五、 救赎唯有藉成肉身的上帝方能成就
124# 五、 救赎唯有藉成肉身的上帝方能成就。
前文已然阐明，救赎是纯一神性的作为，故此唯独全能的上帝可以成就。救赎之所以必须借着祂亲自道成肉身、取了人性方可完成，其核心原因在于：雅威上帝居于无限、纯粹的本体本质之中，无法趋近地狱，更不能进入地狱。祂处在至纯至始的神性境界，若是以本然之态趋近地狱，哪怕仅仅向地狱中的灵众吹气，也会瞬间使他们全然灭亡。正如昔日摩西渴慕得见上帝，祂曾如此言说：“你不能看见我的面，因为人见了我，不能存活。”（出33:20）
连圣洁的摩西尚且无法直视祂的面，更何况地狱中的灵众。地狱众生身处最低、最粗鄙的层级，是最远离神性的自然生命形态，根本无力承载神性本体的显现。因此，若非雅威上帝亲自取了人性，披上适配最低层级受造界的肉身，便无法真正进入受造领域、开展救赎事工。人不趋近仇敌、不备征战器械，便无从攻克仇敌；无人能赤手空拳在旷野驱逐、剿灭恶龙与毒蛇猛兽，必须身披铠甲、头戴头盔、手持兵器；也无人能无船无器，于深海之中捕捉巨鲸。这些譬喻仅能粗浅描摹梗概，无法完全比拟全能上帝与地狱的属灵争战，但足以说明：祂若不先披上人性，便无法亲临战场，成就救赎大功。
【2】须知主与地狱的争战，绝非世人之间口舌辩论、理论相争，这般言语之争在灵界全然无效。这是一场真实的属灵争战，是源自神性良善的神性真理所发动的征战，而这神性真理，即是主的生命本身。这股大能透过属灵的方式流入彰显，地狱之中无一灵众能够抵挡。其力量浩大无比，地狱众灵一旦感知其降临，便即刻四散奔逃、沉入深处、藏匿洞穴，唯恐被全然覆灭。
以赛亚书中早已预言这般景象：“他们必进入岩石的洞穴，进入尘土的裂缝中，因耶和华的威严……当祂兴起，使地大震动的时候。”（赛2:19）
启示录中亦有对应记载：“众人都藏在岩石的洞穴和山岩中；他们对山和岩石说：倒在我们身上吧，把我们藏起来，躲避坐宝座者的面和羔羊的忿怒。”（启6:15-17）
【3】一七五七年主施行最后审判之时，那源自神性良善的神性真理所彰显的浩大能力，皆详实记载于《最后的审判》小册子中。书中记述：主将地狱灵众在灵界所盘踞的丘陵山岳，连根拔起、挪移远迁，又使部分高地沉降倾覆；以大水淹没他们的城邑、村落与原野，翻转大地根基，将土地连同其中的居民，尽数抛入深渊、泥沼与荒地，此外尚有无数浩大的审判作为。这一切审判与救赎的伟大事工，皆由主独自成就，全然凭借从神性良善发出的神性真理之大能。
124# （5）除非通过神道成肉身，否则这种救赎本身无法实现。前面说明，救赎是纯神性的作为，因此它只有通过全能的神才能实现。救赎只有通过神道成肉身，也就是变成人才能实现，因为在其无限本质中的耶和华神不能接近地狱，更不用说进入地狱了；事实上，祂在最纯粹和最初事物中。因此，如果如在自己里面那样的耶和华神真的向那些在地狱里的人吹气，那么祂就会立刻毁灭他们；因为当摩西想见祂时，祂对摩西说：
你不能看见我的面，因为没有人看见我还可以存活。（出埃及记33:20）
因此，就连摩西都不能看见祂，那些在地狱里的人就更不能了，那里的所有人都在最后和最粗鄙的事物中，因而离神是最远的，因为他们是最低层级上的属世的。因此，除非耶和华神取得一个人身，从而给自己披上属于最低事物的一个身体，否则祂进行的任何救赎都是徒劳的。因为不接近敌人，或不为了战斗而配备武器，谁能攻打敌人呢？除非披盔戴甲，护住身体和头部，手持长矛，否则谁能赶走并摧毁沙漠里的龙、多头蛇和蜥怪呢？没有船只和必要的捕捞工具，谁能捕获海里的鲸鱼呢？除非全能的神取得一个人身，否则祂无法与地狱争战，因为祂无法进入地狱，这一点可通过这些和类似的例子来说明，尽管它们无法进行足够的对比。
然而，必须明白的是，主与地狱的争战不是口头上的争战，就像推理者和争论者之间一样；这样的争战对地狱没有任何影响，或说完全无效。相反，这是一场属灵的争战，即来自神性良善的神性真理的争战。这神性真理是主的真生命；地狱里没有人能抵挡经由视觉媒介而来的这真理的流注，或说当这真理以可见的方式流入时，地狱里没有人能反对它。这流注拥有如此的能力，以至于地狱灵（恶魔）一旦感知到它，就会逃跑，把自己扔进深渊，爬进洞穴藏起来，正如以赛亚书所描述的那样：
耶和华兴起使地大震动的时候，因惧怕耶和华，他们必进入石洞，进入土穴。（以赛亚书2:19）
启示录：
所有人都把自己藏在洞穴和山岩里；向山和岩石说，倒在我们身上吧，把我们藏起来，躲避坐宝座者的脸面和羔羊的愤怒。（启示录6:15-16）
当主于1757年施行最后的审判时，祂从神性良善中所拥有的这种能力，可从《最后的审判》这本小著关于这个主题的描述看出来；如：祂从他们的地方撕裂了地狱灵在灵人界占据的小山和大山，驱散他们，把他们送到远处，并使其中一些人沉没。祂还用洪水淹没了他们的城镇、房屋和田地，从根基上铲除他们的土地，把它们及其居民都扔进漩涡、沼泽和湿地；还有很多。这一切都是由主独自凭来自神性良善的神性真理的能力来完成的。
