The Establishment of the Church with man or the Internal Presence of the Lord
Known as the Most Ancient Church Part 2
By Rev. Paul Booth
Known as the Most Ancient Church Part 2
By Rev. Paul Booth
Being able to understand or perceive what is meant spiritually when seeing natural things is called in the Word, 'perception'. It was an internal sense that the men and women of the Most Ancient Church had from the Lord and from it they knew whether a thing was true and good or not. Such perception brought them happiness, as was said. Through perception they became made and perfected 'as it was' into an image and after the Lord's likeness. Their faith came through such knowledge by revelation; for as it was said; they could speak with the Lord and the angels. They were also instructed by means of dreams and visions and when they thought of the things of their memory there was perception from the Lord and they knew that the thing was alive and good. By this way the things in their minds were made alive with the Lord's love. Thus, their understanding was of the will and was one within. Their mind was one, the will or love being everything so that their faith was from that love to the Lord and towards the neighbor, that is, to the Lord in others both individually and collectively.
From a purely natural sense, Heavenly men and women had an internal respiration; their external respiration was only tacit, that is, their speech was silent, coming from within or internally into a kind of silent speech. They seldom spoke by words, but by ideas. Thus, they could express themselves through changing their expression, especially through their lips. We also learn that they had an internal communication with Heaven, and through Heaven with the Lord. Thus, their life was from the Lord to the Lord within them.
So, what was the individual of the Most Ancient Church like? It can be expressed that they were Heavenly or celestial men and women, that is, they lived in a celestial and spiritual state, yet they had a natural or a body as all mankind have. They knew the truth from what is good or from love and so, they had faith. If you think about that, you can see it is opposite of us today, who from faith have good. In this sense, they were of a different genius. Their worship was internal; it was communicated through perception from the Lord through Heaven. So, what they saw was Heavenly and alive.
It was only from the Lord that they would think, and thus could will, and not from themselves as we do today. Each and everything they willed and thought was perceived from the Lord or from other sources, that is, from angels, from good and, even, later in their decline evil spirits. Their doctrine was inscribed within or was on their hearts as love to the Lord and charity to the neighbor. Thus, they cultivated such doctrine. Keep this in mind and compare it when we come to the way man must now make or cultivate doctrine. The individual of the Most Ancient Church had only one wife and the wife only one husband, and they lived in a love truly conjugial. (Conjugial love is spiritual love, not sexual love, which is called conjugal; rather it is a love or marriage of good and truth in man.)
As for the Word with them, it was not written, (it was inscribed on their hearts and minds,) but it was revealed through their posterity and was later written in the style as we see in the book of Genesis, the first four chapters. As such, it was written upon their hearts and in their minds. And, as said, they could see earthly or worldly things with their natural eyes, that is, with some natural senses and from that they thought of celestial and spiritual things. The Lord could flow in through their voluntary or their will, which we know was through an internal way, while the Ancient Church, which succeeded the Most Ancient Church and the True Church, now, flows in through an external way through one's Intellectual or understanding and not through the will. There needed to be a new way, a new will formed within man after the Most Ancient Church had fell from their Heavenly and internal state. The Most Ancient Church individuals understood no other God than the Lord and Him as the Divine Human. They, indeed, knew about the Divine Itself, which is in the Lord, which the Lord called His Father, but they thought about the Divine Human.
The men of the Most Ancient Church, we said was of a celestial genius, They spoke with angels by means of correspondences. (Things they saw on earth, they thought about spiritually, so they had conjunction with angels.)
We see that there was a process, an order, in which the man of the Most Ancient Church was formed. He had to be first reformed and then enter into regeneration, thus was he made into an image of the Lord and after His likeness. Then, after this, there was conjunction between the Lord and the man of the Most Ancient Church. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness&…;.And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him&…;" (Gen. 1:26). A person came into the state of regeneration and, then, he or she was first call 'man'. The Lord's work of creation became completed or was finished and is seen in the statement that the "heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them" (Gen. 2:1). The man's internal and his external, his spiritual and natural was now compete and man had within love, faith, and cognitions from the Lord. What is understood by this is that the Church is within man, for these things Heaven and earth predicate the man's internal and external. Thus, the man is a temple of the Lord and is said to be so, even as Heaven and the Church is the Lord's temple. Man made as the Heaven and earth is the results of the six-days of his regeneration. After regeneration the Lord rested "from all His work which He had made" (Gen. 2:2). The Most Ancient Church was then established.
For the individual to come into such a state where he or she acknowledges or lives in the spiritual and celestial states, which are of all the things, the qualities of the Lord, it requires that those things proper to man those things that are nothing of good and truth, which we learned were called 'void and empty' and 'of thick darkness', that is, of evil be vastated. This requires that the individual go through temptations. The temptations here meant are spiritual temptations. Before man came into the celestial state the Lord's good and His truth had to reign in him. It is in the spiritual state that there is a combat, thus temptation between the spiritual life and the natural life in man ensued. This, of course, is the internal of a man fighting 'as it were' with the external of a man; it is what is proper to the person wanting to rule over what is proper to the Lord. The establishment of the Most Ancient Church became complete when this combat ended and the Lord rested from all His work. You need to understand it is the Lord who works within the man and when the man became made into His likeness, the Lord rested and the celestial Church was formed in man. The way it is depicted in Genesis, chapter two, is that the individual enjoys all the delights, all the things of good that he receives through perception. We will speak about perception a little later on. However, here, the first thing we see in the Most Ancient Church is that man was put into a garden and, in fact, he is called a garden in the Word of the Third Testament. He is 'as it were' in a garden, and that garden is spiritual and celestial and is within him. The things in the garden signify his intelligence and are what makes him to be a man. It distinguishes him from the other beasts. However, it is love that causes him to become intelligent and, such is the order of all life in or of a celestial man.
