In the natural world man's speech is twofold, because his thought is twofold, external and internal; for he can speak simultaneously from internal thought and from external thought; and he can speak from external thought and not from internal thought, and even contrary to internal thought; and this is the source of pretenses, flattery, and hypocrisy. But this twofold speech man does not have in the spiritual world; his speech there is single; he speaks as he thinks; or if not, the tone of his voice is grating and hurts the ear. Nevertheless, he can be silent and not divulge the thoughts of his mind. So when a hypocrite gets among wise men he either leaves or betakes himself to a corner of the room and avoids notice and keeps silent. [2] At one time a large number had assembled in the world of spirits, and were talking together about this matter, saying that to be able to speak only as one thinks is a hardship to such as have not thought rightly about God and the Lord whenever they come into association with the good. In the midst of the assembly were the Reformed and some of their clergy, and next to them the Papists with their monks. The clergy and the monks spoke first, saying, "This is not a hardship; what need is there for anyone to speak otherwise than as he thinks? If perchance he does not think rightly, can he not close his lips and keep silent?" And a clergyman said, "Who does not think rightly about God and about the Lord?" But some of the assembly said, "Let us try them." And they asked those who had confirmed themselves in a trinity of persons in the Godhead to say from their thought one God; and they could not. They twisted and folded their lips in various ways, but were unable to articulate a sound into any words except such as were harmonious with the ideas of their thought, which were of three persons, and consequently of three Gods. [3] Again, those who had confirmed themselves in faith apart from charity were asked to utter the name Jesus; but they could not; although they could all say Christ, and also God the Father. They wondered at this, and inquired the cause; and they found it to be that they had prayed to God the Father for the sake of the Son, but had not prayed to the Savior Himself; and Jesus signifies Savior. [4] Again, from their thought of the Lord's Human they were asked to say Divine Human; but not one of the clergy there present could do so, though some of the laity could; and therefore this fact was made a subject of serious discussion. First, the following passages from the Gospels were read to them:

The Father hath given all things into the hand of the Son (John 3:35);

The Father hath given to the Son power over all flesh (John 17:2);

All things are delivered unto Me by the Father (Matt. 11:27);

All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18);

and they were asked to keep in their thought from these passages that Christ, both as to His Divine and as to His Human, is the God of heaven and earth, and then to pronounce the words Divine Human; but still they could not. They said that although from these passages they retained from the understanding some thought about the matter, they still had no acknowledgment of it, and therefore they could not bring it into speech. [5] (ii.) Afterwards there was read to them from Luke (1:32, 34, 35) that the Lord as to His Human was the Son of Jehovah God, and is there called "the God of the Most High," and in many other places, "the Son of God" and also "the Only begotten;" and they were asked to retain this in their thought, as also that the only-begotten Son of God born in the world could not but be God, as the Father is God, and then to utter the words Divine Human. But they said, "We cannot, because our spiritual thought, that is, our more internal thought, does not admit into the thought which lies nearest to speech any other ideas except those that are in harmony with the internal thought; and from this we perceive that we are not now permitted, as we were in the natural world, to divide our thoughts. [6] (iii.) Therefore, the Lord's words to Philip were read to them:

Philip said, Lord, show us the Father. And the Lord said, He that seeth Me seeth the Father. Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? (John 14:8-11) and also other passages, as:

That the Father and He are one (John 10:30) and they were asked to retain this in thought and then to say, Divine Human; but because that thought was not rooted in the acknowledgment that the Lord is God even in respect to the Human, they twisted their lips into folds till they grew angry, desiring to force their mouths to speak the words but they did not succeed; and for the reason that with those who are in the spiritual world the ideas of thought which flow from acknowledgment make one with the words of speech; and where these ideas do not exist words cannot be had; for in speaking, ideas become words. [7] (iv.) Still again, there was read to them the following from the doctrine accepted throughout the Christian world: The Divine and Human in the Lord are not two, but one, even one person, united like soul and body in man. This is from the Athanasian Creed, and has been recognized by the councils; and it was said to them, "From this certainly you can gain an idea grounded in acknowledgment that the Human of the Lord is Divine, since His soul is Divine; for this statement is from the doctrine of your church which you accepted while in the world; moreover, the soul is the very essence of the man, and the body is the form of this essence; and essence and form make one like esse and existere, or like the effecting cause of the effect and the effect itself." This idea they retained, and from it wished to utter the words Divine Human; but they could not; for their more internal idea of the Human of the Lord banished and erased this new adscititious idea, as they called it. [8] (v.) Once again, this passage from John was read to them:

