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worst enemies: thus a man's foes are those of his own household Matt. x. 36.

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow." Ps. li. 7. Two distinct orders of purification are here evidently expressed: one of an external nature, as regarding a man's outward life and actions; the other of an internal nature, as applied to those affections and motives from whence all actions proceed. The former is expressed by the words, purge me with hyssop, and the latter by the term wash. The effects of these two sorts of purifiation are also different, and therefore require appropriate terms to express such difference; the former as being of an external nature, is expressed by the word clean; but the latter, as being internal, by whiter than snow. The former is applied to the UNDERSTANDING, and the latter to the WILL. The former is first to appearance, but the latter is first in reality. The first shall be last, and the last first.

John vi. 2. And a great multitude followed him, &c. Upon this verse the Rev. J. Clowes, in his translation of this Gospel, has the following note:- "In the common version of the New Testament, what is here rendered much is called great; but it is to be noted, that in the original Greek the term is Toλus, which properly signifies much, whereas the term great is uniformly expressed by the term μyas. It deserves further to be considered that these two terms, rolus and μɛyas, or much and great, involve in them distinct spiritual ideas, μɛyas, or great, having always relation to the principle of good, whilst Toλus, or muck, has relation to the principle of truth.”

The worthy translator is perfectly right in the above excellent remarks; but yet the phrase much multitude sounds so harsh to the English ear, that if any other word could be substituted in its place, without doing violence to the spiritual sense, it would be desirable. The Greek word Toλus not only means much but many or numerous. Thus in Mark viii. 1, it is written, 66 In those days the multitude being very great," &c. is, in the original, Tauroλλou, which numerous, from av all and woλus many. Now if, in the authorised version, the word great was changed to numerous, the passage would then be smoothly and literally translated, and its spiritual sense clearly expressed.

Here the phrase very great literally translated is very

GULIELMUS.

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Each division of the Scale on the side of the Map is 100 miles.

EXTRACTS

From the Manuscripts of E. S. concerning the commencement of the New Church, in different parts of the world; but more especially in Africa, with some observations thereon relative to Africa; with the view to colonizing, for the purpose of opening a communication with the interior.

AFTER Speaking of the last state of the christian church and of the innumerable number of unbelievers or atheists therein, he states in No. 4770* that after their dispersion "it was said by several, that a new revelation from heaven was announced, as taking place somewhere among the gentiles," he then says in No. 4771, "this revelation took place in Asia, somewhere in the neighbourhood of Africa."

In the latter end of No. 4774, he says that it took place in "Asia, near to the Indian sea, but not close to the sea."

"4777. Afterwards in an obscure vision it was shewn how this celestial doctrine would proceed in Africa, namely, thence towards the interior of Africa, but not quite to the middle thereof, and that then it would reflect itself towards the inhabitants that are within Africa, nearer to the Mediterranean sea, and so it would go on lengthwise but not unto the shore," he afterwards describes it as proceeding "towards Egypt and also thence to some in Asia under the empire of the Turks, and in Asia round about."

"5518. The African Gentiles can be illustrated beyond all other gentiles, for they think inwardly, and when they receive the truths, they acknowledge that they are truths; differing much herein from the Europeans who think externally, and only receive the truths in their memory, and see not that they are truths, from any other ground, than that they have been so instructed from infancy, and that they were told so by those in whom they placed confidence, thus from authority."

"The Africans are those, in our world of that genius, in which are the angels of the celestial kingdom; but the Europeans are of the spiritual genius. In a word, the Africans live according to their religion, and the laws thereof, which they love, and therefore they are interior men. They were told that the christians do not live according to their religion, but agreeable to civil laws; and have only the doctrines of their religion in their memory;

It may be necessary to inform the reader that E. S. was in the habit of entering every thing remarkable which took place within his knowledge in the spiritual world in a book, for the sake of reference, whenever he wished to refresh his memory; this diary was numbered and had an Index. The original manuscript is in the possession of the Rev, M. Sibly.

and they seldom think of them for the sake of life, but merely for the sake of doctrine; for they think to be saved by the faith of doctrine, and not by life; neither have they the doctrinals of life; at this they greatly wondered not being willing to believe that it was so, believing there is no man, but who lives according to his religion, and that in case he should not, he cannot but become stupid; because then he receives nothing from heaven.”

