Logopraxis

Doctrine of Sacred Scripture 50. V. The Doctrine of the church is to be drawn from the sense of the letter of he Word, and is to be confirmed thereby. It has been shown in the preceding chapter that the Word in the sense of the letter is in its fullness, in its holiness, and in its power; and as the Lord is the Word (for He is the all of the Word), it follows that He is most of all present in the sense of the letter, and that from it He teaches and enlightens man.

DSS 51. i. The Word cannot be understood without doctrine. This is because the Word in the sense of the letter consists exclusively of correspondences, to the end that things spiritual and celestial may be simultaneous or together therein, and that every word may be their container and support. For this reason, in some places in the sense of the letter the truths are not naked, but clothed, and are then called appearances of truth. Many truths also are accommodated to the capacity of simple folk, who do not uplift their thoughts above such things as they see before their eyes. There are also some things that appear like contradictions, although the Word when viewed in its own light contains no contradiction. And again in certain passages in the Prophets, names of persons and places are gathered together from which, in the letter, no sense can be elicited, as in those passages adduced above (n. 15). Such being the Word in the sense of the letter, it is evident that it cannot be understood without doctrine.

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6627. Exodus 1

PREFACE

Prefatory to the chapters of the Book of Exodus are to be Doctrinal things; first, Doctrinal things of Charity; afterward, Doctrinal things of Faith; in order that what has been delivered in the Explications in a scattered form may be set forth in a connected one; and that in this way the Doctrine may appear in its order, such as is and ought to be the Doctrine of the church that it may agree with the good and truth in heaven.

6628. In the preceding Explications it has been shown, as occasion offered, that the Doctrine of Charity was the doctrine in the Ancient Churches, and that this doctrine conjoined all the churches, and so made one out of many; for they acknowledged as men of the church all who lived in the good of charity, and called them brethren, however greatly they might be at variance in the truths which at this day are called the truths of faith. In these one instructed another, and this was among their works of charity; nor were they indignant if one did not accede to the opinion of another, knowing that everyone receives truth in proportion as he is in good.

6629. Such being the character of the Ancient Churches, they were more interior men, and being more interior they were more wise; for those who are in the good of love and of charity are as to the internal man in heaven, and in an angelic society there which is in like good. From this they have an elevation of mind to interior things, and consequently to the things of wisdom; for wisdom can come from no other source than heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord; and in heaven there is wisdom, because there they are in good.

6630. But in course of time this ancient wisdom decreased; for insofar as the human race removed itself from the good of love to the Lord and of charity toward the neighbor, so far it also removed itself from wisdom, because so far it removed itself from heaven. From this it is that man from internal became external, and this successively.

6631. And when man became external, he also became worldly and corporeal; and when he is of this character he no longer cares for the things of heaven; for they have been so far removed as not to be believed to exist; because the delights of earthly loves, and with these all evils which from these loves are delightful to him, then take complete possession of the whole man; and then all that he hears about the life after death, about heaven, and about hell, is like chaff in the wind, which flies away as fast as it is seen.

6632. From this also it is that the Doctrine of Charity, which was so precious among the ancients, is at this day one of the lost things; for who at this day knows what in the genuine sense charity is, and what in the genuine sense the neighbor is? when yet this doctrine abounds in arcana so many and so great that it cannot be described as to a thousandth part. The whole Sacred Scripture is nothing else than the doctrine of love and of charity, as the Lord also teaches, saying, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God from all thy heart, and in all thy soul, and in all thy mind; this is the first and great commandment: the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; on these two commandments hang the law and the prophets (Matt. 22:37-40). The law and the prophets are the Word in all and each of its parts.

6633. As the doctrine of charity is at this day one of the lost things, and as the doctrine of faith is consequently much alienated from the truth, this doctrine may of the Lord's Divine mercy be delivered before the several chapters of the Book of Exodus, and thus be restored to the church.

EXODUS 1

1. And these are the names of the sons of Israel that came into Egypt with Jacob; a man and his house they came.

2. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

3. Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

4. Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

5. And all the souls that came out of the thigh of Jacob were seventy souls: and Joseph was in Egypt.

6. And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

7. And the sons of Israel were fruitful, and were productive, and multiplied, and become very exceeding numerous; and the land was filled with them.

8. And there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.

9. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are many and numerous more than we.

10. Come, let us use prudence with it,* peradventure it will be multiplied, and it will be that wars will happen, and it will also join itself to our enemies, and fight against us, and go up out of the land.

11. And they set over it princes of tributes, in order to afflict it with burdens. And it built cities of storehouses for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses.

12. And as they afflicted it, so it was multiplied, and so it was increased. And they were moved with loathing because of the sons of Israel.

13. And the Egyptians made the sons of Israel to serve with cruelty:

14. And they rendered their life bitter with grievous service, in clay, and in bricks, and in all service in the field, with all their service wherein they made them serve with cruelty.

15. And the king of Egypt said to the midwives of the Hebrew women, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah;

16. And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him; and if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

17. And the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt spoke to them, and they kept the boys alive.

18. And the king of Egypt called the midwives, and said to them, Wherefore do ye this word, and keep the boys alive?

19. And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are living, and have brought forth before the midwife comes unto them.

20. And God did well to the midwives; and the people was multiplied and became very numerous.

21. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that He made them houses.

22. And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, Every son that is born, ye shall cast him forth into the river, and every daughter ye shall keep alive.

* The singular number is here used in both the Hebrew and the Latin. The same peculiar form is found also in the English Bible (Gen. 11:6),Behold the people is one.

6634. THE CONTENTS.

In the first chapter, in the internal sense, the subject treated of is the state of the renewed church, when good acts the first part, and is made fruitful by the multiplication of the truths of faith.