124. 5. This true redemption could not have happened if God had not come in the flesh. The preceding point showed that redemption was something only the Divine could bring about - for anyone other than God Almighty it would have been impossible. Furthermore, God could not have brought about this redemption if he had not taken on flesh (that is, become human), because in his infinite essence Jehovah God could not come near hell, let alone enter it. He exists in what is first and most pure. If Jehovah God as he is in himself were only to breathe on those who are in hell he would instantly kill them all. When Moses wanted to see him he said, "You cannot see my faces, because no human being will see me and stay alive" (Exodus 33:20). If Moses could not do this, still less could those who are in hell, where everyone exists in what is lowest, densest, and farthest away [from God]. Those who are earthly are the lowest. Therefore if Jehovah God had not taken on a human manifestation, clothing himself with a body that is on the lowest level, his undertaking any act of redemption would have been a waste of time.
We could not attack an enemy without being armed for battle and coming within range. We could not destroy or drive away the dragons, hydras, and basilisks in some desert without putting a breastplate on our body, a helmet on our head, and a spear in our hand. We could not catch whales at sea without a ship and whaling equipment. These examples are not actual parallels, but they do illustrate the fact that God Almighty could not have even attempted to battle hell without first putting on a human manifestation.
[2] It is important to know, however, that the Lord's battle with the hells was not some verbal to and fro like a philosophical debate or a legal battle. That kind of battle has no effect whatever on hell. It was a spiritual battle using the divine truth connected with divine good - the very vitality of the Lord. When this truth visibly flows in, no one in the hells is able to oppose it. There is so much power in it that when demons from hell merely sense that it might be present they run away, throw themselves down into deep places, and squeeze into underground shelters to hide. This phenomenon is the same thing described by Isaiah: "They will go into caverns in the rocks and into crevices in the dust, dreading Jehovah, when he rises to terrify the earth" (Isaiah 2:19); and in the Book of Revelation: "They will all hide themselves in caves in the rocks and in the rocks on the mountains, and they will say to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One sitting on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb" (Revelation 6:15-17).
