This is Section 31
of Chapter 3 in A Man of the Field:Ý Forming The New Church Mind In Todayís World.Ý Volume 2Ý Enlightenment : The
Spiritual Sense of the Writings by Dr. Leon James (2002). The Web address
of this Volume is: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/nonduality.html
email: leon@hawaii.edu
The Perizonius ThesisÝ
How Regeneration of the New Church Mind Affects the
Grand Human
Contents
Our Thinking
and Willing Affects the Entire Human Race
The Special Role of Science in the Salvation of
Humankind
The Mechanism by Which the Race is Conjoined to the
Lord
Rational Consciousness and the Successive Levels of
Regeneration
Rutger Perizonius
has made a useful study of how the regeneration of the
The human race on
this earth is in a special position with regards to the other earths in the
universe. I have already referred to the duality between this earth and the
other earths in terms of the skin of the Grand Human, which represents the
regenerated human race on this earth. In other words, the skin of the Grand
Human is the
The
Our thinking and
willing operations all day every day are so many individual performances of
this grand role that each of us have by Divine Providence. When we think
according to Doctrine from the Threefold Word and apply it to our daily willing
choices, we are regenerating. The more we regenerate the more we are
enlightened, which means that the our understanding is
filled with more interior appearances of truths, which are called
spiritual-rational correspondences. As we read the Threefold Word to draw
Doctrine for ourselves, the Lord reveals ever more interior truths that we can
apply anew to ever more subtle character traits we must get rid of. Thus we are
regenerating. Thus we are developing and maturing in rational spirituality. This
means that our level of thinking and willing is raised higher and higher into
the sphere of heaven and the angels.
This interaction of
reciprocal influx between earth and heaven is the ultimate life of all angels
and of people on all earths who are regenerating. Thus the circle closes, from
our mundane everyday thinking and willing in
There is an
interesting paradox to be resolved, which I think is fully answered by
Perizoniusí thesis. The paradox is that on the one hand, we are the most exterior
of all spirits in the human race, hence we are said to be the skin of the Grand
Human. On the other hand, we are the Crown of the Churches, and the Word of the
Writings we have contains the inmost truths that the human race can
receive from the Divine. How can the inmost of all the successive Churches in
human evolution, be at the same time constituted out
of the portion of the human race that is the most external? The paradox is
nothing but a reflection of the principle that the last phase in external
development, which is the highest phase, contains the inmost of internal
things. This is why the Last Testament is the inmost portion of the Threefold
Word, its Crown or Head.
A fruit is the last
phase of the external development of a tree, and this is its highest use. The
highest use is tied to the last ultimate of development just as the ultimate
goal that motivates an act contains its very delight. In successive order, the
last of the developing Churches is the
Now consider the
role of the skin in the human body:
In the whole body and in every part there are both
externals and internals; its externals are called skins, membranes, and sheaths
(or coverings); while the internals are forms variously composed and interwoven
of nerve fibers and blood vessels. The surrounding sheath by offshoots from
itself enters into all the interiors even to the inmost parts; and thus the
external, which is a sheath, unites itself with all the internals, which are
organic forms composed from fibers and vessels. From this it follows that as
the external acts or is acted upon so the internals act or are acted upon; for
there is a continuous binding together of them all. (DP 180)
You can see the
type of special relationship we have with the Lord by considering the functions
of the skin in the physical body, which it has from the functions of the skin
in the Grand Human. The skin is not only an external covering and ultimate for
the rest of the body, but much more. The skin enters into the inmost parts of
every organ by forming its interior lining (DP 180). It is the skin that holds
an organ in its shape and integrity. All organs are held together by the skin,
which offers not only the conveniences of enclosure, protection, and shape, but
also modulates and manages the highly significant exchanges that must take place
between the interior parts of an organ and the exterior, exchanges necessary
for the well being of the organ and its continued development.
Clearly then, the
spiritual function which the race on this earth provides for the rest, is that
of interior truths in the
CONCERNING THE INHABITANTS OF AN EARTH IN
THE UNIVERSE.
(((((I was in a waking vision, and was led as to my spirit to certain
spirits who were from a certain earth in the universe; (...)
(...)
I spoke with them concerning our earth: that such things are known in
our earth; and that, so far as is yet known, it is not so in other earths;
also, that in this earth are sciences, which are increased by being capable of
inscription in writings, and so left to others and to posterity, and that hence
are many arts in this earth, as for example, the art of constructing ships, and
many other things. It was granted me to tell them the reason; [namely], that,
from the earliest times, those in this earth wished to be wise in such things,
and that this was represented by the tree of knowledge in paradise; and that,
because they had eaten thereof, therefore they cannot be made healthy
[spiritually] by other means than by sciences, thus by the scientifics which
are of faith.)
