The Third Church - Part 1
the Israelitish and Jewish Church
By Rev. Paul Booth
the Israelitish and Jewish Church
By Rev. Paul Booth
One could say that the greater part of the Old Testament primarily pertains to the natural historical facts of the Israelitish and Jewish nation. It describes their history from its beginning out of the spiritual Church from the nation called the Hebrews, out of their worship of idols and from all the nations that they lived among. The history tells about how they rose from Abram and his family to become a great nation and from Jacob whose name became Israel. A nation out of which certain people Moses and the prophets wrote the Word the Old Testament so that man could be taught and could learn about God and, thus could be lead by Him today. And, that communication between God and man would continue, thus preventing man from perishing from earth. That out of the Israelitish and Jewish Church the Lord came and established the Christian Church and religion through which there could be conjunction of man once again with Heaven and the Lord. In the lecture concerning the Most Ancient Church we have seen how man from being brought into God's presence through his regeneration became the first Church the Most Ancient Church. We have seen the Divine's presence was with man within him in his inmost or the soul, which is the seat of the celestial with a man. We saw how man turned from God's presence and fell into falsities and evils where he began living 'as it was' from his self or proprium and rejected God's love and His wisdom. We also learned that because of God's love for man that His love was stored up within. This, the Word called 'remains' and could be brought out later as man develops in becoming made into an image and likeness of the Lord. Thus, in the lecture concerning the Ancient Church we saw the emergence of that Church come upon earth whose doctrine of Charity brought man again in communication and conjunction with God. Thus, man's internal, his spiritual, was made alive which could rule over his natural bringing order to his life again.
We found out that the Ancient Church was a Representative Church in that the Lord was not present with them as He was with the Most Ancient Church, but was represented in the things of their worship. And that, He was seen as having a human form. Neither did they have perception, or internal thought from the Lord in which they could know whether a thing was good and true or not. In place of perception, a man was able to develop a conscience and, thus, could be guided in what was good and truth. In this way, we saw that man could have communication with God continued and could be with man indirectly or through a medium through which His love and wisdom could be conjoined within him. We saw that this was through the science of correspondences; in this, the celestial and spiritual sense of the Word could be understood and, thus, genuine truths learned and known. We learned that this was necessary, because man had been shut off or was closed to the Lord's love and His wisdom and everything man learned was, now, only from his own self, that is, through his senses through natural sciences. In effect man, now, saw things through his self or proprium and not through his celestial and spiritual nature, which is the Lord's with a man. In the Ancient Church, we saw that man's conjunction and communication was continued with Heaven and, thus man progressed in his development, that is, into becoming an image and a likeness of the Lord. However, the Ancient Church, too, fell into falsities like the Most Ancient and their doctrine of charity became false even as the doctrine of love to the Lord had turned into a false doctrine of love of the world and self as had the Most Ancient Church's doctrine. Thus, this Ancient Church ended too in time.
This leads us to the next development and state of the Church here on earth with and in man the Israelitish and Jewish Church, the Third Church. (By the way, although we have recalled the historical facts of these two prior Churches, even using the made up histories found in the first four chapters of Genesis, we need look at these truths in their internal sense, including the history of the Israelites and Jews. However, it should be from a spiritual historical understanding and thus, seen in the spiritual historical sense not on a natural historical sense. In other word, we are looking at the Church and its existence with man in its internal or spiritual sense. Historical facts are representatives and words are significatives of spiritual and celestial things, that is, of God, Heaven and the Church.) So, what we are really speaking of here is the development of the Lord's presence with man and of his communication and conjunction. A Conjunction in which a man has life that is not profaned with evils a life that truly comes directly or immediately from God and that is not infested with falsities and evils of hell.
