How Miracles Worked

1. Introduction

Recently we were asked to explain certain miracles recorded in the Word. The question had reference not to their spiritual meaning, which is clearly set forth in the Writings, but rather to the mode by which such strange and seemingly impossible things could be done. The fact that we were unable to suggest any satisfactory answer led to the following series of reflections: Why should we be concerned about the mode by which miracles are performed? Is it not enough to acknowledge that they are acts of God, to whose omnipotent power all things are possible? Should we not be satisfied to say in our hearts, These things are true because the Lord has said so in His Word? Is not the important thing not how they were done, but what they mean, and what is the spiritual lesson they are intended to teach?

It would seem that the very purpose of a miracle is to excite wonder, awe, adoration and worship. This it does for the very reason that it is mysterious, incomprehensible, transcending all human understanding. If the mystery should be resolved by some rationalistic explanation would we not cease to wonder? Certainly, if it should be discovered that the phenomenon is, after all, due to purely natural causes which are mechanical, purposeless and impersonal, it would no longer testify to the presence of a Divine Being; it would no longer inspire worship. In short, it would no longer be regarded as a miracle. If such a remarkable occurrence is to be explained at all and still continue to perform the function of a miracle, the explanation must be such as to reveal the existence of God, to make His presence seem nearer and more real, to impress the mind with a keener realization of His universal providence.

We have reflected on whether such an explanation is possible. After careful consideration in the light of the Writings we have come to the conclusion that the discovery of such an explanation is not only possible but necessary. Indeed, we believe it is coming to be increasingly imperative: this because a simple faith in the miracles of the Word, based on ignorance of how they are performed, cannot be maintained indefinitely in the face of the skepticism that is so completely capturing the minds of men in our modern age. Any belief in the miracles of the Word is under devastating attack. The denial of these parts of the Scripture casts doubt upon the authenticity of the whole, and deprives it of any reliable authority as a source of truth. If this denial should become universal, all knowledge of God would perish from the earth, and the whole structure of spiritual religion would lie in ruins like the temple at Jerusalem, of which the Lord prophesied: "There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down" (Matthew 24: 2).

It is to counter this very danger that the Lord has come again, revealing the internal sense of the Word and setting forth in rational terms the laws of His Divine government over the universe. He has brought the light of new understanding to restore a simple faith in the Word and confidence in its Divine authority. In this new light it is now permitted,

as never before, to "enter intellectually into the mysteries of faith." We cannot doubt that among these mysteries is the mode by which the miracles of the Word were performed. All human experience testifies that the Divine Creator did not intend man to remain in the faith of ignorance, but rather to progress continually in understanding and intelligence. This is why every infant is endowed with curiosity, with an insatiable delight in learning, and with the ability to understand and apply to use what he has learned. In this lies the very joy of human life.

The history of the race also bears testimony to the fact that the simple faith of the Golden Age was not the ideal of man's existence. From the very beginning the Lord has been leading mankind toward a goal of freedom and happiness which is possible only to the degree that knowledge and understanding increase. Yet, to become learned in material things alone, while remaining ignorant of spiritual things, will not bring freedom and happiness. This depends upon man's willing obedience to the Divine law of human life. This law we must know, and in some measure understand, if we are to keep it. We cannot truly love a God of whom we know nothing. We cannot serve Him if we have no idea of what He requires of us. The existence of God, His relation to the created universe, the means by which He reveals His presence that He may teach men and lead them in the way everlasting, all this is powerfully illustrated by the miracles of the Word. The knowledge of how these wonders are performed is therefore important to our spiritual life because it helps us to understand the laws of the Divine Providence. This knowledge will not detract from the wonder inspired by miracles, but, on the contrary, will increase it. It will not make the Lord seem more remote but will bring Him nearer, and will make His immediate presence and protection more real to us.

We have only to read the works of the learned biblical scholars of our day to realize how completely the Word is being stripped of any authority as a source of revealed truth. A sharp line of distinction is drawn between the historic elements of the Bible and the poetic additions with which, as they believe, the story has been embroidered by human imagination. The historic elements are accepted as credible, not because they are of Divine origin, but solely because they can be substantiated by the testimony of archeological research or by the writings of contemporary secular authors that are still extant. Everything that cannot be so checked and proved is regarded with suspicion. Whatever seems to run counter to the known laws of nature and demands a supernatural explanation is ascribed to the ignorance and superstition of the time. Modern investigations, it is firmly believed, have established beyond any reason able doubt that the laws of nature are constant and immutable. We now know from experience that all things take place according to a fixed and unchanging order. We know that for everything that happens there is a natural cause, which, if it has not yet been found, still can surely be discovered by persistent investigation. So many things which in the past were regarded as mysterious and miraculous have been shown to be the result of understandable mechanical causes that we can reasonably assume the same will be true of those apparent mysteries that still remain unexplained. It is held that in the face of this overwhelming evidence we can no longer admit the credibility of any thing that defies the laws already established.

So widespread is this philosophy that very few educated adults today find it possible to retain their childhood belief that the miracles of the Bible actually occurred as they are described. This skepticism invades our own minds. We cannot deny that many things which in the past have been regarded as miraculous, and many things that are still so regarded by primitive people, are due to ignorance, to imagination, to trickery, or to the tendency of mankind to accept superficial evidence without thought or critical analysis. We have no way of distinguishing these impostures from the miracles of the Word except a blind faith that the miracles of the Word are real because they have their origin in God. We have no rational grounds on which to defend this faith against the powerful attacks made upon it by Biblical scholars, unless we can form some idea of how these wonders were performed.

David Hume, a noted Scottish philosopher and economist who was contemporary with Swedenborg (1711-1776), endeavored to prove in a famous essay that miracles are impossible. "A miracle," he says, "is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire as any argument from experience can possibly be imagined." Further, he holds that "no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle unless the testimony be of such a kind that its falsehood would be more miraculous than the fact which it endeavors to establish; and even in that case there is a mutual destruction of arguments, and the superior only gives us an assurance suitable to that degree of force which remains after deducting the inferior." "There never was," he continues, "a miraculous event established on so full an evidence" (Anthology of Modern Philosophy, by Daniel S. Robinson, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York 1931, p. 401). His claim is that in every case he has examined, the probability that the one who proclaims the miracle is either mistaken or willfully deceptive is far greater than is the probability that he testifies to the truth.

In The Book of the Acts of God, by G. E. Wright and R. H. Fuller (Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, N. Y., 1957), the authors contend that the value of the Bible lies not at all in its miracles but solely in its historic content, as verified by archeological research. To quote: "It may well appear to an intelligent critic that I as a Christian want to base my faith on a series of stories a man simply cannot believe any longer. I open the Bible and begin to read, and soon encounter an explanation of the existence of woman as being built out of the rib of a man, about a snake that speaks, about a world in which God and His angels are heard in daily life communicating with various personages and with one another, about waters dividing and people crossing through, about water turning into wine, etc. How is any man to believe these things? Are they anything other than a kind of poetry, beautiful in its essence, crude in its externals? In recent discussion about the Dead Sea Scrolls, the fabulous new biblical manuscripts found in caves on the shores of the Dead Sea, Mr. Edmund Wilson, writing for the New Yorker magazine, intimates that the results of the study of the scrolls may have revolutionary impact upon Christianity. He believes that this new study will suggest that Jesus as well as Paul and the early Church become explainable in terms of a definite historical setting with a definite historical background. This may mean that all of the elaborate claims which the Church has made concerning the divinity and supernatural character of the New Testament events will be taken away. Jesus will now seem less superhuman and He will appear miraculous only in the sense that Shakespeare is miraculous. Wilson believes it will be a great thing for Christianity to discover this, because the rise of the religion will be understood as simply an episode in human history rather than as a movement propagated by dogma and divine revelation" (p. 17).

The thesis is that God reveals Himself in history, and nowhere else. It is admitted that the facts of history are of no value except as they are interpreted and given meaning. By means of poetry and tradition, miraculous products of the imagination, people try to express the meaning of life as they experience it. This meaning is no more than the best that they can conceive at their particular stage of intellectual and racial development. It is no criterion for the faith of a modern man who must examine the history for himself, test it against his wider and deeper experience, and draw his own conclusions. From these he derives his own idea of God and of religion, not by means of any internal revelation, but by his personal insight into the meaning of history. Such is the philosophy of modern biblical scholarship; and this is now to be fully confirmed and established on the testimony of the recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls.

Returning to The Book of the Acts of God we find a concrete illustration of how this philosophy works: "What shall we say about the resurrection of Christ, as understood in the New Testament? This cannot be an objective fact . . . in the same sense as was the crucifixion of Christ. The latter was a fact available to all men as a real happening, and pagan writers like Tacitus and Josephus can speak of it. But in the New Testament itself the Easter faith-event of the resurrection is perceived only by the people of the faith. Christ as risen was not seen by everyone, but only by the few. Easter was thus a reality for those in the inner circle of the disciples and apostles. That is not an arena where a historian can operate. Facts available to all men are the only data with which he can work, the facts available to the consciousness of a few are not objective history in the historian's sense.

