The Miraculous power of the Lord’s Word

The Miraculous power of the Lord’s Word

‘The style of the Word is such that there is holiness in every sentence, and in every word; indeed, in some places, in the very letters; and consequently the Word conjoins man with the Lord, and opens heaven.’            E.Swedenborg ‘Doctrine of the Sacred Scriptures for the New Jerusalem – 3’

I would like to start this important subject with a wonderful account as narrated by that glorious Apostle Sadhu Sundar Singh:

"When I was traveling in the Central Provinces, I was talking to some non-Christians about our living Saviour. I finished speaking, and I asked those people if any one would like to read the Bible to know something more about Jesus Christ. There was a man there, an enemy of Christianity. He took a copy of St. John's Gospel. He read two or three sentences, and then straightway tore it into pieces and threw it away. This was in a compartment in the train. After two years I heard a wonderful story. The same day that this man took St. John's Gospel and tore it up into pieces and threw it out of the window, a seeker after truth was going along the railway line. He was a real seeker after truth. For six or seven years he had tried his hardest to find the truth; but he was not satisfied. As he was going along the railway line thinking over these things, he found the torn pieces of the Gospel, and he took them up and began to read. He saw the words `everlasting life.' According to Hinduism it may be true that we are not going to die, but that we shall live through transmigration, and come back again into this world. But `everlasting life'? Then in another piece of the Gospel he saw the words `the Bread of Life.' He was anxious to know something about it. What was that Bread of Life? He showed the pieces to another man and said to him, `Can you tell me what this book is? I am sorry that somebody tore it up.' The man said, `That is Christian. You must not read it. You will be defiled. You must not read such books.' At last he said, ` I must know something more. There is no danger in knowing more about these things.' He went and bought a copy of the New Testament and began to read it-and he found our Saviour. Now he is a preacher of the Gospel in the Central Provinces. Really the torn pieces of St. John's Gospel proved to be a piece of the living Bread-the Bread of Life."    B.H. Streeter 'The Message of Sadhu Sundar Singh'

Amazing, in it? Just a few words from the Word of God were able to touch and most profoundly transform the man…

I am sure that author of the following is now smiling in heaven when seeing me writing about these things:

‘By means of wondrous experience I have been shown that the Word is inspired not only as to its individual expressions but also as to every individual letter of each expression, thus precisely as it is said, as to the smallest jot. Indeed every jot carries within it something from the affection and life which is common to the whole expression and so which has been instilled in a corresponding fashion into its smallest parts.’  E.Swedenborg ‘Arcana Coelestia – 1870’

Furthermore, this natural situation from above is in fact an exact image of the spiritual situation which is portrayed to us in the 29^th Psalm of David, verses 3-9… which in it’s internal sense deals with the power of the Lord’s Word… the power which is able to ‘change and reform the Gentiles’ (a ‘gentile’, when understood spiritually, would in fact be every man without a true knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ = a person who didn’t accept Him as his Savior and Redeemer yet)… about which our good Swede gives us this explanation:

‘The power of Divine Truth, or of the Word, is described by these things in the spiritual sense. For in that sense by the ‘voice of Jehovah’, which is here called thunder, is meant Divine Truth, or the Word, in its power; by the ‘great waters upon which Jehovah sits’ are meant the truths of the Word. By the ‘cedars’ and by ‘Lebanon which He breaks’, and ‘breaks in pieces’, are meant the falsities of the rational man; by the ‘calf’, and the ‘young unicorn’, the falsities of the natural and of the sensual man. By the ‘flame of fire’ is meant the affection of falsity; by the ‘wilderness’ and the ‘wilderness of Kadesh’, the Church where there is not any truth and good. By the ‘hinds which the voice of Jehovah makes to calve’ are meant the Gentiles who are in natural good; and by the ‘forests which He discovers’ are meant the knowledges of natural and spiritual things which the Word opens up to him. The passage therefore continues, that ‘in His temple everyone speaks of His glory’. By this is meant that in all the particulars of the Word there are Divine truths; for the ‘temple’ signifies the Lord, and consequently the Word, and also heaven and the Church; and ‘glory’ signifies Divine Truth. Hence it is manifest that there is not a word in this passage which is not descriptive of the Divine power of the Word against falsities of every kind among natural men, and of the Divine power in reforming the Gentiles.’      E.Swedenborg ‘Doctrine of the Sacred Scriptures for the New Jerusalem – 18’

That ‘gentile’, i.e. ‘Indian seeker for the truth’, was indeed ‘turned into a calve’, i.e. ‘reformed’ by the ‘Voice of the Lord’:) !

