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CHAPTER 8 ON THE INVISIBLE CREATURES IN THE ELEMENTS

At the end of part 22 in chapter 2 of this volume we promised to say something special for the reader about the invisible creatures in the four elements. We will keep that promise with the following observations, which were previously published many years ago. We ask the reader to read through this text without any prejudice.

PART 1

We would like to offer some reflections here on the words of Moses in Genesis 6, verse 2, “The sons of the gods saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; so they took for themselves such women as they chose.” Luther translates these words in the following manner, “Then the children of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and took as wives those whom they wanted.” The Vulgate retains the Hebrew words, whereby the version (1590) by Franciscus Junius and Immanuel Tremellius sounds almost completely identical, as does the Greek edition in the Exemplari Vaticano manuscript. In the Exemplari Manuscripto Alexandrino it says, “When the angels of God…” The Chaldean Onkelos edition presents it in the following manner, “The sons of Rafrevajab saw…” That is, according to Johann Buxtorff in his Rabbinical Lexicon, “the sons of noble princes and great lords.” Similar interpretations of this passage can be found in the Targum of Jonathan Ben Usielis and the Targum of Hierosol. In verse 4, however, where the Nephilim (giants) are mentioned, both Targum books translate it as follows, “The Schamchasai and Usiel fell from heaven and stayed for a while on earth.” The Persian translation has “The angels of God saw…”; the Samaritan translation says, “The sons of princes…”; the Syrian translation states, “The sons of God…,” while the Arabian translation notes, “The sons of the nobles saw the beautiful daughters of the common men….” The common French translations says, “Les fils de Dieu voyant que les filles des homes étoient belles…” (“When the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful…”). All other European translations have the words “The sons of God….”

PART 2

Concerning this curious passage we might ask: (1) whether the phrase “the sons of God” should be understood as meaning angels, spirits or natural men; (2) whether spirits or angels could mix with humans and (3) whether angels and spirits, who have no seed, can really procreate.

PART 3

Concerning the first question, most of the Church fathers in the early Greek Church, among them Justin, Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius, Tatian, Athenagoras, Proclus and others, understood this to mean heavenly angels. Because they used the Greek translation of the Old Testament instead of the Hebrew text, which has the word angels instead of sons of God, they were of the opinion that it was indeed angels who mixed with the human women, although not just any angels. Rather, they were the so-called guardian-or protector-angels (angeles vigiles). The Jewish historian Josephus, who shared this interpretation, writes that angels of God mixed with human women and produced mischievous children who were known for their great strength and did not concern themselves with God or the world; they eventually became known as the giants.

PART 4

Philo follows this interpretation and says in the first volume of his book on giants, “When the angels of God saw the daughters of men….” He uses the phrase “angels of God” and not “sons of God.” From this we can conclude that Philo himself believed that the angels of God had intercourse with the daughters of men. This opinion among Greek interpreters was taken over by their Latin counterparts among the Church Fathers, such as Tertullian and Lactantius who confirm that the angels who, as spirits, do not have material bodies, nevertheless were able to perform the act of intercourse and thus were able to impregnate the women and reproduce.

PART 5

However, there were those among the Church Fathers who did not agree with this interpretation and completely rejected it, such as Chrysostom who already in those early years of the Church called those who held this opinion blasphemers. In his twenty-second homily on Genesis 6 he writes: “Here we must be careful to present the true meaning of Scripture, so that the blasphemers will not easily have the ear of the faithful. They say that this passage speaks about angels, rather than men, because they are described as the ‘sons of God.’ However, they cannot show any other passage in Scripture where angels are otherwise described with this phrase. Men are called the ‘sons of God’ in Scripture, but never angels.” Certainly, it is true that this passage does not refer to angels. However, the proof cited by the good Father of the Church is far too weak in our opinion. If the angels are never called “sons of God” in Scripture, it follows that in this passage there is no reference to angels. However, although they are not called “sons of God” in Scripture, they are called Malachim. But this conclusion is flawed, particularly since Job 1, verse 6 and Job 11, verse 1 support what Chrysostom denies. In most commentaries, and even in Coecceji's the phrase “sons of God” is understood to mean angels. Although so many excellent men have supported and confirmed this position through the ages, we nevertheless completely reject this simplistic and poorly thought-out opinion for compelling reasons that come in part from Scripture and in part from common sense. Christ Himself clearly indicates in Matthew 22, verse 30 that angels do not and cannot have intercourse with human women, “At the resurrection men and women do not court and marry; they are like the angels in heaven.” With the words “court and marry” He clearly negates the possibility of angels performing the conjugal marriage act.

