tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90302576669132903142024-03-19T01:48:45.224-04:00Spirituality, Dreams and ProphecyA <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-divine-revelation-of-true-christianity.html">Divine Revelation of True Christianity</a>. See <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2012/07/complete-works-of-emanuel-swedenborg-on.html">The complete works of Emanuel Swedenborg</a>. Join online discussion groups here: <a href="https://grandhumanproject.org">Grand Human Project</a>Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.comBlogger385125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-27427478223991488132022-10-11T21:47:00.000-04:002022-10-11T21:47:30.587-04:00A Prophecy of the Pandemic and the War in Ukraine<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjninhB4M4_whEJlO7G61PxIxzG9Fm-B2-x8uKLj0DPLwABoHgDWImKovzfRtKhNBYbA7BmidLKHp2oBhvRT2b9cTgV7Y_UN9VM_fVnInEWUcOpOO6a_KueURrMTN6bCgRO965KMTW4G1j3DaxCptvCHRiQNCBD9YPEkkMG4k7vI7UHXIuggBa-mktF/s1733/XProphecy-CoverCut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1733" data-original-width="1549" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjninhB4M4_whEJlO7G61PxIxzG9Fm-B2-x8uKLj0DPLwABoHgDWImKovzfRtKhNBYbA7BmidLKHp2oBhvRT2b9cTgV7Y_UN9VM_fVnInEWUcOpOO6a_KueURrMTN6bCgRO965KMTW4G1j3DaxCptvCHRiQNCBD9YPEkkMG4k7vI7UHXIuggBa-mktF/w365-h408/XProphecy-CoverCut.png" width="365" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In June of 2019 I published a book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/X-Prophecy-Doug-Webber-ebook/dp/B07S8QM85D">The X Prophecy</a></i>, of a highly symbolic dream which contained many symbolic clairvoyant meanings, as it gave knowledge of things that were unknown to the dreamer. Since then, I discovered it contained an explicit warning of the upcoming COVID-19 pandemic which broke out months later that year. The indication from the dream is that this coronavirus was man-made, designed to target a certain segment of the population, and there is evidence to support that. For a recap, see the following blog posts:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-clairvoyant-dream-and-prophecy-of.html">A Clairvoyant Dream and Prophecy of the Coronavirus Pandemic</a><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-dream-prophecy-of-coronavirus.html">The Dream Prophecy of the Coronavirus Pandemic and Biden's Inauguration</a><br /></span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">As it was published before the outbreak of the pandemic I have decided not to update the book and keep it in its original form, and instead just post updates to it on this blog. There were many odd features of the dream, and many which stood out were symbolic references to Russia and Ukraine. I surmised at the time it had something to do with the Russian invasion of Crimea which took place in 2014. But now with the full blown invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the warning in the dream is now quite clear.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In one segment of the dream a grave is shown on top of a castle, which is the grave of someone named Elena who had died long ago. This grave of Elena has multiple meanings, and one of them pointed to Queen Elena of Moscow, who lived in the 16th century. She married the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and at that time the Grand Duchy of Lithuania covered the modern territories of Lithuania, Ukraine and a part of Russia, as can be seen in the following map which is also shown in the book:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZnSgzBffEqBe700wn7550A6N38HndTvpD03hqY80gNbx0_vHRCpUv0_pai5OIklL2B4V948OMKfQ_2kmQAxSO3fpW02iN5Koqyk1kJdTuMKmr-9WFFGnao-KjUe3y-BH852o-XbDNTlEbCfZtW-oujlb99lmTWDmFwXsE6L0x7igt1ZzAExzPogH/s1280/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania_1430.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="1280" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZnSgzBffEqBe700wn7550A6N38HndTvpD03hqY80gNbx0_vHRCpUv0_pai5OIklL2B4V948OMKfQ_2kmQAxSO3fpW02iN5Koqyk1kJdTuMKmr-9WFFGnao-KjUe3y-BH852o-XbDNTlEbCfZtW-oujlb99lmTWDmFwXsE6L0x7igt1ZzAExzPogH/w569-h436/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania_1430.png" width="569" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And in the book (back in June of 2019) I wrote this of Queen Elena of Moscow:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">"She was said to be the uncrowned Grand Duchess of Lithuania and the uncrowned Queen of Poland since she refused to convert from her Orthodox faith to Catholicism. Her marriage was used as a pretext to renew the Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars in 1500 which ended in 1503 but the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had lost about a third of its territory... Before these wars the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was in control of the Kievan Rus’ territories. Following a series of wars in the 16th century, <b>the Duchy of Moscow expanded their territory west annexing many of the Rus’ lands</b>. Kievan Rus’ was a loose federation of Eastern Slavic and Finnish states and at one time their capital was at Kiev, the capital of modern Ukraine which is the territory north of the Black Sea. <b>The conflict between the Duchy of Lithuania and the Duchy of Moscow in the 16th century over the lands of Kievan Rus’ is being repeated as of this writing in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine</b>."</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">If we look at the first battle in </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">the Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars in 1500, Moscow invaded from the north through what is now known as the country of Belarus, heading south but not quite reaching Kiev. Here is a map of the campaign of the war in 1500:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNhxCvzNSMR9JYDqEpmnCvjf0IQc_-SEK-YgXdV0AwAk_mPVjoyRq8YlDFAkM6E9Vk4umNvHQ1-cNvX9Wr_lbHzJOfw62PLLn6xhQF1ZiCyq1iFPpm-jc0IpgAKCeCXwlTssRqnRp8tj1hxZ9E-glU-CImX4NbVlgxO1xMT8VbzJekJcOyAfxCJcJo/s1111/Russo%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Wars-1500_campaign-marked.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1111" data-original-width="1024" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNhxCvzNSMR9JYDqEpmnCvjf0IQc_-SEK-YgXdV0AwAk_mPVjoyRq8YlDFAkM6E9Vk4umNvHQ1-cNvX9Wr_lbHzJOfw62PLLn6xhQF1ZiCyq1iFPpm-jc0IpgAKCeCXwlTssRqnRp8tj1hxZ9E-glU-CImX4NbVlgxO1xMT8VbzJekJcOyAfxCJcJo/w503-h546/Russo%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Wars-1500_campaign-marked.png" width="503" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This was repeated again in February 2022 in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where several columns advanced from the north toward Kiev, as well as other areas to the east and south (keep in mind the book was published in June of 2019). The following map shows the course of the invasion from February to April of 2022:</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXmPiLfcH1Vg58w4Kf5HoZz5pwizCChnWfCWH83MEMfFj98jZKXF0fejZLUS71rGg2RvpQd_WGbVC3l1w7pnsnHle8lGNJHLD6Sl6jhy2m8he14erkwserFnJc5Co19jLq5AY0hNRRPDwZjjB4_QGw4AQc7MRCFM3OFHLlsJlAoH3Vxlr8n-MmC6K/s1200/2022_Russian_Invasion_of_Ukraine_Phase_1_animated.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1200" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXmPiLfcH1Vg58w4Kf5HoZz5pwizCChnWfCWH83MEMfFj98jZKXF0fejZLUS71rGg2RvpQd_WGbVC3l1w7pnsnHle8lGNJHLD6Sl6jhy2m8he14erkwserFnJc5Co19jLq5AY0hNRRPDwZjjB4_QGw4AQc7MRCFM3OFHLlsJlAoH3Vxlr8n-MmC6K/w655-h440/2022_Russian_Invasion_of_Ukraine_Phase_1_animated.gif" width="655" /></a></div><p style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In the dream, there were symbolic depictions of the Slavic myth of paradise, the realm of the souls of the dead (the dreamer had no knowledge of any Slavic myths or legends). In the end the interpretation is clear: it predicted the deaths of many from the coronavirus pandemic, and now from the Russian-Ukraine war, as sadly they are both the same people of Slavic descent. But we should of course call this Putin's war, as the majority of Russians don't even support it. The war is for the sake of power, money and Ukraine's natural resources (see <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/28/ukraine-war-russia-resources-energy-oil-gas-commodities-agriculture/">Russia’s Resource Grab in Ukraine</a>), and Putin's inner circle of oligarchs have moved the riches of Russia into offshore assets (see <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2022/offshore-putin-russia-oligarchs-pandora/">THREE DOZEN TYCOONS MET PUTIN ON INVASION DAY. MOST HAD MOVED MONEY ABROAD</a>). Corruption is so rife from top to bottom many can now see it in how just badly the Russian military is performing. The reason for wars is to expose evil for all to see:</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It is not from the Divine Providence that wars should exist, for they are united with murders, plundering, violence, cruelty, and other enormous evils, which are diametrically opposed to Christian charity; but still they cannot but be permitted, because man's life's love since the time of the most ancient people meant by Adam and his wife has become such as to desire to rule over others, and at length over all, and to possess the wealth of the world, and at last all wealth. These two loves cannot be kept bound, since it is according to the Divine Providence for every one to be allowed to act from freedom according to reason; and without permissions man cannot be led from evil by the Lord, and so cannot be reformed and saved; for unless evils were permitted to break out, man would not see them, thus would not acknowledge them, and so could not be led to resist them. Hence evils cannot be repressed by any Providence; for so they would remain shut in, and like the diseases called cancer and gangrene would spread and consume all that is vital in man. For man is from birth like a little hell, between which and heaven there is perpetual variance. No man can be withdrawn from his hell by the Lord, unless he sees that he is there, and unless he wishes to be led out; and this cannot be done without permissions, the causes of which are laws of the Divine Providence" (<i>Angelic Wisdom concerning Divine Providence</i>, n. 251).</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It is the nature of evil to attack, but it is in the nature of good to defend:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">"The Lord never began the combat with any hell, but the hells assaulted Him; as is also the case with every man who is in temptation, or in combat with evil spirits. With the man the angels do not make the assault, but always and continually the evil or infernal spirits; the angels only ward off and defend. This comes from the Lord, Who does not wish to bring evil upon any one, or to thrust him down into hell, even if he were the worst and the most bitter enemy of all; but it is he who brings the evil upon himself, and precipitates himself into hell. This also follows from the nature of evil, and from the nature of good. It is the nature of evil to wish to trouble every one; it is the nature of good to wish to trouble no one. The evil are in their very life when they are assaulting; for they continually desire to destroy. The good are in their very life when they are assaulting no one, and when they can be of use in defending others from evils." (<i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, n. 1683)</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">We should all pray for peace in Ukraine, and support the defense of the good against any and all evil.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvchrBae85zyay5gs31BgiOI0brnbQueUqvSSbgtHKfzaw-pDXw9i4ApdYH8zXAqZTjfrv8VoNmk1NpB8GR2WmF4ziWwoBIovr9k1M4lp_xx7EL1504ntuOGRqEA2jZV8abVVVfSNxOjX-Gm93V458fc2R1snDOOZ7PSW_YSCPDSTsVZ-Onk4fCjl/s2000/praypeace.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2000" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvchrBae85zyay5gs31BgiOI0brnbQueUqvSSbgtHKfzaw-pDXw9i4ApdYH8zXAqZTjfrv8VoNmk1NpB8GR2WmF4ziWwoBIovr9k1M4lp_xx7EL1504ntuOGRqEA2jZV8abVVVfSNxOjX-Gm93V458fc2R1snDOOZ7PSW_YSCPDSTsVZ-Onk4fCjl/w554-h443/praypeace.png" width="554" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-28668806255584774442021-02-20T00:21:00.002-05:002021-02-21T14:30:37.574-05:00Angelic Numerical Revelations on Psalm 32<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W8HjhK5tl1A/YDCJoDU-l3I/AAAAAAAAKiw/lC0JlrKZaKI9I8490CQN_dkgVRDWO6btgCNcBGAsYHQ/s400/Psalm%252B32-1%252BConsequences%252Bof%252BSin%252Bdevotional.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W8HjhK5tl1A/YDCJoDU-l3I/AAAAAAAAKiw/lC0JlrKZaKI9I8490CQN_dkgVRDWO6btgCNcBGAsYHQ/s16000/Psalm%252B32-1%252BConsequences%252Bof%252BSin%252Bdevotional.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In the 18th century, Emanuel Swedenborg was given many detailed revelations on heaven, hell, the unity of God in one person, and how and why certain books of the Bible are Divinely inspired. In one particular case, he saw in a waking vision how the Bible is even inspired not only by word but by even each Hebrew letter:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">"There was once sent down to me from heaven a little paper inscribed with Hebrew letters, but written as with the ancients, by whom those letters which at this day are in some part of straight lines, were inflected with little curves turning upward. And the angels who were then with me said that they learned entire meanings from the letters themselves, and that they knew them especially from the bendings of the lines and of the terminations of the letter; and they explained what they signified separately and what conjointly; saying that the H, which was added to the names of Abram and Sarai, signified the infinite and eternal. <b>They also explained to me the meaning of the Word in the second verse of the thirty-second Psalm, from the letters or syllables alone; and the meaning of them in sum was, <i>that the Lord is also merciful to those who do evil</i></b>." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Religion-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GPQDYI">True Christian Religion</a></i>, n. 278)</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">So, exactly how did the angels do that? Swedenborg does not say. At first one might think one would have to know the symbolic individual meaning of each letter as it appears in each word. But there is a key phrase here, Swedenborg mentions "</span><b style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">the meaning of them in sum</b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">." To "sum" is to simply add them up. I have been re-editing my work on the numerical poetry of the Psalms, in which I explain in detail the numeric significance of each Psalm number, verse count, word count, and even letter count. Initially I was going to make a minor translation update, but I discovered quite a few new significant word and letter counts I had missed. So its going to be an extensive update. As I was editing Psalm 32, to my surprise a numerical pattern came up that confirms what Swedenborg said the angels had told him.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A more literal translation of Psalm 32:1-2 from the original Hebrew is as follows:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><i>Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven,</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>Whose sin is covered.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>Happy is the Man to whom Jehovah reckons not iniquity,</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>And in whose spirit there is no deceit</i>. (Ps. 32:1-2)</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This translation also restores the parallelism in the Hebrew poetry, in which each line of a verse tends to repeat in the form of a bicolon or sometimes a tricolon; this translation is published in the three volume work <i>The Symbolism of the Psalms</i>, <i>The Mistranslations of the Psalms</i>, and <i>The Secret Code of the Psalms.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The latter e-book is the one I am editing and its off market now; I may rename it to <i>The Numerical Poetry of the Psalms</i> so the subject matter is a bit more clear. Once one knows the numerical pattern of each Psalm, one can uncover surprising hidden meanings through a hidden system of cross references. <u>And this is done through the sum of word and letter counts</u>. So when I saw that word "sum" of letters or syllables being used in the angelic interpretation of Psalm 32:2, that caught my attention. Psalm 32:2, as one can seen from above, cant be read in isolation from Psalm 32:1. Moreover Psalm 32 is divided into several larger sections which for purpose of discussion I will call a "stanza" although other scholars prefer to use the word "strophe." Stanzas are generally defined by a switch in overall subject, however in Psalm 32 its been made easier for us: the first and second stanzas are demarcated by the word <i>Selah</i>. Thus Psalm 32 can be divided into three stanzas as follows: vv. 1-4, vv. 5-7 and vv.8-11.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The word and letter counts of each Psalm are significant, and not random. So for example, if we count the number of Hebrew words in the first stanza, it is 32. The 32 words is a self reference to Psalm 32. The numerical structure thus influenced the placement of the Psalm so that it would be the 32nd Psalm. And there are many, many more examples of this numerical symbolism. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The majority of stanzas in the Psalms do not have a word count related to the Psalm number. It took me a while to realize this, but <u>the majority of the stanzas reference other Psalm numbers</u>. It is a hidden cross reference system. Sometimes the reference is to Psalm numbers, other times it is to similar word, letter or verse count. Many Bibles have cross-references in the middle column, but in this case, it is a Divinely inspired set of cross-references and quite a few of them are rather interesting. One has to follow the numbers by knowing the word and letter counts. And this may have led to the Jewish practice of counting words and letters when transcribing scripture.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">This numerical significance extends even to letter counts, which in the first edition of the work was incomplete. So, returning back to Psalm 32, the total sum of Hebrew letters in the first stanza is 122. Now, this number as well as many others at first had no meaning to me, but I am now using several computer programs that I wrote to analyze them. So what does the number 122 mean? It is a reference. I plugged it in, and <u>there are exactly 122 poetic verses from Psalm 25 to Psalm 32</u>. In order to see this one has to first restore the poetic verses of each Psalm which does not necessarily match the verse numbers as given in modern Bibles (which I have done, and it was tedious). The number 122 is acting as a reference pointing us to Psalm 25.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The ultimate authority in all this is the text itself, and Psalm 25 contains several similar passages to Psalm 32. For example, compare <i>Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered</i> (Ps. 32:1) with <i>forgive all my sins</i> (Ps. 25:18). And here is the passage from Psalm 25 where the angels had derived their meaning, that the Lord is merciful even to those who do evil:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><i>Remember Your compassion, Jehovah, and Your <b>mercies</b>,</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><i>For they have been from of old.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><i><b>Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions</b>:</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><i><b>According to Your mercy remember me for Your goodness' sake, Jehovah</b>.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><i>Good and upright is Jehovah,</i></span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><i><b>Therefore He will instruct sinners in the way</b></i>. (Ps. 25:6-8)</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Swedenborg had no knowledge of this numerical symbolism, and this is probably the method the angels used to derive this meaning from Psalm 32:2 by using the sum of the letters. It is a confirmation that indeed Swedenborg did receive angelic revelations concerning true Christianity, which has become corrupted over the period of several centuries. And its a confirmation of this truth: the Lord is indeed merciful, loving and compassionate, even to those who are evil. All one has to do is learn the truth, ask help from the Lord and turn away from one's evil, and it will be forgiven.</span></p>Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-78065404150213344062021-01-19T23:28:00.001-05:002021-01-19T23:54:31.541-05:00The Dream Prophecy of the Coronavirus Pandemic and Biden's Inauguration<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I noticed something rather unusual in the news today, and it is related to a clairvoyant dream which is described in detail in the book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/X-Prophecy-Doug-Webber-ebook/dp/B07S8QM85D">The X Prophecy</a></i> published in June 2019. I would later discovered that it predicted the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic (see <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-clairvoyant-dream-and-prophecy-of.html">A Clairvoyant Dream and Prophecy of the Coronavirus Pandemic</a>, as well as <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-x-men-prophecy-of-coronavirus.html">The X-Men Prophecy of the Coronavirus Pandemic</a>). It is based on a dream where a young girl goes to a white castle on a hill that represents the Slavic myth of paradise. In the castle she sees a shallow pool, and out of the pool these flag poles rise, and these flag poles are grave markers of the dead. One flag pole in particular represents the grave of Elena, and this represents a story found in the X-Men comic books of one named Illyana. Illyana dies of a virus that affects her lungs so that she cannot breathe. This virus, called the "Legacy Virus," eventually becomes a global pandemic.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The book was written, of course, without any knowledge that COVID-19 was about to break out at the end of 2019. I have left it unmodified since it was first published. Here is the relevant passage of interest, which has multiple levels of meaning as described in the book:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">"<i>...in the another version of the dream she flung herself and landed on the roof of the castle, and landed on a platform knee deep in a pool of water that was on the roof of the castle. In the pool of water there were submerged flag poles. She is greeted again by two female stork guards and they ask her who she is and why she has come, as she must have a reason to be in the white castle. She then said she is a descendant of someone with many vowels in her name and they ask, “Do you mean Elena?” The name Elena was a shortened version of the name and she thought it should have been spelled as “Helena.” The stork people then surround her and raise their spears to the sky to celebrate that a descendant of Elena has come.</i>"</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">There were multiple flag poles, and the dreamer said that they represented grave markers. There was a lot of Russian symbolism, and the symbolism was pointing to events that took place in Ukraine in the 16th century, which began to repeat in our present time. A subsequent passage says this:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">"<i>[The dreamer] had said Elena died a long time ago, so perhaps the grave marker of Elena represented Helena of Moscow who had died in the 16th century. Thus the dream was indicating that present day Russia and Ukraine were repeating events that had happened long ago.</i>"</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The dream showed scenes from the X-Men movies and comics, but Elena here is the X-Men character Illyana, who dies of a virus that affected her lungs, as "Elena" and "Illyana" are two ways to spell the same name.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Today, I saw this scene in preparation for the inauguration of Joe Biden, our next President (from <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/field-of-flags-national-mall-biden-inauguration">Nearly 192,000 American, state flags on display at National Mall ahead of Biden inauguration</a>):</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aP9yWAU3Zwc/YAerg80MNwI/AAAAAAAAKhY/LdUEbZnk7iULbICNSrrTbVHwErnVWONagCNcBGAsYHQ/s1862/field-of-flags-1.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1862" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aP9yWAU3Zwc/YAerg80MNwI/AAAAAAAAKhY/LdUEbZnk7iULbICNSrrTbVHwErnVWONagCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/field-of-flags-1.webp" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The American flags represent the Americans who cannot attend due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. And they also represent the sheer number of people who have died of COVID-19. The flags are thus grave markers. This, of course, is next to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, which as in the dream is very shallow:</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bsBbOmeSzus/YAes2jHhOjI/AAAAAAAAKhg/gWdhwgtu4a4MLpknu_LvAaLWqSoAvPcQQCNcBGAsYHQ/s548/1LincolnMemorialReflectingPool3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="548" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bsBbOmeSzus/YAes2jHhOjI/AAAAAAAAKhg/gWdhwgtu4a4MLpknu_LvAaLWqSoAvPcQQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h400/1LincolnMemorialReflectingPool3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The book, </span><i style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/X-Prophecy-Doug-Webber-ebook/dp/B07S8QM85D">The X Prophecy</a></i><span style="font-size: large;"> (published in 2019) focuses on some other symbolism involving Russia and Ukraine: in the 16th century, Russia began taking over the territory of Ukraine, which repeated in events beginning with the Russia Ukraine conflict in 2014. So what does this have to do with the upcoming Biden Presidency? The answer to that is obvious by now: there was some recent propaganda concerning Ukraine which some tried to use to take down Biden, and Russia, of course, was involved in interfering in the 2016 election.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">When I saw the image of the flags this morning, it was just too unbelievable. When we look at it, let it be a reminder to all to those who have died from this pandemic. Just now, Biden held a memorial service at the Lincoln Memorial in memory of those who have died.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-crcs_yY7oQg/YAe25SMsHDI/AAAAAAAAKhs/QtjQrn60ZXII47IC_nTpLo_4kzxcRs05gCNcBGAsYHQ/s500/BidenMemorial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="384" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-crcs_yY7oQg/YAe25SMsHDI/AAAAAAAAKhs/QtjQrn60ZXII47IC_nTpLo_4kzxcRs05gCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h384/BidenMemorial.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Biden and Harris hold a memorial service. See <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/19/biden-coronavirus-memorial-us-deaths-ceremony">Joe Biden holds memorial for 400,000 Americans who have died of Covid-19</a></span><p></p>Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-36705899823214216772021-01-07T12:30:00.001-05:002021-01-11T00:00:29.310-05:00A Clairvoyant Dream of the Storming of the Capitol<p><span style="font-size: medium;">We now have seen the result of an endless propaganda stream from social media that influenced how people behave, by believing in something utterly false. I spoke about this earlier in the post: <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2015/12/cia-mind-control-over-american-and.html">CIA Mind Control over American and Foreign Media</a>. However now the falsehoods stem mainly from dark corners of the internet and social media, as well as from a leader who has shown obvious signs of narcissism and anti social personality disorder. Let us hope we can use the internet to spread the truth, not lies or falsehoods. Always, check the facts, something is not true just because someone told you so, or on trumped up charges which have no basis in reality.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here is Mitch McConnell's speech, right before the capitol was stormed by a mob. One of his best speeches I have seen:</span></p>
<center><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9idESc8Kweg" width="560"></iframe></center>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">The night before, a young child I know had a dream in which people with guns had invaded a building by breaking through a secure door. This building was in a city south from us and involved a girl that was born in Virginia. Most people escaped, but she had a gun pointed at her and struggled with the person holding the gun (one woman died who broke in). In the next scene, she is held hostage in a classroom and she is given a boring assignment to count and read cards (she had no idea electoral votes were being counted on January 6). She got so bored of it she got two other girls to join her to stop reading the cards and start a revolution, and gave a moving speech about a tribe of "jerks" who came from the west. One of the girls, oddly enough was called "banana" and even looked like one. This of course would represent the senators who objected to some of the electoral counts. Let us hope that from henceforth we will have elected officials who will show more backbone than a banana.</span></p>Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-72728626874329194512020-09-07T16:29:00.005-04:002020-09-07T18:26:17.688-04:00How are the Prophecies of the Second Coming Fulfilled?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A1oYnEaYCcI/X1aXcx7xFcI/AAAAAAAAKeI/15GkmQSWgk82P7u1mOFBVhskyW6yh3kxACNcBGAsYHQ/s1000/PropheciesFulfilled.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="439" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A1oYnEaYCcI/X1aXcx7xFcI/AAAAAAAAKeI/15GkmQSWgk82P7u1mOFBVhskyW6yh3kxACNcBGAsYHQ/w781-h439/PropheciesFulfilled.jpg" width="781" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Many, when they hear about the Second Coming of Christ, think of His eventually return where He will appear in the clouds of the sky, the world will come to an end, and that there will be a last judgment. However this is a false expectation: by the Second Coming is not meant a physical manifestation of the Lord, but a heavenly revelation from heaven which will take place in vision. The final judgment does not take place on earth, but in the spiritual world. The "end of the world" is not the end of the visible planet earth, but rather, it refers to the end of the age of traditional Christianity that has become corrupted by falsehoods.</p><p>That the Second Coming is spiritual, and not observable in a physical manner, is discussed in detail here: <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2017/03/is-second-coming-physical-event-or.html">Is the Second Coming a Physical Event or Spiritual Event?</a></p><p>That the Second Coming is a spiritual revelation, and not a physical manifestation that appears before everybody at once, we know from Jesus Himself:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, <b>The kingdom of God comes not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you</b>. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. </i> (Luke 17:20-23)</blockquote><p>Now despite this, there are some that still expect a literal, physical appearance of the Lord. This is not possible, for when Jesus rose from the dead, His human body had transformed into a Divine Human. The Lord could only be seen by those whose spiritual vision had been opened:</p><p></p><blockquote>"He is not to appear in person, because since He ascended into heaven He is in the glorified Humanity, and in this He cannot appear to any man unless He first opens the eyes of his spirit, and this cannot be done with any one who is in evils and hence in falsities... Therefore when He manifested Himself to His disciples, He first opened their eyes; for we read, <i>And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him, and He vanished out of their sight</i> (Luke xxiv. 31). The same took place with the women at the sepulchre after the resurrection, who therefore then saw angels sitting in the sepulchre and talking with them; and no one can see angels with the material eye. That neither did the apostles see the Lord in the glorified Human before His resurrection with the eyes of the body, but in spirit, which appears, after returning to wakefulness, as if in sleep, is evident from His transfiguration before Peter, James, and John, for it is said that they were then heavy with sleep (Luke ix. 32). It is therefore vain to believe that the Lord will appear in a cloud of heaven in person; <b>but He will appear in the Word, which is from Him and thus is Himself</b>." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Religion-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GPQDYI">True Christian Religion</a></i>, n. 777)</blockquote><p></p><p>What happened is that in the 18th century, Emanuel Swedenborg's vision was opened where he would read scripture and its spiritual meaning was explained by the Lord. This is the Second Coming, available to anyone who pays attention and reads the writings: <b>the First Coming was a revelation of the Word made flesh, the Second Coming is a revelation of the spiritual sense of the Word hidden within its literal sense</b>.</p><p>This does not preclude future revelations concerning the Second Coming and the book of Revelation - but it must take place in one's <u>spiritual sight</u>, not in the physical world. This is the first step of true understanding.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">THE INTERMEDIATE WORLD BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL</span></b></p><p>After death, a spirit is judged and goes either to heaven or hell, which Swedenborg saw were higher dimensions where space and time do not exist, and yet these spiritual dimensions govern our states of mind. What he also discovered was that between heaven and hell groups of souls would gather in an intermediate spiritual world who were not prepared for judgment, which he called the "world of spirits." It is in this area where the last judgment occurs, where souls are judged in mass at the end of a world age. This intermediate world can be compared to purgatory in Catholic tradition, and some of it is known from the "Harrowing of Hell" that took place when Jesus descended into hell in Orthodox tradition. This middle region between heaven and hell is mentioned explicitly in two areas of the New Testament:</p><p></p><blockquote>"<i>For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison</i>" (2 Pet. 3:18-19)</blockquote><p></p><p>It is also the area where some good spirits remain, awaiting judgment:</p><p></p><blockquote>"<i>And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled</i>." (Rev. 6:9-11)</blockquote><p></p><p>The good that remained here were those who had good intentions, but had perhaps been misled by falsehoods or did things out of ignorance. The evil that remained until the last judgment were those who put on an appearance of being good or religious towards others, but inwardly were evil. Jesus had entered this intermediate spiritual world after His death, and He speaks of His fight against hell in order to release spiritual captives in this passage:</p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><i>But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house</i>. (Matt. 12:28-29)</blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>THE FINAL JUDGMENTS OF THE SPIRITUAL WORLD</b></span></p><p>In the heavenly revelations received by Swedenborg in the 18th century, it was shown to him that "last judgments" take place periodically in the spiritual world. This has happened three times, one of which he witnessed personally in his waking visions:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>A final judgment took place in the spiritual world which is metaphorically described in the story of the flood of Noah.</li><li>A final judgment took place in the spiritual world during the time of Jesus, which Jesus does mention briefly but practiced it in His exorcisms of demons.</li><li>A final judgment took place in the spiritual world in 1757, due to the corruptions of the Christian churches (primarily by dividing God into three persons, and promoting a religion of belief alone)</li></ol><p></p><p>The final judgment of the year 1757 opened up a new era of thought, where mankind started to think more freely and began to question religious authority, and follow rational thought. Swedenborg mentions that a new era of free thought would begin:</p><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></p><p></p><blockquote style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">"The great change which has been effected in the spiritual world does not induce any change in the natural world as to external form, and therefore there will be civil affairs hereafter just as before... the man of the church will hereafter be in a freer state of thinking on the things of faith, thus on the spiritual things which are of heaven, because spiritual freedom has been restored... I have had various conversations with angels concerning the state of the church hereafter, and they said that they know not things to come, because to know things to come is of the Lord alone; but they know that the slavery and captivity in which the man of the church has been hitherto, has been taken away, and that now from restored freedom he can better perceive interior truths, if he wishes to perceive them, and so can become interior, if he wishes to become so; yet they have slender hope of the men of the Christian Church, but much of a people quite remote from the Christian world, and hence removed from infesters, which is such as to be able to receive spiritual light, and to become a celestial spiritual man; and they said that at this day interior Divine truths are revealed in that people, and are also received with spiritual faith, that is, in life and heart, and that they adore the Lord." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Final-Judgment-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GJ4J4U">Final Judgment</a></i>, n. 73-74)</blockquote><p>This is known as the Age of Enlightenment to historians. The external manifestation of it can be seen in the volumes of writings that Swedenborg wrote to explain the spiritual sense of the Bible. Now completely independent from Swedenborg, those who have studied the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, especially Seventh Day Adventists, understood that there was a 1260 year prophecy beginning with the collapse of the Roman Empire that ended in the 18th century. All that they could figure out was the external historical manifestation of the spiritual event: at this time, the Catholic Church lost its spiritual power, especially with the disbanding of the Jesuits and the separation of church and state due to the French and American revolutions. From the revelation we have now received, the 1260 year period began in 497 A.D. and ended in 1757 A.D. (see <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-prophetic-time-periods-of-daniel.html">The Prophetic Time Periods of Daniel Revealed</a>).</p><p>The Seventh Day Adventists speak of a prophecy in Daniel 8 concerning the "cleansing of the temple" which they cannot explain well, but they happen to be close to the mark. It was actually fulfilled in the cleansing of the spiritual world between heaven and hell in 1757. There is a 2300 year prophecy beginning from the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C. which brings us to the year 1762, for which see the previous posts <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-new-church-prophecy-of-2300-days-or.html">The New Church Prophecy of the 2300 Days, or the Cleansing of the Sanctuary</a> and <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-prophecy-of-babylon-and-writing-on.html">The Prophecy of Babylon and the Writing on the Wall</a></p><p>So with that introduction, lets explain now what portions of the book of Revelation have been fulfilled, or are happening now...</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>THE SEVEN CHURCHES REPRESENT THE OLDER CHRISTIAN CHURCHES</b></span></p><div>The letters to the seven churches were written to seven churches in Asia, or modern day Turkey, and they are representative of the older traditional Christian churches as they are now, preceding their awareness of the revelations of the Second Coming. There are seven different types, and they are explained in detail here: <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-symbolism-of-seven-churches-of-book.html">The Symbolism of the Seven Churches of the book of Revelation</a></div><p>Those who separate faith from charity, are described in one aspect of the letter to the church of Thyatira. However most Christians are in an external form of worship, without applying it to their life, and are dead spiritually: these are described by Sardis. Those who do works of charity, or are merit seeking, are described by Pergamos. All churches, in no matter what state of life, or what state of belief they are, are invited to the New Church, which is the New Jerusalem that descends out of heaven.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>THE SEVEN SEALS: EXPLORATION BEFORE JUDGMENT</b></span></p><div>The unsealing of the book of seven seals signifies a phase of exploration of the state of each person in the intermediate world before judgment is executed, for before judgment there is a state of visitation or exploration of one's interior mind. On a careful read of the symbolism (described in detail in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U/">The Apocalypse Revealed and Explained</a>) it matches the progressive decline of the Christian Church until no good or truth remained within it, as described spiritually in Jesus's explanation for the end of the age (see <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2007/12/end-of-this-world-age.html">The End of this World Age - the Last Days of Matthew 24</a>). For the sun to turn dark signifies a total lack of love, for the moon to turn blood red signifies truth will be falsified, and for stars to fall from the sky signifies all spiritual knowledge will be lost for the Christian churches on earth. This period of spiritual exploration continued for a period of time before the judgment upon the spiritual world in 1757, until the evil became separated from heaven which is described as heaven departing as a rolled book (Rev. 6:14):</div><div><blockquote>"The reason that it is said that the heaven departed as a book rolled together, is that man's interior understanding and hence his thought is like heaven. For his understanding can be elevated into the light of heaven, and in elevation can think with the angels about God, about love and faith, and about eternal life. But if his will is not at the same time elevated into the heat of heaven, the man is still not conjoined to the angels of heaven, and thus is not like heaven... By this faculty of the understanding, the evil, who are here treated of, were able to be in consociation with the angels of the lowest heaven. But when these were separated from them, their heaven then departed like a book rolled together." (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U/"><i>Apocalypse Revealed</i></a>, n. 335)</blockquote></div><div>Another aspect of the spiritual exploration of the intermediate spiritual world is that the good who were present there and yet had not been taken up to heaven had to be marked out and separated from the evil, and this is represented by the sealing of the 144,000 (Rev. 7). This is represented historically in scripture when the angels rescued Lot and his family before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19) and the sealing of the righteous by angels before the destruction of Jerusalem (Ezek. 9). The "winds" that are held back by the angels signifies a stronger Divine influx from the higher heavens into the lower intermediate spiritual world:</div><div><blockquote>"It is to be known, that a final judgment takes place, when the evil are multiplied to such a degree under the heavens in the world of spirits, that the angels in the heavens cannot stand in the state of their love and their wisdom; for they then have no support and foundation. And because this takes place from the multiplication of the evil below, the Lord, therefore, that He may preserve their state, flows in more and more strongly with His Divine; and this is done until they cannot be preserved by any influx, unless the evil below are separated from the good: and this is effected by a lowering and drawing near of the heavens, and hence a stronger influx, until the evil cannot endure it; and the evil then flee away, and cast themselves into hell." (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U/"><i>Apocalypse Revealed</i></a>, n. 343)</blockquote></div><div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>THE SEVEN TRUMPETS: EXPLORATION OF THE SPIRITUAL CHURCH</b></span></p><div>Following the exploration of those spirits in the intermediate world who were only good in external appearance, or those who were good but had been influenced by falsehoods, next followed an exploration of those who had a higher understanding of Christianity, but had falsified the gospel by separating faith from charity and good works. This mainly affected those of the Protestant persuasion, who believed in scripture and yet had followed an evil life. That this is a false theology, see <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2020/08/is-there-salvation-from-belief-alone.html">Is there Salvation from Belief Alone?</a> and <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-spiritual-meaning-of-word-works-in.html">The Spiritual Meaning of the word "Works" in Scripture</a>. That this exploration concerned the Protestants, is because when people believe in salvation from belief alone, and that man has power to do nothing, and that nothing a person does has any spiritual value, and that sins are "automatically transferred" on a mere lip confession, they do not practice repentance. And repentance through Jesus Christ is the true path of Christianity. Their exposure, that they lived an evil life, and did not practice repentance, is described in Rev. 9:20-21 which describes those who do not repent of the work of their hands. Their separation from heaven in the spiritual world are described in a symbolic manner, which is more fully explained in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U/">The Apocalypse Revealed and Explained</a>.</div></div><div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>THE ANGEL WITH THE LITTLE BOOK</b></span></p><div>Revelation 10 describes an angel that descends from heaven with a little book, who then speaks and then seven thunders are uttered, and John is commanded to not write it down. This concerns a new heavenly revelation that was not revealed to John the apostle, but it has been revealed in the heavenly visions given to Emanuel Swedenborg. The "little book" concerns one major point that has been missed by many within the Christian churches: that Jesus Christ is not a second person of a trinity, but that He is the One God of the universe, who descended and became incarnate in human form, and made His human Divine, until He became a God-Man or Divine Human who can now interact directly with all mankind who had been cut off from heaven. Thus the angel with the little book was fulfilled in the revelation of the Divine Human given to Swedenborg, which is explained throughout the writings and more specifically in the small work, <i>Doctrine of the Lord</i>, which was published in 1763. See the post <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-mystery-of-book-of-seven-thunders.html">The Mystery of the Book of Seven Thunders Explained</a>.</div></div><div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>THE TWO WITNESSES</b></span></p><div>Revelation 11 describes two witnesses who prophesy for a period of 1260 days before being slain, and these signify the two principle doctrines of the New Church which are rejected by several churches that teach a false theology of faith alone:</div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>That there is One God in One Being, One Person, who is Jesus Christ, the Divine Human, and,</li><li>That one must live by the commandments, turning away from evil as sin</li></ol></div><div>Their rejection, and death, signifies that these two principles are opposed by those who follow a tritheism of three persons, and who believe that one is saved by faith alone and that works effect nothing for one's salvation. This is summarized in the blog post <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-identity-of-two-witnesses-of.html">The Identity of the Two Witnesses of Revelation</a>. The two doctrines are summarized in the small works, <i>Doctrine of the Lord</i> (1763), and <i>Doctrine of Life according to the Commandments of the Decalogue</i> (1763), and these are the two witnesses which become rejected primarily by those who follow the false theology of faith alone in the Protestant/Reformed churches (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U/"><i>Apocalypse Revealed</i></a>, n. 515)</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">THE "PRECURSOR" JUDGMENT OF THE YEAR 1757</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Swedenborg was shown a grand vision of a judgment that took place in the intermediate spiritual world in 1757, and assumed that it was the complete fulfillment of all the prophecies in the Apocalypse (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Final-Judgment-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GJ4J4U">Final Judgment</a></i>, n. 40-44 and <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Final-Judgment-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GJ4J4U">Final Judgment Continued</a></i>, n. 1). Swedenborg had other confirmed clairvoyant abilities as testimony that he indeed did see a last judgment of the spiritual world in 1757, but Swedenborg had initially incorrectly assumed that his grand vision was the complete fulfillment of the Apocalypse. On a careful read of his writings, it can be seen that it was a precursor, and that there will be more to come.</div><div><br /></div><div>First, the two witnesses of Revelation 11 are ultimately rejected, killed, and after three and a half days are raised and are caught up into heaven, and Swedenborg's visions . This signifies the revival of the New Church, and its preservation by heaven:</div><div><i></i><blockquote><i>"And after the three days and a half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet</i>, [Rev. 11:11] signifies that the two essentials of the New Church, at the end of the former, when the New Church is beginning and advancing, are vivified by the Lord with those who receive them. By the three days and a half is signified to the end and beginning... and thus from the end of the church which as yet is, to the beginning of the new; here with those among whom the New Church commences and is progressing: because it is now said of the witnesses, that the spirit of life entered into them, and they stood upon their feet. By the spirit of life from God spiritual life is signified; and by standing upon the feet is signified natural life agreeing with the spiritual life, and thus to be vivified by the Lord." (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U/"><i>Apocalypse Revealed</i></a>, n. 510)</blockquote></div><div>This speaks of the utter rejection of the New Church, especially by those who follow a false theology of salvation by belief alone, for they reject salvation by repentance and reforming one's life. Swedenborg had one vision that showed that the revelations given to him were the fulfillment of this prophecy, and he saw that in the spiritual world it was vehemently opposed by spirits who believed in faith alone. The ascension of the two witnesses into heaven signifies that the New Church will be preserved and protected by heaven against those who oppose it. And after this, the Apocalypse describes a judgment upon the evil that opposed the revelation:</div><div><div><i></i><blockquote><i>And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city fell</i>, signifies that a remarkable change of state then took place with them, and that <b>they were torn away from heaven and cast down into hell</b>. In that hour signifies the time when they beheld the two witnesses go up into heaven, and yet remained fixed in their falsities, as just above (n. 514); for the two witnesses prophesied, that is, taught them (vers. 3). And after they were slain, and came to life again, and they also saw them ascend into heaven, and still did not recede from their falsities, then that great earthquake took place... <b>By an earthquake a change of state is signified</b> (n. 331); here their destruction... <b>By falling is signified to sink down into hell, which takes place when they are torn away from heaven</b>. For the cities in the world of spirits which are in evils and falsities, — after they who are there have been visited, informed, and admonished, and still persist in their evils and falsities, — are shaken by an earthquake; and thereby a gulf is opened, into which they sink down... <i>And there were slain in the earthquake names of men seven thousand</i>, signifies that in that state <b>all those who professed faith alone, and therefore made the works of charity of no account, perished</b>. By being slain is signified here as before to be spiritually slain, which is to perish as to the soul. By the earthquake is signified a change of state with them, and their destruction... <i>And the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven</i>, signifies that they who joined any goods of charity to their faith, when they saw the destruction of those, acknowledged the Lord, and were separated. By the remnant are here meant those who adjoined to faith any goods of charity... Because these, through fear, acknowledge the Lord, <b>they were separated, that they might be explored</b> as to the origin from which they did good, whether from themselves or from the Lord." (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U/"><i>Apocalypse Revealed</i></a>, n. 515-7) </blockquote></div></div><div>In the book of Revelation, this is the second time a spiritual judgment is mentioned. The first was at the opening of the sixth seal where there is a great earthquake (Rev. 6:12-17) and this involved those within the intermediate spiritual world who were outside of the Christian church. The second is after the ascension of the two witnesses (Rev. 11:13), and this involved a judgment upon those of the Protestants or Reformed who separate faith from charity. And this is similar to how the last judgment of 1757 in the spiritual world proceeded:</div></div><div><blockquote>"And it was done in this order: first, upon those of the Papal religion; then upon the Mohammedans; afterward upon the Gentiles; and lastly upon the Reformed." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Final-Judgment-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GJ4J4U">Final Judgment</a></i>, n. 47)</blockquote></div><div>Rev. 6-7 speaks of the general judgment upon the spiritual world, and this is followed by a judgment on the Protestants of faith alone in Rev. 8-11. When the judgment of 1757 took place in the spiritual world, it manifested as an earthquake, and there was a separation between the good and evil, before the evil were cast down to hell:</div><div><blockquote>"Destruction is effected after visitation; for visitation always precedes. Visitation is a process of exploration as to quality, and also a separation of the good from the evil; then the good are removed and the evil are left. When that was done, there were great earthquakes, from which they perceived that the final judgment was at hand; and trembling also then seized them all." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Final-Judgment-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GJ4J4U">Final Judgment</a></i>, n. 61)</blockquote></div><div><blockquote>"These changes of their state were accompanied with various concussions of their dwellings and lands, followed by earthquakes, mighty according to their perversions. Here and there also were made chasms toward the hells, which were under them, and thus communication was opened with them: then exhalations were seen ascending like smoke mingled with sparks of fire." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Final-Judgment-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GJ4J4U">Final Judgment Continued</a></i>, n. 25)</blockquote></div><div>In city that is destroyed by earthquake in Rev. 11:13 is spiritually called "Sodom and Egypt." And Swedenborg saw that those who were in faith alone, and yet lived an evil life, in the spiritual world behaved exactly like those of Sodom right before their judgment:</div><div><blockquote>"Visitations were also made by angels; for before any ill-conditioned society perishes, visitation always precedes. The angels exhorted them to desist; foretelling their destruction if they did not. Then they also sought out any good spirits that might be intermingled with them, and separated them. But the crowd, incited by their leaders, treated them with insults, rushing upon them to drag them into the market-place and treat them abominably, <b>just as was done in Sodom</b>. The most of these were of faith separate from charity, and there were also some who professed charity and still lived wickedly." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Final-Judgment-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GJ4J4U">Final Judgment Continued</a></i>, n. 26)</blockquote></div><div>In Revelation, the earthquake and destruction is followed by the seventh trumpet:</div><div><blockquote>"<i>And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever</i>." (Rev. 11:15)</blockquote></div><div>Compare this to what Swedenborg saw concerning the judgment upon those of faith alone in the spiritual world in 1757:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>"The Lord was seen in a bright cloud with the angels,<b> and a sound was heard thence as of trumpets</b>, which was a sign representative of the protection of the angels of heaven by the Lord, and of the gathering together of the good from every side." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Final-Judgment-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GJ4J4U">Final Judgment Continued</a></i>, n. 28)</div><div></div></blockquote><div>Unfortunately, not many in the New Church have made this connection, taking Swedenborg's opinion that everything of the Apocalypse has been fulfilled on face value. Swedenborg had also made the decision to make an account of his vision of the last judgment in the work <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Final-Judgment-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GJ4J4U">Final Judgment</a></i>, separate from his massive work on the explanation of the Apocalypse (see <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U/">The Apocalypse Revealed and Explained</a>.) When we read the commentary on Rev. 11:15, Swedenborg confirms that it refers to the last judgment that he saw in 1757:</div><div><blockquote>"<i>And the seventh angel sounded</i>, signifies the exploration and manifestation of the state of the church after its consummation, when the coming of the Lord and of His kingdom takes place. By sounding the trumpet is signified to explore and make manifest the state of the church after its consummation, when the coming of the Lord and of His kingdom takes place. The reason is, because this is signified by the seventh angel sounding; for by the six angels and their trumpets sounding, the explorations and manifestations of the consummated church have been signified, as is manifest from the preceding chapter, where only its consummation is described. But that its state after consummation is now treated of, which is the coming of the Lord and of His kingdom, is manifest from these things that follow in this verse and afterwards: in this verse, <i>And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of the world are become our Lord's and His Christ's, and He shall reign for ever and ever</i>, etc. This manifestation was made by the sounding of the seventh angel, because seven signifies the same as a week; and six days of it are days of labor and of what belongs to man, and the seventh is holy and the Lord's." (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U/"><i>Apocalypse Revealed</i></a>, n. 519) </blockquote></div><div>Also Swedenborg explicitly states that this was fulfilled by the last judgment of 1757 (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U/"><i>Apocalypse Explained</i></a>, n. 674). Moreover, when he completed his work <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Religion-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GPQDYI/"><i>True Christian Religion</i></a>, he saw this take place in the spiritual world:</div><div><blockquote>"After this work was finished the Lord called together His twelve disciples who followed Him in the world; and the next day He sent them all forth into the whole spiritual world to preach the Gospel that the Lord God Jesus Christ reigns, whose kingdom shall be for ages of ages, according to the prediction by Daniel (vii. 13, 14), and in the Apocalypse (xi. 15); and that Blessed are they who come to the marriage supper of the Lamb (Apoc. xix. 9). This took place on the nineteenth day of June, in the year 1770. This is meant by these words of the Lord: <i>He will send His angels, and they shall gather together His elect from one end of the heavens even to the other</i> (Matt. xxiv. 31)." (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Religion-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GPQDYI/"><i>True Christian Religion</i></a>, n. 791)</blockquote></div><div>This was written in the year 1770, which not only fulfilled Matt. 24:31, but again he quotes Rev. 11:15 which is the sounding of the seventh trumpet. This indicates that the judgment that took place in the intermediate spiritual world in the year 1757 was a precursor to future events in the development of the New Church, with the end goal of communion with the Lord described in Rev. 19:9. </div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">THE GRADUAL FORMATION OF THE NEW CHURCH</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>The slow formation of the New Church on earth is described by the woman giving birth to a child in Revelation 12, which signifies the Doctrine that the Lord's human is Divine, a Divine Human, and that His human form is the Son and not a second person of a fictional trinity of three persons. That the doctrines of the New Church will be hard to accept, and occur with difficulty, is signified by the woman who labors to give birth to the child. That the woman has to flee to the wilderness, means that for a long time the New Church will be among the few, and in obscurity. This is due to the strong persuasion of the false theology that God is three persons and that one is saved by faith alone. That a false theology of three personal beings would arise is signified by the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet (see <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-prophecy-of-dragon-beast-and-false.html">The Prophecy of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet</a>).</div></div><div><br /></div><div>One reason for the slow development on earth, is that the heavens have to be organized first before the New Church will completely manifest on earth:</div><div><blockquote>"It is in accordance with Divine order that the new heaven should be formed before the new church on earth; for the church is internal and external, and the internal church makes one with the church in heaven, and thus with heaven; and the internal must be formed before the external, and the external must afterward be formed by means of the internal; that this is so is known among the clergy in the world. Just so far as this new heaven, which constitutes the internal of the church with man, grows, so far does the New Jerusalem, that is, the New Church come down from that heaven. This, therefore, cannot take place in a moment, but it takes place as the falsities of the former church are removed; for what is new cannot enter where falsities have been previously implanted, unless these are uprooted, which will take place with the clergy, and so with the laity; for the Lord said, <i>No one putteth new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break and the wine runneth out; but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved</i> (Matt. ix. 17; Mark ii. 22; Luke v. 37, 38)." (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Religion-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GPQDYI/"><i>True Christian Religion</i></a>, n. 784)</blockquote></div><div>This gradual formation can be seen somewhat in modern times: many are leaving the traditional churches behind, and identifying themselves as "spiritually independent." For those who have removed themselves from the falsehoods of the older churches, there is an opportunity to learn of the rational spirituality of the New Church: one that declares that there is One God in One Person Jesus Christ, and that a true spiritual life is to live by the decalogue of the 10 commandments. In one of his private letters, Swedenborg wrote this:</div><div><blockquote>"The New Heaven of Christians out of which the New Jerusalem, will descend from the Lord (Rev. 21:1, 2) is not yet fully established..." (Docu. 230, dated Sept, 25, 1766)</blockquote></div><div>And the key to establishing the New Church, is instruction of a new set of ministers, who are not constrained by the older false teachings:</div><div><blockquote>"The Lord is at this time preparing a New Heaven of those who believe in Him, acknowledge Him as the true God of heaven and earth, and look to Him in their lives, which means to shun evil and do good; for from that heaven the New Jerusalem is to come down (see Rev. 21:2.). I daily see spirits and angels, from ten to twenty thousand, descending and ascending and being set in order. By degrees, as that heaven is being formed, the New Church likewise begins and increases. The universities in Christendom are now first being instructed, whence will come new ministers; for the new heaven has no influence over the old (clergy) who deem themselves, too learned in the doctrine of justification by faith alone" (Docu. 234, II., dated Stockholm, February 1767.)</blockquote></div><div>So it is obvious: not everything in the book of Revelation or the Apocalypse have been fulfilled yet, there are present and future spiritual developments in the formation of the New Jerusalem here on earth.</div>Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-48756360492900083372020-09-01T21:15:00.000-04:002020-09-01T21:15:41.273-04:00The Divine Signature of the Genetic Code<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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From the revelations of the New Church, it is revealed that God is life itself, and all life forms are recipients of that life which they receive through spiritual influx. We also know from the revelations, that all natural forms, especially forms of life, are symbolic representations of spiritual ideas and concepts. Now lets take this further: all of life is based on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_code">genetic code</a> of living cells. The genetic code is composed of codons, which is a sequence of three nucleotides, a specific type of organic molecules. In DNA we have guanine, adenine, cytosine and thymine. Within the genetic code there are exactly 20 amino acids, and these are known as the "canonical" amino acids among the 500 or so amino acids found in nature, and are the foundation of all life.<br />
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If God is life, and is the source of all life, is there any "signature" or mathematical pattern found in the genetic code? The answer is yes. The pattern is statistically significant and there are no known natural laws that explain it; nor is it random; nor does the mathematical symmetry seem to be a necessity for the biological processes of the genetic code itself. Two scientists discovered evidence of an
artificial mathematical code embedded into our genetic DNA, which cannot
be explained by evolution and is not random. Their findings were
published in the peer reviewed scientific journal <i>Icarus</i> in 2013. From <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/alien-code-in-human-genes_n_3034876">ET Genetic Code May Be Found In Human DNA, According To Kazakhstan Scientists' Biological SETI Theory</a><br />
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"Two scientists in Kazakhstan
believe humans may have an extraterrestrial "stamp" embedded into our
genetic code, a mathematical message that would not be explained by
Darwin's theory of biological evolution. </div>
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The
scientists are suggesting that an advanced alien civilization "seeded"
our galaxy eons ago with an ET signal that eventually found its way to
Earth, implanting a genetic code into humans... Physicist
Vladimir I. shCherbak of al-Farabi Kazakh National University of
Kazakhstan and astrobiologist Maxim A. Makukov of the Fesenkvo
Astrophysical Institute refer to this far-out concept as "biological
SETI."</div>
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The article is entitled <i>The "Wow! signal" of the terrestrial genetic code</i>, and can be found here: <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1303.6739">https://arxiv.org/abs/1303.6739</a>.
They proposed that this genetic signal was due to panspermia from
millions of years ago. One biologist refuted it, stating they did not
properly rule out the "operations of natural law." From <a href="https://encyclopediaofastrobiology.org/wiki/Panspermia">Panspermia</a>:</div>
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"This claim has been refuted by biologist PZ Myers who said, writing in Pharyngula: Unfortunately,
what they’ve so honestly described is good old honest garbage ... Their
methods failed to recognize a well-known functional association in the
genetic code; they did not rule out the operation of natural law before
rushing to falsely infer design ... We certainly don’t need to invoke
panspermia. Nothing in the genetic code requires design. and the authors
haven’t demonstrated otherwise."</blockquote>
<span id="goog_181864754"></span>The
authors of the original article then published another subsequent peer
reviewed article, where they test the probability that the pattern was
due to naturally occurring laws, applying statistical methods. And they
arrived at the same conclusion as the original paper: this is not due to
any naturally occurring law. Their paper addressing the criticisms can
be found here: <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1707.03382">SETI in vivo: testing the we-are-them hypothesis</a>. <br />
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So what did they find? Based on the codons, and the amino acids formed from the codons, and the nucleons in each amino acid, there are mathematical symmetries that reveal the following numbers using base 10: 111, 222, 333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, 999. The number are formed by mathematical symmetries, and the foundation of it is the 74 nucleons in the uniform part of the 20 amino acids in the genetic code. See the following two videos which explain the findings in a graphical manner, as the articles are hard to follow:<br />
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<b>THE DIVINE SIGNATURE IN THE GENETIC CODE</b></div>
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I think the article reveals a significant mathematical pattern of high order. It is a "signal," but not from extraterrestrial panspermia - that would have us believe that some alien race managed to be the origin of all life. More likely it is an elegant mathematical pattern, similar to the atomic table, but of higher order since this natural form is a recipient of life. And as God is life, it provides us with a Divine signature. It is not a message from an extraterrestrial race, it is a message embedded on the fundamental building block of life, from the originator of all life.<br />
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The reason why I think this is a Divine signature is that <b>I found some of these exact same numbers in the numerical symbolism of the Psalms.</b> I had already published my findings in the book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Code-Psalms-Theodore-Webber-ebook/dp/B07JG7C5P1">The Secret Code of the Psalms</a>:<br />
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I discussed this previously in the post <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-secret-code-of-psalms.html">The Secret Code of the Psalms, </a>where I state that hidden within the numerical structure of the Hebrew poetry, there are fractional representations of the number pi to a high degree of accuracy. One of these convergent fractions is <b>333</b>/106, and 333 appears in the numerical structure of the genetic code. The reason why these numbers were considered sacred is that they represent the circle or disk, and in the ancient near east the circle or disk of the sun was seen as a representation of God. The Jews for the most part removed themselves from this physical representation to separate from idolatry, but the mathemetical symbolism was retained. And we know from the revelations of the New Church that all numbers have a spiritual meaning - see <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2012/02/spiritual-meaning-of-numbers-or.html">Spiritual Meaning of Numbers, or Numerology</a><br />
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Now, returning back to the numerical pattern in the genetic code, where the researchers kept finding multiples of 111. They note that all of the numbers are multiples of the prime number 37. And, as already described in my book, Psalms 37 and 111 are both acrostic Psalms. Each verse begins with a Hebrew letter. And just as codons are composed of three nucleotides, most Hebrew words originate from a semitic root of three consonants. Coincidence? And the reason for the emphasis on multiples of 111 is to direct us to <b>333/106</b>, which is one of the convergent ratios of pi (the others, up to 3 digits, are 3, 22/7 and 355/113). And if we look at Psalm 37, it has this statement in it:<br />
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<i>The law of his God is in his heart</i> (Ps. 37:31)</blockquote>
In the spiritual sense, it means a man of God has love in his heart. But the law, in the strictest sense, refers to the 10 commandments, and isn't it odd that the genetic code for all of life has a signature founded on base 10 mathematics? And isn't it odd that the genetic code has 20 amino acids, which is 2 x 10? Maybe minor coincidences, but add this to the pattern already found by the scientists who had no knowledge of the Divine signature hidden in the Hebrew poetry of the Psalms.<br />
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The elegant numerical pattern found in the genetic code serves no functional purpose, but it is there, like a signature, letting us know that someone is there - someone who is the origin of all living things as we know it in the universe.<br />
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Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-35267734925367741632020-08-31T22:38:00.000-04:002020-08-31T22:59:06.623-04:00Is there Salvation from Belief Alone?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Many Christians, especially newly converted Christians, think that salvation comes by merely believing in Jesus Christ and being baptized. And that's it. It's a one time event, and then one is done: even worse, some think what you do in life is of no account. But is this true? Is this what scripture teaches? The answer is a definite no: for the word translated as "belief" is more accurately translated as "faith," and faith is not a mere belief in factual knowledge but rather, it is living by the truth, which is turning away from sin and in doing charity to others or being useful in life.<br />
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There are some verses that do in fact seem to teach the above teaching, but one has to also ignore a host of other scripture that teaches against belief alone. Jesus spoke very strongly against those who were in a religion of belief alone, or those who heard His words, and did not do them:<br />
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“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matt. 7:24-27)</blockquote>
And it gets worse: Jesus said those who just say "Lord, Lord" and pray and yet live an evil life will be condemned (Matt. 7:22-23, 25:31-46). <i>You cannot just believe and live an evil life, without considering your sins. </i>For all will be judged according to their works (Matt. 16:27, Rom. 2:6, Rev. 22:12). And we are talking here about the works of charity, or the effects of doing from good intent, and the work of turning against evil - NOT the external works of the Mosaic ritual law which is what Paul focused on in his letters to the early church.<br />
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<b>WHAT PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE SEEM TO CONFIRM BELIEF ALONE?</b></div>
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There are a few passages that seem to confirm that all one has to do is believe to be saved. So lets take a look at them. The first comes from Mark:<br />
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<i>Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned</i>. (Matt. 16:16)</blockquote>
So how do we reconcile this passage with what Jesus said earlier? The issue here is that this verse is not just mentioning baptism by water: baptism by water is merely an external ritual that in itself does nothing. What it is talking about is <i>spiritual baptism</i>: dying to your old self and beginning a new life, which is effected by repentance, or turning away from sin, and doing what God commanded. Baptism signifies a washing away by the truth, for it is from truth that we know that we should fight against sin and turn away from it. That we are not talking about mere water baptism, but a spiritual baptism, we know from the gospel of Mark itself:<br />
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<i>I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit</i> (Mark 1:8)</blockquote>
For when we turn away from sin, putting our trust in Jesus Christ, He fills our heart with the Holy Spirit. That Mark is talking about spiritual baptism, which is spiritual regeneration by turning away from evil, we know from this when James and John asked that they sit at his left and right hand in the kingdom:<br />
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<i>Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”</i> (Mark 10:38-40)</blockquote>
Obviously Jesus is speaking figuratively. To drink the cup is to experience temptation, which we can see in Jesus' prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane:<br />
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<i>“Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”</i> (Mark 14:36)</blockquote>
To be baptized is to undergo spiritual regeneration by turning away from sin after having been tempted, through which we receive the Holy Spirit. This is done through Jesus who experienced the most severest of temptations from all of hell. And note that to sit with Jesus is not something Jesus can just give to those who want it: it is given to those who live a life of service and charity, which Jesus explains in the verses following (see Mark 10:41-45). So is salvation a "free gift"? No, not according to Jesus. We have to undergo temptation ("drink the cup"), turn away from evil ("be baptized"), and live by His commandments in charity and usefulness (be a servant).<br />
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There are several other verses that mention "belief" as necessary for salvation or eternal life, all from the gospel of John: John 3:12,15-16,18,36; 6:40,47; 8:24, 11:25-26. The word "belief" here is not mere belief, the exact same word can be translated as "faith" which is to live by the truth: by repentance with utter focus on Jesus to work through us, and to do what He said. This is what "believing the Son" means, it is not mere factual knowledge of the memory. We know it is not mere belief, for Jesus Himself asks:<br />
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<i>Who then is that faithful and wise steward?</i> (Luke 12:42)</blockquote>
The word "faithful" comes from the same root word that is translated as "belief." The one that is faithful is the one who does according to what Jesus says, which is described in the parable that follows the question (see Luke 12:42-48). We also know that Jesus considered "belief", or more accurately "faith" - is to do God's will, from the parable of the two sons (see Matt. 21:28-32).<br />
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The one who believes, and yet does not put the words into practice in one's life, is compared to a plant that grows from seed in rocky soil quickly, but withers away when the hardship of temptation comes:<br />
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<i>The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away</i>. (Luke 8:13)</blockquote>
To have no root is to not apply the Word to one's life, that is being "rooted" in the Word. Whereas the ones who received the Word, and live by it, are the ones that grow and bear fruit (Luke 8:15).<br />
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So can someone claim to follow Jesus, and yet lie, commit adultery, and steal? Is that what Jesus taught? No, and you have been taught this, someone is lying to you. If you claim to follow Jesus, read the scriptures and follow what Jesus said.<br />
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"Knowing is not believing, and that believing is internal; and that it cannot be given except in affection for good and truth, and accordingly to none but those who are in the good of charity toward the neighbor." (<i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, 4319.2)</blockquote>
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"A man's life after death is the life of his love and the life of his faith. Hence such as his love and such as his faith had been when he lived in the world, such is the life that awaits him for eternity. It is the life of hell to those who have loved themselves and the world above all things, and the life of heaven to those who have loved God above all things, and the neighbor as themselves. The latter are those who have faith, but the former are those who have not faith." (<i>New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrines</i>, n. 227)</blockquote>
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Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-1981280935425101322020-08-30T14:00:00.000-04:002020-08-30T18:57:25.682-04:00Angelic Orb caught on Security Camera, and a Revelation on the One God Jesus Christ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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With the increased usage of security cameras, there is evidence that some security camera footage have caught the light of an angelic or supernatural being on video tape. I discussed one previously, which involves a healing: see <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-light-of-angel-caught-on-video-tape.html">Light of an Angel Caught on Video Tape</a>. And here is another: the minister Charles Shelton heard a thought that he should wake up and start to pray around 3:30am in the morning, and while in prayer he was told to look at the security camera footage. And this is what he saw:<br />
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Further video footage is here: the ball of light enters twice into the room where the minister was praying, passing through the wall: <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1034301/Angel-captured-camera-minister.html">Angel Captured on Camera by Minister</a><span id="goog_1380490370">.</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1380490371"></span><br />
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It is better to see spiritual truths internally and rationally, rather than to look for external miraculous evidence. But the reason why I bring this up is that in the 18th century the Christian mystic Emanuel Swedenborg reported seeing an angelic orb. For a period of 27 years he was given the gift to communicate with heaven to reveal the internal spiritual meaning of scripture. On one occasion, he woke up from sleep to mediate - <i>just like the minister Charles Shelton</i> - and reports seeing an oval of light. And then afterwards heaven is opened and he begins a dialogue with angels, concerning his thoughts on God and the Trinity:<br />
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"Once having awakened from sleep I fell into profound meditation concerning God; and when I looked up, <b>I saw above me in heaven a bright white light in oval form</b>; and when I fixed my gaze upon the light, it receded to the sides and passed into the circumference. And then, lo, heaven was opened to me, and I saw magnificent things, and angels standing in the form of a circle on the southern side of the opening and talking together; and because I had an ardent desire to hear what they were saying, it was therefore given me first to hear the tone, — which was full of heavenly love, and afterward the speech, which was full of wisdom from that love. They were talking together about the One God, and about conjunction with Him, and thence salvation. They spoke ineffable things, most of which cannot fall into the words of any natural language; but because I had sometimes been in company with angels in heaven itself, and then in similar speech with them because in similar state, I was therefore able now to understand them, and to select from their conversation some things which may be rationally expressed in the words of natural language." (<i>True Christian Religion</i>, n. 25)</blockquote>
Swedenborg often reported that much of the angelic ideas were so high above our human concepts that it did not fall into something that could be described in our spoken language, which in itself is an approximation of the meanings we sometimes wish to convey. The apostle Paul had a similar experience to what Swedenborg has described:<br />
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"I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter." (2 Cor. 12:2-4)</blockquote>
For Paul it was a one time affair. For Swedenborg, he was able to experience this heavenly communication over a period of 27 years. Most Christians wonder what Paul meant by "third heaven" and Swedenborg explains the three levels of heaven in detail in his works <i>Heaven and Hell</i> and <i>Heavenly Arcana</i>.<br />
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Returning to the angelic orb, what exactly were the angels discussing? They were essentially discussing the One God, how He is One Divine Being, One in Essence (Latin <i>Esse</i>), who cannot be divided into multiple beings or persons:<br />
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"They said that the Divine <i>Esse </i>is One, the Same, the Itself, and Indivisible. This they illustrated by spiritual ideas, saying that the Divine <i>Esse </i>cannot fall to several, each of whom has the Divine <i>Esse</i>, and still itself be One, the Same, the Itself, and Indivisible; for each one would think from his own <i>Esse </i>from himself, and singly by himself; if then also from the others and by the others, unanimously, there would be several unanimous Gods, and not one God; for unanimity, because it is the agreement of several, and at the same time of each one from himself and by himself, does not accord with the unity of God, but with a plurality — they did not say, of Gods, because they could not; for the light of heaven from which was their thought, and the aura in which their speech was uttered, resisted it. They said also that when they wished to pronounce the word Gods, and each one as a Person by himself, the effort of pronouncing fell instantly into One, yea, to the Only God."</blockquote>
Moreover, they said, God cannot produce another, for does He exist with another, and there is no such thing as a Son of God born from eternity, which is an utter falsehood: <br />
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"To this they added that the Divine <i>Esse </i>is a Divine <i>Esse </i>in Itself, not from itself; because from itself supposes an <i>Esse </i>in itself from another prior; thus it supposes a God from God, which is not possible. What is from God is not called God, but is called Divine; for what is a God from God? thus, what is a God born of God from eternity? and what is a God proceeding from God through a God born from eternity, but words, in which there is nothing of light from heaven?"</blockquote>
Moreover, God is love and truth itself, and inasmuch as we are in a state of love and truth, so God is present with us:<br />
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"God is the Itself, because He is love itself and wisdom itself, or because He is good itself and truth itself, and thence life itself, which, unless they were the Itself in God, would not be any thing in heaven and the world, because there would not be any thing in them having relation to the Itself. Every quality draws its quality from that which is the Itself, from which it is, and to which it has relation that it may be such as it is. This Itself, which is the Divine <i>Esse</i>, is not in place, but is with those and in those who are in place, according to reception; since of love and wisdom, or of good and truth, and thence of life, which are the Itself in God, yea, God Himself, place cannot be predicated, nor progression from place to place; whence is omnipresence: wherefore the Lord says that He is in the midst of them; and also that He is in them, and they in Him." (<i>True Christian Religion</i>, n. 25-26).</blockquote>
What is most interesting is that to them, the angels, God appears as the central sun in heaven. This brilliant light has been reported by multiple witnesses who have had a Near Death Experience:<br />
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"But because He cannot be received by any one such as He is in Himself, He appears as He is in His essence, as a sun above the angelic heavens; the proceeding from which as light is Himself as to wisdom, and the proceeding as heat is Himself as to love. That sun is not Himself; but the Divine love and the Divine wisdom first emanating from Him round about Him, appear to the angels as a sun." (<i>True Christian Religion</i>, n. 25-26).</blockquote>
Moreover, within that sun of heaven God is Man, and is identical to Jesus Christ who appeared to us in human form, and God was within Jesus as a Divine soul just as the soul is within the body of each person - <i>Jesus is not another person or being separate from God, but is God Himself</i>:<br />
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"He within the sun is Man; He is our Lord Jesus Christ, both as to the Divine from which He came forth, and also as to the Divine Human; since the Itself, which is love itself and wisdom itself, was a soul to Him from the Father; thus the Divine life, which is life in itself. It is otherwise in every man; in him the soul is not life, but a recipient of life. The Lord also teaches this, saying, <i>I am the way, the truth, and the life; and in another place, As the Father hath life in Himself, so also hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself</i> (John v. 26). Life in Himself is God. To this they added that those who are in any spiritual light may perceive from these things that the Divine <i>Esse</i>, because it is One, the Same, the Itself, and thence Indivisible, cannot be in more than one; and that, if it should be said to be, manifest contradictions would result." (<i>True Christian Religion</i>, n. 25-26).</blockquote>
And as Swedenborg was listening in on this communication, the angels detected in his ideas the ideas of three persons, which was in utter opposition to the primary principle of One God, or Monotheism: <br />
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"When I heard these things, the angels perceived in my thought the common ideas of the Christian Church, concerning a Trinity of Persons in unity and their unity in the Trinity, in regard to God; and also concerning the birth of the Son of God from eternity; and then they said, "<i>What are you thinking? Do you not have those thoughts from natural light, with which our spiritual light does not agree? Wherefore unless you remove the ideas of that thought, we close heaven to you and depart</i>." But then I said, "Enter, I pray, more deeply into my thought, and perhaps you will see an agreement." They did so and saw that by three Persons I understood three proceeding Divine attributes, which are Creation, Redemption, and Regeneration; and that they are attributes of one God; and that by the birth of the Son of God from eternity I understood His birth foreseen from eternity and provided in time; and that it is not above what is natural and rational, but contrary to what is natural and rational, to think that any Son was born of God from eternity; but not so, that the Son born of God by the Virgin Mary in time is the only Son of God, and the only begotten; and that to believe otherwise is an enormous error. And then I told them that my natural thought concerning the Trinity of Persons and their unity, and concerning the birth of a Son of God from eternity, I had from the doctrine of faith in the church, which has its name from Athanasius." (<i>True Christian Religion</i>, n. 25-26).</blockquote>
And the angels answered thus: <br />
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"Then the angels said, "Well." <b>And they asked me to say from their mouth that, if any one does not go to the very God of heaven and earth, he cannot come into heaven, because heaven is heaven from this only God; and that this God is Jesus Christ, who is the Lord Jehovah, from eternity Creator, in time Redeemer, and to eternity Regenerator; thus who is at once the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that this is the Gospel which is to be preached.</b> After these things the heavenly light, which was before seen over the opening, returned, and gradually descended thence, and filled the interiors of my mind, and enlightened my ideas concerning the trinity and unity of God." (<i>True Christian Religion</i>, n. 25-26).</blockquote>
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Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-53061804717298152562020-08-27T18:20:00.008-04:002020-10-28T12:03:07.987-04:00A Divine Revelation of the Biblical Canon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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What is the true Biblical Canon of the Christian Church, and how is it Divinely Inspired? It is important, as the Word of God should form the basis of all doctrine, and is the foundation of how we should live our life. All of the teachings of Jesus were based on the Word of God, and as He is the Word of God made flesh, His words also became part of the Biblical canon.<br />
The Biblical canon evolved over a long period of time, beginning with the Hebrew canon of the Jewish Church. The basic criteria of the early church of the first four centuries was to gather valid documents of witness testimony concerning the teachings of Jesus. But which books are Divinely inspired? Which Biblical canon is correct among the different churches? Which should be treated as the Word of God, and those that are the words of men? <br />
For answers, let us simply look at what Jesus had to say on the matter, and then follow this with the revelations on the Biblical canon given to the New Church. For Jesus is the one authority from Whom we should seek guidance:<br />
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<i>You are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ</i>. (Matt. 23:8-10)</blockquote>
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<b>CONFIRMATIONS ON THE HEBREW CANON BY JESUS</b></div>
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Let's start with the Hebrew canon of scripture which preceded the Christian church. The Hebrew canon, also known as the <span style="font-style: italic;">Tanakh</span>, is divided into three main sections:<br />
<blockquote>
1. The <b>Law</b>, or the Law of Moses, also known as the <i>Torah</i>: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.<br />
2. The <b>Prophets</b>, also known as the <i>Nevi'im</i>: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and The Twelve Prophets (the 12 minor prophets)<br />
3. The <b>Writings</b>, also known as the <i>Ketuvim</i>: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth,
Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehehiah, Chronicles.</blockquote>
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The first two sections of the Hebrew canon, the Law and the Prophets, are directly referenced by Jesus and are definitely part of the Biblical canon:</div>
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<i>Don’t assume that I came to destroy the <b>Law</b> or the <b>Prophets</b>. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill</i>. (Matt. 5:17)</div>
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<i>Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them — this is the <b>Law</b> and the <b>Prophets</b></i>. (Matt. 7:12)</div>
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<i>Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the <b>Law</b> and the <b>Prophets</b> depend on these two commands</i>. (Matt. 22:37-40) </div>
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Among these statements, there is even a more specific statement from Jesus concerning the Prophets:</div>
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<i>For all the <b>Prophets</b> and the <b>Law</b> prophesied until John; if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come</i> (Matt. 11:13)</blockquote>
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I single out this particular quote, because here Jesus states that John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy that Elijah would return before the coming of the Messiah. This is the very last prophecy in the book of Malachi:</div>
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<i>Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse</i>. (Mal. 4:5-6)</blockquote>
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This is not only the final passage in the book of Malachi, but also <u>Malachi is the last book in the Prophets of the Hebrew canon</u>. There is a similar confirmation given by Jesus in another passage:</div>
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<i>Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar</i>. (Matt. 23:34-35)</blockquote>
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Abel was murdered by his brother Cain in Genesis, but who is Zechariah the son of Barachiah? Several commentators identified him with the high priest Zechariah ben Jehoiada, whose death is recorded in 2 Chron 24:20:21, the last book in the Writings in the present day Hebrew canon. This is incorrect, as his father is recorded as Jehoiada, not Barachiah. Jesus here is referencing the prophet Zechariah, the second to last prophet right before Malachi: the prophet Zechariah is declared to be "son of Berechiah" (Zech. 1:1). His manner of death is not recorded. To "shed blood" does not just mean to kill, but in the spiritual sense signifies to profane and distort the truth, which the Jews had done with scriptures leading to their denial of Jesus Christ.</div>
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<b>JESUS CONFIRMS THE BOOK OF DANIEL AS SCRIPTURE</b></div>
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Jesus, so far, affirms the Hebrew canon in regards to the Law and the Prophets as it exists now among the Jews. However there is one exception, and this concerns the book of Daniel. Jesus quotes from Daniel as a prophet:</div>
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<i>“So when you see the abomination that causes desolation, <b>spoken of by the prophet Daniel</b>, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains!"</i> (Matt. 24:15) </blockquote>
This shows that the book of Daniel was once included among the Prophets in the Hebrew canon, but was moved out among the Writings. Why? The theory of modern scholars is that portions of Daniel were written later during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes IV in the second century B.C. However Josephus records that the book of Daniel was shown to Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C., and several copies were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls dating from the 2nd century B.C. (see <a href="https://jimhamilton.info/2010/11/26/josephus-on-alexander-the-great-and-the-book-of-daniel/">Josephus on Alexander the Great and the Book of Daniel</a>). Moreover, the apocryphal book of Enoch, written around this time, borrowed some of its material from Daniel. Moreover, Aramaic scholars indicate that the Aramaic of Daniel dates from the period of 700-200 B.C., rather than the later period of 200 B.C.- 200 A.D. (see <a href="https://www.studylight.org/language-studies/aramaic-thoughts.html?article=189">Aramaic and the Old Testament - Part 1</a>). The problem here is with the scholars who are rather ignorant or in denial of prophetic visions.</div>
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Perhaps Daniel was placed among the Writings, which were regarded as a lesser authority, because a large portion was written in Aramaic instead of Hebrew, and Hebrew was considered the sacred language. This would have to ignore the fact that Gen. 31:47 and Jer. 10:11 are written in Aramaic. And indeed I found evidence that is the case. In the Talmud, specifically <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.3a?lang=bi">Megillah 3a</a>, there is a story of some rabbis who began to translate Hebrew into Aramaic, and then were forbidden to do so as God's secrets were only allowed to be known among the Jews, or that Aramaic would begin to reveal some hidden secrets (there is actually a good example of this in Psalms 2:12 which has puzzled scholars - see <a href="https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/studies-verses/psalm-2-12-kiss-the-son-or-embrace-purity.htm">Psalm 2:12 | Kiss the Son or Embrace Purity?</a> - the correct answer is "Kiss the Son"). Aramaic translations of scripture played an important role around this time for rabbinic Judaism. The translator had translated the Law and the Prophets, but was not allowed to translate the Writings (<i>Ketuvim</i>) because it contained the book of Daniel. The Talmud then gives an interesting answer as why this is the case:</div>
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"What is the reason that he was denied permission to translate the Writings? Because it has in it a revelation of the end, when the Messiah will arrive. The end is foretold in a cryptic manner in the book of Daniel, and were the book of Daniel translated, the end would become manifestly revealed to all."</blockquote>
This is rather interesting - Daniel chapter 9 is a 490 year prophecy beginning in 457 B.C. and ending in 34 A.D., predicting the coming of the Messiah in 31 A.D. As the Talmud was compiled in the 4th-5th centuries A.D., it is quite possible that even the Jews could not deny that the book of Daniel predicted the coming of Jesus Christ. And thus they decided to move the book of Daniel from the Prophets to the Writings, using the excuse that a portion of it was written in Aramaic instead of Hebrew. This section of the Talmud also gives a weak explanation of why Daniel was not a prophet compared to Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, the last three prophets. The reason? Unlike other prophets Daniel did not send his message to the Jews. More likely, the Jewish scribes wanted to lower the priority of the book of Daniel due to its Messianic prophecies fulfilled in Jesus. We now know from the revelations of the New Church that indeed a judgment occurred in the spiritual world upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, fulfilling the prophecies that the Jews study hours on end without knowing the meaning. So this statement from the Talmud is remarkably accurate.<br />
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<b>JESUS CONFIRMS THE PSALMS AS SCRIPTURE</b></div>
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Jesus, so far, affirms the Hebrew canon in regards to the Law and the Prophets. In addition to this, Jesus affirms that the book of the Psalms is also a part of the Word of God:</div>
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<i>These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written <span style="font-weight: bold;">in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms</span> concerning Me</i>. (Luke 24:44)</blockquote>
This should come as no surprise as Jesus often quoted from the Psalms as scripture, and is one of the most often quoted books in the New Testament.</div>
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<b>JESUS CONFIRMS PROVERBS AS SCRIPTURE</b></div>
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So what about the rest of the books in the Writings? Initially I thought Jesus had only quoted from the Psalms. I researched all quotations of the Old Testament in <a href="http://www.bible-researcher.com/quote02.html">Index to Old Testament Quotations</a>, and to my surprise, Jesus quoted from Proverbs. Here is a puzzling quote:<br />
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<i>Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’</i> (John 7:38)</blockquote>
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What
book is Jesus quoting? This has puzzled scholars. A note in the ESV
says Jesus may be alluding to Isa. 58:11, Ezek. 47:1-12, or Zech. 14:8.
