Page:A Compendium of the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.djvu/185

Rh which two angels were standing. Around this were three rows of seats; the seats of the first row were covered with cloth of pure silk of purple colour; the seats of the second row with cloth of pure silk of a blue colour; and the seats of the third row with cloth of white. Under the roof, high above the table, there appeared a broad canopy glittering with precious stones, from the splendour of which light shone forth as a rainbow when the sky is becoming serene after a shower. Then suddenly there were seen sitting upon the seats as many of the clergy [as they would contain], all clothed in garments of the priestly office. At one side there was a vestry, where an angel custodian was standing; and therein lay splendid garments, in beautiful order. It was a council called together by the Lord. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Deliberate." They asked, "On what subject?" It was answered, "On The Lord the Saviour, and on The Holy Spirit." But when they began to meditate on these subjects they were not in illustration. They therefore prayed, and light then flowed down from heaven, and illuminated first the backs of their heads, afterwards their temples, and finally their faces. And then they began; and, as it was commanded them, First, on the Lord the Saviour. The first proposition and subject of investigation was, "Who assumed the Human in the Virgin Mary?" And the angel standing at the table on which the Word was, read to them these words from Luke; "And the angel said unto Mary, Behold, thou shalt conceive in the womb, and shalt bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus; He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High. . . . And Mary said to the angel, How shall this be since I know not a man? And the angel, answering, said, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the Virtue of the Most High shall overshadow thee; wherefore the Holy Thing that is born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (i. 31, 32, 34, 35). Then he read these also in Matthew: "The angel said to Joseph in a dream, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is begotten of her is of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph knew her not until she had brought forth her first-born Son; and he called His name Jesus" (i. 20, 25). And besides these he read many others from the Evangelists, as Matt. iii. 17; xvii. 5; John i. 18; iii. 16 ; xx. 31; and many in other places, where the Lord, as to His Human, is called the Son of God, and where He from His Human calls Jehovah His Father; and also from the prophets, where it is foretold that Jehovah Himself was about to come into the world; among which were these two in Isaiah, "It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God, whom we have waited for to deliver us; this is Jehovah, whom we have waited for; we will be glad and 12