[3] How much power the Lord exercised from divine goodness when he carried out the Last Judgment in 1757 is clear from the descriptions in the little work Last Judgment. For example, in the world of spirits there were mountains and hills occupied by hellish spirits that the Lord ripped from their moorings and moved far away; some he flattened. He flooded their cities, villages, and fields, and turned their land upside down. He threw those mountains and hills and their inhabitants into quagmires, ponds, and swamps; and more. The Lord alone accomplished all this using the power of divine truth connected with divine goodness.
124. (v) THIS REDEMPTION COULD ONLY BE EFFECTED BY AN INCARNATE GOD.
The previous section showed that redemption was an entirely Divine deed, and consequently it could only have been accomplished by almighty God. The reason why it had to be by means of His incarnation, that is, by making Himself man, is that Jehovah God, as He is in His infinite essence, cannot approach hell, much less enter it, since He exists at the purest and first level. Therefore if Jehovah God, being in essence of that nature, were so much as to breathe upon those in hell, He would destroy them in an instant. For He said to Moses, when he desired to see God:
You cannot see my face, for no man shall see me and live, Exodus 33:20.
Since then Moses could not, far less can those in hell, where all are at the lowest, grossest and therefore most distant level, since they are the lowest of natural men. Therefore if Jehovah God had not taken upon Himself human form, and thus clothed Himself with a body at the lowest level, it would have been vain for Him to attempt any kind of redemption. For how can anyone attack an enemy, unless he comes to grips and equips himself with weapons to fight with? How can anyone drive off and destroy snakes, hydras and basilisks in some desert, unless he protects his body with armour and his head with a helmet, and takes a spear in his hand? Or how can anyone catch whales at sea, without a ship and equipment designed for the purpose? These and similar images are not so much a comparison as an illustration of almighty God's battle with the hells, which He could not have started without first taking human form.
[2] But it needs to be known that the Lord's battle with the hells was not a battle of words, like people arguing a point or disputing in a court of law. That sort of battle is quite ineffectual here. It was a spiritual battle, Divine Truth fighting with the strength of Divine Good, that is, the very life force of the Lord. No one in the hells can stand its effects when made visible. Its power is such that at a mere glance the spirits of hell take to their heels, hurl themselves into the depths and force themselves underground to hide from it. This is the same as is described by Isaiah:
They shall go into caverns in the rocks and into cracks in the dust, for fear of Jehovah, when He arises to terrify the earth, Isaiah 2:19.
and in Revelation:
All shall hide themselves in caves in the rocks and in rocky mountains; and they shall say to the mountains and the rocks, Fall upon us and hide us from the face of Him that sits upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, Revelation 6:15-17.
[3] What the Lord's strength that He has from Divine good was like when He was effecting the Last Judgement in 1757 can be proved by the descriptions given of that event in my small book on the subject. 1 For example, it tore from their places hills and mountains in the world of spirits, which spirits from hell had seized, transferred them to different locations and made some sink into the ground; it flooded towns, villages and their surrounding land, completely upheaved their fields and cast them together with their inhabitants into chasms, lakes and marshes, and much besides. All this was accomplished by the Lord alone by the power of Divine truth coming from Divine good.
Footnotes:
124. (5) This redemption itself could not have been accomplished except by God incarnated. It has been shown in the preceding article that redemption was a work purely Divine, consequently that it could have been effected only by the omnipotent God. It could have been effected only by God incarnated, that is, made Man, because Jehovah God, as He is in His infinite essence, cannot come near to hell, much less enter into it; for He is in things purest and first. Therefore if Jehovah as He is in Himself were but to breathe upon those who are in hell He would instantly destroy them; for He said to Moses, when Moses wished to see Him:
Thou canst not see My face; for there shall no man see Me and live (Exodus 33:20).
