The Establishment of a
Spiritual Life with Mankind - Part 2
By Rev. Paul Booth
Spiritual Life with Mankind - Part 2
By Rev. Paul Booth
If the Lord could not reach man because man had destroyed the means and the Most Ancient Church had ended, then, how could He reach the man of the Ancient Church? How were the Lord's truth and His love or charity to be insinuated into man externally? Here, is where the Wisdom and the Love of the Lord must be accepted as being necessary for one's life, for not only the creation of man, but for his sustenance and preservation, his redemption, as well as for his salvation. What we are talking of here is the Lord's or Divine Providence. As such, doctrinal matters of faith were preserved for their use by the posterity of the Most Ancient Church. You can see this in the story of the Jehovah preventing Cain from being killed, which we learned was signified as truth with mankind. Since love or good has been cut-off by man's rejection of love, truth now was the only means to sustaining him. These doctrinals or truths were formed into doctrines for use in that new Church that was raise up or in the Spiritual Church man as we seen were collected by Enoch, that is, by a Church of the Most Ancient Church's posterity. Let us now turn to look at the Spiritual Church's reformation and regeneration.
Those who could be endowed with charity, that is, those who had a relation or connection of thought as to the good of charity and the truth of charity, and who are of faith, that is, who have the doctrine of faith, became that Ancient Church. These are those who receive a conscience, who for the sake of what is just and fair, and good and true, are unwilling to depart from the what is just and fair or from good and truth. From this endowment there arose three kinds of doctrines or three states of the spiritual Church. It should be noted here that by being endowed with charity is meant that the Lord's life could be within them, for the love of the Lord in man is called charity and is His. If charity is the Lord with man, then there is both good and truth within him. However, truth, now, entered in through an external way through the senses and charity in the doing of the truth and, not as before, through an internal way directly from the Lord within them.
From this, we begin to see that a new Church in man was developing and, so, the understanding and will of man becoming made anew. The old will and understanding was destroyed as we see in the story of the flood of waters the falsities and evils signified. Now, since there was no written Word with the Most Ancient Church, (They had no use for a written Word.) because they were instructed and enlighten directly from the Lord and spoke with angels concerning good and true things and, therefore, had life from the Lord from within. And since, we have learned that the doctrinal things were preserved and used by their posterity and that a new doctrine was formed and preserved for use by the Ancient Church, then, that doctrine had to be somehow made available for their use and for future use by the Churches that followed. So, the Word became a written Word and, today, we can read it and can learn something of the Lord and of His qualities and about His Kingdom so that we may live from Him and not from ourselves, for in one's self or proprium there is no true life. Now, we know that the Most Ancient Church person had perception and understood the signification of all things on the earth. However, when the Most Ancient Church ceased so did perception. The person of the Ancient Church succeeded to learn about the Lord and His qualities and, thus, they too, live or have life from the Lord, although they understood spiritually, that is, rationally, and not celestially.
Yet, doctrinal truths were beginning to be written down. We have some evidence of that recorded in the Old Testament, which is confirmed also in the Word of the Divine Human the Latin Word as written by Swedenborg. The problem, however, comes when we try to understand what is written in the Word. From a literal sense, we see the histories about peoples from the past, such as we read about in the story of Noah and the flood and of his sons and the events after the flood. What does it help when we know this story, if we don't know what is meant spiritually, that is, if we don't know the truth of the Lord and what is His good? And, in fact, what sort of doctrine do we form not knowing how we are to act from that truth when the Word is only literally understood concerning past histories? When the Most Ancient Church looked at the world and the things in it, they understood what all these things signified; they were not just trees and animals for natural use, but were perceptions and knowledges concerning the Lord and affections. In this way they knew the Lord and what His qualities of Wisdom and Love were; they knew what was the truth and what was good. Now, with the Ancient or Spiritual Church, this ability to perceive or perception was lost, but, as we have said, doctrine or goods and truths were preserved for their and future mankind's use. So, they could see a correspondence of earthy things with Heavenly things as did the Most Ancient Church, though no through internal perception. In truth, they knew what things on earth represented in Heaven from the doctrine preserved for them. And, in that way, you can see why they wrote as they did in made-up historical stories or events put in an order connecting one event to another as do the events in history take place. So, today, what we read about these events, even though they were made-up histories, tells us of the Lord's truth and of His love or charity with man, and of how He communicates with mankind. Like many Christians today, who loves to tell the story of Jesus Christ, love to express their knowledge of the Lord in beautiful woven stories about Him. As example: the four Gospels or other books like the Epistles.