Others have suggested allusions in Jer. 2:13, 17:13 and Ps. 63:1. However none of these passages fit. Jesus may be paraphrasing, and if so He probably was referencing this verse, which is the only one that speaks of waters flowing out of a person:</div>
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<i>The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom</i>. (Prov. 18:4)</blockquote>
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Jesus,
however, was not quoting this passage directly, but rather He was referencing the book of Proverbs as a whole. Nowhere in
the verse does it say "Whoever believes in Me." However the book has
these verses at the beginning:</div>
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<i>Wisdom
cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the
head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city
gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate
knowledge? If you turn at my reproof, behold, <b>I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you</b></i>. (Prov. 1:20-23) </blockquote>
The
word for "pour" is the same Hebrew word for "flowing" in Prov. 18:4
which Jesus paraphrased, and Prov. 1:23 and 18:4 are the only two verses that use the word in this manner, and it appears only two other times in Proverbs with a different meaning. This suggests that Jesus conflated the two verses in a paraphrase. Wisdom is personified crying out for people to
listen, which is a representation of the Word made flesh. However one other aspect of Jesus' quote is that He mentions water flowing out of the heart. This comes from another verse in Proverbs:</div>
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<i>Counsel in a man’s heart is deep water; but a man of understanding draws it out</i>. (Prov. 20:5) </blockquote>
Again, the phrase "deep water" is mentioned only in Proverbs 18:4 and this verse. This leads me to believe Jesus had memorized the whole book, and unified verses that mentioned the same Hebrew words.</div>
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There are two additional references to Proverbs from Jesus. We have this passage:<br />
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<i>For
the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels;
and then he shall reward every man according to his works</i>. (Matt. 16:27)</blockquote>
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And this is based off another verse from Proverbs:</div>
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<i>Will he not repay man according to his work?</i> (Prov. 24:12)</blockquote>
And one other:</div>
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<i>Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent</i>. (Rev. 3:19)</blockquote>
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Which is based on this verse:</div>
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<i>The LORD reproves him whom he loves</i> (Prov. 3:12)</blockquote>
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<b>THE BOOK OF JOB AS SCRIPTURE</b></div>
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If we look across all the quotes of the Old Testament, among the
Writings only Psalms and Proverbs are quoted or referenced by Jesus. If we expand our
search to quotes by the apostles, Paul quotes Job three times and Job is
referenced in James 5:11. However for the book of Job there is a direct reference in the book of Ezekiel, including a reference to the prophet Daniel (Ezek. 14:14,20). Jesus not only considered Ezekiel among the prophets, but directly quotes the book of Ezekiel (Mark 8:18 quotes Ezek. 12:2 and Mark 6:34 references Ezek. 34:5).</div>
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<b>WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER BOOKS OF THE WRITINGS?</b></div>
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The Writings in the Hebrew canon includes several other books, neither quoted by Jesus nor the apostles. This is where we get into a grey area. When Jesus mentioned the Psalms among the Law and the Prophets in Luke 24:44, some misinterpret this as a reference to the entirety of the Writings since in the present day Bible the Psalms is the first book of the Writings. But this is a false argument. The Jews never actually settled the exact order of the Writings in the time of Jesus: the book of Psalms was not always the first book. According to the article <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketuvim">Ketuvim</a>:</div>
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"The Babylonian Talmud (Bava Batra 14b–15a) gives their order as Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Daniel, Scroll of Esther, Ezra, Chronicles. In Tiberian Masoretic codices, including the Aleppo Codex and the Leningrad Codex, and often in old Spanish manuscripts as well, the order is Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Esther, Daniel, Ezra."</div>
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The book of Ruth was most likely written around the time of Ezra in the 5th century B.C. as it deals with intermarriage, an issue that arose during that time (see Ezra 9:1, Neh. 13:1). Although Ecclesiastes has been attributed to Solomon, internal language indicates it was also written around the time of Ezra at the earliest. Scholars examining the book of Esther now know that it was likely written in the 4th century B.C. and was most likely intended as a historical novel. Also among the Writings is the book of Lamentations, which according to tradition was written by Jeremiah.<br />
By the time of the first century A.D., however, the collection of books in the Writings was somewhat fluctuating as Josephus mentions that the Biblical canon contained 22 books instead of 24, indicating two of the books in the Writings were not yet considered canonical. We also know that certain books among the Writings were debated among the Jews in the first century A.D. From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_of_the_Hebrew_Bible_canon">Development of the Hebrew Bible Canon</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
"The Mishnah, compiled at the end of the 2nd century CE, describes a debate over the status of some books of Ketuvim, and in particular over whether or not they render the hands ritually impure. Yadaim 3:5 calls attention to a debate over Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes." </blockquote>
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<b>THE CORRUPTIONS OF THE GREEK SEPTUAGINT</b><br />
<b> </b> </div>
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The Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek in the 3rd and 2nd centuries A.D., due to the fact that Greek became a <i>de facto</i> language during the Greek empire and was widely known. Unfortunately, the Septuagint added additional books to the canon, as well as spurious additions that were never part of the Hebrew scriptures. Thus early on the Jewish rabbis rejected the Septuagint. These books, however, entered into the Biblical canon of the early church, and were not removed until the Reformation. They are now known as the "Apocrypha." Other works added in other branches of the church that were never part of the Hebrew scriptures are more generally known as "Deuterocanonical" works. The Septuagint also mixed up the order of the Biblical canon, and for the most part is the main determining factor for the order of the books of the Old Testament as we have it today, which unfortunately mixes the Prophets with the books of the Writings.</div>
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<b>INTERNAL EVIDENCE OF DIVINE INSPIRATION</b><br />
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Up until now, I have referenced Jesus as the primary authority for determining which scriptures should be considered canonical or referenced as the Word of God. But problems remain, and the main problem that is in front of most in modern times is <i>why</i> one book is Divinely inspired over another? </div>
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In the 18th century, the scientist Emanuel Swedenborg received a series of waking visions over a period of 27 years that revealed the internal spiritual sense of the Bible, where it was revealed that scripture has multiple levels of meaning: the natural or most literal sense, then a more symbolic spiritual sense, and higher than that, the celestial sense. These waking visions occurred after he had an encounter with Jesus, and part of his mission was to <u>reveal how and why the Bible was Divinely Inspired</u>. The proof for which books are Divinely inspired is laid out in full in several volumes. So which books of the Bible are Divinely inspired? They are those that contain an internal spiritual sense, for when reading them the scripture connects our external minds to the thoughts of angels and to the ultimate Divine. Swedenborg spelled it out in the following passage:</div>
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"The books of the Word are all those which have the internal sense; books which do not have it are not the Word. The books of the Word in the Old Testament are: <span style="font-weight: bold;">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; and the Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi</span>." (<span style="font-style: italic;">Heavenly Arcana</span>, n. 10325)</blockquote>
So how does the above list compare with what Jesus definitely declared as scripture? It includes every book of the Law and the Prophets, and the book of Daniel is recognized as belonging among the Prophets as well. Among the Writings it acknowledges the Psalms, as well as the book of Lamentations indicating it was indeed written by Jeremiah according to long standing tradition. Thus the list matches exactly what Jesus said when referencing the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24:44).<br />
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<b>THE BOOKS OF JOB, PROVERBS AND SONG OF SOLOMON</b><br />
<b> </b> </div>
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Missing from the list of books that have an internal spiritual sense are the books of Job, Proverbs and Song of Solomon. Despite this, in several passages Swedenborg does occasionally quote from Job and Song of Solomon as scripture. So why did he exclude them? Swedenborg used the following three criteria for the Biblical canon:</div>
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<li>The book must be focused on the Lord and His church.</li>
<li>The book must contain within it an internal spiritual sense.</li>
<li>The internal spiritual sense must be written in a sequential series.</li>
</ol>
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The first criteria is easy to see to everyone, and it is because of this criteria that there was debate among the Jews concerning the Song of Solomon. It is also true for the book of Job:</div>
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"That the book of Job is a book of the Ancient Church is manifest, as has been mentioned, from its representative and significative style; but it is not of those books which are called the Law and the Prophets, <b>because it has not an internal sense which treats solely of the Lord and of His kingdom; it is this alone which makes a book of the genuine Word</b>." (<i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, n. 3540) </blockquote>
However in other passages, Swedenborg notes that the book of Job contains an internal spiritual sense (<i>Apocalypse Explained</i>, 740.15). Thus it is quoted as support in explaining certain passages of scripture. The Song of Solomon is similar and is also quoted as scripture, but like Job it is a collection of sayings rather than written in a cohesive series (<i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, n. 9942.5, 3942.2).</div>
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As for the book of Proverbs it is not mentioned directly by Swedenborg, but it falls into the same category as Job and Song of Solomon: it is a collection of sayings but they are not written in a cohesive series. It is only implicitly referenced where he says "we are told in the Word that a person will be judged according to his works" (<i>Divine Love and Wisdom</i>, n. 281). This is mentioned in Matt. 16:27, which in turn references Pro. 24:12. </div>
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With the exception of Daniel, Psalms and Lamentations, what is apparent is the Writings was perhaps originally intended to be considered as "Ancillary Writings" to be used in support of scripture, provide additional historical context, or preserve an ancient Hebrew writing. But among these the books of Job, Proverbs and Song of Solomon have a higher status as they contain individual sayings that contain an internal spiritual sense that are useful in support of genuine scripture.<br />
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<b>THE LOST BOOK OF JASHER</b><br />
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In addition to the book of Job, there is another work of the Ancient Church known as the book of Jasher, which is referenced as scripture in Josh. 10:12-13 and 2 Sam. 1:17-18. In the visions received by Swedenborg, he was told in the 18th century that this book was not lost but was still intact. In my research I discovered that this work has probably remained intact in a later manuscript, the book of Jasher written in Rabbic Hebrew, which unfortunately has later additions. But there is internal evidence that this work is indeed based on an ancient copy. For this research, see the following prior blog posts:</div>
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<li><a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-lost-book-of-jasher-exodus-and.html">The Lost Book of Jasher, the Exodus, and Emanuel Swedenborg</a></li>
<li><a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-book-of-jasher-lost-ancient-book-of.html">The Book of Jasher: a lost ancient book of the Bible, or a medieval forgery?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2012/07/jasher-lost-book-of-bible-as-foreseen.html">Jasher: the Lost book of the Bible, as foreseen by Swedenborg</a></li>
</ul>
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And lastly, for internal evidence that it is indeed a copy of an ancient account, see <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2007/08/astrology-of-grand-conjunction.html">The Astronomy of the Birth of Abraham</a>. In terms of its canonical status, I would include it as scripture, with caveats. Ideally we would need a critical edition that would point out to the reader what are probably the later additions to the work.</div>
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<b>THE CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT</b></div>
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For the New Testament, the words of Jesus are the Word of God and should be considered higher priority than those of the Apostles. In the revelations given to the New Church, it was shown only the four Gospels and the book of Revelation have an internal spiritual sense, and thus should be considered genuine scripture (<span style="font-style: italic;">Heavenly Arcana</span>, 10325).</div>
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So what about the letters of the apostles? These are written in a different style, and provide useful doctrinal teachings for the church. Thus by their nature they are of lesser authority than the words of Jesus. Since they do not have an internal spiritual sense, they are not Divinely inspired in the way that genuine scripture is. In his private diary, Swedenborg indicated that the letters of Paul, although not having an internal spiritual sense, were "Divinely influenced" in terms of their overall subject matter:</div>
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"...the Lord spoke from Divine Wisdom Itself, by correspondences, exactly as He also spoke by the prophets, consequently from His own Divine; and that Paul indeed spoke from inspiration, but not in the same way as the prophets, to whom every single word was dictated but that his inspiration was that he received an influx, according to those things which were with him, which is quite a different inspiration, and has no conjunction with heaven by correspondences." (<i>Spiritual Diary</i>, n. 6062) </blockquote>
In a private letter to Harley Swedenborg explains this further:</div>
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"With reference to the writings of the Apostles and Paul I have not included these in ARCANA COELESTIA, and this for the reason that they are doctrinal writings, and so are not written in the style of the Word as are the Prophets, David, the Gospels, and the Revelation. The style of the Word wholly consists of correspondences, on which account it effects an immediate communication with heaven. In the doctrinal writings, however, there is another style which indeed communicates with heaven, but mediately. That they were so written by the Apostles was in order that the new Christian Church might commence through these, on which account doctrinal matters could not be written in the very style of the Word, but in a manner that might be more clearly and more directly understood. Nonetheless, the writings of the Apostles are good books for the Church, maintaining the doctrine of charity and its faith as strongly as ever did the Lord Himself in the Gospels and in the Revelation, as can be clearly seen and observed if one attends to the matter while reading those writings."</blockquote>
So in other words, the writings of the apostles should be considered as ancillary writings, in the same way that the Jews created another section of scripture called the Writings or <i>Ketuvim</i>. And there is actually another hidden reason for this, from Divine Providence: these ancillary writings protect the most holy scriptures from being profaned by falsehoods:</div>
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<blockquote>
"That the Epistles of Paul have not an internal sense is known in the other life; but it is permitted that they may be in the Church, lest those who are of the Church should work evil to the Word of the Lord, in which is the internal sense. For if man lives ill, and yet believes in the holy Word, then he works evil to heaven; therefore the Epistles of Paul are permitted, and therefore Paul was not permitted to take one parable, not even a doctrine, from the Lord, and to expound and unfold it; but he took all things from himself. The Church, indeed, explains the Word of the Lord, but by means of the Epistles of Paul; for which reason also it everywhere departs from the good of charity, and accepts the truth of faith; which, however, the Lord has taught, but in such wise that the good of charity should be the all." (<i>Spiritual Diary</i>, n. 4824)</blockquote>
This actually solves quite a few issues. There are some doctrinal issues with the letters of Paul, where he can easily be taken out of context. In the quote of Rom. 3:10-18, Paul actually quoted from the Septuagint version of Psalm 14 which includes a spurious addition. And note: Paul admitted that at times he gave his own opinions, that were not from the Lord:<br />
<br />
"To the rest I say (<b>I, not the Lord</b>)" (1 Cor. 7:12)"(I speak as a man)" (Rom. 3:5)<br />
"I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh" (Rom. 6:19)<br />
"That which I speak, <b>I speak it not after the Lord</b>, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting." (2 Cor. 11:17)<br />
"(I speak foolishly,)" (2 Cor. 11:21)<br />
"(I speak as a fool)" (2 Cor. 11:23)<br />
"Brethren, I speak after the manner of men" (Gal. 3:15)<br />
<br />
So according to Paul himself, he sometimes speaks from himself, sometimes from the Lord. <br />
<br />
In addition to this, the letter of Jude, and the epistles of Peter, reference the apocryphal book of Enoch as scripture, which was written around the second century B.C. If it is understood that there are <i>different levels</i> of inspiration, and that these are doctrinal writings, then readers can have a more nuanced understanding of the texts. Quotations by apostles have lower authority that quotations of scripture by Jesus (see comment below).</div>
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<b>A SUMMARY OF THE BIBLICAL CANON</b></div>
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<br />
To conclude, here is a summary of the Biblical canon as discussed in this article, with a tentative proposal as to its order:</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The <b>Law</b>: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy</li>
<li>The early <b>Prophets</b>: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings</li>
<li>The latter <b>Prophets</b>: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, the Twelve Prophets</li>
<li>The <b>Psalms</b>: Psalms</li>
<li>Poetic Writings: Job, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, <i>Sirach</i></li><li>Historical Writings: Jasher, Ruth, Chronicles, Esther, Ezra-Nehemiah, <i>1 Maccabees</i></li><li><b>Gospels and Revelation</b>: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Revelation</li>
<li>Apostolic Writings: everything else as we have it now in the New Testament </li>
</ul>In this arrangement, Lamentations and Daniel are moved out of the Writings and back among the Prophets.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The book of Psalms is followed by the Writings, which is divided into poetic, historical and fictional sections. The Psalms is immediately followed by Job. Ezekiel mentions Noah, Daniel and Job in two
passages (Ezek. 14:14,20). Noah is mentioned in the Law, Daniel is in
the Prophets, and Job here represents the third section of scripture which can be classified as "Psalms and Poetry." These prophets were used signify the entirety of the Word as testimony against the Jews. In its
spiritual sense, Swedenborg confirms that these three men signify all
the truths of the Word (<i>Apocalypse Explained</i>, 724.28).<br />
<br />Although the book of Jasher can be placed between Deuteronomy and Joshua, to be conservative I have placed it in the historical Writings since it does include later additions.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">After further consideration, I decided to add a couple of works that are among the "Deuterocanonical" works in the Catholic canon to the Writings, noted in italics above: Sirach and 1 Maccabees. Maccabees covers important historical events that partially fulfilled the prophecies of Daniel. There is evidence portions of Sirach were referenced in the New Testament. For the New Testament, two other books that may be useful to the church is the epistle of Clement as well as the Shepherd of Hermas.</div>
Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-42522602787651167072020-08-25T00:09:00.001-04:002020-08-25T11:09:54.669-04:00The Origin of the Soul, the Virgin Birth of Jesus, and Human Genetics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nplf8BEJDP4/X0SISqwXo1I/AAAAAAAAKck/Y0CAIMMfnkYT2voLO8AAesJeobD9DbHvQCNcBGAsYHQ/s600/birth-of-christ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nplf8BEJDP4/X0SISqwXo1I/AAAAAAAAKck/Y0CAIMMfnkYT2voLO8AAesJeobD9DbHvQCNcBGAsYHQ/s0/birth-of-christ.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>THE ORIGIN OF THE SOUL</b></span></span><br /></p><p>In modern times there are often debates as to the origin of the soul and when the embryo becomes a viable human being. The revelations of the New Church are clear: a soul becomes infused in the embryo at conception. This matches the biological definition of the beginning of life: it begins at conception.</p><p>In prior posts, I have discussed the belief in reincarnation in some eastern religions. The revelations of the New Church provides an answer once and for all: life begins at conception. Past life memories do indeed happen, but this happened more often in ancient times when one would enter into communication with a spirit and begin to recall the memory as if it was one's own (see <i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, n. 5843, 5858, 6199). It would often be a similar personality, or one that had similar habits or fears, as the thoughts of our mind is the result of constant influx from the spiritual world. <br /></p><p>Swedenborg received an amazing revelation on Christianity and the Second Coming that provides spiritual understanding that is rationally and logically consistent. The majority of the writings are based on direct revelations he received from the Lord, but occasionally he does draw upon his scientific knowledge of his day (18th century). On the surface, he made some false declarations on genetics, namely, the soul originates from the seed of the father and the body comes from the mother (e.g., <i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, n. 1815, 2005, 10052.2, 10125.2, <i>True Christian Religion</i>, n. 92, 103). This idea he may have borrowed from Aristotle (<i>Generation of Animals</i>, book II, 4), but Aristotle's opinion on this matter is not so simple and a bit convoluted and contradictory (for an analysis see <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjtzpG_xrTrAhUIknIEHS91Au4QFjAKegQIARAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fworks.bepress.com%2Fdevinhenry%2F11%2Fdownload%2F&usg=AOvVaw3a6NELPsZ-sv_lj-cSZTRX"><i>Understanding Aristotle's Reproductive Hylomorphism</i></a>). We know this is incorrect: modern genetics states that the body of a human is composed of equal parts from both the father and mother.</p><p>This presents a difficult problem, as Swedenborg makes these statements on genetics to support some of the theology concerning the virgin birth. But actually it is only an <i>apparent</i> falsehood. Although Swedenborg may have believed the scientific knowledge derived from Aristotle, the revelations explicitly declare that <b>the soul is only derived from spiritual influx, not from the seed of the father or ovum of the mother</b>:</p><p></p><blockquote>"Who at this day does not believe that man springs from the seed and the ovum according to nature? and that there is in the seed from the first creation the ability of producing itself into such forms, first within the ovum, next in the womb, and afterward of itself, and that it is not the Divine which continues to produce? The cause of its being so believed is, that no one knows there is any influx from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord" (<i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, n. 4322)</blockquote><p></p><p>And then we have this statement:</p><p></p><blockquote>"Unless there were such an eminent perfection in prior and simple things, neither man, nor any animal, could exist and afterward subsist from seed" (<i>Divine Love and Wisdom</i>, n. 204)</blockquote>These statements are correct, but they directly contradict the other statements that says the soul comes from the seed of the father. So what gives? It is later explained that the seed of the father is merely a receptacle for the spiritual influx of the life of the soul (<i>Divine Love and Wisdom</i>, n. 269, 310). Also, "nature contributes nothing at all to the production of plants and animals, but ...all are produced by that which flows in from the spiritual world into the natural" (<i>Divine Love and Wisdom</i>, n. 344). Also, the image of creation originates from the spiritual, not the natural (<i>Divine Love and Wisdom</i>, n. 315). Elsewhere, Swedenborg explicitly states that as the soul descends it becomes "clothed" with natural substances, and becomes seed (<i>Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</i>, n. 220, 245). This process of "clothing" or encapsulation of the soul from influx first begins with the seed of the father and ends with conception in the ovum of the mother.<br /><p></p><p>The soul is spiritual in origin, and in its descent first becomes conjoined with the seed of the father and then the ovum of the mother. It is merely a receptacle for spiritual influx. A viable embryo must have spiritual influx, seed from the father and the ovum from the mother. Thus we see that when Swedenborg says the soul is from the father, or the seed of the father, he is oversimplifying for the audience of his day.</p><p>It should also be pointed out that the seed corresponds to the soul of the body (<i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, 3855, 9258.2) and the "giving of seed" corresponds to spiritual influx (<i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, 6139). Thus what Swedenborg said on the matter is true by symbolic correspondence - for the seed of the father eventually becomes the vessel of the soul at conception.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>THE VIRGIN BIRTH<br /></b></span></span></p><p>The gospels of Matthew and Luke describe how Jesus was born of a virgin, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 as well as some ancient myths describing a God-man born of a virgin, which probably originated from a more ancient church in the Middle East that preceded Judaism. It is by virtue of the virgin birth that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God (Luke 1:35) - the idea of a second person or a Son "born from eternity" is a later falsehood invented by men that was unknown to the early church. Although the virgin birth is not explicitly declared in the gospel of John, John states that Jesus is the "Word made flesh" and was thus unlike any other man or ordinary prophet. In later dialogue the Jews argue with Jesus over the identity of His father, whom Jesus does not reveal to them.</p><p>So <i>why</i> did Jesus have to be born of a virgin? No one has been able to answer this question, if it was even asked, but the revelations do give us an answer. The virgin birth is very important as it is a sign given to explain exactly who Jesus is: His soul was Divine, and was not derived from the seed of any human father. It was God Himself who descended as to the Divine truth and became clothed in human form. The invisible God is the Father, His visible form is the Son, born in time to the virgin Mary.<br /></p><p>Every person inherits hereditary evils from the father and mother, and the other revelation is that another reason why God had to become incarnate in human form was that so that He could dwell in a human body and fight against the temptations and power of the hells which had been inherited from the evils from the human mother. Jesus had only inherited evil tendencies from Mary in his most external outward form, but at a higher level, the level of His soul which was Divine, He could succumb to no evil. Evils from the mother can be removed, but those inherited from the father cannot (<i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, n. 1573). Otherwise, in no manner could the Divine be tempted. The idea of an "immaculate conception" for Mary is not only false, but it obscures the rationale for why God had to become incarnate to save humanity. It was only through the human form that God could fight directly against the hells which at the time had gained dominion and power over humanity.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>FIRST PROBLEM: CHRIST IS OF THE SEED OF DAVID<br /></b></span></span></p><p>The majority of Christianity accepts the virgin birth at face value without questioning why Jesus had to be virgin; even Islam accepts this fact. There is an obvious problem posed by the virgin birth: <u>many prophecies in scripture state that the Messiah would be born from the seed of David</u>. This was first given to David with the promise that his seed would rule over the house of Israel forever (2 Sam. 7), and this was fulfilled by Jesus. But that simply could not be true if Jesus was born of a virgin, correct? One simple explanation around this is that Mary was a descendant of the house of David - we know that as her genealogy is presented in Luke. But "seed" and "son" is always through the male line, and this can be seen in the genealogy of the kings that descended from David.</p><p>Another curious fact is that Joseph's genealogy is presented in Matthew. But that yet brings up another question: why even mention the genealogy through Joseph if he had nothing to do with the virgin birth? Joseph is specifically called "son of David" (Matt. 1:20), moreover, Mary only conceived only after she was espoused to Joseph of the "house of David" (Luke 1:27). Why, if Joseph has nothing to do with the virgin birth? <br /></p><p>Throughout the gospels, Jesus is called "son of David," and its actually the very first statement of the New Testament (e.g., Matt. 1:1, 9:27, 12:23, 15:22, 20:30-31, 21:9,15). In Luke, David is called Jesus father (Luke 1:32) and of the lineage of David (Luke 2:4). In John, people mention how the Messiah must come from the "seed of David" (John 7:42). Paul is even more specific: <b><i>concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was of the seed of David, according to the flesh</i></b> (Rom. 1:3). And later, Paul again calls Jesus of the "seed of David" (Heb. 4:7). But this can only occur through the male line, not through a virgin birth.</p><p>Jesus, interestingly, points out this problem. In all three of the synoptic gospels, He asks the question: if Christ or the Messiah is the son of David, how come David calls the Messiah "Lord"? (Matt. 22:42-46) It ends with "no one was able to answer." And an explicit answer is never given in the Gospels. One answer was given in the revelations of the New Church: Jesus indeed was a man like you and I, but upon the resurrection He made His body fully Divine, to the point that Jesus is now the Divine Human, or "God-Man," and it can no longer be said of Jesus that He is the son of Mary, for everything that was of the human nature has now been transformed into the Divine. In this manner God can interact directly with humanity without the intermediary of angels. But this still does not answer how Jesus could be of the seed of David if He was born of a virgin.<br /></p><p>The problem I am pointing out here is not a new one. In the history of Christianity, one of the earliest heresies was a Jewish Christian sect that was later known as the "Ebionites." They regarded Jesus as a mere man and followed the "Adoptionist" heresy which declared Jesus only became the Son of God at the baptism of John. They modified the Gospel of Matthew into a forgery known as the <i>Gospel of the Ebionites</i> which removed the story of the virgin birth, perhaps due to the apparent discrepancy between that story and these prophecies indicating that the Messiah was to be born of the seed of David. Most accounts from the early church fathers agree that the Ebionites rejected the virgin birth and regarded Jesus as the biological son of Joseph and Mary. There are some modern scholars who followed a similar reasoning to the Ebionites and surmised the virgin birth was added later since its not mentioned in the Gospel of Mark.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>SECOND PROBLEM: WHERE DID THE Y CHROMOSOME COME FROM?<br /></b></span></span></p><p>The second problem with the virgin birth is an obvious problem to anyone with a knowledge of human genetics, much of it unknown before the 20th century. The problem is simple: all males have a Y chromosome, and can only be passed from male fathers. An XX chromosome means the offspring would be female and an XY chromosome means the offspring would be male. Jesus, being fully man, obviously had a Y chromosome. Where did it come from? In the animal kingdom there is the phenomenon of parthenogenesis, where a female spontaneously gives birth when her egg undergoes division, but this always leads to female offspring.</p><p>There is one exception to this: there is a rare genetic defect among females known as "XY gonadal dysgenesis." In this case, a female is born that is female in every way except she happens to carry the Y chromosome. Such females do not undergo puberty and their ovaries are non-functional: they can never give birth. However recently a girl was discovered who had this syndrome but her ovaries were discovered to be normal: see <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16934-girl-with-y-chromosome-sheds-light-on-maleness/">Girl with Y chromosome sheds light on maleness</a>.</p><p>So, was this the case for the virgin Mary? Two (or more) things would need to occur biologically:</p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Mary would need to produce an ovum that somehow produces an XY pairing for a male, and this has never been documented among any female.<br /></li><li>The XY ovum would need to undergo parthenogenesis as it does it some animal species, where it splits and then recombines. This has never been documented, and several very rare steps would need to happen for this process to end with a viable embryo (see <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2007/12/is-it-possible-for-a-virgin-to-give-birth.html">Can a Virgin Give Birth? Yes—but it’s very, very, very, very unlikely</a>.)<br /></li></ol><p>This would solve the problem of the missing Y chromosome, and even though born of a virgin, Jesus could still be said to be of the "seed of David."</p><p>Another possibility: the Holy Spirit, as it overshadowed Mary, borrowed the Y chromosome from Joseph, and created a unique vessel which became Jesus Christ, somehow done with no sexual intercourse. This would explain why the Gospels trace back the lineage of both Joseph and Mary to the house of David. Thus two conditions are satisfied: Jesus is of the seed of David and yet has no human father, for only God is His Father as the spiritual influx came direct from the Holy Spirit, that is, from the Divine alone. In this scenario, the seed of Joseph was modified to be a vessel of God's spirit, rather than house another human soul. In His day the Jews recognized Jesus as the son of Joseph (see John 6:42)<br /></p><p>The underlying biological science of the virgin birth is merely a rational exploration into the truth of what has been revealed. While we do not have a definite answer, I would prefer these routes of exploration rather than mutilate the gospel records. That it may be important can be seen from the fact that it took 46 years to build Herod's temple, which Jesus said represented his body. And there happen to be 46 chromosomes in the human body (see <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-lost-doctrine-of-temple-of-divine.html">The Lost Doctrine of the Temple of the Divine Human</a>)<br /></p><p>The important thing to realize here, is that the Father and Son are one
in Jesus Christ just as the soul and body are one. For the Father dwells
in Jesus (John 14:9-10) just as the soul dwells in the body. And this is why Jesus had to be born in such a miraculous manner.<br /></p>Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-22836012462829124842020-08-22T00:19:00.003-04:002020-08-22T10:40:10.361-04:00Major Insider Reveal: Selected by Extraterrestrials by William Tompkins<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YovW5vvTbNU/X0BR-DjVa7I/AAAAAAAAKcM/Zer5moF63bQoLX2r7KrMH4kHhw6n48LcACNcBGAsYHQ/s500/SelectedByExtra.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="499" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YovW5vvTbNU/X0BR-DjVa7I/AAAAAAAAKcM/Zer5moF63bQoLX2r7KrMH4kHhw6n48LcACNcBGAsYHQ/w399-h400/SelectedByExtra.jpg" width="399" /></a></p><p></p><p>In the 18th century, Swedenborg described in his visions the existence of extraterrestrial humans on other planets. I have, in prior blog posts, connected this to contactee accounts of human extraterrestrials and the burst of UFO activity that followed after World War II. The subject matter soon became a part of secret military programs, and censorship of the media. It is a complicated subject as this is often swept under the table by counter intelligence efforts, and the general public is blissfully unaware of the enormous budgets that are poured into secret programs, and doubt the ability of the military to keep a secret. But recently I have seen evidence of a shift in policy among the military: they are slowly beginning to turn on the faucet of information, in a slow "drip drip" manner so as not to shock the public. It is a hard thing for many to accept, as they are brainwashed by the media - and even by our current system of education - to believe in many falsehoods.</p><p>The first major insider reveal, I think, was the book <i>The Day After Roswell</i>, written by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_J._Corso">Lieutenant Colonel Philip J. Corso</a>:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e8b4ozjI-Qs/X0BIKLY-FYI/AAAAAAAAKcA/5dFzKPgzmcYMcAr71NZiEETQarRxa7GngCNcBGAsYHQ/s350/Philip_J._Corso.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="238" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e8b4ozjI-Qs/X0BIKLY-FYI/AAAAAAAAKcA/5dFzKPgzmcYMcAr71NZiEETQarRxa7GngCNcBGAsYHQ/s0/Philip_J._Corso.jpg" /></a></div><p>He served in the army and arranged for about 10,000 Jews to leave Rome for Palestine at the end of World War II. Following this he served four years on the National Security Council for President Eisenhower. In 1961, he became Chief of the Pentagon's Foreign Technology desk in Army Research and Development. And what was he working on? In the book, he states that the 1947 crash of a flying saucer did indeed crash in Roswell New Mexico. This confirmed the accounts of many witnesses that were gathered by independent researchers. And one of his primary responsibilities was to take the crash remains, bring it to U.S. corporations, and reverse engineer it. Two of the major technological developments that came out of this was the integrated circuit, responsible for the computer you are reading this on, and the other was fiber optics, now used for many communications.</p><p>And the other claim? They discovered some of the extraterrestrials were hostile. And this is the origin of the Space Defense Initiative (SDI) under Ronald Reagan. And we don't have to take his word for it: Reagan explicitly mentioned the "extraterrestrial threat" in his public speeches and mentioned that as a reason we should end the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Although Corso does not mention it, these hostiles are probably responsible for biological research into both the animals and humans on this planet, and are responsible for many human abductions. In my opinion, it is the biological bacteria and viruses on this planet that is protecting us, but one group is intent on creating hybrids to get past this problem (see <i>The Threat: Revealing the Secret Alien Agenda</i>, by Jacobs). This is probably one of the reasons why the military had to be careful what they revealed to the public.</p><p>So I left the subject of extraterrestrials for a while, and once things settled personally for me after this coronavirus pandemic broke out, I decided to read a book entitled <i>Selected by Extraterrestrials</i>, by William Tompkins, who unfortunately passed away recently in 2017. A second volume of his work has been published this year posthumously by Dr. Michael Salla. And when I read it, although the book is poorly written and includes a lot of "fluff", it drops a number of bombshells confirming what I previously regarded as rumors or hearsay in UFO research. And some of it is just so unbelievable, even to me, and probably more so for those who have no knowledge of the research. But I am going to report on it anyway, because many people need to start getting their heads out of the sand.<br /></p><p>So who is William Tompkins? He worked for Navy intelligence during World War II out of southern California. He would later work for an Aerospace company, Douglas Aircraft Company (the editor, Robert Wood, worked at the same company). After the book was published, Dr. Michael Salla, through the Freedom of Information act was able to confirm the following:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>William Tompkins was part of the staff to Admiral Rico Botta of the U.S. Navy, who in 1942 reported to the Naval Air Station in San Diego, California.</li><li>William Tompkins job was "Disseminator for Advanced Research."</li><li>Rico Botta was selected by Secretary of the Navy Forrestal to be the individual who controlled the information brought back by naval intelligence operatives from Nazi Germany.</li><li>Before Rico Botta took over Naval Air station in San Diego, he visited all four of the principal aircraft companies: Lockheed, North American, Douglas Aircraft and Northrup.</li><li>Within 2 months of Rico Botta's visit to these four aircraft companies, which would later become aerospace companies, the companies were visited by Williams Tompkins who presented packages to them.</li></ul><p>Here is a picture of Admiral Rico Botta of the U.S. Navy:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k7YF0z9UGwg/X0BbBcNTyqI/AAAAAAAAKcY/Rw-34t-s2s8bmTIVwAzWK4l3a6Y6KqLQwCNcBGAsYHQ/s300/Adm-Botta-246x300.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="246" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k7YF0z9UGwg/X0BbBcNTyqI/AAAAAAAAKcY/Rw-34t-s2s8bmTIVwAzWK4l3a6Y6KqLQwCNcBGAsYHQ/s0/Adm-Botta-246x300.jpg" /></a></div> <p></p><p>A short biography can be found here: <a href="http://www.epnaao.com/BIOS_files/DECEASED/Botta-%20Rico.pdf">http://www.epnaao.com/BIOS_files/DECEASED/Botta-%20Rico.pdf.</a> What is interesting is this statement, after having served at the Naval Air Station at San Diego:</p><p></p><blockquote>“For exceptionally meritorious conduct (in that capacity) from December 31, 1942 to August 14, 1945...” he was awarded the Legion of Merit. The citation states in part: “...By his outstanding technical knowledge and skill, (he) enabled his department to meet the ever increasing demands of the Fleet Air Commands for combat aircraft of the latest type and with the latest combat-improved changes installed...”</blockquote><p></p><p>Now, with that out of the way, William Tompkins makes the following statements, some of which came out in interviews after the book was published:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The Battle of Los Angeles in 1942 was caused by an incursion of flying saucers. Two were shot down and recovered by the navy.<br /></li><li>Naval intelligence officers in Germany were reporting back very strange things: German scientists had advanced flying saucer technology.</li><li>Maria Orsic of the Vril society was also independently successful in developing advanced flying saucer technology. <br /></li><li>Portions of the plans from German scientists were relayed to William Tompkins. Tompkins would drop off these notes at the aforementioned companies to try to reverse engineer them.<br /></li><li>The German technology was surprisingly advanced. The Naval intelligence officers, to their utter surprise, discovered they were receiving assistance from an extraterrestrial reptilian race.<br /></li><li>The particular reptilian race was not only hostile to humans, but had been involved in human history for the last 5-6,000 years. Their objective is to keep the human race suppressed and ignorant.<br /></li><li>This reptilian race was familiar with advanced mind control methods, and would use it to keep humans suppressed. Tompkins avoids questions in this area, indicating it is a sensitive topic and probably still classified.</li><li>Amazingly, the plans and designs for the Apollo Missions to the Moon originated at Douglas Aircraft, at the direction of Tompkins, who made an unofficial trip to present it to von Braun, whose group was later incorporated into NASA.</li><li>Tompkins had no formal education, but had been selected to join the U.S. Navy due to his amazing photographic memory.</li><li>Tompkins would have these amazing detailed plans, or answers to his questions, come into his head, despite the lack of his formal education. Scientists would approach him to discover where all this information was coming from.</li><li>Tompkins later discovered, quite by accident, that the secretaries assigned to him were Nordic extraterrestrials. These "secretaries" were both extremely beautiful and highly intelligent, and were responsible for feeding ideas into Tompkins through telepathy.</li><li>The "secretaries" would never confirm who they were, and like other similar reports, were apparently never allowed to confirm their identity.</li><li>The purpose of the Apollo missions to the Moon was to help push the human race to become interstellar.</li><li>Before they landed on the Moon, NASA discovered there were artificial structures on the surface of the Moon. Tompkins himself saw some of the photographs, confirming the testimony of several prior witnesses (e.g., Karl Wolfe, who saw the photographs at CIA headquarters in Langley)<br /></li><li>The Moon had the capacity to house within it massive cities. This was recently confirmed with the discovery of large lava tubes under the lunar surface. Tompkins states the Moon was probably designed for this.</li><li>When Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon, several large massive extraterrestrial ships were seen on the other side of the crater. Although this was never reported to the public, HAM radio operators at the time reported similar testimony (see <a href="https://www.quora.com/Did-Neil-Armstrong-really-see-aliens-on-the-moon-Or-is-the-whole-story-made-up">https://www.quora.com/Did-Neil-Armstrong-really-see-aliens-on-the-moon-Or-is-the-whole-story-made-up)</a><br /></li><li>Although not stated in the book, it is implied that the other agenda was to help the human race defend itself against a possible extraterrestrial threat.</li><li>Tompkins would confirm in another interview that the secret space program now known as "Solar Warden," as discovered recently by British hackers, is indeed real.</li><li>Another secret program that was successful based on extraterrestrial knowledge, is extension of human life, again confirming some other bizarre witness testimony about our secret space program. Our lives have been artificially shortened, as well as our brain functioning capacity. This program was seen necessary for long trips for interstellar travel.<br /></li></ul><p>OK. That was a lot. Its a lot to take in, and I had to absorb and think about it before immediately rejecting it offhand. But Tompkins is not the only one saying these things, most of the information can be found in other witness accounts. The difference here, Tompkins is not another UFO researcher, he obviously is an insider. So let's examine some of this one by one.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>WAS THERE A NAZI PROGRAM INVOLVING FLYING SAUCERS?</b></span></p><p>The first surprise for me was that reverse engineering of UFO technology did not begin in 1947 from the crash in Roswell, but in 1942 under the U.S. Navy. And actually before that under Nazi Germany, except the Germans were being given explicit help. Surprisingly, evidence for this is right out there in the public, and it is completely brushed over in the history books. One good book on this is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Flying-Saucers-German-Second/dp/1935487914"><i>Hitler's Flying Saucers: A Guide to German Flying Discs of the Second World War,</i></a> by Henry Stevens. I happened to have it and never read it as I thought it was too speculative. I skimmed through it and was surprised by the amount of research. Much of it is circumstantial or indeed speculative, but among the pages I found this:<br /></p><ul><li>A CIA Document from 1952 confirms that the Germans were building flying saucers as early as 1941. It states: ""Flying saucers" have been known to be an actuality since the possibility of their construction was proven in plans drawn up by German engineers toward the end of World War II." This confirms Tompkins account. The CIA probably had this knowledge from the U.S. Navy programs.<br /></li><li>The CIA document mentions an engineer that said Nazi Germany had plans for a flying saucer as early as 1941. He was present in Prague for a test flight of an experimental flying saucer.<br /></li><li>The American military thought "Foo fighters", strange globes that followed American airplanes during WWII, were of German origin, which they called "Phoo bombs". My surmise on this is these were probably extraterrestrial.</li><li>An FBI Report from 1957 spoke to a Polish prisoner of war who saw a flying saucer ascend from a German facility east of Berlin in 1944.</li></ul><p>At the time the author concluded that UFO researchers had "jumped to the conclusion" that UFOs were extraterrestrial and not of a terrestrial origin, as there was a habit to ignore the evidence from Germany. Tompkins testimony changes that conclusion: German indeed had a flying saucer research program, but they were reverse engineering it, with extraterrestrial help.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>A (FORMER?) EXTRATERRESTRIAL BASE ON THE MOON?</b></span> <br /></p><p>The idea of artificial structures of the Moon seems preposterous at first, but other witnesses have reported this - some researchers were even allowed to take a look at the original photographs. Several researchers and witnesses have said that NASA brushed them out in the photographs revealed to the public, and I have discussed this previously on this blog. But surprisingly, Emanuel Swedenborg was told in his visions the Moon was inhabited in the 18th century (<i>Earths in the Universe</i>, n. 111-112). For the other extraterrestrials he had to guess about their origin, and was probably mistaken when identifying certain planets of our solar system, but was explicitly told by the angels that this group were indeed from the Moon. Unfortunately what the secret space programs know is kept hidden from the public, and Swedenborg's statements on human extraterrestrials have caused many to reject the revelations. Obviously, if you have extraterrestrials on the Moon they have to be extremely advanced, and were (are?) probably using it as a temporary base. When one understands that bacteria and viruses on earth can be lethal to extraterrestrial life, an advanced civilization traveling the stars may prefer such sterile locations to setup temporary way stops.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>WHAT ABOUT TELEPATHIC HUMAN EXTRATERRESTRIALS?</b></span> <br /></p><p>Many witnesses, not just Tompkins, report encounters with extraterrestrial humans who prefer to communicate telepathically rather than verbally. In one of his visionary encounters of extraterrestrials, Swedenborg seemed to encounter this but did not seem to understand it, as the concept of "telepathy" did not even exist. Instead he attributed the non-verbal communication to a type of "internal breathing" that affected the Eustachian tube of the inner ear (<i>Earths in the Universe</i>, n. 87).</p><p>As for the behavior of extraterrestrial UFOs, why they do not make contact? Swedenborg saw that these extraterrestrial societies regarded humans on earth as barbaric and evil. There also seemed to be a spiritual barrier that Swedenborg had to cross that separated the earth from other extraterrestrial societies, and this because unlike their societies humans on earth were very external and materialistic, something that was very averse to their way of life and thinking, which was more internal and spiritual. This was because in many other extraterrestrial societies contact with heaven was not broken, and communication with spirits is utterly normal to them. They did not experience the "fall of Adam" as we did here on earth, and this idea has been expressed in other witness accounts.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>WHAT ABOUT A REPTILIAN EXTRATERRESTRIAL RACE?</b></span> <br /></p><p>This testimony of an extraterrestrial reptilian race from Tompkins took me by surprise, and my first reaction was to reject it. I realized this was because there are a lot of false conspiracy theories on the internet regarding extraterrestrial reptilians, which mix in truth with fiction and speculation. Some researchers have reached some very false conclusions, confusing the effects of mind control programs with these reptilians, a subject for another day. However, if one reads multiple independent witness accounts, indeed there are many reports of encounters with reptilian humanoid extraterrestrials in these UFO contacts. So I knew of these accounts, but despite that, it was still shocking to see that this was indeed true from an inside account that they do indeed exist. But was more surprising: Tompkins states several times this reptilian race has been involved in human affairs for thousands of years, and they want to keep the human race suppressed. When we see the Nazis exterminating millions in concentration camps, putting many into slave labor, this implies that their agenda is very negative for the human race. And, they need an earthly government to do their bidding.<br /></p><p>So, suspending my initial idea to reject this statement, my question was: if true, how did Swedenborg miss this? He was not only allowed to give a full account of heaven and hell in the afterlife, but had accidentally encountered several human extraterrestrials from other planets in the spiritual world while in full waking state. But they were all human, not once did he mention any other kind. I surmised one reason he may have missed this is that in the spiritual world, those who are deceptive are represented by serpents, as all animals are representative of internal human affections and thoughts, good or evil. So, if Swedenborg actually encountered a deceptive humanoid reptilian race, he might have thought that the serpents were merely representative of their cunning and deceptive nature. So out of curiosity, I decided to take another look at his private <i>Spiritual Diary</i>, which is actually the original document where he first reported his extraterrestrial encounters. There is an interesting passage of one of his encounters with the most evil spirits among hell, who were according to Swedenborg were under a "fantasy" seeming to walk across the globe beneath their feet, supposing themselves to be the greatest gods ruling the universe (<i>Spiritual Diary</i>, n. 284-285). They were deceitful and cunning and were adept at perverting the thoughts of the innocent, and were described as the "poisons and deceits of the serpent" (<i>Spiritual Diary</i>, n. 287). Maybe a coincidence, but their nature of deceit, and perverting human