The premise from which I speak is that: man was with God; God is present with man in the spiritual and celestial states of man. We see that primarily in the Most Ancient Church. That presence was lost 'so as to speak' because of man's desire to rule him self. Not withstanding, we saw that it was man's progression or development into being made into an image and after the Lord's likeness that he now was to go through the various states show by the development of the four Churches come on earth before there could any genuine conjunction with God. After all man was created a vessel in which God's love and wisdom could live. He was created with a natural body and that natural was a container for the Lord, that is, for His truths and goods. It was as a cover or clothing for His Proceeding Good and Truth in which man may truly live in freedom where he chooses good and truth, that is God and life from God freely. We understand this because God Himself cannot be divided. Thus, we learned that man was made to live in Heaven and there was to enjoy and delight in God's presence. Thus, we, also, can understand that man needed to live 'as if' of him self, but acknowledge that life is the Lord's given to enjoy, but not to claim as his own.
Now, let us turn to the Church that came on earth after the Ancient Church ended. In each of these prior Churches the Lord had appeared, called, and covenanted with them. He formed them into becoming a Church so that His love or good and His truth could teach and lead man to a state where he is conjoined with the angels of Heaven. So, from the beginning and in each stage of that progression there was the development of that conjunction and the presence of the Lord with man.
We see Jehovih calling man to this morning state of the Church as it is called in Genesis 12:1-7. "Get thee out of thy land." Look to what it represents, not to the natural historical fact that a man Abram is being called to move out from his father's house and into another land. Of course, this is just natural history and tells us nothing of God, Heaven, or man's regeneration. (Therefore, we need to remember that names in the Word signify qualities and their nature. And, in a spiritual historical sense the name 'Abram' signifies a state of the man that is called to become a Church and could be the state into which you and I have come into. We learn that land in a spiritual sense means Church.) What does this mean in a historical spiritual or internal sense? When anyone reads the Third Testament he or she will see that it basically, from the 12th chapter of Genesis, in the internal sense the Lord is revealed. Nonetheless, there is in its internal, also, the Church revealed. If we see that the words signify something spiritual and other then what it means in the literal sense or natural sense, then, we see the Church being developed with and in mankind. So, when man turns away from idolatry, which is really turning from one's love of self and of worldly things, from which he has pleasure, he turns towards God. We had learned from the lecture about the Ancient Church that that Church had began worshipping the idols themselves and not what they represented, which was to be the Lord and His goods and truths. Now, being called out is being called into a spiritual life, after all, that is where the Lord God is with man and where there is a conjoining of God with man. Man's natural, or the natural man, we learn had rejected having God reign over him and as a result sin entered. It is the Lord calling man out of his exterior corporeal and worldly life, out of an evil life that we see. Their 'fathers' house refers to the state of their mind, which was of natural good, not of spiritual good, that is, they thought that what they did worshipping idols was good. This, we can understand when we know that "I will make thee a great nation" signifies the true spiritual Church, which is the good of faith and so is spiritual good or good from the Lord with man. Thus, they could learn and understand genuine good and truth. The establishment of all Churches is from the Lord and we can see Him doing so in working in mankind continuously to bring him into a state in which he will be together with Him, a state of conjunction.
We found out that the Ancient Church was a Representative Church in that the Lord was not present with them as He was with the Most Ancient Church, but was represented in the things of their worship. And that, He was seen as having a human form. Neither did they have perception, or internal thought from the Lord in which they could know whether a thing was good and true or not. In place of perception, a man was able to develop a conscience and, thus, could be guided in what was good and truth. In this way, we saw that man could have communication with God continued and could be with man indirectly or through a medium through which His love and wisdom could be conjoined within him. We saw that this was through the science of correspondences; in this, the celestial and spiritual sense of the Word could be understood and, thus, genuine truths learned and known. We learned that this was necessary, because man had been shut off or was closed to the Lord's love and His wisdom and everything man learned was, now, only from his own self, that is, through his senses through natural sciences. In effect man, now, saw things through his self or proprium and not through his celestial and spiritual nature, which is the Lord's with a man. In the Ancient Church, we saw that man's conjunction and communication was continued with Heaven and, thus man progressed in his development, that is, into becoming an image and a likeness of the Lord. However, the Ancient Church, too, fell into falsities like the Most Ancient and their doctrine of charity became false even as the doctrine of love to the Lord had turned into a false doctrine of love of the world and self as had the Most Ancient Church's doctrine. Thus, this Ancient Church ended too in time.
