DP 329 - Predestination; DP 331, 333 - The Lord's Providence Is Divine Order

DP 329 [3]

1. Any predestination other than a predestination to heaven
is contrary to Divine love and its infinity.

2. Any predestination other than a predestination to heaven
is contrary to Divine wisdom and its infinity.

3. The idea that only those people
born in the church are saved
is an insane heresy.

4. The idea that some members of the human race
have been damned by predestination
is a cruel heresy.

DP 331 [2]

One can also say that the Lord is providence,
as we say that God is order.
For Divine providence is
the Divine order primarily concerned with
the salvation of humankind,
and as order is impossible without laws,
since laws constitute it,
and since every law takes its origin from order,
so that it also is order,
therefore it follows that as God is order,
so He is the law of His order.
The same may be said of Divine providence,
that as the Lord is His providence,
He is also the law of His providence.

It is apparent from this
that the Lord cannot go against
the laws of His Divine providence,
because to go against them
would be to go against Himself.

DP 333 [1]

We say that
the operation of Divine providence to save a person
begins at his birth and continues to the end of his life.
To understand this one must know
that the Lord sees what a person's character is,
and foresees what the person wills it to be,
thus what it will be.
Moreover, for him to be human and thus immortal,
his will's freedom cannot be taken away . . ..
Consequently the Lord foresees
a person's state after death
and provides for it from his birth
even to the end of his life.
In the case of evil people
He provides by permitting
and continually steering away from evils.
But in the case of good people
He provides by leading to good.
Thus Divine providence operates unceasingly
to save a person.
But no more can be saved
than those who wish to be saved,
and those wish to be saved
who acknowledge God and are led by Him,
whereas those do not wish to be saved
who do not acknowledge God and guide themselves.
For the latter do not think
about eternal life and salvation,
whereas the former do.

This the Lord sees,
and yet He leads them,
and leads them in accordance with
the laws of His Divine providence,
which He cannot go against,
as to go against them
would be to go against His Divine love
and against His Divine wisdom,
thus against Himself.

~ If a Person Sins ~

"' If a person sins
because he does not speak up when he hears
a public charge to testify regarding something
he has seen or learned about,
he will be held responsible.'"

(Leviticus 5:1)

The Lord said to Moses:
"If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord
by deceiving his neighbor
about something entrusted to him
or left in his care or stolen,
or if he cheats him,
or if he finds lost property and lies about it,
or if he swears falsely,
or if he commits any such sin that people may do --
when he thus sins and becomes guilty,
he must return what he has stolen
or taken by extortion,
or what was entrusted to him,
or the lost property he found,
or whatever it was he swore falsely about.
He must make restitution in full,
add a fifth of the value to it
and give it all to the owner
on the day he presents his guilt offering.

(Leviticus 6:1-5)

DP 327, 328 - Why Religion Perishes

DP 327

The person himself is at fault if he is not saved.

The reason for the adoption of evil . . .
to the point that religion finally perishes --
this we shall state under the following series of headings:

1.  Every religion in the course of time declines
and comes to an end.

2.  Every religion declines and comes to and end
by the inversion of the image of God in mankind.

3.  The results from continual increases in hereditary evil
through the generations.

4.  The Lord nevertheless provides that it be possible
for everyone to be saved.

5.  He also provides that a new church follow
in place of the earlier, devastated one.

DP 328 [5-6]

God alone is love and wisdom.
Man was created to be a recipient vessel of both --
his will to be the recipient vessel
of Divine love,
and his intellect to be the recipient vessel
of Divine wisdom.
These two vessels are . . . in man from creation
and are what make him human,
and are also formed in everyone in the womb.
The human being is therefore an image of God
in his being a recipient of Divine wisdom,
and a likeness of God
in his being a recipient of Divine love.
Consequently the recipient vessel
called the intellect is an image of God,
and the recipient vessel
called the will a likeness of God.
Because the human being
was created and formed to be a recipient vessel,
it follows then that he was so created and formed
that his will might receive love from God
and that his intellect might receive wisdom from God.
And a person also receives these
when he acknowledges God
and lives according to His commandments,
but in a lesser or greater degree
according to the knowledge of God he has from religion
and knowledge of His commandments,
and according therefore to his knowledge of truths.
For truths teach what God is
and how He is to be acknowledged,
and also what His commandments are
and how one is to live according to them.