(It was then told me, by the angels, that the Lord willed to be born in
this earth, where divine truths are handed down by means of writings even from
the earliest times, because, in this manner, the truths of faith could here be
multiplied and preserved better than with others: but, with others, these
truths are only learnt from parents, and so retained in the memory, and then
very many things perish in the lapse of time; but, here, it is not so. Thus,
also, the angels of heaven are able not only to be perfected from the Word, but
also to perceive blessedness and happiness of life: for the Word, read in this
earth, passes, by correspondences, even into heaven, as was shown. Thus, also,
can the truths of faith be communicated to the angels of other earths. This is the reason that the Lord willed to be born
here, and to become, while he was in the world, the Divine truth, that is, the
Word, and afterwards the Divine Good, that is, Jehovah.)
(In this earth, more than in other earths, there are sciences and arts quite unknown elsewhere: [the following] sciences, to wit, the physical sciences in general, chemistry, medicine, optics, astronomy, geometry, and philosophy, whereof they know nothing at all elsewhere; [the following] arts, for example, the smeltings of metals, the art of sculpture, of painting, music, the art of constructing ships, carriages, magnificent buildings and palaces out of stone and marble, and mirrors; besides very many arts, which are for use and pleasure. Not only are they [in this earth] skilful in these, but they also have communication, by means of ships, with distant regions; and the gains of different regions are distributed to others. Similarly with the arts, and also with the sciences. These, when invented and known by one person, are communicated, by means of books and writings, to all others; and the things which are known in one region are likewise communicated to those who are in another; and those things which the ancients knew, are also known to posterity; for writings remain.
For which reason also, and
especially, the Word and the truths of faith, could be given in this earth,
because [they could be known] in many [places] at the same time, and
successively through the ages; and so could be multiplied, which could not
happen elsewhere.) (SE 4663)
The race on this
earth is regenerated by the sciences and the sciences of faith, as discussed in
the previous section. The regeneration on this earth must be by means of
science because we are of the genius by which we are
unwilling to believe and love what we do not understand with our natural mind.
This is what makes us the most exterior of all the spirits in the race. The
spirits not of this earth have not experienced a Fall
such as the human race on this earth. They are still a one-minded race like the
But the race on
this earth that was like that, ceased with the most
The giving of the
Letter of the Writings to the race on this earth makes it possible for the
entire Grand Human to see the Lord. This was not possible prior to the
completion of the Second Coming when the Lord sent out the Twelve Disciples
that had followed Him in the world, with a copy of the True Christian Religion in their hand (xx). The Writings were thus
promulgated throughout the Grand Human.
The human mind on
this earth reached a pinnacle of intellectual development in its scientific and
cultural development leading up to the 17th century. The modern mind developed
on this earth was the only human mind in the universe capable of understanding
and loving the natural-rational correspondences that compose the Letter of the
Writings.
As the
The
Hence it is that
the paradox mentioned first, is resolved. The ultimates of the Grand Human
contain the inmost conjunction with the Lord, just as the Letter of the
Writings contain the inmost celestial truths about the
Divine Human and from Him. Hence it is said that the Last shall be First.
Perizonius presents
a number of citations to confirm his thesis regarding the regeneration of the
Grand Human by means of the interior truths of the Spiritual Doctrine in the
First there is the
idea that the history of successive Churches on this earth represents the
successive steps of regeneration for every individual on this earth. This idea
was developed by H.D.G. Groeneveld, with full confirmation from the Writings,
in a series of important articles published in the original magazine of De Hemelsche Leer in the 1930s and
reproduced in the restart issues by Rutger Perizonius. The regeneration of the
successive Churches on earth, culminating with the
But conjunction
with the Lord is by means of the spiritual sense.
