in the case of the pope, to whom only Christ’s human power, not his
divine power, had been transferred.
Then a monk stood up and said that he could think of the Holy Vir-
gin Mary and also the saint of his monastery as divine-human.
Another monk came forward and said, “With the idea I have of the
holy pope—an idea I have come to cherish—I can more easily speak of
the holy pope than of Christ as divine-human.”
Some other Catholics, however, pulled him back and said, “Shame
on you!”
[ 12 ] After this heaven seemed to open and tongues like little flames
seemed to come down and flow into some people. They began praising the
Lord’s divine humanity and saying, “Remove the idea of three gods. Believe
that all the fullness of divinity dwells physically in the Lord. Believe that
the Father and he are one as the soul and the body are one. Believe that
God is a human being, not wind or ether. Then you will be connected to
heaven, and from the Lord you will be able to name Jesus and say ‘divine-
human.’”
The third memorable occurrence.Once I woke up just after first light. 112
I went out into the garden in front of my house and watched the sun ris-
ing in its splendor. There was a halo around it, at first very subtle, but
later on more definite, shining as though it was made of gold. Beneath
the sun’s rim I saw a cloud rising up. Mirroring the flame of the sun, it
gleamed like a ruby.
At that point I fell into a meditation based on the myths of the most
ancients, reflecting on how they pictured Aurora, the Dawn, as having
silver wings and carrying gold in her mouth. Mentally taking great pleas-
ure in these sights, I came into my spirit.
I heard some spirits in a discussion saying, “I would love an opportu-
nity to talk to that innovator who has tossed an apple of discord among
the leaders of the church. Many lay people have rushed to that apple,
picked it up, and set it before our eyes.”
The “apple” they meant was the little volume titled Survey of Teach-
ings for the New Church.
“It is something genuinely schismatic that no one has thought of
before,” they said.
I heard one of them cry out, “Schismatic? It’s heretical!”
Some by his side retorted, “Be quiet! It isn’t heretical. It cites many
statements from the Word that the strangers in our midst (meaning our
lay people) pay attention to and support.”
§112 the lord the redeemer & redemption 155