The Greeks called that condition of homogeneityChaos, and the state of orderly
segregation which we now see; the marching orbs which illumine the vaulted canopy of heaven,
the stately procession of planets around a central light, the majestic sun; the unbroken
sequence of the seasons and the unvarying alternation of tidal ebb and flow;—all this
aggregate of systematic order, was calledCosmos, and was supposed to have proceeded from
Chaos.
The Christian Mystic obtains a deeper comprehension when he opens
his Bible and ponders the first five verses of that brightest gem of all spiritual lore: the
Gospel of St. John.
As he reverently opens his aspiring heart to acquire
understanding of those sublime mystical teachings he transcends the form-side of nature,
comprising various realms of which we have been speaking, and finds himself[pg 106]“in the spirit,” as did the prophets in
olden times. He is then in the Region of abstract Thought and sees the eternal verities
which also Paul beheld in this, the third, heaven.
For those among us who are unable to obtain knowledge save by
reasoning upon the matter, however, it will be necessary to examine the fundamental meaning
of words used by St. John to clothe his wonderful teaching, which was originally given in
the Greek language, a much simpler matter than is commonly supposed, for Greek words have
been freely introduced into our modern languages, particularly in scientific terms, and we
shall show how this ancient teaching is supported by the latest discoveries of modern
science.
The opening verse of the gospel of St. John is as follows:
“In the beginning was theWord, and the Word was with God, and theWord was God.” We will examine the words: “beginning,” “Word” and “God.” We may also note that in the Greek version the concluding sentence
reads: “and God was the Word,” a difference which makes a
great distinction. [pg 107]
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