Indeed, the man who is regenerated is actually in
the internal sense of the Word, although he is unaware of it, since his
internal man, which has spiritual perception, is open, (n. 10400). But with him
the spiritual of the Word flows into natural ideas and is thus presented
naturally, since while he lives in the world, he thinks in the natural man, so
far as it comes to his perception, (n. 5614). Hence the light of truth, with
those who are enlightened, is derived from their internal, thus, through the
internal, from the Lord, (n. 10691, 10694). In that way, also, there is an
influx of holiness with those who regard the Word as holy, (n. 6789). Since the
regenerated man is actually in the internal sense of the Word, and in its
holiness, although unaware of it, therefore after death he comes into it of
himself, and is no longer in the sense of the letter, (n. 3226, 3342, 3343). The ideas of the internal man are spiritual, but man,
while he is living in the world, does not notice them since they are within his
natural thought, to which they impart its rational faculty, (n. 10236, 10240, 10551). But after death man comes into them as into his own,
because they are peculiar to his spirit, and he then not only thinks but also
speaks from them, (n. 2470, 2478, 2479, 10568, 10604). Hence it is, as has been
stated, that the regenerated man is not aware that he is in the spiritual sense
of the Word, and that he has enlightenment therefrom. (WH 10)
Conjunction with
the Lord is by means of the internal sense of the Threefold Word. Hence the
inmost conjunction of the human race with the Lord is possible only through the
spiritual sense contained in the Letter of the Writings. The Divine Rational
cannot exist at the plane of the natural-rational correspondences in which the
Letter of the Writings is written. Conjunction with the Divine Rational is by
means of spiritual-rational correspondences that are contained within the
natural-rational correspondences of the Letter. While we are regenerating, the
Lord enlightens us as we read the Letter of the Writings. This enlightenment is
proportional to the regeneration and increases in interiorness with steady
progress. We are told in the Writings that regeneration is a lifelong process,
and then, as angels in heaven, we still continue to regenerate to eternity. So
we are always regenerating. And yet in this and other passages, the Writings
speak of ìthe man who is regeneratedî (rather than regenerating).
Clearly, once we
are far enough in our regeneration, there is no turning back. At that point,
though we are continuing to regenerate, the Lord regards us ìregenerated.î We
are told that we are then ìin the internal sense of the Word.î For the
This cognitive
dissonance is kept in balance by fabricating a distinction between the Word and
the Word. We argue that the Old Testament and the New Testament are the Word of
Sacred Scripture while the Writings are the Word of Heavenly Doctrines. In this
way we can explain that the OT and NT have an internal sense while the Writings
do not. And so this cognitive balance allows us to retain this supposition for
a long time. Another strategy of handling the cognitive dissonance is to say:
ìWhen I consider the OT and NT, I can see what the internal sense is ñ water
signifies natural truth, wine signifies spiritual truth, fire signifies love,
Sarah signifies intellectual truth, the number 12 signifies the complete
complex of faith and worship, 40 signifies temptations, and so on. This I can
see. But what is the spiritual sense of the Writings? This I cannot see.î
However, when we
leave this state behind and come into a later state of regeneration, we come
into the internal sense of the Writings. The former objections no longer have
power of persuasion over us. We are able to accept the idea that all Divine
Truth descends into the mind by means of a series of correspondences that are
more and more externalized as it descends. We are able to accept the
distinction we previously by passed, between natural-rational correspondences
and spiritual-rational correspondences, spoken of in the Lordís Glorification
Series from Abram to Joseph. In the earlier states of regeneration, we enter
into a deeper and deeper sense of the natural-rational correspondences in which
the Letter of the Writings is written. But this going deeper and deeper is not
a discrete change, but continuous. In other words, we remain in the Letter even
though we become expert students of the Writings and are able to teach Doctrine
to others. Our mind remains in the natural-rational understanding and meanings
of the Heavenly Doctrines.
But at one point in
our regeneration, the Lord decides that we are ready to enter the internal
sense, never again to return in the Letter, except as a conscious entry point
or gateway to the palaces of the internal sense. Now for the first time there
is a discrete change in our understanding, from natural to spiritual. Now the
Lord calls us ìregeneratedî by virtue of our being in the internal sense of the
Writings. Now we no longer ask, ìWhere is the internal sense?î as before, since
we can now perceive the internal sense. We can now consciously accept the
discrete distinction between the natural-rational correspondences of the Letter
of the Writings, and the spiritual-rational correspondences of the internal
sense. This internal sense is now perceivable. Having perceived this internal
sense, I was able to formulate descriptions of it. I do so in detail in Volume
2 of A Man of the Field (see Notes). In
a nutshell, the internal sense of the Writings is about our internal states.
These internal states are not normally conscious, even with the regenerated, as
stated in the passage quoted above (WH 10). Yet I found that it is possible to
develop conscious awareness of our internal states, or some of them, by the
daily discipline of self-witnessing, a process which I describe in Volume 3 of A Man of the Field.
Internal states are
spiritual and celestial. They are completely independent of the natural. Their
source is heaven and the Lord. By contrast, external states are natural, even
when abstracted from the senses. Our understanding of the Heavenly Doctrines is
natural by means of the natural-rational correspondences of the Letter of the
Writings. Even though we think and discuss spiritual topics, we do so naturally.
