The Last Judgment (Posthumous) · 3 of 18

The Moravians

46.[45] THE MORAVIANS. That the Arians induce pain in the right arm, near the shoulder blade; but the Socinians induce pain in the breast bone.

47.[46] The Moravians conceal their mysteries of mysteries, and close up the ways, lest they should be known by others; insinuating themselves through such things from the Lutheran doctrine as agree, proclaiming that they are the remains of the Apostolic Church, who call themselves brethren; and that they have mothers, and certain statutes from the early Christians; but as to the interiors of religion they differ from them altogether. They do not acknowledge the Divine of the Lord as anything else than what is with any other man who is in that faith. They speak lightly of the Word of the Old Testament, and reject it as of no use. The Gospels they do not care for, only Paul’s Epistles. They condemn the goods of charity or good works, as to salvation, professing faith separate from charity more than others. Because they are Arians, I spoke with them concerning the Lord. They said that He was sent by God the Father, that by the passion of the cross He might save the human race, and on account of it was acknowledged as a Son, and called the Son of God; that their faith is confidence, that they love the Lord as the best man, because He took upon Himself to propitiate the Father by the passion of the cross. They say that the Lord has power in heaven, and not over heaven. They call Him the Lamb, nor do they ever adore Him as God. When it is said to them, that He was conceived of God, that He says He was from eternity, and that the Father and He are one, they hear these things, but they think against them. They dare not say that it was so written, but was not said: and such things concerning the Lord they miserably distort, and as it were lacerate. They therefore take refuge in these words, that they themselves know how it is, but it is among their mysteries of mysteries.

48.[47] They call only themselves who are of that faith alive, and all others who are not in that faith, dead; and they believe that they themselves are saved above all others, and that they are to come into the third heaven: but when they come into the first or lowest heaven among the angels, they do not endure the heavenly sphere there, which is derived especially from the goods of charity, and so far from faith; and they therefore flee away thence. Their aversion for that sphere has been perceived and felt by me. And moreover, in no heavenly society are they tolerated, because they think within themselves that all others but they are dead; thus also they have a dead idea concerning the angels themselves. If they come into the second heaven, and especially into the third, where love and charity, and thence the works of charity make the all of heaven, they are seized with pain as those who lie in the death struggle; and lividness comes over their eyes, and they make convulsive motions, and are tortured inwardly.

49.[48] They have preached much that they have a certain interior sensation and perception, which they say is from an influx from God the Father through heaven, by means of angels or spirits. But it was told them, that they have that sensation or perception from spirits who were Moravians in the world, and that they are in the midst of them, and that these flow in from similar principles, and confirm; which is done strongly, because they love their religious persuasion and think much about it. This was shown them to the life; also that the Quakers are in society with Quaker spirits, Enthusiasts with enthusiastic spirits, and every man with spirits who make one with the affections, and the thoughts or principles taken therefrom; and that it is never otherwise. On account of the living experience they could not but affirm this, though they were unwilling.

50.[49] The good which they do to the brethren of their assembly they call the good of friendship; and they have something of hatred against those who preach good works.

9-1 The author of The Whole Duty of Man. See SE 5058; CLJ 46.

9-2 The Exhortation is not quoted here. See T 722:3.

12-1 Tafel has, “aedificium;” in the MS. the words, “ubi etiam aedificium est,” are written above the line. Possibly it should read, “ubi etiam editius est,” “where, also, it is more elevated.”

22-1 Tafel has conjugalem; but the MS. has conjugialem.

51.[50] Because they observe that no one can come into heaven except those who acknowledge the Divine of the Lord, and they cannot do this, they recede from love towards the Lord on account of the passion of the cross, and act as one with the infernals. From that hatred they have it with themselves as it were implanted, that they persecute the angelic spirits in ways sometimes nefarious; but they are severely punished.

52.[51] They rarely hold companionship with others: they appeared at first to the right in the plane of the knees; but by turns they were diminished, cast off, and scattered. Among themselves they speak of their mysteries with closed doors, and severely prohibit the revelation of these mysteries unless by general consent; yea, they threaten: whether from those threats something has broken forth in the world; they were not willing to be explored, [nor] what they had done against some.

53.[52] They call all things with them, when in their faith and confidence, holy.

54.[53] There flows out from their sphere a perception of heinous adultery, because they adulterate the Word throughout, and likewise mock at many things therein.

55.[54] They appeared to the left in the plane of the foot, where it was disclosed that they made one with the evil, against those who have been in the goods of charity, and acknowledged the Divine of the Lord; all of whom are angelic spirits; and become angels: wherefore they were driven away towards the north. But because they were there not willing to become quiet, but that they would plot evil, calling to their aid the Babylonians, on this account they were driven still more remotely into the north, and sent into a cavern, which tended obliquely under the west, that they might no longer injure others. They form a brotherhood everywhere.

56.[55] They were compelled to an interior confession of the Lord; and I then heard profane things, such as I should scarcely dare to publish; denying, yea, profaning the things which are said there concerning the conception of the Son by the Father; that He was carried away from the sepulcher by the disciples; that the transfiguration was a vision induced by fantastic spirits; that He was a man so low that He was lower than others; besides more heinous things from which it was evident that they are the worst of all in Christendom, and that they have hatched a theology out of their skull, and have afterwards consulted the Word, profaning it, because it does not make one with their vain delusions. The evils with themselves they call goods, because [they say] nothing of evil is imputed to them.

57.[56] They were afterwards called together, and were explored whether they were all unanimous in professing those heinous things; and it was found that some of them had not such a heinous dogma; who were they that were ignorant of those mysteries. They constituted one-third part of them: these were separated; and the rest when separated were given to certain ones as servants: and it was forbidden them to thus gather together anymore. The rest also were separated, and sent into societies, with the prohibition that they should not be together. The Holy Supper they did not make holy. Concerning Baptism, they have it in use on account of the Reformed.

58.[57] The rest were gathered together into congregations, and after visitation were cast down towards the lower parts, and were compelled to enter a cavern. But because they had no food there, but vile chambers, they complained loudly; and were sent forth, and cast out into the deserts. Zinzendorf saw this.