thought, coincides with Tompkins testimony how this reptilian race uses
mind control techniques to suppress the human race. It is unclear as evil spirits in the spiritual world do the same, but the account is curious as the word "globe" is used by Swedenborg to refer to planets. Was it just their fantasy, or did he happen to encounter an evil sort of extraterrestrial from our own planet? Later, Swedenborg encountered in his vision a group of advanced extraterrestrials, who would travel in the form of a "globe" between solar systems, gathering immense knowledge. These were of a different sort, but it is curious how again he used the word "globe" to refer to extraterrestrials traveling between solar systems. There is a later passage with the heading, THE SEAT OF CERTAIN ONES IN HEAVEN WHO ARE CALLED STARS. Here, he relates that there was a certain spirit appearing at the "zenith" high above, who at times appeared as a "smooth serpent," whom Swedenborg relates to the dragon of the Apocalypse in Rev. 12:4. While holding preference for the Jewish race, he wished to destroy all other humans, and pervert Christian doctrine, and was quite deceitful and had caused trouble for Swedenborg for 3 years (<i>Spiritual Diary</i>, n. 461). Later Swedenborg explicitly calls this spirit a "star" that supposed he was the sun for all others (<i>Spiritual Diary</i>, n. 466), and in another passage, calls this spirit a "dragon" whose deceit has "persisted for many ages past, and has perverted countless numbers" (<i>Spiritual Diary</i>, n. 487).</p><p>None of this is conclusive, for Swedenborg focused solely on universal spiritual truths. But what is hidden may actually be right in front of us: the serpent, a symbol of evil and deceit that caused the fall of Adam in ancient times, has perhaps a hidden more literal story of a reptilian race interfering with human affairs. The extraterrestrial interpretation would be a more literal application of scripture than the more universal one, where a serpent spiritually represents those who are materialistic and deceitful. And it all ends with the Apocalypse, in a great battle between Christ who descends from heaven against the dragon who has a stranglehold on planet earth. While in a spiritual sense this represents the Second Coming of Christ in the spiritual sense of the Word against those who have followed a falsified and corrupt form of Christianity, on a more literalistic level it possibly refers to the hidden war between the Nordic humans and reptilians. The dragon, in a spiritual sense, are those who separate faith from charity, and in a sense refers to those who are stuck in a false belief system that renders them spiritually powerless and useless in life. If there is an extraterrestrial factor in all of this, it makes sense to introduce in Swedenborg's revelations that extraterrestrial humans do indeed exist. So get over that, and see the big picture.<br /></p><p>UFO researchers have said there are too many sightings: they have to be somewhere close by. If they are human they could walk down the street and you would never know it. I have read multiple independent accounts, where these extraterrestrials
have warned us that there is a hostile race interfering with human
affairs, and Tompkins sheds a bit more light on it. Unfortunately he did not say everything. </p><p>This all sounds like science fiction, but we have this account from Tompkins where some of the facts can be independently verified. And consider: why did God choose to become incarnate on our planet? Could it be, our planet will be (or is) at the center of a conflict of extraterrestrial proportions? Indeed, I think some of these human extraterrestrials do actually follow that point of view. One of them reportedly had said, "We are God's celestial army." But in all of this, it is we who have to solve our problems, and follow internal spiritual discernment to weed out the falsehoods from the truth, and determine who is friend and who is foe. But it is good to hear we have friends who have decided to become involved in our affairs to help.<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><br /></p>Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-49619612617610007962020-05-02T13:53:00.000-04:002020-05-04T23:53:17.403-04:00The Spiritual Meaning of the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It is true that Jesus came to save the world, that He is God incarnate in human form, who needed to come to this planet to open the way again between heaven and humanity. The Lord came at the end of the Jewish dispensation, when the Jewish religion was nothing more than a superficial hypocritical religion, where the Jews regarded themselves as superior to others and only expected a Messiah that would allow them to rule over others. But from the beginning Jesus was misunderstood, and over the centuries Christianity has become so corrupt that there is very little of the original message, and it has been corrupted by falsehoods. And when Christianity became so corrupt that it was at its final state, in the 18th century a heavenly revelation was given to Emanuel Swedenborg to restore its state to its original intended form. And this is the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Second Coming<br />
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The two essential truths that have become corrupted and falsified in modern Christian churches, which the general public is unaware of, are as follows:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>God is One personal Being of Love, revealed in Jesus Christ in human form. Jesus is one and the same as Jehovah of the Jews of the Old Testament.</li>
<li>A spiritual life is obtained by turning away from evil and doing good, acknowledging that the power of Jesus through the Holy Spirit conquers evil and sinful tendencies within us.</li>
</ol>
In place of this, modern Christian churches have supplanted Christianity with a form of tritheism in a belief of three persons, where they have no idea which person they should pray to when they pray. Although they claim to be monotheistic in the mouth, in their mind there is a tritheism of three personal beings. And instead of focusing on doing good in one's life, the focus is on "faith" which is again misinterpreted as belief alone (it in fact means, <u>living by the truth</u>). Instead of repentance the false theology of vicarious atonement is taken to mean that sins are merely removed by a confession in a belief statement. In its worst form, false Christianity is nothing more than an external appearance used to hide one's hidden evils. This is the false religion of the Antichrist, foretold in the book of Revelation as a false tritheistic idol that makes itself appear to be Christian (see <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-prophecy-of-dragon-beast-and-false.html">The Prophecy of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet).</a><br />
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The book of Revelation is a revelation of how the Christian churches would become utterly corrupt in its end. Anyone can see historically how the churches suffered not only from early heresies but what exactly was true about Jesus, beginning especially in the fourth century beginning with the Council of Nicea. But that this was foreseen in the Bible can be shown from the interpretation of Revelation 13:8, which has also not been understood:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world</i>. (Rev. 13:8) </blockquote>
It is known to many that the "Lamb" represents Jesus, for a lamb represents innocence, the highest form of good. But unknown to many is this: the Lamb represents how Jesus made His very human form Divine. <i>And this Divine Human is the Son</i>, not a separate personal being as is so often told in a lie that no one understands. In Jesus there is a Holy Trinity of soul, body and spirit. A Trinity of three persons is a fiction, an idol that has entered the most Holy of holies of the churches, misleading many and causing those who have any rational thought to leave the church as naturalistic atheists.<br />
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The other portion of this text that is misunderstood is that "slain from the foundation of the world" is taken to mean that this refers to the pre-existence of Christ before creation. Jesus did pre-exist as God before creation, as all of creation was created by the Divine truth or the Word, and Jesus is the "Word made flesh" (John 1:14). But this is not the meaning of the text: the "foundation of the world" is not the beginning of creation, it refers to the foundation of the Christian church, for throughout scripture the words "earth" and "world" do not refer the physical globe of the earth or creation but rather to the church itself.<br />
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What it means is that from the very beginning of the foundation of the Christian church, at the beginning of the world age of the Christian dispensation, Jesus has been misunderstood and rejected. The claim that the Christian church would become corrupt is not a new claim, it was foretold in Biblical prophecy in the first century. Swedenborg explains this in his works <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U"><i>Apocalypse Revealed</i></a> as well as <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U"><i>Apocalypse Explained</i></a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<i>Slain from the foundation of the world</i>, signifies the Lord's Divine Human not acknowledged from the first establishment of the church. ...From the foundation of the world signifies the first establishment of the church, as well the Jewish as the Christian. It is known that the Jews did not acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human. That the Roman Catholics do not, is also known: and that neither do the Reformed, see above (n. 294). The creation of the world is not meant here by the foundation of the world, but the establishment of the church: for by the world, in the widest sense, the whole world is meant, and as well the good as the evil in it, and sometimes the evil only; but in a sense not the widest, the same is meant by the world as by the globe and by the earth, that is, the church. That the church is signified by the globe, may be seen n. 551; and by the earth n. 285. That by founding the globe and the earth is signified to establish the church, and that by the founding and the foundation of them is signified establishment may be evident from Isa. xxiv. 18; xl. 21; xlviii. 12, 13; li. 16, 17; lviii. 12; Jer. xxxi. 37; Mic. vi. 1, 2; Zech. xii. 1; Ps. xviii. 7, 15; xxiv. 1, 2; lxxxii. 5; lxxxix. 11. That the world also signifies the church (Matt. xiii. 37-39; Joel i. 9, 10). And that the Lord is called the Saviour of the world, from faith in Him (John iii. 16-19; iv. 42; vi. 33, 51; viii. 12; ix. 4, 5; xii. 46, 47). That the world also means the people of the church (John xii. 19; xviii. 20). It may be seen from this what is signified by the foundation of the world; also, Matt. xxv. 34; Luke xi. 50; John xvii. 24; Apoc. xvii. 8." (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U"><i>Apocalypse Revealed</i></a>, n. 589).</blockquote>
And again:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<i>Slain from the foundation of the world</i>, signifies whose Divine in His Human has not been acknowledged from the first establishment of this church. This is evident from the signification of "the Lamb slain or killed," as being not acknowledged (see above, n. 315a, 328a, 328b), here that His Divine in His Human has not been acknowledged (of which presently). Also from the signification of "the foundation of the world," as being the first establishment of the church. For "the world" signifies in the Word several things, namely, the world in general, also both those who are good and those who are evil in it, also the evil only who are in the world, and so also the hells. "The world" has also a similar signification as "the earth," namely, the church; and that is also here meant by "the foundation of the world," as also in Matthew:—<br />
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<i>The King shall say to them on the right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world</i> (xxv. 34).<br />
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The Lord is not acknowledged when His Divine in His Human is not acknowledged, for the reason that the Lord is not then regarded as God, but only as a man, who is not able to save. And although it is believed from the Athanasian Creed that the Lord is the Son of God born from eternity, and that His Divine is equal to the Divine of the Father, yet (since they separate His Human from His Divine) they divide the Lord as it were into two persons, which they call natures, making the Lord one thing as the Son of God from eternity, and another as the son of Mary. And because they so divide the Lord no one is able to approach Him unless he is willing to approach Him as one person when regarded as God and as another when regarded as man. Such has been the idea of the Lord from the first foundation of the church, as can be seen from the writings of the fathers, and afterwards from the writings of their sons. The Lord has been thus divided in the church from its beginning, because they did not understand the Word. For where the Lord mentions the Father it is believed that a Divine distinct from His Human is meant, although it is clearly evident in Matthew and in Luke that the Lord was conceived by the very Divine which is called the Father, consequently that this very Divine is in His Human as a soul is in its body; and the soul and the body are one Person. And what is wonderful, this is taught in express terms in the Athanasian Creed, which is the doctrine concerning God in the whole Christian world, and yet scarcely any one in that confession gives any heed to it." (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U"><i>Apocalypse Explained</i></a>, n. 807).</blockquote>
I decided to write this because of this coronavirus pandemic: it is causing many of these old churches to shutter and close down, and many will not survive the financial losses they experience. And that, my friends, can be a very good thing. For the old churches must die in order for the New Church to be reborn anew. This coronavirus pandemic is going to change many things in this world, and it is my prayer that this will be one of them.</div>
Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-50598758552324856712020-04-26T00:02:00.000-04:002020-05-01T16:02:18.434-04:00Free Cross-Platform Multiplayer Games for Old Computers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As many are forced to stay at home due to this coronavirus pandemic leading to mass social isolation, I thought I would share here some useful resources for network multiplayer gaming as a way to socialize and connect with others. While it is certainly not healthy to become isolated or addicted to gaming, on the other hand <u>multiplayer</u> gaming provides a means to connect with others.<br />
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I did quite a bit of research, using the following criteria:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>The game must be free</li>
<li>The game must allow for a multiplayer game play over the network or internet. Local multiplayer games are excluded</li>
<li>The game must work on slow computers</li>
<li>The game must not require the OpenGL 3.x standard (or higher) in order to support older graphics cards </li>
<li>The game must allow for cross platform game play across Windows & Linux</li>
<li>The game must not be excessively violent or contain inappropriate content</li>
</ol>
Some of these games have built in chat, others do not, but that can easily be rectified by downloading a chat program such as Discord, Zoom or Skype. Old computers will operate faster on Linux. For an old computer with an old graphics card that did not support OpenGL 3.x or higher, I installed Lubuntu 19.10 so that I could dual boot between both Windows and Linux.<br />
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Regrettably I had to exclude some good games because of lack of OpenGL 3.x support on the old graphics card. But in the end I found a rather large selection of games that will provide hours of game play. I have divided the games into the following categories:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Online Board Games </li>
<li>Turn Based Strategy Games</li>
<li>Realtime Strategy Games</li>
<li>MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online RPG)</li>
<li>Arcade Games</li>
<li>First Person Shooter Games</li>
</ol>
Some games can be installed directly through the Linux distribution, others have their own site, and others can be installed directly using the Steam distribution client.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>ONLINE BOARD GAMES</b></span> </div>
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If you are into old school board games, board games have been revived by several online services that allow you to play them over the internet. And these work in a browser without any special installation. <a href="https://www.chesskid.com/">ChessKid</a> is a site that is perfect for introducing children to the game of chess. There are websites that include all sorts of games, and from a cursory search found the following websites:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="https://boardgamearena.com/">Board Game Arena </a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.yucata.de/en">Yucata</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.boiteajeux.net/">Boiteajeux</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://tabletopia.com/">TableTopia</a></li>
</ol>
There are others, for a full review see <a href="https://mykindofmeeple.com/play-modern-board-games-online/">6 Best Sites to Play Board Games Online for Free!</a> <br />
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Most games can be simply played for free, either among friends and family or complete strangers. Some games however can only be played behind a pay firewall, but there are plenty of choices here. I prefer strategy games, a simple popular one I would probably try first is <a href="https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=carcassonne">Carcassonne</a>. More complicated ones of interest are <a href="https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=puertorico">Puerto Rico</a>, <a href="https://www.yucata.de/en/GameInfo/ElGrande">El Grande</a> and <a href="https://tabletopia.com/games/scythe">Scythe</a>.<br />
<br />
If you have that one favorite unique board or card game, you may need to look elsewhere. For example if you are into the <i>Dominion</i> card game, you can play it here: <a href="https://dominion.games/">Dominion Online</a> (for a review see <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/4/3/21197399/dominion-online-board-games">The online board game Dominion is the only thing keeping me sane during coronavirus</a>). Another popular game is <i>Settlers of Catan</i>, and you can play that online here: <a href="https://www.catan.com/game/catan-universe">CATAN Universe</a>. For an example of game play using Zoom to connect with friends, see <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-play-settlers-of-catan-online-tips-2020-3">I played a long-distance version of Settlers of Catan, the wildly popular and complex board game, with 3 of my friends. Here's how you can do it from your own home.</a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>TURN BASED STRATEGY GAMES</b></span> </div>
<br />
Similar to the category of online board games are turn based strategy (TBS) games, which either require more investment in time or play out over a period of days. You are going to need to find dedicated gamers for this type of game. Many of these games have extra mods providing even more replayability value. Here are the free games that have clients that run on both Windows and Linux:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="https://play0ad.com/">0 A.D. | A free, open-source game of ancient warfare</a> - open source project, this is also available for download in the Linux distribution</li>
<li><a href="http://www.ageofconquest.com/">Age of Conquest IV - Turn-Based Grand Strategy Wargame</a> - this is also available for download from Steam</li>
<li><a href="https://www.wesnoth.org/">The Battle for Wesnoth</a> - open source project, this is also available for download in the Linux distribution</li>
<li><a href="https://www.demiseofnations.com/download.html">Demise of Nations - 4X Turn-Based Grand Strategy Game</a> - this is also available for download from Steam</li>
<li><a href="http://www.freeciv.org/">FreeCiv</a> - an open source project based on the <i>Civilization</i> series. Also available for download in the Linux distribution</li>
<li><a href="http://www.freecol.org/">FreeCol</a> - an open source project based on the the old game <i>Colonization</i>, also available for download in the Linux distribution</li>
<li><a href="https://www.freeorion.org/index.php/Main_Page">FreeOrion</a> - an open source project based on the <i>Master of Orion</i> series, also available for download in the Linux distribution </li>
<li><a href="https://ufoai.org/wiki/News">UFO: Alien Invasion</a> - based on
the Quake II engine, an open source project themed after the popular
X-COM series of games. A tactical turn based shooter, can be competitive or co-op multiplayer.</li>
</ul>
<i>UFO: Alien Invasion</i> is a bit different from the rest and is based on a popular game series, and is more a tactical turn based shooter. <i>Demise of Nations</i> and <i>Age of Conquest IV</i> are made by the same company and are mostly free, but according to <a href="https://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/some-thoughts-on-demise-of-nations-a-4x-strategy-game.10185">Some thoughts on Demise of Nations, a 4X strategy game</a> you may need to pay more to access their servers if you play frequently. 0 A.D. may offer more diverse game play since it is still under active development (see <a href="https://www.strategygamer.com/articles/age-of-empires-4-0-ad-game/">Waiting for Age of Empires 4? 0 A.D. is the next best thing</a>).<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>REALTIME STRATEGY GAMES</b></span> </div>
<br />
If you are the impatient kind and can't stand waiting for someone to take their turn, then consider real time strategy (RTS) type of games. Everything happens in realtime, and you have limited time to make the correct decisions and have to react to rapidly changing events. If that is your style here are the free games that can be played on both Windows and Linux<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/294160/Galcon_2_Galactic_Conquest/">Galcon 2: Galactic Conquest on Steam</a> - the most simple RTS game here, very basic 2D map involving numbers. Just do the math. Really quick.</li>
<li><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/449140/Istrolid/">Istrolid on Steam</a> - design your own spaceship and have them fight in real time. All in 2D.</li>
<li><a href="https://kag2d.com/en/">King Arthur's Gold</a> - this is a medieval build and kill game, with destrutible environments, that went free to play. It can be installed via the Steam client: see <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/219830/King_Arthurs_Gold/">King Arthur's Gold on Steam</a></li>
<li><a href="https://megaglest.org/">MegaGlest</a> - an open source project that forked from the earlier game Glest, it is available for download in many Linux distros.</li>
<li>Netpanzer - a tank RTS game, available for download in Linux distros.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.openra.net/">OpenRA</a> - <span class="st">an open source project based on Westwood Studios' 2D Command and Conquer games. They have implementations of <i>Dune 2000</i>, <i>Red Alert</i> and <i>Tiberian Dawn</i>.</span></li>
<li><span class="st"><a href="https://wz2100.net/">Warzone 2100</a> - a commercial game that has been converted into an open source project, available for download in Linux distros or from Steam</span></li>
</ul>
Out of all these, the one that is most interesting here is <i>King Arthur's Gold</i>, which looks insanely fun to play. Its 2D and has different mods, and someone made a mod to make it look like <i>Minecraft</i>. This one was perhaps one of my most interesting finds, it is not a well known game. Here is a review:<br />
<br />
<center>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c31QYWSAhSc" width="560"></iframe></center>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>MMORPG GAMES</b></span> </div>
<br />
MMORPG are Massively Multiplayer online RPG games, which can be fun if you dive in with a group of friends. The caveat here is that the online player community will make the experience good or bad - they can be friendly or they can be toxic. Also after the first few introductory levels you may tend to go through repetitive grinds to level up, unless you pay for it to speed up the progress. But initially it can provide hours of fun. MMORPG games that have Linux support without requiring OpenGL 3.x include <i>Warspear Online</i> and <i>Wild Terra Online</i>. There are many others for Linux, see <a href="https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-free-mmorpgs-run-natively-linux/">8 Free MMORPGs That Run Natively on Linux</a> and <a href="https://mmos.com/editorials/linux-mmorpgs">Linux Compatible MMOs & MMORPGs.</a> See the "honorable mentions" section below for two MMORPG that I would recommend since they include tactical turn based combat which is good for team play. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>ARCADE GAMES</b></span> </div>
<br />
For faster and more simple play, the following games have clients for both Windows and Linux, and either operate off of servers on the internet or servers that can be setup locally on your own computer:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/41300/Altitude/">Altitude on Steam</a> - a multiplayer 2D plane fighter game, a well polished game. Requires the Steam client.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.armagetronad.org/">Armagetron Advanced :: a Tron clone in 3D</a> - remember the movie Tron and its reboot? You can now experience it in 3D.</li>
<li><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/204300/Awesomenauts__the_2D_moba/">Awesomenauts - the 2D moba on Steam</a> - another well polished game, a massive multiplayer platform game.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.bitfighter.org/">BitFighter</a> - a 2D space shooter, where you can design your own levels. It is similar to another game called <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/352700/Subspace_Continuum/">Subspace Continuum</a>, but unfortunately the latter only operates on Windows.</li>
<li><a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/blobby/">Blobby Volley 2</a> - you get to play volleyball as blobs of jello. Simple and fun. It can also be installed via the Linux distribution.</li>
<li><u>BZFlag</u> - a tank battle in 3D, this can be installed via the Linux distribution.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.frozen-bubble.org/">Frozen Bubble</a> - a simple arcade game.</li>
<li><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1005870/HYPERFIGHT/">HYPERFIGHT on Steam</a> - a free version of <i>Street Fighter</i>. OK graphics but apparently fun to play.</li>
<li><a href="http://maniadrive.raydium.org/">ManiaDrive</a> - a free clone of TrackMania, a 3D car race game</li>
<li><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/351140/Rustbucket_Rumble/">Rustbucket Rumble on Steam</a> - a 2D fighter game between robots, where you try to capture the other robot and put him in the recycling machine to make yourself a stronger robot</li>
<li><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/420790/StarBreak/">StarBreak on Steam</a> - this one has been described as a "Free Sidescrolling Permadeath MMO." You cannot setup your own server for this one.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.teeworlds.com/">Teeworlds</a> - a free multiplayer platform game for up to 16 players, it can also be installed via Steam. A variant of this game has been created called <a href="https://siile.itch.io/ninslash">Ninslash</a> which is still under development but can be freely played right now.</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS</b></span> </div>
<br />
And now we come to first person shooters, and from this I excluded some choices due to their violent content. <i>Team Fortress 2</i> is perhaps the most popular but it unfortunately did not make the cut, it is a CPU and graphics hog and my laptop could not handle it. There are many other options to choose from, but I found most of these could run on my Linux setup: <br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><u>Doom</u>, a port of the old DOS classic that started it all (technically Wolfenstein 3D did). You can install this through the Linux distribution using Chocolate Doom. There are other engines available that provide higher resolutions but may depend on OpenGL. There are also engines for old DOS games such as <i>Hexen</i> and <i>Heretic</i>.</li>
<li><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/317360/Double_Action_Boogaloo/">Double Action Boogaloo</a> - in this the main objective is to die like a stuntman, with style, and in slow motion. </li>
<li><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/17580/Dystopia/">Dystopia on Steam</a> - a cyberpunk version between hackers and agents. A mod of the Half life engine, this one has received a lot of positive reviews.</li>
<li><a href="https://hexenworld.org/">Hexen World</a> - another modern port of the <i>Hexen</i> and <i>Heretic</i> classics</li>
<li><u>Nexuiz</u>, <u>Rexuiz</u>, and <u>Xonotic</u> - these three share the same code base and are basic FPS games.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.tremulous.net/">Tremulous</a> - an asymmetric FPS between aliens and humans. This one I could not fully test due to lack of online servers.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.truecombatelite.com/">True Combat Elite</a> - team based FPS emphasizing tactical coordination, currently has an active community</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>HONORABLE MENTIONS AND OTHER IDEAS?</b></span> </div>
<br />
Everyone will have their own preference here, and in a group there will
always be a compromise on choice but there is something for everybody
here. In my brief research I found three honorable mentions that allow for co-op play:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/711810/Never_Split_the_Party/"><i>Never Split the Party</i></a>, which requires OpenGL 3.x</li>
<li><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/512900/Streets_of_Rogue/"><i>Streets of Rogue</i></a> which is not free but seems to be worthwhile. </li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.wakfu.com/en/mmorpg">Wakfu</a></i>, is an MMORPG which has nice cartoonish characters with a friendly community, it is most fun when with a group of friends while coordinating together in the turn based tactical combat. It seems to require OpenGL 3.x </li>
<li><i><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/466660/Stash/">Stash</a></i>, an MMORPG that has tactical turn based combat, which seems to be based on Minecraft as it allows you to create your own buildings, but it requires OpenGL 3.x </li>
</ul>
If we drop the requirement for Linux or old graphics cards, the field of options opens up even wider. Other options would then include <i>Airmech Strike</i>, <i>Brawhalla</i>, <i>Expendabros </i>and <i>Unturned</i>. This is by no means complete, if you have a favorite game to share please drop a note in the comments.<br />
<br />
In terms of guidance, video games can become an addiction, so some balance is required here. However if the proper choice is made games can offer a way to get together with friends and bring people together. Strategic games such as <i>Chess </i>and <i>Go </i>improve cognitive abilities. But if you are introducing someone new, start first with something simple.</div>
Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-21121075192862420042020-04-05T15:43:00.001-04:002020-08-23T10:38:36.845-04:00Where are the online New Church (Swedenborgian) Communities?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
So where exactly are people of the New Church hiding throughout the world? There are few of us here and there, and it is hard to find a local church that teaches the new revelation of the Second Coming as there is opposition to it from tradition churches, as declared in the prophecy of Revelation 12. Church offers a community where we can share with each other, and now it has become harder to gather together due to the coronavirus pandemic as many are forced to stay at home or in quarantine. But the problem was there before that, as more and more people have become isolated from each other in their individual homes.<br />
<br />
So I looked around, I did find this if you want to view live stream services of the New Church within your home: <a href="https://newchurch.org/get-involved/find-online-services/livestream/">Find live-streamed New Church Services</a>.<br />
<br />
To interact with others there are some Facebook groups as well (just look up "New Church" or "Swedenborg"). But for more direct personal interaction, I recently found a couple of online Discord chat groups. As luck would have it - but there is no luck, perhaps it is Divine Providence, I was cleaning out my email and found an invite to one of them. Here they are:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://discord.gg/AVACWbQ" style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><span face="" style="font-family: "verdana", sans-serif;">New Church Discussion</span></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://discord.gg/57kfhFJ"><span face="" style="font-family: "verdana", sans-serif;">Swedenborgian Community Online</span></a><br />
<br />An excellent Youtube channel which discusses many New Church teachings and ideas can be found here, which I highly recommend: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/offTheLeftEye">offTheLeftEye</a><br />
<br />And this is the way of heaven. In heaven there are myriads of heavenly societies, and we will automatically dwell in a community in heaven with those whom we regard the closest of friends. This is some of what Swedenborg wrote concerning the heavenly societies he encountered in his waking visions:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"All who are in similar good also know one another, just as men in the world do their kinsmen, their near relations, and their friends, though they have never before seen them; for the reason that in the other life there are no other kinships, relationships, and friendships than such as are spiritual, thus such as are of love and faith. This has sometimes been given me to see, when I was in the spirit, thus withdrawn from the body, and so in company with angels. Then some of them seemed as if known from childhood, but others as if not known at all. They whom I seemed to have known from childhood, were those who were in a state similar to that of my spirit; but they who seemed unknown to me, were in dissimilar state." (<i>Heaven and Hell</i>, n. 46)</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"By brethren in the internal sense are signified those who are in similar good and truth, that is, in similar affection for good and truth. For in the other life all are consociated according to affections, and those who are consociated constitute a brotherhood. Not that they call themselves brethren, but that they are brethren by conjunction. Good and truth themselves in the other life make that which on earth is called consanguinity and relationship, and corresponds thereto. For goods and truths viewed in themselves, do not acknowledge any other father than the Lord, for they are from Him alone. Hence all who are in goods and truths are in brotherhood; but still there are degrees of relationship according to the quality of the goods and truths." (<i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, n. 4121).</blockquote><br /></div>
Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-31464680788481511902020-04-03T13:40:00.000-04:002020-04-03T13:40:40.307-04:00The Spiritual meaning of the Plague and the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Due to the present coronavirus pandemic, I am seeing an interest in the meaning of the prophecy of the four horseman of the apocalypse, as explained in the post <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-prophecy-of-four-horsemen-of.html">The Prophecy of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse</a>. The Bible, in general, is concerned more about our spiritual life than our physical life. The fourth horse, which represents the punishment of plague, is called death, and ultimately represents spiritual death in the afterlife after truth has been destroyed (represented by the red horse) and a state of famine which signifies a lack of good (represented by the black horse). When we disregard spiritual truth and follow falsehood, good then declines by which we have conjunction with the Divine. The final state is then spiritual death, and this occurs when we block the internal Divine influx in our soul by rejecting good and truth, upon which our spiritual life depends. Hell, in the other life, is the state of spiritual life that souls prefer who are selfish - it is falsehood which becomes darkness, and hatred which becomes burning fire. When there is a lack of truth and good in the church, spiritual death prevails, and then a new revelation is given to establish the New Church, which is the Second Coming (see <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2017/03/is-second-coming-physical-event-or.html">Is the Second Coming a Physical Event or Spiritual Event?</a>).<br />
<br />
The Bible has multiple levels of meaning. The lowest level is the literal level. Hidden behind the literal meaning is the spiritual meaning. Thus when "death" is mentioned in scripture, its true spiritual meaning is spiritual death, which happens in the afterlife. Spiritual life is living a life of love and service by obeying God's commandments and rejecting evils as sin. Consider this Biblical passage:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that <b>I have set before you life and death</b>, blessing and curse. <b>Therefore choose life</b>, that you and your offspring may live, <b>loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him</b>, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them</i>. (Deut. 30:19-20) </blockquote>
The promised land here is not the land of Israel. It is the promised land of heaven, God's true heavenly kingdom, and the country of Israel was a representation of that. The Jews were God's people only as long as they represented the true spiritual church.<br />
<br />
And Jesus said not to fear physical death, but one should be in fear of spiritual death:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell</i> (Matt. 10:28)</blockquote>
In the other life, it is not God who condemns, but it is our own evil desires which condemn ourselves. Those who love evil, hatred and revenge, or are constantly jealous of others, they are attracted to the place that is most agreeable with their desire. The desire of our will is what determines where we go in the other life.<br />
<br />
Those who are natural and materialistic only fear the death of the body. Those who are spiritual fear spiritual death, and thus engage in periodic self examination and repentance.<br />
<br />
That "death" in scripture refers to spiritual death is confirmed by Swedenborg in several passages:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<i>And we shall live, and not die</i>. That this signifies spiritual life, is evident from the signification of living and not dying, as spiritual life, since nothing else is signified in the internal sense by living and not dying. For in the other world by life is signified in general heaven, and in particular eternal happiness; and by death is signified in general hell, and in particular eternal unhappiness there — as is plain from many passages in the Word. That heaven in general and eternal happiness in particular is called life, is because the wisdom of good and the intelligence of truth are there; and in the wisdom of good and the intelligence of truth is life from the Lord, from Whom is the all of life. But because in hell there is just the contrary — evil in place of good and falsity in place of truth, and thus spiritual life is extinct — therefore in hell relatively there is death; for spiritual death is evil and falsity, and in man it is to will evil, and thence to think falsity. Evil genii and spirits are unwilling to hear it said of them that they do not live, or that they are dead; for they say that they have life because they are able to will and to think. But they are told that since life is in good and truth, it cannot possibly be in evil and falsity; for these are contrary to good and truth." (<i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, n. 5407)</blockquote>
Nevertheless, natural punishments, such as plagues, are given by Divine Providence to correct human behaviour. What I am seeing with this plague, more so than other preceding plagues, is that it is forcing people to stay at home because it is initially hard to detect. It is a chance to become more introspective rather than being distracted by external things which really do not matter.<br />
<br />
Preceding the coronavirus pandemic, there was a decline in traditional church membership, and I think one outcome of this coronavirus pandemic is people will seek a more inward spirituality rather than the external appearance of just going to church while ignoring one's spiritual and moral life. It is how we live our lives which matters more than religious belief. A moral life becomes a spiritual life when one's intent becomes spiritual, which is to serve out of love towards God and others, rather than self gain.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">SWEDENBORG'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE PLAGUE AND JESUS CHRIST</span></b></div>
<br />
There is an interesting personal story in the life of Swedenborg which I find very instructive. In 1710 when Swedenborg was a young man he had boarded a merchant ship bound for London, but when he arrived they were told they must remain on ship in quarantine for six weeks as a plague had broken out in Sweden. Some Swedes had boarded the ship and persuaded Swedenborg to join them to go to the city, however Swedenborg was caught, and the penalty for breaking quarantine at that time was hanging. However he luckily got away with only a severe warning. This was his closest encounter with death in his entire life.<br />
<br />
Swedenborg had many visions, and was proven to be clairvoyant by so many witnesses that this is rarely doubted even by his most severe critics. In the years 1744-45, he has a series of encounters during which time he shifted from recording dreams to having full waking visions of heaven. In March of 1744, he had a dream in which he met Jesus Christ, and in that encounter Jesus makes a direct reference to a plague at that time:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"There came over me a shuddering, so strong from the
head downwards and over the whole body with a
noise of thunder, and this happened several times. . . . I then fell into a sleep and at about 12:00, 1:00 or
2:00 . . . there came over me a strong shuddering
from head to foot, with a thundering noise as if many
winds beat together; which shook me; it was indescribable and prostrated me on my face . . . at that
very moment I was wide awake and saw that I was
cast down . . . and I spoke as if I were awake; but
found nonetheless that the words were put into my
mouth. “And oh! Almighty Jesus Christ, that thou . . . deigned to come to so great a sinner. Make me
worthy of thy grace.” I held together my hands, and
prayed, and then came forth a hand, which squeezed
my hands hard. Straightway . . . I continued my
prayer and said, “Thou hast promised to take to
grace all sinners; thou canst nothing else but keep thy
word.” At that moment, I sat in his bosom, and saw
him face to face; it was a face of holy mien . . . and
he smiled so that I believe that his face had indeed
been like this when he lived on earth . . . <b>he asked if
I had a clear bill of health</b>. I answered, “Lord, thou
knowest better than I.” “Well, do so,” said he. . . . Wakened, with shudderings." (<i>Journal of Dreams</i>, #51).</blockquote>
A "bill of health" was given at the time to people who had arrived on ship from another country to indicate that they did not carry the plague. Here, Jesus asked Swedenborg if he had a clear bill of health - that is, was he committed to living a spiritual life, and avoided things that led towards spiritual death. Just think, if Swedenborg had died, he would not have contributed all the writings that we can freely read today, which explains the spiritual sense of the Word. Swedenborg was allowed to live so that in the future he could fulfill his mission to reveal the Second Coming, of which many Christians are ignorant due to the falsehoods which prevail in the churches. Perhaps Swedenborg was allowed to live at that moment because of God's future plan for him.<br />
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So, now that we are all confronted with death, what kind of commitment are we willing to make? How would we want to be remembered? Is there any unfinished business we should take care of? It is a good time to re-evaluate our life.</div>
Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-32496778353997031502020-03-28T20:46:00.000-04:002020-03-30T16:13:01.173-04:00The X-Men Prophecy of the Coronavirus Pandemic and Quarantine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lryeIYPbEng/Xn_psQQRo-I/AAAAAAAAKQY/Q6r34yJHl8Mf5f8Xr9Z_SVXjIpDxfPQngCEwYBhgLKs4DAMBZVoAE_cNGw_-KBWo5c_3I2pN408sWzSn764WHFdHG2GmNN5qnX6sDhNyxA_QUi8KWn7b90QchduIsryq6uh6xtSnd26eCQG5BYX8k9QP4xNsE4MwPz7AD8pVZnpg7nRKuOWNx6Fh63cyR7STutjhp-FDQbYEx4f-N7UE96YCjdBlMLvl4QOHxGWqxHnWIm47DxxhF8rDfo1ahDfTle3Dlw3vlzPUI3OiDw89W7JM5wUJs2MM9UFJe-7VNay_XMkCGAvxxdSMqYEJs0QJGYwgT1YnlFaQJaQma5k-8sCcC_Hr0RPRAL70ZbuuBoupuoBMHw-7rHuOGY2jTZ-AXp_u714ERfkTYowrAA8IFdiYGcPn5FN6RlqZoXwruveOe3hlHD-1zpJDhM5dYO0IXzDAv6Nx4Ygy4d3iBvL-h7LpvIeJpkbN1tfMtZPkuynSEqyJeIdTHPvDjoEDz_KboYMy41VDmUaPAnZ_3ElI7L3klYkEMgbgHZdwV6BxD8L1Po9yWRFksGWlB0nBshBH2Zc_WwHr48j2ZHtXbVpPubeZhSoneIANKiJkSyz0Z1is2I08oQdcHrpTmpoHl02tnjtqfPFk615olGAhcPl0pMPzk__MF/s1600/Coronavirus-structure1-1-21-20.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1524" height="302" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lryeIYPbEng/Xn_psQQRo-I/AAAAAAAAKQY/Q6r34yJHl8Mf5f8Xr9Z_SVXjIpDxfPQngCEwYBhgLKs4DAMBZVoAE_cNGw_-KBWo5c_3I2pN408sWzSn764WHFdHG2GmNN5qnX6sDhNyxA_QUi8KWn7b90QchduIsryq6uh6xtSnd26eCQG5BYX8k9QP4xNsE4MwPz7AD8pVZnpg7nRKuOWNx6Fh63cyR7STutjhp-FDQbYEx4f-N7UE96YCjdBlMLvl4QOHxGWqxHnWIm47DxxhF8rDfo1ahDfTle3Dlw3vlzPUI3OiDw89W7JM5wUJs2MM9UFJe-7VNay_XMkCGAvxxdSMqYEJs0QJGYwgT1YnlFaQJaQma5k-8sCcC_Hr0RPRAL70ZbuuBoupuoBMHw-7rHuOGY2jTZ-AXp_u714ERfkTYowrAA8IFdiYGcPn5FN6RlqZoXwruveOe3hlHD-1zpJDhM5dYO0IXzDAv6Nx4Ygy4d3iBvL-h7LpvIeJpkbN1tfMtZPkuynSEqyJeIdTHPvDjoEDz_KboYMy41VDmUaPAnZ_3ElI7L3klYkEMgbgHZdwV6BxD8L1Po9yWRFksGWlB0nBshBH2Zc_WwHr48j2ZHtXbVpPubeZhSoneIANKiJkSyz0Z1is2I08oQdcHrpTmpoHl02tnjtqfPFk615olGAhcPl0pMPzk__MF/s640/Coronavirus-structure1-1-21-20.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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In the previous post <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-clairvoyant-dream-and-prophecy-of.html">A Clairvoyant Dream and Prophecy of the Coronavirus Pandemic</a> I explained how a highly symbolic dream referenced a series of fictional stories in the X-Men comics that predicted events before it happened, similar to how the fictional novel <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wreck_of_the_Titan:_Or,_Futility">Futility (or Wreck of the Titan)</a> predicted the sinking of the Titanic years in advance. The book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/X-Prophecy-Doug-Webber-ebook/dp/B07S8QM85D">The X Prophecy</a> explained this in detail, covering events from 1981 to 2020, and it was published before the coronavirus pandemic broke out in November of 2019.<br />
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The dream is focused on the grave of Elena, where Elena was Russian, and it was referencing the death of fictional character Illyana who is also Russian. Illyana dies from an infection of the Legacy Virus, which targeted her lungs so that she could not breathe. This was discussed in detail in the previous post <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-clairvoyant-dream-and-prophecy-of.html">A Clairvoyant Dream and Prophecy of the Coronavirus Pandemic</a>.<br />
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The dream has multiple layers of meaning, and I surmised that the grave of Elena was an indirect reference to the death of the fictional character Cypher, otherwise known as Doug Ramsey. In one chapter I had written this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The white castle of the dream represents the land of death and rebirth in the Slavic myth of paradise. In the X-Men comics we find a parallel story concerning the death and rebirth of Doug Ramsey. In the original dream, the flag of Elena on top of the castle is a grave marker for Elena who had died a long time ago. Elena is represented by Kitty Pryde of the X-Men who becomes friends with Doug Ramsey. Doug dies saving Rahne the werewolf (<i>New Mutants #60</i>). Afterwards Doug’s grave becomes the focal point of subsequent stories, and there are some indications that the grave marker of Elena in the dream may be referencing the grave of Doug Ramsey."</blockquote>
The reason why I suspected this is because Doug Ramsey is ultimately resurrected from the grave by the sorceress Selene, and Selene is perhaps the origin of the name Elena (see comment in the previous post <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-clairvoyant-dream-and-prophecy-of.html">A Clairvoyant Dream and Prophecy of the Coronavirus Pandemic</a>).<br />
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So, exactly how does Doug Ramsey die, and is it related in some way to the later death of Illyana due to an infection from a virus bioweapon? His death, as referenced in the book, is described in the issue <i>New Mutants #60</i>, and at the time I regarded it as merely a confirmation that the dream was clairvoyant, but I did not want to think it was related to any future event. The fictional story of the X-Men mutant Doug Ramsey, otherwise known as Cypher, in many ways is a symbolic representation of my events in my own life and my name happens to be Doug. These kinds of weird coincidences do happen. Consider the TV reporter reporting on a man hunt for an unknown robber:<br />
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However in writing the book I yet again was unaware of the symbolic significance of the death of Doug Ramsey: <b>Doug dies after having been killed by an evil genetic scientist known as "Animator" who had been running lab experiments on animals</b>. These experiments on animals were taking place on a remote island. After the New Mutants land on the island they are attacked by the hybrid animals who are under the control of the genetic scientist known as Animator. The X-Men mutant Dani Moonstar attempts to distract them by projecting an image of the scientist, but <b>she is then attacked by a bat creature, after which the mutants are all subdued and captured</b>: (from <i>New Mutants #59, January 1988</i>):<br />
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Doug Ramsey is killed by Animator as the mutants escape from their captivity in the lab. This is described in the next issue where its cover shows Dani Moonstar mourning over the body of Doug. <b>And next to her is the bat creature</b> (from <i>New Mutants #60, February 1988</i>):<br />
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Scientists now know the coronavirus originated from bats. Thus similar to the death of Illyana, the death of Doug Ramsey represents those who die from the coronavirus pandemic. And I hope that's it, especially considering I live in New Jersey next to the current epicenter in New York. The genetic scientist known as Animator who killed Doug Ramsey had been doing unethical research on animals, as explained by his boss Cameron Hodge who does not trust him (from <i>New Mutants #60, February 1988</i>)::<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p_whkQS5kho/Xn-x6lOZ8gI/AAAAAAAAKPE/zeZyTyXPPzgB2_lYCXTxHRohojcWw5Z-QCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/NewMutants60-researchscientist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1063" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p_whkQS5kho/Xn-x6lOZ8gI/AAAAAAAAKPE/zeZyTyXPPzgB2_lYCXTxHRohojcWw5Z-QCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/NewMutants60-researchscientist.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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He was employed by a University. As explained in the previous post, university researchers did a study on bat coronaviruses at the University of North Carolina and it determined it showed "potential" to infect humans (from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nm.3985">A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence</a>):<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l3_2cztSX70/Xn-zrPNS3HI/AAAAAAAAKPQ/KUsn6DEN9mYSXH5y--XTXUOpW0wEMYWGgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/BatCoronavirusArticle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="604" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l3_2cztSX70/Xn-zrPNS3HI/AAAAAAAAKPQ/KUsn6DEN9mYSXH5y--XTXUOpW0wEMYWGgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/BatCoronavirusArticle.jpg" /></a></div>
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And if you look at the credentials of Zhengli-Li Shi, the person came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology from China, near the origin of the current coronavirus pandemic. This article was published in 2015, long before the outbreak.<br />
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Later, as explained at the end of the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/X-Prophecy-Doug-Webber-ebook/dp/B07S8QM85D">The X Prophecy</a>, Doug Ramsey is brought to life by the sorceress Selene. He remains under Selene's control until his true memories are brought back after the robot Warlock uses the soulsword of Illyana to strike him (from <i>New Mutants 3rd series #8</i>):<br />
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Swedenborg explains that a "sword" signifies to fight from the truth. Here the soulsword of Illyana is symbolic - it represents the truth that the clairvoyant dream was a warning concerning the current coronavirus pandemic, something I only realized in the past few days. Illyana who gives the sword was the one who had died from an infection of the Legacy Virus which shutdown her lungs.<br />
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Although Doug Ramsey returns to normal and joins the X-Men team, he still carries a fear about his own death. He then has a nightmare in which he explains his fear to a psychologist, only for the psychologist to rip off his face and reveal that he is the Animator. Doug wakes from the nightmare, and to remove his fear Dani Moonstar suggests they should return to the island "Paradise" where Animator had killed him so he can face it. The X-Men team agree to visit the island, and Doug explains to the team <b>he has begun to interpret and decipher dreams</b> (from <i>New Mutants 3rd series #38, April 2012</i>):<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y6ZOw1WSUY0/Xn_Yo7O1FiI/AAAAAAAAKPc/z9XeB3k-aEEAOGgZzf4qbo_AIkQSLbEhACNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/RCO009_1469202748_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1493" data-original-width="945" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y6ZOw1WSUY0/Xn_Yo7O1FiI/AAAAAAAAKPc/z9XeB3k-aEEAOGgZzf4qbo_AIkQSLbEhACNcBGAsYHQ/s640/RCO009_1469202748_cropped.jpg" width="405" /></a></div>
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There are a number of other parallels between Doug Ramsey and myself explained in the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/X-Prophecy-Doug-Webber-ebook/dp/B07S8QM85D">The X Prophecy</a> -- going much beyond a mere coincidence -- but this is one I had missed. I had been interpreting dreams for many years long before I knew anything about these X-Men comics, and it took a dream to point me to this. This particular story though now has more significance: when they arrive at the island, <b>the team becomes infected by a virus</b> after becoming scratched by a <b>bird like creature</b>. The virus had been left on the island where it infected the animals by the genetic scientist Animator:<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QayxM7YfuXI/Xn_g8BklL-I/AAAAAAAAKP0/-R_8OsOcSLIs1d45UoB4XtibIZoxghrXQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/RCO020_1469202748_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1257" data-original-width="941" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QayxM7YfuXI/Xn_g8BklL-I/AAAAAAAAKP0/-R_8OsOcSLIs1d45UoB4XtibIZoxghrXQCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/RCO020_1469202748_cropped.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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Warlock explains a virus has entered their blood stream. Likewise the COVID-19 virus enters the blood stream of those it infects, and threatens the blood supply for doctors: see <a href="https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-blood-supply-chain.html">How coronavirus is upsetting the blood supply chain</a>.<br />
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The X-Men then have to <b>remain in quarantine</b> on the island in order not to infect others. The robot Warlock explains that the virus cannot be allowed to escape the island since the virus is more contagious than any other known virus and is a "<b>Global Health Hazard Class One</b>":<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DsDXEb8g8rw/Xn_jPsfEwtI/AAAAAAAAKQA/UsaAxhCuPMwxXg0mXF8RFYz8hynPM7SswCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/RCO021_1469202748_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="937" height="460" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DsDXEb8g8rw/Xn_jPsfEwtI/AAAAAAAAKQA/UsaAxhCuPMwxXg0mXF8RFYz8hynPM7SswCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/RCO021_1469202748_cropped.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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They of course arrived to the island by jet plane, and with the coronavirus pandemic many airline flights between countries have become suspended.<br />
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In the end, Warlock and Doug combine into a single entity known as "Douglock" and they use a "techno-organic" virus to counteract the virus of the Animator. At one point they show the microscopic shape of the virus (from <i>New Mutants 3rd series #40, April 2012</i>):<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xgEX5AA-yac/Xn_ozwofOsI/AAAAAAAAKQM/qSqtMTu20YA3wTyo1qfDd3GYOxG8V6IvwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/RCO013_1469575079_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="972" height="318" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xgEX5AA-yac/Xn_ozwofOsI/AAAAAAAAKQM/qSqtMTu20YA3wTyo1qfDd3GYOxG8V6IvwCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/RCO013_1469575079_cropped.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Now compare the above image with the image of what a coronavirus looks like (from <a href="https://asm.org/Articles/2020/January/2019-Novel-Coronavirus-2019-nCoV-Update-Uncoating">2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Update: Uncoating the Virus</a>):<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lryeIYPbEng/Xn_psQQRo-I/AAAAAAAAKQU/M6ogyE_nRtAeghbWFElC-rBvPHFHMjRCwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Coronavirus-structure1-1-21-20.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1524" height="302" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lryeIYPbEng/Xn_psQQRo-I/AAAAAAAAKQU/M6ogyE_nRtAeghbWFElC-rBvPHFHMjRCwCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/Coronavirus-structure1-1-21-20.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Now this is just uncannily bizarre.<br />
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So to sum up what we have here: a clairvoyant dream of a child described scenes from old X-Men comics that neither the child nor myself had ever read. The dream interpretation pointed me to a character named Doug Ramsey who dies and later has a dream of his own death. Doug Ramsey, like myself, becomes involved in dream interpretation. His own death contains direct references to a bat creature and a coronavirus pandemic that requires quarantine.<br />
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And if that were not enough, the dream explicitly references the death of Illyana who dies of a virus infection that attacks her respiratory system so that she cannot breathe, and she dies. Similarly, Dr. Moira MacTaggart who had treated Illyana becomes infected and she must also go into quarantine (see <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-clairvoyant-dream-and-prophecy-of.html">A Clairvoyant Dream and Prophecy of the Coronavirus Pandemic</a>).<br />
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Is this weird? Of course it is. And it certainly was not planned this way, the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/X-Prophecy-Doug-Webber-ebook/dp/B07S8QM85D">The X Prophecy</a> was published in early 2019 long before the coronavirus outbreak.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">ADDENDUM (3/30/2019)</span></b></div>
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After I published and shared this post, someone who has very accurate clairvoyant dreams and who had not seen this post shared a dream with me: I was at risk from dying due to the coronavirus. However if I got a shot, I would survive it.<br />
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This could possibly mean I should get a flu shot, to build up immunity against the flu. However I looked it up, a flu shot will not help against the coronavirus: <a href="https://www.livescience.com/getting-flu-shot-help-coronavirus-outbreak.html">A flu shot won't prevent coronavirus, but it could help our response to the outbreak</a>. However it can indirectly help, as it will help avoid an ER visit and reduce the load on hospitals, and at this time it is best to avoid any unnecessary hospital trip. So maybe its some other shot medical researchers will develop.<br />
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The dream is interesting, because the following scene which I had omitted from the original post shows Douglock injecting the virus creature on the island with a techno-organic virus shot:<br />
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Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-83062664953780657942020-03-24T23:34:00.002-04:002020-03-26T22:24:04.497-04:00A Clairvoyant Dream and Prophecy of the Coronavirus Pandemic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In early 2019 I published a book (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/X-Prophecy-Doug-Webber-ebook/dp/B07S8QM85D">The X-Prophecy</a></i>) describing a series of strange and symbolic clairvoyant dreams of a child, in which clairvoyant information was given describing ancient Slavic myths, the movie <i>Darkest Minds</i>, X-Men movies, and X-Men comics. Details were being to the dreamer of which she had no knowledge, and as strange as it sounds, the dream was referencing scenes that took place in movies and Marvel comics. Moreover, I discovered that the dream was referencing events in the Marvel comics that in a strange way mirrored events in my personal life as well as events on a global scale. It is a strange case of amazing synchronicity, covering events from 1981 to what I thought was its end in 2019. I cannot summarize everything here so I put it in a book, but what I have done is posted some of these strange coincidences between the the fictional stories of the X-Men comics referenced by the dream and worldwide events here on this blog:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-x-prophecy-case-of-precognitive.html">X-Men Prophecy of 9/11 (The X Prophecy)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-prophecy-of-prince-william-of-england.html">X-Men Prophecy of Prince William of England and the Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown</a></li>
<li><a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2019/10/a-possible-prophecy-of-senator.html">A Possible Prophecy of Senator Elizabeth Warren</a></li>
<li><a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2019/11/a-prophecy-of-2019-nuclear-accident-in.html">A Prophecy of the 2019 Nuclear Accident in Russia</a></li>
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I would recommend that the reader read the above posts first before proceeding, unless you have happened to have read the book. </div>
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As I documented the entire dream and its interpretation, it soon grew so big that I decided to publish the findings in a book which I entitled <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/X-Prophecy-Doug-Webber-ebook/dp/B07S8QM85D">The X-Prophecy</a></i>. It was a weird experience, because as I was interpreting the dreams some events were unfolding in real time before my very eyes. </div>
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One event portrayed in the Marvel comics that corresponds to a real event was a prediction of the failed Presidential candidacy of Senator Elizabeth Warren. She recently dropped out of the race on March 5, 2020. It then hit me like a ton of bricks: <b><i>the Marvel comic story which portrays the Presidential campaign of a Senator from Massachussetts also describes the creation of a virus bioweapon that threatens all of humanity</i></b>.</div>
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And as I write this I am sort of in shock. This is completely unexpected. The prophecy was right in front of me but it was so unbelievable that I ignored it. The story was, of course, in a comic book. It is similar to a scene in the movie <i>Logan</i>, in which Wolverine discovers that they were looking for a place described in an X-Men comic book:</div>
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So let's back up a bit. I actually had to go back and re-read the dream and its interpretation as published in my book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/X-Prophecy-Doug-Webber-ebook/dp/B07S8QM85D">The X-Prophecy</a></i>. What I post here will act as sort of an addendum or large postscript. At the beginning I describe other cases of what I call "precognitive fiction" - cases where authors wrote novels that seemed to predict events that happened after their book was published. In this case we are dealing with something similar, with the added weirdness that a dream was given to point out this coincidence between a fictional story and real life.</div>
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In the third chapter I describe the dream, and in that dream the child sees that her school has become a government prison camp, similar to how the children were rounded up and placed into government camps in the movie <i>The Darkest Minds</i>. And here we are: the schools for children have been closed in many areas due to the pandemic, and children now either need to be home schooled or participate in remote learning programs from their homes.</div>
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In the movie <i>The Darkest Minds</i>, 90% of the children in the U.S. die from a mysterious illness.</div>
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In the dream, she escapes from earth and finds her way to a mysterious white castle, where these angelic bird beings ask her what is happening on earth. She replied, quote, "it was bad, there was a disease that had caused many children to die and the government was in chaos." She has also described the situation as "apocalyptic" but I did not put that in the book.</div>
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Now, it was first said the coronavirus tends to kill people who are old or who have previous health conditions. But doctors in the U.S. are now reporting that it is affecting people in a younger age group. Moreover, it should be known that it infects all humans regardless of age, and it can cause complications in younger children. No one is immune from it.</div>
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What I soon discovered was that the dream did not just reference the movie <i>The Darkest Minds</i>, but from there indirectly referenced recent X-Men movies, and from there stories in related Marvel comics. The information was coming in a very intelligent symbolic way, in a way a child could easily understand it, yet with multiple levels of meaning. However at the time she had not seen these X-Men movies, nor even read these particular Marvel comic stories. Whereas most dreams reflect our own thoughts and experiences, this one fell into a class that is clairvoyant.</div>
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In the dream, when she enters the white castle she not only finds babies, but also graves of those who have died. In the book I indicate how she accurately describes here the Slavic myth of heaven, of which she was unaware. She comes to one particular grave, and it is the grave of someone named Elena. Other symbols in the dream indicated that Elena was Russian. This point in the dream, as explained in detail in the book, indirectly referenced the X-Men character Illyana Rasputin, a young Russian woman also known as Magik. Illyana is another way of spelling the name Elena, and is constantly referenced in the dream in a very symbolic way.</div>
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Now I come to a point which I did not put in the book: <b>the X-Men character Illyana dies from a bioweapon known as "The Legacy Virus," a virus designed to target and kill mutants</b>. This is described in the comic <i>Uncanny X-Men</i> #303 (August 1993). And I just can't believe what I am seeing here, here is the scene where Illyana dies from the Legacy Virus:</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8FTOyAPs4ps/XnmIVm12F9I/AAAAAAAAKJo/seb6mt5YGXMI_r9og3sGwixIJgheBJjXQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/UncannyXMen303-IllyanaDies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="1093" height="355" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8FTOyAPs4ps/XnmIVm12F9I/AAAAAAAAKJo/seb6mt5YGXMI_r9og3sGwixIJgheBJjXQCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/UncannyXMen303-IllyanaDies.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Kitty Pryde yells, I quote: "<b>She has gone into complete respiratory arrest! Her lungs have shut down! Hurry Moira, she can't breath!</b>" Despite their efforts, Illyana dies.</div>
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What a bombshell. I literally just pulled up the image as I was writing this. The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 targets the lungs, and eventually people lose their ability to breathe.</div>
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The dream is centered on the grave of Elena, which has several levels of meaning, but this is what was kept hidden from me: it was pointing me to the death of Illyana who had been killed by a bioweapon known as the Legacy Virus. In the dream many people in the world were dying, and the angelic beings were trying to take care of the souls who had died, as well as the babies to be born.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">DR. MOIRA MACTAGGART AND THE LEGACY VIRUS</span></b></div>
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The clairvoyant dream references a story line of a team of X-Men known as "Excalibur" that separate from the main X-Men group and live on a fictional island north of Scotland. The main characters referenced by the dream in addition to Illyana are Kitty Pryde, Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane) and Doug Ramsey (Cypher/Douglock). This team is joined by Dr. Moira Mactaggart, a geneticist who then dedicated her life on the island to research a cure for the Legacy Virus which had killed Illyana. She was at one time the fiance of Charles Xavier, leader of the X-Men, but for an unknown reason broke off the engagement. Each fictional character referenced either represents someone I know in real life, or represents something symbolic related to the future.</div>
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But now I am beginning to realize that this minor character now represents the effort of doctors around the world to find a vaccine for the coronavirus.</div>
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During her research, Dr. Moira MacTaggart makes a startling discovery: the Legacy Virus, originally designed to target mutants, has now begun to spread among the human population (<i>Excalibur </i>#79) and later realizes that she herself has become infected (<i>Excalibur </i>#80). With the coronavirus outbreak, we see now that doctors and healthcare practitioners are at high risk to contract the coronavirus.</div>
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The Legacy Virus had been created by an evil mutant named Stryfe designed to kill other mutants. At this time, in order to find a cure for it, the Excalibur team retrieves information on the virus from secret underground base of Stryfe, which is downloaded into the memory of "Douglock," a techno-organic being who identifies himself as Doug Ramsey. Doug Ramsey is one of the fictional characters referenced by the dream, who in some ways is a mirror image of myself (my name happens to be Doug).</div>
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As the Excalibur team tunnels to the surface after retrieving information on the Legacy Virus, lo and behold, they discover it is underneath a U.S. Military base (<span style="text-align: center;">from </span><i style="text-align: center;">Excalibur #80, August 1994</i>):</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pvtqn6Tndh8/XnoE0plBY2I/AAAAAAAAKJ0/G4Da4xQqgpQK4by9IGASzgy2YdGqbzGVgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Excalibur80-UndergroundBase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="583" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pvtqn6Tndh8/XnoE0plBY2I/AAAAAAAAKJ0/G4Da4xQqgpQK4by9IGASzgy2YdGqbzGVgCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/Excalibur80-UndergroundBase.jpg" width="546" /></a></div>
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Its not identified where they are located, except they had taken a wrong turn near Albuquerque, New Mexico. This of course is near Los Alamos National Laboratory, the center where the atomic bomb was invented. As of March 2020, Los Alamos labs has become involved in biological research concerning the coronavirus (see <a href="https://www.koat.com/article/scientists-in-new-mexico-studying-link-between-coronavirus-and-animals/31140235#">Scientists in New Mexico studying link between coronavirus and animals</a>). From <a href="https://globalbiodefense.com/directory/name/los-alamos-national-laboratory-lanl/">Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)</a>:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #53585c; font-family: "libre franklin" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Work in biothreat reduction at Los Alamos extends across many areas including detection technologies, bioforensics, pathogen analysis, and understanding host-pathogen interactions for better vaccine development.</b></span></blockquote>
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This kind of research into reducing biothreats has been going on since at least 1992 (see <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/features/doe/2002-10/danl-ala102902.php">At Los Alamos: Tracing biothreats with molecular signatures</a>).</div>
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In another scene, every news organization as well as the World Health Organization, tries to reach Dr. Moira MacTaggart on the Legacy Virus. She, however, is more concerned about who "leaked" the information on the virus from her lab (<span style="text-align: center;">from </span><i style="text-align: center;">Excalibur #87, July 1995</i>):</div>
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Later, Peter Wisdom (a former British "black ops" agent) and Kitty Pryde go on a mission in London to determine the cause of the death of his friend Culley. They find out he died due to exposure to the Legacy Virus. Also Dr. MacTaggart begins to believe that the information on the virus was stolen out of the lab by a computer hacker. The story begins with a view to a secret lab, doing virus experiments on strange animals (<span style="text-align: center;">from </span><i style="text-align: center;">Excalibur #88, August 1995</i>):</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X9zNQY2fMKU/XnoZLQcNPbI/AAAAAAAAKKM/DPGrrBH8iHYGdfMOe9Ua3B_zFModJ-2FwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Excalibur88-LabCreature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="553" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X9zNQY2fMKU/XnoZLQcNPbI/AAAAAAAAKKM/DPGrrBH8iHYGdfMOe9Ua3B_zFModJ-2FwCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/Excalibur88-LabCreature.jpg" width="473" /></a></div>
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Later, a conference is held in San Francisco to debate the origin and seriousness of this Legacy Virus (<span style="text-align: center;">from</span><i style="text-align: center;"> Uncanny X-Men #326, August 1995</i>):</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G-99DismzdA/XnofGB2TSLI/AAAAAAAAKKY/x6zpijKzs8whmM_MwcN8OPr0k06QOIz6gCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/UncannyXMen326-VirusConference.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="559" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G-99DismzdA/XnofGB2TSLI/AAAAAAAAKKY/x6zpijKzs8whmM_MwcN8OPr0k06QOIz6gCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/UncannyXMen326-VirusConference.jpg" /></a></div>
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And as I write this (May 24, 2020), I am reading of this news coming out of San Francisco: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/san-francisco-warns-of-coronavirus-surge-the-worst-is-yet-to-come/ar-BB11Bq7w">San Francisco warns of coronavirus surge: 'The worst is yet to come'</a>. Yet people are still not practicing social distancing.</div>
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In the conference the media is given false information - that the virus only infects a small population of mutants, and does not threaten the entire planet of every man, woman and child. This portrays the slowness of governments to act on the information they were given:</div>
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Later, the techno-organic being "Douglock" is kidnapped from the Excalibur team by a secret British Agency known as "Black Air," which I did reference in the book. What I did not point out is that one reason he was kidnapped was so that these government scientists could extract information from his head regarding the Legacy Virus (<span style="text-align: center;">from</span><i style="text-align: center;"> </i><i style="text-align: center;">Excalibur #98, June 1996</i>):</div>
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Information was stored in code regarding the Legacy Virus in Douglock's head, who in turn is a fictional representation of myself (my name coincidentally happens to be Doug), the interpreter of the dream. Information regarding the outbreak of the coronavirus was embedded in the story, but it had to be deciphered.</div>
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As explained in the book, Douglock is recovered by the Excalibur team. In the following scene he becomes worried that Dr. MacTaggart is losing too much sleep researching the genetic code of the virus in order to find a cure (<span style="text-align: center;">from</span><i style="text-align: center;"> </i><i style="text-align: center;">Excalibur #107, March 1997</i>):</div>
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When I was doing research for the book, the following scene puzzled me a bit. As I did not understand at the time what it meant, I left it out, even though it included the fictional characters that the clairvoyant dream indicated were significant. In this scene, <b>Dr. Moira MacTaggart had decided to quarantine herself in order to research the virus</b>. And Douglock awaits outside, and other X-Men are told that the quarantine was going to last "indefinitely" (<span style="text-align: center;">from</span><i style="text-align: center;"> </i><i style="text-align: center;">Excalibur #115, December 1997</i>):</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c0PsnSBdsHo/XnpoMQok-kI/AAAAAAAAKLU/iAURi20A8G49_uhoWe50Hv08qY15YxH0wCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Excalibur115-Quarantine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="605" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c0PsnSBdsHo/XnpoMQok-kI/AAAAAAAAKLU/iAURi20A8G49_uhoWe50Hv08qY15YxH0wCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Excalibur115-Quarantine.jpg" /></a></div>
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As of this writing many have been given instructions to shelter at home and to stay socially distant in order to stop the spread of the virus. When asked why she quarantined herself, she explained that she discovered that <b>the virus is airborne</b>.</div>
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Later her adopted daughter Rahne Sinclari (discussed extensively in the book) at the last moment decides to enter quarantine with Dr. Moira MacTaggart. Her explanation is that the research must also happen on a person who is not infected in order for the study to be valid. Douglock cannot take the long wait, and worrying about her life while under quarantine he then later decides to break Rahne's quarantine, but this ruins the research to find a cure for the virus. While he explains there may be information of the virus in his memory, Rahne is furious (<span style="text-align: center;">from</span><i style="text-align: center;"> </i><i style="text-align: center;">Excalibur #120, May 1998</i>):</div>
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This, of course, represents those people who break their quarantine due to the fear that they will become sick from the infected patients. This has happened several times from people who claim they are healthy and do not want to become infected.</div>
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And now we near the end of the story as presented in the book, which had predicted the Presidential candidacy of a Senator from Massachussetts (see <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2019/10/a-possible-prophecy-of-senator.html">A Possible Prophecy of Senator Elizabeth Warren</a>). During this time, the mutant Mystique manipulated the research done by Dr. Moira MacTaggart and <b>modified the Legacy Virus to infect and kill humans</b>. Her first test subjects were humans on a ship in the Atlantic (see <i style="text-align: center;">Uncanny X-Men #388, January 2001</i>). This would correspond to the quarantined cruise ships which carried infected passengers at the time of the outbreak in 2019-20.<br />
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By this time Dr. Moira MacTaggart finally finds a cure for the Legacy Virus, but Mystique attacks her lab and critically wounds her. The X-Men try to save her, and while Moira clings on to life Charles Xavier telepathically links to her so that she could transfer her knowledge on the cure for the Legacy Virus. Charles Xavier still loves her, so much so that he wants to die with her. But in the end he has to let her go, and Charles sees her in her final moment before she dies (<span style="text-align: center;">from</span><i style="text-align: center;"> </i><i style="text-align: center;">X-Men 2nd series #108</i>):</div>
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Dr. Moira MacTaggart, in a symbolic sense, represents the doctors and genetic researchers that are now researching for a vaccine for the coronavirus. She also represents the doctors and nurses who now may be forced to risk or sacrifice their lives in order to treat patients.<br />
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At this time Wolverine and Rogue discover the secret diaries of Irene Adler, a blind mutant who foresaw the future and wrote down what she saw in code, foreseeing the coming of the Legacy Virus. The drawings in the book mimic the comic itself, thus the comic was declaring itself to be a prophecy written in code (from <i style="text-align: center;">Uncanny X-Men #389</i>):<br />
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The prophetic diaries of Irene Adler are discussed in detail in the book. But I did not include this prophecy concerning the Legacy Virus.<br />
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The X-Men are able to create a cure for the coronavirus, but not before Peter Rasputin (the brother of Illyana) sacrifices himself in order to activate the cure. The cure activates across the world, however the rapid cure has an unforeseen geopolitical effect: thousands of mutants who had been infected with the Legacy Virus who had been exiled in quarantine on the island of Genosha become cured overnight, and Magneto decides to use them as an army to conquer the world through genetic warfare. Whether or not this represents a future event remains to be seen.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">IS THE CORONAVIRUS A BIOWEAPON?</span></b></div>
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The clairvoyant dream described in <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/X-Prophecy-Doug-Webber-ebook/dp/B07S8QM85D">The X-Prophecy</a></i> relayed a lot of information that was highly symbolic, and it has multiple levels of meaning in addition to predicting future events. Yet after I published it, I still asked myself, why? What was the point? The dreams would present things in a very symbolic way which required that it would be deciphered, and I now realize that I was limited in my interpretation because I could only interpret the dream according to what I knew at the time. I honestly was uncertain about the meaning of the grave of Elena which appeared in the dream but it is now quite clear that on one level it referenced the death of Illyana by the Legacy Virus in the X-Men comic, which in turn represented the future outbreak of the coronavirus.<br />
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The story was right in front of me yet no one would expect such a virus pandemic would break out within the year. It fits in with the storyline, it involves the same characters, and many of the comic issues where the story is contained are referenced in the book. The clairvoyant dream was referencing a comic book, something a child could understand, and in a very concise way it could thus convey a lot of information. The book was published before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, so anyone can now see the evidence for themselves.<br />
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So what is the origin of the coronavirus? We now know the coronavirus originated in bats. Scientists think it was transferred to another animal, where it mutated, before jumping to the human population. The outbreak occurred in November of 2019 in Wuhan in China, near an animal market that happens to be near the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the only level 4 biological research facility in China that has the capability to research bioweapons of this nature. The Chinese leader Xi made an announcement in February about how every effort must be made to contain the virus in China. But what happened after that is interesing. From <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/02/22/dont-buy-chinas-story-the-coronavirus-may-have-leaked-from-a-lab/">Don’t buy China’s story: The coronavirus may have leaked from a lab</a>:<br />
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Xi didn’t actually admit that the coronavirus now devastating large swaths of China had escaped from one of the country’s bioresearch labs. But the very next day, evidence emerged suggesting that this is exactly what happened, as the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology released a new directive titled: “Instructions on strengthening biosecurity management in microbiology labs that handle advanced viruses like the novel coronavirus.”<br />
Read that again. It sure sounds like China has a problem keeping dangerous pathogens in test tubes where they belong, doesn’t it? And just how many “microbiology labs” are there in China that handle “advanced viruses like the novel coronavirus”?<br />
It turns out that in all of China, there is only one. And this one is located in the Chinese city of Wuhan that just happens to be … the epicenter of the epidemic.<br />
That’s right. China’s only Level 4 microbiology lab that is equipped to handle deadly coronaviruses, called the National Biosafety Laboratory, is part of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.</blockquote>
Senator Tom Cotton repeated this theory, that this virus possibly leaked from from a bioweapon research facility in China. The Chinese ambassador fired back, accusing the U.S. of releasing the virus during some U.S. military exercise which took place in the province of Wuhan in October of 2019, but that accusation included some false information. The U.S. ambassador called him in to basically tell him to shutup. And here is this story from <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/487040-white-house-ordered-coronavirus-meetings-classified">White House ordered coronavirus meetings classified, hampering response</a>:<br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Federal health officials were directed to keep dozens of meetings that started in mid-January, including discussions on the scope of infections, quarantines and travel restrictions confidential, Reuters reported Wednesday. </span>According to the sources, <b>those without security clearances were not permitted in the high-security room, typically used for military and intelligence operations</b>, at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where the meetings took place.</blockquote>
Officials were puzzled by this, because the secrecy excluded people who needed to be involved in the response to the coronavirus.<br />
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And now, the mainstream media has stepped in to declare this bioweapon story as a "conspiracy theory" or "fake theory." But how are they so certain, and what is their argument? The article <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/3/4/21156607/how-did-the-coronavirus-get-started-china-wuhan-lab">The conspiracy theories about the origins of the coronavirus, debunked</a> states that it cannot be a bioweapon because the scientific consensus from genome analysis indicates it came from animals in nature. That of course is not disputed here. But what is to prevent a bioweapon research facility to take an existing coronavirus found in nature and weaponize it? Nothing. The article completely sidesteps the issue. Bioweapon research facilities do not have to invent something completely new; they can take an existing virus in nature, transfer it, let it mutate, and then possibly alter it themselves. And then the article proceeds and makes this false statement, as will be seen later, that no known lab was working on a virus like this one.<br />
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But the best argument used here is that this virus is a "bad bioweapon." On that I agree. It does not have an effective kill ratio, and is highly contagious. It will affect both sides in a war. Unless, of course, the goal is to kill humanity or reduce the population of the planet, starting with the old and sick first. That just sounds so evil and preposterous. And yet this is the exact plot of the story line referenced by the clairvoyant dream. I would say for now that it is safe to assume that this was an accident.<br />
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The "smoking gun" I found from this article: <a href="https://www.uticaphoenix.net/2020/03/24/is-the-recent-corona-virus-covid-19-a-biological-weapon/">Is the recent corona virus, COVID-19 a biological weapon?</a>, based on an interview with Professor Francis Boyle, a lawyer who helped write the U.S. legislation to disallow bioweapon research. He was the first to identify that the anthrax letters sent out in October of 2001 came from our own U.S. military base. He was later proven right, but not before the main media outlets censored him. He points to four pieces of evidence, most publicly available:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166354220300528#fig1">study</a> of the genomic sequence by French and Canadian scientists indicates that the virus was modified with "gain of function" to become more infectious. This indicates it was possibly modified to become a bioweapon.</li>
<li>And then there is this study done at the University of North Carolina, published in Nature in 2015: <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nm.3985">A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence</a>. <b>And lo and behold, a Chinese scientist from Wuhan was allowed by the NIH to participate in the study. </b>The director of the NIH at the time was Tony Fauci, who is now leading the coronavirus response.</li>
<li>Then there is this article of a study done in Australia, published in 2010: <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00705-010-0729-6">Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) proteins of different bat species confer variable susceptibility to SARS-CoV entry</a>. The goal was to genetically engineer SARS and HIV into a bioweapon. And again, <b>Chinese scientists from Wuhan participated in the study</b>.</li>
<li>And in a separate study from India, apparently now withdrawn: they found evidence of strands of DNA from HIV in the coronavirus: see <a href="https://greatgameindia.com/uncanny-similarity-of-unique-inserts-in-the-2019-ncov-spike-protein-to-hiv-1-gp120-and-gag/">Uncanny similarity of unique inserts in the 2019-nCoV spike protein to HIV-1 gp120 and Gag</a></li>
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So there you have it. This is not just some "conspiracy theory." It is very real, and it is very dangerous. And the dream was a forewarning of this moment. For an earlier prophecy by Nostradamus, see the previous post, <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-prophecy-of-nostradamus-of.html">A Prophecy of Nostradamus of the Coronavirus Pandemic</a>,<br />
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As I was doing research and writing this article, a young girl came up to me and said she had a dream: I was doing research to find a cure for the coronavirus, and she needed to come help me. So perhaps there are some clues here, or this will raise the awareness level, to quickly find a cure.<br />
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Was I expecting this? Certainly not. I am just as surprised as I am sure everyone else is. Shall we say, hindsight is 20/20?</div>
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Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-20553398304449653992020-03-22T00:00:00.001-04:002020-03-24T23:35:16.690-04:00A Prophecy of Nostradamus of the Coronavirus Pandemic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As we see the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe, I began to wonder, was it foreseen by Nostradamus? I found a few references where some of his writings were falsely applied to the current pandemic. Nostradamus, however, does have a track record of predicting other plagues, most notably the plague that struck London in the year 1666, which is fully explained in my work <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Decoded-Prophecies-Nostradamus-Theodore-Webber-ebook/dp/B009GA5ZH8">The Decoded Prophecies of Nostradamus</a></i>. He helped treat patients of the plague, and the majority of his prophecies are focused on western Europe. As of this writing there is a major outbreak in Italy. So given his track record, I would be surprised if the prophecies of Nostradamus did not foresee this one.<br />
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So I pulled out a set of prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled, and I found this one, which has an astronomical configuration:<br />
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<span lang="FR" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">II-65<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Le parc enclin grande calamité<br />
Par l'Hesperie & Insubre fera:<br />
Le feu en nef, peste & captivité:<br />
Mercure en l'Arc Saturn fenera.<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The inclined arctic
pole great calamity<br />
Through Hesperia and Lombardy:<br />
The fire in the ship, plague and captivity:<br />
Mercury in Sagittarius, Saturn will cut with a scythe.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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Nostradamus wrote in code, and likely under trance, and the majority of the prophecies are not clear until they reach their time of fulfillment. The French phrase <i>parc enclin</i> literally means "inclined park" which makes no sense. It most likely was meant as an anagram for <i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">p.