We have a natural understanding of the Heavenly Doctrines. Only external states
are thereby represented in our mind. But the instant we enter into the internal
sense of the Heavenly Doctrines, we perceive our internal states to which the
internal sense refers. Now we can understand the Heavenly Doctrines in a
spiritual way. To be in the internal sense of the Writings means to be in the
internal states of our mind. We are conscious of what these states are as a
result of the temptations in our regeneration, that is, our victories over them
by means of the spiritual sense we can now perceive.
I can also state
from experience that there are continuous levels of higher and higher
correspondences at the spiritual-rational degree. Once we enter the internal
sense, we are called regenerated by the Lord, but in actuality we continue to
regenerate and struggle with ever more interior temptations. And consequently
our perception of the internal sense of the Heavenly Doctrines is progressive,
once we enter that degree. From then on we can perceive higher and higher
correspondences commensurate with our regeneration efforts.
The spiritual sense
of the Writings is now available to anyone from anywhere anytime who is willing
to form the New Church mind in themselves by means of the Writings exclusively
ñ a process I describe in Volume 1 of A
Man of the Field. This formation of the
1) Sensuous consciousness of the spiritual world (
2) The Fall. Closing down of sensuous consciousness of
the spirit. Human race (on this earth only) is plunged into darkness as
to the spirit and the afterlife. Creation of the split-brain
race.
3) Rational consciousness of the spiritual world through spiritual-rational
correspondences (
4) Science of Correspondences is lost. Closing down of
spiritual-rational correspondences. Start of
5) Rational consciousness of the spiritual world through natural-corporeal
correspondences (Letter of the Word of the Old Testament)
6) Rational consciousness of the spiritual world through natural-sensuous
correspondences (Letter of the Word of the New Testament)
7) Rational consciousness of the spiritual world through natural-rational
correspondences (Letter of the Word of the Writings)
8) Rational consciousness of the spiritual world through
spiritual-rational correspondences (Internal sense of the Writings)
The last plateau is
also the final elevation of human consciousness provided for by creation. This
level is the celestial mind immersed in spiritual-rational correspondences.
Note that the seventh item in the listing above is the level thinking of the
Yet, it is not this
intellectual process itself that yields the actual spiritual meaning.
These intellectual
procedures merely get us to the entry grounds of heaven, while the actual entrance
gates are somewhere further on. The actual spiritual meaning cannot be written
down in natural language. This is why the Threefold Word is written in natural
correspondences: corporeal (OT), sensuous (NT), rational
(TT). These correspondences form a progression in the successive history of the
Churches and match exactly the progression of successive levels of thinking of
the individual
Prior to our
reformation in adult life, we are in the state of consciousness that can be
called the Old Testament level of thinking about the Writings. Our
thinking is then immersed in corporeal correspondences in our daily life and we
simply apply that level of thinking to what we read in the Writings. For
instance, as children we are at first most involved with the Memorable
Relations rather than with Doctrine. Why? Because Doctrine is
meaningless when viewed from the perspective of corporeal correspondences.
But the Memorable Relations are like wonderful stories from a far away place,
one to which we are traveling and will eventually get there. Our level of
thinking is then immersed in corporeal correspondences of the Lord, heaven,
sin, forgiveness, and the afterlife. We read about the ìas-of selfî but can see
it only as ìthe self.î We are committed to loving the Lord, but only as an
omnipotent external God who rules the universe we are in. In this state we
worship the Divine Corporeal of the Lord because we see the appearances of
Divine Truth in corporeal correspondences.
When we begin our
reformation sometime in adult life, we are in a state of fervor and new
enthusiasm for the Writings. We are struck by a new realization of their
sacredness, holiness, and Divinity. We begin to allow the idea in our mind that
the Writings are not just merely the Word but that they are the Word
principally and mainly for the
This new phase of
consciousness may be called the New Testament level of thinking about the
Writings. As our reformation proceeds we clean up
our mental concepts, our belief systems, our principlesóeverything in the
conscious adult mind must be deconstructed and laid aside. Only new formations
from the Writings are now allowed in. Nonduality is replaced by duality,
without a single exception. During this process the Lord floods our mind with a
conscious awareness of the many things that lurk in the corners, in the
background assumptions and cognitive dissonances, in the unquestionedÝ beliefs, the unreasoned stances, the
illogical justifications, the self-serving biasesóeverything is revealed by the
Lord to our eyes like the morning sun reveals the rooftops of the houses that
lay hidden during the night.
