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This selfhood, therefore, necessarily made man free to reason and act, either as from his own will and wisdom, or as from the Lord's; and, as it seemed to him that he felt and acted entirely from himself, his selfhood made him capable of using the Lord's love and wisdom as his own, and of falling, by habit, into the selfish belief that they were really his own, and that he was perfectly competent to manage his own affairs himself. Therefore, in the ability to look to the Lord, and progress upwards, was the ability to look to himself, and decline into evil. Man was free to take either course. He took the latter. Hence the long progressive fall, from the primeval age to the coming of the Lord in the flesh.

In this downward process, man lost the divine language, founded on the science of correspondences; and with it he lost all true knowledge of the world of causes, or of the laws of creation, and the relation between mind and matter. He entirely lost his internal standpoint, where he could see in unison with God's wisdom; and he took his position in the dark, sensual depravity of the external mind, where he saw things, not as they really were, but only as they appeared to be. Thus everything in his nature had become perverted. He saw himself as the very centre of all being, and the universe as the circumference; and thus he was about to perish for the want of light and life.

In this state of things, our heavenly Father, that He might restore man again to order and true life, came and took his central position again in our nature. He took upon Himself, by conception and birth, human

He became again

nature, in the omega, as it then was. the centre, and that humanity, the circumference. Still, that humanity, as assumed, had a will not in harmony with the divine will. It still had its own centre in the circumference of things, and its natural inclination was to look and act from that apparent centre. But, by its connection with the Great Divine Centre, it was enabled gradually to change its position, and to see from the divine will and wisdom.

This was effected by its yielding up its own will to the divine will, in the midst of temptations and trials, until everything in that nature which was impure and ungodly was seen by that nature in the divine light, as not good, and freely rejected, and put away. Thus that nature, by free-will and consent, became perfected and glorified, and made one with the Father; the whole having one will, and that will divine-the very Centre of all existences.

Thus, having conquered and overcome all evil influences in our nature and come near to us in the letter and spirit of the gospel, the Lord was able to reach and draw all men toward Him, who would yield to the influence of the truth of His Word. But men were then so low, sensual, and natural, that they could not receive spiritual truth. They could not be at once elevated into the spiritual light of causes, where they could look down again upon effects, and see them in their true light. They had, therefore, to be reached in the circumference where they were. Here they could be reached only by natural truth and good; and to effect even this, they had to be overawed by the power of the Lord's miracles, and forced into an assent and

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submission to things which they did not understand. But by their faith in the power of the Lord, and obedience to His commandments, they, by actual experience, gradually saw and felt the truth and goodness arising from righteousness of life, repented of their natural evils, and, in their degree, became regenerated.

Some of the disciples appear to have had, at times, glimpses of higher light; but they could not retain it, and the simple letter of the Word-the natural truth -was all that they could bear. But it is very certain that some of the most spiritually-minded of the disciples and early fathers of the church were sensible that there must be some higher meaning to the Word than the letter; but the subject was so new, so high, and so vast, that their natural state could not receive it. The Christian church, therefore, settled down upon the literal sense of the Word, with wholesome doctrines drawn therefrom; and all who have sincerely received these literal truths, faithfully repented of their sins, and regulated their lives by the commandments, through faith in the Lord, have found their way to happiness and heaven.

But, not being able to receive spiritual truths, this state of things did not last, as the Savior declared that it would not. The dark ages came on. The church declined in doctrines and in life. "The traditions of men made the commandments of God of none effect." Schisms and division ensued, carrying martyrdom, bloodshed, fire, and fagot in their train, until the people were anything else than the followers of the meek and lowly Jesus, loving their enemies, and rendering good for evil.

This crisis was reached about one hundred years ago; and the Lord declares of it in Matt. xxiv. 22, that except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.” Under this state of things, what could be done? The true nature of God had been lost sight of, and the true way of life. All the doctrines of the Word were falsified. How could man be reached ? Nothing short of an entire new light, differing in toto from anything the world then had, could elevate the race. They wanted a new God, a new Bible, new doctrines, and new truths, before they could be moved one step upwards. And yet all the needed, new life, and light, and doctrines were in the old Bible before them; but they could not see them.

But, though they had been becoming blind to the true light of the gospel, yet men had been making rapid progress in natural science. Their natural faculties, and powers of reasoning, had become greatly developed; and many were becoming prepared to look for some rational ground of religious faith. Nothing else could now reach their wants. Human nature had grown up to natural manhood. Its intellectual eyes, in the natural plane, were opened; and it was asking for light in matters of religion as well as science. Marvel and mystery could no longer satisfy or control the free mind, and there were some living remnants in fragmentary Israel who were hungering and thirsting for something to satisfy the longing soul. But they knew not what it was, nor where to find it.

The period had, therefore,

fully come, when something new must be done, and when something new could be done.

There were minds now that could begin to receive the spiritual sense of the Word, if it could only be brought scientifically before them. This sense was the only thing that could lead their thoughts to the true God, give them right views of His nature, and faith in His Holy Word. The lost Science of Correspondences was the only key to that spiritual sense that would fit their minds. If that science could be brought rationally before the minds of men, so as to enable them, from their low, natural position, to look understandingly up through the world of effects to the world of causesthrough natural things to spiritual, material to mental,

-so as to see and receive spiritual light from the Holy Word, then the human race on earth could be gradually elevated to heavenly order and happiness; otherwise man must perish. "Except these days should be shortened, no flesh should be saved.”

By the use, then, of the key of correspondences, the seals of the Word could be broken, and the Book opened. But who was able to do it? None but the "Lion of the tribe of Judah could prevail to open the Book, and loose the seals thereof." The seals were all in the human mind. It was sealed with seven seals; that is, every state of the human mind was closed against spiritual light. Man was altogether natural. But there were some minds in a religious state of natural good, and in such a state of natural-rational freedom as to be able to have their minds opened by instruction from the Lord, so as to see spiritual light through natural symbols, could they be so instructed.

But how was this mighty work to be done? How

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