These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. - REVELATION.
579:1 In Christian Science we learn that the substitution ofthe spiritual for the material definition of a Scrip-579:3 tural word often elucidates the meaning of the inspiredwriter. On this account this chapter is added. It con-tains the metaphysical interpretation of Bible terms,579:6 giving their spiritual sense, which is also their originalmeaning.
ABEL. Watchfulness; self-offering; surrendering to579:9 the creator the early fruits of experience.
ABRAHAM. Fidelity; faith in the divine Life and in theeternal Principle of being.579:12 This patriarch illustrated the purpose of Love to createtrust in good, and showed the life-preserving power ofspiritual understanding.
579:15 ADAM. Error; a falsity; the belief in "original sin,"sickness, and death; evil; the opposite of good, - of Godand His creation; a curse; a belief in intelligent matter,580:1 finiteness, and mortality; "dust to dust;" red sand-stone; nothingness; the first god of mythology; not580:3 God's man, who represents the one God and is His ownimage and likeness; the opposite of Spirit and His crea-tions; that which is not the image and likeness of good,580:6 but a material belief, opposed to the one Mind, or Spirit;a so-called finite mind, producing other minds, thus mak-ing "gods many and lords many" (I Corinthians viii. 5);580:9 a product of nothing as the mimicry of something; anunreality as opposed to the great reality of spiritual ex-istence and creation; a so-called man, whose origin,580:12 substance, and mind are found to be the antipode ofGod, or Spirit; an inverted image of Spirit; the imageand likeness of what God has not created, namely, mat-580:15 ter, sin, sickness, and death; the opposer of Truth,termed error; Life's counterfeit, which ultimates indeath; the opposite of Love, called hate; the usurper580:18 of Spirit's creation, called self-creative matter; immor-tality's opposite, mortality; that of which wisdom saith,"Thou shalt surely die."
580:21 The name Adam represents the false supposition thatLife is not eternal, but has beginning and end; that theinfinite enters the finite, that intelligence passes into non-580:24 intelligence, and that Soul dwells in material sense; thatimmortal Mind results in matter, and matter in mortalmind; that the one God and creator entered what He cre-580:27 ated, and then disappeared in the atheism of matter.
ADVERSARY. An adversary is one who opposes, denies,disputes, not one who constructs and sustains reality and580:30 Truth. Jesus said of the devil, "He was a murderer fromthe beginning, . . . he is a liar and the father of it."581:1 This view of Satan is confirmed by the name often con-ferred upon him in Scripture, the "adversary."
581:3 ALMIGHTY. All-power; infinity; omnipotence.
ANGELS. God's thoughts passing to man; spiritualintuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness,581:6 purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality,and mortality.
ARK. Safety; the idea, or reflection, of Truth, proved581:9 to be as immortal as its Principle; the understanding ofSpirit, destroying belief in matter.
God and man coexistent and eternal; Science show-581:12 ing that the spiritual realities of all things are createdby Him and exist forever. The ark indicates temptationovercome and followed by exaltation.
581:15 ASHER (Jacob's son). Hope and faith; spiritual com-pensation; the ills of the flesh rebuked.
BABEL. Self-destroying error; a kingdom divided581:18 against itself, which cannot stand; material knowledge.
The higher false knowledge builds on the basis of evi-dence obtained from the five corporeal senses, the more581:21 confusion ensues, and the more certain is the downfallof its structure.
BAPTISM. Purification by Spirit; submergence in581:24 Spirit.
We are "willing rather to be absent from the body,and to be present with the Lord." (II Corinthians v. 8.)
582:1 BELIEVING. Firmness and constancy; not a faltering nor a blind faith, but the perception of spiritual Truth. 582:3 Mortal thoughts, illusion.
BENJAMIN (Jacob's son). A physical belief as to life,substance, and mind; human knowledge, or so-called582:6 mortal mind, devoted to matter; pride; envy; fame;illusion; a false belief; error masquerading as the pos-sessor of life, strength, animation, and power to act.
582:9 Renewal of affections; self-offering; an improvedstate of mortal mind; the introduction of a more spiritualorigin; a gleam of the infinite idea of the infinite Prin-582:12 ciple; a spiritual type; that which comforts, consoles,and supports.
BRIDE. Purity and innocence, conceiving man in the582:15 idea of God; a sense of Soul, which has spiritual blissand enjoys but cannot suffer.
BRIDEGROOM. Spiritual understanding; the pure con-582:18 sciousness that God, the divine Principle, creates manas His own spiritual idea, and that God is the only crea-tive power.
582:21 BURIAL. Corporeality and physical sense put out ofsight and hearing; annihilation. Submergence in Spirit;immortality brought to light.582:24 CANAAN (the son of Ham). A sensuous belief; thetestimony of what is termed material sense; the errorwhich would make man mortal and would make mortal582:27 mind a slave to the body.
CHILDREN. The spiritual thoughts and representa-tives of Life, Truth, and Love.
583:1 Sensual and mortal beliefs; counterfeits of creation,whose better originals are God's thoughts, not in em-583:3 bryo, but in maturity; material suppositions of life, sub-stance, and intelligence, opposed to the Science of being.
CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. The representatives of Soul, not583:6 corporeal sense; the offspring of Spirit, who, havingwrestled with error, sin, and sense, are governed by divineScience; some of the ideas of God beheld as men, casting583:9 out error and healing the sick; Christ's offspring.
CHRIST. The divine manifestation of God, which comesto the flesh to destroy incarnate error.583:12 CHURCH. The structure of Truth and Love; what-ever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle.
The Church is that institution, which affords proof of583:15 its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing thedormant understanding from material beliefs to the ap-prehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of583:18 divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, andhealing the sick.
CREATOR. Spirit; Mind; intelligence; the animating583:21 divine Principle of all that is real and good; self-existentLife, Truth, and Love; that which is perfect and eternal;the opposite of matter and evil, which have no Prin-583:24 ciple; God, who made all that was made and could notcreate an atom or an element the opposite of Himself.
DAN (Jacob's son). Animal magnetism; so-called mor-583:27 tal mind controlling mortal mind; error, working outthe designs of error; one belief preying upon another.
