The Establishment of the Church with man or the Internal Presence of the Lord
Known as the Most Ancient Church Summary
By Rev. Paul Booth
Known as the Most Ancient Church Summary
By Rev. Paul Booth
Before the next lecture is posted, those of you who would like to express or make comments on how you understand this very important truth concerning the Church are invited to do so. You are encouraged to ask questions. The Lord's New Chapel E-mail address is: Info@lordsnewchapel.com, the fax number is: 1[253]864-8192.
The following brief summary is given so that your understanding is increased.
In the first lecture, we see the written Word, as read in Genesis, from our natural understanding in only natural things and not in celestial or the spiritual things as did those of the Most Ancient Church when they looked upon the things of this world. We do not see that the paradise of a Garden of Eden spoken of in the Word in which the celestial man lives is within man's mind, that is, within a man's will and his understanding, even though we can read that the Lord said it was. Thus, it is that there is seen a conjunction between God and man and man and God. It is this conjunction that there is seen the Church on earth with man and in Heaven with angels. So it is that what is meant in the spiritual sense is that the Church is within man, for that is where the Lord is present and is conjoined with man. Because of the presence of the Lord with the celestial man, who had a natural body as we have, we, today, can learn of the correspondences by which there was and is communication with the Lord and with Heaven, (though that communication seems to have been closed.) The things proper to the Lord His many attributes, such as Good and Truth are within the celestial of man, but are seen and known as the Lord's. Mankind, when in this celestial state, is seen as in his state of infancy, and so, is dependent and relies upon the Lord for his very being. Basically, the presence of God is manifested with such a man in love and within such love there is his faith. Thus, we learn that the celestial man was of a completely different genius then the man who followed, and whose love was in his faith, and was not from his love to the Lord. In other words, God's Wisdom within the celestial man's understanding was known through perception, such as how an infant and child inherently perceives and knows and feels the mother's love without having it explained.
In this lecture we learn about this beginning process and development of man into his being made into the image and likeness of God. God's desire is that His creation mankind grows 'as it were' into adulthood. You can see this in Jehovah bringing before Adam all the animals for him to name and in Adam not finding a 'help mate'. This is to be seen as the celestial man's education towards become intelligent, that he becomes 'as it were' an adult and remains no longer a child, so that along with knowing the Lord's love, the Lord's Wisdom or Truth is also known 'as if' from the one's 'self'. This 'self' is what is known, as what is one's own. Thus, of all the natural affections of man as represented by the animals that Jehovah brought to him, not one was of an affection that could give him that feeling that he was truly man, and was like the Lord. (Note: the Lord is the true Man and we are men only from Him.) What we are speaking of is the man's proprium or what is of one's own 'as it were'. It may be seen that it is the proprium of a man that the love of the knowledge that the celestial man craved was taken and misused. This can be seen in the eating from the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil'. Eating, here, is meant the appropriation of good and evil, thus making both his. In doing so, not only was truth made available for man to learned and to known, but so was evil as well. In this, in fact, it can be seen that God created man as having freedom of choice and could thus, either accept or reject God's love. The celestial man in his freedom rejected the Lord's love and turned to the love of 'self'. This is seen in the eating of the 'tree of knowledge of good and evil'. What was the Lord's love with man now began to turn to the evil of the love of self and into a desire to know all things, only because of that love of self, of wanting all knowledge for self?
This then became the celestial man's fall away from God's grace, and his expulsion from paradise 'as it were'. It is the beginning of the decline of the celestial man or Celestial Church, and is called, in the Word, death and ends in hell, unless mankind is saved. Using an analogy of an infant and child wanting to grow up and to do things for him or her self and on his own, we can come to understand that the presence of the Lord is within a man's inmost and that this is seen as the soul. Here, remember that God had made man a 'living soul'. However, because of the child's new found love of 'self' in which the love the mother and the father had insinuated into their will and understanding, the love of wanting knowledge to become adults closed their mind to their parents teachings just as the love of the Lord was closed to the man of the Celestial Church as they rejected the Lord's love. As an infant and child, one grows and comes into a youth and eventually an adult, even as the celestial man began to proceed and develop in life. We see that the love and the wisdom, which had flowed into man, that brought life sustaining him, was no longer pure, but was mixed and confused with their love of self, both good and evil, entering a man's will and understanding. This can be seen in God's love, in His Good and Truth, which, now, however becomes hidden or lost within, even as the things the parents taught the child, has become 'as if' forgotten. This is what is called 'remains'.
