Miracles and Signs (Johnson) n. 7

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7. There are some who think that the evil can be saved, can miraculously become good, and can enter into heaven by the Lord's omnipotence; and that whatever may have been a man's life and faith, all his evils and falsities will be wiped away, provided only that at the hour of death he breathes out the sighs of faith. But the evil with which a man is stained cannot be turned into good. If, indeed, the evil were miraculously taken away from a wicked man, he would scarcely have any life remaining. A certain spirit, from the principle he had adopted while in the life of the body, talked in just this way; he insisted upon its truth and urged others to the same persuasion. To teach them that it was not so, the evil and falsity of the spirit were miraculously removed, so that they might see how much life was left to him. He was then seen like some infant making vague motions with his hands, which he could scarcely move. At the same time he was in such a mental state as to be less able to think than is an infant; he could neither speak a word, nor grasp an idea. Very soon he was restored to his former state; but from this it could be seen that the wicked cannot be made good, and enter heaven, by any miracle.


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