Now we no longer
worship the dead Letter of the Writings. We stop looking for the Lord in the
tomb. The Lord is no longer this external omnipotent God who has inspired
Swedenborgís mind to compose the Writings. The Lord is right here within. He is
the Holy Spirit. Our task is to conjoin with Him. The Letter of the Writings is
now alive. We begin to apply it to ourselves! What a wonderful and awesome
experience when this begins! It ends the state of reformation by bringing on
the morning light that breaks the darkness and splashes its mighty colors all
over the sky, between the clouds, above them, and beneath them, inundating the
roof tops and the high flying birds with wings spread carried by the breeze.
This is our new consciousness of spiritual things. It is not a view that is
filled with content and detail. It is a grandiose view of Divine Truth in terms
of self or the individual.
When this phase is
also consummated, we enter the later phase of regeneration. This is the last
phase and may be called the Third Testament level of thinking about the
Writings. Our level of thinking is now immersed in the natural-rational
correspondences of the Writings. We are now occupying a higher plateau of
vision than before on the same mountain. Now we are aware of a third village we
could not see before, and several more villages beyond that can be seen very
faintly. We can also see the ledge upon which we were standing before, while
our thinking was immersed in natural-sensuous correspondences. The Lord is no
longer simply the omnipotent God ruling the universe we live in (Old Testament
phase of the
Regeneration is
therefore the progressive immersion of our level of thinking about the
spiritual, in successive stages, through corporeal, sensuous, and rational
correspondences, or appearances of Divine Truth uniquely accommodated to each
individual.
Yet, spiritual
consciousness itself is not possible by means of the natural-rational
correspondences in which our thinking is immersed in this state. There must be
enlightenment given by the Lord. This means that the Lord must create a
spiritual organ within our mind that is capable of giving us a new perception
that is not possible with our external natural mind. As I have explained above
by means of anatomical diagrams, this new physiological formation is called the
interior-natural mind that the Lord creates within the natural mind. This is
the first time that the
This operation
functions to give us a conscious awareness and perception of something new
called conscious awareness of spiritual-rational correspondences. These
spiritual-rational correspondences are now seen within the natural-rational
correspondences of the Letter of the Writings. Now for the first time the human
race on this earth can perceive the spiritual sense within the literal meaning
of the Third Testament. This brand new perception is the new vision of the Lord
by the human race in the Grand Human. Now for the first time the Grand Human
can have a conscious sensuous vision of the Lord as the Divine Human. Therefore
it is that our regeneration is not just for ourselves, but for its beneficial
effects on the Grand Human.
The regeneration of
the Grand Human is the greatest of all uses, and it is the Grand Human that we
are commanded to love as the neighbor in the highest degree (TCR 416), in a
higher degree than the Church (AC 6823). Every single thing created is
therefore ultimately created for the sake of the Grand Human (SE 3420). By
regenerating and forming the
The Grand Human is
the Lordís likeness and image, and all its parts and details correspond to the
human body. Therefore, we exist from the Grand Human (AC 3883). We die and
resurrect as the Grand Human dies and resurrects (TCR 762). The Grand Human is
the whole of which we are the part, along with the rest of our vast humanity
(AC 6807). The nature of the inter-communication between the segments of the
human race varies. Conscious communication or ìconsociationî between spirits from
different planets is possible only between angels in the highest heaven, that
is, human minds whose thinking is immersed in higher order interior truths
within their spiritual-rational correspondences (AC 6701, 7078). The angels in
the two lower heavens are separated according to their earths of origin. The
thinking of these angels and angelic spirits are immersed in lower order
spiritual-rational correspondences, and at this level of resolution they are
not directly compatible with each other, and so do not afford a means for consociation.
It is a historical
irony that the Copernican revolution that started the new intellect of modern
science, removed from the race the idea that earth was the center of the
universe for the sake of which the world was created. This new era of science
was the beginning of the long haul back to enlightenment for the human race.
What I find ironical is that the end goal of regeneration or enlightenment is
to restore the special position that earth occupies relative to the rest of the
created universe. I already discussed the contrast of this earth and the other
earths as the duality between rational consciousness of spiritual things and
sensuous consciousness of spiritual things. Quoting from the Writings:
[2] And the spirits were told, further, that when plain experience
declares a fact, they ought not to doubt, and still less deny it, on the ground
that it does not so appear to the senses, and that they do not perceive it. For
even within the realm of nature there are many things that are contrary to the
fallacies of the senses, but are believed because visible experience teaches
them. For example, the sailing of a ship around the globe: they who suffer
themselves to be carried away by the fallacies of the senses, might believe
that ship and sailors would fall off when they came to the opposite side, and
that the people at the antipodes could never stand upon their feet. Such also
is the case with the subject before us, and with many things in the other life
that are contrary to the fallacies of the senses, and yet are true-as that man
has no life of himself, but from the Lord; and very many other things.
