Many particulars more are by this author observed, and discoursed of, and this even so, that his discourse carried along with itself a plain and perceptible testimony of solidity. But for brevities sake they shall be but mentioned in short. The three nails wherewith Christ was nailed to the cross, are referred to the three first sharp, and piercing wrathful properties.
The two figures of the Virgin Mary and St. John, standing under the cross, are referred to the young man's and the virgin's life, now appearing in distinction, which the Artist (saith he) may see, if he hath eyes and understanding..
The words of Christ spoken on the Cross, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do", are deeply and excellently declared. (1) as to the redemption of mankind, by showing, when Jesus destroyed death and selfhood in the humanity, he did not throw away that human property, wherein the Anger of God was kindled before, but even then he took it rightly and truly unto himself, that is, he took even then rightly the outward, out-spoken kingdom of wonders into the inward. And (2) As to this Philosophical Work, by showing that the three murderers, when drowned in the lion's blood, do not pass away or are not annihilated, but they are forgiven, that is, their former hatred and wrathfulness, is turned into the highest Love-desire and they keep all their natural qualities, in their true order and office having lost nothing at all, but only their false and selfish predominion.
The two thieves, crucified with Christ, the one on the right hand, and the other on the left; the one mocking him, and the other turning unto him, and receiving the gracious promise "this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise"; are in this Philosophical Work referred to the kingdom of the Devil in the Wrath, and to the Kingdom of Love in the Light. Which two kingdoms are now separated the one from the other, etc. Thou shalt be with me in Paradise, says the Love, that is out of thy fiery, anguishing condition, thou shalt be turned and transmuted into me, etc. Here, saith Behmen, Venus in the Philosophical Work gets her Soul, for when Mars and Mercury die to the dark impression of Saturn, then Venus takes them in; then Anger and Love come to be one only being, Mars and Mercury become the Soul of Venus; all the strife ceaseth, the enmity is reconciled; Mercury is now all pure and hath no poison more in it, etc.
The words of Christ, saying to his mother, "Woman, behold thy son", and to St. John, "Behold thy mother", are excellently discoursed of by Behmen, not only with reference to the redemption of mankind, and to the universal Christian Church, but also to this Philosophical Work; wherein the Artist is to know, that he must imitate St. John, that all his work and operation is done only in or about the Mother, that is the kingdom of outward Nature, from which Christ here departeth; that his work in this world never will become totally and absolutely celestial, that he cannot manifest therein the Paradise, so as that God should appear therein face to face. But that he must abide all the time of this world, in the Mother only, though he verily obtaineth the universal Tincture in this Mother. Like as the mother of Christ also obtained it, in her being called by the angel, the Blessed among the women; notwithstanding, which she was afterwards to pass through temporal death, etc. So also the Artist obtaineth the blessing in this miserable world, so that he may tincture his corrupted earthly body, and preserve it in health, unto the terminus or end of his highest constellation, which is (N.B.) after or under Saturn. [When Saturn therefore is at his end and limit, and leaveth that life, which he hath been a leader of, no universal Tincture can prolong that life any longer.]
Concerning the words of Christ, "I thirst", and the vinegar mingled with gall, which when he had tasted, he would not drink, are profoundly declared -
(1) as an outward, most significant figure of what was transacted inwardly between the holy name Jesus, and the Anger of God awakened in the human soul. The name Jesus thirsted after the salvation of men, and would fain have tasted the pure living water in the human Property; but the Anger of God in the soul, gave itself into this thirsting Love-desire, which the Love would not drink, but yielded up itself, in a full resignation and obedience thereunto. Vinegar and gall are the proper figure of the human soul, viz., of these properties wherein the human soul essentially standeth, when considered as to its own proper being, without the Light. The soul, now here given again into the Holy Light's substantiality, which was in Adam, disappeared, etc. This caused such a two-fold great crack, as in the generation of Eternal Nature was explained. The first terrible crack made the Earth to quake, and rent the rocks asunder, etc. The second joyful crack raised the dead bodies of them that had hoped and waited for the coming of the Messias, and rent also the vail in the temple, from the top to beneath, uniting now the human time with Eternity, etc.
(2) And as to the Philosophical Work, wherein Venus also thirsteth after the manifestation and pre-dominion of the Fire of love; but Mercury, in the sulphur of Mars and Saturn, presseth itself into her, with his killing Menstruum, which is the greatest poison, of the dark Wrathful source. But Venus, instead of drinking the same down, yieldeth up herself wholly thereunto, as if she did actually die. And from hence the great darkness in the Philosophical Work ariseth, so that the whole matter cometh to be so black as a raven.
When the inward sun of the Eternal Light's Principle, in the humanity, had given up itself into the dark Wrath and Anger of God, the outward sun in this third principle, which taketh all its glance and lustre from that Inward, as a representation, figure, or mirror thereof, could not shine. For if its root or deepest ground (considered as in the region of this world) was gone down into darkness, for to renew this principle into the Light, the outbirth of this root, that is the outward Sun, must needs have been darkened, contrary to the common course of Nature; And this even from the sixth hour of the day unto the ninth, which was the time of the first Adam's sleep, etc. In the Philosophical Work, as the Artist shall see, all what God hath done, in and with the humanity, when he was to redeem and bring it again into Paradise; so he shall see also in answerableness to this particular of the great supernatural darkness mentioned above, that when Venus thus yieldeth up her life, which all her glance and lustre dependeth upon, all her beauty must disappear, and darkness cometh up instead thereof. Nay, he shall see also, that not only Venus, in the three wrathful Properties, but also that these three themselves, in Venus, do lose their life altogether, and that all is now so black and dark as a coal. For here now life and death lie still and quiet together in the will of God, and to his only disposition. The whole is now reduced to the beginning, and standeth in that order, wherein it stood before the Creation. Nature's end is now attained unto, and all is fallen home unto, or into, the power of the first Fiat.