"Hence we have to view the resurrection in the New Testament as a faith-event, unlike other events, which is nevertheless real to the Christian community. [To them] it testifies to the knowledge that Christ is alive, not dead. [To them] the living Christ was known to be the head of the Church; and [to them] His power was real. The process, the how of Christ's transition from death to the living head of the new community, and the language used to describe that transition . . . these are products of the situation. They are the temporal language of the first-century Christians. To us, they are symbols of deep truth and nothing more, though they are symbols that are difficult to translate" (p. 25).

How, we would ask, does the writer of this book know that Christ did rise from the dead, if the record of His resurrection as preserved in the Gospels is no more than a symbol of what a few superstitious people believed? If Jesus Christ is miraculous "only in the sense that Shakespeare is miraculous" why should any one suppose that He did rise from the dead in any sense that Shakespeare did not? If this is the case, how can He really be "the head of the Church"? We would point out that the opinions expressed in this book are widely shared by modern biblical scholars, and are regarded as highly authoritative throughout the Protestant world. The book itself is the newest addition to the Christian Faith Series, for which Reinhold Niebuhr is the consulting editor. Niebuhr has been called "one of the most vigorous and brilliant theologians and philosophers writing today." G. Ernest Wright is professor at the McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago; Reginald H. Fuller is an English scholar now teaching at the Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.

Because this view of the Bible is so steadily gaining adherents in the modern Christian world, in the midst of which we live, and because it so completely destroys any faith in the Divine authority of the Sacred Scripture, we think it a matter of great importance that the New Church should develop a sound philosophical basis on which to establish a rational belief in the miracles of the Word. We propose, therefore, to examine the teachings of the Writings on the subject. We shall undertake to define clearly what genuine miracles are, in order to distinguish them from mistaken or pretended miracles. We shall call attention to the laws of Divine influx and operation whereby genuine miracles are brought about. We shall apply those laws to the explanation of a few of the miracles of the Word. And, finally, we shall consider the reasons given in the Writings that such miracles are not performed at this day, and what it is that takes the place of them in establishing the faith of the New Church.

2. What Miracles are, and Why We Believe in Them

Before we consider the question as to whether or not miracles are possible, we must first have a clear idea of what they are. According to the dictionary, the word "miracle" has two distinct meanings in common usage. It is first defined as "an event or effect in the physical world beyond or out of the ordinary course of things, deviating from the known laws of nature, or transcending our knowledge of those laws." This would apply to happenings which men regard as purely natural, but which seem miraculous because no one as yet can fully understand or explain them. In this category would be included such forces as gravitation, electricity and magnetism, the effects of which we can observe, measure and use in countless ways, although we cannot tell what the forces are in themselves. In the opinion of many scientists it would also include life in all its forms; for while at present no one knows what life is or whence it comes, there is every assurance, they think, that some day the right chemical combination will be discovered whereby to produce life synthetically. Also, this definition would apply to every phenomenon that seems to run counter to known physical laws; as, for instance, is the case with the observed activity of sub-atomic elements, which cannot be fully explained either as a wave motion or as a bombardment of solid particles.

But "miracle" is also defined as "an extraordinary, anomalous, or abnormal event brought about by supernatural agency as a manifestation of its power, or for the purpose of revealing or manifesting spiritual force." This refers to phenomena so strange that we cannot conceive of them as having any physical cause, and therefore must suppose them to be produced by some supernatural agency, or else conclude that they never really happened but were the product of a fertile imagination. Such were the miracles recorded in the Word, and many similar events to which secular historians bear testimony. Accounts of such miracles abound in the oral traditions of all primitive peoples; and various modern religious bodies, both Christian and non-Christian, testify to the occurrence of similar wonders at the present day. We are here concerned specifically with this second definition, and for our present purpose, therefore, we would define a miracle as an event or phenomenon which could be produced only by the intervention of some supernatural agency.

The argument advanced by David Hume to prove that such miracles are impossible really begs the question, for it is based on either one of two assumptions, for which there are no proofs. It either assumes that nothing but nature exists, and therefore that there is no such supernatural being as men call God, nor are there any such things as so-called "spiritual forces"; or it assumes that if there is a God who possesses supernatural attributes and exercises powers that transcend those of the physical universe, still, this God cannot modify or influence, even in the slightest degree, the normal operations of natural law. If either of these assumptions is true, then miracles, as we have defined them, cannot possibly exist. Hume leaps to the conclusion that either one of these assumptions must be true, because, as he declares, the unanimous testimony of human experience is to the effect that the laws of nature are constant and immutable. Now, if this is true in the absolute sense, namely, that these laws must operate in exactly the same way under all circumstances, then of course no supernatural force can influence them. But is the "unanimous testimony of human experience" a reliable proof that this is the case? It must be recognized that even all human experience taken together is still extremely limited and partial. A vast realm of ignorance lies outside the range of our present knowledge, and in this area the operations of natural law may be modified in ways of which we do not dream. Every new discovery changes our understanding of how laws operate. Hume's argument would be tenable only if our present understanding of the laws of nature were constant and immutable, and this is by no means the case.

We hasten to add that we are entirely in agreement with Hume that the laws of nature themselves are constant and immutable. If this were not the case, we would be living in a world of chaos and could be sure of nothing; but we base our confidence in this truth, not on the unanimous testimony of human experience, which, as we have seen, is inadequate, but on our faith that there is a God who not only created the universe but also governs it continually, according to His own unchanging Divine order. The laws of this order are the ways whereby God attains His eternal ends; and these laws, derived from infinite wisdom, are such as to embrace every possibility, to meet every contingency, and thus to assure that nothing can prevent the ultimate attainment of the Divine will. This means that they are indefinitely elastic, modifiable and adaptable to varying circumstances and conditions. That this is true all experience testifies. Physical laws are greatly modified in operation by conditions of temperature, of pressure, of moisture, or in the presence of a catalytic agent. The normal circulation of the blood in the human body is changed mysteriously in immediate response to an injury or an illness, and is concentrated upon providing material needed to heal or cure. The normal flow of sap in plants and trees is checked by the cold of winter, and released by the warmth of spring. A seemingly slight disturbance at a critical period may produce an abnormal growth in the embryo; yet in spite of these variations in their operation, the laws of growth are constant and immutable. God cannot, because He will not, violate His own laws; but His laws are adequate to meet every requirement, and thus to assure the accomplishment of His purpose; and since their operation is modified by circumstances, and since "the unanimous testimony of human experience" is limited, we must admit that they may be modified in ways beyond our present understanding, and yet not be violated in any way.

This being the case, what we mistake for a violation of law by a miracle may be no more than an unusual modification of its operation, due to the presence of a force, a condition, or a circumstance of which we are not aware. The whole question, therefore, as to whether or not miracles are possible, depends upon an assumption. If we assume that there is no supernatural force or power that can possibly affect the operation of nature's laws, then of course miracles cannot possibly exist; but if we assume that a God does exist who not only created the universe in the beginning but continually preserves it in being, governs it, and directs its destiny, then we must conclude that miracles are not only possible but are inevitable. Contrary to the appearance, they must be happening all the time; and in this case there is nothing incredible in the idea that at certain times, to meet special circumstances, they may produce strange, unusual, and to us incomprehensible results.

Curiously enough, the authors of The Book of the Acts of God, from which we quoted in our last article, assume that God exists and that He exerts some directive influence upon the lives of men; but they reject any belief in the miracles of the Word because these run counter to our present understanding of nature's laws. They say that God exerts an invisible influence upon human history which may be discovered through an accumulation of historic facts, carefully authenticated and intelligently interpreted in the light of the historian's own experience. In this search for God, the historic events recorded in the Bible are valuable; but they constitute only a small part of that wider stream of events in which alone the guidance of a Divine hand may be discovered; and this part is dependable only so far as it may be supported and confirmed by contributory evidence from other sources. It has no inherent authority just because it is preserved to us in the Sacred Scripture as other history is not. There is, therefore, no authority on which we may rely except the learning, the perspicacity, and the insight of the historian. On this authority we are called upon to determine what is true and what is false in the Word of God.

In contrast to this view we would quote from The Miracles and Historicals of the Word, by Bishop N. D. Pendleton (published in Selected Papers and Addresses, page 21). "To defend the integrity of Scripture is a sacred duty, but the defense must be in accord with the idea of the nature of that integrity. As to this, men and churches differ. Those who regard the Word as inspired history of a chosen people are under the necessity of defending the literal truth or miraculous exactness of that history. And when, as at the present day, this defense is destroyed, the idea of inspiration necessarily suffers. . . . In the eyes of a New Churchman the integrity of the Word does not consist in its exactness as an expression of history, but in its exactness as an external containant and an ultimate exponent of heavenly and Divine things. Thus, instead of being a perfect expression of history, it is a perfect, because Divinely formed, envelope. The major portion of this envelope is composed of history, and what is more, of true history; of this we are assured. And yet we must not permit this assurance to cause us to fall back into the old and untenable idea of inspired history, in the common meaning of that expression." Here, history is regarded, not as the master, but as the servant of revelation.