6635. Afterward the infestation of these truths by falsities and evils in the natural is treated of, and that through this infestation the good would be made still more fruitful by means of truths. Down to the end the chapter continues to treat of this infestation and its increase in the series in which it takes place, and of the consequent implantation and confirmation of truth from good.

6636. The Internal Sense.

Verses 1-5. And these are the names of the sons of Israel that came into Egypt with Jacob; a man and his house they came. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. And all the souls that came out of the thigh of Jacob were seventy souls: and Joseph was in Egypt. And these are the names of the sons of Israel, signifies the quality of the church; that came into Egypt with Jacob, signifies after truths had been initiated into memory-knowledges; a man and his house they came, signifies as to truth and as to good; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher, signify this process from beginning to end; and all the souls that came out of the thigh of Jacob, signifies all things that were from general truth; were seventy souls, signifies what is full; and Joseph was in Egypt, signifies that the internal celestial was in the natural.

6637. And these are the names of the sons of Israel. That this signifies the quality of the church, is evident from the signification of name, as being the quality (see n. 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2628, 2724, 3006, 3421); from the representation of the sons of Israel, as being spiritual truths (n. 5414, 5879, 5951); and from the representation of Israel, as being the good of truth, or spiritual good (n. 3654, 4598, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833). As Israel represents the good of truth, or spiritual good, and his sons spiritual truths in the natural, therefore the sons of Israel represent the church; for the church is the church from spiritual good and from the derivative truths. He who is not in spiritual good, that is, in the good of charity, and in spiritual truths, that is, in the truths of faith, is not of the church, in spite of his having been born within it. For the whole heavenly kingdom of the Lord is in the good of love and of faith; and unless the church is in the like, it cannot be the church, because it is not conjoined with heaven, for the church is the Lord's kingdom on earth.

[2] Its being called the church is not from the fact that the Word is there, and that there are doctrinal things therefrom, nor from the fact that the Lord is known there, and that the sacraments are there; but it is the church from the fact that men live according to the Word, or according to doctrine from the Word, and so that the doctrine is the rule of life. They who are not of this character are not of the church, but are outside of it; and they who live in evil, thus they who live contrary to doctrine, are further outside the church than the Gentiles who know nothing whatever of the Word, of the Lord, and of the sacraments; for the former, because they know the goods and truths of the Church, extinguish the church in themselves, which the Gentiles cannot do, because they do not know them....

The Natural Sense is the Container

Doctrine of Sacred Scripture 28... every Divine work is complete and perfect in its last; and also that the whole is in the last, which is a trine, because the prior things are simultaneously therein.

27. III. The sense of the Letter of the Word is the basis, the containant and the support of the spiritual and celestial senses.In every Divine work there is a first, a middle and a last; the first passes through the middle to the last, and so exists and subsists; consequently, the last is the basis. Again, the first is in the middle, and by means of the middle in the last, and thus the last is the containant; and because the last is the containant and the basis, it is also the support.

The Three Senses

37 ...The Word, in its sense of the Letter, is in its fulness, its sanctity, and its power, because the two prior or interior senses, called the spiritual and the celestial, are simultaneously in the natural sense, which is the sense of the Letter

31... there are three senses in the Word; also, that the celestial sense is its first sense, the spiritual its middle sense, and the natural its last or lowest sense. Hence, the rational man may conclude that the first of the Word or the celestial, passes through its middle or the spiritual, to its last or the natural; and that thus its last is the basis. Also, that its first or the celestial is in its middle or the spiritual, and by means of this is in its last or the natural; and consequently that its last or the natural, which is the sense of the Letter of the Word, is the containant; and because it is the containant and the basis, it is also the support.

32...the Word, which is an essentially Divine Work designed for the salvation of the human race, as to its lowest or natural sense, called the sense of the Letter, is the basis, the containant and the support of the two interior senses.

Like a palace without a foundation (or temple, tabernacle, human body, heart lungs without ...)

33. From this it follows that the Word without the sense of its Letter would be like a palace without a foundation, a palace in the air instead of on the ground, a mere shadow which would vanish away. Again, it would be like a temple, containing many sacred things, whose central shrine had no protecting roof or dividing wall, which are its containants. If these were wanting, or were taken away, its holy things would be carried off by robbers, and violated by the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air, and thus destroyed. It would be like the tabernacle (in the inmost of which was the Ark of the Covenant, and in the centre the golden lampstand, the golden altar upon which was the incense, and the table upon which was the shewbread, which were its holy things) without its outermost things, namely, the curtains and the veils. Indeed, the Word without the sense of its Letter would be like the human body without its coverings, called skins, and without the support of its bones: without these all the inward parts would fall asunder. It would also be like the heart and lungs in the thorax without their covering, called the pleura, and their supports, called the ribs; and like the brain without its covering, called the dura mater, and without its general covering, containant, and support called the skull. Thus would it be with the Word without the sense of its Letter. Therefore, it is said in Isaiah that Jehovah will create upon all the glory a covering. Isaiah 4:5.

Unveiled or naked goods and truths

40. The truths of the sense of the Letter of the Word are, in some cases, not naked truths, but appearances of truth, being, as it were, similitudes and comparisons taken from such things as are in nature, accommodated and adequate to the apprehension of simple people and children; but because they are correspondences, they are the receptacles and abodes of genuine truth. They are like vessels which enclose and contain, as a crystal cup holds noble wine, or a silver dish nourishing food. They are like garments which serve as clothing, like swaddling clothes for an infant, and comely robes for a maiden. They are also like the knowledge of the natural man, which comprises the perceptions and affections of truth of the spiritual man. The truths themselves unveiled, which are included, contained, clothed and comprised, are in the spiritual sense of the Word, and goods unveiled are in its celestial sense.