PART 6

Common sense also teaches us that because angels are spiritual and not material beings and have no natural seed, they cannot possibly produce offspring. And in the event that they could do so, it would be either as an immaterial body, or in an elemental body that they assumed for that purpose.

PART 7

The first possibility is, of course, not possible, for how can a spiritual essence perform such an act or procreate without seed, particularly since the related sensations of pleasure, which philosophers tell us are crucial to the propagation of our species, cannot be felt by angelic spirits and immaterial beings? Therefore, we can conclude that beings, that have neither earthly solidity nor the sensation of feelings, cannot carry out such procreative acts. Angels have no earthly solidity and no sense of feeling, therefore…

PART 8

We should add to this that if angels would experience the sensation of feeling, it could be destructive for them, since all creatures that possess this gift are fragile and subject to decay because the alternating characteristics of this sense are the extremes of hot and cold.

PART 9

Critics of this opinion say that it implies that the Holy Spirit could not have caused Christ's incarnation. We can answer such a criticism by pointing out that the Holy Spirit's role in Christ taking on human form was a miraculous and divine event that did not require the help of any material things and was certainly not tied to physical sensibility. Rather, the all-powerful Holy Spirit can act at any time and without any material means; and this divine power was not given to the angels, nor can it be, since they themselves are nothing more than manifestations of God's power and God himself.

PART 10

Furthermore, the spiritual body of an angel cannot produce progeny because it is the simplest and humblest essence that has no material or bodily substance, as Christ himself confirms in Luke 24, verse 39, “Spirits do not have flesh or bones.”

PART 11

Finally, angels cannot take on a material body or produce one themselves (see volume 2 on images ), although this opinion was supported by Valesio, Thomas Aquinas and most Scholastic theologians. They argued that the human seed is the result of a boiling of the blood brought about by the “third digestion,” as physicians call it. However, such a process cannot occur in a body that was assumed and not original to the spirit. To say—as many have—that the angels could have stolen the seed and later used it, is a bizarre contrived fantasy, especially since the power of the seed ebbs and becomes useless shortly after it leaves the body's natural seed vessels. Therefore, it is entirely false to equate angels with the Biblical “sons of God.” We would gladly provide a more sweeping refutation of this error were it not already provided long before us by many excellent thinkers, foremost among them Pererius Benedictus of Valencia and Dionysius Petavius.

PART 12

When the teachers in the synagogues recognized that under the circumstances no angels, or at least no heavenly angels, could be the “sons of God” referred to in Genesis, since they would then also be punishable along with the humans, they (the teachers) boldly asserted that it must have been the fallen angels whom God had cast out of heaven. In the book called Onchasin we read that around the time of the Flood an evil angel named Machsael had intercourse with the wife of Cham and produced with her the boy Sihon. And in the book Midrasch Ruth two other angels are named who also have intercourse with human women, not to mention that the Targum Jeruschalmi, as reported earlier, made Schem Chazai and Uziel fathers, the former producing Hyam and Chyam (who themselves produced Saor and Og). Uziel, however, remained unrepentant and continues to pursue women even to this day, leading them to revel in their pride and voluptuousness and to make themselves up in the most sinful manner.

PART 13

Such an explanation shows the insanity and foolishness of the Jewish people, whose faith consists of opinions that are constantly refuted. How is it possible that Sacred Scripture, the word of truth, would call these evil and unclean spirits the “sons of God”? Or how is it that enemies of God appear before the Lord (see Job 1, verse 6) and Satan, that most repugnant of creatures, with them? This opinion must also be rejected as nothing but a Jewish contrivance.

PART 14

We will not even address the interpretation of the Eastern Church Fathers who viewed the “sons of God” as the children of princes and mighty rulers, and the daughters of men as young women from the common people, since this approach is too absurd.

