and as all prayer when genuine, has the power of opening heaven, and thereby of ascending to the Lord himself, a response was immediately given by Divine influx, which became perceptible first to the angels, and afterwards to man through their medium, and the medium of light vibrating in the precious stones. As soon as the angels perceived the Divine will by the resplendent colors presented before their eyes in the spiritual world, (it being one of the prerogatives of their high wisdom to be able to interpret those appearances with the utmost accuracy,) they instantly either infused a suggestion, or gave forth an audible sound expressive of the answer so received by them; and this voice, which appeared to proceed from off the mercy-seat that was upon the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim, (Ex. xxv. 22; Num. vii. 89,) was distinctly heard by the priest, the seer, or the prophet, and perhaps by several of the people also who were present, the ears of their spirits being then opened for the express purpose, while the precious stones on the breast-plate were miraculously seen to glitter by the rapid vibrations of light, which were in unison and correspondence with the light or wisdom of heaven. If the question or interrogation put to Jehovah, spiritually considered, had for its end or object the love and worship of Him alone, in opposition to all other gods and in defiance of all enemies; or if it contemplated the practice and felicity of mutual love, in confirmation or in proof of their love to God; in such cases the vibrations of light most probably commenced either in the first, or in the second row of precious stones, and in imitation of the influx of love into. every faculty of the human mind, first successively and then simultaneously pervaded, irradiated, and finally spread a blaze of glory over every part of the breast-plate. And this was an affirmative sign, rendered still more certain and indubitable by the audible voice accompanying it, directing the course they were to take, and thus enjoining them to persevere in that line of duty, which the Divine Wisdom, through the medium of the Word already given, had laid down for their use. Again, if the question put were in relation to any of the various points of charity and true faith, as weapons of spiritual warfare; or to speak more literally, if they inquired of Jehovah whether they should proceed against such and such an enemy or not, and whether the event would be successful or unsuccessful; in this case, if they had been previously obedient to the divine commands in other re spects, the vibrations of light commenced either in the third, or in the fourth row of stones; and, by pervading and illuminating the whole, gave a positive token of the Divine approbation, which was further confirmed by the audible voice of an angel. But, on the other hand, if at any time the people of Israel had rebelled, either by relapsing into idolatry, or by other acts of disobedience, and inquiry were made of Jehovah how they were to conduct themselves on any particular emergency, and in the event of their attacking or being attacked by an enemy, whether success would attend them or not; in this case the lustre of the stones was diminished, the vibrations of the light (if any appeared) were irregular, its brilliancy less vivid than usual, and the response given both to the eye and to the ear of the inquirer was of that negative kind, which sufficiently announced the Divine disapprobation, and the consequent failure of the projected enterprise. On some occasions no answer whatever was returned: and therefore it is written, that "when Saul inquired of Jehovah, Jehovah answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets." 1 Sam. xxviii. 6. General directions for obtaining a response, in regard to Joshua, the successor of Moses, may be seen in Num. xxvii. 18-23. For affirmative and other responses, and for cases wherein Jehovah refused to give an answer, when inquired of, see Judges xx. 18-28; 1 Sam. x. 22; xiv. 37; xxiii. 2-12; xxviii. 6; xxx. 8; 2 Sam. ii. 1; v. 19, 23, 24; 2 Kings iii. 11-19. Such appears to have been the manner of obtaining responses from heaven among the people of Israel, by means of Urim and Thummim, whenever they were anxious to know the Divine will, or the result of any meditated undertaking. And though to many in the present day it wears the complexion of fable and incredible mystery, yet it ought to be remembered that in the times when it was practised, almost all the nations of the earth were in the habit of consulting, through the medium of their priests, the demons whom they both feared and worshipped: and it cannot be questioned but they also, on innumerable occasions, received from them such answers, wrapt up in artful ambiguity, as still left a conviction in the minds of the inquirers that they were possessed of superhuman wisdom. Of this kind was the famous oracle of Apollo at Delphos, among the heathen Greeks, which, however, with the rest of a similar description, was