The basis for which enlightenment is possible

41...those who believe that the Word is of this nature by virtue of its spiritual and celestial senses, see Divine truths in natural light, while they read the Word in a state of enlightenment from the Lord. For the light of heaven, in which is the spiritual sense of the Word, flows into the natural light in which is the sense of the Letter of the Word, and enlightens man's intellectual faculty, called the rational, enabling him to see and acknowledge Divine truths, both when they are manifest and when they are concealed.

42. Our Word in its inmost depths is from its celestial sense like a gentle flame which burns, and in its middle recesses is from its spiritual sense like a light which illumines; consequently the Word in its ultimate form from its natural sense, within which are the two interior senses, is like a ruby and a diamond; from its celestial flame like a ruby, and from its spiritual light like a diamond. Since this is the nature of the Word in the sense of the Letter from its transparency, therefore, the Word in this sense is meant by the following:

(1) The foundations of the wall of Jerusalem.

(2) The Urim and Thummim on Aaron's ephod.

(3) The Garden of Eden, in which the king of Tyre had been.

(4) Also the curtains and veils of the Tabernacle.

(5) And the external things of the Temple at Jerusalem.

(6) But in its glory, the Lord when He was transfigured.

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How the simuteanous is formed from the successive

Doctrine of Sacred Scripture 38(2) ... the simultaneous is formed from the successive; and this is so in all things both in the natural and in the spiritual world, in general and in particular. For everywhere there is a first, a middle and a last, the first passing through the middle and proceeding to the last.

Apply this now to the Word. The celestial, the spiritual and the natural proceed from the Lord in successive order, and in the ultimate or last form they are in simultaneous order; thus, then, the celestial and the spiritual senses of the Word are simultaneously in its natural sense. When this is understood it may be seen how the natural sense of the word, which is the sense of the Letter, is the basis, the containant and the support of its spiritual and celestial senses; and also how the Divine Good and the Divine Truth are, in the sense of the Letter of the Word, in their fulness, their sanctity and their power.

28... in everything that is complete there is a trine, called the first, the middle and the last; also, the end, the cause and the effect; and also being (esse) becoming, (fieri), and existing (existere). When one understands these things then also does one understand that every Divine work is complete and perfect in its last; and also that the whole is in the last, which is a trine, because the prior things are simultaneously therein.

38. In heaven and in the world there are two kinds of order, a successive and a simultaneous order; in successive order one thing succeeds and follows after another, from the highest to the lowest; but in simultaneous order one thing exists side by side with another, from what is inmost to what is outmost. Successive order is like a column with steps from highest to lowest; while simultaneous order is like a work coherent in concentric circles from the centre even to the last surface. We will now state how successive order becomes in the ultimate or last form simultaneous order. It becomes so in this manner. The highest things of successive order become the inmost of simultaneous order, and the lowest things of successive order become the outmost of simultaneous order, just as if a column of steps were to sink down and form a coherent body in a plane.

39. From this it may be evident that the Word is the Word itself in its sense of the Letter, for within this there reside spirit and life; the spiritual sense is its spirit, and the celestial sense is its life. This is meant by what the Lord says: The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63. The Lord spoke His words before the world, and in the natural sense. The spiritual and celestial senses are not the Word, without the natural sense, which is the sense of the Letter; for they are like spirit and life without a body; and they are, as has been said above in No. 33, like a palace which has no foundation.

More on the importance of the foundation as it applies to the life of the mind

Heaven and Hell 528... to receive the life of heaven a man must needs live in the world and engage in the duties and employments there, and by means of a moral and civil life receive the spiritual life. In no other way can the spiritual life be formed with man, or his spirit prepared for heaven; for to live an internal life and not at the same time an external life is like dwelling in a house that has no foundation, that gradually sinks or becomes cracked and rent asunder, or totters till it falls.

Arcana Coelestia 6487... This was illustrated by the case of houses which are to be built, in that the bricks, mortar, sand, stones serving for foundations and columns, also timbers and beams, and the like, are brought together not in that order in which the house is to be constructed, but at pleasure; and that the Lord alone knows what kind of a house may be built with these materials. All the things which are from the Lord are most essential; but they do not follow in order from necessity, but in a manner that is applicable to the freedom of man.

6486...the Lord’s Providence is in the veriest singulars of all things, but not according to such an order as man proposes to himself, because things to come are both foreseen and provided; and that the case is like that of a person building a palace, who first collects materials of every kind, and lays them together in heaps, where they lie without order, while the kind of palace to be formed from them exists solely in the understanding of the architect.

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

Arcana Coelestia 6497. GENESIS 50

1. And Joseph fell upon the faces of his father, and wept upon him, and kissed him.

2. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Israel.

3. And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of the embalmed; and the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.

4. And the days of weeping for him passed away, and Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If I pray I have found grace in your eyes, speak I pray in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,

5. My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my sepulcher which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. And now I pray let me go up, and bury my father, and I will return.

6. And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.

The Contents: After treating of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by whom in the supreme sense is represented the Lord, this last chapter of Genesis in the internal sense treats of the church-that after the celestial church had perished, a spiritual church was instituted by the Lord. The beginning and progress of this church are described in the internal sense, and at the close of the chapter, its end; and that in its stead the mere representative of a church was instituted among the descendants of Jacob.

 

The source of the sorrow

6500. And wept upon him. That this signifies sorrow, is evident without explication. By the sorrow here signified by “weeping” is not meant in the internal sense sorrow for death as it is in the external, but for the good of the spiritual church, that it cannot be elevated above what is natural; for the Lord flowing in through the internal continually wills to perfect this good, and to draw it toward Himself, but still it cannot be elevated to the first degree of the good that belongs to the celestial church. For the man of the spiritual church is comparatively in obscurity, and reasons about truths as to whether they are truths, or confirms what is called doctrine, and this without perception whether what he confirms is true or not; and when he has confirmed it with himself, he fully believes that it is true, even though it is false; for there is nothing that cannot be confirmed, this being the work of ingenuity, not of intelligence, still less of wisdom; and what is false may be confirmed more readily than what is true, because it favors the cupidities, and agrees with the fallacies of the senses. Such being the nature of the man of the spiritual church, he cannot possibly be elevated above what is natural; and this is the source of the sorrow which is signified by “Joseph wept upon him.”