584:1 DAY. The irradiance of Life; light, the spiritual ideaof Truth and Love.
584:3 "And the evening and the morning were the first day."(Genesis i. 5.) The objects of time and sense disappearin the illumination of spiritual understanding, and Mind584:6 measures time according to the good that is unfolded.This unfolding is God's day, and "there shall be no nightthere."
584:9 DEATH. An illusion, the lie of life in matter; the un-real and untrue; the opposite of Life.
Matter has no life, hence it has no real existence. Mind584:12 is immortal. The flesh, warring against Spirit; thatwhich frets itself free from one belief only to be fetteredby another, until every belief of life where Life is not584:15 yields to eternal Life. Any material evidence of death isfalse, for it contradicts the spiritual facts of being.
DEVIL. Evil; a lie; error; neither corporeality nor584:18 mind; the opposite of Truth; a belief in sin, sickness,and death; animal magnetism or hypnotism; the lust ofthe flesh, which saith: " I am life and intelligence in584:21 matter. There is more than one mind, for I am mind, -a wicked mind, self-made or created by a tribal god andput into the opposite of mind, termed matter, thence to584:24 reproduce a mortal universe, including man, not after theimage and likeness of Spirit, but after its own image."
DOVE. A symbol of divine Science; purity and peace;584:27 hope and faith.
DUST. Nothingness; the absence of substance, life, orintelligence.
585:1 EARS. Not organs of the so-called corporeal senses,but spiritual understanding.
585:3 Jesus said, referring to spiritual perception, "Havingears, hear ye not?" (Mark viii. 18.)
EARTH. A sphere; a type of eternity and immortality,585:6 which are likewise without beginning or end.
To material sense, earth is matter; to spiritual sense,it is a compound idea.
585:9 ELIAS. Prophecy; spiritual evidence opposed to mate-rial sense; Christian Science, with which can be discernedthe spiritual fact of whatever the material senses behold;585:12 the basis of immortality.
"Elias truly shall first come and restore all things."(Matthew xvii. 11.)585:15 ERROR. See chapter on Recapitulation, page 472.
EUPHRATES (river). Divine Science encompassingthe universe and man; the true idea of God; a type585:18 of the glory which is to come; metaphysics taking theplace of physics; the reign of righteousness. The atmos-phere of human belief before it accepts sin, sickness, or585:21 death; a state of mortal thought, the only error of whichis limitation; finity; the opposite of infinity.
EVE. A beginning; mortality; that which does not585:24 last forever; a finite belief concerning life, substance,and intelligence in matter; error; the belief that the hu-man race originated materially instead of spiritually, -585:27 that man started first from dust, second from a rib, andthird from an egg.
586:1 EVENING. Mistiness of mortal thought; weariness of mortal mind; obscured views; peace and rest.
586:3 EYES. Spiritual discernment, - not material but mental. Jesus said, thinking of the outward vision, "Having 586:6 eyes, see ye not?" (Mark viii. 18.)
FAN. Separator of fable from fact; that which givesaction to thought.
586:9 FATHER. Eternal Life; the one Mind; the divinePrinciple, commonly called God.
FEAR. Heat; inflammation; anxiety; ignorance; error;586:12 desire; caution.
FIRE. Fear; remorse; lust; hatred; destruction; afflic-tion purifying and elevating man.
586:15 FIRMAMENT. Spiritual understanding; the scientificline of demarcation between Truth and error, betweenSpirit and so-called matter.
586:18 FLESH. An error of physical belief; a supposition thatlife, substance, and intelligence are in matter; an illusion;a belief that matter has sensation.
586:21 GAD (Jacob's son). Science; spiritual being under-stood; haste towards harmony.
GETHSEMANE. Patient woe; the human yielding to586:24 the divine; love meeting no response, but still remaininglove.
587:1 GHOST. An illusion; a belief that mind is outlinedand limited; a supposition that spirit is finite.
587:3 GIHON (river). The rights of woman acknowledgedmorally, civilly, and socially.
GOD. The great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing,587:6 all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle;Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance;intelligence.
587:9 GODS. Mythology; a belief that life, substance, andintelligence are both mental and material; a suppositionof sentient physicality; the belief that infinite Mind is in587:12 finite forms; the various theories that hold mind to be amaterial sense, existing in brain, nerve, matter; supposi-titious minds, or souls, going in and out of matter, erring587:15 and mortal; the serpents of error, which say, "Ye shallbe as gods."
God is one God, infinite and perfect, and cannot be-587:18 come finite and imperfect.
GOOD. God; Spirit; omnipotence; omniscience; om-nipresence; omni-action.
587:21 HAM (Noah's son). Corporeal belief; sensuality;slavery; tyranny.
HEART. Mortal feelings, motives, affections, joys, and587:24 sorrows.
HEAVEN. Harmony; the reign of Spirit; governmentby divine Principle; spirituality; bliss; the atmosphere587:27 of Soul.
588:1 HELL. Mortal belief; error; lust; remorse; hatred;revenge; sin; sickness; death; suffering and self-de-588:3 struction, self-imposed agony; effects of sin; that which"worketh abomination or maketh a lie."
HIDDEKEL (river). Divine Science understood and588:6 acknowledged.
HOLY GHOST. Divine Science; the development ofeternal Life, Truth, and Love.
588:9 I, or EGO. Divine Principle; Spirit; Soul; incor-poreal, unerring, immortal, and eternal Mind.
There is but one I, or Us, but one divine Principle, or588:12 Mind, governing all existence; man and woman un-changed forever in their individual characters, even asnumbers which never blend with each other, though they588:15 are governed by one Principle. All the objects of God'screation reflect one Mind, and whatever reflects not thisone Mind, is false and erroneous, even the belief that588:18 life, substance, and intelligence are both mental andmaterial.
I AM. God; incorporeal and eternal Mind; divine588:21 Principle; the only Ego.
IN. A term obsolete in Science if used with referenceto Spirit, or Deity.
588:24 INTELLIGENCE. Substance; self-existent and eternalMind; that which is never unconscious nor limited.
See chapter on Recapitulation, page 469.
589:1 ISSACHAR (Jacob's son). A corporeal belief; the offspring of error; envy; hatred; selfishness; self-will; 589:3 lust.
