857. CONCERNING A SPIRIT WHO PROFESSED ONE GOD, THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE A certain spirit came forth boldly and with confidence, and when in conversation with others we spoke about the Lord, he asked who the Lord was of whom we were speaking, and this with so much confidence that at first I could not suspect otherwise than that he believed. I said that He was Jesus Christ. He said that he did not know who He was, and that he had not heard of Him; but that he believed only in one God, the Creator of the universe. I then wanted him to inform me from whence he had come, whether he was of the inhabitants of this earth, India, Japan, Africa, or some other place, but I could not find this out. On this account I could as yet give no answer to these questions, for spirits must be informed according to the circumstances as to their faith during their lifetime. Wherefore he removed himself further off, and said that he wanted to be informed by others, who was Lord other than the One Creator of the universe. Being still able to speak with him, I said that no one can be saved without true faith. He then inquired as to what faith is, consequently, how can man be saved by faith, and this also with confidence. At length he was told that he who does not believe in the Son cannot believe in the one God, the Creator of the universe, because all power in heaven and on earth is given to the Son [Matt. xxviii 18]. In the end he was unwilling even to know what is meant by the Son of God, or that there is such a Being, because he could not understand it, and would never be able to understand that anyone was the Son of God. I then replied that those things which are of faith are to them arcana which we ought to believe even though we do not understand them, and that if we do not believe in the Son, we can never escape being damned to hell [Mark xvi 16]. But he insisted that he did not understand, therefore he did not believe. In the meantime I noticed that there was a league of evil spirits whom he served as a subject, and he had been sent that he might pretend to be such, when yet he well knew [otherwise]. Meanwhile, as is usual, from them, that is, from that league, a like faith was inspired in the community which was such that the whole sphere was half-filled with a similar opinion or falsity.