51. II. THE SECOND STATE OF THIS CHURCH WAS INSTRUCTION, AND EVENTUALLY INTRODUCTION INTO THE LAND OF CANAAN, AND THEN WAS ITS PROGRESSION INTO LIGHT, AND DAY. It has been pointed out above, that this Israelitish Church, as well as the Ancient, or Noachian Church, was, with respect to the whole of its worship, a representative Church. This was of the Divine Providence, because Jehovah had not yet put on the Natural Human (which He took by incarnation in the womb of Mary, thus according to the order established from creation); and prior to this He could not be conjoined to man as to the interiors of his spirit, and so manifest His Divine things-which are celestial and spiritual, and, thus, far above the discernment of the senses of the body,-to man's perception there. This also was as impossible as it is for a bird to fly in ether, or a fish to swim in air. For if Jehovah were to enter into man except by means of His. Human, it would be like putting the severed branch of a tree into the very focus of a burning glass, or quicksilver to a blazing log in a furnace, which would be instantly dissipated. For, from the ardour of His Divine Love, Jehovah is like a consuming fire; and were He to enter into man in this without His Human, He would destroy him, as has just been said: for which reason He said to Moses, when he desired to behold His glory with his own eyes, that no man could see Him and live. It was otherwise, however, after He put on the Natural Human, and united this, when glorified, to His Divine, and thus, in Himself, conjoined the Divine Celestial, the Divine Spiritual, and the Divine Natural into one. He was then able, by means of this, to conjoin Himself to man in his Natural, yea, in his Sensual, and at the same time to his spirit, or mind, in his Rational, and thus to enlighten man's natural human with heavenly light. That such conjunction was effected after the Coming of Jehovah into the world, is plainly manifest from the words of the Lord Himself:
In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John xiv 20).
[2] Now, before the Incarnation of Jehovah took place, conjunction with Him could not occur except through an angel, thus by means of a representative human; on which account, also, all things of the Church of those times were made representative, and consequently men worshipped Jehovah by types affecting the senses of their body, and at the same time corresponding to spiritual things. Hence it was that the men of the Ancient Church, and still more those of the Israelitish Church, were external and natural men, nor could they become internal and spiritual, as men can since the Lord's Coming. But, still, those who acknowledged Jehovah, and, with Him, the Lord* -that is, the Lord who was to come, who in the Word is named the "Lord Jehovih," "God of Israel" and "His Holy One," "Messiah" or the "Anointed of Jehovah," "King," "Rock," and in some places "Son"-and who worshipped them at the same time, received holiness in their spirits, and hence in the types of their religion. The rest, however, did not receive it; consequently, the religion of these was not a religion but a superstition, and their worship was not representative but idolatrous; and, although this was similar in external form, yet it was dissimilar in internal. [3] But in order that this matter may gain some light, it shall be illustrated by comparisons. Idolatrous worship is like a man who reveres a king, a prince, a nobleman, or any man of exalted dignity, solely on account of the grandeur of his retinue, the magnificence of his carriages and horsemen or footmen, and the gorgeousness of his crimson robe; but genuine representative worship is like one who regards a king, prince, nobleman, or any man of exalted dignity, from his religion and his wisdom, and from his justice and judgment, and who attaches importance the above-mentioned insignia of his greatness, in consideration of these qualities. Idolatrous worship, moreover, is like a man who regards the primate of the Church solely on account of his tiara and the jewels in it, or any other prelate, or bishop, on account of his head-covering, or mitre; but genuine representative worship is like one who regards them from the warmth of their love for the souls of the men of the Church, and for the eternal salvation of these, and the insignia of their heads on these grounds. Again, idolatrous worship is like a field filled with stalks without ears, or with ears without corn in them, or even of these without any kernel in the corn, and so on; but genuine representative worship is like a field filled with ripe corn, whose grains are bursting with kernels, which yield flour and bread in abundance. Idolatrous worship is also like an egg in which there is no fertilizing germ; but genuine representative worship is like an egg in which there is the fertilized element from which a chicken comes forth. Sill further to illustrate those two kinds of worship by comparison, idolatrous worship is like one who has lost the sense of smell and the sense of taste by a catarrh-when such a one applies any grape to his nostrils, or drops wine on his tongue, he is sensible of nothing but their touch; but genuine representative worship is like one who is keenly sensible at the same time of the fragrance of the grape and the flavour of the wine, and thus enjoys the use and sweetness of both. * The reader ought to be apprised that the Latin word here is not, as usual, Dominus, but Adonajus, the Latinized form of the Hebrew word Adonai.
This page is part of 
© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church