JACOB. A corporeal mortal embracing duplicity, re-pentance, sensualism. Inspiration; the revelation of589:6 Science, in which the so-called material senses yield tothe spiritual sense of Life and Love.
JAPHET (Noah's son). A type of spiritual peace, flow-589:9 ing from the understanding that God is the divine Prin-ciple of all existence, and that man is His idea, the childof His care.
589:12 JERUSALEM. Mortal belief and knowledge obtainedfrom the five corporeal senses; the pride of power andthe power of pride; sensuality; envy; oppression; tyr-589:15 anny. Home, heaven.
JESUS. The highest human corporeal concept of thedivine idea, rebuking and destroying error and bringing589:18 to light man's immortality.
JOSEPH. A corporeal mortal; a higher sense of Truthrebuking mortal belief, or error, and showing the immor-589:21 tality and supremacy of Truth; pure affection blessingits enemies.
JUDAH. A corporeal material belief progressing and589:24 disappearing; the spiritual understanding of God andman appearing.
590:1 KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. The rein of harmony in divine Science; the realm of unerring, eternal, and omnipotent 590:3 Mind; the atmosphere of Spirit, where Soul is supreme.
KNOWLEDGE. Evidence obtained from the five cor-poreal senses; mortality; beliefs and opinions; human590:6 theories, doctrines, hypotheses; that which is not divineand is the origin of sin, sickness, and death; the oppo-site of spiritual Truth and understanding.
590:9 LAMB OF GOD. The spiritual idea of Love; self-im-molation; innocence and purity; sacrifice.
LEVI (Jacob's son). A corporeal and sensual belief;590:12 mortal man; denial of the fulness of God's creation;ecclesiastical despotism.
LIFE. See chapter on Recapitulation, page 468.
590:15 LORD. In the Hebrew, this term is sometimes em-ployed as a title, which has the inferior sense of master,or ruler. In the Greek, the word /kurios/ almost always590:18 has this lower sense, unless specially coupled with thename God. Its higher signification is Supreme Ruler.
LORD GOD. Jehovah.
590:21 This double term is not used in the first chapter ofGenesis, the record of spiritual creation. It is intro-duced in the second and following chapters, when the590:24 spiritual sense of God and of infinity is disappearingfrom the recorder's thought, - when the true scientificstatements of the Scriptures become clouded through a591:1 physical sense of God as finite and corporeal. From thisfollow idolatry and mythology, - belief in many gods, or591:3 material intelligences, as the opposite of the one Spirit,or intelligence, named Elohim, or God.
MAN. The compound idea of infinite Spirit; the spirit-591:6 ual image and likeness of God; the full representation ofMind.
MATTER. Mythology; mortality; another name for591:9 mortal mind; illusion; intelligence, substance, and lifein non-intelligence and mortality; life resulting in death,and death in life; sensation in the sensationless; mind591:12 originating in matter; the opposite of Truth; the oppo-site of Spirit; the opposite of God; that of which immortalMind takes no cognizance; that which mortal mind sees,591:15 feels, hears, tastes, and smells only in belief.
MIND. The only I, or Us; the only Spirit, Soul, divinePrinciple, substance, Life, Truth, Love; the one God;591:18 not that which is/ in/ man, but the divine Principle, or God,of whom man is the full and perfect expression; Deity,which outlines but is not outlined.
591:21 MIRACLE. That which is divinely natural, but mustbe learned humanly; a phenomenon of Science.
MORNING. Light; symbol of Truth; revelation and591:24 progress.
MORTAL MIND. Nothing claiming to be something,for Mind is immortal; mythology; error creating other591:27 errors; a suppositional material sense, /alias/ the belief592:1 that sensation is in matter, which is sensationless; a be-lief that life, substance, and intelligence are in and of592:3 matter; the opposite of Spirit, and therefore the oppositeof God, or good; the belief that life has a beginningand therefore an end; the belief that man is the off-592:6 spring of mortals; the belief that there can be more thanone creator; idolatry; the subjective states of error;material senses; that which neither exists in Science nor592:9 can be recognized by the spiritual sense; sin; sickness;death.
MOSES. A corporeal mortal; moral courage; a type592:12 of moral law and the demonstration thereof; the proofthat, without the gospel, - the union of justice and affec-tion, - there is something spiritually lacking, since justice592:15 demands penalties under the law.
MOTHER. God; divine and eternal Principle; Life,Truth, and Love.
592:18 NEW JERUSALEM. Divine Science; the spiritual facts and harmony of the universe; the kingdom of heaven, or reign of harmony.
592:21 NIGHT. Darkness; doubt; fear.
NOAH. A corporeal mortal; knowledge of the noth-ingness of material things and of the immortality of all592:24 that is spiritual.
OIL. Consecration; charity; gentleness; prayer; heav-enly inspiration.
592:27 PHARISEE. Corporeal and sensuous belief; self-right-eousness; vanity; hypocrisy.
593:1 PISON (river). The love of the good and beautiful, andtheir immortality.
593:3 PRINCIPLE. See chapter on Recapitulation, page 465.
PROPHET. A spiritual seer; disappearance of mate- rial sense before the conscious facts of spiritual Truth.
593:6 PURSE. Laying up treasures in matter; error.
RED DRAGON. Error; fear; inflammation; sensuality; subtlety; animal magnetism; envy; revenge.
593:9 RESURRECTION. Spiritualization of thought; a new and higher idea of immortality, or spiritual existence; material belief yielding to spiritual understanding.
593:12 REUBEN (Jacob's son). Corporeality; sensuality; de- lusion; mortality; error.
RIVER. Channel of thought.
593:15 When smooth and unobstructed, it typifies the course of Truth; but muddy, foaming, and dashing, it is a type of error.
593:18 ROCK. Spiritual foundation; Truth. Coldness and stubbornness.
SALVATION. Life, Truth, and Love understood and593:21 demonstrated as supreme over all; sin, sickness, anddeath destroyed.