PART 15

There remains only the third opinion, which has spread around the world and which has been embraced by learned and not-so-learned theologians over time. This explanation says that the “sons of God” are the descendants of Seth. This opinion was popularized by the writings of a few Jewish authors, and especially the books of the Arab named Patricidius, who writes that after Abel had been murdered, Seth took his wife and family and went to live on a mountain—subsequently called the holy mountain—in compliance with the testament given him by the dying Adam. Seth's descendants took an oath not to have contact with the descendants of Cain in the nearby valley where Abel had been killed. Seth's people followed the ways of the Lord, leading just and holy lives, such that from their home on the holy mountain they could hear the holy angels in Paradise, which was not far from the mountain, singing and praising God's name. Seth's people lived from the fruit of trees that grew on the holy mountain, while the descendants of Cain in the valley turned themselves over to all manner of vice and disgraceful behavior, with fathers even having intercourse with their children. The male descendants of Seth saw this and broke their oath, being attracted by the beautiful women in the valley. In so doing, they gave cause for the Great Flood. This, then, is the interpretation of the famous Gedalichæ in his book Schalschelet, as well as many other Christians in East and West, and the two Arabs Patricidius and Elmanicus. Let us listen now to some further words from Patricidius, as translated into Latin by Proclo.

PART 16

Proclo writes, “After the death of Adam the tribe of Seth separated from the people of the accursed Cain and Seth took his firstborn son Enoch and the son of his son, Kenan, along with his wives and children, to the top of the mountain where Adam was buried. Cain, however, remained with his family in the valley where Abel had previously been murdered. The children of Seth lived in purity and holiness on the mountain and heard the angels sing and praise God every day, because they were not far away from them. And so Seth and his children were called the sons of God. They did not practice a trade or till the earth, but rather lived only from the fruits of the mountain trees; and among them there was no enmity, injustice or lies. Their oath was: ‘No, by the blood of Abel!’ And each day they went up to the highest point of the mountain, turned to the East and worshiped God. They also viewed the grave of Adam and received God's blessing.”

PART 17

When Seth was about to die he made an oath by the blood of Abel that none of his children should leave the holy mountain or allow that any one of them should go over to the accursed tribe of Cain.

PART 18

With regard to our own opinion, we will forego betraying it here and simply allow the reader to freely form his own. Far be it from us to interpret the words of the Lord in this manner, for we cannot find any passage in Scripture where the sons of God are contrasted with the evil children of men. Rather, the Holy Spirit includes under the name “children of men” both the good and the bad. The prophet Ezekiel used this name in the same way. It is difficult to believe that the holy and just nature of Seth's descendants was so great that they were no longer called the children of men. If the phrase “sons of God” is meant to refer to men, then the question arises why Job, of whom God says that he was unequaled among men, was never called a “son of God,” but rather simply a “perfect and just man.” It is in keeping with the style of the Bible that when good people are contrasted with evil people the former are described as just, honest and holy, while the latter are described as evil and the children of Belial. Such is how Abraham spoke to God in Genesis 18, verse 25, “Far be it from Thee to do this—to kill the just with the godless ones—for then the good would suffer with the bad.” Here, the just ones are not called the “sons of God,” nor are the evil ones called the “children of men.” Instead, the former are simply called “the just” and the latter are called “the godless ones.” To summarize: it is false, incorrect and contrived to say that Sacred Scripture in one passage calls a certain just people the “sons of God.” Such phrasing occurs nowhere in Scripture and can thus never be proven. On the other hand, those creatures who are called the “sons of God” in this passage of Genesis 6 must be the same as those who are described with this name in Job 1, verse 6 and Job 11, verse 1. This phrase occurs only twice in all of Scripture and can have only one meaning. No scholar has ever been able to justifiably say that the phrase “sons of God” that appears in the book of Job actually refers to human beings. As a result these words cannot refer to men in Genesis 6 as well. At this point we must ask whether the punishment fits the crime if nearly all of humanity were to be wiped out as a result of people having intercourse with one another and producing children. No divine law forbids such intercourse, and certainly no one can show us an example where God has ever punished a people in such a terrible and sweeping manner, such that a law that created itself (that is, if the story of the holy mountain and the singing of the angels is true) was revoked and forgotten.