It is in the celestial man's Celestial Church's descent from the celestial state that we see the Lord's Love continuing with man, but it was now in a new way, in which the Church with man will develop, for the internal way was now beginning to end. No longer was there to be a direct conjunction and communication of man with the Lord and with angels. A man was now to know the Lord through his understanding, that is, through truth that he now was to learn 'as if' on his own, for his love of self destroyed the love of God in him. That love of man for Divine knowledge became the way that man was to come to know the Lord; no longer would man have perception. The results of this the celestial man's fall had divided the Lord's attributes of good and truth in man. In the lecture this can be seen in the births of Able and Cain, for these are the children of the Most Ancient Church, of Adam and Eve, and as such, is the birth of a new doctrine or teaching in which the good or love from the Lord no longer remained primary and central in man. Able was the doctrine of 'love' or 'charity' and Cain the doctrine of the 'truth'. These were no longer one within man as they were in the celestial Church. The man's will and understanding became divided. Thus, there can be seen that there arose up a struggle in man between faith and charity, which ended in the destruction of charity. Note here that Adam and Eve represented the Celestial Church and the doctrine of that Church was no longer 'love to the Lord', but was divided and ended in faith alone. The Most Ancient Church's end is seen in the giants, mighty men, that then walked the earth and that fell from God's love into the love of self and conceived direful persuasions of their own greatness above others.
Nonetheless, it is the love of God that overcomes the love of man and we will see in the next lecture that there is raised up with mankind a new Church, and this becomes a spiritual church and once again there is conjunction of man with the Lord. We can see this progression first happening in God in protecting the truth, which was called Cain, for as was said, a man's salvation now comes through the understanding of Truth, who is the Lord. So, the celestial man vanished and the first Church with man is destroyed and only the remains of that Church are seen as lifting man up again into a new relation with God into a new spiritual Church. The end of the celestial Church is seen in its destruction through the man's self-love, but this will be seen in the next lecture: The Establishment of a Spiritual Life with Mankind.
It should be point out that these truths are only revealed to man through entering his understanding. Yet, such truths are also rejected only because of the man's love of self, and as such, he does not easily accept that there is an internal sense to the Word that can now be learned and known. Thus, we see man becoming natural and sensual and even corporeal and no longer able to see the Lord in representatives as the celestial man did. In order to know and accept the truths presented in these lectures, that there is an internal sense of the Word, one must accept that there is a correspondence between Heaven and earth, between angels and men, and between the Lord and man, and that this knowledge of correspondences are now revealed and taught in the Word of the Divine Human. Today, man once again may receive life from the Lord immediately. That communication with God is needed, and that it no longer need come through others, through angels and devils and, thus become on longer fallacies and eventually falsities with man. The man of Celestial Church had perception and knew that truth is within their love of the Lord. Thus, because some in that Church preserved that love in doctrines for their children, whose progeny became the Spiritual Church, the development of the Church continued.
To read the full 5-part lecture Click Here
The following brief summary is given so that your understanding is increased.