The Word was with God, and God was the Word, and the Word became flesh (1:1, 14). Also this:

Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20). Also from Paul:

In Jesus Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9);

and they were requested to think accordingly, namely, that God who was the Word became Man, that He was the true God, and that in Him dwelt all the fullness of Divinity bodily. This they did, but only in external thought; and therefore, because of the resistance of internal thought, they were unable to pronounce the words Divine Human; and they said frankly, "We can form no idea of a Divine Human, because God is God, and man is man, and God is a Spirit, and we have always thought of spirit as being wind or ether." [9] (vi.) Finally, it was said to them, You know that the Lord said:

Abide in Me, and I in you. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:4, 5). And as there were some of the English clergy present, the following from one of their exhortations at the Holy Communion was read to them: "For when we spiritually eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, then we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us." And it was said, "If your thought now is that this is not possible unless the Lord's Human is Divine, pronounce the words Divine Human from acknowledgment in thought." But still they could not, so deeply impressed upon them was the idea that the Divine could not be Human, nor the Human be Divine, and that the Lord's Divine was from the Divine of a Son born from eternity, and His Human like that of any other man. They were asked, "How can you think thus? Can a rational mind ever conceive of a Son born of God from eternity?" [10] (vii.) Then the inquirers turned to the Evangelicals, saying that the Augsburg Confession and Luther taught that the Son of God and the Son of man in Christ is one Person; and that He, even as to His Human nature, is omnipotent and omnipresent, and as to that nature sits at the right hand of God the Father, governs all things in heaven and on earth, fills all things, is present with us, and dwells and operates in us; also that there is no difference of adoration, because the Divinity that is not discerned is worshiped through the nature that is discerned; and that in Christ God is Man, and Man is God. Hearing this they said, "Can this be so?" And they looked around and said presently, "We did not know this before; therefore we are unable to say Divine Human." And first one and then another said, "We have read this, and we have written it; and yet when we thought about it in our minds it was mere words, of which we had no interior idea." [11] (viii.) Finally they turned to the Papists and said, "Perhaps you can say Divine Human, since you believe that Christ is wholly present in the bread and wine of your Eucharist, and in every part of them; and you also worship Him as God most holy when you exhibit and carry about the host; also because you call Mary 'Deipara,' that is, 'Mother of God;' consequently you acknowledge that she gave birth to God, that is, to the Divine Human." Then they wished to pronounce it, but they could not, because a material idea of Christ's body and blood then suggested itself, and also a belief that His Human is separable from the Divine, and with the pope is actually so separated, since to him the human power only, and not the Divine, was transferred. Then one of the monks arose and said that he could conceive of a Divine Human with reference to the most holy virgin Mary, and also with reference to the saint of his monastery. And another monk came forward and said, "From an idea of my thought which I now entertain I am able to say Divine Human, but with reference to his holiness the pope rather than in reference to Christ." But some of the Papists pulled him back, saying, "For shame." [12] After this heaven was seen open, and tongues like little flames were seen descending and alighting upon some; and they then celebrated the Divine Human of the Lord, saying, "Have done with the idea of three Gods, and believe that in the Lord dwells all the fullness of Divinity bodily, that the Father and He are one, as soul and body are one, and that God is not wind or ether, but a Man, then you will be conjoined with heaven, and from the Lord you will be able to speak the name Jesus, and to say Divine Human."