The Writings tell us that there is a God; that He is life itself, love itself, and wisdom itself; that He is the only source of power; that by His own power He created the universe, maintains it in existence every moment, and perpetually governs all things in it, from the greatest to the least. This universe includes, not nature alone, but a whole world of spiritual forces by means of which the Divine Being touches, moves and directs the forces of nature, bending them to the accomplishment of His eternal ends. Of course, if this be true, then everything that happens is a miracle, according to our definition. It cannot be otherwise because nature has no life, no power of its own, but is dependent upon a supernatural force for all its energy, for every motion and every activity it displays. Concerning this, in the Additions to the True Christian Religion (Additions to no. 695), Swedenborg writes: "All things which appear in the three kingdoms of nature are produced by an influx from the spiritual world into the natural world, and considered in themselves, are miracles, although on account of their familiar aspect and their annual recurrence, they do not appear as such." This means that all things in nature are spiritual in origin. It means that the spiritual is within the natural, as the mind of man is within the brain; and that God is present in nature as the soul of man is present everywhere in the body, present as the active cause and the controlling force that governs every motion, whether great or small. Wherefore, in the same connection, Swedenborg writes: "All things of nature are like sheathes around spiritual things, and like tunics around muscular fibers. This is the cause of all the wonders and miracles in nature" (ibid.).

Now, the scientist observes the phenomena of nature and traces them back through what appears as an unbroken chain of causes to a vanishing point beyond which he cannot see; but the truth is that what he discovers is not a chain of causes at all, but a succession of effects. To illustrate, let us suppose that a hunter aims a gun, pulls the trigger which strikes the cap, which explodes the charge, which sends the bullet hurtling toward the target. Here we have what we take for granted is a series of causes that adequately explain the observed results; but by what force was the hand directed to aim the gun, and the finger moved to pull the trigger? On the basis of scientific knowledge, no one really knows. Does anyone really know what force moved the spring that struck the cap, or what force caused the explosion which sent the bullet on its way? Where do any of these forces come from, and what gave them the power they exhibit? We are wont to take for granted that these forces are inherent in nature, that they are self-explanatory, that they have no prior source, and are under no direction or government by a higher power. We give them a name, and consider that we have discovered the cause of the phenomena we see; yet we are confronted by perplexing questions as soon as we delve any deeper. We find variations of these activities that we cannot explain. We cannot predict effects with complete accuracy; and this has given rise to what is called "the uncertainty principle." It becomes obvious that there is more here than meets the eye. Yet men insist, without proof, that this "more" must be of the same mechanical nature as are those forces which are subject to laboratory analysis and measurement; and on this ground they arbitrarily rule out anything supernatural and shut God out of His universe, claiming that the wonders they observe but cannot fully explain are in no sense miracles.

In addition to these everyday occurrences which are so familiar that we take them for granted and cease to wonder, the Writings tell us that the Lord, from time to time, performs "manifest miracles." Thus, in number 655 of the Spiritual Diary we read: "A miracle is that which is effected by the Lord when anything concerns Him, or faith in Him, His heaven, or the church in a universal sense." This statement, taken in connection with other passages where miracles are mentioned, indicates that the Lord, whenever the occasion calls for it, acts in special ways for the sake of man's salvation, to preserve his faith and to direct his life toward the Divine laws of order. There have been times in the history of the race when this could be done only by means of manifest miracles; that is, by things extraordinary and inexplicable, such as to excite wonder and give open evidence of some Divine or supernatural power.

In the Most Ancient Church, when man was in the order of his life and enjoyed celestial perception, manifest miracles were unnecessary. At that time men perceived the Divine love and wisdom in all the wonders of the world, and ascribed everything that happened to the immediate presence and providence of the Lord. They paid little attention to the mechanical forces by means of which these marvels were accomplished. The scientific learning that is so vital to our modern age was to them unimportant because their whole interest was centered in the perception of spiritual truth and good. This was the origin of animism, the identification of life with nature, the ascription of purpose, human personality, to the forces of nature, just as little children do even today. In the Ancient Church this perception was lost; but faith in the presence and government of the Divine Being was preserved through the science of correspondences. Men conceived of the Lord as directing their lives by means of correspondential rituals and the modes of life that constituted their religion. By ordering their lives and presenting the things of nature in special simplified relationships, they could continue to see the operations of the Lord after they had lost the power to do so in the complex happenings of the world at large.

However, as this church declined, as the love of rule and the desire for worldly gain increased, men turned these correspondences to serve their natural ambitions. Their rituals were corrupted, and degenerated into magical practices whereby priests and kings might exercise power over the minds of men; and this progressed until at last idolatry, in many forms, replaced the worship of the one God. The danger increased that all true knowledge of God, of heaven, and of the real purpose of human life would be lost. Then it was that, in order to preserve a remnant of simple faith until the time of the Lord's advent, it was necessary to raise up the representative of a church, as was done among the descendants of Abram. At that time the state of men was such that without manifest miracles they could not be held in any external order that would reflect the true worship of God. Spiritual truth could not be understood, but the Israelitish and Jewish people could be made to observe the outward forms of religion by signs and wonders; rewards and punishments that openly proclaimed the immediate presence of a Divine power. During this period, therefore, the Lord performed the miracles recorded in the Word. This was done, we are told, by a special and unusual influx from the spiritual world into the minds of men, and into the forces of nature. This influx in no way violated the laws of nature, but merely modified their operation, varied their activity in such a way as to produce results which appeared strange and inexplicable.

We shall speak in our next article of this Divine influx; showing from the Writings how it could operate to produce the manifest miracles which modern biblical scholars regard as impossible, as the product of human imagination, or as due to purely natural causes which they are seeking to discover.

3. The Law of Influx by which Miracles Take Place

By "influx" is meant the transmission of life, together with its activity, , from the infinite God who is life itself to the universe of His creation. God is the only substance, the only Being, the only reality. All things in the universe derive their being, their existence, from God. The Divine life proceeding or going forth from God created them, or brought them into being. Everything exists, not only because God created it in the beginning, but because He is constantly creating it, holding it in being and existence from moment to moment. If God should cease to create, if the Divine life should cease to go forth even for an instant, all things would be dissipated. The Divine life is like a flame from which light radiates; if the flame goes out, the light ceases to exist.

That all things of nature are being created and preserved in existence perpetually becomes evident at once if we consider this: What appears to us as solid matter, as stone and metal, or wood and fabric, is really nothing but atomic energy. Each atom of which it is composed is a vibrant center of activity that is the source of unimagined power. Yet this energy is held bound, locked into the confines of the atom, where it takes on the appearance of something dead and inert out of which all the objects of the world are made. No one had any idea that such energy existed until man learned how to split the atom and release its pent-up energy. What mighty power has kept this energy safely locked up through the countless ages of the past? What would happen to the world if that restraining force were relaxed even for the fraction of an instant? Scientists have been afraid that releasing the energy in a few atoms might cause a chain reaction that would destroy the whole world (see AC 5116). We assume that the power which holds atomic energy within bounds is the will of God to create; and unless we postulate such a power we have no way of understanding how atoms came into being in the first place, or how they are prevented from blowing up and are therefore kept in existence continually.

Now, in the production of anything there are three essential elements; namely, end, cause and effect. The end is always a love that gives purpose and intent. In man, love perceived as an interest, a desire, a longing, produces the will to think and to act. This is the conatus or the endeavor from which come all human energy and power. The Divine love is the source of all activity, the power back of atomic energy, the origin of all motion in the entire universe. The essence of this Divine love is the longing to love others outside of itself, to become conjoined with them by mutual love, and to make them happy from itself. Because of this, the :end, the inmost purpose of the Divine love, is that there may be a heaven from the human race; that is, an ever-increasing number of human beings capable of receiving the Divine love, of enjoying its blessings, of loving God in return, and this in greater fullness and perfection to eternity. The cause of anything is the way, the truth, the wisdom by which alone the end of love may be achieved. To love belongs all power, and yet love can produce nothing without wisdom. Love is the soul, but wisdom is the mind by which the conatus or endeavor is determined, directed, or focused upon the accomplishment of the desired goal. A man may long for something, but before he can bring it into being he must picture in his mind not only the finished object but all things necessary to produce it. He must consider how to acquire these needed things. He must learn how to put them together in the order and relationship that will constitute the harmonious one that his love pictures as its goal. This gathering, learning, and ordering constitutes a series of steps or stages by which the love, as it were, advances or goes forth toward the achievement of its purpose.

The same is true, in an infinite degree, of the Divine love, which must go forth or proceed to the creation of a heaven from the human race by means of the Divine wisdom, and this in successive steps or stages. These steps of the Divine proceeding are pictured in the Writings as successive atmospheres around the spiritual sun, tempering its heat and its light, and focusing its activity to the creation of everything needful for the accomplishment of the Divine purpose. These atmospheres are really the truth, the wisdom of God, the Divine mind, in which all things needful to His purpose are foreseen and by which the power of His love is determined, focused toward the production of each distinct and separate thing. Everything that is thus foreseen by the Lord in His wisdom is a use in potency. Everything that the Lord foresees as a use He creates or brings into actual existence; and what He has created He preserves in existence as long as it continues to perform the use. Nothing can possibly come into existence that has not first been foreseen, and thus that has not existed in potency in the spiritual world, that is, the Divine proceeding. This is why the spiritual world is said to be the world of causes, and also a kingdom of uses, for there all possible uses are present in potency.

