Preface

By this, one clearly recognizes that GOD does not want evil, but rather wants His kingdom to come and His will to be done, as in heaven so also on earth.

19. Since man is poisoned by sin, so that the wrathful quality wrathful quality; original: "grimme Qualität," referring to the harsh, dark, or destructive force in Böhme's cosmology as well as the good rules within him, he is now half-dead. With great lack of understanding, he can no longer recognize GOD his Creator, nor nature and its workings The word "Würkung" implies the active influence or "out-working" of natural forces.. Therefore, Nature has applied its highest diligence from the beginning until today; to this end, GOD has given His Holy Spirit, so that she has always and in every way born and prepared wise, holy, and sensible men who have learned to recognize both nature and GOD their Creator. These have always been lights to the world through their writing and teaching. With them, GOD has prepared His church on earth for His eternal praise; in opposition, the devil has raged and stormed, spoiling many a noble branch through the wrathfulness in nature, of which he is prince and god.

20. Whenever Nature has prepared a learned, sensible man with beautiful gifts, the devil has applied his highest diligence to seduce him into fleshly lusts, into pride original: "Hoffart," a traditional term for spiritual arrogance, into the desire to be rich and to have power. Thereby the devil has ruled in him, and the wrathful quality has overcome the good. Out of his intellect, and out of his art and wisdom, heresies and errors have grown, which mocked the truth and caused great error on earth; thus he has been a good army commander for the devil.

21. For the evil quality in nature has struggled with the good from the beginning and still continues to do so, raising itself up and spoiling many a noble fruit in the mother’s womb. This can be clearly seen first with Cain and Abel, who came from one mother’s womb. Cain was a despiser of GOD and proud from the mother’s womb, whereas Abel was a humble, god-fearing man. One also sees this with the three sons of Noah, as well as with Abraham with Isaac and Ishmael, but especially with Isaac with Esau and Jacob, who pushed and struggled in the mother’s womb original: "gestossen und gerungen", which is why GOD says: Jacob I have loved, and Esau I have hated. Genesis 25:23. This is nothing else than that