Page:A Compendium of the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.djvu/146

50 Father. Hence it is that the Human of the Lord is Divine, and that in Him God is Man and Man God. That He put off the Human from the mother, and put on a Human from the Father, which is the Divine Human, may be seen from the fact that He never called Mary His mother, as appears from these passages: "The mother of Jesus saith unto Him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come" (John ii. 3, 4); and in another place: From the cross "Jesus saw His mother and the disciple standing by whom He loved, and saith to His mother. Woman, hehold thy son! Then saith He to the disciple. Behold thy mother!" (xix. 26, 27): And from the fact that once He did not acknowledge her: "It was told Jesus by some, saying, Thy mother and Thy brethren are standing without, and desire to see Thee. Jesus answering, said, My mother and My brethren are these who hear the Word of God, and do it" (Luke viii. 20, 21; Matt. xii. 46-49; Mark iii. 31-35). Thus the Lord did not call her "mother," but "woman," and gave her as a mother to John. In other places she is called His mother, but not by His own mouth. This also is confirmed by the fact that He did not acknowledge Himself to be the Son of David; for it is said in the Evangelists, "Jesus asked the Pharisees, saying. What think ye of Christ? Whose Son is He? They say unto Him, David's. He saith unto them, How then doth David, in spirit, call Him his Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool. If, then, David calleth Him Lord, how is He his Son? And no man was able to answer Him a word" (Matt. xxii. 41-46; Mark xii. 35-37; Luke xx. 41-44; Psalm cx. 1). To the above I shall add this new thing: It was once granted me to speak with Mary the mother. She passed by at one time, and appeared in heaven above my head, in white raiment, as of silk; and then, pausing a little, she said that she had been the mother of the Lord, who was born of her; but that having become God He put off all the Human derived from her, and she therefore worships Him as her God, and did not wish any one to acknowledge Him as her Son, because all in Him is Divine. From all these things there shines forth this truth: That thus Jehovah is Man, as in first things, so also in the last, according to these words: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, He who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. i. 8, 11). ''When John saw the Son of Man in the midst of the seven candlesticks, he fell at His feet as dead; and He laid His hand upon him, saying,. . . "I am the First and the Last"'' (Rev. i. 13, 17; xxi. 6). "Behold, I come quickly, . . . that I may give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last" (xxii