The New Church That Is Today Being Established With and In Man - Part 1
By Rev. Paul Booth
By Rev. Paul Booth
In the previous four lectures was discussed all the Churches that had existed on earth since its creation. In these was shown that there was a development in man in which was seen the Church or the presence of God with man. These four Churches has been the Adamic, the Noachian, the Israelitish, and the Christian. These were seen as successive states of the Church in man. Though the Old and New Testaments, when only understood literally, reveal historical churches in principle and not the Church in man. Let us briefly review these states, for they, as said, show the development of the Church on earth in and with mankind and it is through them that a person communicates with God and that is led into conjunction with Him.
First, there is the Most Ancient, the Adamic Church in which we learned was the internal presence of God with man in his inmost or soul. This celestial presence of the Lord with man is even today. Celestial is referred to as 'love to the Lord'. It is from within that truth is first known by man. This knowledge was called in man 'perception'. It is from this that such a celestial or first state can be understood as the 'morning' state or as the state of infancy of the Church with and in man. In its development, like an infant who begins to learn of things and speak, his or her perception begins to fade. Truth began to come through the knowledge that was learned from one's own (natural) understanding of what is true and good. We saw this in Cain - Cain meaning a 'man of Jehovah' - who was the first born of Adam, which was the first Church in man. Communication directly or immediately from the Lord soon ended. Here, we point out that knowledge concerning good and truth with the person of this Church had came, both, from the spiritual world through perception, that is, immediately from God and, also, from the natural world, that is, from the understanding of scientifics. In this latter way the Church in the natural of man was developed. The person of this Church could perfect his or her own intelligence and wisdom. However, in the celestial state as we learned, perception came through the will or through one's love. The person of the Most Ancient Church could learn what are the affections of the natural man and could, in this way, have dominion over them. It is the spiritual in man that was to rule, not his natural. We learned that they could learn what these affections of the natural man were and, so, could have dominion over them. This was understood when Jehovah brought the beasts of the field for them to name. However, this spiritual perception eventually perished with man and along with such perception also the cognizance of correspondences and, so, man's communication and conjunction with Heaven and angels ended.
A man's state had changed. The Church in man was no longer celestial; his soul or inmost was now closed to him, for he had rejected God's love. Nonetheless, the Lord raised up a remnant of that first Church in man, which became a Spiritual Church and the 'morning' state of the Church in man, had turned to its 'day' state; the infant became a grown person 'as it were'. Jehovah God had promised redemption and man received instruction from without or through his senses through the natural understanding and man progressed. The man came into intelligence or into the spiritual state and he knew the Lord again, though through scientifics learned through his senses. The Ancient Church or the Noachian Church in man began and its development continued. Here, we learned that man was now natural; his celestial had been closed, but his spiritual ruled. We saw that introduced into the Ark were also beasts - and that this signified the affections of a natural man. Though we need to remember that they correspond to both spiritual and natural affections, that is, both of love to the Lord and of love to the neighbor and of love to one's self and the world, for a man's natural will was now directing his understanding, leading him astray. Whereas the Most Ancient Church was in love to the Lord, the Ancient Church was to be in love toward the neighbor and thus, that this was the doctrine and worship in which they were to come. From a perspective of the Church in man, in the Ancient or spiritual state spiritual truths were taught and its doctrine became a doctrine of charity. One sees this in the 'bow in the clouds or the rainbow' that was spoken of in the Word. Light from Heaven is spiritual. Light corresponds to truths, which proceed from the Lord and are divine. In this, one understands, as it were, how a person's reformation and regeneration by the Lord, through Heavenly or through spiritual truth, are effected. In such a person spiritual or genuine truths are seen as shinning through natural truths; natural truths become translucent. We learned that in external truths were revealed spiritual truths to the man and a correspondence between Heaven or Divine truth with natural truths became paramount with this Church and was called the 'science of correspondences' and became the science of all sciences.
Then, in the third lecture - that of the Israelitish and Jewish Church - was shown a man's 'evening' state or his decline and eventual vastation. No longer were men ruled by their internal and spiritual, but wholly by their external and natural. The celestial and the spiritual states in which God's presence was felt and known and acknowledged - the state of charity derived from truths learned from that celestial - were now gone in man. We understand this Church in man to be representative and later became only a representative of a Church. All things within this state of the Church in man became representatives of celestial and spiritual things. Only ultimate or natural divine truths were revealed to the man who is in such a state who had natural good. Even this perished from mankind and their worship consisted principally in sacrifices. One can understand, then, why this Church was forbidden to make for themselves sculptured things, images, and figures. They had received the Commandments of Jehovah hewn in stone. To them was allowed to build a tabernacle and later the temple in which these tablets of divine laws were placed and in which they were to come and to worshiped God. They were to acknowledge these as dwelling places for Jehovah, their God. The reason was that they might not turn to idolatry and to magic, as had other nations - Egypt. We learned that the decline of this Church on earth and in man came. However, in this can be seen the preparation for the Lord Jehovah to come on earth and thereby effect a person's redemption and regeneration - his salvation.
