Logopraxis The Third Round

Arcana Coelestia 6872. [2] What the perception and acknowledgment of the Divine from love are, must be told. Every man’s quality is known from his love; for love is the being of the life of everyone, from it springing the veriest life itself; such therefore as the love is with a man, such is the man. If there is the love of self and of the world, consequently the love of revenge, of hatred, of cruelty, of adultery, and the like, the man is a devil as to his spirit, or as to the interior man which lives after death, however he may appear in the outward form. But if there is with a man the love of God and the love of the neighbour, and consequently the love of good and truth, also of what is just and honorable, then however he may appear in the outward form, he is an angel as to his spirit which lives after death. But He with whom there is Divine love, which was with the Lord alone, is God; thus His Human was made Divine when He received in the Human the love of His Father, which was the being of His life. From all this it can be seen what is meant by the perception and acknowledgment of the Divine from love.

...[4] From all this it can be seen that man is made altogether new when he is being regenerated, for then each and all things with him are so disposed as to receive celestial loves. Nevertheless with man the prior forms are not destroyed, but only removed; but with the Lord the prior forms, which were from the maternal, were completely destroyed and extirpated, and Divine forms were received in their place. For the Divine love does not agree with any but a Divine form; all other forms it absolutely casts out; hence it is that the Lord when glorified was no longer the son of Mary.

AC 6876. And say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you. That this signifies that the Divine of the Ancient Church will be with those of the spiritual church is evident from the signification of the “God of their fathers” as being the Divine of the Ancient Church (that “fathers” denote those who are of the Ancient Church, see n. 6050, 6075, 6846); from the representation of the sons of Israel, here meant by “you” as being those of the spiritual church (see n. 6875); and from the signification of “being sent” as being to proceed (n. 2397, 4710, 6831); here that he will be with them, for it is said of the Divine of the Ancient Church that this shall be in the spiritual church, which is represented by the sons of Israel.

[2] The Divine which was of the Ancient Church was the Lord as to the Divine Human; the Ancient Church had this from the Most Ancient, and also from the fact that Jehovah was seen by them in a human form. When therefore they thought of Jehovah, they did not think of a universal entity, of which they could have had no idea, but of the Human Divine, into which they could determine their thought; for in this way they could both think of Jehovah and be conjoined with Him by love. Those who were of the Ancient Church, and especially those of the Most Ancient, were much wiser than the men of our times, and yet they could not think otherwise of Jehovah than as of a Man, whose Human was Divine; nor did there then flow into their thought any unbecoming idea taken from the natural man, and his infirmity and evil, but that which flowed in concerning Him was all holy. The angels themselves, who so far excel men in wisdom, cannot think otherwise of the Divine, for they see the Lord in the Divine Human; they know that an angel, with whom all things are finite, can have no idea whatever of the Infinite, except by what is like the finite.

[3] That in ancient times they adored Jehovah under a human Divine is very evident from the angels seen by Abraham in human form, also afterward by Lot, and likewise by Joshua, by Gideon, and by Manoah, which angels were called “Jehovah,” and were adored as the God of the universe. At this day if Jehovah were to appear in the church as a man, men would take offence,

Arcana Coelestia 6864. And now go, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh. That this signifies the holy proceeding from the Lord’s Human, by which infesting falsities would be dispersed, is evident from the representation of Moses, who was to go, and who was sent, as being the Lord as to the law Divine (see n. 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827), thus as to the Human; for when the Lord was in the world, He first made His Human Divine truth, which is the same as the law Divine; and afterward He completely glorified His Human, and made it Divine good (between Divine truth and Divine good there is a difference such as there is between the light from the sun and the fire in the sun); and from the signification of “to be sent” as being to proceed (n. 2397, 4710, 6831), here holy truth (that holy is predicated of truth see n. 6393-6788); and from the representation of Pharaoh, as being falsity (n. 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692). It is added that infesting falsities would be dispersed, namely, by the holy proceeding from the Lord’s Human, because in what follows the subject treated of is the liberation of the sons of Israel, that is, of those who were of the Lord’s spiritual church, from falsities; from which they can in no wise be liberated except by the holy which proceeds from the Lord.



For the holy proceeding from the Lord not only disperses infesting falsities, but also reduces all things into Divine order, both those which are in the heavens, and those which are in the hells; and causes the heavens to be most distinct according to goods and the derivative truths, and the hells also to be most distinct according to evils and the derivative falsities; and likewise causes evils to be opposite to goods, and falsities to truths, in order that a spiritual equilibrium may exist, and everything be in a free state.