silenced by the coming of the Lord into the world; at which time the demons or spirits, who acted as familiars to the Pythons and Pythonesses, were removed from their direct association with mankind, and cast into hell. The Manner of obtaining Responses from Heaven at the Present Day, by Means of the literal Sense of the Word. Extraordinary and wonderful as the preceding account of the manner of obtaining responses from heaven may appear at the present day, it is not more so than the revelation of divine truth in the literal sense of the Word, and particularly the discovery now made of its genuine internal sense by means of the science of correspondences. For as the precious stones in the breast-plate of judgment represented all the truths of heaven, so in like manner they represented all the truths of the Word, but in their literal or external form, and consequently in their effect; while the different colors arising from the modifications of natural light, denoted the variegations of wisdom and intelligence which may be considered as spiritual light, both in angels and in men. And as the brilliancy and vibrations of the light in the stones, together with the audible voice from off the mercy-seat, presented both to the eye and to the ear of the person inquiring the desired answer; so the same but a more blessed effect is in our times produced by the extraordinary light of divine truth from the internal sense of the Word, which is spiritually seen to irradiate and as it were to vibrate through every part of its literal sense, while, instead of any external voice being heard, the best affections of the heart are excited, and the Divine will is clearly understood. In this way we perceive the present use and perpetual application of that part of the Word, which describes the miraculous intercourse between Jehovah and the people of Israel, by means of the breastplate of Urim and Thummim. This intercourse may still be maintained, though not precisely in the same external manner as with the Israelites of old and yet there is reason to believe that the same internal modifications and variegations of heavenly light which appeared in former times, do now also actually take place in the human mind, on every occasion of consulting the Word purely for the sake of spiritual information and instruction. Thus a person sincerely desirous of knowing the Divine will in relation to any matter either of doctrine or of life, has only to approach the Lord in his Word under a deep sense of his own unworthiness, and an interior acknowledgment that every good gift descends from above. Let him then interrogate the Lord, or inquire of Him, by reading some portion of the Sacred Scriptures for the express purpose of knowing and doing his will; taking care that no improper prejudice or bias of the mind, induced either by education or habits of vice, be suffered to interpose its influence. It is more than probable that the person so reading the Word, or so inquiring of the Lord, will receive an answer most suitable to his state; the pure and radiant light of heaven will appear before his eyes; that is to say, his understanding will be enlightened to discern all necessary truth; the flame of divine love also will be kindled in his bosom; his affections will be still further purified; and he will be supplied with new power to bring his whole life by degrees into complete subjection to the laws of divine order. This conclusion is justified and confirmed by the words of our Lord, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God," John vii. 17. CHAPTER X. THE SCIENCE OF CORRESPONDENCE APPLIED AS A KEY TO THE SPIRITUAL IN "A New Heaven and a New Earth." a N the first verse of this chapter, the seer tells us that he saw new heaven and a new earth”—the former heaven and earth having passed away. This was seen in a realm within or above nature, and with the seer's spiritual eyes, which were then opened, thus enabling him to behold things in the upper realms; for this vision, he tells us, was vouchsafed him when he "was in the spirit." The natural heaven and earth, as embracing all material things, denote (because they correspond to) all the spiritual things of God's kingdom in both worlds. The vision of "a new heaven and a new earth," therefore, was a prophetic intimation (under the law of correspondence) of a new order of things to be some day established in both worlds, the spiritual and the natural; or a new angelic Heaven in the superior and a new Christian Church in the inferior realm. And straightway an angel came to John and talked with him, saying, "Come hither; I will show thee the Bride, the Lamb's wife.” Thereupon the angel, he says, "carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God." Observe the correspondences here. Natural elevation corresponds to spiritual elevation, or exaltation of state. The seer was lifted by Divine influence into a superior spiritual condition, which is what his * By B. F. Barrett. From "The Swedenborg Library," Vol. VII., pp. 236-256. |