What a beauty, what a beauty indeed!

*

Yet there is another most beautiful and remarkable story which I believe proves what was said above, and story goes as follows (this story was told by Tokichi Ishii, who in that time was a prisoner in Tokyo prison where he waited for his execution):

‘One day a person by the name of Miss West came purposely to visit me, and talked to me about Jesus Christ. I shall tell you exactly what I thought at that time. When I was out in the world I had not listened seriously even to talks about my own religion, and so naturally I had never wanted to hear about Christianity. Although I thought it was very kind of Miss West to come to talk to me, I did not pay much attention to what she said. Of course I behaved with decorum as the occasion demanded. These visits continued from time to time.

One day I got tired of sitting by myself with nothing to do, and just for the sake of putting in the time, I took the New Testament down from the shelf, and, with no intention of seriously looking into it, I glanced at the beginning and then at the middle. I was casually turning over the leaves when I came across a place that looked rather interesting and I began to read:

‘And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his face; and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.’

I laid the book down thinking that these were surely the words of some one who wanted to teach men the path of virtue, but otherwise I was not specially moved by them. Later on I picked up the book again and read these words:

‘Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neigbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep that was lost! I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance.’

Still I was not sufficiently impressed to have any special belief in what I was reading. I simply thought these were words that any preacher might use. I put the New Testament on the shelf again and did not read any more for some time. A little later, when I was tired of doing nothing, I took the book down once more and began to read. This time I read how Jesus was handed over to Pilate by his enemies, was tried unjustly and put to death by crucifixion.

As I read this I began to think. This person they called Jesus was evidently a man who at any rate tried to lead others into the path of virtue, and it seemed an inhuman thing to crucify him simply because he had different religious opinions from others. Even I, hardened criminal that I was, thought it a shame that his enemies should have treated him in this way.

                 "FATHER, FORGIVE THEM!"

I went on, and my attention was next taken by these words: ‘And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ I stopped : I was stabbed to the heart, as if pierced by a five-inch nail. What did the verse reveal to me ? Shall I call it the love of the heart of Christ? Shall I call it His compassion? I do not know what to call it. I only know that with an unspeakably grateful heart, I believed. Through this simple sentence I was led into the whole of Christianity.

This is how I thought it out: I suppose a man's greatest enemy is the one who seeks to take his life from him. There is surely no greater enemy than this. Now at the very moment when Jesus' life was being taken from him, he prayed for his enemies to the God of Heaven. Father, forgive them for they know not 'what they do. What else could I believe but that he was indeed the son of God ? I argued that an ordinary man is filled with anger and hatred and every other spiteful passion on the slightest provocation. Jesus, on the other hand, prayed for his enemies at the very moment his life was being taken, that life which was so precious that nothing could take its place. Was an act like this possible for an ordinary man? I do not think so. Then we cannot but say that he was God.

    Again, chaplains and pastors, and those who see men die, agree that the last words a man utters come from the depths of his soul, and that he does not die with lies upon his lips. Jesus' last words were, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do, and so I cannot but believe that they reveal his true heart.’

    A gentleman in Prison – Confessions of Tokichi Ishii written in Tokyo prison’ (this most amazing book is available for download from this web-site: http://www.akademijavjecnogproljeca.org/sundar/eng/sund_eng_gentleman.html )

Please pause here and think about it again… just ONE verse from the Scriptures was able to change the heart of that man … who was a murderer… a thief… a stone-hearted criminal…

How truthful is what E. Swedenborg said above, namely,  

‘Indeed every jot carries within it something from the affection and life which is common to the whole expression and so which has been instilled in a corresponding fashion into its smallest parts.’    E.Swedenborg ‘Arcana Coelestia – 1870’

What in fact touched Tokichi was the Spirit of Love of our Lord that these words are holding or containing (with)in them …

‘Does not every word of the Gospel emanate the Holy Spirit in it’s fullness?’  As received from Jesus Christ by His servant the prophet Jakob Lorber, and written down in his ‘Bishop Martin – 4:11’

Yes, it is that very Spirit of the Word, which is also Its ‘Life’, that holds a tremendous healing or animating power which brought this dead soul back to life!

‘The words which I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life.’ John 6:63. 

