72- Concealed and Revealed in His Providence

For the world in general, His Providence is concealed from the public. That is, the world does not believe that there is guidance over the world, and thinks that everything is happening without any leader.

Therefore, the Creator leads the world with revealed reward and punishment. This means that the creatures must keep the Creator’s laws, which are called “nature,” or they are punished on the spot. This is called “revealed reward and punishment.”

For example, the Creator created the creatures as a fusion of four elements: air, wind, water, and earth, and all have to be blended in.

If a person breaks nature’s laws and adds, for example, more heat than the Creator determined, such as by entering a very hot place, the person is punished for breaking nature’s laws and he pays with his life because he dies from excessive heat. Or to the contrary, if a person goes into a place that is colder than what nature determined, his punishment is to pay with his life and he freezes to death. Thus, the reward and punishment are revealed.

He, however, is still concealed and they do not say that there is a leader. Rather, they say that nature is not the Creator but rather a force without leadership.

For this reason, it follows that in the corporeal world, He Himself is concealed, and the reward and punishment are revealed in this world on the spot without any compassion, and anyone who breaks nature’s laws suffers the punishment right away. Likewise the reward: When he observes nature’s laws, he immediately receives.