Since, therefore, the end is the love and the cause is the wisdom, the effect is the use itself in organic form, a form that corresponds to the use, that represents the use, and that makes the use actual. Whatever a man loves he pictures first in his mind, and learns how to accomplish it; but his love is not satisfied until this ideal has become a reality. The love takes on actual form and finds its satisfaction only in the effect; that ' is, in a concrete or material thing, an invention, a work of art, or perhaps a skill in some accomplishment. So also the Divine love creates a whole world of nature, which is therefore called a world of effects. These effects are not only produced but they are perpetually maintained by the Divine love through the Divine wisdom, which is the same as saying, through the spiritual world, the world of directed and focused spiritual forces. Not only the objects of nature but the forces of nature are thus produced and maintained; for nature has no life or power of its own, and no endeavor to motion that is not imparted to it from the spiritual world. Thus we read: "The things that are in nature are nothing but effects; their causes are in the spiritual world, and the causes of these causes, which are ends, are in the interior heaven [and inmostly in the Lord]. Nor can the effect subsist unless the cause is constantly in it, because the effect ceases when the cause ceases. Regarded in itself, the effect is nothing else than the cause, but so clothed outwardly as to enable the cause to act as a cause in a lower sphere" (AC 5711); that is to say, the forces of nature are nothing but the invisible forces of the spiritual world, moving material things and thus acting as a cause in that lower sphere we call the natural world. From this it follows inevitably that nothing can happen in the world of nature that is not under the immediate control and government of the Lord, conceived in His love and brought forth in His wisdom.

Such is the law of influx. By it all the wonders of nature are produced. They are performed according to a fixed and eternal order, because the love or the will of God is directed toward a single and unalterable purpose, namely, the formation of a heaven from the human race. Because this purpose is immutable, the laws of creation are immutable. The activity of the Lord's love and wisdom produces in nature the fixed and constant operations which we call the laws of physics, of chemistry, and of biology. The basic elements of which the world is composed are maintained in the necessary proportion, and they are created to interact and combine to produce all the substances essential to human life. These interactions can be learned, they can be accurately foretold, and their constancy can be depended on; and in consequence they can be intelligently used to promote man's welfare. When men have been confronted by mysterious wonders for which they could not account on the basis of the known laws of nature, having no knowledge of influx or of a spiritual world, they have been wont to ascribe them to some supernatural agency, or else to suppose that they are purely imaginary; but those who have believed in these things as "manifest miracles" have been able to conceive of them only the arbitrary acts of a capricious God, who, being omnipotent, was not bound by any law.

The truth is, however, that the Divine Creator has pursued a constant and undeviating course toward the achievement of His eternal purpose; yet the progress toward that goal has been by distinct steps and stages, each with its own characteristics. The formation of the suns and planets had to precede by millions of years the creation of living organisms. These organisms had to be built up from simple algae to highly complex forms of birds and animals before human beings could be created. The same law of influx produced different effects in each succeeding geological era. At one time there must have been tremendous eruptions and cataclysmic disturbances, such as do not now occur, to explain the formation of the great mountain ranges - the Himalayas, the Alps, the Andes, the Rockies, etc. There is evidence of immense changes in the oceans which at one time covered vast areas of what is now land, changes by which were formed the continents and islands as we now know them. The northern ice cap, now confined to a relatively small region around the pole, at one time extended far south, and has left its signature on the rocks of Europe and America. We know that giant reptiles and other strange creatures, long since extinct, once lived; and they must have performed some important use that is no longer needed. All these things were in ordered preparation of those conditions essential to human life. The purpose of God was ever-constant, but the law of influx produced only those ' effects that were needed at the time.

The same applies to the operation of the law of influx upon the minds of men. While constant in its purpose, it has always been adapted to the specific needs of each stage in the development of the human race. In most ancient times men were in the innocence of scientific ignorance; but because they were unresisting and willing to be led, like infants and little children, the Lord could teach them and direct their life by appearing to them in angelic form. He could inspire them with a love of Divine and heavenly things, and in the light of that love He could cause them to perceive His presence in the whole world, in everything that happened. Nature herself was the means whereby the Lord revealed to them His love and wisdom; but as men turned from the contemplation of spiritual things to the pleasures of the body and the ambitions of the world, they became more and more blind to the presence of God; they became enamored of their own wisdom, relied upon their own intelligence, and ignored the Divine Providence. As we read in Genesis, they "became as gods, knowing good and evil." Nature became more and more opaque, mysterious and incomprehensible to them because they no longer saw in it the face of the Lord. In order to make Himself known, the Lord had to establish a new mode of approach, which He did by means of a written Word. This Word was established on the basis of the oral traditions, the perceptive stories of the Most Ancient Church, passed on from father to son, and at last committed to writing. To these were added new stories, by which the forgotten truth concerning the Lord and His presence, and His government of the world, could be set forth in a simple form that man could grasp even in his fallen state. And the perceptions kindled by these sacred stories could give rise to the science of correspondences, and by this to rituals and forms of worship that would bring influx from heaven and spiritual enlightenment. It may readily be understood that these changes did not involve any violation of the law of influx, but only a needed modification of it to meet a radical change of state, a change in the way men looked upon nature and interpreted its meaning.

As the Ancient Church declined, the stories of the Word became increasingly opaque. The true meaning was lost, the worship of God degenerated into polytheism and idolatry, and the science of correspondences gave way to superstition and magical practices. As a result, influx from heaven into the minds of men was more and more inhibited, and men came under the dominating influence of_. the hells. Then again it was necessary for the Lord to establish a new approach to men, a more external, obvious, and compelling approach, that some connection between heaven and earth might be preserved. This, because somewhere in the. world there must always be at least the outward form of a true religion, for angels and spirits are present with men according to the ideas men hold in their minds with affection. Where these ideas represent what is true and good, angels can be present to inspire love to the Lord and; charity; but where these ideas are corrupt, representing falsities and evils, evil spirits inflow to inspire doubts, the denial of God, hatred, revenge and cruelty. This is why the Lord raised up the representative of a church with the Israelitish and Jewish people, leading them by manifest miracles, by promises of worldly glory and by punishments, to enact a Divine pageant throughout their national history (see AC 7290). This life story of a nation, as recounted in the Old Testament, was prophetic of the Lord's life and glorification, and of the spiritual life of every man, as the Lord would have it. This inner meaning was understood by the angels, and brought their presence and influence with those who were enacting the pageant. This temporary provision for manifest miracles required no violation of the law of influx. The Divine intent and purpose remained the same, but the mode of achieving that purpose was adapted to the state and the need that existed at the time. This adaptation is no more unbelievable than are those to which we have already referred, which took place at different stages in the preparation of the earth to receive and sustain human inhabitants. It is true that many of the miracles recorded in the Word are incomprehensible to us on the basis of our present knowledge; but the Writings do make clear how some of these miracles were performed, and offer the opportunity to discover the 'secret of others, as men advance in the understanding both of the Heavenly Doctrine and the findings of modern science.

4. How and Why Genuine Miracles are Done

Psychological Miracles

We have shown that manifest miracles are possible, and have described the general law of influx by which they are performed; and we will now consider more particularly how and why the miracles of the Word were effected. These miracles, as recorded in the Scripture, are of three distinct kinds: First, psychological miracles, effected by an unusual influx into the minds of men. These include the opening of the spiritual sight by visions and dreams. Such were the visions of Ezekiel, Daniel, and John the Evangelist; and such also were the dreams of the butler, the baker, and Pharaoh, in the story of Joseph. They include also speech with spirits and angels, when the one having the vision is in a state of wakefulness, as was the case when the angels came to Abram, to Lot, and to Gideon; and also when the Lord appeared to the apostles in the upper chamber at Jerusalem, on the road to Emmaus, and at the Sea of Galilee after His resurrection. And finally, they included spiritual phenomena ,mistaken for happenings in the natural world. This was true of the sun standing still, as recorded in Joshua 10: 12, 13; and also of the shadow receding ten degrees on the sundial of Ahaz, as described in II Kings 20: 8-11.

Cosmic miracles were effected by an unusual influx into nature apart from human minds. This would apply to the dividing of the waters of the Red Sea and of the river Jordan; also to the stilling of the tempest, and to the earthquake that removed the stone from the mouth of the Lord's sepulchre. In addition to these, there are cosmic miracles produced by what the Writings call "illation," which is a modification of the creative process. These may be illustrated by the seven years of famine, and of plenty, in the time of Joseph; also by the oil that did not fail in the widow's cruse, by the manna that fell on the camp of Israel, by the loaves and fishes that fed the multitudes, and by the withered fig tree. In the same category may be placed the healing of diseases, although this was also partly psychological. And finally, the same process was involved in the raising of the dead. It is our purpose to investigate from the Writings how the law of influx applies to each of these different kinds of miracles; but in this article we would direct attention especially to those we have called psychological.