So it is that we see the preparation of a new Church, the Ancient Church, in Noah and in his three sons on entering into the Ark. As such, it is not the various animals of the earth that entered a literal ark together with a literal person called Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Jeptheth. It is the affections of good for the Lord and these are 'laid up', as it was, within the man at that time or state which is a spiritual infancy and childhood state. Thus, good being what is holy from the Lord within the man. As man has taken a proprium for himself, there are also evil affections and falsities that are conjoined with that good in man as he, so to speak, enters into the Ark. It is the good conjoined with the truth which are signified by the 'man and his wife', even as we have learned in the celestial Church that man signified the understanding and is of truth and that wife signifies the will and is of good.
However, man is more than a beast and has an internal life and that life is a life of faith and love from the Lord. And, it is in every thing that he has in common with the (animals) beasts in his appetite, his senses and desires, plus 'all his affection' is similar. As such, as his love for his own companions, the love of his children and wife or husband these are not different than beast's desire. So you can understand these must be the life of love from the Lord in a man's will, while the life of faith is in his understanding from the Lord, if he is to live as a man and not as a beast. And, you can understand that such a man also lives from the Lord in the next life. Thus, is the Lord conjoined to him. From this you may begin to understand how and why it is that in the written Word that those things of the will and understanding of man are called beasts, both good and wild and also birds the things of the will and the understanding. Thus, Noah and his entire house or the affections of the will were to enter into the 'Ark' or into Heaven where it is preserved from the 'flood of waters' or from evils and falsity. In the supreme sense, the Lord's Natural was as a man prepared or furnished with truths and goods so that man may be regenerated and, thus, saved and in the case of the Lord glorified. The man is prepared for salvation as to the things of his understanding, that is, the truths of faith and the things of his will or the goods of charity are instructed and insinuated within his mind and heart. A man must be prepared and 'as it were' furnished with truths and goods so that he may be regenerated and, so, he undergoes temptations. Remember that evil spirits are with a man and they excite him with falsity and evil even as the Lord's truth is introduced to him.
Those who could be endowed with charity, that is, those who had a relation or connection of thought as to the good of charity and the truth of charity, and who are of faith, that is, who have the doctrine of faith, became that Ancient Church. These are those who receive a conscience, who for the sake of what is just and fair, and good and true, are unwilling to depart from the what is just and fair or from good and truth. From this endowment there arose three kinds of doctrines or three states of the spiritual Church. It should be noted here that by being endowed with charity is meant that the Lord's life could be within them, for the love of the Lord in man is called charity and is His. If charity is the Lord with man, then there is both good and truth within him. However, truth, now, entered in through an external way through the senses and charity in the doing of the truth and, not as before, through an internal way directly from the Lord within them.
From this, we begin to see that a new Church in man was developing and, so, the understanding and will of man becoming made anew. The old will and understanding was destroyed as we see in the story of the flood of waters the falsities and evils signified. Now, since there was no written Word with the Most Ancient Church, (They had no use for a written Word.) because they were instructed and enlighten directly from the Lord and spoke with angels concerning good and true things and, therefore, had life from the Lord from within. And since, we have learned that the doctrinal things were preserved and used by their posterity and that a new doctrine was formed and preserved for use by the Ancient Church, then, that doctrine had to be somehow made available for their use and for future use by the Churches that followed. So, the Word became a written Word and, today, we can read it and can learn something of the Lord and of His qualities and about His Kingdom so that we may live from Him and not from ourselves, for in one's self or proprium there is no true life. Now, we know that the Most Ancient Church person had perception and understood the signification of all things on the earth. However, when the Most Ancient Church ceased so did perception. The person of the Ancient Church succeeded to learn about the Lord and His qualities and, thus, they too, live or have life from the Lord, although they understood spiritually, that is, rationally, and not celestially.
