[2] It has been shown in the preceding article, what the faith is that is accepted by the general body in the church - that God the Father sent the Son in order that by Him there might be propitiation, mercy, redemption, and salvation. Also, that the Son of God bore our iniquities, that He intercedes for us, and that His merit is granted to those who pray for it with trust and confidence; all these are empty phrases, in which there is nothing of truth, according to the opinion of the learned, and consequently nothing of salvation, as has been expounded in an article above. That these are empty phrases in which there is nothing of truth, is evident from the Word, where the reason for the Lord's Advent and His suffering is treated of - that the Lord came into the world to save the human race, which otherwise would have perished in eternal death, and that He saved them by subjugating the hells that infested every man coming into the world and going out of the world, and, also, by glorifying His Human, for thereby He is able to keep the hells in subjection for ever. The subjugation of the hells, and the glorification of His Human, were accomplished by means of temptations admitted into the Human which He had from the mother, and by continual victories obtained therein. His passion in Gethsemane, and on the cross, was the last temptation and full victory.

[3] That the Lord came into the world for these two reasons, and that He thereby saved the human race from eternal death, is evident from this fact, that the hells before the Lord's advent were not in order; consequently there was no equilibrium between hell and heaven; but hell prevailed on its part over heaven. And yet man is placed in the midst between heaven and hell. Wherefore whatever flowed in with man out of heaven before the Lord's Advent was intercepted by hell owing to its superior power. In order, therefore, that the equilibrium which was destroyed might be restored, it pleased the Lord to come into the world, then to accomplish a last judgment and subjugate the hells. By this means the Lord secured to Himself the power of saving men who have faith and love in Him and from Him.

These things could not have been effected unless the Lord had assumed the Human. The reason is, that God brings about such results from primaries by means of ultimates; for to act from primaries by means of ultimates is to act in fulness. The very strength of the Divine power is in ultimates; consequently it belongs to the Lord in His Human, because this is in the ultimate. This was one reason why the Lord came into the world. The other reason was, that He might glorify His Human, that is, make it Divine; for by this and no other means He is able to keep the hells for ever in subjection, because He thereby acts eternally from primaries by means of ultimates, and thereby in fulness; for thus His Divine operation extends to ultimates in the world; otherwise, it would reach only to the first in heaven, and mediately by them, and by the next following to the last, who are men. If therefore these should give way - as was the case immediately before the Lord's Advent - the Divine operation among men would be at an end, and consequently they would have no means of salvation. The Lord's Divine operation by means of the Human assumed in the world is called His immediate influx even to ultimates.

[4] These are the two means whereby man has salvation, which is called redemption. The reason why this was called redemption by His blood was, that the subjugation of the hells, and also the glorification of the Lord's Human, could be effected only by means of temptations admitted into Himself from the hells, the last of which temptations was the passion of the cross.

From these things it is now evident, that the Lord did not come into the world to propitiate the Father and move Him to mercy, nor to carry our iniquities and thereby take them away, nor that we might be saved either by the imputation of His merit, or by intercession, or by immediate mercy, consequently not that we might be saved by a faith in those things, still less by the confidence inspired by that faith, because such confidence confirms things that are not true, thus that do not belong to that faith. He who knows why the Lord came into the world, and why all are saved who believe and do the things that He taught by Himself, and also by the Father in Him, and not by the Father separate from Him, may see clearly, that many of the things which the rulers of the church teach concerning redemption are to be understood in a way different from their explanation of them.

[5] That the Lord subjugated the hells, He Himself teaches when the passion of the cross was at hand, in these words in John:

"Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out" (xii. 31).

Again:

"Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (xvi. 33).

And in Luke:

"Jesus said, I saw Satan like lightning fall from heaven (x. 18).

And in Isaiah also it is written:

"Who is this that cometh from Edom, marching in the multitude of his strength, mighty to save? Mine arm hath performed salvation for me: therefore he became to them a Saviour" (lxiii. 1, 5, 8, see also lix. 16-21).

Because the Lord subjugated the hells, therefore He gave the seventy disciples "power over demons" (Luke x. 17-19). That the Lord also glorified His Human, and that the passion of the cross was the last temptation and full victory by which glorification was effected, is also taught by Him in John:

"After" Judas "was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God shall glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him" (xiii. 31, 32).

Again:

"Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee" (xvii. 1, 5).

Again:

"Now is my soul troubled; Father, glorify thy name and a voice came out of heaven, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again" (xii. 27, 28).

And in Luke it is written:

"Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" (xxiv. 26).

These things are said concerning His passion. To glorify is to make Divine.

It is now evident that unless the Lord had come into the world, and been made man, and, by this means, delivered from hell all those who believe in Him and love Him, no mortal could have been saved. Thus it is to be understood that without the Lord there can be no salvation. This now is the mystery of the Lord's Incarnation.