SEAL. The signet of error revealed by Truth
594:1 SERPENT (/ophis/, in Greek; /nacash/, in Hebrew).Subtlety; a lie; the opposite of Truth, named error;594:3 the first statement of mythology and idolatry; the beliefin more than one God; animal magnetism; the first lieof limitation; finity; the first claim that there is an oppo-594:6 site of Spirit, or good, termed matter, or evil; the firstdelusion that error exists as fact; the first claim that sin,sickness, and death are the realities of life. The first594:9 audible claim that God was not omnipotent and thatthere was another power, named /evil/, which was as realand eternal as God, good.
594:12 SHEEP. Innocence; inoffensiveness; those who followtheir leader.
SHEM (Noah's son). A corporeal mortal; kindly affec-594:1 tion; love rebuking error; reproof of sensualism.
SON. The Son of God, the Messiah or Christ. Theson of man, the offspring of the flesh. " Son of a year."
594:18 SOULS. See chapter on Recapitulation, page 466.
SPIRIT. Divine substance; Mind; divine Principle;all that is good; God; that only which is perfect, ever-594:21 lasting, omnipresent, omnipotent, infinite.
SPIRITS. Mortal beliefs; corporeality; evil minds;supposed intelligences, or gods; the opposites of God;594:24 errors; hallucinations. (See page 466.)
SUBSTANCE. See chapter on Recapitulation, page 468.
595:1 SUN. The symbol of Soul governing man, - ofTruth, Life, and Love.
595:3 SWORD. The idea of Truth; justice. Revenge;anger.
TARES. Mortality; error; sin; sickness; disease;595:6 death.
TEMPLE. Body; the idea of Life, substance, and in-telligence; the superstructure of Truth; the shrine of595:9 Love; a material superstructure, where mortals congre-gate for worship.
THUMMIM. Perfection; the eternal demand of divine595:12 Science.
The Urim and Thummim, which were to be on Aaron'sbreast when he went before Jehovah, were holiness and595:15 purification of thought and deed, which alone can fit usfor the office of spiritual teaching.
TIME. Mortal measurements; limits, in which are595:18 summed tip all human acts, thoughts, beliefs, opinions,knowledge; matter; error; that which begins before,and continues after, what is termed death, until the mortal595:21 disappears and spiritual perfection appears.
TITHE. Contribution; tenth part; homage; gratitude.A sacrifice to the gods.
595:24 UNCLEANLINESS. Impure thoughts; error; sin; dirt.
UNGODLINESS. Opposition to the divine Principle andits spiritual idea.
596:1 UNKNOWN. That which spiritual sense alone compre-hends, and which is unknown to the material senses.
596:3 Paganism and agnosticism may define Deity as "thegreat unknowable;" but Christian Science brings Godmuch nearer to man, and makes Him better known as596:6 the All-in-all, forever near.
Paul saw in Athens an altar dedicated "to the unknownGod." Referring to it, he said to the Athenians: "Whom596:9 therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you."(Acts xvii. 23.)
URIM. Light.
596:12 The rabbins believed that the stones in the breast-plate of the high-priest had supernatural illumination,but Christian Science reveals Spirit, not matter, as the596:15 illuminator of all. The illuminations of Science give usa sense of the nothingness of error, and they show thespiritual inspiration of Love and Truth to be the only fit596:18 preparation for admission to the presence and power ofthe Most High.
VALLEY. Depression; meekness; darkness.
596:21 "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." (Psalm xxiii.4.)
Though the way is dark in mortal sense, divine Life596:24 and Love illumine it, destroy the unrest of mortal thought,the fear of death, and the supposed reality of error. Chris-tian Science, contradicting sense, maketh the valley to bud596:27 and blossom as the rose.
VEIL. A cover; concealment; hiding; hypocrisy.
The Jewish women wore veils over their faces in token597:1 of reverence and submission and in accordance withPharisaical notions.
597:3 The Judaic religion consisted mostly of rites and cere-monies. The motives and affections of a man were oflittle value, if only he appeared unto men to fast. The597:6 great Nazarene, as meek as he was mighty, rebuked thehypocrisy, which offered long petitions for blessings uponmaterial methods, but cloaked the crime, latent in thought,597:9 which was ready to spring into action and crucify God'sanointed. The martyrdom of Jesus was the culminatingsin of Pharisaism. It rent the veil of the temple. It re-597:12 vealed the false foundations and superstructures of super-ficial religion, tore from bigotry and superstition theircoverings, and opened the sepulchre with divine Science,597:15 - immortality and Love.
WILDERNESS. Loneliness; doubt; darkness. Spon-taneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a597:18 material sense of things disappears, and spiritual senseunfolds the great facts of existence.
WILL. The motive-power of error; mortal belief; ani-597:21 mal power. The might and wisdom of God.
"For this is the will of God." (I Thessaloniansiv. 3.)
597:24 Will, as a quality of so-called mortal mind, is a wrong-doer; hence it should not be confounded with the termas applied to Mind or to one of God's qualities.
597:27 WIND. That which indicates the might of omnipo-tence and the movements of God's spiritual government,encompassing all things. Destruction; anger; mortal597:30 passions.
598:1 The Greek word for /wind/ (/pneuma/) is used also for/spirit/, as in the passage in John's Gospel, the third chap-598:3 ter, where we read: "The wind [/pneuma/] bloweth whereit listeth. . . . So is every one that is born of the Spirit[/pneuma/]." Here the original word is the same in both598:6 cases, yet it has received different translations, as in otherpassages in this same chapter and elsewhere in the NewTestament. This shows how our Master had constantly598:9 to employ words of material significance in order to unfoldspiritual thoughts. In the record of Jesus' supposeddeath, we read: "He bowed his head, and gave up the598:12 ghost;" but this word /ghost/ is /pneuma/. It might be trans-lated /wind/ or /air/, and the phrase is equivalent to ourcommon statement, "He breathed his last." What598:15 Jesus gave up was indeed air, an etherealized form ofmatter, for never did he give up Spirit, or Soul.
WINE. Inspiration; understanding. Error; fornica-598:18 tion; temptation; passion.
YEAR. A solar measurement of time; mortality;space for repentance.
598:21 "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years."(II Peter iii. 8.)