PART 19

At this point we will not introduce additional arguments and examples because we wish to hurry on to something that is more important and more useful for our purpose here, and which was described by the cabbalists, by Paracelsus and by the author of the book Entretien sur les Sciences secretes (the Count de Gabalis, the famous Abbé de Villarceau). We are speaking about the so-called intermediate substances (substantias intermedias), which the Greeks separated into Dœmones, Agathodœmones and Cacodœmones. These names were known many hundreds of years ago as “the races or peoples” (geniorum) to such men as Plato, Pythagoras, Celsus, Psellus, Proclus, Porphyrius, Sambilius, Nollius, Trismegistus, Plotin, Fluddus and Dorneus, to whom these creatures taught the most secret mysteries of nature, thereby making these men world-renowned.

PART 20

These creatures are the inhabitants of the elemental world, of fire, of the air, of water, and of the earth. From the first group one can learn many important things about the heavens, the workings of the stars, the real essence of elemental fire, the true nature of the inhabitants of the planets and many other magnificent things, as we already noted in chapter 4 on astrology. From the second group we can learn about the nature of the air, its use and benefit, the origin of meteors, hail, thunder and also the fruitfulness or unfruitfulness of a storm. From the third group, made up of all creatures living in water, we can learn the name of amber, the use of coral, and the production of costly pearls and whatever else lives in the sea and other waters. From the fourth group we can learn about the increase, growth and decline of metals and their change, for example, from silver into gold, as well as the power and effect of quicksilver (mercury) and antimony, in which things the so-called “sons of God” not only excelled, but also taught their knowledge to men, as mentioned above.

PART 21

With regard to their shape and essence a certain rabbi named Schem Tow described them, according to the guidelines of the cabbalists, as follows, “Wise men say that their form and shape is that of men…” (see what we said about the form and shape of angels and men in volume 2 of this book) “…for they are not as ethereal as the angels, but also not as crudely material in their composition as the human body. Their favorite activities include honoring the Creator, teaching men, socializing with men and pursuing purity and godliness. Those who reside in the fiery element are composed of the smallest particles of the fiery circle and are organized by the power of fire in general. And since their essence is nothing like that of humans, they are little concerned with human activity, so that it would be difficult for the Magus to summon them and to interact with them.”

PART 22

“The creatures from the other elements are composed in a similar manner; they have distinct genders, can procreate and reproduce per traducem. They are also capable of reproducing with the children of men. In addition, they have their own well-organized system of overseers, worship God and avoid anything that displeases him. We ask the reader to compare what we have said in this chapter with the content of volume 1, chapter 5 on the third day of Creation, as well as chapters 2 and 4 of this third volume on images .

PART 23

From this forbidden conjugal union great, powerful and famous men were born, and not only in the period of the Flood (when, to the great displeasure of God, humans had intercourse with these creatures, thus introducing an insufferable mixing of the two races). Their progeny included all the pagan gods and all the ancient heroes, such as Achilles, Romulus, Alexander, Hercules, etc., and even entire nations, such as the Huns in Pannonia. Dagon, the god of the Philistines, was nothing other than a Triton, or merman, of whom Helladius says, “He was a man, but looked like a fish because of his skin.” Berosus and Appolodorus confirm that this Dagon had a human voice and appeared one morning coming out of the Red Sea. He traveled to Babylon and at night, after the sun had set, he would return to the sea. From him the Philistines learned all kinds of skills, including reading, writing and farming, the institution of religious and political laws and how to live in a society. He cannot possibly have been an evil spirit, from which nothing but evil would have come.

PART 24

It is well known that the Schedim (those not familiar with the Cabbala or the Hebrew language often call them the Sadaim in numero duali, as if they were two separate types of beings), as well as the Seirim are the fauns, satyrs and other such pagan gods, whose worship was forbidden by God, although not general contact with them. Apart from the fact that the word Sair is almost identical with the word satyr, the meaning of the two words is also entirely the same, in that Sair means a ram and a satyr is usually represented in the likeness of a ram. The foolish pagans assigned to each of these peoples a species of animal as a symbol and image of God. The ancient Egyptians, as reported by Diodori Siculi, worshiped the gods of the earth (generally called gnomes by some) in the image of a horned ram. The Dan Mendesius and other fauns and satyrs were also worshiped in this form. The Philistines worshiped the sea-people in the form of a fish-god named Dagon. Others attributed different characteristics and shapes to these peoples, among them the Theraphim, reputed to be soothsayers who were welcome in the house of such godly men as Jacob and David, although today's theologians consider their soothsaying the work of the devil.