 

The pain of revolution

6507. And the Egyptians wept for him. That this signifies the sadness of the memory-knowledges of the church, is evident from the signification of “weeping,” as being the height of sadness, and a representative of internal mourning (see n. 3801, 4786); and from the representation of the Egyptians, as being the memory-knowledges of the church (n. 4749, 4964, 4966). The sadness of the memory-knowledges of the church, which is signified by the “Egyptians weeping for Israel,” does not mean sadness on account of his death, for this is the sense of the letter; but their sadness here means sadness because the good of the church, which is represented by Israel, had left the memory-knowledges, which are the externals of the church, when it ascended from them to the internal of the church, which is the good of truth; for in this case it no longer regards memory-knowledges as being with itself, as before, but beneath itself. For when the truth of the spiritual church becomes good, a revolution takes place, and the man no longer looks at truths from truths, but from good, which revolution has already been several times described. From this comes the sadness, and it also comes from the fact that a different order is effected among the memory-knowledges, which is not effected without pain.

 

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6598. Continuation about influx, and about the interaction of the soul and the body.

It is known that one man excels another in the capacity to understand and perceive what is honorable in moral life, what is just in civil life, and what is good in spiritual life. The cause of this consists in the elevation of the thought to the things that pertain to heaven, whereby the thought is withdrawn from the external things of sense; for they who think solely from things of sense cannot see one whit of what is honorable, just, and good, and therefore they trust to others and speak much from the memory, and thereby appear to themselves wiser than others. But they who are able to think above the things of sense, provided the things in the memory have been set in order, possess a greater capacity than others to understand and perceive, and this according to the degree in which they view things from what is interior.

6599. How the case is with those who think in the sensuous degree, and with those who think above this, and also what is the nature of the influx into the latter and into the former, I may state from experience. But first be it known that the thought of man is divided into ideas, and that one idea follows another, as one word follows another in speech. Yet the ideas of thought succeed each other so quickly that while he is in the body a man's thought appears to him as if it were continuous, and thus as if there were no division. But in the other life it is self-evident that the thought is divided into ideas; for speech is then effected by means of ideas (see n. 2470, 2478, 2479). It is now necessary to say how the case is with thought and its ideas, namely, that the thought diffuses itself into the societies of spirits and of angels round about, and that the capacity to understand and perceive is according to the extension into these societies, that is, according to the influx from them; and in the next place that there are countless things in one idea of thought, and still more in one thought composed of ideas.

6600. I have been clearly shown that man's thought, and also that of spirits and of angels, pours itself around into many societies in the spiritual world, but the thought of one person in a different way from the thought of another. In order that I might know this for certain, I have been allowed to speak with some societies to which my thought had penetrated, and from this I was given to know what flowed into the thought, from what society it came, and also where and of what quality the society was, so that I could not be mistaken. The capacity of understanding and perceiving in man, spirit, and angel is in accordance with the extension of his thoughts and affections into the societies.

[2] He who is in the good of charity and of faith has extension into the societies of heaven, ample according to the degree in which he is in them, and in which he is in genuine good; for these things are in agreement with heaven, and therefore flow in there spontaneously and widely. Yet there are some societies into which the affection of truth, and others into which the affection of good, penetrates. The affection of truth penetrates to the societies of the spiritual angels, but the affection of good to the societies of the celestial angels. But on the other hand the thought and affection of those who are in evil and falsity have extension into infernal societies, and this also according to the degree of evil and falsity with them.

[3] It is said that the thought and affection of man, spirit, and angel pour themselves around into the societies, and that from this come the understanding and perception; but be it known that it is so said according to the appearance, for there is no influx of the thoughts and affections into the societies; but from the societies, and this through the angels and spirits with the man. For as has been shown at the end of preceding chapters, all influx comes from what is more interior; thus with the good from heaven (that is, through heaven from the Lord), and with the evil from hell.

6601. One morning it was plainly shown that there are countless things in every idea and little affection, and also that these ideas and affections penetrate into societies. I was kept for some time in a certain affection and consequent thought, and it was then shown how many societies concurred. There were five societies that plainly showed themselves by living discourse. They told what they were thinking, and also that they had noticed that the same thoughts were in me; and they said in addition that they knew things I paid no attention to, namely, the causes of the things being thought of, and also the ends of these. The rest of the societies (which were many) to which my thought was extended, were not so plainly shown; and were also more remote. The extension of the thought from the objects which are the things being thought of, is circumstanced as are the objects of sight. From these a sphere of rays diffuses itself to a considerable distance, which falls into a man's sight, and this to a greater or less distance according to the brightness and flaming in the object; for if the object is flaming, it is seen at a much greater distance than if it is cloudy and dusky. It is the same with the internal sight (which is that of the thought) from its objects. The objects of this sight are not material, like objects in this world; but they are spiritual, and therefore they diffuse themselves to such things as are in the spiritual world, thus to truths and goods there, consequently to the societies which are in these truths and goods; and just as a flaming object in this world shines around far and wide, so does good and its affection in the spiritual world; for flame corresponds to the affection of good. From all this it can be seen that the quality of a man's life is altogether according to the societies into which his thought and affection extend themselves, and according to the quality and amount of this extension.

6602. That the spheres of the thoughts and affections extend themselves round about into the spheres of societies which are far from the spot, was made evident to me also from the fact that while I was thinking from affection about such things as had a certain specific action on a distant society, the people in it spoke with me on the same subject, telling what they felt. This has been done repeatedly. One society was at the right, at a considerable distance, in the plane of the lower part of the chest; and another also was at the right, but nearer, in the plane of the knees. Distance is perceived from the state of the affection of truth and good. Insofar as the state of one society differs from the state of another, so far the societies appear to be remote from each other.