By these and other considerations, incredulous spirits could be brought
to believe that the case is as we have stated it. (AC 1378)
Our role in the
Grand Human is for our regenerated ideas from the Writings to infill the
sensuous consciousness of the rest of humanity. Swedenborg was the first man
from our earth to engage in that role, and now everyone has an opportunity to do
so by means of our individual regeneration states. Only this earth has fallen
and therefore the regeneration of its people is by the evolution of a new
rational consciousness by means of correspondences that progress to more
interior perceptions of Divine Truth. It is within these more interior
perceptions that the good from the Lord can be inserted. The Grand Human needs
to be fed by the interior truths of the Writings in order to maintain its
integrity of vision and life. The
The rest of humankind
in the Grand Human and on the other earths, knows that the Lord is Man and they
worship Him as Man, but they do not know that He was born a Man on this planet,
and do not know that the interior truths of this Divine Human are transmitted
generationally to the people on this earth by means of a written Word which
is a book of science. Thus science and history on this earth prove that God
became a
Now all future
theistic science research will be self-consciously aware that its results are
to be used not only by our institutions on this earth, but also by the immense
human race spread out on the numberless earths in the universe.
Every New Church
mind is to be a priest to those on the other earths who do not have a means of
receiving the good from the Lord except within the rational truths of science
that are externally acquired suitable vessels for spiritual-rational truths
that inflow from within. The regenerating people on the other earths and the
regenerated people in the Grand Human, depend on us to obtain and develop these
rational ideas of the Divine Human that have been revealed in the scientific
revelations of the Lordís Second Coming in the Writings. Without our
assimilation of these inmost rational revelations, they have no input through
us and they become vulnerable to attack by the hells corresponding to their
heavens. The
The New Church mind
after reformation, is immersed in the natural-rational correspondences of the
Letter of the Writings, within which are contained the spiritual-rational
correspondences that we can perceive by means of the interior-natural mind that
the Lord creates a discrete degree within our natural mind. This higher organic
creation is part of the process of regeneration. The interior-natural mind
operates at the level of the First Heaven called the spiritual-natural. This
perception is a conscious awareness of the spiritual. It is equivalent to the
sensuous consciousness of the good spirits who inhabit the First Heaven. This
is why it is called ìenlightenmentî in the Writings ñ the Lord elevates our
sensuous consciousness of the spiritual all the way to the First Heaven. This
perception is an awareness of our inner state. Some new information comes to
our understanding, information that inflows from the spiritual world. This
information is impossible to perceive at the level of operation of our natural
mind. Hence it is that the Lord must create a new spiritual organ within the
natural organ, a new mind within the regenerating old mind. This new mind is
called the interior-natural organ (AC 5145, 5649, 5651).
To perceive the
inner sense of the Writings is not something mysterious or mystical, as it may
seem to us in the earlier states of regeneration. Later we can see that the
inner sense of the Writings is nothing else than this perception we have in the
organ of the interior-natural mind the Lord has created as part of our
regeneration. This organ now becomes activated by influx from the unconscious
spiritual mind which is above the natural-rational mind. The activity of influx
into our higher spiritual mind is not conscious while we are in the physical
body. Prior to regenerating, we are not conscious of these higher operations,
whose effects descend and externalize by correspondences into our natural mind.
We are then conscious only of the literal meaning of the Heavenly Doctrines. As
we read the Writings, the angels who are with us perceive the internal sense,
for it is impossible in heaven to express the names, numbers, and cultural
facts that we find everywhere in the Writings. The angels with us perceive the
inner sense of the Writings, but we do not.
However, in the
later states of regeneration we are called ìregeneratedî by the Lord, as
discussed above. This means that we are now in the inner sense of the Writings,
in consociation with the angels in heaven. What makes it possible for us to be
in the inner sense of the Writings is the maturation of the interior-natural
organ the Lord has created within our natural mind. Now that we are called
ìregeneratedî we are receiving conscious perceptions from this organ. These
perceptions are correspondences, but they are higher correspondences, giving us
the enlightenment of heaven. These higher correspondences are called spiritual-rational
appearances of truth in which the angelic spirits of the Second Heaven are in.
Now we can see that the sentences of the Writings refer to mental states of our
own that are more interior than we were conscious of before.
Itís important to
repeat once more that these perceptions of spiritual meanings and referents
cannot be obtained through natural language descriptions. Yes, they can be
written down and expressed, but when one reads what has been written down, one
can only understand it naturally. This is for the protection of profanation, so
that the internal sense cannot be profanated, for those who would profane, are
not enlightened. They may read the Heavenly Doctrine and all the explications
of the Word that specify what is signified by each word and phrase. But this is
of no help in receiving a perception of the spiritual states they refer to and
designate. This perception of the spiritual meaning is possible only by means
of the maturation of the organ of the interior-natural mind, as already
explained.