PART 25

We do not agree at all with the opinion of the rabbis who say that the Theraphim were actually the heads of antediluvean men, which were preserved and later imbued with the ability of prophecize….

PART 26

That these holy creatures were not favorably disposed to changing form, being represented in images and being worshiped as gods, we know from the words of one of them who spoke with Saint Anthony in the book Hieronymo in vita St. Pauli primi Eremitœ. We read there that after Saint Anthony went into the desert, he encountered a strange-looking man who gave him palm fruit to eat. When Saint Anthony asked him who he was, he answered, “I am a mortal, one of the inhabitants of the desert whom the pagans call fauns and satyrs and whom they worship as gods. I have been sent by my people to ask that you pray for them to the Lord God who came for the salvation of the world and whose name has spread across the entire world.” We do not want to discuss the work of other secular authors on this topic, such as Pliny (book 7, chapter 2), Plutarch in his Vita Sullœ or Pausaniœ in his Atticus or Solini and countless other examples. Rather, we will conclude this discourse with the words of Augustine in book 15, chapter 28 of his City of God, “Hoc (scil.dari ejusmodi hominess) negare impudentiœ videtur” (“There appears to be a shameless effort to deny the existence of these spirit-people”).

PART 27

We have now sufficiently shown who the “sons of God” are, and discussed in detail whether an angel of God is able to have intercourse with humans and produce children. We must continue our investigation with the questions (1) whether it is possible today to have contact with these peoples and if so, (2) how could we establish contact with them in order to learn the secrets of nature. With regard to the first question, we can say that these creatures are indeed still present today and could conceivably be located in the earth near metal deposits, in water and in the air as before, since the philosophical rule that species do not disappear remains eternally true. We know this to be true from our daily experience and the histories of our time. But one person in particular also experienced this firsthand in 1664 as he was pondering one night how to create the Philosopher's Stone and used the incantations of Paracelsus and Cardano to summon these peoples or subterranean creatures of the earth. He immediately saw a ghostly white figure open his door. As a man who did not lead a particularly holy life and who felt the sting of conscience, he almost fainted for fear and took flight, thus frustrating the very purpose of his actions. He lay sick for many days and regretted the whole evil process.

PART 28

We are certain that such ethereal people do exist and would gladly have contact with us earthly men. Nevertheless, among the many millions of people on the earth, there are hardly any who converse with them. Thus, we might ask what exactly one should do in order to have contact and to converse with these creatures.

PART 29

In answering this question we want to say: Non cuivis adire Corinthum. That is, anyone whose horoscope is marked by a descending Jupiter and ascending Saturn should be excluded not only from undertaking such a task, but also from pursuing all other secrets of nature. It is well known that such a constellation of heavenly bodies has a great impact on such activities, as Leah knew in Genesis 30, verse 11 when she cried out at the birth of her son “It is all due to Gad!” that is, the star of justice, or , called the good planet by the Hebrews.

PART 30

The Count de Gabalis, whom we mentioned in part 19 above as the famous Abbé de Villarceau, places further conditions on such contact: (1) he insists that anyone in conversation with these spirit-people who wishes to be successful in the transformation of metals may not be a prince or king, as such nobles could not lead a holy life, even if they so desired; (2) he demands humility and excludes all pride and arrogance; (3) he demands a special chastity of heart (for more on this see our chapter on religion, especially the parts dealing with magic) and considers it a vice to be emotionally involved with women and (4) he demands a jovial heart tinged with some melancholy.

PART 31

Regarding the first point, we find few, if any, kings or princes in history who have accomplished anything great in the transformation of metals or conversing with spirit-people. The reason is clear. However, we do have the example of King Solomon, who nevertheless was outdone in solving the most difficult puzzles by a young boy from Tyre. Therefore, we cannot exclude princes and the powerful from contact with the spirit-people. In the three remaining points we are to some extent in agreement, for in terms of the required humility, Christ had already demanded such from us all. Chasteness is, according to our rules mentioned in our previous discussion on magic, likewise necessary. Not only today's priests, but also the wise men and magicians of ancient Egypt refrained from sexual intercourse. With respect to Scripture, the great men of God, such as Elijah and Isaiah, who raised the dead, had never had such contact with women. Without a certain bit of melancholy, however, we will have little in the way of good fortune in whatever we undertake. Although for all of these activities a virtuousness, seriousness and great profundity are necessary, it is a sanguine and jovial temperament that brings about a consistent effectiveness and desire to act—even if only a superficial desire—which cannot withstand the bitterness that causes deep reflection, and which is not sufficient at all.