The internal of the natural is regenerated first 



True Christian Religion 593. As to the division of the natural man into two forms, it is an actual division both of will and of thought therein; for every action of man goes forth from his will, and every word from his thought; consequently another will is formed by man beneath the first, and likewise another thought; but the two still constitute the natural man. This will which is being formed by the man, may be called a bodily will, because it impels the body to make a show of moral activities, and that thought may be called pulmonary thought, because it impels the tongue and lips to utter such things as belong to the understanding. This outer thought and will taken together may be likened to the inner bark that adheres to the outer bark of a tree, or to the membrane that adheres to the shell of an egg. Within these is the internal natural man, who, if evil, may be likened to a tree the wood of which is rotten, but about which the aforesaid outer and inner barks seem sound; as also to a rotten egg in a white shell.



But something shall also be said about what the internal natural man is by birth. Its will inclines to evils of every kind and the thought therefrom is inclined to falsities of every kind. This then is the internal man that is to be regenerated, for unless it is regenerated it is nothing but hatred against everything that belongs to charity, and consequent rage against all things belonging to faith. From this it follows that this natural internal man must first be regenerated, and by means of it the external; for this is according to order; while to regenerate the internal by means of the external would be contrary to order; for the internal is like a soul in the external, not only in general but also in every particular, consequently it is in every least word one speaks; it is present in these beyond what man knows. Because of this the angels, from a single action of a man, can perceive what his will is, and from a single word what his thought is, whether infernal or heavenly. Thus they know the entire man; from the tone of ...

In order that they may believe that Jehovah hath been seen of thee, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Jehovah said further to him, Bring now thy hand into thy bosom. And he brought his hand into his bosom, and brought it out, and behold his hand was leprous as snow. And He said, Bring back thine hand unto thy bosom; and he brought back his hand unto his bosom; and brought it forth out of his bosom, and behold it was turned again as his flesh. And it shall be, if they do not believe thee, and hear the voice of the former sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall be, if they do not believe also these two signs, and do not hear thy voice, that thou shalt take of the waters of the river, and pour out on the dry land, and the waters which thou hast taken out of the river, they shall become blood in the dry land.



Exodus 4:5-9

The spiritual states are in an intellectual faith and so have to have signs (from experience in life) to believe and so that they can move into an 'as of self'

Arcana Coelestia 6956. In order that they may believe that Jehovah hath been seen of thee. That this signifies that they may have faith in respect to the Lord’s Divine Human, is evident from the signification of “believing,” as being to have faith—not faith that Jehovah or the Lord was seen with the eyes, but faith in the Lord in the spiritual sense of the term; and from the signification of “Jehovah seen,” as being the appearing of the Lord in His Divine Human (see n. 6945). Thus by “they may believe that Jehovah hath been seen of thee” is signified that they may have faith in respect to the Lord’s Divine Human.

AC 6959. And Jehovah said further to him. That this signifies foresight as to what would be the quality of those of the spiritual church if they did not have faith, is evident from the signification of “Jehovah said,” as being foresight (as above, n. 6946). The reason why these words denote what would be the quality of those of the spiritual church if they did not have faith, is that in what follows the subject treated of is what would be the further quality of those who are of the spiritual church (who are represented by the sons of Israel), if they did not have faith, namely, that they would be profaners of truth. For the first miracle of the rod becoming a serpent signifies their state, that they would become altogether sensuous and corporeal. This miracle of the hand becoming leprous signifies profanation, for this succeeds if the church persists in faithlessness. [2] In their childhood, and afterward in their youth, they of the spiritual church have faith in the doctrinal things of their church, but at that time they have faith from parents and masters, and not from themselves, and therefore if they afterward recede from faith, they profane the truth only slightly, which profanation can be removed by Divine means, and thus the man be freed from the guilt of it. But if a man has faith in the doctrine of the church, and in the Word, from himself, that is, by confirmations in himself, and if he then afterward recedes, and denies in himself what he had before believed, especially if he lives contrary to the truth which he had confirmed in himself, and either explains it in his own favor, or altogether rejects it, he profanes the truth; and this because he commingles and conjoins together within himself truth and falsity. As such persons have scarcely any remains of truth and good, in the other life they finally become like skeletons; and have as little life remaining as have the bones relatively to the organic life of the flesh. But still harder is the lot of those who profane good than that of those who profane truth, they who are of the Lord’s spiritual church can profane truth but not so much good. [3] As “leprosy” signifies the profanation of truth, and as this is the subject treated of in what follows,

Arcana Coelestia 6884. Jehovah, the God of your fathers. That this signifies the Divine of the Ancient Church, is evident from what was said above (n. 6876), where are like words. In the external historic sense, by “the God of their fathers” is meant the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but in the internal sense is meant the Divine of the Ancient Church. That the latter, and not the former, is meant in the internal sense, can be seen from the fact that the historicals of the Word cannot enter into heaven; for the historical of the Word is natural and worldly, and those who are in heaven are in no ideas but what are spiritual, so that they understand the Word spiritually; and what is worldly, which is of the sense of the letter of the Word, is at the very threshold of heaven turned into the spiritual sense.