After this, the Lord cried out, "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" The eternal, speaking Word stood now still, in the humanity, that is, it did not operate therein, so as to be sensibly felt thereby. For the heavenly humanity, which in Adam was disappeared, and in Christ quickened again, was to bruise the head of the Wrath, in the fiery soul, and to change the Soul's Fire into a clear, shining sun. That now this might be done, the humanity must be introduced into this Wrath, by the Eternal speaking Word, and by the same also, through this Wrath and death, into the solarish or paradisical life. When now this was done, the humanity could not but feel that Wrath in the soul, and in the same instant of this feeling, it could not feel the presence and power of the Eternal speaking Word, so as it could and did before, etc. And this was the forsaking.
So also in the Philosophical Work, when the wrathful properties swallow up the life of Venus, which is to change them into Sol, and to make that all seven may be one. Venus is forsaken. And this makes her lose her colour, and to be turned into Darkness, etc.
As the Lord Christ, after all his powerful works, miracles, overcoming of the Devil in the Temptation, and Transfiguration of his human body, was to go through all these sufferings, and at length wholly to die on the Cross, whereby he frustrated in a sense and manner, the hope and expectation of all his disciples. And as he had no other way or gate, than death, through which he could have entered into his glory, and drawn after him his members: So also in this Philosophical Work, the Artist hath hitherto seen indeed many wonderful things, and very glorious appearances, which made him to have a very great hope and expectation; yet for all this, now his expectation is in a sense quite overthrown and frustrated. For now the whole nature dieth in his work, and he must see that all is changed into a dark night. All the Properties, Powers, and Virtues, must now cease to be and do, what they were and did before, and must fall into the end of Nature. All yieldeth up its former life and activity, there is no more any stirring, moving, or operating. All the Properties are in the Crown-number, scattered in thousand, and so entered into the first Mysterium, in that state wherein they were before the Creation. The meaning is not that the outward materiality is made invisible, or quite annihilated, but only, that all the Powers therein which the outspoken Properties had from the Eternal speaking Word, and which were raised up against each other, in contrariety, each of them according to its own nature, are now at an end of their activity in self-will, and earthly inclination, and are fallen home again into the power of the Eternal speaking Word, having no other way, nor gate, but this death, through which they could enter from the curse into their primitive blessing. But when thus they are in death to themselves, and in the hand of the eternal Word, this cannot but raise them up again unto glory, as by a new Creation, and in answerableness the Resurrection of Christ.
The Lord Christ died indeed, as to the humanity from this world, but he took the same human body again in his Resurrection, and lost or left nothing thereof behind, but only the government of the four elements, wherein the Wrath, curse, and mortality lieth, etc. So in this Philosophical Work also, the first matter is not abolished or annihilated, but only the curse therein is destroyed, in the four elements, and the first life in the one Eternal Element is raised up again; and therefore it is now fix, and can abide the Fire. A glorious new body is now raised up out of the black darkness, in a fair white colour, but such a one as hath a hidden glance in it, so that the colour cannot be exactly discerned, until it resolveth itself, and the new Love-desire cometh up. And then in Saturn's centre, but in Jupiter's and Venus's Property, the Sun ariseth. This is in the Fiat, like as a new Creation, and when this is done, all the Properties cast forth unanimously their desire into Sol. And then the colour is turned into a mixture of white and red, from Fire and Light in union, that is, into yellow, which is the colour of majesty.
The appearance of love, to the wrathful properties of darkness, causeth, as mentioned above, a great crack, or terror. The wrathfulness is mightily exasperated by this appearance of Love, and presseth vehemently into her, for to swallow her up into death, which it doth also actually. But seeing that no death can be therein, the Love sinketh only down, yieldeth up herself into these murdering properties, and displayeth among them her own loving essentiality, which they must keep in them, and cannot get rid thereof. But even this is a poison unto death, and a pestilence unto Hell. For the wrathful Properties are also mightily terrified at this entering of Love into them, which is so strange and contrary to their own qualities, and which makes them all weak and impotent, so that they must lose their own will, strength, and pre-dominion, etc. So was it done in the death of Christ, and after such a manner (largely and excellently declared by Behmen). Death and curse in the humanity, was killed and destroyed, in and by the death of Christ, who, after his Resurrection, had no more the form of a male in his human body, but that of a paradisical Virgin, as Adam had before his fall. And so also is it, in this Philosophical Work. In this terror, crack, and mutual killing (though there is properly no death, but only a transmutation, or union of two into one), when Venus yieldeth up her life to the wrathful Properties, and when these, having lost their pre-dominion, are raised up again to a new life, the Virgin giveth her pearl to the young man, for a propriety. And so the life of the anger, and the life of the Love, are no more two, but only one; no more a male and female property, but a whole Virgin, with both tinctures united into one. When then the Artist seeth the red blood of the young man rise from death, and come forth out of the black darkness, together in union with the white colour of the virgin, he may then know that he hath the great Arcanum of the world, and such a treasure as is inestimable. Several things more could be brought forth from Behmen, which would afford many excellent considerations. But these may be sufficient, to show that harmonious analogy which is between the Restoration of fallen Man, through Jesus Christ, and the Restoration of cursed Nature, in the Philosophical Work.