Next, when nothing was left of the Church in man, the Lord Himself came and established a new Church, which was at first seen in a historical sense as the Primitive Church. It later became called 'Christian', though it was in name only, for they had turned worship of one God into three. In the Lord's first Advent or Coming the Lord was to be understood as the God of Heaven and earth in a Human form. They did not see that Human as Divine. From the Lord while on earth interior things of the Word, of the Church, and of worship was revealed and taught and after was written down in the New Testament. It was in this way - in His Coming - that good could be separated from evil in man. There was doctrine taught that leads to life accordingly. We see that within this 'Christian' Church or state in man that there were divine truths disclosed especially concerning the Lord Himself, love to Him, and love towards the neighbor, and of a faith in Him. Anyone can see this when reading the New Testament. However, we also see that this Church was the 'evening' or 'night' state and 'as it were' was the end or consummation of the natural Church and the beginning of a New Spiritual Church in man. The truth, basically, in this Church was under a man's natural rational and was turned into falsities. It had to be done away with and, so, a new rational from the Lord made in man
First, there is the Most Ancient, the Adamic Church in which we learned was the internal presence of God with man in his inmost or soul. This celestial presence of the Lord with man is even today. Celestial is referred to as 'love to the Lord'. It is from within that truth is first known by man. This knowledge was called in man 'perception'. It is from this that such a celestial or first state can be understood as the 'morning' state or as the state of infancy of the Church with and in man. In its development, like an infant who begins to learn of things and speak, his or her perception begins to fade. Truth began to come through the knowledge that was learned from one's own (natural) understanding of what is true and good. We saw this in Cain - Cain meaning a 'man of Jehovah' - who was the first born of Adam, which was the first Church in man. Communication directly or immediately from the Lord soon ended. Here, we point out that knowledge concerning good and truth with the person of this Church had came, both, from the spiritual world through perception, that is, immediately from God and, also, from the natural world, that is, from the understanding of scientifics. In this latter way the Church in the natural of man was developed. The person of this Church could perfect his or her own intelligence and wisdom. However, in the celestial state as we learned, perception came through the will or through one's love. The person of the Most Ancient Church could learn what are the affections of the natural man and could, in this way, have dominion over them. It is the spiritual in man that was to rule, not his natural. We learned that they could learn what these affections of the natural man were and, so, could have dominion over them. This was understood when Jehovah brought the beasts of the field for them to name. However, this spiritual perception eventually perished with man and along with such perception also the cognizance of correspondences and, so, man's communication and conjunction with Heaven and angels ended.
A man's state had changed. The Church in man was no longer celestial; his soul or inmost was now closed to him, for he had rejected God's love. Nonetheless, the Lord raised up a remnant of that first Church in man, which became a Spiritual Church and the 'morning' state of the Church in man, had turned to its 'day' state; the infant became a grown person 'as it were'. Jehovah God had promised redemption and man received instruction from without or through his senses through the natural understanding and man progressed. The man came into intelligence or into the spiritual state and he knew the Lord again, though through scientifics learned through his senses. The Ancient Church or the Noachian Church in man began and its development continued. Here, we learned that man was now natural; his celestial had been closed, but his spiritual ruled. We saw that introduced into the Ark were also beasts - and that this signified the affections of a natural man. Though we need to remember that they correspond to both spiritual and natural affections, that is, both of love to the Lord and of love to the neighbor and of love to one's self and the world, for a man's natural will was now directing his understanding, leading him astray. Whereas the Most Ancient Church was in love to the Lord, the Ancient Church was to be in love toward the neighbor and thus, that this was the doctrine and worship in which they were to come. From a perspective of the Church in man, in the Ancient or spiritual state spiritual truths were taught and its doctrine became a doctrine of charity. One sees this in the 'bow in the clouds or the rainbow' that was spoken of in the Word. Light from Heaven is spiritual. Light corresponds to truths, which proceed from the Lord and are divine. In this, one understands, as it were, how a person's reformation and regeneration by the Lord, through Heavenly or through spiritual truth, are effected. In such a person spiritual or genuine truths are seen as shinning through natural truths; natural truths become translucent. We learned that in external truths were revealed spiritual truths to the man and a correspondence between Heaven or Divine truth with natural truths became paramount with this Church and was called the 'science of correspondences' and became the science of all sciences.
Then, in the third lecture - that of the Israelitish and Jewish Church - was shown a man's 'evening' state or his decline and eventual vastation. No longer were men ruled by their internal and spiritual, but wholly by their external and natural. The celestial and the spiritual states in which God's presence was felt and known and acknowledged - the state of charity derived from truths learned from that celestial - were now gone in man. We understand this Church in man to be representative and later became only a representative of a Church. All things within this state of the Church in man became representatives of celestial and spiritual things. Only ultimate or natural divine truths were revealed to the man who is in such a state who had natural good. Even this perished from mankind and their worship consisted principally in sacrifices. One can understand, then, why this Church was forbidden to make for themselves sculptured things, images, and figures. They had received the Commandments of Jehovah hewn in stone. To them was allowed to build a tabernacle and later the temple in which these tablets of divine laws were placed and in which they were to come and to worshiped God. They were to acknowledge these as dwelling places for Jehovah, their God. The reason was that they might not turn to idolatry and to magic, as had other nations - Egypt. We learned that the decline of this Church on earth and in man came. However, in this can be seen the preparation for the Lord Jehovah to come on earth and thereby effect a person's redemption and regeneration - his salvation.
Next, when nothing was left of the Church in man, the Lord Himself came and established a new Church, which was at first seen in a historical sense as the Primitive Church. It later became called 'Christian', though it was in name only, for they had turned worship of one God into three. In the Lord's first Advent or Coming the Lord was to be understood as the God of Heaven and earth in a Human form. They did not see that Human as Divine. From the Lord while on earth interior things of the Word, of the Church, and of worship was revealed and taught and after was written down in the New Testament. It was in this way - in His Coming - that good could be separated from evil in man. There was doctrine taught that leads to life accordingly. We see that within this 'Christian' Church or state in man that there were divine truths disclosed especially concerning the Lord Himself, love to Him, and love towards the neighbor, and of a faith in Him. Anyone can see this when reading the New Testament. However, we also see that this Church was the 'evening' or 'night' state and 'as it were' was the end or consummation of the natural Church and the beginning of a New Spiritual Church in man. The truth, basically, in this Church was under a man's natural rational and was turned into falsities. It had to be done away with and, so, a new rational from the Lord made in man