One moment of divine consciousness, or the spiritual598:24 understanding of Life and Love, is a foretaste of eternity.This exalted view, obtained and retained when the Sci-ence of being is understood, would bridge over with life598:27 discerned spiritually the interval of death, and manwould be in the full consciousness of his immortality andeternal harmony, where sin, sickness, and death are un-598:30 known. Time is a mortal thought, the divisor of which599:1 is the solar year. Eternity is God's measurement of Soul-filled years.
599:3 YOU. As applied to corporeality, a mortal; finity.
ZEAL. The reflected animation of Life, Truth, andLove. Blind enthusiasm; mortal will.
599:6 ZION. Spiritual foundation and superstructure; in- spiration; spiritual strength. Emptiness; unfaithful- ness; desolation.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. - JESUS.
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. - PAUL.
Let us get up early to the vineyards: let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth. - SOLOMON'S SONG.
THOUSANDS of letters could be presented in testimony of the healing efficacy of Christian Science and particularly concerning the vast number of people who have been reformed and healed through the perusal or study of this book.
For the assurance and encouragement of the reader, a few of theseletters are here republished from THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE JOURNAL andCHRISTIAN SCIENCE SENTINEL. The originals are in the possession of theEditor, who can authenticate the testimonials which follow.
I was a great sufferer from a serious form of rheumatic trouble, my hands being affected to such an extent that it was impossible for me even to dress without assistance. The trouble finally reached the knees, and I became very lame and had to be assisted in and out of bed. I went to the different health resorts for the benefit I hoped to derive from the baths and waters that were prescribed by physicians, but found no permanent relief. I was placed under an X-ray examination, and was told that the joints were becoming ossified. I then consulted a celebrated specialist, who after a thorough examination said my condition would continue to grow worse and that I would become completely helpless.
At that time a copy of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy was loaned me. I read it more from curiosity than with the thought of any physical benefit. As the truth was unfolded to me, I realized that the mental condition was what needed correcting, and that the Spirit of truth which inspired this book was my physician. My healing is complete, and the liberation in thought is manifest in a life of active usefulness rather than the bondage of helpless invalidism and suffering. I owe to our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, gratitude which words cannot express. Her revelation of the practical rather than the merely theoretical application of Jesus' words, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," proved to be my redeemer. I did not even have to apply to a practitioner, but am most grateful for the helpful words of loving friends. - E. B. B., Pasadena, Cal.
It is nearly five years since I bought my first copy of Science and Health, the reading of which cured me of chronic constipation, nervous headache, astigmatism, and hernia, in less than four months.
Where would I be now, had not this blessed truth been brought to me by much persuasion of a very dear friend?
I certainly should have been deep in the slough of despond, if not in the grave. Am I truly thankful for all the good that has come to me and mine? I try to let my works testify of that; but to those whom I do not meet in person, I can truly say, Yes; I am indeed more thankful than words can express for the glorious healing that has come to me, both physical, mental, and moral, and I also convey herein, my song of gratitude to the dear Leader who has through her fidelity to Truth enabled me to touch at least the hem of Christ's garment. - B. S. J., Sioux City, Iowa.
It was about fifteen years ago that Christian Science first came to my notice. At that time I had been a chronic invalid for a good many years. I had acute bowel trouble, bronchitis, and a number of other troubles. One physician had told me that my lungs were like wet paper, ready to tear at any time, and I was filled with fear, as my mother, two brothers, and a sister had been victims of consumption. I tried many physicians and every material remedy that promised help, but no help came until I found a copy of Mrs. Eddy's book, Science and Health. The book was placed in my hands by one who did not then appreciate it, and I was told that it would be hard for me to understand it. I commenced reading it with this thought, but I caught beautiful glimpses of Truth, which took away my fear and healed me of all those diseases, and they have never returned.
I would also like to tell how I was healed of a sprained ankle. The accident occurred in the morning, and all that day and during the night I gave myself Christian Science treatment, as best I could. The next morning it seemed to be no better, being very sore, badly swollen, and much discolored. Feeling that I had done all I could, I decided to stop thinking about it. I took my copy of Science and Health and began reading. Very soon I became so absorbed in the book that I forgot all about my ankle; it went entirely out of my thought, for I had a glimpse of all God's creation as spiritual, and for the time being lost sight of my material selfhood. After two hours I laid the book down and walked into another room. When next I thought of my ankle, I found it was not hurting me. The swelling had gone down, the black and blue appearance had nearly vanished, and it was perfectly well. It was healed while I was "absent from the body" and "present with the Lord." This experience was worth a great deal to me, for it showed me how the healing is done. - C. H., Portland, Ore.
My gratitude for Christian Science is boundless. I was afflicted with a fibroid tumor which weighed not less than fifty pounds, attended by a continuous hemorrhage for eleven years. The tumor was a growth of eighteen years.
I lived in Fort Worth, Tex., and I had never heard of Christian Science before leaving there for Chicago in the year 1887. I had tried to live near to God, and I feel sure He guided me in all my steps to this healing and saving truth. After being there several weeks I received letters from a Texas lady who had herself been healed, and who wrote urging me to try Christian Science.
Changing my boarding-place, I met a lady who owned a copy of Science and Health, and in speaking to her of having seen the book, she informed me she had one, and she got it and told me I could read it. The revelation was marvelous and brought a great spiritual awakening. This awakened sense never left me, and one day when walking alone it came to me very suddenly that I was healed, and I walked the faster declaring every step that I was healed. When I reached my boarding-place, I found my hostess and told her I was healed. She looked the picture of amazement. The tumor began to disappear at once, the hemorrhage ceased, and perfect strength was manifest.
There was no joy ever greater than mine for this Christ-cure, for I was very weary and heavy laden. I thought very little of either sleeping or eating, and my heart was filled with gratitude, since I knew I had touched the hem of his garment.
I must add that the reading of Science and Health, and that alone, healed me, and it was the second copy I ever saw. - S. L., Fort Worth, Tex.
While an inmate of the State asylum for the insane at Middletown, Conn., an epileptic, and at times confined to my bed with bilious attacks, pronounced incurable by the doctors (at least six in number), the book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mrs. Eddy was placed in my hands. After reading a few pages, I became very much impressed with the truth therein stated, and although I was surrounded with opposition, I knew that "underneath are the everlasting arms." Since that time - past the middle of the year 1899 - I have kept pressing on, until I have been healed by reading Science and Health. At times I was beset by what seemed unconquerable opposition, until the first week in October, 1904, when, upon going to my home in Darien for a visit, I was given my liberty, and I am now earning my living in this city. After having been subject to epileptic attacks since 1892, and at one time pronounced dying by the doctor in charge, I am now well. I have had no fit, or symptoms of any, since the first week in May, 1904.
