being led by the Lord.

* * * * *

415. To the above I shall add this MEMORABLE RELATION. One morning, as I
awoke out of sleep, the light beginning to dawn and it being very
serene, while I was meditating and not yet quite awake, I saw through
the window as it were a flash of lightning, and presently I heard as it
were a clap of thunder; and while I was wondering whence this could be,
I heard from heaven words to this effect, "There are some not far from
you, who are reasoning sharply about God and nature. The vibration of
light like lightning, and the clapping of the air like thunder, are
correspondences and consequent appearances of the conflict and collision
of arguments, on one side in favor of God, and on the other in favor of
nature." The cause of this spiritual combat was as follows: there were
some satans in hell who expressed a wish to be allowed to converse with
the angels of heaven; "for," said they, "we will clearly and fully
demonstrate, that what they call God, the Creator of all things, is
nothing but nature; and thus that God is a mere unmeaning expression,
unless nature be meant by it." And as those satans believed this with
all their heart and soul, and also were desirous to converse with the
angels of heaven, they were permitted to ascend out of the mire and
darkness of hell, and to converse with two angels at that time
descending from heaven. They were in the world of spirits, which is
intermediate between heaven and hell. The satans on seeing the angels
there, hastily ran to them, and cried out with a furious voice, "Are you
the angels of heaven with whom we are allowed to engage in debate,
respecting God and nature? You are called wise because you acknowledge a
God; but, alas! how simple you are! Who sees God? who understands what
God is? who conceives that God governs, and can govern the universe,
with everything belonging thereto? and who but the vulgar and common
herd of mankind acknowledges what he does not see and understand? What
is more obvious than that nature is all in all? Is it not nature alone
that we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, smell with our nostrils,
taste with our tongues, and touch and feel with our hands and bodies?
And are not our bodily senses the only evidences of truth? Who would not
swear from them that it is so? Are not your heads in nature, and is
there any influx into the thoughts of your heads but from nature? Take
away nature,