VISIO NONA, cap. VI
Five Lights of Salvation
Five mirrors on the wings reveal five distinct lights of salvation history, from Abel to the Son of God, illuminating the path of truth.
On the two wings that reach up to the top of the head described earlier, five mirrors appear, because in the Old and New Testaments, which look toward the dignity of his ancient plan, five lights from different eras are displayed: the first in Abel, the second in Noah, the third in Abraham, the fourth in Moses, and the fifth in the Son of God — all of which shine for people on the path of truth, since the Son of God also opened the closed door of heavenly joys through his passion.
Mirrors of the Right Wing
The three mirrors on the right wing display the deep mysteries of God, the door to his secrets, and the showing forth of all good things, prefigured by Abel, Noah, and Abraham.
One of these is at the top of the right wing, on which is written: 'The way and the truth.' This points to the deep mysteries of God's wonders, which no human being can fully grasp through their own knowledge, except to the extent that faith receives them within its scope. Just as a shadow in a mirror does no more than the form presented to it, so these mysteries show the peoples the way of justice and the truth of right living, so that a person who fears God may reach heavenly things — as Abel's life and death also make clear. Another, in the middle of it, has written on it: 'I am the door of all God's secrets.' In the perfection of a saving defense the revelation of God's secrets is made known, showing that almighty God spreads himself out through his wonders across the whole breadth of creation. Just as from the first human being to the last he brings about many signs of wonders — prophesying, announcing, and doing — and he won't stop in these until he completes all that he's going to do, just as he didn't rest in the first creation of the world until he had fully brought it to completion, as he also foreshadowed in Noah through various signs. There's another at its tip, containing the written words: 'I am the showing forth of all good things.' For in this end the end of the devil's mockery was foretold and the beginning of all good things was prefigured, also making clear that the Son of God was going to take on human form from a virgin, and through himself bring all good things to completion. The Book of Life also proclaims this, which will never be erased, in which the heavenly Jerusalem is described with all its virtues — virtues no one can fully recount, just as no one can bring God's wonders to their full conclusion. All of these Abraham faithfully foreshadowed in the circumcision he carried out at God's command.
The Mirror of Holy Fear
The mirror on the left wing reflects the pure intention of the elect, causing Satan to tremble and awakening sinners to repentance through the fear of God.
And at the top of the left wing there's another inscribed text, containing these words: 'I am the mirror in which the intention of the elect is considered.' For at the beginning of justice, when heavenly defense was about to crush wickedness through the power of his elect, their devotion appeared so simple and so pure that they resisted the devil's schemes and offered themselves to God as a living sacrifice. And so Satan, hurled backward, recognized God as so powerful over his enemies that, terrified even in the depths of hell, he trembled before him in every way. This is why many who were sleeping in the northern region through the mountain-bearing fruit awoke to repentance in the mirror of the fear of God — murderers, adulterers, robbers, liars, and other sinners too, all begging God to set them free from the ancient enemy.
The Fruits of Repentance
God is praised and delighted in the repentance of sinners, who, having been rescued from darkness, love him all the more fervently.
God is greatly praised in the repentance of these people, because people of every rank—penitents and faithful alike—come to know God as great in his own power, the one who frees them in this way and blots out their sins. And God takes great delight in them: though they had been mortals in the night of sins, through repentance he made them as if into pure day.1 And they love him much more, having been snatched from the devil in this way, than if they had never needed to be rescued through repentance—nor will they grow torpid from love of him from now on.2
Fear as the Path to Love
The fear of God is a necessary precursor to tasting his love for both the innocent and sinners, as God inspects their intentions in the mirror.
Therefore the fear of God is necessary for all—the elect, the simple, the innocent, and sinners alike—because they must first have the fear of God before they taste love of him, and so also in the mirror mentioned above their intentions appear like writing, which God always inspects.
The Dawn of the New Covenant
The final mirror proclaims the coming of the Son of God who casts Satan down, fulfilling the words spoken to Moses regarding the mystery of the Incarnation.