I trust that this testimony to the healing power of Truth, realized by reading Science and Health (for I had no treatment), may reach the eye of some to whom the battle seems long, and inspire them with fresh courage and a realization of the worth of the victory. I am filled with inexpressible gratitude and love to God, and to Mrs. Eddy. - Mrs. B. B. C., Stamford, Conn.
I have felt for some time I should give my experience in mental surgery. In May, 1902, going home for lunch, on a bicycle, and while riding down a hill at a rapid gait, I was thrown from the wheel, and falling on my left side with my arm under my head, the bone was broken about half-way between the shoulder and elbow. While the pain was intense, I lay still in the dust, declaring the truth and denying that there could be a break or accident in the realm of divine Love, until a gentleman came to assist me, saying, he thought I had been stunned. I was only two and a half blocks from home, so I mounted my wheel again and managed to reach it. On arriving there I lay down and asked my little boy to bring me our textbook. He immediately brought Science and Health, which I read for about ten minutes, when all pain left.
I said nothing to my family of the accident, but attended to some duties and was about half an hour late in returning to the office, this being my only loss of time from work. My friends claimed that the arm had not been broken, as it would have been impossible for me to continue my work without having it set, and carrying it in a sling until the bone knit together. Their insistence almost persuaded me that I might have been mistaken, until one of my friends invited me to visit a physician's office where they were experimenting with an X-ray machine. The physician was asked to examine my left arm to see if it differed from the ordinary. On looking through it, he said, "Yes, it has been broken, but whoever set it made a perfect job of it, and you will never have any further trouble from that break." My friend then asked the doctor to show how he could tell where the break had been. The doctor pointed out the place as being slightly thicker at that part, like a piece of steel that had been welded. This was the first of several cases of mental surgery that have come under my notice, and it made a deep impression on me.
For the benefit of others who may have something similar to meet, I will say that I have overcome almost constant attacks of sick headaches, extending back to my earliest recollection. - L. C. S., Salt Lake City, Utah.
I wish to add my testimony to those of others, and hope that it may be the means of bringing some poor sufferer to health, to happiness, and to God. I was healed through simply reading this wonderful book, Science and Health. I had been troubled periodically for many years with sore eyes, and had been to many doctors, who called the disease iritis and cataract. They told me that my eyes would always give me trouble, and that I would eventually lose my sight if I remained in an office, and advised me to go under an operation. Later on I had to wear glasses at my work, also out of doors as I could not bear the winds, and my eyes were gradually becoming worse. I could not read for longer than a few minutes at a time, otherwise they would smart severely. I had to rest my eyes each evening to enable me to use them the next day; in fact gas-light was getting unbearable because of the pain, and I made home miserable. A dear brother told me about Christian Science, and said that if I would read Science and Health it would help me. He procured for me the loan of the book. The first night I read it, it so interested me I quite forgot all about my eyes until my wife remarked that it was eleven o'clock. I found that I had been reading this book for nearly four hours, and I remarked immediately after, "I believe my eyes are cured," which was really the case. The next day, on looking at my eyes, my wife noticed that the cataract had disappeared. I put away my outdoor glasses, which I have not required since, and through the understanding gained by studying Christian Science I have been able to do away with my indoor glasses also, and have had no return of pain in my eyes since. This is now a year and a half ago. - G. F. S., Liverpool, England.
Fourteen years ago my heart awoke to gratitude to God and the dear Leader at the same time. After a patient and persistent effort of three months' duration, to procure a copy of Science and Health (during which time I had visited every bookstore, and many of the second-hand bookstores in the city of St. Paul), and had failed to find it, I at last remembered that the stranger who told me I might be healed, had mentioned a name, and McVicker's Theatre Building in Chicago as being in some way connected with the work. I sent there for information regarding a book called Health and Science, and the return mail brought me the book, Science and Health, and in it I at once found sure promise of deliverance from valvular heart disease, with all the accompaniments, such as extreme nervousness, weakness, dyspepsia, and insomnia. I had suffered from these all my life, finding no permanent relief, even, in material remedies, and no hope of cure at any time. Only those who have been healed in such bondage and have been liberated by the same means, can know the eager joy of the first perusal of that wonderful book.
Half a day's reading convinced me that I had found the way to holiness and health. I read on, thinking only of the spiritual enlightenment, content to wait until I should be led to some person who would heal me; but old things had passed away, and all things had become new. I was completely healed before I had met a Scientist, or one who knew anything about Christian Science, and before I had read a line of any other Christian Science literature except one leaf of a tract; so it is absolutely certain that the healing was entirely impersonal, as was also the teaching, which enabled me to begin at once demonstrating the power of Truth to destroy all forms of error. - E. J. W., North Yakima, Wash.
It is with a deep sense of gratitude that I send the particulars of my healing through Christian Science. While visiting friends in the southwestern part of Ontario, about three years ago, my attention was called to Christian Science and the wonderful healing it was doing. I had lived in New York for twenty-five years, but had never heard of Christian Science before, to my recollection.
Up to that time, for seventeen years, I had suffered with indigestion and gastritis in the worst form, often being overcome from a seeming pressure against the heart. I had asthma for four years, also had worn glasses for four years. It seemed to me that I had swallowed every known medicine to relieve my indigestion, but they only gave me temporary benefit. I purchased a copy of Science and Health, and simply from the reading of that grand book I was completely healed of all my physical ailments in two weeks' time. I have used no medicine from that day to this, and with God's help, and the wonderful light revealed to me through the reading of Mrs. Eddy's book, I never expect to again. I used to smoke eight or ten cigars a day, and also took an occasional drink, but the desire for these has gone, - I feel forever. I travel on the road, and am constantly being invited to indulge, but it is no effort to abstain, and in many instances I find that my refusal helps others.