*

Now, above said, and particularly this last story, reminds me about my own encounter with the Word of our Saviour… or Jesus Christ Himself, He being the Word (John 1:1, 14)…

Back then I was also a criminal (more precisely would be to say that, ‘my criminal activity ended just before my trip to Australia’), although not of such a caliber… to wit, I never murdered anyone… although I also had a gun and this almost happened once… almost…

So, in a way, I can truly relate to that story of his conversion… especially because I, also, had no previous theological education… neither any knowledge of the Scriptures… in another words, I wasn’t brought up in a religious atmosphere, I never intended any Church, consequently, I never ever read the Bible, neither I had anybody to talk to me about the same.

I will never forget that night in Australia (1999)… where I lived at that time…

… being bored... I looked on the book-shelves and I found there a Bible… and because I had nothing to do… I took the same and start to read…

I still remember the passage which captured my attention… which ‘stopped’ me and make me think and re-think about my life, about what I was doing and why and, even more important, about what I am going to do in the future:

'For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?'   Matthew 16:26.

Although I read earlier that night some portions of the Gospel before I encountered this one, these particular words were the only thing that I remembered, only thing that I ‘felt’ so to speak…

I left the Book… but I couldn’t get them out of my mind...

... it felt like 'somebody' was talking directly to me ... to me who up until that very moment was aiming only at the worldly or carnal objects ... who spared neither time neither energy to achieve them basically without a consideration about the means to do that.

Soon after that I went upstairs into my room and I prepared myself for my night rest. Light was switched and I lied on the bed… when suddenly, somewhere in the middle above my head, appeared something that looked as a white light ball… almost, because of its radiating rays, like a little sun….

It stopped there…  

I remember that I was questioning myself, What is this? Am I dreaming? Is this real?‘

But my eyes were wide open… and with my consciousness, or rational awareness, fully alert I recognized the parts of the furniture on the left and on the right from the flying object … it had a volume.

It is hard to say how long all of that was happening, cos’ I was in the shock, but in one moment that shining light started so to speak to pull me toward itself, and while moving toward it I recognized inside of it a huge tree (that reminds me of Moses experience). When I approached it to the point of contact it disappeared.

I didn’t talk to anybody about that experience of mine… people who were around me were far away from understanding of anything like that in a proper way.

But for me, I was confused and at first I didn’t know what to think about it. After that I fell into a sort of crisis, temptations of all kind (fears and doubts even to the point of despair), I had a feeling that sort of the war is waging inside of me, and it cost me a lot of spiritual energy and perseverance to endure all of that … it seemed to me that I am surrounded with some ‘dark powers’ and I couldn’t tell was it good or bad what is happening to me.

It was at that time that I ‘met’ that great messenger of Jesus Christ, Emanuel Swedenborg, who brought into my life a great clearness (our dear Lord and Heavenly Father always speaks to us in the way we can understand Him, i.e. He is sending to us those of His servants whose ‘version’ of His message is fitted for our present condition, state and need!)… while reading about his life and especially his early spiritual experiences, while reading his reports from the spiritual worlds and while I meditated upon his explanations of the Holy Scriptures… I felt again ‘normal’ (although it is more precise to say, ‘for the first time I felt NORMAL!’)… everything slowly came back to its proper place…

… but this time, ‘a new clarity and new power were permeating my soul’… and I am sure that this was in a most closest connection with the above mentioned encounter with that ‘light’… about which E.Swedenborg writes in his ‘Heaven and Hell – 130’:

‘It has many times been granted to me to perceive and also to see that there is a true light (lux) that enlightens the mind, wholly distinct from the light called the natural light (lumen). I have been raised up interiorly into that light by degrees, and as I was raised up, my understanding became so enlightened as to enable me to perceive what I did not perceive before, and finally such things as I could not even comprehend by thought from natural light.'

Not long after that I ordered my first Bible… and I started to write publicly … and to preach … and only now, after many years, I am realizing that since that very moment I become an apostle of Jesus Christ…

***

Just recently I finished my translation of the ‘Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture for the New Jerusalem’ (written by E.Swedenborg; this book is available for download from this web-site adress: http://www.akademijavjecnogproljeca.org/swed_eng_frame.html ) into my native tongue… and while translating it... just one thing was constantly on my mind: 'This amazing knowledge must be shared with the whole world...''