From being dead the individual became spiritual, and from spiritual celestial. He is now said to be 'intelligent'. This intelligence we had said is the garden trees pleasant to his sight are his perceptions of truth and good for food are the perceptions of good. All these things are of the internal man and, as such, the celestial man is like a garden.
From a purely natural sense, Heavenly men and women had an internal respiration; their external respiration was only tacit, that is, their speech was silent, coming from within or internally into a kind of silent speech. They seldom spoke by words, but by ideas. Thus, they could express themselves through changing their expression, especially through their lips. We also learn that they had an internal communication with Heaven, and through Heaven with the Lord. Thus, their life was from the Lord to the Lord within them.
So, what was the individual of the Most Ancient Church like? It can be expressed that they were Heavenly or celestial men and women, that is, they lived in a celestial and spiritual state, yet they had a natural or a body as all mankind have. They knew the truth from what is good or from love and so, they had faith. If you think about that, you can see it is opposite of us today, who from faith have good. In this sense, they were of a different genius. Their worship was internal; it was communicated through perception from the Lord through Heaven. So, what they saw was Heavenly and alive.
It was only from the Lord that they would think, and thus could will, and not from themselves as we do today. Each and everything they willed and thought was perceived from the Lord or from other sources, that is, from angels, from good and, even, later in their decline evil spirits. Their doctrine was inscribed within or was on their hearts as love to the Lord and charity to the neighbor. Thus, they cultivated such doctrine. Keep this in mind and compare it when we come to the way man must now make or cultivate doctrine. The individual of the Most Ancient Church had only one wife and the wife only one husband, and they lived in a love truly conjugial. (Conjugial love is spiritual love, not sexual love, which is called conjugal; rather it is a love or marriage of good and truth in man.)
As for the Word with them, it was not written, (it was inscribed on their hearts and minds,) but it was revealed through their posterity and was later written in the style as we see in the book of Genesis, the first four chapters. As such, it was written upon their hearts and in their minds. And, as said, they could see earthly or worldly things with their natural eyes, that is, with some natural senses and from that they thought of celestial and spiritual things. The Lord could flow in through their voluntary or their will, which we know was through an internal way, while the Ancient Church, which succeeded the Most Ancient Church and the True Church, now, flows in through an external way through one's Intellectual or understanding and not through the will. There needed to be a new way, a new will formed within man after the Most Ancient Church had fell from their Heavenly and internal state. The Most Ancient Church individuals understood no other God than the Lord and Him as the Divine Human. They, indeed, knew about the Divine Itself, which is in the Lord, which the Lord called His Father, but they thought about the Divine Human.
The men of the Most Ancient Church, we said was of a celestial genius, They spoke with angels by means of correspondences. (Things they saw on earth, they thought about spiritually, so they had conjunction with angels.)
We see that there was a process, an order, in which the man of the Most Ancient Church was formed. He had to be first reformed and then enter into regeneration, thus was he made into an image of the Lord and after His likeness. Then, after this, there was conjunction between the Lord and the man of the Most Ancient Church. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness&…;.And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him&…;" (Gen. 1:26). A person came into the state of regeneration and, then, he or she was first call 'man'. The Lord's work of creation became completed or was finished and is seen in the statement that the "heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them" (Gen. 2:1). The man's internal and his external, his spiritual and natural was now compete and man had within love, faith, and cognitions from the Lord. What is understood by this is that the Church is within man, for these things Heaven and earth predicate the man's internal and external. Thus, the man is a temple of the Lord and is said to be so, even as Heaven and the Church is the Lord's temple. Man made as the Heaven and earth is the results of the six-days of his regeneration. After regeneration the Lord rested "from all His work which He had made" (Gen. 2:2). The Most Ancient Church was then established.
For the individual to come into such a state where he or she acknowledges or lives in the spiritual and celestial states, which are of all the things, the qualities of the Lord, it requires that those things proper to man those things that are nothing of good and truth, which we learned were called 'void and empty' and 'of thick darkness', that is, of evil be vastated. This requires that the individual go through temptations. The temptations here meant are spiritual temptations. Before man came into the celestial state the Lord's good and His truth had to reign in him. It is in the spiritual state that there is a combat, thus temptation between the spiritual life and the natural life in man ensued. This, of course, is the internal of a man fighting 'as it were' with the external of a man; it is what is proper to the person wanting to rule over what is proper to the Lord. The establishment of the Most Ancient Church became complete when this combat ended and the Lord rested from all His work. You need to understand it is the Lord who works within the man and when the man became made into His likeness, the Lord rested and the celestial Church was formed in man. The way it is depicted in Genesis, chapter two, is that the individual enjoys all the delights, all the things of good that he receives through perception. We will speak about perception a little later on. However, here, the first thing we see in the Most Ancient Church is that man was put into a garden and, in fact, he is called a garden in the Word of the Third Testament. He is 'as it were' in a garden, and that garden is spiritual and celestial and is within him. The things in the garden signify his intelligence and are what makes him to be a man. It distinguishes him from the other beasts. However, it is love that causes him to become intelligent and, such is the order of all life in or of a celestial man.
From being dead the individual became spiritual, and from spiritual celestial. He is now said to be 'intelligent'. This intelligence we had said is the garden trees pleasant to his sight are his perceptions of truth and good for food are the perceptions of good. All these things are of the internal man and, as such, the celestial man is like a garden.
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