AC 3234 - Abraham & Sarah; Abraham & Keturah; AC 3241 - The Spiritual Church

AC 3234

And Abraham added, and took a woman,
and her name was Keturah.
(Genesis 25:1)

"And Abraham added, and took a woman,"
means another state of the Lord,
whom Abraham represents;
Abraham and Sarah represented the Lord
as to the Divine celestial;
Abraham and Keturah represented the Lord
as to the Divine spiritual;
thus Abraham here represents the Lord
as to Divine good spiritual,
and his woman
as to Divine truth adjoined to this good;
"and her name was Keturah,"
means the essence of this Divine truth.

AC 3241 [3]

As those who are of the spiritual church
have no perception of what is good and true,
like those of the celestial church,
but acknowledge as truths
the things they have learned,
they are on this account
continually in dispute concerning them,
reasoning whether a thing is true;
and each person abides in that doctrine
(and calls it true)
which is of his own church.
This is the source of so many differences.
Moreover very many form their conclusions
concerning things good and true
from appearances and fallacies --
one in one way, another in another,
but none from any perception;
they do not even know what perception is;
and as their understanding is thus in obscurity
as to the goods and truths of faith,
it is not surprising that dissensions should arise
concerning the most essential
of all the things of faith, namely,
concerning the Divine,
the Human,
and the Holy Proceeding of the Lord.
The celestial perceive
that these are not three, but One;
but the spiritual abide in the idea of three,
although they desire to think that they are One.
Seeing then that there are dissensions
concerning that which is the most essential,
it is evident
that the varieties and differences of doctrinal things
must be innumerable.