6603. But be it known that the thoughts and affections which penetrate into societies do not in a specific manner move the societies to think and will as does the man, spirit, or angel, from whom the thoughts and affections go forth; but they enter into the universal sphere of the affection and consequent thought of these societies. Consequently the societies know nothing about the matter; for the spiritual sphere in which all societies are, is varied with each society; and when the thoughts and affections enter into this sphere, the societies are not affected. All thoughts and affections enter into the spheres of the societies with which they are in agreement. Hence it is that there exist extensions in every direction in freedom, like the extension of rays from objects in this world, which freely penetrate all around to the sight of everyone who stands there, with variety according to the clearness and the dullness of the sight, and also according to the serenity or obscurity of the atmosphere. In the spiritual world the affection of knowing truth and good corresponds to the serenity of the atmosphere.

6604. There has occasionally appeared to me an angel, whose face, very plainly seen, was continually varied according to affections, as these succeeded one another with him in order, thus from one limit to the other-the universal ruling affection still remaining, by which it could be known that it was the same angel. And I was instructed that the changes of his face came from the societies with which he had communication, and that they came forth in accordance with the variations of the communication, as this was nearer with one society than with another, and so on in succession. For the extension of the affections and thoughts has its limits, and in the last societies vanishes, and passes away as does the sight into the universe. Within the limits of this general sphere the thoughts and affections can be varied, and may now be nearer to one society, and now to another. When they are in the midst of one, then the rest of the societies are to that one in the circumference; and so on with all variations in these limits.

6605. It is worthy of note, that as the universal heaven bears relation to a man, who from this is called the Grand Man (as shown at the end of many chapters), so each society in like manner bears relation to a man; for the image of the universal heaven flows into the societies, and causes them to be like it; and not only into the societies, but also into the individuals in the society, whence each individual has a human form; for everyone in an angelic society is a heaven in least form. The varieties of their human form are in accordance with the quality of good and of truth with them. Hence it is that every spirit and angel appears in a form wholly in accordance with the communication of his thoughts and affections with the societies. Hence the more they are in good and truth, so are they in a more beautiful form. But if the communication of the thoughts and affections has been diffused into societies not according to heavenly order,...

He rules as order in all things

Arcana Coelestia 6469. I have also been allowed through influx to experience the sweetness of the angels, which is the feeling they gain from thinking and willing not from themselves but from the Lord - a feeling which brings them tranquillity, peace, and happiness.

6473. That the Lord rules the last things of man equally as his first, can be seen from the fact that the order from the Lord is successive from first things to last, and in the order itself there is nothing but what is Divine; and this being so, the presence of the Lord must needs be in the last things equally as in the first, for the one follows from the other according to the tenor of order.

 

What is induced

6467... For there is one only life, namely, that of the Lord, which flows into all, but is variously received, and this according to the quality which a man has induced on his soul by his life in the world ... while a man lives in this world he induces on the purest substances that belong to his interior a quality, according to which the Lord’s life is received. Be it known that the life from the Lord is the life of love toward the universal human race.

 

The embryo and house

6491. That the Lord’s Providence is infinite, and regards what is eternal, may be seen from the formation of embryos in the womb, where lineaments are continually projected toward those which are to come, so that one lineament is always a plane for another, and this without any error, until the embryo is formed; and after it has been born, one thing is prepared successively toward another and for another, in order that a perfect man may come forth, and at last such a man as to be capable of receiving heaven. If all the details are thus provided during man’s conception, birth, and growth, how much more must this be the case with regard to the spiritual life.

6486... the Lord’s Providence is in the veriest singulars of all things, but not according to such an order as man proposes to himself, because things to come are both foreseen and provided; and that the case is like that of a person building a palace, who first collects materials of every kind, and lays them together in heaps, where they lie without order, while the kind of palace to be formed from them exists solely in the understanding of the architect.

6487... the bricks, mortar, sand, stones serving for foundations and columns, also timbers and beams, and the like, are brought together not in that order in which the house is to be constructed, but at pleasure; and that the Lord alone knows what kind of a house may be built with these materials. All the things which are from the Lord are most essential; but they do not follow in order from necessity, but in a manner that is applicable to the freedom of man.

 

Whatever love reigns will determine what is received and experienced

6479. Spirits not so well disposed, who were for some time with me, continually injected doubts from the fallacies of the senses against the possibility of all things flowing from one fountain, and thus from the Lord. But they were told that so many doubts cannot be removed within a short time, on account of the fallacies of the senses, which must first be dispelled, and on account of the numberless unknown things which must first be known; nay, that with those who are in what is negative, that is, those with whom what is negative universally reigns, doubts cannot possibly be removed; for with them one scruple has more weight than a thousand confirmations. For one scruple is like a grain of sand placed close before the pupil of the eye, which, although single and small, yet takes away all the sight. But they who are in what is affirmative, that is, those with whom what is affirmative universally reigns, reject the scruples from fallacies which are contrary to truths, and if there are any things which they do not apprehend, these they cast to the sides, and say that they do not as yet understand them, and nevertheless they remain in the belief of the truth. But the above-mentioned spirits attended little to these things, because they were in what is negative.

 

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

Doctrine of Sacred Scripture 9. 2. No one can see what these things signify except from the spiritual sense of the Word, and no one can see the spiritual sense except from a knowledge of correspondences; for all the words are correspondences and not one word is without meaning.

Arcana Coelestia 10325. The books of the Word are all those which have an internal sense; and those which have not an internal sense are not the Word. The books of the Word in the Old Testament are the five books of Moses, the book of Joshua, the book of Judges, the two books of Samuel, the two books of Kings, the Psalms of David, the Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; and in the New Testament the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; and Revelation.