arc</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">., an abbreviation of <i>pole arctique</i></span> meaning arctic pole which is a phrase Nostradamus used in other quatrains. The reference still does not make much sense, until I realized it most likely refers to one of the solstices, in this case the winter solstice where there is less light to the northern hemisphere causing the season of winter:</div>
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The last winter solstice was on Dec. 21, 2019. On the fourth line there is another clue: Mercury will be in the sign of Sagitarrius. I just ran a calculation with my astronomy program, and Mercury was in Sagitarrius from December 10 through 29 in 2019, which covers the time of the winter solstice. Next Nostradamus states "Saturn will cut with a scythe." The astrological symbol of Saturn is the scythe, since in mythology Saturn was the ruler of time and was also associated with agriculture. Cronus-Saturn is an old man which symbolizes the end of the year and the beginning of a new year, which again points us to the end of the year of 2019. In ancient medieval astrology Saturn rules Capricorn and Aquarius, and it just so happens that Saturn moved out of Capricorn into Aquarius on Feb. 26, 2020.</div>
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Needless to say this all fits in with the timing of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The scythe of Saturn is also associated with the Grim Reaper, the harvesting of souls at the time of death.</div>
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The prediction states there will be great calamity in the province of Lombardy in northern Italy, and <u>that is exactly the center of the outbreak of the coronavirus in Italy</u>, where deaths have now surpassed those in China:</div>
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<i>Image from <a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2020/02/29/covid-19-is-now-in-50-countries-and-things-will-get-worse">Covid-19 is now in 50 countries, and things will get worse</a></i></div>
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The prophecy states that there will be great calamity in "Hesperia and Lombardy." Hesperia is the mythological reference that Nostradamus uses for the isles of the west beyond the Atlantic, and almost always refers to America. Which means the United States is next. According to the article <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/italy-deaths-spike-nearly-two-weeks-coronavirus-lockdown-ominous-sign-new-york-california-1493604">ITALY'S CORONAVIRUS DEATHS SPIKE NEARLY TWO WEEKS INTO LOCKDOWN, AN OMINOUS SIGN FOR NEW YORK AND CALIFORNIA</a>:</div>
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"<b>Trajectories show that U.S. cases are emerging on a nearly 11-day delay from those of Italy</b>."</blockquote>
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And here we are, with many young college students ignoring all the warnings and not practicing social distancing during Spring Break.</div>
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The third line states "Fire in the ship, plague and captivity." In the time of Nostradamus plagues were often brought to other countries by ship, and to stop the plague there used to be the practice of burning sulphur in the ship to disinfect it, or perhaps burning the ship itself. Thus the phrase is symbolic of the need to disinfect infected areas. The plague is the coronavirus, and the captivity is the quarantine we now must all practice diligently. Cruise ships carrying the coronavirus were quarantined at the time indicated by this prophecy, so it is all very relevant.<br />
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And for a sample of another Nostradamus prophecy that was recently fulfilled, see <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-nostradamus-prophecy-of-japanese.html">The Nostradamus Prophecy of the Japanese Tsunami and the War in Syria</a>.<br />
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So pay attention people, and be safe. It is up to each individual now to be responsible to practice social distancing to ensure our healthcare system is not overwhelmed, and this will allow more lives to be saved.</div>
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Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-56062226970252331362020-03-20T16:03:00.002-04:002020-03-20T16:03:34.690-04:00Spiritual Introspection during Quarantine (the meaning of "Alone" in Gen. 2:18)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In just a matter of days our entire society has changed, with schools closing, public and sporting events cancelled, bars and restaurants closing, social distancing and working from home policies put in place. It is a major test to what our society values most - a consumer society with manufactured needs that do not exist. Much of the economy will slow down or halt, and people are realizing - our government has been focusing on corporate profits, rather than providing basic healthcare. The impacts are going to be enormous, and I am just amazed at how at the snap of a finger everything changed.<br />
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Capitalist societies are now going to have to weigh the value of corporate profits vs. socialist policies to provide to those who are most in need. So many people are going to become unemployed and need basic assistance. Help will be needed not just from individuals but from the very top, including the military.<br />
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It is a "perfect storm" that is going to cause us all to reassess our values.<br />
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As the first act of charity, everyone needs to practice social distancing. This is the exact opposite of social isolation which has plagued so many leading to depression. Many will now need to learn how to be alone, and to do that we will need to learn to become more introspective, and to stop getting distracted by external distractions. With the real threat of death, we should all take time to assess what we value most in life, for what we value most determines our eternal destiny.<br />
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Spiritually, to be "alone" in scripture is to be content and led only by the Lord, and at total peace, after having conquered inward temptations and worries, and this state is known as the "celestial" state in the writings of Swedenborg. The "alone" state is mentioned in the commentary on Genesis 2:18:<br />
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"<i>And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him a help as it were with himself</i>. "Alone" signifies that he was not content to be led by the Lord, but desired to be led by himself and the world; "a help as it were with himself" signifies the proprium (the love of self), which in the following verses is also called a rib built into a woman. In ancient times they were said to dwell alone who were led of the Lord as celestial men, because evils or evil spirits no longer infested them. And this was represented in the Jewish Church by the nations being driven out and the Jews dwelling alone. It is therefore sometimes said of the church of the Lord, in the Word, that it is alone — as in Jeremiah: <i>Arise, get you up to a quiet nation, that dwelleth securely . . . that hath no doors, and no bar; they dwell alone</i> (xlix. 31). In the prophecy of Moses: Israel dwelt securely alone (Deut. xxxiii. 28). It is still more manifest in the prophecy of Balaam: <i>Lo, the people dwelleth alone, and is not reckoned among the nations</i> (Num. xxiii. 9), where the nations stand for evils. This posterity of the Most Ancient Church did not wish to dwell alone, that is, to be a celestial man, or as a celestial man to be led of the Lord, but desired like the Jewish Church to be among the nations. And because they desired this it is said, "it is not good that the man should be alone;" for he who so desires is already in evil, and it is permitted him." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008GN4BNK/">Heavenly Arcana</a></i>, n. 138-139).</blockquote>
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I thought the above passage was significant because just as Israel was commanded to be alone and separate from the nations, so many have been told to remain alone and stay out of contact with large groups. In the spiritual sense, this signifies to withdraw from evils and falsehoods that have a bad influence. So while the current pandemic has a lot of negative effects, on the positive side it is forcing people to have "alone time" and we should take advantage of this to look inward, and read and learn from the Word for guidance.<br />
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Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-22040814131551971682020-03-14T12:06:00.001-04:002020-03-14T12:06:52.050-04:00The Divine Signature of Pi in the Bible<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today is pi day (March 14) and to celebrate this day I decided to share a chapter from the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Code-Psalms-Theodore-Webber-ebook/dp/B07JG7C5P1"><i>The Secret Code of the Psalms</i></a> explaining my discovery of precise ratios of pi in the numerical Hebrew structure of the Psalms in the Bible. This was an accidental discovery as a result of restoring the poetic structure of the Psalms which is hidden in all published versions of the Bible; my original intent was to properly display the poetry to the common reader in the three volume work, <i>The Symbolism of the Psalms</i> (published here in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Symbolism-Psalms-Vol-Spiritual-Commentary-ebook/dp/B074S686H3/">vol 1</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Symbolism-Psalms-Vol-Spiritual-Commentary-ebook/dp/B07KV4RJ58/">vol 2</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Symbolism-Psalms-Vol-Spiritual-Commentary-ebook/dp/B07KV49Z9J/">vol 3</a>). Once the poetry was restored, it became obvious that the Hebrew scriptures were arranged according to numerical counts of verses, words and even letters. Later these counts were used by the Masorites to ensure the accuracy of the text.<br />
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With that introduction, here is the full text of one of the chapters to the book <i>The Secret Code of the Psalms</i>:, the entire works explains the mysterious arrangement and hidden numerical structure of all 150 Psalms:<br />
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The number pi (π) is an irrational number that represents the ratio between the circumference and diameter of a circle. It is also a transcendental number, which is a number that is not a root of a polynomial equation with integer coefficients. In the ancient Middle East the Divine was often represented as the sun or a circle, thus it is a likely that the mathematical concept of pi was considered to be a "Divine signature" that was considered sacred and holy. In documenting and analyzing the numerical structure of the Psalms, it was discovered that the design of the Psalms contain several ratios of pi, many to a high degree of accuracy. As the Hebrews were not likely to have known about these accurate ratios for pi, they provide evidence of Divine inspiration in scripture. There is strong evidence that these ratios of pi are directly related to the holiness of the numbers three and seven, the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the sacred names of God in Hebrew scripture. As pi is a transcendental number that is typically represented by infinite series of numbers, it is thus a fitting number to represent the infinite Divine.</div>
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In Babylonian mathematics the number pi was approximated as the number 3, which was good enough for the architecture of the time. This approximation is also found in the dimensions of the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 7:23). The Babylonians knew that the number 3 was an approximation - an Old Babylonian tablet from the 19th-17th century B.C. approximated pi more accurately as 25/8. The Egyptain Rhind Mathematical papyrus which dates to about the same time period approximated pi as 256/81 by approximating the circle with an octagon. In the third century B.C. Archimedes approximated pi as somewhere betweeen 223/71 and 22/7. In the second century B.C. Ptolemy approximated pi as 377/120, which is the first known approximation that is accurate to three decimal places. In the fifth century A.D. the Chinese mathematician Zu Chongzhi calculated pi to an accuracy of seven decimal places, and gave two other approximations for pi: 22/7 and 355/113. The latter is the best rational approximation of pi using less than 5 digits in the numerator and denominator. This approximation was not improved upon until about a thousand years later in by Indian and Persian mathematicians. This was improved upon in the succeeding centuries with increasing levels of accuracy, with many approximations of pi calculated from infinite series. With the advent of computers pi is now calculated with accuracies to trillions of digits.</div>
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In modern times pi is represented in decimal form, but any decimal can be represented as a continued fraction of whole numbers. A continued fraction is an iterative process that represents a number as the sum of its integer part and the reciprocal of another number. The continued fraction expansion of a number indicates which rational numbers or fractions are the best approximations. These best approximations are known as convergents, where there is no better approximation with a smaller denominator of the convergent number. The number pi is 3.14159... The first best convergent of pi is the number 3. By taking the reciprocal of the remainder, the remainder can be best approximated as 1/7. Thus the next best convergent ratio for pi is 3 plus 1/7 or 22/7. By taking the remainder and converting it to a fraction, adding it to the previous result, a continued fraction for pi can be created as follows:</div>
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This continued fraction is developed by first starting from an accurate decimal representation of pi. In this series, the first few convergent ratios that best represent pi are 3, 22/7, 333/106, 355/113, 103993/33102, 104438/33215, and 208341/66317. Each succeeding convergent ratio is more accurate than the former, as the value converges to the value of pi at infinite. The convergent ratio of 355/113 for pi was derived by Zu Chongzhi in the 5th century A.D. using a different method.</div>
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<b>DISK ICONOGRAPHY OF THE ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST</b></div>
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There are figures of speech in the Psalms which are related to the iconography of the Divine in the Middle East, which is associated with a circle. Given this fact the ratio of pi would have been considered sacred. Several Psalms mention Jehovah as having wings:</div>
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<i>Keep me as the apple, the daughter of the eye, hide me under the shadow of Your wings</i> (Ps. 17:8).</blockquote>
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The Hebrew word for "apple" literally means the black pupil of the eye, thus it is a hidden reference to a circle. The phrase "shadow of Your wings" is next mentioned in Psalm 36:</div>
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<i>Jehovah, how precious is Your mercy, God, and the sons of Man in the shadow of Your wings</i> (Ps. 36:7).</blockquote>
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From Ps. 17:8 to the end of Psalm 36 there are exactly 355 verses. This is followed by 113 verses in Psalms 37-41, where 355/113 is a convergent ratio for pi, indicating that there was knowledge of this ratio long before its rediscovery in the 5th century A.D. The numeric word count of Psalm 17 references Psalm 61, which contains a similar statement:</div>
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<i>I will seek refuge under the cover of Your wings</i> (Ps. 61:4).</blockquote>
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Similar statements can be seen in Ps. 57:1 and 63:7. Wings are also associated with the sun (a circle) in Malachi:</div>
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<i>But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings</i> (Mal. 4:2).</blockquote>
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The Hebrew word for "wing" is used to refer to a border as well as the four quarters of the earth (see Deut. 22:12, Isa. 11:12), thus two lines dividing a circle into four quarters would have been called "wings." The image of a winged disk to represent God was common throughout the ancient Near East. Below is the winged sun of Thebes of Egypt:</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The winged disk was also adopted in the religion of Zoroastrianism in ancient Persia:</span></div>
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<b>RING AND ROD ICONOGRAPHY OF THE ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST</b></div>
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In the above diagram the Divine figure is holding a ring in his hand. In the iconography of the Middle East, a god, goddess or king was often shown holding a ring and rod. This was an ancient symbol, first found on a cylinder seal in Mesopotamia. On a cylinder seal from the Uruk period (ca. 3500-3000 B.C.), a female worshipper is shown bowing down before a rod and ring (from D.J. Wiseman and Werner Forman, <i>Cylinder Seals of Western Asia</i>, London: Batchworth Press, p. 4):</div>
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In later depictions, deities from the Third Dynasty of Ur (ca. 2100 B.C.) as well as Old Babylon (ca. 1800 B.C.) and Assyria (ca. 700 B.C.) are shown with a ring and rod in their hand. In other cases, the deity is shown holding a solitary ring. Yet the meaning of these symbols has remained a mystery among scholars. The ring and rod have been associated with the circular <i>shen</i> symbol of Egypt which was often depicted with a staff (James Hall, <i>Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and Western Art</i>, London: John Murray, 1994, pp. 79-80):</div>
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In hieroglyphs the Shen ring is depicted as a stylized loop of rope. A more clear association between the rod and ring can be seen in a depiction of the falcon god Horus which is similar to the winged disk, and also holds two Shen rings in its claws:</div>
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The <i>shen</i> symbol means to encircle, and signified eternal protection. It was often elongated to contain a royal name, which is known as a cartouche. It was also often associated with a staff. As for the rod and ring symbols in Mesopotamia, it has been surmised that they have literal and metaphorical meanings related to measurement (Henri Frankfurt, <i>Cylinder Seals</i>, London: Macmillan, 1939, p. 179). This can be seen on the Stele of Ur-Nammu, who built the Ziggurat of Ur. On the stele a variety of building projects are shown, as well as a deity who holds a rope arranged in a circle with a rod:</div>
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The rod is thus a unit of measurement that was used in building activities, whose measure was considered Divine. In the Sumerian tale <i>Descent of Inanna</i> Inanna descends into the netherworld but must strip herself of her regalia and clothing as she passes through each gate. Among the items she held was a "gold ring over her wrist, and a lapis measuring rod and line in her hand." In another version of the story the gold ring is gripped in her hand, which resembles the iconography of the rod and ring. In scripture there an angel appeared to the prophet Ezekiel in the same manner to provide measurements for a future temple:</div>
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<i>When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, <b>with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand</b>. And he was standing in the gateway</i> (Ez. 40:3).</blockquote>
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The ring and rod could be representations of the circle and its diameter, as a measuring line was coiled in a rope that was a multiple of the length of the measuring rod. As the rod was likely a standard of measurement it was most likely a measure of the cubit, which was typically determined by measuring the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. That the cubit was associated with the diameter of a circle can be seen in the Egyptian cubit, which was divided into seven equal portions known as "palms." If the cubit was used as the diameter of a circle it would represent the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi when measured in palms, with the circumference measured as 3 cubits plus 1 palm. Three cubits would be considered as an approximate representation of the eternal Divine. That this is the case can be seen in the representation of pi in the molten sea of the temple of Solomon, which had a circumference of 30 cubits (as was the height of the temple of Solomon as well as Noah's ark), an exact multiple of 3:</div>
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<i>Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. Under its brim were gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast</i> (1 Kings 7:23-24).</blockquote>
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This is the only direct reference to a measurement of pi in scripture, which uses an approximate value of 3 for pi.</div>
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If a cubit represented the diameter of a circle then 3 cubits would be seen as a perfect representation of the circumference. An exact measure of 3 cubits is specified for the altar of the tabernacle of Moses: the altar of burnt offering was 5 cubits wide, 5 cubits long and 3 cubits high (see Ex. 27:1, 38:1). The altar is associated with a circle in the Psalms:</div>
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<i>I will wash my hands in innocence, and I will <b>compass </b>Your altar, Jehovah</i> (Ps. 26:6)</blockquote>
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The word for "compass" is the same as the word for circle in Hebrew. As the altar was 5 cubits square, the diagonal or diameter of such as circle would almost be exactly 7 cubits. Thus the circumference of a circle that circumscribes the altar would be 22 cubits, representing the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi. Related to this passage the numerical design of Psalm is based on the convergent ratio 355/113 for pi:</div>
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<tr><th class="tg-amwm">Psalm #</th>
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<tr><td class="tg-baqh">4-26</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">339 = 3 x 113</td>
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Psalm 26 was chosen to represent the end of a multiple of 113 for a verse count since 26 is 2 x 13. Also it follows Psalm 25 which is 5 x 5, which is the dimension in cubits of the length and width of the altar. Psalm 27 begins with a reference to light:</div>
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<i>Jehovah is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?</i> (Ps. 27:1)</blockquote>
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This is related to the altar mentioned in Psalm 26, since upon the altar there was a perpetual fire (Lev. 6:13). The altar is associated with the light of the Lord in Psalm 43:</div>
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<i>Send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me... and I will go to the altar of God</i> (Ps. 43:3,4)</blockquote>
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The number 27 was chosen to represent the circumference of a circle since it is 3 x 3 x 3, where 3 is the simplest ratio for pi.</div>
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<b>CONVERGENT RATIOS OF PI IN SCRIPTURE</b></div>
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The number 318 is 3 x 106, and as 106 is part of the convergent ratio 333/106 for pi this number was regarded as important in the story of Abraham:</div>
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<i>And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he drew out his trained servants, born in his own house, <b>three hundred and eighteen</b>, and pursued them unto Dan</i> (Gen. 14:14)</blockquote>
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This particular passage is quoted in the Talmud in one of the examples where the Jewish Rabbis made use of Hebrew gematria, which assigned particular numeric values to each Hebrew letter. They noted that the gematria value of Eliezer, Abraham's servant, is 318. From this they explained that Abraham did not call forth 318 servants, but rather just his servant Eliezer. However the number 318 is significant as it is related to the convergent ratio for pi. Evidence of knowledge of this can be seen in Psalms 33-34 which have a total word count of 318, and these two Psalms are related to a series of 333 verses. Psalm 34 also contains a hidden reference to the priest of Melchizedek, who is mentioned in Gen. 14:18 after the victory of Abram and his 318 servants over the enemy.</div>
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A more accurate convergent ratio for pi is 355/113. The number 355 is implicitly mentioned in scripture in the book of Exodus, in the description of the construction of the tabernacle:</div>
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<i>The silver from those of the congregation who were recorded was a hundred talents and <b>1,775 shekels</b>, by the shekel of the sanctuary: a beka a head (that is, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone who was listed in the records, from twenty years old and upward, for <b>603,550 men</b>.</i> (Ex. 38:25-26)</blockquote>
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<div class="block_5">
The number 1775 is 5 x 355. One can readily see that 603,550 is 600,000 + 3,550, where 3,550 is 10 x 355. That this is by design can be seen in other passages, where the Israelite males are numbered elsewhere as 600,000 (see Ex. 12:37, Num. 11:21), and in other places as 603,550 (see Num. 1:46, 2:32). Elsewhere, the number of firstborn Levites are numbered as exactly 22,000 (Num. 3:46) which corresponds to the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi. In the Psalms, there are 1775 or 5 x 355 verses in Psalms 42-142. The number 142 is 2 x 71 similar to how 355 is 5 x 71. To indicate the relationship between Psalms 42 and 142, Psalms 42-141 contain 1764 verses which is 42 x 42. The number for the 603,550 men in Exodus and Numbers is represented in the Psalms in the following verse structure:</div>
<div class="block_5">
<br /></div>
<div>
<table class="tg"><tbody>
<tr><th class="tg-amwm">Psalm #</th>
<th class="tg-baqh"><b>Verses</b></th>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">66-95</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">600</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">96-112</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">355</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<div class="block_5">
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<div class="block_5">
Psalm 112 is followed by Psalm 113 which thus represents the convergent ratio 355/113 for pi. As discussed previously in the chapter <a href="https://www.blogger.com/Text/HiddenChronology.html">The Hidden Chronology of the Psalms</a> these 600 verses also represents the 600 years of Noah and Psalm 95 corresponds with both the flood of Noah and the Exodus out of Egypt.</div>
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That the 1,775 shekels for the extra 3,550 men represent the circumference of a circle is shown by the fact that these 1,775 shekels of silver were used for the hooks of the pillars that were used to create the external boundary of the tabernacle. This relationship is confirmed by the amount of gold collected for constructing the tabernacle:</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary</i> (Ex. 38:24)</blockquote>
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The number 29 is 22 + 7 which are the two numbers for the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi. The number 730 is 2 x 365, where 365 is the number of days in the solar year. The number 355 is a close approximation for the number of 354.37 days for the lunar year. Thus the gold represents the Sun and the silver represents the moon, and the cycle of a year would correspond to the circumference of a circle. Also for a circle with a circumference of 365 the diameter would be 116 which is 4 x 29, a multiple of the number of talents of gold.</div>
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<b>THE CONVERGENT RATIO OF PI AND THE HEBREW ALPHABET</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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A more obvious connection can be seen between the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi. The denominator is seven, and thus the number 7 is considered holy throughout scripture, especially the Sabbath of the seven day week. As the 22 letters are consonants, the number 7 may be a representation of Hebrew vowels. Vowels are not recorded in scripture, and notations were added later by the Masorites to indicate how the Hebrew words should be vocalized. In Greek there are 7 specific vowels, and in later Greek and Gnostic traditions the seven vowels of the Greek alphabet were said to correspond with the seven heavens, to which was assigned one of the seven known planets. As the heavens were worshipped as idols in the ancient world, the Jews completely divorced themselves from such symbolic associations, but in place of the seven planets the law instituted the seven branched menorah candlestick. This association is mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus in describing the table of shew-bread in the temple:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Now, the seven lamps signified the seven planets... the twelve loaves that were upon the table signified the circle of the Zodiac and the year..." (<i>Antiquities</i>, v. 5; 5)</blockquote>
<div class="block_5">
Here the number 7 is associated with a circle, in this case the circle of the zodiac or the year. This provides indirect confirmation that the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet can be arranged in a circle to represent the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi. The seven candlesticks of the menorah are also represented as seven pillars:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars</i> (Prov. 9:1)</blockquote>
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The same word for pillars are mentioned in Psalm 75: <i>The earth and all who dwell in her are dissolved, I balance the pillars of it</i> (Ps. 75:3). The "earth" was probably represented as a circle of the known world. Verse 3 demarcates the first and second stanzas of Psalm 75, which each contain exactly 22 words. Psalm 75 is the exact middle of the 150 Psalms, and 2 x 150 is 300 which a multiple of 3, the simplest convergent ratio for pi.</div>
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<div class="block_9">
In the work <i>Sefer Yetzirah</i>, an early work of Jewish esotericism perhaps dating to the first century A.D., the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet are arranged into a circle as follows:</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BVZYH4ALqTQ/Xm0AJ3h9PlI/AAAAAAAAKH0/NVGEH48PAuMHYOVZVXiQDGMGIenm75hugCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/231Gates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BVZYH4ALqTQ/Xm0AJ3h9PlI/AAAAAAAAKH0/NVGEH48PAuMHYOVZVXiQDGMGIenm75hugCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/231Gates.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div align="center">
</div>
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In the system of the Sefer Yetzirah, the 22 letters or divided into three "mother" letters (<i>aleph</i>, <i>mem</i> and <i>shin</i>), seven "doubles" (<i>bet, gimel, daleth, kaph, pe, resh, tau</i>) and twelve "elementals" (<i>he, vav, zayin, cheth, teth, yod, lamed, nun, samekh, ayin, tsade, qoph</i>). This division is probably a later invention, and is based on the three letters in the name of Jehovah, the seven planets, and the 12 signs of the zodiac. By the time it was written knowledge of the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi was lost, but in place of it a different system was invented attempting to associate the circle with the zodiac. Instead of recognizing the number 7 as representing the diameter, a separate category of 7 letters were created. Scriptural support for arranging the letters in a circle can be found in the book of Revelation, where the Lord declares Himself to be the Alpha and Omega, which are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In Hebrew the letters are <i>aleph</i> and <i>tau</i>, which are adjacent to each other on the circle:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty</i> (Rev. 1:8)<br />
<i>I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last</i> (Rev. 1:11)</blockquote>
<div>
In the Old Testament, it is Jehovah who declares Himself to be the first and the last:</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last; I am he</i> (Isa. 41:4)<br />
<i>Thus says Jehovah, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god</i> (Isa. 44:6)<br />
<i>Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last</i> (Isa. 48:12).</blockquote>
</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
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<b>THE HEBREW LETTER CIRCLE AND THE NAMES OF GOD</b></div>
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In the diagram of the Hebrew letter circle as described in the <i>Sefir Yetzirah</i> the 22 letters are on the edge of a circle, with 231 lines drawn between every possible letter combination. It is described as follows:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="block_5">
"These twenty-two letters, the foundations, He arranged as on a sphere, with two hundred and thirty-one modes of entrance. If the sphere be rotated forward, good is implied, if in a retrograde manner evil is intended. For He indeed showed the mode of combination of the letters, each with each, Aleph with all, and all with Aleph. Thus in combining all together in pairs are produced these two hundred and thirty-one gates of knowledge. And from Nothingness did He make something, and all forms of speech and every created thing, and from the empty void He made the solid earth, and from the non-existent He brought forth Life."</div>
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<div class="block_5">
Of the 231 lines between the letters, the one of most interest is the one between the first letter <i>aleph</i> (א) and the letter <i>lamed</i> (ל) which bisects the circle. These two letters form the word "God" (Heb. <i>El</i>). The name "God" is thus represented by the diameter of a circle. The letter <i>aleph</i> (א) is derived from an Egyptian hieroglyph that depicts the head of an ox and the name of the letter comes from a western Semitic word that means "ox." Thus for the molten sea of the temple of Solomon was placed on top of 12 oxen:</div>
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<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward</i> (1 Kings 7:25).</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Each opposing pair of oxen bisect the circle. In the convergent ratio 333/106 for pi, the number 106 would represent the length of the diameter of a circle which would divide the sea of the temple of Solomon into two halves. Psalm 106 ends the fourth book of the Psalms, and it mentions the parting of the Red Sea:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>He rebuked the Red sea and it was dried up, and He made them to walk through the depths as through the wilderness</i> (Ps. 106:9)</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is followed by the false worship of a calf:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>They made a calf in Horeb, and bowed down to the molten image. And they changed their glory, into the pattern of an ox that eats herbs</i> (Ps. 106:19-20).</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The sacred bull was worshipped throughout the ancient Middle East. In ancient Egypt the bull god was known as Apis, and before that the cow goddess Hathor was worshipped. Both of these gods were portrayed with the horns of a bull that supported a sun disk. As Psalm 106 mentions both the parting of the Red Sea along with the calf of Horeb, this indicates an ancient knowledge that the name "God" (Heb. <i>El</i>) was a symbolic depiction of a diameter of a circle. There are 999 or 3 x 333 verses in Psalms 54-106, which indicates that the number for Psalm 106 numerically represents the convergent ratio of 333/106 for pi.</div>
</div>
<div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="block_9">
The Hebrew name for God - <i>El</i> - is composed of <i>aleph</i> and <i>lamed</i> which bisects the Hebrew letter circle in half. In terms of ordinal values, the letter <i>aleph</i> has a value of 1 and <i>lamed</i> has a value of 12, for a total of 13. Also the majestic plural form of God - <i>Elohim</i> - has a total ordinal value of 41 which is the 13th prime number. This was perhaps based on the convergent ratio 355/113 for pi, where 13 represents the number 113. The Hebrew word <i>agol</i> means "round" or "circular" (Heb. <i>agol</i>) begins with <i>aleph</i> and ends with <i>lamed</i> and is mentioned in the description of the measurements of the temple of Solomon (see 1 Kings 7:23,31,35, 10:19). A close word using similar letters is the word for "calf" (Heb. <i>egel</i> or <i>eglah</i>) which is significant as the word for God (Heb. <i>El</i>) represents the diameter or a circle. The letter <i>aleph</i> which is the first letter of these words originated from the head of a bull, thus there were 12 bulls surrounding the molten sea of the temple of Solomon.</div>
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Just as the name "God" or Hebrew <i>El</i> is can be represented as the diameter of a Hebrew letter circle, so the name Jehovah can be represented by the circumference. The name Jehovah originates from a root word meaning "to be" (Heb. <i>hawah</i>) which is composed of the letters <i>he</i> (ה) and <i>vav</i> (ו). The letter <i>yod</i> was originally a prefix for the third person, thus the name Jehovah means "He is." On the Hebrew letter circle the letters <i>he</i> and <i>vav</i> are adjacent to each other, and if one proceeds from the letter <i>he</i> to the letter <i>vav</i> and then all the way round back to the letter <i>he</i>, one would have proceeded round the entire circumference of the circle. This is implied by the meaning of the letter <i>vav</i>, which in Hebrew conjoins words together with the meaning of "and." Two letters of <i>vav</i> spells the word "hook" in Hebrew and the hooks of the pillars of the tabernacle were made from the 1,775 or 5 x 355 shekels of silver. Just as the name "God" can be represented by the diameter of a circle, so the name "Jehovah" can be represented by the circumference of a circle. Moreover the letter <i>he</i> is the fifth letter and the letter <i>vav</i> is the sixth letter and 5 + 6 is 11 which is half of 22. If the letter <i>vav</i> is doubled, as in the Hebrew word for "hook," then the Hebrew word "to be" would add up to 22. In scripture the name of Jehovah and the title of God are are often combined as "Jehovah God," and this title could be thus represented by a circle with its diameter.</div>
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<div style="text-indent: 48px;">
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In the convergent ratio 355/113 for pi the number 113 is 100 + 13. As stated earlier, in the Hebrew letter circle the letters <i>aleph</i> (א) and the letter <i>lamed</i> (ל) form the word "God" (Heb. <i>El</i>) which bisects the circle. These two letters have ordinal values of 1 and 12 which total 13. Similarly, the circumference of the circle which is 355 is 300 + 55. The circumference is represented by the name Jehovah. The name Jehovah has two letters <i>he </i>which have an ordinal value of 5, which were perhaps used to represent the number 55. The name Jehovah begins with the letter <i>yod</i> which has an ordinal value of 10 and the following letter is <i>he</i> which has a value of 5. The letter <i>vav</i> can be treated as the word "and" which is then followed by the final letter <i>he</i>. The name Jehovah can thus be rendered as "(10 x 5) and 5" which is 55. Thus the name "Jehovah God" can be symbolically represented by the ratio 355/113 for pi. In a similar manner, the verse structure of Psalms 1-71 were modeled after the numeric values of the letters in the name of Jehovah; Psalm 71 was chosen to end the series since 5 x 71 is 355 (see the chapter, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/Text/VerseStructure.html">The Verse Structure of the Psalms</a>).</div>
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<div class="block_5" style="text-align: center;">
<b>THE NAME OF JEHOVAH IN THE PSALMS</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="block_9">
The relationship between the name of Jehovah and pi is indicated not only in the ordinal values of the letters in the name of Jehovah but also in the number of instances the name of Jehovah appears in the Psalms. In the first 22 Psalms there is a direct relationship between the number of the Psalm and the number of instances of the name of Jehovah, as follows:</div>
<div class="block_5">
<br /></div>
<table class="tg"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tg-amwm"><b>Psalm #</b></td>
<td class="tg-baqh"><b>Names of Jehovah</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">1-3</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">11 = 10 + 1</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">3</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">6 = 2 x 3</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">4</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">4</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">5</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">5</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">6</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">6</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">7</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">7</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">8-10</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">16 = 2 x 8</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">9</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">9</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">10-11</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">10</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">11-13</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">13</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">13</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">3</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">14</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">4</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">15-16</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">6</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">17-18</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">18</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">19-22</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">22</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh"><b>TOTAL</b></td>
<td class="tg-baqh">112</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="block_5">
In most cases the number of times that the name of Jehovah is mentioned matches the last digit of the Psalm number; in a few instances the number of times Jehovah is mentioned matches the Psalm number exactly. This pattern ends at Psalm 22 which matches the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. However there is another pattern which indicates the names of Jehovah are arranged after the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi as follows: </div>
<div class="block_5">
<br /></div>
<table class="tg"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tg-amwm"><b>Psalm #</b></td>
<td class="tg-baqh"><b>Names of Jehovah</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">1-3</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">11</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">4-7</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">22</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">7</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">7</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">8-9</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">11</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">10-14</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">22</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">13-14</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">7</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">15</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">(2)</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">16-18</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">22</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">19</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">7</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">19-22</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">22</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="block_5">
<br /></div>
<div class="block_5">
Before Psalm 15, there are two series where the names of Jehovah follow the pattern of 11, 22 and 7. Psalm 7 and 14 are used in the group of 7 since their numbers are a multiple of 7. Following Psalm 15, there are two groups of 22 with a group of 7 in the middle. Psalm 15 demarcates two groups that have equal verse counts:</div>
<div class="block_5">
<br /></div>
<table class="tg"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tg-amwm"><b>Psalm #</b></td>
<td class="tg-baqh"><b>Verses</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">1-14</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">159</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">15-22</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">159</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="block_5">
<br /></div>
<div class="block_5">
The total number of verses is 318 which is 3 x 106 where 106 is part of the convergent ratio 333/106 for pi. Similar to the name of Jehovah in Psalms 1-22, the title Most High (Heb. <i>Elyown</i>) appears in the Psalms 22 times. Its first occurrence is in Ps. 7:17 and the last occurence is in Ps. 107:11, where the Psalm numbers correspond with the number 7 in the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi.</div>
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<div>
<div class="block_9">
After the convergent ratio 22/7 the next best convergent ratio for pi is 333/106. The title Lord (Heb. <i>Adonai</i>) is mentioned a total of 53 times in the Psalms and 2 x 53 is 106. The name Jehovah is mentioned for a total of 678 times in the Psalms and 678 is 6 x 113, indicating that it is arranged after the convergent ratio 355/113 for pi. Following the 112 names of Jehovah in Psalms 1-22 the names of Jehovah can be arranged in the following pattern:</div>
<div class="block_9">
<br /></div>
<table class="tg"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tg-amwm"><b>Psalm #</b></td>
<td class="tg-baqh"><b>Names of Jehovah</b></td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">23-34</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">113</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">35-127</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">355</td>
</tr>
<tr><td class="tg-baqh">128-149</td>
<td class="tg-baqh">98 = 2 x 49</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="block_9">
<br /></div>
<div class="block_5">
This is the only instance in the Psalms where 113 names of Jehovah are directly followed by 355 names of Jehovah. The 355 names of Jehovah begin with Psalm 35 which is a digital permutation of 355. It ends with Psalm 127 which is the middle Psalm in the 15 Songs of Ascent in Psalms 120-134.</div>
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<div class="block_9">
The number 7 is considered holy in scripture as it is part of the convergent ratio 22/7 for pi. After the 355 verses there are 98 or 2 x 49 names of Jehovah which corresponds to Psalm 149 since 149 is 100 + 49. The name "Jehovih", where the vowels for <i>Elohim</i> are used instead of the vowels for <i>Adonai</i>, is mentioned only 8 times and if combined with the name "Jehovah" there would be a total of 686 which is 2 x 7 x 7 x 7.</div>
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<div class="block_5" style="text-align: center;">
<b>THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF THE CIRCLE AND THE DIVINE NAME</b></div>
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The circumference of a circle is a representation of the name of Jehovah, and the diameter is a representation of God which in Hebrew is <i>El</i> or <i>Elohim</i>. The spiritual significance of this is explained in the writings of Swedenborg, where the name Jehovah represents the Divine good or mercy, but the title God represents the Divine truth:</div>
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"In the Word the Lord is sometimes named Jehovah, sometimes Jehovah God, also the Lord Jehovah, and sometimes God, and this always for a hidden reason in the internal sense. Where love or good and the celestial church are treated of, He is called Jehovah, but when faith or truth and the spiritual church are treated of, He is called God, and this constantly" (<i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/Text/HA.html">Heavenly Arcana</a></i>, n. 2001).</blockquote>
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In terms of geometric symbolism, in his heavenly visions Swedenborg saw that truth is represented by angles, but good is represented by round forms:</div>
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"When truths and goods are presented in visible form, as they are in the other life manifestly to the eyes of spirits and angels, then truth is presented in definite quantity, consequently as much or as little, according to the quality of the truth; truth is also presented as angular in various forms, and it is also presented as white. But good is there presented in continuous quantity, thus not as much or as little; <b>good is also presented as round, which is continuous in form</b>, and in color as blue, yellow, and red..." (<i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/Text/HA.html">Heavenly Arcana</a></i>, n. 8458).</blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?tab=rj&blogID=9030257666913290314" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>In modern math, angles are expressed in terms of radians, which is the length of the radius on the circumference of a circle; twice the radius is the diameter which is represented by God (Heb. <i>El</i> or <i>Elohim</i>) as God is the title used when Divine truth is the subject in scripture. In another passage Swedenborg explains that internal spiritual good is represented by round forms, external good by a square, and truth by the forms of triangles as triangles are a geometric form of an angle:</div>
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"That foursquare means what is just originates in the representatives in the other life. In these representatives goods are presented as round, and the goods of the external man, which are called just, are presented as foursquare; truths however and things that are right are presented there as linear and triangular" (<i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/Text/HA.html">Heavenly Arcana</a></i>, n. 9717.2).</blockquote>