"Divine miracles," we read, "have been wrought in accordance with Divine order, but in accordance with the order of an influx of the spiritual world into the natural world, about which order nothing has been known heretofore, because heretofore no one has known anything about the spiritual world" (TCR 91). This means that the key to the understanding of how miracles can be performed lies in that which is now revealed concerning the intimate relation that exists between the two worlds. And because, although we are unaware of it, we are actually living in both worlds at the same time, everything that is said about the operations of the human mind has a direct bearing on the subject of psychological miracles. The teaching is that consciousness arises only when an affection or a love from the spiritual world meets a series of sense impulses coming from our material environment. This meeting takes place in the interiors of the cortical cells of the brain. Normally, we are unaware of any spiritual influx, perceiving affections as if they originated in ourselves or were produced in us by the objects that seemingly cause our sensations. Yet the mind or spirit of man is created to sense objectively not only spirits and angels but also the appearances that constitute the objects of the spiritual world; and immediately after death, the spirit, separated from the body in which it has been formed, awakens to conscious life in that world.

This being true, it is by no means unbelievable that on special occasions, and for particular reasons essential to the spiritual life both of the individual and of the race, the temporary ability to become conscious of our spiritual environment may be granted before the body dies. There is impressive evidence that something of this nature takes place even at the present day. We find it in carefully authenticated instances in which, through a vision, a dream, or a mysterious intuition, a person has become aware of the exact moment when a loved one at a distance was in mortal danger or on the point of death. Also, there is internal evidence in the Writings, for which no other explanation is possible, that Swedenborg enjoyed open communication with spirits for nearly thirty years. However, we are also taught that the veil between the two worlds is carefully guarded by the Lord in order to protect man's freedom. This veil is lifted only for special reasons connected with the Divine Providence, and in ways that will not interfere with man's spiritual freedom. Any deliberate effort on man's part to lift that veil is contrary to order, and against this we are given solemn warning. This is the evil in spiritism, which tends to substitute direct guidance by spirits for man's rational judgment and personal responsibility.

The Lord has lifted this veil in all ages, but only as far as would further the ends of His providence and promote the spiritual welfare of the race. He has done so in different ways at different times, and in answer to a specific need. In most ancient times the privilege of communication with spirits and angels could be granted to many because man was then in the order of his life. He had no hereditary tendency to evil, was inspired by love to the Lord and charity, and had no desire to abuse this privilege of spiritual vision by turning it to the attainment of selfish and worldly ends. In the Ancient Church, spiritual vision was restricted to those who were specially prepared to serve as instruments through whom the Word was given. In the Jewish Church, not only the prophets but other leaders of the people were permitted communication with angels at every critical period in the history of the nation. Through them the Lord gave immediate Divine instruction and guidance. Thus He appeared in angelic form to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Joshua, and to Gideon. During His life on earth the Lord showed Himself in spiritual vision to Peter, James and John at the transfiguration on the mount; and, after His resurrection, to all the apostles, to Mary Magdalene, and others. And finally, He introduced Emanuel Swedenborg into the spiritual world in a new way, with a continuity and a rational insight never possible before.

As we have already indicated, this opening of the spiritual sight was done in two distinct ways: by a complete removal of all external sensation and consciousness, as during sleep or when in a kind of trance; and at other times in wakefulness, when the person was aware of his earthly environment. Sometimes the celestial visitor was recognized as a supernatural being, and at other times was at first mistaken for a man in a material body. This was the case when the three angels appeared to Abraham in Mamre, and when the two angels came to Lot in Sodom; also when Mary mistook the Lord for the gardener at the door of the sepulchre, and when He joined the two disciples on their walk to Emmaus. We are distinctly told in the Writings that such appearances were not brought about by assuming an earthly body but by opening the spiritual sight, in a state of full wakefulness, so that both worlds were perceived at the same time; but only with Swedenborg was this done in such a way that he might compare the two worlds and learn the mode by which they are interrelated.

This lifting of the veil that separates the two worlds was not done in a way to violate the law of influx, but rather by a temporary modification of that law, in complete accord with the Lord's unchanging purpose to protect man's spiritual freedom and promote his eternal welfare and the salvation of the human race. It was a purely psychological experience, a state of mind, personal and individual, brought about by an unusual influx of love or affection that opened the mind to a degree of objective spiritual perception. Is there not something akin to this in dreams, which, although they are purely imaginary, are nevertheless mental pictures of emotions and affections the nature of which we do not perceive? The Writings clearly indicate that the function of the imagination is to make affections tangible, that we may sense and enjoy their qualities. The difference would seem to be that in dreams we are not conscious of our spiritual environment as is the case in genuine visions, but rather perceive forms gathered from our own memory by the love that is active at the time. In the case of visions, on the other hand, something of Divine import which transcends our personal affections is presented to our view, though we may have no realization of its true significance. This certainly was the case with the prophets of the Old Testament, and also with the disciples.

For a full understanding of genuine spiritual visions, much more knowledge is required than we now possess as to the operations of the human mind, both before and after death. Yet enough is revealed to demonstrate that such an experience is certainly within the realm of possibility because of the fact that the mind is between the two worlds, and is created to enjoy consciousness in both of them. Normally, during the life of the body, while impulses are received from both worlds, the focus of attention is held fixed upon the natural world, to which all our mental experiences are ascribed; but after the spirit is separated from the body, while it continues to receive impulses from the natural world through the minds of those still living there, the focus of attention is shifted to the spiritual world. That such a shift can be brought about temporarily, when in the Lord's wisdom such a need arises, would not therefore seem to be fantastic or unbelievable.

In order that he might instruct men concerning the mode whereby the Lord parted the veil between the two worlds, Swedenborg was permitted to pass through the states experienced by the prophets. In no. 6212 of the Arcana Coelestia, we read: "As I longed to know in what manner these men [the prophets] were actuated by spirits, I was shown by means of a living experience. To this end I was for a whole night possessed by spirits, who so took possession of my bodily things that I had. only a very obscure sensation that it was my own body. . . . From this state, in which I was during the night until morning, I was instructed how the prophets, through whom spirits spake and acted, were possessed; namely, that the spirits had possession of their bodies insomuch that scarcely anything was left except that they knew that they existed. There were certain spirits appointed to this use who did not desire to obsess men, but merely to enter into man's bodily affections, and when they enter into these, they enter into all things of the body. The spirits who were usually with me said that I was absent from them while I remained in this state. The spirits who possessed my body, as formerly the bodies of the prophets, afterward talked with me, and said that at the time they knew no otherwise than that they had life as when in the body, besides saying much more. I was told further that there were also other influxes with the prophets to enable them to be at their own disposal and to use their own thought, except that spirits spake with them, for the most part at that time within them; but that this influx was not into the thought and will, but was merely a discourse that came to their hearing."

This would seem to indicate that the inspiration of the prophets was produced by a more powerful influx of emotion, affection or love induced by a society of angelic spirits other than those with whom they were ordinarily associated. This influx was so strong that it, as it were, paralyzed the normal processes of thought, and imposed mental states and experiences that were not natural to the man but were from the angels or spirits affecting him at the time. It was so powerful that it not only put words into the mouth of the prophet which he knew were not his own, and of which he said, "Thus saith the Lord," but at times it would impel him to do strange things; as when Jeremiah hid his girdle in a cave and brought it forth marred to show how the house of Israel had been spoiled by idolatry (Jeremiah 13: 1-11). Always the thing done under such compulsion was correspondential, and representative of some Divine truth, which is the same as saying that it was prophetic. Spirits can produce a similar compulsion even today if a person yields his mind to them. They may cause what is felt as an irresistible impulse to some action, often a violent action that is later regretted; but this possession of the mind and body by spirits might merely impel speech, as when the prophet declared, "Thus saith the Lord"; or it might cause him to hear a voice, as it were within himself, saying something which he then at his leisure could repeat to others.

At the time of the Lord's life in the world, the world of spirits was so completely under the dominance of evil spirits that obsession was not uncommon. It was brought about by conditions of life, fears, insecurity, anxiety, for which the man was not responsible. It was a kind of insanity from which the Lord brought release by effecting a judgment upon the societies of evil spirits that were causing it. This is what is meant when it is said that the Lord "cast out demons." All who are insane are obsessed by spirits in a similar way; but this is due to some disease or injury to the brain which deprives man of the ability to control his mental faculties. But since the Last judgment, such obsession as existed at the time of the Lord's life is no longer permitted. The power to obsess in that way has been broken by the dispersal of those evil societies in the world of spirits. Spirits cannot now take possession of a normal mind against the man's will, but they still do produce states of mind over which we have no control.