The image of God and likeness of God
are not lost in mankind, but only seemingly so.
For they remain implanted in his two faculties
called freedom and rationality . . ..
They became seemingly lost
when mankind made the recipient vessel of Divine love,
his will, a recipient vessel of self-love,
and the recipient vessel of Divine wisdom, his intellect,
a recipient vessel of his own intelligence.
In so doing he inverted the image and likeness of God,
for he turned these recipient vessels away from God
and directed them toward himself.
It is because of this
that these recipient vessels
are closed above and open below,
or are closed in front and open behind,
even though from creation
they were open in front and closed behind.
And when their opening and closing are thus reversed,
then the recipient vessel of love, or the will,
receives influx from hell or from its own native self,
and so, too,
the recipient vessel of wisdom, or the intellect.
For this reason there arose in the churches
a worship of people instead of a worship of God,
and a worship founded on teachings of falsities
instead of a worship founded on teachings of truth,
the first owing to people's self-love,
and the latter to a conceit in their own intelligence.

It is apparent from this
that religion in the course of time declines
and comes to an end
by an inversion of the image of God in mankind.

~ Some on Grain Offerings ~

"'If you bring a grain offering baked in an oven,
it is to consist of fine flour:
cakes made without yeast and mixed with oil,
or wafers made without yeast and spread with oil.
If your grain offering is prepared on a griddle,
it is to be made of fine flour mixed with oil,
and without yeast.
Crumble it and pour oil on it;
it is a grain offering.
If your grain offering is cooked in a pan,
it is to be made of fine flour and oil.
Bring the grain offering made of these things to the Lord;
present it to the priest,
who shall take it to the altar.
He shall take out
the memorial portion from the grain offering
and burn it on the altar as an offering made by fire,
an aroma pleasing to the Lord.
The rest of the grain offering
belongs to Aaron and his sons;
it is the most holy part of the offerings
made to the Lord by fire.

(Leviticus 2:4-10)

DP 322 - Reformation Not Predestination; DP 326 - Living the Ten Commandments

Every Person Can Be Reformed,
and There Is No Predestination

DP 322

Sound reason declares that all people
have been predestined for heaven and no one for hell.
For all have been born human beings,
and therefore they have the image of God in them.
The image of God in them
is their ability to understand truth
and their ability to do good.
The ability to understand truth
originates from Divine wisdom,
and the ability to do good from Divine love.
This capacity is the image of God,
which remains in a healthy person and is not eradicated.

It is because of this
that a person can become civic-minded and moral,
and someone who is civic-minded and moral
can also become spiritual,
for civic-mindedness and morality
are the recipient vessel of a spiritual quality.
He is called a civic-minded person
who knows the laws
of the kingdom of which he is a citizen
and lives according to them;
and he is called a moral person
who makes those laws his mores and his virtues
and lives them in conformity with reason.

. . . Live those laws not only as civil and moral laws,
but also as Divine laws,
and you will be a spiritual person.

It is owing to the Lord's Divine providence
that every nation has some religion,
and the primary tenet of every religion
is to acknowledge the existence of God,
for otherwise it is not called a religion.
Moreover, every nation that lives its religion,
namely that does not do evil
because it is opposed to their God,
receives some spiritual element in its natural existence.

DP 326 [6-7]

. . . to acknowledge God with the heart
is possible only to people who live rightly.
These the Lord turns away from hell and toward Himself
in accordance with the goodness of their life.
That is because only they love God,
for they love the Divine precepts that they have from Him,
putting them into practice.
The Divine precepts that they have from God
are the commandments of His law.
These are God,
because He is His own Divine emanation,
and to love them is to love God.
Therefore the Lord says,

He who (does) My commandments. . . ,
it is he who loves Me.
(But) He who does not (do) My (commandments)
does not love Me.
(John 14:21-24)

It is for this reason
that there are two tables of the Decalogue,
one for God and the other for mankind.
God works unceasingly to induce a person
to accept the precepts that are on His, God's, table;
but if the person does not put into practice
the precepts that are on his, mankind's, table,
he does not accept
with an acknowledgment of the heart
the precepts that are on God's table,
and if he does not accept them,
there is no conjunction.
Therefore the two tables
were joined together to form a single whole,
and were called the tables of the covenant,
a covenant symbolizing conjunction.
Everyone acknowledges God
and is conjoined with Him
in accordance with the goodness of his life
for the reason that goodness of life
is like the good which is in the Lord
and so which is from the Lord.
Consequently when a person possesses goodness of life,
a conjunction is formed.
The contrary is the case with evil of life.
This rejects the Lord.

~ So the Tabernacle Was Set Up As the Lord Commanded ~

So the tabernacle was set up
on the first day of the first month in the second year.
When Moses set up the tabernacle,
he put the bases in place,
erected the frames,
inserted the crossbars and set up the posts.
Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle
and put the covering over the tent,
as the Lord commanded him.