The Establishment of the Church with Man or the Internal Presence of the Lord:
The Most Ancient Church
It is in the creation of man that we see the Lord's Love and His Wisdom manifested. These Divine attributes are seen 'as if' proceeding from and flow forth from the Divine, creating not only man and the natural world, but the Heavens as well. From an internal sense the Heavens are the man's celestial and spiritual and the earth is the man's natural. Thus, it is that man's development towards a fuller and more perfect life together with God begins. In this desire of sharing what is God's with others is that creation which takes place and that the Divine Itself desires and comes to share Its Self, Its Love and Wisdom in good and truth within man and that it comes forth both in continuous and in discrete degrees. The first of which is seen as the celestial state of man. Thus, it is here that it must be obvious that God cannot create another God, but that His creation is infinite in love and truth in that God's Love and Wisdom is infinite and sustains man. (Of course, this is not seen if one believes that he has life of his own, which life, in the Word is not called life, but death.) In this first lecture the idea of what is God's His attributes of Love and Wisdom are seen on the one hand and what is man's his void and emptiness - are seen on the other. Thus, we learn that man is a 'vessel' in which God's Love and Wisdom flows into, and from which he is to become made into an image and likeness of the Lord and, thus receive God's love with joy and delight. What we see, then, in a man's creation, is a process of his development first beginning in the Celestial degree of life, as explained in this lecture. It develops into the Spiritual degree and finally to the Natural, which is the Ultimate, and when development is complete, man again is conjoined with the Lord and with Heaven through a new spiritual Church that is raised up with man by the Lord Himself. All these states will be explored and seen in a series of lectures that will be published here on this web site. In this first lecture is seen the beginning of this process. With the Lord there is only the present, for He is eternal and infinite. However, with mankind there is past, present, and future, for he is in time and therefore, is finite. Thus, we have the written Word (which is the Lord) revealed in historical and prophetic events. This can be seen in the truth in that we see the celestial man manifested in earthly or natural substance or material as is portrayed in the story of Adam and Eve in the Genesis account of creation. In actuality the celestial man is not seen as in some celestial substance that has no external or natural form, but in a man whose celestial essence is foremost present, for that is where God is present with man. In Adam and Eve there is seen that Celestial Church.The Most Ancient Church
In the first lecture, we see the written Word, as read in Genesis, from our natural understanding in only natural things and not in celestial or the spiritual things as did those of the Most Ancient Church when they looked upon the things of this world. We do not see that the paradise of a Garden of Eden spoken of in the Word in which the celestial man lives is within man's mind, that is, within a man's will and his understanding, even though we can read that the Lord said it was. Thus, it is that there is seen a conjunction between God and man and man and God. It is this conjunction that there is seen the Church on earth with man and in Heaven with angels. So it is that what is meant in the spiritual sense is that the Church is within man, for that is where the Lord is present and is conjoined with man. Because of the presence of the Lord with the celestial man, who had a natural body as we have, we, today, can learn of the correspondences by which there was and is communication with the Lord and with Heaven, (though that communication seems to have been closed.) The things proper to the Lord His many attributes, such as Good and Truth are within the celestial of man, but are seen and known as the Lord's. Mankind, when in this celestial state, is seen as in his state of infancy, and so, is dependent and relies upon the Lord for his very being. Basically, the presence of God is manifested with such a man in love and within such love there is his faith. Thus, we learn that the celestial man was of a completely different genius then the man who followed, and whose love was in his faith, and was not from his love to the Lord. In other words, God's Wisdom within the celestial man's understanding was known through perception, such as how an infant and child inherently perceives and knows and feels the mother's love without having it explained.
In this lecture we learn about this beginning process and development of man into his being made into the image and likeness of God. God's desire is that His creation mankind grows 'as it were' into adulthood. You can see this in Jehovah bringing before Adam all the animals for him to name and in Adam not finding a 'help mate'. This is to be seen as the celestial man's education towards become intelligent, that he becomes 'as it were' an adult and remains no longer a child, so that along with knowing the Lord's love, the Lord's Wisdom or Truth is also known 'as if' from the one's 'self'. This 'self' is what is known, as what is one's own. Thus, of all the natural affections of man as represented by the animals that Jehovah brought to him, not one was of an affection that could give him that feeling that he was truly man, and was like the Lord. (Note: the Lord is the true Man and we are men only from Him.) What we are speaking of is the man's proprium or what is of one's own 'as it were'. It may be seen that it is the proprium of a man that the love of the knowledge that the celestial man craved was taken and misused. This can be seen in the eating from the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil'. Eating, here, is meant the appropriation of good and evil, thus making both his. In doing so, not only was truth made available for man to learned and to known, but so was evil as well. In this, in fact, it can be seen that God created man as having freedom of choice and could thus, either accept or reject God's love. The celestial man in his freedom rejected the Lord's love and turned to the love of 'self'. This is seen in the eating of the 'tree of knowledge of good and evil'. What was the Lord's love with man now began to turn to the evil of the love of self and into a desire to know all things, only because of that love of self, of wanting all knowledge for self?