Nevertheless,
writing down the spiritual meanings we are given to perceive is a useful thing
for the study of Doctrine.
It has accordingly been sometimes granted me to be among the angels of the middle and of the highest heaven, and to hear them conversing with one another, at which time I was in an interior natural state, removed from worldly and corporeal things, namely, when first waking after sleep; then I heard things unutterable and inexpressible, as we read happened with Paul; and sometimes I was let into the perception and understanding of the subjects they were conversing upon; the subjects they conversed upon were full of arcana concerning the Lord, redemption, regeneration, providence, and other similar things: after which it was given me to understand that I could not utter nor describe them by any spiritual or celestial expression, but that nevertheless they could be described even to their rational comprehension by words of natural language.
And it was told me that there is not any Divine arcana which may not be
perceived, and even expressed naturally, although more generally and
imperfectly; and that they who, in a natural manner, by means of their rational
understanding, perceive those things from the affection of truth, afterwards,
when they become spirits, can perceive and speak of them in a spiritual manner,
and when they become angels, in a celestial manner, but no others. For one
Divine truth naturally perceived and loved, is like a crystal or porcelain
vessel, which is afterwards filled with wine, and with such wine as the nature
of the truth was, and as it were of such a taste as the affection of the truth
was. (DE VERBO 3)
Writing down
spiritual meanings in natural language is also the method of conducting
research in True Science, research that expands our applications of the
scientific revelations in the Threefold Word. Notice that it is the entire
Threefold Word that constitutes the Book of True Science. When we are in an
earlier state of regeneration we resist the idea that the OT or NT contains
scientific revelations. This is the same attitude that doubts the idea that the
Writings contain scientific revelations. But in a later state we begin to see
that science divided cannot stand. Atheistic science is atheistic because it
rejects revelation. Theistic science accepts revelation. Swedenborgís
intellectual understanding served to create the specifics ofÝ Writings. This intellectual
understanding of science may be called ìscientific dualism.î Swedenborgís
scientific understanding is the basis for the entire rational framework of the
Writings. Remove the scientific framework from the Writings and you have left
nothing of value that can exist.
The scientific framework in the Writings include these series of scientific
concepts:
q
Natural phenomena are effects of spiritual
phenomena which are their causes
q
God operates the dual universe from Firsts
to lasts in an uninterrupted series of causation
q
God operates physical space from within so
that He is omnipresent apart from space
q
Endless earths in the universe are being
created to support human life
q
All things are in a discrete series of ends,
causes, and effects
q
All appearances are produced by
correspondences
q
Human beings are born immortal
q
The entire human race is interconnected by
consociation and influx
q
There are no industrialized or technological
civilizations on other earths
q
Individual growth and development
recapitulates racial history
q
The Lord is present with every individual,
managing the sequence of thinking and willing
q
Events occur only by means of Divine
Providence or Permissions
q
The anatomy of the mind mirrors the anatomy
of the body and inferences from one can be made about the other
q
The inmost quantum of matter, energy, and
space is the substance of the spiritual Sun
q
Etc.
The Divine
Corporeal of the Writings is fixed and material. But everything above it is
spiritual and alive. The literal meaning of this Divine Corporeal is conveyed
to our mind by means of natural-rational correspondences. Our modern educated
mind is immersed in natural-rational appearances of truth from science and
education. Therefore when we read the Writings and figure out the literal
meaning of its sentences, our everyday thinking from science and education
matches perfectly the level of thinking in which Swedenborg composed those
sentences. The Writings are written in natural-rational correspondences because
they are to convey the Divine Rational of the Lord as a ferry boat conveys its
passengers across a river. The vehicle of conveyance must be suitable for its
passengers or type of cargo. Only natural-rational correspondences could convey
spiritual-rational correspondences, and it is the latter by which the Writings
effect regeneration.
It is by
spiritual-rational correspondences that the Lord regenerates the
Heaven is created
out of spiritual-rational correspondences. We must have these in our mind to
enter heaven. The purpose and mechanism of regeneration is to equip our mind
with spiritual-rational correspondences. These are implanted, operated, and
activated solely by the Lord. It is a Divine operation within our interior-natural
mind. It is the greatest contribution the
We obviously have a
particular role to function that is different from other earths. Spirits from
the other earths are willing to be regenerated by means of faith and authority,
while we are willing to be regenerated only by what we understand rationally.