Of these, the late Bishop N. D. Pendleton wrote: "Life, in its imperceptible passing through the soul into the mind, not only lends itself to the formation of rational ideas, but also it continually operates to change the states of the mind. This formation of rational ideas is accompanied by no sensing of the influx, while the alterations of the states of the mind are felt both in the mind and in the body. We feel these changes of state superficially and obscurely as changes in our moods. We are sad or glad, we are uplifted or depressed. We speak somewhat lightly of them as passing moods. But this because we have only a casual and surface perception of that which is the deepest of life's movements within us, guided by God and bearing us to consequences foreseen by Him alone" (Selected Papers and Addresses, pages 208, 209). We recommend that article for your perusal as very suggestive in connection with the subject of psychological miracles. Such miracles are not so far removed from experiences that we take for granted and dismiss from our thought without understanding them. The operations of the human mind transcend scientific analysis; they all involve what is supernatural. Only when we know that they are produced by association with spirits can we begin to understand them and trace them to their cause. The more we do so, the better will we understand how the Lord could bring about those psychological miracles that are recorded in the Word.

There are two psychological miracles which would seem to be unique. That which is described in Joshua, chapter ten, is as follows: "Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel" (vv. 12-14). Concerning this miracle we are told in the Apocalypse Explained no. 401: "It is said that the sun and the moon stood in their place, that is, before the sons of Israel, that they might see their enemies; but this, although it is told as history, is a prophecy, as is evident from its being said, `Is not this written in the book of Jasher?' which was a prophetical book from which this was taken; so it was from the same book that it was said, `until the nation was avenged upon its enemies,' and not until the sons of Israel were avenged upon their enemies, the term `nation' being used prophetically. This is evident from the fact that if this miracle had occurred altogether in this way the whole nature of the world would have been inverted, which is not the case with the other miracles in the Word. That it might be known, therefore, that this was said prophetically, it is added, `Is not this written in the book of Jasher?' And yet it is not to be doubted that there was given to them a light out of heaven, a light in Gibeon like that of the sun, and a light in the valley of Aijalon like that of the moon."

It is evident from these words that this was not a cosmic but a psychological miracle. It was a state of mind that made the sun and the moon appear to stand still. The "light given them out of heaven" was like that given to the shepherds on the night the Lord was born. It was given by an opening of their spiritual sight, and it may have been seen only by Joshua, who was watching the battle. To those engaged in the battle there naturally would be but little awareness of time; but to Joshua it may have seemed miraculous that they could complete the pursuit and conquest of the Amorites before darkness overtook them. It may have appeared to him in a vision as if the sun and the moon stood still, and this vision may have been granted for correspondential reasons, to represent the truth that the Lord, in His providence, does prolong the time and protect the good in the decline of the church, until the consummation is complete and a judgment can take place without injury to the good. That it was a spiritual vision is indicated in the fact that it was regarded as a fulfillment of the prophecy in the book of Jasher, which was a book of the Ancient Word, written in pure correspondences, with no intent of recording a cosmic fact.

The same would apply to the miracle of the shadow going back ten degrees on the sundial of Ahaz. Hezekiah, the king of Judah, was mortally ill; but when he prayed to the Lord to spare his life, the Lord appeared to Isaiah the prophet, saying, "Turn again and tell Hezekiah, the captain of My people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears; behold I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up into the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years. . . . And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day? And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that He hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or back ten degrees? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord, and He brought the shadow backward ten degrees, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz." If this had been a cosmic happening it would have involved the reversal of the order of nature, and this the Lord never does. But all the requirements of the Scripture are met if we understand that king Hezekiah. having his spiritual eyes opened, beheld the sundial of Ahaz in a vision, and saw the shadow on it return ten degrees, as a representative sign of the Lord's promise.

5. How and Why Genuine Miracles are Done

Cosmic Miracles

To one raised in the intellectual atmosphere of present-day Western civilization, cosmic miracles seem even more fantastic than those that are purely psychological. We know from experience that mental states are strictly personal, unpredictable, and difficult to understand; but the mechanical forces of nature have been so accurately measured, and their effects can be foretold with such certainty, that we find it hard to believe in any modification of them by a supernatural agency; yet their operations are being modified by human inventions in ways which no one would have imagined possible a generation ago. Consider such marvelous accomplishments as moving pictures, radio, television, rocketry, and aircraft capable of supersonic speeds. Think of the hundreds of useful materials produced by the plastics industry, possessing properties not found in any natural substance before known. Few would question the seemingly limitless possibilities of future discoveries and inventions that may revolutionize our whole way of life.

The simple concept of the universe and its structure, with which the scientists of the nineteenth century were so complacently satisfied, has been violently disrupted since Albert Einstein has opened up such new and unsuspected avenues of scientific thought. Our idea of how the forces of nature can be modified has been tremendously expanded, until we hardly dare to say that anything is too wonderful to be achieved by the human intellect; but, strangely enough, all this has served only to confirm men more than ever against the possibility of Divine miracles. We all grow up in the midst of this determined skepticism. It presses in upon our minds, both openly and in subtle ways, every day of our lives, and we cannot escape from it.

Although we know in our hearts that there is a God who created all things and maintains all things in existence perpetually, although we profess, and indeed believe as a matter of religion, that the Divine Providence must control every least thing that happens, still, how this Divine Being actually governs the forces of nature and compels them to serve the ends of His infinite wisdom, this remains for us a mystery of faith. That mystery cannot be resolved without far more knowledge than we now possess; not only of science, but, what is more important still, of that which is now revealed concerning the spiritual world and the laws by which it operates to direct the forces of nature. Lacking this knowledge, we cannot as yet reasonably explain many of the cosmic miracles of the Word - such wonders as the parting of the waters of the Red Sea, the sudden destruction of the walls of Jericho, or the Lord's walking on the Sea of Galilee. We know that such things were not accomplished by any violation of physical laws, but rather by some modification of them by means of a special and unusual influx from the spiritual world. Beyond this we cannot go, and we have no interest in trying to invent out of our human imagination theories to account for these marvels until we have discovered some reliable basis for them, both in fact and in the truth of revelation.

Our purpose in treating of this subject is to demonstrate that there is a solution waiting to be discovered, one that will satisfy the requirements of rational understanding and increase our realization of the Lord's immediate presence and unfailing providence. It is a solution that will never be found by scientific investigation alone; nor will it be found by theological learning alone. Only as these two foundations of truth are brought together, and seen in harmonious relationship, will genuine insight into the wonders of nature be possible. This kind of research is the peculiar function of a New Church university, in which alone specialists in science and specialists in theology may pool their findings and weld them into a unified philosophy. This is the marvelous opportunity, the exalted goal, that lies before New Church education, made possible by the Lord at His second coming, because "now it is permitted to enter intellectually into the mysteries of faith."

Although we cannot now explain these cosmic miracles, the knowledge that the means have been provided whereby the answer can be discovered is of the highest importance as a bulwark against the skepticism of our modern age that tends to undermine all faith in the authority and the integrity of the Word. But while we are patient, and refuse to force the issue before we have any just grounds for a solution, it is equally important that we pursue the subject as far as our present knowledge may permit. We believe that it is possible even today to understand, at least in some measure, how those cosmic miracles were performed that are said to have been done by what is called "illation."

The word "illation" comes from the Latin illatio, which is cognate with the French inferre, meaning "to carry or bring in." In common usage it means "the act or process of inferring from premises or reasons; hence, that which is inferred or deduced." But the Writings define the word as meaning the creative process whereby actual things are brought forth in nature by means of the spiritual forces of the Divine proceeding. Thus, we read in Additions to the True Christian Religion, no. 695: "Miracles which are recorded in the Word . . . took place by an influx out of the prior into the posterior world, and . . . they were produced by an introduction of such things as are in the spiritual world into corresponding things in the natural world; for example, that the manna which every morning descended upon the camp of the children of Israel was produced by bread from heaven being introduced into the recipient vessels of nature; and that in like manner, bread and fishes were thus introduced into the baskets of the apostles, which they distributed to so many thousands of men; again, that wine out of heaven was instilled into the water in the pots at the wedding where the Lord was present; further, that the fig tree withered because there was no longer any influx into it of spiritual nutriment, by which it was fed from the roots; and finally, that such was the case with the other miracles; and they were not produced, according to the insane notions of some of the learned at the present day, by causes summoned from all parts of nature. Miracles, therefore, are the effects of the Divine omnipotence, and take place according to the influx of the spiritual into the natural world, with this difference only, that such things as actually exist in the spiritual world are actually introduced into such things in the natural world as correspond."

What can be meant in this number by "bread" or "wine" from heaven being introduced into "recipient vessels" in the natural world? You recall what was said in a previous article about the spiritual world being the Divine proceeding, that is, the Divine love going forth according to the Divine wisdom to create all things of use to the formation of a heaven from the human race. It is the mind of God foreseeing all things needful to the accomplishment of His Divine will, together with the infinite wisdom by which they may be brought into being. In that spiritual world, or that Divine proceeding, therefore, all things that ever have been, or that ever can be created, already exist in potency. By this we mean that the power is there; and that power is focused or directed to do or accomplish what the Divine Creator wills. The spiritual world, therefore, is a kingdom of uses, which uses exist, however, only as conatus, as endeavor, as the force adequate to produce the end desired and foreseen. This force must form for itself an embodiment, a clothing, an organic form in which it may live, and by means of which it may actually accomplish its purpose. This clothing must be drawn from the material world, molded from "recipient vessels" in that world. What are meant by "recipient vessels"? They must be the least units out of which all material things are made; namely, the atoms, those vibrant centers of energy so completely bound in as to produce what appears as matter, dead and inert. Atoms vary as to their internal structure, of which as yet men have only a vague and imperfect idea, but they all have one thing in common; namely, that they combine to form molecules, and these combine to form substances. They are caused to combine by the forces of the spiritual world, and the substances they produce were all potentially present in that world from the beginning, present because foreseen and provided in the infinite wisdom of God.

