Good and Evil (9)

December 6

Rather than leaving Swedenborg, Sophie found herself and Gabriel with Swedenborg.

Swedenborg asked, “Gabriel, I am shocked that you forgot to ask me to explain to Sophie why in individual angels, angelic societies, and even Heaven itself often appear in the form of a human being; and why individuals residing in Hell, demons, demon societies, and Hell itself, often appears in the form of a monster. Sophie has met one of the eternal hasnamuses and saw how he appears as a hideous creature.”

Gabriel replied, “I did forget, but then again, I have much to teach Sophie his evening and so am a mite rushed. Please explain the concept of human form to Sophie.”

Swedenborg began, “Sophie, do you remember the first book of the Torah, Bereshis? Christians call it Genesis? For the best understanding we need to go to the most original source available.”

Sophie replied, “Yes.”

“In Bereshis 1:27 of the Orthodox Jewish Bible, it is written, ‘So G-d created mankind in His own tzelem (image), in the tzelem Elohim (image of G-d) created He him; zachar (male) and nekevah (female) created He them,’” recited Swedenborg. In the King James Bible the text reads, ‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.’ However, I believe the Orthodox version is the more accurate.

“In the Orthodox version, God is the unfathomable source and the Elohim is the Emanation of God’s Divine Will, Divine Love, Divine Intelligence, and Divine Truth. The Elohim, which is plural and one at the same time, emanates in the form of a human being. Subsequently, whenever a person experiences communion with God, he or she is actually communing with the Elohim, the first Emanation of God, which provide an experiential form to be perceived by the inner eyes and ears of a man. By inner eyes and ears, I am referring to his psychic facilities, more specifically, to what Gabriel calls the ‘ergoegotic operator,’ or the ‘soul-seed.’

“As Gabriel has taught, God, as God, cannot be conceptualized, objectified, defined, experienced and so on. This understanding of the Unfathomable Source is well-discussed in the Teachings of the Kabbalah. The first Emanation of Creation is known by the name Kether and likely arose from the earlier Hebrew concepts of the Elohim. Kether is the Heavenly Man.

“Supporting, Kether is the Unknowable God prior to His Self-Manifestation. The Kabbalists call the Unmanifest God, Ein Sof. Ein Sof refers to a state best characterized as Endless, Limitless, Nameless, Unmanifest, Unfathomable, or Without Existence. Often, the Kabbalists speak of three invisible sefirot, which proceed the emanation of Kether, Chokmah, and Binah. In Christian terms, these three are Divine Will, Divine Good, and Divine Truth.

“As an aside, this concept of a heavenly being, subordinate to the Source, responsible for Creation is found in many ancient philosophies. The Gnostic Teachings speak of the Demiurge as the Creator of the Universe, but often in a manner antagonistic to God. This is incorrect for it is not supported by the Highest Beings. They report that antagonism to the Elohim only arose with conscious creatures.

“The Vedic concept of Brahman is quite similar to the ancient Hebrew concept of the Elohim. In the Vedas, Brahman is described as the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe. In the Upanishads Brahman represents the metaphysical, ontological and soteriological principles immanent in the universe. Brahman being the “primordial reality that creates, maintains and withdraws within it the universe”, the “principle of the world”, the “absolute”, the “cosmic principle”, the “ultimate that is the cause of everything, including all gods”, the “divine being, Lord, distinct God, or God within oneself”, the “soul, sense of self of each human being that is fearless, luminous, exalted and blissful”, the “universe within each living being and the universe outside”, the “essence and everything innate in all that exists inside, outside and everywhere.”

“To reinforce this explanation, I will take you to a place where you can see one angel, a society of angels with similar understanding of good and truth, and Heaven itself,” finished Swedenborg.

Swedenborg and Gabriel did as they said. The angel appeared to her in a human form, a group of angels appeared in a human form (but, the facial features seemed to change rapidly), and finally, the Divine allowed Sophie to see that the fullness of Heaven was in the form of a human form. Finally, Sophie was allowed to see all of the existing universe and it too assumed the form of a large human being.

When they returned to the tea garden, Sophie said, “This is absolutely amazing. Now, I know why the Jain religion teaches that the universe is in the form of an immense human being in which the most enlightened reside in the upper head and the lowest in the feet.”

Gabriel remarked, “Isn’t it curious, Sophie, how often the plain truth is written within Holy Books and none really understand the profundity of what is written? Now, we are finished. Thanks, Emanuel. Good bye.”

And with that the pair disappeared.

TO BE CONTINUED