God represents in Abraham the person of Christ, and the children of the new birth, whom Christ should beget anew, in the person of the three men, viz. in the three-one Deity, which brings them through Christ into itself and places them in the angelical choir; as these three men did appear in the form of three angels, and also in the person of the holy Trinity; signifying that the holy Trinity would dwell in these angelical men, and that they should be the image, viz. the manifestation of God.
17. Abraham commanded to take three measures of fine meal, and to knead it, and bake cakes, that the men might eat; what does this mean? These three men had no need of any such eating. It is the figure of man's regeneration: The three measures betoken the three Principles, viz. the three worlds in man: the fine meal points out the heavenly humanity, viz. the divine heavenly substantiality, that this heavenly and divine substantiality's property should also be kneaded, and mixed with ours, [which had] disappeared in Adam; and a divine cake, viz. sweet bread for food of God's children should be baked thereof, understand, in the fiery heat.
18. When Christ stood in the fire of his Father's anger, viz. in hell, then these sweet cakes were baked for God's children, which they should eat; and the three measures are now the three worlds (viz. the whole man, without the Serpent's, and beast's property) which shall be mixed with the divine ens into a lump [or batch], and cakes baked thereof. This is now Christ's flesh, which he has joined or mixed with our humanity; and gives us now the sweet cakes thereof; to eat, viz. the heavenly flesh: Here the Holy Spirit did play therewith in the figure.
19. And Abraham ran to the herd, and made ready also a calf; tender and good; that is, he gave it to his young man to dress it. O thou wonderful God! how much does simplicity please thee? how plainly and simply dost thou represent the great mysteries unto us? I thank thee, that thou showest me, unworthy man, such things, wherein the whole world is blind. O God, open thou their eyes, I pray, that they may see, and turn unto thee, and enter into humility.
20. The tender calf which was made ready for this meal, is the limus of the earth, viz. the outward man, which, before God, is as a beast. Understand, it is a wonderbeast, 1 like as the whole outward world, before the divine understanding, is only as a beast, wherein God forms himself with the holy spiritual ens into an external body, to the manifestation of his deeds of wonder, both of love and anger. Which figure of the outward world, viz. the divine beast, shall not be wholly turned into nothing, but the vanity alone shall be separated from the good into the kingdom of darkness.
1 Marvellous or wonderful.
21. In like manner, God will not wholly cast away the divine beast on man, which indeed dies here, but only the introduced Serpent's ens, and the vanity of the dark world's essence. The divine wonder-beast, which is the servant of the divine spiritual image, and shall be so in eternity, the same shall arise at the last day, and be proved through the fire of God; where it shall be made very pure, as a crystal, in which the angel, viz. God's right image, shall dwell;
in which angelical image God is primely manifest, and thence shines through the beast, as the sun through a crystal. This now is the signification of this tender and good calf, which was dressed for this meal, and shows that the outward man, according to his right image created in Adam out of the limus of the earth, shall be brought upon God's table.
God represents in Abraham the person of Christ, and the children of the new birth, whom Christ should beget anew, in the person of the three men, viz. in the three-one Deity, which brings them through Christ into itself and places them in the angelical choir; as these three men did appear in the form of three angels, and also in the person of the holy Trinity; signifying that the holy Trinity would dwell in these angelical men, and that they should be the image, viz. the manifestation of God.
17. Abraham commanded to take three measures of fine meal, and to knead it, and bake cakes, that the men might eat; what does this mean? These three men had no need of any such eating. It is the figure of man's regeneration: The three measures betoken the three Principles, viz. the three worlds in man: the fine meal points out the heavenly humanity, viz. the divine heavenly substantiality, that this heavenly and divine substantiality's property should also be kneaded, and mixed with ours, [which had] disappeared in Adam; and a divine cake, viz. sweet bread for food of God's children should be baked thereof, understand, in the fiery heat.
18. When Christ stood in the fire of his Father's anger, viz. in hell, then these sweet cakes were baked for God's children, which they should eat; and the three measures are now the three worlds (viz. the whole man, without the Serpent's, and beast's property) which shall be mixed with the divine ens into a lump [or batch], and cakes baked thereof. This is now Christ's flesh, which he has joined or mixed with our humanity; and gives us now the sweet cakes thereof; to eat, viz. the heavenly flesh: Here the Holy Spirit did play therewith in the figure.
19. And Abraham ran to the herd, and made ready also a calf; tender and good; that is, he gave it to his young man to dress it. O you wonderful God! how much does simplicity please you? how plainly and simply do you represent the great mysteries unto us? I thank you, that you show me, unworthy man, such things, wherein the whole world is blind. O God, open you their eyes, I pray, that they may see, and turn unto you, and enter into humility.
20. The tender calf which was made ready for this meal, is the limus of the earth, viz. the outward man, which, before God, is as a beast. Understand, it is a wonderbeast, 1 like as the whole outward world, before the divine understanding, is only as a beast, wherein God forms himself with the holy spiritual ens into an external body, to the manifestation of his deeds of wonder, both of love and anger. Which figure of the outward world, viz. the divine beast, shall not be wholly turned into nothing, but the vanity alone shall be separated from the good into the kingdom of darkness.
1 Marvellous or wonderful.
21. In like manner, God will not wholly cast away the divine beast on man, which indeed dies here, but only the introduced Serpent's ens, and the vanity of the dark world's essence. The divine wonder-beast, which is the servant of the divine spiritual image, and shall be so in eternity, the same shall arise at the last day, and be proved through the fire of God; where it shall be made very pure, as a crystal, in which the angel, viz. God's right image, shall dwell;
in which angelical image God is primely manifest, and thence shines through the beast, as the sun through a crystal. This now is the signification of this tender and good calf, which was dressed for this meal, and shows that the outward man, according to his right image created in Adam out of the limus of the earth, shall be brought upon God's table.
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