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The evidence suggests that the ratios of pi were considered to be a Divine signature, a mathematical representation of the name of Jehovah. This is confirmed by the iconography of the rod and ring in the ancient Middle East, which were symbols always associated with the deity, and were perhaps representations of a circle with its diameter. These symbols are also associated with measurement, especially that of the cubit. As this measurement was considered sacred, so the ratios of pi were used in the numerical design of the verses, words and sometimes even letters of the Psalms. The geometric representation of the name Jehovah God as the circumference and diameter of a circle is confirmed by the insights offered in the writings of Swedenborg, and the truth of some of revelations given to Swedenborg is confirmed by the analysis of the numeric values of Hebrew letters of the name of God relative to the circle. As shown here as well as the next chapter, much of the numerical structure of the Psalms is based on the convergent ratios of pi for this spiritual reason.</div>
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Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-42526203817815232902020-02-24T23:11:00.000-05:002020-02-24T23:11:20.707-05:00The Irrational Logic of a Trinity of three persons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The true Trinity of Christianity is the Divine itself, the Divine Human, and the Divine proceeding, which is the soul, body and spirit of Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah in human form. That the apostles understood this, can be seen that they understood that the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ, and are recorded in the book of Acts as having baptized in the name of Jesus. Moreover, of Jesus Paul said,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily</i>. (Col. 2:9)</span></blockquote>
And the Holy Spirit is the spirit that proceeds from Jesus, it is not a separate distinct person:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>And when he </i>[Jesus]<i> had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit."</i> (John 20:22)</span></blockquote>
And Jesus denied that the Father was someone separate from Himself, and those who think this, do not know who Jesus is:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”<br />Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?</i> (John 14:8-10)</span></blockquote>
For Father and Son are one just as the soul and body are one in each person.<br />
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Here is Swedenborg's account of what he saw concerning those who believed in a trinity of three persons in the spiritual world. Although written over 250 years ago, people still follow the same irrational logic from a doctrine invented by men invented in the fourth century A.D., which was not taught in the original Christian Church. As it is is irrational and illogical, it is an indefensible teaching, with one falling into undefined words and unable to define what "one God" really is. It is unmistakenly a form of tritheism:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I saw some new comers from the natural world into the spiritual, talking together about three Divine Persons from eternity; they were dignitaries of the church, and one of them a bishop. They came to me and after some conversation about the spiritual world, of which they had before known nothing, I said, "I heard you talking about three Divine Persons from eternity; and I beg you to open to me this great mystery, according to your ideas which you conceived in the natural world from which you have lately come."</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then the primate looking to me said, "I see that you are a layman, and so I will open the ideas of my thought concerning this great mystery and teach you. My ideas have been and still are that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, sit in the midst of heaven, upon lofty and magnificent seats or thrones — God the Father upon a throne of the finest gold, with a sceptre in His hand; God the Son at His right hand upon a throne of the purest silver, with a crown on His head; and God the Holy Spirit near them upon a throne of brilliant crystal, holding a dove in His hand: that lamps hang round about them in triple order, glittering with precious stones; and that at a distance from this circle stand innumerable angels, all worshipping and singing praises: moreover, that God the Father is continually conversing with His Son about those who are to be justified and that they together decree and determine who upon earth are worthy to be received by them among the angels and crowned with eternal life; and that God the Holy Spirit, having heard their names, forthwith hastens to them over all parts of the earth, bearing with Him the gifts of justice, as so many tokens of salvation for those who are to be justified; and as soon as He arrives and breathes upon them, He disperses their sins, as a ventilator disperses the smoke from a furnace and makes it clear; and also He takes away from their hearts the hardness of stone, and puts into them the softness of flesh; and at the same time He renews their spirits or minds, and gives them new birth, inducing upon them childlike faces; and at last marks their foreheads with the sign of the cross, and calls them the elect, and children of God." The primate, having ended this statement, said to me, "Thus I unravelled this great mystery in the world; and because most of our order there applauded these my opinions, I am persuaded that you also, who are a layman, give them credence."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After these things were said by the primate, I looked at him, and at the same time at the dignitaries with him, and observed that they all favored him with their full assent. Then I began to reply, and said, "I have considered the declaration of your faith, and have gathered from it that you have conceived and still cherish a merely natural and sensual, yea, material idea concerning the triune God, whence inevitably flows the idea of three Gods. Is it not to think sensually of God the Father that He sits upon a throne with a sceptre in His hand? and of the Son that He sits upon His throne with a crown on His head? and of the Holy Spirit that He sits upon His with a dove in His hand, and according to what he hears, He runs throughout the world? And because such an idea thence results, I cannot give credence to what you have declared; for from my infancy I have not been able to admit into my mind any other idea than that of One God; and since I have received and still retain only this idea, all that you have said falls away with me. And then I saw that, by the throne upon which, according to the Scripture, Jehovah is said to sit, is meant kingdom; by the sceptre and crown, rule and dominion; by sitting on the right hand the omnipotence of God by His Human; and by those things which are related of the Holy Spirit, the operations of the Divine omnipresence. Assume, sir, if you please, the idea of One God, and revolve it well in your reason, and you will at length clearly perceive that it is so. <b>Indeed, you also say that there is one God, and this because you make the essence of those three persons one and indivisible; yet you do not allow any one to say that the one God is one Person, but that still there are three; and this you do, lest the idea of three Gods, such as yours is, should be lost; and you also ascribe to each a character distinct from that of another: do you not thus divide your Divine essence? Since it is so, how can you at the same time think that God is one?</b> I could overlook it if you should say that the Divine is one. When any one hears that the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, and that each Person singly is God, how can he conceive that God is one? Is it not a contradiction to which no one can give credence? That this cannot be called one God, but like Divinity, may be illustrated by these examples. It cannot be said of several men who compose one senate, synod, or council, that they are one man; but while they hold all and each one opinion, it may be said that they think one thing. Neither can it be said of three diamonds of one substance that they are one diamond, but that they are one as to substance; and also each diamond differs from the others in value, according to its own weight; but it would not be so, if they were one, and not three. I perceive, however, that the reason why you call the three Divine persons, each of whom by Himself or singly is God, one God, and why you insist that every one in the church should so speak is, that sound and enlightened reason throughout the whole world acknowledges that God is one; and therefore you would be covered with shame if you also should not speak so. But even while you utter one God, though you think of three, still the shame does not keep the words within your lips, but you speak them out." </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After this had been said and heard, the bishop retired with his clerical attendants, and in retiring he turned about, and wished to exclaim, There is one God, but could not, because his thought drew back his tongue; and then with open mouth he breathed out, Three Gods. Those who were standing by laughed aloud at the strange sight, and departed." (<i>True Christian Religion</i>, n. 16)</span></blockquote>
And in another dialogue, one can see how there is an internal contradiction when defining the word "person":<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"What do you mean by Person, and what does the word signify?" And they said, "The term Person signifies not a part or quality in another, but what subsists by itself. Thus do all the Doctors of the church define Person, and we agree with them." </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And I said, "Is this the definition of Person?" And they replied, "It is." To which I answered, "Then there is not any part of the Father in the Son, nor any of either in the Holy Spirit; whence it follows that each has His own judgment, right, and power; and so there is not any thing which joins them together except the will which is proper to each, and thus is communicable at pleasure: are not the three persons thus three distinct Gods? Further, you have also defined Person, that it is what subsists by itself: consequently there are three substances into which you divide the Divine essence; and yet this, as you also say, is incapable of division, because it is one and indivisible; and moreover to each substance, that is, to each Person, you attribute properties which are not in another and cannot be communicated to another, such as imputation, mediation, and operation; and what else thence results than that the three Persons are three Gods?" </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">True Christian Religion</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, n. 17)</span></blockquote>
There is no "mystery" here. It is a false teaching that is inherently a self contradiction. Should we follow a mysterious "essence" that is not understood, or should we follow a person, Jesus Christ? Is not true Christianity a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?</div>
Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-66525773519672248662020-01-12T15:57:00.000-05:002020-01-20T19:01:36.127-05:00The Spiritual Meaning of the word "Works" in Scripture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The word "works" is a generic word used in scripture that is used in many contexts, and the epistles of Paul uses the same word in completely different contexts. Many have misread the epistles of Paul and have created a false theology in Christianity where faith is merely "belief" and "works" is anything you do. When one creates such a false theology, it becomes a doctrine and bias in which the entire gospel of Jesus Christ becomes distorted into a falsified form of Christianity of belief alone. It also becomes a blinder when reading scripture, for to support it many will pick scripture verses and also take the word "works" out of context.<br />
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When reading the Gospels and the epistles of Paul, the word "works" has three entirely different meanings, depending on the context:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>The word "works" is used for acts of love and living according to faith.</li>
<li>The word "works" concerns self-meritorious works, those done for sake of recompense.</li>
<li>The word "works" concerns the external Jewish rituals of the Mosaic law.</li>
</ol>
These three contexts for the work "works" are <u>very different</u>. It is important to recognize the difference when reading the New Testament. Otherwise a misreading can lead to a false theology that is against a true Christian life, where one believes one way and lives a life of evil. But first, lets take a look at what Jesus said on this, focusing on the first meaning first.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">WHAT DID JESUS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT WORKS?</span></b></div>
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Works of charity and faith are the ultimate effect of one's internal spirituality, fulfilling the greatest commandment of loving God and loving others which Jesus said is a requirement for eternal life and the fulfillment of the 10 commandments (Matt. 19:16-21, 22:37-40) and this is repeated by Paul (Rom. 13:8-10). One's internal self is what one loves, and what one loves is the primary intent behind every outward action. That every person has an internal spirituality is confirmed by Jesus when He said, <i>The kingdom of God is within you</i> (Luke 17:21). Our internal state becomes our heaven or hell in the afterlife: everyone goes to the place where their reigning love takes them. One's internal state manifests in external actions, which is signified by the word "fruit" thus Jesus said, <i>by their fruits you shall know them</i> (Matt. 7:20, see also <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2012/03/spiritual-meaning-of-word-fruit-in.html">The Spiritual Meaning of the word "Fruit" in Scripture</a>). However, as the ego is the source of evil, when we do what is good we should acknowledge that the Lord alone is good who is the source of good in all our acts, thus Jesus said:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing</span></i> (John 15:5)</span></blockquote>
This does not mean we are passive, for Jesus said we are to love God with our <b>heart, soul, mind and strength</b> (Mark 12:30). Strength is effort, not passive laziness. We act from our will acknowledging God is the source of good who flows through us.<br />
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A spiritual life is not just belief, but it is turning away from evil and doing good. In the gospels, to believe is not just to believe something is true, but to believe is to follow that person in doing. If you do not, you do not believe:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">The light has come into the world, and <b>people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil</b>. <b>For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God</b></span></i>. (John 3:19-21)</span></blockquote>
This is what Jesus understood when he uses the word "believe." And works are to be done but acknowledged that they were done through God who alone is good. It is not just a mental belief that something is true. Thus, we have many parables of Jesus where <u>only the doers of the Word are justified, not just the hearers of the Word</u>:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>The parable of the man who built his house on rock (Matt. 7:24-27)</li>
<li>The parable of the sower (Matt. 13:3-23)</li>
<li>The parable of the father and his two sons (Matt. 21:28-31)</li>
<li>The parable of the faithful servant (Matt. 24:42-51)</li>
<li>The parable of talents (Matt. 25:14-30)</li>
<li>The parable of the last judgment, where those who did good made it to heaven, not the religious who just believed (Matt. 25:31-46)</li>
<li>The parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)</li>
</ol>
Those who do God's commands will be called the greatest in heaven (Matt. 5:19). And even Paul confirms this: <i>For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified</i> (Rom. 2:13).<br />
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These teachings are in regards to the works of a faithful life, by doing what God commands:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">If you love me, you will keep my commandments</span></i> (John 14:15)<br /><i><span style="color: red;">Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him</span></i> (John 14:21)<br /><i><span style="color: red;">If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love</span></i> (John 15:10)</span></blockquote>
It is necessary to be doers of the Word, and to follow the commandments, to have eternal life. Jesus said all are judged according to their works:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works</span></i> (Matt. 16:27)</span></blockquote>
By the word "works" here we are talking about the first definition: <b>works of faith, acting out of love</b>.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">WHAT DID JESUS SAY ABOUT WORKS OF SELF MERIT</span></b></div>
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Now completely different from the first definition of the word "works," there is the second definition of the word "works" - these concern outward acts done for the sake of self-merit or self credit, or for the sake of recompense and reward. These are called self-meritorious works. They are done from the self for selfish gain, and it is these kinds of works that are condemned by Jesus. They tend to be selfish and used to create a false appearance before others, which Jesus did not like, and there will be no eternal reward for these kinds of acts:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">Take heed that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when you do your alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward</span></i> (Matt. 6:1-2)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you</span></i>. (Matt. 6:5-6)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">...if you love them who love you, what reward have you? . . . And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more [than others]? do not even the publicans so?</span></i> (Matt. 5:43-48.)<br /><i><span style="color: red;">Do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; then shall your reward be great, and you shall be sons of the Highest</span></i> (Luke 6:36).</span></blockquote>
These kinds of works are worthless, and for these there is no eternal rewards. But remember: <b>works of self merit are completely different than works done out of faith and love</b>. The first are worthless, but as for the latter, our eternal life depends on it. The first is done from self, the latter is with the acknowledgement that God is the source of the good of our works of faith. Thus it is important to know that these two kinds of works are distinct when reading scripture in order to not develop a false theology of salvation.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">HOW TO UNDERSTAND PAUL'S EPISTLES IN REGARD TO WORKS</span></b></div>
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Now, when we come to Paul, his epistles have caused much debate both in the early church with James as well as in the Protestant Reformation. For when Paul uses the word "works," he <u>switches contexts without telling the reader</u>. This led to confusion even in his day, especially in regard in what he meant by "works of the law." The apostle Peter even acknowledges this confusion when talking about Paul's epistles:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures</i> (2 Peter 3:16)</span></blockquote>
The reason for this is Paul preached to the Gentiles, and he had to constantly fight against Judaizers who wanted Gentiles to follow the external rituals of the Jewish law, which had been abrogated. These external rituals were symbolic and prophetic in form, and once the spiritual meaning of them was revealed in Christianity, it was no longer necessary to follow them. This would include rituals such as circumcision and animal sacrifices. In some instances, Paul is referencing these as "works of the law." But then he might switch to the other two definitions for the word "works," depending on context. Since the epistles of Paul are extensive where this word is constantly mentioned, here is a summary of scriptural references of the word "works" in his epistles, arranged by these three contextual definitions:<br />
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<li>The word "works" is used for acts of love and living according to faith - or for opposite works of evil (Rom. 2:6,10,13, 8:28, 13:10,12, 1 Cor. 3:13-15, 2 Cor. 9:8, 11:15, Gal. 5:6,19-25, Eph. 2:10, 5:11, Phil. 3:2, Col. 1:10,21, 3:5-9,17, 1 Thes. 1:3, 2 Thes. 1:11, 2:17, 1 Tim. 2:10, 5:10,25, 6:18, 2 Tim. 2:21, 3:17, 4:14,18, Titus 1:16, 2:7,14, 3:1,8,14, Heb. 10:24, 13:21)</li>
<li>The word "works" concerns self-meritorious works, those done from self for sake of recompense (Rom. 4:2-6, Eph. 2:9, 2 Tim. 1:9, Titus 3:5)</li>
<li>The word "works" concerns the external Jewish rituals of the Mosaic law (Rom. 3:20,27-28, 9:32, 11:6, Gal. 2:16, 3:2,5,10, Heb. 6:1, 9:14)</li>
</ol>
When we read the epistle of James, it is evident that many confused "works" of the Jewish rituals (definiton #3) with "work" of faith in Paul's epistles. Thus James said faith without works is dead (see James chapter 2). James also had to clarify Paul's example of Abraham in Rom. 4:2-6, for there Paul switched contexts without explicitly telling the reader. Eph. 2:9-10 is another example of an immediate context switch.<br />
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Similar to the word "works," the word "law" has multiple meanings, among them are is the law can refer to the entire scripture, to the first 5 books of Moses, to the 10 commandments, and to the external Jewish rituals. Again, like the word "works" one has to examine the context. However Paul mentions this so often I only state it here as a general guideline for interpretation.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">ALL ACTIONS AND WORKS ARE JUDGED BY ONE'S INTENT</span></b></div>
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As a final rule of thumb, all actions and works should be judged by one's end, purpose or intent. It is the internal intention that is looked upon by God:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"it is to be known that the end is what determines the character of all the deeds of a man. If his end or intention is to do good for the sake of reputation, or to procure honors or gain, then the good which he does is not good, because it is done for the sake of himself, and thus also from himself. But if his end is to do good for the sake of a fellow citizen, or of his country, or of the church, thus for the sake of the neighbor, then the good which a man does is good, for it is done for the sake of good itself, which in a general sense is the real neighbor (n. 5025, 6706, 6711, 6712, 8123); and thus also it is done for the sake of the Lord, for such good is not from man, but from the Lord, and what is from the Lord is the Lord's. It is this good which is meant by the Lord's words in Matthew: <i>Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye did unto Me</i> (xxv. 40)." (<i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, n. 9210)</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...nothing else than the end with man is regarded by the Lord. Whatever his thoughts and deeds — which vary in ways innumerable — if only the end be made good, all are good. But if the end be evil, all are evil. It is the end that rules in every thing that a man thinks and does. The angels with man, because they are angels of the Lord, do not direct anything in the man but his ends. In directing them they direct also his thoughts and actions, for all these are of the end. The end with man is his very life. All that he thinks and does has life from the end, for, as was said, they are of the end. Therefore as the end is, such is the life of a man. His end is no other than his love; for a man can have for an end nothing but what he loves. One who thinks otherwise than he does, has yet for an end what he loves. In his very dissimulation or deceit is his end, which is the love of self or the love of the world; and from this is the enjoyment of his life. From these considerations any one may conclude that as a man's love is, such is his life." (<i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, n. 1317)</blockquote>
Thus for good to reign in one's life, one must acknowledge God first, that all good comes from Him alone, and nothing from the selfish ego. Or at least, one is spiritual if good is done for the sake of being useful without thought of selfish return. </div>
Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-80315686536050102722020-01-10T22:10:00.001-05:002020-01-10T22:46:07.573-05:00A Spiritual Theory of Creation: the Big Bang and the "Aether" Levels of the Universe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The best scientific evidence and theories indicate that about 14 billion years ago, the universe began with a giant explosion of energy known as the "Big Bang" which began from a point of singularity. At this moment, space and time was itself created. And before that, there was no space, and there was no time - the Big Bang essentially started this rapidly expanding "space-time" cone that we call the universe. This cosmological theory is based on Einstein's theory of relativity of the 20th century as well as modern astronomical observations, summarized in a video below:<br />
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This brings about the inevitable paradox: what was there before the Big Bang? For before the Big Bang, there was no space nor time. As it turns out, among the heavenly visions that Swedenborg received in the 18th century, he was given accurate information on the creation and fundamental nature of the universe that provides remarkable insights for modern science, despite the limits of the scientific knowledge of his day.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">THE "NATURAL SUN" OR THE BIG BANG</span></b></div>
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The first insight Swedenborg was given is that before the creation of the physical material world, it was preceded by the creation of the spiritual world from the emanation of the Divine, who resides in a spiritual Sun of pure Love. Three levels or degrees were created in the spiritual world, which are also known as three heavens which Paul briefly described in one of his visions (2 Cor. 12:2). Although the theory of the Big Bang was essentially unknown to Swedenborg, he was told in his visions that following the creation of the spiritual world a "natural sun" or "sun of the natural world" which was of pure fire was created. This was followed by the creation of "three natural atmospheres":<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...it would be vain to conclude anything concerning the creation of the universe, unless it were first known that there are two worlds, one in which angels are, and the other in which men are; and that men by death pass out of their world into the other; and then also I saw that there were two suns, one from which all spiritual things flow forth, and the other from which all natural things flow forth; and that the sun from which all spiritual things flow forth is pure love from Jehovah God, who is in the midst of it; and that the sun from which all natural things flow forth is pure fire. ...by means of the light and heat from the [spiritual] sun... spiritual atmospheres, which in themselves are substantial, were created one from another; and because there were three, and thence three degrees of them, three heavens were made; one for the angels who are in the highest degree of love and wisdom, another for the angels who are in the second degree, and the third for the angels who are in the lowest degree. But because this spiritual universe cannot exist without a natural universe in which it may produce its effects and uses, then the sun from which all natural things proceed was created at the same time and by this likewise by means of light and heat three atmospheres encompassing the spiritual... and at last by means of these, the terraqueous globe, the abode of men, beasts, and fishes, also of trees, shrubs, and herbs, was formed of lands consisting of soil, stones, and minerals." (<i>True Christian Religion</i>, n. 76)</blockquote>
What Swedenborg was shown only makes sense if what he called the "natural sun" of pure fire is the Big Bang - for the Big Bang was a big explosion of energy, and at the initial moments of the universe the universe was extremely hot. The suns of the various solar systems coalesced later. It is important to distinguish between the Divine spiritual sun from which proceeds all life and the natural sun from which proceeds only dead material things:<br />
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"Creation itself cannot be ascribed at all to the sun of the natural world, but wholly to the sun of the spiritual world; since the sun of the natural world is entirely dead, but the sun of the spiritual world is alive; for it is the first proceeding of the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom; and what is dead does not act at all of itself, but is acted upon. Wherefore to ascribe to it anything of creation, would be like ascribing the work which the artificer does, to the tool which is moved by his hand. The sun of the natural world is pure fire from which everything of life has been withdrawn; but the sun of the spiritual world is fire in which is the Divine Life. The angelic idea concerning the fire of the sun of the natural world, and concerning the fire of the sun of the spiritual world, is this — that the Divine Life is from within in the fire of the sun of the spiritual world, but from without in the fire of the sun of the natural world. From this it may appear that the actual existence of the natural sun is not from itself, but from the living force proceeding from the sun of the spiritual world" (<i>Divine Love and Wisdom</i>, n. 157).</blockquote>
Throughout the revelations it is revealed that life originates from spiritual influx from the spiritual Sun into the natural material world - the natural material world is not in itself the source of life. And this is why science cannot understand or explain the origin of life.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">THERE IS NO SPACE OR TIME IN HEAVEN</span></b></div>
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Now, modern science tells use that space and time were created at the time of the Big Bang, which produces a paradox here - what was before the Big Bang? According to Swedenborg, before the creation of the "natural sun" from which the material universe came the spiritual heavens were created - <b><u>and there is no space or time in heaven</u></b>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"All things in heaven appear in place and in space, just as in the world, and yet angels have no notion or idea of place and space. Because this cannot but appear as a paradox, I wish to present the matter in clear light, as it is one of great importance. All going from place to place in the spiritual world is effected by change of state of the interiors, so that change of place is nothing else than change of state... In this way all the movements of angels take place; hence they have no distances, and if not distances, neither have they spaces, but instead of them states and their changes. As changes of place are made in this way, it is evident that approximations are similarities as to state of interiors, and that removals are dissimilarities. From this it follows that those are near to each other who are in similar state, and those at a distance who are in dissimilar state; and that spaces in heaven are nothing else than external states corresponding to internal." (<i>Heaven and Hell</i>, n. 191-193)</blockquote>
Essentially our idea of material space becomes "abstracted" into appearances of distance. As God is Love, those who love will be close to Him in heaven according to their state of love. Moreover, in heaven we will be with the ones we truly love, and with those who are similar to our own personality. The spiritual world is the world where our internal ideas and affections become true reality, in fact more real than this material world. In this world we might say "I feel close to you." Or "I feel distant from you." These internal feeling manifest as apparent distance of space in the spiritual world, for all our internal states of feelings and thoughts have a substantial reality.<br />
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Similar to space, there is no time in heaven, but rather changes of state. Moreover, eternity in heaven is not infinite time, but an infinite state:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"That angels know nothing about time, though all things move onward with them as in the world, without any difference at all, is because in heaven there are not years and days, but changes of state; and where there are years and days there are times, but where there are changes of state there are states... Since angels have no notion of time, they have a different idea of eternity from that which men of the earth have. By eternity they perceive infinite state, not infinite time. I was once thinking about eternity, and by the idea of time could perceive what to eternity might be, namely, without end, but not what from eternity is, and so not what God did from eternity before the creation. When anxiety on this account arose in my mind, I was elevated into the sphere of heaven and thus into the perception in which angels are about eternity, and then it was made clear to me that we must not think of eternity from time, but from state, and then we may perceive what from eternity is" (<i>Heaven and Hell</i>, n. 163, 167)</blockquote>
Thus the state of the universe before creation was a state of no space or time, thus before the Big Bang we are thus now talking about the nature of the spiritual heavens beyond the material. Moreover, it does not make sense to think of "before" the Big Bang. Rather, the three spiritual heavens are higher dimensions outside of space and time which co-exist and permeate the lower material world which dwells in the plane of space and time. This is an important clue for scientists who are still investigating the true nature of the universe.<br />
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The spiritual concept that space and time are created things, and not the fundamental or original form or reality, is relevant to modern theories of science such as Einstein's theories of General Relativity and Minkowski Space-Time, which describe space and time as a "fabric" that was created at the time of the Big Bang.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">AETHER, SPACETIME, AND QUANTUM FIELDS</span></b></div>
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Following the creation of the heavens and the "natural sun," which is probably more accurately described as the Big Bang, Swedenborg was told that "three natural atmospheres" were created in the natural world. However he is using the word "atmosphere" in a different manner than our modern definition, in the context of 18th century science. By "atmosphere" he is referring to a degree or level of what scientists in his time knew as <i>aether </i>- a medium in space through which light propagates, similar to how sound travels through air or waves through water. Here is a brief description of the 18th century idea of aether:<br />
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"The motion of light was a long-standing investigation in physics for hundreds of years before the 20th century. The use of aether to describe this motion was popular during the 17th and 18th centuries, including a theory proposed by Johann II Bernoulli... In his theory, all space is permeated by aether containing "excessively small whirlpools". These whirlpools allow for aether to have a certain elasticity, transmitting vibrations from the corpuscular packets of light as they travel through. This theory of luminiferous aether would influence the wave theory of light proposed by Christiaan Huygens, in which light traveled in the form of longitudinal waves via an "omnipresent, perfectly elastic medium having zero density, called aether". At the time, it was thought that in order for light to travel through a vacuum, there must have been a medium filling the void through which it could propagate, as sound through air or ripples in a pool." (from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aether_(classical_element)">Aether (classical element)</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">These ideas of aether were disproven by the Michaelson-Morley experiments in the early 20th century. So another model was needed. It was at this time that Einstein developed his theories of relativity, in which the speed of light was shown to be constant, and fused the separate concepts of space and time into a four dimensional manifold known as "spacetime." This spacetime manifold could be warped by gravity. As such, Einstein considered calling it the "new aether," with the caveat that no substance or motion can be associated with this aether (see </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminiferous_aether#Einstein's_views_on_the_aether" style="background-color: transparent;">Einstein's views on the aether</a><span style="background-color: transparent;">). However this term never became popular and so at the present day we still call it "spacetime." But for the purpose of understanding what was shown about creation to Swedenborg, lets call this four dimensional manifold of spacetime as the "aether" of gravity.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">So this leaves light, which Swedenborg also describes as travelling through its own "aether." In the 20th century science was able to achieve a better understanding of light in Quantum field theory, which says that all fundamental particles are vibrations of fields that exist in all points in space and time through the universe. At this low level, particles do not travel through a medium, but rather they are manifestations of the medium itself. It is non-intuitive, so here is a summary of the theory:</span></span></div>
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These vibrations of quantum fields can be compared to sound waves traveling through air, which in the 18th century was also used as the model for the concept of aether for gravity and light. So essentially, quantum fields are the accurate and true representation of what we used to call aether - its just that in a quantum field, there is no separation between the manifestation of the particle and the field itself, as the particle is an excited state of the field. There is no separate "medium" as had originally been imagined. Again for the purpose of this discussion, lets also call these quantum fields "aether," as it will help us understand what Swedenborg was describing in what he called "natural atmospheres." For just as he saw that these natural atmospheres permeated all of space, so the quantum fields permeate all of space.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">THE THREE NATURAL ATMOSPHERES OR AETHERS OF THE UNIVERSE</span></b></div>
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With this scientific background, we can now analyze what Swedenborg was shown regarding the three natural "atmospheres" or aethers that were created following the creation of the three prior spiritual atmospheres, as well as what he labeled as the "natural sun" which I interpret as the Big Bang. The first piece of information is that the three natural atmospheres are "discrete substances and least forms." They are distinct from the three spiritual atmospheres that precede them, and yet the spiritual atmospheres co-exist with them:<br />
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"The natural atmospheres are similar to the spiritual atmospheres in this, that <b>they also are discrete substances and least forms, originating from the sun of the natural world</b>; which also singly receive the sun and store up its fire in themselves, and temper it, and bear it down as heat to the earth, where men are; and similarly the light. The difference between the spiritual atmospheres and the natural atmospheres is that the spiritual atmospheres are receptacles of the Divine fire and the Divine light, thus of love and wisdom, for they contain these within themselves; but the natural atmospheres are not receptacles of the Divine fire and the Divine light, but receptacles of the fire and light of their own sun, which in itself is dead... wherefore within there is nothing in them from the sun of the spiritual world, but still they are environed by the spiritual atmospheres which are from the spiritual sun. That this is the difference between the spiritual atmospheres and the natural atmospheres is from the wisdom of the angels." (<i>Divine Love and Wisdom</i>, n. 174-175)</blockquote>
The second piece of information given is that the three natural atmospheres descend and become more "compressed and inert" until they cause the creation of substances:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...there are three atmospheres in each world, the spiritual and the natural, which are distinct from each other according to degrees of altitude, and which decrease in their downward progression according to degrees of latitude... And because the atmospheres decrease in their progression downward, it follows that <b>they become continually more compressed and inert, and at length in ultimates so compressed and inert that they are no longer atmospheres, but substances at rest, and in the natural world fixed substances, such as are in the earths and are called matter</b>" (<i>Divine Love and Wisdom</i>, n. 302)</blockquote>
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The third piece of information given is that the three natural atmospheres hold together the material substances:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...the substances and matters of which the earths consist are the ends and terminations of atmospheres which proceed as uses from the spiritual sun... <b>And because the substances and matters of which the earths consist are from that origin, and in their aggregation are held together in connection by the pressure of the atmospheres round about</b>, it follows that they have therefrom a perpetual effort to produce forms of uses. The very quality of being able to produce they derive from their origin, which is that they are the ultimates of the atmospheres, with which they therefore agree" (<i>Divine Love and Wisdom</i>, n. 310)</blockquote>
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The fourth piece of information is that in several passages, Swedenborg speaks of these three atmospheres as distinct from the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms (see <i>Heavenly Arcana</i>, n. 3000, <i>Divine Love and Wisdom</i>, n. 225, <i>True Christian Religion</i>, n. 186, <i>Apocalypse Explained</i>, n. 1208.2, <i>Spiritual Diary</i>, n. 2360). So this is puzzling, what are these so-called three natural atmospheres? In an unpublished manuscript, Swedenborg spells it out further:</div>
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"There are three natural atmospheres arising from the sun of the world, and there are three spiritual atmospheres arising from the sun of heaven, which is the Lord. <b>The three natural atmospheres arising from the sun of the world are the purer aether, which is the universal atmosphere, from which springs all gravity; the intermediate aether, which forms a vortex around the planets and surrounds the moon and other satellites, from which springs magnetism; and the lowest ether, which is air</b>. These three atmospheres hold together all physical and material things of the earth, which have been composed in conformity to those three degrees." (<i>Last Judgment Posthumous</i>, 320; see also <i>Spiritual Diary</i>, n. 222)</blockquote>
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This actually is rather an amazing insight. Gravity is a bosonic force in the spacetime field, which was considered to be a "new aether" according to Einstein. Magnetism is something we now know is part of the electromagnetic force mediated by the photon, and as stated earlier a photon is an excitation of its quantum field, which can also be considered to be an aether. But on the third atmosphere, Swedenborg confuses it with "air" which is a macroscopic representation of aether as sound waves travel through the medium of air molecules. We know its an error since Swedenborg distinguished the mineral kingdom from the three natural atmospheres. Moreover he acknowledged in this instance that his statements should be verified by experimental knowledge:</div>
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"...<b>the statements we have made so far regarding degrees and atmospheres are for the most part theoretical</b>. Yet all theoretical conclusions must be drawn from and based on empirical observations, and also verified by them. Unless the observations of experience guide a person's hand, so to speak, he may be deluded in his theoretical speculations, and from a premise seized on in his imagination or imaginary assumption he may easily be borne through a series of conclusions into falsities entirely contrary to the truth-falsities which he may then confirm by fallacious and deceptive appearances of every kind. For falsities can be confirmed by deceptive and fallacious appearances, even to the point that a person believes them to be absolute truths." (<i>Last Judgment Posthumous</i>, 323)</blockquote>
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So from spiritual revelation Swedenborg knew that there were three degrees or levels of aether in the natural material world, but in trying to map this to his scientific knowledge he regarded it as theoretical until confirmed by empirical facts. But from his statements describing the three atmospheres, with our modern scientific knowledge we can propose that these three "atmospheres" or "aethers" refer to three degrees of the four fundamental forces mediated by bosonic particles in their respective quantum fields. The justification for this is as follows:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>The three atmospheres were described as "discrete substances" in their "least forms." Quantum particles and their fields are the least forms of atomic matter.</li>
<li>The three atmospheres are responsible for making matter more "compressed and inert." The Higgs field gives fermionic matter mass, and matter in the form of quarks are further constrained by the strong nuclear force, and further by the electromagnetic and gravitational forces. The bosonic forces are responsible for fermionic matter becoming more constrained and inert.</li>
<li>Matter is aggregated and held together by the three atmospheres, and this is now known to be caused by the bosonic forces.</li>
<li>The three atmospheres are distinct from the mineral kingdom, and the mineral kingdom is composed of fermionic matter. Thus the atmospheres or aethers can only be the quantum fields that permeate all of space.</li>
<li>Swedenborg also often describes the aethers as mediating light, and electromagnetism is mediated by the photon.</li>
</ol>
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Moreover, Swedenborg explicitly stated that these natural atmospheres essentially become forces in their ultimate manifestation:<br />
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"Atmospheres in ultimates become such forces, by which substances and matters, such as are in the earths, are reduced into forms, and are held together in forms both within and without." (<i>Divine Love and Wisdom</i>, n. 311)</blockquote>
Now, why are there three degrees or levels of aether, or "atmospheres"? What was shown to Swedenborg is that all that exists can be divided into three degrees, modeled after the process of end, cause and effect:</div>
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"A knowledge of degrees is as it were a key for opening the causes of things, and for entering into them. Without this knowledge scarcely anything of cause can be known; for, without it, the objects and subjects of both worlds appear of such a sameness, as if there were nothing in them except what is seen with the eye; when yet this, compared to the things which lie hidden within, is as one to a thousand, nay to tens of thousands. The interiors which are not manifest cannot be revealed in any way unless degrees are understood. For exteriors pass to interiors, and by these to inmosts through degrees; not through continuous degrees, but through discrete degrees. Diminishings or decreasings from grosser to finer, or from denser to rarer are called continuous degrees — or rather the increments and increasings from finer to grosser, or from rarer to denser — as of light to shade, or of heat to cold. But discrete degrees are entirely different: they are as things prior, posterior, and postreme; or as end, cause, and effect. These degrees are called discrete, because the prior is by itself, the posterior by itself, and the postreme by itself; but still taken together they make one. The atmospheres — which are called ethers and airs — from the highest to the lowest, or from the sun to the earth, are discreted into such degrees" (<i>Divine Love and Wisdom</i>, n. 184).</blockquote>
This knowledge of degrees is not only useful for investigating scientific matters, but also spiritual theology, and it is part of the framework Swedenborg used to describe the theology of the New Church in a systematic and rational manner. It is also key to understanding the true meaning of the Trinity. Quantum physicists actually make use of discrete degrees, as "quantum" itself means a discrete degree of energy. But what are the three degrees of the bosonic forces? We can propose the following degrees:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>The space-time manifold, mediated by the graviton which has a spin of 2.</li>
<li>The electromagnetic field mediated by the photon, the weak field mediated by the W/Z bosons, and the strong field mediated by the gluons. All of these forces have a spin of 1.</li>
<li>The Higgs field mediated by the Higgs boson, which gives most other particles mass. It has a spin of 0.</li>
</ol>
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One reason for this arrangement is that Swedenborg stated that the aether forces of the atmospheres get progressively stronger (<i>Spiritual Diary</i>, n. 418), and we can see this in the relative strengths between the forces:<br />
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In this arrangement, the weak, electromagnetic and strong forces form three discrete "subdegrees" within the intermediate atmosphere or aether. Also both the electromagnetic and weak forces have been mathematically combined into an electroweak force.<br />
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Other than this, what scientific justification do we have for creating three degrees or levels for the bosonic forces? Intuitively spacetime should be in the first degree, as that is often used as the independent background in frameworks for physics. Another clue comes from the discrete spin of the bosonic particle: it can be 0,1 or 2. In mathematics, these discrete spins correspond to tensors, vectors and scalars:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">"The force carrying bosons of the standard model (gluons, photons, and the W and Z) have spin 1 since they go with vector fields. The Higgs boson corresponds to a scalar field so it has spin 0. If the particle of the gravitational field is ever discovered, it would be called a graviton and would have a spin 2 since it corresponds to a tensor field. A tensor is a mathematical object that's more complex than a vector, which is in turn more complex than a scalar. See the trend? A scalar field with </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0em; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0em; padding: 0em; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">no direction</span><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> gets a particle with spin </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0em; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0em; padding: 0em; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">0</span><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">. A vector field with </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0em; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0em; padding: 0em; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">a direction</span><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> gets a particle with spin </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0em; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0em; padding: 0em; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">1</span><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">. A tensor field that stretches and squeezes space in </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0em; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0em; padding: 0em; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">two directions</span><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> gets a particle with spin </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0em; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0em; padding: 0em; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">2</span><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.92); font-family: "helvetica" , "helvetica neue" , "ariel" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">. " (from <a href="https://physics.info/standard/">The Physics Hypertextbook</a>)</span></blockquote>
