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 led of themselves; that the Word is the Divine [Principle] itself of the Lord in the earth; also that the last judgment is passed lest men should expect it in this world to eternity; besides many other things which are effects of the light now arising after darkness.”—A. E. 1183.

“The Lord our Saviour manifested himself to me in a sensible personal appearance, and has commanded me to write what has already been done, and what I have still to do; and he was afterwards graciously pleased to endow me with the privilege of conversing with spirits and angels, and to be in fellowship with them. It is not in my power to place others in the same state in which God has placed me, so as to be able to convince them, by their own eyes and ears, of the truth of those deeds and things I publicly have made known. I have no ability to capacitate them to converse with angels and spirits, neither to work miracles to dispose or force their understandings to comprehend what I say. When my writings are read with attention and cool reflection (in which many things are to be met with as hitherto unknown), it is easy enough to conclude, that I could not come to such knowledge but by a real vision, and by conversing with those who are in the spiritual world. This knowledge is given to me from our Saviour, not from any particular merit of mine, but for the great concern of all Christians’ salvation and happiness.”—Letter to the King.

“I am well aware there are few who will believe that any one can see the things which exist in another life, and in consequence thereof be enabled to give any account of the state of souls after death, because few believe in a resurrection, and of the learned fewer than of the simple; they profess indeed with their lips that they shall rise again, because it is agreeable to the doctrine of faith, but still they deny it in their hearts; nay, some even openly confess that if any one should rise from the dead, and they should see, and hear, and touch him, they would then believe, but not till then: supposing however this to be the case, and that one should rise from the dead, still not a single person who in heart denies a resurrection would be thus persuaded, but a thousand objections would arise in his mind, which would confirm him in the negative. Some profess to believe that they shall rise again, but not till the day of the Last Judgment; and the notion they have conceived of that day is, that then all things appertaining to the visible world are to be destroyed; and inasmuch as that day has been expected in vain for so many ages, they have still their doubts. Hence it may appear what sort of persons there are at this day in the Christian world; the Sadducees spoken of in Matt. xxii. 21, openly denied a resurrection, yet they did better than those at this day, who profess not to deny, because it is an article of faith, and yet deny in their hearts, so that they profess contrary to what they believe, and believe contrary to what they profess: but lest they should any longer confirm themselves in that false opinion, it has been granted me, by the Divine mercy of the Lord, during my abode in this world in the body, to be in the spirit in another life (for man is a spirit clothed with a body), and there to discourse with souls which have risen again not long after their decease, yea, with almost all those with whom I was acquainted in the life of the body, who have died, and also daily now for some years with spirits and angels, and to see there stupendous sights of such things as have never entered into the idea