"Bread" from heaven, therefore, is the creative force by which material bread is brought into being by bringing together and organizing the atoms which are "recipient vessels" into the form and substance of what we know as natural bread. Normally, this creative force is present in a grain of wheat, which, by the gradual process of growth, produces the blade, the stalk, the ear, and in the ear the grain multiplied a thousandfold. It is the same creative force that brings into being the other necessary ingredients of bread - the water, the salt, the yeast, the shortening, etc. It is the same creative force, operating according to the laws of organic and inorganic chemistry, that combines these various elements together under the influence of heat to make them wholesome and fit for human food. Let us not forget that the real, and indeed the only power back of all physical and chemical action, is the directed force of the spiritual world, the creative activity of the Divine proceeding; for nature, by which we mean that dead and inert thing produced by a single atom, has no power whatever in itself.

It follows that "bread" is really made, not by man but solely by the Lord, who has foreseen and provided that use to man's physical body which bread performs, and that "use" is perpetually present in potency in the spiritual world where the forces necessary to produce it are constantly maintained. If the ingredients of bread were not created to combine; it would not be possible for man to make them into bread. Man does not combine them. When they are brought together in due proportion, and under the proper conditions of heat, the combination takes place automatically, as if of itself. But this combination is so familiar that we take it for granted, and think that we have made the bread. This appearance that man makes the bread is according to the Divine will and purpose; for the end is not to feed the body but to form the mind and spirit of man that he may consciously receive love and wisdom from the Lord, and freely love the Lord and serve Him in return. To this end it is vital that man should be given a part to play, a use to perform, an opportunity to do what the Lord requires of him, or refuse to do so. This is why the creative force operates so slowly, by such various means, so silently and invisibly; and why the active co-operation of man is demanded in the process. Yet, if we analyze the bread, the finished product, and reduce it to its least component parts, we find there nothing but atoms marvelously arranged and combined.

Now let us consider: such atoms as these are present everywhere in all the substances of the world, and wherever they are they constitute "recipient vessels" capable of being moved and organized by the forces of the spiritual world. Is it impossible to believe that "bread from heaven," the Divine purpose and intent to create bread, may not gather the necessary "recipient vessels" quickly, without man's help, without the slow process of growth and production of separate ingredients, and mold these "recipient vessels" into the finished product? The required forces are all present, and the materials are at hand. The part that man plays is, after all, only an apparent one. The task is really accomplished by the Lord; and if, under a special circumstance, it is important that man should not have even an apparent part to play, cannot the Lord accomplish His purpose alone? So, also, if we consider that by "wine" from heaven is meant the Divine will and wisdom to create wine, which is done ordinarily by a gradual process that requires human co-operation, may this not be accomplished quickly, in case of need, and without man's co-operation? It is this Divine creative force, active in the seeds of grapes, that by a process of growth produces the juice from which wine is distilled. Every time this happens, water is turned into wine before our very eyes, yet so gradually, and in a way so familiar, that we are blind to what the Lord is doing, and forget to wonder. We think so much of our own labor and skill in tending the vineyards and the wine press, and in pursuing the vintner's art, that we ignore the spiritual forces at work. Yet without them we could accomplish nothing.

In the miracles effected by "illation" the law of influx by which creation takes place is not violated in the least. It is merely hastened, and all appearance of man's participation is eliminated; and this is done only when it is required for the preservation of man's spiritual life. All miracles of healing were performed by some form of illation because healing is a creative process, preservation being a perpetual creation. One of the most obvious examples of how nature is governed by invisible spiritual forces is the way in which the body mysteriously heals itself. All its life forces are spontaneously mobilized, marshaled and directed toward any spot or organ that is injured or attacked by destructive organisms that cause disease, and this for the purpose of counteracting the infection and rebuilding tissues that have been injured or destroyed. In this task medicine and surgery can help by removing obstructions or providing needed material; but the healing itself, the rebuilding of tissues, is a task performed by inflowing life; that is, by spiritual forces in the Divine proceeding.

Here again it is a matter of bringing forth in material form a use or purpose foreseen by the Lord and provided in His wisdom. This is a marvelous ordering of "recipient vessels" into living organs of flesh and blood, capable of performing some needed function in the human body. That the source of power to maintain the health of the body is really in the spiritual world is shown by the fact that physical functions are so markedly affected by states of mind. Affections, emotions, loves, greatly modify bodily reactions. In normal health the interests that focus our attention, and rouse in the imagination the image of some desired goal, bring all the forces and abilities of the body to our aid in accomplishing our end; but when the mind is gripped by fear, anxiety, anger, or persistent hatred and the desire for revenge, the order of the whole bodily system is disrupted. The normal balance of its secretions is upset. The digestion of food, the ability to sleep, and the normal functioning of the entire organism to preserve the harmonious co-operation of all its parts are thrown into disorder, and disease results. These emotions, as we have seen, inflow from the spiritual world to produce conscious life, in which alone there can be human freedom and responsibility. In order to preserve this freedom, which is vital to man's salvation, the Lord adapts His creative process, the general influx of the Divine proceeding which builds and maintains the body - this He adapts to man's will or free choice.

This is why healing is controlled, in some significant degree, by psychology, that is, by states of mind; and man has a part and a personal responsibility in it. This is why the Lord healed only those who had faith in His Divinity, and why He could perform no miracle of healing in Nazareth, where He had grown up from childhood. All the forces necessary to preserve the health of the body are perpetually present in the spiritual world; and all the "recipient vessels" needed to clothe the various uses of the body in organic forms are present in the atoms of which all material things are composed. But the purpose of the body is to provide for the formation of the eternal spirit; and when this use is fulfilled it must be cast off in order that the spirit may enter into that higher life for which it is Divinely destined. Wherefore the Lord did not perform miracles of healing except for spiritual reasons - for the welfare of the one who was cured, and for the spiritual instruction and inspiration of all men, and thus for the welfare of the race. In our next article we shall speak of why manifest miracles are not performed at this day; of why the record of them, preserved in the Word, is nevertheless necessary to our spiritual life; and of what takes the place of manifest miracles in the establishment of the New Church.

6. Why Manifest Miracles are not Performed at the Present Day

We are told in the Writings that manifest miracles ceased after the coming of the Lord into the world, and that they no longer occur (DP 132). We must understand, however, that this refers only to those special miracles which were necessary as a means of establishing the representative of a church with the descendants of Abraham. Manifest miracles of a different kind have been performed in every age throughout the entire history of the race. As we have seen, the miracle of open communication with spirits and angels was a familiar experience to the people of the Most Ancient Church. During the period of the Ancient Church, spiritual vision was granted to the prophets through whom the Word was given. After the Lord's resurrection, John the Evangelist, on the Isle of Patmos, was shown the prophetic visions recorded in the Apocalypse; and seventeen hundred years later Emanuel Swedenborg was introduced into the spiritual world, and was permitted to explore the wonders of that world continuously over a period of many years. In fact, no new church could ever be established without the giving of a new Divine revelation; and this in itself is a miracle.

Yet the truth is that the miracles which were characteristic of the Jewish dispensation did not occur before the time of Abraham, and ceased shortly after the Lord's resurrection. They were not needed in more ancient times, and they would only prove to be injurious to man's spiritual life if they were performed today. The reason this is so is that they tend to compel belief. They stir the emotions, inducing awe and wonder by which man is impelled to believe without understanding. They can produce no more than a blind faith. They deprive man of the free choice, the individual judgment and the personal responsibility that are necessary to regeneration. Our character is formed, and regeneration takes place, not as a result of what we do under emotional stress, but rather as a result of what we do from a conscience based on an internal perception of truth.

Concerning this we read: "No one is reformed by miracles and signs because they compel…. It is from the Divine Providence of the Lord that a man should act from liberty according to reason; but both these laws of man's being would be nullified if miracles were performed.... It cannot be denied that miracles induce a belief, and strongly persuade that that is true which is said and taught by him who performs the miracles; and that this at first so occupies the external of man's thought as in a manner to fascinate and enchain it: but the man is thereby deprived of his two faculties, called rationality and liberty, by which he is enabled to act from freedom according to reason; and then the Lord cannot flow in through the internal into the external of his thought, but only leaves him to confirm from his rationality that thing which by the miracle was made an object of belief (DP 130). And further we are taught: "If man could be reformed by miracles and visions all would be reformed in the entire world; wherefore it is a holy law of the Divine Providence that internal freedom should not at all be violated, for by that freedom the Lord enters into man, even into the hell where he is, and by that freedom leads him there, and brings him forth thence, if he be willing to follow, and introduces him into heaven, and nearer and nearer to Himself in heaven. Thus and no otherwise man is brought out from infernal freedom, which viewed in itself is servitude, because from hell, and is introduced into celestial freedom, which is freedom itself, and which becomes by degrees more free, and at length most free, because from the Lord, whose will it is that man should not be at all compelled. This is the way of man's reformation, but this way is closed by miracles and visions (AE 1155: 4).