 



6861. Verses 9-12. And now behold the cry of the sons of Israel is come unto Me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. And now go, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, and do thou bring forth My people the sons of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the sons of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Because I will be with thee; and this shall be the sign to thee that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall worship God near this mountain. “

 



And now behold the cry of the sons of Israel is come unto Me,” signifies pity for those who are of the spiritual church; “and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them,” signifies by reason of the endeavour of subjugation by those who were in falsities; “and now go, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh,” signifies the holy proceeding from the Lord’s Human, by which the infesting falsities would be dispersed; “and do thou bring forth My people the sons of Israel out of Egypt,” signifies the consequent liberation of those who were of the spiritual church from infesting falsities; “and Moses said unto God,” signifies perception from the Divine and humiliation; “who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh?” signifies not being yet in such a state as to seem to himself to be able to go to and remove the infesting falsities; “and that I should bring forth the sons of Israel?” signifies and thus to liberate those of the spiritual church; “and He said, Because I will be with thee,” signifies that the Divine will be in the Human; “and this shall be the sign to thee that I have sent thee,” signifies the knowledge that the Divine proceeded from Himself; “when thou has brought forth the people out of Egypt,” signifies when the spiritual are liberated from infestation by falsities; “ye shall worship God near this mountain,” signifies then perception and acknowledgment of the Divine from love.





 

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.







 

From the The Logopraxis Workbook



Step 6 - Preparing a Submission - Questions for Reflection 



The key to preparing a summary or submission for our group is to focus on how our task influenced our mental state:



What did we actually experience?

What did we learn about our self?

About the Lord?

About the inner activity of our mind?

Were there any insights related to the contents of the reading that illustrate what was experienced?

How can I frame this, so it supports others in my group?



Reflect & Discuss



In what way is each submission the Lord’s Gift to the Group?

How does sharing too much personal stuff distract me, or the Group?

In what way do I experience the Life Group as a spiritual community?

The Lord’s Providence exists in what each person selects to work with.

The Life Group is an opportunity to share the Holy Supper. How might this be true? See Luke 22:14-20.



 



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.

The spiritual states in us need to confirm what they have learnt from 'others'



Doctrine of Faith 1. Faith is an internal acknowledgment of truth.By faith at the present day is understood nothing more than the mental presumption that a thing is so, because it is taught by the Church, and because it is not evident to the understanding. For it is said: Believe, and do not doubt. If you answer, I do not comprehend it, you are told that this is the reason why it must be believed. The faith of the present day, therefore, is a faith in what is not known, and may be called a blind faith; and as it is the dictate of one person passed on to another, it is an historical faith. That this is not spiritual faith will be seen in what follows.



Arcana Coelestia  6945(3)...And as there was no such force before the Lord’s coming, but only after His coming, when He had made the Human in Himself Divine, therefore they could not be taken out of the lower earth, where they were being infested by falsities, and be taken up into heaven, until after the Lord’s resurrection (n. 6914). From this then it is that it is said that they would not believe, thus neither would receive what the law Divine, that is, the truth Divine says, unless they saw that it is so, thus unless they saw signs.



AC 2831. Behind, caught in a thicket. That this signifies entangled in natural knowledge, is evident from the signification of being “caught,” as here being entangled; and from the signification of a “thicket” or “tangle” as being memory-knowledge-explained in what follows. That the spiritual are held entangled in natural knowledge in regard to the truths of faith, is as follows. The spiritual have not perception of good and truth, as the celestial have, but instead of it conscience formed from the goods and truths of faith which they have imbibed from infancy from their parents and masters, and afterwards from the doctrine of faith into which they were born. They who have no perception of good and truth have to be confirmed by knowledges. Everyone forms for himself some idea respecting the things he has learned, and also respecting the goods and truths of faith; for without an idea, nothing remains in the memory otherwise than as an empty thing. Confirmatory things are added thereto, and fill up the idea of the thing, from other knowledges, even from memory-knowledges. The confirmation of the idea itself by many things causes not only that it sticks in the memory, so that it can be called forth into the thought, but also that faith can be insinuated into it.



AC 6240...What the rational is shall be briefly told. The intellectual of the internal man is called “rational,” but the intellectual of the external man is called “natural;” thus the rational is internal, and the natural is external; and they are perfectly distinct from each other. But a truly rational man is no other than he who is called a celestial man, and who has perception of good, and from good perception of truth; whereas he who has not this perception, but only the knowledge that a thing is true because he is so instructed, and from this has conscience, is not truly a rational man, but is an interior natural man. Such are they who are of the Lord’s spiritual church. They differ from the celestial as the light of the moon differs from the light of the sun; and therefore the Lord appears to the spiritual as a moon, but to the celestial as a sun (see n. 1521, 1529-1531, 4060, 4696). [2] Many in the world suppose that a rational man is one who can reason acutely about many things, and so join his reasonings together that his conclusions may appear like truth; but this is found in the very worst of men, who are able to reason skillfully and persuade that evils are goods, and that falsities are truths; and the reverse. But he who reflects can see that this is vicious phantasy, and not what is rational. The rational consists in inwardly seeing and perc...