MYSTICAL_EXPERIENCES
The Sign vs. The Event
Neville distinguishes between a spiritual event and its physical sign. The 'babe wrapped in swaddling clothes' is merely a sign, like a presidential flag,…
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SignSpiritual EventInvisibleSymbolismBirth from Above
Gods Promise To Man
The babe is not the thing that happened, the babe is a sign: “This shall be a sign unto you.” An event took place this day in eternity: the fulfillment of God’s promise to man. “And this shall be a sign unto you, you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying on the floor.” And they went and found as they were told, the babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes. ... It doesn’t mean the flag is the president, it only signifies his presence. This is a sign unto you: “You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying on the floor.” It signifies the event that took place this day in eternity; it is not the event. The event is invisible to mortal eye, for no one saw me. I saw them and read their thought but they could not see me. They only found the sign. They came to find the sign, as they were told in the spiritual world: “You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying on the floor.” And they came and they found it exactly as they were told; but they couldn’t find the event, for the event was invisible to eyes on this level.
Neville distinguishes between a spiritual event and its physical sign. The 'babe wrapped in swaddling clothes' is merely a sign, like a presidential flag, indicating the presence of a greater, invisible spiritual event—the fulfillment of God's promise and the birth from above. The actual event is an internal, mystical experience that cannot be perceived by mortal eyes.