He took the Testimony and placed it in the ark,
attached the poles to the ark
and put the atonement cover over it.
Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle
and hung the shielding curtain
and shielded the ark of the testimony,
as the Lord commanded him.

Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting
on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain
and set out the bread on it before the Lord,
as the Lord commanded him.

He placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting
opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle
and set up the lamps before the Lord,
as the Lord commanded him.

Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting
in front of the curtain
and burned fragrant incense on it,
as the Lord commanded him.
Then he put up the curtain
at the entrance to the tabernacle.

He set the altar of burnt offering
near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting,
and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings,
as the Lord commanded him.

He placed the basin
between the Tent of Meeting and the altar
and put water in it for washing,
and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it
to wash their hands and feet.
They washed whenever they entered
the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar,
as the Lord commanded Moses.

Then Moses set up the courtyard
around the tabernacle and altar
and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard.
And so Moses finished the work.

Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting,
and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting
because the cloud had settled upon it,
and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

In all the travels of the Israelites,
whenever the cloud lifted from the above the tabernacle,
they would set out;
but if the cloud did not lift,
they did not set out --
until the day it lifted.
So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day,
and fire was in the cloud by night,
in the sight of all the house of Israel
during all their travels.

(Exodus 40:17-38)

DP 320 - If a Person Were to Believe

DP 320

If a person were to believe, as is the truth,
that all goodness and truth originate from the Lord,
and all evil and falsity from hell,
he would not assign goodness to himself
and make it deserving of merit,
nor assign evil to himself
and make himself guilty of it.
This, however, is contrary to the belief of people
who have affirmed in themselves the appearance
that wisdom and prudence originate from mankind
and do not flow in
in accordance with the state of the organization
of people's minds, as discussed just above in no. 319.
Therefore we must demonstrate it,
and to do so clearly,
we must demonstrate the several points
in the following sequence:

1. Someone who affirms in himself the appearance
that wisdom and prudence originate from mankind,
and that they are therefore in him as his,
cannot but have it seem to him
that he would otherwise not be human,
but would be either an animal or a statue,
when in fact the opposite is the case.

2. To believe and think, as is the truth,
that all goodness and truth originate from the Lord,
and all evil and falsity from hell,
seems to be an impossibility,
when in fact
it is something truly human and thus angelic.

3. To believe and think in this way is impossible for people
who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divinity,
and who do not acknowledge evils to be sins,
whereas it is possible for people
who do acknowledge these two things.

4. Insofar as they refrain from evils as sins
and are averse to them,
people who possess these two acknowledgments
simply reflect on the evils in themselves
and cast them away from themselves
back to hell from where they came.

5. Thus Divine providence does not assign evil to anyone,
nor good to anyone,
but it is a person's own prudence
that assigns the one or the other to him.

~ Gold, Silver, and Bronze ~

These are the amounts of the materials
used for the tabernacle,
the tabernacle of the Testimony,
which were recorded at Moses' command by the Levites
under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.
(Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
made everything the Lord commanded Moses;
with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach,
of the tribe of Dan --
a craftsman and designer,
and an embroiderer
in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.)
 
The total amount of the gold from the wave offering
used for all the work on the sanctuary was
29 talents and 730 shekels,
according to the sanctuary shekel.

The silver obtained from those of the community
who were counted in the census
was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels,
according to the sanctuary shekel . . .

The bronze from the wave offering was
70 talents and 2,400 shekels.

(Exodus 38:21-25, 29)

DP 318 - How A Person's State Is Changes; DP 319 - Spiraling

DP 318

But we must now say how a person's state is changed
by affirmations and consequent persuasions,
and this under the following series of headings:

1. There is nothing that cannot be defended,
and falsity more easily than truth.

2. Truth is not seen by confirmed falsity,
but confirmed truth causes falsity to be seen.

3. To be able to affirm whatever one pleases
does not constitute intelligence, but only ingenuity,
possible even in the worst of people.

4. It is possible to have an intellectual affirmation
that is not at the same time an affirmation of the will,
but every affirmation of the will is also an intellectual one.

5. An affirmation of evil by the will
that is at the same time an intellectual one
causes a person to believe
that his own prudence is everything
and Divine providence nothing,
but an intellectual affirmation alone does not.

6. Everything affirmed by the will and intellect together
remains to eternity,
but not something affirmed only by the intellect.