Manifest miracles were efficacious with the Jewish people because they were so externally minded that they had no desire to know or to understand spiritual truth. They were interested only in satisfying the needs of the body and the ambitions of the world. Therefore they were incapable of exercising spiritual freedom, because this is possible only so far as spiritual truth is seen and understood. For this reason they could not be regenerated during the life of the body, although those who sincerely and faithfully obeyed the commandments of Jehovah could be kept in a state of willingness to receive instruction in the spiritual world after the bonds of the physical body and of the material world had been removed. Indeed, this was the only way in which they could possibly be saved. Because they could not be led by a spiritual understanding of truth, and thus from within, they had to be led by external means, such as miracles and wonders, promises and threats; yet being led by external compulsion was not injurious to them because it could not take away a freedom of which they were incapable. This is why, for them, manifest miracles were not only permitted but were an absolute necessity. Nevertheless, these miracles did not produce with them any genuine or lasting faith. This is evident from the fact that "although they saw so many miracles in the land of Egypt, afterwards at the Red Sea, others in the wilderness, and especially upon Mount Sinai when the law was promulgated, yet in the space of a month, when Moses tarried upon that mountain, they made themselves a golden calf and acknowledged it for Jehovah who brought them out of the land of Egypt. The same also may appear from the miracles wrought afterwards in the land of Canaan, notwithstanding which the people so often departed from the worship that was commanded; and from the miracles which the Lord wrought before them when He was in the world, notwithstanding which they crucified Him (DP 132).

No man can be compelled from without to believe, from which is derived the well-known saying, "a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." From this it follows that a spiritual faith cannot be founded on miracles and signs, but only on the internal understanding and perception of truth. The Lord, therefore, came into the world to set men free from the bonds of a miraculous faith by opening their minds to the spiritual truth of His Word. It was His Divine will and purpose from the beginning that men should be led freely from within by a seeing or understanding faith, in order that they might be able to keep the Divine law, not from necessity or compulsion, but of their own volition. When a man is governed from within by the internal bonds of conscience, he appears to himself to be free, as he cannot possibly be as long as he is under the pressure of fear or any form of external compulsion. The very joy and happiness of heaven consists in this sense of freedom; and to impart that happiness in ever-increasing measure is the supreme end of the Lord's infinite love. This is why the Lord, at His coming, abolished the external formalism of the Jewish church. He repudiated the idea that the meticulous observance of the Mosaic law was the only requirement for salvation. He taught His disciples that "God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John 4: 24). He taught that the only offerings truly acceptable to God were love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor, implanted in the heart, and that the Divine law according to which man must live if he is to be saved is nothing but the way in which these two loves can be outwardly expressed and made actual in word and deed. Aside from this there is no law by which man should feel bound; and when he keeps this law, not from compulsion but because he loves it and understands it, then indeed is he free. It is obvious, therefore, that this kind of freedom could not exist if man were impelled to believe, not by rational understanding and insight, but solely because of manifest miracles. No one who is dependent upon signs and wonders as the bases for belief can be blessed with a spiritual faith. As far as one does rest satisfied with a miraculous faith, his mind is closed against the desire and the consequent search for a rational understanding of religious truth. It follows, therefore, that the New Church, which is to be a spiritual religion, cannot be established by manifest miracles.

Yet the miracles that are recorded in the Old and New Testaments are necessary, and will continue to be of increasing importance as the church progresses. This is so for three reasons: because of their value to children, and to all who are in childlike states; because to the adult members of the church they picture forth and represent, in a way not otherwise possible, important truths concerning the miracle of man's regeneration; and finally, because they illustrate the laws of influx and the operation of the Divine Providence in its government of the universe. The knowledge of these miracles performs for every individual child the same service that the miracles themselves performed for the Jewish people at the, time when they occurred. Each individual passes through the successive stages in the process of growth that the race passed through in its development. Children, like the Jewish people, are incapable of exercising spiritual freedom. Before the rational mind is developed they cannot grasp spiritual truth. They must be under obedience to parents and teachers, and must be led by the Lord through external means. They must begin with a miraculous faith, a belief in the Word, before its true meaning can be understood. The miracles of the Word impress upon their minds the first general truth of all religion: namely, that there is a God, that He is all-powerful, that He is everywhere present, and that He governs all things. By this miraculous faith, remains of love to the Lord are implanted with them that later may open their minds to the Word and lead them to investigate its internal sense. Such a miraculous or historical faith comes first with all who are regenerated. It must precede and prepare the way for a truly spiritual faith with the individual, even as it preceded with the race and prepared the way for the reception of the Lord at His coming (AE 815: 5).

A further reason why the miracles of the Word are important to the New Church is because of their spiritual meaning, which is explained in the Writings. They are a necessary part of the continuous internal sense of the Word. When spiritually interpreted they are found to contain vital instruction concerning the process of the Lord's glorification, concerning the way in which the Lord regenerates man, and concerning the way in which He molds the minds of children and young people as they advance toward adult age. They disclose the principles governing the way in which evils and falsities may be overcome, and thus how the spirit of man is healed of its diseases, or how, in providence, he is enabled to conquer the enemies of his spiritual life. And finally, as we have already mentioned, they are an indispensable aid in our endeavor to understand the laws of the Divine Providence, in their practical application to the control and government of the forces of nature by the Lord.

The church will enter into this use of the miracles of the Word increasingly as the men of the church progress in the conquest of scientific knowledge and in the understanding of those wonderful teachings of the Writings that reveal the relation of the spiritual world to the natural world. What the Lord sets forth in the Word is of unending value to the race. The Lord does not speak for time but for eternity; yet the particular service that the letter of the Word performs will vary, and will depend upon the state of him who reads it. Thus it performs one use to children, and another to adults. It performs one use to an adult who knows little or nothing of the internal sense and another use to one who is acquainted with the teaching of the Writings, a use that will change as the understanding and love of that teaching increase. Thus it can perform only a general and relatively superficial use to the church in its beginning, as compared to that which it will perform in future ages when the church has acquired a deeper insight and a more perfect understanding.

We are told directly that the New Church cannot be established by means of miracles. What then, we may ask, is to take the place of miracles in its establishment? In the syllabus of the Invitation to the New Church, we read: "This church is not instituted and established through miracles but through the revelation of the spiritual sense [of the Word], and through the introduction of my spirit, and at the same time of my body, into the spiritual world, so that I might know there what heaven and hell are, and that in light I might imbibe immediately from the Lord the truths of faith, whereby man is led to eternal life." This introduction into the spiritual world is indeed a miracle; yet it is not this on which the New Church is founded. The mere claim by Swedenborg that he had experienced these things would not by itself inspire a genuine faith. No one would believe in the Writings just because while visiting Gothenburg Swedenborg saw and accurately described a fire that was raging near his house in Stockholm. Nor would anyone accept his teachings because he revealed to the Queen of Sweden a secret that could have been known only to her deceased brother. From the beginning, all things of this nature have been regarded by New Church men as matters of little importance. They have never been considered as the basis for a belief in the Heavenly Doctrine.

The basis for the faith of the New Church is not a miracle, nor any supernatural experience of Emanuel Swedenborg, but solely the spiritual truth of the Writings, which is so consistent, so rational, so inescapably convincing that no one who is unbiased can read and ponder on it without being profoundly affected by it. To believe because the truth is seen, perceived to be self-evident and rationally unassailable, is to be led by the Lord from within, willingly, gladly, with no sense of external compulsion. This is well described in no. 133 of the Divine Providence, where it is said of those in such a faith: "They do not desire miracles, but they believe the miracles which are recorded in the Word; and if they hear anything of a miracle they attend no otherwise to it than as a light argument which confirms their faith, for they think from the Word, consequently from the Lord and not from a miracle." We take this to mean that they think from the internal sense of the Word, or from the spiritual truth that the Word teaches. The real miracle of the Lord's second coming is the fact that He has revealed this truth, brought it within the compass of man's finite comprehension, and made it possible for man to advance in the understanding and application of it to all eternity. In this way He has made it possible for man to cooperate with Him and with His Divine Providence in freedom, and thus to be led willingly from within to keep the Divine law, and to order his life voluntarily in accord with the will and the wisdom of the Lord.

-New Church Life 1958;78:218-223,269-275, 314-319, 384-391,413-419, 463-468

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ACTUAL POWER

"Good has power through truth because truth is the form of good. In this way good has that whereby it can work on other things. From this it is that good has ability, but not determined to anything except by means of truth. Ability determined is actual power" (AC 9643).

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