Most people have heard of vectors and scalars. But what is a tensor? Tensors have numerous applications in data analysis and artificial intelligence, and are used to model stress on 3D objects. Here is a visual representation:<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nG1iZ1upnXw/XhkiLxZdelI/AAAAAAAAKFc/RJ5_18mOR-gedtJZKcec_z0ikReYFxp0QCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/ScalarVectorTensor.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="644" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nG1iZ1upnXw/XhkiLxZdelI/AAAAAAAAKFc/RJ5_18mOR-gedtJZKcec_z0ikReYFxp0QCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/ScalarVectorTensor.png" /></a></div>
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Tensors, scalars and vectors each represent, lo and behold, three discrete mathematical degrees of order:<br />
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"The tensor is a more generalized form of scalar and vector. Or, the scalar, vector are the special cases of tensor.<br />
<ul cwidth="688" eza="cwidth:688px;;cheight:294px;;wcalc_source:defined;wcalc:688px;wocalc:751px;hcalc:294px;rend_px_area:202272;" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em 3em; max-width: 730px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li cwidth="688" eza="cwidth:688px;;cheight:84px;;wcalc_source:child;wcalc:114px;wocalc:114px;hcalc:420px;rend_px_area:57792;" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 730px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If a tensor has only magnitude and no direction (i.e., rank 0 tensor), then it is called scalar.</li>
<li cwidth="688" eza="cwidth:688px;;cheight:84px;;wcalc_source:child;wcalc:114px;wocalc:114px;hcalc:420px;rend_px_area:57792;" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 730px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If a tensor has magnitude and one direction (i.e., rank 1 tensor), then it is called vector.</li>
<li cwidth="688" eza="cwidth:688px;;cheight:84px;;wcalc_source:child;wcalc:114px;wocalc:114px;hcalc:420px;rend_px_area:57792;" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 730px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If a tensor has magnitude and two directions (i.e., rank 2 tensor), then it is called dyad.</li>
<li cwidth="688" eza="cwidth:688px;;cheight:42px;;wcalc_source:child;wcalc:48px;wocalc:48px;hcalc:126px;rend_px_area:28896;" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 730px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And so on…</li>
</ul>
Please note that there are differences between the term “<span cwidth="0" eza="cwidth:0px;;cheight:0px;;wcalc_source:child;wcalc:58px;wocalc:58px;hcalc:84px;rend_px_area:0;" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; max-width: 730px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">direction" </span>and the term “<span cwidth="0" eza="cwidth:0px;;cheight:0px;;wcalc_source:child;wcalc:73px;wocalc:73px;hcalc:126px;rend_px_area:0;" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; max-width: 730px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">dimension."</span> All the types of tensor (scalar, vector, and dyad) can be defined in a three dimensional space or co-ordinate system." (from <a href="https://www.brighthubengineering.com/machine-design/120073-difference-between-tensors-and-vectors/">Mechanical Vectors, Rotations, and Tensors</a>)</blockquote>
There is another reason to consider the gravitational force and the space-time manifold as a prior discrete degree from the electromagnetic field mediated by the photon. This is related to some complex math involving a hyperbolic universe, otherwise known by the obscure name of "anti-de Sitter space." It is called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdS/CFT_correspondence">AdS/CFT correspondence</a>, in which a complete string theory involving gravity corresponds to a formal quantum theory with one less spacial dimension:<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-waM2fv3ROYU/XhkygCTAqSI/AAAAAAAAKF0/jhx26311pREe5ulkA4B_23KUVIaJqcdWgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/AdSCFT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="500" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-waM2fv3ROYU/XhkygCTAqSI/AAAAAAAAKF0/jhx26311pREe5ulkA4B_23KUVIaJqcdWgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/AdSCFT.jpg" /></a></div>
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The name of the theory itself is interesting because Swedenborg constantly used the word "correspondence" to show how lower literal concepts "correspond" to higher level spiritual ideas. For details of its applicability in solving several problems in physics, see <a href="https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/AdS-QCD+correspondence">AdS-QCD correspondence</a>. The theory is a bit complicated and is most easily understood in the following two videos; the first one below gets to the meat of the matter at 12:19 --<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tJevBNQsKtU" width="560"></iframe></center>
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This provides evidence that our universe is holographic, as further explained in the following video, especially beginning at 9:33 --<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/klpDHn8viX8" width="560"></iframe></center>
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Ads CFT Correspondence describes how quantum forces are a discrete degree below gravity, similar to how Swedenborg described how electromagnetism is in a discrete degree of aether below the aether or gravity. The idea of correspondence, where the physics of higher dimensions correspond to another physics in a a smaller number of dimensions, is also very similar to Swedenborg's idea of the correspondence in which he discovered that all material things in the universe were a theatrical representation of higher level spiritual ideas. It is a useful idea in science, and can help us achieve an overarching spiritual theory of the universe.</div>
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Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-58616987513325836882020-01-05T21:42:00.000-05:002020-01-05T21:42:34.811-05:00Monogamous Marriage, Christianity, and the Homosexual Dilemma<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rl4TU8JfmyI/XhKZr-SDIhI/AAAAAAAAKFM/KYNVdXNHZW46mkRVch1FQy_uT5cCobS1gCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/marriage-bible-verse-3l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="900" height="310" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rl4TU8JfmyI/XhKZr-SDIhI/AAAAAAAAKFM/KYNVdXNHZW46mkRVch1FQy_uT5cCobS1gCNcBGAsYHQ/s400/marriage-bible-verse-3l.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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In the New Testament there are multiple passages where the spiritual relationship between the Lord and the Church is represented by the marriage of the bridegroom with the bride (Matt. 9:15, 22:1-14, 25:1-13, Rev. 19:7,9, 21:2,9-10) and that Jesus only sanctioned monogamous marriage (Matt. 19:3-11). This principle has brought Christianity in conflict with the recent cultural shift that supports homosexual marriages, and with a culture that is generally lax in sexual morality. This is because the majority in the modern world do not distinguish between the lower natural love of sex, and a higher spiritual love of sex. For the love of sex is something that man shares with animals, but a spiritual love of one of the other sex is spiritual that is unique to man. Moreover, the majority do not even know the spiritual reason why humans are born male and female, which is the justification Jesus gave for monogamous marriages. Answers to these questions have been laid out in detail in heavenly revelations in the work <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, which I think was due to Divine foresight on the present dilemma.<br />
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It is simply not enough for Christians to quote the Bible to outsiders on this matter, as there has to be a rational justification. Even Swedenborg acknowledged this when discussing Matt. 19:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"But although the Lord dictated these words out of the Divine law inscribed on marriage, yet, if the understanding cannot support it with some reason of its own, it may even,—by turns to which it is wont, and by sinister interpretations,—get around the Divine law, and bring it into dim ambiguity" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 332)</blockquote>
This kind of twisting of what Jesus said I have seen even within some Christian churches, with one person stating that Jesus was "just discussing divorce." Which completely ignores the rationale that Jesus gave, that humans are created male and female, and monogamous marriage fulfills the Divine will. But let us lay out the reasons why monogamous marriages between one man and one woman are spiritual, and other sexual unions are not.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">GOD IS LOVE AND TRUTH ITSELF</span></b></div>
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The first principle is that the Divine is Love and Truth itself, and Love and Truth co-exist in a married pair, similar to a fire and the light that emanates from it. God descended as Divine Truth, known as the Word, in human form, and love and truth manifest in every human being in the will and understanding. I discussed this a bit earlier in the blog post <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-divine-origin-of-marriage-love-and.html">The Divine Origin of Marriage Love and Sex</a>, but as this is the foundation on any discussion regarding marriage and sex it bears repeating here, as this is the source of all created things:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...in each and all things of the universe good is conjoined with truth and truth with good, for this too is a universal truth, closely coherent with the other. The reason why all things in the universe have a relation to good and truth, and that good is conjoined with truth, and truth with good, is that both proceed from the Lord, and proceed from Him as one. The two which proceed from the Lord are love and wisdom, for those are Himself and are therefore from Himself" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 60)</blockquote>
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And this is the reason why marriage love is most holy, and it is the love of all loves, for marriage originates from the union of good and truth:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The reason why marriage love considered as to its essence is the fundamental love of all the loves of heaven and the church is, that its origin is from the marriage of good and truth, and <b>from that marriage all the loves which make heaven and the church with man proceed</b>. The good of that marriage constitutes love, and the truth of it constitutes wisdom; and when love comes to wisdom or conjoins itself with it, it then becomes love indeed; and when in turn wisdom comes to love or conjoins itself with it, it becomes wisdom indeed. True marriage is nothing else than the conjunction of love and wisdom. <b>A married pair between whom or in whom at the same time this love exists, are an image and form of it</b>" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 65)</blockquote>
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And this is the reason why marriage is a form that represents the union of the Lord with the Church. The primary origin of marriage love originates from the spiritual influx of love and truth into each person, and not, as many presume, from the natural desire of the other sex. This was summarized in the following points:</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I. That good and truth are the universals of creation, and hence are in all created things; but that they are in created subjects according to the form of each.<br />
II. That there is no solitary good, nor solitary truth, but that everywhere they are conjoined.<br />
III. That there is truth of good, and the good of truth from that,—or truth from good, and the good from that truth; and that in these two there is implanted by creation an inclination to conjoin themselves into one.<br />
IV. That in the subjects of the animal kingdom truth of good, or truth from good is masculine; and the good of truth from that, or good from that truth, is feminine.<br />
V. <b>That from the influx of the marriage of good and truth from the Lord, there is the love of sex, and there is marriage love</b>.<br />
VI. <b>That the love of sex is of the external or natural man; and hence is common to all animals</b>.<br />
VII. <b>But that marriage love is of the internal or spiritual man, and is therefore peculiar to man</b>.<br />
VIII. That with man marriage love is within the love of sex, as a gem in its matrix.<br />
IX. <b>That the love of sex in man is not the origin of marriage love, but is its antecedent; that is to say, it is as the external natural in which the internal spiritual is implanted</b>.<br />
X. That while marriage love is being implanted the love of sex inverts itself and becomes a chaste love of sex.<br />
XI. <b>That the male and female were created to be the very form of the marriage of good and truth</b>.<br />
XII. That they are that form in their inmosts and thence in the things that follow therefrom, according as the interiors of their minds are opened." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 83)</blockquote>
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Point 5 (V) spells out how marriage love originates from the spiritual influx of good and truth:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"V. That from the influx of the marriage of good and truth from the lord, there is the love of sex, and there is marriage love. ...good and truth are the universal of creation, and hence are in all created subjects; that they are in them according to the form of each; and that good and truth proceed from the Lord not as two, but as one. It follows from this that a Universal Marriage Sphere proceeds from the Lord, and pervades the universe from first things to last,—thus from angels even to worms." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 92)</blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">THE MALE AND FEMALE WERE CREATED TO BE THE VERY FORM OF THE MARRIAGE OF GOOD AND TRUTH</span></b></div>
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And this is the hidden reason why humans developed into male and female forms; there is no reason for singular cells that can divide by themselves to develop a more complicated method for propagation. From Divine spiritual influx into the material world, the male was created to be a form of truth, and the female a form of good:</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...a perpetual union of love and wisdom or marriage of good and truth flows in from God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe; and that created subjects receive this, each according to its form. And that from this marriage or this union the male receives truth of wisdom, and to this the good of love is conjoined by the Lord according to reception; that the reception takes place in the understanding; and that from this fact the male is born to become intellectual... On the other hand, that the female is volitional, but volitional from the intellectual of the man, or what is the same that she is love of the man's wisdom,—because she was formed through his wisdom" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 90, 91).<br />
"...as there is conjunction of good and truth and it is reciprocal, it follows that there is truth of good, or truth from good, and that there is good of truth, or good from truth. ...truth of good or truth from good is in the male, and is the very masculine, and that good of truth or good from truth is in the female, and is the very feminine; and that the marriage union is between these two." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 61).<br />
"The male was so created that he might become wisdom, from the love of acquiring wisdom; and the female, so that she might become love of the male from his wisdom and so according to it. It is plain from this that a married pair are very forms and effigies of the marriage of love and wisdom, or of good and truth." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 66).</blockquote>
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This marriage love, by the correspondence of the union of love and truth, is only possible within monogamous marriages between one man and one woman:</div>
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"But none come into this love, or can be in it, but those who go to the lord, and love the truths and do the goods of the church. <b>The reason why no others but those who go to the Lord come into this love is that monogamic marriages or marriages of one man with one wife correspond to the marriage of the Lord and the church, and that their origin is the marriage of good and truth</b>" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 70).</blockquote>
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There is an internal conjunction with the Lord through spiritual influx, and mediate conjunction with the Lord through monogamous marriage of one man and one woman:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"That the male and female were created to be the very form of the marriage of good and truth.—The reason is that the male was created to be an understanding of truth, thus truth in form; and the female was created to be a will of good, thus good in form; and to both was imparted from the inmosts an inclination to conjunction into one... The two thus make one form, which emulates the marriage form of good and truth. It is said that it emulates this, because it is not the same but similar to it. <b>For the good that conjoins itself with truth in the man is from the Lord immediately; but the—good of the wife which conjoins itself with truth in the man is from the Lord mediately through the wife</b>. Therefore there are two goods, one internal the other external, which conjoin themselves with truth in the husband; and these effect that the husband is constantly in the understanding of truth and thence in wisdom through true marriage love." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 100).</blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">MARRIAGE LOVE IS HOLY AS IT IS THE SEMINARY OF MEN AND ANGELS</span></b></div>
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The three principles of the New Church are love, wisdom, and use, or stated in a philosophical way, end, cause and effect. One's end is one's intent or purpose from one's love, the cause is the mind on how to accomplish one's purpose, and the effect is the actual doing, which performs use. All good things lead to what is useful, both spiritually and to society - these uses are the fruits of the spirit (see <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2012/03/spiritual-meaning-of-word-fruit-in.html">The Spiritual Meaning of Fruit in Scripture</a>). </div>
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And this is why marriage love between one man and one woman should be guarded against all other loves, for it is (obviously) the origin of the human race, and thence the angelic heaven:</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The reason why such a sphere of the marriage of good and truth goes forth from the Lord is that it is the sphere also of propagation, that is of prolification and fructification; and this is the same as the Divine providence for the conservation of the universe by successive generations." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 92)</blockquote>
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And this is why all heavenly delights are contained in marriage love:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"[Marriage love] expands the inmost things of the mind, and at the same time the inmost things of the body, as the delicious current of its fountain flows through and opens them. It is because of the superior excellence of its use above all other uses that all delights from first to last are gathered into this love. <b>Its use is the propagation of the human race, and of an angelic heaven therefrom; and as this use was the end of ends of the creation</b>, it follows that all the states of blessedness satisfaction delight, gratification and pleasure that could ever be conferred on man by the Lord Creator are gathered into this love." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 68)</blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">MARRIAGE LOVE AND ONE'S SPIRITUALITY GO HAND IN HAND</span></b></div>
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Since marriage love between one man and one woman originate from the spiritual influx of good and truth, the closer one follows marriage love the more that person will progress in their spiritual life. It is thus a requirement to those within the Christian church, which is based on the union of good with truth, or of the Lord with the Church. Swedenborg had the following dialogue with an angel:</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
""...all who regard adulteries as of no account, that is who believe from confirmation that they are not sins, and so do them of set purpose, are evil doers and impious in their heart. <b>For the human <i>conjugiale </i>[marriage love]<i> </i>and religion go together at every step. Every advance, even every step from religion and in religion is also an advance and step from the <i>conjugiale</i> and in the <i>conjugiale </i>that is peculiar to the Christian man</b>." To the question;—"What is this <i>conjugiale</i>?" he said:—"<b>It is the desire of living with one only wife</b>. And it is in the Christian man according to his religion."" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 80)</blockquote>
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Marriage love is a result of growing spiritually in the Lord, away from base natural desires:</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"But that marriage love is of the internal or spiritual man; and is therefore peculiar to man.—The reason why marriage love is of the internal or spiritual man is that <b>the more intelligent and wise a man becomes the more he becomes internal or spiritual, and the more perfect becomes the form of his mind, and that form receives marriage love</b>." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 95)<br />
"Since wisdom is of life and thence of reason, as was said above, the question arises, What is wisdom of life? In a brief summary it is this:—To shun evils because they are hurtful to the soul, hurtful to the state, and hurtful to the body; and to do good deeds because they are of advantage to the soul, to the state, and to the body. This is the wisdom which is meant by wisdom wherewith marriage love allies itself. It allies itself therewith in truth by the fact that it shuns the evil of adultery as a bane to the soul, to the state, and to the body. <b>And as this wisdom springs from spiritual things which are of the church, it follows that marriage love, because it is according to the state of wisdom is according to the state of the church in a man. It is also meant by this, that—as has been stated many times before—in the degree that a man becomes spiritual he is in true marriage love; for man is made spiritual by means of the spiritual things of the church</b>." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 130)</blockquote>
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<div>
Marriage love is a special gift given specifically to those who follow the Lord, for it is spiritual in nature:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The reason why those who love the truths of the church and do its goods come into this love, and can abide in it is, that they and no others are received by the Lord; for they are in conjunction with Him, and thereby can be kept by Him in this love. There are two things which constitute the church and therefore heaven in man, truth of faith and good of life. Truth of faith constitutes the Lord's presence, and good of life according to truths of faith effects conjunction with Him, and thus makes the church and heaven. Truth of faith constitutes the Lord's presence because it is of the nature of light. Spiritual light is nothing else. Good of life effects conjunction because it is of the nature of heat. Spiritual heat is nothing else; for it is love, and good of life is of love. And it is known that all light even that of winter brings presence, and that heat united with light effects conjunction; for fruit and flower gardens appear in all light but do not blossom and bear fruit except when heat conjoins itself with light. <b>From these considerations the conclusion is plain that they who only know the truths of the church cannot be gifted by the Lord with true marriage love, but they who both know its truths and do its goods</b>." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 72)</blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">LOVE OUTSIDE OF TRUE MARRIAGE LOVE SHOULD BE SHUNNED AS EVIL</span></b></div>
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Given that marriage love is holy, and originates from the Divine marriage of good and truth, and is the origin of the human race and the angelic heavens, and goes hand in hand with one's spiritual development, obviously all sexual relations outside of marriage love should be shunned:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The reason why none can be in true marriage love but those who receive it from the Lord,—who are those who go directly to Him and from Him live the life of the church,—is that this love viewed from its origin and its correspondence is celestial, spiritual, holy, pure and clean, beyond every love that exists among the angels of heaven and among the men of the church... and these its attributes cannot be given except to those who are conjoined with the Lord and are consociated by Him with angels of heaven. For these shun loves outside of marriage, which are conjunctions with others than one's own consort, as they would flee from ruin of the soul and from the lakes of hell; and so far as consorts shun such conjunctions even as to the lusts of the will and intentions thence, in so far the love is purified in them, and gradually becomes spiritual,—first while they live on earth, and afterwards in heaven." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 71)</blockquote>
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Swedenborg spoke with angels who said the ancients were given this advice for spiritual living:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Sons, if you would love God and the neighbor, and if you would be wise, and be happy to eternity, we counsel you to live in single marriage. If you depart from this precept every heavenly joy will flee from you, and with it internal wisdom, and you will be destroyed." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 77)</blockquote>
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Furthermore they said this:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"And we perceive the truth of it,—which is, that <b>in so far as any man loves one only consort he becomes heavenly and internal; and that in so far as any man does not love one only consort he becomes natural and external—and does not love at all, except himself and the imaginations of his own mind, and is foolish and insane</b>. It is on these considerations that we in this heaven are all in single marriage. And because we are so the boundaries of our heaven are all guarded against polygamists, adulterers, and whoremongers. If polygamists enter they are cast out—into the darkness of the north; if adulterers, they are cast out, into the fires of the west; and if whoremongers, they are cast out into the fatuous lights of the south." On hearing this I asked what he meant by the darkness of the north, the fires of the west, and the fatuous lights of the south. He answered:—"The darkness of the north is dullness of mind and ignorance of truth; the fires of the west are loves of evil; and the fatuous lights of the south are falsifications of truth. These are spiritual scortations." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 77)</blockquote>
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From the above, there are three general degrees of sexual lusts that deviate from marriage love:</div>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Polygamy</li>
<li>Fornication or harlotry</li>
<li>Adultery</li>
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These degrees progressively deviate from marriage love, from least offense to worst offense. Whereas marriage love leads to a life of heaven, adultery leads to the condemnation of hell. So where does homosexuality fall in the above three categories? Swedenborg discusses it briefly in two passages when discussing the sins of Sodom - in one case, he says it is the "<b>evil of the worst adultery</b>" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Heavenly-Arcana-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GN4BNK">Heavenly Arcana</a></i>, n. 2220) and in another it is a "foulness which is contrary to the order of nature" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Heavenly-Arcana-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GN4BNK">Heavenly Arcana</a></i>, n. 2322). Swedenborg does not dwell on the literal act of homosexuality itself, but what it represents in a spiritual sense. Whereas marriage love represents and corresponds to the union of love and truth, homosexuality corresponds to the love of self. It is thus diametrically opposed to the love of God. In multiple passages, Swedenborg describes how no adulterer is able to enter heaven, but are repelled by it due to their opposing and destructive love. To make matters worse, on multiple occasions Swedenborg mentions encountering "sodomite" hells (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Diary-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00NHCPVLQ">Spiritual Diary</a></i>, n. 1977, 2675, 3768, 3796, 5939, 6096; <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Revealed-Explained-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B00AM7VZ5U">Apocalypse Explained</a></i>, n. 1006.2 - for further details, see the article <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5p6HbRTGWVWcElhQWU1aFB5NTBYWm1WUEN4M1NaOXgwNmx3/view">What do the Writings say about homosexuality?</a> by Jeremy Simons). Some passages may be just the hells are those who primarily are in the love of self, and not just those who engaged in homosexuality, but as said above, one's sexual life goes hand in hand with one's spirituality.</div>
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Thus it is sad to see that there are several Christian denominations and ministers who do not have a proper understanding of how important marriage love is in one's relationship with the Lord. To make matters worse, one does not have to engage in adultery, one can commit spiritual adultery by consenting to it, and stating that there is no spiritual harm in such behavior (see also <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-spiritual-consequences-of-adultery.html">The Spiritual Consequences of Adultery and the Origin of Marriage Love</a>):</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Adulteries of the third degree are adulteries of the reason, committed by those who by the understanding confirm that they are not evils of sin" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 490).<br />
"Adulteries of the fourth degree are adulteries of the will, committed by those who regard them as allowable and pleasurable, and not of so much account as to make it worth the while to consult the understanding about them" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 492).</blockquote>
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The reason for this is all actions are judged by the intent of the will, and consent in itself is an intention of the will.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">SOME EXCEPTIONS FOR </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">HOMOSEXUALITY AND </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">PREMARITAL SEX</span></b></div>
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I give the worst warning first concerning homosexuality. Is there any exception? First, only God judges whether or not one goes to heaven or hell, which is why Jesus said to "judge not" (Matt. 7:1). Many homosexuals say they were "born this way." There does happen to be a possible exception which is why in a previous post <a href="https://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-christian-revelation-on-marriage-and.html">A Christian Revelation on Marriage and Sex</a> I had said that homosexual relationships are at best "civil marriages," but definitely not spiritual ones. The reason why I said this is twofold: for one, polygamy is permissible for societies that are not Christian who are in the mere natural love of sex (which I did not discuss here). Secondly, Swedenborg did acknowledge that some people happen to be born different, and do not have a capacity to understand or experience marriage love and tend to be asexual in nature. First, Swedenborg explains that "chastity" is not a state of virginity, but a chaste desire for marriage love:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"That chaste, is predicated only of monogamic marriages, or those of one man with one wife. The reason why chaste is predicated only of these marriages is that with them marriage love resides not in the natural man, but penetrates to the spiritual, and opens a way for itself successively to the very spiritual marriage—that of good and truth—which is its origin, and with which it conjoins itself" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 141).</blockquote>
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But some people are born differently and are unable to receive marriage love, whom he calls "eunuchs":</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Chastity cannot be predicated of those born eunuchs; nor of those made eunuchs.—By those born eunuchs are meant especially those with whom from birth the ultimate of the love is wanting. And as in such case the first and mediate are without a foundation on which to subsist, these cannot come forth; or if they come forth such have no care to distinguish between the chaste and the unchaste,—for both are indifferent to them. But among these there are many differences. The case is nearly the same with those made eunuchs as with those born eunuchs. But those made eunuchs, because they are both men and women, cannot but regard marriage love as a fantasy, and its delights as fables. If there is anything of inclination in them it becomes neuter, that is neither chaste nor unchaste" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 151).</blockquote>
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Thus for such people to act against marriage love is not so much of a sin as it is for others. To them, everything about marriage love is irrelevant. Interestingly, after the disciples said few would accept Jesus' command for marriage love, he said it is not for everyone, and that some were born as eunuchs (Matt. 19). However we would have to admit here that the term "eunuch" is typically used for those who do not engage in any sexual activity.<br />
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If we look at some science here, there is evidence of genetic abnormalities which can affect one's capacity to receive and accept marriage love (see <a href="https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/klinefelter-syndrome">Klinefelter Syndrome</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/11/study-gay-brothers-may-confirm-x-chromosome-link-homosexuality">Study of gay brothers may confirm X chromosome link to homosexuality</a>). Swedenborg does discuss evils that are inherited, and we are not judged for inherited evils, but for evils that are done by choice:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"No one ever suffers punishment in the other life on account of hereditary evil, because it is not his, and thus he is not to blame for being of this nature; but he suffers for actual evil, which is his own, and thus also for as much as he has appropriated to himself of hereditary evil by actual life" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Heavenly-Arcana-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GN4BNK">Heavenly Arcana</a></i>, n. 2308)</blockquote>
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However it has been called into doubt that homosexuality is genetic - it may be at best a tendency to account for some, but not all cases. We should not use genetics as an excuse for free choices we have made. Others have found links between homosexual behavior and how they grew up as a child:</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<span style="font-family: "andale sans"; text-align: justify;">A number of studies have found that homosexuality is related to poor parental relationships, certain types of parents, a history of general frustration in interpersonal relationships with persons of the opposite sex, negative early heterosexual experiences, and poor identification with the same sexed parent (often based on covert expression of the parent's superego defects)... </span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Andale Sans";">Probably the most famous research which demolished the long-stranding belief that homosexuality was biological was published by Dr. Irving Bieber in 1962.</span><span style="font-family: "Andale Sans";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Andale Sans";">Dr. Bieber and his researchers cited the case histories of 106 homosexuals who were treated by the Society of Medical Psychoanalysts. They found that a remarkable proportion of them had been reared by mothers who were over protective throughout their childhoods. </span><span style="font-family: "Andale Sans"; text-align: justify;">The mothers of these homosexuals regarded their children as their "pride and joy"-to be protected from the hazards of growing up. According to this research, the mother jealously protected her boy from any girl who might show an interest in him. She often catered to his every whim and smothered him with affection, openly preferring him to her husband. Some of this attention had obvious sexual overtones, even to the extent of having him sleep in her bedroom until after he reached adolescence. </span><span style="font-family: "Andale Sans";">In these cases, the son evidently unconsciously replaced the husband as a love object. Importantly, though, this type of mother and a father who is cold and aloof are both necessary. If a son of an overprotective mother has a warm, affectionate father who sets a good role example and the son can look up to him, homosexuality will not develop, according to Bieber." (from </span><a href="https://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1981/JASA9-81Bergman.html">The Genetic Basis of Homosexuality</a><span style="font-family: "Andale Sans";">)</span></blockquote>
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<div>
Implied in the above study is lack of fatherly love, and early suppression of one's sexual desire. On the latter point, Swedenborg does warn that suppression of sexual desire can be perverted into homosexual activity. To guard against this, in such men where the sex drive is strong and there is a long delay before marriage, sexual activity before marriage may be a necessity:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"That with some men the love of sex cannot without harm be totally withheld from going forth in fornication.—There is no need to recount the injuries which excessive restraint of the love of sex may cause and effect with those who from superabundance suffer from intense venereal excitement. Hence are the earliest beginnings with them of certain diseases of the body and disorders of mind,—to say nothing of <b>unknown evils, not to be named</b>. It is different with those whose love of sex is so moderate that they are able to resist the urgings of its longing desire." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 450)</blockquote>
By "unknown evils, not to be named" Swedenborg is talking about homosexual activity, as it was commonly called by that euphemistic phrase in his day (see the article <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5p6HbRTGWVWcElhQWU1aFB5NTBYWm1WUEN4M1NaOXgwNmx3/view">What do the Writings say about homosexuality?</a> by Jeremy Simons, to show evidence for this). And then there is this passage:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"That with those who for various causes cannot yet enter into marriage, and on account of immoderate desire cannot control their lusts, it is possible that this desire for marriage may be preserved if the wandering love of sex be strictly confined to one mistress.—That immoderate and inordinate lust cannot be prevented by those who are salacious, reason sees and experience teaches. In order then that the immoderation and inordinacy may be curbed, and be brought to some moderation and rule, by those who are afflicted with raging heat and cannot for many reasons anticipate and hasten marriage—there seems no other refuge and as it were asylum than to take a paramour, called in French a <i>maitresse</i>. ...thereby inordinate promiscuous fornications are curbed, and limited, and a state of more restraint induced which is less alien to the life of marriage love... Likewise adulteries are thereby guarded against, which are whoredoms with wives; and ravishments, which are violations of virgins,—<b>not to speak of criminal acts which are not to be named</b>." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 459)</blockquote>
Again, suppressed sexual desire may find a perverted outlet in homosexual activity. The advice given in Swedenborg's work is a bit more broad and practical, and not so restricted as it may tend to be in other Christian literature. In this case, for some having a mistress before marriage is the lesser of evils. Swedenborg explains that total restraint on the sex drive is unnatural, and this has led to the crisis in the Catholic church where priests who have taken a vow of celibacy have sexually abused children. Such celibacy was never commanded, and Swedenborg was shown that those who prefer celibacy do not reach the highest state of happiness in heaven but dwell in a separate region at the sides of heaven:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The reason why the unmarried are at the side of heaven is, that the sphere of perpetual celibacy greatly disturbs the sphere of marriage love, which is the very sphere of heaven. The sphere of marriage love is the very sphere of heaven because it descends from the heavenly marriage of the Lord and the church." (<i>Heaven and Hell</i>, n. 54.5)</blockquote>
And in another passage, there is a warning of completely suppressing sexual desire in taking a vow of celibacy:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Chastity cannot be predicated of those who have abjured marriages by a vow of perpetual celibacy, unless there is and abides in them a love of true marriage life.—Chastity cannot be predicated of these for the reason that after the vow of perpetual celibacy marriage love is driven out,—of which alone nevertheless chastity is predicable. And because an inclination to the sex is yet inherent, from creation and hence by birth; and when this is restrained and repressed it cannot be but that the inclination will break forth in heat, and with some in a ferment, which as it rises up from the body into the spirit infests, and with some befouls it; and it may be that the spirit thence befouled will befoul also the things of religion" (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-concerning-Marriage-Hyperlinked-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GP1262">Angelic Wisdom concerning Marriage Love</a></i>, n. 155)</blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">SUMMARY CONCLUSIONS</span></b></div>
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I have covered a lot of ground, and to every rule there is an exception, but generally one can tell how true a church is to Christianity and the Lord in how it values and protects monogamous marriage between one man and one woman. There are valid reasons for divorce, which I have not covered here. And to be fairly balanced, Swedenborg does talk about unhealthy "marriages of hell" where one partner tries to have dominion over the other. But homosexuality, at best, can only be permitted as a civil marriage, and is by no means a spiritual one. Contained within that activity is the threat of adultery against marriage love, the love between the Lord and the church, one's spiritual growth, and going against the Divine will of propagating the human race and thus the angelic heavens. And while there may be evidence of genetic tendencies, one should not discount one's free will to make a choice, and one should examine the possible psychological origins, especially the unnatural suppression of sexual desire.<br />
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There are many opinions on these matters, but Christians should prefer to follow the commandment of Jesus on this matter, and what has been revealed in heavenly revelations. I have provided here the spiritual rationale for what Jesus commanded. Is a cultural, experimental and unproven tradition more important? Jesus would ask us, "Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?" (Matt. 15:3). And if so, He would then say, "for the sake of your tradition you have made void the Word of God" (Matt. 15:6). A servant cannot serve two masters. For those who have committed adultery, there is a way back, but only through repentance:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I have been instructed by angels that when any one commits adultery on earth, heaven is then immediately closed to him, and he afterward lives only in worldly and corporeal things; and although he then hears of the things of love and faith, they still do not penetrate to his interiors; and what he says about them himself does not come from his interiors, but only from the memory and the mouth, being called forth by pride or the love of gain; for his interiors are closed up, and cannot be opened but by serious repentance." (<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Heavenly-Arcana-Hyperlinked-Emanuel-Swedenborg-ebook/dp/B008GN4BNK">Heavenly Arcana</a></i>, n. 2750)</blockquote>
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Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030257666913290314.post-55491874409500450012019-12-27T01:21:00.000-05:002019-12-27T01:21:40.158-05:00A Review of Spiritual Anime: Suisei no Gargantua<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s6gJjTRlZ1g/XgWS2SHDF6I/AAAAAAAAKE8/ztDo06hhWncCTLYAjSGdf9JqwSYdadFTwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Avalon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s6gJjTRlZ1g/XgWS2SHDF6I/AAAAAAAAKE8/ztDo06hhWncCTLYAjSGdf9JqwSYdadFTwCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/Avalon.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Japanese anime is a hit and miss affair, and without standardized ratings as with most western animations and movies its often hard to find good quality ones that I can recommend. However in Japanese anime the creators have more freedom to express their creativity than most other animations produced elsewhere. My all time favorite anime is <i>Code Geass</i> - the first anime I ever watched - but I thought I would recommend a lesser known anime released in 2013, <i>Suisei no Gargantia</i> (or <i>Gargantia on the Verduous Planet</i>). It has a spiritual message similar to the theme of this blog. I had blogged about an episode of another anime earlier which also has a spiritual message, and strangely it appeared in another person's dream the same night (see <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2018/04/a-clairvoyant-angelic-dream-of-japanese.html">A Clairvoyant Angelic Dream of Japanese Anime</a>). This anime may have also appeared in another person's dream the same night I was watching it, so I took note and decided it was worthy to share it in this blog.<br />
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Without spoiling it, the anime does discuss a human extraterrestrial society wandering in space, highly regulated and under military control, where freedoms we take for granted given as special privileges. There seem to be elements drawn from reports of contacts with extraterrestrials - such as one our government does not want us to know, that they live in a society where there is no money. Also we can see here probably how some extraterrestrials truly see our society as extremely inefficient and wasteful (see <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2013/10/extraterrestrial-contact-from-iarga.html">Extraterrestrial Contact from Iarga: their Origin and Philosophy</a>). Another aspect shown in this anime is the danger of open extraterrestrial contact, how it can change society for the worse and bring about a distorted religion. It discusses how different societies have different moral codes which govern their behavior. It may show an aspect of our future, when our planet may become covered with larger amounts of water due to global warming.<br />
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However that is a side story. The main message comes at the end: when one devoutly follows a religion based on authority and tradition (see <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2017/04/truth-by-religious-tradition-authority.html">Truth by Religious Tradition & Authority vs. Spiritual Truth</a>), and then one comes to the realization that the religion is false, and was used as a means of control. It is preceded by an extraterrestrial also having to confront the falsehood of propaganda that was fed to him all his life in order to control his behavior. It reminded me of the time when I forced myself to confront the falsehoods of Christianity - and to acknowledge the falsehoods of one's own religion is a very, very hard thing to do. Few people question what they grew up with. But when they do, and realize that it is false, one cannot just go alone and follow the truth: there must be a battle between the old religion and the new truth. This is known as spiritual warfare, and this battle between the old Christianity and the new is described metaphorically in the battle of Armageddon (see also <a href="http://dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-prophecy-of-dragon-beast-and-false.html">The Prophecy of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet</a>). The ending of this anime would be a good symbolic representation of that battle.<br />
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The anime has 13 episodes, and I would say in terms of pacing it starts good and then it falls into a series of "fluff" episodes in the middle, and then it picks up at the end. It was rated as #10 in the top ten best action animes by one reviewer (see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyJnoAuL1mE">Top 10 Action Anime</a>) and while the others may be more action packed this is the only one I have seen so far that ends with a good moral and spiritual message. Thus for me, it would be higher in my list of favorites.</div>
Doug Webberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11071107950046910342noreply@blogger.com0