This then became the celestial man's fall away from God's grace, and his expulsion from paradise 'as it were'. It is the beginning of the decline of the celestial man or Celestial Church, and is called, in the Word, death and ends in hell, unless mankind is saved. Using an analogy of an infant and child wanting to grow up and to do things for him or her self and on his own, we can come to understand that the presence of the Lord is within a man's inmost and that this is seen as the soul. Here, remember that God had made man a 'living soul'. However, because of the child's new found love of 'self' in which the love the mother and the father had insinuated into their will and understanding, the love of wanting knowledge to become adults closed their mind to their parents teachings just as the love of the Lord was closed to the man of the Celestial Church as they rejected the Lord's love. As an infant and child, one grows and comes into a youth and eventually an adult, even as the celestial man began to proceed and develop in life. We see that the love and the wisdom, which had flowed into man, that brought life sustaining him, was no longer pure, but was mixed and confused with their love of self, both good and evil, entering a man's will and understanding. This can be seen in God's love, in His Good and Truth, which, now, however becomes hidden or lost within, even as the things the parents taught the child, has become 'as if' forgotten. This is what is called 'remains'.
It is in the celestial man's Celestial Church's descent from the celestial state that we see the Lord's Love continuing with man, but it was now in a new way, in which the Church with man will develop, for the internal way was now beginning to end. No longer was there to be a direct conjunction and communication of man with the Lord and with angels. A man was now to know the Lord through his understanding, that is, through truth that he now was to learn 'as if' on his own, for his love of self destroyed the love of God in him. That love of man for Divine knowledge became the way that man was to come to know the Lord; no longer would man have perception. The results of this the celestial man's fall had divided the Lord's attributes of good and truth in man. In the lecture this can be seen in the births of Able and Cain, for these are the children of the Most Ancient Church, of Adam and Eve, and as such, is the birth of a new doctrine or teaching in which the good or love from the Lord no longer remained primary and central in man. Able was the doctrine of 'love' or 'charity' and Cain the doctrine of the 'truth'. These were no longer one within man as they were in the celestial Church. The man's will and understanding became divided. Thus, there can be seen that there arose up a struggle in man between faith and charity, which ended in the destruction of charity. Note here that Adam and Eve represented the Celestial Church and the doctrine of that Church was no longer 'love to the Lord', but was divided and ended in faith alone. The Most Ancient Church's end is seen in the giants, mighty men, that then walked the earth and that fell from God's love into the love of self and conceived direful persuasions of their own greatness above others.
Nonetheless, it is the love of God that overcomes the love of man and we will see in the next lecture that there is raised up with mankind a new Church, and this becomes a spiritual church and once again there is conjunction of man with the Lord. We can see this progression first happening in God in protecting the truth, which was called Cain, for as was said, a man's salvation now comes through the understanding of Truth, who is the Lord. So, the celestial man vanished and the first Church with man is destroyed and only the remains of that Church are seen as lifting man up again into a new relation with God into a new spiritual Church. The end of the celestial Church is seen in its destruction through the man's self-love, but this will be seen in the next lecture: The Establishment of a Spiritual Life with Mankind.
It should be point out that these truths are only revealed to man through entering his understanding. Yet, such truths are also rejected only because of the man's love of self, and as such, he does not easily accept that there is an internal sense to the Word that can now be learned and known. Thus, we see man becoming natural and sensual and even corporeal and no longer able to see the Lord in representatives as the celestial man did. In order to know and accept the truths presented in these lectures, that there is an internal sense of the Word, one must accept that there is a correspondence between Heaven and earth, between angels and men, and between the Lord and man, and that this knowledge of correspondences are now revealed and taught in the Word of the Divine Human. Today, man once again may receive life from the Lord immediately. That communication with God is needed, and that it no longer need come through others, through angels and devils and, thus become on longer fallacies and eventually falsities with man. The man of Celestial Church had perception and knew that truth is within their love of the Lord. Thus, because some in that Church preserved that love in doctrines for their children, whose progeny became the Spiritual Church, the development of the Church continued.
To read the full 5-part lecture Click Here
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