And on the tip of the same wing is one bearing this writing: Tell us if you are the one who is about to reign over the people of Israel, for where the Old Testament ended and the new began, my only-begotten appeared, who sank Satan like a stone into the deeper pit of hell, so that he will not be able to breathe in any windy blast of his own will, as he did before, and in this same deed my Son showed his elect eternal rewards, just as I spoke to Moses, saying:✦✦3 God's words in Exodus, spoken to Moses — 'I will show you every good thing' — and how they are to be understood concerning the mystery of the Lord's Incarnation.✦
Read the original Latin
Et in duabus alis quae se ad verticem praefati capitis extendunt, quinque specula apparent, quia in Veteri et Novo Testamento, quae ad dignitatem antiqui consilii respiciunt, quinque luminaria diversorum temporum ostenduntur; primum videlicet in Abel, secundum in Noe, tertium in Abraham, quartum in Moyse, quintum in Filio Dei, quae omnia hominibus ad viam veritatis lucent; cum etiam ipse Filius Dei clausuram coelestium gaudiorum per passionem suam aperuit. Quorum unum in summitate dextrae alae est, in quo scriptum videtur: Via et veritas; quod alta mysteria miraculorum Dei designat, quae nullus hominum per scientiam suam plenarie comprehendere valet, nisi quantum in circulo fidei capit, sicut nec umbra in speculo quidquam plus operatur quam ei per formam demonstratur, et quae ad salutem populorum viam justitiae ac veritatem rectitudinis ostendunt, quatenus homo Deum timens, ad coelestia perveniat; velut etiam opera et finis Abel declarant. Et unum in medio ejus in se scriptum habet: Ego ostium omnium arcanorum Dei sum; quoniam in perfectione salutaris defensionis manifestatio secretorum Dei declaratur, ostendens quod omnipotens Deus in latitudinem totius creaturae miraculis suis se expandit; sicut etiam a primo homine usque ad novissimum multiplicia signa miraculorum perficit, videlicet prophetando, nuntiando, et faciendo, nec in his cessabit, donec omnia quae facturus est compleat, quemadmodum nec in prima creatione creaturae requievit, antequam ex toto eam compleret, sicut et in Noe variis signis praefiguravit. Unumque est in fine ipsius, in quo scriptum continetur: Ostensio omnium bonorum existo, quia in fine isto finis diabolicae irrisionis est praemonstratus, atque ortus cunctorum bonorum praefiguratus, designans etiam quod Filius Dei formam hominis de simplici virgine esset assumpturus, et omnia bona per se completurus. Quod et liber vitae denuntiat, qui nunquam delebitur, in quo etiam coelestis Jerusalem cum omnibus virtutibus suis descripta est, quas nullus enarrare valet; sicut nec mirabilia Dei quispiam ad finem perducit, quae etiam omnia Abraham in circumcisione quam praecepto Dei complevit, fideliter praemonstravit. Atque in summitate sinistrae alae unum est in se scriptum continens: Speculum sum, in quo intentio electorum consideratur, quoniam in initio justitiae cum superna defensio per virtutem electorum suorum iniquitatem opprimeret, tam simplex et pura devotio illorum apparuit, ut diabolicis artibus resisterent, et se vivum holocaustum Deo offerrent. Quapropter et Satan retrorsum projectus, Deum tam fortem super inimicos suos cognovit, ut etiam in profundo inferni exterritus, eum per omnia contremisceret. Unde et multi, qui in parte aquilonis per montiferum pomum dormiebant, in speculo timoris Dei per poenitentiam evigilaverunt, scilicet homicidae, adulteri, raptores, mendaces ac alii quique peccatores Deum exorantes, quatenus eos ab antiquo hoste liberaret.
In poenitentia namque istorum Deus valde laudatur, quoniam omnes ordines poenitentium et fidelium hominum Deum in potestate sua magnum cognoscunt, qui eos sic liberat, et peccata eorum delet. Quapropter et in eis valde delectatur, qui cum velut nox in peccatis mortales fuissent, quasi purum diem per poenitentiam illos fecit. Unde et multo plus eum diligunt, a diabolo sic erepti, quam si ereptione per poenitentiam non indiguissent, nec deinceps ab amore ejus torpescent. Itaque timor Dei omnibus tam electis simplicibus et innocentibus quam peccatoribus necessarius est, quoniam eos oportet timorem Dei prius habere quam amorem ejus gustent, et ideo etiam in praefato speculo intentiones ipsorum velut scriptura apparent, quas Deus semper inspicit. Et unum in fine ejusdem alae scriptum habens: Nuntia nobis si tu es ipse qui regnaturus es in populo Israel, quia ubi Vetus Testamentum finitum est, et novum incoepit, Unigenitus meus apparuit, qui Satan in inferiorem puteum inferni velut lapidem submisit, ita quod in nullo ventoso flatu voluntatis suae spirare poterit, ut prius fecit, in quo facto idem Filius meus electis suis aeterna praemia demonstravit, quemadmodum ad Moysen locutus sum dicens:
Verba Dei in Exodo loquentis ad Moysen, « Ostendam tibi omne bonum, » et quomodo de Incarnationis Dominicae mysterio accipienda sint.
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.1.49 — Nathanael answered him, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.'
- ↩Exod.33.11 — Thus the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his assistant Joshua son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
- ↩Exod.33.19 — And he said, 'I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.'
Notes
- 1 ↩cum: temporal reading preferred given fuissent ('had been'), though concessive ('although') is possible; rendered with concessive force ('though') as it captures the contrast between night-of-sins and pure-day more naturally
- 2 ↩ereptione: rare form (hapax/rare); rendered as 'to be rescued' capturing the noun-of-action sense from ereptus
- 3 ↩ut (token 51): comparative conjunction with prius, not purpose/result; rendered 'as he did before' capturing the comparison to prior action
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