The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine 1. THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH, AND WHAT IS MEANT BY THE NEW JERUSALEM. It is stated in Revelation 21:1-2, 12-24), I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride before her husband. The city had a wall, great and high; having twelve gates, and over the gates twelve angels; and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, in which were the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. The city itself lay four-square, and the length thereof was as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs; and the length and the breadth and the height thereof were equal. And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, the measure of a man, which is that of an angel. The wall thereof was of jasper; the city itself, however, was pure gold, like unto pure glass; and the foundations of the wall of the city were of every precious stone. The twelve gates were twelve pearls. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb was the lamp thereof. The nations that were saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and their honour into it.

The man who reads these words, understands them only according to their literal sense; namely, that the visible Heaven with the Earth will perish, and a new heaven take its rise; and that the holy city Jerusalem will come down upon the new earth, and that it will be according to its measures, as described. But the angels understand these words altogether differently; namely, each word which the man understands naturally they understand spiritually; and as the angels understand them, such is their signification and this is the internal, that is, the spiritual sense of the Word.

By the new heaven and the new earth in the internal or spiritual sense in which are the angels, is understood a new Church, in the heavens, as well as on earth: the Church, in either world, will be discussed below.

By the city Jerusalem which comes down from God out of heaven is meant the heavenly doctrine of that Church; by the length, breadth, and height, which are equal, are meant all the goods and truths of that doctrine in the aggregate; by its wall, the truths protecting it; by the measure of the wall, which is a hundred forty and four cubits, and which is the measure of a man, which is that of an angel, are meant all those protecting truths in the aggregate, and their quality.

By the twelve gates which are of pearls are meant the introductory truths; and the same is signified by the twelve angels on the gates; by the foundations of the wall, which are of every precious stone, are meant the knowledges of which that doctrine is founded.

By the twelve tribes of Israel are meant all the things of the Church in general and in particular and the same meant by the twelve Apostles.

By gold like unto pure glass, of which are the city and the street, is meant the good of love, from which doctrine with its truths is translucent.

By the nations that are saved, and the kings of the earth who shall bring glory and honour into the city, are meant all those belonging to the Church who are in goods and truths.

By God and the Lamb is meant the Lord in respect to the very Divine and the Divine Human.

Such is the spiritual sense of the Word, to which the natural sense, which is that of the letter, serves as a basis; but still these two senses, the spiritual and the natural, make one through correspondences.

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

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589. THE EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL.

For any thing to have existence there must be an equilibrium of all things. Without equilibrium is no action and reaction; for equilibrium is between two forces, one acting and the other reacting, and the state of rest resulting from like action and reaction is called equilibrium. In the natural world there is an equilibrium in all things and in each thing. It exists in a general way even in the atmosphere, wherein the lower parts react and resist in proportion as the higher parts act and press down. Again, in the natural world there is an equilibrium between heat and cold, between light and shade, and between dryness and moisture, the middle condition being the equilibrium. There is also an equilibrium in all the subjects of the three kingdoms of nature, the mineral, the vegetable, and the animal; for without equilibrium in them nothing can come forth and have permanent existence. Everywhere there is a sort of effort acting on the one side and reacting on the other. [2] All existence or all effect is produced in equilibrium, that is, by one force acting and another suffering itself to be acted upon, or when one force by acting flows in, the other receives and harmoniously submits. In the natural world that which acts and reacts is called force, and also endeavor [or effort]; but in the spiritual world that which acts and reacts is called life and will. Life in that world is living force, and will is living effort; and the equilibrium itself is called freedom. Thus spiritual equilibrium or freedom has its outcome and permanence in the balance between good acting on the one side and evil reacting on the other side; or between evil acting on the one side and good reacting on the other side. [3] With the good the equilibrium is between good acting and evil reacting; but with the evil the equilibrium is between evil acting and good reacting. Spiritual equilibrium is between good and evil, because the whole life of man has reference to good and to evil, and the will is the receptacle. There is also an equilibrium between truth and falsity, but this depends on the equilibrium between good and evil. The equilibrium between truth and falsity is like that between light and shade, in that light and shade affect the objects of the vegetable kingdom only so far as heat and cold are in them. That light and shade themselves have no effect, but only the heat that acts through them, is evident from the fact that light and shade are the same in winter time and in spring time. This comparison of truth and falsity with light and shade is from correspondence, for truth corresponds to light, falsity to shade, and heat to the good of love; in fact, spiritual light is truth, spiritual shade is falsity, and spiritual heat is good of love (see the chapter where light and heat in heaven are treated of, n. 126-140).

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590. There is a perpetual equilibrium between heaven and hell. From hell there continually breathes forth and ascends an endeavor to do evil, and from heaven there continually breathes forth and descends an endeavor to do good. In this equilibrium is the world of spirits; which world is intermediate between heaven and hell (see above, n. 421-431). The world of spirits is in this equilibrium because every man after death enters first the world of spirits, and is kept there in a state like that which he was in while in the world, and this would be impossible if there were not a perfect equilibrium there; for by means of this the character of everyone is explored, since they then remain in the same freedom as they had in the world. Spiritual equilibrium is freedom in man and spirit (as has been said just above, n. 589). What each one's freedom is the angels recognize by a communication of affections and thoughts therefrom; and it becomes visible to the sight of angelic spirits by the ways in which the spirits go. Good spirits there travel in the ways that go towards heaven, but evil spirits in the ways that go towards hell. Ways actually appear in that world; and that is the reason why ways in the Word signify the truths that lead to good, or in the opposite sense the falsities that lead to evil; and for the same reason going, walking, and journeying in the Word signify progressions of life.[1] Such ways I have often been permitted to see, also spirits going and walking in them freely, in accord with their affections and thoughts.

