and fights for them against the devil, that is, against the evils of h.e.l.l. 5. To this end pure love came into the world and endured temptations even to the last of them, which was the pa.s.sion of the Cross.

6. It acts continually with the unclean to make them clean and with the unsound to make them sound in mind. Thus it labors incessantly out of pure mercy.

338. (iii) _Instantaneous salvation by direct mercy is impossible._ We have just shown that the activity of divine providence to save man begins at his birth and continues to the close of his life and afterwards to eternity; also that this activity is continually pursued out of pure mercy through means. It follows that there is neither instantaneous salvation nor unmediated mercy. But as many, not thinking from the understanding about things of the church or of religion, believe that they are saved by immediate mercy and hence that salvation is instantaneous, and yet this is contrary to the truth and in addition is a pernicious belief, it is important that it be considered in due order:

1. Belief in instantaneous salvation by direct mercy has been a.s.sumed from man's natural state.

2. This belief comes from ignorance of the spiritual state, which is completely different from the natural state.

3. The doctrines of all churches in Christendom, viewed interiorly, are opposed to instantaneous salvation by direct mercy, but external men of the church nevertheless maintain the belief.

[2] First: _Belief in instantaneous salvation by direct mercy has been a.s.sumed from man's natural state._ From his state the natural man does not know otherwise than that heavenly joy is like worldly joy and that it flows in and is received in the same way; that, for example, it is like a poor man's becoming rich and from a sad state of poverty coming into a happy one of plenty, or like a lowly person's being raised to honors and pa.s.sing thus from contempt to renown; or like one's going from a house of mourning to happy nuptials. As these states can be changed in a day and as there is a like idea of man's state after death, it is plain whence it comes that instantaneous salvation by direct mercy is believed in.

[3] In the world, moreover, many can join in one group or in one civic community and enjoy the same things, yet all differ in mind; this is true of the natural state. The reason is that the external of one person can be accommodated to that of another, no matter how unlike their internals are. From this natural situation it is also concluded that salvation is merely admission among angels in heaven, and that admission is by direct mercy. It is also believed, therefore, that heaven can be given to the evil as well as to the good, and that their a.s.sociation then is similar to that in the world, with the difference that it is filled with joy.

[4] Second: _This belief comes from ignorance of the spiritual state, which is altogether different from the natural state._ The spiritual state, which is man's state after death, has been treated of in many places above. It has been shown that everyone is his own love, that no one can live with others than those who are in a like love, and that if he comes among others he cannot breathe his own life. For this reason everyone comes after death into a society of his own people, that is, who are in a like love, and recognizes them as relatives and friends, and what is remarkable, on meeting and seeing them it is as if he had known them from infancy. Spiritual relationship and friendship bring this about. What is more, in a society no one can dwell in any other house than his own. Everyone in a society has his own home, which he finds prepared for him as soon as he enters the society. He may be in close company with others outside his home, but he cannot dwell elsewhere.

Again, in somebody else's apartment one can sit only in his own place; seated elsewhere he becomes frustrated and mute. And it is remarkable that on entering he knows his own place. This is as true in temples he enters and in any companies in which people gather.

[5] It is plain from this that the spiritual state is altogether different from the natural state, and is such that no one can be anywhere but where his ruling love is to be found. For there the enjoyment of one's life is, and everyone desires to be in the enjoyment of his life. A man's spirit cannot be anywhere else because that enjoyment const.i.tutes his life, his very breathing, in fact, and his heartbeat. It is different in the natural world; there man's external is taught from infancy to simulate in look, speech and bearing other enjoyments than those of his internal man. Accordingly, no conclusion can be formed about man's state after death from his state in the natural world. For after death everyone's state is spiritual and is such that he cannot be anywhere except in the enjoyment of his love, an enjoyment that he has acquired in the natural world by his life.

[6] Hence it is quite plain that no one who is in the enjoyment of h.e.l.l can be admitted into the enjoyment of heaven, commonly called heavenly happiness, or what is the same, no one who is in the enjoyment of evil can be admitted into the enjoyment of good. This can be concluded still more plainly from the fact that after death no one is denied going up to heaven; he is shown the way, has the opportunity given him, and is admitted, but as soon as he enters heaven and inhales its enjoyment, he begins to feel constricted in his chest and racked at heart, and falls into a swoon, in which he writhes as a snake does brought near a fire.

Then with his face turned away from heaven and towards h.e.l.l, he flees headlong and does not stop until he is in a society of his own love.

Hence it may be plain that no one reaches heaven by direct mercy.

Consequently, just to be admitted is not enough, as many in the world suppose. Nor is there any instantaneous salvation, for this presupposes unmediated mercy.

[7] When some who had believed in the world in instantaneous salvation by direct mercy became spirits, they wanted their infernal enjoyment or enjoyment of evil changed by both divine omnipotence and divine mercy into heavenly enjoyment or enjoyment in the good. As they ardently desired this, permission was given for it to be done by angels, who proceeded to remove their infernal enjoyment. But as this was the enjoyment of their life's love and consequently their life, they thereupon lay as if dead, devoid of all feeling and movement; nor could any life be breathed into them except their own, because all things of mind and body which had been turned backward could not be reversed. They were therefore revived by letting in the enjoyment of their life's love.

They said afterwards that in that state they had experienced something dreadful and horrible, which they did not care to divulge. There is a saying in heaven, therefore, that it is easier to change an owl into a turtle-dove or a serpent into a lamb than an infernal spirit into an angel of heaven.