PART 32

The ancient pagans, especially Plato and Cicero, knew this (and Plato roundly condemned it), and especially Homer, who showed the gods laughing. Cicero says most clearly that melancholy people have something godly in them. Further, the Abbe de Villarceau, the Count de Gabalis notes that it is a safe and certain means that we must utilize if we want to come to the people in the element of fire (which he absurdly calls salamanders, but which we call Pyranthropos). He says that we must purify the element of fire within us and raise it up. One need only concentrate the fire of the sun in a glass globe with a concave mirror; this is the technique that the ancients kept secret: a solar powder will collect in the globe that, when purified of foreign particles—without the addition of any extraneous cleansing agent—and prepared in the appropriate manner, will soon be able to enhance the fire in us so that we can partake in the nature of this . When this occurs, the inhabitants of the fiery element will be subject to us and happy to see that we ourselves are in harmony with their fiery nature by virtue of the aforementioned powder. As a result they will extend to us the love, friendship and respect that they normally reserve for their own people, but also because we are made in the image of their Creator. At this point we feel obliged to point out that the Count de Gabalis is a rather poor philosopher, in that he was on the right track with his reference to the red solar powder concentrated in the glass globe, but left out an important detail concerning the necessary magnetic agent in this process. That having been said, we will leave it at that and not fill in the missing information.

PART 33

Regarding the nymphs (whom we call Hydranthropas), the Count gives the following directions: (1) fill a glass globe with water and let it sit for a month in the sun; (2) separate out the resulting powder in the appropriate manner, which should be quite easy. After taking the powder we will be astonished at what a strong magnet it is for attracting nymphs. The Count warns that we should take only a small amount of the potent powder, and this only for a few months, and we will still attract large numbers of nymphs.

PART 34

We do not wish to say anything more about the above processes. However, it is clear that, like snake-handlers who use a particular agent to change their blood, those who plan to consort with the spirit-people of a particular element must also take something to remove any physical impediments to this contact. This is much the same as when those dealing with pregnant and jaundiced women have to avoid certain scents, and may not bring them roses, which they cannot tolerate.

PART 35

Let us add here that anyone looking for success in these processes must be (1) vigilant, diligent both day and night, and have an uncommon fear of God; (2) versed in the Cabbala (though not in Judaica in general) and have a fearless heart and (3) he must first find a location for his work that is far from civilization, and then pray before summoning these creatures. This is how the ancient magi proceeded.

PART 36

If you follow these directions, you will easily achieve your goal and become a master of nature. As for us, the unrest of our own life and the grief that the world has caused us has distracted us up to now from pursuing these secrets. However, we strongly disagree with the Count's ultimate goal of achieving immortality through these spirit-people; this is a sin in God's eyes and a fantasy of darkness. Our purpose, on the other hand, is to proclaim the wonders of God, to study the growth and decline of metals, to find cures for the many diseases that afflict mankind, and to make use of all things as God made them and for their appointed purpose. And just as a person who spends a large part of his or her life at sea knows better than any other all there is to know about it, so too, we must presume that the spirit-people who reside in the mines and under the earth must have far greater knowledge than we about all plants, trees and minerals. Our body is heavy, theirs is ethereal and very light; and so each thing has its particular advantages, and its particular purpose and nature. Thus, we can learn many useful things from one another.

PSALM 104, VERSE 24

O Lord! How great are the things thou hast made. Thou hast ordered everything in thy wisdom and the earth is full of thy goodness.

And now in conclusion we must ask the reader to leave for others to discuss those things that he might find disagreeable here. We are certain that the thoughts we have put into writing here will give those who can look at divine truth only through the prism of their scholarly traditions ample cause for public dispute. We do not wish to deprive them of this pleasure. However, we want to assure them that we will never respond in any way to their attacks. Instead, we will direct our energies to praising the eternal living God, Father, Son and Holy Sp images rit, for the spark of knowledge and wisdom that he has granted us through his Spirit. And we humbly ask the Lord to spread such wisdom for the praise and glory of his majesty, until such time as we stand in the presence of his countenance and are completely filled with all heavenly wisdom. Amen.