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To perform a miracle, is not, as many
imagine, to do a thing in defiance of all law and order, spiritual or
natural; but it is to bring down a certain order of the spiritual world into
the natural, and to exhibit the same in some act or effect, which could not
be produced by the ordinary laws of nature. These laws, on the nearer
approach, or more direct action, than usual, of spiritual agents on matter,
are partially controlled or suspended, so as to admit of the superior laws
of the spiritual world to have their full, free, and instantaneous effect,
either on the bodies of men, or on the matters and substances of the natural
world. Hence, by the more immediate presence of supernatural agency,
diseases of the body were healed, new arrangements of its injured or decayed
vessels, forms, and substances, were made; a healthy state of feeling was
infused into them; and miraculous cures were performed, first at the
good-will and pleasure of the Lord himself, and afterwards at the word or
prayer of his Apostles. Hence also, by an extraordinary descent of spiritual
influx into nature, at the time of the Lord's crucifixion and resurrection,
the veil of the temple was literally rent, the earth or ground was literally
shaken, and the neighbouring rocks were literally cleft asunder. Yet in none
of these cases does there appear to have been a direct breach of divine
order, but rather a manifestation of that superior order, which prevails in
the spiritual world, and which, when permitted to enter into the natural
world, supersedes or extinguishes for the moment, and within the space
allotted for its action, the common order of nature, just as a vivid
concentrated sun-beam, or a flash of lightning from heaven, supersedes and
extinguishes all minor earthly flames.
From a deep consideration of the whole
subject, it may appear to an enlightened mind, that one great purpose, for
which miracles were permitted in ancient times, was to restore the
equilibrium or ratio, then disturbed or broken, which ought to subsist, and
which in general does subsist, between the order established in the
spiritual world, and that which prevails in the natural world. When through
the hardness of men's hearts, and the infidelity necessarily attending it,
that equilibrium was destroyed, so that the rational faculty could not be
freely exercised, but the minds and even bodies of men began to be invaded
by malignant spirits, then miracles were permitted to take place in nature,
until, the equilibrium being again restored, by the removal of those
spirits, and by the cure of diseases occasioned by their presence, all
supernatural interposition ceased, and the human mind was placed in a
position favourable to the reception of divine influx. For this reason a
dispensation of miracles distinguished the rise and progress of the Jewish
or Israelitish Church, and also of the Primitive Christian Church, both of
which had the seeds of dissolution within them from their very beginning.
But now, in consequence of the accomplishment of the last judgment in the
spiritual world, and the removal of those who obstructed, perverted, and
choked the influx of divine truth in its descent from heaven, the fetters of
that spiritual bondage which universally prevailed in the fallen Christian
Church have been broken, the equilibrium which constitutes true liberty of
thought and affection has been restored, and the New Jerusalem, with all its
promises and glory upon its head, descends upon earth as the last, the
greatest, and an ever-permanent blessing to mankind.
In this Church no miracle is given or
required, because the very occasion for such an overwhelming display of
power has ceased to exist. (*) Divine order is re-established in both
worlds, the spiritual and the natural and the free descent of divine truth
from the one into the other can no longer be obstructed or resisted, as
formerly. The internal sense of the Word revealed; and together with it
innumerable wonders relating to the Person of the Lord, to heaven and hell,
the state of Man after death, and the inhabitants of myriads of earths or
planetary bodies in the universe. In consequence of all these things, men
have now a capacity and liberty of seeing and rationally comprehending
truths, which were not before known in the Church, and which even if they
had been revealed sooner, could not, nor would not have been understood,
acknowledged, and received. This new revelation is far superior to all
miracles, because it reaches the understanding, and affects the heart, which
none of the ancient miracles ever did or could: for instead of enlightening
the former, they rather paralyzed and stupefied it; and instead of warming,
and cheering the latter, they for the most part, filled it with terror,
dismay; and useless astonishment.
If, however, the natural man must have
a miracle, here is one for his contemplation, though perhaps above his skill
to comprehend. What the Lord formerly did to the body, and in nature, He now
does to the spirit of a man, and in His Church. By virtue of the Word now
opened, He casts out devils, gives sight to the blind; hearing to the deaf,
speech to the dumb, feet to the lame, soundness to the maimed, strength to
the weak, food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, health to the sick, and
life to the dead. And further, by virtue of the same Word, He removes
mountains in man, and casts them into the sea; He dries up old fig-trees
that bear nothing but leaves, and plants in their stead new fig-trees,
vines, and olives, that produce abundance of fruit; He turns water into
wine; and causes signs to follow those who believe in Him, so that in His
name they cast out devils, they speak with new tongues, they take up
serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it hurts them not; they also
lay hands on the sick, and they instantly recover. In short, the most
astonishing miracles are performed at this day, not indeed such as the mere
natural man calls for, which would do him more injury than good, but such as
reverse the order, or rather the disorder, of degenerate nature, changing
wolves into sheep, lions into lambs, sinners into saints, and men into
angels.
(*)
It is not to be denied, because some well-authenticated facts appear
to place it beyond a doubt, that something of the nature of miracles has
been exhibited not only in the former and latter ages of the Church,
but even in our own times. But such extraordinary occurrences, as they
do not carry with them that commanding authority, which distinguished
the miracles of the ancient prophets, as well as of the Lord and his
apostles,
and for the moment subdued the proud spirit of the persons who beheld
them, are not to be classed with those
irresistible manifestations
of divine
power; for they neither infuse a holy fear and dread of the ostensible
agent's power, nor do they deprive man of his freedom either to receive
or to reject the dogmas of his particular faith. They are, therefore, to be
considered, agreeably to the judgment of Emanuel Swedenborg, not as
decided or "manifest miracles," but only as "inconspicuous," and consequently
as doubtful “miracles." See
Arcana Coelestia.
n. 4031. |