[1] In the word to journey, as well as to go, signifies progression of life (see numbers 3335, 4375, 4554, 4585, 4882, 5493, 5605, 5996, 8181, 8345, 8397, 8417, 8420, 8557).

To go (and to walk) with the Lord means to receive spiritual life, and to live with Him (see number 10567).

To walk means to live (see numbers 519, 1794, 8417, 8420).

591. Evil continually breathes forth and ascends out of hell, and good continually breathes forth and descends out of heaven, because everyone is encompassed by a spiritual sphere; and that sphere flows forth and pours out from the life of the affections and the thoughts therefrom.[1] And as such a sphere flows forth from every individual, it flows forth also from every heavenly society and from every infernal society, consequently from all together, that is, from the entire heaven and from the entire hell. Good flows forth from heaven because all there are in good; and evil flows forth from hell because all there are in evil. The good that is from heaven is all from the Lord; for the angels in the heavens are all withheld from what is their own, and are kept in what is the Lord's own, which is good itself. But the spirits in the hells are all in what is their own, and everyone's own is nothing but evil; and because it is nothing but evil it is hell.[2] Evidently, then, the equilibrium in which angels are kept in the heavens and spirits in the hells is not like the equilibrium in the world of spirits. The equilibrium of angels in the heavens exists in the degree in which they have been willing to be in good, or in the degree in which they have lived in good in the world, and thus also in the degree in which they have held evil in aversion; but the equilibrium of spirits in hell exists in the degree in which they have been willing to be in evil, or have lived in evil in the world, and thus in heart and spirit have been opposed to good.

[1] A spiritual sphere, which is a sphere of life, flows forth and pours forth from every man, spirit, and angel, and encompasses him (see numbers 4464, 5179, 7454, 8630).

It flows forth from the life of their affections and thoughts (see numbers 2489, 4464, 6206). The quality of spirits is recognized at a distance from their spheres (see numbers 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504).

Spheres from the evil are the opposites of spheres from the good (see numbers 1695, 10187, 10312).

Such spheres extend far into angelic societies in accordance with the quality and quantity of good (numbers 6598-6613, 8063, 8794, 8797).

And into infernal societies in accordance with the quality and quantity of evil (see number 8794).

[2] Man's self is nothing but evil (see numbers 210, 215, 731, 874-876, 987, 1047, 2307, 2308, 3518, 3701, 3812, 8480, 8550, 10283, 10284, 10286, 10732).

Man's self is hell in him (see numbers 684, 8480).

592. Unless the Lord ruled both the heavens and the hells there would be no equilibrium; and if there were no equilibrium there would be no heaven or hell; for all things and each thing in the universe, that is, both in the natural world and in the spiritual world, endure by means of equilibrium. Every rational man can see that this is true. If there were a preponderance on one part and no resistance on the other would not both perish? So would it be in the spiritual world if good did not react against evil and continually restrain its uprising; and unless this were done by the Divine Itself both heaven and hell would perish, and with them the whole human race. It is said unless the Divine Itself did this, because the self of everyone, whether angel, spirit, or man, is nothing but evil (see above, number 591); consequently neither angels nor spirits are able in the least to resist the evils continually exhaling from the hells, since from self they all tend towards hell. It is evident, then, that unless the Lord alone ruled both the heavens and the hells no one could ever be saved. Moreover, all the hells act as one; for evils in the hells are connected as goods are in the heavens; and the Divine alone, which goes forth solely from the Lord, is able to resist all the hells, which are innumerable, and which act together against heaven and against all who are in heaven.

593. The equilibrium between the heavens and the hells is diminished or increased in accordance with the number of those who enter heaven and who enter hell; and this amounts to several thousands daily. The Lord alone, and no angel, can know and perceive this, and regulate and equalize it with precision; for the Divine that goes forth from the Lord is omnipresent, and sees everywhere whether there is any wavering, while an angel sees only what is near himself, and has no perception in himself of what is taking place even in his own society.

594. How all things are so arranged in the heavens and in the hells that each and all of those who are there may be in their equilibrium, can in some measure be seen from what has been said and shown above respecting the heavens and the hells, namely, that all the societies of heaven are distinctly arranged in accordance with goods and their kinds and varieties, and all the societies of hell in accordance with evils, and their kinds and varieties; and that beneath each society of heaven there is a society of hell corresponding to it from opposition, and from this opposing correspondence equilibrium results; and in consequence of this the Lord unceasingly provides that no infernal society beneath a heavenly societ

From the Logopraxis Workbook

The Life Group as a Human Form or Collective Person

The human form is the Divine form, and is that which comes into being as the only possible expression of the Lord’s life within those He is creating. This means that on the largest or smallest scale of creation all is organised or strives towards a more complete and thereby perfect, human form.

In Heaven and Hell 73 it’s explained that

“Heaven in its whole complex resembles one man, as does any one society in heaven. From the sequence of reasons there set forth, it follows that this is equally true of each angel. As heaven is man in the greatest form, and a society of heaven in a less form, so is an angel in the least form. For, in the most perfect form such as that of heaven is, there is a likeness of the whole in the part and of the part in the whole”

Although we can relate to being supported by the Text at the level of our personal work, the idea that we are part of a collective human being that takes form as we meet together can be rather abstract, and difficult to grasp. The descriptions of heaven as a Grand Human composed of countless societies, with each society being a fully functioning human form composed of individual angels, provides an illustration of how the group can be, and of our function and use in it. This requires a perceptual shift where our sense of person expands from being limited to a single individual to incorporate many individuals functioning as one, in support of a common use. Expanding our sense of what actually constitutes a human being is important to contemplate and asks where our sense of self sits in relation to that.

Logopraxis group life is concerned to provide an environment that leads us towards an ever-deepening sense of the Lord in our collective midst, as the Word. The more conscious we are of working - not only for ourselves, but for others in the group, and for the group as a whole - the deeper will become our sense of spiritual community; and the spiritual literacy skills and methods discussed throughout the Workbook are very much part of this shift in environment.