While I fully appreciate the release from my physical troubles, this pales into insignificance in comparison with the spiritual uplifting Christian Science has brought me. I had not been inside a church for more than ten years, to attend regular services, until I entered a Christian Science church. What I saw and realized there, seemed so genuine that I loved Christian Science from the very start. I have never taken a treatment, - every inch of the way has been through study and practical demonstration, and I know that all can do the same thing if they will try.
Since I have been in Science I have overcome a case of ulcerated tooth in one night through the reading of Science and Health; also a severe attack of grip in thirty-six hours by obeying the Scripture saying, "Physician, heal thyself." - B. H. N., New York, N. Y.
I was a great sufferer for many years from internal cancer and consumption. I was treated by the best of physicians in New York, Minneapolis, and Duluth, and was finally given up as incurable, when I heard of Christian Science. A neighbor who had been healed of consumption, kindly loaned me Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, which I read and became interested in. In three months' time, I was healed, the truth conveyed to me by this book being the healer, and not only of these diseases, but I was made whole mentally as well. I have not been in bed one day since, or rather in eleven years. I have had many good demonstrations during this time, have passed through many a "fiery trial," but this blessed truth has caused me to stand, at times seemingly alone, and God was with me.
I will mention a demonstration of painless childbirth which I have had since coming to Idaho. Perhaps it may help some sister who is looking through the /Journal/ for a demonstration of this kind, as I was before my baby came. Good help being scarce here, I did my housework up to the time I was confined, and was in perfect health. I awoke my husband one morning at five o'clock, and at half past five baby was born, no one being present but my husband and myself. It was quite a surprise to the rest of the family to see me sitting by the fire with a new baby on my lap. My son got the breakfast, of which I ate heartily; at noon I joined the family in the dining-room. I was out on the porch the second day, around the yard the third day, and have been perfectly well ever since, which has been now over three years. To one who had previously passed through agony untold, with a physician in attendance, this seemed wonderful. I hope this will interest some one who is seeking the truth, and I wish to express my sincere love for our beloved Leader, who has given us the " Key to the Scriptures." - E. C. C., Lewiston, Idaho.
Nine years ago my only child was hovering between life and death. Some of the best physicians in Boston had pronounced his case incurable, saying that if he lived he would always be an invalid and a cripple. One of the diseases was gastric catarrh. He was allowed to eat but very few things, and even after taking every precaution, he suffered to the extent that he would lie in spasms for half a day. He also had rickets; physicians saying that there was not a natural bone in his body.
It was while he was in what seemed to be his greatest agony, and when I was in the darkest despair, that I first heard of Christian Science. The bearer of the joyful tidings could only tell me to come and hear of the wonderful things that Christian Science was doing. I accepted the invitation, for I was willing to try anything to save my child, and the following Friday evening I attended my first meeting, which was in The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist. Long before the service began every seat was filled, which was amazing to me, being an ordinary weekly meeting, and that night I realized from the testimonies given that Christian Science was the religion for which I had been searching for years. The next day I went to find a practitioner, but was unable to get the one who had been recommended, he being too busy. On my way home I thought of some of the testimonies which I had heard the night before, - of people being healed by simply reading Science and Health. I resolved at once to borrow a copy, and not dreaming of the sacrifice that my friend would make by conferring such a favor, I went and asked her for a loan of Science and Health. I never saw any one part so reluctantly with a book as my friend did with her copy of the textbook.
I read it silently and audibly, day and night, in my home, and although I could not seem to understand it, yet the healing commenced to take place at once. The little mouth which had been twisted by spasms grew natural and the child was soon able to be up, playing and romping about the house as any child should. About this time we decided to move to the far West.
I was young in Science at the time, and my husband greatly feared that the journey would cause a relapse for the child, but instead, he continued to improve. I constantly read the Bible, Science and Health, and Miscellaneous Writings, the two weeks we traveled, and we were the only ones in our car who, throughout the journey, did not get train sick. The child's limbs grew perfectly straight, he ate anything he wanted, and for years he has been a natural, healthy child in every way. He has passed through some of the worst forms of contagion untouched and unharmed.
I had been reading Science and Health several months, before I gave any thought to myself and my numerous complaints. I had never been very strong, and some of my ailments were supposed to be hereditary and chronic, hence I dragged through many tedious years with a belief in medical laws and hereditary laws resting upon me.
Just before I commenced reading Science and Health I spent a half day in having my eyes examined by one of the leading oculists in Boston. His verdict was that my eyes were in a dreadful condition, and that I would always need to wear glasses. In the meantime I commenced to read Science and Health, and when I thought of my eyes, I had no need for glasses. The years that I have been in Science I have used my eyes incessantly, night as well as day, doing all kinds of trying work and without requiring the aid of glasses. I was healed of all my complaints whilst seeking the truth for my child, and many of them have never returned. Those that appeared simply came to the surface to be destroyed. Teeth have been restored and facial blemishes removed, unconsciously, simply by reading Science and Health. All of this is, however, nothing to compare with the spiritual uplifting which I have received, and I have everything to be thankful for. - M. T. W., Los Angeles, Cal.
For about five years I was afflicted with sciatic rheumatism, in such a severe form that my body was drawn out of shape. When able to be around, I walked with the assistance of a cane. The attacks were periodical, recurring every few months; any exposure to rain or dampness would bring one. At one time I was in bed eleven weeks, suffering intensely all the time except when relieved by hypodermic injections. When I had these attacks, my regular physician was always in attendance. My daughter consulted another physician, who said there would have to be an operation which would include the exposing and scraping of the sciatic nerve. There was also another physician who, knowing of the case, examined my heart and claimed that it was weak and that I was liable to pass on at any time from heart trouble.
After suffering three years I heard of Christian Science, but did not avail myself of it for two years, when I decided to give up all other means and rely wholly upon it. It was not convenient to call a practitioner, so I took Science and Health and applied its teachings as best I could. In three days the trouble completely left me and there has never been the slightest return. My health has been good ever since, and I am at present in perfect physical health. I have been benefited in every way by Christian Science, physically, mentally, and spiritually, and would not be without my understanding of it for anything. - Mrs. E. A. K., Billings, Mont.