DP 319 [3-4]

We will now describe
the nature of these purely organic forms and substances
in evil people and in good people.
In good people they spiral forward,
but in evil people backward.
Moreover, those which spiral forward
are turned to the Lord and receive influx from Him,
while those which spiral backward
are turned toward hell and receive influx from there.

It should be known
that in the measure they are turned backward
they are open behind and closed in front,
and conversely,
that in the measure they are turned forward
they are open in front and closed behind.

It can be seen from this
the kind of form or instrument an evil person is,
and the kind of form or instrument a good person is,
namely that they are turned in opposite directions.
And because, once induced,
the turning cannot be reversed,
it is apparent that what a person is like when he dies,
so he remains to eternity.

The love belonging to a person's will
is what causes this turning,
or what turns him this way or that,
for as we said above,
every person is an expression of his love.
For this reason
everyone goes the way of his love after death,
to heaven if he has been directed by a good love,
and to hell if he has been directed by an evil love.
Nor does he find rest
except in the society where his is the reigning love.
And what is surprising,
everyone knows the way.
It is as though his nostrils smelled it.

~ Offerings for the Tabernacle ~

Moses said to the whole Israelite community,
"This is what the Lord has commanded:
From what you have,
take an offering for the Lord.
Everyone who is willing
is to bring to the Lord an offering
of gold, silver and bronze;
blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen;
goat hair;
ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows;
acacia wood;
olive oil for the light;
spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;
and onyx stones and other gems
to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

(Exodus 35:4-9)

DP 308 - Everything Flows In; DP 311 - Prudence Not Our Own

DP 308 [2]

. . . everything a person thinks and wills flows in;
and because all speech flows from thought,
as an effect from its cause,
and likewise all action from the will,
that everything a person says and does flows in too,
though secondarily or indirectly.

No one can deny that everything
a person sees, hears, smells, tastes or feels flows in.
Why not what a person thinks and wills?
Can there be any other difference than this,
that into the organs of the outer or physical senses
flow such things as are found in the natural world,
while into the organic substances
of the inner or mental senses
flow such things as are found in the spiritual world?
Consequently, that as the organs
of the outer or physical senses
are the recipient vessels of natural objects,
so the organic substances
of the inner or mental senses
are the recipient vessels of spiritual objects?

DP 311 [1-3]

From the description of one's own prudence
and of those caught up in it,
it can be seen what prudence not one's own is like
and the kind of people who are governed by it,
namely that prudence not one's own
is the prudence in people who do not affirm in themselves
that intelligence and wisdom originate from man,
but say, "How can anyone be wise of himself,
and how can anyone do good of himself?"
And when they say this,
they see in themselves the reality,
for they think more interiorly
and also believe that others think likewise,
especially the learned,
because they do not know
that anyone can think only externally.

They are not, through any affirmations of appearances,
caught up in misconceptions.
As a result they know and perceive
that murder, adultery, theft, and false witness are sins,
and therefore refrain from them.
Moreover they know and perceive
that maliciousness is not wisdom,
and that guile is not intelligence.
When they hear
clever arguments founded on misconceptions,
they are surprised and laugh to themselves.
The reason is that they do not have in them
a veil between their inner and outer elements,
or between the spiritual and natural components of the mind,
as there is in sensual people.
Consequently they receive an influx from heaven
which enables them to see these things interiorly.

They speak more straightforwardly and honestly than others,
and place wisdom in life and not in speech.
They are comparatively like lambs and sheep,
while those caught up in their own prudence
are like wolves and foxes.
They are also like people living in a house
who through the windows see the sky,
whereas those caught up in their own prudence
are like people living in the basement of the house,
who through their windows see only objects under ground.
Or they are like people standing on a mountain,
who see those caught up in their own prudence
as people wandering in the valleys in forests.

~ The Second Trip Up Mount Sinai ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones,
and I will write on them the words
that were on the first tablets,
which you broke.
Be ready in the morning,
and then come up on Mount Sinai.
Present yourself to Me there on top of the mountain;
not even the flocks and herds may graze
in front of the mountain.

So Moses chiseled out
two stone tablets like the first ones
and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning,
as the Lord had commanded him;
and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.
Then the Lord came down in the cloud
and stood there with him
and proclaimed His name, the Lord.

(Exodus 34:1-5)

DP 296 - Divine Providence's Goal Is to Save; DP 298 - Truth Effects Reformation

DP 296

. . . in every person
Divine providence operates in a thousand ways,
even in very secret ways;
that it continually has as its end to purge him,
because it has as an end to save him;
and that nothing more is incumbent on the person
than to put away evils in his external self.
The Lord provides the rest,
if entreated to.

