CHAPTER 10

EXPLANATION OF THE WORDS OF PROVERBS 8:27

Proverbs 8, verse 27 contains much wisdom, “When he set the heavens in their place, I was there; and when he (NB!) girded the abyss with the sky, I was there.” We noted in the previous chapter what the abyss is, insofar as it can be described. The letters AAAA in figure 17 on page 350 represent the incomprehensible expanse or abyss of God's majesty. Our minds can comprehend a distance of many millions of miles, but the divine oneness that fills everything and has no end cannot be grasped or comprehended in terms of a particular space, no matter how broadly such a space is conceived. In this passage from Proverbs we read that the holy abyss was rounded off by the sky or horizon of the earth (letter B); this was the first revelation of God from the abyss. From this revelation B the heavens C, D, E, F, G were made, which the passage from Proverbs also mentions. Region C-D represents the heaven of the spirit-hierarchies, D-E represents the upper worlds, which we call the fixed stars, E-F represents the distance from to the upper worlds, and F-G represents, together with the remaining planets, the region of our world, the visible revelation of God's majesty and glory, the right hand of God's power, where Christ reigns and from where he will come again to judge the living and the dead. This then is the meaning of the words of Proverbs 8, verse 27.

As we indicated above, Christ the Lord sits at the right hand of God's power (B-C) and from there he will come again to judge the living and the dead. However, the question could be raised: Will our dearest Savior traverse the great expanse from there to the earth in a certain period of time and through a particular space, or will it occur in a flash, like a bolt of lightning? In response we should point out that apart from God and Christ nothing can occur or be put in motion. Therefore, he fulfills to a certain extent all the needs of all his creatures for their sustenance and preservation, without which they could not exist. This is an irrefutable truth and thus requires no inquiry as to the presence of God and Jesus Christ, for just as he is everywhere and in a certain sense is in every created thing, so too he can manifest his power and glory in all places above and below the heavens without moving, which would be quicker than the movement of a lightning bolt. We find examples of this in Exodus 19, verse 16; First Book of Kings 19, verses 11 to 13 and in other passages of Scripture.