The Lord is looking to be present in our midst, and He is present when the things of the Word are made the basis for our being together. The collective human that forms when a Life Group meets together is brought into being as we share our direct experience of the Word working in our lives; forming a sacred space where the Word can be known as the Lord.

“By the Lord’s name is meant the Word, for the Lord is the Word” (Arcana Coelestia 5502; John 1:1)

In the very act of meeting, what we bring from our experience of the Word’s operation in our life becomes a live conjoining presence, creating connections:

Between individuals in the group

Between the group and the spiritual world

Between the group and the LordIt is this lived experience of the Word, when shared with others, that serves as the soul or life of the group. It’s what connects each to the other.

Reflect Discuss

What is the human form?

What does it mean to view our life group as a ‘collective human’?

What is my experience of this?

TheLord is present in our midst when the things of the Word are made as the basis for our being together.

The experience of the Word is the soul of the Life Group.

 

Divine Providence 172. In the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture it has been shown that the Lord is the Word, and that all doctrine of the church must be drawn from the Word. Since, then, the Lord is the Word, it follows that the man who is taught from the Word is taught by the Lord alone. But as this is not easily comprehended, it shall be illustrated in the following order: (1) The Lord is the Word because the Word is from Him and treats of Him. (2) Also because it is the Divine truth of the Divine good. (3) Thus to be taught from the Word is to be taught from the Lord. (4) That this is done mediately through preaching does not take away the immediateness.

[2] First: The Lord is the Word because the Word is from Him and treats of Him. That the Word is from the Lord is denied by no one in the church. That the Word treats of the Lord alone is not denied, indeed, but neither is it known. This has been set forth in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord (1-7, 37-44); also in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture (62-69, 80-90, 98-100). Since, then, the Word is both from the Lord alone and treats of the Lord alone, it follows that when man is taught from the Word he is taught from the Lord, since the Word is the Divine; and who except the essential Divine, from whom the Word is and of whom it treats, can communicate the Divine, and plant it in the heart? When, therefore, the Lord speaks of His conjunction with the disciples He says:- That they should abide in Him, and His words in them (John 15:7). That His words are spirit and life (John 6:63). And that He makes His abode with those who keep His words (John 14:20-24).

To think from the Lord, therefore, is to think from the Word, seemingly through the Word. That all things of the Word have communication with heaven has been shown in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture, from beginning to end. And since the Lord is heaven, this means that all things of the Word have communication with the Lord Himself. It is true that the angels of heaven have communication; but this, too, is from the Lord.

[3] Secondly: The Lord is the Word, because it is the Divine truth of the Divine good. That the Lord is the Word He teaches in John in these words:- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word; and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 14). As heretofore this has been understood to mean only that God taught men through the Word, it has been explained as a hyperbolical expression, not meaning that the Lord is the Word itself; and for the reason that it was unknown that by the Word the Divine truth of the Divine good is meant, or, what is the same, the Divine wisdom of the Divine love. That these are the Lord Himself is shown in Part First of the work on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom; and that these are the Word is shown in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture (1-86).

[4] How the Lord is the Divine truth of the Divine good shall also be briefly told. Every man is a man not from his face and body but from the good of his love and from the truths of his wisdom; and because it is from these that a man is a man, every man is also his own truth and his own good, or his own love and his own wisdom. Apart from these he is not a man. But the Lord is good itself and truth itself, or, what is the same, He is love itself and wisdom itself; and these are the Word which was in the beginning with God and which was God, and which became flesh.

[5] Thirdly: Thus to be taught from the Word is to be taught by the Lord Himself, because it is to be taught from good itself and truth itself, or from love itself and from wisdom itself, which are the Word, as has been said. But every one is taught according to the understanding that belongs to his own love; what is beyond this is not permanent. All those who are taught by the Lord in the Word are taught a few truths in the world, but many when they become angels; for the interiors of the Word, which are Divine spiritual and Divine celestial things, although implanted at the same time, are not opened in man until after his death, thus in heaven, where he is in angelic wisdom, which in comparison with human wisdom, that is, man's former wisdom, is ineffable. That Divine spiritual and Divine celestial things, which constitute angelic wisdom, are present in all things, and in each thing of the Word, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture (5-26).

[6] Fourthly: That this is done mediately through preaching does not take away the immediateness. The Word must needs be taught mediately through parents, teachers, books, and especially the reading of it. Nevertheless it is not taught by these, but by the Lord through them. And this the preachers know, and they say that they do not speak from themselves but from the spirit of God, and that all truth, like all good, is from God. They are able, indeed, to declare the Word, and bring it to the understanding of many, but not to the heart of any one; and what is not in the heart perishes in the understanding; the heart meaning man's love. From all this it can be seen that man is led and taught by the Lord alone, and is led and taught immediately by Him when this is done from the Word. This is the arcanum of arcana of angelic wisdom.

 

True Christian Religion 263. Few understand how the Lord is the Word; for they think that although the Lord can enlighten and teach men through the Word, He cannot on this account be called the Word. But let it be understood that every man is his own will and his own understanding, each man being thus distinct from every other; and as the will is the receptacle of love, and thus of all the goods of that love, and the understanding is the receptacle of wisdom, and thus of all things of truth belonging to that wisdom, it follows, that each man is his own love and his own wisdom, or what is the same thing, his own good and his own truth. For no other reason is man a man, and nothing else than this in man is man. In respect to the Lord, He is love itself and wisdom itself, thus good itself and truth itself; and this He became by fulfilling all the good and all the truth in the Word. For he who thinks and speaks nothing but truth becomes that truth; and he who wills and does only what is good becomes that good; and as the Lord fulfilled all the Divine truth and Divine good contained in the Wo