I am very thankful to God for what He has done for me. I was suddenly left alone, with many troubles and trials, and I took up the study of the Bible. I was trying to understand it, prior to joining some church, as it seemed to me this would be expected. I had attended all sorts of churches from my childhood up, but never could find any that met my need. As time passed on, my condition became very alarming. Sciatic rheumatism, that had troubled me for some years, became so severe I could scarcely do anything.
Then there appeared some complications, so distressing that I was unable to walk far, and had to sit down frequently by the way. I thought I had Bright's disease, - such excruciating pains, no tongue could tell my sufferings. With all these things upon me, death seemed very near. I had never joined any church, and I thought it now too late, as I would have to wait six months on probation, and I would be dead before that.
About this time I made some inquiries of my sister in reference to Christian Science, as she had already turned to that faith, and I soon found that it was just what I had been looking for. I saw at once that it declared the truth and nothing but the truth. I commenced reading Science and Health, also the New Testament. I wanted to find out what Jesus said, as I did not expect then to live long. I did not go to the meetings, nor did I read Science and Health to be cured, - not thinking of that, - but to be saved from an everlasting hell hereafter. My sister urged me to have a practitioner, but I kept on reading, and praying to God in silence, and what happened? Where had the diseases gone? I persisted in reading Science and Health, together with the Bible, with the knowledge that God as revealed by Christ Jesus can do everything, that He made everything that was made, that He can and does heal the afflicted. He has healed me, thanks to His most holy name. - G. J. H., Charleston, Ill.
In the year 1901, Christian Science found me a hopeless invalid. I had suffered for seven years previous with a very painful back, the result of an operation. I could get no rest or sleep at night, as I could not lie down, but had to sit propped in a chair with pillows around me. Only those who have suffered as I did can know the full misery of it. I had come to the end of material means and never hoped to get well. One day, however, while out walking, it was my good fortune to come to a Christian Scientist's house, and there the teaching was explained to me. I was advised to buy Science and Health, which I did, and the study of this book has healed my back entirely. Christian Science has also cured me of long-standing catarrh of the throat, and neuralgia with which I had been afflicted from childhood. Before coming into Science I had doctored with three of the best physicians in Seattle, but none could give me relief.
I am no longer a sufferer, but rejoice exceedingly in Christian Science.God's promise has been fulfilled to me, " But unto you that fear my nameshall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." - E.O., Georgetown, Wash.
Christian Science found in me a minister's son who had failed to profit by continuous teaching in the old thought. Some years ago I was pronounced by a professor of /materia medica/, whose works are in general use, a neurasthenic. I had been in this condition more or less for eight years, and up to two years ago, when Christian Science was first brought to my attention (thanks to Almighty God) through a kind friend, I was almost constantly taking medicine and had in all eleven physicians who undoubtedly did their best, but without avail, not- withstanding almost all known drugs were prescribed, and further I had tried very many patent medicines. I was also put through forms of hygienic treatment and other things that offered inducements. At the time of coming into Science I was taking three times daily forty minims of cod-liver oil and three of creosote, also three drops of Fowler's solution of arsenic, and on the month or so previous had bought eighteen dollars' worth of patent medicine. I was restricted to the simplest means of diet, - all stews, fries, sweets, berries, and tomatoes I had not touched for two years.
I started to read Science and Health, and before I had half finished the book once I was eating everything that any one does. I read the book eleven times straight ahead and many times skipping about. The book has done the work and I am a well man. - C. E. M., Philadelphia, Pa.
I have received much help, spiritually and physically, through Christian Science. I had what the doctors diagnosed as muscular rheumatism, dropsy, and constipation of thirty years' standing. A dear friend whom I had known as an invalid had been healed by Christian Science and advised me to read Science and Health. I did so, having a desire to know the truth. One of my troubles was that I could not sleep. I began reading the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, and troubles of every kind disappeared before I had read Science and Health through. The thought came, What about the old remedies? but truth prevailed, and I took all the material remedies I had and threw them away. That was seven years ago, and I have not had any use for them since. My husband was healed of the tobacco habit of fifty years' standing, also of kidney trouble, by reading Science and Health. I have not words to express the gratitude I feel to-day for the many blessings that have come to our home. - Mrs. M. K. O., Seattle, Wash.
I became interested in Christian Science about eleven years ago, and was healed of neuralgia of the stomach, from which I had suffered from a child. As I grew older, the spells became more frequent and more severe; the only relief physicians could give me was by hypodermic injections of morphine. Finally, after each spell, I would be prostrated for a day or two with the after-effect of the morphine. I was entirely healed of this trouble through the study of Science and Health. I think I never realized what fear meant until I began to try and put into practice my understanding of Christian Science for my children. I have proved, however, many times, that fear can neither help nor hinder in our demonstration of truth. The first time I realized this was in the overcoming of a severe case of croup for my little boy. I was awakened one night by the sound that seems to bring terror to every mother's heart, and found the little fellow sitting up in bed, gasping for breath. I got up, took him in my arms, and went into the next room. My first thought was, "O if only there was another Christian Scientist in town!" But there was not, and the work must be done and done quickly. I tried to treat him, but was so frightened I could not think; so I picked up Science and Health, which lay on the table beside me, and began reading aloud. I had read but a few lines when these words came to me as though a voice spoke, "The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword." Almost immediately after, the little one said, "Mamma, sing 'Shepherd,' " - our Leader's hymn, that both the big and the little children love. I began singing, and commencing with the second line, the little voice joined me. I shall never forget the feeling of joy and peace that came over me, when I realized how quickly God's word, through Science and Health and the beautiful hymn, had accomplished the healing work. This is only one of many instances in which the power of God's word to heal has been demonstrated in our home. - A. J. G., Riverside, Cal.
Paul said, "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." In my own case deafness has been overcome by an enlarged understanding of God's word, as explained by Mrs. Eddy in Science and Health. Many times I have been enabled to turn to God, to know it was His will to help in trouble, and obtained the needed benefit. Catarrh has disappeared; tonsilitis, which very frequently laid me aside from duties in the schoolroom and home, is no longer manifest. When temptation comes (for Christian Science is both preventive and curative), I turn to that wonderful book, Science and Health, and my precious Bible, grown dearer since read in the new light of spiritual understanding, until I know that my mind is renewed, because the action is changed and the inflammation has abated.