"The Bible," he said, "is the Book of books, because cause it is the Book of God. It is my Guide and Light, and Food for my soul. Experience has proved the fact that there is no other book in the world beside this, which can meet the spiritual needs of men. It is now about a quarter of a century since this precious Book introduced me to its Author and all this time I have found my Saviour to be exactly the same as recorded in this Book. He has been to me all that we read concerning Him there. Language difficulties and textual criticism have not hidden its truths nor hindered in the least its life-giving influence in my heart, because of these words 'They are spirit and they are life.' "In reading the Bible, I have found untold and eternal wealth of riches, such as I never thought nor dreamt before; and now in passing on its message to others, and sharing it with them, its blessing to me and to them continually increases. People can see the Book and its readers, but its wonderful unseen power and force of attraction are only known by those who read it sincerely and prayerfully. Just as the magnet and needle can be seen, but the magnetic force which draws the needle to itself is hidden and unseen, so the unseen power of this Word of God draws sinners like me to the Saviour."    Sadhu Sundar Singh ‘A personal memoir’ by C.F. Andrews

How true, how true are these words… in-deed… and although I do nothing else most of the time but simply ‘lean on’ upon some particular sentences and even words from those books… and than just ‘wait for the Lord’ (His instruction and inspiration) there… I am always aroused and elevated in my soul to the unknown heights where I experience such a joy and clarity that I, myself, am surprised and amazed every time.  

So let us be more eager in reading the Word of our Lord and Heavenly Father... let us not waste our time in reading those unprofitable books, those 'cisterns that cannot hold the water' (Jeremiah 2:13):

'Take notice of what Jesus taught during the time of His earthly life and accept it as God's Word, for the voice of God spoke through Jesus, the spirit of God was working through Him, and therefore everything He taught was purest truth. Hence you should always keep to His sacred Word; you should accept it in your heart as God's Word through which He wants to guide you into truth, if you sincerely appeal to Him for truth. He will give it to you, He will always convey it to you in the manner you are receptive to....'   As received from Jesus Christ by Bertha Dudde, revelation nr. 4775, July 11, 1949

Yeah, let us read It and let us share It with those around us who are not yet aware of It's power and It's worth. Moreover, it is our DUTY TO DO SO (about this DUTY of ours, I compiled a whole book and is available for download here http://www.akademijavjecnogproljeca.org/dudde_poruke/eng/Working_in_the_vineyard_of_the_Lord.pdf ):

As received from Jesus Christ by Bertha Dudde,

Proclamation nr. 5605, February 18, 1953

Awakening the dead through God's Word….

You shall awaken the dead to life…. you shall draw the lifeless from the abyss and breathe life into it; you shall touch it with a strength that will give life to it…. And this strength is My Word which comes to you from above, which I convey to you Myself, so that you, as mediators, will pass it on in order that My strength will also touch those who are still dead in spirit. You own something exquisite, a gift that has a miraculous effect, you own spiritual strength and can use it to bring the dead back into life. But having received it from the Eternal Love you must also impart My Word with love; your will to help must urge you to share what had awakened you to life…. Then you will always be successful and able to work beneficially on earth as well as in the spiritual kingdom. There is immense darkness everywhere and countless spiritually dead souls dwell in this darkness. But life also means light….

Only the soul that is touched by a ray of light which radiates warmth of love and thus has an invigorating effect on the hardened soul will awaken to life. These dead souls have to be touched by a light of love, then they will awaken to life for sure. And you shall take this ray of light to them by giving them My Word, which has a most comforting effect on them if it is offered with love. This healing water of life constantly flows to you as a result of My love and grace so that your souls will recover and find the true life, and thus you need not fear the death of the soul any longer…. Yet the many souls which rest in their graves.... which in their thoughts are still living on earth and yet are spiritually dead and in depressing darkness…. are surrounding you, and you should help them by lifting them out of the night of death into the light of life. For you have an effective remedy, you have the only medicine which can help them, you have My Word, the emanation of strength and light of Myself, which will never remain ineffective if only it can touch the soul….

As long as My Word is merely reaching a person’s ear it cannot as yet affect the soul, for only the soul is receptive to the effect of My Word. Yet only love will open the door so that I Myself can touch the soul with the strength of My love. And your love will open the door for Me if you endeavour to help these dead souls and proclaim to them My Word with love. Consider how much power is given to you: You are able to awaken the dead to life with My Word…. And if you are only urged by love to spread My Word I will bless your efforts…. Carry the Word into the darkness wherever it may be.... look after all those who are dead in spirit, remember your lifeless fellow human beings as well as the dead in the beyond…. want them to awaken to life and bring My Word to them with love…. And the strength of My Word will work miracles, the souls will awaken to life and light, and they will never ever lose their life again.... Amen