5946. "I thought that the Africans were of those, who indeed perceive the truths of heaven when they hear others, but yet do not speak of them themselves; but I perceived that they also speak of them. I spoke with them of knowledges which are representations and correspondences; they knew but little of these knowledges; but it was shewn to them that they led to wisdom and happiness, namely, when they were conjoined to a good life; various things on this subject were unfolded to them, with which they were much delighted. Afterwards I was instructed where the best of them resided, viz, on the side towards the sea, more than half the tract nearly of this form."* (See the tract A. B. F. H. marked with large dots in the annexed outline of Africa, the position of this tract is determined by the description given in No. 4777 above.)

"That the best of them reside in the whole tract D. E, but that they are worse, who live at H. towards the Mediterranean; and at F. towards the Cape of Good Hope. Thus that the best nations are in the tract D. E.+ but those at D. B. which is towards Asia, are not wise; and that the good in D. E. are infested by those who come from thence, because they speak such things as they cannot understand. It is almost the same with them at C. and still worse are those towards A. where Egypt is. They related that all in the great tract D. E. worship the Lord, and are instructed by many who have communication with the angels of heaven."

5947 "There were present with me some Africans who were inhabitants of Abysinia, and it was said that in that country there are many psalms which have been made by a pious man; which psalms are sung in their temples, and are written in the same style as the Word."

OBSERVATIONS ON THE ABOVE EXTRACTS.

It appears from these extracts that the heavenly doctrine was first revealed to Europeans; inasmuch as it was revealed to E. S.

A fac simile of the sketch of the tract as given in the M. S. of E. S. may be seen in No. IV. of the New Jerusalem Magazine for April, 1790, page 186.

+ The superficial extent of this tract cannot be estimated at less than 500,000 square miles, or ten times the extent of England and Wales.

for the purpose of being published to all the world, prior to these events taking place; consequently the order of the revelation of the heavenly doctrines, in point of time, in the different parts of the world, was that it first took place in Europe, where the last church was, according to divine order, that the preference should be given to those who constituted the old church, which is signified by the invitation to the citizens to come to the supper; when they declined the invitation, some because they had bought a piece of ground, some because they had bought five yoke of oxen, and others because they had married a wife, the invitation was then sent to the poor and wretched in their own eyes. After the revelation had commenced in Europe, as just described, it next took place in Asia, and lastly in Africa, where the reception appears to be the fullest and most complete.

The revelation in Asia does not appear to be so concentrated as in Africa, the particular spot not being marked out, and it is difficult to say whether it is in Arabia, in Persia or in Indoostan; perhaps it is diffused and scattered as it is in Europe, though more extensively:* and yet it might be nearly as difficult for a European to find it in Asia, as it would be for an Asiatic to find it in Europe. After giving a general description of these different revelations, he comes to this remarkable conclusion in No 4780. "Hence it was clear, that the heavenly doctrines from these gentiles, would be propagated to spirits, who were from various regions of the earth, and thus to spirits of other earths." From which it would appear, that the church on this earth, which hitherto formed the skin or ultimate of the grand man; will in future form likewise a centre, from which other earths will receive illumination, whence it may be concluded, that the best from this earth will be in the fullest state of existence, in consequence of their minds embracing as it were the first and the last. The first which is the knowledge and perception, that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the only God, which is the most exalted and interior truth, that can possibly be revealed to a finite creature. The last, which is the lowest order of scientifics that can be of any use, and which is so low and grovelling, that no other beings than the inhabitants of this earth think them worthy of their contemplation. The minds that are thus capable of embracing these two extremes, so as to become useful to their fellow creatures, in both, must be the nearest image and likeness of that Being who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last, and consequently will be in the fullest and most perfect state of existence, that a finite being is capable of enjoying. The

For he speaks of a nation in Great Tartary who are receptive of the heavenly doctrines.

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