This leads us to the next development and state of the Church here on earth with and in man the Israelitish and Jewish Church, the Third Church. (By the way, although we have recalled the historical facts of these two prior Churches, even using the made up histories found in the first four chapters of Genesis, we need look at these truths in their internal sense, including the history of the Israelites and Jews. However, it should be from a spiritual historical understanding and thus, seen in the spiritual historical sense not on a natural historical sense. In other word, we are looking at the Church and its existence with man in its internal or spiritual sense. Historical facts are representatives and words are significatives of spiritual and celestial things, that is, of God, Heaven and the Church.) So, what we are really speaking of here is the development of the Lord's presence with man and of his communication and conjunction. A Conjunction in which a man has life that is not profaned with evils a life that truly comes directly or immediately from God and that is not infested with falsities and evils of hell.
The premise from which I speak is that: man was with God; God is present with man in the spiritual and celestial states of man. We see that primarily in the Most Ancient Church. That presence was lost 'so as to speak' because of man's desire to rule him self. Not withstanding, we saw that it was man's progression or development into being made into an image and after the Lord's likeness that he now was to go through the various states show by the development of the four Churches come on earth before there could any genuine conjunction with God. After all man was created a vessel in which God's love and wisdom could live. He was created with a natural body and that natural was a container for the Lord, that is, for His truths and goods. It was as a cover or clothing for His Proceeding Good and Truth in which man may truly live in freedom where he chooses good and truth, that is God and life from God freely. We understand this because God Himself cannot be divided. Thus, we learned that man was made to live in Heaven and there was to enjoy and delight in God's presence. Thus, we, also, can understand that man needed to live 'as if' of him self, but acknowledge that life is the Lord's given to enjoy, but not to claim as his own.
Now, let us turn to the Church that came on earth after the Ancient Church ended. In each of these prior Churches the Lord had appeared, called, and covenanted with them. He formed them into becoming a Church so that His love or good and His truth could teach and lead man to a state where he is conjoined with the angels of Heaven. So, from the beginning and in each stage of that progression there was the development of that conjunction and the presence of the Lord with man.
We see Jehovih calling man to this morning state of the Church as it is called in Genesis 12:1-7. "Get thee out of thy land." Look to what it represents, not to the natural historical fact that a man Abram is being called to move out from his father's house and into another land. Of course, this is just natural history and tells us nothing of God, Heaven, or man's regeneration. (Therefore, we need to remember that names in the Word signify qualities and their nature. And, in a spiritual historical sense the name 'Abram' signifies a state of the man that is called to become a Church and could be the state into which you and I have come into. We learn that land in a spiritual sense means Church.) What does this mean in a historical spiritual or internal sense? When anyone reads the Third Testament he or she will see that it basically, from the 12th chapter of Genesis, in the internal sense the Lord is revealed. Nonetheless, there is in its internal, also, the Church revealed. If we see that the words signify something spiritual and other then what it means in the literal sense or natural sense, then, we see the Church being developed with and in mankind. So, when man turns away from idolatry, which is really turning from one's love of self and of worldly things, from which he has pleasure, he turns towards God. We had learned from the lecture about the Ancient Church that that Church had began worshipping the idols themselves and not what they represented, which was to be the Lord and His goods and truths. Now, being called out is being called into a spiritual life, after all, that is where the Lord God is with man and where there is a conjoining of God with man. Man's natural, or the natural man, we learn had rejected having God reign over him and as a result sin entered. It is the Lord calling man out of his exterior corporeal and worldly life, out of an evil life that we see. Their 'fathers' house refers to the state of their mind, which was of natural good, not of spiritual good, that is, they thought that what they did worshipping idols was good. This, we can understand when we know that "I will make thee a great nation" signifies the true spiritual Church, which is the good of faith and so is spiritual good or good from the Lord with man. Thus, they could learn and understand genuine good and truth. The establishment of all Churches is from the Lord and we can see Him doing so in working in mankind continuously to bring him into a state in which he will be together with Him, a state of conjunction.