As Moses, then, could not see Him, still less could those who are in hell, where all are in things last and grossest, and thus most remote, for they are the lowest natural. For this reason, if Jehovah God had not assumed a Human, and thus clothed Himself with a body that belongs to things lowest, He would have undertaken in vain any redemption. For who can attack an enemy without approaching him, or without being armed for the battle? Or who can disperse and destroy the dragons, hydras, and basilisks in a desert, unless he covers his body with armor and his head with a helmet, and takes a spear in his hand? Or who can capture whales in the sea without a boat and implements adapted to the work? The combat of God Almighty against the hells, upon which He could not have entered unless He had first assumed a Human, may be illustrated by these and like things, though they afford no adequate comparison.
[2] But it must be understood that the Lord's combat against the hells was not an oral combat, like one between reasoners and disputants; such a combat would have no effect whatever there. It was a spiritual combat, which is that of Divine truth from Divine good. This truth was the Lord's very life, the influx of which through the medium of sight no one in the hells can resist. There is in it such power that the infernal genii flee away at the mere perception of it, cast themselves into the abyss, and creep into caves to hide themselves. This is what is described in Isaiah:
They shall enter into the caves of the rocks and into the clefts of the dust for fear of Jehovah when He shall arise to terrify the earth (Isaiah 2:19).
And in the Apocalypse:
All hid themselves in caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb (6:15-17).
[3] The kind of power which the Lord possessed from Divine good when He executed the last judgment, in 1757, may be seen from the things described in the little work on that judgment; as that He tore up from their places the hills and mountains which the infernals occupied in the world of spirits, dispersed them, and caused some of them to sink. He also deluged their towns and houses and fields with a flood, rooted up their lands from their foundations, and hurled them with their inhabitants into whirlpools, swamps, and marshes; and much more; and all this was done by the Lord alone, by the power of Divine truth from Divine good.
124. (5) THIS REDEMPTION ITSELF COULD NOT HAVE BEEN EFFECTED BUT BY GOD INCARNATE.
In the preceding article it was shown that redemption was a work purely Divine; consequently, that it could only have been effected by an omnipotent God. It could not have been accomplished but by God incarnate, that is, made Man, because Jehovah God, as He is in His infinite essence, cannot approach hell, much less enter into it, for He is in purest and first things. Therefore, if Jehovah God being such in Himself were but to breathe upon those who are in hell, He would instantly destroy them; for He said to Moses, who desired to see Him:
"Thou canst not see my faces (A.V. face): for there shall no man see me, and live" Exodus 33:20.
If, therefore, Moses could not see Him, much less could those who are in hell, where all are in things ultimate and most gross, and thus most remote from God; for they are natural in the lowest degree. Consequently, if Jehovah God had not assumed the Human, and so clothed Himself with a body which was in ultimates, He would have undertaken any work of redemption in vain. For who can attack an enemy unless he approaches him, and is equipped with arms for the fight? Or who can drive off and destroy dragons, serpents and basilisks in a desert unless he covers his body with a coat of mail and his head with a helmet, and advances with a spear in his hand? Or who can capture whales in the sea without a ship and the tackle necessary for the purpose? By such instances it may be possible, not indeed to make comparisons, but to illustrate how the omnipotent God could not have joined combat with the hells unless He had first assumed the Human.
[2] It must be understood, however, that the Lord's combat with the hells was not one of words, as between opponents in a discussion or in a law-suit. Such a combat would be fruitless: but it was a spiritual combat, that of Divine Truth from Divine Good, which was the very vital principle of the Lord; and the influx of this, through the medium of sight, no one in the hells can resist. It has such power that the infernal spirits (genii), as soon as they perceive it, flee away, cast themselves into the depths and creep into caves to hide themselves, as is described in Isaiah:
"And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of JEHOVAH when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth" Isaiah 2:19;
and in the Revelation:
All "hid themselves in the dens of the rocks and in the rocks of the mountains: And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb" Revelation 6:15-16.