DP 298 [5]

All reformation is effected by means of truth
and not apart from it,
for without truth
the will is continually intent on its evil,
and if it consults the intellect,
it is not instructed,
but the evil is justified by falsities.

~ The Sabbath ~

Then the Lord said to Moses,
"Say to the Israelites,
'You must observe My Sabbaths.
this will be a sign between Me and you
for the generations to come,
so you may know that I am the Lord,
who makes you holy.

"'Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you.
Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death;
whoever does any work on that day
must be cut off from his people.
For six days,
work is to be done,
but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest,
holy to the Lord.
Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day
must be put to death.
The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath,
celebrating it for the generations to come
as a lasting covenant.
It will be a sign between Me and the Israelites forever,
for in six days
the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
and on the seventh day
He abstained from work and rested.'"

When the Lord finished
speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai,
He gave him the two tablets of stone
inscribed by the finger of God.

(Exodus 31:12-18)

DP 288, 296 - How We Receive the Lord

DP 288

. . . any truth or good emanating from the Lord
is completely changed
when received by people caught up in falsity and evil,
and so transformed
that the original form is no longer visible.

DP 296 [6]

It should be known that in respect to his spirit
every person is in the spiritual world
and in some society there --
an evil person in a society of hell,
and a good person in a society of heaven.
The person also sometimes appears there
when he is engaged in deep meditation.

 

~ Two Lambs a Year Old ~

"This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day:
two lambs a year old.
Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight.
With the first lamb
offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour
mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives,
and a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.
Sacrifice the other lamb at twilight
with the same grain offering
and its drink offering as in the morning --
a pleasing aroma,
an offering made to the Lord by fire.

"For the generations to come
this burnt offering is to be made regularly
at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the Lord.
There I will meet you and speak to you;
there also I will meet with the Israelites,
and the place will be consecrated by My glory.

"So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar
and will consecrate Aaron and his sons
to serve Me as priests.
Then I will dwell among the Israelites
and be their God.
They will know that I am the Lord their God,
who brought them out of Egypt
so that I might dwell among them.
I am the Lord their God."

(Exodus 29:38-46)
 

DP 283 - Evils

DP 283

A person is permitted to entertain evils in thought
even to the point of intending them
in order that they may be displaced, as we said,
by civil, moral and spiritual precepts,
and this is the case when he thinks that something
is contrary to justice and equity,
contrary to honor and decorum,
and contrary to goodness and truth,
thus contrary to peace, happiness and blessedness of life.
Through these three classes of precepts
the Lord heals the will's love in a person --
at first, indeed by fears, and afterward by loves.
But still, evils are not separated and cast out of a person,
but are only displaced and banished to the sides;
and when that is where they are,
and good at the center,
then the evils do not appear.
For whatever is at the center is directly in view
and is seen and perceived.

It should be known, however,
that even if good is at the center,
still the person is not therefore in a state of good
unless the evils to the sides
incline downward and outward.
If they look upward or inward,
they have not been set aside,
for they continue to attempt to return to the center.
Evils incline or look downward and outward
when a person refrains from his evils as sins,
and still more when he is averse to them,
for then he condemns them
and consigns them to hell
and causes them to look in that direction.

~ The Tent ~

"Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn
and finely twisted linen,
with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman.
Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood
overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases.
Hang the curtain from the clasps
and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain.
The curtain will separate
the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
Put the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony
in the Most Holy Place.
Place the table outside the curtain
on the north side of the tabernacle
and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side.

"For the entrance to the tent
make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn
and finely twisted linen --
the work of an embroiderer.
Make gold hooks for this curtain
and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold.
And cast five bronze bases for them.

(Exodus 26:31-37)
 

DP 278 - Reforming

DP 278 [6]

. . . a person must examine himself,
see and acknowledge his sins,
and repent,
and then persevere in this
to the end of his life.

 

~ "I Am Sending an Angel" ~

"See, I am  sending an angel ahead of you
to guard you along the way
and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
Pay attention to him and listen to what he says.
Do not rebel against him;
he will not forgive your rebellion,
since My Name is in him.
If you listen carefully to what he says
and do all that I say,
I will be an enemy to your enemies
and will oppose those who oppose you.
My angel will go ahead of you
and bring you into the land of the
Amorites, Hittites, and Perizzites,
Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites,
and I will wipe them out.
Do not bow down before their gods
or worship them or follow their practices.
You must demolish them
and break their sacred stones to pieces.
Worship the Lord your God,
and His blessing will be on your food and water.
I will take away sickness from among you,
and none will miscarry or be barren in your land.
I will give you a full life span."

(Exodus 23:20-26)