Hence the development of rational spirituality based on scientific revelations
can evolve in the people of this earth further than the people of any other
earth. They therefore depend on us for receiving the benefits of this more
advanced development. Of course, there is a balance, so our race from this
earth is dependent on the rest of the Grand Human societies for their more
advanced sensuous consciousness of the Lord. An analogy may be drawn with the
parts of the brain. The left brain represents the cognitive mentality of our
spirituality on this earth (ìrational faithî), while the right brain represents
the affective mentality of the spirituality of the rest of the Grand Human.
Henceforth into the
endless future, the evolution of rational consciousness will continue with the
human race on this earth by means of the cumulative never ending intellectual
mining of the Writings, which will remain as an endless source of scientific
revelations. From this ever evolving theistic research in the
The Perizonius
Thesis multiplies our motivation and desire for regeneration.
When we acknowledge
the Perizonius Thesis we are enlightened in a new way. We then have a distinct
rational consciousness of the Grand Human in relation to ourselves.
Prior to our
acknowledgement of the Perizonius Thesis, our ideas about the Grand Human are
immersed in natural-rational correspondences from the Letter of the Writings.
We see the Grand Human as something external to ourselves. We see it as a home
around us, since we know that our heaven is situated somewhere in the Grand
Human. But the instant we acknowledge the Perizonius Thesis we are enlightened
in a new way, being able to rationally perceive the spiritual-rational correspondences
within the meanings we had before for the Grand Human. Now the Grand Human is
no longer something outside of us, like a home. We now see the Grand Human
interiorly.
This new internal
vision of the Grand Human comes from the acknowledgment that our willing and
thinking while we are regenerating here on earth, is part of a larger process
called by Perizonius ìthe regeneration of the Grand Human.î The thousands of
private and intimate acts of our willing and thinking, hour by hour, day by
day, week by week, creates a permanent universal record or trail that is
conveyed to all of the human race in the heavens and on the earths.
How awesome it is
for the
Suddenly our new
enlightenment shows us rationally what actually is the
mechanism of our regeneration. Our individual regeneration has a higher
use to serve than the use for ourselves. This one idea is redeeming, can you
see it? The regeneration of the Grand Human is the greatest of all uses. All
other uses are subordinate to it. Hence the use of our individual regeneration
for ourselves becomes subordinate to its use for the
regeneration of the Grand Human. By this relationship, the fallen race on this
earth is redeemed.
There is now a new
order established by the Lord which will remain forever. This permanent order
is stabilized by the mutual dependency forged in the duality of this earth
versus all the others, that is, the duality of sensuous vs. rational
consciousness in the human race. The new consciousness of the Second Coming is
the
With the giving of
the Writings to the modern scientific mind on this earth, the Lord has created
a rational vehicle for conveying the rest of the new Divine truths about
Himself, for which He created the human race. Only by receiving and
understanding these new Divine truths was it possible to effect
a closer conjunction with the human race. The closer this
conjunction the higher the form of good that the Lord can bestow on the race.
Henceforth to unending time, True Science research will insure an endless
source of new Gifts from the Lord to the individual Churches on this earth.
True Science research is nothing else than the communal and cumulative
development of a rational understanding of the Threefold Word. The Writings
specify procedures we must follow in order to extract the spiritual sense from
the Letter and to build it up in our mind into a Doctrine for Life. This is a
scientific Doctrine because it is the application of the Heavenly Doctrines to
our willing and thinking in everyday tasks. Nothing in True Science can be from
self-derived intelligence.
Rutger Perizonius
restarted the publication of De Hemelsche
Leer, a Dutch magazine in the 1930s, that brought
into this world a new living portion of the Divine Doctrine that is with the
human race on this earth. That Doctrine was the new enlightenment available to
the
The redemption of
the human race on this earth is to continue and to endure as the
The Spiritual
Doctrine is out of the spiritual sense, and the spiritual sense is the
application of the Letter to our states of regeneration, temptation, and orderly
development.
Perizonius
therefore reminds us of the double function or use that our regeneration
serves. First, it serves the regeneration of the Grand Human, bringing interior
rational truths from our regenerated mind, conveying them to the rest of the
heavens and the earths that are in sensuous consciousness. They depend on this
reception for their continued progress and integrity. Second, our regeneration
serves for our own individual redemption, by which we can receive conjugial
love through being united to our wife (see Volume 3).
Everyone thinks from
affection, and no one without affection (AC 2480)
Notes:
Full text access to the three English volumes of the De Hemelsche Leer, a Dutch magazine in the 1930s, is available on the Web at:Ý www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/dhl.html