[3] What kind of power the Lord possessed from the Divine Good when He effected the Last Judgment in the year 1757 may be seen from what is described in the little work on that subject. It hurled from their places hills and mountains which infernal spirits had seized in the world of spirits, transporting them to a distance, and causing some to sink into the earth. It overwhelmed in a flood their cities, villages and fields, tore up their lands from their very depths, and cast them with their inhabitants into whirl-pools, swamps and marshes; and much more. All this was done by the Lord alone, by the power of Divine Truth from Divine Good.
124. V. QUOD IPSA HAEC REDEMPTIO NON FIERI POTUERIT, QUAM PER DEUM INCARNATUM. In praecedente Articulo ostensum est, quod Redemptio fuerit Opus pure Divinum, consequenter quod non fieri potuerit nisi a Deo Omnipotente: quod non nisi quam per Se incarnatum, hoc est, factum Hominem, causa est, quia Jehovah Deus, qualis est in infinita sua essentia, non potest appropinquare ad Infernum, minus intrare in illud, est enim in purissimis et primis; quare Jehovah Deus, in se talis, si modo afflaret illos qui in Inferno sunt, momento enecaret illos, nam dixit ad Mosen volentem videre Ipsum, Non poteris videre facies meas, quia non videbit Me homo et vivet, Exodus 33:20 cum itaque Moses non potuit, minus adhuc 1 illi qui in Inferno sunt, ubi omnes sunt in ultimis, et crassissimis, et sic in remotissimis, sunt enim naturales infimi; quamobrem nisi Jehovah Deus assumserit Humanum, et sic se induerit corpore, quod in ultimis est, frustra aliquam Redemptionem ingredi potuit; quis enim potest aliquem hostem aggredi, nisi approximet, ac instructus sit armis ad pugnam: aut quis potest abigere et destruere dracones, hydras et basiliscos in quodam deserto, nisi circumdet corpus lorica et caput galea, et cum hasta in manu: aut quis potest balaenas in mari captare, absque navi et adminiculis accommodatis ad capturam: per haec et similia non ita comparari potest, sed illustrari pugna Dei Omnipotentis cum Infernis, quam inire non posset, nisi Humanum prius induerit.
[2] At sciendum est, quod pugna Domini cum Infernis, non fuerit pugna oralis, sicut inter ratiocinantes 2 et litigantes; talis pugna prorsus nihil ibi efficit, sed fuit pugna spiritualis, quae est Divini Veri ex Divino Bono, quod erat ipsum Vitale Domini: hujus influxui, 3 medio visu, nemo in Infernis potest resistere; talis potentia illi inest, ut infernales genii solum ad perceptionem ejus aufugiant, se in profundum dejiciant, et in cryptas intrudant, ut se abscondant: hoc idem est quod describitur apud Esajam, "Intrabunt in cavernas petrarum; et in fissuras pulveris, propter pavorem Jehovae, quando surget ad terrendum terram," Esajas 2:19. Et in Apocalypsi, "Omnes abscondent se in speluncis, 4 et in petris montium, dicentque montibus et petris, cadite super nos, et abscondite nos a facie Sedentis super Throno, et ab ira Agni," Apocalypsi 6:15-17.
[3] Qualis potentia Domino, quod Ipsi est ex Divino Bono, dum Ultimum Judicium Anno 1757, peregit, fuit, constare potest ex illis, quae in Opusculo de illo Judicio descripta sunt; ut quod colles et montes, quos Infernales in Mundo spirituum occupaverunt, e suis locis evulserit, et in dissita transtulerit, et quosdam subsidere fecerit, quodque urbes, villas et campos illorum diluvio inundaverit, et terras illorum e fundo eruerit, et illas una cum incolis in voragines, stagna, et paludes conjecerit, praeter plura: et haec omnia a Solo Domino per potentiam Divini Veri ex Divino Bono.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: adhue.
2. Prima editio: ratiacinantes.
3. Prima editio: in fluxui.
4. Sic Schmidt et alibi. Prima editio: speluncis petrarum.