***

As received from Jesus Christ by Bertha Dudde,

Proclamation nr. 6768, February 21.-23, 1957

Beneficial effect of God’s Word… Awakening – Life…

My Words are spirit and life for you… You cannot remain in a dead state when you permit My Words to enter your heart, you must feel the strength of My Word and with this strength become active, hence alive… When the Word touches your hearts then you have come into contact with Me because of My Words, or you would not hear My voice even though you hear the words. For that reason I ask that you allow My Word to enter your heart, don’t let the ear just hear so that the Word won’t merely pass you by without meaning. You must hear Me talk to you Myself and you can only do that when you give yourselves to Him, Who speaks to you… when you open your hearts, when you consciously and attentively listen to what your God and Father wants to tell you. Then you truly receive strength in abundance and you find life. What you now receive because of My love will give you life because I feel sorry for you as long as you are still dead in spirit. For you are not in a perfect condition even if you believe that you are in full possession of strength on earth … The life I want to give you is not comparable to earthly life… You are supposed to achieve the life of the soul and this life is a gift that you all can receive if you desire it. But it can only be given to you by Him Who is life Himself… The flow of life only comes from Me but it eternally flows to human beings by means of My Word which is the emission of My strength of love and therefore has to be revitalising as soon as it touches the dead. And you either consent to this touch or repel it… Thus you yourselves decide over life and death of your soul.

Consequently you should understand that I, Who since eternity Am the Word Myself, only aim to give life to the hitherto dead by sending My Word to earth and that the acceptance of My Word thus has to be of the greatest  significance for you… because it saves you with certainty from a degrading and wretched condition. Because no divine gift remains ineffective if only you humans would allow it to take effect. Thus My Word must also have an extremely beneficial effect on you in as much as you can feel its influence on yourselves, you must irrevocably feel urged to live in accordance to My Word, that is, to carry out My will which is made known to you by means of My Word…  But you should not resist it, you must hear it willingly and allow yourselves to be guided by it in order to live your life accordingly… Then you will accomplish the greatest spiritual achievements, you will acquire the necessary maturity of soul and enter the realm of light after the death of your bodies. Thus you have a definite means, a means of undeniably beneficial effect for your soul… Yet only few people make use of this beneficial means… And My divine flow of strength cannot touch their souls who walk their earthly path ailing and miserable and depart from this world without success. As a result the most effective means is not or only rarely heeded and unusual spiritual experiences, which would be more noticed, cannot always be applied since they would compel to believe and therefore the success for the soul would scarcely be worth mentioning unless they internalise the person and make him receptive for My Word…  My wisdom perceives this in advance and therefore it may appear at times as if a human being was bestowed by Me with unusual gifts of grace which guarantee him an easier ascent… I know the degree of a soul’s maturity, I also know when the resistance of a soul has become so weak that it only requires a slight spiritual experience to break down this resistance… And in that case the acceptance for My Word is present too, and now every soul has to perform the same work: to voluntarily live in accordance to My Word… only then the unusual gift of grace has been utilised and subsequently My Word will have the same effect on him, because it is strength in itself and now raises the dead.

When I speak to a human being it has to have a healing effect on a fatally ill soul because it comes into direct contact with the energy of life… but the same success cannot be expected where My Word is opposed because this opposition does not allow a favourable effect… it is, after all, a renewed sin against My love and a sin never results in a positive effect… But you humans could easily receive life and therefore strength too. Every human being has the opportunity to hear My Word, to read it or to speak to Me in thought himself.  Even if he is fully in the world… It would be possible for everyone to disassociate themselves from the world for a short period of time and to offer nourishment to the soul: to get engrossed with My Word and thus voluntarily make the connection with Him, Who has to be acknowledged as God and Creator. And I would truly bless his will, I would meet him and talk to him in such a way that he would time and again request to hear Me and My Word… But the world replaces every thought of Me, My Word is carelessly ignored, the opportunities to hear My Word are even considered intrusive and the rejection of My gift of love comes so evidently to the forefront that it is not surprising that humanity is ever more overcome by weakness… that the lowest spiritual level becomes ever more noticeable and that My opponent is winning authority over the human beings who themselves prevent every supply of strength.  They would not even benefit from unusual gifts of grace as these would be ineffective because the people don’t want to see the light brought forth to them. Thus humanity causes the end of this earth themselves because a significant ascent can no longer be made, human life on this earth is not being utilised and therefore has become without purpose… First an order has to be established that makes a progressive development possible again… And I certainly will put this order in place as soon as the hour has arrived, as it is decided since eternity… because human beings shall attain life and not remain in a dead state eternally … Amen

May our Lord Jesus Christ                   

... keep us ever awake for the needs of our brothers and sisters!        

             Lorens N.

(May 31, 2009)