Yet, doctrinal truths were beginning to be written down. We have some evidence of that recorded in the Old Testament, which is confirmed also in the Word of the Divine Human the Latin Word as written by Swedenborg. The problem, however, comes when we try to understand what is written in the Word. From a literal sense, we see the histories about peoples from the past, such as we read about in the story of Noah and the flood and of his sons and the events after the flood. What does it help when we know this story, if we don't know what is meant spiritually, that is, if we don't know the truth of the Lord and what is His good? And, in fact, what sort of doctrine do we form not knowing how we are to act from that truth when the Word is only literally understood concerning past histories? When the Most Ancient Church looked at the world and the things in it, they understood what all these things signified; they were not just trees and animals for natural use, but were perceptions and knowledges concerning the Lord and affections. In this way they knew the Lord and what His qualities of Wisdom and Love were; they knew what was the truth and what was good. Now, with the Ancient or Spiritual Church, this ability to perceive or perception was lost, but, as we have said, doctrine or goods and truths were preserved for their and future mankind's use. So, they could see a correspondence of earthy things with Heavenly things as did the Most Ancient Church, though no through internal perception. In truth, they knew what things on earth represented in Heaven from the doctrine preserved for them. And, in that way, you can see why they wrote as they did in made-up historical stories or events put in an order connecting one event to another as do the events in history take place. So, today, what we read about these events, even though they were made-up histories, tells us of the Lord's truth and of His love or charity with man, and of how He communicates with mankind. Like many Christians today, who loves to tell the story of Jesus Christ, love to express their knowledge of the Lord in beautiful woven stories about Him. As example: the four Gospels or other books like the Epistles.
So it is that we see the preparation of a new Church, the Ancient Church, in Noah and in his three sons on entering into the Ark. As such, it is not the various animals of the earth that entered a literal ark together with a literal person called Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Jeptheth. It is the affections of good for the Lord and these are 'laid up', as it was, within the man at that time or state which is a spiritual infancy and childhood state. Thus, good being what is holy from the Lord within the man. As man has taken a proprium for himself, there are also evil affections and falsities that are conjoined with that good in man as he, so to speak, enters into the Ark. It is the good conjoined with the truth which are signified by the 'man and his wife', even as we have learned in the celestial Church that man signified the understanding and is of truth and that wife signifies the will and is of good.
However, man is more than a beast and has an internal life and that life is a life of faith and love from the Lord. And, it is in every thing that he has in common with the (animals) beasts in his appetite, his senses and desires, plus 'all his affection' is similar. As such, as his love for his own companions, the love of his children and wife or husband these are not different than beast's desire. So you can understand these must be the life of love from the Lord in a man's will, while the life of faith is in his understanding from the Lord, if he is to live as a man and not as a beast. And, you can understand that such a man also lives from the Lord in the next life. Thus, is the Lord conjoined to him. From this you may begin to understand how and why it is that in the written Word that those things of the will and understanding of man are called beasts, both good and wild and also birds the things of the will and the understanding. Thus, Noah and his entire house or the affections of the will were to enter into the 'Ark' or into Heaven where it is preserved from the 'flood of waters' or from evils and falsity. In the supreme sense, the Lord's Natural was as a man prepared or furnished with truths and goods so that man may be regenerated and, thus, saved and in the case of the Lord glorified. The man is prepared for salvation as to the things of his understanding, that is, the truths of faith and the things of his will or the goods of charity are instructed and insinuated within his mind and heart. A man must be prepared and 'as it were' furnished with truths and goods so that he may be regenerated and, so, he undergoes temptations. Remember that evil spirits are with a man and they excite him with falsity and evil even as the Lord's truth is introduced to him.